The Fumblerooski Podcast - Integrity Rules -Ep 104 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: August 3, 2022

What's next for the Browns without Deshaun Watson? Does the recent news confirm Tom Brady and Sean Peyton almost became Miami Dolphins? Who will be the league MVP and winners of other NFL Honors awards? Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, and CJ Medieros host special guest Sean Howe to cover these topics and more!

Thank you for watching. so 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. Oh! Diggs! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable!

Swings it way for the NFL. I mean, this has been absolutely crazy. From the Deshaun Watson suspension, the ruling for that coming yesterday, and the Miami Dolphins with this huge just crapshoot. My name's Adam Wright with Justin Tucker, CJ Medeiros, special guest Sean Howe with us. You're listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast. Sean, you've been on our show quite a few times before, but not for a while. So Sean, welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us. Why don't you introduce yourself to some of our new listeners here? All right. Well, my name is Sean. I'm a student at Bridgewater.

Huge Dolphins fan, for those who don't know. So kind of rhyme or reason to the news today is why I'm on. You're a Ravens fan. Why are you talking? Anyways. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan.

I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan.

I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan.

I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan.

I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm a Ravens fan. I appreciate you guys bringing me on.

Mine is Justin. But yeah, so I'm happy to be back. All right, guys. Appreciate you guys bringing me on. Mine is Justin. But yeah, so I'm happy to be back. All right, guys. Well, we have a lot to talk about. This is probably the most we've had to talk about in one episode all summer long. We've had to plan all of our episodes to give you guys some content and sort of be able to preview this upcoming season. So this is the last one.

We're going to do some NFL honors predictions. And this would be our first segment but with everything going on we have that's like number three so we're going to start uh we're going to get to deshaun watson and his six game suspension we're going to reflect on that but first the miami dolphins have been found guilty of not only tampering with two significant figures in the NFL, but also tanking. So Brian Flores earlier on in the earlier on just a few months ago after he was fired, he came out and he he accused the Miami Dolphins during his time of being told to tank some of some games that he was playing. And he said he declined, which we we don't i mean we don't know he

could have actually done it um but he he declined he said but he went out and they and as a result they launched an investigation and what they found is not only that this was true so he what they were tanking games but it turns out that they were tampering so they were they were tanking games, but it turns out that they were tampering. So they were, they were, uh, they were having impermissible. They said conversation with not only Tom Brady, while he was on under contract with two different teams,

but also with Sean Payton right after he retired, but he was still technically under contract with the saints. So it wasn't allowed. So they got, they didn't get the permission from any of these teams so tom brady they spoke with him during the 2019 to 2020 season while he was under contract with the new england patriots they also spoke with him after his 2021 season and they spoke to sean payton after the 2021 season. And they spoke to Sean Payton after the 2021 season then. So I don't know if you guys remember, but there was a big time rule. There was a big time rumor going around and a lot of people didn't believe it. Some people did, and we didn't know what was going on, but we thought it was really crazy that Sean Payton and Tom Brady were both going to come out of retirement to play for the Miami Dolphins.

Well, Sean Payton would coach, Tom Brady would play, obviously. But looking at that, doesn't this kind of almost prove that that was going to happen? That this almost happened? It wasn't just some crazy rumor or some conspiracy theory. This almost happened. But there's that potential thought but i just want to get your thoughts on that we'll start with sean the dolphins fan and that may or may not be why you're on the show but let's get your thoughts on it sean

what's going through your head right now so i mean you can't defend the actions that happened to prove it happened jose you know as a fan it's kind of like you look at it and go, really? But other teams have been there. I mean, let's look at the Cowboys and Jerry. Let's look at the Patriots with Robert Kraft. Like, every team's been through it. But the thing I took away from it most is, yeah, we're going to lose our draft picks.

We're going to, you know, the owner's been suspended six years. But at the end of the day, I'm putting out the same 54-man roster, the same coaching staff week one to week six. Yeah. Another thing to point out, so they were also punished really severely. So this is another part. Loss of a 2023 first round pick, loss of a 2024 third round pick as you mentioned their owner suspension they're also fined one and a half million dollars uh sorry to cut you off sean but i just wanted i just needed to that's a big big detail to add in there but uh but yeah big time big time punishment continue no i mean losing the picks definitely hurts because it's something that every team needs every year.

But as far as this year goes, the potential we have week one to week six is still the same because the people actually going out on the field coaching and players like is the same. So it's really like a long term effect where it's something that it's going to have to be sat on. We're going to see what comes of it next year. You know who we could have gotten with that pick and who we end up losing out on how that affects us there but as far as this season it really is a minuscule punishment to us because yeah the owner's punished and uh what was it the general manager is punished but it's like to us it's like it really doesn't affect what i'm gonna see on my tv screen come week one so the potential is still there as far as i see it what talk it sounds like you have some thoughts first off uh i didn't i wasn't fully aware until i read uh the reports about the miami dolphins shame that they have to stoop this low to actually be competitive in a solid

but not all that talented division outside of the bills i felt like the dolphins were the second best team in that division and i thought they had a chance to make the playoffs but then when you look at the amount of scheming they did just to get one guy on their team still couldn't manage to do that had to hire their coach to lose games and grant him a hundred thousand dollars per game he lost, which is why I think they lost seven straight games, which is unbelievable to say the least. They were trying to lose games at that point. And then fired their coach when he realized he didn't want to actually lose games. And then the statement that came out afterwards, defending his innocence, is almost laughable to me.

But at the same time, when I see Sean defend his team, I respect it at the same time. It's just a bad look for the Dolphins overall. I think they'll still have the same team going forward, but a loss of a first-round pick can be detrimental depending on where they finish. If it's like a late first-round pick, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. But if they tank, then yeah, it's going to be a problem. All right. CJ? I agree with Sean when he says it's going to be a late term issue.

Because think about it this way. Two attack of the low is unproven. We know it. We've spoken about it this way. Tua Tagovailoa is unproven. We know it. We've spoken about it. And though he has no reason not to suck this year, let's just say, worse comes to worse, and he finds a way to do so.

And the Dolphins say, alright, buddy, we're giving you the heave-ho. So then what? You know, you can't draft a guy. There's probably not going to be anyone in free agency. So this basically says to me, you better hope to a pans out. Cause,

cause if he doesn't, you might actually literally be saddled with him for another year. One other thing. Hang on. Sorry, CJ, you, you continue.

I thought, I thought you were done cause you made a, you made a long pause, but we'll, we'll address the comment that we just got. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Keep going. Oh, no, never mind.

I was just going to say, as for the owner, you know how I feel about tanking, and part of me thinks I would like to see more punishments like this because we all know tanking happens in the nfl tampering happens but it just hasn't been like this blatant and frankly if the nfl really wants to see a cut down on that you have to start doling out more punishments like this yeah um so we got a comment from jeff mediros saying, does this explain why the Pats beat the Dolphins big time? 30, 30, he said 30 something. And I think he put an N there on accident. Small typo. 30 something to zero in first game. And we lost 27-24 at the end of the season and missed out on a bye game and he said hmm is he talking about is he talking last season no no because we we got swept by the dolphins

last year unless you're talking about i think he's talking about the year prior because that's oh oh yeah the year prior it was it was it was the year prior where we went in um the last week and we were down and we ended up coming back and winning. Oh, yeah. I'd have to look back at game film, but I don't remember it looking blatantly obvious. I thought it was just a good showing by Cam Newton. I don't know. I mean, it's possible, but it really just depends on how deep this rabbit hole goes.

Yeah. It means go rabbit hole goes. Yeah. It means go deep apparently. Yeah. I don't know, but it's – I mean this is all going back. Like a lot of this stuff goes back with the Patriots in 2019. So for them to turn around – to go and say that this could stretch into 2020, the 2020 season on opening day is not out of the realm of possibility. But looking at, I mean,

the biggest thing I thought of because I, when I was here, I was working out in my basement, I was lifting some weights and I got it. I got a tweet. I got a Twitter notification by, I believe Adam Schefter, Ian Rapaport, one of the Jeremy Fowort, one of the insiders from the NFL saying the Dolphins just have to surrender to the league a first round and a third round pick. And that rose my eyebrows because I'm like, wait a second. I know they were accused of tanking. And if it's found,

if it was found true, then yeah, they should, they should definitely get suspended. But I was like, that's a little, it's a little harsh for just that. And then I,

then I saw some more information saying that they were, they were tampering with the likes of Tom Brady while he was retired. And while he was on the, on the, on the, on the, on the Patriots. But he was all, he was retired and while he was on the Patriots, but they were also talking to Sean Payton when he was in retirement. So, like I said, that big rumor that was going around saying that, you know, that there was almost Sean Payton and Tom Brady uniting in Miami

to join that super team that they have going, that's significant. That almost happened. And another thing to look at, Tom Brady's contract is up after this season so if he decides he doesn't want to retire and he also decides he he doesn't want to be a 49er anymore he could go there that is a possible here he can know like as in he can he can go to the miami dolphins after this season now because he does his contract is up now i believe i think his seasons he's his career is most likely over after this year but if this almost happened and it fell it fell through he got frustrated decided to go to go to the buccaneers if you

look at it that way it almost looks like he's only doing that because he that's the only the only way he can stay in the league so he would have to play out his contract and then he would have to say okay i want to go to miami and then go go to them and now they're doing it legally and then sean payton goes in comes in and he goes and says okay i'm coming out of retirement. I'd like to be a Miami Dolphin. Also being the year where this is, as CJ likes to say, the put-up or shut-up year for Tua Tunga-Vailoa. So if this is a shut-up type year for Tua Tunga-Vailoa, then he's out, Tom Brady in. I'm just thinking out loud here because this all just happened just now. But this is all – I mean, it connects in such a weird way doesn't it just just let tom brady collect his aarp checks when

he retires just let's just get this over with please i'm sick and tired of wondering what he'll do next just retire and call it a career tom please because if you go to miami it's up for you i'm not even you know he's turning he's starting to turn into the LeBron James of the NBA. Or, excuse me, of the NFL. Like, that's already what he's doing. He hopped over to the Buccaneers. He's becoming like the GM around there. Like, would it really shock you if he decided he's going to blow off

retirement again to go to a new team? Yes. I'm just playing around with the possibility. I'm not saying – I would call him Brett Favre. I would call him Brett Favre if he continues this behavior. Let him retire one more time and then say, I want to play for another team.

I will call him Brett Favre. That's kind of what he's becoming, isn't it? That's disgusting. Late in his career, he is becoming a Brett Favre. And that's not a compliment by me. And I am the most Tom Brady worshiper you'll ever see. He is kind of becoming a little bit of a diva here. And I wouldn't rule out the possibility of him doing this.

I really wouldn't. I don't know. I'd like to believe that he's going to hang it up after this year. But don't rule it out. I'm going to believe that he's going to hang it up after this year, but don't rule it out. I'm going to rule it out. And, you know, for him to finally ride off into the sunset and hopefully in five or six years being captain. But, again, one can only, you know, hope.

Listen, when I said that he was – that I believe he could come out of retirement after he initially retired. Now, I didn't think it was going to be this soon, but I said there was a possibility. And you also then said, this man needs to collect his AARP cards. Just let him stay retired. He came right out of retirement. Yeah. Tom Brady probably hurt you if he's willing to come

out of retirement that quickly if he's willing to come out of retirement that quickly do you really think that do you really think that do you really rule out the possibility that he could actually you know actually you know continue his career after this season? Yes, I swear to you. Gisele's like, enough is enough, Tom. Raise these kids with me. And he's basically saying F them kids. I mean, he showed up to the house one day, raised his kids,

and said, I've had enough of this. I can't deal with these kids anymore. Let me go back to the league. I'd rather go to training camp than these kids. Exactly. That is ridiculous. But if he believes in his own play, it is what it is. Is the thought that he's just trying to get back to the place he can't get back to, you know, prime time Tom Brady,

like you say, is just the thought of like maybe he's like, ah, if I give it one more year, I'll get there. No, no, no, next year I'll get there. No, no, no, like he he's gonna keep trying until he finally gets back and he gets that final super bowl ring and then he'll finally go take a step back and go maybe maybe that's enough yeah but if that were the case he would have retired after the 2020 season because he can't he went to a new team and he won a super bowl at that point if you retire you hang him up and then you're good right there. But maybe he thought he was back in his prime.

He thought he was good. He was going to go win three in a row or something like that. And now he realizes, oh, maybe I won't. But maybe he's going to keep going until he tries to get one more at least. If he will, nobody knows. Hopefully he doesn't get a second one. He could also just want to play until he sucks. Like just straight up, he'll hop from super team to super team

like the Lebron james he's gonna continue to what no i'm not letting that slide miami's not a super team i was saying he just called he just he just called miami a super team i just wanted to a super team thing slide i'm not letting the lebr team thing slide. I'm not letting the LeBron comment slide. Let's keep this straight to football because LeBron makes you a super team. He doesn't go to a super team. Yes, he has. Who?

Miami. They had Wade and he brought Bosh with him. LeBron literally just goes from team to team, boots out their players, sets his roots in, and he brings in all of his buddies. I mean, look, we've seen it before. Whenever it gets hard, he just leaves. Okay, I'm going to put it to you guys like this, since it's clear that people have

this weird infatuation with LeBron and super teams. When he comes, he brings you championships. When he leaves, you're a lottery team. That's just the LeBron James effect. I don't understand why we have this. Are we really just going to ignore the complete cluster overhaul so let's start let's digress a little here let's digress a little here we'll talk about this we're not because this is this is an nfl podcast not a not

a lebron james podcast i'm just i'm just comparing it in terms of in terms of the attitude in terms of his men his new mentality as he gets older. It appears, and this is just my belief, that he wants to hop from team to team wherever he has the best chance of playing the best that he possibly can in order to stay in the league and to stay relevant. So he is now a Buccaneer. He looked at that team and he said, that's a team where I can be in contention for years and then whenever they're out, I go to the next team. That next team could be the Miami Dolphins. They have some pieces on offense. They have a defense. They have a good offensive line. And they have a quarterback who is is the jury is out and it's louder than ever if two a tongue of ilo doesn't work out and tom brady's contract is up and he decides i want to play another year miami might be on the top of that list i don't know if i want him on

the top of my list i hope this isn't true tom brady please don't come back after this season i agree i'm right there with you guys i agree i wouldn't want this either i'm just This isn't true. I hope this isn't true. Tom Brady, please don't come back after this season. I agree. I'm right there with you guys. I agree. I wouldn't want this either. I'm just – this is all theorizing. It's just what could be because Tom Brady seemed to want Miami and Miami seemed to want Tom.

And I want him to retire at age 45 too. I want him to ride off in the sunset, win a ring here, and then he retires. And that's not enough. And then two rings would not be enough for him to retire as partially a buccaneer. It would be because he won six in New England. He would retire mostly as a New England Patriot. That's what I would want is him just – it's bad enough that he let that he left the patriots don't go to another team that's what that's what i would want have some success show

that your show that your success and that that that you had was legit and then then call it quits because he's making the patriots look, look worse and worse. Any, any final thoughts y'all? Cause I, I've made my thoughts pretty clear on this. You know, like,

I don't, I don't know at this point. There are any other angles to look at and to look at this? Cause there, there are a lot there. There is a lot to it. There was the, there was the tanking and there was also Sean Payton,

which kind of ties it ties into Tom Brady. So I think, I think we covered this pretty fairly, but it's just, I mean, the whole thing was a conspiracy theory to start, but just looking at now this whole investigation, it kind of legitimizes it. So I just looking at it and how it and how it shapes up going forward,

it is interesting. Just a little interesting. I mean, it really just makes us own what we did. I mean, I hate to say that as a fan of the team, but that's what happens. We got caught. We got to own what we did. We got to work with what we have.

And, you know, Sean, you kind of brought up a good point, saying that it only hurts them really in the long term because in the short term, this is kind of a slap on the wrist. You suspended the owner. You suspended the owner. And he doesn't play. He doesn't make decisions based on the football team. He just hires the guys to hire the other guys to

hire the players so like the team is still looking good for this season and that's kind of what oh what uh that's kind of what he said he he came out and he said look this we're gonna we're gonna move on from this and not let this be a distraction because at the end of the day, our team is still intact and we're looking for a winning season here. That's kind of what they did. So in the interim, it's kind of a slap on the wrist, isn't it? That's how I saw it. It hurt at first, but then when it sunk in, I was really like,

the same team's going to show up for the first six weeks. Whether Ross is there or Ross isn't there. So at the end of the day, it doesn't really affect how we're going to perform on the field for this season. Again, it could be for next season, especially seeing how Tua does. But as for this season, it doesn't really change much if you really think about it. Yeah.

So one final thought before we move on to the Deshaun Watson suspension. So this first-round pick is lost. The third-round pick is another thing. It's a third-round pick. It's kind of an early pick, but what happens to the first-round pick? Because the top 32 picks are always their first-round picks. So does that go to somebody else? No.

No, it's just Don. No, it's just Don. of it's just one last pick in the draft okay that that was that was some confusion there because at that point then the last pick in the second or excuse me the first round the first pick in the second round is just a first round pick at that point because it just goes in order of the top 32 picks. Those are really first-round picks. It just has the label of second-round pick. I mean, that's the last pick in every round. Yeah.

The first pick of every round is going to be the last pick of the prior round. And actually, that'll double once you get to the third round. So does everybody kind of move up at that point now that the dolphins are out of the out of the equation i mean technically yeah but like you don't get like the pitch just gone there is one less pick in that draft but well the pick is still there like the pick still at number three not at number 32 there is going to be a pick it's just going to be the second round but there's one less pick in the draft is my point at that 30 second overall pick will back in will

henceforth very last second round spiritually it's a first round pit but contractually is different yeah but essentially well yeah yeah you're you're right there's there's the there's the contract issue to it as well because now the 32nd overall pick, the 32nd overall pick, you don't have that team option to exercise for a fifth year, correct? And then after that, but other than that, it's essentially a first-round pick. No.

Well, I mean, in all ways except literal yeah yes i mean i get what he's saying because it's the 32nd pick so technically like if the dolphins hadn't messed up it'd be somebody's first round pick but really it's not because every team's still picking in some kind of order so really it just works out the same way it should so the biggest winner right now is whoever owns the first pick of whoever is whoever owns the first the first pick of the second round because now they're getting they're getting a they're getting a better player because they're moving up now they won't have that fifth year option but i'll take that if i get a better player get a better better draft position yeah but isn't everyone theoretically

moving up one spot so everyone's theoretically get a better draft position yeah correct yeah yeah sure yeah but the biggest winner I mean you you have a first round you have another first round pick essentially the second whoever owns the second I'm just thinking out loud there but we do i mean i get it yeah i mean i i get it i disagree but i get it yeah look i'm i'm just saying the the pick there all right all right well uh deshaun watson has been suspended six games we're going to touch on that and what it means for the browns what it means for deshaun Watson. We'll hit on that next. You are listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. The pass is no sign yet. Hamilton comes down with a football.

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I'm Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, CJ Medeiros, special guest Sean Howe. So we're going to touch on Deshaun Watson. So he has been suspended six games so the ruling has been long awaited and they took their sweet times on this but it's finally here and so yeah six games and we just want I wanted to get your thoughts on it. So, Sean, why don't you start? What are you thinking of this? I mean, I think the suspension is obviously well-deserved. I mean, plenty of evidence that points to what he did. It actually happened.

However, it seems kind of almost not enough. We were kind of talking about this before the show a little bit. For how strong of like a crime of what he did outside of the fact like the world of football it doesn't seem like that much it's less than half the season for something

that's way bigger than the game itself you know but deserved that's how I look at it talk well I got a lot to say about this deserved. That's how I look at it. Talk. Well, I got a lot to say about this. As far as the ruling, I don't understand it.

I don't get it. I don't agree with it. I think he deserves at least a year. Not only because of what he did, the amount of times he did it, the risk he put on the NFL shield. That's the one thing that should have gotten him the year because the NFL has made it a point to not just disrespect the shield at any point in time, regardless of whether or not you're innocent. The fact that you put yourself in that position kind of harms the league, no matter what you did or didn't do. So the fact that he found himself in that position, not once, not twice, not three times,

but 24 times within the span of, I want to say, a year, and the fact that he only got six games and no fines, which would have only amounted up to a million dollars, which is basically a slap on the wrist, and the fact that even if he did get fined he'd still get guaranteed 45 million dollars because of the contract that cleveland brown stupidly paid him i still don't understand why they did that but again this is the times that we live in when i look at that contract and i look at the player and i look at the individual i believe he deserved a year

if he's innocent. If he's guilty, I think he should be out of the NFL because regardless of how I feel or whatnot, that's 24 people. It's an alleged 66 within a 17-month span. To put that in perspective, if you divide the numbers, it's 3.84, which you will round up to four that's one per week 66 masseuses in in 17 months one per week that's inexcusable that's irresponsible that's egregious to me and the fact that he was only given six games is not fair considering the amount some other players got like big man Roethlisberger only got six games is he all Elliot got six games for an alleged offense that was cleared up in court but he still had to serve those six games regardless and then Josh Gordon got 25 plus games due to marijuana.

So when I look at the offenses that were committed in comparison to him, and he got the same, even though he did a lot more, a lot more times, I kind of feel like he got away with something and he shouldn't have gotten away with this that easily. And the fact that we have to stay with this, it's unfortunate, especially to those women that had to go through what he put them through. All right. Regardless,

this is something where... What's up? I thought I was going next. Yes, sorry. CJ. I wanted... You know how i am on the show i wanted to make a joke about it but i can't yeah it's no no no i can't hear me out deshaun watson to put it nicely is a disgusting monster and just i 100 agree with tucker and you know the nfl this just shows the blatant hypocrisy all they do is say oh we care about women remember a few years ago there was the no more commercial oh yeah we're

taking a stand against abuse towards women and yet you give this atrocious human being sick a six game suspension that's a slap on the wrist i I mean, keep in mind, this is the league that literally was tightening the noose around celebrations because they wanted to set a, quote, good example for the kids. And yet you have the Sean Watson who showed you can touch as many women as possible and just get slapped on the wrist. This is leagues of not okay. And the fact that judge Sue Robinson literally just said, oh yeah, it was egregious. I'm just going to give him six games. What's going through her head? Like I, I can't respect that punishment and I can't expect like the NFL for just going,

oh, okay. But there may be a silver lining. There are many anonymous legal sources and experts and stuff that are saying that the NFL might bow to the pressure placed upon them by darn near every other owner. Because keep in mind, most owners are pushing for a year-long suspension. And that the NFL might actually bow to the wishes of the owners and appeal the suspension. They can appeal it and they can ask for something longer. And if I'm the NFL, don't delay, do it now. You need to appeal for longer suspension now. Otherwise, you're just hypocrites. You are literally making a mockery of everything the shield stands for. You can even like take this lightly just because of how severe it is and how many times it happened i just well i'm sorry i i know i'm ranting but

if you're the nfl don't don't just consider appealing appeal and appeal right away yeah so i i do have a big problem with the league being inconsistent with that with their punishments because like the the only the only way that you could look at this and i want to look at something else another bit another thing that happened with with calvin ridley So Ridley was suspended a whole season for betting. Just betting. Now it was on his own team, so that is fairly severe. But he wasn't playing. I'm sorry?

But he wasn't even playing then. It's still. Still. I believe he was playing for some of it. But, like, you got a season for that. And this guy who was accused of assault by 25 different women. I lost track at this point. It's an alleged 26-24 were official.

26-24 were official. That's the biggest issue here. I mean, the league is looking at... The league... So, a lot of it is technically unproven. But if they're looking to avoid backlash, then you suspend this player for a year plus at least, or don't even allow them in the league. Because I mean, like 24 or 24 confirmed, 24. That's a high likelihood

that this all happened. That's an extremely high likelihood. And I just, I'm just speechless with the way, like, and you mentioned the no more, like they speak out against this stuff, but their, their actions don't exactly reflect their words.

Not at all. Then the whole, no more, no more of this, no more of that. Well, you just did a little more of this. So the league, the league really needs to figure stuff out because it appears that he's only in the league because of money,

because they want Deshaun Watson in the league. They know he's a superstar player. But at some point, you need to have some integrity. It's a big problem. See, as I was building on before, you were saying Calvin Ridley was suspended a year for gambling. Okay, that's an internal problem behind the shield that you can take care of. But something like this, like I was saying before,

that's outside, that is above the NFL. That is a real world, that is a situation that needs to be handled even higher than that. Like a gambling thing, yeah, that's just a policy thing. Something – uniforms. Yeah, that's a big policy thing. Things like that. But when it comes to something of this severity, it needs to be handled in such a different manner. Like it needs to be handled legally first like let's let's like suspend him figure out what's going on at like outside of the shield like let's just

what's going on in general then let's come back here because at this point he's only suspended six games he assaulted 24 women let's look at the bigger picture here whether it's a six game suspension a year and a half 10 years the bigger picture is he's getting suspended from being paid to play a game for something of this severity and that's it i think that's the bigger issue here he's getting suspended from playing a game that's it for something like this. It's really all it is. Well, yeah, we're speaking on that part. And it's just not even – but the suspension that he got,

I mean, just look at the banner there. Six games. Six games. The Browns could wind up staying afloat in the playoff hunt, especially with the teams they're facing. We haven't even touched on how the team's going to play. And he can come back, and he can lead them to the playoffs. Because they have the easiest schedule,

the number one easiest schedule leading into Week 7. Either way, still six games. You can stay afloat with that. And, like, it's just the fact that they can still stay afloat without him and then he comes back he leads into the playoffs deep playoff run whoo here's deshaun watson here's deshaun watson the hero deshaun watson this great person he never has to pay for another meal in cleveland again and that and he just automatically gets he gets excused from all of this and there's a lot of there was a lot of there's been a lot of people who

look who look at the the antonio brown issue and then he came back antonio and antonio brown helped the team win a super bowl and then it's oh i'm just so glad that he this is such a redemption such is such a redemption arc for him. It's great. It's good to see that he turns things around. He won some football games. You can win football games, be good at what you do, and still be a tool.

And that's something that I don't think people understand. Now, that's all gone because then he decided to strip down. And it turns out then when Antonio Brown somehow redeems himself, he still manages to screw it up. Well, redeem, as you – but, like, this suspension almost helps him in a way because now he can come back, he can lead them to the playoffs, and all the NFL fans are going to love him, and it's just going to be forgotten the fact that all of this has happened.

We're neglecting the bigger picture for football pretty much is what you're saying. Oh, and Adam? Right, yeah. Yeah, Adam, there's something else I'd like to bring up. Yeah. Real quick, I want to turn the cannon on the fans of the Cleveland Browns. I don't know if you've seen the videos, but when he's taking the practice field, there's cheers for him.

Like there's audible cheering, And they swarm to him after the practice saying, oh, Mr. Watson, can I have your autograph? What, Cleveland fans, what, and I cannot stress this enough, what is wrong with you? And the other thing is, though, we all know the AFC North, right? No love love lost all they did was make jokes you know about ben roethlisberger and his own history of sexual misconduct ben roethlisberger who shouldn't even been in the league either and now they turn around and just say oh we welcome the sean watts with open arms and i know it's not all browns fans but the fact that they're still willing to flock to him and cheer for him ask him for his autograph autograph. Just sickening. Next time you do that,

kindly think about like the possibly 26 women that we know of that he assaulted. Yeah. Yep. Yep. My problem is the Browns knew of the situation. They probably didn't know how severe it was until it was too late, but they knew I'm aware that he was still being charged for these things and that he was still going to be tried in the court of court of law and in the court of public opinion they still gave this man a fully guaranteed contract to put that in perspective he will be fully guaranteed 46 million dollars per year the nfl can only take away a million because the other 45 million at least

in the first two years, is in the signing bonus. So they can't even take that away from them. So what the Cleveland Browns basically did was fully guarantee this man almost over $90 million within the first two years. And somehow it gets worse. I never thought I'd feel bad for Baker. But in this situation, Baker Mayfield got done and dirty because they said they wanted more maturity at the quarterback position. And then they go and get the guy that's being charged, that was being alleged to have inappropriate behavior with 24 different women. And my thing is, Deshaun claims he's innocent and I respect him for claiming that. However, it's not just one, two or three people. It's 24 that have an alleged thing. And we know that he's been on Instagram to find these people. So it's not like

they start the conversation. It might be him starting the conversations. So I don't want to hear Deshaun Watson saying he's done absolutely nothing wrong and then say, I can understand how people may feel a certain way about me. I find this to be an unfortunate situation. I find this to be disrespectful. I find the sentencing to be unfair. And I don't think people understand how wrongful this sentencing truly is when you figure out this. This is basically a slap in the wrist. And in the short term, it doesn't really mess them up. In the long term, it sets them up for even greater success, which is very unfortunate considering the amount of times he has done it and that he apparently has gotten away with it so if i'm if i'm the nfl i should i'm strongly considering trying to figure out ways to get him more time

from nfl owners i want him to get a full year because that stupid contract and how the and the quarterback position is now looking forward to getting fully guaranteed contracts. That contract situation really set the tone for how NFL quarterbacks are going to get paid for the next five years by far because they're all going to be looking forward for fully guaranteed contracts, rock-solid contracts. We can deal with the Kirk Cousins contracts, but Deshaun Watson's contract is virtually fully guaranteed so long as he plays. It's just a very bad situation that Deshaun Watson was the guy that was the first one to get in a contract of this nature. That's the main thing that needs to be taken away. And one thing I'd like to add, one other angle to look at this so technically so because even though it is it's 24 different cases of alleged assault even if somehow it's not alleged and it turns out this actually this actually didn't this somehow didn't happen it's still – he did something to put himself in this position in the first place.

Hung out with the wrong people and got involved with – and that still makes the league look bad that you are being put in that spot. So there's really no excuse for it. And let's just say he's innocent. The fact that he put the shield at risk and the NFL has made it clear that you under no circumstances can put it at risk. Yeah. He needed to get a year just based off that. Whether or not he's innocent, the jury's still out on that, even though he did settle all but one case for right now, which does seem to indicate some form of guilt, regardless if he's innocent or not, because you usually don't settle unless there is some foul play here and there was some inappropriate touching going on i don't think you can avoid that so it's just a very bad situation all around and i mean i was just gonna touch in with that you were talking about settling cases i feel like a lot of the time these cases also just settle because it's it's a hard

fight to fight already now you're gonna go fight somebody who has more money than they know what to do with who has the best legal team out there and you you think you're gonna stand a chance in court i mean we're talking about it right now people care more about the game of football than they do about what this guy's done behind closed doors like the browns fans running up oh give me your like they care more about the fact that he's on their team, hopefully going to bring them somewhere, than who he is as a person. So they know settling it is the best case for them because it most likely won't get anywhere.

And that's the sad thing when you think about it. Yeah, you are 100% right. And it's pretty much solely because he was a quarterback. Because he plays for their team, they're literally willing to look at him through rose-colored glasses. But if he was just some random guy, like some dude off the street who did this, they would be championing him to get life in prison. And all of those cases would have been two-quarter

and wouldn't have been settled outside. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. I think we covered this fairly well. Great job with all the responses on this, guys. It is an unfortunate situation. We do have to move on.

And we're going to get to our last scheduled segment for this summer. On our Tuesday episodes, at least. We still have fantasy football we're going to be covering our last scheduled segment for this summer on our Tuesday episodes at least we still have fantasy football we're going to be covering on Thursdays but we're going to do our NFL honors predictions so the MVPs the comeback players of the years the rookie of the years all that stuff going to be a great segment we'll get that next. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Fumble Rooski Podcast. sign yet Hamilton comes down with a football they're saying it's a catch it's caught Diggs side-eyed

touchdown unbelievable swings it way down the field the one catch Sammy Watt takes for the touchdown Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast. I'm Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, CJ Medeiros, special guest, Sean Howe.

All right, guys, we are on to, as I said, our last scheduled segment as we inch so much closer to opening day of the NFL season. This Thursday is going to be our first preseason game. So everything is all we're almost there, guys. We're almost we're almost through this summer, but we're going to get to our NFL honors predictions here. So I'd like to go around the table. Let's just quickly give who we predict to win this award. And then we'll discuss it. See whose is better.

All right, Sean, we're going to start with defensive rookie of the year. Who do you have? Aiden Hutchinson. Aiden Hutchinson. Okay. Talk. rookie of the year who do you have aiden hutchinson aiden hutchinson okay talk i had jordan davis all right cj uh k interesting so tuck you and cj both picked you guys both picked uh ravens didn't you no no no jordan davis he's in philly yeah jordan yeah yeah yeah sorry sorry sorry you're right you're right I got it mixed up. So Jordan Davis, okay. It's a little interesting.

All right, Offensive Rookie of the Year. Sean. I had Drake London. Drake London? Well, for me, I wanted to go quarterback, but seeing the unfortunate situation which is the 2022 nfl quarterback visit rookie showcase uh not really good spots there so i went with wide receiver so i i chose drake london you know adam i too on wide receiver, but I said Jameson Williams. Jameson Williams.

That's an interesting one. And I probably would have picked him. But coming back from the ACL tear, I feel like he's the type of player who will break out next year. Perhaps. So I'm going with Garrett Wilson. I would say he's in the best position to succeed early. That's fair.

Yeah. I got... This is too boring. I want to do a little bit of discussion. Discuss your player. What's up? Discuss how the Jets are going to use Garrett Wilson like they're going to be competent with him.

Yeah, I'm a Tucker. I mean, yes, we all love Zach Wilson for the memes, but memes are one thing. Play on the field. He's got that dog in him. Don't disrespect Zach Wilson now. He's got that dog in him. Maybe in his game with the ladies,

but his game on the field last season was sorely lacking. It was lacking. And I think his play is going to be a little bit better. He has the abilities. And in order to, and I think, look, regardless of whether or not Zach Wilson's play translates into wins. If he's competent, just competent enough so that he can allow Garrett Wilson to show his best qualities and win Offensive Rookie of the Year, then I think he's going to get it. And I think Zach Wilson is capable of playing better. We always see with quarterbacks, it takes some time for them to improve,

and I think Zach Wilson's capable of it oh yeah i mean he could be truly capable but unfortunately it's the jets we're talking about and they always ruin competent quarterbacks just look at uh sam darnold and that's it is what it is as much as i really like the jets and what they did this offseason i just can't trust them as a front office or as an organization as a whole. They'll probably not use Elijah Moore or Garrett Wilson the way they're supposed to probably handcuff Brees Hall to Michael Carter, Michael Carter or Michael Carter to Brees Hall. It's just a very unfortunate situation. I don't even know what's happening with their left tackle spot because Makai Beckton might be allegedly out of shape. It's just, who's going to protect Zach Wilson? That's my main concern.

Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. It's fair. All right. Yeah, I'm sorry. No, you continue. It's a fair point. It's a fair point. It's a fair point.

We're predicting. I mean, I'm going to look at my last year's offensive rookie of the year. Well, it was Jamar Chase. That was my pick last year because I have it. So I have it in the notes section right next to last year's predictions, and I had Jamar Chase. I'm pretty sure he did. Did he win it?

Yes, he did. Yep, he won it. So that was correct. But my defensive rookie of the year, though. So this year it was Sauce Gardner. Last year my prediction was Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa. And I thought he would be a lot better because their linebacking core at the time had a lot of question marks to it. And I thought, if this kid is as good

as they say he is, his play is going to stick out. Turns out, I mean, he was good. He was alright, but not Micah Parsons, who really won the defensive rookie of the year, good. But, I mean, these are just predictions. But, CJ, what were you going to say? No, I was just going to say about my guy, Jameson Williams. We have reason to believe that he actually might be healthy to start the season.

And even though Jared Goff is his quarterback, he's like an amazing speedster type of guy. And he really adds like this element of danger to the Lions offense, And even though Jared Goff is his quarterback, he's like an amazing like speedster type of guy. And he really adds like this element of danger to the Lions offense, especially paired with DJ Chark and Amon Ross St. Brown. He can't cover all of them and they're all pretty fast guys. And but Jamison Williams just like has it, you know, he's got he's got that speed. He's got good hands and he could be like, I'm not going to't know maybe like a tyree kill type for the lions i'm not gonna say he's gonna become tyree kill but he could definitely like be that kind of player for detroit and look i really want receiver

too and not your jams look i liked and look i like jameson williams going into next year as well but i just think he he it's going to take him some time to get going during this season because he may not number one he may not even be ready to play during that time and number two once he is ready to play he still has to get back to full strength so So he might show flashes towards the end of the year, but he might – I mean, I'm buying all the stock on Jamison Williams in next year, not the year after. But I love the player. I thought he was the best player coming out of this draft.

So best wide receiver, I mean. Okay. People are ready to come at my throat. You three. Yeah. Do we want to talk more about Offensive Rookie of the Year, or do we want to go on to our Defensive Player of the Year? I would rather we move on.

All right. We want to move on? All right. Let's do a little bit. I want to do a little bit of explaining our picks because just saying it, I mean, people want to hear why we have our picks. So defensive player of the year, Sean, who's your guy? I went with Micah Parsons only because he should have won it last year.

I agree with the TJ Watt pick, frankly. He deserved it. TJ Watt had a good season. If he has a season like he had last season, I think he definitely will be in the running again, obviously. So I think it's going to be him, personally. He'll need more than 12 sacks. All right.

Well, Tuck, who's your pick? All right. What's theuck, who's your pick? All right. What's the harm in picking, you know, the NFL 99? And I chose Aaron Donald. And I still think he'll maintain 12 plus sacks from the deep tackle spot, be unblockable as ever. Now that he has a ring, he can finally relax and just go full skeleton and play just for fun.

Isn't it – sorry i was gonna i was just gonna say isn't it crazy that he was considering retirement and then he signed that big that big extension or it's not really an extension or is it it's sort of he gets more money now he wanted more money and they gave him more money yeah and they gave him more money. Yeah, so they gave him more money. So essentially guarantees that he's going to continue playing. Yeah, he was competent in retiring now that he actually has a Super Bowl. Once he got it, he doesn't need to play anymore. Yeah, but CJ.

For me, I'm leaning toward Miles Garrett. So hear me out, right? TJ Watt won it last year, and Garrett knows this, and he knows the division rival. That's going to light a fire under Garrett. And a motivated Miles Garrett is not a Miles Garrett I want to see if I'm an offensive lineman. And you know the Browns with their quarterback situation,

they're not going to be that good on offense. But the defense should be as dangerous as ever. And I believe Jadavion Clowney re-signed, right? I believe, yes, he did. Yeah, and with that back, that's going to open up a lot of lanes for Garrett. All right, so my pick is TJ Watt winning it back to back. So Watt, nobody was able to stop that guy. And that was with, he was already snubbed.

He was already, well, you can at least make an argument that he was snubbed of defensive player of the year last year. So the league, everyone around the league already knew how dominant T.J. Watt really was, and he was still able to win it. So now looking at the offense, it's not looking quite as good. It's kind of the same. So this defense is really going to have to put the whole team on its back, led by T.J. Watt.

And if T.J. Watt's able to put up the same numbers he was last year, then I think he's got it. And in order to keep that team competitive, T.J. Watt's going to have to play. Like, play well. So I have T.J. Watt. I think he's going to win it again. And he's going to have to – someone's going to have to prove otherwise that someone else is going to do it.

But I understand the arguments for everyone else. Micah Parsons had an incredible rookie year. And Miles Garrett had an awesome year. And Aaron Donald, he's getting to the late stages of his career. He's going to start putting everything on the table, just laying it all out. So you can make a case for all of our picks, I would say. What's up next?

All right, we want to go. So up next, now we have to go so up next now we have offensive player of the year so sean also uh i'll i'll go into this comment that we got from i believe this is your mom talk yes that's my mom sure how do you how do you pronounce it sharice yes sharice maynard said maynard this was a great episode maynard yeah maynard okay apologies um this this was a great episode well not i i mean with the length that we've gone yeah great episode great discussion yeah yeah good discussion guys this is a good episode so far um all right so offensive player of the year sean so i had uh cooper cut down for this one only because after so obviously he tore his uh was acl two years ago um so he had a rough few seasons, then he had COVID. And after since then, he's kind of bounced out of it.

Last year, he was just shy of 2,000 yards, 1,947 with 145 perceptions. So honestly, I could see him popping off again. He did it last year. I think he was the top fantasy wide receiver. He was up there as one of them. So I could definitely see him having another, like, what do you want to call it? Standout year.

All right. Interesting. All right. For me, I decided to go with second-year talent. I'm going with Jamar Chase for offensive player of the year. I believe that he'll be the Triple Crown winner, and I just believe that he'll take a step forward with Joey Burrow and continue that connection that they have,

and I think they'll take another step forward in that, even though they're not winning the division. Not this year. We're healthy this year, even though they're not winning the division, not this year. We're healthy this year, so bye-bye to winning that. But overall, I believe they'll still make the playoffs some way, somehow. And I believe that connection between those two players will be a main reason for that. That's why I think he'll win Offensive Player of the Year.

All right, CJ? Well, oh, oh, Justin Tucker. offensive player of the year all right cj well uh oh oh justin tucker it's uh interesting that that you mentioned jamar chase because actually it was lsu teammate justin jefferson now now this guy right here uh i mean look at him last season had 108 catches 16 1,616 yards, averaging 15 yards a catch and 10 touchdowns. The sky's the limit for this guy, and I truly believe as Thielen ages and more attention is put on him, he's only going to get better. And I always think he's going to win the Triple Crown next year. All right.

So we got another comment also from your mom justin and she said adam actually pronounced my last name properly ha you just showed that just to say you're right adam yeah well we will we show all the comments just to show our appreciation to all of our listeners. And while I happen to be Justin's mom, I am also a huge, all caps, huge football fan. Go Philly, in parentheses. And as a data person, I love the stats. This is disgusting. I'm not going to answer.

Continue. All right. i'm not going to answer what you that continue all right well um so my offensive my offensive player of the year prediction is jonathan taylor the running backs always seem to put up all the put up the statistics to be able to do it and this guy is going to be a big-time workhorse and it's not like a it's not like a christian mccaffrey situation where he had an extremely large workload last this past year and then he fell apart this is this is this is christian mccaffrey going into his for going into that year because if you remember Christian McCaffrey had that breakout year but before that he was good about like half like something maybe like a quarter to like halfway through I believe it was I believe it was 2019 no 20 2018 where he start he really started to hit his stride and then he started to get the large workload.

And then the year after that, he had that breakout monster year. That's kind of what Jonathan Taylor had this past year. He kind of had a little bit of a slow start to start last season, but then he started to get going. So he has a lot left in the tank. So I think this year is going to be a huge year for Jonathan Taylor. He's going to be the slam dunk number one pick in fantasy. And I think this is one of the few times where I think it's actually going to be worth it.

So Jonathan Taylor, he's my offensive player of the year. That's a good pick, Adam. Jonathan Taylor will be a stud next year with a better quarterback. I believe in that Ryan, the offensive line is the same. The pieces around them are the same. The defense is basically the same. Yeah. It's make or break your family.

I believe Jonathan Taylor would be a big reason why. Yeah. I think that's going to be a big year for him. All right, guys. Well, coach of the year. What are our picks? Sean. It's going to be a little biased.

Oh, really? A little biased. Oh, really? Okay, listen. Let's hear me out. He's coming into Miami after all the stuff that happened with Brian Flores, as we've already discussed, being paid the tank, all that nonsense, all behind him, and we saw what Flores was able to do in Miami.

I truly believe if this Miami team lives up to the hype, especially with Tyreek Hill coming in, that Mike McDaniels could do some special things. There was actually a thing I was reading the other day, how he moved Waddle from where Flores was running him in the slots, and was moving him out, trying to use his speed. Like he's already trying to make those moves and those little tiny changes that are going to make us better.

So I really think that we're going to see a note, if we see a noticeable difference, which I hope we do, from last year's Dolphins to this year's Dolphins, that he could be up for that. It's possible. All right, Tuck. I'm not going to prove that i'm not going to like mine is bias because if you think i'm picking another coach no mine is john harbaugh let's go i'm fine i told you i was doing it that's because he's the why because he's going to lead our team to the number one scene in the afc which will basically guarantee him the coach of the year i believe oh willie now willie

now yeah he went from arizona i believe we'll finish like 12 and 5 13 and 4. yeah is this like the dream that you live every day it's not it's going to be the reality so some cowboys fan dna and with all those are here all right let's hear what you got then cj all right you know something i could have gone with john harbaugh who with his brother jim is like one half a dumb and dumber but i'm going with the chargers head coach brandon staley dude just has too many weapons not to fail you were this close to the playoffs last year and you didn't make it and that's got a light of fire under him justin herbert knows it too the defense has been revamped herbert's got weapons galore to throw to and the chargers might literally take the division from

patrick mahomes not saying they will i said they they might. And honestly, Brandon Staley, if they go to the playoffs, is getting coach of the year. Talk. Do you like this? So we got a comment. I'll read it. He says John Harbaugh hasn't upgraded his game plan in years. And whoever wrote that, please comment

your actual name because it says drunk. You must have been drunk when you said that statement. Let's continue. Drunk on the truth, perhaps. Drunk on the truth is not... Are you kidding me? He only moved his

game plan for one season to accommodate Lamar. Now he like back to what he was. Maybe the offense would be a little more effective if he got rid of all the checkdowns. Again, I blame that more so on Greg Roman for not – Well, we'll see this year, won't we? So he said my real name is drunk. What's your last name?

Probably also Drunk. It's all jokes, Drunk. It's a joke, buddy. Nothing but love on this show. Yeah, yeah. We appreciate your comments. I agree with you. John Harbaugh hasn't upgraded his game plan in years.

He speaks the truth. All jokes, except when it comes to Justin's dreams and hopes. Look. You chose Mike McDaniel. You have two as your quarterback. Pipe down. Let's not go there. I'm sorry.

I can't hear you. All right. So, look. Wait. Okay. My last look. Wait. Okay. My last name. Okay. What a guy.

All right. I like it. It's funny. All right. So guys, my pick is Kevin O'Connell. So O'Connell is a guy. He's been around a lot of great offensive minds. And most recently he was around Sean McVay,

whose offense was high-powered enough so that they were, excuse me, and very balanced as well. And they were able to win a super bowl and they yes they had the tools to do it but to an extent so do the vikings to at least turn around their play because as much as i like to trash on kurt cousins he is a pretty functional quarterback with the with the capability to lead a team to the playoffs. And to be honest, this team, these Vikings teams over the past few years have been underperforming dramatically. And they needed a change in game plan because they have the pieces

around them. They have their Cooper Cup in Justin Jefferson, who can play that role of being that wide receiver who they go to, who's the go-to guy. They also have Adam Phelan. They have a very capable running back in Dalvin Cook. And you know who's also very capable is Alexander Madison. If Dalvin Cook decides that his body is actually made of glass chandelier parts. But Alexander Madison can step in and still play well. And so looking at all of these things, they worked on their defense.

Their division rival has also gotten much weaker in the Green Bay Packers. So looking at all of that, that's prime position to win coach of the year. So I think Kevin O'Connell, his rookie year as head coach, he's going to light it up, man. It's going to be great. So, all right. So drunk. So his full name being drunk all the time.

I would like to know your actual full name. Well, apparently it's drunk all the time, Adam. What like to know your your actual full name if you're if you're not apparently it's drunk all the time that on what part don't you get all right listen i think i'm naming coaches who will win coach of the year and i'm going okay yeah we are we are naming um and he's going with josh mcdaniels mike mcdaniels mike mDaniels. Okay. He's going to bring the best out of Hawaiian Josh Rosen. This man is three for three in my book right now. That's all I have to say. Funny.

He's got jokes. I'll say that much. Yeah. I'll say that much. If you're not already subscribed, please subscribe so that we can get comments like this. This is hilarious. All right.

So moving on, comeback player of the year. Let's go around the table, Sean. Derek Henry. I feel like that's pretty common that people are going to guess. But for obvious reasons, but Derek Henry obviously had a good season two years ago. Last year didn't go the way he wanted. Let's see if he comes back out hitting like a bus.

All right. Tuck? I was trying to figure out who also got injured last year, but not a lot of names were coming to my head at the time, so I also went with Derrick Henry. Let's not forget, when he first went down, he almost had 1,000 yards and still finished as like a top 10 leading rusher in the league. So it's not like he was a scrub at all.

So when he comes back fully healthy, I fully expect him to take back the leading rusher crown in the NFL. All right. CJ? CJ? Can you hear me now? Yeah, we can hear you. I was unplugged for a second.

So this is awkward. I'm also going with Derrick Henry. And for all the reasons that you guys said. All right. He doesn't count. He said, yeah, he did come back but i wonder i wonder the logistics of comeback player of the year do you have to be gone because still working on coming back from an achilles tear those are technically those are technically those are basically death sentences to running backs careers i mean you go down the list most of them

are out of the league in a couple of years in fact I'm pretty sure all of them are out of the league or are about to be or only or were not nearly were a shell of their former selves so I mean maybe it wouldn't count but if Cam Akers is able to pan out

next year that would be pretty damn impressive because it's never happened before. It's actually go down the list. Go down the list. It's Achilles tears. They players do not last in the league after that. But, um,

my pick is Travis ETN. So ETN, he didn't get to play a regular season game for – we got another comment, and this one's pretty funny as well. So he didn't play for – he didn't get to play at all. And now he's coming back. And on top of that, we talked about Achilles tears, death sentences to players' careers.

I really hope i i sure hope not i hope cam makers will end up being okay but also james robinson tore his achilles now again i hope he's all right but odds odds are are dramatically stacked against him so looking at that his his competition's gone. They have an improved offensive line. And this kid, Etienne, very explosive, has all the talent in the world to pull it off. So Etienne, I think that's going to be my pick. And I like him from a fantasy football perspective as well. So I'm going to go with Travis Etienne on that one.

Yeah, we do need a variety of names and he did get injured and he didn't even get to play his rookie season so i guess this would be his rookie snaps even though he's not a rookie anymore and since everybody went with derrick henry i'll address that real quick if he's able to get back to his old self and i'm very much i i very much believe he can the issue is i mean you can understand how he's gotten or how he's gotten injured because he gets carries he gets carries like there's no tomorrow and usually when running backs become that when they get that massive working workload they're able to succeed at first. But after that first season of it, which was that 2,000-yard season, they start to taper off, and they're not nearly as good. So it's just that he gets such a big workload.

And now on top of that, the passing game of the Titans is not that good, so they can't even get the pressure off of Derrick Henry. So it's just going to be more of it. So that's kind of why I just have a tough time picking Derrick Henry. I did have a tough time picking anyone because it was hard to find guys who got hurt who could come back and have a great year, but I'm going to pick ETN on this one. So does Brady count? he did retire all right

and then he said i think it should yeah i think he was but i think uh i think but i think drunk so uh so jeff madero said does brady count he did retire drunk said i think it should count i think he was talking about cam acres i hope or he was talking about and but then he said how can you win comeback player of the year when he was never established as a player talking about et oh like as an etn yeah that's well that's what well he was established as a draft player, a draft prospect. But, I mean, well, what's the – so, like, what are the guidelines to winning a comeback player of the year? Because he didn't get to play at all.

And then he comes back in his sophomore year. And then he comes back okay wait so yeah yeah but i was he was talking about that so yeah i don't know i i like etn and i don't know i think i'm pretty sure that does count right and he didn't get to play a snap and then you and then you come back from an injury going into your first year first actual year in the league i'd say that's pretty tough to come back from an injury going into your first actual year in the league, I'd say that's pretty tough to come back from. I agree. He has all the talent in the world.

I think he means like he wasn't established, like he wasn't like a big-time player for him before the injury. Right, yeah. But still, I think he does have a valid case for it because he still was a good running back in college. All right. we're gonna get to our last one and then we need to get to our fan box because this episode's running fairly long so mvps let's just go around the table i don't even think we because when we pick our mvps man

we don't need that much of an explanation um unless you want to say a couple words mvps sean go so i just want to say priya this was before the thing came out with his elbow injury that it was having at uh camp matthew stafford matthew okay talk i went with josh allen okay cj i'm Tuck? I'm rolling with Josh Allen. Okay. CJ? I'm rolling with Tom Brady. All right. Oh, man. Tom Brady.

I finished lining crutches. At least he's not a running back. Look, I wanted to pick him so bad, and I probably would have if it weren't for center Ryan Jensen going down with an injury. But I'm going to go with Matt Stafford. That team has a great roster around them, and the offensive line looks fine.

Their passing corpse looks improved. But it's just – I'm going to – I think it's going to be him. And he has to whittle down the interceptions. But I think being in year two on a new team, drumroll, Carson Wentz, a.k.a. Prince Harry, MVP. That was from Jerome's comment. So, like, the interceptions do need to go down and he's been putting up the touch he put up the touchdowns and i think he can get more and i think he can whittle whittle down the picks a lot

more because he's going into year two the the playbook should run smoother for him because he's he's now more familiar with the playbook and and he has a better number two weapon in Allen Robinson. So I like him. Excuse me. All right. So I think that's about it. So next we're going to move on to our Fumbarooski fan box. So with every segment that we do, at least the planned segments,

we've done something on the fan box to kind of get our listeners involved. So what is your Dark Horse MVP candidate? We'll ask you that next on the fan box. You are listening to the fumble ruski podcast here's edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet edelman comes down with a, they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch! To Gates! Sideline!

Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! welcome back to the fumble ruski podcast i'm adam right justin tucker cj madero special guest sean howe and we have reached the end of our show and that means we are on to the the fumble ruski fan box so we post a question filter on our Instagram page every Monday, and you can respond with hot takes, questions, and more, and we will discuss it and give you a shout-out on our podcast. Respond to next week's fan box question to be featured on our show.

So the question of the week was, who is a Dark Horse MVP candidate this season? And for our picks, we're going to start with the top so our first response was so we'll go to see all let's get all the so grayson mortimer said justin justin herbert or derrick carr so derrick carr the here the issue, and we're going to get a lot of, we did get a lot of Justin Herberts. Justin Herbert is a great pick to win the MVP. He has a great team around him. It's just that I don't think he's, he's just not a dark horse, isn't he? Because a lot of people could pick him as a guy to win it. He's a young quarterback.

He's a gunslinger. He has something to prove. He has a great team around him. Team has a chip on its shoulder. I just don't think he's a dark horse team. Excuse me, a dark horse. It depends on what you mean on what a dark horse is. Do you think Justin Herbert is like the lead guy in the lead to win MVP? If you think he is, then no, he's not a dark horse.

But if you think he's like second, third, or fourth, yeah, he can be a dark horse. See, I think dark horse is that one guy who you're not thinking about in your top three. Because there's a lot of candidates you could think of. Isn't that more like a dark horse? horse is that one guy that who you're not thinking about in your top three you know because because there's a lot of candidates you could think of but isn't that more like sometimes that kind of just goes hand in hand doesn't it i would just say someone was like outside of the top three basically but derrick carr is a good pick derrick carr is i like that because that's a i mean it's a definition of a dark horse, I would say, because you don't think about him at first.

But then when you think about it, it's a possibility. Devontae Adams, Hunter Renfro, a functional offensive line, I'll say. Darren Waller, a functional running game, a functional defense. He'd just have to elevate his play, and he did in 2016. So, I mean, we know he has it in him. He just has to get it back. Tyson Tate said, If there is any running back that rushes over 2,000 yards.

Yeah, perhaps. It's tough. It's tough for running backs, but it's possible. It just depends also. There's a lot running backs, but it's possible. It just depends also. There's a lot of things that have to go right. I feel like your team really needs to actually be in the mix. I think if the Colts make the AFC Championship and he has 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, I think he's got it.

Also depends on the competition. Like if Tom Brady or Matthew Stafford throws for 50 touchdown passes, forget it. They're getting the MVP because it's a quarterback-driven award. But a lot has to go right for him. All right, CJ, you can explain this pick. Matthew Stafford. It's just, I don't know. A lot of people cite Super Bowl hangover,

but I'm just not hearing a lot of people say Stafford other than you, Adam. And I'm going to be blatantly honest. Everyone's like, oh, maybe Aaron Rodgers, three peats. Oh, and I said, oh, Tom Brady. A lot of people are saying Josh Allen. And, you know, there's some Herberts thrown in there, Mahomes perhaps. But a lot of people don't talk about Matt Stafford, the guy that just won the Super Bowl.

And, therefore, he is a dark horse. Not to mention the offense around him actually got better. Yeah, the offense did get better. I like him. I like him i i like him um nosebleed baseball said call me crazy but kirk cousins is going to have a year and he said in all caps a year with that new offense so like i said i've talked we i talked about him before, Kevin O'Connell, the new head coach. He's basically all of the new offense. Look, they have a good offense, just they haven't been able to utilize it correctly.

And Kirk Cousins kind of melts down in big moments. So that offense might improve a lot, but to the point where their quarterback wins league MVP, that's tough. That's tough, especially when it's Kirk Cousins. And I did warn you guys earlier in the episode, I trash on Kirk Cousins a lot. But, I mean, I do like him. I just tell him for what he is.

I like him for what he is. You don't appreciate him like I do. You don't appreciate him like I try to tell you to. I tell him like he is he's he's he's not an elite quarterback he's a very good serviceable quarterback who can win regular season games if he's put in the right position but if he's on a big stage he'll he'll melt that's all that's all and he that's that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be paid. He deserves to be paid. Very functional NFL quarterback. Not many people get to say that in this world. So you made the NFL.

Good for you. You made some money too. Good for you. Good stuff. All right. So Cash Withers. So this kid responds to a lot of our fan boxes, and he responds in like big hordes of responses.

So we gave three. One was Derek Carr. Another was C.D. Lamb. And another was Justin Herbert. So we touched on Justin Herbert and Derek Carr. C.D. Lamb. Adam, may I? He did say he was a Cowboys fan.

I've talked to him over DM. Why would he? If I may, a wide receiver has never won the MVP in the history of the NFL. And if that were to change this year, your pick is C.D. Lamb for some reason. He's not even top five. Yeah. I mean, I respect the bold take, but, yeah, I'm going to have to give that a hard pass. I don't respect it.

It's coming from a Cowboys fan. What are we doing here? Yeah, just like some people pick John Harbaugh for coach of the year, but that's either here or there. That's reasonable. This is not reasonable at all. It is not. Look, I might not have CeeDee Lamb winning league MVP,

but after this year, I do have him being a top five wide receiver. Perhaps. I think this kid has a world of talent, and him and Dak Prescott have only been building their rapport more and more over the years. And now, no Omari Cooper. All those targets that Cooper got are going to be distributed amongst the offense and you better believe the vast majority of those of those targets are going to go to cd lamb because he's now their number one wide receiver

so he's going to be a he's going to have a huge year man uh and pick him in fantasy too um all right so robert shelley said it always goes to a quarterback so kirk and he said effing cousins all right we've touched on this we already touched on this guy so yeah well yeah stephen parker said joe burrow is my mvp but i would say russell wil So Joe Burrow, is he a dark horse or is he not? Perhaps. I can easily see him taking it with that offense, and now it has a good offensive line in year two with all these players. I don't think of him as like the front runner of it.

I think of like Mahomes. I think of it. I think of like Mahomes. I think of Allen. I think of Tom Brady before I think of Joe Burrow. I would definitely say much Tom Brady. I mean, that's Tom Brady, man. All right. That doesn't mean, all right. Russell Wilson. Let's touch on Russell Wilson real quick. Russell Wilson. That is a, that is a good, that's a good one because very good roster around him. All they needed was a quarterback. Now they have it. I like it.

I like it. I like it. Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson. I think that Broncos offense is going to have a good year. Diego Huertas said, Mac Jones. I wish, man. I wish.

I do believe Bill Belichick when he said he's improved. There's also been reports that the offense has looked awful during training camp. I did some digging. That's literally because of the defense. Yeah, but, I mean, the pads haven't even come on yet, right? We've had pads come on. Yeah, they have. All, the pads haven't even come on yet, right? We've had pads come on. Yeah, they have. There's a second padded practice.

But this isn't that good of a defense. It's just not that good of a defense. So if you're losing to that defense, it's, like, the Patriots defense, it's all right. I like my Patriots defense. And I'm a Patriots fan, so don't the Patriots defense, it's all right. I like my Patriots – and I'm a Patriots fan. So don't – Patriots fans, please don't come at me because I'm a Patriots fan. I'm just trying to be realistic. This defense, they probably will.

And CJ looks like he's about to be at my throat. Wait, what? I said you look like you're about to go at my throat. Probably not. Yeah. Yeah. Look. like you're about to go at my throat probably not um yeah look i just this isn't that great of a defense and the often and you look at their offensive coordinator coordinator situation it looks like the issue isn't mac jones the issue is the how the offense is being run. A guy who's been a career defensive coordinator in Matt Patricia and a guy who's been, I mean, I guess you could call this almost offense,

but Joe Judge, both guys who are failed head coaches and also they're not even really offense. So that's a tough one for me it's it's just it's tough i i see mac jones panning out maybe sometime down the down the road but it's tough for me um all right um so brady brady etherton said jalen hurtsts. So, I mean, if Jalen Hurts pans out, then yeah. And if it turns out he can't play, then yeah. But, like, it all – I mean, it sounds stupid, but, I mean, it all depends on how he plays

because the offense around him looks great. It'll depend on that and the coaching. All right. Zachary Stilson said, Lamar Jackson, the man is going to wake the people up. Tuck, I think you're going to like that one. I am going to like it. I don't think he'll win it, but I like it. I said it now.

It's a possibility. I mean, he's a former MVP, so it is a possibility. I just don't think he'll win it this year. He needs a lot to go right for him in order for them to do it. But we want to get through these. Nate Merwitz, is that – Merwitz, I think it is. Merwitz.

Justin Herbert, we already covered that one um patrick williver said derrick carr covered that one both good picks i like it thanks for the response uh just we've already covered it um and uh we don't want to get too repetitive your boy ian so ian muller ian Muller, our favorite Panthers fan said, Derek Henry. Look, like I said, if a run for a running back to, to win it, it, a lot has to go right. Even if Derek Henry does manage to, to, to come all the way back and come back and conquer this injury. But Jack Robb, who is a Browns fan, if that somewhat explains what he's about to pick, but Nick Chubb. So if a running back, I like Nick Chubb, I do.

I really like Nick Chubb. But for a running back to win it, it would have to be Derrick Henry or Jonathan Taylor, wouldn't it? Or maybe Dalvin Coley. Yeah, it's more likely because he is kind of handcuffed to Kareem Hunt, so I don't see him likely winning it unless Kareem Hunt gets hurt.

Yeah, he wouldn't get the opportunities to do it. So Derek Houle said Russ gonna cook. Russ. As in Russell Wilson, I guess. Yeah. I think he is going to cook as we said uh and then uh i think this is eli turner i think he's he's he's a new responder russell wilson so

another russell another russell fan and then nick uh nick normand responded kind of agreeing to cj's pick and matt stafford saying i I agree with Matt Stafford. He's got a hell of a core. Great offense around them. I like that pick. Jake Brealey. And I believe that's how it's how it's pronounced. Let me know if I if I have it wrong, said Justin Herbert. So, again, already covered it. But thanks for the response. Thanks for the response. Landon Weber said Josh Allen. All right.

Yeah, just like another guy who I don't think is really a dark horse. Like I could see him winning it. That's a good pick. But if we're looking at the guys who you don't think of at first, I mean, Josh Allen, man, good offense around him. He loves it in Buffalo. He's comfortable, and he's really starting to hit his stride. I like Josh Allen.

Here's a definition of a dark horse. Rocket Rico, I think, and Rico, something like that. He goes to Dean College. I believe he's on the Dean football team. Trey Lance. I like that one. If it turns out he can play, all the offense around him. He has everything he needs.

Good offensive line, good offensive talent, good defense behind him. I like everything about it. And honestly, I kind of like Trey Lance. I think he'll do all right. He has all the abilities. So if it turns out he can play, then, CJ, you're not going to like it, but the sky's the limit for him if he can actually play. I mean, I've said that.

I'm just not a fan base, and we've been hearing out at camp. But, you know, I'm just not a fan based on what we've been hearing out of camp. I'm rooting for him. Kozak Patrick said Tua. Another guy kind of like Tua Hurts. What's his name who's been in the... Sean, I'm not

letting you have this one. Hawaiian Josh Rosen. That is pretty funny. Hawaiian Josh Rosen. That is pretty funny. Hawaiian Josh Rosen. All right. So Landon Weber had another response. He said, Matt Ryan. So if he – yeah, maybe.

I don't think he has the talent around him, but he'll have probably his best year since that MVP season maybe. I think the change of scenery will certainly help, and he has pieces. Tyson Tate said, by popular answer, you mean Kirk Cousins. I don't know what he meant by popular I don't know what he meant by by popular answer but he's a Vikings fan so I think he was really hyped to see that people were picking Kirk Cousins but we already covered it again so yeah I don't know he'll have a good year but I don't know um John Warren said Kirk baby so we already covered that one but thanks for the

response um so yeah you guys will all get all get shout outs and this is this was a good list this was the biggest turnout we've had for responses 26 responses 26 that's the highest we've had by a mile so i love the participation here by you guys thank you so much for all of the engagement you guys give we couldn't do it without you guys and we wouldn't be driven to without you guys either um but draw uh this our buddy here in the comment section has been going off a little bit so first he said this is a great stream sports stream fellas appreciate, dude. Yeah, we got – and then he said, okay, Carson Wentz was a joke. My real MVP choice is Josh Allen.

My dark horse is Jameis Winston. Ooh, Jameis Winston. That's an interesting – I like that one. I kind of like that one. Yeah, I do too. I like that one. He said, I honestly feel like Jameis is going to have an amazing season.

I do too. I agree. Michael Thomas, Landry, Olave, Jameis got everything he needs. Yeah, he does. He just needs to prove that he can play. Maybe that LASIK surgery will actually turn out to work for him so that he can have that 30-30 vision in the right way this time not not by throwing 30 picks and 30 touchdowns uh he said then he said bro do you mind this was right

when i finished all all the responses all right well uh so that's all our responses you guys have any thoughts before we end the show here no i'm good all right nope all right guys well that'll do it for us tonight thank you for listening to us be sure to tune into us live tuesdays and thursdays at 7 30 on twitter and facebook through fans only sports network be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel we also have all our episodes available on spotify spreaker apple podcast iheart radio google podcast 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 will see you next week. Over and out.