Speaker 1: The Around the League Podcast starts now. Welcome back to
Speaker 1: another edition of the Round the League Podcast. My name
Speaker 1: is Dan Hansas, and I am joined by room filled
Speaker 1: with heroes Chris Westling, Mark Sessler, and Greg Rosenthal. What up, boys,
Speaker 1: Hey Dan, how's everybody done. Well, we're doing just fine.
Speaker 1: It's Friday morning, and I guess the hesitation top of
Speaker 1: the morning to you, well, the hesitation in our voices is,
Speaker 1: let's be honest. This show remains something of an audio
Speaker 1: grab bag. And we were just told by our producer that, uh,
Speaker 1: there's a v I P room we could be recording from,
Speaker 1: but instead we're here. Don't an audio grab bag? Sounds
Speaker 1: like some great British indie rock band. Start itunds British people.
Speaker 1: It sounds good. In general, there's nothing really good about
Speaker 1: it TV, I believe is aging by the day in
Speaker 1: like dog years, trying to figure said he's totally gray. Now,
Speaker 1: he's got a long, bushy white beard. He's gonna figure
Speaker 1: this out though, and he can't defend himself because I'm
Speaker 1: wearing his headset right now. Yeah, so we're dealing with
Speaker 1: our technical difficulties. You know, we talked about this on
Speaker 1: Wednesday show and we're working through it. So just bear
Speaker 1: with us. We have what I like to call a
Speaker 1: great show today, gentlemen. We're going to that's a trope
Speaker 1: in itself. Yeah, we're going to really dig in. Mini
Speaker 1: camps are over, right, there's what is the schedule? It's
Speaker 1: over now, it's all over all. The teams are now
Speaker 1: on a break until training camp starts. Everybody gets a
Speaker 1: month off, not us, I think the RAMS still of
Speaker 1: O T a s. But mini camps are over. The
Speaker 1: RAMS are weird. They do a mini camp, they sign
Speaker 1: everyone at the same time. You know, relax, Rams. By
Speaker 1: the way, you're not special. Oh, by the way, there's
Speaker 1: a RAMS day next week. I was informed on NFL
Speaker 1: a week from today Friday. Watch out for that. Yeah. So,
Speaker 1: but the main point being that, with the exception of
Speaker 1: the precious RAMS, everyone else is taking off a month
Speaker 1: before training camp. So we're gonna now take that opportunity
Speaker 1: now look back on the past two weeks of many
Speaker 1: camps and O t a s and and choose the
Speaker 1: winners and the losers. So we're gonna go around the
Speaker 1: room a few times and nominate different winners and losers
Speaker 1: purely in the football sense I. We don't want people
Speaker 1: to think that we view player X as a total
Speaker 1: loser as a human, but just you know how the
Speaker 1: last couple of weeks played out. We'll get into that.
Speaker 1: That will be the heart of our show. And none
Speaker 1: of these wins or losses count in the standing, so
Speaker 1: they're losers. But if we call you a loser, you
Speaker 1: still have a chance zero zero. Yeah. And while we're
Speaker 1: on the topic, if you're listening to the podcast right now,
Speaker 1: total winner m But before we get into that, the big, meaty,
Speaker 1: juicy topic, we have the great TV not behind the glass.
Speaker 1: How are you, buddy? What's going on? Fellas? How was
Speaker 1: the feedback? I know you're you're trying to get out
Speaker 1: of the Gold Center's shadow in terms of the news transition. Uh,
Speaker 1: gold Center of course said let's do it, which became iconic.
Speaker 1: Your first one on Wednesday was what was it again?
Speaker 1: Let's go, which you know, middling, middling effort, and also
Speaker 1: the response lukewarm, let's be song yeah, layup line. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna now move into the news portion of
Speaker 1: the program and it will be TDS Take two for
Speaker 1: the intro. So let's do some news TV. Let's jump
Speaker 1: right into it. I feel like the pressure was building
Speaker 1: and I don't know, t V, I know in your
Speaker 1: mind maybe you want to uh to edit that because
Speaker 1: but I want you to let the the uncomfortable silence
Speaker 1: hang in the room because TV paused for up to
Speaker 1: five seconds, almost as we all stared at him. He
Speaker 1: collected his thoughts and then delivered his latest phrase, Let's
Speaker 1: just say I had something else in the bag, and
Speaker 1: then the stage is set. I was like, no, I
Speaker 1: want to switch it up, so you know, little alright,
Speaker 1: also known as Jitters the yips Um. Alright, let's do
Speaker 1: some news alright, So we've got into some heated debate
Speaker 1: on Wednesday show about the Jets camp, specifically Michael Vick
Speaker 1: and Gino Smith and whether it is a circus or not.
Speaker 1: Now it's gonna get potentially even more interesting in the
Speaker 1: studio right now, some heat between the Jets and Browns.
Speaker 1: Mark of course, a Browns fan Rex Ryan Jets coaches
Speaker 1: livid at his former as West put it in our
Speaker 1: post First Lieutenant and current Browns coach Mike Patton, who
Speaker 1: recently told a anecdote in a piece by Greg Bodart
Speaker 1: of Monday Morning Quarterback in which he revealed that the
Speaker 1: Jets playbook may have ended up in the ends of
Speaker 1: Tom Brady in the New England Patriots. According to Badard's story,
Speaker 1: Petton said that he gave the playbook to Nick Saban,
Speaker 1: the al Obama coach who has mutual friendships with both
Speaker 1: Ryan and Bill Belichick. Of course, and Brady seemed to
Speaker 1: hint at this wedding that the Patriots had gotten their
Speaker 1: hands on it. Rex not happy Ryan's quote during his
Speaker 1: Thursday press conference. I don't understand what he's trying to
Speaker 1: gain by it, Ryan said of Petton. Everyone needs to
Speaker 1: talk to Mike Petton because he's got all the answers. Mark.
Speaker 1: I turned to you your thoughts on this matter. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think if you look at what Rex Ryan did
Speaker 1: when he first came to New York, top order of
Speaker 1: business was to point up a New England, shove it
Speaker 1: right in Belichick's face, and say, not afraid of anyone,
Speaker 1: We're coming at you were the Jets. It's not the
Speaker 1: same thing. But what Petton to me is, so far
Speaker 1: as Cleveland's coach is a guy that doesn't pull punches,
Speaker 1: isn't afraid to pull the curtain back and I I
Speaker 1: kind of believe Patton. I believe his account of things,
Speaker 1: and I don't really I think when you look at
Speaker 1: Rex's reaction in Belichick's it tells me more. Well, I
Speaker 1: don't think that anyone's questioning whether Patton was telling the
Speaker 1: truth to Greg Bdard. I think what more seemed to
Speaker 1: mif Rex and Ryan and Petton were very close at
Speaker 1: one time. We don't know what the relationships is at
Speaker 1: right now, but it seems as if Rex is a
Speaker 1: little miff that this was even put out there, as
Speaker 1: in an anecdote in this otherwise positive piece on Patton,
Speaker 1: and it makes Rex look bad. Well, it might shatter
Speaker 1: the coaching fraternity wall a bit to share this information,
Speaker 1: And I don't think it's a matter of whether it's
Speaker 1: a true story or not. It's whether your friends should
Speaker 1: go around telling that story. It makes Rec look like
Speaker 1: Rex look like a bumbling idiot. Rex tried to make
Speaker 1: the case that it disrespects the Patriots too. It's strange
Speaker 1: to see Rex and Bill Belichick on the same side
Speaker 1: of things, basically saying, look, people have playbooks at the time.
Speaker 1: It's not about knowing the playbook. This is disrespecting Bill
Speaker 1: Belichick and the Patriots' legacy, you know, to say that
Speaker 1: they had unfair advantage. I think it's something. If it's
Speaker 1: just these guys talking at a party or a bar,
Speaker 1: they'd just be giving each other grief about it, and
Speaker 1: it's not that big a deal. I mean, that's what
Speaker 1: happened at this wedding. Basically, Brady is talking with west
Speaker 1: Walker's buddy who was on the Jets staff, and kind
Speaker 1: of just talking trash that they had their playbook, that's
Speaker 1: why they got him. Jonathan Franklin's NFL career appears to
Speaker 1: have reached a sudden conclusion. Packers coach MIKEA. McCarthy announced
Speaker 1: Thursday that the running back won't return for a second
Speaker 1: season with the team due to a neck injury. Surely thereafter,
Speaker 1: Franklin posted on his Twitter page a message where he said, uh, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: this week I had been ruled out for returning for
Speaker 1: the season and returning to play in the NFL. So
Speaker 1: it appears once again the Packers are snake bit here
Speaker 1: with neck injuries and Franklin, who was a fourth round
Speaker 1: pick last year and a promising guy that they kind
Speaker 1: of saw as a change of paceback coming into the
Speaker 1: league with Eddie Lacy is now suddenly out of the picture.
Speaker 1: Kind of a bummer. It's a huge bummer by all accounts.
Speaker 1: He's a likable guy. You interview at him last year
Speaker 1: I did at a rookie event and in l a
Speaker 1: public school, and he couldn't have been a nicer guy.
Speaker 1: I remember talking to him about making the transition, uh
Speaker 1: to Green Bay where there you know, he had never
Speaker 1: been to Wisconsin and seen that many white people before,
Speaker 1: and he kind of it was very good natured about it,
Speaker 1: and it was a you know, it was a guy
Speaker 1: that you wanted to root for. And if you remember
Speaker 1: at that time, Franklin was getting more buzz than Lacey
Speaker 1: initially as a guy that could come in and make
Speaker 1: an instant impact. And of course Lacey became the star
Speaker 1: this year, and now Franklin is out of the picture.
Speaker 1: He was one of those guys going into the draft
Speaker 1: that people thought could be a first second round pick.
Speaker 1: Was sort of a draft nick favorite, had one big
Speaker 1: game for them last year. And it's just crazy how
Speaker 1: this keeps happening to the Packers. This is what the
Speaker 1: third neck injury. Four Beat writer Jason Wildy had a
Speaker 1: list of seven or eight since the year two thousand.
Speaker 1: That doesn't even include Sterling Sharp. In the early to
Speaker 1: mid nineties, Terrence Murphy was the guy that his career
Speaker 1: ended right the second round pick. Finley Ja Michael Finley,
Speaker 1: of course, Nick Collins. One thing it tells me for
Speaker 1: teams that have a dire need like Green Bay did
Speaker 1: at running back last year, was I liked the idea.
Speaker 1: And the Patriots have done this a couple of years
Speaker 1: in the row with certain position groups. Is attacked the
Speaker 1: draft and get multiple running backs because odds are, whether
Speaker 1: it's by injury or just a performance, one of these
Speaker 1: guys aren't gonna work out. If there's a bright side
Speaker 1: for Jonathan Franklin, it's that he's a guy who doesn't
Speaker 1: just identify himself as a football player. He said last
Speaker 1: year last summer. Look, my mission in life is to
Speaker 1: become mayor of Los Angeles. So he might be mayor something.
Speaker 1: All right, come on some leadership, Like he told the
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, football does not define us. I love
Speaker 1: the game and I have a passion for it, but
Speaker 1: the game is not just me. I'm more than just
Speaker 1: a game. I feel it's great to show that to everybody.
Speaker 1: It teaches you not to be limited in life. Can
Speaker 1: he get us into the vi I P Room? What
Speaker 1: is his platform for helping podcast in Los Angeles? I
Speaker 1: like this? And if he does run for office, will
Speaker 1: Brett Favre speak on his behalf in a campaign? We'll
Speaker 1: all these things lie ahead moving forward? What is going
Speaker 1: on with no Sean Moreno? The Miami Dolphins running back
Speaker 1: has been taking snaps behind Lamar Miller we knew, but
Speaker 1: also Daniel Thomas and Damian Williams and Orleans Darkwa and
Speaker 1: Mike Jealousy that KILLSSI and Marcus stig Pen, which I
Speaker 1: think that's a made up name. These these are all
Speaker 1: guys that aren't even in the mix. Moreno is not
Speaker 1: even practicing. He was running off to the side. Greg Rosenthal,
Speaker 1: you wrote that it was a site that was invoked
Speaker 1: memories of a late career Albert Haynesworth. What is going
Speaker 1: on with no Sean Moreno? Well, there's one thing about
Speaker 1: city on the bench. There's another if you're being humiliated
Speaker 1: and doing something separate of the rest of your teammates
Speaker 1: that you're not even allowed to practice with them, apparently
Speaker 1: because he's out of shape, Joe Philbin, the coach, and
Speaker 1: Moreno have both alluded to that he wasn't in great
Speaker 1: shape when he showed up. But then Moreno started talking
Speaker 1: about the humidity in Miami that was a difficult transition
Speaker 1: for him. Uh. He also started talking about he needs
Speaker 1: to start working out with a trainer, you know, before
Speaker 1: training camp. He's never done that before. And then a
Speaker 1: report came out that he's got an illness. Just something
Speaker 1: strange is going on here, and I'm wondering if no
Speaker 1: Sean Moreno makes the Dolphins. I've got a theory about
Speaker 1: what's going on here. All right here, he's clearly sabotaging
Speaker 1: this whole effort so he can get back to Denver
Speaker 1: and and be the past catching back for the Broncos.
Speaker 1: Denver didn't want him. Now we're knowing. Now we're learning
Speaker 1: why Denver refused to pay a guy who had fift
Speaker 1: undred yards and thirteen touchdowns last year, even two and
Speaker 1: a half three million dollars. They're like, no, thanks, we'd
Speaker 1: rather just not have you. And maybe whatever this is,
Speaker 1: maybe that's why. And talk about a guy that doesn't
Speaker 1: fit the mold, playing with Peyton Manning, who asked you
Speaker 1: to work harder than really any quarterback in football. One
Speaker 1: point to five million this year guaranteed for Moreno between
Speaker 1: his signing bonus and his salary, so they would have
Speaker 1: to That's a pretty bad look if you drop a
Speaker 1: guy after giving him a million point to five, but
Speaker 1: they'd still save money. They still would have to pay
Speaker 1: him another million point seven five to keep him, so
Speaker 1: I really wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make Are
Speaker 1: we sure that Devon Bess hasn't returned to Miami kidnapped
Speaker 1: No Sean Marino and is on Miami's field and No
Speaker 1: Sean Marino's helmet and jersey, pads, pants and shoes. It's
Speaker 1: probably not the case. I'll watched some Broncos games on
Speaker 1: Game re one last night and I have a prediction. Okay,
Speaker 1: Peyton Manning is gonna miss No Sean Marino in the
Speaker 1: passing game. Maybe he maybe he will go back there.
Speaker 1: They I've talked about monte Ball as seeing more work
Speaker 1: and doing a better job in the passing game, but
Speaker 1: you're not buying that. I think monte Ball can do
Speaker 1: basic things. No Sean Marino had a mind meld with
Speaker 1: Peyton Manning. Was Manning would look at all of his
Speaker 1: options and know exactly where Marino was at all times,
Speaker 1: and Marino bailed him out on a lot of third
Speaker 1: downs and a lot of plays where the pocket was
Speaker 1: breaking down. This sets up, though one of the most
Speaker 1: unexplained phenomenons in our entire culture. The year after making
Speaker 1: the leap, making the leap, bump, Lamar Miller, your boy
Speaker 1: top five on the list last year. Maybe he gets
Speaker 1: it just a year later. We were a little premature.
Speaker 1: People talk about that all the time, a phenomenon. T
Speaker 1: J Yates wasn't released by the Houston Texans after all.
Speaker 1: Houston reverse course Wednesday and traded the quarterback to the
Speaker 1: Atlanta Falcons. In exchange, the Texans received linebacker Akeep Dent,
Speaker 1: good landing spot for Yates, who now becomes what appears
Speaker 1: to be the clear backup behind Matt Ryan. Um. The
Speaker 1: Falcons also released Dominique Davis on Thursday, so that cleared
Speaker 1: up this situation even more. If Bett Ryan didn't get
Speaker 1: injured last year when he was getting hit on every
Speaker 1: other dropback, he's not gonna get injured this year. It
Speaker 1: doesn't really matter who their backup is. Calling Matt Ryan invincible,
Speaker 1: Al upgraded offensive line, and he's probably safe. He doesn't
Speaker 1: miss games, and that's lucky because t J. Yates is backup.
Speaker 1: Well that if you're Yates, you I could see every
Speaker 1: one of those quarterbacks in Houston getting a start this
Speaker 1: season that has potential to melt into chaotic rivers. And meanwhile,
Speaker 1: this is exactly correct by West. Yates is couch in
Speaker 1: atlant Over. We will never hear from him ever again.
Speaker 1: Have a nice life, Cortfo real entity at this point.
Speaker 1: He has vanished into another world by this way. And
Speaker 1: this was our test of whether we can really take
Speaker 1: a almost in significant news item and quickly just say
Speaker 1: something about it and then move on. We've always wanted
Speaker 1: to do that and try, but we can't. Somehow doubled
Speaker 1: it right there, and somehow that that news item that
Speaker 1: was supposed to be very brief and included a reference
Speaker 1: to chaotic rivers. All right, let's move on, guys. That's
Speaker 1: the news before we get into the winners and losers
Speaker 1: of minicamp. I wanted to just run something by Kevin Patra,
Speaker 1: the great Kevin Patrick, coming at you our Chicago. A
Speaker 1: t L correspondent got back to me, I I think
Speaker 1: I heard some feelings on Wednesday's pot where I called
Speaker 1: Patrick the manliest member of the A t L Podcast.
Speaker 1: Certainly hurt Greg and Mark's feelings because he didn't hurt
Speaker 1: my feeling. It sounded like I wasn't even considering them,
Speaker 1: and I said that he had beaten out West. So
Speaker 1: first of all, I want to apologize that's not how
Speaker 1: I meant it. But I also want to now fill
Speaker 1: you in on what Patra had to say about this,
Speaker 1: because he, uh, he listened. Of course, here's a direct
Speaker 1: quote from Kevin Patrick West and I would be a
Speaker 1: good match. He's got the weight and old man strength,
Speaker 1: but I can take a punch and let him wear
Speaker 1: himself out Mickey Ward style. Copius Bears would also need
Speaker 1: to be consumed first, So you know interesting, I think
Speaker 1: not only am I older, but I have a major
Speaker 1: experience ade on him. Right, Usually that goes handed in.
Speaker 1: But do you mean, oh you mean in the realm
Speaker 1: of fisticuffs. I don't know, physical stamina. I'm not sure
Speaker 1: I would take you over Patra. Keep in mind, I
Speaker 1: have six brothers, that's true. I know nothing of Patra
Speaker 1: in a tavern, you know, in terms of when he
Speaker 1: gets irritated. But I have seen wes uh with lathered
Speaker 1: up to some degree. I wouldn't go near him with
Speaker 1: a fifteen football. I mean, this guy needs his space,
Speaker 1: and I wouldn't touch him in a fight, and I
Speaker 1: would want him on my side. If anyone's ever happened
Speaker 1: to upon West in a huck of whose parking lot
Speaker 1: when things are going down, this guy he brings the
Speaker 1: hammer and he doesn't he doesn't let up until it's over.
Speaker 1: So he's an arm of justice. He's gonna fight from
Speaker 1: what's right. That's what I do know about him. All right,
Speaker 1: So good. I just wanted to get that out there, gentlemen,
Speaker 1: Mini camps over except for the precious rams. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about it, winners and losers. Do we want to start
Speaker 1: positive or do we want to start negative? Let's start there,
Speaker 1: Let's start up. Let's give some positives out there. It
Speaker 1: was much harder to find winners than losers. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: as the NFL's resident cynic that checks out. I don't
Speaker 1: believe I'm cynical. You don't know, m hmm, what do
Speaker 1: you guys think? I don't know. If cynical is the
Speaker 1: right word, I would say philosophical. Thank you appreciate that. Mark,
Speaker 1: You're a good guy. Browns Why would I need to
Speaker 1: brown knows West. You just said he's the toughest guy
Speaker 1: on the block, potentially tougher than Patrick. Maybe you're afraid
Speaker 1: of him. Well, we weren't even considered. And by the way,
Speaker 1: you know apology necessary for that. I wouldn't consider me either.
Speaker 1: I was considering myself either. That's why I didn't think
Speaker 1: it was offensive. But it seemed to go down the
Speaker 1: wrong way. All right, So let's start with Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: who has good things to say about everyone at all times,
Speaker 1: So let's start with him. Well, my fire was stolen
Speaker 1: on both of my winning subjects by our news grab
Speaker 1: early in the in the show, But I went Lamar
Speaker 1: Miller because actually wrote in a piece, I don't even
Speaker 1: know what that means. I think wes leyn what he
Speaker 1: saw in Lamar Miller a year ago still holds true.
Speaker 1: And the Dolphins have said that their one goal is
Speaker 1: to get their running backs in space for big plays,
Speaker 1: which is something they didn't do last year, and that
Speaker 1: is ideal for Lamar Miller. And I don't know what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen with with Morino. I'm not that overly concerned
Speaker 1: with his fitness At this point. He's got time to
Speaker 1: fix that up. But I think the Miller is more
Speaker 1: what they want in this offense, and he's gonna have
Speaker 1: that season that Wesley thought he would last year. He's
Speaker 1: in there getting the reps, is proving it. That's my
Speaker 1: first winner. Didn't we give up on Lamar Miller though
Speaker 1: ten weeks until last season or even before that? Prematurely,
Speaker 1: here's this week heemoso people, I don't know. I thought, well,
Speaker 1: I remember you were the biggest Lamar Miller fan, and
Speaker 1: then you remember bringing it up during the podcast as
Speaker 1: the season progressed and you acknowledge that it didn't work out.
Speaker 1: Do you think it's going to be a big difference
Speaker 1: this year. I think his biggest weakness was a lack
Speaker 1: of power, and apparently he's bulked up. Joe philbin Is
Speaker 1: addressed this during the off season that he looks more powerful.
Speaker 1: He's told him he needed to be able to break tackles,
Speaker 1: and it looks like this is something he's going to
Speaker 1: be able to do. But I would say that's as
Speaker 1: big as bugaboo. He has to he has to be
Speaker 1: able to break tackles and run inside. Well, what he
Speaker 1: has going for him is the same thing that Bill
Speaker 1: Laser has going for him, and that's that Mike Sherman
Speaker 1: is no longer involved. I think it's additioned by subtraction,
Speaker 1: and that whole offense could be better even if Laser
Speaker 1: is just fine. Well and Laser when we talked to him,
Speaker 1: the one thing that he I said, give me the
Speaker 1: one takeaway by your offense. What's the number one thing?
Speaker 1: And he went in the direction I didn't think what
Speaker 1: he said the story of our offensive line. He said,
Speaker 1: what's gonna happen from where we were last year to
Speaker 1: this year is going to be the thing that people
Speaker 1: talk about when they talk about the Dolphins. That's better
Speaker 1: for Tannehill and for Miller Westling. Your pick for a winner,
Speaker 1: Let's go to my old hometown of Cincinnati. Offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: Hugh Jackson is a big offseason winner. I love that
Speaker 1: he didn't go the defer to a veteran route. They
Speaker 1: drafted Jeremy Hill immediately put him above Ben Jarvis green
Speaker 1: Ellis who looked frankly like he was on his last
Speaker 1: legs last year. And now they have Geo Bernard An
Speaker 1: increased role. One of the things that watching Bengals games,
Speaker 1: I think we all said last year they need to
Speaker 1: get Geo Bernard more involved. The ball moves more when
Speaker 1: he's involved. So now they have him in a better
Speaker 1: power back in Jeremy Hill. So you have those two
Speaker 1: running backs in the backfield. Greg did of making the
Speaker 1: lead piece on Marvin Jones, who whenever I looked at
Speaker 1: went back and watch game rewind all he does is
Speaker 1: make plays. So they've got a j Green who draws
Speaker 1: double teams. Marvin Jones is taking advantage of single teams.
Speaker 1: You've got two good running backs, and you've got two
Speaker 1: quality tight ends in Gresham and Tyler Effort. They've got
Speaker 1: as many weapons as anybody. I mean, also win you're
Speaker 1: Bengals fans getting rid of Jay Gruden. Maybe it's not
Speaker 1: that jiggered and did fine in Cincinnati, but Hugh Jackson
Speaker 1: is almost underrated for what he's done in the pros.
Speaker 1: The Raiders have not been above average in yards gained
Speaker 1: other than two years of the last eleven, and those
Speaker 1: two years were Hugh Jackson's two years. Hugh Jackson led
Speaker 1: a team that had was quarterbacked by Carson Palmer. Bruce
Speaker 1: Gradkowski and I forget who else was splitting time Jason
Speaker 1: Campbell to the top ten. Those were two top ten
Speaker 1: offenses the years. Jason really the only two good years
Speaker 1: of Darren mc Darren mcfan's career and a wildly cunning
Speaker 1: individual because he got the Bengals to trade Carson Palmer
Speaker 1: for a couple of high draft knicks and then gets
Speaker 1: fired and goes to Cincinnati and helps use those drop
Speaker 1: picks to build his offense, which he's now in control of.
Speaker 1: I get what you're saying here with the wink mad genius.
Speaker 1: There's something going on behind the scenes. Let's start with
Speaker 1: my boy Robert Woods. He didn't make it to make
Speaker 1: it the leap, but he's gotta make it to this segment. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I was reading on ESPN dot com Mike Rodeck, who
Speaker 1: does a good job with the Bills. He was saying
Speaker 1: how Mike Williams hasn't really been running with the first team,
Speaker 1: hasn't looked special this offseason. Also pointed out Sammy Watkins
Speaker 1: has had some drops, not really worried about that long term.
Speaker 1: Robert Woods hasn't dropped a pass in all of o
Speaker 1: t a s. He's locked into the starting lineup. He's
Speaker 1: got a rapport with EJ. Manuel. The other guys don't
Speaker 1: have sticking with my boy Woods. He hasn't dropped a
Speaker 1: pass in non contact practice. He didn't drop a pass
Speaker 1: all of last year. Asking your four year old son
Speaker 1: in the backyard not to drop a pass while you're
Speaker 1: playing catch? All right, What's what's a wide receiver's foremost job, westling,
Speaker 1: make play, make plays, catch the ball? All in all
Speaker 1: of last year? How many times did Robert Woods drop
Speaker 1: a past sent to him? According to my boss in
Speaker 1: the newsroom earlier this morning, Zero's it that. By the way,
Speaker 1: that wasn't a confirmation of your stat That was West
Speaker 1: thrown it back at you, that that came from you,
Speaker 1: and whatever. It's a qualms with Robert Woods hands. I
Speaker 1: believe he has excellent hands and he'll sell his body
Speaker 1: out to make a catch. We made a sandwich bet
Speaker 1: who's gonna lead the Bills in receiving yards? And I'm
Speaker 1: feeling better about it after this say, I have no
Speaker 1: qualms about that proposition. Who do you think I have
Speaker 1: the entire Bill's roster outside of Robert Woods? Also, I
Speaker 1: think it will be Sammy Watkins, I would hope, so
Speaker 1: considering what they gave up for the guy, he'd better
Speaker 1: be making an instant impact. Right. Well, I also get
Speaker 1: a potato salad and the sandwich that sounds awful. Potato
Speaker 1: salad is such a low leverage side dish in my opinion,
Speaker 1: what are you really getting? You know what I forgot to.
Speaker 1: I should have told you this upfront, but the original
Speaker 1: proposition was lunch, you should be getting a potato salad anyway.
Speaker 1: By the way, I have to a salad in my
Speaker 1: top five dishes that I do not trust unless I
Speaker 1: know the person who made it, and I don't need
Speaker 1: it anyways. If my negotiating was this bad with all
Speaker 1: of your contracts, this place would just go under, I
Speaker 1: don't know, or else we'd be happy. Man. All right,
Speaker 1: I will throw out another wide receiver, and I think
Speaker 1: West you might disagree with it, but let's roll with
Speaker 1: it and we're gonna stay positive. Ruben Randall, wide receiver
Speaker 1: New York Giants, according to uh NJ dot Com, said
Speaker 1: that he continues to have a strong offseason. That was
Speaker 1: in a report earlier this week. Obviously, this is a
Speaker 1: great situation Randall has has this season got Victor Cruz,
Speaker 1: got Odell Beckham in the mix. Uh. It seems like
Speaker 1: Randall is gonna get plenty of work out wide as
Speaker 1: a as an impact receiver for them. I'm feeling good
Speaker 1: about not just Randall, but this entire Giants offense. You know,
Speaker 1: it's big that you have Eli back and he's working
Speaker 1: with the team after ankle surgery. You have Ben McAdoo
Speaker 1: in an offense coordinator that was kind of overdue with
Speaker 1: Kevin Gilbride, who you know, had his moments with the team,
Speaker 1: but those those days that passed, it seemed by the
Speaker 1: end of last season. This is a team that not
Speaker 1: a lot of people are talking about, despite them being
Speaker 1: the New York Giants. And I think Eli is gonna
Speaker 1: bounce back. I think Ruben Randall is gonna be a
Speaker 1: part of that reason. And I think this offense is
Speaker 1: gonna score points. Reuben Randall also revealed that the coaching
Speaker 1: staff sat him down and basically said, put the fork down,
Speaker 1: Susie Winner, but talk about the Giants. You are always
Speaker 1: talking about the Giants. Love the Giants. I think I
Speaker 1: like O'Dell Beckham better than Ruben Randall. I mean, if
Speaker 1: you've listened to Dave Gettleman. The Panthers GM has been
Speaker 1: raving about Odell Beckham, that he was the only wide
Speaker 1: receiver in the draft whom you couldn't question his route running,
Speaker 1: that he is pro ready and every other receiver in
Speaker 1: the draft is not do So what do you let's
Speaker 1: talk over under West Reuben Randall sixty catches, that's a
Speaker 1: good that's a good line right there. I would go
Speaker 1: slightly unders, slightly under seven touchdowns. Mm hmm. I think
Speaker 1: you hit that one on the head. Okay. I think
Speaker 1: it's interesting that you mentioned that the coaching staff had
Speaker 1: those words for him, because when we when Greg and
Speaker 1: I were in Orlando, Kauughlin would not stop talking about
Speaker 1: Reuben Randalls, a guy that not we think he can
Speaker 1: step He has to step up this season. He has
Speaker 1: to get it done and we haven't seen you know,
Speaker 1: Elis had his issues obviously, but we haven't seen that
Speaker 1: receiving corps fully healthy in a long time. And when
Speaker 1: they were, whether you like Gilbride or not, he was running, running,
Speaker 1: shoots elements with that team, they haven't been able to
Speaker 1: do what they want to do. I think the coordinator
Speaker 1: switch is interesting. All right, let's talk some losers, and
Speaker 1: again not losers in the human sense, but losers in
Speaker 1: mini camp O t a s. The last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: We'll start with you, Mark Sessler. I am going to
Speaker 1: shift into loser in the human sense, because the chance
Speaker 1: to play in the NFL is obviously something that no
Speaker 1: one's gonna get to do except the total cream of
Speaker 1: the crop. But if you're Kyle Orton, what you can
Speaker 1: do is decide I'm sitting on a multimillion dollar deal,
Speaker 1: but I just don't care enough, and I care so
Speaker 1: little that I'm going to sabotage my teammates and force
Speaker 1: them to be one snap away from Brandon Weed and
Speaker 1: being your starting quarterback with by the way, Tony Romo
Speaker 1: in ill shape. I don't like the guy's attitude. I
Speaker 1: think he's not been clear from the start in terms
Speaker 1: of if you want to get out of this, let
Speaker 1: the Cowboys know and get this situation figured out half
Speaker 1: a year ago or right at the end of the
Speaker 1: season so they have a chance to go out and
Speaker 1: draft someone or get a real backup. Now they're in
Speaker 1: peril and that team is not have any inches to
Speaker 1: give up there on the cusp of being a three
Speaker 1: win team. If Romo goes down, well that's that. First
Speaker 1: of all, that's not Kyle Orton's problem because and care
Speaker 1: with what's going on with the Cowboys if he's intending
Speaker 1: to retire. My second point, I want to bring up
Speaker 1: a parallel to Mark Sessler. Earlier in your career, before
Speaker 1: you started working in the NFL, you worked at a
Speaker 1: mid upper tier investment firm of some kind. Is that
Speaker 1: about right accurate enough? I'm not sure which one. You
Speaker 1: had a nice job, and you did you did the
Speaker 1: job well, and you had an opportunity to move up
Speaker 1: in the job and build a real career for yourself,
Speaker 1: and you walked away one day because you said I'm
Speaker 1: not into it, And you walked away from good money,
Speaker 1: potentially in a secure career because you wanted to do
Speaker 1: something else. Would you be called a loser for that?
Speaker 1: I did that to come to the NFL. Well, okay,
Speaker 1: but that's a different NFL we're talking about. Modif Coward
Speaker 1: has his version of a different NFL in that previous employment,
Speaker 1: which sounds good, well, good for him. I'm not saying
Speaker 1: it can't make the choice. In that job, I served
Speaker 1: villainous people driving around and cream colored porches. I had
Speaker 1: nothing to do with that lifestyle. Orton is leaving tighten it,
Speaker 1: locker room capsized. I don't like the whole way it's
Speaker 1: gone down. Here's the problem. Kyle Orton is a bond
Speaker 1: vivant in the body of an NFL quarterback. If this
Speaker 1: was the late sixties, he'd be done. Meredith, why is that?
Speaker 1: And myself a little more? If you North was forty,
Speaker 1: or if you're familiar with any of the old Monday
Speaker 1: night football tales, Don Meredith was among the biggest partiers
Speaker 1: in NFL history many he owned many cream colored porsches.
Speaker 1: So I mean, what, Kyle Orton, what do you think
Speaker 1: of the human form? Like, I'm not going to get
Speaker 1: in the way of this whole mark or anything. I
Speaker 1: enjoy watching it. I'd love to bring the two of
Speaker 1: them together and see if they can squash it. But
Speaker 1: for right now, they're working things out. I think he'd
Speaker 1: be fun to hang out with. Don't get me wrong,
Speaker 1: I don't think I won't, but I don't. But from
Speaker 1: this angle, this specific angle, I've made myself clear. Rights losers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I at least these people will seem like they're they're
Speaker 1: probably nice people, but Houston Texans fans, I'm not truly,
Speaker 1: but look, you're a Texans fan. You've got an established
Speaker 1: mediocrity in a mysterious mediocrity in your quarterback corps. In
Speaker 1: my world, I would much rather have a mysterious mediocrity
Speaker 1: playing quarterback than it established mediocrity. They're gonna have Ryan Fitzpatrick,
Speaker 1: owner of a three fifty lifetime winning percentage, as their
Speaker 1: quarterback and their best player in franchise history, has basically
Speaker 1: said all offseason, I don't want to be associated with
Speaker 1: this franchise anymore. So you're called a great offseason for
Speaker 1: the Houston Texans fans. It's an important distinction. You're saying.
Speaker 1: It's or they're losers, but not because of something they did.
Speaker 1: It's something that's being done to them. So they're not
Speaker 1: really losers. They're more like fools if you go back.
Speaker 1: I'm just kidding. That was totally that Texans owner when
Speaker 1: they fired Kubiak and talked about what was ahead, boldly
Speaker 1: talked about the Texans as a team still knocking on
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl door that was about to make a
Speaker 1: bold new move, change things up, to make some tweaks
Speaker 1: and get right back into the playoff front. That cannot
Speaker 1: be what he envisioned many months ago. The fact that
Speaker 1: he's got Ryan Fitzpatrick saddled at his starter at this
Speaker 1: point couldn't agree more with the West. I feel bad
Speaker 1: for that fan base. With all due respect to owners
Speaker 1: who pay for this podcast and everything else that's going
Speaker 1: on right now. One thing about when they make those
Speaker 1: assertations or proclamations about a team, I don't know if
Speaker 1: they quite really know about the true structure of the team.
Speaker 1: So when Bob McNair said that he thought the Texans
Speaker 1: last year's two and fourteen was a pump in the road,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure he quite understood the problems at the
Speaker 1: franchise face standpoint silver lying it's the off season. There
Speaker 1: really are no winners and losers. Like we've said, this
Speaker 1: scoreboard hasn't happened. If Jadevion Clowney is what some people
Speaker 1: think he is and he gets healthy and gets healthy,
Speaker 1: that's another band thing. I mean, the number one pick
Speaker 1: in the draft, that hernia surgery. But if January Jadevion
Speaker 1: Clowny has double digit sacks and looks like a matchup
Speaker 1: nightmare for all offensive linement for the next decade. I
Speaker 1: think Texas fans will say, all right, that was worth
Speaker 1: the trade off to watch Ryan Fitzpatrick. They were historically unlucky.
Speaker 1: They just need to get a little luckier. To win
Speaker 1: seven games this year in that terrible division would not
Speaker 1: be that surprising. Give us a loser. Well, let's go
Speaker 1: with the obvious choice. I'll come buying a couple. The
Speaker 1: Cardinals and the Cowboys both lost dynamic inside linebackers for
Speaker 1: the season. You know, we can talk who didn't look
Speaker 1: good on the field. These are real problems that are
Speaker 1: going to completely change their seasons. Daryl Washington we think
Speaker 1: of as one of the most underrated players in the league.
Speaker 1: Shan Lee is one of the best inside linebackers in
Speaker 1: football too. Both of those defense already looked like they
Speaker 1: had problems. Rather sorry, the Cowboys defense already looked like
Speaker 1: it had a big problem him. The Cardinals I think
Speaker 1: will be okay, But these are major hits for the
Speaker 1: off season. This is basically the worst things that can
Speaker 1: happen to you in the off season. It happens to
Speaker 1: a couple of teams each year. This year is the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and the Cardinals. You know, Greg came in and
Speaker 1: it looked like around the newsroom he had rekindled and
Speaker 1: made a September romance with Carson Palmer. So I went
Speaker 1: and watched some Carson Palmer film yesterday, and I watched
Speaker 1: the Colts game, and honestly, it was one of the
Speaker 1: best games by any quarterback all year. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And then I watched some other games, but I saw
Speaker 1: enough in that one game to kind of rethink what
Speaker 1: I thought of Carson Palmer. This could have been the
Speaker 1: team of a TS. This can still be the team.
Speaker 1: It can't be the A T L because here's why.
Speaker 1: Darryl Washington, one of the one of the first four,
Speaker 1: one of their top four players in the team, Carlos
Speaker 1: dans just pretend he wasn't there to begin with. Carlos Dansby,
Speaker 1: one of the best inside linebackers in football last year.
Speaker 1: Tyrone Matthew won't be on the field until October. Probably
Speaker 1: of their top players will not be on They're not
Speaker 1: going to be exciting to watch next man. Um, that's
Speaker 1: what they said. It's not the healthiest team in the NFL.
Speaker 1: They've still got a lot of dynamic players. They don't
Speaker 1: excite me and to throw them out because they're inside
Speaker 1: linebackers are hurt. Come on, it's going to be a
Speaker 1: hard man to turn when it comes to the team
Speaker 1: of a t L. You're gonna have to really, I
Speaker 1: told you I am more going to bring it in
Speaker 1: this thing. You guys have been doing this for fifteen
Speaker 1: or twenty years because I don't have a team. I
Speaker 1: always picked my own team every year. This feels like
Speaker 1: having an argument with you know, maybe a previous girlfriend,
Speaker 1: where you realize, at some point in the middle of
Speaker 1: this three week debate, if you don't essentially just agree
Speaker 1: you it's not gonna go well and you just agree
Speaker 1: this is really the team of West. Is that it's
Speaker 1: really what it is. Hey, look, I have a list
Speaker 1: of teams that it will be acceptable, and it is
Speaker 1: a team of one. And yeah, we're gonna block some
Speaker 1: of those forget the team of West. Yeah, you gotta
Speaker 1: play ball West or it's gonna get dirty. This isn't
Speaker 1: This isn't a I don't know what you would call autocracy. No,
Speaker 1: I have a list of teams. I'm not I'm not
Speaker 1: saying it has to be the Steelers. Alright, more loser talk.
Speaker 1: The Dallas Cowboys lost Jason Hatcher to the um Washington
Speaker 1: Redskins in the off season, and at the time it
Speaker 1: seemed like maybe a questionable move by the Redskins, and
Speaker 1: now it really does. This is a guy in the
Speaker 1: wrong side of thirty that had some passing this knee
Speaker 1: issues and now he went under the knife for author
Speaker 1: scopic knee surgery. They say he's out four to six weeks,
Speaker 1: which would mean he'd be back in plenty of time
Speaker 1: for the season, but who knows how this stuff really
Speaker 1: works out. And it's just once again the Redskins seemed
Speaker 1: to be failing over and over again in free agency
Speaker 1: and not making smart decisions. And you know, although this
Speaker 1: wasn't necessarily tied into what happened on the field in general,
Speaker 1: it was not a great week for the Redskins with
Speaker 1: this name change thing going on again, and you have
Speaker 1: some the government getting involved on some level, and you
Speaker 1: have to imagine that that name name change or the
Speaker 1: issue with the name is starting to creep into obviously
Speaker 1: the organization, it's a distraction at this point, but at
Speaker 1: what point does it become an issue for the players
Speaker 1: who were probably asked about it all the time. So
Speaker 1: I can't imagine the Redskins were bummed to see this
Speaker 1: week come to an end. You made a good point
Speaker 1: about the Redskins decisions. Who is making the decisions for
Speaker 1: this team? Do you think when it comes down to
Speaker 1: core personnel moves, because Bruce Allen j Gruden? Is it?
Speaker 1: I think it's Jay Gruden or is it San Diego's
Speaker 1: old general manager who we sat next to you on
Speaker 1: an airplane. I think he is rolling the dice on
Speaker 1: some of these moves. I don't think it's Bruce Allen,
Speaker 1: who has very little personnel experience. It's I think it's
Speaker 1: Jake Gruden. He's running teams before he's been in the NFL.
Speaker 1: He was not only the GM of his Arena League team,
Speaker 1: he was the president. I mean we can say, oh,
Speaker 1: that's the Arena League. You try to run a professional
Speaker 1: football league team, and there's a lot that goes into
Speaker 1: and Jay Gruden has a third experience. To me, I
Speaker 1: bet he is the guy pulling the string. And if
Speaker 1: let's say Jason Hatcher ends up getting some swelling on
Speaker 1: the knee midway through training camp and he ends up
Speaker 1: going on short m I are it becomes a whole
Speaker 1: situation who's getting to the quarterback for the Redskins? And
Speaker 1: how is that defense going to get better? And Ryan Carrogan,
Speaker 1: do you do you believe that that Hatcher's job? That's
Speaker 1: this is why I was kind of scratching my head
Speaker 1: at the signing. Anyway, he should be a three technique
Speaker 1: nose tackle and they're gonna play him at defensive end.
Speaker 1: In Jim Haslet's defense, the defensive ends aren't pass rushers.
Speaker 1: The outside linebackers are. So I think it's a little
Speaker 1: like I never really understood that signing to begin. In
Speaker 1: Jim Hazlet's defense, you give up four d plus yards
Speaker 1: a game. This is one of the most fascinating teams.
Speaker 1: I will never support them for the team of around
Speaker 1: the league. But that abundantly clear. If we were making
Speaker 1: a list of teams that I feel I could have
Speaker 1: the biggest range of the worst season possible to the best.
Speaker 1: The Redskins are near the top of that. I could
Speaker 1: see them being great if everything goes right, and I
Speaker 1: could see them being three and thirteen. Okay, we have
Speaker 1: a couple of minutes left, so why don't we kind
Speaker 1: of go around the table and make maybe a quick
Speaker 1: case a winner or a loser of both. You can
Speaker 1: knock out a cup well if you want, and we'll
Speaker 1: try to get through this and get everybody out on
Speaker 1: the table. So this is what I call and I
Speaker 1: invented the start of the lightning rod. If I had
Speaker 1: known that, I wouldn't have mentioned Robert would so early.
Speaker 1: That would have just tried to sneak because that's seen
Speaker 1: on the kid. That was kind of a joke. All right,
Speaker 1: this is what they call the quote lightning round Mark
Speaker 1: gonna go quickly. I like what Mike Petton has done.
Speaker 1: I think right out of the gate first press conference
Speaker 1: at the Combine hold on first press conference, had to
Speaker 1: defend the fact that the team wanted Jim Harbor Moore
Speaker 1: shot it right back in everyone's face. Has handled Johnny
Speaker 1: Manzel everything else very well. Go Westley. I've got a
Speaker 1: quick winner, Derek Carr, quick loser, Michael Vick. Derek Carr.
Speaker 1: Because last night I did a little exercise, I ranked
Speaker 1: one through thirty two, which expected starting quarterback I would
Speaker 1: like to have at the helm of my team. Matt
Speaker 1: Shop was number thirty two, just a head of Chad Henny.
Speaker 1: Derek Carr has looked good. Uh in training camp has
Speaker 1: already bypassed Matt mcgoy for the number two roles, putting
Speaker 1: pressure on shop Mike Vick because of what I said
Speaker 1: yesterday about the regret scale, he clearly wishes he had
Speaker 1: signed with another team. By the way, I changed Storty
Speaker 1: to diapers last night. Right Winner, I'm gonna go Teddy Bridgewater.
Speaker 1: It's always tough to figure out what positive reviews matter
Speaker 1: what don't. Just using my spidy sense reading between the lines,
Speaker 1: I think they're really excited about Bridgewater and he's going
Speaker 1: to be the best rookie quarterback this year. And then
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you a couple of losers. Jermichael Finn.
Speaker 1: We'll have time for one loser. Will go on one
Speaker 1: more time. We thought he'd be back this year, Jamichael Finley,
Speaker 1: he's not in another winner US, No more o t s,
Speaker 1: no more mini camps. I'm out. You should have saved
Speaker 1: that for the last one. One more time. I told
Speaker 1: you I gotta winner. Michael Floyd. I predict you will
Speaker 1: be the Cardinals leading receiver this year. Lara Fitzjald become
Speaker 1: the second banana. Their loser, Zach Stacy st Louis Rams
Speaker 1: running back. What does that guy have to do together
Speaker 1: a starting running back job. Everything that Trey Mason said
Speaker 1: was true, that he's not been guaranteed the spot. Stacy
Speaker 1: has a starting running back Mark loser bent Tate thought
Speaker 1: he was going to be a lead back for this team.
Speaker 1: Fin it is out right now. I think at this
Speaker 1: point he's lucky if he's even leading his team and carries.
Speaker 1: Come December, West, I blew my water on the last
Speaker 1: when he told me to go one or two. Greg,
Speaker 1: we're the winners because this segment is over the speed round.
Speaker 1: We won. That's it. That's it, all right, we'll stop,
Speaker 1: We'll stop. I had I had more, West, You don't
Speaker 1: have some more? Just makes him up. Bill Lazer loves him.
Speaker 1: Chris Johnson unnecessarily raising expectations saying you can still rush
Speaker 1: for two thousand yards and then also comparing himself to
Speaker 1: a jailed rapper named Lil Boosey. Don't do that, bro
Speaker 1: West the gold standard. Wow, that's mean. Well England lost
Speaker 1: on Thursday. Yeah, that's true. I thought you're saying because
Speaker 1: he couldn't hang out with us as a person behind
Speaker 1: not behind the glasses laughing. I don't know's t winner
Speaker 1: Winner in the big Seed, in the big chair. He's
Speaker 1: definitely up in his game. Finally, last but not least,
Speaker 1: Gregg Ros it's all the Boss. He's got nothing. That's
Speaker 1: all lightening around over winner, Mark Sessler one. I don't know.
Speaker 1: There was no point system wins. All right, that's it
Speaker 1: for today's show. We will be back on Monday with
Speaker 1: another week of action. There will be no action on
Speaker 1: the field, but we never rest and that's what we do. Mark,
Speaker 1: you or will be heading on vacation, so we will
Speaker 1: just push on without you in. You're gonna phone it
Speaker 1: in on my phone in. I might call into the show.
Speaker 1: I like that. We'll see maybe not all right, so
Speaker 1: Mark might phone it in On Monday. We'll all be
Speaker 1: in the dark dungeon here secondary studio until then. This
Speaker 1: is Dan Hansons signing off for The Mailman, The Sizzler,
Speaker 1: The Boss and take Date behind the Glass sp