The Tailgate Cam Podcast
A recurring sports-centric podcast for those ranging of casual fandom to the best of ball knowers, we will discuss it ALL unlike most sport shows, and focus on the the viewing, news, results, rumors, and play some fun games along the way!
The Tailgate Cam Podcast
8-24 Podcast NFC North Preview + UFC Fight Night, EPL Opening Week, MLB Weekend, and NFL Preseason Wk2
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Cameron opens the Tailgate by recapping a busy sports weekend from Hernandez vs Robocop UFC Fight Night, English Premier Leagues opening weekend, the latest Matchday from Major League Soccer. Cameron hits on some quick notes from around the NFL's 2nd week of Preseason, and the weekend that was across Major League Baseball.
Then, diving into the NFC, first by recapping the offseasons of the Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings, and then laying out the predictions for the North.
Finally what to watch for this week and a Gold start!
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On this episode of the Tailgate podcast, we are proud to announce our new sponsor, Def Charts, the most innovative site to track player movements, ratings, where those NFL players stack up on their own teams. And they also have some pretty awesome custom team merch. I like to think of it as PFF meeting our lads, but with a little bit more depth. Check them out at def dash charts.com or def underscore charts on Twitter and Instagram.
Intro and Headlines
SPEAKER_00What is up, Tailgators? It's your host, Cameron Clark, and I am back for another very loaded edition of the Tailgate Cam podcast. Let's get right to it. We got EPL to talk to, English Premier League Soccer, a busy weekend in the MLB. We also have the second preseason week. We'll get to a few highlights and notes there. UFC Fight Night, not the biggest card in terms of names, but that main event was something to watch. And then our main story today is previewing our last NFL division. That's the NFC North, the Bears, the Lions, the Packers, and the Vikings. And of course, giving you my predictions, breaking that division down in order, and who will win. Let's get to it.
Soccer scores from EPL+MLS+Others around the world
SPEAKER_00So starting with some notable scores from around the world in soccer in the English Premier League, Manchester City escaped with two late goals to beat Bournemouth. Arsenal was our opening game on Friday afternoon. They defeated Coventry City in the opening game 3-0, sparked by an early goal from Kai Havertz. Manchester United, my Red Devils, lost to newly promoted Hole City 2-0. Two first half goals from Hold City got that crowd going and caused Manchester United to fall behind and not be able to catch up. Liverpool in Newcastle, easily the game of the week from this incredible first week in the English Premier League. And it lived up to the hype. An incredible game, finishing with a penalty kick in stoppage time, with Liverpool forcing the draw at 2-2 against Newcastle. And then finally, Aston Villa, they took a Molly Wapping from Brighton. 4-0. They fall to Brighton Hove Albion. In the MLS, let's go state side. Nashville FC continues to pace the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win over the Columbus crew. Two late goals coming in stoppage time to get the tie and then take the lead before time expired. 16-year-old American Kavan Sullivan scored a goal for the Philadelphia Union as they tie Austin FC 1-1. And number one seed in the West, Vancouver FC, routes Dallas FC with a 5-0 win, two first half goals from Brian White there. And lastly but certainly not least, St. Louis City continues their strong stretch, now unbeaten in 11 straight games and another late goal to push them to victory over second seed in the West Houston Dynamo. Big win. Let's go, City. A few other games around Europe in our notable leagues. Real Madrid got their opening win against Espanol with a 2-1 victory, thanks to an early strike from English star Jude Bellingham. Hey, Jude, he got it done. Real Betis in La Liga defeats Real Sociedad 1-0. Barcelona gets their first win of the year in their first game. They get two goals from Rafinha and Ferman Lopez, and they defeat Elche 5-0. Four different players find the back of the net as Inter Milan defeats Monza 4-1. And last but not least, Napoli gets a late goal from Kevin De Bruyne, the Belgium midfielder, to defeat Genoa 2-0. As we said
UFC Fight Night 8-22 Recap
SPEAKER_00in our headlines, there was a pretty exciting main event in the UFC fight night. There were some other great performances on this card as well. Former NFL player, all conference linebacker at Florida International, Anthony Went. Now it's 8-0 in his mixed martial arts career after a first-round submission. Renier DeRitter absolutely crushed Roman Deliz with a first-round knockout to continue to climb the light heavyweight rankings. And in our main event, a really strong performance, honestly, from both of these guys. Anthony Hernandez, Gregory Robocop Rodriguez. It was an outstanding fight. At different times, I thought this fight was going to end in a knockout or at times even in a submission. Uh, RoboCop dominated for most of this fight. I had it on my scorecard three to two. Some of my good friends that I was texting about this fight with had it four to one in favor of RoboCop, but nonetheless, Gregory Robocop Rodriguez got the win in the main event, helping his case to move to a title fight. And another really strong fight night overall, like I said. But the most surprising thing here, there was no announcements regarding UFC 332, despite the fact that we already know the main event for UFC 333. Some speculation that it could be Cyril Gunn and Tom Aspinall. So maybe we'll get that this coming Tuesday, August the 25th. But strange that we still have not gotten that about a month and a half away from UFC 332.
NFL Preseason Week 2 Notes
SPEAKER_00Now to the NFL. A few notes around the league from week two. Michael Penix fully cleared for contact. That's a positive development in my eyes because that means the Falcons don't have to play two Otaga Vailoa all season. Chiefs running back Emmett Johnson gets his rookie feet rumbling into the end zone and hopes to back up Kenneth Walker the third, but the Chiefs lose to the Bucs 16-15. Cowboys running back, the Cowboys win, and Jaden Blue made sure it happened. He had 75 yards on 15 carries as he is also in a roster battle with Malik Davis to be the backup running back for the Cowboys to Javante Williams. Former Mizzou Tiger Kevin Coleman Jr. had a nice highlight catch for the Dolphins as he fights to have a role in that Dolphins receiver room, which is clearly pretty crowded. There's a lot of guys with not a lot of experience. So maybe Kevin Coleman has a chance to really stick around and do something there for the Miami Dolphins. A team that we will be talking about in the NFC North breakdown later on, JJ McCarthy, experience the full range of experience continued on Saturday. He had a nice long throw to Ty Felton about 53 yards down the field, followed by a pretty brutal stretch in the red zone. So not exactly what you want to see from JJ McCarthy now in his third year, and decidedly now the backup to Kyler Murray, who has been named the starter. Jonathan Brooks, Jalen Coker, Tet McMillan all got involved against the Jaguars third stringers Friday night in Everbank Stadium. And last but certainly not least, Fernando Mendoza struggled in his full first half start against the Houston Texans on Thursday night. And I gotta I gotta also get to this too. While we're talking about the NFL, the the quarterback battle in Cleveland has continued on between Shador Sanders and Deshaun Watson. Shador went 9 of 11 with a touchdown and one interception. He played pretty much the entire first half. And then Deshaun Watson came up for the came in for the second half and went five of 12 for 36 yards. He also threw an interception, and he had some really choice comments after the game, stating how he felt like the fans were booing him and it was disrespectful. And the last time he played on that field, he got injured and tore his ACL. I mean, I just don't know how out of touch and you know, in your own bubble you can be. I get you've been in the NFL and I get you've been a successful, you know, quarterback, you've made lots of money, but dude, read the room. Like, there's a reason people are not rooting for you, brother. Like, it is not a secret. There's a lot of people that want you to fail. There's a lot. You've been accused of sexual assault by 20 plus women. Like I I just the the audacity to get up on an NFL podium and stand there like you are high and mighty and you deserve something from the fans? The fans? Look, take a look around the NFL. Fans boo everybody. Fans boo people just for bad performances. What do you think they're gonna do when they also just don't like you? They don't want you representing Cleveland. They'd much rather have Shador Sanders flashing his Rolex to the crowd every other play than have Deshaun Watson leading the team out. I mean, just I got no more words for it. Just an absolutely inexcusable press conference. The Browns should be finding ways to move on from him today. Now,
MLB Weekend Recap
SPEAKER_00let's wrap up some weekend series in the MLB. The Rays continue to struggle. They lost their first two against the Baltimore Orioles, but the Rays score eight runs in three games, and that's not gonna get it done. And that's what we've seen from the Rays recently that their offense continues to struggle. The Yankees were able to get the series from the Blue Jays, a very exciting series that I was looking forward to. It was my what to watch for on the last podcast. The Yankees take the bookends of this series as Spencer Jones and George Lombard, the kids in pinstripes, continue to play very well and powered by a dominant bullpen. Gotta give a shout out to my guy, the stretch reliever, Paul Blackburn, the second leading uh reliever in the entire MLB in terms of coming in and pitching at least four outs in scoreless relief. Paul Blackburn. Keep dealing, man. Just keep dealing. The Mets took on the White Sox, and the White Sox take two out of three, despite the fact that the Mets outscored them in this series 15-3 over three games, thanks to walk-off home runs on Friday from Jake Rogers and Sunday from Tristan Peters. The Mets continue to slide down the standings. Kate Anderson, former first round pick, number one overall pick in 2025 from LSU, debuts for the Seattle Mariners against the Chicago Cubs. And he goes five in two-thirds innings, allowing three runs, and the Mariners take two of three from Chicago. The Padres and the Twins, the Twins started the series in the last AL wildcard spot. Well, that's certainly not where they finished it. The San Diego Padres sweep the Twins as Tatis goes nine for 14, two home runs and six RBIs. Suddenly, the Padres have won 11 of their last 14 games while the Twins drop out of the last wildcard spot. The Arizona Diamondbacks face the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, and the Reds continue to struggle with their pitching and limiting their opponents' offense as Arizona wins two of three very important games, as they also are only two games back in the NL wildcard race. And then lastly, the Brewers, we don't even need to wait for Sunday night baseball to end because the Brewers already took the first two of three in this series from the Atlanta Braves. Boston sweeps the Giants as the Giants fall just one and a half games ahead of the worst record in baseball, the Colorado Rockies. And then after a pretty bad stretch, the Dodgers have now won six straight games and they have swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. Coming up next, our breakdown of the NFC North. We are going to talk Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings. Stick around.
Chicago Bears Preview
SPEAKER_00It's time to get into our last NFL division of the preseason that we have not yet previewed. And certainly not the least, the NFC North could be one of the most exciting divisions this year. When you talk about, you know, just the amount of quarterbacks that are in this division that could play at a very high level from Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Jared Goff. Maybe not so much in Minnesota, but this should be a very tightly contested. Several teams should be vying for playoff spots out of this division, just as they were last year. There was no team in this division in 2025 that finished with less than nine wins. So very competitive division. So let's get going. We'll start with the Chicago Bears, who went 11-6 last year, won the NFC North. This year they are projected to win nine and a half games. So to recap some of their offseason moves, their biggest move, they traded away former star wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills, who we talked about on the AFZ East podcast with my good friend Dylan Painter. They re-signed both of their starting offensive tackles, Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones. Brought in safety Kobe Bryant, who actually is currently injured and hopefully will be back early on in the season. They brought him in from Seattle, as well as linebacker Devin Bush and offensive lineman Jedrick Wills from the Browns. They did lose both of their starting safeties, Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Bayard, as well as their starting center, Drew Dahlman, retired this offseason. Both of those positions, though, they immediately addressed them in the NFL draft, as they took in the first round Dylan Tieneman from Oregon, who will slot in as a starting safety for them right in week one, as well as Iowa starting center Logan Jones, who again should slot right into their starting lineup this year. So the biggest questions for the Bears to me this year: how will Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson look in year two together? They were a pretty good offense last year. They were sixth in yards, ninth in scoring, but predominantly led by their rushing attack between Kyle Menungay and DeAndre Swift. They were third in the NFL in rushing yards, over 144 yards per game. So to me, the biggest question here is how does Caleb Williams take a leap from his first year with Ben Johnson to now his second year? And I think the first and foremost, Ben Johnson is a guy that loves to run motion, um, loves to have pretty creative play designs. And I think just another year of familiarity with that offense, another year of familiarity with some of his skilled players, like Romo Dunze and Luther Burden Jr., as well as a second year uh development from Luther Burden and Colson Loveland. I think it's gonna pay major dividends. I think this is gonna be a very, very explosive offense. And we'll touch on the defense here in a minute, but I think that this offense is gonna be the force that drives this team all throughout the season. I think they could again be one of the top 10 teams in scoring in the NFL. Um, most likely, in my opinion, I would say the Bears are probably gonna be in the top five offenses in the NFL, both in yards and scoring. I really like Kyle Menungay's position on this team. I think DeAndre Swift can still have a pretty relevant role, even if he's more reduced to kind of a backup uh platoon situation with the Bears. Um, but I really do love this receiving core. I love Romo Dunze, was a big fan of him coming out of college. Obviously, I I gotta be a little biased for my guy, straight out of St. Louis, Luther Burden. First, uh, he was a five-star receiver coming out of high school that chose to stay home and go to Mizzou. And he had moments of pretty electric impact last year, even though he only scored two touchdowns. I really like um where this the skill players and the weaponry for Caleb Williams are set up this year. So we're talking about these skill players. Can Luther Burden be a guy that takes the leap that everybody expects him to without DJ Moore around? I do think that Romo Dunze is going to have a pretty strong statistical year, but I think the star of this wide receiver room, the star breakout candidate on this offense is my guy Luther Burden. I would not be shocked if he had north of 80, 85 catches this year and around 1,100 to 1,200 yards. He only had two touchdowns, as I just mentioned last year. I would at least expect him to double that, if not triple that, with five to eight touchdowns during this season. I am really high on Luther Burden coming into this year. I think from the way that Ben Johnson has already talked about him both last year after they first drafted him, but already this training camp, yes, he's hurt right now, but all reports indicate he'll be ready to go for the start of the season. I love how Luther Burden is positioned on this roster. And the other guy going into a second year that I really do like is Colston Lovelin. He's currently going as tight end three in fantasy drafts on underdog. Um, I put him squarely kind of where he's going with his draft mate and fellow um high tight end fantasy pick Tyler Warren. But the difference here is Colston Loveland is going to be on a much better offense with other guys that will draw attention away from him. And we saw the way that he could make dynamic plays down the field, most notably that uh end of game scenario against the Bengals last year, where he caught that pass right in the middle, uh in between the hash marks and took a maybe a 15-yard pass about 55 yards down the field and ended up winning the game for the Bears right in the waning seconds against the Bengals. I I think Colson Loveland is right there, neck and neck, with Romo Dunze and Luther Burden, to be the star um catapult for Caleb Williams this year. I love what Colson Loveland could possibly be this year. The biggest question on the defensive side, though, they were a team that led the NFL in takeaways in 2025. Obviously, I think there's going to be some regression there. They also, as I mentioned, lost both of their starting safeties. And I think that this team already was lacking a little bit in their pass rush. So I do think that there's going to be a decent amount of regression. So I think, as I said right off the jump, when I'm talking about the Chicago Bears, how I think about them as a team, their roster construction, their coach personality and profile. They are a team that knows that they are going to be offensive-oriented, offensive-led. And I don't think that they're going to shy away from that. I don't think that they will be a team that is uncomfortable in shootouts. I don't think that they will be a team that will be uncomfortable if they get down early in games. I expect the defense to take a slight regression, but still be a pretty high-functioning defense top half of the league. But I do not expect them to be, you know, leading the league in turnovers, leading the league in sacks, anything like that. So now we have to move to the Motor City, the Detroit Lions. Detroit basketball. But in this case, we're talking about football. So last year, the
Detroit Lions Preview
SPEAKER_00Lions finished tied for last place in this division. Again, a very tough division. The Lions went 9-8 last year and finished in last place. Their over-under, however, this year is set at 10.5. They were very active in free agency. They signed Isaiah Pacheco to replace David Montgomery, who left to go to the Houston Texans. They brought in Cade Mays, who also just recently was injured in training camp, but should be back at some point early on in the season. They also brought in former Mizzou Tiger Larry Borum to help uh give some extra offensive line depth. And they signed Roger McCreary, Rocky Sean to help provide some additional corners, and then brought in DJ Wanham and Devin White as well to help improve a defense that was 22nd in points allowed last year. A few other free agency notes. They saw uh longtime offensive tackle Taylor Decker retire, Alex Anzalone, and Amique Robertson also both left in free agency, and they drafted. Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller in the first round and took University of Michigan edge rusher Derek Moore and let that guy stay pretty close to where he was playing some college ball and Ann Arbor took him in the second round. So the biggest questions for the Lions though, how can this defense improve or will it improve? And to me, my biggest concerns with the Lions this year is these injury concerns with this team are very real, very legitimate. We've seen it with multiple star players across their offensive line. We I already mentioned Cade Mays, who they were really counting on to step in and be a starting center for them. Um but Aiden Hutchinson, uh Brian Branch, Kirby Joseph, all guys that have dealt with injuries both last year and throughout their careers, I think this is a team that could again struggle with injuries on the defensive side of the ball. But nonetheless, as long as they can stay relatively healthy, they should take a pretty significant leap from that 22nd rank in points allowed and be closer to the top half of the league. Can Jameer Gibbs really justify being the first overall pick in fantasy drafts? To me, especially when you think about the impact that David Montgomery, the amount of uh time he was actually playing in these games for the Lions and how much he would spell Jameer Gibbs over the first few years of Jameer Gibbs' career. I think it is no question that Jameer Gibbs will be the RB1 in fantasy barring injury. I think he will be the most dynamic running back in the NFL this year, and I think he will make an argument to win the MVP. I think this offense will be run first. I think Dan Campbell will go back to the nuts and bolts, biting kneecaps off. And I think Jameer Gibbs could make a really strong argument. I know MVP tends to always go to a quarterback, but that's not always the case. And I think Jameer Gibbs will make an incredibly powerful argument for why running backs matter too. Um we've seen, and as we've talked about on the Tailgate Cam podcast previously, we've seen several running backs get new contract extensions. Jameer Gibbs just got his bag, B. John Robinson got a bag. Um, last year we saw Saquon get more money. I mean, we've seen running backs continue to get money in this new, you know, stylistic version of where NFL teams are going to with heavier personnel packages, more tight ends on the field, running the ball more on first and second down. I think all of that kind of propels Jameer Gibb into the position that he's in, where he is an all-world elite, all pro talent, one of the best running backs, one of the best athletes in the NFL. I think he's gonna have a tremendous season. So that kind of leads into the next question about the Lions, though. Is Amon Ross St. Brown an underappreciated guy? In terms of the elite ride receivers, he's not really a guy that comes to most people's mind off the jump. You know, you start with Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, Puka Nakua, CeeDee Lamb, and it takes a few steps before you get to Amon Ross St. Brown, even though this guy constantly is in the 90 plus catch threshold and constantly making plays for this Lions offense. So to say he's underappreciated, I think that's probably fair, honestly, in the grand scheme of things. But he's a guy that will continuously remind people, as he often does, if you ever listen to his interviews, he has memorized every wide receiver that was drafted ahead of him in his NFL draft, which there were quite a few off the top of my head. I think he was the 10th or 12th receiver, something like that, drafted when he came out from uh the University of Southern California. And I just think that there's not a lot of drop-off from this guy. Even last year, he was dealing with some pretty um intense injuries, and Amon Ross St. Brown didn't miss time, continued to contribute to the to the Lions offense, and was a steady, consistent rock for that team. He is not the the force that drives this team the way that Jameer Gibbs is, but he should not be an underappreciated or forgotten about star. And lastly, the last question I think about when I think about the Lions this year are there any fantasy names that could surprise here? I mean, they have a lot of household names. You look at running back, we talked about Jameer Gibbs, you look at wide receiver, they have obviously one of the you know top premier talents in Amon Ross St. Brown, one of the most explosive wide receivers in the NFL, fellow St. Louis native, shout out to the Lou again in Jamison Williams. But a guy that I kind of like, oh, and I forgot to mention tight end Sam Laporta, who two years ago was one of the best tight ends in the NFL, dealt with some injuries last year, actually still dealing with some injuries. And Dan Campbell recently said there's a chance uh Sam Laporta misses week one. But a guy that I think could come knock it on some doors and approaching a few people's waiver wires is former Arkansas Razorback, Isaac Tesla. And this guy has elite size, elite jumping and verticality ability, high points the ball extremely well. I think he really provides something in this line's offense that they don't have somebody that can replicate, and that's a guy that can just go up and get the ball. That's not really Amonroth's strength or Jameson Williams. Those guys are gonna make you miss, get open, win with their route creativity. Isaac Tesla is a red zone threat, a red zone mismatch where he can run those fades and those go balls as they get closer down to the goal line and go up and win those contested catches. So now let's move on
Green Bay Packers Preview
SPEAKER_00to the smallest market in the NFL, but not at all the smallest history in the NFL. That is the Lambeau Field-led Green Bay Packers. They went 9-7 and 1. Not very often you hear the and one in the NFL, but they did tie last year. So they were 9-7-1, finished in second place in the NFC North. Their projected win total this year is set for 9.5 wins. So let's look at some of their offseason moves. They traded most notably Rashawn Gary, as we talked about on the Dallas Cowboys NFC East podcast with Brandon Ogden. They also traded Dontavian Wicks away to the Philadelphia Eagles, which reports seem to be that Wicks has looked phenomenal for the Eagles. I'll believe that when I see it. Romeo Dobbs also left in free agency to go to the New England Patriots, and they released former starting center Elgin Jenkins and starting corner Nate Hobbs. They brought in a few guys as well as some extensions. They traded for linebackers Zayer Franklin from the Indianapolis Colts. They brought in Javon Hargrave to help shore up their defensive tackle position, stealing him from the team we're about to talk about, the Minnesota Vikings. They also, as I said, extended a couple players, Jaden Reed and Sean Ryan, uh, on their offensive line. They did not have a first-round pick in 2025 or in 2026, excuse me, but they spent four of their six picks that they had on defense. Their second round pick, they spent on South Carolina corner Brandon Cise. And their third round pick, former Mizzou Tiger, former Florida Gator, that guy was in all my fandom heart. Uh, Chris McClellan, and a guy that I really like kind of under the radar, that they took in the fifth round, Penn State edge rusher. Shout out to Penn State, Denise Denis Sutton, um, who I really think is gonna be counted upon. And we'll talk about it right off the bat. As my biggest question for this team is Micah Parsons starting the year on the pup list, he tore his ACL at the end of the 2025 season. That's gonna put a lot of pressure on a former first-round pick, Lucas Van Ness out of Iowa, and a guy like Denise Danny Sutton. I don't think that that's gonna be enough. I think that they're gonna need a lot of strong performances from guys like Devontae Wyatt, guys like newcomer Javon Hargrave, and uh also fellow rookie Chris McClellan. I think they are gonna put a large burden on these guys to produce and affect the quarterbacks that they face early on in the season. I don't think it's been uh determined if Micah Parsons will have to go on IR yet, but he is on pup, so there's a pretty strong chance that he transitions over to the short-term injured reserve and misses several games to start the season. They clearly are focused on attacking their defensive structure. Jeff Hafley, who was their defensive coordinator, left this offseason to now become the head coach for the Miami Dolphins. They brought in Jonathan Gannon, former Arizona Cardinals head coach, former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator, uh, after he was fired in Arizona. And clearly that's a focus. I mentioned the draft picks, I mentioned the signings and trade acquisitions of Zaire Franklin and Javon Hargrave. This team is going to focus on their defensive structure. They are moving to a true nose tackle-oriented system. And I think this is a pretty balanced roster, honestly, when you look at it. I don't think that there's a ton of weaknesses when you look at this roster all over. I just don't think that this roster has the elite star players outside of Micah Parsons at really any position. I don't think that they have elite secondary play, um, elite linebackers, elite offensive line, wide receivers. I just I just think it's a lot of good players that make a pretty good hole with a good head coach as well in Matt LaFleur. We talked about some of their receivers that left, Dontavian Wicks and Romeo Dobbs. So that really kind of cleared the deck. The Packers for about two years have had one of the most crowded and honestly confusing receiver rooms, especially from a fantasy perspective. But will any of these guys emerge as a true wide receiver one? Between Christian Watson, Jaden Reed, and former first-round pick from 2025, Matthew Golden. My honest inkling is no. I think that these are going to be three guys that produce pretty similar stats, you know, 600 to 900 yards each, and all contribute and have their moments and weeks where they splash and shine. They are much better oriented for a best ball style format on like an underdog or DraftKings fantasy. When you are running traditional week-to-week fantasy that is not best ball format, I don't trust any of these receivers week in and week out unless you know something drastically is visible early on in the season where Jordan Love is targeting Christian Watson or Jaden Reed repeatedly. I I would not trust any of these guys to emerge as a wide receiver one. If I had to pick one of them, though, the guy that I like the most out of this group is Jaden Reed. I think he's the best route runner, I think he's got the best hands of this group, and I think he's just honestly the smartest and most gifted receiver that they have. I like Jaden Reed if I had to pick one out of this group, but I don't love any of these guys. And my last question for the Vikings can Jordan Love lead this offense to be a successful offense if Josh Jacobs faces any type of suspension? Josh Jacobs still under investigation from a off-season charge related to some domestic violence issues. It's not really clear if that's going to result in him missing time yet, as that's still under investigation. But ultimately, if we just let's say we assume that Josh Jacobs misses some time this offseason or this this upcoming season, can Jordan Love carry this offense without Josh Jacobs in the picture? I have Jordan Love ranked as my 11th quarterback when I stack up every quarterback in the NFL. And to me, that is a guy that's just on the outside, just on the periphery of elite quarterback play. To me, he's right in the conversation with a Brock Purdy type player. And I don't think that he's good enough to really elevate this team if the structure is not there around him.
Minnesota Vikings Preview
SPEAKER_00Speaking of structure, let's talk about Kevin O'Connell's Minnesota Vikings. Last year they finished tied for fourth with the Detroit Lions at nine and eight. Their projected win total this year, eight and a half. Which I'm gonna get into in a second, but that feels if you are a person that likes to bet win totals, bet the Vikings under. They're not winning nine games this year. It's just not happening. I I can assure you that that is not going to happen this year. Their most notable move, and a move that I couldn't refute any stronger than I will in a second, was bringing in former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray, whose biggest strength has always been his deep passing accuracy, has struggled with turnovers, with accuracy, um, with decision making, most notably, a guy that I do not trust. Arizona was willing to eat a large chunk of money and then give Jacoby Brissett a pay raise and possibly even look at starting Gardner Minshew or Carson Beck as opposed to bringing in or keeping Kyler Murray in place. Kyler Murray has already beaten out JJ McCarthy, who we talked about a few weeks ago on the tailgate. That was a kind of quasi quarterback battle, but they made it seem like there was a real competition there. But Kyler Murray has already been named the starter for week one. They made a few small free agency moves. They brought in wide receiver Juwan Jennings, they brought in um a few other smaller under-the-radar guys that shouldn't make a tremendous impact, but they did draft a lot of defensive players. They drafted five overall defensive players in the draft, with starting with in the first round, Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks, a guy that I am a huge fan of, not just because I like the Florida Gators. This guy is a dominant pass rusher from the interior defensive line position. His biggest question is his injury history. He missed most of the 2025 season, which, if you were on the Florida Gators roster with Billy Napier in 2025, I don't blame you for not being that motivated to play, but he was a guy that was talked about, like he could have been a top 10 draft pick at the start of 2025. So his biggest concern is his injury history. He's been playing all preseason, he's played stayed healthy all training camp. He's a guy that I could see really making a pretty quick impact. Some of the other notable guys that they drafted, Cincinnati linebacker, Jake Golday, they took in the second round. They also took former Miami Hurricane Safety Jacoby Thomas and Iowa State defensive tackle Dominique Orange. So, some questions facing this team. This is a team that to me is acting like they're trying to win when they really should be a team that's rebuilding. They have a pretty weak wide receiver room, um, an offensive line with a lot of questions, a defense that is going to be reliant on, as as I just named, five rookies and a team that was you know not very good on defense last year. I just don't understand the logic of I get it it was a minimum deal. I I get that. But to me, this is what happens when you swing and miss on a first round quarterback like they did with JJ McCarthy, and it so clearly is not working out. It's so clear. I I mean, I don't know if they're just afraid to admit that or what. I I don't know. I mean, if you're already at the point in the third year with a player, JJ McCarthy missed his entire rookie season with an injury and then played in you know minimal games last year, and that team that team was regretting nonstop letting Sam Darnold walk out of that door. And to me, when you when you're trying to put it reminds me of the conversation we were having about the Indianapolis Colts when we did the AFC South podcast, but when you are constantly trying to put band-aids over holes in your ship, the ship is gonna sink. It's going to sink. That's why I think that this win total being at eight and a half is egregious to me. Please, if you again, I'm gonna reiterate this one more time. If you are a person that likes to bet win totals, take the Minnesota Vikings under eight and a half. Um, can Kyler improve with Kevin O'Connell, though? Sure. I I definitely think so. I definitely think a lot of that is gonna be based on just the fact that Kevin McConnell Kevin O'Connell is a tremendous play caller, a tremendous play designer. He comes off of the Sean McVay tree with other guys like LaFleur. Um, well, I guess now both LaFleur head coach brothers, um, Liam Cohen. These guys all have uh an adequate skill set to call and design offense and find potential mismatches and exploit their opponents week in and week out. So I definitely think that we're gonna see signs of life from Kyler Murray. The problem is he can't fix all the things that are wrong with Kyler Murray because most of Kyler Murray's issues are up here, right in the head. He is not a great uh cerebral quarterback, he does not read the defense well. You see a lot of interceptions that Kyler throws. As soon as he lets go of the ball, both hands go to his head grasping and giving that, oh no, what did I just do? So, yeah, I think there's gonna be moments where Kyler looks like a much better quarterback with KOC as his head coach, but ultimately this team is gonna be handicapped by the fact that outside of Justin Jefferson, they have Jordan Addison, Juwan Jennings, and not a lot else. And Jordan Addison and Jawan Jennings to me are not guys that should be relied upon week in and week out in the NFL. They also had the sixth worst run defense in 2025. Now they are very reliant on all these young players that they brought in. I just think that there's a lot of question marks facing this team that I'm not confident in. I don't think they're by any stretch going to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, but I do think that they could be one of the worst teams in the NFC. I think most of the bottom teams that we're gonna see this year, the Browns, the Jets, um, the Cardinals, those teams are kind of stuck in that position. And they're they, I mean, obviously, there's talent here and a good coach. There's I just when you look at this offensive line, when you look at this kind of murky running back room with Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, and they drafted out of Wake Forest rookie Damon Claiborne. I just don't feel comfortable with really any of any of these position groups on this team outside of Justin Jefferson. And even there, as I already mentioned, I don't like the rest of the wide receiver room. So, all that being said, let's put some
NFC North Predictions
SPEAKER_00pen to paper, let's break down the standings for the NFC North. So, starting in last place, it's no surprise. I just talked about them. It's the Minnesota Vikings. They have too many holes on this team. I don't trust Kyler, and in the event that Kyler gets benched or injured, I absolutely do not want to see JJ McCarthy on any team that I'm rooting for. The Vikings will finish in last place in this division by a substantial margin. Now, as we get into the top three teams in this division, the Packers, the Lions, and the Bears, the third place team that I have here, and again, this really just comes down to the fact that this quarterback is not good enough to elevate this team. And I think that there's a lot of good to okay players on this starting lineup in their wide receiver room, um, on their offensive line, in their secondary, on their pass rush element, and that's the Green Bay Packers. I I said it when we talked about the team. Jordan Love is just outside of my top 10 rankings in quarterbacks, and I just don't think that there's enough here that inspires me to pick them week in and week out. I think that they will have a very competent team. Uh, I obviously trust Coach LaFleur to consistently be a winning coach, but I think that this year they're they're gonna miss the playoffs. They're gonna finish in third place, they're gonna miss the playoffs. So that leaves the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. So my second place team in the NFC North, and possibly with MVP candidate Jameer Gibbs, is the Detroit Lions. I think they returned to the playoffs this year as a wild card team. I really trust the structure of this team. I love Brad Holmes as their GM. I think he does a lot of smart things. He fills in holes with cheap, affordable players. Um, I also love the way that they draft. Year in and year out, it seems like they get a lot out of their draft picks. And I think they have a lot of big stars on offense. And just like in every other league, the NFL is a league driven by stars and coaches. And I trust Dan Campbell. I love Amon Ra. I love Sam Laporta. I think Jared Goff is, you know, in the top half of quarterbacks in the league, but I think he's a perfect fit for what they ask him to do. I also have hammered this thought already on this podcast, but I'm going to do it one more time, and that's Jameer Gibbs. I think he's going to have a phenomenal season, MVP caliber, and I think it powers the lines to getting into the wild card. And that leaves one team, and that is the Chicago Bears. The Bears. Congrats. The Bears, I am predicting that you guys will not only win the NFC North, but I think you will be right there neck and neck with the Dallas Cowboys to be the two seed. I think the offense will carry some expected defensive regression. I think this offense will be one of the top five offenses in the NFL. I think they will be the best team in the NFC North. I think they will win well over their projected win total of nine and a half games. And I think they win the division and like I said, contend for a top two or three seed in the NFC. So just to recap, my NFC North predictions from fourth to first go Minnesota Vikings in last place. Green Bay Packers in third, the Detroit Lions in second, and the Chicago Bears coming out on top with the NFC North crown yet again in Ben Johnson's second year. Wouldn't that be something? Comes in, wins the NFC North right away, and then doesn't take his hand off the rope and wins it again in year two. So Bears Lions making the playoffs, but the Bears ultimately winning the North. Now, time for our gold star
Gold Star of the Week
SPEAKER_00of the week. My gold star of the week is going to go to Kansas City Royals shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr. This week he's gone 10 for 28, three home runs, six RBIs, two stolen bases, and nine runs scored. That's just good for a 455 on base percentage with a 714 slug. Man, that guy should really get some better hitting coaches out there in Kansas City. Bobby Witt, you are my star of the week. So
What to watch this week
SPEAKER_00that leaves us with one thing. What to watch for this week? Well, one of my what to watch for is this week. The top two teams in the WNBA face off Thursday between Golden State and the New York Liberty. That is Thursday, August 27th at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The Golden State Valkyries versus the New York Liberty Thursday, August 27th at 8 p.m. A couple of baseball series I am excited to look at and see the results of that kick off Monday and Tuesday. The Red Sox and the Marlins, both teams that are looking to keep pace in the wild card race. As of this recording, the Marlins are only four games back in the NL wildcard. And the Red Sox are holding down the second AL wildcard position. That's a big series for both of those teams, kicking off Monday night. And then the Dodgers and the Braves begin a very important series after the Braves just lost another series over the weekend. Um the Dodgers and the Braves face off beginning Tuesday night. And on our next show, we will have our very first pick'em show. That's right, because next weekend, next Saturday, we have a real life slate of football. So our show this week, we will preview some of those games. We will talk about some of the picks that I have, and then we will also go through some of the biggest storylines from the SEC and the Big Ten and discuss a few teams that I think couldn't make the playoffs, and then give you guys some dark horses. Thank you so much for listening to the Tailgate Cam podcast. I am your host, Cameron Clark. See ya.