NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Top 5 power rankings

Episode Date: June 2, 2015

A room filled with heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler – break down Cam Newton’s massive contract extension, react to the return of Adrian Peterson and rank their top and bottom 5 teams in the league (35:48)Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast is a workout wonder. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansus, and I am joined by a room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Christoph Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan. Christoph.

Why do I got to be French? You don't like that? I like it. I think you should, that basically should be Chris's name from here on out. Just like Philly Brown's mother named him Corey Brown, he now goes by Corey. My mother named me Christopher. Philly Brown changed the name. I'm not going to get in the way of Mrs. Wessling.

It was never really Philly. That was a name that was tagged on him, and he went with it for a little bit. Starting the show with a lot of Philly Brown. We are off the rails. It is June 2nd, 2015. We get closer and closer to training camp and then the regular season and then the playoffs and then the Super Bowl. free agency and then the combine and then the draft and we'll be right back here again and then your offseason controversy du jour yes whatever is next the next gate we have a very nice show today the group is all together which is always fun we are going to get into some news a lot of news to get into and what's been a pretty busy day is offseason training activities continue mark that's better known as what a short hand what is I'm sorry, OTAs.

There you go. I was in my own world. I know. I got you there. And Mark's looking at that clock, so he knows he's out of here at three o'clock. No, I'm looking to be part of an award-winning episode of this podcast. That's true. I like that.

We are nominated by the Academy of Podcast Sciences, something like that. So continue to send in maybe your favorite five-minute clip of the show to at producer TD. who's in Nigeria, by the way, right now. Can't hear a word of what we're doing here? Yeah, maybe we shouldn't send it to TD. How long has TD gone? He's in Nigeria. He's been gone for a couple weeks.

He's gone until after the submission date. It's 2015. I'm sure that he brought his laptop and he's plugged in. He likes being a part of this podcast. I trust him. He's going to a wedding in multiple countries. I wouldn't send any business-oriented item his way. You can send it to around the NFL too.

Send it to both of us. Yeah, you could do that too. And I would also say that this could be serving, yes, not only joyful time for TD's sisters getting married, but also test whether, how much do you love the year on the NFL podcast? That's a good point. You're going to work remote from another part of the world. Greg, fair or unfair? That's fair. We get on Mark, you know, and for not listening to the podcast, why not TD? That's true.

That felt unnecessary. Why did we need to bring it back to that area? My point is we've already set a high standard. TD's got to clear it. We are also, in addition to the news, going to get into, listen, everybody loves to do a little power rankings. And, yes, June 2nd, very early. But, you know, from where we stand now in the early or the mid-stages of off-season training, even the late stages, you know, let's check in and share our five top teams in the NFL as we head to our training camp and our five bottom feeders

and see how bad we look come January, or good we look, in Wes's case. because he's going to nail it. I'm going to announce it right now. All 10 teams are going to be perfectly accurate. But before we get to any of that, we will check behind the glass. And yes, if TD's gone, there has to be someone there. The gold standard now is in the middle of, you know,

indicting, what's the name of that guy, Seth Blatter? Seth Blatter. Kicking him out of FIFA. That's a lot of people are excited about that, including that damn yank. Replacing TD today is the great Sean Sullivan. We call him. Hey, oh, Sully.

Hey, Sully. What's up, guys? How are you? Sully. Doing well, doing really well. Yeah, it's good to be a part of the pod. I mean, this is a big moment. This is a Stitcher award-winning show, so there's a bar that you need to stay above and not drag the show down.

Are you nervous at all? No, no, I'm not nervous. I feel like we're kind of wasting Sean's greatest gift, putting him on air, because the people can't see his mustache, which is really the defining part of Sean. best stash in the game right now at NFL media it uh it might the days are numbered for the stash no what because of a certain nickname that sheck has given oh yeah we won't say it on the air we won't say it on the air here on ATN well you know what but when we get downstairs i'll you know give it to check a little bit because that's not right yeah it's not right it's gonna shit no one shames him into shaving that beard that's true but if you if you're trying to imagine sean just

imagine a beautiful mustache and a hair that looks exactly like every man from Alabama. Yeah. Oh, not Alabama. Every frat. We're in an SEC school. SEC school. Okay, there we go.

Really? I can accept that. Hey, Sully, can we do some news? Yes, let's do some news. All right, we start with the big news of the day. Tuesday, Minnesota Vikings have got their running back back in the building. Adrian Peterson returned to the team. He's back.

He is joining the team in OT. TAs after, you know, not a holdout, but he was sitting out. OTAs, was unhappy with his contract, was unhappy with the team. He made his unhappiness clear on Twitter last week, which maybe you thought, oh, maybe this is hinting at something longer. But instead, here he is. He's with the team. He also spoke to the media after Mike Zimmer first spoke and said that, you know,

there's nothing more beautiful than seeing the ball in Adrian Peterson's hands. And welcoming back with open arms, AP comes out, says it's been an emotional time for both the parties involved. He's learned from his mistake. He's moving forward, and he's ready for what's in front of him. Greg Rosenthal, AP is back. Were you surprised it happened today? Absolutely.

Based on what you said, the Twitter comments, it seemed like they were starting to dig in their heels. I expected him to be back eventually, but not so soon. But you got the sense today listening to him speak. He just missed football, and he knew it wasn't helping him, and maybe him and his agent decided if they want to get their money, maybe the better route here is to come in do the work and maybe eventually he'll get some guaranteed money in 2016 this was all he had no leverage right so there really was nothing to gain other than like going all

out and he said he said during this press conference that a lot went through his head he even mentioned I remember one around the NFL post we wrote a while back that track was something that was in his mind like he went through all these stages retirement but ultimately I guess he decided you know there's no leverage. I miss the game. I want to be there with my teammates, and here he is. I mean, the Twitter rant that he went on last week, maybe when any of us do anything like that, some version of that, you think it's going to be responded to a certain way, and it was certainly not responded to positively in general. But maybe, you know, over the course of time after that, he just reset the machine. And the Vikings are the winners here. They didn't have

to pay him an extra cent. They get him back. And Mike Zimmer, who thought last year, Mike Zimmer, would go into his first year as an NFL head coach with a rookie quarterback and no Adrian Peterson. That's not what he signed up for. He has Adrian Peterson back now. And he played a huge role in that. Peterson said Zimmer played a bigger role in me returning than he'll ever know, that he's a coach you don't want to let down,

that he never had a problem with any of the coaches that he thinks they're one of the best coaching staffs he's ever been seen or in the NFL, and that he loves his teammates. and ultimately thought he owed it to them. So he made it clear he was separating the coaches from the management. Zimmer handled this whole thing beautifully, I thought. A couple months back, he traveled to Houston and spoke with Peterson at the house. He never said anything to really inflame the situation.

Last week he came out and was just straight honest. I don't think it was antagonistic or anything. He was like, you know, just said what everybody knew, that he was going to play with the Vikings or not play at all. Obviously, that relationship, maybe that strain like a lot. everyone else with Peterson and the Vikings, but it seemed that at the end of the day he respected Zimmer and that played a role in this. Yeah, I think there was a love fest going on both ways. Zimmer said, you know, I love this kid. I really do. I've said all along I wouldn't fly to Houston

to see him if it wasn't important to me. And then you can see the respect on both sides. He thinks, you know, despite what Adrian Peterson went through last year, you can tell that he thinks Adrian Peterson is a good person and he wants to see him succeed. They stressed that a lot. And people, Peterson took a lot of questions about his son. I thought for a guy who is not known for being a good public speaker, I think he probably struggled with that throughout his career. I thought it was a very emotional and honest and effective press conference. He was speaking from the heart.

He seemed like a more mature and a little bit of a changed guy after going through all this. And the stuff he did talk about his son, you know, I know it's not a topic we talked about a lot, but I think it was an important point, the things that he said he learned in therapy and the parenting methods and he apologized for it and it's like okay now we can all move on I think one of the reasons why Peterson didn't have much sympathy is because of that

that he didn't come across as someone for the past eight or nine months who was sorry about what he did who realized he was wrong for doing it and I think today like you said there was more of a maturity there maybe he did have an epiphany that this isn't the way that you should act as a human being so I think that

you're right that there is a change in him all right moving on so Peterson is in Minnesota, and Cam Newton, he's not going anywhere. He's going to stay in Charlotte for the foreseeable future. Newton and the Panthers agreed officially on Tuesday to a five-year, $103 million extension that will keep Newton under team control through the 2020 season. NFL media insider Ian Rappaport reported that Newton will earn $67.6 million in the first three years of his deal.

According to a source, that is the most money ever in a three-year period. period. And the guarantees are, for the five-year deal is 60 million, 30 million in the first year. So that's big-time money. And I thought it was interesting, 60 million guaranteed, the guy that, you know, 60% complete percentages in his career. So to me, not a complete quarterback at this stage. But Mark, I'll start with you on this. When Newton came out last week and said that he had skills that no one else really has ever had, that's true too. there's a lot to get excited about and they paid for it. Yeah, and I know those comments, we talked about it here,

and a lot of people kind of chuckled at that, but when you talk about what he brings to the table in terms of his size and unique athleticism, he is right. There aren't a lot of other quarterbacks in our lifetime that from that angle offer what he does. He's incomplete, but at the same time, this is the game. If you have one of these quarterbacks, you pay them that money and you don't look back.

I mean, for all the fans that root for teams without a quarterback, You would take Cam Newton at that rate any day of the week. Why not? And you can't just throw out the impact he has in the running game. Everyone wants a consistent passing quarterback. We get it. Eventually, Newton's running is going to slow down. But for now, and for the next few years, his running is wildly valuable in the way it changes the defense and the way the defense has to react on play action and when they do read action. I mean, a little bit, that's a huge part of his game.

And to me, that's what makes him a top 10 quarterback. If it wasn't for the running, he wouldn't be that high. Yeah, I think the guys he's closest to in playing style are Donovan Gnab and Ben Rathlisberger, who earlier in their career were Sandlock quarterbacks with, you know, especially with McNabb major accuracy issues. And then they became better pocket passers as their career went along. But I think Mark's right. There's a lot of debate, a lot of airtime and bandwidth but be wasted.

Is he worth this contract? It doesn't matter. If you're identified as the face of the franchise, if you're a legit franchise quarterback, and the Panthers believe he is, you pay him whatever it takes. When did everyone get so concerned about, well, you know,

it's a little too much guaranteed money in the first two years. I wish they had spread it out. I blame you. You're right. I was always a good. Well, the Joe Flacco contract changed the way. When that happened, there was such a firestorm around,

is he worth it, is he not? It's like, you just won a Super Bowl. with this guy. Yes, he's worth it. Nobody ever asks, well, what's your alternative? Right. Right. Not sign him and start all over a quarterback. In the way I look at it is, yes, they have a salary cap and it takes up a big portion of it, but they're worth $40 million.

They're worth more. The quarterbacks are worth so much more than all the other players. That's how much they're worth. So if they're worth a couple wins, that's enough. It should be stated that Newton has been a 500 quarterback through four seasons, which isn't all on him. and he's, like I said, he's not a complete passer. He's a little erratic, has been since he came in the league.

Kevin Clark at Wall Street Journal had a tweet that I liked yesterday. He said most quarterbacks are like tech startups. Almost all the money they get is because of fear of missing out, which is an internet slang, FOMO. This is like the FOMO effect. These guys are going to get, whether they're complete quarterbacks or not, if you're young and promising the front office likes you, Ryan Tannahill also applies.

They'll give you superstar money and just hope that they hit on you, they do not want to try to find. They don't want to be the Jets. They don't want to be the Browns. They don't want to be the Bengals. Bengals are a weird case. But you want to just get behind the guy you believe in and hope it works out.

Even if he never improves, essentially, he's still worth getting this contract. I think 100%. In Wes's article here, how there's an NFC general manager who told ESPN recently that Newton might be two years away from being finished. What?

Finished? That was mid-season last year when the Panthers were 3-8-1. Oh, right. And there was all that question at the time about running quarterbacks. And I remembered reading that. That's why I went back and found it because I thought that was crazy that in two years he could be out of it. There's a sense that he just didn't get how to play quarterback. But I think that sells a lot of his improvement short.

And I don't know. To me, nobody ever says what's your alternative? But more than that, when you're a team, like you said, 500 every year, they go to the playoffs the last two years, the first quarterback ever to win the NFC South and back-to-back seasons. You're not, if you decide to get rid of Newton, I'm not going to pay him. You're not drafting first or fifth. You're drafting 20th or 25th.

You're not going to get a quarterback. You can go 25 years without finding a quarterback worth starting. I mean, that's what happens to these teams. He's coming off a bad season, a relatively bad overall regular season. I think his streakiness is his defining trait. You were writing after the first few weeks that he was a top five quarterback. Exactly. He had a top five type of month, and he had a top five type of month,

and he had a 7-8 game stretch in the middle that was far worse than almost any of these quarterbacks ever go through that get the big contract. And then he finished very strong. So that's Cam Newton. He can be streaky within a game, too. He can be on fire in the first half and then throw very poorly in the second. His season, though, was kind of a lesson on how to evaluate quarterbacks. Almost every time we see an established quarterback playing poorly,

it's because the surrounding talent just absolutely falls apart. His offensive line at mid-season last year was atrocious. Remember that Monday night game against the Eagles? Cam Newton was getting hit every time he dropped back. And then they solidified their offensive line. Kelvin Benjamin emerges as a number one. They start to get Jericho Cotry and Philly Brown playing all right. I mean, I think that was more about the surrounding talent and the fact that Cam Newton was playing injured.

And that Panthers team down the stretch is, I think, a lot closer to what we're going to see right away this season. They aren't what they were. And, you know, with these young quarterbacks, we, have to realize that when we're going to start them from week one as a rookie, that they're going to have to go through this streakiness in these periods on the field. They're not going through two years of practice behind in the shadows, and we're going to have to deal with that. But I'd take Newton in a second over 20 other quarter.

How about this? Who would you take for the next five years, Cam Newton or Ryan Tannahill? Cam, Newton, no question. I take Cam, for sure. In any offense, in any situation. Yeah, I have, absolutely. And I think the contract. Because I would just, let me just say this, Tanahill last year showed

and I know it's a different offense and all that, but showed actual tangible growth in year three. Newton's already through year four, and he's still kind of up and down. Tannahill maybe has more upside. Newton did things as a rookie that Tannahill hasn't done yet. I mean, Tannahill, you cannot over, you cannot oversay how much that gimmick offense helped Tanahill last year.

He wasn't making throws down the field. Everything was quick hitters. It's telling the contract they got, and I know we don't want to dive too deep into the numbers, but Cam did get that. I mean, this was a much different contract than Tannihill. They treated him much differently. He got the Joe Flacco, Tony Romo, the top of the line.

You're going to get all your guaranteed money. There's no year by year. You're just getting all the money here. It's interesting that these quarterbacks, that Kaepernick deal, which looks terrible in hindsight, that, yeah, the Dalton deal like that seemed like maybe a lot of these quarterbacks that weren't like the top eight guys would be roped into those type of deals, but apparently that's not the case. And I'd love to, just to your point on Tannell, I would absolutely love to see what Cam Newton could do in a Chip Kelly or Bill Laser offense.

That's interesting. Moving on more extension talk. The New Orleans Saints, who have, you know, a lot of turnover, especially on that defense, they have now identified someone that they see as a real building block. Cameron Jordan, the defense event, signed a five-year extension on Tuesday. The extension includes $55 million in new money over the five years. 26 million is in the first two years of the deal And Greg, you said this is practically starting quarterback money

Is Cameron Jordan worth this type of money? I was a little surprised at the numbers And you always have to read the fine print But 26 million over the next two years for Cameron Jordan That seems a little steep for me. He's a very good player I don't think he's shown that he's a superstar. He was a superstar two years ago.

He wasn't last year. So how do you evaluate it in the league four years? Kind of like Cam Newton. He's a very good starter, and he might make a few more Pro Bowls in his career, and he might not. He's good against the run. I think he can work in any system. He's the type of guy. If you're a 3-4, he can play N, you can move him inside.

He's a very good piece, and they're looking for defensive piece. I was just a little surprise for a team that has a lot of big contracts over the years and a lot of salary cap problems that he's getting paid like a superstar. Yeah, their GM hasn't done the best job with the contracts. I think two years ago he was the best three-four and not named JJ Watt last year and that contributed to their surprise finish and then last year he didn't play as well and they were the worst defense in the NFL I think so I think he has to take some of the blame for that but it's hard to know that it's the whole defense melted down guys we

were at Kenny Vicaro who we were writing long glowing posts about as a rookie benched last season so who knows what was going on Cameron Jordan is amazingly only the second first round pick under Sean Payton to sign a second contract with the same. And the first one was Mark Ingram, who did not really sign a big deal. So they have really struggled to identify kind of core pieces. Sean Payton or Mickey Loomis? That's Mickey Loomis and Sean Pee. I put them both on it.

That's fair. That's too much time with the Pelicans in New Orleans if you're Mickey Loomis. By the way, better name, Cameron Jordan or Jordan Cameron. Cameron Jordan. I don't think it's that close. Really? I don't like Jordan as a first name. Don't, not in love with Jordan.

I'd agree. I think you like Cameron as a first. I like Cameron. So you prefer Kirk Cameron to Michael Jordan. Way to go, Greg. No, that's a last name. Don't just paint me with a broad brush like that. I've always been in.

But that's why these kids are now called that. Well, the Browns called up, Jordan Cameron. Yes. Thinking they calling him and they were calling the other one when they drafted him. That's a good organization. By the way, Mark, you are a big Kirk Cameron fan of his. films, this is your chance to defend Cameron's honor. Remember 18 again with Dudley Lord and Kirk Cameron?

Never seen a film of his? I did watch his television show. The worst story about Kirk Cameron, who seems kind of crazy, is when he found God or found Jesus Christ during growing pains, like in the tail end of growing pains. Shadowy League figures approaching. He got his girlfriend fired off the show because she had a history with Playboy. True story.

What was the Kirk Cameron Dudley Moore movie, where they switched places? Hey, by the way, it's a 70. Like father-like son. I saw that twice at the theater. There were like 30 body switch movies in the 80s. That was in 1987. I was like 12. To the 80% of the people listening, Kurt Cameron was a mid-level sitcom actor on a mid-level sitcom show.

Okay, high-level sitcom actor on a mid-to-upper-level sitcom show. I don't think people know who Kirk Kimmer. I think a lot, too. He was on the cover of all the girl teeny bopper magazines when we were in, like, Junior Hines. Right, exactly. That's a long time ago. By the way, Wes... He's not out of long staying power, is my point.

Like, 1987, he was on top of the world. You don't see him popping up in new, like, showtime, you know, drama already. He is a big name. Wes downstairs just told us that he's not been to a movie since Sideways, which was over a decade ago. So that you've seen a Dudley Moore slash Kirk Cameron movie twice in the theater is telling to me. This is going to be hard for you guys to believe, but stay with me here. You can, it's 2015, you can watch movies on a personal handheld device and wait for it to come to your house via Netflix or Amazon.

You're not a movie magic guy. You do not have to go to a beginner. I love the experience. Thanks for the hot tip. We all know how that work. Well, I don't think it really reflects on me that I don't want to fight traffic and other human beings to go to a movie. Can I just say something interesting about Wes, who's previously shared with us,

that he does not go to rock concerts because he feels the. music doesn't translate and he doesn't like to be around people. Also, doesn't go to movie theaters. You're inching closer into the shut-in world with the boxes all around you, and all of a sudden they find your body under a pile of clothes in, you know, age 49. Unabomber 2.0. I didn't know that about concerts. That just eliminated you from that extra Wilco ticket I had there.

Extra Wilco ticket. Well, those were for Dan and I anyways, I thought. Wait, Wilco? Yeah, see, I'm breaking news on the show. That's what I forgot to tell, Dan. about, yeah, we're going to go to a Wilco show at some point. When? I think it's in August.

I don't know. Right during a heavy slate of preseason action. I don't actually think that you'll become a hoarder and be in your house forever. That was just a joke. I feel better about my life now because I was starting to really do some self-reflection. You are the most, you're the social guy. You're the one that has everyone over. That's why it's interesting.

It won't be a house is what you mean. I'm a very social guy, but I like to have people I like a brownie. Not people I don't like around me. You like going to pubs, and I'm sure there are many times you went to Huckapoo's where it was a full house. Right, and I knew almost everybody in there. Okay, so you've got to know the people. Underrated moment, though, in life, at least for me, is like the moment you emerge from the movie's doors back out into the world. You've just been in that movie world for a couple hours, come back out.

It's like a cocoon? I love that. You're like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly? That was like a Cameron Crow monologue, Greg, just dropped on us. When I leave the magic of the theater and open those doors, I look at the world in a different way. Cameron Crow all of a sudden Some bad finger song comes on

All right Moving on Roger Goodell Who is the commissioner Who you may know that Sometimes under fire He is involved right now In this Tom Brady

Appeal the four game suspension There was a chance For the Brady camp Or the NFLPA To ask Godell To recuse himself From the appeal And have someone else

Handle the appeal of Brady suspension But Godell in four the union on Tuesday that he will not recuse himself from the June 23rd appeal hearing according to a letter obtained by rap sheet Brady is trying to eliminate that four-game suspension and I guess considering that Brady or Goodell was involved with handing down the ban that you wouldn't want him involved with the appeal but that's not going to happen

Goddell's involved now Wes tell me if I'm right now the final step in all this to kind of soothe everything now is ROG slashes his suspension in half and then he gets a little bit or even by, you know, down to one game gets in crafts good graces Brady still gets punished the Patriots still pay the money and lose the picks

but Brady's back in the field by week two or three and everything's okay. Is that how it plays out? That's not the sense I get from listening to Roger Goodell speak. He doesn't seem conciliatory in any fashion and I think he wants to see the text that Brady wasn't given up. I did like there was a citing in the letter that it said, you know,

according to the collective bargaining agreement, using the collective bargaining agreement and common sense, and then he went into his point. Just basically saying common sense says I'm not going to be a guy that is brought up to trial during an appeal, if I'm hearing the appeal. And common sense says,

I'm going to just keep this, guys. I'm going to make the decision. You guys won't. I mean, and a lot of people feel like that Kraft and Goodell, longtime pals, have some sort of wink-wink agreement behind the scenes.

But really, for all the fire that Goodell takes, if he goes and reverses or cuts in half reduces, the decision he made after so much thought just weeks ago, doesn't he look even weaker?

I mean, it seems like he's got to stick with... To me, it's a little bit about job security, too. put out the olive branch and maybe it helps you down the line. But what they said, though, was that the other 31 teams gained a lot of respect for Goodale for coming down hard on the Patriot. Well, he went out of his way when I read this letter to say, my mind is open. And, of course, you know, you would expect him to say, my mind is open. But I think this was the key part where he said, I've publicly expressed my appreciation

to Ted Wells and his colleague. It doesn't mean I'm wedded to their conclusions or their assessment. In fact, blah, blah, blah, I may reach a different. conclusion about Brady's conduct or the discipline imposed. I think the door is open the way that the Patriots ended up not fighting this to knock it down

by a game. That's what I would predict. Whenever in life you find yourself in a corner, you're in trouble, he told us what to do right there. You throw Ted Wells under the bus and you are fine. That's how you operate. Because they kind of made it like Troy Vincent and made the decision before

that he was the one that really recommended the suspension, even though of course Godell has to approve that was Troy Vincent and Ted Wells's proof, and now Goodell, in theory, could come to a different... Greg, would you like to go in... Oh, two things. Two sandwich props with you, Greg. The pay scales at one.

Okay, no, that's fine. No, you don't have to ask anymore. No, the permanent one. I say will be... Frozen, there's no more P. Gross. It will be reduced by at least two games. Take me on a sandwich?

No, because I don't want to root against that. That's a good... You know, I think it'll be one game, but why would I want to... I hope there's no games. I don't want to root against the... a good outcome for the Patriots. My life as a fan

overwhelms my desire for... I thought your whole thing is taking every sandwich bed. Well, I don't like this. Okay. How about on a sandwich that entourage makes at least $30 million this weekend? Well, it's

tricky. I don't know if you know, but it's a Wednesday opening. I've done some research on it. All right, first three days of... That's a little weird. In post-production, can you put that horrible Jane's Addiction song behind this conversation. Which horrible James is one? It's the opening credits for the show.

Oh. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Something like that. I hope you went calling something around there. Jane says a horrible James Addiction. No, no, no, no. I thought you meant Bencott stealing.

No, no, no. Because I'm going to be stealing your sandwiches. Okay. Oh. Whoa. And now this whole the Blakegate story can die. I'll go under 30. Under 30.

I'm saying on. For the five-day opening weekend. No, five, see, five days too long. You just added two whole days. That's a lot. I box you in. Come on. I'm saying the three best days they have won't equal $30 million.

Wow, I think you need to get on Dan's wavelength here. Go with the whole five days. Come on. Well, that's insane. He just changed it from three days to five days. I never formally laid out what it was. You could be a man. I'm not doing that.

I think that's where that changes the whole game. So it won't make $30 million over five days? Or it will. Over three days. But over five days, you think it would. I think it would over five days. That accomplished nothing and was not satisfied. All right.

We've made no ground. All right. How about this? 25 over three days. Okay. All right. Okay, moving on. Ooh, you got swindled.

The Denver Broncos. The Denver Broncos. Two sandwiches. Oh, no, you didn't take the first one. Which three days? The first three days, right? Yeah. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Monty Ball and West just to get back at me for the hoarders is going to go see Entrash like 30 times No Have you ever seen Entrash?

The show? Yes That would be helping Oh yeah I just realized it would help me I think I watched The first three or four seasons in the

The binge watching category Yeah And I liked the first couple of seasons And then I was out A spoiler All the bros end up okay in the end Hey Vinnie What's gonna happen?

We're in trying to happen We're in trouble. Relax, guys. We could always go back to Queens. I'll see this movie. That was every episode ever of Entourage. Everyone had Medellian in it too. Neti-ean.

All right, moving on. Manti Ball and C.J. Anderson are two of the top running backs for the Broncos. C.J. Anderson obviously broke out last year. It looked really good. And when he was on the field, Mati Ball, who entered the season as not only the presumptive lead running back, he was also. making the leap candidate for around the NFL, didn't work out that way. He struggled with injuries.

Anderson had a big year. However, Ball thinks that he has a chance to really be a big-time player this year still, had this to say, I'm really looking forward to splitting carries with him, referring to Anderson. I think we're two really good backs in a system that we love to keep the ball on the ground, so we love this system. He views himself as 1B to C.J. Anderson's 1A. Wes, you call him B.S.? No, he views himself.

that way because that's what the coaches have told him. I did this post purely as a service for the fantasy footballers who keep falling from the banana in the tailpipe in Denver that whoever is their number one running back in August is going to finish the year as a top, you know, Fabiano's always got like Monta Ball as a first round pick. Everybody this year is going to have C.J. Anderson's a first round pick. And like three different running backs are going to start for the Broncos this year

throughout the season. Who is in that team since Terrell Davis, whoever sustained? there have been breakout guys, but who's ever sustained it over two years? Portis for two years maybe. Yeah. Yeah. That's about it. I mean, part of it is.

Mike Anderson for a couple years? Yeah, Anderson is good. I mean, I think the zone blocking scheme that Kubiak brings is reason for optimism for both. I mean, they talk about ball here as just different, in quotes, one coach said. And I hope so because I found him very unimpressive last year, but he was injured for part of the year. He says he was injured from week one on. And we don't hear about some of those injuries sometimes. I couldn't agree more.

with Wes's hot take and what you said, Mark. I think C.J. Andrew, there's no guarantee that he's going to even be the starter day one at all. This is a guy that came out of nowhere and had former coaches, Adam Gase, talking trash basically about his work ethic. That is a major red flag. We talk about red flags in the buildup to the real draft. This should be one in the buildup to your fantasy draft. If ex-coaches are talking about your work ethic after you made the Pro Bowl on what seemed like a breakout season, He is getting drafted right now, Wes, as the 10th player in fantasy league.

Well, hold on, though. It's right about where Monte Ball was getting drafted at this time last year. You know, I would much rather just take Ball and whoever else makes that roster. Well, Monty Ball was in our making the Leap Series last year. Maybe we don't put C.J. Anderson this time. That's not to say that C.J. Anderson was not impressive last year. I think Greg particularly was impressed with him. That's the thing. I did really like him.

But he also. It's a different system, too. Right. And that's a big change. Didn't he shed, though, 20 pounds or something? that he's lighter. Trope alert. Well, 21 pounds is like you'd have to cut off my arm.

He's got time to put 13 back on all throughout July. We should. Well, but for someone that they're saying has no work ethic and couldn't care less, you've got to do a little bit of work. He changed his diet. That's fair point. Maybe on Thursday we'll go through some tropes. Yeah.

I was thinking, Sean, as an assignment, you should create some sort of trope siren or maybe not a siren, but trope alert sound drop that you. you can drop throughout the off season whenever the tropes pop up. So you, you think about that and don't blow it. I'm all over that. And also, I have a, this probably will happen when TD's back, but just be aware that I have a jock jam's trivia coming up at you at some point.

That's what I'm talking about. If you do a good job this week, though. Okay. Well, I have two weeks to prove myself. It starts with tropella. Until my birthday on June 19th of November. The last two producers we gave assignments to Zach Goldman's not even in the country anymore. Nor is TD.

CD's in Nigeria. Both exported. Crystal Rich, who knows, where she's at. She's a published author. Where's our Stitcher, too? Like, where is everything? Everything and everyone leaves us. Doesn't it feel like at the end of the day?

Maybe we're driving them away. We're totally, utterly alone. That is how it is, Dan. This is twice you've painted a picture. Now you're stuck with the guy with a mustache. Living on the edge of town with a cat named Boo and a bunch of soup cans. All right.

Anyway, that's what's happening. All right, so, news is done. A assignment handed out to Sully. And, you know, got some sandwiches from Greg, or at least one sandwich. That's good. Well, I feel good about this. I trust you, America.

I wouldn't do that. That's why I'm... That's a good point. I will never, ever see this movie, but I am absolutely certain there are enough meatheads. I feel like it's going to make 10 million in New England. alone. Greg's siding with the

general population for the first time as an adult. Yeah, I was just thinking... Everybody from South is known. America's too smart to give all these clowns more money, but I don't know. The Sex and the Cities had two pretty monster movies, so that's working against me. It's coming out like five

years too late. Well, that's, yeah, I mean, that's another part of it. I don't know how this movie got made, but it is, and we're going to be tracking it closely. I'm looking forward to the How to make it in America movie coming out in 2019. A little HBO joke for you there, Wes. There's a callback.

You don't know what that means. It was a really bad show about sneakers. I did not have cable all those years. All right. So, all right, so people are doing power ratings. Wes's endless television woes. Look, we didn't grow up with cable or microwaves or answering machines or anything like that. Let's do some power rankings.

Or toys. And by the way, I was thinking, and I was talking to Mark about this, the boss, why we should have power ranks are sure i like the sound of that yeah you said mark the boss i know it you're switching the i'm thinking of the future reference when mark pushes you out in a massive power play but a power rankings in which all six of the around the NFL writers are involved and it's a weighted voting process

and then we have it each week and then we could cite it randomly like oh here are the cults the number eight team on the around the NFL power rankings i like that by weighted you mean that i get more weight than your vote? Listen, again, you're the boss for now before Mark pushes you out in a massive power play. But yeah, you could do whatever you want, a weighted system. No, I think we, that would be weird. That would be weird. I like that idea a lot. Now, talking about power plays and political maneuvering, you know, power rankings people want, you know, there is a writer for power rankings on the site and sometimes, you know,

people just want, okay, that's the power rankings for the site. So we'd be looked on as an upstart that's trying to knock off the old power. Maybe we could just call it something, we could lose power and just call it something else rankings. But I also like the idea of, like, directly angering people within the building. You do. Yeah. I've never been afraid of a little inter-office fight. A little conflict.

It keeps me interested. There'll be a lot of, like, you know, S-talking about the around the NFL team if we launch your own power rankings. It's like handsome Hank, the notorious. D-O-P, thank you, blanked out there. When he hears this, he's going to roll his eyes and immediately come over to Greg. Guys, you know that's not a good idea. It's not happening. Don't do it.

I've already been told that I cannot do any power rankings of any sort for this company. Anyway. All right, Craig. I like the idea. Good idea. All right. So let's do a little power rings. Just individual.

And for now, the top five teams right now in your mind on June 2nd and the bottom five. So the top dogs, the bottom feeders. Let's start with the, we'll start, we'll skew positive. to start. Mark Sessler will get going with his top five to one, please, Mark. Top five. You know, it's the off season and everyone just talks about, ooh, look at what everyone

did to get better. How about a team that didn't sign a single free agent? Just went and drafted the guys they want to draft. Green Bay Packers, number one. I said five to one, but spoiler alert. That's, all right, now we'll go to our start. You might as well. You might as well. Second best team. I'm going to go with Seattle Seahawks.

Okay. No reason not to do that. Okay. Number three, I don't care what their roster tells me ever New England Patriots, best coached team in the league. Number four, Denver Broncos assuming Peyton Manning does not completely fall off a cliff. I'm believing at this point he will not. Number

five, Indianapolis, cults, the cults of Indy. Interesting. I'm surprised that you put the cults there. Andrew Laugh, maybe. Yeah, but you've already been on record saying you see them getting wiped out in a blowout in the playoffs again this year. Am I? I thought you did.

It doesn't sound accurate to me. West, if you could maybe five to one, so you could have a little bit of drama here. I think there's more drama in the five spot for me. Okay, well, okay, go ahead. Because I know what my first four are. All right, go ahead. What are your first four?

I'm with Mark. You guys are impossible. I've got Packers, one, Seahawks, too, just like Mark does. I think they're clearly the two top teams in the NFL. They're the two powerhouses. I have the Colts third. The Patriots and Broncos are weaker this year. The Colts are stronger.

I love their offense. It's loaded. And their defense, somehow they pick up a guy like Trent Cool. They pick up Kenden Langford. They pick up a couple impressive rookies. And everyone says they didn't improve their defense in any way. They get Robert Mathis coming back from an injury. I think they're improved.

So I'll take the Colts third. I've got the Ravens penciled in at four. I'm not sold on that one, though. But I think that the, I think that Paraman can make an impact right away. So I like that. Wow. Their defense is up. They were solidly in your top four.

I like that. No, I think the first three are... There's a gap between three and then the rest of them. And then for five, I don't know what the Patriots have at quarterback for a month. Peyton Manning's the biggest mystery in the NFL to me right now. And Carson Palmer is also a big mystery. So those three teams are eliminated. I feel more confident about the Steelers question mark at defense

than I do about the other question marks at quarterback. So the Steelers are five to me. Okay. It's only four games. there with Brady you know for if they go on four they're not going to win who uh just missed the cut so who would be six then just patriots broncos and cardinals okay pay what about you who would who just missed who's six i have to agree with the uh the situation in pittsburgh i had steelers this my six team okay cool uh as far as mine i'm also with you guys packers seahawks

one two uh i got the stealers at three i just i i keep going back to how great they looked heading into the playoffs and that looked like a complete team that was rolling and then Bell gets hurt and that you're not even counting back from five now no I feel once it's been established it's over you know maybe there's more drama don't it this way maybe maybe it is we're all going to have Seahawks and Packers no it is actually absolutely correct because if we're all in that same realm but anyway I thought the Steelers were the AFC's most dangerous team last year before Bell got hurt I think that

you know he's missing a game to start the season they'll be okay there I love Rafflesberger who was getting seems to be getting better I think they're always in the mix, and I think the Steelers go on a deep run this year. So I think they're three. I got the Ravens at four. Almost beat the Patriots in New England in the playoffs. Good coaching, great quarterback, a very good quarterback. They've got a running game, some defense.

And then I put the Broncos at five. I'm not going to put dirt on Peyton Manning yet. And for the reasons, Wes said, about the quarterback uncertainty with New England and a better division they're playing in, and I got the Patriots just on the outside looking in, but by no means, am I counting out? Greg, it's thrown at these. They're not in any top five.

Were they in your top five? They were number three for me. They're in marks. Dan, are you saying that it's like a preternatural sense I have for show business that I, without any instruction, started at one, knowing that that's where it was top-heavy, zero drama. Get into the drama. Yeah, Hollywood, kid.

You're Hollywood and you're on top of the world. I got a little drama at the top of least. At least I have a different number one. that I have the Seahawks one, the Packers, two. Either way. Solly just threw up all hands in the air in celebration. Now he's literally waiting a Seahawks fan. How are you from the SEC and you're a Seahawks fan?

I'm not from Alabama. Tennessee. I know you're from Tennessee. Northern Alabama. Stomped that out right now. Seahawks fan threw my brothers had season tickets since 0. Let me guess. Okay, good.

Well, that's even a little question of all. Well, were you also coming of age when there was no team in Tennessee? Uh, yes. No, that makes that. Okay, okay. I'm not going to allow it. What in Tennessee? Coming of age.

I'm just saying, if you grew up, you don't have a local team. No, I'm just, it's just a funny image. Pre-oilers move to your home state. Well, technically I went from San Antonio to Tennessee. Oh. So, really, really didn't have. So Seahawks are natural. What?

Well, there's not natural. I really didn't have a squad, though. But you should have been the Oilers then. Oilers to the Titans? Uh, no. I don't know. Houston and San Antonio, there's about 10 hours apart. If you weren't a Seahawks fan before the turn of the century, you're not allowed.

When you were a kid growing up? That includes TD. What grade did you move? When did you move to Tennessee? Uh, sixth grade. All right, what team were kids into then? Or was it, where was it? Well, by then the Titans were there.

Yeah, the Titans were there, but East Tennessee, it's more balls country. Okay. Why do people have to become a fan of the team of where they live? That's ridiculous. Most people find that it happens naturally. Well, it doesn't have to, though. I'm not saying he should be. I was just curious.

Mark, I praise you for your decision. Good luck. Mark immediately worried that he's not going to inflict his sons on the Browns. I mean, the Brown, he's like they have to be. I would never make them do that. Neck and neck pod MVP's right here. By the way, by the way, he's pointing to Mark and I. First of all, we've got to mark you down.

You cannot point in an audio. podcast. Nobody knows who you're pointing at. I like what he was pointing at. Greg and Mark. All right. Well, listen, this could be, this would be the equivalent, West. Tell me if I'm wrong.

If Mark pulls this out, it's the equivalent of like when the Rockets and Hakeem won the title with Jordan. I think that's a fair. That's a fair experience. So you win it. You would get the MVP, but it would be a little bit of an asterisk. Well, that's you're saying that Jordan's entire career is cooked because that's what happens every week when TD picks his MVP. So the parallel was ridiculous.

Fair point. Did you? I never finished, yeah. I had the Seahawks. You never started. I said the Seahawks. They got the best roster. I think they're won by a lot.

I mean, to me, they're won every year until it proves it otherwise, by the one. Just because you got the Packers next. I'm putting the Patriots third. I mean, they're there every year with 12-ins. You guys always talk about it. If the Steelers can win games with Dennis Dixon or Charlie Batch, when Rathesberger is suspended,

why can't they win? If it's four games, I know. Everyone in Boston thinks that Garoppel is the second best quarter back in the country behind Tom Brady. I know. Give me a break with it. I think he'll be good enough to win two or three games.

Well, they've opened two and two a number of times. I mean, they're going to win 11 games down the stretch. I got the Broncos fourth. I just think top to bottom, that's maybe the most talented roster in the AFC. And I think they upgrade. I really think this is underrated. John Fox and Jack Del Rio, you're out the door and you get Wade Phillips and Gary Kubiak. The more I've thought about it, I think that's a big time upgrade in terms of scheme and

all that, and then I have the Steelers number five. I think their defense will get better, and you've got to look at the quarter. None of those Broncos coaching upgrades mean anything if Peyton Man is the same quarterback he was in December and January. Who just misses the cut for you? Oh, I didn't have the Colts, so they would be close. All right, let's go through the bottom five and Mark. I know, you want to go one to five or five?

No, you tell me. All right, why don't we go this? Well, yeah, let's do it. Let's go your 28th team. Get worse. Get worse. Yeah, get worse. Yeah, get worse.

All right, my 28th team is. The Bucks. And I, this is hard because all these teams seem to have gotten better to me. So I, you know, I'm still working this out. It always seems that way. Number 29, the Redskins who I, you know, they just bore me. Yeah. I'm bored watching that team.

Gotcha. 30, the Jaguars, because how about prove it before I loft you up 10 spots like I did last off season? You're a lover scorn. Fair enough. 31, the Titans. I understand the two of these teams I mentioned have new quarterbacks, but they have not played it down and I'm not ready to crown them yet. And number 32, the Raiders, because. they're the Raiders.

That's where they belong. All right. Christopher Wesleying. Oh, who just missed the cut? Who's 27 for you? Well, I put the Browns, but, you know, look, if they're the 27th worst team in football, they hurt you last year, too.

They did. End of the strike, under the season. All right, Wes. I kind of agree with Mark. All these teams are better, but the guideline for me is the last, the worst five teams in the league almost every year don't have a quarterback.

That's the deciding factor. So I've got 28. The Rams, I don't think Nick Fools of the answer it. I watched his tape, and he was terrible last season. They never have an offense. Wow. They're the definition of mediocrity every single year. Greg, disagrees with that for sure. Well, I think they're... One of these years, the Rams are going to win more than seven games, but I don't know when it's going to be. The Browns I have next, again, and I actually like Josh McCown, but I don't think

he's good enough to kind of break, you know, whatever they have at wide receipts. So what is that? 28? 29. 29. 30. I have the Titans. I like them for the future, but that doesn't mean that Marriota is going to come in and light light it up this year. 31, the Bucks. Again, same thing. Rookie quarterback. I expect Winston to lead the NFL and interceptions. I think the offensive line is still a mess, and who knows about the running game.

32, the Raiders, because that's where they belong. Yeah, you don't think they've gotten better to the degree they could squeak out six wins? The Raiders? Yeah. Again, like I said last pocket, let's see if they can push the ball past the 40-yard line, and then we'll worry about when. I'm worried about this Derek Carr thing, by the way. Or throw the ball more than seven yards down the field.

Let's keep our eye on this Derek car situation. If he is not healthy or need surgery, all bets are off with that team. Right. Because they need him to be better, and he's not even healthy right now. But still a long way to training camp. All right. Here's mine 28. Sorry, Mark.

I think the Browns, and it's the quarterback position more than anything else. I don't think they have answers there. 29 the Titans. I think Mariotta's got to learn the pro game. and what, what's over? I wish we get the looks on Mark's face when we say the Browns. Well, I can't.

Last year, no, last year I was all on fire about this, but I can't disagree with you. And you know what? It literally looks like you're eating. And then, but you know. That's not the exercise. It's not the exercise. I think it's more I'm sick of the Browns

being kind of pumped up year after year as a team that's ready to bounce back. I kind of, the way the last season ended, I don't like it. And I don't like what they did with the quarter. it's fair all right mark's marriota you know he's going to take some lumps this year he's got to learn how to play at this level we don't even know if he's good the titans are going to stink 30 the redskins you know RG3 the jrude an RG3 thing which was nasty last year they put them together

again let's see what happens I don't think it's going to be good the Raiders at 31 I do not have them as the worst team I think uh you know they're near that area and they could easily go two and 14 again but I think the jaguars will be worse I thought the fowler injury was devastating to them. He could have been a difference maker on their defense. And I'm not sold on Blake Bortles and all the trope talk about his new mechanics and so on and so forth. So I think they will be very bad once again. Why did you have the Raiders? I had them at 31. Oh, okay. And the 49ers just missed it for me. They're at 27. Again, Jim Townsula, you know, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, unfortunately.

Not a great way. It's like he got a helicopter to the Titanic after it hit the iceberg. Which is not fair. This is tough. I really don't feel like there are that many terrible-looking teams. We always think that, but there will be. No, usually I do think there's a few more. I don't know. It was harder.

It was hard. I came up with four that I thought deserved to be on this list. The Raiders at 29. I did not have them at the bottom. Okay. Wait, are you just going all over the place? I'm skipping 28. Well, what?

Greg, total iconoclast. All right. 20. I don't believe it, though. I need to come up with a team that I believe is really going to stink. I had the Browns written, but I don't believe that. I think they could be good. It wouldn't surprise me. Although, if you look at their skill position players, that's where it's bad. Well, that's important in the NFL last night, you know, seasons would tell us. I have a post going up the worst position groups. They're in the mix at quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end as the worst. Other than that. But their offensive line is great and their defense could be good.

You know what? Let me just point in the sports gods. Sports gods, please give the Cleveland Cavaliers the NBA title. Give the people of Ohio something. Okay, I guess I just argued to put the Browns 28. Raiders are 29, a little higher than you guys. Generous. Defense was fine last year. That's very generous. 30, the Chicago Bears.

I like that. The Bears. Oh, you're bailing on your boy Cutler finally. Well, let's, I don't, you know, I'm not into the coaches. I'm not into the defense. You know, a lot of change there. That's fair. bucks 31 and then I have the tight tunes as the worst team in the league

there you go wow that's a tough spot for Marcus Marriota and I don't think that coaching staff on offense is gonna but we're bound to be wrong though because we basically have the Titans and Bucks picking dead last again it's not gonna happen wait we basically have who that teams Titans go seven and never works out that way I mean who is the best chance to shock us Jaguars Raiders or Titans Jaguars I didn't put the Jaguars on this list. The Jaguar's on my list. I would have them in the top 20 or so.

Well, I think this is the year they make that leap up to... I think their defense is going to be much better. I actually, in not just saying this, I think the Raiders are not as bad as I put them, which is the worst team in the league. I just don't know who to make that team. But I think they're better than that. They'll prove it. Walk it back, Sessler. No, they'll prove it. I think it's a tougher to pick the tough teams than it is to pick your top five. If Dan wasn't sure about trying to stage a coup against the official and,

NFL.com power rankings. All he's got to do is look at the current version that's up right now. Number 26 on the list, the New York Jet. Let me guess. Well, whatever. Let me guess where the Cowboys are. You're talking about the Cowboys, known as the New York Jets? Yeah, the Porsche.

Oh, the Cowboys are number six on the list. It's time to stage a revolution, a power rankings revolution at NFL.com. Handsomex's like throwing something through his screen right now. There's a lot of Chiefs love out there, too, I feel like. Peter King, we talked about his power rankings. Let's not talk about his power, right? He was the chiefs at four. That's crazy.

I think a team like the chiefs or the lions are more likely to be in the bottom five. That's what happens. There's ups and downs every year, but it's tough to predict which team is going to have that kind of free fall. I think Peter King gave his intern a box of teams and numbers, and the guy just flipped it up in the air, and it just got lost, and he just put them all back together haphazardly. That's how it happened. I don't think we're going to get Peter King on the show.

Thank God. All right, that is our show. That is Tuesday's edition of the Around the NFL podcast. We will be back on Thursday with another show. We'll get into some trope talk, and maybe I'll hit up the mailbag again. We'll see if you guys delivered some more good questions, all that good stuff. Thank you very much to Mr. Sully behind the glass. Good job.

Good start. This is Dan Hansa signing off for the Sizzler, the mailman, the boss. And, A.O. Sully. behind the glass till Thursday This is an eye heart podcast