NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Cranky Aaron Rodgers & Hard Knocks Premiere

Episode Date: August 9, 2018

A room filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Marc Sessler & Chris Wesseling - discuss the latest news from around the league. The heroes react to Antonio Callaway’s run-in with the law and how it impacts the Browns (4:30), the 49ers plans to honor Dwight Clark with a statue of “The Catch” (9:00) and Aaron Rodgers rips the Packers’ young wide receivers (13:00). The guys recap the season premiere of HBO’s Hard Knocks with the Cleveland Browns (25:00) and they check in with Neil Reynolds of SKY Sports ahead of their trip to London (40:00).Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast. Never lost to Dallas. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast presented by New Era. My name is Dan Hansis, joined in a room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What is up, boys? Hey, Dan.

Happy hump day. Oh, that's what it is. you're all over the days of the week. Monday's heavily on your radar, but hump day, I think, is catching up. There are some people, and I don't necessarily agree, that view Wednesday is a worse day than Monday, which is a hot take.

I'm just going to say, it's a hot take. In the preseason, also the days of the week get a little blurry. I know you guys, people are working on the weekends. The preseason games are on the weekends, and it really messes up your whole bit. It's what I really need in life, more people's opinions on days. Today is another busy day for the show.

We have news what's going on around the NFL. That's how it got the name. Actually, it was a name that was given to us. Yeah, it actually got the name because it was the name of a television show that's no longer on the network. And we had to change our name just for corporate synchronicity. And then they canceled or changed that show like a year later. These are all absolutely true facts from Greg.

I never like the name. but now it's one of those things where it just sticks around long enough no one even thinks anything of it. Well, and we cannot change it again. I mean, we continually take our brand and implode it from the inside out. It is quite generic, though.

There's something about it that's just like, it's forgettable. It's a brutal name. And this amazing show, by the way, Succession that Dan and I are digging into. Yeah, digging in good. It's about a family that owns a string of media companies, but one of the major companies is ATN,

the major villainous company that they're trying to take down this ATN, and I'm like, I can't quite separate from what's happening here and what's happening on an HBO fictional narrative. If we ever grow in stature

to be like a villainous megacorp, that pretends very well for our bank accounts. And I think that's the most important thing. Money is what's important, guys. That's what the money's for. That's what the money is for. All right, coming up today,

yes, news. Also, it was the premiere of season, I believe, 13 of Hard Knock, training camp with the Cleveland Browns. Mark on edge. Mark was at Hansis Manor because he doesn't have cable. So he watched it at my house

and I wrote about it on the dot com but a very nervous Mark Sessler showed up at my house and we're going to talk about that. Was I? There were palpable nerves on your side. Yeah, which I get because I know you. Not many other people would be as nervous about

a football documentary show as you were. Brown's fans might, but... Yeah. Not if you're rolling in with your little... I don't know. Oh, your little sexy Rams. Hey, look at us.

We're on the upswing. I don't know. You're nervous. I don't know if other fans would be nervous, though, about the heart. It's more because I don't go suddenly the next day work in an accounting firm where everyone's just studying math all day.

I'm doused in everyone's opinion about the show from dawn till dusk. And there were opinions about your Browns. and certain figures within the organization. There are many moments where I cringed and I thought, I'm glad I'm not next to Mark right now. All right. So we're going to get to all that.

Mark, you ready? I mean, I am prepared as much as I can be. I know, I know. I'm here for you, buddy. And also a little later on the show, our good buddy, Neil Reynolds, who is a host for Sky Sports TV over in the UK. Of course, we are going to London

in just a few weeks now, so we're going to have him on. He's a reporter over there and he's been bouncing around NFL camps. So we're going to catch up with Neil, talk a little bit about our upcoming trip to England and also about the league in general. So that's today's show.

We welcome back now behind the glass. There she is, Lindsay Fulton, who is not devoured by a brown bear. So that's good. They're black bears actually that I saw. Excuse me. I had some close encounters with them. Had four little cubs and a mom come up on their porch.

It's pretty scary. See, that's what I'm talking about. We got to calm down with this camping stuff. You don't need that. Just a heartbeat away from tragedy. Did you opt for them anything? Were you hospitable? They were digging through the coolers and everything,

but no one has died from a black bear attack in the Allegheny State Park. Are you sure? Yeah. We did the research. All right. Well, I'm glad that you are alive and apparently you were in no danger at all because the black bears are friendly folk. Whimps. Whimps, he says.

Let's do some news. No, I got a lozings bitch. Can you believe that in the past three years, last, I think even two years, NFL films has done three major productions that have revolved in part around Greg Williams and that a cervic wit. I would be stunned if it went to four. Can I hear that again? No, I got a lozings bitch.

That was his closing line of a hard. Knocks episode one. He loses his voice, he explained, on the third day of camp for the past 30 years. Sure enough, it happens. Someone jokingly on the sideline says, hey, coach, do you need a lozance for the throat? And he says in response, no shit, I got a lozinch, bitch. Just a real sweetheart. A rapport builder.

Players seem to like him. Yeah, right. The weird thing. Let's get to that in a little bit. Let's start, though, some news. And since, yes, this is a Hard Knocks day on the podcast. We'll start with the Browns who drafted wide receiver Antonio Calloway. They got him on deep discount because of his troubles in college.

And also he failed a drug test at the scouting combine, which is not good. But the Browns took a flyer in him anyway because he's so talented and hoped he stays clean. Not looking good right now. He was cited for marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license by Strong. Longsville, Ohio police on Sunday morning. He's pulled over at 3 a.m. for failing to yield for oncoming traffic. The officers discovered that the license was suspended, small amount of weed in the car driver's seat. Calloway explained that it was not his.

It was someone else's drugs that were in the car. And I don't know if that's going to hold up in the court of law or in the court of the NFL, which won't take kindly to this, I imagine. Well, I mean, he claimed that the, well, the car was shipped from Florida to Ohio, and there were trace amounts of marijuana in the car. And there were friends of his, according to him, driving the car in the interim. And it is a minor misdemeanor in Ohio. It would be not that in California.

Let's start right there. But with his past, I think that there are a couple questions. Number one, it's like you've lost a little bit of credibility to be believed at the outset of this. Secondly, what are you doing out at three in the morning as a rookie with a past in Cleveland who is on the doorstep to becoming a starter? I just, the timing, and I understand that these guys have their own lives, but it's just overall, like, you know, it reminded me of the day when Dan and I were New York and the Browns drafted Johnny Mansell, and before we knew what that would balloon into, there was this incredible feeling of that was hope. we've taken a shutdown cornerback and we've taken Johnny Manzell if you're a Browns fan

and then the next day Josh Gordon the report comes down that he is out and it was just like this entire all the air lit out of the balloon and this was going into this hype job of hard knocks this guy is your starting receiver yesterday morning and the news hits

and it's like come on the timing. The timing is just... It was right after the Corey Coleman trade and TMZ has video where the officer notes that he finds bullets and a strap for a handgun in the car and that he be that

Calloway became nervous and normally you're right it wouldn't it the backdrop is that he had a number of incidents during college that he's already in phase one of the drug testing program which isn't supposed to become public I should point out but it has been reported and so that means okay is this guy getting

suspended for this or not we'll find out this is uh I think this is a new tropoler at some time during the calendar year. Troopalette. People start to ask, do the Browns have the sneaky best wide receiver core in the NFL? No, really, do they? And then a week later, people ask, who's playing wide receiver for the Browns this year?

Yep, it took like about a fortnight for that entire thing to melt away. Moving on. Third and three. We'll see a pick-up sometime on the right side, possibly. Montana, looking, looking, throwing in the end zone. Clark caught it. Dwight Clark. The San Francisco 49ers will use the 2018 season to honor a legend,

Dwight Clark, who passed away in June. Dwight Clark most famous, of course, for, Wes, the catch. Yeah, which he just heard, of course, his leaping grab in the back of the end zone at Candlestick to send the 49ers to the Super Bowl back in 1981. So this is something that I feel like sometimes you figure, What took so long, perfect, perfect to have a statue that has Joe Montana, your most famous quarterback ever, and Dwight Clark making your most famous catch ever, that is a cool statue and that will be erected outside Levi Stadium.

The big bell bottom. Without that catch, I wonder if that stadium ever even gets built. You wonder if that dynasty ever happens because that catch is one of the most iconic and important plays in NFL NFL history. It ushers in the 49ers dynasty and ushers out the cash. Cowboys Dynasty of the 70s and makes the 49ers the team of the 80s. And Dwight Clark, to me, is an interesting character in NFL history. He got on the team.

Bill Walsh went down to scout Steve Fuller, the quarterback for Clemson, and Dwight Clark just happened to answer the phone. He was Steve Fuller's roommate and was basically a walk-on for the tryout. And Bill Walsh ended up drafting him in a 10th round. He goes on to a great career and then works in the 49ers front office, starts the new Browns front office when their expansion team. So this guy's had an interesting career. I think it's a great idea for a statue.

One thing, you know, this offseason, we've had a lot of statue talk. And one statue that we had some questions about is the one down in Carolina where the Jerry Richardson statue is still front and center for whatever reason. But this statue is kind of cool. It's like they actually spatially have Montana exactly the right distance away from Clark. And Clark is 11 feet up in the air as he was at the actual

catch. So I think that's, like, I would love to go see that in person. It's great for 49ers fans who, you mentioned, this stadium might never have gotten built if not for this play. I think a lot of 49ers fans kind of wish it wasn't built because it's no longer in San Francisco. And it doesn't have the same sort of connection or feel to the 49ers fans, A, if it was in San Francisco at all, and certainly if it was candlestick, which obviously they couldn't keep playing. With the fog and the wind rolling in? You know, it's so far away. And all right, maybe this will be. be a little more connection. Obviously they have like a 49ers Hall of Fame and all this,

but this is a little more of a connection. And they've already, they're also, they've already built a Jimmy Garapolo statue too on the other side of the stadium. Waiting for the right moment to roll it out. Yeah. I, um, I, let me just again, uh, stump for double statues. I call them double stats. Uh, I went to college at Northeastern University in Boston and they have a statue of Sy Young because I guess the first World Series or something was played on the, on the grounds. And on the other side, 60 feet away is a catcher. Love it.

Love that statue set up. When we went to Minutemade Park for Media Night a couple of years ago for the Super Bowl, they have a Craig Beggio turning and doing like a double playthroat to Jeff Bagwell, double statue. More double statues, bro. The Steve Gleeson statue, not a double statue, but there's many different people involved in the play in the statue. So I, Greg, it's not a double statue.

I don't want to hear it. It's also double the work for the carving community or whatever we call them. The statue. No, you had it right. It is the carving community. It's like we don't need one of you. We need two, man. That's more families eating.

That's more food being put on the table west. Save it for the statuary podcast. We've already here. Moving on Aaron Rogers, a big year for Aaron Rogers and the Packers. A lot of expectations maybe to send a message. Rogers went off on Tuesday. about the effort of some of the young receivers during a portion of the team's practice. Here's what Rogers had to say to the assembled media.

It was one of the worst carded sessions we've had. I don't know how you can make it any simpler. You literally have what the play would be in our terminology on the card. And the effort level is very low, especially what I'm accustomed to having run that period for a number of years. So it's not a good start for us on the Carter period for the young. guys. You know, I think the NC has really progressed. GMO, obviously 16, but everybody else was kind of piss poor. Piss poor, he says, Mark. Read into it. I like his second quote, too. He said,

I'm older and grumpier. I've been at this for a long time. I'm tired too. We're all a little tired. When you get a little tired, the fuse gets a little shorter. Amen. Everybody else was kind of piss poor. That's fair. That quote was passed along to one of those young receivers like later in the media session and supposedly he was like despondent and you know in apologetic and what he was talking about in terms of the carded session was Aaron Rogers is running the scout team and so they're trying to give the defense a certain look he's clearly not playing in this game so Aaron Rogers was was with all the third teamers and they're trying to run these scout plays to give your team another look and you're not

you're not really doing anything and he's making the point obviously here you have to treat every moment and everything you're doing in that building like it's the most important thing because you're trying to help make the team better. Everything matters. And, you know, that's why he's Aaron Rogers. That's why you got a quarterback. I read into it another way. This guy's still pissed that Jordan Nelson isn't his teammate anymore. And he's sending message. No, don't know me. You think that's why? I think he is still annoyed that he was not part of that decision. And he looks at these young guys and obviously these are like fourth and fifth team. Maybe he's motivating and all that, but also maybe a subtle message.

Like, I'm stuck training these guys while you're asking me to win a Super Bowl this year. Let's go. Where's Jordy who's 28 years old in camp? And all the flowery conversation coming out of Oakland about Jordan Nelson, yeah. He doesn't like hearing that. He's happy for his friend, Jordy, but he's like, I want moves like 28 Jordy Nelson in this building right now. The most canny part of that entire thing. Come on, Greg!

He decided to, well, because those aren't the starters. He's usually- I know. Cobb and Adam. But I like that he went out of his way to mention the young guys because he knows they're all going to hear this quote. So he mentioned the young guys that are in his good graces, DeAngelo, Yancey, Cumero, and Geronimo Allison.

And so if you weren't one of those guys, you know, you know. You know. Moving on, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to bounce back from a pretty miserable 2017 season. There's a second year wideout named Chris Godwin, who is really having a nice camp. His speed is the type of stuff that can create plays and lead to points. That's how football works.

And this could be Chris Wessling potential bad news for Deshaun Jackson, who's supposed to be, at least last season, positioned as they take the top off the defense guy who would be a game breaker. He's another year older. And now here's a kid who might be on his corner. This is flying really under the radar because it's the Buccaneers. If this was an NFC East team, everybody would be talking about it. But they signed Deshaun Jackson to this big deal to be sort of the missing piece to the offensive puzzle.

And a year later, they can't take Chris Gobwin off the field because he's so much more physical, which means last year they were afraid to run the ball to Deshaun Jackson's side because he's such a bad blocker. And now it opens up so much for the running game. He's making contested catches, which is not Deshaun Jackson's specialty. and they're already saying Rick Stroud, who's covered this team for, what, 30 years? Make no mistake, Chris Godwin will be starting opposite Michael Evans, or Mike Evans,

and then Deshawn Jackson's playing more in the slot, but they also have Adam Humphrey's in the slot. So how this shakes out is pretty interesting, but Chris Godwin's going to play. Well, it's great for the Bucks. Godwin, we talked about him on this show last December, really stuck out to me as a number one type of receiver. When he played because other guys were injured,

There was a week 17 game against the Saints. There was another game. He can do it all. And if Deshaun Jackson has the right attitude, this is great for the Bucks. Because ultimately, Jackson, Godwin, Humphreys, they'll all play plenty. They'll all get plenty of snaps. And instead of Jackson needing to be the centerpiece, like he's more that Taylor Gabriel or Travis Benjamin, like the best version of that sort of extra, just deep threat.

And that's a tough team to defend. That said, though, he's making $21 million over this season and next. this last year on the team. That's what I say. It's like, I think that D. Carter is here. We have four starting wide receivers. We couldn't be happier. But you're not going to have four next year. All right. I'll throw this out there. Who says no? D. Jackson to the Cowboys for a fourth round pick, maybe a conditional third. Who says no? The issue I think would be cap space, right? Because in order to trade for Deshaun Jackson, who seems to be a guy leading up in October, we're going to hear a lot about him. You're going to have to have a few million

available to take this guy on. Can you share the hit? That's a good question. No, it's going to go. I mean, any of the signing bonus money that you've already paid is going to go on the buck's side. But whatever... But it's set aside the money. Whatever his salary. There are other teams for cap space here.

Guaranteed seven and a half this year, and he makes 11. I think that would make sense, but I would say no, if I was the bucks. I would hold out for a good pick just because they're trying to win this year. And I think Deshaun Jackson's still a good player. And unless he's becoming a huge pain, you're trying to win. You're trying to save your jobs unless it's like a second, second round. round pick maybe finally in the news we have a big tag team sandwich proposition on the line involving new york jets rookie quarterback sam darnald gregg and i are on the side that

darnold will not be the week one starter no you are on west no you are on team west don't put me on the losing side don't put me on the losing side uh west and i who are unstoppable partners in cornhole also in sandwich wagers uh so it would be considered a major upset if we lose we have Sam Darnold starting after week one. You gentlemen, Mark and Greg, have Darnold as the week one starter. Mnich Mehta for the New York Daily News, who does a nice job over there. He says that according to sources, the Jets believe Sam Darnold will earn the week one starting job. However, there's another report, where was it from?

Somebody help me out. That Josh McCown has been far and away the best quarterback in camp thus far. That came from MySpace. That was actually West. I think that was from your boy, Rich Samini. All right, Samini, who to me is the man with the Jets. Nobody knows that team better than him. He's been covering them forever.

So I guess pick your reporter to decide who's in the lead on this particular prop. Well, hold on. I think number one, you've set this up well for yourself, Dan, because you can't lose. Either you lose a sandwich, oh, you got to go spend $9 on a sandwich, or if that happens, it's because Sam Darnold has surged enough in training camp in the preseason. to earn that week one start and you've got a franchise. Or they're just impatient and they make them. Right. I don't care about who looked better.

I think they're impatient. I'm not surprised Josh McCown looks better. I'm more worried about what do the Jets want and what's been clear based on the reporting from mini-camps to now is they want Sam Darnold to start. And so usually when you want a guy to start, he's going to start and he sounds okay. And now they're getting into the mode where Josh McCown's kind of barely taking any snaps. You know, they're getting ready for the preseason. It's mostly Darnold and Bridgewater.

It's like, they know they have McCown, and they're only going to break him out if Darnel blows it. Winners and losers in this column? About a month and a half ago, I wrote a piece predicting when these quarterbacks would start, put Donald at week one. Hey, Ali, bomb party downstairs. Maybe a few more columns from Mark Sessler. I have an update for me, like a random T into his name. I have an update for you. Maybe that's why you don't get more.

Bon Party, I called him. That's his nickname. Sorry, Wes. It was Ralph Vakiano, who reported Josh McCown has been. Now, this is over 23 hours ago, so it's already been blown out of the water by Mnich Mett's opinion, but has been the best quarterback in Jets camp and, quote, shows no signs of losing the grip on his job.

Now, Ralphie Vax has been on the beat forever, going back to the Giants and now the Jets. So, you know, pick your beat writer. I don't trust anyone. My takeaway from going to a few of these training camp practices now, never trust any reporter's opinion about who's doing well or poorly in training camp. Unless it's Mnich Mnich Mniz.

No, he's getting information from the Jets. If you're getting people from the team, hey, this is who's doing it? You're saying Ralph Vacchiano isn't plugged into the Jets? He's just using his eyes. How do you know what goes into that statement? I don't know. Greg, you have to feel good about siding with me on a single with drop.

I do. I do. I'm just afraid of losing the bet. You guys are acting scared right now. We are. You're the one afraid to acknowledge that Ralph Vakiano does reporting behind the scenes. Ralphie Vox. That's what's happening.

If any of them are listening to this, I apologize for all, for everyone. in the news. All right, let's do a ad read. You may or may not have heard, but Lowe's is a new home of craftsmen. Craftsman, always a tough word. But a good word and a good company,

which means that at Lose, you'll find an ever-growing selection of mechanics, tools, tool storage, and more. You know, Guy, working on that first toolbox hasn't arrived at him. I think Wes is the target audience here. He's been doing a lot of work around that house.

It's really coming into shape. But he has a tool set. You do not actually. have a tool set you could plug in here with Lowe's why you rent tool storage and more in store and online ready to help tackle projects throughout your home it's one of those projects if one of those projects happens to be in a really tight space to get to then you definitely need to check out the 120 tooth ratchet you got that uh Wes 120 rash yeah 120 rash who doesn't yeah T-bom I call it a uh a uh you know it has a three degree arc swing you guys

Did you know what that does? Yeah, I mean, it's a wide arc that allows you, you know, vast versatility and fix it up. Maneuverability. We didn't either, but we do now. A three degree arc swing means you can loosen or tighten bolts with less movement in those hard-to-reach spots. That is helpful, actually. That should make it easy to tackle any auto or DIY. That's do-it-yourself project on your list.

Plus, they come in gunmetal chrome, which is masculine. Beautiful. That's not only sharp-looking. It makes them corrosion resistant. Cool, right? Absolutely. Shop the new home of craftsmen today at Lowe's.com slash around. That's Lowe's.com slash around.

All right. It's time for our favorite NFL documentary series of all time. Hard knocks. I wish I could talk like any of the narrators. Well, it's only one. Rudd did it one season, the chief season. It's Leaves Shriver. Fun fact. Leave Shriver has done it every other season.

What gravitas. Nice gig. It is. Yeah. Saul leaves Shriver in a bookstore in New York City once. Perusing the magazine section. Good actor, you know. Nice actor. Underrated.

Very good at scream. All right. Yes, the Cleveland Browns are the focus this season of Hard Knocks and so much to unpack because, yes, the hard knocks even when the team isn't that compelling a pick NFL films does such a nice job picking different things to dig into and they make it good with the browns Greg there is no

shortage of topics to dig into and we saw that right off the bat in the premiere it's crazy that they're the browns are a national team right now in a way that they weren't you know five or six years ago when they were almost as bad but somehow just more forgettable I guess it's the one and 31 thing that people want to see turn around. But it's also the personalities and just like the Sashi and the approach that they really, it's like they feel like they're one of the most popular teams in terms of just conversation, which really makes no sense since they're so terrible. I feel like Mansell probably got them there to some degree because it wasn't just the name,

but it was all the chaos and the constant drama. And then on top of it, you get this record-setting law. Number one with Hard Knocks for me, I don't think they're all equal. They all have their special moments, but the setup for this one, and I'm not saying this is someone that follows the Browns, is unique for Hard Knocks because we've never seen a team come out of a season like this, and the season before, and the two decades before. You want to see transformation, and they're trying to say, we're this team that's changed our character, and we're changing our culture, and now we're going to find out if that's true. And I think there's evidence to suggest that a little bit of it's true, but there's people inside the building that don't believe it's true, too, which makes for compelling TV. let me start just like laying a little groundwork of the scene and um so i i for the last seven years now i've been writing the recaps on nfl.com so i have a whole process when i sit in front of my

couch and and you know take notes on the show i'm shazaming songs that are playing i got a whole thing going on but mark asked me to come over uh of course mark was welcome he wanted to watch hard knocks because HBO's streaming decisions are questionable like you wouldn't be able to watch the until the next day. Mark needed to see it in real time. He had to tweet to his followers and all those things. And when Mark came, when Mark... People just like, can't go to sleep yet.

Mark hasn't... Yeah, I don't know if that... I'm not sure that need is out there, but yeah. When Mark, when I opened the door and saw Mark like walking toward me, I could see that you, how nervous you were for this. So I want the first question I want to ask. And anybody that listens to this spot knows why Mark was nervous because Mark is a little sensitive about how the Browns are portrayed

and is afraid. of people getting new in the media and fans getting new ammunition, watching the first episode, I want to know you coming out of it, Mark. How did you feel? Were your nerves justified? I think so, because, I mean, look,

I think there were things about it where I think overall in the 1 to 10 category, it was a solid 7, where for me, some things made me feel like the Browns were the right team for this, and there's things about the Browns to like, And there are things that I left very concerned about, too, which we can dig into. Let's get into it.

What is concerned you? I mean, for me, the turning point in the episode, the backdrop is that Hugh Jackson has lost in the course of a couple weeks, his brother and his mom. And anyone else, in any most professions, would vanish from work for multiple weeks and go deal with that family situation. And I think what Hard Knocks does a good job of is you look behind the scenes is head coaches and coaches in general are not afforded that. opportunity in the middle of training camp. And so Hugh Jackson, I mean, before about three quarters of the way through the episode when he finally addresses this grief, when a couple people from the team, John Dorsey, their PR guy, come in and say, come on, man, you got it.

Let's have a hug and let's deal with this human side of things. He breaks down. But before that, he's trying to navigate these meetings and navigate practice. And I don't know if we're getting the full 100% Hugh Jackson, but I think he got ensnared in a couple meetings. And one, it's Hugh Jackson is the contrast, and I'm sorry to be so long-winded, is the contrast in the meeting between Hugh Jackson's plan for resting players, and then you have, this is this whole culture, we're going to be a hard, you know, we're going to be a hard team, we're going to be a different

team. And I always talked about it last year, the sit, you know, enough with the nice, calm brown, stand up and be braggy, right? Remember I talked about that as a joke? It's like enough with all the charity work. And charity work is nice. But stand up. and start punching some teams around. Now you have guys like Todd Haley that with the Steelers blew the Browns up for half a decade, comes in and basically calls out Hugh Jackson and the Browns are saying we are resting players.

We have so far to go. Running backs coach did too. Right. We have to show these guys the rigors of the league. Put them in there now and make this happen. And right away you saw this philosophical budding of heads. That is what left me the most concerned. And I think many others too.

Let's go, right before that scene, and Wes, I want to know your thoughts on this. Right before that scene, you get what is probably the biggest scene for a lot of people was Jarvis Landry, who came over in a trade from Miami, and he's picking up on the same thing that running backs coach. I love the running backs coach's name. What is it again? Freddie Kitchens. Freddie Kitchens and Haley both broached something that Jarvis Landry brings up in a wide receivers meeting. He sees guys not practicing, and he thinks it's an epidemic that has helped hurt

the Browns for, has hurt the Browns for years. Let's hear what Jarvis Landry had to say. Your handsling ain't falling off the bone. Your leg ain't broke. I don't know. Like, you should be practicing. Like, straight up. Like, that's this weakness and that's contagious as and that ain't going to be in this room, bro. That's been here in the past and that's why the past has been like it is, bro. That's just over with here, bro. If you go, Practice, practice. You can't get no better. Ain't nobody going to get better by being on the side line if you ain't

hurt. Wes, when Landry brings this up with teammates, when the running backs coach and Haley broach it with Hugh Jackson. What were your thoughts on how Jackson handled it? He immediately went Game of Thrones in the meeting with the coaches. When you sit in this chair, that's what matters. And he said that statement three or four times. From this chair, and this is the chair.

that matters. And to me, it seems like awfully early in the season to be going power play on your coaches. And to me, so the Browns aren't just your normal team trying for a turnaround. There are ghosts in that building. And you have to eradicate the ghost before you can turn it around. And this episode is teeming with ghosts. Jarvis Landry should not be the guy standing up in the wide receivers room. If this was a... But he's the veteran, so he sort of has to. Okay, let me finish. If this is a content, team, you've got somebody with a much greater resume than Jarvis Landry, who is coming from another team. And let me check my notes here. The Miami Dolphins are not a playoff contender.

They are not a model organization. Jarvis Landry took the money and came to Cleveland. To me, he lacks gravitas, and I know a lot of people love that speech. I've learned on playing on teams to tune out the swearers and the shouters and the screamers. I didn't buy into that speech, and I didn't buy into much of what the Cleveland Browns are doing in this episode. I do You buy into Baker Mayfield, though. The fact that he was making the speech to me just kind of speaks to their roster because they literally don't have another receiver on the roster who's ever done anything at the NFL level. Josh Gordon's not there.

So it's a bunch of young guys. Jarvis Slandry knows how to work. He knows how to compete. He knows how to be a professional. And those guys don't even know him because he's a free agent. So if a guy came on to my team and I'm in that room, that speech is not going over well. Who are you to come in here and act like that? You want guys like that, my takeaway, and this is before,

and Hugh Jackson losing his mind, it was so sad. And I did wonder, like, I do think some coaches would have left, in fact, and some have in the past. So that was a decision. I mean, he also has hard knocks cameras on him too. It's a decision that he made. It was also, but that was before camp, that was, I believe, during the OTAs. But even before that happened, because that, to me, was different, his emotions.

I was thinking like Hugh Jackson's a good guy. He's obviously a good guy. Maybe that's why he's in the job still because the Haslims believe he's a good guy and they don't want to send him on his way, losing, you know, after 1116. But I was watching and I'm thinking, why is he still the coach? Because he seems beaten down. He just seems a little beaten down that he's almost trying to, you know, convince everyone that it's okay.

He's almost trying to convince. How can he not be beaten down after him? after the last couple of years. How do you work your way out of that? Right. And especially when there's a new general manager there, that it just sticks out to me more that like it's a strange fit that you have this new GM and sort of a new regime,

but then you still have Hugh there that has the effects of last year. And Todd Haley, I couldn't, as that was going on, first of all, I thought it was calculated and kind of fascinating that Haley challenged Hugh Jackson, knowing the cameras on the mics run, and then watching Haley's face while Jackson was doing the this is my bus routine and thinking of myself like what does Todd Haley think? I know Todd Haley was a head coach and it didn't really work out, but he's had a lot of success in his career at different stops. And he's like, and I'm wondering if this is something a lot of these coaches are thinking and maybe not saying is I'm supposed to follow you.

You're the 1 in 31 guy. You're the, you're the O and 16 guy. You're the jumping in the lake guy. Like you're supposed to be the guy that I'm going to take you at your word. And I thought that was kind of like the big overarching, like, aspect of that premiere, which is here's the Browns, here's the hard land. Here is the, we are starting over. We spent a ton of money.

We brought in the new quarterback. We got the new GM. We are turning things around here. But do you have the wrong guy in driving the bus? And does he, do the players believe in him? Do the coaches respect him? And I think that's a major subplot around the state. When Todd Haley said, if we live in.

our fears. Which is a Mike Tomlin line. But it's a good line. It was a good line just because maybe I'm psychoanalyzing too much, but you see Hugh Jackson as a guy that, you know, might be living in his fear. He's living in last year. He's still has the effect of last. And I think that's the mentality of the fan base too and the beat reporters to some degree and the coaching staff and the players is what's going to go wrong next. And it's Haley that came out on that practice field. And he sees Corey Coleman who's been coddled over two. seasons, not performing well. And he's not used to that. He's used to seeing Antonio Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers roster go out and do their jobs.

And he called Coleman out. I thought it was a great moment. It's this one guy that came from somewhere else that is his culture of winning, looking at what's happening around him, saying, listen, it's not that it can't be done, but we have to do it. He said drastically differently. Can we also my, I name a Hard Knocks MVP every season. What episode in? It's our friend, Carl Nassiv, who is a character. I'll put it that way, defensive end, who we meet him giving a probably unsolicited financial tutorial to his fellow defensive lineman that's met with muted response. Let's get a quick glimpse into Nassib as a financial guy. Who here knows what compound interest?

This is real. Financial advisors are everywhere, okay? They'll take your money and they'll take 1% of everything you got. You're like, oh, it's 1% does it matter. I know it matters. It matters. It matters a lot. Because if you learn to yourself, you can make a billion dollars.

We got a lot of money right now, right? This is the easiest equation to make you rich. You have a million dollars and after seven years of getting 10% on that money every single year. You're making money off of it. You're going to double it after seven years. So you double your money every seven years for 42 years. You get 64 times your original money. So you got a million dollars.

You can end it with $64 million by the time you retire. Nice. If you don't turn that shit. Listen, Miles has got $30 million. Okay, so let's say, let's say, had that $1 billion by the time he was. So, hold on. I'm asking this again.

So you're telling me, bro, it's crazy. It's crazy. I swear to God. No, you don't believe it. Melz Garrett, not paying attention at all. Miles Garrett struck me as the guy in the room that's thinking, yeah, I learned this in eighth grade interest. And before the concert, I was like, I didn't buy a roly,

so she knows I got it. Carl Nasson, oh, that's enough, Carl. By the way, our title card knocked this out if you're watching the video show, but they pan back at one point, and I think it's Chris Smith, the defensive end, is just sitting there quietly eating a giant plate of muscles while this speech is going on.

I've never seen. anyone do anything close to that before? So Carl Nassum giving advice and said that when he went to meet Taylor Swift at a concert, was going to buy a Rolex to impress her, but said, uh-uh, that doesn't fit into my compound interest model. Before I got married, we took a financial... Where is that guaranteed 10% by the way, that Carl doesn't really spell that out? Just like, yeah, you just sign up for the 10%.

No, that's a sound... They get the... They have the money off the bat, number one. But it's like, before I got married, we took a fine. financial class where like someone sat you down for like over the course of three weekends. How that go? Well, we obviously not listened very well. Let's put start right there.

But they had the exact same lesson. So to Greg's point, these, Carl Nassad did not cook this up out of thin air, but he's passing it on. Yeah, they teach you in freshman year of high school. I don't remember that in freshman year of high school at all. I mean, I was awful with money. Okay, so there's the first episode recap. We'll be tracking the show.

Of course, as it goes on every Tuesday through September 4th. And yes, you could read my Hard Knocks Recaps at NFL.com slash Hansus. Okay, before we end our Browns conversation, though, it's time for the preseason spotlight presented by new era. The Browns and Giants kick off their respective preseason schedules with a matchup this week. Greg Rosenthal, what are you looking forward to out of that game? Two quarters of Baker Mayfield.

I mean, Baker Mayfield made a great impression on the show. You certainly saw some of great throws. It also reminded me of why Tyrod Taylor's, there that I do think it was like worth sending that draft pick just to have another professional in the building like almost as an example like that's incalculable for Baker Mayfield but getting to see how he plays I mean like I'm that's the only thing I care about in the preseason is rookie quarterbacks I think it's that it's really that it's that position but it's also I think you can gauge running backs in the preseason too we've seen that with veterans I think a couple

years ago west Mark ingram got on your spotlight early on it's it's always one or two guys but how about Sequan Barclay? I just wonder how much we'll see of him and he's been talked about is this evolutionary guy that's going to change the position and that's a lot of pressure and I don't really care about what happens

in this game necessarily for him alone but you want to see something you want to see some flash of that some highlight that comes out that makes us say yes the Giants are interesting finally first two picks in the draft there's a chance to see both of them that was preseason spotlight

presented by New Era all right let's move on It's time to welcome a guest to the show. He is a NFL reporter based in the UK, host for Sky Sports TV, Inside the Huddled podcast, NFL live UK events. This man is everywhere. He is the NFL in the UK. Neil Reynolds, friend of the show,

welcome to the around the NFL podcast. Thank you for having me. And yeah, I'm just enjoying my last few weeks of, you know, kind of being the guy here in the UK because I hear you guys are on your way over. And that's it. It'll be all over.

by then. This has been, it's been a concerted effort that's really gone on for several years. How do we take over? And yeah, now we're about to hit like the ground troops are hitting the mainland in England. I know. I thought you guys were, you know, I had you kind of a safe distance sort of 6,000 miles away from London and I felt comfortable. I felt okay. You know, every now and then I come to the US and, you know, we invite you on to the stuff we do at Super Bowls. But, wow, you're coming to my neck of the woods. It's going to be, yeah, it'll be a lot of fun. I feel like it's hard to get much more intimate than right now,

people listening to this on the audio podcast, but we have you up on video, and we're in your kitchen. You have a very nice sink, good mug collection we've seen. Like, I feel like I know what the Reynolds live like. Look at this. Ceramic mug, apparently made by Henry Hodgson, according to reports, for you. Very nice.

This was made by my son, but I think it was, it's a good, It's a good sort of seven or eight years old. I have my morning coffee in that. I didn't realize you could see all of the sink. I should have tied it up beforehand. Mrs. Reynolds will not be pleased. So, yeah, as many of you listeners know, we will be in London for the lead-up to week one and through week one.

So we're really excited. We're going to be joining Neil doing stuff with Sky Sports TV while we're there, including a live show and all sorts of fun stuff. Is this everything? Is this to you? Are you comfortable with this, Neil? I'll sign off on it. Yeah, it'll be fun.

Yeah, I mean, it's going to be great. Obviously, we want to make a big deal about the whole week of kickoff and big event in London. And to have you guys be a part of it is going to be really, really special. And for us on Sky, to have you kind of involved all through that first Sunday show, we'll have Rob Brian and Solomon Wilcox in the studio. To have you guys in the studio as well is going to be so much fun. the only problem will be for the following 20 weeks after that

when I've got you just on Skype it's going to be, we'll have been a bit spoiled a bit early. Well, you say that now. When you guys do your production meetings, you're getting this whole thing together and you're kind of, here's the four people coming over.

Which one of us is talked about as, you know, someone that might create a bit of a disturbance in the streets, someone that might not fit well into British society? I mean, just looking at you guys, I think Greg goes in kind of low and hard in his street fights.

I think that's the right answer. I think that's the right answer. Low man wins and all of that. Yeah, that's fair. So, Neil, yeah, so that's all coming up. We're so excited. But you are also somebody that, because you're one of the key guys over at Sky when it comes to NFL coverage, arguably V-Man,

Rich Eisen-like in your presence over there. You were dispatched to America to cover multiple camps. And we talked about it before that you visited the Tennessee. sea camp, the Chargers camp, the Raiders, and the Seahawks. Do you want to share anything from any of those trips that kind of jumped out to you? I know you got to talk to quarterbacks, head coaches. They set you up nice. Yeah, I mean, there's a few things in each of those. So I mean, yeah, I started off on the, in New York. I did some interviews at the XFL offices with Oliver Luck. And then I flew that night to Nashville. I did the Titans on the Friday, the Chargers on the Saturday, Raiders on the Sunday,

and the Seahawks on the Monday. So it was from New York to Seattle in five days. But, you know, it's just going order. In Nashville, I was very impressed with Mike Rable, really hands on. He kind of puts on the blocking pads and plays the part of the blitzing linebacker. I was very impressed with him. Great to sit with Philip Rivers in Los Angeles. And, you know, he talked about how he still plays the game and loves the game like he's a 10-year-old.

When I sat with Gruden, I thought Gruden was just box office. There's certain levels of interviews you do in the NFL. I've sat and interviewed Tom Brady. That felt like that when I sat down with John Gruden. And he was very, very honest. I said, why have you got? I looked down the roster while I'm watching practice. I said, you've got 10 guys on your roster with 10 years or more experience.

And I said, why is that? Is there a reason outside of the fact that they're just good football players? And he said, we don't have any players. He said, we missed on too many drafts. We don't have any players. And we kind of can't wait for rookies, which was, I thought, quite refreshing and quite honest. And then I went to Seattle, and obviously they're talking all about the fresh start and what's new.

And Pete Carroll said it kind of goes in cycles and it feels fresh. It feels like it was four or five years ago. And I talked about leaders. I asked about leaders. And he said, when you've got Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin on offense, what more do you need? And he said on defense, when you've got Bobby Wagner and K.J. Riot on defense, what more do you need? And I was dying to sort of go, maybe Earl Thomas. but it was an indication.

It was almost like a sort of very subtle shot fired at Earl Thomas. Do you get the sense, though, in Seattle especially, because yes, it's a new wave and a new start that Pete Carroll is in it for the long haul because there were whispers over the last couple of the years that Pete Carroll might be deciding to walk away at some point. Is he there for another five, six years to see this thing through? To me, it felt like when you look at what they talk about Pete Carroll's message

and if his message gets old, and we heard the stories of Michael Bennett reading books in team meetings, and Sherman said they kind of lost their way. It felt to me like, you know, they're bringing in all these young guys. I mean, Russell Wilson was throwing to players on practice field, and I'm looking at the roster trying to work out who they are.

You know, it was a bunch of no names, but Pete was very excited to deliver that same message. So the way I see that is they're very much committed to Pete, Carol and Russell Wilson, and they're going to deliver the same message to a new bunch of players. You, by the way, you mentioned John Gruden. You called him box office. Now, again, we're going to England.

I want to be up in the know about all like the British terms that are popping right now. Is box office mean kind of like star power? Yeah. Okay. Yes, it does. Okay, good. Listen, if you want to get all the hip and trendy terms, I am not the man to come to. I'm telling you now.

I will tell you. We can teach you about, yeah, go ahead. Let me tell you a John Gruden story. So my producer, Alex Mason, or you know from Sky Sports. Of course, big Oasis fan. I like that guy. Yeah, he won't appreciate me telling you this. But we were chatting with John Gruden.

We finished the interview. And John Gruden asks for some phrases that he can use when he's over in England. So I say, let's all go for a cup of tea. And Alex Mason says, no, you need to say, let's go down the pub for a pint. So Gruden loved that. At the end, he goes to fist. So he fist bumps me. Yeah.

And then he goes to fist bump Alex Mason as well. We got completely flustered. So he shook the hand. Oh, no. Honestly, it could have been more Englishmen abroad. That's brutal. That's brutal. Now, you're never going to get that moment back.

Like, that was it, you know. And he kind of, you know, we sort of practiced afterwards, but it was funny. Alex, Alex will not be thrilled about this. ever is that you practice. It's not that he messed it up. It's that you practiced it after the fact just among the two of you. I found it's not the same, but like if you are, work for the NFL.

If you're hanging out with maybe, you're with a couple of different people on the NFL network side and a player. And then the player gives maybe a colleague, who's a former player, like the three-step bro handshake hug. And then you roll in like the nerdy white journalist guy. And you, you're caught in between. And I just go in hard.

and stiff with a handshake because I don't want to get it, get into the waters of the triple step shake because I know I won't be able to pull it off. Similar stitch. Yeah, no, it isn't. I know there's the first bit of the handshake and then you kind of go to that bit and then I never know the third bit. So I just do that bit and then kind of meander off to the side. But, you know, the fist bump was a new one for it.

Box office. Wow. Like, Neil is box office, by the way. No doubt. That's the way we look at it. There was a lot of football talk as well, but, you know, we just will. Focusing mainly on the handshakes in the end. I have a question about London.

You know, we've heard over the last few years that this Saturday fan fest before the games over there get like 500,000 people. Is that true? It's like Woodstock. If I tell you, will you get nervous? No, I'm impressed. Like, 500,000 people in one space.

Well, for our listeners, before we ask you, like, just to give some background, you've been working at growing the sport of American football in the UK. for how long? Like, you've been, you know, helping to run NFL UK. You also, you know, used to work for Henry Hodgson way back in the day. You also publish a magazine.

Like, how long has that process been? And, like, how has it changed in that entire span? Yeah. So, I mean, I started covering the NFL full-time in 1997, and I worked for NFL Europe from 2000 to 2006. There were some dark days around the time when NFL Europe was, was being played in London in the late 1990s. We would be five minutes from kickoff at a game in Crystal Palace,

and there'll be like a thousand people in there. And you've got Kurt Warner on the field warming up. So it's grown ridiculously. I mean, back then, I would never have believed we could have what we've got now. Three games a year this year, four games per year in previous seasons. There are a generation of fans over the last decade who only know regular season games being played in London. I saw the other side of it, the darker side of it. So every time, I'm always so appreciative of that opportunity to be in front of all of those

fans when they take over Regent Street or Piccadilly this time when they're out at the tailgate parties. We have come a long way. And, you know, no shameless plug. I'm glad you mentioned the magazine. There is. All right. For audio listener. Neil, great gridiron magazine. Neil, back in the day during these dark days when Kurt Warner was playing in front of 8, 900 people, were you living in this posh house in this nice...

Were you more like living in like youth hostel a youth hostel? It looks beautiful to me. Mark's right. Mark's right. I mean, were you just were you camped out in like youth hostels and low rent sort of motel rooms trying to just get by as a British football journalist? Kind of a rugged lifestyle. I'd like to read a novella about that.

Not a full novel. Like maybe 100 pages. Yeah. We don't want to go silly with it. I actually live just around the corner, but about 50 yards around the corner, but I can reveal it was a much smaller house. Okay. That's dramatic. Neil, you should be aware that it's Mark's ultimate dream to live in a youth hostel full

time. So that informs that question a little bit. My worst nightmare. Neil, Neil, thank you for joining us. We're so excited to bring our show to your shores. It's really something we've been trying to do for years. And I know you and everybody over there who has helped us, we're really excited. So thank you so much

And you could follow Neil on Twitter At Neil Reynolds NFL And of course Sky Sports TV is going to have If you're on that side of the pond You know that's where you go For NFL coverage So thank you Neil

Thanks Neil My pleasure guys I'll see you in the build-up to week one I love it See you now There he goes Neil Reynolds Of Sky Sports And all other endeavors

Football related in the UK We will be back on Friday with another episode of the Around the NFL podcast so much more to get to Mark because we are grinding now It is grind 30

Can I do one little shoutout One little shoutout? Yes I believe I found a family member That I did not know about Out in the middle of Illinois Okay Found her on Twitter

Kayla Sessler Okay And she is a star on Teen Mom 2 on MTV What? A very young teen woman That has a child named Isaiah So A young teen woman

woman? She's on MTV, teen mom too. So this isn't the daughter that you occasionally see at a random bar in Los Angeles. No, it's not my lost daughter. It's not my lost daughter. It's a separate individual. Is this a bit? No, this is, I actually cross-checked this with Eric A. T.M. Posey, who has seen the show

and is unsure, but potentially has seen this individual as well. Maybe we could effort Lindsay, we could effort to get Lindsay Sessler on the show. Kayla Sessler is her name. I'm sorry to disrespect the family member. Just saying it's out there and it's, you know.

Maybe she could use help, teen moms. That's what I'm saying. There might be a necessary financial help. Maybe you give up that back shed. If she's on TV, then it's going to be the other way around. Okay. Maybe, maybe not. We're talking to Bitcoin Princess over here, so you might be right.

I always triple source. Oh, you do. That's as a good producer should. All right, let's go. This is Dan Hansa signing off for The Quiet Storm, the mailman, the old boss and the Bitcoin Princess. Maybe we finally have a big thing behind the glass. Not bad at all. Till Friday, T.G. I am.

Thank you.