The Fumblerooski Podcast - A Tight (End) Race -Ep 281 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: July 2, 2024

Who are the top 5 tight ends in the NFL? Does Travis Kelce still hold the title of the best or will his stats continue to decline? Will the Eagles or the Cowboys win the NFC East this season? How far away are the Commanders and Giants from competing with Dallas and Philly? Adam Wright and CJ Medeiros debate these topics and more!

top five tight ends going into the 2024 season for our player rankings and an NFC East preview. This is the Fumble Rooski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie.

Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. touchdowns someone's got to get that six or seven spot he's an elite wide receiver as a rookie truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides welcome back to the fumble ruski podcast by power 88 and secret weapon consulting i'm adam right with cj medeiros we have another great show planned for you guys today. Going into the week of the 4th of July, if you can believe it, we're getting that deep into the summertime. And with that, we are getting that much closer to preseason. This is the last month without any football until February. Until March, that is, because we get football until February. Until March, that is, because we get football in February.

So it's a good time to be alive. And I hope you guys are all enjoying the weather. Happy 4th of July, ahead of time. It's a good time. But we do have a show planned for you guys today and we're going to lead off with the latest in our lineup of player rankings going into the 2024 season which is the top five tight ends the tight ends has historically or at least in recent history been a top heavy position. However, we're seeing more and more of a middle class at that position. If that makes any sense,

right? You see a lot of them who are, they're not putting up a thousand yard seasons, but they're putting up seven to 800 yards, which is a great thing to see because the tight end position has had a massive falling out over the past decade and a half. But CJ, why don't you lead off? Top five tight ends.

All right. Thanks, Adam. So top five tight ends. Here we go. My number five. And I think this is going to shock some people because I haven't spoken all that well of him in the past. But I think it's his time. My number five from the Atlanta Falcons is Kyle Pitts.

And my reasoning is simple. Yes, I know he's the highest drafted tight end ever. Yes, I know his career has been suboptimal thus far, but you got to remember for the longest time, his offense was literally run by an actual human ball and chain in uh that one reject offensive coordinator from the titans who i now believe is uh on the steelers there old arthur smith yep and he's already been a thousand yard uh tight end his rookie year but he only had one tight he only had like one touchdown then so his career high is three touchdowns. He barely cracked a thousand yards, perhaps with actual competent play calling and a real competent quarterback in Kirk Cousins. I think that he could definitely sneak his way into the top five.

However, word of warning though, it's put up or-up year for him. If he has another lackluster year, then he might never be top five. So moving on to my number four, that is old T.J. Hawkinson of the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit was nuts to trade this guy. And look, and I know why, because, you know, they had to pay him. But first full season with the vikings 960 yards and five touchdowns and i know what you're thinking oh what cj you say with numbers like that why isn't he top three well i'll tell you there are two things that scare me number one he's going from kirk cousins tossing him the ball to either Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy.

You have the Jets failed experiment and an unproven rookie. But piling on top of that is the fact he's the third option in that offense. You have arguably the best receiver in the game in Justin Jefferson. And on top of that, a man who's really looking to carve a name for himself in his second year, Jordan Addison. So it just doesn't bode well for Hawkinson. I still think he'll be kind of as good, but the wind is in his face and not at his back. That's all I'm going'm gonna say but like i said i i don't think it's gonna affect him too much to the point where he will no longer be a top five tight end but when making rankings i definitely think it's something to be considered so moving on my

number three and old justin tucker may be happy with this maybe not from the baltimore ravens it's mark andrews so mark andrews had a good season you know 45 catches 544 yards six touchdowns not used to the uh not usually his uh big receiving you know his big receiving years basically is what i'm trying to get at Actually a career low in receiving yards since his rookie year, he had 522. So the reason I hesitated, because I figured maybe he has a case to be top two, but he's coming off an injury. He only started nine games last season and he only played in 10. And even when he did come back for the playoffs, he didn't, I mean, he was okay, but he didn't look like him, his old self. So not only do I have that in the back of my mind,

when I think about him, but the Baltimore Ravens in free agency signed Derrick Henry. So we already knew they were a ground and pound team first, and now they have an excuse to keep toting the rock. So that just doesn't look great for Andrews, which don't get me wrong. When he gets the ball, he's going to shine. But either way, I do like Mark Andrews and he is the number one option on that team. Look, Zay Flowers is good. We know it. We like Zay Flowers, but come on, we all know Mark Andrews is the go-to guy so my number two i had to do some real soul searching on this and call me crazy but it's travis kelsey so the deal is everybody likes to hype up the fact oh thousand yards every year

his thousand yard receiving streak has officially been snapped it's true and on top of 93 catches still very good and five touchdowns you know that's good but when you consider the fact that he missed two games and even when he started all 17 last year, he had a, or not, or two seasons ago, he had 110 catches over 1300 yards and 12 touchdowns. Look, is he still a beast? Yes. Is he still top two? Yes.

But there was noticeable regression last season. And on top of that, Patrick Mahomes has a new toy to play with in Hollywood Brown. And you know, he's going to be getting double teamed literally every play, regardless of Hollywood Brown's presence or not. And I'm hesitant to say that he's going to put up 1,000 yards again because he's 35. I know he said, I'm going to play until the wheels fall off. It's just a matter of when, not if. That being said, come on, it's Travis Kelsey.

The man is obviously top two. So by process of elimination, you, the viewer, I would hope have figured out that my number one is George Kittle. So I understand what you're thinking. But CJ, you say, in your arguments for Hawkinson and Kelsey, you mentioned how you have other people eating into their targets. Doesn't Kittle? I mean, he has a great receiver, Debo Samuel and Brandon Ayuk.

To that I say, I will grant you that. Perhaps not for long. Because if just going on gut instinct, I'm not entirely sure Brandon Ayuk is going to be a 49er for that much longer. And even still, I don't see, what's his name, Jawan Jennings, is that him? And Ricky Pearsall getting catches over Kittle, that would be stupid. He has a relatively clean bill of health with a really grievous injury from 2020 being a distant memory playing a subsequent 14, 15, and even 16 games last season where he eclipsed a thousand yards and got six touchdowns. And the thing is the Niners offense is so powerful to the

point where they do not, or opposing defenses, sorry, do not have the ability to double team Kittle every play. He's literally for for the most part, gotten his health back. And with the fact that Braden Ayuk, more likely than not, will not be a Niner in the coming months, that just bodes well for George Kittle. And you know Purdy loves that man. You know Purdy's going to be feeding him. And with the fact that he's still young for a tight end,

I mean, he's only going to be 31 and when you consider that his health has gotten exponentially better put my money on kiddo adam yeah um you have a lot of the same picks that i have just in different orders um but my number five is actually one that is not on your list and that is sam laporta and the reason i have sam laporta this kid it is very unheard of to see a rookie tight end show out right away. Usually it takes a couple of years for them to really hit their ceiling. Sam Laporta had just under 900 yards in his rookie year with eight touchdowns. And on top of that, the guy lined up across from him, Amon Ross St.

Brown, has already made a name for himself being one of the better wide receivers in the game. He's going to draw lots of double teams. And Sam Laporta already has a good rapport with Jared Goff. Jared Goff working behind a good offensive line. He'll have plenty of time to find Sam Laporta, who will be wide open on plenty of plays. I have Sam Laporta. He was a top five. He was top five production last year. I see that being the same trend this year. My number four, same as yours, TJ Hawkinson. The only reason, so the reason you didn't have him higher was because

he has a lot of guys eating away at his targets. The reason I have him not higher is because of the quarterback situation. Even if JJ right. Even if JJ

McCarthy can play he's not going to we're not going to see his best play until a couple years from now, most likely. If he does, great, but it's a very unstable quarterback situation as opposed to years past with Hawkinson. He's always had either Jared Goff or Kirk Cousins throwing to him. And then right before that, it was Matthew Stafford for like two seconds. So he's always had a good quarterback situation, which is why he's always been one of the most stable tight ends in the game as far as production goes. I still see him being top five, but barely just because he has a tough situation there. I think if anything, some of the targets that eat away, some of the, some of the other targets that are ahead of him, well, what those might actually help him because Jefferson will be drawing so many double teams.

What's left of the coverage will be going to Addison. Where does that leave? Look, where does that leave Hawkinson? And also KJ Osborne's out. So I think TJ, that part actually might help him a little bit, but I still see him as kind of a fringe top five guy higher than Sam Laporta which says does say something but he's he's barely in there my number three is going to shock everybody but I have Travis Kelsey at number three going into the 2024 season. Okay. Explain. This guy can obviously still play and play at a high level.

He's a top three tight end of the game. Let's not forget that. I don't have him as the best, but that is because his age being 35, we see a lot of tight ends fall off around this time. No, I am not making a cliff prediction, but I am saying that we saw a noticeable drop in his play last year. Will it get back up there? Top three level. But did he have a top five season this past season? Not really. Barely if he did. Not top three. So I think have being him being at age 35 and still producing at a high

level is a, it's, it's extremely impressive. We didn't see this from Rob Gronkowski. The guy was out of the league by now. So I think it's pretty impressive that he's still able to play at a high level at age 35, but he is still 35. And as you mentioned, CJ, he has a couple of targets who are eating away and Travis Kelsey is still going to draw those double teams. Marquise Brown won't be doing that. Xavier Worthy will not be doing that. Even if he can play early on, he will not be drawing double teams. Travis Kelsey will. So Mahomes will have that ability to find his favorite receiver, which is the open receiver. So for that reason, I have Travis Kelsey dipping a little bit. Will the, you know, will the chiefs still win the Superbowl? They might.

I think Travis Kelsey is a great, great ability to show out in moments that matter most, but I don't think he's going to be a top two tight end this year. I don't. Father Time always wins, and with tight ends especially, this is the point where I don't think he will be the tight end that we always have known him to be. My number two is Mark Andrews. Mark Andrews is going into his age 29 season. He's entering the end of his prime. And you might say Derek Henry could hurt his production.

I would actually argue it will help it. And the reason for that is because they have already become a more pass-heavy team this past season. The problem was that they did not run the ball enough for them to respect the run. So it was always, the pass was not, the pass wasn't working out for him as well as it needed to. With a more multi-dimensional offense, with Derrick Henry back there, I think things will be a little more open for Mark Andrews. Also, let's not forget, Mark Andrews got hurt last year in 10 games, 550 receiving yards. I think if he plays a full season this season, he will be a top two tight end this year.

And I think Lamar Jackson has a more well-rounded offense than he has ever seen in his whole career. They didn't have much of a run game, not many running backs to work with this year, he will have Derrick Henry. So opposing defenses have to think about that instead of only thinking about Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews. And I think that's going to benefit Mark Andrews a lot. Now I have our number one, which we share, that will be George Kittle.

George Kittle, despite not playing a full season, still clipped 1,000 yards. And he has been, year in, year out, one of the best tight ends in the game. The biggest issue with the 49ers as a whole, whole not just george kittle has been health but have you noticed that ever since the 49ers a couple years ago fired their entire training staff and hired a completely new one that they have not had issues with health have you noticed that oh yeah i have probably some of the ravens should do looking at you tuck Tuck. I mean, just saying. George Kittle has been a benefactor of that. And George Kittle is one of the, not only can he play in the receiving game, he can also block very well too.

He's arguably the best all-around tight end in the game. The issue is you have a lot of targets who are eating into his target share, but again, that's going to leave him open more. And you have so many number one targets that it becomes whoever is open. And again, you're not going to be, Jawan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are not going to be eating into his target share. If they are wide open, they're going to be looking at, he's going, Purdy's going to be looking at George Kittle. So for that reason, I have George Kittle at number one. So there's my list. I think obviously the most, the most shocking part is Travis Kelsey being number three, but it just feels necessary.

I think Mark Andrews and George Kittle, not only are they younger, but they're also in great offensive systems that will help them put up those numbers to be top two. Travis Kelsey does have Patrick Mahomes, but again, he's getting old. And eventually, Father Time does win at 35 years old. Players at every position outside of quarterback and kicker Eventually father's time does win at 35 years old. Players, most players at every position outside of quarterback and kicker always fall out, but always fall off at some point after they turn 30.

The fact that he's lasted till age 35 is amazing, but it always ends at some point. And he's still top three. Stop. Don't tell me that, that I'm saying he sucks i'm just saying he's gonna dip a little bit just a little bit top three is still great for a 35 year old tight end so just just remember that before you rip my head off um yeah there's my list i agree uh laporta was one that i was uh debating by the way i mean i had him in my personal number

six you make a good argument for pitts at number five yeah it's just he's in this area continue he's in a better often he's in a better offensive system better quarterback probably the best quarterback he's ever worked with. He had Matt Ryan for a year. The reason I left him out of my top five is I need to see it to believe it. Ever since his rookie year, he hasn't produced. So I want to see it this year. I want to see it this year for him before he actually proves something to me. All right. We are going to move on to preview the NFC East. How will this division stack up in 2024? This is going to be an interesting one. That's next. This is the Fumble Rooski podcast.

It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. I'm Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros. The NFC East is probably the most interesting division to preview. In some years, it has been a very objectively bad division, arguably the worst in football. But the reason it is very unique is because for 19 consecutive seasons, there has been no repeat winner. So the division winner from the previous year has almost always for nearly two decades now not gone on to win it the very next year. So the Dallas Cowboys in 2016, 13 and three, Weedon boys, Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott in their rookie years carrying the team very next

year, they didn't even make the playoffs that's that's exactly the type of thing we're working working with here um but cj who do you think is going to win this division this year oh that's hmm this division i mean i personally think the most interesting division to really sink our teeth into is probably the afc north but but the nfc east comes very very close because let's not kid ourselves it's a two-person race between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. And the Giants, no, no. No Saquon, no Derrick Waller. Yeah, it's over.

And the Commanders are a team that perhaps two or three years down the road could start to compete, but not now. They're way too young. So, like I said, that by default leaves us with the cowboys and the eagles let's break it down the cowboys are feeling the pressure right now right mike mccarthy is not a good coach he will rack up wins in the regular season but he makes the fall of Rome look beautiful by comparison the way he falls in the playoffs. And then there's the Eagles when it comes to coaching. Let's not get it twisted.

Nick Sirianni got exposed last year. The cracks in the armor are showing. The God is bleeding. Who's winning the division? I'm getting there. Jesus, tap dancing dancing christ my man however and like i said so dac we know isn't the greatest hurts i don't know who's taking him seriously because i mean there's some whispers out of the locker room that he needs to be less happy and

more of a leader i saw it on jpa football but if you had to twist my arm and make me choose i'm leaning towards dallas and i'll tell you why because their three best players cd lamb michael parsons and dac prescott are all gunning for new contracts. Are they all back in that dark blue and white? I couldn't tell you. But they're trying to put their skills on display to say, hey, we are worth it, Dallas. Pay us or we're going somewhere else. And it's just going to be that.

Dallas has a fire lit under them. Whereas Philly, they got punched in the mouth last off season. And as far as the Eagles go, especially with Sirianni and especially with Hurts, after literally losing to the Baker Mayfield-led Buccaneers, this is going to be a test of wills, and it's just going to be a test of mental toughness. So, I think it's probably going to be Dallas. It's going to be a fight, but I'm leaning towards Dallas. I think it's going to be a fight too. And Dallas has, for different reasons that you stated,

Dallas has some pressure to them. But it's more so individually on that team. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are both looking for new deals, and it's getting down to the wire there. So you can almost book it that they're going to have career years. And then there's Micah Parsons on the defensive side as well. That is a leader in that defense who will be looking to ball out this season because of that, you're going to see a lot,

a lot of wins. Um, and I believe the Cowboys just drafted new linemen, right? So they, yeah, yeah. So they have that offensive line as much as we were worried about it going

into the draft, they kind of figured that out. So I'm not quite as worried about that. I think draft, they kind of figured that out. So I'm not quite as worried about that. I think the Cowboys are going to be competitive. The reason I have the Eagles winning the division is because they have significantly more pressure than the Cowboys do. And the reason for that is Sirianni has a fire lit under him. Jalen Hurts had a very down year after being an MVP candidate the year before. AJ Brown is starting to have a little bit of dirt on his reputation just from reports of his attitude.

And they lost some pieces in their offensive line. But people are forgetting they replaced him. They brought in Matt Hennessey to replace Jason Kelsey. I know he's not Jason Kelsey. Jason Kelsey is arguably the greatest center of all time, but that doesn't mean the replacement will be bad. It may be a drop-off in play, but it could still be a good offensive line. So the way I see it, I think this Eagles team has a lot more to prove, and I think they've gotten a little better too. They've replaced James Bradbury with a couple studs,

a couple rookie studs in that secondary, and they also replaced the running back whose name escapes me with Saquon Barkley. They got an upgrade there. And Saquon is now working behind the best offensive line he has ever worked with in his entire career. That's the Giants effect. So I just think this Eagles team has much, much more to prove than the Cowboys do. Cowboys do too. Neither of these teams are probably winning a Superbowl because I think they're just still too flawed to go and win one. But I think if there's any team that does it, it's going to be the Eagles. And for the 20th consecutive year, two decades, we are not going to see a repeat division champion for the NFC East.

I think the Eagles have this division. It's going to be close. It's going to be a repeat division champion for the NFC East. I think the Eagles have this division. It's going to be close. It's going to be a fun division watch yet again between these two teams, but I think the Eagles come out on top. It will be close though. Oh yeah, no, it's going to be close. And I, I, I do agree with a lot of stuff you said. And, but for me, it's the fact that philly does have that pressure is why i don't think they're gonna make it because it's just i don't know how i just i don't think they're gonna rise to the occasion i think they're gonna crack under the pressure that's just what i'm thinking and the thing with dallas is that it's weird because i just, I'm not afraid of them in the postseason.

Let's face it. They do have a big issue. And that issue, like I said, is their coach, Mike McCarthy, will not do jacking or crap in the playoffs. But in terms of getting there and winning the division, he's shown that he can be, you know, a halfway decent coach for the regular season. And Sirianni, I just, I don't know what it is. I genuinely think he got exposed last year. And a lot of it also on offense has to do with Hurts. You know, that's my problem. And on one of Philly's big radio stations, a former Eagles quarterback, you may have

heard of him, Ron Jaworski, has said that, you know, there are many members of the Eagles organization that they said Hurts needs to take a step up, not in play style, but in leadership. Because let's be honest with ourselves. The real leader of that offense is not Jalen Hurts. It was Jason Kelsey and he's gone. And can Matt Hennessey play well? Oh, I have no doubt, but you're missing the intangibles. You're missing the leadership. And they said Hurts needs to become quote, more vocal, more of a guy with a smile on his face. And they said, and here's the real quote, they would like to see him become more of a vocal guy,

more of that guy with a smile on his face and actually having fun playing football. I quite honestly did not sense last year that Jalen Hurts was really enjoying being quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. And look, we all know about Super Bowl hangover it's a real thing for the most part I mean every so often there are some teams that do beat it most recently the Chiefs who actually no no because after that I disregard I think most recently it was like the Patriots in 2017 who lost then literally want the next year I think they're the most recent team to really officially beat the hangover and bounce back but it's going to do it with it within the last three decades but yeah it's true because i was thinking about how the chiefs made it back two years later

but doesn't matter but i just i don't know because for me there just seems to be a lack of leadership it's not about weapons it's about leadership because Saquon's going to be there in his first year. I don't know if he can be that leader. A.J. Brown, if even half of what they're saying about his attitude is true, which I think some of those rumors are a bit far-fetched, but hey, rumors exist for a reason. And I just, I'm not sold even still on Hertz or even Sirianni's ability to lead. I think the defense is going to be fine. They have a lot of weapons, but I just feel like the pressure might be a bit too much.

Because let's face it, Philly sports media is one of the most brutal in all sports, and they can get to you. And when it comes to Dallas, it's just, I think they have too many guys playing with a chip on their shoulder. They just have too many guys that have a lot to prove. It just so happens that these guys happen to be the three best players on their team yeah listen i think winning is the winning is the best deodorant and i think there's if the team is talented enough there will be one leader who steps up and is able to take control of the locker room. Will it be Hertz? Maybe he steps up. Maybe it's Devante Smith. He has a career year. Maybe it's AJ Brown. He grows up a bit. Maybe it's one of their offensive line and maybe Lane Johnson, who is still there. Okay. But I think if you have the talent and you win games then someone will step up

winning is the best deodorant and i think a lot of this has come from not just not just poor performances but the team losing in general once you start losing games and the fingers start being pointed the philly media starts overblowing everything in the same way a lot of the big sports media the big sports media does right boston sports is no better in fact it's arguably worse probably be worse yeah or new york yeah they're we we totally get it we're boston fans but um i think winning is the best deodorant and someone will step up if you have that talent. And I think the Cowboys do too. So I think it's going to be close, but I just think, I think Philly has the talent and they have more to prove. And I think that is what's going to,

I think that's, what's going to going to be the deciding factor here. But I just wanted to touch briefly on the other two teams. I don't know if I would expect playoffs from either of them, but I think there's a lot to like from both as well. And with the Giants, I'm only looking at a couple of things. Number one, the defense. I think up front, having Kayvon Thibodeau and Brian Burns is going to be huge for them. That defense is going to cook. And I like Malik neighbors. And then on Washington side, they have a lot more to like than you think their defense isn't that good. It looks, it's looking a little better after free agency, but they worked on that offensive line.

It's not perfect, but it looks a lot better. And I'm hearing a lot of great things about Jaden Daniels out of camp. So maybe these two teams aren't ready yet, but they could be competitive in a couple of years. They need to pull a lot of the right strings. I think there's some good things to be said about the, about these, both of these teams, more so about the, about Washington than about New York. Cause I think the giants, it's mainly on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, the fact that you signed Daniel Jones to

that massive contract really screwed you over. I think there's nothing. Everyone thinks the worst thing to happen to a team is that they draft a quarterback high and he ends up being the guy, not being the guy. That's one thing. If he ends up being mediocre, just good enough so that he could still be a starting quarterback in the league, but not a franchise quarterback, because then you still have to pay him. And then you're stuck with him for a few years. The Giants gave him that, gave Daniel Jones that fifth season. And he ended up having a career year, which doesn't say much because it wasn't that good of a year. Then they gave him another weapon and then Darren Waller, say what you want about him, but he was good before he got here.

And then things just didn't work out. And then they let Saquon Barkley walk out the door, their best offensive weapon. That was, I mean, they chose the wrong guy. I don't like running backs, at least to pay long-term. But Saquon Barkley, it's no contest. Saquon Barkley is a better running back than Daniel Jones is a quarterback. I'd rather have an elite running back than to settle

for an average quarterback. As much as I talk about the quarterback position versus the running back position, that's another thing. That's if you have the elite quarterback, you can't say, oh, well, I'll take the average quarterback over the can't say, Oh, well, I'll take the average quarterback over the elite running back. No, no, I'll still take the talent as much as the running back position has become disposable. I'll still take the elite running back over the elite quarterback any day and give them a good offensive line. Look for that elite quarterback. That's a better route than just settle for whatever you can get. That shows a lack of confidence in your front office, does it not? Yeah. Well, the Giants front office just continues to make bad decision after bad decision.

And here's the thing. I know they had good intentions when they signed Darren Waller, but after all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as the old saying goes. But I just don't know what their issue is. I mean, to be fair, they had good intentions with Kenny Galladay, too, but that just didn't work. There must be something in the water. I just don't know what it is. And even still, even at the time, the optics surrounding the Daniel Jones contract were actually god awful because you remember his uh breakout year where the giants went to the playoffs right do you by any chance remember his numbers because i sure do 67 completion percentage okay that's good uh 3205 yards 15 touchdowns and five picks yeah that is not somebody who should get a 60 million dollar

contract and the fact that and look say you're about say quasi you're about the running back position in this day and age the fact that you chose that you basically dug your own grave and now you just and now you should just get in it it's over until you tell daniel jones okay there's the door because he's making making Brian Dable look bad. He's making Brian Dable look bad because for the record, I think Brian Dable is a good coach for the most part. I really do. I don't think his first year there was a fluke.

I actually happen to believe that there is some actual real honest to God substance there. However, oh God, it's just the optics aren't great and as far as the commanders go i said this earlier i think they're a few years off for contention but the future's looking bright i mean he's not even just jayden daniels i mean look at what he has to throw to he's got a scary terry mclaurin and they just signed austin eckler they i think they signed somebody like zach ertz and they've got uh johan dotson who's a first round receiver in his own right who still needs to break out but i have

confidence in them so yeah they're building something special over there and they're closing their contention the giants are right um i like the giants defense though i'll i'll say that much um um their defense has been good yeah but if you have the pass rush then it makes the secondary a lot better if you if you're making the team force the rose what's that i said until you lose xavier mckinney right but it will make it will make the secondary better i'm not saying you don't want to have a good secondary i I'm saying between the two, there's a reason why pass rush is the, is one of the most paid, highest paid positions in football and the highest paid in, um, uh, in, uh, on the defensive side of the ball. It's because to disrupt that line in the trenches is one of the most valuable things in football.

So when you have Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeau on rushing the passer from two sides, that is extremely valuable. So I think that's going to make this defense much better. Problem is their offensive side of the ball is a mess. They have Malik neighbors, but who's throwing to them? Daniel Jones. They really fumbled with that. I agree with you on everything you said about Washington. They're doing a lot of great things. We'll see if Jaden Daniels can play. From what we've heard, it looks like he can. He looks like he's going to be that one quarterback who steps in and makes an immediate impact. Whether that leads to a playoff

berth, we'll see. But in a year or so, two years, they can very easily be in contention. They have some work to do on the defensive side of the ball, and I think that offensive line isn't perfect, but they have a lot of good things going on over there and they they took the right guy in jayden daniels i thought they were gonna go and get somebody else but jayden daniels was a good pick um all right well that's all the scheduled content we have for today but do you have any other thoughts before we end the show tonight? Nope. All right. Well, we, again, as I mentioned, we have entered our final month without football, which is a pretty significant thing

considering we're already in training camp right now. And then we have preseason coming and then regular season. And once, I mean, once you're there, it just goes by so fast, man. Too fast. All right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have new episodes out on Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Be sure to

subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram at fumblerooski underscore podcast to keep up with our podcast and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, we'll see you next week. Over and out.