Orlovsky believes Allen has enough to win a SB
Dan Orlovsky joins the Dan Patrick Show to defend his take on Matthew Stafford being a potential top-7 QB all-time with another Super Bowl, Josh Allen's chances of getting a ring and much more.
Video Transcript
A legendary UConn, Connecticut quarterback.
Yukon, Connecticut.
UConn cornerback, Dan Orlovsky also works part-time for ESPN as well or doing s- something like that.
Uh- How you doing?
I, about 30 seconds ago I was great and then Marv took a shot.
You called it Yukon, Connecticut- part-time so I'm a little bit in flux right now.
No, Im great.
How are you?
I'm good.
I'm good.
Um- Good Okay.
You did surprise me when you said Now I know you love Stafford, and y- you being a former Lion quarter back and teammate and But give me the rationale that if he wins another Super Bowl you're gonna put him in your top five, which is, you know, it's your opinion, but I just- Yeah I'm curious the rationale that you came to that he would be- Yeah top five all time.
Well, a couple things.
One, I said top five to top seven conversation, so I just think he gets into that, "Hey, is he in your conversation?"
you know, Dan, th- the foreshadowing of if they win, the Rams, another one this year, and I w- To do that his stats would probably be something similar to what they've been over the course of the past couple years.
That would give him two Super Bowl championships.
I don't know how many quarterbacks have won two Super Bowls in their career.
I would imagine 10, 15.
I don't know what that number is.
That would give him two Super bowl Championships, it would give him an MVP, he would be top 10 all-time in wins, and he would be top six all-time in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
I think if you just took that player and got rid of the, you know, the, the detri- And I- I guess you can't, but, like, oh my gosh, he was on the Lions and they stunk.
If you just took that accomplished resume, that player would have to be in that conversation along with other quarterbacks.
And so I'm not telling everybody he's a lock, but I do think it would get him into that at least conversation seat at the table type of thing.
Okay.
But we're looking at Brady, Mahomes, Montana to start, correct?
Yeah, sure.
Elway?
Yeah.
Peyton?
Yeah.
But this is, d- this would also lend to my point is I, I hate the fives.
Give me your top five, give me your top 10 'cause n- inevitably you're leaving out, like, we're not gonna put Drew Brees in there.
We're not gonna put Marino in there.
I'm sure there's Dan Fouts and Eli's- Brad, Brad Favre and Philers.
Fa- Favr, Rogers.
And so, you know, when I, when I had the comment of, like, top five, top seven conversation, you know, i- it's not as a literal thing, it's more of, like, that conversation about, yo, this guy's one of the great quarterbacks of all time type of thing.
So, because if you say, "Give me your top five," you are leaving somebody out there that absolutely warrants being in your top five.
That's where these lists sometimes become very subjective and a little disrespectful.
Yeah, I hate the list, but g- I, it drives, you know, our business.
Sure.
You know?
Sure.
I c- I get it, but if I said Matthew Stafford, two Super Bowls and an MVP, Aaron Rodgers.
I would have told you two years ago Rodgers.
I, I would have said that.
I mean, I grew up playing in the division with them, at least being on the sideline watching em, I'd be like, "Yo, this dude's freaking unbelievable."
One of the great throwers of the football.
But I think if Matthew go g- goes and gets another one, he's probably going to be 15, 20 wins shy of him.
I think he's gonna be right there with yards and touchdowns, and so another Super Bowl trophy.
And also I'd go back to this is part of the Eli conversation, 'cause when Eli comes up for the Hall of Fame and everyone goes, no, he's not a Hall of Famer because touchdown interception ratio a record, I go, "You, you have to equate the way they accomplish the top of mountain climb."
The, the journey that Eli went through to get those two rings is different than the journey that another quarterback that was a good player.
Like, u- you know, a, a, a Brad Johnson, you know?
And so Matthew, if you watch that, remember that Super Bowl run, it was clutch, clutch.
It's one of the clutch Super Bowl runs of all time.
You know, if he goes on another clutch Super Bowl run and he knocks off, you know, this is such a hypothetical thinking, but if you beat Josh Allen in the Super Bowl and Josh throws for 400 yards and you beat Mahomes and Burrow on the way, I, I, I think that has to provide context to the conversation.
So he's probably not going to be in people's argument, but..
If Mahomes ends his career with this many Super Bowls will it be a disappointment in some form?
Hell yeah.
Yeah?
Absolutely.
Hell yeah.
I mean, because the, the rocket ship that was when he took off, you know, and the, the attachment to a head coach that, you know, is in the conversation for one of the great head coaches of all time, an offensive wizard.
He had an, a- attachment to a, a tight end that is in the conversation for one of the greatest of all times.
The wide receiver that he was with, Tyreek Hill, in his generation's one of the best players of his generation at that position.
Defensive tackle, one of the best players at his position.
And so, and an organization that has a reputation for being a high-end organization.
So I think if he ends, you know, with, y- you're always questioning, like, how it gets to that point, but if it ends with the same amount of Super Bowls now as it, or in the future that it does now, I, I do think, 'Cause I think you expect him to win two more or so, three more.
And Andy Reid gonna stay around to have the all-time record for wins?
I would think so.
I would hope so.
I don't know how shy he is.
I know it's not that, much of a journey he's got left, but I would hope so.
And, you know, he's always said, "I've got this quarterback.
I've got this quarterback."
So as long as Patrick's healthy and playing like Patrick, it's gonna come quicker than it would for others and I would, I would hope that he's there and Patrick's his quarterback to go and get that done.
Talking to Dan Orlovsky, the, Yukon legend quarterback.
You can catch him on NFL Live every weekday at 4:00 Eastern, as well as appearances on Get Up and First Take.
Give me the most confusing team, the one that you're just not quite sure how good, how bad, what they are, who they are.
I'd probably tell you the Washington Commanders.
I'd go back to the '24 season.
That was unbelievable.
Jayden Daniels is Offensive Rookie of the Year, and we've got this superstar quarterback.
These fourth quarter comebacks, they go to the NFC championship game.
Dan Quinn, his energy, the positivity, it's awesome.
And the off-the-field stuff, it was this washing of such negative and just this infusion of fun.
And then they didn't do much that offseason.
They got very old on defense going into the '25 season, and it was a little bit of some of the result and the, the I don't wanna say the, the luck that they had, but just the catching all the breaks at the end of those games shadowed what you really were as a team, the fourth down conversions, all that.
Then you go to last year, and you don't play as well as you should.
Your defense is old.
Your quarterback sk- gets hurt.
The offensive coordinator leaves.
And so now, one, you're going into this third and pivotal season.
You got a brand-new offensive coordinator, David Blough, super young.
W- I'm hoping he's amazing.
I don't know a ton about him.
I know he's got a past with Arizona, so there's a little bit of, you know, you know, Ben Johnson element to him 'cause of D- Detroit, and there's a, a Petzing el- element 'cause Arizona.
So what's the offense actually gonna be?
You lose your left tackle, who you just made the highest paid left tackle in football, and all your fans are like, "We'll be okay."
Those two things can't happen at the same time.
It's the third most expensive defense in the NFL.
Third.
If you asked NFL people, "Who's the third most expensive defense in the NFL?"
No one would say Washington.
So it's an unbelievably expensive defense, but a little bit unproven 'cause there's so many.
I think there's six or seven new starters on that unit.
And so it could go really good if they gel and those high-end paid players play at such a high level, and the free agent signings and the draft picks play at such a high level.
Or it could be a, a, a, a season of question, of, okay, where's this organization headed, and, you know, a second year of maybe some up and down from Jayden Daniels.
I'm bullish on them, but I'm just not all in to see how it plays out.
More pressure on Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson this year.
I always put them in their own category because of the history and the success, but I tell you, Josh Allen, I'm of the belief I think the roster's better than the public perception.
I'll go back to last year when does Josh Allen have enough to go win it?
Absolutely he does.
If w- top five offensive line, top five running back, a great play caller, a head coach that, in part, got that job probably because of your relationship.
I think the pass-catching group from tight end and wide receiver is plenty good.
Plenty good.
Two really good tight ends.
Three good tight ends.
Two really good pass catches.
There are four or five deep at the wide receiver position, all have different roles.
DJ Moore obviously that addition.
I think the defensive line is young and athletic.
They've got young and athletic speedsters on the backend that they have to play well.
And I think Jim Leonard's a stud.
So, and n- not to knock anything in Baltimore, Lamar's amazing.
Jesse Minter, we think, is gonna be great, but probably more pressure on Josh.
More likely to get back to the Super Bowl, the Patriots or Seahawks?
I think the Patriots, I think the Patriots are probably going to be a better team this year, maybe not have a as good or better record.
We all know the schedule was historically easy last year.
That will not be the case this year.
Offensive line should be significantly improved.
I think they're impossible to match up against man to man for most teams.
Quarterback is an absolute stud.
He's gonna play for the next 10 years as a top five quarterback in the NFL.
The defense is fantastic.
Dan, I went and watched or rewatched the Super Bowl yesterday to start g- to get ready for next Wednesday's game, and one of my takeaways was, holy smokes, that New England defense was good.
I mean, obviously Seattle's was great as well, but that was going against a very good offensive unit in Seattle, and that New England defense was fantastic.
And so I just think that they're gonna be a really good team this year that maybe doesn't have, I dunno what they were, 14 and 3 last y- year.
Seattle, still very good.
I'm of the belief calling plays in the NFL is an unbelievably difficult job, and the, the Brian Fleury, who's stepping in for Clint Kubiak has never called plays before in, in the NFL.
Never called plays.
We've seen that happen four times with the defending Super Bowl champion over the last, I think, 10 to 12 years.
All four times, the offense has dropped at least 15 points in that ranking of 1 through 32.
15 slots.
So that's a, that's a tall task and big shoes to fill.
I'm looking at the odds, and the Rams overwhelming favorites.
But I went back and looked at the last 20 teams who had odds similar or better to win the Super Bowl.
All 20 did not win the Super Bowl that year.
Yeah.
Well, I- How do the ramps not win?
I think there's two things.
Health, we all know that, right?
Like, there's only so many teams that you say, "If they're healthy, are they good enough?"
There are teams that just aren't good enough.
If they're healthy, are they good enough?
The Rams, if they're healthy, are good enough.
Two, the schedule is brutal, and the travel schedule is brutal, just like it was last year.
You know, and so h- how they manage that, I think it's a little bit.
I think this, this season, I have said if they're healthy, no one plays them within single digits in a meaningful game.
So do I think that there's a, a hiccup here in week 10 or 11 or 12 where they might just become tired and bored?
Thursday Night Football, don't know what it is.
Yeah, maybe.
But if they're healthy, I just don't see how anyone can handle this offensive line, the quarterback and play caller together, the different personnel groupings they can play, and this defense is so talented.
So, do I expect them to maybe try to peak at the right time?
I do.
I, I think it's gonna be like a little bit like a, you know, elite golfer as they get later into their career, trying to peak in those four majors.
A little bit like the NBA, where you might manage some guys throughout the season, but I truly don't believe that if they're healthy anyone is good enough to beat them if they, if they're healthy.
Do you ever get run over on the sidelines?
I don't think so.
I was usually behind the play though.
Th- like I was o- I was often probably five or 10 yards behind the play trying to see things that I could share informationwise.
It was very rarely on the defensive side, kind of where the ball was going, so I don't think so, but I got a bad memory.
But you normally stand by the coach?
Different situations, different moments.
I've been a part of teams when the coach would call the play into me, and then I would walkie-talkie the play into the quarterback, so I wouldn't wanna stand next to the coach that close, probably 10 yards away.
I've been in places where the offensive coordinator's in the booth.
You know, so, standing near the coach wasn't necessarily an, in a, a constant thing unless situational, you're, you know, two-minute drive and you're tryna signal stuff in or whatnot.
Did you ever change the play that the coach or offensive coordinator gave you to say- Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely, yeah yeah.
Really?
I mean, I shared Oh, yeah, yeah.
I mean Dan, you gotta remember where , you know, where I was at times. .
So, yeah, I mean th- And you know, there, there are times when I would have the play call come in and I just know this play call stinks, and had some form of communication with the starting quarterback to be like, "Oh, you didn't get it.
You know, now you gotta call your own play."
So those were always prior planned things.
You know?
Tha- that's, that's trying to get everybody to, You know, i- if a play call comes in, I think a lot of times as the quarterback you can just, you just know if this is a good Now sometimes you think it's a bad play call and it hits, you know?
So, but I, I definitely had moments when play call came in and either did not give a play call and the quarterb- the starter would knew, would know what that meant, or changed the play call.
I, I've shared, I think I've shared this story with you.
I was at place where the quarterback was a really good player, but non-confrontational, and I don't know the why behind the non-confrontational.
And we had this first time play caller, a really good football coach, f- again, play calling's hard and he would constantly call plays for the quarterback that he had come from- his previous.
And the quarterback that we, we had as our starter didn't like the plays out of certain formations.
Hey, I like this play but I want it out of this formation, especially in crucial moments.
Yeah .
And you know, he would just continue to call that play, and finally I'd go to the coach and be like, 'You have to stop calling these plays out of these formations.
He wants them outta this," and that never changed.
And so I would just start changing the play to the one that the quarterback preferred more than, than the one the coach called.
Was it Matt Schaub?
It was not Schauby.
Do you re- When we was I was with Schauby, that was with Kubiak.
Kubiak, yeah I mean, he can call plays as a corpse.
I mean, he was, he was sensational.
No, no coach I've ever been around had a feel, calling plays to get quarterbacks in rhythm like him, so it was not Schauby, no.
Josh Freeman.
Not Freebird, no.
But w- Freebird, y- Josh was such a talented kid, but sometimes Josh would be all over the place, so, um- Mike, Mike Glennon yeah, we had Mike Glennon.
Mike Glennon seems nonchalant .
Nah, Mikey G. Mikey, Mike, no, no, not Mikey G. Okay.
'cause we had a shrunk playbook for Mike 'cause he was a fr- a, a rookie then.
Good player though, good player.
Great- Previous to that stop.
Great to talk to you.
Thank you boss, you as well.
Thanks.
That's, Dan Orlovsky.
UConn Connecticut quarterback .
