The Kevin Sheehan Show - The Colt McCoy Reality

Episode Date: August 6, 2019

Kevin and Thom open with the mystery of the studio's missing Chia Pet before getting to the reality of Colt McCoy as a potential Redskins' starter. They talked Trent Williams and spent time discussing Adam Kilgore's Washington Post story on Kirk Cousins. Some Nats and Cliff Branch talk too. <p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a></p> Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You want it. You need it. It's what everyone's talking about. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Now here's Kevin. You're listening to The Sports Fix. That's right. Tommy is here. It's Tuesday, August 6th. And yes, we did a show yesterday. The problem is it crashed after we did it. Aaron, would you like to explain to all of those that got upset that we told them that once I started back on radio, we weren't going to stop the podcast. And they thought the podcast. was over yesterday. Yeah, we did a nice show. It was very smooth. Nothing went wrong. And then I pressed stop at the end,

went back to make a couple edits, and it crashed. Never happened once. That's never happened before. Why are you making Aaron explain? I mean, it wasn't his fault? I don't have an explanation for it. It wasn't his fault.

It wasn't his fault. So why did you just explain it? It's your podcast. And Aaron, why don't you explain to Tom? Did I get upset about it? No. No. You know me.

If somebody's breathing, we're good. I don't get it worked up about the small stuff. But we did actually come in here and we did a show yesterday. And by the way, it was one of the best shows we've ever done. Of course it was. And then, you know, that can't be. Why? Because you weren't on it. Exactly. And then it just crashed. And the problem is Aaron has another show that he produces in the afternoon. And our backup producer, my son, was doing something else. Probably a concert somewhere. He was actually in the in his studio recording some stuff. And so I just said,

eh, all right, whatever. So the plan, by the way, the rest of the summer, is we're going to do this podcast, but not five days a week. I was planning on taking days off anyway in July and August, which I've done in July a few. And I was going to take off some days in August as well. And then when we get post-Labor Day,

that Tuesday after Labor Day, we're back in to a normal schedule with the podcast and maybe a few wrinkles to the podcast. as well, which will explain as we get closer. But sorry about not having a show yesterday. That was unfortunate. Did this make the papers? I don't think it made the papers.

Aaron, was anybody report about this at all? No, but people did tweet me. You know, one person tweeted me and was really upset that the show wasn't up. No, I'm sorry about that. And for those of you that want, here's the thing I'm learning after two days of being back on radio. Radio is easy when you're in the car. The podcast is easier when you're not in the car.

Because, by the way, also the quality of the audio is first rate. And you're on the podcast. Yes. That's the more important thing. Speaking of which, you know, I'm looking at this beautiful studio that we broadcast from. Yes. And how tremendously it's decorated. It's almost like a man cave.

Well, do you remember my office? Yes. Your office was decorated like a guy who needed to leave town in five minutes. Here's my thing. It's always been this way when it comes to work. It's definitely an insecurity. Going back to whatever company I was in, I never really decorated an office because I always felt like once that happened and you were comfortable being like you looked really comfortable that more likely than not you were on your way out. Well, I could speak to that since I've made my office at 980 a shrine to me.

It was a shrine to me. And needless to say, it took me a long time to pack it up. Yes. And by the way, you know, we're in a business really where you don't make money in your office. You make it in the studio or, you know, outside of it. And I always felt like before I got into broadcasting and business, I was like, look, I don't make money in the office. I'm selling and I'm generating revenue being outside the office. But anyway, you're right.

It is sparse. But my question spurs this is because I'm looking at the only things that I brought in. The only things that are in here of any note is, and I brought them all in, a Dinard-SPAN Bobblehead, a Max Scherzer Bobblehead, a Buck Shoe, Snow Walter, Snowcone, and a Nat's October Fest mug. but I noticed the Bryce Harper Chia pet is missing. I didn't touch it. Really? I swear to God I didn't touch it. It's gone.

It's gone. And I do remember you bringing it in. Yes. I have no idea where it is. Somebody stole it. Somebody took it. And nobody comes in the studio. You know what?

They don't even come in to clean this studio. I actually, twice a week, get a vacuum cleaner from down the hall and vacuum up all the crumbs that are around your chair. Because that's usually the mess that's been made in the office. But Tommy, I swear to God, I have no idea where that thing is. Well, I don't know if it disappeared or somebody took this valuable piece. Yeah. The Bryce Harper Cheapet is missing.

It's missing. If you're listening out there and you broke in and you took the Harper Chiapet. Who else would have been in here? There were a few other people in here. Mike wouldn't take the Chiapet. Corbyn would have zero interest in taking the Chiapet. Chia pet. We've had other people in here. That's true, but I didn't see anybody walk out with the chie a pet. Well, that's the big mystery today. You know, it would be nice is to have just a big picture

of Antonio Brown's feet up in the studio. Have you seen those pictures? No. Of the blisters on his feet? No, I have not. You know, he has not practiced yet. I know that. As a raider. And John Gruden said the other day, you know, really disappointed that we haven't gotten our, you know, our star off season acquisition on the field. and he tweeted out pictures or maybe Instagramed out pictures of his feet. Oh, my God. They're shredded.

You got to check out that picture. And if you haven't, all you got to do is Google and probably not. You know, it's funny. This is how you know that you've crossed the age barrier, the age of no return. When you wake up one morning and you look down at your feet and they're your father's feet. Or hands. I think the same thing with hands. Oh my gosh.

Are you looking at the pictures right now with his feet? Yeah. They're a nightmare. I mean, he's got major issues with his feet. And I'm telling you, this whole wide receiver thing, the OBJ, the Antonio Brown, if I'm running a football operation, I just assume not have all of that disruption, distraction. Look, give me Hopkins in a second. Give me Julio Jones in a second.

but the guys that have clear mental issues, I don't want any part of them. How many times have I been telling you this? You told me that for years when we had the argument. I'm going to tell you right now who we had the, we always argued about one player. Do you remember who it was? Des Bryant. I thought he was a star. I thought the Cowboys needed him.

I thought he was a big time player. He was a headache. No doubt he was a headache. But I would have preferred to have had him than not had him. You were right. You were right on all these guys. I mean, because again, I mean, if you follow my philosophy of building a team from the inside out, if you have great interior linemen to help your passing game, you can get by without diva wide receivers.

You can. I mean, Jerry Jones made the comment the other day that you don't need a rushing champion anymore to win in the NFL. But the thing is, he needs a rushing champion. That's my position. Dallas is built to have Zeke Elliott. But he needs it. I think that's true. I actually think that his team is built for Zeke Elliott.

Yes. And that he's the difference between, you know, two wins, potentially a year, which could be the difference between 11 and 5 and a division title like last year, or 9 and 7 in no playoffs. I think they need Zeke Elliott. But I do have this strange feeling about the Steelers this year without. I love Levi-on-Bell as a runner. I just think he's got one of the most unique running styles ever. I love him as a back, but he was a problem, and Antonio Brown was a problem.

Wouldn't surprise me at all if Pittsburgh ends up being really good this year. Well, what? And that the Giants are better than people think. Well, I think the Giants are going to be better than people think. And there is this sentiment that the Steelers will be fine just because they've built up a reputation of excellence over years. And people think that the institution of the organization are stronger than individual players. If that happens, is that a statement? Yes. Is that a statement to other players around the league? It's a statement to the league.

Let's just say that the Steelers went 10 and 6 and went to the postseason, and the Giants were the surprise team in the NFC and went 10 and 6 and got a wild card. And Cleveland and Oakland tanked badly and OBJ was a problem. And Antonio Brown didn't play and was mouthing off once he came back and was a disruption. Yeah, it would be a bit of a statement. I think people have an intuitive sense of how this could work out. The problem with those two players in particular is they are so gifted. They're so over the top, gifted and talented in difference makers. And Antonio Brown's been a difference maker in terms of winning.

Yes. You know, he's played on winning teams in Pittsburgh. But I like their team. And I don't know why people are all, I mean, the Cleveland thing to me is getting a little bit out of control in the AFC Northern. they still have Smith Schuster, who has a chance to be a very good player. They drafted James Washington, the Oklahoma State Kid, last year. A lot of people think that he is potentially going to be a star.

James Connor showed you that he is, you know, he's a 20-carry-a-game back. He's not Levyon Bell, though. No. Levyon Bell was a massive difference maker. And they still, they still got Ben. Yes. They've got Rafflesberger. Yeah, look, I don't think the Giants are good.

I don't think the Giants, for one thing, the Giants have different problems than the Steelers. That's true. The Giants have a quarterback issue that a lot of people think, you know, exists, maybe overinflated, but still, I mean, they have issues beyond their wide receiver. I don't think it would take 10 wins for the Giants to make a statement. I think if the Giants are a 500 team, they've already been the expectations. What were they last year, four and 12? What were they last year of the Giants? Can you remember what they were, five and 11, something like that?

I don't know, but they had not very. very good. They weren't very good. Although they got better at the end of the year, if you recall. Yes. They were getting better at the 5 and 11. But I want to pull up their schedule last year because I'm pretty sure at the end of the year, they were winning games. Who they got 40 points against?

Well, they beat Chicago and they beat, they crushed the Redskins, should have beaten Philly on the road, beat San Francisco and Tampa, and then lost their last three games, two of which they lost by a point to two playoff teams, the Colts and the Cowboys. I don't think the Cowboys had anything to play for. in that season finale, if my memory serves me correctly. But if the Steelers are good and the Steelers are a playoff team, if the Steelers have a Steelers. Without Bell and Brown? Then I think that's a statement.

Absolutely. I agree. The Giants, it's interesting that you say that. The Giants, you know, they got rid of a lot of players that I still can't figure out why they got rid of those players. When you think about them, I don't know why they would have gotten rid of Olivier Vernon. Like that guy is a beast, and do they really have his replacement? You know, Snacks Harrison, Vernon, Landon Collins letting him go.

They got rid of talented players on defense that made them a pretty capable defensive team the last few years. Dave Gettleman put his butt on the line. I mean, he is already being ridiculed before they even play a game because of some of the personnel decisions. he's made in some of the guys that he's kissed off like a Landon Collins. Yes, well, and Landon Collins has made it very clear. Yeah, he's going after, he's going after Dave Gettelman. He's already promised Super Bowls. You know, he's already gotten caught up into the racket that is over-promising

and under-delivering in Ashburn, promising not one Super Bowl, but two. And he's promised that he's going to destroy his former team for being so disrespectful. And he's going to get the general manager in particular. He's going to knock the general manager to the ground in pre-game warm-ups. The Giants. here early in training camp have had two big losses at wide receivers. Sterling Shepard's hurt and then Golden Tate got suspended. Right.

You know, for a few games. So they've got Sequin Barclay. I think Eli Manning still has something left. I think I'm the only person that believes that. They've upgraded their offensive line. No, I agree with you. And they've got some young talent on defense. It's not proven talent in Peppers, who they got back in that trade.

Right? They got Gibral Peppers back, right, Aaron? and then they drafted the defensive lineman from Clemson with their second pick, you know, because they picked the quarterback overall first and then Dexter Lawrence. Look, I think the Giants could be better. I think Eli Manning is a better quarterback than most people think.

I think Daniel Jones is going to be a better quarterback than most people think. But the one thing I do have a question about is I have no idea of Pat Schumer is an NFL coach. Have no idea either. Yeah. Have you seen some of the early things being said about Daniel Jones and training camp? It's training camp. I mean, we don't know what this really means. But the overall, there was a story I read, and I'm going to forget where I read it.

It was last week. I don't think I've mentioned it on the podcast or the radio show. But I read it, and it was basically quoting various people around the league anonymously about Daniel Jones. And the net of it was most of the league insiders. think that the Giants got it right and had no problem with Dave Gettelman reaching for Jones where he reached for him. It is the media and the fans that were, you know,

are you kidding me? You passed on Dwayne Haskins for this guy from Duke. You picked him here. You could have got him at 17. And a lot of the league insiders think that Gettelman's going to be proven right on Daniel Jones that he may not be an elite quarterback, but he's going to be a solid, good top half of the league

starter with a long career. And they said, bottom line is you can't take the chance if you think you've got your guy when it comes to a quarterback on waiting until your next pick, which was 17th overall, right? Wasn't it? The Giants had Jones at 6 and then they had 17 for Dexter Lawrence. Correct. That was it, right? So, and they said, a lot of the league insider said, despite what some people were reporting that he wouldn't have been picked before 17, they believe that Denver and or Washington or somebody else would have selected Jones before the Giants got on the clock at 17. And the inside view anonymously from league execs and people in the league,

is that the Giants are going to be proven right on Daniel Jones. Would it have been interesting, and I think it would have gotten ugly, if Daniel Jones wasn't picked with the six-picked and was available at 50s. That would have gotten a little bit ugly. Well, we know, again, from what we know and what's been reported, the football people didn't have Dwayne Haskins with a first-round grade, and if it was first-round, it was super late in the first round, more like a second-round grade.

They liked him. They just didn't like him at 15. They liked their guy really was Montez Sweat. But remember, sweat was falling because of the heart condition stuff, and some of the other. stuff that was, you know, leading up to the draft about potentially being difficult to coach, etc. I did, I mean, I'm not the only person that learned this. I think it was, why am I blanking on her name from ESPN, Channel 4? Diana Rossini, who I love Diana. Diana, you know, also, I think,

had the report that some in the organization like Jones more than Haskins. And I also learned that at least a couple of the football people liked Rosen in a trade more than Jones or Haskins. But whatever. Time's going, time will tell. It doesn't matter because Colt McCoy is your quarterback, baby. None of that matters. So that's at the top of my list for you today. It took us a while to get to it.

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Stamps.com, enter my code, Kevin, D.C. Yeah, Colt McCoy, Tommy. That's at my top of my list for when Tommy gets in. Colt McCoy, number one on the depth chart, the unofficial depth chart. Do you think he's got a chance to start the opener? Well, I think he has a chance. Yeah, I think he has a chance. I think he's got more of a chance talking to some people now.

Yeah, I think, look, let me just get the truth in front of some of the illusion that comes out from time to time. I like Colt McCoy for two reasons. One, he had me at his post-game press conference after he led them. to a win when he came in. Oh, who hasn't had you at their post-game press conference? Like, RG3, when he stopped to let the planes land in Dulles, and you said, oh, my God, this guy is just the best. But I wasn't full this time. Colt was so emotional, and that moment meant so much to him. The Cowboy Monday Night game. No, it was the Tennessee game that he came in, to win for them. And that post-game press conference, I was so impressed with that and got to know him

little bit. But that's not why I thought that he would wind up being a Redskins starter at some point. I learned how much Jay Gruden liked him. And that was the whole thing. I knew if the head coach liked this guy, you know, there's got to be something to him.

I think Jay Gruden is a good judge of quarterbacks. He's a better judge than I am. How's that? So my whole thing about Colt McCoy was more because I knew the head coach wanted him. I know. play, liked him a lot, really loved the way he ran his offense. And so we're at that point now.

I mean, the only thing getting in the way of Colt McCoy starting at this point are bandages and splints. Which are even money to be come part of the conversation before week three. I agree with that. I agree with all that. This is why I'm not jumping up and down, you know, celebrating up to high heaven, because he is so fragile. He's so breakable. So you know what's surprising, and as we're sitting here talking about it, it's the first time I've thought about it.

I had Michael Phillips on the radio show today. I actually really like Michael. I think he really lets it loose. Like he doesn't worry about, you know, pissing anybody off. And, you know, I think it's not, you know, it's not surprising that Dwayne Haskins, according to everybody that's been down there and has talked to coaches, isn't ready yet.

that it's coming along slowly for him. It is surprising, however, what Michael Phillips told me today, and that is that it's coming along very slowly for Case Keenham. Now, he doesn't know the system either, and he was going to be behind the eight ball with Colt if Colt was healthy and ready to start camp, because Colt's been in the system since 2014. But Case Keenum, when they made the trade for Case Keenum, when Bruce made the trade for Case Keenum, which turned out to be a nothing trade in terms of what they gave up, It was a swap of sixth and seventh round picks, and they're on the hook for $3.5 million in base salary. So if he didn't make the team, they wouldn't even be on the hook for that.

But when that trade was made, I think it was made with the understanding that we've got to have a backup plan if we don't get our quarterback in the draft or even potentially via trade for a Josh Rosen or somebody else. and we know that Colt can't really start 16 games and we're not even sure if we're confident in Kirk starting 16 games let's get somebody, Colt, I'm sorry, Colt. Did I say Kirk? Yes, you're sorry about that. I've always got Kirk on the brain, don't I? Everybody just screamed into their podcast. But, you know, apparently the other part of that,

and I didn't know this at the time of the Case Keenham trade, unlike the Alex Smith trade, that Jay Gruden was lukewarm, on. Jay Gruden really liked Case Keenham a year ago. He thought that that could be another guy to bring into the mix once Kirk was gone before Bruce made the trade for Alex Smith. But I guess the surprising thing is that right now, at least according to the people that I've talked to, case is pretty far behind Colt. Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise this early in camp, but if we get to the third preseason game and we're hearing that Colt, Colts got a substantial lead on Case Keenham, I would suggest to you that it's possible that

Case Keenham won't be on the roster on opening day, that they might try to move them, especially if a team is desperate for a veteran backup. So you think that they wouldn't go with three quarterbacks? Well, Jay doesn't like to go with three quarterbacks. This is the situation to go with three quarterbacks because you've got the franchise down the road quarterback. Right, but do you think there'd be a mentality among people? in the organization that's saying, well, okay, we'll live with Dwayne Haskins not being the

starter, but you're not going to bury him at number three. Tommy, I don't want him buried at number three. Okay. I don't want him buried at number three. I don't get the part of the fan base that seems so willing to go along with a plan that says, sit him for a year. That's fine. Be patient.

Let's air on the side of patience. I want to see this dude play. he's the future. He's the light at the end of the tunnel. If he's not ready to start against Philadelphia or play against the bears or the Cowboys or the Patriots in week five, that's fine. But I think I've referenced this with you before. I've referenced it multiple times on the podcast, the conversation that I had with this guy, Chris Raybon, from the Action Network, who did a ton of research on quarterbacks from 2005 through the end of last year that essentially suggested that if you don't play a lot of games in your rookie season as a highly drafted quarterback,

it's because either you're sitting behind Brady or Fav or you're not very good. You know, Mahomes is the only exception to that rule. He sat behind Alex Smith, and you could make the case, and I would make the case too, and this guy did, that he probably didn't need to sit behind Alex Smith after what we saw in year two. And maybe the chiefs even blew an opportunity in a season. Super Bowl window opportunity by playing Alex Smith in 2017 instead of Mahomes. But I want to see the dude play. If you tell me in week eight and they're two and six that he's still third on the depth chart with three quarterbacks or that he's not ready, that's telling them. It's not telling

now, but it would be telling them. Wence, Gough, Marriota, Winston, you know, all of these quarterbacks that have, you know, last year, Darnold, Josh Allen, Mayfield, they haven't sat for it. No one's been sitting for a year. No, I agree with that. That's what Joe Thaisman says. I know that's what they say, but that's not really what the recent trend is. The recent trend is if you're a highly drafted quarterback, then you are, and you have a future, you are ready at some point in that first year to take eight games, nine games,

10 games of starting play. Well, if you trade Case Keenham, if you go into the season with Colt McCoy and Dwayne Haskins. You'll see Dwayne Haskins. Yes, you will. You'll see him. He'll be starting for this team at some point during the season. And then it'll be his team. I'll tell you what, if Colt McCoy didn't get hurt for the first time, you'd still see

Dwayne Haskins. Because you know, I love Colt as a guy. I just don't see it as a guy that can really, you know, take them to an 9-10 win season. Well, look, whoever plays quarterback isn't going to come. come out of that first five games with a winning record at the very minimum. More likely than not, I guess. So, really, I mean, even if Colt is healthy and plays his best, he's not going to beat the Eagles on the road, he's not going to beat the Patriots, he's probably not going to beat the

Bears and probably not going to beat the Cowboys. But do you, by the way, I would bet that Keenham is not traded. And I'm just suggesting that if here they should go with three quarterbacks. suggesting that if he's way behind Colt and he doesn't really grasp it quickly enough to give Jay Gruden the confidence, that there may be a contending team, same sort of thing with Trent Williams, there may be a contending team that needs a backup that isn't comfortable with their own backup or has a starter go down in preseason or early in the season and ends up offering a shitload for Case Keenum a lot more than you'd think. That's what I would do with Trent Williams as well. I think the Redskins

need to start accumulating future picks by leveraging a couple of the key players they have. Case Keenham's not a great player, but he plays a very important position, and he's played it at a level that could make him attractive to a team that's desperate. But back to Haskins for a moment. Do you agree with me that it seems that a lot of people seem resigned to Haskins' for much of, if not the entire, his entire rookie season and being okay with it and that that's not a good thing? I don't think that's a good thing. He better play this year. And there's context like Colt McCoy stays healthy and they're eight and three and they're having this incredible season. Okay, well then he's not going to play. But if they're three and eight or they're two

and five, I want to see that dude out there in week eight. I understand that. You know, the reaction I get from people on social media and what I read is that if Case Keenham is the starter, they're more comfortable with Dwayne Haskins sitting. But if Colt McCoy is the starter, they're through the roof, angry. They say they don't want to see that. I mean, Colt McCoy's reputation among Redskins fans is so low in terms of his ability to play. that I think that some people can live with a Haskins sitting behind Case Keenham, they can't live with him sitting behind Colt. Yeah, see, I know what you're saying,

and I do think that the majority of the fan base feels that way about Colt, not personally, but just in terms of his ability as a quarterback, as an NFL starter. As a quarterback, and that they'd rather see somebody else like Case Keenum if it's not going to be Haskins. But I do think that the majority of the fan base seems to be okay with the franchise being super patient with Haskins. And I am not in favor of playing him if he's nowhere near ready to play. I think that that could be something that ends up being detrimental, detrimental to his career.

But what I'm saying, and you still haven't answered, I just want to get a clear-cut answer from you, if they're two and five, two and six, and they still tell you that Haskins isn't ready, do you think that that would be an indication of something that, you know, isn't good long term. Would it be telling? I'd say it was a red flag,

but Redskins Park ran out red flags a long time ago. They don't have any more red flags. Do they have any pink flags? I don't know what color they... They might for October. I don't know what color they've used. They've been using the white flag on occasion. I want to see the dude play this year.

But look, if they get through that early part of the schedule, pretty banged up and with a losing record, then yeah, it's time to see the kid play. I think it would be time to see him play. Look, I've said this a million times and it pisses some of you off. Next year's quarterback class is first rate on paper with Herbert, with Tua, with Fromm, and I'm forgetting somebody there, Aaron. But if for whatever reason, you're not going to learn anything about Dwayne Haskins without him playing in regular season games, period. you've got to see him play 8, 9, 10 plus regular season games. So if you get to the end of that and you're like, hey, we got something here, fine,

then you don't have to worry about a quarterback if you've got a top 5 pick next year. But if you get through 8, 9, 10 games and you're like, whoa, this is a long way to go. Well, this is the position, just like Arizona did with Rosen and Kyler Murray, where you say, to hell with who we took a year ago. We've seen him for 10 plus games. We don't feel confident in him, and we think two is going to be a star, and we got a chance to draft him at three overall next year. You've got to learn something this year about your quarterback, about your rookie quarterback. And here's the least amount you would learn is what kind of competitor he is by putting him out there if he isn't ready.

How competitive is he? What kind of creator is he? How does he handle the adversity, you know, as a rookie? quarterback. You need to learn those things. I'm not saying that if they're seven and three with Colt that you bench them or with Case, you bench them just to put them in there then. I just don't think they will be seven and three with either one of those two players. I don't think there will be either. Now, we have to take this into account because it's the Redskins. What about the business factor of empty seats at FedEx Field to open the season? What about that? Well, again, the

NFL did the Redskins a solid by scheduling the Cowboys, Bear, Bear, and Patriots as their first three home games, which is going to really boost attendance with the opponent's fans. You think that's going to diffuse some of that? Well, I mean, I can just tell you from a dollars and cents standpoint, they're going to do better with Dallas, Chicago, and New England as their first three home games than they did last year with Indianapolis. I can't even remember what the second home game was, but they didn't have, you know,

they had the Colts is the first, well, they had the Packers is the second home game, and then the Panthers is the third. It's a better start in terms of their home schedule. The Packers helped last year. I don't remember what the crowd was. The Cowboy game was not completely sold out, but it was close. Right. And we have a bet this year.

You think it's going to be sold out this year. I think Cowboy fans are really fired up, and I think Bear fans are really fired up about their team this year. I don't think the Cowboys game will be sold out. I think there's a chance both of them will be sold out with 60% plus of the stadium being packed with the opponent's fans. Bear fans are Chicago Bear fans are as excited about this team as they've been in a long time. And by the way, I think they've got good reason.

No, I think they do too. I'll just be real curious about how the business factor plays into the quarterback decision because you're kidding yourself if you don't think it's a factor. Well, you know what? If it's a factor, then why was Dwayne Haskins third on this unofficial depth chart? They would have taken advantage of that opportunity to put them higher in the depth chart to try to sell some tickets. Colt McCoy has, I mean, because Jay Gruden has control the depth chart. Well, that's, you know what, that's all Jay Gruden has control of when it comes to the quarterback.

But the training camp depth chart. But if you're, if you're right, and I'm not suggesting that this isn't a possibility, I do think that there's a chance that Dwayne Haskins comes in against Cleveland on Thursday night in the fourth quarter and goes eight for nine and Bruce and Dan say, whoa. There you go. Look at him. They don't need to worry about the depth chart. You know, this kid could sell himself.

Yeah, but if they were really like all dialed in on revenue and ticket sales, then with this unofficial depth chart, they would have said, Jay, put Dwayne at the top. Who cares where he is right now? But get people fired up. We might sell some tickets because they certainly didn't sell any extra tickets putting Colt first and Wayne Third. No, they didn't. You're right.

What did you make of honest J, direct J, saying no chance or highly doubt trading Trent Williams? I think that was him speaking in the moment. I think that they're going to wind up trading Trent Williams because I think they're going to have to. I don't think he's going to report. I think he's going to sit out the season. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on what that meant. Okay. You're usually much more perceptive than that.

Let me help you with this one. You know, it's a little bit early in a morning still for me. Let me help you with this one. That's Bruce Allen. Bruce Allen, Tommy, is in there saying, F him and this medical bullshit and this contractor, Charlie Casserly, did you hear what he said to J.P. Finlay on his podcast yesterday? No.

Said it's all about money. All about money. Nothing about medical. I don't know if Charlie knows something or if he's just speaking from experience. but I think Bruce Allen has told this organization, we're not budging. Remember what Les Carpenter story said last week? They are going to try to bleed him dry and make him suffer the pain of not getting a game day check and he'll come back. Bruce is stubborn like that, Tommy.

I think the best thing to do would be to have him actively on the trade block, waiting for the offer that you can't turn down. Also, simultaneously, saying, your ass in here, we need you. And by the way, you need to be here to play. The Redskins could trade him when the regular season starts, even if he's in. But I think what Jay Gruden said is, yeah, we're not trading him. I know Bruce, and once he gets his heels dug in on something like this, he doesn't want to lose that battle. I also think, so I'm surprised that you didn't pick up on that. The other part of that is that they feel, and I've heard this, that they would be setting a terrible

precedent of letting the player win. You know, Bruce doesn't want players or agents to win. I just don't think Trent Williams. I think Trent Williams is an outlier. There's no other player that would have his kind of leverage right now. There's no comp. So therefore, it's not a precedent. Look, you have a player, whether you agree with Charlie Cassily or not, you have a player that according to all reports and according to some of his former teammates like DeAngelo Hall is basically said that the Redskins medical staff you can't trust the people who take care of you and I don't want to play for them anymore I don't trust them that's a precedent center I mean how can you think of how many holdouts have been because the star player basically uh through sub channels not directly yet

He hasn't spoken directly. Hasn't done anything. Social media-wise. Yes, through surrogates and through friends, he's gotten the message out. If he's done it rather than them breaking his confidence. Right. Basically indicted the Redskins medical staff. I mean, that's never been done before, not to my memory, anywhere.

I'm hearing that it's been trashed, the reputation of their doctors in particular, but also their trainers have been trashed without, legitimate justification for me. That doesn't matter. I understand that. I understand that. That doesn't matter who's right. Okay, but put aside who's right. And I suggested this to you last week and missed out on something so obvious, which Neil and Rockville pointed out to me after the show on Thursday that we did. And that is, the Redskins can't speak to this right now because of HIPAA, because of privacy loss. Oh, you can speak to the generalities of your medical staff. I guess you could do that, but you can't speak specifically to the Trent Williams situation.

No, you can't do that, but you can defend your medical people. Look, the Redskins announced just the other day yesterday or, yeah, yesterday, a partnership with a company that called them an official health and wellness partner of the Washington Redskins. Now, it's a medical bill review company. But if you're in the accounting, but if you're in the medical business at this point, do you want to be announced as a partnership of, of, the official health and wellness partner with the Redskins, when their star player is basically

saying the health and wellness staff of the Redskins is garbage and I don't trust them and I don't want to play for them. Why would you want to be in business with that team? You do know this, right, that the Redskins training staff earned the training staff of the year award in the NFL in February. Okay. They got the 2018 Ed Block Courage Award NFL athletic training staff of the year award. But what's the narrative right now? I understand what the narrative is. Again, perception is reality.

That's fine. But you know what the perception is among coaches and players in the league? This ought to be interesting. Well, it's that we just don't want to play for that organization. But this gives them a reason that they didn't need a lot of other reasons. Yeah, but money always spoke over the other reasons. Not recently with Bruce. This is something different.

This is, this, I mean, this is basically accusing them in a way of malpractice. And you know what? The timing of it with the Colt McCoy infection after his surgery and the Alex Smith infections after his surgery, it all gets put together in, oh my God, they got this major issue. I've just been told that that issue isn't an issue, that they've got good doctors, good training staff, and they won this award for a training staff. And they've had people come in because of the two straight years of horrific injury. problems in 2017 and 2018 and review what they're doing outside consultants and they've said,

look, bad fortune more than anything else. I'm not saying, by the way, and we talked about this last week, I'm not saying that Trent Williams doesn't have justification for the way his situation was handled by the team. And maybe the team feels like he, his justification is really very thin because they suggested to him two years ago, let's get this thing looked at. Whatever. I'm just saying, you're right, it's right now perception becomes reality. But there are other reasons that free agents and coaches have stayed away from this organization that have nothing to do with medical and training staffs. I think in this day and age where you've got an organization that's accused by a player with the stature of Trent Williams of being a poor medical

operation, I think the damage is irreparable. I don't see how he can come back to play for them. I don't see how he can come back to play for them. The only thing Michael Phillips has said, J.P. Finley's told me the guys that are covering the team, is that they still have this impression talking to people that money could solve all this. But I don't think Bruce is going to give him a new deal.

And by the way, I don't think he should give Trent Williams a new deal. I don't think that's the way the Redskins should go. I don't think that's the right move for their future. Let me just point out. point. Nobody, none of these people are likely talking to Trent. So nobody really knows. Right. So that's the thing that's interesting about this too, is that in this day and age of players, you know, in controversial situations or, you know, being publicly discussed, he's not responding via social media. Not even, not his agent? Not nobody. And you know what? That's,

now, as you said, and Neal and Rockville pointed this out to me earlier today, he's, he, he, He has had people on his behalf, if you believe that DeAngelo Hall was speaking on his behalf, or others to Jason Lockenforra, which is where the original reports came out, that he's leaking stuff through people, or perhaps he's had conversations with friends, and those friends have leaked that information. I don't know. Here's what you do know. It's very unusual in 2019 for a player going through what Trent Williams is going through

to be completely silent publicly. It is. So this is different. Redskins are silent too. So this is a different situation. That tells you this is something different. It's a different case. Yeah, it tells you that the medical, which is what I learned last week, is a big part of this thing.

Charlie Cassidy disagrees. Whether you think it's justified or not, whether you think it's fair or not. It really doesn't matter. It's what Trent Williams thinks. Yep, I agree. I wanted to talk to you about Kirk Cousins in this story that Adam Kilgore wrote in the Post on Sunday because it's actually for people like me who actually root for

Kirk Cousins, it was a bit disturbing, but we'll do that real quickly. We'll do that, I'm sorry, after I real quickly talk about launch workplaces in Bethesda. If you are looking for new office space and you live in Upper Northwest, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac,

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Yesterday when we did the show that crashed and didn't get out, I talked about this, but I'm actually glad you're here, and I can save it for you. I read Adam Kilgore's story in the post on Sunday about Kirk Cousins, a story titled Burden of Proof. And then what do you call this under the headline? The subheading? Yeah, that's subhead. The subheading.

After signing Kirk Cousins, the ascending Vikings didn't return to the playoffs. This year, a new offensive philosophy could help both parties meet great expectations. and I'll get to the part that disappoints me as a Kirk Cousins fan and worries me as a Kirk Cousins fan in a moment. But some of the things that I'm not sure everybody realizes, they just saw that the Vikings went 8, 7, and 1 off of the NFC championship season the year before, and then they didn't make the postseason, and they blame it on Kirk.

Well, the truth of the matter, there was a lot going on. Tony Spirano, their offensive line coach, dropped dead before the season started. very tragic, a very good position coach, and they had a banged-up offensive line that turned out to be last year. Either the second worst offensive line in the league or the worst. The Giants and the Vikings were one-in-one-a in terms of bad offensive lines. They couldn't run the football last year. Their defense wasn't nearly as good as it was in 2017. They had very good receivers in Thielen and Diggs.

And by the way, for all of you to keep suggesting that the Redskins should just trade Trent Williams for Stefan Diggs. They just signed Diggs to this massive deal last year. They can't trade him. If they trade him, they'll have an insane salary cap hit based on the acceleration over the next two seasons in trading Diggs. That report, remember that his brother tweeted, Trayvon Diggs reported that, you know,

remember that thing, Aaron from the spring when people blew it up on the internet because Diggs was holding some Redskins helmet or something and his brother tweeted out that picture or whatever it was? Trayvon tweet out something about the Redskins, yes. Yeah, so he's not getting traded. They're not trading Stefan Dix. But anyway, back to the Cousin's story that Adam Kilgwar wrote. So Cousins last year statistically had his best season.

He threw for 4,300 yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, his best touchdown to interception ratio of his career. 70.1% completion percentage. Had some monster games at Green Bay early where he drove him down. the field down eight through the touchdown pass, the two-point conversion, and then the field goal kicker, missed two kicks, one at the end of regulation and one in overtime, and they ended up tying the Packers at Lambo, had a phenomenal game and a loss at Los Angeles against the Rams and the Coliseum, 425 yards, I think four touchdowns in that game, and the defense couldn't stop the Rams in that game. Had big games early, and then faltered late. He had two horrific

games against the Bears, a very good defensive team, but all they needed was, was one of those games against the Bears to get into the postseason, and he couldn't deliver, and he didn't play well in either one of those games. But one of the things that Kilgore focuses on is the fact that Kirk's overall record, career record against teams with a winning record, and this is what all of you anti-Kirk people always point to. And it's true. It's a fact. Five and 26 all time. That's pretty bad. Against teams with a winning record. And this is what I wanted to get to. First of all, before I get to the response to that, his response to that, they've got a new offensive coordinator.

Kevin Stefansky replaced John D. Filippo had him in shotgun, no play action last year, throwing 60% of the time. That's not Kirk. Kirk needs play action. They were 27th in the league last year in play action throws, yet he was second in the league behind Breeze in play action production. When they went play action, Kirk was at his best, like we saw, him with Jay Gruden. But Di Filippo dropped him back a lot, had him in a lot of shotgun.

Stifansky's come in, Gary Kubiak's come in, and they're very bullish on this new system for Kirk in Minnesota. But in response to the record against winning teams, cousins said the following. He says, quote, you got to peel back that stat a little bit. And Kilgore writes, he doesn't run from it, but he doesn't accept it either. quote, you've got to beat winning teams eventually, right? But how many of those games, because that includes some years in Washington, right? Were we the favorite? Most of them, we weren't picked to win.

So then we don't win, and it's like he didn't win. By the way, of those 31 games that he's 5 and 26 in against winning teams, they were favored in 7 of the 31 between Washington and Minnesota. His record in the games in which they were favored in is one of the games. and six. So in those games that he was favored to beat a winning team, he still didn't deliver. And then there was, where's that other quote that I wanted to read? Wow, this is, this is like a defendant given allocution, or whatever they call it, in a court of law. Well, so what I wanted to say was he's got to stop with these, you know, very, I think,

subtle excuse-making situations and interviews about last season. He's got to own that. One of the things that has bothered me about Kirk Cousins in the last couple of years going back to the Redskins year is that it is true. I've never denied this, that occasionally in big spots he hasn't come through and he hasn't elevated his team, you know, around him in a big situation. Now, in some game, it's not that he has to. done it, go back to 2015. He did it multiple times, including that, you know, Saturday night game

in Philadelphia to clinch a playoff berth, you know, 335 yards and four touchdowns and one of his best games of his career. But last year against the Bears in that season finale, he was bad. And he didn't do anything to elevate his team. He didn't create plays. He didn't look like he was fighting to his death to get into the postseason. He's very process oriented. We always hear that about him, and sometimes he's way too analytical. It's, you know, the old analysis that leads to paralysis. And I think that that's him, that he's got too much of that in him sometimes. And on this, you know, subtle excuse on, well, how many of those games were we the favorite in? You got to own that. You're five and 26 against winning record teams. Own it and say, I'm going to try to do better.

And I think that the excuse making is all part of his overanalysis and his, he gets deep into this stuff. And I think sometimes it's the people who are completely oblivious to this stuff like Flacco, you know, who deliver in the clutch. And I think some of that is his personality, and he's either the personality changes or he's just going to be a good quarterback that can never elevate beyond that. And he'll be good when he's on good teams around him. I do think that that's the floor for him, you know, on a good team, is that he's a good quarterback on a good team. If he's on a bad team, he's going to have, he's going to have some rough times.

But I don't know if he takes that next jump without, you know, getting away from thinking this way. What do you think? You know, I'm trying to think about quarterbacks who have been championship quarterbacks who have basically been cut from the same mold. guys who tried to distance themselves from their failures. And I can't think of any off the top of my head. Well, you know, when you think about the all-time greats, I mean, Steve Young was very analytical. He was super analytical as a quarterback, really into a lot of the minutia, very, very bright, also just a badass quarterback.

But think about it. Like, was Marino brilliant? Was he over-analytical? No. Was Montana brilliant over-analytical? No. In recent years. Payton was. Peyton was. Peyton was. Yeah, Peyton definitely was. But Brady isn't. Doesn't seem to be. Brady isn't that way. Rivers isn't that way. Now, Rivers hasn't won it. Ben's not that way. No. In recent, you know, Aaron Rogers can be a little bit, right? But for the most part, there is an edge. Look, comparing him to some of the greats of all time in the game is not what anybody's ever made him out to be, including his fans like me.

I've always said he's not elite. He's never going to be an elite quarterback. But he can be a very good quarterback if you put a good team around him and you can win with him. What bothers me is this stuff. He had a very good season last year. But, you know, statistically, but he didn't elevate his team in the key moments last year. I think even less so last year than in Washington. Look, in Washington, he had no running game to speak of in a terrible defense in 2015, 2016, and even 2017.

Not early in 2017, but for the most part, a terrible defense for the majority of the year. Last year, they were struggling around him. But, man, at times, he looked jumpy. he looked skittish and those times were in games that were big against good teams. It's bad form. It's a bad look for him to make that kind of statement. And like you said, he should own up to his record. His teammates would respect him more if he did.

His opponents would respect him more to people who don't like him even would respect him more if he did. And, you know, look, Mike Shanahan has said you can win a Super Bowl with Kirk Cousins. I'm not so sure you can say that anymore. I think I still believe that. I still believe that about him. And I would not be surprised with a better offensive scheme and coordinator in the Kubiak system that he has a big year this year. But, you know, there's been too much of that, too much of, yeah, you know, I don't beat winning teams.

but, you know, how many of those games were we actually supposed to win to begin with? You know, you have to peel it back. Stop being analytical when it comes to things like that. Own 5 and 26. Don't talk about the fact that you were an underdog in a lot of those games. And by the way, the fact that in many of those games, you weren't the reason your team lost. You were the reason your team actually had a chance,

which was the case here in Washington with a horrible defense when they won, when they lost a lot of close games against teams with winning records because their defense and their kicker was atrocious. Right. You know, and missing big kicks. But you can't, you know, that's a number that's attached to him right now. And trying to explain it a way, I think, reveals something about a flaw in his character, a flaw in his competitiveness.

Yeah, I think it could. Look, his coaching situation last year, could have been a disaster. It sounds like it was kind of, it was for his first year with the organization to have that much instability on the offensive coaching side of the ball, I'm sure hurt him. But he's not going to, you know, he's not going to hang coaches out to dry. But then your explanation should be, it's on me. You shouldn't be looking for some other explanation. Well, he never throws anybody else under the boss. I know that. He doesn't. But he did, he's not taking it This is the thing that really gets under his skin, you know, because if we went back and looked at all 31 of those games

against winning teams, I would bet you any amount of money. I did it when he was in Washington. That if you go game by game, in the majority of those games, he was actually really good, you know, and he had a terrible defense, or Dustin Hopkins missed a 31-yard field goal in overtime, or missed two field goals in Detroit, or missed two field goals on Thanksgiving, against the Cowboys when he threw for 500 yards or whatever he threw for on Thanksgiving Day that year. But it's just revealing. And there have been a couple of these situations with him over a couple of years that definitely,

you know, as a fan of him and as a guy that I'd like to see him succeed, because why, Tommy? Because I want to be right. Of course. I want to be right about him. Of course you want to be right. And by the way, in many ways, I'm already right. Because most of you said he wasn't even a starter that he shouldn't even be in the league. And I said, no, this guy can start and be a top half of the league quarterback.

But anyway, that's it on him. Okay. Well, I'm looking for something that you mentioned about Dustin Hopkins. I mean, you mentioned Dustin Hopkins. And this is in a column I wrote, you know, I write for Warpath, the publication, the Redskins publication. Since when? I've been writing for them for years. You've never told me that.

Well, yeah, I do. Lots of things I don't tell you. I swear to God, I never knew that. Well, and I wrote a comment about Redskins who will pass milestones this year probably over the course of the season on the all-time career accomplishment list. And Dustin Hopkins is fourth all-time on the Redskins kicking list with 99 field goals. He'll probably move up to third this year and pass curse night. Well, think about all the 25 years, the kicking issues they've had. Yeah.

So, I mean, so it's remarkable that Dustin Hopkins is third, we'll be third on the list. Is Mosley won Lowe Miller 2 on kicking? I believe so. I just know that he'll pass Kurt Knight to wind up third on the list. And Tress Way, and this isn't a surprise, he'll probably move up to second and go by Matt Turk in second place with 388 punts for the most puns. Jeff Hayes isn't at the top of that list, or Mike Bragg? Mike Bragg is probably at the top of the list. Look, Dustin Hopkins, he's got a big leg.

He's hit some clutch kicks before. But, you know, those seasons when they had another chance to get to the playoffs in 2016, which, by the way, and I mentioned this in recent days, you know, Trump Williams got suspended for four games down the stretch that season. But that particular year was the year that on Thanksgiving, he missed a huge kick in Dallas. In Detroit, he missed a huge kick. kick. The Cincinnati game, he missed two kicks in the London game, including the short one

to win in overtime. God, was there ever a tie that felt more like a loss? Oh, my gosh. That Bengals lost in London. And so, you know, you've had some of that with him over the years. But anyway, that's enough about him. Let's talk about what's going to, what do you think, well, no, we can do this. We can, are we having doing a podcast Thursday or not? Yeah, we're doing a podcast Thursday. Okay. I was going to say, you talk about. Before the game. Yeah. Yeah, we'll talk about the game before Thursday. I did want to, I had two other things that I wanted to do with you, and that is Cliff Branch's passing, which I, and I talked about this on the radio today, those Raiders teams of the 70s, you and I love the NFL from the 70s and the 80s.

Those Raiders teams of the 70s were just so much fun to watch. and Cliff Branch was the Al Davis wide receiver. He was the guy that La Monica, not LaMonica, he didn't throw it to him, but Stabler, and that eventually Plunkett could just throw the bomb to. Because that's the Raiders of the 70s and 80s, the Al Davis Raiders, for those of you that don't know, just win baby, were teams that thrived on menacing defense and an offense where you had a quarterback with a big arm that would throw the bomb. That's what he wanted. He wanted to stretch the field and throw the bomb. And Cliff Branch was his best speed receiver and one of the great speed receivers of all

time and certainly of that era. He's not a Hall of Famer. Cliff Branch is not a Hall of Famer. But he's had memorable games and memorable moments. He, Tommy, I talked about this and this to me is one of the great regular season games in Redskins history. The Redskins in 1983 played the Raiders twice. They played the Raiders at RFK in the regular season, and then they played them in the Super Bowl, and Super Bowl 18. The game at RFK is one of the great regular season games in Redskins history.

They trailed 35 to 20 in the fourth quarter by 15 points. No two-point conversion back then. And they came back and they won at 37 to 35, Thaisman to Joe Washington late. But Cliff Branch, in that game had the longest, you know, tied with others, the longest pass reception for a touchdown in NFL history, 99 yards from Jim Plunkett. And then, by the way, caught a touchdown in that Super Bowl when he torched Anthony Washington, you know, in that Super Bowl. By the way,

the big difference between the regular season and the Super Bowl is that Michael Haynes was not on the Raiders. And Marcus Allen didn't play in the first game against the Redskins. And then both were there for the Super Bowl game. But I just, Cliff Branch's passing at 71 years old, just reminded me of those great Raider teams of the 70s. I loved watching those Raider teams. Well, look, there were a group of great AFC teams of the 70s. The Raiders, people forget that the Patriots were a double-digit win team under Steve

Grogan. They had Raymond Claiborne, that Stanley Morgan, they had John Hanna and Leon Gray. Yeah, so they had, the Raiders were there. the cults were right there with Bert Jones. Yeah, but you're missing the other two powerhouses in the 70s. The Steelers and Dolphins. Yeah, and the Steelers and Dolphins. But I'm trying to talk.

I was mentioning the ones that people forget. Right. And those are the Patriots and the Colts. And as far as Cliff Ranch. Did the Colts have a better 70s than the Patriots? Probably. Yeah. But the Colts were a better franchise in the 70s and the Patriots.

It's pretty close. The Patriots had, the Patriots didn't become good until 76. The Colts were, you know, first of all, Well, yeah, in the early 70s, they won a Super Bowl. And then, you know, we're a multiple playoff team under with Bert Jones. Yes. Yeah, but the Patriots under Grogan were very entertaining, very competitive. You mentioned we talked about Cliff Branch.

I go back to the days of Warren Wells. Right. Who was Cliff Branch before Cliff Branch. Talk about a deep threat at wide receiver. You know, in 1969, he averaged 26. point eight yards. Wow. And that was the Raiders.

Yes. And he played for the Raiders for four seasons. How many catches? I don't know. He had 14 touchdowns. Okay. And all four years he played for the Raiders, he averaged 20 yards a catch in all four seasons. Wow.

That's so they've always had that vertical game. And everyone thinks of Cliff Branch and rightly so because he was a lot of fun to watch. But I go back to the Warren Wells days. By the way, I'm just looking at up. The Patriots, the first good year for the Patriots was 76. They went 11 and 3 and lost that very controversial game on the late hit on Stabler, which, by the way, is one of those calls that totally decided not only a playoff game, but the eventual Super Bowl winner.

You know, everybody's all upset about the same game. Go back and watch Stabler get hit, and it's not roughing the passer. Shouldn't have been called roughing the passer. And the Patriots lost that game. And then their only other playoff season of the 70s was 78. They went 11 and 5 and lost in the playoffs then. And then they made that, you know, obviously in 85, they made that surprise run with Tony Eason to the Super Bowl when they beat the Dolphins in the AFC championship game.

What else you got, boss? What else do I have? The Nats. Last night, I'm assuming you didn't stay up. You go to sleep pretty early. Do you know how many pitches the Giants threw last night in that baseball game? 152. 198 pitches in the game last night against the Nats and only gave up four runs.

And I was talking to Zuckerman this morning. And I said it's kind of like that Buccaneer Redskin game last year. The Bucks were the first team in NFL history to score three or fewer points but have 500 plus yards. And last night, the Giants had 198 pitches in the game and only gave up four runs. But the most amazing part of that game, and I watched the first five or six. six innings. Smarja was the starter. Do you know how many pitches he pitched in, hold on, I know the number, just want to make sure I have the inning count, right? In four innings, he threw 98 pitches. Wow, that sounds like a Gio Gonzalez start. Yeah, it was unbelievable how

long these innings were going, and yet the Nats only got one run off of those 98 pitches against him. But Eric Fetty was incredible. They were lucky. Eric Fetty, I mean, talk about a mystery. Eric Freddie was terrible in his previous start. I mean, the kind of start where you say, well, I mean, they need to give up on this guy. And then he turns around and gives them an important game. I mean, and that's, the Nats are fighting right now. The Mets are coming right up. 11 of 12.

Now you've got basically another team within their division they've got to compete with because the Mets are back and they're real. You think they're for real or they're just on a roll? I mean, they made that trade for Stroman and people are like, why are they doing that? Well, they've got great starting pitching. They have great starting pitching. And they're two and a half out in the wild card race. The Nats have great starting pitching. Yeah, it's going to be, they picked up a game on the Braves last night. I think these games with the Giants are important because then they get the Mets for three. Yeah. You know, and that's now

looking like a very difficult road, you know, end to this trip. But, well, nobody should, nobody should breathe easy until Max Scherzer is on the mound and healthy. I hear you. I mean, I mean, it's all for naught if Scher has back problems that keep them from being 100%. I agree. It's going to be fun, though, over these last two months of the regular season to watch this play out because there's a crazy wildcard race. By the way, in both the American League and the National League.

So many teams involved in trying to get. one of those two wild card spots. By the way, there was a report just getting back to football for a moment, that Zeke Elliott is absolutely, apparently Josina Anderson from ESPN essentially said Elliot's not reporting to Cowboys Camp and is not going to play for the Cowboys this year without a new deal. I think Melvin Gordon sort of feels the same way. So right now is it Gordon, Trent Williams, and Zeke?

He's in Gokwe reported. Yeah, in Gokwey reported there was a secondary. report that said that the Cowboys do plan on extending major offers to Zeke, Cooper, and Daxe. They need Zique. Yes, they do. I mean, I hope they don't bring Zika in. Bring them in week three after they come here in week two. But we're in agreement that, you know, there are certain, like I don't think the Chargers

need Melvin Gordon. I think the guy from Northwestern, Justin Jackson, is really a good back and could be a potential, you know, very good, not elite back, but a very good back. And I think, you know, you saw some of that. last year when Melvin Gordon was actually hurt. But I think the Cowboys definitely need Zeke. Listen, one thing about the Trent Williams holdout, I don't think it's going to be as much fun as the John Regan's holdout was.

You don't think he'll come back and say, I'm bored, broken back. No, I don't think, I don't think everyone will look upon the Trent Williams holdout with as much fond memories as they do the Rigo holdout. Rigo sat out an entire season. in 1980, and the Redskins went from being, you know, seconds away from being the number one seed in the 1979 postseason to going six and ten the following season.

And Rigo left in training camp. Rigo left in training camp in Carlisle because Diron Talbot told me the story about how Rigo was drunk and banging on his door, yelling at Talbot saying, Talby, they won't pay me. They won't pay me. I'm gone. And then I'm going. And then the next morning, Talbot woke up.

And he heard that Riggins drove to Dulles and left on a plane and never came back that year. No. All right. You got anything else? That's all I got, boss. All right. Rate us, review us if you're listening on iTunes. We'd appreciate that.

Subscribe as well. It doesn't cost you anything. I'm back tomorrow. Coolie's going to actually call in and be on the podcast tomorrow. And then Tommy, you'll be back on Thursday. What do you got? I just wanted to mention that you can still hear me on the weekend. on 1067 the fan, WJFK.

With Chris Russell? Yes, this weekend with Chris Russell. And are you on with Chad tomorrow? Oh, there's a Nats game tomorrow afternoon. Oh, got it. So I've been preempted by that. All right. Well, you can typically listen to Tommy with Chad on Wednesdays.

And you can read me in Washington Times, Washington Times.com and follow me on Twitter and Facebook. And listen to me back on 980, 7 to 10 weekdays on the team 980. Thanks to Aaron. Thanks to all of you. Back tomorrow.