June 2, 2023 • 33 mins
Today on 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe, LaVar Arrington and Geoff Schwartz react to the Nuggets take a decisive game 1 over the Heat in Denver. Tom Brady doubles down on staying retired but take that with a grain of salt, and DeAndre Hopkins should chase rings, not money.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's the best of two pros and a couple Joe
with Lamar Rings and Brady Winn and Jonas Knots on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
If you're concerned about hearing my voice right out the gate,
don't be It's just me. It's your friendly guy, It's LeVar.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
One thing that had to take place. Jonas got a
Brady suspended, so I had to go ahead and get
Jonas suspended. Now, well, we're two guys down, but we're
one pro up again. I got my man, the dynamic
personality himself, my man Jeff Schwartz is going to join
us today. What's happening, my guy, how are you feeling?
(00:45):
Good morning to you, Good.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Morning to you too, Glad to be here. Hopefully I
don't get anyone suspended today, so yeah, yeah, you know,
to make sure it's not gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
There's just a whole lot of beef going on, Jeff,
you know what I mean, Like, you know, Brady forgot
Jonas's birthday, so he's been suspended indefinitely. Jonas actually, well
I will leave that that that's private internal business as
to what he did why I got him suspended. But yeah,
(01:15):
I'm the last man standing. So you know what I
brought in my guy. Obviously you got to bring in
a protector, somebody that goes up front that's sturdy and strong.
So you know what, we got to get you in
the mix, man, And that's why you're here. Like, let's
do this.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
I'll take sturdy and strong any day. Yeah, I'm in
for that. I love that sounds great.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
That's awesome, awesome, all right, we got a big show
plan for everybody today. We'll talk quarterbacks, sec schedules. I
know you you're feeling pretty good about that conversation. A
lot to get to, but first let's obviously discuss and
talk about last night's game. The Nuggets take a decisive
game one over the Heat. What was your takeaways from
(01:57):
the game, Jeff, Like, what what'd you enjoy most?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You know, I feel like sports are fun for many reason.
I don't feel I know that, right, And one of
them is that you know they can be unpredictable. Right,
you turn on a game and you don't know what's
gonna happen, and other times last night happens, which is
extremely predictable, LaVar. Right, if you were to say, okay,
how does this game one go. But you know what,
the Nuggets, who don't lose at home, play really well,
(02:21):
and Miami, whose role players played ei their mind against
the Celtics, kind of come back down on to the earth.
And that's what we got last night. Right. The even
argue that Nuggets didn't play like the best they can play,
but they played well. They won three or four quarters,
they were upheaded, you know, twenty points heading the fourth
quarter ish, right, And obviously they've had some issues in
(02:41):
the fourth quarter scoring points in the playoffs. But I
think part of that is like, okay, we just kind
of shut it down a little bit, and then Miami's
role players just didn't play as well. Martin three points,
Strews zero points, right like things, you know, Duncan Robinson
three points. Now, are they gonna play that bad the
rest of the series? I would say no, But it
was very predictable that in Game one on the road
(03:03):
in the altitude, after shooting way above their season averagers
against Boston, they would come back down to earth a
little bit in Game one. So to me, this almost
shows nothing what the series can be because I figured
this was going to happen game one. The question to
me is what adjustments get made. You know, Denver I
think can play better. We know Miami can play better
(03:25):
on on on offense, And to me, I think we
we rightfully praise Eric Spolstra, the Heat coach, for the
great job he's done. But Mike Wild's a pretty good
coach too. And you saw early on the matchup of
finding Aaron Gordon on smaller players down low. You know,
I think joke. I think Joker had three field goal
attempts in the first half up nineteen points, like though
(03:49):
they moved the ball around well, and I think the
size Denver's long all long, and I think that really
affected Miami's ability to get some clean shots. They did
not go to the paint at Miami and two three
foul shots, Like it wasn't two foul shots, two foul
shots the entire game. They weren't going to paint like
they weren't. They weren't being aggressive, and so I think
(04:13):
game one was expected for me. I don't know if
it was for you, And I think game two will
be when I see like how the adjustments are made.
Is this going to be a series or will this
be over fast?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know, it's interesting that you mentioned the offense and
how stagnant it was for the Miami Heat. Here's what
star player Jimmy Butler had to say about their offense woes.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Why do you think the offense struggled so much to
find its rhythm throughout the night.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Probably because we shot a lot of jump shots, myself
probably leaning that pack instead of putting pressure on the rim,
getting layup skin to the free throw line. You know,
when when you look at it during the game, they
all look like the right shots. And I'm not saying
that we can't as a team make those, but got
to get more layups, got to get more free throws,
(05:02):
and whenever you miss and don't get back, the game
getting out of hand kind of quickly, we gave up
to any layups, which we can also can't have happened,
but that's it.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
As a whole.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
We got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
You know, Jeff, what I take from that is you
got comfortable with a team that just wasn't playing consistently
hard nosed, hardcore bang you defense in the Celtics series.
I think they got comfortable, and I think why they
were shooting those jump shots and why they weren't getting
(05:35):
the fouls and going to the free throw line. Is
because the defense was so aggressive and it was so
in place for the Denver Nuggets that the Miami Heat
was forced to do other things based upon necessity not
I think Jimmy Butler comes from a good place and
saying what he's saying, they do need to hit those shots,
(05:55):
because if you hit those shots, I think that does
allow for them to Denver in a stressful situation where
they have to think about how they're going to d
up against the Heat and who they have to d
up against. Obviously, they got to pay attention to Jimmy Butler,
they got to pay attention to Bam, but they weren't
making those mid range shots. They weren't making those jumpers,
(06:18):
and they weren't getting second tries at trying to get
to the hole. I think it created a lot of complications,
a lot of duress and stress for this Miami Heat team,
not only from the offensive perspective of not making the
ball making the shots, but it also was the transition
of getting back on defense and transitioning from offensive minded
(06:40):
into being defensive minded. And we all know that you know,
those guys can light it up for Denver. I mean
you saw, as you mentioned, Joker didn't have to do
very much because as they collapsed down on him and
as they rotated the defense to him, he was finding
the open guys, and those open guys were making things happen.
(07:00):
I mean, Joker also was overpowering dudes that time. But yeah,
but that's that just seems to be what Denver's game
has been, has been overpowering their their opponents. Like you said,
they're big, they're long, and and you know what, they
shoot really well. I think they they I think they
find such a good balance and their attack against teams,
(07:23):
and like you said, they can play better. So now
the question becomes if both teams can play better. And
one thing that you mentioned that has been a big conversation,
should we not take too much out of this loss
and them playing the way that they played because of
the altitude? Like have you played in Denver? Like talk
(07:44):
to us about altitude.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
I didn't find it to be that big of a
deal during the game. I felt after the game it
was pretty rough, Like I remember Monday, my lungs were
burning a little bit. But like during the game, again,
I I'm not running quite the distances that the Miami
Heat are during the game. But I didn't think it
was that big of an issue. But it obviously can be.
(08:09):
I don't that to me, was not the reason that
they lost. I mean, you can get tired, you know,
more easily, but I didn't feel that that was, you know,
one of the main factors about why they lost. Didn't
look like particularly tired to me, as far as you know,
their shots were not short early in the game. They
just missed a lot of their shots. But I think
(08:31):
it can I just think when you when you play there,
there's so much talk about the altitude right there, there's
there's so much you know, I promise you there. Trainers
talk to them about it, right Hey, guys, we have
to you know, they're nutritionus you. You have to eat differently,
you have to prepare and it kind of gets in
your head a little bit, and then when things aren't
going well, you start reverting back to well, well it
(08:53):
must be the altitude, that that must be the reason why,
like you just use that as a crutch for for
poor Polat. I didn't did you notice it? I didn't notice.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I didn't notice it. I really didn't. But you know,
but I do know Ryan Clark, and I know that
he felt it and had to deal with it because
of his condition. But I mean a lot of people
that I've spoken to said that they were impacted by
the elevation. I mean some people said it's a real thing.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Yeah, I mean, obviously Ryan had the sickle cell. That's
a that's a specific you know, he could even he
could even go, he could even even go he couldn't
even go to Denver for for his health. Yeah, I
didn't think that's a small factor in this game. I
think what Butler said is pretty interesting because what it
feels like to me is he's saying he's acknowledging that
(09:44):
they tried to kind of run an offense that worked
last series, expecting the role players to shoot the same way,
like we're gonna make our threes again because we did
it last series. And I understand that idea of that.
But each yearies the NBA Playoffs is different, and I
think one of the reasons I don't don't think I
(10:06):
know one of the reasons Miami is here is because
their role players have played so well. They were a
negative point differential this season like they've had They've had
issue scoring, They've had issues keeping up with with other teams.
They're the eight seed for a reason, and none of
that worked last night. And I think Butler's correct and say, hey,
we have to go back to getting the ball inside,
to creating foul shots. Look foul shots obviously, I know
(10:28):
I's always talk about reps like foul shots can be created, right,
you go in the paint, you get contact, you get
the line, they're free points. Right that there's a reason
why you try to get to the line and and
be more physical inside. I think Butler acknowledged, like, yeah,
our game plan was we try to run back the
Celtics game plan with a different team, Like, we can't
(10:49):
do that. We can't just rely on our on our
guys being out of their minds. Again, I don't think
Max Shrew's is going to oo for ten from the
field again. I think margin will have more than three points.
But I think his point as well taken, like we
got to go back to getting the ball inside, to
stressing the Nuggets defense a little bit inside out to
get some better shots and not just relying on a
bunch of our your C and D and any options
(11:13):
to shoot fifty percent from three point line.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady, Quinn, LeVar Errington and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Jeff Your Boy, Tom Brady, Man, he's doubling down. He's
letting everybody know how he feels about this retirement. I
think we got a little sound for you, so let
him tell you hisself.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
I'm certain I'm not playing again, So I've tried to
make that in a clear and I hate to continue
to profess that because I've already told people that lots
of times.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
But I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
My broadcasting job at Fox next year. I'm looking forward
to the opportunity head with the with the Raiders, and
we're in the process of that, along with the other
different things that I'm a part of professionally and in
my personal life. Just spending as much time with my
kids as I can and seeing them grow up and
support the different things that they have going on. And
that's a very important job and I take them all
(12:13):
pretty seriously.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
That was one on one with Sports Illustrated Tom Brady
coming in and doubling down hardcore Jeff Schwartz, what say you?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, no one believes him. It's all well intentioned, and
I get what he's saying, right, but he already retired
once he came back, Okay, So like there's already the
you know, the the evidence that he might still want
to do this at some point. Now. Of course, again,
this is a different situation where he's been retired for
a while now, lookuess a while compared to the first retirement,
(12:49):
and he has you know, we've seen him more in
the public sphere as far as kind of enjoying life
that we've seen him of ever do before. There is
less evidence that he's still throwing and working out out
and getting ready to play. And you know, his his
ownership in the Raiders might limit his capability to play elsewhere.
But LaVar, are you telling me that, you know, week
(13:12):
three of the preseason, when the Raiders are without Jimmy
Garoppolo because he's still rehabbing his his foot injury and
things aren't going well, they're not gonna call over to Tom, Hey, Hey, Tom,
what do you got left in your body? Now? The Raiders,
I don't think are the team that's that Tom wants
to play for. They're they're not They're surely not the
Bucks when he decided to join tamp At Bay. But
(13:33):
I do think no one believes him until he goes
a full year without playing. I think there's always gonna
be that is Tom Brady gonna never play it. What
if a team, what if a super Bowl caliber team
has a quarterback that gets hurt for the for the season,
They're not gonna call Tom Brady up and say, hey, Tom,
do you want to come help us win a championship
(13:53):
somewhere for a year. I just think no one's gonna
believe it, LeVar until it ends up actually happening.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I just I'm still curious as to what him getting
ownership in the Las Vegas Raiders looks like for him
being able to be an active player.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Yeah, I don't. I don't know about that. And I
think that there's people that are much smarter than us
who read contracts. They have probably been cbas and you
can tell us about that. I do find interesting because
you know how many players that you play with that
have always said, oh, I want to own an NFL team,
Like I have no interest in that whatsoever. There are
(14:29):
there are guys that you know just and look, it's
a good you make a lot of money doing it,
so you know, don't don't get don't get me wrong,
it's a money making investment. But you know, even at
the small percentage that he's at, which will be a
small percentage of ofsip of the raiders, like, I just
have never been interested in being a sports team owner.
And there are players that we've played with that in
(14:51):
locker rooms like they it's like their goal, I want
to own a sports team, not for me. And this
this feels like Tom Brady is sort of fulfilling a
goal with or fantasy of his, which was to be
a part owner of a team. And imagine he approached
Robert Kraft about this at some point, probably didn't happen,
and Mark Davis is more than willing to let him
(15:11):
be part owner. We know Tom's business savvy as well,
so maybe he is looking at this as a as
a man. He wants to some point get more invested
in the NFL team. But I just never been a
goal of mine man to own NFL team.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I hear you well, Antonio Brown wanted to own a
pro team. But we'll talk about that later on in
the show. I think I think every time I hear
Tom Brady say something about retirement. First off, I was
a very very adamant and very spirited supporter of saying
(15:45):
that tom Brady's retirement the first time was a real
retirement because he's a dad. And and while I ended
up being incorrect and will probably not put my good
name on it saying he's he's definitely undoubtedly retired, I
will say I think when he retired he truly meant
(16:05):
it like he meant it because he wanted to spend
time with his kids. I don't know what that played
in terms of the grand schemes of trying to maybe
keep his marriage or whatever it may have been. I
don't know that aspect of it. But one thing I
can say for sure, he definitely wanted to have that
opportunity to spend more time with his kids. But it
(16:30):
was the right It was the right decision for him
until it wasn't. And that to me is I think
kind of what maybe you're alluding to. It's like, until
it's not the right decision, it's going to be the
right decision. So today or yesterday he could say yeah,
I'm this is where I'm at, this is what I'm doing.
(16:50):
I'm definitively retired. I'm not coming back. But if that
opportunity presents himself, I'm not certain that he won't explore
what that that opportunity is. But with that being said, Jeff,
I will I will ask this if he's if he's
not dealing with a team, and he's not possibly which
(17:14):
I don't, I don't know that this to be true.
He probably is still throwing. Just knowing probably how he's wired,
he's still throwing the ball. I would wonder would he
place himself in a position where it could possibly maybe
lessen the way people feel about him, Like, would he
(17:36):
walk into a situation where he could potentially, you know,
kind of minimize it. You know what he's already accomplished.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Well, that's why I know that the Raiders are where
he's gonna play.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I know.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I joked about that with Jimmy Garoppolo. That's why the
Rain the Raiders actually not an option for him to
play because they look at their offensive Warne look at
the team around him on defense, like he's not gonna
go somewhere that's not gonna win. But again I don't
know if the ownership of the Raiders basically puts him
in retirements, right, Like that's the thing that that ends
up being like, well, yeah, if you own the Raiders,
(18:08):
you just can't play anywhere. And if that does, then
obviously he's very retired. If if the sale takes a
season to go through and and you know he's you know,
the selling of the shares to him, you know, then
then maybe he ends up getting a chance. I leaver.
I think the question is like if a contender has
(18:29):
a quarterback go down, you know, if if the Niners
end up with really they're like you look, man, we
just Tom, Like you know, Trey is not ready yet.
Rock Party's not ready. Sam Darnold's not cutting it. Like
that's a place where you just put him in that
offense right now he's protected, right, I mean that offense
protects everybody that feels likely. And you know, we know
(18:53):
this like when players retire that have played half their
life basically you know in the NFL, which he had,
that becomes what you know, and right now there's no
itch to play. It's it's it's June. It's early June.
But when training camp and the weather changes and you
kind of feel like, oh, it's football season soon, Like
(19:15):
your body starts kind of feeling a certain way. And
that's what that That that, to me is is the
point where I want to see for Tom Like when
he gets to August and he realizes he's not in
camp for the first time since he's seventeen years old.
He's forty five, right, how does he is there that
it's still there? Is it?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Like?
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh, I kind of still I still have one more
year left at me? That that'll be the the kind
of the point for me when I watch to see
the rumors, I think, if we get past August into
the regular season, he won't play unless there's an injury
somewhere and someone calls him up and says, hey, man,
like we have this ready made team for to win.
We want you to play for a year. That's really
(19:57):
when I'll see his commitment to being retired. Is this summer?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Okay? I can I can buy that? I you know,
I I'll say, with the amount of opportunities that he
has taking over ownerships, ownership of multiple franchises and and
having that that big time Fox uh you know, media
(20:22):
media position waiting for him, I find it difficult to
continue to keep putting off what you can do in
your post career. I almost find it to be poor
decision making on his behalf that that actually becomes public
(20:43):
domain if he continues to play with all of these
opportunities that everyone is aware of that he has, you know,
not only taking place. I mean all of them are
solidified situations, right, none of these are looming situations like
they're they're they're being solidified. I just at some point,
(21:04):
you know, with everything he has going on that I
think it's a lot different than probably any other player
that's ever played this game.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Absolutely, but remember his fox stills to start the twenty
twenty four Agreed.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
But but now that being let's get into let's get
into the booth. Let's let's use this year to learn. Yes,
you know, because if I'm Tom Brady, I just don't
want to step into that that booth and think that, oh,
I'm just going to step in and be this amazing
broadcaster announcer for games. I think he wants to do
(21:36):
it for for a long term. Maybe he's the guy
that ends up supplanting the Troy Aikman of you know,
who's been such a star warth and a mainstay to
the game. I mean, if I'm looking at it from
the perspective of knowing how Tom Brady competes, He's going
to want to be the best at it. So I
would assume he's going to take this year to really
(21:58):
harn his skills and become is as good as he
could possibly become to step into that role and do
it well.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Have you called games before?
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I called one game? I called one game.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
It's it's a thing where every former player wants to
do it right. You're like, oh my god, I'm gonna
call games. It's hard, it is.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
You know, you gotta stay down in. You gotta stay
very focused in on what it is that the task
is at hand. You got to know the players, you
gotta you gotta get your information out very quickly. It's
what It's a matter of seconds to get an impactful
saying out, you know, in between the plays. And I
called it with Gus Johnson. So for for me, yeah,
(22:38):
I went from like no nothing to they needed somebody.
I jumped in and we we did a We did
a bang up job. I messed up a couple of
annunciations of you know, pronunciations of of nots. Yeah, but
other than that, I thought it was a pretty cool experience.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah. I did some call games years ago, like at
a lower leveledge games, and yeah, it's it's a it's
a different it's a different beast. So your point, I
think is very well taken about. You know, for Tom
to be the best he can be in the booth,
you're using this year to get some practice. I imagine
if he doesn't play this year, he does a game
for Fox, a three man booth at some point, right,
(23:17):
just kind.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Of you would assume that he's going to make appearances
quite often. That that's what I would assume.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yeah, I know, and it's a it's yeah, it's it's
and we know Tom's a perfectionist, and he'll want that
opportunity to work, you know, at some point this year
and and kind of test that out before he gets
into the into the booth at Fox. So it does
feel like if if he doesn't play this year, there's
plenty of things for him to do that keeps him,
you know, in the game. Whether I would imagine studio
work for Fox as well, I mean, there's plenty of
(23:43):
opportunities for him to kind of get those reps in
But to me, it's August. It's it's if he gets
through August without without committing to a team. I think
I feel more comfortable about him being fully retired then
I am him saying this now because now there's again,
there's not that physical and mental itch right now to
play in early June. For older players, a lot of
(24:03):
guys are yeah, I could skip houses in program. I
don't worry about that. It's it's August. It's his first
it'll be the first time he has not been in
a training camp since he was seventeen years old. Wow, right,
because he from Michigan, NFL. And how's he going to
feel mentally and physically kind of at that time is
a question for me.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Arrington and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
Hi, this is Jay Glazer.
Speaker 6 (24:34):
And you may know me for the world of football
or fighting or even shows like HBO's Ballers.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Well you don't know is for my entire life.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
I have lived in something I refer to as the
gray depression anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a
new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Glazer,
where each week, while we talk about mental health, I
hope to describe it, give it words. Listen to Unbreakable
with Jay Glazer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Let's talk DeAndre Hopkins. He's the biggest name brand free
agent that's out there on the market right now. I'm
curious as to how you see things playing out with
him and where his possible destination would be.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
It's gonna be a fun kind of story to follow,
right he so, Odell Beckham got a fifteen million dollar
deal from the Baltimore Ravens, and that is what DeAndre
Hopkins is going to ask for, and I understand him
doing that, and I think you should ask for that.
But it seems clear that teams didn't want to pay
(25:43):
him as much money as he wants, right because otherwise
the Cardinals would have traded him. And we know that
the Bills and the Chiefs called over there. But right now,
the Chiefs and Bills have no cap space. So yeah,
they can certainly create the cap space to sign Deodore Hopkins.
But the Chiefs just signed Donovan Smith, a left who
started one hundred and twenty four games for the for
(26:04):
the Bucks, and he wasn't great last year, but he
has been good in his career. He was injured last season,
and I think the Chiefs expected to play better. But
they signed a legitimate left tackle, a position in the
NFL that's highly coveted, that's highly paid. For a base
salary of four million dollars, okay, he'd be he'd be
(26:27):
the cheapest starting left tackle in the NFL. Okay. If
DeAndre Hopkins wants to make that type of money and
decision to play for the Bills and Chiefs, he can
do that. They'll pay him a small base salary, high incentives,
and he could be on on those two teams. But
is he gonna want to take less money to try
to win? Most players say they do and end up
(26:50):
not doing that right because someone offers them a ton
of money and they take the money every time. I
don't blame any athlete for ever doing that. So look
around the NFL at I think some teams that might
want to payhim that money. I come back to the Chargers.
The Chargers did add Quinn Johnson in the draft. But
with Kellen Moore now, they're gonna be a three wide
(27:10):
receiver team. They're gonna be a team that passed the
ball a ton. They have a quarterback and Justin Herbert
with a rocket arm, And I just feel like add
and DeAndre Hopkins, who can who's not gonna burst down
field like he did in the past, but as an
excellent route runner, who's gonna catch every ball that comes
(27:31):
to him. I feel like that's a good fit for
what Hopkins should be an NFL. What the Chargers want
to do, they could probably pay him right like the Chiefs,
and the Chiefs and Bills aren't going over pay for Hopkins.
He's not gonna go there unless he wants to take
a far less money.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I think he has to, And I love the Chargers
discussion point I brought up the Chargers yesterday as well.
I think that that would be an amazing landing place
for for DeAndre Hopkins and for the LA Chargers. I
think when you look at what DeAndre Hopkins situation is,
(28:13):
I would be willing to bet he wants to end
off on a very high note. Now keep in mind,
he may be asking for a certain amount of money
But in the end, does it matter to get onto
a roster and a roster where you can have the
level of success where you can be remembered for having
(28:34):
a career that, you know what was brilliant early on,
had a little rocky spots to where we're at right now.
But if he could finish out strong or at least
have a strong showing, maybe get to a Super Bowl,
win a Super Bowl, be a reason why the team
was competitive, he could really solidify his career that way, Jeff.
(28:57):
And so to me, when you get released like they
released him, so he gets the money that's owed to him.
So he's going to get a healthy amount of money.
He's going to get paid as if he was playing
for the Arizona Card and knows this year whether he
plays it down of football or not.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
And so, did you win a Super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (29:16):
I did not? Okay, I missed the Super Bowl by
one year in New York.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
So I not want a rule either. Yeah, And I
think for older players like us that that are done playing,
we understand what a super Bowl title would have meant
for us, right we didn't get one. Now my brother
got once, I've seen what it was meant to him.
And to his life. And I think when you're retired
(29:42):
you see all that. When you're playing, I don't think
at times you understand what a title means for your legacy,
and your point about kind of going somewhere for Hopkins
to a chance to win a championship, what that would
mean for his life and for his legacy, it's hard
as a current player to get that. I think it's
very easy for us to say that, right, Like we
(30:03):
understand that we didn't win one, but yes, going to
Kansas City for less money and winning a championship would
do far more for his life than taking a ton
of money. I saw yesterday talking to Texans like to
taking a ton of money going playing for the Texans.
But as a as a current player, I think it's
really hard to understand that because rightfully, so we're so
(30:25):
geared toward making the most money as we should, right
because his careers are short now, he's I think it's
his twelfth season now, so like he should get it
by now. They're like, hey, maybe winning a championship is
more important to me than the outright money I'm getting.
Plus we know this, man, if you win a championship,
you get paid more the next year, teams look at
(30:45):
you differently, right, Yeah, and so in year ten or eleven, twelve,
I would totally chase the ring. I would chase the ring,
and it's no guarantee you're gonna win, obviously, But if
I were him, man, I'd be chasing situations and rings
and not money.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
I mean, especially in the current situation. Right you got released,
you got a hell of a contract, probably a hell
of a payout. I don't know the details on his payout,
but I mean for the moment, for the time being,
I would certainly want to go somewhere where I was
one appreciated, I was believed in, and you have a quarterback,
(31:23):
and you have a good coaching staff, and you have
a good culture at your place, Like I get to choose.
That's the thing that people don't realize about pro players.
If you're if you're blessed enough to be talented, you
don't get to choose. And then when you become a
free agent, you still may be chasing the bag. You
(31:45):
mighta not have got the bag, or you're just in
one of those situations where it's time to chase the bag.
Dee Hop is getting a bag and he's in a
situation where he can actually play with house money and
say this, I can check off all the boxes that
I want to check off and choosing a team just
as long as they want to choose me. Now you
(32:06):
price yourself out, that becomes a different proposition. Right. We've
heard of teams dropping out of the running to bring
them in, probably because they don't have the cap space
to do it. But if I'm d hoped, I would
take a serious, long, hard look at going to a
team at a discounted rate because I can go do
more damage in a situation where I go to the
(32:27):
place that has everything that I need in it for
me to have success, versus going somewhere and getting more
money but probably not checking off or checking off far
less boxes and so to speak to being able to
have success. So there you go.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
You know I'm with you on that his point of
his career, I would take the championship, the stability of
a winning organization over chasing money.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
It's the best of two pros and a couple Joe
with Lamar Rings and Brady Winn and Jonas Knots on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
If you're concerned about hearing my voice right out the gate,
don't be It's just me. It's your friendly guy, It's LeVar.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
One thing that had to take place. Jonas got a
Brady suspended, so I had to go ahead and get
Jonas suspended. Now, well, we're two guys down, but we're
one pro up again. I got my man, the dynamic
personality himself, my man Jeff Schwartz is going to join
us today. What's happening, my guy, how are you feeling?
(00:45):
Good morning to you, Good.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Morning to you too, Glad to be here. Hopefully I
don't get anyone suspended today, so yeah, yeah, you know,
to make sure it's not gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
There's just a whole lot of beef going on, Jeff,
you know what I mean, Like, you know, Brady forgot
Jonas's birthday, so he's been suspended indefinitely. Jonas actually, well
I will leave that that that's private internal business as
to what he did why I got him suspended. But yeah,
(01:15):
I'm the last man standing. So you know what I
brought in my guy. Obviously you got to bring in
a protector, somebody that goes up front that's sturdy and strong.
So you know what, we got to get you in
the mix, man, And that's why you're here. Like, let's
do this.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
I'll take sturdy and strong any day. Yeah, I'm in
for that. I love that sounds great.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
That's awesome, awesome, all right, we got a big show
plan for everybody today. We'll talk quarterbacks, sec schedules. I
know you you're feeling pretty good about that conversation. A
lot to get to, but first let's obviously discuss and
talk about last night's game. The Nuggets take a decisive
game one over the Heat. What was your takeaways from
(01:57):
the game, Jeff, Like, what what'd you enjoy most?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You know, I feel like sports are fun for many reason.
I don't feel I know that, right, And one of
them is that you know they can be unpredictable. Right,
you turn on a game and you don't know what's
gonna happen, and other times last night happens, which is
extremely predictable, LaVar. Right, if you were to say, okay,
how does this game one go. But you know what,
the Nuggets, who don't lose at home, play really well,
(02:21):
and Miami, whose role players played ei their mind against
the Celtics, kind of come back down on to the earth.
And that's what we got last night. Right. The even
argue that Nuggets didn't play like the best they can play,
but they played well. They won three or four quarters,
they were upheaded, you know, twenty points heading the fourth
quarter ish, right, And obviously they've had some issues in
(02:41):
the fourth quarter scoring points in the playoffs. But I
think part of that is like, okay, we just kind
of shut it down a little bit, and then Miami's
role players just didn't play as well. Martin three points,
Strews zero points, right like things, you know, Duncan Robinson
three points. Now, are they gonna play that bad the
rest of the series? I would say no, But it
was very predictable that in Game one on the road
(03:03):
in the altitude, after shooting way above their season averagers
against Boston, they would come back down to earth a
little bit in Game one. So to me, this almost
shows nothing what the series can be because I figured
this was going to happen game one. The question to
me is what adjustments get made. You know, Denver I
think can play better. We know Miami can play better
(03:25):
on on on offense, And to me, I think we
we rightfully praise Eric Spolstra, the Heat coach, for the
great job he's done. But Mike Wild's a pretty good
coach too. And you saw early on the matchup of
finding Aaron Gordon on smaller players down low. You know,
I think joke. I think Joker had three field goal
attempts in the first half up nineteen points, like though
(03:49):
they moved the ball around well, and I think the
size Denver's long all long, and I think that really
affected Miami's ability to get some clean shots. They did
not go to the paint at Miami and two three
foul shots, Like it wasn't two foul shots, two foul
shots the entire game. They weren't going to paint like
they weren't. They weren't being aggressive, and so I think
(04:13):
game one was expected for me. I don't know if
it was for you, And I think game two will
be when I see like how the adjustments are made.
Is this going to be a series or will this
be over fast?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know, it's interesting that you mentioned the offense and
how stagnant it was for the Miami Heat. Here's what
star player Jimmy Butler had to say about their offense woes.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Why do you think the offense struggled so much to
find its rhythm throughout the night.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Probably because we shot a lot of jump shots, myself
probably leaning that pack instead of putting pressure on the rim,
getting layup skin to the free throw line. You know,
when when you look at it during the game, they
all look like the right shots. And I'm not saying
that we can't as a team make those, but got
to get more layups, got to get more free throws,
(05:02):
and whenever you miss and don't get back, the game
getting out of hand kind of quickly, we gave up
to any layups, which we can also can't have happened,
but that's it.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
As a whole.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
We got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
You know, Jeff, what I take from that is you
got comfortable with a team that just wasn't playing consistently
hard nosed, hardcore bang you defense in the Celtics series.
I think they got comfortable, and I think why they
were shooting those jump shots and why they weren't getting
(05:35):
the fouls and going to the free throw line. Is
because the defense was so aggressive and it was so
in place for the Denver Nuggets that the Miami Heat
was forced to do other things based upon necessity not
I think Jimmy Butler comes from a good place and
saying what he's saying, they do need to hit those shots,
(05:55):
because if you hit those shots, I think that does
allow for them to Denver in a stressful situation where
they have to think about how they're going to d
up against the Heat and who they have to d
up against. Obviously, they got to pay attention to Jimmy Butler,
they got to pay attention to Bam, but they weren't
making those mid range shots. They weren't making those jumpers,
(06:18):
and they weren't getting second tries at trying to get
to the hole. I think it created a lot of complications,
a lot of duress and stress for this Miami Heat team,
not only from the offensive perspective of not making the
ball making the shots, but it also was the transition
of getting back on defense and transitioning from offensive minded
(06:40):
into being defensive minded. And we all know that you know,
those guys can light it up for Denver. I mean
you saw, as you mentioned, Joker didn't have to do
very much because as they collapsed down on him and
as they rotated the defense to him, he was finding
the open guys, and those open guys were making things happen.
(07:00):
I mean, Joker also was overpowering dudes that time. But yeah,
but that's that just seems to be what Denver's game
has been, has been overpowering their their opponents. Like you said,
they're big, they're long, and and you know what, they
shoot really well. I think they they I think they
find such a good balance and their attack against teams,
(07:23):
and like you said, they can play better. So now
the question becomes if both teams can play better. And
one thing that you mentioned that has been a big conversation,
should we not take too much out of this loss
and them playing the way that they played because of
the altitude? Like have you played in Denver? Like talk
(07:44):
to us about altitude.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
I didn't find it to be that big of a
deal during the game. I felt after the game it
was pretty rough, Like I remember Monday, my lungs were
burning a little bit. But like during the game, again,
I I'm not running quite the distances that the Miami
Heat are during the game. But I didn't think it
was that big of an issue. But it obviously can be.
(08:09):
I don't that to me, was not the reason that
they lost. I mean, you can get tired, you know,
more easily, but I didn't feel that that was, you know,
one of the main factors about why they lost. Didn't
look like particularly tired to me, as far as you know,
their shots were not short early in the game. They
just missed a lot of their shots. But I think
(08:31):
it can I just think when you when you play there,
there's so much talk about the altitude right there, there's
there's so much you know, I promise you there. Trainers
talk to them about it, right Hey, guys, we have
to you know, they're nutritionus you. You have to eat differently,
you have to prepare and it kind of gets in
your head a little bit, and then when things aren't
going well, you start reverting back to well, well it
(08:53):
must be the altitude, that that must be the reason why,
like you just use that as a crutch for for
poor Polat. I didn't did you notice it? I didn't notice.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I didn't notice it. I really didn't. But you know,
but I do know Ryan Clark, and I know that
he felt it and had to deal with it because
of his condition. But I mean a lot of people
that I've spoken to said that they were impacted by
the elevation. I mean some people said it's a real thing.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Yeah, I mean, obviously Ryan had the sickle cell. That's
a that's a specific you know, he could even he
could even go, he could even even go he couldn't
even go to Denver for for his health. Yeah, I
didn't think that's a small factor in this game. I
think what Butler said is pretty interesting because what it
feels like to me is he's saying he's acknowledging that
(09:44):
they tried to kind of run an offense that worked
last series, expecting the role players to shoot the same way,
like we're gonna make our threes again because we did
it last series. And I understand that idea of that.
But each yearies the NBA Playoffs is different, and I
think one of the reasons I don't don't think I
(10:06):
know one of the reasons Miami is here is because
their role players have played so well. They were a
negative point differential this season like they've had They've had
issue scoring, They've had issues keeping up with with other teams.
They're the eight seed for a reason, and none of
that worked last night. And I think Butler's correct and say, hey,
we have to go back to getting the ball inside,
to creating foul shots. Look foul shots obviously, I know
(10:28):
I's always talk about reps like foul shots can be created, right,
you go in the paint, you get contact, you get
the line, they're free points. Right that there's a reason
why you try to get to the line and and
be more physical inside. I think Butler acknowledged, like, yeah,
our game plan was we try to run back the
Celtics game plan with a different team, Like, we can't
(10:49):
do that. We can't just rely on our on our
guys being out of their minds. Again, I don't think
Max Shrew's is going to oo for ten from the
field again. I think margin will have more than three points.
But I think his point as well taken, like we
got to go back to getting the ball inside, to
stressing the Nuggets defense a little bit inside out to
get some better shots and not just relying on a
bunch of our your C and D and any options
(11:13):
to shoot fifty percent from three point line.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady, Quinn, LeVar Errington and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Jeff Your Boy, Tom Brady, Man, he's doubling down. He's
letting everybody know how he feels about this retirement. I
think we got a little sound for you, so let
him tell you hisself.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
I'm certain I'm not playing again, So I've tried to
make that in a clear and I hate to continue
to profess that because I've already told people that lots
of times.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
But I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
My broadcasting job at Fox next year. I'm looking forward
to the opportunity head with the with the Raiders, and
we're in the process of that, along with the other
different things that I'm a part of professionally and in
my personal life. Just spending as much time with my
kids as I can and seeing them grow up and
support the different things that they have going on. And
that's a very important job and I take them all
(12:13):
pretty seriously.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
That was one on one with Sports Illustrated Tom Brady
coming in and doubling down hardcore Jeff Schwartz, what say you?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, no one believes him. It's all well intentioned, and
I get what he's saying, right, but he already retired
once he came back, Okay, So like there's already the
you know, the the evidence that he might still want
to do this at some point. Now. Of course, again,
this is a different situation where he's been retired for
a while now, lookuess a while compared to the first retirement,
(12:49):
and he has you know, we've seen him more in
the public sphere as far as kind of enjoying life
that we've seen him of ever do before. There is
less evidence that he's still throwing and working out out
and getting ready to play. And you know, his his
ownership in the Raiders might limit his capability to play elsewhere.
But LaVar, are you telling me that, you know, week
(13:12):
three of the preseason, when the Raiders are without Jimmy
Garoppolo because he's still rehabbing his his foot injury and
things aren't going well, they're not gonna call over to Tom, Hey, Hey, Tom,
what do you got left in your body? Now? The Raiders,
I don't think are the team that's that Tom wants
to play for. They're they're not They're surely not the
Bucks when he decided to join tamp At Bay. But
(13:33):
I do think no one believes him until he goes
a full year without playing. I think there's always gonna
be that is Tom Brady gonna never play it. What
if a team, what if a super Bowl caliber team
has a quarterback that gets hurt for the for the season,
They're not gonna call Tom Brady up and say, hey, Tom,
do you want to come help us win a championship
(13:53):
somewhere for a year. I just think no one's gonna
believe it, LeVar until it ends up actually happening.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I just I'm still curious as to what him getting
ownership in the Las Vegas Raiders looks like for him
being able to be an active player.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Yeah, I don't. I don't know about that. And I
think that there's people that are much smarter than us
who read contracts. They have probably been cbas and you
can tell us about that. I do find interesting because
you know how many players that you play with that
have always said, oh, I want to own an NFL team,
Like I have no interest in that whatsoever. There are
(14:29):
there are guys that you know just and look, it's
a good you make a lot of money doing it,
so you know, don't don't get don't get me wrong,
it's a money making investment. But you know, even at
the small percentage that he's at, which will be a
small percentage of ofsip of the raiders, like, I just
have never been interested in being a sports team owner.
And there are players that we've played with that in
(14:51):
locker rooms like they it's like their goal, I want
to own a sports team, not for me. And this
this feels like Tom Brady is sort of fulfilling a
goal with or fantasy of his, which was to be
a part owner of a team. And imagine he approached
Robert Kraft about this at some point, probably didn't happen,
and Mark Davis is more than willing to let him
(15:11):
be part owner. We know Tom's business savvy as well,
so maybe he is looking at this as a as
a man. He wants to some point get more invested
in the NFL team. But I just never been a
goal of mine man to own NFL team.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I hear you well, Antonio Brown wanted to own a
pro team. But we'll talk about that later on in
the show. I think I think every time I hear
Tom Brady say something about retirement. First off, I was
a very very adamant and very spirited supporter of saying
(15:45):
that tom Brady's retirement the first time was a real
retirement because he's a dad. And and while I ended
up being incorrect and will probably not put my good
name on it saying he's he's definitely undoubtedly retired, I
will say I think when he retired he truly meant
(16:05):
it like he meant it because he wanted to spend
time with his kids. I don't know what that played
in terms of the grand schemes of trying to maybe
keep his marriage or whatever it may have been. I
don't know that aspect of it. But one thing I
can say for sure, he definitely wanted to have that
opportunity to spend more time with his kids. But it
(16:30):
was the right It was the right decision for him
until it wasn't. And that to me is I think
kind of what maybe you're alluding to. It's like, until
it's not the right decision, it's going to be the
right decision. So today or yesterday he could say yeah,
I'm this is where I'm at, this is what I'm doing.
(16:50):
I'm definitively retired. I'm not coming back. But if that
opportunity presents himself, I'm not certain that he won't explore
what that that opportunity is. But with that being said, Jeff,
I will I will ask this if he's if he's
not dealing with a team, and he's not possibly which
(17:14):
I don't, I don't know that this to be true.
He probably is still throwing. Just knowing probably how he's wired,
he's still throwing the ball. I would wonder would he
place himself in a position where it could possibly maybe
lessen the way people feel about him, Like, would he
(17:36):
walk into a situation where he could potentially, you know,
kind of minimize it. You know what he's already accomplished.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Well, that's why I know that the Raiders are where
he's gonna play.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I know.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I joked about that with Jimmy Garoppolo. That's why the
Rain the Raiders actually not an option for him to
play because they look at their offensive Warne look at
the team around him on defense, like he's not gonna
go somewhere that's not gonna win. But again I don't
know if the ownership of the Raiders basically puts him
in retirements, right, Like that's the thing that that ends
up being like, well, yeah, if you own the Raiders,
(18:08):
you just can't play anywhere. And if that does, then
obviously he's very retired. If if the sale takes a
season to go through and and you know he's you know,
the selling of the shares to him, you know, then
then maybe he ends up getting a chance. I leaver.
I think the question is like if a contender has
(18:29):
a quarterback go down, you know, if if the Niners
end up with really they're like you look, man, we
just Tom, Like you know, Trey is not ready yet.
Rock Party's not ready. Sam Darnold's not cutting it. Like
that's a place where you just put him in that
offense right now he's protected, right, I mean that offense
protects everybody that feels likely. And you know, we know
(18:53):
this like when players retire that have played half their
life basically you know in the NFL, which he had,
that becomes what you know, and right now there's no
itch to play. It's it's it's June. It's early June.
But when training camp and the weather changes and you
kind of feel like, oh, it's football season soon, Like
(19:15):
your body starts kind of feeling a certain way. And
that's what that That that, to me is is the
point where I want to see for Tom Like when
he gets to August and he realizes he's not in
camp for the first time since he's seventeen years old.
He's forty five, right, how does he is there that
it's still there? Is it?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Like?
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh, I kind of still I still have one more
year left at me? That that'll be the the kind
of the point for me when I watch to see
the rumors, I think, if we get past August into
the regular season, he won't play unless there's an injury
somewhere and someone calls him up and says, hey, man,
like we have this ready made team for to win.
We want you to play for a year. That's really
(19:57):
when I'll see his commitment to being retired. Is this summer?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Okay? I can I can buy that? I you know,
I I'll say, with the amount of opportunities that he
has taking over ownerships, ownership of multiple franchises and and
having that that big time Fox uh you know, media
(20:22):
media position waiting for him, I find it difficult to
continue to keep putting off what you can do in
your post career. I almost find it to be poor
decision making on his behalf that that actually becomes public
(20:43):
domain if he continues to play with all of these
opportunities that everyone is aware of that he has, you know,
not only taking place. I mean all of them are
solidified situations, right, none of these are looming situations like
they're they're they're being solidified. I just at some point,
(21:04):
you know, with everything he has going on that I
think it's a lot different than probably any other player
that's ever played this game.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Absolutely, but remember his fox stills to start the twenty
twenty four Agreed.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
But but now that being let's get into let's get
into the booth. Let's let's use this year to learn. Yes,
you know, because if I'm Tom Brady, I just don't
want to step into that that booth and think that, oh,
I'm just going to step in and be this amazing
broadcaster announcer for games. I think he wants to do
(21:36):
it for for a long term. Maybe he's the guy
that ends up supplanting the Troy Aikman of you know,
who's been such a star warth and a mainstay to
the game. I mean, if I'm looking at it from
the perspective of knowing how Tom Brady competes, He's going
to want to be the best at it. So I
would assume he's going to take this year to really
(21:58):
harn his skills and become is as good as he
could possibly become to step into that role and do
it well.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Have you called games before?
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I called one game? I called one game.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
It's it's a thing where every former player wants to
do it right. You're like, oh my god, I'm gonna
call games. It's hard, it is.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
You know, you gotta stay down in. You gotta stay
very focused in on what it is that the task
is at hand. You got to know the players, you
gotta you gotta get your information out very quickly. It's
what It's a matter of seconds to get an impactful
saying out, you know, in between the plays. And I
called it with Gus Johnson. So for for me, yeah,
(22:38):
I went from like no nothing to they needed somebody.
I jumped in and we we did a We did
a bang up job. I messed up a couple of
annunciations of you know, pronunciations of of nots. Yeah, but
other than that, I thought it was a pretty cool experience.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah. I did some call games years ago, like at
a lower leveledge games, and yeah, it's it's a it's
a different it's a different beast. So your point, I
think is very well taken about. You know, for Tom
to be the best he can be in the booth,
you're using this year to get some practice. I imagine
if he doesn't play this year, he does a game
for Fox, a three man booth at some point, right,
(23:17):
just kind.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Of you would assume that he's going to make appearances
quite often. That that's what I would assume.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yeah, I know, and it's a it's yeah, it's it's
and we know Tom's a perfectionist, and he'll want that
opportunity to work, you know, at some point this year
and and kind of test that out before he gets
into the into the booth at Fox. So it does
feel like if if he doesn't play this year, there's
plenty of things for him to do that keeps him,
you know, in the game. Whether I would imagine studio
work for Fox as well, I mean, there's plenty of
(23:43):
opportunities for him to kind of get those reps in
But to me, it's August. It's it's if he gets
through August without without committing to a team. I think
I feel more comfortable about him being fully retired then
I am him saying this now because now there's again,
there's not that physical and mental itch right now to
play in early June. For older players, a lot of
(24:03):
guys are yeah, I could skip houses in program. I
don't worry about that. It's it's August. It's his first
it'll be the first time he has not been in
a training camp since he was seventeen years old. Wow, right,
because he from Michigan, NFL. And how's he going to
feel mentally and physically kind of at that time is
a question for me.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Arrington and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
Hi, this is Jay Glazer.
Speaker 6 (24:34):
And you may know me for the world of football
or fighting or even shows like HBO's Ballers.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Well you don't know is for my entire life.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
I have lived in something I refer to as the
gray depression anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a
new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Glazer,
where each week, while we talk about mental health, I
hope to describe it, give it words. Listen to Unbreakable
with Jay Glazer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Let's talk DeAndre Hopkins. He's the biggest name brand free
agent that's out there on the market right now. I'm
curious as to how you see things playing out with
him and where his possible destination would be.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
It's gonna be a fun kind of story to follow,
right he so, Odell Beckham got a fifteen million dollar
deal from the Baltimore Ravens, and that is what DeAndre
Hopkins is going to ask for, and I understand him
doing that, and I think you should ask for that.
But it seems clear that teams didn't want to pay
(25:43):
him as much money as he wants, right because otherwise
the Cardinals would have traded him. And we know that
the Bills and the Chiefs called over there. But right now,
the Chiefs and Bills have no cap space. So yeah,
they can certainly create the cap space to sign Deodore Hopkins.
But the Chiefs just signed Donovan Smith, a left who
started one hundred and twenty four games for the for
(26:04):
the Bucks, and he wasn't great last year, but he
has been good in his career. He was injured last season,
and I think the Chiefs expected to play better. But
they signed a legitimate left tackle, a position in the
NFL that's highly coveted, that's highly paid. For a base
salary of four million dollars, okay, he'd be he'd be
(26:27):
the cheapest starting left tackle in the NFL. Okay. If
DeAndre Hopkins wants to make that type of money and
decision to play for the Bills and Chiefs, he can
do that. They'll pay him a small base salary, high incentives,
and he could be on on those two teams. But
is he gonna want to take less money to try
to win? Most players say they do and end up
(26:50):
not doing that right because someone offers them a ton
of money and they take the money every time. I
don't blame any athlete for ever doing that. So look
around the NFL at I think some teams that might
want to payhim that money. I come back to the Chargers.
The Chargers did add Quinn Johnson in the draft. But
with Kellen Moore now, they're gonna be a three wide
(27:10):
receiver team. They're gonna be a team that passed the
ball a ton. They have a quarterback and Justin Herbert
with a rocket arm, And I just feel like add
and DeAndre Hopkins, who can who's not gonna burst down
field like he did in the past, but as an
excellent route runner, who's gonna catch every ball that comes
(27:31):
to him. I feel like that's a good fit for
what Hopkins should be an NFL. What the Chargers want
to do, they could probably pay him right like the Chiefs,
and the Chiefs and Bills aren't going over pay for Hopkins.
He's not gonna go there unless he wants to take
a far less money.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I think he has to, And I love the Chargers
discussion point I brought up the Chargers yesterday as well.
I think that that would be an amazing landing place
for for DeAndre Hopkins and for the LA Chargers. I
think when you look at what DeAndre Hopkins situation is,
(28:13):
I would be willing to bet he wants to end
off on a very high note. Now keep in mind,
he may be asking for a certain amount of money
But in the end, does it matter to get onto
a roster and a roster where you can have the
level of success where you can be remembered for having
(28:34):
a career that, you know what was brilliant early on,
had a little rocky spots to where we're at right now.
But if he could finish out strong or at least
have a strong showing, maybe get to a Super Bowl,
win a Super Bowl, be a reason why the team
was competitive, he could really solidify his career that way, Jeff.
(28:57):
And so to me, when you get released like they
released him, so he gets the money that's owed to him.
So he's going to get a healthy amount of money.
He's going to get paid as if he was playing
for the Arizona Card and knows this year whether he
plays it down of football or not.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
And so, did you win a Super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (29:16):
I did not? Okay, I missed the Super Bowl by
one year in New York.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
So I not want a rule either. Yeah, And I
think for older players like us that that are done playing,
we understand what a super Bowl title would have meant
for us, right we didn't get one. Now my brother
got once, I've seen what it was meant to him.
And to his life. And I think when you're retired
(29:42):
you see all that. When you're playing, I don't think
at times you understand what a title means for your legacy,
and your point about kind of going somewhere for Hopkins
to a chance to win a championship, what that would
mean for his life and for his legacy, it's hard
as a current player to get that. I think it's
very easy for us to say that, right, Like we
(30:03):
understand that we didn't win one, but yes, going to
Kansas City for less money and winning a championship would
do far more for his life than taking a ton
of money. I saw yesterday talking to Texans like to
taking a ton of money going playing for the Texans.
But as a as a current player, I think it's
really hard to understand that because rightfully, so we're so
(30:25):
geared toward making the most money as we should, right
because his careers are short now, he's I think it's
his twelfth season now, so like he should get it
by now. They're like, hey, maybe winning a championship is
more important to me than the outright money I'm getting.
Plus we know this, man, if you win a championship,
you get paid more the next year, teams look at
(30:45):
you differently, right, Yeah, and so in year ten or eleven, twelve,
I would totally chase the ring. I would chase the ring,
and it's no guarantee you're gonna win, obviously, But if
I were him, man, I'd be chasing situations and rings
and not money.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
I mean, especially in the current situation. Right you got released,
you got a hell of a contract, probably a hell
of a payout. I don't know the details on his payout,
but I mean for the moment, for the time being,
I would certainly want to go somewhere where I was
one appreciated, I was believed in, and you have a quarterback,
(31:23):
and you have a good coaching staff, and you have
a good culture at your place, Like I get to choose.
That's the thing that people don't realize about pro players.
If you're if you're blessed enough to be talented, you
don't get to choose. And then when you become a
free agent, you still may be chasing the bag. You
(31:45):
mighta not have got the bag, or you're just in
one of those situations where it's time to chase the bag.
Dee Hop is getting a bag and he's in a
situation where he can actually play with house money and
say this, I can check off all the boxes that
I want to check off and choosing a team just
as long as they want to choose me. Now you
(32:06):
price yourself out, that becomes a different proposition. Right. We've
heard of teams dropping out of the running to bring
them in, probably because they don't have the cap space
to do it. But if I'm d hoped, I would
take a serious, long, hard look at going to a
team at a discounted rate because I can go do
more damage in a situation where I go to the
(32:27):
place that has everything that I need in it for
me to have success, versus going somewhere and getting more
money but probably not checking off or checking off far
less boxes and so to speak to being able to
have success. So there you go.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
You know I'm with you on that his point of
his career, I would take the championship, the stability of
a winning organization over chasing money.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
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