NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL ATL: Greg Hardy interview

Episode Date: January 15, 2014

A room full of heroes -- Gregg Rosenthal, Dan Hanzus, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler -- welcome Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy to the studio, play a game of “What’s more likely?” ahead of the conference championships and get you caught up on the latest headlines from around the league.  Join the conversation on Twitter: @NFL_ATL or #NFLATL.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. Wonders what Dan Deirdorf is doing right now. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the League podcast. My name is Dan Hansen and I'm joined by a room filled with heroes. Chris Wessling, Mark Sessler, and Greg Rosenthal. What up, boys. Hey, Dan.

How you doing? Welcome back, Mark. We missed you on Sunday. I had like five people I-M-me like within five minutes of each other this morning how sick were you

were you sick I wasn't sick that's what we were told you were under the weather I was fine I had started my day at three in the morning so I was under the covers

what did you think about Sunday's podcast I thought it was well-crafted good opinions Mark's never listened to the ATL podcast Mark doesn't listen

to the shows that's fine I'll get to it it's a little weird even to listen to the shows you are on although I've done that here with this podcast.

It's hard to listen to yourself. I listen to every show and then take detailed notes about my own performance. Wes, thank you for coming in on your off day. You told me last night that you were potentially planning some type of journey outside or outdoors. I was planning on hiking Escondido Falls in Malibu. I don't like the sound of this. This is like the making of a bestseller by John Crackauer. It's like a deliverance type of situation.

Well, that, I mean, that would be a worst-case scenario. But why don't you just hit the hot tub, grab a wine cooler, turn up some Winwood, relax. I don't listen to Steve Winwood in my hot tub. Malibu, what are you going to, like, tumble off a clip into an upscale restaurant? It's not exactly the wilderness. What's funny is, you know, it's the 21st century. So, of course, I read online reviews of my hike. And that's kind of what the review was.

there is potential of tumbling off the side of a cliff, but there's also people talking about like the first quarter of the walk is through like mansion-filled neighborhoods. Is there, Greg, in Wes's contract, is there something language like in the NFL where you can't have a motorcycle? Can he go climb like a steep mountainside? I like it. Wes is embracing the West Coast.

It's like, you know, we're hanging out at pools and barbecuing on Christmas. We're going for hikes. I want to keep Wes on the West Coast, go back so this is good we also want to keep them alive that's my biggest concern yet you wanted me to eat softball pants that's true so many contradictions there were many contradictions uh all right before we move on obviously this is uh we're getting day by day closer to one of the great championship weekends ever uh with the broncos and patriots and then the seahawks and niners uh we had talked about colin kappernick who's emerging as a major figure um because of uh you know

some of the his behavior with cam newton got some feedback on twitter um first some good feedback on twitter uh this is from amar abulgamag that's definitely not how you pronounce it uh he he tweeted when is the new pod going to be available it's 4 a m here in egypt should i wait or listen tomorrow that's loyal fandom wow and west if you this hypothetical map if you ever buy it egypt is a great spot off season offseason project yeah and then uh some negative tweets toward us as well. If Colin Kaepernick is this close to annoying you, I said that on this podcast Sunday,

why don't you just ignore him? It's not like he seeks you out. Hashtag common sense, whatever, dude. And then at NFL, ATL, you guys can't give any credit to the Niners. Sick. F*** the Seahawks and your podcast sucks. At Greg Rosenthal, at Chris Wessling, at Dan Hansis, at Mark Sessler.

I like that we have a presence in the Middle East. Wait. It's good feedback. Didn't. Greg say that that was the most impressive performance by any team last week, the 49ers game? That's true. We did get a lot of tweets from 49ers fans saying we were harsh about them, which I guess was about the Kaepernick thing.

I think it was all Kaepernick-driven, but if they actually listened to the show, they would hear that everyone's completely, we all respect the Niners and feel they are a very real threat to win this whole thing. So I just, I don't appreciate the negativity. Coming on here. No, I just, I mean... No, from myself. Okay, well, you'd let it go.

Look, people, your mother's raised you to be well-rounded human beings, not drolling, obsessed, fam-boy lunatics. It's time to either read some throw and go out to the desert or the wilderness, do some self-reflection, or just step away from football for a while. Hiking the richest part of Southern California. Because you've lost perspective as a human being. All right, that's it. Well, sometimes these people are like 14 years old, by the way. That is usually the answer to the question. It's like they don't have a car, they don't have friends, they're obsessed with football.

I think we've all been there. Well, now that we've alienated our entire listener. We've kept the ones we want. Hey, and I stuck up for Cabernet. I said you guys, you know, he's like the Steve Smith of quarterbacks. I like a little saltiness. So, you know, we're a balanced news program. And if you do hate on us, that's fine, as long as you vote for us for the stitches.

We are balanced, but we're not fair. But Wes called them the hottest team in the NFC. It's context collapsed. They see a headline they don't read the full. story and the most complete team in the NFL all right we obviously we're going to be getting into these games all week uh this week or this podcast we will be interviewing uh gregg hardy the carolina panthers star who obviously is no longer in the dance but he is a atl favorite mark and i will be speaking with him a little later in the show uh we're also going to play a new

game uh called what's more likely today wow get excited for that but first we will start with the headlines. Doesn't have the same pizzazz as the K-Ritch theme. It sounds like Morley Safer is coming on or something. Nothing against the gold standard behind the glass. Not taken. All right, headlines. Jim Caldwell will replace Jim Schwartz as the next Detroit Lions head coach.

That became official on Tuesday. Caldwell, of course, previously spent, what was it, three seasons? Three seasons. with the Indianapolis Colts, and now he gets a second shot with the Lions, who, of course, were spurned by Ken Wisenhunt a day earlier. Wisenhunt took the job in Tennessee. Thoughts? There's a lot of white noise in the analysis here.

How do we figure out who Jim Caldwell is? Like, he took the Colts to the Super Bowl, or unless you want to look at it, Peyton Manning took the Colts to the Super Bowl, and then they completely collapsed after Peyton Manning sat out a year. He turned the Raven season around, had the best game of, was at the helm for the best stretch of Flacko's career

and then they finished 29th in total offense this year. Who is Jim Caldwell? That's a great question. It's perfectly said. I can't add much to that. Do the lines even know who he is because he obviously wasn't even their first choice? I mean, how much did they have to talk themselves into this?

You're not hiring Jim Caldwell because he's an offensive genius or strategist. You know, the more, I know about the NFL and have followed it, the more I think the head coach position is not all about X's and O's. That's only a tiny part of it. And I think they're hiring Jim Caldwell to be a leader of men, a leader of the franchise, someone to represent them, someone that can bring in a good staff that's been in the league a long time and set the right people in place. And oh, by the way, is really good with quarterbacks. At least that's what he sold them on and he can take Matthew

Stafford to the next level. I don't think they're going to. to hire anyone that wasn't a guy who can work well with quarterbacks. Isn't he a flip side from what you have with Jim Schwartz? It's, I think we look at. He's safe, maybe bordering on milk toast from a fan's angle. This goes back to our ex-girlfriend theory. Yeah, it fits that. When you don't the girl or break up with a girl, you want the opposite next time.

You always get the opposite coach, and he is the opposite of Jim Schwartz. Yeah, and Schwartz who repeatedly, and I think to a fault, when asked, does your quarterback have issues, mechanical issues, it's not stuff we can necessarily see, but I I think we can see some of it. He just was so lazy fair about it, just bumped it off as a non-issue. And Caldwell, I think, if anything, has been brought in to say, from his first interview, when he sat down and said, I've looked at all the film, there's a more serious approach to fixing Matthew Stafford. Well, we saw what he did with Curtis Painter.

That was Yeoman's work, so now he's going to take that, transfer those abilities. Yeah, you were going to say he was an indie for three seasons. I don't think he was there for that third season. I'm not sure where he was. He was like Art Shell. Hey, that performance got them, Andrew Luck. Yeah, that's fair. It makes you wonder who his defensive coordinator is going to be.

That's such a, you know, big part of the equation. Is Larry Coyer available? Oh, my gosh. The one thing is he's not going to embarrass the organization. You would think he's going to represent them well. And I don't think that should be the number one thing when you're looking for a head coach. But after the Jim Schwartz era, that's probably near the top of their list. But you said it.

It was a disappointment for them. They wanted Ken Wisenhunt. Ian Rapport reported it, and they didn't get him, and it just makes you feel if you're a Lions fan, like, here we go again. Here's one interesting stat. This is actually from Greg, your former colleague at Pro Football Talk, Michael David Smith. Jim Caldwell is 24 and 8 when he has Peyton Manning, 28 and 77, that includes his college career when he doesn't.

I don't know what to make of that. By the way, what's Wisenhunt's record without Kurt Warner? Right. I mean, talk about, none of these guys are a home run. Wisenhunt or Ken Wisenhunt floundered for years when he had Derek Anderson under center and the rest of that crew, right? What's Bill Belichick's without Tom Brady? What's John Foxes without Peyton Manning?

Not to throw Caldwell in with Belichick, but, you know, players matter. It was okay. Okay, and the other, we should touch on the Titans hire as well. Wisn Hunt took the job yesterday. Wes, I know you wrote a piece that Wizzen Hunt, it's good for Jake Locker, for him to be there, and that will potentially help take Glocker to the next level. One counter I have to that, I'm interested what you think. I mean, Wizzin Hunt obviously was great when Warner was entrenched.

His final season in Arizona, I think he started 4,000 quarterbacks. Does he have the patience to deal with Jake Locker? Well, I think there's a saying about you can't make chicken salad out of chicken Chinola. That's what it is. Shinola. I don't think you can create Max Hall into some Frankenstein-type NFL quarter. You're not buying John Skelton either. No, Skelton, I don't think he had much to work with there.

And I don't think Kevin Cobb was ever going to be good enough in a muddy pocket to win in the NFL. But Wisenham was part of a group that, it's not his decision alone, that signed off on that Cobb trade, which plenty of people thought was a junkie move to begin with. Desperation makes you do funny things. It does. But, you know, is he given more credit than due for Rivers, too, when McCoy was on the scene? He's another guy, I think, represents a franchise well. And whether that's fair or not, I think owners choose guys based on who looks like a head coach, who's going to be the face of our franchise, who kind of cuts that figure.

Of all the Super Bowls I went to, in terms of just doing the press conference and seeming like an impressive individual, like Ken Wisenhunt was more impressive than any other coach, just in person. And I could see how in an interview setting and his background, how he's going to impress them. and it's like, I got this. Ken Wisenhunt's coming to town. Well, and in his defense, I think even going back to May and June, we were seeing that he was already working with Rivers.

I don't think we could say that was all McCoy. I think that was a lot of Wisenhunt. He developed Big Ben, who was the winning his quarterback in NFL history through two seasons. Really, had his career start the same way the 49ers and Seahawks did with Wilson and Kaepernick, like relying on defense in a run game. I think he's shown he can do well with quarterback. It's really interesting.

He chose. the Titans and Jake Locker. And I know he's lived in Nashville around there before because he coached there for a little in college. But that to me says something. And I think Jake Locker could be really good. I think it wouldn't shock me if in three years Jake Locker is a better quarterback than Matthew Stafford.

Wouldn't surprise me at all. He just has to say healthy. All right. There are two remaining head coaching openings now, the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings. There are reports that Bengals' defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, is very close. to being named the guy in Minnesota.

That could even happen by the time you hear this. Things are a little less clear in Cleveland. There's an interview set to take place eventually with Broncos coordinator, Adam Gase. Of course, the mastermind behind what the Broncos did this year. Mark, any thoughts on this? I just think there will be two moves here potentially. This is just me spitballing. To get the guy that they want, they may have to make a structural move in the front office.

because I think that you've got a year in. Haslam, every guy they're talking to has closer Haslam ties outside of Josh McDaniels, then he does Banner or Lombardi. And I think the Haslam's taken over this search, and that's when you're hearing whispers about there's a front office that isn't in tune because you got these two underlings that thought they were in control and want A, but Haslam's saying, I'm not dropping any more wasted, guaranteed money on your pick. I'm going to have my hands on this from start to finish.

Gase is Peyton Manning and Haslam are close. I'm not saying it's going to work. I'm saying that's what's happening. And listen, nothing's guaranteed to work. I don't have a problem with them not being the second team to hire a coach and Land Caldwell or Ken Wisenhunt. There's no Chip Kelly sitting out there. Well, what happens when the Browns hire Mike Munchack?

I know that's your theory. I mean, why do you think they would do that? It just feels right, unfortunately. Who knows? Here's when it becomes a problem. I thought the Cleveland Plain Dealer report was interesting, that colleagues are warning Gace against that job. And to me, I don't think Gase wants it.

I don't think Gase... I think Gase knows he's not ready to be a head coach. I think you're right. Why would you want to step into that if you don't feel ready? I don't think he's... Money, money, money, money. 500% raise from a year ago when you're making $30,000 a year. Hey, do you want to make $30,000 a year?

I doubt he's making... What do you think he was making... I don't. What do you think he was making as a quarterback's coach last year? I guess the point is that a factor huge. But is that the only factor? Hey, here's $3 million. You're $12 million on a four-year contract.

Tell me who's turning down this money. Everyone talks about great jobs. These jobs don't come around a while. If he's confident that he's a good coach, that will be there again next year. It's hard to turn those down. Career planning goes into it to some degree. You don't just jump on the only opportunity. I disagree.

I think almost every coach jumps on the first opportunity. That's what coaches do. They try to go up. They're never trying to go down. They're trying to go up. They're trying to make more money. And they think if they're a great coach, they'll make it work. Think about back to citing the Jets as an example.

Brian Schottenheimer was a shoe-in as a future head coach in 2010. The wheels fall off. And now he's just meandering through the league. I mean, these guys, I think they need to take advantage of these opportunities. Brian Schottnheimer was thought of that highly? I remember he was a hot name as a future head coach. You don't hear any of that. Not names can cool down. Perry Fuel is another one.

I mean, it does happen. These guys go up and down. Here's real quick. I think what are you going to see happen. I think the Gase thing buys them time because everyone says, oh, we don't expect an announcement for potentially two, three weeks. Gase may be their number one. Maybe that's where it is.

Maybe Dan's right about Munchak. I think they're going to pull in a name that we haven't even heard yet. I agree. And I don't care that they haven't hired anyone yet. The timing doesn't really matter. To me, the bigger problem is what gives any confidence that this crew is going to do it well because they've already had one chance and it went as poorly as possible. They made their choice and they fired them one year into it.

And now you're talking about, you know, infrastructure, battling and all that. It's gone poorly. No confidence. All right. Let's turn our attention now to the championship Sunday before we get to Greg Cracken. And new game. Greg Cracken. I like that.

Well, actually, we should just call him that. Why doesn't he just change his name? It's much better than Dante Hittner. Come on, let's be fair. I like that. And you should know that you have swayed me over. Subconsciously, I no longer pronouncing it craken. Is that what it is?

Yes. I always thought it was Craken, but I think you guys are right. I made it through about 27 minutes of the first Lord of the Rings and vowed never to try again. I didn't even know it was the Lord of the Rings. That monster I don't believe is in Lord of the Rings. I thought it came from ancient Seamus. I think I believe it's a clash of the Titans reference. Watch your mouth.

Oh, is it? Yeah. All right, whatever. I don't know the reference. Sue me. Let's move on to our big game. Now it's a rum or something like that. Or whiskey.

It is. I think it's a rum. I think so. A bad rum. Black sped rum. What is it? Gold standard immediately jumping with the alcohol clarification. Alcohol?

I'm on that. I don't have a problem. Don't worry about it. All right. The game is called What's More Likely? I had talked to the Gold Standard before the show If it was possible to get like a crowd A crowd together to be like

What's more likely? I was wondering if that technology existed Apparently it's about 30 years away Nothing exists right No not to my knowledge This is our big moment though Could be 10 minutes away if you just grab a crew From downstairs and record it

We talked about that too The four of us could do it I don't know if it would have We could do it live right now Do you want to try it? No I don't Okay Greg, game as always.

All right, let's get into it. What's more likely? And we'll start with Greg. Peyton Manning throws more than two interceptions on Sunday, or Lagart Blunt rushes for more than 150 yards. Blunt, by far. Because you said more than two interceptions. So that's three.

I don't see that happening in this biggest spot. The Patriots aren't a good secondary, or not a great defense, but they are opportunistic. They pick off passes to leave. McCordy, DeNard, even Arrington. They make some plays. They're good with the ball in the air. But I don't think Manning's going to have much trouble.

I don't think he's going to make those mistakes. And I could see Legerrett Blunt running through that Broncos defense. If memory serves the last time Peyton Manning through three interceptions was that game in Atlanta in like week two of last year. Oh, when everybody thought his career was over. Yeah. And he's been on fire since then. Right.

If you said two or more, I would have thought about it a little harder because, you know, two, I agree 100%. I mean, why would it be a surprise if LaGarrett did do that? Well, 150 yards at a lot. Are we buying in now that he's a superstar running back? Not a superstar, but he's getting the workload, and he has been for a while. The hottest running back in the NFL? 150 is a big number, though. If he runs for 150 yards, they're probably winning that game.

His blood's boiling. I like it. He's got to deal with pot roast. All right, let's move on. How's the game so far? It's all right. It's good game. It's good game.

It's a good game. It came up with this morning. proud of myself but we need that technology you're like the 21st century version of wink martindale i would take that life all right west since you just compare me to wink martindale what's more likely the broncos miss von miller at a punishing level or the patriots miss rob gankowski at a punishing level that's a good question because i'll say the the broncos miss von miller they've played better defense but they've also faced some suspect offenses. The charges are really the only good offense they've played against since losing

Von Miller. Whereas I think the Patriots have proven they can run the ball without Grunk and they can pass it when they need to. They're not the same dynamic offense, but they're still one of the best offenses in the NFL since losing Grunk. I'll go the other way. I think that New England with Grunk would have been potentially unstoppable at this point in the season with the way they are running the ball and doing everything else well. There's still a little. There's still a limited offense in terms of how they pass the ball with Adam. Julian Edelman's been outstanding production-wise, but I don't know.

You put Gronk on this team. I don't think anyone stops him. I miss Gronk. I've had all this time to think about it, and I still don't know. That's how great a question that was. All right, let's hear it. It's time. I would have to go with Mark and Grunkowski, just because

as great as Von Miller is, wow, it's tough to say Grunkowski is that much better of a player than Miller. They're almost equals at their positions, respect to positions. Right. I agree. But Grankowski, the way he was playing this year and the running game and the blocking and everything, I think the Broncos could survive without the greatest pass rush in the world more than,

I mean, if the Patriots had Grunkowski, I don't know if anyone's stopping that offense. Dan, I have to give you credit. You don't throw softballs. You're like the Mike Wallace of podcast. I'll probably mess it up in the second half. Either that or you threw this softball like 90 miles. They're 60 minutes, Mike Wallace, not the Miami Dolphins, Mike Wallace. Oh, yeah, big difference.

The argument for Miller... I thought they were the same guy. I was going to say the argument for Miller is if you get pressure on Brady, you even saw it a little bit in the Colts game when it came. He's not the same guy he was when he's younger, and they're all quick passing. I think they've changed their offense enough where they don't have the deep drops. They're not throwing it deep that much anyways, so it'd be tough to get pressure on Brady. I watched they did a replay of, I believe, the week 12 Broncos Patriots game at mile high.

And the reason this came to mind is because Gronk was a huge factor in that game. He was, you know, Brady's favorite target. He had a big touchdown that led to that Brady-Gronk bro-out scene in the end zone. The game's tying score, I believe, early in the fourth quarter. Not the proudest moment for Patriots fans this season. I just like bringing that up. That in the interview of Brady with Women's Wear Daily, where he admitted his fondness for frozen margaritas.

I don't know if you guys caught that this week. I probably got the wrong magazine, but it was something like that. It was also, he had another answer. It was total cheeseball. I sent it to Sessler. It was like, what do you prefer a woman wearing? It's like, nothing at all. A natural.

That's a good answer. Come on, Tom. Who says, who has O natural in their vocabulary? As if a press agent didn't respond through like typewritten emails to some magazine with that. Well, that was part of it, too. The fact that Tom would say. that as the answer because you know all his handlers like oh can we let that go through it was a little risque god i like brady though i do yeah it's so obvious um what's more

likely oh my point though was that gronk was such a huge part of that comeback for the broncos and um and i do miss gronk because he he's such a fun guy to watch and him not being involved in this game is a little bitters sweet true didn't von miller have a touchdown in that game and another sack? I mean, they both were huge... It's not even bitter, sweet. It's just bitter. What would be good about it?

I don't know. You just hate the Patriots. I don't hate them. I hate that the Jets can't go to the playoffs ever. All right, let's move on. Mark, what's more likely? Julian Edelman finishes with 120 yards receiving. Or Wes Wilker finishes with 80 yards receiving.

This is an odd one, Dan. Yeah, I wanted to give you a little bit of a tricky one. I have an answer for this one. Welker has more catches over the last six games of the regular season than any player in the NFL. Edelman, you mean. What did I say? Welker. You said Welker.

I meant Edelman. That's why we haven't. That's why we have an editor in here. They all look alike at Mark. You're no Mike Adams. Mark is racist. Hold on. Nonsense.

I don't think that I have a. problem with that one. I'm going to pick Edelman 120 yards and I think Welker's going to far surpass 80. Wait, then... What's more likely? But what's more likely? You didn't answer the question. You said Edelman? They'll both have more

so... I mean, if they're both going to, if I think they're both going to have more, it's a push, I guess. Wellker looks shell-shock to me last week. He was the slowest player on the field. He did not look like himself last week. Maybe he was just rusty. I don't know, but I wouldn't expect him to have a big game. First time they played four catches for 31 yards.

Obviously had the rough punt return that never happened at the end of the game. Last week, six catches, 38 yards. Against Kansas City when they scored 35 points, 38 yards. He did have a nice game against Tennessee before he got hurt. He hasn't been a big-time producer lately. He is going to be the most talked about. Mike Tenier wrote this, the most talked about guy that gets between 30 and 40 yards in the league this week.

I mean, of course he could be a bigger factor, but Edelman, you said it. He's been the most consistent receiver in terms of just piling up receptions of any player in the league right now. I can't wait for all media members to sit there with bated breath waiting for Welker to say his opinions on Brady and Belichick

because it's only been four or five weeks since the last time he gave his opinions on what it's like to play against Brady and Belichick. That must be tiresome for him. He never says anything either. But I guess we're obligated to ask those questions every single time they play each other. Well, it is a good story. I know that we get tired of banging, like, an obvious storyline, but this was the biggest

free agent conversation in the offseason. It was a good story the first time they played each other, not every time they play each other. But it was, for Patriots fans, it was hard to see Welker go. And they've replaced them well with Edelman and Amandola to a certain degree. but how painful would it be to see Welker running up and down the field on the Patriots? I mean, this was one of the biggest decisions of the off season. It was a classic Patriots decision, and it's either going to look pretty smart on Sunday or it could come back to haunt them.

Greg, what's more likely? Michael Crabtree goes over 150 yards receiving, or Marshawn Lynch goes over 150 yards. Oh, Lynch, that's an easy one. I don't know if either one of these passing games are going to go over 150 yards. It wouldn't stun me if this game kind of looks like. like that first game where it was five nothing at the half and the Seattle offense hadn't done anything. People think of that game like a blowout. Russell Wilson completed eight passes in that

game. They couldn't do anything throwing the ball. Things worked out their way in the second half. I'm going Lynch. It's all about the running game. I don't know. Lynch only has I think 100-yard rushing performance over the last like seven or eight weeks. And San Francisco has, Right. The San Francisco is the fourth best rushing defense in football, and that's gotten better all the time. All it takes is one long run. Well, or one long catch by Crabtree.

When do you think the last time was the Seahawks allowed 150 yards to one receiver? I would imagine it's been multiple years. Really? It's a good question, though, because Crabtree right now, he could do anything, and it wouldn't totally stun him. He's playing that well. Right, but, okay, he also injured his shoulder last game. wasn't himself throughout the rest of the game.

Bolden and Vernon Davis were the two primary pass catchers after that. So to me, I don't think they're going to ignore Bolden and Vernon Davis and just go to Crabtree, who's probably going to have Richard Sherman draped all over him. Probably logically you go Lynch here. Sherman is a great call there, too. That's going to make it much harder for Crabtree. Lynch had a big game the first time they played. Not huge.

I think it was just shy of 100 yards, but they had pretty big holes. Go back to last year in week 16 or whatever. I think he had a big game then, too, against the 49. And he's going to show up. He shows up every week. He's a clutch guy. I don't think that Lynch will get shut down in this game. That would be my feeling on that, Lynch.

Greg. Is Wink allowed to answer his own question? Yeah. Well, you know, the rules, they're a little bit, you know, malleable. Yeah, they're malleable. Thank you, Wes. Who did I ask the last question to?

Me. Wes. Wink would have known. What's more likely? What's more likely? Russell Wilson finishes in the Gabbard zone, which, of course, is less than five yards per attempt, where Colin Kaepernick completes less than 50% of his passes.

Caffernick completes less than 50% of his passes because I believe in his career he has completed 50.7% of his passes against the Seahawks. Wow. Just pulled that out of thin air. I'm on this. That's pretty good. It's really a shame that you're going into the wilderness forever in about three hours.

Nobody defends Colin Kaepernick like the Seahawks do. His worst games have come in Seattle. So I think that's much more likely. I'd go with that. because Kaepernick, you know, last week, last couple weeks statistically is floating around 50% in various points in the game and he's playing a much better secondary, the best in the league this week. With Wilson, yeah, his numbers are way down and I guess I'm not as concerned about that as some are because of the way that offense is structured, but in this case, that Gabbard zone territory for Wilson

would surprise me. So I'm going on. We haven't really pointed this out, but Russell Wilson's, streak lately has come against not one of those defenses is less than average they've all been really good defenses uh i guess maybe the giants at new york is the worst defense he's faced and they were one of the better defenses in the league over the past second half of the season so maybe that's what's that however's numbers are in an area where it's good defense or not they are unimpressive that's fair gregg what are your thoughts i'm going to go with russell wilson in the

Gabbard zone. And I admit this is an underdog pick. If it was, they were set in lines in Vegas, you would have to get some mods because I think it's more likely on paper, Kaepernick. But I have a feeling of this game. They're going to struggle to throw the ball. He has been in the Gabbard zone a couple times recently. For all the new

listeners, the Gabbard zone is somewhere in the vicinity of what, four to five, five yards per attempt. Five yards per attempt. Last week against New Orleans, 5.72 yards per attempt, against Arizona in week 16. a much better defense he's facing this week, too.

Four yards per attempt that week. So it's happened. And I just see such a defensive battle, and I think they're going to struggle to throw the ball. The Gabbard zone at five yards per attempt is like the Mendoza line at the 200 batting average. Even if you're at 206, you're still hovering around the Mendoza line. If you're at 5.5 yards per attempt,

you're still in the Gabbard zone. It'd be great if you could time travel and go back to the 2010 draft and just lean into the, GM of the Jaguars's ear and go, Beware of the Gabbard zone. And see if he still makes the pick. I thought you were going to say, you were going to time travel back

into the Gabbard zone. Which just blew my mind. It's trippy, man. It's tricky. I don't think we can recover from that. And finally, one last one, and I'll throw it to Sessler. What's more likely? Papa John climbs out of the

television set like the girl in the ring, or Troy Aikman challenges Anquan Bolden to a tell-vice street fight a la Definitely, Papa John, and I think that there's genuine concern. I know we share that, Dan. Yes. His skill set in terms of his powers are, we don't know, maybe limitless. He's eternally creepy.

He's an awful. He's obviously not been hired just to be an actor. There's something else going on here. Greg is trying to shut you up so we don't get fired. For the first time, I feel like the shadowy league figure. I won't say another word. Let it just be. It's a warning.

It's a warning to all people. Don't look them in the eyes. I'm going street fight. I'm with Mark on the Papa John thing. Street fight? No, no, no. The girl in the ring or whatnot? I don't know.

I have no idea what the girl in the ring is because I don't know. It's probably happened since 1995. I was going to say any pop culture that happened after the spin doctors had a hit. I hated the spin doctors. Naomi Watts, the ring. Right after Mahalo and Drive, you know. TD and I would be a formidable tandem. What?

In lack of knowledge? No, I would handle everything before 1995 and he would handle everything after 1995. We would cover each other as weakness. All right. Mark and I are going to speak with Greg Hardy right now. Wes, you are heading off into the wilderness potentially, but again, wine coolers and windwood to me is a better idea. And Greg, you have some managerial tasks to handle. Is that correct?

No, I'm going to hang out with my daughter and her new teepee she got. It's going to be good. Good dad work. What a dad I'm missing out on Yeah So you two gentlemen Good seeing you

Mark Let's continue on With our one Let's go We have a very special guest on the line right now He is a star Defensive End for

The Carolina Panthers Finish the season With 15 sacks Tying a franchise record over there And also in Around the League podcast favorite He is Greg Hardy Greg

Yes sir Yes sir How's it going Welcome to the Around the League podcast I'm sure you're aware of this as a huge listener of the program but we've talked up the Panthers all year

and you in particular were a huge fan of what you've been able to do in the last two seasons and the promise that your defense has. Yes, sir, man. You know, it feels good to just come to a complete season where we're getting acknowledgement for the hard work of less thanches and whatever.

I've made it this far into the interview without bringing up the crackin, but now it's time. according to the internet, which obviously is never wrong, The Cracken is a legendary sea monster of giant proportions that is said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Greenland. My first question is, how did you begin to associate yourself with this great beast? How can you not, man?

Look at it. Does whatever he wants, and that's my thing. I feel like we're imagining in heaven. How did you even learn about it? Was it a movie or a book? You know, I've got an artistic background I'm a school for graphic design in English, you know, and in both

you kind of research mythology and, you know, monsters and creatures and so on and so on and so far. So, when, uh, one of my fans brought it up on one of the websites like a Reddit or Redd or Cat's Catch or something like that, they were like the guy coming out of the bitch like a cracker and I was like, wait for it,

that sounds like me. And, and from what, from what, uh, we hear and read, apparently there's like a whole like uh it's almost even though you're the cracking it's almost incredible Hulk ask where you go from Bruce Banner

to the Hulk free safety and your teammate Mike Mitchell had this to say he puts his headphones on and his contacts in apparently they're you know cat contacts which is outrageous and awesome in and Greg's out the door and now you get to see the cracking I believe in him so you become a different

creature altogether you're sure it's a whole other way of thinking just like a different mind saying that, you know, I'll bring to the field that I only think it's allowed in, like, normal society. It's a good thing you're allowed to do it on the field. All right, so I just want to get into a little bit. We want to look ahead to these games, but I want to talk about Sunday a little bit.

Obviously, a tough loss that ended your season. I know that you had eight sacks in your last three games of the season. Then you got shut out in general. The defensive front seven struggled to get to the other side. now you had said you were quoted saying they got they got a lot of us rattled how is the san francisco scheme different that was able to kind of get you guys in a little bit of trouble wasn't really you know just much different it was just effective man they came out they knew they were a serious front they came out with a lot of you know fast throws bang gates

slants and uh tried to open up with the run game we started pretty good early but you know they opened up in the second half went back to it man and it just it started to break us down you know, a rush wasn't getting there, Kaepernick was getting comfortable, and like I said, that's what happened, man, when a better team comes to play that day. You know, taking a look at this weekend, obviously, a matchup that

a lot of people felt from the start of the season we'd see in the title game, San Francisco going to Seattle, in your mind, are the two best teams in the NFC playing this weekend? Oh, you know, I can't right. I fully say that. You think that things will be different

next season for you? almost definitely man I feel like you know especially if I stay in Carolina we're going to come out with a series of attitudes a chip on our shoulder to just prepared to dominate you know at every level and I guess you know like everybody saying right now about this year you know

we'll have some experience like we didn't have this year and you have to make a lot of plays that we didn't make and just fill in the blank you know basically you know taking a look at San Francisco and Seattle you guys obviously squared off against both quarterbacks you know with Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, what, what's the difference between these two?

How would you characterize something that makes one, you know, varied from the other? Honestly, you know, just the level of completion, man. You got to look out for Westbrook. I mean, what, I said, Westbrook. You got to look out for that guy, man, because he can complete passes on any level. You know what I mean? Like scrambling, two foot in a sack, you know, falling down, underhand, all types of ways, man.

And he's not afraid to hold the ball and just get. down there and make the plays wherever and whenever you know but captainick man he's more of a team quarterback man he works well with offensive lineman his scheme's perfect for him man and when he feels like going he goes but he's definitely you know looking to make more more plays according to the scheme and not just you know running a running the seattle type of offense are you coming off Sunday in the loss is are you someone that's able to watch sunday's nfc title game or do you stay away from it and kind of shut it down and start looking toward next season.

Me? Oh, yeah, I'm done with it, my man. I can't look at it, man. I've got a thing for losing, you know, just to ease me up inside. Just to see, you know, the last game that, you know, we were playing with this defense that I,

you know, grown to love and just be a part of breaks me up inside. So I try to stay away from it. Yeah, that makes sense. I feel like I'd be the same way. Oh, yeah. If you're that invested in what you're trying to do and then you fall short, you know,

I feel like I wouldn't be watching it. Are you going on a vacation or anything? You're doing something like Crackintastic? Yes, sir. I'm on the coast right now, man, ready to get some of his water up in Miami. So the Sea Monster will go into the sea, his natural domain. And dominate. All right, so your general manager, Dave Gettelman, gave the state of the team press conference today.

Panthers don't have a great salary cap situation, we know. Would you be all right with the franchise tag? I mean, how disappointed would you be? or are you cool with it and just building off that? If that happens. I'm definitely ready to build, man. It's a big honor to have a franchise type of, you know, especially with this type of organization in this position, man,

and I would love to just be that guy that, you know, can bring more chaos to Carolina, you know, me. Are you diffusing a bomb that sounds like there was something beeping going on? Did you just stop a major tragedy? Oh, no, that's my car, man. Everything's complicated out here with me. You've got serious gadgets I like that Let's say you do get that franchise tag

And you fulfill your promise Which we don't doubt you'll do at some stage here Of 50 sacks in a single NFL season By the way, the best prediction Of the 2013 season Hands down I mean at that point do you just march into Dave Gettleman's office And just say

I mean what do you ask for at that point? Whatever I want like always I mean Honestly $700 million over 40 years. What would be your best guest of the contract you would get off a 104-sack season in 2014? Just throw together Megatron, Tom Brady,

Drew Reeves, just throw them all together, just put that one for me. I like it. Put that number down for me. Dave Gettlement thinks he has salary cap problems now. Just wait till the cracking goes for a century. Yes, sir. Greg Hardy, you are the man.

Thank you for coming on and joining us, and best of luck in your C-dive and then coming back and terrorizing the league again in 2014. Thanks a lot, man. Man, thank you guys for having me. I appreciate it cracking out. Cracking out. All right, so we will be back on Thursday.

That will be our supersized conference weekend pre-game study of the two huge title games. Everything in our life is pointed towards these two games this Sunday. There is very little happening in our lives outside of that. It's sadly chin. All right. Until then, this is Dan Hansa signing up for the sizzler, the mailman, the boss, the gold standard behind the glass. Until Thursday.

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