Halford & Brough in the Morning - Kravtsov, Part Deux

Episode Date: August 6, 2025

In hour one, guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe and Randip Janda look back at the previous day in sports, they chat the Canucks signing (for a second time) Vitali Kravtsov as well as the red-hot Blue Jays (3:00), plus they discuss the latest football news with Too Deep Zone NFL insider Mike Tanier (26:03). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to Haldan-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-na. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Garland across, Kravsov. In front, it may have been Seth Jones. It is. Crapsov has his first as a conduct. Swing and a miss. He struck him out of him.

a cutter, and the Rangers have shut out the Yankees 2-0-0. Hinty, right field, into the nice guy in the upper deck at Coorsfield. My goodness. Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough. No, Halford, no bruff. It's still Josh Elliott-Wolf and Randy Janda here with you. Coming to you live from the Kintech Studio.

Good morning, Randi. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Addo. Good morning, Laddie. Hello, hello. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio and Halford & Brough is brought to by Sands and Associates.

B.C.'s first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit sands-dustee.com. We're broadcasting live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. And you can text in on the 650-6-50 Dumbar Lumber Text Line, Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and renno warriors for over 50 years. visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dumbar Lumber.com. Full show today at 6.30.

We're going to speak to Mike Tenier, a writer, editor, founder of the Two Deep Zone. A lot of NFL talk will go around the National Football League as training camps are underway. Preseason NFL football is about to start happening. Get pumped. It's going to be bad. But eventually it'll be good. And that's all that matter. The Hall of Fame game wasn't the official launch?

Nobody watches that. Nobody watches that. Even like the first week of the preseason season. Like I'm a Vikings fan. So they announced that JJ McCarthy was going to play. And I'm like, please don't. That's a bad idea. And so, yeah, that's all that matters.

And then at 7, Don Legreca, host on ESPN 880am in New York and New Jersey Devils play-by-play announcer is going to join us. Randeep, the Yankees are bad. I don't know what's going on they lost again Devin Williams he's not been very good has a beard

so that's good for him good for him he's winning off the field I guess in that regard but a meltdown yet again and this is a couple of games in a row it's not good for the Yankees five in a row

Don Legreca is a if you follow him outside of you know his devil's work he's a very opinionated radio host in New York City I'm sure he has thoughts on what's going on with the Yankees right now.

So yeah, we'll talk Yankees and we'll maybe talk some devils with him as well at 7.30. 7.30. We're going to talk to Luke Fox from Sportsnet. He had an article up on Sportsnet.com

detailing the latest rumors and reports around nine RFAs remaining unsigned in the NHL, including a couple that Canucks fans are keeping a close eye on in Marco Rossi, Mason McTavish,

Luke Hughes, too, but he's not offer sheet eligible, so less exciting. But those two, and then a few others as well. So we'll get into that with Luke Fox at 730. Including Laddie's guy, Luke Evangelista as well. Yes, another big name on that list. I'm a big Luke Evangelista guy. We'll lead the interview with Luke Evangelista talk. And then what we learned will be at 8 o'clock because at 8.30,

we're going to talk to Jeannie Bouchard, former now retired, tennis, and she's putting in some work on the Sportsnet broadcast for the National Bank Open. So we'll talk about that. We'll talk about everything going on in the tournament with Vicki and Boko and what run she's on. But also we'll talk about her own career, finally ending at the National Bank Open on home soil, all of that and what she was able to accomplish in her career as well. It was, you know, Jeannie Mania took over Canada a number of years ago. And there's some success, of course, making a final at Wimbledon.

But beyond that as well, you start looking at, there's a lot of challenges too, right? Being a young athlete, playing with pressure, having that pressure of a nation on your shoulders. Like, there's a lot of good, but there's a lot of things that I'm sure Jeannie can talk about. And probably relate to Vicki & Boko or Leila Annie Fernandez and other athletes that are having to go through that right now, being the hope for a country in a sport. So working in reverse 830, Jeannie Bouchard, 8 o'clock, we'll do. what we learned. So get those in early 7.30, Luke Fox, 7 o'clock, Don LaGreca, and 630. It's Mike Teneer. That's what's happening on the show today. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No. What happened? I missed all the action because

I was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed that? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit BCCSA.c.a. So, the Vancouver Canucks, they said it couldn't be done. On August 5th, it was like, no way they're making news today. No way they'll make a big splash in the free agent market. No way they'll add to their forward group. And they said, you know what? We got something in store for you guys. A two-way contract for Vitaly Kravsov. Get pumped. He's coming back. Craftsov mania is coming back to Vancouver. He has signed a

one-year deal, two-way with the Vancouver Canucks. 27 goals, 31 assists in the KHL last year, good for Vitali Kravsov, and good for the Vancouver Canucks. This player comes back, he comes back on a two-way deal, as you mentioned. And I like this because you can start off in Abbotsford. You can build his game. You're going to get a chance to see what he can do over a season. We know the KHL stats are misleading in a lot of ways in the sense

that you can put up points in that league, but they don't know what defense is over there. Yes. And just look at the scoring list, and we'll get to this a little bit later on in the show, but all you need to know is it's a who's who of former NHL depth players. Specifically former Kinnaks as well.

Yes. I'm going to I'm going to lead with, Josh Livo led league in scoring, which is a shocker to me. Did he break a record? He had 80 points. It was so good. Bring him back, too. 49 goals.

But anyways, this is about with Talley Grab. In six games, no less. Yeah, it was incredible to watch. But Andy, you're right. Defense is optional in that league. Yeah, it's not a thing. So how far has his game actually developed? You know, in that press release that the Canucks did send out, there was one line that

I like hearing this from Patrick Alvin. We'll see how his game has developed. There's something along those lines where he says, we'll see where his game is at. Yeah, this is a one-way deal, and it tells me, or excuse me, two-way deal, one-year deal. It tells me that the player is willing to put in the work in Abbotsford, and that's the most important part. It's coming in with the right attitude. Yeah, because a lot of times players come here from Russia, and it's like, hey, if I'm not going to be in the NHL, I'm going to go back to Russia. And, like, that's fair.

You can make your own decisions. But it is always a little comforting, I guess, when it's like, hey, even if you, Even if Craftsov or whoever it is doesn't stick at the NHL level, there's still time for that prospect or that player to continue to develop within your own system. And the Canucks have done a pretty good job lately of developing these guys who are maybe tweener players into guys who can at least play at the NHL level, right? And at least they have similar systems and structure in both Vancouver and Abbotsford that have made the transition a little bit easier.

So if you get Kraftsov just into the system in some way, I'm not looking at him and being like, ah, he's the, he's the answer in the top six. But he's another guy that I think the Canucks have a lot of players between, you know, 23 to 26 years old where it's like, well, if one of them pans out to be more than anticipated, that's a big win. From the team's perspective, I get it, because he's still in the right age range to be a player that you can say, all right, where he's Where is he at? And at the very least, the AHL level is where he can play. Okay, I got a question for you guys.

What's up? What is he going to do this time, though, that he didn't do last time? Well, I can tell you what he did last time. And it was not much. Having covered a lot of those games, he was... We played his lone goal highlight. He had a one. I mean, I get it's a risk-free move in the sense that you're not losing anything.

But what's their mindset? Like, do they think he's going to be a different player? I mean, so he has, in the last couple of years, the KHL, his point totals have increased. Like, so before he came over, and obviously he was younger, he was less than half a point per game, uh, in the K. Now he's closer. He's essentially almost a point per game in the KHL. So maybe their, their reasoning is like, hey, his offense has developed to a point where there might be some pop. And like, like, again, it's a, it's a lottery ticket.

It's a low percentage shot. But maybe there is some offensive upside that can translate to the NHL, or at least like, even if he doesn't, I think he is a good piece to have in Abbottes. So with Vitaly Kravsov, he's six foot to just under 200 pounds, but he doesn't play that game historically, right? And a priority for the Canucks this past offseason was players that get inside, players that are able to, you know, get to the middle of the ice where the goals are scored. Now, he's got to show that he's that player because the last time he was in the NHL, he wasn't that player. So to your point, Josh, Was there an element of development in the KHL that saw him become more of an impact piece?

And was he a little bit more willing to get inside? It's a lot easier to get inside in the KHL. The NHL is a different animal altogether. So he's going to have to show that A at the HL level. And if he can maybe have some development, like Alinas Carlson, who was very much that player this past year, there is a path there. But he's got to show a lot because the last time he was in North America,

the last time he was in the NHL, he was a perimeter player he was a player on the periphery and you didn't really notice him all that much he's got to show that he's not that player anymore Phoenix with a good point in the inbox yeah but show me his stats into beauty league yeah fair enough

they're non-existent unfortunately Randy if I guess you get you in on the joke oh I know the beauty league I've been listening to your show oh you have okay Halbro hates it especially Halford just hate you know who also hates it so obviously we make sure to bring it up whenever we can Rick Tockey used to hate it too

Not a fan of that You know when Derek Forbert's putting up points in the beauty league You're scoring highlight real goals in the beauty league You're like maybe this doesn't matter I would say them back in my 1040 days I remember having to I was forced to put it into my sports updates Because people cared at that point I was just like blowing my mind

I'm like all right here's our De Beauty League update for the day Those are dark days when there was no other hope And you had to kind of focus on Brock Besser offseason Especially yeah it was Brock Besser He just got three goals in the beauty league check it out. Yeah, it's like, guys, it doesn't, it doesn't matter. Okay, but in terms of where he kind of sits in the depth chart, I guess.

So you mentioned Linus Carlson. I still think Carlson is clearly above him. Neil Zomon, I would still have a head of. Positionally, you know, he can play center as well. That's going to get hidden points. Atu-Ratu, again, with the center ability. And I just think he's someone they have a little more hoping, Lekar-Backi, I still have above. Kravsov, Ty Mueller,

Max Sasson. Is that kind of the tier he falls in? Well, here's why a lot of those players, and I would say the Mueller range is probably where you have Kravsoft, because all of those guys have shown you that they can play in the H.L. Craftsov hasn't recently. He did with the Rangers.

Yeah. But it's been a bit. So I think at the very least you have that player, but yeah, Linus Carlson, Atu-R-A-Tu, Neil Zomon, Arste-Benz. Those guys are a level a level up from Vitaly Kravsov. Now, with Kravsov, though,

we've talked about the team and why it makes sense for the team. For the player, he's 25 years of age, right? It's every player's dream to play in the NHL. The first time around didn't work out so well. The second time, like, you're in, I would say, like, you know, entering the prime or this is where you should start making

kind of your money, making, you know, some headway into your professional career. So why not give it another? shot either works for the Vancouver Canucks and you develop as a player or at the very least you can position yourself to say hey if you there's a log jam of forwards in your organization I'm going to play my way into maybe a trade I want to be an NHL player one way or another whether that's with your organization or another so since they retain his rights this is a natural move for crafts off too just to say I believe I can play this at this level hopefully for

the Vancouver Canucks but if not But moving forward, you know, if you got to move me, that's cool. But I want to try to make it happen with your organization. Yeah, he is. So he is 25 years old. It is the time where it's like, hey, if you're going to make another run at trying to play in the NHL, now is the time. And then if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. So we'll see how it all goes for Vitalik Kravsov and the Vancouver Canucks.

And if he is in the conversation for a roster spot at any point this season, I think that would be a win for the Canucks. Craftsov as well. Okay, moving on to baseball. The, the, I was going to say the Vancouver Blue Jays, the Toronto Blue Jays. They are not the Vancouver Blue Jays. Hold on a second. A lot of Mariners fans are going to start. I know, I know. That's why I'm going to start calling them the Vancouver Blue Jays. Yeah, the Canada's team, Blue Jays. The Toronto Blue Jays. They won again. They beat the Colorado Rockies who are still a bad team. 10 to 4 and the power, the power bats were there, Dalton Varshow.

He has 24 hits this season, 11 of them are home runs. And he had two more last night. Isn't it 18 or extra base? It's something wild like that. He's a high-of-end player. He's either getting multiple bases or he's not getting on base.

That is the Dalton Varsho experience. And then he's making diving grabs against the Colorado Rockies the night before. I love it. It's a fun experience. If you're a neutral fan, like he's must watch because he's whiffing, he's hitting home runs, and he's making diving catches.

Yes. Vladdy, this is the, this is the nice thing. He also hit a home run. And that's the thing we were talking about yesterday. It's the, it's the thing people want to see from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the power bat, the power element of his game kind of make a resurgence. Again, I don't know. I feel like it might be a slightly overblown issue just based on you look at the rest of his stats and you're like, well, he's still a very good player. But it is, it is nice. And we talk about come playoff time, Like, hey, if you have that element of someone that can hit a home run in a clutch moment,

we'll see if he can do it against teams that are better than the Colorado Rockies. Which is everybody. Which is every team in Major League Baseball. But it was nice to see Vladia hit a home run. And he had a long fly ball as well yesterday. Yeah. I'm happy with the long fly ball personally. That was a great to see.

That was a highlight. You know, it's easy against the Colorado Rockies when you're just like, oh, that was a nice long fly ball as well. Everything is going right. Even the outs are going well. It's like, well, that was a 400 foot out. Okay. Vladdy doing his thing, love it.

Dalton Varshow, good for him as well. Everything is going right for the Blue Jays. But we do need to focus on the fact that this is partly about the Blue Jays, but it's also about how bad the Rockies are. They are Major League Baseball's version of a slump buster. Like essentially, when something is going wrong, so wrong, don't worry, the Colorado Rockies are just around the corner, and you're going to feel good about yourself again.

Yes. Unfortunately, it is only a three-game series. It wraps up today for the Jays at noon. It's a noon first page. Can the Yankees get the Rockies next please? That would be great. I hope not. The Blue Jays.

Actually, I just forgot I was going to say. Oh, you cut me off. The Blue Jays. I'm so sorry. Something about the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays. That's is how I wanted to end it. The Blue Jays.

Okay, so yeah, the Jays, they play the Rockies at noon today. You can hear the call here on Spitz. Oh, I remember. I was going to say. Perios. The Jays are something like 11 and 2 in his last 13 starts, but is he the pitcher you're least confident in when he's on the mound? I feel like it is because the last three or four starts he's had,

the end of his starts have been a little dramatic. And it was the same thing yesterday too, even though they had the lead. It ended up 7-4 when he was taken out and it was getting a little questionable. Yeah. I haven't been like super comfortable at all when he's been pitching, to be honest. But I can say that about it kind of feels like every Jays pitch.

Even like Eric Flauer, every time he pitches, I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm waiting for it to come back down to earth. He hasn't given up more than three in a start yet. Yeah, during the game, I have no issues with it. Max Scherzer, too. It's like, oh, he's been excellent in the last two starts, though, right? Exactly. Like, for Rios might be the one I'm least confident in when Bieber gets ready.

Yes, yeah. Which is kind of shocking to say. There's an argument to make that he could be one of the guys where you, when Bieber comes back, you're going to be put in a situation where you have to, you know, move one guy or a couple guys. to the bullpen come playoff time and I think there's a very good argument to make if Bieber returns at

full Bieber form that Barrios could be one of those guys and we heard from Blair yesterday they don't want to do the six-man rotation no you don't have to but hey there's I think the next start for Bieber is on Saturday if I'm not mistaken in Buffalo in Buffalo Josh you'd say you're a believer I'm a believer

certainly sounds like one I'm gonna I'm gonna come in wearing purple shirts every day Shane Bieber pitches I'm going to at some point this week call him Justin Bieber but Shane Bieber Yeah, for now you, Shane. One start, rehab start, great. Good sign, you know, looks sharp enough, but, guys, there's a long way to go still, right? Like, in terms of Tommy John's surgery, coming back, it provides a rosy outlook for the Blue Jays, no doubt about that, but he's still got to show a lot more.

He does, he does. So, yeah, the Jays wrap up that series at noon. Once again, he can hear the call here on Sportsnet 650, and then they have an off day, and then they are in L.A. to take on the Dodgers and I believe the projected starters for the Dodgers include Blake Snell and Clayton Kershaw and

someone else. Someone else that's good. I forget who else the projected start. Someone who's not injured on the Dodgers staff right now. Someone who can actually pitch for the Dodgers that is healthy. So that'll be a big test but maybe they get the confidence from this series to carry over

to the next one to the other team that people in this region care about when it comes to Major League Baseball, the Seattle Mariners with a big win. They beat the Chicago White Sox 8 to 3. Swares, Naylor, they both hit home runs. So the deadline additions

working out well for the Seattle Mariners. And with that, they have surpassed your New York Yankees for the second wildcard spot. Yeah, the Yankees are like me and the gross grind right now, getting passed by everybody. This is a rough situation.

Yeah. And what, half game ahead of the Rangers now as well? They are, yeah, I think it's either half a game or one game. Yeah, it's half a game ahead of the Rangers too. Massive, massive. And they play again today at 1130. So the Rangers, if they win, if they complete the sweep, would pass the Yankees. And the Yankees would be out of the playoff picture.

This is a needless to say, when you've lost five in a row, you're in that market, you're bolping. and it continues to melt down. Devin Williams, who I thought was a great off-season pickup, and I think a lot of Major League Baseball was like, all right, good pickup for the Yankees. He looks like he's gone. Like, he looks like he's lost. Did you see the sad that was going around?

Oh, yeah. He's given up the same amount of runs this year with the Yankees that he had in the previous, was it, three? I think it was three seasons combined. Yeah. That's unbelievable. What is going on? Yeah, he's been rough.

Jake Bird, one of their deadline editions, had to get optioned yesterday, too. So it's just, it's not going well. for the Yankees bullpen. Well, we heard Blair talk about it. And I'm going to, you know, obviously when I asked Don LaGreca about this, too, because some guys are cut out for New York City and the pressure and some aren't. And that stat you reference, Lattie, is that's a pressure stat to me.

That's a guy that doesn't have his stuff anymore and is rattled maybe by the pressure. Being the closer in New York City is not easy. And it actually makes me respect Mariana Rivera even more because he put up unbelievable numbers in that market. Whereas Devin Williams, he's crumbling right now, and the entire team is. Yes. So, yeah, the Yankees, they are in a precarious position right now.

Is he surviving this? Yeah. If it continues like this, no. Definitely. To the end of the year, he might because him and Cashman are kind of tied to the hip a little bit, right? Like, if they miss the playoffs, he's definitely not. No, there's no way that city would allow him to keep a job. Yeah.

If they didn't make the playoffs. And even if they make the playoffs, remember, they made it to the World Series last year. Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy. And then also, the Boston Red Sox, they stay hot. They win yesterday. They have won seven in a row now. They are...

Yeah, they can stop that now. Yeah, it'd be really nice if they chilled out a little bit. I believe they are three games. Yeah, three games back of the Blue Jays for top spot. Devers was really holding them back. You know, apparently, that's the most unsettling thing about this. If I'm a rival of the Boston Red Sox right now, it's like their vibes are so bad. And now it's like, you get rid of one guy.

And the vibes are great again. They're like, we can't be beaten. This is what the Canucks wanted in around February. And it did not happen. No. It's working for the Red Sox, though. It is working for the Red Sox. They let Devers go and they are doing really good at this point of the season.

Also, before we go, an NFL note, Keenan Allen returning to the L.A. Chargers, a reunion on a one-year deal. He is 33 years old. He might be bad at football now. but he is going back to the Chargers and they need receiving help, so maybe he can help. So Jim Harvall last week mentioned,

hey, everybody else on this team needs to get to the level of Justin Herbert. So they brought Keenan Allen in, not prime Keenan Allen, 33-year-old, which in football years is getting up there for a lot of years. I'm still not liking those weapons.

Like, he's sure he's got the resume, but what, you got Ladd-McConkie, Quentin Johnson. Yeah. It's, I think they have,

there's another, they have another rookie that's Trey Palmer I think his name is I could be wrong that that's a little hyped up but still it's like man a lot of these are bad I like Ladd McConkey but it's not a it's not inspiring receiving core

no he's is he a waiver pickup in most fantasy drafts or is he going to be a late pickup because he could be like the number one receiver potentially Keenan Allen you could on this team yeah I mean yeah on this team you could be I think he's a if we're talking fantasy I would take him with a way from yeah not a

not a number one receiver across the league on this team specifically. Yes. Yeah. Is he a one receiver on any team now? Yeah, but he could be a safe option. So he's returning to the Chargers. What I do,

what I do like, and we saw it with, like, Damien Lillard going back to Portland and Chris Paul going to the Clippers. I do like when stars of a team returned to a team on like more than a one-day contract. Trudevius White to the bills right now?

Yeah. Which, like, he's shot too. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, ideally you want them when they're good, but I just, I love a reunion. I'm, I don't know, I like it. So we'll see.

I hope it works out. You like them being run over by the younger kids? Like, man, that's sad. That's harsh. Lose your spot again. Okay, so it is Halford & Brough. Josh Ali Wolfe, Randy Chandah. On the other side, we'll get into more NFL talk with Mike Tenier on SportsNet 650.

Welcome back to a spooky. This always reminds me of Inspector Gadget. We've played this many times. I was trying to figure out what this was. I thought it was like a Poka Wednesday theme of the way it started off, but it got a little bit more electronic. It feels very Halloween to me. It's sort of Halloween.

It's a good one. It's Jerry Jones intro music. Just weird. No, Halford. No Brough. It's Josh L.A. Wolf and Randy Janda here with you. Coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. And Huffin and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest.

Visit sands dash trustee.com. All right. We go to the hotline now powered by Power West Industry to Industries. It is Mike Tenier, writer, editor, and founder of the Two Deep Zone. Appreciate you taking the time, Mike. How are you? I'm doing great I think Jerry Jones's entry music is the Wario entrance music from like Super Mario

Sunshine era Yeah that's a good shout So yeah the the latest on this Jerry Jones Micah Parsons saga is that Jerry Jones is not confident Micah Parsons will be available for the start of the regular season for the Cowboys

What do you make of this whole situation and how Jerry is handling has been business. Yeah, and the best thing Jerry Jones could do right now for his organization that he owns is to shut the heck up and get out of the way and let his son, Stephen, or some other person, deal with Michael Parsons' agent, but Jerry refuses to do that. He's saying that. He's out there talking about how he, he bought the, he bought the Cowboys in a 30-second conversation and a coin flip. And you know what? That's not true. I mean, there's simply no way that's true. Jerry is just kind of shooting from the hit, making things up right now, possibly misrepresent, remembering the

facts. The fact is he has really soured this negotiation with Micah Parsons. He's acted inappropriately on his side of things. He took something that was easy and has made it much more difficult. I think Mike is back, honestly. I think Mike is back on September 3rd, September 4th. The question is, is he back mentally, physically heart and soul? Or is he back because he signed his contract and he's in there? And this team that has been dealing with this for weeks now has to turn around and be serious about winning football games, and they start right off having to face the Eagles, which is a very tough test. Yeah, it's not going to be easy for this team. And I thought there was an interview with, I believe it was USA Today's Jared Bell, where Jerry Jones said,

hey, this is the way I do business. I'm not going to change. Now, the question is, you know, he's in the headlines, he loves the headlines, but there is a price to pay for this, team chemistry, team success, just overall working environment. Like, at what point do you have to say, hey, the team hasn't won a Super Bowl in 29 years. Maybe you've got to change around the way you do things. Yeah, that point came around, I guess, 2013 or so. I think that point came and went. And this isn't the same Jerry even when we saw 10, 11 years ago, where, you know, he was kind of a rascal about it. You know, I hate this point out that he's in his early 80s right now. He might not have, like, have his thumb on things the way he did. And when somebody like

that says, this is the way I do things, I'm not going to change. That's usually not a good sign, because the way they do things has kind of drifted from the way they used to do things when they were a little more clever about it, a little more tactical about it, and weren't just simply as being kind of stubborn and obstinate. Do you think this will have, like, this and what's kind of gone on with different negotiations with the Cowboys in the past? Do you think this has an impact on players wanting to play for the Cowboys, or is there still an allure of like, well, I want to play for the Cowboys?

I think there's still a little bit of an allure there, you know, the level of national attention, international attention you get from the Cowboys is great, but they haven't been good at signing high-level free agents for years. You know, we always used to mention, oh, here's a high-level free agent. Jerry's going to call, he's going to bring him to Dallas, and you would get that

back in the days of, you know, T.O. or whatever. Now it's harder. Yeah, you've got George Pickens in a trade. You look at all the free agents they brought in. There were all these guys who were first-round picks who played three or four years on their teams and kind of failed, and then they're coming to the Cowboys, almost like they're a minor league team, like a triple

affiliate trying to get it back. That's a factor. And let's be real. The fact that they wind up overpaying. The Cowboys wind up overpaying because they claim to be negotiating and at the last second they pay the guy top dollar because they should have taken care of it months ago when top dollar wasn't as much money. It's just harder for them to put a big package in front of a free agent or somebody coming in and saying, look at all this money. That money's tied up with CD. That money is tied up with Dak Prescott is going to be tied up with Micah so they can't really compete even financially, let alone with their prestige. the way they did maybe 10 years ago.

Well, especially when you compare it to the teams they have to compete with like the Philadelphia Eagles who tend to handle their business earlier and it's obviously paying off. They got a really deep team and have won a Super Bowl because of it. Is that kind of the model of how franchises should be going about their business when it comes to figuring out contract situations with their stars?

It absolutely is. Of course, the Eagles have been sustaining this kind of success for years going back to their last Super Bowl. with like a pretty much different team back with Carson Wentz and Nick Foles and those guys. And you can look at the Chiefs to a degree. You can look at the bills to a degree. These teams, they get the guy in

and they get them signed right away to the extension. And then just even before they ask for the next extension, kind of like the next extension appears, on the one hand, it looks like these teams are spending too much money, but they're not because the extension comes before the five other guys ask for their extensions. So all of a sudden it's like somebody like A.J. Brown or Devante Smith or even hurts,

They're like the six, seven, seventh, eighth, highest paid player at their position in the NFL, but they're happy because the money came in early. Contrast that with waiting, waiting, waiting on Micah Parsons until Micah Parsons, because he's Miles Garrett get paid, see T.J. Watt get paid. Now you're paying him the top at his position. So in addition to having a happy team culture where the guys are ready to come in and they're not thinking about money, you've saved money. You've saved money in the long run to build this roster.

And that's what the Eagles and some other teams like the Bills and Chiefs have been doing. All right, we're talking about contracts in Dallas, but the L.A. Chargers ended up signing one, bringing in Keenan Allen, a lot of discussion about whether Justin Herbert has enough support. Does he have playmakers? They go back to the veteran who was a free agent. What's he got left? Is it enough to support Justin Herbert? Very little and no. I mean, this is a Chargers team that brought Mike Williams back in March. Mike Williams is a younger player who was with the Chargers, spent a year in the Jets. Mike Williams came back and returned. retired a couple of weeks later. I don't know if Keenan Allen's going to come back and retire a couple of weeks later, but he was on the Bears. He was not really a high-impact player last year. The Bears brought him in to help Caleb Williams.

Calib Williams didn't connect with him on that level. Yeah, there were some catches here and there. They're bringing back a guy who's kind of a wide receiver three, wide receiver four at this point, and this is a team in the Chargers really needs a wide receiver one. That's what they need. Lab McConkey is a kind of a rising guy. They've got some prospects, some rookies. but this is not who they need

and it's weird that they did this just weeks after, again, Alan's former teammate comes back and retires, why do they keep going to this well? Why aren't they looking for maybe a more outside the box solution than bringing back familiar faces that they were eager to get rid of just a year ago? How much pressure is on

the Chargers this year? Like it feels like they've kind of been one of the sexy picks for a while of a team that you know could exceed expectations or could take that step and you know they've made the playoffs but they haven't really taken a step past that, is there pressure on them to, you know,

to win a game or two in the postseason? You know, when I start ranking like the top five or six pressure teams, I wouldn't put the chargers on there. You know, there are teams who's like the Colts, who have not gone over the hump and it's three or four years

in for their coaches or the dolphins or the Seahawks or the second year or the Cardinals who's the third or fourth year for their head coach. Jim Harbaugh's different. Like Harbaugh is King there, and he got them to the playoffs, and he has a way of working with both ownership and his players to keep them believing if they take a step back. Justin Herbert is under contract, and I think people do recognize that, yeah, for whatever

his fault, or maybe he is a little bit overrated, but man, the talent is there, and he hasn't gotten the support. I think there's a sense that this team could once again go out there, maybe win nine, ten games, then go and lose to the bills in the playoffs or something like that, and maintain the status quo because of the esteem and prestige of Harbaugh. but I don't know how long that lasts, frankly. If they lay a big egg, we might be talking about a different situation. They might not be a team super under pressure,

but I feel like the situation in Jacksonville is a little unique because they have a new head coach, but also Trevor Lawrence. Again, when we talk about guys or guys are teams where it's felt like they've been a sexy pick to take a step or do something more, Trevor Lawrence has kind of been that in Jacksonville for a bit now, Do you think there's pressure on, maybe not the team as a whole, but Trevor Lawrence to do more in Jacksonville and maybe get that team to the postseason as well? I think there is, and he's a guy who has had injury problems, but he has also had inconsistency problems. And they just change coaches, like you said, Liam Cohn is in there.

Cone is coming in with this quarterback-friendly scheme, the scheme that made Baker Mayfield look more like a pro bowler and got his career back on track. and is filled with short passes and screen passes, and you're bringing in this unique player and Travis Hunter to help on both sides of the ball. You know, Cohn's going to get his rebuild year or his Mulligan year or whatever. But if Trevor Warrens stays healthy and doesn't demonstrate that he fits there,

those questions are going to arise. And we're going to start hitting the years in his contract where he becomes tradable or cuttable or things like that. So I think there is a little pressure there. But I'm also very optimistic there. I'm looking at the DVOA projection. projections from Aaron Schoss, F.T. and Almanac, and it's a high projection for the Jaguars, team with a lot of talent on defense, team that had injuries last year that people didn't

necessarily notice. It should be healthier this year. There is pressure. I think Lawrence is going to meet those expectations and respond well to that pressure. Another quarterback that's getting love, especially from their head coach, is Bo Nix. He had a good season last year, and Sean Peyton said, I believe yesterday, that he is a superstar in the making. Of course, A coach is going to, you know, back his guy, but are you drinking the Kool-Aid when it comes to Bo Nix? I mean, Jim Harbaugh, I'll say, of Justin Herbert, man, I wish we had, like, his DNA and we could clone him. And he'll say this stuff like that. So, Sean Payton is still second in the division in terms of saying really over-the-top things about his head coach.

The great thing about Nix is whether you think he's going to elevate himself into this Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, sphere or not, or think he's maybe a notch below that. It's a team with a phenomenal defense. It's a team that did do some things to rebuild a little bit on their offensive playmaker core, but has a very solid, very stable offensive line. So here's a guy who can go out there and win under those circumstances. So I don't look at Bo Nix in the same way as I look at, say, a Trevor Lawrence or Justin Herbert, and say, here it is, buddy,

take this team as far as you can take it. There's a structure. Sean Payton's a big part of that structure with his very methodical offense. get in there, win some games by scores like, you know, 24 to 14 or 21 to 13 or whatever, get this team to the playoffs and you're still on the right track. And you know what? Quarterbacks often develop better under those circumstances. They don't have to throw 40 touchdowns.

They don't have to win every game by themselves. They learn better skills and they develop into that superstar because they were put in the position to do so. It is Halford-Mbrough, Josh Elliott-Wolf and Randy Chandef, filling in, joined by Mike Tenier of the two deep zones. So while we're talking about teams that have pressure on them, I do think these two teams kind of fall in the same category, but maybe to a higher level, the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills, do you see one of those two teams finally breaking through this season and getting over the Patrick Mahomes hump?

You know, my brain sees it because I think right now the Ravens and Bills have better rosters than the Chiefs. And I think the bills in particular have a very easy schedule, a very easy, a road to home field advantage. So my brain sees, yeah, they could break through, the Ravens could break through. My heart kind of sees it, too, because, you know, I think a lot of people are kind of done with the Chiefs, yeah, we've been there, we've done that, we want to see these fan bases, these teams get their opportunity.

So my head sees it, my heart sees it, my gut tells me, man, don't pick against the Chiefs to put yourself in this position in late January where you're looking at these two teams again. So that's a matter of, we're all in that same position. Yeah, we see how they can do it. that they're putting themselves in position to do it. We need to see them do it before we'll have any kind of faith that it's going to happen. Mike, I'm also looking at the Miami Dolphins right now.

When we talk about pressure, obviously this team is not where they were a couple of years ago, but Mike McDaniel has been the head coach for a number of years now. How much pressure is he facing? And I feel like the heat is getting hotter with this Tyreek Hill situation as even yesterday, Tyreek Hill was questioning whether Devon Devon Aitchan should be the short yard. guy in the red zone for the team. Like, he's trying to maybe send some shots to the head coach and give him some tips here, not in a very nice way.

Like, how weird can it get in Miami this year? Mike McDaniel started his press conference with, it's a fantastic morning because we're one day closer to death. That's how he started his press conference. By quoting Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, I just wrote, I guess, a thousand words that will be published maybe tomorrow about the dolphins. Let's put it this way.

The pressure is, like, it's core of the earth level pressure. I think Mike McDaniel is going to be fired. I think to a tongue of Iowa will probably get benched at some point before McDaniel gets fired. And the only reason Tyree Kill won't get traded is because of the chaos surrounding the rest of the team, like they won't get around to it. This is a team in shambles. This is a everybody off the ship because it's sinking situation.

And the only way I see the dolphins like winning six, seven, eight games is, you know, because they get the jets and they get some other teams and Tyreek is going to run around in circles and score some touchdowns. This is a bad situation and they're going to be a pretty bad football team. All right, Mike, I'm wearing my dolphins hat. Today I'm a Miami Dolphins fan. That answer just killed me inside. I've got to

say. Sorry, man. No, no, it's true. I see it happening as well. But, you know, when you look at that division, though, the Patriots, that's the team I'm intrigued by because we know what the bills are going to do. But, like, do the Patriots take a step this year after reloading last season and kind of bottoming out over the last couple years?

Yeah, I think they take the step. I think Drake May is doing all the right things. I think Mike Rabel comes in and kind of restores law and order in terms of like a locker room situation. The thing is, this is a team that a step might mean, you know, seven and ten. You know, the step is consolidating and getting back on track to being, you know, not just a rebuilding team. I think there are still a year away from serious content.

and you still look at some of the things they did in free agency, some of the guys they brought in. That should be enough to stabilize them. But again, I think there's like an over a rating situation going on with the Patriots a little bit. Look for them to be competitive, maybe not necessarily very good. So the preseason fully gets underway this week. Are there any storylines, any teams that you're keeping a close eye on as the preseason rolls on here? I have my little viewing plan all set up.

Yeah, I mean, it's going to start tomorrow night, Colts against Ravens. The Colts on their depth chart listed as their starting quarterback Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson. Not one, not the other, not both, but or. So we start out right away at the quarterback controversy. That's going to be exciting to watch on Friday night on NFL Network. The Browns are going to have four, five, six, maybe seven quarterbacks out there. That's going to be fun.

So there's a lot to look at. Now, again, you don't want to watch the great teams because the great teams are going to have the third stringers out there. But if you're trying to look at these rebuilding teams and figure out who's going to be what, this is the most wonderful time of the year. Did you, before we let you go, did you have any thoughts on where the Seahawks are at right now? I know when we were talking about teams with pressure on them, you kind of threw their name out there. What do you think of how they're shaping up heading into the season? I'm trying to figure out how they're doing anything besides kind of paddling in circles or

riding on a stationary bike right now. I don't see how they really improve. Roof by going from Gino Smith to Sam Darnold. I think they took a step backwards at wide receiver. I know that there are some defensive guys getting healthy, getting better. I know that the offensive line, there were a lot of changes there. I guess when I do watch the Seahawks in this preseason, I don't think I'm going to see very much of the starters. I want to see the starting offensive line a little bit.

Show me that there really is this broad-based development because they're in a tough division. There are no gimmies. There's no easy wins in the NFC West right now. They have to show me that they're not just building to perpetually. hang around 7, 8, 9 wins, and hey, if everything breaks right, we're the final wild card seed. Mike, really appreciate taking the time. Thanks for this. You got it. Take care and enjoy some preseason football.

We sure well. There's Mike Tenier, writer, editor, and founder of the Two Deep Zone, joining us on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. I kind of thought the dolphins would have a bad year, but Mike pretty much confirmed it. That was the scathing indictment of what's going on in Miami. Tyreek Hill is not happy. Mike McDaniel is a lame duck coach at this point. It's going to be bad. It does feel like a situation where it's like, it's just,

I don't know, I can't make the case for like things going right there, you know? Like I can't picture us looking back a few months from now and being like, you know what? The dolphins figured it out, you know? It just feels like a situation that is bound to implode. And I do kind of wonder like I like the Mike McDaniel vibe. But I did wonder at the time, and it feels even more relevant now, that when things are going bad, is that the kind of vibe that you want from a head coach?

Yeah, that can get kind of old for players as well, because, listen, like, he's got a, you know, there's some swagger to it when you're winning, but there's opposite vibes when you're losing. Yeah. It's kind of like this, it's a weird vibe that comes across. And I think one thing has to be acknowledged, too, though. your most important player is brittle. Tua is a huge question mark for this franchise, right? Is partly the reason, if not the main reason that Tyreek Hill wants to go somewhere else.

He wants to be paired with the quarterback that he can rely on. Probably to stay healthy on the field, and let's be real. Tyreek Hill is not exactly the most, you know, you don't know where you're going to get from him day to day. So adding him in that situation, when he's going and when the team is good, is perfect, as we saw in Kansas City. Yeah. However, if the team is going sideways, he's probably the last guy you want on that team. Yeah, it's just like, man, we know things are bad. You do not have to make things worse.

And he's like, I'm going to do it anyway. Yeah, it's throwing fuel on the fire. Yeah. And so that's why I'm wearing my hat today. I'm proud to be a Dolphins fan, even though I still think the golden days were probably well before I was. Well, you can, apparently you're just allowed to jump shit. I'm, I don't do that. I don't do that.

Oh, all right. Dan Richo is that type of guy that is abandoning. things. Yeah. Not going down with the ship. When in their hardest moments, I don't roll that way.

Yeah. No, me neither. And you know what? Most honorable people don't. But you know what? I'll reserve judgment. But I guess I already put the judgment out there.

You mentioned the Patriots too. I do think they're going to be better this year. But I almost wonder if they're like, because they've been so bad that the better isn't, oh, they're awesome or a playoff team. It's just like, well,

they're closer to the playoff bar and kind of a middling team. But I do, I really liked Drake May, and I wonder what he can do in his sophomore season as well. Yeah, it's tough to be any worse than what, four and 13 last year? Yeah. So, yes, like, are you competitive? Are you going to break 500?

Beyond that, though, like, that division is the Bills and the Jets, right? Like, Rogers out of that team, and all of a sudden look at, and they have adults running the team again? It's Justin Fields, though. I don't have a lot of confidence in Justin Fields. At the very least, at least the vibes are better, which as long as Woody Johnston just stays out of the equation. Which is a, that's a big ass. You know, when we talk about Jerry Jones being one of the worst managers, if not the worst owners, excuse me, in pro sports.

Woody's giving him a run, though, in the NFL. When your son is making potentially personal decisions like he was last year, that is not a good move either. So the bills are going to have an easy time in the division. There used to be a time when that was one of the toughest divisions in football, when the dolphins looked like they were on the way up. The bills were good. The Patriots are still competitive to a certain degree. The Jets looked like they were going to be going up to.

Now the bill should run away with that division easily. Yeah, very, very easily. And yeah, if you missed it, the latest on the Micah Parsons' Jerry Jones situation is that Jerry Jones said he is not confident that Michael Parsons will be ready for the start of the regular season. Obviously, that is not a health concern. That is a contract concern. So we'll see if the Cowboys get it figured out by then, or if Jerry Jones wants to keep making headlines even into the regular season. I kind of think they'll get it figured out by them, but it is going to be a weird situation. And even if he does come back, if Micah Parsons comes back, I don't think it's going to do a lot. Like, he'll be good, but I don't

think the cowboys are going to be good this year regardless. It totally upsets the team dynamic. And this whole idea about I'm trying to find value in these contracts, it doesn't, it's failed. Like we've seen it. He actually ends up paying more money to these guys after going through the song and dance. It's an old dude being stubborn and saying, I'm doing this because it's my show. I'm able to do it. I want to throw my weight around. It's such a flawed logic. Also Adam Schaefter tweeting out from Brown's practice that Shadour Sanders, of their 17 quarterbacks has been officially announced

as Friday night starter for their first preseason game. Get pumped for Shador Sanders. I'm sure Satyar Shaz. Okay, on the other side, we're going to speak to Don the Greca about everything going on with the New York Yankees,

New Jersey Devils, but mainly Yankees and what's going on with their issues so far the season and they're on the precipice of being out of the playoff picture. That's coming up next.

It is Halford and Brough Josh Elie Wolf. Randi Bjanda on Sportsnet 650.