NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Awkward NFL Truths and Tyrann Mathieu Retires with Colleen Wolfe

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Colleen Wolfe to tell you the awkward truths about the NFL. Gregg and Colleen tell you what you need to realize about the Bengals and who truly is their biggest opponent (03:15), the reality of being a fan (10:15), the truth about the new-look Patriots (13:45), what to expect out of Aaron Rodgers (16:54), the truth about the Cowboys (25:40) and more! Plus, a live reaction to Tyrann Mathieu retiring (42:45).  Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where the summer of Connie never really ends. I hate that it has to. But it kind of does. We're back. We're in the Chris Wessling podcast studio. And I'm with my friend Colleen Wolf. Hey, so great to see you. I can't believe, first of all, that you're even here right now with the jet lag that you probably are experiencing.

We're good. My God. We're warming up. We're feeling alive. You're telling yourself that. We're seeing, you know, we're doing a show together. I was thinking we, this is a first, but you reminded me way back in the NFL digital NFL nowadays. We used to do that kind of stuff all the time. 10 years ago, over 10 years ago. It's been a minute, and that's going to be part of one of my awkward truth. Oh, no. It is. Okay. Not exactly NFL now, but just the passage of time.

So we're going, doing things a little bit differently. We usually start with a big chunk of news, right? There really wasn't great news today. And the news that we have, all the teams are reporting to training camp, so they'll start practicing on Wednesday. and the news will really pick up from there. But most of the news we had, we decided we could kind of fold in.

So it's all happening. You're going on the road? I am. I was thinking this morning, like, when is Aaron Rogers going to do something? Because Tuesdays is usually the Aaron Rogers Day in terms of news. But we didn't get it.

So, yeah, you're right. It's really just training camps. And I'm going on the road. I'm excited about it. I am heading up close one first, going to Oxnard for Cowboys Training Camp. And we're going to talk about Cowboys a lot today. after Jerry Jones had a lot to say

then I'm going to Philly very pumped about that Philly to Denver so get to talk to my guy Sean Payton and then I was supposed to go to New York for Giants training camp but I don't know what happened all of a sudden I'm not going to Giants

so instead I'm going back to Philly and then to Washington Are you... Can't imagine why I'm not going to Giants. Suggesting that maybe your anti-Giant agenda on this very show impacted that? No way. Unfortunately, none of them listened to NFL Daily. But I do thank NFL Network for sending me like five new NFL Network polos,

even though I'm not on inside training candles. I'll take the shirts. They're great gifts. Are they the Tommy Bahama one? Yeah, they're nice. They're breathable? They're nice, a nice little zip-up. So yes. we're going to go through awkward truce in the NFL.

You mentioned the Broncos. They're going to be featured in this show. You mentioned the Cowboys. They are as well. I don't like to think of us as awkward people. What do you mean? We absolutely are. But I think other people feel awkward around us,

but we're just being us. That's true. I mean, that's on them. Maybe on the inside we are. I will let you start off. I was just thinking, like, I am so incredibly awkward at saying goodbye to people.

yes it's it's one of my weaknesses in life okay here we go we both are awkward i guess does that make good podcasting we'll find out i don't know okay so the uh awkward truth about the bangles is their toughest opponent isn't the chiefs or the bills it's the front office the call is coming from inside the house they have a rich history of mishandling personnel and contracts, they are never proactive. They're always just reactive. They've mishandled draft assets going way back. And they just repeatedly underinvest in the defense, which is obviously the issue right now. And we know Trey Hendrickson, he got an offer that he called criminally low in terms of a contract. And he's not showing up at training camp under his current deal. But it's a pattern from

the organization that is all about short-term savings instead of some type of like and like long-term costs basically. So they never are investing in the future. It's always like what like a Band-Aid situation for them. And now you look at this team last year, the defense was such a liability. They have a new defensive coordinator.

Yeah, Al Golden was there before, but still you have a whole new situation because Lu Anirumo was there for a while, six years. and you have first round pick Shamar Stewart who's also in a standoff the only first round pick

from 2025 that is not signed yet because they want to put some unprecedented language into the contract so just on principle Shamar Stewart doesn't want to sign because he wants his guarantee

to be guaranteed like all of the others before him so they didn't invest in the offensive line until Joe Burrow was hurt and it still isn't quite right Not great. The guards aren't great.

No, they still neglected the defense. This off season didn't really do a whole lot. So the impact is just like the reputation of the entire organization. Players don't want to go there because they know that they are pinching pennies all of the time. And it's just so much pressure on the offense. Mike Brown came out. I had some things to say. He also said that Trey Hendrickson is not so easy to deal with.

Called them emotional. Oh, my God. that, that's a trigger. That's like telling someone to relax. Now, in one hand, I thought, oh, that's going to get him emotional. If he is emotional, hearing that you're in emotional. On the other hand, I thought actually, maybe it's a step forward hearing a boss call a guy emotional. Because I feel like that that's kind of a trigger for a lot of women.

It's like a code for being a woman, getting called emotional. And so he's doing it for Tray. So maybe it's almost a step forward here for gender equality. doubling down on how bad that comment is. He did post on IG, Trey Hendrickson, and we knew because of his Instagram account, he was in Ohio and he was at,

we believed he was going to be possibly reporting to camp. And then he did send an Instagram story. If you're watching on YouTube, please check us out, subscribe a beautiful sunset, I believe, maybe sunrise in Florida. So he's out.

That is kind of emotional. But I like it. But also, like, yeah, he, without Trey Hendrickson, what is your defense? Like, they were so bad last year and they had the sack leader. So then you take him out of the mix. Like, they owe him what they owe him. Pay him what he's owed. Right.

And they said he deserves a raise. And the reporting from pro football talk was that he's only gotten one year of guaranteed money in the offer. So forget even. what the average salary is. He's not going to make as much as T.J. Watt and Miles Garrett, but where is he going to fit in sort of underneath that average per year? That's one thing. T.J. Watt, who's in the division, is also over 30, like Hendrickson, signing that deal was bad news for the Bengals because they guaranteed him three full years. That's like in the middle of your prime, you know, quarterback type money. And now Hendrickson, who's only getting the offer for

one, that's going to make you leave town. And it reminds me a lot of a year ago. And speaking of emotional, Nick Wesseling, our friend, you know, the brother of the great Chris Wessling, who this podcast studio was named after. We were, we were texting yesterday, me, him, and his brother, Phil. And he was quite emotional. I'm calling it up on my computer here. And he used to say, like, what are we excited about is watching the Bengals f*** up every single year. It's comical at this point. Missed the playoffs last year because Chase sat out and then

looked like shit the first two weeks. Now the same shit with Hendrickson and their first round picks. Fuck the Bengals. I can almost hear Wes saying that. Okay. I'm sorry Nick for not having you on to say that. I'm also sorry to Eric for having to bleep all that out, but it's actually kind of a convenient way

for someone outside the studio to say all that stuff. Yeah. Like, wow, I'm so sorry to the Wesslings and to all Bengals fans out there what you have to deal with. Like, come on. Here's the thing. And so I really like this being the first choice for the awkward truth segment because it's absolutely fitting the definition because their fans, for the most part, don't want to believe this. They point to look how much money we spend. It's actually not true.

And actually, look, what we just did for T. Higgins and Jemar Chase. Like when that happened, everyone was like, see, the Bengals aren't that old school franchise that you think they are like, that's not true. And then we get here. And it is just an awkward truth. You have to accept. And I think if you love the Bengals, you have to accept maybe that they're run a different sort of way. Yeah. And you just went through this last year.

Like, and now you're doing the same exact thing just with your best defensive player. He's a captain. He's a leader on the team. So you're not just taking away him on the field. you're taking away all of the other stuff that comes with it, all of the intangibles. But I just like, I can't believe they operate this way. They always start slow.

And now with this, you have to wonder if that's going to happen again. Yeah, that defensive end position we talked about in the position battles. Everyone really commenting that we went big there, 59. They liked it. So I believe the Bengals Edge Group was number five or six or seven. And that includes, in theory, Trey Hendrickson and Shamar Stewart, but neither one of them are in camp. All right, my first awkward truth.

This is more of like a big picture of just what it's like to be a fan. I went to the FDN Almanac. We're going to have the writer that Aaron Schatz or the editor of that on the show later this week. Used to be football outsiders. I think they're the best in terms of analytics. Went to see what their numbers were.

And it's very similar to Vegas of chances to win the Super Bowl. And here are just some percentage. Okay. The Lions, according to FDN, Almanac have a 12.1% chance to win the Super Bowl this year. The Buffalo Bills, I think we're second or third most likely. So you think, oh, that's awesome. They're one of the favorites. These are two of the best five teams league. They have a 14.7% chance to win the Super Bowl. And what the awkward truth is, is that like, even when your team is freaking awesome and you're in the good old

days, the chances of your season ending in complete heartbreak are extraordinarily high. That's the awkward truth. I think fans kind of forget that. Like, fans kind of forget that. Like, because you hear, oh, the bills have the second best chance or the third best chance. And that sounds great. Like, that's like, no, like, if you had something in life that you have an 85% chance of happen, if you have an 85% chance of getting a bonus this year or like, winning a million dollars. Pretty damn good.

You're spending that money. Yeah. And there's an 85% chance according to the best people in the game that the bills are going to end in heartbreak. It's just like you have to, I think you have to prepare yourself with that awkward truth.

Well, listen, come on. Greg, this is a time of positivity. It's training camp. Everyone is looking forward. No one has made a bad coaching decision yet. Yeah. No one has fumbled the ball. No one has messed up a game.

No one has missed a kick. This is like, you know, Spring Hope's Eternal. Wait. Homecoming. Spring Hope's Eternal. That's not it. It's homecoming.

That is Jim Harbaugh's word for what's happened this week. I'll spin it positive. And what I would say is it's easy to say and harder to do is just enjoy the ride, enjoy the process, knowing that. Knowing that that's the truth. Can you find joy out of, hey, like we're winning most of these games. We're in the mix. It's not always going to be. like that.

So try to enjoy the way there before that heartbreak. You just want everyone to have fun. Especially if you're good. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, I think of the Celtics a couple of years ago. Their fans were miserable. The whole championship season of all the things that were going to go wrong

or were going right, they didn't even enjoy the one season that was good. I'm saying, like, at some point, this Josh Allen era will end. And you'll look back and you'll think how great it is. And maybe they will get a Super Bowl one of these years. But I think, have to go into the season. And this is true for every team. It's true for your eagles, you know, that ultimately, like, it's extraordinarily likely that it's going to end

with hurt, which is tough. That's life, though, Greg. I have another awkward truth about that. All right, give me a, but also that is a, it's a good message by you to just, like, be present and like live in this moment right now, not looking ahead, not looking back, and also lower your expectations. Yes. I think that's an important. part of life is, you know, keep the expectation. Keep the bar on the ground. No, just like don't have like things. Just don't have any expectations. None. Just come in and see what happens. I mean, I do kind of like that. Do you go with the flow, man. All right, give me another one. Okay. So, my next one is the Patriots are a playoff team again. Wow. So this is more of a take. This is more of a take than

it is. It is. Well, I guess the truth is like we're going to have to deal with the Patriots a lot more. Maybe not, you know, completely understanding the exercise again. No, no, no. Awkward truth that, oh, God, now Greg is going to be honking about the Patriots. Is that a better angle? That's fair. There we go. They are relevant, no matter what.

Well, I just think with the roster turnover and Mike Rabel there with an entire culture shift, I mean, you have, of the 90 players on the roster right now, only 48 were with New England last season. So that's 42 players gone, which is roughly 47%. Basically half the team has been turned over. Nearly the entire coaching staff is new at this point. So it's a significant amount of change, which Rabel comes in and he's shifting the culture there, which needed to happen.

I love the defensive additions that they had this season with Milton Williams, bringing him in from Philly, Harold Landry, Carlton Davis, Roberts, Boulain. I mean, they overhauled the entire pass rush. I mean, I just, I think that this is a situation for Drake May this year that he can develop into something way with improved chemistry. And you have Mike McDaniels there. They're supposed to be.

So why is this even awkward? I'm just saying it's awkward for anyone who doesn't like the Patriots and who were happy that the Patriots dynasty was done for a while. And I feel like now they're back. that's a good point because we're going to have Bridget Condon on the show later this week

and like me she's a fellow masque and there is no more obnoxious fan base I would say and the Patriots fan base has been humbled and had to mostly stay quiet

not that they have really not even that long how many years has it been it's been like four since they really four or five it's been five since they were like a decent team

They did have that Cam Newton season, which you made the playoffs. God, the dolphins just like never, still weren't able to take advantage of this in the division. It is a little awkward. I guess I got to see it first. Everything for me with them, they are a much more exciting team. And they are going to be, I think, for the entire tenure of Drake May. But this version, this much change all at once, Vrable having to show to me that he actually can coach up a great defense because he really hasn't

that often. He's got good personnel. Like, I guess I got to see it. But if nothing else, they're going to be interesting and relevant. It's tough schedule. It's going to go one of two ways. It's going to be really great or it's going to be a dumpster fire. But their schedule early is like pretty easy. Yes, I misspoke.

I meant to say like a very easy schedule in general. I think the AFCE schedule could rise. Yeah. Could help everyone. All right. I'm going to do one. And this is just, this is a, just a truth. Okay.

It's just a fact. Okay. Aaron Rogers will be 42 years old when this season ends. Okay. Here's another fact. Here is a list of quarterbacks that finished the season, aged 42, and let's just throw out like a really low bar and threw for 2,000 yards. Okay.

Okay. Or even, I think it's 12 touchdowns. Here's the list of quarterbacks. that old that's ever done that. Tom Brady. That's it? That's the list. No way.

Now it was Tom Brady in 2019, 2020, 2020, 2021, which is crazy. Peyton Manning didn't throw 12th. I know that he was gone. I know that his arm was gone.

Even Breeze was gone by then. Like the only guys... They didn't... The only guys on this list that even played were Warren Moon, like 10 games with the Seahawks. He was the next best.

George Blanda. who was a kicker and a quarterback, like back in the 40s. I think Vinnie Testa Verdi had somewhere. He started where he was like a backup and played like half the season. And that's it. This is like uncharted territory. Now, I think he will top those marks. You do.

Because he was healthy enough to last the season last year. And if he's healthy the way the NFL's run, and even if he'll do that. But I think it's a reminder to like keep expectations. extremely low. Again. I mean, I don't know whose expectations are very high. That's fair. Are yours?

No, I'm just kind of a hater and this is just a way to pour salt on the wound. No, I would love to see the Steelers be successful, especially on offense. They haven't in so long. Really? Yeah. I don't have an issue with the Steelers. That's giving like the Eagles have won two Super Bowls in the last seven years or whatever. and you're just more generous. Yeah.

Because, like, I, no, I don't. Not really worried about them. I don't necessarily want them to do well, but there's also just no, to me, there's not a lot of reason. And I guess it's probably for Steelers fans that it's an awkward truth. I do feel like Steelers fans are buying into the idea.

And even the national media, I would say consensus is like, well, worst case, they upgraded at quarterback. And I would argue, like, I don't know about that. Yeah. It sort of feels like how it felt when Rogers went to the Jets before that first season,

the year that they were doing heart knocks and the buzz around the team and the excitement because it was new and it was Aaron Rogers, but it's been so long since he's been really, really productive on the field. It's a tough one.

It is a tough one. I'm going to throw out another, like, very quick one. Okay. And this, this, I admittedly, was going to be part of our news segment and we realized that there's just like

not enough news out there. So I came up with an awkward truth, but I believe, in it. Zach Tom Okay. Yep. Is the best player

on the Packers. The best player? And the fact that Zach Tom's contract, he's a tackle who just got an $88 million

for a year extension, $30 million sign bonus. The fact that his extension caused a large swath of football Twitter and Blue Sky

to be like, what are the Packers doing? Like, who is Zach Tom? Are you kidding? me. Oh, no, they told on themselves is a sign that you don't know ball. And they're getting ahead of things. I went through the list of players on the Packers. And first of all, he's one of the best young tackles in the league. And they're getting him at a reduced rate, 22 a year on

the extension, plus the years that were already there, is actually extremely low for like a top 10 tackle, which at this point I would say he is and he's only getting better, maybe top five eventually. So they're doing good business. But then I looked at the entire Packers roster. And I don't know if you want to do it with me. Oh my God, yeah. Hold on I have our lads up right now. Name the player on the Packers roster.

And this is maybe a concern. This is maybe an awkward truth for the Packers in their Super Bowl hopes. Like, who is a better player at their position than Zach Tom, a young, improving tackle who's shown versatility on the right side, is. Oh, wow. You could throw in Jordan Love. But I don't know. I mean, compared to other quarterbacks,

I would say he's not at that level. You know, I have a Josh Jacobs. Josh Jacobs is a solid pick. Yeah, okay. But look at the contracts. I'm always defending him. Who is, who is, who is paid quite a bit more? I mean, I know you could make that argument for Jordan Love.

Xavier McKinney, maybe is the best player on the Packers. Wow. There's a case. There's a solid case for Zach Tom. Not like a super top heavy team. Well, Zach Tom, first of all, is not going to get the love that he deserves because he's, an offensive lineman. We're giving it to him.

But yeah, exactly. That's what this show gives you, something that no one else will. Zach Tom, this one's for you. Also, the name. Zach Tom? It's just sort of... Two first names? It's just so, it's like seven letters. Let's try a little harder, like the whole thing.

I would think, you know what? Let's simplify things. It's just sort of, maybe it's not forgettable. It's just, Zach Tom. It's just, it hasn't really caught fire. Remember David Bakhtiari? Like, that's a, that's an all pro left tackle type of name. Zach Tom plays on the right side but Zach Tom I think that's part of the reason

he hasn't caught that's the national He's been good for like three straight years He's been good He's been getting better and better A young player by the way Would you rather his name be Tom Zach than Zach Tom?

No, Zach Tom's better Okay Let's take a quick break And we have been flirting with talking about the Cowboys We are going to dive into the Cowboys a little bit of there Hey, this is Matt Jones.

And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get.

Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development To team-building philosophies, coaching trends in how front offices construct winning rosters.

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back on NFL daily. Just a couple little items as the players are showing up for a training camp. Juan Jennings is in camp even though he asked for a trade.

Kyron Williams wants a contract but he is at camp. James Cook of the Bills is at camp and part of it is the new CBA. You kind of have to

show up or you risk not getting a year accrued. The old holden. Right. And we'll see if they practice. Michael Parsons, who are about to talk about,

is expected to practice and he did show up to Cowboys Training Camp. And just as we're coming back to break, we heard the news that Ozzy Osbourne passed away at the age of 76. So rest in peace to one of the reality show, oh, geez.

I mean, when that show came out, like MTV, early aughts, that was one of my favorite. Not that he is an incredible musician, but one of my favorite reality shows ever. Yeah, I watched it too. I feel like it was a big part of MTV's lineup. It was on MTV.

It was like a four minute. Yeah, it was like a four. formative reality show. There hadn't been quite the same sort of like family like reality shows. Kelly had the pink hair.

And yes, he was the lead of Black Sabbath. My buddy, Chris Bowen reminds me. Like, that is what he's known for. Well, yeah.

He lived life to the fullest. And that reminds me, they had a farewell show for him just a couple weeks ago. Oh, no. No, that's great. I think the fact that he got to

experience it. Obviously, it's tragic. It's unfortunate. that he died. It's coming for all of us at some point. But the fact that they got to celebrate him, hold that thought. The fact that they celebrate it,

it always makes me think like all the great things that people say and do about someone when they die, you need to do that while the people are alive. I even had an idea for like a podcast like that. We should just like celebrate someone that's actually still alive. I love this idea. while they're still alive and call it like...

No, we should have funerals for people that are still alive. That's what I was going to say. It was called, like, I brought this up, this segment idea up to Emeka, actually, my wife. It was going to be like premature funeral. And we just like, talk about how much we love someone. You maybe even have them on the show. And she's like, you can't do that. She said, no, she shot it down.

I'll throw it to the listeners. Well, that's sort of what they did for Ozzy. Obviously, they knew he was not in great health. And he got to go up on the stage and, like, sit on a throne. and, like, you got to have that experience, which is great. A celebration of life while you're still living. Yes. I don't think you need to wait until that late or someone's sick or something.

Let's do it. Look at you being all sentimental today. We're talking about living in the moment, telling people how great they are before they die. I think premature funerals, we got to bring those around. We need a better branding is what we need. Okay. All right. Let's talk about the Jerry Jones comments.

So there were a lot of them. They started Cowboys Training Camp as they always do with a big podium. And it's Jerry Jones, the owner, Stephen Jones, who's more or less running the team as a GM, even though Jerry has the title. That's his son. And then coach Brian Schottenheimer. And it's just hilarious. I've been at this press conference up in Oxnard before.

It was like Mike McCarthy's first year and this is Brian McCarthy's first year. And he's just on the side and he gets almost no questions. Which is just, it's such a funny spot to be, but you know that. You just called him Brian McCarthy, by the way.

Did I? There is something to that, but Brian Schottenheimer. Let's listen to part of the press conference and this press conference went all over the place where Jerry Jones talks about

Micah Parsons' potential contract and brings it up in the light of Doc Prescott's contract. Just because we sign him doesn't mean we're going to have him. He was hurt six games last year. Seriously. We've signed, I remember signing a player

for the highest paid at the position in the league and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year, Doc Prescott. Oh, no. So there's a lot of things you can think about just as the player does when you're thinking about committing and guaranteeing money.

First of all, it's factually incorrect. Michael Barson's only missed four games. Dak Prescott only missed like a little over half the year. It was not two-thirds. Jerry Jones, embellishing something? So just embellishing. Second, it's so confusing

because if you actually watch the whole press conference, he is very positive and complimentary about Michael Barson's for the most part. So I do think these quotes, which are being passed around, we'll talk about that a little bit. are only part of the press conference and he calls Michael Parsons like one of the smartest

business people as a player that he's ever met and all these stuff Brian Schottenheimer started that clip that we went to Jones by saying what an amazing player Michael Parsons is and all this positive stuff and then Jerry comes in with that

but you just get the feeling that like at some point of all the talking he's going to step into saying something and that's what's going to get that's well and that's exactly what we're talking about here he he said he rambled for a while there was i texted jane slater and i'm like why is he talking about dangling participles so much like i and and then i'm like over here looking up dangling participles i'm like do i understand the

meaning of it no this is it's more of a grammar term but he was using it in a way to just say it doesn't bother him that certain things i actually got what he was talking about contract we're not going to have any dangling participles. No. I mean, that's like a grammar term, but he's saying he doesn't mind going into training camp. I think if I'm trying to interpret Jerry, that there's still situations ongoing. Not everything is settled. The Michael Parsons contract is to him a dangling participle going into camp, I think. It's just a dangling issue. It doesn't really make sense. Not really a participle, I'd say. No. No. But it does remind me of exactly what happened with C.D. Lamb. how Jerry was pretty dismissive over that contract situation.

And C.D. Lamb is like retweeting clips of Jerry Jones saying L.O.L. Like, that's, it's the same exact thing. Right. And that brings us to some social media. So Jerry Jones knows this better than anyone. Like perception is everything. And the perception of the Cowboys has grown so much over the years as a as First America's team and then just this behemate that has become reality. They really are the most valuable and the most watched talked about team in the league.

And my awkward truth is that I hate to bring it to you. I mean, bring it up, but like the Cowboys are actually fascinating this year outside of this whole conversation, outside of the normal drama. Like the actual football team is fascinating. I think that's actually awkward for all the people that just complain about the Cowboys getting too much attention because to me they are one of the most fascinating football teams. I'll put a pin in that for a second. But let's actually bring up what I was getting at in terms of perception. Here is a JJ Watt tweet from Monday that Micah Parsons

himself retweeted. And J.J. Watt writes, anytime you can publicly take a dig at your star quarterback and your star pass rush or simultaneously, right before the season begins, you just got to take it. Nothing makes guys want to fight for you more than hearing how upset you are that they got hurt while fighting for you, which is just a great tweet by

JJ Y. JJ, I would love it if you brought that energy to the CBS desk. I mean it. Isn't he going to be on the... Oh yeah. He starts this year, right? He was on the desk before. He was in the pregame show. Now he's doing the games. Okay. I feel like sometimes

you get in those pregame shows and you have the pre-show meetings. And I want to see that JJ Watt fire on the mic because then he'll be one of the greats. He did do Christmas last year and I thought he did a really good job. Yeah, he's going to be with Ian Eagle. So JJ is saying all that and Michael Parsons is retweeting it. And now, no matter what else you said in that press conference, JJ, that perception of that being really the main thing that you said is now reality, especially to the guy you're negotiating with. I don't know why they do this. It's like Jerry can't get out of his own. way. He, he loves to talk and then he ends up like slipping up and telling the truth a little bit.

And then that's what ends up getting him in trouble. And that's not a way to start things out. Camp? Yeah. I mean, I've had times I should shut up and I keep talking. He literally said that. I'm quoting Jerry Jones. He said in the press conference, I've had times that I should shut up. And, you know, he's very self-aware. Greg, how much do you relate? to Jerry Jones. Not at all. I mean, not at all. This is a man who's like running a billion dollar business. But I guess one way is he said in that press conference about like, do you know much how I've given up in my life to do this? I'm not going to give up doing it. Essentially, this is the thing that he loves. I try to have a much better work life balance. My family is the most important

thing by far in my life. But I think that's true for Jerry too because he just brought them all along with the business. So he's saying he's not going to give up doing what's fun. I don't want to stop doing this. This is fun. I do relate to that. Honestly, I was thinking yesterday after I listened to the press conference, I'm going to miss these press conferences from him because they are wildly entertaining for all the wrong reasons. The most interesting part of the press conference was me, for me, was something that wasn't picked up by just about anyone. He made a little joke at once when talking about like, well, because I think they asked them about why you, why do you wait so long? Then the price only goes up and up.

And he made a comment about, well, like, sometimes he signed guys too early, like Trayvon Diggs and Terrence Steele, who are on the 2025 Dallas Cowboys. That's great. I mean, that's gold. What was he talking about? And those guys haven't performed well since he signed him to those contracts. To be clear, he is saying, whoops. Yeah.

I made a mistake there. Calling them out. Like, just putting them on notice. And they've just been hurt, really. It's just like... That's rough for them. He also was talking about getting, like, car accidents, too. And he was like, you can get in a car accident, like talking about a long-term deals.

Yeah, I think he was just saying, like, look, you give these deals, life is unpredictable. Anything can happen. That is true. Speaking to what I was talking about in terms of loving what you do, because I do think Jerry Jones loves what he does, he was asked about possibly giving up the GM title in Dallas. Has stepping away as general manager ever been even a momentary consideration for you for the years? Uh, yes, momentary. How long a moment?

Now, we're getting down to it. Small fractions of seconds. The way that he says it, too. He's great. Small fractions of seconds. I'm looking forward. He mentioned the Netflix documentary about him, about Cowboys that are. coming out. I'm looking forward to it. If they do as good a job on that as they did on the Cowboys

Cheerleaders show, which I just watched over the last week after they all got races. I'm going to actually got to save that conversation for another day. I think it's fascinating, but that show is awesome in the way that like quarterback is a total boring snooze fest. Like there's stakes and there's characters and everything's good about that show. And quarterback is like completely boring. They're just counting on, you know, the fact that it's Joe Burrow to, you know, carry you through. So I'm looking forward to that, that Cowboys one. A 400% raise they got, okay. So, so he, he's not technically the GM, although he did clarify from a question from our colleague and your friend, our friend, Jane Slater, that Stephen Jones is the one talking to the

agent and doing the real negotiating. It's Jerry kind of at the end, just talking to Michael Parsons and the principal. So I don't think he's doing the day-to-day stuff necessarily on contracts. Jerry made clear that he doesn't talk to lawyer. I love that. He doesn't talk to agents. He doesn't talk to lawyers. He talks to the primary person. So it's a long way of getting to my larger point, which is, yes, the circus is there. Yes, this is all happening. But actually, this team is really interesting. It's fascinating. And I think it has a way higher ceiling than people realize. Like, for some reason, I think people are losing the idea that I think they have a very hard schedule. So that's a problem for the entire division.

But I think, like, there is absolutely a world where they are one of the two or three best teams in the NFC. Really? I think so. Like, why not? They, first of all, they won 12 games three straight years, like before last year. I like this as an early season prediction for you. It's not even a prediction because I do think they have about as big a variance almost as any team. It could go bad.

It's the Cowboys. The things that make them go bad could go bad. Okay, they have Dak Prescott, right? one of the, when he's healthy, one of the best quarterbacks in the league. They have a young offensive line, which that's part of this whole variance thing. But they have four like high draft picks, some of who are really talented, all playing. Like that actually, they actually have a high ceiling for that offensive line. They have C.D. Lamb. They have George Pickens. That is an wild.

That's like an awesome tandem. And I like Ferguson as their tight end. So right there, you're starting on offense. Don't like running back at all, but if you're going to be short at one position. Yeah. And then I went through it on the position back. battles. I think if you go through their edge group and the defensive line and you could make an argument, their edge group, if it all goes right. And it's a lot of guys coming back from injury, young guys. It might be as good a pass rush as like any team in the NFL. Wow. Now, there's a lot of ifs. Like the backs, I, you notice I didn't mention the secondary linebackers. That doesn't look great. And like, the coaches are new. The back end is tough on that defense. But like, that's a lot of like positives to me. And guys I want to watch play football. is kind of the other part of it. Like, I love watching Michael Parsons. He's so much fun. Play football.

I love watching Doc Prescott play football. I love watching C.D. Lamb and George. Like, to me, they are really interesting. And the fact that they're, to me, so unpredictable, they actually are, are, the football side of it, to me, is worth, like, a lot of discussion this year. So you think that the Cowboys have a higher ceiling than, say, like, the commanders? Yes.

Way higher. I think they're a better team than the commanders, yeah. Okay. Okay, so are you going to, so are you putting Philly at the top still that division? Yes. And then Cowboys? Yes. But I think if you look at the rest of the NFC, I don't see like a reason why the Cowboys couldn't think like, if things go right, we can be the second or third best team in the NFC. Obviously, you're hoping for just things to go wrong with Philadelphia, but on paper, they're obviously more talented. Yeah, right.

If you're the Cowboys. I'm not saying you. Well, I think, too, it's the NFC. see. So it's definitely nowhere near stack. So when you say top three, top five, whatever, it sounds. Like, that's way higher than it should be. But actually, you're right. Because depending on what happens with the Lions, you have them, you have the Eagles. And then, like, where are you going from there? I think the obvious, like, one, two going into the year is Eagles, Lions.

We know that football historically hasn't been, like, hasn't been as consistent. Although actually lately, the good teams have stayed great. a little more consistently. And so, yeah, you got to put the lines and the eagles there. But to me, the Cowboys, in terms of what they have, if it wasn't for all this other stuff, mucking it up, like... Jerry Jones? I think there's a lot to believe in.

All right, give me your last awkward truth. Okay. Last awkward truth is I rescued myself as a dog. Wait, say that again, please? My dog, Kima is actually me. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was rescuing a very similar being. out of all of the dogs

that were available at the pound I got the one that had way too much going on, way too many ailments, was allergic to everything, anxious, but Kima, I'm wondering if Kima is like me

or am I actually like a border Kali in Colleen's body? Because... What a fascinating theory. This is, if I don't have a job to do, I'll destroy everything around me. board very easily. I need a ton of stimulation. And if you don't pay attention to me, I will make you pay attention to me. I know I don't deserve a treat, but I will still help myself to any and all

treats that I find. I'm constantly shedding. There's hair and bobby pins all over the place. I have incredible fomo and hate being left home alone when people are doing fun things. The only thing I want is my back scratched. I want to be showered and compliments told how good I am and how smart I am and how beautiful my code is. And I want to be praised for doing the most basic of things, like sitting down, going to bed, walking away from shit I shouldn't be playing with. So I'm a working dog, Greg. Bravo.

I was doubting at first because when I think of Kima, you know, she's young. Wow. Okay. Thanks. That's not what I meant. I just meant. Kima's young. I just meant she's a puppy.

You're not. And she's not behaved. Like, she's had to be taught how to live in society. And maybe this is what a, like, the high school version of Colleen Wolfe was like, but I don't think of, rebellious. I don't think of Colleen Wolfe as someone that's going to be tearing up the house, like if the parents leave, but maybe, maybe they were.

Yeah, I did get in trouble quite a few times for that. Okay, so maybe that, like, was her, that's her and her teenage years. My mom once found me in high school. I was sleeping on the side of the house with a loaf of bread. So that's kind of what it was like for me in high school. My mom once woke me up like in late March. It was like the first warm day of the year. And she's like, Greg, come with me.

And I was like, what? It's like 6.15 in the morning. It was the first warm day of the year. All the snow had melted in the yard. What was the last? under there. And she brings me outside and there's just tons of empty beer cans and cigarette butts on my lawn from like the huge party that I threw like a month and a half before while they were at it down. You thought that you got off Scott Free. I did. Like I, they knew and I knew and they

even made a joke of like, the house is a little too clean when they got home. And I was just like, ha ha, yeah, yeah. But that was about it. And then a month and a half later. What was the punishment? Like nothing. What? Oh my God, Greg. I got away with murder. I love this.

And it makes me love Kima even more. But I got to meet her. You haven't met her. She's actually really good now. I haven't even met her. I'll bring her in. I'm sure that won't be a problem at all here. Okay, we're going to have some breaking news, actually, right now.

And then I will give my last awkward truth because I think it's going to be tough to pivot from that one. Let's do it. Some breaking news, Eric. And I apologize, Colleen. You do not know this is coming. But one of my favorite players in the NFL over the last decade, Tyrone Matthew is retiring from the league. The Honey Badger, a member of the New Orleans Saints,

the last couple seasons and was expected to be this season, has decided to retire. So happy trails to one of my favorites. Wow. I feel like with him, he was one of, the first players at his position, maybe not one of the first, but we were talking about

what a hybrid he was when he was in Arizona with Bruce Ariens and that whole, that whole situation there. But I just remember him being like such a different breed of player. And so smart

and so impactful when he was great. I do have like a special affinity for players like this. Like he was a little up and down and he had the, he had the two knee surgeries that he had to recover from, you know, in college and then, and then in the pros. And he overcame it to be one of the most impactful defensive players in the league in 2015.

He was already in his third year at that point. He was like a, just to kind of paint the picture, like a defensive rookie of the year, Canada, as a rookie. And then he's coming back again from the injury. And that 2015 Cardinals team, which was awesome and was one of our favorite teams on the around the NFL podcast. Like, he is a first team. team all pro gets this huge contract and then unfortunately has to like go through it all again. But when he was great, he was so great and was like a true leader, I think, among that team and

among players and was one of Chris Wessling's. Yeah. All time favorite players. And since he's retiring, you know, it's probably the last, you know, one of the last times I can I can tell this story. But like, you know, he reached out to Chris when Chris was going through his treatments because he remembered how big of a fan Chris was as like a professional and just the great, Chris wrote a really great piece on NFL.com about how great Tyron Matthew was and that he deserves, you know, rookie the, you know, player, the defensive player of the year consideration and all this stuff. And Tyron Matthew had like retweeted that and remembered

it and he reached out to Chris when he was going through everything. Like just on DM's not trying to get attention or anything and it was just seeing that he's pulling for him and everything. And he reached out to, you know, to Keisha after Chris died. I remember that. And, uh, you know, just one of them dudes. If I got a chance to interview him last year, uh, at Saints training camp, just one of them dudes that's just like a real one and, uh, an incredible, incredible player. Incredible player, incredible human. I remember when he reached out to Keisha and I just like, I mean, stalked through the roof for him. And, uh, and I just like, I mean, stocked through the roof for him. and I just feel like I can even

still hear Wes talking about how great of a player he was because Wes loved him so much and I just think about he kind of had like a huge impact on the show back then too like he was a big part of it absolutely because

he had three first team all pros two in a row when he was with the chief so he goes to the chiefs and he gets a Super Bowl title was kind of the missing pee to that defense for the chiefs. If I'm doing the years right,

but that was 2019, yes, that was the Super Bowl victory over the 49ers. And he really helped complete and improve that defense. He was back the next year and was still great in the year that they ended up losing at the end. And so he had all these different parts of his career rehabbed his value when he was with the Texans and made a really great impact there.

and then, yeah, I was able to return home to the Saints the last couple of years. So happy trails to one of our favorites. Yeah. Tyron Matthew. So that's the end of his career. I've been thinking about,

I've been thinking about, you know, careers and life. And this is going to sound dark, but it's not dark. Oh, no. It's not dark. But the awkward truth, the awkward truth here is that statistically, I am likely more closer to the end of my life than the beginning of my life.

God damn it, Craig. Okay. As long as you say it with a smile on your face, it's just true. Like, you know, the average age that people live to and that's, you know, and I'm 45, I'm 46 years old now. That's just the truth.

I can't leave you're 46. I was doing the math on my way here, and this is either my 22nd or 23rd season, depending if you count, I did half a season when I first started. I started in like November one year doing the NFL. And that is certainly more than half of like the NFL seasons that I would imagine that I would be covering. I mean, I hope I'm still covering in my 60s or whatever.

But that it's not a bit. You're going to be like Ozzy Oswald. Yeah, it's not a business that normally allows or encourages that or whatever. And so that's just the awkward truth that I'm living with. Is this what sparked the idea for the segment? No. Okay. It was actually the Cowboys for some reason. I just thought that the Cowboys being interesting was like, you know, like, unfortunately was people.

But I thought of this on the way into work. Yeah, you're, today this Greg is very nostalgic. He's really like, I feel like your mindfulness is better than usual. I'm fine with it. I guess why I bring it up is dying is such an awkward topic for almost everyone. Right. I don't think it necessarily should be. It's like the one thing that literally everyone has in common. Yeah. That's true. It is going to happen. And if you haven't had someone like close to you that died early or anything like that, then you are blessed. But you should be aware of that blessed because that is going to become, you know, a big part of your life. And like at some level, you have to be kind of okay with that because you, you know, don't have a choice. And I think. like America and like our like we're much worse at this I think than other societies have

been like throughout history necessarily I don't think you have to be as yes yes I think like in other cultures like it's more of a part of um death is a part of life like what you talk about and you understand it's just like yeah it is a part of life and the death of your career too I was I was thinking about that a little bit like are you saying that while looking straight to my eyes I was I'm actually thinking about that with watching that Cowboys reality show because they only get five years. And that, to me, was like an extreme version. And I think about it all the time with athletes. Like, I don't think for us, we can totally understand what they go through knowing, like, what a finite timeline they have in their career choice that, yes, you're rewarded for it in, like, football and stuff. Certainly not in every sport. But that, like, you know, Joe Burrow was talking about it, too, in that show.

Like, you know, like, he's in year five. he's like, you know, he knows he's got a finite timeline. So the window. The window is small. I mean, but it's also the window. We have shelf life too. Yes. And I would say that, yeah, I mean, we are, we've been doing this for quite some time.

So we are closer to the end than we are to the beginning. That's the awkward truth. And I guess I, not to have like a lesson about it at all, but like, I think you, I think it's, then, like, knowing that I personally, that actually gives me comfort to think about it and talk about. it in a way because then you can like appreciate like appreciate while you got it you know what we're doing we're having a premature funeral for ourselves right now Greg I love working with you so much you've been one of my best friends over all of these years you're so good at what you do I'm so proud of you for launching the show and doing the full year of it there was so much you work so hard you also have the life balance work life balance with

your family, which I have no idea how to have any type of work-life balance. So I really, it's an inspiration, but I just think that you are an incredible human being and I love you, Greg. Oh my gosh. Thank you. That was the premature funeral for Greg. You don't have to do this for me. I'm not at. Thank you. Anyway. No, the awkward truth is like for a lot of people, it's hard to like take compliments or take like a nice moment and just accept it. And I will. That's like something I would like to improve upon. But it's true. We have had the chance to work together

for so long, like 10 plus years doing that NFL now. So knowing that it's not going to last forever, I can actually appreciate this particular show on July 22nd. That's right. 2025. Because who knows? Who knows? Like Kyle

Shannon says, if we're going to get another one, we will have another NFL daily. Oh my God, the show. I hope. on the 23rd. They're never going to let us do a show together alone again. Luke Keeckley is joining the show.

Thank God. Jordan Rodriguez, the Athletic. Yay! Also joining the show. And yeah, when we're thinking about mortality, football's back? Yeah. Hey, everybody.

Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down. down college prospects and NFL rookies. To evaluate team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.

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