NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Minicamp takeaways

Episode Date: June 11, 2015

A room filled with heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler -- react to the latest NFL news including the recent flurry of news involving the Patriots. Then, the guys talk to NFL Media's Jeff Darlington to discuss the Colts and other minicamp stories (26:29). Finally, Conor Orr calls in for the debut of the new segment, "Orr you kidding me?! (41:11).Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast is better than the coaches show. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I am joined by a room filled with heroes, Mark Sessler, Christopher Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan. A lot of excitement in the room.

We did some quasi-television spots with Dave Damashek downstairs where we probably ripped on seven or eight on-air personalities that we work with here. I wouldn't say we ripped on them. Well, it was not pretty, and we've just taken the coach's show again. I think we've had that leading before. Back to the buried it. And we should probably, it sounds, I mean, we've got to get some money in the studio. We've got to lay down some more intros, it sounds like.

Yeah, please send any ideas you have. for the start of the show, if you don't know Matt Money Smith of Money in Petros fame if you live out in Los Angeles. He's the one who records those intro, which I love. So hashtag Money Intro, send it to around the NFL, and we'll collect it. You're on record as saying that's your favorite part of our podcast. It is. I just like it.

It's a nice, clean, fun start to the show. I think we should address something internally because I think the best method, and I learned this from Greg as a supervisor to handle any type of issues in-house is just to confront them and move on. Especially on air. What happened on our last show, you know, I've been doing this thing

where I've been challenging TD to see if he's listening while he's away on his vacation, using code words. And I challenged him to a code word most recently, which was heard happily. TD immediately replied on Twitter so showing that he listened to the show Very good

And I really gave it to him last show Because he did not The previous show did not drop the word The special phrase Which I don't even remember Ed Begley Jr. And then it turns out TD did

And how do we know Because he did it days earlier And Wes replied to TD days earlier I saw it And when I brought it up on the last show Wes never said anything wasn't paying attention to you. I had no idea that that's the problem. Well, wait. The initial problem is that you weren't paying attention.

No, he did not pay attention. He didn't do it at me. You know what the root of this? Well, that's TD's issue then. There's a root to the, yeah, TD did not at mansion you. Right, which seems silly that he wouldn't have. By the way, TD's meant to be aware, across the seas somewhere, and he's been tweeting all day long about the NBA finals. I'm convinced he never went anywhere. He's just taking a long June vacation. I saw a picture of him in a tuxedo next to a brother. It was just an excuse for him to post pictures of him dressed up

looking like a cute little kid in night He loves that where he grew up TD's the king of, and you know, we don't want to talk too much about TD when he's not here to defend himself But he's the king of like posting the cute pictures of himself And then like the hot shots of himself on Facebook like Hey I'm just I'm just the sole brother right here And then he's like crooning to the camera

That's his move when TD's famous moves Yeah right Anyway Wes how often do you not listen to me on the show Probably as often as when you ask Mark a question and he's off in space. Like, I do that a lot. Or you repeat a point, Mark said. We all do it. I would say about as often as you read the articles that you say you read.

Well, I never read your articles, but when I do read them, I do definitely read them. That is honesty. I don't know what you just said there. That is pure honesty. When I say I read them, I read them, I just hardly ever do. Oh, okay. So that's all honesty. I should be applauded for that, right?

for not reading them no but when i say when i do them i you know i say what i say and it's always accurate that does not check out morally um worlds are overrated very good show today very good about dan's tombstone uh it's it's worlds are overrated it's a show that it's a show that i can get behind personally uh you know mini camps are underway uh all across this great nation uh so we're going to go through uh each pick a team that we're watching closely and share a point, a takeaway, if you will, for mini-camps. We'll also get on the phone with Jeff Darlington, who is an NFL media personality slash writer-slash-reporter and a handsome devil as well.

He was in Indianapolis covering the cults at their camp, so we're going to get him on the phone for a few minutes to talk to him. And speaking of the phone, big phone day, so big test behind the glass for Sully, we are going to get our good friend and colleague Connor or on the phone for a new segment I'm not going to say what the segment is yet but it's one of the things I'm most proud of creatively since joining NFL media five years ago

Greg I looked for some approval from Greg on this and he wasn't all about it but I felt we had to forge forward and see what happens I wasn't against it and just didn't share your same enthusiasm that's fair your enthusiasm was somewhere below where it stands

for Win West's Toaster. No, that's not true. Win West's Toaster... I mean, the other segment... The other segment that I was vindicated for one of our most popular segments, Win West's Toaster. By what metric? Is it popular?

Well, by our fans, our engagement. It's a sham. W.W.E's popular, too. Doesn't mean it's a real sport. Wow. Win West's Toaster isn't a sport. It's a game of skill and valor. Yes, thank you.

All right. But before we do any of the... that before we get Jeff and Connor on the line and talk minicamp, so we're going to talk a little news. But before we do that, check in behind the glass with Sully. What's up, buddy? Celebrating good times, gentlemen. Hey, get rid of that. You know what? We will take away that soundboard if you ever play the song. It's my Friday. I'm off tomorrow. Well, that's good, but we have an issue with that song because Tid played it too often. I think he knows that. That's not my fault. I like the song. Mark, is it okay that our backup producers trolling the

podcast hosts right now? I mean, it's, you know, there's going to be, there's going to be a brushback, there's going to be issues, because Dan, I can already see, I don't want to get too deep into it. You know, I just think that, you know, Dan is learning, or you are learning that Dan is, is not maybe the easiest host to ever work with in broadcast media. Am I wrong? I don't know. Well, hey, Dan's still, you're my boy, Lou.

But I see a lot of hope between the two of you. I do. Thanks, Mark. A lot of good content there from you. Well, I was in the middle of looking at something else. All right, good, good. Mark, driving a wedge between personalities. Good job, buddy.

All right, let's do some news. All right, we'll start in Philadelphia. I feel like we're always starting in Philadelphia with some type of big personnel news going on. This time, going down on Thursday, veteran guard Evan Mathis, who has been, you know, squabbling with the team over. money for two years now

was cut. On Thursday, the team released the two-time pro-ball selection, according to NFL media insider Ian Rappaport. This was Evan Mathis, who was, you know, one of the top guards in the league, at least according to pro football focus, where he's been

at top of their rankings for several years now. And Wes, the decision was made by Chip Kelly, who's running the show there. You know, he's getting a little older maybe, and he's asking for too much money, so we're better off without him. Is that the right move? Well, I don't know if it's the right move, but I think that quite possibly, now, hear me out, maybe he's not actually the best guard in football if he's been available for two years

and the Eagles haven't had a single phone call asking for a trade. Quite possibly, he's only limited to zone blocking teams and he's 33 years old and teams won't be clamoring to hand him $10 million a year. That's kind of what I would say. So this is a chance for Wes's long simmering beef with pro football football. focus to come to the four once again i don't have a beef with them they grade him how they grade him which is great they put a lot of time and effort into it my beef is with people who take their analysis as bible truth i think that a better way to approach it is if he was so great teams would obviously be interesting well we'll see he's a free agent now and this is almost an i you know i put

on twitter it's almost an experiment to see how valuable is a pro football focus ranking number one in 2011, 2012, 2013, I think he was second, but he missed half the season last year. So if teams even partially agree with that, they'll give him some money at least for this year. Maybe it's only one-year contract, but they'll give him solid starter money. I think you're exactly right. It will be fun to see where does he land. But it's not often that a quality lineman drops back into the mix at this point in the offseason. A lot of times you've had to go to the draft, you've had to go to free agency to address those needs.

And we have a post coming up that there are landing spots. There are places where they need interior linemen. And for some of these teams like a Denver Broncos potentially swinging for the fences, they do not have veterans across their line right now. They've got one guy returning. There are places where he could go, and I could see him getting paid. Well, let's look at it this way. The Eagles, the offer they pulled off the table last week would have increased Memphis's base salary

from 5.5 to 6.5 million. Does he get 6.5 million guarantee? Oh, no way. No, not all. I thought they pulled that offer once Howie Roseman lost his job as the man in charge. And that trend is really what we're seeing from Chip Kelly. There's a stat that Howie Roseman added 23 new players during Free Agency in the drafts in 2011. Only Travis Kelsey is remaining from those players.

And we keep seeing Andy Reid guys, Howie Roseman guys are going elsewhere. And one thing you've got to give the genius, Dan. Little credit. You know, he's talked about the culture of Philadelphia. You know, like, that's important. That's kind of why they traded, or they cut Deshaun Jackson, rather, was the culture. I think this is another move that's like that. Because there's no reason for them to cut him other than they basically thought he was a jerk.

Right. Right? I mean, but it's a genius move if you fix the locker room or help the locker room, and then you have someone capable stepping in. I think they have, what, a fifth round guy that they think could maybe step into the job? Alan Barber, who they pay pretty good. kind of a swing player. It looks like he's going to be the starting left guard for Matthew.

Let me ask you a quick question. So Andy Reed and Kansas City and Chip Kelly have had an equal amount of time to recreate their teams in their own image. Which roster would you take? I don't have to think about it for a second. I would take the Eagles. Absolutely. Yeah, I would take the Eagles.

Can you blame those guys? I mean, isn't this what all coaches do? We're all strong coaches. They come in and they get rid of the guys who aren't buying in. I mean, Ryan Matthews had a quote this week. With all the trading and the moves that have been made here, we know Chip has a plan, and we've just all bought into it and are getting ready. So that's the new guy.

Those are Chips guys that are buying. Well, and it's also, say that, or you're gone. I want to see the Buffalo News reporter, someone in the West of New York area, throw it in LaShawn McCoy's face that Chip just cut ties with Evan Mathis, noted white man. Area white man cut by Philadelphia Eagles coach. Just the type of things I'd like to see.

Yeah, I'd like to see how it would go over. I don't know how it would go over. That particular player isn't answering those questions. He's just throwing out accusations. Oh, that's true. All right, moving on, let's move on to the throne of ease, where Malcolm Butler, who, last time we saw him, Greg was sobbing in the press box in Arizona.

I think Mark was more emotional. Greg had his arms wrapped around me. That's not true. No, it's not far from. What are the weirdest? First of all, I got banged in the seating arrangement, and I was on the other side of the press box. And then one of the saddest sites,

and I don't know what to make if it still, is Wes, Mark, and Greg jumping for joy at the Patriots victory. I was like, what world am I living in here? It was so strange. Jumping for joy, what a great game it was. It was a great game. At the moment of the interception, it was like you guys had just won the Super Bowl.

I was won over by Tom Brady and the Patriots at that moment. I was. Dan. I mean, you've got to let your love of the game overcome your love of the Jets. I mean, that was the greatest Super Bowl we've ever seen. I covered it as a professional from the press box. You're a professional, absolutely. If by that, you mean your heart is dead inside?

Okay. I liked it by the fourth quarter of Dan was still wringing his hands and stewing and the fact that he had gotten moved four chairs down from us. It actually was great. We can arrange to have you sitting next to some hardcore journals for the next Super Bowl. Hey, listen, I like professional. You're right between Les Bowen and Alex. Adam Teicher for the next time.

Wow. All right. All right. So Malcolm Butler. Malcolm Butler was the cornerback who had that interception that got around the NFL group into a tizzy. He got into a little bit of trouble recently. On the first day, OTAs, he arrived late because his flight got canceled because of weather issues and he ended up getting to the Patriots Complex late.

and what we're hearing reported initially by the Boston Herald and then NFL media's Albert Breer followed with his own report that the Patriots reacted to this by holding Butler off the practice field for three weeks which led now to the union, the NFLPA, looking into this, whether this is allowed or not. Butler back on the practice field today. He says he feels like he didn't miss a step and it sounds like he's trying to play the good soldier because he knows what will happen if he doesn't. So Butler back in the mix after being missing for three weeks.

Greg, obviously absolutely ridiculous move by the Patriots who, you know what? The whole thing, when it comes crumbling down, I will be jumping for joy with tears of my eyes. You're a parent, and as a parent, you've got to set boundaries with your children, and you have rules. Stop. This is an obnoxious move. Answer me that. I'm not even going to fight this. Would Malcolm Butler, do you believe?

leave have been better off just skipping the whole thing altogether than to show up a half hour later. Probably would have got cut for that. He didn't show up a half hour later. It's even worse from the Patriots perspective, if you're sympathetic to Butler, is that there were

weather issues the day that he was in, and so he couldn't get the flight, and apparently they have a policy you're supposed to try to schedule it a couple days in advance in case any weather comes up. So that's basically what happened. Well, hold on a minute. So it's voluntary.

Right. And you're supposed to, you know, And whether it's a half an hour or a day, the full intention is to be a part of the voluntary practices. But he's supposed to get there 72 hours ahead of time and rent his car and get a hotel and whatever he's doing. Give me a break. This is a weather. It's a horrible dark place, Patriot Way. Let's face it. I think it's also Belichick saying last year is over.

We are starting over. And if you're the Super Bowl hero, you're right back. Oh, how brilliant. What a mind tactic by Bill Belichick. He didn't answer my question. Thunder right. Do you believe that Butler would have been better off skipping that section of OTAs altogether than showing up late? No, because you're still there.

You're at practice. You're going to all the class. He would have got benched for three weeks if he just skipped it. But you're going to all the classroom sessions. You're going to work the workouts. You're stretching. You're with the team. I mean, it's not like he was somehow suspended.

He was learning all that stuff. So just from a pure yes or no perspective, he's better off being there. He's watching the install. Once he missed that flight, he should have changed. this flight to Arizona to that clinic, the performance and health clinic. He should have crawled in under his cover. I'm working out of my own. I'll be there for the second round,

and then none of this happens. He saw what happened to, what's his name? The guy who doesn't exist anymore that ran for 200 yards. Donuts Gray. Yeah, he's dead to Bill Belichick. Seems a little harsh, and they do need Butler, I believe, to be a start. No, they're fine at cornerback. They are stocked at that position.

And I don't know if you watch Game of Thrones on Twitter, I mentioned that they're turning Malcolm Butler into the Rieck character who gets brainwashed and loses his sense of self. When reporters are asking Malcolm Butler about this today, it was like, everything's okay, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong. It's like he's got to be pissed. I'd be pissed.

He seemed like a pretty low-key, agreeable guy. What a jerk move by the franchise. Yeah, he was incredibly sweet and naive. He was sitting in the studio with a totally nice guy. And the Patriots bully the guy. What a jerk move. Oh, I mean, pipe down. As much as I agree with you guys, who cares?

It's sitting them down for the OTAs. It's not a big deal either way. I'm with Dan on this one. It's a jerk move. All right, Mark, speaking of guys you view as jerks personally. Matt Flynn, your least favorite NFL player has signed with the Patriots. A little insurance there with Jimmy Garoppolo, likely the starter week one, and Tom Brady suspended. Your boy, Matt Flynn, back in the league for now, anyway.

I mean, he barely has an arm. I don't remember what my actual, what the core, like, argument I had against him. That he's basically stated by making a lot of money. Oh, that's what it was. Yeah, he's essentially, you know, locked up multi-million dollar contracts over and over. Well, I don't agree with that.

How about earn your pay? But he hasn't done it on purpose. He's basically, teamsman stupid enough to sign him or trade for him. He knows he's not very good. So he should retire? Well, I mean, let's, how about some upfront honesty? He knows where his arm's at, and he keeps getting these teams to sign him.

Well, that's his issue. He worked out for the team. They made the evaluation. They got rid of Garrett Gilbert, who would have been the backup for the first few weeks of the season. I did hear already someone bring up the fact, oh, maybe a little Flynn versus Garoppolo competition. Yeah, right.

And I was thinking if Flynn plays any time for the Patriots, they're not winning the East. By the way, does Garrett Gilbert have a family, probably kids in school? He's got mouths to feed. In comes Matt Flynn. And bang, this guy's out of a job. The Gilbert family suddenly. They're in chaos.

I like he turned him into the drift pirate. Gilbert was the seventh round pick from a year ago. I don't know if he's got a family. And finally, Greg insisted that we cover the Patriots. Oh, I just said put it all in there together. He wants to take a shot at me. Mentioned it all in one sentence. You've stretched this whole thing out.

The Butler thing is the whole segment. I didn't care about that. I know, you didn't. You like to bury anything that's negative about the team. Go ahead. Tell us my Tim Wright. What do you think I've got to say? Wes's boy, Tim Wright.

Kept saying he was going to be a big impact on the 2000. Oh, the scientists. Six touchdowns. I should have known there was something to it. Wes just did it for me. I was wrong about Tim Wright. Yeah, we argued about whether it was just a throw-in, kind of forgettable part of the Logan Mankins trade.

Wes said he would be a big factor. All right. Moving on, Adrian Peterson, who played in just one game last year, of course, before his legal issues and NFL issues hit. We'll be back for the start of this season. He's healthy and no longer suspended. But don't expect him to see him in the preseason. Mike Zimmer, Vikings coach,

says they're leaning towards not giving him the ball in the preseason. This is not unordinary. Peterson hasn't had a preseason carry since 2011, but I guess some people you think, oh, he's been out of action so long, just the tune-up. But Vikings are playing it safe. No carries. See you week one. You guys agree?

It surprised me, but I don't think it's a big deal. I mean, I guess the only reason we're talking about is because it's so surprising that after sitting out 15 games and then not knowing what his future would be, not even going to play them in the preseason. It's a little surprising. It's a reminder that the preseason tickets are a sham. I mean, if you're a Vikings fan, you're going to the preseason, you don't get to see Adrian Peterson.

That's a shadowy league figure knocking on the door. Those are full-price tickets that are lumped into your season tickets. You know what? This is one that the man on high, our boss, Roger Goodell. He's talked about the lack of quality in the pre-season. season many times. I thought you were about to launch us into our theology podcast.

Oh, no. I'm not going to say about that. Me too. I will mention that I spoke to the Vikings running backs coach, an interview that I found out later. Dan was listening to through the wall. I hardly had like a glass

with my ear against the wall. The walls are very thin here, almost suspiciously thin. I don't know why it was built this way, but I could hear you in Mark Sessler a different type of voice, cadence. I didn't even recognize your voice at first. Was he? Oh, Mr. Wilson. Quiveringly obsequious?

It was called being extremely professional in digging for information. What did you say was? Was he quiveringly obsequious? I, he told me, I will tell you one thing. I asked, you know, Adrian Peterson workload this year. You got Jerich McKinnon as well, what's going on. He said, we don't want to give him anywhere close to the workload he had two seasons ago. Peterson?

Yeah. What-Aves. Write that up. Yeah, that probably would have been a good idea. It's been a busy day. Moving on. All right, the NBA finals are going on. Speaking of Mark, Mark is all in on the NBA.

Very excited about Cleveland potentially winning a title that are up to one in the series. Before the start of game three, something very interesting went down. LeBron was getting ready for tip-off, spotted Jim Brown in the crowd that Brown's great. and nodded to him or bowed before him even and Jim Brown afterwards had this to say it was one of my greatest sports moments which is a pretty wild thing to say

but it does show you we're in the throws of LeBron mania right now well I think his last sports moment came in the middle 60s so it's like yeah he's and he in what Jim Brown does is plugged in on he works for the Browns he said this is another quote that it's been too long forget the 1964 Browns this city needs another championship and I think it showed a little bit of maturity

on LeBron's point to basically bow down. That's a good point though, Mark. Thank you, Dan. You make a good point. Your affirmation is meaningful. Some of the things you said about the Vikings to the running back scotch, I was like, eh, I don't know about that.

Well, I am all over the map today. These guys, that's why Jim Brown was in our studio a couple of years ago and talking to Shmows like us. You know, he likes to be in the spotlight. Anybody does it. why Joe Namath still talks to the media all the time. These guys like to stay in the picture and when the biggest sports star in America

literally bows before you, pretty cool. Well, especially because he used to be the biggest sports star in America and maybe the greatest football player of all time. Let's go a step further. Is Jim Brown the greatest athlete this country has ever seen? Could be. Well, I think most of the country hasn't seen him.

Well, let's say, let's run down with Jim Brown's done. Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, lacrosse Hall of Fame lettered at Syracuse and track averaged 14 points a game as a sophomore at Syracuse the next year they told him we're only going to play two African Americans

on our team so he quit the team as a senior they go on to the lead eight and a lot of people think they would have won a national championship if Jim Brown played hoops as senior year I haven't met many likable lacrosse players in my life I would agree with that he's viewed by a lot of people as the greatest lacrosse player in history wow I think he's

If there was a ranking most dominant NFL player ever, it's Jim Brown. Maybe you can argue other people with longevity or whatever, but he was the most sustained greatness the league's ever seen. All right, real quick, Mark, finals for the series. I'm going to say Warriors and Seven. Oh, you can't make me do this because I'm going Cavs and Seven. Wes?

I'm going Warriors, but Mark was so fun to watch. Mark was the loudest guy. He was getting stairs. In the place we were at the other night. And most of it was directed at me for not going along with his calves love. And not too much of it was actually calves-based, even. It was just like, we need this Cleveland. Well, they do.

And I don't, you know what? I'm pulling no punch. I'm not happy. I'm surprised at how into this you are. But you have explained it, and I get it. Greg said he's checking in game six or so. Yeah, I'm going to check in at game six when the calves are up three, two, and they bring the title home in Cleveland for games.

Hubba, hub. All right, moving on. Speaking of LeBron, James. Rex Ryan, funny line, said, listen, we know our situation at quarterback. We don't have LeB at QB. Good job, Rex. Not only do you tie in to the current events in the sporting world. You actually, for once, admit that it's a damn show in the quarterback's room in Orchard Park.

He also said, that wasn't even the biggest insult he said. He said, we don't have a number one. Right now, we don't have a number two. Like, after coming off of a terrible practice, Matt Castle is supposedly. brutal and the other guys haven't been much better. Well, this hurts both scientists because you got, Greg, who's a big Matt Castle guy. And Wes has been singing the praises of Tyrod Tillis. No, no, no, no.

I am not singing the praises of Tyrod Ther. You're echoing the praises. I only want him to win the job so I don't have to watch Matt Castle. Well, that's not. I got you. I want to give everyone right now the opportunity to reflect. Hit pause. If you think the bills are going to win like 11 games this year, June 11th, you could walk that back.

They don't have a quarterback. How are they going to win 11 games? No, no, no. Now the narrative in Buffalo is the E.J. Manual never got enough of a chance, and there's still some untapped potential. You're putting words in people. No one said they're going to win 11 games.

People are acting. People are acting like they're going to win the Super Bowl. I like them as a playoff team. I'm going to just buy the, I'm just going to eat that hype. Bills have 10 wins. They have a talent to get to 10 wins, so I don't think it's going to happen. I think the same old thing, Patriots, 12 and 4. I mean, the Jets are going to go 0 and 6.

division so then i like it lower the lower the expectations that's what i need whatever it's a couple free wins all right that's what's happening let's keep rolling gentlemen we have a man on the line just did uh was dispatched to indianapolis to take a look at the cults get a closer look at the colts and he came back thinking he's watching a real super ball contender he is the great jeff darlington welcome to the around the nfl podcast jeff hello gentlemen it's always the time of year for fresh Super Bowl hope, is it not? I think you're going to say it's the time of year to talk to us. It's, you know, it's been a while since we had Darlington.

The only time I find myself on the shows in the doldrums of the off season, one of the teams that, you know. We'd love to have you on, and if you're in Culver City anytime soon, we'll get you in. Yeah, yeah, it sounds lovely, you gentlemen. All right. What's up? Now that we got past that awkwardness, let's talk about the cults. And, you know, yes, this is optimistic.

season, of course. But, Jeff, there's reason for, like, legit optimism for the Colts who seem to really have added on both sides of the ball. They got blown out in the AFC title game last year. They hoisted at Lucas Oil Stadium. AFC finalist banner recently.

They need to get a better banner. Are they going to do it or not? You know, it's funny. I actually saw that a sign in the facility that said the same thing, and I was like, it didn't really register the way it did when people started making fun of the banner in the stadium. I thought, and I was like,

AFC finalists, I don't think I've ever heard that. It's not a real thing. But, yeah, yeah. So, anyway, look, I think that this team is suddenly, you know, definitely contending, certainly, for the Super Bowl. I don't think there's an expectation that they need to get in the Super Bowl for their season to be a success. I don't think they're like the Denver Broncos in that sense,

or maybe the New England Patriots, but certainly getting to that AFC.F. championship game is is on their their immediate list of goals and I think this team believes that that they can uh that they've upgraded that they have a lot of weapons on offense and and they continue to be as we saw this off season when andre johnson and frank gore joined the team they continue they're becoming that team that players want to go to to pursue that championship and i think that that says a lot about the direction of the organization and and sort of the internal vibe when these veterans go to visit that facility.

You started your piece on the site with the story of, you know, Andrew Luck and Andre Johnson talking, and Johnson had some interesting comments to you, basically, that Luck is leading the way in this conversation and that he's so good because he's telling Andre Johnson exactly what he wants. Right. And, I mean, look, Andrew Johnson is not like a weak-minded soul. It's not like he can just be pushed around. I mean, he's a pretty tough dude, and this is not a level of arrogance by any means from Andrew Luck.

But in that conversation, yeah, the context was very much luck saying to Andre Johnson, like, this is what we expect. This is where we want to go, what we want to do, putting it all on the line. And the gist that I took from my time in that locker room is that, you know, I think that we viewed Andrew Luck for these first three years of being that young quarterback, not the rookie necessarily after that first year. As I said in the story, no longer the budding teenager anymore either. It feels like going into this season like a bona fide veteran. And I think that that means a lot. I think to an extent we're seeing a little bit in Miami with Tannihill

and obviously given what Russell Wilson's already done in Seattle, but Andrew Lark leading the way, feeling all of a sudden like more in the tier of the, Aaron Rogers type than maybe in the tier of the guy in his first few years was an NFL quarterback. I know everyone wants to talk about Andre Johnson, but I think the cult surprised people that went out and got Philip Dorset in the first round, and you've had a chance to watch this team. We've been hearing amazing things about this guy. What do you've seen? The same. I mean, he looks like the type of guy who could, and we kind of knew this going into the draft that this

class was going to be extremely solid. And I think we're already sort of seeing that in OTAs around the league, at least those that I've been to. And certainly he qualifies in that group. And they've got, I mean, when you consider that they've got T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson and Philip Dorset really leading the way, I mean, that's a pretty stacked lineup for Andrew Luck to play with.

And, you know, he's also going into a year when he's more comfortable and PEP Hamilton system, the third year in that system. So I think that, you know, one thing Luck said he wanted to get down was that touchdown to quarter interception ratio through 40 touchdowns last year, but 18 interceptions. Oh, he's awful. Awful. 40 touchdowns, and the guy's talking about improving that ratio. But it is true.

You've got to limit those interceptions. And with the weapons that he has, he should be able to do that. All right. So, Jeff, let's be honest. This is the trust tree in here. You know, no one else is going to hear this. It seems like there's a double rainbow over Indianapolis right now, and everybody looks great and all that stuff.

Please, tell me, you were at the camp. Tell me one thing you saw. You're like, hmm, that could be a problem, whether it be a player, or it's just something. Is there any reason to be pessimistic about this team? I mean, look, we, like I said, this is the season of hope, and this is a team that got to the ASC championship game. But, you know, that defense at times played very impressively at the beginning of the season.

and then toward the end of the season fell off a little bit. They were a little inconsistent throughout the year, and they don't have a ton of star power. So that group's going to have to really man up this year from beginning to end and be ready to go when the postseason rolls around. I mean, there's no question. The story I wrote focused almost actually entirely on the offense, and the offense made some nice improvements.

You'd like to think that Frank Gore and Johnson both have a little bit of gas left in the tank, But by all means, you know, as Johnson said himself, they look good on paper right now, but they've got to put it together. So I'm not trying to just wear rose-colored glasses here, but I certainly think that they did enough this offseason to get back to the ASC championship game. The question is, can they contend with the team that is opposing them, whoever that might be? How much gas you got left in the tank with your first child just arriving? And then how much grief are you getting for flying all around the country checking out of Minicam?

I've never loved OTAs so much, bud. I'm sitting there watching special teams today. You're at the Bucks facility in 90-degree heat, stagnant. And then I thought I could be at home-changing diapers, so really just living the dream right now, aren't it? Is it ever a time, Jeff, where you're sitting, you know, in a plane and, you know, you think to yourself, oh, I was 27 once and there were no kids and there was no wife? than I was the king. Are you, are you, is this, is this a therapy session?

I'm projecting a little bit. Put me on the couch? Yeah, no. Believe me, I think about those days all the time. And I say that, I say that with supreme confidence that my wife will never, with all due respect, listen to your podcast. Well, that's a crushing blow to us, but maybe we can one day recruit her, but not for this show.

She will not hear this show. All right, Jeff Darlington, thank you very much for joining us. And, yeah, next time you're in Culver, please stop by our little cubicle. I love it, guys. And we'll set something up. You got it, guys. I appreciate it. See you, Jeff. See you, Jeff.

Thank you. You know, we talk about personal lives. You got it. It's called Building a Bridge. You know, he feels a little closer to you. And I, you know, I said something wild about you being a tough host to deal. I think you did a fantastic job on that segment, Dan. A minus.

Well, you know, I didn't take that as a real shot at me before. I am difficult sometimes. TD, as TD can attest, and I own up to that. I would give TD half the bulk of the reason that's happening. I don't even want to give TD, by the way, code word, because he's two for two. So he's earned the benefit of the doubt. Has he? Yeah.

Yeah. Yes, he has. On that front, yes. I wonder if people are tipping him off to this, but either way, he's getting it done. Yeah, that's true. All right, before we speak with our friend Connor Orr, let's talk a little more about mini-camps. And we'll go around the horn here. There is no affiliation with the ESPN program.

Intellectual property is not infringed upon by referencing that. And we will talk about one takeaway each from teams that we are watching closely. Mark, when you are not talking to high-octane running backs coach, running back coaches from around the NFL, you are digging in on the Raiders. Give me one takeaway from their minicamp. Well, this was a sign to me. All right. Well, most things are.

I found it to be a fun team to look into this week because... You seemed excited about it. I have no problem covering the Raiders. I mean, we take that team down week after week on this show. But looking into the stuff coming out of camp, it's been almost shockingly glowing over young players like Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray, Kaleel Max. Some of the stuff is so hyperbolic that I...

I want to believe that the Raiders are making some sort of turnaround. I just need to see it before I do because it's June and I'm getting tired of all the tropes and all the nonsense. But when they start talking about players that haven't even played a game or they paid, you know, 10 games and they're monsters and their kings and the best. So what's your takeaway? Well, they got to prove it. The Raiders still have to prove it to me.

I wrote positively about them and they don't seem like a train wreck the same way they were before because they have a youth infusion of talent, and I like that. But you've got to go win some games. They averaged 4.7 wins since 2003. They stink. The takeaway is they've got to prove it. Well, yes. This is an unfinished narrative. Something that you saw

from camp. I'm sorry to belabor this. Or something you read about. I was in the office. I was an after camp. Well, those three players specifically gushed with like everyone that saw them says they're unstoppable. All right. Cooper. Murray. We'll see. Play a game.

Wes, you took a look and he went on a deep dive with the Arizona Cardinals. What do you got? The obvious takeaway we already addressed on Tuesday, Carson Palmer and by extension, John Brown looked great. Let's go a little deeper here. One thing that Alex Flanagan noted. She noted many things, but one thing that caught my eye, Sean Weatherspoon, who was the Falcon's best defender a few years ago before injuries hit, has already become the vocal leader of their defense, taken over for Larry Foot.

Unlike Larry Foote can work in coverage, too, but I like that Weatherspoon has already come in and commanding the defense. He's a vocal guy, if you've ever just heard him in an interview. It doesn't surprise me. I guess that he's a vocal leader because he seems like one of those teammates that's just chirping and talking and that teammates love all the time. Greg? I would be the Sean Weatherspoon if I was a football player.

Is that right? A lot of chirping. Okay. A lot of honking. A lot of honking. Greg, you have a takeaway on the Denver Broncos. My takeaway is that they're backing up the practice reps of Peyton Manning, that Brock Oswald is getting a lot of work with the first team,

which is a change from the past. And it kind of speaks to what Peyton Manning's been talking about this week, that he's invigorated, that there's no way he can get bored because he's having to learn another new offense at this age and another new team. And it's a brand new sort of Broncos team right now. It's different. By the way, they do have a left tackle. They settled on it.

I guess they have two takeaways. Ty Cimbrio. He is their left tackle. They said he's going to be their guy. It's a rookie second round pick. We got one. I like it. Finally, I will talk about my beloved New York Jets.

And Gino Smith has an up and down mini camp. He has two decent days, one bad day. And afterwards, I like this Todd Bowles because he doesn't, he's not like going crazy the way red. but he does keep it really said it's been up and down he said of smith he makes good throws he makes some bad throws there has to be more consistency for our quarterbacks overall ryan fitzpatrick also didn't necessarily light it up so just o t a's but i am fully aware and cognizant that i'm going to be getting on this gino coaster again just a matter

of how long how much longer i have to ride it nothing i saw from uh o t a or this camp tells me that something clicked with gino so far so i'm still under the the impression it's going to be a rocky probably eight more games two and six start benched incomes fits two and six I don't know I don't know I think their defense is going to win games for them this year two but

don't get me started on your team I can't believe we're here already these teams are done for the off season the next time we'll see any of them is training camp we're there we're almost there we got to enjoy this time you know what I'm saying

yeah the NFL is about to go dark at the end next week for six weeks. We've got to enjoy that time. Yeah, that's about it, right? Feels fleeting. I can feel a massive amount of work coming our way. They're going to start trickle in around July. You just say and enjoy it. July 20s. So those are our takeaways. Mark, what's your

takeaway, by the way, from Raiderskin? Let me get back to you that on that one. Still sorting through them. The gravel in the muck. By the way, we have these up on the website. We'll also have a 49ers one. Abba-haba. I don't remember the other team.

So many ones, and they're all good. All right. Finally, moving on. There's a man that we need to get on the line. And here's the thing. I pitched this yesterday. Greg wasn't too excited about it. I said, I love Connor.

I love Connor. He has a lot of insights, a lot of interesting things to say. What if we gave him during the summer, like we were just saying, it's about to be quiet? What gave him a platform? just gets something off his chest. Just, you know, a gripe he has. What's grinding his gears?

Seems right. And Greg didn't seem to have an issue with the title, but the idea, but the title gave him a little bit of pause, but that's what I like the most about it. This is a segment that I'd like to call. Are you kidding me? Come on, Greg. I like the guitar.

I mean, do the listeners even know what Connor's last name is or, which is a key part? They should. Yeah, there's probably some. Now, imagine a graphic when we're on NFL network one day where it's O-R-R and then like a big headshot of Connor. Oh, that's great. Maybe he dots the eye of kidding. So it's, or are you kidding me? And then the guitar.

You keep playing this whole thing where I don't, where I like hate it. I like it. Listen to it again. You ready? Are you kidding me? I thought it was. Because, are you kidding me? It could be, wait, Wes, give it a shot.

Are you kidding me? All right. It reminds me, I said that, it reminds me of like a David Letterman segment title. I think you were hinting that I was biting off Letterman somehow. That's not true. That is exactly what you meant. I was saying it kind of reminded me of like a sec, each one of the Letterman segments will kind of have that kind of wacky, you know. Yeah.

Anyway, so Connor is on the phone, I think. Hey, Connor. I'm just sitting here enjoying. When I envisioned that I was really thinking it was going to be this guitar thing. That's what I heard in my head when you came up with this idea. So this is really exciting. The great ones can anticipate like that. So what I'll do, I'll set you up and I'm sure you have something on your mind.

So, Connor, can you tell us right now what is on your mind? What makes you say, are you kidding me? I think, well, we discussed two things heading into the podcast, but I will say the one relative to football is, I believe it was Chris that brought up today, the Falcons cornerback Truffon, whether he's among the elite cornerbacks in the NFL, and maybe I'm just in June mode,

but I'm kind of just wondering who cares. I mean, outside of quarterback, I don't really see the point in... Connor, please pause for the guitar squeals. Outside of quarterbacks, I don't see the point in debating individual greatness because outside of like four or five players in the league, a lot of people are just a product of the system, you know? Product of the system! What are we, you know, what are we doing here? Like, you know, why would you go into an Algin's training camp and just be like, you know, I'm going to find out who the real elite people are today? Like, what does that do for anybody?

I got it. I feel like that doesn't provide a service, you know? And let's workshop our way through this. At the end of these rants, you should always say the catchphrase. So whenever you're done. I mean, or are you kidding me? You said with such conviction. So you're against what I'm getting,

you're against any rankings of positions other than quarterbacks? Individual eliteness. I mean, other than the quarterback position, Because what's the point? I mean, you know, we're never going to know what Richard Sherman would have been like on the Jaguar. We're never going to know if he would have been the same great player. Even if he was, he wouldn't have gotten the same amount of attention. Connor says Richard Sherman's overrated.

Boom. Exactly what I'm saying. Headlines. All right. Do you got anything else for us? Yeah, you have anything else? What else is getting your girdle here? It's not related to football, but I was a.

I was actually watching, like, a game or something like that recently, and then I turned my attention to Everybody Loves Raymond, that show. I can't believe it was on so long. It's just so stupid. Hey, Romano, stupid. It's terrible show. It's horrible. I had a friend of my – I called my friend, and I asked him if you'd watch the episode

to me to see if I wasn't crazy. But, you know, at some point – Did your friend watch? Why didn't everyone just become a better person? over time like why didn't his wife just learn how to cook and why didn't he just appreciated his wife was too busy nagging him for everything he ever did it seemed like kind of an ancient episode series I never saw I never watched that show because I was under the age of 40 he's now pushing for a mini series it was in that

Greg would never watch that show it was in that horrible 1990s era where every television show and commercial on TV had to have the man look like a complete bumbling idiot who couldn't do anything right because of they realized that women were the only ones watching TV. Wes, this is not your segment, by the way. Listen, Wes is already like, I mean, or you're kidding me with the

Wes is like, I need my hot takes. I know, Wes. It's not even a hot take. It's absolutely true. Look at the male characters on TV in the 90s. This is, or are you kidding me? You hadn't even, this isn't West going on here.

That's something different. I think I think West going on is a strong supplement. Maybe when you're on vacation or something. So anyway, in summation, what you're saying, Connor, is that when you think of Ray Romano, there's one question you have.

Are you kidding me? All right. So that's it. Connor, thank you very much. We'll talk to you next week. Thank you for letting this segment go down in flames and one. No one's listening, so it's good. It was fantastic, Connor.

I've been one over. All right. See, I feel like this is, to bring it back to me. I feel like this is a theme with Greg. Sometimes he underestimates me. I work nicely. What does that have to do with you?

Just like you thought that that wasn't going to work. I thought it worked well. I'm going to continue to mend fences with Dan and say, excellent point. You need to be validated on a daily basis. So what Dan is saying is that Conner's segment is a big credit to Dan. No, no, no. Listen, you...

Well, it's some credit to Dan. All right. Read between the lines, okay. Anyway, but Conner's... Thank you. And I feel like that we keep on the back.

Connor, by the way, also thinks he doesn't understand why anyone like Seinfeld. I was expecting to hear that one from him. Maybe a little later

in the summer we'll hear about that. That is why Connor is the one we picked for this because when you hang out with him for three hours, he'll say something

and you're like, wait a minute, what? And it is a take that is so bizarre and it's coming from someone who's not been on the earth for that

long of a time. He's a young guy. Yeah. Perfect news. He's a bit of an old soul. and documented by the fact that he's 26 years old, he has a mortgage married, and he's watched

every episode of everybody loves He's never had, he's never been a youth. He likes khakis, I feel like that's also. I love Seinfeld, but I can see how when we were growing up, I probably feel the same way, like I didn't watch the Archie Bunker show or whatever that was. I didn't get that humor. I think Seinfeld is

iconic on a different level than that show, but, you know, I see what you're saying. Well, that show when we were growing up was considered the greatest sitcom in history. Yeah. Yes. Generations. Yeah.

Divide. All right. So that's it for the show. That was awkward. Thanks, Jeff Darlington, for coming on, talking about your personal life a little bit. Thank you, Connor, for sharing your thoughts about everything. This is Dan Hansa signing off for...

What's your nickname again? You tell me. Quiet Storm. The Sizzler. The Mailman, the boss, and Sully behind the glass. Three shows next week. So listen. Please.