The Ringer NFL Show - ‘GM Street’ — Elway's Broncos, a Giant Minicamp, and Shake-ups in Washington (Ep. 111)

Episode Date: June 16, 2017

The Ringer's Mike Lombardi and Tate Frazier discuss the Denver Broncos under John Elway (03:45), if Cordarrelle Patterson will be a good fit with the Oakland Raiders (13:30), Odell Beckham Jr.'s return to practice (23:00), the crowded "Wentz Wagon" in Philadelphia (26:00), if the N.Y. Jets are already tanking (30:00), and the Washington Redskins' front-office moves (34:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to GM Street. I'm Tate Frazier. Mike Lombardi is on the road. Lombardi, how are you? I'm good, Tate, happy, grandfather. Wife and I had a little baby boys. My son had a boy, so I enter a new age. It's pretty good. Yeah. Life is good. You're a very wise man. Yeah, and the best part about this is we're one week away from the NBA draft, which is right up your alley. It's right up my alley. We actually, today we're going to hit some big stuff.

We're going to talk about the AFC West a little bit, talk about the Broncos, maybe getting some big picture storylines with OBJ and his future, but first we have to say that the NBA is officially over. I was at the game in Oakland with Bill Simmons. We watched the Warriors get their title. Do you feel a little jaded? Do you feel like you missed out on some basketball this season, or

was it just amazing to watch the history happen? I think they were great. I think it was fun to watch the basketball. Basketball's much harder to watch on the East because the games start later here. You know, you've got to fight to stay awake. And you know, as your grandfather like I am, I mean, it's hard. But I

did. I kept my eyes awake. I just felt like, you know, everybody talks about the West being so great and the East not being good. Let's face it, there's one great team and then everybody else is fighting. The whole LeBron James thing to me, Tate, is ridiculous. I mean, that guy is, every time I watch him play, he awes me. And I don't know why people are so critical of them. Yeah, there's no need to be critical. I mean, he's a force of nature, a freak in nature, and seeing him in person, it looks like Adrian Peterson playing football, you know, playing basketball or something. Like, he's so massive and huge. You know, he probably couldn't take a hit across the middle, LeBron James, but he could be

quite the force in the football field. Speaking of football... You know what he reminds me of, though? Let me interject here. He reminds me when you watch Jim Brown, you're too young for Jim Brown, but when Jim Brown played for the Cleveland Browns, he was huge. He was a big man, the fastest guy on the field. He was as big as some of the offensive linemen that played in the NFL at the time. And he would just run over people. That's what LeBron looks like. He looks like even though he's not, there's guys taller than him, but to me his whole

ability and his power and his strength is remarkable. I mean, like, the shot he makes when Durant should have picked up his third foul. I mean, that's just nobody does. Who does that get hit in the head and still dunk it? Yeah. No, it's, I'm telling you, there's no one

that can will his way to a basket easier than LeBron James. And, you know, that's not, that's not skill. That's just like this guy is you're not going to find someone that's 280 pounds, 6-8, has that vision, has the basketball ability to back everything up that he's doing out there. It's something else to see in person. It was great to witness.

And I don't know. I think we're going to have a few more of those. I feel like Cleveland's going to try to run it back next year. And LeBron James is in the gym already, Draymond Green's back in the gym. And I don't know. I think we got a little Celtics Lakers, but with two teams that are not as prominent and not as polarizing.

So it should be fun for fans. My favorite moment? You want my favorite moment of this whole series? What's that? When Jeff Van Gundy saw Rihanna. That was my favorite moment. Because it was a great, it was that huge dunk by LeBron, so everyone expects Van Gunty to be going crazy about that.

But instead of him reacting to LeBron's dunk, he reacted to Rihanna's reaction to LeBron's dunk, which was a great inception moment of commentary. It was so good. It was so perfect. Van Gundy's one of the best. He's a national treasure call in those games. And especially, I always think when I see Van Gundy, I just think about him. grabbing onto the legs when he was a Nick's assistant coach, you know, trying to stop a fight.

So it's always great to have him calling games. Let's talk about a guy that's calling the shots in Denver. This is Lombardi, you're writing a piece on the Denver Broncos and where they're at as a franchise right now. We obviously know the whole run that they had with the Peyton Manning era there, starting back when they lost the Super Bowl to the Seahawks when they got blown out. And coming full circle to Peyton, you know, getting himself back together and winning a Super Bowl against the Panthers. in Super Bowl 50. When you look at the Denver Broncos

just from a broad stroke of what they're doing in the AFC West, I mean, they're the top of the class or the toast of the class. Obviously last year didn't go as well. That was sort of a, you know, probably a Super Bowl hangover. It happens.

Happened to the Panthers as well. When you look at John Elway and his situation there, what's really like the first thing that stands out to you and what they're doing and building toward the future? Well, I think it's life after Peyton.

And we all know that life after Peyton for most franchises, unless you have Andrew Luck at the door, is going to be difficult. And this is what I see with Denver. I mean, look, they have two young quarterbacks and Trevor Simeon and Paxton Lynch that are unproven, whether they can beat starters. They've got a world-class defense tape.

But the reality here is for John Elway is when he, and I started my column this way, when he entered that job in 2011 and ran Tim Tebow out, he got Peyton Manning. It's fortunate. Now he doesn't have a quarterback, and he has a good defense. And I'm not sure they are the talk of the town in the AFC West. I think it's going to be a real challenge for him. Let's take a step back before the Peyton Manning. So obviously, we all remember the Tim Tebow passed to Marius Thomas to win that playoff game against the Steelers in 2011.

The Tebow era ends. Elway comes in. It's his whole new regime. Peyton Manning basically falls in his lap. And then Manning gets to have his L-Way-esque into his career in the same way where he's competing for championships and sort of cementing his legacy when he's walking out the door. Manning leaves and Wade Phillips. There's just so many guys that left, you know, KubiX out, Wade Phillips out. You know, John Fox, obviously when they lost the Seahawks, he gets out.

There's so many changes and incremental shifts that Elway made over that period. So he's already shown the ability to adapt. Is there a big move that he needs to make now where, you know, he takes these young guys? I mean, is he still trying to look for that veteran quarterback like Peyton Manning to come in there? whether it's a you know I'm trying to think of a veteran you know a lot of people thought Tony Romo could be a fit in Denver or do you really think simeon or lynch one of those guys is someone that they can develop there to become you know because they had the defense they just need an offense that's you know capable to keep them in games well I think this

I think outweighs learning that you can't control the game from the DM's chair and I think he's tried he's on his third head coach and they've won a lot of games you know now before Manning showed up, they were 20 into league and wins. So they weren't really a great team before Manning showed up. That has no reflection on John Elway whatsoever. But since Manning, they were in the top three between them and New England. And now they're back without Manning. And I think Elway, going through coaches, I mean, people talked about his best friend Kubiak. One of the reasons Kubiak retired was, you know, John wanted changes on his coaching staff. And Kubiak really didn't want to be a part of it. I think what you see in Denver a little bit with John is John wants to be the focal point

of the organization. I think, you know, there was a lot of people that thought that Wade Phillips got too much credit for the defense, and I think everybody thinks that John needs to be the star. And what I learn from being in the NFL, and I think this is so true, is the head coach has got to be the star. And that's what I try to write about. Bans Joseph is his head coach. Now, he picked a guy who basically was, as a first-time defense coordinator, didn't have a very successful season. And his number one need is to fix his offense. So to He's saying to everybody in the league, you guys think I said, Zig, I'm going to Zach. And I don't know if that's going to work.

It works when you have Peyton Manning. It don't work when you don't have them. And Vance Joseph is just – I think if you ask a lot of people on the street right now, just the casual fan who's the coach of the Denver Broncos, they may still answer Gary Kubiak, you know? Like the Vance Joseph hire was not – you know, it wasn't a splashy hire in any sense of word. It sort of just happened. And when you think of the Broncos, you do, you know, just the – think of Elway. I think you made a great point

in your piece where you were talking about the Bill Polian model where you have a few elite guys that you pay out and the rest you fill the voids with draft picks and then at the end it sort of crumbles down because that is not necessarily a sustainable model.

When you look at the Broncos now, I mean, are they able to find those pieces or do you see the decline happening right in front of your eyes heading into this season? When they were back going to go out and they were going to try to find some guys and they were going to try to fill a bunch of needs through free agency and try to get these mid-level guys. I mean, this is where they get, this is where they get Terrence Knighton, who played his

best football in Denver. I mean, they sign him on a cheap deal, but they sign him as a backup type of player. And I think when you look at that, and you see how they did it, I mean, you know, in 13, they signed Welker, they signed Louis Vasquez, they signed Dominic Rogers Comarty, Knighton, they signed Ryan Lilja. They signed a bunch of guys. And then even when Manning came in, they signed Manning and Tracy, quarter, but as they started to have to pay more, they developed this Bill Pollyan model, which is very difficult. And as I pointed out in my piece, it's hard for rookies to make an impact right away.

They had really one rookie last year who played 25% of the plays, and that was Devon, who, because of injury, had a play. So it's tough when you're counting on your rookies to make an immediate impact on debt. And so what I think you see with Denver is the models shifted a little bit towards that polian model. and whether they have enough depth to withstand, because one thing we do know, their offense last year, Tate was horrendous. They could move the ball effectively.

And so they really, they really meet on offense and really stay healthy on defense because they Yeah, every single other team in the AFC West last season. I mean, from just to look at it, this is the bare bones of it, ability to score touchdowns, you know, Kansas City is like 42 touchdowns, Oakland's 47, Chargers 48, and the Broncos are at 35. So just simply looking at the math, they have to score more touchdowns and be able to be a threat on offense. It's funny when you mentioned signing all those guys in free agency with the Manning, Manning and Tracy Porter signed with each other.

I just think that's so ironic that the guy that Peytony throws a Super Bowl away is the guy that they signed in free agency. That was a big splash. Also, looking at this team, you know, there's been a lot of reports like Decker and Barnage and all these guys that are big-name guys on the free agency market. And Vance Joseph every single time he's asked about it, he's like, yeah, We don't have any interest right now. We're not trying to add anyone right now. So that further backs up the whole point of they're trying to go young

and they're trying to use their draft picks. They're not trying to make splashes in free agency with this team. Right. And reality is, Manning is a great deodorant for a lot of things. Tom Brady's a great deodorant for a lot of things. And when you don't have those quarterbacks and you don't have a guy that can cover up for a lot of your sins, those players have to play better and they're just not ready to do it. You know, can the rookie right away or a hockey?

didn't do it very well. It wasn't really a bona fide starter for them even though they signed them to a contract. So to me, I think Denver's the fourth team in a really good division. I think the Chargers had a better offseason than Denver did. And it always comes down to one thing. The quarterback

without Peyton Manning coming down. John Elway was lucky to get Peyton Manning to say yes. But he was even luckier to get Brock Oswald to say no. And I think that's really that now, because he was offering Oswald, that huge deal. Oswald has said no, he's got to take advantage of it.

And if he hits with Lynch, great. I don't think he's going to hit with Lynch, though. And even the defense, I mean, we're obviously talking about the offensive woes. The defense itself, I mean, there was some stories coming out, the Denver Post that, you know, first of all, Brandon Marshall was a big part of that defense, you know, as a sore Achilles. They're trying to, they basically said that the defense is in reset mode. They're trying to find guys to plug in and figure out what the future is for them. obviously they have the talent with Von Miller, and that says enough when you have a guy like that that can pass rush for you.

But the loss of Wade Phillips and that transition since that Super Bowl, I mean, it just seems like a lot of things are kind of up in the air. And even on defense, they don't even quite have the answers yet, which is not a good place to be in if you're the Denver Broncos. Right, well, because the defense strength, I mean, Von Miller's a bitch to block when he's rushing the passer all the time. Shane Ray's a bitch to block when he's rushing the passer all the time. and when you have to, and your offense doesn't score touchdowns like you pointed out,

that all of a sudden the strength of what that defense does, which is play man to man on the back in and cover. Teams round the football effectively on Denver last year. They didn't have Malik Jackson inside, so they drafted guys to come in there. They drafted DeMarcus Walker to help plug the middle to give them a little bit more size. They signed Pico from the Cincinnati Bengals. They need more size inside. But the reality here is if the offense can't extend the lead and play from in front,

which Peyton Manning always did, then the highlight of the Broncos defense, which is the rushers, can't really come off. And I think that the thing about Denver, I don't want to hear anybody say, well, they had a great September. The key for Denver is going to be, can they endure November and December?

Do they have enough depth? Can they challenge the Raiders? And can they challenge the Chiefs? And can they challenge the chargers? I just don't see it. When you have an AFC West that's so spread out and there's so much talent across the board, I mean, let's start with the Raiders.

I mean, Derek Carr's already talking about Amari Cooper, this off season. He said he sees the dog that's coming out in Amari Cooper there with the Raiders. I mean, that's a scary thing if you're a Denver Broncos fan or if you're John Ellway because the Raiders look like a team that's, you know, when Derek Carr's healthy, they're a team that can score

and they look very, very scary. Yeah, and this is a big Al Davis thing, was you always try to grade your players based on the division. So, for example, let's take the quarterbacks. Denver has the fourth best quarterback in the AFC West. Now, you don't win the West with the fourth

best quarterback. When they had Manning, they had the best quarterback. They won the West. And typically when you don't have the best, and that's where I think they get beat. And the Raiders have clearly the best quarterback. You can argue whether Philip Rivers can meet up to Derrick Carr, but whether you go 1A and 1B, both of them are good players, I think Carr, obviously, based on last year, was better than Rivers. So they don't have the best quarterback, and the Raiders do. Now, the Raiders have their issues on defense, but the Raiders won last year with a bad defense. Kansas City one with the defense. Now, Kansas City's defense was

only seven and points allowed. But Kenesies' defense could turn the ball over, they could rush the pass. Can Denver create that? And I play too many plays. Their offense was one of the worst third-down teams in the league, which then forced the Denver defense to play too many plays. And I think this goes back to what you saw in the playoffs in the NBA. But when the game, as Kerr said, when the game got to the third and fourth quarter,

Cleveland got tired and Golden State was ready. Not because Golden State was in better shape than Cleveland, just they had more depth. and I think that's really what you're talking about in the West. The West is going to come down to who has the best depth and who has the best quarterback. I think that's Kansas City or Oakland. When you look at Oakland, they're trying to add more pieces to make that offense even more explosive.

Cordarelle Patterson, a guy that people remember from Minnesota. We remember back even when he was at Tennessee before, he's just a playmaking type of guy. I mean, in the same vein as Tyree Kill for Kansas City, they're trying to match that playmaking ability. And they're trying to bring Patterson in to return kicks. and you're hearing good things at a camp where they're saying this is a guy

they probably can rely on with Oakland. If that offense gets even more exclusive, if you get Amari Cooper that, you start seeing the dog coming out in him, you get Cordrell Patterson, I mean, how explosive and scary is that Raiders team? And I mean, are they really the true contenders out of the AFC West and maybe just in the AFC in general? Well, they're great talent.

Nobody will dispute this talent. And Minnesota drafted them in the first round. They love this talent. The problem was learning. The problem was his ability, to take practice, execution, and make it game reality. That's a key component. That's one of the preaching elements of the Bill Belichick system.

We're going to take practice execution and make it game reality. This is where Patterson fell apart. He's not really one of the smarter players in terms of volume. That doesn't mean he's dumb. Just a lot of volume. Things happened rapidly on the field. That's why when North Turner was his offensive coordinator in place for him, because when he got too many plays involved,

he couldn't really play as a card player is a guy in practice when you hold the card up, and the card tells him where to go, he can play as fast as ever. But when you don't have the card there and he has to react, he's about him being able to execute their offense, and I'm sure people in Minnesota are laughing saying, wait a minute, he couldn't learn our offense. How are they going to get him to learn their offense, and we had him for four years? I think that remains to be seen, but don't dismiss the talent.

I respect the talent. I'm not sure he's just a guy you put in to run of play. It's good for Oakland to have speed. That's something that they've always relied on, obviously, and you know that. Dating back with Al Davis, obviously. Al's the king of the 100-meter championships all through the country. I'll tell you a great story. He drafted Teddy Watson the first round, and he came over to Teddy Watson,

and he said, Teddy, I finally got you, the Florida State Sprint Champion. I love you, Teddy. And Teddy Watts said to him, Teddy played a Texas Tech. Teddy says to him, Mr. Davis, thank God that white boy slipped out of a lot. blocks. And Mr. Davis said, what? He said, what? He said, thank God that white boy slipped out of the blocks. He said, oh, Chris Collinsworth. He pulled a hamstring coming out of the blocks. Collinsworth was the fastest guy in Florida that year, not Ted Watts. Al was devastated. That was probably the worst thing that he had ever heard. He probably thought about cutting him

or making a trade that day as soon as he heard someone else was supposed to win. That's amazing. I'll tell you the worst thing he ever heard was when he found out that Jesse Hester, who he drafted in the same draft as a bunch of other receivers, he drafted it from Florida State. He found out that when they measured his 40 time, the 40-yard dash was only 39 and a half yards. It wasn't really 40. The guy who brought the scout who brought the tape to measure Hester's 40,

to measure it out to make sure it's right. His tape only went to 39-5 yards, and they screwed it up. And yes, he was fast, but he wasn't quite as Al Davis fast as they like. Oh, man, that is an amazing story. I will say that Corridor Patterson, being in Minnesota playing in that cold weather, I don't know what it is. I mean, I've seen LaShawn McCoy and cold weather look fast and shifty, but it's a whole different.

I think being out in Oakland, I don't know, it will look like college. He'll look like he has that same speed because obviously thinking through things slows you down. But if he's able to be out in the warm sunshine and running around, I don't know. I have faith in Patterson after what I saw in college. he was one of those guys that took out to me. Always. Hey, look, he's great about the town. Can he take it to the field?

And that's why he hasn't been, other than a returner, that's why. Because you talk about LeBron James, big and fast? This is what Patterson is. This man's big and fast. And he's dangerous with the ball in his hands, and he can do some things that are hard to find. Yep, yep.

Speaking of another team, the AFC West, I mean, obviously the Chiefs and the Raiders, both 12 wins last season, which I mentioned before, but the other team there, Philip Rivers, there's like a little bit of buzz about the Chargers. They're obviously making the move to Los Angeles. Philip Rivers has come out in the San Diego Tribune and basically said relocation won't be in hassle for this team. We're going to get up to L.A. and we're just going to

keep things rolling. But the reports out of minicamp with the Chargers that there was a quote-unquote sluggish start to minicamp for those guys. I mean, a lot of people were buying into Keenan Allen coming back. Philip Rivers continuing to be the great quarterback that he is and maybe a little bit under the radar bust for the Chargers. see that? Do you see any sort of chance where the Chargers shock a lot of people and they make a little run here in Los Angeles?

I think they're good. I like the Chargers a lot. Melvin Ingram gets his contract done. I think he's really good. Joey Bosa's going to be even better next season. I like the Chargers defensively. I think offensively their line is much better this year. Now, Russell Okun did not play well in Denver last year. Can he play left tackle better

than he did in Denver? What remains to be seen? You know, Joey Barksdale their right tackle. Can he play well? I love Rivers. Can Keenan Allen come back? I mean, look, the guys had a lot of injuries, and what always worries you about guys that had injuries that weren't illers is how much speed they lose, and that would cause them. I mean, Keenan Allen went where he went in the draft because, you know, he couldn't run. His 40-time, you know, he goes in the third round. He was, before the 40 came out, he was viewed as a clear shoot 40-time.

Now he's coming off all these injuries. Can he get it back? Can he separate a man coverage? I think that remains to be seen. But they have receiver there, and I think that they have guys. like Travis Benjamin, they draft Mike Williams in the first round. I like the Chargers. I'm a big Charger guy. I think

the Chargers could beat the Chiefs out for second best. Maybe they could win it. I don't know. They're going to have an advantage of the stubble. There's not going to be 35. They'll make some noise. At least they'll get some crowd noise down there. Yeah. And, you know, Keenan Allen, a Greensboro, North Carolina native. I've seen Keenan quite a bit even back dating back to high school.

He just got it. Just proposed to his girlfriend, you know? He's getting his life together off the field. He says he's running at full speed now. So, I don't know. I'm buying stock in Keenan Allen and the Charter is making some noise in the AFC West. I always think the Chiefs are the team that make a step back. Bosa maybe becomes like a force as a pass rusher. I think my favorite thing about the AFC West is looking at Khalil Mack, Von Miller, Joey Bosa,

and seeing between those three guys who really, and even Justin Houston, you know, that the Chiefs, just those pass rushers in general on how much they can impact and be a force. and whoever becomes like the top guy out of those guys can maybe dictate what team really takes a step up to the next level and contend for a title. Well, the top guy will be the team. The top guy will be the guy's offense can let them play from the lead because all those guys, when they have the lead and they can just rush,

they're going to be destructive, and you're going to have to chubble them and chip them and do all those things. So I'm with you. I think that it's a great division of rushers. Ingram's even a great rusher as well. But the team, the guys, the team of the offense that can get the lead that can play complimentary football in that division, and that's where

the Chiefs Excel is they're able to do that. Same thing with the Raiders did last year. Another year, and he's got more weapons. I think defensively, they're not great, but they're good enough. Yep. Let's switch gears here. The AFC West will be a

fun division to watch. It has been for quite a few years, obviously, since about the time that John Ewell came back in 2011 because the Broncos were in contention every season, but now they have a bunch of teams in contention. One team that's trying to get back into contention and make a big play. And the guy that they have to pay is O'Dell Beckham Jr., who has decided not to sit out of minicamp. He's going to come in and report.

We saw last year Joey Bosa sat out for like 31 days, but pretty much the idea of sitting out at this point. People don't want to pay the fines. And if you're OBJ, you know, based on what Mara said and the whole ownership of the Giants, they want to pay him and get him. They've even said they want him to be, quote, unquote, a giant for life. And there aren't that many guys that have been Giants for life. I mean, Lawrence Taylor is one of the last guys, and in 1993, free agency didn't exist yet. So, you know, when you look at OBJ and this whole situation, do you believe the contract situation will get settled and it won't be an issue?

And do you expect OBJ to have a big run this year? All signs point to us. That's like giving away something in negotiations. I mean, basically, when the owner is willing to do that and make that statement, you're just, just he's given him so OBJ is going to get done and they're going to overpay whatever they have to do to get them they're going to keep them I think there's no doubt about that and now whether they have a good enough team around them whether they're going to do as well last year that remains to be seen but Odell's going to get his money and I think he realizes that and he's got them

once the owner tells you that you're the most important player of the franchise just sit back and rake in it in yeah there's there's no need to be concerned when the people that are dictating where the money goes tells you that you're going to be getting some of the money I mean, do you see O'Dell Beckham being able to get, I mean, will he get a contract? Perfect example. So, Tavon Austin, right? We saw him get, after his third year, he gets that $42 million deal, and everyone freaks out because that's so much money to give Tavon Austin. I mean, I think if someone...

It's still too much money that gets Tavon. If someone called OBJ and offered him $42 million, I mean, I think he would just laugh in their face and hang up. I mean, there's no telling how much money that OBJ is going to be offered from the Giants to keep him there, which I think is just a storyline. OBJ has in his vocabulary is no. If he keeps saying no, the money's just going to keep going up, he's negotiating. He's not negotiating against anybody, but the giants, and the giants have already said they're going to do whatever it takes. So the best thing he can do is keep saying no and use the threat of having them to do the franchise and all that stuff, because they've already told them they're willing to do anything.

So why not take advantage of it? You know, it's like, look, no is a good word for OBJ. He'll get what he wants. Let's talk about another NFCE's team. Your boy, the Winswagon, Carson Wins with the Philadelphia Eagles. Oh, Tate, I live in New Jersey in the summertime. The Winswagon is huge. It's so big.

I mean, down Asbury Avenue and Ocean City, the wagon just goes every day. When I walk the dogs, I'm going to count. There must be 700 Eagle flags flying here. It's unbelievable. Penn State and Eagle. I'm in the middle of it, Tate. It's unbelievable. I can't find a 76 flag.

No one has one. I've got to have to put one on the backyard here, but no one has it. Everybody has flags, but you can't find a six or one. Wait until those draft day trades, and then they'll sign JJ Redick in the offseason, and everyone will get on the wagon. And I'm going to commit suicide.

If they sign JJ Redick to 18 million, I will not be back in Los Angeles. I'm going to commit suicide. You're going to read my obituary. Fat X General Manager commits suicide on the beaches in Ocean City. Oh. No, that's going to happen. You're going to have to talk me off the ledge.

The power of the Calangelo's. They want JJ Redick. They're going to bring him there. for the good of Duke basketball. That's some shady deals going behind the scenes there if he signs. But maybe the, you know, maybe the Seventy-Sysers trade back and they draft Monk instead of paying JJ Redick 18 million. There's always hope Lombardi.

Everybody's excited about Wendz. Everybody's excited about LaGarrett Bomp back here. I saw Duke Staley say they're going to get them more involved in the passing game, which I find really interesting because Blunt came from one of the best organizations in football. You don't think it occurred to Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator, or to Bill Belichick that we're going to get Ligarrett Blunt involved in the past game. Look, I walked around the practice all the time. I said, if we can just get blunt to catch three passes the game with his size and space ability,

he could be disruptive. The problem is it was hard to get Ligart into the protections. It was hard to get him to understand the protections. It was hard to get him to block the right guy, and the quarterback didn't trust him, so he couldn't be on the field all the time. And so when I read that stuff, it's just, like, it's remarkable. It's a little bit like Patterson's going to learn the offense in Minnesota. didn't learn in Minnesota, but he's going to learn in Los Angeles in Oakland.

And when you listen to them talk about blunt, I think, you know, that comes, like he's going to get involved in a passing game. Look, nope, but the Eagles, to me, it's funny. When you look and listen to the Wend's talk around here and they wanted Jeremy McClain, even though they admitted they didn't want Jeremy Maclin. And then there's a report out that they finished second on Jeremy McClain, sold on their receiver situation. I mean, Tori Smith, they gave him a one-year deal.

I'm not buying a Tory Smith train. Alshan's got that big deal. He's got the big deal, but he's a jump ball receiver, and those guys don't get open on their own. You have to throw the ball up to him, and Wynch is not a really accurate throwaway down the field. It's going to be an interesting team for Philly. I think the strength of the Eagles is their defense or defensive front.

I think Schwartz will have that defense with enough depth up front. I think that will give them the difference, and as their offense can grow, I still think they need a receiver. Did you see that the Carson Wins camp where he's having his camp, he's going to take his, you know, they do like a little private workout where he takes special, you know, all these quarterbacks do that, where they'll invite some receivers to go work out with them in special places. Did you see where it wins wants to go for his?

It's amazing. No, North Dakota? Yeah, Fargo, North Dakota. So if you're a fan of Fargo, the show or the movie, Carson wins. Could you imagine a bunch of NFL players in Fargo? I mean, after about one night, there could be trouble. It could be trouble. And they've said it's locked in.

It's supposed to be Carson Wins. He's taken Alshon Jeffrey, Tori Smith, Jordan Matthews, and tight-in Zach Kurtz, and Trey Burton. So, Trey Burton thought going to Bible study with Tim Tebow at Florida was bad. This is going to be a totally different thing for him going to Fargo, North Dakota with Carson Woods. Where Brady takes all those guys up to Montana and gets in the altitude, that'll be a good trip. Yeah, yeah. That's, I don't know. I'm buying into the Carson-Wins thing.

As soon as I saw that all these guys would go to Fargo, North Dakota with him, it made me believe in the Eagles. and what they're about. A team I don't believe in, and a lot of people don't believe in, gangrene, the New York Jets. There's been a lot of talk out there that the New York Jets are taking the season because of the losses of so many proven veterans that makes everyone thinks about the Jets when you think of Nick Mangold, Revis, Marshall, Folk, David Harris, Decker.

The list goes on. Matt Forte just came out and said, bring it to anyone that says the Jets are tanking. He's basically saying that that's not the case, and they're going to show it on the field. Labardi, we're not, we know that that's not the case. I'm not buying it. You may bring it, but we're not buying it.

I mean, it's overreaction by Jet fans. I mean, Jesus, God, if David Harris was so good, you know, they wanted to take a pay cut. Decker wasn't exactly, you know, light in the world on fire. I mean, those are guys that are named players. They're not great players any longer. And look, David Harris was a great leader in the locker. I'm sure they'd still like to have them.

But you know what? It helps opportunity, and some of those guys stop progress. I think that's why Macklin got cut by Kansas City Heat. They felt like he was stopping progress on some of the young receivers. Look, it's not how you start out in September. It's how you finish in December. They admitted to themselves. They need a youth movement.

They finally admitted to themselves that I think admitting to yourself is the first day. That is very true. And I hope that the Jets heed your advice, Lombardi. They need something good up there to happen. There's been a lot of talk in the AFC East this all season. I've seen the Miami Dolphins trying to throw some chatter back at the Patriots. Do you see the Indomacan Su came out and said the Dolphins have never been scared of the Patriots or anything? They may not be scared, but they do lose a lot.

And the Jets are obviously dealing with this whole tanking narrative. But the Buffalo Bills, I mean, there's some positive stuff going on up there. So there is hope in Buffalo. I think Buffalo is a team. I think McDermott will do a good job as head coach. I think he's got some interesting pieces that he brought in there. And it all depends on Tyrae Taylor, what he can do offensively. but I think the bills are taking the right approach.

Lay low, say nothing, and see if you can, you know, see if you can prove it on the field. I think Miami's approach is always, you know, they think because they sign Lawrence Timmons that's going to help them stop it in the past, help them stop the Patriots in the passing game. I think we've seen that before when the Patriots play Pittsburgh. I think that the bills, Tyrae Taylor,

should take a group of receivers up to, like, Regina and Canada or something. And see how the altitude is up there. Saskatoon, yeah, that would be bad. Saskatchewan. Yeah, something like that. Maybe it'll work out. Another big thing that happened in the NFL, there's been quite a few new stories going on. Greg Robinson, the left tackle out of Walburn, that a lot of people had a lot of faith in, a lot of promise in, did not quite pan out. Probably was one of the worst left tackles in the league last year. Just asked Todd Gurley. He gets traded for a six-round pick.

It was a good for the Rams to just finally cut ties with this guy and sort of just move on. I think Jamon Brown will be the guy that will now be the left tackle for them. And do you see Greg Robinson maybe being able to figure it out with the new team? You know, I think Change of Scenry, and in the book, Epstein talks about to, you know, his assistant GM and to the other guys about trying to find guys that perhaps need to change the scenery. And they looked all through the league and they find guys that were good prospects that needed a change of scenery. Maybe this is the case with Greg Robinson. And I think it might be a good idea. He needs some to go somewhere where he's not viewed as a high pick.

He's not viewed as the savior, and maybe he can go and learn his craft. I've seen it happen before. It happened when Lincoln Kennedy when he was with the Falcons. He came to the Raiders was a much better player. There's a reason he was picked early, and there's got to be a reason why he's not playing well. I think that this is a smart trade for the Lions, and it's a smart trade for the Rams. Because the Rams, A, knee Capru, pick up his option for the fifth year, and they get something for him now, and they can move forward.

I mean, the Rams have to sign Aaron Donald. Again, he'd create some cap room. We talked about last week of the worst cap team in the league and the worst team in the league. That ain't a good combination. Not at all. So for all those Rams fans out there, don't blame Greg Robinson.

There's a lot of things to figure out. Maybe things will get shipped. I believe in the Rams being able to figure it out, hopefully. Maybe in five years, something like that. The Redskins, another team that we want to talk about. Oh, this is the one I've been waiting for, Tate. talk about it. The Redskins, they've been talking about they're going to hire it. Look, when

people will understand the Redskins have had a, even when Scott McLuhan was there, the Redskins General Manager was Bruce Allen. Okay, but he didn't have the authority. There's two people making decisions in Washington. There's two people. It's Daniel Snyder and Bruce Allen. And Snyder tells Bruce what he wants, and then Bruce tells everybody else. So, like, these whole front office changes in Washington, it's all just window dressing. The reality here, for all the Redskins is Bruce Allen's your general manager. He's controlling the players. He's controlling the coaches.

He's controlling everything. And I love how people move. It's one of the great lessons you can learn from Al Davis. It's a little bit like the Wizard of Oz where guys are behind the end. The Wizards behind the curtain. Nobody knows where he is. Yeah, Dan Snyder's the man behind the curtain. And Bruce Allen, too.

They're both behind there. And the reason Bruce has been able to keep – remember this now. Bruce Allen has kept his job over Mike Shanahan. Mike Shanahan's won Super Bowls. Bruce has never won a Super Bowl. You know, Mike Shanahan's a legitimate NFL head coach. He should have been, you know, the owner kept Bruce over him because the owner knows what Bruce will bring him.

So I'm enjoying it. I love how people thought they were going to interview all these people. The reality has been, I'm a clue in if he would talk, but he can't talk because he wants to get his paychecks. Yep. But tell you that Bruce ran the team all the way. My question, though, for Bruce and for Dan Snyder is, Kirk Cousins, there's one month to the day of this day that he has.

They have to figure out what they want to do with him. They can franchise him for $34.4 million, or they can sign him. I mean, that's still outstanding. That whole Kirk Cousin's storyline is still there, and the same guys are still. Like, what's the hold-up on that decision? Well, the hold-up is the fact that they thought that they could bluff their way into it. Bruce thinks sometimes he's smarter than the agents,

and the agents called his bluff every time. And they never really bought into Kirk Cousins that he was ever going to do it, and they thought that they were being cute. Now, all of a sudden, their cuteness is going to cost them a lot of money, and they're dealing with an agency priority sports, Mark Bartlestein, Rick Smith, Mike McCarthy, those guys. They're not going to take a deal less, and I don't think Kirk Cousins is going to take a deal for less.

So this is the corner they backed themselves, Bruce backed himself into, and it has nothing to do with Jay Gruden, and nothing to do with Scott McLuhan. I mean, they just never felt like he was going to come through. Now it's going to cost him severe cash. Good thing Snyder has it. Kirk Cousins, for people they don't know,

he's right around $44 million that he's made over the past two years. years. That's a good look. It's called America. Yeah. It's called America. It's called Roger Goodell's salary. Yeah, I mean, look, he basically, he called their bluff, and you know what?

If they didn't do it, he'd be the starting quarterback of the 49ers right now. Yeah. Wow. That is very true. Another just random Redskins thing that happened, DeAngelo Hall accepts a pay cut to stay with the Redskins. DeAngelo Hall has been playing football for as long as I can remember. It's unbelievable.

And he went to safety. I would have never thought he would ever go to safety. I mean, he was a guy that I was. Davis signed a huge contract and then cut him in the middle of the season because he had an entry guarantee and he didn't want him to get hurts and he's bounced back from it. I mean, it's good for DeAngelo to keep final way to play coming off the ACL that he had last year. It'll be interesting. The Redskins is going to be a fascinating team. They've lost some pieces in their skill. The skill, you know, Jordan Reed, whether he can stay healthy with the

concussion problems that he's had. I think it's going to be an interesting situation in Washington. But we know this. For Redskins fans, your team is run by Bruce Allen. Yeah, we've learned a lot. I mean, I, uh, I really didn't know what was going on in Washington. I've been trying to figure out this cousin's thing for quite some time, so I guess it's just a little power complex and a little power play between Bruce Allen and the agents for Kirk Cousins. Now we know, the more you know, is always good.

Just a couple little storylines that are still out there. Jeremy Macklin gets free crab cakes for life from Jimmy's seafood in Baltimore. I hope he likes them. I hope he likes scrapcakes. I mean, could you imagine getting free something? of something you don't like it. It would be like me getting free salmon for the rest of my life. Like what would I do with it?

Like I could only eat salmon. I mean, like, what would I do with it? When I thought about this, I just remember, wasn't the Titans, right? They offered Peyton Manning, like, free pancakes for life if he signed with the Titans in 2012. Now, I would have gone for that. Yeah, I know. Just imagine if you went for the pancakes, he wouldn't have won a Super Bowl.

So that's a life lesson. No doubt. No doubt. And then just one more thing. Bashian Janakowski, a guy that you were there when you saw him get drafted. He's still in the NFL, and he says he wants to play until they kick me out, no pun intended. That's good news for everyone. He's just 39 years old.

The first round kicker to get taken by Al Davis, and Lombardi was there to see it happen. So I just want to say Janikovsky. And we drafted Shane Lechler in the fifth round. We had the all-star kicking class of ever. Special teams. It was amazing. Special teams. All three phases. if a guy can kick,

the leg that he has, if he can continue, I mean, I don't see why he couldn't keep kicking, because that leg's still powerful. I'm a big fan of Janikowski, and I hope he sticks around and keeps kicking, keeps kicking, keeps it alive, and Lombardi, is there anything else that you have that you want to throw out there to the people?

Because this has been a fun gym street. I'm going to go back to my NBA tapes and start keep watching tape and seeing if I could come up with something. I'm still waiting for Calangelo to call me for advice, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'd go ahead and put this down, JJ Reddick. I think he's going to be. Thanks a lot.

I'll be in the, I'll be, you'll hear the rescue planes flying overhead when I drowned in the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah, JJ read it, and they're going to trade, who are they going to trade? Oh, maybe they try to trade like Jilil O'Kifor and they try to get Rodney Hood or something. It's, they're going to make some trades. They're going to try to do some stuff. Brian Calangelo's not going to sit stagnant, and it'll be fun. I'm pulling for you. I want the 76ers to be relevant.

We need something in the east that'll be fun. Embed, he needs to breed the big man. back. The big man is dying and Joel and B's just sitting there. It's time for the process. You bet. I'm ready. Cool. Well, that's been GM Street this week. Thanks, Lombardy. Thanks, Tate.