NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Making sense of Diggs drama; WHO AM I?

Episode Date: June 15, 2023

A room filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Colleen Wolfe take you around the NFL and play America’s favorite guessing game Who Am I! But, before all the fun, our heroes discuss some news from around the league. First, we hear from Josh Allen regarding the recent absence of his teammate Stefon Diggs (8:48) , next we look into the contract situation with Justin Herbert and the Chargers (15:30), Justin Jones shares his distain for Packers fans (17:50) and  we take a trip to the Kickers club (20:47). Finally we end our show by playing everyone’s favorite guessing game, Who Am I! ( 22:14 ) Note: Time codes approximateNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast. That's a great point mark. From the Chris Wesley podcast studio, it's Around the NFL. That's the voice of God, Jason's at a going-away party for Jason's moving east. But remaining with our program, through the miracle of technology. Did I say I'm Dan Hensis?

I am Mark Sessler here. Also, I'm Lakeisha Westland, and this is the beautiful, intelligent, funny. Keep going. Keep going to get going. We're working this for us today. Colleen, what are you guys and gentlemen? What is this?

Thank you. Oh, everybody. What is up? Was that from the podcast I did with Lakeisha? We weren't able to post it because of... Your guess is as good as mine, but it sounds like you're on to something because...

What unfolded? We just had a really good time. Yeah, Randy... Oh, I see. Randy behind the glass. I could connect the dots on that. Dug that out of the archives. And I was like, I've never heard that in my life.

Great job. But I love it. Me too. Actually, I want to hear it again. I'm Lakeisha Wesleyan, and this is the beautiful, intelligent, funny... Keep going. Keep going to go and go ahead and sports today. Colleen, what, ladies and gentlemen?

Thank you. Everybody. Oh, my God, it's unhinged. There's something to be said for an echo effect. Has it ever not stepped up in a big spot? I think in that big spot, it certainly added to the sound clip. I'll tell you that. It always enhances.

It's my opinion. It always adds to the sound clip. Mark, there is some humanoid stuff creeping in the last couple shows. I don't know why. I left the last episode. I was wandering around my place being like, What did I just, what did I, what do I think I accomplished over the last hour and a half? Yes, fellow human, Dan, I also found that bit humorous.

That's not who I wish to be. No, and you typically are. That's why, I don't know. I think it's... I'm wondering if you're, an alien is taken over. Right. It's in your chair right now. Where's Mark?

Yeah, I'm not sure. Something is occurring. Wow. You were out last week for that second show. Yeah. It's not because of anything. And then these last two shows, there's been a couple like alien-y type things. I'm just a little red string

in this thing a little bit I think it's fair to dig into I have no deeper answers There was just that story about the alien that landed in the backyard and big glassy eyes

were staring back at him and he was like calling 911 and being like I'm terrified right now we're red stringing this thing yeah figure of suspicion and you better not

if you are an alien I'm suspicious of myself though because I don't I can't connect the dots Mark better be safe if indeed All right, it's June. It's a June podcast, madness.

You know, this is madness. I walked in, and the NFL network is currently playing the Dan Marino fake spike game, Week 13, 1994, a game that I attended with my father, my uncle, my cousin, and that's when I lost my innocence as a football fan. The Jets out a 17-0-0 lead, and Marino throws four touchdown passes in the second half, including. the fake spike. We've talked about this before. We have because there is an incredible little nugget to it was that, you know, a year before Bill Belichick, the Browns coach,

mercilessly cut Bernie Kozhar and the city of Cleveland wanted to find Belichick and set his hair on fire. He winds up with the Cowboys and winds up with the dolphins as a backup. And it was Bernie Kozar, who was always described as cerebral and heady, which meant he wasn't very athletic.

But he came up and basically advised Marino and the Dolphins to run that fake spike. So of all the people to take your innocence, you were victimized. That's a tough game to have been to. Bernie is cool of me, so I'm not going to be down on Bernie. Yeah, well, he would have done the same for the Jets. Had he been on the Jets. Go ahead.

How do you feel about it now, Dan? Well, once your innocence is lost as a sports fan, you're never the same again. So I still think about it. I could still, from the loge where we were sitting, I could see the last boomer of Sias and desperation pass, heaved through the back of the end zone and actually threw the uprights as time ran out. I could picture fans walking through the parking lot at Old Giant Stadium, tearing up their Johnny Mitchell free poster we got before the game.

Johnny Mitchell didn't do anything wrong. In fact, Johnny Mitchell, I think, had a touchdown in the game, just ripping it up in anger because we had once again been tricked by the Jets. I think the fan base collectively lost its innocence, perhaps, on that. Long before that. Okay. Yeah. But.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Yeah, yeah. Connie, how are you? How's the summer of Connie going? Great. It is, it's going fantastic. I've been outside a lot. I have a tan for the first time in a few years. There's a lot going on with Connie. She's got like a platinum blonde look. Yeah, distinctive change. It's a pleasant one. The Game of Thrones lady. Thank you. DeNaris, Targaryen. Emily Clark? Emily Clark. Also, new glasses. We clock that as well. A bit of a Lisa Loeb vibe. Yeah, it's got a little bit of a cat eye going on.

The real ones know, the Lisa Loeb reference in a big spot. So we're happy to have you. It's always got it. It's great to be back and be in the same room with you guys. I don't know if we've ever had Connie on this show in studio in June before. So I feel... I'm sure you have. Feels like a blessing.

Just feels that. But we'll make it feel new. I think we'll need to fact check that concept you came up with. I think she's done a June show. I believe so. Probably. Greg is not here today, as you've probably noticed. He will be back.

What if Greg just had not? spoke in this entire episode yet. That would have been atypical. I think everyone was able to deduce that he wasn't here based on the past. We will have a nice sed coming up today.

Even the name, I think, is kind of like interesting. I'm excited about this. Who am I? I love it. Some mysteries involved. Who am I? I'll just leave it there for now. But first, some news. Dude, so I was passed out and I woke

up to nothing but text messages, phone calls. I had no idea what was going on. And I got dressed. I came out. I looked down and I smell like a smoky smell. And I'm like, damn, dude. So it's crazy. Colleen, what are you people?

We are proud Philadelphians. And we have a very specific way that we talk. And when I hear it, it makes me homesick. All right, so let's hear a little more of our friend, who kind of looks exactly like my brother if he lived in North Philadelphia. Oh, I can see that. He came out and saw it.

Did you know what was happening yet, or did it just look like a fire? Well, no, so I got all those text messages, screenshots. I'm like, everybody's like, yeah, where's this at? Like, nobody had, like, a direct location. So I was like, look at my window. I see a bunch of cops. I'm like, bro, that's right by my apartment. So when did you figure out and realize that the freeway flat?

Oh, dude, I was passed out when that happened. I was passed out when that happened. Bra, it's right outside my wife. Yo, where's that? Both of my parents are from the Northeast, Northeast Philadelphia. So that is actually how my family, that reminds me of home. Windows, tomatoes. I love it.

How did I not know about that news story also? You didn't know? No, I didn't know about it. I mean, not tracking zero news when I'm not here. Oh, my God. Well, wherever the real mark is, he probably is aware. This species, whatever we're talking to right now? Still learning about news and how it works.

Exactly. The humans track the news from around the region and beyond. Make mental note for future conversations. All right. Here is the latest drama out of Buffalo. But it is drama. It's just like, what is this? It's absolutely drama.

What is this? It's like light June drama. Light June drama with a little twist because of the, you know, there's so much pressure on Buffalo to get over the hump. you want everyone going into the season feeling great. And yet, the Stefan Diggs, he did not show up for a mandatory minicamp. We talked about it on our Tuesday show that Sean McDermott then came out and said that he was very concerned about it. And then we learned after Mark, we did some discussion about what could this be?

Is this about money? Is it something else going on behind the scenes? Here is Josh Allen as all this was cresting, I think, on Tuesday. You know, Steph, he's my guy. I, excuse me, I love him. He's a brother of mine. You know, this does not work what we're doing here without him. You know, we wish he was in here today and was out there on the field with us.

And that's not the case, but I've got his back no matter what. And again, I've got no doubts that we will figure out what's going on. And I freaking love him. I can't stress that enough. You know, there's things that I could do bad. and, you know, to help out with this process and try to get him back here and, you know, be the Buffalo abilities that he's meant to be. Later, Sean McDermott said that Diggs and the team are in a real good spot.

He did apparently show up at the facility and practice a day later. So, Mark, what are your thoughts on what's going on here? I think I would, if anyone cares about this particular June drama, I listen to that quote, audio alone driving in, and then if you go watch them in the eyes of Josh Allen, there is a disquiet. There's something else happening here, and I think that there are just seeds of discontent. Stefan Diggs is like top three most competitive wide receiver in the league. And like, he's in a great position. This trade worked for the Vikings. It worked for the bills. It's worked really well for Stefan Diggs. But during Super Bowl week, he had some comments.

I try to find, like, what has he said and what does he talk about? Beyond some of the tweets, that I think there was a building frustration about the Bill's offense on some level. And I think we kind of forget that they went through some real peaks and valleys. Not only the team emotionally for obviously what happened with Damar Hamlin, but the offense itself and some of Josh Allen's play, I've regressed a little bit, especially like in the red zone and in the fourth quarter. I think Diggs just wants to be that guy. And I wonder if there's some disquiet around Ken Dorsey taking over for Brian Dable

and how that all went down. I think it needed to be worked out. It needed to be talked about. the last time we saw Diggs on the field he was angry at Josh Allen and right there in the eyes Josh Allen I thought that we saw a quarterback takes some responsibility for all this because he's a great leader and there is a bit of frustration I don't think it's a money thing yeah Josh Allen it was interesting when he said there's things I could do better to get him in a better spot meaning Stefan Diggs which we saw Stefan Diggs kind of reach the frustration

crescendo against the Bengals and you saw that that frustration over and over again, but I found McDermott saying the other day that he was very concerned after Diggs, you know, left before the team practice. And then came around and said, there are a lot of things out there that aren't accurate. He was here on Monday for his physical, reported for all meetings, had a good conversation, got to a point yesterday where we felt we all needed a break, gave him permission, and he was excused. So he went from being very concerned to, oh, it was an excused thing, no big deal. So, that's really telling. It really does feel like it's all coming from Ken Dorsey and the offense and the team. That's what I kind of think.

Yeah. And I think there's, if we look at some broader, like what the bills are, where they're at. I think last, even before the DeMarne Hamlin situation unfolded at the end of the regular season, that was a tough season. You had, they were this team that was on this kind of meteoric rise together. In the 2021 season ends after a great season from Josh Amman. and the offense was unstoppable times. And really, they felt like they could win a Super Bowl. They get picked off in the divisional round by the Chiefs and that unforgettable ending to that game. And then 2022 just felt like a slog for that team. Like Brian Dable leaves. They're expected now to win 13 games,

and they'd have the regular season that they need to win the division, but nothing was as easy as it was the year before. They struggle through the first round of the playoffs. They struggle in the playoff loss to the Bengals. and now here they are again and maybe it's Diggs looking up at a steep hill again and as a passionate guy

there's some frustration knowing how difficult the season was last year I mean it's interesting I think it is a June story and this type of thing that we probably won't even think about in September unless it's deeper than we realize

I don't know I think it is I just think it's a personality thing because I think Diggs is engaging he's all in I don't ever lack trust about how much he wants to win and the kind of player he is. But I think there's a flip side to that where you get this,

where he was discontent in Minnesota after a while with that offense and how he was being used. I think it's just creeping up a little bit. You're so right about last season because Josh Allen battled through an injury that affected his accuracy, his confidence, I think, to some degree. And that offense just came and went. And I think if you're Stefan Diggs, you're looking at the Bengals,

you're looking at the Chiefs and saying we cannot lose a step to them and we cannot be, maybe we need to think about how we run this offense. I just think it ties back to who they are, their identity on that side of the ball. Yeah. And Stefan Diggs, we saw videos of him dancing at practice when he was finally there when the guys were stretching. So it seems like he's in better spirits. But the thing that sticks with me is a TNF years ago when Stefan was still on the Vikings and they won. And Kirk Cousins and Stefan Diggs both came to the desk after the game. And this was towards the

end of the season. And you would think, like, they just won. This is going to be a happy crew and the tension between stephan and kirk cousins i can still feel it like i can and i could see how he is such an emotional human and emotional player and so obviously things did not sit well with him i don't think it's money obviously you guys talked about that on the last show because he just got some last offseason so you look at what he's dealing with here von miller talked about it saying that he's supportive and he wants to be here and he wants to win a super bowl so i think it's just all that. Right.

Maybe, I'll just say it. Maybe he's a bit of a pain in the ass. Maybe. I think part of his personality creates that sometimes. He did get, he ran himself out of Minnesota. I'm glad you brought that up, Connie. That was a previous stop where he was a star receiver there and made it very clear he was unhappy, which Minnesota didn't trade him because they wanted to.

He kind of asked his way out of town there and then they used that first round pick. They got in return to get Justin Jefferson and everybody won. But now Stefan Diggs is unhappy again. so we shall see what happens. All right, let's move to, you know, this doesn't do it. That kind of does it for me. That's drama up there in Orchard Park. Now let's talk some contract stuff.

We'll start with Justin Herbert on a possible, the idea of a possible hold in if he doesn't get his new contract done. It's something that I really haven't thought a whole lot about. You know, I think most of the off season so far has been worried about, you know, getting my shoulder right, making sure that I'm the best quarterback that I can be. for this team. It's something that you can address. You know, I'm not quite sure. I don't have any more updates for you at this time. But, you know,

like I've said earlier, I think the world of the Chargers Organization. You know, I've got a great family. Is he from Canada? What is that about? That's something that would address at the time. Is this another? Is he visited by the same group that I was, apparently?

Getting my shoulder right. The shoulder thing? Yeah, yeah. Surgery. Oh, yeah. Okay. So we'll see. It doesn't sound like any. There's much fire there. Well, I think the Holden also, he also had, you know, these quotes about that I, you want to be there if you're the quarterback.

You've got Kellynne Moore running and installing a new offense. It matters. But the Holden, you can just cite any sort of malady injury-wise and you sit there and do meetings and don't do practice. He's coming off surgery. He could do this if he wants to. He's also not like a sassy drama queen. No, he doesn't see what he wants to do. He's so laid back and he will remove himself from any drama.

And he supports the Chargers organization. Organization. But we also know the history of that organization. Don't make this weird. Hey, Chargers, don't make it weird. Please. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs have a star defender in Chris Jones. He's coming off a, I believe, a 15-and-a-half-sack season there.

He was absent from KC. Minicamp as they worked toward a new contract. You know what? I think we got to pull out Tommy Lee Jones here. I don't care. It's going to be fun. You know, so, because Greg normally will send out early in the morning, like the news run down or ideas and we can add to it as it's a working file but um so he's not here so i thought i'd do that to try to do that to try to do well but i even but i will say when i came up with

this rundown i thought to myself well the justin herbert thing feels like a just wait a month situation the chris jones is sort of like yawn they've already said we're going to get this done at some point um but otherwise we had one news item so it's like you got it's june yeah it's how it works no but that was good it was good that we hit it we let people know sure something that's happening right but we are making it publicly known also. Don't care. Yeah.

It's fine. It's fine. Everything's fine. Yeah. In other June news, so the bears are on the come-up. At least that's what we're being told at this point, with a roster that's improving and a young quarterback that many people believe has a chance to really leap in Justin Fields. And perhaps now with Aaron Rogers out of the NFC North, it is time for the Packers-Barrers' rivalry

to actually become a rivalry again, Connie. I'm ready. Yeah, cool. And then there is a man named. Justin Jones, defensive lineman for Chicago, who had this to say about Packers fans who does not really care for it since. We went out there and we played a pretty good game,

you know, but they got away from us at the end, obviously, and they won, but their fans are really... So, yeah, I wanted to go back up there and I wanted to play them, and I wanted to beat them, and I wanted him to be there so you can see it. I mean, man, like... Like, just the way that they're just freaking obnoxious, just yelling and all that other stuff about things that don't even matter. Like, we're not even running to play.

And you guys are talking about, boo. Oh, yeah, go, like, what do we even talking about yet? Like, what do we even start yet? Like, what do we be talking about here? Like, you know, y'all? He's so bad. Half of them don't even know football. It's so weird to me.

But I'm just ready to go back out there and play. And I want to go out there and I want to beat the hell out of them, you know, on their field. And I want to hear it. I want to hear the booze in, you know? That's what I look forward to. Yes. No, no, no, no. I love this.

I love this so much because you can hear in his voice how annoyed he is. Imagine actually what you're getting on the unfiltered side. We just got his in front of a mic in front of the media, and he's probably tempering it a little bit. I would love to hear an unfiltered version of that. I love the concept that Green Bay's fan base compared to literally other fan base has a pocket of fans that don't have any idea of what's going on. That's how he described the entire.

That was interesting. I've never thought of the Packers fan base as, like, distinctly lacking knowledge. Yeah, and I'm wondering what someone in the stands could be shouting at him. His takeaway is like, oh, these people don't know their football. That's interesting. It's a weird stance to have. It's a weird... I love it, though.

I mean, it's totally acceptable to listen to. I believe him. You know, they're playing week one at Soldier Field. There go. So I think you're going to hear more from Justin Jones, hopefully, after the game. I want to see when they're in Green Bay. And it should also be known that that Aaron Rogers, he was referring to, went 24 and 5 in his career against Chicago in the regular season

with 64 touchdowns, 10 picks, and a 109 passer rate. I mean, that's like Brady against the Jets. It's like Big Ben against the Browns. It's like fill in the blank against terrible trash bag operation. The Bears haven't beaten the Packer since 2018, and they haven't won in Green Bay since 2015. How about that? All right.

In other news. What else has happened? Let's head to the kicker club. Hot Rod's back, baby. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Rodrigo Blankenship, formerly of the Cardinals, to a deal, also formerly of the Colts. He's converted 83.3% of his field goals since entering the league in 2020.

Blew out of muscle in his leg last year early in the season, leading to his release and free agency. And now he's back. Mark, always got the big goggles. Remember he had the weird blog when he was in college or he just, like, was trashing his own team and stuff? He had the wheelies that he came in on during Colts camp. Wheelies, that's right. I love to have him back in the league.

He also has, like, a vibrant Lego collection. That's right. Instagram account where he does these, like, complex, massive sets, and he's all into it. So I think it was like when he left Flip, I think he was completely filled with all these other. hobbies. I'm almost surprised that he ever returned. Yeah. It's kind of good for the

Kicker Club to have a couple like rogue weirdos in there. Just to keep things, everybody on their toes a little bit. He's just like on the wheelies, like hopping over like the... An eccentric character. Yeah. It's good to have eccentrics. Accentrics. Nailed it. And that's what's happening

in the news. Let's take a break and then who am I? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's time once again for America's favorite guessing game, Who Am I? Thank you very much, Galen Wolfe. It is, Who Am I?

A game that dares our contestants to use their brain to figure out who is speaking. Well, Mark's an alien, so he gets, like, this is fair. Well, I was concerned I was going to have to do the game show voice for a second after, but you seemed to have gone back. I figured an alien wouldn't know what a game show was. That's true. I didn't want to do any more reveals in that department.

So Connie got the call there. But if I knew 100% that you were real Mark, I wouldn't have hesitated, bud. Well, I think you're trying to work with the situation. I think you're downplaying aliens. I mean, do you believe? Of course. Yeah. My dad saw one.

That's right. First time I ever met your dad, we talked about that. That's right. That's right. A staunch believer. He wasn't like, I think I, he's like, I know what I saw. Because I'm a military perspective. The government and this thing carried into the 90s and even into this century, they tried to downplay anyone that was a believer or saw something as a wackadoo.

Yeah. Crazy person, yeah. And your father is no wackado. Not a crazy person. Not in that right, at least. Hardcore professional and military man and worked for years in the aerospace technology field. Yeah, he knew how to take apart nuclear bombs

and put them back together, worked in a missile silo, worked at an oil refinery. Sound like someone floating off their rocker? Like, he had a very straight account of what he witnessed and he would not back down from it. Our huge audience for this game show is probably very confused about this digression. So let's get two things.

Let's keep this organization together and go through it. We'll do two each. Okay. And I could get things going here. I would love that. Yeah. Let's just lay down some ground rules before we do this. The job here is for two people that aren't going to be able to guess who it is.

And it is the job of the person to not make it so obvious. You know, like hopefully there should be a challenge here both for the people. people here in the studio, the Chris Wesleying podcast studio, and those listening at home. So you don't start saying, like, I'm the head coach of the New England Patriots. Are you nervous about the execution of this segment? I am always nervous about the execution. By the two of us, especially, I would imagine. No, I feel good about you.

All right, here we go. Let's get it going. First up, and who am I? Hey, crazy times, crazy times. Are you this person now? This is the first? Okay. Oh, yeah.

New chapter. Okay. I love it. New chapter. So much stuff to do here. So many activities. It's awesome. It wasn't like this is where I used to live.

There was nothing to do there. It was so bored. So bored. When we have a guess, when do we stop you? Should we let this play out? I would say, let me speak and share my thoughts. And then share afterwards.

But do you have a suspicion? I do. I also do. So, good job. Ah, so bored. I didn't even open up the blinds on some days. Just laid there in the dark. Nothing to do. Okay, depression?

At all. God. looking back i used to get a bunch of flack for doing weird stuff but honestly that was just to fill fill the hours there wasn't anything to do just trying to kill time but not anymore now i've moved and i'm in this exciting new place and there's like so much stuff to do and i'm thinking to myself i didn't even have to do all that other dumb stuff so exciting here i'm super busy everyone's really nice to me

and I'm definitely trying harder with my job. Like I care now. So I think I'm going to be better. I think my team's going to be really good because I just kind of care more and I'm really good when I care. I'll probably get bored again next year but right now

everything is fun. Really cool. Really cool. Should we guess? Who am I? Mine, what I thought it was, I'm not certain at all. this point, so. Really? Yeah. Aaron Rogers. That is correct. Is that who you thought? No. Who did you think? Well, no. So early on when you talked about, I was in charge of something, but it wasn't really me, according to a lot of people doing. I thought you might be going Eric B. Enemy, who now has

like a full-fledged, like, no, that was like two clues in. Then it went, then I had no idea. That would be really interesting to go with Eric B. Enemy to lead off this cycle. I kind of love it. I love that. No, it's Aaron Rogers Who is in New York And is living up the life Just got back from the Tonys He's going to games

Going to games Going to concerts Going to Summer of Aaron Summer of Aaron It is really Yeah, it is really I mean now

You painted a full picture He's patterned himself After you, Colleen Yeah In a lot of words Have you met Aaron On the Thursday night football stage? I've interviewed him a few times

Yeah If he saw you Would he go Oh hi Colleen? I don't think so But who knows? Well, you never know. Maybe you would.

All right. So that's just to get us going. Okay. All right, Colleen. Great. Okay. So mine is not so much a cohesive story as it is a few clues. Mine is similar to Colleen.

So we've got a little bit of everything. Yeah. Okay, great. Okay, here we go. I'm ready for the 2023 season, and I'm just waiting for the right opportunity. If you're wondering, guys, I love a camouflage moment, and when I'm not on the field, I'm in the field. I can give you great recommendations for a moving company, because you know what? I've done a lot of it.

How are you feeling so? Not good. You know, one thing I absolutely hate, though, second stringers, you can't trust them. They're out to get you every single time. However, I am open to being one, unfortunately. I believe I think I might have a clue here. Last three seasons, you know what? Not ideal.

To be honest, the last time I felt joy was 2017. It's very clear to me who it is. I won a Super Bowl, but not really. Oh. Doesn't like backups. My last relationship ended three months ago in the silence since then is deafening. I'm sorry, sir. Did you say I won a Super Bowl, but not really?

That is really. That's a low blow. Right at the knees. Who am I? Right at the right knee. You are Carson Wentz. Ding, ding, ding, ding. That's right.

Wow. He's in Tampa Bay right now, working with John Gruden. That's right. Since three months have gone by since he was cut, he has not heard anything from any team, and he's just still waiting. Yeah, there are teams that make sense. Gruden's former team, the Raiders, makes sense.

Jimmy Garoppolo's health is once again uncertain. Brian Hoyer is his backup, who's really closer to a coach that are player at this point. Over in Arizona, your boy, Mark Holt McCoy right now is in line to be this. Like, there are teams. They don't want to win games this season. What's working against Carson once a little bit is there is that creeping sense with Arizona, for example, that they don't want to win.

So, like, they'll just roll with guys that they see is lesser than Carson Wentz. And then after that, like, Tampa maybe would have been a spot, but they went with Baker. Like, so, like, how many other positions does he even have a path? The Raiders just make a lot of sense. Yeah, I mean, just like, I, you know, the way the world works, there's going to be three problematic quarterback injuries once people start practicing. And then Carson Wentz makes a lot of sense because there aren't a lot of other options. True, true. And a good backup option.

I mean, when you look at the other options. I think so, too. that are out there. Didn't the Eagles that Super Bowl year, Connie, start like 10 and 2, and Carson once was a Super Bowl thing? He was an MVP candidate. MVP favorite?

And then he got hurt playing the Rams right here next door at Soapy. My point being, and then you said he didn't even really win a Super Bowl. You had a major role in that team. He did until he got hurt. And then Nick Foles rose like a phoenix from the ashes and won them the Super Bowl. Like Carson Wentz the next year as the starter again,

walking into the stadium past a statue of Nick Foles. Yeah, I don't think that's that one. My point being, I don't think Nick's in that position if Wenz doesn't go. Oh, absolutely not. No. No way. All right, Mark, you're up. All right, I maybe even approach this a little bit differently than, so we'll just see.

Gotcha. But these are just factoids you can start to build a picture, okay? Factoids. I think Dan is just hiding in plain sight and he's the actual alien. I think that's app. So let's just start with my playing career. I played linebacker at UC Davis. That's where I got going.

But there was a conflict because I really wanted to become a doctor. I was a neurobiology major. And what that, we did some wild stuff, okay? During one insanely long lab sessions, there would be these like 10 hour long lab sessions. We once had to wrangle a genetically mutated rat the size of a house cat. This is absolutely true. my father simultaneously has always been my family just deeply involved in sports so i guess that's just been inside of me the whole time and so during these long lab sessions um it was so serious that i just

like i don't know if i can do this with my career um i learned to love to work with athletes with especially guys on offense um i've had one of the games true stars say of me in quotes no one brings me more joy than me, what I did for this person. That's pretty nice. Yeah. No, and it came from a legit person. Yeah, it felt really good. It said that means a lot to me. I like to make the room smile. It has not always been a big bowl of cherries. My cue rating is in a bit of a troubled spot at the moment, but I think I'm back in a good place where I can do what I do well. Someone in the room, in this room, you guys, has seen me in person at a non-league event. So it's not like at the Combine, but one of you saw me and texted your friends that you saw me, but you didn't come up

and talk to me. I don't know why. And I think if John Elway gets all that credit for recruiting Peyton Manning way back when, then I think I quietly, or not even quietly, like overtly, deserve a ton of credit for what I just pulled off this off season. And literally it was, I am a huge part of why my team looks the way it does today. And just fingers crossed that this player that I got doesn't fall off a cliff and cost me a job all over again like the guy I had last year. Got it.

I was struggling there for a little bit and then it all came together. You want to go? Yeah, that's Nathaniel Hack. Absolutely. Ooh. That rat thing is a true story? Yes, in fact, I pulled that

from an incredible piece. When he was hired by the Broncos, the first person I talked to in depth was Conororor who was Nathaniel Hackett before the thing went totally. wrong was a figure of fascination last off. I think it was enjoyable

engaging and we all knew that if I'd said oh I'm a hip hop instructor we would have gone there right away but he was deep in medical lore in school and like he Connor like wrote this whole story about all hackett was his father offensive architect the previous yeah I just didn't want if I went

Broncos early me being Nathaniel saying that sure it would have given away too much so he almost became a doctor and then it was just too serious I think he's just a very sort of a renaissance man who made a life choice. Huh. Yeah.

Yeah. I think I saw him at the Las Vegas airport. That's what I'm referring to. Yeah. I think he's a hashtag girl dad. He is. He's got multiple daughters. And Taylor Swift was in town.

And half the city was at the concerts there when I was there that weekend. So obviously a good guy. And you went to the concert, obviously. I would have loved to go to the concert, but I did not. But it seemed like everyone else in Las Vegas that weekend. and did. I didn't go up to him, though. I really wanted to, but I was like,

no, just leave the guy alone. Yeah. Let him live. Hashtag Girl Dad. Let him do that. I think that shows that you know how to handle celebrity in general, your own and others. Thank you very much. Also, that was prior to Rogers officially landing, so I'm sure he just didn't, he wouldn't want anybody to be like, so is it going to happen?

Hey, man. Is it going to happen? Would you have gone up to him after Rogers landed? No. hashtag girl dad respect i was going to give him this what if he had boys does that change going right up to him what that's an interesting boundary line you've created but i respect it i'm demanding conversation with him if he has like a 12 year old son and a six year old it's weird um all right good stuff okay so so far we've guessed all three correct uh yeah um that was good i didn't have that one i thought you know that one

i thought you guys i didn't have the first one so better job than me uh because uh because for me, both of those only crystallized right at the end. I think that's like, you called it in text, like, sort of peeling an onion, so. All right. I got a tougher one for my second. Okay. Here we go. I love this game.

Thank you. Here we go. So does America. Yeah. Thank you. I can't believe I did this. How am I going to get out of this? I feel like the kid who.

who transferred from a great university to a less prestigious institution organization because I wanted to be closer to my girlfriend, but then she flunked out and transferred out of state. So now I'm here without the person I came here to be with, and I've been set up on a blind date with a new girl who's really pretty, like a legit smoke show. On a pure, like physical, carnal level,

this girl is objectively hotter than my ex. I know who this is. But I don't know if there will be any chemistry. I had chemistry with my ex. I miss her. A really, really miss her. And I actually have some doubts, sincere doubts about this new hottie. So now school is getting ready to start again,

and I'm heading back to a campus that I don't feel good about. I have a full-ride scholarship, you know, so financially things are good. And I'm expected to be a great student like I was last year. But all I can think about is getting out. and starting over again, it's like how Mark Sessler went through his college experience. You just, you know, how many times are you going to start over?

I've made a huge mistake, and I need some advice. This is good. Now I don't know who this is. I thought I knew, and then I was like, no, it's not. Organization was a red herring, by the way. Don't. Okay. So it's not.

Can I file a guess, although I don't feel good about it? I want you both to guess, and then I'll say if either of you were right. Well, so for a big chunk of that, I thought the, chemistry with X kind of all right with new smoking hot show person but like it's the chemistry may not be there it's that's more

you know visceral visual like I thought it was Josh McDaniels dealing with the fact that he thought he was going to get Tom Brady but did he get stuck with Jimmy G after not drafting anyone but then you talked about him being a good student last year I thought that Josh McDaniels sort of failed the test so I'm a little lost yeah at first

I was thinking Devante Adams but that is correct That's great. Oh, my God. All right. Devante Adams is the right church, wrong pew. Well, it's interesting that it's the, you know what the problem is?

Like, there's people listening that knew it was Devante Adams. Then I spent a minute explaining the wrong answer. Like, that's just, that's like when you lose on a real game show, turn the channel. Yeah, Devante, yeah, he's just like that transfer student. And you never leave, you know, get closer to your girlfriend in college. You know, that could just. No, it goes, it absolutely goes out. And all of a sudden, it's like, now what am I doing?

And that's kind of where he is. And I think Adams, in, like, puts on serious football guy had now. I wonder, like, if he's had a lot of talks with his agent, like, this offseason, and he knows part of the reason he left, not the whole reason. Green Bay was, like, to get paid like a super-duber star, right? And respect. Be respected. And he wanted to show he could do it without Aaron Rogers.

But getting that huge contract makes it prohibitive. for the Raiders to move on is what we're hearing anyway. These things always tend to work themselves out. But right now it's like... They don't always. Even the Raiders wanted to reallocate the resource and go in a different direction right now. They really can't.

And Adams is kind of locked in there for another year of his prime, which is now he's getting later into his prime. So I wonder like just where his headspace is as he gets ready for a new school year. Put it that way. Yeah. And that regime can't just say this was the move of the last regime. They went and got him. It's their job to make it work out, and you're in a chaotic situation, especially if Jimmy G is not, if he's just Jimmy G, you're going to have problems to send a degree. If he's not healthy.

Jimmy G is the smoke show, by the way. Yeah. Derek Carr is the girl who flunked out. That's what threw me, because I was thinking we're talking, Jimmy G is the smoke show individual. But I've already described the way I had this wrong, so we don't need to do it again. I'm a little worried about the summer of Devante, like definitely different from last year. Very different. Wow.

I mean, the whole hook around Devante Adams. summer was that like no one is having a better son or the best friends together yeah bummer all right okay that one was good but we are now we're four for four by the way which is both good and bad but it's actually good that we have some wrong answers in the mix too Colleen you're up okay here we go so I've never met a camera that doesn't love me I grew up guys kind of being a little bit of a ham I also played hockey at home in Wisconsin, spent some time delivering pizzas. I feel like it makes me more

of a man of the people. Sure. If you're wondering, my hobbies include winning awards and working out those things I live for, I breathe for. I have a big season of just

like chilling coming my way unless I decide not to do that. My last team, well, it's an abject disaster. and the team before that has been a wasteland for years. I'm joining Bob and Andre in a very exclusive club. Bob and Andre. My mom, Connie, this is true.

Probably doesn't have our own summer of Connie, but she must be proud of all of her athletic kids. Sure. All of her very athletic kids. My first name is Justin. Yep. Yep. Well, you, I had it at Wisconsin hockey player. I had it.

I should have put that lower. I interviewed him once during Super Bowl week when he was, had just played his first season. And I knew about the pizza delivery thing. And so we talked about that at length. All right. It's like you guys follow the league or something. If the audience is unaware, it is Justin James Watt. Yeah.

That's right. Is there talk about Watt potentially coming out of retirement? Is there, well, so I thought that the fact that he doesn't want to sign the one-day contract with the Texans to enter their ring of honor, which is just two people, Bob McNair and Andre John. Ah, that was a good one. Yeah. Didn't throw me off, but it also was like, I wonder what the hell she's talking about.

Exactly. But you can't really have a ring when you only have two people. So now he's going to enter this like triangle, I guess, of honor. But he does not want to sign the one day contract. And it's interesting that he doesn't want to sign it because I guess signing it makes it a little more complicated if he does want to come out of Isn't that just a piece of paper? Isn't it filing of the actual

paperwork with the league? Isn't that where it becomes different? He hasn't filed any of his retirement paperwork yet. Nor should he. Why would anybody? Like... I'd wait a while. Yeah. See where you're at. Take your time. You've played football since you were 10 years old and you've decided to shut it down. You don't know.

What if the chiefs come calling or something? It's like you're not going to go play for an absolute inept franchise, but maybe a Super Bowl contender. I'm starting to feel a little without anything to back this up. I'm starting to feel a sandwich prop. Oh. JJ bought signs with a contender in the fall.

It's the new Robb. I kind of love that. No, he doesn't have to go through summer. OTA's training camp. Even the beginning of the season where he gets dinged up, like he just stays in shape, shows up around Halloween, maybe a little after. And all of a sudden, yeah, he's playing an Arrowhead

at the end of January for a chance to go to this. a great idea. Right. He's never won. That's true. Seems like a guy that would be like, I always wanted to win one. Most guys are like. Go to like Pittsburgh and play with T.J. Watt.

But I just always thought, you know, it's a one-day contract, just a piece of paper, which is what he said. But if he did sign it and then retired after the fact, he would be on the Texans reserve list. And then he would need to ask. Yeah, we don't want. No, that's messy. To release. Let's in general, if you're J.J. steer clear of the Cardinals and Texans.

Yeah. Give him some space. You could always come back to either organization and time. I let this marinate of him. Where's Justin Herbert from? I mean, I always think Oregon just because he played there, but I think he's from California.

Somewhere, like, Organization. Orange County. Eugene Oregon. Does anyone, my neighbor is from Oregon. I'm going to tee him up on that word and just see what I'm going to. see what he says.

I say Oregon. It's a big NHL. Should I call my neighbor? See the answer. Yeah. Do it. I love this. What's the neighbor's name?

Nate. It's a really good guy. Hang on. Don't even tell him he's on the show. Yeah. I love a cold call. I should tell him. Nate, I am right now in the podcast studio, and you're on right now, because you're from Oregon, correct?

Correct. A famous quarterback, Justin Herbert, as you know, he was doing the media earlier this week, and he said a word that we bumped up against, and we're wondering if all people from Oregon say this word this way. Can I text you the word and then have you pronounce it? I'm hoping I'm the right guy, but yeah, let's see you. Okay, here it comes. Oh, my God, the suspense. All right, you're here, by the way, with Mark Sessler and Colleen.

Okay, here it comes. I hope you type this correctly. It'd be Juneteenth, everybody. That'd be June Teeth. Yes. Good call. All right, I just sent you the word. Organization?

Okay. All right. Okay, so Outlier. Yeah, Outlier. Justin Herbert said organization. and we didn't know if that was an Oregon thing. Like, was it territorial? Are his parents Canadian?

Jeremy, Jeremy, whatever. Is there weird Oregon stuff? We were just going over some weird Philadelphia stuff earlier in the show today. A lot of weird phillies stuff. You get the Willamette versus the Willamette. People constantly get that one wrong. Oh, interesting.

All right, I owe you a beer for this. I'll see it slice and pint later. All right, guys. Nobody steal home tonight, okay? All right, later. There he goes. My neighbor, Nate. So that was an outlier.

Yeah. Is there any Canadian blood in? I'm trying to find. I'm not sure. I haven't come across anything yet. All right. Who's up? I believe I am.

Yeah. Is it the last one? Yeah. Last one. Here we go. That's 2% energy. So I'm going to read this off my phone. All right.

I was born about 40 minutes from your Chris Wesleyan podcast studio here in West Covina, California. Does that seem about how long it'll take the West? Sure. You're out in the 10. Okay. I was a first round pick, obviously. One strange fact about me, when I was in high school, you had to pick an elective.

Yeah, of course. Beyond your core classes. My friend and I, we picked typing because this, it had the, like, this is a quote from when someone said about why we picked it, my friend. We basically had all the good-looking girls in it. We were the only two guys in this typing class. He bowed out. I took typing two, like 2.0 or the next level of typing.

There's a second level of typing. stuck with it. He was the only guy in the class. I was the only guy in the class. But then my competitive nature took over because I was raised in a, well, no, this is high school. I was raised in a... High school university. I was raised as an adult, basically, from age six or seven on, to be extremely competitive. And so in this typing class, I didn't care who was in the class. I started to take it very seriously. And I wound up winning the state typing title by typing 90, more than 90 words a minute without a mistake. I mean, absolutely. That's remarkable. Without a mistake. Wow. From an early time, you knew that I was competitive.

That means he's probably, you have to have a level of, I think, intellectual brainpower and hand-eye coordination. Yeah, I think that's exactly what I was feeling when I was winning that title. So my pro career got off to a rocky start in my third season. And the team I came to was literally worse than the college team I left. It was, and for a number of years. But by the third season, we started to sing. But I got injured, and the backup came in and won the final five games of the season, propelled us to the playoffs. And my coach, who was a very fiery, very fiery individual with a lot of opinions, and also was essentially our general manager, replaced me in the playoff. He put the backup in the playoff game, and they won. And so it was a huge pivotal win for

a franchise in search of itself. And the next week, we got our doors blown. off. And one of the, one of the biggest wipeouts our franchise has ever experienced in a playoff game. And then the coach stuck me back in there in that game for me to be on the losing side of at the end. So I basically almost wanted a trade. This coach also, when I was drafted, drafted another player at my position also in the first round technically. It was in the supplemental draft. And so the first season plus, I kept going back and forth being told, I'm not even showing the starter of this team. Finally, they traded that guy. And I became the dug-in starter.

And I went on to have a celebrated career. And I would let you know that, like, it's, you may be thinking, this is a player from the past. I'm still in your world all the time. My coach, the fiery coach, is in television. My star-wide receiver was in television. My full-back was in television. My star running back tried television, but kind of flamed out.

I did not. I'm there with you every single week. I'd say that I'm widely considered to be manly, good-looking, and if you knew the position I played, you'd be like, that's what that position should look like. They always said that, and so I'm in the Hall of Fame. I spend football Sundays and Mondays with my best friend Joe. I had a ranch next to Pat Summerall.

I believe I still do. I'm not sure before Pat Summerall passed away. Okay. That's all I'm going to tell you for now. I can provide more facts, but I mean, I was completely in the dark. What do you got, Colleen? No, I don't.

I'm meandering through this maze right now. Yeah, well, you mentioned I hang out with my friend Joe. Troy Aikman? Yeah. Troy Eichman's an expert typer? Yeah. 90 words per minute? When I went and did this, like, research, I was, like, starting to go down massive wormholes

because, like, there's a lot of stuff out Troy Egman that people don't know. I'm trying to think, yeah. So much of that stuff was just like. So Jimmy Johnson, they drafted. Troy Aikman first overall in 1989. And a couple months later, Jimmy Johnson drafts Steve Walsh, his Miami quarterback in the supplemental draft.

And so the first couple years of Aikman's, I mean, it's up and down, like is Steve Walsh, the guy that Jimmy Johnson really wants? Then they traded Steve Walsh. And then Steve Berline was this guy that like that Doug basically dragged the Cowboys into the playoffs. And they wouldn't start, like Jimmy Johnson wouldn't start Akeman when they beat the Bears. And what was a very pivotal, it's like this Cowboys team

starting to take shape, but after that, they lost to Detroit, the next, it's the last time Detroit won a playoff game. They blew the Dallas absolute lights out, and Troyickman won in the trade. Yeah, that's really kind of, because it was, a lot of this happened 25 years ago, like a quarter-sixth. Well, I know, so I was like, I'm going to slowly lead you there.

It was cool, because he is still a highly relevant figure for football thing. Yeah. I feel like I see more of him than anyone, so. That was well done. If you didn't mention the buck thing, I would have never put it together. Well, that was the, like, the last clue, because it was just like, okay, here's who he is. Good work.

Great stuff. So we did get them all, but some of them we really needed that last little good stuff. Makes for a good game show, I think. Good Seg. Good Seg. Who am I? We'll be back, maybe. Maybe not.

We should have the listeners do one one time, maybe, and then have a... That's a lot of pressure on the listeners. You know? And then the producer will have answers, so if it's Randy, he'll know, and then we guess. Maybe next June Put that in the ideas file Colleen does it again Colleen you've said it all

Thank you Where you go next What happens next? What happens next? Are you leaving us? Are you leaving us? I'm here for all of June And then I'm going to Hawaii

In July Very nice Anywhere else Just up to San Francisco And then a little Maui And then I'm back here in July Ready to rock And ready for training camp

We are living vicarious through you, Connie. Absolutely. All right. Good stuff. Everybody enjoy their weekend. Greg, we'll be back on Monday. Until then, you know what we've got to do.

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