This week’s “Friday Football Footnotes” shares Tua Tagovailoa’s view of facing Steelers assistant coach Brian Flores.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line is reacting to Tom Brady’s mid-game tantrum in Pittsburgh. There is trade speculation surrounding a player in the Steelers-Dolphins game besides Chase Claypool.

The New York teams are red hot. And we look at how long the Philadelphia Eagles may stay unbeaten.

Tua’s take

One question heading into Sunday night’s game between the Steelers and the Miami Dolphins is how much influence Brian Flores will have on the outcome.

After all, the Steelers’ senior defensive assistant/ linebackers coach knows many of these Dolphins players, having been the head coach in Miami from 2019-21.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa admitted the familiarity Flores has with the Dolphins roster could come into play, but he’s not obsessing over it.

“He knows personnel really well from being here with us,” Tagovailoa said via DolphinsWire. “I’ve been with him for the past two years. So he definitely knows what I like and what I don’t like. But then again, schematically, this is (head coach) Mike (McDaniel)’s offense. This isn’t the same offense that I’ve been running while he’s been here the past two years.”

Tagovailoa insisted he is looking forward to the matchup more than he is worrying about whatever intel Flores may impart.

“I think we’re all excited to go up against their defense. You hear a ‘Pittsburgh Steelers defense’ and you just think of hard-nosed. You think of a really tough defense. They’re going to give us some good challenges in this game,” Tagovailoa added.

Making a pitch

The Philadelphia Eagles are heading into their bye at 6-0 after dispatching the Dallas Cowboys 26-17 last week. They are the lone remaining unbeaten team in the NFL.

But it’s unlikely the perfect 1972 Dolphins (17-0) will have to sweat over this Philly team too much, given how parity-filled the NFL is.

That said, it strikes me that the Eagles could be favored in each of their remaining games, and I don’t see a sure-fire loss on the schedule. I feel comfortable in saying that the next three games should be wins against the Steelers, the woeful Houston Texans and the lousy Washington Commanders. Those three teams have combined for just five victories. So that would get the Eagles to 9-0.

The next three games after that get tricky as they visit Indianapolis before hosting Green Bay and Tennessee. To be honest, I bet one of those three games is Philadelphia’s first pitfall. If I’m wrong and it somehow does get to 12-0, look out. The most difficult games for the Eagles down the stretch will all be in the NFC East, with one more against the Cowboys in Dallas and a pair against the New York Giants, who are currently 5-1.

• Brian Flores' return to Florida not a focus for Steelers players, coaches • Tim Benz: Steelers' emergency players in secondary should get a longer look • Scouting the Steelers' Week 7 opponent: Miami Dolphins

Nittany Lion leaving?

Sunday night in Miami, Chase Claypool won’t be the only pass-catcher on the field who is embroiled in trade rumors.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentioned Claypool as a trade target who is generating interest in advance of next month’s deadline. He thought the Green Bay Packers could be a logical landing spot for the third-year receiver out of Notre Dame. Previously, Claypool’s name had been floated as a potential trade chip that could land in Buffalo or Chicago.

Fowler also dangled Mike Gesicki’s name as a trade candidate. The Miami Dolphins tight end is playing on a $10.9 million franchise tag. He has just 15 receptions for 170 yards. The Penn State product does have three touchdowns. But his snap count share of 52% is the lowest since his rookie season.

“Sources say Miami is in the ‘we’re-willing-to-listen’ phase with Gesicki but isn’t quite shopping his services to other teams,” Fowler said. “Execs I’ve talked to don’t want much to do with his $10.9 million franchise tag and find it odd Miami placed the tag on him in March to sit him on the bench.”

The NFL trade deadline is at 1 p.m. Nov. 1.

“Start spreadin’ the news!”

Since we brought up the Giants, look at what’s happened to New York’s two NFL teams. The Giants are 5-1 (second place, NFC East), and the Jets are 4-2 (second place, AFC East).

That’s nine total wins in Gotham. The two combined for only eight all of last season and in 2020 as well. The last time both New York franchises finished .500 or better in the same year was 2011. The Giants won the NFC East at 9-7. The Jets missed the playoffs at 8-8.

The year before was the last time both franchises ended a season with records better than .500. The 11-5 Jets made the playoffs. The 10-6 Giants didn’t.

This week, the Giants are three-point underdogs in Jacksonville. The Jets are one-point underdogs in Denver. I’ll pick both to win. By the way, at BetRivers.com, a New York-New York parlay on the money line pays off at +384.

Backing Brady

During his team’s 20-18 loss in Pittsburgh Sunday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was caught on camera chewing out his offensive line.

As Brady himself later admitted, he threw “more F-bombs than touchdowns.” It’s not like Brady was any good himself. He was just 25 of 40 for 243 yards. Granted, the 45-year-old future Hall of Famer was under constant pressure. Even though the Steelers only got two sacks, Brady was hurried six times and hit three times, to say nothing of how many times the pressure forced Brady off his spot, into a different read or clogged a passing lane.

At least one of Brady’s offensive linemen expressed understanding of Brady’s sideline rebuke of his blockers. During a media session Thursday, center Robert Hainsey said, “I want nothing else from a quarterback than that — than a guy who’s willing to tell us what we need to do and step up. If he’s just sitting over there and not getting us going and not trying to help us, he wouldn’t be who he is today. So I love that from him. I know we all love that from him. It might look weird on TV, but that’s football. It’s a team sport, and that’s what you want from great teammates and great leaders, and he’s the best there is.”

This week the Bucs (3-3) are 13-point favorites over the Carolina Panthers (1-5). I bet Tampa wins. But the way they played Sunday, as bad as Carolina is, I’m not sure Brady and company are 13 points better than anyone.

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