NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - DeSean Jackson, Texans Deep Dive & Wess Speaks

Episode Date: July 8, 2020

A bunker filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Marc Sessler break down the latest news in the NFL including Desean Jackson's latest comments (8:35), an abbreviated training camp (13:28) and Titans GM Jon Robinson wanting to see Jadeveon Clowney in person before signing. (22:43). Seth Payne joins the show to do a Texans deep dive (30:06) and Chris Wesseling comes on the show with an update. (46:00)Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. The Around the NFL podcast is more prolific at procreating than damage. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. podcast. My name is Dan Hansis coming to you from a city filled with heroes in bunkers. Yes, city. We're all in the same time zone and it's great to be alive. Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler, Ricky Hollywood. What's up, boys and girls? Hey, Dan. I think that's up for debate. I mean,

let's be honest. I think Damashek, one thing I love about Damashik's approach to family is that he's taking sort of an ancient approach, which is I will, you know, create children with multiple people. And that's how they did it back then. That's how you created towns and kingdoms. And, you know, we're in a system where we're not allowed to do that, barring major rules. But I think I could, I could follow that path if I wanted to. Why am I still talking? What is happening? I am letting Mark, well, no, I am this island. We're going to cut this for social. Dan and I aren't even going to make a follow-up comment. Mark's just going to live with this.

There's probably like, I think a lot of people are learning that when you put out statements, there might be more context to give, more information to give before you do that. And I'm learning that right here. Somebody on the subreddit, because I know you guys are crazy in a good way. I want you to transcribe that last monologue for Mark. And then on a Monday show, we'll read it back. Can I go now? We'll make one of those videos where it's just like all the words are printed over, you know,

it's one of those lyrics sort of videos. We'll do it up for social. It'll be great. Okay. Yes, I'm back in California. I was on a plane yesterday. Everything seems okay right now, but see how I'm feeling in a couple of weeks. How was traveling in this pandemic in the flights?

traveling is more surreal than dangerous to me anyway because if you follow the steps or just keep a mask on at all time don't drink or eat at the airport you're going to be met with an airport that is quiet I would say the capacity is probably at about 25 to 30% of what we've seen this time last year and then you know getting your own row on an airplane If there's anything that's good that's kind of out of COVID, it's that the airlines are taking one on the chin here because they've been banging us for a long time now, making the seats smaller, the rows tighter,

the rules and the regulations more prohibitive. And just flying in my own row, the last two plane trips has been nice. I miss Texas. I will be heading back there because my family's still there. But I'm going to be here for a week. And it's going to be back in the garage. Wait a minute.

What? I mean, I was lacerated on this show when I sent my wife and children on a getaway for two days. You're now in your house for a week. I don't be there in like an hour. I'll wear a mask, but I'm going over. What was the inspiration to come back for a week? I didn't know you were going back to Texas. I had to come back because you got to, I follow the creed of that you got to check on the house.

You can't just leave your house forever. And we had been gone several weeks. So I came back, make sure the thing was. still standing. I got a couple throwback podcasts to get to knock out with Bob Castrone to do a few shows here. Get back on the Peloton. It's been it's been just a not a very healthy living down there in Texas with all the barbecue and drinking and no gyms or exercise equipment. So I kind of had to just like level things out a little bit. Is the house secure? Is it is it standing still? Have you done a full inspection? It is. But I mean, you say that. But we live in the middle of Los

Angeles. My neighborhood has quite a bit of crime if you look at the old log. So I was nervous about it the entire time I was gone. So I'm happy to, you know, flip on some lights, open some doors, show the criminal element out there that the old Zucer is back in town and not to come near the old homestead. Well, I'm half buying it, but I am happy for you. I'm going to choose to be happy for you, which was not your approach when I had 24 hours to myself. But wage on. I don't like being away from your way i don't like me i could have i if i i could have i could have pulled the rosenthal which is when the family goes to japan you know sign up for three weeks on your own i could have pulled that because the wife and kids are supposed to come back in august um beginning of august but i can't do that

i can't just stay here without them for that long um so i i already miss my kids to be honest with you you're very devoted Greg comments i like that mark has held on to uh he's clearly held on to this back you know backfire he took a few weeks back from Well, that was absurd is why. It's absurd because it was totally hypocritical and it's proven to be right here. And now, I mean, it's crazy. I do have to report.

I have to report some disappointment on the Gatesville Messenger front. Oh, no. Yeah, what's up? Maybe I'll save that. I'll save that for a little later in the show. Coming up on today's show. What a tease. Seth Payne, great radio guy down there.

in Houston is going to be our guest of honor when we talk the Houston Texans on the wheel of teams. You guys did it on the Graham when I was off on Monday. And it landed on the Houston Texans football club. So we're going to talk about the Texans and where they go in 2020 without D'Andre Hopkins. And we also will have a special guest at the end of the show that I'll leave it at that. But before any of that, let us.

Hit the news. Whitney's second pick in the 2017 NFL draft. The Chicago Bears select Patrick Mahomes the second. It is Patrick Mahomes the second. You know, the internet could be a cruel place. That is obviously a mashup edited cut in which the Chicago Bears select Patrick Mahomes instead of Mitch Trubisky in the 2017 NFL draft, something that, and I'm sure you guys obviously got into it extensively

on Monday's program, Mahomes signing that mega deal with the Chiefs. And this stuff is just going to keep happening to the Bears and their fans, who, you know, sneaky, tough road it's been for them since the 85, one of the great teams of all time. Some people think the greatest team of all time, the 85 Bears under Ditka, They have not won a Super Bowl since, and there's been some lean years over those last 35 years. And now every time Mahomes does something great, whether it's a Super Bowl or an MVP or the richest contract in the history of professional sports, it's always going to connect to the Bears. And that sucks.

Well, the thing that there are teams that you want to be one of those teams that were picking ahead of the Chiefs where they traded up to and just didn't take a quarterback. They're out there. and they're not getting flagged the same way. And they, well, we had a team need left and right, please. But, I mean, Leonard Fournett maybe is the one guy that's catching much fire. The Jaguars had Blake Bortles. Heck, look who the chiefs traded that pick to. I know the Josh Allen fans are going to come after me.

But at some point in the next decade, you might say, well, maybe we shouldn't have traded that pick that turned into Patrick Mahomes as a Buffalo Bills fan. Next decade. One of the reasons the jets. Right. One of the reasons the Jets passed on taking a quarterback, they took Jamal Adams, who obviously is an excellent player. But one of the reasons they passed on a quarterback is because they were quoted or was reported that, hey, listen, we got Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty waiting in the wings. We don't want to clutter things up too much. So obviously it wasn't just the Bears that made a horrendous error in judgment, but it was the way the Bears did it, trading up to get to the number two pick to then not pick, potentially, one of the great quarterbacks of all time.

but we'll see how that all plays out. Let's do some news, and we'll start with the Sean Jackson, who's in the news for not very good reasons at all. The Eagles wide receiver said he has no hatred toward the Jewish community, and he issued two statements apologizing, saying he was giving a promise to do better after he posted on social media Monday anti-Semitic messages that he attributed to Adolf Hitler and also expressed admiration for the nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan. The Eagles on Tuesday responded by calling Jackson's post offensive, harmful, absolutely appalling.

So the team would take the appropriate action. And by the way, Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman, the team owner and general manager, are Jewish men. And they met with Jackson. And at this point, it does not sound. like or seem like Jackson is going to lose his job over this, but he has created a storm of his own doing here, nonetheless. Yeah, I think my biggest takeaway from the Eagles' reaction was what you said. They're not going to get rid of him.

They indicated they've talked to him about being a positive voice of inclusion moving forward that they want him to do some things, promoting equality, which would indicate Ethan, no risk of losing his job. It's possible they could find him. I don't know. They have set a precedent here that many people have pointed out. You know, after Riley Cooper was caught, you know, on video using the N-word seven years ago, he stayed with the team. He did get a team fine at the time.

Eventually signed another contract with the Eagles. And Deshaun Jackson, obviously a valuable player. He has guaranteed money this year. It doesn't look like getting rid of Deshawn Jackson was ever. serious, you know, consideration. But, you know, you're never in a good spot when your, when your apology starts with, I probably should have never posted anything that Hitler did because Hitler was a bad person. And I know that. I mean, the probably in that statement was a little much for me, but, um, what can you do? I mean, yeah, if you're attempting to be good.

And he's, he's paying some public backlash for it. And that's just how these things go with these days. If you're attempting to make a point about society, and you choose to lean on a quote, an erroneous quote, by the way, from Hitler, who is perhaps the most evil man in human civilization over the last, say, 200 years, well, you're f***ed up pretty good there, Deshaun. You messed up pretty good. And we'll see if this is something that blows over. But I think this is when things get tricky in sports, Mark, where the Eagles need to Sean Jackson. They do not have a very deep wide receiver group. We saw how the lack of weapons when Jackson went out, when Alshon Jeffrey went out last year, how that led to a lot of issues for the Eagles scoring points. If Jackson

wasn't, was on a deeper roster, I would imagine there's a chance he's gone, but the Eagles, they're weighing different things here, not just what he said, but also what they need. Well, you know, I'd like more information. I'd like to hear what the conversation was behind the scenes. And because, as you mentioned, I mean, Howie Roseman would have a right to be very offended by that, Lori and many other people. I think that Jeff Schwartz, who, you know, former Giants linemen, who has its own podcast now, came out very strongly. He's Jewish and he said that a lot of players in locker rooms don't know anything about Judaism. That it's where, you know, you look at the Black Lives Matter movement, There is obviously an embedded footprint in the league, and the league and the players have a chance to be a very important mouthpiece to that.

But in this case, I thought it fell largely, I mean, certainly it was rightly criticized, but the reaction was pretty minuscule on that front. I think more people concerned about whether he'd keep his roster spot and the money tied to it, what he's bringing up and who it affects didn't have the same, I guess, maybe autonomous. impact that it should have. And I agree with Jeff Schwartz. It's a cultural mystery in many locker rooms to many people. Yeah, it's a blind spot. And I think if you want, you know, the people trying to give him somewhat of a pass is like, well, he's just ignorant, you know. But that's, that's not giving Deshaun Jackson enough credit. You know, it was from, he's been watching a lot of Lewis Farrakhan, apparently, and that was on Instagram live. But it's like, no, you're, you're a grown man in your 30s ignorance at this level about Adolf Hitler. And, and, and, and, and, and, and,

anything like it is is not really an excuse but but they move on you know they're not going to do anything about it all right moving on all right let's talk a little update as we get closer and closer to the start of or the scheduled start of training camp july 28th and there's the business aspect of what's going on here with COVID-19 we saw how it like ripped up baseball the union and the league fighting it out over money. And in a lot of ways, the NFL, it feels like they were, they really were gifted by the timing of their season, where they didn't feel like they were affected directly the way it was just rampaging through all the other professional sports.

But now the bill's come and do because the NFL's coming back and there are no solutions for COVID-19. NFL networks, Tom Pelliserra reports to the league has proposed that 35% of 2020 player salaries be held in escrow, which would be a means for the league and owners to handle the fallout financially of what's to come this season and who knows if there will be a season. Obviously, this is the unions involved, Greg, and this is not going to be met very well at all, I'd imagine. No, and a bunch of players quickly, you know, made it clear that it was a non-starter and Tom Pelliserro's analysis essentially was that this this was something maybe they were floating or trying for,

you know, and it was never going to, was never really going to fly. I think just the story getting out there is somewhat interesting just because I'm not overly interested in like the play-by-play of how all of this stuff ends up getting settled. To me, like the fact that they threw this out there apparently in negotiations, just tell me when you decide things because even those things that you just side are going to be written in pencil and you might have to erase and keep changing things as you go. I just think this is the start, as you mentioned, like baseball and basketball, they've had their own issues between the players and the owners. Now, because camps getting closer, we're going

to start seeing it come to the forefront. And there's been a bunch of news the last few days. J.C. Tredder, the NFLPA chief spoke and, you know, and really emphasize how they want to make sure it's safe for the players. And we talked on Monday a little bit about how the players don't want to play the preseason and that's one of the things that's going to go back and forth and I just think right now with all of these conversations

I'm not going to get too wrapped up in like the back and forth because okay they maybe they will decide on two preseason games and then in a couple weeks they'll have to adjust because the country is not allowing them to play two preseason games like we'll wait and see

I think they'll be able to figure it out It doesn't seem like any of these issues are going to be, you know, ones that you can't overcome from a player's in the ownership perspective. I think you're right. It's definitely, it feels like a wait and see every 24 hours we're getting new nuggets. The story is changing. And the whole concept that the NFL was in this sweet spot, I mean, it certainly was in the sense that baseball and the NBA had their regular seasons, like, completely jacked up.

At a time when I think, you know, you look back. Two NBA players caught coronavirus, and they just shut the whole thing down. Now the MO is, how do we live with this and still have sports? And there is no sweet spot anymore. In the NFL, people can ask, why didn't they figure out escrow and money, all this stuff before? Because I think that there was, when we started these bunker casts, an inherent optimism that we would get out of this at some point,

that probably by September with what we were hearing, that we'd be on better footing. And that's just not the case. Like almost every industrialized, you know, country in the world, you know, so it really wasn't that crazy of a thought that the caseload would be so low in the country at this point that it would be manageable. But because it's not, then the leagues are in a tough spot. Well, and because our country specifically, I mean, I think a lot of people, we've mentioned this every time we do a Corona update, if you're living in, you know, somewhere way out there where you've, where Corona has died down because your country handled it well, and you're wondering what's going on in the state. states or you're not checking it out. Like we, our country is not handling it well. We couldn't be more divided. We've turned it into a totally politicized situation. And it's a very confusing time

because there's no indication that the coronavirus is going to ease at all. To your point, other pronged aspects of this that they've now talked about players having an avenue like in other sports to opt out of the season. And at the same time, you've got people on Twitter debating about where to draft Duke, Duke Johnson. I mean, it's a totally whacked up It depends on what viewpoint you look through, but I couldn't be more confused with where we'll be three weeks from now. I'm done trying to figure it out at this point. And I think the league is trying to, and J.C. Treader mentioned this, and others have to fit coronavirus into the NFL's plans. And it's the other way around.

You're not controlling this at this point. And they probably don't want us to say things like that. But you are not controlling this. And it controls the NFL. We'll see where we are. are a month from now. In that same vein, Stefan Diggs, who is one of the more well-known wide receivers in the league, spoke out on the topic, sharing his feelings.

I love football with all of me, but there's so many unanswered questions with this upcoming season, I'd be lying if I said I was comfortable starting back up. I've been training my butt off just trying to stay ready and stay prepared. And also, as you had said, Mark, in baseball, which is. scheduled to start in less than three weeks. There have been multiple high-profile players that have opted out because that was part of the agreement between the union and baseball during those messy, mostly failed negotiations.

And we're talking big name guys, front line starters, everyday players. If that starts happening in the NFL, that's going to become a bigger and big story. And you know what? I imagine it will happen in the NFL. If it's happening in baseball, we're seeing it with the, we're seeing it in the NBA, as well, players opting out of the bubble playoffs down in Orlando. It's going to happen in the NFL as well.

And that would be, that's almost best case scenario, where the NFL is dealing with losing stars that have decided they need to protect their own safety, because the alternative is that they just can't get off the ground at all. And there's people testing positive left and right, and they have to bring the whole thing to a screeching halt. And then all bets are off in terms of the future of football and what's going going on in the sporting world. So, yes, we're all on the same page with this.

It is confusing. The early tone is, the NFLPA is taking a very strong stance. I mean, we, there was, there were whispers, oh, we're working well behind the scenes. We've got X, Y, and Z figured out. Not the case. These players and all these leagues are more empowered than they've ever been. They're more, they're reading the same news stories that we're reading. They have extended families and the same concerns that we have.

Why should they be treated differently? And whenever you tweet about this and the players, you immediately get hit with, well, I work at this store and they're making me go back. Well, I'm not disagreeing with the fact that anyone should be forced to go work in a situation they don't want to be. But these players and J.C. Treader, I thought if you want to go read his two letters over the past two weeks, outlines why that's simply not the case. This is an entertainment industry that generates billions. The NFL could potentially lose $4 billion. That would have impact on every team, every player, us. everyone that covers the sport, and the money is at the heart of this.

If you had no money attached to this, who would be pushing these players back into this? We're beyond the America needs baseball, America needs basketball at this point. I am personally. Maybe others just simply want to sit on their couch and watch sports while the rest of society is melting down, but it's much more complex than just having a diversion right now. Well, the thing that's happening now with getting close to the season is now teams are having to take real steps, and this is only going to increase. quickly. I did think it was important to see what the Raven sent out today, which was, A, you

don't have to pick up your season tickets at all. They're just going to be pushed. I mean, everyone's, most teams have given their fans the option to do that, but the Ravens are just pushing all season tickets to next year, just sort of forget about them. And they recognized in a statement to their fans, in a best case scenario, they even put a number on it. They'd have 14,000 people in the stadium. And they said in the statement, they recognized there might not be any fans in the stadium. So it's not fair to have season tickets. So that's the first team sort of taking the step of like, there's no chance we're going to have even a half-filled stadium. And the timing of everything is really interesting because, okay, the teams that are doing camps in New Jersey

and in New York, those places have two-week quarantines if you're coming from California and different places like that. Well, camp's starting in two weeks. Like that's now. Like traveling around the country, that's all part of it too. So the time is now where teams are going to have to start making decisions, which is really tough because especially in Texas and in California and some other places where there's NFL teams in Florida, you know, it's going out of control. In more traditional football news, the Titans have been kicking the tires on Jadavia and Clowney for some time, it sounds like.

And the pass rusher who's still, of course, a free agent. was the subject of a conversation between Paul Kuharski, who's covered the Titans down there forever, and John Robinson, the team's general manager. And Robinson, hey, he sees the videos being posted of Clowny. He looks good, but that doesn't mean they're going to give him a multimillion dollar contract without meeting with him first. Here's what he said.

What I've seen on Twitter, him rushing off the edge and hitting that bag, anytime you're dealing with whatever the contract is going to command, you want to make sure that the player is healthy, that you are able to allow your doctors to see him, to look at it, to make sure everything is going to be good. We tried to send this story into the sun on our broadcast on our TV show, I guess, but it's slipping through the cracks, clowny. I guess we know where he's not going, though, which is the Browns.

That was one takeaway I had this week with Olivier Vernon signing a restructured contract, basically a pay cut. They're really nice now. They never call them pay cuts anymore. They just call them. Oh, they signed a new contract. no, well, he took a huge pay cut. The Browns are going to...

It's still a haircut to me. Right. He's not going to the Browns. And people seem to think the longer this goes on, the more likely it is he just stays with Seattle because there is definitely a level of interest. They've offered him a contract and there's familiarity and with this crazy off-season

and stuff that could go a long way. The one thing to your point, Greg, that the time is now for players to get to places. and it seems like if you want to see clowning, if clowny wants to be seen, you're not waiting another three weeks on this. Yeah, he sort of sat out off-seasons before a little bit in terms of like being careful about his injuries.

I believe last year he sort of just practiced a few weeks and then he got ready to go. By the way, Olivia Vernon had a nice season last year. I think it's just like the fact that he was dangled as trade bait in everyone's little columns all off-season along. He's been hurt and making a lot of money. Everyone's little columns. Well, no, because it's like now we're at the point.

This is normally when we'd be getting real news and real information. And some of the stuff that we're generating feels like, didn't I just write this three weeks ago or for the third time this year? It's like, please. All right. I'm glad you got that off your chest. In other news, the Kansas City Chiefs have a head coach, Andy Reid, who's one of the best in the sport.

He's coming off finally, his first Super Bowl title at 62 years old. You would think, oh, what else does he have to prove? I mean, the guy's got a ring. He's got one of the best resumes of any coach in the past 30 years. Well, he's not ready to quit yet. He spoke with our old buddy, Herbie Teopi, who was a around the NFL writer for a couple of years. And a good dude, love catching up with him whenever we bump into him at league events. He spoke with Andy Reed.

And Reed, if he stays for the direct. of this new mega deal for Patrick Mahomes, it would take him almost into his mid-70s. Is that something he would ever think about? And he had this to say, in the young 70s, huh? Listen, I haven't got to that point mentally where I'm thinking about retirement.

One of the great things about this job is when you look forward to coming to work and to deal with the players and coaches. I'm lucky enough to be around good players and coaches. And you know what, Mark, if Patrick Mahomes was my quarterback and he was 24 years old, and I'm track to be one of the,

the greatest of all time, I'd feel pretty good about coming to work, too, as a head coach. I mean, you're Andy Reid. You have three losing seasons since 1999, but you waited this long to get a Super Bowl. Why not get three more, four more? I mean, you hear every player that says, when I walk out of the locker room into normal life, it's different. You miss it. Andy Reed is sitting at the precipice of what could be a legendary run here. Now, maybe they don't win any. We've seen that happen with teams that we've touted endlessly too. A million times. With Andy Reid, though, I mean, I trust this coach versus like a coach that lucked into a Super Bowl with a great quarterback. He is going to make this team different

every year. He is the most innovative guy out there with, now with someone, not Alex Smith. I mean, coach till you're 80. I mean, people are living longer anyways. What is 70, what is getting retired at 60 something or 65 when you got this sit in your lap? Roll with it. He's got a big ad. He's got to take care. of himself. Big Andy, the coach into his 70s is going to have to watch the weight and take care of those knees. But I don't see any other reason. The guy is the epitome of the football lifer. You go all the way back to Monday Night Football in 1970, that off-repeated clip of him blowing away fellow nine-year-olds in the past punt and kick championship. This guy loves

the, he loves ball. He shows it in his play call. I really think he has sort of a joy. You don't see it on his face all the time, but you can tell, you know, A lot of coaches, they're just running, they're running back the old plan and their plans get a little stale and they say the same speeches. Andy Reid comes up with new plays, a new scheme, new wrinkles every year as much as any coach in the league. You can tell he's, he's like invigorated just being a football coach. And then having Mahomes, it's like Mahomes hasn't even scratched a surface of what he might do. I mean, it's like it is amazing. And the contract, which we went over a little, but we got more details in between.

to me, it's very team-friendly, ultimately. To me, Mahomes stands out more as a player than this contract will compare to other great quarterbacks. So to me, that's just me. And yeah, they'll sign another contract in four or five years. That's just how it works. Like, they'll sign it halfway through this. He'll have a little leverage.

But, man, it's almost all good and no risk in this contract for the chiefs because it's just like roster bonuses that they have to decide as they go. basically a year ahead of time. And it's like, okay, yeah, I'll sign up for Patrick Mahomes every year for the next 10 years at a pretty good rate. Yeah, I thought the same thing, too. You wonder how the contract will look in five years. But then again, the way contracts are built in the NFL, probably at that point, restructured anyway, it won't matter.

So let's stop getting hung up on it. And what's a guaranteed mechanism anyway? I don't care. Stop telling me to care. I don't care. All right. That's what's happening in the news. it's time to get to the wheel of teams hit it rickie

he wants it from his end zone and he wants it all and what an effort by will four up and over he wine apple here comes pressure off the edge of it's fond belly gets rid of it down and he did it he did it he did it he stills welcome to the texas And he pulls, and Watson is going to have more than just a first down leaping towards the goal line. Touchdown, Houston.

21-yard rushing touchdown to Sean Watson. The Houston Texans up next on the wheel of teams 10 at 6 last year, AFC South champions won a playoff game and then lost the playoff game. Oh, yes, they lost. And to talk about what's happening in 2020, Seth Payne joins us Sports Radio 610 down in Houston, also 10 years playing for those Texans and the Jaguars. And now he joins us on the Around the NFL podcast.

What's up, Seth? Hey, that got me psyched up for the season. That was a good intro. Oh, I bet. That felt nothing like January in Kansas City. Thank you for that. I find myself newly energized. when they were up 24-0

were you thinking like wow they really might do this they really might go to the Super Bowl or did you not let yourself get there? Oh I let myself go there I was talking all kinds of smack that was it oh we had this I ignored the fact that you know

I'd never heard a half the guys playing in the secondary or the Pat Mahomes has made a business of Pat Mahomes is the new Tom Brady right where forever with Tom Brady you'd say oh okay it looks like there's no possible way they're going to win this game but let's just wait and see into the second half. And lo and behold, he did it.

So good for Pat Mahomes. Well, Seth, like when you typically, the way this works is, if a team is coming off a division title and they had that nice overtime win against Buffalo and they had things started off very well against the defending champs on the road, you would look at the next season as, okay, that was the building block. Now we take the next step. But is that the vibe right now in Houston? Because, of course, and we don't need to dwell on this,

because it's been covered at gnauzing at this point, the D'Andre Hopkins trade. But you have Hopkins out of town. The way that they lost to the chiefs really kind of suggest that they're not even close to being at that level. Is there a level of optimism that this team is ready to take the next step? I don't think so. I'm sure within NRG Stadium and within Bill O'Brien's skull, there is.

And I think the question just becomes... What's it like in there? It's a tempestuous place. It's funny. Look, I saw that a couple of you guys followed me on Twitter before I came on here because you're doing what good hosts do and you're trying to look for information about any of my recent opinions. I already did, Seth. Yeah.

Well, I added you this morning, so guilty is charged. And I thought to myself, man, I've had nothing but fluff on there since. I believe it was March 20th when I said, all right, that's it. I'm done. The DeAndre Hopkins trade has broken me. I'm not tweeting about the Hopkins. trade anymore. Three days prior to that on March 17th, I had said Fire Bill O'Brien today. Wow. And look, I have come off from that because for one, it's an idiotic opinion to Fire Bill

O'Brien the day that the owner, Cal McNair, definitely signed off on the trade of DeAndre Hopkins. But I think that that was an emotional blow to the fan base. DeAndre Hopkins is one of the guys that this team in the fan base has been proud of for the last few years. It's one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. And it felt like, okay, this is Bill O'Brien with his scheming and his master plan. He's somehow better and smarter than having DeAndre Hopkins on the football team. And one time out of 10 in the last 20 years that a team has willingly let go of a top 10 wide receiver, the offense has been good just one time out of 10 the next season. It's just, it's not a recipe for success. Any optimism, and I've, look, I've Stockholm syndrome to

myself into this. I've talked my way back into, you know, being optimistic about this season. The biggest thing is that you've got a ton of speed on the field. Brandon Cooks, Randall Cobb, aging though he is, is the first actual veteran slot receiver that Bill O'Brien has had in Houston. And as much as they're trying to emulate the New England formula of success, he's done it that entire time with Braxton Miller, Kiki QT, all these other guys who are just young, raw, and ultimately unproductive slot receivers. I think now what Bill O'Brien's vision is, whether it works out or not, is to have speed all over the place, Will Fuller, Kenny Stills.

That's a lot of speed. In the backfield, you've got Duke Johnson. You've got David Johnson, who, despite not being anything like he was in 2016, is still fast and slippery as a receiver. So that's where the optimism comes, that Deshaun Watson still has probably the best selection of veteran fast receivers than he's ever had. I want to ask you this question.

And number one, I did do a little research on you. My grandparents lived in Ithaca. I see that you're a Cornell guy. So I went to a lot of Cornell games in the 90s. I wonder if I ever maybe caught you playing there. It's possible. Probably all over the place. I might have second.

Yeah. I also noticed that it was the scene like there, Mark, just getting wild at the Cornell games in the 90s. I think they had a pretty good scene. It was a pretty good scene. But the other thing I noticed about Seth, we're looking at some research on your Wikipedia page. It says that you're descended from a long line of farmers outside of Victor, New York.

That's the first line in your Wikipedia entry, which I find an intriguing way to open up that discussion. In the personal section or literally the opening graph? The first thing I saw, it says pain is descended from a long line of farmers outside of Victor, New York. I was like, is this the right Seth Payne? I'm not that it was. Yeah, it is because if you look at his Twitter profile, he was drooling over one of those machines that picks up the haystacks or whatever the hell is going on out there on farms. I will ask you a football question, though.

You got to let him respond to that. I don't want to corner you with that one. The long line of farmer things, that is true. It is a weird thing to have as your first line in a Wikipedia page, but that's been there for like 25 years. So one of my 27 cousins in Farmington or Victor, New York, has kept that alive. And I've gone in, I've had my listeners go in and edit that. Like, usually before every Super Bowl, I'll have our listeners go in.

and turn it into like I'm a five-time all-pro, three-time Super Bowl champion. Because that gets you a lot of attention, right, on Radio Row. They just want the guys that have the bling. And, yeah, so I, but I did. I bought a haybine last week. And it was a big move for it. The first actual piece of farm machinery I've ever owned. What is it a haymine?

I don't even, what does it do? You're in the city. You've got a big building right behind you. It's a nice shot. I'm actually up in my in-laws hometown of Aoleon in New York. So that was a skyscraper in 1873. Yeah, so yeah, I come from a family of farmers. What was the question mark?

Well, no, I was just going to, on the Bill O'Brien topic. Because, you know, Bill O'Brien, I mean, I see him as a, I think he's a good game day coach. And for all the Bill O'Brien critique, you know, he, Laramie Tunsell for the expensive cost that attached to that, he did help that line a lot. You look at some of the things that he's done. And I can approve of some. and I don't, I found on others. But I do wonder, because I think Bill O'Brien also in a very interesting offseason was one of the most outspoken coaches to say, I'm going to kneel with my players.

He didn't hesitate or wait to see what anyone else said. Inside that locker room, for a guy that stripped DeAndre Hopkins out of there, you know, probably caused a lot of internal havoc. On a scale of 1 to 10, like how popular is he with Texans players right now, do you think? That's a really interesting question because I think, you know, even though we were joking about it earlier, I think Bill O'Brien is a complex dude. I mean, he's very bright, but he's also very impulsive at times.

You know, multiple times he's benched his starting quarterback on the first game of the season. And, you know, he went for it on fourth when he shouldn't have and he didn't go for it on fourth when he should have in that Kansas City playoff game. I think within the team, I think he's like a lot of NFL head coaches. It's that some guys like him. Some guys could do without him.

Brandon Brooks famously said that he didn't want to play football anymore when he was playing for the Texans. Sean Watson. Great player, too. You know what? He's turned off some great players. Yeah, yeah. And sometimes you wonder, okay, when trades like the DeAndre Hopkins trade or the

Genevian Clowny trade go through, how much of that is a calculated general manager decision versus a head coach who's acting as a general manager and just wants to get rid of a problem as fast as possible. So I think that's a complicated question. I think the biggest thing that you have to be concerned about is how does Deshaun Watson feel about Bill O'Brien? And Deshawn Watson has been very complimentary of Bill O'Brien. He says that that's his guy.

He loves that man. He literally used the word loves that man. But I think Deshaun also reportedly only wants a three-year contract extension. Pat Mahomes wants to spend the rest of eternity in Kansas City. Pat Mahomes wants to be buried in either Missouri or Kansas, whichever one you choose there. Under the goalpost. Yeah, he signed a ridiculous contract that basically gives Kansas City the right to franchise tag him for 10 consecutive years. And Deshawn's not wanting to do that.

So I think it's very much right now of, okay, Deshawn right now is good for at least three wins over replacement in any given year. You know, he takes Bill O'Brien from being a seven and nine coach to a 10 and six coach at least. And perhaps he doesn't want to make a truly genuine long-term commitment until he really figures out what is Bill O'Brien and Tim Kelly, the new offensive coordinator. What can they really do for me? I think the offense is going to be fine. That's why I think DeAndre was a crazy trade, especially because David Johnson was a big part of it. But I'm not that worried about their receiver core, who you talked about. Like, I'm not really worried about their passing game because of Deshaun Watson and the receiver core.

I think their offense will be good because it's always pretty good. Even when he had Case Canem, Bill O'Brien can cook up a pretty good offense. I'm worried about their defense. I mean, that's the reason they lost the AFC, you know, playoff game against the Chiefs. And there's, I look at it and maybe Watt is going to be better. You know, you, you're a defensive lineman. Maybe if you have Watt the whole season, that obviously helps a lot. But I look at the defense and the secondary is more or less the same.

And I don't see a lot of pass rush. You know, they gave merciless a lot of money and he was okay in terms of his past. Do you think the defense is going to be competitive enough for them to actually be a real deal contender? Right. And that's, I guess competitive enough would be the key. phrase because they weren't competitive at all, especially in terms of pass rush. When J.J. Watt went down last year, the pass rush really plummeted. I think that the key there, one of the big keys is going to be Anthony Weaver, the new

defensive coordinator. And I think Anthony, who played in Baltimore for Rex Ryan, who coached in Buffalo with Mike Patton, I think he's going to be a bit more creative and a bit more aggressive than Romeo Cornell. And if you think about some of the things that the Ravens defense, which still has a lot of those same elements. You know, the Ravens' defense is kind of stay the same. Think about the Ravens defense this year where Matt Judon had a hell of a year, but a lot of that was because they manufactured one-on-ones for him. They figured out ways to get him opportunities. I think

that Anthony's going to be more creative with that. And then you're right, though, when it comes to the secondary, Bradley Robey showed signs of being like good Bradley Robey. You know, Bradley Robey has these like, on again, off again years. The secondary has some potential. The secondary has some potential between Gary and Conley, Bradley, Roby, all these former first rounders they brought in. But really, I think it's going to be on Anthony Weaver to scheme their way to be in a more respectable defense. What makes the haybine so important in farming? Okay, so this is what you do, Dan.

And, by the way, I don't know if you're going to take this as a compliment or an insult. I mean it is a genuine compliment. You could be a radio host. You do a really, really good job running point on all this stuff. And for whatever it's worth, if it ever goes south. for you here or anywhere else. I think you've got a future in that. If you so choose.

Why would that not be a compliment? Why would that not be a compliment? Well, he was hitting at this show is going to go down probably. No, no, no, no. No, you know, sports radio, the hot take stick and all that stuff. It's not, it doesn't always have the best reputation. And I'll say that despite your clear disdain for former athletes in the media. But I can look past that.

Whoa. That's a shot. That's not a shot. But no, so the hay vine, the haybine, you cut the hay, then a hay rate comes through and puts it into wind rows, and then a hay baler puts it into bales and throws it into a wagon, and then off you go. What are you doing with it? Why do you need to do that? I was, I bought that.

I'm kind of a half, part-time farmer with my father-in-law, so I bought it. And I plan to never actually operate that. I'm never doing manual labor again. I'm committed to that. Oh, I shouldn't have set that. Now I'm going to get fired. I'm going to be on a farm tomorrow. It feels like something I would hire someone to do.

I don't think I would be trusted with that piece of equipment. Exactly. That's my plan. He's a man's man, Seth C. Payne. As I said, the co-host of the morning show on Sports Radio 610. Follow him on Twitter. Seth C. Payne. Sir, thank you.

Good luck in the field. Remember, you stay hydrated. That sun could be brutal this time of year. You know that. Yeah. I know nothing about farming, but I just assume it's very high. this time of year down where you are. The callus is on my hands.

Can you see them through the computer screen? It's amazing what I've been doing. And Dan, Dan, okay, see, now I feel bad. That was a genuine compliment. I really, like, I think you guys. Oh, no, but it was that you, did you say that I didn't like athletes that were, had become analysts, or was it our show? No, you know what you don't like?

And I agree with you on this. It's, it's athletes who think they're funnier than they are. And because they kind of get the press core laughter. So they tell us Schmaltzy, joke and then they and I feel like because you're right because you're a funny guy I feel like you kind of get offended sometimes you'll have a much better joke you don't get to have everything like I didn't get the body of a Greek god I didn't get to get rich playing sports you don't get to but you're funnier than those guys so it's I'm living with this this anger inside me that I can't

get out well in my take away is where the humor comes from my takeaway is you don't feel that Greg and I belong in radio or maybe even in the spots that were in here. So I'll be thinking about that for the next seven. I knew it would circle back that way too. I anticipated that coming up. And partly it's because I wanted to be subject to Sessler's kind of cantankerousness. I'm a big fan of this podcast. I was up all night, nervous about it.

It was like my first game in the NFL that I was going to be on this podcast with you guys. I pulled the, did you ever hear about Randall McDaniel's routine the night before a game? No, Randall McDaniel, not the routine. A great player. Randall McDaniel, Hall of Famer, right? Hall of Fame offensive linemen, he would stay up all night drinking coffee the night before the game.

He would like drink an entire pot of coffee, then eat a bunch of candy bars, and they'd go a wreck shop with a janky-ass stance that he had that didn't make any sense at all. He broke all the role. Seems counterproductive. The anti-TB-12. Almost impossibly still alive.

Randall McDaniel, McDaniel, congratulations to him. It's driving. All right. So thank you, buddy. We really appreciate it. You killed it. to have you on again down the road oh my pleasure thanks guys thank you there he goes the great Seth pain and a great name too you know I you're a defense I you have to be a defensive

lineman if you're a farmer uh with the last name of pain well you're down in Houston where they had the old house of pain I mean he came a little bit along after that but it would have been perfect had he been about 10 years younger or older I guess I'm like falling it's my old throwback podcast habits when immediately I was like no house of pain from Boston anyway all right before we say goodbye it is time to welcome on one of one of the great people people that we uh a person that we've missed so much uh during his time away from the show and uh with the great link wessling joining the world chris wessling welcome back to the around the NFL podcast.

How the hell are you, pal? It is great to see you guys. I forgot what you looked like. It's been so long. Do we look better or worse than you better? Shocking. Can't be better. You all look better.

Dan's got some kind of blow, some kind of tan. Greg's got this jawline thing going on and trap muscles that I don't remember. And Mark looks about 10 years younger. I'll take it. Wow, buttering us up, Wes. What is going on with the trap muscle? You can come on any time here. I don't know what he's talking about.

about, but I like it. What am I going to do, argue? What am I going to? It's like that 14-year-old picture he has with the long hair and he's in the band and he's got these outrageous trap muscles. Maybe it's tennis. I've been playing a lot more. Maybe tennis really works on those tracks. I think at West, you're specifically speaking to a broadcast where the lighting in Greg's studio, if you want to call it, that room, was darkened. And he had a, I mean, according to people on Twitter, a Latino-esque, like, look to him. You did not look Like, he looked like you were from, I don't know. Remember those old Barbara, remember those old Barbara Walter specials from the 80s?

And it had that weird filter that made Barbara look about 30 years younger. And the guest that was very flattering. I think Greg got the filter. Great. He does have a new background since the last time I've been on. Yeah. It has been. All right.

I also put a little picture of myself and my brother as. I noticed that too. That's nice. Is that you and your brother? Well, that'll be on Friday. I just, yeah, I want, I want Dean to see it. want to send a little picture that there you are buddy you made it to n i'm a nice job by you greg very weird i just spent some time with my brother kevin danger and you forget about um

how much you miss your family and you're not with him uh chris wessling you're like family to us what's going on with you buddy well i planned on being back sooner but um like a week before link was born, I went in for my regular CT scan, and it showed some lymph node activity in my abdominal cavity, so they arranged for a pet scan about a month later. And about three weeks ago, my doctor told me that I've got another pretty serious fight on my hands. Cancer has returned in my abdominal cavity. And several places on my skeleton, they are M&M-sized lesions. So, my doctor is telling me that we've got the luxury of time because we caught it early. So starting hopefully late this week, early next week, I'll be doing a combination of chemotherapy

and targeted therapy for a month and then another month of treatment. So two months total and then we're going to run some scans and hopefully it will be like last time where we find out the cancer has been obliterated and I can get back to a normal quality of life and continuing to be with my lovely wife and my son. Yeah, thinking about like the timing, finding that out like a week before, you know, Lincoln was coming. You know, it's tough, obviously, when you first told us, it took, it took the air out of our sales for a bit.

But just seeing how Keisha responds and how this baby and have been over there a couple times quickly, just outside, just how. you guys are it hasn't slowed your glow you know i mean like and especially kisha you you said it to me west i don't think you'll mind sharing just when when times are tough she's even more positive she's even uh more of a rock and and helping and and looking at all the the blessings you guys have uh in life which is just you know amazing and as a friend uh you know i'm um sad that you have to go through this battle again, but I'm happy, I'm happy she's alongside with you. And I know you're going to, you're going to be great. And you've got us. And you've got, you've got the listeners, too,

who I know sent you a lot of support to the first time around. Well, it's a, it's a hell of a brutal fight. And I like to say that I've got the best corner man in the business with Keisha. She's tougher than I am. And we had a good cry when we found out. But then immediately, it's like, okay, now it's time to fight. And you mentioned, the listeners, I know this from experience, you do not get through something like this without love and support from other people. It brings you down spiritually, psychologically, and you have to have a positive attitude. You have to live in the present because you can't, you can't decide that your best moments are over, and you can't decide that the future is scary, so you live

in the present, and the listeners help me do that. Yeah, and Wes, I mean, that is Keisha's superpower, And we saw that firsthand and you lived at first hand the first time around. And I mean, I think experience shows everyone here and anyone listening that I learned a lot from you, the first battle that you went through. And I really, and I mean this, I don't think I know of anyone who exhibited more strength in the face of it. And so I know you can do it again. I think everyone else does too. keep your spirits up and don't be afraid to ask us to help in any way or just to listen because, you know, we are here for you until through the whole thing.

That's all I can say is that as friends, we'll just, we'll be with you the whole way. Yeah, it is such a great support system that you have behind you. And Keisha's right at the front. And I just know you. And what a fighter, you are, Wes. and you also have, although this is obviously a different type of fight in terms of the cancer, you've been through this before. And I know that you're, I would imagine part of what made it so scary the first time was the unknown of it all.

And it's, I mean, it stopped me in my tracks when you sent us to text a couple weeks ago that this had come back. But yeah, I think cancer doesn't know, that was, cancer made a bad decision to come back on you because it's going to get its ass kicked again. And we're going to celebrate just like we did the last time. And I can't wait for that. I miss you guys. I know not everyone has great friends in the world, you know. And the value of true friends is it's up among the things I cherish most in life. And I'm thankful for it.

Plus, you don't have to. We love you, buddy. We do love you. And you are getting out of having to talk about like alleviate Vernon's contract restructure in the middle of a global pandemic. so there's some bright side for you that is a bright side john robinson west just so you know uh wants to sign jadavian connie maybe uh to the titans but he wants to get a look at him in the facility before doing that i called that why i that was that was my pairing back in march i mean this fight isn't going to take away his love for the titans

west west nail it takes parachuting in and nail it takes oh yeah all right west well well i'm sure the um the listening appreciate your candor and this. That was the other thing that I was so impressed. And by the first time was that how open you were about the battle. And it takes a special person to be that open. It's a quality in you that I've always envied how open you are with people. So you're going to get an outpouring of support like you did last time.

And, you know, it's coming from us too. So it's going to be a wave of positivity coming down at West Manor. I'm already tired of, like, stretching the truth. and obfuscating what's going on when people send me DMs on Twitter and on Instagram where you've been and it's like I want to tell you but I'm not there yet I want to know more about what I'm fighting before I tell people when I'm fighting my doctors are they're optimistic that I'll be back in remission within a couple of months and I hope so too I'm hoping to be back on this podcast within a week or two shadowy league HR figures have

kept me away from just joining it, you know, for 10 minutes here or half an hour there, which I'd like to be doing the last month and a half, but it's against the rules. So I haven't been able to do it. I like to see that you're still battling entities and, you know, authority figures within the NFL media realm. That says you're not, you're fighting. You're not done fighting. Hopefully in a few months, I can say they'll never tell a two-time cancer survivor to wear a stupid lanyard. I was just going to ask you if the hospital makes you wear it. We're a lanyard, too. The man does not wear lanyards, and that's final.

It's not happening. We love you, Wes. Love you, too. We love you, buddy, and spend that time with Lakeisha and Link, and hopefully the Reds come back in a couple weeks, and your treatment's going well, and away we go. Hopefully the baseball season means something, because that would be nice to take my mind off at things.

And I won't even bring up the fact that there's going to be a DH in the National League because you don't need more bad news. Oh, my God. Why don't they just just label it slow pitch softball? Just relabel the game. I miss softball. See, you got to get better for that too.

We got to get back on the softball field. I got to get you out of retirement. But there's another roadblock there as well now. Love you, Wes. Our life. Love you, I love you, buddy.

Love you, too. There he goes. The great Chris Wesleying. And yes, that is the update. Like I had mentioned a couple weeks ago, Wes had texted us just let us know. And obviously, it's something that, you know, took the wind out of our sales.

And, you know, quite frankly, and I know I'm not alone on this, that the last couple of weeks of doing the show has been not great. It's been kind of knowing that the unknown of it all and that Wes is sick and not feeling well is, you know, the show's not whole when he's not there. And to know that he's in this tough situation, it's been very tough sledding. But just seeing him just now in hearing and knowing he's optimistic and getting great treatment with a great support system. that that makes that makes your day really it's been it's been like an off season of compartmentalizing

and this i agree dan is sort of the toughest that you know you got to put that to the side and um you know pretend that uh you know some camp battle is you know really is meaningful in the scheme of things in the middle of a pandemic and our friends going through this but we we know it's not we know it's entertainment we know it's fun doesn't mean you don't take our our jobs seriously and that like we're grateful to have it, but it's also, you know, a reminder of where it is in the scheme of things. All right. You know what?

I'm going to have to stick a pin in the update on the Gatesville Messenger. It's just to talk about it now. So I'll have to tease that for next week. And a reminder that Friday. I feel like you're not excited to discuss whatever the update is. But I'll, I'm not, put it this way. I'm not, if it seems like I'm putting it off on purpose, I'm not. It's just the way it's been working out.

schedule-wise. But yeah, I have something to get off my chest about it. I'm not thrilled about it. But let's stick a pin in that until Monday. Maybe me and the Gatesville Messenger aren't seeing so eye-to-eye right now. Who knows? It probably won't pop up on our NFL network broadcast. We are back this Friday, but you never know.

So, too, man. Yes, so check that out. 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific, the around the NFL broadcast, and then we'll be back with another show on Monday. And yes, again, we're just like the NFL, usually. we tell you around this time of the year, hey, we're getting close to training camp and going back to three times a week.

Well, let's just see. That's our plan. If training camp kicks off and it goes to schedule, we're going to get back to a three times a week cycle, but we don't know yet. So we're not going to tell you that. So just know that next time you hear from us for the podcast is Monday, NFL Network Friday, and that is it.

This is Dan Hansis, signing off for Quiet Storm. The old boss. Ricky Hollywood, and yes, the mailman, Chris Wessling. Love that guy. Until Friday. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies.

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