NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - AB Drama ; What YOU people don't know about teams no one is talking about...or maybe it's just us

Episode Date: August 9, 2019

A room filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Chris Wesseling, Gregg Rosenthal and Marc Sessler bring you all of the latest news around the nfl including the most recent development with Antonio Browns and the Raiders (6:25), Duke Johnson being traded to the Texans (14:37) and the latest with the Saints no-call lawsuit (20:35). There is tons of information to report from all the preseason opener action (30:40) and the heroes get feisty about teams nobody is talking about... or maybe just them. (44:05)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. The Around the NFL podcast have been tweeting weird shit lately. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast presented by Sirius XM. My name is Dan Hansis. And I am joined in a room that is just loaded, filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan.

Friday show. Well, I mean, first of all, the Friday show is designated to start at 11 a.m. Pacific time, California clock. And it is 1140 and we are just getting going. Well, we pushed it back to 1115. And Wes, you know, Wes organized a critical doctor's appointment for himself at around 115 in Beverly Hills. He will not be making it. I promise you he will not get there on time. He'll be fine.

With it, you walk in, like, depressing little magazines on those tables, which are the most depressing thing, the little magazines. I mean, you could be all... There's no time to read those. You could be all agro and angry about it, or you could recognize that in the history of six years of this shows, we've had a lot of, you know, 15-minute, 20-minute chit-chats before the show that just, like, we're totally wasting time. I think this is the best one we've ever had. It was good. I would say, I'm all for it, but maybe... It went in astounding directions.

I thought we were going to start. 20 minutes ago and it just kept going. Well, they were, it was 10 or 11 topics that you chose to talk about, Greg. So I understand why you like the conversation. But what if we were to table the chit chat for after and it would be voluntary? You could stay or you leave and get on with your day. You know why it's better before? And I'll say this, that we've been working together for years now and our jobs have evolved in that time.

And we used to sit together every day, you know, five, six days a week, eight hours a day, sit together. Hey, that's the show right there. You can just put a microphone downstairs. That's the podcast. Put the mics down there. And you got your show. And that doesn't happen as much anymore. And I do know the habits of the room that once the show is over,

it's a cloud of dust and everyone's gone. 25 men, 25 camps. So the only time I could keep you here, Mark, and have you in a conversation is when you're basically a hostage. You have to be here talking to us. That you're not wrong, but I will say I am, my concern is around Wes's, you know, health appointment. I mean, you were diving in at certain points.

You were asking about the decor of Wes's. Well, totally facetiously to continue. Mike, I kept saying, please, can we move along? And we have proof of that. Can we move along now? Because we do have a lot to get to. And Wes does have to get to the author, don't know. They'll survive if I'm a few minutes late.

Mark made it seem like it was a cancer appointment. He's like, he has a really, really important. I'm just picking up retainers for my teeth. Dental health matters. Very important. and dental health, do not ignore your teeth. There was a poster in my old dentist office when I was a kid.

Ignore your teeth and they'll go away. It's true story. Wow. Harsh. That's true. All right. Coming up on today's show, yes, the preseason kicked off in earnest on Thursday night,

a bunch of games. How many games we have? 11, I think. Healthy and pool games. So we'll take a quick spin around the league. We're not going to dig into it game by game. I will be letting you know where we are in the standing. but we'll sell with the lines some general takeaways from the action on Thursday also

something we did last summer we're bringing it back because you know how it is you know how it is with our show that in any show really the NFL has haves and have nots in terms of what teams move the needle what teams are fun to talk about what teams maybe would be fun to talk about if they got more love but they tend not to so that's why we are bringing back the segment what you people don't know about teams no one is talking about dot dot dot that or maybe it's just us maybe people are talking about these teams but not in this studio you people should know that you really get a kick out of this segment i enjoy it in fact i will be moderating this segment uh to make sure that none of the teams and we'll get to this a little bit

later that had come up often on the show and we have a group of 14 um will be mentioned once during that segment. This was needed. We tend to go into ruts around June and July where we only talk about half the league and ignore the other half the league. So we're going to study that other half the league. And how many other podcasts out there

have the self-awareness to even do a segment like this? Think about that. To even point out their own self-awareness. Yeah. But before that, let's do some news. What we're hearing, presented by Sirius XM.

Hit it, Ricky. From 43, Elliot Fry. Give a standing ovation for a free-season field goal. It's important. It's continued from Bourbonnet to Chicago, the excitement for the Bears kicker in this competition. How about that, Elliot Fry. You can't make this stuff up.

As seconds are ticking off the clock in the Bears, Panthers preseason opener. they spiked the ball, 43-yard field goal. And guess what? Actually, it didn't spike the ball. Clock's running. Ron Rivera, the opposing coach, calls timeout, and he wasn't doing it to be a jerk.

He was trying to help the Bears because everybody knows Matt Nagy's obsessed with the 43-yarder, going back to the double doink in the playoffs. And John Fox, Ron Rivera said, you know what is funny? I did that to help the Bears because they are in a kicking contest, Rivera said via ESPN.com. How about that?

What a cooperative coach he is, an opposing coach to do that for Matt Nagy? Riverboat's a good man. Negi taking the opposite approach. Like Sean Payton and the Saints, they don't even mention what's happened the last couple of years. They just move right on.

Nagy just thinks that obsessing about it is the best way to go. Press in. What happens if Small fry misses that kick yesterday? What if he double doinx that kick? Does Nagy just run off into the will and we never see him again? Or, you know, he just jumps in the ocean

and just goes swimming until he disappears over the horizon. We're getting close to that kind of an event, I think, with Nagy. All right. Let us start the news with Antonio Brown and a soap opera that is exploding in Oakland just at a time when all the cameras there are there for hard knocks. We'll start here. We'll start the story with a report from Chase Williams of WPXI and Pittsburgh who put it out there that Brown had gone, quote,

radio silent and that the Raiders had, quote, no clue where Brown is or the status of his injured foot. And of course, we talked about it, the frostbitten feet from the cryogenic chamber that has hindered him and kept him out of almost all of training camp. So there has been a disconnect with Brown and the Raiders. He is getting treatment on his own. And now more now. So Michael Gelkin of the Las Vegas Review Journal reports that Brown is expected to rejoin the Raiders, quote, in the near future, which is good news. But then Mike Silver, our own Mike Silver, drops a silver bomb. You know, like a woge bomb?

We need some type of silver bomb thing. A 20-part thread. Now, you could ask, hey, Mike, why didn't you just use, like, the open-up a document and write all this stuff and send out one tweet? I would imagine maybe there's a social media reason, virally, to have a 20-point-3. Well, it's paying off. As I look at it live, retweets and likes are.

So there it is. A 20-part thread that does. gets more into what is going on between Antonio Brown and the Raiders behind the scenes. And Greg, this is all over the place. But the short of it is that, yes, he has this foot issue going on. But there's more behind the scenes, including an issue with the NFL's updated helmet safety rules that has caused a major havoc behind the scenes. Let's start there. What are you seeing in the silver thread?

Well, Antonio Brown is upset about the NFL's enforcement of helmet regulations. Basically, they have taken helmets which have been tested to be less safe and provide less protection against concussions out of the mix. This has been a multi-year process. They had kind of a year last year where players could still wear some of the helmets that were towards the bottom of their unsafe, but they had to get out of it. Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady were some of these players that were still wearing the old helmets. Once you got to this offseason, you're no longer allowed to wear the helmet.

And apparently that kick-started a off-season saga, which is hilarious in its details of Antonio Brown going crazy about these helmets to the point where Adam Schefter says the helmet issue is more of the reason why he's away from the team right now. Earlier in the off-season program, he stormed off the complex so angry about the rules with the new helmets. And he is repeatedly... It's ironic because the NFLPA completely supports this. It's the NFL actually proactively paying lots of money for research to try to save the players' brains, essentially. You know, all the things that the players have rightly been complaining about for years, but he is upset about it. There is one detail in here, and it's number 13 on Silver's 20 tweet description here that Antonio Brown went to the extent to at one point take the field with his old helmet, his preferred helmet, which he had since had repainted with colors approximating

but not completely mimicking the Raiders' silver and black design. He went out of his way to hire someone, I'm imagining, to get the right silver and black color tones and it didn't quite look right. Or is this, who knows, you know, maybe AB's taking advantage of what's illegal in California and, you know, having a day with his kids and, you know, they're just painting it out.

It's a stick figure pirate with an eye patch. And this is, that was, I guess, the high point, low point of him trying to get this now illegal helmet on the field. But this has been going on before he heard his feet through OTAs and practices where he kept on trying to get on the field with the helmet. And the Raiders kept on telling you, you have to take it off. And he would say he was going to follow the rules, but try to beat it. But then there's even more even behind Helmutgate that he's struggling to get to meetings on time.

He appears, quote, unfocused in them, according to Mike Silver. according to witnesses is his tweet number 19 in the thread typically brown glances at the screens of several tablets and his smartphone during meetings distracting himself by engaging in activities which include perusing his bank accounts and quote liking photos on Instagram still one source says the meeting thing isn't that bad but the feet helmet and going dark is an issue

you're damn right it's an issue and we knew the honeymoon was not going to last between Antonio Brown and John Gruden, and maybe Antonio Brown and anyone in organized professional football, but this thing has a potential to careen into a total avalanche of poop here. And, you know, is he on the field? Is he a member of the Raiders when they become the Vegas Raiders? How long is this going to last this marriage? Because it is off to a rollicking start.

Well, as you might imagine, Raiders, coaches, and players are talking about this amongst themselves. And according to Silver, one of the coaches said it was, quote, honestly, the most insane thing I have ever heard. I don't know why it's so important to him. It doesn't make sense. I would say you dig your due diligence on this guy and you found the insanity in his past. This guy is playing a team sport and he sent a figurative middle figure to the fans, the coaches, and players of the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.

The Steelers are laughing their asses off right now. You know they are. I mean, it's important to note that this helmet guideline is affecting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of players who are equally passionate about their equipment and have a fondness for a certain type of helmet and have had to switch. And this one person is the one responding this way. A difficulty that tons of others are dealing with too and adjusting to. And it's, you stand out with that type of behavior and the questions rise up about Antonio Brown. And, you know, it's, I guess for us, it's delightful because we get to watch all this

unfold on hard knocks. But it was a year ago that we were working with someone like Mike Mayock who has to be going nuts that this is taking place on a public stage or Gruden that he has to deal with this and they already didn't answer questions about the frostbite. But you get what you pay for.

You get what you pay for. It informs some of the frustration that we saw from Gruden even on Hard Knocks about the feet because that seemed like almost a very frustrating story but almost annoying and it wasn't,

but this kind of informs maybe why they've been getting so frustrated. And it's fascinating because he's the best receiver that I think I've covered since I've been covering the league as Antonio Brown. Like that's the reason we're talking about it is because he's one of the all-time greats. And we're not, none of us are informed enough and nobody following the NFL unless you really know the man are informed enough. But I wonder if he's okay mentally. Like he just seems to be completely out there. And is it, is he able to really get along with anyone?

Or is it to the point where he just exists on Planet Antonio and there's, Weird stuff is always going to be following him around now. Has his career gotten to that point despite being a fantastic talent? We talked about it on Wednesday, Greg. In the one practice we did see in that Hard Knocks premiere, he just blew everyone off the field. He's that good. He's a super duper star.

He's going to wear the jacket in Canton. But I just wonder where he's at mentally and whether he can really function on a team in 2019 and beyond. That's the next time he'll be allowed to wear that helmet. I'll just put it on for his speech of Canton. He loves it so much. I wonder he's sitting at home right now wherever he is wearing the helmet, just watching like Netflix.

I know for me personally, like, I stay away from looking at my bank account. There's nothing about it that I need to be checking more than once in a while. It's like, hey, four figures here, guys. That would be an awesome move, though, to just, like, leave it open and it has like $412 in it. Like, what? Take a look. What? All right, let's move on in the news.

Yes, a fascinating situation unfolding in Oakland. Moving on. Cleveland Brown's News, Duke Johnson no longer connected to the Brown. He gets his wish, traded away from the team to the Houston Texans. Browns announced it on Thursday. Tom Pellisero of NFL Network reported Houston will send Cleveland a fourth round pick in the 2020 draft that can become a third rounder if Johnson is active for 10 games. So pretty good chance this becomes a third round pick going back to Cleveland.

We all know that this was kind of a controversy around the Browns at Duke Johnson. Unhappy with his role in the team, Kareem Hunt comes aboard. of number three in line in that depth chart, wanted out, didn't it seem like it was going to happen? Well, it does. He's out of town, and he joins a Texan's team that really needed an upgrade in the backfield with Lamar Miller, who, as much as I once loved him, is an underwhelming three-down back. Now you have a great receiving running back there.

It makes a lot of sense for them, but the cost West is a little high, I thought. They paid a premium for a team with many roster needs, not just this year, but going forward. they have many roster needs. He fills exactly what their backfield needs. They need a passing down compliment to Lamar Miller. I just wonder would a team with a GM allow the coach to fulfill this wish? It's a good question. I think it's worth noting he has two years left on his contract,

so it's not just this year, and what I think is a very affordable contract. So you're getting a good deal. I don't hate it. It definitely makes their team, significantly better this year. They needed it. And I've always thought Duke Johnson

could handle more than he doesn't. Even if he doesn't, he's just one of the best passing down backs since he's been drafted. And he's not missed a game in his career. He's certainly not been a star for Cleveland because I think no one's really found a way to maximize him entirely.

And then when you've got guys like Nick Chubb, he's just not featured as a featured back, which he's asked to be. He wanted to be that coming out of Miami. But I think they should get the third. round or barring something you're annoyed though because kareem hunds's not back till week nine and i do think it makes the browns worse it's well it's you know a bit of amia copa though because one thing i learned about myself is that i need to i need to um when brown's news happens and what i do is i just tweet

emotionally and i'm not and i think that my analysis was a little off because i was i felt like they just gave him away because you know suddenly he's got a new agent drew rosenhouse who went into cleveland and said, I want this. And so, you know, weeks later, he's out for, and I get to the third round pick, which is the largest compensation for a running back, per some research, since Trent Richardson was shipped out of Cleveland. So, you know, I think that my initial reaction was off and that I thought the Browns basically just caved into wishes when they got good compensation back.

But I don't love the timing. Well, and also then I'm texting you guys like all this stuff where you don't need that. I think I told Dan to. I think I told Dan to die at one point because he said my response was to the trade once it was I said wow you know third round pick potentially that's a nice return for your third string running back Mark's reply die well I mean so how about I you know I need to learn to grow a little bit and like I and I'm not I'm going to try to not treat one team in the league differently but I really hope the Browns win week one it's just want them to set the tone of of positivity is a lot riding on my concern though is is this, because we'll get into another bit of news that happened to Cleveland, is when you start to look at your roster as you've got riches at all these positions that you can give away, you know, I think they might very well need Duke Johnson. They have some other guys up beyond Nick Chubb that are showing some promise even last night in the game, but I don't like

the idea of just handing away Duke Johnson this far before you get Kareem Hunt. If you could have done it closer to the trade deadline, which is there's no surety that you could, I would have been happier with the timing. The other news is that Antonio Callaway, They're promising second-year-wide receiver has been suspended four games for a substance abuse violation. This, the 22-year-old, who really did flash last year as a rookie. If you remember, he was cited for marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license last August. But Mike Garifolo, our own Mike Garifolo reports, the suspension stems from a separate incident. That marijuana charge, by the way, the one I mentioned there, was dismissed in February.

So, and which is, you know, a little bit refreshing on my end, he released the statement taking responsibility for his actions and saying, I'm going to eat the suspension, and that's what it is, instead of fighting it. So Calloway out on the shelf four games. Your thoughts there, Mark. Well, I mean, so suddenly you don't have Duke Johnson and you don't have Calloway. And this offense that's super deep is just simply not as deep. And a couple injuries going the wrong way could turn Cleveland into a different type of roster. I would say the thing that they have going for them, and this continued into, I realize it's just one game,

but last night, ever since Baker Mayfield took over, I thought that Richard Higgins went from being someone who was cuttable and essentially a zero asset to someone who's growing as a wide receiver. And he played really well last night. I think he just, he, he, that you need a third guy. And I get that you have Beckham and Landry. You know what's funny? He's their third guy.

What a great situation you are in. Even with these news items, that these are hits to your depth, and that's important to have depth. But Landry and Beckham are superior receivers. Chub and Hunt, when he comes back, are superior rushers. I think the Browns are still in very good shape right now.

I just think that the one thing about them is their early schedule, and I think the chemistry is just in general, there's a lot of challenges out there. It could be a rough start. And where are you by the time Cream Hunt comes back? When you're trying to get rid of the haunted house and turn the page and institute a new culture, you don't need the ghost of Josh Gordon.

hanging around. No. This is a little too soon. Moving on. Did you know, by the way, that there's still litigation going around the NFC championship game? Saints fans.

And specifically, one particularly angry super fan. He's a lawyer. Wes, got any good lawyer jokes? I forget all of them. Okay. I just thought like a mailman would have like certain jokes. Hey, it's like, hey, where's the, you know,

the best place for a law office to be? I worked out for the ocean. I've worked to the law firm for 10 years. Tell them what you wore. Tell them what you were to your interview. Tell them what you were to the interview. Oh, to my law firm interview in 1997. I've told this before.

A dangling earring. And what was on it? A crucifix. Isn't that Barry Bonds' like giant's earring from the early 90s? That's amazing. I want the punchline to Greg's joke there. Dan got it at the bottom of the ocean. Didn't they tell you never wear that earring again?

Yes. Which, by the way, that was infringing on your religious beliefs at the time. Out of bounds. I am not a person who gets offended by that stuff, but yeah, nobody tells better lawyer jokes than lawyers. Yeah. Anyway, so there's a super fan, Tony Lamon. He had filed a fraud suit against the NFL before the Super Bowl and connected to the blown pass interference call in the NFC title game. And he, because he's a lawyer and he knows the little tricks, he crafted the suit so the damage stay under a certain figure.

It's $75,000, which means it stays in state courts. courts and in front of, most likely, judges that support the Saints. So he's trying to work in everything. Now, the problem here is that, you know, and then on top of the courts then ruled in Louisiana that NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, and three game officials would have to be deposed in September. I mean, what a waste of taxpayers' money. It's a football game.

Anyway, the NFL is appealing that ruling, and now the Saints have to, because they don't want to get involved with this. They've had to come out and file a brief in support of the league. I mean, the final insult to injury for the Saints. Now we have to support the NFL to drop a lawsuit against you rooting our franchise with a horrible PI call. It's a wild scenario going on. And it is very much up in the air.

There is the possibility that league figures, including the top of the food chain, Goodell, has to answer questions to this. What's his name, Tony Lamon? Yeah. I adore what he's done. I think it's beautiful. It's chaotic. It's strange.

I love it. This man needs to spend a week in jail. Someone should do like a counter suit to Drew Brees for throwing an interception to start overtime. People kind of forget that. They do. It's like overtime starts. Drew Brees immediately throws an interception that gives the Rams the win. And no one's mentioned that once since then.

It's worth mentioning. And a little bit more context. The NFL is arguing in their quest to dismiss this entire travesty that the, The lawsuit, if it proceeds, would allow other fans, thousands of fans, to sue the league whenever they want over something as simple as a missed call, which is fair. Third strike that was called a ball. Sue the league. This man should be in jail, wasting time and money. There you go.

My counterpoint, I find it delicious. You're an agent of chaos. You should be in jail, too. All right, let's spin around a lot of injury stuff to go through. So it'll be kind of quick here. Robert Quinn, you know, it's on my radar that he'd have the club. club early in the season because he had that thumb surgery for the Cowboys.

Well, it might avoid the club because he's not playing. Robert Quinn's availability for week one was already in question because of that fractured left hand. Well, now he won't be available weeks one or two suspended for using a masking agent. And yes, he fired out an angry

statement saying he is innocent. Perhaps he is. I will not get into that right now unless you guys have a take. Other injuries. Nate Sudfeld, broken wrist for the Eagles. So their depth chart just got lighter there behind Carson Wentz. Cody Castler.

Wow, really. I mean, it's not like Sudfeld is necessarily super trustworthy. Although he's made some throws in the preseason, that is a big drop off. I remember John DiFilippa, when I interviewed him for that one story, I did talked up Sudfell and they put a lot of resources in the sub farm. I mean, yeah, that's their situation if Carson Wentz gets hurt. He's expected to miss six weeks. He had surgery today Friday.

Gabe Jackson, the Raiders right guard, will miss approximately eight weeks with an MCL injury. The athletics, Vic Taffer. Tafer? Tafer. Greg, pronounced his name earlier in the show. He's getting a lot of play today. That's two times, three times he's been mentioned on this show.

I don't know. I think so. I know he's a buddy of Mike Silvers from back. That's a big loss. I think if the Raiders are going to be good, it's going to be, or surprising, it's going to be because of their offense. and it's going to be because their offensive line is better, and he's a big part.

Well, they gave up the, it's easy to forget. Carr has been beaten up in some of these games in the past. They gave up the third-nose sacks last year and your wide receivers on the lamb. There were games last year where Carr could not operate because of his line, and I don't think they're any better this year. Terrible setback for Jermaine Curse, the veteran wide receiver, trying to get his career back on track with the Detroit Lions. That won't happen in 2019.

He's been diagnosed with a broken left leg. and, quote, assorted injuries to his ankle, very ugly play in the preseason opener against the Patriots. So Curse is at 29 years old. This is going to be a tough one to come back from. Good luck to him. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vita Vea. First round pick last year.

Defensive lineman. Adam Schefter reports that he's been diagnosed with a sprain LCL and will be sidelined six to eight weeks. They hope he'll be ready before that, but week one, not looking too hot. Now, there is a transition, by the way, Greg, you talked about this earlier in the week. Any injury that happens, what's today, August 9th, any injury that happens before August 7th, everyone, well, probably ready for week 1. Once you hit August 9th, all of a sudden, it pushes back, and it's like, oh, probably not. They're hoping week 2, week 3.

Good chance he misses the oven. And there is that cutoff. Anyway, Vita is on the other side of that bad news for him because, you know, they're expecting a lot. LCL is no joke. That's more serious than an MCO. Their D-Line looked like it could be, if they were healthy, kind of spicy. A little Vita Vaya Indomacan Sue stopping the run in the middle, but that's a big loss. A lot of a lot of Niners injury news to go through.

Nick Bosa questionable for week one. He was right on the borderline. Right there. He was right on the Dalton line there when he hurt that ankle earlier this. week he's questionable for week one it's john lynch the niners jem said it's not a full-blown high ankle sprain which is that could kill your season or ruin half of one uh but it's got components to it that doesn't sound good no not at all you know what that sounds like a high ankle spray yeah jared mckenon add him to the list of people the running back for the nineers got

a PRP injection who's excited that that of course is the platelet rich platelet rich plasma injection which is taken off. Well, they take out your blood and spin it and then put it back in, right? And not only that, it's, I tweeted a little bit about it, and I heard about a procedure called the vampire facial, which is a popular move, a family show. A popular move among celebrities where they use PRP technology to take out your blood and then inject it into your face. I would say that there, I know for a fact that there is a young star quarterback's wife

who does vampire facials on the right. What a name, though. I just want to thank Greg for bringing this to my attention. That is my fantasy team name for my team, vampire facial. I'm writing it down right now, so I don't forget. It just sounds awesome. I watched one live on an Instagram story being done, and it is quite a sight. So I had never heard of it until today when people responded about the vampire facial.

I'll tell you offline. Who doesn't? You can see it yourself. Ricky, any experience yourself with a vampire facial? Yeah, a couple. Really? No. No.

It's that. You're ridiculous. human being. She's like, I'm three years away from being able to afford that. Jason Verrett, the Niners cornerback, has a, what was deemed a not a minor ankle injury. He'll miss the entire preseason. Rap sheet reported earlier that it was minor, but Kyle Shanahan, the Niners coach, said the opposite. So not a good look there.

And also finally, Kwan Williams, Niners defensive back. He's out for the entire preseason after a scope on his knee. So the Niners are all sorts of beat up. Now, the good thing is you don't hear anything about Jimmy G. In fact, you hear everything is good about how his progress is. But especially you hate the Nick Bosa one, because that sounds like something that could potentially throw his entire rookie year off track. And he missed a lot of the OTA season, too, with a different injury, and you do just.

His brother struggled to stay healthy as well. Right. I don't, you know, you hate to say, like, if someone's injury prone or not, but he is a crucial, crucial part of the 49ers defense getting. better. And if they don't have him, and if D. Ford is not 100%, then suddenly that whole rebuild doesn't look nearly as impressive. That's been the story of this rebuild is constant injuries. And I look at a guy like Jerich McKinnon. You go out and you went out and got Tevin Coleman. You have Matt Breda.

Are they already, I mean, are we at the point where maybe Jerich McKinnon never really becomes a large part of this offense? Their team building around him at this point. He sounds like an IRB boomerang guy. They blew it by having him practice lightly for a day. They can't put them on the PUP list. Also sounds like a request of pay cut guy. I think you're not wrong. Hair cut? Take a haircut.

Take a haircut. All right, that's what's happening in the news. All right, some takeaways from preseason opener, action. Well, let me start. Where about it? Because at the end of the day, what is the NFL about what's sports about? Who won and who lost? Take a quick look at a standing.

we're going to dig into that a little bit deeper later yeah just be aware i just want you guys to be aware that for all the excitement and all the hype and all the pop around the atlanta falcons i'll guess who's oh and two right now yeah not the detroit lions oh and two my friends all right Greg what was the takeaway you had from watching football now it's football it doesn't matter it doesn't count but it is something that we could actually watch takeaways from the action. There's not a ton in the first preseason week, but the thing I think it can be valuable

is just identifying a young player or two, like Preston Williams in Miami, who made more plays in that game with Josh Rosen than plenty of guys making their entire career. Like, LaQuine Treadwell's never made... He hasn't made close to three to four of the plays that Preston Williams made in that game. So it's just like, hey, here's something one to watch.

Like, it was incredible, the athleticism you showed on all. four of his catches. He's been great in camp. He might be, you know, in their top three receiver rotations. Just like, hey, if you're a Dolphins fan, get excited. Rosen was a little up and down, but ultimately move the ball up and down the field. And it's a nice throw. Had three, four, five, really nice throw. So it's kind of like, okay, I like, if you're a Dolphins fan, hey, there's something. I guess I have to check this game out, or I'll just take your guy's word for it. But the one thing I heard about Rosen is that he threw a bad pick, but

he's worked behind a second team line. And they were so bad. And it was comically bad. And what can you learn about Josh Rosen or any quarterback when you literally you have a turnstile in front of you. That's a tough situation. How do you beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick? How do you stay healthy?

How do you make plays? What he did last year, I saw a little bit last night where under duress, he made a couple really nice throws. And he's been doing that his whole career. He settled down. He had a couple touchdown drives

and would have been a couple more teammate fumbled. He's had a positive couple weeks. His coach also said he needs to rain down the Cowboys. Yeah, there was one particular throw where a guy is all over him and he just totally just threw it up in the air and Preston Williams came down with it, but it was lucky.

I watched the Jets Giants game, and a couple takeaways. First of all, damn it. Sam Darnal looks good. I'm so excited for him. By the way, the Jets uniforms look good too. Anybody else? Take a look at him? I strongly disagree about the helmets,

but if you're happy with it, that's all the cameras. I don't like the helmets. I like them. I like them. They somehow, what I think they pulled off is they really did take the 90s uniform and kind of merge it with their reboot or back to the future uniforms. I like the helmets. Okay.

I just, they're a little too glittery for me, but I'm cool with it. If you're cool with it, we're good. But more importantly, Sam Darnel looks good. Now, the Giants were all out of whack in the first. Donald played just one possession, but he carved them up five completions through a touchdown pass. James and Crowder, you want to look, we're not going to the fantasy extravaganza yet, But Jameson Crowder is a guy on the radar, the way that offense runs, and the way Adam Gase operates, remember how Jarvis Landry, how he piled up receptions.

I could see Crowder being a guy that approaches 100 catches, maybe, if he stays healthy, which is a big part of it. Adam Gase used smelling salts before kickoff. An amazing little bit of video that, like, circulated across Twitter last night. What did that do to his eyes? It was, well, it did what you imagine that it would do. Dan Pompei over at the Athletic wrote a piece about gase that was illuminating, including, because my wife, for instance, my beautiful Emily, both our children, C-section births.

And it is a, I don't know, anything, Simone. No, no, I'm sure Emily is excited that this is being broadcast to multiple people. It's a beautiful thing. Maybe she is excited, is what I'm saying. It's thank God for science and medical technology, because, Mark, you have an issue for thousands of years, women died on operating tables before these things were an option.

I don't have a stance on C-sections. I'm saying like I- Mark preferred those days when women would die. You know, that is, I am being spoken for, not correctly. Anyway, having been there for two C-section births,

it is a major, major surgery to the point where to get the baby out, you have to remove organs and you set them outside the body and then put them back in. This is a real thing. And I lived it. And I'll tell you what, Adam Gase in this profile by Dan Pompeii,

right after the baby came out, there's another hour of surgery about to put everything back in place. He said, you good, honey? And she was like, okay. And he took off and went back to the Broncos facility to meet with Peyton Manning. That's wild. It is. Like, in Wes, I think you kind of talked about that being a bit of a puff piece around Gase.

If you go look at Pompey's Twitter timeline, he dug into some other stuff that I found interesting. a little bit of the other side of the Adam Gays experience. I also, yeah, I had a, someone connected in the journalism world closely to the New York Jets that said that there is a lot more to Adam Gase that was not talked about in that piece. I mean, I find him fascinating. I don't know if I trust them, but I find him fascinating. But anyway, so, and then in the other side of it, West, Daniel Jones, he goes five for five, throws a touchdown for the Giants. And after the touchdown drive, and of course, all the reporters asking, is,

this a real quarterback competition. Now, you almost get the sense of Pat Schumer would have rather Jones didn't do that because he wants us to go away. He wants, I think in the Giants plan in their mind is they want Eli to start the season and then give away. But Jones does have the advantage of with actual games being played, if he goes off in these three or four preseason weeks, that's, that's going to, there's going to be a real loud drumbeat for him to play immediately. So It is something to track. I don't think it's a total done deal that Eli is going to start week with. God forbid you want to play if you're the coach, the better quarterback.

I think it is a done deal, but these preseason weeks are crucial. The leash can get a lot shorter, I guess. That's what I mean. Rookie quarterbacks can put that thought into the coach's mind, where if you play great in August, then maybe you're playing week three if Eli starts out of time. Eli, in the offense were booed off the field. Well, it was three downs and. I'm just saying, like, whatever.

like immense goodwill was there I'm the part of the fans is not there right now. They're ready to turn the page so we'll see when it actually happens. They also think Daniel Jones every time he shows up to a Yankees game. They do. It's a confused group at the moment. Dan, I think you misread my ire towards the Giants. Okay, go ahead. There's nothing I want more

than for Daniel Jones to be good and interesting so Giants fans have something to look forward to and the media can start actually covering a team that's worthy of all the expectations they place on it perennially. It's exciting to see Wes on the Giants bandwagon all of a sudden, last couple episodes.

Wes, do a preseason takeaway? Can I do like two lightning ones that don't need a whole lot of analysis, but just two? Christian Wade, the bill's running back from England, the rugby player, already way more intriguing than Jared Hayne ever was. What explosion on that touchdown run. Because there are fewer than one player, skill position player per team who have angle beating speed with the ball in their hands. And this guy beat the angles with his speed.

who knows if he's a running back. I mean, I don't know if he can run between the tackles or do the things that have the instincts that a running back has, but on that one play, he showed me that he's interesting. And the second thing, if you viewed Bears running back David Montgomery

as a dark horse rookie of the year candidate and a major upgrade on Jordan Howard, his debut was solid confirmation bias. Talk about angle-beaten speed and being able to stop on a dime. He looks really fun to watch. And Matt Nagy will know how to use him. Cohen in the same backfield is going to be spicy.

Mark? A couple little nuggets. I thought, along with Christian Wade, you know, the preseason, you can, cool little things happen for around people that we may never see again in the regular season. In the Browns game, Damon Shee. Giuseppe, who essentially snuck his way into a tryout by going up to Alonzo Highsmith after Googling him and pretending that he belonged to the tryout. It's like Willie Mays Hayes in Major League. He was a guy that in college had great return skills.

and he returned an 86-yard punt return for score last night at the end of a romp over the Redskins that cleared the Brown's bench. And one cool little footnote, he lost his cleats before the game. And O'Dell Beckham, who's taken a liking to him, said, wear mine. And he wore O'Dell Beckham's cleats when he ran that thing back. Secondly, bad news for old Gino Smith, who's out for seven to ten days during a critical center of the preseason while Paxton Lynch went out and assassinated the Broncos. Revenge. Revenge. Part three, I wonder if Case Keenum is, as Greg, I think you noted a solid month ago in a column, definitely someone they're trying to shop potentially. I don't know if you want to roll into the regular season without a veteran like him, but they started him last night. He made a nice throw. He's fine. But then Duane Haskins, to me, very up and down, made one awesome throw and then had two killer picks.

Next up, XFL for your boy, Gino. Because if Paxton puts together one more of those performers, they're just going to say, yeah, it's develop the kid. It's a long preseason. It's giving time. It's not that long. I also love Jacobi Myers because, Dan, where we grow up, Jacobi and Myers was a long-running legal house ad that would nag you during rerun television. If you were staying home from school and there was a new England area.

Yeah, he's in the perfect. In New England area and the northeast, Jacobi and Myers was the TV legal powerhouse. But of course, there was also, call the law offices of Richard P. Nine Mark because sometimes taxing. And your anchor banker, he understands your anchor banker, she understands. The bigger story is the guy, you know, is throwing at Jacobi Meyer as part of that game. I mean, the search is over. The Patriots have their next time Brady.

It's Jared Stidham. Lock him in. Looks good. He's the future. If you're keeping scored at home, Maurice Harris lasted three days as the number one receiver in New England. I thought it was the same guy. No. I can't keep my guys.

Hey, Harris scored the first touchdown of the preseason. He also had a bad mistake. And yes, also, I mean, on the other end of the spectrum, Kyler Murray, the number one overall pick. He looked like the number one overall pick. All seven of his passes were caught, six of seven final. And, God, what is his ceiling as a rookie? They're fun.

It's going to be very, yeah. He looks like a guy who's been in the same offense since high school, and he has. What is he going to do this year? What's he going to do? Hopefully not get it. Hopefully not get hurt if they protect them like they did in that game where three different times free rushers came after him. That's why I think they might have played them a little longer.

But going up against the other starters, he had to evade the rush like three different times. And he did it amazingly each time. But they're a bad offensive line that's already really hurt. Well, the challenge with that offense, it's four or five wide receivers, tight end free with maybe a running back and a bad offensive line of five guys that need to.

Defenses are going to figure out to go after. the quarterback so do we have to swap out because christian wade by the way circling back to the bills the former rugby player he is he's assigned through the nfl's international player pathway program and uh because of that the bills can carry him on their practice squad uh an extra player and it's fine is christian wade going to replace moe bowringer for our updates we got that's a conversation we have to have maybe we take it offline but at what point do we pull the plug on Mo Boringer is the guy we're tracking. I just don't want to lose the theme music that comes with Movo.

So if we can just ship the music going to a roster somewhere. But yeah, if Mobo doesn't make it through into the season, maybe we put a clock on him through this preseason on Mobo. I mean, he's been so highly relevant for up until this point. Henry Hodgson, our director of International, vice president of an international, he listens to every episode. And every time we talk about this, I could actually hear him in his office going,

Oh, Dan, it's such an ass shit. Well, Movo is in trouble right now because the Bengals are rather deep at tight end. It's probably the only position they're deep on the entire roster. They have a second round pick. They have C.J. Uzama, who's their starter, and they have Tyler Eifert.

We move him again? Two-Dohs in a position. Shift them into the backfield. It's a versatile player we're talking about. All right. That's what's happening in the preseason. Heaven-sent fragrance by Helena Rubin-style. Spray it on, and heavenly things happen.

Heaven's set. Splashing it. Laughing it. Live in it, love in it. You'll find heaven-scent fragrance at Helena Rubenstein counters everywhere. Suddenly, you are all the things that you want to be a little bit not even heavy in heaven's sense.

I love this, diddy. Yes, baby. It smells so good. Suddenly you are all the things that you wanted to be. Here we go. What you people don't know about teams, No one is talking about, or maybe it's just us. All right.

So here it is. Let's get into it. I already set it up in part at the top of the show. During this segment, there will be 14 NFL teams, some of which we talked about already today, probably all of them. And for this segment, in this segment alone, they are not allowed to be the focus of any conversation. Beyond that, they cannot even be referenced in any way. And that includes not just the team name, but if you're talking about it, for instance, you know, the Patriots, you can't mention Bill Belichick. There is no reference to that team or anyone connected to it.

And you'll be penalized for it. Here's this pink construction helmet that's been outside our studio for months. Get your wallets out because any time you say it, and I will be moderating this. Okay. Anytime I hear it or Ricky Hollywood hears it, you will hear this. Band team mentioned. Band team mention. And you will drop a dollar and it will go to a charity of Greg's choice. You're missing an opportunity.

The charity sounds great, but I thought you were going to say we have to wear that hat until the next person says. Oh, you know what? It's a better idea. Much better idea. If you mention a team, thank you, Greg. You wear the hot pink helmet until someone else mentions a band team. Now, I am not involved with this.

I am a moderator. It's important that I'm here, so I cannot wear the pink helmet. Well, that is... Wait, you're not making any of the things. I will not be. I have to be tracking this. Is it important that someone is tracking?

Well, we can track it when you talk. No, it's more important that you have a true moderator in this situation. Well, I will share thoughts. I will share thoughts potentially on the various topics, which would put me in line to wear the helmet. However, I will serve mostly as a moderator here. Let's get into it. So, wait, what are the teams we can't talk about?

Oh, here are the band teams. the New England Patriots Out The Jets out Dolphins Fish Tank is out The Ravens Out

Get out of that nest The Brownies Sorry Mark Out First team out I mean we've spent like 20 minutes on them already in the show The Browns are out Do you got to tell us twice

The Texans are out The cults, sorry, Wes. They gone. They're not an August team. Broncos, sorry, Wes. They go. Raiders, out. They go.

Cowboys, out. He'll even. Out. Eagles. They gone. Mark. Brown's out. Packers, also out.

Rams out. Well, that makes Mark happy. And the Browns are out. Again, if you hear this, that will mean that you have triggered the alarm. There's way more AFC teams. I don't know what that says. I think it says that the Patriots, Jets, and Browns are all the AFC. Okay, here we go.

Let's get into it. Get us going, Greg. Oh, wow. Oh, so just and again. What are you guys start? All right, somebody else can start. But I just want to say, talk about anything you want about those teams. So you have what?

14 teams. What does that mean? 18 teams to choose from, Mark, choose one. I'm going to talk about the Carolina Panthers, who last year, if you remember, I had a list of teams that were annoying me highly and that I simply didn't believe in. Like who?

Name a couple. Packers? Oh, Wes. You just fell for that. So easy, Wes. Put on the pink helmet. It's going to look good on West, this helmet. That was so easy.

You can go on over... Oh, no, we can make it happen. No, it looks good on you. Looks good on you. Oh, man. What it is? If the west side of Cincinnati gets a hold of this. You could be a workman in a second.

Yeah. I'm not really worried about the west side of Cincinnati getting a hold of this. If Spicerack sees this, he will move back to Vegas. Spice Rex got his own issue. Anyway, go on. I think the Panthers have... Some of what is happening in Carolina is flying under the radar because of the, you know, concern around Cam Newton's recovery, and there are some concerning elements, but let's in this

world presume that he's healthy by week one. Two people, I think, the Panthers for a long time feel like they've been the same seven or eight guys on defense and the same group of people on offense that you kind of could tick it into year after year. Huge leap coming for Curtis Samuel. And it's, it's, to me, a major breakout figure in that offense. Ron Rivera talked about him as someone who is light years ahead of where he was as a rookie. I've thought this quote from Tori Smith about Curtis Samuel was interesting. He's had the most growth out of any player I've ever seen in terms of confidence, everything. I'm expecting him to have a huge year.

He's worked his way to be in that position. So I think the offense, which is starting to shift in the last couple seasons, starts to be anchored around people that didn't even exist in Carolina going back a few years. Curtis Samuel, a big year. and I think that Marty Herney, who, you know, we've laughed at, who he's on a second run as the Panthers GM, brought in as almost an emergency patch, and he got them in the cap hell the first time he was around,

has done a nice job in a number of ways. And, you know, and I think they, with Brian Burns, their first pick looks like right away someone that is going to give something they need, which is pass rush, and a home run pick had two sacks last night, very active player, was someone that played every down at Florida State, a totally reliable, versatile dude. So it's new anchors in Carolina,

and it's easy to forget they were six and two last year before the wheels fell off before Cam's shoulder went spiritually separating from his body down the stretch. If he's healthy, I think this is a team that can win the division and take New Orleans out. It seems like a pretty settled roster. They have a lot of impact players on both sides of the ball.

They need their health. Greg Olson, Cam Newton, Gerald McCoy, Luke Keakley, But, you know, all these additions, yeah, I really like what they did in the offseason. Bruce Irving is there now. Burns, you mentioned. There aren't many teams that have three guys that can make their own plays after the catch, like Samuel, Moore, DJ Moore, and Christian McCaffrey as the Panthers.

Chris Hogan. All young guys. Chris Hogan, I'm not as high on. We're not allowed to. I always forget where he was from. It's a team up. He was the only guy that Tom Brady was throwing incompletions to in the point. Sorry.

Bye-bye. Connected. You're done. There you go. That was so... Thank you, Dan. It's so obvious. You're done.

Every time Dan asked a question, I totally forget the game that we're playing. Got the pink helmet. Your head looks huge. Greg, not so much of a workman persona to him. Wes, go ahead. You're up next. Dan, about 10 minutes ago, you said sports are about winning and losing. Absolutely.

I've always felt that. And I promised to dig deeper. So indulge a little bit of a preamble here. Have you ever think about the evolution of fandom from childhood to grown-up? When you're a child, it's all about the players. They're your heroes, they can do no wrong. That's how you see the game. That's how you experience the game.

The first sign that you are losing your hair and getting a fat tire around your midsection and you're a middle-aged fan as you start seeing sport through the lens of team building, why are some teams perennial contenders, whereas others are always like a lost ball in high weeds? and the one thread that runs through all successful organizations in every major team sport is the ability to conceive a simple idea of what kind of team they want to have and then stick to that plan in the face of adversity. Perennial contenders have patience in planning, often coming from one strong-minded visionary, and owners and presidents lose sight of this immutable sports law,

that is the planning and the patience, that when, when you have a guiding purpose or philosophy, each move is greater than the sum of his parts because each new player complements each other and the system. And then you look at a team like the Redskins. Where does an expensive luxury item like box safety, Landon Collins, fit on a team that has no offensive nucleus surrounding its quarterback of the future? This team should be rebuilding or embracing the process,

but the roster and salary cap are built for 2016. 2015. This team has built to win the season, but it's the 2015 season. What you people, what you Philistines, what you ingrates, what you pigskin ignoramus is, is that the Redskins are in worse shape than any team in the league and have a legitimate shot at the number one pick in the draft, which usually comes down to inept quarterback play and injuries. That's what usually gets you the number one pick.

Other Dormat teams have a plan. Washington is simply playing Game of Thrones, consolidating, keeping power, removing all challenges to the power. And it's fitting that they're in the political capital of the country. In their chain of command, who can tell the bosses know there? Wow.

Yep. And Bruce Allen feels like someone who's been behind where the rest of the league is going for a long time. I mean, he brought it around. I mean, that's like, some people out there might have been thinking that the Redskins are going to be lousy and maybe the worst team in Link,

but they wouldn't have brought in the geopolitical complications to it. So that's what you idiots would not be comprehending. Look at their salary cap. Adrian Peterson, Alex Smith, Josh Norman, Trent Williams, Jordan Reed, Vernon Davis, Ryan Kerrigan, Donald Penn. This is a 2015 roster. Looks like they have a nice building block with Terry McLaurin.

I love Terry McLaren. Dwayne Haskins. But yes, they don't have enough of that. This team is not built to win in 2019. Here would be my fear that what could end up happening is, let me make sure they're not on the list. I know. Stop. The Cardinals, what happened with the Cardinals last year, that what happens now is they do a 2 and 14.

They drop a 3 and 13 bomb, Washington, and those decision makers fall in love with the quarterback. And all of a sudden, you have that type of situation cooking. Because do you trust them to know how to build a team, how to be patient? You said everyone has a plan. Everyone does have a plan initially, but sticking to the plan is the hard part when adversity strikes. It's the old Mike Tyson line. Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth. Everyone has a plan, but you need a guiding purpose and philosophy, and not every organization has that.

What is the Redskins raison d'etra? We do not know. Survive until next year and keep getting the paychecks, and everyone's fighting for that. Like, Jay Gruden has his own. This is why I say their game of Thrones. Bruce Allen's got his own. You know, everyone's, I agree. It's all about power in Washington.

Rather identity-free. We'll have to do our, maybe we'll call it maybe like a head coach survival rankings or something before the season starts. Jay Gruden is in a terrible spot right now. Terrible spot. Greg, are you now ready to go? I mean, I was ready. I don't know why I just felt like I wanted to hear what the flow is going to be like. We'll attempt to take you seriously with a gigantic pink work hat on top of your show.

Greg is getting a vampire facial after today's show. It's tough here. Oh, the French champagne. Wow. Or it's a little extra on Friday. It's interesting. There was only one team that was available in the AFC East to talk about. Who wasn't?

The Buffalo Bills are the team. Nice try. What am I going to do? Wear two hats. Are the team that while we talk about them here, a lot of it's on the offense. And what I think people are missing out there, kind of the football simpletons, let's be honest.

Ouch. Is that Sean McDermott's in his. third season as their head coach. And he's in his second full season with his guy, Brandon Bean, bringing the players aboard. And that he is someone, unlike the Redskins, that I think has had a long-term vision and has seen, like, where this defense is going. And now that we're in season three, I think, like, it's here. It was a fluke they got to the wild card a couple years ago. That was ahead of schedule. But I think this guy's a great defensive coach who has really built up a group of players who are now ready to go. And I think that starts in the secondary. And I think that starts in the

secondary. And that's really what people aren't talking about. We've talked about Tremaine Edmonds on this show, who could be a breakout middle linebacker. Ed Oliver, looks like a great top 10 pick. He's had a big camp. They have a really nice rotation on a defensive line that reminds you of McDermott in Carolina. But if McDermott can do anything better than any coach out there, it is Coach Up the Secondary. And this group's great. Trenavius White's one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Micahide and Jordan Poyer don't really get a lot of notice. But that is a terrific safety tandem that's been in this system now for a few years. They love Levi Wallace, who's really earning that second cornerback job.

They have depth that cornerback where, like the Patriots, they can match up to different players. They have big guys. They have small guys. And McDermott really teaches that secondary well. So even if they're not big names, I think there are a lot to deal with. And I think getting to the third season where they have some continuity and everyone knows this defense really makes them prime to be one of the best defenses. I love that. And if you look at what happened, one of the reasons that Sean McDermott got a head coaching job was because in Carolina, when Dave Gettleman went out of his way to not pay cornerbacks and safety's money, and McDermott year after year had to work with no names, and he kept coaching them up and they were never a liability. They outperformed what you would have thought, and he's doing it with more talent now in Buffalo. And he's found his guys. Like, Teran Johnson's not a guy that we've ever talked about, but he's a fourth round second year pick, who they really love is.

their knickleback like he is their guy he's been in their system their safeties are their guys and i just look up and down this roster i think he thinks all right we've put it together let's be a top five defense i think one misconception is that the bills are really far away maybe they're not maybe they're not this defense was number two in standard stats last year and number two on football outsiders metrics they're legit one more time around the horn go ahead mark what you a little raging tiny clowns fail to realize. Don't think we didn't notice. You didn't even mention all that last time around.

Yeah, you kind of botched the beginning of the second. I, you know, sometimes I like to, when it comes to a seg that we've discussed for over 24 hours over text, go in and completely get it wrong. And that is what I did out of the game. Well, thank you for writing the ship. I didn't get a chance to say. I was going to say it after the show privately. You did. But since Greg brought it up, thank you.

Believe me. That's my MO. That's my job on the show to bring up these awkward. I knew the minute that I finished my ridiculous speech, the first time around that I had failed, the basic assignment. Don't think that I didn't understand that was on my shoulders. I was a little thrown off by March performance. Those broad shoulders.

I think we've hit that topic deeply enough. What you little tiny circus clowns don't realize is that there is a contending team out there that is already given up on their starting quarterback. And they'll go through the masquerade. of marching them out there as a starter because they don't really have much of another of a choice this time around.

But the Marcus Marriota experience is over before it begins. And I believe... Put it into my veins, Sessler. I believe that deep inside team walls in the most secret of rooms in Tennessee, they have already decided that Marcus Marioda's career

with the Titans is essentially out. It's over. He wants to be a fly on that wall. There is nobody in that honest. the roster right now that's going to replace him. I think that Ryan Tannahill was brought in as the dictionary definition of a stopgap to come in and probably, I think he will start six plus games this year, not because Ryan Tannahill is someone that they're going to view as their future quarterback, but they are going to absolutely assault free agency or the draft to find someone to

replace Marcus Marriota who has not developed or grown, whose stats are so far of an outlier compared to other quarterbacks. I understand that there's not a ton of talent around him, but they have drafted one wide receiver after the next. It's not clicked. And at some point, I look at the quarterback, not raising the boats around them. And I believe that if you are the coach of the Titans

or the general manager, your assessment has already been made, barring Marriota doing something miraculous this season. They're moving on. I already figured it out, by the way, because they're going to be competitive because they're not a bad team. They're a team that is talent on both sides of the ball.

And the quarterback play is not going to be bad enough, to sink them. So they'll win seven to nine games. That would be my prediction for the Titans. But that will not help them come draft time. So what they're going to have to do is go to the trade market. Do you think they win that division? Do they make the playoffs?

I'm just saying, I just want to follow me down this path, that they're going to go and see what's on the market. And your quarterback in week one in 2020 will be Derek Carr. And isn't that mentioning someone from one of the band teams, the Oakland Raiders? Ouch. Give me the helmet. Give me the helmet Give me the helmet

I got to eat it I got to eat the poop sometimes I just want to go on record As saying I think that your read On this situation is erroneous Both Dan and Mark I don't think that there are people In that building

Who I've already moved on I think they believe in Marcus Mariotta And I think they understand What you knaves Might not realize He's turning it around on him What you naves might not realize Is that Titans

Went so run heavy last year Because their wide receiver in tight-end core was decimated. There was no Delaney Walker. Richard Matthews asked for his release at the beginning of the year. There was no chain-moving slot receiver. So they go out and get Adam Humphreys. They get A.J. Brown. Delaney Walker's coming back. Now they can evaluate their passing game. Let me ask you a question, Wes. Let's say you get another somewhat underwhelming.

It's not just about numbers. And it's about the system you're in if you're Marriota. But you get an overwhelming campaign from him. At what point do we stop blaming everything around Marcus Not that you're doing this, but in general, there's so many excuses made for Marcus Marriota at this point. Other quarterbacks are coming in in year one and making players around them better. Breach. What I'm saying is this is the year.

And I think the people in that building believe that, and I do think they believe in Marcus Mariotta. That's not to say Marcus Marriota has lived up to expectations, but I think their decision makers like him. I think the Mariotta, the person is so loyal, like engenders so much loyalty that they do believe. believe in him and that they do want the best for him. You know, I think they were...

That's not how I'd make a quarterback evaluation, but he's a good guy, yeah. I'm just saying, I think they're still on his side. They have not turned yet. All right, Wes. That was it. I wasn't there, no. Well, it's news. It's a major shift in expectations that the Steelers are even allowed in this discussion.

And what you Doltz, Dullards. Feels personal. Dullard. And all around, Rock. blocks, and stones, don't understand, is that it wasn't melodrama or soap opera storylines that cost the Steelers their annual playoff appearance last year. They are much closer to the 2016-17-17 chargers. They didn't make the playoffs quite simply because their Pro Bowl kicker costs them multiple

games, missed seven field goals, and blew five extra points. And this is a playoff roster. It was last year. It is this year. division where the Bengals are banged up. The Ravens have a raw quarterback. Oh, thank you, Ricky. Here you go, Christopher.

They project to have a top 10 offense and defense, according to football outsiders. Rothlisberger is coming off his best QBR since 2007. And they have Devin Bush as a defensive rookie the year candidate, who's already calling the plays on that defense. It is funny. Everyone was in a rush to bury the Steelers. And yes, they don't have Antonio Brown this year.

And that is a big deal. As much as everyone loves Juju Smith-Schuster and this organization's ability to build at the wide receiver position and quickly. Levion Bell, he wasn't there last year. And they still won what? They won 10 games last year, right? This idea that... You mentioned Antonio Brown, who's on the Raiders and Love Bell, who's on the Jets.

So... You really made it tougher, Dan, with this whole, like, players count thing. It almost made it too hard. I mean, 9-6-1, more important, I make the point, that this team was not in some deep decline, that they had, even by their bad year standards, a lot of years that would have gotten them into the playoffs. The last team to beat the Patriots,

and they really could have beat the Saints in New Orleans. Oh, here you go, Greg. Thank you. Oh, my God. That's utterly absurd. It's like, I were even trying, right? What is wrong with me? I'm ashamed

Total lack of discipline Amazing the Saints, by the way I can talk about them Are not on this list And I still didn't They're not who I'm talking about But I just found that interest Oversight

All right, close it out Greg So many options here Saints, that's an oversight They should have been on the list They should have been on the list Should have been right You talk about the Saints plenty

Yeah the Saints should have been on They're on the list For the last segment So be aware 15 teams now on the worst I'm having a hard time deciding but let's go down to Atlanta where

a lot of focus on oh they're going to run the ball more this year that seems like an odd thing considering they have Julio Jones and Matt Ryan and they're really good at passing the ball like a lot of things oh they have their injured players back that they're going to be fine on defense

But what you paste eating, you know, paint-huffing, glue-sniffing crack addicts out there. I'm proudly. Whoa. Don't really talk about it's that they haven't topped the top 20 in defensive DVOA in the entire Dan Quinn era. So you can blame that on injuries or whatever. They haven't been good on defense throughout. And Dan Quinn is a defensive coach who's now their coordinator. and I want to really bring up the fact that Tack McKinley and Vic Beasley,

two guys who were not injured last year, are the two most important players on that defense to me because they still don't have enough of a pass rush in my mind without those two guys who ultimately were disappointing. Tack McKinley came on a little bit at the end. I thought he was going to be great. Vic Beasley has been really disappointing. And that defense, which is supposed to be the Seattle defense,

it starts with your guys winning matchups up. front. And Tack McKinley and Vic Beasley, who are some of Thomas Dimitrov's, you know, biggest choices and guys that they've believed in over the years have ultimately not kind of come through. And I think that defense and maybe that team goes as these two guys go. And they were not injured a year ago. They just have to be better. And if not, I think they're going to get left behind in a division with the Panthers and another team, which now I can't say. But I could say it because I'm wearing the helmet anyways. What's a difference? I mean, I did realize that. Let's start there.

I agree with your macro viewpoint that throughout the Dan Quinn era, defense has not been a strength. They always finish strong for some reason, like in December, but that's about it. Well, like 2017 season, you have to admit that for the last three months of the season, they were a top 10 defense. The last month and a half, sure. They have the talent to do it. It's just a matter of staying healthy.

And like you said, Vic Beasley and Tatt McKinley got to get after the passer. I mean, I remember then beating a certain team from Los Angeles in the playoffs in Los Angeles. Yeah, they've had little stretches. They've had stretches. Interesting team. They're on the radar. I'd not feel bad about all the teams we thought about, you know, all the other.

I mean, you know, if you're a fan of one of the teams that you were down to, it was 18, so one in 18 shot, and we go around and you talk about six different teams and you still don't get the love. I understand why you're disillusion. and why you're disappointed right now. I mean, the Chiefs were one of those teams. That's the number one seed in the AFC a year ago. Can't even make that list.

I'm thinking about you, Chiefs, and your defense. We'll get to you. Make noise in the season. We imagine you will. Second year in a row when I've not committed a penalty during this game. Pretty good at. It's called mental control. I feel bad for Lions fans, but it's really not on us.

It's on their team to get interesting. I mean, just for a month. month of sustained, interesting play. We don't need to be tweeting out your 12 and 4 record in preseason game ones. Come on, Browns. I mean lines. Come on. Don't do that.

Oh, yes. Segwa was over. No. Segwa was over. It's over. You think it was over. When I saw that tweet, the tweet where you're sending out, we're the lions and we're 12 and 4 over the years in the preseason, I get that the, that's not something

that Matt Patricia is signing off on or has any idea that's happening. until after the disaster bomb has struck. But isn't there an in-house discussion of this is a terrible idea and we're going to be made fun of for this? Or is someone just given free reign to do something with it? The tweet was 12 and 4 in our last 16 preseason openers, which is tied with two other teams for the best record in that span of preseason. It's like we have...

Wait, there's a hashtag there too. What was the hashtag? I think it's like one pride. I mean, it's also way overly complex. The funny thing is they're putting stock into the most meaningless stat, ever and it happens right before they lose 31 to 3 in the preseason opener you got to save that until after the game i have a simple explanation i guess i guess you're not the king of the preseason mountain a simple potential explanation that and hear me out in this that a lot of people that work in these social media

departments both in this building and also throughout the league may be young social minded you know finger on the pulse of pop culture people more than hardcore football fans right so when they get the information packet on the latest from the line that comes in-house. They see 12 and 4 and the best in whatever. You know, the kid's like, hey, I'm going to throw this out there. Yeah, and they just started, like, their contract is like July through February. Exactly.

That checks out, but I would say it's even a soft core football fan would understand that it's a bit nonsensical to be touting pre-season records. But, you know, who knows? If you don't know anything, who knows? But I'm just saying, what I'm saying is, let's say it is a good theory. Someone creates that content and what, it just, you just, you just, you just, ushered out into the universe. There isn't someone that does know

what should be tweeted and not saying, excuse me, son or daughter, go back and redo that little tweet. Put it on Al Gore. Put it on Al Gore. It is on Al Gore. Let's close out the weekend. Anybody got big plans?

Nick Wesleyan's in town for one night only. That's great. I wish I could destroy him in Cornhole again, but I won't be around. I bet you do. I won't be around. My son is turning five, Jack, and big party in the backyard

and my beautiful wife, Emily. she is it's her birthday tomorrow so it's a big one it's a big one in the hands of house congrats i'll be underground in other words if you can steal away for a little bit they have the same birthday uh two days difference i've made uh homemade cincinnati style chili got some pulled pork we're gonna have all the fixings i'm gonna come see nick rickie come on over oh yeah i'm in there got me at pulled pork you're gonna go yeah she's like is that going to help my clout i don't think so i think there might be a gonzo and coline What?

There's too many old oldies there. I love hanging out with you guys. Yeah. It keeps me grounded, you know. Before we go, there is one little final bit of news. Robert Candice, the former Cardinals' first round pick, was, of course, released by the team that drafted him 29th overall a few years back. He has landed on his feet with the Miami Dolphins who bring him in, rehab him,

rehab him as he tries to get back from that torn ACL. Hopefully he'll get in better football shape. Dolphins are in the organic fish tank, so he kind of makes sense for them as an option. So with that in mind, good way to go into the weekend, Greg, is to be a little a time of hope around Robert Kim Dice. Hit it.

They tried to crush your dreams The cards dealt you out But what they didn't know was The fish tank was down They say when God closes a door He opens up a Sh Climb back

in that window climb back in that window Kim DJ climb back in that window climb back in it's not too high you see the irony that we have

here with that whole window metaphor She's a first ballot Hall of Famer, you know. Shall we start the show? How about that? So she joined the ownership group at a young age? Yeah, Serena. I mean, the Serena pictures.

Just as old. Does that look like? I have to go to my orthodontist. You're a f***. Where do you go? Dr. Waldman? What road is it? Wilfussie's like, oh, yeah, Waldman. When you get to the building, what floor is it inside the building?

Like, what's sweet number? What's the furniture layout in there? What does it look like? What's the vibe? It's very modern and sort of bizarrely modern. All right, let's go. I like him. All right.

It was a delightful 14-minute off-air conversation. No. Time we start this thing. Because Fergie, we didn't have a stop over the years. We haven't given her enough. In fact, we kind of switched her with Gloria and Stefan all these years. I think she was on. Table it.

Table it. But we'll table for now. All right. The Reds win yesterday. No. They've got some good things going on, but they've all of a sudden do not have a bullpen worth of shit. Whoa, you know, are still good? He's hit or miss.

He strikes out a lot of people. Nice, nice caper night. Yeah, definitely. Where's the whip at, though? It's a little high. He walks quite a few. It gives up back-breaking homers, but that seems to be most pitchers now. Especially with the seams lowered.

It's hard to throw a forkball and a splitter. For sure. Tanaka's getting destroyed. Take it off line. Walks. Walks in homers. Nine in a row for the a ice. Why is Kid Rock twin trending?

Or not. All right, no, let's go. Trump guy. By the way, all you have to do is start the music, and that will help. Just start the music. Don't tell me how to do my job. She was being part of the bit. Yeah, you know, all you're going to do is start the music.

Ouch. I don't know. I thought maybe you didn't realize that. Because that will get us in line. He's a good Zusa impression. He went after Taylor Swift. That's why. Who?

If you want some pop, just go after Taylor. Who? Who? Kid Rock. Oh, are you kidding me? Taylor said that piece of trash. That wants to be a Democrat because she wants to be in movies, period. And it looks like she will suck.

Talk about a phony. That guy was born as a millionaire trust fund baby. He's much uglier than Brett Michaels. They're all ugly. They're long ass hair. They're bad boys. No, they're not. You don't like guys a long hair.

They think they're bad boys. I hate that. Man, you should have been around in the 80s. I know. I'll just take them all up. Start the music. I like a woman. I like a woman with a good-looking tattoo for sure.

I find that sexy. Definitely switch things up a little bit. Dangerous. Got to be in the right spot. Can't be too garish. Not too big. No, I don't mind if it's big. I'm with Greg.

As long as it looks cool, it's hot. I'm with Greg. Yeah, it's their body, Dan. You should go to like some Zon's close. No, it's not. No, I can't have it anymore. Not in the modern climate. No, you can't.

You will all pieces of. He gives you after your years of repress. Be turned on by what the girl does. Gross, disgusting men. I'm just saying I am. You can be, you can feel whatever. All right, here we go. We're on Mike.

Dan is a worthless man. This is an I-Heart podcast.