Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL podcast is a spicy that's spicyfol
Speaker 1: so from the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's around the NFL. UM,
Speaker 1: Dan Hansas, got some heroes with me. Greg Rosetal, Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: all right, good job NFL. I see, I see you.
Speaker 1: I see what you're doing. You're trying to clear the decks.
Speaker 1: Nothing to see here, drop some news on Monday, although
Speaker 1: we know that story is not over yet around Deshaun Watson. Now,
Speaker 1: let's throw out the next wave that the second worst
Speaker 1: story of the offseason. Let's try to like get that
Speaker 1: off the table ahead of the Hall of Fame game.
Speaker 1: The efforts there, Greg, you gotta give him credit for
Speaker 1: the effort being there well, and I appreciate the way
Speaker 1: they structured it so we could get the minisott out
Speaker 1: Monday kind of clear our deck here, but also gave
Speaker 1: us a nice meatia topic to start this show with.
Speaker 1: Maybe they're they're planning it around up. Thank you, League.
Speaker 1: There was there was a There were several funny moments
Speaker 1: leading up today's today's taping. UM. One of them was
Speaker 1: when Mark realized in real time that we were actually
Speaker 1: doing extra show this week, that the Monday show wasn't
Speaker 1: replacing one of the initially and you can actually see
Speaker 1: the lights go out behind the eyes but not well no,
Speaker 1: so you know, we we decide typically a day before,
Speaker 1: what we're gonna do with our segment outside of the
Speaker 1: news part of the show, and we all put we
Speaker 1: all put our certain um personal stamp and were prepared
Speaker 1: in our own ways for it. And this was which
Speaker 1: will come later in the week, but it was it
Speaker 1: quite involved UM segment that took a lot of imagination
Speaker 1: and I thought, you know, personal, why are you keeping
Speaker 1: it a secret? Well, it's it's team slogans. And I
Speaker 1: spent like three hours coming up with a variety of
Speaker 1: teams slogan we're gonna do today, We're gonna do four
Speaker 1: minutes before when we were gonna tape an hour ago,
Speaker 1: that we're switching gears, and so it was suddenly you know,
Speaker 1: That's why I felt a little um agitated. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: all were dealing with it at the same time. We
Speaker 1: all found out that we had to switch the schedule,
Speaker 1: and U some handled it, uh more gracefully than others.
Speaker 1: But here we are didn't have a meltdown or anything.
Speaker 1: I don't even that didn't even say anything. Now, no meltdown.
Speaker 1: I was just saying there was any it Yeah, okay, see,
Speaker 1: I was just I'm just saying there was a lot
Speaker 1: of concern on your part. It's not the way pre
Speaker 1: show energy a guy. You're a big time prep guy.
Speaker 1: To your point, though it's Big Rod week, it does
Speaker 1: feel like Big Rod week because frankly, this story and
Speaker 1: we can get into it, you know, in a minute,
Speaker 1: but like it's been so off the radar. I didn't
Speaker 1: necessarily believe he was going to drop the hammer as
Speaker 1: much as he did, which I think was a pleasant surprise. Uh.
Speaker 1: And then he still got this three day peer it
Speaker 1: which is now down to two to decide on Watson.
Speaker 1: And I really think it's like his chance uh to
Speaker 1: be a hero, to like make a to do something
Speaker 1: that his employees and the fans of the NFL, I think,
Speaker 1: for the most part, will really appreciate and referring to
Speaker 1: Watson sat Watson in terms of appealing that suspension. So
Speaker 1: I think those two things in a row would be
Speaker 1: a very positive week for Roger Goodell in a way
Speaker 1: that his disciplined decisions in the past have often not been,
Speaker 1: you know, And I it's a rare chance to go
Speaker 1: be a hero, So go be a hero. Rog and
Speaker 1: I'll also add and yes, we're about to get into it.
Speaker 1: There was a neatness to the resolution of this Dolphins
Speaker 1: saga that almost feels it feels very convenient. He's gotten
Speaker 1: some criticism about this one. This one's buttoned up pretty tight.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna get into that. We're gonna also have
Speaker 1: some yes, Connor or team slogans. We're gonna push to tomorrow,
Speaker 1: uh later today. Mark is okay, he's absolutely excited about
Speaker 1: what's occurring. We're gonna hit some training camp whispers instead
Speaker 1: to get you caught up on what's going on and camps.
Speaker 1: Training camps are obviously well underway now, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: what's kind of jumping out to us that's interesting. But first, yes,
Speaker 1: let's get to the news. The way that the Dolphins
Speaker 1: simply pretended the rules did not exist, um is mind boggling.
Speaker 1: What if Ian gets an email or a text from
Speaker 1: someone upstairs, like the editorializing, you know, we don't like
Speaker 1: that from music. I agree with them, but I I
Speaker 1: was I liked it. The graver it it took him
Speaker 1: back enough that he cut it Uh, but it is then.
Speaker 1: It is when the investigation of the Miami Dolphins is
Speaker 1: all said and done, the things that Brian Floor has
Speaker 1: brought to light, so much of it turned out to
Speaker 1: be absolutely true and what's or maybe all of it,
Speaker 1: So let's get into it here. The NFL announced Tuesday
Speaker 1: that the Miami Dolphins will for a fit their two
Speaker 1: thousand three first round pick and two thousand third round pick,
Speaker 1: while team owner Stephen Ross has been suspended through October
Speaker 1: following an investigation into whether the organized organization violated league
Speaker 1: policies pertaining to the integrity of the game. This investigation
Speaker 1: was led by UH former u S attorney and SEC
Speaker 1: chairperson Mary Joe White, lasted six months focused on two areas.
Speaker 1: And yes, there was tampering that involved Tom Brady and
Speaker 1: Sean Payton numerous times. But also notable here mark the
Speaker 1: league found or the investigation found that the Brian Flores
Speaker 1: allegations of tanking and getting paid money the head coach
Speaker 1: to lose games UH a few seasons back was something
Speaker 1: that was done in jest or not in a serious manner.
Speaker 1: So there was no discipline in that department, which is
Speaker 1: very notable here. But otherwise, the Dolphins got banged. They did,
Speaker 1: and that animal probably is annoyed by it. But I
Speaker 1: think that to Greg's point, Roger Goodell did the right
Speaker 1: thing here and it was a severe punishment. Ross is
Speaker 1: also being fine one point five million, which is probably
Speaker 1: like three dimes falling out of his pocket. I don't
Speaker 1: know what it, um, I'm not. I don't know what
Speaker 1: an owner not being allowed to be around the team
Speaker 1: until October that feels sort of like a hollow punishment
Speaker 1: to me. But the Dolphins, um, you know, they Deshaun Watson.
Speaker 1: Scenario was called egregious, and that was a correct word
Speaker 1: for it. This is egregious. You've not seen a team
Speaker 1: do this. They tampered with Tom Brady after the twenty
Speaker 1: nine season, after last when he was a Patriot, and
Speaker 1: now if you think about it, because one big thing
Speaker 1: facing the Dolphins in general, they lose a first round
Speaker 1: pick and a third round pick. This one that they
Speaker 1: have two first round picks going into the next draft,
Speaker 1: but they lose one of those. This was the season
Speaker 1: where they were going to evaluate to uh and maybe
Speaker 1: decide do we have the ammunition to go get his
Speaker 1: replacement if we want to move up and down the draft.
Speaker 1: Your pursuit of Tom Brady multiple times and of Sean
Speaker 1: Payton potentially stripped your ability to control the draft and
Speaker 1: get the better quarterback down the road. Right because they
Speaker 1: still have an extra draft pick. They had a couple. Uh,
Speaker 1: now they lose one. It's a serious punishment. And the
Speaker 1: wording that the NFL used in terms of the way
Speaker 1: that they tampered that it was unprecedented in scope. Uh
Speaker 1: was really saying something Now. I was thinking, like the
Speaker 1: reporting that Ben Volend did about this story, uh in
Speaker 1: the Boston Globes sort of felt slept under the radar,
Speaker 1: and Florio backed it up as well back in April,
Speaker 1: Uh that they were trying to get Tom Brady to
Speaker 1: potentially become an owner and maybe eventually slash player. And
Speaker 1: he is a free agent after this offseason. So I
Speaker 1: don't think it's that crazy to think, like, if he
Speaker 1: wants to keep playing, he might not be on the
Speaker 1: Bucks next year, and the Dolphins were a pretty logical
Speaker 1: place considering he's had these two conversations. I don't foresee
Speaker 1: that happening just because, uh, it would look so bad.
Speaker 1: But if he is on the Dolphins, he just lost
Speaker 1: you know, his own first round pick for next year.
Speaker 1: IM not gonna be as good a team he's got
Speaker 1: if he wants to be a little bit of an
Speaker 1: owner there. Yeah, and Steven Ross said in a statement,
Speaker 1: Greg you mentioned this and was just kind of funny,
Speaker 1: like the spin of it all. Ross's statement, the independent
Speaker 1: investigation cleared our organization on any issues related to tanking
Speaker 1: and all of Brian Flores's other allegations. As I have
Speaker 1: said all along, these allegations were false, malicious, and defamatory
Speaker 1: and this issue is now put to rest. As as
Speaker 1: is this the statement that they were supposed to put
Speaker 1: out if the decision was the other decision where they
Speaker 1: were cleared of all wrongdoing. I'm missing something. There's a
Speaker 1: statement from my multibillionaire. I mean it is we've seen
Speaker 1: this in in politics, but as in life that like
Speaker 1: you can just create your own reality and just say
Speaker 1: what you want and at least there will be a
Speaker 1: segment of people that might listen to it. Because Flores's
Speaker 1: allegations about the tampering led directly to them losing these picks,
Speaker 1: and how he phrased that it turned down the tanking,
Speaker 1: that they didn't find them guilty that I do want
Speaker 1: to kind of point out how that's that's misleading to
Speaker 1: say it that way. The investigation concluded concluded they did
Speaker 1: not intentionally lose games, but it also concluded that many
Speaker 1: times the owner expressed that he prioritized their draft position
Speaker 1: versus win loss record, and that was to their team president,
Speaker 1: was to their GM, it was to coach Flores, who
Speaker 1: at the time, uh, let people know that he was
Speaker 1: not okay with this in writing that multiple times he said, look,
Speaker 1: the draft picks more important than winning. He said that
Speaker 1: to the coach. They also confirmed that he said the
Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollar um line two floors about losing games,
Speaker 1: and they brush it off as a joke, like that's
Speaker 1: where it says. This feels a little neat, that's where
Speaker 1: it comes. And they confirmed that, like that's in there,
Speaker 1: that that he was prioritizing the draft. Maybe the investigation
Speaker 1: turned over enough rocks where they felt that there really
Speaker 1: wasn't a serious offer to pay money for losses because
Speaker 1: the other stuff, let's just be honest, let's be uh,
Speaker 1: you know, grown ups here. Stuff happens all the time
Speaker 1: in the league now, and not just the NFL all
Speaker 1: but sports I hear you, but like when you hear
Speaker 1: something from your boss, sometimes they don't need to exactly
Speaker 1: say what they want for you to make it clear
Speaker 1: what they want. And if you have an owner of
Speaker 1: a football team, letting the coach know that winning is
Speaker 1: not our goal here this year, I think that that
Speaker 1: is a problem, that's problematic, that is punishable. Maybe it's
Speaker 1: a little more surfacing than in other organizations, but again
Speaker 1: we don't We're not priview to what's going on, uh
Speaker 1: in other organizations like the Browns when they were in
Speaker 1: their tank, or any other number of teams you could
Speaker 1: point out. I also think it's important to bring up
Speaker 1: what Brian Flores had to say in his statement after
Speaker 1: this came out, because obviously he is a central figure
Speaker 1: in all of this. I am thankful that the NFL's
Speaker 1: investigator found my factual allegations against Stephen Ross are true.
Speaker 1: At the same time, I am disappointed to learn that
Speaker 1: the investigator minimized Mr Ross's offers and pressure to tank games,
Speaker 1: especially when I wrote and submitted a letter at the
Speaker 1: time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this
Speaker 1: subject at the time, which the investigator has in her possession.
Speaker 1: Then he goes on to add that Mr Ross will
Speaker 1: avoid any meaningful consequence. Um, and that's true because the
Speaker 1: fine Listen, a million dollars or whatever is a lot
Speaker 1: to anyone, but maybe not so much too old as
Speaker 1: we're talking about. And also his suspension October October, we
Speaker 1: just did a segment about October four. Mark, that's the
Speaker 1: end of week four, So week six he's back. He's
Speaker 1: barred from league meetings and things of that nature for
Speaker 1: the season or the year or whatever. But otherwise, this
Speaker 1: is any This is not something that's gonna throw his
Speaker 1: ownership too far off course, the more that we learned
Speaker 1: about this, and the more that you dig into the investigation,
Speaker 1: I just don't think they went far enough. I think
Speaker 1: the tanking thing, uh they You're right, they made it
Speaker 1: too neat because when an owner it doesn't have to
Speaker 1: even be put in writing. You're creating an environment, and
Speaker 1: that's what that's what Steven Ross did. He created an
Speaker 1: environment where it was very clear I think two people
Speaker 1: about what the tanking thing that. Remember, we called it
Speaker 1: the fish tank because there were multiple reports from the
Speaker 1: Miami Herald that talked about the fact that this was
Speaker 1: what the Dolphins were doing, and they're not the only
Speaker 1: team in that league. The Browns have done this. We
Speaker 1: can look at a team like the Bears that are
Speaker 1: moving pieces left and right for picks to rebuild. Essentially,
Speaker 1: it's it's what you do in sports, you rebuild. The
Speaker 1: Dolphins did it more severely, and they were let off
Speaker 1: the hook on this one. My well, that's a great point.
Speaker 1: Mark totally suppose was all right. It was just it
Speaker 1: was also said with a lot of confidence, and I
Speaker 1: think that's what justin. It was just it was coming.
Speaker 1: It came across. I hear what Flores is saying. And
Speaker 1: that's why I'm torn on this because initially my expectations
Speaker 1: are so low. I'm like, Okay, theyon a third, that's
Speaker 1: that's a significant punishment that they did anything and really
Speaker 1: called him out. It is embarrassing. I think Steven Ross
Speaker 1: has had a lot of um bad moments as Dolphins owner,
Speaker 1: a lot of rough times, a lot of criticism UH
Speaker 1: coming his way, but like Dan Snyder, Uh to be
Speaker 1: suspended it's certainly is embarrassing and is a black mark
Speaker 1: on your record. On the other hand, I totally agree
Speaker 1: with Brian Flores that Ultimately, in the long run, it's
Speaker 1: not gonna hurt Stephen Ross that much. It'll hurt his
Speaker 1: football team certainly with the draft picks. You know, it
Speaker 1: was the same you know, they took a first rounder
Speaker 1: away from the Patriots for deflate gate. Still, if you
Speaker 1: look back on that, they took a second and a
Speaker 1: third for bounty gate back in the day. So it's
Speaker 1: very it's a little confusing to figure out where when
Speaker 1: punishment is coming down. They could have gone even bigger
Speaker 1: on it. And I appreciated that flores Um found the
Speaker 1: integrity the game part of his complaints in law suits
Speaker 1: so important because ultimately his lawsuit, in the order that
Speaker 1: they he presented it prioritized the racial component and what
Speaker 1: is happening in terms of firing and hiring black coaches
Speaker 1: in the league. And I think that's what he led
Speaker 1: with and that was important. But he also wanted to
Speaker 1: take out his former boss's kneecaps with the tampering stuff
Speaker 1: and the Brady stuff, and he absolutely did that. On
Speaker 1: the way out the building. He hurt his former boss
Speaker 1: in a very meaningful way. And that's why the way
Speaker 1: that he put out that lawsuit and the statements way
Speaker 1: back when this first started, was very calculated and I
Speaker 1: think ultimately very effective. Don't mess with Brian Flores. Um,
Speaker 1: all right, that's that they should give that pick to
Speaker 1: the Pats, you know, maybe Pats and Bucks because I
Speaker 1: think that, you know, these are two organizations that they
Speaker 1: haven't had enough success. That's where your argument falls off,
Speaker 1: you know, and that's who they were messing with. They
Speaker 1: were messing with the Pats. You know, you kicked Tom
Speaker 1: Brady out the door, so and nothing happens to Tom
Speaker 1: Brady or Sean Payton in this By the way, do
Speaker 1: we put any yeah, this right, it's kind of sleeping
Speaker 1: on at Saints, the team that should also get a pick.
Speaker 1: I guess, yeah, Oh, another team that you adore. Um,
Speaker 1: tom Brady, the tom Brady nous of all this, which
Speaker 1: makes it even more fascinating story. Do we let him
Speaker 1: off the hook? I guess he's just the player. But
Speaker 1: he was potentially in the conversation he was to get
Speaker 1: into the front office or that was kind of the pitch.
Speaker 1: So if his potential down the line ownership or front
Speaker 1: office position and begins with being involved in this nefarious malarkey,
Speaker 1: I guess I'm really excited. I have to say for
Speaker 1: the Tom Brady ownership experience. I mean, at least he
Speaker 1: didn't destroy a cell phone. This time around, it'll be
Speaker 1: like the Derek Jeter, you know, ownership experience in Florida. Well,
Speaker 1: we don't need to do like that. Um. It's funny
Speaker 1: because Brady literally could have been trying to get to
Speaker 1: the Dolphins. This seas that if Flores didn't drop this
Speaker 1: in the time that he did, if you look at
Speaker 1: the timing, that's sort of when when he backed off,
Speaker 1: the whole Dolphins ideas wild wild. All right, let's move on.
Speaker 1: Let's get caught up with other NFL news. This went
Speaker 1: down on Monday. Deebo Samuel and the forty Niners all good,
Speaker 1: everything's fine. The two sides have agreed on a three
Speaker 1: year contract extension worth up to seventy three point five million,
Speaker 1: with fifty eight point one million guaranteed. The Niners officially
Speaker 1: announced the extension after rap Sheet reported it on Sunday.
Speaker 1: John Lynch said they are overjoyed to have Deebo Samuel,
Speaker 1: and they should be because he's that important to their offense.
Speaker 1: Once again, Mark, I feel like we're a little used,
Speaker 1: like we were a part of this whole saga that
Speaker 1: was ultimately Uh. Samuel was never looking to go anywhere.
Speaker 1: He never really wanted to be traded. He just wanted
Speaker 1: his money and he got it. And we helped it
Speaker 1: by making it a bigger story by inflaming tension just
Speaker 1: by talking about it and acting as if he could
Speaker 1: be traded on draft weekend and all that there was
Speaker 1: going on with wider reading. I'm reading an article here
Speaker 1: a Michael Irvin, our our co hot, our colleague. I've
Speaker 1: never spoken with him, but he did come into the
Speaker 1: newsroom that one time. And wait, we saw him at
Speaker 1: the draft like about eight nine years ago in New
Speaker 1: York in the after hours bar, and Mike was feeling
Speaker 1: no pain, belly up against the bar. Could not have
Speaker 1: been nicer to us, our friend. That happened this draft
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas too, when there was an after party
Speaker 1: and I went up and actually I don't I didn't,
Speaker 1: he didn't intend this. But there was a group of
Speaker 1: three of us talking and Michael Irvan was telling a
Speaker 1: very animated story and in a fatherly fashion, put his
Speaker 1: hand on my shoulder at a moment to make so
Speaker 1: I do think that I have a real friend pretty
Speaker 1: close and I know, but he's also like he's a
Speaker 1: gigantic human being. Also with Irvin and I the same
Speaker 1: We were all in that um post draft in Vague guess,
Speaker 1: in that same bar area and it was in the
Speaker 1: there was like a hallway with where the casino was,
Speaker 1: and he's Michael Irvin. You know, everyone's looking at him,
Speaker 1: and it is interesting. And I give credit to Mike,
Speaker 1: our friend that he's still like that same gregarious, fun
Speaker 1: dude when he lives his entire life in the fish
Speaker 1: ball anyway where I think he lives his truth in
Speaker 1: a way and he lives he is who he is
Speaker 1: in a way that we should all aspire to. Should
Speaker 1: we try to get him on the show, and we
Speaker 1: probably literally are. Why however, he would say yes in
Speaker 1: a second, Why doesn't Michael on the show? Long term
Speaker 1: short term goal here, Let's get Irvan on. You got it.
Speaker 1: That draft party was so fun that you guys were
Speaker 1: at while I was in the hotel room editing the podcast.
Speaker 1: Loved it. You're not there yet, justin one day you
Speaker 1: can you could push that off on someone and watch out.
Speaker 1: By the way, Shaun Kelly stepped up in a big
Speaker 1: spot for our Deshaun Watson emergency podcast didn't skip a beat,
Speaker 1: So let's keep let's keep our eye on the prize.
Speaker 1: I guess what I'm saying. I'm proud of Sean. I'm
Speaker 1: glad he did a good job. He did an excellent
Speaker 1: job communicating before and after the show, your regular Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield like loudly cheering on long completions by Sam Darnold
Speaker 1: right now. Michael Irvin was on nine point seven the
Speaker 1: game in San Francisco, and he said he he said
Speaker 1: he really wanted to be moved. He spoke to him
Speaker 1: at the time. He was emotional. He wanted to get
Speaker 1: out of there. I do think that that was the
Speaker 1: difference between his situation and every other wide receiver this
Speaker 1: offseason is that at that time he was truly upset.
Speaker 1: And and that's why I give John Lynch and Kyle
Speaker 1: Janna and some credit. Never make this thing public. They
Speaker 1: didn't say a word about all this other than just
Speaker 1: that they love Diebo Samuel and they want to work
Speaker 1: it out. They just they didn't. They were not interested.
Speaker 1: And you're right, Dan, I don't think a trade was
Speaker 1: ever going to happen because they want Deebo Samuel so
Speaker 1: much they just let it come down and then they
Speaker 1: gave out the money. And the fact that this a J.
Speaker 1: Brown and McLaurin in d K. They all basically signed
Speaker 1: the exact same contract. There's little differences here and there,
Speaker 1: and I want to get into one of him with debo.
Speaker 1: But but that made it easier and they played it perfectly.
Speaker 1: I would also note that the contract does not have language.
Speaker 1: According to Kyle Shanhon about his role, which was a
Speaker 1: big sticking point, was um, it kind of well, it
Speaker 1: depends they have an incentive they they you can make
Speaker 1: if you're Deebo Samuel an extra I think it was
Speaker 1: six hundred plus thousand dollars if he gets three hundred
Speaker 1: eight yards rushing. Now that's an incent but it doesn't
Speaker 1: prohibit though that that was one concerned win for the nine, right,
Speaker 1: it gives him an incentive to do it. Says that
Speaker 1: he was on board with that, and he gets another
Speaker 1: hundred plus thousand on top of that if he has
Speaker 1: three rushing touchdown. So it's sort of in the mix
Speaker 1: that like, hey, we're not gonna totally back. That would
Speaker 1: probably be what do I know, but unprecedented if in
Speaker 1: the contract. It says you can't use him in certain
Speaker 1: ways on the in terms of strategy, you know, on
Speaker 1: the field, right, I don't know if that exists, but
Speaker 1: he also needs to watch four hours of film per
Speaker 1: week according to the I guess my point is like
Speaker 1: that you say that the hand really well, and we
Speaker 1: we all thought, like the Cardinals and and the agent
Speaker 1: for Kyler Murray didn't handle it so well. But at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, like money talks and we're
Speaker 1: just along for the ride, right, But in in some
Speaker 1: cases and in a j Brown pointed this out on Twitter,
Speaker 1: like the organization doesn't want to pay the money, and
Speaker 1: I think he rightly to all the Titans fans or
Speaker 1: anyone else that was trying to put any blame on him,
Speaker 1: was like, look, we look, we got we all have
Speaker 1: the same contract, all right. The Eagles are ready to
Speaker 1: pay it. The Titans didn't want to pay it. They're
Speaker 1: the ones that got in the future. Because we're always
Speaker 1: looking to be how can we be a better smarter
Speaker 1: podcast next offseason? Should we be targeting the types of
Speaker 1: players that are maybe below that Deebo Samuel Kyler Murray line,
Speaker 1: you know, and like, all right, this one is worth
Speaker 1: kind of tracking more closely because the team might be
Speaker 1: making a football related decision, but what it's a superstar
Speaker 1: player and that's what Deebo Samuel is. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, right, I don't think Brown got Brown did
Speaker 1: get moved, and that was surprising, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: because it's like one out of four. We do this
Speaker 1: a lot though. I feel like at the end of
Speaker 1: every off season, we always are like, well, we're not
Speaker 1: gonna get caught in whatever's happened next offseason. And then
Speaker 1: you get back to the next off you know, you
Speaker 1: get to February, it's like, oh, shoot, we have three
Speaker 1: hours of content to fill, Like, what are we gonna
Speaker 1: talk about? It's yeah, what are you gonna talk about?
Speaker 1: You're gonna talk about football stories. Nothing will change, we will.
Speaker 1: We'll dig right in again on this top similar topic
Speaker 1: a year from now. Let's take a quick break. We'll
Speaker 1: be right back. Bad news for the Cowboys. James Washington,
Speaker 1: who was one of the guys that was supposed to
Speaker 1: step in for that sudden and that suddenly thin wide
Speaker 1: receiver group. He's been diagnosed with a broken foot. He's
Speaker 1: out for six to ten weeks. And I don't need
Speaker 1: to tell you that a foot injury for a wide receiver. Um,
Speaker 1: you don't know when he comes back if he will
Speaker 1: be the same guy, And it might be next July. Man,
Speaker 1: I never felt myself, but now I'm better than ever.
Speaker 1: Also Van Jefferson, the Rams wide receiver, another important piece
Speaker 1: uh in a wide receiver room. This for the defending champs.
Speaker 1: He'll undergo knee surgery this week. He's uncertain for Week one. Um.
Speaker 1: Also Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick carded off with an
Speaker 1: apparent knee injury at practice today. This happened, uh, so
Speaker 1: hopefully that's not too serious. He seemed to be a
Speaker 1: guy greg who could step up in that offense with
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson to take the next step in his career. Yeah.
Speaker 1: He he was maybe their best receiver last year, making
Speaker 1: the lead candidate even absolutely. Um and hit where he
Speaker 1: wins matches up well with where Russell Wilson wins. You
Speaker 1: deepen on the outside, certainly, But I think you know
Speaker 1: putting these three stories together, and this is why you
Speaker 1: know Dan's the host with the post here. Um, it's
Speaker 1: like it presents a contrast. Two of these teams have
Speaker 1: incredible wide receiver depth here. It's like the Rams. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that third receiver slot looks pretty grizzly. A lot of
Speaker 1: questions here now, but they still have Cooper Cup and
Speaker 1: Allen Robinson. The Broncos still have Jerry Judy in Courtland
Speaker 1: Sutton and Handler and they're good, Whereas the Cowboys have
Speaker 1: Michael Gallup coming off a torn a c l might
Speaker 1: not be ready for the start of the season. I
Speaker 1: never was that high on James Washington to begin with, right,
Speaker 1: I feel like, if you can't succeed in Pittsburgh. I
Speaker 1: know Ben was there, but like that, usually receivers find
Speaker 1: a way to succeed there and he really didn't. Um
Speaker 1: you have Gallup coming off the injury, you have Ceedee Lamb,
Speaker 1: but man, you really don't have anything else at wide out.
Speaker 1: But beyond that, like it mixed the Marii Cooper trade,
Speaker 1: which was you know, at the at the outset when
Speaker 1: it happened, they got very little for Amari Cooper. That
Speaker 1: just looks worse for the Cowboys right now. There's no
Speaker 1: depth there. Jalen tiber their rookie is a third round pick.
Speaker 1: Cowboys are gonna he's stepping around it Okay, like that'd
Speaker 1: be great. He's a third round pick who's supposed to
Speaker 1: play mostly in the slot, and I hope he's great.
Speaker 1: But if you're counting on a third round pick before
Speaker 1: I ever seen him, as you're like hard number two
Speaker 1: to start the year. That's also with a Mari Cooper
Speaker 1: because now it looks especially Dad. But for whatever reason,
Speaker 1: they weren't really into the Amari Cooper experience anymore. All right,
Speaker 1: go ahead, trade him away. But then the mistake is
Speaker 1: you don't really you're not aggressively looking for someone you
Speaker 1: could count on, slide in, count on like someone like
Speaker 1: I have an announcement to make because I'm so sick
Speaker 1: of this. I have an announcement to make, all right,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys. I have an announcement. Graver have two Will Fuller.
Speaker 1: That announcement announcement is I am now Will Fuller's agent.
Speaker 1: He is not aware of this, but I am actively
Speaker 1: now representing Will Fuller because whoever his agent is is
Speaker 1: not doing the job. He is a perfect flyer guy
Speaker 1: if he's healthy in the right mind to slide into
Speaker 1: Dallas with that quarterback in that offense and make us
Speaker 1: there is reporting out there a number of teams are
Speaker 1: into will Fuller but waiting a little bit to pick
Speaker 1: him up. Don't wait because then somebody else picks him up,
Speaker 1: and then what does that even mean? I saw that too.
Speaker 1: That's his his agent feeling the heat from hands, right,
Speaker 1: he's feeling the heat from hands. Is like, I gotta
Speaker 1: get something out there. He calls up Aaronde, my former
Speaker 1: colleague at Pro Football now Pro Football Network, uh, saying okay,
Speaker 1: that makes sense, but I'm gonna top you here. They've
Speaker 1: got twenty million dollars in cap space. You got more
Speaker 1: than I think every team in the league other than
Speaker 1: the Browns. Uh, Odell Beckham, Dallas Cowboy. It just makes
Speaker 1: too much sense. Someone should like, whatever the going rate
Speaker 1: for O b J is, just overspend and make it
Speaker 1: a three year deal and see what happens. How about this, well,
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh mentioned Odell Beckham again, right, and the Rams
Speaker 1: have to be available till November. I get it. The
Speaker 1: Rams are confident that they're going to be able to
Speaker 1: bring him back, but money talks. If if the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are like, hey, come come rehab with us, We're not
Speaker 1: We know you won't be back to October or November
Speaker 1: that toys with the Odell Beckham painting on the wall
Speaker 1: here where he's now in a RAMS uniform and the
Speaker 1: two hour time limit. The man has the painter um behind.
Speaker 1: Uh sorry cam Akers still Odell's number. Cam Akers changed
Speaker 1: his number to number three. So Odell does come back
Speaker 1: to the Rams, he has to switch numbers. Super awkward
Speaker 1: behind Ceedee Lamb right now, Noah Brown, Jalen Tilbert, seem Faeco.
Speaker 1: How about we signed both? How about we bring Odell
Speaker 1: and Will Fuller in now as Will Fuller's agent. Yes,
Speaker 1: that's me Fuller Agent. Like, is he in the right
Speaker 1: place mentally and physically? Because you know there was some
Speaker 1: high He did get paid I believe about eleven million
Speaker 1: dollars from the Dolphins last year and between injuries there
Speaker 1: was a suspension problems. He hasn't necessarily been available. Okay,
Speaker 1: two things you need to know. He's in the best
Speaker 1: shape of his life. One two. Last year was humbling
Speaker 1: for him, but mentally he feels that was a clear
Speaker 1: the decks type year and he feels like he's never
Speaker 1: been more passionate about the sport and wanting to make
Speaker 1: an impact. While he's still turned in his prime, so old,
Speaker 1: where do I sign? All right, real quick, before we
Speaker 1: go to break, let's hit a couple more things. Orlando Brown,
Speaker 1: the tackle for the Chiefs, will report to training camp.
Speaker 1: He's there. Uh, he was upset about playing under the
Speaker 1: franchise tag. He wants that huge new contract. Mark just
Speaker 1: telling him how much he should make. Mark says, take
Speaker 1: the hundred and ninety million or ninety million, whatever it was.
Speaker 1: And I'm saying, go get your worth Orlando Brown. Again,
Speaker 1: I'm an agent, so I'm coming from the player deserves
Speaker 1: what he's worth. Maybe in person that off that because
Speaker 1: what Orlando Brown's specified while after returning to Kansas City
Speaker 1: was there weren't enough guarantees in that contract for him,
Speaker 1: so that's why he turned into land. Brown is lifted
Speaker 1: at six eight and three forty four pounds. I think
Speaker 1: that would be a good conversation in person for you
Speaker 1: and him to absolutely and sounds perilous. Finally, Ryan Carrigan
Speaker 1: Happy Trails. We saw him at the NFL Talent summit. Uh,
Speaker 1: being upstaged um you could say, by Gerald McCoy. But
Speaker 1: seemed like a very nice man and uh uh, well
Speaker 1: put together, well spoken. I could see him having a
Speaker 1: career media. Maybe we'll cross pass maybe in this building.
Speaker 1: You think that's what he was going for by being
Speaker 1: at that summit, you know what, I kind of conflated
Speaker 1: memories and for some reason I thought he was like
Speaker 1: a fifth wheel on the Jenny Garth uh and Tori
Speaker 1: Spelling discussion. But he wasn't what he was somehow. Yes,
Speaker 1: at the summit last month in Santa Monica, he was
Speaker 1: on the Hey players, let's get real, uh, him and
Speaker 1: Gerald McCoy, and they were essentially what it was like
Speaker 1: to be a player and deal with Maybe he didn't
Speaker 1: like it because he's been showing up at Commander's practices
Speaker 1: and they say in an unofficial capacity, Uh, he's kind
Speaker 1: of checking out whether he wants to become a coach potentially,
Speaker 1: but he's not ready to say whether. Ninety five and
Speaker 1: a half sacks. But I mean, that's quite a great career.
Speaker 1: That's I looked him up consistently productive. When he was
Speaker 1: on the stage, I looked him up and said, Wow,
Speaker 1: that's a nice career for the form four Pro Bowls.
Speaker 1: I've seen people try to make Hall of Fame cases
Speaker 1: around pass rushers with similar ish profile. I don't think
Speaker 1: Ryan Kerrigan will get any Hall of Fame pop and
Speaker 1: I wouldn't personally put him in that category. But like
Speaker 1: four Pro bowls, like sometimes those guys they get thrown
Speaker 1: in the mix. You wonder Mark, given his ties to
Speaker 1: the commanders, what he feels about a certain five sided
Speaker 1: government building in DC. A lot of commanders in Washington,
Speaker 1: d C. And the Pentagon. I don't beliefs. I I
Speaker 1: think it's fair to have a suspicion about what goes
Speaker 1: on in the Pentagon. It's one of my favorite training
Speaker 1: camp battles this year, Sessler v. Pentagon. Why is that
Speaker 1: such a such a in the whole thing too? All right,
Speaker 1: that's fair enough. Let's take a break and we'll be
Speaker 1: right back with spurs. All right, here we go. Now,
Speaker 1: we were given greg a heart out thirty three minutes
Speaker 1: for Mark, so we need to finish this show in
Speaker 1: that window. I I I don't treat his heart out
Speaker 1: as my heart out. Like if that's how the show flows,
Speaker 1: great and Mark can make the decision whether to leave
Speaker 1: or not at that moment um talk until sunset. If
Speaker 1: I found in the past sometimes he'll say a heart out,
Speaker 1: but um the follow like he'll still just well, it's
Speaker 1: been a big, big time week on the podcast, and
Speaker 1: you were given you were giving it to me a
Speaker 1: little bit early in the week about hands this time,
Speaker 1: and then sometimes I show up a couple of minutes late.
Speaker 1: What about the other side, Mark with the heart out stuff,
Speaker 1: like that's that's a different type of thing. What I
Speaker 1: yesterday specified that I would like to begin at eleven am.
Speaker 1: You're a big heart out guy, and then we did
Speaker 1: not start until like twelve tent Especially as your career
Speaker 1: becomes more and more ablished, I feel like you're getting
Speaker 1: more and more vociferous with the heart outs as the
Speaker 1: season goes on. Often often the heart outs become harder.
Speaker 1: I feel like I do I do? This is fiction?
Speaker 1: I do know as like lately like look add that
Speaker 1: to the AI D like we you know, we're we're
Speaker 1: we're big business now. We we signed these deals. We
Speaker 1: got a lot going on. We're trying to plan out
Speaker 1: the season. Sometimes like we got to have these meetings
Speaker 1: after the show, and I have learned it's sometimes perilous
Speaker 1: to try to have an after show meeting with Mark
Speaker 1: and be like Okay, let's talk about that thing. It's like, oh,
Speaker 1: where's Mark? Where do you go? Cartoon? This is that
Speaker 1: the listener has no concept of how fictional this all is.
Speaker 1: This is like a little fictional. I would say, it's
Speaker 1: just a little where's all right? We love you, buddy,
Speaker 1: it's love. We don't want We know our time is
Speaker 1: finite with you, and we like to draw it out
Speaker 1: as much as we can because we know what You're gone, gone,
Speaker 1: I always returned. All right, how about them? All right,
Speaker 1: let's get into it. Let's get into it, whispers from
Speaker 1: training camp, Mark, why don't you start us, buddy, I'll
Speaker 1: go to Pittsburgh. That's been the most fun one. I
Speaker 1: think it was me who said a couple of weeks
Speaker 1: ago that I found the whole who said this podcast
Speaker 1: doesn't have sex appeal? Did you hear that? That was
Speaker 1: all three of us at the same time. That was nice,
Speaker 1: That was raw. I was mentioning that. I just thought
Speaker 1: the whole Mitch Trabiski thing was a tough sell on
Speaker 1: the fan base, that why not Kenny pick it your draft,
Speaker 1: pick your rookie, just start him now and get him
Speaker 1: in there. But he has really, according to Marco Boli
Speaker 1: of The Athletic, really struggled in camp noticeably that like
Speaker 1: this is what he wrote. The Steeler's first round pick
Speaker 1: has been erratic, inconsistent throwing the ball as he has
Speaker 1: been saddled with all the third team reps throughout the
Speaker 1: ramp up period. I get that that's a little bit
Speaker 1: of a different thing. It has some believing it will
Speaker 1: be impossible for him to grow quickly enough to be
Speaker 1: a week one starter in Cincinnati, especially if Mr Robiski
Speaker 1: keeps progressing and Mason Rudolph continues to shine. It's been
Speaker 1: Mason Rudolph that a lot of players have gone out
Speaker 1: of their way to totally praise, and he was completely
Speaker 1: an afterthought in this race. So at this point I
Speaker 1: my stance on Kenny pickett Um is changing. I realized
Speaker 1: it's camp practices and stuff, but in another universe, he's
Speaker 1: shining from the neck up. He's in total command of it.
Speaker 1: His throws look perfect, and that's not the case. It's
Speaker 1: a good it's a good nug it's a good way
Speaker 1: to start. I also caution to get too caught up.
Speaker 1: We just turned the calendar over to August. He's figuring
Speaker 1: out how to play at this level. I know he
Speaker 1: knows where all the bathrooms are in the facility. But otherwise, um,
Speaker 1: he is a rookie and he's probably swimming a little bit.
Speaker 1: Let's see what he's like in three weeks. Let's see
Speaker 1: when the preseason comes around. But it does, it's starting
Speaker 1: to trend that direction with Rabinsky, which I will raise
Speaker 1: my hand and say, I didn't think this is how
Speaker 1: it was gonna play out, and maybe it is. Picket's
Speaker 1: gonna have a chance to play a lot in the preseason,
Speaker 1: But going back to O t s and mini camps,
Speaker 1: this has been the consistent drumbeat that just he is
Speaker 1: a step behind, and the Rudolph appreciation has been there
Speaker 1: as well, and he's been He's been there the longest.
Speaker 1: I I don't think Mason Rudolph has virtually any chance
Speaker 1: to start Week one, but I would absolutely take the
Speaker 1: over on one and a half Mason Rudolph starts for
Speaker 1: this season. And I and I just thinking that the
Speaker 1: worth pointing out Mason rudolph start last year against the
Speaker 1: Browns was it was a totally respectable normal, like good
Speaker 1: backup is start, That's all I'm saying, Like he he
Speaker 1: was okay, yeah, yeah, I guess for me, I'm not
Speaker 1: caught up like you guys aren't caught up in the
Speaker 1: idea of Trabinsky exploding and finding his first round status
Speaker 1: in terms of ability, But Mason rud Rudolph is below
Speaker 1: that line, even like I'd rather see Trabinsky in a
Speaker 1: new offense with a shot to lead a team in
Speaker 1: week one, then Mason Rudolph, who I think we know
Speaker 1: who he is. You can already hear people coming at
Speaker 1: me being like he literally averaged four point seven yards
Speaker 1: per attempt last year, but that you gotta watch that
Speaker 1: horrible Lions game. It wasn't crazy weather, and he just
Speaker 1: when you go look at Pro Football Reference after this
Speaker 1: season and you go to the Steelers two page, it's
Speaker 1: gonna have three different starting quarterbacks who have started multiple games,
Speaker 1: I agree, what before just moving off Pittsburgh just because
Speaker 1: I find them really interesting. There's been a lot of
Speaker 1: hype about Calvin austin Um and the rather rookie George Pickens,
Speaker 1: who was George Pickens was my favorite receiver maybe on
Speaker 1: tape in this entire class. And there are two people
Speaker 1: that Caboli and other writers are saying have not taken
Speaker 1: long to adapt, and I think could have a pretty
Speaker 1: big role this season. Austin is more of, you know,
Speaker 1: the slot guy who catches, but Pickens is a really
Speaker 1: interesting Rickie receiver. To all right, Greg, how about you
Speaker 1: give us a alright, I want to start well, I
Speaker 1: have so many you know, we were like what are
Speaker 1: we gonna get in? What are we not going to
Speaker 1: get in? I want to go positive. Let's go Travis
Speaker 1: e t n hype emphasis on the e. We didn't
Speaker 1: get to see him last year. Uh, Liz Frank, Uh,
Speaker 1: great question. I think it was a it was a
Speaker 1: foot injury last year for e t N. John Shipley,
Speaker 1: who's really good covering this team for SI dot com
Speaker 1: Jaguar Report, has said he he thinks he's a standout
Speaker 1: from day one I've been These are great daily reports
Speaker 1: that he's given. I like the teams that have a
Speaker 1: reliable daily guy. And e t N to his mind,
Speaker 1: looks like maybe the most explosive best player on that
Speaker 1: offense so far that maybe the receivers haven't stepped up
Speaker 1: quite as much. Trevor Lawrence looks like he's definitely taking
Speaker 1: a step forward. But E t N is the guy
Speaker 1: that we really haven't seen as a pro that I'm
Speaker 1: excited to see not in the Hall of Fame game.
Speaker 1: The Jaggers are playing Thursday night. They're not going to
Speaker 1: put him out there for that. I would expect he'd
Speaker 1: get some preseason snaps. We won't see him early, but
Speaker 1: he he could absolutely have a monster role for them.
Speaker 1: There are whispers that he'll be used in an Alvin
Speaker 1: Kamara type way, um a debot type way potentially, And
Speaker 1: I think it's he's got a much better offensive coaching
Speaker 1: staff this time around. The last year, I could I
Speaker 1: who's the jug head the coach last year, Rban Meyer.
Speaker 1: I could totally see him making some comment in the
Speaker 1: media like I didn't have a chance to, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: coach Travis Etien when he's blown up in October. I
Speaker 1: think that I think you had you had enough chances,
Speaker 1: Urban Meyer. I think that's a great call. And like
Speaker 1: we just talked about recently, one of the great Chris
Speaker 1: westling Um statements that he made was watch out for
Speaker 1: guys that pop in the summer and in training camp
Speaker 1: and in preseason at running back, because that's usually a
Speaker 1: sign that these guys are ready to do damage. So
Speaker 1: maybe after a wipe out rookie season, what was it?
Speaker 1: What was it? It was the Harlot Liz frame. And like,
Speaker 1: I'm not saying we're all bad, like the writers aren't
Speaker 1: bad at being scouts. I'm not the same like maybe
Speaker 1: we are, but it does feel like running back is
Speaker 1: an easier one where it's like you you know when
Speaker 1: you see it, well, you can see their conditioning, you
Speaker 1: can see that the explosion, and you can see how
Speaker 1: they're they're moving. Tyson Campbell their second your cornerback, getting
Speaker 1: a lot of hype there too, and he finished last
Speaker 1: year really strong. So that draft, that draft class that
Speaker 1: Urban had, it might end up for working out for Peterson.
Speaker 1: What a legacy to let everyone know exactly all right,
Speaker 1: let's let's stay optimistic. I like that. How about some optimism.
Speaker 1: Who's the Who's the long time? And Don Pardo of Saturday,
Speaker 1: Stevens c ago Um, Peter King, the Great Peter King
Speaker 1: of NBC Sports. Uh. He had two dispatches, well many,
Speaker 1: but among them that Wandel Robinson Um their second round
Speaker 1: pick out of Kentucky, has been quote the star of
Speaker 1: the Giants offense throughout training camp. They love the way
Speaker 1: he's looked and how explosive he's been and how he's
Speaker 1: been they've been using him all over the field, and
Speaker 1: how that could um. That could absolutely open up a
Speaker 1: Giant's offense under Brian Dable. That could use a little juicy. Also,
Speaker 1: King reported that se Kuon Barkley take this with a
Speaker 1: grain of salt if you wish, but I'm just letting
Speaker 1: you know that se Kuon Barkley quote looks very good
Speaker 1: early in camp health wise, has answered every bell uh
Speaker 1: and has had a solid off season. And you you
Speaker 1: wonder if with a better offensive line and a better
Speaker 1: coaching staff, whether Barkley can I don't know if he
Speaker 1: ever gets back to that guy flesh out of Penn State,
Speaker 1: but can be a true RB one And the most
Speaker 1: important part of all this Daniel Jones. I'll report, I can.
Speaker 1: I will not report, but I will tell you the
Speaker 1: reporting out of Giants camp just today this morning. This
Speaker 1: from Jordan's I always get this one, Ranan ronnin Here's
Speaker 1: the quote. Daniel Jones absolutely tearing it up today at
Speaker 1: Giants Camp. Connor Hughes, who recently moved from the Jets
Speaker 1: Beat to a hybrid New York Beat UM, also reported
Speaker 1: I had Daniel Jones fourteen of sixteen today with three
Speaker 1: through two touchdown passes and a pick and uh, I
Speaker 1: don't know what else to tell you other than watch
Speaker 1: out a little bit, just a little bit, keep your
Speaker 1: eye on the Giants in the NFC East. I know
Speaker 1: that the Eagles are high bunnies, and I know the
Speaker 1: Cowboys are there defending champions, but with better coaches and
Speaker 1: big step from like for them as a fun team
Speaker 1: and watch out for them when they maybe a fun
Speaker 1: team in the NFC East is a team that being
Speaker 1: the race into Scember. I want to add a little
Speaker 1: nugget to that because if you look at what happened
Speaker 1: to Kadarius Tony this offseason, and there's moments from last
Speaker 1: year where it was like, I have a good feeling
Speaker 1: this guy is going to make a big difference if
Speaker 1: he sticks with the Giants. They were gonna trade him.
Speaker 1: They decided not to do that when they drafted wan
Speaker 1: Deal Robinson. They have a very similar skill set. Instead
Speaker 1: of you know that washing away Tony's role like he's
Speaker 1: completely healed his relationship with Brian Dable, They're not like
Speaker 1: playing Kadarius Tony is a rapper, like they're playing his
Speaker 1: songs during warmups and stuff. And Darius Tony because he
Speaker 1: was a bit of a headcase last year. I well,
Speaker 1: you know exactly you said. He said that that that
Speaker 1: that appreciated. He appreciated that from the coach because it
Speaker 1: showed a willingness to build a relationship with me. And
Speaker 1: day Balls turned around and said, I think he's a
Speaker 1: very loyal, loyal, gap loyal guy about Tony. That, um,
Speaker 1: he's been a tremendous skill set. They are using Wanton,
Speaker 1: Dale Robinson and Tony. They start practice with them taking
Speaker 1: handoffs with the running backs. They're using them out of
Speaker 1: the backfield of a ton and they're gonna both be
Speaker 1: on the field at the same time. And I'm with you.
Speaker 1: I think the Giants are slightly spicy. There's a backfire
Speaker 1: potential though, when you play one of the guys on
Speaker 1: the team's rap. Like you know, some of these guys,
Speaker 1: all professional athletes or a lot tend to want to
Speaker 1: be rappers, and all rappers want to be professional athletes.
Speaker 1: That's been going on forever. But you wonder if if
Speaker 1: it's bad, if it's bad, and then Leonard Williams doesn't
Speaker 1: know it's Wandel, He's like, wow, this is terrible. I
Speaker 1: think Tony is making it very clear that it's his.
Speaker 1: Let's make it clear. Hey guys, this is the Kentucky
Speaker 1: kids like fledgling rap career, it's Tony's. It's Tony's, but
Speaker 1: Tony's to your point, we're thinking something, maybe thinking let's
Speaker 1: just make sure it's very clear. Table Tables also mentioned that, um,
Speaker 1: you know, he's been honest. He's like I like some
Speaker 1: of his songs better than others. Like Top ten Football Insider,
Speaker 1: the one Dale pick was not popular. But if you
Speaker 1: were going to pick a coach that would know how
Speaker 1: to use a guy at his size one Dale Robinson, Wow, all,
Speaker 1: I think it would be Brian Dable And maybe it's
Speaker 1: just like an Isaiah mackenzie and Buffalo role for him.
Speaker 1: To me, they're not that similar. I mean, Tony's at
Speaker 1: least fifteen pounds bigger. Um can win on the outside
Speaker 1: a little more. Uh is one of my favorite making
Speaker 1: the leap candidates. And yeah, they have that opening game
Speaker 1: in Tennessee, right, and then you get the Panthers week
Speaker 1: two before a Monday night er against the Cowboys, or
Speaker 1: maybe it's the Sunday night as a okay, show me something.
Speaker 1: Giants early be that team that Dan was talking about
Speaker 1: that gets out fast and gets everyone too excited. I
Speaker 1: would like that. How about it's mid December and the
Speaker 1: Eagles and Cowboys are eight and six battling it out
Speaker 1: for the NFC's titled with there the Giants quietly seven
Speaker 1: and seven right behind them. But if I had to
Speaker 1: pick a new team, the Giants might be it, because
Speaker 1: that's the thing that we grew up watching. And yeah,
Speaker 1: that's your neck of the woods really in Connecticut. When
Speaker 1: when we were there, and I grew up only fifteen
Speaker 1: minutes from Connecticut, you were a different part. But the
Speaker 1: part of Connecticut you were was. I would guess Giants
Speaker 1: for the moment. We would never We'd never get the Patriots,
Speaker 1: you'd get the circle full circle. But there's no Lawrence
Speaker 1: Taylor and Bill Simms and Joe Morris and Leonard Marshall
Speaker 1: there anymore. But maybe these are this new crop of
Speaker 1: players were all jell this year. I mean, Joe Morris
Speaker 1: is like fifty two years old at this point, so right,
Speaker 1: Joe Morris ain't walking through those doors. How about another whisper?
Speaker 1: All right, how about we go to uh yeah, then
Speaker 1: it we all went right. I think that I'll go
Speaker 1: to San Francisco. There was Trey Lance is has has
Speaker 1: had a slow start, according to Up and Down Not no, not,
Speaker 1: It's not the same thing as Lance fatigue. Now it's
Speaker 1: August second, bro, I don't I think this nint This
Speaker 1: is interesting, but this has Actually it's a good thing
Speaker 1: about the Niners because the reason this is happening. They
Speaker 1: talked about the fact that he was on the field
Speaker 1: with Deebo, Samuel brandan Au, George Kittle, Elijah Mitchell, Trent Williams,
Speaker 1: Mike McGlinchey, They're all out there and they were struggling,
Speaker 1: and it wasn't just because it's Trey Lance. It's because
Speaker 1: their defense has been on fire during training camp. And
Speaker 1: NFL Network was there today and they said the same
Speaker 1: thing that they view themselves as we're good with the
Speaker 1: Trey Lance thing, but what we really see ourselves is
Speaker 1: a team that centers around defense. This season, they'll they're
Speaker 1: a top five unit and they have been dominating campaign,
Speaker 1: which happened in general. Yes, but I think that sort
Speaker 1: of raises my biggest concern about the forty Niners, which
Speaker 1: is their offensive line. And right now, Trent Williams is
Speaker 1: coming off of an injury, but they're potentially you know,
Speaker 1: starting Jake Brendel at center. They have a rookie Uh
Speaker 1: Buford that they've been giving looks with the first team
Speaker 1: at guard. Aaron Banks is another guy there, brun Skill.
Speaker 1: Like on paper it could be problematic, and then you
Speaker 1: have to go up against one of the best defensive
Speaker 1: lines in the league every day in practice. It's not
Speaker 1: too surprising to me that they're getting worked. Even though
Speaker 1: the forty Niners are short a couple of linemen now
Speaker 1: they lost more res earst who had a good chance
Speaker 1: was going to make their team for the entire season,
Speaker 1: and they're their best defensive tackled Eric Arms. It's out
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks. But uh that that always like
Speaker 1: gets you worried, Like when one side of the ball
Speaker 1: for your team is just dominating the other, Like do
Speaker 1: you want to spend positive or is it because they're offensive?
Speaker 1: Wind stinks it's positive and negative. Um, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it was a sauce gardener or
Speaker 1: maybe it was d J. Moore had to pick six
Speaker 1: of Zach Wilson. I was like, Yeah, it's time people
Speaker 1: giving an ayuk a lot of love, though I'm definitely
Speaker 1: feeling like the bound the bounce back hype year because
Speaker 1: his numbers. Actually, in the last eight games of the year,
Speaker 1: he had more receiving yards than Diebo Samuel. He was
Speaker 1: a top fifteen in the NFL receiver in the last
Speaker 1: eight games of the year. That could be a nasty
Speaker 1: escape to Shannahan Doghast during last year, right, then a
Speaker 1: nasty one to punch because Heat, to me is like
Speaker 1: a special guy. After the catch, I meant DJ read,
Speaker 1: not d J Moore, J read that that was a
Speaker 1: nice little any good roster alright, I went positive. Initially
Speaker 1: we got we gotta mentioned um our friend Carson wentz
Speaker 1: over there in Washington because I think he's like he's
Speaker 1: got the right idea that he's trying to maybe UM
Speaker 1: trying to take decided to really go ahead and start
Speaker 1: to take command. The best part of that is that
Speaker 1: you because the way we need to set that up,
Speaker 1: that also gives our producer plenty of time to dig
Speaker 1: up the drop. So I just I read there their
Speaker 1: daily practice report every day, and like early in camp,
Speaker 1: the one thing you don't see across the league is
Speaker 1: just like, well he missed a lot of receivers. Before
Speaker 1: there was tackling, before there was pads, and Washington's now
Speaker 1: added the paths to the mix. But essentially every day
Speaker 1: they're just talking about that Carson Wentz is not accurate
Speaker 1: that he misses a ton of throws against air, which
Speaker 1: has been his problem to begin with. And if you're
Speaker 1: not getting that first training camp with the team sort
Speaker 1: of preseason hype, I'm not going to overreact. Obviously, what
Speaker 1: Wentz has done on the field in regular season play
Speaker 1: is more important. But he just doesn't shoot straight. And like,
Speaker 1: if that's happening when you're going against air, it's definitely
Speaker 1: gonna happen when you're under pressure. Yeah, there was also
Speaker 1: around the Washington the erstwhile Washington football team. I guess
Speaker 1: they still are the Washington football team. Um. Curtis Samuel Um.
Speaker 1: There is quote some concern from Ron Rivera about his
Speaker 1: conditioning and he's also been dealing with some hamstring and
Speaker 1: lower back tightness. This comes after the groin injury ruined
Speaker 1: his first season with Watchington also kind of reminds you,
Speaker 1: so that's not ruling out Curtis Samuel is being a
Speaker 1: big time player for them, but remember the hype around
Speaker 1: Curtis Samuel going into free agency last year. They need
Speaker 1: him to help make Carson Wentz better. Because Carson Wentz,
Speaker 1: we know what we have here, A little scattershot. He
Speaker 1: can get hot, but he goes through cold streaks. His
Speaker 1: leadership is can be questioned fairly. He is who he is.
Speaker 1: I mean, Samuel thirty four point five million dollar contract,
Speaker 1: played eighty four offensive snaps and now there's some concern
Speaker 1: over his conditioning. I don't like that at all. Got
Speaker 1: paid though, which uh, Greg, I was just pulling up
Speaker 1: your roster projected ROSTERISA that it used to be called
Speaker 1: roster rest and then it became projected starters. Those there
Speaker 1: are two separate different franchises, franchises active, both active, projected
Speaker 1: starters very active. I believe Roster ESA is still done
Speaker 1: by the uh the news death. I was looking at
Speaker 1: the cults Um depth chart and what their starters look
Speaker 1: like because there's been so much optimism around Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: and what he brings that offense as Carson Wentz's replacement.
Speaker 1: That's just an accidental great transition, not taking credit for it. Uh.
Speaker 1: And we love Jonathan Taylor, We love Michael Hitman's ability. Um,
Speaker 1: Paris Campbell is a big part of this, though. They
Speaker 1: kind of need another guy to step up, unless you're
Speaker 1: a huge Mo Ali Cox fan. Um And according to
Speaker 1: colts dot COM's J. J. Stankovitz, yes there was a yank.
Speaker 1: There was an all glove, no field, no bat shortstop
Speaker 1: during the dark Yankee days of the early nineties named
Speaker 1: Andy Stankowitz. I remember that was a fan favorite. Could
Speaker 1: not play und a memorable name. J J. Stankovitz reports
Speaker 1: that Paris Campbell and Matt Ryan have shown a strong
Speaker 1: connection during during the early days of Culture Training Camp.
Speaker 1: We shall see if that carries over. That would be
Speaker 1: my one question about this whole Matt Ryan renaissance, said,
Speaker 1: people's well in the Midwest, obviously especially are getting pumped
Speaker 1: up about does he have enough around him to be
Speaker 1: a difference maker. As a pastor of the football, we
Speaker 1: know he'll be able to hand it off to the
Speaker 1: great running back, Paris Campbell a big piece of this.
Speaker 1: Bob Kravitz of The Athletic added to the Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: hype and the Paris Campbell hype, saying that basically Campbell
Speaker 1: is impressed NonStop. He looks as quick as explode and
Speaker 1: explosive as he did before all the health issues. So
Speaker 1: that with Matt Ryan, they said that the offense has
Speaker 1: been moving at warp speed, and I thought I took
Speaker 1: this from Frank Reich as a slapdown of Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: to some degree. He said, we had the same number
Speaker 1: of plays we had in the past, but we actually
Speaker 1: finished ten minutes earlier both days Wednesday and Thursday. And
Speaker 1: that's because of the quarterback. That's because the quarterback is
Speaker 1: pushing the temple. Mark loves Matt Ryan like they're they're
Speaker 1: two birds of a feather, you know. I'm just saying, like,
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, if it's been NonStop, he's got a
Speaker 1: heart out, he is the quarterback, Mark would they're both
Speaker 1: intense whites. Well, they are saying quick tempo nature. I'm saying,
Speaker 1: like Mark Matt Ryan gets everyone done with work faster,
Speaker 1: Like that's your kind. Take that a little bit as
Speaker 1: like the last guy, Carson Wentz not only physically did
Speaker 1: he have issues. You're right, you got it nailed. I
Speaker 1: think they are absolutely thrilled. They've soured on Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: to the point where by the same day of the
Speaker 1: final game of the season. They were like, we are
Speaker 1: done with this, dude. The owner literally summoned everyone back
Speaker 1: to the team facility that night after a road game
Speaker 1: in Florida and said, hey, we're firing the quarterback and
Speaker 1: your next if this doesn't get better. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: think they were ready for the best start. Paris Campbell
Speaker 1: loved reminds reminds me of West West loved Paris Campbell that.
Speaker 1: And that's the thing is this is sort of this
Speaker 1: is Paris Campbell season. And I've I've heard of an
Speaker 1: interview with him where I read an interview with him,
Speaker 1: and you just hope for the best for a guy
Speaker 1: like that, because you know the mental struggles that a
Speaker 1: player goes through when he's injured and out the whole season.
Speaker 1: This has happened three straight years for him, where he's
Speaker 1: sort of usually he flashes in August and you just
Speaker 1: like crossing your fingers that it can. Don't put that
Speaker 1: juju on, dude, what do you mean? I'm trying to
Speaker 1: put the opposite, but you you've put it in the air.
Speaker 1: It's the context of of everything about him, and he
Speaker 1: knows it, and he's like he's talking about you gotta
Speaker 1: he was saying, how you really appreciate the days you're
Speaker 1: out there now because of everything he's been through. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it would be an amazing story and they could use
Speaker 1: him to be a big time threat. All right. I
Speaker 1: ended on a positive. I also like number one wide receivers.
Speaker 1: It just looks good. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm looking
Speaker 1: at his game aloud. Last year, I think he only
Speaker 1: has three hundred career yards because he just hasn't been
Speaker 1: able to play. I think he's played two or three
Speaker 1: games every year, one or two. He had a he
Speaker 1: had a one catch for fifty one yards and a
Speaker 1: touchdown in Week six last year and then disappeared. That
Speaker 1: must have got hurt that game. That was a bomb
Speaker 1: from Wentz Winstead some nice threats. I want to go
Speaker 1: one more time around. Sure, I like nutes. I'll just
Speaker 1: be quick about the on and maybe we can get
Speaker 1: around more. I like when players pop up you've literally
Speaker 1: never heard of before. And Lamar Jackson's been talking about
Speaker 1: Isaiah likely their rookie tight end, calling him little Mark.
Speaker 1: He said. He said that in an interview with our
Speaker 1: guy Claibon on NFL Network. Nice nice get for claiban
Speaker 1: there uh, and so that's a rookie tight end. They're
Speaker 1: gonna be playing a lot more two tight ends. That's
Speaker 1: calling him little Mark for Mark Andrews is high praise
Speaker 1: though that's like something that someone I'm watching in the
Speaker 1: preseason Isaiah likely never heard of him practically before. Zion
Speaker 1: Johnson Chargers Camp their first round guard who is a
Speaker 1: big part of that line. He's next to Storm Johnson,
Speaker 1: who has been problematic. Corey Lindsley basically said that he's
Speaker 1: lived up to the bill right right now, it's the
Speaker 1: first day in pads, but everything we thought he is,
Speaker 1: he is. He's been a really good player. The Writer's
Speaker 1: Daniel Popper of The Athletic has been raving about him too,
Speaker 1: that it's kind of the way that you felt when
Speaker 1: you watched for Shawn Slater's first reps that you just
Speaker 1: knew he was that guy. So if this checks out
Speaker 1: and it sounds good, that's big for Justin Herbert, big
Speaker 1: for that offense. Also to adoration um around Allen Robinson
Speaker 1: Rams Camp and the more I think about it, with
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup there, with maybe Odell Beckham, but but with
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup there coming off um the triple Crown Season Cup.
Speaker 1: Allen Robinson just signed a new deal healthy motivated the show.
Speaker 1: He's still a dude. Doesn't it feel possible that Allen Robin,
Speaker 1: this is more prediction than anything, is going to be
Speaker 1: a dog this year in that offense with that quarterback,
Speaker 1: he might he might be your value. Got well, we
Speaker 1: got our hand up what he got? Grave digger digger y. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know that. It's a little tardy. Actually, we were
Speaker 1: out at RAMS training camp yesterday for Bench with Benetta
Speaker 1: podcast and Alan Robinson showed out. I mean he had
Speaker 1: three or four catches that had the crowd going crazy.
Speaker 1: I feel like a big season is in store for this.
Speaker 1: How about this? Why don't we to RAMS camp in
Speaker 1: a couple of days and see for ourselves that's around.
Speaker 1: I would love an underrated player throughout his career coming
Speaker 1: off a bad year. Can we get all Robinson on
Speaker 1: the show? I will request it. Let's talk to Allen
Speaker 1: Robinson about his incoming monster all proceedson. Did you steal
Speaker 1: guests away from us? I think it necessarily works like that,
Speaker 1: but well it's worked that way in the past. Possibly,
Speaker 1: I will say possibly. Also, if you're watching this on
Speaker 1: something to talk about why is Sean Kelly. Every time
Speaker 1: I look at him, he's closer and closer to you.
Speaker 1: He's wait shoulder to shoulders. It just so he can
Speaker 1: be on camera again. He loves the camera. Stapleton wearing
Speaker 1: around the NFL T shirt. Those in uh you know
Speaker 1: on our Outwait, you can't get them even though we could.
Speaker 1: At no point will this company ever say maybe we
Speaker 1: can leverage are in that incredibly loyal listeners for some
Speaker 1: merch no zero licensing rights for us ah anyway, eure up, No,
Speaker 1: I just did. Allen Robinson's gonna be a stud and
Speaker 1: we're gonna see him at RAMS camp one more quick one.
Speaker 1: Here we go. It's not you, I'm going now, You're
Speaker 1: right now? Is Mark DeAndre Swift? Every time I read
Speaker 1: about him, people were glowing. The report says he operates
Speaker 1: at a different speed from anyone else around him, and
Speaker 1: during camp this week he pulled away from the from
Speaker 1: the defense on a few big runs Saturday. Jamal Williams
Speaker 1: as well. They want to run the ball. They've got
Speaker 1: a great offensive line. I think it's a big year
Speaker 1: for DeAndre Swift. I like that we've we've segged into predictions.
Speaker 1: I like it. You got a prediction. No, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: give a rapid fire whisp so farcom it's about that
Speaker 1: second team life in Carolina. Something to keep an eye
Speaker 1: on him. He always just pencil in these top ten
Speaker 1: picks like any game tenders right away, and it makes sense.
Speaker 1: He's behind Brady Christensen. You you bring a guy along slow, relie,
Speaker 1: but he might be a little Where did you have
Speaker 1: him on the projected starter series? As a starter? You
Speaker 1: got a lot of time, but something to watch. Romeo,
Speaker 1: Romeo Dubs getting it done in packer land. If you're
Speaker 1: gonna be a rookie receiver with Aaron Rodgers, what a
Speaker 1: name Romeo Dubbs. Maybe he's ahead of Christian Watson early.
Speaker 1: And then I'm buying a little Dolphins offensive line hype.
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson is suddenly in super good condition, which has
Speaker 1: not always been the case. And then Connor Williams. They
Speaker 1: they're playing at center, which is surprising, and I just
Speaker 1: think that's sort of the one thing on their team
Speaker 1: that can really improve the most. And on paper, I
Speaker 1: think Mike McDaniel can get it done. Mm hmm. Good.
Speaker 1: That's more of a prediction, But there was some news
Speaker 1: in there. Connor Williams from the Cowboys at center was
Speaker 1: quite a surprise. Uh, this shows you how fast things
Speaker 1: go in the NFL. The twenty one overall pick of
Speaker 1: the draft is Jalen Reagor. Nick Sirianni, the Eagles coach,
Speaker 1: that he's battling for a roster spot, and kid, what,
Speaker 1: how's with some of these guys, the wide receivers that
Speaker 1: are taking high. If they don't pop, if they don't
Speaker 1: flash that, they don't have a role, and they don't
Speaker 1: play special teams, all of a sudden, it's like you
Speaker 1: trade for a J Brown absolutely did with the Cowboys
Speaker 1: to not do this offseason at wide receiver. Ian reported
Speaker 1: our our our guy raps. She reported that second round
Speaker 1: pick Tevin Jenkins, another guy everyone was just like slat
Speaker 1: him right in. He's there, gonna be their left tackle
Speaker 1: and prove them right away. Uh, second round pick from
Speaker 1: last year, Dan is on the trade block and I
Speaker 1: would guess they're gonna give him up for almost nothing.
Speaker 1: They're basically giving up on him after only one season
Speaker 1: with the team. And finally, I feel like this is
Speaker 1: a good way to close from our one of our
Speaker 1: friends at the athletic. Michael Sean Dugar. Oh yeah, that's MSD,
Speaker 1: great reporter, and now another edition of I'm sipping on
Speaker 1: vena che Listen man, Gino Smith, this is gonna happen.
Speaker 1: This is happening. Let's it. Jimmy g parachutes in and
Speaker 1: somehow is ready to roll. Gino Smith is gonna win
Speaker 1: the shop. It looks like he's running with the first
Speaker 1: team offense. And uh, Michael Seawan Dugard as I said,
Speaker 1: UM said that Drew Lock exclusively pretty much Locke has
Speaker 1: been a second team guy. And Pete Carroll had Pete
Speaker 1: Ko by the way, is COVID right now, as does
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray step why I and Um, Yeah, they're they're
Speaker 1: both out for both out right now. Had this to say,
Speaker 1: presumably before he went into COVID hiding, was gonna leave
Speaker 1: right now. And he's ahead, and so he's gonna be
Speaker 1: looking back and he's going for me, and Drew is
Speaker 1: not gonna take a back seat. So it's something's gonna happen,
Speaker 1: you know. And and and Jake could be there if
Speaker 1: we need him. So it's gonna be exciting to see.
Speaker 1: I mean. They also mentioned that they've both been very down.
Speaker 1: I've been tracking this daily and it sounds like the
Speaker 1: offense hasn't gotten a lot done no matter who's behind center.
Speaker 1: That Gino like cooks up the second team when he
Speaker 1: gets the chance, which that's good, but otherwise, can I
Speaker 1: hear that again? There's just some thing inherently humorous to
Speaker 1: me about the entire quote was gonna leave right now,
Speaker 1: and he's ahead, and so he's gonna he ain't look
Speaker 1: him back. He's going for me. Look him back. You
Speaker 1: don't have a quarterback. Good luck. Well that that's it
Speaker 1: for that episode, and that was another edition of che
Speaker 1: al right. Like we said, we have connor Or better
Speaker 1: late than never. He'll be joining us tomorrow. We hope Wednesday.
Speaker 1: Wednesday wasn't his fault. He was supposed to be on today,
Speaker 1: but guess what. The NFL exploded over the last two
Speaker 1: days with big news out of h He extended this
Speaker 1: connor Or doing some good reporting, uh learning and through
Speaker 1: a source that Tom Brady would not be punished. He
Speaker 1: was the first one day. Connor is a passionate writer,
Speaker 1: he's a great reporter, and he was busy and absolutely
Speaker 1: said can we push this and said absolutely, so We're
Speaker 1: pushing until tomorrow. Barring some other Mondo news story that
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated needs him for, He's not allowed to cancel
Speaker 1: two days. It would be a little weird, but again
Speaker 1: it wouldn't be his fault necessarily. I think we get
Speaker 1: how the business works. But I would like to see
Speaker 1: him show up tomorrow. Team Slogan's Wednesday show, and yes,
Speaker 1: we are heading two rams camp on Friday, UM at
Speaker 1: one o'clock. And before that we will talk to Justin
Speaker 1: about his little off the cuff comment about something about
Speaker 1: going to camp with Rachel's podcast on Monday could adversely
Speaker 1: affect this show. He seemed to not so, I don't
Speaker 1: think so. I don't want to put words in his mouth.
Speaker 1: I'm still processing. Okay, let's talk about that. We'll have
Speaker 1: a lot to update this Tim Patrick news doesn't look good.
Speaker 1: I might have an update there. Well, it's one o'clock,
Speaker 1: so maybe we should close around. Cue the music. The
Speaker 1: Man's gotta go where no one knows, no one asks either.
Speaker 1: Still Wednesday, Heed the call. M