NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Pitches for 2020 Team of WessTL

Episode Date: August 17, 2020

A room filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling bring you all of the latest news in the NFL including Gerald McCoys injury, Alex Smith's return, and a workout for Dez Bryant. The heroes sell Wess on possible teams of WessTL (26:38)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.

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Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. The Around the NFL podcast. Have a billion dollar idea. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis. I'm coming to you from a virtual room filled with heroes.

Greg Rosenthal. Chris Wessling. What is up? Boys. Hey, Dan. Yeah, buddy. Wes Monday around the NFL podcast. Gotta love it.

I like that money drop. I would say this podcast is the closest I've come to having a money-making idea. We've just got to start making money off it somehow. then we're golden that's as close as I've come you know West Mondays are a hit when Debbie Rosenthal my mom chimed in and said how nice

it was to hear Chris's voice and how nice it is that my mom is just listening to a three times a week football podcast during the middle of the pandemic not bad good job by Debbie studio audience it's pretty great it's incredible so is Deb Rosenthal

obviously she's a Greg Rosenthal Greg Rosenthal fan. She loves you all. That's why moms are the best. But is she a pro football fan? Like, is she into it for real? She's a Patriots fan. I would say she's casual-ish, but she watches every game and she gets into it.

It's definitely the sport that she is most into. But as Lakeisha sometimes points out, my mom likes listening more for like the personal stuff. You know what? She says she maybe tunes out. a little bit. She takes it on her walks around the neighborhood and she might tune out a little bit when we're discussing Trey Waynes' latest injury, but

that's actually not true. She texted me about the pecking. She's like, those are tricky. Get those in the weight room. Bad news. That is one of Keisha's pet theories that a lot of the women listen more for personal stuff and inside jokes.

But I don't know, it seems a little, that may be a little gender specific. We don't need to go there. That's a theory that Lakeisha can posit. Yeah. Right. Wes is back in two shows.

He's already getting into trouble. This is a new world, West. You got to watch it. There are plenty of men who prefer the more personal areas of the podcast, too. Absolutely. I mean, on Twitter, there's some

high level women with takes that go deep. You know, this isn't like, Cam Newton right Ricky Greg's like I'm uncomfortable at all time a little stalking Ricky it's not a Cam Newton situation

yeah I think you know the women probably prefer more of the football talk on the show than then you know your BS that you guys talk about obligatory contrarian take thank you you're welcome but that is your quarterback Greg

so you could put your barrier face in your hands and shake your head but your quarterback said that quote about, you know, the woman in that press conference. You've got to live with that. I mean, he's living with it. It was not his finest moment, and he knows that, and he's talked about that. And I'm ready to move on. It doesn't feel like a career ender.

It doesn't feel like this podcast is ready to move on from it, but he is. This is the Monday edition of the Iran-the-N-Fel podcast. You'll notice there's no Mark Sessler. There's been no sardonic chime in yet of any kind. Mark is moving, as you know. This has been going on for a while. And there was some type of issue with Wi-Fi that hasn't been set up yet. So he plans to be back on Wednesday.

Wes, you have a take there? No, I have no take. When Mark, this happened a few months ago when he came on and let us know that his landlord was basically booting him out in the middle of pandemic. And I think he was in kind of a rotten mood that day. and he was a little surprised that we all understood to the degree we did. Like, you can be in whatever rotten mood you want to be for the next couple of months because that sounds awful to be going through in the middle of a pandemic looking for a new home. Yeah, now that he's actually moved out and he didn't decide to like take this guy to court or whatever,

if you're out there, Sessler's old landlord, you're a piece of work. Mark defended you for whatever reason because Mark's a nice guy, but you're dropping this notice in the middle of the pandemic because you need some cash. It's straight up illegal. And I would have liked to see Mark take you to court because we would have taken you to the cleaners. We've got the NFL backing us. Greg Rosenthal, very litigious. I will say just from the transaction wire standpoint, totally agree with everything West just said, everything Greg just said.

But I did have to place Mark on the non-podcast injury list. So there will be a fine. And it's more paperwork than anything else. We all get it. But yes, it wasn't a, he's not missing activities because of something happened on the podcast. And that's just, that's the nature of the beast here. It seems like it all worked out, though.

Even though, even if he's on this list, the place looks great. The kids were really excited to get their own bedroom. See, it's actually kind of inspired me that, okay, I got to get my act together and move next off season. Oh, wow. All right. So something to look forward. forward to Greg sharing things he'll be putting on his street corner this time next year, perhaps.

All right, a lot to get to. Yes, Wes is on the show, so we thought it might be fun to talk about potential possibilities, teams that are peaking Mr. Westling's interest when it comes time to consider whether there will be a team of ATL, team of ATN, team of Westian, whatever you want to call it, we can't promise you there will be a team this year because as we've said before it's an organic process the team has to just click with the people on the show most specifically west but it's always an open dialogue and an open study right chris i i love this idea we are free to generate discussion about an idea which we are taking no responsibility for whatsoever and

we're not guaranteeing there will be a team but we're going to talk about it seems like that's going to like nicely, you know, slide about 17 minutes into today's show. So at the very least, it will accomplish that. So I'm looking forward to it. Generating discussion that we have take no responsibility for is basically our job description. I mean, this is perfect. That's what we did. They can't guarantee we're going to have a 16-game season anyway, so why should we guarantee there's going to be a team of ATL? Right. We've been shooting from behind bulletproof glass for seven years on this podcast. We're not going to stop now. Tush. Let's do some news.

See, podcasts are the future. You know, I was thinking, guys, it feels like a missed opportunity. Perhaps a missed opportunity. We worked with Dion for the entire run of this show. Dion, of course, has exited NFL network for perhaps greener pastures. Probably not, but he's with Barstool now. And we never asked him to be on our podcast. And maybe, because he has such a high opinion of the podcast industry,

he sees it as the future. Maybe if we just would have, you know, spotted them in the commissary or by the water cooler or by the copy machine and just said, hey, Dion, you want to pop upstairs and do 47 minutes with us on defensive backs and the NFC? Maybe he would have said yes. Well, you'd have to shake him away from his Sunday afternoon nap while the games are going on. Stop.

I mean, I just wish he had said. these words earlier, then maybe someone at the NFL, they would have listened. If Dion told them podcasts were the future back in the day, maybe they would have listened. Remember the old M&M podcast? That was Michael Irvin and Marshall Falk. You know, remember the old R&B podcast. That was better. Michael Robinson and Nate Burleson. But, um, coach is that was a great one. But the number, you know, the numbers don't lie. You can put Mike Irvin and Marshall Falk on a podcast. Doesn't mean people are going to listen to him like this one. The, the best part of the R&B, podcast. And this is, you know, Michael Robinson. He's excellent. Nate Burleson, this is before he

kind of went next level in terms of a sports slash personality, entertainment personality, and moved to New York and did the Good Morning Football thing. He was out here in L.A. And sometimes the R&B podcast, Michael Robinson, Nate Burleson podcast, would be wrapping up when we came upstairs to studio 66 to record and the episodes would often end with Nate Burleson in a full-on rap. Oh, he would do, he would be, they would have some type of beat playing and he'd just be like dropping those bars and I couldn't tell if a real Rob was into it or not, but like Nate was doing his thing. And then that's how many episodes would end. And I would just, I guess I wish Mark was here for this. It feels like we have that opportunity now that Mark is a rapper. Well, I don't know

if Real Rob was into it, but TD was into it. Yeah, our old friend. But yeah, he really set, he was a trailblazer for that, really set the path for Mark to follow. I'm excited to hear what Mark rap is about next. All right, let's get into the news. And yes, teams are practicing now in some capacity. And with that, well, that's excellent,

but with that comes injuries, which always happened this time of year. And they started to pile up a little bit this weekend. We'll start in Dallas, where Cowboys defensive tackle Gerald McCoy ruptured his quad. Oh, Marron. what an injury to suffer. That's going to cost them the season,

season-ending surgery coming up for McCoy. The former Bucks star went to the Panthers. Now with the Cowboys, they were counting on him to really provide some stability along their defensive line. He signed a $3 million contract this off-season. And now he's a 32-year-old former All-Pro that will be rehabbing a ruptured quad.

Who knows what comes next? Big blow for Dallas, right, West? That's why they sign so many guys. and draft so many guys to give to Rob Marinelli on that defensive line because it seems like every year half of them end up suspended or injured and the bigger the name the more likely they seem to be to end up suspended or injured and in this case you bring in Gerald McCoy early in free agency this was a priority signing get him in there rebuilding your defensive line around him and now you lose him they've got a lot of bodies

to throw at you and they've got guys they've drafted Tristan Hill in 2019 Neville Gallimore this year, they're going to need some young guys to step up. Well, Hill didn't do anything for them last year. He was like a second round pick who I remember going to their training camp from day one was kind of buried and never caught up. Gregie does Dallas? Didn't do much. Didn't do much for them.

And McCoy and Don Terry Poe were signed to be the starters. And with Marinelli now gone, you know, you mentioned it's a totally different defense. Not only have we replaced Jason Garrett, you got Mike McCarthy. You got Mike Nolan, our old co-worker. Another colleague, we actually did speak with Mike Nolan. He was a nice guy when he was at NFL Network. A real straight shooter, that Nolan. Right.

He was last, I think, with the Saints in terms of actually coaching a defense. And so we don't know what his defense is going to look like exactly. But I still think even with the Everson Griffin signing, they're a little thin there. I mean, they need one of those young guys to step up. Tyrone Crawford's been hurt a lot. Maybe he moves inside a little bit. But they're a bit of a mystery, and their defense's got to look different. They're putting your boy, Wes, Layton Vandrash, at middle linebacker.

And now Jalen Smith is now at weakside linebacker, and hopefully that takes advantage of Vandresh's speed. But that's a bit of a change, too. And everything's a little different in that secondary. They lost Byron Jones. Like, they have a lot of turnover in that defense. Yeah, those two linebackers took a major step back last year from where they were in 2018. And this is not going to be a top 10 defense unless they return to that level.

In other bummer injury news, Jalen heard the 49ers slash player, a guy that they really were hoping could do things for them after missing all of last year with a issue with his back. He tore his ACL and his season is done. And Greg, you've been kind of pecking at the Niners a little bit in the last week about some chinks in the armor. Jalen heard what does his loss mean for their office? offense. That's just one less option. It helps explain why they sign Tavon Austin and J.J. Nelson. They're just looking for bodies there. They're thin. I mean, you feel for him, he was such an exciting college player and now is going to miss the entire first two seasons of his career. They are talking of Brandon Ayuk as having a nice fast start to camp. He's going

to be a starter. Their first round pick's going to be a starter. And I think Trent Taylor, who's there and had a moment with Jimmy G. Three years ago now is healthy, and I think he's going to be in their top rotation. But, you know, that's, it's those two guys and Kendrick Bourne are probably their top three receivers. I mean, if it was a non-Kyle-Sanahan team, you would look at that and be like,

that's a problem. They drafted Dante Pettis in the second round, and I think so far they've had the luxury, playing hardball with him, sending him messages, drawing lines in the sand, and he's a guy they're going to need this year with all the injuries. It really makes me think, too,

not with just rookies, but just we haven't had like the same amount of injuries in the offseason because we haven't, they haven't been playing football. And so you talked about this, Dan, um, last week that these, you're just worried about all these soft tissue injuries are going to start popping up. And I think we're starting to see that. Pads just came on Monday. That's the day we're recording. And so I think the next three weeks and teams have aggressive practice schedules. A lot of practicing in pads, a lot of scrimmages. I just think you're going to see a lot of injuries. Like our boy, Denzel Mims. It might be nothing, but he's been out three or four days with a hamstring injury.

And when it's a rookie and there's only three weeks before the season, then these injuries are going to start, you know, becoming more and more worrisome. I was speaking with our Denzel Minsk Media Insider, Bob Bates, DDS, down in Texas. We were texting earlier today. It's a tough break for Mims, who's, it's going to be very hard for any rookie to get up to speed and make an impact in week one. You have an injury in camp here in, and you're in deep trouble. And Iyuk, he's healthy for the nine.

right now but geez i mean asking any of these guys to step into prominent roles right out of the gate and this year especially it seems to be asking a lot uh but who knows good coaching down there we know that up there up there i know it's not on the news rundown but it also this this discussion kind of like just makes me think of rookies and how doug peterson other good coach is talking like there might not be many snaps for uh jalen hurts not jalen heard it's a little confusing you know The quarterback, the Eagles drafted in the second round, might not be many snaps for them in camp like there would be for a normal camp because they're going to get Nate Sudfeld ready to be their backup. This is sort of the third level effects, I think, of the pandemic of just like they don't have time to be developing rookie quarterback. Tim Boyle might be the backup quarterback in Green Bay, not Jordan Love because they don't have time to develop a rookie quarterback in this camp.

Let's talk some positive injury news, Alex Smith, who of course trying to make his way back from a grizzly leg injury that. that required 17 different surgeries. The Washington football team officially. And by the way, I was getting hit on Twitter last week. Apparently, I dropped the R word and nobody correct me. Please correct me in real time if you hear it. And I'll do the same for you. You know, we got to get that out of the system.

It's tricky. It's tricky. Your mind has been saying it all these years. Your mind. Anyway, Alex Smith has been activated from the active Pup list by the Washington football team, the 36-year-old quarterback now potentially enters a competition at quarterback, as you know, we talked about this a week ago. Ron Rivera said that if Smith is activated last week, he's going to be in the throes of competition for the team's starting

quarterback's spot. And I know, West, there was a video that was sent out corresponding with this move by the Washington football team that showed Alex Smith stepping. down his front step from his door to celebrate with his family and it was a really nice moment but a lot of people on Twitter couldn't help but notice that he kind of gingerly took that step that step down the one step

to celebrate and I feel like that's something to monitor you just hope this guy is going to be healthy enough but also the people west that are on Twitter saying he shouldn't be doing this off watching that video that is not your call

to make so get out of here with that trash. Yeah, it's hard to argue with any of that. It's not their call to make. And what this news means is he's competing, that he's playing football. And whether he's ready to or not, he's going to be there. My expectations are low. I just, based on what he was doing before the injury, based on how he's moving now and how he may reasonably be expected to move in the future, my expectations are really but this is a situation where I'd be so happy for Alex Smith the surprise and shock everyone. Well, you saw how much it meant to him and his family. So it does make you feel better about it because I'm not someone who would be commenting on

Twitter, but I think just like any human, and you mentioned this last week, Dan, just as you'd be worried that he's going to get hurt again. But when you see how much it means to him and his family, you can't help but be happy for him. And maybe he can kind of be the new Josh McCown, or at least for this Washington football. team season. He can be the veteran who's been there, who's seen it all, who's so smart, who's shown he's good with young quarterbacks that is an asset to

be with Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen to young quarter. Even if he can't play, like you're paying to Alex Smith anyways. He got one of the best contracts of quarterbacks received, I think, in terms of it being player friendly in the last number of years. He's getting paid a lot of money

this year, whether he's there or not. So you might as well keep him there and be value add to your team you know how to ensure he doesn't get hurt don't never take never take any risks ever never take any chances i mean of course is a chance he's going to get hurt but look to me what he's accomplished just in getting to this point is worth worth everybody's admiration yeah and people the disparaging comments you you see on twitter like listen you only get one shot at this i mean the just like life in general uh but especially when you're talking about a professional athlete And you hear these guys talk about it all the time.

When their career ends, it's like another type of death for them. They almost die twice in their lifetime. So he's not ready to end this part of his life. So just be cool with him. Support him because he deserves it. Just because you're scared doesn't mean everyone else has to be scared. Exactly. I think it's courageous that he's trying to do this.

Moving on, Kenny Clark gets paid by the Packers. The Nose Tackle signed a four-year $70 million. extension takes him through 2024 includes 25 million signing bonus he's now the highest paid nose tackle in football he was playing on a 50 year option set to be a free agent the packers find a way to make him work with the books and they get clark under contract for the foreseeable future yeah i remember wes and i like talking last year just can you believe kenny clark because he's a guy who's gotten better every single season i mean he's a true nose tackle there's not that many of them in the NFL anymore who truly play over the center.

And there's no one, there's none that are as good at stopping the run and now affecting the passer. I mean, he was a great pass pressure. I think the combination of him and Zadarius Smith, you've got two of the very best players at their positions next to each other. And that's a big time problem. And that's why he got paid like he did. I mean, heck, we talked about George Kittles money. He got more than George Kettle did, really, in terms of per year and in terms of the signing bonus. Wes loves him a little scientist tape on Kenny Clark. Oh, he's got a generic name, and he plays a position that was, you know, way more popular in the 1990s than now.

So people don't really know him that much, but I remember doing research for the playoffs last year. And statistically, he was Aaron Donald in the second half of the season. His stats were like mirroring Aaron Donald's stats from October through January. He was that good. Nose tackle is not a glory boy position. No. You know, you're doing the. grunt work. You are supposed to absorb

as many offensive players on the line as possible to free up other people to make plays. And that's what he does on that defense for the Packers. So it makes sense. Smart people in that building. Lock in the guy that can do that. In other news,

Des Bryant, oh, Des. We all admire Des as a player, what he was able to do during his cowboy glory years. But it's been a while now. He's 31 years old. He's turned 32. In November, he's been out of football for a while, and he re-signed, of course, with, he signed with the Saints last year and then promptly tore his Achilles,

costing him a chance at another Super Bowl run. Well, Tom Palisero of NFL Network reports that the Ravens are expected to host the free agent for a workout. The Cowboys have also been floated as a possibility, Wes. I don't know what real analysis about Des Bryant in 2020 can anyone give, but this is a guy that seemed to be in obvious. decline in 2017 what can you expect from him if he ever got on the field now yeah we know that when the cowboys got rid of him it was because he couldn't move like he he once did he couldn't run

he couldn't jump um like a starting NFL wide receiver and that's why he's not in dallas that's why he's not playing for anyone in 2019 and now that's why he's got his work cut out for him to make a raven's team where they have some really good young wide receivers for maybe the first time in the history of their franchise. I've got some analysis, you know, Dan. I mean, you put it out on the table. You can't come up with any else. How about this?

Him working out is interesting just because it's not Antonio Brown working out. They have a couple veterans going. It's not Antonio Brown. It is Des Bryant. So it's like this is what you would do on like a first take type show. Okay, maybe the story itself isn't that interesting, but you add in some splashy other topic into the, you know, You know, that's how the game is done, Dan.

Smart. Very well played there by you, Greg. I, if we had to make, like, our all ATN team, 2013 to present, Des would have been there. And I'm kind of, it's a bummer that his career, he had 16 touchdowns at 2014. He was one of the best red zone guys of last decade. Maybe at his peak, I wouldn't want anyone else inside the, you know, 15-yard line when you needed a score. but like we said

it's been a while since we saw that guy but good luck to him it seemed especially cruel last year that was an awesome Saints team I know they flamed out in the wild card round of the playoffs but it seemed like Des was really set up for a nice little fairy tale

potentially there and then the football gods pulled it away from them all right finally in the news Kim Jones our own Kim Jones from the NFL network had an interesting nugget here on Joe Judge,

the Giants first year head coach. They noticed during practice that the Giants players don't have names on their practice jerseys. Why? Judge says we should know who we are by the way they carry themselves. It's important to know the person across from you

by the way they move. Yes, folks, it's Joe Judge and the case of the nameless jerseys. Need Frank Signetti back on the case. What a, we need this, we got to fill out this entire district attorney office. The police force, the PIs, the judges, but we got judge. We got Joe judge. And you're all set there because this guy doesn't take any BS. He controls that court.

him. It's really as simple as his last name is judge that this story entertains me. But it is also that he makes these declarative statements. You should judge. We need to be judging people by the way they move. Judge. What? I don't know.

Is that? Do you want me to judge you, Wes, by how you were moving? Why is it to every story associated with this guy is him treating his players like their high school kids? Well, it goes further than that. There was another part of this story that he's making players do laps when they make a mistake. Yeah, that's pretty normal. But he's making the coaches do laps when they make a mistake too.

Yes. Yes. I love that. I can't think of a better franchise for a coach to be acting this way. It's such a giant's thing to be doing. It's like 1936 in that building every day. You take the laps too, Jason Garrett. There are consequences for making mistakes, says Joe, Judge.

When asked about the coaches taking the laps, I mean, I don't know. We are all accountable. All right. That's what's happening in the news. All right. As we said, yes. We don't know if there will be a team of ATN this year. But what we do know is that if it's going to happen, we need to get buy-in.

from Chris Wesley because we know what happens when we don't have wrestling buy-in on the team of ATN the whole thing crumbles Mark almost had a psychotic break

during a Vikings five game losing streak when the Vikings were the team of ATN a few years back that didn't have the room buy-in so I would have

if you showed me the text that Mark was sending at like half time of some Monday night football game right now I would have PTSD I mean just reading

his text would give me PTSD as soon as the words were out of his mouth to nominate the Vikings for team of ATL that year, he immediately regretted it and hated himself. And us. And us. Because that put responsibility on his shoulders and he went nothing to do with it. No, he struggled with it. And I'm glad he's not here to relive it right now because that was tough. So there are hard lessons to learn when the team of ATN doesn't have buy-in from Chris Wessling. So let's do this in kind of the most, the most

pragmatic way possible here, Greg. If there is to be a team of ATN, let's like have Wes putting in the foundation pour the concrete, put in, you know, the iron foundation of it all. I don't know. I don't build things.

Wes. Bricks. Why don't you share this? Yeah, bricks. Bricks are good too. I was talking about the iron steel beams. She had Pete Carroll on the show to talk about steel beams. That guy knows about steel beams. All right, Wes, let's go through a few teams.

Maybe Greg and I will chime in and try to sell you on a team as a possibility. You get us going here. Well, the way I approached this exercise was to think back to 2013, that initial organic team of ATL. The Carolina Panthers with Thomas Davis and Luke Keeckley covering all kinds of ground on that defense. What we did was fall in love with one side of the ball, and that's usually how team of ATL works at its best. Well, maybe it's the 2015 Cardinals' offense

that we know is going to be much better than most people think or the 2013 Panthers' defense. So I'm looking, I kind of look at one side of the ball here, and Buccaneers' defense has me really intrigued because everyone's talking about their offense. They might not be a candidate just because they're too trendy overall. the Broncos are another trendy team which bothers me because they check most of the boxes that I look for on a team and I like their young offense I think they have a lot of I don't think they're that trendy they're trendy in your heart you've been on the Broncos bandwagon for a while but are they training every time I walk by a TV they keep talking they keep saying the trendy Denver Broncos so those are two teams I'm thinking about I think the Buffalo Bills are always on the periphery for me they don't get a lot of attention and I believe they're they're

defense is already one of the best. Their offense is not one of the best, but they've got some room to grow. We know Mark loves Mark loves the bills. I'll just first give you a round of applause or just an appreciation of West that

you're going along with this entire segment. You used to fight so hard against the notion that there was a team of Westiel. That that wasn't even true. But now we're doing an entire segment based around that premise. Well, I remember a few times, I tried to save you guys from your own choices, but it didn't work out that way. So I just had to

settle into this rule. Bucks are interesting. Yes, they're trendy, and they're going to be on prime time. And I could definitely see that annoying mark, for instance. But there's something fun about them for me, not just that Tom Brady and Grunker. They're just like, it's just like a crazy experiment. And yes, we're not like picking a diamond in the rough there. But I don't think I'm alone saying, I want to watch every Bucks game, and that's kind of the heart of what this exercise is partly about. I don't know if it's going to go well or not, and I don't think this is necessarily about picking teams that are going to be good, but they better be fun to watch. I mean, Godwin and O.J. Howard and Gromk being back, I'm still not quite over

that, and just the whole thing, and Arians, like, I don't know. I am into them as kind of a secondary team. They're sealing, their ceiling floor disparity is probably, as big as anyone in the league or at least the NFC because we know all about how well the defense played at the end of the year and Baldi talked about it as well. If they just kept that up, you got that side locked down. And then if this offense works, watch out. I mean, this team could be fighting it out with the Saints

to win the NFC South. But it does feel like that, I don't know, Whenever you say things like, okay, the defense needs to be as good as last year and then Tom Brady needs to be the Tom Brady of a couple of years ago and then Gronk needs to still have some juice and these wide receivers need to continue to be great and the running back situation needs to figure out. Maybe too much has to inspire for this team to be the 12 and 4, 13 and 3 juggernaut. But they're an interesting team to follow because they have that ceiling.

Well, I think the biggest thing working against them is that every TV producer in the country has already decided they're the number one team to monitor in 2020. So they're going to be forced-fed down. For some reason, I mean, for a good reason on some level. I mean, literally the most accomplished player in the league's history is joining them along with Gronk. And you said it with the defense, and this is not why the producers are into it.

But I do think that's why I'm especially looking forward to watching the Bucks, because they'll be fun to watch, I think, whichever side of the ball is on the field. Give me a little JPP and Shaq Barrett. Like, give me a little Levanti, David, and Devin White. I mean, these are- Antoine Wingfield, Jr. Right. These are entertaining players where I think, and I don't know,

and the one thing I like about the team of Westie-L or secondary teams in general is like, yeah, I'm invested, but not really. Like, if it crashes and burns, like, it's not going to kill me like a killed mark with that Vikings team. I mean, either way, it'll be kind of fun. Well, you especially, Greg. I know you try to check your fan allegiance at the door, pretend to, but you're going to situation because you're conflicted just tell me if this makes any sense at all just and be honest with

me Tom Brady is a bit of a conflicting figure to you in 2020 because on one hand you're okay with what the Patriots did that you were fine with the divorce happening the way it was and him getting a fresh start for the final chapter of his career but on the other hand you won't admit it it would have been nice if the two sides made nice and brady played his whole year in new england uh so there's part of it's like, I love Tom Brady. I love what he did for New England and Martha's Vineyard and the west side of Massachusetts. So if he goes down with another couple.

With another couple years where he thrives, I'll be happy for him. Plus, it's not in the AFC, so it doesn't really hurt me. However, if he flames out totally, it makes Bill Belichick look even smarter. And that would be kind of cool, too, because it would justify the page. Patriot's decision to cut bait. It'd be fine. And now that we're having it, I feel relieved. We haven't had this conversation since March since, like, you were last with us, Chris.

So that's good. But I wouldn't be relieved. Like, if he crashes in berms, I will be more disappointed than anything. I really feel like I feel like, I don't know what Bill Belichick feels like or if he, if he has emotions. But I'm surprised more Patriots fans. Maybe they feel like me. Man, I feel a relief that he's not there. That was like a weight on the shoulders of the Patriots.

And it's nice to just sort of start over. And the fact that he's somewhere else, like, if you can't appreciate the goat, you know, for what he did, yeah, that's on, that's on you. You're right. It's like a good situation either way. But I feel like it's so nice to just be starting fresh in New England. And it's kind of nice to watch Tom Brady start fresh, too. All right. A win-win for Greg in football.

It always seems to work out that way. Wes, how about another team? I've got a dark horse, and one of us, usually not Dan, falls for this team every year, the Chargers. Mm, what's thinking about them? Their defense is loaded with talent, Derwin James, coming back healthy now. And just from the little bit of footage we got from Justin Herbert on Hard Knocks, he can spin it. This could be, to use a damage check editism, he can spin it, baby. I'm surprised, Wes.

Not that making it a larger point, but guys throwing it into nets for swishes on a football field feels like something that wouldn't mean anything to you. But you're saying it did it did mean something to you. Oh, it's not scientific. It just, sometimes I think it's the wannabe scout in me just feels like I can, you know, just by the way he throws the ball. You can tell he's got some arm talent there. He's got a great balls. He's got great balls. Yeah, he's got great balls.

They'd be fun. I know I cannot imagine Mark getting on board with the charge. thing for whatever reason. But I like that one, Wes. I think they could be a fun... Excuse me. I think they could be a fun team to watch on paper just because they have so much like premier talent.

Keenan Allen. Again, Joey Bosa. I don't think about sides of the ball, but I think about players that are entertaining that I want to watch. Bosa, Derwin James. Austin Eccler. Austin Echler.

Keenan Allen. Hunter Henry. It's just like you got players. Casey Hayward, Desmond King. It's like a fun little secondary. I would dig that. I wouldn't pass on your Broncos, not to circle back, though, just because you think they're trendy. I think they could be a, they've kind of got the old,

the other, the old crusty coach that people like as my son Walker chimes in there a little bit. I think because I've been associated within the last couple of years, the Broncos and Colts are probably first and second on my list. Lock, here's the thing with Locke. I know we've talked a lot about him at all. I think he's going to be fun to watch regardless. me he's like a toolsy it's either got kind of like the bucks uh it's either going to go wrong or it won't

but i don't buy that i don't think they'll be boring i don't think they'll be boring because because speaking of lock we we would have said the same thing about drew locker once upon a time what an athlete at least he'll be fun to watch one way or another jake locker yeah jake locker drew lock has already shown significantly more than jake locker did that is not true that is not true jake he had a minute there who was arguably going to be the number of overall pick in the draft was almost as highly thought of as a baseball prospect as a football prospect, an incredible athlete and had some flashes as a rookie in second year where you thought this guy might be a difference maker. I mean, I just, if a guy can't cut it, he's not going to be

entertaining, no matter how athletic. I think, see, I guess I'm, I have a low baseline where I think I think he has a good chance to be like a frustrating starter at worst, like a, you know, a Winston or a Cutler or something like that. I think there's a good... Yeah, you find those guys a lot more entertaining than... Right, but I'm saying that's, that's, you know, 50 times better than a Jake Locker. And to your point about the young guys there, Philip Litt, you know, Jerry Judy looks like he could be one of the most fun rookies to watch.

And you've got Melvin Gordon added to a backup, Philip Lindsay's a ton of fun to watch. Cortland Sutton's a baller. No a fan. It's like, these guys are guys you want to see. I've said everything I need to say about Drew Locke. I know we need this season to start. Good luck to him. We'll see how he plays when he gets a full sample size.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. Let's hear a team on the Zusers list. Okay. All right. So I've got to try to sell you now. Right. Tough sell in the West sometimes. So I'm going to do my best.

I mean, I've got to be invested. This is not going to be used. Absolutely. And all I ask for, and I know you're going to give it to me is unvarnished honesty, you know? All right. See if I can do that. All right. So I'm trying to think

Because I know what you like, Wes Like I know for instance You my fetishes On such Yeah your fetishes On a Sunday night After Um

A long day of work And you go and you start tape dogging And you go You open up that game pass You want something You want to go to a game That excites you One that keeps you from falling asleep

With your glass of wine So I got one here for you And an offensive centerpiece For this team That's going to make you run To game pass Sunday night. I mean, this guy is generationally talented, a

beautiful, beautiful athlete who is just entering his prime. I'll pair that guy with a very intriguing young quarterback. A kid with iron will in the pocket, multifaceted abilities.

You love the sport, West. You have a love affair with football and you've read every football book that matters so you understand the importance of history. Well, here is one of the NFL's Tiffany franchises, one of the signature franchises. You have a general manager who is an intriguing personality, who's had some missteps. But you know what? He owned up to him earlier this year. He said that he made some miscalculations about how to steer the franchises, but now he's a man in search of redemption and who amongst

us should turn away from someone that admits that they were wrong and wants to do well. And finally, a head coach that graduated Magna Come Laude from Belichick University. And won't say his player's name. Magna, come. Loud. Loud? Joe Judge, baby. The New York Giants, Eli's gone.

New Era. Flood team. But potentially. a fun team to get behind as they try to enter that next wave. Got several things working against them, not least of which is an NFL head coach treating his players like children. That would be problem number one for me. He's a leader.

He's a father figure. He's a judge. Like this is a 1930 Boys Town movie or something All right, what else? What else about what I said doesn't make sense? No, no, you sold it well. Who's catching our eye on defense there? I can't really get behind anything with that defense.

It seems like a train wreck and you just lost your promising second year first round pick safety to a robbery charge. So I don't know, man. I'm counting on you to figure out a silver lining with the defense. I'm more speaking to the offense and the fresh start. in an Eli-free world. I do believe their offense could be better than most people imagine. And even a guy like Evan Engram, who's supremely talented,

could he be our next 1,000-yard tight end? I mean, all of that. You can stay healthy, for sure. All that made sense. And I'd love the attempt that you're going for, like, the hardest thing possible is to get Wes on board of a Giants. Yeah, you're trying to get him on board with the Giants. Because I'm with you that Daniel Jones could be fun,

But the big, stinky, you know, part of the equation that I don't like is Jason Garrett's running this office. Yeah, it's Jason Garrett's run in this office. I knew this Jason Garrett assassination would come up. I mean, I'm willing to talk about someone who needs, you know, a new narrative. A second chance and a new narrative and to, maybe he can change it. Because you know what, when I was writing about Garrett a little bit this off season and Daniel Jones, who I am really intrigued to watch. So if you have a fun quarterback, that can make you fun. you know what those first years that garrett was running the plays in dallas like i was looking

for some stats that maybe i would like kind of bury that they were boring or something you know what they were pretty good they were a past first pretty good offense when garrett was actually running the place problem it was like 11 years ago it was just so long ago um the NFL is so different so we'll have to see but maybe maybe garret could be the guy when you were going through that i was wrong about which team it was until the very end i thought you were talking about the cardinals i thought DeAndre Hopkins was the generational talent that Steve Kime was the GM trying to get past a big mistake

and that Kyler Murray was the exciting young quarterback. DeAndre Hopkins is an excellent, excellent wide receiver. I wouldn't call him a generational talent. Sequin Barkley is a generational talent and even if you look at his numbers last year, he played on one leg

with one of the worst injuries, a high ankle sprain and still had like 1,500 total yards. Imagine what would happen if the Giants actually has succeeded in building a more competent offense around that guy, and then he stayed healthy. I think he could be one of the greats ever. I think he has that.

DeAndre's going to the Hall of Fame. So, you know, we're talking levels of greatness. I really, he's the guy who's going to end up in the Hall of Fame. Nobody would say he's more like a generational talent more than Julio Jones or something like that. It's fair. Maybe a step below that. But I think Sequin is exactly that when you look at the running backs.

Like maybe the most talented running back to come into the leagues. It's Adrian Peterson. I would put him in that conversation. Tusha. And he's like 24 years old. And this is where team of ATL is supposed to come from. It's supposed to be a little bit of a dark horse of surprise, something nobody saw coming. So kudos to you for selling the Giants.

Maybe you watch them and you change. It's not going to happen, but I, you know, I'm going to keep an open mind. Two teams come to my mind, but I'm going to start with the one that just feels like of the layup. And maybe that's why West didn't put him on his list and which makes you a little concerned. because this is the team that I think I've got in my heart as kind of a secondary team that I'm all about. And that's the Indianapolis Colts. And I know people are going to be thinking that they're going to be good this year because they make sense.

I like a well-constructed team. I like teams without a big-time weakness. Chris Ballard put this team together. Their offensive line is as stable as any and as good as any team in the league. And when you have good offensive line play, they haven't had a single guy changed spots in three years, which is almost unprecedented. start. So you hope you keep that luck going. But when you have a good offensive line, you end up having good talent showing up on offense. And adding Philip Rivers to this mix to me is just a delightful

narrative, but also on-field revelation for them that they're going to be fun to watch. Because Rivers, even last year, to me, it was fun to watch. He's going to attempt the throws. T.Y. Hilton is there. Always fun to watch. and Taylor added to Marlon Mack, they should be good on offense and the kind of the storybook of it all, of Rivers going for it and having a legitimate offensive line and having a legitimate team for a first time in a while with a pretty fun looking defense too with Darius Leonard to me is irresistible. I'm just going to be rooting for this team. I think they check as many boxes as any team for this exercise. There is one huge one that they miss on and there's nothing

really they can do about at this point they play in a dome so i mean good luck with that i mean just let some natural light in once in a while during a pandemic it's not as safe as the outdoor stadiums another downside for the dome in this household we like mother nature so we're going to root for that um and then the other thing i mean gregg i've just realized over the years our tastes and quarterbacks are just way different and philip rivers is one thing i hold against the colts right now if he plays anything like he played last year That's going to be a hard team to watch. He was hard to watch last year.

I didn't think he was fun at all. I thought he was a boring quarterback and a bad quarterback. So he's going to have to play a lot better. Yeah, he had the worst tackle combination in football. And I think a quarterback like that, he's only going to be as good as his protection. And so he needs it. But it looks like he's kind of found the perfect team. I mean, you got Sam heavy.

Can you just throw it 20 yards down field on a lollipop and expect your receiver to run under it every time? and that's your offense? He's going to count on a lot of timing, which will be interesting with a whole new set of receivers. They're hoping rookie Michael Pittman is a big part of this group and they haven't had the time to get that timing. So it's definitely, it's not going to be easy.

But I'm fascinated to see them because I think they could be a legit contender if he plays well. I agree. That's a big if. Got another one, Greg? I do. Before we go,

I mean, I have, I should, someone should say it, right? I mean, the most obvious, the most obvious one on the list is the, is the city, which you got the name on right behind you, Cincinnati, Chris Wesleyan. It's time to come home. Take a trip to the Bengals. Yeah, and take a trip over to the Bengal sanctuary. You were early on the train of coming home in terms of shaving your head when it wasn't growing in. How about coming home and being a real Wesseling and embracing your brothers and embracing your family,

embracing your roots? uh during this time of of uh international upheaval what's important your families i understand this is complicated west because it's not just about football and you're not just looking at the rosters there's more to it there's layers to this the man has a dossier eight inches thick for all the reasons why he divorced the bangles as his favorite team decades ago but maybe just maybe in this time west this uncertain time of 2020 um and you in your latest fight with the Big C on our quest for double obliteration.

Maybe the time to hit the old reset button on the Bungles. Welcome to the sanctuary. Do the Bengals feel like they deserve it? That's always been one question. Three decades. They don't feel like they deserve to win. They don't trust that they're good enough.

They don't trust that they've learned how not to lose. They don't trust anything in that building. And they really not sure if they can win a playoff game. I don't know. If they don't believe in themselves, can I believe in them? I got to admit, the whole Trey Wayne's complaining that they wouldn't give him his money until he showed up for camp and that he wouldn't be able to work out as much because of that and then get injured right away that his agent warned them might happen. That feels like a same old

bungles kind of storyline. Exactly. But you know what you like in terms of picking the team of SDL is just teams that are fun to watch. And maybe we're not going to have a preseason, but maybe week one, week two. You'll see Joe Mixing out there, who to me is as fun to watch as any receiver. And you'll see Green and Higgins and Audentate and Tyler Boyd and Ross and Gio Bernard and Joey Burrow, who might be the answer, the guy that this city has been looking for, who is awfully fun to watch and that this team, maybe they're not going to go to the playoffs or win eight games, but you can be fun to watch

and win six or seven games, and I think this team could be that. They're fun to watch scale, seems like it goes from top five to bottom five. And I noticed you didn't mention that offensive line, which has held them back for years. I mean, it's hard to even notice the team of West DL off the offensive line anyway.

It is boring. You're not going to get any John Ross if you can't block up front. You know, Joe Mixon spent half the last year getting like 30 yards a game because he had nowhere to go. so these are the teams and west if you have another one please chime in but this is the team these are the teams that have not been nominated it's not that official this is just these are just

talks we're just having a conversation bucks broncos did you say bills yep i did i didn't mention the bills the jeeman uh that was a dan nomination gregg nominated the colts and the bangles by my and the chargers too west threw in there chargers uh by my count That is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven options, and that leaves all the divisions accounted for, aside from the NFC North, the AFC South, and the NFC West. Any teams from that, those three divisions West that maybe get some consideration? Which one, NFC West? NFC West, AFC South. Well, we got the Colts for the South.

We got the Colts. Oh, we got the South. Good, good, good, good. So NFC North, NFC West. NFC West is out. No, none of those teams. are doing it. Hmm.

They're all disqualified for one reason or another. The NFC North, the Packers are too, I mean, too much America's team. So can't have... What about those lions? No. Oh, don't. Hell no.

No. Unless it's not in on the lions are kind of frisky this year. I agree that their offense could be kind of fun to watch, but no, they define mediocrity until they prove otherwise. I do kind of like the Bears, but how can I support a team that said, we've got a chance at Camp Newton, but instead we're going to bring in Nick Fools. I mean, I don't want to encourage other teams to do stuff like that. One other player on that 2013 Panthers team.

You said you were all about one side of the ball. I mean, I remember watching a young Cam Newton and being pretty entertained by that too. So I'm just saying Cam Newton's out there. He's playing on a new team again. No, the Patriots aren't forgiven for their Antonio Brown sin. The days of carrying the water are over Rosenthal. They're long gone. It's worth a shot.

All right. Anything else, Wes? Before we close this topic for now. You know what? Anyone else intrigued by the Redskins defense? Oh, whoa. They are the R word. Whomp, womp, what, we're not?

We can't ever say that again. Well, they're gone. That's not the team. What about when you talk about the 1991, like, Super Bowl championship? You could. You could avoid that. If you want, but yeah, that's different. Why do I want?

Wes, it's allowable. If you refer to, if you, if that's how you want to go, we'll, I think ATN, we could give you that wiggle room. Pre-2020. If you want. It feels like if it's an honest mistake, people should just let it ride. But, you know, if we want to play a hall monitor all year, that we can do that too. Strict punishments, Wes. All right.

They could be kind of fun, but that is similar to your. Cincinnati organization. Oh, I know. Troubles. I'm not into, let's see something more positive before I really We did. Just on Monday we saw something positive. The first black NFL team president was hired by the Washington Redskins.

There's progress. Was the name Jason Wright? Yeah, former player. I remember him vaguely as a kind of a journeyman guy. He was on the Cardinals. Is it like a third down back? I mean, this wasn't that long ago. He received effusive praise from around the league on Monday.

He also is inheriting a role which normally has a lot more power than most team presidents. And team president is a very significant role, to be clear. I mean, that's the guy running the business. But also... We used to call that the footballs are. Right. In Washington, it also tends to have a little more say over large swaths of the organization, including the football side. So we'll see if that's the case.

with Jason Wright but like I mean you think about Bruce Allen no one was more powerful as a team president there and he wasn't the only one in the Dan Snyder tenure all right so the who I always said it

the Washington football team and add them as well all right let's let's kind of let's bookmark this and maybe revisit and maybe once the season begins maybe a couple weeks in I don't know

it's all it's a fact-finding mission more anything else all right good all right well everything is kind of day by day week to week at this point so we can't really promise absolutely absolutely it's the life we're living nothing nothing in life should be presumed i guess we got to see what happens with the testing but i do feel like right now at this very moment there's only 15 players on the covid 19 list and the players in teams are practicing in full pads. And now we've got to see what the impact of that is in the next week or two. But, man, we're three weeks away for the season and them really practicing.

It's kind of the moment where I was like, okay, well, this is happening. This is, we're, we're almost there. We got to see what happens in terms of the test results. But at least right now, you know, there's not many people on that list. Something very interesting happened in baseball over the weekend. Mike Clevenger and Dan Pleasack, two quality starting people. pitchers for the Cleveland Indians, a team that is in contention in the American League, they went out with friends dinner and socializing and broke curfew and then lied about it.

And one of the players actually traveled on the team plane without owning up to it. And then that led to a bit of a locker room showdown. And those two players being optioned to the team. minor league facility, essentially, or their training camp, whatever they're calling it this year. So I'm interested to see in football because, again, this will be something to watch both this summer. And then when the season starts, can players be disciplined? And if they are not, will there be a similar hell to pay internally for the team being put in jeopardy, both health wise and season-wise? I imagine there will be. This is a subplot that will happen in the NFL. It just

happened in baseball first. More players involved in the NFL because the rosters are so big and generally younger players too. And less of less of a bubble situation really because even though the MLB teams are not in their travel, I mean, when they're in those hotels, that's a bubble situation. Whereas players here, you know, for almost every day of the season, they're going to be at home in the NFL. So it will be interesting. But so far so good. To your point, Greg. It feels like we're on a good path right now, and hopefully it stays that way as training camp rolls on.

We'll be back on Wednesday with another show. And a reminder, our NFL network program returned on Saturday. So make sure you set your DVR for the around the NFL show on NFL network. And you also could see that digitally on NFL.com. And I believe it's on YouTube. If it's not being put up on YouTube by our people, I believe if you check out the around the NFL subreddit

there is a way to see the show if you don't have access to NFL network. So just look into that if you want and that's it. Wes, great to see you again, buddy. All right, that was a good one.

Mondays with what? You got treatment this week? What's it? Is this a treatment week? Tomorrow. I've actually got doctor's appointment today and then chemo tomorrow. So treatment every Tuesday.

All right. Well, good luck with that, buddy. And I hope you're feeling okay. after it and love you, buddy. Thank you. Good to be loved. Let's sign off.

This is Dan Hansis. The old Zeus are signing off for Mailman. He said good to be loved, but not love you back. Mailman. We'll get into that next time. Until Wednesday.

Thank you. 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 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 Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the

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