NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Big Ben's Last Game in Pittsburgh; Things We're Looking Forward To

Episode Date: January 4, 2022

A virtual room filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal recap the Monday Night Football game between the Browns and Steelers and what *could* have been Big Ben's last home game. The heroes also look forward to 2022. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the NFL podcast. Never fades the big dog. Welcome to the Around the NFL podcast. I'm Dan Hansis, joined in a virtual room filled with some heroes.

Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal. The big dog is Derek Henry. It's Derek Henry's birthday. The Titans fans are ready to celebrate the running backs return. Speaking of Derek Henry, boys, how are you, by the way? Doing great. Doing great, Danny. Great. That's great to hear.

Doing fair to well, fair to well. Greg, we had a little cameo there on the NFL Now program today, and you moved away from the tie, and I'm not saying it had anything to do with me. In fact, me mentioning that you shouldn't wear a tie is only going to make you want to wear. a tie more. But I just, I like seeing Greg in the Greg jacket and, you know, Henley or whatever over Greg in the suit and tie. It was a button down. I don't mind ties. You, you have this phrase and you said it on the show. When you, when you're in the tie, that's when you know they get you. To me, I don't, I don't think that way. Getting you is mental. And I'm fine wearing a

tie. I told you, like, I would be fine if we had to wear a uniform because then you, like, you don't have to think about it. It's fine. I don't care about my fashion. That'd be nice. Greg loves a schoolgirl uniform. I, you know, I remember working, my mom worked at a big insurance company and I worked in the mailroom for a couple summers in college. And I do remember, and this is to not say anything denigrating about people that work cubicle life because it's a, you know, a massive part of our country in terms of the workforce, even though things are changing now. It's not 1999 anymore. But I remember thinking, you know, seeing everyone that I just didn't, I never wanted to be in a tie and didn't want to be in a cubicle, which took me to like being on the sidelines at high school

football games, freezing my butt off, like after college, following a sports dream. But it kind was born out of not wanting to wear a tie every day in a lot of ways. I mean, here's the thing. Like, I think Greg knows I've been on anti-tie beat for a while now. And for many of the reasons that you mentioned in, I had jobs for years, like in downtown L.A., where you had to wear a tie. And there's definitely when you were on the East Coast that was requisite for plenty of jobs, too. For some reason, that didn't quite bug me. But when I think about what a tie is, like, it serves, I don't need it to be functional. Not all fashion needs to be functional. But the concept of a tie at this point, I think we are post ties as even being

kind of stylish like they look suppressive on so many people. They look suppressive and they look like they're keeping people prisoner to some degree. That's how I feel in one unless you do the thing where like you know it's after the wedding or something you've loosened the tie. The shirt

is pulled open. I like that look. That look I think is a positive one. Well yeah you famously wear a button down shirt every day of your life whether you're going to the beach whether it's like Saturday afternoon. You are a man who's not about being like ultra casual in this climate. I'm not, but I, but I, but I, but I, but I, but I, but I don't rail against button down shirts. I've consistently railed against ties as a concept and I think, um, Dan is correct that Greg, because we pushed against it, you're pushing against us. And I kind of think that's noble. If you're just like, I'm going to lean into this tie

thing. I've worn, take it the distance. I mean, I don't wear it too much, but I like wearing them fine. I got no problems with it. I, you know, sometimes it looks better than the shirt without the tie. If you're, I don't really like wearing any button up shirts. But Once you go there, like maybe, you know, as they say, complete the suit. Now, the pocket square completes the suit. No one ever said the tie does. Well, but the tie, the tie is part of it. The tie is part of the completion.

They're assuming you have the tie. All right. Let me just be yourself, man. Whatever, whatever makes you feel like you. That's the most important thing. Yes, Derek Henry, I mentioned it's his birthday. Had he stayed healthy this year, he'd be knocking on the door of an NFL record, I'm sure. for rushing yards in a season.

And I did reach out to the L.A. researchers gang here at NFL Network. They do great work. And I said, you know, this is unprecedented territory. It's week 18. We've never had a week 18 before. Then Greg said, oh, what about in 1993 when there were two buys? Nailed it, Greg. Good nug there.

But this is a different situation. What records and milestones are in danger now that we have an extra week? So I'm just going to throw out a few. that's how we'll get into the show. It is a football podcast after all. Cooper Cup is 136 receiving yards away from breaking Calvin Johnson's 2012 record of 1,964 in his season. He's also 171 yards away from creating the 2000 club.

No one's done that before. Cup also needs 12 catches to break Michael Thomas' record of 149 in 2019. Anybody feel good about that? Is he going to catch any of these marks, you think? Who do they got? Yeah, I think he could get that But he said he said Monday or Sunday That like it shouldn't count

Like he's like negging himself He's like well it's a 17 game season It should have an asterisk It's like I didn't do it in the same amount of games I don't think like that's first of all It's not up to him whether or not it should count I get rid it's a nice humble approach But there were decades where there were 14 games

And prior to that there were decades where there were 10 or 12 And it's like where there's soon going to be 18 games So are we going to continually cling to the model that is, you know, fading in the background? Like, new records will be broken. And it's just, you just can't really, we can't stop the ship. The 14 game season. The winning the triple crown is more impressive anyways, I think. Like the receptions, yards, the touchdowns all in the same season, that's pretty impressive.

The 14 game season, nobody ever says that. It was always 14 and 16 group together. Like OJ Simpson, who in many other ways is not someone who needs to be brought up on the show. But it should be mentioned that he ran for 2,000 yards in a 14 game. season. I believe Joe Namath had the passing record in a 14 game season. Now he's like 7,000th all time probably in a season, but there was a time where he had the record. Anyway, let's get back on track. Jonathan Taylor needs 266 to get 2000. He is playing the Jaguars. He had 253 yards last year in week 17, if you guys recall. So you got that. Brady, Tom Brady in

year 21 needs 488 passing yards to break Peyton Manning's single season record for 5,477 yards, another stretch, but doable. We know what's going on with T.J. Watt right now. He had four sacks against the Browns, and we're going to get to Monday night football in just a couple minutes. The four sacks move him to 21 and a half, which is one behind Michael Strahan's record of 22 and a half. He is now the first player to reach 20 sacks in a season since Aaron Donald had

20 and a half in 2018. But remember, if you listen to this pod in the summertime, we had the great Al Bubba Baker on at a local McDonald's. And he had 23 sacks for the 1978 Lions. Pro football reference recognizes that as a record.

Stacks didn't become a statistic till 82. Trayvon Diggs has 11 picks. The Super Bowl era record is 13 by Lester Hayes in 19-Aves. Jamar Chase needs 45 yards to set the rookie receiving record. Bill Groman had 1473 in 1960. Kyle Pitts needs 59 yards to set the rookie tight-end receiving record.

Currently 1,076 by Ditka in 71. And finally, Mika Parsons needs two sacks to set the rookie sack record. The rookie record is 14 and a half at 1999 by... You guys got this one. I know. Ah, let's see. 1999, rookie pass rusher blew up the world, went to a Super Bowl. He went to that Super Bowl?

With the Titans? Javon Curse. Javon Curse, Titans. I was struggling to get his name, yeah. That's all right. So there you go. I'm just setting the table for numbers and data. I like stats.

Not good at math, but I've always loved statistics. Jaylen Wattel's trying to break a reception's record, I believe, too. He is three away from Bolden's record of 101, set in 2003. The Watt one, I think, it is time for that to happen. By the way, he missed games. I think he played in 14, so there'd be like an asterisk on top of the asterisk there. But, like, we need to get the stray hand thing out of our world as a talking point. They almost weren't, you know, that was a big deal on the Monday night game.

I know we'll get to that. But I hope they make a big deal about. That's the one of all of these that, to me, is the spiciest. And yes, I think the asterix actually cancel each other out. That's what I mean. It would be like you can't you can't asterisk this because we have an asterisk to show you that that one doesn't matter. This is if he indeed plays and doesn't get COVIDed or anything out of the situation, Week 18, it will be his 16th game of the season, which matches which Strayhan,

hypothetically, I believe, played that year as well. So, or maybe his 15th game, right? plus straight hand as the ultimate asterix it's funny because people do remember this stuff i mean it's like him getting it in such a shameful manner i think over the years has somehow made his accomplishment like lesser because you know he had an amazing season even if he didn't get that sack that way like it was an incredible season and yet he's kind of uh he's kind of pooped on all the time because of the way he got it and even if i played even the slightest role in helping to denigrate that record you have you did something you're leading

You played a slight role would be, you know, I think you had a co-starring role or sort of a special guest appearance, one of these two. All right. We're going to, by the way, with the new year, the calendar flipping over, so much uncertainty in the world right now, we're going to keep it positive and optimistic and talk about what we're looking forward to now that we're in the year 2020. But before that, let's close the door on week 17, Monday night football. Third and three, Najee gets the call, cuts it back through the hole. He's on his way. He's up 25. 20, 15, 10, Pittsburgh Steelers touchdown.

Go, baby. How about Najee Harris? Wow. Wow, Najee Harris. Bill Hillgrove with the call for WVEE. Yes, that was the cherry on top for the Steelers. But a very underwhelming game offensively with Ben Rafflesbergh throwing 46 passes. with very little success.

But it didn't matter because the Pittsburgh defense went nuts on the fading Browns and Baker Mayfield, picking up nine sacks in a 26 to 14 win over their division rivals. That's a season sweep for the Steelers after Cleveland knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion last January. And Greg will start with you on this at the Steelers. Clearly, Tomlin wanted to make this game special. Pittsburgh's still in the playoff hunt.

They need to win next week, and they need a loss by the Colts to Jacksonville. But I think Tomlin front and center was like, I want this special for Ben. We wanted him to have a big game. They let him throw all day or all night. And it's just like it wasn't happening, which just underlines why they need to kind of move on. And I think everyone's on the same page, including Ben Rafflesberger. Yeah, they try to make it into this, like, feel good. saying goodbye to a legend, and it is that for Pittsburgh.

But it's not for the rest of the country. There is no great quarterback, I think, over the last 20 years. That's less beloved than Ben Rathesberger. It's not just in the AFC North. I think he's been an underrated player for much of his career. I don't think people understood that he was a legit top five guy for a long stretch when they weren't winning Super Bowls, I think was when he played his very best Super Bowl. But by now, he's an example of hanging out a year too long and not being very fun to watch.

And they're trying to have a Kobe's last game type of feel to this. Kobe puts up 50 shots in his last game, except Kobe was awesome. Ben Rathesberger drops back to pass 48 times, and they end up with 109 net passing yards. No one in the history of the NFL has ever had fewer yards passing, throwing the ball 45 times than Ben Rathesberger. And yet he gets to put the lipstick on the pig at the end and say, well, it hasn't been pretty for me for much of my career, but we got the win, and that's what my career has been about. It's like, no, Ben Rathesberger, as a passer and as an offense, has been pretty. I know they want some, like, defensive games and everything, but this is a different Steelers team.

It's a bad offense. It was a tough, tough watch for everyone, I think. Right? I mean, I can't imagine. I know Steelers fans enjoyed that they won, and it was cool. It was definitely like a great moment, but it was also like one of the worst games, if not the worst statistical game of his entire career. Yeah, but I think like from the macro, like that no one expected the Steelers to explode offensively,

suddenly in a vacuum last night. I mean, they did what they needed to do. They got just enough to win the game, and it's more a ceremonial moment. I am with you that I think that it's hard to find a quarter. back that is as celebrated in one's hometown and has had such a storied Hall of Fame career, inarguably, who doesn't move the needle in terms of like any sort of emotional happiness in most other cities. I think maybe even it's the Browns fan or the Bengals or Ravens fan who feels a little bit more about the event because of what Big Ben has meant in Cleveland's

life, for instance, like they should have drafted him and they paid the price for, you know, 16, 17 years since for not having done that, it's kind of like watching, from a Browns fan angle, watching John Elway go out, or watching, you know, someone that just terrorized you. And at the end, you kind of, I'm not saying respect, but you kind of say, I kind of just got to take my hat off

to the way this team is run, because it's so counter to what most other teams are doing, especially my own. Yeah, I would say, like, my general thought is, like, well, if you weren't really taken aback by the drama around the end of the game, well, that's, who cares? It's not for you. for the Steelers and their fan base and Big Ben and all the people that have cared about that

team for the past 20 years. And I think there should be a good amount of respect, you know, take out the off-the-field stuff just as a player what he's been able to do. He's never going to go an entire season without a losing season. You know, the fact that they have multiple Super Bowl rings, they're always in the mix. And at the same time, like you mentioned, Kobe, because I agree. I think Tomlin was trying to give him his Kobe moment against the Jazz. And I remember watching that Kobe game. And he scored 60 points on a butt ton of shots to get to 60, 50 shots to get 60 points.

But he hit a lot of big shots in the game. And he was doing on muscle memory with his jump shot. Ben doesn't have that. There's no muscle memory anymore for Ben Rollsberg. He's just shot, period. So turn into the game, I thought it was. notable that on a day where Big Ben averaged 2.7 yards per attempt, which is unheard of 2.7. It's like half of the Gabbard zone. It was Najee Harris, who's really

been grinding out a good rookie season on a not very good offense. And it was, again, T.J. Watt with the four sacks and completely obliterating the Cleveland offensive line at Baker Mayfield for the nine sacks. And there's just a domination of Cleveland. Mark, I'm curious. where you come down on the Browns here because they certainly seem a little flat to me. I guess that's to be understood they were eliminated from the playoffs the day before. But I kind of hope that they were going to come with a little more fight in this game. And then there's the familiar question now of what is Kevin Stefansky doing with his best player in offense? Nick Chubb, who had five carries in the first half, 12 overall against the 30th ranked defense in the league in terms of DVOA against the run.

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, they mentioned that Nick Chubb was not healthy after the half, but, I mean, that charts back to the Packers game the way he was poorly handled. And, you know, from a macro angle, you mentioned a year ago at this time where it looked like Cleveland might be the next big thing in the AFC. And it was like, the coach is a genius. The front office have no issues to deal with. And when they do, they know how to handle them. You've got a quarterback that looks like he's in the right system and streaking down the,

you know, the tail end of the season. and suddenly let's go test ourselves against the chiefs and see how you are against the highest possible power in the AFC and it was like, to me, it was house money. You just had a chance to go find out how that went and went into the offseason with so much hope. But a lot of it had to do with vanquishing the Steelers and the optics around Big Ben sitting with the Pouncy Brother,

shedding tears and thinking, we might have just broken this team after all these ill events. And then a year later, you've got the Ravens still being the Ravens. The Steelers, I understand there's, a lot of question marks going into this offseason, but you just trust them, and they basically just embarrassed the Browns team that now has to look in its own state at Cincinnati and say, wait a minute, maybe the next chiefs are not the Browns, but the Bengals. And maybe they're going to be hanging around for the next 16 years. So I thought the microcosm of like where you were a year

ago to how disorganized they were last night. And you talk about not protecting your right tackle James Hudson was a rookie against T.J. Watt. I feel like how many times did you watch James Hudson lifting Baker Mayfield off the grass by the back of his shoulder pads. It was a horrible sight. They don't adjust. Their offense has been a dead heap for two months. And I think everything that was positive a year ago, you look at the Browns right now and say, it is raging question marks.

It starts at quarterback and extends outward. I think you can, and we'll talk about the Browns a lot in terms of the offseason. I think they'll feel pretty good about their offensive line, their defensive talent, and their coaching staff, and they'll want to upgrade at quarterback. I think that's the direction they're going. But I think that game almost felt like an evaluation. I mean, I don't think Stefansky is like knowingly like trying to put Baker in a bad spot, but he told Peyton Manning, if they're in base, and that's what the Patriots did,

they kept all their heavy personnel on the field, a lot of teams since that Patriots game has done, and they're going to just man up. And this was the highest percentage of man coverage, Pittsburgh Steelers, have ever played against Mike Tomlin, and these aren't great cornerbacks there in Pittsburgh for the most part, we are going to try to, we're going to throw them out of it. And Peyton Manning was being like, I know that sounds good, but it's not a good plan, obviously.

Like, that's what you do if you have a competent passing attack, but you don't, and they tried to throw them out of it, and it was basically the Steelers saying, we don't respect Baker Mayfield and your passing attack and your receivers. I think the receivers are part of it. Those aren't guys who are ultra-dynamic beating people. We don't trust them and try to beat us that way.

And they did. And for many times this year, Baker and the passing game struggled. And it's the same stuff. Like a lot of those sacks were on Baker. He holds the ball forever. He does not make quick decision. He doesn't see the field. And these are problems that are going back like a while.

And they didn't have a solution for that. And the way that he said that he's going to talk to his agent and family about whether he plays in Week 18, I thought he's out. He's not. Very telling. I know he's out now. The Browns have officially ruled that. But the way he said agent and family, it just felt like it's the end. He's got a tradable contract.

And we probably won't see him in Cleveland again. That's my take. See, I'm a little torn on that because here's the thing. I think I've said this on the podcast. I thought they should have put Case Key. him in the line of weeks ago. We kept on hearing over and over again that Baker was compromised physically and wasn't able to play at a high level.

Well, then maybe fix things, change things up and your season ends differently. And then I think about if he's indeed as injured, as we've been told all year, do you really want to cut bait with him now, knowing what he was when he was healthy last year down the stretch, what he looked like against the Chiefs in week one before the injury in week two? I feel like that's a dangerous roll of the dice. Like, what are you going to do? You're going to bring in Jimmy Goropolo or something?

And then you're going to say, now we're better. You're going to swing for the fences. It might be Deshawn Watson, which has its own questions, but it might be Russell Wilson. That's the right move. I don't think that's the right move. I just don't think it's as cut and dry as, all right, now we get, let's kick Baker out the door. It might turn out that way. But I think there's some risk there as well.

They know him so well now. They know who he is. Well, they know what this version is. the guy whose arm is in a sling and is beat up all over his body. They knew his limitations last year, too. And I think they've had a long enough time that, look, if they believe in him, they'll believe in him, and maybe he doesn't get the contract this year, and they will keep him. But if they, like, they've seen enough when he was good and when he was bad,

because a lot of the problems he had now, I don't think you can put on the shoulder. Well, all right, but I think the shoulder is creating issues that we also cannot discern. I mean, I think it impacted his play. To Dan, to your point, Dan, it's like, fine, you want to move on for Baker-Mavely. I think the way that happens is because I think he's tradable in terms of a package for, you send them to Houston and reverse, or you send them to Seattle in reverse in a pie-in-the-sky scenario, that there's an asset there that another team could think they could work with. But it has to be, it's like, if he's gone, it's because they brought in someone that simply he cannot coexist with.

If they can't find that person, and it's very possible that Cleveland is not going to get one of these, two or three, like, mega star quarterbacks, then I don't have a problem with keeping them around for another year on that fifth year option because the idea of going back to nothing and hoping that you find some rookie in the second or third round or, like, God forbid, and this is not, you know, if you try to fill in the void with a Teddy Bridgewater or a James Winston or something like that,

I think you're cycling and moving in reverse at that point because that's just another year-long patch. If anything, let Baker be the one more year-long patch and you come up with other plans. Yeah, I think you want to gamble on Teddy? Do you want to gamble on Winston? You want to gamble on a Tua? Or do you want to gamble on Baker?

Like, I'll take the guy in my building who's given a special moments that I know is a high character guy, even if the play isn't there. That's just, that's how I would handle it. But I don't know if there might be more going on here behind the scenes at this point. You never know. It just, yeah, some of the things with some of the stories coming out, the way he said that, it, they, but it's a football evaluation. If he had all the football traits that they want, then he'll be there. And I think there's no chance they go down the Teddy type of route because they'll only get rid of Baker if they have like a replacement. But one of the things I watch when you see him is just like he's not a quick decision maker.

And does he have, and that's fine. Like neither is Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson, but does he have special traits to make up for that? I don't think he's showing the accuracy might be it. But the stat that always gets me, and this is going back to his rookie year, is he converts pressure into sacks more than any quarterback in football. No one takes more unnecessary sacks than Baker Mayfield, and that hasn't improved. And it's been with three different coaching staffs. They have the fourth or fifth best pass block win rate this year, and he's taking those sacks. And to me, that's like a processing thing.

And this staff has had them for two years. So I just think they might be done with them and want a different try. All right. So back to Pittsburgh, as I said, they have an opportunity to make the playoffs. They are eight, seven, and one. they have to take care of the fading ravens in week 18 and then get a win from the Jaguars over the Colts who by the way, and this is a weird stat

and I could save this for the preview show but since we're mentioning it right now everyone looks past this Colts Jaguars game and rightfully so. The Jags are in another terrible losing streak. They're the worst team in football but the cults are a little weird. It's a little bit of a weird team with a quarterback that's not to be trusted. And the Jaguar's home record since 2015,

6 and 0 against the cults, 15 and 35 against everyone else. You know, just a little food for thought. I'm not saying there's going to be an upset of the century, but just throwing it in there. You dialed up some precision prognostications a week ago. Maybe this is the next version of it. You can't help what comes into your head. You just cannot help it when you become a crystal ball,

They could lose 31 to 3 earlier this season, the Jaguars to the Colts, in a game that I've never seen a quarterback play worse than Carson Wentz did in a 31 to 3 victories. I don't know if that's a positive for the Jaguars or a negative. I would say it's a negative that you had a good day against Carson Wentz and still lost 31 to 3. Is correct, but... Plus they're going to 8N1. Mark has the sandwiches on it. He had to be feeling mixed feelings last night because, you know, the Steelers, okay,

they got to their eight wins. Now I could see them losing to the Ravens, certainly, this week, and get into eight, eight and one for you. I mean, eight, eight and one was up here, you know, anything to do with the Browns was down here. So, like, my main goal remains intact here. It is funny that, like, the whole thing was, you know, it was his last home game either way, but it really was, like, a goodbye and this and that.

Like, the playoffs, like, everyone's, it's so disrespectful of the Jaguars. Everyone's just assuming the Steelers, like, have no chance. Even the Steelers are assuming they, like, have no chance to make the playoffs, it seems by the way it all. Those who deserve respect, Greg, get respect. Absolutely. Jaguarine. The last thing on, I do want to circle back.

One last thing on Ben, though. There is something funny about Ben we've talked about. Why do our podcast always go so long? I don't know why. Go ahead, Greg has had three final points. So here it comes to fourth. This Ben thing, like the reason we would make fun of him throughout the course of his career and is like he always makes it about Ben as much as possible, right?

it didn't you even feel like the end like the end of that game the way it happened that he's all out there by himself there's no team there's no nothing that it just was like it was it was great but it also was very ben rothusberger there was something about it that was like this is the perfect ending for like where the ben rothusberger career has come like he was out on that field for a solid 25 minutes and no like no one else was there Greg, you feel good about yourself? You had to get that one in there? I mean, who are we defending here? Like, well, no, it's not defending anyone. It's just you had to come in with one last shot on the guy. It was not a shot on the guy. Last night.

Like, you've seen this happen before, though, and those endings did not happen in that same way with other players. It is very different. Mike Tomlin called it the most like emotionally packed atmosphere he's ever been a part of an irregular season game. No, Greg's right, Mark. No doubt. I'm just.

I'm not saying. I was saying you can't find the comedy in the end. I mean, like in the ending sequence afterwards, it was a little bit of comedy. He went back to the bench that he talked to Marquis Pouncey, took the pictures there for a while. I mean, I don't feel that you're necessarily coming from the world of comedy with this slashing of Big Ben. But I'm not seen this as a likable character. No one's saying, wow, this is the guy that we all feel this about in our hearts. It's just like, I kind of get it for the city of Pittsburgh.

All right, they had their night. Like, if I can allow them that, why are they such a... So what were they supposed to do? They're supposed to carry Ben off the field? Like, what was your... What left you underwhelmed? Because he did celebrate with his teammates immediately after the game. And then he was surrounded by, no joke, 30 photographers and cameramen. So it kind of created a natural bubble around Ben.

It wasn't so much underwhelmed as the 20 minutes that went on afterwards, where he just was literally the only player on the field. And ESPN after a while was like, shoot, we got to go to commercial at some point. Like Peyton Manning was joking that like Eli was going to fall asleep if he took another lap around or whatever. It just, I think that was funny. To retreat to the locker room, quickly shower, do his press availability and then get in his SUV and leave. Bingo. But it wasn't for you, Greg.

It was not for you. That's why you don't understand it and you're picking at it. It was for them, not you. I get it. I get that. I think you can find it some humor in it over the years of like this is a guy who like, you know, immediately after multiple sexual assault allegations started posting like things about being religious and went to the, you know, it's like a. I think Greg, his entire existence is not for you because there's so many things about Big Ben that you either, you know, we all rail against certain things that he did and no one's saying, wow. that's what we're celebrating at all.

So, like, if you're listening to this, don't come us, come at us with that nonsense. Oh, Greg nailed the take that Ben is a loathsome individual. And Dan and Mark do, like, see it. It's like, no, that's not what's happening here. He is also famously one of the least-like teammates that has ever had. I know, but I'm surprised, Greg, that you suddenly care about teammates liking anyone

because it doesn't seem like that applies to critique of other players that are disliked by teammates. is that really is that something that you value highly i've never really felt that that's something you value highly like everyone has to line up and be like like t j watt was so inspired by playing for ben that he got his four sacks and they they were really trying to like like uh shoehorn this thing that it's all for that it was of course it's like a huge emotional night but we can we could be real about it do you have anything else to add gregg no i think that's good all right With that said, are we taking a break, Ricky?

Let's take a break. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. 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 game. 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, and how front offices construct winning roster. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.

It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, it is 2022.

How about that? How about that? We started this podcast in 2013. How about that? another notable factoid you're that's you're i was i was talking to a uh someone who uh helps me with certain career um related um prognostications none of that made sense no it was it was just like my agent person and she said she said you guys are coming up on your 10th season like is the NFL blowing that out i was like no i don't think they know that that

we've been doing it for 10 years. Oh, okay, when's your 1,000th episode? I think it was like a year and a half ago. Yeah. It's like, what's going on over there? I said, I don't know. I don't think anybody knows. Does anybody know? Well, it's, I mean, it's not, it's not overly celebrated. Let's start there. You get that when it's, when it's the final show and we're, you know, averaging 2.7 yards per take or whatever. And you can run around the field and make it all about us. 2.7 yards per take. I like that. I hope we were around long enough for 2.7 yards per take.

Wait, do you guys want to do this show? Would you guys rather do this show for 20 more years and the last year and a half to two years is 2.7 yards per take? Or do it for another 4 years at 6.8 yards per take? I would take the latter. I'd rather be, you know, as close to pristine as possible for a shorter amount of time than... No, I'm going to stretch this thing out. Is 6.8, like, a lot per team?

No, that's not even good. That's below average even, too. Wait a minute, Ricky. I think we're in decline. We're in a gradual decline. I'll take the stretching out, because, I mean, either way, this is all, you know, this is all I could do for the rest of my life is, some sort of football thing. So got to feed the family here.

Yeah, we're in too deep now. That 20 years feels, that feels extensive. I transpose the numbers, by the way. I meant 8.6 yards per take. Okay, that would be good. Yeah. I was thinking that too, watching last night. It's depressing, but...

You men always getting your numbers wrong. It is depressing to think of the difference in Steelers-Browns games in moments from a year ago, which, you know, was a great moment having Chris for one of the last times he was on the show, and we all enjoyed that playoff win together to this year. It is a steep falloff. Yeah. No, well, I, you know, Chris was, as everyone knows, you know, the up and down, mostly down, love affair he had with the Bengals.

I can't stop thinking about how Cincinnati's the most fun team in the league this year. and how I would ask him, like, legitimately once every, like, five shows, whether he's ever come back to the Bengals, or is this the time, or maybe if this happens, would you? And he was always steadfast and no. And yet, I wonder if I asked him now. And now, Wes, let's not forget, was a very stubborn man. And maybe even if he wanted to, he wouldn't, just because at that point he had said for

so long that he never would. but I wonder if he would have truly warmed up the idea of supporting the Bengals again and at more of a fan capacity given everything that's happened over the last couple of months. I wonder too because I think a lot of it, if you go back in detail, look at that thick binder of why he was out on the Bengals, I think one reason that he might not budge is it had to do so much with ownership, that he probably trusts ownership to screw all this up at some point, yet he is someone that would be married,

would have a child becoming a football fan. Cincinnati checks so many different boxes about the way that football's played that Wes enjoyed. It does bring you back to something special that maybe, you know, he always talked about evolving and changing. I mean, we just don't know what he would do, but this Bengals team is not like the Andy Dalton team winning 12 games and going to the playoffs,

where I think that any real expectations, you'd see what that team really is. This feels entirely different to me. He already loved watching Joe Burrow play. I think he'd love watching them play ball. I don't know if he'd, you know, admit that he's just full-on fan, but he would like this team. There's just no way around.

Well, and also to that point, young Link, Wes in some ways kind of felt like he also aged out of being a fan. But when it's time to introduce Link to a team, absolutely, you get your son involved. Yeah. Because Lakeisha, of course, a Rams fan, a diehard. If Wes was here, maybe he'd be pushing. the boy toward the Bengals.

Kisha just posted on Instagram that after this past weekend she bought Link a Bengals T-shirt. There we go. See, she's a great mom. Yep. Great mom. All right. We miss Chris. I'll tell you what. This has been a really weird year, obviously.

So many crazy things have happened. But I could not stop thinking of the man this weekend. And I, you know, I sent it to the text chain of that we're all on a new year's that happened five years ago now where we all were in different places and then we all said, all, all, after midnight, let's all meet at the cozy.

And I remember getting there and Wes was there in a bathrobe at, you know, 1235 in the morning on New Year's Day, feeling zero pain like everyone else. But when Wes was feeling no pain on a night on the town, Mark, you're kind of similar in this way, but like Wes, I think about it now because he's no longer with us, but you saw it in his face. He didn't have to say anything. You just saw it in the face. It was kind of like a half grin. His eyes were a little bit more closed. And he was probably yelling more. But just the look of him, it was just a man that was at peace and having a good time. So I think West and I saw that in each other's faces more than once when we were in, you know, dueling piano players out on the town.

Yeah, I think this this time a year going through the holidays, going into the new year for the first time without him. I think going to the, I think the Super Bowl week will be tough. We'll be coming up on the year anniversary. I really felt that that game we went to the Chargers, I was in a crappy mood. Because walking over to that stadium that night, I was like, I really felt him not being there,

like us going to a game like that. And we'll feel that in the Super Bowl week, I think. For sure. For me, one little thing, like, it's like all, football does remind me of West, but it's mostly like the lack of Wes in everything that we do. And every season is sort of similar,

but it's all these other little moments that happen, like, weirdly on, like, Saturday at, like, 11, 15 a.m. As I'm searching through my phone and seeing photos from old or just thinking about his voice or his laugh. So, I mean, it's just like, there's no real roadmap to feel that this won't be with you forever. Yep. I needed him backing me up on this Ben thing.

No one would have been, you know, he would have been on my side of that one. No, but see, you're already, you're already creating this thing where Greg is in a moralistic correct room and Dan and Mark must be. in the other room and we're simply calling it a sports event a moment in sports that you know that's not for you i don't want to go back to that i'm saying west disagreed with me about most everything but that's one where we parked their car also west probably still would have been savaging you over your antonio brown um fandom and in new england protecting the new england patrons brand that was a that was a tough two weeks for us all right let's get to it what we're looking forward to in 20

2022. Yeah, let's keep it optimistic here. Greg, do you want to get us going? I do. This is a perfect one for the conversation we were just having. It's this Tom Brady playoff run that I'm looking forward to. I just think Tom Brady with limitations, he's a little bit of a B story right now in terms of the NFL, but is like the is the Tom Brady that I find fascinating. That touchdown drive to beat the Jets, is one of the best game-winning touchdown drives of his career. It was an amazing moment. Because it came against the Jets and people weren't watching that game

and people put it on the opponent or whatever, like, you want an MVP moment? That's an MVP moment. They had the ball, first of all, they had to go to 93 yards. Second of all, they had a ball with no timeouts on the 30, 70 yards to go. The ball never goes out of bounds, three straight plays, and he's turning Cyril Grayson and Brashad Perriman into game winners during this stretch. Like, that's Tom Brady in a nutshell.

And I think there's this idea that the Bucks are in such a tough spot without Godwin or Brown. But that's when Brady often does his best work. He's still got that offensive line. He's still got that coaching staff. He's still got that championship DNA. And he's doing it in a different way with like big time plays. He's making more big time throws now than he ever has. He's leading the NFL in big time throws.

First time ever, PFF's track that, you know, his entire career. What is big time throws again? Basically, just like they're very. their addition, and I kind of chart ones like that, of just like an incredible, like, plus two type of play where it's like you just made an incredible throw that like very few could make. Is there a yardage component to it or is it just a difficulty? No. No, it's basically like an incredible play that you're making on your own. And like that could you be, could you be bowled over by like a five yard screen pass where he did it without looking or something? No. No. Because in a like he has 45 to 50 on the year and that's like I like it a little better than touchdown interception ratio. but like that moment and his like reaction to that moment was it just got me thinking about like the season starts now for a defending champion type of team like the bucks and I'm really looking forward to seeing like what they can do in this repeat I'm with you Greg and it's like I haven't understood I don't understand it like I understand the Godwin injury that's tough Antonio Brown being out the door whatever I think they won the Super Bowl last year with or without Antonio Brown and he's a head case so getting him out of the building could end up being a net positive for them. I moved them up a spot into number three in the power rings this week, and Matt Money Smith pushed back on our show today saying,

how could you do that? They should have been beat by the Jets. Well, they didn't get beat, and it's because of Tom Brady. And it's like the idea that anybody would doubt this team, considering their recent pedigree, they're the defending Super Bowl champions, for Christ's sake, and the fact that Brady is playing, as Greg notes, as better as well as you ever has.

So they have a good coaching staff. have a really good defense. They still have plenty of skill players on offense. They're going to get more healthy, hopefully. Do not sleep on this team. It doesn't make any sense why you would. Well, I don't think anyone's sleeping on them. I think for me, if anything, the Bucks were, and we kind of said it in different ways on our Friday television show. It's like, why are we like struggling to kind of connect with the Bucks as sort of where they are in history and who they are? Because they were so, everything was so perfect. They were drama-free. They kind of went from last year into this year with so much consistency and just kept it going. But now I find them more

intriguing because there are players out, because suddenly you've got Brady at the age he's at. I think being discounted a little bit as an MVP because you got Aaron Rogers sitting out there. Everyone's trying to look around Tom Brady to maybe we give it to a wide receiver. We give it to Jonathan Taylor. It's like what Brady's doing is incredible. And if he goes and does it again with a shortened roster on offense, because I do think there's a reason they fell into a hole against the Jets there too, that it is that much more impressive. And for all the people that don't like the Big Ben celebration, this is something that would be, I think, more universally a sports moment that would crescendo into something as memorable as we've seen in the NFL. I don't know about that.

A lot of people don't like Brady to win for Tom Brady to win two straight Super Bowls with the Bucks. I think a lot of it's just like the match. I'm excited as a Brady fan to see, let's say they play the, that's like the Eagles first round, they get past that. Like whatever that second and possibly third NFC game for Brady to me in this like repeat mode with Tampa. To me, that's just so fascinating. Like him versus the Cowboys or him versus the Rams or him versus the Packers. It's just like that is foop. That is awesome like theater.

Back the truck up a minute. We're suggesting that if he were to win a second Super Bowl with the Bucks after everything he did at his age, that that's an underwhelming or just an average sports. I guess, I mean, it's a matter of opinion. Like I've already, for me, the Tom Brady story. he's been written. He's the best quarterback ever. He's won seven titles or whatever the hell it is at this point. If he wins another one, it doesn't really change. What he's already done, what he did last year to me was the cherry on top. So I kind of rather have fresh storylines and fresh champions and fresh blood at this stage. But also, I didn't grow up a Patriots

fan and I don't, I guess, need more validation that Tom Brady special. Would it be different than him throwing five interceptions in Green Bay and they go down 45 to three and the whole thing breaks apart in the off season. I think they would be tangibly different, the two end results. Yeah, I don't, I don't see that happening. I mean, I'm trying to talk to like, it's like I'm trying to talk to you, talk to you into like a bizarre like UFO cult religion to get like excited about Tom Brady too. So I see that I'm not. You know, a lot of people are excited about Tom Brady and, you know, they don't, you don't need me on the bandwagon. So good luck to Tom. I'm sure, I'm sure he needs it. Um, I actually, I fear going back down this road, uh, because it will just

set Greg off with his agenda and his religious crusade. But I do want to talk about the Steelers because watching the game yesterday, man, I'm looking forward to a fresh start for the Steelers who are a primetime darling. So, you know, they are a part of the national product

that the NFL puts out every year. They're always in the mix because they're a well-run organization, so they're always in the playoff mix, so they're not really getting flexed out of the games typically. They get to the playoffs all the time. They might even get to the playoffs this year, although that probably won't happen. But all that primetime love has become a double-edged sword for the rest of us, non-stealers fans who don't see Big Ben as a local hero and are sick of watching boring football involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. And given the core that's in place, they have so many talented

players in their prime still, Pittsburgh, it makes all the sense in the world for the Steelers to make a big splash move this offseason. They aren't going to start a rookie next year. They are not going to start Mason Rudolph next year. So the question becomes, who is there Matt Stafford? Who is the guy they're going to target to bring in and get them over the hump and get them back to the playoffs and back to the Super Bowl?

I look forward to it because it affects all of us because the Steelers are a national team. Yeah, they're not like rebuilding. That's not who they are. It's amazing that Tomlin is going to keep that record of never having a losing season. Like, he's clinched that much now. They aren't the type that it's traditionally made big splashes, but I think trades are different.

The problem is, as Browns are going to realize, too, is just a lot of these teams out there. Like Carolina, Washington, New Orleans is going to be incredibly motivated and willing to give up picks. So there's more teams than there are. Who are the guys? Let's figure this out. Who are the guys that are the Stafford or the Stafford-esque-type player? Deshaun Watson, who again is in his own category, but he obviously is a player when you talk

about the quarterbacks of 2022. Baker, there's the worst-case scenario, Mark. Not that it would ever happen, but somehow Baker goes to Pittsburgh and becomes a star. That's not going to happen. I don't need to see that. Jimmy G. I think Tua makes sense as a guy that might have some value. and could be moved if Miami goes in a different direction. Is there another name?

What about maybe Matt Ryan? Matt Ryan. I just, I don't love the idea of equating Matt Ryan to Matt Stafford. I mean, Russell Wilson's the one that I, you know, you're not sure how that'll play out,

but it sure feels like. That would be the Stafford move. They're going to have to, yes. And then I don't, I have never bought that Rogers would be an ex-packer. No way. And now I really don't buy it.

Yeah. I think that's all set. Yeah. Anyway, so keep an eye on that because Pittsburgh's going to make a move and it won't be a minor wave. They don't usually do stuff like that, but it's going to happen this offseason, I believe. Mark, how about you? All right, well, I would mention the Aaron Rogers thing real quick because I think it would show a, it would be a service to us all if Aaron Rogers actually says what he's going to do, if he does what he says he's going to do, which is to make this decision about whether or not, you know, he's toying potentially with retirement, toying potentially with moving on from the Packers, whatever it is, that he shows the growth to not drag it out for months and months. He said he's going to make a crisp, clean decision.

I'll believe it when I see it. But I do think it would help his curating the overall Aaron Rogers experience to, A, maybe number one, realize that with this wandering eye, where you are right now, front office, coaching, roster, the division you're in, and how dominant you've been, maybe you don't go anywhere. Let's, and maybe you tell them that and make that clear on like January, like, whatever, February 7th or 8th or 9th, whenever the Super Bowl ends, and just end that. drama. But if anything else is going to happen, can we do it in a way that doesn't completely hijack three or four months of everyone's lives who track this? Because guess what, it wasn't that entertaining the first time around, and it will be more tires than the second. So here's a chance to just go do it right, whatever it is you're going to do. I will say, I agree that the Rogers thing was overblown last summer, but it did give those of us in football media

a nice meaty bone to chew on during July last year. Like, that wasn't the worst. That was good to lead some A-Blockes for the around-the-N-Fel broadcast on NFL network. So, but I overall, I see your point, and I agree, like, let's not drag this thing out. It would take, I think, something crazy happening that is unforeseen for this to lead to a divorce now. Doesn't it feel that way? Yeah. More so than ever.

Him saying that already that he's going to make it quick to me says he's made whatever decision it is, and putting that out there indicates, yeah, that he kind of knows where this is going. He's probably going to ask for a lot of money, but as long as they're willing to do that, you know, what a moment last night, too, when they asked him what it was on his bookshelf last night, and he says, like, Ian Rand, Ein Rand. It's like, it's like every dumb guy's idea of what a smart guy. would say, or like every 19-year-old guy's answer.

If you're curious about a general synopsis of that book, the book depicts a dystopian United States in which private businesses suffer under increasingly burdensome laws and regulations. That's among the general themes of it. And obviously, I think he was trying. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I've read Atlas shrugged and I've read The Fountainhead. And I agree that it is a 19-year-old, maybe more of a 19-year-old's world.

but, like, they are, I do find them to be good books and have nothing to do with Aaron Rogers. I don't think it's something that you pick up now out of thin air and be inspired by, but when you're of a certain age, the fountainhead, especially, forget Atlas Shrug, the fountainhead is a good read. Just throwing that out there. No, I mean, listen, that was a popular take that Atlas Shrug was a very basic choice by Rogers. I was more offended by him casually dropping that he had a lot of French people. poetry as well. And it's like, dude, you don't speak French. What are we, what are we doing here?

Now, it gets forgotten. They give you the translation. We're all having a ton of fun. Is that how it works? French poetry books are just translated. Yeah, they typically would have like, they'd have like the French on one side and the English translation on the other. Oh, please. Well, like, I'm just telling you something that is, that this is how the industry works. I know I'm not supporting his reading habits or really making any statement, but are we dismissing anything that's written, not an English as a course. Well, I think it's, I think it's a little bit, he's not as easy to peg as people want. Right.

In the sense that he just has this reputation as like a smart guy and like that has been taken off the books. Don't I disagree with you at the core. I totally disagree with that, Greg. That was the point I was going to make. I think Rogers is a very intelligent guy. Now, you may not agree with his opinions and they may even be dangerous considering his public platform and the way he's expressing them.

But I think Rogers is very highly intelligent. intelligent individual, which is part of what makes him so frustrating, at least to me, because in some ways I think he's likable, but then the more he talks, the more he kind drives you crazy. I mean, do you think he's a dumb guy? I mean, I don't think he's, I think he's like, yes, I guess I do. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, not when it comes to football, not when it comes to, I mean, he's a, he's a genius when it comes to football. But yeah, I think so. I think he's pretty easily like misled and that you'd kick your ass in jeopardy well that's not a sign of

like being a smart guy necessarily in my mind either but as he said he he kicked me he was all about celebrity jeopardy you know if you had to play the real thing he said he'd get waxed right i like it greg do you like anyone i mean these aren't hot takes that uh that a rod and bed rothusberger I was having fun with the choice because she's the like to me it's tough writing to get through and it's sort of like almost a cliche of if like if you're a woman and you see that book on a bookshelf it's like don't date that guy you know that's sort of the image so it was almost funny that that was the one it's like a big libertarian it's a big thing it's sort of like the rest of society doesn't matter all that all that matters is yourself which is you know

consistent with Aaron Rogers. Iran preached selfishness as a positive concept if you look at it a certain way where most things tell you if you're good you're not selfish you don't think of yourself and a lot of what she was teaching was that i'm not walking around reading it right now i read it when i was 21 and i and by the way a lot of girls didn't date me and it may have been for that reason or a lot of others i couldn't care less it's like i love that we just take things and trash them on whole and but no one's no one's actually half the people killing this book have never even read two pages of it that's how things work now. Is that a reward?

I mean, if he wants to throw it out there, you can have fun with it. I'm sure that it's a lousy book. I'm sure he would allow that. He is Mr. Freethinker. If anything, my umbrella argument at the beginning was, please wrap it up quickly, Aaron Rogers. I don't need to hear you all off-season. So I basically agree with everything that you're saying from the fact that I need less, not more of this guy in the summer months. You got another one, Greg? I'm looking forward to Michael Parsons in this playoff run doing things that I haven't seen a defensive player do ever. The fact he was in coverage like 20 times last week, like really defending well, and that when he rushed the passer, he had nine pressures. And like, he is breaking

the mold almost more than any defensive player we've ever covered on this show, I feel like. I don't think there's been another guy like him. And the fact that he's capping this rookie year on an awesome Cowboys defense, it's going to be in the playoffs that has a chance to win a Super Bowl. Like, sign me up. I mean, I'm signed up for next year, too, because I feel like his ceiling is just outrageous.

He feels very one of one in what he can do, that he can almost play three different positions exceptionally well. And the fact that he's on the Cowboys, like I like it. I'm with you, Dan, you just like it when the Cowboys are this relevant and this good. It's funny that the famously,

Jerry Jones, and it was documented on part of some type of documentary. The year they drafted Dak, they wanted, was it Drew Locke? Who was it? It was a, oh, Paxton Lynch, the year they ended up with Dak Prescott. And in the 2021 draft, they desperately wanted a quarterback. And when the draft didn't shake out the way they hoped it would, they drafted Parsons. So, you know, if you give the Cowboys plenty of credit for, nailing those two picks that have helped to find the franchise and where it is right now,

but it just shows how much luck goes into any of these things, really, because you can do a self-scouting, but sometimes you luck into a beautiful pick or something terrible. That's neither here nor there. Greg, tell us somebody else you hate. What is it wrong with you guys? I mean, these are, I'm having fun with, I mean, if you can enjoy that, it just was too much.

We're having fun too, Greg. We're just having fun here. All right, let me throw one more out there. I'm looking forward to the Washington football team having a name again. I know you guys don't like this. This is an unpopular take. The Washington football team on its website on Tuesday, announced it will unveil its new name on February 2nd.

Team president, Jason Wright, said, that the team will choose the new name or has chosen the new name that will align with our values, carry forth our rich history, and represent the region. Now, we love Roto World around these parts. Greg builds it brick by brick. It's now NBC Sports. The Edge, or Adam Clayton. We don't talk about their new name.

We don't mention it. Love their blurbs. You guys want to hear a great. A world blurb about this? Please. Please, please. After that quote, here's the blurb.

Citing the franchise's values after years of sorted allegations against owner Daniel Snyder and his cohorts is questionable at best. But the team will try to use the unveiling to reinvent itself and remove the stigma attached to its former name, the collapsing of its embarrassingly dilapidated

stadium, and its 30-year tradition of losing. There's no word of potato skins is in the running. Funtz and Burner blowtorch. Hit me with it, Ricky. Oh! Anyway, to my point. You should be happy, Dan.

They, you know, they haven't ruled out keeping WFT as the name. But I think this season, I feel like they needed to have a great season for any chance of it. Yeah, I remember that theory. I didn't like that. I always thought what happened, like, look at what we were talking about, was shook on Sunday show with the Cleveland Indians and baseball, becoming the Cleveland Guardians. And that felt like, you know, it was. handled in a smooth way where it was like, okay, we're the Indians, okay, this is problematic

in the eyes of people. So what we're going to do now is begin the process of changing the name. In the meantime, we're going to take the Wahoo, Chief Wahoo guy off the uniform. We're going to emphasize the letter C. So we're just going to change some of the branding, but keep the name until it's ready for the transfer. And then we go Indians in 2021 to Guardians in 2022. I've always thought what Washington did here with this two-year gap was a bit of a their own way of silently protesting, something they never wanted to do in the first place. So we're going to, it's kind of to like draw out what they think is an absurdity that they've had to change the name. So now we've done this for two years. And for two years, we've all been writing things like the Eagles defeat

the football team. I can't believe that's been happening for two years. So bring on whatever it is, or the imperial destroyers or whatever the admirals, I think, has been thrown out there as a possibility. Let's bring it back to nickname land so we can move on with our lives because this whole thing has been ridiculous. Let's not bring back the Washington bullets that failed concept in NBA circles. That doesn't fit anything we're trying to achieve. I do think it matters for me just aesthetically. Like if it's a name that is super clunky, it's going to be with us for decades. So I am just fingers crossed that it kind of rolls off the tongue as something nice to hear. Yeah, but no matter what it is, you'll get used to it, and then it

just will be that. Oh, and I have no power over it, so you just get in line and just do what they say. They need some new vibes. They have the fewest amount of playoff wins in the NFL since their current ownership took over the team. Yeah, and there was that report out there. I don't know if you saw that, you know, the barrier fell down and almost crushed Jalen Hertz at FedEx Field. And there was a report that no one from the Washington organization came to the aid of the people. Now, they refuted that. I want to make sure that's out there. That's out of the story. But like, why all these stories are connected to this team? I, you know, I complain all the time about being a Jets fan and Mark, you're up in arms about the Browns letting

you down all the time. But like, man, we ain't that. No, it's, they've got problems unique to them. There's no doubt about it. Let's take a break. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. 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 game.

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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, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape,

talk to decision-makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it.

Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Wrap it up, Mark. All right. I have a quick, I have like a quick two-parter. The first one, a little bit more of a wish casting. But I know everyone, it's like we were told that it's so, you know, reprehensible what Antonio Brown did. And I think it's because it's connected to who he is.

and I'm with you on all that front. He's not a likable character. But separate from the person, I found something quite delightful about like mid-game suddenly Player X ripping off garments and clothing and dancing around the visiting end zone before being taken away and out of our lives.

And so I have thought up a concept where this would add high stakes to fantasy football to teams in general to real life. It would be an auto-retire red phone. And this happens, and this is a late-season thing. It would happen from week 15 through 18, where one team a week is picked out of a lottery. And let's say it's the Tennessee Titans.

Then come that game in week 15, and this would happen each of the closing weeks, like around mid-third quarter, the red phone would ring. And any player over the age of 30 who is a non-quarterback, is eligible to be auto-retired by the league at that point. And they will be taken care of in abundance financially. They'll almost be like the way that the mystery relevant is handled, but in a different way where it's like they won't work again.

They'll be celebrated. It's not their choice to retire. But so because it's such a positive next step in their life, they must strip down, waist up, dance around the field, and be taken away in a very celebratory manner. We'll never see that age 30 player up ever again. And it would happen to four players a year. So it's not like going to cause a major like World War II shortage of arms

type scenario in sports. But it could be, it could be, you never know, it could be your starting cornerback who's not, who's, you know, age 30, it could be a very important player. Well, no, the red phone, it would be picked by random. A, the team, like we have our team wheel. And then inside of that, you'd go jersey, every eligible jersey number of a player who's over 30.

You spin the wheel and we don't find out until the red phone rings. And it's like, if it's some lost game between two teams, one of them is the red phone team. You are wondering and watching who's going to be shotgun to the moon, basically. I like that. I think it's insane, which is why I like it. I'm trying to think about how do you do it. Remember late night at the Apollo? He used to come on after Saturday Night Live and, you know, a venerable show that's been going on forever in New York City. I think. if you're really bad and the crowd turns on you I can't remember who it is is it a clown

or well they can you don't they pull you out with a cane but then a guy comes out and dances and kind of kind of shoes the guy off stage or the woman off stage right what if we have something similar to that a little nod to late night at the Apollo and have someone come out of the tunnel and the crowd sees the guy come out and they're going mad because they're like who's it going to be who's it going to be maybe there's shrieks of maybe it could be Antonio Brown maybe it could be absolutely i mean we're workshopping this you know we're workshopping it and he comes out and he dances out and he finds somebody and then kind of escorts them down the tunnel and out of football forever i mean i think there's some entertainment value i think it's a horrible it's a horrifying thought for somebody who's put their entire life into the sport and it's it's their way of providing for their family that their career would end in such a public um humiliating sudden way but at the same time like mark a good idea is a good idea yeah i I mean, also, we would be giving that player benefits and money to match whatever they were making at that point. I do have a second one real fast.

And it's got a squid game element to it, though, where just everyone's showing up to work, wondering if their career will be killed that afternoon. But, Greg, you seem like someone that would be the most on board with something, this draconian of anyone I know. So, you know, we need your ideas on this front. That says a lot about how you feel about me. Well, no, no. I mean, I think that you're a business. man. Well, I don't, I'm not saying that. But my number two, and I mean this sincerely, like, on our last show, like, and this happens to me too often, or it happens periodically. We, we,

if there was a director's cut of that show, it would have included me having like a Casey Kasem like meltdown at one point aimed primarily at Dan. It was totally ridiculous. And my goal for 2022 is to be, is to try to, you know, get past a lot of the nonsense that has happened externally and internally and try to just be a little bit quieter of a storm and a little bit less of a nutbag at times and to keep a lid on it. And so I apologize to Dan, but also to the rest of us because I think it threw us off our game for a bit. I also was like super foggy headed in a mess and I just should maybe get my act together a little bit better sometimes. So I'm just saying that for real to you. Well, I will. Well, we, you know, it's been a long season. We're all sick.

not Greg but we're all just grinding through it so happy that we're all together you know Howard Sandman's A gentler quiet storm I don't know if I'd look forward to that Maybe a little

For your own sake I would For your own sake I would At junctures Did I say late night at the Apollo by the way It's showtime at the Apollo His name was Howard Sandman Sins A legend at the Apollo theater chasing the bad acts off the stage

after crowds booed their performance. He did his Apollo routine for 17 years. He got the nickname Sandman for tap dancing on sand in his performances. I don't know if he's still with us. I have to look into next. Maybe we could get Sandman himself. Why not?

I mean, that show had a super unhinged feel. It was the first experience I had as a child watching like a stage act that seemed to have no, I mean, it could have gone in any one of 42 directions after Friday night videos. We lost Sandman in 2003. Rest in peace, Sandman. So we need somebody else. But I think this is something.

I don't know, do we have to go to the league with this? I don't know. I would imagine we'd have to go to the league. The NFLPA will have to be involved. You'll have to trade them something. Get rid of a preseason game or something. I don't think they'll be too big of a fan of, you know, eliminating four of their careers every year.

We might maybe have to add a roster spot or something. I don't know. We'll figure it out. All right. There you go. Erica, did you have anything you wanted to add? You kind of said it. I think looking into the, you know, 2022, we were kind of texting the other night about

some of our like fun, wacky video shoots and fun stuff we used to do. And as much as I, you know, love the season, it is. feeling pretty routine I think for all of us and so I'm really looking forward to the off season when we can all sort of be together hopefully more often and sort of

flow those creative juices. I'm excited for. I like that. To that point why don't you put up one of the old videos that we did? Yeah, I should. I like when we wanted to Dionne Sanders' personal green room and destroyed it. Destroyed it. It was never allowed back.

Right, and then the next day they had that door locked forever. That was good. That was a good one. Can you put that one up? Well, where are you now, Dion? Oh, wait, you're like one of the most successful college coaches right now. He's definitely at a lot of pub. Is that team doing well?

Yes. Yeah, they were. I know he's recruiting incredibly well. Incredible recruiting as well. They had like the best season and they won their league and bowl game. Something about Dion. Never spoke to the man. worked with him technically for 10 years, never saw him at one talent summit, never saw him

at the office. He shouted my name during that talent summit. We were up at some doing some sort of group exercise and I had to write something with on a dry erase board. And man, he got my name wrong. It was my last name. But it was like I knew what he was trying to do and it kind of felt, I felt a connection. Wow. He said, what was like Sarsler or something? Well, it sounds like we've got Mark Sessler on the dresser. He goes, let's go, let's go Sassler. Come on. It's like, I mean, it's like, you know, But I was like this guy, he sees me, he recognizes me. I think he sees something in me. He's obviously a good recruiter.

That was also the same talent summit where, you know, I saw him on TV a couple days earlier and he had a completely shaved dome. And then he showed up at the talent summit and he had like Julius Irving's hair on the nets in 1976. And I was like, wow. The hair really came in pretty full there. Very dense. And then money.

Money is a good thing. All right. He said it. More money for all of us in 2022. How about that? That's good. I like that. My sister, Shea, actually owned Deion Sanders's cassette single.

It was about money. I can't remember what the song was. But it was about money and how awesome it was. And so it got a lot of play in the house, as I recall. must be the money it was called it was a banger in fact rickie let's play out the show with must be the money all right sure because there's a lot of young people that don't know that dion in his heyday went for it as a recording artist very versatile released the single must be the money so there you go friends with mc hammer no doubt i believe he was actually all right let's um let's go let's end

the show um good stuff we'll be back on thursday stay on forever. This video is amazing. They can't. They can't cancel us if we just stay recording forever. There was a time where Dion ruled the world. We'll be back on Thursday with a preview of week 18. We've never done a week 18 preview.

It happens in two days. So make sure you're there for that. And until then, heed the call. Hit it, yeah. Those things change, but a better end for the birds. So I called my mom, and she said, baby. Must be the money. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. It's got to be, because I got people who want to try to bring it. People have never knew. People I never thought about it, so she changed with it. But I don't want to be able to talk to. Check it out. I've been relaxed when gaiters on my feet. I get to think.

Every day I'm coming My hair is done My finger nails too Six buttons down And I don't know what to I'm gonna It's turning in a mom I'm on

You know I can go on I'll see the money Make you be looking cold I'm a money Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 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 I-Hour Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.