The Fumblerooski Podcast - The NFC Exodus -EP 68 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: March 23, 2022

Who won Free Agency? Is Deshaun Watson enough for Cleveland to contend? Can the NFC still be competitive despite several stars switching conferences? Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, and CJ Medieros discuss this episode of the Fumblerooski Podcast.

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! It's! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! I want to give a big shout out to defensive end Zedarius Smith. Nothing wrong with him. Just he at first decided he wanted to go to the Ravens. And he just at our, our buddy here, Justin's heartstrings, blue ball them.

Decide back out of this deal. I'm going to go to Minnesota. He does look good in purple. What do you think, Justin? I didn't know we were starting off like this, I see. Jeez, you guys set me up for failure this time. Oh, man, this hurts. Me and CJ were planning it from before the episode. We thought it would be a good idea.

It was a good idea to hurt me. But don't worry. The Ravens will be back, and we'll be back stronger than ever with or without Zedarius Smith. All right, all right, all right. Well, good evening, guys. You are listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power 88 and Fans Only Sports Network.

I'm Adam Wright. Justin Tucker, CJ Medeiros in with you tonight we have a lot planned for you and deshaun watson has finally been traded we will get to that free agency is beginning to wind down and we will review all of the latest in that including zadaria smith but first i have to talk about but first let's talk about a recent trend taking place over this past off season so with matt ryan being traded to the colts he joins what has become a mass exodus of players leaving the nfc and going to the afc so this, it's a long list of star studded players, Russell Wilson, Khalil Mack, Chandler Jones, Devante Adams, Robert Woods, Amari Cooper, Vaughn Miller, Randy Gregory,

Matt Ryan, among others. So with all of these players leaving and going into the AFC, it leaves me to wonder about the NFC, which has become a little bit bare. With all of these players here, what would you say your hierarchy is of teams in the NFC? Give me, let's say, your top five, and then for, you know, for – oh, wait, hang on. We have some breaking news. Former Saints offensive tackle Taron Armstead reached an agreement on a five-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

So as expected from them. Honestly, if I were the Saints, just an opening take on that, if I were the Saints, I would have paid them. You do realize they're like what? Top 40. The owner of the AFC just realized. Oh, yeah, exactly. Among others. would have paid him you do realize they're like what top three the only afc just realize oh yeah exactly among others and there's a lot of linemen too that i didn't mention alex kappa lyell collins ted caris or sorry ted caris no no he was already in the afc i there was another guy

who i'm who i'm uh i'm blanking on but anyways long list of players. Let's say your top five. I'd love a little bit of a best of the rest as well. So in the NFC, rank your top five NFL teams in the NFC. Oh, word. All right, so right off the bat, I feel that the LA Rams are well-primed to compete again, but they're obviously not as powerful. They're probably going to lose Odell, no more Robert Woods, no more Andrew Whitworth,

no more Von Miller, no more Darius Williams. But the main cast is still there and you got Alan Robinson. So, you know, you know, it can't be too terrible. And of course, now that Brady's back in the NFL, you have to include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And I would say at this point, it's like a two horse race between L.A. and Tampa, unless some other team magically becomes good. Then I guess Green Bay, because they have Aaron Rodgers, despite the fact he's literally going to be throwing to guys off the streets. Or better yet, Packers are going to go into the stands and be like,

hey, you want to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers? Because Devontae Adams and Equinemius St. Brown are gone. I don't think Marquez Valdez Scantling is coming back. And Alan Lazar is a restricted free agent. So if you're lucky, you're probably going to get him back. And then there's the NFC least, where the Cowboys are probably going to come out on top, maybe. I don't know. That whole division's awful, and the Cowboys are just the most talented, so there's no reason they shouldn't. And, you you know some other teams that might be interesting the vikings because you know they have uh that interesting combo of wide receivers

you know like phelan and jefferson and now they have a good edge rusher combo in daniel hunter and zadarius smith ain't that right justin yeah But everything aside, maybe Philly could make some noise. They've been decent thus far. Maybe if Carson Wentz, that's a big maybe, can get his 2017 form again, that could be – Philly could be a team to watch. I meant the football team could be a team to watch. I still think of them in Philly for some reason. And maybe, maybe the 49ers, depending on if Jimmy G's their guy,

because I've heard that Trey Lance is nowhere near where they expect him to be. So I'll let you guys be the judge. That's kind of my hierarchy for teams that I think could be decent. All right. Tuck? This is kind of hard. Now that I'm looking over the nfc it's kind of underwhelming especially when you look over the afc so when i look at it i mean it's kind of like the best of the rest already when i look at the nfc outside of like maybe two or three teams

the rest aren't really promising when i look at number one I think it's Tampa Bay. And it's kind of like by default because everybody else is not what they used to be. I think the Rams coming off the Super Bowl are going to lose major pieces, which they already have. I think they're going to lose Odell and I think they're going to lose. Well, they already lost Robert Woods and they just lost their left tackle because he retired. So they're going to need to fill some spots on the team. And they just lost some of their defensive linemen too. So I don't think they'll have the same success rushing the passer that they did because Ron Miller just signed a huge contract and Sebastian Joseph Day just signed a huge contract somewhere else.

Green Bay, again, same issue. I'm starting not to trust Aaron Rodgers like you guys are, but I'm still holding out hope. But Aaron Rodgers like you guys are, but I'm still holding out hope. But Aaron Rodgers doesn't even have any weapons surrounding him because Devontae Adams just left and everybody else except Alan Lazard are free agents. So they need to figure out how to get him weapons now. And unfortunately, an injury prone Julio Jones is the only thing available. So that's rough. So I think it's going to be Tampa one, Green Bay number two, because I think they'll still maintain a float in the NFC North and be able to keep it somewhat competent in the NFC. Surprisingly, number three, I think it's going to be the 49ers.

I think the 49ers are a stable offense because they don't need great competent play from the quarterback position. They just need solid to good, and they'll be fine because of the running game and the way they play defense because they have Nick Bosa on one end and Drake Armstead on the other, and that secondary isn't that bad even though he should have caught his name. It's hard. He should have caught that interception in the NFC Championship game. So I think with the pieces surrounding the quarterback, I think they'll be in position to be in the Super Bowl, but depending on how far they go is up to the quarterback. I understand that Trey Lance isn't where he should be right now,

but if worse comes to worse, you can just keep Jimmy G for another season and run that back because he's not a bad quarterback and he does win in the playoffs. That's number three. My number four is kind of a sleeper. I think Minnesota is going to be better than what everybody expects. I think Kirk Cousins has somehow become underrated and he doesn't get the appreciation he deserves. I think if Dalton Cook can please stay healthy, he's a top three running back in this league. I believe that they upgrade that O-line for Kirk Cousins.

I think that's going to be much better for Kirk Cousins. Justin Jefferson is elite at the wide receiver spot, and that defense is still that defense, and they have a new head coach that's an OC instead of the DC. So I think that's going to upgrade that offense majorly. And the last team, the Cowboys. It pains me. But they're too talented not to be on this team.

It's just you have to ask whether or not they will mess up in the playoffs, which they always do. And I guess as a sleeper team to look out for the Eagles. I never think, I never think about the Eagles to be honest. They are, they are a good sleeper team, a nice little best of the rest pick. I like that. I didn't even think about them as a, as a possible team. They did make the playoffs, but right off the bat for me, I'm going to take Tampa Bay and LA. It's the NFC is very top heavy this year. And it's going to, it's going to be those two teams who are, who are really up there. And maybe there's one team that overachieves that'll be

down there, but the Rams are number two, because I think they just have less holes. It's going to be a competition of who is the least flawed. Every one of these teams is flawed in some sort of way, and they're still trying to fill in holes in free agency, including Tampa Bay, who still has to add another starting guard across from Shaq Mason, and they still have some pieces in that front seven they need to add back. You know, Ndamukong Su, JPP, they got Leonard Fournette back, so that fills in the running

back need, but there's still a lot of pieces that need to be filled in those top two spots. But after that, it's a huge gap from two to three. So three, I actually have the Dallas Cowboys. I have the Dallas Cowboys because of their talent, not because of their skill. Or their talent not because of their lack of postseason success. Because they always seem to choke. There's no analytical way to put it.

They're the Cowboys, and they always screw up. But they're still just such a talented team that I just can't not put them in my top three in the NFC right now, especially with the way the NFC has turned out to be. After that, number four is the Arizona Cardinals. So the Arizona Cardinals, talented team. There's a little bit of turmoil going on, a little bit of pettiness, but that's going to get figured out.

Like I've said in the past, this is something that's going to blow up in like 2028 when Kyler Murray, after he gets his big deal, he'll be towards the end of it. He says, I want to get traded. He gets traded. That's what's going to happen. But for now, this team's very competitive. They're number four. Number five, the San Francisco 49ers. Now, Trey Lance may not have been coming along as quickly as they've wanted him to, but he's still been a pretty solid, you know, he's in the, in the games that he's been in for the San Francisco 49ers. He hasn't been bad. And now they're saying that he's coming along and perhaps by the time he's their week one starter, he'll be, he'll be able to lead this team and they have a very good roster around them.

So that's my top five, my best of the rest. Certainly, now that Justin mentioned the Eagles, that's definitely a team to look at. And watch for Jalen Hurts' development. He's going into year three in the NFL. They have some pieces on offense. They're adding to that defense. I like what the Eagles are doing here, and they have two first-round picks in this draft. I like the Eagles. I also like the Minnesota Vikings. Now that, you know, looking at what's going on in Green Bay,

I don't think that's going to be a playoff team anymore, to be honest. They might be a little competitive. They might win seven, eight games, but I don't think they're, you know, that team lost all its offensive talent and they lost Zedaria Smith, who went on to their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. And now that team has pieces on offense and defense. And even with Kirk Cousins, I think that team is going to win the division and it's going to be competitive next year. So that is sort of my hierarchy, if you will. All right. I disagree with Dallas being top three.

They just lost Randy Gregory and they lost their starting right tackle, who's now with the Bengals. I don't trust that line especially that whole right side of connor williams is on that if connor williams is on that right side god help you if you're on the right side in your deck prescott i just think they have a lot of talent and a lot of depth on that on that team they'll be able to overcome it in a way. But if you take this team and you put it into last year's hierarchy, they don't make the top five for me. But just because it's just out of the disrespect, if you will, or lack of confidence is probably a better term for the NFC right now because it's looking bare. And it just comes down to which team is the least flawed because all of them are even this, even this, this, uh, this Buccaneers team,

they don't have, they don't have, they're, they're not ready yet. They need to add a guard and they need to resign some players on, on their, on their front seven on defense. Uh, but anyways, Deshaunatson has finally been traded we'll talk about that and we'll talk about the team that he is on and how they'll do don't go anywhere this is the fumble ruski podcast 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 a pass! It's a catch!

Side-line! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Welcome back. You are listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 and Fans Only Sports Network. Adam Wright here with CJ Medeiros, Justin Tucker tonight. So Deshaun Watson, after over a year of us, so us as a podcast, we have been covering him for the entirety of our existence really just yes and you can attest right we've been like ever since we started that was when when that it was back in december january that was when we first started our pod and the biggest news that would that came out for us is all the all the buzz surrounding

deshaun watson and now after so many episodes of us speculating where he's gonna go he's finally been traded to the cleveland browns i don't believe one oh They'll believe anything, all right. Now, this was an interesting one because at first he actually rejected them. He said, I don't really want to go there. And then Cleveland never stopped negotiating with them, and they eventually came to terms. Watson changed his mind. Hey, guys, real quick. What's up?

We have an update with Taron Armstead. His contract has been released. It's a five-year, $87 million deal with about $43 million guaranteed. Wow. I was going to say that was an overpay until I saw the guaranteed money.

That's pretty good. And you know why the guaranteed money is so low? Because he has a bit of an injury history so hope so look tua he got your new best friend no excuses yeah so he he's got that that's what they needed was an offensive exactly yeah well now he's got it and if he keeps struggling i don't know what to tell you and now tua has healthy yep tua has no excuse now amen there's no excuse anyways he goes to the browns three first round picks i believe it's two fourth round picks i'm still looking into the uh details to this trade i think it's three firsts like a third and a fifth wait no so it's yeah it's three firsts, like a third and a fifth.

Wait, or a third and a fourth. Yeah, it's three fourths. Three fourths. Wait, three fourths? I thought it was three firsts. No, it's three firsts and two fourths. That's a terrible trade. Three firsts and two fourths. All right.

Oh, yeah, so three firsts and two fourths in the Browns. I get Watson like a fifth or something. Watson in a fifth round pick. And he also gets a contract. What is it, $230 million? Guaranteed. All of it's guaranteed. Guaranteed over five years.

And to put it in perspective, his base salary is over a million. So even if the NFL wanted to fine him, they'd only be able to fine him for a million dollars. None of the other money would be taken from him. Absolutely. So he finally gets traded and he gets he goes to the he goes to the browns they gave up a hefty price but that team has all the talent in the world around them so guys what do you think about the browns now that

they have deshaun watson how do you guys think about that as a fit? Well, let's let Tucker go first since he's a resident AFC North guy. First off, I want to say congratulations to Deshaun Watson for getting his money. 230 million guaranteed straight to the bank. That is solid solid money i'm always appreciative of people getting their money and i'm appreciative of him getting his money i don't know how he got it while in the middle of his five-year 135 million dollar contract but respect i will give it with that said what this tells me in cleveland is if they don't win a title within five years this is a bus move like this is an all or nothing type of thing.

He may not win it in the first season. I'm like, all right, that's fine. He's learning a new system, a new offense, a new style of play, and a new conference. But from year two on, if he doesn't win you a title, it's going to be a problem, specifically with his contract. In Deshaun Watson's case, we don't even know if he's going to play right now it's an icy situation to say the least one wrong move and he might be gone not only for one season

but for multiple seasons if the allegations against him are true so I want to make this clear it's an all or nothing move that if it goes right, they could potentially win multiple Super Bowls with the talent they've surrounded Deshaun Watson with. And it can go wrong, as in he may not play for the first two seasons and you might not win anything once he starts playing. So it's a weird situation and i kind of feel bad for baker mayfield in this situation not for cam our resident friend of the show who's a big big baker mayfield fan but i do feel bad for baker mayfield because he doesn't deserve to be in the situation he's in well then uh it's weird i mean i guess technically deshaun watson's been absolved of most of like his

legal issues right most he's still yeah so here's like another thing you know if i've seen many browns fans on social media that are torn you know because you know they made fun of ben roethlisberger for so long. And, you know, now the shoe is on the other foot. Now they have a potential, you know, less than squeaky clean reputation off the field quarterback. And in a way, you know, when you get a player like that, you know, in order to win, it's almost like selling your soul.

Or so I've been told by some Browns fans that I know. Anyway, when you look at him on Anyway, when you look at the contract, that's $230 million guaranteed, all of it, most money ever for a guaranteed contract. That's insane. I do think it's funny or smart for the Browns to give him only $1 million his first year, you know, just in case the NFL, you know, decides to punish him.

So, I mean, that's smart. The division, that's going to be a tough division because the Steelers, you know, oh, at least Mike Tomlin will always go 8-8. You know, you have that. Then you have the Ravens who, you know, are just starting to Mike Tomlin will always go 8-8. You know, you have that. Then you have the Ravens, who, you know, are just starting to get all their guys back and healthy. And then you have the Bengals that just went to the Super Bowl. What are you going to do to make them stand out, Deshaun?

You know, you have a good running game. You have Amari Cooper and David Njoku to throw to. You have a good O-line, you know, with guys like, what's his name? Is it Jedrick Wills wills i think is on there yes white teller oh and why tell her that's what i was thinking of they just got in the center though yeah that's weird i think it might go linderbaum with the draft but that's a debate for another time so and you know you have a good defense you know guys like deshaun watson and denzel ward and chase winovich on that defense so i'm i'm eager to see what he can bring but do not expect it to be as but deshaun word of wisdom do not expect it to be as weak as the afc south was because at least you got two other contenders

right there with you yeah it's an that's a tough division isn't it's us in the afc west that's a very tough division for deshaun to play in yep all right so this feels like to me this feels like one of those moves where it's you know they're that it's that one team that's one piece away, you know, like the L.A. Rams before them last year. They're one piece away, usually the quarterback, from truly being able to get over that hump. You know, you were a borderline playoff team. You were in and out. You might have won a few playoff games, but you didn't have what it took to actually get to where you needed to go.

Now you got, you trade away, you, well, you probably, you got to trade away, uh, Baker Mayfield and you trade, you trade a haul of picks and you get Deshaun Watson. They have an offensive line that's among the best in the game. They have a running game that's among the best in the game. They have a defense that is ferocious, led by Miles Garrett and Denzel Ward, among several other key players. Lots of playmakers on that defense. And, yes, you don't really have a wide receiver two, but you have a wide receiver one.

Amari Cooper's pretty damn good. So to have him to throw to, uh, for Deshaun Watson to throw to, it's pretty damn good. So this team is really just a wide receiver two away from being among the best in the entire NFL. Um, and they can compete with really anybody out there. And as Justin said, if this team doesn't win a Super Bowl in Deshaun Watson's tenure here, it would be just typical Browns, man. It really would. And it would really just – this is a team that should compete. It is literally, like we said right after,

in the direct aftermath of Matthew Stafford being traded, it is Super Bowl or bust. If you don't win a Super Bowl, it is a massive disappointment. Yeah, I mean, that's the trend, no buy now, pay later. Basically, and that is what it's turning into. That is the trend. These teams who are going all in and having it pay off, it's influencing more and more teams to go all in,

and that's what everybody is doing right now, at least in the AFC. The NFC hasn't quite caught up to that yet, but the two teams that have bought in in the past couple of years, you know, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Rams, they're still in it. Nobody else is. They're just saying, here, AFC, take my intestines. You take my heart. You take my guts. That's what's happening right now. Coming up next, we are going to get into the winners and losers of free agency. You're not going to want to miss this.

You're listening to the Fumble Ruski Podcast. Fumble Ruski Podcast. 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 a catch! It's a catch! Side-line! Touchdown!

Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! You're listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. I'm Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, Justin Tucker in with you tonight. So, the free agency finally starting to settle down. A lot of the bigger names are finally, you know, they're getting, they're all being signed to teams so looking at this we did this last off season during last during uh when free agency started to settle down but who are the winners

and losers of free agency we're going to start with the winners and we can go around we'll give our pick which team and you guys answer the question okay so so i mean yeah i'll take this one first because i think it's pretty obvious who who won uh free agency and the answer is the entire afc west won the free agency this year. But if you want me to be more specific, I think the Chargers have had the best free agency so far because they were able to sustain the offense, be able to re-sign Mike Williams, and add to that already solid defense with getting Khalil Mack, putting him on the opposite end of Joey Bosa,

getting J.C. Jackson to pair up with Derwin James in that secondary. So it not only solidified the offense, it also solidified the defense. And now they actually do have a legitimate chance to not only win the AFC East, I mean the AFC West, but they can be the number one seed in the entire AFC this year. I could see that happening, no problem. Hmm. Now, yeah. can see that happening no problem now yeah my winner personally the jacksonville jaguar now i am just kidding they did not win free agency they overplayed a bunch overpaid a bunch of mediocre

players anyone who says otherwise doesn't know football now but i actually have to go with justin the winner by far in you know in the end the AFC West, which made a buttload of ridiculous moves, it's got to be the Chargers. What did he say? You get back your man Mike Williams, right? That's important. And Joey Bosa along with Khalil Mack that's that's something isn't it and you get JC Jackson to pair up with Asante Samuel Jr. and Derwin James I mean just the additions of Mack and Jackson

are insane however I'm going a slightly different direction I honestly I know it's a cop-out but think about the entire AFC West I mean even the Chiefs are making moves, getting guys like Justin Reed and Juju Smith-Schuster. And, you know, there's the Raiders getting guys like Chandler Jones to pair up with Max Crosby. Oh, and only wrangling Devontae Adams from the Packers, who in my opinion is a steal, like, oh, just your first and second this year? And then, you know, and then to a lesser extent the broncos who you know you got randy gregory but you also got your golden goose and russell wilson so i would have to say the chargers but to a greater extent you know what the entire afc west

that's going to be but the they're basically going to be what the nfc west was last year i've had i wouldn't be shocked if all of those teams ended up making the playoffs you know in the afc west adam all right so if you if this is if this afc west is is your pick you you guys can't you guys just wait for wait for my biggest losers. But my biggest winner in free agency is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So not only do they get back Tom Brady. It better not. I just said – What else did they do?

They brought back a lot of their key players. They added another piece who is more reliable than Antonio Brown in Russell Gage. May not be quite as talented, but he is a little younger. You don't believe that, but okay. He's a little younger. What? Russell Gage. I don't care what his off-the-field issues are,

but you're mentioning Russell Gage in the same breath as Antonio Brown. Yeah, I can't allow that. But at this point in their careers, I mentioned. Still, you don't believe that. Still, Antonio. I'm not saying he's a talented player. Trust me, I own Antonio Brown in fantasy. That guy was a monster when he played.

That's not my point. They added another piece on offense to put in the place of their number three option. And on top of that, they added pieces on defense. Well, at least got them back with Carlton Davis. They got Logan Ryan. And not only that, but when you look at the rest of the NFC, it's all gone. It's in the AFC now. So basically this entire Buccaneers team, they basically were able to retain to a level,

to an extent, their talent on that team. But also the other teams got worse. So they're the biggest winners because they don't have it tough with other teams and they've brought, they've added more talent to sort of retain what they have going. So I have them as the biggest winners in free agency. I mean, I disagree, but fair enough. I'd say that's a solid take, but no. All right.

I respect. After that, let's do the biggest loser in free agency. I'm stuck, but I'm going to choose the Cowboys. Granted, I really thought about choosing the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I realized it's the Jaguars. We weren't expecting much from them. But with the Cowboys, people actually expect them to do well in the playoffs. So you come into free agency this year, and the best signing you've had so far is Dante Fowler,

a robin to a Batman such as Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack, somebody of that nature. So they don't have a – that is their best signing so far, and I'm quite disappointed. They haven't gotten anybody to fill the right tackle spot. They haven't gotten anybody to get Connor Williams off the field. They haven't gotten anybody to show up their wide receiver number two spot or the number three spot, depending on how you see Michael Gallup. They re-signed Michael Gallup, but then got rid of Amari Cooper. So it's like, okay.

I'm not seeing how they're going to do well in the playoffs, especially if they have to face Tampa down the line. And I think they haven't improved. I think they decreased in talent. So with that said, I think they're the biggest losers so far

in free agency. Yeah. I understand. and given the most recent trade i can see how a lot of people will disagree but i just i have to go with the cults i really do and hear me out all right they traded for matt ryan and yannick and gothway okay and i say oh but they did this and my response is and and what i'll tell you what else they did nothing they still have some of the most cap space in the league and they haven't addressed anything i mean outside of quinn nelson ryan kelly their online isn't that great they still lack the left tackle and they lost mark lowensky in free agency who's their who's gonna be the number one receiver michael pitman jr i don't think so they have not addressed their receiver position at all

they re-signed the mediocre tight end mo alley cox outside of kenny moore who's there in your defensive backfield you have money to go out and grab a – no, I said who else besides Kenny Moore. Oh, okay. Yeah, they just got rid of Rocky Asin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you got Nekongakwe trades. It's like, oh, yeah, they got Nekongakwe and they got Matt Ryan. That's great.

What about their receiving core? That's not a good group. They're one Michael Pittman Jr. away from being an entire practice squad group they have outs in their defensive backfield they have nobody outside of kenny moore and i know what you're thinking like oh well they've had a lot of money before and sat out in free agency they did it like a few years ago and i'm like yes i understand but that was when Quentin Nelson and Darius Leonard were in contract years, and they were both extended. But who do they have next? Oh, yeah, they have DeForest Buckner.

So you're still going to have enough money beside that. Why aren't you fixing any of the glaring holes on your roster? It's like, they got Matt Ryan. Who's he going to throw to? They've had so much money, and a lot of it's been gone on that Ryan trade. It's just, I feel for the Colts fans. I actually know some up here that are upset because they really haven't touched their money yet. And I'm like, I'm sorry.

My heart goes out to you. Well, that's my rant. Adam? All right. So my biggest loser in free agency is the entire AFC West. All right. I need to hear the mental gymnastics. I'm sick. Oh, I'm sick.

All right. Let's hear the mental gymnastics. If you're in the AFC West, you added all this talent. That's all fine and good. But now the problem is everybody in that division has added a lot of talent. And all the power to that one team is good for them. If that one team gets out of that division and wins a few rounds in the playoffs, maybe another team makes the playoffs as well.

But they're still going to have a couple losses to their name. They will be battle-tested. But think about if you are, let's say, the Raiders, and you miss the playoffs. You finished, let's say, 10-7, 11-6, but you still miss the playoffs because you're in the AFC West. You're going to be looking around at the other divisions and saying, man, if I was in the AFC South or the AFC East, I'd probably win that division.

Or if you're the Denver Broncos, you take a little bit of time to sort of gel because that roster is kind of thrown together. And then you wind up maybe, let's say, down the stretch, you finish as one of the better teams in football because that team is talented. And then you barely miss the playoffs. You say, man, how did I miss the playoffs? But freaking Indianapolis over there, they won the division with Matt Ryan and Michael Pittman as their number one wide receiver. How do they make the playoffs and we don't? It's great that they added all this talent, but at what point are all these players going to stop and think, well, yeah,

we're making our teams more talented, but only a couple of us actually come out of that division, if any of them come out of the division, to make the playoffs. So it's one of those things where I think you've got to pump the brakes a little bit on the AFC West. No, we don't. Yes, we do. Because not all of them, there's going,

one of those teams is going to get porked. Probably a couple of them. Yes, Adam, that's how it works. You can't take points away. So would you rather than have done nothing, would you rather just say, oh, our division's too good, good let's not even try this is the point of free agency that's how so then so then if someone's gonna get poor what would you rather them do it's not it's not a matter of what troll it's more so just the the it's just bad luck i'm not saying that they're it's they're at fault for that it's just you're in a division that's very competitive,

and every team in that division had the same mindset. Let's copy what the Rams did and go all in, which is what they're all doing. And now you're going to look at this and they're going to say, well, we're kind of screwed now because we may not make it out of this division, yet we have one of the more talented teams in the league. That happens every year. Well, then I guess it's going to be who's the best coach then. It never happens like this.

There's always a team that's a little talented that misses out. They barely miss out, but not like this. There's a team that one of these teams is loaded. Well, every single one of these teams is loaded, but one of them is going to finish last. And they're going to look around and they're going to say, if I was in any other division, I would have probably won the division. You do that with expanded playoffs.

I disagree with that. All of them could make it in. In the AFC, I see them won the division. You do that with expanded playoffs. I disagree with that. All of them could make it in. In the AFC, I see them winning the division. If you're the Raiders and you go into the AFC South, that team is better than all of them. That's the only one. But if you look in the East, you have the Patriots and the Bills. They're better than the Patriots.

I disagree. Who're better than the Patriots. I disagree. Who's better than us? He's saying the Raiders right now currently constructed are better than the Patriots. Roster wise, yes, but they're still going to be coached by Josh McDaniels. And that's why I'm kind of pumping the brakes

on the Raiders. I love their pickups, but Josh McDaniels is still their head coach. And to Raider Nation, I say enjoy the third and ten screen passes. And I know they're not looking at the North and saying, yeah, we could win that division, like just out of pocket saying that. I disagree on Josh McDaniels. I'm not trying to say that he did everything right in Denver a few years back, but it wasn't the coaching that was the issue.

He tried to be like Bill Belichick too quickly. He tried to take that credibility and say, I'm Bill Belichick, I can do whatever the hell I want. He's going to do it again. Why would you rule out that maybe he changed that? Maybe he fixed that and he said, and I believe he did say that a few years back. He said, I mean, I kind of learned from my last stint. Everybody was – everybody said, hey, screw you, pal.

You've only been leader of this team. You've been leader of this team for only a couple of years. He's still the worst coach in that division. I would literally still take Nathaniel Hackett, who hasn't even coached yet, over him. Okay, but the talent is there. Yeah. How many times have bad coaches ruined a talented team?

Pretty much Andy Reid every year, except that one time Mahomes carried him to a Super Bowl. And they've won the division almost every year under Andy Reid. Oh, yeah. And please, regale me with his many playoff successes. I'll wait. Four straight AFC Championship games. Yeah, that'll do it.

So? Well, here's the thing. Where's the accolades? Where's the hardware? He's got two AFC championship wins and a Super Bowl. I mean, that's kind of hard to do. I know you like to say Super Bowl, but that's hard to do. There is no excuse.

I've seen some of the teams he's had over the years. Andy Reid, all jokes aside, there's no reason he shouldn't have at least four wins. We're getting a little bit sidetracked here. But I think the NFC – I'm not saying the NFC did anything wrong. have at least four we're getting we're getting a little bit sidetracked here but i think i think the nfc i'm not saying the nfc did anything wrong the afc west did anything wrong i'm just saying that they're they're a little a couple teams in that in that division are going to be really unlucky and because of that i just put all the entire afc afc west in that category because it could be real you can make a case for

any one of them honestly i would not rule out the chiefs it would it would take a hell of a lot of things to go wrong but i wouldn't rule out the chiefs from missing the playoffs in this division because the chiefs have gotten the chiefs have gotten worse this year i think that i think they've gotten worse this offseason. They've lost Tyron Matthew, and they added in Justin Reed, so they got a little bit worse there. They lost Charverius Ward. So their secondary is going to be – it was already shaky before.

Now it's going to be worse. So I just want to point out, you're putting the – I just want to see if I'm reading you right. You're going to put the entire AFC West as losers because they might, of free agency. So they lost free agency because they might not make the playoffs. So that means by not making the playoffs, they've lost free agency. Am I reading that right? Because a few of them won't making the playoffs they've lost free agency am i reading that right

because a few of them won't make the playoffs okay it's not my so because there's a possibility they won't make the playoffs that means they're losers of free agency yeah yeah that makes no possibility it's going to happen okay okay so then which one's not going to make it let's hear it which one right now is 100% not going? I can make a case for all of them. Okay, whatever. Unless the possibility all of them can make it. Yeah, literally, with the expanded playoffs,

literally all of them could. That's not true. 5, 6, 7 are wildcard spots. They could make it mathematically. Yes, mathematically. It's possible, but look just I understand can we just go to the next segment or we'll talk about all right all right so we've gotten we we talked about our biggest winners of free agency now we want to hear your biggest winners of free agency

that's right we're going to get into our fan box that's next don't go anywhere this is the fumble ruski 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 caught. It's a catch. Sideline. Touchdown.

Unbelievable. Swings it way down the field to Watkins. Sammy Watkins for the touchdown. Welcome back. This is the Fumble Ruski podcast by Power 88 and Fans Only Sports Network. I'm Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, Justin Tucker with you tonight. We are talking a lot of free agency, very heavy free agency so far in this episode, and we're going to continue with the fan box. So we post a question filter on our Instagram 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 show. Respond to next week's fan box question to be featured on our podcast. Now, the question of the week was, which team is the biggest winner so far in free agency? So, number one was Tyler Sumner, who said the Raiders. Now, this is a team that added Chandler Jones. That was about their only free agency pickup. They did get Demarcus Robinson earlier today. But other than that, everything else was through trade.

Rakia Sin, I'm forgetting the big big one i'm not forgetting the big one and then um so diego huertas said chargers or raiders so that's a team that you can you pick either one and it's a rational argument yes because the char because the Chargers got better, adding pieces on defense. That defense is going to be ferocious. And they got their main guy, Mike Williams. Anyways, Stephen Parker said Bengals. So the Bengals, why?

I mean, they did fix the O-line. They fixed their offensive line. Yeah, I need to see them fix their defensive backfield, though. No, no, no, they won that. You saw they signed Eli Apple again. They won that. I'll take that. I'll take that anyway.

They signed him back. Nice job. Nice job, Bengals. But something tells me they're going to make another move because they released Trey Waynes, which clears 11 mil in cap space, which puts them at, like, what, 23 million this offseason? So they're clearly going to do something else. And they also have the draft to address it.

So I'll allow it. They fixed their offensive line, which was number one. So you need to make sure that you're taking care of Joe Burrow and they're prioritizing that. They're not making the mistake that the Colts did with Andrew Luck where they got him killed and he decided to retire before he was – I think it was – was it before age 30 or was he 31? I'm not sure.

I thought he was like 29 or something like that. He was 20 – yeah, before age 30. So Robert Canedo said Raiders. So again, Raiders, that team now has pieces everywhere, and it sucks that you can make a real argument that they won't make the playoffs because that team is loaded with talent now. They might need a little bit on their offensive line,

but that's about it. They could use some work in the secondary too, but you have one of the better pass rushing duos in the league. You have Devontae Adams. You have Hunter Renfro. You have Darren Waller. You have now Demarcus Robinson. Josh Jacobs in the backfield. Great team right there. Grayson Mortimer said Chargers deserve a shout-out. They certainly do. Yes, they do. They added everywhere, and it's pretty hard to screw that up.

But they are the Chargers. They had a good team going into last season, and they managed to miss the playoffs. But Patrick Williver said chargers and bengals so we've just discussed both of them in previous fan box uh answers they're both those they're both pretty well set up like i said the bengals just need to work on that secondary and honestly they there's still a couple pieces out there kyle fuller uh i think i think they've done one secondary oh yeah because you want lamar jackson to be less

bad oh excuse me excuse me say that again i said i said again? I said Lamar Jackson wants to run. Throw all over him. He'll try to. Brian Mucker said Broncos. So Broncos, that's a team that has all the pieces. I feel like they might take a little bit of time to gel, but that's a team that could contend in the AFC. Problem is they're in the AFC West,

so it's going to be hard to get out of that division. But that's a team that has a lot of talent and they have just as good a chance as anyone in that division and in the AFC. But Tyson Tate said if the Vikings can get Zedaria Smith, so this was right before the Zedaria Smith deal happened, moments before tragedy, right, Tuck? Shows good in purple.

He said if they can get Zedaria Smith, they're a 10-plus win team. Yeah, I agree. I believe it. I think they win that division. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. Be sure to tune in to us live Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m. Eastern time on Twitter and Facebook and YouTube through Fans Only Sports Network.

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