The Ringer NFL Show - Team Makeovers | Dual Threat

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

The Dream Team returns to make over some of the the most talked-about teams of the offseason by helping them in the draft, adding veteran free agents, and discussing all the ways for them to improve in the upcoming season. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out rg-help.com to find out more, or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Hosts: Nora Princiotti, Austin Gayle, Lindsay Jones, and Steven Ruiz Producer: Stefan Anderson Additional Production Supervision: Arjuna Ramgopal and Conor Nevins Musical Elements: Devon Renaldo Social: Kiera Givens and Eduardo Ocampo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL draft this year. My name is Ben Solac and I host the Ringer NFL Draft Show with Danny Kelly, Danny Hypatts, and Craig Horlebeck. We cover trades, free agency, and the draft, which is, yeah, obviously. We'll tell you about everything, which includes which quarterbacks are good, which quarterbacks are bad and which quarterbacks are just Kirk Cousins. That is the Ringer NFL Draft show. Search the Ringer NFL Draft show on Spotify. Hello and welcome to Duel Threat on the Ringer NFL show feed. I'm Nora Pinsiati and I am joined by this fabulous crew of Stephen Ruiz. Austin Gale and Lindsay Jones. Austin, how are you doing today?

Doing fantastic. We're going to start this podcast off without existential dread, I think. I think that's where I want to start, and I hopefully, that's where we finish. That's great. That's great. I'm glad to hear it. I'm glad to hear it. Stephen and Lindsay, we're feeling good. We're not contemplating death and our impending legacy in the afterlife. No, I'm feeling good. I want to live for at least one more month, see how the draft shakes out, and then we'll revisit. That's great. That's great. Love that type of optimism. This is going to be an optimistic show. So I'm glad that we're all feeling in a positive mood because we're going to do some team makeovers. We each have a team and we

have each brought for our respective teams a draft move, a veteran move. So, you know, maybe that's a trade for agent signing. Everyone has been encouraged to be creative with this. And then just a grab bag, miscellaneous, maybe that has to do with the coaching staff. Maybe it has to do with some type of programming in the off season. Maybe it has to do with some sort of approach to training camp, just some sort of free-for-all third category. That will help our teams take a leap in 2024. And so the teams that we have, Lindsay has the Cowboys, I have the Jets, Austin has the Eagles, and Stephen has the Steelers.

And so these team makeovers are kind of like, I'm thinking of them as like 90s rom-com makeovers. Like she's already beautiful. We're just going to straighten her hair and take off her glasses. These are teams that had some degree of expectations or accomplishments are not, you know, not in the top five of the draft, not looking to rebuild an entire roster. But these are the teams that are sort of in that,

that pivot area of the league where if you keep it moving in the right direction, all of a sudden you can be a contender. But also, the bottom is closer than anybody realizes quite often. So, you know, I don't want to call these make or break off seasons for these four teams, but we chose them because they felt like they were sort of at inflection points. But we're still in a class of the league where a few of the right moves could really push them into real contender spaces. Anything anybody wants to add about the approach here,

about the sort of concept for the episode? No, I think I'm good. I'm just going to say, I do not have a she's-all-that situation going on over here. I take the glasses off. I take the overalls off, and it's still looking pretty rough. Oh, the poor Steelers.

All right. Well, on that note, I suppose, Stephen, do you want to kick us off? Yeah, I guess I guess I, should. Where should I start with the draft? Yeah, I think so. Okay, so we have the 20-21st pick, and there are a couple directions we can go here. We can take offensive tackle. We could take a center, we could take a wide receiver. Steelers have needs. I would rather trade back here, because I do want the Steelers to take a center in the first round. I think we can get one at the

bottom of the first round, top of the second round, get some picks. I like Broder Jones. I like the idea of moving him to left tackle. We can get a right tackle and free agency. I I'd rather go the veteran market for that one, for the receiver market. We have Arthur Jones calling the, not Arthur Jones, Arthur Smith calling the offense. We do not need receivers out here. We have George Pickens. We have Van Jefferson, although I don't know if Van Jefferson can block in this offense. He's very skinny.

He doesn't really have blocking chops. But we can find a receiver on day two where the Steelers, that's our thing. Or what I would do is sign DJ Sharp. Because I think this is going to be an offense that protects the ball. They're going to run the football in first and second down. They're going to take shot plays when they can. We just need a big body receiver that can get down field. And we don't need a draft a guy in the first round for that.

So my two first moves are trading down, drafting the center at the bottom of the first round, and then signing DJ Chark and free agency. And then after that, here's my big picture move. Russell, not allowed to start, no matter what. If I'm the front office, I go down there and I go, this guy is not starting week one. And if he starts week one, everybody is here fired. Everyone here is fired, included myself. I'll fire myself for even signing the guy.

But Justin Fields has to start in this offense or it's depressing. I don't know where you, I don't know what this team looks like if Russell Wilson is starting. How are you going to accomplish that? The Russell Wilson thing? Yes. I could, I told you, I'm going down. Framing him for a crime is off the board.

Oh, man. You can't take away my number one move. That was going to be my second move. But if I have to cut him, I will cut him. He should not. be starting on this team. But I think you could talk the fan base into an offense that stars Justin Fields, this guy with the first round pedigree. And honestly, I don't hate the ceiling on that offense if they do start Justin Fields. And then Arthur Smith gets his offense going. This

offense was a top 10 offense with Marcus Marriota at quarterback in Atlanta. And I think Pittsburgh, if you hit on the draft, they have better pieces than Atlanta had that year. So I think there's a chance that we can get a good offense out of this if we nail the next couple months. I'm really, so look, I want to, I want to press you on how you're going to make it happen because I think with, with Russell Wilson in the building, there's this dynamic of how do we deal with the personality element. That said, I would be excited as maybe too strong, but I'm with you. I think, I think Justin Fields starting in this offense has some potential to be a little bit fun. And I don't think that it's the craziest thing in the world because, look, sometimes the most

important thing when establishing locker room hierarchies and roster hierarchies, it's just money. And I know they got Russell Wilson first. I know, you know, all of the things that Tomlin has said indicate that Wilson is getting the reins certainly first and that it's his job to lose. obviously this has to do with the Broncos contract and the aftermath of that, but the Steelers are paying Russell Wilson $1.7 million, right? And they're paying Justin Fields three and a half. And so on some level, the commitment indicates that he should at least have a chance and that on some level they're putting a little bit more into Justin Fields

than they are into Russell Wilson and that maybe some opportunities come with that. Austin, how would you manage the Steelers quarterback room? I think that their hands are tied, right? I don't know necessarily they can even go to. Can they actually, after the six-hour meeting that Russell Wilson and Arthur Smith had and the Steelers had, say, actually, we are going to start Justin Fields. I don't know if they can. I think Russell Wilson, in my opinion, is going to get all of the first team reps through training camp,

all of the first team reps through preseason unless Fields beats him out with the two. I think Russell Wilson is the weak one starter because I just don't think he signs with the Steelers if he doesn't get those guarantees given the contract situation, right? Would I want that to happen? No. Would I have signed Russell Wilson in the first place?

Probably not. If I was also going to look to get Justin Beals and trade away Kenny Pickett, it doesn't make a ton of sense to me that they would give Russell Wilson all these guarantees, signed him on this contract, and then move on from Kenny Pickett and bring in Justin Fields to where now...

When you say... Here's a thing, though. Here's the thing, though. When you say guarantees, they shook hands and looked each other in the eye man to man. Like, screw that. It's the National Football League. People lie constantly.

Just lie to them. Yeah, the Cardinals sent out a tweet that said, Josh is our guy, like a month before drafting Tyler Murray. Six teams do that every year. You can't lie to your quarterback? Here's how we sort out the quarterback room. We let Russ Cook. And we just watch him in training camp and we're like,

oh, wait, this guy's washed up. And this other guy that we have runs a 4-3. can throw the ball 80 yards. Take him into a meeting. Russell, we're really sorry. Thought you were going to have a great opportunity here. We're not seeing it in practice. Justin's going to get a chance.

Look forward to having you. Try your best, win the job back, compete every day. We'll continue to give some reps with the ones, whatever. Unless they wrote it into the contract, all bets are off. I just, I'm not, I'm not going to, I, look, Austin, it's not that you're not saying this off of established facts, right?

Like Tomlin has talked about Russell Wilson as the starter and getting the majority of opportunities. So I don't want to, you're right to bring this up. It's not like you're pulling it out of thin air. I just, I really am resistant to this idea that because they said so, that it must be in perpetuity. And I'm with you. that's out of whack with how teams operate. There is a world where they said, hey, you're going to get the ones. You're going to be working with the ones. You're going to have the first line to starting for this team and training campers through the preseason.

But we reserve the right to where if you're not playing well, we don't see it. We're going to move to a different option. I think that there is, if they have that luxury, if they have that. Just rig it. Only install your middle of the field passing game for the first like three days. and then just say, hey, Russell, it's just not happening. They might give Fields problems, too. That's fine.

Then you do everything else. Then you do everything else. Okay. Can I throw in a bonus move? Is it okay to say, too, though, like, even with this bonus move that's coming, the Steelers are going to suck next year? I mean, I don't know if this team's going to be in the playoffs. They're not going to suck.

They're going to win nine games. They're just going to win nine games in a completely different way than we've seen them win them previously. Like, it is inevitable. The Steelers are going to go 9 and 7, or 9 and 8, excuse me, 9 and 8 in perpetuity. It's just going to happen. It's just going to look moderately. This will be one of the under on 9 and 8?

I think I might take the under on 9 and 8. I think that for me, this will be the hardest 9 and 8 that they get to with obviously the situation that they're in with the quarterback competition between Justin Fields and Russell. We don't even. With Duck Hodges. True, true. I think, but okay, this wide receiver room, now that Deontay Johnson has gone,

is George Pickens, Van Jefferson, Kez Watkins, and Calvin Austin. You want to throw in at Denzel Mims, you can. The interior offensive line is Isaac Sumalo, Nate Herberg, and James Daniels. The tackles are Danmore Jr. or Broderick Jones. This is a bad football team with bad quarterbacks. And I'm not saying Doug Hodges level,

but they're plus 850 to win their own division. dead last, like dead last by a mile. Like, they're not, not, it's not even guaranteed that they go three and three in the division. I think this is going to be a pretty bad football team. I, I would be surprised if they get nine wins, honestly. It's going to be a grind to get to nine wins with this roster, specifically the offensive roster. I don't know.

I don't have a lot of faith in Russell Wilson or Justin Peel's figuring it out. And then when you factor in that it is this competition, it is going to be this like roller coaster of who's getting the snaps and all that kind of stuff. I don't think that helps the situation either, but maybe Ruiz saves us with this bonus move here. I'm excited for it. The bonus move isn't going to save us. The bonus move is Mokai Bechted. The bonus move is signing him, putting him at right tackle.

Whom, won. You get Beckton in a Mike Tomlin locker room. I think he might be able to turn around. And all we're asking him to do is run block. Just play right tackle, run block. You're going to have a tight end next to you at all times. You're going to have an extra back in the backfield to help you chip. Just get downfield and just block.

Just block on the second level. And then Broderick Jones, who's not the best pass protection. but he is a decent run blocker at this point. Like, I feel like we could put together a good run blocking line, especially if we nail the center pick at the bottom of the first round

early of the top of the second round. And like, I agree with Austin. It's going to be a grind to nine wins, but like that's what this team does best. They grind it out. They were one of the slowest offenses in the league last year. They were one of the most run-happy offenses in the league.

And like, it's easy to make fun of that in 20-23 and be like, that's not how you're supposed to play football, but they won games and they didn't turn over the football. They had like the third best turnover margin in the league at plus 11 because they didn't turn over the football. They didn't throw interceptions because they didn't let their quarterback do it. I think if you could build a good offensive line with Arthur Smith like calling the run game, it could be a better version of what we saw out of Matt Canada's offense last year.

And the defense could be healthier. I think the defense can be just as good as it's been when they've made the playoffs. I don't think it's out of the question that this team has like a weird season and sneaks into the playoffs once again, especially if they nail these next couple of weeks. And that will just credit to Tomlin if he gets there, man. Credit to Tomlin again. And I think that just the culture you need to have for so many bad pieces to be on a football team to still win nine games. And add in that there is going to be an awkward quarterback competition with an offensive coordinator that a lot of people in Atlanta wanted to kick out of Atlanta.

This is going to be a weird situation. You get to nine wins here. I mean, this guy might be the best counselor, like therapy counselor in all football. I mean, you think about, I honestly think it gets underrated how much he keeps people's heads on to win football games. And I think there are a lot of other coaches that wish they had that kind of demeanor and that kind of culture that he's had the benefit to create because he's been there for so long, but still, right away to create this kind of impact where no matter who comes in, you're able to turn out a nine-win season. It's honestly really impressive. So, okay, Austin, you're taking the under for nine and eight. Lindsay, you think nine and eight because it's inevitable.

Stephen, if the Steelers follow your path, where do you think they wind up record-wise next season? Like 8, 9. It's not a good path. It's the best possible path. I want it to be known that on Fandall right now, they're over under a set at 7.5, but the over is juiced to minus 170.

So it is essentially an 8-line. The line is set around 8, 8.5. I think there aren't a lot of people I think this team's getting the nine wins, which obviously is betting against Tomlin's record. I'm just trying to sell it. I'm not buying it. I'm just selling.

That's all I'm saying. I don't want to live in a world where this team wins 10 games. I don't want to live in a world where this team makes the playoffs and takes up a playoff spot. All right. Lindsay, you want to give us a prescription for the Cowboys next to them? Sure.

Hopefully one that helps them win more games next year. Are you firing Mike McCarthy? Don't take my bits, Stephen. Sorry, sorry. Let me cook here. Well, I think, you know, I just, as we look at the Cowboys and kind of where they stand heading into 2024, we have to remember exactly what happened last year. And, you know, we haven't talked a ton about kind of like the Cowboys as a whole this offseason because they pick late. There's been a lot of talk about Doc Prescott, which we're going to get to here in a minute.

But this is a team that won 12 games. They won the NFC East in large part because the Eagles were very, very, very terrible down the stretch. But they had this reputational year, right, that they just could not beat good teams. And that proved to be true later in the year, right? They lost the Niners. They got blown out by the Niners early in the year. They lost the Eagles. When they were still good, they lost to the bills.

They lost to the dolphins. And then when they get back into the playoffs, they just got their asses handed to them by Jordan Love and the Packers. And, you know, that was the game they were losing by, what, 32 points? something like that in the third quarter, Jordan Love was basically perfect. And you would think, right, that after like that type of loss, that Jerry Jones would be like, yeah, we're going to change some things. We're going to fix what's gone wrong. But that didn't happen. The Cowboys have done the absolute least this off season. So we're interested in actually fixing the Cowboys. I don't think that Jerry Jones really is all that interested in actually doing stuff, right?

I mean, when you look at what they've done in pre-agency, I think they're first deal was resigning their long snapper. And their biggest deal was signing Eric Kendricks, who's a 30-something-year-old linebacker, who basically was signed because he has played for Mike Zimmer before. Mike Zimmer is their new defensive coordinator replacing Dan Quinn, who is off to Washington. It really just seems like Jerry Jones is just like praying that this is the year that they get their shit together in the playoffs. But like every, let's just repeat, run it back what we did in the regular season. And then in the playoffs, hopefully everything is going to work out. So, They're just in a really weird spot where I think the biggest veteran move that they could make is not one specific free agent that they can go out.

They go out and sign. There's a couple guys that I'll get to here in a sec that I think could help their roster. I don't think there's any one kind of a magic free agent that's sitting there still in the market that's going to get them over the hump in the playoffs. The biggest thing that they have to do, if you're looking at this from a save the cowboys, make over the cowboys, make 2024 better than 20, 23 was, is they have to just get this figured out with Dak Prescott. This is going to be the biggest story in the NFL that Dak Crescott is playing 24 and the final year of his contract, setting up to be a free agent in 2025. So Jerry Jones needs to go against every fiber of his being and just end the drama and give Prescott the contract now. Because the fact is they're going to

have to pay him a fortune, whether that was before free agency started a month ago, whether they get a new deal done tomorrow, or if they play this all the way out and they get to March 15th or whenever the newly year starts next year. They've put themselves in the situation where they don't have a ton of options. And I just am picturing this scenario this season where every single week is going to be a referendum on Doc Prescott, whether he's worth all of the money, Whereas there's going to be a little needle of where he deserves to be if he's number one or number 12 or where his contract should be. And Jerry Jones is going to be getting asked about it after every single game. The hologram is going to be getting asked about it.

And it's going to be just nonstop. So if we're looking at this from Dax perspective, you play this shit out. You do not sign your extension right now. He's bet on himself before and he's won big. But if you're trying to save the Cowboys and make yourself a better team, a more functional team this year, I think they just have to suck it up and pay him $55 million or whatever it is because he's already costing $55 million, $55.5.5, I think, against the cap this year. If they don't get an extension done and he leaves in free agency, he's still going to cost

$40.5 million against the cap next season. So financially, they need to do this. They've already wasted their window where they could have used like savings to spend money on free agents this year to make their team better. I don't think they're going to do this. I think we're going to play this out, and it's going to be really fun. It's going to be great content for us. I can't wait.

But if you're Jerry Jones, I don't, you know, you got to end the drama. But if we know what thing about Jerry Jones, he loves the drama. So in terms of the draft, the one draft move that they need to make here, I think it's tackle, right? I think this feels like pretty obvious.

It's the most cowboys move that Jerry Jones and company could make. And the way that this draft is set up, I don't think it would be a reach for them to take a tackle at number 24. They lost Tyrone Smith, you know, who has been their left tackle forever in free agency. So they're really at a point where they need to start rebuilding that offensive line. They have a long institutional history of developing guys on that offensive line,

getting the most other first round picks there. A lot of the mock drafts, including, Danny Hafeitz's that dropped on the ringer today and Mel Kuyper's, his new mock that dropped on ESPN. Both have them taking Tyler Guyton. Seems fine for me. I'll go ahead with that, but just positionally, I think it's going to be tackle.

But otherwise in the draft, I'm just really curious how they kind of, they approach the rest of those middle rounds, second round, third round, fourth round, because they have a lot of holes, which is kind of wild for a team that, you know, won 12 games last year. They still need a defensive tackle. Maisie Smith was not good last year.

They also really need a wide receiver to kind of provide some depth behind CD Lamb. And they need somebody to replace Tony Pollard. So that's where I'm at in the draft. But in far as, sorry, do you have, Austin, go ahead. Sorry, you got a draft thought for me. I feel like I wanted to start with the DAC stuff because I do feel like there's going to be drama surrounding this team for Deck Prescott. Obviously, there's already been that report that he could be in line.

to test free agency and now a lot of teams that don't have a quarterback right now are like, could we be a DAC team? Could that be us? And I think that the Dallas Cowboys want to get ahead of that. C.D. Lamb is also in a contract year. Michael Parsons has two years left on his contract. And I don't know if you guys saw the French baguette that Josh Allen got today, the Jacksonville Jaguars edge defender. Michael Parsons is going to be breaking the bank, okay? Michael Parsons is going to be changing the game for pass rushers in terms of how much money you can make per year and how much of it you can get guaranteed. CD Lamb is also going to be

Snack-Lodeon on that bag too. There's going to be a lot of money changing hands to both CD-Lam and Michael Parsons and then you have to factor in. Jack Prescott's not looking for some two-year deal, half of it guaranteed. He's going to be looking for the three-year fully guaranteed, the Kirk Cousins, as they call it.

So I don't know if this is even salt. Like this is a very hard problem to solve. And you mentioned that the Cowboys haven't done anything. They've spent $6 million in guaranteed money on free agents this offseason. That's lower than any team in the league, and they only have $6 million left in cab space. They don't have any money.

This is Jerry Jones waking up and finding out he's broke for the first time of his life. It's not a good bit. It's not fun. It's not a good place to be if you're the Dallas Cowboys. So, first of all, Austin, I just want to take us on a quick little detour. I want to say one thing. Baguette being a diminutive suffix that refers to a baguette being a particularly skinny loaf of bread.

Yeah. This doesn't work. It's a small bread. It was so that the... It was... It was... It's so that... It's thin.

It's not small. It's thin. It's not small. Okay. A baguette's long. This is... First of all. I'm sorry.

We're just going to move on from there. No, the origin of the baguette was... It was a... So that French soul... soldiers could carry them and they would like fit in their little side bags. So they were they were thin loaves of bread. Yes, I acknowledge that they were long. But first of all, at small.

And therefore I think like a sourdough loaf is is what you're going for. Like a big loaf. We're not, we can't be using baguette. It doesn't work. Wait, I think that's fair. Wait, French soldiers had baguettes on the battlefield. Yeah, they would. carry a baguette. I don't know if this is a real story, but like this is the origin story of

the baguette is that Nicolian was like, they need their bread. The French are never beating the allegations. They're just never doing it. Absolutely never. But they do care. They care a lot about their gluten products and more power to them. Second, but to your point, because I do think, Austin, even though I really disagree with your choice of descriptive yeast products, I think you bring up a good point, which is that DAC's contract situation is

not the only contract situation that the Cowboys are going to have to deal with. Obviously, Michael Parsons, C.D. Lamb, their books are not looking great right now. And so, Lindsay, as a representative for the Cowboys, just on a whole scale from a 30,000 foot

perspective, are we doing anything other than paying DAC to sort of like fundamentally shake up how we're looking at the cap and handling veteran contracts in general. Because one thing that continues to strike me is that whenever Jerry Jones talks about the DAC situation with other players, he brings up the additional financial opportunities that are available to Cowboys players by virtue of being Cowboys players. And I'm just not really sure that that's a thing.

So I guess the question that I'm asking you is, do you think there's any validity to that? Do you think that playing in Dallas? Yeah. I mean, I just like the most prominent NFL player right now, the most marketable NFL player right now, plays in Kansas City. Like, I'm not sure that being a Dallas cowboy is the financial windfall off the field that Jerry continues to market it as. So I wonder if like an additional, if you had a bonus move, it would be for someone to like sit that man down and just have a conversation and be like, this isn't a thing, dude. Like stop saying it. I mean, I'm going to get to my vibes move in a second.

But like maybe the bonus move is for like a hologram Jerry to be reprogram to like sit down with real life Jerry and have a conversation about how to spend his money. Although is this might be a question for Steven. Is Jerry Jones like helping fund the John Calipari move? to Arkansas. He might be, but I have a question about Jerry Jones. That's where he's spending his NIL money. But look,

I think the question is, like, that's something that worked in the 90s. And it's just another sign that, like, Jerry Jones is stuck in the 90s and wanting to build his team and spend his money

the way that they did when they won. Yeah, but we didn't, like, in the 90s, we didn't have a developed internet. We didn't have social media in the way that we do now.

It was, like, genuinely, probably true that you made more money as a cowboy. Yeah. In 1997. Because if it, if that were a big draw that, like, you can come to Dallas and be a huge star,

they would be signing a lot of got, like big name star pre agents to like below market value deals. And that is not the case. If I could repackage, if I could repackage this take, TikTok has killed the Dallas Cowboys. I'm there. I'm here for that.

If that's where we are, I'm fine with it. I do think that what you're saying, the Dallas Cowboys star has lost a squimmer. And I'm not sure what time Jerry Jones goes to bed, but it's time to wake up. It lost its glimmer a while ago. Like, it's still lost its glimmer. It's not the same anymore.

The Dallas Cowboys are not the same. I disagree with all of you guys. What? I disagree with all you guys. Dak Prescott has a sleep number commercial. Dak Prescott is not a star at, like, he's boring as hell. He does, he's not funny. He doesn't tell jokes.

He has no personality. He has a sleep number. He has a commercial for Greek yogurt. What are you guys talking about? What are you talking about? You're agreeing with us. Danon ads if he played for the Steelers? No, no, Dak Prescott?

Doc Prescott were a successful veteran court, like a franchise quarterback for... Bad take. The Bengals. I think he could get a national commercial... Sleep number? Yeah, what do you talk about? You don't have commercials.

Are you hyping up sleep number right now? Sleep number, what are you doing? What are you actually talking about? Maybe Mayfield has a progressive is bigger than sleep number. Progressive is bigger than sleep number. I'm out on you. I'm out on this. Progressive is bigger than sleep number. That was four years ago. He's not doing the commercials anymore, guys.

Okay, first of all, this is still... You saw DAC's sleep number commercial air on television. It's been a minute for me. During the football season, watch the games. I'm going to fall down a rabbit hole of who's doing what commercials. Justin Herbert's doing Subway now, right? That's right. Is he taken over Subway?

from Russell Wilson. Well, and Josh Allen is doing Subway. Stephen was like, Stephen was like, but wait, that's sleep number commercials. That was, that's not his whole profile. You guys need to, you guys need to look at his endorsement profile.

And tell me that's happening with another team. It's not, this is like, he's like the Brock Party of advertisements. You guys think the Cowboys don't have their lustre? Dack has a sponsor from Oikos. He's still, winning off the field. That's amazing.

Well, I mean, I think that, you know, the, the star being the draw and that you're going to like be able to earn all this extra money, that's going to come with winning, right? Like, they're only going to be this team that's going to be able to attract the premium talent and re-sign their own talent for somewhat of a discount is when they've proven that they can win, that this is a team that's spending their money responsibly. that they are consistently making deep runs in the playoffs. The other way is to, you know, date Taylor Swift. But I don't think that's going to happen for anybody on the Cowboys.

We still talking on Jerry Jones. No, just one of somebody else on their team. That's the way to actually make a lot of money off the field in addition to your football contract. I don't know if you guys heard Nora Austin and Stephen, if you guys are regular listeners to every single album. But Nora dropped a take a couple weeks ago that people are on the league. wondering how to make this happen for their teams.

They can have star players date pop stars. They're star player state pod stars. Here's my central thing with the Cowboys is just, I mean, I know we're sort of kidding around. My question is like, does this team have a modern salary cap department that is like appropriately at the wheel? Because their front office, first of all,

includes a lot of members of the Jones family. They're director of salary cap. and player contracts is Adam Prasphika, who I'm sure is a lovely guy. I don't know him personally. He doesn't seem to be like in the mix a lot, you know? And he's been with the Cowboys for 21 years. So this is like a career Jerry Jones.

This is a career Jerry Jones guy. Before working with the Cowboys, he was a coaching assistant and equipment manager at the University of Arkansas. So like this dude and Jerry Jones go way back. So I'm just not sure that we're getting a lot of like non-Jerry Jones origin story. in the salary cap management department of the Dallas Cowboys. And I wonder if a modernization of that approach could possibly be warranted. I think it certainly could be warranted.

I don't think it's going to happen. And I do want to be clear that as I am trying to make over the Cowboys, I am not actually related to the Jerry Jones. The Jerry Jones is. That's good. That's good. I was a question. It was one of my notes.

Just to be clear. Although as I moved to my last vibes move, right? The one thing that's going to be kind of hanging out here is we haven't talked about Mike McCarthy at all, right? One of the very first decisions that Jerry Jones made after that lost the Packers in the playoffs was to bring back Mike McCarthy. There was a lot of, you know, I think it would have made a lot of sense if he just decided, do you know what? I think it's probably, it's probably time. But instead, Mike McCarthy is heading into the season as a lame duck coach. It's the last year of his contract.

And I would just like to mention that Bill Belichick is just hanging around, taking a tour of football facilities this spring every week. It seems he's popping up somewhere new on the coaching circuit. He's given speeches at Nebraska. He's hanging out at Washington with his son, Stephen, where Stephen is now coaching wearing all sorts of different hoodies and stuff. So I'm just saying if Jerry Jones wanted to drop a Cowboys hoodie in the mail, Bill would probably put it on and maybe show up and coach this team.

And it would be very different vibes. It would be a very different style of a team. But just saying that it would be pretty fun for content. If Bill showed up like The Undertaker at WrestleMania in the middle and helped finish off, I don't know who we're finishing off, Mike McCarthy, and finally getting Jack Prescott to a Super Bowl. And I think that- Like,

suplexing? Is that what they do? They suplexed. They do suplexed. That's the thing about this off-season. It's like when you have a lame duck coach who kind of, you know, has this big voice in the locker room, you can't do these big moves where you're churning the roster.

You can't make like big money moves when you, like a year from now, everything could change because they could change the coach. They could hire Bill Belichick, for instance. And he would change everything about the organization. So I think they're kind of stuck in limelch. Limbo and Jerry Jones not making a move on McCarthy earlier is the reason why they're stuck in limbo in addition to their salary cap problems. And can I just, can I just read off a list for you guys?

Did I just read off a list? He's been cooking. He's been cooking. Jordan, Beats, Direc, Direc, TV, Campbell, Pepsi, New Era, Citibank, Anheiser Bush, AT&T. Ever heard of them? This is Dak Prescott's endorsement profile. By the way, according to the Forbes. First of all, AT&T is the sponsor of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

You don't get to call AT&T as like a big national. You left off sleep number. You left off sleep number. What happened? I already named them. I already named that. Sleep number robbed. Sleep number doesn't need any introduction.

And exactly. You just made my point, Nora. He wouldn't have the AT&T endorsement if he didn't play for the Cowboys. Thanks for arguing here. But who else from the Cowboys has a single deal? Nobody. According to Forbes, Prescott posts, quote unquote, one of the one of football strongest endorsement portfolios.

You guys don't know ball. All right, let's move on. First of all, not yet. Okay, fair enough. The point is that Dak Prescott doesn't have endorsements. The point is I'm not so sure playing in Dallas is why Dak does commercials. He's a good quarterback. He's a marketable young guy.

I agree. I'm with you. I'm with you 100%. It's not marketable. Baker Mayfield landed progressive and Hulu. Ask your friends that's sleep number if they agree. All right. Now we can do that. I didn't say it was a good move. It's a bad move by them. Yeah. Yeah.

Don't see DAC getting that Hulu contract. Okay. Now we can move on. All right. Can I give you guys my three-part plan to fix the New York Jets? I really seriously thought about including and here something about just like creating a fake television studio and a hologram of Pat McAfee and so that some

unnamed Jets player could go there and think that he's he's broadcasting live to millions of people when in fact that was not the case. But I actually didn't, I didn't go in that direction. Let's start with the draft. So my first move in the draft is that I really think that whether it's with the 10th pick or whether I'm making a move, I really want to draft a pass catcher in first round. I think the two kind of clear needs on this, this roster that are at premium positions are pass catcher and offensive line, but I really think that I have some immediate needs at receiver because I got Mike Williams and free agency to start opposite Garrett Wilson. And in theory, I'm pretty happy with that one too, but Williams is coming off in ACL, not going to be

ready to start training camp. And behind those guys, Xavier Gibson, Jason Brownlee, and Alan Lazard, who I'm not particularly happy with these days. So I think going into a season where I have all of my eggs

in this Aaron Rogers basket for 2024, I need a high-end pass catcher. I need to add a high-end pass catcher to this offense. The thing that's tricky, and maybe you guys want to, maybe you guys will help me out here, is at 10, I'm not in any way guaranteed to have a shot at one of the top three receivers.

Brock Bowers, I probably have a better chance at. And I, I, Nora Prunziati, I'm a little bit split on whether or not I like that move. just because I think the 2024 importance of this pick is so high and the history of highly drafted tight ends,

particularly early in their careers, is just not awesome. On the other hand, I'm looking at my depth chart and I'm seeing Tyler Conklin hanging out there and going, man, elite talent, electric athlete,

I love it if I could get one of the top three receivers, but I'm just not sure that I'm going to be able to do that without making a trade. I want to be responsible with my draft resources. And so I'm really hoping that somehow, you know, there's a big run on quarterbacks and it falls where I can draft one of the top three receivers with that 10th pick. But if that doesn't happen, I kind of think I might pull the trigger. on Bowers. And I'm wondering how you guys feel about that because I am a little split,

but I feel that adding a pass catcher is really essential for this offense. Yeah, I'm in on the move just because I don't, and maybe I'll regret saying this, but I don't think his transition will be as tough as it is for your typical tight end, just because he wins in a different way. Like, he can win after the catch. And I think when you have a tight end, who can do his damage after the catch, so you don't have to necessarily go out of your way to get him like high premium targets, like down the field. You can throw him like a pass to the flat and get a lot of good use out of him year one. And I think having

Aaron Rogers, like we like to make fun of Aaron Rogers a lot, trust me, it's one of my favorite things to do. But I do think having him healthy and in that huddle will help a rookie pass catcher like Brock Bowers. And I think he'll be able to get him the ball in unique ways. And I think this offense, and this

team as a whole, the way it's set up to play is to force the opponent into passing situations because they have this defensive line where if you could just rush for in the defensive line can pin their ears back and get after the quarterback, this defense is going to be like a top three defense in the NFL. That's enough to get you to the playoffs on its own. So if you could just score points, I think you can set, you can get that situation set up for

your defense. I would be pouring everything into being able to be the best passing team we could possibly be. You guys have already sold out on the offensive line, signing these veterans, like Smith, John Simpson, Morgan Moses. You're trying to win this year. And I think Brock Bowers is a player that. can help you win this year, whereas like, drafting offensive linemen will help you down the road.

It's probably the smarter thing to do, but it's not going to help you win in 2020. That's where I landed is it's not about this year, or it might be if someone gets hurt, but you've already, the moves on the offensive line are baked in that if you draft someone there, are they necessarily starting?

Does that mean that you're moving somebody out of the lineup? Again, in the long term, because of the age and injury history of the guys who are slated to play, it is probably the more prudent thing, but it's the less, it's the harder thing to see how it affects the 2024 offense immediately. I don't hate this receiver room. I don't hate this receiver room at all.

Like, I think Mike Williams, if he's healthy, he's a good number two. Garrett Wilson can be an elite number one. And like Xavier Gibson, I think it could be a slot receiver. and like the Alan Luzard, it's easy to joke about him, but him and Rogers kind of cooked in Green Bay. Like, I think he's a good role player in that receiver room.

So like the tight end room, on the other hand, like Tyler Conklin, I'm not getting excited for it. And you have to have a tight end in this style of offense because for some reason Nathaniel Hackett is back. I don't know how this guy keeps getting jobs, but he's back. We know how he keeps getting jobs. Yeah, that's a good point. Same way Alan Lazzard keeps getting jobs.

Austin, I think you had a, you had something anyone who responded to? I think on the Brock Bauer's piece, you know, I've been kind of mulling over the value of drafting tight ends. Over the last 10 years,

the only three tight ends that were re-signed to their teams, the teams that drafted them, were David and Joku, Dallas Goddard, and Cole Comet. And you could argue that the Colcomet resigning

is not going to look great, right? It is not because, half of this is because some of them don't hit, right? Half of them is because, you missed. on the player. The other half is that the age developmental curve for tight ends is a little bit later. Like oftentimes, you don't see them hitting their max potential until they are on their

second contracts. And that's why Hawkinson has value where he got traded. Evan Ingram has had this resurgence with Jacksonville. Why I feel more confident in Brock, and I already said this on this pod, he's already balding. He's already ahead in his age development curve. I think that he can come in and play right away. The balding thing's a joke. I think he's a phenomenal player. Like I say all this about tight ends and their value and maybe they're being, you know, if you want Brock Bauer's, wait until he's available in free and see in four years. I still think he is that unicorn player that we hoped Kyle Pitts was going to be because of how he wins. Like exactly what Stephen Ruiz is saying. He can win before and after the catch. You're like, oh no, I don't know.

Tighten value. Watch the Auburn game. Literally watch the Auburn game. Can you see a tight end take over a game like that at the college level? I don't think there's another time. The other thing I'll mention is I think your read on the roster is 100% right with the Jets. right, 100% right with the Jess and that they're trying to win now, they're bringing in all these people together. The worry I have is if this does crash down with fire, it's going to crash down fast, bringing in Mike Williams, who's injury prone, obviously had a lot of injuries of the last few years. Tyrone Smith has not played a fully healthy season in any year of the last five years.

Morgan Moses might be so old, he might have been the one who split the Red Sea. You have Free Saul who suffered with injuries. This is a team that it's going to be tough once one little grays. brain hits the wheel, right? Where Mike Williams is out for four games. Tyron Smith is out for his routine five games. That to me is the worry I have and why this is going to be either like an all-time shoot-the-moon moment where everyone stays healthy and they added Brock Bowers and he hits the ground running or this is going to like completely fall off a cliff. Kennedy Jr.'s polls go up once and Rogers hangs it up, right? And that I think is, that I think is

honestly the range of outcomes for this team. There is no middle in New York this year. It is. It is. The highest of highs and lows of those. I have a prescription that's coming right up. But let me just do one more thing on the draft thing. I'll pose a question to you guys this way. So let's say two worlds. Stick at 10.

Harrison, neighbors, Adun Zaire are off the board. Take Bowers. Or, and I'm borrowing from Danny, Kelly's mock draft here. Trade up with the chargers to five. Give up 10 and a 2025 first and take neighbors or Odunze, whoever you like more. Take neighbors. Preference between those two uses of resources. I don't think they need to sell out for receiver. I really don't think that's the move that's going to help them, especially since you're on the short timeline, like what is, Malik Neighbors is going to take time, especially him.

I think he's going to take time. I think the best case scenario for them is have Adunzei drop to them. I think that's like a move that really moves the needle for them because he is a receiver who fits in well with what Aaron Rogers does. If Aaron Rogers can throw that guy back shoulder fades, like throw him 30 of those things all season long, like that moves the needle for this offense. That's the dream, right?

But I think you have to be happy taking Bowers or maybe you could go offensive line but I don't think that that moves the needle immediately as much. You have to be happy with Bowers if that doesn't happen. Yeah, it just has to be organic. If you end up with one of these big three receivers,

I think it has to be organic or I really think you're overspending for something that's not going to move the needle too much. It kind of reminds me of... That's where I wound up. Do you guys have those science projects where you had a certain amount of tools to wrap the egg, the raw egg?

and they drop it from like the second floor. I feel like they've done it, right? Morgan Moses, it's a little duct tape. You got Mike Williams with it a little extra fluff, and they're going to drop it. It's one season. They drop it. Now, is the egg going to be cracked at the bottom?

I feel like they're not going to find out until that 20th go ball that goes to Mike Williams and he lands on his shoulder and he's out for six weeks. So, okay, so let me give you my other two moves. My veteran move is sort of boring, but I do think it's something that they should look into. I sign Ezekiel Elliott. You know, I would really like to do this for a year and less than $2 million. I don't want to be putting a lot of eggs in this basket.

However, I do think that Breece Hall needs a backup beyond Israel Abonaconda, particularly because I have a feeling that given the new kickoff rules, Breece Hall might be my kick returner. And that's a little bit scary from an injury possibility if I'm going to be putting back there to return some, kicks, you know, try to take advantage of that explosive ability, but also the risk that comes with it, maybe somewhat less because of the new rules, but just something I'm keeping in mind. For low, for low money, low commitment, veteran running back who, you know, still can move through traffic

and be competent in past protection and knows what he's doing, can move. the chains. I think it's more just about filling a hole on the roster, but I think it's a hole in the roster that needs to be filled. They can probably go get that done. If it's possible to not wait until the point that they waited with Dalvin Cook last year, I would rather do that. But I think that's sort of like a common sense thing that the Jets should go do. Here's my third, here's my third move. I got to bully the giants into replacing the turf with grass at MetLife. find a way. I mean, in 2026, you're hosting the World Cup, right?

It has to be done for then. And obviously, they can just do it on a temporary basis and they don't want to deal with the maintenance and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. However, the opening is there because they're going to have to do it anyway. This team has the oldest quarterback room in the league. Austin just outlined the number of injury risks that they have added to this roster. If those guys on September 12th or whatever it is, this is the best roster in the AFC East and a very good roster.

But they are old and they are rickety. And good injury outcomes, which has a lot to do with luck, but a good injury outcome with this team versus a bad one, given how much risk is built in because of their age and because of their injury histories, is probably the difference between like the success and failure of this Aaron Rogers trade and project and is something that could save or lose jobs

and you play your home games on a surface that players hate and believe contributes to horrific injuries. I don't think they're actually going to do this. However, if and when the Jets crash and burn in 2024, because they're old and rickety players have been old and rickety, we shouldn't let them say

that they didn't have any say in the matter if this doesn't get done. So that's what I would do. I just do what you have to do. Mound to pressure campaign. You know, the Johnsons start saying that they want to do it. They want to help pay for it.

They're ready to do it. And then all of a sudden, the Giants ownership feels the public pressure and it builds. And you have a better chance at keeping the stars that you've sheld out for healthy. It's an excellent take.

They can sign David Bactiari. Amazing. Great. It's an excellent take. I think that's right on the money. I think that's exactly what they need. I think there's Super Bowl odds would move up significantly if they went from, if they went from playing on a debt trap eight weeks of the year to moving to grass.

I really believe that. Also, also I do think that they should build the fake Pac-Mack. I think that was awesome. Yeah. You know, you know, you know, you know what I thought of with that in the office where Creed gets www.crete thoughts.com. I think, I think that Rogers needs a Creed Thoughts podcast where it's like no one's here it. It's like under wraps and we save it as a time capsule. We launch it in 25 years.

We make some money then for now. Keep that under wraps. All right. Austin, you want to close us out with the Eagles? Let's do it. I think that the Eagles are an interesting one to do because obviously the Jets are a distance away from being you know, Super Bowl contenders. But the Eagles are a team that feel like, I mean, they're the number three team in the NFC in terms of Super Bowl odds right now. They're behind the San Francisco 49ers

and they're behind the Dallas Cowboys. This is a team that people expect to be competing deep in the postseason with a lot of the same players they did a while back. I think that they are in a lot of ways chasing the hair of the dog and that like we can win with this team if we had to say Juan Barclay we had Bryce Puff

we grab a martini here and there we might be okay we don't have to sink we don't have to come down the worry I have and this I'll start with my veteran move is this this offensive line specifically on the interior is a little worrisome with Cam Juergens replacing

obviously Jason Kelsey and then you also have Tyler Steen there at right guard those guys don't have a lot of snaps played in the NFL I also think that if injuries happen to either of those players and they have to go to depth along that interior offensive line, that scares me as well. A veteran move I thought of, which I don't think is like a great long-term solution. Andres Pete is still available as a free agent, a lot of you're starting in the NFL, even if you don't slate him to start ahead of Steen or Juergens,

just having someone there that isn't Laceda Smith or Matt Hennessy, these guys that you currently have slated is to be your backups or your swings. That to me, I feel like it's a veteran move. It's obviously low risk. It's not going to cost a lot of money. You bring him in on one of your flyer to obviously bring up like the floor of this offensive line, specifically on the interior. For a draft move, I think they need to get younger at corner. Darius Slay Jr., and obviously you have their James Bradbury, both those guys on the wrong side of 30.

I think you need some speed. You need some youth. I think Cooper DeGine is a name I really like going to the Eagles at 22 if he's still available. I also think they can double dip at the cornerback position and attack. What is a very deep slot cornerback class in 2020? for with either, you know, a Mike Sanders still, whoever it may be. I think they need to attack youth in the secondary and then on the interior offensive line, go pursue one of these,

you know, offensive linemen that are still available. Those aren't the biggest conversation here in terms of the three-piece meal I got to give, you know, in terms of a draft move and a veteran move, because this roster on paper is good, right? On paper, this roster is very good. Lane Johnson, Jordan Milata, AJ Brown, Devonte Smith, Seycour Barclay. They brought in Bryce Huff who people like, Garner Johnson, Slay, Brad. This roster is good. And they brought a lot of the same guys back that have had success with this Eagles team over the last, you know, a few years. I think that the change that needs to be made is a reset in terms of vibes. The vibes, as we know, over the second half of last season, were horrible, horrible over the

second half of last season. The receiver with the biggest drop-off over the first half of the season and the second half of the season in yards per game was AJ Brown. That can't happen, right? That's not an AJ Brown problem. maybe that's some of a Jalen Hertz problem, but we need to reset there and find a way to keep our best player positions our best player.

The other thing is, over the second half of the season, this team ranked 31st in points allowed per drive. The only team worth is the Washington commanders, which I'm still convinced could sell the team again. It's not where they want to be with their star player offensively, and it's not where they want to be with all these big names on defense, Slay, Bradbury, Jalen Carter, defense rookie year, it's not where they want to be.

And I think losing Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen was understated last year, honestly. Like when they lost both those coordinators, I don't think we really hit on how big of a change that's going to be. Because it put more pressure on Siriani. And I don't think he's necessarily handled that well over the second half of the season. You went into that playoff game knowing they were going to lose against Tampa Bay. Not even thinking they were going to lose. You're like, we know this team's going to lose. And that, I think, is a problem.

He needs to re. I don't know how you do it. I don't think it's ping pong tables. I don't know if it's Antonio Pierce's cigars in the locker room. But the vibes need to be reset. And there needs to be newfound belief in that Siriani is the guy that can lead him through what is dark times. Because nothing, nothing weighs heavier on the shoulders than expectations. And this Eagles team has expectations.

And when you add Sequin Barclay and when you add Bryce Huff and you give Jalen Hertz all this money and you re-signed Jordan Milata, and Jillian Johnson is still there. And Devante Smith is, you know, the best number two receiver in the league. Expectations come through. So I really do think they need to find a way to handle how high that pedestal can be. Because when it gets a little topsy-turvy, easy to start pointing fingers, easy to start doing a lot of things. I hope that the Eagles this year can find a way to just kind of reset, put their hands back in, right? Even without Jason Kelsey obviously, put their hands back in and say, hey, Eagles on three, Eagles on me, one, two, three Eagles.

It was beautiful. It was a beautiful ending. I'm trying. I'm trying. Can I do a Siriani story? Can I do a Siriani story? Can I do a Siriani story? And why I have a- Go ahead. I ran into him at the combine a few years ago.

And it was right after, remember when he was doing the mini basketball hoop with players? He was doing the mini basketball hoop with players. He was like, I want to see how they compete. And I said, oh, man, like I saw him at Prime, one of the bars that says open late in Indianapolis. And I said, oh, man, I really like that. I think that's cool. What do you do it next year? And he said, ping pong.

I said, oh, man, like, you're not even good at ping pong probably. I'm pretty good. And then he's like, you know, well, I might honestly do is, I might honestly do baseball. like do like a little like t-ball thing or whatever. He's like my son's really good. He hit like 40 home runs or something. It's like your son didn't hit 40 home runs. And he's showing me highlights of his son hitting 40,

like all these bombs. I'm like, no, this guy's just a cool guy. That's why when I was hearing last year that the vibes were down, I was like I like being around this guy. I think he's got it. He's got some charisma, charisma. I think there's a lot of opportunity in him refining himself and being the guy that he was with me at that indie bar.

That's where I stand. That's where I stand. Cabrism. Carriz is not where I wanted to be. That was. bro. If we can edit that, Stefan. Sophan, I need you there. Absolutely not.

You're not editing that. No. Coriz was only the second worst thing you said. You could have gotten away with Riz. I could have. I think I could have. I wasn't getting away with Riz. But that's not what you did.

That's not the move you made. I had a good time with Sari and I think they can't, Sir Rani and I think they can too. Okay? Let's refine that time at the bar. Let's refine it. And I think we can. Can I unpack this?

anecdote for a second. What I got from that was that you met Nick Siriani at the Combine a few years ago and just started like kind of negging him. Negging him. Yeah. About his ping pong abilities. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometimes you got to kind of dish a little, you know

what I mean? It's an interesting. Maybe you can be the next. I got I got a suggestion. Austin has the new Big Dog. Get Big Dom out of here. That's how you reset the minds. Now we're cooking. Now we're cooking. Which, by the way, I believe I can references because I think that I think the Danys have shared this story on the

draft show that this year at the Combine Danny Hyfitz saw Big Dom in the lobby of one of the hotels and walked straight up to him and asked for a photo with him and didn't realize that Nick Siriani was standing right next to him. That's an encapsulation of what happened. So like what is it with a trigger stabbers just like dunking on Nick Siriani.

And his son. Yeah, I didn't mean to duck on his son. I remember it was, okay, anyway, it's a fun anecdote, but I think he is a fun guy to be around. I don't know. It sounds like you did. Sounds like you meant it. Maybe you're right. Either way, either way they fix it. They have to fix the offensive line.

They have to get the offensive line back to when it being the best offensive line in the league. I think that's where it fell off over the second half. Like, yeah, they started losing games and the vibes were bad because of that. But if you start winning games, that will go away. Can I Can I talk about a take that I don't really believe in? Go for it.

Yes. Stop running the tush push. Stop running the tush push. Oh, that's a terrible. It would have to stop running the tush push. Wow. But here's the thing. Okay, we're talking about the need to stay loose, right?

This is a play that apparently hurts so much physically that Jason Kelsey was like screaming every time they ran it. what if what if your players didn't walk out onto the field every game like talk about existential dread just feeling like they have to go through a peanut grinder I'll say this I'm fine with the touch push I think it's good for them from a you know fourth down perspective and then I like that they do that but I'm just saying it's an interesting

saying something to consider maybe it's up to team vote I think a team boat wouldn't be bad no I think a team vote on touch push can we keep running that we got to Team vote on the tush push. That's how you create buy-in. That's how you foster culture. Team vote every time they want to run it. They got to get Bayon. Can't run the tush push unless a plurality of the office.

It's got to be like a jury. It's going to end up like a James Winston-Saint situation. Yes. Honestly, I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that outcome. Any final thoughts, Stephen or Lindsay, on Austin's plan. to reshape the Philadelphia Eagles and improve both T-ball activities and roster confidence?

Well, I'll say I will miss Austin here as our colleague at the Ringer, but I fully support the plan for Austin to take over. I'd bring energy to the team they've never seen. They've never seen the energy I could bring. That's right. I would agree with that. You'd say Snackalodian and they, you're bringing. Nathaniel Hackett Energy is what you're bringing. Let's be honest.

No, I'm not. How dare you? Oh, no. Wow. Where are you? Okay. Let's do the test. Where are you on Austin Powers?

Tell the truth, Austin. I am for Austin Powers. It's not a movie I routinely rewatch, though. It's not a rewatch for me. I don't think, you know, I've, go ahead. Okay. Do you like play action passing as a concept? I do.

I do like play action passing as a concept. Is that the hack it? You're Nathaniel Hackett, buddy. And Star Wars. Where do you stand on Star Wars? I'm actually out on Star Wars and play action passing. I'm out on Star Wars. I agree that Austin Powers had impact in the comedy sphere, and I am for play action.

Okay, one last question. If you were coordinating an offense, would you be good at it? I don't think so. That might be it. I don't know if I would. Nathaniel Hackett. Damn it. All right.

I think we're going to end the pod there. Congratulations to the Steelers, Eagles, Jets, and Cowboys for having all of their problems be solved. I'm anticipating a four-way Super Bowl tie in 2024. And it is all thanks to my fine co-pilots for this episode. Lindsay Jones, Stephen Ruiz, Austin Gale. Thank you so much. Thank you to Kiara Givens and Eduardo Ocampo for their work on socials. Thank you to Stefan Anderson for producing this episode.

And thank you to Connor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgapal for their additional production supervision. Ben and Sheel will be back on Friday with extra point taken. And we'll talk to you next week. Must be 21 plus and present in select states. Fandall is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino LLC. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler or visit fandle.com slash RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee,

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