The Fumblerooski Podcast - Fumbled the Bag -Ep 204 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: August 22, 2023

Is the 3-down back going extinct? Will we see more game suspensions in the future? Are the Packers and Steelers proving to be quarterback whisperers? Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, and CJ Medeiros host special guest Ian Mulhearne to discuss these topics and more!

Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's in. What? It's a catch! Sideline! Touch touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! We're officially two-thirds of the way through preseason as the regular season start is right around the corner on September 7th

with the Lions and the Chiefs. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. I'm Adam Wright, CJ medeiros and justin tucker with a special guest ian mulhern ian for the how many times you have been on this show i believe it's been three four like four to this point four you you are one of the most uh one of the most visited guests on our show only to one kid who's been on like eight times i think we all know who that is aaron but glad to have you on the show man it's been a while too oh yeah for sure all right well we have a great show planned for you guys tonight as i

mentioned pre-season is almost done and And with that, lots and lots of different things going on with that. Also, Jonathan Taylor granted permission to seek a trade. And we're not just going to talk about Jonathan Taylor in that situation with owner Jim Ursae, just the running back landscape in general and how it really has shaped up in recent years. And then we have the fan box where we are going to talk about your preseason takeaways. Who are you most excited to see this preseason? That was a fun one to cover. But we're going to start with Jonathan Taylor.

So per Adam Schefter, Colts owner Jim Ursae has granted him permission to seek a trade. So again, we can talk all we want about the Colts and how they've mishandled the situation, which I agree, but I want to look at the bigger picture here, which is the fact that the running back landscape sucks right now, at least financially, because the short era that was the three down back that came back in the late 2010s is just about done. But no one has told the running backs that, who want to be paid like it.

But the teams do not want to pay them big bucks. We've had issues already this offseason with Josh Jacobs, namely. Other running backs like Jonathan Taylor right here. So, and Saquon as well, lots of different backs who want to be paid, but the teams just don't want to. And you can kind of understand that argument there because either they get hurt or they stay healthy for a lot of that deal,

and they never win a championship with them. They might be competitive, but I'm yet to see a team in the modern era centered around a running back that has won a Super Bowl. I'm yet to see something like that. But I don't know what you guys' thoughts were. So I guess I'll jump in here. So Adam, to build on your point, the last Super Bowl winning team that I think truly had an elite, and I mean like a true bell cow, was probably 2013. You know, the Seattle Seahawks with Marshawn Lynch.

Look at everyone since then. Patriots, they had a committee of LeGarrette Blount, Stephen Ridley, and Shane Vereen. Then afterward, the Denver Broncos had CJ Anderson and guys like Ronnie Hillman and Monty Ball. I wouldn't call Anderson a true bell cow. He kind of was later down the line, but overall, not a top 10 RB1. And then the year after that, again, was the Patriots, where they had LeGarrette Blount. They had Deion Lewis and James White. And then, you know, you had Philly who had LeGarrette Blount. They had Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement.

Then, you know, Patriots again with their committee. The Chiefs had like their first time around had Damian Williams, I believe his name was. Tampa had Fournette, but Fournette wasn't even a top 10 highest paid back. And then you have the Rams with the Canmakers and Daryl Henderson. Now you have Kansas City who just went with Isaiah Pacheco. This is the new age of football. Look at all those names. I just said, how many of them were true bell cows?

Not many. And look at that. It shows once again, that you don't need your thousand yard rushers, you know, your Barry Sanders, your Walter Payton's your Jim Brown's that air is gone. It is dead and there's a few reasons one obviously we know it's a passing league two running backs are actually the most replaceable position i mean in a year in an era where the salary cap is going up the running backs position is the only one which sees their average pay go down because like a

running back that can get you like 800 yards and three touchdowns in a season they're a dime a dozen and finally the reason that no one's talking about i think is the rise of the dual threat quarterback you're josh allen's you're lamar jackson's guys that can that have cannon arms but can also scramble oh they're they're waiting gold and not to mention guys like joe burrow and patrick mahomes who aren't when you think of them you don't think of their scrambling ability but they can they can easily rip off 15 yards of play and when you look at that when you combine all of those factors it's just a perfect storm for running backs just not to get paid. I mean, we recently saw Christian McCaffrey get dealt away for not even a first round pick. And that's

what the Colts want for Jonathan Taylor. And frankly, unless the team gets super desperate, I don't see them getting it. Oh, and going off your point, CJ,j i mean you're a hundred percent right it is the most replaceable position i mean how many guys do you know i mean most of these guys from in the past some of them a thousand yard rushers some near a thousand yard rushers a lot of them are either free agents retired or even out of the league i mean it's just such an injury prone position that you're right the dual threat quarterbacks it's just so easy to replace a running back now i mean now that you got i mean something else you forgot like debo samuel inventing wide backs i mean curtis Curtis Samuel in there, he does that.

I mean, that's another factor that we got to factor in. And with all these trick plays now, I don't really think there's much room. I don't even think the Colts, I think the Colts at best can probably get a third round pick for Jonathan Taylor, maybe a second at best. I don't see a first-round pick there. Yeah, especially coming off an injury. And there is one more thing. Why don't we pay running backs the big bucks anymore?

History. David Johnson, Arian Foster, Ezekiel Elliott. Guys, and there's probably even more that I could go on, guys that signed huge deals and then were eventually cut. Oh yeah. Yeah. Laveon bell. You're right. Both of you like that. You just keep reinforcing my point of when you pay them the big bucks nine times out of 10, it's a bad investment. The only investment that's turned out well thus far is like Derrick Henry. And I hate to say it because you know I love Derrick Henry. He's an anomaly. That's lightning in a bottle. He runs like Eddie George. I mean, that's... Well, we have seen it a couple of times.

Frank Gore is a guy who was ageless when he was in the league. There was also Adrian Peterson who was able to have a productive career. But even then, when they played later on in their careers, they were more of a complementary back to the younger guys rather than anything else. So they still, even the exceptions to the rule aren't really exceptions because they weren't elite by the time they got up there in age. Once they turned 30, it was over.

Well, it's not even just that. It's also the rules. I mean, when you're a runner, you could get hit so hard. But with receivers, it's different. And that's another reason why running backs really can't last all the time because it's just they're considered like not defenseless right it's a it's a position that ages ages like milk that's what it is yeah guys like guys like frank gore and ad, once-in-generation guys. I mean, you're talking about a guy, Torres, MCL, ACL, came back the next year, had 2,000 yards.

Yeah, only league MVP in recent memory, so yeah. I mean, Frank Gore was just a different breed. I mean, no one could take him. Frank Gore was like two Marshawn Lynches put together. I mean, he could not be taken down. He was that guy gave me hell through the years. Well, that's one way to put it. But I mean, it's this is I mean, this is a position where it's the only position in professional sports where you could be in your you you could be still in your twenties and be

considered past your prime where you're taking it year by year. Yep. If you're in your late twenties as like a wide receiver, you're still in your prime. If you're a quarterback, your career's just beginning, but when you're a running back, it's almost over for you. And I just, I'm struggling to find any position in professional sports where it's similarly like that. Like the running back position, it's the worst position for you financially. If you're a running back in the NFL. I would almost say kickers up there too. No, kickers can play until they're like 40. Yeah, but that's a different animal. It's more of a mental thing with them. Once you start to fail a little bit, once you start to really have those big time failures and big moments,

like for example, Steven Gaskowski, biggest example of that, biggest example of that in our, in recent memory, guy was nails for years in 2015, the AFC championship. He missed an extra point.

It was his second missed extra point in his entire career. He only did it in his rookie year, which was a once in, like, back then, extra points, you miss those. It never happens. But he missed that extra point. He was never the same guy after that. Y'all won a Super Bowl with him. In spite of him?

In spite of him. All right right i wouldn't go that far but there was not that noticeable decline i will not he was not he was not the same he was not the same it was he was not the same guy after that happened he just wasn't yeah they won a super bowl but look at the team around him yeah i'm just saying like he wasn't he was not the same guy he was missing field goals left and right that year agree to disagree on this one hold on i don't think it's as bad as what you're implying you know what we will just see about that because before we wrap this up all right i am pulling up his stats and we'll see if adam's right or justin is right so are we looking at field goals or extra points because see here's the thing steven gustowski

his rookie year in 2006 had an extra point percentage of 97 and it was 100 all the way until 2015 then 2016 it was still good, but still 93, 95. Like there was a noticeable drop off. He wasn't bad, but still. And then after 2015, where he had a kick percentage of 91, very next year, 84. Then he bounced back with 92, but then 84, 87, and then ending his year with a 69 in 2020. Nice. Yeah, yeah, we know.

I'm just saying, perhaps not a great statistical drop-off, but there was a statistical drop-off, and the numbers show that. Can I also bring up Nick Falk? Oh, Nick Falk. Yeah, let's hear it. Nick Falk, one of the most up-and-down careers you will ever see a kicker have. Now he's having a career renaissance here in New England,

but it wasn't always like that. Right before those days, he was a journeyman jumping from team to team. But when he was with the Jets for that little time, he was actually pretty good. I was talking about the Buccaneers. Buccaneers, Nick Fulk nick buccaneers nick focus absolutely he should have been out the league all right but i think we're going way off topic here we're supposed to be talking about running backs but my point my point being it's more of a mental thing

when you see a when you see a kicker fall off when with a running back it means they have nothing left like they they they fall off a cliff as max kellerman once so eloquently put it about a different topic that we won't get into uh we'll leave it for later which i also don't think was a bad take by the way at the time i know he ended up being blatantly wrong but he's not he isn't wrong in general. Like, quarterbacks fall off. It happens, especially in the age 40. All right, so preseason. We haven't been able to cover it quite as much with our scheduled episodes,

but now we have some time to cover it, and now that preseason's almost over, we are each going to go over two takeaways, two takeaways from this preseason so far. That's next. This is the Fumble Rooski podcast. Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football. They're saying it's a catch. It's his cross. Takes.

Sideline. Touchdown. Unbelievable. Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, Justin Tucker, special guest Ian Mulhern. So preseason, almost through, but with preseason, now for the most part it doesn't matter, but in some senses it does. In the sense where we are looking at some young players and

trying to determine whether or not these guys are going to be good going forward. So looking at this, we got two pre we have, we're going to go around the table, two takeaways. Um, CJ, you want to kick us off?

I mean, I was going to say like, since Justin or has been on a while or Ian's the guest, like, I mean, I kind of went first last time. So I was wondering, like, I don't have to either of you guys I'll go I'll go yeah I have to say Will Anderson trucking that running back and sacking the quarterback forcing a fumble in the

same motion I I just that was unreal I was like looking at that play I was like, looking at that play, I was like, this guy could be potentially like defensive rookie of the year. I mean, with his speed, I mean, he's almost like a running back with speed. He is so fast. If you take your eyes off him for more than two seconds, he can force a fumble. Heck, could probably even intercept a pass. I mean, he's a once-in-a-lifetime type talent. That's what I got to say. Will Anderson could break out right away and help this defense upgrade slightly. He looked good. He looked really good, and I know what play you're talking about. That guy jumped off the line of scrimmage,

and in a millisecond he was in the quarterback's face. That was unbelievable. What's your other takeaway? I'd have to say my other takeaway from this, okay, as a Panthers fan, I have to say, yes, people, you can roast me 27 zip against the Jets. I will never hear the end of it. But that next game against the Giants, I noticed one thing,

and that was the Panthers looked way better in the second half than they've ever looked in years. I mean, seriously, if they can do what they did, minus the holding, which has driven me crazy, I think the Panthers' offense could potentially be very dangerous in the second half, which is what you really need. Well, I think it's going to take some time oh yeah of course develop um bryce young as he holds on to the ball way too long yeah but with quarterbacks it usually

takes a couple of years for them to really develop you very rarely see the justin herberts or the dac prescotts who just come on strong during their rookie years. You very rarely see that. But, Tuck, you want to go first? Go next? Yeah, I'll go next. I'll use one for the rest of the league and then one for the Ravens. The first one for the rest of the league. I'm kind of liking what I'm seeing from Jordan Love over in Green Bay.

He looks comfortable. He likes what he sees in the pocket. He's developing with his receivers. That deep ball he threw to Romeo Dobbs was nice. Overall, I think he actually might be better than what we all expect. I think he actually might be able to be the franchise quarterback for the Green Bay Packers for time to come. I'm happy for what he's doing. Hopefully, they keep developing the pieces they have around him.

But overall, not too bad, not too shabby. I think they'll be middle of But overall, not too bad, not too shabby. I think they'll be middle of the pack, not too good, not too bad. But I think Jordan Love will be good. The second takeaway I have, the Ravens, we need cornerback help. My God, not having Marlon Humphrey on the team is a big problem, especially when you have no reliable number one cornerback. And looking at what I have during the preseason, it doesn't make me comfortable at all. The commanders put out their first team against us, and they spanked their secondary.

And I'm not too happy about it. I'm not happy about what we have at cornerback. So hopefully the Ravens can address that with the trade. I don't know when or how, but hopefully sooner the better. Eric, please, I need a cornerback. I can't go into the regular season with Kevon Seymour as my number one right now. I can't have it. It's either Trayvon Mullins, Kevon Seymour.

Not good enough. I need another cornerback, another reliable cornerback until Marlon Humphrey comes back. Okay. I like both of them. What do you think of Ronald Darby? Because I know they signed him. He's coming off an ACL injury, so that's my problem.

I'm not expecting much out of him. If I get anything at all, I'll be fine. But he's coming off an injury that he just had last year with the Denver Broncos. So it's like if he's good enough to suffice, I'm fine with it, but I'm not sure how good he is because I haven't seen him in preseason. So I can only hope at this moment in time that he's a semblance of what he once was. All right. Yeah, well, he was once a pretty good corner wasn't

always the best but he was solid he won a super bowl with uh he won a super bowl with the eagles a couple years ago back in 2017 um but cj got your takeaways yeah i do so kind of like everyone else i'll do one for the league and one for my team so for the league all these veteran running backs need to take no because i can actually kind of build off like what i was saying earlier but oh my god these running backs in the preseason have been insane. Like that one guy, I think his name is like Emmanuel Wilson on the Packers. Oh, my God, that kid's good. And what about TyJay Spears on the Titans? Looking good. Dearness Johnson and Tank Bigsby, I think their names are, on the Jags.

Like, no RB1 is safe. Or if said RB1 goes down, these teams should be in good hands. Because you have these running backs, like undrafted free agents and late round picks that have all of a sudden decided to start playing like they're RB1s. Yeah. So yeah, once again, I think this preseason has lended even more credence to the argument that running back is a highly replaceable position. And my second thing for my team, Patriots, is we did not do nearly enough to address the offensive line. And there is one way I think we can fix it is Riley Reif, who is an old veteran journeyman tackle we signed,

he played like 20-some-odd snaps at guard and didn't allow any sacks, hurries, or pressures. And that's all well and good, but we already have two guards. Where is he going to go? I'm hearing that Awenu could swing out to tackle, which he has done before. And that's the way I think you can fix this, because we drafted a guard named City Sal, who was a big fellow that we moved to tackle.

And oh God, he's been terrible. Andrew Stuber has been terrible. McDermott has been eh. And how is it that you draft three offensive linemen and they're all interior when you need a tackle? So I swear to God, sometimes I think we're trying to get Mac Jones killed. Also, by the way, on a smaller note, this preseason, if you're a Bailey Zappi fan, you can officially shut up.

He had like 112 yards. It's like, oh boy, oh boy. 42 of that came from a dink and dunk you threw to Boutte. Not even averaging five air yards per throw and went 10 of 22 against the packers just shameful shame i tells you see so all right so my turn my first takeaway is that Kenny Pickett, the Steelers might have actually found somebody in this kid. And it really does show what a team can do, what a franchise can do when they just show some patience with their young quarterbacks. Not just with Pickett, but also with Jordan Love.

And we've seen it with other guys as well. Josh Allen, when he was a rookie, was awful. He sucked. Took him three years to become what he was. And we're seeing the with other guys as well. Josh Allen, when he was a rookie, was awful. He sucked. Took him three years to become what he was. And we're seeing the same thing with Trevor Lawrence. I think he's going to have his best year yet this season. He was solid last year, and he sucked the year before that. Same thing with Kenny Pickett.

I think from what we have seen in preseason, he looks so much better. And you can see the accuracy with this kid. Clearly these small hands are not an issue because did you see that? Did you see that one ball that he threw to Pat Friermuth? There was a defender right on top of him, but he dropped it right in the bread basket. It was awesome. The celebration wasn't so good, but he looks like he looks really good. This kid, he's accurate. He shows poise in the pocket and it looks like he has more room to grow with having more time to throw because this Steelers, this Steelers offensive line has been awful the past couple of years. And it looks like they improved it a little bit with from this offseason they addressed in the first round taking that tackle and they've it they just look a lot better now

now are the Steelers going to do anything this season probably not maybe they'll sneak into the postseason nine and eight record yet again but they're going to show some tremendous growth with Kenny Pickett and with their young targets as well with Pat Friermuth and George Pickens and also Deontay Johnson too. So this is a good team and it looks like they're trending in the right direction and showing exactly why they have won six rings and have remained one of the most competitive teams throughout the existence of the NFL. And we're seeing it now with Kenny Pickett and also with Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.

My next takeaway is this is any wider scale. I think from what we saw in preseason, in the last preseason game, it was Packers-Patriots, how it was suspended early. I think we're going to see some more suspensions on the horizon. Do they better not. And I'm not saying that we're going to see two or three a year. I don't think that's going to happen. But it'll probably be as rare as we see ties in the NFL, right? They happen, but it's maybe once every two, three years,

maybe once a season, but I just think it's going to happen. And I think there's a lot of injuries that'll happen today that will cause a suspension that maybe wouldn't have happened in years prior. Like, for example, Lawrence Taylor jumping on Joe Theismann's leg. In today's NFL, I firmly believe that game would have been canceled. They would not have wanted to play after that. But back then, they did play.

And all the way up until now. But now that we saw this DeMar Hamlin situation, and you can understand that argument because nobody has really died on the football field and we came close this past season so when we have situations like that just as someone if someone passes out or if someone's leg snaps in two if someone's knocked out they get a serious head injury we we could see some suspensions. I'm not saying it's going to happen all the time, but it's going to be rare, but we could see this happening. And I think what we should be thinking about is

how is the league going to manage this? It wasn't important before, obviously, because we were thinking about DeMar Hammond's life. Now that we know that he's okay we need to know how to handle these situations because this has never happened before it just happened this last season we need to know how to handle it so that if we have a suspension that they can handle it in a manner where it still feels fair for the league. Because I'm sorry, they really botched that. You don't include the Bills in the neutral grounds idea and not the other team in that matchup.

You can't just exclude the Bengals and have the Chiefs, who weren't even involved in that matchup, and just hand them the number one seed. That made no sense. And I'm glad the Bengals overcame that because that was a joke. It was stupid. And still lost in the AFC Championship game. Sure, but that was other things.

Yeah. Nothing to take away from the Chiefs. Unbelievable team. I have to say, I mean, you're right about they're taking it more seriously now, but when it comes to a guy almost dying, I can agree to disagree with that because you saw it with Drew Bledsoe. You saw it with probably Joe Montana when they went down. I mean, Drew Bledsoe had like, what was it, like a blood clot or something?

And then a punctured. Punctured lung. I don't mean to sound harsh or mean or anyone, so don't think I'm Skip Bayless out here being a careless jerk, but it happens. It's like in basketball, like what I say to other people. It happens. It's a contact sport, and it happens. It's like in basketball, like what I say to other people. It happens. It's a contact sport, and it happens. Yeah.

It's just – Sure. That's life. We don't like it. It's not fair, but it happens. I agree that it happens. And what I'm trying to say is because of the DeMar Hamlin situation that happened where somebody actually came very close to dying, we might start seeing them.

And if something like that, like Joe Montana or Drew Bledsoe happens again, like in today's day and age, that game may not continue at all. And I'm not saying I don't like it but i also understand the situation because if someone almost dies or if they look like they are going to die or just if they do the players their teammates aren't going to want to continue that game you're going to be one worried of worried about their buddy well their teammate who's. Yeah. And especially during the other games where you can't focus, it is so difficult to, like, get that momentum back. Because once someone falls like Sean Taylor did with –

that's another great example. That team just wasn't the same again. They weren't the same team. They weren't, like, getting to the the same team they weren't like getting to the super bowl like they were in their past they've just you know what i mean yeah although i will say i don't think that rule should include something like with sean taylor but i mean i get it they were looking decent before that but then after his unfortunate passing you know that you know we we saw what happened there but if you start

including things that happen off the off the gridiron then i think it just becomes pedantic furthermore i agree wholeheartedly with adam that the nfl needs to get its stuff together and actually you know have a plan for if this happens again, because it will. And my biggest fear is that, let's just say there's another DeMar Hamlin or a Joe Theismann that happened. Now, call me horrible if you want, but I genuinely worry that if something like that happens,

it's in like the third quarter, the losing team will take advantage and try to like shave an L off their record and say, oh, well, you know, he's hurt. We can't play anymore. We're too sad. God darn it. I never thought about that. That's a good point. No, I know that sounds horrible, but let's face it. It doesn't matter who dies in the NFL. Unfortunately, all that matters to coaches and GMs is winning. And you could say money, you could say whatever, you could say whatever, but at the end of the day, they want

to win. And if you're losing and one of your players goes down, I would not put it past any coach, any of them, whether you love them or hate them. I would not put it past any of them to pull the we're too sad to continue card. Let's stop. Well, yeah. And that I'm just saying like, that's something that I believe can. And if it, and if the league allows it will be abused. You know what? The league also needs to fix like this one, especially this other thing,

especially with running backs now because I have to say they get less penalties than a receiver. A receiver could get PIs or just about anything, but these running backs with the way they're getting hit, they are getting killed, especially when they get hit in the knee here. That should be like when they're like the helmet to the knee that should be illegal well yeah but if you lead with your helmet that is illegal and but how far do we want to go on this because the nfl is already looking at banning the hip drop tackle which i'm sorry you banned that that is the epitome of softness like but how far

do you want to go like for example you saw the Steelers linebacker Quan Alexander got fined for a completely legal hit and it's like I just I don't know anymore just put flags on him at this point it's like good lord I'm not saying I disagree but I think there's a very fine line that we have to look at because like I don't i am not in favor of banning the hip drop tackle but but yeah these running backs get brutalized but big hits are part of the game yeah they said like if you even it doesn't have to be held to helmet if you lead with your helmet that is a penalty but but if you're a runner there's no there's no rule about going like for anyone's knees that's been a thing forever the only time you can't hit someone in the knees is a as if they don't have the ball

or b as if it's like the quarterback that's only in the pocket once they get out there then it's fair game yeah but we're straying a bit but that's just my two cents. All right. Well, there are all of our takeaways so far from this preseason. Kind of makes up for missing these past two weeks, but it's also preseason. And also, the second week is the dress rehearsal. The third week, they usually play the scrubs. So I don't think we missed out on too much. So preseason does hold some

water. We've seen it in the past and we're seeing it now. We see some quarterbacks who look good. Jordan Love, Kenny Pickett. We also see some possible rule changes with these suspensions coming. So a lot of different stuff coming out of this. So preseason does kind of matter. I'm not, I probably won't watch it, but it matters. It matters a little bit. All right. Next we have our fan box. This is the f is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. This is what? Diggs!

Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field the one catch sammy walkins for the touchdown welcome back to the fumble ruski podcast adam wright cj medeiros justin tucker special guest ian mulhern so we welcome you to the fan box portion of our show where we where we allow you to give your two cents on this show you can respond with hot takes questions and more we will discuss it on this show and give you a shout out respond to next week's fan box question to be

featured on our show so question this week's question of the week was um what's one player you're most excited for after seeing this preseason so we kind of saw we kind of talked about it a little bit in our takeaways i'm excited excited to see Kenny Pickett. Tuck talked about Jordan Love. And then you got Ian who kind of talked about Will Anderson. All of them solid. But you guys, we want to hear what you guys think. Starting with Brogdon Hill, who said Jordan Love, which is a good one. I think the Packers, we are now seeing why they are so good with quarterbacks.

They've had some of the best quarterbacks in league history. And we see, I'm kind of starting to see a trend here with Packers quarterbacks. So early on in their career, they don't look great. Aaron Rodgers, when he was first starting out, didn't look very good. In fact, his first year, he wasn't very good either. Like actual star actually starting same thing with Brett Favre. He was drafted as a Falcon. Didn't play so well. Comes to the Packers. Then he starts to see some results. Jordan Love, he looked horrible when he first started here. Like, damn, this is supposed to be the heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers. Now,

after a couple of years, this is his third year in the league, looks pretty good. He looks pretty solid. So I like that one. Jordan Love, I'm actually pretty excited to see him. I'm excited to see the Packers and their success with quarterbacks. And I pretty excited to see him i'm excited to see the packers um and their success with quarterbacks and i'm starting to see that that isn't really a fluke um all right bd breaks said jsn gonna be special smith and jigway's talking about wrist injury and i did pick this guy to be Offensive Rookie of the Year. It was a Boulder pick. But this wrist injury sets him back a little bit. And he might be ready for Week 1. They're saying he most likely will be.

They're hopeful for it. But even if he is, that's going to be a rocky start for him because now he has to recover from this and be able to play against big league cornerbacks. I don't know. I think this guy has potential to be a wide receiver one. I think he will be. But will he be offensive rookie of the year caliber?

I just don't think so. I have to say with Smith Najigba, the one thing that gets me, and a lot of people don't talk about this, is when he was in college, he was behind two good receivers, Garrett Wilson, Chris Alave. And when he was like the wide receiver three, he was great because he was getting open. Everyone was covering Garrett Wilson or Chris Alave. I mean, now that he's in Seattle, he's kind of in a similar role. So I think he'll get open and make some big-time plays, but as a rookie of the year, I don't know. That's a solid point.

It's a big mystery there. Yeah, that's a good point. But we are kind of living in an era, similarly to how we mentioned earlier in the show, where we're living in the end of the three down back. We're witnessing the beginning of wide receivers breaking out and doing it early in their careers, right? Justin Jefferson did it.

Garrett Wilson did it. Chris Olave did it. We could see it with Smith and Jigbo, who looks like the best wide receiver in this draft so far. Ian, you said Bryce Young. I did. Honestly, I think the one thing I like about Bryce Young is from what I've noticed, and especially this play that I saw is instead of like chucking it downfield, like most rookie quarterbacks would do on like a third and almost 20.

I want to say, instead of taking that big play, he just decided to get in field goal range. So his team could score. I mean, if that's not a solid read in a solid play, I don't know what you want to call it. Because he might hold on to the ball for too long,

but his reads and some of the throws he makes are ridiculous. Yeah. Well, it might take some time. Oh, it will. Definitely will. But his IQ with plays is unreal. I've never seen anything like it from any rookie in a while, unless your name's like Justin Herbert.

Or C.J. Stroud. Oh, don't even get me started on him. I will. Yeah, y'all know I liked him coming out of the draft. And you wanted C.J. Stroud, didn't you? I did. I think I did. But then, actually, the test that he failed was a basic knowledge test.

Yeah. He got an 18 on it. Bryce got a 98. Yeah, that's true. All I'm going to say is, what's that meme? What is it? C.J. Stroud when the defense pulls out a math test on third and five. Oh, my God.

CJ, you should make memes for our social media page, especially with the one that you created for me today. You make memes on your free time. Do that for our show. That would be awesome. Yeah, I may as well put my talents to you. So, yeah, just let me know what you want, and I'll do it, man. All right.

Well, all right well uh all right chase mcginty said jalen carter duh yeah he's already been a problem he's all he's already looked good he's he's an animal all right johnny zuccaro said Deuce Vaughn. That's the little guy, right? Yeah, the 5'5 monster as I call him. Actually, I have to say it. This might be a bold take, but Tony Pollard, watch out. Your job can be taken in two seconds if that guy continues what he's doing.

His job is fine. I do think his job is fine, though. I think it is, too rb2 is not out of the question though that's all i'm gonna say and another thing is everyone's like oh if he gets one hit he'll be cracked i'm like yeah i get it that's true but you gotta remember he's fast and agile and maybe being small might be an advantage if no one can really wrap him up. Kind of like a mini Tariq Cohen, but just better, I guess. Yeah. Mini Tariq Cohen.

Tariq Cohen's tall. And who's the guy who was on the Eagles for, like, forever? I'm completely blanking on it. Sproles. Sproles. That kid was tiny. Sproles, yeah. That guy was tiny, and he was still able to do it.

Strolls was a muscular piece, dude. No one can stop that. Tyson Tate said Will Anderson. So we talked about Will Anderson. So that's a good pick, and he already looks big league ready. Tyson Tate also said Jordan Addison. And Addison – He goes fast.

You've got to be careful. Well, yeah, yeah. Just hopefully he doesn't have his dog with him either. Just don't go too fast or hope his dog doesn't get sick. Then he'll get really fast. He looks like a promising young kid. He just better not make stupid decisions like he just did. Don't want to be like the next Henry Ruggs out here.

Especially with Justin Jefferson on your team, you would think that would hurt you. But like you said earlier on, Ian, about Jackson Smith and Jigba, I would argue that it makes him more open because all the coverage is going to go towards Justin Jefferson, which is going to leave him open for more targets. And he's also a very talented kid. So he's going to be ready for it. Especially K.J. Osborne. I mean, yes, he's not the best receiver, but this guy can break your heart in two seconds because if you look at the game from a couple years ago, he will do that to you.

Yeah, all right. Dorian, so Tyson Tate also said Bryce Young. So we covered that, and we've also covered two of your responses tyson so we'll skip over that love you to death uh dorian alish said spears i i like him i like honestly i like what he can do i I mean, seriously, CJ, as you said earlier, when this guy's in the open field, he's gone. Good luck. Good luck trying to get that guy.

I think he came out of, what was it, Tulane? Yeah, yeah, he did. And he is like the perfect complement for Derrick Henry. If Derrick Henry is big and powerful, then that guy is small and shifty. Oh, yeah. Yep. All right. he's big and powerful and that guy's small and shifty oh yeah yep all right uh josh hool said booty and born might provide a spark in the pats wide receiver room this year i love born you know i love born and i was pissed off that he got he was he wound up for the entire 2022 season in the doghouse of a defensive guy calling offensive plays, Mr. Matt Patricia.

And we're really going to see how much we missed him in 2021. However, we already kind of know who he is. Yeah, but he's still a reliable receiver. I will say one thing, though, about Keyshawn Boutte. He and Demario Douglas, if New England plays their cards right, which, you know, receivers, but we don't talk about that, they're going to be a problem because Demario Douglas has basically been like outshining everyone in camp and Boutte,

like when they actually throw to him in the preseason has looked good too. Yeah. Demario Douglas has basically been outshining everyone in camp and bootay. When they actually throw to him in the preseason, he's looked good too. Yeah. And they're also treating Demario Davis as a starter. They benched him in terms of reps in their last preseason. Yeah, I was actually going to ask about that. What was going on there in the preseason? Because he's only been on there a handful of times. All right.

That just tells you how much confidence they have in him that they're putting him in bubble wrap, right? Yeah. Bill likes what he sees. He's like, all right, you're done for the night. Yeah. And if they found a wide receiver one out of nothing, like they do routinely with corners, then God bless them.

God bless them if they were able to. Unless it becomes like another Danny Amendola or something. Or that. I'll take it. Their offensive line also sucks. You mean Danny Playhouse? You mean Danny Playhouse? Danny Amendola was pretty good in the postseason.

My only problem with Kayshaun Boutte is sometimes when he drops a pass, he does not stop dropping passes. I saw it at LSU too. That is one thing that he struggles with. It's like he was supposed to have that breakout year with like Jaden Daniels, and then he just like his draft stock almost fell off the cliff. Yep. All right.

So John Warren said the entire Washington football team. Joke post because they obviously, you know, they ended a 24 game. No, that was before. That was before this. He did post it before, but he was posting it because he was – he's a Patriots fan. I know John. He's a Patriots fan.

He was looking forward to the game that night. That team seems to be playing with a different type of intensity, though, from what I've seen before. I don't know if it's the new ownership or Eric Biannimi, but seriously, that team could be a potential dark horse. Well, if they found someone in Sam Howell, then that's good for them because they have talent pretty much everywhere else. Their defense is pretty solid.

Their offensive line is terrible, which is something they'll have to address. But they're – I'd have to say – I'd have to say – I mean, yeah, you could put it there, but some of the blocks I saw last night, they looked pretty solid. I mean, he had time in the pocket. He did, but he was also facing front sevens that were made up of backups for the most part. Well, and special teams, I'll give you that.

So I think, you know, if it turns around, it turns around. But last year, it was, according to PFF, Pro Football Focus, say what you want about it, they weren't very good last year. They were among one of the worst teams in terms of offensive line. Weren't they like 8-9 last year or something? I don't remember what their record was. I thought it was 8-9. Their offensive line wasn't very good. They have good targets, though.

Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, the other kid whose name is escaping me, who's the wideback you were mentioning. Curtis Samuel. Curtis Samuel. Name escapes me sometimes. But, yeah. You know the one. Floodster Sports Zone said Yasir Abdullah.

Yeah, he was like a fifth- rounder from Louisville linebacker that Jacksonville drafted. You want to take a guess at what team this guy likes? What team? Could it be the Jaguars? Yeah, the team that's going to be in the AFC championship. Jack Briel said Deuce Va vaughn the little menace we kind of covered him but that's a great pick because they look it looks like they found

something and i know you guys covered tony pollard too when you when we were discussing him the first time someone mentioned him but if he if deuce vaughn eats into Pollard's workload in any way, shape, or form, anything more than 30%, 40%, it shows their lack of confidence in Tony Pollard as a workhorse back. Yeah, that's how good Deuce Vaughn is. It shows that too. But when we're talking about Pollard, this kid is supposed to be, from an efficiency standpoint

and from what he did with Ezekiel Elliott as the complementary back, what they saw, he should be able to be a workhorse back. But if they won't even give him that and give Deuce Vaughn a lot of carries, then maybe he can't even handle that kind of workload. I'm just saying like, we might want to look at, look into that a bit because I mean, they can't, we've seen other players who have been backups who turned into workhorses like Austin Eckler.

So that's something to look at there. All right. Nick Mazalek said Tank Bigsby. I actually can I comment on Tank Bigsby? As a huge Auburn fan, as you can see in my room, painted literally the colors. Tank Bigsby, he is a monster i mean his nickname tank just says it all i mean literally you get this guy in the open field he's gone forget i mean

travis etn is good but man tank bigsby i mean like like cj said earlier anyone could take anyone's job at some point etn's good but tank bigsby he is tough like he is tough to take down and he will fight for yards he's he's that type of back he's he's a workhorse yeah and. And we'll see how that goes. Either way, I think Jacksonville's running game is in good hands. All right. But our next response was Jack Hartman, who said Jack Campbell, who looks like he could be a really good linebacker for him. He was a bit, and maybe when I say a bit, it's a bit of an understatement.

He was a reach, but it looks like they found a good guy. And also, it's the same thing with Jameer Gibbs. Reach, but it looks like he could be one of the better running backs in football. I like him. Yeah, I like him, I think. I think i mean on paper they're good but when you look at like where they were taken it makes me a little hesitant but if they show up and show out early then i really don't have any problems it completely erases the narrative if that happens like if these kids turn out that they took turn out to be some of the best at their position in football then erase that narrative of them being reaches maybe they could have taken

them later but i mean we don't we don't know anything from the inside maybe other teams were looking at them too and they wouldn't have lasted from there the to say a reach you it mean reach the the correct definition of a reach is that if you if you waited they would not have been there at your next pick the definition of a reach is alex leatherwood but i won't get into that yeah but like if they wouldn't have made it to your next pick then that is then that's not a reach because that means that somebody else would have taken him. And that's a player that you like,

if you like him and he would have, and he's not going to make it till your next pick, take them. That's not a reach, but if he was going to, if Jameer Gibbs was going to be available in the second round, like many people thought, then yeah,

sure. But if he works out, then he works out. Then, you know, no one's going to be going to be bashing the Lions when they're world champions in 2024. All right. So our next one was Stephen Parker who said Dax Hill.

And we're really forgetting how talented this kid is because he was kind of in the back seat of last year's defense also he was hurt too i think he was hurt for stretches as well um but you had von bell and um jesse bates as starters but now with both of those guys leaving dax hill slides into a into a starting spot along with nick Scott, who they signed in free agency. So the opportunities are there, and he could become one of the better safeties in football. Owen Van Slak said Shane Bouchel.

Oh, Bouchel. Bouchel, yeah. Bouchel. I'm not familiar with the name. Yeah, former, I think he was an SMU running back – or sorry, quarterback, and then he was at Texas before that. I remember him. Not a great quarterback, but he's –

This was a joke post. Yeah, that was funny. Because he's Mahomes' backup. Oh, yeah. Right. I forgot about that one. Jesse Dugan said Luke Musgrove. He's going to be good in Green Bay system.

He's going to be good. And their other rookie that they drafted, a tight end, Tucker Craft, are going to be a problem, I tell you what. They will. I think him specifically. There's always something about Green Bay tight ends. It's like sometimes like it's like with the Ravens or sometimes even the Bengals, it's like they somehow create these good tight ends.

I'm like, how do they do this? Yeah, but it's the same issue as they've had in the past few years where they refuse to draft a receiver in the first round, and they just keep on focusing on defense. And it's been helping. Their defense looks really good in the past couple of years. It's really good. But their offense has sucked.

It drove your star quarterback out the window, out the door. Out the window, too. Actually, he was in such a rush. I'm not even going to look for a door. He's like, I'm out of here. He's going to go to his underground Hobbit hangout that he had when he did that darkness retreat. Tyson Tate also said, can he pick it? And we already kind of covered that.

This is your fourth response at this point. Owen Van Slack also said Devon Achein. Achein. Achein from Miami running back. He's speed. Speed on wheels. Well, there you go come yes on wheels all right owen van slack also said daniel jones with paris gamble and waller um yeah he needs to justify it how many times have i said it he needs to justify why they paid him that exactly no the giants need to justify why

they gave it to him not him he doesn't need to do anything it's the giants that need to justify this the giants are just the giants yeah all right owen vanslack also said excited to see what stroud can do with that weak receiver core. I wouldn't say it's weak because I like Tank Dell, what they have right there. And John Mechie. John Mechie too. And Dalton Schultz though. I think Dalton Schultz is solid. They're young right now is the best thing I can say.

CJ Stroud is such a weird quarterback to real. I can't really, I want to give this, I have to give him a chance first. I want to see what he actually does. Hopefully he doesn't throw it to another Patriots guy again. I mean, that guy, he's like, let me throw it right to the defender. Let me just. Yeah, but Anthony Richardson. Like I said, as long as the defense doesn't have a surprise math test up his sleeve,

I think it's fine. Tuck, Anthony Richardson is in a whole different conversation with me and not in a good way either. No, he should not be starting. They think he should start. But I would like some of the receivers that C.J. Stroud has. I just think it's a matter of timing and just

the amount of reps they have on each other. I think it's worth the tell, and they'll be fine. Yeah. We'll see. They also have Nico Collins. I like him. And Damian Pierce as a running back, so they should be fine.

And Dalton Schultz as a tight end. Yeah, Ian mentioned that. Yeah. So they have some pieces. I wouldn't say it's weak, but they'll definitely need some more weapons for him down the road because they need a legitimate wide receiver one. Maybe John Mechie becomes that.

I know he was one of the top prospects uh before he had that unfortunate incident where he got cancer um so we'll see we'll see if he is if he's not then they'll they're going to need something um owen van slack also said jack campbell he looks like an old school linebacker. Yeah. So we've already talked about him, and this is your eighth response at this point. Fourth. Tucker Phillips said, Trey Palmer. I like that pick.

Yeah. I like that pick. I think, honestly, he was overshadowed a lot by Jalen Hyatt, especially, at Tennessee. But Palmer, he's tall, he's fast. Did Palmer come from Nebraska, though? No, he was out of Tennessee, I'm pretty sure. No, that was Cedric Tillman, I think you're probably thinking of. Tillman was in Tennessee, but Trey Palmer, I'm fairly certain. You know what? I'm just going to Google

it because... If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Yeah, Trey Palmer, Tammy Buccaneers. Oh, he played football at LSU and Nebraska most recently. Oh, all right. So, okay. But yeah, still. He... He was overshadowed, though, by DeColdis Crawford, but, you know.

And Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase. Yeah, I was thinking of Tillman. That's my fault. That's all right. But still, I have seen him play. He's got breakaway speed. Robert Canedo said Liam Anderson. Liam Anderson is, like like some dude from holy cross

that's all i know about him and that's all i care to say yeah i mean at that point it's all i care to say too mass leone said keon white he's a monster this is an interesting one oh yeah because this is a first round guy who fell to the second. And it's kind of the same thing with a lot of guys who are supposed to be first-round picks and didn't become that, right? Like Joey Porter was supposed to be a first-round pick. Oh, yeah. And he fell to a day-two pick, which is great for the Steelers. They were able to tackle two needs in the first two days of the draft.

I'm upset with that because we now need a corner, and he's with us. He's with your arch rival. I get it. You see what I mean? It is what it is. We have safe flowers. We'll make it work. They addressed the offensive line, which they desperately needed to do,

and they also managed to get a corner, which they also desperately needed after they lost cam sutton and they got patrick peterson to learn they got patrick peterson who might have an ounce of football left we'll see just an ounce nothing more and nothing less we'll see but that was a that was a big win for the Steelers in that draft. All right, Jackson Reeves said, Javante is back, baby. I, maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I like all of the Javante Williams stock.

I hope so. I don't like how Sean Payton rushed him back, though, necessarily off that ACL injury. I don't like how Sean Payton rushed him back, though, necessarily, off that ACL injury. I just don't have faith that he's going to be the same guy right away. You just don't see running backs, when they come back from ACL tears, be the same directly the year after the ACL surgery. Yeah, especially when they're being rushed in the preseason too i think he was i think he played in one i'm pretty sure or was supposed to play in one sean payton

one and him to play in one right all right so another owen van slack response i you tell this guy likes our show? He said, hot take, Salvan Ahmed will all caps, be RB1 in Miami by the end of the season. That was the guy, Will Anderson, I think. Yeah. Now, Salvan, I think his pronounce Ahmed is, I know

it looks like Ahmed, but I don't know. It got me too. But, I mean, I don't know. I lean more toward Devin McCain, but I don't know. It got me too. But I mean, I don't know. I lean more toward Devin McCain, but that's just me. Yeah. Alright. Eli Angeron said Zay Flowers. And this guy has looked really good.

And if it turns out this is the wide receiver one that the Ravens have been looking for for years, that Rashad Bateman could not become, and neither could Marquise Brown. A, A, A. The jury's still years that Rashad Bateman could not become and neither could Marquise Brown. A, the jury's still out on Rashad Bateman. I have no comment for that. We'll see.

He's injured again. And also, even when he is back, he's not that good. Yes, he is. He looks solid. I'm not watching it. I'm just not watching it. He, he is. He looks solid. I'm just not watching it. I'm just not watching it. He's so good. We'll see.

We'll see. This is the deciding season, I fear. Yeah. Justin Sutak. Sutak. Let me know about the pronunciation in our DMs. Tank Dell. Yeah, he's been winning a lot of 1-1s

recently in camp. I saw him. He was good. He's good. CJ Stroud likes him a lot too. Alright, there we go. Mass Leone also said Kendrick Bourne. Your guy.

Yeah, we kind of spoke about it but yeah you know when matt patricia is in a handcuff he can actually be you know good yeah yeah well like kendrick bourne is really good i i'm not saying he's not i'm just saying we kind of know what he is he's not a wide receiver one he's a number he's a very solid wide receiver too which is kind of what juju smith schuster is it's also what davante parker is like they have a lot of twos but they don't have a one and if they had tom brady in this offense all of these guys would be ones and this team would be a super bowl caliber, maybe if not for the offensive line issues. But, like, they don't have –

Mac Jones has yet to display the ability to make wide receivers better than they actually are. I mean, I remember the Patriots were, like, the team that was known for, like, bringing in some random tackle and making him good. Trent Brown. Yeah, Trent Brown was one of them. Couldn't do a Marshall Newhouse, though. I mean, no offense, but Nate Solder was one, too.

He was the first rounder out of Colorado, though, I believe. He was the first rounder. Yeah, first rounder out of Colorado. Played well his entire career, but he was totally a product of us. And right before that, they had Matt Light. So the Patriots in those years have been blessed with pretty good tackle play, especially from the left side um

it's just that and they they drafted isaiah win to be the replacement that worked out great actually he was pretty solid for a couple of years before they started moving him around and then he had injury issues and then penalty issues um that's another conversation to be had but he was never right that was a bad example but you know what i mean they make they make like even some of the they made some of the worst guys look good yeah yeah yeah i i hope you're right i hope you're right because they found their wide receiver on this camp and they figure out their offensive line issues maybe just maybe they could be contenders maybe i'm not holding out hope i'm i am hawkeye right now don't do that don't give me hope please don't because i don't have hope right now this division

is way too good and i'm still not even sold on mac jones yet all right uh well that's all our responses any other thoughts before we end the show today? Nope. Ian, thank you so much for joining us. We hope to have you on again. Good luck to your Carolina Panthers and Bryce Young. We'll see how he does. He is young, so it may take a couple of years for him to develop. No pun intended. It wasn't intended in that way. There is a slight possible chance

I might be at one of their practices next summer. There you go. I still haven't been to a Patriots practice. Because I hope this thing works out because I have a slight connection to the Panthers, but I really just hope it goes through. There you go. We'll see how it goes.

All right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have new episodes coming out on Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more.

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