I had the chance to talk with Hall of Famer and NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner during my Friday episode of the All 32 podcast. Not all of you are into the audio/video game, and enjoy the written word. I got you. Here's a partial transcript of the interview, which stretched nearly 40 minutes. Kurt is passionate about QB play, so he weighed in on Drake Maye's development, the marriage between Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and why we need to have more patience when it comes to the position. Enjoy.
I asked if Maye was starting to take that second-year leap:
"As much as anything, for me, I wanted to see him in a different system. ... And again, I don't want to say it held him back, because we don't really know what he was last year outside that system, but I wanted to see him in a different system that that gave him some better opportunities, that there was a little bit more creative and forced him to have to think and process and see more things challenge him in terms of mentally. And so that's what I was looking for this year.
"I didn't see it in Week 1. I was kind of bummed knowing Josh and (having) watched him so much, and I'm a huge fan of what he does and what he's done there with the Patriots and with Tom (Brady). I thought it was pretty vanilla, the first game. I feel like they've opened up the playbook a little bit more as they've gone into these last couple of games. So, that excites me, because I think the more they open that playbook, the more you see the possibilities, the more we're going to get an idea of who Drake Maye really is as a player.
"But, you know, he's done a lot of good things, whether it's this year or the time that he played last year. I think there's room to grow, too, in seeing things and understanding things a little bit better and being more consistent, you know, not having some of those turnovers. Just in terms of holding the ball like we saw last week. And I say this all the time: I didn't have the problem of having to decide, okay, hold the football and try to create or throw the football. For me, it was throw the football. And if it's not there, throw it away. And so I got very proficient at finding ways to get rid of the football and saving sacks. For these athletic guys that have made a lot of plays with their feet, I'm sure it's the ultimate dilemma of, when do I throw it away, and when do I try to create, you know? I'm a guy that just looking around the league, and I never want to take the playmaking away from any of these guys, of course. But I also think those playmaker guys take more sacks and have more negative plays than the boring dropback quarterbacks like me. And so it's the give and take."
On finding that balance of when to make a play and when to eat it, and the pressure that's on Maye's shoulders:
"It's the guys that can figure out that balance, like Josh Allen has seemed to figure out that balance - he finds a way to get rid of the football or throw a check down when it's supposed to be a check down, and then other times he's jumping over people and, you know, people hanging on him, and he's flipping it to a running back, and you're just like, 'Well, I guess, the right play there too,' But, yeah, I think it is, figuring out that balance. I think the other thing, too, we have to take into consideration is how good the team is around you. And so that balance may be a little bit easier for Lamar Jackson, because his team's really good, and so, you know, taking a number of sacks and giving me a couple special plays, that could mean a winning performance for Lamar Jackson because everybody else is good.
"Drake's in that place right now where they're not that good. A negative play here is probably going to cost them the game, because they're not blowing anybody out. They don't have a dominant area outside of him that you say, well, they'll always pick us up, or they'll always keep it close even if I turn the football over. That becomes another part of it, fair or unfair. It is what it is. I mean, I played on a number of teams, and again, it wasn't, it didn't look like that athletically, but there were a number of teams where I had to play well or we were going to lose, like that was the bottom line. And I knew that every week going in, my performance was going to determine whether we won or lost. And, you know, right or wrong or fair or unfair, it's just part of it."
To hear the full interview, simply Google 'All 32' with yours truly. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts.
PAT PROBLEM?
The Chiefs may have finally gotten into the win column with their primetime win over the Giants, but don't get it twisted - this offense is operating at half-speed, and part of the problem is...wait for it...the quarterback.
Patrick Mahomes is still great, and in no way am I predicting he's nearing the cliff. But for someone who has been an absolute rock in the pocket, Mahomes has had a serious case of happy feet and has flushed himself more than we're accustomed to.
You can understand where he's coming from. His right tackle (Jawaan Taylor) remains a problem, and his blindside is being protected by a rookie LT (Josh Simmons, who has been excellent) and a second-year guard, Kingsley Suamataia. However, according to PFF, that line has been credited with just one sack, 10 hits, and 18 total pressures, while Mahomes himself has recorded four sacks, two hits, and three hurries. The tape backs that up.
"I know it hasn't been the perfect product we've put out there thus far; there's a lot of good, too," said the three-time Super Bowl champion.
Mahomes has more on his shoulders than ever before to start this season. His best receiver, Rashee Rice, is suspended through the first six weeks of the season. His 2024 first-round deep threat, Xavier Worthy, was hurt three plays into the opener and has been sidelined ever since. Travis Kelce made two critical errors in the first two weeks that may have cost them those games. And yet, at 1-2 and with the equally disappointing Ravens coming to town this weekend, Mahomes and the Chiefs can quickly rewrite the narrative, especially a Baltimore defense that has allowed the most yards per game and the second most points.
“We've got to start faster,” Mahomes said. “I think every game we’ve said that, but we haven’t really got to do that. We were moving the ball early in the game last week, but we were settling for field goals. When you play teams that are really good and have dynamic quarterbacks like the Ravens do, you've got to turn those into touchdowns."
ONE STEP AWAY?
A year ago, Titans first-year head coach Brian Callahan looked like he was out of his depth for the majority of the season. It didn't help that his quarterback room featured Will Levis, who is the very definition of a hammerhead, and moderately mid-Mason Rudolph. That Rudolph led Tennessee to a win over New England spoke volumes about where your organization was at, but I digress.
Owner Amy Adams Strunk stuck her finger up in the air to check which way the wind was blowing and fired GM Ran Carthon, one year after siding with him over Mike Vrabel. In his place, she restructured football ops and has a president, Chad Brinker, who answers to her, and a GM, Mike Borgonzi, who answers to Brinker. There are also a handful of former GMs on staff. None of those folks were influential in Callahan's hiring.
Fast forward to the final weekend of September, where the Titans are 0-3 and look inept in so many facets of the game that Callahan should probably have had a realtor on speed dial.
Earlier this week, Callahan handed over offensive play-calling duties to QB coach Bo Hardegree. In doing so, he bypassed his coordinator, Nick Holz. Huh?
"A lot of things that you self-reflect on after the start that we've had so far and you have to get better at," Callahan said. "One of the things I think is going to help our football team, help me be a better head coach for our team, is I'm going to hand over the play calling to Bo."
The Titans are dead last in offensive DVOA by a long shot, 31st in total yards, and at the bottom of the barrel in passing yards per game (133), even with top overall pick Cam Ward doing some good things in his rookie year. And after being frisky in the first two weeks of the season, Callahan's crew got curb-stomped by Indianapolis, and chants of "Fire Callahan" were heard throughout the stadium.
“I don’t really worry about that, to be honest,” Callahan said postgame. “My focus is on trying to make sure our football team is in as good a place as possible, and the rest of that stuff is what it is. I don’t think about those things, and you really can’t.
“I mean, this is hard enough as it is to put those other things and think about that. It doesn’t do anybody any good. So, I just go to work and work as hard as I can. I put as much effort as I can into this, and that is what it is.”
Callahan is now 3-17 as a head coach.
THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
The Russell Wilson experience is over. Brian Daboll is benching the placeholder with rookie first-rounder Jaxson Dart for this weekend's game against the Chargers, calling it "my decision."
Oh, really, Brian?
All along, the Giants had insisted that they would turn to Dart when organizationally, they felt the former Ole Miss was ready.
“That’s the direction I wanted to go. That’s the direction we’re going to go,” the Giants head coach said. “There’s good conversation we had. Those are private conversations, but ultimately it comes down to me.”
It probably wasn't hard for Daboll to convince owner John Mara, especially after Wilson looked toothless and clueless in a 22-9 loss to the Chiefs. If you missed it, the 14-year pro launched a ball into the stands (essentially) on a 4th-and-gotta-have-it. That's something the rookie might do. But Wilson? Get out, and that's exactly what Daboll is saying without saying.
There's also the whole matter of job security. The Giants are 0-3 this season and have lost 13 of their last 14 games under Daboll. The clock was ticking before the season began - Mara put them on notice publicly - and nothing that's happened so far would alleviate that pressure. Did that play a role in "his" decision?
“It’s a long season,” Daboll said. “We’ve lost three games. Haven’t put it together all collectively, and made the decision to play Jaxson.”
That decision better work out, and quickly, because for Daboll, there is no going back.
GET YOUR POPCORN READY
Sunday afternoon should be a fun one in Dallas. The 1-2 Cowboys host the 2-1 Packers, meaning Micah Parsons makes his return to The Star.
"The guys know Micah's coming back, it'll be great to see him," Dallas head coach Brian Schottenhimer said. "Normal week, another championship opportunity."
“I accepted my fate weeks ago when the trade happened,” Parsons said. “So for me, it’s just all about playing another game and just doing what I do best, and that’s just be a disruptive football player. I think the media and the fans are trying to blow it up to be such a big thing. But I just look at it as just another game at AT&T.”
Sorry, gents, there's nothing normal about it. Parsons is one of the premier defensive players in the league and is very much in his prime. No doubt, Schottenheimer believed that the edge rusher would be a critical part of his team's - and, in turn, his own - success. And Parsons believed he'd be a Cowboy for years to come.
Instead, owner Jerry Jones took contract talks personally and ushered Parsons off to Green Bay for a pair of first-round picks and DT Kenny Clark. It's very early in the process, but the Packers appear to be a playoff team and a potential Super Bowl contender, while the Cowboys seem to be a day late and a dollar short.
"I think the world of Micah. I might say I wish him well, but it's obvious I don't this weekend in terms of Green Bay winning the ballgame…" said Jones earlier this week. "He's going to make some plays no matter how you play him, but when I saw people play us well with Micah in the game, and it did happen, then obviously we'll be looking to try to run those kinds of plays."
Jerry is still delusional about where his team is with Parsons no longer screaming off the edge. The Cowboys have allowed the third-most yards (397.7 per game), the most passing yards (288), and are giving up nearly 31 points, which is the sixth-worst. But he's never going to admit the error of his ways, and a restless fan base will only grow louder if Parsons does what he's always done - disrupt the opposing offense.
“It’s going to be painful,” Parsons said when asked about sacking Dak Prescott. “That’s my guy. He was always like a good mentor for me. But you know how it is, he always told me if I ever faced him that it’ll be a great matchup, so I’m excited to see what Sunday brings.”
NERD NUMBERS
- Maye has averaged 261.7 pass YPG in 2025 (6th-most in NFL). He averaged 187.8 pass YPG as a starter in 2024 (34th in NFL). That's the 3rd-largest increase in pass YPG (+73.8) from a player’s 1st to 2nd season since 1980 (minimum of 10 starts as a rookie). Only Bernie Kosar (93.2) and Drew Bledsoe (84.9) had larger increases.
- Harold Landry has 3.5 sacks and 7 QB hits in 2025 (both top 5 in the NFL).
- The Bills are 12-0 with a +170 point differential at home since 2024, including playoffs. They are the only undefeated team and have the best point differential at home in this span.
- Spencer Rattler is 0-9 in his NFL career as a starting QB (0-3 in 2025). He's the first QB to begin a career 0-9 as a starter since DeShone Kizer in 2017.
- The Browns have allowed 204.3 total YPG in 2025 (1st in NFL). That's the fewest allowed by any team in Weeks 1-3 since the 2023 Browns (163.7 YPG).
- Jared Goff leads the NFL with a 77.9 completion percentage. That's the 5th highest percentage by a QB in the Super Bowl era.
- The Texans have had just 4 red zone drives in 2025 and have 0 TD on those RZ drives. They are one of two teams (2011 JAX) in the last 20 seasons to have 0 red zone TDs through 3 games.
- Justin Herbert joined HOF Dan Fouts as the only Chargers QBs to start a season 3-0 with 800+ passing yards through the first 3 team games of a season.