Speaker 1: Via Around the NFL Podcast, Wait where are all the Jets? Hats? Dan?
Speaker 1: Welcome back to another edition to the Around the NFL Podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Jansas and I'm joined by rom
Speaker 1: Philis of Heroes, Mark Sessler, Greg ros Athal oh and
Speaker 1: joining us for the first time in a in a
Speaker 1: full show capacity at least, Nick Shock. Hey, Dan, who's
Speaker 1: Nick Schuck? Do you want to know? Nick Chuck? Is
Speaker 1: Nick Shook baer, That's what he is, Nick Shook, And
Speaker 1: this is our video show. So right away you're like,
Speaker 1: whoa who is this dude? Very well built, extremely masculine.
Speaker 1: Nick Shook works on the editorial team downstairs in the newsroom,
Speaker 1: has been with the company for a couple of years. Right,
Speaker 1: took a little sabbatical, took a sabbatical, um, but it's
Speaker 1: definitely highly knowledgeable. Also another Browns fan. Oh, there seems
Speaker 1: to be quite a few Browns fans considering the play.
Speaker 1: What do you know? They're actually loyal through the course
Speaker 1: of their life. They don't just move to another city
Speaker 1: and pick up what other team happens to be operating
Speaker 1: there in the zip code. Very nice, well played. Mark
Speaker 1: we Jook is an allied Well okay, you know, shook
Speaker 1: and I have beens are sometimes it's I like to
Speaker 1: tell what it's like to watch a team that hasn't
Speaker 1: want in three plus decades. He likes to tell me
Speaker 1: about one that hasn't won in two plus. It's it's
Speaker 1: somehow a stranger argument coming from a man who grew
Speaker 1: up in Connecticut and roots for the Browns. But you've
Speaker 1: been loyal, you know what I mean, You've been Yeah,
Speaker 1: it is fair, But this guy is from Cleveland workers
Speaker 1: playing on Sunday, so you have to pick a team. Um. Mark,
Speaker 1: By the way, yeah, we do want to touch touch
Speaker 1: based real quick. So Nick, welcome to the show. Happy
Speaker 1: to have you for our around the NFC and forty
Speaker 1: eight minutes we're gonna get to we needed help, so
Speaker 1: we we go to the bullpen and we're excited. Mark. Uh,
Speaker 1: last time we talked to you, you were racing back
Speaker 1: for from an urgent care clinic. Uh. Here's uh in
Speaker 1: case you missed our last show, a quick rundown of
Speaker 1: what happened with Mark lash show this together made your
Speaker 1: laceration on the on the left index finger, on the
Speaker 1: left index finger and on the left index finger. Hey,
Speaker 1: let's just glue this together. Hey, let's just glue this together. Alright.
Speaker 1: So major laceration and uh you went to the urgent
Speaker 1: care and got it stitched up, a smaller cast on
Speaker 1: your hand, but still a lot of gauze. Where are
Speaker 1: you at physically right now? Well, that ridiculous thing that
Speaker 1: was on the hand before I switched it over, and
Speaker 1: the BP makes sense. I looked at it. It does
Speaker 1: not look good. I'm gonna be honest, it just doesn't
Speaker 1: look good. And they have me on some bizarre antibiotic
Speaker 1: where I feel slightly dizzy and nauseous all the time.
Speaker 1: So Mark, okay, listen. The last time Shook was on
Speaker 1: the show, I was on the couch at home sideline
Speaker 1: with another health issue. So this is could be huge
Speaker 1: for Shook. I helpe. West isn't at home recovering from
Speaker 1: the big He's doing great. You know, lost his voice
Speaker 1: a little bit listening to us moan about the finger.
Speaker 1: What do you say? Why are you marginal again? Greg?
Speaker 1: Marginalized two times in roughly two minutes, Greg taking everything
Speaker 1: that I'm about, just saying you're kind of worthless to Greg.
Speaker 1: Of course. This is the Around the NFL Podcast presented
Speaker 1: by new Era and UH and and now we have
Speaker 1: all the hats. If you're watching the video show, which
Speaker 1: UH is live on NFL dot Com at nine thirty
Speaker 1: Eastern six thirty Pacific overseas, figure it out all the
Speaker 1: hats on display. We're all wearing hats for today's show. Uh. Greg,
Speaker 1: you're going with the the Patriots um visor that neatly
Speaker 1: matches your NFL Network shirts, So you kind of look
Speaker 1: like a guy that like one of Belichick's underpaid assistants.
Speaker 1: Not happy about it either. With the clothing, I'm happy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm like the guy who who holds the red hanky
Speaker 1: for him and handed right, you're basically Eric Mangini in
Speaker 1: I would take that. Yeah, that's gonna give you a
Speaker 1: better job than that, I think, like next to Josh
Speaker 1: McDaniels with your arms folded. Yeah, alright, so tell you.
Speaker 1: We got a lot to get to so let's get
Speaker 1: to it. Um, Maddie Stafford got paid. Oh my goodness,
Speaker 1: as I teased moments earlier, we did the a f
Speaker 1: C on Monday today around the NFC, and I mean
Speaker 1: around the NFC and forty eight minutes. UH. And Joe
Speaker 1: Hayden no longer brown and uh, guys, I got a
Speaker 1: little news now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. My goodness.
Speaker 1: So we'll get into that and we'll talk to the
Speaker 1: Browns fans in the room. But before we do any
Speaker 1: of that, would say hello behind the glass to the
Speaker 1: great Erica Tamposy. Some people call her a loose cannon.
Speaker 1: I'll just call her LC. What's up? That's right? How's
Speaker 1: it going. It's going great. You have your Patriots cap on.
Speaker 1: This is our final New Era show, so we're really
Speaker 1: blown it out on Twitter. But New Era like, where's
Speaker 1: my brain? See? This is why always always always looking
Speaker 1: for that angle building the brandy. She's ruthless. She's running
Speaker 1: her own fantasy league with listeners that I think it's great.
Speaker 1: I couldn't fill my own with my own I don't
Speaker 1: have any friends, have zero friends friends. You got four
Speaker 1: on this side of the game, Aserica. Let's let's do
Speaker 1: some news alright. Let's start UM with the latest than
Speaker 1: and what has been you know, a tragedy down in
Speaker 1: Texas and along the Gulf coast now Hurricane Harvey, which
Speaker 1: UM continues to batter the region there as a result
Speaker 1: of the storm and the unprecedented flooding. The Texans were
Speaker 1: in a very difficult spot with their final preseason game.
Speaker 1: There was a plan for the Cowboys and Texans to
Speaker 1: move and play their game at a T and T
Speaker 1: Stadium in Arlington, which of course is the Cowboys home field,
Speaker 1: but that has now been canceled. Both teams announced um.
Speaker 1: According to Mike Garifolo at NFL Network, one of the
Speaker 1: reasons for canceling the game now is for players to
Speaker 1: get back to Houston, help out in the relief efforts
Speaker 1: and be with their families. Uh So, no final preseason
Speaker 1: game between the Cowboys and Texans, but there is greg
Speaker 1: um some positive signs and missed the devastation down there
Speaker 1: that we might be getting back to approaching normalcy in
Speaker 1: terms of the long road back to that well for
Speaker 1: for football, yes, I I took some news that Rick Smith,
Speaker 1: their general manager, said the plan was to play Week
Speaker 1: one in Houston, that they would be hosting the game
Speaker 1: against the Jaguars. I don't think that's official, but he
Speaker 1: said that that's the plan, and I'm sure that'll be
Speaker 1: uh an emotional day. I think it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: long recovery for the region. But you can understand. Of course,
Speaker 1: of course you go home, like if they would have
Speaker 1: had to stay there an extra forty eight hours, knowing
Speaker 1: that their kids in some cases and their house and
Speaker 1: their families and their wives are there, and you're just like,
Speaker 1: you have to stay there for the fourth preseason game.
Speaker 1: It seemed a little crazy. So they they sounded like
Speaker 1: they were very excited to get on the bus and
Speaker 1: head back to Houston. UM and for everyone to know
Speaker 1: because one of the great UM, you know, human stories
Speaker 1: out of this that's come out of this is how
Speaker 1: much everyone has helped and pitching across the country. J. J.
Speaker 1: Watt has been a major part of that, and a
Speaker 1: lot of teams chipping in. UH. You can to UM.
Speaker 1: You can join the NFL family and helping those affected
Speaker 1: by Hurricane Harvey by texting keyword Harvey UM to nine
Speaker 1: zero nine to donate ten dollars to the American Red
Speaker 1: Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief. Your donation enables the Red Cross
Speaker 1: to respond and help people recover from this disaster. Please
Speaker 1: donate today and help those in need. You could also
Speaker 1: visit www dot red Cross dot org slash NFL. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of when these type of tragedies happen. UH,
Speaker 1: and there's massive relief efforts. There's a lot of scams
Speaker 1: that pop up. Make sure you're donating to the right places.
Speaker 1: That one's full proof. Moving on to UM football news,
Speaker 1: we had uh earlier. Joe Hayden no longer remember of
Speaker 1: the Browns. Uh. The former first round pick who had
Speaker 1: been there since two thousand and ten and was once
Speaker 1: uh their best players, has slipped in the last couple
Speaker 1: of years with some injuries. UH. And now the Browns
Speaker 1: made the decision to cut ties with the former pro bowler. Uh.
Speaker 1: Nick Chuck will start with you on this one. Uh.
Speaker 1: He right, just as we started the show, he agreed
Speaker 1: to a three year deal with the Steelers. How difficult
Speaker 1: is it? Uh, let's start here as a Browns fan
Speaker 1: to see him go from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, your arch rival. Uh.
Speaker 1: This The first time this happened in my life was
Speaker 1: when punter Chris GARDOCKI defected from the Browns to the
Speaker 1: Right at that level back in the day, and that
Speaker 1: was heartbreaking. I've since grown into an adult and it
Speaker 1: doesn't affect me as much or if at all. Joe Hayden,
Speaker 1: Joe Hayden lost a step um in the last year
Speaker 1: and a half, whether anybody likes to admit it or not,
Speaker 1: he has dealt with injuries having a um. How how
Speaker 1: would you characterize a groin injury? Uh, that's gonna make
Speaker 1: you a little bit. You could tell he's not a
Speaker 1: an eight figure cornerback anymore. He's not a top five cornerback.
Speaker 1: And I mean even some of the highlights that we
Speaker 1: run now, if if there isn't a safety to help
Speaker 1: him there, he's getting burned. And the rest of the
Speaker 1: division knew that. So, I mean the Steelers, this is
Speaker 1: a pretty big contract for yeah, for a team that
Speaker 1: might know that. But then again, you know, maybe maybe
Speaker 1: I think the Steelers know it because they were willing
Speaker 1: to give Cleveland. I mean, listen, whenever you can take
Speaker 1: from the Browns at at a a contract that Cleveland
Speaker 1: will help split the bit, split the bill on why not.
Speaker 1: They gave Cleveland a draft pick for Justin Gilbert, so
Speaker 1: they're always willing to test the waters. They'll play Cleveland
Speaker 1: in Week one. I find that to be. You know,
Speaker 1: it bothered me last year when Cleveland agreed to the
Speaker 1: trade with the Eagles that allowed the Eagles to get
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz and you knew Carson Wentz was playing Cleveland,
Speaker 1: and the opener that there would be right there would
Speaker 1: be a way to kind of create issues right away
Speaker 1: with that trade. And this is not a trade, but
Speaker 1: the idea that Joe Hayden probably could be lining up
Speaker 1: for Pittsburgh immediately, you know, week one in dealing with
Speaker 1: Cleveland and probably you know, offering secrets about Cleveland's plan.
Speaker 1: That said, I'm Wis Shook that this was something that
Speaker 1: we've mentioned on the podcast more than once this offseason,
Speaker 1: that Hayden's contract was untenable. Cleveland is aggressively moving in
Speaker 1: a new direction, and I don't have a problem with
Speaker 1: Cleveland partying ways here with Joe Hayden. It's a huge
Speaker 1: move for Pittsburgh that they're giving him seven million dollars
Speaker 1: this season. So that's not top shelf starter money, that's
Speaker 1: just kind of mid level veteran starter money, but that's significant. That's, Hey,
Speaker 1: we're desperate at the position. We don't know who we're
Speaker 1: gonna start. It was gonna be Ross Cockerel. I believe
Speaker 1: their third round pick, Cam Sutton was maybe in the
Speaker 1: Mike or Cody sense, like they did not feel comfortable
Speaker 1: at cornerback at all. They're looking for Hayden to come
Speaker 1: in and kind of shore up that position, and I
Speaker 1: found this interesting. Adam Schefter reports that Hayden had bigger
Speaker 1: offers from other teams that that he turned down because
Speaker 1: he wanted Pittsburgh. So he stays in the a f C. North.
Speaker 1: I know, if I know is well in a similar
Speaker 1: situation David Harris going to the Patriots. I'm happy for him.
Speaker 1: I hopie he does well. But going to the Patriots,
Speaker 1: I mean there's some similar DNA. They don't you'd rather
Speaker 1: not end up with your division ronal. You want him
Speaker 1: to do well, but that's it. Like to see him
Speaker 1: with the Lions. Just get him, get him deep into
Speaker 1: the distance. And one quick other note on the Browns.
Speaker 1: Cavern Cameron Irving, a draft bus from two thousand and fifteen,
Speaker 1: traded to the Chiefs for a fifth rounder, so the
Speaker 1: Browns continue to accumulate draft picks. Also in the news,
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford got paid. That is the business a quarterback
Speaker 1: in the NFL. If you are above average, if you're
Speaker 1: on the right side of the Dalton scale, you're gonna
Speaker 1: get a lot of money, and Uh, Detroit and Stafford
Speaker 1: agreed to terms on a five year deal worth a
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five million ninety two million and guarantees
Speaker 1: he is now the highest paid player in the league. Greg, Uh,
Speaker 1: tell me what this says about the landscape financially in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Just means he's up next. And I we
Speaker 1: keep having this conversation. I still think he's underpaid. He
Speaker 1: actually takes up less of the salary cap than many
Speaker 1: quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers did when he first signed his deal,
Speaker 1: because the salaries have exploded and then it hasn't really
Speaker 1: caught up quarterback wise compared to defensive ends making eighteen
Speaker 1: million dollars a year. So this, this story got on
Speaker 1: a lot of talk radio sports radio's radar. How how
Speaker 1: can Matthew Stafford be the top player in the league.
Speaker 1: It's like he'll be the twelve best paid quarterback in
Speaker 1: three years and so that then it will be we
Speaker 1: all need to catch up on the quarterback thing. It's
Speaker 1: it's just the latest. They're all gonna be over thirty
Speaker 1: million before too long. Kirk Cousins especially is gonna help
Speaker 1: blow it out, all right, And Uh, that's what's happening news.
Speaker 1: We've gotta keep moving. Congratulations Maddie, He'll pay for a
Speaker 1: lot of diapers. As he tweeted yesterday, he timed this well.
Speaker 1: He got that. He got that money being the number
Speaker 1: one overall pick before this cb A came in just
Speaker 1: like Sam Bradford, and now he's coming in after the
Speaker 1: salary cap. Both of him and Sam Bradford have made
Speaker 1: an insane amount of money considering like compared to a
Speaker 1: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, like those
Speaker 1: two guys timed everything perfect. Um, I'm it's a little aggregating,
Speaker 1: aggravating to me as somebody that has to pay for
Speaker 1: diapers and it cost a lot of money for that
Speaker 1: to be one of the go to bits for guys
Speaker 1: after they signed a big contract. Now I can take
Speaker 1: care of these diapers. Yeah, alright, either expensive and there's
Speaker 1: a constant expensive bro. Well maybe not for you, creg
Speaker 1: but on the on on the salaries that Dan and
Speaker 1: I are operating on, I think they took a chunk
Speaker 1: out of the household budget. I will I can confirm
Speaker 1: extremely expensive. Worst thing to buy diapers, waffle fries, worst
Speaker 1: things got paid their car well, that's that's right, that's right,
Speaker 1: And of course Joe Flacco famously went to McDonald's after
Speaker 1: he got his massive contract. All right, now it's time
Speaker 1: for the training camp Spotlight presented by New Era. All right, Greg,
Speaker 1: queue us up here. Um, there are names out there.
Speaker 1: Trades happen in the league this time of year. Uh, real, quick,
Speaker 1: throw throw out some names that could be on the
Speaker 1: move in your opin, Yeah, I think this done this week. Yeah.
Speaker 1: All the players are getting cut after the Thursday night game,
Speaker 1: so it's gonna be a day lose of players, and
Speaker 1: there's a lot of trade talks. A couple of names.
Speaker 1: I think to watch brock Oswiler if he doesn't get traded,
Speaker 1: and I'd be shocked if he did. Will he get cut?
Speaker 1: I tend to think yes. Once you put these guys
Speaker 1: up on the trade blox, they usually get cut. T J.
Speaker 1: Ward is another one in Denver, Matt Forte. I don't
Speaker 1: know why they would cut him when he's guaranteed four
Speaker 1: million dollars look pretty good the other day. But he's
Speaker 1: another name. Well, they don't want to win games, that
Speaker 1: would be one. Yeah. Sheldon Richardson has really killed it
Speaker 1: in the preseason. I'm wondering if they really make one
Speaker 1: last gasp to try to get him moved before the season.
Speaker 1: He could help someone and in a contract a year.
Speaker 1: I think he's somebody that if you're a team that
Speaker 1: needs help on the defensive line, Uh, maybe will cost
Speaker 1: you a second or third rounder, but you get a
Speaker 1: guy that can really win games for you potentially. Uh
Speaker 1: not bad either. One quick jet thing. Is it a
Speaker 1: total disservice to Matt Forte to wait this long to
Speaker 1: the what to do with him and he's gonna trying
Speaker 1: to go catch up with somewhere else if he gets cut.
Speaker 1: Joe had in the same thing. Yeah, I mean Hayden. Hey,
Speaker 1: I agree that's fair, But I mean Hayden at some
Speaker 1: point had a chance in camp I think to truly
Speaker 1: be a starter for Cleveland. With Matt Forte, it's like
Speaker 1: they obviously cut bait on all these all these veterans,
Speaker 1: and now he's he's not going to get a starting jo.
Speaker 1: They didn't cut him because the money was guaranteed and
Speaker 1: they made the decision to try to hold on to him.
Speaker 1: I guess he's probably been shot for a while. Uh.
Speaker 1: That is the training camp spotlight presented by New Era.
Speaker 1: Oh Yeah, speaking in which New Era's NFL Training Collection
Speaker 1: has a great combination of innovative performance and style with
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Speaker 1: like lids, NFL job dot dot com and Dick's Sporting
Speaker 1: Good in your favorite team um daily attire, Nick, I'm
Speaker 1: a big fan of New Era and you can't tell
Speaker 1: by this hat, but I'm bald, So as a bald
Speaker 1: guy you need something to dress up. You're really checking
Speaker 1: all the boxes. You're a Browns fan. You're checking the
Speaker 1: bald box for West sitting in his So what box
Speaker 1: do I check for you? Well, you know you're got
Speaker 1: a great can I say you're checking the box of
Speaker 1: I've been pumping up Kevin Patrick for three years in
Speaker 1: this podcast for his bod, and now we got like
Speaker 1: a young Arnold sitting in the studio and it's now
Speaker 1: I feel weird about the Patrick thing. How do I
Speaker 1: ever go back to as as nice as Patrick's bod
Speaker 1: is after seeing what I've seen? You know, flaming I
Speaker 1: think it's great. Patrick has that bulletin board that he
Speaker 1: has up on his wall and he's got a lot
Speaker 1: to write on it. Now. Yeah, so does anyone that
Speaker 1: claims to be in shape on any level. I mean,
Speaker 1: if there's an argument that human beings came from like
Speaker 1: multiple different planets when shook, when he walks around the newsroom,
Speaker 1: he'd be an argument because he literally looks like a
Speaker 1: different human being than most other men in the room.
Speaker 1: So anybody else on objectified Nick body before we move.
Speaker 1: I think he likes it, though he seems to like. Um.
Speaker 1: I was walking down the street with my girlfriend the
Speaker 1: other day and I walked past a construction crew and
Speaker 1: we're whistling at you. She's in shape, and she was
Speaker 1: wearing a crop top and they said stuff to me,
Speaker 1: not her. She was upset into a problem. That's not
Speaker 1: he likes it now. It's part of life, you know
Speaker 1: what it's part. It's part of the good life. What
Speaker 1: it is. You put in a lot of work on
Speaker 1: that bod, Yes or no? How many times a week
Speaker 1: you working at five? Oh my god, how many what
Speaker 1: are you doing the other two days? I don't want
Speaker 1: to sound like that guy, but I would say like
Speaker 1: active rest, playing basketball, that kind of thing. The rest
Speaker 1: is important to uh, probably an hour and a half
Speaker 1: each time. Do the math, guys pumping iron. I'm also
Speaker 1: not married, I don't have kids, So he takes so
Speaker 1: all that work. Now he gets the show out now
Speaker 1: and say this is what the work gave. Most of
Speaker 1: us didn't have kids deep into our thirties and we
Speaker 1: never achieved anything close. So that's not you know, Um,
Speaker 1: is this getting weird? Erica? Is this getting weird? I
Speaker 1: mean a little weird. But it's like it's fine. Junior
Speaker 1: Belichick over here, you know, pretending like he's not a
Speaker 1: part of it. You're looking at the Bob two. Alright,
Speaker 1: you need to cover up. Alright, So we did it.
Speaker 1: Let's move on. So we did it um on Monday
Speaker 1: around the a f C. And just so you're aware, Nick,
Speaker 1: we we don't go through. We don't kind of jump
Speaker 1: in and out. We go around the NFC in forty
Speaker 1: eight minutes, three minutes per team, and we'll start in
Speaker 1: the NFC East and Greg, we will start with you. Erica.
Speaker 1: We're ready to start the clock. I mean, this is
Speaker 1: our NFC preview right here. Yeah, we're ready give us
Speaker 1: a little fog horn to get us going. Eagles go.
Speaker 1: If football is one in the trenches, they always say
Speaker 1: that a football is one up front, don't. We have
Speaker 1: to take the Eagles seriously as a contender in this
Speaker 1: division because for their defensive line, Timmy Journ again would
Speaker 1: be one of the best pickups of the off season.
Speaker 1: Next to Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, that's a great
Speaker 1: defensive line. The offensive line is pretty strong, not quite
Speaker 1: with the Cowboys, but I think they believe it will
Speaker 1: be a strength of their team. This is a team
Speaker 1: built from the inside out, and I think they have
Speaker 1: to feel pretty good about both of their lines heading
Speaker 1: into the season. Are you getting sucked in by the
Speaker 1: Eagles again? Just what I do? I feel like of
Speaker 1: any team that I watched on game Pass Live during
Speaker 1: the preseason, that Phillies front seven interrupted and created chaos
Speaker 1: for every quarterback they faced. I don't buy it so
Speaker 1: much with what I saw in the ground game and
Speaker 1: on the offensive line. Had a bad preseason, so I
Speaker 1: think they have to worry about on paper. I think
Speaker 1: they liked the players. Defense was completely different than last
Speaker 1: year's team. Now, Greg, when is the last time you
Speaker 1: didn't pick the Eagles to win the NFC East. It's
Speaker 1: been a while. I just like to be consistent, you know,
Speaker 1: pick what you wrote, what you want to happen anyway,
Speaker 1: So why not? Why is that? I'm just that just
Speaker 1: a little bit, Like I picked the Packers in the
Speaker 1: Patriots in the Super Bowl every year for a long
Speaker 1: long time. I don't know what are we expecting from
Speaker 1: from Carson Wentz this year, because I know he showed
Speaker 1: good and bad trades last year. Nick, what do you think?
Speaker 1: I don't even think that would be the problem. I mean,
Speaker 1: you have your second year, which tends to be the
Speaker 1: year when those especially guys who've got a lot of
Speaker 1: experience in the rookie year, take that next step because
Speaker 1: you know, the game slows down and everything. My problem
Speaker 1: with him is is where is he going outside of
Speaker 1: of all Shan Jeffrey and and Zach Ertz, Like they
Speaker 1: put a lot of pressure on Nelson Aglor to be
Speaker 1: something worthwhile and I haven't seen it so far. And
Speaker 1: if you're going into a season and relying on him
Speaker 1: is one of your best targets, Tory Smith, you hope
Speaker 1: can take the top off, like Mac Collins a little bit.
Speaker 1: You have some running backs that can catch the ball.
Speaker 1: I don't know you. I've heard good arguments from smart
Speaker 1: people that Carson Wentz is the next guy. He's the
Speaker 1: guy to build around in the entire NFL. I've heard
Speaker 1: good arguments from smart people that Wentz was, you know,
Speaker 1: a mess last year, and there's no reason to believe
Speaker 1: in articular that he's gonna be in above average quarterback
Speaker 1: anytime soon. I don't know what to believe, Like I E,
Speaker 1: I have no idea what's gonna happen with Wentz either way,
Speaker 1: when it happens with these after one year, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of assumptions drawn on quarterbacks. We saw it with
Speaker 1: Derek Carr. We saw it with Blake Bortles. We've seen
Speaker 1: it with Carson Wentz. Maybe we'd stopped drawing these conclusions
Speaker 1: after one season. I keep on catching a glimpse of you,
Speaker 1: Greg in the video monitor. With the the way the
Speaker 1: shirt matches the cap, it looks like a Halloween cost.
Speaker 1: It wasn't planned. Yeah, it wasn't planned. I definitely do
Speaker 1: look like especially with the headset, I really do kind
Speaker 1: of look like I'm calling in plays like or it's
Speaker 1: like senior year of college and someone's stone like a
Speaker 1: Halloween party and you're playing Belichick. Poor Eagles didn't even
Speaker 1: get talked about Graham Cox Journe again. That there. I
Speaker 1: believe with one of the best trios in the league,
Speaker 1: they're gonna be in the mix. Dallas Cowboys, all right,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys one last year? Why, guys, why, I'll tell
Speaker 1: you why. They had a rookie quarterback who can make plays,
Speaker 1: limit mistakes, and the dominant running game that could chew
Speaker 1: up the clock, close out games pretty easy if you
Speaker 1: can get that formula. It's not easy to get the formula.
Speaker 1: But with Zeke Sideline potentially into week eight and we
Speaker 1: don't know that that could even come down before you
Speaker 1: hear this, what's going on with his appeal, But as
Speaker 1: as of right now, it's still uh the six weeks suspension.
Speaker 1: Uh If with him Sideline, is the formula compromised and
Speaker 1: is the Dallas defense which was effectively hidden last year
Speaker 1: about to be exposed? Anthony Hitchins's injury won't help matters.
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler. I don't like when I hear people say that.
Speaker 1: Once we've seen someone like Darren McFadden come in the
Speaker 1: preseason and run well in games where no one's game
Speaker 1: planning that this is a kind of a running back
Speaker 1: proof offense. That Ezekiel Elliott wasn't really a difference maker.
Speaker 1: I think anyone that watched him last year saw a
Speaker 1: really rare athletes someone that was a completely different type
Speaker 1: of guy. So missing him is huge. The idea that
Speaker 1: an offensive line is going to continue to play the
Speaker 1: way it does year after year. They've had some changes
Speaker 1: in personnel another assumption, so I need to see it
Speaker 1: before I make sure that's going to happen. I'm on
Speaker 1: board with that because and and I'll give you my
Speaker 1: hot take at the end of this, but that's a tease. Uh,
Speaker 1: this this line is missing pieces. You know, they relied
Speaker 1: on on Larry last year. He's gone, Doug Free gone,
Speaker 1: and you don't you might not have your best running back.
Speaker 1: And there's a way that he runs, like you said,
Speaker 1: that's specific and unique to to his I guess body
Speaker 1: type and also in the way that he can find
Speaker 1: a hole that that your average running back Darren McFadden
Speaker 1: or Alfred Morris. But they have three All pros and
Speaker 1: they believe they're better at right tackle. We'll see if
Speaker 1: they are. But well, they believe they're better at right
Speaker 1: tackle for Layole Colins. So they have one real major
Speaker 1: trouble spot left guard where it looks like it's gonna
Speaker 1: be Jonathan Cooper to bite off. That's a problem. I
Speaker 1: think the one thing we haven't talked about yet, and
Speaker 1: it's typical of this show, which is amazing and think about,
Speaker 1: is Dak Prescott. Like Dak Prescott, like, where is that
Speaker 1: ceiling for him? We haven't talked about it much. And
Speaker 1: if if he was a first round picker, I don't
Speaker 1: know if considering he's on the Cowboys, his ceiling should
Speaker 1: be the best quarterback in the league because we have
Speaker 1: not seen a quarterback come into the league and be
Speaker 1: that good. If he takes the normal second year leap,
Speaker 1: he's gonna be unbelievable. He has played um you know,
Speaker 1: put how much how much stock you want to put
Speaker 1: into it, but he's played lights out um this summer
Speaker 1: in his practices. You all you read his raves about
Speaker 1: how smooth and how in control he is. They're talked
Speaker 1: about giving a bigger role. Des Bryant is healthy, there
Speaker 1: is a chance and I I'm concerned if I'm a
Speaker 1: Cowboys fan that will be hard to replicate last season.
Speaker 1: But the way the way the path back to twelve
Speaker 1: and four, thirteen and three is Dak takes that next
Speaker 1: step and is even better, and then when Zeke gets back,
Speaker 1: everything kind of comes together and you're a force. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Biggest issue I think is that the fact that division
Speaker 1: I wouldn't surprise me if any of the teams won
Speaker 1: the division would not surprise me. It's a wide open division.
Speaker 1: Hot takes, Cowboys don't make it. They don't make the
Speaker 1: playoffs because of their defense. Up next, Nick Shook, All right,
Speaker 1: so we have the New York Giants, which you know
Speaker 1: what you're gonna get in the New York Giants past
Speaker 1: defense you're gonna do. You know what you're gonna get
Speaker 1: from most of that front seven. But the big question
Speaker 1: mark this entire preseason, and we don't want to put
Speaker 1: too much stock in the preseason, but you know, that's
Speaker 1: all we have to work with right now is that
Speaker 1: offensive line and specifically the right guard position, which has
Speaker 1: been John Jerry. They've rotate some other guys in there,
Speaker 1: and left tackle Eric Flowers hasn't exactly been the best either. Uh.
Speaker 1: You saw the results of that in Giants failing to
Speaker 1: score an offensive touchdown until the third preseason game, which
Speaker 1: was against the New York Jets. Uh, that's what they
Speaker 1: needed to get into the end zone, and I think
Speaker 1: that's where the concerned live. They have the weapons, but
Speaker 1: can they protect Eli Manning. I'm not sure they can,
Speaker 1: and I'm not sure they can have the best running
Speaker 1: game either. As a result, it's the familiar problem they
Speaker 1: had they issued last year. Eli uh did not get
Speaker 1: the time he needed and he didn't play well. And
Speaker 1: Uh we talked about it during the free agency draft
Speaker 1: process that when you're a team with that situation with
Speaker 1: the line issue, and it's not a good draft for
Speaker 1: a line and there's not a lot of great free
Speaker 1: agency options, like how do you get better? How do
Speaker 1: you fix that problem? It's not easy. They doubled down
Speaker 1: on the guys that they had in terms of flowers
Speaker 1: and heart, and they're thinking they'll get better. I'm interested
Speaker 1: to see how this offense looks because we've heard Brandon
Speaker 1: Marshall has been a little slow to get up to
Speaker 1: speed there in terms of learning that offense. And when
Speaker 1: I watched him, to me, Sterling Shepherd is gonna be
Speaker 1: a much bigger factor than Brandon Marshall. And with O'Dell
Speaker 1: Beckham hurt early in the season, he's gonna be even
Speaker 1: a bigger factor. And Evan Ingram. I know it's only
Speaker 1: the preseason, but he looks like he might skip that.
Speaker 1: Every rookie tight end isn't that big a factor early.
Speaker 1: I mean Ingram and Shepherd. If the two of them
Speaker 1: end up making a big time impact, that that improves
Speaker 1: the offense. I I really have concerns about the line,
Speaker 1: the running game, and that division and in general just
Speaker 1: trying to get deep into the season has not improved,
Speaker 1: which is why I picked them for some reason in
Speaker 1: August to go to the Super Bowl. Very concerned about that.
Speaker 1: Why that? Why not they do? Say? Why not with them? Well?
Speaker 1: Because defense? The defense, Please, they could be I was
Speaker 1: trying to think who's the best defense in the NFL.
Speaker 1: There's only a couple of different teams that comes to mind,
Speaker 1: and they're one of them. Like that that first game
Speaker 1: Giants Cowboys could be the best offense versus the best defense. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think they're GM saved this job with a killer
Speaker 1: free agency hall last year and now they have a
Speaker 1: second year together. That's what you I guess Mark, with
Speaker 1: your prediction. The defense is as good as last year
Speaker 1: or better. And Eli isn't done. And it was a
Speaker 1: wildly rash thing. Hey not backing away, but I'm not.
Speaker 1: It's it's not logic that I'm arguing. It's just I
Speaker 1: threw it out there. Let's see what happens. Any other
Speaker 1: final thoughts on the New York Giants going back to
Speaker 1: protecting the quarterback and Eli has been like the iron Man,
Speaker 1: but they're pack up quarterback situation would not be good
Speaker 1: if he went down. You know, Smith may not make
Speaker 1: the team. That's another name to watch this weekend. He's
Speaker 1: coming off a tour n A c L has not
Speaker 1: played well. They'll be there him or Josh Johnson gets
Speaker 1: cut and one of them will be the backup. Great,
Speaker 1: what about you like? That would be hurtful of Josh Johnson.
Speaker 1: I hope they make the right decision. Giants, if you
Speaker 1: know what's good for you. Mark closed out the division
Speaker 1: with the Washington football team. All right to me? Watching
Speaker 1: this team, this looks like a bottom five offense from
Speaker 1: wire to wire. In the preseason, I didn't see Terrell
Speaker 1: Prior connecting or meshing with Kirk Cousins. I didn't see
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins connecting with really anyone your tight end as
Speaker 1: an issuary injury prone guy. And honestly, I watched this
Speaker 1: team over and over wanting to see the club that
Speaker 1: over the last couple of years under a Grood and
Speaker 1: has really a times peaked and been an exciting offense.
Speaker 1: Deep concerns. Should I just say it's the preseason, I
Speaker 1: don't need to worry. They're gonna figure it all about
Speaker 1: out by week one, not by week one. This team
Speaker 1: hasn't played together, so you mentioned Reid Bit was barely
Speaker 1: there prior has not played well with Cousins Dots and
Speaker 1: has really been off and on the field coach calling
Speaker 1: them out. So they really just haven't been on the
Speaker 1: field at the same time together. But they could warm
Speaker 1: it up into it, I think, I don't know if
Speaker 1: you can. That's my concern. And well, the Cowboys could
Speaker 1: be in the same situation without Elliott, but warming warming
Speaker 1: up in the in the NFC East could be tough.
Speaker 1: Think it's a tough that's a tough road. I get
Speaker 1: they have not looked good and they're changing their scheme,
Speaker 1: and I guess I'll give Kirk Cousins a little credit here.
Speaker 1: The fact that he keeps on getting twenty million dollar
Speaker 1: contracts is he's been a producer, uh every time he's
Speaker 1: gotten the opportunity. And I think they have the players
Speaker 1: they there. There's injury issues, but I'm not gonna I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna panic yet, but it might take a little
Speaker 1: while and in a very competitive competitive division, I would
Speaker 1: love to see you actually panicking over this. Then, just
Speaker 1: like Fredding Gosh, this Redskins offense, I do think about
Speaker 1: them a lot. I think their their season really comes
Speaker 1: down to those two wide receivers prior in Dotson, because
Speaker 1: they have to have a special offense. That's kind of
Speaker 1: the way they're built. They're an offensive team because defensively,
Speaker 1: they're just one of those teams that that are hoping
Speaker 1: to be average, Like they have no hope to be
Speaker 1: a top defense. They're just hoping that they're okay, and
Speaker 1: they could be worse than Okay, you want Josh Norman
Speaker 1: coming after you. Secondaries, Okay, secondary is not bad. They're
Speaker 1: pretty deep at cornerback. They like their cornerback situation. I
Speaker 1: think this is one of the toughest divisions to try
Speaker 1: to pick in the way that it'll all pan out
Speaker 1: in the end. But I think having after having this discussion,
Speaker 1: I think I see the bottom feeder here. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it's not dishonorable to go six and ten. Yeah,
Speaker 1: picking the Redskins to come in last two, I think
Speaker 1: they I do as well. I think that they're in
Speaker 1: a tough position here, but they have kind of exceeded
Speaker 1: modest expectations before and I'm wary of that. I'm not
Speaker 1: panicking about it, but I'm wary. I've got a lot
Speaker 1: of emotion tied up in this Redskins. I'm just trying
Speaker 1: to get to zero on the clock. I have a
Speaker 1: weird flashback, really, I can talk about the Redskins. Have
Speaker 1: a weird flashback to last year. Uh. I think we
Speaker 1: all picked them to come in last or something like that,
Speaker 1: and then you know, they went to the plan. We've
Speaker 1: been wrong on that. We also forked them one year
Speaker 1: they made the playoffs with r T three. So do
Speaker 1: you like that? You like that? Remember that? Yeah? You
Speaker 1: know that was a thing. What else he got on
Speaker 1: the Redskins? Greg, how about the fact that Jay Gruden
Speaker 1: didn't hire Wade Phillips when Wade Phillips wanted the job,
Speaker 1: and the guy he did hire only lasted one more
Speaker 1: season or no one more season. I mean, I don't
Speaker 1: like their defense at all. Look at their coordinators. Right
Speaker 1: the division pick I got the Giants. I'm going Giants
Speaker 1: as well, with the Eagles as a wild card like that,
Speaker 1: no one's picking the Cowboys. I'm gonna take the Eagles
Speaker 1: just for that. There you go, all right, let's move
Speaker 1: on to the NFC North. Greg get us going with
Speaker 1: the defending champs of that division. The Packers have been
Speaker 1: good for so long that we take it for granted.
Speaker 1: You know, Rogers is always there. Ted Thompson is always there,
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy is always there. But they kind of have cycles.
Speaker 1: They They're not where like the Patriots where they're just
Speaker 1: twelve or thirteen wins all the time. And right now
Speaker 1: I think they are in a good cycle of their
Speaker 1: offense having been there and coming together all at the
Speaker 1: right time before it blows up. Jordy Nelson's fully healthy
Speaker 1: way removed from surgery, Davante Adams proved he can be
Speaker 1: a difference maker. Randall Cobb is they're still he's healthy time.
Speaker 1: Montgomery has been in that system, their offensive line has
Speaker 1: been together, and it's as good as it's been in
Speaker 1: the entire Aaron Rodgers run to me, they are in
Speaker 1: the cycle kind of like the Steelers where this should
Speaker 1: be the year that they are peaking. Like everything is
Speaker 1: set up for that offense and really defensively overall, it's
Speaker 1: pretty good too for this to be a Packers let's
Speaker 1: get that one seed type of season. Well, you'd almost
Speaker 1: you'd almost say we could get a rematch of Packers Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: who they met back in two thousand and ten. These
Speaker 1: are the two teams in each conference. You're wondering, when
Speaker 1: will you finally get it done and get back there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, look at it. Aaron Rodgers is if he's
Speaker 1: not the best quarterback in the league, he's right behind
Speaker 1: Brady and they last made it to the super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Forget about Whin made it in two thousand and ten.
Speaker 1: Uh that season. So it's like it's time, it's time
Speaker 1: to take advantage of having this, you know, top ten quarterback,
Speaker 1: maybe the top five quarter of all time, having the
Speaker 1: right team around him. It's seems like they do this time.
Speaker 1: And that's why I am I'm with you. I think
Speaker 1: it's a referendum on the on the coaching staff. Uh,
Speaker 1: get something done, win the twelve games, get the home games,
Speaker 1: and give yourself a clear path. I think last year,
Speaker 1: you're right, there was a lot of uncertainty, especially in
Speaker 1: the running game. And you're right, they have everything out
Speaker 1: on the offense for the most part. I mean time Ongomery.
Speaker 1: He's not exactly the guy you really want to run
Speaker 1: handball off too, but he's still effective. I think it
Speaker 1: comes down to how their secondary plays in these situations,
Speaker 1: because early in the season last year they struggled. I
Speaker 1: mean they were really bad for about a five game stretch.
Speaker 1: It's what got them beat. I mean, there are you
Speaker 1: know they there offense I think was good enough to
Speaker 1: win the Super Bowl last year. It was that those
Speaker 1: that secondary, that defense bounced back with a with a
Speaker 1: similar good stretch later in the year. But ultimately, their
Speaker 1: defense in a division where you'd like to see that
Speaker 1: has never been a great strength. And you can Tom
Speaker 1: Caper's essentially a nuclear bomb could land on Green Bay
Speaker 1: and he would he would still be walking around on
Speaker 1: Lamb hero. It's definitely by the way, you are interested
Speaker 1: in Aaron Rodgers and I've always found him to be
Speaker 1: a fascinating figure in the league. Mina Kimes of ESPN
Speaker 1: just wrote a feature that is well worth your time
Speaker 1: and it really gives you a interest, really good look
Speaker 1: at what the man behind the mask the mustache is
Speaker 1: all about. The mustache. Lose the mustache, by the way,
Speaker 1: come on, keep the mask. Let's talk about the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1: All right, new new season, same question. Do the Vikings
Speaker 1: have enough offensive firepower to keep up in the NFC North? Okay,
Speaker 1: so then the preseason not gonna set the Vikings fans
Speaker 1: minds at ease. The first team offense of Sam Bradford
Speaker 1: at the Controls did not score a touchdown in the
Speaker 1: final three games of the preseason. The offensive line is
Speaker 1: subpar or has been a subpar, both in the running
Speaker 1: and in past protection game. There are things to be
Speaker 1: concerned about on this offense. And when your division has
Speaker 1: guys like Matt Stafford and Aaron Rodgers in it, you've
Speaker 1: got to score points. Is this a death blow? Mm
Speaker 1: hmm their offensive issues. I that's another team that watching
Speaker 1: Bradford not a lot of time to throw attempt after attempt,
Speaker 1: And it's another team like Washington where you where you
Speaker 1: thought a year ago you went out and got that
Speaker 1: alpha wide receiver, the guy that was gonna lead your team.
Speaker 1: Instead you have the Kwan Treadwell who's not progressing and
Speaker 1: maybe I'll do something this year. He might at least
Speaker 1: he might. I mean, I liked Dalvin Cooks so far,
Speaker 1: but it's the office. It's another team that's gonna need
Speaker 1: to hold teams to fourteen fifteen points a game. That
Speaker 1: just doesn't work in the NFL. So it doesn't. It
Speaker 1: didn't find ways to score more than that. It's true
Speaker 1: because the teams that build around defense, like the Vikings,
Speaker 1: defense is less predictable. First of all, you know, if
Speaker 1: you have a great offense, you're great every year like
Speaker 1: the normally, and it's it's there. Aren't That mean? There
Speaker 1: weren't any defenses that were really that big of a
Speaker 1: difference maker last year. I mean, the Vikings had ultimately
Speaker 1: a disappointing season considering all the talent they had defensively.
Speaker 1: I hate to keep sounding like that broken record here,
Speaker 1: but this is a team that wins and loses based
Speaker 1: on how it tackles play because they I mean, Bradford
Speaker 1: has no time to throw. They had nowhere to run
Speaker 1: last year, and they look exactly the same in the preseason.
Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons why I kind of liked
Speaker 1: how Bradford. I thought Bradford had his best season overall,
Speaker 1: that his best two seasons really are the last two
Speaker 1: and Billy in Minnesota, that I think he's shown some
Speaker 1: progress that if you can help him, that he'll be
Speaker 1: a solid enough starter for you. I don't want to
Speaker 1: put this type of pressure on the kid, but uh,
Speaker 1: once upon a time, Randy Moss came into came into
Speaker 1: the league, took it by storm, and transformed the entire
Speaker 1: Vikings offense. David Cook has gotten a lot of good reviews,
Speaker 1: rave reviews. Uh, he's replacing a legend and Adrian Peterson obviously,
Speaker 1: maybe make sure to use Peterson as the example since
Speaker 1: he's also running back and Cook is replacing him. But
Speaker 1: we're past that now. Cook could he be a potential
Speaker 1: guy that shoots out of the box and as a
Speaker 1: monster contributor and solves a lot of issues for him.
Speaker 1: I think he does a lot well. I mean, he
Speaker 1: catches the ball, he's on, he's in every down kind
Speaker 1: of race. They have good players on their offense, like
Speaker 1: Rudolph and Feeling, who's now playing the almost exclusively, and
Speaker 1: Stefon Diggs. But all of these guys, they're not top
Speaker 1: ten guy. It's kind of like they're kind of like
Speaker 1: the Sam Bradford's of their position. It's a lot of
Speaker 1: guys that are in the middle, but there's not a
Speaker 1: lot of guys that are at the top. And that's
Speaker 1: not gonna be good enough. Ultimately, what are we hearing
Speaker 1: on the Kuan Treadwell, by the way, is he gonna
Speaker 1: be a He's playing this year, so that's different, like
Speaker 1: he's gonna be starting. We'll see what happened to them
Speaker 1: last year. Alright, Moving on next the Detroit Lions. The
Speaker 1: Lions had a hot start to the preseason, destroying the
Speaker 1: Colts and perhaps finding a new weapon in wide receiver
Speaker 1: Kenny Golladay. Uh. Since then, Uh, they've had some bad
Speaker 1: things happened. They lost defensive end Carrie Hyder for the season.
Speaker 1: Golladay has been a non factor since then, and Zeke
Speaker 1: Ansa still hasn't played. He's supposedly on track to play
Speaker 1: Week one. A lot of guys like that right now,
Speaker 1: they oh, they haven't practice, but he's gonna play week one,
Speaker 1: which I can understand, especially a week four, what's the
Speaker 1: reason to play them? I won't believe it until I
Speaker 1: see them on the field or off the inactive list
Speaker 1: come Sunday. I think another position that they need to
Speaker 1: really play well in the absence of Taylor Decker is
Speaker 1: the left tackle spot. UM Greg Robinson they've brought in
Speaker 1: to try to alleviate it, and that's yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: we we know what you can get out of him
Speaker 1: or can't get out of him. Uh. And also offensively,
Speaker 1: what are they going to get out of Amir Abdullah
Speaker 1: Because he's a guy who's got a lot of talent
Speaker 1: and you can see it in him, but he hasn't
Speaker 1: necessarily produced that so far, and I think that goes
Speaker 1: a long way to how they succeed offensively. Um. Defensively,
Speaker 1: I think they're a little thin upfront. We kind of
Speaker 1: you know, already covered that, but on the back end
Speaker 1: they should be Okay. They were one of the worst
Speaker 1: defenses in the league last year, so there's really nowhere
Speaker 1: to go but up. Abdulah is a guy that jumps
Speaker 1: out to me because yeah, we've been talking about him
Speaker 1: for a couple of years now. In terms of being
Speaker 1: a guy that can be a real big time playmaker,
Speaker 1: and they, let's face it, they need somebody to come
Speaker 1: in there, whether it's on the offensive or defensive side
Speaker 1: of the ball and kind of electrify that place a
Speaker 1: little bit because they're kind of just they just exist
Speaker 1: right now. The lines. I was waiting for for that
Speaker 1: take because I think the Lions have gotten a lot
Speaker 1: of grief in this room. You thought they're just lazy
Speaker 1: for good reason. Training campla get to camp. I've gotta
Speaker 1: here's a hot take. This is a fun offense to watch.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed watching them last year and they should be
Speaker 1: more fun. Matthew Stafford is a fun quarterback to watch.
Speaker 1: Mira Abdullah is a fun quarter is a fun running
Speaker 1: back to watch. If you can stay on the field,
Speaker 1: he's exciting. Marvin Jones has a lot of potential. Didn't
Speaker 1: quite stay consistent, but he's had a good preseason. Golden
Speaker 1: Tate's long been one of my favorite holiday here was
Speaker 1: making some HIGHLIGHTSS got a little bit of joke. Gotta
Speaker 1: do it too. I don't know about that last part,
Speaker 1: but here's the thing. Matthew Stafford, who had mechanical issues
Speaker 1: you know, left and right. His whole career very frustrating
Speaker 1: to watch. I do think we love Jim Bob Cooner
Speaker 1: in this room. Guy actually has made a change with
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford and there isn't up and up, But I
Speaker 1: is that narrative still happening. I think it is a
Speaker 1: different quarterback under him. When you open up your profile
Speaker 1: on a team, though, with roughly seven or eight burning questions,
Speaker 1: that's not a great thing. Most of them, most of
Speaker 1: them with not as clear answer. They're they're defensively for
Speaker 1: the most part. Now they have a couple of second
Speaker 1: year guys a Sean Robinson's had a really good training camp.
Speaker 1: They're actually gonna start. Anthony Zette, a sixth round pick,
Speaker 1: is taken over. Why not. They have some young guys
Speaker 1: coming up that if they can emerge, Robinson especially seven
Speaker 1: and nine. They also took down their playoff banners. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's fabric is like a hundred years old at this point. Mojo, alright, no,
Speaker 1: if you made the playoffs, they okay, sorry, sorry, sorry, alright,
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears close out the division. Mark alright, little
Speaker 1: sandwiches bet here, alright, we can how how deep you
Speaker 1: get into the Bears without talking to sandwich propositions. What
Speaker 1: week does Mitchell Drobiskie make his first start? I'm tired
Speaker 1: of hearing about this red shirt nonsense. John Fox is
Speaker 1: the potential issue there because we don't know what he
Speaker 1: thinks about quarterbacks. But started off shook, what week for
Speaker 1: a sandwich? Well, first off, you're the captain of playing
Speaker 1: every rookie quarterback. Yes, I am red red shirt. Preventing
Speaker 1: the inevitable red certain quarterbacks is on Mark's radar because
Speaker 1: it does like I like this, Brassy Mark, stand up,
Speaker 1: be Brassy Mark. How many games does he does he start? Well? Now,
Speaker 1: what what week do we first see him? Whoever gets
Speaker 1: you can even you can split a sandwich if you
Speaker 1: want to pick the same week week three, So okay,
Speaker 1: I don't call that a red shirt. I'll hold off ahead.
Speaker 1: I'm looking at the schedule here, seeing you know the
Speaker 1: the defenses they play early aren't aren't the tops. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go week five. Let's unveil him for a nice
Speaker 1: Monday night game against the Viking. No, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: they're gonna do the classic. Hey, we want to get
Speaker 1: the kid ready during the bye week, and then they'll
Speaker 1: roll them out Week ten against the Ackers, and then
Speaker 1: you're pretty nineteen million dollar investment at least gets half
Speaker 1: a season before they say, oh, he's not the guy.
Speaker 1: That's my prediction there. It's a weird situation because Glennon
Speaker 1: and Trabinsky when he ultimately plays, has a really good
Speaker 1: offensive line in front of him and potentially a good
Speaker 1: running game. So those are good things for a quarterback,
Speaker 1: and maybe a decent defense. But but I would say
Speaker 1: the worst wide receiver group now that Cam Meredith is
Speaker 1: out for the season in the entire NFL, Kendall Wright
Speaker 1: is their number one receiver. And I haven't seen a
Speaker 1: quarterback or at least remember when in recent memory who
Speaker 1: was a free agent signing who lost so much momentum
Speaker 1: so quickly, Like yeah, and you know what, the the
Speaker 1: teams that don't give their quarterbacks any receivers, you don't
Speaker 1: really give him a chance because they don't get the
Speaker 1: guys that you play don't get separation. And if you,
Speaker 1: if you, even if your offensive line is good, you
Speaker 1: end up being in a situation when you're holding onto
Speaker 1: the ball that leads to trouble. You gotta give your
Speaker 1: guy at least one weapon and alshon Jeffrey type. You
Speaker 1: don't give him anything. You're done, alright, You guys are
Speaker 1: all picking very smartly. You know, at least a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks into the season. I think he's taking snaps
Speaker 1: by the end of week one, and he starts week
Speaker 1: two against the Bucks. It's happened before. It's happened before.
Speaker 1: And here the one thing when we talked about, well, yeah,
Speaker 1: when we talk about he if he had been a dud,
Speaker 1: then you can't just bring him. But you don't go
Speaker 1: six weeks into a season if you're John Fox and
Speaker 1: you're Owen five and you don't try that that quarterback.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying that's very likely a possibility. Their defense
Speaker 1: could be really good. We we have no idea of
Speaker 1: pronoum if he's even gonna play, but their defense could be.
Speaker 1: They could be good and still go one and four. Though.
Speaker 1: Who would have thought. Though Trabinsky and Kaiser were the
Speaker 1: two rookie quarterbacks, everyone got jazz up about this preseason.
Speaker 1: Jeff We all got the Packers winning the division. Yeah,
Speaker 1: no other playoffs? Okay, yeah, alright, move moving on to
Speaker 1: the NFC South Grade. Get us goal with the Saints,
Speaker 1: the New Orleans Saints have been needing a good rookie
Speaker 1: class for a while. They needed to get younger, they
Speaker 1: needed to get it faster, and we'll see if they
Speaker 1: actually are good. But they're gonna be playing a lot
Speaker 1: of rookies this year. Three starters on the defense, Uh,
Speaker 1: that's gonna be playing as rookies. Marcus Lattimore who's looked good, Um,
Speaker 1: who am I forgetting? Marcus Williams who's looked good at safety?
Speaker 1: And Alex And I wasn't sure exactly about the pronunciation there,
Speaker 1: How does it go? It's Anzaloni Aloni. Let me hear
Speaker 1: it again. There we go. He's the new gyros bird.
Speaker 1: He's moving around, and watch out for a J. Klein.
Speaker 1: Watch out for a J. Klein, not a rookie free
Speaker 1: agent pick up from Carolina who looked really good in
Speaker 1: the preseason. One of their beat writers, who does a
Speaker 1: great job, Nick Underhill, said he's the best linebacker he
Speaker 1: thinks it's been on the Saints in the last four years.
Speaker 1: We haven't seen this guy because he was Luke Kickley's
Speaker 1: back up, but when he played late last year really
Speaker 1: made a difference for them and he could really help
Speaker 1: the Saints defense. I don't want to put too much
Speaker 1: weight in the preseason. Have to say that with every
Speaker 1: comment I make about what happened in the last month.
Speaker 1: But if this is the Saints defense that Sean Payton
Speaker 1: should have begun to rebuild about half a decade ago,
Speaker 1: thank you for finally doing it. They look interesting. If
Speaker 1: they could just be average, that's their formula. Let's get
Speaker 1: an average they could be a playoff team, and then
Speaker 1: we can be a playoff team with an average defense.
Speaker 1: How does the backfield shakedown there? I'm very interesting because
Speaker 1: you've got three guys, including the kid who seemed to
Speaker 1: be ready to to get work. You figure Adrian Peterson
Speaker 1: is gonna get a shot at this to be the
Speaker 1: primary guy, but maybe not. How do we see it
Speaker 1: chacking out? I don't even know what what they've done
Speaker 1: in the preseason. It doesn't matter. They pulled Peterson down
Speaker 1: by the goal line for Ingram. I think Alvin Kamara.
Speaker 1: I don't know how you keep on the field. Camar
Speaker 1: is gonna play a lot in that Reggie Bush Darren
Speaker 1: Sprowls type of role, and I think Ingram and Peterson
Speaker 1: split the snaps. Otherwise, I think they're gonna be kind
Speaker 1: of try to be a more run first type of team.
Speaker 1: We have our part two of the Fantasy Extravaganza on Friday.
Speaker 1: I feel like the Saints are a um fantasy Bermuda
Speaker 1: triangl a position. Is that fair to say? Yeah? That's
Speaker 1: after having taken out Tomorrow late in the draft last night.
Speaker 1: I liked pictures, Yeah, but we don't. Yeah. I like
Speaker 1: the running back situation. I like that we went there. Um.
Speaker 1: I don't know how it's gonna shake out between Ingram
Speaker 1: and Peterson, though some people have talked maybe Peterson ends
Speaker 1: up being the guy more than Ingram. But how do
Speaker 1: you do that to a guy who rushed for over
Speaker 1: a thousands last year. That's a fantasy problem, though. I
Speaker 1: think that's a great thing for Ingram exactly a lot
Speaker 1: to be healthy. Neither is Peterson. Well, they can also
Speaker 1: as a direct result of all the talent they have
Speaker 1: in the backfield, this is gonna be the year where
Speaker 1: they kind of tone it down a little bit. With
Speaker 1: Drew Brees. I think they're gonna throw for five thousand
Speaker 1: yards again with all those weapons in the backfield. I
Speaker 1: think you're getting Max Unger back at center fairly early
Speaker 1: in the season. It sounds like, yeah, I I think
Speaker 1: their talents at running back they got Michael Thomas, but
Speaker 1: it's not the deepest receiver group that they've had after
Speaker 1: Michael Thomas. Defense right up to the end with the
Speaker 1: Saints when the when the horn goes off, got to move.
Speaker 1: I'm feeling all right, is it fair to it is fair?
Speaker 1: I will say, I'm not even ask you, it is
Speaker 1: fair to wonder if Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense
Speaker 1: will take a step back under Steve Sarkisian. Uh. Biggest
Speaker 1: thing about it Kyle Shanahan last year it was essentially
Speaker 1: the equivalent of a perfect game in baseball. Uh, the
Speaker 1: way he handled himself and and ran that offense last year,
Speaker 1: He's gone, Um, how concerned should Falcons fans be? Uh?
Speaker 1: If that this offense is simply just not going to
Speaker 1: be the same, because you never want to be Sarks,
Speaker 1: Like we said in the show, you never want to
Speaker 1: be the guy that follows the guy. You want to
Speaker 1: be the guy that follows the guy that follows the guy.
Speaker 1: I think they're I think they were. You know, Shanahan
Speaker 1: had a perfect game up until like the bottom of
Speaker 1: the ninth when the Patriots hit like a home run
Speaker 1: out of the park to win it. But I will
Speaker 1: say that Bowl Greg just said this, Oh, let's take
Speaker 1: a look at the numbers for we assassinate their offensive
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl three drives, three, three scoring drives out
Speaker 1: of tend. Their lowest scoring per drive except for one
Speaker 1: game all season was one of that Ryan takes a sack,
Speaker 1: that kick a field goal and they win. Yeah. They
Speaker 1: also they also created some way us defense stays the same.
Speaker 1: You can is more predicted to stay the same or
Speaker 1: offense from from year to year. And what's been taken
Speaker 1: away from this attack the their offensive line is what
Speaker 1: I loved last year to the way they rebuilt that
Speaker 1: you have all the same weapons and the actual scheme
Speaker 1: from what we've seen in the preseason looks very similar.
Speaker 1: So my I'm optimistic in terms of reaching statistical heights
Speaker 1: that you that they did last year that it was
Speaker 1: never gonna happen with Kyle Shanne. They almost are underrated
Speaker 1: for how good they were. They scored the second most
Speaker 1: amount of points per drive in NFL history. Only the
Speaker 1: two thousand seven Patriots were better than the Falcons. So
Speaker 1: they were gonna take a step back that's just that's
Speaker 1: just natural. But I think the defense very young we've
Speaker 1: talked about on the show. I like their talent. I
Speaker 1: think that makes up for it because their defense is
Speaker 1: pretty bad. So if their defense can improve to above average,
Speaker 1: that makes up for the offensive. The client. I think
Speaker 1: the Prime to win the NFC South and and that's
Speaker 1: really probably the easiest prediction you can make in this
Speaker 1: entire show. But considering they won the conference last year,
Speaker 1: but they haven't really lost much, like you guys said,
Speaker 1: I mean, the first person I can think of offensively
Speaker 1: who they lost, it's fullback Patrick DeMarco. Like that's how
Speaker 1: far down you have to go. And I also love
Speaker 1: how they're often spreads it to so many different targets
Speaker 1: that it really doesn't matter because so many guys are
Speaker 1: gonna catch balls, are gonna get handed, you know, gonna
Speaker 1: get carries that you know, it doesn't really matter if
Speaker 1: you lost a guy or it's probably injuries alone that
Speaker 1: would sink them. I think this is the best division
Speaker 1: in football. I think any one of these four teams
Speaker 1: could win the division and it shouldn't be a shock.
Speaker 1: And I think this division has a chance to sneak
Speaker 1: three teams into the playoffs. Even though they got to
Speaker 1: play each other, they also get to play the a
Speaker 1: f C East and get those wins over those dregs
Speaker 1: like the Bills and the Jets. I love this division.
Speaker 1: It's back, um okay. I appreciate the optimism. Greg. I
Speaker 1: will say that they did lose something, Nick shook and
Speaker 1: let's I'm not joking. Don't say to Georgia dun they
Speaker 1: lost their innocence in that Super Bowl, and I believe
Speaker 1: in the hangover that I buy in Nip the Bucks,
Speaker 1: you know, well they did gain a giant bird outside
Speaker 1: the stadium, dude. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, well they've been
Speaker 1: the darling of Hard Knocks this year and so we've
Speaker 1: gotten a pretty uh close look at how things go
Speaker 1: down there the radio. Everyone gather around, we're going to
Speaker 1: talk about the Bucaneers. Uh. John Gruden had a moment,
Speaker 1: I think on the third episode of Hard Knocks where
Speaker 1: he looked at Jamison a production meeting and said, what
Speaker 1: more do you need? You got two good tight ends,
Speaker 1: you got all these receivers, you got you know, good
Speaker 1: running backs, you got a pretty good offensive line. What
Speaker 1: more do you need? Well? I think Jamis Winston is
Speaker 1: primed to have his best season yet. You could say
Speaker 1: I'm on the hype train, But when I look at
Speaker 1: that roster and and yeah, they struggled last week in
Speaker 1: the preseason, Um, they have all the pieces that they
Speaker 1: need to be successful. It comes down to Winston though,
Speaker 1: because every once in a while he makes one of
Speaker 1: those bone headed plays deep in the red zone when
Speaker 1: he's getting pulled down by a defender and throws the
Speaker 1: in the air. He's got to cut down on those.
Speaker 1: I don't know, you know, I don't know if he's
Speaker 1: going to get rid of that, and I don't know
Speaker 1: if he totally needs to. He's never gonna be Tom
Speaker 1: Brady and maybe he's not gonna be here and like,
Speaker 1: but there's been some great quarterbacks that throw some interceptions.
Speaker 1: You know, you can be Philip Rivers, you can be
Speaker 1: Eli Manning, you can be Joe Namath certainly, you know,
Speaker 1: you can be Brett Farve, like a lot of guys,
Speaker 1: a lot of great quarterbacks through a lot of interceptions. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and yeah, he might always be that guy. I don't
Speaker 1: think he's gonna not be that guy this year. I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna drive Tor cutter crazy occasionally we've seen
Speaker 1: on Hard Knocks, which is continuing what's been an excellent season.
Speaker 1: But also keep this in mind, he's still just twenty three,
Speaker 1: so he came into the league so young that we
Speaker 1: might it might be five years before we see the
Speaker 1: best version of Winston. He's still learning the game and
Speaker 1: he's a lot of fun to watch. The thing I
Speaker 1: love about their offense is the pairing of of Mike
Speaker 1: Evans into Seawan Jackson. I just I love how they
Speaker 1: kind of compliment each that you've got the short, speedy guy,
Speaker 1: you got the big, you know guy, I can go
Speaker 1: get the jump ball, um, you know. And they also
Speaker 1: love each other a lot, like as in they love themselves. Defense. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I know, it's great entertainment. Uh. The only thing only
Speaker 1: real concern I have on defense is to stay healthy,
Speaker 1: and namely Gerald McCoy um, and also the back end
Speaker 1: Chris Conti and and Keith Tandy are their safeties. And
Speaker 1: that's kind of one thing no one's really talked about.
Speaker 1: I don't really know what you can I know what
Speaker 1: I can expect at Chris Conti, which isn't a ton.
Speaker 1: I don't know about Tandy. He had moments last year.
Speaker 1: The most tired uh item I heard all offseason was
Speaker 1: this business that Doug Martin might not be the starter
Speaker 1: when he comes back. If he looks the way that
Speaker 1: he's looked, then that's the key to their offense too,
Speaker 1: not just Jamis Winston. That ground game when they had
Speaker 1: essentially the the NFC's best pair two years ago. If
Speaker 1: you can have that to to center your passing game around,
Speaker 1: they can score points and make up for Chris Conti
Speaker 1: and the rest of the issues. They might have stood
Speaker 1: out as much as any player in the preseason for
Speaker 1: having that juice, like he was exciting close out the division.
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler with a panther biggest question for me in
Speaker 1: Carolina and I need your guys opinion on this. What
Speaker 1: have you seen out of six round and Alexander Arma,
Speaker 1: I've seen great burst uh a knack for his surroundings
Speaker 1: and maturity. What position does he play? I think Dan
Speaker 1: wrapped that up. Let's go in a different direction. Christian McCaffrey,
Speaker 1: I think the most exciting, one of the most exciting
Speaker 1: players we've seen in the preseason by far. He's basically
Speaker 1: or they've already put his name on the offensive Rookie
Speaker 1: of the Year award barring some sort of issues. But
Speaker 1: let's I like mix in two. But I'm just saying
Speaker 1: McCaffrey has those plays that are gonna be you know,
Speaker 1: they're gonna be on NFL dot com all week long.
Speaker 1: Already can see it happening over under a plug for
Speaker 1: my employer. I am good at that. Um here's my
Speaker 1: over under line yards on the ground, five hundred through
Speaker 1: the air, ten total touchdowns total. You are some scrimmage
Speaker 1: and double digit touchdowns. That, first of all, is barring
Speaker 1: Kaiser or somebody else blowing up. That is offensive for
Speaker 1: Key of the Year in production. I don't see why
Speaker 1: it can't happen. I think they're gonna make a real
Speaker 1: effort to protect cam this year. Uh and with the
Speaker 1: shoulder issue and also just that he's been beat up
Speaker 1: a lot in the last few years. And getting McCaffrey
Speaker 1: the ball in space quickly giving him the rock along
Speaker 1: with Stewart, I think I I could see him producing
Speaker 1: at that level overs across the board also drafted him
Speaker 1: over for yards and and catches, but under for touchdown
Speaker 1: it's a lot of touchdown Like for a little guy
Speaker 1: get down. I think he's gonna have a game where
Speaker 1: he scores four. He's gonna have one game that year
Speaker 1: where he scores four, and it it boost the whole thing.
Speaker 1: They're they're a little like the Redskins that they haven't
Speaker 1: practiced much together, so that you kind of expect them
Speaker 1: to come into the season a little slow. I mean,
Speaker 1: Cam most notably hasn't really practiced, and then Curtis Samuel
Speaker 1: also hasn't been on the field, So I don't know
Speaker 1: if they come out of the gates being their best offense.
Speaker 1: Anybody spooked it all by Ron Rivera when they asked,
Speaker 1: you know, what do you expect to see from Cam?
Speaker 1: And he's like, nobody knows. It's like when he was
Speaker 1: a rookie. Uh, you know, we'll know when when the
Speaker 1: season starts. I mean, it was very honest, but it's
Speaker 1: also kind of like a little bit telling, like he's
Speaker 1: leaving the window open that Cam might not look like
Speaker 1: the guy from two thousand fifteen at all. No one
Speaker 1: seen him throw a pass down the field yet, and
Speaker 1: he's barely practiced with his team. But this team, this
Speaker 1: Panthers team, wouldn't shock me if they get a buy
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. I think that these four teams have
Speaker 1: such a high ceiling if things go right, because the
Speaker 1: defense is so good on paper. I think they love
Speaker 1: those two young cornerbacks Bradberry especially. They still have the
Speaker 1: great linebacker group and that pass rush on the end
Speaker 1: and now Kwan short and load lately in the middle
Speaker 1: like that. It's about as deep a pass rush and
Speaker 1: as solid a defense. I think Ron Rivera loves this defense.
Speaker 1: You could see this division with a thirteen and three
Speaker 1: and eleven and five and a nine and seven. You
Speaker 1: guys are really that doesn't happen very often. Well, it's
Speaker 1: hard to predict who's gonna take it because there's so many,
Speaker 1: so much reason for each one. I just think they
Speaker 1: all have a really high ceiling. Like there's a lot
Speaker 1: of potential on all these teams, Like four of the
Speaker 1: best seven or eight teams in the in This is
Speaker 1: Gregg's golden period. This has been his division for a
Speaker 1: long time. I was gonna fall on their face. Picked
Speaker 1: the division real quick, mark Atlanta Atlanta Buccaneers with a
Speaker 1: wild card. I got Atlanta against my better judgment. Perhaps
Speaker 1: I'm sticking with the Falcons any any I have bucks
Speaker 1: wild car old card teams. Oh yes, I do. Actually
Speaker 1: I have Tampa Bay get and I'm gonna go Falcons repeat,
Speaker 1: and Saints get into the playoffs. Let's close it. Look
Speaker 1: thinking of throwing all three. But you've picked all your team.
Speaker 1: You picked the Eagles, and you picked the Saints, all
Speaker 1: the Greg tent posts. Hey, he a news flash. We
Speaker 1: don't actually know what we're doing when we're predicting. Why
Speaker 1: not predict something you want. Let's move to the NFC West,
Speaker 1: get us go and Greg with the Seahawks. I have
Speaker 1: to go again. I thought we were done forgot about
Speaker 1: the West entirely all right, Just like the Green Bay
Speaker 1: Packers have timed it well in terms of their offense.
Speaker 1: I believe this is a big season for the Seattle
Speaker 1: Seahawks in that you are timing Russell Wilson's peak quarterback
Speaker 1: play with the very end of this defense. Having stayed
Speaker 1: together for so long, Cam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman,
Speaker 1: kJ Wright, Bobby Wagner, Cliff Avriel, and Michael Bennett have
Speaker 1: been teammates together on the same team for five straight years.
Speaker 1: You don't see that this is the greatest defense of
Speaker 1: the century in terms of staying together over a long period,
Speaker 1: and I don't think it's close. It's one of the
Speaker 1: best defenses of all time. So to me, they they
Speaker 1: have an absolute chance to go win the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: this year. When you have Wilson at this peak and
Speaker 1: you still have this defense together one last I think
Speaker 1: you've hit the nail on the head. Greg. It's the
Speaker 1: same we if you go to NFL dot com, nice plug, Mark,
Speaker 1: we have all on the website. Uh. And I said,
Speaker 1: I feel the Seahawks have one last big run in
Speaker 1: them with this core and this everything seems to be
Speaker 1: a line for that to happen. Where Russell Wilson is
Speaker 1: at the apex of his powers and healthy and looking
Speaker 1: like Wilson, the defense together and still in their prime,
Speaker 1: one last big run. I see it happening. I think
Speaker 1: the Seattle Seahawks are a super Bowl favorite to me.
Speaker 1: You guys, they're consistent. I mean they are one of
Speaker 1: the teams that you can look at every year and say, yeah,
Speaker 1: that they'll be there. And it's because of that core.
Speaker 1: Like you said, the one question I really have for
Speaker 1: them and how far they'll go is on the left
Speaker 1: tackle because they lost George Fan and I just want
Speaker 1: to know how they replace him. That's a great question problem.
Speaker 1: But you never knew if he was gonna be I
Speaker 1: mean he he really struggled last year. Now you now
Speaker 1: you have a young guy. You gotta see You're right,
Speaker 1: it's a huge question mark. I've been a line last
Speaker 1: year or a couple of years. Like last year, the
Speaker 1: line caused Russell Wilson's breakdown in health and it completely
Speaker 1: disrupted that offense. That needs to be a markedly better situation.
Speaker 1: I will say, of all all these players that went
Speaker 1: and got in shape in the offseason and I did
Speaker 1: this and that with my diet, Russell Wilson showed it
Speaker 1: on the field. He looks like a physically different person.
Speaker 1: He looks faster, he looks fully healthy. So you you're
Speaker 1: getting him from full go, and we you're hoping Paul
Speaker 1: Richardson stays healthy. You're not sure what you're gonna get
Speaker 1: out of lock it. But it's a deep backfield right now.
Speaker 1: This guy Chris Carson. Every year West talks about who's
Speaker 1: gonna be the rando that shows up in the preseason.
Speaker 1: Chris Carson runs on the field like he's batman. I mean,
Speaker 1: he's not built like a normal running back, and I
Speaker 1: just love the way he runs. He's fun to watch.
Speaker 1: Between him and Rawls, I think that's gonna be so basically,
Speaker 1: it's every year for the Seahawks they get one of
Speaker 1: these guys though. Basically, Greg, and just cut another shot
Speaker 1: of you in the monitor for some reason when you're
Speaker 1: in the middle of a point and it's just it's amazing.
Speaker 1: All right, let's move. I'll talk about the Arizona Cardinals. Alright.
Speaker 1: The basic question, can the Cardinals protect their old man QB?
Speaker 1: Carson Hammers showed him the second half of last season
Speaker 1: that he could still will sling. It's for ball jargon,
Speaker 1: but it'll be thirty eight in December. He's an injury risk.
Speaker 1: We know that the offensive line has been suspect for
Speaker 1: a while. Now. You know we were talking who is
Speaker 1: the bad lineman we were talking about earlier that they're
Speaker 1: putting a lot of faith in the tackle, Greg Robinson,
Speaker 1: Greg Robinson, how about a little DJ Humphries protecting Carson
Speaker 1: Palmer's blind side? Is this all a recipe for disaster?
Speaker 1: Drew Stanton warming up on the sideline? What I mean
Speaker 1: you're asking us to predict if if if it feels
Speaker 1: if you'll last, which I think it's tough to do. Uh,
Speaker 1: you took basically my move there. I I will say this,
Speaker 1: I think there is a lot to be hopeful about
Speaker 1: in Arizona on defense, which in terms of him d
Speaker 1: J and guys like Honey Badger that looked completely refreshed
Speaker 1: and new. This this this preseason offense, there were issues connecting.
Speaker 1: I think it boils down to John Brown being John Brown.
Speaker 1: He was right away, had a couple of touchdowns in
Speaker 1: the last game. That's definitely got them excited. It's an
Speaker 1: interesting last stand type of season because you feel like
Speaker 1: it's this might be it for Palmer, might be it
Speaker 1: for Fitzgerald, might be it for Arians. That's a lot.
Speaker 1: It's a lot of pressure to put on a team.
Speaker 1: I watched Bruce Arians body langu which in the preseason
Speaker 1: so far and even in his press conferences. He's never
Speaker 1: a cheery guy, but I could almost feel him sweating already.
Speaker 1: I think he knows the gravity of the season. You
Speaker 1: know what I love though about this team, and I
Speaker 1: was I've been saying their playoff team all off season.
Speaker 1: I was thinking of jumping off it for one of
Speaker 1: these n NFC South teams. But then I looked at
Speaker 1: the schedule and you get the forty niners in the Rams,
Speaker 1: who are a little better, but that's four games, and
Speaker 1: you get the a f C South out of division.
Speaker 1: That's a big time edge to the Seahawks and the
Speaker 1: Cardinals in terms of trying to boost up that wind total.
Speaker 1: Those are all very winnable games. Four games against the
Speaker 1: a f C South for the Cardinals, and that's why
Speaker 1: I think they'll be a wild card team. David Johnson
Speaker 1: is also an m VP candidate, obviously, and I know, Greg,
Speaker 1: I think I think you wrote in that preview piece
Speaker 1: the idea that he could have a one thousand, one
Speaker 1: thousand season in him. Potentially. You're dealing with that type
Speaker 1: of talent in the backfield. So if you have if
Speaker 1: you have Carson Palmer healthy, when you have a weapon
Speaker 1: like that, if John Brown's healthy, if Lair Frittell does
Speaker 1: another year in the tank. There are a lot of
Speaker 1: ifs in play here. If Honey Badger really does get
Speaker 1: back to where he was, if Kim DJ actually lives
Speaker 1: up to his draft standing this year. A lot of
Speaker 1: things I feel like have to go right, and sometimes
Speaker 1: I feel like their window did close two seasons ago
Speaker 1: and we're still keeping it open a little bit. But
Speaker 1: I'm not convinced that this is anything more than a
Speaker 1: nine and seven team. They would have been a nine
Speaker 1: or ten win team last year were they called of
Speaker 1: kicks in a couple of breaks, and that was with
Speaker 1: a lot of things going wrong, And we talked about
Speaker 1: the lines don't have a lot of top tier talent.
Speaker 1: This team has a lot of top tier talent, Like
Speaker 1: their top ten players are about you know, are right
Speaker 1: there with top ten players from from others. And then
Speaker 1: going nine and seven and bowing out or missing the
Speaker 1: playoffs is not a success. Uh Nick shook one of
Speaker 1: the league's laughing stocks last year, the forty Niners. Things
Speaker 1: looking up and that's that look at the man. Uh Yeah,
Speaker 1: two and fourteen last year and pretty ugly to watch.
Speaker 1: For some reason, I ended up with a lot of
Speaker 1: forty Niner games to monitor last year, so I got
Speaker 1: to know him pretty well and one of my favorite
Speaker 1: guys on the team at the end of the chart. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I understand where I stand. Don't worry. Uh Vance McDonald
Speaker 1: was one of my favorite guys and he just got traded,
Speaker 1: so uh that's gonna be a thing that's gonna make
Speaker 1: me sad about the Nighters this year when I watched
Speaker 1: them again and again and again. Uh. The other exciting
Speaker 1: point from their offense was a backup quarterback who they
Speaker 1: drafted this year in C. J. Bethard, who has the
Speaker 1: town talking um. But he's not exactly someone I would
Speaker 1: pin my hopes and dreams on either. You know what
Speaker 1: you get in Brian Hoyer. Um, Kyle Shanahan is going
Speaker 1: to be the right guy for the job in the
Speaker 1: long run, and I think John Lynch is the right GM. Uh.
Speaker 1: They've kind of taken the whole spaghetti approach and just
Speaker 1: throwing a lot of it at the wall and seeing
Speaker 1: with sticks. Um. Offensively, they've added some talent in pure
Speaker 1: garsone and Marquis Goodwin and Aldred Robinson. Really didn't d Goodwin,
Speaker 1: but you know Aldred Robbinson. And then the most exciting
Speaker 1: point for them, and I think, uh Connor sticks with
Speaker 1: me on this is their defense has been really fun
Speaker 1: to watch. Well. They've drafted well and it's worked out
Speaker 1: with so far with the players they picked. And I
Speaker 1: think that if you look at a team that can say,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe the forty Niners. If you're just gonna
Speaker 1: expect them to go three and thirteen, that script may
Speaker 1: not work because I could see them staying close in
Speaker 1: certain games. Kyle Shanahan is one of the best play callers,
Speaker 1: and he already seems to start to have in some
Speaker 1: way the makings not the Falcon's offense, but the type
Speaker 1: of wide receivers, that type of players, their best receivers
Speaker 1: practice off season, and then it shows up in the
Speaker 1: absolutely so I could see them this kind of team
Speaker 1: if you want to see growth, if you want hope.
Speaker 1: As a forty Niners fan, it's a little ugly out
Speaker 1: of the gate, you get some flow. Brian Hoyer is
Speaker 1: probably not gonna start every game for you, but he's
Speaker 1: gonna do some good things and bad things, and you
Speaker 1: win one or two games, maybe in your own division
Speaker 1: down the stretch. That causes problem for some of these
Speaker 1: upper teams. The Cardinals and the Seahawks, I think the
Speaker 1: two worst teams in the league last year, the Browns
Speaker 1: of forty. I think both of those teams could surprise
Speaker 1: people and win five to seven games in that range.
Speaker 1: I think the forty Niners gonna be better because better coaching,
Speaker 1: a better quarterback and an improving defense. I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna surprise people, and I don't. I think the Browns
Speaker 1: were a much better team than San Francisco last year.
Speaker 1: The forty niners were about as bad as it gets.
Speaker 1: They were lucky to win two games. They were not competitive.
Speaker 1: This team will be competitive. They they have really good
Speaker 1: things up front. Seven. I mean, Ruben Foster's has to
Speaker 1: be one of the favorites for Defensive Rookie of the
Speaker 1: Year because those guys that just get a hundred tackles
Speaker 1: going sidelines to Island, that's who wins that that awards sometimes.
Speaker 1: Solomon Thomas look good. You've got Rick Armstead, You've got
Speaker 1: a young defense. Their cornerbacks are probably the worst cornerback
Speaker 1: group in the entire league. So it's still an unfinished
Speaker 1: and unfinished team. I think their defense is exciting for
Speaker 1: them this year, but I think they'll be on the
Speaker 1: field too much. And that's why I have them winning
Speaker 1: no more than four games. All right, let's pick the
Speaker 1: division real quick, Mark, we're just skipping the Rams. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you just how dare you? You know? It's funny too
Speaker 1: because it's Alex Wilkes last show behind the Glass video
Speaker 1: producing so rude that we would skip his team or
Speaker 1: I would skip. I apologize, Mark close us out with
Speaker 1: l A. Rams. The Rams with another new coaching situation,
Speaker 1: not not that different than than San Francisco, that this
Speaker 1: isn't one of the most depressing teams in the league
Speaker 1: like they were last year. But I get a little annoyed,
Speaker 1: and I knew this was gonna happen, and it did.
Speaker 1: The whole Jared Goff thing. We've talked about it before.
Speaker 1: The expectations are so ultra low that if he went
Speaker 1: and had like two thirds of the season of Trevor Simeon,
Speaker 1: they'd be saying, Wow, what a jump? Want a jump?
Speaker 1: By the way, this was the number one pick in
Speaker 1: the draft. Why is it this way? And secondly, what
Speaker 1: is actually true growth from Jared Goff? I don't want
Speaker 1: to hear he throws seven touchdowns, but boy, he's getting
Speaker 1: the ball out quicker. This is the number one pick
Speaker 1: in last year's draft. I want to talk about what
Speaker 1: is true growth? More touchdowns than interceptions, just looking comfortable,
Speaker 1: looking like an NFL quarterback. I think if he had
Speaker 1: a solid season, they'd have to be happy about it.
Speaker 1: He gets it's kind of a sneaky not even sneaky.
Speaker 1: That's a huge season for him because if they face
Speaker 1: plant for a second straight year, playing in l A
Speaker 1: for a second year, and they are near the top
Speaker 1: of the first round, could they be tempted to get
Speaker 1: sucked into what's a supposed to be a really great
Speaker 1: quarterback class. I think he would really have to struggle
Speaker 1: for them to be in that conversation. But crazier things
Speaker 1: have happened. Uh, We've said it on this podcast. I'm
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see what he's what like with the
Speaker 1: real coaching staff and some actual supporting players. But he
Speaker 1: is definitely he hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt
Speaker 1: from anyone yet. I think we're in an era where
Speaker 1: teams aren't afraid to Jennison guys they don't think are
Speaker 1: the guy. We just Houston do it with brock oswell
Speaker 1: that they surrendered a second round pick just to get
Speaker 1: rid of him, So I like that idea. I think
Speaker 1: that might be a little extreme right now, since we
Speaker 1: haven't they traded bunch of picks just to get into
Speaker 1: that spot to get him with the first overall pick,
Speaker 1: that should buy you more than two years. But the NFL,
Speaker 1: it's an interesting draft class coming up. Sammy Watkins hasn't
Speaker 1: made a big impact in the preseason. That's fine, it's
Speaker 1: not a big deal. But you do wonder if his
Speaker 1: deep speed can be taken advantage by Goff, who hasn't
Speaker 1: shown the ability yet to really go vertical or the
Speaker 1: inclination as much as a guy, let's say, like Kaiser
Speaker 1: or Robinsky, where I think they're there, they don't show
Speaker 1: that hesitation to pull the trigger, and maybe Jared Goff has.
Speaker 1: To this point, I want to ask wilk as a
Speaker 1: legitimate RAMS fan, born and raised in so Cal has
Speaker 1: no microphone, so he's gonna give him a little time,
Speaker 1: So will Where is the expectation of a real RAMS
Speaker 1: fan in l A right now? Pretty low? But I
Speaker 1: think there is hope. I don't I don't think that
Speaker 1: there is expectations of coming close to a division title,
Speaker 1: but I think there's hope to be six and ten,
Speaker 1: which would be an improvement, and then to grow from there.
Speaker 1: And you got Wade Phillips, you got Wade of ups
Speaker 1: and some pretty good defensive pieces. If you get Aaron
Speaker 1: Donald back, can Jared Goff play? Yeah? A little family
Speaker 1: with faint praiser. All right, pick the division. Now we'll
Speaker 1: pick the division. Mark, Seattle will win it. No other
Speaker 1: playoff teams. Yeah, I'm I'm with him on that. Three.
Speaker 1: I feel like Mark didn't pick. Who are your wild cards?
Speaker 1: Did you pick anyone? Philadelphia and Tampa Bay? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: should wow, Mark and I both. I didn't mention I
Speaker 1: have Philadelphia as my other wild Ye, they're the second
Speaker 1: wild card for me. I love this. Did we agree
Speaker 1: on every pick? I just don't try to remember what
Speaker 1: I picked for NFL dot Com because last year I
Speaker 1: spread my picks over so many different media formats that
Speaker 1: I was right and wrong. I got the Seahawks win
Speaker 1: in this division and the Cardinals in the playoffs. Mark,
Speaker 1: you got the Eagles as a wild card right there?
Speaker 1: And the Bucks. You said that, right, That's what I said.
Speaker 1: All right, good, good job, Mark, you have the Seahawks
Speaker 1: in the West. How does my Super Bowl pick compared
Speaker 1: to those NFL dot Com people? They're gonna think this
Speaker 1: guy needs to be fired immediately. Thin already thinking, I
Speaker 1: think you're sticking with your picks this year and the Yeah,
Speaker 1: look at you. Good for you. All right, that's that's progress.
Speaker 1: That's year one to year two progress. That's at the RAM.
Speaker 1: It only took half a decade for me to actually
Speaker 1: stick to something that I saw steady as he goes,
Speaker 1: all right, there we go. Uh So that is our
Speaker 1: around the NFC, Around the NFC and forty eight minutes.
Speaker 1: A reminder that again, this is our video show. Uh
Speaker 1: So Tuesday, nine eastern, six thirty uh Pacific. You can
Speaker 1: check it out at NFL dot com slash a t
Speaker 1: n video next week. Starting next week, the schedule shifts
Speaker 1: because the season's beginning, hooray uh and our video show
Speaker 1: and our first podcast of the week will be on Tuesday,
Speaker 1: unless you count Sunday Sunday the first day of the
Speaker 1: week or the last day of the week. I think
Speaker 1: it's the first technically. But before then we still have
Speaker 1: part two of the Fantasy. Oh yeah, I'm gonna the
Speaker 1: plugs are still rolling out Greg Friday back. I will
Speaker 1: not be. I will be in Texas with the wife
Speaker 1: doing things uh no, not charity work. Maybe maybe I'll
Speaker 1: get involved and maybe I won't, but I'll probably be
Speaker 1: and my parents or my in laws family reunion outside Austin.
Speaker 1: You guys will carry on and um the Fantasy Extravaganza
Speaker 1: Part two with special guests. I have no doubt that
Speaker 1: you will get involved in some sort of charity work
Speaker 1: down in Texas. Thank you, Thank you for believing in me,
Speaker 1: Mark putting some pressure on me quite frankly. Um, all right,
Speaker 1: that's it, Nick Schook, thank you for joining us. Thanks
Speaker 1: for having beautifully great time, even the whole objectification of
Speaker 1: my physical being. Yeah, we were going straight up to
Speaker 1: HR after this. I would say Kevin Patrick should steer
Speaker 1: clear of the video show, not that I want to
Speaker 1: negatively impact. Well, he's got the rest of us to
Speaker 1: sit next to. Still, this was like the first the
Speaker 1: first batting practice Shook took as a member. Yeah he's
Speaker 1: got a ring as a member of the Shields team.
Speaker 1: Now he just comes out there in that for us.
Speaker 1: You know, batting practice and balls are flying over the fence.
Speaker 1: Well they certainly are used that, but don't tell anybody that.
Speaker 1: All right, let's get let's scrub that from the show.
Speaker 1: Let's get out of here. This is Dan handsOn signing
Speaker 1: off for the Quiet Storm or Shook, Pepper Spray l
Speaker 1: C and Alex Will Can everyone else mind the glass?
Speaker 1: Helping out thanks to everybody until Friday,