Speaker 1: Hey guys, this is Greg Rosenthal for NFL Daily. You'll
Speaker 1: notice no intro. What's going on is because we already
Speaker 1: taped the intro. We taped the whole show. We taped
Speaker 1: three different parts of the show. I got Jordan Rodrig
Speaker 1: coming up. I got Nick Shouk coming up. I got
Speaker 1: Stacey Dale's talking about the Bears. But I am growing
Speaker 1: increasingly insane, wanting to get every bit of news possible
Speaker 1: into this show. And we had breaking news on CD
Speaker 1: Lamb not reporting for Dallas Cowboys training camp. He did
Speaker 1: not get on the Cowboys playing on Tuesday over to
Speaker 1: the West Coast and Oxnard. He is not showing up,
Speaker 1: and I want to make sure that was in the show.
Speaker 1: Cowboys can't be surprised letting it get this close. They've
Speaker 1: been here before, by the way, Zach Martin held out
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago. Ezekiel Elliott had a really
Speaker 1: long holdout you'll remember in twenty nineteen that didn't end
Speaker 1: till the season almost started. It doesn't seem like this
Speaker 1: Ceedee Lamb contract is particularly close at this point, but
Speaker 1: he will not be there. It is not devastating for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys to be missing a wide receiver during training camp.
Speaker 1: It is not the same as if Matthew Stafford had
Speaker 1: missed training camp for the Rams. We'll get to that
Speaker 1: later in the show, but it is still a reminder
Speaker 1: of how much work this Cowboys team has to do
Speaker 1: in the next couple of weeks. Between Lamb, maybe Dak
Speaker 1: Michael Parsons is going to need a contract extension at
Speaker 1: some point and Cede Lamb should not accept anything less
Speaker 1: than justin Jefferson money, whether it's more, whether it's a
Speaker 1: little bit less, He's going to be in that ballpark.
Speaker 1: So Cowboys camp starting off on an annoying note, but
Speaker 1: they love the attention, even if it's negative attention, and
Speaker 1: the Cowboys seems like they've had plenty of that this offseason.
Speaker 1: A lot to get to on today's show, and now
Speaker 1: I'm going to send it over to myself and start
Speaker 1: off this show with Nick Schuk to get to all
Speaker 1: the news. All the teams are back on the practice field.
Speaker 1: It really feels like the NFL season started on Tuesday.
Speaker 1: And excited to have you aboard. Welcome to NFL Daily,
Speaker 1: where we would not look better blonde. I'm Greg Rosenthal
Speaker 1: and beyond lucky today to be joined by my friend
Speaker 1: Nick Shook of NFL dot Com NFL Network, and he
Speaker 1: misses the days when he had hair to potentially color. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Fun fact, Greg, when I was like six years old,
Speaker 2: I have a picture from my dad's wedding to my
Speaker 2: former stepmom. I had flowing locks, blonde hair. It was
Speaker 2: nicely quaffed for the wedding. I was in at tux
Speaker 2: but at one point it went down to my shoulders.
Speaker 2: So I'm bald now, but it was in the past.
Speaker 1: It there. I don't know if you could pull off
Speaker 1: the platinum look that Joe Burrow did on the way
Speaker 1: into training camp. But you gotta love a young man
Speaker 1: who can like make national news just by changing his
Speaker 1: hair color. I'm punt. I just feel different today, Nick.
Speaker 1: Twenty three teams showed up to work on Tuesday for
Speaker 1: training camp. Really feels like it's all happening. It started.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of news that happened today, and so
Speaker 1: we are going to get to all of it. We're
Speaker 1: also going to talk about the Matthew Stafford contract adjustment
Speaker 1: and whether there might be a little bit more to
Speaker 1: the story there with one of our great contributors, Jordan
Speaker 1: Rodrieg of the Athletic also going to do a deep
Speaker 1: dive on the Bears, who have been in camp now
Speaker 1: for more than a week or almost a week there
Speaker 1: in Chicago, and we'll do that at the end of
Speaker 1: the show. But before we do that, Nick, let's roll
Speaker 1: through the news. Hit it Randy Jews Okay, outside of
Speaker 1: that like one hour where it looked like Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: might be holding out, Nick, I think the most interesting
Speaker 1: news today we're the players that showed up. Let's start
Speaker 1: with Brandon Ayuk and t a tongue of iloa off
Speaker 1: the bat. Brandon Ayuk, we've talked about how he requested
Speaker 1: a trade, but he is there in training camp. We
Speaker 1: don't know yet if it's going to be a hold in,
Speaker 1: but it's definitely not a hold out. John Lynch, the GM,
Speaker 1: was asked at a press conference on Tuesday whether he
Speaker 1: could guarantee that Ayuk stays on this roster.
Speaker 3: I think again, no absolutes there. We fully intend on
Speaker 3: Brandon being a Niner moving forward. We're always open to
Speaker 3: listen to things, but like I said, we expect Brandon
Speaker 3: to be an integral part of our team like he
Speaker 3: has been and excited about that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting that he won't say that he won't
Speaker 1: trade him, leaving that door open. I mean that to
Speaker 1: me is very purposeful. I don't think he expects to
Speaker 1: trade him. I think they want to have him there,
Speaker 1: but I think they don't know how this is going
Speaker 1: to go, and they're leaving the door just a little
Speaker 1: bit open in case someone wants to come with a
Speaker 1: real deal offer that I doubt has happened so far.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think both sides are kind of feeling each
Speaker 2: other out. It Neither is really handling this the most graciously.
Speaker 2: The fact that Ayuke showed up I was a little
Speaker 2: bit surp And the one thing you do is you
Speaker 2: never speak in absolutes until you couch everything. I'm not
Speaker 2: going to go in absolutes. You know he will be
Speaker 2: on the team because you get the Godfather offer and
Speaker 2: you're like, all right, we're gonna move on. Like if
Speaker 2: there's something you can't turn down, then you obviously take
Speaker 2: that offer. But I just don't think that exists right now,
Speaker 2: and we don't live in a world like you know
Speaker 2: you had talked about with Ian last week, where you
Speaker 2: know there's a one for one deal like you know
Speaker 2: him for DeVonta Adams, who says no, that doesn't really exist,
Speaker 2: so it's going to be complicated to move him. I
Speaker 2: do expect him to eventually be on that roster, but
Speaker 2: I don't think they really understand exactly where they are
Speaker 2: in negotiations right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there'll be more on this on Wednesday. Will see
Speaker 1: if he practices. I doubt it, but I also said
Speaker 1: on Monday show that I expected Jordan Love would practice
Speaker 1: and was immediately wrong. So it's dangerous to make guesses
Speaker 1: on news that can change to a toungo Bylois showed up,
Speaker 1: not a surprise to me. Tyreek Hill was also there,
Speaker 1: and that one's been on my radar that he wants
Speaker 1: a new contract. He talked about the one thing he
Speaker 1: wanted to get across to his agent Drew Rosenhause on Tuesday.
Speaker 4: Yes, I had no idea. Obviously, I let Drew and
Speaker 4: you know, the team handled that situation. And the only
Speaker 4: thing I told Drew was like, do not get me traded. Bro,
Speaker 4: Last time you needed this, you got me traded. So
Speaker 4: that's been my only thing.
Speaker 2: Team.
Speaker 4: I'm like, if I I want to stay here in Miami.
Speaker 1: Man, Yeah, I would want to stay in Miami if
Speaker 1: I was him too, with Mike McDaniel and in that city.
Speaker 1: It's tricky though. You kind of can't pay tyreek Hill
Speaker 1: until you pay to a tongue of Ailoa. And it
Speaker 1: wasn't at our network. But I've just seen some cautious
Speaker 1: reporting about that they might not be that close and
Speaker 1: that there might be a belief if I'm reading between
Speaker 1: the lines from the Dolphins that look like, unlike these
Speaker 1: other quarterbacks, there might not be a sixty million dollars
Speaker 1: per year offer out there for Tua from other teams,
Speaker 1: so that the Dolphs actually feel they might have a
Speaker 1: little more leverage than other teams in this situation. That
Speaker 1: was Jeff Darlington that said that I should I should
Speaker 1: credit him our former co worker, just a little different
Speaker 1: on this vibe than all the other quarterback talks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know this, this one feels like the Dolphins
Speaker 2: are hesitant, and I think a lot of it is
Speaker 2: because of market value, like you said, and it's also
Speaker 2: you know, yeah, he led the league in passing last year,
Speaker 2: but he's also only completed one season fully healthy, and
Speaker 2: there's just a little bit less to work with if
Speaker 2: he's your guy, you pay him. But I understand the
Speaker 2: hesitancy and how you're trying to react to a quarterback
Speaker 2: market that just continues to balloon and waiting it out.
Speaker 2: It feels like this one might actually go on pretty long,
Speaker 2: which could hold up everything else. But then again, if
Speaker 2: you look at Tyreek how much you know, how are
Speaker 2: you really going to pay him? When we talked about this,
Speaker 2: you know on a previous show, there are only so
Speaker 2: many shiny toys in that toy room that you can pay,
Speaker 2: you know, over time. And if you're gonna give a
Speaker 2: ton of money to the quarterback, then somebody's gonna have
Speaker 2: to suffer the consequences. So it's I think they're in
Speaker 2: a bit of a holding pattern right now, so we'll
Speaker 2: see how it plays out well.
Speaker 1: And they just gave him a ton of money two
Speaker 1: years ago, and the CBA rules are such you can
Speaker 1: just always keep renegotiating, and that contract starts to look
Speaker 1: pretty good after a couple of years, just because faut
Speaker 1: salaries go up. So it's a tricky spot with him
Speaker 1: a few years away from free agency. It doesn't sound
Speaker 1: to me, though, that he is going to raise a
Speaker 1: big stink And maybe he'll get the Amari Cooper deal.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get to him in a second, where you
Speaker 1: just get like a little bit of a re you
Speaker 1: get something out of the deal for being a pain.
Speaker 1: Hassan Redick's situation is different, though he is holding out
Speaker 1: of training camp. There just have not been been many
Speaker 1: holdouts since this new CBA was signed, because you can
Speaker 1: get fined heavily and it really increases quickly where you're
Speaker 1: losing a lot of money. Hassan Reddick is due to
Speaker 1: make fourteen point five million dollars per year. I want
Speaker 1: to read something from Rich Samini, who's one of the
Speaker 1: best Jets reporters out there. He works for ESPN. He wrote.
Speaker 1: At the time of the trade, the Jets were quote
Speaker 1: under the impression that Reddick, who turns thirty on September
Speaker 1: twenty second, was content to play out the final year
Speaker 1: of his contract and hit free agency. There may have
Speaker 1: been a miscommunication or perhaps Reddick changed his mind. Either way,
Speaker 1: it was an odd look for both sides. I've never
Speaker 1: seen this a guy that gets traded and then is
Speaker 1: immediately upset with the team. And you hate to say,
Speaker 1: same old Jets, but it just is like this is
Speaker 1: not something they were expecting coming into the year, that
Speaker 1: this is the bit of drama that they have to
Speaker 1: deal with.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a bummer too, because he's part of a
Speaker 2: defense that's ferocious and it's the ideal piece to really
Speaker 2: take them to the next level. But he's also nineteenth
Speaker 2: and apy right now, and he's in the final year
Speaker 2: of his deal, and he's thirty years old, so if
Speaker 2: he's going to cash in, it's got to be right now.
Speaker 2: So I understand the sense of urgency from him. But
Speaker 2: usually when you see these deals happen, you see extensions
Speaker 2: immediately follow the fact that we're seeing the opposite as
Speaker 2: training camp starts again falls under the umbrella of Jets
Speaker 2: just not quite handling the situation the best.
Speaker 1: It just sounds it says there may have been a miscommunication,
Speaker 1: so the Jet just reading between the lines with that reporting.
Speaker 1: The Jets thought they were good for whatever reason, because
Speaker 1: he was not happy in Philadelphia. That's really why they
Speaker 1: made the move to get Bryce Huff from the Jets
Speaker 1: who replaced Hassan Reddick. I talked to someone in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: not with a team, just a reporter that was like
Speaker 1: it was a deal. It was a deal last year.
Speaker 1: It affected Hassan Reddick. He was not happy and I
Speaker 1: don't know if it affected his play, but they knew
Speaker 1: he wasn't happy. And now the Jets are dealing with
Speaker 1: that same situation. You're Brownies won't have to worry about
Speaker 1: that though, at least not with the Mari Cooper, who
Speaker 1: you know has earned his money and then some I
Speaker 1: would say with the Browns, that was an excellent move
Speaker 1: by Andrew Berry and he did show up and they
Speaker 1: didn't even give him a raise. They just gave him
Speaker 1: five million dollars in incentives. The whether that's reachable incentives
Speaker 1: or not, we don't really know at this point. The
Speaker 1: details aren't out there. And that's sometimes what you do
Speaker 1: with these veterans. You just tack like a little bit
Speaker 1: of incentives on when they don't really have much leverage,
Speaker 1: and it makes them happy enough. In a mar Cooper
Speaker 1: is in the building and they need in the building.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean we talk about leverage. I think about
Speaker 2: his position. I mean, he is the most important receiver
Speaker 2: on that team by a long shot. This is another
Speaker 2: season in which they don't know what they have in
Speaker 2: Deshaun Watson. He needs that guy out there. I thought
Speaker 2: he was going to get more out of it. I
Speaker 2: thought he at least get another year. The fact that
Speaker 2: he just got five million incentives and he got ten
Speaker 2: million up front, I mean that was a serious concession
Speaker 2: on a Marii's part to get to camp. I mean,
Speaker 2: I was very surprised by that, because he's another guy
Speaker 2: thirty years old. That's usually the marque's the last time
Speaker 2: you can really cash in on a multi year deal.
Speaker 2: So to you know, see that he only got half
Speaker 2: of it up front, ten million out of that twenty
Speaker 2: everything else is the same, and you can earn five
Speaker 2: million more. I mean, he's been super productive, and I
Speaker 2: give him that. He could probably hit some of those incentives.
Speaker 2: We don't know what they are, but I was just surprised.
Speaker 2: I thought he'd get more.
Speaker 1: Up Yeah, if I had to guess, what happened was
Speaker 1: they just were not going to give him guaranteed money
Speaker 1: or give him a fair contract into next year. The
Speaker 1: whole idea of like, oh we're guaranteeing him this salary.
Speaker 1: You don't need to do that already, he's making the team.
Speaker 1: It's guaranteed. Once you're on the team week one, you
Speaker 1: get it. Ten million dollars right now instead of spread out.
Speaker 1: Some people like that. You get the money quicker, you
Speaker 1: can invest it quicker. Who knows. Maybe he's buying a house.
Speaker 1: That's nice. But if they weren't going to give him
Speaker 1: a fair multi year extension, he might prefer Okay, forget it.
Speaker 1: I want to get back on the market. But it's
Speaker 1: not like they promise not to tag him or anything
Speaker 1: like that. So he'll be motivated to have a big
Speaker 1: time year. I'm sure he will. I just I know
Speaker 1: he hasn't been the most consistent player, but when he
Speaker 1: is out there, he has been awesome. And he was
Speaker 1: almost underrated how good he was last year. Yeah, for Cleveland,
Speaker 1: let's go to their division rivals. Mike Brown talked about
Speaker 1: the Jamar Chase contract, and let's listen to it because
Speaker 1: I think there's a couple directions we could go. But
Speaker 1: let's parse some. Mike Brown talking before the season.
Speaker 5: He's a key player next to Joe, he's our next one,
Speaker 5: and he knows that we know it. This may take
Speaker 5: a while. They are going to bend over backwards to
Speaker 5: get it done. I can't tell you when though.
Speaker 1: Okay, So that was the positive part. If you're a
Speaker 1: Bengals fan, and that's what they latched onto. Later in
Speaker 1: that same press conference, he did indicate it's hard for
Speaker 1: him to imagine that contract happening before this season, and
Speaker 1: that was the quote that got sent out a lot
Speaker 1: by the national reporters, and then the Bengals fans are
Speaker 1: mad and they're like, oh, why are you trying to
Speaker 1: make it sound like same old Bengals When he said
Speaker 1: he's gonna bend over backwards and the truth is somewhere
Speaker 1: in the middle. That indicated to me and Jamar Chase
Speaker 1: being happy indicated to me like, it'll probably, it'll it'll
Speaker 1: be fine. But he's also saying I'm not going to
Speaker 1: negotiate essentially with in camp or in the regular seats
Speaker 1: like other teams do that. So if you were really
Speaker 1: bending over backwards, you could do that, and other teams
Speaker 1: make sure to lock up their receiver this season in
Speaker 1: a year early instead of going into a contract the
Speaker 1: year having like a Ceedee Lamb situation. We see it
Speaker 1: with Justin Jefferson. So he's not exactly bending over backwards,
Speaker 1: and the people that are saying, okay, it's it's always
Speaker 1: a little more complicated with the Bengals. I think there's
Speaker 1: some truth to that too. That said, I just think
Speaker 1: they've telegraphed it's probably Chase happening. Higgins not, and hopefully
Speaker 1: for Bengals fans, they end for Joe Burrow, they get
Speaker 1: it done eventually.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. I think this deal gets done next year
Speaker 2: early next year. They have the protection of his you know,
Speaker 2: one more year left in his contract. They don't need
Speaker 2: to be in a rush. I don't think that he
Speaker 2: gets to a contract year situation. The riding was on
Speaker 2: the wall as soon as they tagged T Higgins and
Speaker 2: didn't sign him do an extension. He's the only player
Speaker 2: who was franchised tagged this offseason who did not sign
Speaker 2: an extension. We know what that means. Joe Burrow already
Speaker 2: got paid. Jamar Chase's next We're just not going to
Speaker 2: do it right now. But he has an integral part
Speaker 2: of our offense and of our future. The only question
Speaker 2: I have Greg, does he exceed thirty five million the
Speaker 2: year that Justin Jefferson got, Because if he has a
Speaker 2: huge year this year, then he's going to.
Speaker 1: Yes. Although the you know, the Bengals, Joe Burrow, they
Speaker 1: got to him to take just like a little bit
Speaker 1: less than the other guys. It wasn't much if he
Speaker 1: really looked at the structure. He obviously did extremely well,
Speaker 1: but just just a little bit less. So maybe he
Speaker 1: doesn't go over that. And to be fair to the Bengals,
Speaker 1: I pointed out justin Jefferson, he got drafted a year
Speaker 1: before Chase, of course, so that same contract did not
Speaker 1: happen until the following year. And you're right, it's going
Speaker 1: to cost a little more in a year. But the
Speaker 1: Bengals sound like they're ready to do it. And yeah,
Speaker 1: I mentioned at the top Joe Burrow with the hair,
Speaker 1: what did you think little Eminem? You know, Eminem, I
Speaker 1: saw number one on the Billboard charts. It's in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four. How about that? And then Joe Burrow with
Speaker 1: the homage to Eminem today with the platinum hair.
Speaker 2: As soon as I saw it, I just thought, man,
Speaker 2: I have your attention please. It's the ninety nine VMA
Speaker 2: is all over again, Eminem and like fifty guys, all
Speaker 2: his blonde hair and he's walking into camp.
Speaker 1: I love I love that Joe. He was very outspoken LSU.
Speaker 1: He's a different sort of dude. And he has not
Speaker 1: let go of that at all. We can only hope
Speaker 1: he is healthy this year because like he makes the
Speaker 1: NFL so much better. A couple things before we get
Speaker 1: to our speed round just quickly, the nfl PA, their director,
Speaker 1: spoke to Mark Maski of The Washington Post talking about
Speaker 1: eighteen game and making that part of every regular season,
Speaker 1: and he said there's been very very very used three varies,
Speaker 1: high level, superficially with a recognition about, yeah, this is
Speaker 1: something we should be talking about. So he was asked
Speaker 1: if there has been talked and we should really kick
Speaker 1: the tires and understand what else is going to go
Speaker 1: into it, But he also pointed out he's not ruling
Speaker 1: it out. He said, the simple fact of the matter,
Speaker 1: when you have a growing enterprise and there's opportunities within
Speaker 1: that period of time, why wouldn't you want to do that.
Speaker 1: So it sounds like the players are open to it.
Speaker 1: The devil will be in the details.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it'll be in the details. But you know, we
Speaker 2: know the NFL loves to make everything a tent pole event.
Speaker 2: They love to capitalize on their you know, ever continuing growth.
Speaker 2: So I think this is an inevitable result of that.
Speaker 1: Growth. I thought you were saying they're going to make
Speaker 1: the CBA negotiations for eighteen games like a new tentpole event,
Speaker 1: like we'll do some programming.
Speaker 2: We'll have a special, we'll talk about the whole instead
Speaker 2: of coverage for it. My only question is, if you
Speaker 2: go to eighteen games, do you work in two buys
Speaker 2: because that is a grind of a season.
Speaker 1: Yes, I think you should. I think the players will
Speaker 1: want that. And again that's the details. And for all
Speaker 1: you out there who don't know the CBA details, and
Speaker 1: why would you you have football, it's not up till
Speaker 1: twenty thirty one, So any eighteen game season if that happened,
Speaker 1: if they tried to agree to that, they'd have to
Speaker 1: rip up the deal. They'd have to make some adjustments.
Speaker 1: I'm sure the players would want some concessions, maybe a
Speaker 1: higher share of revenue, but it really feels like there
Speaker 1: is momentum there. They would get rid of a preseason
Speaker 1: game almost certainly. Roger Goodell has mentioned that, so that
Speaker 1: story continues to move forward. Finally, Tyson Campbell, when a
Speaker 1: guy signs a four year, seventy six million dollar contract,
Speaker 1: I just put him in the news. I know, not
Speaker 1: a lot of people know about Tyson Campbell, but Nick
Speaker 1: Schuck does because he knows about every team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, baby, And I was thinking, I'm like, yeah, that
Speaker 2: makes sense. And then I thought, well, actually, let's go
Speaker 2: look at his numbers. And last year he was not
Speaker 2: very good, but he was dealing with a hamstring injury
Speaker 2: for the majority of the season, and anybody's ever had
Speaker 2: a hamstring injury knows those are nagging. They don't heal quickly.
Speaker 2: It can hamper you, especially when speed is the name
Speaker 2: of your game. The year prior he had a great
Speaker 2: twenty twenty two. He finished in the top five and
Speaker 2: targeted EPA allowed. His number was in waylow, which is
Speaker 2: good when you're a defensive back. It shot in the
Speaker 2: other direction last year because he was hampered by that injury.
Speaker 2: This is a contract that you're doing before the anticipated
Speaker 2: bounce back season so that you're not paying an even
Speaker 2: higher premium next year. So good on the Jaguars for
Speaker 2: betting on a guy that they believe in second round pick.
Speaker 2: You already have the investment there, makes a ton of sense.
Speaker 2: Now he's just got to go out and produce and
Speaker 2: prove that he was worth it.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I love it because he is a really good player.
Speaker 1: A couple of years ago, I think they learned from
Speaker 1: the Josh Allen now josh heinz Allen situation where they
Speaker 1: waited a year on to give him his contract and
Speaker 1: they ended up paying a lot more. And you just
Speaker 1: the most important thing you can do as a team
Speaker 1: is identify who are your guys, the guys that you're
Speaker 1: going to be paying out three four years. He got
Speaker 1: guarantees into the third year of this contract, and I
Speaker 1: think they did a good job there.
Speaker 2: That's also that's a that's a rare instance in which
Speaker 2: hyphenation really helps everybody. Usually just complicates matters. But with
Speaker 2: two prominent josh Allen's in the NFL, I appreciate the
Speaker 2: hyphenation of heinz Allen. So that now when I write,
Speaker 2: I don't have to write Josh Allen the edge rusher,
Speaker 2: Josh Allen the quarterback, So thank you.
Speaker 1: So was he always Joshua because he's now Joshua Hindellen's
Speaker 1: Josh Allen. Okay, so now it's changed on multiple friends,
Speaker 1: and more power to him. And good job by the jogguars.
Speaker 1: All Right, Randy, hit the music, We're going fast. Other
Speaker 1: players reporting to camp on Tuesday, Courtland Sutton of the Broncos,
Speaker 1: Alvin Kamara of the Saints.
Speaker 2: Alvin Kamara probably gonna stay quiet on the matter. I
Speaker 2: understand his position, but it's good that he's there because
Speaker 2: this is a big year for the Saints offensively, after
Speaker 2: that offense struggled. You know, statistically they're actually better than
Speaker 2: you realize, but visually it was a tough watch. So
Speaker 2: it's good that he's there. He's an important part of
Speaker 2: that offense. In Courtland Sutton, just just stay healthy and
Speaker 2: stay on the field and try and figure it out
Speaker 2: with your newest quarterback, whoever it is. With the Broncos.
Speaker 2: Let's just see if John Payton can make it all work.
Speaker 1: All right, they're splitting reps to that point, the Broncos
Speaker 1: between three quarterbacks to start camp. I g that never
Speaker 1: is great. It's Bo Nix, It's Jared Stidham, and it's
Speaker 1: our friend Zach Wilson. The Dolphin sign. Emmanuel Ogba mentioned
Speaker 1: a couple of shows ago how Shaq Barrett retired Agbah
Speaker 1: gets five million dollars, was the best pass rusher available,
Speaker 1: so that makes sense. He might be starting in Week one.
Speaker 1: He probably is for them. They're so banged up. They
Speaker 1: also put Odell Beckham on the pup list. Not a
Speaker 1: great sign there. Kadarius Tony is playing running back in practice.
Speaker 5: No, Greg.
Speaker 2: I mean, look, I understand trying to get the football
Speaker 2: Canaria is Tony's hands. He's a great athlete and everything,
Speaker 2: but he's also not the most resilient physically. I fear
Speaker 2: the idea of Kadarius Tony running between the tackles. That's
Speaker 2: not the Chiefs offense, but it just scares me. Maybe
Speaker 2: you get him out on the perimeter, a little orbit motion,
Speaker 2: that type of thing, and it makes sense.
Speaker 1: But they got a chance, a chance to make the team, Shooky,
Speaker 1: it's his chance to make the team. He might not.
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson was out for a fourth Street Day with
Speaker 1: an illness. Jacobe Brissett is the starter with the Patriots
Speaker 1: according to their coach Drod Mayo, but Drake may could
Speaker 1: absolutely play his way into being the starter week one
Speaker 1: if he outplays Perssett and camp Mayo said it's not
Speaker 1: about like hitting certain benchmarks or like whether whether may
Speaker 1: is ready. He's just like, if he outplays Perset, he'll
Speaker 1: be a Week one starter. I don't think they want
Speaker 1: that to happen. Chase Brown, a lot of Chase Brown hype,
Speaker 1: has the opportunity to be the guy in Cincinnati. According
Speaker 1: to Duke Tobyn, what do you think about that? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's strange.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, they got rid of Joe Mixon
Speaker 2: and they were like, all right, we're gonna go Zack Moss. Yeah,
Speaker 2: this is it. And I looked at that backward and
Speaker 2: I thought, committee is somebody else gonna pick up some
Speaker 2: of the slacks.
Speaker 1: So we'll see what happens. And I like Chase Brown.
Speaker 1: I like Chase Brown. That it probably will be a
Speaker 1: committee Zach Moss, Chase Brown. But it does show that
Speaker 1: they like Chase Brown quite a bit. And finally, Antonio Pierce,
Speaker 1: the latest coach to join the UR starters, will play
Speaker 1: in the preseason brigade. Yeah, it's kind of happening all
Speaker 1: over the league. At least a handful of teams are like,
Speaker 1: we're gonna play start as Drodmeyo was another one. I
Speaker 1: feel like it's almost a pushback to the trend that's
Speaker 1: been happening.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're facing a future in which you might have
Speaker 2: one less preseason game. These guys need tune ups. These
Speaker 2: are not the days of old with two A days,
Speaker 2: so let's get them some reps.
Speaker 4: Why not?
Speaker 1: That's it chooky light work for you. This is like
Speaker 1: when you go to the gym and you just don't
Speaker 1: have time. Does that ever happen to you? Or I
Speaker 1: when you just make it happen and you're just like,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do thirty minutes just on my thighs or
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: That's why I pound out some quick cardio and then
Speaker 2: I run.
Speaker 1: Through shoulders real quick and it's just in and out.
Speaker 1: So light work for Shook today. He is going on
Speaker 1: a well deserved couple days off coming up, So enjoy it,
Speaker 1: my friend, and we will get to you next week.
Speaker 1: And we're going to get to Jordan Rodrieg of the
Speaker 1: Athletic right after the break to talk a little Matthew
Speaker 1: Stafford back on NFL Daily. It's Jordan rodrig of the
Speaker 1: Athletic and a surprise appearance. Look, we didn't know, Jordans
Speaker 1: that the Rams were going to make news today, but
Speaker 1: you were there when the news was being made and
Speaker 1: I thought you had a great perspective on it, and
Speaker 1: so wanted to get you on. We're actually going to
Speaker 1: start for the first time ever in the history of
Speaker 1: NFL Daily with an appearance by a previous version of
Speaker 1: our guests before the actual guest. So listen to Jordan
Speaker 1: Rodrieg doing real reporter stuff at a press conference earlier
Speaker 1: today talking to Sean McVay about this Matthew Stafford contract adjustment.
Speaker 6: So it's just just to be clear, respectfully, just so
Speaker 6: what it was.
Speaker 7: There was some financial commentent, but also there were additional
Speaker 7: things you guys wanted to talk.
Speaker 8: Through, and there's a lot of layers to these things, Shortan,
Speaker 8: and I think you know that as well. And what
Speaker 8: I here's what I would say, I would prefer and
Speaker 8: I totally respect and understand. Just there's a lot of
Speaker 8: layers to it. There was a lot of conversations in dialogue,
Speaker 8: some of which, you know, maybe was somewhat close, some
Speaker 8: of which was really far off. And so all I
Speaker 8: really cared about was what I heard from him. What
Speaker 8: was important that Jimmy communicated to our group and then
Speaker 8: we were able to get it solved with less Kevin
Speaker 8: Tony and myself, and that I am grateful for.
Speaker 1: Muh, just kind of a weird press conference, weird day
Speaker 1: with the rams weird, right, the actual transaction shouldn't be
Speaker 1: that weird, Like Matthew Stafford wanted more money, and we
Speaker 1: don't have all the details, but I believe you're reporting
Speaker 1: at the Athletic has that there is more guaranteed money
Speaker 1: into future years of his contract and the devil will
Speaker 1: be in the details there. That's that's not strange. But
Speaker 1: even your question there that Sean McVay referred to it
Speaker 1: wasn't all about the money. What was your takeaway with that?
Speaker 7: Yeah, I was so when this situation started unfolding many
Speaker 7: months ago. I guess that answer doesn't necessarily surprise me.
Speaker 7: Although openly talking about how it wasn't necessarily all financially
Speaker 7: related or admitting that it wasn't all financially related. In
Speaker 7: terms of how the conversations unfolded, he made some allusions
Speaker 7: and references to previous situations, and he even talked about,
Speaker 7: you know, previous failures that he had gone through, And
Speaker 7: I wondered for a minute if that was potentially talking
Speaker 7: about some of the lack of communication that is very
Speaker 7: much on the record about having happened between himself and
Speaker 7: Jared Goff before or he traded Jared goff and so
Speaker 7: I think wanting to avoid that this time around. You know,
Speaker 7: this situation dragged on. Obviously they weren't ever talking about,
Speaker 7: you know, that drastic of a move, but in terms
Speaker 7: of this contract adjustment, you know, wanting to make sure that,
Speaker 7: even on something that you would think is relatively simple
Speaker 7: like this, that you're communicating very clearly, and there were
Speaker 7: just I think some things that they needed to hammer
Speaker 7: out and clear up. I think that you have two
Speaker 7: people who are you know, similar in age and in
Speaker 7: you know, status and importance in that building in terms
Speaker 7: of what they feel they contribute and what they feel,
Speaker 7: you know, kind of is necessary and how to have
Speaker 7: that ecosystem work. And I also think that one of
Speaker 7: them is kind of revisiting his career in a way
Speaker 7: where he's thinking, you know, I'm going to be a
Speaker 7: coach for a lot longer now, and another one is
Speaker 7: really thinking about, Okay, how much longer am I going
Speaker 7: to do this? And my impression from the very jump
Speaker 7: of this In April, when Ian Rappaport was the first
Speaker 7: to report that Matthew Stafford was looking for more guarantees
Speaker 7: on his existing contract, which Sean mcvayh confirmed that that
Speaker 7: reporting was accurate.
Speaker 9: You know he was. To me, it was a signal
Speaker 9: almost like Matthew felt.
Speaker 7: So good to this is my opinion, and kind of
Speaker 7: me reading the tea leaves not just of Sean sort
Speaker 7: of wanting to make sure he didn't let past failures
Speaker 7: and communication lapses sneak into current and existing relationships, but
Speaker 7: also on the other side of it, Matthew Stafford maybe
Speaker 7: sending a signal out there saying I'm going to be
Speaker 7: that dude for more years than all the rest of you,
Speaker 7: not just Rams, but the rest of the league maybe
Speaker 7: thinks I'm going to be because of the year that
Speaker 7: he had in twenty twenty three where he was significantly,
Speaker 7: you know, in the top seven, top five quarterback play
Speaker 7: week after week and did elevate that roster so significantly.
Speaker 7: But I think it's important too to remember in something
Speaker 7: like this when you're talking not just about the financials.
Speaker 9: Some of it is financial.
Speaker 7: I mean, the quarterback market has inflated, and Matthew Stafford,
Speaker 7: you know, who played the way that he played, he wasn't.
Speaker 9: He fell to like eleven or twelve.
Speaker 7: In terms of average annual And while that can be
Speaker 7: skewed a little bit because he did make it like
Speaker 7: what sixty five million over the course of one calendar year.
Speaker 7: At one point the guarantees just maybe weren't quite where
Speaker 7: they were. There's fifteen of twenty seven million guaranteed in
Speaker 7: twenty twenty five, but none guaranteed in twenty twenty six,
Speaker 7: and so fixing that, correcting that probably was a part
Speaker 7: of the mission, but also clearing up some of the
Speaker 7: language around that was probably part of the mission as well.
Speaker 7: When Sean McVay was addressing communication errors and just different
Speaker 7: types of things and clearing up like he said, you
Speaker 7: know that he didn't want people, he didn't want to
Speaker 7: think that people were not accurate, but things did need
Speaker 7: to clear up, be cleared up between sort of the
Speaker 7: narrative around this entire situation, which I found.
Speaker 1: To me, I'm not that clear. I'm not that clear
Speaker 1: nocause what is it their relationship? I thought it was
Speaker 1: just what's interesting that you said, maybe it's a signal
Speaker 1: to the league, not just the RAMS but also the
Speaker 1: RAMS that he believes he can get play at a
Speaker 1: high level for a long time, and maybe he did
Speaker 1: not want to be in this year to year situation.
Speaker 1: But the contract that he got guaranteed fifteen million in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. That sort of slicing it down the
Speaker 1: middle where I don't know that.
Speaker 7: Was to be clear, that was the previous That was
Speaker 7: the previous contract. So the point of this is that
Speaker 7: the new will should it should according to an everything
Speaker 7: I've heard so far, we don't have the official details.
Speaker 7: That's how frenetic this came together when they realized they
Speaker 7: didn't actually know a lot of the people in the
Speaker 7: building didn't actually know whether he was going to show
Speaker 7: up this more recording this on Tuesday morning. They didn't
Speaker 7: know whether he was going to show up to camp
Speaker 7: or not, or whether he was actually he could potentially
Speaker 7: actually have been, you know, committing to a holdout and
Speaker 7: so getting this done. I mean, Sean may Faye was
Speaker 7: scheduled to talk at nine point thirty this morning, to
Speaker 7: the point where the team even started playing the live
Speaker 7: stream of the lectern and he just wasn't there. And
Speaker 7: so then obviously that's when I texted you, Greg and
Speaker 7: I was like, Hey, we're going to get ramps news today.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and he didn't. He didn't show up for three
Speaker 1: more hours, and it did have a happy ending and
Speaker 1: I guess because of the guaranteed money, it seems that
Speaker 1: he would be there in twenty twenty five barring anything crazy. Right,
Speaker 1: he has had his injury history, and that hangs over
Speaker 1: all of this as it's a commendment thing too.
Speaker 7: Twenty twenty six, previously not having now I'm doing taking
Speaker 7: a You're being a great mentor to me, Greg, because
Speaker 7: I totally.
Speaker 9: Just cut you off just now.
Speaker 1: That's great if you have the right if it's the
Speaker 1: right time for it, don't wait.
Speaker 7: So that twenty twenty six, Previously having no guaranteed money,
Speaker 7: specifically in twenty twenty six of a twenty six million
Speaker 7: dollar base salary. That's like a mercenary type of vibe there,
Speaker 7: Like if you think you're going to be playing, you know,
Speaker 7: un till near forty and maybe even beyond that. And
Speaker 7: that's just again that's the tea leaves I'm reading from
Speaker 7: this whole thing. Wanting that guaranteed money, then you're not
Speaker 7: going to be wanting to play on a mercenary type
Speaker 7: of deal. I mean that's basically one year, nothing guaranteed,
Speaker 7: and then you want commitment from the team that has
Speaker 7: previously positioned you as the star.
Speaker 9: The franchise quarterback who made.
Speaker 7: A documentary about you in the off season. I mean,
Speaker 7: it just feels like some of the things that Sean
Speaker 7: McVeigh was commenting on a bit openly about the non
Speaker 7: financials had to do more so of like communicating needs
Speaker 7: and wants in.
Speaker 9: A very simple and straightforward way.
Speaker 1: Frankly, does it change and we'll wrap on this. I
Speaker 1: do appreciate you coming on how you think about Stafford's
Speaker 1: future with the Rams, because that to me was it
Speaker 1: wasn't the takeaway from today, but it was just like, oh,
Speaker 1: this is something to watch maybe in a little more
Speaker 1: than I thought. You know that Dak Prescott could be
Speaker 1: out there next year, like who knows? Does this just
Speaker 1: put the Stafford in Rams relationship a little bit more
Speaker 1: on your radar, ironically on a day where they're committing
Speaker 1: to him financially more.
Speaker 7: I think if he would have held out, then that
Speaker 7: would have been a significantly more dramatic story because there
Speaker 7: are roster casualties that happen all across the ecosystem.
Speaker 9: If a quarterback who.
Speaker 7: Does lift the roster as much as Matthew does holds out,
Speaker 7: then you're not You can't get your offense off the
Speaker 7: ground and they don't have reliable backup play because Jimmy
Speaker 7: Garoppolo would be you know, suspended for the first two
Speaker 7: games of the season if the holdout potentially extended. So
Speaker 7: I would have probably been more concerned or more flagged
Speaker 7: about that. I just think that it's really interesting that
Speaker 7: Sean McVay again reiterated the importance of communication and said
Speaker 7: he thinks and the other thing that I flagged a
Speaker 7: little bit was that he thinks that he and Matthew's
Speaker 7: relationship is better for having undertaken the situation. But again,
Speaker 7: like I can't emphasize enough, like all of this happened
Speaker 7: Tuesday morning, over the course of three hours. Again, so
Speaker 7: it's like, you know, the deadline. They seem to very
Speaker 7: at that point, very much take the deadline seriously and
Speaker 7: potentially avoided a fracture down the line because they're able
Speaker 7: to get in a room, you know, get in a
Speaker 7: room and talk talk about again simple wants and needs
Speaker 7: and just wanted to I did just get it to.
Speaker 7: Just wanted to clarify too. Adjusted contact adjusted contract means
Speaker 7: adjusted contract.
Speaker 9: Don't really know.
Speaker 7: What it's going to look like in terms of year
Speaker 7: over year guarantees. But it does seem like some of
Speaker 7: the existing guarantees and then maybe a bump in some
Speaker 7: of those existing guarantees will be moved and reallocated over
Speaker 7: different courses of the contract.
Speaker 1: Okay, we will look for that. And yeah, just a
Speaker 1: little surprised, little little extra something.
Speaker 7: On this getting spicy too, Greg throwing out, thrown out
Speaker 7: a name, thrown out another name in the mix here?
Speaker 1: Oh why not? Let's I've been saying it on this podcast.
Speaker 1: Let's get a little more NBA like we can spend
Speaker 1: half the season if like Stafford, like the team is
Speaker 1: struggling a little bit, I could see it. It's like
Speaker 1: Paul George and Clippers, will we leave Willy not that's
Speaker 1: we need more of that. I feel like in the NFL,
Speaker 1: and there's no bigger names than you could have them
Speaker 1: Dak and Stafford. Maybe they could flip spots. I don't
Speaker 1: think it's got to happen, but just a little fun
Speaker 1: addition to our Tuesday show. Thank you, Jordan, little extra
Speaker 1: Jordan on this week. And yeah, you're you're off and
Speaker 1: running now. Training camp is training camping.
Speaker 9: I'm off in sweating actually is more like it.
Speaker 6: So it's good.
Speaker 9: I think the longer the more I'm awake, the bigger
Speaker 9: my hair expands.
Speaker 1: So I love it all right, We'll see you next
Speaker 1: time in the studio after the break, I talked to
Speaker 1: the great Stacey Dales about the Chicago Bears back after
Speaker 1: this Welcome back to NFL Daily. It's Olympics week, and
Speaker 1: so we brought on the only Olympian I know personally
Speaker 1: that Stacy Dale's former number three overall pick in the
Speaker 1: w NBA Oklahoma Hall of Famer. Does it disgust you, Stacey,
Speaker 1: to work with so many people that are so much
Speaker 1: less athletic than you, like myself?
Speaker 6: A discuss is discussed is a strong word. Greg. I
Speaker 6: don't think I would go there. But you're also aging
Speaker 6: me a little bit, so thank you for that.
Speaker 1: How did I do that?
Speaker 6: As my dogs come in the room?
Speaker 1: How did I age you? I did not say when
Speaker 1: you played in the Olympics. I did not say when
Speaker 1: you were the number three overall pick. I just pointed
Speaker 1: out that you are an athlete covering great athletes, and
Speaker 1: then you got to talk to someone like myself supposedly
Speaker 1: on an equal level. And if I were you, I
Speaker 1: would just be thinking like give me a break. I
Speaker 1: was big time.
Speaker 6: Come on, Yeah, I mean I set the standard. I mean,
Speaker 6: what else can I say?
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 6: I think it's because of all the injuries that I've
Speaker 6: had post career from all those years ago. But it
Speaker 6: was incredible. Olympic Week is amazing. It's amazing because there's
Speaker 6: no greater plat, there's no greater galvanizing global experience uniformly
Speaker 6: that is so positive than the Olympics. And it's the
Speaker 6: best of the best. I mean, so for me, it's incredible,
Speaker 6: and it was incredible, and it's an incredible week to
Speaker 6: watch and kind of follow.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that must have been, like of all the things
Speaker 1: you've done in your career, that has to be up
Speaker 1: there just as a cool experience. It's a really cool
Speaker 1: experience for me to just have you on this show.
Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about bears, and I will point out
Speaker 1: for anyone that's watching on YouTube that it's not just
Speaker 1: your dog, Rudy. Now back there on the couch. You
Speaker 1: got both dogs. We got both dogs hanging out and
Speaker 1: they're beautiful.
Speaker 6: I got more during the pandemic. Greg. Okay, so Blue,
Speaker 6: she's eighty pounds eighty plus and she likes to take
Speaker 6: over the bench and their sisters and Ruby is the
Speaker 6: oldest to her, I have another one who's older. But
Speaker 6: people liked my dogs more during the pandemic because of
Speaker 6: the whole home camera thing than my actual NFL reporting,
Speaker 6: So go figure.
Speaker 1: Why not both? You know, the eye candy and then
Speaker 1: the info and you had you were at Bear's camp
Speaker 1: on Tuesday as we're recording this, and you've gotten to
Speaker 1: see one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I finally am happy. I'm sure you are too, as
Speaker 1: someone that lives nearby that the Bears are actually as
Speaker 1: interesting as the amount of attention that they get nationally
Speaker 1: because they always get attention, they always get primetime games.
Speaker 1: But now with Caleb Williams and a lot of optimism,
Speaker 1: what is your feel And you've spent time with them
Speaker 1: this off season about how Caleb's adapting. We're about four
Speaker 1: days into camp for them. They have not started practicing
Speaker 1: in pads yet, and then more specifically kind of like
Speaker 1: what they're building for him, like what kind of offense
Speaker 1: and what they want to accomplish with him in his
Speaker 1: rookie year.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Greg, So, by the way, kudos to the Bears
Speaker 6: for sending Jonathan Owens while not sending him, but you
Speaker 6: mentioned to start this thing off with the Olympics to
Speaker 6: watch his wife Simone Biles, which is you know, I'm
Speaker 6: Canadian and Americans, so I'm rooting for her.
Speaker 1: Congrats. By the way, a new American citizen is that.
Speaker 6: Yes, And she's the greatest of all time. So that's
Speaker 6: just a cool storyline. But there's so many with the Bears, Greg,
Speaker 6: it's the best roster we've seen in totality in Chicago
Speaker 6: and at a point where I can't actually remember. I
Speaker 6: mean the last time they had a total think about
Speaker 6: the offense along Greg, the last time they had had
Speaker 6: a total you know, top five I think it was
Speaker 6: scoring offense and top five total offense was in the J.
Speaker 6: Coulor days in I think twenty thirteen.
Speaker 1: And good team. That was a decent team.
Speaker 6: It was it was they had a couple of good receivers,
Speaker 6: a good running back and cutt he could throw the
Speaker 6: ball a little bit. This is different though. This is
Speaker 6: there's a positivity being at practice, There's a there's an energy.
Speaker 6: I really think this defense is the best part of
Speaker 6: the whole group. Like they are spectacular and I say
Speaker 6: that hesitantly because the receiving corps is spectacular. To watch
Speaker 6: the ball come out of Caleb's hands, and he was
Speaker 6: so good today you talk about one day they're not
Speaker 6: in pads. He can change his platform in a moment's
Speaker 6: notice the way he's with his arm angles, and that
Speaker 6: coupled with his eyes and his ability to see the
Speaker 6: field in the in the amount of time of quarterback
Speaker 6: STAPs of football, it's unbelievable what they're able to do.
Speaker 6: That's why your offensive line has to be really the
Speaker 6: stal word of what you do, right, Greg, But you're
Speaker 6: talking three seconds, maybe four if you're lucky, to really
Speaker 6: figure out and navigate where your reads are one, two, three, boom, boom, boom,
Speaker 6: and then find the right one. He'll take the check down,
Speaker 6: he'll hit the long down as I would as I
Speaker 6: would say, I mean, he's going to do it all.
Speaker 1: Yeah. To me, his his tape was so fascinating to
Speaker 1: watch because I think he was more mature than people
Speaker 1: gave him credit for. For all the big playmaking that
Speaker 1: he tried to do in this last season, keeping up
Speaker 1: with a bad defense and overcoming a bad offensive line.
Speaker 1: Maybe really not great skill position players either he barely
Speaker 1: put the harm ball in harms away like there were
Speaker 1: not many interceptions. There were not many near interceptions. He
Speaker 1: made good decisions. It actually makes me think, And I
Speaker 1: don't know how much RPO stuff they're doing here at camp.
Speaker 1: They did a lot of RPOs in college. He's so
Speaker 1: good throwing to the left. I can't remember a prospect
Speaker 1: or almost any quarterback a right hand or being able
Speaker 1: to throw to the left. And you're right, he has
Speaker 1: a great feel that he almost reminds me a little
Speaker 1: bit of a tennis player. Sometimes tennis players like a
Speaker 1: Roger Fetter is a good example on Jibor would be
Speaker 1: another one. When they have so many tricks in their bag,
Speaker 1: when they have so many different things they can do,
Speaker 1: it can actually take them a little while to figure
Speaker 1: out what they should focus on and when to use
Speaker 1: what trick or what club in the bag. And I
Speaker 1: do wonder with him, do you get a feel from
Speaker 1: him or the Bears, like, what are the focuses for
Speaker 1: this rookie season.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think you're going to see a lot of
Speaker 6: motion and that's part of going to be part of
Speaker 6: his development. The number one thing they tried to figure
Speaker 6: out this offseason with him is the cadence and delivering
Speaker 6: the play call and getting the play call and delivering
Speaker 6: it to the huddle because he didn't have to do
Speaker 6: that in college. I mean, he wasn't required to be
Speaker 6: in command of you know, X, ABC, D, E, F G, X,
Speaker 6: Y and Z like like all of that, all of
Speaker 6: that goes into one call to make sure everybody's on
Speaker 6: the same page. He's now having to do. I can
Speaker 6: tell you that when he left from the mini camp
Speaker 6: phase to now the training camp phase. So what is
Speaker 6: that roughly a.
Speaker 1: Month, uh, six weeks.
Speaker 6: There's palpable improvement. I mean, and everybody told said told
Speaker 6: me that, and everybody publicly denoted that, including head coach
Speaker 6: Matt Eberflus. You know when you mentioned like the RPOs
Speaker 6: and stuff. I watched him today just again call it
Speaker 6: on air. Right, we're not in pads, but just just
Speaker 6: a simple play action, you know, walk through kind of
Speaker 6: routine drill that they were doing. The way he contorts
Speaker 6: his body and is able to change on an angle. Right,
Speaker 6: So he comes like you're saying, to the left, Greg,
Speaker 6: he comes out to the left, he rolls out to
Speaker 6: the left, and he's able to just kind of cider
Speaker 6: on that thing and get his body in a very controlled,
Speaker 6: yet contorted position. And that is important stuff. Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 6: does that kind of stuff right, And the best part
Speaker 6: about it all is his willing to work, his willingness
Speaker 6: to work his fixation. As I've talked to his coach,
Speaker 6: his former coach, Lincoln Riley about on his air, his
Speaker 6: his you know, things that he's not perfect at or
Speaker 6: you know, challenges for him or things that didn't go right,
Speaker 6: mistakes that he's made. He is a grinder now. So
Speaker 6: it's like anything right you might mentioned federer if you
Speaker 6: are that gifted athletically and you do the things necessary
Speaker 6: fundamentally to become and enhance those athletic traits and innate
Speaker 6: abilities and enhance them to become this total package. Now
Speaker 6: you're talking like special stuff. And so I think that's
Speaker 6: what they fell in love with, and his personality has
Speaker 6: backed it all up here in Chicago.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the over underwin total, you know, projected in the
Speaker 1: Desert is eight and a half, which is the highest
Speaker 1: they've had since since twenty nineteen. And that's it's mostly
Speaker 1: about him, it's a little bit it's also about the
Speaker 1: defense and how they finished out last year, and I
Speaker 1: know everyone's excited about the receivers around Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen.
Speaker 1: I was worried. I saw he wasn't practicing today, but
Speaker 1: then they said it was a veteran day. It was like, Okay, great, Yeah,
Speaker 1: Roma Dunze is out there practicing. We know how good
Speaker 1: Dj Moore is. Tyler Scott's made some practice, so I'm
Speaker 1: not worried about that. I will get to my concerns
Speaker 1: in a bit, but I want to talk to the
Speaker 1: defense because that has been the identity of this team.
Speaker 1: I think they've built up that secondary. Like to me,
Speaker 1: that's if you want to see Matt Eberflus, you know
Speaker 1: Ryan Pols, their stamp on the team. It's that defense
Speaker 1: where they give Jalen Johnson all that money. Tyreek Stevenson's
Speaker 1: been good, Jakwan brisk or Kyler Gordon, that's their identity.
Speaker 1: They have to be special. I thought Jalen Johnson was
Speaker 1: interesting this week saying he's kind of sick of hearing
Speaker 1: about the potential of this team and now it's action time.
Speaker 1: And I do wonder what you think about that, because
Speaker 1: like there is a lot of expectation on this team
Speaker 1: to be good right away, but it is a rookie quarterback,
Speaker 1: and I do think there are some issues with this
Speaker 1: team that maybe aren't the case with Green Bay and
Speaker 1: in Detroit in the same division. So how do you
Speaker 1: bow how do you think they're going to balance that
Speaker 1: all this attention hard knocks higher expectations with the reality
Speaker 1: that it is a rookie quarterback. And I you know,
Speaker 1: I don't see them as some playoff type of favorite.
Speaker 1: I mean I don't, and so can they handle that?
Speaker 6: No, Well, if I want to Before I answer that,
Speaker 6: I want to come back to what you said, you
Speaker 6: think that maybe Detroit and Green Bay we have the
Speaker 6: upper edge. I'm curious to know.
Speaker 1: Why line play that. That would be where I start,
Speaker 1: you know, on both sides of the ball. I think
Speaker 1: I always look when you're looking for surprise teams, good
Speaker 1: or bad, who has the best combined offensive line defensive
Speaker 1: And I think that's probably where Chicago's the weakest on
Speaker 1: both sides of the ball, And so that really worries me.
Speaker 1: I think you pop under the hood in some of
Speaker 1: the numbers, like FDN Almanac, which is done by Aaron Shatz,
Speaker 1: used to be football outsiders, like their main protection for
Speaker 1: the Bears was six point five and partly I think
Speaker 1: because of that line play, partly because the defense improved
Speaker 1: so much down the stretch. They were thirtieth in the
Speaker 1: first half of the year sixth in the second. You
Speaker 1: can say, yeah, they brought in Mantes sweat, but a
Speaker 1: lot of that is interceptions. Can you keep the defense
Speaker 1: at that high a level? And yeah, I just think
Speaker 1: Green Bay and Detroit are more talented and they're better upfront,
Speaker 1: and they've done it before. Then they have proven coaches too.
Speaker 1: Like everyone wants to all focus on how last year
Speaker 1: ended for eber Flus, but I think that the year
Speaker 1: and a half before matters too, And so I think
Speaker 1: eight and a half is a perfectly fine over under.
Speaker 1: That sounds about right, that they're about eight or nine wins,
Speaker 1: But that's not making it to the playoffs, Like you know,
Speaker 1: that's all I'm saying.
Speaker 6: No, this is a fascinating conversation because one one would
Speaker 6: argue that if you look at Detroit and what they accomplished, right,
Speaker 6: they went to the NFC Championship game. I was there
Speaker 6: at that game. They lost to San Francisco, who went
Speaker 6: on to the Super Bowl. What happened to them in
Speaker 6: the second half. They couldn't stop rock Perty, They couldn't
Speaker 6: stop the forty nine ers offensively. The big question for
Speaker 6: them is is this going to be the year with
Speaker 6: all the talent they added defensively, including the youngsters to
Speaker 6: the back end of their defense, you know, guys like
Speaker 6: Terry and Arnold and nx Racetraw, nnes Rakestraw that you
Speaker 6: know they're going to improve what has been a struggling,
Speaker 6: you know, defense through the air. I would say there, yeah,
Speaker 6: in this division, to me, you have to have a
Speaker 6: bulldozer of a defense and the ability to run the
Speaker 6: ball in cold weather, and you have a have to
Speaker 6: have a dynamic quarterback.
Speaker 1: I think it's just a tough division. I don't think
Speaker 1: the Vikings that either. And when I look at the
Speaker 1: line or the Bears, I see two to three question
Speaker 1: marks on the offensive line maybe and not much pass
Speaker 1: rush outside a sweat. On the defensive line. They were
Speaker 1: twenty fifth in pressure rate. Other than sweat. I think
Speaker 1: they're starting to Marcus Walker. It just they seem a
Speaker 1: little thinner upfront, and so that that worries me. That
Speaker 1: the case for them is just Caleb Williams covers all
Speaker 1: that up and the eber flues, you know, glow up.
Speaker 1: How he's looking very handsome and the defense is playing better.
Speaker 1: That it's for real and that it carries over kind
Speaker 1: of like the lines that a year ago and that
Speaker 1: I'm wrong, it's not gonna it's not gonna fall.
Speaker 6: Back at all now and this is this is why
Speaker 6: it's great to be underdogs in the NFL. I think
Speaker 6: any team you talk a lot of teams you talk
Speaker 6: to Greg would be like, yeah, the underdogs were coming
Speaker 6: after you whatever, whatever. This this this Bears team is
Speaker 6: going to be different. I think there are both sides
Speaker 6: of the trenches are going to be different. Right now.
Speaker 6: They have a battle at center. That's one of the
Speaker 6: most intriguing storylines when it comes to Ryan Bates and
Speaker 6: Coleman Shelton. They are battling it out. They're trying to
Speaker 6: figure out which one of those two is going to
Speaker 6: be snapping the football to Caleb Williams, and so that
Speaker 6: that's going to be critical. We heard from Darnell Wright,
Speaker 6: who was a rookie last season, he's going to be
Speaker 6: so different. Every player is, but especially I would say,
Speaker 6: you know, lineman coming into their second year. As I
Speaker 6: say that, Gervon Dexter is going to be a name
Speaker 6: that you need to remember. He is going to have
Speaker 6: a breakout campaign. He's going to be unleashed. He's going
Speaker 6: to be unleashed up front. They know they need more
Speaker 6: push besides Monteese sweat. They do that now.
Speaker 1: He was solid. He's a second round pick defensive tackle
Speaker 1: who did some good things as a rookie, and so
Speaker 1: that is that is a good counterpoint that he could
Speaker 1: have a breakout year as a second year defensive tackle. Yeah.
Speaker 6: And Eric Washington, by the way, comes most recently from Buffalo.
Speaker 6: We know how good that pressure was in Buffalo, right,
Speaker 6: and has been with Sean McDermott and and Eric Washington
Speaker 6: was a big part of that. So he's the new
Speaker 6: defensive coordinator. We presume Flus will call the defense during
Speaker 6: the regular season. Eric Smyann kind of handling that here
Speaker 6: through the off season. So it's been a nice, nice
Speaker 6: relationship that they they've really spawned together. They have nine
Speaker 6: returning starters. Okay, you mentioned what they were good at
Speaker 6: last year, right, They got interceptions, they got takeaways, they
Speaker 6: were top five in both and they were the best
Speaker 6: run defense in football, the number one run defensive football.
Speaker 6: I asked Eric Washington, the defensive coordinator, literally today, you know,
Speaker 6: what do you envision this past rush looking like? They
Speaker 6: like their depth they think I think there's some names
Speaker 6: on their roster, greg that are going to emerge. I
Speaker 6: just mentioned Jeron Dexter coming into a second season that
Speaker 6: are gonna surprise people, no different than for instance, like
Speaker 6: an Allen McNeil in Detroit, who's one of my favorite
Speaker 6: players in the league, and he's, you know, one of
Speaker 6: the best at his position. Up front, they're going to
Speaker 6: rush with four and they want to rush with four consistently.
Speaker 6: What's that going to do when you're able to just
Speaker 6: rush with four, as you know, you have numbers on
Speaker 6: the back end and with the type of secondary, as
Speaker 6: he said to me, we want to be able to
Speaker 6: rush with four and take advantage of just this unbelievable
Speaker 6: secondary that they have. And that group is a monster group.
Speaker 6: Their swagger is off the charts. Brisker and Kevin Byard's
Speaker 6: new in the mix, and Kyler Gordon you mentioned Tyreek
Speaker 6: Stevenson like that group. Jalen Johnson is one of now
Speaker 6: the top lockdown corners. The Bears paid him for a reason.
Speaker 6: How much will he get targeted this year? How How
Speaker 6: will Jakwan brisker.
Speaker 1: It be less? I have a stat for you. They
Speaker 1: face the lowest percentage of passes to a number one receiver.
Speaker 1: That just that says it all about him of any
Speaker 1: team in the league. That's how good he was a
Speaker 1: year ago.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and he's his technique has become so good. I
Speaker 6: think defensive backs don't get the credit they deserve when
Speaker 6: you consider technique and what they have to do to
Speaker 6: defend every single week every Sunday. You got DeVante Adams.
Speaker 6: Now you've got Justin Jefferson. You have just named one
Speaker 6: like the best receivers in the game. Today, you got
Speaker 6: Stuff Diggs like it's it's a task. And so I
Speaker 6: just think that guys like him going to another level.
Speaker 6: With nine returning starters and a couple of emerging players,
Speaker 6: I think this defense is going to be nasty this year.
Speaker 1: I I love it. I love the optivist. It sounds
Speaker 1: like you're going you think it'll be more than eight
Speaker 1: and a half wins? You think? You also live in
Speaker 1: Chicago and I've never met a fan or talked thought
Speaker 1: of a fan base that's more optimistic every time I'm
Speaker 1: despite evidence to the country. So I get it. They
Speaker 1: now have good evidence that they actually will be good,
Speaker 1: and so I feel it, and you've kinda you've kind
Speaker 1: of convinced because the back seven on defense is fierce
Speaker 1: and great continuity. It is as good as maybe any
Speaker 1: back seven of the linebackers are going to be year
Speaker 1: two it there's a lot to like. And then you
Speaker 1: combine that with a quarterback. To me, I'm as excited
Speaker 1: about as anyone since Andrew Locke to come into the NFL.
Speaker 1: That's a great combo. So you're you're going over I
Speaker 1: don't know, I'm thinking like eight and nine. But they
Speaker 1: are somehow better than that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Like they're a better team than they were a year ago.
Speaker 1: But it just takes it takes a little more.
Speaker 6: I just I'm quick to pump the brakes at this
Speaker 6: time of year and picking wins because.
Speaker 1: Okay, our reporter anyways, that's putting you into No.
Speaker 6: When I think about just this division, I think about
Speaker 6: like I think about the receiving cores and who's going
Speaker 6: to throw them the football in Minnesota like that that
Speaker 6: shoot Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson. That that is a
Speaker 6: d mcdoo right there. Right. The offense Detroit had was
Speaker 6: one of the best in the league last year. What
Speaker 6: is Green Bay gonna look like with Jeff Haffley, who
Speaker 6: like under Joe Berry, I love Joe Berry, but like
Speaker 6: they're gonna cut it loose under Halfley, and he is
Speaker 6: very defensive back friendly. I mean, he coached d backs
Speaker 6: for a long time of a long part of his
Speaker 6: career and wants to unleash those guys and they're going
Speaker 6: to come after you up front. I think a little
Speaker 6: bit differently. So it's just it's a brutal division, not
Speaker 6: unlike how brutal the AFC North is.
Speaker 1: I think they're the two best divisions. You could convince
Speaker 1: me either way, but I almost.
Speaker 6: I would say gruesome divisions. I think they're just they're
Speaker 6: pound for pound, they're just so gruesome, you know what
Speaker 6: I mean, Like, like look at the AFC West, right,
Speaker 6: they just float the ball all over the place in
Speaker 6: that division with Mahomes and Herbert And we'll see what
Speaker 6: happens in Denver.
Speaker 1: But like, I don't know, I love it. I love it,
Speaker 1: like I love that Bears Packers, which is always the
Speaker 1: like a Sunday night game. It's like now, it's like
Speaker 1: when Stafford got to Detroit. I was so happy that
Speaker 1: the Thanksgiving games were just better for me that net
Speaker 1: because the Bears are always on and I'm always getting
Speaker 1: sold a bill of goods. But now it's it's for real.
Speaker 1: This kid is for real. I can't wait. You are
Speaker 1: for real again. The only Olympian I know. So when
Speaker 1: Canada and the US go against each other, I mean,
Speaker 1: in women's basketball, that's not much of a competition. I
Speaker 1: don't even know if Canada mad. Maybe I'm just saying
Speaker 1: right now, the USA has and lost. I'm just saying,
Speaker 1: who when was the last time? They literally have never
Speaker 1: lost in the Olympics. I'm saying, who do you root for? Here?
Speaker 1: They're pretty good men's basketball. That could be that could
Speaker 1: be frisky.
Speaker 6: That's a good question. I'm going to plead the fifth
Speaker 6: on it because I just became a US citizen, so
Speaker 6: I mean, it's.
Speaker 1: Pretty cool hereful Well, it's a treat to have you on, Stacey,
Speaker 1: and I hope to do it again throughout this season.
Speaker 1: One of your dogs is leaving the frame. That means
Speaker 1: it's time for us to go. That is it for
Speaker 1: NFL Daily. Looking forward to Thursday's show, we're gonna talk
Speaker 1: some fantasy with Pat Darty and walso get you caught
Speaker 1: up on all the news of the day until then
Speaker 1: for Nick Schuk and Stacey Dale's We'll see you next day.