The Kevin Sheehan Show - Commanders' "Secret Sauce"

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

Kevin and Thom today talking Commanders to start and in particular, the confidence in which Dan Quinn and Adam Peters seem to have heading into the upcoming season. Quinn has used the phrase "secret sauce" several times since being hired to describe an aspect of roster and team building which the guys delved into. They talked about the broadcast restrictions Tom Brady will have at FOX if he's approved as a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. The guys also talked Taylor Heinicke trade, told stories about teachers who had an impact on their high school years, and Kevin finished up with his first "Smell Test" pick of the year. Want a chance to win $500? bluewirepods.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. Tommy's here. I am here. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, is Windonation.

Give him a call 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com. The first smell test pick of 2024 coming up in the final segment of the show for a game tonight. as college football's week one kicks off tonight. By the way, Dion in Colorado involved in a game tonight. Is that the smell test game? Maybe. Stay tuned. Stay tuned.

This from Lindell. Lindell writes, how do they not sign a player off waivers when they've got the second claim position, period? Then he writes, this is the stupidity of the last regime. I hope it isn't an indication of what's in store, period. Thank you, Lindell. Yeah, what's the problem here?

Why aren't they doing that for crying out loud? I mean, I swear to you, I, for whatever reason, explained the waiver wire no less than three times over the last several weeks. So here it is in a nutshell, people. The waiver wire is for players with less than four years of accrued service. If you sign a player off waivers and Washington does have the second claim position, that player goes straight to the 53-man roster, which means you have to cut a player from the 53-man roster.

The players that are on the practice squad are unclaimed. players or they weren't waiver eligible players to begin with and you had to sign them to your practice squad. They had to agree to sign a contract to be on your practice squad. They could have gone to another team and signed to have been signed on somebody else's practice squad. In Noah Brown's case, he wasn't waiver wire eligible. He's got more than four years of a crude service in the league. So once he was released by the 10th, Texans, he became an unrestricted free agent. And so he was able to negotiate with any team that was interested. And he signed with Washington. One year, a one year deal. And I think it's a

good signing for them. I think he really adds to the wide receiver room. Don't be surprised if Noah Brown is out there among the top three receivers on opening day in Tampa, depending on how quickly he can get the system and get the playbook under his belt. But the waiver wire claim position was advantageous for the team, no doubt, if there were players out there that were waiver wire eligible that they liked more than the players who were on their 53-man roster. They didn't. It didn't mean that they were done. They went out and signed Noah Brown. They still may go out and sign other veteran players who are now unrestricted free agents. By the way, once you be become waiver-wire eligible.

If you're not claimed, then you become an unrestricted free agent. You can sign with anybody else. This is just for players with less than four years of accrued service. All right. The NFL defines an accrued season is six or more games on either a team's 53-man roster, injured reserve, or Pupplist. So anybody with less than four accrued seasons is waiver-wire-el. when they got released. Washington clearly didn't like any of those players, mostly young players,

mostly players that were bubble players on other rosters, and that's why they didn't claim a player. If there had been a really good player, young player that they had liked, they would have claimed the player, and they were in a really good position with number two overall to claim a player. Carolina claimed Castro Fields, the corner that Washington released. They actually claimed, I think, four players because they had the number one position. But maybe they didn't like their 53, their final 53 man roster as much as Washington did. Now, we'll see if they're right. And then, you know, now it's, you know, free agency.

All of these players are free agents. Unless somebody gets waived with less than four years of accrued service, then Washington is in number two position to claim that player for the first three weeks of the season. And then it goes to the standings as they are after week three. All right. Oh, so that's how it works, huh? I don't even know if I did a good job explaining it. It's not, let me just say this.

It's not easy. It's not easy for people. It's really not an easy thing. Excuse me. But you did a good job of explaining it, and it seems like there's two essential components here. If you've been in the league over four years, you can't be waived.

You can be cut, and then you'd be a free agent. Correct. Four years are months. more. Four accrued seasons or more, you don't, you're not, you're not, you're not, you're not, you're not, you don't hit the waiver wire. You become a free agent immediately and pick your own team. And the second thing is, they like, they really like their roster, don't they? You know, I was actually going to ask you about this. So, I, benefit of the doubt, Kev. Let me just preface all of this. Not only that, We need to change that to 10 Winkev.

10 Winkev. Legitimately optimistic about what's going on here. At the same time, I am just going to make an observation, and I wonder if you've picked up on the same thing. There's a phrase that Dan Quinn uses a lot. The phrase is secret sauce. He's used it no less than six times going back to the moment he was hired. And he typically uses it in kind of a description of, you know, it's an off-season conversation, the kind of players they're looking for, you know.

And then beyond that, it's about taking those players and fitting them into their scheme, you know, finding the right players that have the right traits, but then also making sure their scheme fit. And that's the secret sauce. You know, that's kind of the secret sauce. He says it a lot. What did you say? The secret sauce.

Yes, the secret sauce. No, I would think that he's not talking about he knows something that no one else in the league. No, I don't think that's it. That's not what the secret sauce is. No, no. First of all, let's just hope this secret sauce for his sake produces one hell of a meal. because the optimism coming from out there is legit, right? I mean, have you heard any kind of conversation that lowers the expectation bars about the kind of team they're going to be?

Look, he's not promising anything, hasn't promised anything. They talk about long term. They also talk about trying to win now. They talk about recalibrating, not rebuilding. But he's very positive about what they're doing and the way they're doing it, and the way Adam does it, and the way his coaching staff does it. And he was very, yesterday, very thrilled that a lot of the players that they cut actually called back or texted back to say, man, thanks.

They showed their gratitude for having been a part of this office. season with the franchise now and express their desire to come back. You know, he said that a few times yesterday. You know, and so I am all in on everything right now. I feel better than I have about anything involving the football franchise in years. A lot of it has to do with Jane Daniels. That's number one for me. Number two is I actually really do, and I have liked Dan Quinn as a coach.

And I believe what everybody says about him, which is hell of a coach, hell of a person. I just find it interesting that there is, it's not like he's out there promising like the franchise used to do. You know, he's not promising a division title. He's not promising a certain number of wins. but he is very, very confident that they know what they're doing. And they have the secret sauce. Here's what he talks about. I think he's telling everybody that the team that they've assembled fits the identity that they want for this team.

Yeah. Okay. There's components. There's certain attributes of players, I guess, the secret sauce. for lack of a better term, that you need to play for this team. And the guys on that roster have that, whether it's hard hitting, whether it's playing through the play, whether it's speed. You know, these I think are all components of the identity he wants.

And I think that's what that's the only thing he's saying. I think his optimism is saying, we put together a roster of guys who fit what we're trying to do, not what we're going to do. No, look, one of the themes of the off-season has been, and by the way, this is really not even nitpicking. It's observational, and it's just a feeling that I have that says, hope you're right. hope that this really works. Not this year, but over the next few years. Because they do speak in a way in which we know what we're doing.

But to your point, from the beginning, it's been there are player traits that we look for. And he talked about it yesterday, and I played the soundbite about identity. It was a Ben question, a Ben Standing question about identity. And he said, you know, this is the identity. and it's been from the beginning, you know, speed, physicality, playing to the whistle, you know, relentless motor, energy, competitiveness, which, by the way, every time you think and watch the 49ers, that's what they have been. Not that every team doesn't have a lot of competitive badasses on their team, but the 49ers

every team sit there and say, well, we're not interested in those things. Yeah. And when I say... Those aren't on our list. Right. And when I say that he talks and uses the phrase secret sauce, look, he is definitely, as a communicator, incredibly likable, incredibly honest from my standpoint. But there are a couple of phrases that are his go-toes. You know, it's, and secret sauce happens to be one of them.

And get it on is another one. We're going to get it on. And, you know, it's a lot of coach stuff, but I'm not suggesting that the secret sauce thing is him thinking he's got this secret sauce and nobody else does. I think when he says that, he says he's essentially trying to explain the challenge is finding the right kind of player personality and profile and then making sure it fits with what we want to do scheme-wise. By the way, there are a lot of coaches that coach the other way. And I'm not saying that this is the only way they coach, where it's I look for the best possible players, and then I develop a scheme around what I have.

You know, Gibbs was that way. Gibbs was the all-time. Give me the best players and the best people, and I will change the scheme to fit what I have. Richie Pettibone, same thing. was why they made a great combination. You know, one year they are ground and pound. The next year, they're going three wides, four wides,

and they're throwing the ball with ripping as deep as they can, you know, based on what they had. So I don't know if that's what we're going to get, that they've got schemes and they're looking for the players to fit their schemes, or if they end up with great players, will they tweak the scheme? But the bottom line is, like, here was the line yesterday in talking about, the 53. He said, you know, he's, I think Chick Hernandez asked the question. He said, you know, they, it's really cool. What, what better compliment that, then when you release somebody and they

text you back later, hey man, I really want to, I really want to be a part of this or that, or when a player gets claimed by another team and they're waiting around to visit just because they wanted to check in with Adam and make sure to show that, you know, show the gratitude and appreciation. That doesn't happen everywhere, chick. And to see that, you know, I don't think there could be a better compliment of the people that Adam has brought in and that they stand for the right stuff. I'm not saying he's wrong. I'm not saying that the players aren't absolutely blown away impressed with the operation out there and the people that are now out there. I just find it interesting that you say it, you know, and talk about it. And it's because he's upbeat and he's

positive and he's excited. And they do probably have a really good group of people out there that players really do want to play for, which, by the way, totally unique for us after the last 25 years. That somebody, like, you know, DJ Sweringer was made to stay. As you as you famously said, Now players actually want to stay. So, I don't know. I mean... You know, here's the two components that give me pause going into the season. One in particular is that I have no statistics to back this up.

But common sense would tell me that when you have a complete changeover of coaching and you have basically a complete changeover of personnel, it takes time for that to work. The odds are of being successful right out of the gate seem to be low to me when you have that kind of turn over. I think you'd be right most of the time. Now, the other thing is... But not all the time.

Not all the time. There's always exceptions. Uh, you know, but the other thing is, is, and we say this so many times, it should be obvious, and I think we need to continue saying it. This is the first time in 25 years, I think, where we've had a football operation that, for the both part, only had to deal with football. Yes. and not all the other shit.

No doubt. Not all the baggage. And I mean, that's simple, that obvious, that's obvious to everybody. But everybody needs to take a step back and remember that. So we don't know how a normal team can function day in and day out. We've seen it from afar. We've seen other teams that are normal functioned, you know, to come into, what's in, Northwest Stadium now and beat the crap out of Washington.

Right. But now you're going to see day-to-day what should be the normal function. Now they have other things like Josh Harris talked about this press conference. They got a lot of business besides football that they have to deal with. But it's not right now it's about football. And there is no Dan Snyder and no screwed up hires of Dan Snyder. getting in the way right now. That's right. We don't have to suspend reality anymore to have conversations about the football operation for the first time in a long, long time. I mean, we didn't

realize it until about 2010, 2010, 2008, 2008, 2009, you know, the Zorn years. That's when we really started to realize, yeah, this isn't going to work no matter who is here. But even then, even then, we thought that Shanahan would work. True, no doubt. I did. And I was excited about Kirk. I thought, get a couple of defensive players, we can win 10, 11 games. But, yeah, but obviously there were limitations there.

Look, I, you know, I just, I'm not a big fan. Most of you who have listened long enough, no. I'm not a massive fan of. of kind of self-congratulation, especially before anything's happened for real. And I don't think it's done in a conceited way. I don't think it's done in an arrogant way like it used to be done. That's not what I'm saying,

because there's nothing about Dan Quinn that comes off as full of himself, not at all. I think he's genuinely excited. And by the way, so excited to be back in the big chair, you know, as a head coach. And by the way, I think the fit between GM and head coach because the GM had a lot to do with hiring the head coach, which, by the way, is what typically works in organizations that are functional where you've got a GM and a head coach. The GM is involved in hiring the coach. Remember when Jay Gruden said there's such a disconnect between personnel and the coach,

staff. That's not good. There is definitely an aligned vision. That was something else. We heard a lot in the offseason between Peters and Quinn. I just want the secret sauce to produce a really tasty meal. And I want all those players that were reaching out and saying how badly they wish they hadn't gotten cut and they'd like to come back and how that doesn't happen in a lot of places, I hope that that means they are building just an outstanding roster of people and players. And I think there's no reason for me to think they're not. I'm excited about game day, real games, and a lot of this conversation going away. Because you know what happens, Tommy, after, let's just say, you know, a tough loss to the Giants in week two in the home

opener where, you know, there's a penalty on third and six on an incomplete pass, but there's a late hit on the quarterback, and it's an undisciplined play. We're not at that point into player traits, secret sauce, and players texting how much they'd love to come back and how happy they were to be a part of the experience, even though they got released. It's all about actual real results. and I guess this time of year I just get sick of it. You know where you are after a loss like that? Where?

And this comes with the 25 years of hell and dysfunction is that you then dredge up every screw-up or any number of screw-ups that this organization has. Then the new guys wind up getting saddled with the old truck. problem. Yeah. Even though they had nothing to do with it. You know, this, this framp-based, I mean, if they, if they would lose, let's say, the science is a good game because that, that would be a good win at home.

But if they lost to, again, an NFC East division rival, which has been a big problem for this organization, you know, everybody will just bring up a lot of the issues that had nothing to do with this ownership or this coach or this general matter. manager. Well, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that. I know. I know. I'm talking about the general angry fan. Most fans, despite the optimism, okay, simmering right below the surface is decades of anger. Yeah. I will say this, that, I mean, it's far from a situation where the masses are back. You know, they're not. And even though they've done a great job in increasing revenue from sponsorships and ticket sales, et cetera, you're going to see, you know, if they look, remember last year with the opener against Arizona? It was such a high pressure game because from a business standpoint, there was so much that was celebratory in the moment.

And it's like, oh, my God. Yeah, what if they lose to the Cardinals? And they almost did. They really should have. Yes, they did. And they didn't. And, you know, we didn't see it kind of snowball into everybody's back, everybody's excited. But this year there's an opportunity early in the year, just like there was in 2012.

If they play well and the quarterback is really good and dynamic and exciting, that's going to drive a lot of attention back to the team. It won't be Dorrance Armstrong or some of the Fowler Jr. and some of the one-year deals and some of the free agents they signed or even some of the players they drafted after Jaden Daniels. Although a guy like Mikey Sanders still could be a pretty exciting player. But if Daniels is electrifying, if they're shock and awe like there was in 2012, that'd be great. At the same time, the flip side of that is if it starts off slowly, which by the way, like you said, more times than not, new staff, new quarterback, it's rocky that first year. It's up and down, best case. The masses aren't coming back until there's a chance that they're going to go on, you know,

a sustained win streak run. And speaking to the simmering anger that I talk about, that's just below the surface and that it won't take much to resurrect it. as an aside that has nothing to do with football, if they start doing that, and people are going to start saying, Jesus, look at what we're paying for beer and food out here. That would be a good situation, though.

If they're, oh, you're saying if they lose, people are going to start saying those things. Oh, oh, yeah. They lose. Yeah. I mean, then the $20 beers are really going to taste bitter. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot, there's a lot of frustration out there right now

about the high prices, what are perceived to be high prices for concessions at the stadium. And no one's going to pay much attention to that if they're competitive and win. But if they lose, if they lose NFC East games, you know, and I'm curious, but we can get to this some other time about the Giants. But I'm just saying that that's similar anger. it won't take much for it to resurrect and blow up again. And I think Dan Quinn, everyone thinks that they know what it's like here before they come here, okay?

Yeah. You know? Yeah. But I don't think this group really knows how bad it can be in that stadium if people are angry. Well, what it became was not even anger, but apathy because they weren't there. I mean, they were playing road games at home. You know, yeah, that's true. That is true that they don't know.

But they'll know soon enough. And I think that's why, you know, you advise anybody that's here after what this fan base has been through. Don't get off to a bad start. Don't suck. Because whether or not you've built up expectations, and I'm not suggesting, again, that they've built up expectations. I just think that they are very confident in the way they speak about their process and the way they're doing it and all of those things.

But there are people out there, and the WaverWire saga yesterday is a good example of that. I had no less than two dozen tweets from people saying, what are they doing? I mean, I read Lindell's tweet. What are they doing? Why aren't they claiming players? Like already it's like, oh, my God, these people. I mean, I had somebody tweet me the other day based on, you know, them not claiming anybody on that yesterday or not, you know, being more active in the wide receiver market or whatever, say, I bet Sheehan's going to dial back his 10 down to five to seven wins. And I'm like, no, I'm not.

No. But Tommy, did we talk about this on Tuesday, the quote from Harris on Sunday night where he said, we better be. better than that when he said the record was dismal last year and we better be better than that. But I don't think we talked about this on Tuesday, right? No, we didn't. Yeah, because I think I mentioned it on Monday's show after the preseason finale and the Harris Presser, which you were at. It was the question about the expectations for this season and what a successful season looks

like. And he starts by saying, I'm focused on our long-term goals. I want to be elite. I want to play deep into the playoffs, compete for Super Bowl, season in, season out, focused on building. This will be a better season last year across the board. Obviously, the identity that Dan and Adam have been talking about of the team is front and center in terms of us being competitive, of being punishing, of competing at the end. And then the line that I read the other day. And obviously, the record was dismal last year, and we better be better than that. I think that was the, it's the only time I've heard from Josh Harris. We better be decent this year. Now, better than that last year would mean five wins.

Well, yeah, I don't think that's what he's saying. I think he has some expectation that they're going to be a competitive team, which, by the way, I think they do too. I think they really think they've got a shot to be much better than they were last year. I think they're not the only one. I think you think they're going to be better than competitive. I do. I do. I mean, look, it's the first time I've had a legitimate chance to, you know,

it's the first time I've had like a good feeling or a hunch. And it's the first time I could back it up with, well, I can go on this hunch because Dan's not here. The organization's different than it's been. So I went with it, and I'm going to stick with it. Damn it. 10 and 7. When are you going to give your season prediction? We'll do that next week together on Thursday.

We'll do that next week. But if they don't, if they're not that good, it's like Cinderella putting a slipper on, going to the ball, and nobody notices her. She's just ignored. I mean, because the absence of Dan Snyder, you know, the whole idea of, you know, an organization not birxed, burden with the chaos and dysfunction has given legitimate rise to hope. Yeah.

And, you know, what if you're not good and Dan Snyder's not here? Yeah, I know. I mean, they, I don't think it's critical that they be a contending team this year. I think it's critical for them that Jaden Daniels shows a. that people buy into they got it right. I really think that's the most important result of the season is that we get to the end of it and everybody looks at each other and can honestly say, Jaden Daniels is the real deal.

They got it right. Because if you get to this season end and let's just say they're 6 and 11, and Jaden Daniels really didn't show enough, to convince people. That'll be a problem for them going into next off-season. He's got to show enough that people buy into they either probably got it right or they got it right. I think that's the number one takeaway at the end of the season

that they have to have and they need their fan base and people who aren't fans right now, but it might be fans, they need to think that about number five. I agree. All right. We have a lot of other things to get to. We'll start that process right after these words from a few of our sponsors.

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And it's a great fundraiser, and Shelly's is a great host. But the other night when I was at Shelly's, I noticed prominently displayed hanging on the wall is the framed D.C. Gray's jersey that was signed by the members of the 2019 National World Series Championship team. Yeah.

I mean, right up there hanging on the wall is this D.C. Gray's jersey with Steven Strasbourg's signature on it, Max Scherzer, Dave Martinez, Ryan Zimmerman, and in a beautiful

display hanging on the wall. And that had been purchased at the auction by Shelly's owner, Bob Matarazzi. And it's a beautiful display hanging there. It's probably the best thing they've got hanging up there, and they've got a lot of cool stuff at Shelly. So that made me feel good.

So when you go to Shelly's, please take note of that, okay, because it's a very, very unique piece of memorabilia. I mean, it's not a gray shirt. It's not a National jersey. It's a D.C. Gray's jersey, and it's signed by nearly every, Even bullpen coaches, all the coaches, the players, it's a great piece of memorabilia that Shelley has on display. But, you know, that Shelly is the place where you see stuff like that. You see cool, unique things, you see cool people, and they have cool stuff to sell you.

Shelly's back room, it's a cool place to be, baby. Not to mention that burger, which just isn't ground beef, it's a mix of a lot of good stuff, is really good. Yes, they don't go to a giant and just buy some ground beef. They have their own custom-made ground beef. Yes, they do. I'd like all of you if you get a moment just to fill out a survey. There's a chance to win a $500 gift card by filling out the survey. It's really easy, but our ad seller, Blue Wire, they sell a lot of the ads that you hear on this podcast.

They've got a survey out there that helps with the advertising. experience. It's going to create hopefully a better advertising experience for audiences, whatever that means. But really in turn, it'll help this show. Go to bluewirepods.com slash survey and complete the blue wire audience survey about you and your podcast listening habits for a chance to win a $500 gift card. If you don't like filling out surveys, if you don't like, you know, giving out information, I get it. It's fine. Read the full terms and the disclaimer, but go to bluewired pods.com slash survey. If you don't mind doing that, it'll be helpful for us. So I don't know if you saw this story, but this is a really interesting

story as it relates to starting next weekend, 425 on Fox, the Browns Cowboys game, the debut of Tom Brady in the number one chair on Fox's coverage of the NFL. The story Seth Wickersham wrote yesterday for ESPN.com. If Tom Brady is approved as a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, he will be forced to abide by unique and severe restrictions in his dual role as a Fox broadcaster, according to a presentation given to a team of owners at Tuesday's NFL meetings in Minneapolis.

The league confirmed to ESPN that among the restrictions, Brady would not be permitted to be in another team's facility would not be permitted to witness practice and would not be permitted to attend broadcast production meetings either in person or virtually. The lack of access to coaches and players before games could be the most severe restriction. Those meetings at which a broadcast crew meets with the matchups, head coaches, and key players are often a lifeblood of insight for the telecast. These rules which the league presented to owners Tuesday on a slide titled Brady Broadcast Restrictions potentially would affect only the seven-time Super Bowl champion and would not apply to other members of Fox Cruz.

He can't call games if he becomes a partial owner of the Raiders if he's approved, and these restrictions are put on him. Right? Or maybe I'm overreacting. no no he can't he he you know i mean i think fox pretty much does what they want even though it is the nfell you know it uh but uh so i think they'll try to get away with it because i think tom brady has become this this you know part of gold at the end of the broadcast rainbow nobody really knows how good he's going to be i think he'll probably be pretty good at the job but so i think that there will be special rules for him.

And I think they'll put up with these restrictions because Tom Brady off the top of his head is probably better than half the analysts you'll find out there. I was just going to say that. I want to amend my initial reaction. Tom Brady calling a game without any access is probably better than a lot of guys covering or calling a game with a lot of access. I think. I don't know if that's true, but it's possible that it's true. By the way, he's also prohibited if he becomes an owner, a minority shareholder owner of an NFL

team from publicly criticizing game officials and other teams. He in theory could state that he disagrees with a call on the air, but he would be subject to fines or even a suspension if he went too far. he would be subject to the league's gambling policy as well. Look, one of the reasons it makes a lot of sense if you follow a specific team to listen to the national call of that game, you know, the crew that's calling the game. And I was very intense Sunday night on listening to Toriko and Collinsworth because you learn stuff. You learn what they've learned from Dan Quinn.

Sometimes it's subtle, sometimes it's very direct. You know, Collinsworth made the comment that he thinks Jaden Daniels is headed towards superstardom. I don't know if he had said anything prior to that, but it definitely came out of his meeting with Jaden potentially, but definitely his meeting with some of the key coaches, Quinn included. You hear all the time on a broadcast things that you do. don't get anywhere else. For whatever reason, coaches and even players, right, Tom, are much more willing to share real inside stuff with the crew that's calling the game on Sunday or on Monday night or Thursday

night. Yes. Except Bill Belichick. He never shared anything. No. Apparently. Apparently not. Now he's on the other side.

Yeah. That's going to be an interesting thing. I wonder if I'm Tom Brady, if I just say, no, I'm going to continue to be an owner and I'm fine without the access. And if I'm really good at this, great, keep me. And if I'm not, don't keep me. But what if... It is interesting that Brady, I mean, it's always been Brady and Manning. Brady and Manning, you know, the comparisons on the field, the rivalry on the field.

Brady, I mean, Manning has taken such a different path. in his post-playing career. He's created his own past. Yeah. The whole Manning cast, you know, the Omaha productions, with documentaries and stuff. I mean, he has not opted for the traditional

I'll be in the booth on Sunday calling games. Right. And he could have named this price to have done that, same as Brady did. I think we're learning one of the reasons why on Peyton. Peyton didn't want to go city to city for 17, 18 weeks. He wanted to stay in Denver. He doesn't want to do the same thing either after a while.

You know, for a lot of analysts, this is a good job. I mean, this is a nice cushion after your playing career. Right. Okay, you get to stay close to the game and you make a decent amount of money. Yeah. But for Brady, it's a hobby. I wonder if Fox, given the restrictions, now has an issue with Brady calling games, or is the bang of having Brady involved at all totally worth putting him out there,

even if he's not as prepared based on talking to coaches and having access to practices, et cetera, as other analysts? but what if it really does affect his ability to call games? You know, here's the thing, Tommy. Most fans, the NFL has a lot of fans that are not hardcore fans. They don't pick up on these things. So it's more about, oh, well, it's Tom Brady. I'm going to watch that game.

And they're not analyzing his analysis. So it probably, the reaction to this, my initial reaction is, probably overdone. It's probably not a big deal to most people. I bet most people don't even pick up on the fact that some of these analysts and play-by-play guys kind of disseminate some inside information during a telecast that they learned in either a subtle or a very direct way. Sometimes it's just about the game, and it's not about who's calling it. Let me give you an example here. you have Chris Cooley on on the podcast

and he breaks down film okay sometimes yeah I mean he doesn't have access to you know the goings on anymore with the organization or the coaching staff and stuff

but his breakdown of that film is still very valuable yes yep I agree I agree but it was much better when he had insight it was much better when he was much better when he was

in the facility every day. Yes, it was, but it's still very valuable. So I think Brady's, you know, just Brady off the top of his head evaluating the information he has in front of him. I think most people won't notice the subtle losses of not being on the inside. And that doesn't, okay, that doesn't mean that the people he's in the booth with that can't share that information with him. I mean, does that mean that, you know, somebody, the guy he's doing the game with on Fox

can't tell Brady, hey, you should have seen what Dan Quinn said to us in the production meeting this week. You know? Not like he won't know it. That's a great point. I mean, 100%. Yeah, he can find out from the producer.

He can find out from Kevin Burkhardt. He can find out from a lot of people what they said, sure. But I think, you know, a Brady instills a little bit more. There's a gravitas there when they sit. down with some of these players and they're more willing to open up. And sometimes the players actually pick up on what the coaches and where players are trying to tell them more than the play-by-play guy does. All right. There was a trade in the NFL last night of a very popular former player here. We'll get to that and more to finish up the show. Smell test coming next as well. Right after

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Call Windonation today, 86690 Nation or go to Windonation.com. So a couple of pieces of NFL news. First of all, Jacoby Brissette is going to start for the Patriots over Drake May. That was a battle apparently at the very end. They're going to go with Jacoby Brissette, who, as we remember, played pretty well when he got the opportunity at the end of last year on a not very good team. The Steelers yesterday announced they're going with Russell Wilson over Justin Fields. And then there was a trade, Tommy, Taylor Heineke.

First of all, there was some discussion that they thought he might get released by the Falcons in the final cutdown. They've got Kirk Cousins, they've got Michael Pennix Jr., and Heineke's the third stringer in Atlanta, or was. And there was surprise that he actually made the final roster, but the reason was they traded him. They traded him to Jim Harbaugh and the L.A. Chargers for a conditional sixth round pick. The Chargers have obviously one of the best starting quarterbacks in the league, but he missed some training camp, Justin Herbert did. He's got one of those planter fascia injuries in his right foot.

And Easton Stick is the backup quarterback there. So it's very possible that they're a little bit concerned about Herbert. And if he were to get hurt and Easton Stick were to become the starter, who do they have backing him up? So they traded for Taylor Heineke. Look, this is the example of a guy who can play a little bit, can't really start for you over a 17-game season, and have you hope for much.

But he is good enough to be a backup, but what's really important, and young people listen, when you're a good guy and you're smart and you work hard and you are a plus in that quarterback room or in that business, they're more apt to keep you around and want you around.

And that's where Taylor Heineke is right now. Chase Daniel Mode, who had just an incredible career. Although Taylor Heinekees started a lot more games than Chase Daniel did. But not a bad spot. Greg Roman is Jim Harbaugh's offensive coordinator. Remember, he was the 49ers offensive coordinator when Colin Kaepernick was the quarterback Alex Smith as well with the 49ers.

So good for Taylor Heineke to catch on. I thought even if the Falcons released him, which was a possibility, I thought he'd get picked up. I didn't think there was any chance that he wouldn't get picked up. By the way, Sam Howell played pretty well in the preseason for what it's worth. But there was genuine excitement over Sam Hal as Gino Smith's backup in Seattle. And, you know, better situation, better offensive coordinator. I don't even know who the O.C. is in Seattle, but I'm going to assume that it's a better situation than the one he was in last year with Eric B. Enemy. But Sam Hal, um, but Sam Hal, backing up Gino Smith in Seattle.

All right, you wanted to, before I get to my smell test to finish up the show, you wanted to tell me about what your plans were for the weekend. Well, Friday night, I'm going to be in East Strasbourg at the opening football game for the East Trousburg Cavaliers. Because there's a ceremony before the game to name the stadium after the late football coach who passed away last year, Ed Christian. Yeah, I think you told me about that. He had been retired for a couple years.

He was 83 when he passed away. He had been a coach there for 41 years. The head coach for 27 years and the assistant coach for 14 before that. Okay, very successful, won some conference championships, won 270 games as a head coach. uh... there is in the pennsylvania high school football coaching hall fame uh... and was a beloved figure and they're naming the stadium after him well he was my english teacher

in high school and we got along good i didn't play football so he there was no reason for him to give a shit about me but he he cared about me and i didn't give it teachers much reason to care about me in high school yeah and uh... in eleven june two years i had him for english and I'm in full-class clown mode by my two years. You must have been impossible. Oh, I was unbelievable. Yeah.

So we had to read Othello for English class. It's a big part of the grade. Yeah. And I would have rather stuck needles in my eyes. Oh, Othello's one of the only ones that I actually really liked of Shakespeare. I couldn't even read the Clifflip. So, so I blew the test. I got an F.

He pulls me aside. He says, look, I'm going to have to fail you for the year because this was a big part of your grade. And he just was terrible. And I'm slain until I said, but I'm doing good in my other classes. Right. So he said, what? Other. So I said social studies.

And I was doing good in social studies. Doing well in social studies. Yes. I knew what was going on. Yes. So he took me down to his social studies class, and the teacher said, yeah, he's doing good. So Ed Christian brings me back to his room and gives me a copy of the old man in the seat. He says, here, go home and read this and do a report about it.

You've told me this, yeah. Well, I devoured it. Yeah. You know, I loved it. It was the beginning of your Hemingway obsession. And I passed a class. Yeah. Well, 30 years later, I'm in Cuba in this small fishing.

village called Kohimar outside of Havana. I'm in the house of Gregorio Flentes. He's 101 years old. He is the old man from the old man in the sea. He was Hemingway Ship Captain and the basis for the book, the old man, and I'm interviewing him. And all I could think of was Ed Christian. And that moment he gave me the book. And they were going to fire Christian a few years ago. And I wrote this story on Facebook about what happened. And I didn't know he read it and his family read it. And they were just really touched by it. So his family has asked me to come be one of the guest speakers at the ceremony

dedicating the stadium Friday night to tell the story. That's awesome. Yeah, that's... Isn't it? Yeah, so what are you going to say? Well, I mean, there's a lot of speakers. You know, he got two or three minutes. So I'm going to tell the story I just told you.

Right. Yeah, that's a great story. That's pretty much it. I think a lot of people listening, Tommy, or at least I hope a lot of people listening have had similar experiences with teachers or coaches. I mean, teachers and coaches can have such, you know, lasting impact on young people. But I actually have a story, and I don't think I've shared this story with you before.

Maybe I have. But 10th grade math, Mrs. Goldman, was my story. teacher. And 10th grade for me was the first year of high school because junior high was 7th, ninth grade. And at Whitman in my first year, we did not have a freshman class. We got a freshman class, I think, when I was a senior. But there was no freshman class then. And so my first year in high school was as a 10th grader. And I was a good math student. I was a much better math student than I was anything else in school. I mean, I'm in a communication business. But I was not a big reader.

I wasn't a big literature guy. I wasn't a science person. I was always good in math. And in 10th grade, I think it was advanced algebra and trig. And Mrs. Goldman was my teacher. And I was having all kinds of issues. And I'm not going to get into the issues, but there were issues at home. I was also struggling a little bit early in the year to adjust to high school,

which a lot of young people have that adjustment period. and I wasn't doing well in math. And it was like one of the first times ever, actually the first time ever, that I wasn't doing well in math. I was basically failing her class, and then I started to skip the class. And then I did what we used to do back in the day,

or I did at least this time. You had to bring in a note for your absences. And of course, I forged a note from my father as to why I had missed class. class the day before. And she looked at it and she said, come here for a second. And she sat down and she basically said, I know you can do this. I know you can do it.

What's going on? I'm going to give you an opportunity to come in a couple of days. It's only going to take you a week after school for an hour with me to catch up. And I did get in that particular quarter like a D. And then I got an A and I got an A on the final and I ended up getting a B for, you know, whatever it was, B plus for the year. But the main reason that this moment in time in my life in high school is so memorable and had a lasting impact for me. It wasn't as much about I was doing poorly. She gave me an opportunity.

I did better. She didn't turn me in for forging a note from my father. What was really memorable about it is that she had just lost her husband to leukemia. And she was very sad. And it was a time in which I think we all knew how sad she was. I mean, look, we're only 16 years old, 17 years old, 15 or 16 as a 10th grader. And, you know, she's probably only in her late 20s, early 30s. She was a young teacher.

And let's face it, at 15, 16 years old, the world revolves around you. And so things like this sometimes can go somewhat unnoticed. But that's what I remember so much about that, you know, that time is that she was going through something so awful. And, you know, I think it became more important as I got older and I thought back on that experience. maybe than it was in the moment. But I distinctly remember how sad she was, and yet she went out of her way to help, you know, a student get back on track,

which was, you know, pretty incredible for me. I think everybody has stories like that, whether it's a teacher or a coach. But that's awesome. And I want to, do you think it'll be videoed? Will we be able to see it on YouTube maybe? I'm assuming it's going to be videos. I'll find out and let you know.

All right. All right. Well, good luck with that. That's pretty cool. What a nice story. Old man, little did he know that he was handing you a gateway to becoming a look-alike contest participant. Many years later. All right, let's finish up the show with the first smell test of the year.

Kevin looks where the John Q public is putting their cash and does the opposite. It's time for the smell test. The smell test is brought to you by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.orgie. Go to MyBooky.orgie right now and sign up if you want to bet football this year. Use my promo code, Kevin, D.C., and you'll get access to up to $1,000 in a cash bonus based on your initial deposit. You have to use my promo code, Kevin D.C. All the college lines are up. Week one starts tonight. You got more games tomorrow night. You got a full slate Saturday.

You got a good game Sunday night, LSU and USC, and then you've got a game on Labor Day night as well. All of the NFL stuff for week one is up. By the way, Washington now at my bookie for week one. now only a three-point underdog at Tampa. This was at four for a while. It's now down to three. So there is sharp money I would expect on Washington. I bet you there's a lot of public money on Washington. I've not looked ahead to next week,

but I bet you a lot of the public money is on Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels in week one. That's my guess. Go to my bookie.ag, use my promo code, Kevin. DC football, real football, this weekend. So last year, Tommy, 96, 89, and 8, another winning season. This is my 19th year doing the smell test on radio and or radio podcast. I've had 13 winning seasons in the 18 years that I've done it. So 13 winning seasons, five losing seasons. seasons, and the five losing seasons were just barely losing seasons. And then, again, some of the winning seasons were just barely winning seasons. But plus seven units on the year last year,

ended up with a Super Bowl winner with the under in the Super Bowl, which just barely came in under. It was 47 and a half. Game finished 25, 22 in the Super Bowl. So I really wanted to start this last week, Tommy, really wanted to give out Georgia Tech. I played them personally. It was the first bet I've made since probably the NCAA tournament, although I think I made an NBA playoff bet somewhere along the line. But I didn't give out Georgia Tech, so it doesn't count. But I did give them as a strong lean on the show last week. So Dion has been getting into it. We didn't talk about this. We planned on to... Give me in 30 seconds what you think of Dion and his pushback on the media and not talking to certain members of the media because they've been critical of him.

Look, I think he's scared he's going to be exposed as a fraud. Fraud as a coach? Yes. Yeah. This is for another day. We need more time on this. We need more time on this. It's very sensitive, hypersensitive, and immature.

There is, you know, probably a way for him to have handled it. but we'll get into that at another time. Let me get to my Smeltest Pick. Like last year, God damn, does the public love themselves some Dion Sanders? I mean, every week last year, it seemed like the public was all over Colorado, and I lost a couple of times against Colorado early in the season. So they're playing North Dakota State tonight on ESPN, 8 p.m. North Dakota State, the bison, are a power in the FCS, Division I, AA.

They've been a powerhouse for years. By the way, I think Easton Stick, the quarterback we were talking about, that is backing up Justin Herbert, and now Taylor Heineke is on that roster. I think Easton Stick played at North Dakota State. I think he did. Anyway, they lost last year to Montana in a thrilling double overtime game in the National semifinals. I don't need to know a lot about North Dakota State and what they have coming back. They're certainly considered to be one of the better teams in one AA, and the line is less than

10 at 9.5. I'd like to have, and I looked for a 10 out there so I could take 10 with North Dakota State, but there are no tens out there. This thing's sitting at 9.5. They're just asking for as much Colorado action as possible. So give me. North Dakota State plus the nine and a half as the first smell test selection of the year. For those of you new to it, it's just a contrarian handicapping philosophy, anti-public for sure. A little bit more than that, though. I've got some information from offshore, shall we say. And also over the years, there's just the realization that the house wins more than it loses.

and I think the house is in for a big one tonight. There are going to be several games on the smell test tomorrow in the final segment of the show. There are several games on Saturday that really fit the criteria. So North Dakota State plus nine and a half, first smell test selection of the year. You got anything else? I know you got a roll.

That's nothing else for you today, boss. All right. We'll talk next week, and we'll have all of our predictions for the NFL season. so start prepping for it. Good luck tomorrow night. Okay. I'll see you, buddy. All right, that's it for the day. Tomorrow, a Maryland football preview. They open up with Yukon on Saturday, a full smell test.

And Ian O'Connor has written a book on Aaron Rogers. I think I'm going to have him on the show tomorrow as well. All right, until tomorrow. Have a good day.