Speaker 1: Be Around with the NFL Podcast. The NFL machine doesn't stop. No,
Speaker 1: it does not. Welcome to another edition of the Around
Speaker 1: the NFL Podcast. My name is Dan Hans. I come
Speaker 1: to you from a virtual room filled with some heroes.
Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal's here. He's always here, though. You know who
Speaker 1: hasn't been here. But who's now back? You know who
Speaker 1: it is. He's the quiet stall Mark Sessler hat Boddy,
Speaker 1: Welcome back. Well, thank you. Um, I don't just trying
Speaker 1: to think like you know what happened to me. I
Speaker 1: don't think I've ever been away from the pod that long.
Speaker 1: When the pod was going on, um it was what
Speaker 1: two weeks, I honestly felt like I didn't work anywhere. Um,
Speaker 1: I thought I didn't have a job. I feel like
Speaker 1: I didn't have a job at all to some degree.
Speaker 1: Very strange. Your dream, isn't that your dream that disappearing
Speaker 1: in theory? I always thought it would be, Um, it
Speaker 1: wasn't my dream to go through like two trips to
Speaker 1: the hospital, but um, yeah, it was a bit of
Speaker 1: a bit of an odd couple a couple of days there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's nothing good that comes out of a hospital stay
Speaker 1: like that, I imagine and all the all the stuff
Speaker 1: that you had to deal with. But I know from
Speaker 1: my mentions and elsewhere, it must be nice to hear
Speaker 1: how many people were concerned for you, and how many
Speaker 1: people have missed you, and how many people said, you know,
Speaker 1: the show is not the same without him, which is
Speaker 1: very true. UM, so that was nice, I'm sure, right.
Speaker 1: One little silver lining, Yeah, I don't recall hearing from anyone,
Speaker 1: to be honest, but no, no, that we I do
Speaker 1: think that whenever we've gone through stuff on our show,
Speaker 1: we have different a different group of of listeners, a
Speaker 1: different brand of loyalty. UM, and I think they're more
Speaker 1: they're more friends than they are anonymous to us. And
Speaker 1: so you're right. I mean, in my Instagram mentions and Twitter, UM,
Speaker 1: thank you to everyone that reached out. I've written back
Speaker 1: to literally nobody yet, UM, but I but I planned
Speaker 1: to because you know, I think, like with other stuff
Speaker 1: that we've gone through, is a group like UM, it's
Speaker 1: been proven over and over that like these guys are
Speaker 1: a plus and so UM, I appreciate the people that
Speaker 1: reached out for sure. Well, the listeners can't see right now,
Speaker 1: but Mark's looking good, not you sort of almost looked
Speaker 1: like you were on a little tropical vacation. The buttons
Speaker 1: are unbuttoned, the beards looking good. You look a little tan. Um,
Speaker 1: so you know hospital stays? Did you write? I guess
Speaker 1: I don't think I know my messages here, but I
Speaker 1: did like the show starting with like that's Mark Sessler.
Speaker 1: We should do that Mark too. I think I don't
Speaker 1: think I looked quite as fresh um inside the hospital.
Speaker 1: But you know, it was a bit of a chore,
Speaker 1: um removing myself from all of Erica's Hawaii pictures, because
Speaker 1: that was sort of the second part you mentioned tropical vacation. Greg,
Speaker 1: you gotta confuse with the other person on the show.
Speaker 1: That's Erica tam Posey, who's looking tan and rested after
Speaker 1: her little sojourn. Erica, it's really nice to have you back.
Speaker 1: I will say that Justin gravergekay, uh, he just did
Speaker 1: unbelievable work. Uh in your absolutely yeah. I mean he's
Speaker 1: got his own drop now. And um, so thank you
Speaker 1: to Justin and Erica. Welcome back. Thank you. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure. Um, you know, Justin Justin did a great
Speaker 1: job well while I was gone. Um, and you can
Speaker 1: have him full time. I'm happy to step away. I
Speaker 1: have a lot of other stuff going on that I
Speaker 1: would be you know, I would love to take a
Speaker 1: step back if you do. You are you mad at me? Honestly,
Speaker 1: because it sounds like you were a little mad before
Speaker 1: the show started, like some of the comments I made
Speaker 1: and things of that nature about your absurd vacation. You're
Speaker 1: upset about the absurd vacation. We have been locked in
Speaker 1: the house, Justin. I'm taking you out for the second.
Speaker 1: We have been locked in the house for two years.
Speaker 1: I've lost two people very close to me who would
Speaker 1: have told me, well no, but I'm serious. I'm not
Speaker 1: talking about you. I'm talking about in general. Before the
Speaker 1: season starts, I finally decided to go and and have
Speaker 1: some friend time and vacation, which we all desperately need.
Speaker 1: And yes, it's like, oh I missed the cut down days.
Speaker 1: I don't care who made the fifty three man roster,
Speaker 1: like good have a podcast about it. Like I lived
Speaker 1: my life I have. You have to live short, Hey, Ricky,
Speaker 1: you deserve vacations. Um. And uh, nobody works harder than you. UM.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to let you know that Justin he's
Speaker 1: got ambition and he's got talent. He does, and it
Speaker 1: doesn't mean that I want him to be our producer now,
Speaker 1: but I just want you to know that if that
Speaker 1: lights a fire under your hyene or not it doesn't,
Speaker 1: that's not up to me to decide, but I'm just
Speaker 1: letting you know he did great work. Well, that's really great,
Speaker 1: and the listeners loved it too, and he provided Some
Speaker 1: people were even saying that Justin should be a fourth
Speaker 1: I saw that flight flying around, which I think that
Speaker 1: would be. That was Justin's mom who sent that tweet.
Speaker 1: But you know, you know what, No, Justin is is awesome.
Speaker 1: Um and you know, as his boss, I'll take that
Speaker 1: into consideration. If you should fire Justin, that would be
Speaker 1: an awesome move. No, he's amazing, he's boss. That feels
Speaker 1: definitely getting like Joe Flacco with Lamar Jackson vibes here,
Speaker 1: Like there are like the Alex Smith types where like
Speaker 1: Patrick Wombs his whole career. We'll talk about Alex Feth
Speaker 1: what a great mentor he was to me, And then
Speaker 1: there's there's other other types of someone tweeted at me.
Speaker 1: It was like, is Erica gonna get Cam Newton? Like
Speaker 1: by Mac Jones and I was like, can I just
Speaker 1: like enjoy my my tie and like and enjoy your
Speaker 1: Cam Newton getting cut from your favorite team, which is
Speaker 1: that if you were reading the reddit board or you're
Speaker 1: mentioned during your Hawaii Gypt that's on you. Yeah. No,
Speaker 1: I turned them all off. But no, it was good.
Speaker 1: But it's good to see you guys and especially Mark
Speaker 1: and and be all together. And I'm really um, you know,
Speaker 1: we'll get into it later. Obviously it's been a really
Speaker 1: tough couple of days, but you know, besides that vacation
Speaker 1: and feeling refreshed and really really kind of looking forward
Speaker 1: to the season and what's coming. I'm glad you got away.
Speaker 1: I think it's well deserved. Erica, I don't know what
Speaker 1: all the flak is, um. And then and this is
Speaker 1: your last jan it's the fire graver on the podcast. Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: I would never Justin's Justin's because we get we would
Speaker 1: then go and get him back. We'd we'd appeal to
Speaker 1: upper management so he wouldn't actually lose a job. But
Speaker 1: if if anybody ever like got fired on this podcast,
Speaker 1: that would be pretty cool. That's all. No, I I
Speaker 1: actually you know this is it from content standpoint? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I can't say it, but I had a big hand
Speaker 1: and making sure that Justin is here with us. Well,
Speaker 1: well you did say it, I mean, was that not
Speaker 1: what you were not going to say? No, I mean
Speaker 1: just just say like I I fought for him because
Speaker 1: he's he's the best, he really is, and you're the best, King,
Speaker 1: and I will tell you that we missed you as well.
Speaker 1: So this is very nice. And yes, this is once
Speaker 1: again trying times um around NFL media. We lost our
Speaker 1: friend Tara Deaker and we're gonna have check on a
Speaker 1: little bit later, h to remember a great friend, uh
Speaker 1: of all of ours, um, but just to have the
Speaker 1: four of us together as we now start a new
Speaker 1: season without West, of course, but I'm glad and thankful
Speaker 1: that we're all together here. Nothing could be taken for
Speaker 1: granted that that much, uh is for damn sure? Coming
Speaker 1: up on today's show, Oh it's sandwich props. Go get
Speaker 1: my lunch, you disaster. Is this the ninth annual sandwich Props?
Speaker 1: I don't even know that. I guess you could check
Speaker 1: on the website. But this is our ninth season together,
Speaker 1: so it's possible. Well, one thing I love is Justin
Speaker 1: four Tier, who has been running Go get my Lunch
Speaker 1: dot org for a decade now. Um, you know, he's
Speaker 1: been tracking this for so long that it takes like
Speaker 1: five minutes to scroll all the way through all the
Speaker 1: wagers mark to get through it. So, I mean we
Speaker 1: really are, if nothing else, building out a real archive
Speaker 1: of content that people can go back to forever. Let's
Speaker 1: face it. I mean honestly, if it is nine years
Speaker 1: uh justin fourtiyear could have been in like, you know,
Speaker 1: eighth grade when this started, and now a college graduate
Speaker 1: Nick Fortier couldn't. Yeah, it's it would be help if
Speaker 1: I knew his name. Um, I mean, he's he's done here,
Speaker 1: so obsessed with him, I just needed to get his
Speaker 1: name in one more time. He seems very driven, he's
Speaker 1: a hard worker. Um you know, I feel the drab
Speaker 1: that I missed his his time give us the drop. No,
Speaker 1: I'm not hitting it all right, Okay, So anyway that's
Speaker 1: coming up. Can't wait for that, and I'll have to
Speaker 1: check in with go get my lunch dot org for
Speaker 1: any like outstanding profits. Um that we started free agency
Speaker 1: by the way for the um. But before that, Yes,
Speaker 1: the season begins Tuesday, the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa
Speaker 1: Bay Buccaneers welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Raymond James Stadium,
Speaker 1: and um we are going to Now it's time boys
Speaker 1: for our first game. Preview of football is bad. It's
Speaker 1: officially back. Where's that Priana Chopka song? Jonas Jonas? Excuse me,
Speaker 1: I just call her miss Jonas. No Greg on the
Speaker 1: mean streets lest they l at to go mute because
Speaker 1: the police were pulling up in front of his house.
Speaker 1: Hopefully not for Greg. Anyway, Thursday Night football Tom Brady
Speaker 1: brings back. We'll set it up this way, Mark, I'll
Speaker 1: see you up since we've missed you. So Tom Brady
Speaker 1: is now forty four. He's entering his I believe, twenty
Speaker 1: second season in the NFL, and I personally is listeners
Speaker 1: know and you know waited twenty years for Tom Brady
Speaker 1: to get old. Now, having a different perspective on things
Speaker 1: and Tom playing in a different place, I don't want
Speaker 1: him to get hold because I think, like everyone else,
Speaker 1: we want to see how far Brady can take this thing,
Speaker 1: how far he could stretch the limits of athleticism and
Speaker 1: defying father time. But here's the thing that makes the
Speaker 1: Buck special. The supporting cast around Tom Brady is so
Speaker 1: stellar that it's just a perfect spot for him. The
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys are a worthy opponent, but at the same time,
Speaker 1: you have to love Tampa's chances here at home with
Speaker 1: all the pop and circumstance. I'm with you. I think
Speaker 1: that you know, Tom Brady had a flock of teams
Speaker 1: he could have gone to, and you know, the Bucks
Speaker 1: stood out as a team that had a lot of
Speaker 1: talent but always had issues at quarterback, and he's the
Speaker 1: perfect puzzle piece. They're the first Super Bowl winning team
Speaker 1: to return all their starters since the seventies seven Raiders,
Speaker 1: which tells you just how rare that is in terms
Speaker 1: of team building. Um, I think that fire. You know,
Speaker 1: we have a Bruce Arians at coach who is the
Speaker 1: fire is back. I mean I know that for a
Speaker 1: number of years I questioned if he seemed plugged in,
Speaker 1: but I mean it's sort of the perfect Um. Officially,
Speaker 1: it's official. He seems he seems to be determined to win. Um,
Speaker 1: I just look at I look at this game. Particularly
Speaker 1: is when when you don't have Zack Martin for the
Speaker 1: Cowboys at at guard. I think that, you know, the
Speaker 1: last time we saw the Bucks. Their defense was dominant
Speaker 1: against an offensive line that had issues. I don't like
Speaker 1: the way the Cowboys looked when Martin wasn't on the
Speaker 1: field last year. Um, the whole thing is the whole
Speaker 1: thing is this though? Like for me, we talk about
Speaker 1: Tom Brady and the offense NonStop. I look at this
Speaker 1: this Bucks defense, the way they're built up the middle. Um,
Speaker 1: they have the dominant sue back. Um, they're essentially healthy
Speaker 1: with everyone except Jordan's whitehead. I I do think the
Speaker 1: Cowboys are a worthy opponent, but I'd struggle to see
Speaker 1: them hanging around with the Bucks in this one. The
Speaker 1: Bucks to me last year, and I think they are
Speaker 1: a team that you can say they can pick up
Speaker 1: where they left off, more so than other Super Bowl
Speaker 1: champs because so many pieces are intact. They seem to
Speaker 1: just get hotter and hotter as the season went on.
Speaker 1: And if you look what they did after their bye week,
Speaker 1: that's sort of what that offense is and what it
Speaker 1: can be. And I don't see one reason why they
Speaker 1: should be stopped in this game. I'm not even certain
Speaker 1: it will be close. I don't think it'll be close.
Speaker 1: I mean, they were they were worthy opponent the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are because like they can serve up help. The Bucks
Speaker 1: serve up a forty burger, and who doesn't like that? Like,
Speaker 1: if they do not go above thirty five points in
Speaker 1: this game, I'd be surprised. If they do not uh
Speaker 1: win by more than what they're saying in the desert,
Speaker 1: which is just outside of our our lock zone. It's
Speaker 1: about I think it's just over a touchdown. I'd be surprised.
Speaker 1: This is not a game you want to be trying
Speaker 1: out things. It's like the the Cowboys don't have Nevill
Speaker 1: gallim or their their best defensive tackle, so they're they're
Speaker 1: trying out you know, Carlos Watkins is gonna start a
Speaker 1: defensive tackle. They kind of like them. They have a
Speaker 1: this rookie o dig Azawa who they like. It's like, okay,
Speaker 1: we're trying that out. We got these we got these
Speaker 1: new cornerbacks. It's like nation right, Like we'll try we'll
Speaker 1: try that out a little bit. We all, we brought
Speaker 1: him k Z from Atlanta. He's gonna be our safety.
Speaker 1: Not sure sure about our like secondary depth. Will try
Speaker 1: that out. It's like, good luck, this is the last
Speaker 1: team that you would want to play early in the season.
Speaker 1: I think the Bucks might not be that eam in December,
Speaker 1: but right now they're they're healthy, they're ready to go.
Speaker 1: The preseason overly affected me watching their couple of quarters
Speaker 1: where they just look so on point. They could be
Speaker 1: the Cowboys or at least put up thirty points. I
Speaker 1: think with their backup skill players. I think you take
Speaker 1: out Evans and and Godwin and you put in Brown Miller,
Speaker 1: you know Johnson, there's If you take out their starting
Speaker 1: running backs and you put in Geo Bernard, there's they
Speaker 1: take out um Gronk and you put in O. J. Howard,
Speaker 1: they still would put up thirty points. I I do
Speaker 1: not think they're gonna be competitive defensively. The question is, yeah,
Speaker 1: what does DAC look like going against that Bucks defense? Um.
Speaker 1: Just in terms of buttoning this up, you mentioned Mark
Speaker 1: the seventy seven Raiders, being the only other team, were
Speaker 1: the most recent team to bring back all their starters
Speaker 1: on both side. That team, the SEVENTI team won thirteen
Speaker 1: and one won the Super Bowl. Obviously, seventy seven one,
Speaker 1: eleven and three entered the playoffs as a wild card
Speaker 1: and made it to the conference championship. That's just a
Speaker 1: little history for you, buffs. Um, what my looking forward
Speaker 1: from this game? I'm looking for Dak Prescott. Let's see where.
Speaker 1: Let's where Dak's at after the mysterious shoulder injury that
Speaker 1: had the the Cowboys contacting the Texas Rangers and the
Speaker 1: New York Yankees saying, uh what is this uh like?
Speaker 1: And then he took the time off, and then by
Speaker 1: the end of camp and if you're watching Hard Knocks,
Speaker 1: he's slinging it around and we're being told no restrictions, Okay,
Speaker 1: but now we're gonna play, So we'll see what kind
Speaker 1: of um doc we get in this game. If it's
Speaker 1: vintage Dack. And by the way, let's not forget he's
Speaker 1: coming back from a compound fracture of his ankle and
Speaker 1: a major surgery that went with that, two surgeries in fact,
Speaker 1: so that's something to watch her. I'm excited to see
Speaker 1: Zeke Elliott. Um, he's one guy on on Dallas. Also,
Speaker 1: what is Zeke Elliott gonna bring to the Cowboys this year?
Speaker 1: Because if he is the Zeke of old and not
Speaker 1: the Zeke of last year, and and Doak is healthy
Speaker 1: with those great wide receivers, this team is gonna score
Speaker 1: close to thirty points a game, and and that's gonna
Speaker 1: that's gonna win enough games probably to win your division.
Speaker 1: So I'm really interested it in the offense and on
Speaker 1: the defense. Justum, stay in Dallas focused here Michael Parsons
Speaker 1: after a summer breathless hype around the first round pick
Speaker 1: this special type of modern day linebacker that can rush
Speaker 1: the quarterback, who could stop their around, who could cover
Speaker 1: a speedy tight end. Let's see if he develops into
Speaker 1: a star. Let's see if he gets his UM rookie
Speaker 1: season off to a great start in a showcase game
Speaker 1: on Thursday night in front of a hundred million people.
Speaker 1: Because that Dallas does a nice job developing stars and offense,
Speaker 1: they desperately need to develop a new star on the
Speaker 1: other side of the ball, and that could be Parsons.
Speaker 1: I would note that, you know last year with DAC
Speaker 1: and they put up huge numbers on offense. They put
Speaker 1: up seventeen points, forty points, thirty one points, and thirty
Speaker 1: eight points over the first four games and still went
Speaker 1: one in three. So there's a fair amount on pressure
Speaker 1: on Dan quinn uh the new defensive coordinator, to put
Speaker 1: this thing together because I think Mike Nolan's experiment as
Speaker 1: a one year coordinator last year was an absolute undoing
Speaker 1: of the Cowboy is a total disaster. I mean, players
Speaker 1: that looked good two years ago look disastrous in that scheme.
Speaker 1: The word out of Dallas, though, is that a lot
Speaker 1: of these guys are happy with Quinn's scheme. That it's
Speaker 1: more aggressive, it's more simple in nature, where I think
Speaker 1: last year's was overly complex. During a covid uh you know,
Speaker 1: zoom meeting type offseason, it was harder to pick up.
Speaker 1: So I do think that if they if the if
Speaker 1: someone like Micael Parsons can set off a defense and
Speaker 1: and he fits in Quinn's scheme, that is your division
Speaker 1: winner right there. Because on offense, if they can do
Speaker 1: what they did last year when Doc was in the lineup, um,
Speaker 1: they're they're somewhat unstoppable on offense, especially if Ceedee Lamb
Speaker 1: looks to be the way he's been. Amari Cooper has
Speaker 1: looked good in practice lately. He's healthy, So there's no
Speaker 1: question about the offense in terms of the star power
Speaker 1: and what they can put up. Points one, they finally
Speaker 1: have a coach that'll just throw it every down. If
Speaker 1: you need to. So that's that's part of it. Like
Speaker 1: if you have doc and fantasy or you know, you
Speaker 1: you think the Cowboys will end up keeping this game close.
Speaker 1: It's like they could be down twenty halfway through the
Speaker 1: third quarter and it just wouldn't be surprising for them
Speaker 1: to put up three straight touchdowns. Like I don't think
Speaker 1: the Bucks are that unstoppable that every single team the
Speaker 1: Cowboys play, they have advantages out wide, and they finally
Speaker 1: have a coach not Jason Garrett, uh that will just
Speaker 1: like throw the ball every time they need to, because
Speaker 1: what's the point of running the ball against the Bucks?
Speaker 1: They are literally one of the greatest run defenses in
Speaker 1: NFL history. There's not a real reason to think that's
Speaker 1: gonna change now. And so I don't think this is
Speaker 1: like a Zeke run the ball too much game and
Speaker 1: you never know week what is so weird. Sometimes you
Speaker 1: do see teams like get tired, certain players get tired.
Speaker 1: Like I don't know which team that's gonna affect more
Speaker 1: than another, but I do think you get some weird
Speaker 1: like end of games in Week one. So I think
Speaker 1: if that if you're a Cowboys fan, that's what you're
Speaker 1: hoping for but the Bucks, I think are gonna think
Speaker 1: the opposite, and I think they're gonna go tempo a
Speaker 1: lot and like that. That's the type of thing where
Speaker 1: Brady wasn't that comfortable for most of the last season
Speaker 1: and now he's so comfortable in that system where they
Speaker 1: can speed it up, they can slow it down, they
Speaker 1: can do whatever they want to you And I just
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm I'm thinking like one, I don't know,
Speaker 1: if we're no, maybe let's give the cowboy. And I
Speaker 1: want to tell you one thing. When we did our
Speaker 1: West Hollywood podcast, UM I attempted to bring this up
Speaker 1: and it was railroaded because it was too serious of
Speaker 1: a point when we were trying to have more of
Speaker 1: a um a lighthearted time apparently, but Gio Bernard, I
Speaker 1: think is going to be a huge story for this team.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't. It wasn't that it was a serious point.
Speaker 1: It was like we were trying to like take big
Speaker 1: swings on like meaty topics, and you were like, keep
Speaker 1: an eye on Geo Bernard. He is what they were
Speaker 1: missing last year. I think the kind of piece to
Speaker 1: Tom Brady, you know, probably personally requested the same way
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers would want. I want this kind of James
Speaker 1: Whitish character that come in and he fits perfectly. I
Speaker 1: think he's going to be a huge part of their
Speaker 1: offense and increasing part of the offenses as the year
Speaker 1: goes on. It's crazy. I do remember those some of
Speaker 1: those Patriots teams that finished strong and won the Super
Speaker 1: but they did, and this happens a lot with Super teams.
Speaker 1: They do come out gangbusters. They're like they're confident, they're
Speaker 1: ready to go. Everyone's back, like they they are going
Speaker 1: to be a few steps ahead. I think of the
Speaker 1: rest of the league, especially the Cowboys, And there's no
Speaker 1: chance Tom Brady's getting old this year, right. I did
Speaker 1: see the note that he's more than four years older
Speaker 1: than anyone else in the NFL. That is crazy. I'm
Speaker 1: not doing the doubting anymore, but I just want to
Speaker 1: say he's again forty four and entering his NFL season.
Speaker 1: This is not a kicker. I think in Week one,
Speaker 1: I think that he's got to take some hits. He
Speaker 1: I think it have to be injury. I think that's
Speaker 1: where he could get old. If he gets hit and
Speaker 1: something happens and then recover and stuff like that and
Speaker 1: that could happen anytime, certainly, but at this point I'm
Speaker 1: not I'm not thinking it. Not like if he's playing
Speaker 1: with a sore shoulder in early October, that could reach farm.
Speaker 1: Looks so strong in that preseason game. I was like,
Speaker 1: it is literally stronger right now than it was in
Speaker 1: two thousand three. I'm not saying maybe maybe maybe not
Speaker 1: then like eleven and ten, maybe his peak, but it's
Speaker 1: stronger than it was at the beginning of his career.
Speaker 1: He's regenerating. Basically, he's probably not growing old, and I
Speaker 1: think he's exactly his age is exactly like the medium
Speaker 1: point between me and Greg and Mark, so like it's
Speaker 1: somebody we could all like look to. You know, I'd
Speaker 1: have to look behind me. But yes, I mean he's
Speaker 1: I passed him in on that category. Uh so you say,
Speaker 1: a grizzly blowout, Greg, I don't think. OK, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: keep was going to say, because the cow and Dallas
Speaker 1: does not want to repeat the beginning of last season.
Speaker 1: And this is pre deck injury, which is yes, they
Speaker 1: were throwing for like five yards a game, but they
Speaker 1: were down three touchdowns and the end of the third
Speaker 1: quarter every week. So they were just slinging it. If
Speaker 1: he gets to that point, yeah, maybe it becomes like
Speaker 1: over you know, seventy points total. But I think they'll
Speaker 1: keep it a little bit close, just because there might
Speaker 1: be a little everybody's got to iron out some things
Speaker 1: early season, so maybe the Bucks don't come out humming
Speaker 1: like a total machine. I'll say thirty twenty three a
Speaker 1: nice game, but the Bucks taking I will go, um
Speaker 1: Bucks thirty eight, Cowboys twenty six, but not as close
Speaker 1: as even that score would suggest. Okay, so across the
Speaker 1: board the Bucks will start the season. I want to know,
Speaker 1: looking forward to it, and we're gonna watch it together
Speaker 1: at Lakisha's house. We watched the uh kickoff game last
Speaker 1: year at Lakisha's and West's and West was there with us.
Speaker 1: So we really do look forward to as bittersweet as
Speaker 1: it is to start a new season. Um, just being
Speaker 1: back in that house with Lukisha and Link that that
Speaker 1: will be, that will be in the year before, and
Speaker 1: Deeker was there the year before. If thinking about it,
Speaker 1: we we watched the kickoff the last the last couple
Speaker 1: of years. It's um all right, So that's Thursday, and
Speaker 1: remember we have our we're now on the regular season schedule,
Speaker 1: So you got your Tuesday podcast today Thursday early will
Speaker 1: record uh the full week to come preview previewing every game,
Speaker 1: and then uh, either all of us or some combination
Speaker 1: of us will be back later that night to offer
Speaker 1: the brief recap of the TNF game. And then of
Speaker 1: course this Sunday the flagship show. We're still remote right
Speaker 1: now obviously, but uh that will be changing either next
Speaker 1: week or the week after. So we are off and running.
Speaker 1: And don't forget, forget the broadcast, Yes, do not forget
Speaker 1: the two hour supersized edition of The Around the NFL
Speaker 1: broadcast on NFL Network. Premiere is on Friday as well.
Speaker 1: Do we have a time for that? I'm so bad
Speaker 1: at the time. I think it airs Saturday morning on
Speaker 1: the East coast. It's a two hour version, you know
Speaker 1: the West coast or am a perfect time slot? You
Speaker 1: gotta start somewhere seven thirty East Coast. Why would it
Speaker 1: start on a half hour. We're gonna need to I
Speaker 1: mean people on the West Coast. For me, it doesn't
Speaker 1: it doesn't make any sense. I think it's a two
Speaker 1: hour show though. Get back to us. Yeah, we know that,
Speaker 1: and uh, I think it'll be good. Though we try
Speaker 1: to marry up the podcast. It's gonna be better for
Speaker 1: the podcast. Our Thursday podcast is going to be better,
Speaker 1: and our Friday TV show is going to be better.
Speaker 1: That they're totally separated, so you can you can just
Speaker 1: like eat us up in many different ways and like,
Speaker 1: you know, btw, it's more work for us to do
Speaker 1: this way, but you know what we care about the product.
Speaker 1: Seven am Eastern season premiere of Around the NFL with
Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal, Dan hans Us, and Mark Sessler breaking down
Speaker 1: the latest heading into each week of the NFL season.
Speaker 1: The two hour show airs every Saturday at seven am Eastern,
Speaker 1: So we got we got that cushy four am Pacific
Speaker 1: time slot. You know, it's like it's like the more
Speaker 1: people will see us there though than then in the
Speaker 1: Friday afternoon. Weirdly, it will be the best show in
Speaker 1: NFL network within a year and it will find a
Speaker 1: cozier time slot. One thing on two hours at least. Well,
Speaker 1: so last year we used our Thursday pod as both
Speaker 1: the pod and the television show our work produce two
Speaker 1: hours of content for people. We're now doing three hours.
Speaker 1: We're doing literally three more work this time if I
Speaker 1: have my math, So that's right, nailed it. I don't.
Speaker 1: I never actually got that wrong. I never get here,
Speaker 1: sick of here, and you talk Mark, I just want
Speaker 1: to hear you just talk about g O. Bernard in
Speaker 1: like every possible format. I will nail that prediction. Hey,
Speaker 1: it's ricky. Have you guys ever wondered how the NFL
Speaker 1: schedule is made or what exactly it is that an
Speaker 1: NFL playing field is made up of? Answers to all
Speaker 1: these questions and more are available now on the NFL
Speaker 1: Explained podcast. Every Thursday, A D. D. King Kambala and
Speaker 1: Mike Yam will be answering the burning questions you have
Speaker 1: about the game so you can dominate trivia or just
Speaker 1: be the smartest person at your next football watch party.
Speaker 1: This week they're tackling how each NFL team got its name.
Speaker 1: You can listen to NFL Explained now, that's NFL Explained
Speaker 1: with a period at the end on the I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: All right, it is time now, it's a tradition. On
Speaker 1: the podcast, everybody could do their basic as predictions. We
Speaker 1: do it too, but with a twist, go get my
Speaker 1: sandwich your monster. Oh yeah, Mark missed the basic asked
Speaker 1: predictions last week, so he's not gonna have to be
Speaker 1: tied down to anything. That's very narin Mark, a free
Speaker 1: wild horse, a bucking Bronco, just rumbling through open planes.
Speaker 1: Well now I've filed them with NFL dot com though,
Speaker 1: So that's true. Marco got cute like me, Like we're like, oh,
Speaker 1: let's pick a different team to win the super Bowl
Speaker 1: than what everyone else is picking, and then like five
Speaker 1: five basic grows, I'll pick the forty Niners. It's like
Speaker 1: they're practically the most popular team. Did you happen to
Speaker 1: catch that show when I've the Browns for the playoffs
Speaker 1: and Greg and claybon did not? No, I didn't. I
Speaker 1: did not hear about that. Well, that's it's very loyal
Speaker 1: of you. Well where are they in your power rankings?
Speaker 1: I believe number eight. Well that's a playoff team, and
Speaker 1: so you so Claybonn and Greg believe that they don't
Speaker 1: even reach the post. They don't play January football of
Speaker 1: any relevance. Yeah, I've never I've never had a take
Speaker 1: I believe in less than this one. But sometimes you
Speaker 1: want to like throw more teams into the playoffs that
Speaker 1: aren't gonna get there. So I wanted to get the
Speaker 1: Dolphins in. I want to get the Broncos in. And
Speaker 1: it's like only one, only one team from the North
Speaker 1: made it. I don't believe this at all. Come one
Speaker 1: off de fence like West West New. The one thing
Speaker 1: to really annoy me in the world was when he
Speaker 1: would say I didn't even believe in a take that
Speaker 1: I said, And unfortunately this take, this one is like
Speaker 1: the brown is not making the playoffs is not a take.
Speaker 1: I don't really believe in that. I think they're like
Speaker 1: eight or ninth. But it's like just something will happen.
Speaker 1: I want to get I want to get those Broncos.
Speaker 1: I want to sprinkle some other teams. And ridiculous concerning Greg,
Speaker 1: I gotta have a code, man, Well I did. I
Speaker 1: didn't change the pick. I almost changed the online. And
Speaker 1: that was that was what Mark used to do. He
Speaker 1: would like make one pick online and another on the podcast.
Speaker 1: Remember that we like made fun of him for not
Speaker 1: having the Browns in the playoffs a year ago, and
Speaker 1: then he had them winning the Super Bowl. He like
Speaker 1: totally multiple outlets, multiple predictions. What is your Super Bowl prediction,
Speaker 1: by the way mark, because we shared ours, I picked
Speaker 1: the win because you have the same Yeah, I picked
Speaker 1: the Niners to win over another team. I don't remember
Speaker 1: even remember who the f C team was. I don't
Speaker 1: think it was that she was not the Chiefs. Was
Speaker 1: it the f C team that hails from Cleveland? No?
Speaker 1: I did. Cleveland gets knocked out in the playoffs? In
Speaker 1: my in my rock solid predictions. All right, check those
Speaker 1: out if you can find them on NFL dot com.
Speaker 1: Let's get into it again. These are the rules of
Speaker 1: the sandwich game. Sandwiches on the line, You make your prediction.
Speaker 1: The other two bozos get the opportunity to either agree
Speaker 1: with said prediction or say no, no, no, no no.
Speaker 1: I challenge the I go the opposite direction of your
Speaker 1: prediction with a sandwich on the line, And it's all
Speaker 1: tracked at Go get my Lunch dot org. The sandwiches
Speaker 1: aren't aren't changing hands as much. But guess what, you know,
Speaker 1: there's been a pandemic, and you know it's so hard
Speaker 1: to see each other right now that and it will
Speaker 1: be corrected in due time. But no, uh, that's what's
Speaker 1: on the line here. As we go, Let's go around
Speaker 1: the horn three times with the final uh prop you
Speaker 1: lay out it's not a bet, uh your onion hanger
Speaker 1: and that's when you really say, I know I'll probably
Speaker 1: lose this, but I wanna I wanna put it out there.
Speaker 1: I want to show you that I have some some
Speaker 1: onions and sometimes you gotta hang them onions. You try
Speaker 1: these onions, you'll like them. The rules. Let's get it going.
Speaker 1: I will start things off and uh, Greg Mark, I
Speaker 1: don't know if you were here for this show at
Speaker 1: the oh you weren't. So. At the end of the preseason,
Speaker 1: I noted the absurd breakdown of the win loss records. Uh,
Speaker 1: the standings of the preseason, where the NFC had maybe
Speaker 1: like five wins in the entire preseason. It's filled with
Speaker 1: interconference games, obviously, and the a f C was like
Speaker 1: mostly undefeated across the board. UM, and I questioned whether
Speaker 1: does that actually hold some water. I know there's they're
Speaker 1: not real games or anything. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: when you look at the state of the NFL. And
Speaker 1: by the way, you mentioned power rankings, which premiered with
Speaker 1: me and Matt money Smith UH Tuesday at three pm
Speaker 1: Eastern on NFL Network. Check it out every week. When
Speaker 1: you look at the top half of the power rankings,
Speaker 1: it's very A f C heavy because the A f
Speaker 1: C is a much stronger conference. Right now, with that set,
Speaker 1: I hit up l A researchers here at NFL Network.
Speaker 1: We have a great research team, and I said, hey,
Speaker 1: what is the inter conference I think it's inter interconference
Speaker 1: record A f C versus NFC. What is the A
Speaker 1: f c's winning percentage over the past five seasons? The
Speaker 1: a f CS one fifty six, one sixty two and
Speaker 1: two versus the NFC. That's a four winning percentage. Okay,
Speaker 1: so history tells us, And as Chris Wesling once said,
Speaker 1: history is instructive. As history tells us, don't get sucked
Speaker 1: in here. If anything, believe in the NFC. I believe
Speaker 1: the a f C will better that percentage by fifty points.
Speaker 1: The a f C will pay post a five forty
Speaker 1: one winning percentage and interconference battles against the NFC in
Speaker 1: who's coming with me, who's going against me? Five one?
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like a it's a pretty small sample size,
Speaker 1: so you probably you know, you only have to be
Speaker 1: a handful of games over right, furn do one in
Speaker 1: the last five years. Well that's the same. They were
Speaker 1: just six under over five years. That's less than one
Speaker 1: game a year. So it's basically fifty fifty or about why.
Speaker 1: But I wonder what it was last year? You know,
Speaker 1: isn't that a little more instructive. I want to root
Speaker 1: for the a f C. I don't like this stupid thing.
Speaker 1: Wait a minute, it needs it needs one on the
Speaker 1: nose or just at it. Well one, I'll take you
Speaker 1: on that. It's a very obscure, it's a very strange.
Speaker 1: Probably teams Greg and still go against me on this.
Speaker 1: I kind of do believe in the a f C
Speaker 1: this year. I'm not going to take you on it.
Speaker 1: You know, everybody, if you're a real veteran this game,
Speaker 1: you know it's a win when someone's gonna take you
Speaker 1: because you usually lose. Uh. And that's one sandwich, Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm mean it's I'm glad you brought that up. We
Speaker 1: are exactly tied Dan with a fifty two point one percentage.
Speaker 1: We have almost the exact same record. One I'm one
Speaker 1: four and one six seven. You have one less winning
Speaker 1: and one less lost. Mark. You're gonna have to go
Speaker 1: undefeated for the next seventeen years to get even even
Speaker 1: even though you're like out of the gate. But I
Speaker 1: think I've thrown some things out there that you know,
Speaker 1: you're swinging for the fences. Um, with a low percentage
Speaker 1: of success. All right, Mark, why don't you go next?
Speaker 1: So I got so, I got one mark on that
Speaker 1: on the line. All right. I don't know how to
Speaker 1: top that the obscurity of of what you just came
Speaker 1: up with, but um, I'm gonna go with this. Uh,
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield will throw more touchdowns than Aaron Rodgers. Oh,
Speaker 1: okay on that. That's good. Okay, So let's take a
Speaker 1: look at something here, because there's going to be some
Speaker 1: regression I think for Aaron Roger in terms of touchdowns thrown,
Speaker 1: because all those advanced analytics tell you that things kind
Speaker 1: of all worked beautifully to get him to where he was.
Speaker 1: What was he forty six touchdowns or something last year?
Speaker 1: Let's take a look here. Touchdowns that's that outrageous, not
Speaker 1: like top five all times. It's like you see Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers like he's got to get some weapons around him.
Speaker 1: A touchdowns are the two years fire he had twenty
Speaker 1: six the year before that, in the year before that
Speaker 1: success fire the GM, I've only thrown forty eight touchdowns
Speaker 1: this year Baker through twenty six, so that's a twenty
Speaker 1: two touchdown gap. That's a big gap to make up for.
Speaker 1: I will take you up on that, but I like
Speaker 1: where your head's at because I think that Brown's offense
Speaker 1: is going to be good. I think touchdowns are a
Speaker 1: little more random than some other stats. So even if
Speaker 1: Rodgers outplayed Baker, Baker could have more touchdowns. It's not
Speaker 1: too crazy. But as marks want to do, it's an
Speaker 1: onion hanger right off the top. I mean, he doesn't
Speaker 1: wait for the third one. I like that. Well, Baker,
Speaker 1: let's see, he's this is his age twenty six season,
Speaker 1: so obviously there's still room for growth. But after watching
Speaker 1: him for three years, I feel like I generally got
Speaker 1: a vibe of who he is and what his ceiling is,
Speaker 1: and that is of a the right side of the
Speaker 1: Dalton scale, but not too far. Like he's kind of
Speaker 1: I think like a Kirk Cousins type guy. Now, Kirk
Speaker 1: Cousins can throw thirty six thirty seven touchdowns in a
Speaker 1: good season, so I'm gonna put Baker's like ceiling this
Speaker 1: year at about thirty five. Rogers will throw about thirty five,
Speaker 1: So it's a it's a good one. I'll take you
Speaker 1: up on it just for fun. But I bet they
Speaker 1: do finish within two or three of each other. I
Speaker 1: think that's how it's because I do think Baker will
Speaker 1: play well in that offense, and I think Rogers will
Speaker 1: just kind of come back to the pack a little
Speaker 1: bit after last year's brilliance. I think realistically you'd you'd
Speaker 1: probably maybe need Rogers to miss a few games um
Speaker 1: for it to happen. But I think one thing about
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield, if you take out the season, which you
Speaker 1: know that is part of his career, and he did
Speaker 1: not play well in twenty nineteen, but the environment around him,
Speaker 1: if you just looked at if you, let's say his
Speaker 1: career had been twenty I think people would look at
Speaker 1: him so differently and they forget how chaotic was I
Speaker 1: don't think it's impossible that he has a breakout type
Speaker 1: campaign with the parts that are around him, he was
Speaker 1: having it. He doesn't need to play any better than
Speaker 1: he did from Week twelve on last year for them
Speaker 1: to win a super Bowl. He really doesn't. They could
Speaker 1: have won the last year the way he was playing.
Speaker 1: He he was playing great. He just has to sustain
Speaker 1: that over the course of the season. There's not a
Speaker 1: lot of reasons, like on paper that they wouldn't that
Speaker 1: they have a top six seven roster. It's just it's
Speaker 1: a lot of any like concern for me is there
Speaker 1: is the division, it's the conference, and it's the bad
Speaker 1: Brown's mojo. Just he's a little streaky too. I think
Speaker 1: that's the other thing about the Baker experience. Uh, there's
Speaker 1: going to be he's gonna be fourteenth. I'm doing the
Speaker 1: QB Index once again. He is fourteen. That's exactly where
Speaker 1: he should be on the QB Index. Going, you're back
Speaker 1: with the QB Index. I'm back and herating from the
Speaker 1: great late Chris Wesling. Okay, who inherited it from you? What?
Speaker 1: What a history to the QB Index? Okay? Uh so
Speaker 1: we both take you up on that mark. I like
Speaker 1: when you get the Brownies involved, Greg, You're up, all right,
Speaker 1: let's just go simple to start. It's one I we
Speaker 1: already talked about last week. The Broncos are going to
Speaker 1: make the playoffs. You know, Dan. Dan wanted me to
Speaker 1: put sandwiches on the line that I would stand behind
Speaker 1: some tweet that they're in the divisional round, and I
Speaker 1: was like, that's one step too far. You don't get
Speaker 1: to fifty two point one percentage historically, and go get
Speaker 1: my lunch putting them in the division round. Let's just
Speaker 1: have it. Let's just put this team that's been terrible
Speaker 1: the last two years into the playoffs. That's good enough,
Speaker 1: give me a break. But you're doing it again. I mean,
Speaker 1: this one's not as egregious, but you're saying something in
Speaker 1: one format and then when it's time to actually put
Speaker 1: up the money, put your money where. I think they're
Speaker 1: making the playoffs is realistic. Uh, then like winning a game,
Speaker 1: possibly as a road team because you don't, it's gonna
Speaker 1: be tough to win the a f C West. That's
Speaker 1: another I think winning the playoffs is realistic. I think
Speaker 1: Teddy Bridgewater is gonna play well. I think the defense
Speaker 1: and everyone else will be even better, and I think
Speaker 1: they can get They can scrape out eleven wins. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be tough to make the playoffs in the a
Speaker 1: f C. Might it might take eleven and six I'd
Speaker 1: almost think Vic Fangio could be out of there if
Speaker 1: they if they don't make the playoffs, because they've got
Speaker 1: the roster to do it. Um it really just centers
Speaker 1: around Teddy. I'll take you on it, but I I'll
Speaker 1: I say this, I think they're a playoff team too,
Speaker 1: but I'll do it just for sports. But then you're
Speaker 1: counting them. It's like the Chargers and the Paths and
Speaker 1: the Steelers and Browns and Dolphins, like all these teams, Raiders,
Speaker 1: they all think they're there, can make it. I'm looking
Speaker 1: for this tweet from Greg, but Greg is a surprisingly
Speaker 1: robust tweeter. Um oh, I found it. August. I will
Speaker 1: remember who jumped off the bandwagon when Teddy is starting
Speaker 1: a divisional round game in January. That's so strong, Greg,
Speaker 1: that's a strong us. It's gotten with the touch of Murphy.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a it's a it's a time when
Speaker 1: why can't that be your say? Which prop? I don't
Speaker 1: understand why you're making it. I'm disappined. Why can't I
Speaker 1: be six inches taller? It's like, this is the life.
Speaker 1: You're doubt Dan, so you're gonna have to make it.
Speaker 1: What I abstain on this just because I have a
Speaker 1: fundamental disagreement with about how you carry yourself in this game.
Speaker 1: Right now. I don't know this teddy bandwagon business any either.
Speaker 1: All right, up next, one of these teams will post
Speaker 1: a double digit lost season. Now remember seventeen games. I
Speaker 1: don't wanna I'm not trying to rip anybody off here.
Speaker 1: So you have an extra week essentially to lose that
Speaker 1: tenth game. Pittsburgh, Chicago, No Orleans, Indianapolis all playoff teams
Speaker 1: a year ago. Wait, none of them are are just
Speaker 1: one of them? One of them will lose ten games?
Speaker 1: Plus Who wouldn't take you on this if if you
Speaker 1: at this prop in Vegas, this is minus three fifty.
Speaker 1: This is like, of course, the odds are extremely strong
Speaker 1: that one of them would lose at least ten games,
Speaker 1: extremely strong. This is extremely strong. Yes, because first of all,
Speaker 1: that that's like the Bears over under on on its own. Um.
Speaker 1: The other you know, Pittsburgh has looked at as like
Speaker 1: a five hundred team. I think that's a little low
Speaker 1: for them. Um. And then you're the New Orleans is
Speaker 1: a volatile team, certainly, and they're around a five hundred team. Projected.
Speaker 1: It's like, so I have three to the smallest, this
Speaker 1: onion is still underground. It's not. These are three teams
Speaker 1: with double digit wins a year ago and a Chicago
Speaker 1: team that, yes, when eight and eight made the playoffs,
Speaker 1: but has this exciting young talent waiting in the wings.
Speaker 1: I don't hardly said one of these teams if you
Speaker 1: said three of these teams, sure to. I struggled to
Speaker 1: take this one because I think the Saints definitely to to.
Speaker 1: I'll too. I'll take you one sat start team in
Speaker 1: total change, Steelers Chicago, New Orleans, Indy. Okay, because it's
Speaker 1: like the Bears. It's like I'm penciling them in for twelve.
Speaker 1: So that just felt like I don't think they're gonna
Speaker 1: be good. I mean, they could be better. But if
Speaker 1: I had to guess, then I'm not really high on
Speaker 1: the Colts, and you just gotta get one of those
Speaker 1: other two teams, right, It's it's more reasonable. See how
Speaker 1: I'm not rigid, Greg, See how like you know, I'm
Speaker 1: just you nimble? Mine? I mean mine is still I
Speaker 1: was picking like an underdog. The Broncos making the playoffs
Speaker 1: is very much an underdog pick. You know you were
Speaker 1: picking Chuck. You deserve to be shamed. I think the
Speaker 1: cults are gonna be bad too. I'm not even gonna
Speaker 1: take it bad. I don't know about bad, but I mean, also,
Speaker 1: you can go seven and ten. That's like an average team.
Speaker 1: So so you're still not taking it. I'm still not
Speaker 1: taking this really goes against my Uh Wow, by the way,
Speaker 1: seven and ten is an awful sounding record, and so
Speaker 1: it's like five and twelve. I'm not I'm not into this.
Speaker 1: I'm with you, I don't. I feel like we're we're
Speaker 1: pounding the drum on this for months, but it's gonna
Speaker 1: take a while. The fact that there's no eight and
Speaker 1: eight teams anymore, you happen to choose two of the
Speaker 1: teams I feel like I'm most down on in the
Speaker 1: NFL relative to average, which is the Colts and the Bears.
Speaker 1: And so then it's like, wow, and one of those
Speaker 1: other teams could could potentially mess up too. Alright, Mark,
Speaker 1: You're up all right? Um during the course of the season.
Speaker 1: It's not unusual for the coaches to be fired Um
Speaker 1: during the season. In fact, it's happened. It seems to
Speaker 1: be more and more as teams get a start on
Speaker 1: finding their next coach, but something unusual will happen. Um
Speaker 1: this year. It's not a firing. This happens very rarely,
Speaker 1: and I had to think back to um Butch Davis,
Speaker 1: I think it's the last coach I remember that did this. Well,
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna say that I'm worried about what's coming next. No, no, no,
Speaker 1: this is it's pretty it's pretty clear cut that a
Speaker 1: coach will resign during the season. Now I now out
Speaker 1: this is out. That's the bet, that's the prop. So
Speaker 1: but I I just say that, Um. What I would
Speaker 1: add to it, not as a stipulation, Nick Fortier, Um
Speaker 1: of of the prop is that, uh, I think it
Speaker 1: will be scandalous. I think it will be something that
Speaker 1: um causes immense waves through the NFL and becomes a
Speaker 1: trenchant um story that does not go away. But it
Speaker 1: will require the coach to resign. That pops into my head.
Speaker 1: Two teams and they're both connected by the same thing,
Speaker 1: which is a very toxic situation in our league. Right now.
Speaker 1: It's Deshaun Watson. Yeah, could David Culley resigned because of
Speaker 1: some ridiculous things going on behind the scenes. And him
Speaker 1: realizing what am I doing here? Why am I being
Speaker 1: set up to fail? What is happening? How about Brian
Speaker 1: Flora's Miami What if they get off to a bad
Speaker 1: start and management pushes Deshaun Watson into the building and
Speaker 1: he says, wait a second, I love this kid too.
Speaker 1: This is not fair and I'm not on board with
Speaker 1: this guy coming in here. Just random, obviously conjecture, but
Speaker 1: it just flew into my mind when you said that.
Speaker 1: So I will not take you up. I will take
Speaker 1: you up on it, I will say, because I don't
Speaker 1: think it will happen. But the Deshaun Watson situation and
Speaker 1: how volcanic that is sitting out there makes me wonder
Speaker 1: if that could lead to something crazy happening. Yeah, this
Speaker 1: is a massive onion hanger. When was the last resignings?
Speaker 1: I don't know the answer. Petrina resigned. Petrino would be
Speaker 1: more recent than Butch David. But David Petrino just like
Speaker 1: left a note in everyone's locker. That was That was
Speaker 1: one of the more amazing moments is that after he
Speaker 1: got the road rash face when he was with his
Speaker 1: mistress on a motorcycle or that was before that, that
Speaker 1: was that was later. Um, yeah, I'm definitely gonna take
Speaker 1: you up on this, and I'm happy that it wasn't
Speaker 1: too dark. For some reason, I my mind immediately went
Speaker 1: to Gary Kubiak collapsing at halftime during the and I
Speaker 1: just thought you were gonna say, like he can like
Speaker 1: a coach can't continue the game, or he's like, you know, camp,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, But night Gary kuba took a
Speaker 1: stroke on Sunday Night Football. That was scary. Um. Interesting, Mark.
Speaker 1: And by the way, since we're on the topic of coaches,
Speaker 1: you've been out for the last few shows, and I
Speaker 1: wanted to talk to you about this. Remember last month
Speaker 1: when we were like racking our brains trying to figure
Speaker 1: out who the one and done head coaches were And
Speaker 1: the most recent guy was Freddie Kitchens And so I
Speaker 1: got about four tweets. So can you just just because
Speaker 1: we're all in, we're all in a good place, we're
Speaker 1: happy to be back together a new season. Did you
Speaker 1: knew you knew Freddie Kitchens was on that list, but
Speaker 1: you just didn't want to surface it in that conversation. No, No,
Speaker 1: I'm old, and I completely forgot that the scenario and
Speaker 1: that you were trying to protect like your mental health
Speaker 1: or something, or just like protect the bad the bad
Speaker 1: name of the Browns being mentioned, and so you purposefully
Speaker 1: this was his theory. Do you think that I care
Speaker 1: that much? I mean, it's like, you know, it was
Speaker 1: evident that we did left as a group. We completely
Speaker 1: just spotched that that conversation. That wasn't a great one. Okay,
Speaker 1: good guess though. We had Freddie on the show, always
Speaker 1: a nice guy, and Nick Shook said it as well,
Speaker 1: one of the best guys you could ever hope to
Speaker 1: have be belly up at the bar with at at
Speaker 1: the Road hotel ahead of a Sunday game. Maybe you
Speaker 1: should have been back in the hotel room prepping for
Speaker 1: said Sunday game, but he was drinking with Nick, and
Speaker 1: maybe that's why Nick doesn't work there anymore. Well, there's
Speaker 1: a lot, there's a lot happening there. Many layers speaking
Speaker 1: of onions, were peeling back the layer of that onion.
Speaker 1: How did Nick Shook get from the Browns back to NFL?
Speaker 1: All right, Greg, your second? I mean I feel like
Speaker 1: all my all my selections are intended for you both
Speaker 1: to take them. Mark's got the biggest onions minor medium
Speaker 1: Dan's are the smallest onions so far. I'm still upset
Speaker 1: that I print two in a row that feel like, uh,
Speaker 1: this one's a little convoluted. But I'm gonna say that
Speaker 1: Terry McLaurin, the Washington Football Teams receiver that I implored
Speaker 1: people to take in their fantasy drafts, will finish with
Speaker 1: a higher ranking in receiving yards then the Rams seed
Speaker 1: in the NFC this season. So the Rams will finish
Speaker 1: in ex place in the NFC. You know last year
Speaker 1: they would have been what fifth or something fifth or
Speaker 1: sixth um you know when they when they won their
Speaker 1: division and they had to buy, they were like the
Speaker 1: two seed Terry McLaurin will finish in the NFL's receiving rankings.
Speaker 1: Is basically counting on him to be a top five
Speaker 1: receiver this year at a higher seed or a higher
Speaker 1: number than the Rams playoff seeds. Well wait till you
Speaker 1: see my next one. I decided to get as convoluted
Speaker 1: as possible. I'm like mixing like different you know this way,
Speaker 1: I'm like getting almost two predictions in one sort. So
Speaker 1: if you have if you're a division winner, that puts
Speaker 1: you in the top four seeds. You're a top four seeds.
Speaker 1: Seven teams make the playoffs. It's pretty simple. And and
Speaker 1: they do number everyone's seed one through uh fourteen, so
Speaker 1: just in case they didn't or sick steen, just in
Speaker 1: case they didn't make the playoffs, they would have like
Speaker 1: a ranking or a seed. I mean, you're the Niners
Speaker 1: winning the Super Bowl, right, so I'm putting them down
Speaker 1: at like five or six and McLaren hasn't ranked you
Speaker 1: know that nearly the high yet. But I'm are we
Speaker 1: talking catches or yardage because he was receiving yards. Okay,
Speaker 1: he was thirteen last year in yard Okay, he was
Speaker 1: thirteenth in yards. I'm I'm projecting him, you know, to
Speaker 1: finish higher than the Rams seeds to stay healthy too.
Speaker 1: They do rank them one through sixteen. You get, you
Speaker 1: get a ranking in the NFC, whatever their NFC ranking
Speaker 1: is it. Because I think it's important to have integrity
Speaker 1: and have it lined up with your predictions. I have
Speaker 1: the Rams making it to the Super Bowl. Um and
Speaker 1: although I don't break it down where they finished, I
Speaker 1: saw them as a division winner. And I'll just say
Speaker 1: let's say there, let's say they were the number two seeds,
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna go with that. So McLaren needs to
Speaker 1: finish first, then he needs to finish to finish your head.
Speaker 1: So yes, I will take you on it. Um. And
Speaker 1: I think McClaren would be a top ten receiver. He
Speaker 1: could be number seven or eight and be a superstar
Speaker 1: this year. So it doesn't define failure if he can't
Speaker 1: out gain the Rams seed. And anyway, I'll take you
Speaker 1: on it. I I like where you're going with this. Um,
Speaker 1: I will take you too. I actually a sandwich prop
Speaker 1: that I'm not using was that the Rams would miss
Speaker 1: the playoffs but the Chargers would make it. Uh, sending
Speaker 1: you know a lot of l A based journos into
Speaker 1: a tizzy. Um, but I you know, I know that,
Speaker 1: you know. I I'm trying to repair my relationship with
Speaker 1: the Rams, considering that we're moving into their house like
Speaker 1: in mirror days. UM. So it's not a Rams thing,
Speaker 1: except that I do believe in McLaurin and I think
Speaker 1: that you're onto something. I can root for the Ram.
Speaker 1: I mean, my daughter is a Rams fan. You know,
Speaker 1: if five seeds find or if even a four seed
Speaker 1: and McLaren comes in first, either way, I'm fine. I
Speaker 1: think it's good. Mark, like, you want to be more
Speaker 1: a Cato Kalin type. Um, you want to be a
Speaker 1: nice house guest. You want to be non offensive. You
Speaker 1: keep to yourself. Maybe here a thump in the night,
Speaker 1: don't check it out, Like, just just do what you
Speaker 1: gotta do, stay in the guesthouse. And and hopefully a
Speaker 1: similar career path is him if I am lucky enough. Alright,
Speaker 1: last round, now here comes show you a little bit
Speaker 1: of all grown huge onions. Okay, my boy, Zack Wilson
Speaker 1: is the offensive rookie of the year. You guys can
Speaker 1: take the field, how Zach Greg That's fine, I'll take it.
Speaker 1: That's good. That's a nice onion hanger in the field.
Speaker 1: Just because there's a lot of there's a lot of
Speaker 1: good options this year. I can't remember. I guess it
Speaker 1: makes sense there's so many offensive players taking at the
Speaker 1: top of his draft. This quarterback class looks amazing. I
Speaker 1: can't remember there being This makes excitement over ten to
Speaker 1: fifteen rookies. So absolutely, I'll take you, and that I
Speaker 1: love it. I'll take you to UM. I don't know
Speaker 1: if he's in the best roster scenario for that to happen.
Speaker 1: For the for the numbers to be there. But I
Speaker 1: think you've got you found your quarterback. Um. From what
Speaker 1: we've seen so far, Rookie of the Year would be
Speaker 1: the biggest Jets story and two decades, right. I mean
Speaker 1: Sam Bradford won offensive Rookie of the Year. I think
Speaker 1: just because like he successfully walked from the bus to
Speaker 1: the field every game without following, Like that was the
Speaker 1: level of rookie quarterback play back then he was. He
Speaker 1: was not good. He was like quarterback in the league.
Speaker 1: Zack Wilson is gonna have to be good to win
Speaker 1: this award because there's just too many other good, good
Speaker 1: options at a receiver and and quarterback. The one thing though,
Speaker 1: like let's say that trade Lance for some reason is
Speaker 1: splitting snaps with Jimmy g Till the middle of the year,
Speaker 1: Justin Fields continues to be um put through the ringer
Speaker 1: in an absurd scenario in Chicago, and they don't play
Speaker 1: and they continue any Dalton that gives Wilson a jump,
Speaker 1: I mean they have literally no other quarterback. Yes, and
Speaker 1: mac Jones. Mac Jones has a chance. I wonder where
Speaker 1: um Zack Wilson ranks. And like the the predictions that
Speaker 1: are out there right now. Trevor Lawrence is first, tied
Speaker 1: with Mac Jones, surprisingly Field, second, Lance and Zach Wilson next.
Speaker 1: I think there there's a lot of bad thanking there on,
Speaker 1: like your team needs to win games, which which makes
Speaker 1: sense that you know who I think Tony Romo picked
Speaker 1: Za Zach Wilson. Let's listen to what Tony had to
Speaker 1: say about the Jets rookie. It's rare for me to
Speaker 1: say someone has the ability to get in the stratosphere
Speaker 1: of the mahomes, but I think this kid actually has
Speaker 1: that ability. So when you have a quarterback like that,
Speaker 1: I think there's no telling how good you can be.
Speaker 1: He can make up for a lot of weaknesses, a
Speaker 1: lot of areas for a football team. I think Zach
Speaker 1: Wilson is going to be in the discussion as one
Speaker 1: of the top three or five quarterbacks very quickly, you know,
Speaker 1: within the next couple of years. I think you're gonna
Speaker 1: see him rise. And just I think he's unbelievable. His
Speaker 1: ceiling is so high my own now, Romo, like Sam
Speaker 1: Donald too, that should be stated, but that just I mean,
Speaker 1: if that doesn't get you pumped up as a Jets
Speaker 1: Van I don't know what will. I think you should
Speaker 1: have that like tattooed on your back, that entire statement
Speaker 1: from Romo. If if, if I will Zach Wilson wins
Speaker 1: an m v P or a super Bowl in the
Speaker 1: next three years, I will do that, the whole statement.
Speaker 1: You'll have Tex Well, I hope we can all my back.
Speaker 1: I'll affleck it what size font though, I mean it
Speaker 1: can't be we need to notice the nineties one? Is
Speaker 1: it the comics sans you can't. I mean it's gonna
Speaker 1: have to be small because uh, there's a lot of words. Alright,
Speaker 1: three years, so that's the twenty three season. I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to tracking this one as the Jets like marched
Speaker 1: through the playoffs and Dan starts like having mixed feelings
Speaker 1: about it, and if they three over the next three years,
Speaker 1: I'll get it done in all different parts of my body. Oh,
Speaker 1: I'm rooting for this back front, buttocks, buttocks. This is
Speaker 1: what it tells you. I'm to become a Jets fan.
Speaker 1: But I'm finally here. It's a big treat for Emily,
Speaker 1: your wife. She's gonna have It's there's gonna be a
Speaker 1: lot to discover, alright, let's let's keep rolling here, Mark
Speaker 1: yours all right, UM, I feel very strongly about this.
Speaker 1: I'm not taking it. I will take you will take
Speaker 1: your on in hangers like Okay, I think you're gonna
Speaker 1: want to UM but I and I want to say
Speaker 1: that I this is not UM a gag. This is
Speaker 1: something I feel very um dug in about that there
Speaker 1: will be a major we will look back and we
Speaker 1: will and I you can try to not you can.
Speaker 1: You can try to spin it and say that you
Speaker 1: don't agree that it was UM. What I'm about to
Speaker 1: say that it is a top It is the number
Speaker 1: two news story in the NFL m outside of the
Speaker 1: coach resigning. That it is so it will least be
Speaker 1: one or two biggest story in the NFL. UM will
Speaker 1: involve something to do with an NFL cheerleader. There will
Speaker 1: be a story involving an NFL cheerleader that will be
Speaker 1: considered a UM sort of an earth shattering type breaking
Speaker 1: news scenario in the eventually got to an uncomfortable place. Greg.
Speaker 1: It just took one more question. No, I don't think
Speaker 1: it's it doesn't see you're that's where your mind goes.
Speaker 1: I mean, she could be involved in a bank robbery.
Speaker 1: I don't know, it could be any sort of thing
Speaker 1: she could steal comfortable for the people in the bank.
Speaker 1: You know, well that would be. That would be, But
Speaker 1: it doesn't suggest for the cheerleader. Basically, you're saying it's
Speaker 1: uh situation. It's just like all there would be no
Speaker 1: question that the cheerleader is a pivotal um centerpiece, a
Speaker 1: core centerpiece of the story. I don't. I'm not pattying alright,
Speaker 1: like I know, but then if I say, like j
Speaker 1: Howard Mary as a cheerleader, that doesn't qualify you. Just
Speaker 1: I'm gonna try to help you out. You said this
Speaker 1: would be one of the two biggest stories of the year,
Speaker 1: which I don't even know how you would rank that,
Speaker 1: Like we should, we should try to make it like,
Speaker 1: you know, this is a seismic story including a cheerleader happen.
Speaker 1: How Like that's a huge story, Like are we talking
Speaker 1: like that level news story? I'm saying it will be
Speaker 1: because I've already talked about the resignation of the coach
Speaker 1: um sending you know, shockwaves through the league, So I
Speaker 1: can't I don't know if it's going to top that.
Speaker 1: When you look when you do your like a year
Speaker 1: in review, This cheerleader story will be a devastating one
Speaker 1: of the biggest stories of the year. You know, involves
Speaker 1: a cheerleader. Yes, let's keep it right there. Doesn't sound
Speaker 1: good whatever it is, it just doesn't sound good for
Speaker 1: the cheerleader. It's not a player. It's not a player
Speaker 1: marrying a cheerleader. That that that's not a huge story.
Speaker 1: There's no news value to that. And you you can
Speaker 1: think it's bad. But maybe it would be something like
Speaker 1: the cheerleader goes to space or something. Sure, it could
Speaker 1: be transfer. I don't know. That to me feels like
Speaker 1: blaise news to something big story. I guess it's big.
Speaker 1: I don't know, like the cheerleader of the Dolphins blasted
Speaker 1: off with SpaceX or something that would be like that
Speaker 1: would get a lot of play in the national news cycle.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's the biggest story, second biggest
Speaker 1: story of the year. But well, I think we've removed
Speaker 1: second biggest story because it's too hard for us to
Speaker 1: and you'll you'll just claim that it's not so we're
Speaker 1: taking that out of it. All right, Greg, We we
Speaker 1: got you and then we got our annual Ricky props.
Speaker 1: So Greg, okay, yeah, um, here we go. I don't
Speaker 1: know if the onion is any bigger than the first two,
Speaker 1: but it is more convoluted even. All right, three teams
Speaker 1: from the a f C East, we'll have more victories
Speaker 1: than the amount of consecutive pictures. But you stopped me now,
Speaker 1: all right, Three teams from the a f C East
Speaker 1: will have more wins this season than the amount of
Speaker 1: consecutive pictures. Mark Sessler once posted on instagram of Leonardo
Speaker 1: DiCaprio and Kate Winslet you are not allowed to go
Speaker 1: look at the instagram and see how many. Mark probably
Speaker 1: knows you could help to check. Yes, you know, I
Speaker 1: went to check and Mark probably knows. Um. But that day,
Speaker 1: that was an infamous day. It was many days. It
Speaker 1: was more than one day, a couple of weeks, for sure,
Speaker 1: many consecutive pictures. Three teams from the a f C
Speaker 1: s will have more victories than than that number. So
Speaker 1: I know what the numbers. You know what the number is.
Speaker 1: You could help out Dan if you really want. You know,
Speaker 1: I thought the mystery was kind of part of the fund.
Speaker 1: But you know, you can do whatever the number is.
Speaker 1: Nine It was it was a solid three three three Instagram.
Speaker 1: I shouldn't have I shouldn't have allowed that. Now the pats,
Speaker 1: the pats of the Dolphins will bust out and under
Speaker 1: um and um, and they were underachieved. So I do
Speaker 1: not think three teams will do it. So I'll take
Speaker 1: you up on it. But that was an amazing I
Speaker 1: should but I thought, I don't know it. I guess
Speaker 1: in my mind. In my mind, I thought it was
Speaker 1: possibly fifteen, and someone would think that too, that it
Speaker 1: was just like an impossible number at the top. Because
Speaker 1: I was guessing we're going into it. I thought it,
Speaker 1: that's gotta be double digits. It turned out to be nine. Well,
Speaker 1: I was going to continue on with it. Um, what happened,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you real quick, was that my wife went
Speaker 1: on a like one of these girls trips with her
Speaker 1: friends and they were sort of saying, why is your
Speaker 1: husband posting endless Leonardo DiCaprio Kate Winslet's photos. So I
Speaker 1: I gotta talking to were like, it's a little too weird,
Speaker 1: please stop doing that. And so then the air kind
Speaker 1: of got let out. Um nine wins. I got a
Speaker 1: question about it at one point, just someone was like,
Speaker 1: what's up marks, Like, is it for Simone? Is it Eddie?
Speaker 1: Worse than when you like pick post pictures of your
Speaker 1: girlfriend from you know, Lake Happiness or whatever. I am
Speaker 1: not nor because I'm not doing that. That's not something
Speaker 1: that I'm doing. So Lake Happiness alright, okay, okay, um, alright,
Speaker 1: I will sit there. I will take you on it,
Speaker 1: just because I do everything. Alright, good, alright, Ricky, you
Speaker 1: had one, I do Okay. So we know that there's
Speaker 1: been a little bit of trouble and paradise with Michael
Speaker 1: Thomas and now he's on the pup list untill that
Speaker 1: puts them after their by right. So Marcus Callaway totally
Speaker 1: exploded in the preseason. So what I am predicting is
Speaker 1: that not only is he going to be the wide
Speaker 1: receiver one, especially with Jamis Winston for the Saints, but
Speaker 1: he is going to make it questionable to the point
Speaker 1: where Michael Thomas, even when he's back, is going to be, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I guess lose the starting spot. He'll be
Speaker 1: a number two, not the number one. How do we
Speaker 1: know he's not even yeah, maybe he doesn't even play.
Speaker 1: I think that Marcus Callaway is going I got it, Ricky,
Speaker 1: what if we say when whenever Michael Thomas returns from
Speaker 1: that point onward, whoever has more targets between the two guys. Yes,
Speaker 1: helping you out because your first two things you threw
Speaker 1: out there. We could have been mean and been like, yeah,
Speaker 1: there's no chance he's getting benched. Yeah, but why but
Speaker 1: what if he don't like he's there's been trouble in
Speaker 1: Paradise with him there without Drew Brees to like, it
Speaker 1: could happen like Michael targets Thomas. Okay, I could buy
Speaker 1: a trade. I thought that's where you were going. Well
Speaker 1: maybe I'm just but if he's there, if he's there,
Speaker 1: he's not, I'll take Michael Thomas. I'll take you up
Speaker 1: on it. But it's not it's not crazy because Callaway
Speaker 1: will out target Thomas if he's traded before Halloween also,
Speaker 1: so yeah, these things are but we we to clear,
Speaker 1: you know, to make it clear for Nick out target
Speaker 1: him from the moment that Thomas returned. I'll take you
Speaker 1: up on it. I love it because I think that
Speaker 1: you're onto something that you know, even if Sean Payton
Speaker 1: says that you know he's he's sort of back in
Speaker 1: a good place with Michael Thomas. This has been going
Speaker 1: on for over a year. This isn't the guy that
Speaker 1: they thought he was a while back. I mean, I
Speaker 1: do think he's uber talented. So if he's healthy and
Speaker 1: they need him, I don't think you're gonna win this.
Speaker 1: But um, I think it's possible that he's traded. All right,
Speaker 1: he gets traded White. So if he gets traded, you
Speaker 1: win or did it just the time? I think definitely
Speaker 1: want Marcus Calloway. So Thomas could also come back and
Speaker 1: not be healthy because he hasn't been healthy since this
Speaker 1: time last year. All right, that's good. There, you go,
Speaker 1: close up the books, Nick Fortier, go get my lunch
Speaker 1: dot org. Uh please uh check him out, give them
Speaker 1: a give him a follow on Twitter too, and go
Speaker 1: get my lunch on Twitter. And we will, of course,
Speaker 1: as we all do, we'll cycle back and take a
Speaker 1: look circle back, I should say, and take a look
Speaker 1: at these props come the end of the regular season. Okay,
Speaker 1: without further ado, let's welcome in. Whoa, there he is
Speaker 1: the legend. He's doing the thing. By the way, this
Speaker 1: is the thing the kids are doing. And check is
Speaker 1: to where it's Vicker mustache, the beard comes in. You
Speaker 1: see Aaron Rodgers is doing it as well. But this
Speaker 1: is a look and check has it? What's up? Dave?
Speaker 1: Damnae check? Look at what's the poop? Fellas? Can you
Speaker 1: hear me? Okay? My connection here and lake happiness is
Speaker 1: coming through. I you know what, I'm sure you guys
Speaker 1: have first rate equipment. We can hear Rosenthal up there
Speaker 1: on mouthpious. So that's fine. You guys are getting what
Speaker 1: what what? What? What pious is going on? I don't
Speaker 1: know you're easy thrown or whever the hell you the
Speaker 1: hell else you guys talk about. You guys are still
Speaker 1: doing the show. Good for you. I'm happy that. I'm
Speaker 1: happy to see that that you guys continue to press on.
Speaker 1: Um I I would love in on some of these, uh,
Speaker 1: some of these wagers. Like, for instance, you know that
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Chargers are in fact going to win
Speaker 1: the a f C West. Well we'll let you if
Speaker 1: that want if you want that to be your schrop? Yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: well I'll take you up on that. Can we can
Speaker 1: we throw Damna chick in charges win the division? That
Speaker 1: sounds like three delicious promancy brothers. I'll take you too,
Speaker 1: but I think you're right. So the Chargers finished with
Speaker 1: a better record than the Chiefs win the division. Whoa
Speaker 1: d I like it. It's not that wild. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's the Is the Chargers defense markedly better than the Chiefs? Yes?
Speaker 1: Is the Chargers offense markedly worse than the Chiefs? No ergo,
Speaker 1: I'll take Staley's company. Um. Dan's not used to onions
Speaker 1: this big. He's been tending this little tiny onion. Greg oh,
Speaker 1: I did when I had a stand on principle with
Speaker 1: some of your nonsense earlier. I feel a little bit,
Speaker 1: I really do feel a little bit bad for hands
Speaker 1: is in this one here because you know Rosenthal, Okay,
Speaker 1: one year blip Tom Brady dumped him in Belichick and
Speaker 1: everybody else. But I suspect Belichick will rise back up here.
Speaker 1: Um and and you know Cessler, you know, let me
Speaker 1: be the first. And if I'm not, I want to
Speaker 1: get in on it. Now you've already done this actually
Speaker 1: on this show. Well, I want to do it again
Speaker 1: because because I'm a man of the highest integrity and
Speaker 1: I'm a class act. That's what I uh, you know,
Speaker 1: that's how I view myself, and I think we all
Speaker 1: agree on that, and I want to say, listen, Cleveland Browns,
Speaker 1: everybody agrees universally brilliant front office. You know, head coach
Speaker 1: comes in. What's he do first? Your coach of the year,
Speaker 1: best roster in the a f C, maybe all of
Speaker 1: pro football, one to punch at running back, best in
Speaker 1: the biz, fancy pass catchers one handed or otherwise, and
Speaker 1: best news of all the first overall pick just a
Speaker 1: few years ago at not just the sports, but all
Speaker 1: of sports, most important position bank. What will possibly go wrong?
Speaker 1: I want to say, congratulations, Browns fans go wild. This
Speaker 1: is your year now. This is another attempt at psych warfare,
Speaker 1: psychological warfare, which you know, it's been a long off
Speaker 1: season for you, Um, you're used to talk about thrown
Speaker 1: a vis It's just been one division title after the
Speaker 1: next for the Steelers, big benage Er quarterback. You're now
Speaker 1: being chased and dogged by questions of when he's going
Speaker 1: to fall off a shelf. Um, if the team is,
Speaker 1: you know, psychologically ready to pick up the ball again.
Speaker 1: After getting smushed by Cleveland in January, which you know,
Speaker 1: I know, Dave, that was that quietly that injured you,
Speaker 1: that that it lifted me. It was a humiliating defeat.
Speaker 1: Nothing quietly. Yeah, we heard about it the darkest loss
Speaker 1: in Steelers history and that's not which is just another
Speaker 1: way to throw shade at the Browns. We I see
Speaker 1: what you're doing, David, and I appreciate. No, I think
Speaker 1: I think in hindsight, I think the pain will will
Speaker 1: go away when I realized that that was just uh
Speaker 1: that you know, that heralded the rise of the Cleveland
Speaker 1: Browns and you know we were there first, real big
Speaker 1: victim as they took over all approgram Can you can
Speaker 1: you guys take this to the minus three podcast. Okay,
Speaker 1: we need to talk about it's exciting story. It's an
Speaker 1: exciting time for everybody accounting for Taste minus three pod
Speaker 1: the Extra Points pot. Dave's a thunder. Get caught up
Speaker 1: on that back back catalog with your buddy feeny Um, haven't, Davon,
Speaker 1: Because yes, we lost Tara deaker Um this weekend to cancer,
Speaker 1: which is just outrageous, uh and tragic. We lost We
Speaker 1: lost West the day before the Super Bowl in February.
Speaker 1: We lose deaker right on the eve of the start
Speaker 1: of the season. Two of the best people that any
Speaker 1: of us knew, and I just want to say, like
Speaker 1: haven't Checked on the show? Is important is Deaker's introduction
Speaker 1: to our audience and Check's audience was really through the
Speaker 1: pie off more than anything else. And I think it
Speaker 1: was so cool that she was so passionate and such
Speaker 1: a great fun woman, that she had that spotlight that
Speaker 1: Dave you allowed her that opportunity and she made some
Speaker 1: great pies and we're all gonna miss her a lot.
Speaker 1: And we just wanted to um, just talk about Deaker
Speaker 1: and how much we're gonna miss her in and what
Speaker 1: what did you mean to you Check and your time
Speaker 1: at NFL media and beyond yeah, I I you know,
Speaker 1: heartbreaking beyond you know, our ability to sort of especially
Speaker 1: you mentioned West there and I texted Deeker, I think
Speaker 1: right around a year or so ago, just checking in
Speaker 1: with her, knowing that you know, she was going through
Speaker 1: her health stuff, and I caught her um or. In fact,
Speaker 1: she called me back and she was on the way
Speaker 1: to pick up West for his chemo treatment. And that
Speaker 1: is who she was doing the tough stuff, the heavy
Speaker 1: lifting of friendship, and she did it to everybody, you know,
Speaker 1: that was that she did it for everybody And as
Speaker 1: I just keep saying, that's how she made everybody feel
Speaker 1: like a million bucks. And yet she still had a
Speaker 1: deep enough well that if any of our kids came around,
Speaker 1: then we were yesterday's news and they were the focus.
Speaker 1: And from the moment she met them, for the rest
Speaker 1: of the time you would ever interact with Deeker if
Speaker 1: it was every day, every week, or if you didn't
Speaker 1: talk to her for for three months, it was always
Speaker 1: first and by their nicknames. Where I was concerned by
Speaker 1: my little and you know I have somewhere between three
Speaker 1: and seventeen children, whatever it is, she knew all their nicknames,
Speaker 1: always asked questions, you know, And that was her way
Speaker 1: with everybody who she dealt with. And I was talking
Speaker 1: to our our mutual pal and producer over there, Drew Christiansen.
Speaker 1: He had the bad status u UM and a close
Speaker 1: friend of course, as we all were with with deeker Um.
Speaker 1: And he said, you know to something I that was
Speaker 1: poignant that it it always felt as though she never
Speaker 1: it was her in any circumstance. She devoted herself to
Speaker 1: not being the center of attention, and yet she was
Speaker 1: always the center of attention. And that was no small feat.
Speaker 1: That's no small feed in any workspace, in any gaggle
Speaker 1: of friends or otherwise. But think about the big personalities
Speaker 1: that you know that we've worked with over the years,
Speaker 1: pro football players and Greg Rosenthal and people like that,
Speaker 1: you know, and and and um a kid. But you know,
Speaker 1: she she was that way with every single person the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame, whatever football guy or or um you know,
Speaker 1: somebody who was one of the security guards. She was
Speaker 1: that way with everybody. And I feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: I feel like in the movie As Good as It Gets,
Speaker 1: Nicholson gives that great speech to Helen Hunt about Helen
Speaker 1: Hunt and her greatness. And I was worried. I don't
Speaker 1: love taking to social media too, you know, to to
Speaker 1: lament something like this happening. It feels it doesn't feel
Speaker 1: quite right to me. It didn't feel quite right to me.
Speaker 1: But it occurred to me that she made everybody feel
Speaker 1: so good that I want the world to know this
Speaker 1: was this was a great soul, a special soul. And
Speaker 1: the speech Nicholson gives is if you'll remember that he
Speaker 1: goes to see her and she's a waitress in the
Speaker 1: movie and and he and he tells her I feel
Speaker 1: special because I see it with with you, Helen Hunt.
Speaker 1: And I felt like in talking to Drew Christians in
Speaker 1: a little bit and to other people, UM, you know,
Speaker 1: I feel special because I know Deeker. Uh no her period,
Speaker 1: but no her greatness, um, and we're all lucky to
Speaker 1: have known her. But now I've come to realize and
Speaker 1: I've seen the posts and it's the same recurring themes.
Speaker 1: It's about that she was a light, and she was
Speaker 1: a d light and she was um so kind to everybody. Um.
Speaker 1: And now I realized that I don't have to have
Speaker 1: that concern. At least everybody got it. Everybody got it,
Speaker 1: you know that we so we were all lucky, and
Speaker 1: I think we all get that we were lucky to
Speaker 1: know her. I feel bad for the people who didn't
Speaker 1: know her, but I feel that I feel like, boy,
Speaker 1: her time was well spent because there's not anybody who
Speaker 1: knew her, and she knew a ton of people. And
Speaker 1: everybody seems that seems to have landed on the same
Speaker 1: stuff she was. You know, I we can wax poetic
Speaker 1: about it and otherwise it plain and simply she was
Speaker 1: the best? That was it? What what more can you say?
Speaker 1: We should all be like that? She um She was
Speaker 1: like a like if you think of the NFL is
Speaker 1: like a like a locker room, and I don't think
Speaker 1: of the NFL network is like being amazing in terms
Speaker 1: of team camaraderie, she was like the ultimate glue glue person,
Speaker 1: Like she had a meaningful relationship, like you were talking
Speaker 1: about with everyone at the company, from like the part
Speaker 1: time people who are cycling in and out for seven
Speaker 1: months that she would make like them feel great to
Speaker 1: the highest executives at the company, to the to the
Speaker 1: biggest name talent you know at the company. Everyone almost
Speaker 1: had a relationship because she didn't give you an option
Speaker 1: to or not and if and if you didn't like
Speaker 1: something was wrong with you, like if you couldn't go
Speaker 1: along with it because you're right, like in a in
Speaker 1: a place of like big personality, she was still the loudest,
Speaker 1: Like she was the most she was the most bombastic
Speaker 1: um and and there's just something about her that like
Speaker 1: you couldn't but earn a ucks and that you just
Speaker 1: you love you loved every every minute of it. I
Speaker 1: was I'm I totally agree with you, Dave about like
Speaker 1: the how do you feel about posting everything? But it
Speaker 1: did feel good to hear all the stories of everyone
Speaker 1: else's kids and realize like, oh wow, everyone had those experiences.
Speaker 1: She would invite you know, me and my kids over
Speaker 1: to this place she house sat and she had a
Speaker 1: pool at and she'd you know, have desserts ready for
Speaker 1: them and have things to play and and it would
Speaker 1: be like a beautiful afternoon that she just wanted to
Speaker 1: like set up for the kids. And this is during
Speaker 1: the pandemic and during her um fighting cancer, and she
Speaker 1: she was just such a good friend, um to to everyone.
Speaker 1: It really it's it's been a brutal it's been a
Speaker 1: tough weekend where like depressed, angry, um mad um, but
Speaker 1: also like hearing hearing this stuff. She she was one
Speaker 1: of a kind. Yeah, I think we've lost like two
Speaker 1: incredible lights over the over during this offseason and it's
Speaker 1: been this this Um. The timing of this was very
Speaker 1: rapid towards the into It completely threw me off and
Speaker 1: it kind of just reminded me of um, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe I could have texted her one more time, called
Speaker 1: her one more time, But I also look back on
Speaker 1: her and I like what you guys said, because um,
Speaker 1: I think we did have in a way all very
Speaker 1: similar relationships with her because she had a special talent
Speaker 1: of making you feel when she'd be hanging out with
Speaker 1: you like you were the best friend she had. And
Speaker 1: it was genuine too, because she would just pour herself
Speaker 1: out and pay attention to you and listen like, um.
Speaker 1: I remember one Thanksgiving when I was working in the
Speaker 1: news room and there's like, you know, two people in there,
Speaker 1: and she um brought over this huge plate of food
Speaker 1: from like the real talent um spread of food, not
Speaker 1: the kind of thing they threw in the in the
Speaker 1: lunch room. I mean it was like little things I
Speaker 1: do that for us on Thursday night, very early on
Speaker 1: to any she would like, she would sneak us over
Speaker 1: so we could get better food on Thursday nights because
Speaker 1: she didn't think it was fair about the drink. The drink, right.
Speaker 1: That dates back to when you know, we just started
Speaker 1: here as a group and you know, there was no
Speaker 1: one person more important than the other. And you know,
Speaker 1: one special memory of how I have of her is
Speaker 1: that she called me up one day and she's like, dude,
Speaker 1: you know was when Once upon a Time in Hollywood
Speaker 1: came out. She's like, I have tickets one ticket, Um,
Speaker 1: guest ticket to like the media premiere, and it was
Speaker 1: on this like seventy millimeter perfect screen and it was
Speaker 1: like all journalists and she brought me to it and
Speaker 1: we drove, you know, up into the depths of Hollywood,
Speaker 1: and and the thing I remember is not so much
Speaker 1: the movie but the drive up. Um, she was just
Speaker 1: unveiling things about her life previous to the NFL. She's
Speaker 1: friends with like Nev Campbell, she knows like tons of celebrities.
Speaker 1: She was in that industry. She hung out with Quentin Tarantino,
Speaker 1: and she dropped that behind me as we were driving up.
Speaker 1: She just was a person, a multifaceted person that you
Speaker 1: talk about how she was able to get along and
Speaker 1: show her heart and be loved by so many different
Speaker 1: types of people at the NFL. I think that's just
Speaker 1: who she was with everyone in her life. And I'm
Speaker 1: still figuring out how to even respond to this. Um,
Speaker 1: she's a really special person. And I'm with you, Dave
Speaker 1: that I feel lucky to have been her friend. And
Speaker 1: she made me feel like a real friend. Well, I mean,
Speaker 1: she was prison loyal, you know what, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, Like and for a vain guy like me,
Speaker 1: it was. It was striking to realize, like, oh, you're
Speaker 1: that way with everybody. I feel a little let down.
Speaker 1: I thought I was special. Oh no you're not. You
Speaker 1: do that with everybody. And if I if I take
Speaker 1: a step in the wrong direction about another one of
Speaker 1: the people who you're that loyal with, you'll let me
Speaker 1: know about it. And she was like even like that
Speaker 1: with everyone. But Henry had it like a little he
Speaker 1: was like a little a little bit more. I do
Speaker 1: agree with that. I do agree with Handsome Hank and
Speaker 1: their special relationship. But it engendered but her loyalty engendered that.
Speaker 1: I mean, people would and it would play is half
Speaker 1: funny with the aforementioned pie Offfs. She would go around
Speaker 1: and she would you know, she did gorilla sales. She
Speaker 1: went around to everybody taste this pot. She would prepare
Speaker 1: for months on end trying to unseat the mighty hands
Speaker 1: Us Corps and it's strangle hold on the pie off
Speaker 1: Um and she would solicit the opinions of everybody. And
Speaker 1: when she lost, Willie McGuinness and Ike Taylor and I
Speaker 1: don't know who else came and I was like, are
Speaker 1: you kidding? No, they weren't kidding. They were angry. How
Speaker 1: there you not give her the pie off? They gave
Speaker 1: me a wedge. I remember that. You don't have to
Speaker 1: you don't have to embarrass me. But okay, that's what happened.
Speaker 1: But uh yeah, they that's that's kind of what she did.
Speaker 1: But the other thing, and when you mentioned handsome, I
Speaker 1: feel required to point out because and we had the
Speaker 1: same conversation sadly too recently about West. It's you're inclined
Speaker 1: in situations like this to to uh, you know, sand
Speaker 1: off any rough edges and just you know, uh put
Speaker 1: the put the halo on her and and and West
Speaker 1: and obviously stand out human beings and everything. But you know,
Speaker 1: let's be very clear. She was five foot nothing, um
Speaker 1: brassy broad who gave it as as well as she
Speaker 1: took it. And there was nothing better than than going
Speaker 1: too far with her and get Dave, come on, you
Speaker 1: can't do that. You can't you can't do that. In
Speaker 1: the in the text exchanges with her and handsome Hank
Speaker 1: and how body and all that stuff, it was, she
Speaker 1: was above or at least as important as anything else
Speaker 1: I might point out about her. She was goddamn hysterical.
Speaker 1: I always think about like you know she's she's a
Speaker 1: Korean girl who was adopted and grew up in like
Speaker 1: this white family in the Midwest, where you know, she
Speaker 1: is as strongly political as as anyone I knew. Like
Speaker 1: she would send you like little like flyers of giving
Speaker 1: you advice of how to vote and stuff. And I
Speaker 1: always think of like she was herself in that situation
Speaker 1: where you know her family and she loved her family
Speaker 1: so much, you know, like much different political stripes and stuff,
Speaker 1: and like she almost that It's just to me, like
Speaker 1: the sign of this unbreakable spirit that she she grew
Speaker 1: up standing out like her. She stood out in her
Speaker 1: in her own house and never changed her if anything
Speaker 1: had just like made her stronger. She was so like herself.
Speaker 1: I don't know, there's nothing more you can you can
Speaker 1: ask for a person. We would always are like laugh,
Speaker 1: argue about golf and how she loved tweeting about golf
Speaker 1: and watching golf. And I would always say, what's more
Speaker 1: boring than golf? And she'd roll her eyes and say
Speaker 1: what And I would say watching it on TV? And
Speaker 1: you know, I would just say that over and over again.
Speaker 1: One time. Pretty recently, actually, she's always been trying to
Speaker 1: get me into a golf podcast. And I was like, okay, well,
Speaker 1: what's more boring than watching golf on TV is listening
Speaker 1: to a podcast about it. But one day, it was
Speaker 1: pretty recently, she was like, she's like, Erica, you need
Speaker 1: to listen to this minute mark or whatever. And it
Speaker 1: was this golf podcast about the host or maybe he
Speaker 1: was a golfer or something. Yeah, in the shower, you know,
Speaker 1: celebrating a win and Hyper extended his knee doing some
Speaker 1: act in the shower alone, and she was like, if
Speaker 1: you're gonna listen, like she was so laughed, like laughing,
Speaker 1: and she had to call me after I listened to
Speaker 1: it to be like I knew this clip would get
Speaker 1: you into this golf podcast. And it's just like the
Speaker 1: conversations that I've had with her over you know, she's
Speaker 1: been such a staple in my career with my choices,
Speaker 1: and she would be that person that you could really
Speaker 1: go to for honest advice. And you know, Dave, you
Speaker 1: and I and Emma were texting this weekend about it,
Speaker 1: and Emma got to see Deeker like you a lot
Speaker 1: of you did at Dad's summit, and Emma was like,
Speaker 1: you know, Deaker hugged me for literally sixty seconds, like
Speaker 1: people started taking pictures of it because it was just
Speaker 1: such a long hug. And it's I just can't find
Speaker 1: the words to to say to even memorialize her, because
Speaker 1: she is just such a a love and we're all
Speaker 1: so so worse off for not having her around. She's
Speaker 1: gonna be missed and I and I'll just I'll just
Speaker 1: wrap it up this way in check thanks for coming on,
Speaker 1: because she loved you. And and when I think about Deaker,
Speaker 1: and I think about, uh, the NFL, like you're right
Speaker 1: there too. Um, just you know, we're learning the hard
Speaker 1: way about you know, the passage of time and things
Speaker 1: that things changes, time goes along, and I it's not
Speaker 1: so long ago that I remember being at the Shield
Speaker 1: and having our Thursday nights softball games and we'd play
Speaker 1: the game and usually we'd win, and then afterwards there
Speaker 1: we'd all be sitting on the grass together drinking some beers.
Speaker 1: And I'm picturing West there with Lakisha and their newfound love,
Speaker 1: and I'm picturing Deaker there because she came to all
Speaker 1: the games just to watch it and socialize and just
Speaker 1: knowing that that stuff is gone and it's not coming
Speaker 1: back and that and that sucks, but um, it's just
Speaker 1: it's great that we have these people in our life.
Speaker 1: So Deaker, we love you, and I don't think we
Speaker 1: need to say anything really else or sign out music
Speaker 1: or anything. Just um, we're thinking about your, Deaker, and
Speaker 1: you'll you'll be missed forever. We'll be back on Thursday.
Speaker 1: And then every single thought that you have and how
Speaker 1: you say what you mean, and how you almost always
Speaker 1: mean something that's all about being straight and good. I
Speaker 1: think most people miss that about you. And I watched
Speaker 1: them wondering how they can watch you bring their food
Speaker 1: and clear their tables and never get that they just
Speaker 1: met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I
Speaker 1: get it makes me feel good about me a