Previewing the AFC & NFC North | All 32 Podcast - video Dailymotion

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On this episode of the All 32 NFL podcast, Mike Giardi and Will Parkinson give a full preview of both the AFC & NFC North, as well as take a closer look at Drake Maye's preseason performance. All that, and much more!   ************************************************  Patriots Content Brought to you by....  Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!  Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.

Transcript

00:00:00He's caught! Touchdown!

00:00:04The New England Patriots select Drake May.

00:00:08He's got the ball! And that's the ball game!

00:00:12Alright, we're back for the All-32 pod. Mike Giardi, Will Parkinson alongside.

00:00:16I know we promised AFC and NFC North previews last week.

00:00:20Yours truly got swamped. Kids going to college, both of them at the same time.

00:00:25Needless to say, I got my butt kicked for about four or five days.

00:00:29I'm running on fumes right now, but I'm fired up to be talking to you, Will, and get into the things

00:00:33that we promised, as well as some other stuff that happened this weekend, including some quarterback news.

00:00:37Yeah, we are rocking and rolling. We are two weeks from today,

00:00:41or less than two weeks from today, like ten days or so

00:00:45from the kickoff of the season. We've got two of the most exciting divisions in the sport

00:00:49coming up. We'll do previews on that. We'll talk quickly a little Drake May,

00:00:53a little Zach Wilson. Does this preseason matter?

00:00:57We've got a lot of stuff potentially reporting here in the next week. So, fun episode.

00:01:01Excited to bring it to you guys again. Make sure at the end of the episode you guys will be subscribing, rating,

00:01:05reviewing. We'll keep reminding you to do so, because that's how we'll keep letting the show grow.

00:01:09Absolutely, we appreciate that. And as a reminder to you, the show is brought to you by

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00:01:17We use it. We love it. Prize picks also involved

00:01:21our exclusive Daily Fantasy partner for the CLNS Media Network.

00:01:25So, Will, let's start with Drake May, because I made sure

00:01:29that I was locked into that game last night despite the

00:01:33emotion of dropping the kids off. And there was a lot of emotion in that game

00:01:37because right away, Jacoby Brousset gets hurt. So, they're saying it's

00:01:41not that big a deal. I guess we'll learn more here in the next 24 to 48

00:01:45hours. But he was only going to play one or two series anyways. It ends up being one.

00:01:49He's kind of clutching his shoulder after he got hit. Drake May comes in

00:01:53and while not perfect, a lot of life, a lot of spark.

00:01:57Some really athletic plays, including a touchdown that got

00:02:01waved off because the Patriots offensive line was a debacle last night.

00:02:05Eight pre-snap penalties, including one on a 50-yard touchdown pass

00:02:09on essentially a busted pocket. He rolls out to his left, flings it back

00:02:13cross-body with the off-platform stuff to K.J. Osborne.

00:02:17But there was a great read on his first drive, third and 14.

00:02:21They're playing cover one. He steps up in the pocket, pumps, and then says,

00:02:25nah, there's an opening. And he went. And 16, 17 yards later, it's a first

00:02:29down. Keep the drive alive. He just has come so far

00:02:33in the last two weeks that it led Gerard Mayo

00:02:37on Monday morning to tell the Greg Hill radio show on WEI

00:02:41here in Boston that Drake has outplayed Jacoby Brousset for the last two weeks.

00:02:45I would say it's actually more like the last 10 days, starting with the Eagles preseason

00:02:49game, week number two. And we had talked about that quite a bit, about why didn't

00:02:53they get him more playing time and more immersion in the first game? Would he be further along?

00:02:57I continue to believe he would be. But again, great progress right now.

00:03:01There's a debate. And I think the debate is not just from the outside looking in.

00:03:05I think the debate is internally, should Drake May start week one

00:03:09or are they just better served trying to figure out this offensive line,

00:03:13which I mentioned was an absolute debacle in front of May and Brousset

00:03:17in week three, and let Jacoby take the hits for the first month

00:03:21or so and then hope you settle things down by October and then you make the transition.

00:03:25Yeah, I think you make a good point in terms of

00:03:29I think we've talked so much about just letting him play and getting him that

00:03:33experience. I think it's part of what the preseason's for. Again, very simplified defenses,

00:03:37lack of talent, obviously. But

00:03:41getting Drake May more and more reps. And we see that even in a

00:03:45preseason game, running out the starters. And a lot of teams didn't play starters over the weekend.

00:03:49I know the Jets have got some heat. Oh, they haven't played starters all the time.

00:03:53Jacoby Brousset goes out there. Yeah, we'll get a series or two in there. And he gets

00:03:57driven to the ground on a sack because a guy misses a block.

00:04:01Obviously, the Patriots are lucky he avoided any type of serious injury. But we've seen that

00:04:05before a million times via a broken collarbone, the Tony Romo-Dak Prescott situation.

00:04:09We've seen Aaron Rodgers in the past break the collarbone, all that stuff.

00:04:13I'd say Drake May is extremely talented. I think we all know that. I think he's a guy

00:04:17who needs time. That said,

00:04:21we'll see if they give him time. I think in the ideal

00:04:25world, Drake May plays Weeks 9 through 18 and

00:04:29gets eight or nine starts this year. The Patriots get him enough experience

00:04:33but he has time to sit and watch the game. I just think at the same time, we

00:04:37talked a little bit about this, the difficulty with May is going to be, you always look for that

00:04:41soft landing spot, quote unquote, for young quarterbacks or even guys coming in.

00:04:45I don't know where the soft landing spot potentially is. Maybe it's Week 5 but

00:04:49early on with the Patriots, you start them right away and just say, hey buddy, here we go.

00:04:53I still think it'll be Bursette. It still feels like to me that's really what the

00:04:57organization as a whole has kind of talked a little bit about. That said,

00:05:01he's not going against the Jets defense Week 3 on a short week in a road game.

00:05:05Again, maybe you catch lightning in a bottle but I don't know sustainability-wise that's good.

00:05:09Again, I think it's either May is going to play Week 1 and he's improved each

00:05:13week. I feel like we all like what we've seen but

00:05:17it's him playing Week 1 or I think it's probably more like Week 5 or 6, maybe even a little

00:05:21bit longer. Bursette is who he is. He's not going to wow you.

00:05:25He's not going to suck. He's kind of just there and exists and he's a solid leader,

00:05:29solid quarterback. It's exciting if you're a Patriots fan. I think

00:05:33this season, again, is so much about the quarterback. Yesterday was a flash of

00:05:37these big-time plays, these off-platform throws, some of the athletic ability.

00:05:41That's what you're investing yourself in. Any type of wins, obviously, is kind of gravy on top.

00:05:45Yeah, there was some buzz about the game last night and there's

00:05:49certainly been buzz as we record this on Monday afternoon about the performance

00:05:53and again about the comments from Mayo and whether or not they should take the dive

00:05:57right away and just say, it's you versus Lou Anarumo in Cincinnati and

00:06:01Cincinnati in Week 1 and we'll live with it. The other pushback on this is

00:06:05that I think when you want to turn to Drake, I think you just want it

00:06:09to be Drake. You don't want to have to go, Drake, this isn't going well. Bring

00:06:13Jacoby back into it and then come back to Drake again. It's like when you turn the keys over to

00:06:17Drake, barring anything disastrous, I think you just want to keep the keys in

00:06:21his hands. Meanwhile, closer to your home, the New York Jets,

00:06:25getting closer and closer. The Tuesday is the cutdown day. Cuts are

00:06:29already starting to trickle in, but is there any news maybe on Hasan Reddick

00:06:33and the idea that after the stalemate,

00:06:37where there's been very little communication, if any at all, might he be

00:06:41coming back into camp? Yeah, so obviously Jets kind of wrapped up

00:06:45training camp on Friday afternoon. They'll have a couple of more

00:06:49intense practices today and tomorrow and then obviously make cuts from there.

00:06:53I think you should expect to see Reddick that

00:06:57Monday or Tuesday after Labor Day, so about a week from now.

00:07:01I think you should expect to see Hasan Reddick report. We'll see in terms of

00:07:05what happens in terms of a sweetener deal, in terms of those type of logistics,

00:07:09but I would expect from everything, I guess I understand that he should

00:07:13be there and he'll report week one. He doesn't really have a choice, to be honest.

00:07:17There's not really a choice. It seems like, frankly,

00:07:21on both sides of it, again, we talked a lot about this on Keyboard Short and Sweet, both sides have

00:07:25not done the best here. I think the Jets have made a couple of errors.

00:07:29I think both sides felt lied to and there's maybe potentially some bad advice

00:07:33Reddick's gotten, I would say, and I'd use that kindly. I just think he's

00:07:37not gotten the best advice in terms of how to kind of handle this thing.

00:07:41Again, we'll see if he gets an extension. I'm sure it's more like this one-year sweetener deal, but I expect

00:07:45Reddick to be at the facility probably in a week or so.

00:07:49From there, we'll see. I don't know how much he plays week one. My guess

00:07:53is maybe he plays 15 or 20 snaps at most and then the next week

00:07:57maybe it's ramped up to 30 or 40 and he'll finally kind of get humming. Maybe the New England

00:08:01game, maybe the Denver game at home. From a Reddick perspective, I think

00:08:05we're nearing the end here. It's not over, but I think we're

00:08:09getting close to him reporting. Another guy, Jamar Chase, we talked a little bit

00:08:13about finally practiced. It was a behind-the-closed-doors practice, I guess, but

00:08:17finally practiced, I believe. Was that Friday or Saturday? Which is big news for the Bengals

00:08:21because most of these guys have not practiced yet. Trent Williams hasn't practiced.

00:08:25Aiyuk hasn't practiced. Seedy hasn't practiced. I'm missing

00:08:29somebody else here. Reddick obviously hasn't practiced.

00:08:33There's a lot of guys that have not practiced. Chase being one of them, he finally reported

00:08:37in practice. Well, he's been reported, but finally practiced. Gotta get in game shape.

00:08:41I don't know who tweeted it. At some level,

00:08:45there's kind of a... For me, it's Thursday. This upcoming Thursday is the make or break

00:08:49point whether you can be full go for week one in terms of soft tissue

00:08:53stuff. Kind of getting closer finally to

00:08:57get off the pot. Yeah, it is crazy because I think automatically

00:09:01he's just, oh, he's practicing. Well, yeah, dude, we don't know that he's not going to pull a hamstring.

00:09:05You can run on your own, but it's an entirely different world when you put

00:09:09on the pads and you're running routes and stopping, starting, and doing all those things. You're getting pressed

00:09:13on by a defensive back, whatever it may be. And I think you've seen

00:09:17plenty of times where guys have protracted holdouts, and then when they come back,

00:09:21oh, the hammy went, or the quad went, or the calf, and then it's a problem

00:09:25not just for a week or two. It's a problem for half, if not most

00:09:29of the year. So that'll be something to certainly keep an eye on. You mentioned Zach

00:09:33Wilson. Sean Payton says his three quarterbacks, all of them, are

00:09:37making it. He obviously named Bo Nix the starter. That means Jared Stidham

00:09:41I guess would be the backup, but Zach had had a very good camp, and it looks like

00:09:45Zach is going to... Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have bet on this. I would have said cut

00:09:49for practice squad at best, but now it feels like, unless Sean's

00:09:53fully you-know-what, that Zach's going to make the roster.

00:09:57Yeah, I mean, there's always the possibility that they're kind of building him up a lot.

00:10:01That always makes me a bit leery and weary, whatever the right term is.

00:10:05Come call me for a trade. Come call me and let me get that six-round pick

00:10:09back I just moved. Again, they only have half the salary now, so again,

00:10:13Zach became cheaper. Look at...

00:10:17How do I phrase this nicely? I'm happy for Zach that he played well the last two weeks.

00:10:21It feels like he's gotten better each week. He's played less competition

00:10:25each week. He's playing at the end of fourth quarters in preseason games.

00:10:29The end of the fourth quarter in a preseason game, specifically game three, is usually

00:10:3398% of those guys are getting cut, and it's not disrespectful. It's just

00:10:37the harsh reality of the NFL. Zach's played better.

00:10:41The only thing I'll caveat that with is this isn't new for Zach.

00:10:45Zach was pretty damn good in the preseason last year as well for the Jets.

00:10:49It gets into real games. The coverages get mixed up.

00:10:53He starts seeing a lot of blitzes. He starts seeing a lot of pressure. The game speeds up for him.

00:10:57Maybe Sean's able to rectify his athletic ability. The one clip that goes viral

00:11:01last night, the touchdown throw down the right sideline,

00:11:05any safety of any quality is either

00:11:09putting someone in a hospital for that ball or is picking it off with ease.

00:11:13It's a nice ball. Zach had the arm strength to get it there, and that's never been

00:11:17the question with Zach in terms of that twitchy arm. I just would say

00:11:21to me that's not a reason why he'll be good. I think we ought to see it,

00:11:25and I don't see him playing that much this year. Again, good for him.

00:11:29If he can establish himself as a backup in this league, that's awesome, and that's kind of what you see.

00:11:33Sam Darnold is another Jets guy who established himself as a quality backup

00:11:37in the league. He'll be a starter this year, obviously, but wouldn't make too much

00:11:41of Zach until we see it over a long period of time. We've seen the one-week high,

00:11:45the five-weeks low, the one-week high, the five-weeks low.

00:11:49I wouldn't overreact too, too much to a preseason game, especially

00:11:53with who he was going against. We know a big thing with these quarterbacks, and this is

00:11:57what I guess I would caution with Drake May and Caleb and Jade Daniels

00:12:01and all these guys who've looked good. They all have looked good. Aaron Rodgers

00:12:05said it a lot this offseason. The preseason, it's not just that it's not real football

00:12:09from who's on the field. It's more importantly,

00:12:13scheme-wise, it is as basic as it gets.

00:12:17Frankly, if you can't run and throw a ball against cover two or cover three at this point

00:12:21in the NFL, you're not going to be able to figure out simulated pressures

00:12:25and whatever. Again, I just want to caution that. We're

00:12:29happy for him, but let's back up with, oh, he'd be a starter on 10 teams.

00:12:33I saw a lot of that today. Let's relax, buddy.

00:12:37Nobody wanted him five months ago.

00:12:39Sam Ellinger looks awesome in the preseason every year for the last three.

00:12:43Then when it gets to game time, it's different. As you mentioned, there's

00:12:47all these things happening. I'm glad you brought up the thing about how advanced

00:12:51it is. Just from a Drake May standpoint, I should have made this point when we were talking earlier.

00:12:55He's done this against twos and threes. He hasn't played against the ones.

00:12:59I think Philly played two starters in

00:13:03one series that he was in, in that preseason game in week two.

00:13:07Washington basically had, not only did they have half their entire first team down, but

00:13:11they had some of their second team guys not playing as well. Again, you can only play who's

00:13:15in front of you, but when we're talking about, oh, my God, he's awesome

00:13:19and you got to, no, it's good. It's good signs. It's good that

00:13:23he's having positive moments as opposed to going in the other direction. Again, you have

00:13:27to weigh the competition, and the competition right now isn't any good.

00:13:31Let's jump ahead because we promised everybody.

00:13:35Let's do the AFC North preview, but first we're going to take a quick break, and then we'll come right back

00:13:39with that. We'll start with maybe the bottom of the division and work our way up.

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00:14:43They're cooking. We got WNBA final

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00:15:35North. I think there are three teams that conceivably, if things went right,

00:15:39could actually win the division. Then there's one that I don't think has a snowball's chance

00:15:43in hell. They've been probably the most consistent program or one of them

00:15:47over the last however many years in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

00:15:51Pittsburgh was 10-7 last year, 9th in

00:15:55DVOA, 15th in offense, 6th

00:15:59in defense. Then they swapped out their quarterback

00:16:03position. They went from Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, who actually gave him a spark down the stretch

00:16:07last year, to Russell Wilson on the cheap and Justin

00:16:11Fields on the cheap. Everybody thought this was a quarterback competition,

00:16:15Will, but clearly Mike Tomlin

00:16:19had the odds stacked in Russell Wilson's favor. Even though he missed a ton of time,

00:16:23it appears he's going to be the starting quarterback. I would say it's like picking

00:16:27between two evils. I don't like either one of them.

00:16:31I probably would have gone with Fields here just because of the playmaking and the running,

00:16:35especially behind that porous offensive line. It looks like Russell's the guy.

00:16:39He's got a big salad fork sticking out of his back. I think he's all done.

00:16:43Yeah. Man.

00:16:47I texted with somebody in the NFL about this last week, I guess,

00:16:51during that Fields-Russell Wilson battle.

00:16:55They just feel like a team that the floor

00:16:59is still quite high because of Tomlin, because of his defense,

00:17:03because they do have some playmakers. The ceiling is also quite low.

00:17:07Last year, the Steelers were kind of

00:17:11the same team they are this year. Maybe they'll stay a little healthier with Hayward and Minka

00:17:15and stuff. TJ Watt and all those guys are still really good. I do think

00:17:19Minka and Hayward specifically are maybe getting

00:17:23closer to not being quite as elite as they used to be. I still think

00:17:27TJ Watt's one of the five, six, seven best players in the AFC, whatever it may be.

00:17:31I just... I don't know.

00:17:35Kyle Brandt talked about this on Phil Simmons' pod. I want to give Kyle credit,

00:17:39because I love Kyle and he's a friend of the show, but also because it made a lot of sense.

00:17:43Mike Tomlin's the most well-liked dude in the league. He's awesome,

00:17:47well-respected by everybody. He's fantastic at getting

00:17:51this team to never bottom him. But at some point,

00:17:55are they going to win a playoff game here? Are they going to be a team

00:17:59that actually is a legitimate contender that you feel good about?

00:18:03I wonder to myself sometimes,

00:18:07what's the plan here? This is a team that's all about championships

00:18:11and all that stuff. I'm not saying that I'm asking them to compete for Super Bowl this year.

00:18:15At some level, I feel like it's every year they're one and done in the playoffs.

00:18:19Oh, they just missed, but they're 9-8. They're 10-7. They make it. They're not very good.

00:18:23They get smoked in the wild card game. Even going back to the AB-Lev Bell

00:18:27teams where they had some bad playoff losses, or they go into New England

00:18:31every time and they get killed. At some point, I feel like

00:18:35does it grow stale at any point? I know you've got the extension.

00:18:39There's a lot of buzz around Tom in this offseason.

00:18:43You just wonder. I don't know. The quarterback situation is not going to help him. It feels like they get everything

00:18:47right, but quarterback, offensive line, and offensive coordinator, since Big Ben

00:18:51and things like that, and Haley, and those guys moved on, and Bruce.

00:18:55This team is just very confusing to me. I don't know how

00:18:59to quite figure them out. I genuinely feel like

00:19:03if you told me they won nine games, I'd probably be what I'd pick them to win

00:19:07because I think the defense helps them out. Tomman gets them there. Russ will have a few

00:19:11moments. Fields will have a few moments. They'll beat up on the bad teams, etc.

00:19:15If you told me they won 11 games, I'd tell you you're crazy.

00:19:19The ceiling feels so low with this team that

00:19:23any good team is going to go in there and say, you're not running the

00:19:27football on us. You are going to have to beat us through the air

00:19:3140 times, and we're going to kill the clock, and we're going to

00:19:35go after Joey Porter and try to get him. Nice player, fun player.

00:19:39We're going to try to get him for two or three holding calls. We're going to run at T.J. Watt

00:19:4320 times and try to wear him down throughout the game and hope that we eliminate him, we'll double him,

00:19:47and we'll figure it out. I don't know. I just remember the Jets went in there two years ago to Pittsburgh,

00:19:51and a really similar team, let's be honest. They've gotten older

00:19:55in some places, as we mentioned. It was just like, hey, Kenny Pickett. We're going to make Kenny Pickett

00:19:59throw the football, and Kenny Pickett threw a bunch of picks. The offensive

00:20:03line's bad. That's the whole thing we're not talking about. We're talking about Ross, the fields, the defense,

00:20:07etc. The offensive line has had injuries, and most importantly,

00:20:11they've looked really bad in the preseason, and that always scares me where

00:20:15it doesn't get easier from here. I don't know. What do you feel? Am I being

00:20:19too harsh on them? I don't know. I have no expectation outside

00:20:23of they're going to go 9-8 or 8-9, and that's that.

00:20:26Yeah, so they've gone 17 years without a losing record, which is remarkable,

00:20:30but again, when was the last time they won a title? It was

00:20:34Tomlin's first year, I think, so 2009, something like that. It's been a long

00:20:38time. To rely on Russell and Justin Fields

00:20:42as your quarterback combo, I mean, I understand why they did it, but then I say to

00:20:46myself, well, what was the investment there? There is no investment. They gave up a late-round pick

00:20:50for fields. They're not paying him any money. They don't have to

00:20:54pick up a 50-year option. Russell Wilson is essentially free, so

00:20:58you're just, let's see if Arthur Smith can fix this, and look,

00:21:02Arthur Smith is a better offensive coordinator than Matt Canada. Matt Canada

00:21:06set that thing back multiple years. Set

00:21:10offense, I think, back multiple years, but then there's also the part of

00:21:14Arthur Smith where he had pieces in Atlanta, and

00:21:18they disappointed, right? Obviously, some of that was

00:21:22quarterback play and the decisions they made at quarterback, but

00:21:26you draft B. John Robinson, and then you only give him 10, 12 touches a game.

00:21:30Is he going to do the same thing here? Are you not going to feature

00:21:34Carl Pickens and Pat Friermuth? Are you going to try to

00:21:38throw to the guy who's open? We spread the ball around. Okay, but if

00:21:42Pickens is this much better than your next wide receiver, which I do believe he is,

00:21:46and I don't think he's perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I'm making sure I target

00:21:50him 10 times a game, at least, right? If I think Friermuth's about to take a

00:21:54jump, and some people believe that, I'm getting him way more involved.

00:21:58I'm getting him 6, 8, 10 targets a game because he's my best

00:22:02tight end, and I want to run through the middle of the field, which, by the way, neither quarterback

00:22:06does very well. Russell or Justin doesn't see the middle of the field or doesn't like to throw the middle of the field.

00:22:10And then you mentioned the offensive line, which I think is an incredible point.

00:22:14These two guys hold the ball longer than any quarterbacks in the league. Russell Wilson and Justin

00:22:18Fields, go look at their numbers in past years. They sit back there forever. Russell takes

00:22:22a ton of sacks. For years, he tried to blame it on the offensive line, and when people started

00:22:26to dig deeper into it, they're like, dude, you don't have four seconds to throw on every

00:22:30play. And Fields has always sort of become that same thing, where he doesn't

00:22:34see it well enough to get rid of it quick. So unless it's a quick design

00:22:38play, i.e. a wide receiver screen or something like that, he takes so long

00:22:42to process that now it's three and a half seconds he's held the ball. And guess what?

00:22:46Even good offensive lines don't hold up for that long, never mind what

00:22:50Pittsburgh's got going. So I don't see it.

00:22:54They added some nice pieces. I think Patrick Queen, and we'll see if he was a

00:22:58product of Roquan Smith and the Mike McDonald.

00:23:02CD Lamb extension, four for 136. Well, there you go. Smart.

00:23:06Now they've got to get him up to speed and hope the hamstring holds up, because same thing there.

00:23:10CD Lamb is so far and away their best wide receiver on that roster.

00:23:14Brandon Cooks is what he is, and he's kind of on the downside. There's been some Jalen Tolbert

00:23:18buzz, but yeah, I mean, they better hope that the hamstrings

00:23:22hold up there, because he's an important piece. So anyway,

00:23:26Pittsburgh, we've spent enough time on him. Let's move to Cleveland,

00:23:30who I would have in the three spot here. They were 11-6 last year, 8th in DVOA,

00:23:3428th on offense, but 2nd on defense. The Jim Schwartz defense

00:23:38was phenomenal last year. And the first thing I write, and again,

00:23:42we do this a lot, the quarterback. Is Deshaun any good?

00:23:46Because it has been so freaking long since he was good.

00:23:50The last time Deshaun Watson was good, people, the last time Deshaun Watson played a full season,

00:23:54people, was the COVID year, which seems like an eternity ago.

00:23:58Kind of is an eternity ago in NFL, you know,

00:24:02the framework of the NFL. It's been three years.

00:24:06I just don't know. I can't. I can't.

00:24:10I mean, in fact, I shouldn't say I just don't know. My leaning is he's not.

00:24:14He is, at best, he's an average quarterback at this point. And if he's an average quarterback

00:24:18with what they're paying him and having the whole thing built around him,

00:24:22then that's not going to be good enough. And that team's not going to 11-6 last year,

00:24:26which let's not forget, 11-6 with five different quarterbacks last year,

00:24:30including Joe Flacco, who's now the backup in Indianapolis.

00:24:34Yeah, there's a couple of things you hit on there. Just want to clarify on the CD Lamb deal.

00:24:38It's the largest signing bonus

00:24:42ever given to a receiver, $38 million. And he's the second highest paid

00:24:46non-quarterback ever to Justin Jefferson. Jefferson got four for 140.

00:24:50Lamb at four for 136. There are four holdouts

00:24:54remaining, as we mentioned. Williams, Ayuk, Redick,

00:24:58and Jamar Chase. In terms of the Browns,

00:25:02they're a prime candidate for a big-time regression. My only reason

00:25:06I don't think they will is because how good this defense is. And I actually think they could even get better.

00:25:10I'm just thinking another year under Jim Schwartz. Do they stay healthier a couple of places?

00:25:14My worry with the Browns is this.

00:25:18Not only has the Watson piece not been good off the field,

00:25:22obviously, as we all know. On the field, it just hasn't looked good ever.

00:25:26And it kind of started to look good that one Ravens game, but then he ends up getting hurt anyways.

00:25:30He seems like he's just getting hurt a lot now, too. It's not even just a matter of

00:25:34the actual physical play. He's a slower decision-maker than he used to be.

00:25:38He doesn't look quite as athletic. The arm doesn't look...

00:25:42Everything just looks off. It hasn't even looked remotely the same.

00:25:46To me, they're going to have

00:25:50to get Watson to play at least as crazy as this sounds at Flacco level

00:25:54to be what they were last year. I just think they're maybe more of a

00:25:589-win team this year that kind of gets by and maybe sneaks in

00:26:02to that 7 seed. You don't want to play them because maybe they'll get Chubb back eventually

00:26:06even though we don't know what he really is. Stefanski's a damn good coach.

00:26:10Two-time coach of the year. There's a lot there. There's a lot to like.

00:26:14Milo Scarrett might win defensive player of the year.

00:26:18Mark Cooper's probably going to go for 1,200, 1,300 yards.

00:26:22The offensive line's still good, although they seem to always have these injuries.

00:26:26I don't know. They pay J.O.K. and Denzel Ward.

00:26:30They're a really good team. They're really well-built. There's a lot of things to like.

00:26:34The quarterback, is Deshaun Watson the 25th best quarterback in the league?

00:26:38Is he the 20th best? Is he the 18th best? What is he? But his contract kind of

00:26:42ruined a lot of stuff for a lot of teams and a lot of players.

00:26:46On top of that, it's just not a good contract. It's only going to get worse.

00:26:50They're kind of stuck. I worry

00:26:54do they get a regression because the quarterback play is just meh.

00:26:58They win nine games. They win two or three. They don't win the Niners game they won

00:27:02last year in the rain where they get the missed field goal. They maybe don't steal one of those other ones.

00:27:06They don't steal the Jets against Trevor Simeon. They don't have those two.

00:27:10Maybe they're a nine-win team this year. They'll be good. They'll be not fun to watch.

00:27:14They'll be hard to play against. I just feel like the Browns and the Steelers are both in that

00:27:18don't really want to play them, but also not super

00:27:22scared of playing them. I don't know. It's a weird mix.

00:27:26I report on this at the time because Alex Van Pelto is their offensive coordinator

00:27:30last year. Van Pelto, now the Patriots offensive coordinator,

00:27:34obviously did not call plays in Cleveland. That's Kevin Stefanski's

00:27:38job there, even though he's the head coach.

00:27:42They talked about the idea that they thought their drop-back pass

00:27:46game was a little stale. It doesn't feel like Stefanski

00:27:50wanted to make that move. That feels like that decision came above him.

00:27:54I'm just curious if this isn't just sort of the last gasp

00:27:58attempt to save Watson and the investment they put in Watson,

00:28:02and then even though Kevin Stefanski's the reigning NFL Coach of the Year and the two-time

00:28:06NFL Coach of the Year in his short tenure in Cleveland, if he doesn't

00:28:10become the, well,

00:28:14it's got to be you. It can't be the quarterback that we're paying

00:28:18$250 million to. We've got to blame somebody, and we've got to blame

00:28:22the coach in that case, even if the coach has the resume that Stefanski has.

00:28:26He's got to be able to make the adjustment. He's been around the league long enough,

00:28:30and he certainly didn't do that last year.

00:28:34All right, let's move on to the playoffs.

00:28:38We're going to talk a little bit more about the playoffs.

00:28:42We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:28:46We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:28:50We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:28:54We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:28:58We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:29:02We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:29:06We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:29:10We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:29:14We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:29:18We're going to talk a little bit more about the drafts.

00:29:22And there's some good buzz about them.

00:29:24You just mentioned the Jumar Chase thing, finally practicing this weekend,

00:29:27even though he doesn't have his new contract that he wants.

00:29:30And yet another team, where I come back to the quarterback and Joe Burrow

00:29:34and there's no questioning. Unlike Deshaun Watson, there's no questioning

00:29:37that Joe Burrow is good. He's an elite quarterback.

00:29:40But he has a wrist injury that I don't think any NFL quarterback has ever had.

00:29:44And it's just stretched the entire summer,

00:29:47and the spring and summer where they weren't letting him

00:29:49letting him throw more than two or three days in a row.

00:29:52And while they're saying he's healthy, it's a weird injury.

00:29:55It's an injury that I'm very leery of because there is no real history for

00:29:58an NFL quarterback to come back from something like this.

00:30:01And I wonder, is he gonna be the same guy?

00:30:05Last year was a different injury, right?

00:30:07It was the calf that got him off to the slow start.

00:30:09He wasn't himself until week four or five, finally turns into Joe Burrow again.

00:30:13And then a week later, that's when the wrist thing happens.

00:30:16And Zach Taylor and then offensive coordinator Brian Callahan did a great job

00:30:20of sort of drawing up a new offense with Jake Browning.

00:30:24But it's clear they're going back to what Burrow loves to do.

00:30:27Should have Chase in there for week one.

00:30:29They've got T Higgins on the franchise deal, which it's nice that he's there.

00:30:34I will say, that's another thing that I always raise my eyebrows at.

00:30:37Like, let's say we're a middling team.

00:30:39He's got a hamstring or a quad or a calf.

00:30:42And he says, you know what?

00:30:44I can't play this week.

00:30:47Cuz I got a payday that I'm looking forward to in the offseason.

00:30:49That's not gonna come from you guys likely.

00:30:51So I gotta protect myself and I'm the asset here.

00:30:54So I just wonder how that'll play.

00:30:56But by and large, I still have a hard time betting against Burrow.

00:31:00I still have a hard time betting against Lou Anarumo.

00:31:02I feel like they've reworked that defense again to give them a little bit more

00:31:05confidence in some of the back end guys, especially at safety.

00:31:09And I just feel like there'll be a bitch to play all year.

00:31:13Yeah, they're an interesting one.

00:31:16I think you can make the case they're the biggest threat to Kansas City in some

00:31:19senses, and I think you could make the case they're a little lighter than they

00:31:24were two years ago, three years ago, that couple year window where

00:31:29they didn't have to pay anybody and they could kinda really stack up around them.

00:31:33I like the Emarius Mims pick.

00:31:35I think the offensive line should be good.

00:31:38I mean, again, I don't know if it'll be elite, but it should be good.

00:31:41Mims just looked awesome.

00:31:42He's an absolute unicorn, even a big Trent Brown and Mims and

00:31:45Orlando Brown in the same offensive lines,

00:31:47pretty hilarious from a pure mass perspective.

00:31:51They bring in Gusecki.

00:31:52We'll see, Drew Sample's shown some nice things.

00:31:54I think the tight end spot for them is kinda by rotation.

00:31:59Zach Walsh show a little bit more now.

00:32:02Obviously, Joe Nixon, they kinda let go.

00:32:05Andre Jochevas will play a big role.

00:32:07Princeton guy, we'll see if Cole Burgess makes the roster, I don't know.

00:32:12Corley guy, but Dan Pitcher comes in, obviously, as the offensive coordinator.

00:32:16He's been a guy who's been responsible for a lot of their third down stuff,

00:32:19a lot of their goal line stuff, and helping develop Borough.

00:32:22Not that he needed to do that much to help Borough, but he did enough.

00:32:25Obviously, they lose Callahan in Tennessee.

00:32:28So I think the Bengals will be good.

00:32:31I think they finish second in the division,

00:32:33unless Borough kinda returns to peak, peak form Borough.

00:32:36I just wonder sometimes, does it take them a little while to get going?

00:32:40Does Chase and Higgins, if they don't both don't get the new deals and

00:32:43have to play, are they super motivated?

00:32:45Or are they kinda a little checked out?

00:32:48I think those guys love ball, and I don't doubt that.

00:32:53I just sometimes wonder, football's a mental sport.

00:32:55You have to make business decisions.

00:32:57You have to.

00:32:58I got big money coming to me from somebody.

00:33:00If it's not gonna be from you, why am I gonna lay it out on the line?

00:33:03Cuz let's face it, especially if it's Jamar, which they have franchised Jamar.

00:33:07They'll do all these things if they have to.

00:33:08But T Higgins is probably gonna be the best wide receiver on the market.

00:33:14In the offseason, we just saw Calvin Ridley get 50 million essentially for

00:33:17two years guaranteed from Tennessee.

00:33:19T Higgins is a better receiver than Calvin Ridley.

00:33:23Yeah, I couldn't agree more.

00:33:25I just, and again, like I said,

00:33:27I think Sheldon Rankin's will be a really nice addition.

00:33:29I think the defensive line's really good.

00:33:31Miles Murphy, obviously, as well.

00:33:33Could bring Chris Jenkins in.

00:33:35There's a lot there to like, a lot.

00:33:38I think they're probably a 10 or 11 win team.

00:33:40The guy I feel pretty good about.

00:33:43Again, their ceiling's really damn high.

00:33:45When you have a guy like Jamar Chase, and you have a guy like Joe Burrow,

00:33:48you have a coach that's taking you to a Super Bowl, and

00:33:51you have a good defensive coordinator, they're in a good spot.

00:33:55I just, like I said, I kinda almost have to re-see it again,

00:33:58cuz I feel like it's a little bit of that.

00:34:01In the regular season, they are a team that does go up and down a bit.

00:34:04They play up really well to these big games.

00:34:07I feel like every year, it's like the Buffalo game, Kansas City.

00:34:11Obviously, there's other games.

00:34:13But those games, I feel like they're always locked in, ready to go.

00:34:16The Ravens games especially, too.

00:34:18I feel like they're maybe a little worse than Baltimore,

00:34:21who we'll talk about in a moment, who lost a lot of guys.

00:34:24But like I said, you trust Burrow in a big spot.

00:34:28You trust Chase to show up.

00:34:29I think they're a team that's probably the five seed.

00:34:32That's probably where I'm gonna end up landing on them.

00:34:33They're probably an 11 win team that's the five seed.

00:34:37Everyone's going, all right, they'll beat the AFC South team, or

00:34:42whoever that team is.

00:34:44And no one wants to see them round two, and they'll go back to Kansas City, or

00:34:47go back to Buffalo, wherever it is.

00:34:49And we'll get Allen versus Burrow, or Burrow versus Mahomes, part three or four.

00:34:53And that's kinda how I see things rolling, kinda rolling.

00:34:56Will, you love in the summertime, I know you.

00:34:58You love to go to Yankees games.

00:35:00I'm not gonna hold it against you.

00:35:01It's a nice park, and a team I can live without.

00:35:04But whatever, you're that guy.

00:35:06What do you use?

00:35:06Do you use anybody in particular when you need your tickets, and

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00:35:14Me and the girl, we're gonna go to the game.

00:35:16Game time app, it's incredibly easy to use, incredibly efficient.

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00:36:05I would be remiss if I didn't mention DJ Reader,

00:36:07who left in free agency for the Lions.

00:36:10They'll miss him, remiss and miss.

00:36:11They're gonna miss Reader, even though I know he had some injury problems.

00:36:14You mentioned Rankin's, Chris Jenkins, little bit different body types.

00:36:19Reader is just a monster in the middle.

00:36:20Like if Reader is healthy, and I knew he just came off Pup for Detroit,

00:36:24he'll make a huge difference on their front,

00:36:26which is already pretty good to begin with.

00:36:28But Reader is an important guy.

00:36:30And when I talked about the back end, they were so good with Bates and

00:36:35Von Bell for those years that you talked about, that two years where they were really,

00:36:40you're in the Super Bowl, you're pushing the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game,

00:36:44losing in overtime.

00:36:46Bell left in free agency.

00:36:47Well, he got caught, he's back.

00:36:48They brought him back.

00:36:49There's comfort in that.

00:36:51He's not like a game-changing player, but he's a smart player.

00:36:53Obviously, Anirumo loves him, trusts him.

00:36:55And then they brought in Gino Stone in free agency from Baltimore.

00:36:59He's not Bates, although he had big ball production numbers last year.

00:37:03But based on what they had there last year, the transition to these two guys,

00:37:07if they get good football from them,

00:37:09which both of those guys should give them good football,

00:37:11they should be a lot better on the back end.

00:37:13And that will make such a difference for

00:37:15Anirumo up front as he dials up all kinds of stuff.

00:37:18By the way, Miles Murphy, knee injury, four to six weeks, they say.

00:37:21Looked like it could have been horrible, so that's actually good news.

00:37:24Hendrickson, who still doesn't like his contract, he's there, and

00:37:28Sam Hubbard as well.

00:37:29So they'll need good edge play to help that defense get back to where they were

00:37:33in prior years.

00:37:35Now that leaves us to Baltimore,

00:37:36who was the best team in football last year until the playoffs.

00:37:41And when you look back at that playoff game,

00:37:44if Zay Flowers just holds on to the football, that doesn't fumble the football,

00:37:48do they win that game?

00:37:49If Lamar doesn't throw the pick in the end zone, do they win that game?

00:37:52But these are things that happened, and they're 13 and four a year.

00:37:56The number one in DVOA, fourth on offense, first in defense,

00:38:00third in special teams, ends up going for not in the postseason.

00:38:04And therefore, Lamar's still got to answer the questions like, well,

00:38:08can you get it done in the postseason?

00:38:09And the answer thus far has been no, despite his second MVP last year.

00:38:15I just gotta believe, though, even with all the personnel losses,

00:38:19that in a second year in this system for Lamar,

00:38:22last year was Todd Munkin as the offensive coordinator.

00:38:27There was comfort there, but it wasn't to the degree that it should be now.

00:38:31I feel like he's gonna be a monster again this year.

00:38:34And it wouldn't surprise me if he's going for back-to-back MVPs,

00:38:38because I feel like this suits him so well.

00:38:42It's interesting too, because he dropped a lot of weight, right?

00:38:45He said he looked fat, which is ridiculous.

00:38:47The guy is jacked, but he didn't like the way he felt.

00:38:50He felt a little sluggish, he said.

00:38:52And so he's back down to 205-ish, which that was reversed.

00:38:57Everyone says he's gotta build himself up to take the punishment.

00:39:00And now he's saying, well, I did that, and he won MVPs.

00:39:04But I wanna go back in the other direction, because I wanna be explosive.

00:39:08And there were plenty of times last year where he said, I looked at the tape, and

00:39:12if I had been a little lighter, that five-yard run,

00:39:15that eight-yard run would have been an 80-yard run.

00:39:18That's how he felt.

00:39:19And so I'm curious to see that part of it too.

00:39:23Yeah, the Raimonds are an interesting one again.

00:39:25I feel like I keep saying that, they're interesting.

00:39:27But you know what?

00:39:29Until they get into the playoffs, and they start taking care of business and

00:39:34get to that title, get to a Super Bowl at least, there's gonna be questions.

00:39:37I think there's fair questions, and I think about Lamar in the playoffs.

00:39:41And I think there's fair questions maybe from a horrible perspective.

00:39:44Those guys that are so dominant in camp, so dominant in the preseason,

00:39:48so dominant in the regular season, and then we just don't see it quite as much.

00:39:51Again, does A.

00:39:51Flowers not fumble that ball?

00:39:53Am I looking at a different game?

00:39:54Does, there was a million other things happen, but

00:39:56this isn't a one-year situation, right?

00:39:58And they were awesome in all those different things.

00:40:01So I'd look at them, the offensive line to me is a question.

00:40:06They lost a lot of guys, and Roger Rosengarten's really good in the preseason.

00:40:11And Andrew Voorhees is a guy I liked a lot in college.

00:40:14Obviously the injury, Tyler Winterbaum's a guy that everyone loves coming out,

00:40:17continues to like.

00:40:19Defensively, the personnel's awesome.

00:40:21No doubt about it.

00:40:22They bring, obviously what Rogue Clawn's brought to that team has been amazing.

00:40:28That said-

00:40:28Kyle Hamilton, one of the greatest press pieces in football.

00:40:31Yeah, Kyle Hamilton's been amazing.

00:40:33And another season of Marcus Williams, and Marlon Humphrey, and

00:40:37they bring in Nate Wiggins.

00:40:38They bring in, a lot of, again, Devontae Walker's a guy that I think a lot of

00:40:42people liked in the draft process.

00:40:44I just, they're a team that's unfortunately in a situation,

00:40:49I think somewhat similar to Miami and Buffalo.

00:40:53In the AFC where you go, okay, we've seen the regular season.

00:40:57We know what you're about.

00:40:58We understand you can light up the scoreboard.

00:41:01Allen and Lamar specifically will be in the MVP conversation all year long.

00:41:06And Harbaugh and McDermott will be in the coach of the year conversation all year

00:41:10long, and to some extent McDaniels and Tua, and it's great.

00:41:14But at the end of the day, you judge on winning titles in this league, and

00:41:18Lamar's done every single thing you could do.

00:41:21And it's fair or not, it's just the reality.

00:41:23We do it for the guys.

00:41:24We talked about Aaron Rodgers, he's the worst postseason quarterback ever.

00:41:28He's got 11 playoff wins and a title and an MVP in the Super Bowl.

00:41:32And we talked about some of these other guys at Borough, Lamar, Allen, and

00:41:35we're like, my God, they're so, Rodgers needs a title.

00:41:38And it's like, well, he has a title actually, and

00:41:40these other guys don't have a title.

00:41:41And frankly, only one of them's gotten to the Super Bowl.

00:41:44So I just think the Ravens come down to, what are you gonna do for me in January?

00:41:50Because I know what they're gonna be September through January.

00:41:52They're gonna be damn good, and they're gonna be damn hard to beat.

00:41:56Let's see, I think they win this division.

00:41:58I don't think they're quite as good as they were last year.

00:42:00But maybe it works in their advantage, they're a different team.

00:42:02Again, the coordinator situation is the one for them.

00:42:06We saw this with Philly last year.

00:42:09Harbaugh's a much better coach than Sirianni.

00:42:12I'm not saying that, but generally speaking,

00:42:15when you lose both coordinators, what are you gonna be?

00:42:18It sometimes takes a little while to get rolling here and some new pieces.

00:42:23I'm just curious, I think they'll be their best team version,

00:42:26week six through eight team, week one through six.

00:42:28They'll be good, they'll be hard to beat.

00:42:30I don't know if they'll be peak them, but I think they'll get rolling.

00:42:32I think they win this division, they'll probably win 12 games.

00:42:34And their team, you probably don't wanna play in the playoffs.

00:42:37Although, again, till they get it done, I guess maybe you do.

00:42:40So I don't know.

00:42:42Yeah, I mean, they had probably the three best regular season wins last year.

00:42:46They smacked Detroit when Detroit was playing well.

00:42:48They smacked Miami when Miami was rolling.

00:42:50And they beat the 49ers as well.

00:42:52It was just like, they were the team last year.

00:42:55And even as poorly as they played in the playoff game against KC,

00:43:00they were still within a whisker of winning that game.

00:43:02So yeah, Mike McDonald being gone as the defensive coordinator,

00:43:05we know how good he was.

00:43:06Nose tackles and coverage, safeties, blitzing, simulated pressures everywhere.

00:43:10Zack Orr's a young guy, didn't think this was gonna be his route necessarily.

00:43:15And here he is as a young DC, might take a little bit, as you mentioned.

00:43:18But there's enough pieces in place where they should be rocking and

00:43:22rolling sooner rather than later.

00:43:24And again, we'll see what happens in January,

00:43:27cuz they're gonna be there in January.

00:43:29Question is, can they win in January?

00:43:31And that hasn't happened in some time.

00:43:33Let's switch over now to the NFC North.

00:43:36And we didn't talk about this in advance.

00:43:40I kinda like springing this on you.

00:43:43But I would think, I'm gonna read your brain here.

00:43:46Minnesota's the fourth team in this division, correct?

00:43:48Ooh.

00:43:51Yeah, but I think-

00:43:54Who would be fourth if it wasn't Minnesota?

00:43:56Chicago?

00:43:59I'm getting a little, let's start with the Bears.

00:44:03Because I think they're the one that I'm getting, I'm confused on.

00:44:09Because everything tells me, Sheil Kapadia was on,

00:44:13I don't remember what show he was on recently, and he did this whole study.

00:44:16I think he wrote this in the Ringer.

00:44:19Rookie quarterback strapped in the first round as a rookie.

00:44:22There's exceptions.

00:44:24CJ Stratton's obviously an exception, and

00:44:25Baker Mayfield, frankly, was an exception.

00:44:28They usually are ranked, on average, the 26th quarterback that year in the league.

00:44:33I say that because I'm probably the biggest Caleb Williams guy you'll meet.

00:44:38I can attest to this.

00:44:39Yeah, but I'm a little worried that we're doing this.

00:44:44CJ Stratton did it last year, so Caleb has to do it this year.

00:44:49And they're gonna go win 12 games, and this defense is amazing, and

00:44:53their weapons are amazing.

00:44:55Caleb's amazing, yes, I think all those things could be true.

00:45:02But I'm a little worried from the aspect of,

00:45:05are we sure Matty Ruflus is a really good coach?

00:45:07Or are we sure that he's a guy that doesn't have you bottom out?

00:45:12He kind of saved himself in the locker room a little bit, and

00:45:15defense got better.

00:45:17After the month of sweat, who's rushing the passer?

00:45:20Cuz all I hear is how good this defense is, and I agree, they're good.

00:45:25But the NFL, you gotta get home with pressure.

00:45:28And if you're gonna just sit back there and play cover to shell and

00:45:31say, we're gonna bait you, that's great.

00:45:35But like Martha sweat isn't like prime miles Garrett, he's a good player.

00:45:40And I just, I don't know, I just have these weird questions where I feel like

00:45:43we're just assuming everything is gonna go right.

00:45:47And realistically, if the Bears go in seven games and

00:45:49Caleb looks really good for a large portion of the year.

00:45:52It's a damn good year, and they're probably going, okay,

00:45:55are we sure we don't wanna go hire Bill Belichick now that we have a quarterback?

00:45:58And say, I don't know, we'll give him power and

00:46:00sorry, we'll go in this division for the next three years.

00:46:03Yeah, my point is, I just am a little worried that we're just assuming.

00:46:08Kevin O'Connell is a much better coach than Matty Ruflus, in my opinion.

00:46:10And we're assuming the Vikings are just gonna suck.

00:46:13And we're assuming the Bears are just gonna be good because they've added pieces.

00:46:18I gotta just see it first before we jump to, hey,

00:46:21back half of last year, the defense was really good.

00:46:24But they still didn't get any pressure.

00:46:25They were like 28th in pressure, 29th in pressure,

00:46:27even though they just paid a guy $25 million.

00:46:30Again, I sound like I'm being negative.

00:46:31There's a world in which the Bears make the playoffs, 1,000% that they take that.

00:46:36They're a nine or ten win team, and Caleb's great.

00:46:38And the defense is good, and these talented receivers and everything.

00:46:42I just feel like we're doing, everyone's saying that, and

00:46:45it gives me these radars and antennas to go, are we sure they're not a seven win team?

00:46:50Are you positive?

00:46:51They were a seven win team last year.

00:46:53They made a big jump, as you mentioned, second half of last season.

00:46:57They were second in DVOA from Week 10 on, defensively.

00:47:03I love their secondary.

00:47:04I think Jalen Johnson, who got paid, is a stud.

00:47:09Jaquan Brisker, safety from Penn State, love them coming out, good player.

00:47:13Kyler Gordon, corner from Washington a couple years ago, good player.

00:47:17Their linebacking group, I think when you talk about off the ball linebackers,

00:47:21there aren't a lot of good ones, or there aren't a lot of good groups, if you will.

00:47:25I think they have a good one, Tremaine Edmonds, T.J. Edwards, Jack Sanborn.

00:47:31But to your point about the pass rush, they were in on Matthew Judon.

00:47:35They had a deal, they wanted to get the extension with Judon.

00:47:40Or Atlanta said, we'll roll the dice and work something out when he gets here.

00:47:44They said, we're not making a trade for

00:47:45a third round pick unless we get his name on a contract beyond this year.

00:47:50And that's why he ends up in Atlanta and not Chicago.

00:47:52So they know that it's a problem.

00:47:55Austin Booker has been really good for them in the preseason, I love Booker.

00:47:59Coming out of University of Kansas,

00:48:00he, to me, was the best pass rusher in the draft from the edge.

00:48:04Doesn't have a lot of reps, I think he played 500 college snaps.

00:48:07So he's got a long way to go in his development.

00:48:10He could be a stud down the line, but it might be a little too early for

00:48:14primetime to be that guy for 17 weeks opposite Montez Sweat.

00:48:18So I think the defense will be good, but that's gonna be a problem for

00:48:21them getting to the quarterback.

00:48:22And then offensively, you mentioned the Caleb Williams.

00:48:25There's been some weird Keenan Allen stuff, I think we talked, is he fat?

00:48:29There's a whole thing, it's weird cuz he's always been such a good pro.

00:48:33I said, yeah, I can't tell, unless I'm standing next to a guy,

00:48:37it's really hard to tell.

00:48:38But there has been some talk about that.

00:48:42And then I do wonder, Shane Waldron comes over from Seattle, he's the OC.

00:48:48What's Shane Waldron do?

00:48:50I just don't know that we know that Shane.

00:48:53Shane Waldron isn't someone that we say is cutting edge.

00:48:56People got all hot and bothered about Bobby Slowick and Ben Johnson.

00:49:00And those guys, if they have good years again this year,

00:49:02are gonna be head coaches.

00:49:03In fact, I think Ben Johnson, unless it's a disaster,

00:49:06is gonna be a head coach, assuming he wants to lead Detroit.

00:49:09But no one's ever said that about Shane Waldron.

00:49:13So we'll see, we'll see if he's got the answers.

00:49:16If he and Caleb can be on the same page, if they can feed multiple targets.

00:49:21Cuz DJ Moore thinks he's the number one receiver.

00:49:23Keenan still thinks he's the number one receiver.

00:49:25Roma Doonzay, there's already been some good chemistry with him and

00:49:28Caleb Williams.

00:49:29So does he vault ahead of one of those guys?

00:49:31And now does that go?

00:49:32Cole Komet obviously paid him a lot of money, he wants some targets.

00:49:36So there's a lot of talent on that team.

00:49:40I just, I don't know that I can fully see it coming together.

00:49:44But this takes me to Minnesota, where I felt like this was a step back year for

00:49:50them, being okay with letting Kirk go for that number.

00:49:56Drafting JJ, who obviously has some good skills, but is a little bit raw.

00:50:02And they were gonna develop him, and I think Kevin O'Connell was the right guy

00:50:04to do that.

00:50:05And for having him get the injury, and now be cost for the season,

00:50:08I think we all kind of thought like Darnold will start.

00:50:12But at some point, JJ will be the quarterback.

00:50:14And now it's Darnold, sink or swim, right?

00:50:17We know what Nick Mullins is.

00:50:19He might give you a game, and then he'll resort to throwing four interceptions.

00:50:26Jaron Hall, developmental guy, they couldn't roll with him last year.

00:50:30They had to bring in Josh Dobbs.

00:50:33So I just, I feel like there's a talent deficiency at quarterback.

00:50:39That Kirk was able to raise their floor, if again, not raise their ceiling.

00:50:43They were always kind of that same nine, ten win team.

00:50:48Sam could be bad.

00:50:50I know he could be bad, cuz he's been bad in other spots.

00:50:53So if he's bad, and you have nowhere else to turn, then I don't care if you have

00:50:57Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson coming back off the knee,

00:51:01whatever that is, you're not gonna be good.

00:51:05Cuz if he stinks, you just can't get around that.

00:51:09So that worries me.

00:51:11They obviously, defensively, Brian put a lot of stuff on tape.

00:51:15They do crazy stuff.

00:51:18They blitz you when you come off the bus.

00:51:21Teams have had a year to kind of sit on that now, you can marinate.

00:51:25Do teams have a better answer for some of the stuff that he did for

00:51:28them last year?

00:51:28And what's his counter to that?

00:51:29Cuz obviously, we're not gonna see that in the summer, as you mentioned.

00:51:33It's not that, for Brian, it's never bland, but

00:51:36it's bland in the sense of what he does normally during the regular season.

00:51:40So I could see them being a five win team,

00:51:44even though I think Flores is a really good defensive coordinator,

00:51:47even though I think Kevin O'Connell's a really good offensive mind.

00:51:50I just could see the quarterback position and

00:51:52maybe some regression defensively sort of taking them back to that spot.

00:51:56And then what's the ceiling?

00:51:57If they're really good, is the ceiling eight wins?

00:52:02I just don't, I know they signed Gilmore, so

00:52:04they kind of feel like maybe they think they're still part of it.

00:52:07But I just, I don't know, the more I sit on it, the more I look at the roster,

00:52:10the more I think that just, it's a nice thought.

00:52:13I appreciate you're investing in the roster and signing Gilmore, but

00:52:15I just don't think that's gonna be enough to help you be anything other than

00:52:20a last place team.

00:52:21Yeah, it comes down to me, I still think the Bears finished third, but

00:52:24I just don't think it's far and away that Minnesota is so much worse than them.

00:52:28I think that O'Connell's really good, I might be higher on him than anybody.

00:52:32I don't know, I just-

00:52:34No, I like him, I like him a lot.

00:52:35If he told me that Jet Seg coach was Kevin O'Connell, I'd probably pick them.

00:52:38I think people would be picking them in division, no problem.

00:52:41I truly think that.

00:52:44The one thing that's weird with Minnesota is I felt like they waited a year longer

00:52:47than they should have to try to blow it up.

00:52:49I felt like last year was the time to do it.

00:52:51There's a huge stat quarterback class.

00:52:53They got a quarterback, they clearly wanted Michael Pennix.

00:52:55If you believe all the reporting, maybe they would have gotten a Drake May,

00:52:59maybe who obviously the O'Connell and McCown and the whole,

00:53:02I don't know, that whole situation.

00:53:05I think Sam will be better than people are expecting, but

00:53:07I don't think they're more than probably a seven or eight win team.

00:53:10I think they're probably like seven and ten and show some,

00:53:13they have some moments where they're really frisky and they beat Green Bay or

00:53:16they'll beat the Jets or they'll beat the Lions or

00:53:19they'll have this stretch of the beat Buffalo or whatever.

00:53:22Who knows what it's going to be?

00:53:23If whoever may, whatever the one of that game, I guess the Jets are the opposite

00:53:26game, but whatever it is, they'll go beat Green Bay and Green Bay and

00:53:29we'll be like, Vikings are frisky, like seven seed.

00:53:32I think they just fall short at the end of the day.

00:53:34I think they made some nice additions by Cashman, Van Ginkle, we mentioned Gilmore.

00:53:39Give Brian a lot more talent on that side of the football.

00:53:42They still lost to Neil Hunter, what do you have, 17 sacks last year, 18 sacks?

00:53:46It's not as if they, it's not as if they, again, it's nice.

00:53:51Andrew Van Ginkle's a nice player, I'm not poo-pooing that.

00:53:55I just, okay, Dallas Turner, what's he going to be?

00:54:01Yeah, they're a bit confusing based on Aaron Jones, obviously.

00:54:06What's he got left in the tank?

00:54:07He's a guy that I feel like still has a lot of juice, but

00:54:09has kind of got the hamstring stuff that kind of seems to pop up quite a bit.

00:54:14I feel like they're a seven or eight win team.

00:54:16I feel like Chicago's probably an eight or nine win team, but could easily be.

00:54:20It feels like Chicago's seven to nine wins, Minnesota's like five to nine wins.

00:54:24The floor and the ceiling are just a bit too all over the place for me.

00:54:28And I don't know that Minnesota's primed and

00:54:31ready to physically beat Detroit up, or Green Bay for that matter.

00:54:37Maybe they are, I don't know, Ivan Pace is a guy who's looked better.

00:54:42How's Harrison Smith got left?

00:54:43Like Caleb Evans and Shaq Riffenops, I don't know, I just think they'll be fun.

00:54:49The frisky, I just don't know that they'll be good.

00:54:52I guess that's all I can say.

00:54:54I just, I think Sam has been in a lot of places and people have tried to rebuild

00:54:59him and maybe this is his time to be Gino Smith in Seattle a few years ago.

00:55:06Cuz I think it is in some ways a good offensive line, right?

00:55:10Excellent tackles, you've got weapons.

00:55:13If Aaron's healthy, you've got a running game.

00:55:15But I'm just, to your point, I have to see it to believe it.

00:55:19And I haven't seen it from him in a long time.

00:55:21I'm not buying stock in that until it actually happens.

00:55:26All right, so now this would be the point in the conversation where you say,

00:55:32can you make a case for Green Bay to unseat Detroit?

00:55:35Detroit is one of the favorites to go to the Super Bowl,

00:55:38one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

00:55:40Green Bay was nine and eight last year.

00:55:42But obviously, incredibly frisky in the second half of the season.

00:55:47Played well in the postseason, Jordan Love with the bad interception.

00:55:51Otherwise, whatever, the last nine, ten games of his season convinced Green Bay

00:55:57that he deserved to be paid a crap ton of money, which they did this offseason.

00:56:03Can you envision a scenario, health excluded,

00:56:06where Green Bay is better than Detroit?

00:56:10Yeah, I can envision a scenario.

00:56:12My questions with Green Bay are,

00:56:15they are the team that I feel like everybody's picking to be that team.

00:56:21And I guess the case would be, they feel a little 2010 Jetsy,

00:56:26where 2009 was way too early for them, in a sense.

00:56:30And they're like, hey man, they don't fall apart in the second half.

00:56:34Very similar to what the Jets did against the Colts that year.

00:56:36Got some injuries, we fell apart in the second half a little bit.

00:56:39But we should have beaten San Francisco.

00:56:41We should have been the team in the Super Bowl a year early.

00:56:43And now we'll get a healthy Kristen Watson, another year of Jordan Love.

00:56:48We'll get healthier, we'll be better, and all that stuff.

00:56:50And why can't we go and, why can't we go beat San Francisco this time?

00:56:54And then we take the Lions down, or whoever it is.

00:56:57So I get it.

00:56:59And I think Love is a guy that was really damn good the back half of the year.

00:57:03He was insane, he just was.

00:57:05That Cowboys game was incredible, and it's harder to play better.

00:57:09I think a lot of the talent in offense, you could argue, is better this year.

00:57:12Just from a year of experience.

00:57:14You like the tight end room, the receiver room.

00:57:16I like, don't love.

00:57:17I think people are really high in the receiver room, and I think it's good.

00:57:20I don't know that they have a special player in there.

00:57:23Not that you need one.

00:57:24We've seen that, you don't need it.

00:57:26Is Josh Jacobs, what is Josh Jacobs?

00:57:28Because two years ago he won the rushing title, and

00:57:30last year obviously didn't practice until the season started.

00:57:33And looked pretty average, if not bad.

00:57:35My question's on defense, and you're up in the New England area.

00:57:40Did anyone like Jeff Halfley as a defensive coordinator six months ago?

00:57:48Because I felt like that kind of came out of nowhere, and

00:57:51I think there was two seconds where there was the Robert Sala hit piece by

00:57:55the Athletic, and it was like, is Sala gonna get fired and go be the Packers' DC?

00:57:59And they're gonna hire Mike Vrabel, and

00:58:00that was a fun conversation for three minutes.

00:58:03But in seriousness, I think the biggest fact,

00:58:06the Packers' defense was not good last year.

00:58:07And they have seven first round picks, and all this different stuff, and

00:58:11this talent, but the defense hasn't been good in forever.

00:58:14And Jeff Halfley, I don't know that he gives you confidence that all of a sudden

00:58:19you're gonna bring in a Brian Flores, one of the Spagnolo type that's gonna come in

00:58:25and be like, hey man, we're gonna get max energy out of this group.

00:58:30And they're gonna go from 23 to 5, and that with love, like 14 wins.

00:58:35Maybe, but do you see that?

00:58:38I don't know if I see that.

00:58:39I see more like 10 wins, and they're frisky, and good, and talented.

00:58:43Yeah, the Halfley thing surprised the hell out of me.

00:58:45Look, it's not easy to win at Boston College.

00:58:47Generally, BC will have, let's say, one really good year in a 10 to 12 year period.

00:58:56Matt Ryan, they were number two in the country, and

00:58:58lost to Virginia Tech late in the year, ending those hopes.

00:59:01They've had some moments, right?

00:59:05Like, forget about the Flutie, that's a million years ago.

00:59:07But they've had some moments.

00:59:10Their defense wasn't good the last few years, in particular under Halfley.

00:59:12I think 88th and 100th in FCS, which that's not good.

00:59:17He's obviously got more talent to work with,

00:59:20as you mentioned, the seven first round picks.

00:59:23And Barry did, I think, kind of a terrible job in Green Bay.

00:59:27I don't know how you couldn't carve more out of that.

00:59:31He didn't.

00:59:32Can Halfley do it?

00:59:33I mean, just based on the sheer talent, you should be able to.

00:59:38But we haven't seen him, I don't know that he can put together a good defense.

00:59:41I know that the edge guys are all excited.

00:59:44Rashawn Gary, Preston Smith, Lucas Van Ness are all like,

00:59:47hey, we're not dropping into coverage anymore.

00:59:50Hand in the dirt, edge support, and go get the quarterback.

00:59:55That's what he's telling us to do.

00:59:56So maybe that unlocks those guys, and maybe Gary's a double-digit sack guy.

01:00:00Maybe Smith, maybe they have that.

01:00:02Van Ness was very productive last year as a pass rusher.

01:00:05So maybe that takes him to another place.

01:00:08Should create more one-on-ones inside for Frank Clark, Devontae Wyatt.

01:00:11Again, really talented guys.

01:00:13So can that defensive line sort of control things?

01:00:16You added good pieces in the back.

01:00:18I think Javon Bullard, the kid out of Georgia,

01:00:21he's gonna play a lot for them at safety, nickel, whatever.

01:00:24And obviously they gave a crap ton of money to Xavier McKinney,

01:00:27who I think he's an excellent player.

01:00:31And they're gonna ask him to do a lot there.

01:00:33And that was a problem for them last season.

01:00:35So pieces are in place.

01:00:37Like what's Jair Alexander at this point?

01:00:39Right.

01:00:40That's a key to me.

01:00:41Like you mentioned Gary.

01:00:42Jair's the highest paid corner in the league still.

01:00:45And we've seen other guys get paid after him.

01:00:48And that AJ Terrell deal, I know we didn't mention earlier, not great for

01:00:51the cornerback market.

01:00:52I think Sertain and Soss will do probably three,

01:00:55$4 million a year more.

01:00:58Good by Atlanta to get him locked up.

01:00:59I think he's definitely in a tier below those guys.

01:01:01The Jair one, I think, I just find it so intriguing because there's a lot of weird

01:01:06stuff last year, the interview that he did, whatever, that was odd.

01:01:10And then he went out for the coin toss, and then whatever, right?

01:01:13That was really weird.

01:01:14He got suspended.

01:01:16And he just didn't look very good.

01:01:18Yeah, and I don't, but he like two years ago, I felt like, I don't know.

01:01:23It's probably the hardest game Garrett Wilson's ever played.

01:01:26It was the second or whatever, fourth game in the NFL.

01:01:28And I was like, wow, Jair's still that dude.

01:01:32And he's at moments, but if Jair Alexander's awesome,

01:01:38and back to like being him, this defense is gonna just be infinitely better.

01:01:42Like I don't know how to, there's not a lot of elite corners, and he's one of them.

01:01:47But I don't know if he's still elite, and I think that's a big if for me.

01:01:50Like, Hathaway's job will look a lot easier if you get two years ago Jair, and

01:01:55two years ago Rashawn Gary, while having a much different time, or

01:01:57three years ago Rashawn Gary, and Alexander having a much.

01:02:00But those guys still in there, injuries, there's a lot of injuries,

01:02:03a lot of money, a lot of, just something to consider.

01:02:05I think the Packers could be awesome.

01:02:08I don't think they're lower than like a nine or ten win team.

01:02:11But they could be as high as a 13 win team.

01:02:12If Jordan Love plays like he did even mildly at the end of last year,

01:02:16that's quarterback in the NFC type of stuff, so I don't know.

01:02:20Yeah, they were sixth in DVOA offensively last year.

01:02:24And as you mentioned, not like a true game changer yet at wide receiver,

01:02:29but sort of an embarrassment of riches like a lot of guys, Watson, Wicks, Reed,

01:02:35Luke Musgrave at tight end, there are pieces there for them to be really good.

01:02:40I just think Detroit, as we get to, I think both of us,

01:02:45they're in their window right now, right?

01:02:48This is it.

01:02:49They were real close last year.

01:02:52They feel like they're a better team this year.

01:02:55Been together another year.

01:02:58They know what Goff does well, what he doesn't do well.

01:03:02Added some pieces in free agency.

01:03:03I mentioned DJ Reeder being a big one for them.

01:03:07Draft, Harry and Arnold.

01:03:08Yeah, Marcus Davenport opposite Aiden Hutchinson.

01:03:11I'm not saying Marcus Davenport,

01:03:12he hasn't really shown us that he's that guy, but I don't know.

01:03:16There's no question that there's talent there.

01:03:19Maybe having Hutch on the other side kind of unlocks him and

01:03:21makes him a better player.

01:03:24I am a Brian Branch stan.

01:03:27Do kids still say that these days?

01:03:28Yeah.

01:03:29I mean, he's just a really good football player.

01:03:33Talk about him playing more safety than nickel this year.

01:03:36I would continue to deploy him the way they did in the past.

01:03:39I just think he's that kind of player.

01:03:42It's just a really good football team that's really poised for now.

01:03:47Look, there's pressure on them, which maybe they haven't ever had, or

01:03:50haven't had in many moons, in terms of people expect them.

01:03:54They were 12 and 5 last year.

01:03:55They get to the last step, the NFC Championship,

01:04:00before losing to San Francisco.

01:04:03So there's more on them.

01:04:04Can they answer that?

01:04:06I feel like they can.

01:04:06I feel like it's a pretty mentally tough football team.

01:04:08Yeah, there's a couple of things you mentioned there.

01:04:10I think Detroit wins the division, because I think it's just a safer pick.

01:04:14I just think it's easier to bet on what we saw the last 18 months from them,

01:04:19over what I saw from the Packers the last two months.

01:04:23I guess my, it's a compliment to Jared Goff, and

01:04:26you obviously have one of the funniest Jared Goff clips in the history of

01:04:28the Super Bowl, I still just, I am a huge Goff proponent

01:04:34of him being properly respected for what he is.

01:04:37What I'm a little worried about, and I think this is fair, he doesn't move great,

01:04:42and I think we saw it last year a little bit in the NFC title game.

01:04:44It's hard when pressure starts getting home, it gets ramped up a little bit.

01:04:47He does get a little tight in the pocket,

01:04:50little things tighten up a little bit for him.

01:04:54I just think home field advantage is gonna be big for them,

01:04:56because I really feel like it's golf in a dome, and

01:05:00the whole nine yards, and all these different things.

01:05:02And it's not that he's not a good player, I can't emphasize this enough.

01:05:05He's a damn good player, he was worthy of the first pick when he was drafted, and

01:05:09he's been really successful in the NFL.

01:05:11He's not an elite guy, and if you don't have an elite guy,

01:05:13I feel like being at home and being in your comfortable setting is

01:05:17the most important thing.

01:05:18The offensive line's really good for Detroit, we know that.

01:05:20The Monroe St. Brown's awesome, he got paid.

01:05:23Jamison Williams, to me, is kind of a big X factor here.

01:05:27Like, what are we doing here?

01:05:29It's now, it's year three of, my God,

01:05:35look at this camp highlight from Jamison Williams, speeds a week.

01:05:41He had the one outlier year at Alabama, we obviously know that, and

01:05:43it's really unfortunate what happened.

01:05:45I thought he was an awesome prospect.

01:05:47The gambling stuff, the injury, there's just a myriad of things,

01:05:51he's had some drops, etc.

01:05:53Can he be a legit number two, or

01:05:55can he just be, is he really a three that becomes a two because they have LaPorta?

01:06:01Obviously, Jameer Gibbs in year two, we saw a lot there.

01:06:03He's kind of in that B.

01:06:04John Breece Hall class of, my God, the guys after McCaffrey and

01:06:09Henry, when those guys are getting closer, that's the next group.

01:06:14Defensively, they've tried to add a lot.

01:06:16They added Terry and Arnold, as you've mentioned, Carlton Davis there.

01:06:21They've tried to address some of the corner stuff that's been an issue.

01:06:23They were not a good pass defense last year, or just defense in general.

01:06:26They weren't.

01:06:27Aaron Glenn's an awesome guy, Jets legend the whole nine yards, and

01:06:30he was getting a lot of head coaching buzz, but

01:06:31the defense was not so subtly pretty bad.

01:06:35My concerns, again, with Detroit are just this.

01:06:37They're a playoff team.

01:06:39They should win the division.

01:06:40They should be probably the second favorite in the NFC, maybe the third,

01:06:43depending on how much you like the NFCs.

01:06:45All's true, all's fair, and it's not even being negative.

01:06:49I just have questions around, pressure's on you now.

01:06:53They're kind of lucky to win that Rams game, I think.

01:06:55I think McVay and the Cooper Cup drop are big moments in the way we look at that.

01:06:59But they also should have beaten San Francisco and

01:07:01were very unlucky not to win that game.

01:07:02So whatever, it evens out.

01:07:05Sometimes when teams get really close, and

01:07:08then there's a lot of pressure the next year, we see a bit of a drop off.

01:07:11That's why I think there'll be a 12 win team, which doesn't sound like a drop off,

01:07:14but I think people are like, my God, Detroit's even more stacked.

01:07:17They're gonna go 14 and three and cakewalk to this division,

01:07:20cakewalk to the NFC title game against San Francisco and run it back.

01:07:24Maybe it happens.

01:07:25I just, don't you feel like they're gonna be really damn good, but

01:07:31there's gonna be a little more adversity this year?

01:07:32I feel like last year they kind of coasted to the NFC title game in a sense.

01:07:36I'd say that Rams game, I never felt like, I don't know.

01:07:39I felt like they were always beating the Bucks.

01:07:40I never felt like that game was really close, even though it was.

01:07:43And I felt like they were very much belonged on the same field,

01:07:46if not better than San Francisco for large portions of that game.

01:07:50Then they don't need to be at home.

01:07:51I just wanna clarify, they obviously can win outside.

01:07:53It's just a lot of pressure on them now.

01:07:56And they've kind of gone through the cycle, unfortunately,

01:07:58which is what we do with all these teams.

01:07:59The Chiefs very much were in it.

01:08:01The underdog team, it's the hot star team.

01:08:05The Bengals were like this.

01:08:06Everyone loves them.

01:08:07And now they're kind of the team that all the other fan bases aren't so

01:08:10happy about anymore.

01:08:11And they're a little, get under your skin a little bit.

01:08:15They become now, Will, they become the team that people circle.

01:08:20Yeah. And it's a different-

01:08:22They're a loud team, it's a loud fan base.

01:08:25One question I have for you, and look, you covered Bill for

01:08:2720 plus years, and the whole thing.

01:08:31Dan Campbell has obviously got a lot of heat for last year with the kicking,

01:08:35and going for it, and it's a lot of bravado.

01:08:37And I love Dan Campbell.

01:08:38I thought the press conference of getting mad at him for

01:08:41saying the kneecap thing, and whatever.

01:08:43We've all been down the road already.

01:08:45But he's a guy, again, that is now kind of in that like, he's got so

01:08:49much praise that you wonder if the pressure is rapid up here, and

01:08:54ramped up, how does he handle it?

01:08:56I think he'll be great.

01:08:58Does he back off of who they are, or

01:08:59does he just full throttle and double down?

01:09:01Because I always wonder with coaches, you know, McVay got a lot of heat.

01:09:05That Super Bowl, it didn't change stuff up, and it came back and adjusted.

01:09:08Kyle's gotten a lot of heat, and I don't know that he's really adjusted.

01:09:11He's just really awesome, and he kind of just is who he is.

01:09:13So which is Dan Campbell going to be?

01:09:15What do you think on that?

01:09:16I think that's one question mark we never talk about.

01:09:18But it is a bit of a talking point of just, good coach,

01:09:21are you in that elite tier that's gonna get your team to a Super Bowl?

01:09:23I'd be surprised if he doesn't double down.

01:09:25I just think it's his personality.

01:09:26I think that's the personality he wants for his football team,

01:09:29which as you mentioned, the kneecap opening press conference.

01:09:33But I'm setting the tone.

01:09:34This is who we're gonna be, and we're not gonna waver.

01:09:37And I think that's, in fact, if he went in the other direction,

01:09:42or if he backed off a little bit, I wonder if he's Dan Campbell anymore.

01:09:47You know what I mean?

01:09:48And I wonder if guys would look at him and go, wait, you've been telling us for

01:09:52whatever it's been now, three years, that this is how we're gonna be.

01:09:56And now you're not following through because maybe something didn't go right,

01:10:00or you got critiqued in the postseason for that decision.

01:10:04I did wanna touch on a couple things that you said quickly before we get out of

01:10:09here, the Aaron Glenn piece of this, they kept the staff together.

01:10:13I think everybody thought Ben was gonna leave, and he didn't.

01:10:16There's an argument that both guys were gonna get jobs.

01:10:18Yeah, and Aaron got buzzed, and again, he's here.

01:10:22Aaron wants to play in your face man to man.

01:10:24It's how he was as a player, right?

01:10:25That's what he wants to do.

01:10:26And I think they went out and gave him more tools for that, right?

01:10:30So you traded for Carlton Davis, but you draft Terry and Arnold.

01:10:34You draft Ennis Regstraw, who maybe you're not expecting a ton from him this year,

01:10:39but maybe he's the Davis replacement.

01:10:42But it's sort of that same, he's a physical guy.

01:10:45If you look at his tape in Missouri, it's kind of fun to watch,

01:10:47to see this corner who thinks that he was built like a safety.

01:10:51He just wanted to get involved in all that stuff.

01:10:53So they gave him more pieces.

01:10:55And now maybe is he free to do a little bit more stuff?

01:10:58Does he trust it a little bit more?

01:10:59Because as I mentioned, they didn't have anyone opposite Hutchinson.

01:11:03Maybe they get that from Davenport.

01:11:05And I think the other thing I did wanna mention is the offensive line.

01:11:09They're really good.

01:11:11They're getting old.

01:11:12Bunch of guys over 30 now in that group.

01:11:14So, well, guys play longer.

01:11:17Offensive line's a little different.

01:11:18I don't know that you can count on it.

01:11:20Glasgow, Ragnar, Decker, Zeidler, all over 30.

01:11:25Zeidler's like, what, 35?

01:11:27I mean, he's been around forever.

01:11:28So I just-

01:11:31It's not just the quality of play sometimes.

01:11:33It's the one-week injury that's really a three-week injury.

01:11:36It's the three-week that's a six-week.

01:11:39Yeah, it's a good point.

01:11:40Yeah, and when does that happen?

01:11:42It's one thing if it happens in mid-September.

01:11:46Okay, well, he wasn't, or we didn't have him, or

01:11:48he wasn't the same player from weeks three through seven.

01:11:52Okay, but then when January rolls around, as best you can be,

01:11:56he's healthy and playing at a high level.

01:11:59Those nicks and bruises, they last longer.

01:12:01Those injuries last longer when you get older.

01:12:04And I know there was some discussion in the offseason about maybe

01:12:07trying to infuse some youth in there.

01:12:10And I think they just looked at it like, look, we're good to really good.

01:12:14And let's just keep the veteran presence going and

01:12:17just try to finish the job here.

01:12:19But I'm just curious.

01:12:21That's a really good group.

01:12:23It's probably what, it's easily a top ten group.

01:12:26You could make the argument maybe it's a top five group when they're playing well.

01:12:30But you gotta be healthy.

01:12:32And when you start to get older, it's a little bit different, so.

01:12:35Yeah, it's not like one or two guys are older.

01:12:37We'll get the Jets, like the Jets are offensive linemen.

01:12:39It's like one or two guys are older.

01:12:41Literally everyone but Penny Sewell is literally his veteran.

01:12:45And he had the injury, yeah.

01:12:46So God, if he's hurt, he's such a difference maker in left tackle.

01:12:51That's massive.

01:12:52That's, maybe I'm not even talking about him in the age group.

01:12:54But if Sewell's not Sewell or Sewell's not playing,

01:12:59Jerry would be very skittish in the pocket, I think.

01:13:02Yeah, we don't really wanna see that.

01:13:04No.

01:13:05All right, that's gonna put a wrap on this edition of All 32.

01:13:09We got more to come this week, because I owe you one.

01:13:12And we're gonna hit the AFC East and the NFC East,

01:13:15which obviously the AFC East can make the case.

01:13:18Again, there's three teams that could be playoff teams.

01:13:20And then maybe three teams that could win the division.

01:13:23And then who knows about the NFC East?

01:13:26Who knows?

01:13:28We'll get into that though later on.

01:13:29And we've got cuts coming.

01:13:31There's all kinds of stuff happening.

01:13:33I'm sure there'll be some moves that surprise all of us.

01:13:34And we'll talk about it coming up on the next edition of All 32.

Previewing the AFC & NFC North | All 32 Podcast

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