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What do you enjoy most about Jay Love's leadership ability? I mean, I just enjoy how much, uh, you know, trust and confidence that he has in everybody. Uh, you know, I feel like, you know, his level of confidence just, you know, instills another level of confidence, you know, for me. I can only speak for myself, but I mean, his confidence that he has in me just gives me more confidence in myself. Welcome to Football Unfiltered with Rob Motty, the AP's weekly NFL show. It's week six, but I'm still trying to figure out what were the commanders doing at the end of the game against the Giants. That was the worst clock management I
have ever seen. Wasn't too good with the Eagles and Jaguars either. More on both of those later. Bills Raiders and Ravens Browns are going to be the only two games this weekend featuring winning teams. Packers wide receiver Christian Watson is our guest coming up inside the huddle. We'll go around the league. I'm going to talk about some quarterback regression. We've got a fourack of picks and fantasy focus. But first up, we've got Green Bay Christian Watson. He's off to a great start in his fifth season with the Packers. 26 catches, 474 yards, and six touchdowns in only five games. The Packers without Michael Parsons, well, they're going to host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football this
week. Here's Christian Watson. Christian, welcome to AP's Football Unfiltered with Rob Motti. You're off to a great start, man. You already got six touchdowns, careerhigh is seven. What's been the key to your success so far? Um, I mean, honestly, just kind of just going out there and playing ball. I mean, I don't think that, you know, I've been doing anything, you know, too different. I think that, you know, we've just got kind of those banked reps and, uh, you know, just the connection and, you know, the relationship and trust that, you know, me and Jay Love have built over these past couple years. I feel like, you know, getting a full off season of, you know, just being healthy and getting
those getting those banked reps has just, you know, allowed us to just go out there and execute. Tell me a little bit more about that connection because it's a great connection you got right now with Jordan. I Is it more about preparation and timing or is it just kind of a matter of trusting each other? Um, I mean, I'd say both. I mean, I say both for sure. I mean, I think that um you know, all of that, you know, preparation and you know, reps and stuff through throughout the offseason through training camp and you know, throughout the week, I feel like, you know, that builds that trust and that connection. So, um you know, obviously there's there's times where, you know, it's not the most ideal look
or, you know, the most ideal, you know, coverage and whatnot. And obviously, you know, he you know, he just, you know, gives me some gives me, you know, a ball and kind of just trusts that I'll make that play. But obviously there's there's a lot of things that are kind of just um you know timing and stuff and based on the scheme and stuff too. So I mean I feel like it's been going both ways for sure. What have you seen out of Matthew Golden's development and how much does it help to have another guy out there that defense has got to be focused on and got to worry about?
Um I mean it's it's been huge. you know, I think that, you know, he when I mean, from the moment that he got here, I think that, you know, we all saw, you know, the talent and um, you know, the playmaking ability that that he was capable of. You know, obviously he just didn't get, you know, the opportunities last year and I was, you know, I was excited for him, you know, obviously coming in this year knowing that he's going to uh, you know, be a huge part of this offense and a huge uh, and have, you know, a huge role for us. And you know, I think that I mean, he kind of just is living up to the hype that I already kind of knew he was capable of. And I'm, you know, I'm excited for him to, you
know, keep on going, too. You've always had that speed, right? You can take the top off of a defense. What are some of the technical aspects that you kind of had to master that you kind of had to learn in the NFL? Um, I mean, there's always, you know, there are always a lot of things that, you know, you can work on. I mean for me you know I always um you know felt you know I wasn't you know asked to do to you know run you know too many routes in college and stuff like that just based off you know our scheme you know I always felt that I was capable of doing it but you know obviously uh you know doing those things at a high level you know running those
intermediate and short routes at a high level obviously you know takes you know the reps and you know getting those you know reps in. Uh, so I feel like just the more that I was asked to, you know, kind of do those things that I hadn't, you know, deal done too much before, um, you know, just the better I've been getting at it. You know, obviously, like I said, I always thought that I was capable of doing it. You know, I never thought it was something that was out of, uh, you know, my realm of expertise or anything. Obviously, just the more that I've gotten to do those things, the more uh, you know, feel I've gotten for you know, running, you know, those
intermediate and short routes, obviously, the better I've become at them. I think everybody in the NFL obviously has tremendous talent, right? But what separates Christian a guy from being a really good receiver and then being elite? What's it take to get to that level? Um I mean I feel like just consistency. Uh I mean as you know cliche as it sounds, I mean anybody can do you know do it once. Um you know you see guys like you know the past you know couple years that you know JSN has had. I mean it's I mean he's doing it week in and week out. Um, so I mean obviously that's that's the main goal for I think anybody who wants to be great in this league. I mean that's my goal is to just consistently uh you know make the make
you know those contested you know catches, make those big plays uh you know consistently being the outlet for you know my team in those you know situations. Uh you know like this past game you know it's third and 22 and we need a big play. Um I mean it really just comes down to consist consistency. Um, you know, obviously good players can do it. Um, you know, some of the time, you know, great players will do it all the time. You've overcome a lot of significant injuries, adversity, things throughout the course of your career, like setbacks and through that a lot of guys you learned something about yourself, right?
What was that for you? What did you learn about yourself? And how does that prepare you or make you stronger mentally when you have to deal with some of these things? Um, I mean I feel like the main thing for me was just uh honestly the this the amount of you know confidence that I have in myself honestly I feel like you know coming back from those things um and just coming back with you know the same level of you know confidence that I had when I was you know 100% healthy before uh the fact that was um you know huge and you know helping me play uh you know not thinking about you know the knee not thinking about you know any anything, you know,
lingering or anything like that. Um, you know, just the more I was able to kind of just tap into to, you know, that feeling of, you know, beforehand before the injury, um, I mean, I kind of just, you know, you know, cleared my mind, you know, allowed me to play free, allowed me to still play fast, not have any, you know, doubt. Um, and just, you know, just have that same confidence. So, I mean, kind of everything that I was doing when I was, you know, just spot catching, um, you know, my mindset was kind of just, you know, I mean, I'm right back where I was. this is this, you know, this is what I do. Um, so know I kind of carried that, you know, confidence and that vibe that I had
before I got injured and, um, you know, I, you know, I feel like it helped me, you know, kind of propelled myself, you know, when I got back and not thinking about the injury anymore. What do you think fans don't see about life in the NFL? About the training that you put in, about the difficulties of everything that you have to go through, everything that you have to endure, whether it's your sleep schedule, your workout regimen, all of that stuff. And then we see Sundays, right, out there on the field. What is all that stuff behind the scenes that we don't see? Oh, here. Hold on. I think Oh, there we go. Light turn light turned off. Sorry about that. Um, I mean, honestly, it's it's just the amount of, you
know, effort, the amount of work that, you know, we put in. Um, I feel like that's kind of the most misunderstood thing. Uh, you know, honestly, I don't think that there you could ask a single, you know, NFL football guy, you know, even just at this point in the season. Um, you know, like, you know, going on week six, I don't think anybody is feeling, you know, good. Nobody's body is feeling good anymore. Um, you know, the best we feel all year is, you know, going into that, you know, first week of OTAAS. Um, I mean, it's it's just a lot. I mean, we obviously, uh, you know, the product is, you know, obviously demanded on Sundays, but I mean, we're, you know, working each and every day just to get to the point, you know, where we can
feel, you know, just good enough to just go out there and be us on Sunday. So, I just I would just say the demand uh of work. I mean, it's it's easy to just, you know, watch us on one day of, you know, the week, but I mean, if you watch us, you know, each and every day of the week, it's a tough process, no doubt. Who's had the biggest influence on your football career? And has it changed maybe from when you were a kid to now then through high school, through college, into the NFL? Have there been different people who've had like a significant impact on you? Um, I mean, yeah, no, no doubt. I'd say there's been quite a few people. Um, you know, obviously, you know, my dad, you know, introduced me to the game.
Uh, and kind of just, you know, in different, you know, steps of my life, it's it's been someone else. You know, I'd say, um, you know, throughout my life growing up, I always just looked up to my brother. He was, you know, three years older than me, and obviously he was kind of just doing everything, you know, before I was. So, I got to, you know, watch, um, you know, how he did, um, how he did everything and, you know, how he, you know, got his success. And then um you know just when I lived with my mom through you know middle school and high school just you know how she just approached uh life um you know the ups and downs of life kind of just you know pushed me to you know want to be a better uh you know
football player and you know the way that she attacked life was the way that I wanted to attack football. So I mean that influenced me in a lot of ways. Um and I mean just I mean my family is definitely my why you know my wife and my son now. Uh, I just wanted to be, you know, the best, you know, version of myself on and off the field for them. Being a young dad, a young husband playing in the NFL and there's so many challenges. There's so many kind of difficult temptations, maybe things that come like what keeps you grounded, Christian? What keeps you focused on the main thing?
Um, I mean, honestly, I'd say I mean, exactly that. I'd say that, you know, my wife and my son are what keep me grounded. You know, when I'm here and I'm in, you know, the workplace, I'm in the facility. You know, obviously I gotund, you know, 10% focus and attention on this. And then, you know, when I go home, uh, you know, I get to, you know, escape from all of the demands and all of the, you know, craziness of the NFL and football and kind of just, you know, be there with my family. I feel like it's just kind of that good, uh, that good getaway. you know, I can just obviously, you know, be there, you know, obviously, you know, love up on my son, love
up on my wife, and just kind of escape uh escape all the craziness. And then obviously it's it's a, you know, good balance because, you know, then the next morning I'm right back in and I'm, you know, right back locked into to football and everything. What do you enjoy most about Jay Love's leadership ability? Um, I mean, I just enjoy how much uh, you know, trust and confidence that he has in everybody. Uh, you know, I feel like, you know, his level of confidence just, you know, instills another level of confidence, you know, for me. I can only speak for myself, but I mean, his confidence that he has in me just gives me more confidence in myself because, you know, he is going to, you know, put the ball out there for me to get it,
he's going to if I make a bad play, he's, you know, still going to come back and still have that same level of confidence. So, it just gives me um, you know, another level of confidence myself knowing that someone else is uh is, you know, putting that level of trust in me. How about playing for a coach like Matt Laflur? He demands a lot out of you guys and how much do you appreciate his style of coaching? Uh I mean it's huge. Uh you know I think that he's uh he's done a really you know good job of letting uh letting the players kind of have you know their you know own voice in the locker room and how you know we approach things. You know uh you know he
definitely you know does a really good job of keeping us grounded. you know, when things are going bad, kind of just being able to block out the noise and still just kind of make everything about us. Um, I feel like that's probably one of his one of his better qualities, just always, it's never about anybody else. It's always just about us. Uh, you know, what can we do better? Um, you know, when we have a bad game, whether we have a good game, whatever it is. Um, you know, there's always something that we could do better as a team. And kind of just always, uh, you know, circling back to us instead of, you know, thinking about, you know, who we're going up against, you know, who what
they did, what whatever. is always kind of just about what we are doing. So, um you know, I feel like that's uh that's been the biggest thing. Speaking of who you're going up against, Dallas Sunday Night Football, possibility for a shootout game. That's the expectation. Two offenses that can really score. We know they've had some difficulties on defense. How do you approach this game when you go against a team like that? Um I mean, we just got to continue to find that growth. I mean, I think that, you know, we're coming off of, you know, a really good game last week. Um, we've got to find a way to just, you know, carry that momentum over
into this week. Have that same have the same mindset going into the game and obviously, you know, carry that through four quarters. Obviously, we know it's going to be a battle. Um, but we just got to have the right mindset going into it. Um, you know, at the end of the day, just comes down to execution. Uh, you know, I think that if our, you know, minds in the right spot and, you know, we're going out there and, uh, doing what we need to do, I think, you know, obviously we'll we'll come out on Let's go around a league where three teams remain undefeated. The 49ers and Vikings are 5-0. Minnesota on a buy this week. Chiefs are 4-0. Three teams are still winless at 0 and5. The Chargers,
the Titans, and the Dolphins. We're seeing a lot of quarterback regression. Justin Herbert in LA and Mike McDaniels offense just isn't working. The Chargers are now 0 and5. Jim Harbaugh is on pace for his first losing season as an NFL head coach. His worst season previously was 8 and8 in San Francisco in 2014 and lost his job after that season. Cam Warden here won with a new offensive coordinator and Brian Dable in Tennessee. He's taken a step back. Jaylen Herz doesn't have a great offensive line anymore. He's missing a lot of weapons. He's got to carry the team in Philadelphia and that just hasn't happened yet. Also, he has a firstear offensive coordinator in Shawn Manion. Baker Mayfield, before he got
hurt, he was off to a really tough start. Also, a firstear offensive coordinator in Zack Robinson in Tampa Bay. That's 21 teams who have new offensive coordinators this season. 66% of the lead. Seven of those offensive coordinators doing the job for the first time. one of those guys already. Davis Webb in Denver was stripped of his play calling duties. When Shawn Payeyton took over, it's only five games in. It's going to take time for quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. They got to get in sync. They got to develop a rhythm. They're learning a new system. There's a lot of new terminology, new verbiage. Some of these quarterbacks are going to figure it out. And some aren't. And when they don't, the offensive coordinators will
take the blame in most cases and they end up losing their jobs. And that's why we got so much turnover at the OC position. It's four-pack time. And yet another two-2 straight up 2-2 against the spread last week. The four-pack through five weeks. We're 11 and N straight up. We're 10 and 10 overall. 2-2 every week. I need a breakthrough. I feel like this is going to be the week where we get that breakthrough. Overall, we've got a winning record straight up and we're one game under 500 against the spread. My best bet, Arizona 1 and4 against the Los Angeles Rams who are 2 and3. The Rams
are 12 1/2 point favorites. The Cardinals are just a bad football team. And the Rams, well, they don't look like that team that some people foolishly predicted that they would go 17-0. Just cuz you win on paper doesn't mean you win when you get started. Shawn McVey is ticked off. The thicker kicker paid the price for missing some field goals. But the Rams got Matthew Stafford leading a prolific passing attack with Puka Nakua Devonte Adams. This one should be easy. My best bet the LA Rams bouncing back from a loss to the Bills on Monday Night Football 3413. My upset special. I can't figure out this line and usually I go with the team who I why I can't figure it out. Right.
New Orleans 1 and4 at the New York Giants 3-1 and one. So the Saints are one and a half point favorites. They look like potential contenders after they took the Lions to overtime in week one. They beat the Ravens on the road in week two, but now they're reeling three straight losses at home. Yet somehow they're favorites on the road against a team that's only lost once. So, usually I would tell you the line's telling me something here and I'm going to take the Saints, but I didn't The oddsmakers are really disrespecting the Giants. I can't do it. You know, Cam Sat Cam SC I can't even say his name. You know, Cam Scataboo is paying attention. He better hold on to the football. Jameus Winston
is 20 and one since replacing Jackson Dart. He's facing one of his former teams. He's done a decent job of protecting the football so far. the Jameus Winston experience. I don't care what you think it is. He told us this week what it's supposed to be. I'm going with the Giants 2017. Next up, I'm looking at Washington 3 and one. San Francisco's 5-0 on Monday Night Football. The 49ers 7-point favorites. Dan Quinn, Kyle Shanahan, two head coaches going in opposite directions. The Commanders are reeling after that clock management debacle against the Giants cost them a chance to win the game. The 49ers are undefeated. They're coming off a road win against the
defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Don't forget now, Dan Quinn was the head coach in Atlanta and Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons when they blew a 283 Super Bowl lead against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. And remember, there was some clock mismanagement there too as well. Brock Pury, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans are just going to be too much for Washington in this one. I'm going 49ers 3020. Last one and I'll be at this game. Pittsburgh 3-2 at Tampa Bay who are 1 and4. Steelers 2 and 1/2 point favorites. You've got Aaron Rogers and Jaylen Warren coming off a big game last week against the Colts. They've got a
tougher challenge. Tampa Bay's defense is ranked seventh in the NFL. And Rogers has struggled a few times against Todd Bull's defenses. He has thrown three touchdown passes in three straight games now for the first time since 2021, his fourth MVP season. The Buccaneers are going to undrafted rookie quarterback Jaylen Daniels one more time. He's been impressive since filling in for Baker Mayfield. The Bucks beat the Cowboys last week. Before that, they were 0 and13 against the spread. 13 straight losses. They only won two of those games in the process, but I'm going back to Bucks losing against the spread.
Steelers 2418. Let's get to fantasy focus. I hope your teams are doing better than mine. I'm 3 and three in one league. I'm 1 and4 in the other. Let's give you our start, sit, and sleeper of the week. My must start. I'm going to go to James Cook who had those fumble issues for the Bills against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Buffalo still won the game. The Bills are going up against the Raiders team that's 28th against the run. I see Cook having a big day putting those fumbles behind him. For sick, I'm looking at Drake May who had 374 yards passing. He had four touchdowns last week. He's had two really good games in a row. two great games, but the Patriots are facing a Jets team that's got the
number four pass defense in the league. They sacked Deshawn Watson eight times last week. Three of those sacks by rookie edge David Bailey. I'm going to sit Drake May this week. And for my sleeper, Darius Cooper, an undrafted wide receiver that the Eagles picked up a couple years ago, he's got seven catches this season, four touchdowns. Eagles are going up against the Panthers. So, my start is James Cook, my sit is Drake May, and my sleeper is Darius Cooper. That's it for this week. Thank you to Christian Watson. Thank you for watching and listening. And thank you to Haya Penuani for producing this episode. Please like, subscribe, download, do all that great stuff. AP's
Football Unfiltered with Rob Motti on YouTube, wherever you get your podcast, and also check out AP News.com for more NFL coverage.
