NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Around (most of) the AFC in 42 minutes

Episode Date: August 31, 2016

A room filled with heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler – discuss the latest news from around the NFL, including Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffering a season-ending knee injury, and the NFL clearing the players accused in the Al Jazeera PED report. Then, the heroes preview the majority of the AFC in 42 minutes, giving their predictions for division winners, playoff teams, and even give an early look at candidates for the Team of ATL.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 i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts hey damashek here make sure you check out the new episode of the dave damasheck football program cbs sports will brinson and i are chopping up the nfc west and the nfc south top to bottom telling you who's going to win the thing who's going to come in last so on and so forth plus handsome hang joints to break down colin kappernick's refusal to stand up for the national anthem check it out on iTunes for nfl.com slash podcasts the around the NFL podcast are huge in japan welcome back to another edition of the around the NFL podcast my name is dan hansis

and i am joined by a room filled with heroes mark sessler chris wessling and gregg rosenthal what's up boys hey dan well at least one of us is huge in japan famously famously i'm more average size than Japan I would say whereas here I'm small that's true that's true have you have you ever noticed that money goes plural on the collective nouns and it's perfect he does it like the british do it whereas Americans we try to turn all days into it's and it never works all right one of my big pet peeves about the way journalists write in America yeah you brought up pet peeves well as I do have to bring up a pet peeve what's that please do you know we shot at NFL now hit yesterday and Mark is took a colleague of ours did something that happens occasionally

he was somewhere within the building and the internal monitors he took a snapshot with his phone of the four of us together in studio five hit doing our now hit and listen I'm gonna be honest he put it up on Twitter and it wasn't the most flattering shot for some of us to say the least and I was like all right well Mark's having some fun you know but then well well Wesleyan gets his hands on this photo, and, you know, Wes looks at the photo, and he's saying, ooh, he's got a nice little gaze going into that camera. He's got his hands clasped in a masculine way.

His strong forearms are on display. And Wes says to himself, I like this shot. I'm going wide with this. So Chris goes onto his Instagram account. Bang, sends it live. then daddy goes over to his Facebook account bang sends it live daddy goes to his settings

makes it his cover photo well that's the only way I put it on Facebook it's not like I just put it up as a standalone picture I just changed my cover photo my point is that you you to me one of the cardinal sins of social media you saw a photo where you look good

and some other people with you look bad and you just sent it out to the masses I know that you have already convinced yourself of this narrative that you constructed. Can I have equal time here to offer a rebuttal? Yes, but I just want you to know. Equal seems like a lot. You've already had quite a say in this. I just want to say it was a little, to me, a little bit of a...

Wow. I reject your la ravi al-a-a-a-magnifico. First of all, out of all the feedback I got back, the most positive feedback was about the old Zusser and the Cheshire Cat Smiley had, as you were sitting in a throne by himself while we got jammed into it. The love seat that I was on was fine, but I was leaning back with like seven chins. It was not a great shot. I thought you looked fantastic.

And the reason I did it was because I was told that was our last time on the couch. I thought I would memorialize it. And frankly, the background looks beautiful. The old green screen magic with Football Town USA back there. It's a good shot. Maybe I'm alone on this, Mark. Well, no, I mean, I will, I looked at it. And I forgot what my comment was.

just a dangerously clumsy group shot where I you know Greg looks absurd and Greg photographs well so that's strong out I'm making a funny face like Dan's like Dan's the lighting on Dan's face I look like George Hamilton you have like a spray on a bender yeah and I just look like it like the person after the bender just a big lost idiot so you know Chris you look great in no way did I think you looked great and no way did I think any of this when I posted it I had no idea that I was about me I didn't I didn't have any idea that I was trying to thrust some good I think I looked the same as I always look bald and wearing a free shirt like I said on the I look the same way every day and the confidence is coming through because West saunters into work today filled with confidence after all the positive feedback in a button down Oxford tight jeans and matching brown belt and a hundred dollar dress shoes I will say that photo it I I have a new philosophy where I, my goal, my goal this season is just to gain about 75 or 80 pounds in the neck area, in the face area, and just in the belly. And it was that photo, I looked at myself in that photo and said, any attempts to improve yourself at this point, it is over.

Just go right downhill, total excess. It's done. The butterfly effect on display here. Would you like me to delete the photo? No, no, no. It's too late now. Way too late. And can I just say it before, and we're going to move on now because Greg's uncomfortable.

He's like, we haven't talked to football in three minutes. I just want to say. I wasn't doing anything. That, Wes, you did look very good in the photo. You did. You gave me some of your delicious homemade Zidi the other day. How'd you like that? I loved it.

You know, I love you. And, you know, you're in the circle. It's not easy to get in the old Zeus or circle. Oh, I know. But I have to do this. I have to do us. It's time. I must declare vengeance.

On you, Chris. For what? What you've done? What did I do? I will, in the somewhat near future, post a photo in which I believe I look handsome and you're potentially blinking or an unflattering shot. Okay, but like I said, I thought you looked good in the picture, and most of the feedback was about you and how good you were, how you were smiling and you were on this lap of luxury while we're jammed into a love seat. Once I declare a vengeance, I already regret it, but once I declare a vengeance, you can't go back. By the way, I know about your circle.

It's the most exclusive circle in L.A. Like friends are like three people. All right. Today's show. I'm glad we got that off our chest, though. It just felt like it was hanging over the room. I had no idea. I had no idea.

I have nothing to do with this. Today's show, we're going to do some news, some terrible news out of Minnesota that we will break down. What's next for the Minnesota Vikings after a practice. walkthrough goes horribly wrong. We will also finish our review of the AFC around the majority of the AFC in 42 minutes. What a challenge. Three divisions to talk about we're going to do it all in 42 minutes.

Greg, I know you're excited. Well, what a well-named segment. Well, it's very accurate. I know. I see this as Dan's – this is sort of your masterpiece. You've been thinking about this episode and how to craft it first. days, weeks, hours. Yeah, I guess that's right. But before we do that,

let's check in behind the glass. Her second show back with the team. She is a Mount Rushmore member, and she came back and hit the ground running. Let's put it that way. La Cid, what's up? Not much, guys, how's it going? Good, good, good. How are you? I am good.

Good. Starting strong today. Yeah, well, everything's going. Well, good job with the drops there. How about we do some news? Sure thing. There's no way this even logically makes sense. William Hayes, we're not going to talk about Hard Knocks today because we're trying to keep it to a tight, you know, 97.

But I want to say that William Hayes, it's gone from an entertaining subplot that he doesn't believe in dinosaurs to a grading subplot on Hard Knocks. A little too much. You know, embrace education, bra. I don't know. It may be my favorite thing ever, and I hope it doesn't ever die. Okay, I get it.

There's two sides. Are we glorifying ignorance again? Why are you glorifying ignorance? No, like deep in my heart, I kind of want him to be right. Like, if I had to choose whether mermaids or dinosaurs were real, I'm going mermaids every time. You don't like dinosaurs taking away from the Disney. Typical, yeah, typical Disney attitude there.

Let's start, yes, with the news out of Minnesota where the Vikings were crushed when Teddy Bridgewater and a non-contact incident collapsed to the turf a couple days before the final preseason game and was rushed. to a trauma center. They rolled in the ambulance, players distraught watching on. The diagnosis is a fully torn ACL, a dislocated knee, and other injuries. They expect them to make a recovery, but it's going to take a long time. His season is obviously gone.

And Wes, let's start right there for a team that there's a lot of excitement around. Does this essentially wipe out any cause for hope that the Vikings can get back to the Super Bowl? losing Teddy Bridgewater. Well, to hear Mike Zimmer tell it, no, it doesn't wipe it out at all. And he said, you'd be wrong to count us out. I thought it was going to take a lot of things breaking right for them to get to the Super Bowl, even if Teddy Bridgewater had a breakout year. But Sean Hill, now that Peyton Manning is retired,

may have the weakest arm of any NFL quarterback. He does some things well. He'll manage the game well. He's experienced. But I think it offers another limitation to this offense that wasn't there. Well, but he's 36 years old, and he had one of the weakest arms two years ago when we last saw him. Who knows if he's as good as he was two years ago? That happens to quarterbacks.

He also was the starter for the Rams in week one after Sam Bradford towards ACL, and he got injured in the middle of week one, and we didn't see him for half the season. So they need to get another quarterback. I mean, they can't count on Sean Hill at 36 years old behind a questionable offensive line to last the season. No, I mean, you know, we deal with injuries all the time, starting in July, every day something's happening. This felt completely different to me in our newsroom yesterday that as the reports were coming out,

how gruesome the injury was, the effect it had on teammates where some of his teammates were throwing up on the field after what they watched. It just felt completely different. Mike Zimmer did, I thought, an excellent job handling it, and Mike Zimmer has been through a lot as the Vikings coach. You think about the Adrian Peterson thing

that he had handled right out of the gate. And then in a season where they were talking all offseason about the jump, that Teddy Bridgewater was making as a player. I'm not sure that was going to be, he threw 14 touchdowns last year. You can figure that out with another quarterback, but it had a lot more to do with his development,

how excited they were about him. It is a huge step back for a team that I do think had a Super Bowl shot. You're right, a lot would have had to happen for that to be the case. Was your Super Bowl pick? And I think it hurts so much, not just because he's their starting quarterback,

because he's a starting quarterback on the verge of maybe a breakout season. Look, his last three passes of the preseason were all vertical shots right on target that were complete, and that was what he was weak about last year. Mike Zimmer talked about how much more aggressive Teddy Bridgewater has been this offseason, so that hurts. But this is also a team that's carefully built back up this roster, navigated the whole Adrian Peterson mess, and got to a point where they're moving into a beautiful new stadium, just at the point that they're cresting as a potential cool, fun playoff team with a good

young quarterback and a coach. I mean, that's about as hard as thing to do in the NFL as there is, is build the stadium and move in with that sort of momentum. And for this to happen to a fan base that's had so much heartbreak, it's got to just feel like more of the same. Think about the double shot for the Vikings fans who have for years and decades dealt with misfortune. They have the Blair Walsh kick on the chip shot to beat the Seahawks and the playoffs in their building. And then eight months later, lose their quarterback in a season where legitimate Super Bowl buzz

was building around the team. They're moving up in the pain rankings. They've got to be top three after this one, two punch. I don't even know. I mean, it's one of those type of injuries. And I went through the same thing as a jet fan when Vinnie Testaverti went down in week one of 99, where it's not just that the guy is gone.

It's how sudden it happens. And it just changes everything about how you viewed the team for months and months. It just sucks. Even if Mike Zimmer can rally the troops and get them to believe in this season for the, the fan base has to be absolutely crushing for their future outlook because knee injuries don't get any worse than this in the NFL dislocated knee the ACL is ruptured other

ligaments are damaged this is this is a career altering injury for Teddy Bridgewell you never you don't know if he'll ever return to a starting caliber NFL quarterback again and part of that pain was how much they love him as a person I mean Zimmer said that how he's an obviously really likable guy that the team gets behind they have They have one of the best defensive lines, really one of the best front sevens in all of football. A nice secondary, a great running back. They could be a 10-and-6 team, I think, if things break right. But I think their ceiling now is another team that loses in the playoffs versus a team that has a chance to go further.

You have four games against the Lions and Bears. I don't think 10 wins because the team is a complete team. They've built in a way to win in other ways outside the quarterback. But you're right, the shine is just off. There was a lot of optimism, and Vikings fans have not felt much of that in ages, years, and decades. And I feel for that fan base, they are definitely rising the pain. Well, since that FAR season, the good FAR season, that's been not easy with the exception of that one special Peterson year. But even that team was a flawed team.

And now this is a flawed team. I mean, they've spent 30 years looking for a franchise quarterback. They thought they had one with Dante Culpepper. His injury, catastrophic injury, really changed that. Brett Favre was a brief dalliance, and now they thought they had one with Bridgewater. Let's move on. The NFL cleared Packers, linebackers, Clay Matthews, and Julius Peppers, as well as Steelers linebacker James Harrison of taking or obtaining any performance-enhancing substances following

the league investigation into accusations made about the players in an Al Jazeera America documentary last year. The league released a statement on it, clearing the players, that trio, along with the with Peyton Manning and free agent linebacker, Mike Neal, were all accused in the report. Neal has not been cleared. Everyone else, including Peyton Manning, has. So here's one PED story that hopefully goes away.

It was an interesting three-act play. I mean, people think that the NFL isn't eternally vigilant on performance-enhancing drugs. So they, even though basically Al Jazeera had to recant their story, the NFL still insisted on basically putting on a show. I'm glad it's over. I'm glad we don't have to talk or read this story anymore, and it always seemed like an extremely iffy case. This weighed heavily, especially on you, Greg.

Why is that? I don't know. Well, because of your own PED accusations. That might be a bubbling under the surface. People have noticed, I mean, people who saw the Facebook picture, for instance, have noticed my guns are. Greg's getting bigger. In a very quick amount of time, Greg's physique has, it's become impressive.

They're blazing right now. I'm working out with Patra? That's right. We're in the mirage workout plan. It's all pretend. Put that on your board, Patra. The board's running out of space. Mark and I would be on HGH if we could afford it.

I've heard you guys have honest discussions about it. Not anymore, though. No, no. A whole new plan now, and it's going to completely opposite direction and sabotage my health. very interesting let's do some odds and ends odds and ends odds and ends everybody likes some odds and ends now now notice how I waited a couple beats

then went into the vocal you are yeah yeah I'm sorry I thought it wasn't a melody you didn't have I don't have no beats either you're evolving into a real showman there Dan all right whose turn is it to sing at the end of the segment Well, you just did it. At the end of the same.

Oh, at the end. Greg. Greg's turn. I mean, you're talking about the former frontman for Delaware. That's true. It's time to come out of retirement. There's golden pipes. Let's start some odds and ends.

We'll start with Lerias Green, a tight end. We are very excited about joining the Steelers. The team announced Tuesday that they have placed him on the Pup list to start the season. He has not participated in workouts after signing a four-year 20 million deal. Wes, what's been going on with Lerias Green anyway? He underwent, believe ankle surgery. in the offseason. And then Adidi Kinkaballo reported that he has been dealing with headaches going back to last year.

And that's the real reason. The Steelers apparently continue to insist it's an ankle issue. Nobody knows what the real story is, I don't think. Interesting. Paul Kruger, cut by the Cleveland Browns, a couple of years after signing a huge free agent deal, has signed with the New Orleans Saints. And a tweet, he said, couldn't have found a better home. Hashtag who dat?

What do you think, Mark? Two and a half sacks last year, I think he's. The Saints need past rushing help. He will help them, according to this podcast. He'll have 17 or 18 sacks by December. Great fit for New Orleans. I saw something like, the Saints finally get the guy they wanted three years ago because that's a great free agency strategy.

Good for him. Get the guy after he busts out of the last place. The Chargers have released veteran wide receiver James Jones, just four weeks after signing the 32-year-old wide out. Is this the end of the road for the former touchdown catch leader in the NFL? It is. For one season. I'll miss him.

I'll miss James. Greg is nervous about this outro song act. Yeah, you can tell. There's a little buzz in the air. Wait, don't we usually have the music in the background? No, no, no, no, no. No. Seahawks cut defensive back, Brandon Browner.

They thought they'd bring him back and try to recapture some old Legion of Boom Glory. Didn't happen, did it, Wes? I think when it doesn't happen in Seattle where the fan base welcomes you back with open arms, everybody has high expectations. You get your chance. They even allow you to. to see time at safety because you don't move well enough to play cornerback anymore. I think when it doesn't happen in that scenario, it's not going to happen again.

Sticking with Wes, Bruce Ellington won't get the chance to fulfill the fantasy football community's overly optimistic projections and Chip Kelly's offensive season. Nice and Ed, Wes. Ellington, now on IR. Is that really a big loss? No. This one baffled me from the beginning and I stepped in a little hot water because I didn't know this was one of Matt Harmon's darlings.

And this is my issue with the fantasy football community. Matt Harmon is great. He's really good at wide receivers. But then once Matt Harmon gives his stamp of approval, like everybody jumps on board and like, yeah, Bruce Ellington, great idea. That's awesome. We must be missing out on it, but Harmon's got it. Breaking news.

Bruce Ellington always injured and doesn't make plays. I never got that. We have a breaking news drop. Matt Harmon, fallible. Moving on. The Chargers have given up on Zach Mettenberger. Not going to work out for Zach. Is he running out of time?

I think he is, but he has one more shot because the Steelers have claimed him and he and Landry Jones in an epic battle to take the throne if Ben Rutherlisberger goes down as the culprit for a disaster season. You know who's not infallible? Kevin Colbert, their GM,

always electric with his backup quarterback picks. Nailed it again. Nailed it. Gretingenberger, Landry Jones, in a fight to see who's the 62nd best quarterback in the NFL. Greg, only two items left before your big premiere. I'm excited. Devon Austin signed a four-year, $42 million extension last week.

We didn't get a chance to talk about it. That seems like crazy money. Greg. I want to see the details on this, but it seems like they're paying for something they hope happens, not for something that's happened over the last four years, which is probably. He's never had 500 receiving yards in a season.

I vote to cease and desist all analysis of contracts in the NFL. I saw all the outrage over this signing as if they were the, as if fans and analysts were the ones paying. money to Tavon. Yeah, and we've got to see the details. We don't even know it. It's not your money. And these contracts, it's all funny, money and loose details to the point where any analysis

of football contracts anymore is impossible. Well, but Rams fans in general, I think they want to see less contract extensions and some wins. Finally, Mike Carey, as we know, not coming back to CBS to be there. Rules are CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus says they have not filled the role and do not plan to unless they find the right person. Greg, aren't you going to miss Mike Harry Mess? messing up a little bit?

I will. I'm sad. They're going to fill that. Game pass. They're just keeping it wide open for when Dean Blandino steps away from the NFL or what? You don't.

You do not fill that chair unless you find someone as good as Mike Pereira because it's a disaster otherwise. I hope they threw this to Mike Carey for analysis on his own dismissal and he was totally thrown for a loop. What if he came out and tweeted? I'm glad to be back for another season.

You got that down to. Right. Now remember, that's just mean. Greg, before we end, that's just mean. He's very happy. man, he's got grandkids. Before we go into this odds and ends outro,

remember to take a couple beats. Okay. Because you want to sync up the end of your song with the end of the piano. What is the end of the song? There is no end. Come on. Don't be playful here.

Don't be playful. There we go. Odds and ends. Odds and ends. I'm nailing odds and ends better than Wested. Whoa. Oh, that was nice. Nice.

Doesn't take much. Wow, that old Delaware frontman Flair came out. You're like a young Freddie Mercury. That's what's happening in the news. All right. Mark, by the way, this new diet, you're a man of curious extremes. Yeah. Because this diet's going to be on your tombstone.

Man of curious extremes. Also, your Twitter bio. I believed in you with a P90X, I guess, didn't work out. I don't want to believe in you on this, but this seems like it'll be easier because what will your diet consist of? Like largely like Cool Ranch Doritos. I was thinking of like I don't even really, I don't even eat chocolate or candy. So lots of rich like chocolate ice creams like white bread and really anything that I can find in our news and it's sort of in a snack bin just eating that's eating that all day long. Okay.

I don't like white bread's going to get you the 65 extra pounds that you eat. Well, if you eat a lot of it. White bread is awful for your body. So what I'm trying to do is slow down the entire digestive system and just start stocking fats and excess weight over my entire body. Have you really thought this out? I've done a lot of thinking about it. Can I just say something to you, Mark, because you're also in the circle?

It's not easy to get in the circle. I'm still working my way in. Almost. If you pull this off and it ends up where you end up on a bed and you're 700 pounds and people have to come visit. visit you because you can't go to visit and then you eventually die, I would pull a Gilbert grape situation and I'd burn down the house so they wouldn't have to have the crane come to take your body out.

I appreciate that. My end game is not that type of weight gain. I just want to look absolutely dumpy and way off target. Yeah, I want to be a big hot mess in our office. You remember Dan famously believed in you with the P90X and you accused, you know, the rest of us of not believing in. Yeah. I just want to be out there.

I believe in you in terms of this quest. I think this is easier for people to see as a trajectory for me. I'm going to get more buy-in. I think both are balderdash. You didn't believe in either of them. Okay, but no matter what happens, because maybe it gets away from you, I'm not letting you a crane take you out of there.

Thank you. You are a true friend. Thank you. Burn that sucker to the ground. Give your dignity if you don't have your... You're going to burn my family's house to the ground. That's the... It's a rent.

There's a move here. Okay. Thank you. All right. It's time now. And this is very strict. I will be clocking this. Sydney will be watching it very closely.

Around the majority of the AFC in 42 minutes, we're going to go through the north, south, and west in exactly 42 minutes. And I'm serious about this. If we run out of time, we will not finish the preview. That's it. There will be teams probably in the AFC West that will get banged here. You don't want that. Don't cross Dan Hans.

Unless you want to. Unless you want to start, which one, unless you want to start with or put the worst division last because that one could be banged. Or am I overthinking it? Well, as long as we move along at the three minute intervals, there's no chance of that happening. I'm just warning you guys. You hit three minutes. If we're in the middle of the sentence, you move on.

All right. Oh, you want to. We need a horn. Okay. Do we have a horn? Sydney. We're putting Sydney on the spot. Sydney, you have three minutes to find a horn.

You have your own test right now. Going. All right. We're about to start. and we're going to begin with the AFC North and the Baltimore Ravens, Mark. The Ravens have never suffered double-digit losses two years in a row during the Joe Flacco John Harbaugh reign.

Will this be the first time that happens this season? I think if you would have asked me in May or June, I would have said yes that they could spiral out of control, but I sort of like the way they're coming along from the rookies on the offensive line. look good. Ronnie Stanley has been stellar in preseason, and I think their defense is coming along a little bit better than I thought, and Breschad Perriman looks like he's going to play. Their injuries are looking a lot better than they did in May or June.

They're on the field practicing, but we don't know if Terrell Suggs is Terrell Suggs or Steve Smith, Steve Smith, what Brashad Perriman is going to be. So to me, it's been positive, but you don't really know. This is the team. I'm curious to watch them. I wouldn't say they're the most fascinating team in the league, but they're the team where, I don't know, what I'm going to see out of them in September. I feel we were talking about it this morning with me and Mark, like they could be 11 wins or five wins, and it wouldn't really shock me either way.

They're well coached. And a lot of their losses last year were very close to. Yep. Can I put what West just said. I believe in their coach. I think that it's an underrated coach, John Harbaugh. And you have Joe Flacco back, who's to me not the greatest quarterback,

but a guy that's going to keep the ship afloat. He's never proved that he's the type of guy that would truly let a team go downhill. Coming off a tour at ACL. Coming off a tour on ACL, we'll see how he comes back from that. But I think this team will be a little bit better than people think. Maybe not back to the old Ravens, but I think this could be a team that's in playoff contention.

Two years removed from an AFC champion appearance against the Patriots. With the two touchdown lead in the second half. But my problem is where is their pass rush? I mean, you have Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumerville are really getting up there in years. And then that puts their secondary in a tough spot. And that is an ugly secondary. They've had some bad secondaries occasionally. It is a bad-looking secondary on paper with a lot of injuries at cornerback.

Matt Judon, fifth round defensive end, has been their best defensive player in camp. I believe he led all of college football in sacks last year and looks really good as a pass. They're going to need some of their young and just random secondary players, too, to step up because on paper, it's one of the worst defensive backfields in the AFC. We have 45 seconds, guys. Wow, that's a lot of extra time. That's some fun. Terrence West.

There you go. Well, who do we think, all this backfield? Who do we think leads them and carries? Terrence West? I do. Yes. I think they'll be fine on the back foot. It's unbelievable how bad luck they have a tight end, though.

They've lost three tight ends last year. They lost a couple more this year already. We're going to move on to the Steelers. No, not a, no, that's the wrong buzzer. That's a good thing. Start, get us going. How are the Steelers considered the consensus favorites in this division? And they're a team with so many question marks.

Sammy Coats was supposed to be the guy to replace Merse, Ortevis Bryant. That hasn't happened. Artie Burns was supposed to step in and fix their cornerback problem. That's not happening. There's second round safety, I believe his name is Sean Davis. I think he's their nickel corner now. I don't know about this secondary being fixed. Why are they automatically considered the favorites?

I think because we just talked about coaching and consistency in Baltimore, the Steelers have overcome in multiple seasons so many issues and distractions and injuries and still wound up being right on the doorstep of the playoffs, if not in the playoffs, with one of the best quarterbacks of our lifetime. I think they have the ability to overcome some of this. I also am biased in terms of looking at the Steelers and saying, I assume they're just going to be 12 and 4, and you're right, they have issues, but Mike Tomlin has guided them through those issues before.

But their defense, I think, was getting better, played pretty well towards the end of last season. What about the Broncos? And I think in terms of fixing their secondary, I think the. The fix is really in their front seven, that Jarvis Jones is better. Showed a little bit in the last preseason game. They think he's going to be better. That Ryan Shazir gets even better. That Stefan Tua and Cameron Hayward are...

They say the same thing about their front seven last year. Yeah, and it didn't quite happen, but the defensive line is very good. I think that's a good front seven in terms of they changed their scheme last year, and it seemed like it caught on by the end of the year. They're one of the teams in the league amongst the AFC contenders that are dead in the water if their quarterback gets hurt. And Ben hasn't actually missed a lot of time, but he seems to get hurt every year, and he's getting older.

So I worry about that. What if he goes down again? We saw what a mess they were last year. And all the numbers that back up that that offense isn't as explosive without Martavis Bryant, who's not there all year, that to me I'm looking into. Are they going to really be a team that's scoring 30 points a game without him all season? One thing.

I mean, I think had Bryant been in there and Levi-on-Bell without the suspension, we'd be looking at the Steelers potentially as a record-breaking type offense. So they still have the best triplet potentially in the AFC. There's your answer. I think they're going to be fine. There's your answer, Chris, is that you have a top five quarterback, you have a top two or three wide receiver, and you have a top two or three running back.

Of course, there's some ifs. You've got to keep everyone healthy, but that's the basis, along with a pretty good offensive line overall, for a team that's going to put up points each week and win double-digit games. You worried about the Steelers? I just don't think the division should be handed to them. No.

And not just the division, but everyone's claiming that they're right there with the Patriots is the class of the... That does happen to Pittsburgh, and you're right. I see the Steelers is at least one level, maybe two levels below the Patriots. Move on to the Cincinnati Bengals. I don't love the buzzer, that's all. You guys like the buzzer? I mean, Dan, this entire segment in general is you're struggling with. So it makes sense that the sound effect has ill effects on you.

You know, I love Andy Dalton, and I stuck by him for years and years. I don't have a great feeling about Andy this year. And I think losing a lot of those weapons and people are excited about Tage Boyd and Tyler Boyd. Tash Boyd is the guy that Heath Evans picked to be the Jets quarterback a couple years ago. And so did Rex Ryan, so.

No, he didn't. I mean, they drafted him. They cut him after like four weeks. But my point is, I'm just keeping it real. Let's keep two more minutes on Tage Boyd. I'm a little nervous that, that Andy Dalton crashes down to earth. No tight end for at least six weeks.

Who knows if Tyler Eifford's going to be the same guy when he gets back, still got A.J. Green. This offense, which really did play its part while the defense did its usual strong work. If Andy Dalton really comes down to earth, I don't think they tumble, but this could be a team that is, again, another nine-win team. If Dalton regresses, and I got a bit of a Cessler that he does. Well, I think when you saw at Clemson, when Tage Boyd had DeAndre Hopkins, and Sammy Watkins and Mortava's

Boy. Wow. Still couldn't be more than a... Who, the Jets quarterback? Oh, I thought this was a Tosh Boyd segment. Did I say that again? I'm just kidding. Oh, okay.

That was a good one. Go. Thank you, Dad. Yes. I don't know why we're all hand-wringing about Andy Dalton. I don't... We're not over this yet? I thought we got past...

It's a small sample size, but he played quite a bit against the Jaguars on Sunday night, and he looked like last year's Andy Dolton. to me. Sometimes when players develop, they keep the lessons that were taught to them. And just because Hugh Jackson isn't in the building doesn't mean that everything that was instilled is gone. I think Andy Dalton, to me, looks like I've gotten over some of the hiccups of the past. Ooh, a total about base. I like this. And this is a team, and I have them as a playoff team

that survives injuries as well as any team in the league because they've built up such a great roster. This is a team. If it was any other team, this preseason, we'd be talking about how they've been devastated with injuries, really six or seven key players, not just Eiffert's main backup, not just one second year tackle, but their top two picks from a year ago are both injured. Darkwood's Denards. And yet, when you look at who fills in for them, they always figure it out. At this point, I trust in these Bengals to at least be winning games and be a playoff type of team. And I think Dalton's made a big enough leap that he'll survive. There are very few teams I trust more from September through the end of December.

Good backfield. I mean, when you say Pittsburgh is potentially going to get unseated, it has to be the Bengals you're talking about, not the Ravens. I could see the... To me, the Ravens have the widest range of outcome in the entire NFL. Greg, the Cleveland Browns. What an upset. I got the Cleveland Browns, and it's good that I did. I got to say, and I want to throw this to the other two non-Browns fans in the room,

just to start. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited to watch some Cleveland Browns' offensive football. They're not going to be good on defense, but maybe that makes their games even more exciting. that there's some high scores, I mean, especially when Josh Gordon gets back, are you guys with me that this is going to be kind of a fun team? That RG3, maybe he's not going to be what he once was, but it'll be better. No. No?

No, they're probably in the bottom five offenses I want to watch. I want to watch. Really? I want to watch Cory Coleman outside of that. What about Josh Gordon and Terrell Pryor, the Twin Towers on the outside? Gary Barnage, Briton's finest, making one-hand and catches. I got to wait a month for Josh Gordon. And 12 prior, I believe, is a mirage.

I don't believe he's still going to be catching 50-yard passes every week. It's still fun to watch maybe when he does. Well, also, I think RG3 is going to be injured by the end September. So, yeah, I'm not really, I don't know why we insist on. And to me, it's a little condescending to Mark. Like, we have to placate him by acting like the Browns are going to be fun every year. I don't. I never.

Before last season, I said they had the worst roster in the entire NFL. Can I just say that I think part of the Browns are. of it is. I don't think it's being condescending to Mark. I think it's, there's a bit of an NFL trope out there now that there's an excitement about the Browns at all times because one of the big stories that around the NFL is when will the

Browns finally get their act together and I think the calves have now played into that a little bit. So anything that good happens to the Browns, even in a preseason game, gets kind of blown up now into whoa, maybe things are finally changing or Hugh Jackson getting hired. Ooh, they finally got the right couch. The coach, there's a lot

of optimism. Maybe when it's it's a little overly optimistic around this team at times. They are changing, and the evidence of that is that they've stockpiled Harsha Walker-level draft picks over the next two years. I don't know that we need to see the Browns blow the doors off anybody on offense this year. I think if they hit on Corey Coleman and he's a difference maker, that's where your step begins and then the next two drafts. But I think I would just preach patience.

You got five fun skill position players with a good offensive coach. That's all I'm saying. Well, and you don't have five good linemen. The biggest concern watching the Browns in the preseason is both their lines, but their offensive line. I agree with you. Quarterbacks are potentially sitting duck territory back there, and how long can RG3 last? They don't have a running game for what I see. I think it is patience.

They are committed to their plan. I don't think they're going to win many games, but I'm more interested to watch it. I thought they were boring and bad last year. Yeah, and under Ray Farmer, it was let's get as many 5-foot-8 wide receivers as we can and pose no threat through the air. So they're trying something new. I do think they have an offensive-minded coach with some pedigree for the first time since 1999.

So there are the seeds of hope. I wouldn't get your hopes up for this season. Wow. Does that make you happy? I don't know. I mean, it's different. It's not exactly what I'm looking for. All right, before we move on to the AFC South,

our predictions now for the North Division. Mark. Well, I'm going to go Pittsburgh, number one. I'm going to go Cincinnati, a close second, Baltimore, middle of the pack, third, and Cleveland, a deep fourth. I guess I'm going to go against my own question here. I'm going to pick the Steelers. Well, didn't you fill out that form for NFL.com where you had to pick the divisions? Who did you pick for that?

I think the Steelers. I don't know. To me, there's no obvious favor. I'll go Steelers, slightly over the Bengals. Ravens are about a 500 team in Brown's win, four games. So we're kind of picking this division To be the same as last year I'm the exact same as you guys

I ended up going with the Steelers Because I didn't want to beat The one year that I I picked the Steelers every year For like 10 years So it'd be insane to not pick them One wouldn't be wrong I will go

Steelers 11 and 5 Bungles 10 and 6 Maybe a playoff spot Ravens 8 and 8 Cleveland 4 and 12 But some progress A little more fun to watch Amense progress

Four wins All right. Final thoughts on the AFC North, Mark Sessler. I have no more thoughts. All right. Let's now move on to the AFC South. Mark, tell us about the Jaguar. All right.

Rough rider. It is January 2nd in Sunny Jacksonville. Is Gus Bradley in his office preparing for the AFC wildcard game? Or is he 35 miles east of Texas while moving his family cross-country amid rumors that a HGH fuel Tom Coughlin is about to return to his roots and take over the Jags. I missed all of it. Basically, is Gus Bradley...

First year, we took it to the limit. Is Gus Bradley preparing for a playoff game in the Jags or a success? Or is Tom Coughlin going to be the next coach? He will not be 59 miles to Jacksonville. He'll be in Jacksonville preparing for that playoff game. You think it's happening? I do. I think, you know, this...

We're going to predict at the end. I think they're going to win this division. I don't think it's going to be a... Right, blowing up the segment. No cares. We can just... Why hold back? Sure, sure, sure.

It's not going to be a much improved division. It's going to be more fun to watch division, but I don't think it's going to take more than nine or ten wins to win this division. I do think Jacksonville is going to make good on all this excitement. They better, because I'm going to be legitimately annoyed if the Jaguars go four and 12 again. This has been a long, a long off season of hype around the Jaguars being strong on both sides of the ball and how Blake Bordels is new Ben Ralthusberger, and everything is clicking now,

and Gus Bradley is a guy they should, they're a right to stick by. Give me something. Do not make me deal with this, and the only great thing that came out of this offseason was Jags Lady. Certainly not. The first year, we took it to the limit. I disagree with almost everything Greg says.

I think it's a tangibly improved division overall, and I think the Jaguars will have to wait a year because Blake Bortles hasn't learned how to win yet, still makes way too many mistakes with the game on the line. And I think Marcus Mariotta will not be making those mistakes with the game on the line. I think they're a team that's going to have wild ups and downs. There's going to be parts in the season where we all say this team looks unbelievable and parts of the season where we think it's over and that they're going in the can.

They just seem like one of those topsy-turvy type of teams. But it would stun me if their defense was so bad. I don't think people remember how bad their defense was last year. and their defensive talent now is top 10 talent. I mean, if they're just average, the offense just needs to be a little better than average in the one nine or 10 games. I give David Caldwell the GM credit for

if this is their last season to stick around and prove something, they went for it with the acquisitions and the free agency cash. I mean, they are going to make an attempt. If it doesn't happen, it is on Gus Bradley. Fowler and Gokwey, you know, Malik Jackson, Jared Adrick, everyone in the secondary, Jalen Ramsey, It just feels like there's so many people. And then Alan Robinson's a known commodity.

I think Yeldon and Ivory are basically known commodities. Probably the most improved roster from top to bottom in the league. That wrong answer by Wes. We're back to that. I have the weakest link. Houston Texans, Wes. Houston Texans, I believe last year, had one of the slowest offenses in the league. And now, as we've heard Greg say, they only have two starters returning on offense.

have they gone from one of the worst offenses to one of the best offenses in the NFL? Hmm. Hmm. I'm going to say no until, you know, Dwayne Brown is back, which we don't know when that's going to be. Derek Newton's their right tackle. We don't know when he's going to be back, and I think it's going to take time. He's playing center. I think, right, and they lose their center for the season.

I think in a best case scenario, this team improves a lot down in the second half of the season, but it's bumpy early. I like that the stress was on getting. getting faster. And that's modern NFL offenses. To me, it boils down. There's a lot of nice parts around Brock Osweiler, and he had, what, one good preseason outing and a really uninspiring two other showings. And now the bullets start flying in week one. I'm not sure that I trust Brock Osweiler as a 16-game starting quarterback. If he proves to be a different guy than he was from much of last season with the Broncos, then I like this offense a lot. I don't know if it's the

most improved offense because I would go with, Lamar Miller is a big help, too, on the ground game. I just, the Texans are suddenly in a much better division, I think. I mean, their offense, it wasn't good last year, but it wasn't one of the worst five offenses in the league. That was good coaching. It was worse than average. You're right, and maybe good coaching now makes what's good talent look a lot better. I've been impressed how quickly Will Fuller and Braxton Miller have stepped right in there.

That's a Rick Smith trademark in Houston that his first, second round draft picks play. right off the bat. But Miller, especially a guy who's, you know, changed positions not too long ago, has stepped in there. He looks like a slot receiver. He looks like a good player. Yes, he does. I see more chemistry between Osweiler in Fuller than I do Osweiler in Hopkins at this point.

It was that. Tom Savage is real. It was. That's true. Top Savage is real. By the way, NFL Network. Tom Savage is real. Rule three is Greg.

Top five QB ratings in the preseason. This man was on. Tom Savage. Wow. Tom Savage is real. Yes, that means he's real. I am a little bit nervous about what West stayed with the center position in that offensive line. Is that going to hurt my Lamar Miller breakout season now?

Oh, already making sense. A little nervous about that. Oh, my gosh. A little bit nervous, but I will stay strong. I still believe this is a 1,700 total yard season taken in the top three of fantasy drafts a year from now. I'm not backing down, Greg. Okay. I mean, and if Jadavian Clowny breaks out like we think he can,

him and Watt are the best one-two combination in the entire league. Easy question. Is Andrew Luck banged, Wes? No, and here's what I would say. It's a Greg Rosenthal staple that when everybody in the country agrees on something, everybody in the football world agrees on something, it's not going to go that way. And everyone right now agrees that Andrew Luck is banged.

The Colts offensive line is a mess. Their defense has no talent. In the past week since the Philadelphia Eagles turned their offensive line into a turn style, everybody has said the Colts are banged. Their offense is terrible. And I think I would appeal to the Greg Rosenthal staple here. So the idea, go the other direction because at the end of the day, there are some good skill players there, great skill players,

and potentially all-time great quarterback. That's enough to carry the day here. Also, is the offensive line really any worse than it was two years ago when they were in the AFC championship game? I don't know. That's the thing. He had always luck in his first four years or three years had always made due with what he had around him and made these teams not just playoff teams, but winning playoff games. Last year, I think he earned the right to kind of throw that out.

Why wouldn't he go back to being the guy that just carries a mediocre team? Well, last year, he took a pounding and missed a massive chunk of the season. So how long does the body continue to sustain these shots? I mean, he's been hit as much as any quarterback in the league outside of what? Blake Bortles? I mean, what are you going to expect? He's a one-man show? Well, I think Andrew Luck could have a good season,

and it could be obvious to our eyes, if not monster numbers, that he's playing really well. But I do think the defense that the Colts had for a couple years under Bragano is better than the defense than they had now. They weren't good, but they were average. I mean, this is a team that ranked in the middle of the pact a couple years ago, ninth in points allowed, 20th and yards. Last year, they were among the worst, and I think they've gotten a lot worse on paper.

So this could be a defense that's in the bottom, three, four defenses in the league. And then even if Andrew Luck's playing well, you might not be winning many games. I just don't like how this team is constructed. And when you have the gift of Andrew Luck, and you've had that for years at this point, and you've not improved the way the team around him is built, I don't like that. I think the other teams in the AFC South are catching up. It's tough because people are, you're right.

We're watching the preseason. I'm changing my pick partly based on what's gone on this month. So I'm going along with the crowd in this case. And we're basing on a team that was missing their top of four cornerbacks. But one of them, the big one, Vante Davis, isn't coming back for a month. And even when he comes back, that's a tough injury to come back from. To Mark's point about this roster, remember the old Michael Lombardi, blue player, red player? Yes.

How many blues are on this roster? Andrew Luck? That's Dante Moncrief. Could be. T.Y. Hilton, certainly. Dante Moncrief isn't right now. Could be, though. Could be. Vonte Davis. It's skilled player heavy and not heavy where it matters.

There are very few above-average starters on this room. Right. What's the level below blue? I think it's red. Blue and red. Red chip. Red chip. That's better or that's in the middle? Blue chip is the problem is they don't even have any red chips. Their defense is a bunch of rust-colored poop chips. That's the question.

Is he banged? A lot of poop around him. Now the Titans. Oh, the Tennessee Titans. Be careful here. Wes's team. I'm going to just make it obvious. Is this going to be the team of ATL?

What do we think? Because I'm kind of on board now. Actually, I'm going to stop the clock one second here. Okay. Just haven't heard it in a while. See? The team of ATL. Only one team can earn the right now's the time to shine a light. On the team, R-R-R-A-T-L. This is a very space.

Your Honor. Dick Banks. I mean, the team of West T.L. Every year. Give me a break. What a tradition. Good luck with your 49ers last. I like about three or four.

I'm convinced. I'm excited. Marietta, Sharp, especially Derek Henry. Maybe Mike Malarkey doesn't ruin this thing. Could we even vote on them right now? Just impromptu. I would make them it before the season. Let's give it a week or two.

But I would vote for them because my philosophy with team of ATL, which has not happened up until 9. now, and I'm fine with that for the most part, is that I want a weird team that could maybe be good, but maybe not be good. I don't need it to be a 15-1 juggernaut that we know is going to go to the NFC championship. That's just not how I vote the team of ATL.

So I would vote for Titans, yes, because they're weird and interesting. Much like the American flag means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The team of ATL means different things to different people. I always thought it meant getting ahead of the curve as the primary thing. I just thought it would be a team that I want to enjoy rooting. I'm closer to that.

I am. And I'm kind of with you. I'd like a weird team. I think the defense might be bad to mediocre, though, which is a problem. I just want to make Wes happy. Thank you. I think this would make a number of people happen. Wes is happy these days. Let me just go off these parts, by the law. It's all going.

The guy is dressed to the nines. Confidence is soaring, as we saw on Facebook. Body's banging. So they have a bad defense and Mike Milwaukee is their coach. I just want to throw these things out of here before we dive in with two feet into wedded matrimony here. I don't think it's a bad defense. It's certainly not why we'd be picking them for team of ATL.

Their offense is interesting and could be a time possession clock chewing type offense. Jags are another option. They feel a little more conventional at this point, but I think they're going to be fun to watch. You can't deny that Blake Bortles is fun to watch. I'm not going to stump for the Titans yet because at this stage of the game, it should be organic. All four of us should be agreeing that this, we're so excited about, the Titans that we're going to do it. We're not there yet.

I understand, but we have positive signs. Their defense, that's fine, but I don't think anybody's claiming that the team of ATL has to be a Super Bowl contender right now. Whenever Wes is ready, we'll do it. If they're in the mix. I mean, that's life with... It's about me.

That's life with Wes. This narrative is outrageous. This one bothers Wes. Well, I was... His former girlfriends know it. When Wes is ready, that's, you know. That's what it happens. That's when it happens.

I don't even know what that means either. It meant nothing. What did that mean? It didn't actually make sense. Okay. All right, let's pick the division. Mark. I'm at such a loss with this division.

It's so crazy, but I am going to... Hang in there, buddy. No, I just, I was... I've reshuffled the order like 30 times and I'm prepared to be completely wrong. Okay. But I'm going to go with the Jaguars is my division winner. Okay.

I don't think any of these... teams have a great record. I think Titans, Texans, Colts after that. Wow. Jags. Okay. Wes. I'm going Tennessee Titans take the division. And the reason why is because Marcus Mariotta becomes on Andrew Luck's level as a quarterback this year. And he has better surrounding talented Andrew Luck.

Titans, Jaguars, Texans, Colts. You just made the argument that the Colts aren't banged. I said Andrew Luck's not banged. That was the question that was asked. Okay. What kind of first place team, if you think the division is so much better? Like 10 wins, 11? I think they're going to beat each other up.

I don't think the record's going to be indicative of them. Yeah, I don't think there's any 3 and 13 team in this division anymore. I think the Colts can finish and last with a 7 and 9 or 8 and 8 record. I have Houston defending their crown at 10 and 6. Tennessee at 9 and 7, and yes, going in the right direction. The Jags 7 and 9, and I think Indie will kind of crumble and they'll clean house go 6 and 10. I was on the Colts all offseason. I thought Andrew Luck will rise and just carry them in a lackluster division.

I'm letting the preseason affect me. So I'm making Jacksonville 1. I'll keep the Colts at number 2. I don't think they'll just fall apart. Titans 3rd and the Texans going first. So you're going to go to the ETSL with a team that is going to be in third place. But I think they'd be a fun seven-win team. I'm fine with that.

All right. Let's move finally to the AFC West. We'll start with the 3rd. The Chiefs, Mark Sessler. Bear with me here. No team in the league can win 10 games in a row and still be seen universally as a non-super Bowl threat by the NFL's Illuminati-esque power elite. No team except the Chiefs.

Will anything change this season for Andy Reed or will he continue to be fodder for snarky jokesters who enjoy ribbing him for his sublogical clock management and insane utility belt over Red Parker outfits at way too sunny Arrowhead Stadium? Can this year's version of the Chiefs honestly be anything more than in 10 and 6th cadre that blows up hardcore in January. Can we not debate and just have you read that over and over again for three minutes? That was too much. I love the description of Andy Reid and also the snark.

What was it? The snark? Because it really describes people talking about Mike Malarkey. Well, in his like utility belt that he wears over that giant Mike Malarkey and Andrew Reed. By the way, you've been the one making fun of Mike Malarkey in the past. You just happen to like his quarterback now. That's not true. Oh, yeah.

You were buried Mike Malarkey. Yeah, you were running down, throwing parade. for that Falcons office. We're going to hear it from Chiefs fans if we talked Titans Jags the whole time. Yeah, that 2013 Jacks team. Chiefs fans, calm down. All right, so the Cliff's notes of that, Mark,

are the Chiefs any better than 10 and 6th? Yeah, are they just the same team that they were, they won 10 games in a row, you know. They will be the same type of team, and that may be enough to win a strange division. I like the Chiefs. I like that they're kind of, you know, they went on a 10 or 11 game winning streak last year,

won a playoff game, and nobody's talking about. that seems like a nice place to be in. We just were talking about it the other day, is Alex Smith set up to have an Alex Smith career year? That sounds like good news. I think they have a great coach and a great home field advantage. Yeah, the Chiefs can do it.

I think he is. I'm a little concerned. I think they are, can be better. I think this is the year where people stop being snarky and give them a little grudging respect. Start getting real. Before getting back to snarky next year or something, before they start giving them some respect that Andy Reid has maximized his team

and made them look as good as he could, and especially on offense, I think they're set up for a nice season. Agree, Alex Smith career year. The best offense, Indy Areta is headed Kansas City, and maybe the best offense he's had since Donovan McNabb's prime. I think the Chief's offense will be much better. I think the defense takes a step back with Justin's status up in the air.

Might miss the whole season. They have to be ready for that. They lose Sean Smith. I know Marcus Peters could become the next great NFL cornerback. He might already be there. And if he's a superstar-level talent, that changes a lot of things. I'm with you.

I think if I don't like the way the cults are built, I do like what has happened in Kansas City, that they've stuck to their philosophy. A lot of people aren't impressed with Alex Smith overall. General manager. It's not just Alex Smith's team. There's a lot of other parts around them. They feel like a team to me that's going to go

to the AFC championship potentially as a ceiling, you know, destination, and lose. Yeah. Which is a step forward, by the way. That's not a slight on the chiefs. And I think Spencer, where's a guy you really need to be taken in drafts? I thought that last week, now I really think it now that Charles doesn't look great.

He's a heck of a running back, and their defensive line is as underrated as any group in the league, especially with your boy, Chris Jones. San Diego Chargers, Chris Wessling. I have to come up with a question here, huh? Okay. That's the exercise. Joey Bosa joins a defense that already has Denzel Paraman

in a secondary, which Jason Verrett does not get nearly enough publicity as a young up-and-coming cornerback who is shadowing number one receivers. making the leap. With those three guys at each level of the defense, is this now the second best defense in the AFC West behind the Broncos? Because the Chiefs were one of the best

defenses in the NFL last year. The Raiders have some intriguing talent, but I really like this Chargers team. This is a big drop off from Denver though, right? They're a good defense but not a great defense. That's up to you to decide. But you think they have great potential? I do think they have much better potential than most people believe.

I think John Pagano, has slid by with some mediocre to disappointing seasons as their defensive coordinator without getting a lot of attention. But I generally kind of like what he does. He's very creative. And I'm with you. I think the talent level is there to be the second. I think there's the second most talented defense in the division.

I think it's one of the hardest divisions in football to be the second best defensive team unless you are very, very good on defense. And I would put them more third up and coming because the chiefs and I don't see the Broncos taking a step back on defense, some of the losses. The Chiefs to me, Justin Houston aside, have parts at every level. And let's not forget about the Raiders. The Raiders' secondary is improved. They have players at every level, too. So I don't think that's an automatic second. I'd go lower. They were so banged up last year on the offensive line. They have good continuity.

I don't think they're terrible players on the offensive line. And now you've got Keenan Allen back. Travis Benjamin looks good. I like this guy. Tyrell Williams looks pretty good in the preseason as their third receiver. Maybe they won't miss Stevie Johnson. You got Melvin Gordon and you have the Philip Rivers, hey, I need to make a run for the Super Bowl run that Tony Romo is not going to apparently have this year. It's Philip Rivers now. Philip Rivers was going to have more children so he could raise an offensive line. That would be good, too.

That would be awesome, like a 67-year-old Philip Rivers with a bunch of 27-year-old sons. Oh, what a story that would be. What an amazing. Football story that would be. They would have to call that offensive line the moat. Rivers, I like that. See?

I get him. I get him. Anything else on the Chargers, man? Well, let's move on. We do whatever we want in this world. You know what I'm saying? And let me say this. This is going to be kind of a straw man for you, Wes,

because I know how you feel about this. But I'll set it up, and then you can knock it down. Couldn't close. John Elway couldn't close with Brock Osweiler. He got away. All right, maybe he didn't want to pay him. That's fine. So then he targeted a veteran to hold the fort.

Targeted the wrong guy. Mark Sanchez. did not work out at all to the point where he might not have to make the team. Drafted guy in Paxton Lynch. We'll see how that plays out, but not a guy that's going to be ready, at least not right now. And now a defending Super Bowl champion is being piloted by Trevor Simeon, and everybody's talking themselves into this guy now, but there's a good chance he's a disaster. So I ask you this.

Does John Elway deserve some grief for defending an NFL title with this type of situation a quarterback? If you're asking me, no, he deserves no grief whatsoever, and I don't have any issue with anything he did. Peyton Manning could not play football anymore. I don't think that John Elway should have enticed him back. No, I didn't say that. That should have to cover all these angles.

Brock Osweiler, I don't think, is worth nearly the amount of money that Houston paid him. And I don't think it's unrealistic to believe that Trevor Simeon can have a better year than Brock Osweiler will this year. So I have no issue with anything John Elway did. I'm in Lockstep with West because I think the amount of money they would have invested in Brock Osweiler. and what you're going to get from Trevor Simeon, he is going to look great. By the way, down the road. If you pay what you pay Brock Osweiler, your defense isn't as good.

Can we at least in fairness state that it's not like John always said, okay, Brock, see you later. He was willing to make him a very well-played quarterback. He was a lot of 16, not 17. Well, part of that has to be a little bit of public relations, too. And also, he planned for the future. He can't just not offer your starting quarterback any money. Yeah, I can if you don't value it.

I mean, he made aggressive offers, and I think, they were ultimately a little surprised that Brock Osweiler left. I mean, they kept raising their offers, and Osweiler got the best deal that he could. I think it remains to be seen. I mean, that's a corny answer. Maybe this goes back further. And maybe some bad blood. Do you think the Broncos win the Super Bowl with Brock Osweiler last year?

No. No. And they definitely don't do it. If it wasn't John Elway, the only person in the NFL that Peyton Manning trusted enough to go to Denver and join him there, That's ancient history. Yeah, but that's John Elway. They won a Super Bowl, and they built that team because Peyton Manning attracts talent. That was great.

That was Elway at his best. What would you have had John Elway do this year? Maybe pony up the extra million or so or whatever it took to get Brock Osweiler. But he knows Brock Osweiler. But we're going to now say that the seventh round pick is a guy we can count on just because it's the only guy left that he can turn. But maybe for four weeks until Paxton Lynch, the first round pick is ready. To me, if their defense is a good,

as good as it was, especially late last year, then none of it matters. That that's what they really need to not be worried about. But, like, it's tough to have a defense be the best defense in the league and then do it again and be that dominant. It doesn't mean they're going to be a bad defense. They could be the sixth best defense in the league. But that's not going to work, I don't think, with Trevor Simian. You need it to be an epic historical type defense.

I think if your position is John Elway should have handled this much differently, I think you have to come up with a viable alternative. And I don't think that paying Brock Oswald are a lot of money just because he's, He was the guy who was there. But he automatically means that that was the best decision to make. I'm just saying he did offer him a lot of money. In a vacuum of no other options. Yes, you're right.

What a topic. I love it. You're up. My Raiders question. Is that even a Humblebrage? The DERS. The DRS. That reminds me of workaholics.

It's still on the air. I love that show. Is it me or did the Raiders buzz? Did all the excitement about the Raiders? Was everyone too quick with that? I feel like it's dissipated. It has dissipated. Maybe it's just the off-season's too long.

Are you as excited about the Raiders as you were maybe three or four months ago? No, I don't think I am, and it's through no fault of their own. Like you said, I think it's just... The off-season's too long. We ran out of reasons to be excited about them. We've already used them up. I'm naturally more excited about the Titan, so that's where my energy has gone. But there's no reason not to be excited about the Raiders.

They have a much deeper roster than most of the AFC teams have. I think that the excitement is legit in the fact that Reggie McKenzie, you know, looked like he was building a tire fire for a couple years there. And they've hit on draft picks. They have a young quarterback. They've got a great wide receiver in Amari Cooper. Their defense is starting to get stacked. Yes, I think there is reason for excitement.

But they're also part of it is situations and time and time period. And they're in a tough, tough division. I don't think it's any assumption that they're this automatic wildcard team. They're going to have to go out and win games that no one in that organization has shown they can win in the last 10 years. How high do we think Derek Carr's ceiling is? Like this year. To me, that's their big question. I don't know what the answer is.

I think we'll find out. That's one of the reasons why maybe the excitement has dissipated a little bit. Do you believe Derek Carr is the same as a Marcus Marietta? And I don't. No, I don't. I mean, I still thought between him, Bridgewater, and Carr, in Bordels, To me, Bortles was the guy that I thought was ahead of the other two. And I thought Bridgewater is right.

Like, I don't know. I feel like I need to see more from Derek Carr, especially after the second half of the season. Okay, maybe he wasn't as good in the second half. But Raiders fans screaming at their radios or phone or whatever are saying, well, last year you guys completely counted out Derek Card. We're not counting him out. A weak point on that team. He really did improve a significant amount.

We're not suggesting anything to the contrary. We're not counting him out. I think we want to see that he's going to be that guy who, is an asset for you instead of a guy who is sometimes good in second half of the last year. Is he going to be Matt Ryan or somewhere between Matt Ryan and Jake Cutler? Or is he going to be a potential top five type of quarter? Two other teams in this division would take. Two other teams in this division would take Derrick Carr over the current quarterbacks.

No questions asked. You're going to take Trevor Simeon over Derek Carr? Oh, yeah. The Broncos are one. Who's the other one? I don't think the Chiefs would take him. No way. I don't think there's any way Andy Reid's taking Derek Carr over Alex.

Maybe Andy Reid isn't, but if I'm a Chiefs fan, I'll take Derek Carr over Alex Smith. Do you want to win this year or down the road? Because I think Alex Smith gives you a better chance to win. I mean, I think that's a good question. Who do we think is going to be better this year, Alex Smith or Derek Carr? I feel better about Alex Smith. So do I. Part of that has to do with the period of growth that whole teams had together.

You're talking about two different players and two different systems. We talk about the Chiefs, but Derek Carr to me is not the issue on the Raiders. No? All right, time to pick the division. Quiet Storm. Go on us. Well, I talked about the Chiefs that's going to the AFC Championship. I think they have a good chance for that.

Should pick them not to make the playoffs then. No, I picked them. That would be interesting. Pick them to the AFC Championship. I think they go to the AFC Championship. I go Chiefs number one. Broncos is a very tight second. Raiders, third, Chargers, fourth, great division.

I have really changed my mind on the Chiefs in the last few weeks. I'm going to have them winning the division. Raiders, second, Broncos, third. Chargers 4th. Again, very tough to pick between 1 and 4. Wes and I are in Lockstep. I got KC at 10 and 6. Wow. Oakland at 9 and 7. Denver falling to 8 and 8. I think their defense will be great.

But you don't often see a historic defense then followed up with an equally historic season. And that's how good they have to be. So I think it's going to hurt them when their offense struggles. And San Diego won't be a joke, but they'll go 7 and 9, I think, in that range. So the Chiefs, we love the Chiefs. Which is unusual for us. I have the Chiefs winning the Division 2. I have the Chargers not only making the playoffs,

but then as a scrappy six-seed in the playoffs, winning a couple road games with Philip Rivers. This is what you want to happen. Well, why not? Because we have no idea what's going to happen, so you might as well pick what you want to happen. He's got gambling now you started going with your heart. This is thrown of sleet stuff because he wants the Chargers to shock a couple people

and then go to New England and lose 41 to 20 in the AFC title. I want it to be a good game. That is low. That's pretty low. Like I would dare pick against the Patriots. What's the point? You want to have a chance. Trying to set up a patsy for your.

They're going to the playoffs and the Broncos go from the Super Bowl to the seller? The seller. Oh, this is like his hatred of the New York Giants because they dared to be. This is the best division in football. Two people in this room not getting John Elway Christmas cards. I think this is the best division in football. It wouldn't surprise me if the entire division is 500 or a bit. This one's not for Greg.

Or Dan. He can only speak that. That's the only sentence he says now. I mean, I can't follow that up. Wasn't it Pat Bullen who said it, not John Elway? No, this was the stick six months ago. It was that John Elway was going to do this speech. He was going to grab the...

John always said it about Pat. This one's also for John. It's telling that six months later we've forgotten our own. bits from February. It's alarming. There might be a carbon monoxide leak here. And the Broncos fans should be upset. Only Mark Sessler picked them to win the Super Bowl last year.

Wesleyan thought I didn't even believe my own take that the Broncos could potentially beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship. I remember that. Maybe they should be happy with their Lombardi trophy and not care what I did to predict their fortunes. That's it. We did it.

42 minutes, exactly. That's pretty good. It is. The only thing we've ever finished on time. Celebrate. You got to lose that thing. I have asthma. It's making me really upset.

But, you know, it's a celebration. It's like a, it's really struggling to breathe, whatever they're doing there. It's not a happy celebration. Dan, you've got an 11 and 3 quarter month window before we need to do divisional previews again. Are you now riding high? It's how you felt when the Fantasy Week wrapped. Oh, I am a new person. I'm just going to do whatever I want at this point.

Well, the difference is we're bringing back Fantasy Week next year. Well, people seem to like this. The division previews are going to be gone for another year. That was kind of fun. But, see, we did the majority of the AFC. If this went to four teams, I would have passed out about 20 minutes ago. That's a lot of teams to cover. Twelve was okay.

Four plus four, plus four. Twelve, that would be okay. This is your least favorite thing to do on the podcast. You know, I love talking football with you boys, but that one's a little overly structured, that's all. Well, we've shown us to come up with a better... Listen, we got a whole year to think about it as we undermine what we just did for 42. It's like the tape is still running on this show somehow. Listeners like, if they're not invested, why should I be?

Stop. Goes and shoots baskets outside. CBSports.com. All right. That's it for today's edition of... That's it for the last around the NFL podcast you ever listened to. Thank you. Thank you for listening all these years.

It's been a great run together. Go shoot your baskets. Tell your friends, leave a comment on iTunes. So shoot your baskets. We will be back Thursday. We'll be back Thursday this week for our third show of the week. So make sure you come on back. Just kidding.

Please come back. We need you. It's all we have. Until then, this is Dan Hansis. Signing off. It's pretty close. but the quiet store the mailman

the boss and the beautiful lassee behind the glass till Thursday 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 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. This is an IHeart podcast.