The Ringer NFL Show - Helmet-Rule Rumblings, Pittsburgh's New Impact Player, and Rams vs. Raiders | GM Street (Ep. 284)

Episode Date: August 21, 2018

The Ringer's Michael Lombardi and Tate Frazier take a look at the response around the league to the new helmet rule (01:00), Josh Allen taking over in Buffalo (18:30), Khalil Mack's and Aaron Donald's contract situations (33:30), and impressive players to watch this preseason (43:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Drive sober or get pulled over. Learn more at nitsa.gov. That's nitsa.gov. N-H-T-S-A dot GOV. Now, GM Street. Welcome to GM Street part of the Linger Podcast Network. It is Monday. It is August 20th. And there is a lot of things going on in the world of football and beyond.

And I am joined by the great Michael Lombardi. Lombardi, how you doing? Hi, I am doing great, Tate Fraser. How are you? I'm doing all right. It is Monday morning. There is a lot of news that is filtering through the world of NFL football, a lot of things to be discussed.

We want to talk about, obviously, the biggest storyline that has gone. Pretty nuclear this morning, I would say, and that is the helmet rule. And it should be subject for replay review, and obviously all the officials are talking. We got Richard Sherman talking. We got DJ Sweringer talking. We got all these different players and former players

and former officials coming out to the world. But we must say Lombardi, it is preseason. So we do throw the flags early and often. That's what the preseason is about. So don't fret right now, right? Wait before the season starts. Yeah, look, I mean, I think it's horrendous. I think they can't get it straight.

I think the interesting thing about the helmet rule is not going to be the global. It's going to be, and what happens during the season, so you're the game, and say you have Pete Morelli's crews doing your game, fire on this cruise called the, you know, holding seven times in seven games, you know, they call this, they call that, and you educate your staff on how they do it. Now, what I think's going to happen, taking it a step further is now that you see Morelli's crew, how they called the helmet rule, you're then going to show clips of what that we can globally factor in the, interference. When you're doing, again,

Morrelli's crew, you've got this back job. They handle down the field throws. Here's how they call pass interference. You educate your team on that as not necessarily as the Universal League. Because one thing we know for sure, they can't get past interference straight all the time. They're not going to get this helmet

rule straight all the time. So you have to look at how they handle it. And let's talk about it. So the competition committee is the group that came together and brainstorm this idea. The ultimate goal is to make the game safer. That's what they continue to say. with this. In theory, it is a good idea, right, to implement this rule, right? In theory, but we're talking about what actually happens on the field. And that's what Richard Sherman

came out. And he said that the rule is idiotic. He would love to see people on the competition committee try to run full speed and not lead with their head, which I would love to see as well. I think that should be its own show on the NFL network, just have the competition. You know, Riveron, just all these guys line them up and see what happens. But we're at this weird crossroad now because the play is not currently reviewable, which is really why there's so much criticism, because once a decision has been made, that is a final decision, right? That's the big issue. Yeah, I mean, I think ultimately, look, I think Richard Sherman's completely correct.

I see it on college football Saturdays. I mean, they can't get that. Like, at some point, if you've played the game, it's hard. So how can you do that? And I think that the way is only going to add more time to this game. It's going to make it much more difficult. Look, I want player safety as much as anybody. But I think there's some situations you just can't move your head.

And there's some that are fairly obvious. The other rule that I think is getting overlooked here, Tate Fraser, is the down-the-field block and offensive pass interference. I mean, they're taking away the quick-screen game as much as they can. These pick plays, you can pick in the NFL within a yard of the line of scrimmage. So when we see the goal line and guys are picking down there when the balls say inside the one, that's legal. But after a yard, you can't do it.

And I saw this weekend watching all the game tapes, I saw a ton. of offensive pass interference calls. I think they're going to have to get that straight, too. And is that something that you look at some of the teams that really use those pick plays to get guys opens? I mean, the New England Patriots are a team that definitely relies on that. I mean, do we see them trying to adjust, and they're trying to adjust to the way that games are being caught in this new season? I mean, Akie DeLeave came out and said, obviously, every single year, there's some sort of new initiative or some sort of new rule that we all have to adjust to, and we are professionals and we will adjust on the fly.

So is that something that you expect the Patriots offense with McDaniels? Or they do something different to try to get away from those plays if they see they're being called more for offensive bass interference? Or is it just keep with the same program, keep it going, and just see if it gets called? No, I think they're going to have to educate their players. And here's what they call. Here's what they don't call. Here's how they do it. And here's how we have to teach it.

Remember, football's a game of teaching. So the rules tell you what they're going to call. So you have to teach the game the way the rules. Now, what gets frustrating is when you do that and you teach it the way they tell you. tell you, and they still call it, you got a problem. And then you can call the league office and like, this is really bad. But for me, I think that you're not going to be able to, you're not going to change the game. They don't want Lyman downfield.

They're going to be very hard on that. This isn't college where you can just run five yards downfield and start blocking. So they're going to be very tight on that. You just have to spend time every day with your team, head coach, showing the team, this is what they're going to call. This is how they call it and educate your team that way. if not it's going to be a problem. And it has been a talking point, I think, just blocking in general, I saw the Jarvis Landry, the big block he had coming across

that people were freaking out over. It was such a big hit. I mean, it seems like it's been more of a talking point this preseason more so that it has been in the past for whatever reason. Yeah, they're trying to get it out of the game. I mean, most of the time, these pick plays, the defense is really complaining about it. And for good reason, I mean, there's a lot of times where you're like, whoa, that's not, you know, that's a pick play.

You know, when coaches designed it. I mean, look, oftentimes the umpire where he used to stand, the West Coast offense, would run pick plays off the umpire. They knew where he was going to be. They would run the route, stem the route to where he was going to be. They knew he moved backwards or moved up, depending on who the guy was, and they would run the route accordingly to fit it on. So, again, once you tell me the rules, it's my job to figure it out. I think the best scene for any coach to watch in pro football is from Apollo 13. when all those astronauts are sitting in the room

and a guy walks in there and he throws all this crap on a table and he says, we have to make this. You got to make this and then we've got to adjust to it. That's what great coaches do, and I think that's what they'll do. Yeah, professionals adjust on the fly, and that's what we expect to see.

Let's talk about a guy that is a quarterback that is in year two that is really getting the nod this year as the number one guy. Obviously last year, the waters were a little bit muddied with John Fox in the old regime and bringing in Mike Lennon.

But Mitchell Tribesky, the artist formerly known as Mitch. Now is the guy in Chicago, and we saw him Saturday night take on the Broncos. Unfortunately, his last pass was an interception, but he smiled after the game and said that there's a lot to learn and a lot to grow from. And it seems like this week, Nagy is,

they're putting in a real game plan for him going into this final game against the Chiefs, and they're going to let him call the game. Nagy said he's going to test the waters with Trubisky this week. So we're going to see the real Bears' offense. Trey Burton's been a nice bright spot who they brought in from Philadelphia. It's been a nice target,

a tight in for Trubisky, but this will be the first time we see this real Bears' offense and see where they really are heading into the season, right? Yeah, and I think this, and just watching Mitchell Trubisky play, I think he's got to run a very simplistic offense. I think he's got to run it over now. So we all understand this when, which is the West Coast College offense that Andy Reed took from Utah, from Urban Meyer, and he modified it into a favored Alex Smith's talents. So what he did here was he modified it. And so Alex Smith, when he came to the line of scrimmage, everything was checked with me. He was going to put him in a play. He had to change the play at the line of scrimmage. He had to change the protection. He changed the audit. He changed the cadence. He had to repoint the mic. There was about five things he had to do in that 15 second when he got to the line of scrimmage. That was what made the chief's offense so effective. Can Tribuski do that? From what I've seen in two weeks, no. And I think what Matt's doing, Matt Nagy's doing is smart. He's putting the on Trubisky to see what he can do it. He's not going to be able to do it. Trabisky needs a lighter load.

He's not going to get you in the right play at the line of scrimmage. And what concerns me most about Trabisky is he sprays the ball. His accuracy at times doesn't seem perfect, and it's all over the place. And I think he's going to have to modify this offense because I don't see him being able to be the Alex Smith at the line of scrimmage. Now, I think Burton gives them a great dimension. They've got better skill than they've ever had. and that skill allows the quarterback to understand where the coverages are. That's what makes skill players so effective. If you know you've got Gronk on the field and you line up three receivers away from Gronk

and they've got a linebacker out there covering Gronk or they got, you know, they don't have a double on Gronk. That's not a hard thing to figure out. We're throwing a ball to Gronk here, right? It's pretty simple. I mean, this is playground football. And so the bears do have enough weapons to handle it, but I think it's going to take some time for Tribisky to understand how to do all this stuff,

and I don't see him doing it. And I will say I have seen a lot of good reports out of camp about how much Chase Daniel, his backup quarterback in Chicago, has been involved in helping Nagy get some of those calls down to Trubisky and get him to disseminate that information to the rest of the team and to make the adjustments at the line. Trubisky is not a guy. He's only made what 17 starts in his career or something like that all time going back to high school and Mentor, Ohio. So there's going to be a learning curve with all this stuff as far as his time just being the quarterback on the field for a football team. and that's what they knew when they took him number two overall. And that goes back to the value at that pick at number two. I want to ask you, too, about just, I mean, Taylor Gabriel, obviously, is coming from,

returning from a foot injury. So he's been out. Alan Robinson, we saw him for the first time against the Broncos. That's good news for Bears fans to have a real threat at receiver out there on the field for them. So there are some bright spots. And then obviously, Tareke Cohen in the backfield is a guy that they have a nice little rapport. Those guys came in his rookies together and showed good signs last year. And unfortunately, that was the guy that he threw the pick to to end his night against the Broncos.

I think there are some bright spots with the Bears and Trubisky, at least, you know, for some Bears fans in the preseason to be excited. I'm trying to be an optimistic. I think there's no doubt. I think it's really going to be a work in progress. I think it's, he's not going to, what I'm saying here is he's not going to run Kansas City's offense. He's going to have to run the Mitchell-Tribisky version of Kansas City's offense.

And the true talent of Matt Nagy as a head coach is going to be to figure that out. They're going to have to run the ball because Trubisky is going to be a play-action past quarterback. It's going to have to be high-low reads. It's going to have to be very simple. for him. He's not coming to the line of scrimmage to change the play and to get him in the right play and do Tom Brady and motion this guy over here. Re-route the protection. Make sure we got this. Who's not blocked? I know what I'm doing here. That ain't going to happen. I'm just telling you that. I can tell you that from there. It's still remarkable for me that they picked Trubisky over to Sean Watson. I'm not bitter. I'm just being honest. It's remarkable. Imagine if you had Deshaunson Watson on his team now. In Chicago. Yeah. And I mean, he'd be like the new Michael Jordan of Chicago at this point. there is still obviously some promise there and a lot to watch in Chicago. I want to talk about Deshawn Watson and Jimmy Garapolo because we saw those two guys go head to head and put up.

I mean, just some flabbergassing numbers to shock some people and get people talking about just to watch out for with those two. I mean, they look like franchise quarterbacks. It looks like the 49ers and the Texans have both found their guys. And they came in and handled business and got out of the games. And it was light work to say the least for both those guys. So just seeing those two guys that look like the future of quarterback in the NFL, at least for the next four or five years. I'm excited about the NFL.

I don't think, I mean, I know we're going to get we get caught up in a lot of other things in the NFL, the helmet rule, you know, the national anthem, all these things. And certainly some of this is important that we discussed. But to me, I don't think there's been a better time in the NFL in my career where there's a lot of young talent, just ready to blossom. And I think Deshaun Watson and Jimmy Garoppolo, just watching that game. I don't care. It's the preseason.

Jimmy Garoplo made three throws in that game. that are rare to make, and he did it in a matter of instinct. And same thing with Deshaun Watson. I mean, we're now entering into an era of the NFL. You can put Patrick Mahomes in this. Maybe he'll come through for it. Sam Donald, perhaps, Josh Rosen. There's a lot of young talent in this league.

You know, Ben Roth time in the NFL, and Garoppolo and Watson were just, wow. They were wow factors. And just the way he handled himself, Watson, you'd never know he's coming off an injury. Garopolo's got complete control of the offense, and it fits them perfectly. I think it's an exciting time to be an NFL fan.

It really is. I think the game is just going to explode with these talent. I think it's going to be a really challenge to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL to figure out how to stop some of these good quarterbacks. Because remember this, St. Fraser, the only way to stop a quarterback is not through coverage. It's through how you rush the passer,

how you control them in the pocket. And some of these guys are hard to control in the pocket. And we should say, Jimmy Garapolo, I don't know when that revisionist history will happen when we start looking back at how that all played out, how he got traded out of New England. But they have to be kicking themselves a little bit, right, to see how successful he already is with the 49ers

and he's already making that team look like they're an actual contender, not only in the NFC West, but in the NFC in general, right? Yeah, I mean, it's remarkable. I mean, look, you know, people say, Hey, Lombardi, relax, it's the preseason. No, I'm sorry. He won five games last year. Yeah.

You can see in the preseason that are different. You can see it. And, you know, and I think that the greatest in, I think Jalen Ramsey gave the 49ers. Really, he was not doing it at 49ers ram. We're attacking our scheme. Yeah, that's right. That's why Kyle Shanahan's so good. That's why Kyle Shanahan understands that when you play a Seattle-based defense

or you play a Jacksonville-based defense, you don't run what we call beaters. You run play investments in the coverage. You don't run beaters. You run what attacks the adjustments. That's what Kyle Shanahan can do. That's what Josh McDaniels can do. That's what really good offensive coordinators do. They just don't run the adjustment.

beaters. When you combine the talent of Garoppolo with the talent of the sky's the limit. Look, I think Sean McVeigh did a remarkable job. I didn't think it was going to happen with Jared Goff. He did a lot of play action. But really, when you break it down, McVeigh elevated that player to a level where he could attack the coverages and make it happen. And I think that that's really the difference. And that's why I'm excited about Grappolo. I'm excited about Watson. I'm excited about the NFL right now in terms of where we are. Now, I'm not excited about a lot of the backup quarterbacks, but I'm telling you, the starting quarterbacks, if they stay healthy, it's going to be an unbelievable league.

Yeah, it's a lot of quick rhythm passing, and it looks like guys that it comes easy to him. When you watch Desaun Watson play, when you watch Jimmy Garoppelope, like the quarterback position, it doesn't look like it's a headache or burden on them. It seems like the ball's quickly getting out of their hands, and there's no concerns at all. I will say this. One of the funniest things I think has been going on, we talked about Tribiskey earlier. He keeps getting compared to Steve Young by some of the local Chicago, Chicago media people they keep calling him, you know, Steve Young. Jimmy Garapolo, you know, that's probably closer to a Steve Young comparison as far as getting rid of the football and making it look easy.

So that's where we are. We're going to take a quick break and we're going to come back and we're going to hit on some of these other quarterbacks and some of the shocking news for some of the rookie quarterbacks that are shooting up depth charts heading into the final week of the preseason. Quick break to get a word from our sponsor Yahoo Fantasy Football this NFL season. Be your GM. Be a winning GM. Turn this season into a fistful of epic wins by joining a Yahoo Fantasy Football League. Yahoo has spent the offseason making serious upgrades to enhance your experience. Upgrades like easier scoring, new trophies, and a buttery smooth app experience.

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And just like that, we're back. We are talking about a quarterback in Buffalo, the rookie that everyone has had their eyes on. He is a very tall quarterback that looks good in the pocket. That's what you continue to hear about Josh Allen in Buffalo. Unfortunately we saw A.J. McCarran go down with an injury. So he is out indefinitely for the time being. And then we have Nate Peterman,

the five-pick Peterman, the new Jake Dallone. He is right there in Buffalo as well. So Josh Allen looks like the guy that will get the nod to be the starter in Buffalo if all things go according to plan right now. What do you think about Josh Allen as a rookie and what we've seen in the preseason and what he can do in Buffalo starting out day one, which looks like is possible at this point? You know, a couple injuries away from being a good team. And I think no disrespect to AJ McCarran at all, but you know, I think that this is good for Buffalo. Buffalo wanted to go with a veteran quarterback.

They wanted time for Josh Allen to learn, but I think Josh Allen shows enough skill. Now, he's a wild athlete. I mean, he's got great athleticism. I thought his accuracy has improved in two weeks. It's going to be a work that work in progress now. Bill Walsh used to say this all the time. Let's lose games in September playing young kids

because we'll win those games in December when it matters. And I think that's really the philosophy that you should take now the NFL. Play the younger kids now. Let them develop, let them learn. And if you're Brian Daybald and you're watching this Buffalo offense, you have to find a way to incorporate what Josh Allen can do because you're eventually going to build an offense around Josh Allen. You were never building an offense around A.J. McCarran. You're not going to build an offense around Nate Peterman. You're eventually going to build an offense around Josh Allen, just like Chicago's got to build one around Trubisky. Houston's built one around Watson and

Kyle Shanahan's built one around Garapolo. You're building, even Jacksonville's built one around Blake Bortles. They take him out of the game, basically. They try to eliminate anything he can do to screw him up. But for the most part, that's what you do. And I think this move, this injury allows Buffalo to move it up.

Will it make them a better team? Probably make them eventually a better team, yes. Tay Fraser, before you were born. You don't even remember this term. There was a, there was for running the flex defense, which was when they kept defensive linemen, like kept them like two yards, looked like they were playing in Canada. And when Tom Landry first became the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he was running

the flex. And everybody was saying to him, you can't run the flex. You don't have the players to run the flex. And he's saying, look, I'm going to install my system. I'm going to run this system because eventually when I do get better players, these players will be better. The system will work. And I think that's kind of what you have to do with the quarterback. You've got to put him in there and then install the system around them because eventually you're going to find out he can do it or you're going to find out he can't do it. And you know what's really good? Sometimes finding out that he can't do it because you have to move on. And I will say this.

I mean, I think the most encouraging sign for Josh Allen for people that have watched in play so far is that he does have the ability to avoid tacklers. He's not a – you know, he's almost a playmaker in the pocket in and of itself. You know, he's not afraid to deliver the ball down field and make a couple moves. I mean, they have him doing this little like small ball offense, like quick, short throws, get out of his hand, creating a rhythm for him. I mean, they're doing all the things to make it work to make it easy on him going in to this season. So if you're a Bill's fan, you have to feel encouraged by that at least.

Yeah, no, I think if the Bill's fans, you're excited. Look, I think Sean McDermott's a good young head coach. I think he's got a really good feel for it. His defenses are always going to be well coached. They're going to create turnovers. Do I think they're the most talented team, no? But I think they've got the right idea. He's culture first, which, you know, for me is most important. And I think that's what's going to separate them. And I think he'll do a great job eventually. Now, it's going to be some growing pains. Let's face it's going to be some growing pain for the New York Tets. There's going to be growing pains for every young quarterback that goes through it. You just got to live through it. Remember, this time last year, Houston played Tom Savage,

and they only went to Deshawn Watson because they had to, not because they wanted to, because Savage was so bad. And I think that sometimes those injuries make you do things you're not ready to do, but it's probably the best thing to do. I just want to ask you, too, about, I mean, we got McDermott, Dermott, Shantahan, McVeigh, all these young coaches that are here that are offensive minds that are making it easier on their quarterbacks and letting them, you know, sort of grow into the position rather than just throwing it all on the table and seeing what happens and letting them, you know, kind of throw themselves out of the league, which I think is very interesting because these young guys are, they're sort of courting them into the league, which is nice. Yeah, no, and I mean, McDermann knows he's going to be good on defense.

You know, one thing about Carolina's style of defense, which is now in Buffalo, they'll defend the run. They create turnovers. They're really good in the red zone. And if you don't get behind in games too quickly in the game, then your young quarterback has to start doing things. And the burden of the game falls on his lap. That's not what you want. You want them to grow into the position. But there's things that you can see in these preseason games that are very clear that you can indicate that the guy got a chance to be a good player.

And I think Josh Allen has showed enough that, hey, look, the alternative is Nate Piederman. Nothing against Nathan Pederman, but I think your futures with Josh Allen. Yeah, absolutely. Let's talk about the future of the Denver Broncos because they're in sort of a similar predicament as far as they have to figure out who their quarterback is. They did sign Case Keenham in the offseason. I think Saturday against the Bears, he finally kind of made it known. that he, there is no controversy in Denver at this point. I think Case Keenham is now officially going to be the starter for the Denver Broncos, right?

Did he make that statement on Saturday? I don't know, but I mean, I don't think they have any option. Right now we know Paxton Lynch is going to be, Paxon Lynch is in trouble making the team, forget about being a second quarterback. I mean, he's played himself off the team the way you just watch him in the preseason. And, you know, Chad Kelly's done a really good job, I think so, because I think he's shown that he's got rhythm to his game, he's got a great arm, he's got Moxie, he understands how to play the position, he can read it,

it out, you know, and so I just think to me, you know, right now, Case Keenham's in that job by default. I think the question, John, I always got to answer is how good is Case Keenom? How good can this team be with Case Keenum run under center? And I think that's got to have them a little bit worried right now. And I just want to ask you, I mean, that is a team that is obviously, you know, they've built everything on the defensive side of the football. They take Bradley Chub, they put him there with Von Miller. I mean, how much of a quarterback do they really need is Case Keenum all they really need just to facilitate to keep them in the game, you know, where we're trying to play a 25-minute game

with our defense? I think to me it's going to be, you know, he doesn't, like, look, so far this year, and I think there's times last year, case hasn't thrown the ball with accuracy and tough and from the pocket. Now, he did some great things from Minnesota, and they won with their defense in the running game. I think a lot of it's going to fall on, Ken, they don't fall behind.

How good is the defense? You know, when you get Vaughn Miller back out there with Bradley Chubb, I think they'll be much better with John Gruton and Oakland. They'll understand how to attack them. The Chargers know how to attack. I think you've got some teams, and of course, Andy Reid, he does a great job of doing that. So I'm not sure you can just, I think if you're in Denver, the way what he's looked like so far back, and that's got to worry a little bit.

Absolutely. I mean, we've seen Denver make the big splashing move before. Obviously, the biggest one that comes in mind is Peyton Manning, but is there a world in which Denver is still in the market, and we see, you know, maybe a guy like a Teddy Bridgewater or, you know, Brissette, any of these other, you know, second guys that are sort of in the pecking order to get another starting opportunity? is there a chance that they go after one of those guys if they don't believe case is, you know, the number one guy in Denver now?

I think if I'm John Elway, I'm looking at trying to solve this for the long term. I'm not sure they're willing to do that since they paid case a lot of money and they've got to give it a ride. It's too early, two games. But to me, I feel the league slipping away from me. I see Patrick Mahomes, you know, forget that he threw the ball 70 yards in the air. Just Patrick Mahomes' raw talent is something that you're going to have to contend with in Kansas City. Then you look at Derek Carr and you're saying, oh my gosh, this guy's really talented. So now I've got two quarterbacks who have enormous arms and enormous talent that I have to beat twice.

that's going to be a challenge. And then you look around the AFC and the NFC and see these young quarterbacks. It's an arms race, and you're getting behind in the arms race, and I think that becomes a problem. And I'm not sure that Casey Keenham gives you that answer, and I think that Elway's going to have to make some tough decisions.

Paxton Lynch was supposed to be the answer. He's not. Paxton Lynch is not worthy of making the team right now for me, even if he's the third, because you're not putting him in the game. You're not putting him in the game, and which you're telling him if you're drafted high, you'll make the team.

That's not a good message. No, that is not. stick. And I also want to ask, you know, Chad Kelly was the last pick of the 2017 NFL draft. Mr. Irrelevant is what they get coined with that nickname. And we bring him into the league. He was a guy that was at Clemson with Deshawn Watson there before, ends up getting dismissed from the team, goes to Old Miss in the end, and now he ends up here. You talked about playing younger guys and just throwing them out there. I mean, if Denver goes in the season, feels like they're not an actual contender out in the AFC. Is there, I mean, could they just play

Chad Kelly and just see what happens with the rookie and just throw it out there and see if it hits? No, I don't think they can because if they're not a contender, then we know Van Scho's have lost his job. I don't think he always sees his team as a non-contentor. I think he sees his team as a defensive stronghold that he can win if he plays an altitude. I mean, three of the first four games in Denver at home.

So they always seem to get that advantage. They start early at home and they build that record and then you make the team's confidence as they move forward. So, no, I don't think those things that we're going to look forward are going to save Van's Joseph's job or they're going to be if they go to Chad Kelly, there'll be a new head coach going in there and some time soon. And even though I think Chad Kelly has shown enough,

I think he should get a lot more reps. I think he's clearly beaten out this backup quarterback as the number two quarterback. I think it's going to take some time to really understand how good is he missing the year of football and what he brings to the table. Let's talk about another guy that has a lot of eyes on him this season, mainly because one of his top targets, AJ Green, is going out to the world and letting people know that he believes he is one of the best receivers in football. And we don't hear much from AJ Green,

so he's getting a little bit of publicity over here in this lane. But Andy Dalton is a big talking point, not just because about the Buffalo, when they donated all the money to him, you know, for throwing that pick to get them in the playoffs. That's obviously his own story. But Andy Dalton,

this is really a make-it-or-break-a-year. I think we've said that the past three years, but this is really the last, it has to be the last line, right, for Andy Dalton and him being the starting quarterback in Cincinnati? When you watch him play, yeah, when you watch him play against Dallas, you're just wondering,

is he got enough ability to lead this team? I mean, Dallas was playing fast, on defense and, you know, Dalton was struggling to get first downs. I mean, it was a good, it was a good test for him, and he just really didn't answer it. And when he plays against teams that are fast, can he make those plays? I mean, I think the same thing, a nauseam on this podcast. But, you know, look, when you watch him play against Minnesota against a really good defense and he struggles, you have to be concerned because ultimately you're building your team to win a title. You're building your team to beat somebody. You're building your team

in the NBA to beat the Warriors. And can we beat them with this, you know, with Borda around the league and see some of these young quarterbacks you're saying to yourself, wait a minute, we're slowly getting worse and worse, just staying where we are. And I think it takes courage, and it takes a conviction to do that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's talk

about the Chiefs offense, and what's going on there. So we got Pat Mahomes that takes over for Alex Smith. You talk about the college West Coast offense. We saw some big explosive plays. I think it was like a 69-yard touchdown deep ball thrown from Mahomes to Tyree Kill. They got a lot of people talking about

what the Chief will look like now post Alex Smith. What have you seen from Andy Reid in the preseason? What have you just seen from this offense? I mean, it looks like it's more of the same, but Mahomes can do some, obviously, some things in the pocket that Alex Smith didn't quite do with the long ball. Look, I think the Chiefs are doing one of the great high jobs of all time. I think they're working on an offense there at their practice facility

that's going to be different than what we've ever seen. They're holding back, and I would be worried to open up with them. The Chargers open up with them. I would be worried about them because I think they've got enough skill. I'm not a huge Sammy Watkins fan, but they've got enough skill with their team, create matchups where Mahomes can read the coverage fairly well, they can run the football effectively,

he can make every throw on the field. You have to defend every blade of how they motivate it. No, Reed's smart enough to know. He's not coming to the line of scrimmage, and he's going to just run whatever he wants to run, and Patrick's going to get them in the right play. That ain't going to happen. So he's going to design an offense

where he's going to formation you to declare what you're doing, and then tell Mahomes, hey, here's where we're going to read, this. We're here. We think they're going to play this coverage. I want you to high-low this. Same thing what Sean McBade did with Jared Gough. A lot of play action. You know, when you study Jared Gough, it's mostly all play action. And play action separates the defense and allows the quarterback just to utilize his skill set as a

thrower to hit the open receiver. And I think that's what you're going to see in Kansas. I would be scared of death play Kansas in the opener. I think they're hiding things that are going to create some problems. And I will say this about Kansas City. You know, it wasn't just the offense that, you know, hurt them last year down the stretch. I mean, they did not have people in the middle of that field to help them out. Derek Johnson was aging out. He was about 35 last year. And they replaced him with Anthony Hitchens.

That defense looks like it's shirt up a little bit. And I think that's something to keep an eye on on both sides of the ball with the Kansas City Chiefs, because I think they are going to sneak up on some people this year, definitely both on offense and on defense. We're going to take one more break here and then we're going to come back. We're going to talk about how teams are managing all their quarterbacks this preseason, talk about some up-and-coming stars. And talk a little bit about Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald and where they are with that. their current contract situations.

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of a million bucks. It's not that bad. That's Code Ringer, only at Draft Kings. The game inside the game. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com slash pickem for details back to GM Street. And we're back. A lot of preseason football this weekend. Probably the biggest game out here on the West Coast. We are in Los Angeles, California. The game that had all eyes was Shaw-McVeigh versus John Gruden, the

ultimate showdown in the preseason. Both those guys had so many split shots on both sides of how they're running the games, John Gruden's laughing, you know, got his own big, you know, piece of paper. He's writing down notes. McVeigh is, you know, very stoic, not moved by many things, very even killed the entire time. But it was very fun to watch those two guys manage the game opposite one another. But the bigger story, though, is just being able to see Jared Goff is obviously not playing in these preseason games. And that kind of comes to a larger discussion about how different teams manage their franchise quarterbacks.

And I want to ask you, Lombardi, you see Goff not playing. As a Rams fan, is that fine by you? or is that just an interesting wrinkle where they just want to keep Goff healthy and get to the season? I go either way on this. I'm not sure. For me, you know, Brady played a half in week two, and I thought that was the right thing to do. He didn't play in week one. I think he needs reps. I think he needs game reps to play. And then Wilson did the same thing. He played reps you're getting against other people now. In the Rams situation, look, they open up with the Raiders in the first game of the year. Like how bad is the NFL for scheduling a preseason game and then the opening game?

I mean, that does nobody. And then they talk about the quality of play in the preseason. I mean, really, seriously, that's just not fair. So, you know, they can't really show anything. They're not going to do anything. And for golf to David Carter play would have probably been dumb. So, you know, last year with the Rams, they played their guys a little bit in the preseason. Golf got some confidence. I think this week he's going to have to play.

But everybody's managed them different. Now, for the Rams, you know, they practice against Baltimore. So they had that work. So they were able to do those things. And I think that helps whenever you can get some, you know, the Raiders practice against Detroit, that gets them some help. So anytime you can do some of that, I think it alleviates having to play in the game as much. But I think ultimately game reps are important.

It'll be fascinated to see how golf does it. When you play in September, you know, these games are going to be decided in the last eight minutes of the game. Every team in September thinks they're going to the Super Bowl. Every team is playing their ass off for 60 minutes. You get in December, you know, some of those teams, they'll play for 30 minutes and then, okay, we lost. We're no good. We're going home. But in September, there's a sense of urgency with everybody, and they're playing their ass off.

And conditioning is really the key component of winning games in September. It's the most important factor. And when you watch the games and see some teams that aren't in what great condition, you're saying, how can they got to hold up? I mean, September games are hot. They're humid. They wear you down. And you might play good for a half, but that last eight minutes of the fourth quarter are going to determine the outcome of most of these games in September. and if you're not in condition where your best players are on the field, you lose out.

And the only way you get into football condition is to play football. It's hard to do. When you see teams don't condition during training camp, you start to worry. And does that concern you ever as a GM? So say this is, you know, Sean McVeigh, this is his stance. He doesn't think Jared needs to play and he wants to keep him out. Is there any point where you step in and say, I still want to see him in pads, you know, doing something else? If he's not going to play in the preseason game, I want to see him doing something to let us know that he's where he needs to be for week one.

Or is that just too far? He's got a plan. I'm sure he's talked about it. You trust McVeigh with his plan because he's done a good job. Look, McVe is smart enough to know that what he did with the Rams last year. He's got to change a little bit. He's got to alter. He knows people are onto his plays or what he wants to do because they've studied the rant.

Look, there was no team studied more in the offseason than the Los Angeles Rams. Every team in the NFL broke every play from the Rams down. They wanted to know what Sean McBay was doing. They wanted to know how he did it, how he called the game, what he did. So they've been well scouted. throughout the national football league. Now he knows he's going to have to adjust and modify a little bit, and I think he's just holding back on those because he can't really show them to really.

They got off to a fast start last year. They were tough to play. I think that that really played in their favor. And this year, I think he needs to understand that, hey, look, here's what I'm going to do, and here's how I'm going to play it. A season game against the opening team, you've got to play not very good. Yeah, and I want to talk about the Ramsens we're here. We're talking about Wade Phillips on the other side of the ball.

I mean, Keith-Talib did a sideline interview during that game against the Raiders, And they were asking him about, you know, why is it good to play with Wade? And his Wade finds, you know, your strengths, put you in positions to look good. Basically, he knows what you're good at and wants to make you look good. And that's why people like playing for Wade. But I just want to ask about that defense. We're waiting for Aaron Donald to come back. We obviously have Peters.

We have Talib. We have Indom Kinsu. We have so many personalities that are now on that Rams defense. And it's obviously going to be a new look Rams defense once the season actually clicks in. But what is the Donald situation now? Because it could be one of those things where we don't even see Aaron Donald, right, if this thing continues to drag out. Well, we were told, you know, Lesneeds said about a week ago or two weeks ago that it was getting close.

And that's nothing that I'm hearing from the people I'm talking to around the NFL. It's not close. And Khalil Mack's not close at all. I think Khalil Mack has a better chance to be traded. I don't think Aaron Donald would be traded. But I think if somebody's willing for Khalil Mack is twofold, you've got to satisfy the Raiders because they're going to want a first round pick. And then you've got to go over and pay back money. I mean, we know Mack wants north of $20 million.

You're trading for their headache, right? You're trading for their problem. That's right. And it's not going to go away. Now you get a good player, but now you're paying $22 million, let's say, if you acquiesce to him, or Aaron Donald, you know, some people think he wants close he wants in the mid-20s, does he? But he certainly wants a lot of money, and you're going to have to pay such a dominant part of their thing. And Sue a better player, and I know Sues have got a dominant reputation, and he can destroy things when he's going and humming. But Donald's a different kind of guy. These are one of those problems that are just not going to go away. I do see the Raiders trade Mac eventually. no one they're going to have to pay. My question to you about the Aaron Donald situation is, obviously we still have Goff on the rookie contract until 2020. This is good news for the franchise.

You're basically playing with borrowed time at this point. But what if Donald is just your quarterback, right? I mean, maybe he's not the QB by position on the depth chart, but they say this is the guy we're going to give $25 million. This is the guy we're going to give $20 plus million and say, okay, you're our franchise player. Why does it have to be golf? But they've got to have to pay golf.

I mean, they're going to go on with Sean Manning as to as good as Coach of Sean McVey has proven out to be that they are on defense. You know, they need a backup quarterback there too. So eventually they're going to have to, you know, they got to pay golf and they think golf is a top 10 quarterback. Even though we know, I know, he was the worst quarterback in the playoffs last year

by QBR rating. And when he played against better defenses, he wasn't as effective. And when he has to throw the ball to his right, it's not the same as when he does. So I'm not down on, I'm not killing golf. I just think to me, I don't see golf as paying him the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, but I think the Rams have to do that because that's the way the Rams see it, not the way I see them.

They're going to lock themselves in a corner because eventually you've got to budget your team around what you have to pay. You can't put your head in the sand and say, oh, well, we'll pay golf when we get to it. No, you've got to build your team around his salary, around Donald's salary, and around the other guy's salary that you know you need on the team. So we're getting no Brady. They could have $100 million tied up in three players. Imagine that.

I know. That's what I'm saying, but we're getting no Brady discount from golf, right? He's not going to come out and say, I don't need the $1,000. 25 to 30 minutes. I think this year's going to say a lot about it. I think this year is going to tell us a lot about that. I really do. It'll be interesting to watch.

And also, you mentioned the Khalil Mack trade situation. Is there any team that kind of stands out to you as a team that needs a pass rusher? I mean, obviously the Dallas Cowboys are a team that always comes up in any sort of conversation like this. But a team that legitimately could use a Kalil Mack to make a real run at a championship, having an elite pass rusher like that on their team. Well, I think to me, anytime you have, you go. after a Mac, you've got to have a quarterback that can get the lead. So Mac's the perfect

compliment to a really good offense. So like say, Indianapolis was a fit for Mac because they need that Detroit, even though I don't think it fits what Patricia does on defense would be a nice fit for them. Green Bay, you know, to me, Green Bay would really use Mac because they get Rogers to get the lead and they need a

dominant pass rush where the protection's going to slide to and how are you going to get that? So that could shift the balance of power there. Hey, look, Seattle could use it. Seattle right now, to me, is behind defensively. They're not the same team because their defensive front isn't as dominant as it once was. But I don't

think they're going to trade them. I'll come down to a team. Yeah, so we'll keep an eye on that. Let's talk about some of the just up-and-coming guys, some names that you may not know that are sort of standing out in the preseason. The first name I want to throw out was a name that you brought up, you know, dating back to the draft and beyond James Washington

with the Steelers. He is, he continues to prove that he is going to be a perfect fit up in Pittsburgh, and I know that you love watching him play. And he's shown, you know, five catches 114 yards, two touchdowns. Those are the stat lines he's putting up in the preseason so far. Yeah, I mean, I thought the guy's been sensational, and I think he's only going to get better.

Jujuster's there, you know, he's going to get the ball. I mean, people say, well, how's Washington can get the ball? Well, look, everybody's going to double brown. The ball's going somewhere else. And I think Washington can go get the ball. Those 50-50 catches he can go make, and I think he's smart enough to fit right into the offense. I think that was a great pick.

I thought it then. And, you know, look, I think this Anthony Miller pick in Chicago looks like he could be a really good player. I think there's a lot of good young receivers that you're seeing around the league that look like they have some talent. I mean, that's the good thing about these preseason games. Guys get a chance to compete and make plays for the ball, and you've got to love it. I think Carson, the runnerback for Seattle, I thought he looks like a legitimate big-time running back watching him run against the Chargers last week. I thought he was great.

I want to bring up one other young rookie wide receiver, or not a rookie, is in his second year now, but a guy we didn't see last year as a rookie. That was Mike Williams with the Chargers. I know this is his only catch that he had had. He had the 25-yard ridiculous acrobatic catch for a touchdown, and that was his one reception of the night. But it just showed the signs of this guy is the top 10 type talent, and he might keep an eye on him.

Kenyon Drake is another running back. You brought up Carson in Seattle with Miami. I think Kenyon Drake has looked like a real legitimate back down there in Miami is another guy that stood out to me. There's a bunch of names. I mean, Patterson with the Patriots, right? I mean, I think he's some signs. I mean, Cordell's a guy that, you know, he's got all the talent in the world.

They filmed a bubble screen last week. He got a touchdown on. He's hard to tackle, big guy, hard always to get lined up with him and Britt. I think Brits fall in too far behind to make that team now because he's been hurt with a hamstring. But Patterson has proven that they can utilize his skill set on the quick game and maybe vertically down the field

to give them somebody who could replace what Cooks did a little bit of. I mean, what people forget about it wasn't good against press. Patterson's better against press. And one more name. This is a defensive name that I have to throw out there. There's a little bit of a Homer pick. You'll be upset about this. but MJ Stewart with the Buccaneers.

He forced two fumbles early on against the Titans. I think he's another name that's really kind of shocked me. He's played so well from what I've seen at the Buccaneers. Are there any other names defensively that have stood out to you? There's a kid of Houston that I started watching. Seth Payne was telling me about him the other day, and I start watching Houston's tape. And I mean, look, if you're the Houston Texans

and you didn't have a first round pick and you didn't have a second round pick, you know, you didn't have very many draft picks. and then all of a sudden in the sixth round, you pick a kid named, asking his name. The guy's been unbelievable. He's covering kicks. He's making tackles all over the place.

You know, he's going to be part of their front seven. I mean, he's clearly going to make their team. And, you know, when you get that kind of guy in the sixth round, you're saying yourself,

well, wait a minute, that's a three-run homer right there. And I think that's another guy to add to this already good Houston defense, which is coming back. Absolutely, absolutely. And we sort of just go around.

I mean, some of the other rookies that have stood out, Duran Payne, a guy with the Redskins that we remember from Alabama and what he did in the national title game. He's had a good preseason so far, showed some signs. And I want to talk about maybe two guys that are almost lost in the shuffle at this point as we get so close to the season. That's Adrian Peterson, who is now going to go and report to Washington. And then Des Bryant, who is still out and about in the world, and the Cleveland Browns are a team that's still

flirting with the idea of bringing him into their wide receiver room. But those two guys are two huge names in the football world, but they're still free agents still not signed, even though AP, I think, just signed with the Redskins to help them. I mean, if I'm AP, I would, before I'd sign with the Redskins, I want to guarantee that I'm going to make the team. The worst thing it can happen, AP, is that he doesn't make the Redskins, then his career's over.

You know, I would want to make the deal that I'm making this team before I sign. I guaranteed my deal. It's guaranteed. I'm on the team, and, you know, because he's not going to do the things they need him to do in a passing game, and does he have any gas left in his tank? And then, Brian, to me, and I said, this back in April when he got cut. Bryant needs to be in a camp. I mean, Bryant needs reps. He needs to get in condition. He needs to do the things that will help make him a receiver.

Sean Payton did a great job of inventing a position. Hot receiver. Anquon Bolden did it for Baltimore. It was Colson, right? The Marcus Colson position. Mark Colston did it. It's that position. It's not a tight end and it's not a really a wide receiver who can win on the out. That's really what Des can do right now. Go inside, show toughness, catch the ball against maybe smaller defensive backs and win down the middle of the field. And that would be the perfect spot for him, but if he's not in a camp,

it's hard to get him trained to play in there. It's not as easy. He's always played on the right side of the defense. He's always played out a deal. Then he needs to get into camp because the longer he's out, it's only going to be hard on him. Yeah, absolutely.

That's something to keep an eye on. We'll see what happens. Obviously, we're going to be talking about hard knocks when we do our Wednesday episode. We'll break down what we see in that episode to see if Dorsey brings up the idea of bringing in Dez. Obviously, Josh Gordon will be back in camp in Cleveland, so that'll

be something to watch. We've been doing these updates as far as like the worst team in, as morbid as that is, the worst team in the NFL as we go through. Yeah, I saw ESPN RAN, CSPN ran and they said Miami was, they agreed with me that Miami was. You know, I don't know. I think it's hard for me to imagine

a team, you know, could win a game if they lost their starting quarterback. Yeah, what is CJ Bethard going to do if Jimmy G goes down, you know? I mean, that'll change everything. I've seen that before they didn't win a game. I saw that before they didn't the game. Absolutely. So you're going to stick with the dolphins, the dolphins of the team? I'm on the dolphins right now. I'm based on what I've seen in the preseason

so far, you know, I'm not sold on, you know, I think Miami's, you know, I don't think there's Tampa Bay. I think Tampa Bay is my pick. Even though I'm not in love with Ryan Fitzpatrick, I think they'll come back and compete. I just, to me right now, I think Miami's got some holes on defense. They can't

play a, they're not physical on defense. They have to play a certain way. And I think it's going to be tough on them. Look, I think if Cleveland doesn't get their situations handled a quarterback, you know, they're always going to be in play here. But for me, right now, I would say Miami. I think Washington's a dark horse, just with all the injuries. And then they just have a lot of injuries coming out of camp. They always do. They're not in good shape. I mean, nobody wants to talk about it, but they're not in good shape. The Redskins team is not in

good shape. I mean, they're not demanded. I mean, look, Jay Gruden's got, you know, he's running his offense, but if you talk to anybody around the league, attention to details not happening in Washington. So I think that's a good call, Tate Fraser. And they lost a lot of guys last year. Yes. And part of the reason they lose guys is because they're not in great shape. Yeah, we've seen P. Ryan go down. I mean, the entire running back room for them right now is pretty much out of commission, unfortunately, if you're a big Jay Gruden fan. We will be back Wednesday.

We will be talking hard knocks. We'll be talking random storylines around the NFL, and we're getting close, Mike Lombardi to the start of NFL football season. Yes. Looking forward to it. Of course. We'll see you Wednesday. This has been GM Street, part of the Ringar Podcast Network. Thanks for listening.

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