Lots to Say: Power Rankings and Ravens Safety Jaylinn Hawkins

The Bobby Bones Show

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel kick off their season with Power Rankings, highlighting standout performances from the Chiefs, Bears, Bills, and

Key takeaways

The Kansas City Chiefs are ranked #5 despite missing some stars, with Kenneth Walker's dominant performance boosting their offense.
The Chicago Bears' high-powered offense, led by Caleb Williams and Luther Burden, makes them a top-three offensive threat early in the season.

Main topics

NFL Power Rankings for Week 1
Chiefs' offensive resurgence with Kenneth Walker

Notable quotes

"Man, did he impress me. Because he carried that a whole entire offense." – Bobby Bones on Kenneth Walker

Conclusion

The episode blends early-season analysis with personal insights from p

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast. Speaker 8 (0:10) We got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Speaker 8 (0:30) Here's Bobby and Matt. Speaker 2 (0:58) where they make the playoffs. Speaker 3 (0:59) Okay, after week one, let's start with the power rankings. At Speaker 2 (1:02) number five, the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City Chiefs, deservedly so. Yeah. That was a statement win last night, or two nights ago. Speaker 3 (1:10) Three nights ago? Well, when we record this, it was last night, but when people hear this, it'll be two nights. But yeah, you get it. Speaker 4 (1:14) Yeah, two nights ago. Speaker 3 (1:15) Yeah. Speaker 4 (1:16) Yeah. Speaker 3 (1:17) Kenneth Walker looked great. Speaker 4 (1:19) Man, you just never know how it's going to work out, especially within an Andy Reid offense, because they haven't had that type of dominant runner before. Man, did he impress me. Because he carried that a whole entire offense, and they needed it because they were protecting the homes as well. Speaker 3 (1:32) He had 191 total yards and two touchdowns. And I also was curious as to how he would do being the guy. We saw how he did as the guy once Charbonnet got hurt. But you got to think, when Seattle was playing the entire season, it was Kenneth Walker was RB1, but Charbonnet was RB1.5. Speaker 3 (1:55) it's exciting to see Kansas City with a weapon because obviously they have Mahomes and obviously they got Pavlov playing tight end. He did end up with a second catch, which allowed me to beat you in fantasy, by the way. Speaker 2 (2:05) Yeah, what the heck? It was that one catch. The one catch that the guy missed on him and then everybody was playing man and just run down the field. That was the difference of Kevin and I's game. Wasn't that like a 60-yard? Yeah. That's exactly what it was. And Jalen Waddell did nothing. He did nothing. He did absolutely nothing. Same. The entire receiving core for the Broncos did absolutely nothing. So it's nice to see. The Chiefs with Speaker 3 (2:25) a weapon. You know, because wide receiver-wise, they've either had Xavier Worthy who runs real fast but can only run real fast. Only vertical. Or they got receivers that are good but get suspended. And so it's just nice to have a weapon. So a five, I have Kansas City. I hope they do well. I'd love to see them win the Super Bowl. I'm not a Kansas City fan, but I like when people are counted out. I love Kaitlin Clark for that reason. I don't think Kansas City was counted out. You don't think Kansas City is already looked at as it has been? When they were listing all the teams to win the championship this year, Kansas City's never mentioned. One, because Mahomes was coming off injury, and two, because they haven't done it in a couple years. Speaker 4 (3:06) And also the whole entire secondary was depleted through free agency. They made the trade. They've got a lot of youth back there. There's a ton of reasons why people are speculating, but you still have Patrick Mahomes, and now you've got a run game to go with it. That's a dangerous combination. At number five, the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes. Speaker 3 (3:23) At number four, I think they still might be scoring touchdowns right now, the Chicago Bears. What the heck? That was a good game. And I got a shout out to the Carolina Panthers because they actually look pretty good. Bryce Young looked good. Those receivers, they have three giant Speaker 2 (3:37) receivers. Carolina does. They're all 6'2", 6'3". I think Carolina's going to be good. Bryce Young threw for 369 yards in that game, Speaker 4 (3:45) and they scored 37 points. There was no defense being played in that game whatsoever. That being said, the Speaker 3 (3:50) Bears scored 59 points. Yes. The Bears had weapons everywhere. So I'm putting the Bears at four. The Bears feel like... When the Bengals had no defense, but they just had to beat you by one. They were trying to win games 61-60, 52-51, like those two seasons ago. That's what the Bears felt like. And again, I know it's only week one, but there are so many weapons that they have offensively. I mean, Luther Burden is a dude, for sure. Colston Loveless is a dude. And also, Caleb Williams. I don't even get scared when he's throwing off his back foot across his body. I'm just like, that's just a normal Calhoun's Speaker 4 (4:28) pass. He's taken to a new level, right? And we always knew he was a playmaker and had that, but he's playing within the system. But he'll extend plays, and you saw the one back across the field for 25 yards. He's just, his talent and skill set is uniquely special. And it's maybe one or two other guys in the entire league that you can compare that to, maybe Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen. But he also can take off and run in scamper for, for yards there, too. And then you got a running game with it with Swift and Kyle Menungai. Swift Speaker 3 (5:00) was breaking off 15, 20, 25-yard runs constantly. I know. They scored a lot of points. I'm going to say right now, so premature, but top three offense in the NFL. Speaker 4 (5:09) Right. The concern is absolutely going to be the defense right now because they've got to prove it because they won a lot of close games last year. We're talking about one-score games. in which the defense did not do them any favors. You go back to even that Cincinnati game last year, where they went right down the field and scored, and then they scored with no time on the clock. There were so many of those instances that you just get worried that that could be their Achilles heel. Speaker 3 (5:33) And number three, I have the Buffalo Bills. Game of the week, I think the Texans and Bills was the game of the week, and it was a game that we thought, well, the Texans arguably have the best defense in the NFL, and Buffalo has... Josh Allen. And it really was not a defensive game by any means. And CJ Stroud was doing his thing a little bit. He decided not to even, I say he decided, they decided, they both decided not to move forward with trying to finish that contract. It's like, I'm just going to bet on myself. And so if it continues to roll like that for the Texans, even though they lost, I think Stroud will be heavily compensated. But I'm going to put the Bills at number three because they, played really well against a really great defense. Josh Allen is the dude, no doubt about it. He threw for two touchdowns. He ran two. Did he run two as well? Yes. He's Superman. That guy's unbelievable. As long as Superman is able to exist on that field within the game clock running, Buffalo is going to be really good. But it all rests on Josh Allen. What'd you think of DJ Speaker 4 (6:39) Moore? D.J. Moore, I mean, he had over 100 yards. He was everything that they anticipated when they brought him in. Obviously, the DB tried to get that interception on the sideline, completely took a bad angle, goes for, what, 60 on that. But then he had a 46-yard pass interference call where they had to go up and tackle him, basically, so he didn't. But really impressed and another weapon for Josh Allen at his disposal. I think that he's going to have a huge year. Speaker 3 (7:06) It just gets cold. It's going to get cold. You know, I cry about the cold. I would hate being a wide receiver in Chicago. Because every time I'd catch a ball, you'd hear this, ow. That would be me. Speaker 2 (7:17) Ow. Ow. I never thought so hard. Chicago, Bills, there's so many Speaker 4 (7:23) different. Buffalo Speaker 2 (7:24) too. Yeah, Speaker 4 (7:24) Buffalo's brutal. New England can be at times. I mean, those outdoor stadiums in Speaker 2 (7:30) those type of situations are just brutal. I don't feel any worse about the Texans though. I don't know if you guys do. This is Speaker 3 (7:37) not a game where Buffalo wins and I go, oh, the Texans aren't what I thought they were. I think you had two really Speaker 2 (7:42) great teams playing each other and they played a really great game. And you're encouraged about what you saw from C.J. Stroud. Yeah, because with Speaker 3 (7:50) C Speaker 2 (7:51) .J. Stroud, to Speaker 3 (7:52) me, I felt like a defense is so good that he's just going to be a slightly elevated game manager. But I think from what we saw, well, because Buffalo also kept scoring. They're going to have to score. And he has the ability to do that. I think we saw both those quarterbacks, both in losses, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, one and two, the quarterbacks drafted. I guess it's a flip, though, because Bryce went one. Have good games and hopefully good careers, because what a weird draft that whole situation was. But that's it. I got the bills. Yeah, Speaker 4 (8:27) I like that a lot. I just think week one. is always such an outlier for every team, both offensively and defensively. And what you see in week one, everybody has these overreactions and this, that, and the other. But because of how you have to prepare for week one is you're preparing for the unexpected because you really don't know what they're going to be when you get on that field and you have to make in-game adjustments, that so many radical things come out of this, like all these stats that we saw, the offensive production. Hopefully by week two, you start to see everybody settle in and understand what they need to do to play better defense. Speaker 3 (9:03) And number two, I've got the Baltimore Ravens. They just looked good. And I think the Colts might be a little better than we thought. But Baltimore just looked good offensively first because Lamar looked great. Derrick Henry was a guy dang train. Oh Speaker 4 (9:20) my God. It's King Henry, Speaker 2 (9:22) baby. He's coming downhill. Don't stand on the tracks when the choo-choo's coming through. But the choo-choo's not 25. The choo-choo's like 32 or 33 now. Yeah, but he still looks like he was 25. Speaker 3 (9:33) The Ravens looked great. And they hired the offensive coordinator. He was 29 when they hired him. I think he's 30 years old. Now he's 30, yeah. He had a birthday since they hired him. Yeah, that was it. They hired him at 29. Yeah, Speaker 2 (9:45) at Speaker 3 (9:45) 29, and then he's 30. Yeah, he's 30. Speaker 2 (9:47) Yeah, yeah. Thanks for telling us how old he was Speaker 4 (9:49) when they hired him. Speaker 2 (9:50) Well, that was the story. That was super important. But he's 30. They had Speaker 3 (9:53) hired, what, Declan Doyle, I think is his name? Yeah. He was 29 when they hired him to be the coordinator, which, you know, kids do the darndest things. Yeah, but they knew he was going Speaker 2 (10:02) to turn 30. That's Speaker 3 (10:03) a Speaker 2 (10:03) good point. Think about that. They knew he was going to Speaker 3 (10:04) turn 30. Speaker 2 (10:04) Think about that, that he turned 30 before week one. Dang. You know what the interesting part, though, about Baltimore? Speaker 4 (10:09) They lose a flowers in the first half who went off for what? One fifty and just one half of football. And he looked the part when they when they decided to pay him this offseason. They were definitely seen as somebody that made the right decision after that first half. But then also Jacoby Lane, their other receiver that they drafted from USC. He has a fractured lures. He'll be out for multiple weeks. So you're down here through top two wide receivers. What's the status with a flowers? Speaker 4 (10:37) They're going to say day-to-day. Speaker 3 (10:39) Okay, if they say day-to-day, that feels pretty good. Because even if he misses a game, I think they're playing the Saints next week. Not that the Saints are bad, because the Saints are going to be really good in the second half of every game, and they're going to be really good in the second half of the season. That's kind of how they do. Yeah, I get that. Speaker 2 (10:54) Tyler Shuck, though. It is day-to-day. Speaker 3 (10:57) Okay, so he probably plays then this weekend. He Speaker 2 (11:00) probably just got tired. Speaker 4 (11:02) Don't be a hater. He just got tired. He had 150. He's like, dude, what more can I do for you right now? I mean, let's let some of these other guys play. Speaker 3 (11:08) I got the Ravens Speaker 4 (11:09) at Speaker 3 (11:09) two. They had 506 yards of offense. Pretty good performance. Man. And when they're good, their uniforms look great. It's like Jacksonville. When Jacksonville plays good, I vibe with their uniforms. When they're bad, they're the worst uniforms in the NFL. They're Speaker 2 (11:25) just ugly, green, Wizard of Oz, Speaker 3 (11:28) Emerald. Speaker 2 (11:28) It's just awful. Unless they're good, then you're like, I like the originality. I can roll with this for sure. The other interesting part about Baltimore was they Speaker 4 (11:37) put Lamar under center a lot more than what he's been in the past. And so that really opened up because you don't allow anybody to get a tail on which way you're going to run the football, but it also opened up the play-action passing game. I think we're going to see more of it, but I was really intrigued by that because you haven't seen Lamar under center for an extended period of time during a game, and that was a big adjustment. Speaker 3 (11:57) Number one, the San Francisco 49ers. They beat the Rams 27-7. I think they played on the moon. There's a long trip. I'm not sure they're back yet in their NASA space shuttle. Here's the thing. When Speaker 2 (12:10) they're healthy? Oh, my God. How many Hall of Famers do you think they have on that team? Which side of the ball? Trent Williams, Kittle, McCaffrey, Fred Warner. Yeah, go defense now. Speaker 4 (12:21) I mean, Bosa. Bosa, potential Bosa if he stays healthy. But they've got dudes. And nobody ever talked about them in the offseason because the splash was the LA Rams. But they Speaker 3 (12:32) were always hurt last year. Defensively. Half their team would show up in those full body casts. Can't get into the game right now. And so, yeah, we just kind of forgot what they are when they are whole. And so there was also like so much off-season drama. Coach gets in a car crash. Oh, yeah. All the stuff with Ayuk. Yeah. All that drama. The aging roster. Like how old are they going to? But man, they were so good. And Raheem Morris is... great calling the defense. We, you know, we have Salah here now. He was great calling the defense there, but he didn't have the Speaker 2 (13:09) personnel because they were all in the freaking hospital laid up. Yeah, and we didn't even talk about Mike Evans, what a lift that is on the outside. He Speaker 4 (13:17) had six receptions, one touchdown. He looked good. Every one of his catches other than the touchdown went for a first down. He looked legit. What about Stripling, though? Somebody did get hurt already. Speaker 7 (13:27) Their rookie receiver. Speaker 3 (13:28) And he was the fantasy darling. Yeah. Like everyone, How hard? Speaker 2 (13:34) They said he's out at least a month. Oh, really? So significant injury. Speaker 3 (13:39) So the two that made honorable mention, and the only reason the Seahawks didn't make the top five is because they don't have a quarterback for a minute. Speaker 2 (13:46) For Speaker 4 (13:47) a minute. They've said it's not going to be as long as they thought Speaker 2 (13:50) with Sam Darnold, from what I understand. Those are the Speaker 4 (13:52) reports I hear coming out of camps. Speaker 3 (13:55) What I saw this morning is plenty is still unknown about what's happening with Sam Darnold. But I'm not going to put them in the top five, although, I mean, they're really good and they will be. Speaker 4 (14:09) You don't Speaker 2 (14:10) believe in Drew Locke? No, Speaker 4 (14:10) I Speaker 2 (14:10) don't believe in Drew Locke. And just his personality? Yeah, yeah, yeah, just personality. Okay. I don't know him. A little cockiness and all that. You don't have to go all the Speaker 3 (14:18) time. Speaker 2 (14:18) You Speaker 3 (14:18) don't like his swag? Speaker 2 (14:18) It's Speaker 3 (14:18) not that. I Speaker 2 (14:19) enjoy a good amount of swag, but... Speaker 3 (14:22) Yes, you do. You don't have to do it all the time. Like, it screams insecurity. Trust me, I have a lot of insecurity, and I show it in different ways, too. And he's fine. He's probably a top five backup in the NFL. And I think that works for Seattle. I would have put them honorable mention. And the same thing with the Rams. I would have honorable mentioned, I will honorable mention the Rams. Speaker 2 (14:46) They didn't win. You don't have to win if you're playing. If you're playing. They play the 49ers. And you win 14 hours the day before the game. And not only that, they lose their crown jewel of the offseason in week one in Miles Garrett. That was wild. Four weeks? Four weeks, yeah. It feels very Aaron Rodgers-esque. And four Speaker 4 (15:04) weeks, too, you're talking about a scope. And then it's talking about getting him back in football shape because you've got to heal from the scope. You're not doing much for the first two weeks. That's a good Speaker 3 (15:13) point. So when he does come back and play, he can't go as hard. So how effective Speaker 4 (15:15) is he at that four-week mark, right, when they take him off IR and everything like that? Is he the same guy that he was before the season started? I don't know that. Maybe he is because we've seen miraculous recoveries. We saw Kittle out there who tore his Achilles heel in January. We saw Mahomes last night. You said tore his Achilles heel? Achilles. Yeah. Heel. Not his heel. His Achilles. The Speaker 3 (15:38) Achilles heel. Speaker 4 (15:39) It was the Achilles heel of the heel, but the Achilles was attached to the heel. So technically it tore off his heel. Yeah. But, I mean, you've seen Speaker 2 (15:47) some remarkable people come back from injury already. So if Miles Garrett were still playing, I probably would have put him around Speaker 3 (15:54) five or so. But that is very unfortunate. If he would have just carried out the American flag and run it out, it had totally been Aaron Rodgers. Do you know the actual story of the Achilles' heel? No, please. So it is Greek mythology. And it's basically when she dipped him in, the only thing she couldn't dip in the water is his heel. And so that was the... When she dipped him in? Yeah. So Achilles' mother, as an infant... was trying to make him immortal. And so what she did is she dipped him into the magical river, and the magical river that would keep him immortal. Obviously, every part of him that gets wet and touched by the water is able to keep him immortal, but she had to hold him by the heel, which is the Achilles. Wow. And so that's the part that couldn't get wet because she couldn't get her hand wet. And so that's how he died. They shot him, according to pathologists, shot him in the heel. That was his Achilles heel. No, these are all real Speaker 4 (16:43) stories. Speaker 3 (16:45) You know, some people would say that's true. Speaker 2 (16:47) They're Speaker 3 (16:47) actually fascinating. I do love Greek mythology. But that is why he was shot by a poisoned arrow in his Speaker 2 (16:52) Achilles, the one spot he was vulnerable. Wow. They finally figured him out, huh? Or just got very, there were just 10,000 arrows coming out. Just very lucky. Yes.