NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Combine Notes with Lance Zierlein

Episode Date: March 3, 2023

A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal catch up on the latest news from around the league, starting with the report that the Jaguars intend to place the franchise tag on Evan Engram (10:13). The guys react to quotes coming out of Indianapolis, including Mike McCarthy’s comments on changes to the Cowboys offense (13:11), Robert Saleh on the Jets quarterback situation (21:26), Tom Telesco on the Chargers’ plans for Keenan Allen (25:48), and Rashod Bateman’s online response to comments from Eric DeCosta (29:48). Lance Zierlein joins the show from Lucas Oil Stadium to talk combine gossip (38:17), three of the top four quarterback prospects (39:37), some players to watch (47:26), and Bijan Robinson (54:07). Note: timecode approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast. Wants to know more about Greg's emo phase. Welcome to another edition of Around the NFL. My name is Dan Hansus. I'm joined from a virtual room filled with some heroes, Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal. Was Greg's band Emo?

I always thought it was more a cybergoth punk outfit. But produce the tapes, Greg. Produce the tapes, Delaware. We've been over this so many times. It was neither. It was sort of like a joky rock band, maybe a little like Dead Milkman or they might be giants, where some bands I mentioned.

So a less cool, they might be giants. That is the profile. That's a tough space to capture. Mark, we were in the rock. Space. Speaking of emo and the pop punk band, The Wonder Years, and their singer and songwriter Dan, or one of their songwriters, has been a longtime listener of the show. And we've been in contact with them for a few years now. And they had a show at the Belasco downtown. So the dad settled up and went and saw the show. And that was a pretty cool experience. Just want to thank

the guys for that. I'm wearing some Wonder Years merch. talk to and dan does such great job with the merch i was like dan i think we need help because we need to do some merch on a tn it's something we've heard over and over again but the show was incredible and i'm watching it mark and we're watching it from our vantage point and like how do we do an atn live show where the people care as much about that band as they do about a football podcast that is that's my new goal in my career in life yeah you kept mentioning that and like my thought watching it was like there's something specific about um the fact that this is music that it's musical, that it's punk, that the crowd is like grappling with each other and

writhing. I don't know if our shows lather the crowd up to that degree. They are a drinking crowd. But I mean, we have been corresponding with Dan Campbell from the Wonder Years for a while. Wes used to write back and forth with them all the time. And like, you know, there were moments where he said, come to our show, like it's in the Inland Empire, etc. And like never really got around to it, unfortunately. But last night, we were up high, you know, high up in the venue and just looking down on him basically commanding this crowd. I was like, wait, I've been writing to this guy for this many years and he is absolutely destroying this crowd. I was shocked. It was amazing. And I just think like, hey, the band, but him, his talent and what he brought, like,

it was shocking. And you know, the one thing I'd say merchandise-wise is they don't have like a hulking money hungry mothership hanging over them like we do, like, which sort of has prevented us from doing merchandise. If we can get that mother shift to shift a couple time zones to the right or left, we could. I think the mother ship would be like, okay, we could do an exchange. You can sell all the merch you want. We will take off into another solar system. Or we'll take the money that you make off it. I mean, that's been, you know, but I, it was a lesson in many ways. It was a great, a great night. Yeah. I mean, what happened to your boy over here? Last day I heard about this concert was two months ago on DMs.

No one even told me about this. Dan? I didn't think you had any connection. Honestly, Greg, because like Dan. I was on a DM thread. And he was like mentioning a January show and I was like, oh, that sounds great when you come back in March. Oh, that's a last I heard of it.

That's a classic miscommunication there, Gregie. I always thought that the Dan, one of years connection wasn't connected to you. That was a classic. And to be honest with you, I was put, I was reminded of it because it just so happens that my barber, Brett, who does amazing work at Jags Barbershop in Westchester area of Los Angeles, has been touring with that a band for years. And we met up with Brett, my buddy too. That's a bad beat, Greg. It was not personal. That's cool. Me and Gravedigger are going to go watch like a French movie this weekend together. And that's cool. Greg, no, Greg, no.

offense on that on that front i i do recall that there was a time that that you and i were in the newsroom together and that that the wonder years wanted to take a tour of nfl network and i took you know 30 to 40 minutes of my day to tour them around the various studios and in rooms of nfl network and i don't recall your zest and zeal for that but i think that we could make this we can make it up to them and them to you by going to the next show that they offer in luster they're playing i think in the next couple nights there we're in l a day again uh no they're going to be down the San Diego, Greg. So there's a make the drive. There's another option. All right. Good show. Good show coming up today. I mean, this is hung a dark cloud over the whole operation.

Well, we should mention we're taping in new, new locales. I'm in my garage for the first time, so hopefully it sounds okay. You can check it out on YouTube, I guess. Yeah, check it out in YouTube. I actually see Greg right away. I see a Joe Namath photo behind you. Is that a Namath? bio or just a stand-alone photo? You know, I appreciate that. This is the first edition, and I just wanted to put it front and center not only for you, but also for the hoodspot. This is the front of the book.

Like, literally, this is the front of the book. The back of the book is the name, which is I can't wait until tomorrow because I get better looking. Because I get better looking every day. By Joe Willie Named and Dick Scha. But the fact that he had the hoodspot to just put his beautiful mug on the front of the book with no writing, that's pretty amazing. How about now? How about Mark?

And you're in a new locate. By the way, the tugboat, as always, just a figure of immense stability. I'm in the same place. Greg's in his new home. I was in my last place for 10 years. What are you talking about? Mark is also, once again, in a new spot. It looks like you've left whatever penitentiary you're in, which is already minimum security.

And now it looks like maybe you're in an old age home based on the background. I know, I found out, you know, 48 hours ago that we were doing this remotely. So I literally put a desk together yesterday. for five or six hours and have hung one painting to cast off this idea that I'm in a jail. It's just sort of a white wall. I need to add more decor decoration. It's also a classic like reformed prisoner move to take up like painting while in the can. So maybe that's what's happening here.

Just the theory. Yeah. I mean, my father painted this picture behind me. So I can't claim what his journey was on that front. All right. Very good. Very good. And Greg, just so you know, especially after the Wonder Year situation, I do find you to be a figure of immense stability as well when it comes to the show in this enterprise.

Thank you. All right. We have as promised as the Combine kicks off in terms of the bulk of it is. They have the coaches and GMs talking earlier in the week. Now all the prospects are doing their workouts. And Lance Ehrlich will join us, long time draft and Combine. superstar for the NFL and beyond in a bit. But let's start by getting caught up on the latest in the news.

Bejohn's got it again, turns the corner, makes people miss, makes one of those cuts, looking like Reggie Bush in the open field. Number five still running all the way to the one-yard line. Bejohn Robinson, showing you what he can do. Wooee! John Robinson, Uber prospect out of Gravedigger's alma mater, University of Texas. Hook him, hook him, hook him. And, you know, when we come up with the news drop, each show, Graver and I will kind of talk it over.

And when I threw that out as an option, I could actually see on our instant messenger client the glee coming off the response, which is like, I think I can do that when I said, go get a highlight of this highly touted running back prospect coming into the league this year. Justin? Grave diggers. You know, sometimes we're in the middle of a conversation and all of a sudden the grave digger drop hits and it's like, okay, Justin, what's up? That time, a legitimate tee up, he pops on to the screen and then disappears without saying

a word. I just wanted to give the YouTube audience like a video. visual of my glee that you could feel didn't know if the pod audience needed it as much. Yeah. So, yeah, hook them. Thanks for the shout out. Yeah. All right.

Good stuff. But you made out for it. Continue. That's the show. All right. Let's get into. Heavy into whiskey since 8 a.m. just for the, just to inform you. And Justin, can you just pop in a second again?

This is for that YouTube audience. You know, we're going to be doing some remote shows throughout the off season post draft. Maybe we just work on the lighting a little bit. and just clean up the visual for yourself. Yikes. Wow. I was excited to debut my new background too, but I guess it's not good enough.

I'll work on a pan. I like the rotating. Your background's adorable. You got a hanging like neon Titan sign. And then a what looks like a rotating mini helmet, Titans mini helmet that's going at maybe, I don't know, like 24% faster speed than I would have expected it to be moving.

The little motor on that is really cooking. Yeah, Jessica got me this sign for Christmas. I think she was actually inspired by your old Zusser sign behind you. So now we got, we're the neon boys. Yeah. I love Jessica. You know you've really made it when you put your nickname up in neon lights behind you. You got to do that great.

That's one way to put it. That is a gift from Kevin Danger Hands is my brother. And at first, I was sheepish about it. And I was like, do I really want to do that? And then I thought about it some more. I was like, I definitely want to do that. And now it hangs behind me forever. All right. Let's get into it. Evan Ingram, tight end, disappointing during his Giants tenure, lands with the Jaguars on a nice team friendly contract in 2022, has a breakout season. And now we're hearing reports from ESPN that the Jags are expected to franchise the tight end. That tag, by the way, is a touchover 11 million. So that doesn't preclude the team from working out a,

a longer term deal with Ingram, but it does point to the Jags continue to do business with Engram, which as we talked about earlier this week, Mark, makes a lot of sense because I don't know, can't you just picture Ingram and Trevor Lawrence doing some real damage over the next few years? Yeah, and I think the thing is they've done a good job. They were aggressive last off season with trying in free agency to surround Lawrence with what they could. Ingram, we've just waited for years for him to, for the durability to keep him through a season. And we saw it. He worked out with Trevor Lawrence. The one thing about the Jaguars, like I know that, you know, Trent Balke was just maligned all last offseason and prior, just like this guy that people don't like. It was

just a lot of like negative press around him. But they quietly went and also traded for Calvin Ridley during the season. And I just think that you look at the weapons they have. It's like, the Jaguars have done what you want to do with a young quarterback. And so why would you do anything other than keep Evan Ingram around. You haven't Calvin Ridley to the mix. I just think this is a very interesting offense with a quarterback that's developing as quickly as any other quarterback in the league right now.

No, all the fans are showing up with clown noses, and I know that was more for ownership, but that was also partly because he was keeping Trent Balky. They had a great offseason last offseason. They said to open this offseason, they won't be spending like crazy. It's going to be about keeping the guys that they have. Obviously, Ridley will be a nice addition.

And Juan Taylor is a tackle who's a free agent for them. I think they might cut Shaq Griffin in the coming days to open up some space. They don't have much. The tight end market's pretty interesting at the top. Dalton Schultz, who I think might actually get to free agency because I think they might tag Tony Pollard and then Mike Gosecchi, like a couple good tight ends out there. Where did you have Ingram in your top 101, Gregie? Like 27.

There you go. I think I had him 50 a year ago, which proved to be too low, too low. I like him. I think he's a good player. It's interesting because the Giants are coming off a playoff season. They get to the second round and they need weapons. And we don't even know if Barclay's going to be back. And then you look at like, well, they traded Cadarius Tony, who is a big time playmaker for the chiefs.

And then they let Evan Ingram walk. In both cases, there was logic to it. But I just wonder where they stand on that now with a little more time passing. They're probably cool. They probably feel pretty good about their process. I'm just pointing it out. In other news, Mike McCarthy.

You know, Mike McCarthy is a figure of suspicion for the football cognoscenti. Everybody knows it. And I think that's part of the reason why Zuzer tends to defend Zaddy because he's had some success in the league. He's won a Super Bowl.

I mean, is Zuzer a nickname? for your nickname? What is that even? What is that? This is what you're trying to pedal? Because this started yesterday. I want you to know. I had not heard.

Yeah, it's clearly a move. He had a list of, you know, brand building. He wanted to accomplish this off season. He said this week I debut Zuzer. I know you have a very dim view of me in some ways, Greg. And you think this is calculated. But in truth, as with all of my nicknames, They come from a natural, organic place.

And I don't even know where Zuzer is coming from. It's coming from old Zeus, sir, right behind you. Well, right. That's the root. That's the root, absolutely. And you could say, holy shit, the guy with a nickname and neon behind him now has a nickname of a different nickname. I get it all. I get it all.

But I'm just saying none of this. I think I'm just angry looking at that wonder year's shirt the whole time. I mean, old Dan was DMing me from his tour bus. in Europe watching me on Monday night football over on Channel 5 once. We were back and forth during the show. So we go way back all the way. Greg, this was from this calculation by us. Like the concert would have been more enjoyable, more vibrant had you been with us.

I think we both acknowledge that. But let's not look past Dan's, you know, heartfelt Mia Kulpa to, there was a moment where he spent two or three seconds deciding, should I maybe not hang that neon sign. But then he turned around and said, yes, I should. And yet then I should take that name and make it. a nickname off it. So there's a lot happening all at once, Greg. And it and yes, that's all true, Mark. Greg, miscommunication, uh, maybe an oversight by Mark and I. We've addressed it. We apologized. But if you're as close as you say you are to Dan Soupy Campbell and

the rest of the Wonder Years gang, perhaps you would have been connected on the show in downtown LA last night. Now you're just punching out, you know. Anyway, uh, let's talk about, Mike McCarthy. As I said, he is a figure of suspicion for the cool kids. He's a guy that's viewed as a little bit out of touch at times. He's a guy that is viewed as not with the modern game. And he has success in the league, and that's cool. But then he has comments like he had at the Combine this week that really do put him out there on an island to take some heat. It happened over comments about his offense. And the comments were connected to his, the play calling of the Cowboys under Kellyn Moore, the type of offense that Mike McCarthy wants to run. This is what he

said in part. I've been where Kellan has been. You know what? We don't have the sound, but give me some zaddy, give me some zaddy, give me a zaddy slow jam energy underneath this quote. Okay. Oh, that's nice. Oh, yeah. Okay. Now I'm in it. All right. Here's what he said. I've been where Kellan has been. Kellyn wants to light the scoreboard up. But I want to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense. I don't desire to be the number one offense in the league, baby.

I edit that. I want to be the number one team in the league with a number of wins. and a championship. And if we have to give up some production and take care of the ball better to get that, hmm, then that's what we'll do. Oh, Zaddy, you're so extra.

Now, he's been hammered on social media and beyond for these comments. And I get that. He's a big target. The Cowboys are a big target. Does it make any sense what he said in your mind? No. I mean, because he was,

was talking about how he needs he wants to play to the defense and rest the defense like scoring touchdowns you can have long drives passing the ball they were really effective when throwing on early downs last year and ineffective when they would run on early downs and I'm just thinking about his time in green bay where this was kind of like the last thing he did was take over play calling and it didn't go well and he said the last month you know being in schematic meetings and starting to prepare the offense is like the most fun that he's had since he's been in with the Cowboys. So I get it. Like, if he's going to go down in Dallas, he wants to go down his way. But I think Kellynne Moore is more respected around the league than I really

anticipated that a lot of people think he's going to be amazing in Los Angeles. We'll see in that it'll be a big loss for Michael McCarthy. I mean, I don't have a huge problem with what McCarthy said because I think he's just trying to shift gears to something else. But why do you need to throw Kellyn Moore under the bus? Why even bring up Kellyn Moore's name? I mean, it was your choice, Mike McCarthy, when you came in to keep Kellynmore around. That would have been the time to send him out somewhere else. But you embraced him. You credited him with his skills and you gave him a chance to call the offense.

They were good under Kellynne Moore from much of that stretch. And so now it's on Mike McCarthy because you've thrown every other scapegoat aside. So it's like I think he understands and we all understand that like Mike McCarthy probably has one season. Win totals don't matter. or the playoffs matter. And he has got one season to prove he can do it much better and take them deeper into the playoffs or I think he's out.

I do think, I remember having the belief that entering this past season, he had to at least get back to the divisional round. And he did. And then they were dispatched again. I think next year it's kind of title game or bust for the Cowboys. And it's becoming a bigger ask to keep McCarthy around. I think that's really what it's going to take.

And my one feeling on it, I agree with you, Mark, that you don't need to. There's a way to say what he said in a less clumsy manner. And I wish we could hear what he actually said. The reason I read it, first, slow jams are awesome. But also, I think it happened in a side scrum with the local media rather than on the, on the riser. That's why we don't have it. Classic side scrum. Yeah.

I think what happened here also is, is this a little bit of a commentary on DAC? and Kellyn Moore putting so much faith in DAC being a superstar talent at quarterback, which he certainly has looked like at times, including in the wild card playoffs this year. But then you saw what he bottomed out in the divisional round through a lot of picks, a lot of turnovers this past season. I think McCarthy, what we're probably going to see is they're still going to throw the ball a bunch like all teams do. But I think McCarthy maybe wants to not basically say, give the keys to DAC and say lead us

because Jera thinks you're one of the greats of all time. I think there's some of that buried in this, but I think it gets missed, it goes in a different direction when it seems pointed at the previous OC. I think that's a good read. I think that's a good read. And I think the whole Cowboys last two seasons and Kellyn Moore's career would probably look different

if they didn't have to happen to face the best defense of the league back-to-back seasons in each playoffs. I mean, that's what happens when you get deeper into the playoffs. I get it. But I just mean that like the fact that they just got manhandled both times by the 49ers definitely put them in a bad spot. By the way, it's like you exited both games and I don't want to overemphasize like what happened. Both games ended in total folly. You leave your cowboy fan base thinking about a final 15 to 20 seconds that looked as disorganized as possible by a playoff team.

All right. Let's stop right here. Take a break and hit some more news. All right. we're back. In other news, Jets coach Robert Sala spoke about his very, it's very unclear what their quarterback room is going to be in 2023. Right now you have Zach Wilson on his rookie deal. Mike White is headed toward free agency. The team has been very clear about wanting to add a veteran quarterback. And Sala made some headlines in Indy with this comment on White and his future

with the Jets. Where are you guys on Mike White? Would you like to have him back at the quarterback? Oh, yeah, no, Mike, I know, I feel like I probably should be talking about it more. Mike, Mike deserves every bit to be talked about. He should be on this roster also. And he's, you know, we carried three last year. But again, he's going through his process. And it's just something that obviously we're keeping close tabs on. If I may, I believe there's some combine coach speak here.

He should be on the roster because they like him and he's talented in their minds. And he's somebody that in the most dire straits of outcomes for the Jets, maybe he did come back. And he's their starter because he flashed last year and the year before. But I would say Mike White is probably like would be fifth or sixth on their list of choices for someone who's going to come back. Zach Wilson, most likely not going anywhere. Could be traded, perhaps. But if they're serious about keeping him and developing him.

So he takes up a spot. Obviously, if you bring in a veteran quarterback to, takes up another spot. Mike White's going to have value in free agency and he's going to want to go somewhere where he has a chance to play. Mike White and the Jets are over, but the head coach in my mind is, you know, because where we are in the league calendar, they don't know who the quarterback is yet. So right now, yeah, he makes sense to somebody that could be in the mix, but I don't think he is at all. Trading Zach Wilson is complicated. I still would like any scenario where that'd be possible and you bring back Mike White as a backup.

There is a world where Lamar Jackson, after all this drama, just stays with the Ravens, Aaron Rogers, stays in Green Bay, Derek Carr decides he loves the Saints, and the Jets who, you know, I think it's fair. We understand how aggressive

and frankly desperate they are for a veteran quarterback they can trust, but they get left out in the cold, and then you've got to deal with, like, you have been pumping up Zach Wilson, although no one buys it, and you're pumping up Mike White, but you might be stuck with, like,

Who do you get is your quarterback at that point? Robert Sala knows Jimmy G. But it's like there's this assumption they're going to get one of these three guys. It could play out very differently and leave the Jets in a weird place. I'm assuming it. I think the way it's set up, they're going to get Carr. I've heard a, and you never know. You hear a lot of different things, but I have heard some rummlies.

You know, cars market might not be as great as he hoped. We'll see. But I just think the Jets are the team that are going to make that thing happen if they can't do better. They'll get car. I would say in this order for me, but Rogers, Lamar, Carr, Jimmy G. Will be the jet starting quarterback. But if for whatever reason, to Mark's point, if all that fell through, I think they would start kicking the tires and things we haven't connected to them,

like Tanahill or Stafford or even Gino, for Christ's sake, like before they said, okay, let's just run it back with Mike White. Some clarity would be nice at that position. How about Carson Wentz? Did we ever do the Carson Wentz release, by the way? The poor guy didn't even crack the top 101. Oh, we missed that. I forgot about that.

Carson Wentz was released by the commanders right after our show last week. And no, I don't think that would be an option for the Jets. No, I don't either. I wonder if his career is over. I think Greg, Greg, as we all know, Greg around like week. We decided to really go ahead and start to take command. Greg around week 12 or 13. If you want to have him to take command, like I thought you came up with a great idea where like use Carson Wentz as like a short yardage hammer.

like a, like a Taysom Hill type guy that can come in. Like he's not your, he's your backup, but he's used in certain ways where you take advantage of the fact that he's like built like a front door. I kind of like that. Like this is a guy that like has talent. I just don't want him leading the team. Just, just be ready, guys, especially you, Mark, for Carson Wentz, week one starter of the Arizona Cardinals.

Why would you do that? Carson Wentz has made too much money to do Taysam Hills roll at this point. I think he'd be like, see you later over that. All right. In other news, the Chargers. It's been spoken of that Keenan Allen's time of the team could be over. The veteran wide receiver has a tradable contract. And yet, Tom Telesco, the GM of the Chargers,

try to throw some cold water on that at the Combine. Here's what he had to say. Keenan Allen, to me, he's our Andre Reed. Yeah, he's our Charlie Joyner. Like, he's, he's an incredible football player. Talking a great quarterback. We need weapons around them. You know, there's never been any thought of that.

So he's, he's with us. And, you know, between him and Mike Williams and Josh Palmer, we think that's a great three receivers for our quarterback. Got Austin Eckler at running back. You know, we've got an offensive line that can protect. So, you know, those are key weapons we need for our quarterbacks. Makes a lot of sense to me, boys. How about you?

Same. And it's rare we actually get hard news in the combine. I think this is why it was worth pointing out. Like that, you can put that to bed now. I think he wouldn't have said that unless he knew that's absolutely the plan. He was on the set there, I believe, with our friend Andrew Siciliano, little NFL network newsbreaking. Okay, it's not Andrew Siciliano. Graver's shaking his head.

Just tell me who it was then. That was on Good Morning Football. Oh. Which is a great program itself. That was Peter Schrager he was speaking with. They're using the same set. Good job, Pete. A great journalist, Peter Schreger.

You know, Pete, you know, Schroger, he doesn't like Schroger back in the show. Peter Schroger. I love Peter Schroger. He's connected as hell, and he'll let you know about it. There was a great shot at the famous steakhouse, St. Elmo in Indianapolis, of Schroger eating the shrimp cocktail with Andy Reid, legendary coach and reigning Super Bowl champion, sitting in the booth next to him. And then I believe Peter put in the caption with the tweet,

oh, by the way, it's Brett Veach, the GM taking the photo. Tough spot for Beech. That's the access we got to work on. I mean, yeah, that's true. But also is it an awkward moment when it's like, hey, can you take the picture? Like, I want to get old big red over in a big red in the shot. Putting Veach in a bad spot. Veach are taking a dirt nap.

Biggest beach takedown since he was on, you're the GM. around 2019. Yeah, but think from the Schreger brand end of things. Oh, that's huge, yeah. I have the GM take the photo. They got the architect of this championship team as I eat steak. Do the little like photo icon Brett Veach. I think that's the next level move.

This is the first time I haven't had a Indianapolis steak in February or March in a decade. And I know everybody's like, oh, San Amo. It's not that good. I like it. I used to say to Connor when we would all get together and people would complain about going there all the time. I would say it's not about the meat. It's the meat. E-A-T, E-E-T.

No, I think we know where you're... Circling back to that conversation before the show, Mark, that interpersonal connection, I think, is very important. I think we knew where you were coming from with that and just sort of in awe of your wordplay. Thank you very much. And we missed a lot of traditions in Indianapolis. this week, but we at least got to hear that phrase from dad. I think there was like a tiny bit of mild grumbling one time. And then it like, all we've heard about, it's like, everyone knows is talking about

the hate almost. Well, here's what it's really about. It's about America. It's about America. It's rooted in patriotism. No, it's a thing. And I miss it. I wish we were having steak with Conoror.

It's fair. Same. All right. In other news, the Ravens haven't had a lot of success building out their wide receiver room during the Lelamar Jackson era. And Eric DeCosta spoke about that at the Combine this week with the media. He had some candid thoughts on that. And after those comments were aggregated, Rashad Bateman, their 2021 first round pick at the position,

offered up a tweet that he then deleted, but it lives forever on the Internet. And he said this at his GM. How about you play to your player's strength and stop pointing the finger at us and number eight? That's referencing, of course, Lamar Jackson. Blame the one you let do this. We take heat 24-7 and keep us healthy. Care about us and see what happened.

Ain't no promises, though. Tired of y'all lying and capping on players for no reason after deleting the tweet, he sent out a new message. My apologies. It's like, oh, maybe I shouldn't bury my boss publicly on social, media. Maybe it may be my apologies will take care of this. He's probably not, he's not wrong, though. He's not wrong. And that really does, Greg, give you an idea of some of the legit rumblings inside that building for an organization that's usually pretty airtight. Right. And Bateman's been one

of their better picks. He just hasn't been healthy. It wasn't last year. But he looked like he was developing into a nice number two receiver at the least, which will live up to his late first round draft stock but the trading stuff was messy and so I went and checked out the NFLPA report card you guys see this thing that came out yeah I did yeah that was bonkers that thing pretty stunning yep it was interesting we could get into that you guys if you wanted but I did check the Ravens training staff the strength staff rather which was the one part of the report card that almost everyone got A's and A pluses like everyone loves their strength stuff they love the personal yeah except for two teams The Falcons had a D-minus, and the Ravens had an F-minus.

So there's something going on where, like, they are not happy with what's going on behind the scenes in terms of the strength staff. And that's a little different than the training staff. But the training staff got a C and the, I believe, the weight room got a C. So it was like a little, you know, the Ravens players aren't happy. And it was interesting because everyone always talks about how the Ravens are this great organization. That was a real aberration because if you looked at that report card, a lot of the weight rooms got graded poorly to the point where if you dug down to some of the

commentary there were players complaining like the Arizona Cardinals got I think the worst grade of anyone across the board it seems like an absolute disaster over there they were they were technically 31st but I don't know how that happened because they had four F minuses right I mean F minus doesn't even exist how did you how did the commanders finish behind a team that had four F minuses it's The F minus is the gentleman's E. Right. But the one thing that I think what a lot of the players were probably trying to do was say that in inclement environments, in a weight room that is not up to par,

the training staff, these are the guys that motivate you and tell you, we believe in you. And like the training staffs almost across the board got B plus to A plus, except you're right. The Ravens did not. And the one thing, the one position group that seems to have been problematic for them for so long. drafting wise was wide receivers, but go back to Hollywood Brown being frustrated with that offense. Rashad Bateman frustrated with the way that he's been handled in his health because I thought he looked like he was about to set on fire early last season. And that offense, now they fired

their offensive coordinator. It's like the Ravens that have been this like pristine organization. There are little cracks here left and right. And as an old school Browns fan, you don't hate to see it. Well, no, it's just like, you know what? You can't just coast. You got to keep, you can't have that weight room sitting out there with your training staff getting F's and D. Geez, got to get better in that. This Ravens stuff this offseason. Well, you remember, I was going to, Mark's liking it. I was going to build, sell the Ravens to build Wes, the old Mouser that would,

an underground railroad that would go across the country. You sell the Ravens franchise for that. That would be a better deal. Tough time for cards fans out there, four F minuses and looking at their roster, it just feels like they are, I don't know if we've done a power rankings lately, but they might be my 32. I think they're my number 32. It's going to be a tough year.

in Arizona. And you know you're bad when the commanders are like looking down and you'd be like, hey, we just got one F and two F minuses. So that's cool. Finally in the news, Carolina Panthers founder Jerry Richardson died on Wednesday night at his home in Charlotte. He was 86 years old. He celebrated figure when he brought the NFL to Carolina in 1995.

But his time with the team ended in 2017 due to scandal. He was forced to sell the team to David Tepper for. a then NFL record $2.275 billion after the 2017 season amid allegations of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace. A statue of Richardson outside the building was subsequently removed. And Richardson is now no longer with us. So Jerry Richardson dies at the age of 86. One of the only ex-players ever. I could be wrong, but I think he was the first ex-player to ever become a team owner to make that path. Before we take a break and bring in Lance, Gregi, do you want to get us caught up

and we talk a little bit about veterans, potential cuts ahead of free agency here? What are some names that are jumping out to you? I know you're licking your lips in a really kind of uncomfortable way because you want to add these guys to your top 101. Not about their personal failures, but or... Unemployment impending unemployment, but you just love to beef up that list. So that's kind of what it's about for you. Okay, that's not totally true.

I'm just trying to provide information for the listeners here of what we might see another in a week or two. I don't know if we still have the music. We used to have a segment, Dan, sponsored every week by Acresher. What does that company do again? Accrochure. It's an adult toy that we discussed earlier this week. All right, loving that sponsor.

All right, some possible cuts to look for in the coming week. It sounds like Joe Mixen is gone based on what Duke Tobin said. It just makes a lot of sense. Michael Thomas, I believe, is certain to be cut. Frank Clark's a big name that I think probably gets cut. Lyle Collins with the Cincinnati Bengals, Byron Jones, Miami, Shaq Griffin in Jacksonville. They need space, sneaky close to the cap.

Bud Dupree in Tennessee. Donovan Smith, long-time left tackle for the Titans. Ezekiel Elliott. I think he gets cut. Let's just end this farce. Eric Kendrick, possibly for the Vikings. Harrison Smith, possibly for the Vikings. Adam Thieland might take a pay cut, but otherwise he might get cut.

Jack Thompson, Matt Ryan, Ryan Kelly, Janu Smith. I think your boy, Corey Davis might get cut. Carl Lawson, depending on what they're trying to do. Otherwise, I think Lawson's fake. I think he's gone. They got a first round pick ready to take a spot. Okay. Holly Pallui Vata Vaitai.

I didn't need to go first name. That's fine. Romeo Aquaro, and I could keep going down the list of offensive linemen, but those are the biggest names I see as likely cuts in the coming week. A lot of nice, potentially nice value. A lot of those guys will maybe sign shorter term deals to try to get their value back up, and those become some steals. So, interesting, good stuff.

All right, take a break, and we'll get Lance in. Yes, he's the man who brings raw sensuality to Indianapolis every February and March. Azatty in his own right, Lance Zero Line, welcome back to around the NFL. Well, I mean, I don't have my auto tune, but I did, trust me.

It would be on. Lance, The combine, the workouts began today, and you are there. Boots on the ground. I mean, we're going to get to quarterbacks and some other prospects that are interesting to us. Is there kind of above the tree tops? Like, what is everybody talking about right now when you're at Prime 47 or you're at Elmo or whatever? What is kind of like the people of your ilk?

What are you guys like, what's getting you guys juiced about this class? well i don't think you want to know exactly what we're talking about because it's probably not for the i heard you guys talking but actually i heard the conversation before i went on the air and so actually it would fit in with this this show just probably off the microphone but um i would say you know a lot of it is it revolves around jalen carter obviously that's that's going to garner a lot of attention a lot of conversation about the quarterbacks right now which is you know are certain guys being too hyped up right now or that hyped up enough and that's really been a lot of the conversation has been about you know what's going

to happen at the the top of the draft and is Ryan Poles is everything coming out of Chicago smoke right now or is any of it real that's those conversations right now a lot of talk out of oh and some Lamar jacks and stuff you know what's going to happen with Lamar and and what what are the Ravens going to ultimately do there's a lot of people who believe he's getting training just a lot of people say they're just they'll just take their lumps this year, figure out quarterback, and move forward with a boatload of picks. Well, do you think Anthony Richardson is getting overhyped? Is that who you're talking about when you say the quarterbacks are getting overhyped?

You know, so we live in the social media world. So that's not always the real world, as you know, you guys know. But it's hard not to think back to the Malik Willis, all the hype from last year. And then he gets drafted in the third round. And it's like, whoa, what happened here? And it's almost to the point now where social media has taken, you know, for Anthony Richardson, they've taken, we've all seen the same two plays. There's three plays. There's a pass play where he's dodging left and right in a pocket and throws kind of a three-quarter sidearm throw against Tennessee.

It's really cool. A run against LSU that's a long run for touchdown. And then there's a rollout against, I think Vanderbilt maybe, where he rolls right and throws a dime into the end zone. And those are the three plays that everyone shows over and over. And it's just like, I don't think it's a fair representation. I don't think social media, the guys who compile the highlight plays and get all the likes and the retweets and all the dopamine hits because people are giving them all the attention for creating these highlight videos of players.

I don't think they do a very good job of showing what the players' actual strengths and weaknesses are in the areas of concern. And so the freight train of hype starts rolling downhill in the, you know, Not just in social media, but I think it bleeds its way into the television world because that's what people are talking about. And then it doesn't necessarily match up with what NFL people are thinking about players. So I think, you know, I think all of these guys have a lot of work to do. I think Levis and Richardson have a lot of work to do, but they're also wildly talented. But I feel like the freight train needs to slow down just a little bit for Richardson because I don't think it's really fair to him at this point.

You know, it's, I love what you just said because you're in a group of people that, you know, you and Daniel Jeremiah in-house for us, you're watching full games versus these 10-minute, 12-minute cut-ups that really just show typically the top of the echelon of their performance. But when you look at someone like, you know, Richardson is gone, some people have been in the first round, he goes down to the fourth rounds and some mocks. But like Bryce Young, I think is an interesting study because the last quarterback, who was essentially listed under 200 pounds to go in the first round was Jim McMahon. I mean, we're talking to aeons ago. So where is the real concern level? Because I think now you've got coaches that say, we can look at quarterbacks differently. We can coach this up.

There's so much to like about Bryce Young, but does, it's not just the height, but does the weight and the body size really, like, does he, like, the teams eliminate him because of that? I think the height is, I don't want to say it's irrelevant, but the height is not a big concern. because you can roll out pockets. You're sitting in shotgun, you know, so often. I mean, I think there's different things you can do from a height standpoint that doesn't bother me as much. The frame thing, you can't get around.

I mean, he may come in here and weigh 200 pounds, and that could be a, I told you so to everyone. It's not going to matter. Everyone knows he's slightly built. And so there is a consideration and concern because it's fine if you can coach a player up for the different areas of concerns he has. But can he take some of the hits that other people, quarterback's take when a guy falls on him, even though he's well protected and he stands in and

delivers the ball late because he wants to make sure to get this throw off, they don't want to give it up too early. Can he withstand that punishment? And then the other thing is going to be, is he going to be able to recover from injury as quickly as everyone else? Or is an injury to a shoulder or a chest or a leg, a hip? Is that going to be something that knocks him out of a game and keeps him out for another couple games? So I think that's the big concern. is how many games is he going to miss? Now, he hasn't missed a lot of games at Alabama. He's, you know, he's been relatively healthy, but the NFL game is faster. There's less ability to protect him. Alabama's got better prospects than you have, probably. On their O line and your

D-line, their own line's probably going to have more prospects as opposed, you know, with the exception of the Georgia game. But in the NFL, if he gets drafted by the Texans, if he gets drafted by, you know, the Raiders or the Panthers or anybody who could come up and trade up and draft him, can they protect him well enough and can he protect himself? I think those are real concerns, but make no mistake about it. On tape, he's clearly the best quarterback in this draft. And then, you know, on the subject of QBs, it was 94 picks last year before the fourth QB came off the board in your first mock, and I know these things are highly fluid and they're kind

of a fun exercise more than something to like study scientifically. but you have four guys in the first 19 picks, starting with Young to your Texans at two, and then the Bucks grabbing Richardson is their post-Bradie guy. Will Levis, you have right now mock to the Raiders at seven, makes a lot of sense that Josh McDaniels looking to develop another QB,

did a nice work with Mack Jones as a rookie, and they're obviously moving on from Derek Carr. So that match makes sense, but I'm curious more about it as a prospect, like what he needs to show right now. And how much did you put in, obviously, he had a tough season in 2022, his final college season with the injuries,

does that leave you more concerned, or do you give him kind of a pass on that and look more at what happened when he was healthy in 21? Yeah, I looked more at 2021, and I still see some of the same concerns. I mean, I actually gave him a plus for 2022 for playing through injury, playing hurt, showing his ability to be tough through it all.

But there are just some fundamental accuracy stuff that really bothered me. I just, and some decision-making and taking too many sacks. There's some poised considerations in the pocket. I mean, they aren't talents there. I think he's a talented quarterback, but 22 is a very rough tape.

21 is better, but there are still some issues that I think you need to work around. Now, I can tell you that there's a chance I could come up on my grade based on how he looks here at the Combine and a Pro Day. And I know it's on air, and I know there's no defenders, but I think just, you know, I want to see him throw accurately from point A to point B.

I don't want to see him spray it all over the place. And so those are some things on air. If he's struggling to put it on frame for these wide receivers here at the combine, that's, that's, you know, kind of a, it's not confirmation bias. It's tape by, it's tape confirmation that he has natural accuracy issues. But I do think Will Levis is a guy that teams want to like. They want to buy into Will Levis because he does have some of the physical traits that you really, really like.

And I can understand why teams get excited. excited. And, you know, maybe there is enough on 2021 for people to project. But everybody, whether you like Richardson or Levis or both, the big thing you want to try to lean on is Josh Allen, Josh Allen. I think you're chasing a unicorn. It's like saying, you know, you know, oh, this guy can be the next, you know, maybe like Nolan Ryan. He can continue to pitch when he's really older. Maybe he'll be like LeBron or maybe he'll be like Tom Brady. These are these are false comparisons. You can't make comparisons to these to the these unicorns. It's just, it's hard to do. And I think Josh Allen, it's yet to be determined,

but Josh Allen may be one of those rare instances where accuracy issues were improved to a not only functional level, but a very solid level. Who are, you mentioned Levis. You kind of want to see how he looks in terms of his accuracy. I'm sure Richardson will blow the doors off in terms of like his testing. We'll see how he throws. Like, who are some other offensive, maybe skill guys you're looking at this week that could show some juice, you know, a little preview for who's watching the NFL network stuff this weekend in terms of receivers, maybe running backs. Well, Tyler Scott, wide receiver out of Cincinnati, he's a former running back, and he's got,

he's very tough with the ball in his hands, but he was also a track guy. So he's got great sprint speed. He is really, really fast. So he's going to run really, really fast. But the other thing is, and I think he does need to get a little bit better from just learning to play. But I think Tyler Scott was one of my favorite ascending prospects when I watched him. I think he's the second round wide receiver. And I think he's going to run really fast and test really well. And I think he's going to look good in the drills as well. So that's a guy to

keep your eye on a wide receiver. I think Zay Flowers, who's gotten bigger over the, like during the quote unquote draft season, he's gained, he's put on like eight to 10 pounds of muscle and he looks bigger. Like he looks good. Zay Flowers is going to run really, really well. Tankdale, Nathaniel Tank Dell, it is rare to be named Tank when you're 163 pounds. And yet are, he's a wide receiver named Tank who's 163 and he's going to run in a four threes. So those are some guys that are going to bring some juice, I think, to the table. But it's unusual because we have a lot of smaller wide receivers. There's going to be a lot of big cornerbacks and small receivers this year that you're going to notice at the combine.

And then, you know, so those are some of the guys that are going to run really fast. but a guy that I think you're going to start hearing a lot more talk about is Cedric Tillman from Tennessee. Kind of a lost, you know, Jalen Hyde is, I don't know if he's running out here, but if he does, it's going to be extraordinarily fast. But he had a lot of touchdowns. He was terrific this year. I think people sleep on the fact that Cedric Tillman played this year on a high ankle

sprain. He ended up having a surgery so he could get it back out on the field faster to join, you know, his teammates and compete, which I think is a big bonus in terms of what he's willing. to do. He's big. He has great ball skills. And he had 352 yards receiving last year in 2021, I should say, against Georgia and Alabama. I mean, 350 total against Georgia and Alabama. That should immediately catch your attention. And I talked to a couple of personnel guys in the NFL just kind of brought up his name. And they were like, we're right there with you. Like, you know, he had the, he had the tape last year. And so you have to go back also to 2021 to just re-remind yourself

that Cedric Tillman is a real dude out there, and he's a guy that he may not run the fastest 40, but if he gets under 4-5, it gets in a high 4-4s, I think his name is really going to start to creep up and maybe even start to be mentioned in the late first round because there's no real wide receiver ones for me. It's not Quentin Johnston. It's not Jordan Addison. It's not Jalen High. Jailahite's going to be my top rated wide receiver because of complete speed. But I don't believe there's a true wide receiver one in his draft. I appreciate that. We've got some small wide receivers in this draft. I want to talk about a human being who is the opposite. He is very large. He is about 275 pounds. He's six foot four from the state of Iowa hovering from that land. It is Lucas Van Ness, my draft man crush at this point. I know he wasn't really a starter per se in college, but it seems like he is a figure of massive intrigue. He doesn't even fit into most cars. How do you view this player? So, you know, his nickname is Hercules for a reason.

That's what he looks like. That's how he's going to test. I think right now he's a good athlete with great size, but he's not as skilled as he needs to be. The hands need to get better. He's not a very skilled pass rusher, which I think can come in time. It's something you can coach up, but it's not always going to click. So with some players, the coaching hits, and then you take the big, strong, powerful, explosive player,

And if he gets his hands worked out, if he starts to develop go-to moves, well, you're looking at one of the more, potentially one of the more dominant players to come out of this draft from a pass rush standpoint. If he doesn't develop, and if he still continues to lean on power and strength, well, the NFL can, you know, they have guys who can counter you on power and strength. So you'll be good, but you may not be great. So I think Lupus Van S, the key is going to be, can he add skill to what is already a force-driven playing style.

If he can add the skill level and add a little finesse and pretty up the game a little bit and get the skill level, you know, elevated a little bit. I think it'll all start to click for him. Lance, you have no idea how important it is for Mark that that guy hits. Now that he's publicly brought him up, there's a lot riding on this for Sessler. That's true. Yeah. Let me ask.

Well, he'll a little bit out here. I mean, Sessler's going to. He's going to come out of this looking like the champion out of the combine. Let's just see how it looks on draft day. And then you may have to revisit this in three years or when it's time for a second contract. That's a long time for you. Hansis, that's a long time for you and Greg to wait to gloat. Like, that's a long time for a second contract to say you were wrong.

You know, I don't think you're going to be able to say it after today. We've been doing this show for 10 years. We still make fun of like when he really was in love with Zach Zener or who was the other guy, Toby Gerhard. On the Vikings, yeah, Tony Garhart. Like, we remember these things. If you were a, if you were a white running back that wasn't Christian McCaffrey,

Mark likes you. I mean, the one thing he can't do. So are we going to start our Riley Moss to question in and go white cornerback? Is that ever going to make the rounds on 8th? I mean, feel free to speak on him. Go ahead. I mean, he's a legit running back.

I mean, he's a legit cornerback. He's going to be drafted as a corner. there will be talk about moving him to safety. You know, he'll get the, hey, we should move him to safety talk. The cursory, we should move him to safety talk. But he's a legitimate cornerback, and he's going to be drafting on day three. He's physical. He's got some cover skills.

I think Riley Moss is a legitimate cover corner. He may not be anything more than a backup in the league who gets to play here and there is a third cornerback or if there's injuries. But I think Riley Moss has, it's been a long time. It's been a long run. You had Jason Seahorn and now Riley Moss. Now, I don't know if he's going to end up maybe supermodels or TV cars or whatever the case may be. But I do think he's got a chance to play in the league also.

That's a great pop culture slash sports trivia question that I'll pose to Greg Rosenthal. Jason Seahorn's wife is or was? Angie Harmon. Correct. Well done, Gregie. Let's close here. And thank you for your time here, Lance, from the bowels of Lucas Oil Stadium, which you probably know as well as your own home at this point in your life and career. Yeah, Bijon Robinson.

We played his highlight earlier in the show. Our producer, Gravedigger, is a Longhorn alum, as he ceaselessly tells us. Who's the comp here? How special is this guy? You have him as a top five prospect. That doesn't mean he goes top five because of how the running back is viewed in our league, as we know. but like who's the comp in terms of what kind of player this guy could be? It's kind of hard to come up with an exact comp,

but I think Sequan is a fair comp. I mean, he's not going to be as fast as Seyquan Barkley. But what he is, is he is a very powerful running back. He runs with a combination of elusiveness and power, and you don't know which one you're going to get. So what happens is a lot of times you'll see tacklers get up to him. And if they're not sure, if they're on their toes waiting for him to wiggle, and then he hits him head on,

they're going to get trucked and it's not going to look good. If they're bracing to really run through him and he wiggles, then they're going to look bad. So he can toggle between elusive and power, which I love. The other thing is, he's a full menu running back, so he can handle first and second down, you know, from a fantasy football standpoint, which we all dabble, obviously.

He's going to be a guy that fantasy owners are going to love because he didn't have a tremendous amount of wear and tear off the tread at Texas. They did a pretty good job of limiting, you know, the heavy duty touches, but he can gain yards for himself through wiggle. He can gain yards to himself through power. He can catch the ball out of the backfield at a volume rate, and he can protect the quarterback. So, and not to mention that when it gets around the goal line, he can put it in there. So there's really not a lot of weaknesses there. I don't know that he's necessarily going to write. He may be like a 4-5-40 guy, maybe 4-5. May not be the fastest 40 guy, but I really honestly, that really,

doesn't bother me as long as he has enough burst. That's, yeah, that's, Jeremiah brought up a good point that these type of guys, these running backs, they make sense going to a team that's ready to win. I believe you had a mock to the bills, which would be a home run. It'll be interesting to see where he lands rebuilding team or contender. Hey, West question, I'm curious, Lance, like,

so we, our combine experience has always been, or at least in recent years, you know, we parachute in for the coaches and GMs, and then we get out of Dodge, right? You are there for the whole thing. Like, so, like, when you're there, like, when did you get into town, Lance, into Indy? I got into town Tuesday, late afternoon.

And you're leaving when? Sunday night. All right. So what are you doing in Indy now from Thursday through Sunday? You've already hit probably all the haunts. Or are you such a veteran that you know places that people don't even they're not even aware of, or is it getting to the point now where you're at the White Castle at the outsurts of town by the time you get to Friday night? Now, I'm a legitimate food guy. So I hit restaurants that are critically acclaimed. So I'll make donations I find going to, I saw Matt Rule who, you know, what was it, 2020? It's either 2020 or 2019 combine. His wife is, was trained at a culinary school just for, you know, just because she wanted to.

So I saw Matt Rule at this really nice, a James Beard-nominated restaurant that was about 25 minutes outside of Indianapolis. And we talked food there and some football. I made it to a place called Beholder that I don't think anyone. So here's the key. Look, I know they're probably not advertisers. I never see them advertise anywhere. Resi is the key. The app Resi is going to have any city you go into some of the coolest, hipest food forward places is always going to be on Resi.

So you look through there. And then I do my homework after that. So like I scout cornerbacks and I scout wide receivers and offense. I scout restaurants as well. I look through the menu. Is it tasting menu? What does a cocktail menu look like? Is it, you know, am I going to have to make, is there a chef's table or a chef's counter?

What does it look like from a tire standpoint? Because I can tell you, it's going to be casual for me. Yeah, I noticed you on NFL Network just wearing a plaid shirt, no jacket, no tie. And this was a tier one show. You're supposed to be wearing a tie. I was like, they're going to yank Lance right off of it. Then here's a good idea. Tell me before I pack my clothes and get on a plane that you're going to have me on.

You can't expect. See, that's a good cover. Oh. It's also a power play. It's also a power play by Lance. It's like, you know I'm good at this. You know the value I bring. If you want to give me an issue because I'm not wearing a tie, well, guess what?

I'm just, I'm killing the game. Decide what's more important. It's a challenge is what it is. That's what I think. I don't think there's a brand that is creating. for draft analysts and especially guys who write tape is we're supposed to be grinders. You don't put a grinder in a tie. Frankly, I should be in a hoodie.

My show, I should dress exactly like you guys dress at all times on every show. Well, Lance, keep up the good work, buddy. Be you. Love it. I shirt. And I'm like, what the hell is that supposed to mean, Greg? No, I legitimately liked it. It was a cool shirt.

And I was just surprising to see next. to Siciliano's like three-piece suit. It was great. It was a cool shirt. All right, Lance. Thank you very much for joining us, buddy. Enjoy all the good eats and the good times in Indy. And we'll talk to you again soon. See, Lance.

There he goes, Lance. He's a good fella, as they say. Boys, here's the plan. That's the last show of the week, maybe. But during a walk of contemplation with my canine last night, it did strike me. Let's be ready. Let's be on call. This Lamar Jackson situation, as you heard again from Lance, something can break in any moment. There could be a trade. Aaron Rogers, that could go down. I floated the idea of a Derek Carr emergency podcast. And just for the thought of Mark having to do that on call and do a 30 minutes on Derek Carr, that potentially is in play here just for entertainment value. So maybe you'll hear from us tomorrow Friday if big news breaks. Otherwise, we have shows all through next week. I think typically in our society,

the people that are on call are, you know, emergency workers, highly regarded surgeons and bloggers. And so we just will fit right in there and do, it's our job, it's our task. It's a joy to do it all, Greg. I'm now living in this garage. I'm not going to leave. But we do have some breaking news before we leave, though.

I don't know if this would be an emergency pod. The NFL has announced that referee Jerome Boger has retired after 19 seasons. Be gone. That is, okay, breaking news drop, okay. We're in a little bit of a slump there, but Boger is one of the more recognizable dudes, you know, so Bogie leaving the game

while he still has his fastball. I don't know if he does or not. In fact, who knows why he's leaving. I know the NFL is probably behind the scenes looking to tighten some things up in that realm, but I don't want to connect any dots. on that. If Mogi just decided this is the end of his run, got speed, buddy, and enjoy whatever comes next. I was just hoping, actually, you were going to come after me for a reckless use

of breaking news and didn't even work. No, because I don't want to, I don't want to shatter your confidence on it unless you're now purposely trying to denigrate the breaking news drop, which is, okay, if you want to go with a bit on it, that's fine too. But now he's, he's been doing that for, like, I think it's three or four years. He's been doing sort of false. You should have seen what happened last week, Mark, when you were trapped at sea. He used the breaking news drop to announce that he was not going to put Conklin, not Conklin, who was it, Taylor Luan on his top 101. Well, that lacks integrity, Greg. You need to clean that up. I choose not to. I was just tempted to do breaking news again to say, now I know, let's do it, Justin. Let's go. Let's go.

whenever you could build up the joke in this manner it's going to land my wife and pat rule's wife have something in common they both went to culinary school that's it i did i did see your eyes light up when uh lance mentioned that it sucks at rules now back in the college game good for him he's getting paid a bunch of money and he'll thrive because he killed it with baler before and Rutgers before he got to the NFL. But he would have been a good guy to keep in our rotation. But he's gone. He's going to be running that program for years

and probably never come back to the NFL. I like that he described her wanting to go to culinary school just because she wanted to. Like he sort of, well, maybe it's a deep passion. We don't know. We just sort of just sort of flippantly decided to go and check that thought. I think, yeah, the idea was she didn't need to be making,

you know, $18 an hour to work till one in the morning because he has her taken care of financially. Maybe that was what he was getting after. I'm not sure. Hard to say. Hard to say. We may never know. It was Temple, by the way, not Rutgers from that rule.

Thank you, Grave-Digger. All right, that's it. So, like I said, unless news breaks and dictates an emergency pod, come on, Derrick Carr, make that decision. We will be back on Monday with more around the NFL goodness as we get closer, ever closer to free agency. And, yes, the draft. Good stuff.

Thanks to everybody for listening. Until you hear from us next, yes. Hey, baby, you got to heed that call. And that call is coming to my place to see my face. Heat the call. This is an IHeart podcast.