Speaker 1: Do You Around the NFL podcast is legal in the
Speaker 1: continental United States, but not Hawaii. Welcome back to another
Speaker 1: edition of the Around the NFL Podcast. My name is
Speaker 1: Dan Hansis and I'm joined by a room fell the heroes,
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler, Chris Westling, and Greg Rosen Thought. What's up? Boys?
Speaker 1: Hey Dan? Happy Friday? Looking good? Blow twins? What's wrong
Speaker 1: with the polos? I'm just saying, you look you look
Speaker 1: like adorable like boys that were like like your family, Mark,
Speaker 1: are the two boys are close together in age? You
Speaker 1: guys look like two little boys together. They gave us
Speaker 1: the shirts to wear them right, It's like, do you
Speaker 1: guys have a bunk bed that you share as well?
Speaker 1: Hue and Dewey. You'd have to find out. Uh, Greg,
Speaker 1: you're feeling chipper, of course. I imagine after great, great
Speaker 1: grace that is befall in the NFL. Well, I'm happy
Speaker 1: to see the NFL take it, you know, in the
Speaker 1: pants and uh, I'm happy to see Tom Brady is
Speaker 1: gonna be back on the field in six days. I mean,
Speaker 1: we got less than a week till the season starts.
Speaker 1: Less than a week. This is a big moment for Greg,
Speaker 1: of course. Yeah, that's the big news, and we will
Speaker 1: be getting into it. Tom Brady will be playing week
Speaker 1: one after his appeal or the federal court ruled in
Speaker 1: his favor. It's a dark day, but a nice day
Speaker 1: for the throne of ease. Of course. Well, there was
Speaker 1: a moment. I actually they're a small part of me
Speaker 1: was disappointed not to see what Jimmy Garoppolo had. I
Speaker 1: was kind of excited, just just a little bit. But
Speaker 1: I am happy that the league office essentially was punished
Speaker 1: for wasting all of our time over the last six months.
Speaker 1: How much money and money, How much time have we
Speaker 1: wasted talking about it's nonsensical issue. Let's check out too.
Speaker 1: We had some readers that are listeners that sent in
Speaker 1: some photos here. If you're watching in the video, and
Speaker 1: this is Greg's throne of e is a big moment
Speaker 1: for him. Uh, it doesn't get better. This is the
Speaker 1: new throne of ease music. By the way, West not
Speaker 1: a fan. It sounds like you're on a merry go
Speaker 1: round at a country fair. Well, listen, I think they
Speaker 1: got the spirit of it. It's got the spirit. Listen.
Speaker 1: Copyright claims have shot down our original throne of ease music,
Speaker 1: but this. This does just fine, and we love our
Speaker 1: listeners sending in all the you know, what do you
Speaker 1: call them? I don't know, photoshopped excitement. People are excited
Speaker 1: about the throne of ease. No, no one is excited
Speaker 1: about the throne of these Competing on Twitter today, I
Speaker 1: was like, I love you sending in all these throw
Speaker 1: The catch too, is they would not want to be
Speaker 1: sitting on are You're the last person that's been like,
Speaker 1: You're not one of these, you know Massachusetts people that
Speaker 1: their entire life centers around Tom Brady's fortunes. I don't
Speaker 1: think that you really were that concerned whether he played
Speaker 1: or not. No, not really out as a fan super
Speaker 1: Bowl a little bit. I mean they've they've won enough,
Speaker 1: and I've been way more outraged on this issue than
Speaker 1: you had. I'm just used to it. Well, your Patriots
Speaker 1: fan too. I saw it happened in the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: patriot jumping up and down, hugging each I'm a football fan,
Speaker 1: as am I. All right, let's talk about still better
Speaker 1: about that super Bowl where he was put ten seats
Speaker 1: down in. It's fine that I was seated over there.
Speaker 1: The problem was when I looked over and the lowest
Speaker 1: moment the history of this podcast or this group of people,
Speaker 1: the celebration on the throne of ease. You guys crawling
Speaker 1: up the throne of ease. I don't get why it's
Speaker 1: okay for you to celebrate in the news room when
Speaker 1: the Jets do something, but I can't celebrate a good
Speaker 1: It was a great moment, better four of the team,
Speaker 1: and I'm a fan of a great football up on
Speaker 1: the bandwagon, I'm a fan of At that point of
Speaker 1: the Supery, it's not even about professionalism. It's about we're
Speaker 1: rooting for a team you don't like. In forty years,
Speaker 1: you can tell Jack Papa, I don't know why I'll
Speaker 1: still be talking like that. You can say I was
Speaker 1: there for the greatest play in Super Bowl history and
Speaker 1: I couldn't even enjoy it because I was. I was.
Speaker 1: It was a total professional in that, alright. Getting to
Speaker 1: a big show today, of course, yes, we're gonna dig
Speaker 1: into the Brady news and what that means for the
Speaker 1: Patriots and the NFL and then the rest of the
Speaker 1: yes of the Jets and everyone else. We'll get into that.
Speaker 1: We will also then Wednesday we hit our NFC preview
Speaker 1: that was solid I liked it, you know, I would
Speaker 1: b plus a minus. Move that great even up with
Speaker 1: the a f C preview, perfect timing with Tom Brady
Speaker 1: in the mix. I think it does our power poll.
Speaker 1: I would think changes a little bit right. I would
Speaker 1: put the Patriots up a little higher higher sixteen games, Tom,
Speaker 1: I think we all put them up one or two spots.
Speaker 1: I didn't move. They were up high. They were pretty
Speaker 1: high to begin with. You thought they were the fifth before,
Speaker 1: and I just they're about the same. All right, Well
Speaker 1: that's good, so we'll get it. And by the way,
Speaker 1: the Power Poll no connection to NFL Media's power rankings.
Speaker 1: I must conn no connection at all. And then uh yes,
Speaker 1: So we'll go through that team by team, division by vision,
Speaker 1: ask some big questions, and then we'll reveal our six
Speaker 1: playoff team predictions. I don't know that sounds fun. It's
Speaker 1: a full show. And by the way, if you want
Speaker 1: to watch us and like we flashed up some some
Speaker 1: of those graphics people that sent in some things and
Speaker 1: that was nice, you could go to our YouTube if
Speaker 1: you go to the NFL channel on YouTube, take us
Speaker 1: through this, Greg, how do you get to the well?
Speaker 1: If you go to our Twitter account. You can just
Speaker 1: see the link to our YouTube playlist will be right
Speaker 1: there at the top of our Twitter account. We'll also
Speaker 1: tweet it out, but yeah, if you if you just
Speaker 1: search it on YouTube, all of our shows are there,
Speaker 1: the plist around the NFL and this is all news
Speaker 1: to me. Well, now you're plugged in. We're all plugged in.
Speaker 1: But before speaking news, before we get to our preview,
Speaker 1: we check in behind the glass with the great TV.
Speaker 1: What is going on, guys? Just a quick p s A.
Speaker 1: People have been asking about the song we're using an
Speaker 1: out show. That song is by Rappaport William and it's
Speaker 1: called Sleepless Nights. I don't it's available online, but that's
Speaker 1: the nameless song if you want to Rappaport William so
Speaker 1: can people? Is that on iTunes or anything? But I
Speaker 1: don't think it is because in the house n Fall Library.
Speaker 1: So I'm just putting that name out there in case
Speaker 1: you can. You know, people have been asking they like
Speaker 1: the tune. I'm getting some pop too about people? How
Speaker 1: do people get to get your dan hands as theme song?
Speaker 1: Who asked for that? That's more about you? I got
Speaker 1: some heat it. What's the name of that song? Again
Speaker 1: by the way, no, no, no, thank you for plugging
Speaker 1: it again. But the name of the Sleepless Nights, that's
Speaker 1: a great name for song. It is all right, let's
Speaker 1: do some news because this is what you lift the land. Yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: here it is. I can't believe the news today. The
Speaker 1: judge has nullified. Judge Richard Berman, the U. S. District
Speaker 1: Court has nullified Tom Brady's four game suspension uh that
Speaker 1: was levied against the Patriots quarterback back on May eleven,
Speaker 1: when Ted Wells, an independent investigator hired by the NFL
Speaker 1: NFL gumshoots. Ted Wells asserted that Brady had this general
Speaker 1: knowledge of the deflation of football's they banged them with
Speaker 1: a four game suspension. They go all the way to
Speaker 1: federal court and it's ruled that Tom Brady will not
Speaker 1: have to serve that suspension. Big news. Well, I think
Speaker 1: there were to me three main takeaways from Judge Burman.
Speaker 1: Roger Goodell cannot dispense his own brand of industrial justice.
Speaker 1: He can't be basically the judge and the executioner. Uh.
Speaker 1: Ted Wells was found not to be independent, despite the
Speaker 1: NFL's claim to the contrary. Judge Berman said multiple times
Speaker 1: put independent in quotation marks, and you cannot this cannot
Speaker 1: be emphasizing that you cannot bust somebody for general awareness
Speaker 1: of a crime. It's not in the c b A.
Speaker 1: And frankly, I think it's irresponsible to put somebody's legacy
Speaker 1: on the line for a general awareness of something. And
Speaker 1: we've said this all along. They're Basicly, the Wells document
Speaker 1: did not come up with any proof. And you know, uh,
Speaker 1: you know you've got a bad case when the judges
Speaker 1: thrown air quotes at you repeatedly for your independent investigation.
Speaker 1: I took away from Burman that it wasn't so much
Speaker 1: he didn't even care whether Brady knew or not. At
Speaker 1: a certain point, he just thought the whole process was
Speaker 1: such a problem that it didn't even matter whether Brady
Speaker 1: knew or what he didn't know. That Brady didn't have
Speaker 1: enough warning of what this whole process should be, what
Speaker 1: the type of discipline he could have, That everything wasn't
Speaker 1: in place ahead of time, which is a lot of
Speaker 1: what you talked about West months ago, Just that that
Speaker 1: they were kind of making up the rules as they
Speaker 1: went along, and you can't do that, and that's why
Speaker 1: it can't be well, that's the biggest problem, because if
Speaker 1: you're going to roll a sports league, things can't be arbitrary.
Speaker 1: They have to have established rules, and you can't just
Speaker 1: all of a sudden start caring about equipment. I mean,
Speaker 1: there was a Jay Feeley told Judge Burman in two
Speaker 1: thousand nine, a Jets equipment man was sanctioned by a
Speaker 1: league for messing with footballs the kicker balls. Nobody investigated
Speaker 1: Jay Feely, Nobody asked him about his general awareness at
Speaker 1: the time. And this is on top of the Panther situation,
Speaker 1: the Charger situation where they're caught messing with footballs on
Speaker 1: the sideline and they get a slap on the risk.
Speaker 1: You can't just decide that Tom Brady because everybody paranoid
Speaker 1: about the Patriots is held to a different standard than
Speaker 1: everyone else. One thing I'll say, because there are a
Speaker 1: lot of people that feel, and I'm in one of them,
Speaker 1: that Tom Brady wasn't innocent in all this. I think
Speaker 1: that he was aware of this. I think they did
Speaker 1: try to get to seek a competitive advantage, and I
Speaker 1: think what's gotten lost here is that Tom Brady, in
Speaker 1: my opinion, is not innocent. He's he's as innocent as
Speaker 1: o J in the terms of yeah, maybe the court
Speaker 1: has found him not guilty, but I don't. I still
Speaker 1: don't think the Patriots should be getting away. Why are
Speaker 1: you not asking what Jay Feeley was doing in two
Speaker 1: thousand nine. I don't know anything about j But what
Speaker 1: I'm saying is this has happened before, and Tom Brady
Speaker 1: has been treated different. I don't think anyone denies that
Speaker 1: Tom Brady wanted the balls deflated less. But did he
Speaker 1: know eleven point five twelve point five was all that
Speaker 1: spelled out? You know? Is there any way to think that?
Speaker 1: And that's why I'm not going crazy as a Jets
Speaker 1: fan that this got overturned because I think the NFL
Speaker 1: didn't handle this very well. I think the suspension was
Speaker 1: too heavy handed. I think everything went wrong in terms
Speaker 1: of how the league handled it, and they're paying for
Speaker 1: it now. But I also I think that Brady, really
Speaker 1: he knew what he did was wrong, and I think
Speaker 1: that I still stand by getting rid of the cell phone.
Speaker 1: Getting rid of the cell phone to me, was an
Speaker 1: admission of guilt. To me, he was specifically told he
Speaker 1: did not need to produce that cell phone. How is
Speaker 1: it that's been nothing more than a pr game by
Speaker 1: the NFL all along and the attorneys. He was told
Speaker 1: the phone didn't matter, but to hold on to the phone, Tom,
Speaker 1: I don't Why does it matter if he was told
Speaker 1: he didn't have to produce it? Well, no, you hold
Speaker 1: onto I mean, there's never been any proof. I've never
Speaker 1: got a good way to get rid of proof is
Speaker 1: to destroy the evidence. By the way, why are you
Speaker 1: holding Tom Brady to a standard Everyone in the history
Speaker 1: of football before this didn't have to be held to.
Speaker 1: I think it's fair to say that Brady at times
Speaker 1: didn't look good in all this, that a lot of
Speaker 1: what he said, uh in terms of his testimony wasn't
Speaker 1: particularly credible, and a lot of the things his agent
Speaker 1: said weren't that credible either, But it all didn't really
Speaker 1: matter because it didn't change really what Berman was talking about,
Speaker 1: which were the things you mentioned that they were essentially
Speaker 1: made a mountain out of a mohole, and they made
Speaker 1: up rules that they went along, So it didn't matter
Speaker 1: if if Brady was in a line or Now. I
Speaker 1: look at this and this is going to be looked
Speaker 1: back upon as the debacle in the case that wasted
Speaker 1: our time, and the NFL didn't get it right. Well.
Speaker 1: Now the focus is on the NFL and it's justice system,
Speaker 1: because the one thing when it's suspension to suspension, if
Speaker 1: you're the average fan or if you're writing about the NFL,
Speaker 1: it is an absolute cryptic maze as to what punishments
Speaker 1: will be. For most of these cases, you have no
Speaker 1: idea how the NFL operates behind closed doors and hands
Speaker 1: down its punishments. And in some cases, I think some
Speaker 1: fan bases say something doesn't seem right, like one team
Speaker 1: seems to get whacked a certain way, another player from
Speaker 1: another team doesn't, and the NFL cannot send We had
Speaker 1: this in house court system that gets things. That's the
Speaker 1: positive because when they go every time the judge says,
Speaker 1: what on earth is happening with your processes disaster? We
Speaker 1: we think it will be fixed. And but the NFL
Speaker 1: is still appealing this. They're gonna try to fight it
Speaker 1: in court. You never know, maybe the win. It seems
Speaker 1: unlike Jeffrey Kessler Uh, the NFL p a s agent
Speaker 1: essentially in Brady's in this case is five and oh
Speaker 1: against the NFL and courts over the last three years,
Speaker 1: and now owners are starting to talk up about it,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna mention something I found really interesting that
Speaker 1: Arthur Blank said, the Falcons owner, He said, you know,
Speaker 1: he would have rather seen it with a positive ruling
Speaker 1: for the NFL, and he understands why the commissioner in
Speaker 1: the league feels as strongly as it does about trying
Speaker 1: to protect the rights the league is collectively bargained, and
Speaker 1: he thinks that's important. That's basically as little preamble, I
Speaker 1: don't really hate you, Roger Goodat, but here's the hammer drop.
Speaker 1: I don't think they should be rebargained in the federal court.
Speaker 1: Having said that, I think the commissioner and ownership around
Speaker 1: the league have to be prepared to look at things,
Speaker 1: look at change, and change might be appropriate. And that
Speaker 1: that's at the end of a big amount of talk
Speaker 1: from Blank, basically that this is bad for the NFL.
Speaker 1: It's so obvious that it's bad for the NFL. And
Speaker 1: Goodell keeps talking about integrity of the game and protecting
Speaker 1: this shield. He just was a big part in dragging
Speaker 1: his NFL shield through the mud unnecessarily for the last
Speaker 1: six months. If Paul tag Labe was commissioner, he was
Speaker 1: very smart pr guy. Maybe didn't do all the right things,
Speaker 1: but I think he would have done this quietly, handled
Speaker 1: it between him and the Patriots, and it wouldn't have
Speaker 1: been something that we would have been talking about. We
Speaker 1: would have been talking about the two thousand fifteen season.
Speaker 1: The owners have also talked about the integrity of the
Speaker 1: game and what's more important to the integrity of the game.
Speaker 1: I mean, Tom Brady goes out and drops twenty eight
Speaker 1: points on the Colts in the second half with balls
Speaker 1: that were determined to be fair, then he's a Super
Speaker 1: Bowl MVP, so no competitive advantage whatsoever. And yet you're
Speaker 1: gonna suspend the Super Bowl m v P for four
Speaker 1: games for something for equipment hampering that nobody has been
Speaker 1: punishment but punished for before. You've just you're moving the
Speaker 1: goalpost on what integrity and I don't like that. I
Speaker 1: can't see Goodell stepping down in terms of his authority.
Speaker 1: I think this is gonna keep going on, and it's
Speaker 1: going to be tricky. I don't necessarily believe changes coming.
Speaker 1: I just am so used to seeing the NFL, p
Speaker 1: A and Goodell that I just think it goes on.
Speaker 1: I think the owners, no, no, I don't think that
Speaker 1: will happen. But I think the owners are embarrassed that
Speaker 1: the NFL is embarrassed, and I think they are sick
Speaker 1: of getting embarrassed in courts and being told whatever you
Speaker 1: said is wrong. This is what's going to happen, and
Speaker 1: I think that this is what this specifically, I think
Speaker 1: will be the tipping point that will spark change and
Speaker 1: how they handle them. They have to figure out a
Speaker 1: way to make things more straight through. They can't be
Speaker 1: all willy nilly with things. They need to change. Godell
Speaker 1: basically he can't be to judge the jury and and
Speaker 1: the appeals guy. That system all needs to change. I
Speaker 1: think every owner would agree with that, every fan, most
Speaker 1: fans would. I think there's a pocketive owners that whether
Speaker 1: or not you think this is right or not, there's
Speaker 1: a pocket of owners that that appreciated that Goodell went
Speaker 1: after Brady and the Patriots. That pocketive owners should be
Speaker 1: concerned about what the Bucks did in Week seventeen to
Speaker 1: upset the competitive competitive integrity the game, which is a
Speaker 1: much bigger issue. They ended up with an asset that
Speaker 1: was reportedly worth three first round draft picks, Sam Branford
Speaker 1: and another veteran player an asset that they benched all
Speaker 1: their star players to end up with that as that's competitive,
Speaker 1: and that's why the NBA came up with a lottery
Speaker 1: because teams were losing on perfect agree, that's the petitive.
Speaker 1: That's integrity that I mean, you've got to address that.
Speaker 1: That that okay, way more important than anything to do
Speaker 1: with the plati football. Point is there are owners that
Speaker 1: appreciate the goodell when after this issue too, because the
Speaker 1: Patriots are seen by some as a team that goes
Speaker 1: paranoia paranoia not just a team that has habitually cross
Speaker 1: lines behind the scenes, and that's part of the reason
Speaker 1: all teams have crossin all thirty two teams, can I
Speaker 1: finish point because you're holding them, You're doing what everyone's
Speaker 1: been doing. You're being paranoid about the Patriots and holding
Speaker 1: them is called an opinion that's different than yours. All right, Well,
Speaker 1: there is a feeling in the league that the paranoid
Speaker 1: getting away with things for years, and I think that's
Speaker 1: part of the reason something small, yes like bald deflation,
Speaker 1: became bigger. So while maybe the Patriots shouldn't have been punished,
Speaker 1: and there still has a team getting punished, they got
Speaker 1: the fine, they lost the pick. While I don't get
Speaker 1: on the Brady for being this being rescinded the suspension,
Speaker 1: I get why this happened. And part of the reason
Speaker 1: is the Patriots are a franchise that hasn't haven't stayed
Speaker 1: within the rules, and they got banged for it. By
Speaker 1: the way, they shouldn't have the pick. They should they
Speaker 1: should give them the pick back. That's a that's at
Speaker 1: still hanging out because the Patriots didn't fight that. And
Speaker 1: and the best thing I read about this entire um
Speaker 1: fallout was from Dan Wetzel and Yahoo, and he pointed
Speaker 1: out how much Roger Goodell should regret not taking the
Speaker 1: Olive brand from Robert Craft three months when Roger Goodell
Speaker 1: had one this the Patriots were giving up. He even
Speaker 1: had Tom Brady willing to take a one game, two
Speaker 1: games suspension as long as he didn't have to admit guilt.
Speaker 1: He just would admit that he obstructed justice, so he
Speaker 1: could have won this. And everyone thought Roger good Out, well,
Speaker 1: he got him this time. The Patriots were willing to
Speaker 1: stand down, and he wouldn't take it. He kept and
Speaker 1: then he lost when when Crass stood down that to
Speaker 1: give him. Then the four game suspension after that, that's
Speaker 1: when you knew s was going to hit the fan.
Speaker 1: And that's when Kraft got back in because he's like, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Speaker 1: what just happened here? How about that? Good job by hand?
Speaker 1: This self editing. They're not gonna have to beep out
Speaker 1: anything means No, I won't say it. Did anyone other
Speaker 1: than Craft handle this with the with the league and
Speaker 1: the thirty two teams as the biggest concern? What do
Speaker 1: you mean Craft all along handled this as my biggest
Speaker 1: concern is doing what's best for the league. I don't
Speaker 1: know if anyone else involved in this had that as
Speaker 1: their biggest concern. Well, I don't know where for Well,
Speaker 1: their actions may look to us one way, where they
Speaker 1: how they feel inside and what they're motivated by, We
Speaker 1: don't know that. I think more than one, more than
Speaker 1: just one person thought they were doing the right thing.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean it was the right for the league,
Speaker 1: but it doesn't mean that it was. But I think
Speaker 1: there's more than just Robert Kraft thought they were doing
Speaker 1: what was right for football. Doesn't mean we agree with
Speaker 1: the viewpoint. All right, let's move on. And before we
Speaker 1: move on, we should wes, you and I, let's shake hands.
Speaker 1: Let's turn it into one of these things like see
Speaker 1: this like Rocky and Apollo, but two white guys. Basically
Speaker 1: that's the same thing. Other than that, Yeah, uh listen,
Speaker 1: you know that's a that's a hot button topic, and
Speaker 1: we keep it real Well, I'm glad we almost probably
Speaker 1: never have to talk about it again. Is that's a
Speaker 1: relief if we do. I don't know, I don't know,
Speaker 1: never ends. All right, let's get into it now the
Speaker 1: a f C preview. Uh, listen, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: stuff to go on, a lot of teams in there,
Speaker 1: a lot of teams in the a f C East.
Speaker 1: We're gonna begin with and uh, you know, we're gonna
Speaker 1: same same structure we did for Wednesday show, where we're
Speaker 1: gonna each of us will ask a question about each
Speaker 1: of the four teams. And we're gonna start with Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: who has a question about the Miami Dolphins. A lot
Speaker 1: of buzz around the Dolphins. Well, and I and I
Speaker 1: have a question because I'm not sure I buy in,
Speaker 1: but I look at what they've done on defense. You're
Speaker 1: getting the dominant Sioux in there. I do like the offense.
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be a better attack under Bill
Speaker 1: Laser and year two. And my question is this, is
Speaker 1: it possible that Miami I don't know when the last
Speaker 1: time they did this, could feel the top ten defense
Speaker 1: and the top ten offense. That's a great question. I
Speaker 1: think that's possible. And we predicted as a group they
Speaker 1: weren't one of my playoff teams, but in terms of
Speaker 1: our power poll, the pay, the Dolphins are going back
Speaker 1: to the playoffs and Philbin's winning his job, and I
Speaker 1: do think on paper they should have a top ten
Speaker 1: defense and offense with Laser. I don't remember the last
Speaker 1: time I've been this optimistic about the Dolphins, and they've
Speaker 1: kind of changed my mind. I figured they would have
Speaker 1: a great defensive line. I've wondered about the offense. But
Speaker 1: what I've seen in the preseason, and and you've mentioned
Speaker 1: Bill Laser is basically running Chip Kelly's offense. And I
Speaker 1: don't know why the rest of the league isn't trending this.
Speaker 1: The first time I talked to a coach, I want
Speaker 1: to ask that question, and I think it just comes
Speaker 1: down to coaches are died in the world. With what
Speaker 1: they were born with in terms of their coaching careers,
Speaker 1: and a lot of them just won't shift away from it.
Speaker 1: They need an epiphany. This is why I was always
Speaker 1: fascinated by riverbet Ron's because he was brought up, like
Speaker 1: you mentioned, he was birthed in love e Smith, uh,
Speaker 1: Mike Dick, really conservative football. And it takes an epiphany
Speaker 1: to say, you know what, maybe I don't have all
Speaker 1: the answers, and it would take let's say we both
Speaker 1: this group believes that the Eagles and the Dolphins are
Speaker 1: going to the playoffs this year. If both these teams
Speaker 1: make noise in January, and that will become a major narrative.
Speaker 1: If these offenses are both it is a copycat lead,
Speaker 1: especially with a pretty latan okay receiver group. I would
Speaker 1: not say an above average receiver group at all. I
Speaker 1: still worry with this team and one of the reasons
Speaker 1: I didn't have in the playoffs. Even it all looks
Speaker 1: great on paper, it all makes sense. There's something rotten
Speaker 1: in the core of the Miami Dolphins that generally they
Speaker 1: blow it, and it's an organizational thing. It goes to
Speaker 1: the top. You know that they could coach every I'm
Speaker 1: just saying I don't really trust them. They could be
Speaker 1: the rare team that makes the playoffs and fires the coach.
Speaker 1: Your question about the Patriots. You know they've got Tom
Speaker 1: Brady back, but I'm worried more about the defense. I
Speaker 1: think the offense will be fine. They haven't played all
Speaker 1: the receivers yet, but on defense, they've got a really
Speaker 1: stout front seven. Dominique easily last year's number one pick
Speaker 1: looks like lights out in the preseason Malcolm Brown up front?
Speaker 1: Is that front seven going to be dominant enough to
Speaker 1: make up for the fact that they lost their top
Speaker 1: three cornerbacks from last year and nobody really knows outside
Speaker 1: of Malcolm Butler who's playing cornerback for them, and they
Speaker 1: the defense not only has to be better because the
Speaker 1: secondary is bad, the defense has to be better upfront
Speaker 1: because I don't think the offense is gonna put up
Speaker 1: thirty points a game. This is gonna be a different formula,
Speaker 1: and they're good at doing this, but I think this
Speaker 1: is going to be a formula where Brady is not
Speaker 1: putting up big fantasy stats and they're winning twenty two
Speaker 1: to seven teen. Why would their offense be any different
Speaker 1: than last year because their receivers are not deep at all. Uh,
Speaker 1: the running back position is terrible, and they're starting three rookies.
Speaker 1: Maybe the rookies will be great. What's different than last
Speaker 1: year though three rookies, interior offensive line, the running back
Speaker 1: positions worse, sins gone. LaFell is not going to be
Speaker 1: there to start the full health though it took six
Speaker 1: or seven weeks ago. By the way, the Patriots have
Speaker 1: reeled off multiple double digit win season with some pretty
Speaker 1: bad defenses over the years. Don't forget that Jonas Gray
Speaker 1: hit a two game and he came out of nowhere.
Speaker 1: Le Garrett Blunt didn't joined the team until after Halloween.
Speaker 1: They'll be fine, said the same thing you did, though
Speaker 1: in the preseason, Easily and Brown were both factors, especially Easily.
Speaker 1: It's the best friend seven they've had since since two
Speaker 1: thousand four, since they were usually was the guy they
Speaker 1: thought they were getting when they drafted him and disappeared
Speaker 1: last year. But he looks like they're on Mayo back.
Speaker 1: How many teams go from having the best secondary they
Speaker 1: had since two thousand and four to the next year,
Speaker 1: five months later having the best set top front seven
Speaker 1: they've had since two thousand and four. Very weird. Al Right,
Speaker 1: I will now ask a question, and you know what,
Speaker 1: I like this Tyrod Taylor story. He has been, you know,
Speaker 1: a nice surprise in the preseason. But have we forgotten
Speaker 1: Mark Sesler? The Tyrod Taylor has thrown one NFL pass
Speaker 1: since two thousand twelve, and as you know, it's a
Speaker 1: sixth round pick. Are we forgetting a bigger story that
Speaker 1: Tyrod Taylor has never been a guy in the NFL
Speaker 1: and maybe we should put too much stock in a
Speaker 1: big season. Well, I think it's it's I like quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: like I said on the last show, that get time
Speaker 1: to grow and develop, and I like it better than
Speaker 1: if he were a first year a quarterback with a
Speaker 1: lot of buzz being thrown in with no experience. I
Speaker 1: think Greg Roman has shown that he can work well
Speaker 1: with a mobile passer and in molded offense around the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks skill set. He's done that before and I think, frankly,
Speaker 1: the reason he's out there are big reasons that Rex
Speaker 1: Ryan knows how hard he could be to prepare for
Speaker 1: for defensive opponents. So still, though, with Buffalo, I expect
Speaker 1: to see two or even three quarterbacks Star Games this year.
Speaker 1: I don't think we've forgotten it at all. I think
Speaker 1: the last podcast we said I wouldn't surprise that simply
Speaker 1: was benched by Halloween. I mean, he's the best option
Speaker 1: for them, but they don't have any great off I'm
Speaker 1: more worried about his weapons because we know he's not
Speaker 1: going to carry the team. But the idea would be
Speaker 1: that Robert Woods, Percy Harvin, Sammy Watkins, Lashawn McCoy, Charles
Speaker 1: Clay carry him. And to this point, the receivers are
Speaker 1: all banged up and we don't really know how that's
Speaker 1: all gonna work. I mean, if they don't get much
Speaker 1: from Harvin, Watkins doesn't have the big breakout year, then
Speaker 1: there's no reason to think Tyrod Taylor is going to
Speaker 1: play well. But that's not a negative though, because he
Speaker 1: has They have one of the best groups of skill
Speaker 1: position players on paper. They haven't played. They haven't played
Speaker 1: at all. And maybe it's not a big deal that
Speaker 1: they didn't play in August, but they didn't play at all.
Speaker 1: Another often very similar situation really between the Bills and
Speaker 1: the Jets. A lot of good skill position talent in
Speaker 1: New York, not a good quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick. Will
Speaker 1: this be chan Gailey's finest our? Sprinkles the magic dust
Speaker 1: that Patrick and get some puts an offense to go
Speaker 1: with a really good defense. What's his finest hour? I
Speaker 1: guess he was turning into a viable quarterback for an
Speaker 1: eight week stretch? Well how many games that. I think
Speaker 1: it's finest hour probably came for a brief stretch with
Speaker 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick and Buffalo too. I mean, he got but
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick that massive contract. I liked it. He's paired with
Speaker 1: a quarterback that knows him. Well. I take Gaily over
Speaker 1: Greg Roman. Yeah, he's done it more. He's done it
Speaker 1: with more, He's done it with different teams. Greg Roman
Speaker 1: had a good year. When's the last time Gailey was
Speaker 1: a part of a team that won more than six games?
Speaker 1: Hasn't been on a team with a lot of talent
Speaker 1: or a great defense like this? All this offense needs
Speaker 1: to be is average. I mean, I don't think there's
Speaker 1: a big difference between the Bill's Dolphins and Jets. I'm
Speaker 1: with Dan on that. I think that one good thing.
Speaker 1: And I don't put a lot of stock into off
Speaker 1: preseason stats. But Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped into a tough situation
Speaker 1: after Gineau got decked and by the way, I k
Speaker 1: got released today by the Bill, so happy Trails punk.
Speaker 1: But uh, but Ryan Fitzpatrick did not have a turnover
Speaker 1: in any of the preseason games, and I like to
Speaker 1: think that maybe he'll as he's as he knows his
Speaker 1: role in this offense, he he gets rid of the
Speaker 1: gunslinger mentality because he doesn't really have the skill set
Speaker 1: to pull that off. If he plays smart, I think
Speaker 1: that they'll be okay on offense. I don't think they'll
Speaker 1: be dynamic, but I think they could be good enough
Speaker 1: to score some points and win some game. That's part
Speaker 1: of the reason. We'll get to it later why I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna be in the mix. Already lost Jayson
Speaker 1: Marrow for a year, which is a big, big loss. Well,
Speaker 1: I will say, is gonna step up Chen Galley offenses
Speaker 1: do not really utilize tight ends. I read about that
Speaker 1: that's not that and he's kind of lost in space.
Speaker 1: You would have hoped that he would step up. But
Speaker 1: I was gonna say that Brandon Marshall look good in
Speaker 1: the prese He looks healthy at least, which is all
Speaker 1: you can hope for a Decker is healthy, it's Ivory's
Speaker 1: looking good. At least, it's a healthy group. We killed
Speaker 1: McCallen for not being a caretaker. Fitzpatrick the opposite of
Speaker 1: a caretaker too. Yeah, all right, let's take a look
Speaker 1: now at the a f C North and we will
Speaker 1: start with Mark Sessler, who has a big question facing
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens. Yeah, I do. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: the Ravens are one of these two games for good
Speaker 1: reason that we kind of say, well, they're gonna go
Speaker 1: ten and six and make the playoffs, and Ozzie Newsome
Speaker 1: and John Harbaugh find a way to figure out no
Speaker 1: matter what. And you've got Joe Flacco. So that's a
Speaker 1: good start. But I look at their group of skill
Speaker 1: position players we just talked about the Jets and Bills.
Speaker 1: That's a plus for them. Are we overlooking Baltimore's lack
Speaker 1: of playmakers? They Brashod Praman is not healthy right now.
Speaker 1: You've got what Steve Smith looks good, but he's in
Speaker 1: his final year in the NFL. That's not going to
Speaker 1: center your entire offense around Steve Smith. Kamar Aikin. You
Speaker 1: don't have a great tight end group. Max Williams right,
Speaker 1: the rookie two xes, he's not healthy at the moment.
Speaker 1: I just look at this this offense and say, what's
Speaker 1: special about this offense Beyond people are like locking in
Speaker 1: Pairman that he was going to be a big factor.
Speaker 1: First of all, Addie Newsom is overall not been good
Speaker 1: at drafting wide receiver. Secondly, he's the guy who tore
Speaker 1: up draft boards because he had a huge, you know,
Speaker 1: pro day performance. It's not like this is one of
Speaker 1: the best wide receivers in the league. So you're counting
Speaker 1: on a couple of rookies to immediately have a big impact,
Speaker 1: which is and they're not going to. Max Williams is
Speaker 1: not going to start for them, Crockett, Gilmore, Impairman hasn't
Speaker 1: practiced yet. So I think it's totally fair to say
Speaker 1: you're not getting any rookie impact early in the season.
Speaker 1: So Kim Marlon Brown and Michael Campanaro and who else
Speaker 1: a career special teamer. I think it's a fair question.
Speaker 1: But I do think Steve Smith looked great in the
Speaker 1: preseason third preseason game, and justin Forcett was a playmaker
Speaker 1: last year. I know we like Tressman, but when you
Speaker 1: get an offensive coordinator that improves your offense from about
Speaker 1: twenty nine to third or whatever the numbers were last year.
Speaker 1: And it's a big loss to this because I think
Speaker 1: it's a valid concern. Max Williams two X is Greg.
Speaker 1: How would you be different if you were Greg? With
Speaker 1: one g Oh, I'd be much more corporate. Um, I
Speaker 1: would swear less. Um, I'd probably wear more, you know,
Speaker 1: like sweaters around my neck. I would be Yeah, Greg,
Speaker 1: you know you're just a little more wild. You know,
Speaker 1: you're more on your own. I don't think you'd be
Speaker 1: in front of that synthesizer on for Delaware with one.
Speaker 1: That's totally true. I don't know anything about math Well Browns.
Speaker 1: Will we see Johnny Manziel, relieve josh um Cown and
Speaker 1: give them reason to hope for two thousand and sixteen
Speaker 1: that they have a quarterback because I don't see them
Speaker 1: as a contender. To me, it's about building something for
Speaker 1: next year. I don't see them as a contender this
Speaker 1: season either. I look at Manzel and at the elbow stuff.
Speaker 1: If he were completely healthy, I think he could be
Speaker 1: in there by Week four, and yes, he would be
Speaker 1: playing probably eight games or more. I think that's what
Speaker 1: they want, is their young quarterback to step up. I
Speaker 1: think the elbow issue is a bigger's like the question
Speaker 1: maybe will we see Johnny Manziel have Tommy John surgery.
Speaker 1: There has not been one positive sort of word about that.
Speaker 1: I just think it's more than we're being told that's
Speaker 1: the worst. This is beyond him getting back on an
Speaker 1: inflatable swan. This is the worst possible situation that he
Speaker 1: gets a arm injury or some type of injury that
Speaker 1: keeps them off the field and keeps them out of
Speaker 1: the mix. He could easily almost become a forgotten man
Speaker 1: this season. And by the way McCown is, McCown has
Speaker 1: never started sixteen games in the season. It's not that
Speaker 1: he's injury prone, but he's had a share of injuries.
Speaker 1: You could very easily be looking at Thad Lewis as
Speaker 1: starting eight games and that's when you suddenly go to
Speaker 1: Manzel is not healthy. Well, you say he's not injury prone,
Speaker 1: but you've seen the way he runs around in the pocket.
Speaker 1: He's gonna get hit. Even when they were playing well,
Speaker 1: he got hit a lot. I think we're gonna see
Speaker 1: a lot of Manzel. I mean especially with this organization
Speaker 1: when they're losing. I think the ownership, the GM took Manzel.
Speaker 1: The ownership, you know, probably wants Manzel to play. I
Speaker 1: think we're gonna see maim. You trust, you think he's
Speaker 1: got to go. We're just guessing. But at some point
Speaker 1: I think he'll be ready to play this year. Let's
Speaker 1: move on to the Bengals. Where the Bengals bangles Bengals.
Speaker 1: How do you say it? Bes Bengals? Am I saying
Speaker 1: it right? You've said it fun different way. It's one
Speaker 1: of the most accurate. So Eddy Dalton has been in
Speaker 1: the league for four years, this is his fifth year,
Speaker 1: has made the playoffs each of those four years. We
Speaker 1: all know what happens in January. West of this loses
Speaker 1: each year. Now at a certain point, how long do
Speaker 1: the Bengals go with this? Is this a boomer bust
Speaker 1: year for Andy Dalton if either they flop and missed
Speaker 1: the playoffs or January happens again West, I think it is.
Speaker 1: I think he's got the most loaded offense of his
Speaker 1: career five years now. They've got a good breakout tight
Speaker 1: end and Tyler Ifer Marvin Jones is back. They've got
Speaker 1: a great back there with Jeremy Hill and Jew Bernard
Speaker 1: and j Green's a great receiver. They should be division
Speaker 1: champions and pass the first round. But I saw a
Speaker 1: J McCarron in the third preseason game make three throws
Speaker 1: that Andy Dalton doesn't have a J m c That's
Speaker 1: what I call him. Uh A lot of logical sense
Speaker 1: from Western Dan, but the Bengals don't apply logical sense.
Speaker 1: What about them makes you think that if they go
Speaker 1: ten and six again that they're not gonna just keep
Speaker 1: paying Andy Dalton his mid level money, keep bringing back
Speaker 1: Marvin Loew. So I don't think it's ammer bust. I
Speaker 1: have an answer for that. What about them? Because when
Speaker 1: Albert Brier was in hanging out with them in June,
Speaker 1: he reported that the coaching staff seese a J McCarron
Speaker 1: as a as a future carter. So they have another
Speaker 1: option that they and as conservative as they have been
Speaker 1: with Dalton and really kind of baby and I think
Speaker 1: like at this point they they will have to make
Speaker 1: a change because they have given him five years. At
Speaker 1: that point, right, you give him one thing? I will
Speaker 1: And to what Mark saying, it does feel maybe just
Speaker 1: to me that the creep of this narrative is getting
Speaker 1: stronger around the Bengals and Andy Dalton that it's becoming
Speaker 1: a real almost like stink on the Bengals that they
Speaker 1: can't move on in Dalton's not the answer. I would
Speaker 1: wonder if another year of that happened would cause the
Speaker 1: franchise to act, especially if they're high on the guy
Speaker 1: behind him. And if you look at the Bengals now,
Speaker 1: every time they have a big win, it doesn't it's
Speaker 1: kind of like, well, okay, that's fine, do it in January.
Speaker 1: It's like they're not even gonna They're not gonna get
Speaker 1: a lot of enjoyment out of winning ten and games again,
Speaker 1: which is a high bar for a team that could
Speaker 1: do all. You know, they could be great, or they
Speaker 1: could think. The Steelers are our number three team in
Speaker 1: the Power Poll, which is a little aggressive. One of
Speaker 1: the reasons I like them is they made a change
Speaker 1: at defensive coordinator. Will dumping Dick lebou the old man
Speaker 1: the game maybe had passed him. By dumping Dick pay
Speaker 1: some dividends and will the defense be better? How? How say?
Speaker 1: Removing a Hall of Fame worthy defensive coordinator one of
Speaker 1: the best play callers on that side of the ball
Speaker 1: that we've ever seen in the NFL be a plus
Speaker 1: based on what we've seen from the defense so far
Speaker 1: there are the preseason well, because it's Mike Tomlins, a
Speaker 1: defensive coach, he gets someone's he's comfortable with. It's not
Speaker 1: going to be a huge change from he was comfortable
Speaker 1: with Leo. I don't think it wasn't a guy he
Speaker 1: had worked with previously. They worked pretty well together, all right,
Speaker 1: They didn't work well together the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: I would say they underachieved for the roster that they
Speaker 1: had pretty dramatically. This is exactly why I think we're
Speaker 1: way too optimistic when we have them third. Because they're
Speaker 1: mixing in some four three elements and cover two now.
Speaker 1: It seems like a year of transition. To me, it's
Speaker 1: gonna take a year for that defense to know exactly
Speaker 1: what they're doing. When you've got you've gone from three
Speaker 1: four for their entire Dick lebou era to going to
Speaker 1: four three and some cover two now, so you're a
Speaker 1: flex defense. I don't seems like it's gonna be like
Speaker 1: a training year. They need a lot of young players here, Hayward.
Speaker 1: I mean they at least have some young people on
Speaker 1: the Rothe Jarvis Jones is probably not gonna be a
Speaker 1: big factor, but they have some younger people. Think it's
Speaker 1: good that they got rid of some of the old
Speaker 1: and slow guys. Greg's already written off Jarvis Jones just
Speaker 1: because they're young, though that's not a plus necessarily. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of young players that fade out of the
Speaker 1: league in three years and some of these young Steelers
Speaker 1: players have not shown that they're catching on. And you
Speaker 1: talk about some of the young guys, a couple of
Speaker 1: Steelers guys coming out, So there's character issues to there's
Speaker 1: a problem with that locked room. Let's move on to
Speaker 1: the a f C South, everyone's favorite division in the NFL.
Speaker 1: When you think about football, you think about the a
Speaker 1: f C South. If they have slogans, do something with yourself.
Speaker 1: We'll start with Mark, Mark, you're darling. A year ago
Speaker 1: is the Jacksonville Jaguars. You got all pumped up, but
Speaker 1: now it's ready. You have no you have no love
Speaker 1: for the Jaguars anymore, do you? Well? No, I I
Speaker 1: don't dislike the Jaguars. I think it would be fun
Speaker 1: to see them turn it around, But I have to ask,
Speaker 1: because I think they've had a very patient owner that said,
Speaker 1: we have Goes Bradley a coach, We've got David Caldwell GM,
Speaker 1: let's build something. It's not gonna be a one year thing.
Speaker 1: But I mean, honestly, if we get another four and
Speaker 1: twelve act out of this team, with the second year
Speaker 1: Blake Bortles more talent on defense, do you keep the
Speaker 1: plan in place or does the owner getting patients say
Speaker 1: we've got what's going on here? How can you keep
Speaker 1: doing this year after year? Does anything grow? I honestly
Speaker 1: don't know the answer to this if this isn't make
Speaker 1: or break year, because I feel like if they go
Speaker 1: six and ten and Blake Bortles plays great, yeah, that
Speaker 1: they'll stick a I think it's on Boordles, and it's
Speaker 1: on the context of how the season has gone. They've
Speaker 1: already lost Fowler, if they lost Julius Thomas for much
Speaker 1: of the season, if they keep having this terrible injury luck,
Speaker 1: then you kind of look at how competitive they are.
Speaker 1: If if they think they're making progress and Bortles makes progress,
Speaker 1: I think they would have to really stink for them.
Speaker 1: This is this is the power or responsibility that a
Speaker 1: quarterback taken to the top ten of the draft has
Speaker 1: on his shoulders. He the whole, the whole structure is
Speaker 1: around him. So if he fails, it usually ends to
Speaker 1: the to the guys that draft him getting wiped out too.
Speaker 1: So I agree totally. I think if they win six
Speaker 1: games and Boardles improves, marketing, Borts looks like, yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't think you're firing them. Plus if you fire him,
Speaker 1: that means three offensive coordinators in three years. Bordles is
Speaker 1: learning a new system again, so are all the second
Speaker 1: year wide receivers, which are you know, pretty much the
Speaker 1: guts of that group, and you hate. You've seen it
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, you hate. I think called he called well
Speaker 1: has kind of been his own guy. He knows what
Speaker 1: he wants. I think the only problem is he hasn't
Speaker 1: drafted any any real like Pro Bowl, he drafted any impact.
Speaker 1: He's got a chance with last year's class that it
Speaker 1: could be pretty good. We's the team. You're very high
Speaker 1: on the Colts. What's your question? But we know their
Speaker 1: offense is the greatest shoe on earth. Their offense is
Speaker 1: gonna be great. That's what Pat Hamilton called him. But
Speaker 1: it always comes back to the defense with them, and
Speaker 1: they picked up some guys. Everyone acts like they haven't
Speaker 1: addressed their defense. They picked up Trent Cool, they picked
Speaker 1: up Kendall Langford, They've drafted a couple of guys. They've
Speaker 1: got Robert mathis coming back eventually. So with this, with
Speaker 1: the offseason additions, give this defense a backbone and big
Speaker 1: games which has been there basically the bane of their existence. Well,
Speaker 1: based on Ryan Griggson's track record, I don't think you
Speaker 1: can put much in the offseason additions. They turned into
Speaker 1: what about Trent Cools turned into Jones. I like Trent Cale,
Speaker 1: but let's see him do it in Indiana. Arc Jones
Speaker 1: is just bad luck. He got injured. He's a good
Speaker 1: player who got injured. He played last year and when
Speaker 1: he played, he wasn't pretty playing through injuries. I think
Speaker 1: Andrew Luck, you talked about quarterbacks extending the careers of
Speaker 1: personnel men and coaches. Ryan Grigson, look at he's gone
Speaker 1: out and got some veterans this year. But Ryan Griggson
Speaker 1: has swung and missed on a whole bunch of players.
Speaker 1: And one thing that's not gotten better in Indianapolis is
Speaker 1: you've not improved that offensive line in front of Luck
Speaker 1: and the defense has pretty much stunk year after year.
Speaker 1: You get into a big game in the SC Championship
Speaker 1: get forty five, forty five points laid on you. So
Speaker 1: they need to improve or I have to look upstairs
Speaker 1: and say, what's the plan here? I I don't see it.
Speaker 1: I don't see it on defense Josh Chapman and Monterey Hughes,
Speaker 1: and who's their pass freshers math is hopefully when he's
Speaker 1: Jonathan Newsome. Jonathan Newsome was really good down the stretch
Speaker 1: last year. Okay, maybe they should be playing him. I mean,
Speaker 1: the interesting thing we tiging Griggson is that I don't
Speaker 1: think Griggson's on the hot seat, but based on an
Speaker 1: article you wrote and Rapp Report has been talking about,
Speaker 1: and really locally, I think Chuck Bagano is gonna need
Speaker 1: to win some games in the playoffs or else they're
Speaker 1: going to change coaches. But they won two games in
Speaker 1: the playoff. Yeah, but I think they need to get
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl possible to win over the Bengals
Speaker 1: in January? Is the playoffs? That's a fair question. I mean,
Speaker 1: it happened, but they they knocked off the Bronco neither
Speaker 1: didn't do though you could cut. You can get back
Speaker 1: to the playoffs as a three seed, lose that first game,
Speaker 1: and I don't think anyone would be surprised if they
Speaker 1: got rid of Pagano. All right, let's talk about one
Speaker 1: of the buzzy team of a t N candidates. Uh.
Speaker 1: But I do have to ask ask the question. Are
Speaker 1: the Titans our two thousand fifteen I say, hour the
Speaker 1: around the NFL group, our two thousand fifteen version of
Speaker 1: the two thousand fourteen Jaguars and two people that are
Speaker 1: maybe new to the show. We were high on the Jags,
Speaker 1: not just Mark uh and Blake Bortles in particular. We
Speaker 1: were glowing about them, just like we're very glowing about
Speaker 1: Marcus Mariota right now. Are we getting sucked in by
Speaker 1: a new shiny toy? Yes? I think the Jaguars this
Speaker 1: year are going to be better than the Titans. I
Speaker 1: think the Jaguars could win seven games, be the second
Speaker 1: place team. The Titans defense is really the even if
Speaker 1: Mariota is good, there's no reason to think that the
Speaker 1: Titans defense is any better. Well, what what? What is
Speaker 1: it we're getting sucked into? Because I wouldn't put the Titans.
Speaker 1: I had a pretty is what we're getting suthing into.
Speaker 1: I'll answer you a question before you that Mariotta will
Speaker 1: be an impact guy as a rookie, That this team
Speaker 1: will jump up in wins. What do they have last year?
Speaker 1: Two wins two two wins, that this is like a
Speaker 1: six or seven win team, So a big jump in
Speaker 1: wins and the quarterbacks the real deal? All right, Well,
Speaker 1: then I am sucked into the idea that they could
Speaker 1: win six games, because I don't think there's that much
Speaker 1: of a shocking difference to get up to six wins.
Speaker 1: Bad teams can get six wins. I do believe in Mariotta.
Speaker 1: If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I think we all do.
Speaker 1: I think there's reasons to believe that Tennessee after being
Speaker 1: you know, lost at sea for years with a coach
Speaker 1: that I don't especially love, and wins and hunt, they
Speaker 1: seem to have a plan. They they found a quarterback,
Speaker 1: everything does start to change. I don't think there are
Speaker 1: version because I didn't believe in the Jaguars last year,
Speaker 1: but the what you lay it out there, I believe
Speaker 1: that Mariotta is the real deal. I believe they're going
Speaker 1: to have some more wins. They're not going to be
Speaker 1: a good team, But most importantly to me, I think
Speaker 1: they're gonna be a lot more exciting to watch. That's
Speaker 1: a big step up because they were unwatchable for years
Speaker 1: on end. I think that is any more exciting that
Speaker 1: they're fun to watch. I will go with the Houston Texans,
Speaker 1: who I have enjoyed greatly on Hard Knocks. It's the
Speaker 1: reason you go on hard knocks. Now, I'm rooting for
Speaker 1: this team. I like these guys, but I look at
Speaker 1: the roster. You have a question, why does anyone think
Speaker 1: the Texans will be any good? What? There's J J. Watt.
Speaker 1: They have the best defensive player in the league. Other
Speaker 1: than that, why are they any better than the Titans?
Speaker 1: Are Jaguars? Tell me, like, what is it? Answer this question?
Speaker 1: And that's what I asked. I asked Maurice Jones Drew
Speaker 1: and I telled this question when I was on the
Speaker 1: couch last night new NFL segment on the Couch with
Speaker 1: Da've Damaged Check whatever it's called NFL Sunday, they all
Speaker 1: like on the couch better, Let's be honest. They predicted
Speaker 1: the Texans will win nine or ten games and I
Speaker 1: pointed out that they had the easy schedule in the
Speaker 1: league last year, and they totally dismissed that as a factor,
Speaker 1: that every team in the league is hard to play,
Speaker 1: and I just looked at him like they were crazy, like,
Speaker 1: of course schedule matters. Of course it matters, and you
Speaker 1: have advantages that they're still in the a f C. South.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, when you look up and down, what
Speaker 1: is this team good at. You don't have a good quarterback,
Speaker 1: you don't really have a great defense. I don't think
Speaker 1: other than why, like, there's nothing that gets me excited about.
Speaker 1: I think what you're saying is that last year's nine
Speaker 1: and seven records wasn't really that different than a few
Speaker 1: things changing in them going seven and nine five and eleven. Well,
Speaker 1: I don't think they're a five and eleven team because
Speaker 1: I I've started to look at Bill O'Brien as a
Speaker 1: good coach. I don't think that their quarterback situation is
Speaker 1: worse than last year. It's still very shaky, but it's
Speaker 1: not worse. You're still the best defensive player in the league,
Speaker 1: and you've got some talent on that team. You can win.
Speaker 1: You can go eight and eight because I can make
Speaker 1: an argument for so the Texans defense was a top
Speaker 1: three defense down the stretch last year in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Brian Cushing looks like he's a different player this year
Speaker 1: than he was last year. Devin Clowney, you might get
Speaker 1: an impact from him this year, you might not. I
Speaker 1: think their secondary could be a little bit better. The
Speaker 1: first round picks look looks like a hit, Vince Will,
Speaker 1: So you could have you could have a top five
Speaker 1: NFL defense. Okay, all right, let's let's move on to
Speaker 1: the a f C. West Mark gettis old baby, but
Speaker 1: in Black Well, I mean, the Raiders have been, you know,
Speaker 1: the butt of many jokes on this podcast for a
Speaker 1: long time, for good reasons, but the butt of the jokes.
Speaker 1: But let me Mackenzie, who we've flamed endlessly. I look
Speaker 1: at the last two drafts, and you know he he
Speaker 1: was high enough where you pick players that you think
Speaker 1: are going to be good, and they were, and it's
Speaker 1: Khalil mack turned out to be the guy. You have
Speaker 1: a young quarterback Eva Marii Cooper. Is Reggie Mackenzie starting
Speaker 1: to quietly build a quality team. I don't believe that
Speaker 1: he is. I think he's quietly building a six and
Speaker 1: ten team or seven and nine, all right for this year.
Speaker 1: But that's I mean, I don't believe that there's nothing.
Speaker 1: I know that scouts and executives and coaches love Derek
Speaker 1: Carr because he can spin it and it takes no effort.
Speaker 1: That's what they always say. He's yet to show that
Speaker 1: he's a decent quarterback. I mean analysts, I respect Ryan Riddle.
Speaker 1: He used to be on the Raiders. He follows them closely.
Speaker 1: He thinks Matt mcgloyn is better than Derek Carr. He's
Speaker 1: watched everything this freezes in j Matt mcgloyne is a
Speaker 1: good is a good quarterbacks? I think mc mcloan is
Speaker 1: is one of the things. I think he's built a
Speaker 1: respectable roster that it does not look out of place
Speaker 1: in the NFL, which is different than most of that. Yeah, alright,
Speaker 1: how about West? You give us your pick for a
Speaker 1: an C West team? Really more a question West? Your
Speaker 1: turn nailed it all right? Well, everybody knows that Alex
Speaker 1: Smith didn't throw a touchdown past to a wide receiver
Speaker 1: last In fact, he went five days without a touchdown
Speaker 1: past to a wide I did not know that, well,
Speaker 1: Now he's thrown two weeks in a row, he's thrown
Speaker 1: a touchdown past to Jeremy Macklin. So basically, Alex Smith
Speaker 1: is Johnny Unitus. Now he's got this touchdown streak that
Speaker 1: will never stop. It will the preseason magic Alex Smith
Speaker 1: to Jeremy Macklin connection hold up during the season. Is
Speaker 1: that's the sign of things to come? I think it
Speaker 1: will because I think the Chiefs are one of those
Speaker 1: teams that kind of what you see is what you get,
Speaker 1: and Maclin is not a guy that's come out of nowhere.
Speaker 1: You have Kelsey on that team as well, which gives
Speaker 1: defense is a lot of headaches. Maclin is going to
Speaker 1: come out of this season changing what we think about
Speaker 1: this passing game as a zero touchdown. Change what you
Speaker 1: think about Jeremy Macklin, who were not a lot of
Speaker 1: big fans in Jeremy. What you see is what you get.
Speaker 1: What you see is a bowl of oatmeal. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is a boring roster. I think Alex Smith at
Speaker 1: this point is overrated. I mean I would rather have
Speaker 1: Jake Cutler than Alex Smith. I have a lot of
Speaker 1: quarterbacks and Alex touchdown a game. He could do that,
Speaker 1: So Alex Smith ends up with six. He's a mid.
Speaker 1: I think he's right there. He's not a much different
Speaker 1: than Andy Dalton. He's in the middle. It's like, why
Speaker 1: do people love Alex Smith so much? I don't know
Speaker 1: if people do. I think people kind of know what
Speaker 1: Alex Smith is. He's boring, That's what he is. Boring.
Speaker 1: Let's let's move on to the Denver Broncos and a
Speaker 1: question that we've been asking for a few years now,
Speaker 1: throw it out there again. Is Peyton Manning about to
Speaker 1: stick it to the football cognescente once again? Big? Once again?
Speaker 1: He did it for for he did it after next surgery. Wait,
Speaker 1: doesn't the football cognizenti generally regard him as the greatest
Speaker 1: quarterback of his generation? And perhaps, of course well from
Speaker 1: a larger sense. But the micro sent which is the
Speaker 1: two thousand fifteen seas, shouldn't replace football con senti with
Speaker 1: Dave damnash it. I know that is not true because
Speaker 1: a lot of people think Peyton Wait a second, you
Speaker 1: guys all think that everybody thinks that Manning is not
Speaker 1: gonna be Manning anymore. But he didn't stick it to
Speaker 1: everybody again? All right? Then how about this, I'll say,
Speaker 1: I don't think he's going to be anything numbers wise
Speaker 1: what we've seen in the past few years, because I
Speaker 1: think they're going to be much more of everything they've
Speaker 1: said John Elway on down. They're gonna be a run
Speaker 1: focused team, not fifty touchdowns, but all right. But I
Speaker 1: also think I look at him and the three four
Speaker 1: preseason games so far, he does not look like a
Speaker 1: great quarterback right now. He does not throwing with authority.
Speaker 1: I just so, I don't think he's gonna flip a switch.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think they're going to be fascinating
Speaker 1: to watch because the defense I think is right there
Speaker 1: among the most talented defenses the entire league. But Manning
Speaker 1: in the difference between him and Kubiak offense in terms
Speaker 1: of shotgun in terms of two tight ends using full
Speaker 1: but like it's it's as different as can be, so
Speaker 1: watching that tradition is gonna be I do like the
Speaker 1: idea of Peyton Manning sticking it to damas Chick again,
Speaker 1: as we have in the graphic here. Uh Dave, who
Speaker 1: has been waiting for Peyton Manning's career to end for
Speaker 1: like six years now. It's clearly personal. Uh, Willie stick
Speaker 1: it to Dave? How about that? I invite Peyton Manning
Speaker 1: to stick it to me or to Dave because he
Speaker 1: certainly didn't do it last January. Another big time quarterback
Speaker 1: in that division who doesn't have as much help Philip Rivers.
Speaker 1: With an improving defense and some changes on offense, does
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers finally have enough help to win that division? Well,
Speaker 1: the help would be the Broncos falling off a cliff,
Speaker 1: and I don't think that's gonna happen completely, so I
Speaker 1: would say no. As well. I see the Chargers relatively
Speaker 1: at the same team. Number one, Melvin Gordon from what
Speaker 1: we've seen, that was the guy that was supposed to
Speaker 1: be the whole offense is gonna channel through him in Rivers?
Speaker 1: Is just gonna get while we writing that guy off
Speaker 1: so soon though? Two preseason? Yeah, no, I did watch it.
Speaker 1: Why Why is it over? It's not over? It's not over.
Speaker 1: I don't he can develop into a running back, but
Speaker 1: he's so clearly right now is not a running back
Speaker 1: who's gonna help? What if he was just nervous? Maybe
Speaker 1: it was his first games in the NFL and he
Speaker 1: wasn't ready yet and he gets a little bit uncomfortable,
Speaker 1: and by week four he's an offensive Rookie of Year candidate.
Speaker 1: Can easily happen. Okay, what if he was just nervous.
Speaker 1: But almost everyone who evaluated this guy coming out of
Speaker 1: college had the same concern that he's shown in these games.
Speaker 1: Thought he was like a Chris Johnson with a little
Speaker 1: more like a late career Chris Johnson where he's just
Speaker 1: Boomer bust. I think the defense is where Rivers could
Speaker 1: get help to. The secondary is good with with Verrett
Speaker 1: and Flowers, you know, I think this could be a
Speaker 1: good looking team. You want to hear just one really
Speaker 1: weird stat Malcolm Floyd, Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates. They are
Speaker 1: the first trio to play twelve years together in over
Speaker 1: forty years. There and the other trio is some random
Speaker 1: jets one I can't even remember at the top of
Speaker 1: my head. And wait, who's your guy in Vegas, horse
Speaker 1: Shack or whatever. The spice Rack, spice Rack, Spicereck is
Speaker 1: a huge Melvin Gordon. You know he's got to be nervous.
Speaker 1: I'll ask him today if he's nervous because we disagree
Speaker 1: on this issue, all right, let's do some spice racks,
Speaker 1: entire careers on the line. All right, let's let's go
Speaker 1: around the room and do some predictions. What would you say,
Speaker 1: what a career it's been? The spice rack? I mean,
Speaker 1: he doesn't exist. Is the football life coming out for
Speaker 1: this October sizzler? Your playoff picks? All right? Well, there
Speaker 1: it is on the board. If you're listening to home,
Speaker 1: it's the Cults at number one, Healers at number two,
Speaker 1: the Patriots number three. Fourth, we've got the Broncos number five,
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins, and number picks the Baltimore Well you're
Speaker 1: honking about the Ravens. Just you know, TV wanted us
Speaker 1: to come up with a little, you know, side item.
Speaker 1: And I'm wondering if I've maybe overrated the Ravens because
Speaker 1: I have watched them for so long that success into
Speaker 1: a playoff spot and maybe you know, this team isn't
Speaker 1: quite that good. No one second guesses himself before like
Speaker 1: the opinions out of his mouth faster. Well, listen, I
Speaker 1: am willing to admit that I am human. I make
Speaker 1: many mistakes. This could have been one of them. You
Speaker 1: have yourself covered in both ways. Now, good job very smart,
Speaker 1: less your picks. Like Mark, I also have the Colts
Speaker 1: in the number one spot, followed by the Patriots, whom
Speaker 1: I moved up following the Brady news to number two.
Speaker 1: I believe they were third and now their second. The
Speaker 1: Broncos are third stealers. I still have questions about them.
Speaker 1: Ravens five and Dolphins six very similar Dolphins to me.
Speaker 1: I know, we worry about Joe Philbin. Dan especially worries
Speaker 1: about Joe Philbin. I think Bill Laser's driving this team,
Speaker 1: and I'm on board with Mark Hanna hellos kid, I
Speaker 1: just feel like this, this Chip Kelly offense is such
Speaker 1: an advantage and everybody's always wide open. You know what
Speaker 1: happened here, Dan, This turned in the consensus corner. They
Speaker 1: agreed on everything, so that ended up being our group picks.
Speaker 1: We had our own minds, you know. Yeah, Well, you
Speaker 1: know that's that's Polo twins. Sometimes they get on the
Speaker 1: same page with things, they get on rolls together. Alright,
Speaker 1: my board, here we go. What are your picks? Just
Speaker 1: hear him, Let's go for it. Shut up. The Steelers
Speaker 1: are my number one team. I believe the Steelers will
Speaker 1: go twelve and four this year. The Pats at number two.
Speaker 1: With Brady sixteen games, I think you got another eleven
Speaker 1: wins at least coming the Colts three, they'll win the division.
Speaker 1: The Broncos of four, I think I don't love that division,
Speaker 1: the Ravens of five, because the Ravens are always in
Speaker 1: the mix, and I liked them again this year. And yes,
Speaker 1: I have the Jets at number six, the New York
Speaker 1: Football Jets and uh D, honestly, honestly, like, here's here's
Speaker 1: the thing, Like, I why should my opinion wildly shift?
Speaker 1: Back in June, when I thought they had a chance
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs, everybody was like, well, yeah, they'll
Speaker 1: be in the X. And now, for some reason, I'm
Speaker 1: not even sure why. Maybe because the guy got his
Speaker 1: jaw broken. Now everyone's like, oh, this is a completely
Speaker 1: insane pick. This is a team with talent on both
Speaker 1: sides of the ball and big. If their quarterback does
Speaker 1: not kill them, they're gonna win at least nine games.
Speaker 1: I'm almost certain of it. Dan be wrong in June
Speaker 1: and wrong in September. It's a good also a team
Speaker 1: I thought I would make the playoffs last year. My board,
Speaker 1: I have the Broncos number one, but I think the
Speaker 1: Broncos defense with Wade Phillips could be the number one
Speaker 1: defense in league. Take and that would lead the way
Speaker 1: Steelers number two, Patriots three, Cults four, and then I
Speaker 1: got the Chargers and the Bills making the playoffs. None
Speaker 1: of us had the Bengals. I like this Chargers team.
Speaker 1: I think this Chargers team is pretty balanced throughout the
Speaker 1: offense and the defense. I think the defense could be
Speaker 1: dramatically improved. They have a top ten quarterback. I think
Speaker 1: they could be a fun team to watch this year,
Speaker 1: and so I like them. To make it back to
Speaker 1: the plan, you always like the Chargers. The Bengals don't
Speaker 1: deserve none of us. They don't win thumping Bengals, alright.
Speaker 1: I like Mike McCoy. And by the way, I might
Speaker 1: be wrong in June and now, but let's see the
Speaker 1: Browns on anyone was Let's see Yeah, But that's because
Speaker 1: I didn't. I believe. I am a fan who believes.
Speaker 1: And that's it for Friday's edition of Around the NFL
Speaker 1: Podcast West I love you, baby, We're good will be.
Speaker 1: That was awkward. We will be back on Monday. Tuesday.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, Labor Day. Monday is American Holiday on Tuesday,
Speaker 1: we will be back uh. And then the big season
Speaker 1: starts Thursday. Dan Hands is signing off for the Quiet Storm,
Speaker 1: the mail Man, the Boss Tet, and everybody behind the glass.
Speaker 1: So next week, I'm lonely. I'm lonely. I'm so lonely.
Speaker 1: Fill this void, Someone fill this void.