NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Bunkercast XXXII: Pressure Points & My best friend is a brick

Episode Date: April 30, 2020

A bunker filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Chris Wesseling and Gregg Rosenthal bring you the latest news in the NFL including Winston heading to the Saints and Brett Farve anticipating Aaron Rodgers playing somewhere else. The heroes take you through teams and players that have a lot of pressure on them in the upcoming season.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the NFL podcast are available for virtual parties. Jesus, I think. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis.

Coming to you from a city filled. The heroes in punkers. Mark Settler, Chris Wessling, Greg Rosethall. What is that, boys? Hey, Dan. Hey. Oh, yeah. We're back.

Sorry, we're starting a little bit late. I had a minor catastrophe in the backyard. The boys, and again, we're getting into, what is this, month three or heading towards month three? Week seven or eight. Week seven or eight, yeah. I don't think calendars matter anymore, but that's probably accurate. I feel badly for them is I want to destroy. them, but I also, I pity them because there's only so much they can do. And we're all in a

similar situation. We all have similar sized homes. We're all in this kind of like same area of the city where we don't, we're not living in opulent mansions. We don't have help. The children can't even go to a park. So I actually cut them some slack when they do things like take the garden hose and then just spray it at full power right against the side of the house, creating potentially a foundational issue because we left them unattended for 15 minutes. Like, this is the stuff that's happening. Emily and I both work. And you got to factor in that we are very fortunate that we're both working and everyone

on the show has a job. And it would be even worse to lose your job, which millions of people have. But it is just another reminder that everyone, unless you are in that 1% is getting affected by this. And there's no finish line. I can't take it. I need a finish line. Someone's got to tell me when this is over. Somebody.

I don't think there is an over. I mean, that doesn't make people feel that. I don't want to hear that. I'm sick of people saying, well, the old way of life is over forever. I don't want to hear that either. It's just different. It's different. But I think there's a lot more comfortable, different that's in the future.

And who knows when we're getting to that. It's got to be different, no matter what. Yeah, you're not going to get lines that you like about this, Dan. I think in general. I mean, there's probably a lot of, you probably desire a lot of things right now. You're not going to get most of them. I'm at the point where I find it funny

that a month ago was kind of like, hey, this is different and it's really cool to hang out with like old friends on Zoom. Now I'm kind of like over most of those people and over the Zoom parties. Like I'm totally bored with having a beard. There's no novelty for that. I mean, the whole thing is just kind of,

we didn't do a new cycle of ultra boredom. And like, I have a billion. kid kid anecdotes that are happening here but i'm bored by them like they're doing the same thing day after day and i like it just feels like a a zombie march through uh endless weeks zoom peaked yeah so we lost that as well now maybe not for like the party set i don't know i'm just kind of lit at night there's no party set drinking every day there are some out there that's i i have actually good information on a few people that have basically told me i'm not going to say who that they've never been quarantining at all and have been just, like, floating from, like,

friends' houses to friends' houses. And that is a different existence than I think the four of us have been experiencing. I was quite irresponsible, actually. I just want to choke slam anyone who uses the phrase new normal more than one time in a conversation. Stop with the new normal. Greg, you're safely on a different part of the city. I didn't say new normal, did I? I don't think so.

No, I mean, I just answered your question. When were we getting back? And I also, like, Greg, one of your favorite lines is nobody knows and all that. Same thing with people saying, like, listen, things aren't going to be the way they used to be. You don't know. Right. Well, I just, I just mean until there's a vaccine, I think it's a fair or a great therapeutic treatment. There's probably, it's a fair estimation that things are just.

going to be a little different even if even if we're back to work and there's different things going on uh yeah i mean how could it how could it not be different this is the most seismic uh world changing event of our lifetime so even if even if it gets to be in the rear view mirror like everything that it's changed is still going to be changed you know like this is it like we're going to be talking about this for the rest of our lives rickie give me something just recklessly positive about the future um um recklessly positive. If we could survive this, if we could survive this, we could survive anything.

I'm talking like, I'm going to. That just makes us look spoiled, I think, I feel like. Yeah, true. It's not that bad. People went to war and we're like, oh, I'm stuck in home with my Netflix. Like, this sucks. Like, I never want to go back to the office. I do the podcast every day, you know, in no pants.

Like, I can't do that at the office. Well, it has turned me anti-office. I, the idea of having to, you know, I can, I basically wear three shirts now and, you know, I think we all get that we get that no one's wearing pants when they're on air and all this other business. That's, that's played out. But it's like, we just basically can like put the same three or four items into the laundry over and over. That I like. I like the simple nature of some aspects of it. I don't need the whole dog and pony show of walking around the office, you know, giving everyone a high five and chatterboxes for four hours. We're getting some of the same, the same mark. fire as a normal may you know so it feels like where everything is back to well i mean where are we vacationing this off season that's been tabled i mean that doesn't help the mood uh that's what i'm vacation in your living room you know when the kids go to bed please he's right though west uh you know could be worse we could have turned 18 and they put a rifle in our hand you know sent us sent us sent us off to a foreign land i was going to say wars have for the most part dried up around the world

we don't live right absolutely wars have i mean africa in the middle east i mean africa in the middle east would like to say hello. This is the least bellicose time in history, the last 20, 30 years. I mean, wars are not nearly the man killers that they were throughout history, but now we have pandemics. And what I believe is the biggest problem, worldwide anxiety. Everybody is mentally ill now. And I don't see that going away ever.

Wow. Well, let's talk about football. I'm enjoying my time with my kids. I mean, the church parking lot, they're sick of us making a lot of noise about three hours a day but like I'm going to miss that that little parking lot

we've been biking up and down that thing we're wearing it out where's it going where is the parking lot going well I just I feel like well it's not going anywhere you're right we could just keep going to that new habit for three hours a day but if there's cars in it

right then the cars will return at some point I believe America and our intervention in Iraq still at an act of war. I don't think that's even technically over. Afghanistan. They did this crazy thing. They announced the pull out, but then they didn't actually pull out. That was a few months back. They did throw paper wads at each other every once in a while. What's going on there? There's a lot of people dying there still. A lot of Americans dying all

the time. Anyway, nice start to the show. There's just a little bit of frustration. That's all. And I think good thing about this podcast is we get to share it with each other and the audience, because I think a lot of you guys listening feel the same way, I imagine. All right. But now let's talk about football because it is a release and it is a good distraction. Even if the draft is over and we're about to enter a quiet area on the NFL calendar made even more quiet by potentially, not potentially, by the fact that there's not going to be any actual organized team activities and mini camps. But we still have plenty to talk about.

We are going to talk about pressure points in the post draft landscape, which, individuals. Is everybody talking about players or their coaches or their whole teams? I'm not sure what you guys came down with, but just individuals or teams that are in a pressure point

after free agency and the draft as we look ahead to the 2020 season. But before that, let's do some news. Hey, it's week one now first chance to show who we are. Let's play smart, let's play fast, let's play physical. That's what they always preach. Let's go do this together. Playmakers all three

One, two, three. Andy Dalton's time with the Cincinnati Bengals is officially over. The Bengals released a glowing Ginger Man after nine seasons. The Bengals would have taken on almost 18 million in salary by keeping Dalton 2020. And there was speculation that that could still happen, even after the Bengals took Joe Burrow, number one, overall last week. But instead, working with Dalton, and I thought this was a sign of good faith, between team and player.

Good job by the Bengals. He wants a fresh start. So they give him one. And I will note before throwing it to you boys that NFL network, Steve Weish, our boy, a friend of the show reports that the Jaguars have, quote, legitimate interest in Dalton West. That makes sense to me. And I imagine Dalton should find a home relatively quickly. And it's a different situation than Cam Newton.

Yeah, the Jaguars seem like the only team that we know is interested. everyone else is just speculation. They've been tied to the Patriots through many different channels. Peter King talked about that connection early in the week. But the Patriots have shown there's been no leak out of there that they're interested. I'd just like to point out for just a little recap of Dalton's Bengals career. He has a higher career winning percentage with the Bengals than Kenny Anderson, who I believe should be in the Hall of Fame, Boomer O'Syerson, who won the MVP in 1988,

Carson Palmer, who's 2000, what year was that? 2005 offense was maybe the best offense in Bengals history right up there with the 1988 team. He has a higher career winning percentage than all of those guys and he owns some franchise record for passing volume. If I can't get you to stop using career passing volume stats, that should do it because while his numbers are higher,

it's totally the result of the era in which he played. and I would say the lows with Andy Dalton were lower and the high is not nearly as high as Ken Anderson, Boomer, Asiason, and Corson Palmer. If we removed Greg Cook, who had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history but never played again after that, I'd say he's fourth in Bengals franchise history

behind Anderson, Assison, and Palmer, and ahead of Jeff Blake on the list of best quarterbacks. That's not a great list. Not a tough for a 2011 second round pick. We have very low expectations coming in. Right. He ultimately has had a great career. And there was that one year, you know, they went 10 and three while Dalton was the starter

in 2015. He was second in the league in yards per attempt. He had 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions. He had a nice little run. And I think he'll have another five. And he broke his thumb. One of those pressure points or turning points in Bengals history, just like Carson Palmer getting his knee blown out in the playoffs against the Steelers.

I think he'll have a nice, you know, next five to six, seven years as as a boy. borderline starter and backup, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him starting games with the Jaguars. At this point, hearing that they're interested, I'd be surprised if he's anywhere else because I think they'll give him a fair backup contract, whatever it needs to be, 4, 5, 6, 7. I don't think they're going to give him a starter type contract, but I just don't see another team out there that's going to just outbid him. Why would he not want to play with Jay Gruden? He played great under Jay Grun.

Right. I mean, there's no indication that their relationship is anything but, you know, cordial. And if you're Andy Dalton, you want to go somewhere where you have a chance to start if the wheels fall off. And to me, I think he fits the Jaguars because we don't quite know that Gardner Minshu is a plug-in-play sir. I mean, if I were to make a sandwich prop, I would say Andy Dalton starts six games in Jacksonville if he goes there. No problem at all. I mean, I just think that's probably how a rough season could play out. Exactly six games?

Because I'll take it. Six or more. I mean, six or more. But I mean, there are other teams, though, now that he's out there. that, you know, I look at, and I guess the Falcons have just are on a year eight of totally honky. No, Matt Schaub, not to get some heat again. Matt Schaub, it's like you want a safe guy who won't cause waves.

Like, Andy Dalton is your next version of that. Like, put him in there. He's much better than Matt Schaub. Well, you could. Why would Andy Dalton want to go to Atlanta? I'm not saying he'd want to go, he'd want to go where he has a chance to start. And that does, for me, feel like it's Jacksonville and little else. The Seahawks don't even have a backup quarterback right now.

You know, he's not a Russell Wilson. Another place he wouldn't want to go to Seattle. If we're talking about backups, I mean, there's a lot of teams that need back. The Jets have no backup whatsoever. I can't imagine that they would go into the way they are. Broncos say Driscoll is their guy, but you mentioned Seahawks. Patriots, I think we're only going to do it if he was at the absolute bargain bin. And it sounds like, I think Jacksonville is just going to happen there quick.

How close is, Dalton's got to be pretty close to the bargain bin at this thing. I guess, maybe. Maybe. Patriots have no cap space either. I just don't think they're going for a quarterback that's going to cost any money at all. It feels like a great roll of the dice. Just like Winston, that was a nice place for him to land without a lot of leverage.

If I was Andy Dalton, I would race to the Patriots if they offered me even a low-level contract because of the opportunity to start there this year if the kid can't play. And I'm just curious, do you think that Dalton, well, we shouldn't speculate too much, we don't know. But if he did end up in Jacksonville, do you think he has a chance to win the starting job?

Yes, absolutely. Yes, because of it's all relationships. And Gruden knows how much of a safe player he is in terms of being a relatively stable quarterback. And Gruden has no ties to Minchew. So if Minchew had some sort of a year or two flounder in a non-training camp season, potentially, where you roll into games and you're just not getting it done, the way he looked in London in that one game, Dalton would be a quick answer to that. Well, yeah, you think about who has the advantage, normally the guy who's been there in terms of continuity, But Dalton does, because Minchu's never been in Jay Gruden's offense.

And Dalton has. So, I mean, he's kind of got a leg up there if they miss, you know, assuming they miss offseason practices. To be continued on that front. Speaking of James Winston, he met with the Saints media on a Zoom call on Tuesday, on Wednesday. Here's what he had to say. There's no blurriness. and I think that's huge depth perception has increased. I can read license plates.

I can read street signs. I think the precision in the vision is the biggest difference. That is my favorite sentence of the offseason, Greg Roosevelt. I think the precision in the vision is the biggest difference. I love James, and I love that the Saints fans that listen to him who feel awkward about this whole thing, well, we got to root for James Winston. to know, suddenly like him now. And just because they realize he's a crazy personality.

Yeah, he mentioned depth perception increased tremendously. He didn't just have bad eyes. He had a stigmatism. What was the delay here? This is a guy who was starting in the NFL, you know, having like almost a billion dollar franchise on his shoulders that he couldn't see straight while he was played. What if he comes out of this and he's like one of the best quarterbacks in the league?

I mean, if it fixes his main issue, that would be insane. I'm shocked, though, that, like, team doctors who are all over players and even they give coaches monthly medical checkups. I mean, blood pressure, all that stuff that gets those old coaches that are eating ham sandwiches 50 days in a row and tacking on 40 pounds. Well, the players get three times that treatment that you have a quarterback with an eye issue. I mean, that said, I've needed LASIC surgery for a decade and haven't gotten it. So I'm not going to kill them too much. But, you know, that's the enemy for being on your softball team. let's say you had the equivalent of whatever what LASIC does to improve eyesight you would need a surgery on your throat that would that would correct your throat and make you a way better podcaster wouldn't you do it if you had the ability to do it and the resources i it just so weird to me that he went through the first 25 years of his life including four for five years as an NFL quarterback and just like punted on that until his career got upended it just he's he's like so

He's so great, Wes, for unintentional comedy. It's one of my favorite aspects of the James Winston experience. Right. You just summed up the problem with James Winston and the idea that LASIC would fix everything. His decision making was to put off LASIC surgery for five years. Yeah, that's fair. But when you have a vision problem, I'll say one thing. You don't know sometimes what it looks like.

I got glasses after like a 15-year period of not being able to see well or, you know, making up signs when I was driving because I was just assuming what. the signs were. Like, when you get classes, you forget what it felt like as a kid to have that clear vision to be able to even see leaves on a tree. So I wonder, you know, Winston didn't wasn't raised in some sort of

rich household where they got immediate medical care for everything. Maybe it just never really clicked in, but it is odd. I mean, you think when you get in that college football pro world, they would have fixed that right away. I just can't wait to recover in the NFC championship game. Breeze got hurt and Winston is the guy

that they needed to Stop checking in the playoffs, that he's the guy to put them over the top. I just cannot foresee just the way sports are and the way this guy's career is going, where he just seems to be the Forrest Gump of the NFL, where he's going to find himself in high leverage situations with everyone watching him, that he doesn't actually end up taking meaningful snaps this year. I don't wish ill on Drew Brees. But we learned he's only making $1 million, which is really, what a discount.

I mean, he's almost at the minimum since the last show. So that, you know, compared to Taysom Hill, that would indicate that, you know, they're not putting too much stock into Winston, at least not in 2020, that the fact that they got him at that price is wild after a 5,000-yard season. Remember that postseason press conference when he was talking about getting a $100 million contract in Bruce, I mean, like, whew, I guess I'm going to have to go look for someone else. Our network said that he was, didn't really want the franchise tag because he was expecting to make

more than that. The franchise tag would have been for like $27, $28 million. Well, isn't that where your agent needs to step in a little bit and say, let's take a look at reality here? I think that is the agent. I think the agent did a bad job. It's one of the great sliding doors, and it will be of this decade of NFL football. If Winston doesn't flame out in those last two weeks and throw six or seven picks, including a season ending pick six, Do the Bucks proceed with him going forward? Do they give him the fat contract? Does Tom Brady end up somewhere else?

Does he stay in New England? We'll never, ever know. All right, finally. One last bit of quarterback sizzle. Someone got in touch with Brett Fav. And you knew they were going to get in touch with Brett Fav about this Aaron Rogers, Jordan Love business. Because famously, when Aaron Rogers was drafted in 2005,

Brett Fav gave him the cold shoulder. and thought the Packers were doing them dirty and it led to, you know, a lot of histrionics around that organization for a few years. Well, now they want to see what Farrv thinks about Rogers, who apparently is his buddy now. Here's what he told Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen show on the NBC Sports Network.

Even said yourself. I think he's like the world. You do. You cut me off. You think he will not end his career as a Green Bay Packer just like you. my gut tells me no and I don't know this for certain but I guarantee you

it's got the wheels turning in Aaron's mind which if that's the case then that means there's a chip on a shoulder towards the organization that otherwise was not there and so he all he needs is a reason

other than this reason to expedite that. Rogers is 36 years old. He has four years and 134 million left on the extension he signed a couple of years back. And when you dig into that contract, you almost cannot trade him without completely sinking your organization financially with the cap until after next season. So if Rogers does move, it would be very difficult pill for the Packers to swallow before the 2020. 22 season. Farf's comments remind me so much of Tom Brady's dad about five years ago when he said it ends, it doesn't end well. It never does. It's a business. Feelings get hurt and it doesn't

end well. And who knows if that for Rogers is one year or three years. I think that he's the one who determines that. Yeah, Jordan Love might determine it too, though. If Jordan loves a bust, it's just going to change, it's just going to change the equation. The most interesting thing about that interview to me between Farv and Eisen, was that, you know, Farv and Rogers talked, that Aaron Rogers gave Brett Farv a call after this and wanted to talk about it. Well, they've been working on a documentary together for a couple years. I mean, not day after day, but there have been, there has been contact in process of this. Yeah, so they really are tight.

And while Farb started the interview by saying he's not going to pass along, you know, what Rogers said because he didn't want to betray that confidence. I mean, he basically did in the end. I mean, he basically in the clip that you don't, you know, the quote that we heard, you know, he basically saying that the wheels are grinding and that he's going to have something against the team. And that basically wasn't too fired up. Yeah. All he needed was a reason to expedite the process essentially and play elsewhere, Brett Farve said.

And then you're right about the Tom Brady's father comments. I mean, that is Brady and the Patriots, not ugly to the degree of Rogers. and Fav and all that business, but, you know, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, when he left to go to the Chiefs, that was a little messy itself. I mean, you're being, someone is replacing you. But my one thing is, I don't know how we know that Jordan Love is a bust until he gets a long, a long leash to play. And that would itself cause major issues with Aaron Rogers. So, Ricky, you have a take on this whole Rogers saga? Yeah. Lately on The Bachelor spinoff, listen to your heart. It's where they couple up based on

music as well, and there are music performance. They're running out ideas on that. It's so cringy bad, but Jordan Rogers was a guest judge this week. Looks really like the better looking version of Aaron. Well, he got cleaned up. He went the whole Hollywood angle. Right. But, you know, they went in deep on his family relationship.

And that's all I have to say. That's I saw him this week. All right. So just to put a button on that, Erica saw. Jordan Rogers on a reality television show. This week, yes. This week. Carry on.

I feel like you have information you're holding back from us, but we will get to that another time. You're keeping us in touch with the young kids. I didn't even know about this show that it existed. I don't think The Bachelor is for young kids. I think it's for like people in their 40 and 40s. People younger than me. People with a lot of free time are watching.

What is this called? It's called The Bachelor Presents. Listen to Your Heart. I mean, yeah, that's, it's like, it's so bad. You've got to be running out of personal ideas and projects. Again, the cousin Oliver Brady Bunch thing here.

The bachelor's like, what are we going to do here? But like Jordan. Jordan Rogers was, you know, dancing during one of their performances. And he's like, I can feel your chemistry on stage.

Oh, boy. And then he was like, I hate Aaron Rogers. You should have led with that. No, he didn't say that. Should it cut it? That's on the comment. Read a book.

Crack a book open. months and a while. Put the reality shows away. That's all I'm going to say for everyone watching these shows to the point where, okay, you watched The Bachelor, but that wasn't enough. Now you need the Bachelor cast off with Cousin Oliver. Wes, get off your high horse. I just finished a big book and I played jazz yesterday. I listened to Jazz while I played cards. And if I want to literally relax the glass of wine and watch some stupid TV, you can shove it right where the sun don't shine. I love it Wes

Wes has been rendered silent I mean what are you going to do you can't help people who won't help themselves oh my God I'll destroy you all right and what

I don't think I don't think I don't think you will I think she was talking about cornhole I remember when we used to play cornhole remember we used to each other in the same area and I remember

bags and cheers I remember social lives man that was awesome now I only read books sucks. All right, Erica. Stop making trouble. Scram. Get out of you. That's what happened. She's still in the screen, by the way. Bye. All right. That's what's happening in the news. All right. Let's get right to it. Pressure points under pressure. Can I do it? Everyone's counting on me. I can't let them down. Players who in the post-free agency post-draft landscape, did I explain that before the show

start or after, because that's not going to make sense to people if they don't. Oh, yeah, you did. You did. I said it during the show? It was, yeah, it was part of our show. Shut up, Greg. I had a cousin, or I still have a cousin, Jimmy. We'd play wiffle ball, all the cousins.

And he was susceptible to mental games. So when he was at the plate in a big spot in the wiffle ball game, we, the opposing team would just start to like very kind of under our breath, but loud enough that he could hear in the batters box say things like, pressure. Pressure. Everyone's counting on me. Wait, how old is cousin Jimmy at this time? Jimmy was probably seven. What?

You're already running train on his psyche? I mean, we were 10, you know, nine, but, and sometimes it would get to him and he would get out of his mindset and struggle. And you know what, Wes, you should agree. I mean, you grew up in a house with, what, seven other boys, six other boys? I mean, I'm sure that stuff happened all the time. Everybody knew what buttons to push and how to get ahead, especially in sports. I think which buttons to push is very well said.

I don't know that we ever picked on one of the others for being like mentally deficient or psychologically fragile. He was just susceptible to that level of product. Is he a functioning adult right now? Does he have a successful? Okay. Yeah, I think in backyard like wiffleball, there aren't as many like pressure moments as there might be say in the World Series. I mean, if you're feeling pressure, if he's feeling pressure, then sports probably is not going to be the avenue. He goes down.

You know, sports are probably not for you. Taking bullets all over the body. I still, whenever I think of the West household in West Cincinnati, I just think about Mama Wesleying, bringing home that T-bone and just throwing it to the bottom of steps. And then the boys just fighting for it and tearing it apart. That was more like the bucket of peanut butter, not a T-bone. I mean, you guys don't like that today. When we get together with you, please. My best friend was a brick, was a brick.

My favorite toy was a stick in a wheel. Erica, Erica just came into laugh on the screen. All right. Let's get to it. You know what, Wes? And I, we've met all your brothers. They're all, we're almost all of them, all well-adjusted men for the most part. And I think that that helped them grow, didn't it?

That pressure and that. A lot of character building and great parents. Great parenting there. So, yeah, no complaints. I'm just continuing this now to annoy Greg now. Wait, why are you? Why would it be annoying me? I would welcome a Wesleyan Brother podcast.

I love it. Greg's almost like the eighth Wesleyan brother. I mean, you've been missing one for a while. I could just, you know, step in. Greg would fit in well. Everybody talking over each other, shouting each other down. It would be Greg would fit in perfectly with the Wesleyling. Greg lobbying to replace one of the brothers who's in a bit of

tough position right now. That's notable. He hasn't been, you know, carrying his weight lately. That's all. He'll have a chance. Depends what other people say. All right. Let's get to it.

Who's under pressure? Who's facing an added level of pressure now that the draft and the free agency periods have ended? Greg, get us going. All right. I'm going to start in Washington. Feel like we have not talked about the Washington football team at all. How about Dwayne Haskins and Scott Turner?

Remember Dwayne Haskins? I mean, he was taking about five rounds before Gardner Minchew. And I feel like at this point, everyone's already given up on Haskins, even though he was a top 16 pick. And he at least had some moments. I don't think you could throw away his career because of a rough rookie start. They are under pressure because, you know, they take Chase Young in the first round. They take a couple flyers on offensive guys, Antonio Gibson,

who's kind of like a running back wide receiver type. But they trade away Trent Williams. And you have a first-time coordinator in Scott Turner. And you have Dwayne Haskins. And your skill position group is Terry McLaurin, Kelvin, Harmon, and Trey Quinn. Who is kind of an intriguing young receiver group. But it's a new offense and a young quarterback who's going to try to make all of those guys better. You still have Adrian Peterson and Geis as your running game.

Like they're going to have to go out there and try to compete. I forgot about that guy, too. In Survive in 2020, in a year where teams are just loaded on offense. And it's like, here you go, Haskins. Prove us wrong. Because if not, you're going to get benched for Kyle Allen, who we brought over from Carolina. That's a good one. He was on my list, too, Greg.

Haskins simply has to take a big step forward. And, yeah, we look at rookie quarterbacks. They deserve that time to, if you believe in them, and especially they're a premium pick. I feel like you can't bury him for having a tough rookie year. But the thing with Haskins is, and whether it was fair or not, there was that chatter that he might not love it, that he might not live and breathe this, that he might not be working as hard as he has to work. So if that's actually a little bit of a concern in that building, he needs to rectify that and show them that he lives and breathes it and will put in the work to be a true star. Otherwise, they're just going to move on. They're going to go get somebody else with different leadership.

The only thing I'd say is Scott Turner spent a couple months watching every snap of Haskins and whether you believe Ron Rivera or not, and I think Chase Young has a lot to do with it. He said recently in a conference call that there was literally zero contemplation around taking a quarterback. So I don't know if that means because of Chase Young, there was no debate or they liked enough of what they saw from Haskins in an offense that looked like it was shot out of 1932 where they wanted to, which I loved, finish games in an hour and 45 minutes by running the ball 65 times. So it's not really, it wasn't really a showcase scenario for Haskins, but, uh, jury is out. It'd be interesting to watch the other side of the ball at, at pass rusher after drafting

Chase Young. Ryan Kerrigan's going to be 32 years old and has a real good shot at clearing 100 sacks for his career quietly. They draft Montez Sweat last year in the first round. Who's getting benched for Chase Young to play? I guess. they'll find a way for everyone to get snaps, but I have a feeling sweat and Kerrigan might be splitting those snaps. And one last thing, and we reported on this and wrote it up on NFL.com today, Ron Rivera, the Redskins coach, told Good Morning Football

that the idea of Cam Newton following him to Washington, quote, depends on the circumstances. That to me would be the last thing you'd want to do. You might as well punt on Haskins now if you bring Newton in that building. And I guess I'm of two minds. You want to get the best play possible and have the best quarterback possible. But if you bring in Newton, you're basically telling the fans and Haskins you have serious doubt. And is Cam Newton going to be sitting on the bench or 16 games behind Haskins?

I just don't see it. I don't see that as a healthy avenue for this team to go down. I'm with you. But I feel like they, you know, the experience combining with Cam Newton, and they went and got the Carolina quarterback they liked better. And Alex Smith's still floating around somewhere. The question has to be asked, why don't you think the same way about Drew Locke and the Broncos

as you do about Haskins and the Redskins? I mean, I get it. That's what I'm saying. I'm up to minds. But also, I guess the investment, too, I'm factoring in that the first round pick. What was that, a top 10 pick, a top 15 pick? Six, I believe, or something? I could be wrong.

that I don't know you kind of undercut any belief in him and drew lock was a second rounder I believe but I see your point there was fair enough all right uh Wes you go uh I'm looking at Baker Mayfield um with the off season the Browns have had there were a lot of years we had we had high expectations last year but there were a lot of reasons specifically the offensive line that it didn't work out but then to add Austin Hooper to add who is a Harrison Bryant who they got. They had Jedrick

Willis at right tackle. Jack Conklin. Jack Conklin. They've got a whole new offense. They're loaded and I think the excuses are just out the window. They've even got a good backup who I'm not saying Baker Mayfield can't survive a slump at this point, but

you know, first round picks have been benched for extended slump. So there is pressure there. I think the expectations this year, they're not going to be as nationwide, but they should be in Cleveland. This offense is more loaded than they were a year ago. I'd add also that they added someone in Case Keenham who Kevin Stefansky knows very well and trusts.

So I'm not saying Case Keenham is a preferable quarterback to Baker Mayfield, but it's not like you go from Baker Mayfield into an untested abyss. There is someone in a slump you could lean on. I mean, it feels to me a little bit like the Browns, and I mentally am doing this too, are not really being talked about as a playoff ready team. When you see these teams that kind of killed the off season, they're kind of being left off some of those lists

just because I think we're human and we were totally exhausted with that storyline that turned into total midnight last season. And I couldn't agree with you more that Baker Mayfield, and you know, Stefansky noted that he, unlike what happened with Mayfield a year ago, has given him a laundry list of things he needs to work on and accountably show that he's made progress on,

which is not the case last year in a totally disastrous run team. I just think it was run so poorly, and he was a victim of that. But I would agree that I would say more if you come out of this season and Baker-Mayfield was the problem and not the solution to a star-studded offense, then anything could happen. Anything. You hit on it there, Mark. I think the biggest thing they did might turn out being sweeping out

a woefully unprepared and unable to function coaching staff on top of it. of it because the roster even going into free agency this year was pretty good. The line needed to be improved and they certainly did that. But when you factor in the roster improvements, the new coaching staff with Stefansky, we'll see what he can do in the big chair, but he's a guy that can work with

quarterbacks. There is pressure on Mayfield, but also if you're a Browns fan mark, I imagine, you're thrilled. That they basically, instead of going in a different direction or questioning the quarterback coming off a bad year, they said, no, we're going to build up all around him and give him another

a shot, essentially a mulligan on 2019. They had a much more organized, and I thought, effective offseason this year than last year. It's just that I get the exhaustion around that. I mean, they're loaded. They're absolutely loaded. And if they didn't make the playoffs, it's like Stefansky has done just as bad a job as Freddie Kitchens, or something crazy happens, injuries, you know, things can happen. But they are loaded. I mean, we don't even mention Hunt and Chub. I mean, the fact that in Joku is like their second or third tight end, I mean, they're, and

And unless the rookie or Conklin doesn't work out, if Will's moving to left side, you know, you don't know he's a rookie, that could be an issue. But if those tackles are good, I mean, they are loaded and they should be in the mix of that second tier right behind the Chiefs and the Ravens. Outside of Patrick Mahomes, is there a quarterback with more to work with? Right. And surrounding talent. And to that point, if Mayfield got off to a slow start, how long is his leash with Keenham

I'm ready to cook and having a coach that he's worked with and has succeeded. So there is pressure on the kid. But you know what, Mark, you get the feeling that he's built to handle that as long as he doesn't, you know, talk too much to the media. I think there's a little bit of like, I wouldn't ask anyone to go do this because it would be a painful exercise. But if you go watch some of the better Baker Mayfield halves and moments, like he was doing some of the stuff he was doing in 2018, but you mix in a lot of stuff he wasn't doing in

2018, which was concerning. All right. Go ahead, Mark. You know, I look at Tampa Bay where I really feel like the last kind of question mark and another very loaded offense beyond some offensive line issues is the planet running back where they were, I thought Bruce Ariens openly telecasts that they're going to go find a pass catching back, which makes all the sense in the world for anyone that's watched Tom Brady over the last five, six years. And they addressed it in the draft. Now, they didn't address it like in round one or two, but they went and got Kashan Vaughn, who Ariens called a three-down

back, and they also got Raymond Callais, who Ariens referred to as a kind of much smaller David Johnson, but with some David Johnson-type skill set. So neither one of them were like premier pass catchers in college. Von certainly grew towards the end in that area, and someone that Aryan sees could play three downs. The pressure point for me is Ronald Jones, who I know West really liked moments from Ronald Jones. I thought they had a really good running back there. And I just don't see how he fits in and other than anything but a really reduced stable unless these rookies don't work out.

But, I mean, the pass catching side of this, if they want to give Tom Brady the kind of offense that he would desire, I think, matters a lot because you look at James White. And he wasn't just prolific. He caught nearly 200 passes in the regular season over the last two years. And another 25 in the playoffs. So if this is a big part of their offense, you're looking at some developing question marks on how it all plays out. Yeah, I see Ronald Jones is sort of the Sony Michelle there.

He's going to play on running downs. It wasn't just that I was happy with the way he ran. That coaching staff was happy with the way he ran and said as much. But they don't trust him in the passing game. They just don't trust him to keep Tom Brady clean back there. So it wouldn't surprise me to see those rookies play ahead of him on. passing downs. Right. I mean, Tom Brady coaches up the running backs and the receivers. I think that, you know, and if he doesn't trust you, then he disposes of you quickly. But he has had one of those

guys next to him his entire career. Whether it was Kevin Falk, I mean, whether it's Ben Jarvis Green Ellis for a little bit, they all weren't stars, but then it's Danny Woodhead and James White. Like, the guys that he ends up choosing. And usually there's like a couple in the mix. And then like it's, it's the one who can pass protect and is the one who can think the same way Brady has. And I'm sure he's going to be anxious to get on the field with these guys like Kishan Vaughn. Because if you only have three or four weeks, that's something that's going to hurt the young skill position players, really at every position. Let me close it with the entire team, the Buffalo Bills. I'll narrow it down a little bit in a bit.

But think about where they're at right now and think about their roster in comparison to the other. rosters in the AFC East and a draft that was successful before it even began because you filled a huge need in a number one-ish wide receiver with Stefan Diggs that cost you your first round pick. And then they add a second round pick that everybody seems to love, A.J. Apenza. Epineza. Epenza.

Epineza. That could mitigate some of the concerns people had about the defensive line being weakened with a loss of Shaq Lawson. in others, I think that this team is going to be dealing with something that this organization hasn't really had to deal with in multiple decades, which is expectations. You're expected, you're going to be expected to dethrone the New England Patriots. And it's not going to be like, can they do it? People are going to expect them to do it.

And teams have wilted under less pressure in the past. And this idea that you need to be better than they went 10 and 6 last year. They need to be better than that for the same. season to be successful, I think. And I'll narrow it down to the quarterback and Josh Allen, who we've talked about a lot. Some people believe in him more than others. The Bills fans certainly do. I think we were all a little spooked by his performance in the second half of that

playoff loss to the Texans. But it's interesting that they went and got that guy, Jake, from Georgia, who fell to the fifth round and was seen by many as a great move by the Bills because Fromm had a much higher draft stock, people thought, going into the game, the draft, what happens if Allen plateaus, which I think is a coin flip, to be quite honest, I would not be shocked at all. Josh Allen is not the man like they want him to be. With a new backup quarterback, with expectations, there is the possibility of pressure

getting to this team, or they go 13 and 3, and they are the new dog. in the AFC East, but we shall see. They have to play better than last year. I don't think they were as good as their record. You're not going to have the Jets and Dolphins at times last year were so bad as to be non-competitive. I don't see that happening again. They had a pretty easy schedule.

This team, I think the next step is you can't tell yourself you're going to win games with 18 points. You've got to start scoring 25 or more regularly in order to be what you say that they think they are or what the pressure will be to be the favorites in the East, if you're going to knock off the Patriot, you can't be an 18 to 20 point offense. And to their credit, I think they knew that and they've built up their offense. I mean, that's why you make the move for Stefan Diggs.

You know, they've done such a good job. They brought back the entire offensive line, but they have some depth there. They've got depth throughout the roster. I mean, it looks great. It really does look great on paper. And Alan doesn't have to play much better even. And as much as I've been on him, I think he's a functional NFL quarterback. I just question, like, the upside and whether he's ever going to, whether he's going to be better than average.

But if he plays this year next, you know, in 2020, like he did last year, like they should win games. The schedule is a big part of it. And to your point, the end, the expectations. You know, how do you handle being two and three? Because you're not going to be piling up wins over the Redskins and Giant. Like the AFC schedule just worked out for everyone. The Patriots weren't as good as the record. Jets weren't as good as the record.

The Dolphins weren't as good as their record. And this year, it looks a lot tougher on paper. You think they're going to... Oh, go ahead, Mark. Well, I was going to say one strength they have is, to me, Sean McDermott. I mean, it's easy to forget he tugged a pretty bad Bills team into the playoffs three years ago. And there's been a consistent, I think, B-line towards success with him and Brandon Bean. And, you know, there are a handful of teams that would wish to run as smoothly as the bills do right now.

And to me, they're not a team that is, you know, a bunch of big egotistical guys that are going to clash and crumble the same way some others would. I like what the bills are doing. But you're right, Dan, that if suddenly the Patriots are seven and one and, you know, with Jared Sidham and the bills are four and four with a lot of issues, then the pressure starts to mount. But everything that Sean McDermott's done up from the minute he's been hired and it's easy to remember how tumultuous coaches and GMs were in that Bill's building for. so long that it's i just i see the arrow up for them all the way i do they did bring in stephan diggs a guy that you wonder how he'll handle a long winter in western new york if josh allen is struggling yeah but if you want to get any great wide out most of them are going to be there there's a diva factor to these guys and either you do you stay away from but not everyone is as

vocals he is on twitter and that i'm not that worried about it but do you think they're going to ask Alan to do more this year? Because that's sometimes it can be the enemy of success. I'm thinking of a guy that, like Mark Sanchez during the Jets days where it's like, oh, we do believe in him and he's been pretty promising this first couple of years.

Let's have him throw the ball more because we think you give it a star and then that could lead to the offense taking a step back. I wonder with Diggs there if they're going to put more on Allen's plate and if they do, can he handle it? I think they're going to throw more. I mean, they have Doss and Knox at tight end. Tyler Crofts coming back. You know,

I liked pick at running back, too, Zach Moss behind single-time. I mean, they're going to throw it a lot. I like Daibel. Their offensive coordinator has done a good job, I think, building around Allen's strengths and kind of making him the best version that he can be. So I have no reason to think that they won't kind of develop him that way this year, too. Make him look good, like play to his strengths. Over under.

Start with you, Wes. Wins for the Buffalo Bills, nine and a half. I'll take the over. Greg. I'll take the under, but it's funny because I'm going to be picking them. I'm sure like when we do all the little schedules, I'll put that over because I do think they're going to win, they're going to be my pick to win the division. But that's hard.

It's hard. Like so many things can happen. I'd go under nine and a half for almost every team in the AFC except for two. That's a great answer. Mark. I'll go. I think they'll go about 10 and 6 again in a different way than they did last year. And will that be good enough to win the division?

It might. I mean, I'm not convinced that the, Jets or dolphins are about to, you know, skyrocket into the playoffs. I'm banging the under and I'm going to say someone else is going to win that division. I don't know. Other than the Patriots? No, Patriots could win. I could see 9 and 7 winning that division.

I could see it being one of the worst divisions in football like it's been for the most part for the last decade. All right. Good stuff. Good stuff. We will be back on Monday. How about that? are regularly scheduled off-season schedule. So we'll be Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

When is the schedule released? When is that happening? May 9th, I believe. By May 9th. And one of our reporters said that keep an eye on the seventh as the date. Well, that's your favorite time of the year. Schedule release time. I mean, every year it's bad enough.

They tell you, hey, can't wait for these games that are going to happen in seven months. Now it's like, can't wait for these games that are going to happen in an indeterminate. future. Well, Wes, you're going to have to company man this one. I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait, Wes, I want you to write. I want you to lead your article about the schedule at least with that. Here, analyze these games. What? What do you mean analyze them? They take place in an uncertain future. You have an incredible appetite for reading and knowledge. You should know that our features editor, Ali Bumpurie, connected with me this morning to ask if I will be again writing the revenge games Pete about the 2020 schedule release.

And I said, absolutely, sir. Yep. I have the easiest schedule. So I'm assuming, Wes, he'll be ringing your doorbell soon with the request of his own. I have top ten offenses due on Monday. That's not bad. We all have other assignments, too. This is an auxiliary. I've got, yeah, I've got tough schedules.

I'm happy to write the schedule article as long as they print what I write. As long as they pay you. As long as they print it, how I write it. You know, I do, like, finding out, like, the Thanksgiving games. We'll see at least what they're scheduling for the London games. Yeah, I mean, one thing was, yeah. Well, a week before these games are ready to play, I'll clue in. Like, there's an Amazon crime game.

Well, a 12-year-old West fan, like, I loved when the schedule would come out and I'd find it in, like, USA today and pour over it for hours. Like, that also did nothing for you. Isn't that boy in there somewhere West? No, like, at no point in my life was a May schedule release. That's baseball season. Like that, no, at no point am I pouring over a schedule to see what can happen in seven months. My ball. I'm just a simple rub, and I enjoyed it as a child when the schedule will leave.

We all have our likes and dislikes. That was never doing it for me. Let's bring Ricky back in. I was downstairs playing with my brick. I didn't need the schedule. Ricky, West says we all have our likes and dislikes. I'm sure you have a take there after what he said to you about your coverage. Yeah, that felt personal.

That felt, yeah, that felt. West just shook his head. Yeah, well, West. Wes, are we okay? Yeah, hey, watch The Bachelor. I'm just not sure you need to watch The Bachelor Jr. And the Bachelor, like, Part 7 in the Bachelor. Like, the whole Bachelor family to keep all these people lining their coffers with money.

The Bachelor's dog. If you watch some reduced version of your show. Bachelor in Space. You guys should go back and watch this week's episode just to see Aaron Rogers' brother because it will give you a lot of insight for your job. So you should do that. All right. Good idea.

All right. Speaking of books, West, I just got delivered in the mail today, the definitive Michael Jordan biography. By Roland Lazenby? Who wrote that one? No, what's the title? What's like the definitive Jordan book, Playing for Keeps? Playing for Keeps by Halvestam. Yes, that's the best one, I think.

That's been overdue. I've been meaning to read that one for a long time. And obviously, the ESPN series finally led to the purchase. so I'm looking forward to that. It's a great book. I think I would put that right behind breaks of the game, also by Halberstam as the two best NBA books. Mark, when are you going to break down too hot to handle on Netflix?

Well, as I mentioned to you, that took off for me right away. Love that show. And then I got to episode two or three, and everyone on the show was you got to have a likable person. You got to see kind of yourself and someone, even if they're a mess. And there was just no one. It's playing the premise to West real quick, before we get off.

The premise of two ought to handle. Eric is going to spread out the West's anger here. Well, it's like top 10 on Netflix right now. And you basically, it is like 12 to 14, like insanely hot, young in shape men and women put together on some tropical locale, very original. And, you know, they are not allowed to do anything physical with each other. But they found, they seem to have found, like, super amped up high libido, people where that is like, oh, you know, I'm not.

going to meditate for a month. They simply cannot handle that challenge. And they're all starting to like fall for each other. And then they'll dump a few people and bring in like new blood. But if you kiss, it's like three grand. There's a hundred thousand dollar prize. And, you know, depending on the act, it's like $20,000 could be deducted depending on if they break the rules. And what happens if you're intimate? It depends on the level. I mean, the most intimate of intimate I think it's $36,000 or $3,600 is gone from this $30,000 out of $100,000 out of $100,000. Yeah, but then you, but then like someone has to win at the end and all the other, all the other people hate you that you have no like stuff. Now I will say this, Wes, the description is somehow juicier than the show itself.

The show, I'm aware, a very quick cliff. And I already know you wouldn't watch to begin with. Netflix has been peddling it my way for a while. And I'm like, okay, so how is this different from the other 13 shows? just like it, except you're allowed to have sex. If I, if I mean, the book isn't really reeling me in here. If I was on that show.

And I had my way. And I, and I got what I want. I would, at the end of the show, owe them money. And I just thought, that's fine. That was an amazing three months I had on the island. That's how I would play it. Like, who needs to forget about the prize. What about just enjoying yourself on the island?

Get loose. Well, you got to find a female with the same, you know, devil may care attitude as you. Some of them were very money oriented. So it's not quite as easy as you're making it out to be. I'm just saying in an ideal world. Well, they're also meant to be operating as a team. We have discussing this way too long.

This is longer than our segment. We have gone on way too long. All right. There's a book of it, Wes. I'll send it to you. Nothing. The book version. There are so many good books.

Why waste time with a bad one? Wes, did you get a lot of ping? It's a picture book. It's a, you know, like four words per page. Did you get a lot of pings? about the author that lives next to you? I did. Quite a few guesses. At least two or three people got it right.

But quite a few got it wrong. Okay. There you go. Did you tell them they got it right? I did. Oh. Oh, you did? Yeah. See, this is... Hello, Stalker.

This is entering potentially a tricky situation now. That's how you form the friendship, Wes, is to allow this author that you're trying to get into his good graces. I've just told people on the internet from like Scotland to like North Africa to Middle America, where you live. Well, they don't know where I live first. They could find that out in about eight minutes. I could find that on Google. Maybe we don't encourage them.

Just saying. We have to sign off because Mark said he has somewhere to be at one day. I do have to go in three minutes. So let's go. Where are you going? I have another media thing to do. Ooh. It's a Brown, it's a Browns podcast.

Oh. And I'm not, you know. You want to plug it? Mark's doing a nice, he's setting up his. I will afterwards when it's available. I'm not sure. You never know right now. You got to set up other potential work opportunities in case we get the old, you know.

That's fair. I'm not quite that savvy. All right. This is Dan Hansa signing off. War Quiet Storm, the mailman, the old boss and Rick Hollywood. West Hollywood. Rick Hollywood in West Hollywood. Until Monday.

Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6, 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.

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