Speaker 1: From the Rams thirty one shotguns, Staff Brady dropping back,
Speaker 1: lobs will throw fork. Gronkowski left side, makes the catch
Speaker 1: over two defenders to the two first, then go to go.
Speaker 1: I just told you they're gonna bleed him. He's gonna take.
Speaker 1: He's gonna die, don't you. He's gonna set you up.
Speaker 1: The ramps. They can't light it up. Pretty sees it
Speaker 1: and it's a twenty nine yard strike to the big boy,
Speaker 1: his favorite tight end, the old world tight end. What
Speaker 1: a text. Alright, we have a big show coming up today,
Speaker 1: A lot to get to, Freddie Kitchens, Sean McDermott, Ian Rappaport.
Speaker 1: At first, we have to share the biggest news in
Speaker 1: the league right now. Rob Gronkowski is calling it a career.
Speaker 1: He did it on Instagram and read like this. It
Speaker 1: all started at twenty years old on stage of the
Speaker 1: NFL Draft, when my dream came true. And now here
Speaker 1: I am about to turn thirty in a few months.
Speaker 1: With the decision I feel is the biggest of my
Speaker 1: life so far, I will be retired ring from the
Speaker 1: game of football today. Nine seasons. Greg Rosenthal, Chris Westling,
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler, record after records, Super Bowl titles an absolute
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski, and it ends before he
Speaker 1: turns thirty. Greg, as a Patriots fan, how you feeling?
Speaker 1: I am selfish, but I love seeing him go out
Speaker 1: on top and I and I understand that there's different
Speaker 1: ways to look at these kind of moments, but Gronk
Speaker 1: is such a singular, dominant force, maybe the most dominant
Speaker 1: tight end of all time, the most dominant tight end
Speaker 1: I've ever seen. And as a fan, I love that
Speaker 1: his last catching in his career won the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: It was such a Gronk physical catch. In the game
Speaker 1: before that, it was a vintage Grounk performance bodying up
Speaker 1: some little cornerbacks against the Chiefs to go win an
Speaker 1: an FC championship game on the road. And he's a
Speaker 1: guy I didn't want to see his decline. I didn't
Speaker 1: want to see more back injuries and him become more
Speaker 1: of a blocker. I think it's cool because he's just
Speaker 1: in an upper tier uh great player to go out
Speaker 1: in that style. It hurts the two thousand nineteen Patriots,
Speaker 1: but that's not the point. Like this is how I
Speaker 1: want to remember ron I remember writing a couple of
Speaker 1: pieces like five years ago one that he was pieced
Speaker 1: together by the football gods. You needed like a cornerbacks
Speaker 1: ball skills, a safety's athleticism, and a linebacker size and
Speaker 1: physicality to stop to have any prayer of stopping him
Speaker 1: one on one. He's just, I agree with Greg, the
Speaker 1: most dominant tight end I've ever seen, the best tight
Speaker 1: end I've ever seen all around as a blocker, I
Speaker 1: think what I remember the most about him are his
Speaker 1: hands in the way mid stride. A guy who was
Speaker 1: six ft six, two seventy pounds could bend down, pluck
Speaker 1: a ball off the turf, keep his balance and keep running.
Speaker 1: We forget because he was slowed down last year, but
Speaker 1: this guy, at the height of his powers was not
Speaker 1: only the best red zone monster in the league, but
Speaker 1: the best run after the catch monster in the league
Speaker 1: before he lost that speed. I mean, you can look
Speaker 1: back at the tight end position at Kellen Winslow senior
Speaker 1: guys like Ozzy k Newsom, but forget all that because
Speaker 1: Gronk completely evolutionized and changed the position in a way
Speaker 1: that no other player at the tight end spot ever
Speaker 1: has or probably ever will again. And the one thing
Speaker 1: I think about him too is the incredible, uh resilience
Speaker 1: to come back from all the injuries. He had come
Speaker 1: back as an improved version of himself. Absolutely, and like
Speaker 1: I I'm with Greg that, like I could see why
Speaker 1: Patriots fans would have wanted one more year, right and
Speaker 1: I did. Of course I have mixed but this but
Speaker 1: this poetic end versus having to go out after the
Speaker 1: Patriots lost one of those Super Bowls that you go
Speaker 1: out for him for. He was knocked down the stretch
Speaker 1: of this season for not being the same guy and
Speaker 1: win to help them win the Super Bowl the way
Speaker 1: that he did. It's the perfect end to a career
Speaker 1: that completely all or you know, to go out on
Speaker 1: injured reserve or yes, before that the final two games
Speaker 1: where he kind of became a part of that offense again,
Speaker 1: he had disappeared for stretches. So I think it's it's
Speaker 1: a decision that is both probably smart from a physical standpoint,
Speaker 1: because he took a beating over the years, the arm,
Speaker 1: the knee, the back and and all that. But the
Speaker 1: writing was a little bit on the wall that he
Speaker 1: was getting older and was advancing in an age faster
Speaker 1: than maybe he would have liked. And I think ultimately
Speaker 1: what you're saying, is absolutely right. He was. He made
Speaker 1: a decision, like I'm a guy that I look at
Speaker 1: my career in my life, it's not just gonna be football.
Speaker 1: I think he definitely has an eye on something in
Speaker 1: the entertainment industry. I think this is I think one
Speaker 1: part of his career ends. And I think he has
Speaker 1: a whole team of people that are been building this
Speaker 1: Gronk brand, and he decided he didn't need another year
Speaker 1: of bumps and bruises and if he gets to go
Speaker 1: out on top holding a Lombardi, even better. He he
Speaker 1: was the secret sauce he you know, I hate what
Speaker 1: I've heard some talk that he's not a lack Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer, And we don't even need to get into
Speaker 1: that now, because that's that's just But but even in
Speaker 1: the arguments of like who's the greatest tight end? That
Speaker 1: that I understand can totally be an argument. But but
Speaker 1: to me, I will take those nine years of dominance.
Speaker 1: I will take when he's at his best. There's no
Speaker 1: doubt he was better than Tony Gunzals And I even
Speaker 1: think that Shannon Sharp and and you can go back
Speaker 1: to guys that I didn't watch, you know, at the
Speaker 1: time like Kellen windsl or something because of the blocking,
Speaker 1: because of the way he just changed offenses. We we
Speaker 1: were talking earlier today West the Patriots never had an
Speaker 1: outside receiver, but the second they drafted Gronk, they were
Speaker 1: the best offense in the league. No, it's not just
Speaker 1: the Patriots had this stretch. No offense has ever had
Speaker 1: a nine years stretch like the Patriots offense has had
Speaker 1: since they drafted Gronk and Aaron Hernandez, which was a
Speaker 1: big part of that at the time, in the two
Speaker 1: tight ends, but Gronk was obviously the main part that
Speaker 1: the enduring part, and to me, along with Brady of
Speaker 1: core like, he is the reason those offenses were so great.
Speaker 1: They weren't as consistent before he arrives well, so we changed.
Speaker 1: He changed the way that offenses operating, the way that
Speaker 1: you would want to draft the tighten. But he also
Speaker 1: changed defenses because teams had to figure out suddenly how
Speaker 1: to stop this ultra sized, incredibly athletic giant. I remember
Speaker 1: the other article I wrote back about five years ago
Speaker 1: was Tom Brady's numbers with Rob Rob Gronkowski on the field,
Speaker 1: where basically Aaron Rodgers elite and his numbers without Rob
Speaker 1: Groncoss Ron Cowsey on the field made him Andy Dalton.
Speaker 1: That's a pretty drastic drop off just from one guy
Speaker 1: not being and thinking. I mean, you think about it.
Speaker 1: He is the quarterback, is turning about forty two in August,
Speaker 1: and they're the reigning Super Bowl champions. So it is
Speaker 1: what it is. They'll probably still be in the mix
Speaker 1: next year. But you cannot throw it out. You have
Speaker 1: to look at what's happening now that Brady, despite all
Speaker 1: his greatness, definitely showed signs of decline last year. He's
Speaker 1: another year older, and now Ronk's gone. If the FC
Speaker 1: has not been this wide open ever, and I think
Speaker 1: this is it is the end of an era, I
Speaker 1: think for the Patriots, in the end of the era
Speaker 1: for the a f C, because Brady and gron dominated
Speaker 1: on a QB to tight end level like nothing we've
Speaker 1: ever seen. Yeah, I mean, this era should have been
Speaker 1: ending many different times, but this sort of marks the
Speaker 1: the official beginning of you know, the key people leaving,
Speaker 1: and and Gronk is at a much lower level than Brady,
Speaker 1: but he's the He's the key one after Brady uh
Speaker 1: In Belichick and they had an issue with receiving talent
Speaker 1: before this. You know they were going to talk later
Speaker 1: in the show about Jared Cook didn't get him signed.
Speaker 1: They wanted Adam Humphreys, didn't get him signed. All they
Speaker 1: have to catch a football right now is Julian Edelman
Speaker 1: and Philip dor set in a whole lot of nothing. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, Matt Lacossa at tight end, a whole lot
Speaker 1: of nothing. So they're a team that can figure things
Speaker 1: out moving forward in the off season. They can trade,
Speaker 1: there will be the draft. It's the off season is
Speaker 1: not over, but they have a a lack of weapons
Speaker 1: right now. It's the timing of it was difficult. I
Speaker 1: don't think the Patriots necessarily knew his decision until it happened. Uh.
Speaker 1: They get some more cap room, but they might have
Speaker 1: run things a little different. That's unfortunate for him. You know,
Speaker 1: you're Gronk. You can do what you want to do. Gregy.
Speaker 1: It was a beautiful god Era. Thank you Gronk for
Speaker 1: coming into all of our lives. Thank you for that
Speaker 1: back surgery. Your last year at Arizona. No one wanted
Speaker 1: to take him. I remember he hobbled up to the
Speaker 1: combine podium back in two thousand ten, was it? And
Speaker 1: the people were like, this guy is good, but he
Speaker 1: might not last a year or two in the NFL.
Speaker 1: That was kind of the talk. They took the chance,
Speaker 1: and man, he changed them all. Right, there you go. Well,
Speaker 1: this is not the last time we're gonna talk about
Speaker 1: rock this week, I'm sure. But that's it for right now.
Speaker 1: We have an amazing show coming up. Like I said,
Speaker 1: Freddie kitchen Z and Rappaport, Sean McDermott and other headlines
Speaker 1: Around the League. Here we are at the built More
Speaker 1: in Arizona. Let's get to the rest of the show.
Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast. It's loose on one, titos
Speaker 1: and soda. Welcome to another edition of the Around the
Speaker 1: NFL Podcast. My name is Dan Hansas and I am
Speaker 1: joined in a conference room filled with heroes, Mark Cecil,
Speaker 1: Chris Wesley, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, boys, Hey da,
Speaker 1: somebody got a little loose on something other than Tito's yesterday.
Speaker 1: You know. Here we are at the Arizona built More
Speaker 1: at the owners meetings, and yes I Greg and I
Speaker 1: spent a nice day together by the pool. Nice little summer,
Speaker 1: have nice little moment, you know, and uh drank some
Speaker 1: of the margarita's that they offer. And then Steve Wish
Speaker 1: and his lovely wife d invited us up to their
Speaker 1: balcony for a little wine mixer party. And there's thing
Speaker 1: about the ultra violet rays and drinking for like multiple
Speaker 1: hours straight. The old zuwser had to take a break.
Speaker 1: I mean, I got a photo from a named source
Speaker 1: midway through this chaunt that you were on, and you
Speaker 1: looked like a hijack victim. The son's a powerful thing,
Speaker 1: but if we want to, I mean, I have the
Speaker 1: first time you've ever been on vacation drinking in the sun.
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting, like I really think, because I
Speaker 1: don't do when you're married, you had a honeymoon or whatever.
Speaker 1: It was a long time ago, but I imagine laying
Speaker 1: in the sun drinking. I got, you know, well lubricated
Speaker 1: then as well. Um, so it was a nice learning
Speaker 1: lesson I recovered, made it out for dinner. I like
Speaker 1: the Ian's just now part of the show. The listener
Speaker 1: must be like, wait a second, was that didn't even
Speaker 1: get introduced? Alright, I will introduce him. He is um
Speaker 1: the NFL media insider. Um He hosts a podcast called
Speaker 1: rap Sheet Has Friends. Ian Rappaport, welcome to the name
Speaker 1: of the podcast sounds it's like, yeah, it's like rap
Speaker 1: sheet has Friends that but not close enough where you
Speaker 1: would put their name in the title. I mean I
Speaker 1: could put their name in the Time'm not going to,
Speaker 1: but I they're good friends and theoretically if I was
Speaker 1: a better person. Are they annoyed by that sort of
Speaker 1: low level you know, broadcasting? Who they are? I mean,
Speaker 1: they only they only bring it up like every other show,
Speaker 1: you know. I don't think they're that annoyed. Ian is
Speaker 1: nice enough to join us. He just got off an
Speaker 1: airplane and um from New York and also a bit
Speaker 1: of a flex slash humble brag posted on Instagram a
Speaker 1: photo of his family celebrating a new five year packed
Speaker 1: with NFL media. To remain the inside or at least employed,
Speaker 1: did they make any promises that you'll stay in this
Speaker 1: top post? Do you do you have assurances? Um? I'm
Speaker 1: assured via my performance that it will continue. And now
Speaker 1: what we're gonna do with this part of the show,
Speaker 1: We're gonna compare salaries Mark cecil Or versus era Mark.
Speaker 1: You go first, making a little bit more than like
Speaker 1: already thousand dollars a year, have a side job as
Speaker 1: a librarian. Any any truth to the rumor rap sheet?
Speaker 1: You know, Gara Folo breaks that Beckham news, you start
Speaker 1: feeling the heat a little bit and then you put
Speaker 1: the pen to paper. Get that contract aside. Interesting, I
Speaker 1: would say the deal was already agreed in principle by
Speaker 1: that point. That said, I was very happy for my
Speaker 1: friend Mike to break that massive story. You know what
Speaker 1: he compared it to We got lunch and we bumped
Speaker 1: into him. He compared should be great time. He compared
Speaker 1: it to when like two girls, one of them announces
Speaker 1: that she's engaged and the other one tries to be
Speaker 1: happy for but you can easily see the anguish that
Speaker 1: exists right behind. Would be flying if I said I
Speaker 1: wasn't a little envious of the amount of retweets that
Speaker 1: he got. Right, Um, you said the right things, But
Speaker 1: he could tell what was really going. I mean, now,
Speaker 1: the big picture is it was on our new working
Speaker 1: on any other network, and that night was fantastic me
Speaker 1: while the same night I broke the D four to
Speaker 1: the four nine trade, nobody at all. It was like
Speaker 1: forty five minutes later. It was tough timing because otherwise
Speaker 1: that would that would have been the big I was like,
Speaker 1: I got buried. Should I put this out now? I
Speaker 1: mean I guess I should. People back at great okayfore
Speaker 1: to go away? See, I respect like your your sources
Speaker 1: and your ability to create news enough. I almost thought
Speaker 1: like you cooked that up after he broke it, and
Speaker 1: he's like I need something, John Lynch, like I need something.
Speaker 1: People put something together for me to like at least respond,
Speaker 1: And then you got can you guys just do this
Speaker 1: trade like you've been talking about this. I just could
Speaker 1: do it tonight please. So I like this at the
Speaker 1: beginning of what seems like a tradition. Last year in Orlando,
Speaker 1: rap she joined us sat in on the news, and
Speaker 1: that's what he's gonna do again today here in Arizona
Speaker 1: at the owners meetings. I do want to interrupt for
Speaker 1: a second. Sorry, now you're doing your host thing. Dan
Speaker 1: asked me to come sit in on the news, and
Speaker 1: I had literally no idea what he was talking to.
Speaker 1: Just say, you guys know, well now you know I'm
Speaker 1: gonna forget next year this time we probably will. We're
Speaker 1: gonna go through spin through the headlines with the Insider. Also,
Speaker 1: I mean again, you're gonna get upstaged here in because
Speaker 1: Freddie Kitchens, the head coach of the Cleveland Browns joining
Speaker 1: us today, as is Sean McDermott, head coach of the
Speaker 1: Buffalo pill That's a show. I mean, that's a banger
Speaker 1: of a show. Let's do it. I want to get
Speaker 1: into the news. Let's do some news. Uh you alright,
Speaker 1: let's start here actually before we get into the headlines
Speaker 1: in obviously you're here owners meetings. What's kind of interesting
Speaker 1: on the docket right now? What's what's coming up that's
Speaker 1: got you tickled? If you'd ask me, nothing really nothing.
Speaker 1: If you had asked me last year at this time,
Speaker 1: I would not have said the Giants may trade Odell
Speaker 1: because remember that came out John Marrige just basically said
Speaker 1: it at the beginning of Owners meaning perhaps it's something
Speaker 1: like that. This will probably be about the rules and
Speaker 1: replay and are they gonna make pass inference penalties reviewable?
Speaker 1: Are they gonna make personal foul penalties football only penalties? Uh?
Speaker 1: Ejection worthy? Like there's some rules stuff. Are they going
Speaker 1: to make you know, some of the non call slash
Speaker 1: non calls that we saw uh in the title game.
Speaker 1: Make those reviewable. So there's some review things that we're
Speaker 1: gonna hear. There's also and I was just talking remember
Speaker 1: at the Competition committee about this, the possibility that instead
Speaker 1: of an onside kick, they're gonna have a one fourth
Speaker 1: and fifteen play from the thirty I think, where basically,
Speaker 1: if if your doubt, let's say your doubt you can
Speaker 1: only use in the fourth quarter, if you're down the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, you can instead of kicking off electrical fourth
Speaker 1: and fifteen from the third. If you converted, you get
Speaker 1: the ball. If you don't, then the other team just
Speaker 1: gets the ball, so exactly the same as an onside kick.
Speaker 1: Instead it's a play. And basically what John Elway decided
Speaker 1: to do was get a play that had the same
Speaker 1: hit and he was the one who recommended the same
Speaker 1: percentage of converting as an old on site kicked it.
Speaker 1: Why not just love it? What about the idea of
Speaker 1: just going back to the old on side kick rules,
Speaker 1: because obviously the tweak to the rule essentially destroyed the play.
Speaker 1: What was wrong with the first on side kick concussions?
Speaker 1: And there were there weren't that many being get pick
Speaker 1: up Greg Siana doesn't get enough love. He proposed he
Speaker 1: literally proposed this idea seven years ago. That's who came up.
Speaker 1: But I'm just saying he came up with this exact
Speaker 1: idea and now it got recycled back. But he's been
Speaker 1: the overloading the line and all that. That's players safety,
Speaker 1: so they can't go back to that and the lack
Speaker 1: of running starts when you can't just you know, used
Speaker 1: to be able to just drill a guy, Now you can't. Wait.
Speaker 1: So is there a possibility that happens? Is that a
Speaker 1: real act? This real idea came about because of Eric Lagrant,
Speaker 1: remember the the Rutgers player that was concust sort of
Speaker 1: thought of what could be something that would replace a
Speaker 1: k paralyzed? And sorry, I didn't that's in I did
Speaker 1: not know that. That's interesting that maybe Freddie Mitchell will
Speaker 1: come out every time. I would be amazing if, like, yeah,
Speaker 1: that keeps his career alive. He just comes into one
Speaker 1: play every four games. All right, So there you go.
Speaker 1: That's what's coming up. Um it will keep an eye
Speaker 1: on that because that is very interesting. Let's go through
Speaker 1: the headlines. Uh, let's start here justin Houston has a home.
Speaker 1: Everybody was wondering, uh Ian, when the Colts were going
Speaker 1: to strike, they had all this cap money and Chris Ballard, Um, who,
Speaker 1: by the way, Ian, you're on your part of Peloton
Speaker 1: Nation like me, I'm on the Pelton here in the gym,
Speaker 1: humble brig And who's next to me on the StairMaster? Ballard?
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you rushing it? Rushing it? Yeah, like
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, I could not have more respect
Speaker 1: for what he was able to do on that machine. Um.
Speaker 1: But but anyway, a good job. Just so you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know if I wouldn't know what was good
Speaker 1: or bad on a StairMaster's guess you got to you
Speaker 1: gotta grind on that thing. And he was grinding hard.
Speaker 1: Where you gonna say. He's a guest on the Rap
Speaker 1: Shetion Friends podcast on Monday, f y I you were
Speaker 1: going to have Dan what happened with you? Don't think
Speaker 1: that was actually ever gonna happen. I mean I probably
Speaker 1: told him it was gonna happen. Now that's cool. We
Speaker 1: have we have Freddie Kitchens and Sean McDermott and you,
Speaker 1: so really, why would you need to go to your
Speaker 1: podcast for that you answer this fairy question right here,
Speaker 1: this question right here you will get the answer to
Speaker 1: on rap sheet in front. It was interesting about the
Speaker 1: Houston thing. So he was trying to get ten million
Speaker 1: a year and could not do it, you know, he
Speaker 1: and he was talking to Raiders, Ravens, I believe, a
Speaker 1: couple of other teams, and all of a sudden, the
Speaker 1: Colts open up and it's twelve and you know, and
Speaker 1: it's I mean, it's it's real money. It's actually it's
Speaker 1: actually eleven for twenty four. But it doesn't matter, same
Speaker 1: same thing, real money. And all of a sudden, the
Speaker 1: Colts just kind of jumped in, and everyone was like,
Speaker 1: what are they gonna do? They have so much money.
Speaker 1: You know, Battler doesn't love free agency. I don't. It
Speaker 1: just doesn't like the concept of it. I'd like to
Speaker 1: spend money on, you know, bloated salaries for players who
Speaker 1: a lot of times are not the best players. But
Speaker 1: in this case, you know, it kind of dove in
Speaker 1: and I think that will help a lot. Yes, I
Speaker 1: feel like this is a move that you like for
Speaker 1: your cults. I do. I think that makes sense where
Speaker 1: the Colts the Devin funcious thing too. They have the
Speaker 1: money now, so they're spending it short term and this
Speaker 1: will not affect locking up all their guys that they're
Speaker 1: draft like. They had a great draft last year, and
Speaker 1: I'm sure they think so are ahead. Well, we're gonna
Speaker 1: have to lock these guys up. We're gonna have to
Speaker 1: lock up the rest of our young players. So it
Speaker 1: gives them the freedom to do things. And you can
Speaker 1: be free agency a verse when you're drafting the way
Speaker 1: that Chris Ballard has drafted, in the way he's built
Speaker 1: right and ultimately that I thought he was the best
Speaker 1: player left in free agency by the point he signed
Speaker 1: by far. And they're like the team at you know,
Speaker 1: not to be too dorky, the auction, you know, fantasy
Speaker 1: league draft where they have all the money at the
Speaker 1: end and now there they wait and they see Houston
Speaker 1: is out there. Didn't expect they would get someone like him,
Speaker 1: but it fits in perfectly. They got money to spend.
Speaker 1: I love that, and they need pass thresh and I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously Ballard was integraling drafting him and scout him. The
Speaker 1: thing that's weird to me is like they have a
Speaker 1: they ended up last year where they ended up. But
Speaker 1: they have a good, fun, young team and whoever they
Speaker 1: signed in free agency, whichever, like mid level free agent,
Speaker 1: would have to beat out whoever is currently on the roster,
Speaker 1: and like trying to figure out who would be better
Speaker 1: than they currently. I mean they were in the mix
Speaker 1: for some of the safeties, like for Landing and for
Speaker 1: I don't know about Earl, but definitely for land and
Speaker 1: in a couple of other safeties, but like who would
Speaker 1: actually be better and more productive for them long term
Speaker 1: on the roster, Like I didn't see a lot of guys.
Speaker 1: You know, here's another move. I think we all like
Speaker 1: the Houston Cults move. The Saints add another weapon on offense,
Speaker 1: Jared Cooker. It appears to be heading that way. It
Speaker 1: doesn't seem official, and is this definitely happening, will start here,
Speaker 1: It is happening. It had the actual contract they don't
Speaker 1: believe has been agreed to language wise, but they had
Speaker 1: an agreement in principle. Like, I don't know when I
Speaker 1: was at the next game, So when when night was that?
Speaker 1: We're not sure you didn't, well, you've been scouting my
Speaker 1: It was on Instagram, my Instagram. No, I was told
Speaker 1: about the Instagram photo. I didn't see it myself. Actually,
Speaker 1: that doesn't sound it's been in You better if I
Speaker 1: don't follow you though, So it's no so that I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's going to happen. But this is that kind
Speaker 1: of interesting because every year we all talk about the
Speaker 1: Saints have no money, they have cap issues, and you know,
Speaker 1: they breezes cap number in like is gonna be like
Speaker 1: fifty million, and they kind of find the space for
Speaker 1: stuff they really need and you know, I don't it's
Speaker 1: gonna be eight million fully guaranteed in year one. It's
Speaker 1: really just a one year. It's a lot of money.
Speaker 1: Patriots came in at the end and had a big
Speaker 1: time push, big time like presentation to cook Um. But
Speaker 1: in the end, I mean, I think this is something
Speaker 1: that Sean Payton needed and was willing to pay for.
Speaker 1: Moving forward, the Los Angeles Rams are making moves in
Speaker 1: their backfield Todd Gurley and you know, it's a little
Speaker 1: weird what's going on with him right now. Maybe we
Speaker 1: can talk about that a little bit in but we'll
Speaker 1: talk about their depth chart. Malcolm Brown, he stays in
Speaker 1: l a uh he according to Ian Rappaport, and then
Speaker 1: announced by the team. The Rams are matched the Detroit
Speaker 1: Lin's offer sheet for the restricted free agent running back,
Speaker 1: so it's a two year deal with three point three
Speaker 1: million bass salary. So he sticks around and he ended
Speaker 1: last season on injured reserve, which paved the way for c. J. Anderson,
Speaker 1: who is not happy. And this is what c J.
Speaker 1: Anderson had to say on Twitter. He called the disrespect real. Mark,
Speaker 1: I've heard you say that disrespect is real. Just want
Speaker 1: a sixteen is all I ask. He wants sixteen games? Well,
Speaker 1: I think. I mean the Malcolm Round thing is interesting,
Speaker 1: and I love a good restricted free agent deal because
Speaker 1: they never happened. It's kind of fun. But this really,
Speaker 1: to me, this story really is about c J. Anderson
Speaker 1: like basically saying goodbye to the Rams on Twitter. He
Speaker 1: said that's not what he meant, and he has since
Speaker 1: told me that he that is not what he meant.
Speaker 1: Um However, clearly he wanted to be on the Rams.
Speaker 1: They talked public about how they wanted him back, and
Speaker 1: then they paid a lot for a guy who was
Speaker 1: a backup who broke his class. They didn't want them,
Speaker 1: They didn't want c. J. Anderson. It's not a lot
Speaker 1: of gratitude for what he did for maybe they thought
Speaker 1: lightning wouldn't strike twice. But it's interesting because ultimately they're
Speaker 1: not in the super Bowl for CJ. Anderson, That's what
Speaker 1: I would agree with that. You also can point out
Speaker 1: that he didn't do much in the final two playoff games,
Speaker 1: so he didn't end the season and hot as he
Speaker 1: was when he first took over the job. But you
Speaker 1: would think he would there would have been some type
Speaker 1: of interest from the Rams, but apparently they didn't think
Speaker 1: much the Bigger Rams story. To me, I am stunned
Speaker 1: by the fact that, and I get it less sneyed,
Speaker 1: like he's always doing the football thing, watching films, sunny place,
Speaker 1: He's never heard of the television show The Office. Am
Speaker 1: I honestly to believe that that is not true? Wife
Speaker 1: Kara Henderson, that he's never been this has been on
Speaker 1: Mark's radar, He's not. You seem like you're questioning the reporting. Franklin, No, no,
Speaker 1: I I believe her. Do you know what? We're on
Speaker 1: the same page because we get it, and we when
Speaker 1: we interview these coaches, they always seem to be a
Speaker 1: little disconnected with pop culture and things of that nature.
Speaker 1: But not knowing what the Office is is a bridge
Speaker 1: too far. It's almost like it's either a put on
Speaker 1: just to show how hard you're grinding or which I respect,
Speaker 1: by the way, which is fine, or it's that's a
Speaker 1: flex that I can get behind, right, or it's truth
Speaker 1: of almost a cry for help, because the Office is
Speaker 1: part of the landscape, and by this time it's it's shocking.
Speaker 1: I agree with your analysis. There's nothing wrong with not
Speaker 1: being plugged into pop culture, but it's it's a little
Speaker 1: too far to say that you don't know what the
Speaker 1: Office is. I have never watched The Office except more
Speaker 1: than like a half an episode, but at least I
Speaker 1: know what it is exactly. I don't need you to
Speaker 1: be a completist, but the idea that you've never heard
Speaker 1: of the show? What do you what's going on with
Speaker 1: Todd Gurley? Are you? What are we hearing here? Is this?
Speaker 1: Have we seen the best on Todd Gurley? Is it
Speaker 1: now the long I don't think we've seen the I
Speaker 1: hope not. It would be if that was the case,
Speaker 1: that would be really depressing, especially since he signed a
Speaker 1: nice big deal and looks like his career is going
Speaker 1: in the right direction. But I do think that it's
Speaker 1: going to be different from now. I'm like, I don't
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be and not that he was ever
Speaker 1: like a thirty carry per game and right, but I
Speaker 1: mean he's gonna he's still gonna get a lot of run.
Speaker 1: But I do think they're going to have to have
Speaker 1: like a like if they draft a running back this year,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised. They just paid a lot of
Speaker 1: money to get Malcolm Brown in the mix. I think
Speaker 1: not that much but for a backup for mackup running
Speaker 1: back to almost two million dollars, and you know, I
Speaker 1: just don't think he's going to be the workhorse that
Speaker 1: he was. Like they it was very clear that and
Speaker 1: talked to the running backs coach before the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: basically said this was like it is going to be
Speaker 1: different now for him, Like he's gonna be more like
Speaker 1: split carries, use him in spots, kind of gotten, and
Speaker 1: that's what it is said. Although like at that position,
Speaker 1: I feel like it's always gonna be like that unless
Speaker 1: you're Adrian Peterson. This next news item, I'm gonna hand
Speaker 1: it to Greg because he obviously forced it into the show. Now,
Speaker 1: I said, after you guys were pushing back. We don't
Speaker 1: need to do it because I know West is sick
Speaker 1: and tired of hearing about Malcolm Mitchell. Or no, Dan
Speaker 1: doesn't think it matters. Well, Malcolm Mitchell officially announced his
Speaker 1: retirement and West all your love song. West West thinks like, oh,
Speaker 1: I've already heard you mentioned Malcolm Mitchell enough over the years. Well,
Speaker 1: West can continue talking. When he catches five passes or
Speaker 1: sixty three yards in the fourth quarter of the greatest
Speaker 1: comeback ever and it turned out to be the last
Speaker 1: football game he ever played, that's an incredible story and
Speaker 1: people people are coming at him saying, no, that that's
Speaker 1: not that big of a give me a break. What
Speaker 1: did you accomplish in life? This guy, at the biggest moment,
Speaker 1: played his very best. They wouldn't have won the Super
Speaker 1: He authors a children's book. I've heard this five for
Speaker 1: sixty three story more times than I've heard the Fishes
Speaker 1: and Love story. You know what? You know what? That
Speaker 1: sounds like you're trying and like the Patriots need more
Speaker 1: legend around them, but you're trying to. Are you saying
Speaker 1: that Malcolm Mitchell is your version of David Tyree? I
Speaker 1: mean David Tyree caught one lucky pass. This guy was
Speaker 1: this was five for sixty three and one quarter is
Speaker 1: the only outside receiving. Give him a little love. I
Speaker 1: don't think there's anything lucky about Tyree's catch, but I
Speaker 1: will say this so my wife doesn't you know, she
Speaker 1: doesn't know a ton about football or football players. I mean,
Speaker 1: she knows my world a little, but she's more curious
Speaker 1: like who broke his story as opposed to like who
Speaker 1: caught the winning touchdown? How disappointed was No, I'll tell
Speaker 1: you this, so don't even come into this bedroom. I
Speaker 1: had to leave the house for twenty minutes. That night.
Speaker 1: She asked me to do something. I left the house
Speaker 1: for twenty minutes, and I text Mike and Tom Might
Speaker 1: and Dave shot our steam boss or whoever it was.
Speaker 1: And I was like, Hey, I'm gonna leave for twenty minutes,
Speaker 1: like because we were done with total access, stuff could happen.
Speaker 1: Levian was gonna his mix taper was dropping that night,
Speaker 1: so we felt like and I was like, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: leave house for twenty minutes. Mike and Tom got out, like,
Speaker 1: don't let anything happen, but I'll be right back and
Speaker 1: Gara Fos texting me when he gets winded this is happening,
Speaker 1: and we're all starting to like make calls, and then
Speaker 1: he just breaks it me while I'm not in the house,
Speaker 1: and so I made the mistake of saying to Leah,
Speaker 1: my lovely bride, um, I can't believe I left the
Speaker 1: house when the Odell thing was happening. And her response was,
Speaker 1: do you think it would have broken it if you
Speaker 1: hadn't left the house? Is that what you're saying? And
Speaker 1: I was like, that's a good and I, of course
Speaker 1: my answer is yes. But I can't say that to
Speaker 1: her because then she would feel like I'm blaming her
Speaker 1: for Gary foldbreaking who I'm so happy, So I had
Speaker 1: to just never mention it again. You see what's going
Speaker 1: on here. He's now using his wife as a way
Speaker 1: to let everyone else know. No, I'm just telling you
Speaker 1: that I I cannot It's exactly right. I can never
Speaker 1: bring this up to her ever again, my except right now. No.
Speaker 1: But I was explaining to her the Malcolm Mitchell story
Speaker 1: yesterday because it is actually really sad. I mean, he was,
Speaker 1: you know, mid rounder who looks so promising, like look
Speaker 1: like wide receiver they've had in period. They just haven't
Speaker 1: they they haven't been here. But it's a tough systems
Speaker 1: under Belichick. Yes, and high character guy like big in
Speaker 1: the community, Big in like children's book. I mean he
Speaker 1: started a literacy foundation for kids. Why do you hate kids?
Speaker 1: All I can say is this, I'm glad we talked
Speaker 1: about Malcolm Mitchell. I'm sorry about his misfortune. I'm glad
Speaker 1: that he's working with the kids. That's good. But that's it. Moratorium,
Speaker 1: fire off the cannon, Ricky Malcolm Mitchell. That is the
Speaker 1: end of his his life here on the Round the
Speaker 1: NFL podcast. On the podcast before you go, I like
Speaker 1: to check in on this, like where are you with UM?
Speaker 1: You mentioned this year ago with your female fan base.
Speaker 1: Is it a burgeoning subset of followers? UM? I would say,
Speaker 1: you know, a couple a couple of years. Try to
Speaker 1: slide in the d M s on on that's such
Speaker 1: a lie. There's like two or three a year. It's
Speaker 1: your wife. No, I mean, well yes, everyone in while
Speaker 1: that's one. I gotta keep things saucy. Speaking of keeping
Speaker 1: it saucy, cam Newton was on James Cordon that late
Speaker 1: night show and UM, this was weird. Let's listen in
Speaker 1: to what Cam brought up kind of on his own
Speaker 1: and then march I'm giving I hope this is an
Speaker 1: adult crowd. It looked like it is. No climax, shut
Speaker 1: the front door straight up. No, No, I'm going through
Speaker 1: a transition right now. Like, oh, I'm going at least
Speaker 1: done it in February. You got twenty eight days in February.
Speaker 1: It's actually a great line, good line. Uh So Cam
Speaker 1: Newton announces that he's abstaining from intimacy physical and not
Speaker 1: announced for one month. Yeah, well, now what he said exactly,
Speaker 1: It's it's more were reporters like, that's not This is
Speaker 1: those things that people are like. People are like people like,
Speaker 1: oh can you believe that denial? And I'm like, that's
Speaker 1: not done. He did not say he's abstaining from sex.
Speaker 1: The headlines are all wrong. He said he's substaining from climax. Okay,
Speaker 1: I mean one sounds horrible, it seems possible, but I
Speaker 1: mean John Ellwa used to do this during the playoff runs.
Speaker 1: He would not have sex for a full month or
Speaker 1: in this case, Mark is a believer in this science,
Speaker 1: I would await here should get him on the podcast.
Speaker 1: There is a huge movement out there where I think
Speaker 1: Kim Newton, he didn't come up with this on his own.
Speaker 1: It's definitely a movement. There's another there's another movement out
Speaker 1: there that's been going for tens of thousands of years.
Speaker 1: It's been it's been way more fun like that. I
Speaker 1: think really human humanity marks are plug that's plugged into
Speaker 1: like the subreddit channels of a lot of different things.
Speaker 1: Some of it like after dark and it goes on deep,
Speaker 1: deep into an evening. Uh So you're saying there's what
Speaker 1: I think what's draining that there's a whole subculture there is.
Speaker 1: There's a very popular hashtag that I'm not sure I'm
Speaker 1: allowed to say on this show, so it is called hashtag.
Speaker 1: But that's different. Um, that's part of it. I think essentially,
Speaker 1: it's it's the same end where you're not trying to
Speaker 1: have the release of bodily fluids. Do you just stop
Speaker 1: in the middle various fainting in the corner of room.
Speaker 1: Right now, that's as much information as I will never
Speaker 1: see Erica look as kind of just disgusted or disappointed
Speaker 1: as she does right now. Well, live with it, and
Speaker 1: then what do you do you just I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think I think you're right to parse the words
Speaker 1: the way you did, But I don't think I think
Speaker 1: he was getting at more of the uh, you know
Speaker 1: Rockies trainer thing. I could you know it's bad for
Speaker 1: the legs. He would have said that, he would have said,
Speaker 1: he would have said, we gotta follow up. Can you
Speaker 1: reach out? I'll send him an email? Yeah, thank you?
Speaker 1: All right? Rap Sheet has friends. It's a podcast you
Speaker 1: can get uh anywhere where podcasts are available. I think, uh,
Speaker 1: and you are the NFL media insider at rap Sheet,
Speaker 1: and yes there there may be a home and home.
Speaker 1: I might appear on the show, um, but probably what
Speaker 1: if we need if we really need guests like in
Speaker 1: mayme or something. Okay, well, if that happens, I may
Speaker 1: be on the show. And uh Ian, good luck and
Speaker 1: uh listen garful. I know he's your friend. When he
Speaker 1: joined the company, you liked it because you thought it
Speaker 1: was all right. This is a guy that I respect,
Speaker 1: But I don't think he's gonna be out scooping me
Speaker 1: on the regular. Then he gets the scoop of the year.
Speaker 1: Don't let it get to you though. It's all it's
Speaker 1: all pep talk is fantastic. It's all. It's all in
Speaker 1: the game. As they say, Well, I, I, for one,
Speaker 1: feel I feel warmer now having listened to that pep talk,
Speaker 1: like rats on your extension, Thank you. I appreciate that
Speaker 1: some people are nice. I'm a nice guy too. I
Speaker 1: actually reached out privately and texted you to congrats yesterday
Speaker 1: because it is quite a achievement. Because, let's listen, being
Speaker 1: an insider, that's a stressful job. I can't believe you
Speaker 1: signed up for five more years and stuff was the
Speaker 1: same row as Adam Schefter on the way there, couldn't
Speaker 1: even speak to me. We did exchange cordial greetings and um,
Speaker 1: some small talk and some banter. Alright, well, have a
Speaker 1: glass of champagne here at the bill More to celebrate
Speaker 1: your great achievement. Ian Rappaport, Thank you, buddy, thank you.
Speaker 1: All right, now it's time. This is what we've been
Speaker 1: waiting for. Ian was great, great appetizer, set the table,
Speaker 1: set the table in a beautiful way. But now market
Speaker 1: it's it's time for Freddy kitchens. How you do it?
Speaker 1: I could not be happier about this moment in my life.
Speaker 1: All right, here we go hit it all right, joining
Speaker 1: us here in the Around the NFL podcast. He is
Speaker 1: the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Freddie Kitchens,
Speaker 1: who Welcome to the show. Sound Effects. I didn't know
Speaker 1: who We're good. I don't know sound signed up for
Speaker 1: the techno Like if you could, if you could choose
Speaker 1: a walk up song, would that be it? It definitely
Speaker 1: would not be like my hometown, but like Garth Brooks
Speaker 1: or something not something E D M electronic. Yeah, Freddie,
Speaker 1: welcome to the show. We're so happy to have you here.
Speaker 1: You have in very short period of time become m
Speaker 1: a fan favorite within the Around the NFL Podcast because
Speaker 1: we like coaches that kinda keep it real. And it
Speaker 1: seems like one of the reasons why you've been a
Speaker 1: breath of fresh air and why the Browns kept you
Speaker 1: around is that you bring that sensibility to the team
Speaker 1: and I feel like that's welcome and it seems like
Speaker 1: the players respond to it. Yeah. I think it's amazing
Speaker 1: when you just kind of tell the truth and that's
Speaker 1: not the thing. Yeah, Hell, somebody should um in today's society.
Speaker 1: I mean, you never know, you've got either got to
Speaker 1: be political or correct or you gotta blow smoke up
Speaker 1: people's tales to get anywhere. And you know it's good
Speaker 1: that you know, Hey, it's good I'm in Cleveland because
Speaker 1: I feel like, uh, we kind of get along with
Speaker 1: the city and in the town, the community. Uh, in
Speaker 1: the Browns organization. You know, it says something about the
Speaker 1: organization that they allow you to be yourself at a
Speaker 1: time when a lot of the job is image and
Speaker 1: putting that image out there and being polished, and you're
Speaker 1: allowed to just yourself. Yeah, And I think that was
Speaker 1: the thing I kept hearing after I got the job,
Speaker 1: you know, from everybody, from ownership to people within the organization,
Speaker 1: and and uh, you know, I think I had a
Speaker 1: lot of support to get the job within the organization
Speaker 1: in general. It could have been the janitor or the
Speaker 1: people in the kitchen, but I think those people are
Speaker 1: important too, And um, everybody has a role to play.
Speaker 1: And and when you make everybody feel that way, then
Speaker 1: of course you're gonna hand their support because not everybody
Speaker 1: does that. But I do think they have a significant
Speaker 1: role in what we're trying to get accomplished. Do you
Speaker 1: get that sense after a year of being in Cleveland,
Speaker 1: you mentioned that you kind of vibe with the fans
Speaker 1: and it works that well. Like do you you started
Speaker 1: to understand how you hold all of these people's kind
Speaker 1: of broken hearts in your hand? Like Mark here you
Speaker 1: we were talking before the show, is a big time
Speaker 1: Browns fan? Like how much you mean to me? Because
Speaker 1: they're they're they're like afraid to love again. But I
Speaker 1: think they're finally. I've heard that before, like not from
Speaker 1: Browns fans just in general. But um, the thing I
Speaker 1: would say is with the Cleveland Browns fans and the
Speaker 1: people that have been fans their whole life. Um, it's
Speaker 1: very similar to I played football to the University of Alabama,
Speaker 1: so I know what passion is all about. Um, and
Speaker 1: it's very similar and probably uh even more so than
Speaker 1: in in Alabama. I'm gonna get killed in Alabama for
Speaker 1: saying that, but um, you know the passion. And now
Speaker 1: when when you have passion for things like that, you
Speaker 1: can have great successes. I mean, hell, you think we
Speaker 1: won the Super Bowl and we were seven eight and one.
Speaker 1: They had struggled so long and hopefully those days are
Speaker 1: behind it. But we've got a lot of work ahead
Speaker 1: of us, um to get there because the expectations are
Speaker 1: so high now. The thing I find so unusual as
Speaker 1: a fan that goes back to the eighties to drive
Speaker 1: the fumble, all the heartbreak and essentially everything that happened
Speaker 1: since the team came back after the move to Baltimore
Speaker 1: is just that there is a competent quarterback. It has
Speaker 1: been one side show after the next, Brandon Weed and
Speaker 1: getting lost under American flags, like all sorts of stuff
Speaker 1: that you just cannot believe it is happening to quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: That happen. It's one of the great actually at this
Speaker 1: point for you though, having been there with Baker from
Speaker 1: the first minute that he was with Cleveland, was there
Speaker 1: a moment where before any of us realized you thought,
Speaker 1: wait a minute, this guy's got it going on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think when you saw him practice, I mean just
Speaker 1: in general, just throwing the ball. Um. You know, I
Speaker 1: don't know how much you can teach j Accercy and like,
Speaker 1: I'm sure there's some guru out there that can do
Speaker 1: it all right, or at least I can tell you
Speaker 1: that they'll do it. I've worked with some of those
Speaker 1: that will tell you that can Michael Mackard, but it
Speaker 1: didn't work for well I'm not gonna it didn't work
Speaker 1: for some people we can think of, yeah, definitely, just
Speaker 1: look at Arizona so um. But you know, but at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, when he picks up a football,
Speaker 1: he's very accurate with the football. And you saw that initially.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter if he's warming up or throwing routes
Speaker 1: on air or whatever the case, he's accurate. Um. And
Speaker 1: that's I don't think you can teach that. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's making it too simple. But when it comes to
Speaker 1: the quarterback skill set, accuracy is more important than having
Speaker 1: a cannon for an arm just the ability to put
Speaker 1: the ball where it needs to be. Yeah, because I
Speaker 1: think from the time that uh, you know, the arm
Speaker 1: strength sometimes gets overblown from the standpoint of when he
Speaker 1: decides to throw the ball to a certain receiver and
Speaker 1: the receiver gets the ball in his hands, that's the
Speaker 1: time that it takes to get there. Now, you can
Speaker 1: do that by arm strength if you're accurate, or you
Speaker 1: can do it by like processing the information and and
Speaker 1: uh seeing it come open before it actually was opened.
Speaker 1: So it's all about the timing that the ball needs
Speaker 1: to get there. From when the quarterback decides to throw
Speaker 1: it not necessarily starts as at but decides to throw
Speaker 1: it and it ends up in the receiver's hands. It's
Speaker 1: the time that I think he was more crucial than
Speaker 1: arm strength. Would you have a problem after this interview
Speaker 1: if I were to take your phone and Tex Baker
Speaker 1: may feel just some of my personal thoughts about him. Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: not at all. He's actually just down the road, so
Speaker 1: you can go see him in purse. It's about to faint. Freddie, Um,
Speaker 1: where were you? Never love again? Right? Where were you
Speaker 1: when you found out it was official? Freddie Kitchens offense
Speaker 1: was gonna have Odell Beckham Jr. On it? And what
Speaker 1: was your reaction? I was sitting in the draft we
Speaker 1: call it the draft room. Was sitting in the draft room,
Speaker 1: you know, talking to all the parties involved. So um
Speaker 1: so sitting there and the middle of everything. I guess
Speaker 1: so you and I imagine for you it's a slam dunk.
Speaker 1: It's like, go get this guy? Was there? I mean,
Speaker 1: was there anyway once that it became possibility that you
Speaker 1: guys were gonna pull back what could have been some
Speaker 1: type of terms in terms of the trade that you
Speaker 1: would have said that's too much or the opportunity to
Speaker 1: get Odell Becka was just too great to pass up,
Speaker 1: no matter what. I don't I don't know what would
Speaker 1: have happened for us too, you know, at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, you know, it was a thing that
Speaker 1: was presented to us and we were able to What
Speaker 1: was the reaction right afterwards? Was it like a draft
Speaker 1: because sometimes when you're like, you know, you have the
Speaker 1: cameras on draft day and they showed that the Jones
Speaker 1: family and everything and the player, you know that they
Speaker 1: really want them, and they're like really doing some like
Speaker 1: white guy high fives. They're getting all like really fired up.
Speaker 1: Like where was that the reaction when you finally get it? Um? No,
Speaker 1: it's like, you know John, you know, John's very good
Speaker 1: in those like situations. So it was kind of fun
Speaker 1: for me to sit and watch him work and communicate
Speaker 1: with other gms around the league and and how the
Speaker 1: back and forth goes. It's almost like a car auction
Speaker 1: or something, you know, just it's just it's very unique
Speaker 1: and uh to show see the respect but that the
Speaker 1: two men had for each other there is as men
Speaker 1: and put a deal together like that. It was just
Speaker 1: it was really my first time of experience in it
Speaker 1: on a personal level like that. Al Right, Freddie, it's
Speaker 1: time for the speed round. I was ready for this.
Speaker 1: Speed in my name has not been That's what HollyHood,
Speaker 1: she's our producer. She's gonna hit the music and it
Speaker 1: We're gonna fly music or what it will be a
Speaker 1: little bit more palatable. Here we go. Favorite athlete growing up,
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan's best bar, food of wings, better, vintage MTV programs,
Speaker 1: Singled Out or Remote Control. I don't know either one
Speaker 1: of them. Netflix and Chill or Hot Night on the Town?
Speaker 1: Uh at Home being started being started? Quarterback but prestige
Speaker 1: college football powerhouse that was probably fun? It was at times.
Speaker 1: Is Lebron allowed to be a Browns and Cowboys fan?
Speaker 1: Come out? Thank you? If you fumble out of the
Speaker 1: end zone to turn over? That's dumb, right, yes, be honest.
Speaker 1: You wish you had more screen time on Hard Knocks,
Speaker 1: A little bit pop little? Did I did enough? Over
Speaker 1: under Baker Mayfield m DP Awards before one and a
Speaker 1: half is the overunder I'm not, I don't, I'm not
Speaker 1: in the prediction. That's the over. Who will sit on
Speaker 1: the iron throne? Uh? Biker? That's good. Worse than my
Speaker 1: shark attack or elevator malfunction. Oh, shark attack. Greatest meat product,
Speaker 1: greatest meat product, ribs. There you go, Madonna. Overrated, underrated,
Speaker 1: properly rated, underrated. I like that. Is it time to
Speaker 1: believe in Cleveland? Yes, he did it. That wasn't too bad? Right? Yeah? No,
Speaker 1: I never saw singled out Jenny McCarthy Chris Hardwick Dating show.
Speaker 1: That's nice right in your college you brought in the wheelhouse.
Speaker 1: You're busy, all right, Freddie, thank you so much for
Speaker 1: joining us. I know you're a busy guy and a
Speaker 1: man in demand, so coming on our little podcast is
Speaker 1: a thrill for all of us, but especially Mark. Ye.
Speaker 1: This is fine, fellows. I'll bet Freddie Kitchens alright. There
Speaker 1: he goes Freddie Kitchens as advertised a laid back dude,
Speaker 1: and I think we actually have market outside chance at
Speaker 1: some point of getting drinks with him. I just feel
Speaker 1: like it's in the cards. I mean, we asked him
Speaker 1: after the interview what his drink of choices, and it
Speaker 1: reminded me a lot of my old friends, Like he's like,
Speaker 1: you know, in my refrigerator home, I have have some
Speaker 1: natural lights and Natty lights and like my bourbon drinkers,
Speaker 1: like we are going to We're going to find him
Speaker 1: and as he should be. Yeah, I'm giving it a
Speaker 1: better chance than than Dan did. I mean, I'm ready
Speaker 1: to just make them the team of a t L.
Speaker 1: Like right now, I feel like this is it's all
Speaker 1: gonna happen. We're all in love, we're spending. Maybe it's
Speaker 1: one of those things that people just say to be polite,
Speaker 1: but he repeated three times after the interview, if we're
Speaker 1: ever in Cleveland and want to get drinks, let him know.
Speaker 1: We're like, I'll be there tonight. By the way, so
Speaker 1: we're in the back. He said something interesting during that,
Speaker 1: Um we're talking about the accuracy of quarterbacks and he
Speaker 1: mentioned the Cardinals. For a second, it was like, oh,
Speaker 1: is that a Josh Rosen shop, But not at all.
Speaker 1: It's reference to all the years he was there, right people. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he was there for a decade and it's very rare
Speaker 1: that a guy's with one team for a decade. And
Speaker 1: he was not the quarterbacks coach for almost for most
Speaker 1: of it, he was with Carson Palmer, but he as
Speaker 1: a tight ends in a ruins back coach. He saw
Speaker 1: some dreadful Cardinals quarterback John Skelton Ken John like the
Speaker 1: people that they went through. It's true, like Bruce arians
Speaker 1: and him and like that. Those two eras are a
Speaker 1: great example of like you have a quarterback, you can
Speaker 1: maybe make this. Well, you may not be right, you
Speaker 1: may not be the quarterbacks coach, but everyone loses their
Speaker 1: job when the quarterback us He said, shark attack over
Speaker 1: or worse death than elevator malfunction. Do you guys agree?
Speaker 1: Are you talking like the elevator would suddenly like the
Speaker 1: wires disconnecting. I would go shark attack. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't want to be attacked, right, I would definitely
Speaker 1: go with elevator and that circumstance. But when you said that,
Speaker 1: I thought, am I like trapped in? Because I was
Speaker 1: thinking about this yesterday there was one of the elevator
Speaker 1: at Wes's because we were on a little different buildings.
Speaker 1: There was like a five percent chance someone gets trapped
Speaker 1: in that elevator and West's building uh this week and
Speaker 1: has to like have a scenario where you decided, am
Speaker 1: I gonna eat the person I'm stuck with? Or are
Speaker 1: they gonna eat me and they're gonna die? Why would
Speaker 1: that won't it won't be right away, but you know
Speaker 1: you could just like like the emergency button. I've taken
Speaker 1: this times in the past two days and so is
Speaker 1: it's scary. I was telling Erica before the show that, like,
Speaker 1: on like one way, I do want to die very quickly.
Speaker 1: It's like like a curvy female assassin comes and takes me.
Speaker 1: They're just like lauding my journalism skills, like he died
Speaker 1: on the job. He's such a hard Yeah we did. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that would be a big You get a lot of
Speaker 1: pop from it, especially like at an NFL Eventbody Kitchens,
Speaker 1: he was great, Oh wait, this is I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: But we have more coaches to talk to. Coaches like
Speaker 1: they are lining up to talk to us. I mean,
Speaker 1: the amount of people that wanted to spend time with
Speaker 1: us is just staggering. Here is Sean McDermott love the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills all right now joining us. He's entering his
Speaker 1: third season as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: Sean mcdimott, Welcome to the Round the NFL Podcast. Good
Speaker 1: to be here. Okay, is that your kind of music?
Speaker 1: Well a little bit. I like it's just like Raith, Yeah,
Speaker 1: what is is? What is the rape culture in the
Speaker 1: Western New York these days? It's a change. Yeah, every
Speaker 1: every night um warehouses down there by the Canal. I
Speaker 1: think people, I think people taking some busses up to
Speaker 1: Canada getting the raven And maybe that's the thing my
Speaker 1: brother want to tell you. McGill, Yeah, there was there
Speaker 1: was a scene there that was a while ago. I
Speaker 1: bet it's probably I'm probably in bed three hours before
Speaker 1: that kicks off. Well, welcome to the show, Sewan. It
Speaker 1: is a interesting time in the a f C. East.
Speaker 1: I feel like because the Patriots they went again, everyone's
Speaker 1: over it. But I'm gonna yeah, focusing more on the
Speaker 1: Bills and the Jets. They are you guys are making
Speaker 1: moves to make a charge potentially in that division. I
Speaker 1: imagine you were happy with how the off season unfolded
Speaker 1: in free agency. Yeah, to this point. I mean, you know, look,
Speaker 1: it's about always evolving in really um subscribing to that
Speaker 1: growth mindset. We're always trying to grow, always trying to learn,
Speaker 1: always trying to improve our football team, always trying to
Speaker 1: improve individually and then collectively as a team. And Brandon
Speaker 1: and his staff did a nice job of targeting some
Speaker 1: guys and we went out and got him. And and uh,
Speaker 1: I think they'll add to the players that we already
Speaker 1: have in Western New York. And and um continue to
Speaker 1: you know, work to put our best foot forward. How
Speaker 1: there ever, you know in house inside the Buffalo Bills organization,
Speaker 1: a plot hatch store discussions around kidnapping Bill Belichick and
Speaker 1: just simply removing him from humans. That's the best way
Speaker 1: to try. And when you think, I mean, look, this
Speaker 1: is Mark's fantasy is coming out in this question. No,
Speaker 1: we have a lot of respect for look for what
Speaker 1: they've done. Um, certainly, I know that there there's a
Speaker 1: lot of um, you know, we call it rivalry between
Speaker 1: Bills fans and and and the Patriots. But but that said, listen,
Speaker 1: if you don't at least study someone in your industry
Speaker 1: that's had success over the course of time like they've had, um,
Speaker 1: than shame on you. So but that said, you know,
Speaker 1: we're we're committed to continue to try and close that gap.
Speaker 1: And and um, you know, put our best foot forward
Speaker 1: as an organization. You're out of cap jail this year,
Speaker 1: and we see some good moves with the offensive line
Speaker 1: and John Brown cool by Lee um and then you
Speaker 1: guys also pursued Antonio Brown. One of the reports was
Speaker 1: that you did not pursue O'Dell Beckham. Was the price
Speaker 1: just too steep there? Well, I don't. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: a conversation that honestly never even took place between Brandon
Speaker 1: and myself, to be honest with you. So, you know,
Speaker 1: I just think that you know, we're we're looking for
Speaker 1: the types of players. We've got a checklist of the
Speaker 1: types of players that we're looking for, and and um.
Speaker 1: And so we moved in a different direction with with
Speaker 1: the players that you mentioned, Cole Beasley, John Brown. So
Speaker 1: I feel good about those editions and and the guys
Speaker 1: that we already had. We had some young players get
Speaker 1: some valuable experience last year and and um, and that
Speaker 1: will be important for us as we move forward. How
Speaker 1: was it from your perspective, you know, when that when
Speaker 1: that report comes out that you know from our network
Speaker 1: that this trade could be coming, and you're you're the
Speaker 1: Bills coach, Like, how did that greet you? And like
Speaker 1: what was your part of that process? Yeah? I mean, look,
Speaker 1: you you can only control what you can control. And uh,
Speaker 1: and so Brandon and I talk a lot, and we
Speaker 1: have a lot of conversations about players, and sometimes it
Speaker 1: goes somewhere and you're able to drill down a little
Speaker 1: bit deeper and do some more research and things, and
Speaker 1: sometimes it stops with with only one conversation. So um,
Speaker 1: that's all part of trying to improve as a football team.
Speaker 1: And his Brandon has mentioned time and time again that
Speaker 1: we have to have those conversations, right, whether it's Odell
Speaker 1: Beckham or whether it's in this case Antonio Brown and
Speaker 1: great football player and and a tough matchup, a tough
Speaker 1: guy to take away and and so um, you know
Speaker 1: we're not to me in a place where we we
Speaker 1: can't have that conversation right in terms of hey, well
Speaker 1: we've already arrived, we're still building and so um, we
Speaker 1: have to look at every avenue, pursue every avenue or
Speaker 1: every option to improve our football team. And that was
Speaker 1: a conversation we had. What is with Josh Allen entering
Speaker 1: year two in terms of what you expect and hope
Speaker 1: for in his development? What what do you want to
Speaker 1: see from him that maybe you didn't see as a rookie. Well,
Speaker 1: I just think it's really to continue his evolution, continue
Speaker 1: his development and growth in every area, which is a
Speaker 1: the curiosity of the game, UM leadership. UM, those are
Speaker 1: the off the field areas, and then continue to grow
Speaker 1: UM on the field as well. Hey would now NFL second,
Speaker 1: your NFL defenses look like, how are they going to
Speaker 1: adjust to what your skills, what your skill set in
Speaker 1: this case Josh, what his skill set is and with
Speaker 1: his mobility that maybe some people didn't anticipate maybe in
Speaker 1: year one, that's a question. I get a lot UM.
Speaker 1: And so continuing then to build also the continuity with
Speaker 1: with the receivers and the tight ends and the backs
Speaker 1: and the offensive line. UM. That's kind of a probably
Speaker 1: a little bit of a hidden UM piece that I
Speaker 1: think is important as it relates to UH, to football
Speaker 1: and in particular offensive football. I know you're a wrestling guy.
Speaker 1: I in seventh grade loss to a girl in wrestling,
Speaker 1: and that sort of ended my career. For you, what
Speaker 1: would be your changed? It changed a lot of things
Speaker 1: about your life. Yeah, I'm sure that's that did not
Speaker 1: happen to you. It sounds like you were more successful
Speaker 1: as an athlete. UM. What was your finishing move? How
Speaker 1: do you drop someone out of the competition. How do
Speaker 1: you end love the I love the straight face she
Speaker 1: kept for the last minute after dropping that on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean listen, Um, I'm kind of like in shock
Speaker 1: right now. But um no, it's like I would say,
Speaker 1: my best I like the low single leg takedown. And
Speaker 1: a big wrestling fan came last night from the n
Speaker 1: C Double A Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and uh,
Speaker 1: I was able to watch Penn State win another national
Speaker 1: championship there with kel Sanderson and what a great program
Speaker 1: they have and um, and so, but what are fan?
Speaker 1: You got into two in the morning because you wanted
Speaker 1: to be there watching them. Yeah, I got in late
Speaker 1: or early however you want to say it. But just
Speaker 1: a neat experience. It's a but it was a bucket
Speaker 1: list thing for myself and I was able to experience
Speaker 1: that with with Terry Pogoula, our owner, and and just
Speaker 1: a neat, neat deal. And but you never lost to
Speaker 1: a girl. I can't right that happened. I can't say
Speaker 1: I did. But there's a lot of there's a lot
Speaker 1: of girl wrestlers now that are pretty tough. I'll tell
Speaker 1: you that why in the sport? And then the way
Speaker 1: hits it's developed over the years. It's it's not just
Speaker 1: the male sports. There's some good girl wrestlers out there.
Speaker 1: The one marked last two though, was not very good. No,
Speaker 1: it's no. I mean it was her first time wrestling.
Speaker 1: I've had a few matches. You were a couple of
Speaker 1: a couple of years in UM. Greg, I've been waiting
Speaker 1: for you to jump in on this, but since you
Speaker 1: haven't yet, I will Greg. Your favorite player, Frank Gore.
Speaker 1: He has now matriculated up to Western New York matriculated.
Speaker 1: That's the second time I heard that. We're in today uncommon.
Speaker 1: Who who do we have to thank for? That? Is it?
Speaker 1: Hankstram matriculate the ball down the um. Frank Gore, the
Speaker 1: ultimate veteran leadership addition is always saying like it's going
Speaker 1: to be his last year. It's like, oh, he's six
Speaker 1: and then here comes Frank or still piling up four
Speaker 1: and a half yards per carry ten cat Frank Cat
Speaker 1: like Frank or Franklin inconvenient truth. Your thoughts on adding
Speaker 1: Frank Gore to the back Uld. Yeah, I think it's
Speaker 1: a great addition, I really do. I mean this is Look,
Speaker 1: he's x amount of years old. I don't even know
Speaker 1: how old he is at this point. I mean maybe
Speaker 1: I think maybe he may have maybe he's older than
Speaker 1: I am. I don't know. But at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, Look, it's about production. It's about being able
Speaker 1: to go out there and and love the leadership component
Speaker 1: as you mentioned, and I love that that he's driven
Speaker 1: to be the best. And UM coached against him a
Speaker 1: couple of times in my NFL career, but then to
Speaker 1: meet him firsthand, UM over the last month here, you
Speaker 1: see why he's been successful. You see why he's been
Speaker 1: the back that he's been in a potential Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: And I'm just excited to have Lashawn and Frank in
Speaker 1: the same backfield and just even more so than that,
Speaker 1: to watch them to make each other better, UM throughout
Speaker 1: an entire season. I know they trained together sometimes in
Speaker 1: the off season and for two Look, I mean, look
Speaker 1: what we'll do is I think we'll just pull up
Speaker 1: the bus, the senior citizen bus, up to the field
Speaker 1: where they're doing right and and just load them on
Speaker 1: there and then we'll bring him back for practice the
Speaker 1: next day. Perfect plot. We'll get him out of there
Speaker 1: early at like two thirty so they can get the
Speaker 1: early early bird special dinner bring him in, you know.
Speaker 1: And I just think that, I mean, what better way
Speaker 1: to challenge one another with a with a guy for
Speaker 1: Lashawn that has been there and done that, and and
Speaker 1: done a lot of the things that Leshawn's done at
Speaker 1: a high level. And uh, I just I think Iron's
Speaker 1: gonna sharpen Iron in that situation. I thought you were
Speaker 1: going to defend him, and you're just cracking jokes. I'm
Speaker 1: that far, Frank, Well, I'm just saying what everyone else thinks. Right.
Speaker 1: I had a question about one of the guys you're developing,
Speaker 1: one of the great underrated linebackers in the NFL. Do
Speaker 1: you see Matt Milana as a guy who has Pro
Speaker 1: Bowls in his future and maybe would have been a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl or last year if not for the injury. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought Matt had a had a Pro Bowl caliber
Speaker 1: or worthy season up until the point where he had
Speaker 1: the injury late in the year there, And uh, I
Speaker 1: didn't Gotta didn't get a lot of probably notoriety for
Speaker 1: his for his play this season, but um, I think
Speaker 1: he's off to a very good start. Um just two
Speaker 1: years in and anxious to see him come back this
Speaker 1: offseason and attack the off season and get off to
Speaker 1: a great start for us next year. You know, this
Speaker 1: is a game we call. They say, Okay, we wouldn't
Speaker 1: say it. We wouldn't We wouldn't do it because we're
Speaker 1: plugged in. We understand what you're trying to do up
Speaker 1: there in Buffalo. But they say, like a move like
Speaker 1: Frank Gore joining the Bills, why the Bills are not
Speaker 1: ready to compete? Why would you bring a guy and
Speaker 1: that's like a a playoff compliment type guy to put
Speaker 1: you over the top. That's what they say. What do
Speaker 1: you say to those people that say the Bills are
Speaker 1: not close and they think they are, Well, I would
Speaker 1: say that we've got a lot of work to do
Speaker 1: and we're gonna focus on and continue to focus on
Speaker 1: what we do and how we do it and and um,
Speaker 1: you know, try and block all the all the noise out.
Speaker 1: I mean, we're not into the world of distractions and
Speaker 1: noise and people can say what they want, um, and
Speaker 1: we're going to continue to work hard. That's that's the
Speaker 1: way you get to where you're trying to get to.
Speaker 1: I love how your GM came out and defended Buffalo
Speaker 1: and West. I was born in Rochester. I know that
Speaker 1: part of the country, and it's just like the Bills.
Speaker 1: Maybe if you started the NFL from scratch today, there
Speaker 1: would be no team in Buffalo. We get that. But
Speaker 1: the fact that it's there and that there's is there
Speaker 1: a chip on the shoulder sometimes to say, listen, forget
Speaker 1: about all this nonsense. We'll get the free aedence we need.
Speaker 1: Buffalo is there is pride here. It's one of the
Speaker 1: toughest places to play. Yeah, I mean listen, you know,
Speaker 1: when you're interviewing for head coaching jobs in the NFL,
Speaker 1: there's only thirty two of them, and so you're looking for,
Speaker 1: you know, the just the opportunity to get one. And
Speaker 1: I just think I'm very grateful that that for me,
Speaker 1: that opportunity came in Buffalo, because that the fit has
Speaker 1: been so right for me and my family. The types
Speaker 1: of people that are in Buffalo, the culture and Buffalo
Speaker 1: around the city, that's what I grew up around, That's
Speaker 1: how I was raised and so um, I'll defend it
Speaker 1: till till the day I die with with and because
Speaker 1: of the people that are there. It's it's really it's
Speaker 1: not the city, it's the people around the city. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, it's South Buffalo, It's it's it's West Seneca,
Speaker 1: it's all these its towns around Buffalo, Orchard Park. I mean,
Speaker 1: in history and the tradition of the Buffalo Bills. Let's
Speaker 1: not forget what they what they did in the early
Speaker 1: nineties for so many years, and and I just think
Speaker 1: that people sometimes forget that. All Right, it's time for
Speaker 1: the speed round. We call it the Crucible. Crucible. You know,
Speaker 1: he's in like flip flaps. He thinks this is going
Speaker 1: to be You have to matricular resort, casual war. You
Speaker 1: have to matriculate, matriculate your way through these to survive. Okay,
Speaker 1: here we go. Ready hit it, Ricky? First album you bought?
Speaker 1: Michael Jackson? Uh? The Internet? Has it helped or hurt
Speaker 1: man more helped? Does life exists beyond our planet? Yes? Like,
Speaker 1: do you own any gene shorts? Not? Currently? Are there
Speaker 1: too many superhero movies? Yes? Who's your favorite athlete growing up?
Speaker 1: Bryan Bosworth? I did a book report on the Bobs
Speaker 1: in grades right, gotta be Uh? Would you let your
Speaker 1: children attend to Bill's Tellgate? Yes? Good, good, Every every
Speaker 1: area of the tail. Go No, you have to cook
Speaker 1: one meal to save man kind? What is it? Ice cream?
Speaker 1: One TV show you can watch with your wife and
Speaker 1: you both enjoy it. M hmm. This is everybody loves Raymond.
Speaker 1: You can say no, let's go with Cosby Show. Alright,
Speaker 1: alright and Michael Jack. All right. Hard Knocks training camp
Speaker 1: with the Buffalo Bills. Who says no? Give me give
Speaker 1: me a question again, Hard Knocks Training Camp with the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills. Who says no? Who says no? Ski Beyonce overrated, underrated,
Speaker 1: properly rated? Uh, underrated, that's lake effects, no real or
Speaker 1: government conspiracy. That's right. That was the crucible. You survived
Speaker 1: with more Freddy. We had Freddy Kitchens. He was sweating.
Speaker 1: He was the same questions, different questions. All right, Oh,
Speaker 1: he did think that Madonna was underrated? Absolutely, What did
Speaker 1: you say about we've learned that you guys believe in
Speaker 1: the diva's out there? Yeah, Sean McDermott, I am a
Speaker 1: Jets fan and I we have a kinship with the Bills.
Speaker 1: We want to take the a f C East over.
Speaker 1: One of us has to do it. That's it, because
Speaker 1: it's not my Jets. It's got to be the Bills.
Speaker 1: So good luck to you, Thank you great Scott, and
Speaker 1: out goes Sean McDermott. He was delightful as well. Look
Speaker 1: at these coaches so likable. We're total like like that,
Speaker 1: we just fall for anyone that we meet like that,
Speaker 1: like any like girl that gives us just like a
Speaker 1: little bit of attention. We're just like, oh, she's hot.
Speaker 1: I think it helps us. Then we're not like, I
Speaker 1: don't know, let's take that out of the show. That kid,
Speaker 1: it's the end of Greg's career. It helps that we're
Speaker 1: not asking like hard hitting journal questions. We're just trying
Speaker 1: to get along, just like the like the boars at
Speaker 1: NFL Network. It's it's got to be, you know, a
Speaker 1: grind to be a head coach and just face the
Speaker 1: same questions day after day. So we try to we
Speaker 1: try to mix it up with these guys. But he
Speaker 1: he's a guy. It's easy to root for. And I
Speaker 1: liked his answer about you know how he kind of
Speaker 1: reps Buffalo and Western New York. It just seems like
Speaker 1: a good fit between city team and head coach, which
Speaker 1: I think you want, right and the Bills for a
Speaker 1: long time had the issue where the general manager and
Speaker 1: the coach were not brought in together and the relationship
Speaker 1: was fraught. We heard stuff that wasn't even reported about
Speaker 1: past clashes. And these two really like each other and
Speaker 1: get along and they have the supportive ownership. So there's
Speaker 1: a patience there that in other cities might not exist.
Speaker 1: I mean, he went to a wrestling match with the
Speaker 1: owner sign. That's a good sign that everybody is in
Speaker 1: a good place. All right, good talk, guys. We we'll
Speaker 1: be back on Wednesday. We will have more action from
Speaker 1: here at the owners meetings for you. We don't want
Speaker 1: to tease it out just yet. I'll be surprised. Who's
Speaker 1: gonna be on. We got a big time head coach.
Speaker 1: You want to drop it. We got the new head
Speaker 1: coach of the Green Bay Packers coming up on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: so make sure you check that out. And maybe we'll
Speaker 1: have some more special guests. So thank you to everyone
Speaker 1: for listening. And now it is time, and thank you
Speaker 1: to Ian Rappaport, thank you to Freddy Kitchens of course,
Speaker 1: Sean McDermott. Now it's time to get to the pool.
Speaker 1: You know, please, yeah, get some raise, Mark, I want
Speaker 1: you in a speedo in about twenty minutes. That's the
Speaker 1: only swimwear that I own or where to everyone's delight,
Speaker 1: all right, that's it. This is Dan hans Is signing
Speaker 1: off from Phoenix at the Biltmore for Quiet Storm, the Mailman,
Speaker 1: the old Boss, Ricky Hollywood killing it, sitting criss cross
Speaker 1: apple sauce style on the floor. That's what they say,
Speaker 1: now till Wednesday.