NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Ranking NFL backfields

Episode Date: June 16, 2015

A room filled with heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler -- react to the latest news from around the league, including Dez Bryant's contract situation (4:57) and more notable retirements. Then, the guys discuss which team will have the best backfield in 2015 (23:04).Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast has told you everything they know. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I am joined by a room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Roosevelt. What is up, boys? Hey, dude. What's happening?

What is up? First Monday podcast in some time. and it's good to be here. I like Monday podcast. You know, just get right into the week and get in touch with the people, Mark. Actually, changed my day off to be here for this today. That's how important it is to me.

Yeah. Nice humble brag. Well, it might not pay the whole reason, but I don't even think it was the reason. It had some impact. Okay. Wasn't the whole reason. It's good to have you here, though, either way.

Yeah, it's great to have those. Because after this week, we're going to start, there's going to be some vacations, and we'll be running three across. Maybe we'll have some guests in here to sit in. I know there was some buzz. I continue to see buzz on Twitter. Like, people love Colleen Wolf. We'll try to get Colleen in here at some point. You know, we'll see what we can do.

But for this week, we got three shows. And, you know, by the way, don't forget, Thursday, when Wes's Toaster is back. By far the worst drop that we've ever had. This is technically a disaster. We've got to make. We'll make a new one. Oh, but I love the charm. Listen to it again, the charm of it.

Win, Wes's a toe toad. It's terrible. Win West's toes. Win West's toes. That would be a weird game. So we'll do that on Thursday. I think Soles done a great job behind the scenes, looking for people while TD's.

Where is he? He's like at the King of France's wedding now. wasn't he, Mark? Who knows where TD is at this point? Yeah, it was a string of many weddings and, like, multiple nations, and I think you're right. It's France-based at this point, and there's royalty involved. And, Wes, you did some digging on Twitter that perhaps people have been illicitly feeding

TD some of these secret code words for the podcast, and TD might not be listening. I didn't have to do much digging because people tweeted us and told us they captured screen grabs of our friend Isaiah and a couple other people just absolutely feeding TD all this stuff to say. So who knows if TD's even listening to the podcast, actually? Your gut feeling, Greg. Go. Yeah, they probably gave him the information.

Although in this case, at least he's taking that and using it smartly. I give our listeners some credit for passing along. Well, the timestamp proves that he responded to the information our way immediately. So it did not come organically from listening to the show. And by the way, Sully's hoping TD. stays in for every wedding in Europe. He's loving it behind the glass. You can tell the confidence is flowing out of it.

Thanks, guys. Yeah. I'm just excited to see who's the new King of Francis. It's been a while since they have. That's why, I mean, it's a special wedding. Louis, the 500s. So, yeah, so TD will be back maybe a little later in the week. Four of us for three shows this week, so that's exciting.

And we got a nice show today. And I sincerely mean that a very nice show today. We're going to, as we do, we're going to do a little news. What's happened since the last time we spoke with you, which was a few days ago now, so we'll catch up on what's going on in the NFL. And then, big day for a guy, you know, he moved his schedule around. We didn't find this out until he told us. Mark said he moved some pieces around, some chess pieces of his week.

He's here, and there's a reason why. Big Sessler Day. The whole theme of this podcast is Sessler, Mark, Anthony Sessler-related. the running back rankings. He ranks the NFL backfields from 1 to 32. It's a new post up on NFL.com slash around the NFL. So make sure you check that out.

I read it, really liked it. And we're going to go through his 32 to 1 countdown. Big Sessler show. One takeaway middle name, not Anthony. Oh. I thought you were named after the Latino crooner. Edward, which is my dad's name. Yeah, I'd be insulting to my dad that he'd think.

I think I'm potentially spreading that information that I'm changing my middle name. Have I met Ed Sessler? Your dad and my dad have the same name. I like that. I don't think so, Dave. I don't think so. Nice connection.

That's why you guys get along so well. So yeah, that's it. Sessler, a big show. We're going to go through his countdown. Like I said, though, before we do any of that, we check behind the glass with Sully. And Sully, can we please, if you would do some news? We start in Dallas, where the Dallas Cowboys, of course, you know, this Des Bryant deal has not been one that has gotten done.

We thought it would be got done last summer. It never happened. And now the Dallas Cowboys receiver has told NFL media columnist Michael Silver that he might miss regular season action because of this contract dispute. Des is under the franchise tag right now, but he's not happy about it. He said to Silver about the idea of a holdout that could extend into this. season. This is not a rumor. It's legit. Start with you, Greg. On the surface, in early June, this broke on Friday. You know, just an obvious contract ploy, get the job done. Is there any way we actually see this happen where Des doesn't play a game? I believe that Des Bryant believes

it's possible, if that makes any sense. But do I really think there's any legitimate chance that Des Bryant passes up nearly a million dollars per game for playing? No way. He's made $11.8 million in his entire five-year career. The franchise tag pays him this year $12.8 million. There's no way he's going to pass up these big paydays, but this is the only leverage he has. This is weak.

If you want to threaten them, say, I will sit-out games, not I might sit out a few games. You know what I mean? But he probably does believe it because it's an emotional contract issue. In June, he probably believes it, but I don't believe him. We were downstairs watching one of the Cowboys Super Bowls from ages ago, and the last Cowboys player I can remember to do this,

where it actually happened was Emmett Smith. Yeah. Held out for the first two games of the year, if I remember. Came back and tore the league apart. They were 0 and 2, weren't they? Yeah. Yep. And Des is that type of player, and he is that important to the Cowboys.

And if he did actually fall through with it, yeah, I guess that would give him leverage. But still, I don't know if this is, you know, I feel like they did a bad job here. I feel like they should have taken care of him already. I guess you have to wonder if they're still not sold on whether this is a guy they want to invest in big-time money with in the future. That's the only reason to me. I know there's some salary cap issues, obviously, but this deal should have been done to me, and you're playing with fire, in my opinion, on multiple levels.

I can't really feel sorry for a guy who's going to make $13 million. Right, and it's all splitting hairs. I think your point is well taken, Dan. Maybe they're trying to structure it in a way that they're not. guarantee so much up front that it's a little more year to year than some of the big contracts. But I don't fault the Cowboys here without really knowing the information. For all we know, Des Bryant is asking for more money than Calvin Johnson's ever made by far. That would not surprise me at all, that he's looking to be by far the number one wide

receiver in terms of his contract. And when that happens, these things just take a while and you kind of have to wait each other out for the contract numbers to go down a little. But something is going on behind the scenes that we'll find out about later on because it wasn't at the last owner's meeting, but the one before where Jason Garrett was saying, absolutely no question, Des is a priority for us, and we're going to make this happen. I mean, a full year plus has passed at this point.

He's been one of my favorite players for a few years now. Where do you guys put him? Who's better than him at the wide? Is Julio Jones better? Is A.J. Green better? Is Calvin Johnson better? I mean, Adele Beckham, these are some guys I guess you could put ahead of him. You can make the argument that he's the best wide receiver.

What he is for Dallas, he's right up there. I mean, if you want to talk pure wide receiver, I mean, Julio Jones is just as important to the Falcons potentially, but you take Des Bryant off of the Cowboys, and they are in big trouble with what they have on offense. He's been the best Red Zone receiver in the NFL for three years in a row now. Calvin Johnson, I think, he gets the benefit of the doubt because he's been the best receiver for a while.

Odell Beckham can be better, but Des Bryant's right there, like you said, with Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown right there at the top. AJ Green, I would put in that mix, too. You know, you see with Des Bryant a few more mental errors where he's not lined up in the right place. And, you know, a little bit of that more than you do with Julio Jones or Calvin Johnson, for instance. But I think he makes up for it in terms of his just, his aggression and how hard he plays in the red zone. He's going to get the contract.

With all these contracts, this one feels a little different that there's some, it's a complicated one to get done. But he's going to get the money. Moving on, the Carolina Panthers, of course, made Cam Newton one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league recently. Now they take care of business with linebacker Thomas Davis, who signed a two-year extension where he'll collect $18 million. Over the next three years, when you factor in the previous deal, this according to Rapsheet, Davis is 32, but still playing at a high level, a 4-3 linebacker. And, of course, Mark came back from three ACL surgery, so, you know, this is a kind of. contract well earned. Well, if we say that the Cowboys or other teams haven't handled certain things well, I mean, the Panthers showed incredible patience with Thomas Davis dating back a long

time. And obviously, it's a high class guy that means a lot to the organization off the field too, but he's incredibly valuable on it. But some teams would have to jump ship a long time ago on players with so many reasons to have to keep waiting for his production. I kind of think this is a classy move by the Panthers and he'll finish. his career there. What a year for him. He wins NFL's Man of the Year, got the key to the city of Charlotte, and now it gets...

What does the key to the city actually do for you? I think it's strictly ceremonial. I think it opens any shop. As a kid, I thought it literally let you get into any place in the world, which was the best idea ever for an honor. No, that is what it is. If Thomas Davis wants to go grab a frozen yogurt,

you can just go to any of it. the yogurt land Charlotte. He can let Golden Tate into the donut store. He's a big used book fan just in general, so he'd go to over to the used book store. And those stores have weird hours. Three in the morning.

Just take whatever you want. It's kind of like winning TD's MVP of the pod. When I was like in... Well, that's a meaningless one. When I was like in eighth grade, the guy at the local gym handed us the keys to the gym so we could practice basketball

like on weekends or after hours, I thought that was much more important than... You could come to my gym. any time you won't. Make sure you change in the locker room. You can actually go in after hours and play basketball. That is pretty awesome. Did anything negative come about from it?

No, we were good kids. I love when you boys come to my gym. Do you think you'll ever get the key to the city in Cincinnati? No. No? Wes, was there anything sinister about or am I reading too much into it? No, there was not. We were good kids then.

I mean, it wasn't a later than we were ruined. Not a very special episode of different strokes? It was a more innocent time. It was the early 70s. America is at the top of the charts Sister Golden Air Moving on Atlanta Falcons

Two mainstays of their offensive line In recent years Both in the news today Sam Baker their left tackle Who's missed most of the last two years With knee issues was released Baker's out of a job So he's on the street now

He was potentially going to compete for the left guard position Which opened up when the Falcons released Justin Blaylock in February and Blaylock according to Rapsheet is planning to retire now so Baker is on the is a free agent Justin Blaylock calling it quits and Blaylock is only 31 Baker is 30 but I thought the the Blaylock thing was interesting Mark you love your boy Kyle Shanahan he he is a capable guard obviously but he was pushed aside because Shanahan didn't

seem as a fit in this offense and I guess after looking around he decided to hang it up at 31 years old. Well, I mean, the Atlanta's line has been a mess for a while, and now they're going through something of a scheme change, too. So that'll be interesting to see how that works this year. I think the retirement and then releasing Sam Baker highlights that the Falcons, who's been worse than them at drafting and developing offensive linemen over the past five years?

They've spent five picks in the first four rounds on offensive linemen, and none of them has emerged as a above-average start. there's still hope for Jake Matthews, but guys like Peter Kahn's, the center, they drafted in the second round, Lamar Holmes at right tackle. They just don't pan out. He had an okay career, but I remember when Sam Baker got taken, it was in the early 20s of the first round.

People were really surprised about that pick. They drafted him with Matt Ryan, and I was even more surprised that they doubled down and gave him a big contract two years ago. So I always talk about self-scouting. They really tried to believe. believe in that Baker pick, even though it never really panned out. And then when

they gave him the big money again, it double backfired on him, and he's just been hurt. I'm not sure what the numbers are right now, but it's a sizable cap hit they take by getting rid of Baker. So, yeah, Greg is absolutely right. Reminds me my boy, Mr. T. Mike Tanibon, when he did with Mark Sanchez

once in a time. Oh, I thought you were going to say, it reminds you of your boy, David Baker. Massive NFL personality. A massive man. Hall of Fame, The head of the Hall of Fame is Sam Baker's father. Really? He was the commissioner of the UFO, I believe.

How about that? This is why I see you on those top ten lists on the network all the time. You're just a fountain of information, Greg. He bears a physical resemblance to a late career Babe Ruth. He absolutely does. You always see him at the Super Bowl. You see him in the lobby, and everyone's coming up and talking to him. It's like, for a year, who is this guy, I thought?

And finally we know he is the father of the former falcons. I think the only reason I know is because, you were emailing or texting me from one of the, like, who is this guy I see everywhere, this huge guy? And we kind of, we figured. Well, he looks like it could be the brother of Andre the Giant. I was going to say, like, tell him. Former NFL player as well.

Telling a guy that you look like Babe Ruth in the dusk of his life is one of the big put-downs. You could throw at somebody. A very nice guy by all accounts. Is that true? Yes. I mean, you could just see what people are lining up to talk to him. You guys are plugged in on this guy. I don't know anything about him. I've never been to

Hall of Fame. He runs the Pro Football Hall of Fame. All right, all right, I'm sorry. All right. West said he's never going to the Hall of Fame if Eli gets in. The football, like NFL, all those players. Yeah. They're there. In Canton.

Getting enshrined every time. Oh, no, Beckham's going back this year. Really? Breaking news. Wow. Breaking news. Mark's on top right now. You got your running back.

You got your running back rankings, big show. You came in today, showed your commitment to the boss, going back to Canton. What else? What could happen next? What's next? Playing crash on the way to Ohio? And you're playing? I'm just saying it's pot.

What could happen next? Why ruin a nice? Who's having a better week? You or Thomas Davis? Well, Thomas Davis won't need... No one in that family will need to have a job again for the next 200 years. So probably Thomas Davis. Two hundred years.

Can Thomas Davis play Mark's dentist bill? Like, Thomas Davis is having a better week. Yes, he is. All right. Moving on another retirement, Jason Campbell, who is one of West's first. favorites, a quarterback, known for his worm burners, as Wes calls them. The King of the Checkdown, Jason Campbell has decided he's planning to retire after 10 seasons.

A source close to Campbell told Rapsheet that the decision is not final, but with training camps on the horizon, I guess he's down to retire if nobody calls his number. That's what it seemed like to me. But Campbell played 10 years, a former first round pick by the Redskins. Of course, went to Oakland. had a cup of coffee with Mark in Cleveland and then last year was Andy Dalton's backup in Cincinnati so it might be it for Jason Campbell West

you'll never see him again At one point I believe he had seven offensive coordinators in the first seven years of his career so he never really had a fair shake but he's also another reminder that just because a first round quarterback shows a little bit of promise in the second half of his rookie season that doesn't mean he's going to continue to develop into a stud

You see this all the time. He had me pretty excited about him at one point in his career. It was really even into his third season. I'm looking at his stats. Now, he led the league, if this is a stat, in the fewest interceptions per throw. 13 touchdown, six interceptions, threw for 3,200 yards. The team was 8 in 8. At that point, you thought Jason Campbell, who's 25 years old at the time,

at the very least, he's going to be a starter in the NFL for 10 years. He was a promising guy, and then I don't know what really did him wrong. Injuries? He was never really accurate. and didn't have a great touch on his passes. In 2012, I remember this, the Bears signed him to, I think, a $3.5 million contract, a one-year deal, which was like the most money of any backup quarterback, and they thought that they had a guy they could trust in case Cutler got hurt.

And I think Cutler got hurt, and I remember Campbell was not good when he played the game. He played the Niners on Monday night and got absolutely waxed. There was a Texans game, too, I believe. Yeah, and one of the worst games I've ever seen, Wes, it made him. crazy was the game he played for the Browns where he threw 47 straight. Well, I was convinced he had retired already at that point, but the year before he signed that contract, I drove up to Oakland on the fly to watch Cleveland play Hugh Jackson's Raiders. And that was the game early in the year where he got hurt.

Campbell got hurt. He looked outstanding in the early part of that year. And that game especially, they ran over Cleveland and they looked dangerous. And that was what got Carson Palmer into Oakland because he was gone for the year. That helped him get that contract with the Bears. Had he not gotten hurt there, I think we would have thought of him differently after that season. They might have gone to the playoffs. Don't forget about, yeah, he was seven and five,

and didn't his injury lead to the panic trade by the Raiders to get Carson Palmer? We were reminded, once again, why it's not a good idea to allow coaches to make trades because they don't think of the future. They only think I've got to save my job right now. Well, it's no surprise that Hugh Jackson, who absolutely got fleeced by the Bengals, got a job with the Bengals soon after. I think it's safe to say... What are you suggesting?

I think I just did. I think it's safe to say that Jason Campbell is the most successful Raiders starting quarterback since Rich Gannon, and it's not even close. 11 wins and seven losses. There's no one else that would have possibly been four games over 500 as a Raiders quarterback. Andrew Walter?

Stop. All right, so good luck to you, Jason Campbell. Unless someone calls him, and then we'll probably see him in August. But we'll see what happens. All right. Finally, I just want to touch on this, Mark, you wrote about it on Saturday, I believe. Yes. The Colts, you remember at the Combine. At the Combine, I noticed the same thing.

There were banners hanging at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was like, you know, saying that when they won their divisions, they got a banner. When they went to the AFC title game in the early aughts, you know, it would set AFC finalists. But they just hung another banner for 2014 AFC finalists. And for whatever reason, this caught the eye of social media, and it took off. Basically, I'm saying I got screwed out of the, you know, glory on this for noticing it first. You did. Wait, you did.

How much glory accompanies this? Very little. But the point being that these banners are hanging. It went nuts. It caught fire in the blogs. And the cults stood by their decision to hang these silly participation trophies. Wait, did you write about it back then? I tweeted about it, which is, I thought it was a.

enough. I didn't want to, because I don't want to get anybody upset. I guess if you had a larger following, it probably could have gotten some wheels on social media on the channel. Well, that's a tricky spot for you. NFL writer blast NFL team. Anyway, he did it anyways. Cult C-O-O-C-O-Pete Ward says the decision to hang the banner

boils down to one factor. Pride. What? Stupid. That's what he said. Oh, I love this post. Mark drops a hammer on Patriots fans at the end. Oh, let's read it. We'll read it, ready?

You do not need to read it line for line. Much of the finger pointing has come from New England where Patriots fans, no strangers to blissful seasons. Can't fathom why the Colts would magnify a run that ended with hoisting the Lombardi. Without hoisting the Lombardi. What a great point. And then, bang, opposed to the Patriots banner

with the 16 and O regular season record 2007. Is that still up? That's a permanent thing? Yeah, and that's a thing. I agree with you. It's all these Patriots fans that were, And listen, you're celebrating a game where you got jobbed 45 to 7, but suspect, but the Patriots went and somewhat did the same thing.

They kind of did. This is your in-house PR machine trying to get people excited about. I agree. The 16-no banners bad. Finalist. I think it's the word finalist, because no one's ever called anyone a finalist. You're the runner-up. You're the runner-up, or you're the loser of that game. You appeared in the game.

And not only did you appear in the game, you embarrassed yourself. You got bombed out of the building. It's not something that you want to necessarily even remember. They're too successful a franchise over the last 20 years. You feel like this is going the way of the Adam Carolla, everybody gets a trophy for participating speech? That's what's happening. All right.

Maybe we'll put up some banners around here. You should. You know, Mark hasn't been able to win that MVP award, but we could put up by his desk. You know, Mark Sessler, MVP award finalist. Right, or like... You've at least been a finalist for the... podcast. Or like eighth ranked story

of the day. It's 2014 Stitcher nomination for Best SportsPod. We can get that. You know, didn't we lose one recently? Something like that. Yeah, put it on the cover. Take off the best of iTunes

2006 or whatever we have. Maybe it's time for that to come down to while we're on the topic. All right, so Mark, you wrote the piece ranking NFL backfields from number one to number 32. and why don't we build up you know first of all everyone should read it I read it cover to cover I'm not convinced of that covers

I don't know I read it though and you know it was comprehensive Mark talk not only it wasn't just where Mark sat down and in his mother's basement and blogged it out Mark made some phone calls I actually listened in on one inadvertently when he was talking to the Vikings running backs coach and speaking in a broadcasting voice on the phone Well, that is not Go ahead Yeah Anyway, so I'm trying to give a compliment

Pay a compliment Mark really dug in to figure this list out So why don't we count down from the back end It'll be a little fun Yeah You know throw a little curb ball right off the bat And I'll give you 32 through 25 Why not

And we're through 26 Because Mark broken into tears The Buccaneers Wow Doug Martin has fallen Quite a long way From when he was thought of as one of the best young backs in the league. 31, the Titans, with Bishop Sanky leading the way.

30 Raiders, 29, the Patriots, which is interesting. 28, the Jaguars with T.J. Yeldin. The Cardinals at 27. And the Cowboys, who, of course, led the NFL in rushing last year, got rid of DeMarco Murray, and now have Darren McFadden and Joseph Randall leading the way. They come in at 26. So that's the bottom tier of Mark's list. Thoughts, Wes, you get us going.

I went back and watched Charles Sims and Doug Martin because I've done posts on both of those guys recently. Dirk Cutter, Buccaneers, Offensive Coordinator, basically saved Doug Martin's roster spot saying that he went back and watched film and Doug Martin looked like a lot better than he expected to look. There are, in the last three games, he clears 90 yards and two of them. One, he has a 63-yard line through a gaping chasm in the middle of the field, and another one is mistackling on a 45-yard run. I know we don't like to do this, but if you take it, Take away those two runs.

He averaged 2.8 yards per carry over those three games. It's not like he was sustaining an offense or moving chains. He just didn't look that good to me. And Charles Sims looked like a slow CJ spiller with no power. So I have no problem ranking them as the worst running back crew in the league. Maybe he looked at Doug Martin's rookie tape. Seriously. Maybe he just thought this guy was this dynamic in the NFL at one point.

I can save him. But I have no problems putting them 30 seconds. I do argue a little bit with the Cowboys. To me, they're in contention for that worst spot. I would probably have them right there at 32, 31. I like Joseph Randall. I've been vocal about that, but if that's your best option in my mind by far,

that's a pretty bad. Part of me was the cow, and you have to factor in like what are the results going to be. They've got arguably the best line in all of football. So these running backs are to look better. Are you judging the running backs or the line? Well, I mean, in this case, I look at Dallas, and I don't believe the Darren McFadden situation like some do. So you've got a loudmouth in Joseph Randall, who is good, I think, but the guy cannot stop talking.

And then the rest of the roster, I just, I don't look comparing them to the teams above them. It's Dallas let the offensive player of the year walk out the door, and they didn't exactly replace him the way that teams like the Eagles and the Saints went out and restocked. You not buying in on Latavius Murray having a breakout season. as a Raiders coach recently said he could be in for a huge year. I found that interesting. And also at the Patriots, you have in the piece, you list all the guys in the backfields where they have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So they're really kind of throwing the sink, kitchen sink,

and doing that whole thing and hoping one of these guys steps up. Maybe it'll be Jonas Gray, but hopefully he gets, I mean, if Blood's a nice change of pace guy, Jonas Gray showed something like, There's something here potentially where the Patriots can move the ball. Well, one thing with them, because on paper, they probably belong down here in terms of the names, but they're such a good team in terms of coaching, no-nameers up, that really honestly someone's going to blow up for a 200-yard game at some point. That's someone you suggest in a piece could be Lindsay Lohen.

I mean, they could pull anyone off the street to do that. But I talked to someone. The faded young actress? Wow. She's getting bigger. She's strong. The Patriots could get a 200-yard game out of Lindsay Lohen if need. that feels real for week eight

talk to one coach who do the roster well and he was like they are a 25 to 30 squad because they don't have a standout right now who did you talk to well it was someone didn't want to name position going I think they totally belong this low

they would be in contingent for the worst backfield I think in the entire league right with the cowboy if you put tj yelling not that i've seen tj yelden yet but just a good second round pick if he turns out or latavius murray or even Bishop Sanky and your boy David Cobb. Daniel Jeremiah said,

watch out for David Cobb as a potential rookie. If you put those guys on the Patriots, I think they'd be in better. Oh my God, my boy, Bernard Pierce, is the fifth guy in this list for the Jaggers. This is a terrible Patriots backfield. Justice White is going to be their passing down back? At this point, who knows?

I mean, Bolden, Blount. That guy could not have looked more underwhelming and preseasonly. I agree. And for those of you scoring at home, the Chris Wessling Word of the Day, is chasm, which is a deep fissure, in the earth, rock, or another surface? I think that's pretty much, I mean, common.

It's not like a word that nobody uses. I said it was the word of the day. It doesn't say whether it should have been used or anything else. I'm going to use my West translator. He just called you a dumbass. Well, I mean, is that a word that people use all the time? A chasm?

A chasm is pretty widely, I mean, it's only five letters. It's pretty widely done. You're literally the first person I've ever heard say the word, really that's not that's it that's not true that's it and it does not reflect anyway on my intelligence that no one's ever said that word before it's just you know maybe i'm not around high flutin people like you guys it's out there it's in the like a crevasse whatever it's over i i've i've canceled west's word of the day because of an angry unnecessary response moving on number 25 to 21 uh the falcons at 25 the law the lion's

at 24, the Cleveland Browns at 23, the New York Giants at 22, and the Miami Dolphins at 21. Mark, Lamar Miller, was pretty, I think he had 1,500 total yards last year, but you're not in necessarily on them having a huge ceiling. I moved them up and down, also with the kind of offense they run. Some of these I'm going to be dead wrong on, and Miami's one of the ones that are sort of suspect, But part of it is I didn't want to rank rookies very high. And they have a rookie, Jay Ajay, is how you say his name? Like, that's, he basically...

You can't count on a fifth round pick to make that big of an impact, even though everyone likes him. Well, that's talking to Daniel Jeremiah, he talked him up and felt like he could be the steal, the draft in terms of where he was picked because they were worried about his injuries and stuff. So if he and Miller together and he performs, they're going to be much better than 21st.

But part of it is then you start to say, who do you move these guys above? Right. And that's where I got into trouble. I like the teams above them better than Miami right now. Well, to me, this exercise is not the most productive backfield because then, of course, the Cowboys and the Patriots are going to be way higher. You're just looking at pure talent.

And to me, the Dolphins out of this group, if I had to just choose the group of players, might be last. Well, the Falcons, too. I mean, I think the Giants, it's not dynamic, but Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Shane, you got a little bit of everything. I think that's a Orleans Darkwa You're cooking with gas there

The Browns, I like, I'm buying some of this Duke Johnson hype That was interesting You got to put up Thurman Thomas in the third round of the draft Yeah, that was suspect You had a coach, a Brown source rather,

tell you that the running back room could be up into the top One of the 10 best groups in league And they talked up Duke Johnson a little bit And I mean he said basically He would be shocked The source was a male It was not a female

He would be shocked if they weren't top five in the NFL in rushing attempts. And that seems obvious with what they have through the air. But they have three different types of running back. So possible top ten seemed a little rich. Your sources, did you have any female sources? No, they were comprehensively male. Sausage party source. Well, there's not a lot of team personnel or coaches that are female.

That's accurate. The one guy in this tier that I'm most intrigued by is, Amir Abdullah, a lion's rookie, who a lot of people, I trust, think he can be a star. I think DJ is one of them. Yeah, he went off on him. And I think he's in a great spot because Joyck Bell went from essentially a journeyman or a guy who had a great story that he even made the NFL to a guy, fantasy leaguers for whatever reason, are just in love with, oh, this is going to be the guy.

He wasn't that physically talented. He was a try-hard guy, and he's coming off serious surgeries. Yeah, they don't think he'll be ready for training camp. So there's no, if I'm betting on a running back, it's definitely Abdullah in that. Joy, Bell, is never the guy you drafted in the first three rounds. You can pick up guys like him off the waiver. And there's already some bad buzz around him about whether the running back coaches

where he's whether he'll be in shape when he finally gets the training camp. He's coming off surgeries to his knee and Achilles. The Falcons, by the way, I wrote a post. post on Sunday. They haven't had a running back average 4.0 yards per carry since 2011. So, I mean, that is like, you know, at least the primary back. Look at that offensive line.

Remember the playoff games where they couldn't get fourth and short ever? I mean, that offensive line is killed that team. Devonter Freeman didn't do much last year. Tevin Coleman will see what happens. I do, though, with Shanahan there, it might take more than one season to turn the line around plus, but he's always had productive running backs. I think they'll be productive. I don't think that's necessary.

that talented of a group. I'm shocked by that. That's that. That's why someone's got to give Quiz Rogers a chance. I know he does have a job now. But I always thought he was a little better than people thought.

He's part of the problem. Well, you just said the line was so bad that no one could run. Right, but Stephen Jackson's putting up a higher average than quiz. Name me, here's a win-West's toaster. The Atlanta Falcons running back

in the last 10 years or six years that led the league in yards per carry. there's a couple actually now that I think of it Michael Turner Gerius Norwood Remember old Jarius? How many carries? Norbom

It just brought the show to the screeching halt High cut Quite a chasm you've created for the show Greg Moving on number 20 The New York Jets Number 19 the Rams Number 18 the Panthers

Number 17 the 49ers Number 16 the Ravens 49ers seem high to me, Mark. It feels like the Reggie Bush hype train rolled into Sessler Corner. I think it's much more about Hyde. I think that Hyde with Gore out the door, I'm he's going to be given a big chance to do his thing. And I went back and watched him.

And, you know, he didn't have, not all of his games were shining last season, but he had some moments that made me think that they could use him quite a bit. And Reggie Bush is not the reason I would put them up at 17. But he's not a bad asset. He had a couple games last year, he was healthy, where I thought he looked good.

That's a solid group. If Kendall Hunter gives him anything, too, that's a good number three. Bush is a good number two. If he's really the number two, we'll see about Hyde. I liked that you, you know, weren't too biased. You have the Jets. Motley crew ahead of your Browns. That Jets poo-poo platter I'd have down in the next tier under a few teams.

Well, as Mark remarks that they ranked third in rushing last year, they got rid of Chris Johnson wisely, bring in Ridley. If Ridley comes back and he's healthy, and he's the Ridley that he was before the knee injury, that's a really good back through. I think Chris Ivory... They're all ifs in this backfield. I don't know.

Chris Ivory for two years now has been a guy that you get... Never hit over 200 carries in a season. He fumbles a lot and he gets injured a lot. Well, part of it is... I think I was better than he gets credit for. You got to get the jets up high just to get Dan on board. Putting him at number 20. It's a good place to...

Well, you can't quite a higher. I think they should be higher. In fairness to Bilal Powell, he is not an if. He is one of the most steady consistent, consistent ball pales in the league he's not very exciting but you know what you're getting it's going to give him like a new contract every five years for the next 40 years they love him so much I I hate to be you know naturally we're picking this apart but it you did a great job with the list one team that really intrigues me that I probably put a little higher just on potential and I know

you didn't want to overrate the rookies girly and Trey mason yeah if I'm just ranking watchable backfields or the the backfields I want to watch this year that that that That is in the top five for me. I love Trey Mason, and Todd Gurley, I'm just intrigued to see what he's all about. I think it was I really tried to not overdue with any rookie and he's not healthy yet, but that said, they could be 10 spots higher by the time the season ends. What did your mail sources say about Panthers running back Cameron, Artist Payne? I didn't get a lot of feet.

I found out that if your name is not Adam Schaefter, that when you email 32 NFL teams, they aren't breaking down the doors to talk to someone they've never heard of. You got some good stuff. I didn't hear anything about Cameron Artist Payne. The kid out of Auburn? Yeah, actually, you know what? DJ, I believe, I remember on movies, either him or Bucky liked Cameron Artist Payne.

Yeah. For what it's worth. Cap. You did. I feel like the Panthers ranking, you would have had them higher, but Jonathan Stewart's injury history was a factor. If he plays all 16 games and you factor into some degree what Cam Newton does on the ground,

yes. Does that count in this list? Well, it didn't hurt them. It is not going to, To me, really the issue was that Stuart, I feel like I've written 7,000 posts on NFL.com about foot and lower leg inch issues. When he was healthy last season, he was a fireball. He was great, but he's missed 20 games in three years.

Ravens is the one that sticks out to me. If I was a GM, I'm not excited about Fawcett, Tali Afaro, Allen. I think they could be productive again, but... Fawcette's your boy. I love him as a player, but if you're just talking from scratch, Is he a better-than-average NFL starting running back? Just scheme independent? Not before last year.

Not before last. I mean, he was a guy who was a good guy to have. And then you go after him, Taliyaferro. Fitzgerald Toussaint makes your little list here of running backs. I don't even know Fitzgerald. I love that. I couldn't spell half of those games. What a great name of Fitzgerald Toussaint.

Very literary. Next tier, number 15. The Washington Redskins. 14, the Bears. Oh! top bears. Number 13, the Denver Broncos, 12, the Chargers, and 11,

the Colts, the Cults. Now we're starting to get to the groups now. It's getting juicy. Look at Mark. When Mark puts the team, whoever he puts at 11, they should see that as a shot, because Mark said,

they're not top 10 material to me. Frank Gore, the inconvenient truth. They look high to me at 11. I feel like that's a backfield pool of question, Marks. Frank Gore, I don't think at his age, is one of the best backs in the league anymore. This tier, especially, I struggled because it was, I've heard from people from Chicago that were not excited about the bears being there. And part of me is this, like with Matt Forte, it's not a shot on Matt Forte.

Part of it is depth, and I look at the rest of that group. Kerry was very unimpressive last season, I thought Langford's, from what I've read, I haven't watched a lot of tape of the guy, but he's just a jag. and so you got Jakeez Roger. So what happens if Forte can't go wire to wire? I mean, they've used him so much. If he plays the whole way, fine. They were 27th and rushing last season with him going the full way.

Those are all excellent points. You're right that they've struggled running. Forte is a backfield, though, unto himself. Yeah, he is. He got 100 passes. He broke the NFL record. So it's not a shot at Forte, but there's no way. I didn't see them as top 10.

A lot of people are going to disagree. Also, went to Tulane University. I don't know if you guys heard about that. Who went there? Matt Forte. Great guy. Redskins could be good. People are talking up Matt Jones,

and so that's a nice one-two combination with Alfred Morris. I would have them a little higher. I have a question about that. When you say that Alfred Morris is a strong fit for Bill Callahan's manpower scheme, is that something that one of your sources said or no? That was done through some research. and but what I also found was that they're not married to just using that blocking scheme that they're going to also continue with the zone and I do think he was good in zone too

he's one-cut runner that's yeah that's why I question it because he was drafted for the zone and that's all he's ever played in I know he's a power back but that doesn't always mean you do well in a power scheme I love Callahan well that's fair I love Callahan and I like hearing that they're not going to just go down one road with that so he's also I think he's not the only guy I do think that it sounds like Jones is going to definitely threaten for some playing. The Chargers did a good job. The Melvin Gordon move because it solidifies, it makes it look a lot better

because it went from a bunch of like, guys, you're not sure about to. Now it's a nice backfield. You got Gordon, Brandon Oliver, Danny Woodhead. Damn it, Donald is there. There's some guys that can run the football there. Maybe they'll do a better job with it this year. I really like Oliver, and they absolutely needed to fill the Matthews void. and, you know, Gordon, we don't know,

but the early reports are very good on him. And Woodhead's a mismatch in the passing game when he plays. All right, move into the top 10. This is Harrowed Ground. There's a chasm between 11 and 10. Here we go. The Texans, number 10, the Packers, number nine, the Chiefs, eight,

the Bills seven, and number six. Another shot missing the top five. It's not a shot. The Bungles. Why do you got to pick on the Bengals? Yeah, they should have been in the top five here. I don't know. I couldn't get them in there, but I thought they'd.

And Wesleying was a big influence on me moving them up to six from where I had them initially. Didn't you read Wes's love letter to Jeremy Hill last week? Well, did you read Mark's piece because he calls Wes's piece, brilliant? Well, it was. It was a good read, but I think that the word means. Jerk off. Part of it is Bernard matched with Hill. I think that they can do a lot.

and they're going to run the ball probably even more than they did last year. I'm just joking around here. I actually, I think I would have them even a little bit higher, not much. I mean, they're in the top of five. You have Hill, which, as Wes mentioned, in his chasm piece, that this guy is ready to break out. Nobody was better in the second half in terms of yards per carry.

I think yards overall, right? Russian yards. And then Bernard is maybe the best receiver there is out there. And to that point, by the way, Wes, When you read that piece that you wrote, the brilliant piece, it again, it starts to feel like you might be coming back. He's coming back to that. He's coming around again.

Pay the gross. Are we, where are we right now? Where are we right now? Well, I think, because Wes, just for any new listeners, just to set it up, Wes left the team. He was so disgusted in the 90s. he no longer follows the Bengals, but it seems like, as Carly Simon once said, you might be coming around again.

Well, look, this is like an ex-wife, and it's been 20 years almost. It's not a good idea to hop back in bed with your ex-wife, but, you know, feelings you had buried in our latent, sometimes resurface. Don't know what that word means. If you allow them to resurface. And I think the Ohio River offense piece allowed me to get back in touch with some feelings I still had about their 1980s team. in 19th, how about the idea that the Bengals, when you quit them, it was, you know, a partner that

let herself go a little bit. Now she's looking tight and looking really good. And all of a sudden, like, whoa, that's the woman I fell in love with. I think that's valid. So what you're saying, you could wake up, you know, after a long night out, hazy kind of coming to. And metaphorically, Andy Dalton's right in bed next. Or at least one text away, one late night text away. Andy Dalton is a bit of a two-bagger. Wow. Some of the great dramas end with that couple that's been a part for so long. Kids are all upset.

Mom and dad get back together at the end. I think this works on, I mean, in my life, I've seen girlfriends who have really made themselves more attractive, and the feelings happen, you know? The Bengals, yeah, you're right. I mean, Jeremy Hill, that's a fun guy to root on. He's hot. Little G.O. Bernard.

A.J. Green, Marvin Jones. He loved her for a reason. you know those those feelings can resurface i'm not saying they're there but uh it's more about the 70s and 80s bangles you almost wish they kept cars and palmer no that's not sweetening the deal i yeah i have a theory that andy dalton is the only thing now standing in the way if they ever were to swap him out and get somebody exciting it's over west is coming around again i know they're by the way there's only great uh teams ahead of these teams on the rankings but but jamal charles just continues to be the most overlooked guy yes the NFL one of the best players in the

NFL the last five years and he's got a great backup in Nile Davis and old Sessler just dropping him. 1,500, I think he had, well, he's very consistent. 1,400 total yards last year. I think he had 13 touchdowns and 14 games or 14 and 15 games. He wasn't as good. He had, I think, had 2,000 total years the year before. He'd be higher on a ranking of running backs.

But Nile Davis, I think, like a great level backup. I just, the rest of the list and the way they use, well, I just like the rest of the list. And it's strong. Part of it is, you know, you're going to swing and miss on some of these. Jamal Charles, 5.5 yards per carry in his career. Jim Brown 5.2. Jamal Charles, one of those sneaky guys. If he had a good run here the rest of the way,

he's someone that will get some conversation for Hall of Fame that no one would think of Jamal Charles. What seems to be hanging in the air here, Mark, is that this was a missed opportunity to give Jamal Charles a respect he deserves. That's all. I do respect him. And, you know, I'm not a barbecue person. good thing is I'm not going to Kansas City anytime soon based on the feedback I've gotten

of where I placed them. I like that you have the Bengals over the bills. This was something that I'm sure you've gotten some feedback on this on Twitter. I asked Evan Silva, wrote a world last week. Would you rather have Lashon McCoy right now or Jeremy Hill for the same salary? And a lot of people responded to that and said, why would anyone take Lashon McCoy? He's only two years removed from leading the NFL in rushing. But I think Jeremy Hill is a better runner than McCoy, and I think McCoy.

It wasn't quite last year what we're used to him being. Bold. I agree. I like Bengals that high. Bill's Fred Jackson. I mean, I love me some Fred Jackson, but one of these years it's got to end. Well, part of with the Bengals is Hugh Jackson. Yeah.

And I'll say number 10, the Texans, Arrian Foster, you know, again, he didn't play the whole season last year. That's going to be a bad quarterback group. There's going to be, that box is going to be stacked, I think, against him. That's going to be tough. And if he goes down, are you getting excited about Alfred Blue? You're my boy, Lou. Yeah, I mean, how excited are you going to get about that? I don't know.

So I would think maybe they would have been out of the top ten. But so far, I love your list. Also. Well, not everyone does. Everyone I've talked to thinks they should be top five, whether they're in Tampa Bay or Tennessee or, well, just, you know, the fans. Oh, you don't like the feedback you're getting. Oh, no, I can care less.

I'm breaking out of that block. That may have to come. Nice pool on the Carly Simon drop. He was quite the vixen in the 70s. She did have. I've never heard that song. What? That, like, a popular song?

Not well, it was like a mid-80s hit. My mother is a huge Carly Simon fan, and I grew up with that. Her greatest hit CD on Loop, so I know every single notable Simon single. What was the Nora Ephron movie? Wasn't that song, like the theme song of that movie with Jack Nicholson? Oh, as good as it gets?

Something Heat? Body Heat? Body Heat is not a Nora Ephron movie. Artburn? No cool conversation ever. has started with the phrase, what was that Nora Ephron movie that? It was called Heartburn, I think. Yeah, because it came out in 1986, and Carly Simon's coming around again came out in

1986. Yep, that was the movie. Boom. Jack Nicholson. Nailed it. Nailed it. I feel so stupid for I've never heard of that song. Directors cut Working Girl.

And that concludes pop culture memories from Chris Wesley. All right, the top five, here we go. this is where Mark makes his money his incredible salary starting with number five the Pittsburgh Steelers number five with of course the dynamic Levyon Bell

De Angel Williams behind him and Drey Archer in the mix Number four Naule and Saints with Mark Ingram C.J. Spiller Kelly Robinson and number three

the Minnesota Vikings with Adrian Peterson Jarek McKinnon Matt Asiatta right let me just say something about the and you know and you just west you brought it up so it's a good way to get into it evan silva who's a guy that we respect over at rhodo world knows his stuff uh however you know

everyone seems to think that lashon mccoy is in decline because he wasn't as good last year he dropped a yard of carry uh in his average uh but ap dropped a yard and a half two years ago he's four years older he has uh 600 fewer carries this is like the third time you've made i i but i just don't understand why because everyone thinks McCoy is going downhill when nobody thinks the same thing about the generation. Yes, he is, but he's also 30 years old. I don't ever compare Lashon McCoy to him. I think they're held to different standards.

I'm just saying Peterson, when you get down to it, he's 30. He's been out of football for a year, essentially. He's also a freak. Yes, the last year he did play. He was a significantly lesser version than the guy that went nuts in 2012. So to assume that he's still that guy, I am going to assume it despite your protestations. I don't think he was significantly worse last time. around either. The factors around him were worse, and he was a little worse, but I think he was

still the best running back in the NFL. I mean, he's not coming off an injury. He's coming off not being around, but he's kept in shape. Everyone that's been around him said he looks like the same guy. So part of me is like, I'll be, I'm fine being late on the Adrian Peterson train on announcing his decline until it happens, because he is seems hell-bent on proving everyone wrong. I think he's the best player. He's arguably the best player in the NFL over the last 10 years. in terms of being at just the best at his position. Since I've been working, just covering football, he's right there with the guys that you think have a chance in 20 years

that we'll be talking about as one of, you know, when they make those lists, the top 10 players everywhere. He might be on it if he has a good rest of it. Perhaps my point is more. You just feel like he can do anything. Sure. And I'm not necessarily doubting Peterson. I'm more saying that I feel like people have been a little quick to jump to saying that Lashon McCoy has declined.

That's fair. And I was citing Peterson's own dropping stats. but I, yeah, I think he proved Peterson when he went nuts in 2012 proved a lot of people wrong and I wouldn't be surprised if he's great again but I don't know. I don't have a problem with putting them third. You got Jerich McKinnon

behind them, you've got two good backfields we won't spoil them coming up. I was really surprised and I know I could have voiced my opinion to you earlier. You gave me the option over the weekend. Yeah. But I just thought this should be Mark's list. You don't need my input. Yeah. Magnanimous. The Saints number four.

just talk about that well this is this reminds me a little bit with some of the other teams where it's if ingram stays healthy all season and he plays the way he did last year and you pair him with what Sean Peyton is going to do with C.J. Spiller with what he's proving he can do with C.J. Spiller type guys but Spiller is better than all those guys I think if he's if he also stays healthy this is a dynamic backfield and I can't wait to see what New Orleans, their whole scheme's going to change. We talked about that. I think they should be in the conversation for number one backfield in the NFL.

I thought having them number four was really bold. It's a boomer bust. It's a boomer bust. That's why I didn't honestly want to give you what I thought, because then I would have just watered it down and say, well, you know, that seems bold. It's good to be, it's good to be bold. You believe in the Saints backfield, believing in the Saints. That hasn't, that has never gone wrong for you or West.

Spiller has never, Spiller has the guy calling place for him and scheming who is, the perfect compliment for his skill set, and also the perfect, like, guy compliment in their tandem. Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller are two different styles of backs, and they work really well together. I think they will. I'll joke aside, how

many other backfields here have a former making a leap candidate as the number three back, Kyrie Robinson. Who I really like as a player. Is that good or bad? It's a little of both. It's a little of both, but I like Kyrie Romney. We've got another one coming up that we haven't talked about yet. Any other thoughts on the

five through three. Steelers, yeah. I mean, that's just all Leveon Bell. That's how high you regard him. That is. And I like Levyon better than Jamal Charles or LaShawn McCoy or Jeremy Hill. I have no problem with it. It's one guy that, like, when I went back to watch a collection of his games,

I don't even think last season it quite caught me how special he is. And when I talked to his former coach as well, he just said this guy will be that player that we're talking about for another 10 years. So I buy into him big time and I think what he did last season was outstanding and they'll only get better. Actually, we should give you some credit here talking to Vikings running back as coach Kirby Wilson. Broke a little news in terms of Wilson backing off Peterson in terms of his workload. Name-checked Mark Sessler on NFL Total Access for this. This is the rhythm of the night.

Well, and if I had cable television, I would have seen that. Trepid reporter. This really is your week. Your secret mansources are stepping up. It's obviously going to be counted with a destructive, terrible week next week. It's got a balance. We have the MVP award up here for the podcast, but there is another type of MVP award at the company.

How mad would you guys be if Sessler got his second one? I'd be out of here. I would lose. Wes would handle it fine. I would lose Dan as a friend. I'm gone. I'm history. Have they had an MVP award?

Mark's already won at once. I don't think that any of us are getting... He's got a coin. I would have to give it to Dan immediately just to save... I'm friends with his whole family. His wife is a child? Win West's toaster. You can just make up rolls and pass things on whenever you feel like it.

Oh, yeah. Hey, here's the toaster, Wes. You won it. But wait, your last thing was a lot. Well, ducking me, and then we wouldn't have to do it that way. Oh, I like that. Drama. One day.

Disturbing. Don King will get them together. Number two on this list. the 12s aren't going to be happy because they thought they had this locked up the Seattle Seahawks Always the bridesmaid number two Just like the bridesmaid in Arizona at the Super Bowl

When they blew it Because they didn't give it to Marshawn Lynch And yet Mark says They're not number one They're number two on this list Nothing to be ashamed of. Robert Turbin also on that team Former Making the League candidate Christine Michael Still not over that name.

Rod Smith, who was a great wide receiver for the Broncos before Y2K. I mean, this is a nice little group. If the Seahawks don't trust Chris and Michael enough to put him on the field, why should you trust him enough to rank him number one on your list? Part of it is, well, listen, they are, Marshaun Lynch is unstoppable, but Michael, I went and wrote a gigantic piece on him last summer, and he did me wrong. So I'm not going to believe a word of it until I see it.

You're right. What if the Seahawks taking a page out of the course? Colts book puts up finalist, Mark Sessler's running back rankings this year. Oh, they, they, it's been a long time since Seattle's had anything nice said about them, so they're going to need to go down that road. I could see Richard Sherman going after you about this that ever, you know, got on his radar. It seems like the 12th, the 12s will take this one in stride and they'll accept the second place. By the way, they should be happy.

There's a much stronger case for moving them down below the Vikings who have Adrian Peterson on the list. I think the Steelers, if you just want to make a case for Levi-on-Bell, the Bengals, the Bengals are deep, you know. Marsha and Lynch is a brilliant running back, but also spent like 12% of last season on an exercise bike for some reason. You've got to also factor in... Large swaths of the season.

Yeah, why is he never ready for the beginning? Who knows what's going to happen? There's more to the story. I did factor in Russell Wilson, too. I mean, only 15 running backs had more yards than him. He's part of that. Does that count? I didn't know that counted.

Listen, we have to redo the entire list. Let's start at 32, factoring quarterbacks. Here we go. All right. And now, the number one. Backfield, if you haven't figured it out, I'm sorry, you're stupid. The Eagles, with DeMarco Murray,

Ryan Matthews, Darren Sproles. Sproles. Kenjin Barner, and Matthew Tucker, man. How about that? Congratulations to the, Eagles, Mark, why are they the number one backfield in all of the National Football League? Well, it starts with Matthew Tucker. No, I just, I look at number one, Chip Kelly.

Everyone was ridiculing Chip Kelly when the whole free agency thing happened and Gore walked out of the building. Chip Kelly's losing it. He's probably going to be back at Oregon two years from now. But instead you wind up with the best running back from last season and the offensive player of the year. and Ryan Matthews, who is easily the best number two back of anyone on this list, and we'll see a ton of work, I think, this season. And then you got Darren Sprouls, which is sort of like... Easily the best number three back on this.

Yeah, this wasn't really that hard for me. It's a great back. Is there a little concern in terms of, like, it's kind of a chemistry experiment, too, like, how do you use these guys? How do you put them together? Do you, you know, give Ryan Matthews a quarter? Like, how is this going to work, you know? It is interesting is when I talk to Daniel Jeremiah, one thing he said that why this would work for Philly versus another team is that their offense is so fast pace.

It isn't just Ryan Matthews coming out for the occasional carry. It's you could do a full series with Ryan Matthews and a full series with Murray, which running backs, if they're not going to be willing to team that way, that could become a problem. But it's not just Ryan Matthews getting the occasional attempt. It's going to let them get in the flow. That makes a lot of sense because, you know, when they're playing hurry up, when they're at their best, they're not making substitutions. I do wonder if Matthews can be a quality guy on passing downs. It necessarily hasn't been his strength throughout his career.

But that makes a lot of sense. And this is a team that has more plays and runs to play with. Are they going to need him on passing? I mean, you've got scrolls. If he's on the field for the whole series, he's on the field for passing downs is what I'm thinking. They're going to run the ball a lot. Yes, they are. For sure.

Everyone said that about Chip Kelly when he came to the NFL. He's not really all about the past, and he's showing it. And I think if you're worried about their chemistry, I thought Ryan Matthews had some good comments last week, and he was talking up to Mark Homer, he's saying, a guy led the league in rushing. He deserves those helicopters. He deserves the praise. The helicopters were, you know, swirling overhead when he was, you know,

when the Eagles were recruiting him and he came in to sign. And Matthews said he deserves all that, you know. We all buy into this system, and we'll be fine together. All right. That's it. is Mark's top 32 backfields in order. Congratulations, Eagles. You don't have any Super Bowls.

But you got this. Congratulations to Mark. What a performance. Great job. Great work. Well, it was fun to do. Thank you for chatting about it. All right. That's it. Before we get out of here, if you are an L.A. listener and you're looking for something to do on Tuesday night, please check out the premiere of a movie.

It's called Flock of Dudes. It's playing at the L.A. Film Fest right now, directed by a good friend of the show, and a long time friend of mine, Bob Castrone, Tickets.L.A. Filmfest.com and search flock of dudes. That's the world premiere of the movie.

It's very funny. Great comedy. Mark, you and I checked out one of the screenings earlier this year, didn't we? It was great. I mean, I didn't know what would happen or what will happen with it. I think big things,

but it's the kind of thing that has kind of a, it's people are going to be watching it like a cult type comedy for a long time. It's well-acted. Jason Zolmalt, our other friend, the listener of the show, was a writer.

there is a character loosely based on Dan Hanzas, is that right? A little bit. I was involved with this project way back when a little bit, so I do have a connection to it as well, but please go see the movie. Plus your lovely wife. Did the cast on it. Emily, my lovely sweet wife, was the casting director, so yes, it is a bit of a passion project for my circle of friends.

So check it out, Tickets.Lafilm.com. Search flock of dudes Tuesday, 10 p.m. All right, that's it. Dan Hanzas, signing off for the great. I mean, studly, Mark Sessler. They call him Quiet Storm and big delivery. Didn't leave a lot of meat on that bone today with that article. Oh, yeah.

Use Joseph Randall's words. Not such a quiet storm in today's show. And, of course, the mailman, the boss. More great work by Sully Behind the Glass. And, of course, the Irishman, Brandon McGis. Thank you for listening. Until Wednesday. This is an I-Heart podcast.

Thank you.