NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Surprise Team MVPs

Episode Date: June 15, 2020

A bunker filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Marc Sessler bring you all of the latest news in the NFL including more players testing positive for Covid-19 including some big name stars. Pete Carroll says he's received a phone call about Kaepernick and Mitch Trubisky is "pissed off in a good way" about competing for his job. The heroes give their surprise team MVPs for the upcoming season.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the NFL podcast. Need some toilet paper. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansus, and I'm coming to you from a country filled with heroes in bunkers.

Mark Sessler, Greg Rosethall. up, boys. Yo, what's up with you? You're in a different place. It was like a Jeff Goldblum impression. Greg there.

Well, he'll be a little bit. This is history. This is the first time, and Eric, if you want to jump in for a second here, this is the first time in the history of this program that we are doing a show where we are the group of four are in three,

three different time zones, okay? We got Ricky Hollywood over there in New Hampshire in some area of her estate right now. We have the old Zeuser who traveled with the family to Emily's parents home in central Texas. So I'm in the central time zone. And then there's Mark and Greg holding things down in the city of angels. This might be podcast history. Forget about our show. Has this ever happened before?

I'm going to say no. I don't think so. I mean, certainly I would imagine that Los Angeles would also categorize, Greg and I is holding down the metropolis. I wouldn't point to anyone else other than the two of us doing that work here. It is quiet. You know, driving around this weekend a little bit. I mean, I feel like it's now in a new level of like lack of people here

because people have left for the summer and the coronavirus combined that you can get the west you know you can get the westwood in about five minutes from my house is just smooth sailing wow what are you doing a westwood gregg that's that would be my question yeah little things little errands no one's allowed to know what gregg does in west in and out in and out you know great family burger um so yeah this is where this is where we're at and uh we'll continue to provide to you high quality football analysis with a touch of mirth there is no NFL network program this upcoming Friday. So don't look for that on your DVR.

We're not canceled. We will be back, but we are taking the week off. There will be no NFL programming on Friday. Which is connected to some actual NFL news that Goodell, you know, gave Juneteenth off in the, what is now turning into more of a national celebration. It used to be more aware you were in Texas of, you know, the word that slavery was abolished, you know, years after the emancipation proclamation. So the NFL has it totally off. And the shows are

totally off, which is pretty rare for the NFL and they're running some special programming Friday. June 10th, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Cell Liberation Day is an American holiday celebrated annually on June 19th. It commemorates June 19th, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger read federal orders in Gavleston, Texas, that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free. So, Greg, with a very accurate setup there,

and then I gave you a little bit of a wiki background on top of it. Mark, I know you were just educated. No, I knew all about it because, you know, that's what I do. I heard last week that they were going to move our show and others off the slate. I think it's a good thing they've done. And it's kind of funny. You would never imagine the NFL to have done this a couple years ago. A lot of things have changed for the better.

It's the classic Juneteenth episode of Atlanta, you know, that's a winner. That's one of my favorites. Yes. I don't know if I saw that one. Good show, though. I like Atlanta. FX. Wow.

What programming they're coming out with on a fairly regular basis? Dan, you're looking very, I just want to say, like, the hair is looking. It's kind of like I've been following, you know, Alec Baldwin's journey through the whole Corona time. And he goes through periods where you look. looks a little unwashed and a little weathered. But he then suddenly looks very shiny and put together. And you have kind of that feel to you right now. Your shirt looks washed and folded.

And it's now clinging to your body. I worked with Sidney Portier, one of the great actors. I wonder where he is right now. You should stay that close. I think it's like it's less hollow when you're that close. I like that. You're less hollow when you're this close. Nailed it.

All right. Good show coming up today. We are going to break down a little MVP talk, but not in the more basic way where you're just saying who's going to win MVP, Patrick Mahomes or Mar Jackson. We're going to kind of take a look at a team by team and throw out some team MVP favorites and maybe some surprise names, names that don't jump out at you and whether they actually contend for league MVP honors is another debate, but we're talking about

team by team. So we're going to throw some out there and have a nice little conversation there. I have a piece on NFL.com. A two-parter actually coming out this week on that very subject. So we'll talk it out. And if you guys have some really good ones, I'm going to probably steal it, just let you know. Are you haven't written the piece yet? Or you will... I'm halfway through. I'm halfway through. Oh, so this is a crowdsourcing

exercise. It might very well turn into that. But it's really up to you. I mean, put it this way, Mark. If you come up with a killer, like a killer MVP favorite that I said, whoa, and I've already written the copy, I probably won't go back and change it. Because you know what, I'm just not going to do that amount of work. But if I haven't written the team yet, I will. And I might even put, as Mark Sessler pointed out, on a recent around the NFL podcast, if I'm feeling especially magnanimous, or I might just jack it. Well, I would just point out that Greg, Greg did mention my name in his, and you forget the title of this series, but the projected starter series, I got a name drop in that.

So if you want any credibility with me, you better do the same. I mean, how many times are you going to mention that you read that series from Greg? Brown-nosed. He's not your boss anymore. It's not, it's just fat. We're just supportive. It's like I read the top 10 favorite players in Mark Sessler's history. He had Randall Cunningham on there, which to me as a kid was,

was my favorite. So a lot of, you know, just shared DNA right now. Yeah, I know, that changed Greg's life. And it changed the lives of about 48 other people that clicked into the article. So, you know, there's no end of the scope. A lot of shared DNA between the two of you and L.A. right now. All right. Let's start, though, by doing some news.

It's a weird show. The Supreme Court has ruled that LGBT Americans are protected by the anti-discrimination laws. of this country at their workplaces. They cannot be fired or otherwise discriminated against at work simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. How about that? Ricky Hollywood picking the news drop today and can get behind that, the civil rights law protecting LGBT workers.

It was a ruling by the Supreme Court. Erica, you're feeling good, right? Yeah, it's exciting. All 50 states. No discrimination in the workplace for LGBT rights. So that's really exciting. I saw a cool map on Twitter that was going around. And it was like all of the states in gray that you can no longer be discriminated against.

And the whole United States was gray. So it's pretty cool. It's good news for a Monday morning. Thanks for doing the bare minimum Supreme Court. Yeah, exactly. Finally. Your government working for you. All right.

Let's get to the news. So that's very good news. Here's not so good news. A small number of Dallas Cowboys players have tested positive for the coronavirus. This report from Rapsheet earlier today. And some Houston Texans players have also tested positive. Among the players is Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott, who tested positive but is feeling good, according to a report. Elliot on Twitter later questioned why his medical information was being made public

with a simple tweet that read H-I-P-A-A double question mark. It was referring to the Health Insurance, Portability and Accountability Act. Mark, your thoughts when you saw this? Well, I'm not going to deep dive into the HIPAA angle of this. I learned later that not everyone has protected the way that Ezekiel Elliott mentioned. by HIPP, it refers more to medical practitioners, and I will leave it there for someone to correct me. But I will say that it's a lesson that coronavirus is not just going to play by the rules of, you know, oh, you're a third stringer that might see limited snaps. So I'll,

I'll come and get you. I'm not going to come get any star players. I mean, coronavirus is circulating at a rapid pace in multiple states right now. It's not just simply gone away because we long for certain creature comforts and we long to sit by our friends poolside with drinks in our hands. It's just not. I think it's a thorny issue. And you're already seen in the NBA circles players, for multiple reasons, questioning whether they should be shoved into an Orlando bubble to play for a couple things. Number one, the coronavirus health issues. Number two, what's happening in our country right now with a lot of other stuff and with the focus on equality. Black Lives Matter, do we want to make, do we want to create diversions in terms of sports?

The NBA players are talking about that. When it comes to the NFL, you know, we're seeing college players succumbing to the coronavirus still too. I think it just creates immense logistical issues. John Harbaugh mentioned how impossible it will be to manage a team with the guidelines they put out. And we can talk all day long about how will Player X look as a fantasy player all this. but none of us have coaching ties.

And none of us really have a real concept of what it's like to have to train 70 to 90 players to prepare for a season, whittle them down and get them community-wise into one solid spot to start week one. The challenges, what they put into this, the challenges that are now embedded into the league with spacing and social distancing are fine as long as coronavirus does not attack rosters

and we're already seeing that that's just not how it works. Right. And, you know, I think there's this date in everyone's mind, you know, September 10th can, you know, the race to get there. But in my mind, it's kind of, it's more like July 30th. That's, or July 22nd, 23rd is when those Hall of Fame game teams are supposed to show up. 28th to the 30th is when the rest of the team starts showing up. It's like, that's soon.

And that's a ton of people. And the Cowboys getting, you know, a handful of Cowboys and a handful of Texans getting it. Who knows how many other players have gotten it that we don't know about? And it's hard not to think about, okay, all these players are practicing already together. Texas, you know, is, was one of the first states to kind of open back up. And this is just going to be part of what teams and the league has to deal with. And the league admitted as much, even when they were laying out these guidelines.

I mean, the NBA said this as much, too. like players will test positive. It's just what is the reaction going to be in terms of how you can keep them away from the rest of the team? And just the million logistical problems, which Harbaugh hit on that are like coming soon. To me, it's like a race. It's unlike any offseason in so many ways, but it has to feel like a race for the NFL to try to somehow have a plan ready for July 30th and then be able to adapt after that. And it really, it does make me think like why play a preseason? for one. Like, if you can buy any more time, that seems like something you should do.

Just to question, you guys, because it wasn't so many months ago that a, just a small handful of confirmed positive cases in the NBA shut down basketball. I mean, it shut it down for the long haul. Is it just because now we're exhausted? We have a couple of confirmed cases in the NFL, and it's just full steam ahead. It just seems like the polar shift is in our thinking and in the league's thinking versus how we're treating it as a country. Is it we just, are we tired of this? Of course we're tired of it, but you have to be smart about it. And Harbaugh used the term, he said, humanly impossible to follow the protocol that the NFL is laying out.

And I don't know, it's interesting to me being in Texas right now that these Texans players and Cowboys players testing positive. I'm not necessarily connecting dots, but it just made me think about when I went into a Walmart yesterday here and nine out of ten people weren't wearing masks and you know if that's where we're heading right now where people are going to get more and more lax with how they're trying to protect themselves and and people are getting more and more cavalier about going out and hanging out with friends it just seems like we might be heading toward a potential disaster both in terms of human life loss potentially uh and but also we're there standpoint right from a sports

standpoint, that's going to be something that could end up knocking all of us out of play and not being able to watch games and games cannot be played. So we'll see how it plays out, you know? I mean, it's like, it's like two different things. Like at this point, I think the country on some level has just decided to accept, you know, 800, 900 death a day. We'll take it. We're going to, you know, at this point, the U.S. is projected to get over 200,000 deaths.

Like, that's, that's coming. We're in the one, you know, 100 teens. right now. It's sad and it's like it's trying to manage, you know, businesses and your work around it. But the NFL and pro sports is obviously, you know, not the same as setting up a couple outside tables at a restaurant, you know, it's just there's so much. I just think there's so many consequences that like teams and players and everyone, they'll probably get criticized in the end, but it's like, who is prepared to really deal with this? You know what I mean? Like I, it's almost it's in things are going to happen that we haven't even thought about and that they haven't

thought about and I don't know there's no one that really knows where this is going in other news Pete Carroll was in the news late last week it was about Colin Kaepernick and he said in an interview that he regrets the Seahawks not signing Kaepernick in 2017 he denied that a second meeting with the quarterback didn't happen in 2018 because of the team's uncertainty about whether he planned to continue kneeling during the national anthem. And then he added some intrigue to the Kaepernick story by saying that there is someone out there that reached out to him asking about the quarterback.

Let's listen to Carol. I like our setup right now. I love the way Gino fits together in our role and all that. So it's not really available at this time for us. But I've said this ongoing for years. If Russ ever got tangled up and couldn't play or something, And Cap would have been an extraordinary candidate to take over because of the dynamics of his play. You know, we've always really cherished the unique qualities that players bring in.

And he had a unique style that we couldn't have respected more. But I never talked to another head coach about it. I never talked to anybody about it until today. I got a phone call today. I'm not to tell you who was. I got a phone call today in asking, inquiring about the situation. So I know, you know, somebody's interested. Greg, what did you take out of that?

The big thing is that someone called Carol. I mean, to me, I'm less interested in kind of, you know, dissecting all the ways Carol's words are not quite, you know, logical if you hold them up to, you know, the light of day thinking about 2017 when he signed Austin Davis and well, why do you bring him in if you weren't going to sign them, you know, as a backup? I sort of that part doesn't matter. The fact that a team is actually calling Carol for info is interesting to me because I thought, you know, by the workout last year, this was not going to happen. And so it gives me some hope. And I do think it's going to just come down to the owner. I think it's just going to come down to the owner making a decision.

And maybe the coach, maybe just making a unilateral decision, even if the coach isn't 100% on board and just saying, I'm going to do this because I think it's good for the league, which owners used to do all the time. Like, you know, small market, big market teams in New York decided to share all their revenues with the Green Bay Packers for what was good in the league. And I think to reach out to the young fans, the black fans, like having them on a roster is going to say as much, you know,

in terms of being a symbol than any statement or any money even that the league is donating. I'm with you. I think that also you look at the words of a lot of players, that the signing of Colin Kaepernick is not a maybe or a preference. it is what many are pointing to as a distinct symbol of change in the NFL versus lip service. And I do think the NFL's, you know, higher-ups are looking at all this very differently. We've been on some of these calls with our fellow employees who have spoken from the heart.

And I do think it's changed the POV and the way that the people, you know, the lens that we see the league through. but to simply ignore the Kaepernick issue and you've got a bunch of, there are a handful of teams where, you know, you can, I agree there is not a starting job out there, but there are a number of backups that you're talking about a player

that went from Super Bowl starter to out of the league in a few years. Find me another case study like that. Never happened. I mean, what came to mind was the Steelers. That was one team that came to mind because they can use a backup. and, you know, it's called the Rooney Rule for a reason.

They're also a team, I think, that an ownership group that has looked to the greater good of the league. It's not like, and I want to make it clear, like, Cabernick's earned an opportunity. It's not like you're doing them a favor. But on some level, like, it is the best way to say that you're sorry. It is, it's not an apology contract, and it might be complicated, but, like, that that's probably, like, the clearest way that you can do it. I mean, they already settled the case, and that is this, like, side issue that no one wants to talk about, that they had already paid Kaepernick money. There was a grievance that the NFL admitted. And so there's a lot into it.

I know it's not as simple, but it could be as simple as someone like a Rooney just saying, all right, let's just do this. Yeah, and it feels like there is, although still a polarizing issue, of course, the kneeling issue. I'm looking at a poll that was just released that 52% of Americans, the majority of the country now agree that it is okay for players to kneel during the National Anthem to protest killings of African Americans. You know, I think that there's still, there's always going to be a lot of push and pull on that issue, but it feels like it's more,

the water's warmer now than it was when Kaepernick initially kneeled. And I think there might be an owner that sees that as well and says, well, you know what, maybe I can do this and not have to. to worry about getting hit, whether it's in revenue dollars and ad dollars. And then the other part of it is, and I talked about this on our Friday show, Pete Carroll keeps popping up in these conversations. And he keeps on talking about Kaepernick. And he obviously has a connection with him, both during his time with the Seahawks and then

when Kaepernick was a star for a rival team in the division. But I just, for some reason, there's something about Carol doing all this talking, but not actually doing any action. and then saying, oh, well, we have Gino Smith. So we're not in this conversation. Well, how about you bring Colin Kaepernick into the building also and have him compete with Gino Smith? And if he's as good as you say he is,

then maybe he'll just maybe beat out Gino Smith because the other thing, we're seeing all this content, the content mill during the quiet off season, all right, everybody write your top landing spots or conceivable landing spots or Callan Kaepernick. I mean, as a backup quarterback, he fits in with the majority of the,

league. So, like, that's, that's fish in a barrel. There's so many places where he would make sense. And Seattle is one of them, whether Pete Carroll wants to say it or not. Anyway, let's, uh, let's move on. Antonio Brown. Uh, he has taken care of his latest legal issues. He pled no contest to felony battery charges, charges and been sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Uh, this was connected to that incident. I believe that was connected to a moving company in front of his house. Yeah, a moving truck, a moving truck driver and other characters. There you go.

So he's been, that's been cleared from his legal deck has been cleared. And now we find out what happens with the NFL, a very different case than Colin Kaepernick, obviously. Another guy who could absolutely be a playmaker in the NFL if he could play. But this is the situation of Antonio Brown has made himself, toxic you wonder if someone's going to take a chance on him it's been pretty quiet on that front go ahead go ahead well i just think they're waiting to hear from the nfl if he's going to be suspended that's it right like that's going to be what gets him a job if he gets suspended well but

there's there's got to be a little bit more than just suspended because i mean he you know went into multiple locker rooms last year and caused uh endless drama he's also a top two or three wide receiver if he's on his game. So he put a picture of himself out there on Instagram in a Ravens uniform. He has spent this offseason at times practicing with Lamar Jackson, who has backed the idea of Antonio Brown joining Baltimore. Does he think maybe he is on the Ravens? Have we considered that? Well, that's a very fair question. We don't, we have not dived into the, um, the mental processing at this point. But I, I think it's, it's, that's the, that's the dot I would connect most strongly at this point based on, you know, if a free agent is putting

a picture of mouth there in a, in the uniform of a certain team, I will look at that. Oh, you don't like that either, Mark. Like, if you're a fan of an AFC North team, that's not the Ravens, perhaps Antonio Brown, if he ever got another job, would destroy a locker room just because he can't keep it together. But also, the thought of adding Antonio Brown to that group in Baltimore that maybe is missing that one final piece as like a weapon. Greg, you did great job on your projected starter series. They didn't bring in a lot of new talent at the wide receiver position. They're just kind of hoping those guys develop. But if you brought in an Antonio Brown, my God. Well, he's, but he's due to me a lengthy suspension. And there is still

a civil case from his former trainer who accused him of sexual assault and rape that is still pending. So I guess I'm skeptical. I wouldn't be surprised if we never see Antonio Brown in the league. And I'm still skeptical that it would be coming this year. Right, because we've heard about it from Brown. And even if Lamar Jackson puts in a good word, we've not heard from the Ravens. And it is, you know, there's owner buy-in to a lot of the stuff we're talking about today, but owner buy-in to Antonio Brown will probably be necessary. I mean, he's supposedly, We'll see if he's on the Patriots salary cap right now. They have a grievance against him, too,

or they're supposedly potentially getting money back from me and Tony about. Otherwise, right now, he's $4 million on the cap, I think. What a mess. In other news, let's head to Chicago where the Bears have two quarterbacks competing for the starting job, Nick Foles, who they acquired in a trade in the offseason, and Mitchell Trubisky, the former first round pick, the man taken, yes, before Deshaun,

Watson before Patrick Mahomes, and yet he is on the ropes with the bears after a really rough 2019 campaign. He spoke to Chicago reporters on a Zoom call on Friday, and he says, this is still my team, and yeah, I am a little annoyed that I have this competition in the building, and I want to do something about it. Here's what he had to say. I think I was kind of pissed off in a good way. I've been motivated ever since.

I've been motivated since our season ended last year. I didn't feel like it went the way we wanted to and we left a lot out there but I'm excited for this year. I think it's going to be a good competition and Foles has had a crazy career as well so it's been cool having them in our room talking

ball. I know we're going to push each other but I still feel like this is my team and I'm excited for the competition and just get back on the field with my guys and show everybody what I can still do. Oh, I can see it, Mark, you got goosebumps just hearing that. Well, I don't think it

feels like his team at all. I will give him credit for one thing when they asked him also. Pitch yourself, Mark. Well, I don't, this is not the stuff that's getting me, you know, that's, you know, getting me to jump out of bed in the morning. I'll give you that much. But like, when they say, when they asked him about the fifth year option that he, you know, they declined, which is notable and speaks more than anything else they've done. He basically said he agreed he didn't earn it. And I at least, you know, there wasn't a lot of, you know, nonsense around that. He's being real and like he didn't earn it. I mean, he is, They trade it up for him in the second overall pick in the draft.

And to me, he has not lived up to that from any shady in any angle you look at. And I think he is the not the starter. He is clearly the second in charge without any question. Why bring in Nick Foles? It's a distraction. Why bring him in if he's not the starter, Nick Foles? Right. I'd love to do a historical analysis of quarterbacks who said, this is my team.

If it's your team, you don't have to say it. You know, Drew Brees isn't like, this is my team. you know, Tom Brady wasn't saying, this is my team. Like, once you get to the point where you have to say it, it's too late. Yeah, I don't know what he could have said that wouldn't lead to him getting a little bit of, you know, jabs from gibronies like us. But I guess you're just in a situation where there's nothing to really say. And you go like the Eli Manning route where you're just like, yeah, you know, it's going to be a competition.

And I look forward to it. and may the best man win. Anything else, you're just going to come off as kind of a joke, it seems. And that's where Trubisky is at this stage of his career. Is there any chance? I know your answer to this, Mark. But Greg, is there any chance that Trubisky can play, and he just had a bad year?

Have we seen it up now where he's just no good? He's a backup at the NFL level. I think to find, I guess a defined, you know, can play. If everything is great around him and Nagy cooks up some plays and they... He's around the bottom line. Then, yeah, then he could have a season where people sort of fall for him like they did a couple years ago. Sure. I mean, we've seen it. I don't think, but if that's your ceiling, I'm not getting too excited. I also think that, you know, there are a lot of people around

there thinking, we can stick with Mitch Trubisky, but it might cost all of us our jobs. and they quickly looked around for something that they felt more sure of. Yeah. I mean, we've talked about it on the show that barring some type of seismic change in his career, that's going to go down as one of the most infamous moments in the history of the Chicago Bears, trading up to get Trubisky at two with Patrick Mahomes. A lot of picks. By the way, Patrick Mahomes on the board.

There was a lot of picks to move up that one spot. It was like three twos or something like that to just, to just, past the 49ers who had no interest in him anyways. And Ryan Pace was the guy. He made the pick, right? That's right. Kind of a little bit surprising he survived all this. But so far, I guess that's why, to what you guys are saying, that's why Nick Foles is there, because he needed to pivot out of this at a certain point and just hope for Foles to kind of save his job. That's where they're at in Chicago right now. By the way, I mentioned Lamar Jackson. Do you guys see the

jet ski incident during beach football? Yes. Not on. I mean, the TMZ headline was a little overstated. It was like Lamar Jackson like barely avoid death, you know, with jet ski. And it was like, all right, calm down. He like jumped over a non-moving jet ski basically. Right.

He's safe on that front. But it's, again, it was another, it was a collection of, you know, 15 people not wearing masks. And I'm not trying to beat down the door of everyone must do this all the time. but, you know, don't care at all. And we'll see how that works. I don't know where they were or what they were doing. I'd be more worried if I was a rave.

Just seeing him running around on the beach. I don't like that. You know, Robert Edwards, the Patriots rookie of the year, essentially ended his career with the beach accident. A lot of people running on the beach, you get a lot. You know, it's not good for you. It's not good for you. I don't like it. Mark, did you not watch the whole video?

I did watch the video. Immediately preceding the game, they all tested negative for COVID-19. Oh, I didn't see the prequel to the video. I mean, I didn't see that. And then they all did the temperature scan before they stepped on to the beach. Oh, no. Well, I'm, I, then my bad, I simply watched the action part of the film where he narrowly missed like a, a motor of a jet ski.

Speaking of jet skis, my wife as a Father's Day gift, we're going to be at my, I don't like in-laws. I don't like that term because I, my... They seem to be cool for that, by the way. Yeah, my wife's parents, Bob and Ann are great people. And when I just throw out, oh, my in-laws, like that, I'm not going to use that. That feels cold to me. To say family, you know, they're your family. All right.

Okay, I'll go with that. My ex-fam, like extended family, X-Fam, which also sounds negative, I guess for another. That means that I'm divorced. Yeah, that doesn't. Anyway, I got it for Father's Day gift, got a wave runner to you. and so I just want and that's the same as a jet ski essentially so just want to let you guys know that you know you might not see me again provide video yeah is that one of those gifts that you're like oh this will be fun honey or how was the what was your reaction I've I've gone wave running before

used the wave running before and it's it's quite a lot of fun but it could be dangerous in the wrong hands I mean Lamar Jackson always killed himself and the thing was stationary But these things, they got quite an engine in them and they go pretty fast across the water. Ricky, I know there's got to be a whole fleet of wave runners and jet skis at the Godfather compound where you're at. No, no, no. They're not. But I do remember almost being late to West and Lakeisha's wedding because I was out on the ocean on a jet ski and I was supposed to film the wedding. And I was like, oh, my God, we got to rush back.

Oh, my God. It's stressful. Racing back at 90 miles an hour. Yeah, literally. Well, you made it. All right. I did. That's what's happening in the news.

Did I miss anything? I don't think so. That's all that's happened. Bill O'Brien and Baker Mayfield are among those who say they will kneel during the national anthem come September if there is indeed football. That speaks to what you were talking about before with the, yeah, like, okay, owners, maybe they feel differently about it, or they're worried the fans do it? It's like the coach of the Texans whose ownership is known as very conservative

is saying he's going to. And a lot of other people are. Yeah, I think Baker Mayfield in Ohio took quite a bit of heat for taking that stance. And you know what? Go for it. Do what you feel is right. These are the people that you line up against. Do you work with every day?

They're essentially your brothers. I mean, give me a break. with what the fans think. All right. Let's move on and get into some talk about team MVP's of 2020. This is, as I said, it's going to be up on there on the NFL.com, but I thought this would be a fun group conversation as well. There are picks when you do this type of exercise that you don't want to get overly cute.

And for instance, I'll use the Ravens as an example. I can say Hollywood Brown is my pick for the team MVP of the Ravens in 2020. But that's ridiculous. So you've got to go with Lamar Jackson. But for some teams, you can make a case for a player that's a little off the radar. You could also call that a non-quarterback. So I was curious what you boys thought when you went through each of the teams and we're trying to come up with who would be the most likely team MVP. Who's a guy?

It could be a quarterback, but also not. a quarterback who jumps out at you as someone that could end up garnering those internal honors at the end of the season. Greg, I'll start with you. Oh, okay. Well, one that popped into my mind as like a left field pick, which I guess we're talking about, would be late in Vanderashe of the Cowboys, that if, to me, he's like a, he's such a key to their entire team and defense. When he was on the field and playing like he was that made Chris Wessling fall in love as a young man just a couple years ago. They were such a different defense.

They were a faster defense. And he was the type of player who could be a defensive player of the year type of guy, maybe a team MVP type of guy. Last year, he wasn't the same. And then he got a neck surgery. And everyone in Dallas is like, oh, he's fine now. He got his neck surgery. Like, that is serious.

He's a young player. Jalen Smith also played much worse a year ago than he did in 2018. and I think that was part league because he didn't have Van der Esh next to him and playing as well. And so that was a guy like in a perfect world for the Cowboys. If Layton Vander Esch balls out and is a team MVP type of guy, you know, along with their great offense, and then they can do the things that a lot of people are predicting they can do. I mean, I'd argue that he kind of was during that rookie year in a way.

I mean, the way he played down the stretch. So it's not inconceivable. And if he's healthy, you ticket him right back into that role. And I like that pick. Yeah, you look at the Cowboys, they made the decision to bring in C.D. Lamb with the first round pick. They were thrilled. And they thought, and a lot of people think that he fell into their laps as a potential star wide receiver. So if you had to pick, if you had to kind of wager, not that we would ever do that connected to professional football, where the team MVP would come out of, you would look at whether it was Zeke Elliott or Dak or Amari Cooper or if you really wanted to get bullish on the rookie CDLand. I'm one of those guys. But yeah, I think Van deresh is the guy that jumps out to you. That's a good sleeper, Greg.

I like that. And if the Cowboys are, you know, 11 and 5, 12 and 4 team instead of like the typical 9 and 7 outfit they trot out, it seems like a lot, it will be because the defense is badass. And if the defense is badass, that means that Leighton Van derrash most likely is a badass. So, Dan, for your article, well, I just have to ask, is that one that you had not already chosen someone and has Greg maybe found an answer for you on that front for your article that's coming out? Greg's making me think. I mean, it's tough because if they go 12 and 4 as you were talking,

I was like, I don't know where DAC is in terms of like the national MVP race, but certainly he'd be a guy that you would think it would have a chance if they rack up some numbers. With DAC, when you look at DAC, he's been almost doesn't get enough love for how consistent he's been, his ceiling and floor every year. If DAC does his, you know, it throws a 4,300 yards and 34 touchdowns or something, that's kind of what we've come to expect from that guy at this point, right?

Unless he has something, like how he started last season and then carried it through for 16 weeks, then you're all bets are off. He might be the actual MVP. Mark, how about you? I'll stick with defense, and I don't know if you've come up with one for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I'll go with Josh Allen,

their second year, pass rusher. I think that's a team where you don't automatically ticket. I like Gardner Minchew as much as anyone, but you don't just ticket the quarterback for... Well, you like him more than anyone. Okay, more than most. But you could see them going four and 12 or five and 11, anyone did. And like I would say that Josh Allen would have a big part of what is happening

on defense for them in general. He had last year, if you look at PFF, the highest edge rushing grade of any rookie outside. of Nick Bosa. So I think he, number one, I think watching him earlier in the year, he was, he's the guy. He's fascinating to watch. I think he's a legit menace. He could create tons of problems.

They are not a great defense on paper, but they have added a bunch of people, and he's not the only edge rusher on that team. So I like the idea of him in terms of Jacksonville's most valuable player, being someone that could notch double-digit sacks, maybe help create. more chaos than anyone else on their entire defense and be a pro bowler. Yeah, I picked Josh Allen, too, for the Exodus. So we're in lockstep there. Well, I feel a lot better now.

Yeah, I struggle with Jacksonville a little bit because I'm not, and listeners know of the podcast, I differ with the opinions of Mark and Wes on Gardner Meanschu. So that kind of, and I don't believe in Leonard Fordnet, like a lot of people. And so I don't see anything, anyone obvious on the offensive side of the ball. And then Allen would be the guy when he, the level that he flashed as a rookie that jumped out to me the most. Greg, is there another guy in the Jaguars that maybe you could throw out there that would make sense? For a minute last year, DJ Chark was like leading the league. You know, I know he slowed down quite a bit and ended up with about 1,000 yards.

But he has a pretty complete skill set. It came out of, it didn't come out of nowhere. I mean, he was a relatively high pick, but he's a guy who could get even better in year three. all right uh i'll throw one out there let's move to the a fc north and uh i'll go with joe mixon yeah the the running back he is entering the fourth year it's the final year of his contract and i don't want to get bogged down and what if he holds out and all that business i rather not think about that stuff uh and just assume they either extend him because he was a second round pick he's not under the traditional fifth round option uh rookie deal so this is it for mixon so he's in

a contract year and uh joe burrow obviously is the guy that people are connecting to the bangles is the guy that's going to rise them uh out of irrelevance but i look at mixin is a fully formed guy that's at the peak of his talent and all purpose back and he's played for two seller dwelling bangles teams the last two years including a two and 14 outfit last year and he put up over those two years almost three thousand all purpose yards and seven touchdowns. His first year was he kind of a wipeout. He came to camp out of shape and you take out the rookie year. But the last two years, he's really been very, very good. And now you add, as we've talked about on the show, AJ Green back to a like a sneaky, very solid playmaker

core on offense. I think Mixen is in a great position to put up even better numbers. And yeah, the fact that it comes in his contract here, he probably won't be. There won't be any concerns about him coming to camp out of shape if he reports on time because he wants to get paid. Yeah, I love that pick. He was one that popped up to me as like as a truly, I mean, this would be whatever, a thousand to one or whatever it is as like a league MVP type of guy. Because Joe Mixin, I mean, and the Bengals would have to win enough.

And there's a million things that won't happen that he'll get in his way. But I saw on Twitter today that I think it was Sam Munson from PFFs. And there's an article, said Nick Chubb is the best runner in the NFL. He thinks just the best pure runner. And Nick Chub is on my list, too, of, like, guys who could be there, team MVP. He probably was last year. He was. He can be again.

And I thought about it. And I said, and I thought, you know, just in terms of pure running, I don't think that's a crazy shake, but I actually would take Mixing. I mix, Joe Mixing, maybe just because he's got a little more flair to it. And that's, and I'm falling for the style. But, man, in terms of the power, making you miss, vision. everything their line stinks you watch him and he's he's it i mean he's got it all he's he's probably is my single favorite running back to watch just in terms of his playing style right now like he

is that electric wow i mean i think nick chub has done more from a tackle breaking angle right he's been better he's been a better player but mickson i just got that flare and that and maybe can be even better yeah right doesn't take anything away from mixon and mickson to your point dan has thrived in hideous conditions. And I've already told you that I believe Zach Taylor will be coach of the year fodder. So that goes arm in arm with a, I think you got, number one, if you want to, you've got a quarterback that may have no training camp, you better focus that offense around the ground game for the first seven, eight weeks of the year. And that's going to be true of a bunch of teams, but they fit the bill for Mixon to have a huge workload out of the gate. Now, this was, was it on

the Friday show where you did, Sessler did one of his, my favorite Sessler. Mussler moves where he nailed a prediction that and he he had a take that that turned 180 degrees out of the blue no explanation and it was basically like that Zach Taylor suddenly went from like who is this guy has he done anything he's he's totally nondescript to Zach Taylor's going to be the man and now you know what he's just switched I don't know what changed it's just one show to the next you know no no no it wasn't one show um I called them a question mark that we just didn't know what he was but then i started to look at it let's just try to look at it from a completely different angle and what if some of our

leaders were to be flexible in their thinking you know adopt new stances based on new information and new i like that that's a good answer you're just you're smart mark it's called the sessler flip it's called you know i i'm known for that a bit but it's like i'll be wrong with the first prediction and i'll be wrong with the second too you'd be you're you'd be good in Well, in some ways, you'd be good in politics because you are able to change your message in a subtle but completely different way that kind of will cover you both ways. But then you'll have an eagle-eyed, like, political correspondent like a Greg Rosenthal that will then point out, oh, you tweeted this in March of 2014 and now you're saying this

in June 2020. I don't need that and I don't need the background check. All right. How about another one, Greg? All right. Let's go, defense. I know defense. Let's go on Derwin James. Derwin James to me is people that know football better and really watch the tape at safety, because you can't really watch safeties on TV. It's hard. I mean, but just watching the splash plays that he makes and the awe that he inspires in the people that I respect the most in terms of

his football abilities is next level. It's as much as almost any defensive player in the league right now, I feel like outside of maybe some pass rushers, like in terms of what he can do physically and mentally, and that he is the key to their team. And that he came in last year off the injury, he wasn't quite himself for a few weeks, definitely helped out. But this is different. He knows this system. He's been in it now for a few years, and he could have a monster year you know i thought joey bosa was the other guy that jumped out to me it was between james and bosa and i think bosa entering what is this is third or fourth year fourth year now yeah uh he's you know obviously now kind of proven that he is one of the great pass rushers in the league but

with the supporting talent around him maybe he has one of those years that we've been expecting where if here wow years go by fast by the way sorry really that that completely exhausting holdout to begin his career. It feels like it was about a million years ago now. But he's on that short list. Your boy, Mark, Miles Garrett's another one. Like, who could finally give the sack record its dignity back after what Michael Shrayhan did on that Meadowlands field

with Brett Farr of disgracefully sliding at his feet, stealing Mark Gastonaut's glory from him in a completely needless and non-professional. way it's time for someone to give the sack record it's dignity back and joey bosa i think is a guy that could potentially do it uh when's the last time well i remember the uh the colt safety years back bob sanders yeah he won the defensive player the year i believe it's hard but we're talking team MVP but to get team MVP uh and be a defensive player you have to be very special i think and uh james certainly qualifies as that um Greg

Mark, you got one? Well, I actually came up with nine, but I'm going to give you one that came into my mind like at the end because I could see that, you know, football is storytelling. Things happen where a player has been disgraced and they go into the shadows and then they emerge to do something that someone did to them. And this player was, I thought, embarrassed last year,

lost their starting job and it lost their roster spot in the offseason. And that is Marcus Marriota. Do I believe in Marcus Marriota as, as a, like a long time starting QB? No. But you know what? But this in your article? Well, hold on. You know who didn't agree, someone who was a starting QB a couple years ago?

Ryan Tannahill, stock low. No one thought a thing about him, boring, Dolphins quarterback, very visible ceiling, goes to Tennessee, the chemistry is different, the scene is different. Ryan Tannahill suddenly has a massive extension and a playoff run that knocked out Tom Brady off the Patriots. So I'm just saying weirder things have happened in the NFL than Marcus Marriota to go to Las Vegas. They have four primetime games and many of them are earlier in the year. If they struggle and Derek Carr is struggling, they gave him $9 million. Marcus Marietta. I could see a switch. That's all you need is a switch. And then the team to ride high and suddenly the story coming out of us, you know what?

We know we came in in week six. He didn't play the whole year. He wasn't Josh Jacobs in terms of week to week in Cicini, but he provided a spark, Marcus Marriota, and him and Gruden just seemed to click together. Bang. I can see it. I mean, that sound you hear is all the, the entire car family now blocking Mark on Twitter. Well, but I can see it. It's not an anti-car thing, but I do think that that's one area where I can see a starter switch happening if things don't get off to a quick start. But what are we? I mean, this podcast of Marcus Mariotta, it never ends. What have we seen in that guy's career that he's going to all of a sudden take over a team and then... But I would ask you that about...

Just because one other guy that used to be his teammate, Ryan Tannahill, did it. Like, what does that matter? They're two different people. Do I think it's likely, but if you're going to write these articles, do you want to just put the likely person? Or do you want to like, wait a minute, what? And then, like, what's the reasoning behind this? I'm just saying that every year there's someone like this. This is how the 2011 cults ended up on Mark List of his 10 favorite teams of all times.

The two-and-14 Curtis-Pa-year football season has one or two characters that were totally counted out. But, like, everyone- Your logic is not all-deme. Quarterbacks do. Back-up quarterbacks, especially veteran types like him. That does happen. Almost every year, there's one guy who catches a little fire and ends up being like a team MVP out of nowhere. That's fair. Right. I'm not saying he's Daryl LaMonica, like, you know, re-enclimated.

We had a similar conversation last week, and I asked you, oh, yeah, it was when we did the Raiders, wheel of teams, and I asked you how many games he would start. And you said he would start like a couple of games at the very end of the season because the Raiders fell out of contention. How are you going to win Team MVP like that? Well, more information, more intuition. I'm grinding nonstop. And so what I felt then, and I've received more critical information from not only my

sources, but, you know, the intuition is up in the sky. And my answer will change and evolve. Like, I don't need to be one of these, like, talk radio guys that, like, sticks to something for two years and looks like a creaky dinosaur. How do you got it right? This is the way to do it. I've always given you that credit, Mark. This is, I'm throwing it out there. Like, you make predictions in bulk.

You're a predictions in bulk guy. And sometimes the, even the prediction will shift in tone or direction over the course of a couple shows. I don't like where you're going with this at all. But then at the end of, like, the season, you're saying, what did I get right? If you made a thousand predictions, you probably get seven right. Now, we all make predictions in bulk. I am not, it's not exclusively attached to me. What they mean more to you.

What I make is specific predictions. And many of them seem utterly loony. Others hit like a dart right into the bullseye, the little hole in the middle of the dartboard. And then you have to sit on that and deal with it. Thanks for your explanation of a bullseye. I do appreciate you had nine names listed down. And you went for the one that you thought would be the spiciest. for this podcast.

Of course. That's a good podcast. There you go. This guy gets it. He's been around the box. We haven't really hit the NFC too hard. So I haven't gotten this far yet. And this is subject to change when you see the written copy.

But I'll go with Calvin Ridley over on the Atlanta Falcon side of things. They have an interesting depth chart set up there. You have Matt Ryan, who we love or like, Todd Gurley, who we, I don't know, maybe like. Julio Jones is still Julio Jones, even though he's getting up there a little bit. Who else is there, Greg? Beyond Jones and Ridley, that's going to be taking targets away from those two top dogs. I know Oslooper's gone there too. No, you know, it's just engaged.

I imagine if Julio Jones is Julio Jones and his lower half stays healthy and all that, he's going to command the top defensive coverage guy. And then if there's not a lot of other big name tar, targets for Matt Ryan to be cycling through. Calvin Ridley has a chance to really eat this season and maybe even put up, you know, an all-pro type season. I think he's always had it in him. I think he's entering year three, so it's time to fly now.

And I'll throw Ridley out there, even though Ryan and Jones and even Todd Gurley maybe stand out as if you went to Vegas, who would be higher up? If you're talking about a little bit of a dark horse, how about Ridley having a all-pro type, let's say, 75-14-100, 10? season. I love it. I did a series last week with so many little series, or two-parter, which was just like kind of looking at like a key homegrown player. No, I'm just saying between us all, you know, we're just throwing these things into the ether. Like a key

homegrown guy on a rookie contract for each team, kind of like making the leap candidates, but just like key guys, which would really help their season if this guy stepped up. And Ridley was that guy. And the numbers he had in that time between Sunu getting traded, and then Ridley getting hurt were, like, you know, number one receiver type numbers. They really were. Like, he had a monster. I think it was five or six weeks there. And he's awesome after the catch.

Like, the two of them could be co-number ones. And you could see them kind of being behind in some games and putting up big numbers. I think they have big plans for Hayden Hearst, but that's sort of a TBD. I mean, you don't just, we just don't book that for automatic production, right? Yeah, I'm going to throw out a, I was just wanted to hit up Mark. What about Matt Schaub? If we got Mariotta in the mix here. Well, I don't think Mariotta and Matt Schaub are equivalent.

That is insulting. You never know? This might be the year that Kirk, Ben Kirk, knock Schaub out of that job. I mean, Shob clearly has like a stack of Polaroid photos that indict various members of the Falcons organization for activities we don't want to discuss. I don't know what, how else is you still there?

Fair enough. What was that, Greg? I was just going to throw out. One name here for a team MVP that I actually think would be a Dark Horse League MVP, which I probably was my pick for Dark Horse League MVP last year. Alvin Camara. People forget about, you know, people sleeping on Alvin Camara playing at 75% a year ago. And he's done it.

He's done it at the NFL level. I've seen it. And he can do it again. And he's got a great offensive line and a great team around him to just go crazy. There's your super MVP. Remind me, who was the best. best player on the field in the Saints' playoff loss? You know what?

Kirk Cousins. You need to be unplugged. Maybe. Tassum Hill is the only choice for any accolades in New Orleans. Well, Taysam Hill could wind up starting games. You never know. Well, he had about 270 less touches than Alvin Camara last year, even with Camara hurt. So I'm going with the guy who's going to get the ball.

Camara is, he's like, he is, he has replaced Matt Ryan on my, uh, anti-all-star team of fantasy guys that let me down and I'll never forget them because I eventually flipped a coin between Alvin Kamar and Christian McCaffrey last year with the number three pick. At the end of the season, I was so upset. That, uh, very upset. Yeah, I would have been wrong about that too. I said, I said some, um, dismissive comments comparing McCaffrey and Camara, like after

about one year of their career, which I regret. And I was wrong. This McCaffrey guy, he's pretty good. But that doesn't mean Camara. Doesn't mean Camara can't have a comeback, awesome year. Now, I'm with you. I think he definitely makes sense, right? Because are we, so you're just pointing to the ankle and knee issues.

Is that the only reason why he was the way he was last year? I don't know, but he wasn't the same. He didn't have that same pop, and he talked about it. And maybe that's going to be an issue for him again. I don't know, but we've seen it from it. And in that offense, with Bree is getting a little, you know, I just think he has the potential to put up like 2,500 yards. All right.

Anything else? Mark, you have one more you want to throw it, or are you all set? I would give you two quick names with no explanation. Eagles, Miles Sanders, Redskins, Terry McLaurin. Why not? I mean, Terry McLaurin could have been their MVP last run offense. I think it was. But I think he's a legit, like a legit, a wide receiver that will think very highly up for years to come.

Like those. All right. Check it out on NFL.com later this week. those AFC first, then NFC from the old Zusser. Before we go, it is time, Ricky Hollywood. Where are you at, Erica? Rejoin us, if you might. She started napping.

There she is. Hey, hey. Hi, Ricky. How are you guys? Wow. This is your NPR voice. I like it. Thank you.

Thank you for joining. Nina Totenberg. Terry, Terry. Are you ready? I think this. This is our fifth time spinning the wheel this summer. And last week, we had a nice deep dive there with Vic Tafer. By the way, big apologies to Vic Tafer of the athlete,

who is a man you don't want to get on the wrong side of. And yet we went through the entire segment calling him Victor Fur, which based on the spelling of his name, T-A-F-U-R, we wrongly inferred, nailed it, that the pronounce of the name was defer, but it is, in fact, as was corrected by Vic himself in a private message after the show, Tafer. Get it right or pay the price. Tafer. Ricky, spin the wheel.

Tafer. Oh, it's spinning. It's spinning. It's spinning. Come on. I want the jets. Oh, the race. Oh, wow.

Oh, Greg. Greg has got to stay seated for a while after that one landed. The defending AFC North champion, Baltimore Ravens are the latest wheel of teams selection, which means on Wednesday's show, we will do a deep dive on the reigning MVP and the rest of his merry gang of Crusaders. Immediately start thinking of who we're going to have on. Actually, they deserve it. They're like probably the most, you know, the best regular season team, the most interesting team.

I don't know if they've had that level of coverage on our show this off season. So we'll do some extra Ravens talk. All right. So we'll huddle up after the end of today's show. Didn't we have a Ravens nest that we flew to consistently? Yeah. They've been covered. I mean, this off.

But I'm happy with the choice. I can't remember. We haven't talked that much Ravens considering they're probably, you know. That does remind me. They enacted the Ravens Nest, and then immediately they became a historically dominant team, at least until the playoffs began. So whoever we nominate, whatever team we nominate to get deeply entrenched with the entire year and come up with the name, that might mean very good things for that team. So the organic fish tank is going to be flying this year. Well, they overachieved last year quite a bit, you know, winning five games.

People thought they might not win any. That's right. The Ravens Nest was two years ago, but that team was also a quality team that made the playoff. Well, it's all about us and what we decided to promote and it has psychic reverb around the league,

obviously. This is legit. This is factual. I've always thought the same thing, Mark. All right. We'll be back on Wednesday with another show.

So make sure, once again, from three different time zones. Ricky, can you get the Guinness Book of World Records? on the horn after this and find out if that's ever happened on a professional football sports podcast.

Yeah, I got them on speed dial, so. It's definitely a category they had in place back when I would read those Guinness books back in the 80s podcast. They still pumping those out. You know, like the fat paperbacks, they still put those out. Okay.

I don't know who's on the horn there if you call is someone answering immediately. It doesn't feel like a hotline per se. Well, our producer, Erica, would never lie to me to get out of doing doing work. So when she says they're on her speed dial, I just assume she's telling me the truth. Yeah. Of course. Yes. Good. Good. I'm going to check in. How about this? I'm going to make a note of it and check back with you on Wednesday show. Okay. Put your feet to the fire on this one.

Okay. The time of me asking you to do things and then you just hoping I forget and then me forgetting and you winning is over. Okay. We'll see. That was like all the time. Yeah. That was that time. Everything is over from the past. Starting now. All right. This is Dan Hansa signing off for Quiet Storm, the old boss, Ricky Hollywood,

from the East Coast, from the Central Time Zone, for the West Coast. Got you covered. Until Wednesday. I'm going to be able to be. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.