The Ringer NFL Show - Can the Steelers Go 16-0? Plus: Brees vs. Brady, and What Antonio Brown Brings to the Bucs. | The Ringer NFL Show

Episode Date: November 5, 2020

Ryan and Cole are joined by The Ringer’s Kaelen Jones to discuss what to expect from the Pittsburgh Steelers moving forward and whether 16-0 is a legit possibility for them (3:30). Then they talk about Drew Brees and Tom Brady facing off this week and their ability to play at a high level for so long (23:33). After that they talk about Brady’s newest wide receiver—Antonio Brown. Ryan talks about what Brown brings both on and off the field (35:38). Hosts: Ryan Shazier and Cole Wright Guest: Kaelen Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, what's up, guys? Cole right here, alongside my guy, Ryan Shazir. We're joined by Caitlin Jones this week to preview week nine, and boy, do we have a lot of Steelers talk. We're also touching on Brady versus Breeze and Ryan's firsthand experience with Mr. Big Chest, Antonio Brown. All that and more. Coming up next right here on the Thursday edition of the Ringer NFL show. Today's episode of The Ringer NFL show on the Ringer podcast Network

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that already passed on Tuesday, so like Ryan did on Thursday, we're going to do a roundtable. We're going to welcome in a ringer NFL writer. That's Kaelin Jones. It's Kalen joining the fold. And you're a Southern California guy, but tell all the listeners out there who may not be familiar with you, at least with Ryan and I. Tell them a little bit about yourself, man. Oh, man.

So I grew up in Southern California. As I told you all before the show, I guess the weak claim to fame would be that I went to high school with Lonzo Ball for two years. Yeah, that is a weak claim to fame. No disrespect to the balls. But, yeah, you got to get better than that, Kailen. Do you got any big ball of brands? I do not.

No, and I know people who do, but I've never ever, like, asked for any big baller. I'm trying to walk around without breaking my ankle if I'm going to go play out in the basketball court. So I'm going to need to see at least at least one pair of BBB shoes, the big baller brands. And maybe they'll still be stuck in the mail that's here nor there. But either way, if you want to check us out, you can always listen on Spotify and check out all the other Ringer NFL show podcast. That's five times a week. And for all you first time listeners, this is a player-centric show. And we're going to loop myself and Kaelin in,

and we're going to try to pick Ryan's brain as we look forward to week nine because there's plenty of interesting topics that are dot in the landscape. And Ryan, what more interesting spot is there right now than in the Keystone State of Pittsburgh PA? Because you told us at the beginning of the season, your Pittsburgh Steelers, well, they're unblemished. 7 and 0 for the first time since the year I was born, man, 1978. So that qualifies me as a Gen Xer.

I'm not a baby boomer. Ryan tried to call me a baby boomer a little bit earlier before we kicked the show off, man. I'm not that old. I'm only 42 years old, but when you take a look at your Steelers, seven and O for the first time in 42 years, I see you smiling, man.

You've got to be pretty proud about that. Man, you know, the Keystone State, man. Everybody has to wait on this just like the election right now, you know? So everybody has to wait on this. You know, but at the day, the still as I told you guys that we're going to have one of the best records in the NFL. I told you we're going to go to the Super Bowl.

And look, I said I was not going to predict any losses this season. And the way it's looking, man, I'm not going to, I'm not going to speak speaking into existence because I don't want to jinx it. But like, come on, man. Like, we have the Cowboys next week. And I'm actually going to that game, you know. And DeBucci, he's not the quarterback to beat us. That's not going to be it. DeBucci not going to beat us.

I think that's what his name is, the Bucci, right? Danucci. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Nucci. Danucci. All right, my fault. I thought it was DeBucci. Because he was throwing some

DeBucci passes out there. So, and the thing is that's crazy is he's actually from Pittsburgh, man. You know, he's Pond Richland. Pondichler is actually like a good school here. So, you know, I wanted to see him be successful, but, like, he's not going to be successful this week. You know, so I'm really just excited about

how we're playing football right now, man. Our defense is on fire. Then we just got a trade for every Williamson, who's actually a really good linebacker, and we got him for scraps. You know what I'm saying? So at any day, the Steelers draft good players all around the board.

We traded a fifth for a seventh, you know, and I feel we're going to find a good pick with that seventh pick. And then that's going to be a good compliment for Spillane because Spillane is bawling right now, but if Spillane starts to cool down or we need some more quickness in there for the passing downs,

I think every Williamson can come in there and be a veteran role. So I'm excited, man. I think this is uncharted territories for you guys. Okay. Well, Kailen, if you're Avery Williamson, man, you have to be on cloud nine. It's the definition of going from Ashy to classy. I mean, you go through the Jets to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, you know, the one thing I really want to know is how did Avery Williamson,

how did he get in contact with the Jets equipment manager and get his full uniform where he could pose out there on the street to New York City? He was in shoulder pads, jersey, pants. I mean, thigh pads. He had the helmet on. He was standing under an umbrella. What happened, Ryan? I wrote with that. I wrote with that. I like that.

Absolutely. He was ready to get out of town. He's like, you know what? I'm going to buy an alternate uniform. So when I do finally get to blow this shop, I get to be out there and I get to pose for a picture, Kail. How about it? Yeah, no, that's wild. Because I lived in New York for a year.

So he was right outside the Pulton Center, like over by the – he was literally over by the subway center. Like, you could hop on a bunch of trains and get to the airport from there. So that's what was wild to me from that. But I mean, it's a, you know, it's a perfect situation like you mentioned. Like you go from a winless team to the winningest team in the NFL. It's, you know, he should be on cloud nine. And this is a team like Ryan was saying, I think that they have the potential to go undefeated.

I'm still not buying it fully yet. When I look at their schedule, I mean, Dallas, that's probably a win. Jacksonville probably win, Washington, Indianapolis, Cleveland. Like those are, I think, teams that they can definitely wipe. But when I'm looking at the Cincinnati matchup in Baltimore and even, and even Buffalo, I think that those matchups are going to be a little bit trickier than what we're assuming right now.

I think Joe Burrell, the level that he's playing at right now, what he's got San Diego and they're coming off that win against Tennessee last week. I think what Baltimore is capable of. I think that there's a potential that Pittsburgh goes undefeated, but they're still not clearly, you know, I'm not willing to accept that they will just yet. Well, like Ryan said,

Ryan, you said you're not going to predict any Pittsburgh's either losses this year, but that's not meaning that you don't think that they're going to lose maybe, game or two. It's almost like when I predict for Kansas City, I'm not going to predict them to lose at all because I see them going in and potentially being able to win every single game as the season unfolds. But, you know, there's going to be some of those pitfalls along the way, those potholes. And that's maybe what we'll see with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But Ryan, like you

said, this week, you're going to be in Dallas. And I don't see that pothole coming this week for Pittsburgh and Big Ben. No, I don't see no potholes over there. I see a floodgate of running for James Connor. Just, just, just, they just open up the gates and just like, hey, you want to touch down and run this way. I feel like that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's going to be this week. So, uh, I'm really, I'm really excited about this matchup for us, man.

Um, you know, our team is really solid, man. And just, we just, uh, just got to stay consistent. And I, and I, I totally agree with you. I totally agree with you. Like, I predicted them to go like 13 and 3 this year, you know, 14 and 2. But, and then. I just, I'm not going to say, like, every time you ask me who you think going to win this week, I'm just, I'm going to stay the Steelers. You know, so if they go undefeated, man, that's, that's one hell of an achievement.

But at the end of the day, what did the Bulls, you just say? It don't mean anything if you ain't got that ring, you know what I'm saying? That's true. So, so at any day, we got to go out there and just be consistent because the guys that really scared me the most is the Chiefs. because I don't think the Ravens will come back down there and run the ball like they did in the first half because obviously they didn't do it in the second half versus. So the second time we play them,

we got to see how this game is going to unfold, you know, and it's going to be in Pittsburgh. You know, so they had, obviously it's not as much of a home field advantage, but still it's a home field advantage. So I feel like it's going to be a really tough game next time, but I think the one team that really scares me and I talked to you guys about this before,

it's the guy with the Mohawk. They got your guy with $500 million. playing quarterback right now. You know, they kind of scare me because they just have weapons all over the field, man. And it's just like, and now they have running backs, too. So it's kind of scary. But the thing that gives me hope is that their defense is okay,

but I like our offense versus their defense. And I like our defense versus their offense just to slow them down. You know what I'm saying? We just got to slow them down because the end of the day, you're not stopping my homes. But Coach Tomlin does a good thing in recognizing people's weaknesses and taking that away.

I mean, I mean, strengths are taking that away. And he's probably going to find out what the Raiders did and use that game plan against the Chiefs. Yeah, and you know what? I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but it may be a little too early for some unblemish that's 16 and O talk. But, Kaelan, let's fast forward to the AFC title.

Let's put the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers in there because Ryan, he said that he's not going to pick the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose on a week-to-week basis. So this is weeks down the road. We're talking AFC Championship with the birth to play in the Super Bowl. the line. What do you think? Is this a Pittsburgh Steelers game to win? Or is this a Kansas City chiefs victory and as they waltzed their way into the Super Bowl for back-to-back appearances? No, so, I mean, look, the Suez match up really well against Kansas City. When you look at that

Raiders game like Ryan was talking about, what they did well against Mahomes and Kansas City's offense was they limited them, you know, possession-wise. The Raiders were able to play clock control. They did a really good job possessing the ball, keeping the ball out of Mahomes hands. And then also when, you know, Kansas City did have the ball, they were doing a great job getting pressure like max crosbie and cleveland fair have the game of their lives so you know i i don't know if pittsburgh's offense you know on a consistent week-to-week basis i you know maybe they show up against you know kansas city's defense but i don't really trust you know ben rothusberger to this point being able to you know produce at the level that we're used to seeing you maybe in the past

you know i don't think that against that kansas i think the kansasian defense it's honestly one the most underrated units in the league and they do a pretty good job of taking ball with so i i don't don't know if I pick Pittsburgh to win that matchup, but, you know, their defense would definitely 100% get them a chance. And like Ryan mentioned, I think Mike Tom would be able to coach them up and, you know, make in game adjustments, especially in terms of, you know, possessing the ball and keeping away from a homes where it gives Pittsburgh a really good chance of, of competing in that game, but I wouldn't pick a percent. So, like, to me, I, I just think, I'm obviously, I'm biased, but I think, obviously. But I think, but I think, but I think that

the Steelers' offense technically have more weapons than the Raiders. You know, obviously, Jacobs is really, really good, man. He's the truth. He's the truth. And I love James, but James isn't as good as Jacobs, you know. But I think that when it comes to the running attack, we have a value, we have a slew of running backs. And then I think overall weapons-wise, I feel like we have more than the Raiders.

And one thing that Ben, Ben does have games when he does turn the ball over a lot. lot. But this season, he hasn't really been doing that. He had, I think, one or two games. We had some bad turnovers, the Texans game. I mean, the Titans game was the bad one. But other than that, he haven't really been turning the ball over like he used to in the past. So I feel like he's been controlling the ball a little bit better. And then I definitely like our past rushers over anybody in the league right now. Okay, Ryan, but what about the locker room? How much do they talk about the undefeated records? Seven and O, what's next? Do they take it game by game Or do they actually look ahead and say, okay, we can win this game, we can win that game.

And if we can do what needs to be done, we'll be bringing home a seventh Finns-Lombardi trophy. Every time I was in a locker room and we always looked ahead, that's when we lost the game we weren't supposed to lose. You know, so I think these guys are really just focusing in on, hey, let's just win this week. Coach Chalman tried to really focus on that because whenever you think ahead, because I remember a few times I thought ahead of other teams and a team slipped up on. us and beat us or we let them stay in the game, it end up sneaking it away from us. So I think these guys are just really trying to focus on week-to-week basis, man, because when you start thinking about, hey, let's go 16-0, now you're not even thinking about what matters anymore and what matters is about getting better every week, you know, because if you

win each game every week, then you're going to go 16-0. You know what I'm saying? But if you're thinking about going 16-0, the moment you don't go 16-0, now you're disappointed. You know, if you go 15 and 1, that's an absolutely great season. You know what I'm saying? So I think it's more of just focusing on each win because when you're thinking too far ahead of the road,

you start losing games, but the halfway point of where you're trying to get to, and that's when you start slipping up. Absolutely not. Kaelan, there's no doubt about it. The Pittsburgh Steelers, they're one of the best when it comes at finding that unearth talent at the wide receiver position,

but at the head coaching position, we know Mike Tomlin as good as it gets. Never had a losing season in his time at the helm for the Pittsburgh Steelers. So when it comes to his peers, why do we never hear Mike Tomlin's name mentioned when it comes to Bill Belichick or Coach John Harbaugh or Pete Carroll or Andy Reid? Coach Tomlin, he's right there. He's in the mix with all those guys. No, he absolutely is. And, you know, part of it is, you know, one, he inherited, you know, a very talented.

I mean, he's a part of the Pittsburgh student franchise and he inherited a very talented. the roster immediately went on to win a Super Bowl very early on his career. So that definitely plays a role. And then the other thing with it, too, I mean, he's a black coach. I mean, at the end of the day, I don't think, you know, Tyler Times wrote a really good piece for the ringer this week about how, you know, black coaches are not afforded the same opportunities within the coaching realm. And I think, you know, when it comes down to perception of their job, I think, you know,

they're held to a much higher standard as well. I mean, you just look at Detroit lines with Jim Caldwell just a few seasons ago, fired after, you know, bringing up to the playoffs, averaging, you know, decent winning percentage. But then you have Matt Patricia on the other hand who has only has had the job for three years, hasn't done anything with it and he still has his job. I mean, when you talk about what Talman has done, I mean, just based on his own achievement, like you mentioned, no losing record, has always coached in what is a really competitive division.

You know, the AFC North has never, you know, had an NFC East year like this year. The Pittsburgh Steelers have made the playoffs, you know, eight times out of the 13th season so far, and they'll probably make it a ninth time out of 14 this year. And I mean, even last year, the achievement of having one of the worst offenses in the league and then still being able to manage that 8-8 record and nearly making the playoffs last year, I thought spoke volumes about the coaching job that he does. On a week-in, week-out basis, Mike Tomlin is one of the best when you talk about in-game adjustments, maximizing the talent that is available to him.

And, you know, he really does deserve to be in that same realm as he, the Belichick's and the Harbogs and everyone else in the league in the Carrolls. But the problem is, I guess, like Ryan mentioned earlier, you need to win a ring. So until he probably picked up another one or two, he won't be regarding the same realm consistently. But I think if we're going to talk about best coaches in the league, Mike Tomlin, year and year out, always deserves to be a part of that conversation. Active coaches, I think what, Coach Tomlin, the only coach ahead of him in active, like, winning percentage is what, Belichick, right? So how is it possible all these other guys are in front of him? And I completely agree.

It's unfortunate, but Coach Tomlin, just because he's a black male, he doesn't get the same fortitude as some of these other coaches. And these other coaches are great coaches. Like, Andy Reid is a great coach. He's been coaching for a long time. Harbaal and Pete Carroll, all these are great coaches. And, you know, and all these coaches constantly winning Coach of the Year and all these other awards.

You can't tell me, Coach Tomlin, wasn't a coach of the year last year. With the roster that he had last year, obviously, Harbaugh went 14 and 2, and that was an awesome record. Nobody expected that at the beginning of the season with Lamar, but he had a phenomenal player at quarterback. You know, when you have a phenomenal player at quarterback, hey, your coaching job is easy.

When you have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, hey, call a few plays and he's going to go play back yard football. You know what I'm saying? Look, every quarterback, every coach retorting job. about right now, and Coach Tomlin, he has a dog quarterback too, but look, Bill Belichette. If you think about it, his quarterback has always been better than Ben. Andy Reid, not always, but Andy Reid, he has Patchman Holmes. He's technically better than Ben.

Lamar, it depends what category you put Lamar in, but some people will say he's better than Ben, some people won't. As a quarterback, he's not better than Ben. As a football player, he's better than Ben. Me personally. And Pete Carroll. He has Russell Wilson. All these have wonderful quarterbacks, man.

And Ben is a great quarterback, too. But I feel like you should put them in the same category because none of these guys have better winner percentages. And all these guys, every year somebody has, oh, man, my team is hurt. My team isn't as good. Like Bill Belichick, he's making excuses. We paid everybody.

I'm not trying to hear that, Bill. Like, win. You know what I'm saying? Like, Andy Reid, he had bad seasons. Harbault had bad seasons. They have people hurt. Tomlin had people. hurt. And then they had people hurt. He still ended up 8 and 8.

We had our fourth stream quarterback out there. We went to champion. We win the games. People thought Doug was about to be the next best thing. And then Doug started quacking. And they was like, yo, no, take him out. Get him out of here. You know what I'm saying? But, and they, like, they have to give him the same type of respect, man. Like, this coach, he goes in there at five in the morning. I used to go in there at five in the morning. He was there. Man, like, watching film, watching everything. He would go sit down with players. If you don't understand something, let me know so I can make sure that you are comfortable

with what's going on. It's a lot of times guys have coaches just like, hey, man, this is what we're calling. And I don't care if you like it or not, this is my play call. Coach Tomlin, he relates to the guys and understand what works for the guys, and he plays his system through that because that's going to help them win games. When you try to force feed people's stuff that they can't learn, you're not going to win. And I don't understand why he doesn't. and get the same credit.

And obviously, the achievement he had is an awesome achievement for our community, the black community. He passed Tony Jenji for the most wins as a football coach, as a black football coach. And today, he's a coach. He's a football coach. And he wants to be one of the greatest coaches of all time, not just the greatest black coach of all time. So he should get the same type of credit.

Yeah, no doubt about it, Mike Tom, on the class for all seasons. And for those who think that all coaches in the National Football League are afforded the same opportunities. Just asked Steve Wilkes how things went in Arizona. He was fired for not winning enough games. And then the Cardinals, what they do? They went out there and hired a guy who didn't win enough games at the collegiate level. Like Ryan said, if anytime you have Patrick Mahomes, you should be able to just walk right into victories each and every single week. But no disrespect to Cliff Kingsbury, but he was not able to do that as the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. So Steve Wilkes, well, we felt for you

after that one and done with the Arizona Cardinals. Now, still to come, Ryan said that it's all about having that premier quarterback, and that's what Mike Tomlin has. And Ben Rolfesberger, well, he's one of the elder statesmen's in the league, just like Tom Brady and Drew Brees. And lo and behold, that's going to be one of the matchups this week, Tampa Bay hosting the New Orleans Saints. And we're going to discuss that plus the return of Antonio Brown.

Ryan, I know you got a story about AB in your back pocket. So stick around. More to come right here on this Thursday edition of the NFL. podcast on the ringer. Now let's dig in to the premier matchup. It's Sunday night football. It's Bucks. It's Saints. It's down there at Raymond James Stadium. Tom Brady in the Bucks. Well, Ryan, they're starting to catch stride a little bit. But the Saints, well, they're no walk in the park. It's a first place versus second place matchup in the NFC South. And at the games end, someone's got to win, someone's got to lose. That's obvious right there. But just when it comes to

the level that these two guys are playing at Tom Brady, Drew Brees, both of these cats over four. 40 years old. It's like they've been hanging out with Ponce Day Leone sipping from that fountain of youth lately. I'm going to be honest. Tom Brady's been playing some awesome football right now. Drew Brees has been playing some average football, but they're winning football games. So at a day, he's winning. You know, it's Ava Camero playing awesome football for the Saints right now. You know, but I'm going to be honest.

But I'm really excited to see this, man, because, you know, it's crazy because every week they go back and forth for who has the most touchdowns in NFL history. You know, like, that's a sense. I'm excited, man, this is history that we're about to see because I'm going to be honest, one of these guys is probably going to retire after this year. And I don't think it's going to be brave. Hold on. You want to say that one more time?

What did you say? What was that? I think Drew Breeze is retiring this year. Wow. So it's Super Bowl or bust right now for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints? I feel it. I feel like it is, man. I really feel like it is, man.

So I don't mean to cut you out, but would that then set up the perfect exit for Sean Peyton than to go coach the Dallas Cowboys because we know the dumpster fire that's going on in Dallas. I don't mean to hijack the topic of conversation right here, Ryan, but if Drew Breeze is gone, that that's a perfect opening for Sean Payton. I think he's out of there, man. I think he's out of there. I'll be honest.

Man, like, he wants to be considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all the time. He still already is. But at some point, you got to walk away with some type of, I'm not going to say dignity because he's playing good. He's playing football better than I'm not going to do it because all my friends that are bear fans, they hate when I throw you under the bus. So I'm not going to use the bear's quarterback. So he's playing better football than a lot of other quarterbacks in the league right now.

But at the end of the day, he's not playing Drew Breeze football, you know, and they don't look like a good team. Obviously, he needs Mike Thomas back. So let's see how Mike looks when he gets back. But I don't think Drew likes the football that he's playing right now. Obviously, they're winning football games, and they're going to assess. establish things down the road. But I feel when you look at the two quarterbacks right now,

just looking at their numbers and take their names off their back, you think Tom is still in his 30s. But when you look at Drew, you're like, ah, this guy looks a little, I don't know. Yeah, you could have went with a Jacksonville quarterback. I mean, Gardner Menchew, you didn't have to go. You know, Ryan, we talk about this all the time. I didn't say nothing about the Bears. I didn't say nothing about the Bears.

Kaelin, I heard him say something about the Bears that passive, aggressive mention of the Chicago Bears and Nick Foles, Mitch Dribisky. You said everything in the world, Ryan, without saying anything at all. But, you know, when it comes to some of these quarterbacks getting a little long in the tooth there, Kaelin, I mean, these guys are outplaying some of these youngsters out here. Some of these young guys, they better get their act together. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, but it speaks to, like Ryan was saying, these two are, you know, arguably two of the

best, you know, quarterbacks of all time. What Drew Breese and Tom Brady are able to do, you know, post-40 years old is incredible. But that being said, like, I kind of aggrieved, Ryan. I would be shocked if Breeze came back, you know, next season. I mean, the dude was skipping passes, you know, in front of receivers every week, it feels like his arm strength just isn't there. It's not the same as what it used to be. I mean, statistically, he's averaging, you know, five yards, five air yards per

attempt, which is literally a career low, if that's what, you know, he was going to project the season as. That being said, though, man, I mean, you know, for Brady, for what he's been able to do, he's shocked me because I thought the debate of whether or not he was. Cook was, you know, arguably you could have had that conversation two years ago about whether his level of play had been slipping, you know, without having Grancowski in that lineup. But,

I mean, granted, he has all the weapons of the world in Tampa Bay, but he looks the part, you know, he's able to push the ball downfield. He doesn't look like he's 42 years old. You know, Drew Breeze looks like he's 43 when he's only 41. But I mean, look, they're in their 40s for what they're able to do even right now.

And with your reason, Kaler, what's wrong with being 42, man? There's nothing wrong with him. Nothing wrong being 42. I'm just saying you just might be a little, you may not be able to do what you used to do. Taylor's over here, wet behind the ears. What are you about 25, 26, 27?

I'm 24. Okay. I'm in my, wow, that's what I'm saying. Baby, hey, baby booners get mad relatively easy. Hey, I got to learn how to say,

yes, sir, no, sir, to my elders. So that, that's what I was ready to do. You know, all right. Well,

what about when it comes to some of these older quarterbacks? Are we lumping Big Ben? in that group, Ryan, does Aaron Rogers, does he fall into that mix? And I know if there's one guy who's sitting out in front of that, the old folks club waiting to get let in, he's still talking to the bouncer. It has to be Russell Wilson because at last look, Russell Wilson's not getting any younger anytime soon. He just gets better with age.

He's not considered an old quarterback. No, he's not old quarterback yet. Okay. But because, like, Ben is like 38. I think Aaron's like with 36. Yeah. And then Philip Rivers, he falls under that umbrella as well. Philip Rivers definitely falls under that umbrella.

You know what I'm saying? Like, once you get to like that 38, 37-ish range, I feel like that's when you're in like the old man's club, you know? You know what I'm being. I'm be honest, like, man, you know, I think about it. Ben is, I'm 28. Ben is 10 years older than me. And he's less than 10 years younger than Coach Tomlin.

You know, like, when you're that close to your coaching age, you're old. You know, like, you're old. You're kind of old. You know what I'm saying? I'm not trying to be an asshole, but it is what it is, you know? But I feel,

me honestly, I feel Ben is playing better football than Drew, me personally. Yeah. I feel big, you know, but so, and that's why I feel like, right now out of all the old quarterbacks,

if you want to add Aaron in there, you can add Aaron. Aaron is number one. But then you'll pick, I'll pick, uh, Tom's to, like,

just the way they're playing, not just like, not their overall career, just the way they're, plan. I'll be, I'll be Aaron is one, you know, Tom is two, Ben is three, and then it's a

toss-up between Philip Rivers and Drew Breeze, because Phillip Rivers will be having some good games sometimes. That's not a toss-up. I don't even care what. Drew Breeze could have zero wins on the season. Drew Breeze is a winner, and he has a regular throwing motion, and I'm sorry.

He's a winner. He's a winner. I'm going to get this out of the way. No disrespect, Philip Rivers, but I just can't trust that throwing motion. I can't I can't trust that throwing motion. He's a hall of favor. He gets a done. He gets a done. Is he a Hall of Famer?

Hmm. I think that could be another topic of conversation for a whole other ringer NFL podcast right here. Is Philip Rivers a Hall of Fame? It's some Hall of Famers. It's some Hall of Famers that never won Super Bowels before? Well, that's-Barris-Wan. Where has Dan Marino done that Philip Rivers haven't? I mean, Philip Rivers has never been the most prolific passer in all the league.

Dan Marino. He was the guy that set the bar. I mean, those big time passing seasons. Dan Marino had all those in his back pocket. Hey, but I'm saying, but that's, that's, Philadelphia Rivers are matching Damarino kind of yours, isn't he now? Well, we'll circle back to that. Well, we'll circle back to that one.

But, Ryan, when it comes to Ben Rolfusberger, and you said he's 10 years older than you, was there ever a point in time where you, you know, made mention of something to Ben where he was like, huh? What, what? What are you talking about? I don't know what the kids these days are about. No, so I actually talk to Ben and just about trying to jail with the guys.

And he said, to be honest, man, he said it's kind of hard. You got to think about it. Ben is 38, Juju's 23, you know. So he's, what, 15 years older than him. So, man, it's hard, man, because Juju's over here, TikToking. And Ben kids are thinking about TikToking, man. The only TikTok Ben thinks about it is the grandfather, clock at the bottom of his steps in the front of his house.

Yeah. Yeah, like, Ben's like, man, it's harder. Like, people always, like, Ben, you know, he tries to relate with the guys as best as he possibly can. And I know Tom and Drew does the same thing. But in the day, like, people rate, first of all, people are raised totally different. But then also, you have guys that are, or is a lot younger than you. I remember I was talking to Ben one time.

I was like, man, like, Ben, how do you get close to guys? guys, you're like, man, I won't be honest, it's really hard to get close to guys because everybody I came into the league with are always close to are all gone now. So it's like I don't truly have friends on the team like everybody else anymore. Like a lot of times people just see me as a mentor or just the quarterback. You know, a lot of guys don't really see me as a friend on the team. So it's kind of hard to relate to guys for real because we like the things that we like now are completely different.

When I was younger, I liked clubbing and talking about women and just football. Like, obviously, we all love football, but just talking about things that young guys talk about. But now when I'm older, I'm not trying to talk about clubbing. You know, I'm trying to talk about, like, hey, my family, you know, we might talk about, like, things that families do. You know, let's talk about the baseball game that just happen. Or, hey, you want to go smoke a cigar. Like, Juju might smoke cigars, but, like, when you're 21, you're not really smoking cigars. Like, you know what I'm saying?

So, like, and that's what Ben likes to do. So, like, they, like, with older guys, they like stuff that's completely different. And, like, I had talked to him before about that. And I was like, damn, like, that really makes sense. You know, because when you're playing, when you're playing defense, you all can get together and get along with guys, but guys do like different stuff. And you don't really have to relate to them as much as you have to relate to a receiver. like quarterback and receiver have to be on the same page

we have to be on the same page on defense too but it's more like hey you do your job I do my job hey we're good but if a quarterback and receiver

don't like each other I do not see them being really successful like there's only one match it's only one in history I know that didn't like each other

and that was successful and everybody found out they didn't like each other until one got booted out and that was A, B, and Ben you know but the thing is from the outside looking in,

it looked like they loved each other until the last season. You know, so that's, you know, like playing quarterback's hard, man, but me personally, like, I had a great relationship with Ben, because I went to him, I'm like, hey, Ben, like, you know some stuff you can help me out with,

man, you cool, like, will you be cool if I come over, I come smoking some girl with you? Because, like, I like it doing that stuff. I have a wife, I have kids. Like, I don't, like, I like going to the club, but I, I, I, I, I, I, I'll watch a football game and smoke a cigar and be chilling.

You know, that's the stuff I like. So that's the same stuff Ben likes to do. So, like, building a relationship like that, it's not hard. But when you're young, when you're young trying to deal with the old man's club, it's like, man, like, what you want to do and what I want to do is completely polar opposite. So it's just like it's hard to even relate. Yeah, you talk about being in the old man's club. You're old, well beyond your years, right?

You like to smoke a cigar. You like to talk with the old heads about what they like to grill. You like to talk about all the bargains. Man, I got five of those shirts, the same shirts, different colors for 50% up. That's what old heads talk about. Because I know that's what always gets my pot stirred up right there. You know, I'm about to hit the grill a little bit later on tonight. But, you know, one thing that jumped out to me is that you said that there was a contentious relationship between Big Ben and Antonio Brown.

And nobody knew that until A.B. left Pittsburgh. But one thing we do know is that he's going to be making his season. return this year. And he and Tom Brady, I don't know what it is, Ryan, but they seem to have a little something cooking down there. We saw it in New England in that game versus the Miami Dolphins. And you know, Ryan, before we get to you, because I know you know Antonio Brown. But Kavlin, I want to get your take. What do you think Antonio Brown is going to bring to this Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense? Because we've seen Tom Brady the last few weeks, he's starting to really spread things around. And now that they have Gronk involved, you throw A-B in the mix. I mean, that's like throwing gas on a fire, man.

But yeah, like the addition of Antonio Brown, you know, like Ryan can probably speak to this, you know, schematically football is a numbers game. And when you talk about what Tampa Bay has in terms of weapons, you're talking about Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Rob Garnkowski, now you're adding Antonio Brown to the mix. It just leaves him, at least there's going to be someone every play who defenses, they're not simply not going to be able to account for all those guys. And Brady has been playing at a level where he's able to distribute the ball really well and pick apart defenses. and we've seen what, you know, a revamp Rob Browncowski is able to do in terms of opening up the passing game for them. So like you mentioned, it's going to be gasoline on a fire for them. And the other thing about it is that over the past few weeks, you know, while, you know, Brady has definitely had success, there's definitely been those minutes of frustration like on Monday night we saw with some of the younger receivers, like where he, the chemistry is still coming together.

And I know that we've only seen one game with Brady and Antonio Brown together back in New England. it was that forecatch of what 50-yard performance against Miami. But there's chemistry there between Antonio Brown and Tom Brady. So I think, you know, during him in there for, forgive me, for Justin Watson, Tyler Johnson, or even the Scotty Miller replacing him with Antonio Brown or like filling him in, I think that the potential is going to be sky high. You won't see as many, you know, we probably won't see Brady getting as frustrated as he was, you know, on Monday night and against the Bears on that Thursday night match.

surviving. I think that it just helps, you know, this offensive chemistry moving forward, even though he's a new piece. It's going to be a way that he fits in. I honestly think Brady still might get frustrated. I think, I think Antonio's going to have an awesome next, what, eight games. I think he's going to have an awesome next eight games. Antonio, to me, it was the best receiver in the NFL. Not right now. He's going to have to earn that back. But, like, you know, with, uh, Deandre, because at the day, he didn't play with a year and a half, you know. So a year and a half to be big.

I know he's been working on routes, but who has he been having thorns? Him high school football players? Like, that don't count, you know. So, but I think he's going to have a awesome year, man. Like, the thing is with A, B, man, I just, I just want him just to, you know, like, he said he's turned over a new leaf. I really, I really hope he does, man, you know, because, you know, sometimes he just, he just wishy-wash you. I just don't want to see that happen again, man. Like, he goes up and he has really, like, really, really high moments

and he has really, really low moments. And I just don't want to see that from him, man. It just is really, it's really sad, man, because he's an awesome football player and he's a sure-file Hall of Famer when he doesn't let his off the field getting away, you know? So, and obviously Tom wanted him there. Tom vouched for him before the season,

when he got to spend it, when he got to spend it, he still vouched from. Bruce Ariens basically does not want him, but he's bringing him in because he said, hey, he pretty much, what Coach Thompson said, we don't want, we want volunteers, not hostages. We want volunteers, not hostages. Yeah.

And basically, that's what Bruce Arias said, hey, we want you to volunteer to want to win because we ain't dealing with the bullshit of you talking about, hey, I need the ball. And I just hope he just go, over there, I understand, hey, I'm focused on the team. I'm trying to win. Tom vouched for me to come in here.

So, you know, Tom really likes him. And I think Tom really think that they could do something special together. You know, so. It's almost like Mike Singletary. He said he wants winners. He wants people who want to win. That's how Bruce Ariens feels down there in Tampa. Now, we know that Antonio Brown, Ryan,

he's one of the hardest workers on and off the field in all the league. And he's just a different dude, you know, plain and simple. When he was on the Oakland Raiders, he went to Derek Carr's son's birthday party. And what did he do? He brought his own chef with him. He brought his own cake. He brought his own food.

And he offered it up to everybody. But that just lets you know. He's a different kind of guy. And Antonio Brown, when all is right with him and everyone is on the same page, he can do some pretty special things. And like you said, there's eight games left for this Tampa Bay Squad. And Antonio Brown looking to make an impact in every one of them. Yeah, no, he's going to make a huge impact, man.

That's the one thing Antonio is going to do. He's going to impact positive or negative. the impact. And the thing is, like, the biggest thing for me with Antonio is like, he's all for attention, man. Like, he's like, he's super about attention, man. Like, on the field, off the field, like, obviously, you coming to a kid's birthday party, I know you want to eat healthy. If you don't eat healthy, man, all right, either bring your food, you know, have it cook and you eat it before or eat it after. Like, don't bring your shelf and then offer it to everybody else at somebody else's part of it.

That's weird. That's a little weird. Yeah, that's doing too much. You know, the thing is... Way too much. And to me, like, for, like, Antonio's like a wishy-washy friend, bro. Like, and he might... I don't know if he's going through bipolar and all that...

He's bipolar and all that stuff. But, like, one day, like, me and him would be cool, and then if you don't say something he wants to hear, then he's mad at you. And it's like, bro, like, I'm not... I don't have time to suck up to you and be your best friend. Like, if you don't want to hear what I got to say,

I'm trying to tell you for your best advice. You're like from my best experience. You know what I'm saying? And to me, I just hope he doesn't do that over there. You know, I just hope he's turned over a new leaf. Like, hey, I'm coming in. I'm trying to focus on football. Hey, you got some insight for me.

Give it to me. You know, but it's like, I remember Tom's, like, he got mad at me, I think, because it was weird. He blocked a lot of people on the stills, but he blocked a lot of people, and he didn't block a lot of people. And my locker was literally right next to his And every time I used to talk to him before

He left, me and him was super cool But then I randomly I randomly got blocked And I think I got blocked because It was like man, who would you rather have A, B or Juju when I talked to NFL Network before? And And I was like, man, I wish the best for A.B

But at the time, like whoever's going to help the team Like, I wanted them here. You know, like, you don't want to be here, man. Best of luck in your endeavors, you know? and a few weeks later, I got blocked on Twitter. And I'm like, damn, blocked on Instagram. I'm like, bro, like, I didn't even say, I wished you good luck, you know what I'm saying?

Was that interview? Was that you and I on that interview, Ryan, back in the day? Did I ask you that question? No, no, it was during the Super Bowl. It was during the Super Bowl weekend in Atlanta. And I was like, I'm like, bro, like, I'm not even, I'm not showing like no beef or, like, I'm not throwing no shade on you,

but like, bro, if you just, if you want friends that's going to tell you what you want to hear, That's not me. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm going to be a, if I'm a real friend, I'm going to tell you how it is, and then I want you to tell me how it is because at the day, that's how we get better as people, you know? And, you know, so I hope you don't bring that there.

I hope you just a genuine dude, focus on winning. If you want the money, just focus there, do your job, and then leave. Like, some guys that don't talk to nobody, just leave, do your job and get out of there. You know what I'm saying? But don't make it about yourself. Make it like, it's a team game. And the moment. he making it by himself, Tampa's not going to go to the Super Bowl.

All right. Well, Brian, you know, it could have been me that you did the interview with because I was down there at the Super Bowl in Atlanta. You know, the funniest part about it is I was doing a show with the Hall of Famer. He'll remain unnamed, but we had a producer that kept getting in his ear because he wanted him to rap and he kept saying, dude, dude, you need to rap. And let me just let you know, this Hall of Famer does not like being called, dude. I mean, this cat, I mean, he absolutely flipped. He's like, man, my own son doesn't.

call me dude. I'm never going to let this guy call me dude ever again. And one of the nicest guys you ever want to meet. Like I said, his name will remain unnamed, but it just, it makes me think back to that time in Atlanta. No, I don't, like Cole, the reason I say it wasn't you, because it was on a roundtable with, I was on a round table with Dion, LT, and Peter, Peter Strueger, I think his name is. Peter Strueger, yeah, Peter Strueger. People a lot more important than me, Hall of Famers. And then Peter Stranger, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. That's, that's That's how you soften the blow right there, Ryan. I like how you did that.

I was trying out to say, but you said, hey, okay. I promise you it was me. I'm like, all right, right. You're pretty much telling me, like, yeah, I think you're packing your bags already to go home on Super Bowl Sunday morning so you can watch the game at the house, but that's here and over there. But, Kailen, before we get out of here, what do you think? Antonio Brown, does he make an impact for the better or for the worst for Tom Brady and

Tampa? You know, I hope it's for the better. Like Ryan was saying, you know, I don't know Antonio Brown personally. I do know that he's a tremendous football player. And, you know, again, like, like Ryan said, he's going to make an impact one way or another. Like in that one game against Miami, it was very apparent that last year for New England, that this dude can literally walk in a field and make a difference for a football team. And I think that's going to happen in Tampa Bay, especially when there's so many weapons surrounding him.

And his time will probably, you know, end up in, he'll be able to produce at a high level. Well, my personal interaction with Antonio Brown has been limited. but I do know him on a personal level to a certain extent. And Ryan, he never blocked me. That's all I got to say, man. I can DM Antonio right now and everything's all good. But like I said, I didn't have the same relationship as you guys did. It wasn't in the trenches winning ball games in Pittsburgh.

Now, guys, our time here, it has come to a close because that's going to do it for this Thursday edition of the Ringer NFL show. So for Ryan Chazier, Kaelin Jones, and myself, we'd like to thank everybody for listening. And as always, we're part of the Ringer podcast. network and you can follow us on Spotify or wherever you download your podcast. Also, follow us over on Twitter at Ringer NFL. Now, we're going to be back next Tuesday. It's a regular time slot. And next on the Friday edition of this Ringer NFL show, it's Warren Sharp and Joe House.

They're going to hit you with some week nine analytics and betting insights. So once again, for Kaelan and Ryan, I'm Cole. We'll be back next week on Tuesday. We'll see you then.