NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Breakout RBs & Borderline Hall of Famers

Episode Date: August 5, 2016

A room filled with heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler – analyze the latest NFL news, including the Chiefs adding some QB insurance in Nick Foles and the 49ers signing Navorro Bowman to a new deal. Then, the heroes debate which running backs will have a breakout year in 2016. Plus, "the Boss" discusses his trip to Cowboys’ training camp before the heroes wrap the show by breaking down which borderline Hall of Fame players will get into canton.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast. Desperately wants to be friends with Bruce Ariens. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I'm joined by a room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan.

How are you? She seems to have some existential angst today. Dan's already used his best material before the show has even started screaming out we're going nowhere That's how I feel You have issues with the trajectory of the show

No no no In fact I'm very happy about the show Especially our most recent episode Of course Lil Debbie was our special guest on Wednesday And what a great time that was And Mark Sessler You made it all happen.

You pulled all the strings. And I think Mark, and guys, back me up. Mark was floating out of the studio and then all the way back to his home on Wednesday. In fact, I picture inside Mark's mind as he was walking down a West L.A. Street, just like this at all times. Just this is in your mind and you're skipping.

And I can almost picture you turning into a Japanese anime character. this is just the next installment of you creating a fake character out of me I don't know I think I think there's something to it it was almost like you created something Mark you created this connection with little Debbie that just seemed like this fanciful mind game and then suddenly here she was appearing in the studio before you I thought it was it was a very surreal experience

I don't know how else to put it and I think that you know I was relatively silent for the first seven or eight minutes and I have no memory of it to be honest I don't have much experience in your performance art becoming reality I I thought you guys the three of you I listened to it last night I thought number one she was an excellent sport she was the tweets were getting tell us the people loved her but the three of you picked up the slack in a massive way for about eight to nine straight minutes I don't even remember it was strange I'm not saying it's like oh I'm so into little Debbie it's just like it was a very bizarre thing and I don't know what was wrong with that's what that's my favorite part about it is

afterwards you saying that you were blacked out for the first eight or ten minutes I did and I rewatch it it's on NFL dot com and if you go on our around the NFL page on Twitter you could find the link and watch little Debbie in studio I was watching it last night with my lovely wife and she actually decoded an all-time Chris Wessling a banger of a joke you referenced Chuck Norris. Well, yeah, I know that Chuck Norris meme. The first meme ever. I know that Greg decided to play referee on all my jokes yesterday.

Oh! I didn't play referee. That was that yesterday or was that Monday? What did I say? What did I say? My old dirty Tuesday joke was that. Oh, yeah. Well, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew.

You always complained about people stepping on your jokes. We heard it. The Chuck Norris bit went over my head. I'll have you know that my pan base appreciated that. I didn't say anything about the Chuck Norris thing. This is Dan's Valley Wicke. I love the Chuck Norris joke because it was, it had not, no one has made the Chuck Norris bit since like 2001.

I was in college when it happened. I feel like it was a good, it was the right time for it. We were talking Pokemon and phones, you know. Well, did a good job, Chris. It was fun. Thank you. It was fun. I'm glad your wife appreciated it.

Well, maybe she didn't even appreciate it. She was able, I'll just say she was able to decode it. Thank you. I just decoded what that means. Yeah, that is not a resounding endorsement. I mean, I still love you, Wes. Thank you. No, none of us are innocent.

We don't all hit home runs. I hear you. But we did yesterday as a group. Today's show, you got to keep moving, though. There are no reverse gears in this tank. And this is the Thursday edition of the Around the NFL podcast sponsored by no one. And I will tell you what. Good show today.

We're going to talk about some running backs that are primed to bust out. And this does tie in. though not officially, maybe a satellite to our big-time 2016 fantasy extravaganza week. So take close attention or keep close attention to the names that we throw out here. And then we'll check in a little later in the summer to see if these players we throw out that we believe are going to really become big-time contributors this season. Either guys that had down years or guys that just kind of weren't noticed and deserved to know. deserve notice, that's what this segment it's about. Is that right, Wes?

This year's Doug Martin, or this year's Mark Ingram, or this year's Ryan Matthews the year before that. Every year, if you're watching the preseason games, if you subscribe to our game pass and see these games, you can tell that there's one running back, running way differently than he did in years past. And I think we're all just going to kind of guess which one it will be and then maybe revisit after three or four preseason games.

Weren't you saying yesterday to Aaron Koscarelli of NFL HQ fame that running backs are the only position that you watch in the preseason, among other facts that you were espousing. I don't know what you're getting out there, but... No, I'm just saying. I picked up that nugget because it's something for maybe other fantasy fans to pick up. I think we all overrate the preseason, especially quarterback play. But running backs, I think you can tell something about them.

Also, we are going to talk about the Hall of Fame, Brett Farve, amongst others, going into Canton this weekend. So Greg wrote a banger. Hall of Fame tweeners to Hall of Fame bangers is what I call this segment that we're going to talk about. These are players that are close to having the Canton credentials but aren't quite there yet. They need a little push. Greg wrote a banger. So we'll talk about that.

And also, speaking of Greg, we still got to talk about it because it got bumped yesterday. Gregi does Dallas. Oh, no. We somehow have already topped yesterday's show. That is absurd. That is so happy with himself right now. A play, of course, on Debbie does Dallas. Yeah.

No, I got it. Famous adult film from the 70s. Your era, guys. It's a much better, you know. West saw that in the team. It's not our era. Just a more alluring lead character this time in Greg Rosenthal. You just unpacked for two minutes there a much better joke than my Chuck Norris jokes, I'm sure.

The Norris joke worked on a level. It was kind of like an ironic. Well, there was no irony to the joke. It wasn't subversive. We're back here? It was on the surface. But maybe, you know, it will come around one day. One day it will click with me and I'll have a good laugh.

Maybe on my deathbed. Behind the glass WhatsApp Irishman. It's amazing how much happy we are one day. day after Lil Deb was here, she brought this whole awesome energy vibe here. And I haven't seen you guys like this in a long time. Well, why don't we check back in with Mark's brain again? What's going on in his subconscious? Yeah, it's still a party.

I don't see, I don't feel that way. You know, I was like backed into a corner as this like creepy super fan. I was like, I don't, how do I get out of that, you know? I wish you weren't a liar. I would call you creepy, but you, all right, let's do some news. You're saying he should have brought his four and five-year-old children. Totally. I love kids.

Next time. Next time, yeah. The Kansas City Chiefs have found some insurance at their quarterback position. The Chiefs have agreed to terms of former Rams quarterback Nick Foles, Mike Garifolo, reported the Cowboys and Vikings were also interested in Foles. But guess what? At the end of the day, Andy Reed, with his ties to. Nick, that must have sealed the deal, and immediately full steps in and becomes the backup

quarterback to Alex Smith. Chris Wessling, your thoughts on this deal. Well, first of all, you looked at me when you read that opening sentence. I did not write that opening sentence. It's got your byline on it. A little peek behind the curtain. Sometimes when we get home for the day, the desk has to gerrymander our copy a little bit. That's what happened here. So you don't stand by that lead? What was the lead again? It was a very nice pinch hitting appearance by Jeremy Bergman down there. Oh, wow. Now, now you're just calling out. Well, wait, maybe it was great.

Can I hear it again? I wasn't listening the first time. Yes. The Kansas City Chiefs have found some insurance at the quarterback position. I love it. It's fine. That's how you get right in. I said it was a very nice pinch hitting appearance with Jeremy Bergman.

She just owed it and took it. It's not my writing. I don't write like that. All right. Anyway, Wes, your thoughts on the move. Well, I thought it made a lot of sense. We've been talking about this for a week that he's probably going to end up back with Andy Reid again, who drafted him and tried to trade for him once he landed.

and in Kansas City. So he chose familiarity with Andy Reid and that offense over perhaps a better opportunity in Dallas. Well, I think they've found some insurance at the quarterback position. Well said. He's right. Maybe that's just all it is. Cowboys, I would think the Cowboys probably were upset. They weren't able to get a deal done here because they obviously with the injury to their backup quarterback,

this seems like it felt like a good fit. Put it that way. Nick Foles could slide in there and be an upgrade at their position behind Tony Romo. Now they have to keep digging. And to that point, Connor or wrote a banger headline, are there better options for boys than Josh McCown? And honestly, I don't even know if he wrote it. Wes has turned my world upside down, but this does have his name attached to copy. And he's throwing out some names of other quarterbacks that don't have jobs right now.

And you guys, let me know if any of these names would entice you if you were Jerry Jones. All right. Josh Johnson. What? No. I didn't even make the list. Of course no. Well, he's going, no, he was going through just the available kind of free agent, guys.

I don't think Conner is a great quarterback. He's actually a member of the Ravens. I guess he could probably be had for a cheap price. Matt Flynn, T.J. Yates? No. Mike Lennon. Maybe. Yeah.

Bucks aren't letting him go. Costs too much. Mike Vic? No. No. So those are the options. It's not great. Well, I think the point.

Josh McCown, yes. Josh McCown, yes. The point is. is that if you don't go the route of trying to trade for someone's veteran that they're willing to part with, there's nothing out there. Mark, please tell me the Browns aren't going to trade Josh McCown. You've got to protect yourself. RJ3 is not going to be good.

I couldn't agree more that I would not trade him this season because you're giving away what could be your best quarterback. I'm not saying that's your long-term answer. If the Cowboys are going to try to float a seventh round pick for Josh McCown, I wouldn't trade him. I couldn't disagree more. The Browns are going nowhere this. year. They've essentially made that clear, and they won't give him a chance to fight for the starting job. So give them to somebody else. What I'm saying is not for a, I'm not going to give

him away for a seventh round pick. You want to give them something? They're desperate. If you give them like a fifth round pick for Josh McCown who you're not going to use. The Cowboys are desperate. You better get worth for the deal. You don't just give away Josh McCown for nothing just because the Cowboys want to play. I agree. There is a certain price where then maybe, then it's worth it. And I think it's going to happen because Ian Rappport, our NFL media insider, said, you know, the Browns just didn't, they're willing to trade McCown, and they just thought the Cowboys weren't willing to give enough, and the Cowboys think the price is too high.

That's what I'm saying. You're not a farm team. That's fair, but the Browns don't think he's valuable. No. They're not even giving him a chance to start. He's not going to be on that team. My side in this is just, you can't just go 2 and 14, 3 and 13 forever. They're trying to build something.

I know they're not a Super Bowl contender, the Cleveland Browns, but you cannot put all your eggs in the RG3 basket. You just can't do it. And McCown at least the capable backup. Backup quarterback is a lucky. For a rebuilding team, draft picks are a necessity for a rebuilding. To me, they already made that decision. They haven't announced it, but RG3 is their quarterback.

They don't really want Josh McCown. I would be surprised if Josh McCown is on that roster in week one. If you're willing to trade him on August 4th, that generally means you're out the door. Well, because... I don't want to say it's a tank, but it's like if you are going to go into the season with RG3 is your starter, Cody Kessler and Austin Davis, you have no interest in winning more than three games. I do not think that anything about Hugh Jackson says that they're tanking. No.

But I just don't think they inherited Josh McCown. He's 37 years old. And if they can get value for him, they'll trade them. They've traded all sorts of things for draft picks. My only point is, just because the Cowboys want this, hey, we're not the Montreal Expos of the 1990s. We're not just your farm team. Well, no, everyone's like, oh, the Cowboys want Josh McCown.

Oh, send them right out the door. Give them something back. Don't get fleece. That's all I'm saying. I don't think anybody thinks that's what's happening. I'm just saying it's not just Gary Jones wants to fill a position. Oh, just call up Sashi Brown and there you go.

One last point. A count grew up. Sashi. Wes, you're a big fan of Josh McCown. You think he is a capable quarterback. I think he's the ideal backup for Tony Romo. And I think the Browns don't want him. The Browns aren't even playing fair with.

Is he the best quarterback on their roster? On the Browns, for everything we've seen the last three years, of course. So why are you giving away the guy that gives you the best? Because the Browns don't think you, the Browns are not being fair with. him they're not allowing him to compete and if you don't want him if you don't value him trade him to somebody who does value him and i agree with mark shouldn't do it for a seventh round pick but if it's a fifth round pick maybe you do it all right moving on navarrow bowman's got a new deal with the san francisco 49ers a three-time pro bowl linebacker signed a four-year extension with

the 49ers the team announced wednesday the deal is worth 11 million per year with 20 million guaranteed according to rap sheet rap report added the linebacker will get an extra 6 million over the next two seasons filed by 3.5 million in 2018. A lot of numbers there. And here's the question, Greg Rosenthal. Navarra Bowman led the league in tackles last year. But a lot of people that followed the game closely and watch the tape say he was not the same player. And after missing over a year with a knee injury, was it the right move to lock him down? You know, he might not be Navar Bowman anymore. I think they did make the right move. And I think they were looking for something positive on this team.

to do. Towards the very end of the season, they believed that the old Navarro Bowman was back. And that was a nasty injury that we all remember that he had. And it's not a surprise. It took him a while. Towards the end of the year, I mean, this guy has incredible instincts. And towards the end of the year, he showed the athleticism. You've seen him all offseason in the building. So I think they think he's back to being his old self. And that's one of the best inside linebackers in football. I think the most surprising part is he had three years left on his deal. Right, that was, that was, what was the urgency. I honestly believe it was what I started with was they wanted something positive.

Who are the 49ers right now? What are we? Like, who do you think of when you think of the 49ers? I think from ownership on down, I think they identify this guy. This is what we're all about. This is a great player who's a great guy and we think he's going to have a great career. Let's reward him and have something positive. He's the only star left from a roster full of stars two or three years ago.

But I can't take it anymore, by the way. Because I gave you a bunch of numbers about this, but also floating around out there was that this guy, they say he signed a seven-year, $77 million contract. Oh, that's what these numbers. Talk about the CBA, the changes need to be made to help out the players and get the game on better footing. We need to have a, I've said this before, an NFL media insider come to Jesus moment. And that's all the agents are there and the media insiders and everybody involved with the game. I want real contract figures. I want it!

You know, last night, late at night, I'm lying on the couch and I'm looking at Twitter and up pops this tweet from Dan. Don't know how it's different than the others, but Bowman's fake contract terms has put me over the edge! I was like, that is a super football specific from Dan. That's real? Dan tweeted that at like 10 at night.

I was blown away. That was less believable than some of the texts I sent you last week. I agree. For some reason, it got to me. I'm so annoyed by this. said seven years 77 million what is it really i think our our reporting seven years 60 a little more a little more plugged in which is 20 million guaranteed uh that it's worth 11 million per year but i don't know who knows i move i move to make the rule that we only report

signing signing bonuses from now well and fully guaranteed money no because even then like nobody knows the fully guarantee right there's this two worlds of well i used to be really into this like i i i I like the whole contract thing. But fully guarantee doesn't come out until like a week or two later. Right. Now I'm at the point where I barely pay any attention to it off the bat, and I wait two days later, and then you see what the deal is. By then, nobody cares.

But it's a nod towards Greg thought. Greg's thought that it's a PR move, not a PR move, but it's a positive bit of business before the season starts. And to my point, our paragraph on our website, the paragraph that gives the details. There are four figures in this one paragraph, four lines, 11 millions in there, 20 millions in there, 6 millions in there, 3.4.5 millions in there, all different years. It's all a bunch of gobbling.

Well, and the average fan is going to go right past that Bergman. No, that has nothing to do with Bergman. It's the entire industry. Right. And it's all the glad-handing and the agents and the insiders. Let's get this right. Well, Greg's suggestion, if I'm hearing you correctly, is we're going to have to create another podcast segment once a week just to discuss the previous podcast contract. I don't believe that anyone is right we have no reverse shift gear in this car I mean who's going to want to talk next week about the real Navarro Bowman figures well I don't I don't believe that the public is interested in that my vantage point is just you don't even need to get into it because off the bat you don't we don't need to talk about all the money right off the back because you just don't know what's real what's not usually the day of it's ignore it all let's move on by the way I you know Jeremy Bergman does a great job

Well, you keep raising him up as a straw man, but no, we all agree. He's one of the best writers we have. Way to go, Bergetron. Michael and Martell's Bennett in the news this week. They gave a interview really at one of those profiles where they follow the athlete or athletes around their native habitat. This was West L.A. and Hollywood. Mina Kimes wrote the piece. Very good in ESB in the magazine.

And both brothers didn't hold back And first of all, let me just say something about Michael Bennett Michael Bennett and I have history As people that listen to this podcast know He was a to me at the Super Bowl That's common knowledge Well, he talked about your He talked about this, yes

Well, all right, let's not get into it Water under the bridge My point is, on balance, I do like that Michael Bennett and his brother are in the NFL because they at least speak their mind and they reject the teachings of the Russell Wilson School a professional jock speak.

These guys gave a very open interview where they discussed both their opinions about the league and then there was a kind of a name recognition portion of the interview and that's what kind of went viral yesterday in social media where Kimes threw out some names and the brothers reacted. So I'm just going to go down this list here. You guys could stop me whenever you want. Jay Cutler, Michael Bennett says, worst quarterback in the NFL.

Martellis says, and remember, Martellis was a teammate for the last three years before going to New England. I'd be open and he'd throw into double coverage. I appreciate those comments. Eli Manning, Martellis, this was good. Eli, he's cool. He's like a normal white guy you see at the park trying to teach his kids how to play soccer, and you know he can't really play soccer himself. Seems accurate.

I wish I had used that as the lead of my case against Eli Manning's Hall of Fame candidacy. It is. That's that's him in a nutshell. That's a Hall of Fame backhanded compliment. Brock Osweiler, Michael Bennett, I've got more sacks than he has touchdowns. Martellis, I've caught more balls than he's completed. Both are accurate, those statements. J.J. Watt.

Dominant player, Michael says. Martellis says corny. Half the NFL is corny, though. And then Michael adds, people love J.J. Watt, but they don't really like J.J. Watt. but they don't really like J.J. Watt. You know what I'm saying? We do. No, what you're saying?

That was a George Strait. Well done. Sam Bradford. And this came with a grin for both brothers. Michael, the greatest quarterback in the NFL, Martellis, vicious, competitive. Michael, a real Joe Montana. That was my favorite part.

What was the history, again, Wes, with the Bennett's in San Bradford? Well, when Sam Bradford decided he was going to take his ball and go home and he wouldn't report to Eagles OTAs, Michael basically eviscerated him. Oh, yeah. It said he would, that would never fly in Seattle. Also, Michael who, even though I've set aside my personal issues with him, has been bitching about a contract for what feels like 20 years now.

Yes. He, it must eat him up that San Bradford is one of the highest paid football players in the last 10 years while he can't get a simple raise to match. It's understandable. And finally, Tom Brady, Martellis says, the Silver Fox, you never get to see, but you hear. about you only get to take one photo and you have to stay outside for a year just to get it i believe he's decode that great he's conflating a silver fox with a snow leopard oh okay yeah i think a silver

fox is an attractive older man yeah which tom brady is he blew it snow leopard lives high in the himalayas and are rarely ever photographed i i like fox is the guy from madman exactly let's let's go to the subtext of all this great you know is a great great great piece great quotes but you There's part of Dan Hansis that looks at this situation and things. How is this going to really play in New England? You are looking forward to the potential day where the Martellus Bennett experiment blows up in Bill Belichick. I did, and I mentioned that in the write-up on our end-around

sub-site, I'll call it, NFL.com slash end-around. I believe that this could go very poorly. I think a lot of people... I mean, Martellis has bounced around a lot. Michael's only been on two teams, the Bucks in Seattle. Martel seems to wear out his welcome, and he's got to get in line there. I don't know his attitude, especially if he doesn't find a role in that offense right away that suits him in his mind, he could start talking.

They're saying that they're throwing endlessly to both tight ends and practice both quarterbacks are. I mean, I think he's going to have a role in the offense, quite a big one. And maybe he's, you know, Belichick loves to bring certain guys in for two seasons, then they're gone. He's in a contract year. I think it really might be one good year out of Bennett, and he gets big-time money. elsewhere, and he said the tight-end position looks as good as it's ever been. You know, they don't want to talk about how it was in 2010, 2011.

That was pretty great then. I do think Bill Belichick has evolved in his attitude towards players and how they talk to the media. I know he seems unbelievably disciplined and strict, but he allows more stuff than he did, especially early in his run in New England, where he got really mad when people did. Here's what I would say in response to Dan. I think when you're a creative, original thinker and a smart person, and Martellus Bennett seems to be those things. Except for the Silver Fox thing.

Okay, that's fair. It's harder to deal with ineptitude around you. And I think that his personality deals much better with people like Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and Gronk, who are the best at what they do and you're surrounded by greatness. I will, that is a fair point. I will counter it with when Bill Belichick says he's never been more happy with a tight end room. that means he's happy with a depth all the way down that positional group. So when Martellus Bennett starts, you know, wonging off, is that a term?

No. Popping off. Is that a term? Honkin. Honkin. There's no way Belichick's going to put up with it. He says, hit the road or mysteriously end up on IR, and I get the next Johnny come lately to take your spot.

I mean, Gronk is no wallflower. It's all about how good you are. If he plays well, they'll be fine with it. They had Chad Johnson on their team. He's terrible. You think that Gronk, I mean, do we have to say it with Gronk? What? He's like a harmless little, like, kindergarten student.

He's not going to get out of line. Nothing little. I've not seen any kindergarten students party like that. You're saying he's not the type of individual that West described an intelligent man that needs to be surrounded by greatness. Well, he doesn't, like, walk out on practice and getting fights with people and create massive issues in the locker room. which Mortellis Bennett has done.

I tell you what, Gronk is not after watching the endless Dunkin' Donuts commercials this summer with David Ortiz. If you're watching the Red Sox games, not a great actor, Rob Gargowski. Shocking. Not a great actor. Just put it this way. It's good that he has football. That's what's happening in the news. All right.

It's time. Get excited, everybody, because Gregi does Dallas. How we're doing that. Wasn't this Oxnard? Yeah, but the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, okay. I love what you've come up with, Dan. Brandon is visibly uncomfortable.

He is excited that shadowy league figures have been on vacation this week and not paying attention to the flaming mess going on in this studio. I have to say, though, all those things that I got out of our music database and all the things that we had, so we're covered. We're following the rules. All right. What did we want to know about Greg's trip to Cowboys Camp? They don't send us anywhere.

We barely exist in this company. So it's good when we get out of the offices. And Greg, I would like to know. First of all, is Tony Romo fat? No. He's not. Hesitation. Yeah.

Picked up on that. Has Tony Romo ever been a guy that you looked at and thought that guy is the picture of a professional athlete in great shape? He's not exactly Cam Newton or Colin Caput. Shape is not. I've never had an issue or noticed anything about him not being in shape. I know that he's not built like a statue. Right.

They didn't have, you know, they had that picture of him where he looked bad, but that was just a bad picture. He's out there in the heat with pads on. He's practicing. He does have some back stiffness. When he took off his pads at the end of the day and walked off the field, I mean, he kind of looks like a regular guy. I mean, he's not a guy that's cut up or anything,

and maybe the back injury. he has prevented him from training as hard as he'd like. But I don't think that's a serious concern. Well, in the so-called fat photo, he was also wearing a flap jacket. Right. Which is, if you ever played football, it's like it makes you look crazy. Well, I've learned, you know, intrepid reporting from guys like Mark Sessler, who's kind of mentored me in this business.

And I kept an eye out on Tony Romo after the day was over and he walked off the field with the pads off and stuff. I was kind of curious. Yeah, I mean, he kind of looks like a regular guy, but Ben Rathesberger isn't exactly cut up either. I mean, quarterbacks aren't like major league pitchers, which can come in, you have major league pitchers. They're just like big pairs. Or Tolo Cologne.

Well, sure, but they still pitch well. But with quarterbacks, it's the position where you don't need to have like a six-pack at age 38. They don't. Well, look at Ben Rathlisberger. Right. Exactly. I think, I would say, though, that you saw Tom Brady and Carson Palmer move as well

as they ever have in their career this year because they're in impeccable shape. Well, I think that's a concern for Romo. Well, but I think that's a concern for the Cowboys, because backstiffness is the issue here. He's sitting, he's sitting out occasional practices still in training camp. You know, he maybe isn't moving as well as he used to. That was a big part of his game. Your back is hurt. A, he can't do anything all offseason, and it prohibits all movement. So that's, we don't even know what his offseason was like. He's been on, he's been on the field, though. So that, to be, isn't a huge concern. And the Tony Romo that you love to see that, Dan, that you fell in love with as a player, was there.

And I was thinking, what a big difference. It must be for the team having them on the field. I mean, he's trash talking. When the second and third teams are out on the field, he's kind of just a couple feet behind, kind of watching it all, yelling things. I remember before one play, like Maurice Claiborne honks a lot, before one play, he just goes, come on, Mo, get ready to get your ass kicked. And you know what he did?

He threw a bomb down the field to Terrence Williams, who caught a pass right over Maurice Claibord. It was awesome. You know, the crowd loves it, everyone loves it. He's that guy. Terrence Williams, got a pass? The joy. The joy in Greg's voice.

Oh, he loves it. The game. Other news surrounding Gregi does Dallas. What else? Amazing. It's preposterous. I can't follow that. That reminds me actually of one takeaway had.

a lot of concern about the music at these practices. Really? There's the toughest job in football, well, maybe one of the top thousand toughest jobs. Way to backtrack. It's a joke. It's a joke. There are reverse gears in this tank. It's a joke.

It's being a DJ at these practices because I'm telling you, whatever, no matter what song was on, there was a player going over to this guy and complaining because I was standing right next to the DJ. And they're like, oh, come on. Like Cole Beasley was coming out. They had a lot of Drake on in a row. I feel like everything is... What did Cole Beasley want to hear?

It's either Drake, Future, or the combination of Drake and Future. And Colby... Oh, you're killing me with this stuff. And then they'll kind of switch it. He's like, you're killing me with this stuff. I got nothing here. If I was the DJ, I would just troll them and put on Born to Run. Right.

And so then they'll maybe play some, you know, kind of rock country type of thing. For Cole Beasley. Then some other players come over. Jason Witton, fist pumping. There were very few songs that made it through all the way where some players didn't come over and complain. to them you know what this connects with west when you have oh wow this is interesting when wesselmania or west related drinking events i have noticed a trend amongst the millennials

that we traffic with that we work with typically they are way too into the music in terms of this song is bad let me put my phone in let me change this song it's a horrible let me not leave on this playlist here you have to hear this that is a millennial thing it's a horrible me first self-righteous claim that you can just take someone's music and hijack it because you feel like listening to a song. Here's another problem with the music. They don't beep out the swears, but it'll be the clean version where just nothing is said. But there's six-year-old, you know, there was six-year-old like daughters and little kids

right next to the speakers. And it's all like, I'm going to blank you and you're blank, just nonstop the whole time. Wait, what does that mean blank you and you're blank? What is that? I was just thinking, like, if I'm a parent, I'm a parent at this thing, it was too much. I'm sorry. Anything else? I just wanted to say that.

Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. I wanted to tell you, but he went on his thing. If this has anything to do the Sugar Ray, just stop now. No, no. He got him. No, no.

He got him. You got him. It did. Wow, that was a good job. I just wanted to go on the record and say that. even mess with any of your guys' playlist. I appreciated you putting my music on. Yeah.

All right. Thank you, Brandon. This is all God. Anything else from Greggy Does Dallas? Anything else? Ezekiel Elliott looked incredible until he got injured, which was unfortunate. How do you mean incredible? his you know i watched some of the running back drills up close and man he obviously is just big and

powerful and can move so well but it was really in the the seven on sevens the eleven on eleven he had two different plays which got a lot of his teammates to make that who which is like that's the best thing you can do as a player is make all your teammates do that and it was by making kyle wilbur on one play and uh another one of their linebackers i think gachar on another play just in the hole making them absolutely whiff on him on a play that they're supposed to cut as they would say thud him up like hit hit him and just that quick sort of lateral movement while he's a powerful back it was exciting to see

but then he pulled his hamstring right at the end of the that sucks you see jerry jones oh yeah can i just say one more thing about all the jones is i got a lot the um and yeah we should wrap up this second so you had a lot more than you realized you're really now i forgot what he was going to say all right go ahead Joneses? Oh, no, no. The ooh is the second best thing that you can get.

The best thing a player can get from his fellow players is the towel in front of them being waved off. Oh, yeah. That is the number one thing. That's true. The Bernard Pollard. Yeah. All right. Go ahead.

The Joneses were all in the mix. I like how at training camp they have the, you know, the thing where the owners are in the, they build an entire structure, you know, 40 feet above. It's like a Roman Coliseum. Right. And the owners just sit up there watching their minions. underneath. You long to be up there. You know, it's just cool.

Greg, throne of ease right there. One thing I thought watching it, because Jerry Jones and Romo had a 15-minute long conversation at one point. Meanwhile, while some players are doing other individual drills, and Romo's just not even in the mix. And then Jason Garrett and Witten are having like a 15-minute conversation in the middle of practice. And I was thinking, what two players in the NFL

probably have more power within their own team than Jerry, than Tony Romo and Jason? win. Like, if you're going to be a player that is kind of into being the man and being able to run things, you want to play for the Cowboys. Be nice if they'd be winning more games. But those two guys, it's like they're almost like assistant coaches advising and talking with the owners and coaches. And that wraps up the 2016 edition of Gregi does. Dallas. Oh, yeah. All right, this segment is called. This next segment is called.

and there's no accompanying adult-themed music. This year is Doug Martin. On the fly, we renamed it. I like that. So let's go around. Let's go around. This is the running back who will just dominate fantasy rosters, real rosters, maroon. We can add some Dougie fresh in post, maybe.

Maybe. Maybe some Dougie fresh. Wes is a fan. Oh, yeah. Some Dougie Doug. Remember that actor? Lottie-Doddy. All right, Mark, get us going.

This year's Doug Martin is Eddie Lacey. And, you know, when I came up with this name before the show, I was hearing a little bit, but we've already talked about Eddie Lacey a lot. It's like, but how do you do that? For the record, that was me because I think I'm talking about it. Everybody knows Eddie Lacey's going to be good this year. All right. He's not fat.

I actually completely agree with you, but how do you do? I think I'm taking a bullet for the team because I've got to come up with the non-surprise answer because how do you do this segment without talking about. about Eddie Lacey and a team that may have the number one group of triplets by the end of the season, Eddie Lacey has lost 20 pounds. He is about three or four pounds away from what they would say is ideal playing shape. He can lose that in camp. He's getting good reports. The coaches are happy. And really, it's about returning to the guy he was at stretches of the season before and the year before that. That is possible. We've seen him do it. This offense has so many other

weapons that these players get healthy that it's not a stack-the-box scenario on Eddie Lacey. Last year, you know, with the wide receiver situation, the running game became targeted for the first time, really, in that offense. Now he's part of a passing game that brings players back. You got Aaron Rogers. Eddie Lacey is a logical candidate for a massive bounceback. He had, what, 758 yards last year? He is not going to double that, but he could get up to 12, 1,300 yards.

I don't think this choice needs to be defended. I think it was a good option, especially when Packers coaches are saying that they're going to, you know, I have a 50-50 split with James Starks, and I think I agree with Mark, that's not happening. If Eddie Lacey's anywhere near in shape, he's one of the 10 best running backs in the NFL. So you trust Mark over the Packers? Yes, I do. On some level, I think it makes sense because he needs a big preseason. Because if we watch this and he's okay, I disagree.

I kind of expect James Starks will get a lot of work early in the year because they've seen it happen over and over. Not if you see Eddie Lacey running like Doug Martin. Isn't this Eddie Lacey's career in Green Bay? Right. Save him for the second. half of the season or use Starks early. Well, that's maybe their choice, but that doesn't mean. I got to win games, Grant.

I mean, I think Eddie Lacey is going to go wire to wire if he's the guy they want him to be. Mark, thank you for your sacrifice. All right. You're putting it correctly now. Thank you. Wes, I was all set to choose Amir Abdullah, whom I loved last August, and injuries and poor blocking ruined his fumbling issues, too, ruined his rookie season. I still have confidence in him.

I want to see how that shoulder does before I, you know, kind of anoint him as the preseason guy. I'm going with another guy who lost 20 pounds. Terrence West. Mark's old buddy who. Oh, boy. Mark doesn't have great feelings for Terrence West, I'm sure. Because he didn't, he was kind of a problem child in Cleveland and the coaching staff. Oh, right.

It's a head case. Well, do you, do you remember? Wasn't he the one who when he got picked up off waivers in last season, it really upset you? You thought he was going to do really well? No, no, no, no. He got picked up by the Tennessee Titans. That's what I'm saying. And I wanted Kristen Michael to go to the Browns.

Also, Chris Carter's son. I wanted Ron Carter as well. I'm messing it up. Sorry. That's all right. Terrence West, according to multiple media sources, has been the best offensive player in Ravens Camp through the first week. Explosive, elusive through the hole.

Looks like a different player because he's lost 15 pounds in the best shape of his career. according to John Harbaugh, and I don't think it's going to be real tough to beat out Justin Fawcett and Buck Allen for that number one role. If he runs, like, I think he's going to run in preseason games.

So I'm kind of like, I realize this is a, it's kind of a long shot. Well, one thing about... That's a sleeper. He is back home. He went to college in that area, and I just think that for a rookie coming into the Browns program two years ago,

there was not a lot of support, coaching support. The organization was fractured, and he got caught in a running back room where there were other head cases too. And so it is not crazy that someone three years into their career after having a great office season where you get your body in shape would look like the guy that he did. And for a couple of games in Cleveland, he had a couple hundred-yard games. He looked good.

There was a reason why the Browns traded up in the draft to get over the Ravens who wanted him. Foreset might get cut if Terrence West is ahead of him on the debunk. Is it also maybe a sneaky like dig at the entire Ravens' offense if he is the most explosive player i i don't look at it that way i look at it as this this guy has a chance to be the guy who's going to wow us in preseason i will stick in the afc north and talk about levi on bell good job dan that's your second time around i will talk about jeremy hill and jeremy hill is a guy it could not get it would be worse than it was to jeremy hill last year not only did he disappoint both the Bengals and fantasy owners last year.

Then he went through something in January, which can really ruin a career that fumble that cost Cincinnati their first playoff win in how long less? Literally decade. 1991 was the last time they want to playoff game. So that's some mental baggage to overcome, some physical baggage, just having Geo Bernard in the mix. But I think he's a guy we could see him return to the type of impact player that put him on everybody's radar last year.

And there are very positive reports out there that he had the Cincinnati Inquirer reported that he had a, quote, really good off-season program, handled all the stuff that came through with the fumble, all the off-the-field madness that I'm sure haunted him throughout the winter. He took that on and he handled it and moved forward. The Inquirer expects a huge year. I don't know what his workload will be in this offense if he'll get enough carries to be a guy that's, you know, rushing for 1,200 yards. But I do fully expect him to bounce back after a tough year,

have double-digit touchdowns potentially, and be a guy again that they can count on as opposed to what we saw last year, which ended up being somewhat of a liability. He wasn't in great shape last year, and I'm not sure he was a good fit for the offense that Hugh Jackson ran, which was more suited to Gio Bernard's skill set

as a pass for first offense. With the new coordinator in here, I think it'll be interesting to see what, if they maybe emphasized Jeremy Hilligan. Well, I mean, they gave Gio a big contract. Yeah, that tells you something. Isn't it largely the same offense under Ken Zampeze? That's what they've said.

Do we know? Well, I guess we don't know, but it based on... Are you going to run a lot of three-wide receiver sets without Monmouth? That's true. The personnel is going to limit you. The personnel will change things. In a perfect world, they're going to run the ball a lot this year because it's a good offensive line. And if Dan is right, and I think Dan might be right on this one because he'll show it.

And that's one of the most exciting backfields in the league. I guess the Rams is not the option anymore. It's an incredible backfield because I am so high on Geo Bernard. I think he can go up another level from what he was, which is already a really underrated, really valuable player. And those two guys together, it'd be hard to top those two guys. Yeah, I mean, if Jeremy Hill runs like 2014, it's one of the most exciting offense. Right. Greg.

I'll go Carlos Hyde. I thought of doing Matt Jones, who's a similar player, but he really was that guy last year. We've seen him do it in the preseason. We've got to see Matt Jones do it in the regular season. Carlos Hyde, I'm interested in because he's coming off an injury. He's in a new Chip Kelly offense, and man, he has an opportunity to put up monster numbers

because he's a rare back these days that's going to stay on the field, that he's a power back that's going to get the goal line carries, and he's going to catch the ball, and he's in Chip Kelly's offense. Chip Kelly's not afraid to give the ball to one guy a lot. Look at LaShawn McCoy's first couple of years. under Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. I mean, he got it about as much as anyone.

And so Hyde is someone I want to see. All reports have been good for him. If he looks fresh this training camp in preseason, I'm taking him in all my fantasy league. Why the flip-flop? Why flip-flop? What do you mean? You had Carlos Hyde, and then he said,

no, I want to talk about Matt Jones. Well, I didn't. I went to Carlos. That was my sneaky way of putting two guys in there. Oh. Wouldn't we all be surprised if Carlos Hyde doesn't look like a stud during preseason games? I will be surprised if he doesn't look phenomenal. Well, that's all I need to see is kind of to cement it.

And then I'm in. I'm in on him. It's the same thing with Matt Jones. He already looked good in the preseason. So did Amir Abdullah. Sometimes they look a little different. Your boy Spiller is a guy to watch this spring. Yeah.

Why just think he's a guy that you don't know what you're going to get out of him. And if he looks great in camp, then you start getting excited in the preseason. If this exercise is indeed called this year is Doug Martin, I want to throw in one more. It's a total homer pick. But Blau Powell is a guy. If you watched the Jets in December last year, he was a major part of that offense.

He didn't play week 17, and I really do think that is the reason that they went home and blew that game in Orchard Park with Powell not playing. Now they go out and get Matt Forte who has a similar skill set. I understand that. But I'm not so sure that Forte is going to get as much work or be as effective as maybe more optimistic Jets fans. think and I think Powell will end up being an important guy or even more important than Forte in

that backfield. I'm a big Powell. He's been a survivor. I mean, I feel like the. And he got a new deal too, which means they really like him. He's a role player. He is. He's not a featureback. He's a role player. He's a feature back. So he's not going to be this year's Doug Martin. But I just don't want him to be forgotten because he was really. And Greg, I remember us talking about this. Then the stretch run, he was making people miss. He was Shifty. He was a great receiver out of the backfield. Much better receiver than runner. He's this year's Belal Pelopel.

He, no, he, it, I think, I think he might end up being their main guy, it sounds. That happens. That happens. That has to be a disappointment for that organization. Well, Forte is not healthy right now, so that's a minor thing. But I believe it was the New York Star Ledger thought

even before that, that they were going to split the carries between Forte. Who is up there? This is the reason I'm talking about it. I think he's better than people realize. I think at the end of the... Last year he was. Every other year of his career, he was not.

I'm in. I'm in on the second half. Even the first half of last year, I think they kind of figured out some things about him. I think that's why he came back, even after they got Forte. I think they like him a lot. All right.

Anything else, guys? Before we go, we have one more thing to talk about. Hall of Fame tweeners to Hall of Fame bangers. That is not the headline. Can we bring that song up, please? No, of course. Yeah, one more time. Hall of Fame tweeters.

To Hall of Fame bangers. By Greg Rosenthal. And if you really want to know Greg's headline, Greg's the worst headliner. I did not write that one. I might be. Tony Romo, Kama, Eli Manning, among players on HOF bubble. I did not write that. Okay.

Fair enough. Anyway, so I do, I like the premise for this column a lot, in which you're going to throw out some really notable names and you're saying if their career tell me if I'm wrong if their career ended right now they would probably have

a hard time getting in where they're currently at although I disagree with the first name on this list if that's the premise for this but what they really need is maybe a little bit of a push to get over the hump and be a real Canton dude that's right

and less about predicting what the committee selection committee is going to do because it's very hard to predict. But more of what I think, have they earned a Hall of Fame spot yet? And would a big-time push at the end of their career help put them over the top?

Some of these guys have a long way to go. Some of the other guys, like you mentioned, Eli Manning is the first name on this list. And I don't think he has a long way to go, certainly not in the eyes of the selection committee because of the playoffs. But it's really crazy when you think about his career and how overall overrated it is because of those two playoff runs.

The most overrated player I've ever seen. I don't want to go too deep into it, you know, because we've talked a lot of Eli. I think he will make the Hall of Fame ultimately, and his durability and some of the things that makes him special in terms of completing tough catches and being very intelligent, that's all great. But he has not been a top 10 quarterback in his career, period.

Like, not even if you break it down year by year, there is only one year, and that would be 2011, which he had an incredible year, that you could even argue that he would be a top five quarterback. He has never made an all-pro team, first or second team. He has been selected to two Pro Bowls. He had two more as an alternate, just like Andy Dalton. I don't count that. Two Pro Bowls. Twice in his career, he has finished in the top 10 of QBR on ESPN.

Once in his career, he's finished in the top 10 of quarterback ranking. And this is all stats. Stats don't say everything. It's a team sport. But this is an individual honor. And he's gotten those trophies and the commercials and the money. He's been rewarded for those titles. But to me, a Hall of Fame spot, that's an individual honor.

That's not about. If we're going to talk stats, let me just throw out. First of all, he has 294 career touchdowns. By the time he retires, which will be about four or five years, he'll have thrown like 400 touchdowns. Which won't even be remarkable in the era in which he played. The area is big. He is now 35 years old, I believe.

Okay. His last two seasons, and I know, Wes, you like to say it's because of his wide receiver. Well, it is. But let me just throw it out there. He has averaged 4,400 yards passing, and he's thrown 65 touchdowns in his last two years of the passer rating over 90. He's still... The average quarterback has a 90 passerweight. He is an elite producer.

Yeah, but tell me how many quarterbacks throw over 30 touchdowns, 30 to 35 touchdowns. The ones with O'Dell Beckham on the roster. With 4,000 to 4,500. Now, I understand. He's been good. Those last few years have helped. If he does another couple like that and piles up some more good individual numbers, I think that'll help his case a lot.

That's what this is about. The case I'm making is that he has the numbers to go with the playoff success. And you could have the number. You could have the East Coast bias like Wes and say, well, he's a giant. I don't like the Giants and I don't like New York. And I, you know, I don't want to give him any respect. What does that have to do? Everyone else has the man he name bias, so I'll take mine over that.

There doesn't have to be biased. I go by production and success. But you're not. You're saying his stats are good enough, and they're clearly not. His stats are not good enough. I don't think that's an argument. One note, isn't it the problem that this Hall of Fame is voted on by sports writers? And the manning name is royalty in football and Super Bowl titles.

Throw all that out. No, but I'm saying that that helps Eli, Manning, whether you like it or not. Well, that's true. If you throw out those two things, he's not a Hall of Fame. Right, but the problem is there's also quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame was statistically, and I guess it's eras, but we're going to have to keep looking at

eras so differently, but there's going to be quarterbacks that don't get in the Hall of Fame that absolutely dwarf the accomplishments of Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Of course. Matthew Stafford is going to have better numbers than most of the Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Period. Why, the Hall of Fame is nonsense? Here's another thing. There's no one in the

top, like he's never in the top five of The only categories he's ever led the league in, Dan, interceptions. He's done that three times. He was never the best. He has never been the best, but that doesn't mean he's not a Hall of Famer. And let me just tell you something. And you want to argue with his losses. They're not a winning team.

I hate to break this to you. First of all, I beat the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl, won the MVP in both those games. He is already eighth all time in touchdown passes. And you could say, oh, 400 touchdown passes. Don't mean anything, but only one, two, three, four guys have ever done it. And behind him right now, Philip Rivers will maybe get it. Ben Rathesburg will maybe get it.

Aaron Rogers will maybe get it. All those guys are going on the Hall of Fame. 400 touchdowns does matter. So you could try to denigrate the stats. It doesn't work. Counting stats aren't what put football players in Hall of Fame. What about winning Super Bowls? I mean, that's what Hall of Fame.

Winning Super Bowls absolutely does. Troy Aikman. Well, to your point. Find something that actually takes him out of the Hall of Fame. You're saying 400 touches. That's another 100. That's the point of this article. I'm saying he needs another.

The most durable quarterback. I'm saying he needs another two to three good years of loading up some of these individual stats, like Peyton have a good post-35. You're right. Some of his best years are the last two years. And I think he's been solid. He's been more on that top 10 borderline the last couple of years. And if he puts up another couple with Odell's help, I think he's probably in.

You guys know I respect your football knowledge more than anything. But this is the one thing I cannot stand for because the one thing I feel more strongly about. Okay. Can I make a point? I haven't been able to make any points yet. Not yet. I'm waiting for it. Okay, so I know the militaristic stats nerds tell you that you can never mention

quarterback wins and losses, which makes sense over one season, but it bears out over NFL history the best quarterbacks have great one loss records. Eli Manning is 97 and 86, which is downright mediocre. So now we're going to that wins and losses do matter for quarterbacks because I thought we That's my entire point that the stats nerds are wrong. I thought we weren't supposed to look at like that. So now we're going to go post. I'm telling you that they've always mattered and they always will.

for career he's been a mediocre quarterback which bears out in his record i've been i've been told by people that know football that you should not judge a quarterback on wins and luck are you sure those people know football or they just no numbers not only but i think that speaks to what i was trying to get at with eli which is that if you're going to make the stats argument he's not great there and if you're going to make the wins loss argument he's really not great there he like you said is only 10 over for his whole career he has the two super bowls which he deserves all the credit in the world he was great in those two runs. Those are the only two seasons he's won a playoff game in.

It's not like the rest of the 12 years. They've been a good team. They've been a mediocre team. Can we just bring little Debbie back in the studio? Oh. I mean, this is just ugly. Yeah, let's move on from Eli. He does have stats.

He does have a stats. Well, you're looking at counting stats, not like percentage stats. I'm not trying to. Which are much more telling. Let's talk about someone everyone likes, you know. People are happy at that. All right. Let's talk about somebody else.

I don't know. Well, I did have two other quarterbacks on this while. Who else is there? I put Rivers, who I think is a, I put him in the best bet category where I think if he can have a strong run. And I was trying to think of players like him and Romo who could really change the way people think about them with a long playoff run. Because Rivers has all the numbers. He's been in the top of the league. But it's been a while since he's had some big time moments in January.

So you're acknowledging that a Super Bowl run should matter for a quarterback then? Absolutely. Absolutely. It's going to, it's absolutely going to make a difference with the voter. Does anyone ever say that a Super Bowl run shouldn't matter? I'm saying that. I'm saying that that's not enough. Jim Plunkets won two Super Bowls. Jimmy Johnson's won two Super Bowls. George Seferts won two super Bowls. Don't get on the coach. Coaching is impossible.

Those are the two most important people, are quarterbacks and coaches. Yeah, but coaches, that's a whole different Hall of Fame argument. There should be more coaches. All I mean is we're not just talking Hall of Fame championships, because of course. There should be more offensive. in the Hall of Fame. Yes, because there's Doug, you know, there's Doug Williams, there's Brad Johnson, there's lots of quarterbacks that have titles, and Dan Marino does it, and no one's going

to argue that he's not going to go back to Eli Manning, but I'm just, I'm not a Hall of Fame voter, and there's a reason for it, but there's something about a quarterback that generates multiple championships. Right. I think Rivers and Romo have been let down by their awardizations. If they were on the Giants, I fully think they would take advantage of that opportunities, just like Eli Manning had. I think Rivers is a safer one.

He's had a little bit longer of his career, a little more consistent than Romo, but Romo could really change the way people think about him with a big run. Who else we got here? I was going to accuse Greg of playing favorites, but he already acknowledged that this article was partially about playing favorites, that you want to argue for the guys that you like. Yeah, I even said at the top, this isn't comprehensive.

I wanted to make some cases. Well, under Jamal Charles, you say, I favor players with brilliant peaks over stat compilers who stick around for a long time, which makes sense to me, I agree with you totally. And yet Frank Gore is exactly a stat compiler and not a brilliant peak guy. Yeah. Well, very consistent, though.

Yeah. Well, that's what a stack compiler is. Sure, but I mean, I say Frank Gore as an argument. I did consider that. I mean, I thought about that even as I wrote that, that Gore is different. I think Gore's chances of getting in are because of compiling those stats. I think he has been a top five running back throughout his career and that it's been underappreciated and that people will notice more if he gets 7,800 yards this year,

if he's the first guy over 33 to run for 1,000 yards in 30 years since John Riggins. If he climbs past Tony Dorset and Jim Brown and his number eight on the all-time list, that's going to help him possibly get in. I think he has been a Hall of Fame quality player throughout the rest of his career. I wonder how many running backs of the Super Bowl era have only cleared 1,300 yards in a season one time? Probably not a lot. You have Anquan Bolden last on this list. And I don't think, yeah, he's probably not going to get in,

but I like that he put him here because he's an underappreciated guy for what he's done in this league. Well, he'll get knocked. He'll compile some stats like Gore. And if he's lucky, he could move up into the top 10, top 12, all-time receiving, which is great. He put up numbers as a number one receiver, monster numbers, before Larry Fitzgerald was there.

I don't knock him for being a great team player. He was the number one receiver for two years on some pretty good 49ers teams, number one. One of them that went to the Super Bowl, or no, went to the NFC championship, rather, and he has some of those moments in the playoffs that people remember. They would not have won the Super Bowl in Baltimore without him. He had some great moments in Arizona. He had some in San Francisco. I mean, I think you shouldn't knock them for being a team player.

He fits the Heinz Ward profile, and I think if one goes in, it would be Heinz Ward over Bolden. The Hall of Fame has a problem, though, because 10, 15, years from now, we're going to have all these players with monster stats and Super Bowls, and they're not, there's going to be such a glut that a big chunk of guys that if they were 1984 would have gotten in unanimously with no issues, and they're going to be left out of this thing because the game changes and we're still measuring it off of some willy-nilly sports writer voting thing. Well, it's on the sports writers to kind of take up the...

Are we happy with the results that they produced? I think it's hit or miss. My point would be if you're saying that it's going to be more challenging in the future because of the offensive heavy era that we're playing in now. It's on the sports writers to kind of take a page out of Dr. Z and Paul Zimmerman's book and actually watch the games. I would say that every year you remove two people from the Hall of Fame. Well, I hear.

Cold-blooded. That's damage. I wanted to, one of the things they took out of this, you know, way too long article was I think it's the hardest sport to cover because there's the biggest gap. between the people inside the game and the people that cover it here we understand the sport less i think and i think that's exacerbated by a lot of the hall of fame committee they're covering one team most of their career how can you know at least if you're covering the entire league well they certainly have homer votes right you have you have a broad view where you can see how players are versus each other

but if you really cover in one team and one division you know it does the committee still have a baseball beatwriter on it what i know i know i know which one you're thinking. Yeah, I mean, come on. Clean up your business committee. I did check. It looked tightened up. It looked tightened up now.

Mark, it sounds like from what you were saying that you're not happy with the committee. Is there someone recently in the last couple of years that got in that you're furious about or someone that's not in that you believe, where are the miscarriages of justice in your mind? I'm not going to denigrate players that have gotten in. If you're going to put in Andre Reid, we've got a conversation about a lot of other wide receivers. I'm not saying that Andre Reid, where he was in time, what didn't belong it compared to other players. But if you're going to put

him in, then that opens, that creates a problem for other wide receiver selection issues down the room. Right. I think that's right. I think that's why I put a name like Anquan Bold in there. Because I think you never know if he has one more 1,000 yard season. He ends up doing that for four different team

that, like him versus an art monk and Andy Reed, he's in that mix. If you don't put Romo in, and I understand the Super Bowl thing, but it's an eras and Super Bowl's thing because I understand the passing game was different, and you had Emmett Smith on your team, but Troy Aikman Statistics versus Romo's outside of the Super Bowl thing, Troro, Romo will be absolutely missed in Dallas,

and I think he is a Hall of Fame quarterback, minus the title. And so it's just you're making different arguments for different players. It's hard not to feel hypocritical when you swing back and forth for what players should get in on. I think Romo, first of all, he didn't start until his mid-20s to really get playing time. he's missed a couple years and then you factor in the back you know the back injuries have affected his stats and the missing time

I don't think he'll have the numbers to stack up and then if he doesn't have any titles I think he could be on the outside you keep saying numbers as in counting stats but I think that voters do and will take more into account percentage stats which are much more reflective of how a player plays and Romo is second all time

in something called net yards per passing attempt which is a great metric to use. I mean, how, how, when you're back, when you're, you know, going back to pass, how many yards do you get on average? He's second all time to Peyton Manning. And his fourth. That's not how guys get in the Hall of Fame, though.

That's what I'm pointing to. But that's on the committee to start paying attention to the right stats and not the wrong one. And what they rip him for, some of his numbers in the clutch are startling. I mean, Romo has, there were two seasons ago, was right up there with Aaron Rogers and others. I just, I think that, again, Romo, I think the early part of his career was so maligned because of one

playoff game in Seattle. If that had not happened, people would have seen Tony Romo differently, and it's an image perception thing with so many of these players. Which is crazy because he was the holder, and they decided to keep him the holder the whole year because he started that out like that because he was a no-name undrafted player. I mean, it's ridiculous. Before we go, I do want to point out, Julius Peppers, looking at this, I started thinking, gosh, as much as I've always thought of a Julius Peppers, going through the whole thing, man, is he an incredible player who almost shouldn't be on this list because he should be He should be so obvious.

Maybe he is, but I don't know if people view him that way. He has had an unreal career. Andre Johnson's another one. I think I'd vote for Andre Johnson right now. Yeah, I think he's probably pretty safe, but I wanted to make the case for him. I also put in James Harrison just to annoy Mark Sessley. I think James Harrison, you know, I don't know. He has the longest shot of everyone on his list.

James Harrison, if you want to talk about how if someone has annoyed me for most of my adult life, and that's the Hall of Fame vote, he gets in, and so does Big Ben. And poor Colt McCoy. Did Troy Palomalu ever annoy you? I mean, there's a lot of Hall of Fame Steelers from this past 15 years. Yes, there are. I couldn't get Wes on my side even that Harrison had any argument at all. Which was that he was a top five player on defense for a five-year period.

So it's kind of the Terrell Davis argument. He doesn't have a ton else other than that. He's got some other moments. But that's impressive when you're a defensive player of the year, when you're runner up and you're just that type of player. I agree with that point that for a five-year span, he was dominant. I just think he's not going to get him because he didn't become a starter until he was 29 years old. What else can be said?

Greg wrote a banger. That's it for this week's edition of the three editions of the Around the NFL podcast. We thank you all for listening. And how are we doing, Greg, on the iTunes Comments Challenge? I'm putting you on the spot here. See how quickly you can move that mouse. Looks very slow. I can't even check it right.

Well, I could check it on my phone. I know we were approaching. What's going on over there, Greg? They wiped my whole computer because of security issues, and I don't even have iTunes up right now. John King of CNN over here. All right. What's going on?

I don't have IT. You got a MacBook, and I thought you'd be able to check it out for me. But you couldn't. It's okay. We'll cut this out. Yeah. I think this is good. Let's keep it in and show them how this room really operates.

Let's find it. Greg on his phone slowly. Dan, I have it if you want it. Yeah, I would love it. There's a thousand and five rating. Whoa! Way to go. Let's go to 2000.

See, we got some momentum by asking for it. You should be very proud there, Greg, because you really made action happen. You said you're not the boss anymore. Everybody who leaves an iTunes review is invited to Wesleynia 3. I'll think your neighbors will love that. All right.

We'll be back on Monday with three more shows. Until then, this is Dan Hansa. Signing off for Quiet Storm, the mailman, the boss, and the Irishman behind the glass. Del Monday. This is an I-heart podcast.