Speaker 1: Be around the NFL podcast gets Sick of Football a
Speaker 1: little earlier each year from the Chris Wesley podcast studio.
Speaker 1: That's not a good sign. It's around the NFL, and
Speaker 1: it's untrue. It's cynical for some of us. I'm Dan Hansas,
Speaker 1: joined by some heroes, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler. The dropt
Speaker 1: actually reminds me of a very funny tweet we got
Speaker 1: last week, I believe, which it said Mark is always
Speaker 1: like hoping for this season to speed up, but he's
Speaker 1: also hoping for the off season to speed up. So
Speaker 1: it was saying, like, does Mark just have a problem
Speaker 1: with the concept of time? Right? It's becoming more of
Speaker 1: just the thing. The idea of time is becoming greater
Speaker 1: issue to Mark. It's a fair critique, but I do
Speaker 1: think and I'm not just saying this like this time around,
Speaker 1: I am excited for football, and I don't feel like
Speaker 1: I'm attached team fan wise to uh you know two
Speaker 1: version of the Titanic from although you were tweeting out
Speaker 1: ernest ns and I was like, when he decided to
Speaker 1: throw on the game pass of a preseason game, I
Speaker 1: covered them all at didn't didn't see any on Rashad
Speaker 1: White of the Bucks or anything. He also didn't seem
Speaker 1: overly cessiler. Did you did you? Did you guys notice
Speaker 1: that or do you notice that Greg Dearnest Johnson is
Speaker 1: on track to flat out start somewhere in the NFL
Speaker 1: down the line. That's a little hot tachy from Mark.
Speaker 1: I think it can Like I really thought that last year.
Speaker 1: I think that happens when he when he's watching. He
Speaker 1: had to have been watching him though. I was yeah
Speaker 1: to get that. But Mark will do that, so he's
Speaker 1: a tape dog. On the subject of preseason games, I
Speaker 1: want to share with you my three things, um that
Speaker 1: I care about with the preseason, which is mercifully over
Speaker 1: next weekend. One did anyone substantial get injured? Two? Did
Speaker 1: a rookie or maybe a making the leap type guy
Speaker 1: blow up in some way? Three? Did the Ravens win?
Speaker 1: But can you guys answer me how Week two went
Speaker 1: for the preseason any of those things? Did anybody substantial,
Speaker 1: like a starting level, big time guy get hurt? Well,
Speaker 1: that's coming up in the news somewhat but not not
Speaker 1: a time. But like some develop mean players, did a
Speaker 1: rookie are making the leap? Dude? Blow up. I would say, yes, certainly,
Speaker 1: there's there's some uh examples of that. You can find
Speaker 1: it on the sixty eight uh things that takeaways from
Speaker 1: preseason we two on. Most of them weren't from the
Speaker 1: games there did. Hell yeah, yes, what are we up to?
Speaker 1: Two games in a row. It is forget about and
Speaker 1: they're not even trying this year. What are the great streaks?
Speaker 1: I mean, none of them to me measure up what
Speaker 1: we're seeing. This bigger than whatever two straight preseason wins. Now,
Speaker 1: couldn't you argue this is what they've done because the
Speaker 1: preseason has so many X factors and bizarre variables that
Speaker 1: this outshines the cal Ripken streak. Well, it might be
Speaker 1: more improbable because like he got up in the morning
Speaker 1: and played baseball, went to work like a couple thousand
Speaker 1: times in a row. They they they haven't played their
Speaker 1: starters either. For you, I mean, I guess they've been
Speaker 1: playing teams that haven't played their starters. So it's it's even.
Speaker 1: But it's not like Lamar's out there. It's not like
Speaker 1: any of these starters. That's why it's just in the culture,
Speaker 1: that's why it's a total flex It's like it's the
Speaker 1: biggest sports story nobody talks about trying to make it
Speaker 1: a thing. Last night, it was on I was writing
Speaker 1: my my article while I had it on in the background,
Speaker 1: and they were mentioned how Trace McSorley, who of course, uh,
Speaker 1: of course contributed to a few of those wins with
Speaker 1: the Ravens now starting for the Cardinals, and he's like, look,
Speaker 1: I know how much it means over there, like they
Speaker 1: take it serious. If we don't, if we don't, if
Speaker 1: we're not on our p's and ques, we're gonna be
Speaker 1: in trouble. And you know what he was. They were
Speaker 1: down twenty four to three until Kyler Murray came in
Speaker 1: as a play caller. The next Mike Martz, I think
Speaker 1: that it's a great move by the Cardinals. By the way,
Speaker 1: that is a sneaky, high level pr move. It's because,
Speaker 1: by the way, oh, the story was ten days ago.
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray like is it just wants to sit around
Speaker 1: and play like he wants the game all day long.
Speaker 1: But now he just steps in and calls a pristine
Speaker 1: Chris Path of football. What is your quarterback to me?
Speaker 1: I saw some on tech z'mall was getting pumped about
Speaker 1: that too. And it just made me think of, like, yeah,
Speaker 1: he's probably calling the same three plays he calls in Madden.
Speaker 1: You know the guy that runs three Madden plays over
Speaker 1: and over again. He's like whatever he does in his
Speaker 1: gaming life. He just translated over and he McSorley got
Speaker 1: down to the one almost scored, and then he you know,
Speaker 1: it's third and goal. You just need like a foot
Speaker 1: and he called like a read option with McSorley going
Speaker 1: going over. And I was laying based on the show
Speaker 1: last Monday, by the way, for bringing up Trace McSorley
Speaker 1: as a spicy this August. This was more in the
Speaker 1: Kyler Cliff went for six oh for six scoring touchdowns
Speaker 1: as the play Kyler Kyler comes in two for two
Speaker 1: when his first it doesn't matter. Although there was what
Speaker 1: you look for the rookie sort of break up, Isaiah
Speaker 1: Likely is the thing six for one in the first
Speaker 1: half of that game. Like, I didn't even throw it
Speaker 1: in the column at this point because we talked too
Speaker 1: much about Isaiah Likely. He is like a rookie tight
Speaker 1: end who is probably their third best receiver right now.
Speaker 1: It sounds like he's likely to come up often this
Speaker 1: season on around the NFL. Payton tried to do that
Speaker 1: to coming up on today's show. It listen, the people
Speaker 1: wanted it, but you can't rush some things. You have
Speaker 1: to wait for the right moment. Nay. The flash point,
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, flash point focus flash points, it's about getting
Speaker 1: in front the story, not reacting to the story. The
Speaker 1: flash point series is back. Testimonial flash point is simply
Speaker 1: also what an ongoing serious It's perfectly time these guys.
Speaker 1: That's what the flash points about. Oh yeah, I mean no,
Speaker 1: I it's back. I recognize some voices and just for
Speaker 1: that thirty seconds of Dan finally just feeling pure joy
Speaker 1: listening to his creation. It's good you didn't rush it.
Speaker 1: And I was was that a testimonial section within that?
Speaker 1: There was very rich? Wow, So what I was expecting
Speaker 1: you to find the clips of us, you know, talking,
Speaker 1: Baker talking Carson Wentz like right before they truly reached
Speaker 1: it stands on its own, Yeah, stands on it. And
Speaker 1: also you should know, uh many many people reached out
Speaker 1: to me for the Greg's a jerk sound drop, and
Speaker 1: I was like, just all different directions as a guy
Speaker 1: says no, no, no, no. You sent a group email
Speaker 1: said who wants to take it and that was settling
Speaker 1: scores all over the place. All right, So that's coming
Speaker 1: up Flashpoint series Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We have been patient.
Speaker 1: It's been a long time. It's like you think about
Speaker 1: Terence Mallick, the director. He directed in nineteen seventy eight
Speaker 1: Days of Heaven and then he waited twenty two years
Speaker 1: to drop the Thin Red Line years, and I think
Speaker 1: there's a parallel here. He was a he was a
Speaker 1: master class director, and Flashpoints is something that we hold
Speaker 1: in such high es steam that we're not going to
Speaker 1: rush it. Although after that he just started turning him out.
Speaker 1: So is that what we're gonna do? A We're gonna wait,
Speaker 1: Well we're not. We'll go our own way. But right
Speaker 1: we're following the Malleck. Justin fun fact, my very first
Speaker 1: internship ever was for Terence Mallick as an office intern
Speaker 1: back in Austin, Texas. Was he nice? He was really nice.
Speaker 1: Finally gonna like, I actually would like to speak with
Speaker 1: you after he writes his scripts on the typewriter. Still
Speaker 1: and it's really interesting, isn't it nice that also you
Speaker 1: finally founded in Road with Mark. Yeah, we've been had
Speaker 1: a little tension on the show. But it's but now
Speaker 1: it's organic and we didn't force it. It's organic, Mike.
Speaker 1: It all fits kind of like today's flash point. Very
Speaker 1: well done, and we have a special guest, uh coming
Speaker 1: on to talk. It is Scott Reynolds from Pewter Report
Speaker 1: dot com, The Bucks and Tom Brady, who returned to
Speaker 1: practice today after his mysterious absence that maybe was connected
Speaker 1: to a really goofy Fox reality show, maybe according to rumors.
Speaker 1: You know, I have connection just like you guys do.
Speaker 1: Two people in the business of show living here in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles. I got some I got a text on
Speaker 1: good authority. It was like buying it's real. He's going
Speaker 1: to be on the mesk Singer. I mean, I'll believe you,
Speaker 1: but I find that believe me. I'm just saying this
Speaker 1: is somebody's she stepped away if it were was a
Speaker 1: personal matter like they called it, if you stepped away
Speaker 1: to do the mass singer. I do think that that
Speaker 1: Tom Brady has has has departed mentally. I got a
Speaker 1: source that said the opposite, also not doing the mess. Yes,
Speaker 1: this is a source off, isn't it. Now? This isn't
Speaker 1: my reporting side Triple sources. Everyone knows, um, but this
Speaker 1: is just one source that it told me that. Hello.
Speaker 1: Oh well, I mean there are It does line up
Speaker 1: and very it's a compelling conspiracy theory. All right, let's
Speaker 1: before we get to flashpoint. Let's get to the news. Now.
Speaker 1: Everyone get out your popcorn, because the Panthers announced Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield as their starting quarterback, which means he's going to
Speaker 1: be facing the very same team that drafted him number
Speaker 1: one overall. Trauma, Okay, no drama. Yes, many of us
Speaker 1: saw it coming, and now it's official. Baker Mayfield will
Speaker 1: be the Week one starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers
Speaker 1: when they face Baker Mayfield's former team, the Browns in Charlotte.
Speaker 1: Head coach Matt Rule announced the decision Monday. Here is
Speaker 1: his statement that was released by the website or his quote.
Speaker 1: When we started this process, we were looking at three things.
Speaker 1: Number one mastery of the offense, Number two situational football excellence,
Speaker 1: and number three moving the ball and getting guys involved.
Speaker 1: That's been our focus all along. Baker has made a
Speaker 1: lot of improvement, a lot of growth in all three
Speaker 1: areas in a short amount of time. So it's Sam
Speaker 1: Donald last year's started will back up Baker Mayfield, and
Speaker 1: we will see if Mayfield Greggy ken Um basically resurrect
Speaker 1: his career after a very tough ending in Cleveland. Well,
Speaker 1: I do want to thank Matt Rule and Scott Fitter
Speaker 1: and everyone who saved us from Sam Donald being a
Speaker 1: Week one starter in the NFL makes this organization more entertaining,
Speaker 1: makes that game against the Browns more entertaining. I mean,
Speaker 1: they might be favored. I got questions about the Browns roster. Uh, certainly,
Speaker 1: I you know, it's it's certainly spicier, and I think
Speaker 1: there's a chance here that Matt Rules offense helps him out. Uh.
Speaker 1: I Like, even if you put up Teddy Bridgewaters numbers
Speaker 1: from two years ago for the Panthers this year, like
Speaker 1: the Panthers would just be a much better, more watchable team.
Speaker 1: He'll do it in a much more entertaining different way.
Speaker 1: I feel like they wasted a little too much time
Speaker 1: pretending this was a battle. But it's fine it ended here.
Speaker 1: I mean, they could have brought him in earlier too,
Speaker 1: after all this, but it's it's funny to me that
Speaker 1: Cleveland will be paying Baker Mayfield ten point five million
Speaker 1: dollars to potentially start their season off on a loan note.
Speaker 1: That's such as it really is. I mean this year especially,
Speaker 1: I it's for Sam Donald. I think your days as
Speaker 1: even competing to be a starting quarterback in the NFL
Speaker 1: based outside of some sort of truly chaotic scenario down
Speaker 1: the line, it's over. And it's kind of depressing a
Speaker 1: little bit on the Donald front, because in theory, he
Speaker 1: should have been a heavy favorite for someone who knew
Speaker 1: the offense, for someone that had the entire bulk of
Speaker 1: the off season. He's just not a better quarterback. I
Speaker 1: think Baker Mayfield, for all the you think that Sam
Speaker 1: Donald is a better quarterback than Baker Mayfield. I just
Speaker 1: want to see both of them play on the same team.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to the season. That's fine, it's very
Speaker 1: possible both will play, But I really genuinely think that
Speaker 1: from the very beginning making more accomplished obviously, but uh
Speaker 1: and if we want, yeah, we could use this to
Speaker 1: write the eul GI of Sam Donald's career. But I
Speaker 1: just would not be shocked if you end up seeing
Speaker 1: both of these quarterbacks Baker from the moment he got there,
Speaker 1: even though they did present it almost out of it
Speaker 1: seemed like respect for Donald, who had been in the
Speaker 1: building for over a year. They made it look like
Speaker 1: it was a competition, but it never was. This was
Speaker 1: Baker's job to win and he I'm happy that he's
Speaker 1: doing against the Browns a week one. That's just fun.
Speaker 1: But this will be something I'll be interested to see
Speaker 1: where things are at at this position by October. M
Speaker 1: I'm just not as high on Mayfield. I know you're not,
Speaker 1: but he's had moments hurt. I get it. But even then,
Speaker 1: Donald is among the biggest bus in NFL history to me,
Speaker 1: like I really would put that for a top period.
Speaker 1: Are you kidding? One of the biggest bus in NFL history?
Speaker 1: For I think if you just look at the number. Now,
Speaker 1: he got a longer timeline, but if you just look
Speaker 1: at the numbers of quarterbacks who have started that amount
Speaker 1: of games over like a four year period, it's there
Speaker 1: with anyone in the last twenty years, basically any number
Speaker 1: and and that, and and those guys usually don't get
Speaker 1: as many chances as he did. So it's a little
Speaker 1: different than like an Achilles Smith or guys like that
Speaker 1: who who only got one year or two years. It
Speaker 1: doesn't matter. Maybe he'll end up playing. I'm sure he
Speaker 1: will again as a backup somewhere. He'll get another chance,
Speaker 1: and you're right, Dan, it'll probably be like one this year,
Speaker 1: but this gives him a shot. It's a week division.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about that later with Scott Reynolds. But there's
Speaker 1: some there's some possibility here because I think Baker, in
Speaker 1: light of everything that's happened with Cleveland this year, I
Speaker 1: think it would be kind of a little bit delicious
Speaker 1: if Mayfield had a big season. Um So I'm okay
Speaker 1: if if if what you say, well happen happens, and
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield is missing starts because he's been benched, his
Speaker 1: career is also in a very dark place. He's a
Speaker 1: backup to I think, Yeah, I think Donald with this
Speaker 1: is heading into that he's a number two guy and
Speaker 1: probably can hang around for a few years. But I think,
Speaker 1: and it's it's telling like this is it for rat Rule.
Speaker 1: He's got to win with Baker Mayfield. I think there's
Speaker 1: a chance he could. But Matt Matt Carroll's injury over
Speaker 1: the weekend, he's gonna miss the season. Remember that's the
Speaker 1: third round pick that they took Uh in the draft.
Speaker 1: To me is it's very like typical of everything with
Speaker 1: this Matt ruler. If he goes, I think he If
Speaker 1: Matt Rule doesn't survive this year, I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: really look back and hate the half measures he took.
Speaker 1: It always half measures. Teddy was a little Teddy was
Speaker 1: a half measure that they gave two years. Gary teed
Speaker 1: he was okay, not great. They wanted to upgrade Donald
Speaker 1: ended up being a half measure too early, Like they
Speaker 1: could have gotten a draft pick last year. They could
Speaker 1: have gotten mac Jones, they could have gotten justin fields,
Speaker 1: they could have gone bigger at the position. And Baker
Speaker 1: was kind of a last minute half measure and Matt
Speaker 1: Carroll was kind of a half measure, like we're not
Speaker 1: gonna go all the way in for our rookie quarterbacks
Speaker 1: this year, but we are going to give up a
Speaker 1: third round pick UH to move up UH for next
Speaker 1: year for whoever's running this team next year. They don't
Speaker 1: have their third round pick. The Patriots have it and
Speaker 1: a fourth round pick to go get Corral So you
Speaker 1: hate to see him get injured. But just like it
Speaker 1: was a lot of like we didn't ever want to
Speaker 1: go all in and then suddenly you might be gone.
Speaker 1: They lack identity, and I think, you know, I look
Speaker 1: at the GM two. I mean it's not been It's
Speaker 1: for a team that came in under their ownership with
Speaker 1: such urgency when attached to Matt rule. We're in the
Speaker 1: year three and I see no distinct characteristics about who
Speaker 1: the Panthers are right now. Maybe big I guess, to
Speaker 1: be fair, they tried. They just swung and missed. They
Speaker 1: wanted Staff, they wanted Watson, they just didn't um and
Speaker 1: I could, I could hear it now. So I just
Speaker 1: want to get out in front of this. I am
Speaker 1: not saying that Sam Donald has a career ahead of
Speaker 1: him that's going to be shining. But when you say
Speaker 1: he's one of the biggest bus in the history of
Speaker 1: the NFL, given me a quarterbacks specific was never in
Speaker 1: position to be successful in the league. And there are
Speaker 1: guys like JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf and Vernon Golston
Speaker 1: who are outright disasters who were next level type bus.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking quarterback category to me, Yeah, I get I guess,
Speaker 1: but give me the quarterbacks that you would put in
Speaker 1: a different category than him, that that have played. I
Speaker 1: guess Russell Russells your example, Russell, if you wanted to
Speaker 1: go look, had had some moments. Now he even in
Speaker 1: the top ten of that draft. I think you could
Speaker 1: look at the guy that was taken by the Arizona
Speaker 1: Cardinals as a bigger bus than Donald. Where is that guy?
Speaker 1: He's on the Browns. Probably will not be in the
Speaker 1: next month, but he is on the Browns right now.
Speaker 1: I'm calling him that guy because his name is this
Speaker 1: gave to me raging bust, and that's not I'm just saying.
Speaker 1: I guess like people like and I hope he can
Speaker 1: have like a gabber like career, But to me, like that,
Speaker 1: that's where you're at longer than a Gabbard and Achilles Smith,
Speaker 1: those top picks who got a little chill Smith, Yeah, alright,
Speaker 1: he didn't. Let let's pause right here and take a break.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back. Um. Another former first round pick,
Speaker 1: current first round pick. Wouldn't you become a former first
Speaker 1: round pick next year? I guess Kenny Pickett. I think
Speaker 1: he's just the first round pick. He's just the first
Speaker 1: round pick. After his career, he's balling out in the
Speaker 1: preseason six or seven seventy six yards touchdown against the Jaguars,
Speaker 1: uh this weekend, and uh. You know Kenny Pickett, Mark,
Speaker 1: there have been um positive comments about him. There there
Speaker 1: was criticism about how he started his camp and he
Speaker 1: looked very green and like a rookie. But now when
Speaker 1: he's starting to stack up these preseason performances, it goes
Speaker 1: back to what I was saying a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: like we need to see how he performs in these
Speaker 1: games before we decide or before we are sure that
Speaker 1: somebody like a Mason Rudolph or anyone else is starting
Speaker 1: quarterback for this team. I still tend to think that
Speaker 1: they would like to roll Mitch Robiskie out there early
Speaker 1: because their offensive line, according to I think Mark Copoli
Speaker 1: is one of the best Steelers reporters out there and
Speaker 1: has said that on a day to day basis, the
Speaker 1: line has looked more fractured and messy, uh than a
Speaker 1: year ago, which is a big problem. That was a
Speaker 1: problem for Big Ben. That said, when you watch Kenny Pickett,
Speaker 1: it's just like in these games, and I think that's
Speaker 1: an argument for the preseason. I'm not a big preseason
Speaker 1: fan at all, but like the chance that we've had
Speaker 1: to experience Kenny Pickett in game situations, and he was
Speaker 1: playing the starters against the Jaguars. In this recent affair,
Speaker 1: he's played with starters against right and he's looked fantastic,
Speaker 1: And I think he's sort of everything that Mike Tomlin
Speaker 1: said he wanted post, big and a mobile quarterback. He
Speaker 1: can throw on the run really well, he does well
Speaker 1: off script. I just I think this is the problem
Speaker 1: here for a little bit, if you're Mitch Robisky or
Speaker 1: anyone else, is that this is a special situation where
Speaker 1: this is someone who Pittsburgh already loves because where he
Speaker 1: went to school and who he is, and he's showing
Speaker 1: up really well at in these games. I don't know
Speaker 1: how you fend him off for more than a week
Speaker 1: or sin. Mike Tomlin loves him. I mean he was
Speaker 1: Tomlin said on the draft. The night of the draft,
Speaker 1: they asked, would you be open to starting Kenny pick
Speaker 1: It week one and go look at his words? He said, yes,
Speaker 1: I think he's got a shot. We're taping this on Monday,
Speaker 1: so it's kind of an awkward time. We'll see what
Speaker 1: they do with their practice reps. But after the game,
Speaker 1: Tomlin said, just that's who he is. Pick it because
Speaker 1: he let a two minute drive and his numbers are great.
Speaker 1: But actually Trabisky's numbers are quite good, and Mason Rudolfs
Speaker 1: numbers are great too, and none of them have been
Speaker 1: protected well. Trabinsky, especially against other starters, has had no
Speaker 1: protection and he survived pretty well. But what Tomlin said
Speaker 1: after the game to me was very telling. He said,
Speaker 1: that's who he is in terms of picket's ability to
Speaker 1: come up in the clutch. He did it next door.
Speaker 1: He probably did in high school. He probably did it
Speaker 1: in Little league. Some things people are born with, like
Speaker 1: he's not talking about that about Trabisky or Rudolph. And
Speaker 1: I tend to think you're right. I think Trabisky probably
Speaker 1: gets weak one. But we might find out by Wednesday
Speaker 1: that that's that that's wrong and that the least now
Speaker 1: is extremely short because of pickets preseason. In other news,
Speaker 1: the Washington Commanders, this Antonio Gibson situation is getting dicey.
Speaker 1: The running back Um served as Washington's kick returner in
Speaker 1: their preseason game against the Chiefs. He's playing behind Brian,
Speaker 1: Brian Robinson and Greg This was not the game plan.
Speaker 1: This is not how Washington saw their offensive maturing with
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz, and they thought Gibson was a major guy.
Speaker 1: But maybe he's not because the team and the coaching
Speaker 1: staff is not seemed to be very excited right now.
Speaker 1: It could be Ron Rivera sending a message, but Brian
Speaker 1: Robinson just is a kind of straight ahead I'm gonna
Speaker 1: try to get the yards that are there guy, and
Speaker 1: Ron Rivera literally said last week Antonio Gibson needs to
Speaker 1: run harder, and I don't think that means their roles
Speaker 1: are flipped and that Gibson's definitely the backup, but it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a three person committee. This is a guy
Speaker 1: that was getting taken Gibson in the very high reaches
Speaker 1: of fantasy drafts, while Robinson was barely getting drafted at all.
Speaker 1: And it feels like a three man committee at best
Speaker 1: for Gibson with j D. Mckissic also being a big,
Speaker 1: big factor. It's a rough tumble because it's not like
Speaker 1: a new regime came in and just saw Antonio Gibson
Speaker 1: differently than the past. I mean, Scott Turner knows him
Speaker 1: really well, but he's had the fumbling issues. He had
Speaker 1: a terrible fumble against the Panthers in that first preseason game,
Speaker 1: which just was thematically, what what one of the things
Speaker 1: that dances too. I don't think he's just gonna be
Speaker 1: buried but play. But I mean, I think if you're
Speaker 1: in fantasy world and we'll talk about that on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: it's suddenly it's it's a clown car. You don't know
Speaker 1: tots totally. I just meant like, I I why should
Speaker 1: I talk about? Why should I dig on? And now
Speaker 1: when we're gonna go into such depth on Wednesday. We
Speaker 1: took you off to corner last year, remember, and you
Speaker 1: were in studio and a major part I thought you
Speaker 1: would have enthusiasm, not the throwing up the arms like
Speaker 1: well I have. I actually have a very special update
Speaker 1: to come on Wednesday. I need to let you know.
Speaker 1: I just think like this, this wasn't maybe a fourth
Speaker 1: thing that you can learn from. Okay, I'm open to
Speaker 1: tradition battles. I got admit, though, you're right what McVeigh
Speaker 1: did in terms of sitting his starters a few years ago,
Speaker 1: that was like the canary in the coal mine. And
Speaker 1: more than ever, most teams are doing that, and it's
Speaker 1: increased each and every year. So I would say the
Speaker 1: vast majority of my sixty eight things we learned from
Speaker 1: this last week was not from the games. It was
Speaker 1: just second Yeah, I mean I believe in it. I'm
Speaker 1: putting too. But I think for for you, Mark, you know,
Speaker 1: when you think about the fantasy element of this week
Speaker 1: and you think about what how important you are to
Speaker 1: this show, I think you should listen to what Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz has been trying to tell us all off season.
Speaker 1: You know, as we all know, decided to really go
Speaker 1: ahead and start to take command that to take amends
Speaker 1: scenario with the fantasy extravaganza. You want me to start
Speaker 1: to do that, Well, it's all hands on deck, you
Speaker 1: know we need When did I suggest I was not
Speaker 1: gonna be a part of it on the YouTube show?
Speaker 1: Can we have an instant replay of Mark throwing up
Speaker 1: his hands like we'll talk about that on Wednesday? Well
Speaker 1: that's not the way I said it. But I don't
Speaker 1: think sure rookie injuries to talk about. Here we go.
Speaker 1: That's one of the big three Greg I have. Um,
Speaker 1: I've thought it over, and positional battles do not make
Speaker 1: my top three. Okay, but if you if it doesn't
Speaker 1: mean like it's not definitive, like my top three has
Speaker 1: to be everybody's top three. That's just mine. Yours might
Speaker 1: have more than three or four or five or six,
Speaker 1: and positional battles could be. I love I kind of
Speaker 1: love this time of year because we've wasted, We've spent
Speaker 1: a lot of time talking about not knowing much in
Speaker 1: terms of like how is it all gonna hapen? And
Speaker 1: I think you get into it with the Jets. You
Speaker 1: want to know like who's having good camps, who's having
Speaker 1: the who's up, who's down? Just expand that out by
Speaker 1: thirty two teams because all these like questions of these
Speaker 1: teams like they're being answered quietly. If only I could,
Speaker 1: I could expand myself out to thirty two teams the
Speaker 1: way Greg just does effortlessly. Yes, uh no, that's good.
Speaker 1: I'm happy that it makes you that excited sort of
Speaker 1: a holding for you in terms of coverage and content. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm just running out the clock a little bit and
Speaker 1: getting excited, uh for next week's honest it's an honest answer.
Speaker 1: Rookie injuries, Giants first round pick outside Russia, Cavon Thibodeau,
Speaker 1: our friend out three to four weeks with a sprained
Speaker 1: MCL got taken out by a low block That led
Speaker 1: to a lot of Internet discussion and consternation. Not everybody
Speaker 1: has to have takes on everything, guys, you know, apparently
Speaker 1: they do this world. You know, every we're always fighting
Speaker 1: about stuff. Do we need to be fighting about everything?
Speaker 1: How about we just say bummer that the rookie, that
Speaker 1: kid hurt his knee. I hope he's gonna be okay.
Speaker 1: Not like I know what block should be legal, illegal.
Speaker 1: You don't know the game, you never played the game.
Speaker 1: You're not a you're not a good guy because you
Speaker 1: see things differently. Enough of that. That's when I switched
Speaker 1: over to TikTok. Seattle running back Kenneth Walker dealing with
Speaker 1: a hernia and uh, he's had he has surgery. So
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how long they're gonna be without there
Speaker 1: running back. But there's always an injured runn back when
Speaker 1: they're talking about the Seahawks. That seems hopefully he gets
Speaker 1: better soon enough. And Patriots wide receiver Tekwan Thornton out
Speaker 1: eight weeks. That's a toughie. I think a broken collar bone,
Speaker 1: well collar bone injury. Yeah, but there's different types of
Speaker 1: broken collar bones that he could still return this season,
Speaker 1: but I do think that could impact a potential trade
Speaker 1: because it felt like either either Kendrick Born or maybe
Speaker 1: Nelson Agilar was gonna get traded. At first, I thought
Speaker 1: it was a but then Born is having a bizarre
Speaker 1: camp where Belichick yelled at him. He got kicked out
Speaker 1: for fighting, Like yeah, people saw bell check like yelling
Speaker 1: at him. That he was benched in the preseason game
Speaker 1: even though he was healthy. There's you know, there was
Speaker 1: some stuff going on there, and he hasn't been targeted
Speaker 1: much but apparently so I was the best receiver this summer.
Speaker 1: Potentially that that might be, but yeah, I like like
Speaker 1: that A smaller a smaller. He's the only one on
Speaker 1: the team that is fast, so I would have liked
Speaker 1: him to be healthy. He'll be a little slower for
Speaker 1: the next eight weeks at least. If the Patriots come
Speaker 1: out and score like thirty five points a game over
Speaker 1: the first month of season, then I'm with you, Dan,
Speaker 1: I will never pay attention to anything that happens in
Speaker 1: the summer ever again, because it just seems so gloomy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, we'll see. I'm really looking forward to September
Speaker 1: eleven two. Finally in the news, Dana White Um is
Speaker 1: the grand Puba of UFC, Like he's the guy, he
Speaker 1: runs the whole show, and they had one of their events.
Speaker 1: I'm not really a big fan. I don't follow it,
Speaker 1: but I know millions of people love UFC. So whatever
Speaker 1: the big UFC event was this past weekend, he was
Speaker 1: speaking Um as part of some type of round table
Speaker 1: of I don't know, prefight or post fight discussion, and
Speaker 1: he had this to say with Rob Gronkowski in studio
Speaker 1: about a potential sliding door scenario. Never saw the movie
Speaker 1: involving Tom Brady and Grunt and the Las Vegas Raiders,
Speaker 1: So I'm the one. I worked to put that deal
Speaker 1: together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders,
Speaker 1: and it was almost a done deal, and at the
Speaker 1: last minute the deal up and said that he didn't
Speaker 1: want them, and all hell broke loose. Man, it was
Speaker 1: crazy and and and Brady was already looking at houses
Speaker 1: and it wasn't being said yet that Gronk was coming.
Speaker 1: So Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the
Speaker 1: year that the Bucks won the Super Bowl, except Gruden
Speaker 1: blew the deal up, and there's so much story that
Speaker 1: goes along with this behind the scenes. And I was
Speaker 1: never going to tell that story until Gronk just said it.
Speaker 1: But and Dana, I w story, and I'm glad. I'm
Speaker 1: glad at the unbelievable that was Gronk. You heard Hatty
Speaker 1: and there and you know Mark you brought up and
Speaker 1: it was a good point that now that we have
Speaker 1: this information information and you have one of the principles
Speaker 1: tied to it directly confirming it, which was Gronk Brady's
Speaker 1: commentary shortly after when he was on the Shop, the
Speaker 1: NFL Show or the HBO Show with Lebron James. This
Speaker 1: comment he made you could start to, you know, connect
Speaker 1: the red strings. There was a story in Free Agency
Speaker 1: one of the teams they were interested in, all of
Speaker 1: a sudden they weren't interested at the very end. I
Speaker 1: was sitting there thinking, you're sticking with that mother? Are
Speaker 1: you serious? So that motherfucker is Derek Carr? You think so?
Speaker 1: I mean, just because of what we've learned from this
Speaker 1: where it was this eleventh hour Gruden for whatever reason
Speaker 1: deciding I don't want Tom Brady and Gronk, I don't
Speaker 1: know what you what what the mentality was there? I
Speaker 1: have a guess, by the way, but go on investigation,
Speaker 1: I guess it is here we go, Um, no go
Speaker 1: finish your point? Well, no, I I it could have
Speaker 1: been Mitch Robisky because the Bears were in the mix.
Speaker 1: There was just sort of like a couple of quarterbacks
Speaker 1: out there where you like SUSI was Ryan Fitzpatrick Patrick
Speaker 1: February because he was trying to get to the Dolphins
Speaker 1: based on that floorst thing. But the way Brady positioned
Speaker 1: it that it was a sound second. It certainly seems
Speaker 1: to be this story. And my theory is that Gruden,
Speaker 1: who's a control freak with a huge ego. Um, I
Speaker 1: can imagine he didn't want Tom Brady is the boss
Speaker 1: wherever he is now, and that is not the situation
Speaker 1: Gruden who wanted that to be his team and his
Speaker 1: team alone. And Derek Carr is someone that I'm not
Speaker 1: saying Derek Carr's upupping on the strings, but he's somebody
Speaker 1: that growted. He's a player ego get it in the way.
Speaker 1: That's that's original, right. There's well for John and Cronks
Speaker 1: like I'm glad that didn't happen and it's like yeah, uh,
Speaker 1: and people were like, really, what do you mean? Really?
Speaker 1: You just want a Super Bowl with the Bucks? You
Speaker 1: could have been partying in Vegas for two straight years.
Speaker 1: That Gronk was sneaky great Uh those two years. But
Speaker 1: that is Um, it is amazing and it is a
Speaker 1: life lesson. I think that it's true and a lot
Speaker 1: of walks of life. More people than you would think
Speaker 1: are just kind of worried about protecting their turf and
Speaker 1: keeping their gig versus like trying to do a good
Speaker 1: job or like succeeding. Yeah. I think that's a sad
Speaker 1: but true commentary on the world. Greg Um. We'll have
Speaker 1: more on Tom Brady and the Box and maybe even
Speaker 1: Gronk after this break, when we the return of the
Speaker 1: Signature series of Around the NFL Signature. It's time right back.
Speaker 1: The Flashpoint series is back studying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
Speaker 1: what comes next for Tom Brady's team, and to help
Speaker 1: us navigate this conversation is a man who's in his
Speaker 1: seven year covering the Bucks. Um currently with Pewter Report
Speaker 1: dot Com and Scott Reynolds. You, sir, Welcome to t
Speaker 1: n You sir, predate the Pewter and that shows everyone
Speaker 1: that this dude knows his Bucks history, the president and
Speaker 1: what we need to know from you the future. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I do go back to the cream sickles. We're supposed
Speaker 1: to see those this year, but supposedly supply chain issues
Speaker 1: have caused problems. But we'll see the cream sis for
Speaker 1: a throwback game. Now you know what that means? Tom
Speaker 1: Brady said, no, I'm not wearing essentially, and oh well, supply,
Speaker 1: let's before we get into what's going around the Bucks,
Speaker 1: because it's got This is an interesting moment in time
Speaker 1: for Tampa because they make sense as a favorite in
Speaker 1: the NFC, But then you start to look closer with
Speaker 1: the roster and what's going on around the team, and
Speaker 1: you wonder if this could be a little more of
Speaker 1: a bumpy ride that's some than some people expect. At
Speaker 1: least that's kind of where I am right now with
Speaker 1: the Bucks. Tom Brady returned to the facility from his absence.
Speaker 1: He practiced with the team in some capacity today. Is
Speaker 1: everything on the Brady side of things now put to bed?
Speaker 1: It's going to be more like a Tom Brady Buck
Speaker 1: season going forward? Or do you imagine anything any other
Speaker 1: unforeseen absences or anything like that. Moving on. We hope so,
Speaker 1: but we're not sure. This has been the most un
Speaker 1: brady l a year for a guy that is so
Speaker 1: meticulous when it comes to preparation and details and planning.
Speaker 1: Remember there was the awkward retirement right where some NFL
Speaker 1: reports beat him to the punch and and then he
Speaker 1: plumbs the lever. Then he and then he retired forty
Speaker 1: one days later, out of the blue on the eve
Speaker 1: of free agency. So now all of a sudden, you
Speaker 1: know it was an excused absence, and then two and
Speaker 1: then will it's his birthday? And then he's not gonna
Speaker 1: be here for the Tennessee week. So this has been
Speaker 1: a very unbrady like year in Tampa Bay. And listen,
Speaker 1: the Bucks are just happy to have him because the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks for this team, we're gonna be blamed Gabbert and
Speaker 1: Kyle Trask if it wasn't Brady. So they want they
Speaker 1: want one more year Brady, even if the guy just
Speaker 1: shows up on Sundays and plays. Why why do you
Speaker 1: think in terms of how this was handled, Because I
Speaker 1: think if if Tom Brady, you know, a month and
Speaker 1: a half ago, they made it clear there was this
Speaker 1: scheduled time away. Uh, the team knew about it, but
Speaker 1: we're just gonna drop this on all of you football
Speaker 1: fans and reporters out of thin air. I think that
Speaker 1: made it into so much more that it needed to be.
Speaker 1: Why would the Bucks if you're the front office, the
Speaker 1: coach is certainly your pr staff, Why stir things up
Speaker 1: that way? I think that's sort of what just threw
Speaker 1: me about this whole situation. Sure, and I think it
Speaker 1: was at Tom Brady's request. I think that's why they
Speaker 1: did it. Here's the thing, whether this was a pre
Speaker 1: planned vacation, whether there is some type of medical issue
Speaker 1: surrounding a family member. Uh, Tom Brady is a player
Speaker 1: that goes beyond the coverage of Pewter Report dot com
Speaker 1: or the Tampa Bay Times for example. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: an icon. He is a natural figure. So when you're
Speaker 1: talking about covering this guy, I mean you're talking about
Speaker 1: paparazzi type coverage. I mean, he is a Michael Jordan,
Speaker 1: Lebron James. He's an icon. And so imagine if if
Speaker 1: Brady said I'm gonna go vacation, I'm gonna take a
Speaker 1: couple of days off or I've got a family medical
Speaker 1: issue to attend to. You're just alerning the paparazzi to
Speaker 1: stake out certain places, right, whether it's hospitals in California,
Speaker 1: if something happened to his parents, or you know, the
Speaker 1: the hotspots Brady likes to go. Just you get a
Speaker 1: picture of Tom not at Bucks pro this, right, so
Speaker 1: I can see why he did it. And I do
Speaker 1: know that he's a public figure, he is a worldwide icon.
Speaker 1: At the same time, I still believe everybody deserves some
Speaker 1: level of privacy. And yes, we'd like to know, but
Speaker 1: I'm fine with knowing after the fact he's back, and
Speaker 1: I think that's all Buccaneer fans really care about right now.
Speaker 1: And if you're going to vacation, if you're going to
Speaker 1: take some time away to see maybe annailing family member,
Speaker 1: and I don't know what the reason is, it's just speculation.
Speaker 1: The time to do it is in training camp in August,
Speaker 1: because once the season comes, Brady will be locked in.
Speaker 1: He didn't come back for a twenty third year in
Speaker 1: the league at age forty to mess around. He's coming
Speaker 1: back to win another Super Bowl, right. I wouldn't be
Speaker 1: surprised if he had some sports science data that actually
Speaker 1: says a time of rest right a month before the
Speaker 1: season is actually optimal for his body at his age.
Speaker 1: And he's at the point of his career game right
Speaker 1: where he's just saying like, Okay, I'm gonna do this
Speaker 1: and this is part of me right, He's like, I
Speaker 1: already booked the hotel room. I can't cancel it to
Speaker 1: come back. I love having your on Scott, because when
Speaker 1: I started at Rotor World in two thousand three, like
Speaker 1: Pewter Report was around then, like that was one of
Speaker 1: the sites then that like we had in our RSS
Speaker 1: feeds to get the latest news. And I'm still looking
Speaker 1: at your site and using it. You had a headline
Speaker 1: I think that said the Kyle Trask experiment is all
Speaker 1: but over from the weekend. I used that in my
Speaker 1: column on Monday because because Blaine Gabbert looks like he's
Speaker 1: gonna be the backup. I am curious though, with everything
Speaker 1: that's gone around with Brady this offseason and this this
Speaker 1: vibe that they changed the coaching staff but not really
Speaker 1: um and that Brady hasn't been able to practice with
Speaker 1: Evans and Godwin engage because they've had had their injuries
Speaker 1: and and they lost their in Stinny over the weekend,
Speaker 1: and of course they lost Ryan Jensen. Like, just what's
Speaker 1: the vibe of this offense not having gotten in the
Speaker 1: work that usually is so important to Tom Brady and
Speaker 1: just everything around this team kind of compared to what
Speaker 1: it was like the last play years with arians. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna use a visual aid for the vibe. The vibe
Speaker 1: is this fingers crossed. Thank you, it's fingers crossed. And
Speaker 1: keep in mind, I will say this, there was a
Speaker 1: little bit of a you know, magic in the bottle
Speaker 1: uh in. Remember there was no preseason, there was a
Speaker 1: truncated training camp because of COVID nineteen, there was there
Speaker 1: were no preseason games. So the very first time that
Speaker 1: Tom Brady war buccaneer uniform was in the week one
Speaker 1: season opener at New Orleans and that's the first time
Speaker 1: he threw to Mike Evans and Chris Gobindana game. So
Speaker 1: this is year three, he's two years ahead of that
Speaker 1: almost through for well, he threw for over yards in
Speaker 1: his first year, over five thousand yards last year, forty touchdowns,
Speaker 1: two years ago, winning the Super Bowl in the regular season,
Speaker 1: and then forty three last year. So I feel good
Speaker 1: about where Tom's had in terms of knowing this offense
Speaker 1: and knowing the majority of the pieces. Now there are
Speaker 1: a couple of new offensive weapons. He's got to get
Speaker 1: some some continuity with Russell Gauge, Julio Jones, Kyle Rudolph
Speaker 1: on the offensive side ka Dot and he is the
Speaker 1: hype reel and Julio, you've been at practices, yeah, And
Speaker 1: I think they're doing a really good job of managing him.
Speaker 1: I mean, it sounds crazy, but he went to Tennessee
Speaker 1: last year and I was talking to some of the
Speaker 1: Tennessee folks last week at the practices, the joint practices
Speaker 1: in Nashville. He went there to be the number two receiver.
Speaker 1: I think at this stage of the game, with the injuries,
Speaker 1: he just his body is not going to hold up
Speaker 1: to be that guy. But you know what, he can
Speaker 1: be the league's best fourth wide receiver, and I think
Speaker 1: that's what he's gonna be. He's gonna be a player
Speaker 1: that every once in a while he's gonna get featured
Speaker 1: and he'll get a hundred yards a game. But maybe
Speaker 1: that happens once or twice this year. There's just so
Speaker 1: many weapons to throw too. But they really don't need
Speaker 1: Julio Jones so much in September as they're gonna need
Speaker 1: him in January. And if you go back and look
Speaker 1: at the three years that the Bruce Arians coaching staff,
Speaker 1: let's call it that because Todd Bowles is is you know,
Speaker 1: has been here since twenty in twenty nineteen and then
Speaker 1: last year they just ran out of wide receivers at
Speaker 1: the end of the season due to injury. And this
Speaker 1: is a wide receiver driven offense. The only year where
Speaker 1: they had everybody healthy was in twenty and look what happened.
Speaker 1: They won the Super Bowl. They brought Antonio Brown and
Speaker 1: he added to that mix along with Scottie Millery who
Speaker 1: was having a good year, and of course Evans and
Speaker 1: and Godwin were the thousand yard receivers. So I like,
Speaker 1: what the what the Bucks have done being proactive and
Speaker 1: getting not just a Russell Gauge to replace Antonio Brown,
Speaker 1: but getting a Galicticulio Jones so he can be here
Speaker 1: and learn this offense and be a factor as a
Speaker 1: role player throughout the year. And Mike Evans is obviously
Speaker 1: a rock, but we know Chris Godwin is coming off
Speaker 1: the A c L. And you know, as a Jets fan,
Speaker 1: I remember the Todd Bowls teams when he was at
Speaker 1: the lead. That was that they ran the ball a lot.
Speaker 1: They ran the ball early, umh on downs And just
Speaker 1: curious if you see a five thousand yards season for
Speaker 1: Brady or anything close to it. I know for Nett's
Speaker 1: coming back, they invested a high draft pick in Rashad White.
Speaker 1: Do you think this team turns into a more of
Speaker 1: a running oriented team or do you see them continue
Speaker 1: to play through um Brady in the passing game regardless
Speaker 1: of who's on the field. Kind of both. And I
Speaker 1: don't mean to ride defense there, but I see this
Speaker 1: being a pass first offense still, And why wouldn't it
Speaker 1: be right with Tom Brady and Evans and Godwin and
Speaker 1: Russell Gage and Julio Jones. But as you mentioned Leonard
Speaker 1: four Nette, he got paid seven million dollars a year,
Speaker 1: so you might as well use him. The good thing
Speaker 1: with Leonard is he can play in all three downs.
Speaker 1: He's a great receiver out of the backfield. He's one
Speaker 1: of those guys that Tom Brady stood on the table
Speaker 1: for and said, I want Lenny back if I'm coming back.
Speaker 1: I want Lenny back, and then Rashad White is is
Speaker 1: I think gonna be a star in this league. Maybe
Speaker 1: not a you know, a perennial Pro Bowl guy, but
Speaker 1: I think he can be a player that can run
Speaker 1: and catch the ball have one of those twelve hundred
Speaker 1: maybe yard combined seasons in time. Leonard's gonna be the
Speaker 1: guy this year, but Rashad White is gonna be a
Speaker 1: nice addition. I think whether where they're trying to run
Speaker 1: the ball better is if you look at those losses
Speaker 1: to the Rams now it's three losses in a row
Speaker 1: dating back to the play the Rams twice last year
Speaker 1: in the regular season and of course the playoffs, and
Speaker 1: then the Saints. They've lost seven straight regular season games
Speaker 1: to the Saints. If you take away that playoff win
Speaker 1: in the last quarterback to beat the Saints was Ryan Fitzpatrick,
Speaker 1: and the season no better in the Bucks have struggled
Speaker 1: running the ball against the Saints and against the Rams.
Speaker 1: Both those teams have pretty good pass rushes and and
Speaker 1: they've got good players stickn cover receivers in the secondary.
Speaker 1: So I think what Todd Bowles wants is he wants
Speaker 1: to be able to run the ball when they want
Speaker 1: or need to run the ball. And if you have
Speaker 1: a little bit more balanced in those games against the
Speaker 1: Rams and Saints and guess what, they're on the schedule
Speaker 1: again this year, then I think you're not subjecting Tom
Speaker 1: Brady in that offensive line to as many sacks and hits,
Speaker 1: and you stand a little bit better chance to win
Speaker 1: the game with the more balanced offense. So I think
Speaker 1: it's gonna be passed first against other teams, but against
Speaker 1: the heavyweight contenders in the NFC, I think they want
Speaker 1: to be able to be a little bit more balanced.
Speaker 1: And speaking of the offensive line obviously, I mean if
Speaker 1: there's some weird vibes around the team. I mean we
Speaker 1: saw when the line was banged up at the end
Speaker 1: of last year. Tom Brady was not looking like Tom
Speaker 1: Brady and some of those moments, and it was definitely
Speaker 1: a compromised attack and he was extremely frustrated. Aaron Stinny
Speaker 1: goes down. Ryan Jensen's out of the mix. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're already at the point where you're testing your depth.
Speaker 1: This is all or nothing for the Bucks. It's like
Speaker 1: this season and then we go into an ABYSS after
Speaker 1: this season. So I mean, are they they've got ten
Speaker 1: they got ten million in cash space, they've got a
Speaker 1: full compliment of draft picks for next next April. Would
Speaker 1: they are they looking to maybe make a move. There's J. C.
Speaker 1: Treader sitting out there, there's other guys. Or is it
Speaker 1: We're just gonna stick with our dudes and hope this
Speaker 1: thing works. Like you said, you know, fingers crossed. I
Speaker 1: think that they're gonna probably get a veteran guard, maybe
Speaker 1: a guy that can play guardians center, because right now
Speaker 1: Nick Leverett is is in the mix for that starting
Speaker 1: left guard job along with Louke Getticky, who got the
Speaker 1: start Saturday night in his first start in the NFL
Speaker 1: against the Tennessee Titans. He's making the transition from right
Speaker 1: tackle to left guard. So that's the right to the
Speaker 1: left tackle, the guard. That's that's already two hurdles. Then
Speaker 1: you have Central Michigan, which is the MAC two to
Speaker 1: the NFL. That that's a big leap too. And you
Speaker 1: look at Tristan Works, you say, okay, we started him
Speaker 1: as as a rookie, but Tristan Works is just a freak.
Speaker 1: I mean, he was a first round pick to begin with.
Speaker 1: Plus he's played at so many big games in Iowa,
Speaker 1: you know, power five school, so they like what they
Speaker 1: have there. But I think the loss of Stinny is
Speaker 1: going to force this team to go out and get
Speaker 1: a veteran to throw in that mix too and compete
Speaker 1: at the left guard spot. Um. They expect Tristan Works
Speaker 1: to be back from his strange oblique. He missed the
Speaker 1: game on Saturday night, but they're hopeful he returns by
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys. He's an opener, but you know it
Speaker 1: is it is a little alarming what's happening along the
Speaker 1: offensive line right now. And if listen, you mentioned that
Speaker 1: twenty seven years covering this team, the Bucks have won
Speaker 1: two Super Bowls. They've been to two. The only times
Speaker 1: they've been and won those games is when they were
Speaker 1: extremely healthy, and that usually goes. It's usually part for
Speaker 1: the course rate for Super Bowl winners. But the Buccaneers
Speaker 1: only had one starter on injur reserve in two thousand two.
Speaker 1: That was nose tackle Booger McFarland. They only had one
Speaker 1: starter on injur reserve in that was right guard Alex Kappa.
Speaker 1: Aaron Stinny was the player that filled in for Kappa
Speaker 1: in the postseason and the Super Bowl. So right now
Speaker 1: they're already missing Ryan Jensen. He's the Pro Bowl center.
Speaker 1: And the guy that you didn't mention was Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: left guard Ali Marpet, who suddenly retired at age twenty
Speaker 1: nine this year. So it's it does seem a little
Speaker 1: shaky up front right now for the Buccaneers offensive line.
Speaker 1: That might be why they wanted to lean on the
Speaker 1: running ge a little bit more, and so Brady is
Speaker 1: not subjected to dropping back times a game and getting hit.
Speaker 1: And we just share a look over here when he
Speaker 1: said worse might be a little up in the air
Speaker 1: for Week one, you're looking at their That's a tough
Speaker 1: schedule for the Bucks. We talked about this on the
Speaker 1: show a couple of weeks ago, coming out of the gate,
Speaker 1: when you factor in that Brady missed a portion of
Speaker 1: training camp and the offensive line is dealing with injury
Speaker 1: and missing guys, and and then you've put in the schedule.
Speaker 1: That's where I started to get nervous about this team.
Speaker 1: I mean, I wonder how they come out of the
Speaker 1: gate and what they're looking like when the calendar turns
Speaker 1: over to say October, Scott, you don't know this but
Speaker 1: Dan has been predicting Tom Brady's demise for eight straight seasons,
Speaker 1: and he's it's gonna happen. He's ready for it to happen.
Speaker 1: The gradual decline is that's that's a deep over simplication
Speaker 1: from Greg. I don't think Brady is going to be
Speaker 1: the problem, but I'm speaking more to what's around him.
Speaker 1: Right it's got there. I do I do wonder what
Speaker 1: kind of like in his heart of hearts with Jason
Speaker 1: Light and the owners up and different people in this
Speaker 1: organization sometimes because they experienced what the post Brady era
Speaker 1: was like for a little bit. I guess they were
Speaker 1: trying to get him back probably the whole time. Uh,
Speaker 1: because it's because it's weird. Tom Brady is a free
Speaker 1: agent after this season. We talked about earlier the report
Speaker 1: or the comment from Dana White that he was trying
Speaker 1: to get to the Raiders. Uh, John Gruden to you know,
Speaker 1: put him, put him up in the ring of honor
Speaker 1: again in Tampa. You got you're another super Bowl, Like
Speaker 1: he tried to get to the Dolphins two different times.
Speaker 1: I don't know, is there like a little bit of
Speaker 1: like this this really might be our last year with
Speaker 1: Brady here because whether he leaves to play football again
Speaker 1: or what like, it's it's a lot. I want you,
Speaker 1: Scott to be the guy asking the hard questions. If
Speaker 1: this thing goes south, just take it to Brady. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'll do that. I'll stay this though. If you look
Speaker 1: at the state of the NFC South and and things
Speaker 1: can can change quickly, right I mean, nobody saw this
Speaker 1: since that he Bengals going to the Super Bowl last year.
Speaker 1: But things can change. So we'll see how the rest
Speaker 1: of the South develops and comes around. But right now,
Speaker 1: I still like the Buccaneers, especially with with the what
Speaker 1: they have going on defense and Todd Bowls being a
Speaker 1: defensive mindy head coach. If they can figure out the
Speaker 1: Saints in the regular season and at least split with them,
Speaker 1: I think that that the post Brady era can still
Speaker 1: be a fruitful one for the Buccaneers. Is not gonna
Speaker 1: be good. It's not gonna be I shouldn't say it's
Speaker 1: not gonna be good. It's not gonna be great, but
Speaker 1: it can be good, meaning that I still think that
Speaker 1: there's a path to the playoffs for the Buccaneers even
Speaker 1: after Brady, because they've got enough weapons on on offense
Speaker 1: to plug a quarterback in as long as you don't
Speaker 1: get a guy that's a turnover machine like Jamis Winston was,
Speaker 1: because that was the real difference in you had a
Speaker 1: quarterback through thirty three touchdowns and thirty interceptions, including an
Speaker 1: NFL record seven pick six is and you go seven
Speaker 1: and nine, the team is pretty much the same. The
Speaker 1: next year Tom Brady and then you flip out the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks eleven and five win a Super Bowl. So if
Speaker 1: they can find a quarterback who's not a turnover machine,
Speaker 1: they can be kind of a caretaker another Brad Johnson,
Speaker 1: if you will, got a guy that can come in.
Speaker 1: And I think this Todd Bowles defense is going to
Speaker 1: continue to be very good. You can win the South,
Speaker 1: and if you win the South to get the automatic
Speaker 1: pipeline to the playoffs, and then who knows anything can
Speaker 1: happen in the playoffs. That it's all about, you know,
Speaker 1: the double H is right, how hot you are and
Speaker 1: how healthy you are in January, and I think that
Speaker 1: there's there's a pathway to the playoffs for the Buccaneers
Speaker 1: after Brady has gone, just because the NFC South is
Speaker 1: not what it used to be. And we'll see how
Speaker 1: the Saints fair with Jamis Winston or whatever quarterback they
Speaker 1: choose in the years to come. But I think the
Speaker 1: Buccaneers can be good and and still rule the roost
Speaker 1: in the NFC South for a couple of years after Brady.
Speaker 1: Check out Scott reynolds latest article on puter report dot com.
Speaker 1: It's a Buck's Monday mailback. I love writing mailbags. Weil
Speaker 1: bags are fun. Check out check out Scott's haven't done
Speaker 1: one in like two years. But and also Scott, but
Speaker 1: you always say goodbye to you real quick answers. First
Speaker 1: thing that comes to your mind was Brady on the
Speaker 1: masket singer? Okay? And is Gronk on this team by Thanksgiving?
Speaker 1: By Thanksgiving? I'd say by the playoffs? How about that?
Speaker 1: Think he comes back. I think he comes back and
Speaker 1: maybe December, maybe not by Thanksgiving, but but um, you know,
Speaker 1: because he's gotta eat, right, he's gotta get gonna get
Speaker 1: the whole mortgage board for Thanksgiving. I don't think he
Speaker 1: wants to be o the running wind sprints and trying
Speaker 1: to get in football shape until after he has Thanksgivings.
Speaker 1: That's my answer. I like that by like two thousand
Speaker 1: thirty seven will be like grog, he'll commit to playing
Speaker 1: for the super Bowl specifically right with Tom Brady quarterbacks
Speaker 1: of course. All right, thank you very much, Scott. Right,
Speaker 1: that's it. That's the flash Point. I mean, I feel
Speaker 1: like we're ahead of the story now, Mark, as we
Speaker 1: always are with the Flashpoint series. I've always believed in
Speaker 1: the series. Um, you know, we we birthed at the
Speaker 1: concept of it at the Combine, which was a rich
Speaker 1: time him to come up with new ideas, and uh
Speaker 1: it was like, oh, oh, you guys are gonna talk
Speaker 1: about Baker Mayfield and the Browns like dead weight. And
Speaker 1: then like like literally within a forty eight hour cycle
Speaker 1: after we did Flashpoint, all chaos and in hell breaks
Speaker 1: loose in Cleveland. So same thing happen with Matt Ryan,
Speaker 1: right or was it Carson Wentz Carson Wentz for two.
Speaker 1: But but you've set such a high standard here we
Speaker 1: have I should say, well, maybe not the royal way.
Speaker 1: Maybe I'm just saying something big has to happen if
Speaker 1: they just are like thirteen and four and have a
Speaker 1: normal tell you and what the audience understands by now
Speaker 1: because they trust the instincts of Mark and I, uh something,
Speaker 1: this will be a jumping off point to something else
Speaker 1: where people everyone's gonna be talking Tampa, who suggested the
Speaker 1: Bucks as a potential flashpoint team, So what were you thinking?
Speaker 1: The answer to that question me, I don't remember. I
Speaker 1: thought I threw out the Bucks in the Ravens as
Speaker 1: two possibilities I did. I don't checking throughout those two texts,
Speaker 1: and I don't know here is um No. I think
Speaker 1: you're trying to backdoor your way into this segment. Is
Speaker 1: a part of your brain child, but sometimes you just
Speaker 1: gotta I think take the L a little bit, you know.
Speaker 1: I think it's it's there's more integrity around just taking
Speaker 1: the L on something like this. There's no L to
Speaker 1: be taken. I think it was a wonderful conversation and
Speaker 1: I'm with them. They still are like the favorites. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think it's weird and it could go crazy, but
Speaker 1: their defense is loaded, their offense is loaded. I think
Speaker 1: they probably have the best roster in the NFL right now.
Speaker 1: And right there. We did team slogans a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago. Like another one that pops in my head
Speaker 1: with the Bucks, like it's gonna be tricky. It just
Speaker 1: feel like it. I think it's fingers crossed. Is there
Speaker 1: a sexy storyline or topic out there we can taple
Speaker 1: tackle with a deeper dive and a guess my answer?
Speaker 1: Bum you bit Bucks left another o L for the
Speaker 1: year and Brady returns period Steelers question marks I throughout
Speaker 1: two teams, and then you said Bucks are interesting to
Speaker 1: me to say you muddled the waters with the Steelers.
Speaker 1: So zeuser had a coming and at yeah, why know
Speaker 1: yet you like to pick it? You know that's enough,
Speaker 1: You've taken it too far. Um, all right, that's it,
Speaker 1: so um we'll be back yes with And I was
Speaker 1: I was pulling your like a little bit there mark
Speaker 1: the Fantasy Extravaganza. I could tell just by looking at
Speaker 1: you you are excited and pumped for the annual A
Speaker 1: ten Fantasy Extravaganza. Why would I miss the forty incarnation
Speaker 1: of it? I mean that the guest list is um spicy?
Speaker 1: Are we sharing the guest list? Are we gonna gonna
Speaker 1: hold you want to wait? I mean I tease that
Speaker 1: other thing. I mean you're a tease master. So let's
Speaker 1: just say what stay where we are with that tease
Speaker 1: and I'll see you on Wednesday. There's those eyes between
Speaker 1: you two and and and Greg. I think you you
Speaker 1: can honestly now again acknowledge Flashpoint Series not going away
Speaker 1: and has just a lot of juice. It's a lot
Speaker 1: of juice. I think the main reason why it's back
Speaker 1: is that this manufactured narrative that I'm not in favor
Speaker 1: of it, So there's really no way out of this.
Speaker 1: Greg's a jerk. Greg's a jerk. Greg's a jerk. Greg
Speaker 1: is a jerk. Greg's a jerk. Greg's a jerk. Greg's
Speaker 1: a jerk. Can you send that to me please? That
Speaker 1: was nine different women. By the way, Uh, good stuff,
Speaker 1: we have fun. I love you, Greg, You're fine, You're
Speaker 1: You're a good sport. That is a nice callback, by
Speaker 1: the way. Um, all right till Wednesday to the Fantasy Extravaganza.
Speaker 1: Who forty eight already? Greg? Now heat the call.