Packernet Podcast: Daily Green Bay Packers Podcast
Jul 23, 2026 · 39 min · 12 segments
This week Carson Caldwell fills in, today bringing you the schedule breakdown week by week!
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to the Packernet Podcast.
I am obviously not your host and resident fanalist, Ryan Schlipp.
But if you're a daily listener to Ryan, you might know who I am.
If not...
My name is Carson Caldwell, and as Ryan is on vacation, I have the pleasure of stepping onto this podcast and for the next couple of days give you guys my insights, keep you updated on the news and the notes and all that stuff.
So it should be fun.
And if you enjoy my content, you can find me on Twitter at CaldwellCorner underscore or on all other platforms, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, at the Caldwell Corner.
But, yeah, I'm excited.
I hope Ryan's having a great time on this vacation that he's got going on.
And I'm going to have a great time taking over the podcast for the next couple of days.
But it'll just be a fun first podcast that I'm going to go through today.
I'm going to go game by game and talk about the Green Bay Packers schedule.
We are only six days away.
I don't know what time this podcast is going to come out, but as I'm recording this video, six days away from the Packers' start of training camp.
So eventually, if Ryan doesn't fire me after this and I get a couple more podcasts, we might dig into this training camp a little bit.
But just for today, it'll be a little bit lighthearted talking about the Packers' schedule.
I'll go game by game, talk about the matchup.
whether I think we're going to win, whether I think we're going to lose.
And yeah, so it's going to be pretty easy.
And like I said, if you enjoy, you can follow me on social media.
And without further ado, let's get into it.
All right, so week one, we are going to be going on the road to play the Minnesota Vikings, the new-look Minnesota Vikings.
I know everybody's talking about Kyler Murray, and they're going to have a quarterback competition.
So maybe it'll be JJ, maybe it'll be Kyler, whatever.
It's going to be Kyler.
And before I make this projection or prediction, let's actually go through Kyler's stats a little bit because right now Kyler Murray is very, very hyped up, especially in the Vikings world.
realm and world and I know Ryan hasn't talked too much about the Vikings as a whole he has talked about Kyler Murray but I just want to talk about Kyler Murray a little bit more and the thing about Kyler and the thing the thing that I the reason why I think he gets a lot of hype is is the fantasy football crowd.
If you look at all these fantasy football creators, they're saying, take Kyler.
I'm buying all the Kyler Murray stock.
I'm doing all that stuff.
And if we come over to the fantasy football realm and compare it to the real football realm, you're actually going to see a pretty big difference.
And so let's just start with fantasy, all right? Kyler Murray, if you look him up on Fantasy...
Every year that he has had a fully healthy season, this is where he is ranked among quarterbacks.
His rookie season, he played all 16 games, and he ranked 6th among all quarterbacks.
2020, his second year, he played all 16 games.
He ranked 3rd among all quarterbacks.
And finally, in 2024, he played all 17 games and ranked 10th among fantasy football quarterbacks.
So that tells you all you need to know.
When Kyler Murray's healthy, he's a top 10 quarterback, right? Well, that's what all the fantasy football people think.
And let's take a look at actually what PFF has to say about that.
So to probably your surprise, and when I was going through before I started the show and was looking through some of the Kyler Murray stuff and stats and all that stuff, I was actually kind of shocked to see how good Kyler Murray actually has been.
You would think that leaving the Cardinals and all that nonsense that he's been going through, he actually would be a horrible quarterback, and that's what I thought.
I knew he had flashes here and there, but I was shocked to see.
These are his grades from 2019 on to 2025.
Rookie season, 65, then 83, 83, 67, 71, 83, and 72.
Those are his stats.
And I was like, all right, well, I mean, obviously it's not the most amazing thing ever.
I mean, Jordan Love, he had a 90 PFF grade.
Stafford, he gets up in the 95s.
So we're not talking about that type of quarterback.
And when people say that Kyler Murray is a sleeper MVP, they're trying to put him up there with those type of quarterbacks, and we're not going to let that happen.
But overall, he's a pretty decent quarterback.
I looked at 2024 when he had an 82 grade, and he actually ranked 18th in the NFL.
So not too bad, but also not too good either.
Funny enough, actually, I just looked at this, even though it's a little bit irrelevant.
I just looked for fun just because I like to hate on the Bears.
I'm sure a lot of you guys like to hate on the Bears.
I know Ryan does.
So I was like, you know what, let me check Caleb Williams, see what that's going on.
Caleb Williams, his rookie season, had a 67.
And his second season, his big breakout season where he was so elite in the NFL, he had a 77 PFF grade.
Kyler Murray... has actually beat his big breakout, you know, Caleb Williams, best quarterback in the NFL, 77 grade for Caleb Williams.
Kyler Murray has beat that, what, one, two, three times in his career.
So that was just, you know, something that I noticed that was pretty funny.
And actually, his worst grade is actually on par with Caleb Williams' worst grade, which is also something to keep an eye on.
But, yeah, a little fun fact for you.
Taunt your Bearfan friends a little bit if you have any.
But that's not the point.
That's besides the point.
The point is Kyler Murray is actually a little bit better than I was thinking and that probably you were thinking as well.
Um...
And honestly, with the quarterback thing that Ryan has been going through, he's been talking about Baker Mayfield a little bit, and it kind of reminded me of that, where Baker Mayfield, everyone kind of said he's not that good, and then you look at the stats, and it's like, well, actually, he's pretty good, and he always has been pretty good.
His rookie year, 83 PFF grade, then 75, then 85, then 64, then 50 with L.A. and Carolina, 77, 86, and 76.
So if you remove that little weird stint with the Rams and the Panthers, he has 83, 75, 85, 63, 77, 85, 70.
He's really just a better version of Kyler Murray.
And honestly, I mean, obviously their play styles are completely different.
Kyler Murray is very small.
He likes to run around and throw things up.
Baker, he likes to run around a little bit but not too much.
And he's 6'1".
He's a little bit bigger.
So obviously their play styles are a lot different.
But as far as the grades, they are actually pretty similar.
Then looking at Minnesota just kind of as a whole, they have Aaron Jones, who had a 65 grade last year, and he's not going to be getting any better.
He's still aging.
He's a very old running back.
He's going to fall off at some point.
And honestly, last year was that fall off.
He ranked 51st out of 59 running backs.
He's not the same Aaron Jones that we know and love.
So that's a big, big thing for the Vikings.
They have Kyler Murray, who, like I said, he's average.
He's nothing too special.
But he is something to be afraid of.
I mean, going into the game, you can't just say he's going to turn the ball over five times and we're going to be just fine.
He's going to be a quarterback that can at least be serviceable.
Aaron Jones, not going to be a very good running back.
Obviously, they have Justin Jefferson, they have Jordan Addison, they have Jawan Jennings.
Those are their big three receivers, and honestly, it's a decent group.
Jawan Jennings ranked 62nd.
That's wide receiver two level.
And Jordan Addison ranked 72nd.
That's wide receiver three level.
And then Justin Jefferson ranked 16th.
Obviously, we know he can be better than that.
But even still, that's almost top 15.
That's still wide receiver one level.
So they have the big one, two, three with Jefferson, Jennings, and Addison.
Their offensive line is nothing to be jealous of, but it's also nothing to be licking your chops at either.
They have O'Neal on the right tackle, Brian O'Neal, who had an 84 run blocking grade, 76 pass blocking grade, and 81 just offensive grade in general.
That ranked 12th in the NFL.
So they have a top 12 right tackle in the NFL, which is pretty solid.
The tackle is obviously the most important position of an offensive line.
Left tackle is probably a little bit more important with Christian Dersaw.
He had a down year this year at only a 65 grade, which ranks 45th.
But if you look at years past, he had 81 grade, 82 grade, 90 grade, and 71.
That ranked 11th, 8th, 2nd, and 36th.
So he's never been a pushover left tackle.
He's actually pretty good.
But for whatever reason this past season, he didn't have that great of a season.
I would say it's a pretty safe bet that he'll get back to being a good player.
He's only 27 years old, and I doubt that his best football is behind him.
It's probably still in front of him.
He's a former first-round pick.
I mean, he's just a stud.
So the fact that they have him still is kind of scary.
They have a good left tackle, a good right tackle.
Their interior offensive line is where...
Javon Hargrave and Devontae Wyatt are going to be licking their chops because their center is Blake Brandle, who has a 61 grade.
Since his rookie season, he's been 53, 55, 55, 55, 61.
So he's a horrible center.
And he's 29 years old.
He's almost 30.
He's not about to enter some crazy prime.
He's not a great center.
He's pretty bad.
So Javon Bullard, or not Javon Bullard, Javon Hargrave in the middle, that'll be a good matchup for us.
Donovan Jackson at left guard.
He was a rookie last year.
He had a 59 grade.
Who knows? Maybe he'll take a year or two leave.
He was a first-round pick, so you can't rule it out.
But last year, he was not a good football player.
So going into week one, I'm confident in that as well.
And then on the other side, the right guard, Will Fries, he actually had an 87 grade in 2024.
But besides that, he's been 50-50, 60-60.
So nothing to be too scared of.
He was a seventh-round pick.
He's a no-name and not too worried about him.
Good thing is one of the games that we are without Micah Parsons, they are really good on the exterior or the outside of their offensive line, the left tackle and the right tackle, which is good because obviously we don't want Micah to get shut down and we don't have to worry about it.
All of our pressure will likely come from the interior where we have Devontae White and Javon Hargrave.
I think those guys are going to eat.
And like I said, Kyler Murray likes to run.
So if he starts to run outside the pocket, that's where guys like Lucas Van Ness can start to eat.
And who knows, maybe Josh Sweat.
Maybe we'll make a deal for Josh Sweat or something, and he'll go out there and dominate as well.
And then they have TJ Hawkinson at tight end too.
We know.
Over the past years, he's nothing to be too afraid of, but also he's solid.
I mean, he lives in the 70s, the mid-70s.
Besides this last year, he had a 61 grade, but he's a solid tight end.
Nothing too good, nothing too bad.
Overall, that's the story of the Vikings.
They are not too good, not too bad.
Flipping over to the defense, they actually have really good corners.
They have...
James Pierre, who is 29 years old, so who knows when he's going to fall off.
That's pretty old for a corner.
But since his rookie year, he's been very up and down.
80, 58, 69, 40, 56, and then this year a huge breakout, 86 grade.
Who knows if that's going to continue, but...
Still someone that you have to be afraid of.
Then on the other side, Isaiah Rogers.
He's been good his whole career.
He's 28 years old.
85, 70, 80, 73, 73.
He's been very solid his entire career.
Another guy that just not necessarily you have to be afraid of.
but just a guy that you can't throw everything at.
And then their real liability comes inside the slot.
Byron Murphy Jr., who had a ton of picks in 2024, he had a 73 PFF grade.
Besides that, 48, 64, 58, 66, 58, 58.
He's not a great player.
And so that's pretty much it.
I mean, their defensive line is average, nothing to be scared of.
Their linebackers are average.
Their safeties are average.
Besides Josh Metellus, who's way below average.
He ranked 75th last year.
In his rookie season, he had a 43 grade.
I mean, six-round pick.
If the Packers can just execute in this game, we're going to get the win, which is why I'm going to give us the win.
I think the Packers, even without Michael Parsons on defense, can create pressure up the middle in that interior offensive line.
And I think the Packers are going to go in there and get it done.
I'm not a huge Kyler Murray fan.
Obviously, if we go quarterback by quarterback, Jordan Love is better.
Sure, they can have Justin Jefferson if they want, but Christian Watson is still a stud.
We have Tucker Kraft.
We have a better offensive line, better defensive line.
You can give them corners, but, I mean, at the end of the day, does it really matter that much? This team is a lot better than the Vikings, and I'm going to give us that win on the road to start our season 1-0.
Then the semi-new look New York Jets with Geno Smith at the helm with Brees Hall in the backfield, Garrett Wilson.
They just drafted a new tight end.
I think the Packers are going to get this one done as well.
We might struggle with the Jets like we have in years past, but the Jets are just so bad.
They are a laughingstock of the NFL.
I'm not going to do much analysis with this one.
It's the New York Jets.
Packers are going to get it done.
And I know you can't just look at the schedule and say, oh, bad team win, good team lose, bad team win, good team.
But, I mean, come on.
The Packers are going to go in there.
They're going to dominate.
They're going to get the win.
Then another semi-new look team with the Atlanta Falcons.
I'm actually, not that I'm a Falcons fan, but I do like the way that this Falcons team is constructed.
I'm a huge Drake London fan.
B. John Robinson is one of, if not the best running backs in the NFL.
Their offensive line is very, very good.
They have Kyle Pitts, who's a decent tight end.
They drafted a receiver to get some extra help.
Really their only problem on offense is their quarterback.
But I'm not ruling out Tua just yet.
He was very good on the Dolphins for a major stretch of his career.
Then the injuries kind of caught up and he fell off a little bit.
But if he can just be serviceable.
And also they got Kevin Stefanski from the Browns who can be a good offensive mind.
And when he had Nick Chubb, I mean, they were unstoppable.
And so now he has Bijan Robinson.
He can use Tua in the way that he wants to be used.
And I think that this offense is actually going to be very, very good and give this Packers team kind of a struggle more than you would think.
This isn't a pushover Falcons team like it has been in the past.
But Thursday night football at Lambeau Field, home opener for the Green Bay Packers, so first home game for us.
And...
The Packers have won 13 straight home games.
I mean, or not 13 straight home games, 13 straight home openers.
And it's not going to start here.
They're going to get it done on Thursday night football, and they're going to start their season 3-0.
Then week four, the Packers go down south and play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I know it's a lazy narrative that the Packers struggle in the heat, so I'm not going to use it because I actually don't believe that.
We've won in Tampa before.
It's not that.
I mean, we win in Jacksonville.
We win in Miami.
It's really nothing too crazy.
I don't think that's a true narrative, but I am going to give this one to the Buccaneers because I think their team is constructed actually pretty well.
Their defense is solid.
Baker Mayfield is a really good quarterback.
They have Emeka Igbuka going into year two who, you know, he was pretty solid in year one, so...
In year two, he'll just have more opportunity.
They don't have Mike Evans anymore.
He went to the 49ers.
So I think Emeka Ibuga could really shine in year two, and I think Baker Mayfield will do everything he can to get this win.
And it's just a tough game.
You win three in a row to start the season.
You still don't have Micah Parsons, so that's a big thing.
And at this point, you don't want to travel all the way down to Florida to play the Buccaneers.
It's a really tough place to play against a really solid NFC team.
And unfortunately, even though it hurts to lose this game, I think it's going to happen, and the Packers will drop to 3-1.
Then the Packers are back home to play the Chicago Bears, a revenge game.
And I am very, very, very excited for this one.
At home, at Green Bay, against the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson, you know, the whole squad.
It's going to be very amped up, and I cannot wait.
Let's actually take a look at the Bears roster now.
We looked at the Vikings.
I don't want to look through every single team because it's going to take forever, but The divisional teams, let's just take a look.
We already talked about Caleb Williams and his grades, and we've heard so much about Caleb Williams in the last couple weeks, which has been enjoyable.
So, Ryan, if you're listening to this, don't feel bad.
I love listening to Caleb Williams and Jordan Love.
Seriously, I really do.
Don't feel bad, but at the same time, we know everything about Caleb Williams.
So let's take a look at just the Bears as a whole.
All right, let's start on offense.
Caleb Williams ranked 13th in PFF grade in the NFL with a 77 PFF grade.
DeAndre Swift, that running back, was top 10.
He had an 83 PFF grade, which ranked 9th.
The receivers are not very good.
Roma Dunze, who was dealing with a foot injury all of last season, which now we know that is going to linger for the rest of his career.
He said that he's just going to have to deal with it the rest of his career.
It's going to be uncomfortable.
It's going to be, you know, whatever.
He said he's just going to have to get used to it and fight through the pain.
He had a 70 PFF grade last year, which ranked 46th, a wide receiver, you know, two level.
Luther Burden, who had a 76 PFF grade, they were really excited about that guy, man.
You go on Twitter and just start scrolling, you're going to see Luther Burden, Luther Burden, Luther Burden.
He's all right.
He ranked 27th, but he's not anything to, you know.
I don't even know.
He's not that good.
But he ranked 27th in the NFL.
Even if he takes a year or two leap and ranks top 20, I'm not too worried about him.
Yes, our corners aren't super great, but it is what it is.
And then finally, Kalief Raymond, who is also that wide receiver two type of level.
The last four years, he's been 72, 75, 71, 70.
He's 5'8".
He's small, but he's decent.
He's good enough.
But he is turning 32, so who knows? Eventually, he's going to start that downward trajectory.
Just who knows when.
Then going to the offensive line, their left tackle, Braxton Jones.
He's been in the 70s pretty much his whole career, except last year he ranked 55th.
Left guard, Joe Thune.
I don't know if it's Thune or Tooney.
I'm going to go with Thune because Tooney sounds really weird, and I don't want to pronounce it like that.
So I'm sorry to Joe if he's listening to this, but I'm calling him Thune.
Maybe I'll just call him Big J or something.
Joe.
Big Joe.
All right, well, Big Joe, he's been good his whole career.
I mean, he's been with the Chiefs pretty much his whole career besides the last year.
And since his rookie year, 65, and then after that, 74, 77, 79, 74, 80, 78, 74, 80, 77.
So...
Like I said, his whole career he's been pretty good.
He was a third-round pick.
He's 34 years old, but with guys like this, they don't really regress until late in their career.
So at 34 years old, I don't see any reason why he should fall off.
He ranked sixth last year, and with his consistency, he's probably going to rank top five next year.
In the middle, Garrett Bradbury, their center.
His whole career, he hasn't been very good.
57, 61, 60, 67, 60, 62, 59.
Nothing to be afraid of.
34th out of 39 centers.
That's going to be that interior pressure again.
So, Javon Hargrave could have a pretty good first five weeks of the season.
Some people are saying Michael Parsons will be back by now.
I don't think so.
Ryan doesn't think so.
He said he'll be back by the Cowboys game.
I'm going to agree with him on that.
He's going to be back for the Cowboys game.
So, when we talk about this Bears game, Michael Parsons will not be involved.
Javon Hargrave, maybe Josh Sweat, things like that.
And maybe, who knows, Deny Dennis Sutton could get in there and wreak some havoc.
But then at right guard, they have Jonah Jackson, who last year had a 72 PFF grade, which is pretty solid.
The year before that, he had a 68 PFF grade.
Again, decent.
He ranked 18th out of 79, which is good for him.
Then at right tackle, Darnell Wright, who had an 80 PFF grade.
He's a very good offensive lineman.
He was a 10th overall pick, first-round pick.
And his whole career, he's been pretty solid.
His rookie year, he wasn't great at 62, but since then, 80 and 80.
He's a very good tackle, and there's not much to say about that.
Give him credit where credit's due.
Then the breakout bandit for the Chicago Bears, Colson Loveland.
84 PFF grade, ranked third in the NFL.
He's a great tight end.
I mean, I remember watching him at the end of last year and just being like, how the heck is this guy doing this? He was also a 10th overall pick in the first round.
He's only 22 years old, and he's probably only going to get better.
They feed him the ball.
He broke records for most receptions by rookie tight end in a game or whatever, most targets, something like that.
So expect him to be just as good as he was last year.
And his birthday is actually one day away from me, so good for him.
But, yeah, he's a pretty solid tight end.
One of Caleb Williams, if not the best Caleb Williams weapons.
But that's the offensive side of the ball.
And it's not bad.
I mean...
We talk about the Bears as if they're some horrible garbage team, and they're not good.
I mean, their offense is solid.
If Caleb Williams takes another step, cleans some things up, he'll be good.
I mean, he'll be good enough.
now he's probably about an average quarterback.
If he cleans some things up, he'll be a good quarterback.
And I'm not sitting here with my biased Packers cheesehead saying that he's going to be a horrible quarterback.
I wish I would, and I wish I could, but I'm just not going to do that.
And he's not top 10.
He's not elite, but he's good enough to where he can make some magic happen and give us a hard time.
But that's the offense.
Switch over to the defense.
Their defensive line is absolutely horrible.
Going into this game, if Josh Jacobs doesn't have 200 yards, we're doing something absolutely wrong.
Interior defensive line, Grady Jarrett, 60 PFF grade.
Sorry, 56.
Holy.
Deo, who a lot of Packers fans wanted on the other side of the defensive line, 53 PFF grade.
Jervon Dexter, 55 PFF grade.
Their only decent player on their defensive line is Montez Sweat, and even he is outside the top 32 of defensive line edge rushers.
He ranks 37th.
So they don't have a single number one guy on their defensive line.
We should be able to exploit that and dominate them on the ground and in the trenches today.
I mean, from left to right, they rank 106 out of 119, 73 out of 127, 76 out of 127, and 37 out of 119.
That is not a good group.
Then Tyreek Stevenson is their number one corner.
He had a 66 PFF grade, which ranked 39th among corners.
And then they have Jalen Johnson as well, who ranked 68th out of corners.
Their linebackers are their best spot on defense.
They have Tremaine Edwards, who ranked 28th last year.
The year before that, he ranked 54th.
So he's a little bit inconsistent.
Before that, he actually was very consistently good, 11, 6, 10, 19.
So he was good before that, and then he came to Chicago and kind of fell off a little bit.
But regardless, he's still a pretty solid linebacker.
You can't just act like he's not going to have an effect on the game.
But he ranks 28th out of 88 linebackers.
So he is a number one, but he's not a superstar.
Their superstar is Devin Bush.
He had an 87 PFF grade, which ranked 4th in the NFL.
Last year, he had an 80 PFF grade, ranked 9th in the NFL.
So he is completely broken out.
He is a very good...
He's only 28 years old.
He's the guy you've got to worry about on this defense.
As far as safeties, they went out and they got Kobe Bryant from Seattle.
He had a 70 PFF grade last year.
The year before that, a 72 PFF grade.
He's around a top 20 safety.
And then, of course, they drafted Dylan Thienemann, Thienemann, something like that.
First-round pick, 25 overall.
He's expected to be a really, really good player, especially among Bears fans.
They act like he's the second coming of Ed Reed or something.
So we'll see how good he really is, but they got the rookie back there.
So that's the Bears.
That's what they look like.
And I think this first time that we play them, we're going to get it done at home and move to 4-1.
Then the Dallas Cowboys at home.
Obviously, we own the Dallas Cowboys.
But unfortunately for us, this time I'm going to have us losing to the Dallas Cowboys.
What was their biggest weakness all along? It's their defense.
And yes, they lost Micah Parsons.
And hopefully at this point, Micah Parsons makes his return.
He'll probably be on limited snaps.
Maybe he won't.
I don't know.
But regardless, they lost Micah Parsons to us.
But they have Kenny Clark.
They have Quinnen Williams.
They drafted Caleb Downs.
Their defense is much improved.
And their offense is probably...
Top five, at least, in the NFL with Dak Prescott, who's very criminally underrated.
I don't know why people talk as if Dak Prescott is just some horrible quarterback.
He is very, very good at quarterback.
Ever since, like, 2023, he's just been, like, one of the best in the NFL ever since.
And they get George Pickens, who... for some reason broke out last year and was one of the best receivers in the NFL.
They have C.D. Lamb, who's one of the best receivers in the NFL.
Javante Williams, who resurrected his career last year with Dallas, had a really good season.
And if he can be healthy at this point, he's obviously a threat to this Packers defense.
Jake Ferguson, who's one of the best, probably, I mean, top ten tight ends in the NFL.
They have a really solid team.
And I just think a very good NFC opponent.
after a big win against the Chicago Bears.
And then in Week 7, we play the Detroit Lions.
So it's just in between two very important divisional matchups.
I think we get caught in between here, and we're going to drop this game to the Dallas Cowboys.
Then Week 7, we go over to Detroit to play the Detroit Lions, a team that is favored to win the NFC North this year at about 38%, I last saw, to win the NFC North.
It goes Lions, Packers, Bears.
38% for the Lions, 33% for the Packers.
Not sure what it is for the Bears.
But regardless, a very, very tough game on the road.
I say we're going to split with the Lions this year.
And so this time I'm going to have us losing at Ford Field, losing to the Lions.
That moves our record to 4-3.
We're here.
Let's take a look at the Detroit Lions.
Last year they finished 9-8.
Their offense, they have a very good offensive line per usual.
It actually got a lot worse last year than it used to be.
I don't know if it's the Ben Johnson effect or they lost players or whatever.
But Panay Sewell, 95 grade, ranked first at left tackle.
That's obviously the most important position.
Tate Ratledge, guard, had a 70 PFF grade last year as a rookie.
He's a solid guard.
Obviously they lost their big name player due to retirement.
And Christian Mahogany is coming in now.
He had a 91 grade in 2024, but only a 60 grade in 2025.
So who knows what we're going to get in 2026.
And then at center, they have Cade Mays, who has a 61 PFF grade.
His whole career, he's lived in the 60s.
62, 59, 66, 61.
So expect something similar in 2026, something in the 60s.
And then their rookie right tackle, Blake Miller.
It was a first-round selection, 17 overall.
Who knows what he's going to be, but obviously he has high expectations.
Jared Goff finished 12th with a 77 PFF grade.
He's been very good since he's been in Detroit, and even before that, starting in 2017, 75, 84, 72, 71, 60, 72, 85, 78, 77.
Consistently good.
not consistently great he was the first overall pick which is very interesting because you watch him play and you're like this guy is nothing special like you watch Caleb Williams and I know that's that's probably the wrong you know example to use on this podcast but you watch Caleb Williams and you see him make some plays and you're like okay I get why he was a first round pick even if he's not good you get why he's a first round pick you watch Jared Goff and you're like dude this guy sucks but somehow he's good like I don't get it um But, yeah, so 77 for him, ranked 12th in the NFL.
Jameer Gibbs, 85.8 PFF grade.
We'll just call it 86.
That ranked 5th in the NFL.
Again, one of, if not the best running backs in the entire NFL.
And then someone who I think is probably the most underrated.
Honestly, let me say this.
This player that I'm about to say is the equivalent at his position as Jordan Love, in my opinion.
And that's Amon Ross St.
Brown.
He has consistently been a top five wide receiver in the NFL, and no one really talks about him.
You get the fantasy football people that talk about him just because they have to draft him and stuff like that.
But as far as just the NFL world, nobody gives Amon Ross St.
Brown the credit that he deserves.
Same thing with Jordan Love.
They're both top five in their position, and they both get treated like they're absolute scumbags.
So they have Amon Ross St.
Brown.
He ranked third in the NFL last year with a 90 PFF grade.
Since 2022, 90, 91, 90, 90.
I mean, come on.
This guy has been incredible.
He is so scary.
Thankfully...
I can't remember if it was last year or the year before that where he got injured halfway through the game and we didn't have to play him.
But still, he's going to be there probably during this game in Week 7, and he's very scary.
We won't be able to stop him.
We can only hope to contain him.
And then on the flip side, one of the most overrated wide receivers in the NFL, in my opinion.
Another first-round selection, selected 12th overall.
We've been waiting for his breakout for four seasons now, and who knows, maybe it'll be in his fifth year where he finally breaks out, but I doubt it.
Then Sam Laporta, who ranked fifth in the NFL.
His rookie season he ranked sixth.
Last year he ranked tenth.
So overall throughout his career, his three seasons with the Lions, he has been a top ten tight end.
He's dealt with a lot of injuries, but if he can stay healthy, he's one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
And, yeah, I mean, like I said, he's one of the best.
And then Isaac Tesla, who had a couple cool catches last year.
He's very hyped up, maybe because of his name, maybe because – I don't know why, but he had a 63 PFF grade last year.
Then defensively, obviously they have Jack Campbell, who had a 90 PFF grade last year.
The year before that, 78 PFF grade.
That's second and tenth.
So last two seasons he's been top ten in the NFL, split the middle.
He's been about the sixth best, the fifth best, somewhere around that range.
And then obviously Aiden Hutchinson, who is just dominant, 80, 91, 95, 92 PFF grades.
You can't deny that is a great football player.
Besides that, their defensive line sucks.
I know you guys remember last year when there was no Aiden Hutchinson, just how bad that it was where they didn't have him.
I can't remember.
Maybe it was last year.
Maybe it was the year before that.
But whenever they didn't have Aiden Hutchinson, their defensive line was just horrible.
And they couldn't put any pressure.
They went out and they signed Zedarius Smith to try and save their season, and it didn't work out.
But, yeah, their defensive line is not great.
Their secondary is not great either.
Brian Branch is listed as their safety right now, but he's coming off of a torn Achilles.
and he's not expected to be back until December.
So likely when we play him, he's not going to be there.
They have DJ Reed that they signed from the Jets, and he didn't really live up to any expectations.
He had a 65 PFF grade, which is fine.
It ranked 44th, so he's more of a number two corner than a number one.
You know, he's serviceable, I guess.
And then they have Enes Rakestraw, who last year had a 42.
Or he didn't play last year, but 2024, the last year that he played, he had a 42 PFF grade.
So there's that.
Kirby Joseph, who absolutely best safety in the
NFL.
It's not
It's Kirby Joseph, 90 PFF grade, a million interceptions.
He had a 59 grade last year.
He got all that money, and he had a 59 grade last year.
And now we get to laugh.
So everyone laugh at Kirby Joseph, 59 grade.
And, yeah, that's the Lions in a nutshell.
So there you go.
They're going to beat us the first time.
Spoiler alert, we're going to beat them the next time.
But right now, we're sitting at 4-3.
Then week 8, we play an NFC South team, the Carolina Panthers.
That's going to be another win for the Green Bay Packers.
They got the best of us last year.
It's not going to happen again.
The Packers win that one in hopefully dominant fashion.
But we're about 38 minutes in now.
We still have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 weeks to go through.
So we're going to take a break right here, and we'll be back, and we'll finish up.
We'll speed run this because we already went through the deep breakdowns of all the games.
So we'll just speed run this final stretch of games, and then we'll get out of here.
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All right, Week 9 against the New England Patriots.
I think the Patriots, obviously they have Drake May, who's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but I think they really overachieved expectations last year.
And not that I'm saying that they're a bad team, but I think that they just overachieved.
And I think that even though they're still good, they'll come back to expectations this year, or they'll come back down to earth this year.
They went out, they got A.J. Brown, they got Romeo Dobbs.
They're doing all the right things to help their boy Drake May out, but I don't think it's going to be enough.
I think the Packers go on the road and take this one and move to 6-3.
And now it's time to get the brooms out because the Packers are going to be at Lambeau Field against the Minnesota Vikings.
And we already went over that.
We won the first time.
We're going to win the second time.
The Packers move to 7-3.
Now, coming off of a bye week, the Packers have won three in a row.
And we're feeling good about ourselves coming into this L.A. Rams game, but we're scared because they have Matthew Stafford, the reigning MVP.
They have Puka Nakua, one of, if not the best wide receivers in the NFL.
They have former Packers receiver Devontae Adams.
They have Miles Garrett on defense.
This team is looking unstoppable.
Everybody picking the Rams to win the Super Bowl.
Well, guess what? The Packers are going to march into the Rams stadium and knock them out on Thanksgiving Eve.
This is the first game of Toyotathon.
If you follow me on Twitter, you saw this.
This is the first game of Toyotathon, and we're going to let the emotions get the best of us.
We're going to go in there as an underdog and stomp out this super team and beat the Rams.
Matt LaFleur has never lost to Sean McVay as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
And the Packers, they just dominate the Rams.
Whether we're supposed to lose, whether we're supposed to win, it doesn't matter.
In Green Bay, in SoFi, it doesn't matter.
And we already know Jordan Love on holidays, he's dominant.
So on Thanksgiving Eve, you know, maybe that's a little bit nitpicky of a holiday, a little cherry-picked.
But regardless, Jordan Love's going to get it done.
The Packers move to 8-3, and now we've won four in a row, and we're feeling good about ourselves.
And, oh, boy, it doesn't stop there because the New Orleans Saints are going to have to deal with us.
Thankfully for them, they are at home.
But regardless, we're going to go on the road, and we're going to knock out the Saints as well.
And now we have won five in a row.
The Saints are pretty much everybody's sleeper team.
If you ask the average NFL fan what's a bad team from last year that you think could overperform this year and make the playoffs or do whatever, they're going to be like, oh, Tyler Shuck and the— The New Orleans Saints and Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave and all that stuff.
I'm not buying it.
The Packers are going to go in there.
They're going to win.
And they're going to win in dominant fashion.
That's five in a row for the Green Bay Packers.
And it doesn't stop there.
A week 14 prime time matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
A heavyweight fight.
The Packers are going to get it done at home.
Josh Allen, a very good quarterback.
I hate to say that he's due for injury because of how reckless he plays.
But...
It is possible.
But at the end of the day, even if they have Josh Allen, I don't think that they're good enough to get it done.
They've gotten slightly worse year after year after year.
And even though they're still a very elite team, the Packers are also going to be an elite team.
And the Packers are red hot right now.
They beat the Panthers.
They beat the Patriots.
They beat the Vikings.
They beat the Rams.
They beat the Saints.
And back at home, it's going to be no different.
The Packers move to 10-3 with a win against the Buffalo Bills.
And now we stay at Lambeau for the Jeff Halfley game.
the Miami Packers game.
The Packers are 10-3 right now.
We've won six in a row.
We're feeling good about ourselves.
This is a game where Packers fans are like, don't underestimate the Dolphins.
Don't overlook them.
All this stuff.
It's not going to matter.
Jeff Halfley, he's going to come in here thinking he knows what he's going to do against his team.
He's played this offense plenty of times and all this stuff.
The Packers are going to get it done.
That's 7-8. in a row for this Green Bay Packers team, moving them to 11-3.
And now the hype is out of control.
People are saying that the Packers are the best team in the NFL.
It's absolutely amazing.
Jordan Love, MVP, Christian Watson breakout, Micah Parsons, you know, everything is perfect in Green Bay.
Until this game.
And this is where the fans start to panic.
Because the Packers are going to lose to Chicago at Chicago.
They're going to lose to the Houston Texans in Week 17, dropping them to 11-5.
I think, personally, that this Texans team could be the best team in the AFC this year.
They could go all the way to the Super Bowl just based off their defense.
C.J. Stroud, if he can just be average, like...
A little bit above average.
Let's say top 13, top 12 range.
If he can be in that range, this Texans team can go all the way to the Super Bowl without a doubt in my mind.
So, unfortunately for us, we're going to drop two right there.
11-5.
And then, if you remember what I said earlier about the Detroit Lions, we're going to split with them.
So, at home, we're going to take that one in Week 18, moving our record to 12-5.
If you really want to get, you know...
If you want to get weird with it, you can talk about our floor, our ceiling.
Let's say we lose to the Rams, we lose to the Patriots.
That puts us at 10-7, which still isn't horrible.
It's kind of around the range that we're always at year after year after year.
But regardless, I have us going 12-5.
Hopefully that's enough to win the NFC North.
Maybe enough to get a two-seed or a one-seed.
Who knows? But...
Yeah, that's going to do it for today's podcast.
I really hope you guys enjoyed.
I know I can't ever fill the shoes of Ryan, but I'm going to do my best here.
We're going to get into more analytical, newsy stuff as these days go on, but I thought just for my first one, it'd be fun to go through game by game and just talk about the emotions of each game and who's going to win, who's going to lose.
Again, if you enjoyed and you want to hear more from me, at CaldwellCorner underscore on Twitter, and on every other platform, you'll find me at the Caldwell Corner.
But I appreciate you guys, and as always, Go Pack!
