Speaker 1: The Around the League Podcast runs the cover for Defense.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to another edition of the Around the League Podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Hansas. I'm joined by not quite
Speaker 1: a room full of heroes. We have Chris Westling, Greg Rosenthal,
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler not in the house today, Fellas. How are
Speaker 1: you great? Dan? How was your Sunday? Sunday? Was nice?
Speaker 1: It was? I guess it was the last Sunday off
Speaker 1: for quite a while. Ironic that Dan skipped most of
Speaker 1: August but is in the office on Labor Day. We're
Speaker 1: all here well speaking, which uh, I thought Labor Day
Speaker 1: was gonna come in here. I I dressed down for
Speaker 1: holiday reasons. I have a T shirt, actually had flip flops.
Speaker 1: It was wearing a hat. Get in and everybody's all
Speaker 1: dressed up, dandy up on Labor Day, which seems wrong.
Speaker 1: So I had to go back to my car and
Speaker 1: get dress shoes to at least try to clean up
Speaker 1: and remove the hat. So I feel a little weird
Speaker 1: right now. It's week one, baby, and Greg also got
Speaker 1: a haircut too, which added because Greg was really like
Speaker 1: a flop top for a while there and now he's
Speaker 1: all cleaned up. And yeah, when I was saying I
Speaker 1: had to leave for a haircut last show. I wasn't kidding.
Speaker 1: I really left and it was from Dan's guy. He
Speaker 1: he treated me nice. I'm feeling good. It's week one.
Speaker 1: They're nowhere. Holidays at the NFL. People. We got three
Speaker 1: shows debuting on Monday on NFL Network. Get excited. Uh
Speaker 1: And I feel especially bad for West on this Monday
Speaker 1: Labor Day. Could be spending some qualities already that time
Speaker 1: by the pool. Instead, you're in Studio sixty six. I
Speaker 1: got it out of my system on Saturday, my first
Speaker 1: Saturday off in a month. Wow. We don't need have
Speaker 1: to get into details on that. Okay, So we got
Speaker 1: a we got a nice show today. We're gonna talk
Speaker 1: about some notable cuts over the weekend. We're gonna go
Speaker 1: over our final award choices for Offensive Player of the
Speaker 1: Year and the Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year, go over some news with Crystal, a little
Speaker 1: fantasy talk which people like. That excites the people. And
Speaker 1: that's about it. But so let's start. Why don't we
Speaker 1: start with the weekend. There are a lot of cuts made, Greg,
Speaker 1: do you wanna start us off with that? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: think Vince Young was the one that stuck out to me.
Speaker 1: You know, they get rid of Graham Harrold. At that point,
Speaker 1: you think Young is probably safe. They get rid of
Speaker 1: Vince Young, you think their backup probably isn't on the
Speaker 1: roster unless they're going with b J. Coleman. Then on Monday,
Speaker 1: they get rid of Coleman, they bring in Seneca Wallace,
Speaker 1: who for a minute we thought was retiring. And you know,
Speaker 1: this isn't how you want to enter the season with
Speaker 1: with your backup quarterback. I think every team is in
Speaker 1: trouble if you lose a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers. But
Speaker 1: this is pretty much a worst case scenario for Ted
Speaker 1: Thompson and the Packers. It's not how you want to
Speaker 1: enter the season. But I would bet they feel more
Speaker 1: confident with Seneca Wallas this year than they did Graham
Speaker 1: Harrold in previous seasons. What do you guys do you
Speaker 1: guys think? I guess why didn't they sign him earlier
Speaker 1: though he was you know, it's not like people were
Speaker 1: killing themselves to get Seneca Wallas. He wasn't even the
Speaker 1: league last year. My guess is, like, come comes down
Speaker 1: to how many reps can we distribute, and they had
Speaker 1: all their eggs in the Vince Young basket at that point.
Speaker 1: I'm curious. So you guys think we have talked We've
Speaker 1: talked about the Packers a little bit last week. Um,
Speaker 1: if for whatever reason, worst case the Aaron Rodgers went
Speaker 1: down and you had to put it put in, I guess,
Speaker 1: Seneca Wallace, what kind of how many wins would that
Speaker 1: team have with the rest of the pieces they have
Speaker 1: in place? Sick? That sounds about right. You know, Matt
Speaker 1: Flynn was a pretty good backup. The thing is this
Speaker 1: isn't a new problem for this team. The backup quarterback
Speaker 1: situation has been a problem since Flynn left. Really, it
Speaker 1: was a problem all of last year. It just was
Speaker 1: a case where they didn't evaluate right because they thought
Speaker 1: they were good enough with coleman Uh and Harold this
Speaker 1: offseason or else they would have done something differently and
Speaker 1: they and they weren't good enough. So the easy answer
Speaker 1: would be to trade for Matt Quinn. I kind of thought,
Speaker 1: when the Raiders were delayed announcing their cuts on Saturday night,
Speaker 1: maybe there's a surprise Matt Flinn trade. It would make
Speaker 1: some sense. Yeah, it would make sense on some levels.
Speaker 1: But then you figured Ted Thompson never gives up draft
Speaker 1: picks and Matt flinn salary is probably pretty high for
Speaker 1: a trade, and that would also be the saddest full
Speaker 1: circle everyone in the NFL dejected Matt Flynn. Any other
Speaker 1: notable cuts you want to bring up. Jonathan Dwyer in
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh was surprised just because he looked better in the
Speaker 1: preseason and they're not healthy at running back with Levian
Speaker 1: Bell hurt, so they kept Felix Jones over Dwyer. I
Speaker 1: was surprised about that. Wire was their only healthy running
Speaker 1: back throughout the preseason and looks slim down, looks pretty good.
Speaker 1: Um and our feeling from the Pittsburgh Tribune review was
Speaker 1: that there's some kind of skis them there between the
Speaker 1: coaching staff in the front office on this release. The
Speaker 1: coaching staff wanted to keep him and the front Apparently
Speaker 1: he ticked the front office off a little bit by
Speaker 1: showing up out of shape to to UH mini camps
Speaker 1: and then he did lose or thirty pounds between mini
Speaker 1: camp and training camp. But maybe he wrote his ticket
Speaker 1: out of town. You see this every now and then
Speaker 1: with the Steelers. There was some disagreement about Bruce arians
Speaker 1: when when he left between the coaching staff in the
Speaker 1: front office. But Kevin Colvert doesn't get a lot of love.
Speaker 1: Is one of the best at what he does, so
Speaker 1: I trust him. I mean, is this going to make
Speaker 1: that big a difference in this team now? And to
Speaker 1: their credit, If this was the jet it would be
Speaker 1: a full blown controversy, but the Steelers put a lid
Speaker 1: on it and you all you ever hear is whispers,
Speaker 1: not like a full blown drama. Any other cuts. We
Speaker 1: were cranking out the cuts on Saturday, Dan Mark and
Speaker 1: I and Kevin Patrick were while Chris was just relaxing.
Speaker 1: I think the one that most shocked me was Antoine
Speaker 1: Winfield cut and retired, which points to the Seahawks depth,
Speaker 1: which we talked about. I had no idea he was
Speaker 1: considering retirement because he had been playing at a pretty
Speaker 1: high level the past couple of years. I feel, yeah,
Speaker 1: I feel I feel like he I guess he made
Speaker 1: someone of a tactical error and free obviously did in
Speaker 1: free agency, and I guess it came down to he
Speaker 1: didn't feel like going through the process starting over and
Speaker 1: being the slate at thirty six or uh and twelve
Speaker 1: fourteen season seasons in I guess that was enough for him.
Speaker 1: It's one of those that the Pro Football Focus rank
Speaker 1: don't match up with how NFL teams see him, necessarily
Speaker 1: because they have Winfield as I think their best cornerback
Speaker 1: in football. Last year, he didn't really get much of
Speaker 1: a free agent contract. My guest, and he's been one
Speaker 1: of my favorite guys to watch at cornerback for ten years.
Speaker 1: Is he just kind of read the you know, right
Speaker 1: hand the wall. He could keep his career going, but
Speaker 1: once he gets cut, he just didn't want to do
Speaker 1: it anymore. And I had one more on the Vanguard watch.
Speaker 1: We were talking so highly of the Seahawks and Niners
Speaker 1: last week, Chris Harper fourth round pick got cut. You know,
Speaker 1: of course, that gets the angle on this is that
Speaker 1: the Seahawks they know when to cut loose, They operate
Speaker 1: their own rules. Well, the Raiders did the same thing.
Speaker 1: They cut Tyler Wilson their fourth round pick. Are they
Speaker 1: also the vanguard? It reminds me a little bit of
Speaker 1: Brian Brohm, who also toiled under Bobby Petrino or not, yeah, Briant,
Speaker 1: So maybe Petrino's quarterbacks just aren't that cut cut out
Speaker 1: for the NFL. Yeah, Tyler Wilson. We'll see what happens
Speaker 1: with him. But man, that's that's rough. And the interesting
Speaker 1: thing with Harper was that the Seahawks wanted to keep him.
Speaker 1: Ian Rap Report reported that the forty Niners and Seahawks
Speaker 1: kind of battled over getting Harper, but eventually he ends
Speaker 1: up going to the Fortys and their active roster. So
Speaker 1: it's just another little dig from Jim Harbat to Pete Carroll.
Speaker 1: You gotta love that. And and Tyler Wilson. I was
Speaker 1: at a rookie event at a Los Angeles elementary school
Speaker 1: in June, and I remember asking him, you know, how
Speaker 1: does it feel to be talked up as a potential
Speaker 1: starter this season? And now look where he is. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Another another few notable cuts were just mentioned quickly. Robert
Speaker 1: Meetchum is no longer in the league. One of the
Speaker 1: worst free agent signings. I wouldn't expect the Saint to
Speaker 1: sign him. They they really like what they've seen from
Speaker 1: Kenny steells In and Nicktune and Austin Collie. I thought
Speaker 1: wasn't a surprise, but you know, that was an interesting one,
Speaker 1: and we've made it this long without mentioning, right, I
Speaker 1: mean it was a third quarterback he started in the
Speaker 1: playoffs a couple of years ago. He's a significant NFL
Speaker 1: figure and now I would be surprised to see him
Speaker 1: in the NFL this year. Again. As a honeymoon gift
Speaker 1: from the NFL News desk last year, I received a
Speaker 1: Jets Tim Tebow jersey, which still has its tags on.
Speaker 1: It's still hanging in my closet. Is it more valuable
Speaker 1: now or less valuable now that he may not ever
Speaker 1: play again? I don't think you want to wear that jersey,
Speaker 1: but I will wear And I'm wondering for eBay reasons.
Speaker 1: It seems like Tebow's value would be a personal thing.
Speaker 1: I think I think it's at an all time low.
Speaker 1: And I'm just amid that Pat White has outlasted both
Speaker 1: Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clawson in the NFL. So three
Speaker 1: cheers to Pat White. Alright, So that is that is
Speaker 1: our cuts talk. Um, Glad that that was that's over,
Speaker 1: because that is a that is a tough shift and
Speaker 1: kind of a tough time of year. Um, let's go
Speaker 1: to more awards fund our final two awards posts that
Speaker 1: we did. Where do we want to start. We want
Speaker 1: to start with the Rookie of Year predictions. Sure, all right, Wes,
Speaker 1: why don't you share yours? Because well, maybe I should
Speaker 1: preface this by saying that for offense of Rookie of
Speaker 1: the Year, most of us agreed on one man, and Wes,
Speaker 1: you were one of them. Who was your pick for
Speaker 1: offensive Rookie of the Year? I picked Eddie Lacey, uh
Speaker 1: of the Packers. He is looks like he's locked into
Speaker 1: a feature back role with Dwan Harris out for the season.
Speaker 1: I think we can expect if he stays healthy two
Speaker 1: D two h fifty carries. I think I tabulated the
Speaker 1: Alex Green, James Starks, and Cedric Benson combined for two
Speaker 1: D seventy seven carries last year, and none of the
Speaker 1: three ran well. So if Lacey's running well, we can
Speaker 1: expect a heavy workload. I think that changes the dynamic
Speaker 1: of their offense, finally having a running game there um
Speaker 1: and I you know that everything is in place for
Speaker 1: the Packers this year. I feel like it's perfect situation
Speaker 1: for Lazy. Yeah, four of the five of us chose Lacey.
Speaker 1: I didn't look at everyone else's picks before making mine.
Speaker 1: I might have just tried to come up with a
Speaker 1: different one other than Lacey. Uh, But I'm excited I
Speaker 1: took him on my fantasy team. I mean, what's not
Speaker 1: to be cited about with Lacey? And it's weird when
Speaker 1: you look up and down the list of potential candidates
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball, there weren't a lot
Speaker 1: of obvious names, were there. There's one guy that everybody
Speaker 1: is sleeping on because the Rams sandbag the heck out
Speaker 1: of the preseason. I really like the way Tavon Austin moves,
Speaker 1: and we saw it on the punt returns. You didn't
Speaker 1: see in their offense because they purposely kept him from
Speaker 1: being showcased. But it would not surprise me in the
Speaker 1: least if Tavon Austin was the guy. That's a good
Speaker 1: point too, because if you remember what what the buzz
Speaker 1: was heading into the draft in April, and the way
Speaker 1: Austin was talked up and and how the Rams moved
Speaker 1: up to make sure they got him. One one's quiet
Speaker 1: uh preseason in terms of the offensive side of the ball,
Speaker 1: and people all of a sudden are not thinking so
Speaker 1: highly of him. But he might be a sleeping I
Speaker 1: will say this. I know Greg loves Chris Gibbons and
Speaker 1: I like him too, but to me, the differences Tavon
Speaker 1: Austin has special ability. Chris Skiveveons just has pretty good ability.
Speaker 1: It's tough for a wide receiver to win that award.
Speaker 1: I thought about DeAndre Hopkins too, and I like that pick.
Speaker 1: But usually it's a running back and Monty Ball doesn't
Speaker 1: seem like he's going to be in place to really
Speaker 1: do it. So Lacey made more sense. I'll tell you
Speaker 1: why I don't like the Hopkins pick. I think he's
Speaker 1: a fine player, But how often do you see a
Speaker 1: team's number two receiver win Rookie of the Year. It's
Speaker 1: a fair point. That is a fair point, alright. So
Speaker 1: so that's Lacy is the consensus there. What about on defense, Greg,
Speaker 1: who did you pick for defense? I went with alec
Speaker 1: Ogletree of the St. Louis Rams. Both the Patra Kevin
Speaker 1: Patra and I both chose ogle Tree. I was surprised
Speaker 1: someone else did too. I just think he's in a
Speaker 1: great position. Like running backs win offensive Rookie of the Year,
Speaker 1: a lot of times linebackers win defense. And there really
Speaker 1: wasn't a middle linebacker choice that made a lot of
Speaker 1: sense except for Wes's boy, Mr Boom Bostick. That's catching on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I hope that though I just brought it up. I uh,
Speaker 1: we should say who it is by the waycause maybe
Speaker 1: hasn't caught on enough where we know who it is. Yes,
Speaker 1: John Bostick, Wesselyns trying to, you know, start this nickname
Speaker 1: for him because he's a huge shaggy fan. A lot
Speaker 1: of people don't know that about I didn't know that
Speaker 1: about Wesley go to third person. All this hype for
Speaker 1: Wesseleyan is is getting to his head. I like Uncle
Speaker 1: Tree because he's gonna make plays that people notice. And
Speaker 1: he's got a great defensive line in front of him
Speaker 1: to help him go pursue the ball, and he's got
Speaker 1: to intercept passes and break up passes. I could just
Speaker 1: see him making a lot of splash plays that get
Speaker 1: him in highlight reels. I agree with that. He's going
Speaker 1: to make plays, the interceptions, fumble recoveries, knocking away balls.
Speaker 1: The only reason I didn't pick him and I considered
Speaker 1: him he was probably my runner up. I just saw
Speaker 1: him out of position too much in the preseason. He
Speaker 1: was making a lot of errors, over running plays in
Speaker 1: the wrong position too many times. I think there maybe
Speaker 1: a few growing pains, but you're right. I think maybe
Speaker 1: the voters will see all the splash plays on the
Speaker 1: highlights and it won't matter. And it's funny, great you
Speaker 1: said plays people notice. That's why I took the honey
Speaker 1: Badger in Arizona. I think and West did as well.
Speaker 1: And I am authorizing you to speak for the two
Speaker 1: good good. I'm glad that we're alternating on the podcast
Speaker 1: on this topic. Uh yeah, I just think he's from
Speaker 1: everything we're hearing. He's being talked up now is the
Speaker 1: sleeper of the draft, to the guy that should have
Speaker 1: went way higher than he did. He's he's going to
Speaker 1: have a defined role in that secondary and he makes plays.
Speaker 1: He's a guy that is always around the ball, forces fumbles, intercepts, passes,
Speaker 1: and then you can't discount when you're talking about anything
Speaker 1: that's a voting process, the redemption of the Honey Badger angle.
Speaker 1: It won't hurt him either. Yeah, he's one of those guys.
Speaker 1: I think people outsmart themselves when they're scouting. Sometimes. I
Speaker 1: don't watch much college football. When I watched L s
Speaker 1: U play. When Honey Badger was there, you just knew
Speaker 1: he was the best player on the field, and I
Speaker 1: think that translates to the NFL. Is it possible, though,
Speaker 1: we're falling for what you talked about a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: recentcly biased whistling that you know, he he gets a
Speaker 1: lot of hype in the preseason, he makes some plays
Speaker 1: in the season, suddenly suddenly he's a defensive rookie the year.
Speaker 1: It's like last year, I remember, I think they pulled
Speaker 1: maybe it was fifteen or sixteen of us at NFL
Speaker 1: dot Com for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Andrew luck
Speaker 1: was to pick on fifteen out of sixteen r G
Speaker 1: three only got one vote, and it was all because
Speaker 1: he had a good preseason. I think that's a fair point.
Speaker 1: There could be some recency buyds there, But like I said,
Speaker 1: I thought he was a great player in college. I
Speaker 1: thought he was underdrafted, and I think he's just he's
Speaker 1: just one of those natural ball players who has all
Speaker 1: the talent in the world. Okay, let's move over to
Speaker 1: the Coach of the Year predictions. Now this has to
Speaker 1: tie in directly with for obvious reasons, with our standings picks.
Speaker 1: It has to be a team that either makes the
Speaker 1: playoffs or was wretched and gets close to the playoffs. So, Wes,
Speaker 1: you want to get us going with who you chose
Speaker 1: as your two thousand thirteen NFL Coach of the Year. Sure,
Speaker 1: as Matt money Smith said to open the podcast a
Speaker 1: while back, would follow Mike Tomlin anywhere. We will follow
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin anywhere I will. I think he's one of
Speaker 1: the best coaches in the NFL. He's got a make
Speaker 1: up for Mike Wallace leaving. Heath Miller's injured, his his
Speaker 1: star second round running back is injured, his defense is
Speaker 1: getting old. He has all these factors. Nobody is picking
Speaker 1: the Steelers to win the NFC Central except three out
Speaker 1: of the five around the crew members. So I think
Speaker 1: you know that you're right. No one is predicting they're
Speaker 1: gonna win the NFC Central because that doesn't ex Let
Speaker 1: me start that. I like that. All right, we're gonna
Speaker 1: deep breath for West. Do you want to recraft your
Speaker 1: point on any level? Yeah, I just throw that one
Speaker 1: over to you, all right, Greg, Greg, go ahead. I'm
Speaker 1: going with Chip Kelly. You know I had them as
Speaker 1: a surprise division champion. Um, I'm still trying to kiss
Speaker 1: up to Crystal. I'm hoping that's gonna work beautifully. And uh,
Speaker 1: I think he's a coach that people notice, not only
Speaker 1: because he'll get written about a lot, just because he
Speaker 1: does the sort of things that impress us. You know,
Speaker 1: NFL rubes who like to see fund formations and like
Speaker 1: to see surprise, you know, champions in their division. And
Speaker 1: the Eagles to me are a perfect pick to win
Speaker 1: that division. And and I think every year the ten
Speaker 1: and six team that surprises ends up winning Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year. For some reason, Bill Belichick, those guys never
Speaker 1: win it. It's always guys like Chip Kelly. I'm a
Speaker 1: little surprised that Kelly was the only one of you
Speaker 1: were the only one to pick Kelly, because I'm sure
Speaker 1: if you quizzed writers and experts, so called experts around
Speaker 1: the country, Kelly will be the pick. Um I went
Speaker 1: with because again, you have to follow your standings. I
Speaker 1: took the Browns to go nine and seven get a
Speaker 1: playoff spot, so I'm gonna go with Chud. Rob Chadzinski.
Speaker 1: I think you know a lot of this. A lot
Speaker 1: this is this is out on a limb. Listen, is
Speaker 1: um so much out on out on a limb, but
Speaker 1: that our initial post on this didn't even have Chud
Speaker 1: in there. Greg excluded it. I had to make sure
Speaker 1: I got in there. But I was just trying to
Speaker 1: save you for your sake, I really listen. I backed
Speaker 1: myself into a corner on this one. I'm admitting it,
Speaker 1: But at the same time, you can't. This is not
Speaker 1: time to get scared. I think they have a lot
Speaker 1: of pieces there if we didn't progresses nine wins? Is
Speaker 1: that absurd to say that the Browns could win nine
Speaker 1: games this year? I have never heard somebody has all
Speaker 1: in on the Cleveland Browns this year. So what was it?
Speaker 1: People that really mentioned that Dnski's read option with camp
Speaker 1: last year not not really known as a huge coaching success, right,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say that what coach was getting criticized more
Speaker 1: as an offensive coordinator than Rob Early last year. To
Speaker 1: be fair, he was getting just as much credit the
Speaker 1: year before. That's true. I just want to give Dance
Speaker 1: some shock the world. Come on, shot, I need you
Speaker 1: right now, um, and just to round it out because
Speaker 1: they're not sitting with us today. Kevin Patrick took Andy
Speaker 1: Reid with the Chiefs, which there's some logic to that,
Speaker 1: and Sessler took the CFL guy Mark Trustman with the
Speaker 1: Bears make sense. Although the Bears went ten and six
Speaker 1: last year, So if they go ten and six again
Speaker 1: but make the playoffs, Trustman as a coach of the Year, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't see that. I think Mark just
Speaker 1: identifies with Trustman. I would. I would say that's a
Speaker 1: valid statement that Mark looks at all the NFL coaches
Speaker 1: and thinks Mark Trustman is the most like me. I
Speaker 1: like him. I think you hit the nail on the
Speaker 1: head with that one way. That's that's actually kind of offensive,
Speaker 1: because I think Trustman is one of the creepier looking
Speaker 1: guys that looks wise. I think their brains work the
Speaker 1: same way. Oh and they also spell their names of
Speaker 1: the CE Mark with the C right and you could
Speaker 1: say that about a lot of journalists. I think like
Speaker 1: Trustman for that reason too. I think he's he's unorthodox,
Speaker 1: he's willing to think outside the box. And I think
Speaker 1: people he said I identify with his circuitous route to
Speaker 1: the NFL. I like that. Yes, as the mailman, you
Speaker 1: can speak to make the route less traveled mail men
Speaker 1: do know about route all right. So Crystal, Kay, Rich
Speaker 1: are you behind the glass? Hello? Guys, happy laboring on
Speaker 1: Labor Day. You know, poor Crystal had to come in
Speaker 1: she might is there's a theory bouncing around. The only
Speaker 1: reason Crystal came in today is because she had to
Speaker 1: because she had to produce our podcast. That is the
Speaker 1: only reason, you guys know. I get dressed up every day.
Speaker 1: She does day. I'm right with you, Dan, Really, I
Speaker 1: can't tell. There's a little bit of a difference between
Speaker 1: how I'm dressed and how you are, beyond the fact
Speaker 1: that we are men and women. Um, alright, let's let's
Speaker 1: hear a little news from Crystal. Crystal isn't trying to
Speaker 1: grow a really weak beard. And with that, alright, first up,
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals signed five years. Yeah, but you get one
Speaker 1: hair cut and now you can come after my beard.
Speaker 1: They could have set you home for that your hair
Speaker 1: for the past. I have this theory going for about
Speaker 1: two decades now. It hasn't been scientifically proven. But when
Speaker 1: on the day you get your hair cut, and probably
Speaker 1: for another three or four days, you're the funniest guy
Speaker 1: in the room. Weipping jokes around left and right? Why
Speaker 1: why do you have that theory? Would feel good? You
Speaker 1: look good? Oh? Yeah, that's fair. Although I feel like,
Speaker 1: at least for me, kind of like the Jan Sanders,
Speaker 1: you know motto for right, feel good, look good, play good,
Speaker 1: and then get paid good. I feel like with a haircut,
Speaker 1: mine usually take a week to kind of find themselves,
Speaker 1: find their footing. Oh I can't identify with that. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: but no, Greg, You're you look pretty sharp right now.
Speaker 1: You're like a seven seven and a half minute. I
Speaker 1: appreciate it. Alright. Never realized when girls get haircuts. But
Speaker 1: that's fine. Back to the new Did you get a haircut?
Speaker 1: I did not? Did I know you guys wouldn't notice? Alright? Cool? Alright,
Speaker 1: sorry to interrupt there, Chris, all you. That's all right.
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals signed a five year contract extension with Gino Atkins. Uh.
Speaker 1: Let's see, should have been? Was he a finalist for
Speaker 1: Defensive Player of the Year last year? Well they don't
Speaker 1: do they have finals? I guess now with the NFL
Speaker 1: Honors Awards, they kind of mentioned guys that were finalists. Basically,
Speaker 1: it was a it was a wash for I mean,
Speaker 1: it was gonna be J J W. I think Von
Speaker 1: Miller got one vote as well. Yeah, what von Miller
Speaker 1: and Gino Atkins I thought were easily the three best
Speaker 1: defenders in the NFL last year. Atkins just looked dominant,
Speaker 1: especially down the stretch. The Bengals had possibly the NFL's
Speaker 1: best defense from mid season on and and Atkins is
Speaker 1: definitely the engine that drives that machine. They have one
Speaker 1: of the best, most dominant defensive lines. Atkins just gets
Speaker 1: unbelievable power and balance out of that body, and he's
Speaker 1: always in the backfield. It was a no brainer signing
Speaker 1: and he signed less for less than Hellodi Nada, so
Speaker 1: it was a great deal for the Bengals. So what
Speaker 1: you're saying is that Mike Brown in the front office
Speaker 1: of the Bengals do things the right ways. Ahead I
Speaker 1: backed myself into a corn They did this thing the
Speaker 1: right way. I mean, they've been drafting well, they're resigning
Speaker 1: their key guys like Dunlap and Atkins, and I would
Speaker 1: acknowledge over the public airwaves ever since Carson Palmer decided
Speaker 1: that the Bengals were such a rotten organization that he
Speaker 1: wouldn't even play for fifteen million dollars Mike Brown has
Speaker 1: made some great moves. He's been a wonderful GM and
Speaker 1: owner for the last three or four years. We won't
Speaker 1: talk about the last fifteen years before that. I'm standing
Speaker 1: up right now, although I will say. I will say
Speaker 1: that he did chicken out and take Andy Dalton over
Speaker 1: Colin Kaepernick. It could have been in a different world
Speaker 1: if he did. I take back everything I said. A
Speaker 1: lot of should have done that. He was rolling. Uh,
Speaker 1: you're my don King. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't have
Speaker 1: done that. I just like Atkins how he how he
Speaker 1: walks whenever they have the hard knocks slow motion, he
Speaker 1: kind of walks like a duck. Does not look like
Speaker 1: the type of guy to be one of the most
Speaker 1: dominant interior linement in football. Does not swim like a
Speaker 1: guy that that you would think the international athlete? What else?
Speaker 1: K Rich Alright, guys, next up, we're talking about the
Speaker 1: quarterback carousel in New York. The Jets sign Brady Quinn
Speaker 1: and dump Graham Harrold. No good now everything saw him though. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is when I think I think that says it all. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I did. That's been as a nice headline. Today. Jets
Speaker 1: signed handsome Comma bad QB to temporarily reply, is handsome,
Speaker 1: Comma bad QB. Think that about sums it up? Is
Speaker 1: that all we got? No? Pretty good? What else you got? Alright?
Speaker 1: Last up, Washington Redskins hen coach Mike Shanahan says r
Speaker 1: G three will start and they're opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker 1: I really have not this one. Yeah, we're gonna throw.
Speaker 1: We don't have to do RG three injury updates anymore.
Speaker 1: It's like groundhog Day when you hear uh, I got
Speaker 1: you babe by Shunny Sunny and share, and we keep
Speaker 1: on hearing the same story over and over again. But
Speaker 1: this might be the last one. Right, this is the
Speaker 1: last Shannahan press conference. We're putting it to bed. It's
Speaker 1: on the kibosh list. Well I mentioned earlier today. I
Speaker 1: think this is the first story that NFL dot Com
Speaker 1: an NFL network has ever gone breaking news with twice
Speaker 1: with the exact same story. Didn't we do it? Didn't
Speaker 1: we break this on Thursday or Friday? Too? We did? Actually? Yes,
Speaker 1: It's sad that the Brady Quinn news I think was
Speaker 1: more impactful than this one. Anything else? Do you have
Speaker 1: anything else? Crystal? That's it for a day. No, well,
Speaker 1: we're nice and quiet, a little quiet on the news front,
Speaker 1: a little bit quiet out the news front that it
Speaker 1: gives us more time to talk a little fantasy football.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, nice transition. We got well fantasy. As I've
Speaker 1: said before, I am in a room with two fantasy experts.
Speaker 1: They don't like to call themselves experts, but they are.
Speaker 1: They were a stalwarts at rode A World. Greg was
Speaker 1: the boss, West was the Consigliari. Uh So, now let's
Speaker 1: talk a little fantasy football. Greg, do you want to
Speaker 1: start out with maybe one tip, now that the season
Speaker 1: is officially four days away, one tip for fantasy players, well,
Speaker 1: for people that are still drafting. I think there's such
Speaker 1: a tendency to overrate what your team's gonna look like
Speaker 1: in Week one and not think about long term. And
Speaker 1: I was just in my draft last week, and no
Speaker 1: one wanted to touch Gronkowski. I know you ended up
Speaker 1: with him, Dan. No one wanted to touch Josh Gordon,
Speaker 1: who's only going to be out two weeks. No one
Speaker 1: wanted touch Santonio Homes. You know, probably for a few
Speaker 1: different reasons there, but I took him in the fifteenth
Speaker 1: round or something. And you know, he's a very talented
Speaker 1: guy to be available that late. Lean Bell is another one.
Speaker 1: And so if you're still drafting, or even if you
Speaker 1: can pick up guys off waivers, I always think about
Speaker 1: what's the best team in November and December, and just
Speaker 1: worry about that and assume you're going to get to
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Don't worry. You can fill in the rest
Speaker 1: of the way. Worry about the guys at the end
Speaker 1: of the season because guys like Gordon and Homes they're
Speaker 1: going too late in draft. What do you think about that?
Speaker 1: I agree totally. That's great advice. Um, I haven't noticed
Speaker 1: people get too caught up in the first month of
Speaker 1: the season and start panicking on trades. And then you
Speaker 1: see guys that we may have hyped, you know, before
Speaker 1: the seasons started, and they're saying, guys catch fire in
Speaker 1: the second having carry teams to the title. Do not
Speaker 1: over emphasize September and October. Yeah, and mine is more
Speaker 1: I tied into Greg's point, which was, you know, people
Speaker 1: get it all caught up with the news reports they
Speaker 1: see and Gronk is the perfect example of this. Over
Speaker 1: the summer when people are preparing for drafts its sund
Speaker 1: like we would never see this guy again. But the
Speaker 1: truth of the matter is that he's going to be
Speaker 1: back by the end of September most likely. And this
Speaker 1: is the greatest tight end on earth, you know. And
Speaker 1: I think anybody that was able to get him in
Speaker 1: the sixth round or seventh round or fifth round, as
Speaker 1: I believe Mark and I did, and I believe Greg
Speaker 1: you got him in that as well, you're gonna reap
Speaker 1: the benefits of it. So all you really need is
Speaker 1: that guy to carry carry you for three weeks. I
Speaker 1: think Fred Davis is our carryover guy to get to Gronk.
Speaker 1: The only thing I will say, and now we're not
Speaker 1: even talking about tips, but the only thing I'm nervous
Speaker 1: about with Gronk is how do we know that guy
Speaker 1: is gonna stay healthy? You know? In that in that
Speaker 1: playoff game, he came back, he hit the hit the turf,
Speaker 1: and he broke that arm again. So make sure you
Speaker 1: handcuff a guy like Ronk or any of these guys.
Speaker 1: That one thing fantasy anders should know is there's risk
Speaker 1: involved with every single player. Yeah, I remember I got
Speaker 1: a tweet a couple of weeks ago when the Jerom
Speaker 1: Felton suspension came out. How does this affect Adrian Peterson's value?
Speaker 1: And I thought, well, you should probably trade him away
Speaker 1: for another less talented running back that has another concern.
Speaker 1: Every every player's got concerned, So don't worry about it
Speaker 1: too much. Just go with the guy with the highest upside.
Speaker 1: Gronkowski is practicing. I mean, there's another news item to
Speaker 1: me that is is pretty significant. On Sunday, he's in
Speaker 1: his full pads. On Monday, he's in full pads again.
Speaker 1: He's on he's doing eleven on eleven. Belichick will only
Speaker 1: say he's day to day, but everything is trendy and
Speaker 1: right now towards I don't think he'll be back week one,
Speaker 1: but it's possible week two or week three at this point.
Speaker 1: And I'm gonna put both you guys on the spot
Speaker 1: a little bit because you are experts. Um, if let's
Speaker 1: let's talk right now. Everyone has their teams for the
Speaker 1: most part, or they better. Uh my my wife's got
Speaker 1: are all ladies draft on Tuesday night. It's a great
Speaker 1: time for gorgeous ladies of fantasy right behind. I love it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is the best week for drafting. Yeah, well, this
Speaker 1: is the perfect time because you know everything that's in
Speaker 1: front of you. But my question you guys is who
Speaker 1: would be one guy that might be on the waiver
Speaker 1: wire that you should go and grab. Waiver wire? Yeah,
Speaker 1: a free agent pile. I saw Isaiah Pede was on
Speaker 1: my waiver wire, and if no one listens to this before,
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna go pick him up just because
Speaker 1: I like him as a deep guy. But right now
Speaker 1: the waiver wire, guys aren't gonna be too exciting. I've
Speaker 1: got a guy for your watch list. I wouldn't pick
Speaker 1: this guy up in redraft leagues. Um, if you're in
Speaker 1: a dynasty league or even in the re draft league,
Speaker 1: just keep this guy in the back of your mind.
Speaker 1: Marlon Brown from the Ravens undrafted rookie UH at Georgia
Speaker 1: last year. They expected him to do great things and
Speaker 1: he tore his a c L. He's got size, athletic ability, speed.
Speaker 1: In preseason the last two weeks I saw him make
Speaker 1: more plays and I've seen from Tandon Dawson two years.
Speaker 1: I think he's better right now than Jacoby Jones is.
Speaker 1: He may take him a few weeks, but it would
Speaker 1: not surprise me to see him starting opposite Tory Smith
Speaker 1: by Halloween or so. So he is the underrated kind
Speaker 1: of overlooked KEMBERL. Tompkins, same sort of idea, is there
Speaker 1: anybody is there? What about a Jermaine curses that a
Speaker 1: guy to get excited about is here? In the classic
Speaker 1: summer hype up job. I like him better for the
Speaker 1: Seahawks than fantasy football players. They still have Golden Taton
Speaker 1: Sidney Rice is their top two targets in the passing game,
Speaker 1: and they're still going to be one of the run
Speaker 1: heaviest offenses in the league. I mean, if you were
Speaker 1: looking for a flyer out of that division at that
Speaker 1: same position, Quittin Patton is a better one because he
Speaker 1: hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but going into the
Speaker 1: draft people really excited. We're excited about him. He has
Speaker 1: a clearly defined skill set. He's probably gonna be their
Speaker 1: vertical guy, and he might be their starter in Week one.
Speaker 1: Isn't that possible? Totally? He has to beat out Marlon Moore.
Speaker 1: He can't do that, and I think that's and he's
Speaker 1: on the waiver wire. I need to uh add my fantasy.
Speaker 1: That was it? Well, let's have a couple. Oh well,
Speaker 1: I can give you some names too. But here's a
Speaker 1: rule I've been using. I've been doing fantasy football for
Speaker 1: about twenty years. Never draft a wide receiver three you
Speaker 1: and it kind of is just a philosophy that extends
Speaker 1: to your whole roster. Why draft a guy who's an
Speaker 1: established mediocrity aim higher, draft too wide receiver twos or
Speaker 1: three wide receiver ones. Don't draft a wide receiver three
Speaker 1: and accept mediocrity. Mediocrity, you can get just as good
Speaker 1: as a player off the waiver wire. So don't go
Speaker 1: get I'm gonna say, like a Nate Washington or something
Speaker 1: like that. Don't Yeah, don't do it. They're too easy
Speaker 1: to come by. Go get to go get Steve Smith
Speaker 1: sitting there, who is a legitimate number one receiver and
Speaker 1: his a DP is somewhere around the twenty six wide receiver.
Speaker 1: Draft him, and then you've got two wide receiver twos.
Speaker 1: And this extends the running backs to do not go
Speaker 1: get Darryl Richardson. You don't want him. You don't want him.
Speaker 1: I don't know why people are falling all over themselves
Speaker 1: for a committee back who was undersized and you know,
Speaker 1: doesn't move that latterly, Well, I just don't see why
Speaker 1: people are falling all over themselves for these guys who
Speaker 1: are getting drafted way too high. Use the waiver wire.
Speaker 1: Take a guy like a Bryce Brown, Bernard Pierce. Uh,
Speaker 1: Let's see Roy Halloo, Christine, Kristen Michael. If the starter
Speaker 1: goes down and these guys go in there, you have
Speaker 1: an automatic top fifteen running back as opposed to these
Speaker 1: bums you're drafting and expecting to start. See. This is
Speaker 1: the type of insight that we were looking for, and
Speaker 1: it it ties back to our friend Rum for Johnny
Speaker 1: on Twitter who who tweeted today? I really wish at
Speaker 1: Chris Westling and at Greg Rosenthal would storm the Fantasy
Speaker 1: Live set wearing n w O T shirts. It's a
Speaker 1: little call back to Turn of the Millennium Wrestling, but
Speaker 1: there could be some heat building right now. Well, I
Speaker 1: feel like this should happen. Now. You're gonna get us
Speaker 1: in trouble. Dan, can I bring a folding chair? I
Speaker 1: think that's what the n w A dudes did right
Speaker 1: There were no rules. Um, okay, so guys, that is
Speaker 1: the end of the podcast. I believe we have on
Speaker 1: Wednesday's a big tip my tip. Why would you want
Speaker 1: my tip because I know I'm not ready to give
Speaker 1: another one. Actually, Greg kind of stepped on wine, so
Speaker 1: I couldn't really elaborate on it too much. Well, Chris
Speaker 1: is that he hates Darryl Richardson? Was there a bigger
Speaker 1: thever you just never draft wide receiver three? Wait? What,
Speaker 1: I actually have a question. I forgot about that theory. Sorry, Dan,
Speaker 1: I know you just want to get out of here.
Speaker 1: Wes Welker is a number three receiver, I mean a
Speaker 1: fantasy wide receiver three. These wide receivers like when you
Speaker 1: when you start your lineup and you say, oh, this
Speaker 1: guy's a wide receiver one, this guy's a wide receiver two,
Speaker 1: this guy's wide receiver three. It's more like, don't I
Speaker 1: used to call him the Shaan Dawkins All Stars. These
Speaker 1: guys that get eight hundred yards and four t d
Speaker 1: s every year and they still get drafted in your draft.
Speaker 1: Why draft them? Let someone else take them, and if
Speaker 1: you need them, they'll be on the waiver wire in
Speaker 1: in Week three. So I think there was some confusion there,
Speaker 1: and you're right, take the guy that has a chance
Speaker 1: to be a top ten player instead of if he
Speaker 1: does what he's expected be a thirty right, and you know,
Speaker 1: even with and Kwan Bolden being the number one receiver
Speaker 1: for the forty niners. To me, he's a he's an
Speaker 1: established wide receiver. Three. He's not a guy I would
Speaker 1: draft because we know what he is. He's eight hundred
Speaker 1: nine hundred yards inconsistent all year. You don't know whether
Speaker 1: to start him this week or not. That's more headache
Speaker 1: than it's worth. You're gonna lose because you're gonna start
Speaker 1: him the wrong week. Alright, good stuff, experts Um. Wednesday,
Speaker 1: we have a big show. By the way, we're making
Speaker 1: our Super Bowl predictions and uh, I don't know if
Speaker 1: they're gonna be surprises in the room, probably not, because
Speaker 1: we already announced them on our website. But we will
Speaker 1: defend them and we'll talk about that and then we'll
Speaker 1: be one day away from the season, so we'll have
Speaker 1: all the news leading up to the opener Um. Until then,
Speaker 1: we have thank you to uh k Rich behind the glass.
Speaker 1: Appreciate you all coming in laboring on Labor Day. Yes
Speaker 1: and yes, and you as well. Yeah, we really appreciate you.
Speaker 1: In here. We have the mailman, we have the boss
Speaker 1: and Mark Sessler, wherever you are, come back to us.
Speaker 1: We need you until Wednesday