NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL ATL: Joe Haden in studio; Friday surprise!

Episode Date: April 4, 2014

A room full of heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling -- welcomes Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden into Studio 66 to reflect upon his team’s lively offseason and to discuss his hopes for 2014. Elsewhere, the gang runs through the latest headlines from around the league, previews the best wide receiver tandems for next season and gives you a very special surprise to kick off your weekend the right way.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. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the League podcast wants to see you be brave. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the League podcast. My name is Dan Hansis and I'm joined by a room filled with some heroes, Chris Wessling and Greg Rosenthal.

What up, boys? Hey, Dan. Last day here. without Sessler. He'll be back from vacation next week. We miss him. Yeah, I was just thinking that. Just Darleyton doesn't miss him. I miss Mark Sessler. There is a hole. There's

literally an empty seat in the studio and we have missed Mark. He'll be back and I got a feeling Mark living for a week in the desert in Palm Springs with his family reading Jack Carrowack doing Mark Sessler type things will come back to the show re-energized. I got a feeling about that. I do

too and I feel like the newsroom you know what we miss? Nobody is down there telling harmless lies constantly. Mark is an expert Fibber. By the way, speaking of Jeff Darlington, he was on the show on Wednesday,

spoke about the vocal coach that Greg and I both eavesdropped and listened in on some of the ridiculous sounds. Here's one of the sounds that Jeff made. Ha! So that's what we're not. we're working with, and we, you know, had some fun with it, mocked it a little bit. Our boss, John Marvel, rolls over to the ATL quadrant today, and what does he say, Greg?

He let us know, just ironically, right before he listened to our podcast, which had Jeff on it, and we talked about that, he had just been part of a conversation that he was signing up the Around the League crew for vocal lessons with Arthur Joseph, is his name, right? And not only lessons, but we're not getting the one-on-one treatment. This is where it's clear we're not that important. It's going to be a group session. What a farce. This is really happening.

We're not joking. Yeah. I don't know what to make of it. I feel like they're trying to change us fundamentally, and I like who we are. Wes, I would literally be crestfallen if your voice changed in any way. I was thinking the opposite, that if anyone could use Arthur Joseph, it would be me. I immediately thought we should get cameras in there to document this. Greg didn't seem crazy about the idea.

I want to know what literally being crestfallen would be like. What does that look like? Well, it's hard to explain. Maybe I will explain it to you during the vocal exercises when they come. Jerk. Let's see. All right, so we got a big show today. We have a great guest coming up later.

Wes and I, we actually spoke to Joe Hayden star cornerback for the Cleveland Browns. He spoke to him on Thursday. We'll play that back for you guys. We'll put that a little later in the show. We're going to talk about some of the top wide receiver duos based on a post that Chris Wesleying wrote on Wednesday. But before that, and we might have a little special secret surprise for the listeners.

Long-time listeners will like the end of the show. We'll just say that. So if you're one of those listeners that gets disgusting, by our behavior and takes on the football world within 20 to 25 minutes and then you shut it off and go about your day

you mow the lawn or you pick up your child from daycare don't do that stick with the show good surprise but before any of that the gold standard behind the glass how are you buddy doing great thank you you look rugged in your

hipster shirt today I like it appreciate that can we do some news let's do that All right, so we'll start with Chris Johnson. This has been something we knew was coming for weeks and weeks and weeks. And now it is official. Chris Johnson has been released by the Tennessee Titans.

The running back and former 2,000-yard rusher is now primed and ready to hit the open market. We have a post up on the Around the League page for potential landing spots. Also, Wes, you wrote a, you started a Chris Johnson. and tracker. You're all over this Chris Johnson situation. I love the trackers. The trackers are great. So what are you tracking right now, Chris? Let's talk about it. Well, I'm tracking. We already have the potential landing spots

where we thought he might go before he was released. But since he's been released, now we have reports of which teams are interested, which teams have talked trade with the Titans. So the Jets appear to be leading the charge. They've been the team all along that have been reported the most

as interested and maybe probably having the highest level of interest. And it seems like the Falcons might be right behind, despite a report a few days ago that they didn't have any interest. Adam Schaefter says they were one of the teams among the four, including the Bills, Dolphins, and Jets that talk trade with the Titans. And none of those teams wanted to trade for Johnson because he was making $8 million, and you could have negotiated that down, but why not just wait until he gets cut? Do you think Johnson's going to get a contract worthy of a true starting running back? I think he will beat the $2.8 million annual average that the running backs already signed in free agency have combined average. So I will say I think he will just barely surpass like $4 million annually.

So one year is $4 million, $2 million, $2 million, $2 million or $3, $12 million. So a guy that's sharing the ball, but maybe the 1A in that tandem. And I could see that with the Jets. I know you, would you be excited about Chris Johnson Ivory combination? I would. Yeah, of course. I think Johnson is not the same. And West, I thought you did a good job breaking down what Chris Johnson is and what he is not in your post on the potential landing spots.

But what he still is is relatively young. He's not 30 years old. I think he's turning 29 this year. He's durable, and he's been not anything close to the 2,000-yard guy, but he's still, he's an above-average running back. And if you put him in a backfield with Chris Ivory, who I believe to be another above-average running back, especially if he could stay healthy,

then you have an above-average backfield. It's that simple. Is he above-average? Is Chris Johnson above-average in any way other than running in a straight line? I tend to-durable. Those are two important things. I tend to agree with it. I've had some debates with people on Twitter that I think when he came into the league,

he had insane lateral agility. He could stop and start and move side to side. Like, no running back guy had seen some Barry Sanders, and I don't think he has that anymore. I saw a damning stat today that in 2009 he had 22 runs over 20 yards. Last year, he had five runs over 20 yards. Right. They throw him the ball. It's not like they didn't get him out in space sometimes, and it would be him on a screen

or some sort of run where he gets to the outside. And it would be him, and it would be some safety you never heard of, and it'd be one-on-one in the open field. And that has nothing to do with your offensive lineman, and he'd get tackled. He's been doing that for a few years now. He gets what's blocked. You think of guys like plotters as guys who get what's blocked, if there's four yards there, they get it.

That's kind of what Chris Johnson is. He doesn't make people miss. And sometimes he gets minus four yards. Right. I mean, yeah, obviously you could look. at the tape and see that he's had the last couple of years has not been the same guy. But I think he's one of those players that, you know, he's healthy. He passed his physical with the Titans today.

So any issues with the knee, you know, they didn't wave him with a failed physical situation. So this guy, you're going to get a healthy running back. And I think he's a guy. If you put him in the right setting, he'll have one of those little rejuvenation periods to his career. I wouldn't be surprised if he was turned into a pro bowl player again if he gets the lands in the right spot. Let me throw five spots out there that, Chris, going off your tracker, what we have right now. The Jets, Cowboys, Giants, Falcons, and Rams. What's the best spot for Chris Johnson?

I tend to think the – if you're talking about, like, for his stats. Yeah, just to kind of continue his career and thrive. I would have thought the Cowboys would be the best if you removed DeMarco Murray from the equation. I think out of that group, I would say the fact. I'd say the Cowboys. Underrated offensive line. Murray always gets hurt. You're playing on national TV all the time.

I could see that working out pretty well. It just seems like a Jerry Jones signing, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. And I think he's more likely to be out of the league in two years than he is to make another Pro Bowl. Wow. I don't think he will be out of the league, but if I was choosing one or the other, I don't think there's much of a chance he's ever.

I'll side with Dan on this one. that's not is that a sessler i guess it is i think there's some chance that a change of scenery does him well that's my prediction i would i would take you up on a sandwich on that well you know with me it always uh you know playing up to cultural stereotypes here it always comes back to the money and chris johnson cultural stereotypes got a lot of money the last three years and running back is the toughest position in the NFL to keep going year after year you got a want it you got to he's never was a guy that broke tackles but that's a position

that you got to really want it you got to be hungry and as you get older and he's had a lot of carries even though he's not that old you got to really want to stay in the league you really got to want it to be a great running back I don't know if he wants it anymore he got his cash he'll prove you wrong Greg I'll prove all you wrong

he got his money sorry I like I like that you don't think anything of the man's character and you're not hiding it and I respect that being open in your feelings I didn't say that All right, moving on, Mike Williams traded from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

to the Buffalo Bills on Friday. Of course, Williams is a talented wide receiver, but plenty of off-the-field issues have kind of marred his NFL career, signed that big deal with the Bucs last year, and now they move them off to the bills. Greg, you wrote in our Around the League Post that you believe this is a win-win deal for both sides.

It's a great deal for both sides. The Buccaneers avoid a big cap hit that they would have taken by getting rid of Williams and it sounded like they wanted to do that. Releasing him, you mean? Right. They thought the off-field stuff basically was too much. He missed all these team meetings.

When they first drafted him, he did not have a long leash. They told him, look, if you have any problems, then they give him a big contract and suddenly he becomes a problem. So they avoid any cap hit because they got to trade him. And the bills get him for only 1.8 million. million in 2014 next year that goes all the way up to 6.8 million but they could cut him then so it's a one-year trial at a low cost for a pretty talented player he's returning home to buffalo so it makes sense there and reunited with Doug morone who coached him in college ends up being in

pretty odd scenario there he quit the team and i think after morone suspended him at syracke he he he was suspended earlier in their run together and then he was face seeing another suspension after some type of car accident that he was involved in, and he chose to walk away from the team knowing that a suspension was coming. That was in November 2009, but Morone, they released a statement today, the bill, is a press release, and Morone basically said that that was all kind of water under the bridge. It was in the past, and he, you know, he thinks highly of Williams and his ability to regain his form as, quote, a productive player in the National Football League.

Why do they always do that? Well, we know it's the NFL. That's an interesting receiver trio there. Robert Woods, Mike Williams, and Stevie Johnson. That's pretty good. Not too shabby. I like Robert Woods. Still the number one that's like three number two receivers,

but that's not a bad thing to have. Yeah. This is a pretty interesting roster if E.J. Manuel looks nothing like he looked last year. That's a small issue, I think. I'm going to go out on a limb. I'm going to use some analysis. Put my analysis hat on. That could be bad.

I mean, if C.J. Spiller comes back. He had a high uncle sprain last year. He could be one of the most explosive backs in the league. I think Greg loved what their defense did last year. I really liked it, too. They might miss Mike Patton, but they have some interesting pieces. Plus they got T.J. Graham and Marquis Goodwin, you know, has these four or five receivers now that can just run down the field.

If someone breaks out a baton during the game. Do you think that Mike Williams will do enough that they would keep him in 2050? That's why I like the move for Buffalo. there's really no downside. A sixth round pick for a guy who should be a starter right away. Why not? I lost my faith in Mike Williams after he signed that contract and couldn't stay out of trouble.

And I never believed he'd play a down for the Buccaneers this season. But he's essentially playing for that contract again now because if he doesn't perform this year, he'll probably have to settle for a substantially lower contract if he gets a job. My biggest issue is what you said about E.J. Manuel. He's not going to be able to do anything if the quarterback isn't productive.

and I don't know if it's a great spot for any wide receiver for E.J. Manuel to be there. It's not sold on the guy. It's not always a good idea to return home if you tend to get in trouble. How would you feel if Kenny Britt went back to New Jersey? Right. He's hanging out in Hoboken car washes all the time.

And we keep saying get in trouble. And to be specific, you know, he was arrested in December, I think it was criminal trespass. And he was involved in something recently where his brother stabbed him. I don't even consider that as a, and as an off-the-field issue. Who knows what happens?

It certainly is an off-the-field issue. Tom Brady's not getting stabbed in the thigh at his palatial estate. Even Lovie Smith said we would never cut a guy because basically his brother went off the handle and did something a little crazy. Allegedly, Greg, let's speak with the letter of the law. The bigger issue is... Right, Gold Standard?

Can't just say he stabbed him. It's still proving guilty, I believe it. Allegedly stamped him. Relax. Trying to save this from a lawsuit here. The bigger issue to me was the report that he faced $200,000 in fines for skipping team meetings regularly. How much? After he was injured.

How many meetings did he? He just never showed up. Yeah. Basically, the report was that after he injured his hamstring last year in November, December, he just was like, ah, I'll see you guys. And was not with the program anymore. basically that shows a level of immaturity and that is getting that big contract and acting like it doesn't matter anymore, you know, to the end.

What's more likely? If you had a hamstring injury and Greg Shiano was your coach, would you, more likely that you would show up or just skip town altogether? You're skipping town. Yeah, I don't know if I'd want to deal with Greg Shianna. I wonder if they collected that.

$200,000 is a lot of money. That is a lot. A lot of guap. I have a feeling the Players Association might have got involved in that one. One last note on Williams, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Do I have that correct? That's correct. Tweeted today, Mike Williams apparently never saw the bucks trading him.

Two weeks ago, he paid 995,000 cash, straight cash, homie, for the house he had been renting in a villa, which is like an upscale community in Tampa, I believe. I am this to Chris Wessling, who responded to me, has the ability to drop a cool, million because he can catch a pigs bladder i don't i'm not one of those people who rants rants against athletes for the money they make but as a person looking for an apartment in los angeles right now to rent yes it it uh it really hit home what i can afford versus what mike williams can afford it'd be nice just to be able to to not worry about credit or anything and just plunk plunk down a cold 995 000 greg are you reading the tea leaves here

The man wants a raise. He wants more cash. No matter what, you're not going to be able to buy a million-dollar house in cash. This is Wes's D-Jackson January move right now in the studio. Drake cash, homie. All right, moving forward. Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a contract extension. Carroll had one season left on his five-year, $35 million contract.

That has now been extended through 2016. Obviously, this is a no-brainer for the Seahawks for Pete Carroll. It's a great setup for the coach. The team is obviously happy with the results And away we go We don't know how much any of these guys make The top coaches Maybe we'll find out what Carol makes

But I thought Sean Payton was number one And it was around 7 million a year But wouldn't it Would it surprise you to find out That Bill Belichick's making 15 million a year It would not surprise I have no idea what he makes He'd be worth it

Carol would be worth 10 There's no salary cap on coaches, is there? No And who's done a better job Pete Carroll over the last four years. He took over, as he would say, a program that didn't have a lot going for it, essentially built it from scratch to what we consider the best roster in the entire NFL. I have a hard time watching that press conference and just seeing that John Snyder right now,

he's on top of the world. Yeah. It reminds me of the, if you guys ever seen the movie the way we were? No. With Robert Redford and Robert Streis. We're under 40, so we haven't seen that. Robert Redford plays a character named Hubble Gardner, and he's a writer. Hubble Gardner, see?

He's an athlete writer in college, and he writes a – he starts a story by saying, in a way, he was like the country he lived in. Everything came too easily to him, but at least he knew it. That reminds me a little bit of John Schneider right now. Everything's coming so easily to him, and I don't wish any ill. Sure. He does a great job, though. But it just seems like life isn't this easy.

What the heck's going on there? If you want to feel better, he does have a regrettable. photo around the internet in which he's shirtless holding a championship belt in a clubhouse. Even then what's wrong with that? That's just fun. Yeah, his body was pretty good. Not a bad body for a general manager. He's just having fun.

I don't know why he had to take that photo. He was essentially hired by Pete Carroll. I read an interesting article this week. I think it was in the Seattle Times how, you know, when they hired Carol, they were wary of Mike Holmgren and how he had all the power. But Carol wanted all the power. And so they said, well, you can have final control, but we're going to give you a list of four guys that you can meet with,

and you have to pick one of those four guys to be your general manager to work with. And so Carol met with the four. He chose Schneider. He had no relationship with him. He obviously made a great choice. Carol is one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL in terms of coaches, players, GMs, everyone. And you know who knew it first? The New York Jets hired him in 1994, fired him after 16 games to bring in Rich Cotite.

I was going to say, maybe they should have stuck with him for longer than one season. No, Rich, you had to get Cotite. He was on the market. You got to act fast. You got to lock him down. Yeah, you got to lock that one down. Moving on, restricted free agent safety, Rafael Bush has signed an offer sheet with the Atlanta Falcons. Bush has been with the Saints who tendered him at the lowest level in March,

which leaves it open for him to be swiping. away. Wes, I know you are a fan of Bush. Tell me what you think about this. I think as long as we've been watching the current Falcons regime, I've felt like they needed toughness on defense. They need a backbone. Anyone who saw Raphael Bush in the playoff game against the Seahawks has to like what they saw. I mean, knocked Harvin out of the game with a brutal hit, knocked Golden Tate senseless to the point that Tate made no impact again the rest of the game. Two huge hits in one game,

and I heard Bush talking about it, and he's like, look, I wanted to set a physical tone. Got to like that. It was surprising to see Raphael Bush, of all people, sign a restricted free intentor, but then I started thinking about it. The Saints, they don't have a lot of salary cap space because they signed Jarus Bird at safety.

Who? Who? Jairus. Byrd. It gets old. True or false? We're talking Raphael Bush just to throw that in there. To throw what?

Jairoes Bired. Jai Ruse Bired. Finally, Colt McCoy, you know, we were just talking on Wednesday on the podcast that Colt McCoy, you know, his next job could be as an assistant coach in Texas with his old college team. But no, put that on hold. He has signed a contract at one-year deal with the Washington Redskins, where presumably he will be behind both RG3 and Kirk cousins, but perhaps the Redskins might still be trying to trade cousins.

We don't know. But Colt McCoy is still in the league for now. It's great news for the Sessler family. Yeah, you know what? Speaking of the Sessler family, whenever a player that, you know, someone from the ATL team names their son after a player, they need to, we need to get him on the phone if he's not in the studio. So the gold standard, can we ring up Sessler?

I think he's still in the desert. Yeah, that's right. Who cares? We'll just call him and see if he wants to pick up. And if he doesn't pick up, maybe he's completely disconnected from the football world

and we can, you know, leave him a voicemail letting him know that Colt McCoy lives. There we go. Thank you for facilitating this. Colt Center. I don't think he's going to pick up. Mark never picks up his phone.

Plus the reception, I feel like, in the desert. They might be... I think he's got a tall serva in his hand. Karawak novel. No one around him. You have reached the voicemail box. Mark, what's up? It's the Around the League team.

Hey, podcast just wanted a call. Say hello. I hope we miss you. We really haven't been the same without you, but we want to let you know, Colt McCoy. a sign with the Redskins. All right, buddy.

Call us back. I thought, Wes, you didn't even jump in there. I thought we were going to keep it tight and keep it right. I didn't get a chance to. Well, should we call him back? No, that's all right. I'll send him a text. Now I feel bad.

I thought Greg was just handling it and then we were going to move on. Mark knows I'm missing. We have a mine mailed. That's true. It's true. I mean, look, if he named this kid after Colt McCoy, he would want to know this. He probably doesn't. He hasn't been following it.

If Ellis Burks, for instance, somehow signed with another team, I would want you guys to call and tell me. Why? Why named my daughter after Ellis Burks? That would be something for a 53-year-old outfielder to be signing with a team. All right, before we get to Joe Hayden, wanted to touch on Chris Wessling's post this week on the NFL's best wide receiver duo. Wes, I know you wrote something similar post late last season,

but that was when there were some injuries and guys missing time. So the list looked a little different. Now we have everybody healthy and new additions around. So how do we want to do this? Should we just kind of go first go down the list? And then Greg, why don't you jump in and take down Wes for one of his rankings? All right. So we've got Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey in Chicago at one,

Julio Jones and Roddy White, Falcons 2, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate with the Lions at 3. interesting. Jordie Nelson and Randall Cobb with the Packers. Pierre Garsohn, Deshawn, Deshawn Jackson with the Redskins, followed by Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins at number six. Demarius Thomas and West Walker at 7. Larry Fitzgerald

and Michael Floyd at 8, T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne at 9 and rounding out the list, A.J. Green and Marvin Jones at 10. Greg, your thoughts? I think the bears are unquestionably number one. You can't argue with that. I like Julio and Roddy number two.

I'm not really sure what we have in Roddy White right now, but fair enough. I guess I just have a, my biggest problem is that A, D'Andre Hopkins is involved in this at all, somewhere in the middle with Andre Johnson. That seems odd to me. And then I don't know about Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. I hear you. They're good as a duo, but wouldn't you rather have Nelson and Randall? Maybe you wouldn't, but.

No, Calvin Johnson's that good. You get a lot of extra points for Calvin Tate. I do, but Calvin Johnson's the best, and I don't think it's close. Was it hard for you to put Garsohn and Deshawn Jackson below Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb? This created a bit of a stir in our newsroom. It wasn't hard at all, because I think Jordy Nelson is one of those players that allows you to see who's watching football in the NFL. Anyone who watches Jordy Nelson knows he's one of the best receivers in the NFL, and anyone who claims he's not just isn't watching the game. Would you take Nelson over Garsohn and Deshaun individually?

Yes, I think he's the best of any receiver in that group. And I know we disagree on this, but I'd rather have Randall Cobb than Deshawn Jackson. I don't see Eric Decker and Jacoby Ford on this list. What happened? Just an oversight, a lot of work, a lot of man hours, some early mornings. Yeah, I clearly, I'm remiss. I don't know. What is this DeAndre Hopkins at number six?

Well, I'm ranking based on 2014, not 2013. Why are we assuming that he's going to improve a lot? He seemed like the type of guy that was a little bit lost. I know he has the physical skills, but everything that you heard about him behind the scenes, learning routes, all that was, I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if he took a step back. He's a spectacular talent, and he had Matt Schaub and Case Keenham thrown to him last year. I'm taking Demarius Thomas and Wes Welker over that group.

I might take DeMarius Thomas over. Andre Johnson for 2014 anyways. Oh, I would take Demarius Thomas over Andre Johnson, but I'd take DeAndre Hopkins over West Welker. By that much, wow. I don't like what I saw from West Welker

after two concussions last year. Are you listening to this, Dan? I'm listening to all of it. I think he should look at West Welker by a large amount. I think you should look at Welker stats after the two concussions last year. That's fair.

It's potential, yeah, I think there's potential for Welker to really fall off. I kind of get a vibe. I have a bit of a Cessler that could happen this year. Don't want it to. Don't root for injuries. nothing like that, but I don't know how much Welker has left.

How about you have Calvin Johnson all the way up there at number three and Golden Tate, who's, you know, a fine enough receiver. But you don't give Des Bryant the same respect as being so good that he gets on the list carrying whoever is with him. Science Williams isn't a bad player either. Been a huge Des Bryant fan ever since he's coming to the league. Good point by Dan Hansis there. Golden Tate, much better than Terrence Williams.

Terrence Williams has potential, but I need to see him do it. I give me, if I'm buying them by the duo, give me a Des Bryant, Terrence Williams over an A.J. Green, Marvin Jones. I'll do it. That's 10 on the list. That's fair. I think from six to all the guys listed in an honorable mention, there's not much separation there.

I agree. I like Des and Terrence Williams better than Hilton and Wayne as well, better than Johnson and Hopkins, for sure, who's up there at six. I mean, Terrence Williams is fine. I don't think there's much of a difference between Golden Tate, your boy, and Terrence Williams. Golden Tate's just a guy that's on teams that's going to start and he's okay, but there's guys like that all over the place. Well, if you don't like guys who catch the ball at a better rate than anybody in the NFL and make more tacklers miss after the catch than anybody in the NFL, then you're not going to like Golden Tate. Bunsen, Burner, Blow Tart.

Here's my fearless prediction. Pierre Garsohn and Deshawn Jackson will be number two on this list next year. Wow. Because, Wes, we're going to have you do this every month for the rest of your time with the NFL, this list. All right. Well, I don't think there's any chance of that happening. And I don't think Deshawn Jackson gets to bring Chip Kelly's offense with him to the Redskins. You know what other tandem is going to be higher on this list, a sneaky duo here?

Once Carson Palmer gets a little protection from Jared Valdier and Michael Floyd is the breakout guy that you apparently think DeAndre Hopkins is, Fitzgerald has a rejuvenated year that could be in the top three I do think Hopkins is a better talent than Floyd Really? I do yes I'm surprised about that I think Hopkins is a spectacular I think Hopkins is a spectacular talent And I think Fitzgerald could have a bounce back season

He was playing through the hamstracking injuries last year But he just hasn't really been an elite playmaker the last couple of years And it gets to the point where And I love Larry Fitzgerald as a player But it gets to the point where you wonder if you know, after some truly great years and he's a Hall of Famer that every year there will be a hamstring

or something that's holding him back if his body is just breaking down a little bit. He's not that old though. He's been around forever but he's not that old. He's been a year and a half younger than Andre Johnson, I think maybe two years, two four years. But one of my favorite players in the last decade, I don't want to see him not being elite.

Well, I'm looking forward to Des Bryant running through the rest of the NFL like a man who's angry because Wesleyan disrespected him so bad. I don't think there's anyone writing about football who has pumped up Des Bryant as much as I have since he's been in the league. All right, I like that.

You're in on Des Bryant. I love Des Bryant. You've got to put him on the list. Yeah, you've got to put him on there. I think the media has been unfair to Des Bryant more than they've been unfair to any player over the last half decade. Oh, that would be a good...

We should write these ideas down when we come up with them. The media was too unfair to list. We need a better title. That sounds like a great... That sounds like a great... We've got a kernel of an idea. I like it.

Well, let me just say that I agree with you guys. I would not be surprised that if Des Bryant and Terrence Williams are as high as number five on this list by the end of the year. Okay. All right. I like that. I think between four, between four and five, there's a bigger gap than between five in the Honorable Mansion. It's rare to see Wesseling back down so easily. But we just blow torched them.

The Bunsen burner You could smell it in the air The sulfur We need a better numbering system Than 1 through 10 We need decimals or tears or something All right Moving on

As I said earlier On Thursday Chris Wesley and I Sat down with the great Joe Hayden Of the Cleveland Browns And here is our interview with him All right We have a very special guest in studio

I promise the special guests And we have a superstar Wes I'm not afraid to say it I'm going to put the super in front of star He is the cornerback for the Cleveland Browns He is Joe Hayden Joe What's going on?

How are you doing? Welcome to the Around the League podcast I know you're obviously probably a big fan of the show It's a big honor, I would think, right? Oh, definitely. Pleasure. Pleasure. No, so it's great to have you here, Joe.

We do, we talk about when we talk about the positions, the cornerback, you are right at the top of the list and I just want to start by saying as you are a leader of this Brown, one of the leaders of this Browns franchise, what have your thoughts been about their free agency. Let me, let me just go down the list real quick. You got, you've imported

Dante Wittner or Hittner. What are we doing with that? Is it Hittner or Wittner? He's going Hittner. You're going to roll with him on that? I'm a supporter. I'm a supporter. I don't know about that. Carlos Stansby also in the house now. And then you have Ben Tate and Andrew Hawkins on offense. What do you think? Actually, you know, when we let go, when we couldn't figure out what was going on with T. T.J. and departed ways with DeQuil, you know, they went and filled those positions out and I'm happy with I'm happy with hitting her because I know that he's going to bring a he's going to bring a mentality to the defense the same way that we had with TJ but he's he he he's a winner you know and he coming from San

Francisco he knows how to win he knows what it takes and I'm really happy just to just to get him in the locker room and just get that whole that whole feel out you know what I want I want to know how a winner feels in the NFL just being to have him a part of the team and with Ben Tate we needed a big spot of the running back position that's something that we've been missing and I think with Dionne Lewis getting healthy, that's going to help us out a whole lot too. And a slot receiver, Will Hawkins. And we have a lot of draft picks, so I know I just can't wait for it.

I can't wait to see what we do with that. So the next step is taking care of you, right? Hey, man. How's that going? Any update on the talks? We're talking. We're still in negotiations. It's going good.

It's all positive. It's all positive. I'm curious because if I was Joe Hayden, which I'm not, for the record. I'm not Joe Hayden. You don't dress nearly as nicely. No, and Joe keeps the street going. Every time we have a guest in here, they dress 714% better than the guys that are in the podcast studio. You keep the streak alive.

Congratulations. But if I'm Joe Hayden, and you're 24 years old, right? Yes. You've established herself as a star cornerback. Your contract's up at the end of the season. Is it fair to say, let's say you go through the season without a new deal? Do you, in your mind, feel like you want to see or need to see progress from this organization? Because it's had to be a tough run since coming into the league all this losing.

do you feel like you need to see this organization going in the right direction before you recommit for a multi-year deal you know that that's what we're working on now you know um just just the the whole thing is i've been in the league honestly now i've been in league for four years and i've been putting my blood sweat tears out there and uh and we haven't been we haven't been successful it's been a lot of regime changes it's been a lot of those things going on so we do have talks as far as moving forward what's going to happen because it you don't you don't have that much You don't have that long in the league to pay your best ball and to put your best foot forward. So we definitely have those talks, and that definitely comes into consideration because you want to win.

I mean, the money and everything, it's so it's good. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great. But at the end of the day, when you're playing, when people tell you play for the Browns and they chuckle, it hits his home because you go out there every day and grind and work. and the owners and the new coaching staff and everybody knows that. So the way that I see with Alex Mack and with us, we want to win and they know we want to win and we have to definitely start making some steps moving forward. Is there something working maybe in the Brown's favor because we know they want to keep you

that maybe you want to see this through? Like you don't want to leave this team after four down, four or five down years. You want to be part of it where the Browns again and people aren't chuckling anymore. Yeah, the thing definitely. I mean, that's the thing. I mean, I've been in here. I've put, I've put in, I'm putting in work. I've been putting in the work since I first got here.

And I'm not just going to run away to go somewhere else. You know, that's not what I'm about. That's not what I stand for. I want to be here when it changes because that city is ready for a winner. You know, the Browns fans are some of the best fans in the league, I say. And I want to be there when we do start winning, and we could, we'll turn Cleveland out. Is there any of the young quarterbacks coming out in the draft that you have your eye on? And like any one guy that you're like, let's get that guy.

No. I know you're not going to answer that. I'm just saying to ever. Honestly, honestly, I really don't. I mean, if I could pick one, I'd really just, I just want us to get, no matter what, however they handle it. I know we have a lot of draft picks and a lot of things like that. So I'm just sitting back and just waiting until after the draft tool, when we see the squad and we know who we have. Because whoever we have so many picks that we just, I just want to get the right guys at the right spots.

And that's, I mean, that's all I want. I just want to know who we have. So when we go in the training camp, we know who we're going to have to battle with. But this is a, you know, this is a quarterback league, obviously, and one of the big issues since 2010 is you guys have not had that stability. I got to think that you're pulling for them to finally lock down that franchise guy. So you're not looking at all at this class or Johnny Football, George Bush sitting there in his little cart there with his wife walking dogs.

You're not interested in anything? I don't know. I watched every throw. I watched every throw at Mineszell's Pro Day. I mean, me and my dad, we were locked in. We had NFL network on, locked all the way in. We, that's definitely something I'm worried about. I know we, I honestly have faith in Brian Hoyer, too,

because when he was there, he had us three games, winning straight in the row, and he went out with injuries. So if he gets healthy, I know we're going to draft quarterbacks. I just want it to be competition. I want Hoyer to be able to compete against another rookie quarterback, whoever we do bring in. And whichever one of those end up winning a quarterback, I'm behind them 100%.

So I just wanted to be a, I wanted to be a fight to be to start a quarterback for our team. Sure. When Dorel Revis was available a few weeks ago, did you let your mind go there that maybe he could come to Cleveland knowing he has a history with Coach Petton? No, that would have been sick. That would have been sick, you know, but honestly the thing, I just, I'm just waiting because I know with Mr. Haslam, his goal is to win. You could tell by the way he's been running the team now, the way the decisions he's making with the, general managers and everything like that so i mean i he has my 100% support because i know his his best interest is in the browns and to make us win now so whatever he does i haven't i'm

good with it all right joe can he tell us a little bit about the foundation for the undefeated um yeah i'm out here to support an undefeated undefeated um it's a really good organization when we're linking up with the special olympics and um the special olympics is really close to me because And, you know, my little brother, he's a Special Olympic athlete, and it just touches my heart to go see him out there. He can't really play football. And I have four younger brothers, three, I'm playing college ball. And my youngest brother, he really, he wants to do it. He comes out there.

He's our biggest supporter. So I go watch him play Special Olympics basketball, Special Olympics track, a Bocci ball. And I'm just anything, those kids are so special, man. Those kids, they look on their faces when they're out there competing and having a good time. I mean, anything I can do to support it. And Undefeated does a great job, just trying to raise money and awareness. So, I mean, it hits home for me because of my little brother. So, man, I'm just doing whatever.

I can't help them raise money. That's a great cause. You could find more out, find more about the undefeated at www.theundefeated.org. Joe Hayden, best of luck to you this year and getting the Browns back on track and making the chuckles dissipate. I would definitely appreciate it. And best of luck to all of your younger brothers. Oh, for sure. Appreciate him.

All right, that was great. What did you think about that interview, Greg? I think Joe sounds like a nice guy. You didn't hear it. I just made that up. He wasn't. He was... I haven't heard of yet.

He's very amicable. Very, seemed like a genuine, good guy. Nice dude, easy to root for. I was basing that on what you guys told me. I wasn't pulling out of the thing. And he had the best shoes I've ever seen in this studio. Very well dressed. And it sounds like he was legitimate.

wants to stay with the Browns and the Browns has got to make sure they get that right because you know he is a great player and I did think it was interesting that he did do some thinking when the Revis rumors floated out about pairing up in the secondary that

that's interesting to me that imagine if they were together what that could have done that would have been a great experiment has there ever been two cornerbacks that good together in a secondary Mike Hayes and Lester Hayes there you go just went way back machine on me and he was i mean hayden was legitimately

frustrated and wanting to change that everything that goes along with the browns you were saying even even off the air as he was walking out the door basically yeah no he he doesn't like the fact that uh people chuckle when when the browns get referenced uh when he mentions that he's with the browns and he wants to be part of changing it so it'll be interesting to see if they get that right because uh you know it's a hard organization to trust nobody wants to be a laughing Stock thing, you're Charlie Brown.

Exactly. I think we're ready for the special surprise. All right, we promised you a special guest. Oh, oh. Let's get rid of the head lines. So that bonkers, sacks is back. What up, boys? Kay Rich, good to have you back.

What's up? Good to be back. Thanks to the gold standard who didn't slam the door on my face when I walk through the doors. The thing that I love right now is I was expecting K. Rich to come through the doors and sit in the studio with us, but she chose to put on the headset and stay behind the glass. Was that on purpose? Kay Rich behind the glass, true to the name. I thought you were taking the next step, leaving the producer.

Now your talent. You're on air, you know? Do you want to symbolically put down the headset and come sit in the chair here? I don't. I want to stay behind the glass. That's fine. I like that. I love my position.

Kay Rich, so I know you know this because we've been in contact with you. You are in the office periodically that you have quite a following for the Around the League podcast. A lot of fans have been asking us, tweeting at us, where is Kay Rich, some in a creepy manner, some in a caring matter. And where have you been, K. Rich? What is going on with you? Well, I am back. I left for a little while. I have a show that I'm hosting on Time Warner Cable called Get Fit.

What is that about? It's about me busting people's behind to get them off their chairs and getting them to be fit like these NFL players that we're talking about. Was this inspired by Greg getting out of his chair? Exactly. You put two and two together. Perfect. And how fit I am.

That's what I've been. But I'm hoping to be back a little more during the regular season. Oh, great. Did you know, K. Rich, that at the NFL owner meetings last week, Mark Sessler and Greg Rosenthal went for a jog together through an area park. No, they didn't. Together. Together.

How did that work out for you, Greg? It was great. We left healthy and happy and knowing each other a little better. When did? So how can you watch this show? If you're in Southern California. Yeah. Tune into Channel 354, Monday nights, 8.30 p.m.

Wow. To see my face, not behind the glass. But if I'm here, I'm always behind the glass. That's not changing. It would be crazy if every one of our producers, went on to host their own exercise show after they're gone here? Like, what would the Zach exercise show be like? So the gold standard is like the next Richard Simmons?

The gold standard is already dealing with a lot of expectations. And now not only – and the gold standard, K. Rich, you should know, has done an excellent job while you've been away. He's really hitting a home run to use a baseball analogy. That means you're doing well. But now you must – now you must also found some – type of fitness show on a cable network it's going to be all soccer look they're trading the headset now this is symbolic as well yeah no i mean i'm thinking zumba is much more suited to my

personality um we don't know what that i don't know what zumba is oh it's all the it's all the rage as they say um it's great uh it's like aerobics like brazilian aerobics almost for any for any listeners that have subscribed in the last couple months which we have appreciate you. K. Rich was our original producer and really her voice, I think, is a big reason why we grew so fast. I mean, because people always requested K. Rich to just say certain things. What was her? She had a catchphrase. No, what was that again? We're going to throw it back to seduction Friday. Insert, Wes, the ways of an older woman comment here. Listen to that. That's some real soul. We're just going to keep this music playing as we exit.

Kay Rich. Always here. Thanks for stopping by. Thank you for stopping by. You know, you're always welcome. Gold standard. Don't be intimidated. No, keep that music playing, please.

We've got to play that out. So, yes, thank you to Kay Rich. You know, maybe we'll take a picture together. We'll put it up on the ATL page to show that this actually happened. We'll get Gold Standard involved as well. Thank you for listening. He'll take the picture. Yeah.

To be around the league podcast. It's just the structure of the picture taken. That's all, Zach. We will be back on Monday, as will Mark Sessler. We look forward to that. And until then, this is Dan Hansa, signing off for the mailman, the boss, the gold standard behind the glass, and also, K. Rich, until Monday. Seduction Friday.

All right. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rock. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it.

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