NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Teams We Feel Differently About (with Steve Wyche)

Episode Date: September 2, 2021

A room filled with some heroes – Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Steve Wyche spin through the teams they feel differently about now compared to before the preseason started. Which teams do the heroes like, and which have they soured on? Plus Vic Tafur joins the podcast to discuss Mike Mayock’s recent comments saying the Las Vegas Raiders “need to be a playoff team this year.” Around the NFL is part of the NFL Podcast Network.  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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. The Around the NFL podcast is always ready to go long. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name's Dan Hanzas. Come to you from a virtual room filled with some heroes. Greg Rosenthal, as always, he's the new rock.

Forget about that, Wayne Johnson. And joining us, one of our favorites, I call him the guiding conscience of NFL media. Steve Weish, back in the house. Welcome back to the podcast, brother. Oh, man, thanks for having me right here. You know, got to go deep in the well, but I'm in there somewhere screaming up in the house.

that goes for help. Oh, no, we got to. I mean, what a bench we have on the podcast. When you have a Hall of Famer like Steve to tap as the ATN podcast drops like flies, Sessler still on the mend, was texting with Mark this morning. He's working his way back. He's feeling a little bit better. So that's good.

But it's so good to have people like Nick Shook, people like Patrick Claibon, and now Weish, who is taking time out out of an extremely busy schedule. Like, for instance, Steve, all over NFL network, as you know, He's doing the Falcon stuff. And then what you got going on this weekend? Labor Day weekend. Yeah, Sunday. We've got the Black College Football Hall of Fame classic between

Grambling and Tennessee State. Me, Charles Davis, and Andrew Siciliano on the call 4 p.m. Eastern on NFL network. But it's a showcase game for black colleges. And it's the two kind of most famous historically black colleges in terms of putting players into the NFL and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So it's going to be a good time. That's pretty cool. I mean, I'm lucky here.

This back-to-back day is doing it. something with way she got it he got on me for not wearing a tie yesterday it was kind of like grow up here we're on nfl now you know start wearing wearing a tie bro um i'll do that because hey guys i'm gonna do some i'm gonna do some live i guess you are the conscience yeah's the north i'm gonna do some live some live podcast interruption here get a little construction done on my house i have to pause for one second okay we're we're okay there we go that's great content that's great content and we're not taking that out But yeah, that's, you know, it's funny, you have construction in your house.

I have across my street, literally they bulldozed the house this morning. And I was like, oh, what's the estimate on the rebuild? Like, oh, about 20 months. It's like, cool. It's a good thing I don't have a TV studio in my fucking backyard. There you go. Oh, man. Way to go Pat McAfee.

Way to go Pat McAfee there, Dan. Yeah, I know. I can't help it. Sometimes the frustration of this home office life bubbles over. All right. God, Steve's here. By the way, Erica on vacation, I mean, I just can't get over on a tropical vacation this week. The Grave-Digger, Justin Graver, has done great job filling in for her.

But unfortunately, with Grave-Digger here, we can't get into the Steve Weish song submissions. So next time Steve's on, we're going to play some of those submissions. And if you haven't sent one in yet, Weish getting its own theme song. It's a big deal on the show. So what were you saying about that bench then? What were you saying about that bench? The Grave Digger's not ready for the call-up? Well, I think Grave-Digger is a big part of it.

I mean, Wyshe's a big part of it. Only Colleen has a song. So, you know, there's some controversy that you got a song before Claibon. Some of the Claibon Nation up in arms. The Clayhive? The Clay Hive? The Clay Hive. How about Clay Nation?

Similar to Clay Nation. I kind of like that. Yes, the, I believe it's, what is it? Gray, everyone want to know. What is our, do you know the email that people, could send submissions to? Yeah, I can find that. Yeah, look that up, find that, and get back to us

because we want to roll that out next time Steve's on the show. Anyway, coming up today. Yeah, it's very simple. It's actually the ATN podcast at gmail.com. Send in your Steve Weish song submissions. Yes. Oh, I'm sure the hits are going to come rolling in, fellas.

All right, coming up on today's show. You know, we got you caught up Monday, Tuesday. What's going on with news and cut down day? Obviously, teams continue to be very active as they combed through waivers and the open market to finish that 53-man roster. It's funny, and it's, well, it's not funny to the players at the back end of these rosters. But you make that 53-man cut on Tuesday, and then it's even worse. The next couple days, you have to hope your team doesn't pick up somebody on waivers and cut you after the 53-man cut down. That's got to be one of the more cruel aspects of the sport.

But with that in the rearview mirror, we're now going to talk about teams we feel better about or worse after training camp and preseason. So that's coming up in just a couple of minutes. And also coming up, one of our favorites, Vic Tafer over at the athletic. He covers the Raiders beautifully. And we are going to kind of a state of Raiders nation. You Raiders fans out there sometimes saying, hey, you got to talk about our team more. Well, we got Vic.

and I know, Weiss, you have a connection with Steve has a connection with literally everyone in the industry and Vic Tafer is no exception. Yeah, Vic's a Miami guy. When I used to work in Miami, Vic was down there.

He was interning or working, you know, right on both of kind of the initial stages of our career. I was a little bit older than him. But man, he is a hell of a reporter. The folks who read the Athletic in Vegas are lucky to have him because he is one of the best NFL journalists

there is in the NFL. He is awesome. One of my favorite beat to read always has been but now you know now it's uh him and tishon read i think uh at the athletic we both do a great job and uh because the raiders like not only are they fascinating with mayock and gruden we'll get into it but it's like there's leaks like you can you can break big stories with the raiders still you know what i mean like there's drama behind the scenes in front of the scenes on the roster there's questionable moves like they don't have it all locked down

but that makes them a lot more fun to watch well said all right let's get to it before comes on. Let's talk about this. You know, the season now is one week away as we record this. The opener, of course, between the Bucks and the Cowboys and then Sunday and Monday, everybody else. Everybody else plays. So now as we spin forward, let's take one look back here at the month or six weeks that was, training camp, three preseason games for most teams. And who do you feel better or worse about let's start in a positive way here great do you want to share with us a team that you feel better about right now compared to say july 20th this sounds strange but it's the buccaneers popped up uh joe try on or uh as uh the kids call him now joe try on show anka changed his name

so everyone get on that there's there's a dash in there hyphen it's try on show anchor like we didn't know anything about this kid and he made as big an impact i think as as any defensive rookie in the entire NFL. And sometimes that's what the preseason's all about is just you see a player and you know. Like, oh, this guy is not only going to be a quality third-edge rusher alongside Shaq and JPB.

I mean, he might be better than them. He might be as good as them right now. They were a little quiet in the regular season last year and then really turned it on down the stretch. I just mean he looks like he's going to show up and play. And they made it through a healthy month. I just sort of liked what I saw and heard out of their skill position group.

I think Antonio Brown is healthier and totally ready for this season. I think Chris Godwin and Mike Evans who had some injury troubles last year, Godwin had the drops in the playoffs too. Like if you watch them in their little preseason action and heard all the practice sports, like they are ready to roll.

Sometimes the Super Bowl champion starts out like just a couple feet ahead of the rest of the league. And there was no reason to doubt the bucks going into camp, but I actually feel even better about them now after everything I've seen. Like, everyone's healthy. I think they're ready to roll. I think they're motivated. And I actually think September is the wrong time to play the bucks.

You might have a better chance against them in November and December than you do to start the season. They're going to start, I think, ahead of the rest of the league. Yeah, as if Todd Bowles need another toy to play with. I mean, this guy, now he's, I mean, he's going to be drawing stuff up, you know, like who knows what. But guys, I like the Tennessee Titans. I mean, this is a team we don't talk about very much. You know, but, you know, I got to saw him play in a preseason game. They've got excellent depth.

The backup quarterback, I believe his name is Woodside, and I think he's like an AAF guy, whatever. He supplanted Matt Barkley as the backup to Ryan Tanna. Nice player. They've got depth all over the place in the offensive backfield. But then I look at the rest of the division, and that looks like pretty much a catastrophe. Right. You know, I think we all really liked the Colts coming in, but now they've got injuries, right?

You've got the whole vaccinated, unvaccinated situation with Carson Wentz. You know. Finally we're starting to practice Thursday. Yeah, he's back from the COVID list Thursday. He's back at practice, but I mean, he's missing time. You know, he had the foot injury and he's missing time because of that issue, because the close contact issues, right? So we'll see.

I think they're going to get it back because their defense is really good. big darius leonard fan but then you know got the texans who are like five years away from being five years away so that's a decade right before i'm giving them an opportunity and then the jacks you know like look i know everyone's get all over urban mire too for sitting there saying they have vaccination status uh played into our cuts and now he opening up an investigation he's just saying out loud with the other 31 aren't you better believe it so but look besides that they're still you know they're still deficient a lot of ways we'll see whichever Lawrence can come up with but you know if he doesn't get killed you know i think this could be a joey burrow situation hopefully he stays

healthy but in terms of protecting him that's an issue so i think the titans i mean i i think they've got a pretty good roster i was worried about some of the losses they suffered coming into training camp i think they're rock solid and division wise i think they are clearly the front runners right so but do you are you into of course they lost uh arthur smith here are you into the titans as having a good summer by default just because you didn't like any of the other summers in the division or do you actually think that there's more this team can be better than what they were yet last year you did one of their games right steve in the preseason yeah and they're and they're going to be more diverse offensively you know some of my conversation with arthur smith he's like

it was nobody's plan to have derrick henry have 400 touches last year right but they had some injury injury issues at the backup spot so now they're going to work some things differently offensively you're going to see more and not necessarily with derrick henry but you're going to see more passes out of the backfield. You're going to see that offense change a little bit with John McSmith gone, right? So they're going to do some things offensive. They got Julio Jones there. So I think they're going to be a little bit more creative, a little bit tougher to defend,

and they're going to open up the field a little bit more for Derek Henry when he does get his touches, which again, I don't think it's going to be more frequent or as frequent as they have been in the past years. I had them written down too. I did. They were one of my teams, not just because of the division. Oh, that's a big part of it. That's the worst division in football.

But I think they had a lot of positive things. First of all, Julio Jones is back at practice. I was a little worried about that. He just doesn't practice anymore. Now, he's ready to rule. I think they found something in their rookie Bolden, Elijah Molden, rather. He's going to be their slot corner. Like, their defense really turned over, and that can go well or that can go not so well.

But I like the secondary right now. Jack Rabbit, look, he officially changed his name to Jack Rabbit, by the way. We haven't announced that on the podcast. I love that. You have to call him, Jack Rabbit. Jack Rabbit. I think Wes was ahead of the curve on that. Would always just call them Jack Rabbit no matter what.

Christian Fultons starting there. Like Bud Dupree had a healthy preseason. Sometimes it's just about like who gets through healthy and who like that you were a little worried about. Like when you changed everything, were they going to have an okay month? I just liked everything. I heard from them. Taylor LeWan's back from his ACL.

I'm with you, Steve. I think that feels like a pretty safe playoff team when I wasn't necessarily thinking that back in July. And I also, you know, I'm of two minds on this because we just did our predictions podcast. And I threw out the cults there as the division winner because I do feel there is a ceiling here that is a little higher than they're getting credit for if things click health-wise. But I had them ultimately on the team I feel less about after the summer because of the injuries you mentioned and also that schedule, which we've hit on. But the fact that they're going to be, they've had a disjointed summer with many of their key players. And we also should mention T.Y. Hilton, who's out indefinitely with this back neck thing.

That schedule, the first half of the season, home Seattle, Rams at Tennessee, at Miami, at Baltimore, a little pick-me-up, home Houston, and then at San Francisco, home Tennessee. The team that they could have used a weak schedule in the front end to get things under control after kind of a hectic summer, but they got the opposite. And you had mentioned, Greg, the health being important, you know, and it's, it should be obvious. But it doesn't always work out that way. And I'm going to talk about the Chargers, a team I feel better about, because the Chargers, and this should not surprise anyone that follows the team in the sport, ranked fourth in weighted approximate value loss to injuries last season, according to the injury tracking site, man games lost. And just the fact that they've gotten out of this summer with all.

their stars intact. And they have such a fun, varied roster of plus players, Justin Herbert, Austin Echler, Keenan Allen, Derwin James, Joey Bosa, all should be locked and loaded for week one against Washington, which by the way, Chargers Washington, one of my sneaky favorite week one matchups. That sounds fun. That is good. How about that? It is good. And I want to give, you know, credit, it's kind of tricky. How do you, coming out of the summer with good health and being locked and loaded for the season, Brandon Staley, the new coach, you give him some credit? How about Anthony Lamando, the new director of sports performance. They added a whole bunch of

Lamando getting a little Lamando pop. They had to. They added a whole new protocol in terms of how they handle practice, stretching, rest before and after, how they handle the preseason. And, you know, some of this obviously goes back to luck. But I appreciate, and I'm

sure Chargers fans appreciate, that this new coaching staff didn't just say, well, the football gods got the Chargers again last year and they actually made an effort here. And I just think this spoon of good health, which could blow up in the second quarter by week one, of course. We know that. But they're locked and loaded with arguably the most exciting young roster in football.

And they're offensive line additions. I mean, having that offensive line. I mean, that was an issue. And they look strong up front right now. That's a dangerous football team. Boolaga's been in and out. That's one of those, though. It's like they didn't play at all in the preseason.

You're right on paper it looks good. That's a week one test. And you're not going to learn every. I think week one is almost like extensive. extended preseason at this point, especially for teams with the Rams and Chargers. Yeah. Full's cool. You know, it's hard to evaluate too much.

On paper, though, you're right. Like, Joey Bosa, to me, is such a, you know, important part of that team that needs to be healthy throughout. But if you kind of look at the rest of their defense, they're a little thin next to him, but the linebacker group, like, they're excited about the linebackers that they have, Cazir White, Kenneth Murray, like Drew Trankel, like, that is a sneaky, good young group. the Adisante, Samuel, and a lot of people noticed, I mean, we're going deep here on the charges. We haven't talked about them much, that they cut Tyron Johnson, who made a lot of good plays with Herbert last year.

And wow, like, people were really surprised at that. And that told me, like, they like their receivers. If he couldn't make that team, that tells me, okay, like, I feel almost a little better about the Chargers receivers if he couldn't make that team. Like, that surprised me. But it shows that, like, they like the depth that they have at receiver, which is not a lot of big names behind the starters, but could be guys, especially Josh Palmer, the rookie, that make a lot of big plays. One fly in the ointment, because I think it's fair to throw it with all the good vibes.

There is a general feeling like, wow, they got rid of Anthony Lynn, and they're going to solve their game management issues. They were 32nd and expected points added on special teams last year, for instance, and we know all the clock gaffs down the stretch. But this is good from Mike Sando at the Athletic. They did a ranking of AFC teams, and they ranked. The Chargers number six in like a vote. But one voter said that remains to be seen if they will improve game management-wise.

Their head coach and three coordinators have a combined three seasons of coordinating experience. Wade Phillips had more in like 1985. So the game management stuff is not a lock. That's fair. So I'm just going to sprinkle in a little bit. Beware, Chargers fans. And the Special team stuff is fair, especially stuff is fair because that was not a last year anomaly. That goes back decades with the Chargers.

Yeah. Well, plus, I think Daniel Jeremiah is still their radio guy. So that's a little concerned. You got an upgrade. I mean, you want to give money a huge extension and then you want to, you know, see what else you need to do. Matt Money's with the hand. So why should, we were talking about like whether to listen to the podcast at 1.5 speed or not that the move the sticks podcast, that's the one you can listen to at one and a half or two. You want to accelerate to the finish?

Yeah, just bang through it. I loved because Siciliano brought it up on air to Weish. And Weish, just the most classic Weish answer was like, I'm not looking to speed things up at this point in my life. I'm looking to slow things down. I was just like, preach. Well said. Prey.

It's where we are. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different? Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. what's up everybody Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks on Move the Sticks we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development

to team building philosophies coaching trends and how front offices construct winning rosters every week we study the tape talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else

is the kind of conversation that connects the dots from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow we break down the draft analyze matchups and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day plus we dig in the coaching strategies roster construction

and the trends that shape the league year after year whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level we give you the full picture if you want insight that goes beyond the box score this podcast is for you don't miss it listen to the move the six podcast on the iHeart radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Flaureo, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?

Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Greg, tell me somebody you're not feeling so hot about after this past month. I tried to convince myself that Giants were going to be like the most watchable giants since the pre-Ely Manning era, just a little, you know,

a little bit of spice on offense, a lot of weapons around. They had a lame month. Goladay and Cadarious Tony are back on the practice field this week, so maybe they get out there for week one, but their offensive line doesn't look any better. and sometimes teams tell you what they think about their own roster with their transactions. They've made about like seven transactions on their offensive line in the last week. Just like picking up anyone's leftovers and hoping they can slide it in.

Like it just, it doesn't look any better. So if you got a bad offensive line, a quarterback that's probably not going to overcome a really hard situation with an offensive line. And a play caller that hasn't inspired a lot of confidence that he's going to like scheme his guys open. it just feels like the same old giants. Yeah, you added Ghaladay and Tony and Barclay's back. And so they should be better, but I'm not, I think they had a rough month.

I'm not into the Giants right now. That was my number one team too. Because I mean, Goladay, how many times has he practiced? I mean, it's just one of these things, by the way. It's not even just a this year thing, right? Right. And so I was kind of like, I'm not sure. But you know who else, guys?

And, you know, it's weird saying it's the Denver Broncos. I was really, you know, I really love their defensive talent. I like their offensive line talent. But. Hey, Steve, try carefully here because Greg literally, he can't even stand up right now. He gets so excited talking about the Broncos. Like, you got to, just let him know. Okay, so on that note, okay, so you've got the Chiefs who can score.

Oh, wait, they're playing the Broncos. They can't score on the Broncos. What? Chargers who can score. The Raiders who can score. The Broncos, can they score? We know Teddy two gloves, right? He's great.

I'm sure defensive coordinators right now are flipping out having to face Teddy B. I'm saying that with all this sarcasm over. As opposed to Drew Locke, though? What changed the training? Okay, but here's so here's my point. Here's my point.

In this era where we're supposed to have all these offensive spengalis and quarterback developers and things like that, they had very moldable clay. They had very moldable clay. Now, some of it on Drew Locke, sure. but people I've talked like you locked it everything right but when George Payton came in from Minnesota to be the GM Teddy Bridgewater's guy let's play it safe in the swing game 16 to

13 that works once maybe twice in the NFL show me a team show me a team that's routinely held people under 20 points a game and only score 18 the new 1613 is just like 2320 you know what I mean that's the new 1613 and so Ted didn't get the 233 Teddy can get you to 23. Sutton Hamler, Tim Patrick. Are they running jet sweeps? Jerry Judy.

Are they running jet sweeps? Albert O. Noah Fant, Giovante Williams, Melvin Gordon. I'm just saying, I think they can't score a little bit. You know,

when you got to get Patty Shermer calling the plays, you're going to be fine. Oh, boy. This is straight out of the mat naggy school of victory. Oh, I mean, look, again,

I'm pulling for the Broncos. I love their talent. I love Teddy Bridgewater, but I look at that division. And I look at the AFC. These teams are really good. They can put up points. You're not winning ball. Now, if they generate 35 plus turnovers like the dolphins did last year, okay, they have a chance.

Okay, they've got to get the takeaways. But, I mean, I was really, really liking the Broncos coming in. And now I'm just kind of like. You were liking them with Locke and then Teddy changes your mind? This is some bad things thinking. I love this. Here's the thing, though. But, like, they have, it's not like the Bears, though.

It's not like Nagy and the Bears, because they have so much offensive talent. That is what I'm banking on, that it's not just the defensive talent. Yes, you look at, you look, and it looks like a top five defense and certainly a top five defensive play caller. But I think if you just go weapons, go running back, wide receiver, tight ends, that might be top five, too. So you're surrounding a mid-level quarterback with a lot of good pieces. So if you put Jerry, Judy. Dalton, 2015 action. If you put Jerry Judy and Cortland Sutton and Melvin Gordon on the Bears, they're going

to the playoffs? Albert O. End of argument. Deeb. Yeah, I think so. I think so. If you put Teddy on him, too. I mean, they had Chubisky out there, the 29th quarterback.

So is the ceiling, Steve, to you? And I love this conversation. Greg. I'm not saying he's bad. I love him. But he's the ceiling to you. Is the ceiling to you, Steve, the 2018? bears for the Broncos? Like if they get a bunch of turnover luck on defense and they have a perfect

season in a lot of ways on defense, they can win double digit gains, but still it doesn't make them a true contender because that offense is just going to kill them? You got to score in the NFL now. I mean, look, I love the talent. I love what they're developing, but the chiefs are going to hang 30 a game. The Chargers are going to hang 30 a game and the Raiders are going to hang 30 a game. I'll believe the Chargers when I see it, though, with Joe Lombardi on offense running the play. I just want to see it. I just want to see Herbert in a new offense. And I agree with that.

And again, I'm not throwing total shit. I was really high on the Broncos coming in. But now I'm just kind of like when I look around these teams in the AFC. AFC's 10 or 11 deep. I've never seen it like this where I'm having trouble finding a spot for the Chargers in the playoffs, who I'm always a huge fan of having a trouble finding Steelers or Browns. Like, can two or three teams really get out of that division when it's that deep? Like, it is, I've never seen the AFC this deep.

So that part of it is true. And you've got, you've got to get 24 a game. And I just don't see that consistently with the Bronco. Let me, uh, transition, uh, to another team. I mean, you're not getting that song now, but yeah, you know. Steve, you have no idea how much this quarterback situation means to the Broncos in his team. I love it. Because it was like, if it's like,

If he won't listen to Mark and I try to ramp down the expectations, maybe the North Star of NFL media will smack some sense to him. The Tito Landrum. Tito Landrum. Dude, you can pull off the bench and put on any position. All right, I want to get this on tape so everybody knows so you're not dunking on me on Twitter. I am very down on the Jets as having a season of true progress this year. I know it seems like I'm all over the map.

But there's the optimistic fan of me that just hopes for the best. But this was a really bad month for the Jets. It started tragically when Greg Knapp, who was a really respected quarterback's coach, dies tragically in a bike accident. You know, he was supposed to be a guy that was really going to help Zach Wilson. And then the Carl Lawson injury, just devastating to what the Jets need to do on defense. The Vinny Curry then, he's a rotational rusher, a veteran, not as big a deal, obviously, but still then he leaves for the season with a blood clot issue.

The offensive line is supposed to be better, but if you're reading about this team, there's issues on that line right now. Mackay Beckton did not have a good summer. Michael Flore even called him out on it, the offensive coordinator. And I just think if the line isn't ready to roll, if a secondary that is just so green, And then they take and they release Blessam Austin, who is their most seasoned cornerback this week. The secondary is really dicey.

Without Carl Lawson, it's going to be very difficult to get a push. I like the interior of that defense. But then you have, and then on the other side of the ball, questions that offensive line, an unproven backfield, and a quarterback in Zach Wilson, there's going to be a lot of bumps. And when you factor in what Greg also said, that this is a loaded AFC, which I agree,

with, um, it's going to be tough for me to, to see the Jets winning more than about four games this year. Wow. And I think, I think you could still come out of the season saying we're going in the right direction. If they go, maybe not four, let's say five and 12 or something. But I think this is just the way this summer has played out puts them behind the eight ball. And they were the last team that needed, uh, bad breaks, uh, this summer. And they got them. And I've recalibrated my expectations this year as a result. Dan, you pick up two interesting points, and we can have the conversation about offensive line concerns

with 28 teams right now. I mean, you know, that's real interesting, but more so with the Jets having four wins. When I'm looking at the teams that picked in the top 5, 6, 7 this year, I'm having a hard time to think that the majority of those teams are not going to be picking in the top 5, 6, or 7 next year. I mean, it's all of those teams seem like they have guys. You know, though, that's not usually how it goes, but I see it.

No, I mean, and look, some of them will probably slide. Someone's going to have some injuries and things like that. But, I mean, just coming into the season, it's like, wow, okay, Jacksonville, you know, Falcons, the Jets. I mean, what's, you know, what's to make you think any of those, and some of them probably will get to double the gym. We just know how the averages go, but just coming into the season, it's like, wow, man, all these teams still have a long way to go to seem like they're going to be effectively competitive. Now, again, that'll change. We know how the wheel spins. But I think that's a really good point.

You see the Jets, you don't see more than four wins. And that division alone. I mean, that's a tough, that's a brutal division. And so, you know, that's just something that's weird, the offensive line play and just these teams that are in the bottom kind of making headway. These are two things that I, that's been deep on Tito Landrum's brain. I mean, classic Tito. Counterpoint, this is some Mark Sessler stuff here where like a week ago,

you were literally like playing the soliloia song. I believe it them. And then counterpoint number two is the only thing that matters about the Jets, and maybe that's not true in terms of wins and losses. But the most important thing is Zach Wilson, and you feel better than ever about him after this month. So I feel you, there was some bad luck, and certainly Lawson is the number one thing to be, you know, that's a concern and that's not going to change.

But I don't know. To me, it was a positive month because Zach Wilson played well. Just put it this way. If Zach Wilson didn't have a positive month, this would have been an outright disaster of a month for the, Jets. But to your point, there's nothing more important than Zach Wilson having a big month. So yes, I'm just, I think the Jets can have a successful season without having a nice record. You're trying to protect your heart. Let's revisit after the Jets go down to Carolina,

get that week one victory over the team. I'm putting necks that I feel worse about. And that's the Panthers. And that's partly because I watched their preseason game with Darnold. And I was just It's like, oh, yeah, still Sam Darnold. I mean, I know it's one preseason game, but remember how everyone likes to say, well, those are the starters against the backups. You can't pull too much from that. You know, that's what Zach Wilson should do.

Okay, well, Sam Darnold was with all his starters against a bunch of backups in the third preseason game. Didn't look very good. Had multiple turnover-worthy plays, held the ball too long, ended up getting like a two-minute drive at the end of the half that kind of saved his day. but just didn't see the processing, didn't see him, like, making quick decisions.

I think Matt Rule is going to help him out. I think he's going to be better in Carolina, but it just was a reminder. This is a young team on both sides of the ball. They've got their own line questions. You're right, Steve. We could say that about 24 or 5 teams. But, man, Darnel could use a great line. He definitely doesn't have one.

And I just think they made a huge quarterback misfire, and that little extra tape cemented it for me. They could have taken Justin Fields. they could have taken Mac Jones. They weren't interested. They wanted Sam Darnold. Yeah, I'm not... Carolina, I still have a lot more question marks before I checked them out of the picture.

I think they're going to be better. I think, you know, Donald's going to improve. I think they're going to be a better team and one of those teams are going to be like, okay. You know, Matt Rulkin coach. I've got a little faith in him. I do too. It was one, it was just like preseason confirming my prior views.

But we hadn't mentioned that on this show that I feel like his performance. in the pre-s confirmation bias perhaps correct absolutely but he had a if you go watch that half he struggled and it was starters versus backups and he struggled the same ways that he struggled uh when he was in new york that's all here here here's one i have for you guys and as a team i don't know if i feel worse about them but i don't necessarily feel better not to the arizona cardinals i mean i know they've added some some defensive talent and they should absolutely be better on defensive j j watt and chanler jones and all these guys

playing together, but what are they, man? I mean, you know, you still don't know when you look at every other team of that division. I mean, Seattle's gotten better up front of the offensive line, we think. We think they've gotten better, you know, at receiver and some of their other positions. The Rams clearly have done some things, you know, quarterback, some things they want to change, even though I think defensively is going to be interesting with some of the coaching drain that they've had on that staff. in the Niners, you know, we'll see, but it's like Arizona, you know, do we even think they have a shot to compete? And so that's a team, you can't get a read on in the preseason, but, you know, look, Cliff Kingsbury's coming in with a very warm seat.

We'll see what's up with Steve Kime. They cut another receiver that he drafted. You know. Who, Isabella or Kishon Johnson? No, Kishon. Kishon. Kishon. They cut them.

I mean, how many receivers are they going to draft and cut? That's two from the same. glass well they're like team no practice they're like team no practice they're like team Arizona like watt Chandler Jones DeAndre Hopkins AJ Green you got a whole bunch of veterans that just like having practice don't practice I don't know is that gonna is that gonna work we'll see yeah we'll see anybody we have any others one way or the other before we do you guys know the Vikings yeah I think that's a team that's a team that's a team I think that should be good but man not a good summer for the Vikings

I was going to pick them to the playoffs I did actually but no left their offensive line maybe looks worse Norav Smith pretty thin the same problems they had a year ago looked like they could have them again but they got a defensive I just saw I saw a headline

like the Viking solved their tight end situation with the Chris Herndon trade which is silly but also how about the fact you just look at the back not that this is a thing that exists or maybe it does because there's a bit of a sports card boom or rebirth happening right now look at the back of

Kirk Cousins football card. Like, if he's their quarterback for 17 games, they're going to move the ball. And then Dalvin Cook is one of the very best running backs in the league who could do it all. You got Justin Jefferson in year two. You got Adam Thielen there. So yes, I get you lose Irv Smith, who's a guy people are feeling good about. But this team is going to score points still, right?

And then that's why I put him in the playoffs. This is my rambling setup. And if the defense just gets better than it was last year. And Mike Zimmer is a defensive coach. Come on. This is a 10-win team. Am I crazy? It could be.

No, no, I would think he's having Anthony Barr is back. They've got some pieces back, but I mean, look, I've known Zimmer for a long time, and he's like your textbook crumogen, you know, and I love him. But good Lord. He is like at a whole different level of crumogenism. And, you know, I think he's coming under a warm seat as well. And so I don't know. I mean, this is a team that I liked coming in.

And I don't know if I dislike them anymore coming into the season, but there just seems to be like some weird mojo. Again, I'm not there every day. I don't know, but it just seems to be like some different sauce coming out of there. They lost some key players, too. I mean, it's a factor. And just to clarify, are you referring to the Kirk Cousins drama? They've had some issues with vaccination rates and Mike Zimmer being outspoken about it and cousins being outspoken and talking about his little Plexiglass cube that he might live in this season you think and in general from a broader perspective

Steve because you're so plugged in like how much of a fact do you think that could play into this season the bills are another team where it's obviously a hot point inside the inside that building that it could mess up some seasons potentially in terms of how this plays out they absolutely could I mean the Colts I mean you know we'll see this is this is again urban urban Meyer said out loud what everyone else is saying secretly i've heard them say it secretly and this is something and especially when it comes to the quarterback position if all of a sudden you're rolling your role and all of a sudden your guys got to take a powder for possibly two games because of because of a positive test or whatever you're you're constantly where you were

last season like are we going to get through are we going to get through whereas other teams don't have that concern, I don't know. I think it's, I think it's going to pop up. I mean, I think there's going to be some issues that popped up last year that are going to surface again this year, you know, across the whole league for the NFL scheduling-wise and things like that, despite all of the incentives for people to get vaccinated. Tom Brady's vaccinated. That surprised me when the Bucks announced today.

They're at 100% vaccination rate. So we know Tom, Tom took that jab, Dan. He did. He's part of 100. And Bruce Ariens has been outspoken about it too. And it works for some coaches, I guess, putting the heat on the team a little bit. And others, it seems to be less effective, which adds to curmudgeon nature of Mike Zimmer. Why can't I have the 100% team?

Why do I got these guys? I do want to ask Steve about the Falcons just because he covered them. I don't feel better or worse. So I was kind of thinking they might be a bounce back candidate because if you look at their numbers last year, like DVOA and points scored. and stuff like that. They were maybe more of like an eight-win team that had a lot of bad luck and lost a lot of like heartbreakers.

And, you know, they're not all bad. You get Arthur Smith, you have a real quarterback. Like, what was it like? First of all, you're in the booth, which is pretty badass. Like, you know. That was cool. That was a really good deal.

I'm not trying to put you in a box here, but not an ex-NFL player providing analysis. Not being the play-by-play guy, providing analysis is awesome for me to hear. just anyone do that and you did an amazing job i couldn't believe how comfortable the whole booth was i was like this is better than the monday night crew right here you and what was a dj shockly um you guys are great doing those talking what do you think about the falcons after being so kind of close with them for three weeks well i mean thanks for that i mean the falcons frontline talent's good

defensively they're going to be better if they stay healthy i mean that front seven they may not have, you know, an individual winner in terms of pass rusher, but Dean Pease is going to create some stuff and man, they've got some linebackers. I mean, Foyer Oluquan is really good. Dion Jones is really good. They got this guy Michael Walker out of Fresno. Man, he's a

player. So they're going to find ways, they're going to use Dante Fowler as a situational pass rusher. You know, they tried to have him as a three down guy last year. That didn't work. They got Dean Peas. He's going to be creative. Dean Peas, yeah, Dean Peas is going to be creative. AJ Terrell's a really good corner. I mean, I know the film on him last year because you saw him getting

beat sometimes, didn't look great, but I mean, he didn't have anyone else, so teams could really do some things offensive, but he's going to be a good corner. They got some other issues, you know, they've got to work through, but if they have one injury, I mean, if they have one injury at any position, that's when you're hitting, I mean, and you know they're going to have an injury, and their offensive line situation. I mean, they had Josh Andrews, a left guard, which was a major concern, and he broke his hand, so now they're going to start rookie Jalen Mayfield. They were in that team that, like, did. didn't have enough money to sign their rookies or whatever.

Mark kept bringing this up that they had no one on their roster. But you're actually kind of speaking to that point that the bottom 20 players on their roster might not be, you know, league ready. Yeah, I mean, it's going to be one of those things. Like if they suffer an injury too, they're quickly going to go from a team trying to compete to a developmental team where they got to get guys ready. You were up close with Kyle Pitts, too. Is that guy jump off the tape and jump off?

Yeah, jumps off. I mean, immediately you see the. Darren Waller is. You know, the Darren Waller comparison in terms of speed, being able to beat guys, catch balls in traffic, you know, he's got a bigger wingspan than Waller. I mean, he's one of those guys you could throw it to 20 times a game.

You know, he's that versatile. He can line up wide and line, move him, he can block, he competes. He, I mean, he is like super legit. You know, when I saw all those joint practices against the dolphins, you know, the dolphins who use Eric Rowe is their designated tight-end slot guy. You know, that's the guy

that I showed on Waller. And they and he was giving it something to row. I mean, Roe won his battles, too, but for a rookie, he's just too big. I mean, Matt Ryan can throw the ball nine feet in the air and he's going to catch it. There's nothing you can do regardless of your coverage, and that's a great tool to have with Hayden Hurst.

It's another option of tight end. I mean, geez, but I mean, Pitts is real. What people really want to know, though, Steve, is should they select Kyle Pitts with a fourth round pick in their fantasy draft? Because that's where he's going. Touchdowns. Touchdowns.

all right there you go they're not going to run it in can't punch it in throw it to pits team shout out to all the all the listeners

by the way who sent me their uh rosters full of my faves from the fantasy spectacular I don't know if I sold my takes better this year

but I don't remember this in the past but everyone's just sending me all their rosters of all my faves so that's cool and I won't lay you down and also in fairness because we did throw some shade earlier Daniel Jeremiah also a

a color analyst that does not have NFL experience. He's much better than me as well. He climbed the mountain as well. That's true. He worked for a team, but that's true. Mina Kimes is another one that stands out. But I love, we need more of these. I think they add a lot to a booth alongside like an ex-player.

It's the perfect, perfect mix. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that?

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Podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Let's now move straight into it. He is a stalwart, senior writer at the athletic. He covers the NFL. He covers the Raiders and maybe nobody does it better. Welcome back to the Around the NFL podcast.

Vic Tafer even got his last name correctly pronunciated this time. I'm on fire. How about you, Vic? I'm on fire. Let's go. All right. Vic is a big guy. He's kind of like maybe I'm the best covering the Raiders. Come on.

All right, Vic. So your boots on the ground with the Raiders. This is a big season, obviously, for that whole organization. And before I get your opening thoughts, let's just hear from the general manager, Mike Mayak, who spoke with the media this week and made no bones about it. It's time for progress in the form of relevant January football. Here's what Mayak had to say.

We think we're going to be a pretty good football team. We're not hiding from expectations. I think John and I would both tell you that we feel like we need to be a playoff team this year. And I don't think there's any doubt about that. And you guys are all going to put that in your headlines, and I understand it. But we're not, I mean, that's what the expectation is. We think we've done the infrastructure work necessary to put us in position.

And we've got to take care of business. Well, how say you, Vic? Do you think they've done the proper amount of infrastructure work to make this a playoff team? I do enjoy the advice to put it in our headlines. I like to, hey, this guy, this is important, guys, focus on this. But I thought, I thought, you know, this is obviously year four for John Gruden. So I would have thought last year might have been kind of a do-or-die kind of year. But I get the timeline now we're on this year.

It's a key year for Derek Carr and his contract. This is the last year before they have to kind of give an extension. Mike Mayak's probably himself on the hot seat a little bit. So I think they've got a little more talent on defense. Obviously, I think Yannick McGuacway was a big time signing. Trayvon Morrig, I think, is really good, the safety, TCU. I still question the depth. I think of depth is still a pretty big issue for them.

But I agree with the whole playoffs or bust kind of mentality. I'm not quite sure they're quite there yet, but they're definitely getting a little closer. Mayak looks like he's in pretty good shape. He might be competing with Weish as like the best best in shape over 50 guy, not to age you there, Steve. Oh, no, I'm very happy. Vic knows. Vic and I go back to the Miami Herald, Vic. What years were you there?

Like 90. I was, I was, you know, as old as me. I'm pretty, yeah, it's probably close. I'm old. Yes, we're back there a long time, a long time ago. So I can't remember how far back it was, but back in the day, sir. Here's what I have, here's when people say, like, you know, it's a make or break year for the rate, for who? Gruden has got the ultimate, you know, land.

landing pad. I mean, for Mayock, I mean, you know, Mike's a great scout and does all this, but Gruden has final say. I mean, Mark Davis ain't going to pull the plug on Gruden with five years left on that deal. Well, Mayok might have been speaking about himself. And maybe Derek Carr too. You know, maybe it's a little bit of projecting. He might know they need to be the playoffs or Gruden will find someone else to, I don't know, to his bidding. But David Carr's not the problem here, right, Vic? I mean, and Mike Mayock, frankly, probably isn't the problem here. These are systemic issues that maybe go beyond the quarterback. This team could score points. We were just talking about it. And if Mayox being set up as the sacrificial lamb here, like,

if I'm a Raiders fan, am I not feeling too good about the basic structure of this organization four years into this thing? Well, they've got some bad, you know, bad for agent signings, bad draft picks to the last three or four years, even before that. You go back, you know, we've had one winning season in 20 years. So that's a lot, a lot of bad draft picks, a lot of bad phrasing sightings. So I think they hopefully got it right this year and they had one big bullet to shoot. That was in Gakway and he by all means is in

Better She's gained weight. He wants to show he's like a three-down guy and just a pass rush specialist. He's come in. He and Max Crosby really connected. Their Max is in great shape. They feel they have like two real bona fide pass rushers for the first time and a long time. So for them

that's been a huge issue. And same with I mentioned Merig earlier. They haven't had a real center fielder at safety for a long time. A guy who can actually make plays. Probably since Charles Woodson. And Woodson was, you're not what he was in his prime when he was here the second time.

So even that's not the high bar you would think it would be. But so they have two guys that haven't had defense. And so to your point about Derek Carr, I agree with him. It's not his fault that they haven't gone to playoffs, you know, only that one time in 2016. But he has to do more. I think the offense can make a jump this year, get a little better in the red zone. But primarily it's the defense.

Defense has to make some plays. They blew the three games late last year. year. So that, to me, is the key area this year. Well, it's unfair. Maybe it's unfair to Mayak, because we don't know who's making the final calls. Ultimately, it's probably Gruden. Okay, we do know it's Gruden. But you can't, you can't help but read into the fact that the Raiders have invested more draft capital in defensive backs in safeties. The position that Mayak, you know, played is kind of an expert than any team in the league. And they haven't, you know, necessarily worked out. You know,

and they're still there. Like, I think Trayvon Mullen could be good. Damon Arnett's there. Morrig's there. They picked up Hayward as a free agent. I mean, Donovanab's been kind of a bust so far. Like, those are a ton of picks, and you kind of, you associate that a little bit with Mayock, and they're not working out.

Like, this is, when he says, like, we need to be a playoff team, I kind of think it's like, we need to be a competent defense because I've had a big hand in putting together this defense, and it's been one of the worst in the NFL. Yeah, definitely competency is definitely key. If they can be, if they'd be like a middle of a row defense, they should be fine. I think their offense will be probably. Top 10 last year, they should be fine this year. They got Josh Jacobs.

I think he's going to have a big year. Kenyon Drake is a nice little secondary piece. They got, you know, Darren Waller's only going to get better. I think people think he's reached the ceiling, but he's not close. I mean, he was a receiver in college. He's already in my book, the third best tie-down in the league. And he wants to be the best, and I'm not betting against him. So I think that's a key key piece that a lot of teams can't defend against me.

You can't put a safety on him. You can't put a cornerback on. I can't put a linebacker on. They've got a really scheme to stop that guy. So they got a lot of tools on offense. And like you said, the defense has to be not embarrassing bad. And then it'll make some progress. Vic, we're talking about personnel.

But I think the Raiders made one of the best offseason acquisitions in the NFL. And that's Gus Bradley, right, coming to this defense. You talk about a guy who knows how to scheme with maybe not a great, and they've got unique in Gokways a stud. He's a winner in terms of beating guys and double team and stuff like that. But if you've got a pass rusher in terms of putting another linebacker on the same side, like he'll line up him and Crosby on the same sides when you get in the regular season, he'll do some gaming.

How much to what Gus Bradley likes to do, again, leaving the corners out there in zone protection and getting after up front do you think can help out this defense? Yeah, definitely. I think Gus has been a big breath of fresh. Not just schematically, like he's making a defense simpler guys. I don't have to think as much last year when the guys were trying to think about where they should be in their assignments

and I mean, they should be able to do that, but last year, obviously, it was a problem. So simply defense guys can run and react better. And just in terms of his personality, he's like more of the most optimistic, like happiest guys that ever met in my life, which is a huge, nothing against Paul Gunther. Gunther was more of a hardcore kind of in-your-face kind of guy

a little gruffly. So I think based on the whole attitude change of these young guys has definitely been welcome as well. So Gus is just like you in terms of happening. Exactly. Gus and I are like the same. All right. I'm looking into my crystal ball, Vic.

We're going to see GI in this later. So just play along. And I see nine and eight for the Raiders in 2021. Is that optimistic, pessimistic, or is it right on? That's probably pretty close. I mean, I think with the Vegas over under, still seven and a half, which I think is a little low. I think just the offense should be.

There's no reason the offense shouldn't be. good. The old line, I know a lot of people said they got rid of the three veteran guys Ronnie Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Trent Brown, who definitely at one point are big time guys. But they should be fine. The depth is again questionable, but the old line should be good enough, and I think the running game will be fine. So, again, it all comes

on the defense. I think the defense can make a big jump on a guest Bradley, and then they can do better than 9 and 8. But I think 9 and 8 is definitely a fair and probably a pretty accurate goal. I know it's a little random, but I don't want to let you go before, just because you were there every day? Like, what happened to my guy, Smokey Brown?

He won the award. And Mayak and John Gruden won the award this year. And someone tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure he got the most amount of guaranteed money of any player across the NFL this offseason that did not make the team. And like Zay Jones made the team over John Brown? Like, what happened here?

Like, this is the type of stuff that does make you worry about the structure that, like, Dan was talking about at the beginning. Like, what happened there? I think when John Brown signed here, he looked at their roster, the Debtstra. We got rugs, Edwards, the draft picks. I get that. I thought he might be their number one. He was pretty good last year in Buffalo.

Number one, wow. I mean, I don't know. You love John Brown. No, John Brown had a good year last year, but I think what his problem was he came and didn't realize how much the coaches love Zay Jones. With coaches, they love Zay Jones. They had like 15 catches last year, I want to guess, and got a million-dollar pay increase this year.

They gave him $1 million more than $1.5.5 made last year. So clearly they liked him a lot. He always says the best shape of anyone on the roster and smart guy, John loves the veteran receiver. So I think John Brown is probably surprised during camp that, hey, I'm below Zay Jones. And so at some point he's like, I can't be Belose Jones. I'm going to play. He's good enough to play somewhere.

So, yeah, ideally you don't give a guy $3.2 million and then cut him. That's probably, that's kind of ideal. an ideal world but um you got to jack up those prices on like the pool uh season tickets or whatever you know like like hanging out on the sidelines that thing if you're if you're just throwing 3.2 million dollars away yeah it's actually i think it's 1.75 was a signing bonus and the 1.5 salaries offset so we signed somewhere else i think you will that but still it's two million dollars you pretty much lit on fire which is not not good but again there's history of this team's transactions over the years that's not an uncommon occurrence they kind of

They all had money on fire pretty regularly. So if Zay Jones plays well, no one's going to care about this, you know, week six. And I think last year, Aguilar was a big surprise. I don't know if A. Jones can do that. But he should be able to be fine. There's offense and makes some key plays for him every now and then. And speaking of fire as we let you go, Vic, and thank you so much for your time. You are a guy that's respected.

I'm sure in that building, they all love Vic. Maybe sometimes they don't know. Sometimes they hate them. Oh, yes. Yeah. That's a badge of honor, as we all know. But maybe you could use your cloud within the team to replace the digital flame with the real deal, Holyfield. Get us back the everlasting flame, the Al Davis flame.

Just one thing to work on this season, maybe if you have some extra time. That's pretty big, though. It's probably a fire hazard. I think if you get a real fire in that. I know. I'm not sure you can actually pull that off. That might be dangerous. But I like the idea.

But I'll see what I can do. I'll make some calls. And next time, Vixon, he's going to share some of, examples of the team disliking him and that's going to be fun oh i'll be good all right stay sure you want me do you want me to tell vic i can no we'll keep you know for a bunch of i'm sure it's all good it's all good till the off season all right think best of luck this season and thanks for joining us all right guys take care thanks vick there he gave us so much time and it was great but my one of the thought when i think about this roster is yeah i don't know if daren waller gets

better. I mean, he was basically uncoverable in the last six or seven weeks of the season. If you get that guy, that is going to be more than good enough. And I believe that Carr is who he is, which is like above the Dalton line, maybe not a true franchise star, but a guy that will win games and Josh Jacobs should solidify that backfield. Henry Ruggs, 12 overall pick last year. If they could add one more guy that is a real difference maker on offense, they can win some of these shootouts. And they did well against the Chiefs last year. as you remember. Rugs is such a key guy after a tough year.

I know he's put on some muscle, that old trope, but they kind of need one more guy if they really want to win some of these shootouts if their defense is only going to be meh. Maybe too, because they don't have Nelson Aguilar. Maybe I'm overrating John Brown last year. I remember some big games.

He was taking it back by how much you like John. I mean, maybe I'm overrated him. But they're starting Rugs. They're starting Brian Edwards. They love Brian Edwards. They love Zay Jones. they are also an answer to who are three receivers who have never topped 500 yards

or 600 yards in an NFL season before? Not one of those three guys have ever done anything and Edwards and Ruggs are just entering year two that's maybe it's a little unfair and maybe they're going to be great but they better be right I guess about that self-scouting. Yeah, especially they want to get past

the Broncos, right Greg? Right, it's a good division. Broncos number two, Charters and Broncos, it's a good division. I know Steve is, super busy like we are during the season. But if we can get Steve back on at some point, once the season really

takes shape and we decide who was right and who was wrong about the Broncos, someone gets to have a victory parade over the other guy and I'm just going to sit from the stands and enjoy it all. I can't wait. I'm hoping they live up to their potential, but I'm just saying they've got to average 24 points in this division

to even have a shot. And I just don't know if that's going to happen unless they get the takeaways on defense. Get those fan of points like the Rams got last year. with all of their defensive scores. Taking on Steve Weish is not like a smart move within NFL media. It's like that's like Steve was back on NFL AM back in the day. It's like I don't know where a lot of that crew is,

but Steve's still right here. You know what I'm saying? And Steve's an assassin. You're going to get a text about four minutes from now, Greg, from Weish being like, don't you ever cross me on the show. Don't you ever disagree with me? Don't you know who I am?

That's me. I'm hard, man. I'm hard. All right, Steve, tell a, first of all, get your Steve Weiss song submissions in, everybody, be a part of the show's history forever, the ATN podcast at Gmail.

Steve, where can listeners find you this season? I know you're all over the place. Yeah, look, I mean, I'm going to be here from time of time. No podcast. No podcast. The Huggle Flow has met its maker. Oh, it's been permanently shuttered.

Bummer. Okay. Dang. It's, it's, yeah, it's unfortunately. in the ether but you can find me on the Twitter account at Weich 89 I will be on NFL now game day and all other pretty much NFL media programming but people should check out Sunday I know that black college football Hall of Fame game I know you're excited about that aren't they going to play that is that different than the two the game they were hoping to play

at Tulane at some point no no this this is different the game at Tulane is is the week after the Super Bowl that's going to happen February 19th that is the HBCU Legacy Bowl, that's kind of the Black College Senior Bowl. It's going to be a week, week of workouts, up to 100 draft eligible players there for Team Team Scout and all this. No, this is an actual game, you know, to kick things off between Tennessee State and grappling, the two of the most historic HBCUs in college football history. It confused me because it's at the Tom Benson Stadium in Canton. I got, I kind of like mixed it all up, but good job by Tom Benson. Good job. And as you know, at Tulane, like the Benson's

also helped fund Yulman Stadium. It's like Yulman Stadium at Benson Field and everything at Tulane University. So, yes, the Benson has had their hand a lot. And speaking to Benson, shout out to everybody in New Orleans, the Gulf, the Gulf Coast, especially in the path. We were seeing in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania,

and Delaware, too, with the storms, man. They're going through it, so we can only wish the best for them. Brutal, yeah. Breaking news. What's that? The Raiders have just signed K.J. Wright. Okay. Oh, Gus Bradley.

We did. Gus Bradley, Link. Gus Bradley Link. Gravedigger, hit the drop. I got to tell you, I can't believe he was out there for this long. He was six, he was number 67. Top 100. That was risky move by Gravedigger.

Right as we're, you know, ending the show, it better get over the line there of whether it's worth the breaking news. KJ. Wright was ranked in our top, top 50, I think. free agents available. So I think it just cleared the line. That was worth it. He was a top 100 player. Top 100 player.

Number 67. It was just out there until now. That's a great pickup. Great pickup. That's Grave Digger. And hit me the drop again, Grave Digger. Grave Digger. That's Grave Digger.

Like, he's four of six from behind the arc at the Y. And all of a sudden, he just pulls up from 28 and says, let's see what happens here. And guess what? Swish, baby. that's one of the yeah you better make it or else everyone's looking at you sideways it's like who do you think you are step curry but he connected he connected he rattled it in very interesting to watch how the raiders they're they're a fascinating team this season and we'll see how it plays out thank you mr weish uh you're the best and um gregg will be back tomorrow well yes on nfl

dot com and then on NFL network after that with the around the NFL broadcast it's our final hour long show before we go to a two hour show in the regular season uh where we'll uh embrace a new format that's going to give you coverage of every team every episode we're really excited about that and we'll tell you more about it as it gets closer how long do we have to wait till it's like polite to ask Steve to come back because we've got two hours to fill Steve we're gonna it's gonna be pretty soon here when the Broncos when the Broncos are eight and one I'll be right there Okay. Awesome. All right. So make sure you check that out. Follow Steve. Thank you, Gravedigger, for filling in so beautifully all week. And we will be back next week, which will be the week of the regular season's beginning. Beautiful. Till then, heed the call. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here.

And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning roster. 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.

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