Speaker 1: Around the NFL Podcast. He is traveling to the drama. Welcome,
Speaker 1: hell no, not, Welcome to another edition of the Around
Speaker 1: the NFL Podcast. My name is Dan has I come
Speaker 1: to you from a virtual room. Phillisum Heroes, Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal, you know had the I had the good
Speaker 1: fortune to spend the Easter Sunday and a part of
Speaker 1: it with Lukisha and her mother uh Nana as we
Speaker 1: call her and Link. That was very nice. It was
Speaker 1: great to see you know, you know, it's East. It
Speaker 1: was Easter weekend. We hope everybody that celebrates had a
Speaker 1: good one. And I actually, for the first time, I
Speaker 1: was trying to explain the basics of what Easter is
Speaker 1: to the boys, beyond um the Easter bunny, which is
Speaker 1: the only thing that matters in their world, and this
Speaker 1: idea of Jesus and God was the Father and Jesus died,
Speaker 1: and the boys naturally asked, well, if God is Jesus Father,
Speaker 1: why was he why why did he die? And then
Speaker 1: that gets me thinking about West and how how did
Speaker 1: that happen? Such a good person go And then you
Speaker 1: get to see Link on Sunday and see him happy
Speaker 1: and holding Easter eggs and my boys showing Link had
Speaker 1: to find eggs and oh it was nice boys, I have.
Speaker 1: I saw some photos of Link dressed up in the
Speaker 1: little Bunny costume, and I am, I'm it's not an
Speaker 1: overstatement to say is one of the most um majestically
Speaker 1: cute babies I've ever witnessed. I really, it's also just
Speaker 1: having spent a little time with him, his eyes when
Speaker 1: he looks at you. But that's cool. Um, you dove
Speaker 1: into the theology side of things. I think you did
Speaker 1: a little bit of job with your summary there. You
Speaker 1: might have missed a few little pointers, but it's tough
Speaker 1: to get wrap your head around that when you're like
Speaker 1: five years that's for the theology podcast Shark. And if
Speaker 1: we're gonna do a deep out dive on the Son
Speaker 1: of God, that's something that we need to unpack in
Speaker 1: full over several hours. I would guess. Yeah, Link um
Speaker 1: looks more like Chris I think every day. Um, you
Speaker 1: just you just see it. And Chris's brother Phil sent
Speaker 1: us a picture of Chris dressed up as a Maleman.
Speaker 1: I believe it was for Halloween, or maybe it was
Speaker 1: just for fun. Why not dress up as a male
Speaker 1: man as a little as a little boy, and I
Speaker 1: could just you can just see you can see link,
Speaker 1: you can see links facing West, and um that that
Speaker 1: same Easter question came up in my house to Dan,
Speaker 1: which is even more complicated because you know, my kids
Speaker 1: went to a Methodist church for preschool, and so I
Speaker 1: was like, you know you learned, you learned there? Like
Speaker 1: what that was God in the roach? And I said Jesus,
Speaker 1: And She's like, he's the one with the beard, right.
Speaker 1: I was like, yeah, that's that's him. Um, but it
Speaker 1: is it is gonna. I'm like, this is the day
Speaker 1: he came back. Well where was he? Okay, well, I
Speaker 1: like the idea of ever the contrarian, like Jesus, he's
Speaker 1: the one with the beard. And Greg's like, well, we
Speaker 1: don't really know of youesthetically, right, it was great and
Speaker 1: and then you oh again this is not the theology podcast,
Speaker 1: But you don't know where West is right now. But
Speaker 1: the one thing we do know is that Link was
Speaker 1: in the backyard yesterday and and West is all over
Speaker 1: his face and it's just like West is here, He's
Speaker 1: here on this earth in his son, and that is
Speaker 1: was we've talked about with Lakisha like the miracle of
Speaker 1: that that small gap where West got sick, he got
Speaker 1: better and in that gap he got married and Link
Speaker 1: came into the world and then sadly West left. But
Speaker 1: the boy is here and uh, he's our responsibility in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways to help raise because West unfortunately
Speaker 1: can't do it. So oh man, it was nice though. Um,
Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. Big show coming up. I actually,
Speaker 1: after I had a couple of Tito's hanging out with
Speaker 1: the Westlings, I texted the boys, uh, Mark and Greg
Speaker 1: and say, hey, would you indulge me and let us
Speaker 1: have a little jet segment, a formal jet segment. All
Speaker 1: segments sometimes become jet segments on the show. I apologize
Speaker 1: for that, but this one is gonna be a Jets
Speaker 1: related one. With the number two overall pick there in
Speaker 1: the catbird seat, a lot of people feel with this
Speaker 1: draft and where are they gonna go with that pick?
Speaker 1: And where Sam Donald gonna go? Rich Zamini, one of
Speaker 1: my favorites, uh in the history of NFL Beat reporting
Speaker 1: will be on the show a little bit later, but
Speaker 1: before that, what's this news? Um, April fools? Come on, man,
Speaker 1: the gap it's here to stay for a little while.
Speaker 1: I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. So April Fool, everybody
Speaker 1: mark one word disgrace. Well, you know something that you've
Speaker 1: brought been real hot on over the last week, um,
Speaker 1: as we entered April was the concept of like poorly
Speaker 1: done April Fools Days jokes. And I couldn't be more
Speaker 1: um in agreement with you that this prank began before
Speaker 1: April Fools, taking us all to a totally different world,
Speaker 1: thinking like, you know, your friend with the gap too
Speaker 1: suddenly feeling he's been you know, edged out and doesn't
Speaker 1: have someone to look up to. It was all a fraud. Um,
Speaker 1: I didn't find it that hilarious. Um. You know, these
Speaker 1: April Fools jokes, a lot of them are real suspect.
Speaker 1: I mean, I on one hand, I'm with you. On
Speaker 1: the other hand, most of people annoyed at April fool
Speaker 1: is just because they felt for it. I mean immediately
Speaker 1: half the responses to this tweet was April fool. Isn't
Speaker 1: it true? As you're you were hurt a little bit,
Speaker 1: it was incredibly successful, you know much twenty nine or
Speaker 1: something though. That's yeah, it was I think nine and right,
Speaker 1: But a lot of people were responding saying April Fools.
Speaker 1: I was like, it couldn't be right because it was
Speaker 1: an ad and it's a paid ad and all this stuff. Um,
Speaker 1: but more power to straight hand. He got paid a
Speaker 1: lot of money to not fix his teeth, like he
Speaker 1: got paid a lot of money to do in April
Speaker 1: Fool because it was still a paid ad. Are we
Speaker 1: talking about you? Are you still talking about the paid
Speaker 1: aspect that I'm saying that, But I'm just saying that's
Speaker 1: the only reason he did it. It's not like Straighthand
Speaker 1: was like, I'm gonna have some fun with the guys. No,
Speaker 1: this this company presented like a five hundred thousand dollar
Speaker 1: thing you can do and you're gonna get a lot
Speaker 1: of attention and this and that and here's what we're
Speaker 1: gonna do. And he did it, and we all fell
Speaker 1: for it, and hang on, not everyone. A lot of
Speaker 1: people what I mentioned on the minute it happened, saying
Speaker 1: it was fake. So I guess he put it onto it. Yes,
Speaker 1: I guess we quote unquote fell for it. But if
Speaker 1: if if you're doing an April Fools prank before April Fools,
Speaker 1: it goes beyond prank. And it's just lying. He lied,
Speaker 1: And you know, I got banged to the biggest of
Speaker 1: all spots because we did like nineteen minutes on the
Speaker 1: podcast last week on it. But you know what, if
Speaker 1: you're gonna do an April fool's joke to really be
Speaker 1: a craftsman, to be someone who understands the nature of it,
Speaker 1: and to really be skillful at it, that's cheating. That's
Speaker 1: like starting a race and getting a three second head start. Right.
Speaker 1: Why should we not take him at his word on
Speaker 1: March twenty nine or whatever it was. If it were
Speaker 1: on April at first, it's like, okay, we this is
Speaker 1: clearly But if it was on like June fifteenth, then
Speaker 1: he just did it as a prank, would be okay,
Speaker 1: it's no different. Little dirty in June is all the
Speaker 1: same because it's not. But anyway, for the record, and
Speaker 1: you know, I'm hot about Strayhand because of the Sack record.
Speaker 1: Now you got this on top of it, I'm doing it, Ricky.
Speaker 1: I declare vengeance on Michael straight like you know, I
Speaker 1: just you you know, I'm trying to be positive in
Speaker 1: the world and and and and not be you know,
Speaker 1: so negative of things. But in this case, I have
Speaker 1: to I declare what that means, Nebulos. I mean he
Speaker 1: deserves some bad luck. He's been on a winning streak
Speaker 1: like no other. Remember when it was him versus Tiki, Yes,
Speaker 1: I mean that was that was how it makes Michael
Speaker 1: Strahan came to the national consciousness. Was a schism in
Speaker 1: the locker room in all of New York took Tiki
Speaker 1: Barber's side at the time a little bit, which is
Speaker 1: funny to think about. Inspect They're like, I don't know
Speaker 1: about the strayhand guy. Let's get to some news. Vengeance
Speaker 1: has been declared upon Michael Strahan in the biggest of
Speaker 1: all spots, UH, Deshaun Watson. It is now really when
Speaker 1: you look at the big picture of everything and what
Speaker 1: this who this player is, and where he stacks up
Speaker 1: in the landscape of top quarterbacks in the league, and
Speaker 1: where his standing was with his team, and where he
Speaker 1: could be going. The fact that it is all in
Speaker 1: the back burner with a civil lawsuits twenty of them,
Speaker 1: and now a criminal investigation. This is sadly the biggest
Speaker 1: story of the offseason. The Houston Police Department has opened
Speaker 1: an investigation on Deshaun Watson. UH Jane Doe has officially
Speaker 1: filed a police report on Watson that leads to the
Speaker 1: police department now launching an investigation into the allegations. So
Speaker 1: we'll see where that goes. Um, what that means for
Speaker 1: his immediate future as a player, we don't know. But Greg,
Speaker 1: just the fact that there is now an active criminal
Speaker 1: investigation could open the door for a move by the
Speaker 1: NFL that takes Watson off the field no matter where
Speaker 1: he ends up. Yeah, I think raises that chance. And
Speaker 1: I don't even think it was necessary for him to
Speaker 1: potentially be suspended, but it opens up the possibility of
Speaker 1: a commissioner's exemp lift that the NFL has seemed to
Speaker 1: make some sort of separation between a civil case and
Speaker 1: in a criminal case, and so now Watson's playing facing
Speaker 1: both and and a lot of people will say, well,
Speaker 1: this has to play out. That that's absolutely true. But
Speaker 1: even like Ben Roethlisberger, who ultimately was not, you know,
Speaker 1: convicted of anything, was suspended, Um after all that play out,
Speaker 1: and it took a long time, But that's just so
Speaker 1: that's just something to keep in mind with what's probably
Speaker 1: the most similar case with a high profile quarterback. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just I mean, you know, I think where we
Speaker 1: were six weeks ago with this or whatever, and where
Speaker 1: we are now that it's you know, people reach out
Speaker 1: to us and say, why didn't you take a stronger
Speaker 1: stance on this or that, It's like you really do.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think day by day have to let
Speaker 1: the facts come in and I'm at the point now
Speaker 1: we're just as a human being. I'm looking at the
Speaker 1: fact that he UM. I think that just someone someone
Speaker 1: pointed out that idea that someone would visit so many
Speaker 1: different UM massage therapists. It's just a little weird, like
Speaker 1: there's there's just something about that that that is UM unusual,
Speaker 1: especially unusual for athletes UM according to people that would
Speaker 1: that are in the nose. So you know, it starts
Speaker 1: to just stand out more and more to me UM
Speaker 1: as something that could deeply impact, you know, his career,
Speaker 1: and it impacted if there were If all this is
Speaker 1: is as stated, UM, there's just an incredible list of victims.
Speaker 1: It's so disappointing, right, It's disappointing in a way because
Speaker 1: it's Deshaun Watson and we don't need to get too deep.
Speaker 1: But I do think that Jenny Rent this article in
Speaker 1: mm QB was a case of reporting that I think
Speaker 1: is going to have an impact in the NFL office
Speaker 1: is among other places too, because that was not from
Speaker 1: a woman that was looking for any financial re enumeration
Speaker 1: or anything like that. It was just it was just
Speaker 1: report that really stood out to me too. I'm with you, Greg,
Speaker 1: and I think that it's it's just shifted where um
Speaker 1: this is potentially very very serious and the we'll hang
Speaker 1: on and see. Um. Greg, you had mentioned Nikos Sario
Speaker 1: in a recent podcast interview with Albert Brier. Yeah. He
Speaker 1: he was on last week with Brier. And you know
Speaker 1: Albert Brier, who I think has is pretty tied in
Speaker 1: with Cassario from their days in New England together. Um.
Speaker 1: You know thought that Cassario was making a pointed pivot
Speaker 1: in how he was addressing Watson, whereas in the past
Speaker 1: he basically was saying, we're not listening. That's our quarterback.
Speaker 1: We're not We're not he's going to be our quarterback.
Speaker 1: That's how they were playing it publicly. And now when
Speaker 1: he was asked about it last Monday, he said, we're
Speaker 1: gonna have to look at all options. You know, this
Speaker 1: is essentially saying that this is a different situation and
Speaker 1: what that remains to be you know. What happens with that,
Speaker 1: we'll see. But it Breer who seems pretty tied into
Speaker 1: maybe how they could possibly be feeling, thought they that
Speaker 1: they'd be more open now, um because of this to
Speaker 1: trade him, whether that was before after the draft, who knows,
Speaker 1: all right. In other news, Aaron Rodgers UH spoke to
Speaker 1: ESPN in a video interview. He had this to say,
Speaker 1: so far, it's definitely been my team, I said, I
Speaker 1: said last year, I didn't know if that was actually possible, uh,
Speaker 1: to be able to finish there. I still feel like
Speaker 1: that's that's kind of where we're at. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't I don't know that A lot of that's in
Speaker 1: my hands, but I guess we'll just kind of see
Speaker 1: as we go. It's so different though, you know, the
Speaker 1: difference mark between where Aaron Rodgers was after the draft
Speaker 1: draft last year to where he is now. He's coming
Speaker 1: from a position of power. He's the reigning m v P.
Speaker 1: So you don't feel him speaking defensively here, rather more like, hey,
Speaker 1: that's something they gotta figure out. I'm cool if they
Speaker 1: want to keep the m v P. That's good for them.
Speaker 1: If they want to get me out of here, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna make someone great. Uh. It feels different it with
Speaker 1: Rodgers now, Yeah, No, I I think last year felt um,
Speaker 1: you know, there are people that know him, knew that
Speaker 1: felt that he was genuinely annoyed. But he is in
Speaker 1: a position of internal power and external power. He's also
Speaker 1: signed through three and there were no whispers at any
Speaker 1: point during the year that anything anyone saw from Jordan's love,
Speaker 1: even in Packers practices, would suggest that you deep six
Speaker 1: the m v P for him. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: he's just sort of being philosophical about it. Anything could happen,
Speaker 1: and we're in an environment now where, like the idea
Speaker 1: of a big name quarterback leaving Team A for Team
Speaker 1: B was prohibitive for so long, it just seems like
Speaker 1: it's in the air. It's more possible for people like
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgerson never before. But I don't
Speaker 1: take it doesn't to me. It's like, cool, let's see
Speaker 1: what happens. But I don't like it doesn't shake my
Speaker 1: foundation um as a football analyst or fan that anything
Speaker 1: is gonna happen anytime soon. I mean, last season should
Speaker 1: have completely taken that mystery out of it. And he
Speaker 1: media because he's hosting Jeopardy the next two weeks, starting Monday,
Speaker 1: the day we're taping this, and UH, so he has
Speaker 1: to answer these questions. I don't think he's going out
Speaker 1: of his way too, but I do think the way
Speaker 1: he answers them um is in such a way that
Speaker 1: the packers, by adding some guaranteed money to a UH
Speaker 1: to his contract, by adding essentially another year of guaranteed money,
Speaker 1: maybe at the least would maybe have him answering these
Speaker 1: questions differently. If that's important to the packers, I think,
Speaker 1: and I kind of think it will be. I think
Speaker 1: they'll address it in the summertime between Usually these things
Speaker 1: happened between O T A S and training camp. Speaking
Speaker 1: of Aaron Rodgers and Jeopardy, hit it, Ricky now Here
Speaker 1: is the guest host the Jeopardy Aaron Rockery. Thank you,
Speaker 1: Johnny Gilbert, Welcome to Jeopardy. As a lifelong fan of Jeopardy,
Speaker 1: it is an incredible honor to guest host. I've had
Speaker 1: the opportunity to do a lot of amazing things, but
Speaker 1: winning Celebrity Jeopardy and getting to share the stage with
Speaker 1: the legend Alex Trebek is something I will never forget.
Speaker 1: Alex was such a gentleman, so smart, so precise. I
Speaker 1: was in awe and I will work hard to honor
Speaker 1: his legacy. Scott Brandon, Joe Beth, Let's get to the
Speaker 1: Jeopardy around with these categories. That the first episode of
Speaker 1: Alix Trebeck on Jeopardy, which I love Jeopardy. I've always
Speaker 1: loved Jeopardy, and it was very sad that evil bastard
Speaker 1: the Big sea um got Alex Trebek earlier this year
Speaker 1: or late last year, and now they have had they've
Speaker 1: been putting different guest hosts in there. That's actually the
Speaker 1: first time, and he did a nice shot with it.
Speaker 1: But I actually got the vibe that Aaron Rodgers was nervous,
Speaker 1: and I imagine that for anybody, even a guy as
Speaker 1: cool as Aaron Rodgers is, and he's kind of famous
Speaker 1: for being like cool under pressure. You could see it
Speaker 1: in the bit of a nervous shuffle to him. Maybe
Speaker 1: you know, a little nervous, little nervous farts popped out
Speaker 1: there on the way to the main stage. I don't know,
Speaker 1: what do you guys think? Well, also I'd say, like
Speaker 1: Trebec certainly had reps, and by the time we you know,
Speaker 1: we're watching Jeopardy Trebek, it was like, you know, basically
Speaker 1: making a cup of coffee for him. But I think
Speaker 1: he was a little nervous. I still think he did
Speaker 1: a really good job. I think you'll see him get better.
Speaker 1: This is Aaron Rodgers. I bet he gets a lot
Speaker 1: better um from episode to episode. I would more say,
Speaker 1: what if you're like a Packers fan who has been
Speaker 1: installed as a guest on Jeopardy, Um, how my performance
Speaker 1: would suffer because I'd be like, I'm not Rebecca. Would
Speaker 1: be surreal to begin with, But like, what if you
Speaker 1: were a huge football fan and you're fielding these questions
Speaker 1: from Aaron Rodgers, like we've you know, go back to
Speaker 1: win West's toast or even trying to um win stuff
Speaker 1: on the fly. It's a whole different world and you
Speaker 1: need the most calm environment you can get. He's gonna
Speaker 1: jack some people up. What was her name, Joe Beth.
Speaker 1: I wonder what Joe Beth is thinking. Yeah, handling the pressure.
Speaker 1: I think it's gotta be a huge, maybe the biggest
Speaker 1: part of being being on jepard. I'm with you. I
Speaker 1: was thinking of Aaron. Aaron Rodgers not seem like the
Speaker 1: type to be watching the social media clips, but when
Speaker 1: I was watching that, I was imagining myself as Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: being like, how couldn't you pick something from the second week?
Speaker 1: You know, I'm sure I had a bunch of good
Speaker 1: jokes in the second week. That was like my cold
Speaker 1: open to the whole thing when I'm and I was
Speaker 1: definitely nervous. That's yeah, that's like if what's the award
Speaker 1: that we're nominated for the OMNI. I don't know what
Speaker 1: it is anymore. I forgot, but imagine if they said, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: you have to send one episode to the OMNIS uh
Speaker 1: for the nomination. It's like, oh yeah, send the first
Speaker 1: episode from July's like no, no, no, no, no, no no,
Speaker 1: under no circumstances are gonna do something like that. Um, anyway,
Speaker 1: good luck, good luck to Rogers. I will be watching
Speaker 1: if it's on the DVR, actually a DVR Jeopardy And
Speaker 1: I thought Dr Oz did tremendous work and his guest
Speaker 1: hosting stint justin please, that guy's a quack. I can't
Speaker 1: be That's fine. I'm talking about anything COVID related or
Speaker 1: anything else. I'm just saying he did a very nice
Speaker 1: job in the Jeopardy chair. That's all. And other news,
Speaker 1: we know the international series is building up in the NFL.
Speaker 1: All thirty two teams are gonna play an international game
Speaker 1: in the next decade. Uh. We've seen games in Mexico City,
Speaker 1: we've seen them in London and German. Germany is up next.
Speaker 1: Deutsche Land, as they say, German games coming soon, maybe
Speaker 1: as soon as twenty two. And you know what that means, boys,
Speaker 1: we have a furban audience overseas, including in the Deutsche Land.
Speaker 1: Perhaps we're going to get to go there. That sounds nice. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that should be the new hashtag onto Berlin or onto Germany.
Speaker 1: We don't know it'll if it'll be in Berlin, but yeah.
Speaker 1: Peter King reported that that basically I think they're hoping,
Speaker 1: you know, four minimum international games a year. That I
Speaker 1: think one's gonna be Mexico and one's gonna be Germany.
Speaker 1: There actually might be the UK fans might be a
Speaker 1: little upset because there might be fewer UK games potentially,
Speaker 1: just doing the math that maybe there's only gonna be
Speaker 1: two or three. They could have more than four, but
Speaker 1: I'm excited. Ratings like in Germany for football is really high.
Speaker 1: A lot of people fly in from Germany to see
Speaker 1: those UK games. I'm first generation. You know, my my
Speaker 1: dad was born in Germany, So send me to the homeland,
Speaker 1: bring me back. Dad was born in Germany. That is
Speaker 1: a new slash developing news. I had no idea. My
Speaker 1: my brother is a German citizen. Weirdly enough, because you could,
Speaker 1: you could fill out some paperwork as part of reparations,
Speaker 1: you know. He you know, my dad was a Jew
Speaker 1: born pretty deep into World War Two in Germany. So
Speaker 1: they did they flee during they were able to get
Speaker 1: out in. Why would you not? Why would you not
Speaker 1: be allowed to be a citizen to just your brother?
Speaker 1: Oh no, I could have. I could have gone through it.
Speaker 1: It's it was like a multi year, a lot of
Speaker 1: work process. He was there. I don't know what the
Speaker 1: benefits would be totally. Well, my follow up question would be,
Speaker 1: you want to be the the ambassador to the German game,
Speaker 1: but you're you had a chance to become a citizen
Speaker 1: in It's not like they were calling the phone. I mean,
Speaker 1: my my brother investigated this and you know, he found
Speaker 1: something out and he put he put in the hard work.
Speaker 1: He's he's stayed, he spent a lot of time over
Speaker 1: there and stuff. I have not done that, but I
Speaker 1: want to go by the way I was there just
Speaker 1: a few years ago. So if you need any pointers
Speaker 1: at all, we're sending the whole pot. We're sending in
Speaker 1: the whole pot. We're not doing all right play the marketing.
Speaker 1: No no, no, But I mean here's the other thing,
Speaker 1: like not everyone, So are you going to would any
Speaker 1: would we take any pains to learn the German language?
Speaker 1: Or do we just roll in there assuming everyone just
Speaker 1: cozy's up and speaks our version of English. So you
Speaker 1: want to well, it's a different than going to England,
Speaker 1: where it's like, hey, we're up on stage and we
Speaker 1: all speak to say. It's like, you know, you go
Speaker 1: to Germany. You can't just assume that everyone is going
Speaker 1: to be like, will speak the King's English to make
Speaker 1: these you know, chaps from Los Angeles comfortable during their
Speaker 1: stay here. I mean, we've also been invited yet, but
Speaker 1: it just doesn't seem realistic that the three of us
Speaker 1: are going to speak fluent German by the time of
Speaker 1: these games. So maybe we need to find out how
Speaker 1: because I know, uh kings English as you put it,
Speaker 1: for a lot of countries is a second language. I
Speaker 1: don't know if it's got big pop in Germany if
Speaker 1: our audience there obviously they know English if they're a
Speaker 1: fan of our show, So we should have a pocket
Speaker 1: let us let us know pop. We just need to
Speaker 1: know how much. Let's hear from the German listeners. Maybe
Speaker 1: we'll just bring like Sebastian Volmer around with us everywhere.
Speaker 1: He seems very involved, um with the international NFL efforts,
Speaker 1: you know, former patriots. He can he can just escort
Speaker 1: us and translate and and it would be cool to
Speaker 1: have like a six eleven German dude with us the
Speaker 1: whole time. And obviously the halftime show has to be
Speaker 1: the band that does the keeping up with bo Ringer,
Speaker 1: So I don't think there's any question like who it
Speaker 1: has to be German cold Play. That's what's happening in
Speaker 1: the news, all right, up next, Yes, we're talking with
Speaker 1: Rich Zemini the state of the Jets and full disclosure. Um.
Speaker 1: Right after we finished this interview, uh, the Sam Donald
Speaker 1: news went down. So check out this interview with Rich
Speaker 1: Tomini where we talk about it actually sets it up nicely,
Speaker 1: boys with some context of what the decision was in
Speaker 1: front of the Jets. And on the back end of
Speaker 1: this conversation, we'll dig in on the trade details of
Speaker 1: Sam Donald going to the Panthers and now a very
Speaker 1: special guest. One of my absolute favorites as as a
Speaker 1: Jets fan. He is the source uh for me for
Speaker 1: Jets reporting and just knowing what's going on with the team,
Speaker 1: and now he joins the Around the NFL podcast maybe
Speaker 1: for the first time ever, I'm not sure. Rich Tomini,
Speaker 1: welcome to the show. Yes, I'm a rookie, so the
Speaker 1: first time ever. Thanks for having me, guys, I have
Speaker 1: I have to say I've met rich multiple times. He's
Speaker 1: helped me out with some stuff I've written in the past,
Speaker 1: and I always kissed the ring when I see Richard
Speaker 1: the combine. Uh. He's a New York guy. I think
Speaker 1: you're a Hall of Famer and your your local high school?
Speaker 1: Is that so as well? That's a big one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: crazy right, But your Jets stuff, Dan, I know I
Speaker 1: could feel the passion in the know the frustration comes
Speaker 1: pouring out in some of your writing. I know, I know,
Speaker 1: I try not to, but market Market said it's hard
Speaker 1: to hold it all inside, and and and rich like.
Speaker 1: This is a fascinating, fascinating time in Jets history, of course,
Speaker 1: and it also feels it's the whiff of um you're
Speaker 1: thinking of three years ago, because it was supposed to
Speaker 1: be Sam was Sam Donald, supposed to be the reboot
Speaker 1: of this team, and everything was supposed to be going
Speaker 1: upward from there. Does feel like we lost three years
Speaker 1: and and now the Jets are trying to figure it
Speaker 1: out again, and the and the forty nineers make that
Speaker 1: blockbuster trade ten days ago to get to number three.
Speaker 1: A lot of people connecting dots. Well, if the Jets
Speaker 1: aren't involved with that trade, they must be locked and
Speaker 1: loaded on, Zack Wilson. Is that how you see it
Speaker 1: as we approach draft day? You know? It's funny lest
Speaker 1: For a few days ago on Friday, I was having
Speaker 1: a conversation with a scout who loves in the western
Speaker 1: part of the country, and I usually go to him
Speaker 1: with quarterback questions because he's that's his area of expertise.
Speaker 1: And I was just talking to the scout the other day.
Speaker 1: He goes, were are you asking me the same questions?
Speaker 1: Three years of Donald and Rosen and Josh Allen were
Speaker 1: coming out, and I said, you're absolutely right, deja vu
Speaker 1: all over again. Uh yeah, I mean here we are again.
Speaker 1: And uh, I certainly think the Jets will be replacing
Speaker 1: Sam Donald with the draft pick. And I do believe
Speaker 1: everything I've heard is that Zack Wilson will be that
Speaker 1: pick at number two. Mm hm do you? Um? I
Speaker 1: think when you're looking at Wilson or what you've heard
Speaker 1: about Wilson as a prospect sometimes that he is a
Speaker 1: little reminiscent of Sam Donald too as a prospect, where
Speaker 1: like maybe the weaknesses, you know, not as many snaps
Speaker 1: as a call as a college quarterback, um can miss
Speaker 1: some throws like the crazy arm, the crazy athleticism. Like
Speaker 1: when I when I've heard people talk about him and
Speaker 1: I'm not like a draft nick. He kind of reminds
Speaker 1: me of Donald coming out as a prospect, which, if
Speaker 1: only just because it's the Jets would maybe like freak
Speaker 1: me out slightly. They are really similar. In fact, of
Speaker 1: the throws that Zach made in his pro day that
Speaker 1: that rolling left fade away throwing to the right hash
Speaker 1: which was an incredible throw, was was similar to some
Speaker 1: of Donald's throws that he's made in his career, and
Speaker 1: they're saying there's the same in that you know there there.
Speaker 1: They can make the off platform throws, they can use
Speaker 1: different arm angles. That's what everyone was talking about with
Speaker 1: Sam when he came out, and uh, you know there
Speaker 1: are some similarities, you know. It's it's an intriguing decision
Speaker 1: in all my years of covering the Jets, and and
Speaker 1: that's many as Dan would attest to, I think this
Speaker 1: is the most polarizing decision that they've had to make,
Speaker 1: just in terms of I think the fan base is
Speaker 1: completely split. You know, you have half let's keep Sam
Speaker 1: and build around him, and the other half is ready
Speaker 1: to move on and draft someone else. So as a journalist,
Speaker 1: it makes for great copy and talking points, you know,
Speaker 1: for a few few months, I guess. But when I
Speaker 1: look at the Jets, I mean in Sam Donald is
Speaker 1: they're a tougher quarterback. To really evaluate Um the wreckage
Speaker 1: that he's been through the past couple of years, so
Speaker 1: much of it feels like I don't really put that
Speaker 1: on Sam Donald. And if you're the Jets Um and
Speaker 1: we're talking about the similarities between him and Zach Wilson.
Speaker 1: Is it more just in a matter of we have
Speaker 1: to move on and refresh the quarterback position, but more
Speaker 1: than worse certain that Sam Donald We've seen the best stuff.
Speaker 1: How can they really like ascertain who Sam Donald is
Speaker 1: at this point as a player in terms of being
Speaker 1: put in the right system, in the right position, especially
Speaker 1: with like the new offensive group they've got coming in.
Speaker 1: I mean, you think you get a much better version
Speaker 1: of Sam Donald. You can sell that draft pick for
Speaker 1: so much. I just won't if there's any thought to that.
Speaker 1: Maybe keeping him and pulling a stunner. Yeah, personally, that's
Speaker 1: I've been kind of vocal about that. I know I've
Speaker 1: been annoying some Jet fans. That's what I would do.
Speaker 1: I would keep Sam and and and bet on him
Speaker 1: in this new offense, very quarterback friendly offense. We've seen
Speaker 1: what Shanahan could do with it. Now they have MICHAELA.
Speaker 1: Fleur as the O. C uh, it'll be better coaching.
Speaker 1: I feel he wasn't coached well the last two years.
Speaker 1: He regressed under Adam Gaze. You saw at the end
Speaker 1: of Sam's rookie year when he was in a similar
Speaker 1: type system under Jeremy Bates. You know, he showed promise
Speaker 1: at the end of that year. He went toe to
Speaker 1: toe in a couple of games with Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson at the end of the year, and there
Speaker 1: was reason to hope. But since then he's it's been
Speaker 1: a decline. And I'm not making excuses for the guy.
Speaker 1: He has not been a good quarterback over the last
Speaker 1: three years. In fact, he is the lowest rated passer
Speaker 1: over the last three years combined in the league. I
Speaker 1: think it's thirty nine that a thirty nine quarter qualifying passers.
Speaker 1: But you coaching supporting cast has been been shaky at best.
Speaker 1: He's had no running game, and so it's really difficult
Speaker 1: to do an evaluation. But I think the point you
Speaker 1: bring up is excellent. It's the financial part that's a
Speaker 1: really big part of this decision, which is why I
Speaker 1: think the Jets will lean towards starting fresh with the
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback contract. Well, what about rich with the kind
Speaker 1: of a half measure here, because and you've written about this,
Speaker 1: the Jets had a window earlier in this offseason where
Speaker 1: maybe they could have been aggressive in moving Donald and
Speaker 1: try to get a second third round pick whatever, and
Speaker 1: then a lot of these starting jobs filled up, so
Speaker 1: his trade market, you would think, is depressed at this point.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it just make more sense at this point if
Speaker 1: you really you love Zach Wilson, he's your guy that
Speaker 1: you decline Donald's fifth year option, you keep him in
Speaker 1: the building and then maybe have them, you know, actually
Speaker 1: being a competition this this summer. And if Donald is
Speaker 1: clicking in this offense and all of a sudden he
Speaker 1: realizes potential, you have a great problem at the end
Speaker 1: of the season. And if he can't play and he
Speaker 1: struggles and and Wilson takes over very quickly. Yes, Donald
Speaker 1: leaves as a free agent, and that's and you don't
Speaker 1: get that draft asset. But to me, that's a willing
Speaker 1: that's a good gamble to take then and then you
Speaker 1: finally get a chance to get that one last evaluation
Speaker 1: of Donald in there, and you still get the guy
Speaker 1: that you see is the future potential. Well, I do
Speaker 1: know if there are some people in the building who
Speaker 1: are in the Donald camp, and I think this coaching half,
Speaker 1: I've said this before. I think Michael Floor and Robert
Speaker 1: Salo really thinks they can make it work with Sam
Speaker 1: Uh So you could get the best of both worlds
Speaker 1: the way you described it. And in fact, I talked
Speaker 1: to Josh McCown the other day and he is he
Speaker 1: is very close with Sam. They're talking and texting all
Speaker 1: the time, and he thinks that scenario can work. Um,
Speaker 1: I personally am not a huge fan of that scenario
Speaker 1: because in a year Donald can walk as a free agent.
Speaker 1: At least now if you trade him for maybe a
Speaker 1: low two or three, you can get compensation for this year.
Speaker 1: So that's another thing. And do you want to saddle
Speaker 1: a rookie head coach Robert Sala with the quarterback controversy?
Speaker 1: You guys know how we are in New York. But
Speaker 1: if he's good rich, if Sala is the real deal,
Speaker 1: he can handle that. And if he's not the r deal,
Speaker 1: he can so to me that that's not a good
Speaker 1: enough excuse to not give out a chance. I don't know,
Speaker 1: you know, Sam would win that job. I mean Sam
Speaker 1: would be the starter. There's no way a rookie, in
Speaker 1: spite of all of sam struggles, he would be heading
Speaker 1: shoulders above a rookie coming in. And actually, from Sam
Speaker 1: Donald's perspective, I think there is upside to that scenario
Speaker 1: because he's a free agent a year from now. He
Speaker 1: has to do whatever he can to improve his value,
Speaker 1: and I think the Jets would probably afford him the
Speaker 1: best opportunity to play. Where else is he gonna go
Speaker 1: and be a week one starter, Probably nowhere else, and
Speaker 1: so he could increase his free agent value. I would
Speaker 1: just take the compensation. Now, I think it's a very
Speaker 1: awkward situation. Then you're almost putting off the inevitable for
Speaker 1: a year. You're a two and fourteen team, you have
Speaker 1: the second pick in the draft. I would try to
Speaker 1: get that guy in there as quickly as possible. I
Speaker 1: would use Miami last year as a model for that. Now, too,
Speaker 1: it didn't start right away they you know what, it
Speaker 1: was like week six or seven that they eventually brought
Speaker 1: him in and then they took him out and brought
Speaker 1: him in a little bit. I would do something like that.
Speaker 1: You're two and fourteen. You're not gonna go to the
Speaker 1: playoffs this year in all likelihood, and so I think
Speaker 1: you're prolonging the inevitable by keeping Donald around for a year.
Speaker 1: One more question, Rich, I have to I have to ask,
Speaker 1: I have to ask you to share this with the audience.
Speaker 1: It's my favorite. You've been covering the team since what
Speaker 1: I believe it was, and uh, and you've been through
Speaker 1: a lot of dysfunction as a beat reporter or covering
Speaker 1: coaches that were in over their head, and Adam Gates
Speaker 1: that era has to stack up against any of them.
Speaker 1: But the rich co tight era for Jets fans of
Speaker 1: a certain age is still kind of the gold standard.
Speaker 1: With Gaye right there, can you please share the Keyshawn
Speaker 1: Johnson hurts his knee in his first rookie camp and
Speaker 1: you trying to get the scoop on on what's going on,
Speaker 1: and there may be being a rich code tight disappearance involved. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was actually not. It was the regular season. It
Speaker 1: wasn't even real it was his rookie year, and so
Speaker 1: Keyshawn hurts his knee in practice and they said they
Speaker 1: were taking him for an m r R. In those days,
Speaker 1: we had a free run of the place you know
Speaker 1: now there. This was at Hofstra by the way on
Speaker 1: Long Island, and then reporters could go into the parking
Speaker 1: lot and talked to players after practice at their cars, which,
Speaker 1: of course, when parcels came in, he put everything off limits.
Speaker 1: So like it I mean, this is the star rookie players.
Speaker 1: So I went outside the locker room, probably late afternoon,
Speaker 1: and sat outside the locker room for Kishan to come
Speaker 1: back from his m RI. And while I'm sitting there,
Speaker 1: at about five o'clock in the afternoon, rich Coke tight
Speaker 1: ambles out of the locker room and he about to
Speaker 1: step into his Mercedes coupe is really snazzy two door Mercedes,
Speaker 1: and he goes, He goes, I'll be back in a
Speaker 1: little bit. I'm just going out to grab a bite
Speaker 1: to eat. I'm like, okay, I see you later, rich Well,
Speaker 1: I said, on the same stool until about eight or
Speaker 1: eight thirty until it was dark and Kishan came back.
Speaker 1: Rich co Tighte never came back. He was done, he
Speaker 1: was done. He worked bankers hours as an NFL coach,
Speaker 1: which we all know is is unheard of. He never
Speaker 1: came back. And I could I could vouch because I
Speaker 1: was there the whole time and back and I got
Speaker 1: my story, even though I waited three or four hours.
Speaker 1: And he did have a minor knee injury, and I
Speaker 1: think he had a scope and missed three or four games.
Speaker 1: But uh yeah, so and I was later learned that
Speaker 1: Rich co Tight and actually boom Riscius and tells a
Speaker 1: very funny story that co Tight actually kept a car,
Speaker 1: another secret car in the back of the building so
Speaker 1: he could step out during the day and no one
Speaker 1: would know he was gone. And yeah, day where he
Speaker 1: used the front door a car and that was that
Speaker 1: was part of the rich co Tight era. Yes, that's
Speaker 1: my team, everybody, Um, Rich, thank you for joining us
Speaker 1: and and and I wish you the best and also
Speaker 1: you deserve it. Beat this long to cover a champion,
Speaker 1: So as Rich Bningo U is known to say, from
Speaker 1: my lips to God's is And the other thing I
Speaker 1: wish for you is that Carl Lawson or someone else
Speaker 1: from this draft ask gets to the quarterback with the
Speaker 1: regular regularity, so you never again have to write the lead.
Speaker 1: The Jets haven't had a premier pass rusher since John
Speaker 1: Abraham left in two thousand. Hey like, nothing more to
Speaker 1: cover a championship team. Alright, great, there he goes and
Speaker 1: check out the flight deck. That's Rich to mean he's
Speaker 1: podcast covering the Jets and all of his great work
Speaker 1: on ESPN dot com. Thank you all right, yes, thank
Speaker 1: you the great Rich Simini all that conversation about Sam
Speaker 1: Donald and what the Jets are gonna do. Well, they
Speaker 1: made the decision on Monday, trading the former number three
Speaker 1: overall pick to the Carolina Panthers and head coach Matt Rule.
Speaker 1: The Jets get three draft picks UH in return, UH,
Speaker 1: including a second rounder in so Sam Donald heads to
Speaker 1: the Panthers. Another domino falls there. Teddy Bridgewater was the
Speaker 1: incumbent in Carolina and he's either now gonna be the
Speaker 1: backup or be moved else are you would think maybe
Speaker 1: we'll into that and the Jets. Now everything is cleared
Speaker 1: the runway as it were cleared for the Jets, who
Speaker 1: now have no quarterback in the building, but the number
Speaker 1: two overall pick and Zach Wilson will be sitting there.
Speaker 1: So connect all those. That's that's where this is going.
Speaker 1: Mark your initial thoughts on the trade Sam Donald to
Speaker 1: the Carolina Panthers. So my initial thoughts so that this
Speaker 1: doesn't always happen or or perceived perceptionally seemed to happen.
Speaker 1: But I think both teams um got value. I think
Speaker 1: the Panthers were in hot water on the Deshaun Watson front,
Speaker 1: and that's who they wanted I think they were going
Speaker 1: to do and sell the moon for that, you get Donald. Um,
Speaker 1: they picked up his fifth year option. The Jets got picked.
Speaker 1: We just talked to Saminy that like, look at if
Speaker 1: people had wanted Sam Donald, if there's been some sort
Speaker 1: of bum rush for Sam Donald, there would have been
Speaker 1: more value. But that just wasn't the case. And Joe
Speaker 1: Douglas over and over has not been fleeced in deals.
Speaker 1: Um they have. I think twenty one draft picks over
Speaker 1: the next two years was seven and in the in
Speaker 1: the first two rounds, so the Jets are still in
Speaker 1: good position. I think they cleaned up um what would
Speaker 1: have been intentionally been a little bit messy to have
Speaker 1: Donald and Zach Wilson there. I know some people feel differently,
Speaker 1: But for the Panthers, I love the idea of offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator Joe Brady Um showing that he can do what
Speaker 1: Adam Gates and others have not been able to do.
Speaker 1: And it's a good start for a fresh start for
Speaker 1: Sam Donald on an offense that is much better and
Speaker 1: much better place than the Jets had been the last
Speaker 1: couple of years. And with that number eight pick, you
Speaker 1: can go offensive line, you can do what you need
Speaker 1: to fortify the offense. They went all defense last year,
Speaker 1: So I think it's a you know, it's a it's
Speaker 1: maybe a two year window to find out what you
Speaker 1: have in this guy, and if it works, it's a
Speaker 1: great story for Sam Donald, right, And it could be
Speaker 1: a one year window. Even picking up the option, it's
Speaker 1: only guaranteed for injury only. I'm always surprised teams don't
Speaker 1: pick up those options because it's not that big of
Speaker 1: a risk. You're just you're just hoping it doesn't have
Speaker 1: a major injury. I love it if I'm you know,
Speaker 1: Daniel Jeremiah or the people that were banging the drums
Speaker 1: saying Sam Donald's one of the best quarterback prospects they've
Speaker 1: ever seen, um which so far hasn't looked good, and
Speaker 1: he is now going to I think, what's a pretty
Speaker 1: quarterback friendly system. You know, we were, you know, I
Speaker 1: I was much higher on Teddy in general than you
Speaker 1: guys last year. But you still could look at the numbers,
Speaker 1: like if the floor here is Teddy Bridgewater thrown for
Speaker 1: four thousand yards and and going up and down the
Speaker 1: field and and moving the ball like you would think
Speaker 1: Sam Donald could do that. If if, as Danny would say,
Speaker 1: he can play the guitar. I don't necessarily think they'll
Speaker 1: just hand hand him, uh the starting job just because
Speaker 1: Teddy's do so much guaranteed money that it doesn't make
Speaker 1: sense to me for them to dump Teddy unless they
Speaker 1: have a somewhere to dump them, like someone wants them
Speaker 1: or an upgrade, which would have been Deshaun Watson. That
Speaker 1: doesn't look like it's happening now. So I kind of
Speaker 1: expect that both Donald and Teddy will have a chance
Speaker 1: here to play. But you would assume Donald is the favorite. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I would say Donald's the heavy favorite, but we will
Speaker 1: see how it plays out. It gives them options and
Speaker 1: it is the and we talked about at the top
Speaker 1: top of the show. What's that that I was just
Speaker 1: because say, But to be fair, Teddy's played at a
Speaker 1: higher level and we've seen it than Sam Donald ever has,
Speaker 1: including including in his first couple of seasons. I'm just
Speaker 1: saying we do, Greg, But I mean everything the Carolina
Speaker 1: Panthers have said and done this offseason told us they're
Speaker 1: not He was with Teddy Bridgewater, he was in the building,
Speaker 1: but they gave up a second round pick, not not
Speaker 1: this year's pick though, that's what got it done when
Speaker 1: they gave up a second round pick, but it's next
Speaker 1: year's second you know that that's putting a certain value.
Speaker 1: You know, that's where Jalen Hurts gets drafted or different
Speaker 1: guys get drafted. Those are not guys you necessarily think
Speaker 1: are going to be your franchise quarterback. That's all the
Speaker 1: reason I think it's clearly Donald and Caroline is because
Speaker 1: Matt Rule has Teddy Bridgewater in the building for a
Speaker 1: year running his offense with Brady, and clearly, I mean
Speaker 1: they made it very clear as we're we've been talking
Speaker 1: about they weren't thrilled with the results. So I guess
Speaker 1: they could all back on Teddy if Donald disappoints, but
Speaker 1: I would think maybe they're looking for a fresh start,
Speaker 1: just like the Jets. And and for me it is
Speaker 1: I did have a lot invested in Sam Donald. All
Speaker 1: Jets fans did, because he was the highest draft pick
Speaker 1: by the Jets since Joe Namath, and everything pointed to
Speaker 1: him being the real deal. But you know, as has
Speaker 1: been talked about ad nauseum, it was you know, the
Speaker 1: circumstances that that he he was forced into as a
Speaker 1: Jet were unholy. It was really between the coaching and
Speaker 1: the personnel and issues in the front office. It felt
Speaker 1: like he never had a chance. So do I have
Speaker 1: a Do I have a fear a deep down that
Speaker 1: he still can be a really good player and maybe
Speaker 1: even better than Zach Wilson in a more healthy setup. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And that's why I said, That's why I said to Rich,
Speaker 1: I said, what what's the harm in keeping him in
Speaker 1: the building and seeing if he actually can realize that potential.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, I do trust the process,
Speaker 1: and I do think that, um, if they really do
Speaker 1: love Zack Wilson, uh, and you restart that rookie contract clock.
Speaker 1: And you know, I heard a lot of people in
Speaker 1: my mentions on this podcast saying you're crazy about the
Speaker 1: Jets even getting a second rounder for Sam Donald. There
Speaker 1: are people that believe this guy can play. So the
Speaker 1: Jets now can get that's a premium draft pick down
Speaker 1: the line, and maybe you turn that into something and
Speaker 1: now you just hope, you hope that Zack Wilson is
Speaker 1: a big time player. There is the nuclear um bomb
Speaker 1: scenario where Wilson can't play and Donald becomes a star
Speaker 1: in Carolina what what I want for Sam Donald is
Speaker 1: for Sam Donald. And it's not gonna be happening, Greg,
Speaker 1: and you still love Cam Newton as your quarterback. What
Speaker 1: what I think is going to happen here is he
Speaker 1: becomes a rich Man Zandy Dalton. Is is Sam Donald ceiling?
Speaker 1: And I hope he gets there, And I just hope
Speaker 1: the Jets pick a quarterback doesn't bomb out like the
Speaker 1: rest of him. It is as Rich said, it's it's
Speaker 1: a fascinating decision. And and there were fans of Donald
Speaker 1: in the building for the Jets that wanted to keep
Speaker 1: them there. They made this decision. And it's a big
Speaker 1: roll of the dice. Either way, it would have been
Speaker 1: a big roll of the dice. I mean, the Jets
Speaker 1: are the first team in the modern era to pick
Speaker 1: two to pick ostensibly a quarterback in the course of
Speaker 1: three years in the top three. Um, to pick two
Speaker 1: of them, I could have I could have made you know,
Speaker 1: it's the first thing I didn't the Browns do that
Speaker 1: like four times and like they didn't, but it wasn't
Speaker 1: top three. That was the difference, you know, right, It's um,
Speaker 1: it's worth the shot for the Panthers. I haven't been
Speaker 1: high on Donald. So I'm of two minds. Like when
Speaker 1: everyone defends Donald and puts the context of what he did,
Speaker 1: I think of you know, the Facebook, the social network.
Speaker 1: When Zuckerberg says to the you know, the the Winklevoss twins, like,
Speaker 1: if you'd invented Facebook, you didn't, you'd have invented Facebook.
Speaker 1: And it's like if Sam Donald was the Shawn Watson
Speaker 1: or Patrick Boams, he would be one of those guys
Speaker 1: like you would overcome your surroundings. Um, but does he
Speaker 1: have a higher upside than when he saw of course?
Speaker 1: And so I kind of think it makes sense for
Speaker 1: the Panther because I'm always banging the drum that when
Speaker 1: you don't have a quarterback you should just keep taking swings,
Speaker 1: like stop being so precious about it, Like take a
Speaker 1: million swings. You don't know which is gonna stick. You
Speaker 1: only had to give up next year's you know, second
Speaker 1: round pick and in a fourth and a six, So
Speaker 1: it's not it's not a crazy uh high pick to
Speaker 1: give up and you get to evaluate him for a
Speaker 1: year or two unless these things and that's a nice
Speaker 1: second round pick. It's there's there's there's a bit of
Speaker 1: a gamble here and and it tells you how what
Speaker 1: a the Deshaun Watson situation, how that's changed so much,
Speaker 1: and how it's led to the dominoes falling in a
Speaker 1: different way, because really it feels like Watson was uh,
Speaker 1: there was a tractor being pointing towards Charlotte with him
Speaker 1: and they had to scramble and adjust. You have to
Speaker 1: call the Panthers in terms of the overall offseason chase
Speaker 1: for a quarterback. I put him in the loser's bracket
Speaker 1: because what they were shooting four was so high and
Speaker 1: they're not sitting down at in the draft. They have
Speaker 1: the eighth pick, but there's just too many other teams
Speaker 1: with the Niners trade that had crept ahead of them,
Speaker 1: and they're in a bit of a fix. So yeah,
Speaker 1: this is this is a potentially good um scenario for them,
Speaker 1: but it's no home run. It's like we're waiting to
Speaker 1: see in year four if Sam Donald is actually as
Speaker 1: good as everyone's been saying he is. Isn't it like
Speaker 1: Teddy all over again? A different circumstances, But they that's
Speaker 1: what it was last year for the Panthers. We know
Speaker 1: Teddy Bridge order has never really proven that he was
Speaker 1: a real franchise quarterback, but we believe in his potential.
Speaker 1: It didn't work out. Now it's Donald's turn to be
Speaker 1: in that role under that rule. It is disappointed. I
Speaker 1: think you're right the what that I hadn't thought about
Speaker 1: the Watson news. Maybe that informed the forty Niners trade,
Speaker 1: maybe it didn't. But either way, the combination of the
Speaker 1: Watson um news that's been we've talked about and the
Speaker 1: trade had to leave the Panthers thinking they're not getting
Speaker 1: who they want at eight or it's going to be
Speaker 1: tough to trade up, like because because I was thinking
Speaker 1: they still were a candidate to trade up to four
Speaker 1: or five, they didn't. It wouldn't have had to go
Speaker 1: too far. But now now that they know it's going
Speaker 1: one to three at quarterback, Jets are taking Wilson, forty
Speaker 1: Niners will take who they want that It's like they
Speaker 1: gotta have another option because they they clearly Teddy was
Speaker 1: not enough for them. It's too bad, that's too bad.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's too bad with Donald two. I really,
Speaker 1: oh man, I really wanted that to work, and but
Speaker 1: it is exciting at the same time when you watch
Speaker 1: this Zach Wilson foot just now it's started to buy
Speaker 1: into another quarterback, by into another jersey for my son's.
Speaker 1: It's it goes on and on and on the search
Speaker 1: for the true successor to Joe Namath. All right, before
Speaker 1: we go, you know, we're in the off season here
Speaker 1: kind of it is the Greg you pointed out on
Speaker 1: TEXTA this morning. It's definitely a bit of a dead
Speaker 1: area when you get out of the free agency on
Speaker 1: and before the draft really hits fever pitch. That's where
Speaker 1: we are right now, right, no pro days, no more signings,
Speaker 1: the phantom owners meetings or the talk about that was
Speaker 1: in theory last week that was the seven. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: as quiet as there is three weeks in a row
Speaker 1: on the NFL schedule except for July. I would say
Speaker 1: that's the only time that's quieter. Um And Mark, did
Speaker 1: you hear about this talk that they're going to potentially
Speaker 1: I don't think this has written down yet, uh, for
Speaker 1: any of the teams that aren't involved with the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame game. Um Or I think the Thursday night opener,
Speaker 1: everyone's gonna launch the same day and it might be
Speaker 1: a blowout like uh training camp open spectacular kind Yeah,
Speaker 1: excited about that will be that we're gonna put We're
Speaker 1: gonna put Mark out by the RAMS facility as it
Speaker 1: opens at six am live on the scene. I find
Speaker 1: the RAMS a little spice here at this point. Um
Speaker 1: then in then in years past. But Dan is absolutely
Speaker 1: um on point with that. It's going to be treated
Speaker 1: like you know, uh, we've we've landed on Mars and
Speaker 1: started a new colony, will be treated with that level
Speaker 1: of groundbreaking verve got to own July. Um, but I
Speaker 1: wanted to see since since it's been a little quieter,
Speaker 1: what are you guys into? And Ricky jump on right now?
Speaker 1: What's the pop culture uh that that you're into? I'll
Speaker 1: start I I watched a movie on Netflix and I
Speaker 1: needed a laugh. We all need a laugh, um, even
Speaker 1: as things in the COVID world get better. But it's
Speaker 1: you know, been a tough twelve months on a lot
Speaker 1: of levels. Bad trip, Eric Andre, that movie absolutely destroyed me.
Speaker 1: Slave me and full disclosure, I've met him a couple
Speaker 1: of times. He was in Bob, my friend Bob and
Speaker 1: Jason's movie a few years back. He's a very nice
Speaker 1: guy and I've always loved the Eric Andre show on
Speaker 1: adult swim um, it's absurdest brilliance. And he took like
Speaker 1: the elements of what makes that show uh funny and
Speaker 1: gray and then somehow tied it to a narrative structure
Speaker 1: on so, I mean, it's not Citizen Kane, but like
Speaker 1: there's an actual movie connected to his uh, the Eric
Speaker 1: Andre Greatness for people that are fans of him. And
Speaker 1: then there are scenes in that Ricky and I know
Speaker 1: it sounds like you watch it that had me laughing
Speaker 1: at my our solve and Tiffany hash I um, I
Speaker 1: do uh. Another podcast, as you guys know, that Jessell
Speaker 1: Nick and Rosenthal Vanity Project, and that was Anthony. We
Speaker 1: do recommendation station every week and that was his recommendation
Speaker 1: last week. So this is back to back the podcast
Speaker 1: I've been on and he gave it a hard recommend
Speaker 1: and he's a he's a tough judge for sure. On
Speaker 1: the comedy. By the way, we have a live show
Speaker 1: on Tuesday night. Listeners should check out for tickets on that.
Speaker 1: How about that while we're here comfortable pitch, he's plugging himself.
Speaker 1: Just just own it. It's cool. Where is it? Where
Speaker 1: is it? I mean, no, no, it's not in person.
Speaker 1: It's just like a zoom where you can you can
Speaker 1: pay to watch it. It's like a assume. Ricky would be,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, she's a big she's a huge part of it,
Speaker 1: and making them pay for it. We're making them pay
Speaker 1: for it as just you know, a special, little different show.
Speaker 1: You know you can talk with us afterwards. It's good.
Speaker 1: You think Craig would ever do that for free? Um?
Speaker 1: How much does it cost? How much does it cost
Speaker 1: for people to watch on a video screen? This will
Speaker 1: be you'll appreciate this. Fifteen dollars for the normal show,
Speaker 1: which will be longer than normal. Um, but you can
Speaker 1: for seventy five. You can get v I P tickets
Speaker 1: and stay like an extra hour and ask questions and stuff.
Speaker 1: How many people have snatch stuff? A surprising amount of
Speaker 1: people have bought it. I too had nothing. I had
Speaker 1: nothing to do with us setting all this off. I
Speaker 1: was like, what, really are you giving Ricky cut of
Speaker 1: the proceeds? Of course, of course I got your back, Ricky.
Speaker 1: Don't let them push you. I'm gonna wreck a man.
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna jump in and do um the latest
Speaker 1: season of Last Chance You just because I feel like
Speaker 1: our listeners, maybe there's some cross over here. They did
Speaker 1: basketball this year and it was East Della. I know
Speaker 1: I've given a lot of last Chance you love on
Speaker 1: this show. I know because I do think it's one
Speaker 1: of the better like documentary documentary shows, like showing a
Speaker 1: certain slice of life right now out there, like it's
Speaker 1: really well done. Um And this time it was a
Speaker 1: basketball team. It was East l A. So there's a
Speaker 1: little bit of an l A vibe having this awesome
Speaker 1: season and somewhat of a spoiler alert, you know, the
Speaker 1: it's last season, so the world obviously with covid um
Speaker 1: infringes by the end. But man, the characters and just
Speaker 1: how they do it is really compelling to me. Like,
Speaker 1: to me, it's a good if you love sports, like
Speaker 1: it's partly why I I it makes me like love
Speaker 1: sports more because it's the people that are really doing
Speaker 1: it for the love of the of the game, and
Speaker 1: you see what they go through to try to get
Speaker 1: to their dreams. I'm behind on that show. I haven't
Speaker 1: watched it, so, like where would be a good jump
Speaker 1: in season? I think the bat this one is the
Speaker 1: first time it's a basketball season. It's a totally different
Speaker 1: vibe because of that. But I think this would be
Speaker 1: a good one to jump in. All right, good to
Speaker 1: know I'm writing it down, Mark, Um, So I know
Speaker 1: I'm supposed to pop culture suggests. It needs to be
Speaker 1: something that has been created recently. So I will give you,
Speaker 1: um one thing in that category. You know when you're
Speaker 1: you're married. It's season tweet last night that animals are
Speaker 1: not from Earth? Like, are you okay? That's just sort
Speaker 1: of thinking that there's there's a possibility that that's true.
Speaker 1: Another big social weekend, social media weekend for Mark, Mark,
Speaker 1: I really unpack that. I hadn't seen that. What's the
Speaker 1: how do you? How is that possible? First of all,
Speaker 1: I'm not convinced that everything that's on Earth, our planet,
Speaker 1: originated on Earth. Um, this isn't a strong theory based
Speaker 1: on I've had some biologists coming at me saying, that's
Speaker 1: an absurd thing that you wrote, and I agree that
Speaker 1: it probably sounds absurd, but it's a little flatter third
Speaker 1: in its own way. No, I don't believe in that theory.
Speaker 1: I just think that there are various life beings that
Speaker 1: maybe came from somewhere or something else, and if it
Speaker 1: were all animals, I'd be like, hmm, that kind of
Speaker 1: makes sense to me. It also makes no sense, so
Speaker 1: you know, the animal my pop culture reference. The animals
Speaker 1: are underrated though, I mean they are amazing. We've just
Speaker 1: been watching live cams of animals. There's another recommendation. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's a good critter cam out there, and I gotta say, like,
Speaker 1: it's it's better than TV, Like we just have it
Speaker 1: on in the background. It's pretty fascinating. So if they're
Speaker 1: coming from other planets, but I'm into it. We have
Speaker 1: a ring camera or whatever in our backyard and Emily
Speaker 1: has its set up to get don't worry Mark, We're
Speaker 1: gett into your pop culture. It has its set up
Speaker 1: for like notifications whenever there's movement, and there's like an
Speaker 1: entire family reunion of raccoons like every night, just chilling
Speaker 1: out there on the couch and crawling on things. And
Speaker 1: it's just like, guys, can we can we have some
Speaker 1: respect for the property. I'm a homeowner now, I don't
Speaker 1: I don't wanta have to shoot you. I don't have
Speaker 1: to put you in a cage or get an exterminator,
Speaker 1: just like, show some respect. Raccoons prints on my outdoor furniture.
Speaker 1: Critter Vision has a lot of raccoons too. It's got
Speaker 1: it's got DearS, POWs some stuff like that. But critic,
Speaker 1: raccoons are weird because they stand on their hind legs
Speaker 1: and then they use their two hands, kind of like humans,
Speaker 1: and there's something a little freaky about I. I don't
Speaker 1: agree that all animals are underrated, though, greg some are
Speaker 1: definitely getting a little too much attention or properly rated.
Speaker 1: All right, mark your pop culture. So I was just
Speaker 1: gonna mention I think it songs sometimes like what I
Speaker 1: would go watch on my own and what simone we
Speaker 1: go watch would be two different shows. So when we
Speaker 1: can ven diagram that and find um a show that
Speaker 1: we like, it's very successful. And we've been watching the
Speaker 1: show Jinny and Georgia UM, which is essentially like a
Speaker 1: mom that had no I don't know the names of
Speaker 1: the people in it, but I'll help you out with that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: she had a daughter when she was like fifteen, but
Speaker 1: now the daughter is fifteen and the mom is thirty,
Speaker 1: and it's there. You know, she's not ready to be
Speaker 1: she's not happy that she's thirty with it, like probably
Speaker 1: you know, no love life and stuff. So anyways, it
Speaker 1: takes some twists and turns, but we've enjoyed it. But
Speaker 1: the thing I really wanted to want to mention um
Speaker 1: is this film that I watched recently from ninety seven,
Speaker 1: directed by Paul Schrader called Rolling Thunder Um. This is
Speaker 1: hard to find, but there are one or two little
Speaker 1: services out there that have it. It was. It has
Speaker 1: a very young Tommy Lee Jones and William Devane, who
Speaker 1: William Devane is someone that I think no one would
Speaker 1: be like, oh, I get that, I know who that is.
Speaker 1: But if you go and look at the actor in
Speaker 1: his face, you're like, I've seen if you have a
Speaker 1: certain age, you've seen him in a thousand different things.
Speaker 1: He was the junk ball starter for Major League. He
Speaker 1: was awesome in that name. He was the head coach
Speaker 1: and Rudy exactly so he everything he does, he does well.
Speaker 1: And this is um raw late seventies cinema about um
Speaker 1: these guys returning from Vietnam, and it goes totally haywire.
Speaker 1: It is listed as one of Tarantino's top five films,
Speaker 1: and within ten minutes of watching it, it made it
Speaker 1: so clear the influence that he had on him and
Speaker 1: other genre cinema in general. So, um, it's not for everyone.
Speaker 1: I'd think it's a pack a minute the mall or
Speaker 1: show it to your nine year old type of film.
Speaker 1: But you could show it to yourself if you've so
Speaker 1: so pleased. Mm hmm. I I have to apologize the
Speaker 1: coach and Rudy was not William Devane. Okay. I think
Speaker 1: it was like Dan Divine, so close, so close, Ricky. Um.
Speaker 1: So he also he was not the junk ball pitcher
Speaker 1: in Major. I was like, but that's also Dan Devine
Speaker 1: to that guy because I remember that guy and he
Speaker 1: was a goofball. Um. Anyway, Um, Ricky, your pop culture recommendation,
Speaker 1: I think I messed that up again too, So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna circle back around on the divine Divine issue, William
Speaker 1: Devane just for your reference. Um yeah, the Demilovado doc.
Speaker 1: She released her own documentary. Um, it's on YouTube. It's
Speaker 1: for free. There's only four episodes, and it talks about
Speaker 1: her overdose, um and all the kind of stuff she
Speaker 1: went through and like I remember following it and pulp,
Speaker 1: you know, pop culture and everything, but to actually hear
Speaker 1: what actually happened, like her friends were like, oh, we're
Speaker 1: really talking about it, Like she was pretty much legally
Speaker 1: blind when she woke up. She was blue when they
Speaker 1: found her, like heroin all this kind of stuff, Like
Speaker 1: I had no idea how bad it was. Well, that's
Speaker 1: it's in the it's just her public record. Um. But
Speaker 1: it even shows her singing at the super Bowl in
Speaker 1: Miami the national anthem and sort of her coming back
Speaker 1: to life literally and sort of her career, and it
Speaker 1: was it was really really chilling. But then also to
Speaker 1: be like, oh, we were there at that super Bowl
Speaker 1: that was the last one before you know, we were
Speaker 1: all locked inside. But I remember people on Twitter being like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, look at Demi totally killed the national
Speaker 1: anthem when you know she's gone through all this stuff.
Speaker 1: And I didn't really know because I like followed it,
Speaker 1: but like it wasn't super like didn't keep me up
Speaker 1: at night. I'm not like a huge Demi love Auto fan.
Speaker 1: But it was really really really heartbreaking and powerful and
Speaker 1: worth a watch. Very good. Yeah, uh, I want to
Speaker 1: see that. Thank you for reminding me. I'm marking that
Speaker 1: as well. Last chance you, um you're not going to
Speaker 1: be watching. I would watch a little Rolling Thunder. I
Speaker 1: like I like that Paul Steger movie he just released
Speaker 1: with the Ethan Hawk. I guess it was a few
Speaker 1: years ago. First Reformed Steger has Got some bombs. The
Speaker 1: junk ball Hurler in Major League The character was Eddie Harris.
Speaker 1: The same actor played Dan Divine, the head coach of
Speaker 1: Notre Dame and Rudy. But the actor's name is Chelsea Ross.
Speaker 1: So now you got everything you need to know. Not
Speaker 1: Mark's actor, not even close to the same name, but
Speaker 1: coach that he played in a movie has a similar
Speaker 1: name to that real person's name. Nailed it. That's fascinating.
Speaker 1: Why you're the host just circling back these big issues? Um?
Speaker 1: All right, that's it for today's edition of the Around
Speaker 1: the NFL Podcast. We'll be back Thursday with another episode
Speaker 1: of The Pot and then the TV show is back
Speaker 1: once again on Friday on NFL Network. Please check that out. Um,
Speaker 1: but until then, Mrs Dan hands until Thursday, should say, uh?
Speaker 1: Signing off for the plot storm the Old Boston Rickey,
Speaker 1: Hollywood sap it All