NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Winners and Losers from Cowboys-Saints

Episode Date: December 3, 2021

Gregg Rosenthal and "Handsome Hank" Henry Hodgson recap the Thursday night matchup between the Cowboys and Saints. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more on first down hill wide open and the catch and the touchdown Humphrey tossed to Pollard and there he go

Tony Pollard, down the sideline. Jets are on. Touchdown Dallas. Another interception. And this is Watkins to the end zone, but a flag is down. And it looks like it's going to stand. That was Carlos Watkins putting the finishing touches on a 27 to 17 Cowboys victory on TNF. I'm Greg Rosenthal, and I am so excited to be joined by my friend.

You know him on Twitter as NFL, UK, Hank. Dave Damashek listeners know him as handsome Hank, but I just know him as Henry. That's what I prefer as well. That's what I prefer. Thank you, Greg. And, you know, back in the day, Henry, when I first came to the NFL, and we're going to get to what was a pretty good Thursday night game, better than I expected.

So I'm happy the Saints gave us some entertainment. Back in the day... Erica might not know this. Erica's on as well, of course, here. Henry was running all of content for NFL.com. He decided where things went on the page. Henry was essentially my boss. I worked with him about how all the things were going to happen.

And, you know, one of his favorite columns of mine that he liked to just put right in what we call the CP and big, big good spot, it was winners and losers. You know, what a creative article. So that's what we're going to do tonight. Little Winners and Losers from TNF. I love it. Greg used to push back on winners and losers. He would say, why do we need to say who are winners and losers? The score tells us who are winners and losers.

And it was like, Greg, come on. We can do better than that. We know we can tell more stories. So I'm excited, yes, to be able to decide who else won and lost beside just the Cowboys and the Saints. That might have been like easy, like early on when I had some integrity. I was like, oh, we shouldn't just be, you know, fishing for page views, but soon I realized that you gave up on that quick. That was more of like an off-season column.

You know, we didn't really need to do winners and losers during the season because, you know, the first winner here is the Dallas Cowboys. They did win the game 27-17, and I think I'll start my winners and losers. I'll give CD Lamb a little love, seven for 89 today. And like the last couple of weeks without Lamb and Cooper is just like, oh, yeah, it's important to have the best combination. of wide receivers in the league. I don't know why I thought like the Cowboys would be fine without them, but they absolutely weren't. Cooper was limited tonight,

but just C.D. Lamb, when he put that little move on Malcolm Jenkins in the open field with that third down catch where there was no separation between Bradley Robey and him, to me he is like the difference. He was the difference days. That's my first little winner. And he's the difference and he's the difference in,

you know, a Cowboys receiver call, which I think is like easily the best. in the league at this point. Michael Gallup reminded us who he is. You know, occasionally you'll forget that Michael Gallup's there and I know he's been out injured for a few weeks, but then he'll pop up and make a catch like he did today, and that was insane as well. So that whole Cowboys receiving core is ridiculously good. Right. And Gallup is good at like two things, jump balls and sideline catches,

which he kind of combined with that touchdown. So that's perfect when like you're the third receiver and just like go ball. He's good at just like running down the. field he has like a skill set that's valuable but when your first two guys are out like it doesn't it doesn't make a lot of sense and so it was do you know what else he's going to be good at and the next in the next few months is getting paid an awful lot of money but he's desperate to add a receiver and free agency yeah he will get paid a lot and i've seen some like little projections and whatnot like he's he's going to make more than that everyone's going to make more than that that that tv money is coming in henry's getting some of it eventually right i mean i don't know about that but where like

my second favorite Greg Rosenthal column is the top 101 free agents. And Gallup will be right on that list. I think like I would project if I had to guess now, I think you're going to put him somewhere between 20 and 50. I was just going to say top 30 probably. Top 30. I'm going to say 18. I think he'll be low.

I think he'll be lower than that on the initial list. I am going to miss doing it with Chris again. Did that last year. And I bet he's one of the. I think it'll be in the 30s, 30s or 40s initially, and then all the franchise tags and resignings get taken off, and they'll get pushed up. Yeah, I call that the pretend top 101, the actual top 101, and the guys who hit free agency. Right.

Well, you know how it is in the game. Like, people want those page views. They're going to be looking for the initial top 30 in January because that thing does numbers. Give me a winner or a loser, whatever you know. I'm going to give you a winner, and my winner is, I've heard enough about Michael Parsons going to be the defensive rookie of the year. And I don't want to hear about

that anymore. What I want to hear about, and I think tonight we're a winner for, is a defensive player of the year. Michael Parsons is playing at a level and has done throughout the season that should have him in that conversation. People are trying to slot, you know,

T.J. Watt in there. They're trying to slot, you know, Miles Garrett in there. No one's playing better than Michael Parsons right now. And what I'm excited about is that beyond anything else in the league he we don't have any part you know we've kind of we've gone missing with a pass russia who's been the best defensive player in the league for for some time and i think micha parsons is is filling that slot really nicely now love this take this is why i needed

henry on the pod it's not he's not just a dolphins fan he brings the takes i think you're right i think there's still what six five games left of the season for the cowboy six for a lot of teams. There's a long way to go here. And so I think if he continues at this pace and Garrett slows down a little bit and the Browns have a bad finish, I'm buying that. Tonight was as an interesting example because DeMarcus Lawrence returned for the Cowboys. I'll give him a little winner too. You know, let's just throw that in there. And so they're getting there with the four million rush. And they weren't using Parsons quite as much as like an edge rusher, which I don't know. To me, he was one of the five best eddressers in the league. Like he's a good offball linebacker,

but he's even better just rushing the passer. And I want him to do that all the time. But then there's another play where he's running down the field covering Kenny Stills, tipping a ball that turns into an interception. Like, what can he not do? That is the type of, that's what you want out of a defensive player there. Do you know why Kenny Stills has a special place in the history of the NFL newsroom, though, Henry?

I do, yes. I think I'm there, and I don't think we're allowed to say. I was just going to say. Kenny Stills was not coming down with a lot of contested catches tonight. No, and that was exactly what my argument with a former colleague was all about, was his inability. The most public argument in the history of NFL media.

It was like it ran for most of a day with these two individuals, Greg and someone whose name, I think I may have even forgotten at this point, going back and forth throughout the day. and it got very testy. And all I'll say, if you, if anyone listening is interested in who won the argument, is Greg still employed by the NFL, the other person, I have no one, no one's seen since. They say like live in your head, rent free. Right.

You know, as I saying, we got a text from Greg tonight, blank, dying somewhere with all these Kenny Stills drops. Like, he loves it. He loves it. Well, it just sort of hadn't thought about it in a while. And the argument was 100% about contested catches. So it was funny. Here we are six years later. And yeah, that is the, that's the best, that's the best scoreboard. And Henry and I were in jobs that were, at least for me, not as enjoyable, much more stressful back then. And a lot of the people we didn't enjoy over the years, they're all gone. They've faded away. We're here. Greg's the only one left standing. Even I've really left the same department that I was in with Craig.

I'm going to let's throw a loser out how about how about tasem hill in the fourth quarter so winner tasem hill the first three quarters loser tasem hill in the fourth quarter as he threw three of his four interceptions or at least three were in 11 plays I'm not sure if one was in the third I actually thought tasem hill looked pretty good early in this game at playing quarterback which is what he did in the preseason I thought he looked better as a quarterback in the preseason than he ever had before making quick decisions. Then it's like, you know, you're trailing the cowboys and then you hurt your finger. It's a lot to ask Taysam Hill. No, you don't have either of your pro bowl tackles. But it was more of the decisions than the execution for the most part. And it all

kind of fell apart. But I applaud Taysam Hill for giving us a better game than I think Trevor Simeon would. So that's my damning with me. 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. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trend.

trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Matt Jones.

I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give me a lot. 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 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. I'm Marcus Grant.

And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.

Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. And Hill throws. He's picked. Another one for Diggs. Yeah, I had Taysam Hill. I slid Taysam Hill from the winner's column over to the loser's column

in the last 10 minutes of the game. That one quarter where he, you know, in the third quarter he ran for 71 yards. He had one drive where he ran for first downs. And it was like Sean Payton just like, sticking up both middle fingers over at Dan Quinn. That was kind of fun. Like, that's what I mean.

At least they gave us a little something. That doesn't be a dead game. All right, give me a loser. I'll give you a loser is name brands. Okay, so if you don't tune into the NFL that much, you see the Saints are going to be on TV and you're like, okay, cool, high powered offense. This is going to be exciting. You see Zeke Elliott in the back field and you think, okay, we've got a guy who can run

the ball and break tackles and do exciting things. And if you watch now, what you find is a saint's offense. You're like, wait, who are these people that are playing on this offense? Because this isn't interesting. And you have Zeke Elliott who, you know, there were a couple of plays. And it was very much called out by Troy Aitman there where it's like, yeah, Zique has got no juice left. He managed to turn the corner and then was caught by, I think, a defensive line. He's playing.

He's playing hurt. He's playing hurt. I get it. Totally tall is so good. He's good. They shouldn't play. Exactly, Erica. And then it's like, well, why are we persisting with Zique?

Just give him a couple weeks off and let him rest up. Yeah, it's a weird thing with injuries this year. I've thought about it a lot with Baker Mayfield and different guys. Like, who is it serving when you're playing guys that are clearly hurt? Like, that's the NFL M.O. Like, we're going to play through injuries. But it's not helping him. It's not helping the team.

I'm with you. Pollard is so good that he should just be getting most of the reps. He basically is. That'll give me a loser, which is Marcus Williams's ability to evaluate like an angle on a play, on that Tony Collard play. That was not a good angle. I know he was like slow playing. You know, he was preventing Pollard from cutting back inside, but he thought he had the angle because he's, you know, a great athlete. Marcus Williams is a franchise tag safety.

I think one of the better safeties in league having a pretty good year for the Saints. He thinks like this guy's not going to outrun me. I'm going to make sure he doesn't go. And that's what happens when you mess up with Tony Pollard. Oh, boy. Erica has just slacked me. She wants in on this winners and losers fun. And, you know, I'm feeling generous.

It shouldn't be about feeling generous. Erica should be allowed in whenever she wants. Let's hear. What do you got? Wow, thanks, Hank. Okay, so my winner is Mike McCarthy because what you will see floating in the ether this week, it's like Mike McCarthy's going to be on Zoom. He's really virtually involved.

So it looked like almost the cowboys were trying to get ahead of this message that, like, it's not Dan Quinn. Like, Mike McCarthy's very capable, which I found very interesting. So then Dan Quinn, they win, which is great for the Cowboys, but they didn't win so handedly that everyone's like, Dan Quinn is the answer. So I think that it was a win in the book for Mike McCarthy. And the loser of tonight is the listeners listening to you guys discussed, like, the layout of NFL.com's internet pages. I think that's fascinating. I don't agree with I don't agree. It was great stuff.

People like to hear the old plays. I think that's a good take. I think that's a good take. It felt like Kellyn Moore was definitely like just calling more passes at the end of the game than Mike McCarthy would have. But I don't blame Kellyn Moore for that. I'm more disappointed that what looked like the old DAC being back in the first half and I thought he played well in the fourth quarter of that Raiders game.

I'm like, okay, this is old DAC. Like, I'm pulling for DAC. Dak would be my like narrative MVP. it's not going to happen now. I think he's played too many four games. But then they just had a sluggish second half again. I know the Saints defense is good, but they just could not put that game away.

I don't blame more on trying to work on some passing and get better and trust in his passing game, but they were not getting it done. One last loser for you, at least for me, you're welcome to go anymore, Henry. Saints fans. You know, it's been a tough year. They set up this whole season where this was going to be the peak.

Thanksgiving night. and then the post- Thanksgiving Thursday slot, which I've noticed has just turned into a Cowboys slot every year, which it's a good thing. Then you get the whole week. This was all building to this. And in the first seven games of the season, they beat the Bucks, the Patriots, and the Packers by a combined like 70 points.

Like they were a frisky fun team. I think if they had their tackles and Alvin Camara out there tonight, they might have won this game. Like even with Taysam Hith. And they, you know, The Saints fans, like, got all excited. We're hoping for this game. And then you have that blindside block call, which was very strange.

And you have to watch Greg Zerline hit a 50-plus yarder field goal, bringing back memories of the worst loss, I would say, in franchise history against the Rams. So just tough night. Looking you throwing shade at people with Greg, it's called Greg with only one G. No shade. I mean, the dudes, the dude's clutch. He sent the Rams to the Super Bowl. and he sent, I guess the Cowboys do a lead here tonight.

And anyone that took the Cowboys minus seven is thankful to Greg Zerlin. That's true. I've got a couple others. I think, you know, another loser or pair of losers, Dan and Mark, not being on here. Right. And they got on me. I'm sure you haven't heard this yet, but at the end of today's show, they like implied that I had some sort of Machiavellian.

scheme that I'm having you on before them because you're like going to rise in the NFL and like that's that's the reason that I would do it or they're just like jealous that I'm hanging out it's very I would I mean I'm I'm I'm definitely not loyal if they ask me I'll also come and join that right right you've been available about this time last year we all sat during when we were all supposed to be, you know, social distancing. And Dan and Mark and I watched a terrible Seahawks Cardinals Thursday night game and then did a wrap up after that. So I'm, I'm not loyal. I will, I'll join them if they would like me to. I also include me as a loser here because of all the games that I could have chosen to join you on for Thursday night football wrap up, this was not necessarily

the one. This season's been some, there's been some good Thursday night games and this. Yeah, that's fair. I did initially, you know, asked for that Dolphins game, which they beat the Ravens. That would have been fun. But you were working, you were on the East Coast. It would have been like after midnight there. And you got to enjoy that as a fan. At the time, I was in Dolphins remission and had decided I wasn't going to watch it. And then because it was so exciting, I found my way to a bar to do it.

Can I throw one other winner out there? And this is just a personal one. But a friend of mine, Adam Dirty is the defensive line coach for the, for the Dallas Cowboys. Hard Knock Star. So I'm going to throw him out as a winner, but especially he is part of the My Cause, My Cleats program that's going on at the moment,

which I didn't realize coaches can be involved in, but he really wanted to find a charity to support in the UK. And I worked with him, and we found he's very passionate about knife crime, which is a big problem in the UK and in London especially. And there's a charity called the Godwin Lawson Foundation, which supports kids and tries to get youth off the street. streets and out of, you know, bad situations and he was wearing shoes for this game that was

kind of honoring the Godwin-Lawson Foundation. So the Godwin-Lawson Foundation is a winner for me tonight because they got a chance to be shown on national TV in the U.S., which is pretty cool. He's up and coming, man. I know he's your buddy. This group, you know, Parsons getting a little shine, DeMarcus Lawrence, coming back, going to make them better. Randy Gregory having a career year with them, I think people saw him on hard knocks, and that is not going to hurt his chances to get jobs. Henry only hangs out with, like, really handsome guys.

That's why we're such good friends. That's why we're hanging out, exactly. All right, I'm a winner too. You know, this last year, you know, I do think about things differently. And I was like, do I want to really be calling up, you know, some great football mind from like, CBS sports line that, you know, I don't really know that. Well, no, I want to hang out with my

good friend Henry a little extra 20 minutes and make his family have to be quiet late on a Thursday night and make him work way later than he would have to. This is definitely not work. This is fun. But next time, let's do it in person. Yes, I want to do that. All right. Appreciate you. Hank. Appreciate you guys. Ricky. And we will be back on Saturday on NFL network. Check us out in Sky Sports as well. The broadcast, DVR, that, and Sunday for the flagship show. Until then, we will see you. Eat the call. Forget that part. I'm going to be able to be. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here.

And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it.

Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush. your opponents listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts

Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL visit toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more this is an iHeart podcast