Touchdown Wire's Power Rankings Podcast

Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield get you ready for the 2022 NFL preseason and regular season with a look at every NFL team through the view of Doug's recent power rankings, and where every team stands as they come into the new campaign. We have separated teams into tiers:

1. Total rebuilds: Falcons, Bears, Jaguars, Panthers, Seahawks, Giants, Lions.
2. Feisty, but not there yet: Jets, Texans
3. WTF? Patriots, Cardinals, Dolphins, Commanders
4. Possible playoff teams with major concerns: Steelers, Vikings, Colts, Titans, Saints
5. The Deshaun Watson category: Browns
6. Great, if everything goes right: Eagles, Raiders, Cowboys
7. One potentially fatal flaw away: Chargers, Ravens, 49ers, Packers
8. Have to take them absolutely seriously: Chiefs, Buccaneers, Bengals, Broncos, Rams
9. Who’s going to stop them? Bills

Check it out, and enjoy the new season!

It's time to get ready for the last month of the season with the Touchdown Wire Week 14 NFL Preview Podcast! This week, Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield get into the following topics, using tape study and advanced metrics:

• Why Bill Belichick's strategy and Josh McDaniels' adjustments against the Bills were pure genius... and why it would have been entirely different in a weather-neutral situation;
• Why the Bills might be the AFC East's third-best team right now (Helllllooooo, Dolphins);
• Why the Vikings are in trouble on defense, no matter who they face;
• How the Ravens' passing game has fallen apart of late, and why it's about more than Cover-0 blitzes;
• Why Urban Meyer and Matt Rhule might want to think about going back to school;
• How the Chiefs' defensive turnaround became the AFC's sneaky-big story;
• How Zach Wilson let the game come to him against the Eagles, and why that could also work against the Saints;
• Why Micah Parsons is the NFL's most impactful defensive player, and how rare his rookie season really is;
• Why Jared Goff's Offensive Player of the Week week is about to come to an abrupt end against the Broncos;
• Why the Bills' problems extend beyond power-rushing teams, and how the Buccaneers can exploit them; and
• Why it's so important that Sean McVay finally worked with the offense he has, and not the offense he wants.

Former NFL offensive lineman Brian Baldinger, who played with the Cowboys, Colts, and Eagles from 1982 through 1992, now works with the NFL Network and many other outlets as an analyst these days, and he's one of the best in the business. Baldinger recently spoke with Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar on a number of subjects, including: 

• His CoachTube series of seminars, in which he covers offensive and defensive line play, receiver techniques, and how to play tight end and fullback;
• How much he absolutely loved the Patriots' run-centric game plan against the Bills (this tracks; I have never seen so many offensive linemen so excited about a single game in my life); 
• Whether the Eagles should go forward with Jalen Hurts or Gardner Minshew at quarterback; and
• Why the rest of the NFL had better watch out for the Dolphins. 

As always, talking ball with Baldy is fun and informative, so check it out! 

Zach Ertz is playing for a new NFL team for the first time in his nine-year career after the Eagles traded him to the Cardinals in October. Ertz has been a welcome addition to the Valley of the Sun, catching 23 passes on 31 targets for 279 yards and three touchdowns in six games after catching 18 passes on 31 targets for 189 yards and two touchdowns in six games in his former home. 

Ertz and his wife Julie, a great athlete in her own right, have taken their passion for helping others from Philly to Glendale as well, and this week, they took kids from a local Boys & Girls Club to a shopping spree at DICK's Sporting Goods. Ertz talked with us about that, as well as his fit in Kliff Kingsbury's offense, how Kyler Murray is an impressive as any player he's ever seen, and how it feels to perhaps make the second Super Bowl stretch run in his career. 

As the 2021 NFL season rolls merrily along into December, matchups turn interdivisional, contenders separate from pretenders, and (cliché alert) THE GAMES JUST MATTER MORE. 

Cliché or not, they actually do! Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield have you covered as we prepare for a jam-packed Week 13 with their weekly podcast, which is also jam-packed with tape notes and advanced metrics. First, we get into Mark's recent mock draft (which will be of interest to Lions, Jets, Giants, and Eagles fans, especially), and then, the matchups. 

Among the topics discussed: 

• How can the Bills overcome their recent limitations on both sides of the ball to take on a Patriots team that seems to have everything covered at this point? Perhaps most importantly, how can the Bills do it without Tre'Davious White?
• Why are the Saints so passive on defense of late, and why they'd better turn that tendency around against the Cowboys on Thursday night;
• Why Matt Ryan has taken a serious backslide in the last three weeks, and where the openings are (and are not) to turn that around against the Buccaneers;
• Why in the battle between Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, one running back will probably decide the Chargers-Bengals game;
• Why Miami's defense is more multi-dimensional than you may think (and why Miami's offense is almost entirely one dimension at this point);
• Why Frank Reich was indeed right to avoid running the ball against the Buccaneers; and why he'll reverse course against the Texans;
• Does the Washington Football Team have its quarterback of the (near) future?
• Why it's time for Sean McVay to open up his playbook past the pages marked "Empty Formation," and one Jaguars stat you will not believe;
• Why the Steelers are in all kinds of trouble leading into their game with the Ravens; and
• Why Patrick Mahomes could have a rough go against the Broncos' match-heavy defense, even as the Chiefs' defense has taken a major step forward.
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Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield already previewed the Thanksgiving Day games in a special podcast, and now, it's time to get deep into the Sunday and Monday games in Week 12 with tape notes and advanced metrics. 

In this podcast, Mark and Doug discuss (among other things):

• How the Steelers can overcome their injuries to stay relevant in the AFC North, and why the Bengals' passing game is weird again;
• Why Cam Newton was the perfect orchestrator of Joe Brady's offense all along;
• Why Ryan Tannehill's only chance of dealing with the Patriots' vicious defense is a whole lot more play-action than Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing is dialing up;
• How the Eagles have grown under their new coaching staff on both sides of the ball, and why Darius Slay is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate;
• A Jaguars stat you have to hear to believe;
• Why the Chargers are limiting Justin Herbert's deep passing options (Hint: IT MAKES NO SENSE);
• How the presence or absence of one Buccaneers player will have a (literally) huge effect on how well the Colts are able to run the ball;
• How Sean McVay needs to re-draw the structure of his offense to make the most of what he has left (especially that Odell Beckham Jr. guy);
• How the 49ers and Browns have each backed themselves into a corner in the passing game ahead of some fairly epic matchups;
• A few footnotes (Ha!) on Aaron Rodgers; and
• Why Pete Carroll's desire for the Seahawks to run the table has a formidable opponent in the concept of reality.

Thanksgiving Day is near, and that means it's time for NFL football! Also, the Lions and the Bears! With that in mind, Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield are here to preview the three Turkey Day games on the slate, for better or worse. 

First, Mark and Doug give their holiday cooking tips, and Mark reveals the tremendous culinary challenge he's about to face. 

And then, the football! Among the topics discussed:

• A few reasons to actually be thankful for the Lions-Bears matchup, and whether Detroit and Chicago respectively should hang on to Jared Goff and Khalil Mack;
• Why the Raiders-Cowboys matchup could be more of a rock fight than a shootout, and why the "blueprint" talk surrounding Dak Prescott has gained legitimate steam; and...
• What do you do if you're Sean Payton, and you may be short your top two running backs and both starting tackles, and you have to deal with the Bills' awesome pass defense? 

Week 11 of the season is here, and with things starting to define themselves from a postseason perspective, and divisional games taking over very soon, the matchups are more important than ever. So, Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield are back with their weekly podcast, featuring all kinds of tape notes and advanced metrics! 

This week's primary topics:

• Why everyone needs to calm down about the Rams and Odell Beckham Jr.;
• How can the Falcons contend with the Patriots' improving defense and power-based offense?
• How the Bills got effectively creative with their run game last week, and the severe challenges Buffalo's defense presents for Carson Wentz;
• Why Justin Fields vs. the Ravens' pass defense is an advantage for Fields unless Matt Nagy messes everything up;
• Why the Browns' get-well opportunity against the Lions might not mean much for their season down the road;
• Why defense has made the difference for the Packers, and the player who has made that so;
• Joe Flacco? What? Why?
• How Jalen Hurts' recent uptick will be desperately needed against the Saints' dominant defense;
• Why Deebo Samuel has been as important to his offense as any player in the NFL;
• Is it time to start worrying about Joe Burrow?
• Why the Cowboys' defense will give Patrick Mahomes more trouble than the Raiders' defense did, and why Dak Prescott is the NFL MVP to date;
• Why the Cardinals' run defense could be their fatal flaw;
• When is Joe Lombardi going to realize what he has in Justin Herbert; and
• What is going on with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers?

Week 10 of the NFL season is here, and as usual, Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield break it all down with tape notes and advanced metrics. 

On this week's podcast:

• The Cam Newton news came down live during our recording, which means that you get to hear Doug's Van Halen ringtone;
• Doug's and Mark's All-Underrated teams for the first half of the season; 
• Not that it will matter against the Dolphins, but do the Ravens have a fatal flaw with their pass defense?
• Why the Cowboys had better watch out against a much-improved Falcons offense;
• Why the Saints and Trevor Siemian have a real problem against a Titans defense that has been exceptional over the last month;
• How the Jaguars can continue an unexpected defensive stretch against the Colts and Carson Wentz;
• Why the Odell-less Browns might have more issues against the Patriots than they did against the Bengals (and where Odell fits best once he decides on a new team);
• What's wrong with the Bills' offense, and why even the Jets may not provide an easy fix;
• Poor, Poor Jared Goff. You have the Steelers this week. Ouch.
• Why Tampa Bay-Washington could be a similar game to last season's wild-card rockfight;
• Why it's time for Chargers OC Joe Lombardi to turn Justin Herbert loose;
• How the Eagles can deal with Denver's deep passing game, and why Jalen Hurts is in for a complicated day against Vic Fangio's plastering defense;
• Why the Packers have offensive problems even if Aaron Rodgers is back;
• Why last week's reductive approach for Patrick Mahomes will not work against the Raiders; and...
• Why you really don't want to be Kyle Shanahan on Monday night.

Week 9 of the NFL season is here, and as usual, Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield are here to break it all down with tape notes and advanced metrics! 

Among the topics discussed this week:

Was Mike White's historic first start for the Jets about anything more than the Bengals playing a really passive defense? The Colts are about to tell us;

How can the Browns solve the Odell Beckham problem? (Hint: It involves making him more than a decoy on deep passes);

What can the Broncos to to stop a Cowboys offense that is performing at an historic rate no matter who's playing quarterback?

Now that the Dolphins are "stuck" with Tua Tagovailoa, how can they maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses in the structure of their offense?

Why Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen deserves a whole lot of head coach interviews in the offseason, and how Sean Payton must outdo himself with his quarterback situation;

Why we're all about to remember just how much Lamar Jackson has improved as a pure passer;

Whether the Eagles can continue what has been a rough stretch for Justin Herbert;

Jordan Love or Patrick Mahomes: Which quarterback has more attendant issues at this point in the season? (And yes, we can't believe we just asked that question);

The one thing that could get the Cardinals bounced right out of the playoffs if they don't fix it;

How Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing can re-do an offense that has lost its identity without Derrick Henry, and...

Why the Bears should keep Matt Nagy out of the building if they're to have any hope against the Steelers.