NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL ATL: Camp surprises & Mike Tannenbaum

Episode Date: July 28, 2014

A room full of heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler -- discuss the latest news from around the NFL including Marshawn Lynch's holdout and more. Then, former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum joins the show to chat about Geno Smith vs. Michael Vick and Johnny Manziel. Lastly, the guys share their early training camp surprises.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 League podcast is comfortable learning under Chad Hedding. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the League podcast. My name is Dan Hansis and I'm joined by room filled with heroes. Chris Wessling, Mark Sessler, and Greg Rosenthal. What up, boys? Hey, Dan. Wow.

Both Greg and Wes did an awkward white guy fistball. I do that stuff all the time. I'm always doing that. But I'm excited, too. I just gave my own white guy fist bump because... You are a factory of jacket! Shut up, D-D. Because Wes is back.

Yes. Back in the house. Give me another, hey, Dan. Hey, Dan. One more I talked over you. Hey, Dan. Yeah. Ow!

What's up? You excited for the season? The fun is over, Wesleyan. I know, you know, you've enjoyed it. You've been in Cincinnati. You ate your share of chili. Football is happening. Turn down for what?

The man is back. How was your trip? It was awesome. I ran into friends that I hadn't seen in eight or nine years, ten years, since I moved from Cincinnati, Georgia, hung out with them, hung out with most of my brothers. My mom had a great time. I am putting the over-under on beers and bibed at 96.

I cannot confirm nor deny. Did you find love? Did I find love? Yes, from my family and my friends. That's good. That matters most. I like that. So Wes is back.

We got the full crew, at least until my wife gives birth, which is going to happen at some point in society. Ego, Hanses. Real quick, I wouldn't say that I'm coming back to drop the hammer on this podcast, which seemed to lack a little discipline on Friday. Wow. What does that mean? The podcast was careening off the rails at least a half dozen times. I don't know. But I do want to say the energy level was among.

Listen to this guy. It was a great show. The strategy level was among the best we've had. So basically you're taking a shot at Kevin Patrick. Yeah. Thank God Wes is back to save the podcast. Look, no one even jumped on your weird owl request for music? Listen, that was their fault.

I don't know. I'm disappointed no one talked about all about the Pentiums, baby. You're upset that we careened off course, but then we didn't go further with weird out of Yankevick. Not enough Yankevick, Wes says, to show structure issues. A little bit of the podcast on the Kevin's. Battle Black after Wesseling's somewhat sleepy performance on the previous podcast. Sleepy? You were basically a corpse laying on an air mattress.

I think it's understandable if you knew what activities I had been up to during the two weeks. Let's stick to the macro viewpoint. This is a, it's great to have you back, Wes. We have a big show today. Mike Tanibon, the former Jets GM, who's also working with NFL Network right now during their Inside Training Camp live show. He will be in studio a little later. We're also going to talk about some early takeaways that we've all had from camp,

things that have jumped out to us. But before that, we're going to check in with a great TD. How are you, buddy? What's going on, guys? How are you doing? Good, good. We're very good. We got the crew back together.

I know. Westing's back here. While I'm on hammer dropping duty, TD on hoops, I don't lace them up for less than 50. Whoa. I like it. Let's do it. Wait, what is that in reference to? A little hoops kit.

Oh, do you have to be paid to play? I would have to pay it to play against TD I like this I like the heat man I like the idea they are haymakers all over the place let's start with some news I just love playing a game of football I'm ready to work

ready to go Who was that Wesleyan Andre Johnson Andre Johnson Oh wow I love that baritone we should have him ripping off some I would buy a soul album by Andre Johnson

I just love playing a game of football I'm ready to work ready to go be a voiceover guy. I like that. Okay, we'll start in San Francisco. Some running back issues have cropped up in quite a speedy manner. Kendall Hunter suffered an ACL tear. This was reported on Saturday by NFL Media Insider Ian Rappaport.

The team later confirmed the injury, likely ending Hunter's season before it began. So you had that at work in, and then you had a little Michael James, who will miss up to one month after dislocating his elbow and being carted off the field. You know, last week we asked Wesleyan when he previewed the NFC West, do you think Marcus Lattimore will make this roster? And there was a crowded backfield at that time. His chances drastically changed. Wesleyan has no recollection of...

I get a very two-sided answer to that question. Well, you covered all bases. I still don't think it has an effect on Lattimore because he just has to be healthy. And I think there's an open question whether he's ever going to be an NFL player. I mean, it's kind of a sad thing to tell him. talk about, but they're not counting on him to be a fact. It'd be great if he was. And the inconvenient truth, Frank Gore has been proving people wrong for years now. But what if this is the year that Frank Gore comes back to Earth and isn't Frank Gore anymore?

All of a sudden, the Niners have an issue of running back, it seems like. Well, they've got Carlers high. That's one of the reasons the 49ers stockpile draft picks. And as many differences as there are between the superpowers like the 49ers and the Seahawks and a team like the Cowboys, this is one that goes over. Look, the Cowboys never have depth because they overpay their own players so heavily that, and they don't draft as well. But really, having depth, look, they have Carlos Hyde ready to go. Right, it's true. Most teams you draft Carlos Hyde, he's going to be your lead running back right away. And now they're just in a spot where whether he's ready or not, he's definitely going to get six, eight, ten carries a game. They're still in great shape at running back.

And they seem to like him. The question is more passing downs, I think. think Frank Gore is going to have to have a bigger share of the passing down works. Hunter was going to do that. Well, Michael James could have done that. He'll be back during the regular season. Don't sleep on Jewel Hampton. Also, we're talking about a team whose fullback was third on the team in targets last year. Yeah, but not that is true, but that was an aberration of wild degree.

They can play more one-back sets with their fullback in there on third downs. And get the fullback off the field. You got all these wide receivers. Stevie Johnson's in town. I mean, guys like Quentin Patton might not even make the team. They should throw the ball this year. I think they will. I think they will, too.

Don't sleep on Jewel Kilcher, the singer-songwriter, making a big comeback. Don't ever sleep. That's Jewel's last name? Yes. Come on, Greg. Oh, give me a break like anyone knows that. I owned a Jewel album. I watched trade in a Jewel CD for...

For House of Pain and Bob Marley's greatest hits. So you became a man, essentially. I came out way on time. The 90s were an embarrassing place. They used to wonder, like, what is the music that I'll be embarrassed to have owned, you know, once when I go, Jewel is the answer. Jewel is the answer. Wow, that is pretty bad. But I also own every live album through 2001.

Yanks. The Green Bay Packers have gotten a deal done with Jordy Nelson. NFL media insider Ian Rappaport broke the news that the team agreed with the receiver to a four-year extension worth $39 million, and that includes $14.2 million in guaranteed money. The team made the signing official later. Nelson, it had been reported, was looking for at least $10 million a year. It looks like he got just about that. And as far as the type of when sizing up his contract with others, he's in the Pierre Garsohn, Victor Cruz, range, which sounds about right. Or maybe a little underpaid.

I don't know. What do you guys think? I think he's better than both of those players, but he belongs in that range. He's not Calvin Johnson-Lay Fitzgerald level. and they signed him to one of the best most team-friendly contracts of the last 10 years on his last contract. I think this one underpays him a little bit, but it gives him the bump that he deserves. I mean, I was making the best wide receiver rankings in Wessling's absence a couple weeks ago. You have to put him as a top 10 wide receiver right now.

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, in Wessling's been pounding the table for Jordie for a long time. He's underrated. The Packers see that? I think I used his first name there. It just felt very like. Close. He's your buddy. Listen, Jordy is a nice guy, as far as I can tell,

from remote televisions. But, you know, Reggie Cobb is the question for me because he's in his contract. Sorry, Randall Cobb is his contract year. Do they sew him up before he gets away? I mean, he's got to be a priority as well. Didn't he just say he doesn't deserve one? He said he does. That felt like lip service to me.

I thought it was nice of him to say that. Yeah, you never hear a player say that. It's like, I've been hurt too much. I don't deserve it yet. And he knows in the back of his mind as long as he has a good season. he's going to get a contract comparable to Jordy Nelson. It's smarter for him to keep quiet about his contract until after the season because he didn't stay healthy last year.

And this year, as long as he stays healthy, he'll have 80 or 90 catches and over 1,000 yards. Well, and Ian Rappaport did mention that... NFL Media Insider. Correct. Ian Rappaport mentioned that they wouldn't even touch that until next off season. And I think betting on himself, that's one guy that could make more money by doing so. Who knows?

The Packers are so good at drafting wide receivers that they always have the next Randall Cobb coming along. You never know. You might have to watch out. Rookie there does well. Jared Boykin has a big season. Maybe they don't pay huge money to come. That's a good point.

Devonte Adams, ready to step up. More extension pop. Kyle Rudolph has signed a five-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings worth $36.5 million. Ian Rappaport. The NFL Media Insider Ian Rappaport also reported out that on Sunday. That puts him in an average of $7.3 million per year in new money, which is fifth highest at his position, is, Kyle Rudolph in that level of production or at that level of tight end?

Well, I think here's what's going on. The Vikings just followed what Yergen Klinzman said that you should do in sports. Wow, back to the World Cup. Pay for future production, not past production. And they fully expect Kyle Rudolph to be a pro bowl player in North Turner's offense, which has seen Jordan Cameron flourish, Antonio Gates, any number of tight ends. Yeah, I would agree with that, Wesleyan. And the other side of that is that you've got Teddy Bridgewater,

who Norv Turner has seemingly fallen in love with earlier than some expected. And Bridgewater, you know, Norv says he can throw any pass on the field, but he's going to use that tight end position a ton. And I think they're sewing them up as a long-term partnership between quarterback and tight-end. It's what good teams do. They keep all their young players that are above average starters. You don't need to be a superstar to get that big money contract. You just need to be better than the average starting player at your position

and be in your mid-20s, and smart teams always lock those guys up. Pro Bowl MVP, Kyle Rudolph. Right. But he wouldn't have got in that game without 15 injuries and people didn't want to go to wherever. You can't. You never take that away from him.

Also, now perhaps the wealthiest person to ever graduate from my high school. Oh, Kyle Ruda. Wow. From Elder High School in Cincinnati. Good for him. Congrats. Elder. Moving on to other issues in backfields across

the NFL. Vic Ballard suffered a torn Achilles tendon in practice on Friday. The running back, you know, all that certainly ends his season. That was first reported by Chris Mortensen of ESPN. And now the Indianapolis Colts are in a potentially tricky situation.

Trent Richardson was in line to be the starter, but he is Trent Richardson. You have Ahmad Bradshaw who's had injury issues. They just cut Chris Rainey for some type of discipline issue. And Daniel Haran, Heron. Boom, Heron.

Boom, Harold. So you have those, that's not a scintillating depth chart behind Richardson, and now you take up Ballard, who could have really been a player for them. And oh, by the way, Trent Richardson is out of practice because he has a nagging hamstring injury early in training camp. Shocker. Just something to watch. Their counting on a mild Bradshot too much would be my big takeaway,

because you have no idea what Richardson is going to be like, and you really need Bradshaw to be a valuable player for them now. And it's a team that they show no interest in resigning. Donald Brown, which is fine, except that I would say Andrew Luck might have been your most secure short-yardage runner at the end of last year. It's a weird team. Too many ifs in that backfield. I feel bad for Ballard, too. He just seems like a likable guy. Remember that play he made? He was a nice story as a rookie that jumping through the air for the touchdown to end the game. One of the better plays the last five years or so. And, you know, he tears his ACL and he's in his second

practice back and he tears his Achilles. Here's another person to feel sorry for. Carl Nix is frustrating running with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is over. This happened on Friday after our last podcast. The team announced that they have, quote, mutually agreed to part ways with each other. Nix, of course, was a big free agent signing a couple of years back with the Bucks after having some really nice success with the Saints. Came down with a toe infection that turned into a MRSA infection situation where, you know, there was questions about, you know, if he'll keep the toe or if he'll ever be able to be healthy on the toe again.

and now it seems like he might not ever be healthy. And he said in a statement released by the team, he's stepping away from football. We don't know if that means retirement, but it could mean that. Nix, out of Tampa. That was a first team all pro. Not a pro bowler,

not some Kyle Rudolph that, you know, sort of snuck into the game. He was considered one of the very best guards in football, and he was paid like it, and Bucks got virtually nothing out of that. contract, it's a tough situation and have to go down as one of the worst contracts of the last five years or so, just because

of the injury. It's a team that dumped a lot of free agent money into their offensive line when Shiana was there. Their line is completely different at this point, and I especially feel for TD, who as a fellow Mercer suffer knows exactly what Carl Nix has gone through. Yeah. On a very special around the league

podcast, TD breaks down his staff infection issues. Guys, you know, I wasn't paying attention. Hey, Lee. Keep it real. I respect that. Finally, a couple holdout related things from before the weekend, Andre Johnson. His standoff of the Texans came to a close.

He reported to the team of camp and then told reporters, I just love playing the game of football. But Andre Johnson would set it in a deep baritone that would get the ladies all excited. So he's there. On the other hand, Marshawn Lynch, as we know, not at Seattle Seahawks camp. Beast Mode told former teammate Michael Robinson actually happened live on NFL

Network that he would not be attending camp. He wants a new deal. He feels like he's underpaid. Gentlemen, I guess Lynch is the one that jumps out because of how much he means to that team. A, any way he gets paid and gets what he wants. B, if he doesn't, is this

a situation where the Beast Mode could be missing for a while knowing that he's kind of an interesting character? I don't think anybody can predict what Marchion Lynch is going to do. I could see this going in a lot of ways, and I just feel like the word retirement will come back up over the next month. And I probably won't put too much stock into it, but you just feel like this is going to have some ups and downs. I was just about to say, wouldn't be shocked if one of us somewhere out of nowhere had to write a retirement post for Marshawn Lynch. He's totally

unpredictable. And the Seahawks have come out strongly and made the statements that Lynch is not going to get more money, which you don't see this. I mean, they haven't said it directly, but John Schneider said he should be here. Pete Carroll said we're disappointed. He's not there. It's a contract for a reason. We expect it to be. Carol, even getting a little heat from within the team, Doug Baldwin, sending out a

tweet saying that he was, you know, he didn't buy this. We signed a contract for a reason. I don't buy it either. It's kind of stupid in the NFL when teams can just cut players at any time. Maybe Doug Baldwin should pipe down. He's not the GM. Well, he actually. If he wants to get paid, Marshaun Lynch is going to take some of the, well, he already

got paid, but it's not his business. He needs to pipe down about that. If Marshawn Lynch gets a more slice of the pie, then there's less left for other guys. I think it's a little bit if we found out one of us was suddenly getting, in the eyes of the crew, in the locker room getting disrespected by the team, you'd stick up for each other. I don't think he's getting disrespected. He got rewarded when no one else wanted him. The Seattle Seahawks traded for him, installed him as a starter, was patient when he had 19

straight games of doing nothing, and then paid him. He paid him, and then he had a DUI, and it's two years into that four-year contract. And something about that kind of rubs me like, hey, buddy, like, I don't know if you're the guy to be asking for the big raise. Baldwin was savvy, though. He didn't mention Carol by name. It was clear he was talking about what Carol said, but he didn't mention it, and it was in a tweet. And, Chris, I've learned that's what's called a sub-tweet. Yes, it is.

Thanks to Goose Gustafson for that one. A sub-tweet, you know, when you're kind of calling someone out, but you don't say him by name. You don't put the at mention. It's kind of obvious, you know, you're talking about someone, but you're not going to throw their name. Greg, I've always viewed you as. Subliminal heat, you know? Passive aggressive, really. You got to roll.

I think it's kind of BS. Adam and dabham, you know? Adam would dabble. I've always thought of Greg is kind of a cool dad, and it's just reinforced here with his knowledge of sub-tweets. I heard some whispers last week in the office that Lynch, who has been home, you know, for much of the off-season, took a look at our Kristen Michael making the lead piece. and suddenly was over. He was cowed by what was wrong. His Soma certainly is not true, but I like the thought.

It's a legitimate possibility that the Seahawks are gearing up to cut Marshall and Lynch next offseason. Wow. He's got a lot of tread under his tires and is one of the most physical, violent runners in the league. And he'll be 30 soon. One on us! All right, so that's what's happening, gentlemen. That was good news. A lot of nuggets.

That's how it's going to be all throughout the summer. There's a lot of heat going on in the NFL these days. Starting Sunday, we've got a football game, and we don't have a weekend without one until February. So say goodbye to your families, say goodbye to your wives and children, say goodbye to everyone you've ever met. And that's what's happening. All right, gentlemen, we have a very special guest in the studio right now. He's now former general manager of the New York Jets. Now he's on the other side of the table.

He's a successful agent for priority sports. Right now he's working with NFL Network, Mr. T. Mike Tannibon. Hey, guys. How are you? What's up? Welcome. It's an honor. Have you here. We hear, you know, that you're a somewhat regular listener of the podcast. I would say so. I would say more sporadic than regular. I have room for approval. But the truth is, and if you look at Mr. Tannerbaum's phone, our podcast is the only football podcast.

Yes or no, Mike. Yes. Bang. Very wise. That's huge. Bang. So we got a lot to get into because having a former GM in here, a guy that knows this stuff, this is a privilege for the ATL podcast. I know my stuff.

Don't you read NFL.com? Who says I know my stuff? We've moved past that era. We're moving phone. I wish you were a liar. But no, I guess off that, right off the bat, I'm curious, as somebody who spent so much time with the Jets, and now you're on the other side in the media

talking about the Jets, and obviously people ask you about the Jets all the time, is it difficult for you to be objective or not to look at everything the Jets do and just be so close to it that you can't really, you know, get into it. Yeah, I don't know if you guys, though, Peter Gammon's, you know, the longtime baseball writer, when he had his induction ceremony into Cooperstown, he had a great line. He said that, you know, as a professional, he had to tolerate everybody because that was his job. But as a human being, he had the right to, like, you know, some people more than others.

And I think there's a lot of wisdom in that statement. And, you know, at the jets, there's a lot of people that I spilled a lot of blood with that I carried deeply for and I continue to root for, you know, as they acclimate more and more new players into that organization, it becomes just another team. But there's still so many people there that I care deeply for. They're tough to talk about Rex. I mean, when you're talking about strategy and everything, they're asking questions, put you on the spot. Yeah, I mean, Rex, gosh, first of all, all those stories, they're all true. But he's a special guy. We had a great run. We're still good friends. And when I'm doing stuff on the media and NFL network, it's, look, I'm going to

go by what we see. And it's been more good than bad. And, you know, I thought did a good job this offseason. Greg, in terms of shoring up some of these areas they needed to. We'll see how it pans out. I was actually curious. You were on NFL network last week, and you mentioned that you could foresee Rex being tempted to use Mike Vic, even if Gino Smith is the starter. Obviously, you were there when Tebow was there, and the Jets tried that. It didn't work out. But you think the team would still want to do that, or would they be scared off by what happened with Tebow? Well, if you go back, even the former iteration from that was Brad Smith. And we had a lot of success with Brad. And the thinking is very simplistic where if the ball's in the hands of the

quarterback, it's a lot harder to defend. And if they have a 10-15 play package, which we did with Brad and we did effectively, it could put a lot of pressure on the defense. And if you go back to our 2009 and 10 teams, we had a lot of success there. And from a pure football standpoint, that was our thinking with Tim Tebow. He'd come in, give us those 15, 20 snaps a game, change of pace, give the opposing defensive coordinators other things to worry about. But obviously, you know, that was a decision that it didn't work out. And he brought so many eyeballs to the discussion that it kind of skewed the football decision, which was a fourth round pick in $2 million.

With that said, I think a guy like Michael Vick, you know, the temperature is way down from where it was with, you know, Tebow, maybe more akin to where it was with Brad Smith. And it's just another weapon. That's not to say you're going to use it week in and week out guys. But, you know, you have three, three and out. You need a change of pace. He could come in, make a couple plays, and that can energize the whole team. Did that get to you at all that when you're making a Tebow move,

that it's getting noticed from people at the highest levels of the country. You were telling us a little story, Barack Obama gave you a little grief for that. Yeah, yeah, he was one of many, you know, so I was floored. You know, two years before that, we traded for Brett Farve, and I'm thinking like Brett Farve, New York, championship games, we've kind of seen it all. But the interesting thing about Tim, and he's a great person, everybody has a strong opinion about Tim Tebow. Some love him, some don't, you know, as he is as a person.

Look, I'm privileged to be a father. love the way that he turned out as a human being. I hope my children take a lot of the life lessons that Tim brings to the table on the philanthropy that he so strongly believes in. With that said, Greg, I was shocked. I knew what we were getting into, but to the level, you know, even surprised us. Obama? You didn't take a shot back at Obama. No, but surprisingly, neither did Rex.

What about now you have, the Jets, have Gino Smith in there, and it's so important, I think, to nurture a young quarterback and give him that confidence to feel like he's the guy. And the Jets over the years, they had a tough time with, we're going to have one quarterback and let me no further discussion about who's going to start. And then you do bring in Vic, and you talked a little bit about that, but is it the best thing for Gino to have a guy like Michael Vic breathing down your neck? I do because it's competition.

You know, in the NFL, you either produce or you don't. If he's worried about Michael Vic, they got the wrong quarterback. There's going to be the different version of Michael Vic all the time. And if you're worried about that, then he doesn't have the right makeup. another guy that you worked with closely over the years Mike Patton obviously suddenly goes from being in the shadows behind Rex Ryan to thrust into the spotlight

probably because of the quarterback they just drafted what can you tell us about Patton that we don't already know you know with Mike it's really what you see is what you get and I think he'll embody that division really well you know he came from the Ravens before he was with the Jets obviously had a good year in Buffalo and they're going to be a tough hard-nosed team they'll be a tough out you know that the question I have on Mansell at the end of

in that division, is he built to last? You know, you look at what Kyle Shanahan did with RG3. One year, they went to the playoffs. Next year, RG3 gets hurt. So the question is, when Mansell gets in there, we all know eventually he will, you know, is he built to the last? And that's going to be the question they're going to have to answer to have success there. I like a lot of their other pieces.

Four out of the five offensive linemen were drafted in the first or second round. That's assuming that Betonio from Nevada, their second round pick starts. So I think they have a lot of talent there. And look defensively, now that they added Pierre Deser in the fourth round, along with Justin Gilbert and Joe Hayden, they're going to have depth of corner, so they have a lot of good pieces. Would you have been spooked as a GM to take Mansell,

considering all the off-the-field stuff, and their durability issues? Yeah, you know, for me, it would be more of a football decision. If you're worried about all the noise, especially in the New York market, and obviously, you know, Jerry Reese can talk to this as well,

you're not going to make any moves. You know, if you're worried about the criticism and what other people are going to think, you're in the wrong line of business. Now, with that said, like, you know, you don't wake up every morning and say, wow, who's ripping, you know, my butt today. No one likes that.

You know, that's, when you want the privilege of the job and you want the fame and the adulation and everything that goes with it, there's going to be some negatives. And if you don't embrace it, it's not for you. But rippings are the worst. Yeah. I have found. I know you haven't been listening to the show as regularly as we would like and as you would like, I'm sure. But we have had a running bit where Chris Wessling, one of our writers who's here with us today, he will eat his softball pants if Brian Hoyer is the weak one starter. Now, he made that prediction back in May, and it, you know, kind of made sense.

Now we're here in the cold light of training camp. You've been watching them each day. You know, you know how Mike Patton works? Like, how comfortable should we be that Wesleyan's not going to die after eating some softball? Yeah, I would get a knife and fork and start ready to cut those pants up. I'm betting on Hoyer for a lot of reasons. Look at the first three weeks, you know, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Baltimore, they got a buy week. And really, from an organizational standpoint, if you think about it, you're so much better off starting with Hoyer

and taking Mansell off the bench, the inverse of that is if Johnny comes out and stumbles against those first three really good defenses, it's going to be a lot harder for him to earn the trust and confidence of those teammates. So it's really low-hanging fruit in terms of who should start in terms of Hoyer. Also, you want to make sure Manzell earns it from making sure he knows all his assignments, mental errors, and the last thing Mike Patton's going to do is make it easy on Johnny Manzell. So I'm curious also, your name started popping up outside the NFL, moved into sports agent work.

We mentioned priority sports. Steve Kerr signed a big contract with the Golden State Warriors, $25 million. Huba, Huba. David Blatt just signed the deal to coach the Cavas, which is probably the best job in America other than being on the ATL podcast, I'd say. You have carved out very quickly a nice niche in that business. Yeah, thank you.

I'm just fortunate to be around a lot of good people. And I was fortunate to, you know, be able to work with Steve Kerr through the relationships of priority sports. And Steve's a good coach and a better human being. And David Blatt's a guy that grew up 10 minutes away from me in Framingham, Massachusetts. You know, neither one of us were privileged enough to be from Wilberham. But despite that, we've turned out okay. Wow. And let me just add that.

Greg Roosevelt from Wilberham. Wilburham. See, Mike knows it. And you don't know. We worked next to each other for two years. And he, Mike Tannenbaum, you know, we have. talked over the years a little bit. He's one of those guys. I guess that's how you get to that spot. I'm not one of those guys. That has a steel trap mine. Every person that he meets, he remembers

some little thing about them or where are they from. And yes, Wilbraham, the home of Friendly's ice cream. And we worked out something that Mike is actually going to be paid in fribbles for this appearance. And if not, I'm going to marchion and lynch this podcast and walk in a way. Wait, what is a frivol is? You don't know what a frivol is? No. Come on. Basically like a milkshake. It's a world-class. It's a world-class milkshake. It's special flavoring involved, yeah. So how are you going to get this to my? I used to be a waiter.

Well, he'll be here. We'll have it shipped in. Only the best. Greg's going to be fribal procurement business. Oh, really? That's good. That's good. Very special.

So, yeah, so are you, is this like kind of your new career now? You can do the agent? You're going to be a TV guy? Or do you have any, like, urge to get back into a front office? You know, I've been fortunate. I've always lived my life by one saying, choose a job you love, and you never work a day in your life. And I've been able to do a lot of great things. So I really enjoy the agent.

It's been a fulfillment and really helped some quality people, some notable like Blatt and Kerr, but a lot of guys under the radar. So we'll see what the future holds, and it's been a great run. Let me ask you, one, let's go back to the Jets for one minute. Santonio Holmes, a guy that it's hard for me to figure out on some level with a couple of teams really needing wide receiver help. Why can he not get a job right now? Well, you know, for a number of reasons.

First of all, he helped us win a lot of games there. But I think you'll see a number of veterans maybe signed later in camp, depending on injuries. We've unfortunately seen a lot of run at, you know, the running backs in terms of guys getting hurt from Kendall Hunter to Vic Ballard. And so you'll see maybe one or two veteran running back signed, I would think, in the next couple weeks. And then there'll be another group of guys that'll sign after opening day when their salaries won't become guaranteed. But I would think San Antonio will play in the league this year. But if he wasn't a knucklehead, someone would have signed him, right? I mean, how talented is he?

We read Collision Low Crossers. I'm just saying, is that the reason why he's not on a team? You know, Greg, I can't opine with the 32 decisions. You were there. You were there with him. No, look, he's a complicated guy, but I like Santoneo. He did a lot of good things, and I think he'll find a home. Complicated.

I like that. Mr. Tannenbaum has more work to do with NFL Network. He took some time out to spend it with us. We appreciate it. Best of luck with everything. I would like you to be my agent in the future, if possible. All right. Hey, guys, I really appreciate it.

You know what's great? Just being around the three of you and listen to. It's obviously you like each other. You love football, and you guys do a really good job. Yeah, thanks very much. All right. Thanks a lot, Mike Tanibum. by the way it has to be kind of a weird thing when the president is talking about you like in general like you as a human being you're at another level of just people being in the spotlight it had to be tough to be at that level certainly especially when the tbo thing is going on awesome but not in that situation it wasn't in a good way everyone kind of kind of happened when tibo is there which may be rightfully so but when you got obama calling you out yeah right i guess

Mike told us the story before he went on just that basically Obama made a comment like what are the Jets thinking and he had to keep his mouth shut on that. Got to have blind or something. All right, so hopefully we'll get Mike back in there. Back in the studio, he's a good guy.

It's good to have a former GM in the room. Before we get out of here, we wanted to talk about as we move closer to the regular season, everybody's in camp now, getting ready for 2014, go around the table and talk about some takeaways or surprises, things that we've seen from training camp to this point that have jumped out at you. So I figure let's do it right now. We'll start with the man who's fresh back from Sincey.

He's got a glorious wrestling. What do you think, buddy? Well, Mike Tannenbaum just set it up for me. The biggest surprise, Brian Hoyer, except the Cleveland Browns. The Browns haven't said that Hoyer is a starter, but conventional wisdom on all the fantasy sites, on Twitter, from Mike Tannenbaum, from everybody in the media, Brian Hoarder is going to be under center in week one,

and it's shocking to me that people have such short memories. Four years ago, Cam Newton came into training camp behind Jimmy Clauseon. Ron Rivera said, look, we hope to get some packages where we put Cam Newton on the field behind Jimmy Cawson. We know that at some point the season we're going to be using both quarterbacks. Cam Newton beat him out. And not because he played well, because they just realized he's. he's the better player.

Well, the important distinction, at least, is that by all accounts, it is a competition in terms of the coaches and the way they're going to analyze these two players. They've never veered away from that. In fact, they were ripped initially for saying it would be a competition, and they've stuck to their guns. So at least they have that. I think that all this squawking about Brian Hoyer being the guy will melt away very, very quickly.

The competition hasn't really even begun. But it has. The training camp, these practices, matter. I don't think so in any way. I don't think so in any way. We haven't seen Johnny Mansell, who is one of the – Listen, he does routine things well. What he also does, though, on the field is something that Brian Hoyer's never done,

and no one that's played quarterback for the Browns has done since they've come back in 99. Until two days ago, Brian Hoyer had never done more than face seven on seven since he got in a new offense and repaired his knee. Let me kind of go halfway on the issue a little bit because, Wes, while you're right, and what you're saying makes sense, too, Mark, that this is far from over, there are enough signs to see that Brian Hoyer is in good position to potentially win this job. It is no longer absurd to think. And I know, Wes, when we talked about it heading towards training camp, a major point for you was he had this major knee injuries coming back from.

That seems not to be an issue at all. He hasn't faced contact yet. Yeah, but what I mean... A knee issue doesn't mean anything when nobody's hitting you. But he's not going to, except for a couple quarters in the preseason. Right, and he could turn out to be an abject disaster because his knee's not ready. All we can base it on is what we're hearing right now and how the reps are being broken down. And Hoyer...

Between happening in New York, Michael Vicks getting a certain percentage of the first team reps. Right now, Mansell is getting the second team reps. That's what Cam Newton was doing. Is getting the first team reps. And that will change. It'll change in a week. The things that I'd be worried about if I were you, Wes, are the reports that Mansell hasn't looked great in practice, that he maybe regressed a little bit in the off season,

that there is a legitimate concern with some work ethic issues. And with all of that mixed in, if he's struggling a little bit in camp, they're not going to look for another excuse to keep him on the bench for the first few weeks. It's not about Manzell becoming the guy. Of course he's going to become the guy. It's just week one that we're talking about.

Again, a week and a half into August, people were saying the exact same things about Cam Newton. Not looking good in practice. Number one overall pick. Lost practice time because of the lockout. It's different, though. How is Cam Newton? same situation as Johnny Manzell.

What do you mean? How are they? A number one overall pick. They were both first round picks. They both came into camp behind a very underwhelming guy who had the... Jimmy Clausen had more starts under his belt than Brian Hoyer. And they hated him, though. Well, what question for you, Wes, just when you look around the league, do you feel

the same level of outrage that Chad Hennie is the unquestioned starter in Jacksonville or that, you know, Matt Castle is being talking about as a guy that you put in the bridge? Why not let Mansell sit and learn a little bit? The Jaguars came out and said Blake Bordels will not play. The Browns did not do that. But if this competition is won in their eyes, fair and square by Hoyer, I have no problem with that. I have a problem with the conventional wisdom that Hoyer already has the job lucked up.

Look, he's just the favorite. Here's what practices are for. Mental reps. Games are for physical ability. No one's saying it's over. You're getting antsy because you can taste that. Let's cut through the malarca here. You're a little nervous.

About eating those softball pants. If I was nervous, I wouldn't be so vocal about this. How confident are you that you're not going to eat softball pants, percentage-wise? 85%. That's down, though. Look, this is, for me, it's about everybody acting like practice means more than games. It doesn't. When you say everybody, but he's only going to have one, he's only going to have two games

because they're going to start the, they're going to decide after the second game. He's not starting the first game. Right. So maybe he gets one start, maybe it gets one card. Maybe it does all come down to that. but otherwise the tie is going to go to Hoyer. Final word to West. It always comes down to the preseason games.

Always. Agreed. Greg, your early camp takeaway. I like that heat. That's why West is back in the building. One quote that stuck out with me on Sunday when I was at home more than the rest was an interview with Sam Bradford that he had with Kurt Warner on NFL Network where they asked him what Kenny Britt, how he's looked so far in training camp. And Bradford's quote was, Kenny Brits really brought. brought a lot of veteran leadership that I think that room needed.

It's been missing in the past. Kenny Brits brought it to the table. If Kenny Britt is bringing your veteran leadership, you got some serious problems. Well, and that Rams receiving group, they have something like eight players picked in the top four rounds over the last three or four years. They've done everything they can to stock. Who is the leader? You don't have a single guy that isn't a total milk toast pass catcher on the Rams. Kevin Austin has potential.

It's kind of like he's not a leader. I would love to be a fly in the wall when the Tennessee Titans coaching staff first sees that quote about Kenny Britt being the leader of the Rams wider senior player. They got a laugh. It's like when the Patriots brought in Randy Moss, you know, just Britt's going to change

the whole situation. Wow. He is starting, though, at least in practices, and that does strike me as interesting. I want to watch him and see how that goes. Right now, it sounds like Brian Quick and Kenny Britt are lining up as the first game. It's hard to beat out, Austin Petit. It was also interested to see.

quick as a starter. You got, you know, it's, I want to watch it. Look at the ATL team quickly distancing themselves from Givens, who was, I believe, a making the leap candidate in 2013. I think in the end I'd take them over quick or Brit. Well, if that's what we're comparing. They're all borderline number two receivers at best. Mark, your takeaway.

What stood out for me, and this is a good development in Minnesota, who, you know, it's going to be tough in that division for them to succeed. But I like the way that they're open to the idea. of Teddy Bridgewater taking over sooner than later. You know, Jay Glazer was there and said that there is, in quotes, just huge optimism about what they've seen early on. And the question for me was whether Bridgewater and Norv Turner would be, despite all the pretty words, a really good marriage.

But it was Turner when Bridgewater had that awful pro flower, where he saw some of the issues as receiver issues on that pro day. And he obviously, Bridgewater wasn't wearing the infamous glove. He brought him around. He worked with him. He liked what he saw. and he feels like he can run his offense well. And Matt Castle, this whole thing of a bridge quarterback

that we talk about for months and months, utter nonsense, just like it will be with Mansell. Or frankly, I don't even think this holds true with Bortles necessarily. Any one of these guys are going to be on the field waste. Why you take a quarterback in the first round. I would be disappointed if the Vikings, because I thought they had a nice plan in place. They brought Castle back.

I thought it was making sense. Let's instead of rushing every rookie quarterback into the lineup like has happened the last few years. Put Castle in there a bit, wait until Bridgewater is comfortable. Bring them in by October 1st. It's okay. We don't need to rush these guys. I think the only reason Bridgewater should be started week one is if they are absolutely positive,

he can handle the playbook and can do the job. But if they have any reservations, put Castle. July, and we're talking about let's be patient and do things around week six or seven. When you're a coach and your team is one and four, the hair is on fire. The organization is under duress. long. I would say... Well, what's October? Yeah. What's the difference? Yeah. I'm saying I think... It's up to

Bridgewater. If he deserves to start and he's that good, you just start it. In too many cases, I feel like these rookies just have been put in, whether they were ready or not, because they invested so much in them. That became the new thing to do in the NFL. And then, and then Cam Newton has the best rookie season ever. Then RG3 has the best rookie season ever. Then Andrew Luck plays

great. Then Russell Wilson plays awesome. I mean, Dan's point is well taken, though. You can name a lot of other guys that didn't work. Right. Right. But that's what I'm saying. If you're ready, you're ready. Whether there's a good year or bad year for quarterbacks, a bunch get drafted in the first round, and Dan's points well taken, that only a handful of them real shoved on the field. Blaine Gabbard got pushed on the field, and three stray coaches went down because of him. I mean, I think, though, Bridgewater, what they're saying is a little bit different.

It's fair to say he's changed their thinking, because they weren't planning on him probably splitting the reps this early, but he's been so good. You've got to let him play. He's the guy. And for the record, I remember the golden days when a pro-day performance meant about as much as off-season quarterback competition performance and practice. they mean nothing okay finally

this one with the Jets they seem to be back to being the Jets a little bit and I'm not necessarily excited about this as a fan but after last year we remember they went into last season I think ESPN ranked them as the number 32 team in the NFL everyone thought they were going to win three or four games

they ended up win it in eight games and I think now with a couple of signings and picking up a big time safety in the draft they're back to being the Bragadocious Jets or as Sessler called it in his post the latest installment in the Gangrene Braggart trilogy. Gino Smith declares he's about to be a top five quarterback, which is outrageous. D. Milner shrugs off his uneven first year and says that he is the best quarterback in the NFL.

He seriously said that. And then pass rusher Calvin Pace said that the Jets defense tells the New York Daily News that the Jets defense will overtake Seattle's as the NFL. Finest, and I will read off the quote, compared to the rest of the defenses in the NFL, man, we're the best. No, I'll just say that I'm more excited about this season than last season, and they overperform last season. But I would like it if the Jets just, you know, be a regular team.

You don't need to be, you don't need to do this right now. I don't think they can help it. You forgot about the prequel. Rex Ryan started camp by saying he's a great coach and the Patriots better be worried about us. Oh, I forgot about that, yeah. He's setting the tone. I wish that we had a video that could just show Chris Wesleyan's look of disgust that he's

had for the last minute. Look, I have five younger brothers, and this is what younger brothers do. They mouth off. The Patriots are sitting there laugh at him. Tom Brady never says he's the best. Rob Gronkowski never says he's the best tight end. Bill Belchick never says he's the best coach. Revis doesn't say he's the best corner.

You know why? Because they actually are. They don't have to prove it. It's funny how little success the Jets need to be back to thinking that they're the best. winning eight games has been the equivalent of them viewing themselves as AFC contenders. I think part of it. I mean, in Gino, to be fair to Gino, he was told about that ESPN poll where he was sitting at number 32. And would you want your quarterback to say, well, you know what?

Listen, I think I'm probably around 22. And that's a good. And that's where I'll be. I mean, he's just doing athletes speak. It's a good point, too. Because you see yourself as a god on top of a mountaintop. The media now it's part of covering the Jets to ask these type of questions and sometimes they lead into comments like this. But at the end of the day, they're still saying it.

And maybe I feel like, obviously, that's highly... The demil and no one was especially... That was obnoxious. You ask me if I have a God complex? Let me tell you something. I am God. I mean, number one cornerback, though, that's where it's like, you don't you realize... If he gets to the point where he can start covering Clyde Gates, they're going to be in good shape.

He confirmed by Clydez this weekend. That's right, like, 15 minutes after this thing blew up, Rich Samini from ESPN tweeted, you know, like clockwork, Clyde Gates burned. earns Milner for a 15-yard touchdown. It's all in the wording, because to be a cornerback in the NFL, you have to play with a high level of confidence and swagger. But you have to watch how you say things. Come on, Jets. Get it together.

All right, guys, that's it for today's edition of the Around the League podcast. Welcome back, West. It's great to have you back in the fold. Great to be back. I'm excited about football. Yes, we all are. We're very excited. We will be back on Wednesday to talk more football because that's what we do.

We talk mostly about football, a little bit of weird owl, and you just sprinkle in things like that. So we'll be back Wednesday. Until then, this is Dan Hansa, signing off for the sizzler, the mailman, the boss, and Tate. I just love playing a game of football. Nice. Thank you.