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Speaker 5: Red scenes rising up.
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Speaker 1: It doesn't get any better than that.
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Speaker 4: One week from tonight, the twoenty twenty three NFL schedule
Speaker 4: comes out. But we don't need no stinking schedule around
Speaker 4: here to tell us that we're the original Thursday Night Football.
Speaker 4: It is the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford
Speaker 4: and Gilbert. We are santan Ford, Paul Calvic, Ron Wolfley
Speaker 4: soon to be joined by network level NFL insider Steve Whitch,
Speaker 4: who will join us on this one as we talk
Speaker 4: all about last Thursday night and beyond the NFL Draft
Speaker 4: that was and everything that was forecasted and spoke into
Speaker 4: existence when Jonathan Gannon said it a week before that
Speaker 4: I can't wait to see maniasin Ford work the phones man.
Speaker 4: He wasn't kidding, I mean that was foreshadowing. Because Ron Wolfley,
Speaker 4: your immediate reaction, my immediate reaction, thanks for asking a
Speaker 4: draft night, would be as follows. If these rookie players
Speaker 4: can execute as well as the rookie GM did under
Speaker 4: pressure during draft weekend, then guess what this will be
Speaker 4: a worthwhile twenty twenty three draft class.
Speaker 6: No, you're right about that, Pauly. Honestly, I was really
Speaker 6: really impressed with maniasin Fort and his manipulation and the
Speaker 6: machinations back and forth all over this draft. And it
Speaker 6: wasn't just the first round poly as you well known,
Speaker 6: it was through the entire draft Day one, Day two,
Speaker 6: in Day three. Day one was just a harbinger of
Speaker 6: things to come. For the most part in this draft,
Speaker 6: I was so impressed with maniasin Fort and his ability
Speaker 6: to maneuver. But you know me, on this Polly, these
Speaker 6: rookies and now it's time to play.
Speaker 4: Rook no doubt. You know, they come out with the
Speaker 4: draft grades. It's just laughable. Nobody really knows. Maniasin Ford
Speaker 4: didn't really know how everything would stack up. He said
Speaker 4: right after the draft, told the media, you know what,
Speaker 4: it was everything I expected and more, I meaning, just
Speaker 4: you know how intense it was. In fact, after the
Speaker 4: entirety of the draft, That's what he said. It was intense.
Speaker 4: And look when you trade down from three to twelve
Speaker 4: and then come back up to number six, think about
Speaker 4: the fact there hadn't been a draft night trade in
Speaker 4: the top nine picks in the last four years, and
Speaker 4: so you were define history and you were doing it
Speaker 4: as a first time GM the decision maker in that
Speaker 4: war room. And on the most recent addition to the
Speaker 4: Day Pash podcast, mantiasa Fort sat down with the voice
Speaker 4: of the Cardinal's Day Pash, and he kind of gave
Speaker 4: us all a window as to how those trades came
Speaker 4: to be.
Speaker 7: I wanted to go into Thursday with parameters of what
Speaker 7: was going to happen. I didn't want a cold call
Speaker 7: to come out of the blue, and number three and
Speaker 7: us start from ground zero. So when number two did
Speaker 7: come off the board, you know, there were some teams
Speaker 7: that weren't interested anymore. And coming up to number three,
Speaker 7: there were some teams that were still interested in coming
Speaker 7: to number three, but we weren't starting from zero. We
Speaker 7: kind of had a ballpark of what we were trying
Speaker 7: to do, and you know, ultimately we were able to
Speaker 7: work through and come up with a deal that worked.
Speaker 4: And so those conversations and other interviews Manias Aboard said
Speaker 4: really started at the combine where he went around the combine.
Speaker 4: Wolfe said, you know, we might pick a number three,
Speaker 4: but we might not. Would you be interested in discussing
Speaker 4: the parameters of a trade if you were willing to
Speaker 4: come up to number three, And so obviously you better
Speaker 4: have the framework of a deal in place, because when
Speaker 4: that clock is ticking, you have ten minutes in counting.
Speaker 4: Pretty tough to put together a deal from scratch.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Paully, no doubt about it. And to move back
Speaker 6: from number three all the way to number twelve and
Speaker 6: get the hall that he did right there, and then
Speaker 6: move back up and get the best offensive lineman, at
Speaker 6: least to me in this draft, I man, that is
Speaker 6: just some great maneuvering by Moni once again, and it's
Speaker 6: something that will certainly benefit the Arizona Cardinals going forward
Speaker 6: if they've got a general manager who knows how to
Speaker 6: swing a deal. This had to be orchestrated Pully. It
Speaker 6: had to be almost simultaneously pulled off. He had to
Speaker 6: know that he had in his back pocket the ability
Speaker 6: to come back up to number six and get Paris
Speaker 6: Johnson Junior High. It just it was masterful.
Speaker 4: For Houston to go from twelve to three. The Cardinals
Speaker 4: ended up with a twelfth pick. They ended up with
Speaker 4: a thirty third pick in this draft. They ended up
Speaker 4: with a twenty twenty four round one pick, ding and
Speaker 4: then the round three picks. So think about that right here.
Speaker 4: Right now, as we stand, the Cardinals have six picks
Speaker 4: in the first three rounds of the twenty twenty four draft,
Speaker 4: which is already considered by all the experts to be
Speaker 4: a stronger draft than this year's edition. You think about
Speaker 4: a Houston Texans team that has won a grand total
Speaker 4: of eleven games over the last three years, and if
Speaker 4: they're starting rookie c. J. Stroud, I mean, Demiko Ryans great,
Speaker 4: but what are the odds that that could easily be
Speaker 4: a top five pick for the Cardinals.
Speaker 6: Yeah, no, you're right about that, Poli. That could be
Speaker 6: a top five, that could be the number one pick overall.
Speaker 6: I'm just saying it could be that, and that makes
Speaker 6: it so valuable obviously to the Arizona Cardinals going forward.
Speaker 6: Can I also just say this, Polly, right now, my
Speaker 6: favorite trade of the draft was Manty austen Ford taking
Speaker 6: pick number ninety six and trading it for picks one, two,
Speaker 6: one thirty nine, and one sixty eight. Right now, listen,
Speaker 6: I consider mid round picks three to five, you know,
Speaker 6: the third round, the fourth round, the fifth round. I
Speaker 6: consider those to be mid round picks right there. So
Speaker 6: you had one mid round pick at number ninety six,
Speaker 6: and you got that traded for three mid round picks.
Speaker 6: I love that move right there because it recognizes the fact,
Speaker 6: especially in this draft, which many people believe wasn't as
Speaker 6: talented as as you said, PAULI next year's draft is
Speaker 6: going to be And now, all of a sudden, though,
Speaker 6: you get three mid round picks for one mid round
Speaker 6: pick at ninety six. That to me is value.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Specifically, you take that late third rounder and it becomes
Speaker 4: John Gains in the fourth round, the guard out of
Speaker 4: UCLA who can also play some center. It becomes the
Speaker 4: quarterback out of Houston Clayton Tune round five, and then
Speaker 4: it becomes Owen Papo, the linebacker, super athletic out of
Speaker 4: Auburn round five. So to your point, you took that
Speaker 4: one late third round, you turn into three players in
Speaker 4: rounds four and five combined. But again the headliner is
Speaker 4: number six overall. That would be Paris Johnson, Junior, the
Speaker 4: highest drafted offensive tackle lot of Ohio State since Orlando
Speaker 4: Pace went number one overall in nineteen ninety seven. He
Speaker 4: brings a lot of different aspects, including positional flexibility. Two
Speaker 4: years ago, as sophomore year, start all thirteen games at
Speaker 4: right guard. Last year he was a starting left tackle,
Speaker 4: second team All Americans. So Jonathan Gannon was asked, where
Speaker 4: do you think Paris Johnson might play?
Speaker 8: He's obviously played outside and inside. You know, we just
Speaker 8: got to get him on the grass and see where
Speaker 8: he kind of fits in with the other guys. I'm
Speaker 8: very comfortable, you know what he's put on tape of
Speaker 8: playing a lot of different spots on that offensive line.
Speaker 8: So we'll put the best guys out there and hopefully
Speaker 8: move people in the run game and keep the quarterback
Speaker 8: up right in the past game.
Speaker 4: Well, if no member in the media watches more of
Speaker 4: the offensive line drills than you, So that being the case,
Speaker 4: you play fantasy GM. Right here, fantasy head coach, where
Speaker 4: do you think Paris Johnson lines up this season?
Speaker 6: Yeah, that is a great question right there, Pauly. But
Speaker 6: for me personally, I'm going to take him and I'm
Speaker 6: going to stick him at left guard. That's what I'm
Speaker 6: going to do. Number One, he's on the left side
Speaker 6: of the line of scrimmage. I see him being a
Speaker 6: left tackle at some point in time, Paris Johnson Junior
Speaker 6: being a franchise left tackle. So put him on on
Speaker 6: the left side of the offensive line at left guard.
Speaker 6: Put him there at the left guard tradition, Pauly, the
Speaker 6: old saying amongst offensive line coaches, the left guard gets
Speaker 6: more help and gives more help than any other NFL
Speaker 6: offensive lineman. He gets more help and gives more help.
Speaker 6: And the reason being, of course, because so much of
Speaker 6: the time a right handed quarterback, you want to attack
Speaker 6: him with a right defensive end. Meaning if you're looking
Speaker 6: at the defense, it's really over the left tackle, as
Speaker 6: we all know, your best pass rusher. But if you're
Speaker 6: looking at it from the defenses perspective, it's a right
Speaker 6: defensive end. That left tackle matchup right there. You want
Speaker 6: obviously your best offensive lineman because of the blind side
Speaker 6: of a right handed quarterback like Kyler Murray. So eventually
Speaker 6: you could see that. You could see Paris Johnson Junior
Speaker 6: being the left tackle, why not put him at left guard?
Speaker 6: Right now? Will Hernandez is a great fit at right guard,
Speaker 6: Calvin Beacham at right tackle. I love that right there,
Speaker 6: those those four offensive lineman, Paulie, I still think they
Speaker 6: have some work to do at center. Yet at the
Speaker 6: same time, those four guys right there, I love that.
Speaker 4: What'd you think of Paris Johnson Junior's interview on The
Speaker 4: Red Sea Report this week, including the exchange where we
Speaker 4: asked him what do you like on game day and
Speaker 4: he immediately replied violent, that was his response, and then
Speaker 4: he went on to say he doesn't fear the smoke
Speaker 4: of a Nick Bosa or a Micah Parsons. He mentioned
Speaker 4: Devin White on his own wants to test himself against
Speaker 4: some of the best in the NFL. He actually wants
Speaker 4: that challenge now that he's in the NFL.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, Polly, I'm sorry, but you know I'm
Speaker 6: skeptical of rookiees. I love Paris jo I love this guy.
Speaker 6: This guy, to me, was the best offensive lineman in
Speaker 6: the draft. I just the time of talking is over.
Speaker 6: It really is. Right now, it's all about doing. I
Speaker 6: think he's got I had a great chance of coming
Speaker 6: in here and making a real impact for the Arizona
Speaker 6: Cardinals actually starting I think from day one, I think
Speaker 6: Paris Johnson Junior is gonna be that guy. But right now,
Speaker 6: be careful what you wish for Paris, because those guys
Speaker 6: are really really good.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he has a little bit of dj hmpresent him.
Speaker 4: He's got a great personality, big personality, big smile off
Speaker 4: the field, but then on game day, look out, he
Speaker 4: is ultra serious. Least that's the word. That's the way
Speaker 4: he describes his own personality and the difference between the
Speaker 4: rest of the week and game day. You can hear
Speaker 4: more about Paris Johnson Junior, the entire Draft class, and
Speaker 4: the Day of Pash podcast featuring Cardinals Jim Money Austin
Speaker 4: Ford available now wherever you gear podcasts and on Twitter
Speaker 4: via at pash pod. We talk about the rest of
Speaker 4: this draft, what other picks stand out to Wolf, and
Speaker 4: what exactly does this mean for next season. Remember Steve
Speaker 4: Weich coming up as well on this edition of The
Speaker 4: Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford and Gilbert.
Speaker 8: Feel really good about how he came out of the
Speaker 8: draft with the nine draft picks and the ten free agents.
Speaker 8: That was my first time sitting in a room the
Speaker 8: entire time and not gonna lie. I was a little
Speaker 8: nervous when we're on the clock with like two minutes
Speaker 8: left and he had three teams that he was talking to,
Speaker 8: So it was really cool to see that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, hence the Moniker Monty Hall haul. It was sort
Speaker 4: of a game show, right, the pressures on the clock
Speaker 4: is ticking. What are you gonna do with the spotlight
Speaker 4: on you, You're working the phones, You're pulling multiple trades, and
Speaker 4: everything came together just like on a game show or
Speaker 4: you know Kevin Costner's style in the movies. And so
Speaker 4: the Cardinals come away with the draft class and they're
Speaker 4: set up right now looking at eleven picks in next
Speaker 4: year's twenty twenty four draft. It is the Big Red
Speaker 4: Rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert. We are santan Ford,
Speaker 4: Paul kelvc Ron wollfully soon to be joined by NFL
Speaker 4: Networks Steve Witch. But for this draft and beyond the
Speaker 4: first round pick, Paris Johnson Junior Wolf, who are what
Speaker 4: stands out to you about this year's edition?
Speaker 6: Well, let's go what first of all? Okay, and just
Speaker 6: say this, Paul, did they not have seven picks coming
Speaker 6: into this draft? They did have seven picks? Correct?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 6: Okay? And they came out with nine players. Paul, you
Speaker 6: tell me how that is. You go in with seven,
Speaker 6: you come out with nine. And how many picks do
Speaker 6: the Arizona Cardinals have next year? Eleven?
Speaker 1: Yep?
Speaker 6: That is an incredible job once again by Monti asen
Speaker 6: for it. That's my first thought, PAULI number two, I
Speaker 6: really love bj Ojulari, the edge player from LSU. I
Speaker 6: love him because this is a guy that has an
Speaker 6: incredible motor. He is a football player. He's got great
Speaker 6: football character and not only that, he was a two
Speaker 6: time captain at LSU. I love this guy. I love
Speaker 6: the pick mostly because this guy's going to give you everything.
Speaker 6: He's got and he's gonna do it on a consistent basis.
Speaker 4: Yeah, first team All SEC. Right in the stat was
Speaker 4: since twenty twenty the only player in college football with
Speaker 4: more quarterback pressures Will Anderson. So you know what's intriguing though,
Speaker 4: because look, you you left some players on the board
Speaker 4: when you went forty one overall. Bgo Jalai out of LSU.
Speaker 4: And you know we got into this little bit Danny
Speaker 4: Sirek and Darren Urban not Cardinals underground when I pointed
Speaker 4: out that Keon White was there and he went five
Speaker 4: picks later to New England. Now he's a bigger defensive end.
Speaker 4: Sixty five two eighty something. You had Wisconsin center Joe
Speaker 4: Tipman on the board. He went two picks later to
Speaker 4: the Jets. He's considering an instant plug and play type center.
Speaker 4: We know the Cardinals need there. But ultimately, in the NFL,
Speaker 4: it's still about quarterback and getting to the quarterback, is
Speaker 4: it not?
Speaker 6: Yes, it is, Polly And once again I also think
Speaker 6: too when you look at Hassan Reddick and what he
Speaker 6: did for the Eagles, when you look at their defense
Speaker 6: in Philadelphia, I think bj Oljalari is very much like
Speaker 6: a Hassan Reddick. I think he's got a little bit
Speaker 6: more butt maybe to him, but I think he's a
Speaker 6: little bit like Hassan Reddick as well. And because of that,
Speaker 6: I think that was one of the reasons why Manti
Speaker 6: ausen Ford and JG probably said, Hey, you know what,
Speaker 6: at number forty one, this guy checks all the boxes
Speaker 6: for us. Let's go there and.
Speaker 4: Look, there are conflicting reports. How he holds up against
Speaker 4: the run, We'll find out. We'll find out in camp.
Speaker 4: How stout is he at the point of attack? And
Speaker 4: Kenny set that edge? We'll see. Round three, the Cardinals
Speaker 4: go for corner, another area position group of dire need.
Speaker 4: Garrett Williams out of Syracuse torn acl in October after
Speaker 4: eight games. They say he was tracking to be you know,
Speaker 4: maybe even a Day one pick if he had stayed
Speaker 4: healthy all year long. What'd you think about that? What'd
Speaker 4: you think about another round three pick, Michael Wilson, the
Speaker 4: big receiver out of Stanford who also has an injury history.
Speaker 6: Well, Paul, since you went there, I've got to say, hey, listen,
Speaker 6: the Arizona Cardinals drafted for need. Can I just say
Speaker 6: that right there? They drafted need, or at least it
Speaker 6: certainly looks that way. When you take in the first
Speaker 6: round and offensive lineman, that's an area of need coming
Speaker 6: into this draft. When you take an edge player, that
Speaker 6: was an area of need coming into the draft, when
Speaker 6: you take a corner and a wide receiver. The only
Speaker 6: thing that they didn't take at least high was a
Speaker 6: defensive lineman, and they addressed that in round six with
Speaker 6: pick two hundred and thirteen with Dante Stills from It's
Speaker 6: West Virginia. It's West Virginia, So don't get me started
Speaker 6: on that one, Paul, You know what I think of
Speaker 6: that pick. I love our sixth round pick at two
Speaker 6: hundred and thirteen Dante Stills, of course. But to me,
Speaker 6: they drafted for need, and they went and got four
Speaker 6: guys that I think are going to contribute immediately as rookies.
Speaker 6: Now to what degree are they going to contribute, I
Speaker 6: don't know, Paully, But to me, that was my biggest
Speaker 6: takeaway is they were drafting for need.
Speaker 4: No doubt. And then in round four they got John Gains,
Speaker 4: the guard out of UCL who was also played some center.
Speaker 4: He's played all over the offensive line. In fact, in
Speaker 4: twenty and twenty one. He started five games at center
Speaker 4: last year, all thirteen games of right guard for UCLA.
Speaker 4: I'm guessing he's going to be given every single shot
Speaker 4: to make an impression from day one. Here's many Austin
Speaker 4: for a the GM from the Day Pash podcast on
Speaker 4: the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 7: I think line of scrimmage players are always going to
Speaker 7: be important to us, you know, I think the game
Speaker 7: starts up there, you know with John played mainly guard
Speaker 7: at UCLA, but also saw time at center. So you know,
Speaker 7: those interior guys that have that versatility to play multiple positions,
Speaker 7: that's always going to be intriguing. John did an extremely
Speaker 7: good job with our coaches on the Zoom. Just liked
Speaker 7: his makeup and his intellect and his ability to handle
Speaker 7: the center position, to handle the guard position, you know,
Speaker 7: so that was attractive about adding John to our group.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: There he was the East West game he played left guard,
Speaker 4: playing center that he said, he got up on the
Speaker 4: board and he was just a savant, I mean the
Speaker 4: football IQ and he had the fastest short shuttle of
Speaker 4: any offensive lineman. He played in forty five games, started
Speaker 4: thirty so he has experience. So you know what I mean,
Speaker 4: I don't know what's gonna happen at center, but whether
Speaker 4: it's a John Gains, whether it's Alcidas Smith, I have
Speaker 4: no idea. But I think if you're an offensive lineman
Speaker 4: looking for playing time, the Cardinals are your team.
Speaker 6: Yeah, now you're right about that. First of all, let
Speaker 6: us all rejoice that Manti asen Ford believes in the
Speaker 6: line of scrimmage. Can I just say thank you very much? MANI.
Speaker 6: I believe the blood sport is truly coming back to Arizona,
Speaker 6: and I think Monti asen Ford and his philosophy in
Speaker 6: JG's philosophy as well. I think it's about the line
Speaker 6: of scrimmage. And you heard him say it right there.
Speaker 6: That's where it all starts. It's one thing to say it,
Speaker 6: poly but then you've got to believe it, right, You
Speaker 6: have to believe it. If you truly believe that, that
Speaker 6: means you're gonna go and you're gonna run physical schemes.
Speaker 6: You're gonna use schemes that allow football players, whether it's
Speaker 6: offense or defensive lineman, to be physical at the point
Speaker 6: of attack. You're going to run an offense that is
Speaker 6: going to be physical at the point of attack. And
Speaker 6: then what do you do. You go get players that
Speaker 6: play in a very physical kind of way and enjoy
Speaker 6: that part of the game. So it starts with the thought, Paul,
Speaker 6: then it moves into the realm of actually speaking that thought,
Speaker 6: and then you've got to go execute it. So for me,
Speaker 6: I love the fact that Mani was talking about the
Speaker 6: line of scrimmage. It's one thing to give it lip service, Pauli.
Speaker 6: It's another thing to actually do it.
Speaker 4: And once again the stat the last fifteen drafts, the
Speaker 4: cardinalsen invested too, just two first or second round picks
Speaker 4: an offensive lineman and defensive lineman over the last fifteen drafts.
Speaker 4: Think about that and then think about building from the
Speaker 4: inside out. It's not just some sort of marketing mantra, No,
Speaker 4: it really is their philosophy. So we name names. But
Speaker 4: then there they were in round five. Give me a
Speaker 4: quick thought, I'm going quarterback out of Houston with Dorian
Speaker 4: Thompson Robinson on the board. In fact, go on the
Speaker 4: very next pick to Cleveland. But they took Clayton Tune
Speaker 4: out of Houston six three, two twenty, and he calls
Speaker 4: himself quote the best QB in this class.
Speaker 6: Yeah, PAULI, First of all, I don't know anything about
Speaker 6: Clayton Tune. I really do not. I don't know how
Speaker 6: many games you saw him play, Paully, I did not see.
Speaker 5: Claytony yeah, zero, okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 6: You know, I pull for every rookie because I remember
Speaker 6: what it was like to be a rookie right now,
Speaker 6: but you know me, paul I'm adopting a prove it
Speaker 6: rookie mentality and I always will. Right now, John Gain
Speaker 6: sounds really really confident. But he sounds almost too confident
Speaker 6: to me, and it's one of the reasons why I
Speaker 6: can't wait to see this young guy play, to see
Speaker 6: if he speaks a little bit differently once he actually
Speaker 6: gets a taste of the NFL and what the NFL
Speaker 6: is all about. You'd love a guy to be confident.
Speaker 6: But some of the stuff that Clayton Tune was talking
Speaker 6: about for me, Paulie, I don't know if Tom Brady
Speaker 6: would say, paul yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, just wait till Buddha Baker and Jalen Thompson are
Speaker 4: jumping the passing lanes, right so, I mean, you know,
Speaker 4: I mean, maybe he was looking at his own scouter report.
Speaker 4: He had the best passing grade according to Pro Football
Speaker 4: Focus and all of college football had the highest on
Speaker 4: target percentage of any QB in the class. So some
Speaker 4: of the stats, some of the analytics, would support his case,
Speaker 4: but still he went fifth round pick number one, thirty
Speaker 4: nine to the Arizona Cardinals. All right, look it's and
Speaker 4: speaking of quarterbacks, look at the Cardinals' schedule coming up
Speaker 4: this year. Not only get the Niners, Rams, and Seahawks,
Speaker 4: you get the Cowboys, you get the Bengals and Joe
Speaker 4: Burrow and the Falcons, the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, Daniel
Speaker 4: Jones and the Giants. For your Cardinal season tickets, go
Speaker 4: to Azycardinals dot com, slash tickets. Steve Whitch NFL Network.
Speaker 4: He's gonna join us next and give us his thoughts
Speaker 4: on the Cardinals draft class from a national perspective. As
Speaker 4: we continue the Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford
Speaker 4: in Gilbert.
Speaker 7: Without further ado, I'd like to bring Paris Johnson Junior,
Speaker 7: the newest member of the Arizona Cardinals, to the stage.
Speaker 9: My Top thirty visit. I got some food here walking
Speaker 9: through look around the corner, I see him. I give
Speaker 9: him a head and I'm trying to fall cool, you
Speaker 9: know what I mean. I'm not trying to at a
Speaker 9: fan boy, you know what I mean. I'm like, you know,
Speaker 9: it was good. And then he's like, hey, Pete, come here.
Speaker 9: I'm like, yo, you know, sorry thing. So I'm walking over.
Speaker 9: I'll show you. I'm walking over. I'm texting my teammate
Speaker 9: Luke Wickpler. I'm like, dude, col Mar, you.
Speaker 6: Knows what I am. You know what I mean.
Speaker 9: So so I'm acting all cooon texting him and I
Speaker 9: was like, yo, soup. He said, Paris. You know I've
Speaker 9: seen you play if senior protas seeing all this and
Speaker 9: he's like, I like, love what I see. I see
Speaker 9: how hard you played, the tenacity to finish, and I
Speaker 9: would love for you to block for me. And I
Speaker 9: think is coming from a franchise guy. He said it
Speaker 9: before I had a chance to say to be an
Speaker 9: honor to play for him. He said it first, come
Speaker 9: out of his mouth first, and that's huge, Like that's
Speaker 9: an honor, you know, And I respect.
Speaker 4: That Johnson junior, big man with a big personality, gonna
Speaker 4: be a big key in that Cardinals offensive line. And
Speaker 4: it was a big happening on draft Night. Wolf, you
Speaker 4: know Cardinals go from three down to twelve and then
Speaker 4: back up to six. Do you realize, Ron Wolfley, that
Speaker 4: there had not been a Draft night trade in the
Speaker 4: top nine picks in the last four years.
Speaker 6: I did not know that, bully.
Speaker 4: And that was executed by rookie Jim Monty ausen Ford.
Speaker 4: So when Jonathan Gannon said, going into the draft quote,
Speaker 4: I can't wait to see Monty work the phones on
Speaker 4: Thursday night, man, he wasn't kidding. And because Wolf You're
Speaker 4: sick of my opinion and I'm sick of your opinion,
Speaker 4: We're gonna go out to the phone lines. We're gonna
Speaker 4: bring on NFL Network's chief national reporter Steve Weisch, joins
Speaker 4: us here on the Big Red Rage, brought to you
Speaker 4: by Santan Ford in Gilbert, Steve, what'd you think of
Speaker 4: the Cardinals Draft Night? In fact, the nickname was Monty Hall,
Speaker 4: as in the old seventies game show host Haul. How
Speaker 4: did it play at NFL Network headquarters?
Speaker 2: And for you, hey, maybe Monty Ball. I mean, I mean, look,
Speaker 2: look the way you know and thanks for having me on, guys,
Speaker 2: I mean I love the way that look. Everyone knew
Speaker 2: going into this draft that Arizona was gonna have a
Speaker 2: ton of picks and a lot of opportunity, and frankly,
Speaker 2: you know, they could have kept the blindfold off and
Speaker 2: played pin the tail on the donkey and put that
Speaker 2: thing anywhere because there's so many positions that needed to
Speaker 2: be addressed, and to be able to trade back, trade
Speaker 2: up still get Paris Johnson at six, I mean that
Speaker 2: was huge. I mean, we know that they have not
Speaker 2: really addressed the offensive line in years there and to
Speaker 2: get one of the best offensive linemen in this draft,
Speaker 2: someone Kyler Murray liked. Then you know, to go back
Speaker 2: and get b j O Jalari off the edge, you know,
Speaker 2: they just addressed key positions that you know, they just
Speaker 2: have not been able to do effectively wide receiver, corner,
Speaker 2: you know, for years, and then to be able to
Speaker 2: garner the draft picks that they got it twenty twenty four,
Speaker 2: I mean clearly, you know, you look at the draft
Speaker 2: and you say, they got some good guys this year
Speaker 2: to help lay a foundation, and then for next year,
Speaker 2: they really got some incredible draft equity to do whatever
Speaker 2: it is they need to do to move up high
Speaker 2: in the draft, to possibly move back and to get
Speaker 2: some more young players. So they've got like just a
Speaker 2: two year foundation of incredible talent to to really, you know,
Speaker 2: to really get back to where they were a couple
Speaker 2: of years ago.
Speaker 6: Steve I was totally blown away by all of Moni's
Speaker 6: machinations on draft day. Did you have a favorite did
Speaker 6: you have a favorite move of his?
Speaker 2: And then coming back up to six, yeah, I mean
Speaker 2: because you know, you looked where, you know, because when Seattle,
Speaker 2: you know, went with Devin Witherspoint in five, You're like, okay, Detroit.
Speaker 2: You know, Detroit's trying to get back, right now. Okay,
Speaker 2: you just knew that they were trying to get back,
Speaker 2: and so who was going to come up? Because you know,
Speaker 2: at the time, you know, was someone gonna come up
Speaker 2: for Will Levis? Everyone thought that everyone's coming up with
Speaker 2: a quarterback and three were off the board. So you're like, man,
Speaker 2: when Arizona moved up, You're like, they are going a
Speaker 2: line or they are going to edge right here, and
Speaker 2: they went on line. And I love the move because again,
Speaker 2: they have not really a d I mean, I can't
Speaker 2: even think going back to when Kurt Warner was playing,
Speaker 2: when wisnot was coaching, where they really invested this heavily
Speaker 2: with this type of talent you know in Paris Johnson
Speaker 2: on the along the offensive line, and it's long overdue.
Speaker 2: So I salute that move, the aggressiveness and just the
Speaker 2: intentionality to really give this offensive line together and to
Speaker 2: get the key player to.
Speaker 6: Do so well.
Speaker 4: That's a smart observation because the stat was over the
Speaker 4: previous fifteen drafts for the years on the Cardinals in
Speaker 4: round one or round two, they had only taken two
Speaker 4: offensive linemen in DJ Humphreys and then Jonathan Cooper who
Speaker 4: had that injury early in his rookie year and was
Speaker 4: never the same. So right, You're right, there's a different
Speaker 4: philosoph in town in Manti Austin for Jonathan Gannon. And
Speaker 4: we're on board with NFL Network's chief national reporter Steve Weisch.
Speaker 4: Maybe the best thing I heard all night, guys was
Speaker 4: I came home after Round one and I'm watching the
Speaker 4: NFL Network recap show. Mark Ross was on your set,
Speaker 4: former front office guy and now NFL Network analysts. He
Speaker 4: said an I quote, I thought Houston gave up way
Speaker 4: too much. I'm like, nice, that's because because Steve isn't
Speaker 4: the thinking that the twenty twenty four draft is already
Speaker 4: going to be stronger than this year's draft. And the
Speaker 4: Cardinals ended a round one pick from Houston, which could
Speaker 4: easily be top five, around three pick from Houston, and
Speaker 4: then around three pick from Tennessee. That could be three
Speaker 4: extra picks in the top eighty, could.
Speaker 2: Be three extra picks, or you could package you know,
Speaker 2: one of your thirds with another third to get up
Speaker 2: to the second. You know, there's just so many things
Speaker 2: that they can do. I mean, you knew when when
Speaker 2: Houston made this move, like wow, you know, to come
Speaker 2: from twelve to three like that. I think Peter King
Speaker 2: should brilliantly in his Monday column that is franchise quarterback
Speaker 2: type of trade value, right that. I mean, it's like wow,
Speaker 2: and Arizona got it. Now they took a little start
Speaker 2: out of it by moving back up to six. Not much,
Speaker 2: not much, because again they could have two high picks
Speaker 2: next year, or at least have two first round picks
Speaker 2: to be able to maneuver. Right. This is something like
Speaker 2: what the Dolphins did a couple of years ago. Now,
Speaker 2: there could be some short term pain, and I think
Speaker 2: that's what everyone's expecting. Kyler Murray probably gonna be out
Speaker 2: for a large chunk of the season and things like this.
Speaker 2: They could be competitive, but you know, it's the expectation
Speaker 2: isn't really there, so to speak. And you could see
Speaker 2: so many of the move they again, the moves they
Speaker 2: made to stock up on twenty twenty four picks. So
Speaker 2: I think that's kind of the thinking. You know, that's
Speaker 2: the tea leaves that you're seeing with the Cardinals as well.
Speaker 2: So let's get a foundation here this year, Let's add
Speaker 2: foundation and talent next year, and then we'll be ready
Speaker 2: to rock and roll.
Speaker 6: Steve, did you think that Paris Johnson Junior was the
Speaker 6: best offense of Winneman in the draft?
Speaker 2: You know, I'm not I'm not a draft nick, so
Speaker 2: it's hard for me to sit there and evaluate. I
Speaker 2: just don't watch enough college football, so I it'd be
Speaker 2: unfair for me to answer this question. But I know
Speaker 2: people you know who I spoke with thought he was
Speaker 2: one of them. I think, you know, so much of
Speaker 2: it a scheme fit, you know, and what they want
Speaker 2: to do. And you know that the that the Cardinals
Speaker 2: are going to be that stretched Stone Skimes scheme stuff
Speaker 2: that that Kyle Shanahan type of stuff to some degree,
Speaker 2: you know, not not necessarily like the Niners. So you've
Speaker 2: got to have an athletic guy. But you know, Paris
Speaker 2: is a man. Now that's a big that's a big
Speaker 2: slice of dude.
Speaker 4: He's the highest drafted tackle from Ohio State since Orlando Pace.
Speaker 2: How about that?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 2: How about that? And you know what Ohio State has done,
Speaker 2: and you know he's had to go up against great
Speaker 2: edge rushers. So and that's what you want because that
Speaker 2: that never ceases. You know, in the NFL, You're you're
Speaker 2: not going to get a playoff without somebody coming off
Speaker 2: the edge. Who's who's got the Pro Bowl type of potential.
Speaker 2: So you know, this was a heck of a pick.
Speaker 2: And again the fact that I was like, finally, finally
Speaker 2: they've addressed this offensive line in the first round.
Speaker 4: NFL Network Chief national reporter Steve Weish our guest here
Speaker 4: on the Big Red Rage, brought to you by santan
Speaker 4: Ford and Gilbert. How much interaction did you have the
Speaker 4: last couple of years with Jonathan Gannon as a decordinator
Speaker 4: of the Eagles And what's I don't know, so your
Speaker 4: thumbnail on the Cardinals new head coach, Well.
Speaker 2: Not much, you know, since since he was in Philly,
Speaker 2: we've got reporters on that side of the country. When
Speaker 2: he came this way, I just did not have much interaction. However,
Speaker 2: over the past few months, Jonathan and I have had
Speaker 2: some conversations. I did a sit down with him at
Speaker 2: the recent league meetings at the Arizona Biltmore very engaging
Speaker 2: with me, you know. I mean, you see some stuff
Speaker 2: coming out in Philly and this and that, but he's
Speaker 2: very engaging, very friendly. Really, he's one of these guys,
Speaker 2: I mean, mind you a little bit of Brandons daily
Speaker 2: with a charge. When when you ask him a question,
Speaker 2: sometimes he's incredibly detailed, like bang bang bang bang bang,
Speaker 2: and you go, okay, this this check check, check, check,
Speaker 2: and so you know, we'll see. You know, this is
Speaker 2: the era of you know, the the offensive minded coaches,
Speaker 2: but you're starting to see more defensive coaches get get
Speaker 2: hired now because they've got to counter some of this
Speaker 2: offensive stuff. And so you know, we'll see. You know,
Speaker 2: the jury clearly is out on Jonathan. This is his
Speaker 2: first time, but you know, a couple of years ago,
Speaker 2: Houston was really hot after him. He's been you know,
Speaker 2: a head coach candidate for a while. So, you know,
Speaker 2: I think this is one where everyone's just going to
Speaker 2: kind of wait and see exactly what the plan is
Speaker 2: because it's going to be hard to implement what this
Speaker 2: team is going to look like with Kyler Murray injured.
Speaker 2: You know, you really aren't going to know what the
Speaker 2: identity is with so many holes to fill on defense.
Speaker 2: So I think it's going to take a while to
Speaker 2: really know the things. Like we saw in Miami for
Speaker 2: tool was healthy. Some things we saw recently in Atlanta
Speaker 2: and Carolina where they're trying to build foundations before you
Speaker 2: can really see and sometimes that takes two full draft classes,
Speaker 2: you know, and some and some free agent money to
Speaker 2: go out there and really put some piece to place.
Speaker 6: Steve, I am really surprised at DeAndre Hopkins is still
Speaker 6: an Arizona Cardinal after the draft right now. Your take
Speaker 6: on the whole d hop situation.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was kind of surprised for Himerson who said
Speaker 2: I wanted to leave and I didn't you say that
Speaker 2: you didn't need to adjust your contract. Didn't you say
Speaker 2: that you didn't want to play in a couple places
Speaker 2: and you would play in a couple places. I am surprised.
Speaker 2: I thought he would be a draft weekend trade, you know,
Speaker 2: for a team that wanted to get a player for
Speaker 2: Arizona to add more draft picks, but to kind of
Speaker 2: get you know, look, now that we're post drafted, what
Speaker 2: did I just talk about. Seems like Arizona would not
Speaker 2: mind getting more draft capital for twenty twenty four. So
Speaker 2: this could be something where going in a training camp,
Speaker 2: you know, they work out a deal for him, and
Speaker 2: the Cardinals get to twenty twenty four draft pick, and
Speaker 2: d Hop you know, gets to land, you know, someplace
Speaker 2: where he might he might have an opportunity to be
Speaker 2: a little bit closer to a championhip right now. I
Speaker 2: don't think, you know, that conversation of those talks are
Speaker 2: going to continue to stop, you know, especially once in
Speaker 2: team see maybe what they have out of their young
Speaker 2: receivers and say, well, you know, let's go ahead and
Speaker 2: make a move for d Hop now because these guys
Speaker 2: aren't quite ready yet.
Speaker 4: Am I overestimating what d Hop might mean to a contender?
Speaker 4: For example, Buffalo, last we saw them in the playoff
Speaker 4: loss to Cincinnati, it was Stefan Diggs and nobody else.
Speaker 4: Casey obviously suffered some losses at the receiver spot. The
Speaker 4: Giants just came up for the Tennessee receiver. He might
Speaker 4: already be wide receiver one right in a third round rookie.
Speaker 4: I mean to me, I see d Hop is a
Speaker 4: pivotal piece and a contender, especially in the AFC potentially.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. I mean there's look,
Speaker 2: the AFC is now the conference quarterbacks, and so you've
Speaker 2: got to get you know, you've got to get wide receivers.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know you see some of the also,
Speaker 2: I mean it's also the conference. It's like a lot
Speaker 2: of Pro Bowl caliber secondaries. So you get someone like
Speaker 2: d Hop, you know. And I look with some of
Speaker 2: these teams, especially in the AFC East you mentioned Buffalo.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm looking at the Jets as well. You know,
Speaker 2: if they get a player like him, when you've got
Speaker 2: to go up against Jalen Ramsey and Xavian Howard and
Speaker 2: all those guys twice a year, you know that division
Speaker 2: is going to be super, super tough. And then you
Speaker 2: look at the AFC North, which from top to bottom
Speaker 2: is just really really tough. Cleveland, this is a team
Speaker 2: we have not talked about enough about being a potential
Speaker 2: playoff team. You know, with Deshaun Watson having a full
Speaker 2: season now into that system and some of the moves
Speaker 2: that they've made, they could really use a player like him,
Speaker 2: you know, going up against some of the teams that
Speaker 2: they have in that division. So I think there's there's
Speaker 2: definitely some teams that could use him. Do those teams
Speaker 2: want to give up whatever and pay him the nineteen
Speaker 2: million he's owed? That's the big question. The salary is
Speaker 2: probably the big sticking point to move him, and you
Speaker 2: know a lot of teams just don't want to pay
Speaker 2: that kind of money.
Speaker 6: Steve, what is the state of football as you see
Speaker 6: it right now in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean it's clearly so the king. I mean,
Speaker 2: you look at you look at the TV ratings numbers.
Speaker 2: I mean, you can't you cannot deny it, especially compared
Speaker 2: to other sports, the way internationally, the way it's grown.
Speaker 2: You know, the offensive rules, We've been talking about it
Speaker 2: for years, they're great. I think the AFC again, with
Speaker 2: all of these quarterbacks this year, especially Aaron Rodgers going
Speaker 2: through the Jets, it's gonna be very interesting, you know.
Speaker 2: And well, if you know this as someone who used
Speaker 2: to play. Has changed so much. It's just such a
Speaker 2: name of geometry and space and angles. So the athleticism
Speaker 2: is insane. I mean, look at look at the athletes
Speaker 2: you know coming out. Look at the quarterbacks that we
Speaker 2: just saw. Come about Anthony Richardson, Let's take him number four.
Speaker 2: We don't know if he can play, but he's a
Speaker 2: great athlete and we're gonna run him if we have to.
Speaker 2: Teams weren't even saying that two or three years ago. Yeah, right,
Speaker 2: And so you know, I think these are some things.
Speaker 2: I think coaching has really evolved. They've taken so many
Speaker 2: of these things out of legs in high school and
Speaker 2: you know, the seven on seven stuff and incorporated at
Speaker 2: into the play can which is made it very exciting.
Speaker 2: Unfortunately for players like yourself, a fullback is.
Speaker 6: Becoming if they're still they still have about half the
Speaker 6: league has a fullback on their roster.
Speaker 4: Was there a fullback draft of this year because there'd
Speaker 4: only been two in the last four drafts?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 5: Okay, sorry, but but Steve, Steve, this is what I'm
Speaker 5: talking about, honestly, because you know what four I want
Speaker 5: to say about four or five years ago, that pendulum
Speaker 5: was swinging towards the New Age offense.
Speaker 6: Everything was going to be new about football, and I
Speaker 6: think it's coming back a little bit more to the middle.
Speaker 6: I think the physicality of the game is going to
Speaker 6: come back a little bit more. I think a blending
Speaker 6: of the old and the new is coming back. Your
Speaker 6: thoughts on that.
Speaker 2: I'm so glad you said that, because what did you
Speaker 2: notice in this draft? Not a ton of downhill linebackers
Speaker 2: were drafted high, but probably more than the past couple years,
Speaker 2: like Jack Campbell going sixteen to the Detroit Lions. Right,
Speaker 2: You're because teams now are like, Okay, we're gonna spread
Speaker 2: you out and now we're just gonna pound you up
Speaker 2: the middle if we see a light box, right. And
Speaker 2: so I'm with you. Look at the attention Paige to
Speaker 2: guards you know in draft and free agency, right, they're
Speaker 2: they're in right tackles. So I do think some of
Speaker 2: that is coming into the game. I'm with you. I
Speaker 2: am all day give me twenty one, twenty two, whatever personnel,
Speaker 2: but give me a fullback, you know, even if it's
Speaker 2: Kyle yustcheck because I think there's so much you know
Speaker 2: now now the Philadelphia Eagles. They just use eleven guys
Speaker 2: and do it right. You know, on the goal line
Speaker 2: they just go ahead and make their little cocoon and
Speaker 2: push everything. But I do think the physicality in the
Speaker 2: middle of the field is starting to show up a
Speaker 2: little bit more. I don't know if we're ever going
Speaker 2: to completely get there, but it is cyclical in a way,
Speaker 2: you know, especially now with these runs quarterbacks and you
Speaker 2: have to in the math usually tilted, you know, you
Speaker 2: didn't have to account for the quarterbacks, and defenses were
Speaker 2: playing eleven on ten. Now they're playing eleven on eleven
Speaker 2: because so many of these guys are hoping.
Speaker 4: All right, So as we say goodbye here, Steve Whitche,
Speaker 4: NFL Network chief national reporter and native of Saint Louis,
Speaker 4: did you here's the softball on our way out? Did
Speaker 4: you have a Ron Wolfley poster in your room growing up?
Speaker 2: You know? And Wolf knows this and I have to
Speaker 2: apogize him. No, but I did have Wayne Morris before me.
Speaker 6: Oh, Steve, thank you so much, buddy.
Speaker 1: See that's tough.
Speaker 4: That's tough on Wolf, Wayne Morris before him, Adrian Wilson
Speaker 4: after him. Tough deal, Steve, thank you.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me on. Guys.
Speaker 4: There you go. Steve why Nnefel Network chief national reporter
Speaker 4: here on the Big Red Rage, brought to you by
Speaker 4: santan Ford and Gilbert. As we continue talking Cardinals here
Speaker 4: the week after the draft, snapped h Murray short set
Speaker 4: and throw his left side of the end zone, boom
Speaker 4: handed catch for a touchdown by DeAndre Hopkins. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1: He stabbed that out of the air with his left hand,
Speaker 1: pulled it in for a huge cardinal scorn. Fantastic chemistry
Speaker 1: between Kyler Murray at de Andre Hopkins.
Speaker 6: That you talk about it.
Speaker 1: Those daggers, those stealing knives. Stabbed the pig with his
Speaker 1: left hand out of the air.
Speaker 6: I said, everybody telling me to stay? Who said I
Speaker 6: want to go?
Speaker 2: Who said I wanted to leave? My head working?
Speaker 6: Baby?
Speaker 2: All right?
Speaker 4: That is DeAndre Hopkins. Earlier this week on social media
Speaker 4: quick video, he posted him working out here in the
Speaker 4: az Look, de Hopkins still play. The question is where
Speaker 4: where is he going to play? He's still an Arizona Cardinal,
Speaker 4: but for how long?
Speaker 5: It is?
Speaker 4: The Big Red Rage presented by sandtan Ford and Gilbert.
Speaker 4: We are saying tan Ford special thanks Steve White, senior
Speaker 4: NFL network reporter, Paul Kelv c Ron Wolfley, and Wolf
Speaker 4: Look as he actually said that he's leaving Arizona. No,
Speaker 4: but he did post back on January eleventh on Instagram
Speaker 4: a picture with the inscription forever grateful. He's also had
Speaker 4: Des Bryan and Von Miller as his hype men, respectively
Speaker 4: for Dallas and Buffalo, and then of course he did
Speaker 4: the video podcast where they were thrown out possible destinations
Speaker 4: and trade partners, and he was making faces to approve
Speaker 4: or disapprove. So he's been a willing participant in some
Speaker 4: of the trade chatter out there at the very least.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he has, PAULI no doubt about that, and I
Speaker 6: am surprised. I don't know about you, Paul, but I
Speaker 6: am surprised that he is still an Arizona Cardinal. After
Speaker 6: the draft, I thought, going into the draft, many would
Speaker 6: want to clear that up. I thought going in the
Speaker 6: day of the draft. The morning of the draft, I
Speaker 6: thought maybe that first round he'd be moved, and then
Speaker 6: I thought, Okay, if it didn't happen, then maybe it's
Speaker 6: going to happen on day two before the draft. Day two, Well,
Speaker 6: that did not happen. I think the draft came, it went,
Speaker 6: of course, and now you've got you've got DeAndre Hopkins
Speaker 6: still on this team. I am surprised having said that, Paul,
Speaker 6: I don't expect him to be on the team when
Speaker 6: they go to training camp. If he is, Paully, can
Speaker 6: I tell you right now, I'm going to take that
Speaker 6: as a positive and hope that DeAndre Hopkins is going
Speaker 6: to come in here and model the culture that Jag
Speaker 6: and Maniassin for want.
Speaker 4: So now that you're pass the draft, you have the
Speaker 4: big question to d Hop and Buddha Baker. They have
Speaker 4: one thing in common. Neither player reportedly has any guaranteed
Speaker 4: money left on their deal, and both might be in
Speaker 4: player at least the subject of trade rumors and reports.
Speaker 4: So on the Day Pash podcast, here's many Assin Ford
Speaker 4: on Buddha and d Hop.
Speaker 7: The key to both those situations is communication, and both
Speaker 7: d Hop and Buddha have been great with communicating with
Speaker 7: me back and forth with their you know, their representation.
Speaker 7: So I think you know understanding that that players have
Speaker 7: opinions and ideas and things that go through their head. Hey,
Speaker 7: that's that's human nature. We all have that that that
Speaker 7: happens for all of us. But I think just continuing
Speaker 7: to have those conversations and it's it's exciting here right now.
Speaker 7: There's a there's a good energy in the building, and
Speaker 7: we're just going to continue to keep those lines of
Speaker 7: communication open.
Speaker 4: And then another decision was made this week on the
Speaker 4: future of Isaiah Simmons where the Cardinals decline to pick
Speaker 4: up the option, the fifth year option that would have
Speaker 4: guaranteed him twelve point seven million dollars in salary for
Speaker 4: twenty twenty four, which means that the draft class of
Speaker 4: twenty twenty where Isaiah was the number eight pick overall,
Speaker 4: has easily set a mark for the fewest fifth year
Speaker 4: options picked up across the league. That's just a hallmark
Speaker 4: of that class, but in particular with Isaiah Simmons. Give
Speaker 4: us your thoughts there.
Speaker 6: Both, Yeah, Paul, you know, I think it's all the
Speaker 6: uncertainty of how Isaiah Simmons is going to fit into
Speaker 6: the schemes that Nick Rowlis of course, and Jag Jonathan
Speaker 6: Gannon want to actually run. PAULI so to me, I
Speaker 6: look at that situation and think it was the uncertainty
Speaker 6: that was the reason why they did it, they still
Speaker 6: can actually sign him. Of course, if suddenly you put
Speaker 6: him out on the edge and he starts producing a Paulie,
Speaker 6: you can always approach him and say, hey, we're ready
Speaker 6: to extend you. Are you ready to do it? Now.
Speaker 6: That's a risk, of course, because Isaiah may say, Hey,
Speaker 6: I'm going to continue to do what I do. I'm
Speaker 6: going to finish this season, become a free agent, and
Speaker 6: then we'll talk. Maybe that's what he's going to do.
Speaker 6: We'll have to wait and see. But either way, I
Speaker 6: would have done exactly what the Arizona Cardinals did because
Speaker 6: you don't know how he's going to fit in your scheme.
Speaker 4: Here's the analogy I used to me, Isaiah Simmons is
Speaker 4: the NFL equivalent of an ink blot test. What do
Speaker 4: you see when you look at Isaiah Simmons? Yeah, where
Speaker 4: do you see him lining up? Do you see him
Speaker 4: on the edge. Do you see him a weak side
Speaker 4: inside as an inside backer. Do you see him in
Speaker 4: the slot where he played the majority of a snaps?
Speaker 4: Do you see him more as a deep center field safety.
Speaker 4: We've seen him in that role as well. I mean,
Speaker 4: where exactly does he fit in this defense? It's it's
Speaker 4: like a rorshack, you know. I mean, what are we
Speaker 4: seeing here?
Speaker 6: No, you're right, Paul, that's the difficulty right now for me.
Speaker 6: I think they're going to take him and stick him
Speaker 6: at the edge. That's what I think they're gonna do.
Speaker 6: Stick them there and tell them this is what we
Speaker 6: need from you on the edge. Can you do it?
Speaker 6: Give him that opportunity to see if you can.
Speaker 4: Well, think about it. They've moved Zavian Collins out to
Speaker 4: the edge at least based on the voluntary veteran mini camp.
Speaker 4: He was working with the outside linebackers, and we know
Speaker 4: they've signed a number of veteran inside linebackers and they
Speaker 4: just drafted one in the fifth round as well. So
Speaker 4: intriguing we'll see indeed. Special thanks as always Jim Amhundro,
Speaker 4: Mitch Barreldas, Steve Weisch, Thank you senior NFL Network reporter
Speaker 4: joining us as we broke down the Cardinals draft class
Speaker 4: twenty twenty three. And by the way, a reminder, Season six,
Speaker 4: episode three Cardinals play plans streaming now via the Cardinals
Speaker 4: YouTube page. All about the uniforms behind the scenes or
Speaker 4: behind the scenes in this case, YouTube dot Com slash Azcardinals.
Speaker 4: Thanks for joining us on the Big Red Rage presented
Speaker 4: by santan Ford in Gilbert. Number one Til.
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