NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Rams Training Camp with Allen Robinson, J.B. Long, Jourdan Rodrigue, and Ricky Hollywood

Episode Date: August 6, 2022

A field off to the side filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal bring you all the latest news from around the league, starting with the NFL's decision to appeal Deshaun Watson's six-game suspension ruling (4:14). We recap our takeaways from the Hall of Fame game (11:10) and discuss Diontae Johnson's contract extension (14:23). Then, Rams play-by-play announcer J.B. Long and Athletic beat writer Jourdan Rodrigue sit down for an in-depth Rams discussion, starting with Matthew Stafford's elbow concerns (17:14). Next, Allen Robinson stops by to talk about his place in Sean McVay's offense, being recruited to play for the Rams, and how he's adapting to life in Los Angeles (42:40). Finally, we catch up with our old producer Ricky Hollywood (50:14). Note: timecodes approximate.NFL 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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

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. Be around the NFL podcast. Keep scorching the Earth. From the campus of UC Irvine and the home of the world champion Los Angeles Rams

that's around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansis. Joined for the first time ever since we've done this podcast by a man with exposed legs, Greg Rosenthal, and Mark Sessler. What's up, boys? So not true. I'm sure we've worn shorts on the show. So much hair. Wasn't prepared for it.

You have hairy legs, Greg. I mean, I'm a hairy man. I just, I didn't want to say anything because it's not a negative comment. It's a funny. It's masculine. And you're getting older. it's getting, it's getting hairy. Thankfully, unlike my brother and dad, not with the hairy back.

So that's solid. Also, this is the home of the Anteaters. Put some respect on Emeka Rosenthal's alma mater. I apologize, of course. It is there forever home, the temporary home, at least in summertime of the champion Rams. And I have to say, like, first of all, it's great to be here. It's a beautiful day in Southern California.

We're in the shade, which is an upgrade from past years. when we have been on location. This is a big crowd here, and we've been doing this long enough where we followed this whole saga of the Rams, and for years and years, the relocation drama around Los Angeles, and then the Rams eventually coming here,

the temporary home at the old Coliseum, so if a stadium comes into being, and now you see what winning does, tens of thousands of people filing through these gates throughout the summer, including thousands today. It's quite, they got, they figured this out, Mark. They kind of stuck the landing, the Rams. If you were to script the narrative from when they announced the move

to what just happened winning the Super Bowl and then the fan appearance today, you could not have scripted it more perfectly. The narrative you feared essentially five years ago came true. It's coming to focus. It is coming to focus. I want to use this moment, though, because this comes up like maybe four times every episode

that I have this anti-Rams thing. I was held, I had a hell. healthy suspicion about what it would look like for us at our workplace and everything else. I am fine. We're good. The Rams are an enjoyable team that do things their own way. I can appreciate it. And we've been indoctrinated. I was here Thursday with my kids because that was the one day. I think they could go to trading camp and they become Rams fans. They got an autograph from Aaron Donald in the line. I mean, they've got a whole kids zone. Family zone. I was at a Jeff Fisher practice the first year. He was coaching the Rams. To your point, it's night and day.

We have some footage. of that moment, and Greg and his family were moved to the front of the line in front of normal civilians to get the autographed first. Greg Rosenpals here. That is not true. That is not true. He won the bracelet. You had to spin a wheel, and he won the bracelet. If he didn't get the wheel, he did it. You had to get a little

bracelet. Well, that's a little different. If there was a wheel that was spun? It's not remotely true. Spinning a wheel sounds more realistic. Yes, so here we are at Rams Camp, and we're excited to be here, and we're going to have some great guests, including the Voice of the Rams, J.B. Long, Jordan Rodriguez, who covers the Rams so beautifully for the athletic. We're going to have a kind of like a Rams Knights of the Roundtable.

Like that. Conversation. I feel like that works. Smart football minds. And we're also going to have Alan Robinson, the big marquee signing and free agency, along with Bobby Wagner coming in town. Those are the two big names on each side of the ball. We got Alan Robinson on the show.

So we'll talk to Robinson what it's like to go from the Bears, perhaps the most, most moorabund organization right now, to the Rams, which is Hollywood. But before that, what was that? That was a horn. That was like, hey, practice is starting or move to the next drill. Should we do a better job painting the picture? We're literally behind, I'll say the south end zone because nobody knows, behind the south end zone of one of the fields here at the practice facility. So we're here right as practices kicking off And we're excited to be here

Before we get into some Rams talk Let's do some league news The NFL has notified the NFL Players Association That it will appeal Judge Robinson's disciplinary decision And it filed a brief as such This afternoon All right

We have to start with Deshawn Watson This is the next chapter of the story that we kind of predicted and thought was how it was going to play out when the first news came out about Sue Robinson's ruling on Monday. The NFL has indeed appealed the six-game suspension for the Browns quarterback. They are seeking obviously a tougher penalty, and we're going to see how this now plays out. Now, the league, Greg, had the option here of Roger Goodell determining the appeal himself, but he is instead handing that to someone else.

And where does that, where does the story land for you right now, how this is going to play out? Were you surprised that it's not going to be Goodell himself that makes this decision? It makes me a little less certain from the feeling that if Roger Goodell wants Deshaun Watson to be suspended for a year, which he does. They've been pushing for an indefinite suspension that would be a minimum of a year, which would probably include a fine and perhaps other things Watson has to satisfy

like counseling, that if Goodell wanted that, then that's what's going to happen. Now, him appointing a different arbiter in the case adds a little more uncertainty, but ultimately, I think that's what's going to happen. It's very hard to predict, but I think Watson's lack of remorse, which we've talked about on this show,

is absolutely factoring in to what's going to happen. Sue Robinson mentioned it, and I think Sue Robinson also mentioned that literally everything the NFL tried to prove, once we finally got to look at what she said, what they tried to prove in terms of his case was proven. The only reason he was getting six games was she felt hamstrung by the lack of precedent in what had happened before,

and now I think this appeal opens it up. So his total lack of remorse, and that's been the case, and we saw a report from Diana Rusini this week that his camp believed that six games was too much, that they believe he deserved nothing, and that to me speaks to his lack of remorse and speaks to a group of people around him that is really letting him live his lie,

that the NFL, and now potentially this judge who's going to decide, this arbiter, will see that as a huge factor and a reason to give him the full year that at no point in this process other than paying off the Texans and paying off all the women, has he actually expressed

that he ever did anything wrong? You had talked about this lurking as a legacy defining moment for Goodell who had the chance to step in if he wanted to oversee it and come down with the ruling that would have addressed a lot of the things that you just said. I do think that it is in a hazier place right now

when Judge A came up with the, six-game ruling, and this is another judge who, in theory, is going to look at it through the same lens and decide she, Sue L. Robinson, was completely wrong with her, the amount of games. I think that there's another detail in this, is that the league, it's come out, it's been reported. They absolutely do not want Deshaun Watson playing with the Cleveland Browns against the Houston Texans in week 13. And it makes me think that if there is a amount of games that fits this, that 12-game window would keep them out of that. thorny why does that matter it I people have thrown that out there so there I

think the league is very strongly about this throwing someone is leaking to some media this 12 game number whether that happens or not but you're right there's something to it there is something to it I mean I it's unsatisfying to me but someone explains me why that matters right I don't I think I think the the lead up that's not going to matter to the judge or the new arbiter but I'm just saying that's something in the league what they were massive no matter when he, who he plays in that first game back. It will be. It's a detail in there, but it's an unsatisfying conclusion. Like 12 games seems like a very strange half measure. Like, yes,

it's, okay, we're saying it's more, it's more significant than Ben Rathesberger, or certainly more than James Winston, who she mentioned as sort of a precedent. But then it's, it's this in-between number. And that's why I think the NFL doesn't want that they want the year. I just, I do think that we're in a much different place in terms of what the result could be, because Goodell is not overseeing this. It's been put into a different place. And I agree with, obviously, we are of like mind about where this should land.

I think it should have been an indefinite or full season. That would be my choice if I were in charge of the whole thing. But like an independent guy who's going to come in and look at it through a different lens than Mark, Greg, Dan, and a lot of the fans may come up with a completely different result here. And if that is, and that makes sense why Robinson came down with just the six games on precedent,

you kind of wish, and Greg, to your point earlier, week that Goodell then came in and be like, well, that's fair. But everything else that she found backed up what we thought. Right. And this is without precedent. I am establishing the precedent as the commissioner, and I am dropping the indefinite suspension. And if you want to take us to court, do it. But this is what we feel like the league needs to do to get caught up and be in the right

place on this. Now, maybe they feel confident that this person, New Jersey Attorney General, Attorney General Peter C. Harvey, who's hearing the appeal, will be of like mind to the NFL. And I would think they do. I think they have their ducks. I mean, they've been meticulous about how they want to handle this, the NFL, that that's how this is going to end up. That's what I think this is going to be now.

It's going to be the year or indefinite. But this is all new. But then it gets tossed into federal court if Watson's camp wants to. First of all, the NFLPA had to file, you know, potentially their appeal. They're not going to do that this week. It's supposed to be a relatively abbreviated process that he'll hear this. And Mike Floreo, and I don't know if this is the final answer, but he's a lawyer.

He believes strongly, and he thinks it's definite, that Watson's six-game suspension after the NFLPA decided not to appeal that is upheld. That any potential push to federal court would kick the can to week seven. And that would basically be the playing field that they would be battling for. That there's no way he would be there in week one. Right. They're accepting. Exactly. Exactly. They're accepting that.

He will be playing in the preseason, apparently, too, which is also just strange. Strange. The whole thing, Jacoby Brissette, of course, in line to start games for the Browns, perhaps the whole season, depending on how this plays out. Of course, we'll continue to follow the story. The NFL season kind of sort of got underway this week on Thursday with the Hall Fame game in Canton. It was a Raiders 27 to 11 win over the Jaguars. Mark, I imagine you were tuned. in for every second of action.

What was your biggest takeaway? Many of the seconds. First of all, I think it's so funny because there are a ton of articles out there reviewing the game. And we know that tangibly the game means very little, but it's just the excitement that football is back. It gets so much focus. And so I like that part of it.

Like it's on NBC. It's got treated like a true prime time game. I remember your boy, Mike and Chris, kind of Jane Beuling. That's wonderful. I remember in our ATN blogging days being tasked with, you know, covering that game. and you end up writing like 1500 words because it's football and the announcers are there and there's all the discussion and then somebody pops out like last year was micha parsons uh for the cowboys this year that is trevon walker that's not my take is so much as it's uh no

trevon walker looked i mean it just you wanted to see something if you're the jaguars were a fan of the team and you did uh that the raiders struggled they gave up five sacks um josh jacobs i think this was one of the bigger storylines that josh mcdaniel who's going to do things differently We know that coming from the Patriots way. Had Josh McDaniels, in theory, they're starting running back out there for the first two series. He ran hard, he ran a lot. But they've got Zemir White as well, and so I think that's one battle look at with Las Vegas. He played all their running backs.

This is like overreacted preseason and usage. I know Greg hates this because I saw you tweet about this. I hate overreact to preseason usage season. Like, oh, he must hate Josh Jacobs. He's playing. It's like, no, every coach is a little different. And Josh McDaniels is coming from the Belichick School of, Every year he approaches preseason snaps differently than the year before

and different week to week, and there's no point even reading into it. He might feel, for whatever reason, let's play Jacobs this week, and then he's not going to play the rest of the preseason. Or he thinks, I want to get all the running backs some snaps because I'm just, like, looking at it. And that's what he did. He still put Jacobs out there first, so it's just impossible to, like, know what any of that means. But we can say Jacobs look good, to mirror-white look good.

I would also add they did not pick up his fifth-year option. drafted his replacement in theory, and they're a new regime. Trayvon Walker was my one, really my one takeaway. It was like, ooh, that was spicy, kind of like Michael Parsons a year ago. There you go. No free lunch for Josh Jacobs at this stage of the game. He's got to earn his playing time. We'll see if he does.

And it looked like a Josh McDaniel's offense. For what it's worth. It's like crack back blocks and they're great, a great screen. Maybe I'm saying it wrong, but, you know, with like the, where they got the pulling. Crack back blocks. Not exactly. No, that's not exactly legal. I'm saying sort of like the smash blocks is really what I should be saying.

I thought the game reminded me of Paris in the 40s, just a beautiful place. That's a perfect parallel. Time to be alive. I think crackback was the correct term. It was. A crackback block is a blocking scheme element where a player split out wide or in the slot will motion. Oh, yeah, you're using. No blind side.

You're using those receivers, those tight ends. And just every, everything's wide open. It is Paris in the 40s. Paris in the 30s? 20s. 20s. 20s. The screen game?

Looking love. Finally in the news, Steelers have, making us look dumb, have said, yeah, we do want to do a contract with Deonté Johnson. Two years, 36.71 million, 27 million in guarantees. So Johnson was holding in at Steelers camp. Turns out he was doing it because they were working on a contract and they get it done, Mark. So we talked about Deonti Johnson and his abilities, and now they have a guy. And I guess it's, you know, teams of all. Steelers are a well-run organization.

It's post-Ben Ralthusberger now. They have some extra money with a quarterback situation the way it is. So it makes sense. Keep a guy in the building that you like a lot. I think what we were saying, too, was not to self-edit, but he's not going to go get one of these monster contracts. The reporting was that they were really far apart at the beginning of August, and they found a way to slot him in between Michael Thomas' previous contract

and what Christian Kirk got for average per year. And so I think it's a win for the Steelers. It's really only outside of Heinz Warden and Antonio Brown the third receiver's got a multi-year second contract with the Steelers. I mean, they don't do this. And it tells you that Omar Khan, their new GM, although Kevin Calbert was his mentor for so long, is unafraid to go do things a little bit differently.

I agree, and I also would say the deal doesn't happen unless Deonté Johnson is willing to play ball and ultimately take the bird in the hand, take the short money now. And I would do the same thing personally if I was somehow in Deante Johnson's situation, You know, he's a mid-round traffic who's making, you know. Sounds like a high-concept comedy that I would watch.

Greg Rosethal goes into the body of Steelers wide-out. I'd say he was willing to play ball. It makes financial decisions. Take well-below market deal because it's only two years. That's the key. Take well-below market, not mess around, get the life-changing money now and be a free agent very soon because the Steelers weren't going to pay market value. And that's fine.

That's good. Everyone's happy. The Steelers doing smart moves, just like you. love. How much was Ben making his last season on contract? A lot. He was over, I think his cap number was up to 30. Yeah.

So you can do that. You got that window. Remember our window quarterback window talk we love. They could spend, they could be aggressive elsewhere in the roster right now. T.J. Watts got the big money. Absolutely. You're right. They're saving that quarterback.

All right. That's what's happening in the news. We're just getting started here. By the way, a very, very special guest, one of our favorite people at the end of the show. Coming up next, after the break, we're going to have the Knights. What did I call it? I don't remember anymore. The Knights of the Roundtable?

Knights of the Roundtable? The Knights of Templar Roundtable scenario? We're going to talk Rams football. With the X's and O's experts, Jordan Rodriguez, and J.B. Long, up next. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from Scouting Reports and players.

development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.

Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get.

Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael F. Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet.

We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. 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. Here's the snap. Here's the name. The Bengals will not call a time out. The sidelines empty. Rings for the Rams.

A Lombardi trophy for Los Angeles. All right, there it is. The call by the voice of the Rams. And we're very happy to have him. J.B. Long also joining us from The Athletic, one of the great beat reporters in our league, Jordan Rodriguez. Welcome back, both of you, to around the NFL. Let's start conversation about these Rams,

and you have to start the conversation with Matthew Stafford, the quarterback who is going to be out of practice for the foreseeable future. Sean McVeigh said on Thursday that Stafford is dealing with an elbow injury that is, quote, a tricky deal. Also said that it's abnormal for a quarterback. Jordan, is this something we should be worried? I mean, our routine in the orderment is never a concern, but I also would say that this has been a known issue.

It was a known issue last year. It's an ongoing issue, and it's a known issue in the spring as they tried some non-surgical treatments. It's a known issue entering OTAs. It's a known issue entering training camp. So when you're seeing the on-load-de-load schedule, it's not indicating a setback. This is something that they thought, well, we have to try it this way.

Now, I don't know specifically the nature of the injury itself. Shami Faye's comments yesterday to me were striking in that he mentioned he'd never dealt with something like this, specifically with a quarterback. He also declined to agree that it was tendonitis. He made it sound a little bit different than that, and he talked about it in terms of a baseball injury, less so a quarterback injury. And he said that the team is sort of figuring it out also as they go in terms of this new treatment strategy that he's on. But this has been an overarching theme since basically they stepped off the field in February, or stepped off the parade buses a week later, or stumbled off the parade buses a week later. And it's been a known issue.

And so I think that when you're looking at it, yes, there is concern. But there's also the nuance of they are on schedule with the premeditated plan that they had for him coming in. and I expect him to unload back up in Thousand Oaks kind of away from eyeballs and all of that when they start really installing in earnest for Buffalo. I would just ask this because, you know, McVeigh, that was an interesting comment that he never dealt with that as a coach because you've seen everything. He's been around for a long time. Is the medical staff, if it's new to them and uncharted, is there a fair concern about

where you are come November, December, or is that just we don't know? I agree. I think so, yeah, because, and Sean McVeigh kind of was more, blunt about this than I expected in terms of the idea that they're trying to control every variable right now as many variables as they can possibly control because they know that come that time of year so much of this will be out of their control so I think what their strategy is is how much can we manage right now how much of this situation can we control every piece of and study and track every piece of with their sports science department I mean you see

Matthew out there with Zach Witherspoon every single day is their lead sports scientist so that tells me that they're tracking every single data point that they can because they know they're not going to be able to during that time of year and they can't say for sure whether the pain will increase or decrease or what they don't know well he is throwing and he's it's not all just like easy throws he saw him out there on Thursday and he's throwing the ball and it looks pretty good but it's a pretty good big concern the pain the word pain is the problem the fact that they got a procedure done this off season and that he's still feeling pain and it's a problem We also might not hear of it once it gets to week one.

You may never hear it again because they're just not got to talk about it. But of course that's a concern. J.B., like looking at what they did last year schematically, you're a big X's and O's guy. This is actually a heavy hitters here in terms of like X's and O's breakdown between you and you and Jordan. Like you go as deep as anyone. No, definitely not. Like what do you think schematically they're going to do for getting the elbow injury this year to, evolve this offense because I think people from the outside, including myself, were probably

at a little surprise how far they went away from the traditional Sean McVeigh type of offense that we had grown used to for four years with Matthew Stafford. Like, where do you think that goes in Jordan, too, like X's and O's wise and how they want to like change this year? Because they're not going to stay the same. Yeah. Well, let me say two quick things about the injury and then I'll try and land on this scheme stuff so that you can take it from there. First, Matthew, specifically, I'm not sure. It's a good play-by-plan-plan-out. He's a pro-old.

I'm, like, a wash with, like, that was amazing. Is that what your partner feels like in the booth every day? I'm just nodding my head in respect when what's going on. That was incredible. MJD, look out. Jordan and J.B. coming through. I'm feeling so valued. Writers don't get this.

So I was going to start by saying I don't think anyone's more proven, especially not at that position, than Matthew Stafford at pain management and playing through bumps and bruises. Like Matthew Stafford, 75% has been good enough to win on Sundays and even to win a championship. Remember, one of the most famous play-through injury

moments in the last 20 years. Shoulders out with the lions, the guy's tough as nails. But I will acknowledge the legitimate concern. And at this time of year, we wouldn't be talking about this issue if that wasn't shared. And if there's a through line to Sean McVeigh's success over these five years, five winning campaigns, they've won a lot of games on Sunday,

but they've also won a whole lot of Friday afternoons. And what I mean by that is their injury fortune and Ritchie Scott, VP of sports medicine, their whole team has had the top of their roster available on game day, I think, as often or more often than any team in the national football league. They always rake high in that adjusted games loss. And you can't overstate that.

In terms of scheme, you're right. I mean, I was talking with Cam Acres, Rams running back yesterday, about remember when he went off at SoFi Stadium against the Patriots, that was kind of his welcome to the NFL moment. I went back and looked at some of those highlights, and like was characteristic of the Jerodov Rams offense, he was under center, Cam was in the dot, and that was kind of their format for the better part of their tenure. In one year, they've totally revamped that, where now the Rams went from no gun runs to a very broad staple of their offense, the offset gun,

and Matthew Stafford often preferring to operate out of empty. The difference this year, as they continued to assemble the pieces around him to, I think, leverage that to its ultimate potential, and I'm sure we'll talk about this, is Alan Robinson. And Matthew Stafford has had talents like Alan in his past, but McVeigh with the Rams has not. And I think that's going to have a ton of benefits, especially finishing drives in the red zone. And if you can layer in OBJ in November or beyond on top of that, look out. I think that's the next evolution of this offense. Yeah, it's really interesting watching how it changed from, you know, 2020 into 2021. I always refer to Sean McVeigh as a heart on his sleeve

play caller like he is the play sheet he puts himself into that and i'm not trying to you know write an article here in real time but like that no that's good it really is that it really is what he is so you see the facets of his personality come out by the way he designs plays not necessarily by the way he calls plays although on fourth down we could argue that but also like the way that the layers manifest right and you saw him um almost over correct in some ways they didn't you know with some of the things that they were doing out of the gun and some of the dropback passing and limiting the play action specifically from under center. When they were going play action, they were also going gun action,

which they'd never done in the Jared Goff, Sean McVeigh era, because it was that sense of everything opening up in front of the quarterback and then allowing the quarterback to make the decision post-snap instead of sort of laying up what I think is a very valuable cheat code, but one that they became so dependent on. So you almost saw him overcorrect personally in some of the ways that he was designing this offense. And I think what they want this offense to look like in its fullest manifestation is a high pass volume offense with a really solid explosive run game, with running backs who can work out of the backfield and be threats in the passing game.

And you've definitely seen that so far here in camp. You saw that in trickles and phases, not necessarily maybe the run game last year. They had to do a bunch of different things because of injuries. but specifically with the past game, they want the ball in Matthew Stafford's hands as much as possible, not to sort of downgrade the run game at all, because it will still be such a huge factor, but they want Matthew Stafford throwing the ball. And so that's where we kind of come back with this arm thing, this elbow thing. You know, it does, that kind of raises the concern level a little bit because I do expect this to continue to expand.

You're going to continue to see the empty sets. You're going to continue to see, yes, the motions and the screens that Sean McVeigh loves to do. But, man, you're going to see them spread out the field, not just horizontally, but vertically with what Alan Robinson can do. It's a tricky needle of thread with the Rams, of course, have accomplished and how they've built this team. And you're going to see, and you're already seeing teams trying to copycat because, listen, we're at the home of the champions right now. But the Stafford issue with the elbow, and you look at their secondary with Jalen Ramsey and then some question marks. You look at Bobby Wagner, a veteran in his 30s. Aaron Donald now a veteran in his 30s.

This thing could go sideways very quickly because it's a very top-heavy star veteran team. Any concerns about that coming off a long season? J.B. as an employee can't answer that. But coming off a season where they play so many games. I can definitely answer that. Yeah. Where do you come down

on that, J.B? Is that something that you feel like this team could they handle injuries or are they more susceptible and more danger right now as a result of the way they're built? It feels like deja vu all over again. Being here last year, I remember hearing the criticism of what a top heavy roster. It was. Not from you specific. Here he goes. Here he goes. But like, then you look at. No. Mark is a top 10 global NFL

insider. He's a top 10 football insider. Football insider. He also is huge Rams guy. Like, loves the NFL's connection with the Rams and loves you. He's sassy. I'm so happy right now. I even got to hear a sting live. Like, I'm so happy right now. I think what last year taught me is just how profound appreciation you have to have for the stars needing to align in so many regards for a moment like that to happen at SoFi Stadium. Everything from the Broncos being willing to trade

Vaughn Miller and OBJ getting out of Cleveland to make himself available post-dedline as Robert Woods tears in ACL to having a future Hall of Fame safety down the road two years into retirement in San Diego who's been watching and studying your scheme and can step in and play just about every meaningful snap throughout the postseason.

I think there's a valid case to be made that this roster, this team could beat last year's team. I think last year they may have been a year ahead of schedule, especially with respect to Stafford and McVeigh on the weapons they've assembled around him. Now, with the schedule they're going to face, does that mean they're going to have as good a record win as many games go as deep as they did? No, of course not, but I don't think it's because they're top heavy. I think to capture the sense of urgency and to have all of the good fortune from the football's bouncing their way to getting the sleeper agent of the San Francisco 49ers into the postseason to clear out the Cowboys and Packers.

Like, you can't replicate that. That'll never happen again. I mean, also, like, they go get these big names, but they work out. I mean, Matthew Stafford worked out. Odell Beckham, in time, worked out. And Alan Robinson, can we overstate? I've seen some of your tweets. You said some jaw dropping your draw drop to the grass, I think, at one point, Jordan,

watching one of his catches. Okay, you got it back. Really great work. Can we overstate how well this is working out so far? Yeah, I mean, I'm, as you guys know, the nature. of my job is to be a bit skeptical, right? And to not overreact to things and to sort of dig in deeper and see moment by moment what's happening.

And I've got to tell you, like, the hype is real on Alan Robinson. And it's, in May, I'm standing there at OTAs, and Matthew Stafford is not throwing, and they're running through install, and Alan Robinson is moving through. And again, when you look at an all-22 view of what this offense is and how the route layers spread out and how they sort of interconnect with each other. You see him doing it like he's not new and I'm sitting there and I'm like, oh my God, this guy

could play a game for them tomorrow and then I'm sitting there, it's May, what am I doing? Who have I become? And I'm sitting there thinking this is going to be so special and it has been special every single day. Even on the days where you can tell they're sort of experimenting with each other with the ball placement and they're figuring out

leverages and they're figuring out the way that Alan likes to catch and the way that Matthew likes to throw and some of the timing stuff. And sometimes that leads to the turnovers or the drop passes or whatever, but you can see the collaboration. And it's very similar to how he and Cooper Cup collaborated on this offense last year, all through the spring, literally drawing plays in the grass after practice. And I think it's so special. And when you think about the addition here and talking about the guys that have worked out,

there's also, when the Rams are targeting these players, it's not wantonly. like they're not just saying, oh, that guy seems pretty good. Like they do have a analytical study of the top tier guys who they will pursue and they value, you know, how much capital can we push in on that specific tier of player because they know the expectation with the middle and the bottom part of the roster is those guys have to bring up everybody with them, not just schematically in the course of snap to snap, but in the locker room, in the film room. The expectation is those guys are brought up with them.

and that's every single player, even some of the more controversial additions they've made in the last couple of years who have done nothing but prove that they're that type of person as well. Kind of like Ricky Hollywood as a one offering there. There she is. There she is.

I was wondering if you guys came to try and get Ricky back. There's a plan percolating, yes. But we can't share it with you. Dan, you probably want to sit down with less need and give them your real Fuller pitch, right? Because the Rams are... Well, you've mentioned Fuller because we brought up Fuller on the podcast this week when the Cowboys

had a hit to their depth chart and then Greg astutely brought up O'Dell Beckham Cowboys that's meant to be and then I hear J.B. Long who's totally plugged in to this building almost speaking earlier as if yeah O'Dell's you know he's going to materialize down the line is that the expectation

around this team in your mind that O'Dell's going to be here? Cam Acres doesn't think so he took his number I will stay out of the O'Dell Beckham Jr. prediction business I don't think that. I think there are good vibes on both sides, but there's also, what, 31 other teams who will have a say in that, and presumably have some time to have a say in that. It is fascinating.

Like, if Robinson ends up being as good as you as, like, we think he might be, like, it ended up being a Von Miller for Alan Robinson trade. Like, if Von Miller took that money, Alan Robinson probably wouldn't be here. I don't know. They find a way to figure everything out. Right, that's true, too. And just before, I know you guys have to work and stuff, but I'm thinking sort of about this division, too, as a whole. I was also curious for Jordan's answer to the O'Dell Beckham class.

Oh, what are you? Just out of curiosity. Oh, okay, we're back there. Give us one second. We do have time also. I mean, I can't speak for you, but I love being here. So you're going to have to actually crowbar me out of this seat. This is your fourth episode of the week here audience.

Can't possibly get this deep in your podcast. I think, like J.B. said, I think there's very good. vibes on both sides. I think this is one of those things, and I repeat this, you know, Rams fans and readers and subscribers know, I repeat this altogether too often. Multiple things are true at the same time about this situation. Like, I personally am optimistic that this is something that works out longer term. I don't expect Odell to be back until like November-ish. So there's not really a timeline on this. While at the same time, it's another truth that he has every right and should do what's best for himself and his family.

So I think that he seamlessly fits back in with this group. They stay in contact with him. You know, Sean McVeigh is, like, publicly wooing him in every chance he gets. And, you know, Odell was at Sean's wedding. I mean, it's like, you know, red crumbs are there. There's good vibes, right? But at the same time, multiple truths, like, yes, I can see him fitting in and making an impact because, like I said, they do hope by that time of year to continue to be a high-volume

passing attack, right? barring any sort of setback or elbow flying off into the sun or whatever and so at that point I do see him fitting in I see a role for him I see some flexibility perhaps on the second year of such an offer versus maybe some incentive heavy stuff on the first year and I also think that at the same time Odell very rightfully should do what's best for him whether that's emotionally being here and sort of settling in Los Angeles maybe like full time or whether it's someone else you know gives him a huge offer that he can't and shouldn't refuse because you need to make sure that you're taking care of,

your family's taken care of. Do you think they make some of these moves with the 49ers in mind? It looks like a two-team division to me, and Sean McVeigh's offense has struggled against the 49ers. They won this. I think it's gotten a little overlooked that they really won the Super Bowl

because of the defense more. It's a team game, but if you have to apportion credit, this is a team that embarrassed the Cardinals, embarrassed Tom Brady until the, you know, the Rams started fumbling every time, held the 49ers in the teens and kept getting the ball back in the Super Bowl. In part because they haven't had answers for the 49ers in the regular season on offense. Like how much do you think this battle between Shanahan and McVeigh plays into their offseason thinking? And like, how do you see that going this year?

Because it seems very important to me. I'm fascinated to hear you call it a two-team division because given the way last year ended, with the Heroics at SoFi Stadium. Week 18, and then also in the NSC Championship game, I was surprised when the schedule came out and the Rams and the Niners are done by Halloween. Like, their games are early, which usually says that that's not how the league

necessarily sees the division playing out. It may have just been a scheduling quirk. But in terms of answers to the Niners, how about Bobby Wagner? Because the way this division plays, the Rams have absolutely wiped the Cardinals, right? The Seahawks have had the 49ers' numbers, And the Niners have had good success more than any other team of the division against the Rams.

But if I'm not mistaken, now every remnant of the Super Bowl team in Seattle is now gone, with Russell Wilson going to Denver and Bobby Wagner being here. And it's such a departure from their team-building model, Jordan, to invest in a veteran future Hall of Fame off-ball linebacker. That's typically a salary cap corner that they would cut. But I think they saw something special there, not necessarily to solve. the San Francisco conundrum, though I do think he will help in that regard. And I'll just add one other thing, because we haven't talked about, despite not having

a top 100 pick in the draft, I think they have found some starters again on defense, especially in their secondary. Given the quarterbacks and the offenses they're going to face on this championship schedule, you can never have enough corners, but especially here in 2020. Give us the names. What are the names? Dary and Kendrick would be one. Dachovie Durant, seeing some good things from Rush East, although they're so safe.

I mean, they've got, they came in thinking, oh, corner is a position of concern. In the draft, they leaned on what they do best. They found a ton of guys who are maybe perhaps overlooked in some areas of athletic testing or certain phases of the standard draft process. They run them through these personality tests to determine, like, whether their culture fit for specifically what they're going to ask them to do. And then they show up day one and they start to ball. And it's, I'm not kidding.

Like this kid, Daryon Kendrick, he's matched up. against Alan Robinson in the red zone and holding his own. And this is something to watch. And they traded for Troy Hill. They got Troy Hill back in Los Angeles where he played his best football could prove to be for this year the most important thing they did on draft weekend. They seem to have their act together. They seem to.

And if Jordan is good as I know she is in terms of her writing ability, yeast rises has to be in the mix at some point. It hasn't been used already. It's been used. You know what I mean? But if you guys have a second too, So, J.B. made a great point about the Bobby Wagner edition because I think ultimately what ends up beating the Niners late in the season when they had to get through them to get to the Super Bowl is something that goes so underlooked through the course of the history, the modern history of this team. And that is Rahim Morris and Sean McVeigh, they completely unpacked the defense they had spent the last two and a half years evolving that nobody else was playing.

They completely unpacked it, went totally opposite by dropping the safety. down. Eric Weddell, dropping the safety down, specifically built the entire defense in one week to stop the run. That's it. That's all they were going to do. So that agility is not something they had in 2018 when they came up against similar problem solving issues, I will say politely. They didn't have that agility. So agility got them over the hump here. And Bobby Wagner is somebody who continues to expand that agility with the multiplicity of what you can do, not for what your team is doing, what the scheme and the design per game can be. deserve the benefit of the doubt. I mean, what else do we need to see? What else do we need to hear? You've said it all, Jordan and J.B. Thank you. This Rams round table. Mark has a rast from all this glowing Rams stuff going out. It is such a narrative. It's a beautiful day out. This team just won the Super Bowl. Narratives are narratives for a reason. The grape nuts of the national football league. That's right. That's right. The question is not whether or not the Rams are right for you. Forget about me and you and our families, J.B. sitting in the park together,

having wine and cheese, you and Sessler just sitting one-on-one in a restaurant, chopping it up. I like that. Well, various personalities have come on this show and not given Mark his due. He's trying to correct that, and I think that's fair. I'm not pointing right at Kyle Brandt, but I'm kind of calling back. Kyle owned it. He took the L on that, but it happened, and we can't ignore it. You're taking the road less traveled, and it's going to benefit you in terms of our friendship.

All right, you guys have a lot more work to do today, but we thank you for taking some time and hope to have you on again. The Jays. Thank you. Thank you to ATN and everything you guys have meant to my NFL experience on and off the air. You guys are the best. You're the best. Thank you guys. Thanks, guys.

All right, there we go. Love those two people. Great, great conversation there. And one thing we didn't get to, gentlemen, that I want to throw out there with the Rams. After that trade deadline, they face these quarterbacks. Tom Brady Kyler Murray Patrick Mahomes

Derek Carr Aaron Rogers Russell Wilson Justin Herbert I want to put a season a sandwich out there right now that Aaron Donald's going to get some more help

in the pass rush via trade deadline a splashy acquisition because that that does profile as a tricky situation there for this team and a team that loves to make a splash move it's going to be an interesting year because like we were saying like so many things went right to win last year.

You're asking all those things to go right again. I think this team's going to need help. It's the presence for each of these NFC West teams having to deal with the AFC West because half of those quarterbacks you talked about are sitting in the AFC West. It takes their schedule. And if you're in a global view of the NFC, you're loving if you're the other three divisions and what the NFC West has to deal with.

I mean, there's not a cloud in the sky, but Dan's bringing the gray gloom and doom here to Irvine. What was the last back-to-back champion in our league? Well, sure. No team has more than what, a 15-20% chance of winning the Super Bowl. It's going to be tough. That is absolutely true. It's the elbow thing that worries me. I like that point on the defense. That's a good prediction because they are awfully thin in terms of their outside pass rush. I know they feel like they can generate it and they got Leonard Floyd and like things work out usually, but they are rather thin. They did not replace them.

Remember our first edition of Training Camp Whispers when I brought up Matthew Stafford's elbow and Greg was like, You're a fool. Why would you even bring it up? It was so dismissive that Graver had to take it out of the show. You just made something up whole cloth. No, I mean, it just wasn't apparent to the listeners. It was like Stephen Ross statement like. You're just making your own reality.

All right. Good stuff. Great, J.B. and Jordan, both know their stuff. So I hope you, the listener, enjoyed it. Coming up next after the break, Jordan, talked about Alan Robinson. and the raves he's been getting and people are coming up to her

without her inquiring saying, this Alan Robinson's going to be insane this season. But we're going to have Alan Robinson right next to us and we're going to ask him about his debut season with the Rams right after this. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

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we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. 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. All right, welcome back, as promised. Two huge pieces added to the Rams. Everybody talks about Bobby Wagner on the defensive side of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, it is Alan Robinson, wide receiver.

Welcome to a round the NFL. Appreciate it, man. Thanks for having me. How does it feel? Obviously, everyone knows what's going on in Chicago as a team that's rebuilding. It's had some down seasons. Now you come to Los Angeles. You're all of a sudden part of the defending champions.

What's the vibe, the difference for you? You know, for me, the difference is, I mean, there are different organizations, obviously. But again, for me, man, coming into here, you know, wanting to be the best player that I can be, you know. And, you know, like I said before, man, playing alongside guys like Cooper, playing alongside guys like Matthew, A, D. You know, when you're playing with the best, man,

that brings the best out of you, you know. And I've seen that even from myself, you know, since I've signed here, you know, just how I approach to offseason, how I approach coming into camp, you know, on my day-to-day, you know, is just continuing to challenge myself to get better. The one, I mean, across the board, the early reviews on how you fit into the offense, how you picked it up quickly, have been rave reviews.

I mean, what was your approach from the minute you got the playbook to now? I mean, because that's not true of every player, especially for wide receivers that go into certain systems. Man, just taking advantage of everything, you know, at my disposal, you know, being able to play for Coach McVeigh, you know, being able to play with Matthew, with Cooper, like I said before, man, just, you know, leaning on those guys so that I can learn and grasp as much. as possible, as fast as possible. You know, and then on the other side of that, we'll just continue to prepare myself physically for the season.

You know, that's taking this off-season, you know, being able to take the route concepts and things that I learned in the spring, then this summer, being able to get out on the grass and try to perfect those in the timing and different things like that. You say the vibe is different. Like, your vibe right now is definitely very L.A., very chill. You've got the crocks on, but you've also got the crocs with the little accoutrements.

What are those called there? Like, are you getting deep into... We got the yin and yang. We got the football. You got the football. We have a friend, you know, John Gonzalez, who loves adding the little trinkets to the crocs. Are you getting deep into that subculture?

I am. I am. You know, it's a pretty cool additive, you know, to the crocs, you know. So whenever I go to the store and grab something, I'll grab a few pieces. What's it like joining a new team? Because we can't, obviously, we don't know what it's like. But you do know if you start a new school or, you know, you have first, you're starting at a new job.

Like, do you find people right away that you bond with, or is there a time where you kind of keep to yourself? Is it difficult to transition to a new team? No, it's not difficult at all. You know, again, especially if I when you were a vet, you know, again, you know, a lot of guys across the league. You know, even like, you know, me and AD was in the same draft class, you know, Van Jefferson went to my high school, you know, back in Detroit, you know. So even for me knowing Matthew a little bit from when he played in Detroit, you know, so, I mean, it's a lot of different things that kind of, you know, come to. to fruition, you know, when you go to different teams, you know, you know, being a vet and things like that, you know, but it hasn't been a tough transition at all.

Do you ever, you know, Matthew Stafford, a long journey in Detroit, you've been all over the place and you never ever had a Matthew Stafford playing quarterback with you. Do you ever look at each other and just say this is, this is way better, this situation we're in right here? Again, man, for me, you know, it's a blessing to be able to play with a quarterback like him, you know, again, I mean, even from me, you know, growing up in Detroit, you know, and watching, and watching, you know, him from afar, you know, growing up and seeing, you know, how he was as a quarterback now,

being able to play with him. You know, it's been fun, man. Again, I mean, he's the person who comes in there every day. You know, comes to work, competes. You know, he sees, you know, everybody on the field, you know. So it's fun, and it's been exciting. You're kind of a football tapehead's favorite throughout your career. You've been in some spots where the production depended sometimes on the offense around you.

Sometimes it's huge. Do you think that in this spot, you're surrounded. You mentioned Aaron Donald. I'm sure he's one of these guides by like a lot of like-minded people. Yeah, you know, again, that's what makes it special. You know, again, being around guys that are like mine in a sense of, you know, like I said before, the dedication the work that they put in, you know, each and every day. Like I said before, when you're playing with great players like that, man, it does nothing but challenge you to be, you know, as good as you can be, you know, and again, each and every day, you know, like I said before, man, if I don't

know if anybody has watched, you know, his workouts or, you know, they don't allow us. Or have ever been around, you know, Cooper Cut when he's working out and things like that. And when you're around, you know, great guys like that, man, like I said before, it brings the best out of you. So you're kind of under the radar, and now you're going to be with the Rams, you know, you're playing kickoff game. And you're kind of known as, you know, you're a quiet receiver who goes about his business on the field. Now that you're in L.A., any thoughts to, like, rapping or acting or maybe like a celebration after every first down where you read. The man is about football? No, I just mean, like, where you, like, embarrassed the person.

that you are playing against and as a family, like just as a way to build your brand. He's slightly psychotic just to let you know if that's to be throwing you off at all. Nah, man, again, for me, it's just about going out there, getting my work done. You know, at the end of the day, everything else is to take care of itself. Like I said before, man, I came out here very focused, you know, and I want to continue to, you know, not only be that, but continue to enhance my game.

And as cliche as it may sound as being the best player that you could be, you know, for me, that's been my main focus, you know, since the day I stepped foot in this building, you know, and that will continue to be my ultimate focus. Did Sean McVeigh, you know, when O'Dell Beckham came to the Rams last year, there was a lot of chatter that he got on the phone with O'Dole Beckham and said this is how you're going to be used. This is why the Rams fit you.

Did he make special pitches to you? Did he go out of his way to make this the most attractive landing spot? Yeah, again, you know, we spoke, you know, before we came to agreement on the deal. But again, I mean, I said this other day, but I don't think that they knew that they had to sell me as much as they did. Not as much as them. I mean, I have been able to watch, you know, his system and Matthew and those guys from afar, you know, for a good little while.

You know, so, again... They like this answer. They like that answer. Mark likes to think it was his question that's getting his cause. I think it was from a large variety of people here. But, yeah, you know, he put on some tape and show how I will be used and things like that, you know. And, again, you know, I saw myself fitting in will. All right, so last question.

From Detroit, you were in Chicago known for the Deep Dish, and it's the Midwest, so the Bratworth. and all that stuff here in southern california mexican is huge it's great food what is the detroit food what is the the food from where you grew up that's the best i would say uh and this may sound crazy to some people and i say it's all the time you gotta if you ever in detroit they have detroit style pizza i've been that's been getting it's very popular now wait a second i love pizza i'm pizza pizza got tell me about detroit pizza it's not quite deep dish but it's more so kind of like pan. Some people do it differently.

Some people have a little bit of the sauce on top. Some not, but if you go to Detroit, asking around, my favorite is Jets pizza. Shout out the Jets. They have a Detroit-style pizza and a few other spots, but Detroit-style pizza is the way to go, for sure. L.A. has a few Detroit-style pizza spots. Really?

Go do a little grub-up search. You'll find it. Mark, you're way more knowledgeable on the subject. As a guy, not a big food guy, you impress me here. I almost bought Detroit pizza the other night, Now I'm going to do it. Now I'm going to pie it. Alan Robinson, may you find great success, big numbers,

and plenty of Detroit-style pizza here in Los Angeles. Best of luck. Thanks, Alan. Thank you. Appreciate you. All right, there goes Alan Robinson, and we are wrapping up our day here at UC Irvine, the home once upon a time of Amica Rosenthal.

What a time she had. Maybe she fell in love for the first time here. I don't want to know about it. Yeah. We'll have her on later to talk about that. She got up to some things. But before we leave, we could not, we could not leave the Rams world without talking to one of our favorite people in the world. She is on Mount Rushmore as one of the greats in the history of our show.

And now she is basically elevated beyond us as big-time talent for the Rams. You know what I'm talking about. It's Ricky Hollywood. Erica, what's up, babe? Hi, it's so good to see you guys. This is weird. I know. You're like a guest on the podcast.

But is it like it just feels like it's another podcast except you're wearing Rams merch. Yeah, that's not that far removed. Yeah, that's true. No, it's definitely different. You're sitting far away from us. Do I take that symbolically to mean anything of any nature? I wouldn't. I wouldn't.

But, I mean, you can look into it however you want. What's going on, Ricky? You've been now with the Rams for about a month, right? Yeah. What are you doing? So they have me doing a lot of stuff. I'm doing the morning minute, which has been doing really well on social. You're getting noticed by the fans.

over the morning minute. You're a ram out? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. They try to make rams into every word. Ramily. No, to Kobe, Kobe Durant came up to me, and he's like, oh, you're the minute lady.

He's one of the rookies on our defense, which is great. So, yeah, it's been really good. We have a celebrity flag football match today. I actually convinced Rachel Benetta to come down again, so she's playing in that. And Beneta's in the celebrity. What about us? We're here. I did actually pitch you guys, and they passed.

It's a hard pass. You know that. I did say, do you want me to reach out to any of the ATN guys? Dan and I have cannons, too. I would pay money to be in a flag football game with Mark. With, like, YG and TikTok stars. I'm not worried about the other people, but I just want to be either on Mark's team or an opponent. Either way, it would be delightful.

It's intense. I would love Greg via Mark. Greg's lining up in the slot. Mark lining up as the nickel corner, and let's just, let's just fucking all. I'm going to jam him at the line of scrimmage. Let's rock. Dense press coverage. Greg receives a line.

It's not happening. No, I don't think so. That's amazing. You're experiencing training camp in a way. You're a real like football, football guy now, football girl. Like, you're here literally every day. We've never been to, we've never like experienced training camp where you're like living at the, you know what I mean. No, it has been nice.

It has been great to be here every day. But yeah, no, it is a completely different experience to sort of being. at the facility and with, you know, I'm staying at the Players Hotel. So, you know, getting coffee in the morning, really getting to know everybody. What's going on at the Players Hotel? Take us to. Players Hotel, very nice. Continental breakfast? Yep, gym is great. There's also a players gym that they, like, built in a ballroom for them as well. Per diem. Do you have a nice per diem? Oh, yeah. Everything is fantastic. Everything's on the arm. Yeah. Yeah. It's been really great. But no, it's been awesome to be here, you know, every day.

in a way that I wouldn't before. You know, we've come down here together as a show and you sort of just see something. It's a walk-through day-to-day. You're not going to seem much regardless. But being on the inside and getting to experience this energy in a different way, and I'm really just loving it. So you've got to know some of the players, I would imagine.

Because when they come on and talk to us, it's like, oh, the trio of bozos, we'll get through this in six, seven minutes. But now you've built a relationship with some. If any of them stood out as like, I really like this person. I like to hang out with this player. Or conversely, jerks. Or someone who's been a bit of a nefarious character. You have a good relationship.

We can't get the real scoop. Open conversation. Everyone has been phenomenal, and they just put their best foot forward every single day. Wow. Very good. Some of your favorites. Who's been fun? Honestly, everybody here has such a unique personality.

It's been really phenomenal to get to know each and everyone. Do you know Matthew Stephan? He's great. He's great. He's got a great personality. What do you guys talk about? Like, you hang out and just have like a one-on-one combo? Yeah, I was like, oh, hey, I had tennis elbow in college.

Like, it got better. And then I got fired. No, it's been good. No, I mean, they have real personalities. Matt Gay, the kicker, actually is very, very funny. He said hi to my son. He was walking by and went out of his way to say hi. Yeah, he's been really good.

What else, Ricky? Where can people expect from you in your first season? I think it's very cool. Like, in all seriousness, you were our producer. You did such a great job, but we always felt, and I know you felt that way because you have such great ambition and drive that you wanted to do something more in the front of the camera like what are you going to be able to do this year with the Rams?

Well, it's been phenomenal so far. I've used that word a lot. I've got to stop saying phenomenal. It's a good word though. I know. I know. I've learned a lot who you guys already spoke with, J.B. Long and Jordan. I've been able to hang out with them every day and really kind of dig in.

And it's so fun, you know, having Jordan explain to me the difference between the defense. The defensive schemes that they're running, and I feel like I'm really learning a lot about this team specifically, which I love. But also, I'm going to be doing, you know, I'm interviewing Aaron Donald later today after practice. I guess I could give an exclusive. I am dropping a podcast pretty soon on the Rams. So check that out. Around the Rams podcast? Around the Rams, yeah, exactly.

Exactly. So, yeah, no, just a bunch of social content. They also want me to do the Code of Conduct video that will play before every Rams game on the huge video board. I guess we should come clean, too. The Around the Rams podcast, it's Ricky, Mark, myself, and Gravedigger is the producer. Oh, my God, I love that. That sounds amazing. We were looking, we didn't know when to tell you, Greg.

If Graver misses the show, Lindsay Fulton's going to step right in. Oh, yeah. It'll be great. Erica, any commentary on Grave Digger, I know you've kept. kept an ear out for the show since you left. Do you think, like one to ten, and again, we're in the trust tree, we all know each other for so long. One to ten, how's Justin doing so far?

Be honest. I think it's an 11. I think he is such a perfect fit for the show. You're a very positive person now that you're part of the rainbow. I mean, how many minutes of the show have you listened to? I feel like I could count them on no hands. Yeah, yeah, one maybe, one minute. Socially, did you ghost him after.

There's no, you're tracking the show closely. Yeah, no, no, no. I did listen to actually your guys, Watson. pod the whole thing i did listen to that i wanted to know your your takes on it that was a real howler yeah sean actually produced that one so you didn't you didn't even listen to one i did a great right yeah that's fair no i mean justin's phenomenal again phenomenal take a shot every time i say the word phenomenal um but also you know justin has been editing and posting the show for a year when i was there too so i've been yeah he's he's done but you haven't checked it out but you assume

no i think he's a great fit the fans seem to love him i think there wasn't a really you know, big titoons present on the pod before and you guys are really hitting that home. Finally, there's a big poster that arrived at the studio from a fan a few days ago and on Mount Rushmore there were I believe

six of our former producers. Too too many I would argue. Do you think, did that strike you? Well, obviously you're on it in the image along with TD, Zach Goldman, Irish. Crystal Rich. K. Rich and La Cid

Oh yeah, Irish, Brandon McGinnis. He looked In the picture, I thought it was like a young woman, and I thought they were confused. Well, he's got very... Keep building bridges, Greg. Yeah. Do you think that maybe it should have been cut down to four and perhaps just one? I mean, personally, everybody has, you know, their own flavor. Or do you think the Mount Rushmore was phenomenal as it was?

I think, you know, you guys, I think our fans, and our fans I speak for the last five years, do a phenomenal job. of finding bits and pieces to love about everybody. So there's plenty of room up there on the shoulders of greats. I like this, Ricky. I am liking it. I'm also liking the Rams fans who, like, come up and then they look up for half a second. It's like, should we know these people?

And then they're like, no, and then they keep moving. Yeah. I think, I think, Erica, we're really proud of you. Thank you. It's so cool to see you take this next step. And don't forget about us. when you're delivering your Emmy speech. I feel like an Emmy.

Maybe an E-God. I've been talking to them. Actually, we were at a little function last night, and I was talking with them about potentially, you know, the draft video was such a hit. I was like, I really want to meet. They have some, like, Netflix producers in town and stuff like. I'm like, I really need to keep working on my brand,

and I would love to be in the next video. And that didn't seem completely on the docket for first. for first steps, but I think we're making it. And also, too, it did give me a little bit of joy to see you guys walking over here, schlepping your backpack sweating as the golf cart drove me to drop me off of the sex.

So I did get a little bit of pleasure. That's if you always wins. Yes. Erica, thank you so much. Great work. So good to see you guys. Thank you everybody for listening. We'll be back on Monday with another week of shows. Thank you to the Rams for having us. Thank you to everyone

else for your support. Jordan. J.B. Allen Robinson. You guys, that was fun. All right. Until Monday. Are you kidding? You know what you got to do. What? You said all the names? Yeah.

You didn't say mine. Didn't I start with you? Yeah, he started with me. I led with Ricky Hollywood. Okay, okay. And especially Erica Temposi, aka Ricky Hollywood. Ricky Phenomenal.

Certified phenomenal. Until Monday. We're all rambling. Mm. Including Mark. Me too. He's the call. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here.

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