NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 2020 Around the NFC with Matt Money Smith

Episode Date: September 2, 2020

A room over flowing with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Chris Wesseling, and Gregg Rosenthal are joined by Matt "Money" Smith to go around the NFC and hit all of the news in the NFL. We stop down for a news intermission and break down some new signings and what's going on with Alvin Kamara and the Saints.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. The Around the NFL podcast. I got nothing, dog. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL. podcast. My name is Dan Hansus coming to you from a virtual room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler in pink. Greg Rosenthal. And Chris Wessling. What's up boys? Wesleying Wednesdays? What's

going on here? Hey, Dan. They sent me home from chemo yesterday. So no treatment this week, which means my voice is fine and dandy. Did they know that it was around the AFC and NFC week? And they were just like, the people need it. We're just going to have the chemo, take one for the team. Yeah, streets are talking in the medical industry and the word got out. So they realized how important this was. All right. So, Wes, so awesome to have you here.

The show is never the same without you, especially when it's around the AFC and NFC week. And we have even more reinforcements. This is going to be a good one. When you hear, he is the voice of God for the Around the NFL podcast. He is our own Bob Shepherd. and he's going to join us today. He is the man, the myth, the legend. He calls play-by-play for the Chargers.

He works for NFL Network. He has appeared on the Throwback Podcast. And yes, don't forget about Petros and Money, Mark Sessler's favorite drive-time radio show in Southern California. Did I mention he was on the throwback podcast? It's Matt Money Smith. Oh, what an intro in the music, that sweet lick. Trying to figure out what I'm doing right now.

Is it a dark and dusty night? And I'm just kind of like cruising in a back alley with a cigarette staring at the gun in my left hand that I just used to dust somebody. You know, or am I just alone at a bar because my wife, I just spot my wife in an affair and, like, I'm now just driving my song. That checks up. Sun down at the beach volleyball pit. Okay, there you go. I'm in board shorts, and we just won. We just won, like, the six-man title.

And I'm just looking at him like, yeah, man, we did it. You and me. We just did it. Johnny Lawrence, age 43 at the bar and recita. Oh, yeah. That's about where it all went wrong. There's a dead body somewhere. There's a dead body somewhere.

I felt that way, too. Yeah. I felt like, you know, it's a cigarette, and I'm just kind of looking at my left hand at the machine I just used to take human life and disbelief. Like, what a, what's going on here? I mean, what's, what happened in my life? The problem that we face a little bit is for the listener, I don't know why you'd want to hear what Mark and Greg have to say after like the unannounced son of Tom Brokaw offers a point with total authority. So I, you know, it's a bit concerning for us, but I will tell you

real quick, I'm not only a fan of Petros and money. I drive my son home during the afternoons, and you've got a second generation, Sessler, who, um, he, as I mentioned, he does, he, he, he, he, he, he was beguiled why you know you said mommy and daddy why would why would their his mommy and daddy name him money that really concerned him as a child but we got through that and he's a fan i think he doesn't quite get the petros angle of it but uh we're working on that we'll be back at it today so oh yeah don't don't worry i know how this race goes it's petro starts trailing but by the end he has crossed the finish line well ahead of me with most most bands of the show it's funny of all the names to choose, Sess, that you chose Tom Brokaw, because back in my

wacky morning show, zoo days, Brokaw was one of the few impressions that I did when he was still in anchor. They would check in with Tom Brokaw to get an update on the news of the day. And I'll give you my trick, you know, when you do impressions, not that I'm good at it, but there is a certain couple words or something that put you into character. And this will probably set the tone for how long ago I was doing this. but for Tom Brokaw, the two words were, Senator Harry. Is it in Senator Gallaghery today.

Came out of the debate. He was though he got an edge on Senator McCain and the two are gossily back and forth to fire with the nomination from the Democratic Party. Wow. Tom Brokaw, H. Healy News. Interesting little factoid about Tom Brokow.

I've read multiple old magazine articles where he is big in the mountain climbing community. I tell you a story about the carabeter. If you do not secure a terabeter to the waist, the rope could an easelly slip and you will plumb it to your death. Exactly.

Hey, B, C. Nightly news. Did we really have to talk football today? Unfortunately, just follow on your request. I'm a monkey and I dance. So just go ahead and call him out. Whatever it takes. Yeah, unfortunately, we do

have to talk about football. or fortunately, because I just, I feel so excited that it looks like this is going to happen. It looks like we, I mean, we are coming up on a week away from football and on Monday's edition of the podcast with the great Chris Wessling in tow. We hit the around the AFC in 48 minutes. With money, we're going to hit around the NFC in 48 minutes. But before we do that, a couple things, money would love to touch with you on because you are, like we said in the intro, the play-by-play guy of the Chargers. And let's start with a Derwin James injury. He is done for the year, torn meniscus,

and it turned out to be the worst case scenario for the Chargers where it wasn't like one of those. It's a cleanup, and he'll be back in a month and a half. No, it's a long recovery that he just got put on injured reserve back in 2021. How big a setback is that for this Chargers defense? Because everyone that watches him and everyone that was hyping him up this year talks about him as a true game changer. Yeah, I think it's, you know, the equivalent of Joey Bosa, of Aaron Donald, of Khalil Mack,

just pick your, you know, one of the 10 best Nick Bosa, 10 best defenders in the league, and that's what Derwin is. I mean, he's a completely changes the defense. No one can do what that. It takes probably three players to do what Derwin is capable of doing from rushing the passer covering. I mean, I know a lot of people, I'm sure obviously you guys saw it, but I'm guessing some of the listener saw it as well. The video of him in training camp covering Keenan one-on-one,

arguably the best route runner in the league. And it was just ridiculous at that size with the power he has to be able to go step for step with Keenan and not get dusted. And his ankles broken in those brakes was just awesome and so much fun. And on top of that, just the leadership, the energy. He and Melvin Ingram are just special individuals in that department where they it's just when they step onto a field when they speak

you just see kind of heads pick up chest puff out a little bit and from the time he was a rookie they had that you know and I think you saw it

especially in that playoff that wild card game against the Ravens I think so much of that was driven by Derwin in that defense so they lose a ton as far as

what does the defense lose overall it's still a really good defense it's an awesome front seven And I know kind of just talking to some folks that have been at practice every day, Kenneth Murray looks every bit apart, just a super freak of an athlete at linebacker to go with Drew Tranquil, who is way underrated last year. And I think it's going to do big, big things this year. So, you know, you still have Casey Hayward and Chris Harris.

I don't mean to do the word soup thing, but just to kind of put a button on it, what I guess they're going to do is they're going to push Ray Sean up to Strong from Free, Ray Sean Jenkins. And they'll probably put Nas Adderley at free. And he looked really darn good, man, last year. fourth preseason game before he heard his hammy. I think he had two picks against the 49ers and damn near had a third. So that's probably how they'll try to cover it up. Is it the same defense? Hell no,

but hopefully he gets better, man, because no matter what you're a fan of the Chargers, if you hate the Chargers, that's just not possible to not love watching Derwin James play. Put some more on Gus Bradley. I know you're not going to kill him. Nice guy. Everyone likes him.

I think this defense is underachieve. under Gus Bradley. I think a lot of Gus Bradley defenses, if you look at the talent, going back to Jacksonville and this defense, you would think they'd do better. And so that means the scheme isn't winning for them. And so that worries me. I think this was, even without Derwin, James, a little disappointing considering how many good players are on this defense a year ago. Well, I mean, I guess, I guess it's all relative. I look at Gus in that defense, and I just think of all the pressure that has been on it the last couple years. And, The offensive line for the Chargers has been atrocious.

And I think about what Philip Rivers covered there. Turnovers have been a problem for that offense year and year out. And yet, when you look at the defense, statistically, you'll see they're giving up yards, but consistently they're one of the best red zone defenses in the league. And that's what it's about. When you have an offense that's not putting up points, that team, that side of the ball kept the Chargers in every single game. And Philip Rivers, unfortunately, it just got sideways on them,

possession after possession, but they had an opportunity to win, I'd say of their, you know, 11 losses legitimately had an opportunity to win probably eight of those games. And I think so much of that was predicated on how that defense played in the red zone. And look, Gus will be the first one to admit it

that, you know, the lack of turnovers is completely unacceptable. But I don't, and that's, I think, where the Derwin injury really comes in is, you know, their corners and their safety, you know, outside of Derwin, they're just not really interception.

You know, that's not the style that Casey plays. He's more of a cover corner. You're not throwing it in my direction. And Michael Davis on the other side, I don't know what you're going to get out of that. Plus, just a lack of athleticism at linebacker with Denzel Paraman, who's just kind of more of that squatter, run stop or so. I think a lot of it, you know, maybe it sounds like I'm making excuses for Gus,

but I just thought the defense overachieved, to be honest, considering what they were dealt with on the offensive side of the ball, game in and game out. And quickly, because we should get into around the NFC, but I definitely wanted to touch on one of the more powerful episodes of Hard Knocks ever last night on HBO. Of course, it's Hard Knocks, Los Angeles covering the Chargers and the Rams. And there's money all over the episode making, I believe, your Hard Knocks debut money. But it was in a very different stage where the Chargers arrived at their new stadium for the first time,

SoFi Stadium, this beautiful. place. And then after a very passionate team meeting, decide they don't want to practice following everything that had happened with Jacob Blake, the shooting in Wisconsin. And you were there for it. Do you want to just take us a little bit behind the scenes, what the vibe was like that day? So we were supposed to, DJ and I were supposed to call the scrimmage for NFL network. It was going to be a whole hour covering practice, the scrimmage, interviews, guys were going to kind of pop on the headset throughout the hour broadcast on NFL now. And next thing you know, everything changed.

And it changed right before we went on the air. Before Steve Weich threw it to us, we got Bimer got in our head and said, hey, man, they're still in the locker room and they ain't dressed. So I don't know what's going on. So immediately, I don't want to say we have to van. We just have to fill. And we don't know what to fill with because I don't want to be saying, well, a scrimmage coming up and we're talking football.

And all of a sudden, you know, the tone changes dramatically. and I'm wacky play-by-play guy, you know, spinning footballisms, getting ready for a practice. So that was in the back of my mind. Don't say anything stupid's in the back of your mind and try to read the, not the room, but read the stadium. So that's probably why I think when you listen back or when you watch the episode, there's a lot, I'm very slow and deliberate in my speech. There's a couple of ums in there because there's people in my ear saying,

I think coach is coming out. Don't go to break yet. I hear coach wants to talk to you. So we were dealing with all of that. Just to quickly kind of wrap the hard knocks. I'll say this. George Stewart's one of my favorite people in football. I've had the great pleasure of being with these chargers for three years

and being around Coach Stu for three years. He is as high quality and individual as impressive as a human being as you'll ever be around. And the one thing I'll say about him is he is just, the light. He is a walking smile, happiness. If you're down, you see him and just that big, booming voice in his giant hands when he puts him on you, it makes you feel good. So to see him in that disposition, to see him in that manner, I've never heard him curse before. That's the first time I've ever heard him curse. And to just kind of hear the pain in his voice as he was going through his past of 62 years. And it started when he was six and oppression in the

South, I think was very real and even a little painful for me to hear because he is just such a wonderful human being. Yeah, to charge a special teams coach, George Stewart. And I wrote about it in the hard knocks recap on NFL.com. Yeah, his speech to the players, like Money Sanks, was so passionate and came from a real place of, you know, pain and frustration, but also hopefulness that something could be done as we move forward. So, all right.

Money. Yes. Let's get my starting. This is the format. You're not starting. Here's the format. Three minutes. You texted me.

I'm not dumb. I know how this works. What a fly hands used. Let's go. Let's get after it. Money, you're the broadcaster of broadcasters. Who knows? This could be somebody's first around the NFL podcast.

You know, let's go. Money is like I have a drive time show starting in 45 minutes. I'm out of here. I'm supposed to be out of here in 40 minutes. Let's go. Ricky, are you there? Huh? Ricky, Ricky, you there?

Let's do it. Let's start it out. I'm here. With the NFC East, Greg Rosenthal. Three minutes. We on? Great. Let's go.

What is it? What do I have? The Eagles? I'm sick of talking. I'm sick of talking about it. Turns out I wasn't the one that needed the instruction. It was freaking Rosie. Well, usually tells us the team we got.

I'm sick of talking about this Eagle theme. All I do is talk. I talk about the same teams every time. This Ingalls team, there's so much focus on what's not there. Okay, the two offensive linemen, you know, Brooks, and then they lose Jalen Rager, who we haven't talked about, their first round receiver. I think you do lose focus on what is there,

and that's Carson Wentz. And I want to just throw it out to everyone with the Sean Jackson. They're assuming Miles Sanders is back. I think the offensive line is still better than average, despite losing two players. I think you look at the best tight end, group in the league. And you think if Carson Wentz ever elevates to a Deshawn Watson, Russell Wilson tier of player, to me, if you look around him, he's got enough. And I don't know

if we've just sort of given up that Wentz can elevate to that level, that he's settled in a little behind that. I haven't given that up. Where do you guys think Carson Wentz's upside is here? Because to me, I look at this team and I still see enough talent despite the injuries to compete with anyone in the NFC. We've already seen his upside, and it's MVP favorite before he tore his ACL. I don't see why he can't get back to that. I love watching Carson Wend's play, and to me, with the improved talent around him, you know, you mentioned Jalen Rager's injury, but John Hightower, one beat writer had him

as the MVP of camp. Six of his 15 catches went for touchdown, so that, to me, shows what depth they have now compared to what they had last year. They love this guy, Kwez Watkins, too. I mean, they got a lot of young, speedy, new receivers, which they completely lacked to a dangerous degree a year ago. I don't know who's that down on Wence, though, to be honest. I mean, I think it's not that they're down,

but you don't hear a lot of talk, I guess, about him and that group of sort of players. And I guess I'm trying to push past the wo-as-mey part of this Eagles team and look at, like, this guy's got, they've got Carson Wenz, and they've got a lot more. I feel like he already answered that, question last year, Rosie. I mean, when you look at the wide receivers he had to deal with, not that he was putting up prolific numbers, but the offense was working. And it was working

because he's that good. And I think one of the things, to me, you know, the reason why Wentz, I think you continue to have these conversations is because for whatever reason, and maybe it's fair, he gets pitted against Dak. You know, it's, oh, Wentz versus Dak, Cowboys, Eagles, which one would you rather have? Well, I think you'd rather have either of them. You'd be happy to have run in your offense. But for whatever. reason they have to be pitted against one another. And for that, you have people talking about the intangibles

and the upside that Wentz brings compared to these statistics and the consistency of availability that DAC brings. So to me, that's where that will come from. Wence misses a lot of throws. I mean, it's all, like, of course you'd love to have Wence,

but I guess I haven't seen him develop as fast as, you know, it's hard to compare him to the Homes and Watson, but he's known Mahomes and Watson. Well, the fates have not smiled on Wenz and, you know, for obvious reasons. One. Zero. Mark Sessler, the Dallas Cowboys. All right.

The wind chimes weren't doing it for me. I'll do it to this song. You know, I'm going to keep this sheet. I like to do these long, windy openings. Not this time. Here's why I like Dallas. Number one, you get Layton Vandreche, healthy and back. And remember how they were with him two years ago.

You get Kellen Moore back. Mike McCarthy had come in and said, I'm going to run this show. I love that he kept the continuity of Kellynne Moore. They found a way to keep Amari Cooper. Now you have the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, if they all pan out. 31 other teams passed on Everson Griffin. The Cowboys added them, along with DeMarcus Lawrence to shore up the one thing that we were nitpicking on all offseason about Dallas. Are they perfect? No.

But this is my Super Bowl team. This is the team I picked on NFL.com. Am I crazy? Come at me with your takes. I don't think you're crazy That is certainly one of those That needs to be a more Come at me with your takes

Like you can't go Am I crazy come at me with your takes It's got to be Am I crazy? Come at me with your takes Well listen you're the radio man I'm just hanging on here Until higher management realizes I'm doing this

Of course you're not crazy There's a lot that can There's a lot that can go wrong With the Cowboys And it usually does Because like we said recently It's been a quarter century since they've been to the Super Bowl.

There must be something organizationally to go wrong that they haven't even been back to the NFC title game since then. However, on offense, this feels like a team that could score 30 points a game. And then you get in that position, Wes, and we've talked about this on those spot a lot. When they have an offense that's that good, your defense only has to be okay.

Can the Dallas defense be okay? I think it can, and they changed their scheme this year. I think they're going to take more chances on defense. And in offense, you're talking about, out, they were ranked number one in DVOA for most of the year. I mean, ahead of the Chiefs, ahead of the Ravens for most of the year. And some of that hides the issues they had with timing, that their yards and points didn't always come when they needed it.

But now you add C.D. Lamb, and one beat writer said, his camp is on par with what they saw from Des Bryant in the prime of Des Bryant's career. I mean, that's as much of a difference maker as you can get. Well, the difference is they're deep. I mean, you can talk about all the stars, but how about Alden Smith, everyone said had an amazing camp, which to me is a big X factor for this team. Blake Jarwin has had a big time camp everyone wants to talk about. Like, they have depth. Trevon Diggs, their rookie cornerback, they like a lot. It's not the old Cowboys team where it was just stars and scrubs.

Like, they're well-built better, and they get to play a bunch of scrubs in Washington and East Rutherford. I really think that's a huge edge for the Eagles and the Cowboys four games against two of the worst teams of the NFL. Also, the AFC North, which I don't love that for any of these NFC East teams. The one thing, I think it comes, you know, kind of going back to your point on the Eagles, Rosie, and that's lines. You know, the Eagles have the most impressive interior defensive line. They have a solid, I'm with you. I don't think they lose a whole lot on that offensive line, so they have an above average offensive line. You mentioned with the addition of Griffin to go and not to mention, you know, supposedly an unbelievable camp as Alden Smith perhaps can shake his demons a return to form.

And I think that's what the division comes down to, you know, which of those two units stays the most intact and can have the greatest impact outside the division? Because as you said, they're going to whip up on, you know, Washington and New York, and we'll see if they can maybe split with one another. I don't know if they're, it's just hard to, I don't know, it's hard for me to say the Cowboys are a Super Bowl team. I'm sorry, Seth. I can't do that. I just, I got to see it. We came at you. You challenged. You challenged the Eagles a year ago, so that didn't go too well. Wes.

The G-Men. The G-Men, this offense is a little intriguing, and I saw one of their coaches predicted a thousand-yard season for Evan Engram at tight end. They're talking about a more explosive and involved role for Saquan Barkley in the passing game. So this question is for Greg. Your desert friends,

how would they feel about a proposition in which Sequan Barkley and Evan Ingram each lead their position group in the NFL in scrimmage yards this year Well, I don't know I would like to see the odds on that That's a pretty tall order That would be a fun thing to throw out

For our sandwich props show A little plug there coming up next week Evan Ingram is the one that Look, I get excited about him every year I love watching him play And it just never happened So he's always great in August It's like staying

staying through 16 games and staying on the field is his big challenge. Is he the Cowboys of fantasy tight ends? A little bit. Big game in August. Is Jason Garrett the guy to bring out huge yardage from an offense that was throwing the ball 40 times a game last year and racking up yards? I don't know. Like this offense could be more efficient.

But I'd be a little worried about like Danny Dimes as a fantasy guy when he's coming off a season where we threw it 42 times a game. It's just not going to happen again. I really like Daniel Jones. I think he's going to be an asset for New York. I'm not sure, though, that going from Pat Shermer to Jason Garrett was the most inspired. Like when you go from like one relationship to the next, you kind of like change it up a little bit and throw a little spice in there. And I don't know if that's what's occurred here.

I look at it from, you know, what did he want to do in Dallas? And is the talent of Barclay on par with Zeke Elliott? Obviously, the offensive line isn't, but I'd probably feel a lot better about a Giants team that's not throwing it 42 times and given the ball to Barclay a whole lot more. You know, there's, again, the offensive line, especially with the opt-out is a big question mark. But I just, I don't know. Maybe I'm not as into Danny Dimes as you are, Sass. I know there was some good there, but there was also some bad. I mean, you have got to be able to take care of the football. and we have seen that be an issue for quarterbacks,

and it's hard for them to shake because when a play breaks down, that's when muscle memory and those bad habits start to emerge again. And I think that's, you know, just watching a dude getting all loosey-goosey with the football as he's running around is very hard to shake. I just like to hope that he improves, like, the fumbles and stuff, that that's the kind of thing that you'd see a quarterback, you know, improve over year two, year three. They say, they say that quarterback fumbling is one of the, quote, quote,

easier things to fix if you have the right coaching. And you got to just hope that's done. But you know what? Dimes showed something. Barkley, Ingram, Slaten, Sterling Shepard. There's some pieces here. They look like a team that's already been ravaged by injuries

before any injuries hit. That's what their defense looks like. You're not allowed to do that. I thought the thing went off, Rosie. Yeah, dart gun. Shoot me with a dart gun then. That's the punishment. All right.

Washington football team, Matt Money Smith. Okay, here we go. I have written a prepared statement for you to digest. This could be the team with the greatest gap between how good they are on one side of the ball and how bad they are on the other. If healthy, the defensive line, nasty. And with offensive line question marks, we just mentioned the Giants. And perhaps in Philly with injuries, those two divisional opponents could have serious issues dealing with the front that was already a force before the addition of Chase Young, who, as we know,

know from our colleagues, Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks, was celebrated as a one of one, a true difference maker and the best player in the draft. Now, on the other side, it's one of the worst offensive lines in the league, a total of one pass catcher that you have any faith in, not receiver, pass catcher. And we don't necessarily, I think, feel good about a quarterback that has a lot of questions surrounding him as well. No quarterback's been put in the worst position. You mentioned it on our show the other day, Darnold, like, who's been in the worst position?

Dwayne Haskins, not like he helped himself with his early play last year. His number three receiver is a guy, Dantrell Inman, who's been caught by about seven teams. His left tackle is probably the guy they just traded for from the Raiders who couldn't make the Raiders. He could not make the Raiders, and he's going to be the left tackle. His running back is, you know, whoever it's going to be back there. It's just like its tight end is Logan Thomas. It's just a rough, it's just a rough group around Dwayne Haskins. It might be a good year for them not to have fans in the stadium because they were struggling with that to begin with.

But, I mean, Ron Rivera feels like the coach that would like to win games like 12 to 9. But that's not how the NFL works right now. I agree with you. The defense, the names are starting to stack up. It's juicy. But, I mean, it's a desert on the other side of the ball. And then what happens if they go 2 and 14 and you've got to figure out, do you draft one of these other quarterbacks? Yes.

Next May. The answer to that is yes, you do. One of the easiest tells in the league, if you're looking for the most destitute, impoverished skill position group, just figure out which team Dantrell-in-man lands on and then immediately becomes the starter as soon as he gets picked up off the waiver wire

or signed off the couch. No offense to Dantrow, but, you know. No, none. It speaks to his talent that he's allowed to just slip right in as a starter. I don't think there's, maybe, well, Josh Rosen would be the, Most recent example, but there aren't many where a guy enters year two.

And he's already, it seems like, done. He's in trouble because unless he has a big season where he shows off ability and he is not in a great spot roster-wise on the offense, it just feels like this is an organization ready to hit a reboot at quarterback because they're rebooting everything else. And he feels like the last of a prior regime that they're trying to wash away. It just, I agree with you, Greg, as bad as darn old, the situation, and he's been in. Haskins is

just, it's set up for him to fail. Not to mention the organization around him in flames. There's that, too. Zero. How'd I do? Awesome. Is that okay? It is a great start. Remade his voyage. All right.

You can't leave now, though. We have three more to do. No, I'm not. I just wanted to agree. Like, was that okay, you know? Brown old double. Lucy, goosey, just kind of like sitting back in the chair style. Sessler is right on top of the mic and like really

intense, so I was just trying to figure out. You could read the ingredients off like a vegetable soup can, and I would give you a high grade. So, you know, we're fine. Okay. All right. Let's head to the NFC North. Money, keep us rolling with the Packers. Okay.

Here is my Packers paragraph, if you'll please. You don't need that, by the way. We could excise that set up. I know. I just kind of like doing it. It's like when Mark starts his thing by saying, okay, I'm going to go really fast now. Well, one way to do it would be to just get right to it. Well, that was the message before.

You know, we started the show about three minutes, and I'd already written a lot of long stuff. So it went in a panic mode, you know. Restart the clock, Ricky, go, money. Okay, good. We remember they were 13 and three last year, right? We remember they beat the Seahawks in the playoffs before getting destroyed by the 49ers, right?

They swept the division last year. So what has changed? Why is everyone down on the Packers? They have one of the best nose tackles in the league, surrounded by a vicious pass rush in the Smiths. Their secondary got better. four-fifths of their offensive line is back. Last time I checked, Devante Adams is one of the five best

wide receivers in the league, and freaking Aaron Rogers is their quarterback. So why do we keep having a debate over who's going to win the NFC North? I just don't get it. I love that money, because it does feel personal, doesn't it? It feels like people are annoyed that the Packers weren't a true 13 and 3. Everyone says that was a soft 13 and 3.

People didn't like the way Aaron Rogers played. And now they didn't like the way the path they took in the draft, not bringing in more receiver help. So now the thought is, screw the Packers. They're really an 8-N-A team, but there's no real evidence to back up why that should happen. I think the heart of it is that, like you said,

it's not a true 13-3 that they were lucky to get that record. That's the heart of it. And then secondly, I don't know if you can look around the NFL and find another team that should expect less out of its first and second-round draft picks as rookies. They should expect a little more. Like my thing is, Wes, do they need those first and second- round rookies. I mean, I look at that team. Because look at what we've dealt with for the past few years

out of there. Like look at the division. But every year we keep acting like this Packers, offense is going to heal itself and become what it was. And who steps up ever outside of Devante Adams? Here's why, because Rogers hasn't been great for a few years. He's been great in spots. You know, the analytics, the completion percentage over expected and QBR and all that stuff, Has them very average or below average for years. I think the answer money is that because their offense isn't that consistently good and their defense isn't that consistently good. So it's hard to hold on to where's the top 10 group out of those two units.

They really weren't there last year. They won a lot of games and there is a lot of, there's enough talent. But I look at the Vikings. I think the Vikings are more balanced. I like them to win this. I mean, soft 13 and 3 means I think they were probably a 10 and 6 team in disguise, which is not a bad team at all. and they're a playoff contender again.

I mean, the athletic pointed out that Rogers has had an absolutely great camp, pinpoint accuracy. I mean, maybe not as good as this Boyle fellow that Greg is obsessing over. Tim Boyle season. But I mean, you know, now we're getting into the real stuff. I just don't, if there are any injuries in any of their skill position groups,

they're in serious hot water. I mean, you could have done more with the late period, Aaron Rogers, you know, to help them out here. So far, I've heard Lucky 13 and 3 from West, soft 13 and 3. From yourself. Sessler. I was setting up what other people were saying. I would love

like tell Bill Parcells or Bill Belichick like 13 and 3 is 13 and 3 this is to me a good team. That reminds you of other 13 and 3 teams that you've seen over the years, not me. I mean they won a playoff game. You win 30 you go 13 and 3 and you get smoked in the divisional round and okay I'll buy into that

but they won a playoff game. Like to me that's what separates 13 and 3 from oh it was a mirage. Oh, I got darted. Yeah. Watch out there. That's our guest.

Right in the carotid artery. Great shot, Ricky. She didn't need to practice. All right, the Minnesota Vikings. All right. So the acquisition of Yonick and Gokwey, it was a beauty. I mean, it was a beauty by Rick Spielman. It plugged a legit area of need in the front seven.

And now you take a step back and you look at this team. It profiles is the most complete group to me in the NFC North. I don't know if the Vikings finally get to the Super Bowl, but I don't know if there's another team in the conference that I'm more confident is going to be in the playoffs. I just think that this Vikings team has a very high floor, the way it's set up, and I don't know if it's high enough to get them where they need to be

and back to the Super Bowl, but this feels like a locked and loaded 10-win-up team. Your thoughts? high floor low ceiling that's kirk cousins in a nutshell that i agree i think they're one of the more interesting teams that's been ignored and they're interesting to me because they threaded the needle between rebuilding and reloading and i think they reloaded i think the young guys they brought in and then you mentioned in gawgway they're going to be just fine and the same questions the last couple of years are going to be the primary questions again the offensive line and can the

quarterback make plays off a schedule when he's forced to improvise. I like the fact that, you know, you're not, yeah, you lost Kevin Stefansky, but it's basically just Gary Kubiak, who I think was pulling the strings there a year ago anyway. So there's consistency. Very strong, tight end group. I like the situation there with Irv Smith growing. I don't, I mean, if Adam Thieland goes down, you're hoping that a rookie Justin Jefferson and B.C. Johnson can suddenly morph into what they had a year ago.

That would concern me. But this to me is a typical good but not. great team. Playoff team, yes. Great. That would be the big question, Mark. I'll just curious what you think, money. Stefan Diggs, how big a loss is that for him? Do you think they're going to be chugging along and fine? Or we're going to be talking in October that he's really missed on that offense? I mean, it's, I love college football and I loved watching LSU last year. And there was so much talent. It's really hard to figure out how it's, you know, going to translate to the next level. But man, Justin Jefferson is a hell of a receiver. And based on what Adam Thielen is, I'm almost tempted to

make a case that he might be better for Kirk Cousins than Stefan Diggs. As crazy as that sounds, he is so freaking. Reportedly, kind of had a bad camp relatively. That's okay. I mean, I don't know. Getting into the mix, Justin Jefferson, for what it's worth. My issue is what we started with, and that's Kirk Cousins. You know, I mean, when you talk about, you know, anytime that like Kurt gets into a big game,

you know, he's still looking to get that win when it counts most. You know, he's still, and it's just, I just can't get behind it. I'm sorry. The playoffs and the Superdome doesn't count. He got it. No, it doesn't. It doesn't to me. That does not count to me.

To me, that was more the Saints just completely screwing themselves than Kurt Cousins put together a masterpiece to overcome the Saints. Might have been the best team in the league. I want to see what Zimmer does with these young cornerbacks. That's how he made his name. They have the best safety combination league. The defense could actually be better this year. Sessler, the Chicago Bear. This team, I think we know this team annoys me a little bit.

I think the 12 and 4 season two years ago hurt them because you lost the best coach in your staff and Vic Fongio. Okay, it created a false evaluation of the 50 inside the building. I think it turned Matt Nagee from a high-rise, like, young offensive mind into a guy who was treating like the search for a kicker, like looking for the Ark of the Covenant. And they've just given Jimmy Graham 16 million over two years. They don't pick up Chubisky's option.

They make them a lame duck. You bring in Nick Foles, who's never started more than 11 games in a season. I really just see this as a snooze fest with a lot of changes coming down the road potentially. Am I being too harsh on the Chicago Bears? No. I like when you challenged us last time. You almost bullied us going into the conversation last time. That way it was the same delivery.

The argument is just kind of get a little up and up note at the end. Am I being too hard on the Chicago Bears? Well, I really only care about my opinion, so I, you know, I'll throw a question out at the end, but that's just, this is a rhetorical question at this point. The argument for them is that last year was the floor, and they're kind of like the Rams that no one remembers that they won a bunch of games. Like, this was still a 500 team that could have been a little better down the stretch if they won a couple close games. Like, I was surprised they were able to win eight games that the defense was still that good. That said, I think it can get worse. Like there's no rule that that defense, yes, you get Akeem Hicks back,

but you lose Goldman. The cornerbacks especially look very vulnerable. I don't think they're the same defense by any means that they were a couple years ago. Yeah, I had some issues with their offseason. I think the two moves that maybe miffed me the most were signing Jimmy Graham to big money after he failed to make a play for two straight years. And then just deciding that Fools was good enough. at quarterback. Cam Newton sat out there all offseason and Fools was the guy you wanted.

I just thought you could have aimed higher. You know, I'll say this. You know, they signed Ted Ginn when the Chargers played him last year and I was looking out on that field. And I don't know if Alan Robinson was dinged up or what it was, but there's a bunch of guys that were like five foot five that Trubisky had to throw to. And I'm like, what is Ryan Pace built here? And I don't know if he's trying to compensate for that lack of size by signing 900 and drafting tight ends. But it's just an odd mix. You look at the running back depth chart.

Everyone got excited about Montgomery. You know, Tariq Cohn is a nice piece, but he's got to be complimented. I don't know if that's there. It's kind of like you like, you like, but you don't love anything on this team. It's like, yeah, I like the offensive line. It's a pretty good offensive line. I like that, you know, as you said, defensive line. And obviously, you know, you get Hicks back.

You mentioned I'm looking at their secondary. I've never been a big Kyle Fuller guy. They lose their best player to Green Bay in the off season. So, yeah, I'm with you, Rosie. I think they can get worse. Hill Mac has a big year better than last year. Hicks will help alleviate some of those double and triple teams. Mac needs to be special.

Wasn't it last year. Ow! The host. I'm getting loose here. Get a loser, man. Close it out. NFC North, West, the Detroit Lions. Well, I need to check myself here.

I've been doing the Lions wrong. They closed out the last couple of months last year with a quarterback who didn't have an NFL arm, with a running back who didn't have the NFL ability to make anyone miss, with wide receivers who don't belong on NFL rosters, getting important snaps for them. Injuries hit them hard,

but if you look at where they were at mid-season, three, four, and one with Matthew Stafford playing the best ball of his career. I was high on them at that time. And I remember thinking, this is not a team that you want to play. This is not a team you want to run into in an important game. And then injuries hit them hard. To me, I guess my question is, when I look at this offense, I see one that can sneak up on a lot of people and be a top 10 offense in the NFL.

Do you guys see the same thing? I truly, like, I am believing in this Lions thing, just because you want to believe in a little bit of magic once in a while, and things looking a little different than they have in Detroit for a million years. If D'Andre Swift gets healthy and you've got him and Kerryon Johnson, I think they're this old school team that's going to run the ball a billion times, even though you've got Stafford, they've got a good offensive line, they're good against the run.

I just like the setup in a weird year for them to be a little bit better than people expect. And my big question would be, you know, there's a lot of talk. I've had people text me when I've touted the line saying, you don't get it. Matt Patricia has no stock in this locker room. I think that might have changed a little bit in the last couple of months with what's going on in our country and how he's responded to that. But that's a little bit of an X factor. You know what I think changed everything when Patra on our podcast called you out, Mark, for regularly denigrating his favorite team. And then really from that moment, you became a line supporter. I think it shows

that you're a good guy and a friend to Patra. But there is connective tissue. There's no doubt Well, no, I think that shows that you think I just sway in the wind, depending on what anyone says, and that's just not the case. Wes, I'm going to go back to what you said about that record, and I was in the middle of that because the Chargers lost a game to the Lions. They had no business losing. They had three just absolutely brutal plays that would have put them up, two plus scores. A fumble by Austin Echler at the goal line when it was first in goal, and they had two touchdowns taken off the board, one for offensive pass interference, which was just insane, and another for an illegal block that would, again, put them up two scores.

They weren't really able to move the ball against the Chargers at all. It was a 13 to 10 game. Their one score came off of a turnover. Remember the game before that, and I just remember watching it, their defense just allowed Kyler Marie to light them up in the fourth quarter. And I think their other wins were against pretty unimpressive. I think one of their wins came against the Giants. So it's not like, yeah, they were three, four, and one,

but it wasn't really that impressive. They almost beat the Chiefs. Their offense was the top five in DVOA while Stafford was healthy. They were going deep. They were making plays. They'll be fun. The question to me is, can Patricia coach defense? We know he can't fit his scheme around other players

because they've been absolutely terrible with other players. Now he's got all of the guys he wants. Can he be average? Well done, Greg. You've not that masterful. No, Darth. The thing is, he comes at me with the DVOA thing, and I can't do anything about it because I'm going to go to the neck.

So I just got to wear it. I just got to wear a DVOA analysis. I mean, they put up 34 on the Chiefs. Wait, one game. They put 13 on the charge. That's also one game. Ricky, put down the gun for Christ's sake. All right, let's pause here briefly.

Two things, two notes. One on the Lions that they signed their left. tackle Taylor Decker to a six-year $85 million extension through 2026. That's some of the biggest money in the league for a left tackle. So they do big business. And in the other realm of big business, before we get into the NFC South and start with the defending champion, well, actually, they didn't win the division. But the Saints, the Saints, no, they did win their division.

Yes, they're an idiot. They were the 3C, though. Anyway, moving forward, got this under control. Shoot me with a dart. I'll wake up tomorrow. He'll be better. Alvin Kamara and the Saints. It popped up yesterday. ESPN reported that the Saints were open to trading Alvin Kamara,

their superstar running back. If they couldn't work out an extension, things seemed to calm down a little bit today. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that they are, quote, not far apart in contract negotiations. Greg, is this going to be one of those much-to-do about nothing stories? Kamara's going nowhere, and before you know it, he's going to get, like, Joe Mixing or better money?

I think so. The biggest, you know, adieu here might be a rap sheet coming after you, being like, hey, I reported that same thing Fowler did, like, you know, 12 hours before. This was like a source war here. You could see Camara's agent talking to five different reporters saying, hey, we've got it all settled down. And you can tell it was Sean Payton throwing out a little public fire that, hey, like, we're willing to trade you.

Don't get too cocky, Camara. and no one's going to take this trade. They were like demanding a first round pick. It was all just public negotiations. And it sounded like they're going to be somewhere between Joe Mixon and Christian McCaffrey and everyone gets happy. And I have no idea how the Saints are going to exist in 2021. They're like $80 million over the salary cap. That's not an exaggeration.

That's literally how far they are over the salary cap before even putting this contract. They always figure that out, though. They do, but it's really getting aggressive. Doesn't that just like put a microscope or I guess magic? the fact that this is really just a last shot for the Saints. We can get into it in our three-minute segment, but... And speaking of Joe Mixen, since I brought up his name,

the Bengals signed they're running back to a four-year, $48 million extension through 2024, and then his migraines disappeared, and he was back on the practice field. So look at Wes, handed out big contracts to running backs. Things are changing in Cincinnati. Come back to the west side, buddy. They're waiting for you.

He's the running back on the oblivion all pros. Nobody watching as a Bengals, so they don't realize how good he is, but he's one of the best players in the league at his position. Bang. All right. Let's get into the NFC South, starting with the Nolan Saints. Greg, you went to Tulane, so why don't you take this? I will try.

I think the Saints secondary, I'm going to start with their defense, is one of the most talented groups in the league. And you just think of, like, what a change that is. This used to be such a joke, their defense in general, especially their secondary, Janoris Jenkins, to me, as a guy you know how he's going to play once you read the camp reports. He either is checked out on the season and a problem or he plays like at an all-pro level. Him being the number two cornerback behind Latimore just makes them so deep. I know Wes loves Chauncey Gardner Johnson, who is just like an unbelievable young player.

They have Malcolm Jenkins now at safety. I like Marcus Williams. They're deep at all their positions in the secondary. And they have got a great defensive line too. to me, the defense is going to keep this team from even a 10 and 6 type floor. We know the offense is going to be fine, but I think they have a chance to win 13, 14 games and hold off whatever challenge they get from the bucks. Yeah, to me, the question is the same one.

It's been the last year or two. What can the quarterback do in the playoffs? What can the quarterback to against good defenses when he's got a 30-yard arm? To me, that remains the number one question. Well, you just bring in James Winston. you know and then he gives the game away more little guy named Taysam Hill please

what about what about Evan Silva calling Taysam Hill a gadget troll on Establish the run this week anybody have thoughts on that it was a red zone troll as and he's going to steal touchdowns that's actually a compliment that's not really a detractor he's saying you're kind of banged if you maybe have Alvin Kamar

or someone else in fantasy because Taysam Hill is going to conspic he's going to spin spells and you know devastate the enemy week after week that's my little Taseom some hill pitch for clarifying that for all to talk about breeze's arm and you're right west it's like their offense was awesome when breeze was in there last year until the playoffs how about the game that decided whether they kept the season going or not what happened to his arm in that game like i i get

it you played poorly in the play i guess it's just hard for me to be as worried when they're putting up so many points when they're so efficient when they were like an unbelievable offense and he was you know one of the top five four backs in the league we just talked about alvin kamara He told the media a couple weeks ago that he had a torn knee. And, Wes, you were talking about it all last season going into January that he couldn't make people miss. If Alvin Kamara is Alvin Kamara again, that's a super-duper star that you slot into an offense

that was already very good with a compromised version of him last year. I'm not really worried about the Saints on offense, even with Bree's advance. Oh, I'm not worried about Camara at all. I'm worried about the quarterback with a 30-yard arm. We can disagree on that. That's fine. That's fine.

That's part of this podcast. money? I'm not weighing in because whatever I say, Freaking Rosie's going to get the last 10 seconds, and I learned from my mistake. You can take your BB away and you can shove it up your tail, all right? See what I mean? There's the countdown clock. He's already learned the entire trick to the show.

Zero. See, now we need to calm it down. See, now everything's calmed down. You know, fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice, you won't get fooled again. What's going on here? Somebody famous said that.

Wes, the Atlanta Falcons. Calm down, Greg. Out of all the little training camp nuggets that we see on Twitter, I think the most important one that I've seen is from William McFadden of the Falcons website, who said the clear takeaway from their Friday night scrimmage was how good Todd Gurley looked, how fast and agile, the acceleration on outside runs and cutting up field. And then Dan Quinn, the head coach saying you saw speed out of Todd Gurley that he beat the leverage to the corner. To me, this is exactly what you want to hear if you're a Falcons fan, that a guy who's still only 26 years old and he's now almost two calendar years removed from the knee injury that put a hiatus on his career,

that there is a chance that he gets back to being some semblance of what he was when he was offensive player of the year. So I guess my question to you guys is, what kind of chance are you given Todd Gurley to be a comeback player of the year type of guy? Zero. You know, I love that, you know, I love, look, I hope he looks like he did. He was one of the most fun players to watch.

But when you hear about an arthritic condition and a knee for a guy who's 26 years old and his knee is more, you know, resembles my knees. And you know what that's like if you've been beaten on him for a while. It's fine. you know, in August, but when it's the middle of October and it ain't the same, that's, you know, unfortunately, I think what we're probably looking at. It's, I'm not concerned about how fast he looks, the leverage that he's getting, the cuts

that he's making, going into week one. I'm more concerned about what it's going to look like coming out of week six. Yeah, I guess that's what it is, right? It's, Wes, you put it as these two years removed from the injury. Is he ever going to actually be really kind of removed from it? Or is this just who he is? now. I'm with you, though, as like a guy to get behind as offensive player of the year. Well, those days are gone. He did that once. Could be a comeback player of the year because

he was such a fun and exciting athlete in this city. If his career was done by 28, it would be just a total shame. They just feel a little fragile to me in the sense that if the girly thing doesn't work out. And, you know, Brian Hill has got a lot of buzz from Dan Quinn, too, in camp. But still, is that someone you want, you know, as your situation at running back? If a wide receiver goes down. Someone like Russell Gage gets moved up. I mean, Haydenhurst, Matt Ryan gushed over him all offseason, but we haven't really seen

Hayden Hurst do it entirely on his own as a tight end one. It kind of reminds me, you know, in the Matt Money Smith realm, the Who Are You? The Who song. Like, what is this team? They go 0 in 7 or 06, then they win seven in a row. Like, they're just sort of a wacky,

inconsistent team, which is not what I expected from Dan Quinn. I don't feel like they've ever really found their footing post-hidious Super Bowl loss. Calvin Ridley. Watch out now. Calvin Ridley. There's a guy to get behind

fantasy heads. Yeah, they're a pass-first team. I mean, to me, the running game is never good under Quinn. It's going to be fine. If Gurley's not... They hit the number one back in the NFL when they went to the Super Bowl.

I guess I'm thinking post-super Bowl. With Kyle Shanahan. That's fair. They have the same story every year. They stink to start the year. They close strong on defense, and everyone thinks that the defense of improvement will carry

over and for whatever reason it never does. They need their draft picks to show up. Caleb McGarry, their right tackle first round pick last year was terrible. A.J. Terrell at the end of the year, Greg. That O-line, they got healthy and they were a lot better. It's like a run-first O line. They need Tickinley to show up. They need A.J.

Terrell to show up who they drafted over C.D. Lamb. A lot of their draft picks haven't come. Look at the last four games, Greg. If you don't last four seconds. Oh, I didn't get a door. No, I got out before the beep. too can play the Tampa Bay the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

the bucks instantly became the most interesting stories in the NFL when they swapped out James for Tom Brady then they brought his buddy gronk out of retirement for good measure smart people smart people like a Chris Wessling like a Brian Baldinger are very high on this

defense the offense will almost certainly be better or at the very least more responsible with TB12 at the controls. But what's the true ceiling here? That's what I really want to know about this theme. Are the 2020 bucks like this frisky, fun, off-season story that will give some good team scare,

or are they a bona fide Super Bowl contender with this makeup? Sealing, I think they're a Super Bowl team. I think you could put 10-12 teams in that mix, and I would say they're one of them. They're in there. Absolutely. I mean, with the talent on both sides, My concern would be they had a historic run defense, one of the best of all time.

And the defensive improvement was really impressive, and I love the personnel. Usually when you improve that much from one year to the next, you're just trying to hold on. So I think a lot of people are kind of thinking, are they going to take the next step on defense? History would say they'd actually be more likely to take a step back for as much as they went from basically 31st in the league to a very good defense by the end of last year. players are there though like the personnel is as good as almost any team in terms of starters Wes you buying I think you have to put their ceiling at the Super Bowl because I think the question is Tom Brady and I think that he's he's lost quite a bit in the last two years other people think he has it and we'll find out the answer to that but it's within the realm of possibility

that he's still a guy if you get to the playoffs he can guide you to three or four wins and get that Super Bowl. I like O.J. Howard has had Tom Brady all over him at practice in a good way, like, you know, that his games change because Brady is so meticulous that he's addressing everyone on the offense around him. It's a little, it's a team

with what, five, four or five, like, post-prime games. If they ever started like one and three, and I understand that Tom Brady is probably like, you know, at this point a clone mentally and perfect and can't be shaken, but this is a team with no playoff experience around them. Like, if they really got off to a rough

start. Is this locker room able to overcome something like that? You know, I think the one thing you mentioned here, too, is the coaching. You know, I think we, you know, you love Todd Bulls and Bruce Ariens together. I love the no nonsense throughout training camp. The fact that, you know, he went after Brady in the offense after their off day. What was it last week? I think beginning of last week. But, but to me, it's already been said.

I mean, Greg said it. There's a ton of talent on this team. And there's Super Bowl caliber talent on this team. And you look at, you mentioned their schedule. I just pulled it up. Yeah, you start with the Saints, but after that, Panthers,

Broncos, Chargers, bears. So I'm guessing they'll probably have an opportunity to get some momentum at the start of the season. Greg,

10 and a half wins, over under. Three. I'm going under. 10. Zero. I mean, good division.

The money's mad. All right. Close out. I love that he sets out. I love that he sets. it up with. I think they can win the Super Bowl. Over under, 10 and a half wins. Under. I mean, I'm a business man. I'm a business man. You're on the fence. You're on the fence a little bit. All right. Money. Close out with the

division. All right. Here we go. This can't be overstated. Again, going back to my college football appreciation slash passion. And Matt Rule's previous two stops, he accomplished the impossible. The Temple Owls found themselves in the AP top 25 twice after having never appeared there since 1979. That's what he did at Temple. After that, he goes to a Baylor program that was a disgrace, a scourge on their entire university campus. He basically dismissed the entire team and just wore a one and 11 season only two years later to be an overtime, overtime against Oklahoma away from making the college football playoff. He is an awesome freaking coach and a great leader of men. Anyone that's ever been around him will tell you that. How much talent does he have on that team? That's the question. But I think there's some there. I absolutely love Derek Brown, the rookie. And if Kwan Shorts healthy, that's going to be formidable.

And, you know, the offense has, obviously, Christian McCaffrey and DJ more that I think you can be excited about. So I'm actually looking forward to seeing that the Panthers are going to knock somebody off. They're going to knock one or two teams off late in the season. I just believe that much in Matt Ruhl. I really do. I am with you. I am, it is not Kool-Aid that I'm drinking. and it's truth serum because what you said is real

and I think he's that kind of guy. And you know what? David Tepper probably knows it's going to be a rough season out of the gate. I think the Panthers are the kind of team. They're saying there probably will be 25 different players from last year's roster to start the year. They're tearing it down to the studs. There's patience, but there are pieces.

And I think this is the kind of team that you're going to see Matt Ruhl develop and grow them week after week. And I'm money, I hear they're going to drop a bomb on someone in late December and cause total chaos. Is Teper an honest, excuse me, is, he's very honest, is Teper a patient man? Look at the contract. The contract says he was.

I mean, the contract's Groot-in-esque in terms of we understand what has to happen here. I'm not really plugged into the zeitgeist on this Panthers team. Are they expected to be like a three-win team? I see them more as like a six or seven team. I think six or seven. I just think going back to what Greg said, the division. I mean, you know, you got to go up against the Saints, Bucks, and Falcons, I think they're probably teams don't think of them as the worst roster in the league you know but I

think they're an injury or two away from it I I I yeah they could be frisky and I'm I'm excited to watch them but man they're like a Shaq Thompson injury away from who I mean they have no one at no depth they have no one in the secondary uh you're counting on Matt rule's coaching to to do it but it's the offensive line to me there are a couple key injuries away from one and 15 It's just, no matter how good your coaches, I think they have one of the thinnest rosters in the NFL. Like, Rule Turn Temple around, right, and bail around. But what do you do the first year? He kind of set the groundwork, right?

Four, the foundation. That's fair. One, zero. And I'll take the dart here. I don't care. Teddy Bridgewater averaged 6.2 air yards per attempt. I don't care. 18 feet per attempt.

Same is Jimmy Garapolo. Jimmy Garapolo got seven minutes away from the Super Bowl with the exact same stat. All right, let's close it out with the NFC. With Jimmy Garapolo. Money and Jimmy Garapolo and those Niners. Some say it's the best lines in football, not line, lines after they traded for Trent Williams.

Offensive line, I don't have a question about it with McGlinchie and Trent Williams bookend and, you know, whatever people want to call. Is it outside zone? Is it stretch zone? Is it wide zone? Who knows? Whichever guy is carrying the ball.

It's freaking awesome. So that I think will be the same. I feel like the DeForest Buckner trade is being overlooked and just kind of accepted more than it should be. Nick Bose is amazing. But freaking Buckner was a nightmare. And the two of them together were what led to that defense being that special. Because I look at the secondary and I go, eh, it's okay. I mean, I watched it give up a 10 point lead in the Super Bowl.

and get dusted down the field. So I have a concern there. Armstead was thought to be a guy that was on his way out before he accepted a discount deal. And obviously, Kinlaw is supposed to be, oh, he's just like DeForest Buckner. Okay, great. A rookie is just like one of the best defensive tackles in the league. So to me, it comes down to what Greg alluded to a moment ago, is Jimmy Garapolo, who helped guide a team to the Super Bowl,

and perhaps part of the reason why they lost the Super Bowl, the right guy. and will we see a fall off by this defense? I wonder, too, like about D. Ford being like such a key factor. He's missed a lot of time in training camp. And you look at this team, I think there's so much to like in terms of the coaching staff and in terms of like the depth of personnel, they can survive an injury. But I do wonder when you're counting on, like, let's say Jordan Reed. Like, Jordan Reed's a guy I'm intrigued, and it just feels like there's a lot of Jordan

Reid on this roster of, like, guys that, like, if everything goes right with him or Dee Ford or Debo coming back or your first round pick IU coming back from an injury, like this thing could be electric. But it does feel like they have a little more, you could either get a lot or you could get nothing guys than you would want as like the NFC favorite. I think it's, Shannon thinks that Debo Samuel might even be back for week one. That's good. But you go back a couple out.

outside of last year, people were talking about Shanahan and Lynch kind of on the hot seat a bit. And it was all because those previous teams were shattered by injuries. So if they're not healthy in this division, any unhealthy team is going to get into a whole lot of trouble. It's like 2016 in that training camp with Jordan Reed. And then Jared McKinnon is another guy where you're reading that none of the linebackers, and they've got some good coverage linebackers like Fred Warner and Kwan Alexander. They can't cover this guy out of the backfield. So McKinnon in the passing game could be a nice axe factor. Keep an eye on Warner. He got put on the COVID-19 list just last weekend was kind of the first

big name in a long time to get put on that. And so you just don't know when he's going to be back. Otherwise, him in Greenlaw might be the best linebacker duo around, certainly one of them. That could be weeks. That could be weeks. Hey, 10 and a half wins, but over under, Niners, Greg. Way, way over. Way over. Wow. All right, Matt Money-Smith, I know that you have a hugely popular sports radio program called Petros and Money that you need to prepare for. That's right.

I got to hop in the car with Mark Sessler and his family. I'll be there about 20 years. There we go. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us. Great to see you all. I'll see you money on next week when we pick up the power ranking show on NFL.com hosted by his power rankings. who delivers his power rankings

you can get you with the dart here. Okay, all right. It's so easy to get him to move off of his point in just with one bold statement. I got the Cowboys number one. Well, that's stupid. Well, you know, I wasn't going to put him at number one, but, you know.

It comes with a lot of nuance. I'm always on the fence with the rankings and money has a way of moving me off it. I checked out all week. You've learned for the best. Damashek is always canvassing the entire office. for opinions before he produces the result, you know.

There's nothing wrong with that. You know, consensus building. Money. All right, guys. Thank you, buddy. Thank you, Maddie later. All right, let's close out the rest of the NFC West and the NFC in total, starting with the Seahawks.

All right. So that trade for Jamal Adams positioned in many places as a quote unquote final piece type move by the Seahawks, a team that was willing to mortgage their future for the here and now. and on one level that makes sense. 10-win team last year, won a playoff game, and adding a player of Adam's ability can only help get them over the hump.

But is this reality? Is this team a Super Bowl contender, or is it still a pretty lopsided team with a lot of question marks on defense that probably will end up going about the same place? About 10 wins, 9 to 10 or 11 wins, maybe a playoff win, maybe one and done. are they actually closer to the Super Bowl?

I think a little bit, not much because the lack of a pass rush kind of mitigates the excitement that you have in the secondary. Secondary could be among the best in the league with Adams there and the trade pickup from the Redskins that they got to Dunbar. But I think they're a Super Bowl contender as long as Russell Wilson is there. It's amazing how they keep getting to the final eight with all the problems that they have. They only need to have a few other things kind of lock in. Their offensive line is like a massive question mark.

But when you have Russell Wilson, you have such a high floor and you've got some other pretty premier talent on the team and you have a good coach that, yeah, I think they can have a couple things go right for them and they're back in the Super Bowl. It's kind of like, it's easy to forget because they were 11 and 5 and the Niners were 13 and three that they lost in week 17 to the Niners, 26 to 21. But had they won that, they would have won the division. Half a yard short from a by. And we've been pinpointing.

I'm not talking about lesion of boom at its peak era. But in the last three, four, five years, three, four years, it's like there's one aspect about the Seahawks that we just can't get over. And that's why they're going to finally tumble off the scene. But they've made the playoffs every year since we've worked at NFL.com, Dan, 2011. So it's like, you know, I mean, I completely trust in a weird year. Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll just to get it done. They just do. And, like, are they a Super Bowl team?

I don't know. Get what done? That's what I mean. You're going to get into the playoffs. I trust them to win 10 or 11 games. Yes, I do. And I trust. Super Bowl team.

Yes, and I trust them to win a playoff game. And frankly, and this is, I'm not putting this on you because I know that I think that, you know, the Jamal Adams thing a little bit is a lot of hot takes. The Joel, Jamal Adams now is just not that important of a player. I completely disagree with that. And I think he's going to be. I don't think anybody's saying that. Well, there is the safeties don't matter.

I mean, he's, you know, he's not Derwin James. It's like, Jamal Adams is an impact player who is going to make a big, big positive change for the Seahawks. I would bank on that. I wouldn't worry about that. Right. To me, like, they've been at their best at times when they've had the best ground game in the league. And then they've been at their best at times when they let Russell Wilson take over the offense. So which one are they?

And who's getting after the quarterback? If Davian Cloudy's and the guys at L.J. Collier. Like, is he the guy? All right. Shut up. Rams. Ow. All right.

You know, by the way, you knew Ricky would be reckless with a gun. Arjuna, he used it when it needed to be used. Ricky is problematic. Ricky has like 800 more reasons to be annoyed with us than Arjuna. I mean, you know, all right. Well, there we go. Look, the Rams, I'm kind of, I've been a little, you know, I've been annoyed with the Rams.

in the past. I don't feel that way. I really think this is Rams 2.0 experience. And they, Sean McVeigh has, I think, reimagined what this team can be on offense. And I think he's probably taking a hard look at reimagining himself as well. I mean, this is going to be, you know, continuation of last year, a tight end, heavy attack. I mean, we're using them much more than they did early on with Higbee and Everett. The whole girly thing melted down, but I really like this stable of runners, Cam Acres, Daryl Henderson, Malcolm Brown. We had less need on it. He was like unwilling to say which one of them was going to kind of be the lead guy. That can be a bad thing, but in this case, I don't

buy that. Van Jefferson has been one of the few kind of football nuggets. You can really pull off of hard knocks. The son of an NFL wide receiver, I like that. To me, this team outside of the offensive line and the fact that you could spend 10,000 generations looking for a personality or a fire inside of Jared Goff feels like a playoff entry. Where are you with that? I mean, 10,000 generations. So that's 30,000 years. Like 10,000 years wasn't an you needed 20,000 more years to find that personality. Yes. He should put out one of those tapes where it puts you to sleep.

He just reads from a book or something. I would be asleep in probably about 20 seconds. They've made all these blockbuster trades to deplete their draft picks. So after all that happened, everybody was saying, you know, the draft is going to be really important for the Rams, having those mid-round picks instead of early-round picks. And then I look up and I see my neighbor, J.B. Long, play-by-play

voice of the Rams, tweeting Cam Acres, Van Jefferson, outside linebacker, Torell Lewis, and then two of the safeties they drafted, I think Torell Burgess, and who's the other guy? I think Fuller, all five of those guys look like future starters

and should be rookie contributors. I think that's exactly what they needed. This team looks refreshed to me, and they do feel like a playoff team. And they can be so much more diverse on offense. So you mentioned, Mark, how they can use the tight ends. And I think that was important late last year. I think McVeigh maybe got a little predictable. You know, they use 11 personnel with the three receivers more than any team. And suddenly they used the two tight ends. They were scoring 30 points

a game last five weeks of the year. Golf played pretty well down the stretch. And now you've got the two tight ends, but you've also got the three receivers because you have Van Jefferson's probably taken over for Reynolds. And I wanted to put money on this too. But, man, I think the district, not disrespect, but I think people don't appreciate how good Cup is, Cooper Cup, because they think he's still the guy he was as a rookie. And to me, he's closer to Keenan Allen and Thielen and Godwin as one of the best slot guys in the league in a top 10 or 11 receiver, period. He's gotten better every year.

So I think he can keep getting better. You have one of the best number twos in woods. There's a lot to like, a lot at the top level to like, especially on office. Post-hype sleeper candidate here. Zero. Yeah. Everyone. Yeah.

We're digging the Rams. We're digging the Rams. I'm going to talk about the Cardinals. I'm going to finish off with the Cardinals, who've got their problems. But what I'm looking for is whether they're going to be revolutionaries. You know, whether they're going to be as fast as we heard in camp, whether they're going to be the fastest team in the league. They were the fourth fastest team.

We talked a little bit about it on our broadcast with a rookie quarterback. Now what are they going to do that they can actually have four wide receivers that you can believe in? Because they ran four wide a third of the time. That's quadruple the amount that any team in the NFL did. So they really are running things differently than any team in the league. And now you've got four. You've got Kirk. I think Isabella will probably be the fourth.

If not, it's Keishon Johnson. You have Fitzgerald, of course, in Hopkins. It's a fun group, and I think they're not going to win that many games. I think they could be fun and not win any more than they did a year ago because the defense and the offensive line and the secondary. There's a lot of issues, but I want to see Kingsbury just go for it and be a different flavor that the NFL could use. The Ravens are a different flavor, and the Cardinals, to me,

should be on the total opposite side of things and at least be fun to watch with this group. I think they can win more games because they start with the Niners, And, you know, it's going to be teams figuring themselves out. But then they have Washington, the lions, the Panthers, and the Jets. So that's a chance for a fast start. And you're right. They were the fourth fastest team. The difference between, like, the fourth and the third is, like, 0.8 seconds or something.

It's like, you know, it's not like they were 17 minutes faster than the next team. It's mere seconds. That's who they are. And that's who Kingsbury has always been. So I trust it. Yeah, I'll be interested to see if this spreads around the league. Like, if Greg's saying, If it's revolutionary, next year there should be two or three teams or more doing what they're doing.

And I think at some level they are, but it's just not as dramatic. Like when Drew Locke came in, you know, you saw them going four wide all the time. You see a lot of empty. You see a lot of four wide. The difference is like teams are thrown in there as flavors. And for the Cardinals, it's kind of their base offense. Or I think Kingsbury wants it to be because partly because they want to run the ball. And by spreading out so much, you're going up against six-man bob.

and you're going to have a lot of success in the ground game. It doesn't mean Kenyon Drake's not going to get a lot of run. Right. And Kenyon Drake and Chase Edmonds are used in the passing game. And I'll never forget when we were in London and the Cardinals were just starting to find their way. And we were watching at that time, David Johnson and, you know, Edmonds just tearing people up, catching the ball in yards after the catch. So I just kind of like the whole deal. I mean, be fun to watch in 2020 or what are you doing?

I agree with that. You know, one thing that jumped out to me when I was reading the great Evan Sylvan. his shy away 30. He has John Dr. Hopkins way up on his list of people to avoid in fantasy. Obviously very different than real football. But he pointed out that the 2019 Cardinals ranked 18th in past attempts, 22nd in offensive plays. Yeah, Lyre Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, Kenyon Drake,

all in-house target competition. And it's just going to be different than in Houston, where he was just getting fed the ball over and over again. Will he be as big a difference maker as maybe we all presumed him to be? Watch him get that money in the next. A few days. That contract's coming. You got that on good authority, Rosenthal?

I just think you want to keep DeAndre happy. They've been doing some financial moves to, like, free up money. And so now is the time of year. You sign your veterans. Good stuff. All right. There you go. We just went around the NFC in 48.

minutes. Thank you to Matt Money Smith for joining us for most of that exercise and giving us some great on the boots insight on the Los Angeles Chargers. And boys, we're getting there now. Eight days away from football as we record this. Wes, now that your doctor sent you home for the week, do we get you on Friday also? Like, where are we at? Yeah, barring the unforeseen. I'll be here. Excellent. A whole week of Wes. What a blessing for the podcast and the audience.

All right. So we'll be back Friday with our rundown show. Of course, we'll also be doing our network taping. So make sure you set your DVRs or watch it on Friday afternoon when it goes live on the web. They still say the web? No, you do. Web's out. Nobody moved on.

Please check out my new web page. worldwide what about information super highways there you go that's been out for quite a while now you know it will never be out that pink shirt says love it i finally bought a shirt for the first time in about quiet storm the old man the boss ricky hollywood nat money smith till friday Thank you. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies

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