Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast made Joe Judge run laps.
Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL Podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Hansas, coming to you from a
Speaker 1: virtual room filled with heroes, Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal, and
Speaker 1: Chris Westling. What's up boys? Hey, damn? How you feeling west?
Speaker 1: Monday's Mondays in the West. Best day of the week.
Speaker 1: I've felt better, but getting through it, getting through it, um.
Speaker 1: I think only two more weeks of chemo, but now
Speaker 1: we're talking about doing clinical trials, which is like experimental
Speaker 1: treatment after those two weeks are up. Um, because the
Speaker 1: back pain is still there and that leads me to
Speaker 1: believe the cancer is still gonna be there when they
Speaker 1: run the scans at the end of these two weeks.
Speaker 1: So we'll just taking a day by day. Came back. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is a big one, you know. In fact, it
Speaker 1: kind of informs how we want to build out our
Speaker 1: lead up to week one because there's a lot of
Speaker 1: fun stuff we go through on this show as we
Speaker 1: approach week one, and it's getting there. It's a week
Speaker 1: from Thursday right now, it just doesn't we say it,
Speaker 1: then it'll become real, but it's still doesn't really real.
Speaker 1: It's not real in this house, I can tell you
Speaker 1: that where it's chaos at all times and the season
Speaker 1: hasn't started yet, it's uh, my body clock is telling
Speaker 1: me it's like June nine, and so I things are
Speaker 1: very odd internal. The difference though, between now and like
Speaker 1: a month ago, when when camp quote in quotes was
Speaker 1: in theory starting and now camps are basically over already
Speaker 1: it was like we barely knew we had yet, is
Speaker 1: that there's no doubt that the season is starting, at
Speaker 1: least you know in my like that was a real
Speaker 1: doubt four or five weeks ago. It's like, wow, how
Speaker 1: is this all gonna work? Like I don't know exactly
Speaker 1: how it's gonna work, but they're playing that game. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be sixteen thousand people apparently in the crowd, and like, um,
Speaker 1: like I don't have much doubt anymore because the COVID
Speaker 1: ninety team list is so sparse that that football is happening.
Speaker 1: I just can't quite believe it's in a week and
Speaker 1: a half and that it feels like there's been no building.
Speaker 1: This is a it's a blind spot for Greg because
Speaker 1: he fails to realize that like the moon is going
Speaker 1: to crash into the Indian Ocean four days from now,
Speaker 1: so you know, just let's not get too cocky here.
Speaker 1: As my mother has said to me many times, don't
Speaker 1: spit in the scar Let's just hope we get there.
Speaker 1: Things are going in the right direction, and yes, Monday's
Speaker 1: knowing that we have wes, we want to do our
Speaker 1: best stuff. And one of our favorite segments we do
Speaker 1: every year around this is Around the NFL podcast Around
Speaker 1: the a f C in forty eight minutes. We'll hit
Speaker 1: the NFC later this week, but we got West locked
Speaker 1: and loaded as our number four to hit it. So
Speaker 1: we're gonna go through each team in the four divisions
Speaker 1: and everybody gets three minutes no complaining in the mentions
Speaker 1: about your team not getting an up. But we still
Speaker 1: get complaints, as it turns out West because people then complain, Oh,
Speaker 1: those bozos went down some wormhole and they talked about
Speaker 1: my team for thirty seconds and talked about I don't
Speaker 1: know Drew Lock's grandmother that was on Twitter for the
Speaker 1: other two and a half minutes. That we're always gonna
Speaker 1: get like paying on something. Well, that's that goes with
Speaker 1: the territory. But I maintain I've always said, hey, put
Speaker 1: the blame on your team, not us. Your team could
Speaker 1: be a lot more interesting and then we'd find lots
Speaker 1: of things to talk about for three minutes. Cast the
Speaker 1: blame at your team like a critical thinking fans dropping
Speaker 1: the hammer in a big spot as strong as ever.
Speaker 1: Um all right, so we're gonna go through it all,
Speaker 1: and I don't think we should even waste time. You know,
Speaker 1: there's some big news that happened in the league, and
Speaker 1: will fold that into uh, the a f C South talk.
Speaker 1: But let's get going. Let's start in the a f
Speaker 1: C East. And oh, before we do, I just want
Speaker 1: to welcome in um Our Juna Rango Paul. He's he's
Speaker 1: filling in for Ricky Hollywood, who's got something cooking that
Speaker 1: I don't want to talk about yet on the podcast.
Speaker 1: But she's out, uh for a reason that's very kind
Speaker 1: of fun and interesting and potentially embarrassing for us. So
Speaker 1: there's a lot of a lot of things in play.
Speaker 1: Maybe great glory for Ricky comes out of this, maybe
Speaker 1: something horrific that changes the trajectory of her life forever.
Speaker 1: That's a little easier to you, But h Our Juna
Speaker 1: is filling in for Ricky and and we just want
Speaker 1: to apologize as a podcast to get thrown into the
Speaker 1: fire for the first time. I'll be doing a around
Speaker 1: the A F C and forty eight. Man. That's a
Speaker 1: lot of responsibility on your plate. Man, And I'm sorry
Speaker 1: that I'm under brush. You know, having worked with our Juna,
Speaker 1: I few does just it doesn't really matter what's got,
Speaker 1: what's what's flying around him. That was a real uh,
Speaker 1: that was a real no pressure, no diamonds response from
Speaker 1: our junior. And I'm good, I'm ready, and you keep
Speaker 1: us in line, our Juna. And if anybody goes over
Speaker 1: the three minutes, uh, we have those. We have a
Speaker 1: ton of We actually about weight too many tranquilizer dot
Speaker 1: dots darts when we were uh putting the Bengals into
Speaker 1: the Bengal sanctuary. So if you want to offload those, uh,
Speaker 1: just firing right into Greg's carotid artery. There you go ahead,
Speaker 1: do a target. You can do a little target practice
Speaker 1: right here before we get gone. You've been practicing with
Speaker 1: that uh that weapon there. Yeah, water space all right.
Speaker 1: Once Greg comes comes to we're gonna get going because
Speaker 1: he's starting us off an f C East. Let's do
Speaker 1: it right now, are you know? Around the a f
Speaker 1: C forty eight minutes, we begin with the New England Patriots. Go. Greg.
Speaker 1: We have talked so much about Cam Newton and the
Speaker 1: quarterback situation and the offense in general that I think
Speaker 1: we we've done a disservice to the problems on the
Speaker 1: rest of the Patriots roster. And I think Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: can figure things out because he's Bill Belichick as the
Speaker 1: season goes on. But even if prime Tom Brady was there,
Speaker 1: I think you look at the rest of this team
Speaker 1: and you see more holes than you've seen in a
Speaker 1: little while. At tight end, they're really county on these
Speaker 1: two rookie tight ends, Devon Asciosity who got hurt um
Speaker 1: in camp, Dalton King, we'll see their their entire pass
Speaker 1: rushes really built on his chase Winoviitch gonna somehow break out.
Speaker 1: Maybe he will. He's had a good camp. Dietrich Why
Speaker 1: is a guy who's been there forever. They kind of
Speaker 1: like right now, they're county on two rookies at inside
Speaker 1: linebacker and Fredy Jennings and Josh who cha uh You
Speaker 1: look at their right tackle as a guy who's barely
Speaker 1: started or played in the league. And I just think
Speaker 1: other than the secondary, other than cornerback, you have more
Speaker 1: question marks outside of just quarterback and just the lack
Speaker 1: of speed at wide receiver than you've had in a while.
Speaker 1: Belichick turned the roster over a couple of times, especially
Speaker 1: every ten years. It was similar in two thousand and ten,
Speaker 1: and a lot of young players played a lot better
Speaker 1: than anyone expected, and they were head of I think
Speaker 1: they could do it again. But I think we've maybe
Speaker 1: undersold how difficult a coaching job this is gonna be,
Speaker 1: including on defense. For Belichick, his two sons and like
Speaker 1: two other guys. I mean, they basically have less coaches
Speaker 1: on that staff in any defensive staff in the league.
Speaker 1: That's a fact that a lot of bel a lot
Speaker 1: of other coaches. That's it. That's it. Well, I don't
Speaker 1: know if you might be over selling the defense. You're
Speaker 1: gonna have a hard time getting me to be too
Speaker 1: concerned about that side of the ball. But when I'm
Speaker 1: reading the Gunner Olszewski is the number two receivers that
Speaker 1: in training camp. That's a problem. Um, Like, what, as
Speaker 1: a Patriots fan, what are your thoughts on Nikil Harry
Speaker 1: at this moment. He's been super up and down in camp.
Speaker 1: They say some great days, some bad days. That sounds familiar,
Speaker 1: similar to him last year. Has to stay healthy. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm honestly more hoping that Mohammed Sanu shows up as
Speaker 1: like um of what Mohammed Sannu used to be, because
Speaker 1: that's the is more realistic and Harry is just contributing.
Speaker 1: But but the defense, I am concerned about these defensive tackles.
Speaker 1: Another position where you know they were gonna have bo
Speaker 1: Allen start, He's gone that. You know that it's a
Speaker 1: bunch of guys and they always figure out a way,
Speaker 1: and I think they will because Belichick is a good coach,
Speaker 1: but I think just talent wise, it's less than they've
Speaker 1: been in a while. Yeah, I feel like the best
Speaker 1: coach in the history of the NFL is uh. You know,
Speaker 1: he's not saying much, but he's pretty amped up to
Speaker 1: kick people's asses. And I got two other words for you.
Speaker 1: It's called Ernie Adams and he's hidden away in this
Speaker 1: little laboratory and like they could wheel out the lollipop
Speaker 1: kids at wide receiver and still they're gonna be fine.
Speaker 1: I I don't even think this is zigging when others
Speaker 1: are sagging. I see New England as a playoff team,
Speaker 1: and I just I trust them to adjust during the
Speaker 1: weirdest year in football history as well as anyone. Mm hmm.
Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal, well done, Mark Sessler. Buffalo Bills. You know,
Speaker 1: I pretty blindly adore the Bills, and I realized that,
Speaker 1: and I think it's based on on some absurdities such
Speaker 1: as like I just like Western and Upstate New York
Speaker 1: and the and the trees and the farms up there,
Speaker 1: and you know, we sat down with Sean McDermott and
Speaker 1: he was really nice to us, and that's all it takes.
Speaker 1: Like I'm on love Island with the Bills. But there's
Speaker 1: a lot to like. I love how they've rebuilt the
Speaker 1: entire offense and just a couple off seasons. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think this is one of the better, more reliable
Speaker 1: wide receiving corps in the a f C. You've added
Speaker 1: someone that can be legit deep threat in digs, and
Speaker 1: it's up to Josh Allen to improve, you know, his
Speaker 1: drastically horrific deep uh ball throwing skills. But I think
Speaker 1: that you know, he's gonna help Digs is gonna help
Speaker 1: a lot. I love their backfield right now with Devin
Speaker 1: Singletary and Zack Moss. I can't wait to see what
Speaker 1: Zack Moss does. This might be a top three defense,
Speaker 1: So you know, I do think though in the a
Speaker 1: f C East, you have to be a better coach
Speaker 1: than Bill Belichick over the course of the season to
Speaker 1: win that division. I just have that much respect for
Speaker 1: the Patriots. But I think that Sean McDermott, here's my
Speaker 1: question for you. I think you know, I get I know,
Speaker 1: I get fascinated with these guys, and you probably think
Speaker 1: I'm a bit of a bit of a rube on
Speaker 1: that front. But I think this is one of the
Speaker 1: a f c's next great coaches. Am I overrating what
Speaker 1: Sean McDermott, the Sean McDermott factor can mean for Buffalo
Speaker 1: in a weird AFC East. He's proven himself over the
Speaker 1: past two years, certainly three years, that he's a guy
Speaker 1: that's a long term answer. That's why he got an extension.
Speaker 1: I do disagree with the notion that to to beat
Speaker 1: the Patriots you have to be a better head coach
Speaker 1: than Bill Belichick, because that's just not gonna happen. But
Speaker 1: what the Bills have in their favor is a huge
Speaker 1: talent gap between them and the Patriots. And that's kind
Speaker 1: of my feeling on it. You mentioned the Patriots mark
Speaker 1: that you haven't ticketed for the playoffs just because they're
Speaker 1: the Patriots and it's Bill Belichick and Ernie Adams, but
Speaker 1: I can't get past the fact that the Bills are
Speaker 1: just so much more talented. And then when you factor
Speaker 1: in the fact that they have a young, rising head coach.
Speaker 1: I'm not ready to put him in like the upper
Speaker 1: echelon yet, but a guy that's really got them going
Speaker 1: to the right direction, and the entire organization that's going
Speaker 1: in the right direction. I think this is the heavy
Speaker 1: favorite to be a playoff team coming out of the division.
Speaker 1: I'm so impressed with Brandon Bean in their front office,
Speaker 1: and that started after they made the playoffs and they
Speaker 1: said the next offseason, we're not a playoff team, we're rebuilding.
Speaker 1: We're in salary cap hell. So they didn't rush things.
Speaker 1: They went about it the right way and every year,
Speaker 1: look at how they've built that offense around Josh Allen.
Speaker 1: To the point is rookie year, he had met very
Speaker 1: little around him, maybe the worst wide receiver corps in
Speaker 1: the NFL. And then this year, who's got I mean,
Speaker 1: how many teams you can probably count on one hand
Speaker 1: better wide receiver corps step Big School Beasley, John Brown
Speaker 1: and their rookie fourth rounder Gabriel Davis is getting a
Speaker 1: lot of love in training camp as well. And then
Speaker 1: you get you add Zack Moss to Devin Singletary at
Speaker 1: running back. I just I just really love the way
Speaker 1: they've built this off round. Josh Allen, Tyler Croft love too,
Speaker 1: and they got them all every year. Have no excuses
Speaker 1: for Josh Allen. True those chimes are for the people
Speaker 1: that complained about the air horn. We listened. New York
Speaker 1: Jets Adam Gates might be coaching for his career in
Speaker 1: his reputation as one of the league's bright young coaching
Speaker 1: minds was damaged in Miami, pretty much obliterated in the
Speaker 1: past twenty months since he took the Jets job, and
Speaker 1: he got ripped by Jamal Adams on his way out
Speaker 1: the door. Lead Bell couldn't wait to put him on
Speaker 1: blast on Twitter over the hamstring practice thing last week,
Speaker 1: and it's just telling and given the injuries, illnesses, and
Speaker 1: roster deficiencies last year. I thought it was a bit
Speaker 1: lazy for everyone to say, oh, the Jets weren't good
Speaker 1: last year because Adam Gates is the head coach and
Speaker 1: that's why their offense stunck. There were a lot of
Speaker 1: reasons why they stunk, and Gates had a role in it,
Speaker 1: but he's not the only reason. However, I don't think
Speaker 1: there will be any excuses for Gaze if Sam Donald
Speaker 1: and company can't take the next step in and oh,
Speaker 1: by the way, there's still a limited roster. Gaze still
Speaker 1: doesn't have a lot to work with. So my question
Speaker 1: is, is is there any way Gaye gets out of this alive?
Speaker 1: And I forget about just holding onto the Jets job
Speaker 1: because maybe that's just doomed. But where he becomes one
Speaker 1: of those guys that goes from hot shot offense coordator
Speaker 1: head coach and then all of a sudden he's like,
Speaker 1: where where is Adam Gaze? Is he even the league
Speaker 1: right now? Is that if this year goes sideways, well,
Speaker 1: I think I think him maybe never being a play
Speaker 1: caller again. You know, forget head coach. If things go
Speaker 1: sideways is absolutely in play because you know when you
Speaker 1: fail in New York, like the whole world knows about it.
Speaker 1: And he doesn't seem the trend of the coaches like
Speaker 1: your Sean mcveigh's and others who relate to today's players.
Speaker 1: And you just watch Hard Knocks and see that Sean
Speaker 1: McVeigh is so much more than just a brilliant play caller.
Speaker 1: He creates a culture, and Adam Gates does that in
Speaker 1: reverse on you know, And I'm at the point where
Speaker 1: the Jets jokes just aren't even funny, they're bleak. And
Speaker 1: I can't think of a quarterback outside of Sam Donald
Speaker 1: who's been put into a first round quarterback who's been
Speaker 1: put into a worse situation over his career. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's just like, come on, the only way they save
Speaker 1: it is Sam Donald making a huge leap and Gaze
Speaker 1: maybe taking the credit for it. I think Gates can
Speaker 1: get jobs because he seems to have so many friends
Speaker 1: in the media, in front office, and people believe in him.
Speaker 1: I mean that that's why we heard he was so
Speaker 1: great for year after year. It's amazing he got this
Speaker 1: job so quick. I don't think he'll get another head
Speaker 1: coaching job if this doesn't go well, I think they
Speaker 1: were set up for a decline anyways, because I think
Speaker 1: this division is bad. I just I think, um that
Speaker 1: the schedule is so easy last year, and the talent
Speaker 1: is so poor on defense for the Jets, And yeah,
Speaker 1: Greg Williams can coach him up, but he needs Quinn
Speaker 1: and Williams to show up. He needs Marcus May, who
Speaker 1: everyone says looks amazing. Camp took Jamal Adams role to
Speaker 1: be kind of an all pro type of guy. They
Speaker 1: haven't had, you know, much of a pass Russian camp.
Speaker 1: They're they're saying, Okay, well, that's a good sign for
Speaker 1: the offensive line, like we'll we'll see on paper. I think,
Speaker 1: what what paper? I think this is one of the
Speaker 1: two or three worst rosters in the league. I think
Speaker 1: the Dolphins are another one in this division. That's why.
Speaker 1: And I don't think the Bills and Patriots and necessarily
Speaker 1: rack up wins either. I think nine wins could win
Speaker 1: this division. I think I'm ready for a blowback against
Speaker 1: leaders who so discord chaos and negativity. And Adam Gates
Speaker 1: is one of those m the Miami Dolphins. Chris Wesley, Well,
Speaker 1: I'm catching up on the Dolphins news and a couple
Speaker 1: of things stood out to me. Preston Williams, who towards
Speaker 1: a c L and the second half of last season
Speaker 1: and was arguably the best skill position player as a
Speaker 1: rookie before tearing that a c L seems to be
Speaker 1: doing really well in camp and coming back strong. That's
Speaker 1: something to keep an eye on. But I've been surprised
Speaker 1: by and I guess my question do you guys, is
Speaker 1: how big of a surprise is that the camp battle
Speaker 1: is not two of versus Fitzpatrick, it's two of versus
Speaker 1: Josh Rosen for the number two jobs. I am surprised.
Speaker 1: Maybe we shouldn't be, because two is coming off a
Speaker 1: major injury in the shortened time, but they didn't make
Speaker 1: it any um, any effort at giving to a first
Speaker 1: team reps. And now Ryan Fitzpatrick missed some time his
Speaker 1: mother unfortunately passed away. But he's back with the team.
Speaker 1: Now he's gonna be starting the two of practice. Reports
Speaker 1: have been pretty up and down. I don't think he's
Speaker 1: wowed anyone. He's going to be the backup, he'll be
Speaker 1: the guy to replace Fitzpatrick at some point, but it
Speaker 1: doesn't sound like he was particularly close And I think
Speaker 1: they know it's a tough spot, especially early in this
Speaker 1: season with this offensive line. I know they have a
Speaker 1: lot of new players, so hopefully the line is better,
Speaker 1: but it was maybe the worst line in the league
Speaker 1: last year. Totally new group. I think the defense is
Speaker 1: professional though. I think the defense is a lot more
Speaker 1: talented than it was a year ago, especially in the secondary. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think they put They put a lot of money
Speaker 1: into the defense and they had to. I mean, they're
Speaker 1: Their inability to rush the passer and protect their own
Speaker 1: passer was a death knel and I think that Brian
Speaker 1: Flores did a great job down the stretch. But it
Speaker 1: almost puts you don't want to be overly optimistic about
Speaker 1: the Dolphins because of what we saw down you know,
Speaker 1: at the end of the year knocking off New England
Speaker 1: and stuff. I mean to me, I look at the
Speaker 1: offense of roster, and there's some parts there, but it's
Speaker 1: one of the weirder offensive rosters around, right. It's just
Speaker 1: really Parker has been out of practice, DeVante Parker, and
Speaker 1: so it's like you look at that receiver corps and
Speaker 1: there Flores is in a very tough situation and look
Speaker 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick let's start there. I mean, how many times
Speaker 1: has the Ryan Fitzpatrick gone well in year two? And
Speaker 1: I know he was awesome. As Mark Marcus pointed out,
Speaker 1: many times you let the team in rossing in addition
Speaker 1: to happening and just being a guy that you just
Speaker 1: love to root for, but it usually doesn't get so
Speaker 1: good after that. Uh So, to me, it becomes just
Speaker 1: this like internal battle in the organization about tah and
Speaker 1: whether they can make the right decision with him, both
Speaker 1: healthwise and for the good of the franchise. That I
Speaker 1: think that's the big storyline to take out of their season.
Speaker 1: Winning five games, to me, would be an accomplishment to
Speaker 1: match that I feel, and I don't think Dolphins fans
Speaker 1: feel that way, but just the way last season fell, um,
Speaker 1: I think they got a little lucky with the schedule again,
Speaker 1: you know with the a f C East that if
Speaker 1: they can repeat that, that's good. You just want to
Speaker 1: know that toa is okay and promising, and that Florists
Speaker 1: continues being a promising young coach. I think that's fair
Speaker 1: and and it's down to quarterback. Fitzpatrick, like Dan said,
Speaker 1: does not have a record of doing it two months
Speaker 1: in a row much less two years in a row
Speaker 1: and then two is probably not ready to come in
Speaker 1: and be a stud just yet. We closed the book
Speaker 1: on the a f C East. Well done, very disciplined boys.
Speaker 1: Let's move now to the a f C North and
Speaker 1: Chris start us off again, this time with the Ravens.
Speaker 1: You look at this team and record setting offense last year,
Speaker 1: but I think what a lot of people failed to
Speaker 1: see about the Ravens is also one of the youngest
Speaker 1: offenses in the NFL. Look at their skill position players
Speaker 1: and everything has been the last three drafts. They're so
Speaker 1: deep now, especially maybe the deepest backfield in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Their wide receiver, a position that in that franchise's history
Speaker 1: has given them all kinds of problems, is now probably
Speaker 1: a position of strength. Guys like rookies like Devin de
Speaker 1: n A and j K. Dobbins and even James Pross,
Speaker 1: who's been getting some love in the in the training camp.
Speaker 1: How much of an impact do you see those guys
Speaker 1: having considering the depth they have at those positions. Not much.
Speaker 1: I mean Dobbins might be the exception. Everyone says he
Speaker 1: looks great and came. I'm having a hard time not
Speaker 1: getting really excited about him. Yeah, and I was excited.
Speaker 1: That's one guy our our friends Spice Rack was huge
Speaker 1: on thinking he's like the next And because this was
Speaker 1: the most run heavy team since the Tim Tebow Broncos,
Speaker 1: and Lamar Jackson had three times the rushing value compared
Speaker 1: to any other quarterback in the league according to Football Outside.
Speaker 1: Is that sustainable? I think so. But you gotta put
Speaker 1: some new twists on it, you know, I think you
Speaker 1: have to. You want to throw the ball a little more,
Speaker 1: you want to use your receivers a little more, and
Speaker 1: you hope the defense is good from the start of
Speaker 1: the season on. Because the defense really came on strong
Speaker 1: late for the Ravens, not so much in the playoffs,
Speaker 1: but on paper, um, they should be pretty good. Like
Speaker 1: it should be a balancing They shouldn't have to be
Speaker 1: best rushing team in the league to be one of
Speaker 1: the top two uh A f C teams. I mean
Speaker 1: I I we did our picks for NFL dot Com
Speaker 1: and you know, last year I picked the Browns to
Speaker 1: go the Super Bowl and that acid trip wore off.
Speaker 1: And I am picking the Ravens this time around. And
Speaker 1: I don't think they are gonna be fourteen and two,
Speaker 1: because that just doesn't happen two years in a row.
Speaker 1: But you know, they were not the same team at
Speaker 1: the end of last year when Mark Andrews got injured
Speaker 1: and when Mark Ingram got injured, they just really weren't
Speaker 1: the same crew. And I think that the Dobbins pick,
Speaker 1: he's the kind of guy that might Maybe it's it's
Speaker 1: not early on to answer your question, Chris, but I
Speaker 1: could see Dobbins becoming the guy down the stretch and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, changing everything for Baltimore. I love that they
Speaker 1: have there. It tells me we're not going to try
Speaker 1: to be that different than we were last year. That
Speaker 1: is what we want to do, and we're gonna you know,
Speaker 1: that's what we're gonna do, and it's gonna be us
Speaker 1: first you. I love that they signed Class Campbell. I
Speaker 1: think Mark Ingham was the best free agent signing of
Speaker 1: a year ago in the NFL, and Class Campbell will
Speaker 1: have a huge impact on that defense, which is improved.
Speaker 1: And I really just don't see a big weakness on
Speaker 1: this team other than maybe depth at wide receiver. I
Speaker 1: don't love I wanted them to get Emmanuel Sanders or
Speaker 1: someone at white up back to Jackson and running the football.
Speaker 1: In his first two seasons. This from ESPN, he has
Speaker 1: two sixty design runs a hundred and fifty nine more
Speaker 1: than any other quarterback, Josh Allen second with one oh six.
Speaker 1: That doesn't feel sustainable to me in the long term.
Speaker 1: I know he's been durable so far, but I'll be careful.
Speaker 1: This is your franchise now, right agreed? Stainable for one
Speaker 1: more year? Hack that away and what do you have?
Speaker 1: The Pittsburgh Steelers. Has a sense of urgency in Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: ever been higher in the Tomlin era than right now?
Speaker 1: Or should it be a big bend thirty eight years old?
Speaker 1: We know his whole situation. The Patriots, we know they're
Speaker 1: not special anymore, so you don't have to worry about
Speaker 1: them anymore. Being the fly in the ointment. The rosters
Speaker 1: loaded with free agents, uh, many of whom could be
Speaker 1: playing elsewhere with the uncertainty around the salary cap right now,
Speaker 1: championship roster great skill pieces on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 1: The defense could be the best in the league. Put
Speaker 1: Big Ben back in for Rudolph and Duck Hodges and
Speaker 1: that could be a huge upgrade. Uh is it now?
Speaker 1: Or never for the Black and Gold. I think so
Speaker 1: because Ben either is gonna make it through and still
Speaker 1: be Ben. I guess then it wouldn't be not You know,
Speaker 1: then then you think, okay, maybe you have one more year,
Speaker 1: but how many more can you count on. I think
Speaker 1: they've had one of the most positive training camps of
Speaker 1: any team, not just because they haven't had any major injuries,
Speaker 1: but Roethlisberger has made it through and everyone there same.
Speaker 1: His arm looks good. I know there were some reports
Speaker 1: early he's like short arming things or whatever, but he's
Speaker 1: out there every day he's practicing. They say he's he's
Speaker 1: throwing the ball well and he's getting through this. Will
Speaker 1: it last when he's getting tackled. I don't know, but
Speaker 1: I think it was a fair question to even wonder
Speaker 1: how it was gonna look in August, and he's throwing
Speaker 1: fine against there. They have to be fired up to
Speaker 1: have him on the field at the same time of
Speaker 1: this defense, which it took a long time to come together,
Speaker 1: but there's a lot of great players on this defense
Speaker 1: at every level. I think it's you know, we forget
Speaker 1: that they were eight and five a year ago with
Speaker 1: an absolute nightmare roster and I think that there are
Speaker 1: a little bit of a revenge tour team and we
Speaker 1: we cited them correctly. Is maybe one being overlooked a
Speaker 1: little bit? I mean the next factor is, is Juju
Speaker 1: Smith Schuster gonna be who he was two years ago? Um?
Speaker 1: Is Antonio Brown correct and saying that he's not a
Speaker 1: true number one? I think he was in a terrible
Speaker 1: situation a year ago. I mean I would also look yeh,
Speaker 1: I mean it just it was not a good It's
Speaker 1: not shocking why he wasn't himself. I think this is
Speaker 1: also possibly beg big bends last year in Pittsburgh. I
Speaker 1: honestly have I have this returning vision of him being
Speaker 1: Gruden's quarterback with the Raiders next year for one year.
Speaker 1: So I think the urgency is there and that like
Speaker 1: this isn't you know, it's now or never for Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: A hundred hunt. Yeah, the favorite in the division. I
Speaker 1: really do go ahead over Baltimore. Yep, I I I
Speaker 1: disagree with that, but I think they'll be right there,
Speaker 1: you know, very close. Juju is still younger than some
Speaker 1: of the guys who were drafted this year. I mean
Speaker 1: that he's still developing. He still got room to grow
Speaker 1: and a guy that Greg has liked for the past
Speaker 1: few months, Chase Claypool, was getting all kinds of positive
Speaker 1: pub coming out of camp, which is so interesting watching
Speaker 1: draft season and seeing like the Bob McGann articles where
Speaker 1: he's like graded as a tight end because they don't
Speaker 1: think he can stay a wide receiver, and now he's
Speaker 1: blowing the doors off a training camp. Well, that's a
Speaker 1: monster that looks like a tight end actually can be
Speaker 1: good for a wide receiver in the red zone. One zero, alright, Sessler,
Speaker 1: make it count the Cleveland Browns. All right. Well, I
Speaker 1: think we've talked about this team a lot, and we
Speaker 1: know the offensive talent is there. And I've been watching
Speaker 1: They've been putting these two hour long camp practices on
Speaker 1: YouTube every day. I've been taped dog in this stuff
Speaker 1: West Okay. And here's my big concern comment. I don't
Speaker 1: see here's my this is a legit concern. I'm not
Speaker 1: trying to be freaked out about it. I don't see
Speaker 1: in these practices a drop off from Baker Mayfield to
Speaker 1: case keenom I know the case keenom Is is comfortable
Speaker 1: in this Stefanski system, and Baker has had to learn
Speaker 1: a lot of third system in three years. I don't
Speaker 1: like that. It's not easy. I give Mayfield credit for
Speaker 1: getting his body right. He has been all focused on football. Um,
Speaker 1: but here's my issue, and this is a little bit
Speaker 1: more of an esoteric Brown's issue. We can get into
Speaker 1: the other stuff, this whole Baker being silent and Baker
Speaker 1: you know, uh, you know, just quietly working. Baker Mayfield
Speaker 1: is like that cocky cowboy who you love or hate
Speaker 1: based on your own p O V. And the NFL
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are a different deal. I don't really want a
Speaker 1: quieter Baker Mayfield. I wanted to be who he is,
Speaker 1: and I don't think the Browns maximize who they are
Speaker 1: if he is muted or overly humbled in that position
Speaker 1: where he's still coming off of last year's disaster. And
Speaker 1: you can tell me, have I fallen down in other
Speaker 1: one of these sort of Brown's mental wormholes, or is
Speaker 1: there something to the fact that Look at if you're
Speaker 1: if you want to be the quiet leader, be it.
Speaker 1: But if you're Baker Mayfield, your soul is something entirely different.
Speaker 1: Be who you are and don't apologize for it. That
Speaker 1: goes for everything everybody in life, but mostly for quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: You have to be genuine, you have to be true
Speaker 1: to yourself. And we're not gonna have answers to Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield in August. We're not gonna know until October and
Speaker 1: November how he's doing. But but the best sports stories
Speaker 1: are about overcoming adversity, and after what what last season
Speaker 1: was for him, this is overcoming adversity. He's got a
Speaker 1: show that there's more more fiber to him than what
Speaker 1: he showed last year, that he's got some some willpower
Speaker 1: because the personality he's putting out there, you gotta put
Speaker 1: out more effort than you put out last year. He
Speaker 1: played incredibly well as a rookie, ran his mouth that
Speaker 1: summer leading up to last year, played poorly and it
Speaker 1: looked bad. So now he's moving in silence. If he
Speaker 1: plays well in September, he'll be talking again. I think
Speaker 1: I don't buy it. I don't buy the moving in
Speaker 1: silence thing. I think he's doing it because he's smart
Speaker 1: and people told him to be this way right now,
Speaker 1: but we know who he is by now. He's a
Speaker 1: charismatic guy. He's a cocky kid, and I expect that
Speaker 1: to come out. I'm already cringing by everyone like applying
Speaker 1: like if he does bad, it's because he was quiet.
Speaker 1: If he does well, it's he was quiet. And it's like, no,
Speaker 1: he was. I think he was humbled by defenses. You know,
Speaker 1: he was hum He he is a gamer and I
Speaker 1: hate that phrase, but he created a lot after the
Speaker 1: snap without exactly knowing what he was seen as a rookie,
Speaker 1: and he was awesome. I think he's still throw the
Speaker 1: ball pretty well at times. Last year, he just made
Speaker 1: a lot of bad mistakes and um, he realized he needs,
Speaker 1: as West said, he needs to get in the playbook more.
Speaker 1: He needs to like learn what he doesn't know more.
Speaker 1: Go ahead and Mark, you got three seconds, two words,
Speaker 1: Harrison Brant future star. This guy is gonna be awesome.
Speaker 1: That's a lot of two tight end sets. Hit me
Speaker 1: with that dark gun. It's like I want it. Give
Speaker 1: it to him. Feels good. The kard Artery Payne alright,
Speaker 1: moving on closing out the division, West, I mean Greg,
Speaker 1: excuse me, the Cincinnati Bengals. Let's head to the sanctuary.
Speaker 1: It is so strange to be coming off off season
Speaker 1: where we have talked about the Bengals a ton as
Speaker 1: a fun team. One thing to keep an eye on.
Speaker 1: Joe Mixon hasn't been practicing for more than a week
Speaker 1: because of quote unquote Migraines might have a contract. I
Speaker 1: mean before the season. I think that ends up. It
Speaker 1: sounds like it's it's gonna be handled perfectly well, like
Speaker 1: Melvin Ingram situation. But but keep an eye out for that.
Speaker 1: I think they've had a really good camp because A. J.
Speaker 1: Green is helped again. Tee Higgins is out there, and
Speaker 1: they are the team that had three receivers on the
Speaker 1: field more than almost any team other than Arizona last
Speaker 1: year with these trashy receivers. Now you've got a nice group.
Speaker 1: Jonah Williams has looked good at left tackle during camp.
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow is out there making team statements on social
Speaker 1: justice in front of fifty veterans, and they tell him
Speaker 1: to be the guy to lead him like. I love
Speaker 1: that that. He's already kind of impressed the people around him.
Speaker 1: Are you now that we're right here, Wes, are you
Speaker 1: feeling it? Are you getting back into I'm not coming home?
Speaker 1: But this might be the most encouraged I've been four
Speaker 1: Bengals fans since the eighties. Yeah, I mean Joe Burrow.
Speaker 1: To me, I've been saying this all along. The natural
Speaker 1: leadership qualities are there. And then to see J Morrison,
Speaker 1: who writes for The Athletic in Cincinnati, said he was
Speaker 1: easily the m v P of training camp, your rookie
Speaker 1: quarterback drafted number one overall. I mean, sure, it's only August.
Speaker 1: Take it with a grain of salt, but if you're
Speaker 1: a Bengals fan, nothing is putting a bouncing your step
Speaker 1: like Joe Burrow, like actually putting forth on the field
Speaker 1: in training camp that he is that guy. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: feel like it came out of Central Casting as like
Speaker 1: the perfect quarterback. I mean, he's smoking cigars in the
Speaker 1: locker room, he's got awesome hair. And Zach Taylor on
Speaker 1: NFL dot Com is my doing those picks again. He's
Speaker 1: my coach of the year, dude. Because they're gonna go
Speaker 1: two and fourteen last year. I think they're gonna go
Speaker 1: nine and seven. They're gonna wax the Browns in week two.
Speaker 1: I've already texted you with those fears. I think the
Speaker 1: Bengals are gonna be super fun. I'm not kidding. I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna be this awesome story this year, and
Speaker 1: as much as I don't love that, I'm really happy
Speaker 1: for Bengals fans because it has been a dark winner
Speaker 1: for decades. M M. I don't want to take this
Speaker 1: off topic, but if you have the Bengals as one
Speaker 1: of the fund stories in the NFL and the Ravens
Speaker 1: as like a super Bowl team and the Steelers right there,
Speaker 1: you must not be very high Brown. No. I think
Speaker 1: they're the fourth place team because I think they were
Speaker 1: affected by anyone by injuries in camp and also an
Speaker 1: impossible transition, A tough ask other teams in that division
Speaker 1: are are are steady, steady steady? The Eagles would like
Speaker 1: to have to have a word to you on those injuries.
Speaker 1: I mean, well, they're up there different like an outside
Speaker 1: linebacker is like, let's get back to the sanctuary. Yeah,
Speaker 1: let's give the Let's give the Bengals defensive little attention
Speaker 1: because they were terrible last year. But I think they
Speaker 1: don't be terrible again. Dunlap was good. If Geno Atkins
Speaker 1: can be a little more like there on the back
Speaker 1: nine of their career, we can't expect improvement. It's fair
Speaker 1: Dunlap at the end of last year was as good
Speaker 1: as he's ever played the last five or six just saying,
Speaker 1: good guy. All right, before we close out the a
Speaker 1: f C South, let's pause. Here are Juna Uh to
Speaker 1: break down the big news coming out of Jacksonville this weekend,
Speaker 1: and then we'll we'll dovetail right into West setting up
Speaker 1: that team for three minutes. But yes, the big news.
Speaker 1: The Jaguars traded Uh franchise tag defensive then Yannick and
Speaker 1: got Way to the Vikings for second round pick and
Speaker 1: a conditional fifth round pick of the Vikings announced Monday
Speaker 1: and got Way and this one, this blew my mind.
Speaker 1: And I've seen a lot in football and guys unhappy
Speaker 1: about contracts and unhappy with their team, but I've never
Speaker 1: seen a guy take a cut like this. And Gockway
Speaker 1: has agreed to a one year, twelve million dollar deal
Speaker 1: with the Vikings instead of playing out the franchise tender
Speaker 1: of close to eighteen million with the Jaguars. That's what
Speaker 1: it took to get the trade done the Vikings that
Speaker 1: limited cap space. Let's start within Gockway, Greg, your thoughts
Speaker 1: on the deal? Did they promise him that they're gonna
Speaker 1: pay him a specific amount under you know, under the
Speaker 1: table the Vikings. I mean to make this trade because
Speaker 1: you're right, I mean, and I wouldn't shock me. No
Speaker 1: one would ever be able to find out about it.
Speaker 1: They said they're confident they can resign them. They can't
Speaker 1: do that right now because of the rules having to
Speaker 1: do with franchise tags. Because to take a six million
Speaker 1: dollar pay cut just because you want out of Jacksonville
Speaker 1: so much is um is fascinating. I mean, he he
Speaker 1: certainly did not like that organization. It's an awesome trade
Speaker 1: for the Vikings, I think because, uh, his speed plays well.
Speaker 1: I love him on the indoor track opposite the Neil Hunter.
Speaker 1: I mean, I really think it solves one of the
Speaker 1: big question marks for the Vikings, is you yeah, I
Speaker 1: think like Also, the other thing about in got Way
Speaker 1: is despite the clashing with the Jaguars, everyone sort of says,
Speaker 1: this guy works hard and he's not a problem at all.
Speaker 1: It's the opposite. And if you want to look back
Speaker 1: a year ago, it was Jalen Ramsey who went, you know,
Speaker 1: the trades of the Rams did not require him signing
Speaker 1: a new contract right away. He also wanted to get
Speaker 1: out of there so bad that it was just like
Speaker 1: there was a culture issue, and I can't I can't
Speaker 1: remember a more dead you know, like floating dead duck
Speaker 1: uh coach in NFL in the NFL than Doug Marone
Speaker 1: right now. I mean, it's like what on earth with
Speaker 1: Doug Moron after? I mean, they'll probably keep them anyways,
Speaker 1: but I mean, how many rebuilding jobs is David Caldwell
Speaker 1: going to oversee oversee at this point? I mean, we
Speaker 1: all see the numbers of the first rounders that have
Speaker 1: not gotten to second contracts and gotten out of there
Speaker 1: and produced eltswhere or just been you know, bus, I
Speaker 1: just what's going on here. The loyalty to these guys
Speaker 1: is surprising to me. It reminds me of the nineties Bengals,
Speaker 1: where David Caldwell is going to rebuild for what the
Speaker 1: third time? I mean, and what's he done with his
Speaker 1: high draft picks so far? You've got guys scratching at
Speaker 1: the walls to get out of there. That's that's not healthy.
Speaker 1: They have one winning season since two thousand eight. Caldwell
Speaker 1: got there. In two thousand thirteen, shot Con got there
Speaker 1: inn and I mean they took the longest victory lap
Speaker 1: ever for that one winning season and resigned Bordles and
Speaker 1: didn't draft you know, some of the better pastors we've
Speaker 1: seen in decades. So the other move, Leonard Fournette has
Speaker 1: been cut loose. The Jaguars tried and tried and tried
Speaker 1: to move the number four and former number four overall
Speaker 1: pick in seventeen on a trade. Doug Morone told the
Speaker 1: media that as much on Monday, saying they could not
Speaker 1: find anything. Sixth round pick, seventh round pick. There was
Speaker 1: just no market for Leonard four Nette West A little listen.
Speaker 1: I know people, nobody likes Leonard Fournette as a player
Speaker 1: right now. I was surprised when I was looking at
Speaker 1: his numbers that he did have fifteen hundred total yards
Speaker 1: last year a lot of you know, and he didn't
Speaker 1: find the end zone a lot. But this wasn't a
Speaker 1: guy that was a total disaster for them last year.
Speaker 1: And now they move, they dump him, and I get
Speaker 1: why people are saying this is a tank for Trevor's situation,
Speaker 1: because he's he was He made their roster more talented, right.
Speaker 1: I know he's not stud but he made the better
Speaker 1: I think for net is one of the he might
Speaker 1: be exhibit A for why you need to watch the
Speaker 1: games in football. His numbers are so different from what
Speaker 1: you're getting for him that it's volume. Pure volume is
Speaker 1: what it is. Like. You can stick a lot of
Speaker 1: guys in there and make on the three down back
Speaker 1: and they're gonna get total yards. I mean, that's just
Speaker 1: the way it works, especially if you force feed him
Speaker 1: check downs and dump off passes, and he's the exact
Speaker 1: wrong guy to be getting that stuff. You want to
Speaker 1: hit Leonard four Nette with room to run as a
Speaker 1: big guy, he should be making guys miss and running
Speaker 1: over people. But most of his big players come from
Speaker 1: getting to the second level of defense and just out
Speaker 1: running everyone because for the first few yards he's not
Speaker 1: going anywhere, and he's just a really inefficient running back.
Speaker 1: I think he could do a lot better in a
Speaker 1: different offense. He's probably ill suited for what Jake Gruden's
Speaker 1: gonna want to come in and do, and that's why
Speaker 1: they're getting rid of him. Um. I thought he was
Speaker 1: much better in two thousand nineteen than he was in
Speaker 1: two thousand eighteen, and I think he can help a team.
Speaker 1: But if you're just looking at numbers, you're gonna drastically
Speaker 1: overrate the guy. I would say you go read West's
Speaker 1: game notes on four Net that he tweeted out before
Speaker 1: the show today in which he gives him the nickname
Speaker 1: battleship for Net. Maybe you can explain West why he
Speaker 1: earned that nickname. Well, you know, it has to do it.
Speaker 1: It's like imagine him turning around with his back to
Speaker 1: a defender in the passing game and trying to make
Speaker 1: a move on a guy is like a battleship turning
Speaker 1: around in the Panama Canal. There's just no agility there,
Speaker 1: like you're not gonna you're not gonna make anyone miss.
Speaker 1: You know. It's it's a tight space with a guy
Speaker 1: who's just gonna take an hour to unwind and go
Speaker 1: around him. Just how does not go for overall? How
Speaker 1: does he go ahead of Patrick? Yeah, to be to
Speaker 1: be fair to the Jaguars, um I thought that they
Speaker 1: were crazy to double down on boardles that year, and
Speaker 1: and we we were on the record then saying that
Speaker 1: because he was coming off a bad year. But everyone
Speaker 1: had for Net ahead of McCaffrey. Not to mention Mixing
Speaker 1: and Camara and all the other people. Guy who runs
Speaker 1: four people were just in love with with that tape
Speaker 1: of like people they thought because defenders in the SEC
Speaker 1: that he was too much for them, uh, that that
Speaker 1: he was somehow going to overpower NFL defenders. And that
Speaker 1: just aren't many guys like that that come up, come
Speaker 1: along that are so physically dominant. Derrick Henry's one. I mean,
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry's kind of done it um, but there there
Speaker 1: just aren't many guys like that. It's also the NFL
Speaker 1: and so much that is dependent upon scheme, coaches and teammates.
Speaker 1: And if you put this guy in the right offense,
Speaker 1: surrounded by the right people, and call the right place
Speaker 1: for him, it wouldn't surprise me if people start seeing
Speaker 1: him as a Pro Bowl kind of runner instead of
Speaker 1: a guy where he's being used wrong, he's getting the
Speaker 1: wrong touches, and he's and he's behind the bad offensive
Speaker 1: line with a rookie quarterback. You can't put it all
Speaker 1: in called because there's the Tom Coughlin factor, who wanted
Speaker 1: to build a team that got shotguns out of nineteen
Speaker 1: thirty six based around you know, a big body back
Speaker 1: where it's like that can work, but you also have
Speaker 1: Blake Bordles at quarterback and they're always blaming in someone though,
Speaker 1: it's like they blamed the previous GM at first, then
Speaker 1: they blamed well, it wasn't our fault we brought in cop. Well,
Speaker 1: you were there, you were the one that brought it.
Speaker 1: You know, you're part of that group that brought in cough.
Speaker 1: I guess he can blame the owner if you really want,
Speaker 1: not called well, but it's they're always always pushed it
Speaker 1: around the blame. It's like, no, marone is nobody's fault
Speaker 1: that we're just the worst organization in the league when
Speaker 1: it comes to winning games. Well, I was gonna say,
Speaker 1: yesterday and my sideyard, the bottom of like the wooden
Speaker 1: gate was blown to Smitherens because there was my two
Speaker 1: sons in the house and then um my friend Bob's
Speaker 1: two sons and the four of them just going a
Speaker 1: and slamming in this batmobile into the bottom. And then
Speaker 1: when I went for answers, I wanted accountability, it was
Speaker 1: just everybody pointing fingers at the at each other for
Speaker 1: the blame. Nobody wanted to take the accountability. So when
Speaker 1: you're being likened to a let's say, a six year old,
Speaker 1: a three year old, a four year old, and an
Speaker 1: eight year old. Maybe your organization needs to clean things
Speaker 1: up a little bit. Maybe look at all the talent
Speaker 1: they've had come through there. And you know, Greg has
Speaker 1: pointed out in the past that defenses are unreliable from
Speaker 1: year to year. When you build your team around defense,
Speaker 1: you can't count on it. Like two years from now,
Speaker 1: they're you're gonna be great, and Class Campbell's gone, Dexter
Speaker 1: Fowler has gone, Jalen Ramsey's gone, Telvin Smith, Malik Jackson.
Speaker 1: I mean, this was a Super Bowl caliber roster except
Speaker 1: that quarterback. And it reminds me of an article I
Speaker 1: wrote like five years ago where Mike Holmgren says, you
Speaker 1: draft a guy, and here's the very important part. No
Speaker 1: matter what happens, you stand by him. You stand by
Speaker 1: him in public, you stand by him in prior of it,
Speaker 1: no matter what happens on the field, you stand by him.
Speaker 1: At what point are you doing yourself a disservice to
Speaker 1: the point where you ruin your franchise by standing by
Speaker 1: the guy? You miss your Super Bowl window because you
Speaker 1: stood by the guy. All right, let's now get into
Speaker 1: uh the around the A f C format once again.
Speaker 1: West Let's hit the Jaguars now suddenly without any of
Speaker 1: their well known guys from the past. I don't think
Speaker 1: it's an apples to apples comparison, because the Jaguars have
Speaker 1: tried to strengthen their roster um. They've gone out and
Speaker 1: signed some veterans to fill some holes. But this is
Speaker 1: the closest thing this year, obviously to the two thousand
Speaker 1: nineteen Dolphins, where we're unloading our veterans who we don't
Speaker 1: see could have a future with us. They won't be
Speaker 1: a part of our next winning team. So my question
Speaker 1: is what constitutes a success for the two thousand twenty Jaguars.
Speaker 1: I would say this real quick because it's west. It's funny.
Speaker 1: I wrote the words organic jag tank because I feel
Speaker 1: the same way that that they they are. They're running
Speaker 1: that that going down that road right now. I think
Speaker 1: you need to because you're probably gonna be the number
Speaker 1: one or two pick, right, you have to uh find
Speaker 1: out what you had in Gardner Minshew, and to to
Speaker 1: the point of sticking with the wrong quarterback. If Gardner
Speaker 1: Minshew is just a really serviceable fun um back up,
Speaker 1: you need to know that by the end of the
Speaker 1: year and not make the mistake of not getting the
Speaker 1: best quarterback out there and staying in the same uh,
Speaker 1: you know, dark territory that they've been for so long.
Speaker 1: I think you have to evaluate the most important position
Speaker 1: on your roster and aggressively go fix it next off season.
Speaker 1: I think you hit on some picks and uh and
Speaker 1: your young players play better. I don't you know. I
Speaker 1: think they could be a little feist the on offense.
Speaker 1: Minshew at his moments. I think the receivers are are
Speaker 1: pretty good, the offensive line is stable, and um, they
Speaker 1: have that hasn't been the case. I mean, they have
Speaker 1: their starters back. I think it's having those young players
Speaker 1: Will Josh Allen, Um, you know, the first round pick
Speaker 1: this year? What was it chasing c. J. Henderson. I
Speaker 1: mean they had a couple of first round picks this year,
Speaker 1: those guys playing, I mean Miles Jack was a guy
Speaker 1: they thought they were going to build around coming off
Speaker 1: a pretty rough year. So it's like some of these
Speaker 1: young guys stepping up and the offense being feisty. I
Speaker 1: don't necessarily think they're the number one pick. It wouldn't
Speaker 1: It wouldn't surprise me if they have a Dolphins like
Speaker 1: season where you know they're fifth or sixth in the draft,
Speaker 1: and there are certainly rosters out there I think that
Speaker 1: are just as bad or worse. I just say on
Speaker 1: paper door and like they I get concerned about. If
Speaker 1: you want to talk about like a Corona Risk team,
Speaker 1: one of these teams where the coach is not part
Speaker 1: of the future, he's losing the players. They start one
Speaker 1: and eight, You're in Florida. People are out partying saying
Speaker 1: forget this whole thing. I mean that is when you
Speaker 1: get into you step into a stick your scenario. It
Speaker 1: feels like Gardner Minshew is in an impossible spot because
Speaker 1: even if he is, I mean I don't I have
Speaker 1: a different view on his ceiling than other people on
Speaker 1: the show. But even if he's pretty good, if you're
Speaker 1: running this organization, you're probably gonna want to do the
Speaker 1: Bengals thing here or what teams have been doing forever
Speaker 1: is like we need to reboot, we need a new
Speaker 1: face of the franchise. And as cute as Gardener is
Speaker 1: with his floppy hair and his social media stuff, like,
Speaker 1: you probably want to get the number one hot shot
Speaker 1: out there and say this is our guy. We're starting over,
Speaker 1: and he's the face of it, I feel like that's
Speaker 1: where this is all headed. Maybe he'll be the Brown's
Speaker 1: quarterback next year. Mark, you know, as long as he
Speaker 1: keeps that floppy hair, all right, all right, let's continue
Speaker 1: now to roll through the a f C South Greg
Speaker 1: Houston Texans. The Texans gave Zack Conningham, their inside linebacker,
Speaker 1: a big contract over the weekend and and it got
Speaker 1: me thinking's heard about this roster and I like Coney
Speaker 1: Ammy is one of the best run stoppers in the league.
Speaker 1: Although they have too highly paid inside linebackers, which is
Speaker 1: this weird two twenty probably get rid of Bernardic McKinney.
Speaker 1: I think it's a fine signing, but it reminds me
Speaker 1: this is not a young team, partly because they haven't
Speaker 1: had draft picks, partly because they haven't hit on their
Speaker 1: draft picks like their hope this year. And this is
Speaker 1: it's a dangerous spot to be. It is just like
Speaker 1: the veterans they have have to be available and better.
Speaker 1: It's like because because those veterans are pretty good. J. J.
Speaker 1: Watt is number one among them. I mean, they're a
Speaker 1: totally different team when he's out there. But Whitney merciless
Speaker 1: is another guy, Bill O'Brien. The GM gave a huge
Speaker 1: contract to late last season after one of his worst seasons,
Speaker 1: and he was not a good pass rusher. Last year,
Speaker 1: they gave Laramie Tunseil a huge contract. Smart people say
Speaker 1: he's one of the best in the league. I guess
Speaker 1: he is. He also had the most penalties of any
Speaker 1: left tackling the league. So you you want him to
Speaker 1: be even better, to be to be dominant. You want
Speaker 1: Will Fuller to be healthy to be dominant. You want
Speaker 1: to Shaun Watson if it's possible to go up another tier,
Speaker 1: because that is possible. I mean, he's he's only entering
Speaker 1: what year four or five, a couple now away from
Speaker 1: a c L. Justin Reid played through an injury. I
Speaker 1: think he's a really impressive player at safety. So it's
Speaker 1: a bunch of guys who are veterans who are just saying,
Speaker 1: you're already really good if these guys are all better,
Speaker 1: Like those guys are Pro bowlers, and this team is
Speaker 1: a lot to deal with it in a division where
Speaker 1: there's really no big favorite. Well, they they have been
Speaker 1: and they continue to be a particularly shallow team that
Speaker 1: wins a week division because they have stars at the top,
Speaker 1: and it reminds me of like the Cowboys ten years
Speaker 1: ago when they had the star power names. But if
Speaker 1: they have an injury or two, then you're in trouble,
Speaker 1: and you know, on top of it, to your point
Speaker 1: that the veterans need to show up and be great now.
Speaker 1: Next year is another year where they don't have a
Speaker 1: first or second round pick. You don't pick till the third.
Speaker 1: It's like there isn't You're not really there's not a
Speaker 1: real easy way to add an injection and of of
Speaker 1: young talent and build the way good teams do, which
Speaker 1: is through the draft. I mean it. It's an interesting
Speaker 1: team because of because of Bob's unpredictability around the trade deadline.
Speaker 1: I still think that they will do some freaky stuff
Speaker 1: this here, but there's no proof that this plan works. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and O'Brien got killed obviously this offseason, and I, even
Speaker 1: as a long time Bob defender, I couldn't. But I
Speaker 1: also think it's premature, especially we're talking about a division
Speaker 1: that feels wide open, to think that this team won't
Speaker 1: be right back there will fuller to me is the
Speaker 1: Janka piece, the damnoshetic Jenka Pees, because he's so talented
Speaker 1: and so good. If his body just held up, he
Speaker 1: could end up putting up numbers that eclipse what DeAndre
Speaker 1: Hopkins did last year. I think he has that level ceiling.
Speaker 1: Every wide receiver on their team is like if his
Speaker 1: body just holds up, Brandon Cooks Randall Cob Brandon Cooks,
Speaker 1: Key Couta. Along those same lines, let's talk about the cults,
Speaker 1: because I understand why the contingent of cults, cults, hyper
Speaker 1: optimists out there exists. Um Philip Rivers is the old
Speaker 1: star QB with something to prove. You have a smart,
Speaker 1: proven offensive mind, head coach, a dominant offensive line, and intriguing,
Speaker 1: intriguing rookie running back, a veteran number one wide out
Speaker 1: who still has juice and untested but promising second round
Speaker 1: pick at number two, one number three wide out spots,
Speaker 1: and Michael Pittman and Paris Campbell. The ceiling here for
Speaker 1: the Colts is as high as any team outside the
Speaker 1: Chiefs on offense for me, But how often to teams
Speaker 1: with that many factors that need to go right, does
Speaker 1: it actually all click. That's where I'm skeptical that everything
Speaker 1: clicks for the Cults if it all does look out,
Speaker 1: they're gonna go twelve and four this year, but a
Speaker 1: lot has to go right. Well, here's what they have
Speaker 1: going for them. Even if things don't go right, they
Speaker 1: have depth because they've drafted and signed really well. The
Speaker 1: organization is so sound, the structure is sound um to me.
Speaker 1: Outside of Philip Rivers disappointing, you can get by with
Speaker 1: the rest of that, with any other position disappointing. I mean,
Speaker 1: if Marlon Mack doesn't do well, Jonathan Taylor is there,
Speaker 1: Michael Pittman that isn't there, Zach Pascal, who had a
Speaker 1: pretty good year, is there. I mean, they've got options
Speaker 1: if if guys don't pan out. I don't think it's
Speaker 1: like an entirely hinging on Philip Rivers too. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think if he's just not a turnover, it's a
Speaker 1: lot of different things, right, a lot of things that
Speaker 1: hinges on for this offense. The max out I hear
Speaker 1: real quickly. I think that like this is another team
Speaker 1: where Frank Reich Chris Ballard, the pairing of them is
Speaker 1: is just very uh, they're in unison. It's very hopeful,
Speaker 1: and you have you can't really look past the human
Speaker 1: side of football and how they overcame what happened with
Speaker 1: Andrew Lucky year ago. I mean, it's like this, this
Speaker 1: is a tough this is a tough organization. I like this.
Speaker 1: I like the kind of style of football. I think
Speaker 1: they're gonna they're gonna run on offense and with a
Speaker 1: seventh playoff spot if they're not a playoff team, Indianapolis
Speaker 1: got hit by an asteroid. I have them, I have
Speaker 1: we sent in those picks. I had the Colts winning
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl just because I wanted to pick something
Speaker 1: that would be fun to route for, like uh and
Speaker 1: I think they're they're one of those teams outside like
Speaker 1: the top five most likely that that have a shot.
Speaker 1: A lot of things have to go right is as
Speaker 1: Dan mentioned, but rivers is camp has had positive reviews
Speaker 1: that it's like he looks like a guy who's been
Speaker 1: in that offense before. It's mostly short, it's not a
Speaker 1: surprise he has been in that offense. That's what I mean.
Speaker 1: And t Y Hilton, He's he to me is the
Speaker 1: Jena p I mean, because when he's right, he's a
Speaker 1: top five type of receiver and right now their connection
Speaker 1: you can see that working like him and Keeenanan Allen
Speaker 1: Rivers and Keenan Allen back in the day. But Hilton's
Speaker 1: got to stay right, and uh, I think I think
Speaker 1: the upside is there. The downside is eight and eight,
Speaker 1: and I get that, But I think they could be
Speaker 1: a three seed that has the magical run. They go
Speaker 1: through bucket board Kansas City on the road of the
Speaker 1: playoffs because there's no crowd. What if they're three and five?
Speaker 1: Do you think the backup gets back in? No? H
Speaker 1: really yeah, supposedly he doesn't looked good and the week
Speaker 1: to week league all right close it out in Division.
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler Tennessee Titans, I think, you know, speaking of
Speaker 1: you know, going into Baltimore and going into Kansas City,
Speaker 1: Tennessee's playoff, you know, magic from a year ago fell
Speaker 1: a little bit short, but was one of the more
Speaker 1: enjoyable developments that I can recall in a long time.
Speaker 1: And I think the question for me, I feel like,
Speaker 1: with as much as any team in the a f C,
Speaker 1: we almost have to look at the Titans and say,
Speaker 1: here's how they get back. They get back by the
Speaker 1: masterful Arthur Smith, um Needing his two dudes, Derrick Henry
Speaker 1: and Ryan Tannehill, and we spent weeks wondering which what
Speaker 1: which one will they keep? They kept both, and they
Speaker 1: have to almost mirror I think last year's success. I
Speaker 1: don't feel like this offense is built in a way
Speaker 1: to suddenly, hey, let's shift gears and be like an
Speaker 1: air raid offense or roll out like the running shoot
Speaker 1: with Molese Davis. Like they are who they are, and
Speaker 1: we're asking Henry and Tanna Hill to kind of duplicate,
Speaker 1: and that to me feels very difficult for both of
Speaker 1: those guys. It's just a lot to ask. In their
Speaker 1: defense always to me, Um, they were feisty, but they
Speaker 1: feel a little anonymous on that side of the ball.
Speaker 1: Still Um Titans to me right in the mix. But
Speaker 1: I last year was sort of magical. It can magic
Speaker 1: duplicate itself. I think that's a fair question. I don't
Speaker 1: think you can count on everything going so perfectly. On offense.
Speaker 1: For instance, there's no way their play action attack is
Speaker 1: going to be as effective as it was last year.
Speaker 1: It was just it was abnormally effective. So to me,
Speaker 1: the improvement has to come on the other side of
Speaker 1: the ball, and that two thousand, seventeen eighteen and nineteen
Speaker 1: first round picks. You needed Dorey Jackson to be a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl cornerback. You need Rashaan Evans at inside linebacker
Speaker 1: to be a tackling machine, and he had one of
Speaker 1: the most impressive goal line stands I've ever seen last
Speaker 1: year in the playoffs. And you need Jeffrey simmons um
Speaker 1: to make Jorell Casey an afterthought, and Jeffrey simmons is
Speaker 1: talented enough to do it. To me, those guys have
Speaker 1: to be absolute stars, not just solid starters. It's a
Speaker 1: fair point because when you look at the names, there
Speaker 1: is a chance this defense gets better. They lost Dnps,
Speaker 1: their defensive coordinator. It's a little unclear how they're gonna
Speaker 1: call plays, whether it be very able or what they're
Speaker 1: gonna do. But Malcolm Butler actually played better for them
Speaker 1: last year. Like he's not a bad starting corner. You
Speaker 1: have Kenny Vaccaro, as said, you have Kevin Byard in
Speaker 1: the secondary, like you're needing a little more pass rush
Speaker 1: from Harold Landry or Vic Beasley. But add up all
Speaker 1: those names you said with the young guys, like there
Speaker 1: is a top ten defense upside. We haven't seen it
Speaker 1: since verybel has been there, and I agree that's what
Speaker 1: they need because Tannehill it's gonna slide back. It's just like,
Speaker 1: how much is he sliding back to like a solid
Speaker 1: above average starter. I think he can do that. He's
Speaker 1: not going to be a top five starter again, it's
Speaker 1: just too crazy to expect. Derrick Henry's last let's call
Speaker 1: it twenty twenty three games have been as good as
Speaker 1: any running backs we've seen in sometime. Is that sustainable?
Speaker 1: I mean the abuse he takes to what they ask
Speaker 1: of him. Maybe he's still young, he's maybe he still
Speaker 1: has another two, three, four years in the tank. But
Speaker 1: that's another question mark. Will he be able to sustain that?
Speaker 1: The masterful Arthur Smith underwell Arthur Smith. I think he's
Speaker 1: an underrated OC A great job last year. He's the
Speaker 1: FedEx the FedEx air righton? Who that's pretty you know?
Speaker 1: And who who tried to kneecap the Washington football team
Speaker 1: helped change their team name his dad? I guess. So
Speaker 1: it's all it's all weirdly connected, are Junah? Don't be
Speaker 1: shy with that tranquilizer gun? Now? Oh yeah, I forgot it.
Speaker 1: Let's close it out. The a f C West, the
Speaker 1: great mailman will deliver on the defending champs, the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: So I was going through Leonard four Nette landing spots
Speaker 1: and the one that intrigued me the most, I think
Speaker 1: was Kansas City. So if you have the rookie what's
Speaker 1: name Edwards A Layer Clyde the glide, So you have
Speaker 1: him in the old c J two k get the
Speaker 1: lead role with a playmaker, play him the first half,
Speaker 1: get the league, let him make plays, and then bring
Speaker 1: in Leonard Fournette and to keep the league clock killing
Speaker 1: rule in the fourth quarter, the old Lendale White rule.
Speaker 1: We you need Lendale White to be humble enough to
Speaker 1: accept that role and the paycheck that comes with it,
Speaker 1: and it would mean he has to go through the
Speaker 1: waiver wire probably maybe sit out for a few days,
Speaker 1: nobody picks him up, and then he's like, well, maybe
Speaker 1: my best bet is go win a Super Bowl with
Speaker 1: the Chiefs and then try to get a contract off
Speaker 1: of that. To me, that that's intriguing because I don't
Speaker 1: like the death behind Edwards a laire. You know, it's
Speaker 1: so fortune smiles on the Chiefs and ways that it's
Speaker 1: never done before. Because you draft Edwards Hilaire. Let's say
Speaker 1: they hadn't, and then Damian Williams, you know that wouldn't change.
Speaker 1: He'd still opt out, I think. And then you're asking
Speaker 1: about maybe Leonard Fournette being your feature back, and nobody
Speaker 1: likes the idea of that. I mean, they've got a
Speaker 1: few other guys there, but that would be messy. Instead,
Speaker 1: I think they're one of these teams they mind me
Speaker 1: a little bit of like the Packer some two thousand eleven.
Speaker 1: You're gonna go fifteen and one and you just got
Speaker 1: to look out to not get waxed in January and
Speaker 1: one of these sort of more stunning playoff losses. Uh.
Speaker 1: It comes to mind what a place to be as
Speaker 1: a franchise. I uh. I think also, if for Net
Speaker 1: doesn't want to take that role, maybe call up the
Speaker 1: real Lendale White. I love that. I think he's that
Speaker 1: was a fun group Johnson and White for like one
Speaker 1: or two years there. They were good. I I do
Speaker 1: think you can find flaws in this Chiefs team. I
Speaker 1: mean they the defense was bad enough to give up
Speaker 1: twenty four points right off the bat to the Texans
Speaker 1: in the playoffs, which could have ended their season for
Speaker 1: the second straight year. And then we would have just
Speaker 1: talked about how disappointing their defense was all all off season.
Speaker 1: They're starting cornerback I think right now is gonna be
Speaker 1: Legarious Need a rookie fourth round pick or Rashad Fenton
Speaker 1: Brelan who suspended for a month and so he'll be back.
Speaker 1: Is their best cornerback. It's like, okay, they're second best
Speaker 1: pass rusher is either Alex Okaffer you know I'm talking
Speaker 1: about on the edge Brian speaks. It looks like it's
Speaker 1: gonna be uh who's that passing young I can never
Speaker 1: say his name is probably starting there. But you know
Speaker 1: those are questions. You know, those are key spots cornerback,
Speaker 1: pass rusher. But I mean, I think they might be
Speaker 1: a very average defense in their in their hopes. I
Speaker 1: guess the worst case scenario is that they're they're back
Speaker 1: to being a bad defense. It's scary to think about
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes being injured for much of last year and
Speaker 1: what they were still able to pull up. But there
Speaker 1: has not been a repeat champion since like two thousand three.
Speaker 1: It's hard to do. I wouldn't pencil it. Pencil knet
Speaker 1: mark he took the Ravens have Well, that's right, devor Broncos.
Speaker 1: All right, consider the current state of the Broncos on offense,
Speaker 1: new offensive corner in place. It's Pat Shermer, by the way,
Speaker 1: new QB coach. They got a couple of new offensive linemen,
Speaker 1: two new wide receivers, both rookies in a pandemic year.
Speaker 1: Drew Lock, as has been documented often here, remains a
Speaker 1: third theoretical answer at quarterback rather than an actual one
Speaker 1: at this point. The offense, I don't put too much
Speaker 1: of this. I'll say it. The offense really struggled in
Speaker 1: a scrimmage this past weekend. So I'm just gonna ask,
Speaker 1: is it's fair to wonder if the Denver offense is
Speaker 1: a prime under performer candidate, at least in the early
Speaker 1: part of the season. It is fair to ask for
Speaker 1: all the reasons you outlined, but you're not gonna reign
Speaker 1: on my parade, Dan Hansen, plenty of faith, look I mean,
Speaker 1: and most of it stems from Jerry Juty, who has been,
Speaker 1: as advertised in camp Um, already seen as one of
Speaker 1: the best route runners in the NFL. And it's been
Speaker 1: phenomenal in camp Um. Albert Oh another rookie, the rookie
Speaker 1: tight end looks really good. This team, the depth in
Speaker 1: their skill position talent compared to where they were two
Speaker 1: years ago is astonishing. And if they're a little a
Speaker 1: bit of a freestyle team with Lock, it's like he
Speaker 1: makes guys better freestyling uh and to the point where
Speaker 1: maybe their defense can carry him. I mean, no, Afan
Speaker 1: was better once Lock got out there. Philip Lindsay was better.
Speaker 1: Like there, Their receivers were better once Lock got out
Speaker 1: there because he can make some He can make some
Speaker 1: plays even if it was out of structure, whereas their
Speaker 1: previous quarterbacks. God in your county. On the defense to
Speaker 1: carry this team, I think when the defense gets more
Speaker 1: than four games this year from Bradley Chubb and I
Speaker 1: like that a lot. And I think Vic Fangio is
Speaker 1: quietly one of the best defensive coaches around, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean in ages. My thing is like you talk
Speaker 1: about luck, he is masterful. You talk about like I'll
Speaker 1: tell you, I don't think it's masterful as Pat Schremer
Speaker 1: and I don't. I don't Pat Schermer and like Drew Lock,
Speaker 1: freestyling don't fit together to me. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: he did a nice job with the Vikings okay, but
Speaker 1: I still remember Pat Schremer being pinged by Michael Lombardi
Speaker 1: for like people calling up Lombardi saying, whenever I watch,
Speaker 1: you know Pat Schirmer's offenses, I know what's happening by
Speaker 1: looking at the formation one second. So is this can
Speaker 1: he do? I think what you want with all this
Speaker 1: talent and the question mark is he's the right guy?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think they'll start slow because of
Speaker 1: what Dan said to I think they are. They could
Speaker 1: be particularly hurt by the pandemic. But the offensive line,
Speaker 1: especially on the end here, does look better. It's always
Speaker 1: been a weakness. They don't really have a right tackle
Speaker 1: after Jown James opted out, but that's always been a
Speaker 1: pretty big weakness for this team, and on paper they
Speaker 1: look like they could be a lot better. Dalton Risinger
Speaker 1: looked great as a rookie. Um. You know, they brought
Speaker 1: in a quality starter in Glasgow, and they have a
Speaker 1: rookie center Cushion Berry that people seem to love, So
Speaker 1: they could be better upfront. One concern with Bradley Chubb,
Speaker 1: just keep an eye on it. He left the scrimmage early.
Speaker 1: When that's surgically repaired. Me acted up. He said he
Speaker 1: didn't feel right. All right, they said it's not serious,
Speaker 1: but not good Oakland excuse me, the last Vegas a
Speaker 1: right as Mark Sessler. That kind of remind me a
Speaker 1: little bit of the Broncos because I look at the Raiders,
Speaker 1: I'm like, I can talk myself into seeing them as
Speaker 1: a wild card team if things went right. I think
Speaker 1: Rooten and you know is fine. Mike Mayok has just
Speaker 1: kicked some butt, is GM. You got Henry Ruggs, you
Speaker 1: got Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs, So you can kind of
Speaker 1: see it coming together as a a frisky a f
Speaker 1: C entry. But then I also look at like the
Speaker 1: games that they totally blew last season, like when I
Speaker 1: went up, you know, in to watch them play the
Speaker 1: Jaguars and a historically important final game in Oakland, and
Speaker 1: they totally blew it by being way too safe and
Speaker 1: conservative and not seizing the moment. And I got screwed
Speaker 1: by the officials in that game. We all know it.
Speaker 1: Oh well, it is the quarterback in the way of
Speaker 1: his style of play. I'm sorry. That capped a four
Speaker 1: game losing streak down the stretch where they were outscored
Speaker 1: a hundred and thirty six to forty nine. So I
Speaker 1: just don't think they're all there yet. I mean, I
Speaker 1: they they just as easily feel like an eight and
Speaker 1: eight side piece to me. But I think Greg thinks
Speaker 1: they're a little frisky. Does anyone see them as a
Speaker 1: sleeping giant what they need piece? Yeah, side of the
Speaker 1: NFL kind of like you kind of keep that keep
Speaker 1: them hidden, you know you don't. You don't ask the
Speaker 1: team you take out on Saturday night. Keep them a
Speaker 1: little you keep them in the shadows. I think you're
Speaker 1: right Mark that they were like a five and eleven
Speaker 1: team that won a couple of extra games more than
Speaker 1: they should. Last year. They really weren't a good team.
Speaker 1: But they're a very different team now. I mean, whether
Speaker 1: these transactions work or not, this is a very young team.
Speaker 1: They're having their rookies play a lot. They're having their
Speaker 1: second year players play a lot. The free agent pickups
Speaker 1: that they had, like Trayvon Mullen is their number one
Speaker 1: cornerback right now. After they cut a Mukamara on Monday,
Speaker 1: they're counting on these free agent linebackers they picked up.
Speaker 1: It's just a totally different team. It's a good looking
Speaker 1: offensive line, I kind of want to believe in this
Speaker 1: tight end crew and the running backs. They're gonna have
Speaker 1: a lot of heavy sets. They're just gonna be zig
Speaker 1: while everyone zagging. And I at least like that for
Speaker 1: a little diversity on my on my Sunday view eat.
Speaker 1: But do you believe in the quarterback? No? I believe
Speaker 1: he's like an eight and eight side piece. I guess
Speaker 1: there you go. Basically eight made by the way, with
Speaker 1: an extra playoff spot might actually gets you into January.
Speaker 1: And I think they're nine win type of team though.
Speaker 1: I I because I do think that there's so much
Speaker 1: room to improve on defense that they should that even
Speaker 1: if they're like the twentieth best defense man, that would
Speaker 1: be a big improvement for them. And I do think
Speaker 1: their offense can be pretty good. They're powny on their offense.
Speaker 1: To be a top ten offense anything lass would be
Speaker 1: a disappointment. What linebacking crew improved more than than the
Speaker 1: Las Vegas one? I mean, Corey Littleton and Greg west
Speaker 1: Is you know, man crush, that's a good little pairing
Speaker 1: right there. Quick. Yeah, the first team, we've run out
Speaker 1: of things to say. Hey, we're just an awe and
Speaker 1: a board, there's no there's more meat on that Derek
Speaker 1: Carr side piece bone, but we don't have time. So
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna say I think he'll be okay. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get blocked again. Finally, Greg closed it out the
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Chargers. Yeah, we mentioned um like the the injuries,
Speaker 1: like Nick Chubb for instance. It I mean, Bradley Chubb
Speaker 1: is such a mystery right now. There's more mysterious injury
Speaker 1: situations around the league then I think we know because
Speaker 1: there's less reporting. But Derwin James's injury on Sunday, we know,
Speaker 1: we don't know the extent to it, but I know
Speaker 1: that it's the most caught. I think it's the most costly,
Speaker 1: big time injury that there's been since camp started. It's
Speaker 1: crushing because I think he brings out the best in
Speaker 1: the coaching staff, getting to be more creative. This is
Speaker 1: a bad defense with a lot of talent. Last year
Speaker 1: they weren't in the top twenty most efficient defenses, a
Speaker 1: lot of good players. I know they didn't have Derwin James,
Speaker 1: but that's pretty disappointed. He unlocks the cornerbacks, you know,
Speaker 1: he he unlocks his tag team partner Racheion Jenkins, who
Speaker 1: played really well. Um, I just think he's such a
Speaker 1: unique special talent. Losing Derwin James is devastating for this defense,
Speaker 1: and it's gonna put a little more pressure on their
Speaker 1: offense in Tyrod to score some points because I don't
Speaker 1: think you can count on them being a top five
Speaker 1: upside defense when Derwin James is not on the fact.
Speaker 1: I don't like that term more pressure on Tyrod Taylor
Speaker 1: to score points. I know that everyone is fascinated with
Speaker 1: Tyrod Taylor right now and it's it's playing out and
Speaker 1: it's not fair to him, but it's almost exactly well, No,
Speaker 1: I think it's like a little bit of the hard
Speaker 1: knocks after It's just that that's what happened in Cleveland.
Speaker 1: What a leader like, what a guy? And I think
Speaker 1: he is And I think the coaching staff really loves
Speaker 1: Anthony Lynne, loves Tyrod Taylor the person and wants Tim
Speaker 1: to be functional. But the problem is Tyrod Taylor stops
Speaker 1: being fun about three weeks from now, and then you
Speaker 1: got a rookie quarterback that comes into coaching him. He did,
Speaker 1: he had some moments to be fair when when he
Speaker 1: was in Buffalo. In Buffalo yes, not in Cleveland, And
Speaker 1: I mean I just think that there was. I don't know,
Speaker 1: come on, I mean, Austin Ekeler to me is the
Speaker 1: centerpiece on that offense, I believe in until the end.
Speaker 1: But their wide receiver position he's not. But look at
Speaker 1: their wide receiver positions. So what how do you you
Speaker 1: want to talk about scaring the defense with a mobile
Speaker 1: quarterback but they can't do anything they have to. They're
Speaker 1: gonna they're immobilized. How how versatile they can be through
Speaker 1: the air. I think it's a rough place for Justin
Speaker 1: Herbert to get starts early too. I don't like that
Speaker 1: at all. Receiver with Mike Williams injured, is jailing guiton
Speaker 1: good luck like um seems to me like a Leonard
Speaker 1: Fournett possibility for a landing spot. But Joshua Kelly, the
Speaker 1: fourth round rookie, is getting as much hype out of
Speaker 1: that camp as anybody on the team, So maybe they
Speaker 1: don't need Leonard Fournette there. This feels like one of
Speaker 1: those eternally snake bitten franchises. Remember writing about Durwin James
Speaker 1: earlier this summer. If the people that track these guys
Speaker 1: say Derwin James as special as anybody that's come out
Speaker 1: of that position in decades, and now for back to
Speaker 1: back years before the season starts, he's getting ripped up
Speaker 1: by injured leader too huge, right, hopefully he's back midway through.
Speaker 1: I took him as my number seven seat. I believe
Speaker 1: in you, Tyrode. What a way to go out a
Speaker 1: masterful performance, you know what, Just unleash one more dark please,
Speaker 1: just for the heck of it. He likes it. He's
Speaker 1: actually into the tranquilizer juice. Finally, that was that was good?
Speaker 1: All right? We just went around the a f C
Speaker 1: and forty eight minutes and we will, we promised before
Speaker 1: a kickoff Chiefs Texans a week from Thursday. Hit the
Speaker 1: NFC as well. And you know, if you're a long
Speaker 1: time listener that this is UM a fun time of
Speaker 1: the year on the podcast where we really ramp up
Speaker 1: UH in terms of season preview and looking ahead and
Speaker 1: making predictions, all good stuff. So make sure you check
Speaker 1: in Wednesday with our show or a rundown show our
Speaker 1: NFL Network program that we tape UH and airs on
Speaker 1: Saturday morning, and UH West We're just happy to have
Speaker 1: you for another Monday with Wes session. Well, if the
Speaker 1: time he works out, excuse me, I want in on
Speaker 1: that NFC forty eight minutes and we do have a
Speaker 1: little bit of breaking news. Time for breaking news. Yeah,
Speaker 1: hit it. Logan Ryan as a home former Tennessee plays
Speaker 1: New England. Paid billion dollars five million from the Giants.
Speaker 1: Pretty good at this point. They needed him, they need him.
Speaker 1: That is a huge pickup for them. We were just
Speaker 1: talking about how their defense, which is not good looking
Speaker 1: even before DeAndre Baker and these injuries. Uh, they needed somebody.
Speaker 1: Can Logan Ryan play the guitar the way they need
Speaker 1: him to? Maybe not? Uh, Logan Ryan, guy that had
Speaker 1: big numbers that Tom Brady picks six at the end
Speaker 1: of the playoffs. But some people say he's a little limited.
Speaker 1: I guess it depends on how you use them. Hopefully
Speaker 1: you won't get exposed. He's a solid guy. He's he's
Speaker 1: immediately the best player in that in that secondary and
Speaker 1: he's a grown up there that can play. They just
Speaker 1: they just didn't have. They didn't have guys that you
Speaker 1: could just put out there that you could feel comfortable.
Speaker 1: Weren't gonna just get fill aid. I mean, I still
Speaker 1: think there they were a defense. If you're a fantasy
Speaker 1: guy's going up against the giants, you're gonna be everyone
Speaker 1: you're selling James Bradberry short. Oh that's true. I take
Speaker 1: it back. I'm blanking on Bradberry. What better way to
Speaker 1: do it than, you know, take the entire offseason as
Speaker 1: your personal vacation and cash a seven point five million
Speaker 1: dollar check. Uh, you know at the eve of September,
Speaker 1: you can make it happen. All right, that's it. Thank you,
Speaker 1: our Junifer stepping into Ricky's shoes. You killed it under
Speaker 1: difficult circumstances. No pressure, O, Diamonds. I did my best.
Speaker 1: I did my best and it was good enough. All right.
Speaker 1: This is Dan Hanson signing off for the Mailman, the
Speaker 1: Quiet Storm, the Old Boss, and Diamonds behind the glass.
Speaker 1: I mean that's a good anybody. Anybody would be happy
Speaker 1: to be Diamonds. It sounds like a prepper. Two Wednesday,