NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - The 2023 Dalton Scale with Mina Kimes

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

A virtual room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Gregg Rosenthal, and Mina Kimes bring you the 2023 edition of The Dalton Scale where they search for the NFL's prime meridian quarterback. Before the search begins, the heroes react to the Aaron Rodgers possibly being a Swifty (5:27), the new fair catch rule (7:57) and the new Thursday Night Football flex possibilities (8:52), the Chargers trying to make peace with Austin Ekeler, Lamar Jackson's feel for his new offense (15:21) and DeAndre Hopkins' comments about what he wants in a team (18:49). After the break, the heroes revisit the Dalton Scale (23:00), establish those who are clearly above the line (26:40) and float new possibilities (29:00). The show is wrapped up with some talk about the younger quarterbacks in the league who aren't yet eligible for the Dalton Scale (52:30). NOTE: Time codes approximateNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. Loves Andy Dalton in a beer. Hello, Karen Daddy. Welcome. to another edition of Around the NFL.

My name is Dan Hansis. It comes to you from a virtual room filled with heroes across Los Angeles, Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal. What was that? Karatech, Jason Zumalt. Thank you, buddy. Well, Dalton is one of the rare gentlemen. I wish I was one of these that just gets better looking as he gets older. I thought he's become distinctly better looking in.

In fact, last year, and I know he just sort of had an air of confidence and ease to his game as well. But when you'd see him on the sideline compared to early career, he almost had like a dashing villain look to him at times. Well, it's the chiseled eyebrows that were crying out for something to compliment him. And then a very healthy, masculine beard came in and away we go. But enough about that. We're going to get to Andy Dalton. But first, let's welcome in this very important episode of the offseason where we're We do break down the Dalton scale.

We have to bring it a heavy hitter. So here she comes from ESPN, the queen of NFL media, Meena Kimes. Wow. Hello. Thank you for joining me. Fourth appearance now? Fourth appearance, five maybe? I'm not who's keeping track.

We should do that SNL thing where if you are on the show five times, you get a jacket. I would love that. I would love that. Greg has been on my podcast, the Meantam show, featuring Lenny, definitely more than five times. So I think the scales are still tilted in your guys' favor in terms of me owing you appearances. You've got to get Greg a coat, though. Yeah, I need a coat. I never brought in rap chips as you did when you got sick on the way to your first appearance,

I think on this show on the way and I have to stop at a gas station to puke, I believe. But I also have never sat next to you in first class on the way to the Super Bowl, which Mark did, and I feel like we should at least find a little more about that. I felt lucky to do that. I thought it was, you know, I think for both of us, you know, when you sit down and it's like, do we talk or do we pretend we're now reading a book with headphones on? It was a brief flight out of Burbank to Phoenix. And so it was just the right amount of time where I wasn't starting to question myself,

like, am I truly just annoying Mina at high levels at this point? You were not annoying me. And it was the perfect length because I think if it was, let's say the Super Bowl was in Indianapolis or something or you know three hour plus flight right one of us at some point would have had to transition to putting on headphones opening a book but not so Burbank to Phoenix perfect for a conversation and I remember you know once Greg and I because we flew out of a different airport rendezvoused and we ended up at a Super Bowl party that Mina was at Mina came over and because she's class act said hi and everything and she was like

yeah, I was next to Mark Sessler on the plane and it was a wild conversation and then I go to Mark I said, yeah, you were next to me on the flight and he's like, yeah, it was, you know, just a regular conversation. So I would love to know the details of this conversation at some point. I thought it was enriching. I'll just

describe it as that. Yeah, that's between me and Mark, to be honest. So, yeah, not trying to make you guys jealous. The Mina Kimes podcast, the Mina Kimes show featuring Lenny, ESPN all over. In fact, if you go, if you were to like find, this is how many shows Mina is on ESPN.

If you were to go find one of those old like hunting and fishing shows that ESPN would air before Sports Center in 1992, you would find a young Mina Kimes on one of those fishing games. That's true story. Find it and you'll thank me. And now she's giving us just a little bit of her time today. We're going to talk the Dalton scale, Mina, how familiar are you with the Dalton scale?

We're going to get to a little later, but it's just out of curiosity. Oh, I know the Dalton scale. I've heard you guys talk about it. It's not a great episode to be on in terms of public opinion because I feel like it's a scale that is positioned to enrage fan bases because no fan base wants to be told that their quarterback is the prime meridian. It's just not. Somehow more insulting than being a rebuilding.

told you're a rebuilding team. And yet here I am ready to alienate one fan base. Well, you don't want to be one of those NFL media people out there. I'm not going to name any names. But I see their strategy. And their strategy in the offseason is pump everyone up. And so that every fan base likes you, every front office likes you. Oh, talk great about ownership.

Like they don't have enough like people talking nice about them. Like talk great about the executive. Just nice, nice, nice, all off season. That's not what you get here. We look for mediocrity. I thought you were going to say you don't like the people in our business who basically rip off this idea and pretend like they started it. Because the Dalton scale is IP of around the NFL. Can't wait to talk about it.

But first, let us do a little bit of news. What's your favorite Taylor Swift song? Too many. Too many to count. Anything off of folklore, probably. August, the one, going way back. I would say New Year's, what was it? New Year's Day or New Year's Eve? New Year's Day.

That's a banger. Yeah, how did he pick this one? But if I've picked one album, definitely folklore. So on brand that Aaron Rogers would be sitting. I picture him sitting in the woods somewhere, maybe on a bluff in Malibu listening to the one and folklore in general on repeat and just getting real deep, man. Dan, I got to ask you, like, are you, we're getting a lot of Aaron Rogers,

and it's, you know, I think he's been, if anything, warmed up and open with the New York media. Are you enjoying this experience? I know you were a little hesitant going in to this aspect of it. I am enjoying having Aaron Rogers as the quarterback of my team, yes. All right. Yes. All right. I mean, that was a very political answer.

Also, like, he's, that was the kind of answer you gave when you said, like, oh, I'm a big Swifty. But then when they actually asked him, you realized, like, oh, he was kind of just BSing. I mean, he dropped some deep cuts there. I mean, the one, by the way, which is the lead track on folklore is like, I don't know if you're a Swifty or anything close, Mina, but that is the one if you ever like, and Mark, I would be careful with, because you're, you're a nostalgic guy with, you'll post the photos of camp happiness and things. That's the one like if the one that quote got away or the one that you have regrets about, Swift nailed that one. So I wonder who Rogers is talking about in the one or thinking of them, I should say. They have a lot in common, Aaron Rogers and Taylor Swift, both provocative, loyal fan bases, divisive,

talk a lot about their exes. I guess he doesn't talk about his exes. He's got a string of exes, and now we'll see what he says about the Packers. Oh, no. This whole season... Well, I would say this whole season is kind of like an Aaron Rogers song about the ex, maybe.

I don't know anything about Taylor Swift. That's not obvious from the way. I just depicted her. Yeah. I'm surprised by how many, you know, they're both, you know, tall individuals. Yeah, maybe the soft season, Mark, and maybe this is the all too well 10-minute version where it's just going to drag on and on. And it doesn't need to be 10 minutes, but it is.

Let's get to the news and start with, let's do some rule stuff real quick here. The NFL owners voted on Tuesday to approve a resolution that allows players to fair catch kickoffs with the resulting possession beginning at the team's own 25-yard line. This is in many ways tied to player safety, of course. And in other news, the Thursday night football, this happened right after we finished taping our last show, which is always super annoying. They approved the Flex scheduling for Thursday night football,

a modified proposal. The strict requirements are as follows, Thursday games can only be flexed between weeks 13 and 17 with a four-week notice required. Only two Thursday night games can be flexed per year. And the resolution notes that the flexible scheduling for TNF is on a, quote, trial basis. Let's hear from ROG on this. Flex has been part of our scheduling for quite a while. We expanded it to Thursday night.

It will be used judiciously, if at all. It's a very limited time period. And it's also something that is what we would consider a higher bar. we expanded it to 28 days in the context of our fans and making sure that they have appropriate notice if that does happen. Nina, John Mara is not happy. How about you?

With the flex aspect. Yeah. I am kind of surprised that anyone can gin up really strong emotions in response to this. But it's happening. It's not that many games. I don't have the schedule in front of me. but when I looked at the final five or whatever Thursday games,

there was only one that jumped out as being an obvious candidate. Oh, I know which one it is. I know which one it is. And you're saying you can't imagine anyone getting worked up. This is the one game of the year I can go to with my family. If they move it. So immediately, I was like, when I saw this rule, I was like, that's the game they'll probably move.

My daughter who loves the Rams will, has been looking forward to that. We didn't go at all last year. Like, that's the game we're going to go to. If it gets moved to. Sunday, which is Christmas, she will not go to an NFL game this year, because she'll be flying over to Japan, and we wouldn't have gone on Christmas anyways. But they're there. We're not going to go. My daughter's not going to see football if they move it. They're not going to see football. It's Rams. Broncos. Is it? I don't even know. Saints Rams. Or Saints Rams. Yeah. Come on. But we can't go on Sundays because it works. So Thursday night's the only chance I would get. And if it moves, I'm banged. Mark, to me perhaps, Greg, a heads up. let Greg take a Sunday off and take his daughter to a game. I've long said that we should each during the lengthy NFL season have our own buy weeks. So, Greg, if you were willing to take that, you could go to the game no matter what.

I'm with Mina, though, because if you look at these games real quick, Seahawks Cowboys, like who's pulling the Cowboys off prime time unless they've been hit by a nuclear bomb at some point during the season? Patriots Steelers, Chargers, Raiders, that's Saints Rams, and Jets Browns. We'll see where those two teams are, but that could be a spicy finale. So it's not like these, unless injuries strike, I don't hate that you have that flexibility. It's a massive FU to traveling fans. I think we all get that. But I think the NFL has been telling us loud and clear for a long time.

This is, we are just a hit television show, and we want the best episodes possible late in the year. Follow the money. In other news, Austin Echler, he, listen, Austin Echler wanted a big new contract entering his age 28 season. That's not how it works for running backs entering their age 28 season, which sucks for Eckler and his counterparts, of course. But he did get a little bit of love from the Chargers, who added a 1.75 million incentive to his contract. He will be a free agent mark after the upcoming season. It feels like at that point, he'll probably walk and then, you know, heads up probably not going to be an overly warm free agency pool for him either but that's just the

way it is with this position i was watching a few um clips from games from back like in the in the 80s and it's when you had guys like kevin mac um who had those massive shoulder pads and like no one could drag them down they're just like the center and the heartbeat of the team and we got a guy who was 177 catches and 38 touchdowns over the last two seasons and they're trying to keep them happy with a really small piece of pie that runs off incentives. So yeah, I don't think he'll be with the Chargers after this season. I feel like Kevin Mack is Mark's equivalent of a football player camp happiness. Like he when he just needs to go to like a happy place, he just watches 80s clips. How many times does Kevin Mack come up on this show? Many times. The dominating physical

specimen. I'd suggest you check them out. I'm a little worried though. Mina, can't you see imagine them doing a little bit of that like DeMarco Murray in his last year in Dallas? thing where they're just like, all right, it's, you know, we've been holding your carries down and just like give them 350 touches this year. I think that's likely. And I thought this seemed inevitable when there was unsurprisingly not any trade interest in Echler, but also because the Chargers did nothing at the position. I thought in the draft, they might add some depth because they really haven't been able to find a reliable backup, especially someone who can pass protect behind Echler and they're rolling

this season with the same guy as Joshua Kelly and Isaiah Spiller I believe unless I'm missing someone so it felt like they were going to make it work in some way I do question whether the run game will improve it's probably more predicated

on getting Roshan Slater back and whatnot because it was so insufficient at the end of the season as good as we all as much as we like Echler but yeah it's a cold it's a cold world out there for running back. Their own line looks good, though.

I just finished projected starters, which felt really good yesterday. I'm done writing until camp. And so that's done. And I was like, this is a bizarro Chargers team. The offensive line looks kind of great if Slater's healthy.

Speaking of which, we did the running back draft on our last show in honor of the late Jim Brown and Mark, not surprisingly, it appeared that you got the most support for your list,

which I would agree with two. think the draft worked out really well for you. Greg, you did finish a distant third. And someone actually on Twitter, his name is Jono Odwad or Odowd, messaged us. I created a Twitter account specifically to tweet that he enjoyed your meltdown during the episode. He called it a slow, Greg's slow motion car crash during the RB mock draft made my week.

Thank you. You know what? It made for good podcasting. And I do want to track this during the season. Let's see how bad. my car crash looks i'm gonna be like the saints like trading up for people you've never heard of and then it works out great i don't like my i like i can see the numbers and it i have been favored and i had the first pick and so it's like it looks good on paper but that just feels like um doom is

ahead let's let's see where we are in december because i think my list could fall apart real quick right uh in other news lamar jackson is um well paid and a member of the raven still and a new offensive coordinator and some new weapons. Here is what Lamar had to say about how he envisions the offense for the Baltimore Ravens looking in 2023. I mean, just being able to throw the ball down the field. You know, we sometimes, sometimes, you know, we can't run. And I'm not going to run it can only take you so far, you know. And I feel like with this new era of teams and offenses in the league, I feel like we need that.

And coach Tom Munkin, when I'm saying his offense so far, it's looking tremendous. Do you feel like you're, they won't have to run as much? that'll maybe be scaled back a little bit. Absolutely. Absolutely, especially with the receivers we have. There you go, Mina. So the conventional wisdom now is that with the new offense and these weapons that Lamar Jackson is poised to have a big kind of rising type season

that maybe could even resemble his MVP year of a few years back. Are you buying all in on stock that Lamar is going to be a monster this year? I'm so over leveraged on Ravens' offense stock that my house is up for you know i took out a loan on it um maybe too much because you're counting on a couple of receivers with pretty recent injury history in beckham junior and baitman both of them are i actually feel as being a little bit duplicative so if one of them were to go down i still think the combination of the other zayflowers and mark andrews would be sufficient um but i yes everything they're selling everything i read and about todd munkin

thinking about his offenses over the years, thinking about how he's going to use these players. I mean, can you guys name the Ravens receivers at the end of the season? They're like one, two, three? Their leading receiver had like seven hundred dollars. Was prochet in the mix? Robesne was hurt. Yeah, that's right.

There we go. It was bad. It was gone. Deshawn Jackson was one of the three. The Sean Jackson is, oh, my goodness, it's right. Yes. I just don't understand how you cannot. The improvement is so dramatic.

It's hard for me to imagine a situation where the passing game isn't at least better. Well, Duverne and Aguilar right now are their four and they're five. And that's not even counting Mark Andrews. And that they would have been won two at the end of last year. Duverne was hurt like everyone else on that roster. The comment that Lamar made that, you know, I think was. the most telling was how Munkin was just allowing him to change the protections and change the plays in a much different way and enabling way that like doing real quarterback stuff. And it just

wasn't the case in the Greg Roman system. And it made sense in that system. They were just going for different things. But he, he seemed excited about being able to do what he wants at the line of skirmage, being able to change a protection, a little more flexibility. So real, real quarterbacky stuff as our friend Nate Tyson. Well, it's like you had an MVP quarterback who, you know, just a couple years ago went public with Rich Eisen saying that we're going against defenses that are calling out our plays of the line of scrimmage because of that lack of flexibility. So it's like they needed to make a change and they found the right people to dip into this offense. So it's completely, it's a different Ravens experience. We'll be interesting to see. All right,

finally in the news. DeAndre Hopkins, I'm surprised. I don't know about you guys that he never got traded or hasn't been traded yet. He is a veteran wide receiver that even when he came back from a suspension last year performed like a number one wide receiver, the Cardinals obviously are going in a different direction organizationally, not a Super Bowl contender. I feel like he could be a final piece for somebody, but there he is still in Arizona. Here he was on the I Am Athlete podcast talking about his situation right now. What I want is stable management upstairs.

I think that's something that I haven't really had, you know, past couple years in my career coming from Houston to being in Arizona, you know, so I've been through three to four GMs, my career. So a stable management, a QB who loves a game, a QB who, you know, brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself. but, you know, people around them. You know, I don't need a great QB I've done the way with soil part of QBs, you know, just a QB who loves a game like I do.

And a great defense. I think defense won championships. Hmm. Mina, first of all, that look, I think it's a throwback Astros cap, but it kind of looks like a Cowboys hat. That's what I thought he was wearing a Cowboys hat for a second, and I don't, I guess, but, yeah. Can you try to parse those thoughts at all?

What is he really saying? I heard him say, I want not Kyler Murray, and then I want not Matt Schaubbs slash all of the random Texans I played with over the years. I mean, it's hard not to hear a little bit of sub-tweeting in that, certainly not sub-tweeting when it comes to management, which I think everyone on earth would agree he's right to say he's been under unstable management. What he described, I thought, was pretty realistic, though, right? saying, I want to play for a Super Bowl team. I want to play with Patrick Mahomes. Like the things he laid out in terms of stability, good defense, solid quarterback, there's a lot of teams that fit that profile.

Are there a lot of teams that fit that profile that have the cap space to accommodate DeAndre Hopkins? No. And I think that's what's holding this up. I think one of the reasons that he's still sitting where he is because there is a 31 million dead cap hit over the next two years for the Cardinals. So it's not like the most tradable person. They're in a full rebuild, though.

And it's like I remain more and more convinced that when we reach the end of this journey, that Kyler Murray will not be the quarterback of this team a year from now. I just feel like that will not be the case. And like, so if you're DeAndre Hopkins at his age, like there's got to be a short list of teams that say, I want my, I want to put myself in the best position to not be in a rebuild, but be with a team that has all those things he mentioned. It's like, why not move him? Why is he on this roster right now?

Yeah, based on what we've heard and kind of the rumors out there, the line here, and thank you to Eric behind the glass for transcribing this. I want a QB who loves the game, a QB who, you know, brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself, but, you know, people around him, you know, I don't need a great QB. And like, it's funny just because I think a lot of people say, oh, Kyler Murray is a great QB. But then there's all this other stuff. It does be a little sub-tweety. I agree. He did, he did follow it up because I think he realized how it sounded. And he's like, I believe Kyler loves the game. Um, and they have a nice new GM, but you know,

Kyler's not going to be around and Colt McCoy loves the game too, but you know, uh, you know, he started like back. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, but he, he, he, you can, you can tell what he's what he wants. Let's, let's get him. Let's get him a new home. You know what I want, I want to talk Dalton scale. So let's take a break. Let's go. Let's go. And do it. It's 5.23 p.m. One of your kids is asking for a snack. Another is building a fort out of your clean laundry. And you're staring at a half empty fridge and thinking, what are we even going to eat tonight? Or you could just hello fresh it. With over 80 recipes to choose from every week, including kid-friendly ones, even for picky eaters, you'll get fresh ingredients and easy step-by-step

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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.

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Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL, visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Andy Dalton is the prime meridian of NFL quarterbacks. He represents quarterback purgatory. If you are ranked below Andy Dalton, Your franchise needs a quarterback. If you're ranked above Andy Dalton, you're in ship shape, everything's figured out, you're good to go. Ah, yes. You know, I thought Chris, wherever he is, would get a kick out of his fine words over the bed of Sam Spence of NFL Billons.

This is Dalton scale, 2003, and West said it perfectly. We are looking for, well, Mina, we're not looking for Andy Dalton anymore. Andy Dalton is the patron saint of the Dalton scale. He is still in the league, of course, but now is very entrenched as a backup. And for so many years, Dalton really did, as Chris explained, represent that guy that is the divide point, the prime meridian. And it is that time of year to go through the quarterbacks of our league and figure out who that guy is,

who or maybe there isn't one it's time are you making me go first no no i just want to like pregnant pause uh i'm ready yeah i also know that you are feeling pressure based on what we talked about the top of the show um so we're just here to set you at ease okay i i'll come down i will do takes i will make some people mad i'm ready for this it it is a strange concept it famously took dan i think five episodes to really wrap five years really what the Dalton scale was and one of the things that's beautiful about it and Chris

that definition he just gave to me is what I always worked off of but within that there's like flexibility and one thing I was thinking as I'm making the list of the thing now is the Dalton today's Dalton line if there's a prime meridian is better than

yesterday's Dalton scale like it's not just hey who's the 16th best quarterback it's how the league is looking and I think there's just more good quarterbacks now so the bar to me is a little higher for where the dalton scale is because you can find and we'll talk about them you can find some pretty capable guys that to me are below the Dalton scale because the cost the cost of the brick has changed it's gone up so I thought the same thing when I was ranking quarterbacks and I actually think some of it is the caliber of quarterback play guys coming up. But I think a big reason for this and something that's going to really influence which name I end up picking is that coordinators are better than they

were five, ten years ago. Some of this is the provision of the Paus Shanahan, Sean McVeigh, wide zone quarterback bumper bowling offense, which I think makes it harder to rank quarterbacks in a vacuum. But when I looked at a lot of the guys in the middle, I found that a lot of them were quarterbacks that have thrived in those systems with good play callers, with good protection. And as you look around the NFL, there's just fewer terrible situations for quarterback, for average quarterbacks. And that's good for us as fans because, you know, bad quarterback play with a terrible game plan makes for poor viewing experience. So we're going in the right direction here. And maybe a good way to get.

into it's just a couple of guardrails here first of all who's checked out of this conversation uh tom brady's officially checked out of the conversation we think by the way he's kind of a in the ownership group of the raiders now and again a few weeks back i pointed out that they don't really have a backup quarterback in their new quarterbacks hurt all the time i don't know just saying and matt ryan who is not officially retired because he's got to make that money still on his contract but he's now in the booth for CBS and hopefully bringing that fiery demeanor and just ripping people to shreds on the air. I'm just still holding out hope for that. Ryan last year when we do this exercise, I thought that he, for using my memories of last year,

I had Ryan as kind of that guy to keep an eye on. But kind of to mean his point a little bit, like this stuff, when you are in that middle group and you're a guy that's right on the edge or you're a veteran that's faded a little bit or a player that's not overly talented. And then the scheme goes to hell and maybe some injuries. Even a guy that on paper looked like it made sense, all of a sudden is performing at one of the worst levels in the league.

So it is all kind of connected. Right. I look at like veterans. I mean, I don't know. Other people that we're going to get rid of, I mean, I guess this is obvious. We've done this every year is like the top of the league. Right.

So we don't need to talk like Mahomes, Herber, Allen, Burrow, Lamar Hertz Lawrence stop me if you get to anyone we would even need to discuss Rogers DAC maybe that was my list everybody just the non-discussion okay is that it that's it

I mean the concede is like the play has to fall off a cliff after said Dalton you know participant it's got to be like after that list with Dalton and Wes's mind everything after was like you're in a hot mess of a situation under center for that organization so it's like

it falls off a lot later to me than it used to in the past to your point about quarterback play just being better right now. So after you get through those nine names, Bahams, Hertz, Alan Burrow, Herbert, Rogers, Prescott, Jackson, Lawrence. I'll just get things going here with the guys that are right below there for me and, and see where you guys come down out. So I got Stafford, this time last year he was coming off, you know, Super Bowl win and played out of his mind in the playoffs, but now we're another year later,

a injury wreck season and, you know, he's, he has a good play caller and a potential bounceback team or a team that people are sleeping on a little bit we talked about last week. But I think it's fair to question where he stands at this point. And then I have cousins as well, who's always a tough one to figure out in this exercise, Mina, as a guy that statistically, even though he came down a little bit last year is, yeah, he's a very steady productive productive quarterback but is he a guy where you lock him in and say oh we don't have to think about quarterback for the next five years yeah i have him above probably in that just above tier he had an interesting year last year because for a long time kirk cousins was

like a statistical darling who you didn't trust in to like make plays you know at like he would always finish year at the top and all the advanced metrics kbr cpoe etc and then last year he like you said his stats fell off, but weirdly I thought he had, he shone in big games a bit more and was a bit more aggressive, especially once they traded for T.J. Hawkinson. So I think he's kind of just in that nine to 12 or 13 range and will probably stay there. I'd go much lower for both of them. Actually, those two are two of the toughest ones to me, because I thought about this exercise. Matt Ryan is a little similar to where we, Matthew Stafford is I know we haven't seen the decline out of Matthew Stafford but when I thought about

it like do you need a new franchise quarterback have you had Matthew Stafford I think that's an I feel like that's an open question where he's if he's above the line like he's just over it I I feel like he's not the Dalton guy because like Matt Ryan wouldn't have been because if it falls out he's just he's not he's going to like the floor is going to fall out and he's going to be way below the line but those were two guys I had much lower like five six name names low. lower. And I actually think cousins, because I, at least I test wise, and the PFF grades are kind of like that too. And I know he was a little more aggressive. But I felt like you could start to see the decline in cousins a year ago. And to me, he's always been like the rich man's Andy

Dalton. And wouldn't settling into being like the new Andy Dalton totally makes sense for his mid-30s. So to me, he is one of the strongest candidates to be that line. But I'm projecting a little bit that he's that he's going to continue declining into just a total Cousins like throwing the football on the gender reveal like portion of his career. I mean, I think it matters where the team sees that quarterback too in real life. And I think the Vikings are ready to move on after this season. I feel like Kirk Cousins, his name has come up in this conversation consistently every year because there's got to be something about the experience of that quarterback.

Like there was an element to Andy Dalton where it's like that 2015 season, he had a couple really wonderful stretches of play, but who actually believed that the destiny of the Bengals was going to be anything other than a glass of milk with Andy Dalton once you got to January. And that's sort of just how I've always felt about Kirk Cousin. So for me, the exercise is like, I can't get on board with Matthew Stafford just because he's coming off a weird year, but he just won a Super Bowl. It's like this quarterback should not ever win a Super Bowl for you. I just want the Dalton heads out there.

I wish he wanted to have broken his thumb in week 15. I would have liked to see Dalton when he was, he was on a heater that season with a really good offense around him. I would have liked to see what would have happened, even if it's more than likely it wouldn't have gotten to the Super Bowl or anything like that. It's just a bummer for the Dalton heads out there that he never actually at full flight got that chance. Can I, can I throw out a maybe a hot takey prediction? I think Kurt Cousins is going to be the Minnesota Vikings quarterback next year. the more I think about it. Greg, you might be right in a vacuum,

but I think he's in a really good situation offensively now with a very good group of skill players. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays too well for them to draft one of the fun young quarterbacks and that there won't be many options, and this is kind of reflected in our exercise. I don't think there are going to be a lot of quarterbacks out there for Minnesota to upgrade over Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings fans probably don't like hearing any of this, the way because I think they're already ready to move on right that's the thing is like all the fans kind of want to move on everyone wants but that's why he is to me very close to that middle because if if you're above the kirk cousins line i feel like you don't need a kirk you don't need a franchise quarterback and if you're below you you probably do so i and just their vibes they feel like they'd be similar hangs at parties and they don't even kirk cousins like they get along um mark throw something out um the the name that just comes to mind over and over, and I felt this way a year ago. And I think we're seeing the organization,

obviously feeling the same way. I love the toughness of this player, and I enjoy watching him, but it's Ryan Tannahill to me because I just feel like this, he's just not going to fully get you there. I think the Titans, you know, they drafted his successor already, and they've made a statement about where they are with him. And so I felt strongly about Tana Hill a year ago, and I still do, although I find it more fun to watch than I ever found Andy Dalton to watch. Yeah, we kind of were bumping up against Tanna Hill for a couple of years in this exercise now. And we even flirted with the idea of the Tana scale, which is pretty good, pretty good branding. But for me, this was the first time doing this exercise where I thought he fell fairly comfortably beneath the Dalton line.

Not that I don't think that he's a guy that can have a productive season ahead of him. I think he could even surprise people because people are solo. on Tennessee at this point if he could stay healthy but in terms of what this exercise is i think he's now on the other end of things he's getting older does anybody have him above the dalton line in their world i have one quarterback of above the quarterback that i decided was the midpoint but they're very close and have a lot of similarities same i had him one above the line maybe maybe it's a bias i I always thought Tanna Hill was better than his career had gone. He had those years where, you know, statistically he was a top five quarterback.

I didn't think he was a top five quarterback, but it showed what he could do. And he's played behind the worst off literally the worst offensive line in the NFL, I think, in aggregate over the last two years. And his number two receiver right now is Nick Westbrook Akina, who they, who was like non-tendered and was given a one million dollar contract. Like pretty strong argument that they have. have the worst collection of receivers and offensive line in the league. And he hasn't looked like total garbage, which is kind of like, I still, if I'm going

into this season, if you put him in Minnesota, like, I think him and Kirk Cous, they're very different and it maybe doesn't make sense in that system. But I think they're very similar in terms of like the quality of the quarterback that they still are. It's all these Shanahan guys. I had two that I really struggled with. And I'll throw out one. And I don't want to step on Mina's because I kind of want her to roll it out.

but maybe I don't think I will here, Tua. Ooh, that is disrespectful. I don't know what to do with Tua because we know obviously that he played at a very high level for large portions of last season. He also, you know, has shown us he can go into funks as well. And then, of course, the durability, which has to be a factor when you're talking about franchise quarterbacks and building around. So for that reason, he's actually just beneath the line for me. Oh, whoa. He's the first guy beneath the line.

You are going to get, you're going to make the dolphins fans angry. And I don't mean to. It's like, it's not like a Jets Dolphins fan thing. It's like I don't like, somebody make the case why he strongly should be above the line based on what he's accomplished in the league to this point and the very real injury concerns. I think metrics heads would want to fight you on this one because he had an extreme. clean season. And that took a big step forward. But I'm so with you. Again, for me, it's more just the feel of it. And this is, and it's coming from ownership, I get it, but they chased after Tom Brady. They chased after Deshaun Watson. I mean, there were just hints

that were never really fully satisfied. Now, I think Mike McDaniel really seems to like Tua, based on what he says. But I struggled with where to put him, but I'd put him above the Dalton line with a big wait and see. Yeah. I did exercise on my podcast recently where I was trying to pick the most important players, non-quarterbacks on every team for the season. And for the Dolphins, I ended up with Tehran Armstead. And when I was grabbing his splits on and off, it's actually quite remarkable. They almost perfectly coincide with the games that Tua did not play. So Dolphins fans are probably screaming, well, look how much the offense dropped off with Teddy Groplo. Oh, my God. Teddy Bridgewater and Skyler Thompson That'd be a handsome man, that'd be a fun guy, fun player You know, Teddy never played I don't think he played a complete game for them

But they also didn't have their left tackle So it's a very noisy sample set And sample size And when Tua played without Armstead He suffered as well In fact the game he got hurt was the one where Armstead Got hurt against Houston Tua was sacked a bunch

And I think that's kind of what makes it harder for me to rank him just because last year I thought he was excellent when he played previous few years. His situation was so awful. So I feel like I don't have a great feel for who he is as a quarterback. And when we look at, I think we're all talking about the same kind of guy, which I keep going. It's these Shanahan quarterbacks, right? It's the same guys. The other ones, I think I have a better sense of who they are. And with Tua, I feel like I still don't know,

but he flashed enough upside last year for me to have him above some of the other names. Yeah, I just think he's better than any of those guys have ever been. He, his level that he played at last year, the timing, the accuracy, like the numbers were bananas, but the eye test was good too. I know he doesn't like have the big arm, but he was like exceptional.

And that's why I feel like I would only put him at the bottom of my top 10 or maybe like 11 or whatever. whatever, but he's he's comfortably way over the line. And the injuries are a problem, but I don't think you need to look for a franchise quarterback if you got him because like that production and that like people aren't giving him, I think enough credit. They're giving a little too much of the scheme. People weren't putting up like Jimmy G's never had a 12 game stretch or whatever it was for Tua last year. Like none of those quarterbacks have. Derek Carr's never had it. Like that that was exceptional to me. And so maybe he's not Drew Brees, but he, if he stays healthy, he's way

over the line three. Yeah, I agree if he stays healthy. I guess I can't get over how precarious his situation is in that department. Because if he was a guy, you could lock in for 16, 17 starts, this wouldn't be the

case. But I hear what you guys are saying. He did start 26 games over the last two years. It's not like an outrageously low number. Just saying. Okay. It's slicing with a butter knife, but that is, okay, that's fair. It's facts. Who wants to throw another player out?

Who else struggled with somebody? I struggled with Tua. Who's struggling out there? I want to hear one of Minas. Well, the one who I ended up on was Jimmy Garoppolo. Because I think right now in 2023, the prime meridian NFL quarterback is one who you can not only win with, but you can win a lot of games with, obviously, Garapolo. but I don't think anyone would say you win because of. I think it has to be one of these Shanahan guys

because I think they're the ones we keep clustering in this mix. And Agroplos is a guy, not only, like, his numbers are insane, not just wins. Like if you look at pretty much everything over the last few years, all of the advanced stats, he always ranks pretty high except for pushing the ball downfield, extending plays, things quarterbacks do outside. of the structure of the offense. Maybe he'll prove me wrong in, you know, playing behind a bad offensive line this year in Las Vegas.

But I feel like I've seen enough to know where his strengths, what a ceiling is, what the limitations are. He's a quarterback where I think if you have him, you're comfortable with him. But if you have the quarterback, Sue, I would rank below him, you're probably not comfortable with your situation. It's a good argument. If it's Jimmy G, and I don't know where you have them ranked a little bit, I have them below the line, then I feel like the line is quite low. And that's the sort of why I started talking about, to me, the Dalton scales at a higher level now.

It's like I feel like you can do better than Jimmy G. Even for me, if it's more in the Cousins-Tanahill tier, you're already potentially down to like the 18th, 19th best quarterback in the league. And Jimmy G's just sitting out there. I feel like he's blah and he's an injury risk. So that puts him under the line. I'm curious, like, how many, like, Mark, how many guys do you have as you're above the line? I'm getting the feeling that I have maybe a little stricter parameters because I only have 12 that are truly guys that don't even think about it. You're set there.

Go find other ways to improve your roster. Where are you at? I have more than, I have more than that on above the line. I mean, for me, the line is a little hazy because I feel like a year ago, I would have. It happens every year. Well, no, a year ago, like I would have also. maybe bang the table for like Carson Wentz, but he's not a starter right now.

There's these guys that have floated out of starting material. Someone like Jared Goff, who had a really one of his best seasons, still stands out as a Dalton-type guy for me. One other person I mentioned who's sort of in that world or below him, I'm not sure what you have. But he's a figure of mystery after last year is Mack Jones. He just feels, to me, like, middle-of-the-pack type of guy who does not have like the complete and total support of his head coach.

to begin with. Wait, you kind of artfully dodged my question like a politician. Like, is Jared Gough above your line? Like, how many people are above your line, Mark? Well, my guy, I want the truth. My guy is Ryan Tannahill. So I have him around like around 15th or 16th. Do you have Gough below or above? Below, but I would rather have Ryan Tannahill. I just don't, I, I'd come away a little mystified by Jared Gough last year. Like, is that what's going to happen with him year after year? If so, he's above, but I just don't trust it entirely. kind of below. Hey, for the two Seahawks fans on this podcast, are you, Gino above for both these? Oh, comfortably above. Greg?

Hmm. I don't want to blow up your spot here, but you were doing some exercise. I don't know if it's for your podcast where you were ranking quarterbacks for the next three years. I don't know if that's out there. But you had Gino quite high, even more than I would be comfortable with, which I loved, which I absolutely loved, like in the top 12 or 13. In the top 12 or 13. In the top of over 13. It stuck out. I remember he was ahead of Watson, who we haven't mentioned. I mean, who the heck knows who Deshaun Watson.

Yeah, Watson's a weird one. I think you have to put him over the line for now. Like, I'm sort of expecting that he'll come back to a above average. He's my cut point for the record. Like, he's the 12th for me. And it is a wait and see aspect to it. But, and obviously it's a complicated situation. Oh, and Fields was the other one.

Fields was the other one. And I love that you have Gino there. And I have Gino close to there, too, that he's above the line. You have Fields above Gino. They're close. I think I would take Gino. I think it would take Gino. I knew you pressed.

You'd flip your stance. Let me ask you guys this. What about Gino versus Kyler Murray? Hmm. I got Gino comfortably ahead of Kyler. I don't really, Kyler's similar to me. I struggle with Justin Fields, too. Yeah.

I have him I feel a little weird about that you know what shoot I'm going to put fields above I'm going to do a little pruning here so I'm going to put him so I got 13 um so I have him just above but then I I have um Kyler behind Tua's right below the line than Gno Carr Tanahill then Kyler before Jimmy G and I just don't know what to do with Kyler right now yeah I think like Kyler the athletic gifts um are are extremely high on the list in general, but the experience of Kylo Murray over the last like two seasons, he's above the line for me, but I'm not sure that an organization, like the Cardinals themselves, are completely bought in on the whole thing. I mean, there's just a lot of evidence that it's a tough quarterback to center your team around. I'm buying the stock if people are selling on Kyler at this point. He's still 25 years old. I do think that his next team might get the benefit of his maturity increasing. But if we're talking about his next team, then he's below the line, right?

If they want to get rid of him, I guess. But for me, for me, he would be above it. I would have him just ahead of Gino. But I guess, Meena, I'm curious how you see Gino sort of in the next three years, like him compared to a cousin's type. What's tricky about Gino is it's a one-year sample size. I feel like I've said sample size like eight times. But, you know, people would argue, well, he was only good

one year. But unlike a lot of one-hit wonder quarterbacks, he didn't play. That's what makes it so tricky. It legitimately did not get a shot to do what he did last year for a very long time in the NFL. So in some ways, that makes me probably higher on him. Maybe I sound like a homer, but it does make me higher on him than if he had been playing continuously for seven years and then suddenly had a big breakout season. The other thing I like about him is his particular skill set, he's accurate, he's good in the pocket, he has a nice deep ball, I think he sees the field well, those are traits, especially the play in the clean pocket,

that do tend to continue year after year. Again, when we think about one-hit wonders. So, you know, for me, he's not the, like, one of these Shanahan guys, guys that, you know, Groplo is my Dalton pick, where I think he is entirely dependent on situation. And I think that's why I have him like just above in that second sort of 10 to 14 group.

I think like his deep passing was one of the stories of the season last year. I mean, he showed us that he can do everything. And so I struggled with the whole concept of him, like weeks into the season. Greg obviously led the charge on that. But by the end of the year, it's like, well, yes, I completely believe in him as a player, more than I ever would have expected to before.

This is also a team that in a parallel universe might have drafted Anthony Richardson and suddenly what they say they believe about Gino and what Gino's arc would be over the next year or two looks completely different. They just have no other option right now. And I think they're pretty happy with him. Pete Carroll seems to adore him. Right. If we were just looking at contract, Dan, like the most, you know, Fields is tricky.

Guys on their first contracts are weird. Watson is almost in a category to itself. But like the most Dalton scale contracts out there are Gino, Derek Carr, and Gough. Maybe you throw Daniel Jones in there too because it was a two-year contract. I know he's getting a lot of money, but it wasn't like. He's an interesting one of the way I've talked about.

Yeah. He's below the line down there, but it's not. That's why there's a little nuance to this because that doesn't mean like where I have them on the list, which is like, I don't know, like 18. or something. I like golf in terms of especially what he's done in Detroit and he's filled that niche and allowed them to through solid play, continue to build that roster up rather than, you know, burn a pick on a QB or some type of high priced trade of something, something along those lines. But at the same time, like, if this is about finding a franchise quarterback, he's the definition of a bridge guy.

So he's lower in this exercise to me than he is if I'm actually just. ranking quarterbacks in terms of talent level and ability. So see below the line for everyone. Goff and Carr were the first two names under the line for me. It's not just because of the contract, but I feel like if those are your guys, you're looking around for your next guy. And to me that by Chris's definition is sort of under the line,

that I'm not going to feel. I don't even care if Derek Carr plays well for the Saints this year. I still would feel like I'm looking for enough. other guy. So the line, the Dalton, it has to be, you're not looking to move on if you have the guy. Well, basically, if you're looking for a new franchise quarterback, then you're below the line. Okay, then Garoppel is probably below the line.

I was thinking more about the level of play. See, it is complicated. It's always confusing. It's tricky. Goff is a pretty good, because I think the way Detroit views him and the way they're acting and the way their fan base is reflects exactly what you're. describing, which is a team divided about whether or not they should move on. Just for housekeeping here.

Again, then I want to tee up, Mina, before we wrap things up on a player that we haven't discussed yet. So the first player, um, above the line, Mina, you had Jimmy G, but you're going to drop him. So who would be yours? No, Jimmy G was your line, right? Right. It was my line.

I had Tannahill right above him. I'm going to shift it to Tanna Hill. Okay. Tana Hill. I have Watson. which is, I don't know, a little bit of a cop out, but listen, deal with it. Mark, you have? I had Tannahill, too.

Tannahill, Greg. You're talking about above the line or our candidate? First guy above the line before it drops. First guy above the line for me was Tannahill as well. Interesting. I mean, Tanna Hill also, I believe could actually be a great definition of what we're looking for, but goff maybe right below him. That's good.

And then the two first two names below, below the line. For me, it was Tua and Gino. What was it for you guys? Oh, that hurts. Sorry. Mine were Goff and Carr and that I didn't even get to Daniel Jones. It sounds like we all have Daniel Jones below the line, which is kind of crazy because he just got to, is I'm with you on weird car. Derek Carr is a really attractive Dalton candidates me, but he's below, he's a little bit below the line. I'll go Jimmy G. right below. It's 5.23 p.m. One of your kids is asking for a snack. Another is building a fort out of your clean laundry and you're staring at a half

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or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Matt Jones. Now, I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh my.

We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. We did not talk about players without a ton of reps. So, you know, Brock Purdy, obviously, Trey Lance, Desmond Ritter. Those guys are a little TBA.

But, Mina, there's one player out of Pittsburgh, a first round pick a year ago. Mark famously on the show recently said the Steelers are a potentially dominant force in the NFL in the upcoming season. For that to happen, you would think. famously like did you guys do a segment about that on like no i just said i thought i think they when they have a bad year they will still win nine games that they're they have an interesting young offense i said they're going to win 12 and then if it comes true i'll talk about it all year otherwise no remember kenny picket mina kimes now where like kind of projecting ahead where what you see in store for his career where would he uh fall on an exercise like this let's

you know project three years from now well i just watched some kenny picket because i i i talking about him a little bit on my pod and um and i just kind of want because the stealer's offensive numbers in the final month and a half of the season were actually really good and i kind of wanted to understand why um and i and my memory of watching him at the end was that he looked better than actually i expected uh pre-draft um i thought there were things that he flashed that i really liked i thought he was more of a playmaker than maybe i would have anticipated he's he plays surprisingly well under pressure. He was attacking downfield more than I would have guessed. There were things that I did not like. I thought the accuracy was a little bit spotty,

especially intermediate areas of the field. I thought he still held on the football way too long, which was a thing he had problems with in college. And some of the decision making was a little bit suspect. Part of the reason I'm like kind of optimistic about him is the things I describe particularly the holding on football and the decision making i think those are things that he can improve upon it's an incomplete for me um you know it was a lot of young players on that offense still offensive line and flux a lot of new starters speaking of suss and offensive coordinator that i i know pittsburgh fans seem to loathe but um you know i i i haven't below the line but it with a big caveat that we don't know yet and i think i'll be ready to make a judgment

after this season because of some of the improvements. He does profile a little bit as a guy who could be a candidate for the line. I mean, that was the whole risk of that entire quarterback class, though, and why he went where he did was like maybe the ceiling is a Kirk Cousins type career. And that would be great. He would, you know, set up the Pickett family for generations. The picket fence. You call it the picket fence.

Oh, man. But he might not be a top 10 quarterback. It's harder to be a top 10 quarterback right now. Well, it's so good. Picket fence. I would say get the trademark application out for that. Just a quick aside here, because it just crossed my desk. The Washington Commander's trademark application was denied.

According to Josh Gervin on Twitter, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the application for the name commanders. The reason for the denial was one, the existence of a trademark for Commander's Classic and two, pending applications filed by a man in the D.C. area. the commander's classic is the name of an annual college football game between army and air force so this is very current or soon to be ex-ownership they did not clear the trademark of the name so they might be changing their name joe thysman whether you like it or not buddy uh because they don't even have a trademark on it i mean i recognize they're one of the most incompetent organizations around but how do we even get to this point without that having been legally They did a whole

That's my new favorite story We got to go back to the team We got back to the team Yes Washington football team It's coming back Such a good name Wait can we

I do want to throw out one name We haven't even mentioned Because you know He did get like a hundred and forty million dollars guaranteed And his team did trade I think three first round picks And two second round picks

Like Russell Wilson didn't even come up As like an option here I guess we all assume he's below the line, but it's, I just wanted to enter that for the record. What, what a difference a year makes. I have him between Jimmy G. and, and Daniel Jones, uh, comfortably below the line. Who, what a sandwich. I have him below Mac and Pickett, because at least I think Mac and picket, and I'm not giving up on Mac. He's below the line, but I think he has a chance. Like, at least I think they have a better chance to get there. Below. Yeah, he's below. He's near,

I, so the thing that I was ranking quarterbacks were the next three years, I had a lot of trouble getting Russell Wilson out of my bottom five. And it's context doesn't matter. So I don't care that Sean Payton is going to probably make him look better. It's you're a good person to ask me. And as we kind of wrap up this, this chat, obviously you watched him more closely than anyone during his Seahawks run. And we all don't need to rehash everything that went wrong last year in Denver. But it literally was everything.

Do you get the vibe with a better coordinator and, you know, a year removed from the wreckage that he could be someone we're talking about at the line or closer to it next year? Or do you think this guy's just been irreversible decline at this point? I mean, Sean Payton in his final years with the ghost of Drew Bree still called a top five offense in the NFL. So I'm not betting against that man. I think people also downplayed the number of injuries on that Broncos' offensive. line, Jvanti Williams, even like Tim Patrick, I know that sounds like an excuse, but I thought was going to be an important part of that offense. So I think they'll be better. But as far as Russell Wilson's decline, that's been happening. It was happening for a couple of years before the

trade. So I don't expect any sort of dramatic reversal. I think the question is, can he just make him look semi-competent? A nice little roster. They got like six receivers deep. semi-competent what did remember what they gave up to get the man and now you have football expert minikai I'm saying can they get him semi-competent I think they can now we've got them buried we've got him buried below goff and car and Daniel Jones I mean I did too I just it's they're out after I mean I think they can get out after this year you know they have them it's expensive but I have them above Jones Mac Daniel really got off and Baker you go above golf Oh, yeah, Gough, again, I guess I'm looking at it a little differently. I like Gough, but not in this exercise. I feel like, yeah, the Giants fans are in, are going to be second in terms of getting annoyed at this exercise behind the Dolphins fans. So should we, are we proposing who the scale is?

Are we doing, are we doing that? I mean, I'm not going to fight it. If it's, if three out of four have Tannahill and he's pretty close. But that's above the line. I thought we're looking for the line. you know there there's someone that's the whole thing with dalton was he wasn't one or the other i i've always thought like you know as the last couple of years and after west like the line is just andy dalton i don't know but i feel like he was a one in a million guy that's fair the best we can do is

find someone who approximates and gets close to that but i don't i don't know like i think tana hill is as close as it comes uh personally but you guys see him as a little bit a tick a Above. No, he's right. It's the Tanna Hill for me. You're either climbing up or you're climbing down. I like Tanna Hill as this. If Tana Hill and Gough could have a baby,

that would be the perfect, like, intersection point there for me. I disagree. I'm close. Gough has to be part of it. And it would be a very, you know, classically handsome baby. But maybe just, but not like great. And cousins. Like that's the Tana scale.

They embody the spirit. I think this is cousins. is destiny and I think yeah that's my proposal it's a cousin's goth baby is the another earlier in the show I you said that Jimmy G and Teddy Bridgewater would make like a really hot person that'd be fine I bumped up against that a little bit um it's a little bit it's a little bit a little bit um all right unbelievable I think we've done important work here Mina, you've said it all. Do you have any plugs?

Yeah, the next week actually is when I'm doing the quarterbacks on my podcast, Minicam Show featuring Lenny. So yeah, check it out if you don't already. And is it true? Can you confirm that if people find the hunting and fishing show from 1992, 6 a.m., you will see a very young Mina Kimes in that boat. putting worms on a hook. I'm really not on ESPN that often right now.

It's the off-season. So I am on in about two hours on NFL live. Do you know how to fish? She didn't deny it. I have been fishing before. Hunting, no. Catch anything good? It was with Von Miller, and I caught a fish, and he didn't.

Whoa. He's a big outdoorsman, right? What a boast. Isn't Vaughn an outdoorsman? Isn't he way into that stuff? Yeah, he is an outdoorsman. It was not great for the story. Yeah.

You also are like the only person ever that's only gone fishing once and it was with Von Miller. Yeah. I have a lot of answers like that. Yeah, I was going to say fishing sucks, but we already have enough people mad at us so we don't need to. No, I don't make them mad. Yeah. All right. Thank you, Mina, for everything.

And listeners know that it is a holiday weekend coming up, Memorial Day. So we will not be taping on Monday. but we will be back on Tuesday. So don't worry. For all the people that need that late May content, it is coming your way. Just hold tight. And thank you again, Mina. That's it.

Dan Hansa is signing off for Quiet Storm, the old boss, Mina Kimes. And yes, the official announcement for the new Prime Meridian kind of is maybe Tate Hill or maybe Kirk Cousins. I don't know. One of them Until next time He's the call In the heat of

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