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Speaker 2: Welcome in What driving Nick Great? Episode two twenty two,
Speaker 2: Demons is Back, Philippony and Parkins are gone. By the way,
Speaker 2: if you miss Friday's episode, Uh the First and pod
Speaker 2: Crew it's a podcast you should subscribe to. We're in
Speaker 2: for de Monse. We also promoted my buddy Danny's book
Speaker 2: Pipeline the Pros, So if you guys want to check
Speaker 2: out that episode all those details, that would be good. Also,
Speaker 2: as you can probably see right here, I've got what
Speaker 2: appears to be a broken hand. It's actually not a
Speaker 2: broken hand. It is a broken arm. This the you
Speaker 2: know I don't. I don't think I have brittle bones
Speaker 2: per se. But this left side of my body has.
Speaker 2: I have broken this hand, I have broken this arm,
Speaker 2: I have broken this collarbone twice. And I have two
Speaker 2: skull fractures, both on the left side of my head
Speaker 2: that part. Where are the skull fractures? I'm not sure,
Speaker 2: but I just feel better blaming the left side of
Speaker 2: my body. But I'll be fine. It's no problem.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I didn't want Demands to be the only person who
Speaker 2: has to wear a plastic device in order to shower.
Speaker 2: I felt like that would be feel I'd feel badly
Speaker 2: for him in that regard. So I got your back there, pal, Uh,
Speaker 2: So that is something. So he's got a torn achilles,
Speaker 2: I've got a broken arm. Where the most injured but
Speaker 2: best sports podcast out there, or we were the best
Speaker 2: sports podcast out there. And I will explain or discuss
Speaker 2: that in the moment, but first I must get to
Speaker 2: what missed the cut, because here's what is not on
Speaker 2: today's show. Not on today's show. Chris Middleton returns and
Speaker 2: Kate Middleton allegedly returns, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelcey opening
Speaker 2: a steakhouse in Kansas City. That is exciting. I will
Speaker 2: be there for the opening. And I don't know if
Speaker 2: you guys saw the news yesterday, but Lebron James and
Speaker 2: JJ Reddick are launching a pod. It actually launched today.
Speaker 2: So this demands before we get to the NFL news.
Speaker 2: Remember last week how the producers were trying to cajole me,
Speaker 2: trying to convince me, trying to bait me into continuing
Speaker 2: an alleged feud with JJ Reddick, And I was like, nah, man,
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna do that. I feel like that could
Speaker 2: be bad news for me. It's not something that I
Speaker 2: want to do. Well, did I know that he had
Speaker 2: a pod project coming with Lebron James. I don't know
Speaker 2: that I knew that, but I know that you know.
Speaker 2: I have made it clear that I don't love when
Speaker 2: JJ goes on first take and says this show is
Speaker 2: dumb because my just feelings on it where then just
Speaker 2: don't go on the show. But the stuff JJ does,
Speaker 2: like calling games or actually breaking down you know, film
Speaker 2: or x'es and o's for an audience that wanted, he's
Speaker 2: great at that. And now it seems like this pod
Speaker 2: with Lebron is going to be a lot of that,
Speaker 2: and so that that'll be outstanding. And I'm also glad
Speaker 2: that I didn't, you know, further inflame an alleged media beef.
Speaker 2: But demanse, where are we starting with today?
Speaker 3: So we're starting with Justin Fields.
Speaker 4: They obvious, the Steelers obviously got Russell Wilson, and then
Speaker 4: I guess a week later or so got Justin Fields.
Speaker 4: Have always been super high on Justin Fields. Love that athleticism,
Speaker 4: but it seems that they couldn't get anything for him.
Speaker 4: They I think they got a late round three pick
Speaker 4: for him. And another story, No, not even day three.
Speaker 4: Round three could turn into a four go ahead. I
Speaker 4: apologize even worse. So you've always been super low on
Speaker 4: Justin Fields? Who do you think is wrong on Justin Fields?
Speaker 3: Is it? Is it the fans or is it the league?
Speaker 2: So I don't know, Listen, I so this is a
Speaker 2: somewhat complicated answer. So I don't know that I have
Speaker 2: been low on Justin Fields. I know that there was
Speaker 2: speculation last year before the season, man, could Justin Fields
Speaker 2: be the NFL MVP this year? And I thought, Okay,
Speaker 2: that's not going to happen. However, I also understand the
Speaker 2: allure of Justin Fields, the size, the weight, the four speed,
Speaker 2: and as I discussed on first things first yesterday, he
Speaker 2: has had just enough stretches of not good play, as
Speaker 2: I hold my hand up like mister Claw and Inspector
Speaker 2: Gadget of not just good play, but exceptional play, that
Speaker 2: you're like, man, and he's young enough in there, because
Speaker 2: he was young when he came into the league. Justin
Speaker 2: Fields just last week turned twenty five, so he's young enough.
Speaker 2: And then you're like, man, do you remember And I'll
Speaker 2: give you the exact games the stretch in twenty twenty
Speaker 2: two when he just seemed indefensible. He had a stretch
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two where the Lion scored twenty nine
Speaker 2: against Dallas. He had two hundred and ten total yards,
Speaker 2: not that many, I understand, two touchdowns, no turnovers. I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: three touchdowns, no turnovers. The very next week he ran
Speaker 2: for one eighty, had four total touchdowns. The very next
Speaker 2: week he ran for one fifty, had four total touchdowns.
Speaker 2: So in that three game stretch, the Lion scored twenty nine,
Speaker 2: thirty two and thirty. He had a one toh eight rating.
Speaker 2: He threw seven touchdowns. He ran for four touchdowns, and
Speaker 2: he ran for one hundred and thirty yards per game.
Speaker 2: You're like, man, feels like there's something there on a
Speaker 2: terrible Bears team. Then last year, right before he got hurt,
Speaker 2: weeks four and five, he had a two game stretch
Speaker 2: where he threw for three thirty five and four touchdowns
Speaker 2: and then threw for two eighty and four touchdowns. So
Speaker 2: he had a two game stretch with more than six
Speaker 2: hundred yards passing, a one to thirty rating, eight touchdowns,
Speaker 2: one pick the lion or I'm sorry the I might
Speaker 2: have said liones earlier. The Bears, you know, averaged thirty
Speaker 2: five points per game in those two games, and you're like, man,
Speaker 2: I feel like there is a lot of upside here.
Speaker 2: So that is what people fall in love with. Now,
Speaker 2: obviously the NFL has not fallen in love with it,
Speaker 2: given the fact that he was able to be had
Speaker 2: for a sixth round pick that can turn into at
Speaker 2: best a fourth round pick. Now, part of that is
Speaker 2: inexplicable to me in this regard. The Minnesota Vikings just
Speaker 2: said Sam Darnold ten million bucks to come play quarterback
Speaker 2: for US ten million. Justin's gonna make three point two.
Speaker 2: The Raiders just said Gardner Minshew twenty five million for
Speaker 2: two years, come play quarterback for US. That doesn't makes
Speaker 2: sense to me, Okay, I would rather take the shot
Speaker 2: on Justin Fields. I do understand though, why teams are
Speaker 2: afraid of the lack of consistency and so does the
Speaker 2: trade market always make sense? Does it make a lot
Speaker 2: of sense that trade laks.
Speaker 3: Like it's the Bears.
Speaker 4: I think that with a lot of other teams it'd
Speaker 4: be a different look.
Speaker 2: So I think that's why the Bears, right, So I
Speaker 2: think Demonsey, that's why the Bears tried to do him
Speaker 2: a somewhat of a solid and send him to a
Speaker 2: place he might actually be able to start. So I
Speaker 2: know they're saying Russ is the starter, and I bet
Speaker 2: Russ will be the Week one starter, but I highly
Speaker 2: doubt Russ is the Week eight starter. So I think
Speaker 2: that now I do not buy at all that the
Speaker 2: Bears were offered a second or a third round pick
Speaker 2: for him and instead to do him a solid they
Speaker 2: try him for a sixth I do buy that they
Speaker 2: were maybe offered a fifth round pick by a team
Speaker 2: that he wouldn't like. Let's as a for instance, I
Speaker 2: use this example on TV S or I use it again.
Speaker 2: Let's just say we know the Bills wanted to back
Speaker 2: up quarterback because they try they signed Mitch Trubisky in
Speaker 2: free agency. Let's say the Bills called up Chicago and said,
Speaker 2: we'll give you a fifth round pick for Justin Fields.
Speaker 2: Do I think that the Bears might have said, you
Speaker 2: know what, send him in to Buffalo where he has
Speaker 2: no chance of ever playing. We're gonna and are you
Speaker 2: as opposed to sending him to Pittsburgh where he could
Speaker 2: actually compete. Yeah, we will take a slightly worse return
Speaker 2: in that regard. But if someone had offered a second
Speaker 2: or a third, the Bears I believe would have taken it. Now,
Speaker 2: maybe someone offered a second or a third months ago
Speaker 2: and the Bears waited because they thought they could get
Speaker 2: better and they overestimated the market. But here is the
Speaker 2: the reason the Bears would feel an obligation to do
Speaker 2: right by Fields is here was kind of his timeline
Speaker 2: demonse year one, Justin you're not gonna start, You're not
Speaker 2: gonna play. Andy Dalton's the guy take a year mahomes
Speaker 2: path to learn from the veteran Justin Bields is starting
Speaker 2: by week three, so they throw him into the fire.
Speaker 2: Year two, we are the Bears intentionally wanted to be
Speaker 2: the worst team in the league. Took all they traded
Speaker 2: away Roquan Smith, they tore it all down, took all
Speaker 2: their dead cap in one lump because they were trying
Speaker 2: to rebuild, which I understand. But he did not have
Speaker 2: an NFL team around him. Year three is where he
Speaker 2: has the least. They did trade for DJ Moore, they
Speaker 2: did get him the right tackle you know in the draft.
Speaker 2: They they did add some pieces, but that's also where
Speaker 2: you saw some lashes, so I don't think they necessarily
Speaker 2: did right by him. I also don't think he's by
Speaker 2: any means proven that he's even a good NFL plasition right.
Speaker 2: What he has proven, demonse is if it were to
Speaker 2: click in for him, he has an incredibly high ceiling,
Speaker 2: but the league's pretty clearly said we value a higher
Speaker 2: floor rather than the potential upside of a high ceiling.
Speaker 2: But I think he's gonna end up being the Steelers
Speaker 2: starting quarterback. I think that Russell start in the beginning
Speaker 2: of the year. Russ will be Russ and then Fields
Speaker 2: will take over all right, let's go on to Caleb.
Speaker 3: Go ahead. Yeah, So obviously, now that the Bears have
Speaker 3: traded away.
Speaker 4: Justin Fields, it's all but obvious that just I mean
Speaker 4: Caleb Williams is going to be the starting quarterback and
Speaker 4: the first pick of the draft this year.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 4: So if he averages just two hundred and twenty six
Speaker 4: yards a game, he will have the highest quarterback passing
Speaker 4: every of any Bears quarterback ever? Are you willing to
Speaker 4: say that he will be the greatest Chicago Chicago Bear
Speaker 4: quarterback of all time?
Speaker 3: Right now?
Speaker 2: Well, if we say all times, Sid Luckman seventy years
Speaker 2: ago was a great Luckman. But if we're talking Super
Speaker 2: Bowl era, who does Caleb have to beat to be
Speaker 2: the best Bears quarterback of the Super Bowl era? The
Speaker 2: answer is Jay Cutler. So yes, I'm willing to say
Speaker 2: Caleb's going to be the best quarterback they've had in
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl era. The Bears have never had Demanse
Speaker 2: a four thousand yard passer. They have never had someone
Speaker 2: throw for thirty touchdowns. Daniels asking me, will he be
Speaker 2: will after year one he already be the greatest Bears
Speaker 2: quarterback ever?
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't think. I don't know if that's really possible
Speaker 2: to because Cutler was fine a Jim McMahon, I guess
Speaker 2: the quarterback when they won a super Bowl. Rex Grossman
Speaker 2: took him to a super Bowl. Like, he's not gonna
Speaker 2: do those things in year one. I do think that
Speaker 2: they're gonna be a playoff team. Think about it like this, Demonse.
Speaker 2: The Bears won seven games last year. Yeah, if you
Speaker 2: get the right guy as the number one pick of
Speaker 2: the draft at quarterback, don't we normally anticipate that guy's
Speaker 2: gonna be worth three or four wins, that you're gonna
Speaker 2: go from being two and fifteen to six and eleven
Speaker 2: something like that. But the Bears won seven games last year.
Speaker 2: They're drafting with Carolina's pick, and so he doesn't have
Speaker 2: to have the year CJ. Stroud had. CJ. Stroud was
Speaker 2: worth like eight more wins. He doesn't have to do
Speaker 2: that for this Bears team, a Bears team that it
Speaker 2: should be noted after they added Montese Sweat, they had
Speaker 2: a top ten defense and they went five to four.
Speaker 2: They have DJ Moore, they traded for Keenan Allen. They
Speaker 2: added DeAndre Swift with the ninth pick of the draft.
Speaker 2: They are either gonna be able to add Roma Dunsay,
Speaker 2: the number three receiver, Brock Bowers, the best tight end
Speaker 2: in a couple drafts, or the second best offensive linemen
Speaker 2: on their board after Joe Alt, or the best or
Speaker 2: second best defensive player in this draft. Because here is
Speaker 2: a weird thing about this draft that we'll talk about
Speaker 2: more as we get closer to draft season. If people
Speaker 2: are correct that four quarterbacks are gonna go in the
Speaker 2: top ten. All right, so you've got Caleb Drake Jaden
Speaker 2: and everyone loves JJ McCarthy. Now people think they might
Speaker 2: go one through four and certainly be in the top ten.
Speaker 2: So that's four top ten picks at quarterback. Obviously, Marvin
Speaker 2: Harrison Junior and Malik Neighbors are going to go in
Speaker 2: the top ten. That's two receivers. Joe Alt, the franchise
Speaker 2: left tackle for the uh he was with the Notre
Speaker 2: Dame last year, he's going to go in the top ten.
Speaker 2: So now we're at seven. People think Roma Doonza is
Speaker 2: likely to go in the top ten and Brock Bowers
Speaker 2: the tight end might so here and that's with only
Speaker 2: one offensive lineman. So here's why I mention.
Speaker 3: All of that.
Speaker 2: A team picking tenth, which right now is the Jets,
Speaker 2: and they probably wouldn't do this, but just follow me.
Speaker 2: You might be able to get the single best defensive
Speaker 2: player in the entire draft with the ninth, tenth, eleventh
Speaker 2: pick of the draft. It's a very unique situation. If
Speaker 2: you want defense, you might be able to get the
Speaker 2: best defensive player in the whole draft. You know, at
Speaker 2: pick you might be able to get the second best
Speaker 2: defensive player in the draft that picked twelve. So it's
Speaker 2: a unique spot because it's such a wide receiver, tackle
Speaker 2: and quarterback heavy draft. All right, Let's go to.
Speaker 4: The Cowboys' focused All right, So the Cowboys have lost
Speaker 4: a lot of key pieces this offseason and they've added nothing.
Speaker 4: You've always been super high on the Cowboys and think
Speaker 4: that they're going to be Super Bowl contenders next year,
Speaker 4: I assume, but they seem to have like how are
Speaker 4: they in any different position than the Bills are right now?
Speaker 2: So I'm glad you bring up the Bills, because the
Speaker 2: Bills lost their entire starting second secondary Leonard Floyd. There's
Speaker 2: number two wide receiver. The Cowboys cut Michael Gallup and
Speaker 2: lost be oddish Drrence Armstrong, and we can say they
Speaker 2: lost Tyron Smith, but they planned to lose time Smith.
Speaker 2: That's why they drafted Tyler Smith in the first round
Speaker 2: to take over for him a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2: So I'm not going to act as if the Cowboys
Speaker 2: have had a brilliant offseason. But let's talk about other
Speaker 2: teams in their general vicinity, teams that were playoff teams
Speaker 2: but didn't make the Super Bowl, and the offseasons they had.
Speaker 2: So I think the Bills had a worse offseason. The Dolphins,
Speaker 2: who lost their best defensive player, their second best front
Speaker 2: seven defensive player, who lost a right guard for one
Speaker 2: hundred million dollars he left to go to Carolina. I
Speaker 2: think the Dolphins had a worse offseason. Go over to
Speaker 2: the NFC the Rams. I like the Rams a lot.
Speaker 2: The best player on their whole team retired, will get
Speaker 2: to him in a moment. I think that's a worse offseason.
Speaker 2: The Eagles have a glaring need of how awful their
Speaker 2: pass defense was and their overall defense was last year.
Speaker 2: They addressed it by signing a running back. So I
Speaker 2: don't think the Cowboys had a great offseason, but I
Speaker 2: think that they had kind of a what I would
Speaker 2: call median offseason, meaning they didn't add much, but they
Speaker 2: also didn't lose that much. Yes, some teams added a lot,
Speaker 2: typically the teams that added a lot are bad teams,
Speaker 2: and some teams lost a ton. Typically those are teams
Speaker 2: like the Buffalo or Miami that took their shot and missed.
Speaker 2: And here's the one other thing I'll say about Dallas.
Speaker 2: People that are at this point rightfully skeptical about the Cowboys,
Speaker 2: it's because they don't trust McCarthy and Dak in the
Speaker 2: playoffs totally understand that what off season move could they
Speaker 2: have made that would have made those people be like, now,
Speaker 2: I trust McCarthy and Dak in the playoffs structure? No,
Speaker 2: So he opened up five million dollars of cap space
Speaker 2: for him so they could have a little more free
Speaker 2: agency flexibility. Now, if you want to crush I'm I'm
Speaker 2: fine with folks wanting to crush the Cowboys. I would
Speaker 2: just say wait on that, because your opportunity to crush
Speaker 2: the Cowboys is gonna come in the next couple months
Speaker 2: when Dak Prescott gets a three year, ninety five percent
Speaker 2: guaranteed one hundred and eighty million dollar contract extension paying
Speaker 2: him sixty million a year. That's when the Cowboys should
Speaker 2: be susceptible to criticism, and folks might be like, oh
Speaker 2: my god, Nick, that's a crazy contract for Dak. It is,
Speaker 2: but we live in a world where Kirk Cousins, who
Speaker 2: is in the exact same tier as Dak Prescott, can
Speaker 2: be five years older than Dak, pop his achilles and
Speaker 2: get because he hit free agency the same amount per
Speaker 2: year as Patrick Mahomes gets forty five million bucks with
Speaker 2: one hundred million guaranteed, and if they if Dak were
Speaker 2: to not sign an extension, he hits unrestricted free agency.
Speaker 3: So he's got the Cowboys.
Speaker 4: I think Kirk Cousins do better with the Cowboys than
Speaker 4: Dak would do with the with the Vikings.
Speaker 2: Well maybe, but here's the thing that I will say
Speaker 2: about that. The entire Kirk Cousins criticism is lack of
Speaker 2: big game and playoff success. Kirk Cousins won one playoffs
Speaker 2: game ever, and well, no, I mean that's also Dak's
Speaker 2: criticism is lack of big game and playoff success. My
Speaker 2: point is their numbers are very similar and their critique
Speaker 2: is very similar, and Kirk is five years older and
Speaker 2: coming off a blown or four years older and coming
Speaker 2: off of blown achilles, and he's still got a great deal.
Speaker 2: That's why the Cowboys are so nervous about the idea
Speaker 2: of Dak hitting free agency and he's gonna get this
Speaker 2: massive new contract. But the Cowboys have to sign Micah
Speaker 2: Parsons to what will be the rich defensive player contract ever.
Speaker 2: They have to sign Ceedee Lamb, so what it will
Speaker 2: be one of the four or three richest wide receiver
Speaker 2: contracts ever, and they have to extend Dak. That's why
Speaker 2: you can say they put themselves in a bad position.
Speaker 2: But I'm not gonna kill him for not spending huge
Speaker 2: in free agency on Derrick Henry or Saquan or those
Speaker 2: types of guys when I don't think that would substantially
Speaker 2: change their destiny, so to speak.
Speaker 4: All right, next, All right, Aaron Donald's retired after ten
Speaker 4: years of terrorizing quarterbacks, so he's out of the league now.
Speaker 4: I actually saw a funny clip of him for the
Speaker 4: first time of him pressing Geno Smith and him screaming,
Speaker 4: oh my god, like a.
Speaker 3: Little oh yeah, yeah, there is.
Speaker 4: But now that he's gone, could you see Chris Jones
Speaker 4: reclaiming that throne as the most dominant defender.
Speaker 2: Well, listen, I think Chris Jones was better than Aaron
Speaker 2: Donald last year, and as great as Aaron Donald was,
Speaker 2: I think that Chris Jones had already I think taken
Speaker 2: as of the last two years, because Donald was injured
Speaker 2: to somewhat two years ago, and then last year as
Speaker 2: the best d tackle in the NFL now most dominant defender.
Speaker 2: TJ Watt and Miles Garrett have something to say about that.
Speaker 2: But I do want to put Aaron Donald's career into context,
Speaker 2: all right, So and let me pull up this list
Speaker 2: it PROS Football Reference. I just want to get the
Speaker 2: exact list, right. I had it the other day here, Okay,
Speaker 2: got it. Aaron Donald, his final year at Pitt Demonse,
Speaker 2: won every collegiate award an NFL a college defensive player
Speaker 2: can win other than the Heisman. He then walks into
Speaker 2: the league and his first year wins Defensive Rookie of
Speaker 2: the Year and is a Pro Bowler. He then plays
Speaker 2: nine more seasons. In those nine seasons, he is first
Speaker 2: team All Pro eight times. The one time he wasn't
Speaker 2: was when he got hurt. He won Defensive Player of
Speaker 2: the year. Three of those nine seasons he came in
Speaker 2: the top five for Defensive Player of the Year voting
Speaker 2: four other times, so seven of his nine seasons post
Speaker 2: rookie year, he either was named best defensive player of
Speaker 2: any position in the league or you know, came in
Speaker 2: top five in the voting. Seven of those nine years.
Speaker 2: He also was the best player on a team that
Speaker 2: lost to Super Bowl but held the Patriots to thirteen
Speaker 2: points in the loss. He then was the best player
Speaker 2: on a team that won a Super Bowl and on
Speaker 2: the final play of that Super Bowl hit Joe Burrow
Speaker 2: to win them their championship. What does eight first Team
Speaker 2: All Pro It means you were on this list of
Speaker 2: guys in the Super Bowl era. Jerry Rice has ten,
Speaker 2: Anthony Munos has nine, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Bruce Smith,
Speaker 2: and Aaron Donald have eight. That is the complete list
Speaker 2: of the most active first team All pros are not
Speaker 2: active all time first team All pros. If you are
Speaker 2: making a mount rushmore of defensive players in the NFL,
Speaker 2: it is Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Dion Sanders, and Aaron Donald.
Speaker 2: He was that type of player that dominant of a
Speaker 2: player and was an unbelievable postseason performer and packed as
Speaker 2: much into a ten year career as one could possibly imagine.
Speaker 2: I mean, for the context on having eight First Team
Speaker 2: All Pros in ten years, I mentioned those other guys.
Speaker 2: Jerry Rice has ten First Team All Pros he played
Speaker 2: he played twenty years. Okay, so Anthony Munos has nine
Speaker 2: First Team All Pros he played I want to get
Speaker 2: this right. Thirteen years pretty unbelievable by him. Reggie White
Speaker 2: has eight First Team All Pros he played fifteen years.
Speaker 2: Lawrence Taylor also didn't play for incredibly long. He has
Speaker 2: eight first Team All Pros he played for thirteen years.
Speaker 2: And Bruce Smith has eight first Team All Pros he
Speaker 2: played for nineteen years. Aaron Donald did it in eight.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was gonna ask the average career span, so
Speaker 3: he had a shorter one and still got there.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, compared to that, I think ten years
Speaker 2: is ten years is a great NFL career. Most Hall
Speaker 2: of Fame players play longer. But he never really fell
Speaker 2: off like last year. At worst. At worst, he was
Speaker 2: the third best d tackle in football, and a lot
Speaker 2: of people would argue he was the best. And so
Speaker 2: he's an all time legend and one of the only
Speaker 2: players ever that is impossible to overrate. All right, quick
Speaker 2: break right back, talk a little hoops, and play a
Speaker 2: game of Nick Stradamis What's right? All right, welcome back
Speaker 2: in What's Driving the Great Episode two twenty two. Before
Speaker 2: we get to Nick stra Damas, there's a couple of
Speaker 2: NBA questions about last night and about moving forward. You've
Speaker 2: got for me to Monsey, So go ahead.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so last night the two crazy dunks. First we
Speaker 3: got Anthony Edwards or Jalen Johnson did have you? Did
Speaker 3: you see them last night?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I did, so they were showing you the Anthony
Speaker 2: Edwards and then the Jalen Johnson really putting Austin Reeves
Speaker 2: in a spot.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I want to be very clear here, Jalen Johnson's
Speaker 2: dunk was awesome and it's a brutal spot for Austin Reeves.
Speaker 2: It is not in the same stratosphere as Anthony Edwards
Speaker 2: is dunk. Anthony Edwards is Dunk is one of the
Speaker 2: best dunks of the last decade. And Anthony Edwards now
Speaker 2: in the last week Demons has the block of the
Speaker 2: year and the dunk of the year. Yeah, and he
Speaker 2: I mean, his raw, primal athleticism is at this point
Speaker 2: maybe unmatched by anybody in the league. He is so
Speaker 2: much much fun man.
Speaker 3: Yeah, now he's he's a star.
Speaker 4: The Jalen Johnson that was the first points of the
Speaker 4: game though, that was crazy.
Speaker 2: I mean yeah, and it's a brutal again, it's a
Speaker 2: brutal It was also the highlight of the night for
Speaker 2: the Hawks, but it was. It's a brutal spot for
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves. But in my opinion, it is not in
Speaker 2: the same stratosphere as I mentioned as the Anthony Edwards sunk.
Speaker 4: All right, next, all right, so you said Luca has
Speaker 4: a chance to be a top offensive player of all time, Well,
Speaker 4: Wimby is arguably already the best defensive player in basketball
Speaker 4: on a year or in his first year.
Speaker 3: Sorry, since night they were gonna.
Speaker 4: Face off, who do you see having a lasting impact
Speaker 4: on the NBA when it's all said and done.
Speaker 2: The bigger impact. I mean, I'm gonna stick. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: stick with Luca, but I I will say Wimby has
Speaker 2: exceeded my expectations. Wimby does there. Wimby does have a
Speaker 2: case for defensive Player of the Year. This year, And
Speaker 2: I said, if you remember that early on that I
Speaker 2: thought he would instantly be an excellent defender, but that
Speaker 2: he would struggle offensively as a rookie. He hasn't. He's
Speaker 2: averaging twenty one points a game on forty seven percent
Speaker 2: from the field and thirty three percent from three. Like,
Speaker 2: that's fine, that's more than fine, eighty percent from the
Speaker 2: foul line, and he's leading the league in blocks by
Speaker 2: a mile. He has been and his impact defensively, Demons
Speaker 2: is understated by the numbers because of the number of
Speaker 2: shots people don't take because of you know, kind of fear.
Speaker 3: Of him impacting.
Speaker 4: UNA ask saw that he already has more blocks than
Speaker 4: eighty four percent of NBA players.
Speaker 2: You mean for his career. Okay, well that's yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean that's a mean, that's that sounds impressive, But then
Speaker 2: you realize Demond's.
Speaker 4: A back and there's a certain amount of people play
Speaker 4: in the games. A lot of those players are on
Speaker 4: the bench, not even on the court.
Speaker 2: I get it right, exactly the but no, I mean,
Speaker 2: he's the I couldn't vote him Defensive Player of the
Speaker 2: Year this year because his his it's the Spurs are
Speaker 2: not a great defensive team. And it's not so much
Speaker 2: about their win loss record as much as it is
Speaker 2: if you're gonna be Defensive Player of the Year, I
Speaker 2: need your team to at least be a good defense.
Speaker 2: And Rudy Gobert, as much as my criticisms as I've
Speaker 2: had of Gobert, Rudy Gobert, he is the anchor of
Speaker 2: far and away the best defense in basketball. And so
Speaker 2: I think this is Gobert's award, and he'll it'll be
Speaker 2: the fourth time he's won it, which I think will
Speaker 2: tie him with Ben Wallace and to kim Beck. So
Speaker 2: shout out to Gobar in that regard. But Wimby is
Speaker 2: having a phenomenal year. I don't think we should understate
Speaker 2: the year Lucas having. I mean, Luca is quietly if
Speaker 2: such a thing exists, averaging thirty four points, nine rebounds,
Speaker 2: ten assists on fifty percent from the field. So he is.
Speaker 2: His ability to dominate the game offensively right now is
Speaker 2: matched by all really no one other than Jokic, and
Speaker 2: Jokic does it in a different way Luca. To me,
Speaker 2: Luca's a better bet for durability. An offense is more
Speaker 2: valuable than defense. But Wimby is. Wimby is having as
Speaker 2: impressive of a rookie season as any player in the
Speaker 2: last fifteen years.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you said offense is more valuable than defense, But like, yeah,
Speaker 4: Wimby also it's not like he played he's not decent
Speaker 4: at offense as well.
Speaker 3: Right when you tie it in, don't.
Speaker 2: No, that's a no. You're one hundred correct on that.
Speaker 2: He's not Ben Wallace. He is right now looking like
Speaker 2: he's going to be an excellent offensive player as well. Uh.
Speaker 2: And so maybe I think a lot of people right
Speaker 2: now would say he's a better bet than Luca. I
Speaker 2: will not say that yet, in part because we have
Speaker 2: also seen Luca be one of the most deadly and
Speaker 2: consistent playoff performers of his era. The guy's thirty three
Speaker 2: to nine to eight averages for his playoff career, and
Speaker 2: he's been the underdog in every series he's ever played
Speaker 2: in the postseason, every single one. The MAVs have been
Speaker 2: the underdog his first year in the playoffs against the Clippers,
Speaker 2: his second year in the playoffs against the Clippers, and
Speaker 2: then his third year in the playoffs. They're the underdog
Speaker 2: against the Jazz than the underdog against the Suns, the
Speaker 2: one seed in the underdog against the Warriors. All right,
Speaker 2: time for Nick Straramis.
Speaker 4: As the prophecy foretold, he hath returned. Some call him
Speaker 4: the third eye of third lungs. Others call him the
Speaker 4: Messiah of the money line. Call him what you will.
Speaker 4: We call them Nixtra Damis, the Southsayer of sports.
Speaker 2: All right, a star, I mean that was really well done.
Speaker 3: I like that. I think you had to work myself up.
Speaker 4: Since the All Star break, the referees have been been
Speaker 4: letting players play. The tea leaves are saying a ticki
Speaker 4: tack fouls, fouls, famine is coming, Nick sure damis or
Speaker 4: mysterious forces trying to influence how the NBA is officiating.
Speaker 2: I mean, no, it's not mysterious, uh them, it's very obvious.
Speaker 3: It's awesome that it's great.
Speaker 2: And anyone complaining about this, like why would they change
Speaker 2: it mid season? Because it was awful, because it was
Speaker 2: a bad product because guys would kind of diagonally meander
Speaker 2: into the lane and then just throw their bodies up
Speaker 2: and get a foul call. And now they are they
Speaker 2: fixed it. I mean Ethan Strauss has written a few
Speaker 2: articles about this, and the data is in. In January,
Speaker 2: the average over under for an NBA game was two
Speaker 2: hundred and thirty two points. Yesterday, like set Vegas, over
Speaker 2: under was set at two thirty two. Yesterday's games the
Speaker 2: average over under was two hundred and eighteen points, a
Speaker 2: fourteen point drop in a couple months because the NBA
Speaker 2: the refs started letting people defend. Again, it's better for
Speaker 2: the sport, it's more fair. And so I've got no So,
Speaker 2: I don't think they're trying to put their finger on
Speaker 2: the scale of who wins. I do think they are
Speaker 2: trying to put their finger on the scale of making
Speaker 2: sure their game is watchable. And it was that when
Speaker 2: we had that month where guys would score sixty and
Speaker 2: people weren't that surprised by it, we knew we had
Speaker 2: lost the plot a bit.
Speaker 4: All right, next, all right, the play in may include
Speaker 4: the Lakers, Warriors, Sons, Mavericks, Heat and seventy six ers.
Speaker 3: It's crazy. You've read the Tarrytt cards and no once
Speaker 3: in the.
Speaker 2: Playoffs, anybody hold on terror that that word is Tarot cards.
Speaker 2: Those are those cards. Your mom is no, your mom's
Speaker 2: somewhat into uh where I shouldn't say she's somewhat into,
Speaker 2: but she doesn't dismiss them the way I think some would.
Speaker 4: Where like oh my god with an extra R. Usually
Speaker 4: is taro. I'm so confused.
Speaker 2: I don't even know what works it is. I've never
Speaker 2: heard of that. I know of the word carrot, but
Speaker 2: no the tea. The second T is silent. I've never
Speaker 2: heard tarott. Maybe are you thinking turret like a turret gun?
Speaker 2: I don't know, but doesn't matter.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 2: Tarot cards are the cards that like you like someone
Speaker 2: you know. A psychic pulls them and it's like, oh no, you.
Speaker 3: Got really sad. I thinking that it was?
Speaker 2: So what have I said on Real Quick Demanse? What
Speaker 2: have I? I've said this on the show before and
Speaker 2: I will say it again. I learned this from Dragonfly
Speaker 2: Jones and on Twitter, and he is correct. People mispronouncing
Speaker 2: words should not be mucked because it means they learned
Speaker 2: the word by reading it rather than hearing it. If
Speaker 2: you if you if the first time you learn a
Speaker 2: word is because you read it in a book or
Speaker 2: you've read it before, you just pronounced it. However, it's
Speaker 2: how where your brain says it. If you're just you know,
Speaker 2: mimicking what you've heard other people say, So I act
Speaker 2: I've got your back on that. But now back to
Speaker 2: the question about the tarot cards, because we've got a
Speaker 2: bit of a sidebar there. You were asking me about
Speaker 2: which teams they could see going on a playoff run.
Speaker 4: Exactly, all these kind of scary teams are going to
Speaker 4: be in the play in and they could all be sneaky, dangerous.
Speaker 3: But nick s drums, which play in team do you
Speaker 3: foresee going on a run?
Speaker 2: All right, so let's start in the East. I think
Speaker 2: Philly and Miami are totally safe in that even if
Speaker 2: they both end up in the play in, I trust
Speaker 2: those teams' abilities to navigate the play in. They'd have
Speaker 2: to deal with Chicago, Atlanta, Indiana who's falling apart, Orlando,
Speaker 2: which maybe could fall down but probably won't. I think
Speaker 2: those teams will be fine. And listen, you guys know
Speaker 2: how much respect I have for the Heat and Philly.
Speaker 2: If Embiid's gonna come back two weeks before the playoffs,
Speaker 2: maybe you know, super glass half full. The hope is
Speaker 2: that he actually has more in the tank for the
Speaker 2: playoffs because he had this you know, month plus off
Speaker 2: the West is a very different story. Okay, the West
Speaker 2: you have right now, you could argue, so, who's the
Speaker 2: best player in the Western Conference. It's Nikoli Jokich obviously, right. Okay,
Speaker 2: if you want to say the second best player in
Speaker 2: the conference is Shay fine, I don't know that I
Speaker 2: totally buy that, but he's got a very strong argument
Speaker 2: after that, in some order or another. You have Luca,
Speaker 2: you have bron you have Steph, you have Kevin Durant,
Speaker 2: you have Devin Booker, you have Kyrie, you have Anthony Davis.
Speaker 2: And mixed in with them are Kawhi and Anthony Edwards. Right,
Speaker 2: So seven of the nine players basically three through eleven
Speaker 2: in the West are in the play in bracket. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and unless the Kings fall down, there at least two
Speaker 2: of them are going home before the playoffs start. The
Speaker 2: team that I believe the least in is Golden State.
Speaker 2: The team I believe the next least in is Phoenix.
Speaker 2: But if right now the nine to ten is Lakers
Speaker 2: Golden State, so you know one of them is guaranteed
Speaker 2: to go home, maybe both of them eventually. And so
Speaker 2: a couple of years back, right, a couple of years back,
Speaker 2: the Lakers Warriors were the seven. The Lakers beat him
Speaker 2: when Lebron hit that three when he got.
Speaker 3: Picked in the eye.
Speaker 2: And then the next round, the next play in game,
Speaker 2: the Warriors played the Grizzlies, and the Grizzlies beat them
Speaker 2: and sent them home. And that was kind of like
Speaker 2: the Grizzlies and Jaws coming out, if I'm being honest,
Speaker 2: the NBA probably would really like if New Orleans and
Speaker 2: Sacramento fell apart. Now New Orleans was, Zion's playing really
Speaker 2: well lately, so it's not likely, and they've got a
Speaker 2: big lead on the field. Uh. And I like Fox
Speaker 2: and I like Zion, But I think the NBA will
Speaker 2: be bummed if either Steph, lebron kd or Luca if
Speaker 2: two of the four are not in the actual postseason.
Speaker 2: All right, do we've got one more? Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 2: Let's let's let's.
Speaker 4: Keep its Domisdamas may have predicted the Great Fire of
Speaker 4: Lon and the Atomic Age, but you predicted some equally
Speaker 4: devastating disasters like the Chargers playoff collapse to the Prints
Speaker 4: in the Saints cap situation. Truly horrifying events. Nick Sir Damas,
Speaker 4: which team's early playoff demise do you predict?
Speaker 3: All right, do.
Speaker 2: You have a guess here? It seemed like you were
Speaker 2: gonna say something.
Speaker 3: But I'd say the Chargers. I mean, oh no, no, no, they're.
Speaker 2: They're talking about the NBA. You're fine, Are you gonna?
Speaker 3: Are you gonna say the Celtics.
Speaker 2: No, I don't think they would be early. I'm talking
Speaker 2: round one upset. I think obviously the Clippers are ripe
Speaker 2: for an upset obviously always, and I I could see
Speaker 2: okay S getting sent home, particularly if they draw the
Speaker 2: Lakers in the Lakers have owned them and the size
Speaker 2: and length of the Lakers has given them real trouble. So, Okac,
Speaker 2: who's the one seed right now? And Shay has been unbelievable,
Speaker 2: and I like Jalen Williams, and Chet's been really good.
Speaker 2: I could see that going sideways on them. And so
Speaker 2: if I don't think there would be massive upsets out east,
Speaker 2: So those are the ones that I that I would imagine.
Speaker 2: All right, let's do this. Let's take a quick break
Speaker 2: and then do a tiny bit of March madness. We'll
Speaker 2: do that next quick break right back?
Speaker 3: What's right?
Speaker 2: All right? Welcome back in What's Driving the Great? Episode two,
Speaker 2: twenty two. Not gonna be able to do listener questions
Speaker 2: today because this show, if you're watching it, spoiler alert,
Speaker 2: it's not live the way our shows normally are. We
Speaker 2: recorded it about an hour ago and now you're seeing it.
Speaker 2: So to Monsey, let's ask a couple of March Madness
Speaker 2: questions then get out of here.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So maybe for the first time ever, the women's n
Speaker 4: CUAA Tournament is getting more notoriety than the men's. So
Speaker 4: obviously Caitlin Clark and those big stars over there, better
Speaker 4: teams and more exciting storylines. I'm sorry, Dix Thomas, which
Speaker 4: tournament do you fortel being better?
Speaker 2: The answer is the women's tournament. I mean, the women's
Speaker 2: tournament has stars. You've got South Carolina Don Staley, the
Speaker 2: coach is a star, their massive favorites. They also are
Speaker 2: kind of villains at this point. LSU with Angel Reese
Speaker 2: obviously the biggest star in all of college sports. IOW
Speaker 2: with Caitlin Clark. You then usc Juju Watkins, who is
Speaker 2: darn it, it's turnament.
Speaker 3: I've seen some clips are no.
Speaker 2: I was gonna say, but you need next year. You
Speaker 2: need to go to a game next year. I'll get you.
Speaker 2: I can't imagine they're that expensive. I'll get you good
Speaker 2: seats to a USC win men's game. I want you
Speaker 2: to go see Juju and so just in college basketball,
Speaker 2: on the men's side, it's just no stars. And so
Speaker 2: listen the men's tournament. I'll be very clear here, the
Speaker 2: early rounds the men's tournament will be better. It will
Speaker 2: be a higher level of play because the women's game
Speaker 2: is not yet deep enough for there to be those
Speaker 2: shocking upsets. The best teams in the early rounds of
Speaker 2: the women's NCAA tournament are really gonna dominate the lower seats.
Speaker 2: But the men's tournament, this, you know, this coming weekend
Speaker 2: is going to be phenomenal. But once we get to
Speaker 2: the sweet sixteen, I'm way more interested, way more interested
Speaker 2: on the women's side of things.
Speaker 4: All right, Next, March Madness is days away, and everybody's
Speaker 4: busy making braggets except for you. Are you you afraid
Speaker 4: that the non believers will win if your so saying
Speaker 4: powers failed to produce a perfect bracket. Mike stradamis, do
Speaker 4: you see a March Madness bracket in your future?
Speaker 2: Probably not. I'll be honest with you. I just I
Speaker 2: am not locked in to the men's college basketball game,
Speaker 2: and so I and I'm not gonna gamble on it.
Speaker 2: And I'm just not that you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: I could fill one out, just say I filled one out,
Speaker 2: but my heart wouldn't be in it. I'm too busy
Speaker 2: sending mock drafts to Brett Beach, which you guys can
Speaker 2: laugh at me about, but I literally am doing that
Speaker 2: on a weekly basis.
Speaker 3: I am.
Speaker 2: I'm still like, I still spend at least ten minutes
Speaker 2: a day when I'm scrolling Twitter, I come across some
Speaker 2: random Chief super Bowl highlight and I just watch it.
Speaker 2: I'm just still in the after goal of the Super Bowl,
Speaker 2: plus prepping for the NBA playoffs, and I'm just being
Speaker 2: transparent more intrigued by the women's tournament this year. I've
Speaker 2: watched more women's college ball this year than men's college basketball,
Speaker 2: and so yeah, I'll be a party pooper is the
Speaker 2: wrong word, but I just I understand how much people
Speaker 2: love it, and I love watching the tournament. But I'm
Speaker 2: not gonna act like I have strong, you know, feelings
Speaker 2: or intuition on it when I don't. All right, great job, demand,
Speaker 2: great job, everybody appreciate all the hard work everyone did
Speaker 2: to make sure this gets on the air. I'm on
Speaker 2: with Colin today. First things first at three o'clock, Demanse,
Speaker 2: great work, and we will talk to you all later. Hey,
Speaker 2: it's Nicker right. Thank you so much for watching. Please
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Speaker 3: Appreciate your