00:00Let's go back to yesterday. After the game, Kevin Stefanski was sitting down talking with the media
00:06and he gave an update on Michael Panix and whether this is the time to be worrying about his status.
00:12To be fair, I don't think now's the time to know what the plan is this exact week.
00:17I'm really focused on this week. Like I've told you guys all along and throughout,
00:22Mike is continuing to progress. So we'll work through that this week.
00:25Okay, cool. Let's work through it.
00:27You know, I think the one overall takeaway that we can all have coming off of yesterday
00:32is whether or not Cooper Rush, Tommy Reese, Kevin Stefanski.
00:35The one overall takeaway is we need to see what Michael Panix is, period.
00:38And it needs to happen now.
00:43I'm cautious even to bring this up, but at what point do you, as the player, Mike,
00:52and as a teammate, being in these situations that you were, you were a captain,
00:59at what point do you say, you know what? I gotta, I gotta go. I gotta be out there.
01:03I can't, cause he, cause there was this, the statement was made where he said at one point,
01:08it's not fair to my teammates if I'm not out there a hundred percent.
01:13At what point do you look in the mirror and say, it's not fair to my teammates if I don't
01:19go out there
01:19and fight with them, even if I think I'm not a hundred percent,
01:21because most of them are not a hundred percent and they need me.
01:27It's, it's, it's something I struggle with, man.
01:30In this entire situation, because you guys know that most of these situations we talk about,
01:34I try to go from the player's perspective first, but there's always multiple sides to that.
01:39I think Michael Panix understands how big and how important this year is for him and his career as a
01:45quarterback.
01:46I think that, especially when I look at like Bryce Young, first round receiver, first round receiver,
01:51first round right tackle, first, like big contracts along the offensive line.
01:55I don't know, like you, you had to spend multiple years giving Bryce everything that he kind of needed.
02:00You go sign Robert Hunt, you guys, you know, go sign multiple pieces.
02:04I think Michael Panix is being cautious for a good reason.
02:07This is, there's a lot of pressure on this upcoming stretch that he's about to go through.
02:12But I also think that as a leader, you start getting to the point where you feel bad about the
02:20players around you
02:21having to go through what they're going through, a 30-point loss at home, getting booed, you know,
02:26the backup quarterbacks having to go in, the four-string quarterbacks having to go in,
02:30Drake London's yelling at fans, Kevin Stefanski's having to have press conferences
02:34where he's asked about you every two minutes.
02:36It just, there's a line in there somewhere, and I'm not quite sure where it is,
02:40but we're getting really, really close.
02:42Probably not there just yet, but we're getting really, really close
02:45where I feel like inside of that locker room you start getting a selfish label.
02:49And that's important to keep in mind.
02:51It really is.
02:52I think that Mike, like I said this all along, if Mike doesn't feel ready, Mike doesn't feel ready.
02:57Nobody can tell him when he feels ready.
02:59However, if I'm practicing and he's getting reps with the ones for the last three weeks
03:03or whatever it is and still has to get over whatever hurdle it is,
03:07I start as a teammate, I think, finding that to be a hard pill to swallow.
03:12We did see a lot of frustration on the sidelines yesterday.
03:16You mentioned Drake London.
03:17He was kind of chirping with some fans yesterday.
03:19If you watched that video close enough, you can read his lips.
03:21He did later apologize for that interaction.
03:25But John Robinson, though, when they showed him, he looked absolutely dejected.
03:28And Kevin Stefanski did address these players being frustrated.
03:30I think lack of success, period, has a trickle down to all human beings.
03:35And we've got great resolve.
03:37We've got great resilience in that locker room.
03:39We'll make sure that we're ready to go Thursday night.
03:43Short week's the greatest thing ever for this week.
03:45100%.
03:46I mean, that's the – it's just a thing that – the first thing I think I thought of,
03:54and you heard it from some of these guys talking about the short week,
03:57you get it right – you kind of get right to work
04:00and you move on from this.
04:02This is one of those ones where the old saying, right, Mike,
04:05you burn the – you just burn the tape.
04:07Burn it.
04:08There's not much to learn from it.
04:10Although there is stuff to learn from that, I think.
04:13It just – it's – I don't know.
04:17You need nine.
04:18You do.
04:19And you went in there thinking it would be nine or two.
04:22And you didn't have – you don't have either one.
04:24Yeah.
04:25And it's just – oh, boy, it's frustrating.
04:28You know those guys are frustrated.
04:29And that's the – and you guys, please back me up because this has been the
04:34conversation this entire time whenever we hear, what do you have to lose?
04:39What do you have to lose?
04:41This is why coaches look down on us as fans and say sometimes,
04:45this ain't fantasy football.
04:46This is not a matter of moving one guy out of a flex slot
04:49and putting another guy in.
04:51These are personalities.
04:52These are people.
04:53They work at a company with a lot of pressure on them.
04:57And when you're under the microscope all the time the way Drake Lennon is
05:01or Bajon Robinson is, you have to have something to look forward to.
05:06And it's the same on our side of it, too, as fans.
05:09You have to have something to look forward to.
05:11At some point, you have to have some kind of hope down the road.
05:14It's the conversation we had on Friday.
05:16So, I can't even imagine.
05:18I've been in locker rooms like that, and it's not fun at all.
05:22But I don't know that I've ever been in this early in the season
05:25to where you just feel like there is really no upside in the immediate future.
05:30That's the point that needs to really be heard is it's so early,
05:35and you're already seemingly in this no-man's land.
05:40And it's why – I just don't know how – I don't know how you –
05:46first of all, I don't believe Cooper Rush starts this week.
05:49I don't think Cooper Rush plays.
05:50But I don't know.
05:51Is Cooper Rush on the roster this week?
05:52Well, and I think that – so, before training camp ended,
05:57or before the preseason ended, I kind of thought that if –
06:02that Tua had played himself onto the bubble.
06:05And I still believe that, but because Mike clearly wasn't ready,
06:10you knew that it was still a better option than Cooper Rush, right?
06:14I think Cooper Rush has absolutely played himself off of this roster.
06:18I don't know where you go, but it's going to be a really, really bad look
06:26if nine's not playing and Cooper Rush is starting Thursday night.
06:30I just don't know how you do that.
06:31I don't know what world you can do that.
06:34But – and that was kind of what they told you when they pulled him
06:38to put in a guy that they honestly did not want to play this year.
06:40And it's unfair because Cooper Rush should file into that.
06:44I think in best-case scenarios for Cooper Rush's situation,
06:47you file those quarterbacks into that guy can go get us a win on short notice.
06:51And I'm talking about Drew Locke.
06:53I'm talking about Carson Wentz.
06:54I'm talking about Marcus Mariota.
06:56I'm talking about guys that have shown the ability to do that.
06:58It's not – the shot that he got is not a good enough one.
07:04But nothing he did suggested he needs to be on this roster long-term.
07:08We'll get to Zay in Baltimore in a moment.
07:10He's been waiting on the phone for quite some time.
07:13But, okay, let's say Michael Penix does play on Thursday.
07:15He's QB1.
07:16Who's QB2?
07:17Is it Jack Strand?
07:21I think that's the worst-case scenario that you have to worry about it.
07:23Any answer I'm going to give you, Ali, is something that you could probably
07:26give me right back.
07:27I have no idea.
07:29Sure.
07:30I mean, he was second string – let's put it this way.
07:35He was second string the last two weeks, and you benched a guy in front of him.
07:38So, yeah, the roster spots are now going to – now we're getting into this.
07:44Two weeks in, you just lost AJ.
07:47Brandon Dorlis left the game with a hand injury.
07:50You know, you're getting banged up now in those spots.
07:54Roster spots now start to become a premium.
07:57You're getting to the point where carrying four quarterbacks is ridiculous,
08:01especially when you're having to bench guys.
08:05And so, yeah, I would probably go out on a limb and say I could be way, way,
08:11way wrong like Mike said, but what's – why not?
08:18He – at this point, you know that Cooper Rush is not an option.
08:23It's the – it's – so, I guess.
08:30All right, let's go out to Baltimore.
08:32Zay has been waiting for some time to talk to us this morning.
08:34Good morning, Zay.
08:35How are you feeling this morning?
08:37Hey, good morning.
08:38How y'all doing?
08:39I appreciate y'all having me on.
08:40Yes, sir.
08:42So, basically, I'm going to take it to another direction, right?
08:46So, it's basically about the Bryce Young thing.
08:49Like, because remember 2023, Jesse Bates debut, two interceptions,
08:57strip fumble, we was looking good against Bryce.
09:00And then it's just like as the years go down, it's like, dang, like,
09:05how we wind up going from that to giving up 44 points in 2024.
09:11And in 2025, we get swept.
09:14And then the piggyback of what Mike was saying earlier,
09:17like the timing on Bryce Young's throws, it's like once the ball gets in his hand,
09:22it's like he's getting the ball on in, like, two to three seconds.
09:26So, it's just like what's going on with Xavier Watts, Bates,
09:31like the communication with the secondary, like how can we be able to fix this
09:36moving forward with our secondary against Bryce Young?
09:39Yeah.
09:39Appreciate the phone call.
09:41I think getting – Bryce Young's really good at being slippery in the pocket.
09:47And, you know, it's like he finds – he does a good job of moving.
09:51He's got a really good pocket presence.
09:53The touchdown, which was a big miscommunication, that was an unscouted look.
09:59And Arch talked about it on the broadcast.
10:01He thought that that was probably, like, their best two-point play.
10:03Yeah.
10:03And I know that Watts was communicating – and Watts told Arch after the game,
10:08we were in there doing the interview, and he was like, we were – you know,
10:11I was – it was my fault I was late getting lined up because I was –
10:16it was a – look, we weren't familiar.
10:18We were talking too much, you know, with the linebackers.
10:23Bryce feels confident.
10:24He's got his – he feels like he's at Alabama playing Vanderbilt
10:29when he comes here for whatever reason.
10:31He feels good about it, and it's like, hey, no big deal.
10:34I ain't got nothing to worry about.
10:35They can't – but he also, like, he didn't have a great game,
10:39the week three last year game.
10:42He didn't have – he was – he was average at best.
10:46And at one point in the game, you're saying, Mike,
10:48I thought you'd done a good job containing him,
10:50but then they – then that deep passing game started hitting,
10:54and because it felt like the defense lost their urgency
10:56because they got kind of – they – now the offense was affecting them.
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