NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Team MVPs & Freaking Colleen Wolfe OUT (about the Eagles)

Episode Date: June 25, 2021

As seen on TV! A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Colleen Wolfe and Marc Sessler bring you all of the latest news around the NFL including the Steelers new guard moves (3:07) and the league celebrating Carl Nassib's coming out (7:19). Dan and Marc try to freak out Colleen about the 2021 Eagles and she might be buying it? (14:28). Dan debuts his team MVPs for the upcoming year (25:05) and we close out with Marc's "Ponderous scale" (30:49) and our weekend vibes.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. Hey, everybody, Dan here. I'm going to give you a little preamble before we get into this Friday, very special edition of the Around the NFL podcast. It is actually the TV show that we record Fridays and put up on NFL Network. And we figured with the summer break coming up for our show, this might be a good time to let you check out what the TV show is. is all about if you haven't been able to watch it yet. And maybe you like it enough to start hitting it up on your old DVR or wherever you catch NFL network programming. Hey, Ricky, give me a little, how about some fireplace, a crackling fireplace.

This is a little fireside chat before we get into the show. Ooh, very nice. And I just want you guys to know this is not going to become a regular thing. The TV show is not going to substitute for the audio show because I hate when podcasts do that. That's not going to actually, Ricky, give me. Not a fireplace. It's the summer. How about takes to the beach? Yeah, by the sea. I like that. Now we're in business.

Yes, this is just kind of a one-off thing. So please enjoy it. It's me. It's Mark. It's Colleen filling in for Greg, who's already started his vacation. Wow, way to go, Greg. So please check it out. And again, we'll be back. We're going to take a little bit of a break here. It's been a long year for us at the show. So we're going to spend some time with family. We'll be back with shows on the other side of the July 4th week. So make sure to come back while we go away. And for now, it's time to head to the sea. Enjoy it, everybody, and have a great weekend.

The Around the NFL podcast. Needs more followers on Instagram. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL broadcast. My name is Dan Hansus. I joined any virtual room filled with some heroes, Mark Sessler, and filling in for Greg Rosenthal on vacation. Colleen, whoa, what's up, gang? Hello, hello.

This is going to be a good one coming up on today's show. Connie, the Eagles fan. We're going to freak her out about the Eagles or try to anyway with a big season coming up. Mark, you get upset about certain things. The ponderous scale about high mileage off-season storylines. And I know you're going to have some things to get off your chest, I imagine, Mark.

Absolutely. No, we're at that point of the year where it's like the storylines have been frantically drilled into our minds, you know, over and over. And I'm slightly agitated. This feels like a cathartic exercise that will send you into summer in a healthy place. But before that, let's get caught up on what's going on in the NFL's do some news. And we'll start boys and girls with big news on a Steelers offensive line that is continuing to evolve into a area of mystery. The Steelers got long time. guard, David DeCastro. They then turn around and sign former Chargers guard, Trey Turner. Connie, this one was a shock at first. DeCastro has been a mainstay with the Steelers for a decade, but then when you started to peel back the layers here, it made a little more sense. He's been such a staple, so I feel like it was kind of jarring when I saw that this happened. Nine years, he spent in Pittsburgh three-time All-Pro, Six-Time Pro Bowler. but it's just the continuation of what we've been seeing on this offensive line, the turnover there.

It's kind of wild. This offensive line, it looks completely different now. And this for so long has been a strong, consistent group in Pittsburgh. And now you have so much in flux. So you have Alejandro Villeneueva. He's now a Raven. Matt Fier. He's now a charger.

Marquis Pouncey retired. So they bring in Trey Turner and they have a whole different looking group now. Yeah, I mean, and the whole point here was, If we're going to do this one more time with Big Ben, you want to create an environment where he's going to succeed because he can't move. Dan, we've used the term a million times. He's a Stone Age pony at this point. That used to be part of his game to some degree. But, I mean, part of it is relationship.

You only have a certain amount of time and a dwindling amount of time until the season begins here. And they've got one guy coming back from last year's line. And it wasn't a good line to begin with. So there's a lot of meshing that needs to occur. otherwise this offense could be docked in a hurry. Well, that's the positive spin, too, though, because if this line was bad last year, well, it needed to be overhauled anyway. So maybe you trust.

And again, this is an organization, Mark is a Browns fan. I know you struggle with this, and I would too. They seem to figure things out. They run in a smart way. There's a reason why they win 11 games every year, it seems. And you imagine they have some pieces in place that they trust and maybe they actually get better. And on that point, Trey Turner, that's a nice pickup. Turner's dealt with injuries himself. So he's a question mark. But I feel like maybe it softens the blow a little bit

and the shock of De Castro all of a sudden being out of the picture that you're saying, okay, again, I trust this front office. They know what they're doing. They bring in Turner. They believe in him that he can fill the shoes. But maybe Connie, you could look at it another way. Turner was on the market for a long time. And maybe this is a bit of another desperation move for a team in transition. Right. Well, look at the, look at where we are right now in the calendar, too. It's not like they had their pick of the litter out there. This happened. They had to bring somebody in. So they have someone there and Trey Turner now. But I feel like there are a lot

of questions, at least that I have with this team, because Ben Rathusberger, we know that, you know, what he is at this point, he's getting older, this offensive line that is very different. And then I just feel like no one is really talking about the secondary. And the questions that I have at cornerback, how are the Steelers going to replace both starting corners, Stephen Nelson and Mike Hilton in the back end there? This was a top three passing defense last year. So they have Joe Hayden still. They have Ken Sutton, who's versatile. Then after that, it's Justin Lane. There's really no insurance policies beyond that. So it's not necessarily a team in Pittsburgh that drafts and develops corner talent from within. Both Nelson and Hilton,

they were imports. And when you look at their schedule, guys. They got Mahomes. They got Josh Allen, Ryan Tannahill, Russell Wilson. I mean, not to mention Lord Jackson and Baker Mayfield twice. So this is kind of a problem. Connie, we're supposed to be freaking you about out about the Eagles later on today. You're trying to freak out Steelers fans. Final thought, Sessler. I'm sorry. My apologies. Well, that's a Pennsylvania thing. I mean, I think they also, our last impression of the Steelers. And as a Browns fan, you know, I enjoyed this for a bit was like a drunken flusy being taken out of a party in January. But you're right, Dan.

The Steelers tend to figure things out. There's a lot of weapons on this offense, too. And would it surprise anyone if they were a wildcard team or even won the division? No, it's the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm going to talk some team MVP picks in a piece that I'm writing for NFL.com later. I love Najee Harris, the first round pick. But again, everything is kind of predicated on what happens up front. And my last thought is the Steelers, is there another team that has a higher ceiling and a lower floor,

the disparity between where this can go? I think they can go 11 at 6 or 6 and 11. All right, that's enough. Good talk. In other news, in historic news, in fact. What's up, people? I'm Carl Nassum. I'm at my house here in Westchester, Pennsylvania.

I just want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life. I got the best family, friends, and job a guy could ask for. I'm a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I'm really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.

I actually hope that, like, one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary. But until then, you know, I'm going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that's accepting and that's compassionate. And I'm going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project. They're an incredible organization. They're the number one suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America. And they're truly doing incredible things. And I'm very excited to be a part of it to help in any way that I can. And I'm really pumped to see what the future holds.

Good for Carl Nassav, the first openly gay NFL player, active player in history. And now we welcome in our wonderful producer Erica Tamposi, openly gay herself, and proud. And we're proud of her. And I'm sure this is a proud moment for you, Ricky. Yeah, you guys, this is awesome. And for those that don't know, our podcast, we did a pride episode where we were all together. And it's such a difference from even where I thought I could be in my career, in my life from years ago to have very, you know, openly straight people with families and coming to do a pride episode together. And the support and love that you guys personally show me is just incredible and I'm so lucky to have you.

But watching what is happening around the league with Carl and the outspoken, just support from players and people all around. And it brought me to absolute tears. And I sat down yesterday with Ryan Russell, who's a free agent and who's also openly gay yesterday. And we, we chatted for a while. But the comments, you guys still, especially on the main NFL account, when you have this huge group of people, it's still not there. And it is so heartbreaking. And this is why we need Pride Month. You know what I mean?

Like when you see all these comments that are so hateful and who care. And it blows my mind that you can see. still read this kind of stuff out there. But there's a reason why we need to be talking about it. And I know for a fact that there are young boys watching football at home saying, hey, you know what, I might, you know, love another boy, but I can still be a great football player and play in this league. And I belong here. And we're very proud of you, Erica. I love him so much for doing this. Yeah, Erica, we're so proud of you. You wrote an amazing piece on NFL.com last year detailing your journey in sports media as a gay woman. And,

It just, it seems like, and Mark, we've been doing this podcast forever, Mark, that Michael Sam was seven years ago when he was drafted in the seventh round, the first gay player to be drafted. His career never got off the ground as a player. But now you have NASA. He was an established guy drafted by your Browns on his third contract. It's really, it's a great thing. And I think you're seeing progress just in how it's how things are unfolding in the last few days compared to seven years ago. Yeah, and you hear Carl Nass very honestly say that, you know, he agonized over this for 15 years. So how many other players in the past and even today have also agonized over the authentic person they are?

Not the, you know, the outside one where you're looking, you're doing your job, but who you truly are inside. And I think this is a big step for other players. And, you know, we've had people reach out to us listeners of our show that say, I'm a guy I love football, but I've always felt that I can't really be. be who I am as a football fan or just as a person. And doing our episode with you, Ricky up in West Hollywood, I think opened a door for even some people to listen to our show. But really, it's an NFL-wide thing. It's a universe thing. It's an earth thing. I mean, we are becoming more who we really are. And I think it's a great step for Carl Nassad. It truly is. I have so much respect for him, Erica. I mean, this was so courageous, so commendable for him to come

out and do this and really brave to be able to make himself so vulnerable and to open himself up, Erica, as you mentioned to all of the ugliness of people who won't accept him to be a voice of representation for people who are too afraid to use their own to speak up. It's just so cool to see the Carl Nassab jersey's sales spiking. And it's like a lot of people that are, you know, I don't need to walk around with a pride flag to show that I'm accepting. You can be in a grocery store and see someone wearing a Carl Nassab jersey and you're like, okay, that person respects people. If something were to happen to me, I know that this person is okay with me. And it's like little things like that that get me so excited. And it's like my heart just wants to burst because

it's like I can see masculine dudes in a Carl Nassab jersey and know that like they ride with me. And you wonder if maybe, you know, this announcement, as brave it as it is, opens the door for other players to follow. And again, cycling back to seven years ago and we had just started our own podcast at that point. I don't remember. Maybe my memory's failing me. Michael Sam Jersey is flying off the shelf. And I know that's not necessarily indicative of everything. But it does tell you something. And he also mentioned NASA, the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to the LGBT community. Look into that. If you can help out, help out. Awesome stuff. And Ricky, again, this is fun. This is good. This is

progress it's amazing guys thank you so much for even talking about it and i feel like you know june is i don't want to just check a box i don't want to just come on here and talk about this because it's june but the support that i feel from my friends and family from you guys specifically and the nfl matching the donation to the trevor project it's like we need to talk about this right now awesome we love you rickie we love you rick and we're also happy that the patriots are in decline so you have to deal with that but you have good things in your life as well all right Coming up next on the broadcast. Yes, we promised it.

I think a little always sunny nod there. I like that. The gang freaks Connie out about her beloved Eagles. It's been a big season of upheaval for Philadelphia's NFL squad. And a native of Philadelphia is the great Colleen Wolf again, sitting in for Greg Rosenthal today. And Connie, listen, it's kind of a weird time, I imagine, to be an Eagles fan. there's in the division, NFC East, which is obviously, you know, mirrored in mediocrity,

you're hearing hype about these other teams, but the Eagles, not so much. I mean, do you sense that as well? Oh, I sense it. I live it. It's just I wake up every morning and I feel it. So I'm trying to actually separate myself a little bit from it, but I appreciate the segment for sure. All right. So this is the seg, and this is what we're going to do. Our attempt, Mark and I, and we're going to ping pong on this. We want to freak you out. We want you to be uncomfortable. We want you to, by the end of this seg, to think about the season ahead as something to dread because nothing good is coming out of it. But feel free to push back on us. Mark, get us going. I will. And what good friends we are. I'm going to just read this for you, Colleen.

Does it concern you from a long game karma angle that the Eagles have a statue outside of their stadium featuring a coach they just fired and whose most memorable sound? bite is, I'm pissed off, Angelo. Well, you know what? You brought me back in at the end because Angelo was my old boss at WIP Sports Radio, first job ever. However, yes, I think that is terrible karma. And it's like for a while in Philadelphia, there was the curse of Ben Franklin, so no

team could win a championship because the Comcast Tower was built higher than the Ben Franklin statue on top of City Hall. What's wrong with you people? We finally got over that, but at this point, I feel like this is the new kind of hex. Yeah, a lot is wrong with us. So you're pretty freaked out about that. Wow, if that, all right, I'm feeling good about this segment. All right.

Up next, Colleen, so Nick Serling. Everything freaks me out. I know, I know. We know you well. The new head coach, Nick Siriani, you know, a long search after they let go of Doug Peterson. They land on Siriani. And I just want to throw it. If anyone is not familiar with the look and sound of Mr. Siriani, here it is.

It's competition in every position. Competition is great. Competition elevates everybody's play. Go out there and compete. They're competing for the jobs. I'm competing for my job. Shane's competing for his job. Gannon's competing for his job. So we got to compete and to compete.

And competition is never a bad thing. Okay. So I am staying at my parents' place on the Jersey Shore right now. So I ask you this, Colleen. Does it concern you at all? The new Eagles coach, Nick Siriani, looks and sounds like every fist-pumping bro getting down to the foghorn at DJs in Belmar. Okay. So everybody knows that Eagles fans and anyone from Philadelphia, they go down the shore, but they go to South Jersey.

So anything north of AC doesn't even count. Now, if you were saying that he was fist-pumping like a bro and say, LeCosta or the Princeton, Wildwood, Seahile, Avalon, I guess if you're one of those rich people. Listen, yes, it absolutely does concern me. However, he's not the only head coach in the NFL that looks like he could be fist pumping at a Jersey Shore bar. I mean, hello, Sean McVeigh, hello, Matt LaFleur, hello, Dan Campbell, the list could go on and on and on.

What does concern me is the fact that he's never been a head coach, he's never been a play caller before, and he brings in an offensive coordinator and Shane Steichen, who has been a play caller before. Yet, no, Siriani is going to do both jobs, and I'm very curious to see how it turns out. That's a good point. I mean, it feels like he's, and I'm going to get to it a little bit later,

but it feels like he's in a very difficult position and doesn't have a lot of experience. Mark, you're up. All right, I noticed, Colleen, that you were taking pot shots at the Steelers secondary. Fair enough, but I look at what the Eagles have right now. You have Darius Slay, good player.

Your next sort of plugged-in starter is Vante Maddox, Last year, PFF graded as the 121st ranked cornerback out of 121 eligible cornerbacks. Number 122 was Erica Tamposie. You've got Patrick Mahomes coming into town next year. You're dealing with Tom Brady. You've got a bunch of great quarterbacks. Matt Ryan coming up against this Eagle secondary. Everything is fine, correct?

Well, when you put it like that, I mean, who wouldn't be concerned? I'm sweating at this point. Now I need to tear off my Eagles jacket. it. Listen, in fairness, having watched the Eagles my entire life, being concerned about cornerback depth, it kind of comes with the territory. It's basically a prerequisite of being an Eagles fan. So maybe it will help that the Eagles, you know, that they did bring in some new people on the defense. They have a new defensive coordinator. Jim Schwartz is gone. Actually, that makes me freaked out even more that he's gone. And Jonathan Gannon is now the defensive

coordinator. I feel like I'm not helping myself at all here, but you also think about the wide receivers in this division alone. You have Amari Cooper, C.D. Lamb, Kenny Gallaudet now, Terry McLaurin. Yeah, this is a problem for sure. Well, you know, let's close it with this, Connie. And I feel like you're on the ropes right now, so I'm going for the knockout. I'm not even going to get into how the head coach is dealing with all sorts of potential dysfunction behind the scenes, micromanagement and the athletic put out a whole expose on the funk, and I'd be more concerned than seeing Ben Simmons at the foul line in the NBA playoffs. But where I'm going to put my focus here finally is Jalen Hertz. You send Carson Wentz out of town. You kick him

out of town. And you have Jalen Hertz a guy in his rookie season. You know, they went one and three in his starts. And he completed just over 50% of his passes. Joe Flacco and Nick Mullins are behind him. A lot of eggs in the old Jalen Hertz basket. Concerned at all? Listen, we've seen what? Four starts from him. That's it. And he comes in to a locker room that is obviously a toxic situation. You have the head coach clashing with the higher-ups there in the front office. The offensive line was completely decimated. They had the most starting offensive line combinations since 1983.

And then all of their skill position players were basically hurt. You had guys off the practice squad. You had undrafted free agents coming out of nowhere. Greg Ward, Travis Fulgum. I mean, this was a situation that was a massive problem. However, I will say that when he did come in, despite all of those things and all of the adversity that he faced, he was able to really show some amazing running ability, some great things off of play action. So there is a foundation there. And of course, they bring in the Heisman Trophy winner, Devontas Smith.

And you have hopefully some more stability in that locker room now that Carson Wentz is gone and it's not divided. You know what, Colleen, you've comported yourself very well. Mark, I'm disappointed. And I thought there'd be makeup running down her face. I thought you'd just, like, fall out of the chair. But she's, she really handled this. No. She's too poised, and she's been dealing with this for, you know, many years.

Remember when Nick Fools, when Nick Folls caught that touchdown pass from Trey Burton, always remember, we'll always have that, Eagles fans. Can't take it away, and they're not tearing down that statue. All right, Mac Jones, the new future at quarterback for the Patriots, at least the Patriots. Hope that Tom Brady went and won a Super Bowl. down in Tampa and the Pats limped to a seven and nine finish in 2020. So now there is a camp battle brewing here. A report from our old colleague, Bert Breer.

Mack Jones has done enough in the spring to merit a real competition with Cam Newton in the summer. Mark, Jeff Howe of the athletic, another respected mind on the Patriots beat, said that Mac Jones looked better than Cam in mini camp. Where do you see this thing going? Is Mac going to win this job outright heading into week one? Yeah, I mean, I don't know how surprised I should be by pro athlete improves with practice. But, I mean, I do say, number one, look at what Cam Newton did for the Patriots a year ago. And you've drafted a first round quarterback.

I mean, it should be a competition. This isn't what the bears are doing, you know, whistling Dixie about Justin Fields sitting out week one or two. I mean, let's just have a real competition. I do think Belichick has always had a little bit of a man crush on Cam Newton, which is an interesting crush to have if you're Bill Belichick. But I think the one it could be growing with Mack Jones as well. I mean, he has started to show more Moxie in practice, and he's getting better and better. And I always find it to be an upset if a first round drafted quarterback isn't starting by week three, if not week one. I mean, also is Mac Jones the first one in the building and the last one to leave?

Is that the next headline that we're going to see at this point in June? Of course, there's going to be a quarterback competition. Like, this is a first round pick. Did you see the way that Mac Jones walks? up to that stage? I thought that was going to be the video. Shoot. It was incredible. He's ready to go. He's ready to take that job. But I do find it hard to believe just looking at the two players. Just watching them and the way that they are, I feel like Cam Newton should win this job. But then when I go back and watch Cam Newton from last year, of course, there's questions.

But just when I see Cam Newton like working out and doing all the stuff at the gym and then I see Mac Jones, I would think, okay, yeah, Cam Newton's a quarterback. Maybe Mac Jones needs to work on some things a little bit still because he's a rookie. He's going to learn. But yeah, I think he'll be starting for sure at some point this season. You know, what, Connie, I agree with everything you just said. But what is the deal with Belichick with the number 50 for your number one draft pick? It's like grumble, grumble, mumble, mumble. You got to earn everything in this league, an hourly grumble, grumble. Give the kid a number. Give him a real quarterback number. I don't know which point you're making.

And just to the other point I wanted to make was, yeah, like, Cam Newton, and if Greg was on the show, he would push back on this. He'd be like, ah, I rushed for 40 touchdowns. No, Cam Newton was not good last season. I mean, he had some moments when he threw the ball well, and I know he didn't have a lot of parts to throw to and the offense is better. But I think they see the writing on the wall here that Cam Newton's best days are likely behind him.

And if you're a team that is kind of regrouping for the next phase, maybe you're a team. the rookie makes more sense. That said, Connie, that said, they have a great defense. They could have the best defense in football with Donta High Tower back and a really good front seven and you still got Gilmore leading the way in the back end. So you're kind of in a, you're in a tricky spot there where do you want to stay with the steady guy you know, or is he the progress stopper, as Bill Parcells once said, and you put the kid in there. It's a great point. I mean, honestly, though, the most buzz that I've seen about Mack Jones is the fact that Madden 22 was very off on their rendering of him.

If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. It's not Christian McCaffrey level bad with Madden, but this one is kind of a doozy too. Doesn't he have like a flowing neck beard or something on the Madden version? Very disturbing. It doesn't really look like him at all. I mean, number 50. He's your first round pick quarterback.

Bill, who you're trying to impress? You got 40 rings. All right. Listen, everybody wants to win the big trophy league MVP. But there's also team MVP trophies that are handed out internally, I think, whatever. It's the summer. And I wrote something on NFL.com that's going up next week, picking team MVPs. So now I'm going to share some with you.

And feel free to agree or disagree. And I'm going to start with you, Mark Sessler, because you know it. You know, I'm thinking Carson Wentz, back reunited with his old boss, Frank Reich, is going to make magic with this Colts team. And I'll tell you this. everyone thinks like he had a bad 2020 so now he's just going to be terrible forever he was very good in 2019 mark when he led that team an injury ravaged eagles team to the playoffs i think he could get that magic back with better coaching i would say this he's in a great situation compared to where he was a year ago i mean they had what 14 different line combinations in philadelphia good offensive line

in indianapolis i think jonathan taylor is a chance to be a team MVP darius leonard but if all goes right, you'd have to look at Wentz, number one, he's the quarterback. And I would say if that happens, he gets a Philip Rivers like comeback player of the year, not as well, because it was so dark and so low a season ago that if he comes and spins magic under Frank Reich, I mean, people are beginning, they'll be going nuts. So I hear you, Dan. Connie, I mean, I want to hear you on this. Everyone will be going nuts. I'm sure of it. I will definitely be going nuts because my not-so-silent fears of Carson Wentz succeeding when he leaves Philadelphia, like so many others before him have done are very real and very loud. Charles Barkley. I mean, you have Will Smith left. He's not

an athlete, but hey, people leave town and they thrive. You left town and you're thriving. So you're part of the problem to some degree. That's true. All right, Colleen, you're up next and we'll stay with, well, not the Eagles, NFC East team, the Cowboys. You know, C.D. Lamb is a guy that whose rookie season kind of went under the radar because Dak Prescott was injured and it kind of nosedived all the players on that offense. But this kid can play and I think he's going to have a huge second season.

MVP level though? I mean, listen, that's a big year too for CD Lamb. I guess I could see he has some more experience now with Dak, back healthy. Maybe defenses are accounting for Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott. But Dak and Lamb, they only played five games together. And Lamb averaged 17 points per game in those five. However, Dan, if Dak is back and he's picking up right where he left off as a passing machine on pace to break the single season passing yards record, after coming off that brutal ankle injury, come on, he's getting the MVP. Yeah, I mean, Dan, I would say this.

I am a huge proponent of humans who have last names that describe animals. But there are a lot of mouths to feed in Dallas. And I do think that Dak Prescott would probably get the nod if they're all. all succeed. Yeah, but it's a boring exercise if you just pick all quarterbacks. I hear you. And just remember, CD-D-Land was on pace for 1,200 yards when DAC went down as a rookie, and he still set the team record and catches for a rookie with 74. That guy's going to blow up this year. Mark, my words, take him in your fantasy drafts. All right, Mark, get excited because I got, I think, well, last year, I think it was Baker in the same exercise. This year I got Miles Garrett as the team

MVP of the Browns, and maybe he finally gets that defensive player of the year award. I mean, you know, you look at Miles Garrett. He had 22 sacks over the last two seasons while missing eight games. I think the corona issue did affect him last year. I know that was not a subplot, Dan, that you enjoyed. But he talked about it really affecting his playdown the stretch. He was winded. He didn't look like himself.

So I really think that now they have a rebuilt secondary. What helps the pass rush more than that? They were not a good secondary year ago. They have a chance now to make real, I think, trouble for offenses. Jadavian Clowny, if he shows up, that helps as well. Also, Garrett, to me, if he could lead the league in sacks, bang, you'd be the TM MVP, no problem. You know, I have said way too often on this podcast and on this television show that the Michael Strahan's sack record gets on my nerves more than anything else. Mark Gassano should still have it.

I am all for Miles Garrett taking that sack record and he gets an extra game to do it now. Connie, how about my pick for the Atlanta Falcons? Calvin Ridley, who, by the way, and everybody's like, oh, now that now that Julio Jones is in Tennessee, Calvin Ridley will become a superstar wide receiver. Pay attention, bozos. He already was a superstar last year. It's just going to continue to go onward and upward. Your thoughts?

You really, really want this to happen. This is the second year that you picked him as the Falcons team MVP. Look it up, everybody. I think I was right. I feel it. I like that you're you're sticking with the plan here and you're, you're consistent in your pick. And now that Julio's gone, he's got a much better chance. But it's a brand new offense with Arthur Smith. Maybe that's a good thing. But also, that's an offense

that emphasized tight end sets. And obviously, oh, by the way, they drafted Kyle Pitts. And also Arthur Smith, he really loved a balanced offense. He really loved the run. So I don't know if that means it's a dip at all for Calvin Ridley. But there's a lot of new kind of moving parts with that offense and kind of new pieces in place now, too. Oh, I don't, I don't buy it. You're pushing back on it, but I think Arthur Smith is going to unlock this man even more. Back to back Calvin Ridley years. That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. Get off my case, Connie Fox. All right. Now, Mark, you are a man. You've covered football for a long time over a decade now. And sometimes things get on your nerves. They become, there I say, ponderous. So we're creating something here for you.

Okay. It's the ponderous scale. And you get to get to get. give us, and I want the 100-point scale at 0 to 10, how ponderous these high mileage off-season storylines are to you. And I will get it going. And I know this one's going to get you because I've done literally 1,200 podcasts with you by now. Mark, Justin Fields, he is the bear's future, but Andy Dalton is the present. Week 1, baby, Sunday Night Football. All right, I'm going to write these down for you. This is a hot one right out of the gate. I am going, let's see if I can get this on screen, 99.1 for me because it's like, look, you're a team.

I just want to fix the ponder scale is a 0 to 10, but it's 100 point scale. So maybe a 99.9.9 is what you mean. Let's go 9.91. How about that? We were already making it. That's a good correction. It seems confusing. It is a 100 point scale, but 1 through 0 to 10. You kind of blew me up there. But this storyline is annoying to, I think, most anyone watching football because it's like the Bears have spent decades in the wilderness looking for an exciting quarterback. You get one, and then you're prancing out this verbal song and dance

about Andy Dalton starting against the Rams in week one. Why? What is the point? By the way, what if, like Justin Fields, now that we have preseason games again, absolutely blows up in the preseason and looks like the second coming, you're still going to wheel out the glowing red ginger mandate? And I still love, it's my favorite, my favorite tweet of the offseason is still, here's our QB1.

And Paris fans are like, kill me now. Connie, you're up. Okay, I got one for you. This is cooked up specially for you, Sessler. The Steelers offense is already looking different under Matt Canada on, what is it, June 25th. Okay. I'm going to go, let's see here, 7.8. It's not something that keeps me up at night just because of the way the Steelers ended last season.

I feel like them looking different doesn't necessarily mean better. We've discussed their changes on the offensive line. That's different. Does that mean it's better? Big Ben looks a little different. Does that just mean older? We don't know. And so for me, there's some hope in there, the Browns fan and me, that maybe this just sort of points towards more chaos under Matt Canada's reign.

Matt Canada, that's a great name. Even around 4th of July, you've got to give it up to our neighbors. to the north and that's surname mark how about this one i gotta know i say i know how to t mark up on this type of exercise all right here it is boy the browns look like a super super bowl contender but like baker hmm you know well a lot of times dan you're the one offering this narrative but i'm going to just go flat out 10 because this is absurd this is a quarterback that number one under the freddy kitchens regime a few years ago we get it that was a coddled mess and everyone was complaining.

Last year, they're organized. Kevin Sifansky, looks like the second coming of George Clooney, who knows how to call football plays, and Baker totally thrived. I would ask you to go watch this Chiefs game again. Yes, they lost. He had one bad interception. It was like the first pick he had thrown in like a thousand moons.

He was crisp and cleaned down the stretch, and he has some, he can make every throw. You don't have to worry about him that much. He's been a total team guy for like the last year plus. And I think I'm over all this other nonsense with Baker Mayfield. I mean, they've found a good quarterback that can build the offense around no questions in my mind. All right. I know you and Greg are all pumped up about his performance in that last playoff game, but he did go three and out in their last possession with the game on the line.

I just got to throw that out there. Salt in the wound. All right. You're up, Colleen. I like Baker. I'm up. Here we go. Let's go with this one. Mark, mobile quarterbacks focusing on not being mobile so much. So like the Lamar Jackson's trying to be more consistent with deep passing.

Michael Murray saying his leg should be luxury. What do you think of that? That does hit me in the ponderous places. I'm going 8.4. I'm doing a terrible job with the paper here. Why is the 8.4? Because I know, I know, I know. It's this is, you know, hey.

But the mobile quarterback thing, it's like Lamar Jackson, this is what you are. And like, I think if you're mobile, it just raises the floor of what you offer a team. Like if you're immobile, we've been talking about these guys. They don't fit into football anymore in 2020. So go be who you are and use it. Now, I get the injury concerns are an issue. But if the Ravens get in a pinch, I mean, they know what they're doing with Lamar Jackson. So I think it's just one of these things they try to talk about. We're going to be more cautious. We're more aware of it. But when the, you know, when you get thrown in the fire, you're going to go back to what you do. All right. Hey, last one. Tim Tebow. All right. I threw my paper out, but well, I'll say it verbally. Tim Tebow. Oh, Colleen, you take it. Okay, all right. Tim Tebow, not invited to George Kittle and Travis Kelsey's

tight-end university. Stupid. That's about a 3.6. I don't find it ponderous that he wasn't invited. I mean, they're also, it's a younger group of guys at this point. They want to hang out and do what younger people do. And Tim Tebow's rolling in like a way older, a millennial type dude who hasn't played in eight years. I don't know if he needs to be at this university or this school.

wasn't aware that this thing was, you know, it's not a kickers club situation, Dan, but it sounds exclusive. Well, I mean, but you also have to think about like, you know, Tim, he's trying to resurrect, nailed it, his NFL career here. And I bet he was hurt a little bit. He's not going to say it out loud, but he wishes he was invited to the cool kids table for lunch. Maybe a tie on his ponderous scale. All right. Good stuff. Good job, Mark. We're almost out of ponderous season. All right, time for weekend vibes. This past weekend, the around the NFL gang, a bunch of folks from Cincinnati, L.A., and all over, gathered in Tybee Island, Georgia, including our producer, Erica Tamposi, back with us to celebrate Chris

Wesleying, our great friend and former podcast partner who passed away in February due to cancer. And it was such an amazing weekend. We all celebrated it together, and here's just a little taste of it at a softball game in which the field of Tybee Island was named in honor of Wes. I have never seen a man more grateful for the life that he had, more enjoying the moment, every moment that he had, that we talked a lot about the meaning of life, and to him, the meaning of life was just, was this, was this right here. I miss West's laugh. That's right here in the quiet spaces. I miss what he would say about like these two machines on the red team that are about to detonate team blue here. I don't know where they came from. I just love, like, many a Sunday mornings, imagining West waking up, coming here, playing ball, going back to Poo with his friends, and, you know, watching football for eight hours and drinking and having a good time,

and that's what we should all do to celebrate a brilliant man, and let's play ball. And I am scared of these two guys, but we're going to do our best. That's why it's my honor to do this. It is my honor on the behalf of the city of Tybee Island. Georgia, this field will now be called Westlingfield. Let's play ball. How about that?

Connie, we love that, man. It was the best. And being together in Tybee was so nice. It was so good for, my soul. I'm sure it was good for yours too. And it felt like there was just so many waves of happiness, of sadness. It was bittersweet to be there. It felt like there was constantly one person missing and obviously it was Wes and I could almost at certain times like hear his laugh, hear him kind of there. But being with you guys and having a big group house and

just having so much fun is what exactly he would have wanted. So it was really nice. Yeah, it's been like, a long off season for us on this front because we lost a wonderful friend, one of the most unique friends. Any of us have had, each of us had such a different friendship with him on the show with us too. And so it's just been impossible to go an hour or a minute without thinking about him. But I think that when we went to Tybee, we went and did it the way he would want it. And I came out of that weekend just lifted entirely. It was great. It was great to experience it. Erica. Yeah, it was such a, such a memorable weekend. And And besides that unveiling that you just saw, that's when we really got emotional and we sort of talked, you know, about what he meant to all of those people there and to see everyone together.

But besides that, we did him proud. You know, he wouldn't want us to be there, you know, crying. And we, we really made him proud. It really was. It was less a memorial and more a celebration of one of the most special people that any of us have known. And we will continue to remember a wonderful man, Chris Wessling, rest in peace. wherever you are, our good friend. All right, we'll be back in a couple weeks.

Enjoy the holiday and everything else, buddy. And friends, until then. You know, 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 Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.