The Kevin Sheehan Show - DQ's Feathers

Episode Date: May 14, 2024

Kevin opened with lots of Commanders' talk including plenty on the Dan Quinn tee-shirt with old Redskin logo feathers on it. Lots of follow-up on Rookie Mini-Camp including everything Quinn said about Jayden Daniels and what appears to be a surprise injury to 2nd round pick Johnny Newton. Also on the show, the Wizards, NBA Playoffs, and Jared Goff's new deal. Download the PrizePicks app today and use code Sheehan for a first deposit match up to $100! 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. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, is Window Nation. If you've been thinking about new windows, give Windonation the first shot.

Call them at 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com for a free, no-obligation estimate when you mention my name. How about a couple of feathers to create quite the stir? over the weekend. Yes, I will get to just how good those feathers looked on Dan Quinn's t-shirt on Saturday in a few minutes. Before that, this from Sam to open up the show, I've been listening to you for a long time, and I can't remember you being more excited about a player like you have been about Jaden Daniels. The only person that seems to be more excited about Daniels is new GM, Adam Peters. But I'm wondering if Peters had the support of Eugene

Shen and the analytics team. The PFF guys didn't love Daniels and talked a lot about his analytical red flags like pressure to sack percentage and his lack of intermediate over the middle throws. I was under the impression that Josh Harris hired Shen before anyone else because making decisions based on analytics was important to him. What do you think? Thanks, Sam, for the email. You can email me, by the way. I've mentioned this before, but just go to the podcast website,

the kevin-sheanshow.com or kevin-sheanshow.com, and you can send me an email that way. So the answer on this is something that I have heard, and I have talked to people about. And it very much mirrors John Kimes reporting on this shortly after the draft. I've heard that the entire organization loved Daniels and was totally on board with Daniels. You know, Kime reported that when Peters told the draft room, when Chicago was actually on the clock and about to draft Caleb Williams, that they were going to go with Jaden.

the room erupted in cheers and high fives, I've heard that is totally accurate that scouts, coaches, and yes, the analytics people in the organization all wanted Daniels. And on your concern over, you know, was there a split with the analytics group led by Shen? Again, I don't think there was. And I think that there wasn't because there was context that I've talked about four months, you know, leading up to the draft in particular, there was a lot of context on

those supposed red flags, you know, context that even some of the guys from PFF, you know, acknowledged with me, whether it was Nick Ackridge or Sam Monson or Eric Eager from Sumer Sports, who, by the way, Eric Eager, I just read got a job in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. So he went from PFF to Sumer Sports where he was working with Thomas Demetra, former Atlanta Falcons GM, to an NFL. NFL analytics job. But some of those conversations that I had with those guys, they acknowledge that there can be context around some of these numbers

and that the pressure to sack percentage was an interesting one, as was the intermediate throw. And I have said all along that Jaden Daniels, when you watched LSU in context, these sacks under pressure weren't the kind of sacks where the head drop, in the pocket and he went down for an eight or nine yard loss. His lost yards per sack was the lowest in the country. You know, his pressure to sack percentage number actually kept improving.

Like, you know, why would you care about Arizona State in 2019 or, you know, 2020 or even, you know, LSU in 2020 as much as you would care about 2023 and the progress that he made? But the context included just the team he was playing on and the important. of the offense staying on the field because of how bad the defense was and that a lot of the sacks that he took were because he was trying to create a play to stay on the field and that he'd work his way back towards the line of scrimmage or towards the sideline or, you know, try to make a play, which by the way, you know, on third down and long, let's just say it's

third and long, and they didn't, I'll get to the third downs in a minute, I mean, at that point, when your defense is that bad, you want him on that field trying to make a play. The intermediate throw over the middle throw thing, I think, was easily explained by the fact that LSU had the fewest third downs of any team in the country and it wasn't close. Most of those intermediate over the middle throws come on third down. And by the way, there's plenty of tape out there, plenty of tape out there. from, you know, on all of the quarterbacks, if you love the quarterback and if you didn't love the quarterback, especially with the guys that played a lot of football like Jaden Daniels did. But yeah, to answer your question, Sam, it's my understanding that if Adam Peters had addressed

the room and said, we're going to take Drake May or we're going to take J.J. McCarthy, he would have been dealing with a near revolt. that this was a, what he described, this was the guy that every corner of that building wanted. Whether or not they'll be right on it, who knows. This from Jason E. Sheehan, your mock schedule included a season opener and a season ender against the Giants. Has that ever happened before? Opening and closing against the same team. Yes, the answer to that, Jason E, is it happened in 2020.

They opened with Philadelphia at home. Dwayne Haskins started that game. That was Ron Rivera's first coached game. And then remember, they closed the season that year at Philadelphia. And the final game, a regular season game of 2020. That was the game that Alex Smith quarterbacked for the division, the game that Nate Sudfeld came in for Jalen Hertz when the game was still tight to ensure that Philadelphia didn't lose draft spots and also to help Washington aid Washington

in a division clinching 20 to 14 win. But Jason E, what was strange about this is when you wrote this, I was like, hmm, I think it's happened. I think it's happened a few times. Well, it happened in 2020, as I described. but before 2020, you got to go back 34 years to 1986 for the last time it happened. When in 86 they opened with Philadelphia at home and they closed with Philadelphia on the road. So I actually thought it had happened a bit more when I read your email, but it is rare. And yeah, I have in my mock schedule opening on the road again.

the Giants and closing at home against the Giants in week 18. The NFL schedule comes out on Wednesday night of this week. The NFL did give us some news today on the schedule. And I would expect that we would get even more news tomorrow. But today they gave us the season opener. Thursday night, September 5th, the defending champion chiefs at Arrowhead home against the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. So I actually talked about how, you know, the NFL doesn't and hasn't believed in the past that they needed like a blockbuster opener for the defending champion or a blockbuster opponent for the defending champion because people will watch any NFL football by the time

you get to September 5th in week one. But they created a blockbuster matchup this year. You know, it's a rematch of the AFC title game won by the Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium 17 to 10, two weeks before they won the Super Bowl over San Francisco. Their second straight and their third in the last four years, they will open up their three-peat campaign against the Ravens. The point spread for that game? Already available and up at My Bookie, the Chiefs are three-peak.

point favorites over the Ravens. The over under is 47 and a half. By the way, the next night, night two of the 2024 NFL season is the game in Brazil between the Eagles and the Packers. MyBooky has the Eagles as one and a half point favorites in that game. The total in that game is 48 and a half. MyBooky.ag to bet week one of the NFL season right now, use my promo code, Kevin D.C. for a cash bonus on your initial deposit. I would imagine again tomorrow we'll get more of the NFL schedule before it comes out in its entirety on Wednesday evening. I would guess maybe the Christmas Day doubleheader tomorrow will get. Anyway. And then I get to these emails tweets from Perry. Are you going to discuss Dan Quinn's T-Shed?

shirt. From Mike, Quinn gave it up. They're changing the name. I would guess something like Warriors or just like what you've wanted, Kevin, Washington football team. That's not exactly what I've wanted. I've actually just wanted Washington or FC Washington or Washington FC, but Washington football team is okay. From Stephen, birds of a feather, here we go. From Super Skin K, few really thought they had decided not to do anything. From Commander for now, definite sign that Josh has spoken to native tribes and they have approved going back to the old name. Redskins, I can't wait. From Dimitri, amazing.

Still hate the name on the shirt, though. Change the name. And they just kept coming on Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday last night today. So for the few of you that don't know what the hell I'm talking about, at rookie minicamp on Saturday. the head coach, Dan Quinn, addressed the media at a press conference wearing a black t-shirt with the W logo above the name commanders,

but off of the W logo were two feathers that were attached. The two feathers that were part of the Redskins logo from 1972 to 2022. proudly developed, I would mention and remind everybody by a Native American. You know, Walter Wetzel, former Blackfoot tribal chairman and past president of the National Congress of American Indians, he was the one that redesigned that logo back in 1972. So was this some sort of hint? Was it a big tell on where the organization stands on the name?

Was it an organizational trial balloon? I don't think so, guys. I was told that this was Dan Quinn getting a hold of a T-shirt that is now readily available. It's not team licensed gear. It's not NFL licensed gear. But I'm sure on social media, you have seen the link to the people that are selling this particular t-shirt. So you can certainly get that T-shirt if you want it. It certainly seems like many of you do want it.

But I was told that Quinn just got a hold of that t-shirt. He liked it. He wore it not really thinking about the reaction it would generate. As mentioned, it's not team licensed gear. It wasn't something that ownership knew anything about. Therefore, there's really nothing to read into it based on what I was told. I think many others in local media probably were told something similar. So there's that.

Make of it, believe of it, what you will. I actually believe it to be true. I don't think that this was the organization trying to give us a hint as to something is coming or to gauge reaction. I just don't think that that was the intent, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a reaction to this. The T-shirt worn by Dan Quinn is another reminder. You know, this more than anything, is my reaction. It's another reminder of just how important this issue is to the fan base, both past and present. J.P. Finley, who I am told was the first to put this out, the shot of Dan Quinn in the T-shirt as he addressed the media on Saturday at rookie minicam.

J.P. Finley, when he put that tweet out, had over a million and a half views. the attention paid to this is not a huge revelation for most of you, but for those of you who have done your best, you know, over the last few years or the last year in particular, to try and convince people that the name issue isn't a thing, that it's just a few crazies on Twitter that even think about it anymore, you people who think that, like Bart, who sent me this yesterday, Please don't spend any time on the Dan Quinn shirt.

Nobody cares about this as much as you think they do. I just can't do a Monday show about a shirt and a name. I've had it on the name issue. Leave it alone. It's just not a priority for these new owners. If they win, the name people will be back in droves. God, Bart, your email just so encompasses so much about your position that is honestly, embarrassingly wrong. I mean, if you just took the time to read it before you hit the send button, you could save yourself from the humiliation of being so wrong.

First, by the way, this is a podcast. If you don't like Name Talk, just fast forward. hit the 30 second ahead button, hit it a few times until you don't hear me talking about it anymore. By the way, we've talked very little about the name since last summer, but that's beside the point. But Bart, you contradict yourself when you say nobody cares about this, and then you say, if they win, the name people will be back in droves. Doesn't that kind of mean that you think there are plenty of people out there who do care about the name? Look, it doesn't matter to you, great. Do you? Don't tell others how they should

do themselves. I respect your position. I mean, you know, you're totally wrong about nobody caring when you say nobody cares. Clearly, this T-shirt incident is something that I would think would get you off of that position. I mean, I respect you. position in that you don't want to hear about the name topic anymore, but how wrong could you be in saying that nobody really cares? I mean, millions of people cared enough to view the tweet. Thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands continue to weigh in on Twitter polls on this issue, which I've done several times in the past. And, and, and, and, and, you know, and, you various comments. You know, look, the conversation about the name and a rebrand for a few of you

is a waste of time. And that's the way you feel. You do what you need to do. You're not totally alone. There are some that feel the way you do. But I would think based on the reaction to a, you know, a GD. T-shirt that would certainly be something that would make people like you, Bart, realize just how completely detached you are from reality when you say nobody cares. Now, there are others that were a little bit more direct in sort of an attacking way than Bart was. Terry wrote me this. Kevin, the franchise finally did the right thing in 2020. They got rid of the racist name. Those that keep bringing it up like you is a stain on your reputations. I've always liked your show, but I've never been able to sync your thoughtful

sports opinions. Well, thank you, Terry, with your unwavering support of a racist name. It's 2024 guy. Time to take command. Aha! I see what you did there, Terry. Um, look, accuracy may be not a strong suit for you, First of all, the right thing in this case is very subjective, always was, probably always will be, who knows. But just so you know, the franchise didn't really do anything on their own in 2020. The franchise, Dan Snyder, was forced into changing the name, dropping the name, because of what Fred Smith did to him. Fred Smith, the chairman, the founder of FedEx, who was also at the time a very unhappy minority owner of the Redskins and very unhappy because Dan was doing Dan things. Wasn't paying the minority owners, their fair share of dividends. Dividend payments was, you know, wouldn't giving them access to the books.

And, you know, Fred Smith took advantage of what was a crazy. climate in the wake of George Floyd's death in the summer of 2020, and he stuck it to Dan. Get rid of the name or FedEx is gone as a corporate partner. And once that happened, other corporate entities felt like they had to jump in with FedEx. And so Snyder had no choice. They didn't do the right thing, Terry. They were forced into it in the summer of 2020. You know, once, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the.

pressure on Snyder prior to the summer of 2020 actually had decreased. The activist pressure had really kind of diminished for many reasons, but probably the biggest being the 2016 Washington Post poll that indicated that your description of the word was described mostly that way by a non-native American activist group. And a few dictionaries, not all the dictionaries, but a few. few. I'm not going to go back to the whole, you know, R-word, N-word rant. You know, the R-word, our word, our word isn't the N-word. I think most people understand how ridiculous that comparison is. I mean, there are still, there are still a few dozen majority Native American high schools that use

Redskins as their school's team nickname. That alone should be a mic drop on the, Our word is the N word. No, it isn't. But whatever. I'm sorry you feel, Terry, that it's a stain on my reputation. My position was is, and might not always be, actually. Who knows? But that the name issue has been a very debatable issue.

It's hard to see how someone who isn't Native American could be so sure that the name needed to go when most of the information out there was and still indicates that most Native Americans don't find the name racist or insensitive. I would never describe my position, though, over the years as unwavering support. I definitely was pro keeping the name, but I could have easily and still could be wavered if the information available was worth wavering for. But that's been the problem, Terry, all along. The information has never really been that persuasive. But anyway, back to the Quinn T-shirt. The response to it was massive, massive.

The name thing, of course, is a thing. And you're just not paying attention to it, or you're not kind of one of us with sort of the deep fan bona fides, bona fides, however you pronounce that word, you know, that you just don't know how deeply fans past and present feel about this. I've said this before. I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. You know, have an opinion all you want.

I'm only interested in the opinion of the person that's been a fan versus someone who hasn't been a fan. If you're a fan and don't care about the name thing, okay, that's fine. If you like commanders, and I've talked to, you know, I've had a few calls. very few. Few people on social media say, been a fan all my life. I like commanders. I mean, it is definitely a small group. But have at it. You have the credentials, in my opinion, to stand on that. But if you haven't had the emotional attachment to the team that many of us have had, I don't really care how you feel. You can't possibly know how we feel. This conversation has always been best served among family.

You know, no outsiders. If you're a legit fan current or past, you know, you can relate. If you're not, you can't relate, you know. And Terry, all due respect, you strike me as an outsider with the line that you finished with. It's 2024, guy. Time to take command. Nah, friend, governor, it's 2024 and people like you who told me in 2020.

and then for sure told me on 2222 that eventually we'd all get used to it. Well, I hope you realize that just from the T-shirt over the weekend, how wrong you were on that. The majority are not used to it. They want it to change. Now, I know a lot of those people want it to change back to Redskins. I do realize that. I don't think that's happening, ever. I just don't.

The name Redskins is not coming back. Yes, it would be a massive, massive boon to business. If Josh Harris said, I'll take all the heat. We're going back to this because it's the right thing to do from a business standpoint, from a revenue standpoint. Oh, man, you know, the merchandise sales that were so low, reportedly low last week, which is very odd for a team with new branding. It just never happens that way.

But of course it happened this way. If they went back to Redskins, my God, they'd sell out everything immediately. But it's too much of an invitation to bring back the controversy. Those that have stirred up the controversy, and they don't want that. The League doesn't want that. You know, it's not just the activists. It's the people that are active that then put pressure on corporate America to do something about it. The league doesn't want that.

They didn't love it then. They don't want it now that the name's gone. It's not coming back. And there's one more thing just to think about. Because I talked about this on the radio show this morning. So this Wednesday, the Senate's going to take up the RFK site plan. You know, the plan that the House voted on and passed back in February, early March, late February, early March.

And so I think one of the reasons, and I, you know, recently said, I think it's time for Josh Harris to update us on the name issue. I think it's appropriate now. But maybe what they're waiting for is the deck to clear on the RFK site. Why muddy it up where maybe some politicians would look at the way they feel or the way their constituents feel and, you know, decide, yeah, no, we're not going to give D.C. that land. By the way, you know, the other thing, too, is that Deb Holland is a Native American cabinet member. She is the secretary of Interior. It's the Interior, the department that owns the land and manages the land.

She's the first ever Native American to land in a cabinet. She's in Biden's cabinet. So maybe strategically, Harris and Rails and company just haven't brought it up and have steered clear from addressing anything until the deck is cleared for a legitimate negotiation and the politicians for the most part are out of it with regard to what can happen with that land. on the RFK site. I think that there's something to that that makes sense. I don't know that to be true at all, but I think there's something to that that kind of makes sense in my brain anyway

as to why we haven't heard anything on this. Because I do believe what I believe from the beginning. There are plenty in this very large ownership group that don't like the name. There are plenty in this large ownership who have talked about the name issue. and they certainly have, you know, discussed this and explored. I don't know what the results are.

Maybe it's too costly. Maybe it's too complex logistically. Maybe there's a way to do something with the logo or with the uniforms, but maybe not the name. I don't know. But maybe they're waiting on letting us know and coming out and saying anything publicly until this Senate vote. Or maybe until they get a deal done. with the city for the RFK site if that's what ultimately happens.

Okay, I guess enough on that. Up next, Dan Quinn did speak in that T-shirt on Saturday at rookie minicamp, and he answered the question about sort of strategically what they would be looking to do with the new kickoff rules. That and more, after a few words from a few of our sponsors. All right, guys, now with the NFL. draft behind us, it's time to focus on springtime games, like real games, playoff games. For me, it's the NBA playoffs. And if you're a Daily Fantasy Sports player, I've got the app for you.

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that makes my heart smile about him. Just like the type of competitor he is and the way he goes about his business. And so he's here early, you know, he just, he just goes for it. And not everybody has that trait to say, I'm not going to be stopped. And so it's a really cool thing. Rookie minicamp 2024 in the books. Two days, Friday and Saturday, and that was your head coach, Dan Quinn in that t-shirt, much discussed with the two feathers on it, talking about his quarterback, Jaden Daniels. He said more about Jaden Daniels, which you will hear in this segment, a segment presented by Window Nation. Windonation has their semi-annual sale going on now through the end of the month, through May 31st, and it's a really big opportunity. It's a big deal. For a limited time only,

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and I'll get to that, but there were a couple of things about Jaden Daniels because I know that a lot of you probably didn't read or hear everything that Dan Quinn said about Jaden Daniels, so I'm going to play some of that. But let's just keep up. in mind that, you know, this is kind of an annual reminder from me when it comes to this time a year. Not that we don't get a lot of conversation out of this time of year. All right. Guilty is charged, but it is rookie minicamp. It is a group of rookies and selected vets, primarily second-year vets, that don't have a great shot of making the team. Most of the players, particularly, on Friday and Saturday will not be on the final 53 man roster when we get to early September.

So, you know, the comments, the video tweeted out from the team, from media members that were there, just know that it's rookie mini-camp. And most of the players running around in shorts aren't going to be on the team's 2024-53-man roster. Now, with that said, it was exciting to see Jaden Daniels wearing burgundy and gold. Number five, he wore. We played some of the sound from Jaden on the jersey swap with Tressway on Friday show. If you missed that, he had a lot to say about that when he talked on Friday. But seeing Jaden Daniels and, you know, team, you know, practice jerseys and throwing footballs at the team's practice facilities,

they were inside on Friday because of the rain outside on Saturday. This is going to be an anticipated summer and very anticipated start to the season. You know, it's kind of like the RG3, 2012 year. You know, I don't think the Haskins year comes close to 2012. I don't think the Chase Young year comes close to 2012. There are some that will tell you that the excitement level for this isn't anywhere near 2012, and I would probably agree with that. We talked about this a little bit the other day,

and it's just there aren't the same number of people that are as passionate about this team as there were in 2012. I think we all understand that. But Dan Quinn had a couple of things to say about Jaden Daniels, and then I'll get to what he said about the new kickoff rules. But John asked him a question, John Kime asked him a question that just about, you know, in seeing Jaden out there, anything that surprised you about him?

You'll hear the question and Dan Quinn's answer right here. Was there anything you saw yesterday that was indicative of maybe some of the work he's put in? Did you see anything that maybe even surprised you a little bit? Maybe, I don't know if it was the work he put in, but like the command of everyone else. And so sometimes as a quarterback, it's not just what you're doing. It's making sure the formation is set. It's starting a motion. It's, you know, getting a correction.

That's when you know you have full. command, not just what your responsibility is here, but what the others are. And so those are probably the things that I saw on day one, knowing that like, if there's a misalignment or somebody's not just in the right location, what a good teammate that is, hey, man, move that split in, get to here. This is a motion, change the alignment. So like, not only knowing your responsibility, but knowing the others around you, that's when, you know, you really get to make an impact and multiply people around So I'm not going to try to oversell you on what I'm about to say. I'm just going to say it. I have a lot of confidence, even though it's May 13th, that one of the things that we will consistently hear about Jaden Daniels is how prepared he is.

I think there's been a lot out there, pre-draft, post-draft, from a lot of people that speak to, the intangibles, the work ethic, the intelligence. I don't think we're going to hear that they had to cut the playbook way back because he just wasn't there yet. Now, a rookie season, obviously you don't get the whole thing necessarily in your rookie year, but I'll leave it at that. I just think that's going to be something that we hear consistently, as he's a guy that's always prepared. One more from Dan Quinn on Jaden Daniels. It was about kind of, will we have measurement mile markers that they're looking at when it comes to Jaden's progress? Here's what Dan Quinn said. It's probably different than mile markers in terms of an install, but I would say it's the concepts, you know, because

sometimes an install is these plays, then you go into these plays, then going to these plays. So I would say it's probably more indicative of, you know, the concepts that really are nailed specifically for him and for the offense to go. But from a, like, this is a bright guy. So, like, learning the offense, like, he's on it. And quite honestly, it's new for everybody. So none of these rookies are going to be that far behind. And we're just going to take it, man, step by step.

We're not going to miss one part of his development. And then when that process happens, we'll go there. But we're certainly not going to do that with him or with anybody else. The best way to help the team is when you're ready to go get rocking. For he and for all his teammates, that'll be the case. All right. Lastly, he was asked about the new kickoff rules, and he actually was asked specifically about Chris Rodriguez's role,

potentially as a kickoff returner. But I want you to listen to kind of how he's approaching this opportunity. A lot of teams believe it's a change, a major change in strategy. Here's what Quinn said about the new kickoff rules. Yeah, one, I'm excited about it because if you can find an edge in it, then you can create more field positions and bigger plays to go. So I think obviously the return is a big piece of it, but also is all the space blocks, you know, to say you've got to be very athletic when you're in space to block somebody. So the better return teams, they'll have good returners, but they'll also have some guys making single blocks. It's one of the hardest jobs to do with all this space and being in front of somebody and getting that block.

So it's kind of like a culmination of like super athletic play with really athletic people and then to see if somebody can hit it on explosion or conversely beat single blocks and make tackles inside the 20 and see if you can create field position that way. So it's a big step for the NFL and it's a really cool thing to say, can we push ourselves to see if we can find an edge there. So this morning on radio I talked about Dan Quinn's answer to this question and how it was interesting to me because I actually felt like the opposite would be the case. And I'll explain in a moment, but after the radio show, somebody sent me a link to Sean Payton's quotes out in Denver

this past weekend on the kickoff return. Anyway, what struck me as interesting in that answer from Dan Quinn is he talked about all of the space that is out there and how You've got to be very athletic when you're in space to block somebody. So he said the better return teams, they'll have good returners, but they'll also have some guys making single blocks. And it's one of the hardest jobs to do with all this space and being in front of somebody and getting that block. So it's kind of like a culmination of a super athletic play with really athletic people. and then to see if somebody can get a hit on explosion or conversely beat single blocks and make tackles inside the 20. I was thinking the new kickoff return rules, kickoff coverage kickoff return rules would actually make the space less than it used to be.

I can understand what he was describing, right? I think if you think about one of the hardest things to do is in space, block somebody. Like it's much harder to single block somebody with lots of field for that person that's being blocked to move to versus blocking somebody that's right in front of you on the line of scrimmage. But for me, the kickoff rules really condense the field of kickoff and kickoff return. And therefore, it's more of a line of scrimmage kind of a play. It's not exactly a line of scrimmage play, but you don't have the whole kickoff coverage team running from its own 35

down to the goal line with the ball in the air, lots of space, right? It's, you know, the kickoff coverage teams at the 40, the kickoff return teams at the 35, two returners are back. It's more condensed. So I thought that for me, when I heard that answer, it seemed like actually the opposite is the way it'll play out with less space. So somebody sent me a link to Sean Payton, who went into depth out at Denver's rookie mini-camp on the new kickoff return and kickoff coverage rules.

Among the many things that he said about the new kickoff rule was this, quote, I do think the coverage and blocking units will get a little bit bigger because we're reducing the amount of space we're running in. Closed quote. That's what I think. That makes sense to me. It's reduced space, not same or increased space. Therefore, the blocking unit, Sean Payton, will be a little bit bigger. Quinn's answer was more athletic because they've got to be able to block in space.

I mean, there will be a lot that will get figured out and maybe can only get figured out once it starts happening. But I would think a lot of thought by a lot of teams has been given to this even before free agency, certainly before the draft, because a lot of teams have been trying to identify, you know, the kickoff returner, or really returners plural. You know, this was another thing that Sean Peyton said. He said, quote, the two deep backs, and we had discussed this when the rule came out, that most teams are going to put two guys back, the two deep backs are going to have to have good ball skills, a little bit of a shortstop third baseman, if you will, because we're not just going to get these easy to catch high kicks anymore. We're going to get these shots in the gaps, if you will, so I think it creates a unique skill set for the returners, closed quote.

Yeah. You know, we talked about this when the rule came out. The old rule, you know, a returner is back there, and if it's coming down in the field of play or just a yard or too deep in the end zone, they're fielding it, you know, in the air, on the fly. The new rule, it's almost certainly not going to be the case. Kickers are going to try to get that ball to hit the ground, you know, over that area of the return unit and the coverage unit, you know, between the 35 and 40 yard line.

So that was interesting as well. Sean Payton thinks you're going to see a significant increase in kickoff returns for touchdowns. There's a lot to figure out with this, but I just, I thought Quinn's answer was interesting, but not as logical or intuitive as Sean Payton's answer to the question was. All right, the biggest news from Rookie Minicamp was a surprise injury. More on that when we come back after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, most of us are interested in our mental and physical well-being to a certain degree. And with that in mind, I'd like to welcome and introduce a new sponsor

to the podcast. The new sponsor is Unified Healing, Unified spelled Uni-F-Y-D Healing. It doesn't matter if you're a big-time world-class athlete or just a somewhat athletic podcaster like me. We all understand the importance of mental and physical well-being and proper recovery for top-notch performance. That's why I'm excited that Unified Healing is sponsoring the podcast now. Unified. Healing is a new and super innovative global network of wellness centers powered by energy enhancement system or EE system. If you haven't heard of the EE system yet, listen up. This technology promotes wellness, deep relaxation, purification, and rejuvenation. Whether you're here in the DMV or anywhere else across the globe, access to a center is easy and affordable. Interested in experiencing

the EE system technology for yourself, we'll go to unifiedhealing.com slash sheen to learn more and find a center near you. That's unified spelled unifed-y-f-d-healing.com slash sheen. No material or testimonies on the Unified Healing website are intended to be viewed as medical advice or a substitute for professional medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health care providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, including EE system. What's the latest on Johnny Newton? We saw he was wearing the... Yeah, I'm glad that you brought that up. I meant to hit that earlier with Johnny. So

the foot that he had procedure done is actually doing really well, so has an issue with the other foot. So he'll get a procedure done in the next week and then get back started and, you know, get going with the process again. But man, do we have high hopes for him? Like, he is such a kick-ass competitor. So in some ways, when you have to get a procedure done, better to do it early, you know, that this didn't happen in, you know, the end of August or in September where it sets you back. So the fact that it's happening now, you know, much better to get that organized first. That was Dan Quinn talking about Johnny Newton, the team's first second round pick. They had three of them. Remember, Johnny Newton, the defense.

tackle from Illinois. It was a bit of a surprise pick because of the position, but it was clearly a pick that was based on him being the highest player on their board. I loved the pick, but Johnny Newton is going to undergo surgery to repair an injury to his left foot this week or within a week. That comes four months after Johnny Newton had a procedure done for a similar injury on his right foot. Now you heard what Dan Quinn said. They followed up to ask for a timeline. He didn't give one. You just heard that he said it's better that it happened now, essentially, than, you know, if it happened in August or September. I'm guessing he'll be fine by training camp, but I don't know for sure. What I do think is interesting is whether or not this was a big surprise to Washington.

I assume that it was. I also wonder if he fell in the draft and he didn't fall that much, but if he fell to the early portion of the second round, when he was a projected mid-to-late first round pick, because some teams knew about this injury. Maybe Washington knew about it, but didn't know that it would require surgery, or they just weren't that concerned about it. Hopefully, he will be all right. I don't have anything else to say about it. It's just too bad. He obviously did not participate over the weekend at rookie minicamp. Rate us and review us, if you get a chance to do so, especially on Apple and Spot. It's a big help to us.

You could pause the podcast right now. If you can give us five stars, if you think we deserve it, that's really helpful. A quick one to two sentence review on Apple is a big deal for us. And following us on Apple and Spotify and subscribing to the podcast is a tremendous help. Josh Edwards is a writer for CBSSports.com. And he wrote a story this morning, recapping what the new NFL GMs did in their first NFL draft. Adam Peters, he writes about him and talks about, you know, his background with the 49ers and working with John Lynch and, you know, being a part of sort of Super Bowl contending

roster construction. And he wrote 49ers GM John Lynch targets good productive football players. He is less concerned about age, rass, all right, relative athletic score, and premium positions than most other general managers. Lynch ranks below. average in all three aspects. Peters is not following that model to a T, however. In his first opportunity as a general manager, his selections had an average relative athletic score of 9.42, which if maintained would be the highest average going back to 2019. It's also clear that decisions are being made with an eye towards the future.

A year ago at the trade deadline, Washington traded edge rushers, Montez Sweat and Chase Young. The selection of Newton suggests that veteran interior defenders, Duran Payne, and John Allen, could be available for the right price down the road. I talked about John Allen last week. First of all, Adam Peters was not here, and he was not involved in the Montez Sweat or Chase Young trades, as all of you know. I did suggest that the selection of Newton could, if the team is not having to be.

having a big season or a contending season, and Newton is the real deal. And by the way, John Allen's having a decent year, that John Allen could be a great trade chip at the trade deadline in 2024. I doubt that Duran's going to be moved, in part because of, you know, what they would take in terms of a dead cap money hit. And I don't know. I mean, I guess anything's possible, right? They've got a good, with Johnny Newton, a healthy Johnny Newton,

you know, we don't know what he'll become, but if he is what they believe he is and he's healthy, it's a really good rotation up front. But we thought that's what it would be a year ago with like Phil Mathis in the rotation. The Wizards snagged the number two overall pick in the draft lottery yesterday. It was a wild draft lottery.

Atlanta had a 3% chance to get the number one overall pick, pick, and they did. That was not predicted at all. Detroit had the same odds as the Wizards had to get number one overall. They ended up with the fifth pick. So the Wizards, I guess all in all, did pretty well with the number two overall pick. They did have the second worst record in the NBA. So, you know, that's exactly where they should have been. But the odds are basically the same for the worst four teams. They put that into place a few years back. to kind of prevent end of season tanking. We'll talk more about who and what the choices will be for the Wizards at number two as we get

closer to the draft. There are a couple of French players at the top of the draft. There are some American players like the two guys from Yukon, Castle, and Klingin. The point guard at Kentucky, I really love him as a prospect, Rob Dillingham. But we'll get into that more as we approach the draft in. June. So two more things and we'll wrap it up for the day. There's some breaking NFL news this afternoon. Jared Goff has signed a four-year, $212 million contract extension with the Lions. 170 million guaranteed an average annual of $53 million per. Put some just behind Joe Burrow

in average annual salary in the NFL. Jared Goff, well. Think about how he has really flourished under Ben Johnson in his years in Detroit after he was part of a trade where he was almost kind of the afterthought of the trade. Like you got to take Goff and his contract in the Matthew Stafford trade. But man, last year, 4,575 yards, 4575, 30 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, just an outstanding season in which Detroit won two playoff games for the first time since 1957 and reached the NFC title game for the first time since 1991 when they lost to Washington.

They've just become a winning team. They've got a lot of weapons. They've done a great job of building that roster and Dan Campbell with his assistant coaches and coordinators have done a great job of coaching it up. Gough is definitely for me still a system quarterback, but a high-end system quarterback. He's in that, you know, Kirk Cousins range. He's a top half of the league starting quarterback. You've got to have the weapons around him. He's not going to carry you by himself. There are only a few of those guys. But, you know, in that, that next level of you put some talent around him and coach him up, he can be really good. He has shown that.

Last two years, he's second in pass yards. He's tied for third in touchdowns. He's tied for second in TD to interception ratio. He's been an outstanding quarterback. Didn't I get into this conversation with Tommy a few weeks ago? I don't think Tommy really paid attention to how well golf has played. maybe the contract will be an eye-opener. Big deal for Jared Goff.

The Lions certainly high expectations this year. The last thing I wanted to mention was just the NBA playoffs from over the weekend, specifically Denver's performances in Minnesota. They won on Friday night big time, down two games to none. They had to have that. No teams ever come back from three-nothing down. And then last night, what a game in Minneapolis. 115-107 was the final score. I mean, Anthony Edwards was incredible. 44 points, excuse me,

16 at 25 from the floor. He was 5 for 8 from behind the three-point line. He had five assists, five rebounds, two steals, two block shots. He really is the real deal, and he is one of, if not the next big thing in this sport. I mean, he's already a big thing. By the way, there was an argument on the inside the NBA TNT group about the comp, and Barclay said it's too early to comp him to anybody. Well, people like those conversations. But Kenny Smith suggested that he was more like D. Wade than Michael Jordan. I think he actually plays very much like Michael Jordan. I mean, his hang time, his ability to contort, to twist in the air while others have come up.

and gone down already, I think his game is much more like Mike's game. I'm not saying he is Jordan. He was great. Last night, Yokic, what an absolute maestro he is. Just an orchestrator of everything. 35, 7 and 7. I thought Aaron Gordon was incredible. I think he's such a good player.

And he's more than a role player. I mean, when Yokic went out with foul trouble, Gordon basically played the Yokic role. almost as well as Yokic. He's not as good as the Joker. But Aaron Gordon was outstanding. Jamal Murray, great in both games. What an ending to the first half last night. Jamal Murray, part of an eight-point run, eight-nothing run,

which included him drilling one at the buzzer from 55 feet after a steel on an in-bounds pass. Denver showed that heart of a champion that you love to see, down to nothing, seemingly done. And they just blasted Minnesota Friday night, and won last night. Pretty decisively, that series resumes tomorrow night in Denver. The Knicks ran out of gas this weekend.

I don't know if they can fill up the tank enough in time to save this series. It's 2-2 back in New York tomorrow night. Man, Jalen Brunson out there a little bit banged up and just looks exhausted. The game Friday night between Indiana and the Knicks was about as intense as it gets in playoff basketball. So entertaining. But the Knicks are so injured, so injured and just so tired. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. Tonight you get Celtics Cavs and Thunder Mavericks,

but the NBA playoffs, I've been telling you, they've been great. They really have. I mean, you've got some dud games, no doubt. But, you know, pretty much every night or certainly every other night, you got one that's totally worth the time. All right, done for the day, back tomorrow with Tommy.