March 6, 2026 • 34 mins
Jason Fitz & Buck Reising fill in and talk about reports that the Eagles will only trade A.J. Brown to the Patriots, the upcoming Duke vs. UNC game and if Duke is still as hated as they once were, the latest with Raiders DE Maxx Crosby, and more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the best of two pros and a couple
(00:04):
Joe with Lamar airings and rating win and Jonas Knots
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
The Bills made a big acquisition in DJ Moore. We
already opened the show talking about whether or not that
actually makes them demonstrably.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Better or not.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
But it does raise a question to me of there
is another team in this division that is coming off
of a Super Bowl not named the Buffalo Bills, and
that's the New England Patriots.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
And I've seen a.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Couple different conflicting sort of concepts on this, because the
Patriots coming off of Super Bowl means most of us
feel they should be some kind of way now they're
in their super Bowl window.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
They should be super aggressive, they should do all these things.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I've seen a couple of guys that I think do
a good job reporting on the team talk about the
fact that New England is still being very calculated. They
are treating this offseason like they are a team that
is building towards something long term. I think that makes
a lot of sense because now that we're far enough
from moved from the season, we don't have to it
doesn't have to be inflammatory to talk about you know,
whether or not the Patriots are great or whether they
(01:03):
were just hot. I don't know, but I do think
that they have to have a really good sense. They
have to be able to look in the mirror and
have a really good sense of who they are moving
forward to know the right way to build.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
And sometimes that's tough to do.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Like I mean, you go back to weight loss, like,
how often does somebody lose a little bit of weight
and then those pants fit so they try and put
them on, and then you realize the pants don't really
fit right, Like, the Patriots have to be painfully honest
with themselves in the mirror, not about the result last year,
but about where their team is when they go into
this offseason. I'm not sure if they're going to be
super aggressive or if they're going to stay the course.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Well, and the obvious connection there and I say this
is somebody who covers the Tennessee Titans on a day
by day basis is AJ Brown and Mike Vrabel, which
a lot of people have drawn those connections or tried
to make those connections understanding that the two of them.
I know Aj did an appearance I think it was
with is it Julian Edelman and Gronx Podcas asked, I
(02:00):
can't remember exactly where he popped up where he's talking
about how much he hated Mike Vrabel at the start
of his career because he didn't necessarily understand the way
that Mike coaches, especially young talented players, that he's trying
to find ways to bring bring the best out of it.
And finally you know that that style, AJ came around
on it, and now they have a great relationship despite
(02:22):
not being on the same team anymore. This this AJ
Brown acquisition potential acquisition, right, there's been nothing reported that
seems to have moved the Eagles off of their position,
and in fact, in fact, Mike Garifolo was on television,
I want to say, last week during the combine saying
(02:43):
quote to this point, they have not gotten to the
point at which the Eagles would make a move specific
to AJ Brown. And the other part of this is
just reading from Garifolo's reporting. In their minds, it's a
Quinn Williams type deal for AJ. We're talking a potential
first round pick with a second round sweetener on it.
That's kind of where it is for the Eagles to
(03:04):
start to consider moving AJ Brown if they don't get
close to that point, or to that point, I don't
think Howie Roseman moves him. So the Quinn Williams deal
for AJ Brown, the Cowboys gave up a twenty twenty
six second round pick, a twenty twenty seven first round pick,
and a defensive tackle Mazzie Smith, who I'm not mistaken
(03:28):
was also a former first round pick in his career.
That's a pretty significant haul. And you know, I don't
I wouldn't pretend to know the career of Mazzie Smith respectfully.
I'm sure he's a fine player, but I don't know
what that looks like for New England. They're not in
a position to be giving up valuable draft capitol, and again,
(03:49):
their first round pick, it's thirty one, right, it might
as well be a second. So I don't know that
that doesn't drive the deal up further to where they're
having to toss an additional compa And who a player
comp might be for Mozzy Smith on the Patriots roster,
I'm I'm not sure either, Like, is Philadelphia gonna want
Pop Douglas in exchange.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
For AJ Brown and a couple of draft picks? I
don't know. I don't.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
I think the easy connection is there to make it,
but it's not something that if the Patriots want to
continue to build their roster in the best way possible,
which is organically through the draft process. As enticing as
the idea and as fun as the idea of AJ
and Mike reuniting might be in New England, certainly for
(04:37):
Patriots fans, you also got to consider what you're trading for.
I AJ's been in Philadelphia longer than he was here
in Tennessee. But I loved my time covering a AJ.
The person is a is somebody who I very much
enjoyed who I think he's a fundamentally good person, despite
some of the eccentricities that may come with his performance
(05:02):
on the field. And I don't know how Philly fans
feel about him. I'm sure more of them love him
than not. But it's it's completely fair to say that
A J. Brown did not did not give his full
effort last year in certain situations, and that's not something
that's going to fly in a place like New England.
It certainly it doesn't fly in a place like Philadelphia
(05:23):
where they're trying to figure it out and he's kind
of got them, he's kind of got them backed into
a corner a little bit because he he does have
I think there are legitimate gripes to why AJ you know,
may feel or act out the way that he does
in certain situations. But that's that's not the kind of player.
That's not the kind of element that I think you
(05:44):
want to add to your young, burgeoning roster in New
England if you think that there are going to be
some moments where he stirs it up just for the
sake of stirring it up. There's also the component that
I don't think a lot of people are talking about,
is that how healthy is he? I mean, he had
stuff here at the end in Tennessee and it wasn't so,
you know, obviously he's gone on to have an even
(06:07):
statistically better career in Philadelphia than he was with the Titans,
and he's coming off a career worst year. But we
understand that there are some mitigating circumstances to that he
didn't look right last year. And I don't have his medicals.
I'm not in Philadelphia every day, and I don't want to.
I don't want to get into a discussion that that
I don't. I'm not fully armed with all of the
(06:29):
information to have, but there's just something every time I
watched him last year, he just simply didn't look right
outside of the clear lack of effort that was on
the field for them in a couple of different instances.
I think all of those are fair criticisms of AJ
even though I acknowledge he is still an excellent player
at a very important position that would benefit the Patriots
(06:49):
if they were able to acquire him for a hell
of a lot less than we're talking about here.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, the Eagles are trying to get it done for
the ones who get it done.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
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Grainger dot com or just stop buy. It's interesting because
the Patriots get rid of Stefon Diggs.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
They cut him.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
He's not going to be part of the team next year,
which I don't think is a shocking moment for most people,
but it does leave sort of an area of concern.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
I have long since.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Said the minute you as an organization believe you might
have your answer at quarterback, especially young guys. The first
thing you have an obligation to do is give them
as many weapons as possible. I look at quarterbacks that
they're young as like a teeter totter or a seesaw,
depending on where you grew up right. So in the beginning,
the quarterback needs all the help, needs all the weight
(07:45):
that comes from a bunch of weapons. And then you
hope over time the quarterback becomes the weight and lifts
everybody else up right. So I don't love as much
as Drake May. I think had a very good season,
and we all I'm not sitting here saying Drake May
isn't the answer.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It's fine.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
I just as you know, Buck, I like to take
three years to make any decisions. I think year three
is a really big one for these young quarterbacks. What
I don't want for the Patriots in this process, like,
I don't want the Patriots to become the Bills who
we talked about earlier, who even if they love their quarterback,
they're just rolling them out there saying all right, I
just make it work with whatever you got. Like, it
(08:19):
makes sense to me for the Patriots to acquire somebody.
I think it would make a lot more sense in
my mind for the Patriots to go all in on
somebody like Alec Pierce this year. If they're going to
go in at the wide receiver position, then it would
AJ Brown simply because Alec is younger. I want somebody
that can come in and sort of grow with him.
But I'm not saying Alec is nearly the prospect or
(08:40):
the player that AJ Brown is. Like AJ Brown's a
better player, I'm not sure to be consistent, I'm not
sure I feel that much differently about Alec Pearce than
I did about DJ More earlier, who I said, how
often do you walk in just scared your taking on
Alec Pearce, I just I don't know what the Patriots
are going to do with that position, but I would
love to see them bringing somebody that can be that
(09:03):
guy for Drake May, because I'm not sure that we
can we can plant the flag on Drake May no
longer needs help around him. I think most young quarterbacks do,
especially veteran help, and I mean Drake needs that in
my mind, So it's important that the Patriots address the
position somehow.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
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Speaker 2 (10:05):
While everybody's sleeping and trying to figure out what's going
on in the NFL over the course of the next week,
and we're all talking about tanking in the NBA, all
of these different things, college basketball gives us what is
arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports this weekend
when they give us Duke North Carolina, and the question
is does it hit as hard as it used to?
He's Buck Rising, I'm Jason Fitzbucket Fits on Fox Sports Radio.
(10:28):
Buck I think it's important to admit my bias right
as we start this conversation. There is no team in
all of sports, in all of sports, I don't care
what sport we're talking about. There is no team in
all of sports that I hate more than Duke basketball.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
There is no team. Like when I flashback to a little,
little fat.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Me as a kid sitting there, you know, grew up
a UNLV fan. I have one video tape, a one
tape for my entire life growing up. My parents didn't
have a camquarder, we didn't have that money, we weren't rich.
So I have one videotape of my entire life growing up.
And on the side of it, all it says is
one O three seventy three that would be UNLV beating
Duke for the national championship. I remember where I was
(11:09):
the next year when a very very very heavily favored
UNLV team was undefeated and they went into the final
four a heavy favorite against Duke, and they lost, and
I cried. I cried, and it stuck with me, and
I hated Duke like. The first time I ever met
Jay Will in ESPN, the first thing I told him
is I hate Duke like I hate Duke.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I can't say that loud enough that being said.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Not even a hello, how are you great career? I
love your work, just I hate Duke.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
I hate Duke. I think it's important to establish these things.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
You know, Jay Will as a friend now, it's but
he understands he understands my hate sho, So you think, yeah,
that's right, I consider j Will a friend. I'm not sure,
you know. I'll text him to see if he texted
me back.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
We'll get an answer on that. But it just feels
like amazingly John Shire.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Took over for coach Kruszewski a few years ago and
something changed.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I don't know if it's.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
The one and done world that we're living in. I
don't know if it's just Shire has a different approach.
I don't know what it is. I just when I
look around and I'm like, where are my brothers and
sisters in.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Hate of Duke? I don't feel like I have it.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Like it's interesting that this rivalry maybe feels like a
little less heat to me because I don't think Duke
right now has a roster full of Christian Latner like
villains that everybody's obsessed with. It feels like some of
the hatred for Duke has worn off across the sports landscape.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
How much do you think the hate was predicated off
of Duke? Because they have had hateable players, right, I
mean that's very much, yes, in their DNA across history,
whether it's Lightner or whether it's J. J. Reddick, Oh
my god, who's the guy that played for the Grizzlies
for a little while, like the Grayson Allen, right, like
they have had and I know that Grayson Allen is
(12:55):
not like the other two, but like you understand my meeting,
they have had hateable players in their history. How much
do you think that hate, though, dissipates because coach k
is not there. Because Shizhevski is also not necessarily endearing.
I mean he's great, right, He's excellent and deserving of
(13:16):
the legendary status that he holds and all the things
that he accomplished across his career, especially at that program.
I mean, he's he's iconic for a reason. But he's
he's got a lot of the I don't know, he's
got a lot of the Belichick stuff to him, right,
just in terms of how he carries himself, the way
(13:37):
that he speaks. Some of these press conference moments that
go that that would make the rounds, whether he's just
snapping in a student reporter or something like that. Like
he's had these moments and Kay is not necessarily I
think after you know, during the retirement to where everybody's
praising and heaping, you know, love and affection on coach Skazhevsky.
(13:59):
But once once he goes, I think, like, I don't
hate John Shire, you know, I don't think that they don't.
They don't seem like the death Star to me anymore. Now,
maybe that's because I've I've never me personally, I've never
had that kind of hatred for Duke as a program.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
I know a lot of people have. For me.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
That's Kentucky. I have hated Kentucky basketball my entire life.
It's because Indiana and Kentucky, I mean used to be
a rivalry. I feel that way about Purdue. I feel
that way about Kentucky. I do not feel that way
about Duke. So maybe I'm speaking from a place of ignorance,
but that a lot of that seemed too dry up
after Ka retired.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Well, and to that point, I mean, think about the
way we used to talk about Alabama football and Nick
Saban Nick Saban over Like, I'm not sure much of
Saban's stick has changed. It just went from always a
grumpy coach that nobody likes, like Saban's out here being Saban,
and now when he's the exact same person on game day,
it's endearing and it's your papa that everybody wants to
hang out with, right, Like it's it's it's wild the
(14:58):
change that comes from, you know, maybe not having the
same level of dominance too, Like if Shire turns around
and wins two or three national championships in the next
five years, It's an interesting portion.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Of American pop culture. This came up the other day
on one of my.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yahu shows, because if anyone hasn't seen it, you should
look it up. The reception in Japan for Sho hey
O Tani has been absolutely incredible. They filled a stadium,
a full on stadium for his batting practice. Right, it's
like watching Michael Jackson in the heat of the eighties.
Like when he's over in Japan, everybody's flocking to him.
(15:36):
They're following him everywhere. He's got security. It's like beatles
Mania for everything. Show he's doing in Japan, which started
as sort of a conversation we were having about what
it takes to be that in here, like who would
be the American superstar that transcends globally that way? And
one thing that's interesting to me is that in America,
this is just the way that we've always run our superstars.
(15:58):
You have to have a certain level of success to
then where you become loved and hated all at once,
Like you have to have an equal amount of people.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
It feels like on one side, it's just the way
that we work.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
So like, no matter what Lebron does now for the
rest of his career, they're gonna be people that are like, oh,
Lebron's not Michael, I hate Lebron, I hate the decision
whatever it is. Right, Like Kad suddenly became polarizing because
he decided to go to Golden State, and you know
Stu Gotts doesn't acknowledge those championships, right Like Tom Brady.
Is Tom Brady the ultimate super Bowl Champion? Or is
(16:29):
he the guy that deflates Pauls and and you know,
cheats every time he possiblely get Like this is what
we do with any level of real success, Like you
have to have a certain level of success success to
become transcendent in our culture, you have to have a
certain level of success to where you become both loved
and hated at the same time. Even like go back
to music in the eighties, there was one year where
(16:50):
bon Jovi was voted the best and worst band in
Rolling Stone in the same year, Like we we have
to either love or hate something for it to transcend
and poppy larity and I'm not sure that Duke. Maybe
Duke needs to win a bunch of championships so then
they're so successful under Shire did they then become again
both loved and hated.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Well, And then there's the component of this game specifically right,
because I do think it has a little bit more
juice if Caleb Wilson was medically clear to play.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
It doesn't sound like, at least as of.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Today or yesterday when last there was some reporting on this,
they're star freshman. He's been one of the he's been
one of the biggest reasons why North Carolina hasn't really
been able to climb back up into the second I
understand they're still hanging onto their ranking, but still he's
had a hand fracture at this point, he is He's
a really big piece of this puzzle as far as
(17:45):
making this a more compelling game, kind of bringing that
additional juice to the rivalry. If I'm not mistaken, he's
missed six games since he hurt that left hand, and
I know Hubert Davis was asked about it earlier this
week yesterday in fact, and you know there's individual workout stuff.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
That's going on.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
I'd be surprised to see him out there this weekend.
So I think that also, at least for this specific
version of that rivalry, is taking a little bit of
juice from it.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You're right, But as we sit right now in North
Carolina is number seventeen, and as we sit right now,
Duke's number one. Yeah, and just like Duke's number one
after going in and what a game against Michigan that
you know, when Michigan was number one, Duke was three
or four, and everybody was obsessed with what it would
look like. And you know, Boozer has come out and
(18:37):
been everything that you could possibly want Booze to be. Right, Like,
It's just it's funny to me because I I can't
say that Duke has slept on. That's impossible. They're the
number one team in the country. I just don't remember
the last time Duke was number one taking on UNC,
and it felt like it had this little amount of
heat and that you know that in part, you're right,
(18:59):
and that's on the North Carolina side for this, But
these are two ranked teams. North Carolina has the chance
to sweep Duke this year. North Carolina finished this year
undefeated at home. They have the chance to sweep Duke.
They have the chance to make a massive statement before
the ACC Tournament in this matchup between two teams that
are both in the top twenty and Duke is number one. Like,
(19:20):
I just feel like most years we would be sitting
here all week and we would just be drowning in
Duke North Carolina. You know, best of the lineups, best history,
best matchups, and it just doesn't have that same level.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
And I wonder part of.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I think we're onto something here that part of that
is Shire, and part of it is that Booze as
a star is just it's kind of a likable kid,
you know, Like he's just he's not Christian Lehtner or
Grayson Allen or change.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Like he's kind.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Of a likable dude. Like it's fun watching and play.
There's a there's a certain joy to what they're doing.
So it's a it's a change, and I don't know
if it's good change or bad change. It just feels different,
like growing up watching wrestling in the eighties, which I
reference all the time with your book, Like one of
the interesting things was sometimes they be a face and
sometimes they be a heal, Like there'd be a chapter
where macho Man was a good guy, in chapter where
(20:10):
macho Man was a bad guy. I think we're in
the babyface chapter of Duke. I think we're in the
chapter where people like going into this season, this postseason,
going into this tournament. I don't think you're going to
have the same level of I watch Duke just to
hate watch Duke. I think you've got a lot of
people out there that are like, oh man, this du
Deep pretty good.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Yeah, And I don't know.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I kind of like that you can you can have
those different phases for a program, Like you don't have
to think the same way about a program its entire
existence or a player that's their entire career.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
This is not an uncommon story arc, right.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I think Lebron is a good example of this where
you're lovable in Cleveland, you're hateable. When you go join
up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and Miami, that
you come back to Cleveland, you're the hero again. I
don't really know. You know how much polarization there is
around Lebron's Lakers tenure at this point in time. Brady
the same, right, And we're talking about things that have
(21:04):
obviously achieved at an incredibly high level for their entire careers,
or in the case of Duke, is a basketball program
its entire existence that you can you can go through
these these cycles and and get a different experience in
different eras of whatever it is that you're talking about.
So if Duke gets to be likable for a period
(21:25):
of time very soon, they won't be right. That's just
that's not we don't allow you to be that kind
of I mean, you can't even call them a lovable
underdog or anything like that. They're the number one team
in the country. They're killing people. They have They've won
seven straight since they lost that game to you in
UNC in early I mean, he's a little it'll be
a month ago tomorrow if I'm not mistaken. Followed up
(21:48):
by that neutral court when at Michigan that we talked about,
and then they just drummed Virginia by twenty six after that,
So they've just they've been on a on a tear.
There's no reason a look at Duke and think, oh, lovable,
plucky underdog.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
Duke, right, That's not what this is.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
But the team itself, the coach, I think just kind
of the vibe that they project is not what you
are you are accustomed to feeling about that specific basketball program,
which I think is fun.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
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Speaker 2 (22:29):
Right now, it feels like we get a different angle
and a different opinion and a different story involving whether
or not the Raiders are about to trade Max Crosby.
And I'm convinced the more we talk about it, Max
Crosby has become the gannis Ante Tacoumpo of the NFL.
It's bucking fits hanging out for two pros and a
cup of Joey's buck rising. I'm Jason Fitz. You can
usually hang out with us on Saturday night six to
(22:51):
eight pm Eastern. We'll also be back here on Monday.
Book most people know at this point if they've consumed
me anywhere, then I'm a lifelong, diehard Raiders fan. And
you know, to be very very very clear, I sat
there at Super Bowl week and I said.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
On one day, Max isn't getting traded.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Maxis said repeatedly that if he has something to say,
he'll say it, and he hasn't said anything.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
So I think all.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
These rumors are just that, they're just rumors. A day later,
Jay Glazer came on my show on Yahoo Sports and
shocked me and the world when he said, yeah, I'm
Max has done. He's never going to play another snap
for the Raiders. He's getting traded. So all of a sudden,
this viral moment, it's one of the more viral moments
for Yahoo Sports, Daley that we've ever had, blows up
and everybody starts saying, but Joe s Eddie wouldn't get tired. Look,
(23:32):
I'm not going to pretend to know at this point.
I stand by the logic that I have that I
don't think Mark Davis, who cares immensely about being liked.
I don't think Mark Davis loves the idea of being
the owner that traded away Khalil.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Mack and Max Crosby as an owner.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
I don't think Mark Davis, who loves Max Crosby, likes
the idea of moving on without him. And I think
the Raiders are asking for such an astronomical return because
they don't believe they're going to get it, and as
a result, the Raiders are going to end up with
Max Crosby still blame for them this year. That being said,
everybody I know now has told me that I'm an
idiot and I'm wrong, and I'm willing to admit that
(24:07):
that's fine. Like, look, I could see this whole thing wrong.
I don't know. But what is interesting is that the
reports don't stop. Mike Silver came out with The Athletic
with the report about Max Crosby and why it's fallen
apart a lot of which I think made sense Buck
because he talks about the fact that, my god, it's
just one thing after another with him, right, Like, I
think it's fair to say Max Crosby understandably can be
(24:31):
exhausted with the process of being a LAS Vegas Raider
right now.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Well, so how does that make you feel as a
Raiders fan, Fitzy, because I could understand why you would
take the initial approach that you did, and then when
somebody like Jay Laser informs you of, you know, the information.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
That he has.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
And the one of the many reasons that I respect
Jay Glazer and the work that he does is because
he is very, very judicious and what he puts out there.
And it's not just you know, first to tweet the
transaction type of thing, not knocking guys like Schefter and
Rappaport that do that for a living, but Jay Glazer
plays the insider game in a different way, and I
(25:12):
think his reputation reflects how seriously he takes that dissemination
of information when he has it, because he always has
good stuff. And I mean, when is the last time
that Jay Glazer got something incorrect in these particular situations? So,
and I saw the clip from y Aux Sports Day,
a lot of people did, as you well know, and
(25:33):
he was very it was almost casual in the way
that he was just like, yeah, he's not going to play.
Max Crosby's not going to play for the Raiders at
this point in time, Jay Glazer doesn't just say something
like that casually the way that you know another talking
head like you or me might. He's got the actual
information there to connect the dots and not just go
(25:53):
off an assumption but say, no, this situation is irre irreparable. So,
as a raid, how how do you process something like that?
Understanding the hope that your organization currently has, which is
more than you can say and sometime, I would imagine,
or at least since last offseason where you thought Geno
Smith and Pee Carroll might actually be able to do
(26:14):
something of consequence there with now the number one overall pick,
with Tom Brady involved heavily in your organization, but your
best player on the roster no longer being satisfied to
be a good soldier in this way or not. He's
not you know, he's not shooting his way out of
the situation per se. But he's you know, he's clearly
(26:37):
messaging to whomever that he's not going to continue to
play this organization. What does that do to you as
a fan?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
I mean, I understand it.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Like so, if you go all the way back to
the year that the draft was in Vegas at the time,
I was with ESPN, and.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
That's where Max and I met for the first time.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
We got tattoos together, right, and so we got tattoos
for a video sequence we did an interview as a
tattoo is an excuse to spend four or five hours
just shooting, you know what. And so it's funny because
I said to him at the time, so this is,
you know, NFL draft in Vegas, what twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Around their twenty twenty one whatever it was. I said
to him at the time.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I was like, man, it's been a crazy year because
they had relocated and it was the year that you
know that Gruden was fired and Basasci had taken over
all these different things. I was a crazy year. And
he laughed at the time and said, crazy year. It's
been a crazy career every single year. There's something crazy
with this organization that was years ago. I mean, you
think about the fact that he's had five or six
(27:37):
different head coaches, he's had five different gms. I mean,
it's just it's alarming the number of voices he's heard
in a short amount of time.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
I wouldn't fault Max for being over it.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I also think that it's it's hard for me because
again Max has said repeatedly on the record, when I
have something to say, I'll say it. And he has
his own podcast that's very successful. They just reached one
hundred thousand subscribers. He has a show on Sirius XM
with Jim Gray and Tom Brady right like, so he
has all these opportunities to speak, and ever since all
of this really blew up, his only answer has.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Been I just don't want to talk about this anymore.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So it's interesting because I think, if I'm being fair here,
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
It doesn't surprise me that he's exhausted.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
I just think that he could tell the world he's
exhausted and it would get rid of all of this.
But that's just not the way that this is going down.
And this at some point where there's smoke, there's fire.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Jay.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Particularly you mentioned Jay, and I want to say that
Jay Glazer knows Max incredibly well.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
That's why it had weight for me when Jay said
it on my show.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
If it had been any other insider, if it had
been no disrespect to Adam Schefter, who personally helped change
my life, if it had been shifty, I'd think, well,
you know, somebody feeding shifty information.
Speaker 5 (28:48):
Fine.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Jay knows Max incredibly well, so for him to say
that was the first time that I stepped back and said, okay,
this has meaning that being said, I mean when I
read the Silver report. For example, one thing that Mike
Silver points out in his report about why you know
Max is not content with the Raiders is, you know
the Guerrero stuff. There's a personal trainer that has worked
(29:09):
with Tom Brady forever, all the way back to the Patriots, stays.
We heard all the stories about him being polarizing in
that building, and you know now he's the eyes and
ears of Tom Brady, according to this report within the
Raiders organization, and according to Silver's report, Max didn't like that.
I read that and thought, oh man, I think a
lot of us read that, thought oh man, that makes sense.
(29:29):
But then I saw Brian Hoyer, the backup quarterback that
played for both the Patriots and the Raiders, quote tweet
that and say, hey, this is surprising to me because
I don't know a single person, a single teammate that
I ever had that didn't want to get the opportunity
to be treated by Guerrero for ten or fifteen minutes
to the point that there were waiting lists and people
were trying to get in with them, and it was
(29:51):
like everybody, I know that, all of my teammates.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
We all absolutely loved what he did.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
And Brian Hoyer also played for the Raiders, so you
think that you know, given and his relationships there. And
then on top of that, the player report cards that
were just leaked the Raiders organization. The players gave the
training staff an A, they gave ownership an A. If
they had a problem with Brady or Guerrero off the
record right there, they could.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
Have dinged both of them. They dinged neither of them.
So I don't know what's real and what's just.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Conjecture from people that are coming out here trying to
figure out a way to get Max on any other
team because his career is being wasted on the Raiders.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
Mike Silver is very well sourced, So I have no
doubt in my mind that somebody, and I'm certain multiple
people in that organization who maybe aren't players, and again
we're I'm now I'm source guessing, which I really don't
like to do because I think that's a bit of
a flawed exercise. But still, somebody doesn't think that Alex
(30:52):
Guerrero is a good actor in that building right now,
whether that's the players who are receiving treatment from Remember
the line in the Silver Report that said, you know
there that Alex Guerrero would essentially, in not so many words,
threaten people's jobs if they did not listen to what
Alex Guerrero had to say and his level of influence
(31:15):
in that building and what he purported it to be
was the line. So I'm sure that does rub some
people the wrong way, just as it rubbed some people
with the Patriots organization. On the coaching staff famously, Bill
Belichick kicked Alex Guerrero off the sideline, right, if you
are one of these coaches or somebody in that world
that wants more control over the situation, understandably, so some
(31:38):
may be right, so may be wrong in that then yeah,
you probably don't love the idea of Tom Brady's guy
when Tom's not It doesn't sound like Tom's around a
whole lot, right.
Speaker 5 (31:48):
He lives in Florida, he's busy with Fox.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
So Guerrero kind of feels like Tom Brady's ambassador to
the organization in his in his his you know he's
there to represent Brady's interests in the building, because Guerrero
sounds like he's around a hell of a lot more
than Brady is on a day to day basis. I'm
sure that also rubs some kind of person the wrong way.
(32:12):
This is the and I understand the need for anonymous
sources and reporting, but this is the kind of thing
that you run into. What is the level of these
anonymous sources that are speaking to Mike Silver under the
condition of anonymity because they want their jobs to be protected,
And what is the actual impact of this. I'm not
(32:33):
saying that Mike Silver would would run a hit piece
or anything like that. And in fact, if I'm not mistaken,
isn't he a Raiders fan?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
No?
Speaker 3 (32:40):
No, no, no, no, He's not a Raiders fan.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
He's covered a lot, written a lot about the Raiders,
but not a Rader, at least not to my knowledge.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Okay, I don't know Mike on a personal level. We've
chatted here there, but.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Not in a person I for some reason I thought
he was a Raiders fan. Either way, I know that
Mike would do this story the right way, which again
begs the question, all right, who benefits from having this
story out there, right, the age old question when you
find new information or when new information is being reported on,
all right, who stands to gain from this being out there?
Who is trying to paint Alex Guerrero in an unfavorable light?
(33:16):
And maybe Guerrero has done some of it himself and
that's earned, but it doesn't align with what you're pointing
out about players who have both worked with Guerrero presently
and in the past to appreciate and respect his work.
And also what the NFLPA report cards that were not
(33:36):
supposed to be made public, but then we're immediately made
public since the NFL tried to the NFL ownership tried
to put the kaibash on them that the Raiders received
an A in that. I didn't realize that. That's a
very interesting detail to kind of throw into the mix
on this and be like, all right, where where is
the disconnect? Where's the disconnect happening here?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Yeah, Hoyer's tweet and I think it's I'm going to
read it because it's very thorough, says interesting because I've
never experienced anyone who didn't walk away from that treatment
that didn't feel better and have improvement. Matter of fact,
I had to wait at times for my treatment session
as Alex would try and squeeze in many players and
even coaches who would want to get just ten to
(34:14):
fifteen minutes of treatment from him, both in New England
and in Las Vegas. Speaking from my personal experience, I
was able to play three seasons after torn lateral meniscus
a week before the season in twenty one that I
was told required surgery, and also severe planner faescitas in
twenty three with his treatment principles very specific response to
(34:35):
anonymous sourcing.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
So I think all of
Speaker 2 (34:37):
This speaks to a greater question, which is why is
everybody so desperate to have Max Crosby somewhere else
This is the best of two pros and a couple
(00:04):
Joe with Lamar airings and rating win and Jonas Knots
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
The Bills made a big acquisition in DJ Moore. We
already opened the show talking about whether or not that
actually makes them demonstrably.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Better or not.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
But it does raise a question to me of there
is another team in this division that is coming off
of a Super Bowl not named the Buffalo Bills, and
that's the New England Patriots.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
And I've seen a.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Couple different conflicting sort of concepts on this, because the
Patriots coming off of Super Bowl means most of us
feel they should be some kind of way now they're
in their super Bowl window.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
They should be super aggressive, they should do all these things.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I've seen a couple of guys that I think do
a good job reporting on the team talk about the
fact that New England is still being very calculated. They
are treating this offseason like they are a team that
is building towards something long term. I think that makes
a lot of sense because now that we're far enough
from moved from the season, we don't have to it
doesn't have to be inflammatory to talk about you know,
whether or not the Patriots are great or whether they
(01:03):
were just hot. I don't know, but I do think
that they have to have a really good sense. They
have to be able to look in the mirror and
have a really good sense of who they are moving
forward to know the right way to build.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
And sometimes that's tough to do.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Like I mean, you go back to weight loss, like,
how often does somebody lose a little bit of weight
and then those pants fit so they try and put
them on, and then you realize the pants don't really
fit right, Like, the Patriots have to be painfully honest
with themselves in the mirror, not about the result last year,
but about where their team is when they go into
this offseason. I'm not sure if they're going to be
super aggressive or if they're going to stay the course.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Well, and the obvious connection there and I say this
is somebody who covers the Tennessee Titans on a day
by day basis is AJ Brown and Mike Vrabel, which
a lot of people have drawn those connections or tried
to make those connections understanding that the two of them.
I know Aj did an appearance I think it was
with is it Julian Edelman and Gronx Podcas asked, I
(02:00):
can't remember exactly where he popped up where he's talking
about how much he hated Mike Vrabel at the start
of his career because he didn't necessarily understand the way
that Mike coaches, especially young talented players, that he's trying
to find ways to bring bring the best out of it.
And finally you know that that style, AJ came around
on it, and now they have a great relationship despite
(02:22):
not being on the same team anymore. This this AJ
Brown acquisition potential acquisition, right, there's been nothing reported that
seems to have moved the Eagles off of their position,
and in fact, in fact, Mike Garifolo was on television,
I want to say, last week during the combine saying
(02:43):
quote to this point, they have not gotten to the
point at which the Eagles would make a move specific
to AJ Brown. And the other part of this is
just reading from Garifolo's reporting. In their minds, it's a
Quinn Williams type deal for AJ. We're talking a potential
first round pick with a second round sweetener on it.
That's kind of where it is for the Eagles to
(03:04):
start to consider moving AJ Brown if they don't get
close to that point, or to that point, I don't
think Howie Roseman moves him. So the Quinn Williams deal
for AJ Brown, the Cowboys gave up a twenty twenty
six second round pick, a twenty twenty seven first round pick,
and a defensive tackle Mazzie Smith, who I'm not mistaken
(03:28):
was also a former first round pick in his career.
That's a pretty significant haul. And you know, I don't
I wouldn't pretend to know the career of Mazzie Smith respectfully.
I'm sure he's a fine player, but I don't know
what that looks like for New England. They're not in
a position to be giving up valuable draft capitol, and again,
(03:49):
their first round pick, it's thirty one, right, it might
as well be a second. So I don't know that
that doesn't drive the deal up further to where they're
having to toss an additional compa And who a player
comp might be for Mozzy Smith on the Patriots roster,
I'm I'm not sure either, Like, is Philadelphia gonna want
Pop Douglas in exchange.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
For AJ Brown and a couple of draft picks? I
don't know. I don't.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
I think the easy connection is there to make it,
but it's not something that if the Patriots want to
continue to build their roster in the best way possible,
which is organically through the draft process. As enticing as
the idea and as fun as the idea of AJ
and Mike reuniting might be in New England, certainly for
(04:37):
Patriots fans, you also got to consider what you're trading for.
I AJ's been in Philadelphia longer than he was here
in Tennessee. But I loved my time covering a AJ.
The person is a is somebody who I very much
enjoyed who I think he's a fundamentally good person, despite
some of the eccentricities that may come with his performance
(05:02):
on the field. And I don't know how Philly fans
feel about him. I'm sure more of them love him
than not. But it's it's completely fair to say that
A J. Brown did not did not give his full
effort last year in certain situations, and that's not something
that's going to fly in a place like New England.
It certainly it doesn't fly in a place like Philadelphia
(05:23):
where they're trying to figure it out and he's kind
of got them, he's kind of got them backed into
a corner a little bit because he he does have
I think there are legitimate gripes to why AJ you know,
may feel or act out the way that he does
in certain situations. But that's that's not the kind of player.
That's not the kind of element that I think you
(05:44):
want to add to your young, burgeoning roster in New
England if you think that there are going to be
some moments where he stirs it up just for the
sake of stirring it up. There's also the component that
I don't think a lot of people are talking about,
is that how healthy is he? I mean, he had
stuff here at the end in Tennessee and it wasn't so,
you know, obviously he's gone on to have an even
(06:07):
statistically better career in Philadelphia than he was with the Titans,
and he's coming off a career worst year. But we
understand that there are some mitigating circumstances to that he
didn't look right last year. And I don't have his medicals.
I'm not in Philadelphia every day, and I don't want to.
I don't want to get into a discussion that that
I don't. I'm not fully armed with all of the
(06:29):
information to have, but there's just something every time I
watched him last year, he just simply didn't look right
outside of the clear lack of effort that was on
the field for them in a couple of different instances.
I think all of those are fair criticisms of AJ
even though I acknowledge he is still an excellent player
at a very important position that would benefit the Patriots
(06:49):
if they were able to acquire him for a hell
of a lot less than we're talking about here.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, the Eagles are trying to get it done for
the ones who get it done.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Granger offers access to over a million products in the
scale to deliver when and where you need them the
right tools and supplies, never far away. Call or click
Grainger dot com or just stop buy. It's interesting because
the Patriots get rid of Stefon Diggs.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
They cut him.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
He's not going to be part of the team next year,
which I don't think is a shocking moment for most people,
but it does leave sort of an area of concern.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
I have long since.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Said the minute you as an organization believe you might
have your answer at quarterback, especially young guys. The first
thing you have an obligation to do is give them
as many weapons as possible. I look at quarterbacks that
they're young as like a teeter totter or a seesaw,
depending on where you grew up right. So in the beginning,
the quarterback needs all the help, needs all the weight
(07:45):
that comes from a bunch of weapons. And then you
hope over time the quarterback becomes the weight and lifts
everybody else up right. So I don't love as much
as Drake May. I think had a very good season,
and we all I'm not sitting here saying Drake May
isn't the answer.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It's fine.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
I just as you know, Buck, I like to take
three years to make any decisions. I think year three
is a really big one for these young quarterbacks. What
I don't want for the Patriots in this process, like,
I don't want the Patriots to become the Bills who
we talked about earlier, who even if they love their quarterback,
they're just rolling them out there saying all right, I
just make it work with whatever you got. Like, it
(08:19):
makes sense to me for the Patriots to acquire somebody.
I think it would make a lot more sense in
my mind for the Patriots to go all in on
somebody like Alec Pierce this year. If they're going to
go in at the wide receiver position, then it would
AJ Brown simply because Alec is younger. I want somebody
that can come in and sort of grow with him.
But I'm not saying Alec is nearly the prospect or
(08:40):
the player that AJ Brown is. Like AJ Brown's a
better player, I'm not sure to be consistent, I'm not
sure I feel that much differently about Alec Pearce than
I did about DJ More earlier, who I said, how
often do you walk in just scared your taking on
Alec Pearce, I just I don't know what the Patriots
are going to do with that position, but I would
love to see them bringing somebody that can be that
(09:03):
guy for Drake May, because I'm not sure that we
can we can plant the flag on Drake May no
longer needs help around him. I think most young quarterbacks do,
especially veteran help, and I mean Drake needs that in
my mind, So it's important that the Patriots address the
position somehow.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
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Speaker 2 (09:49):
That's right, you can now watch The Odd Couple live
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Speaker 2 (10:05):
While everybody's sleeping and trying to figure out what's going
on in the NFL over the course of the next week,
and we're all talking about tanking in the NBA, all
of these different things, college basketball gives us what is
arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports this weekend
when they give us Duke North Carolina, and the question
is does it hit as hard as it used to?
He's Buck Rising, I'm Jason Fitzbucket Fits on Fox Sports Radio.
(10:28):
Buck I think it's important to admit my bias right
as we start this conversation. There is no team in
all of sports, in all of sports, I don't care
what sport we're talking about. There is no team in
all of sports that I hate more than Duke basketball.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
There is no team. Like when I flashback to a little,
little fat.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Me as a kid sitting there, you know, grew up
a UNLV fan. I have one video tape, a one
tape for my entire life growing up. My parents didn't
have a camquarder, we didn't have that money, we weren't rich.
So I have one videotape of my entire life growing up.
And on the side of it, all it says is
one O three seventy three that would be UNLV beating
Duke for the national championship. I remember where I was
(11:09):
the next year when a very very very heavily favored
UNLV team was undefeated and they went into the final
four a heavy favorite against Duke, and they lost, and
I cried. I cried, and it stuck with me, and
I hated Duke like. The first time I ever met
Jay Will in ESPN, the first thing I told him
is I hate Duke like I hate Duke.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I can't say that loud enough that being said.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Not even a hello, how are you great career? I
love your work, just I hate Duke.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
I hate Duke. I think it's important to establish these things.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
You know, Jay Will as a friend now, it's but
he understands he understands my hate sho, So you think, yeah,
that's right, I consider j Will a friend. I'm not sure,
you know. I'll text him to see if he texted
me back.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
We'll get an answer on that. But it just feels
like amazingly John Shire.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Took over for coach Kruszewski a few years ago and
something changed.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I don't know if it's.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
The one and done world that we're living in. I
don't know if it's just Shire has a different approach.
I don't know what it is. I just when I
look around and I'm like, where are my brothers and
sisters in.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Hate of Duke? I don't feel like I have it.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Like it's interesting that this rivalry maybe feels like a
little less heat to me because I don't think Duke
right now has a roster full of Christian Latner like
villains that everybody's obsessed with. It feels like some of
the hatred for Duke has worn off across the sports landscape.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
How much do you think the hate was predicated off
of Duke? Because they have had hateable players, right, I
mean that's very much, yes, in their DNA across history,
whether it's Lightner or whether it's J. J. Reddick, Oh
my god, who's the guy that played for the Grizzlies
for a little while, like the Grayson Allen, right, like
they have had and I know that Grayson Allen is
(12:55):
not like the other two, but like you understand my meeting,
they have had hateable players in their history. How much
do you think that hate, though, dissipates because coach k
is not there. Because Shizhevski is also not necessarily endearing.
I mean he's great, right, He's excellent and deserving of
(13:16):
the legendary status that he holds and all the things
that he accomplished across his career, especially at that program.
I mean, he's he's iconic for a reason. But he's
he's got a lot of the I don't know, he's
got a lot of the Belichick stuff to him, right,
just in terms of how he carries himself, the way
(13:37):
that he speaks. Some of these press conference moments that
go that that would make the rounds, whether he's just
snapping in a student reporter or something like that. Like
he's had these moments and Kay is not necessarily I
think after you know, during the retirement to where everybody's
praising and heaping, you know, love and affection on coach Skazhevsky.
(13:59):
But once once he goes, I think, like, I don't
hate John Shire, you know, I don't think that they don't.
They don't seem like the death Star to me anymore. Now,
maybe that's because I've I've never me personally, I've never
had that kind of hatred for Duke as a program.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
I know a lot of people have. For me.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
That's Kentucky. I have hated Kentucky basketball my entire life.
It's because Indiana and Kentucky, I mean used to be
a rivalry. I feel that way about Purdue. I feel
that way about Kentucky. I do not feel that way
about Duke. So maybe I'm speaking from a place of ignorance,
but that a lot of that seemed too dry up
after Ka retired.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Well, and to that point, I mean, think about the
way we used to talk about Alabama football and Nick
Saban Nick Saban over Like, I'm not sure much of
Saban's stick has changed. It just went from always a
grumpy coach that nobody likes, like Saban's out here being Saban,
and now when he's the exact same person on game day,
it's endearing and it's your papa that everybody wants to
hang out with, right, Like it's it's it's wild the
(14:58):
change that comes from, you know, maybe not having the
same level of dominance too, Like if Shire turns around
and wins two or three national championships in the next
five years, It's an interesting portion.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Of American pop culture. This came up the other day
on one of my.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yahu shows, because if anyone hasn't seen it, you should
look it up. The reception in Japan for Sho hey
O Tani has been absolutely incredible. They filled a stadium,
a full on stadium for his batting practice. Right, it's
like watching Michael Jackson in the heat of the eighties.
Like when he's over in Japan, everybody's flocking to him.
(15:36):
They're following him everywhere. He's got security. It's like beatles
Mania for everything. Show he's doing in Japan, which started
as sort of a conversation we were having about what
it takes to be that in here, like who would
be the American superstar that transcends globally that way? And
one thing that's interesting to me is that in America,
this is just the way that we've always run our superstars.
(15:58):
You have to have a certain level of success to
then where you become loved and hated all at once,
Like you have to have an equal amount of people.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
It feels like on one side, it's just the way
that we work.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
So like, no matter what Lebron does now for the
rest of his career, they're gonna be people that are like, oh,
Lebron's not Michael, I hate Lebron, I hate the decision
whatever it is. Right, Like Kad suddenly became polarizing because
he decided to go to Golden State, and you know
Stu Gotts doesn't acknowledge those championships, right Like Tom Brady.
Is Tom Brady the ultimate super Bowl Champion? Or is
(16:29):
he the guy that deflates Pauls and and you know,
cheats every time he possiblely get Like this is what
we do with any level of real success, Like you
have to have a certain level of success success to
become transcendent in our culture, you have to have a
certain level of success to where you become both loved
and hated at the same time. Even like go back
to music in the eighties, there was one year where
(16:50):
bon Jovi was voted the best and worst band in
Rolling Stone in the same year, Like we we have
to either love or hate something for it to transcend
and poppy larity and I'm not sure that Duke. Maybe
Duke needs to win a bunch of championships so then
they're so successful under Shire did they then become again
both loved and hated.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Well, And then there's the component of this game specifically right,
because I do think it has a little bit more
juice if Caleb Wilson was medically clear to play.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
It doesn't sound like, at least as of.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Today or yesterday when last there was some reporting on this,
they're star freshman. He's been one of the he's been
one of the biggest reasons why North Carolina hasn't really
been able to climb back up into the second I
understand they're still hanging onto their ranking, but still he's
had a hand fracture at this point, he is He's
a really big piece of this puzzle as far as
(17:45):
making this a more compelling game, kind of bringing that
additional juice to the rivalry. If I'm not mistaken, he's
missed six games since he hurt that left hand, and
I know Hubert Davis was asked about it earlier this
week yesterday in fact, and you know there's individual workout stuff.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
That's going on.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
I'd be surprised to see him out there this weekend.
So I think that also, at least for this specific
version of that rivalry, is taking a little bit of
juice from it.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You're right, But as we sit right now in North
Carolina is number seventeen, and as we sit right now,
Duke's number one. Yeah, and just like Duke's number one
after going in and what a game against Michigan that
you know, when Michigan was number one, Duke was three
or four, and everybody was obsessed with what it would
look like. And you know, Boozer has come out and
(18:37):
been everything that you could possibly want Booze to be. Right, Like,
It's just it's funny to me because I I can't
say that Duke has slept on. That's impossible. They're the
number one team in the country. I just don't remember
the last time Duke was number one taking on UNC,
and it felt like it had this little amount of
heat and that you know that in part, you're right,
(18:59):
and that's on the North Carolina side for this, But
these are two ranked teams. North Carolina has the chance
to sweep Duke this year. North Carolina finished this year
undefeated at home. They have the chance to sweep Duke.
They have the chance to make a massive statement before
the ACC Tournament in this matchup between two teams that
are both in the top twenty and Duke is number one. Like,
(19:20):
I just feel like most years we would be sitting
here all week and we would just be drowning in
Duke North Carolina. You know, best of the lineups, best history,
best matchups, and it just doesn't have that same level.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
And I wonder part of.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I think we're onto something here that part of that
is Shire, and part of it is that Booze as
a star is just it's kind of a likable kid,
you know, Like he's just he's not Christian Lehtner or
Grayson Allen or change.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Like he's kind.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Of a likable dude. Like it's fun watching and play.
There's a there's a certain joy to what they're doing.
So it's a it's a change, and I don't know
if it's good change or bad change. It just feels different,
like growing up watching wrestling in the eighties, which I
reference all the time with your book, Like one of
the interesting things was sometimes they be a face and
sometimes they be a heal, Like there'd be a chapter
where macho Man was a good guy, in chapter where
(20:10):
macho Man was a bad guy. I think we're in
the babyface chapter of Duke. I think we're in the
chapter where people like going into this season, this postseason,
going into this tournament. I don't think you're going to
have the same level of I watch Duke just to
hate watch Duke. I think you've got a lot of
people out there that are like, oh man, this du
Deep pretty good.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Yeah, And I don't know.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I kind of like that you can you can have
those different phases for a program, Like you don't have
to think the same way about a program its entire
existence or a player that's their entire career.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
This is not an uncommon story arc, right.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I think Lebron is a good example of this where
you're lovable in Cleveland, you're hateable. When you go join
up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and Miami, that
you come back to Cleveland, you're the hero again. I
don't really know. You know how much polarization there is
around Lebron's Lakers tenure at this point in time. Brady
the same, right, And we're talking about things that have
(21:04):
obviously achieved at an incredibly high level for their entire careers,
or in the case of Duke, is a basketball program
its entire existence that you can you can go through
these these cycles and and get a different experience in
different eras of whatever it is that you're talking about.
So if Duke gets to be likable for a period
(21:25):
of time very soon, they won't be right. That's just
that's not we don't allow you to be that kind
of I mean, you can't even call them a lovable
underdog or anything like that. They're the number one team
in the country. They're killing people. They have They've won
seven straight since they lost that game to you in
UNC in early I mean, he's a little it'll be
a month ago tomorrow if I'm not mistaken. Followed up
(21:48):
by that neutral court when at Michigan that we talked about,
and then they just drummed Virginia by twenty six after that,
So they've just they've been on a on a tear.
There's no reason a look at Duke and think, oh, lovable,
plucky underdog.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
Duke, right, That's not what this is.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
But the team itself, the coach, I think just kind
of the vibe that they project is not what you
are you are accustomed to feeling about that specific basketball program,
which I think is fun.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
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Speaker 2 (22:29):
Right now, it feels like we get a different angle
and a different opinion and a different story involving whether
or not the Raiders are about to trade Max Crosby.
And I'm convinced the more we talk about it, Max
Crosby has become the gannis Ante Tacoumpo of the NFL.
It's bucking fits hanging out for two pros and a
cup of Joey's buck rising. I'm Jason Fitz. You can
usually hang out with us on Saturday night six to
(22:51):
eight pm Eastern. We'll also be back here on Monday.
Book most people know at this point if they've consumed
me anywhere, then I'm a lifelong, diehard Raiders fan. And
you know, to be very very very clear, I sat
there at Super Bowl week and I said.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
On one day, Max isn't getting traded.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Maxis said repeatedly that if he has something to say,
he'll say it, and he hasn't said anything.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
So I think all.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
These rumors are just that, they're just rumors. A day later,
Jay Glazer came on my show on Yahoo Sports and
shocked me and the world when he said, yeah, I'm
Max has done. He's never going to play another snap
for the Raiders. He's getting traded. So all of a sudden,
this viral moment, it's one of the more viral moments
for Yahoo Sports, Daley that we've ever had, blows up
and everybody starts saying, but Joe s Eddie wouldn't get tired. Look,
(23:32):
I'm not going to pretend to know at this point.
I stand by the logic that I have that I
don't think Mark Davis, who cares immensely about being liked.
I don't think Mark Davis loves the idea of being
the owner that traded away Khalil.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Mack and Max Crosby as an owner.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
I don't think Mark Davis, who loves Max Crosby, likes
the idea of moving on without him. And I think
the Raiders are asking for such an astronomical return because
they don't believe they're going to get it, and as
a result, the Raiders are going to end up with
Max Crosby still blame for them this year. That being said,
everybody I know now has told me that I'm an
idiot and I'm wrong, and I'm willing to admit that
(24:07):
that's fine. Like, look, I could see this whole thing wrong.
I don't know. But what is interesting is that the
reports don't stop. Mike Silver came out with The Athletic
with the report about Max Crosby and why it's fallen
apart a lot of which I think made sense Buck
because he talks about the fact that, my god, it's
just one thing after another with him, right, Like, I
think it's fair to say Max Crosby understandably can be
(24:31):
exhausted with the process of being a LAS Vegas Raider
right now.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Well, so how does that make you feel as a
Raiders fan, Fitzy, because I could understand why you would
take the initial approach that you did, and then when
somebody like Jay Laser informs you of, you know, the information.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
That he has.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
And the one of the many reasons that I respect
Jay Glazer and the work that he does is because
he is very, very judicious and what he puts out there.
And it's not just you know, first to tweet the
transaction type of thing, not knocking guys like Schefter and
Rappaport that do that for a living, but Jay Glazer
plays the insider game in a different way, and I
(25:12):
think his reputation reflects how seriously he takes that dissemination
of information when he has it, because he always has
good stuff. And I mean, when is the last time
that Jay Glazer got something incorrect in these particular situations? So,
and I saw the clip from y Aux Sports Day,
a lot of people did, as you well know, and
(25:33):
he was very it was almost casual in the way
that he was just like, yeah, he's not going to play.
Max Crosby's not going to play for the Raiders at
this point in time, Jay Glazer doesn't just say something
like that casually the way that you know another talking
head like you or me might. He's got the actual
information there to connect the dots and not just go
(25:53):
off an assumption but say, no, this situation is irre irreparable. So,
as a raid, how how do you process something like that?
Understanding the hope that your organization currently has, which is
more than you can say and sometime, I would imagine,
or at least since last offseason where you thought Geno
Smith and Pee Carroll might actually be able to do
(26:14):
something of consequence there with now the number one overall pick,
with Tom Brady involved heavily in your organization, but your
best player on the roster no longer being satisfied to
be a good soldier in this way or not. He's
not you know, he's not shooting his way out of
the situation per se. But he's you know, he's clearly
(26:37):
messaging to whomever that he's not going to continue to
play this organization. What does that do to you as
a fan?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
I mean, I understand it.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Like so, if you go all the way back to
the year that the draft was in Vegas at the time,
I was with ESPN, and.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
That's where Max and I met for the first time.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
We got tattoos together, right, and so we got tattoos
for a video sequence we did an interview as a
tattoo is an excuse to spend four or five hours
just shooting, you know what. And so it's funny because
I said to him at the time, so this is,
you know, NFL draft in Vegas, what twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Around their twenty twenty one whatever it was. I said
to him at the time.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I was like, man, it's been a crazy year because
they had relocated and it was the year that you
know that Gruden was fired and Basasci had taken over
all these different things. I was a crazy year. And
he laughed at the time and said, crazy year. It's
been a crazy career every single year. There's something crazy
with this organization that was years ago. I mean, you
think about the fact that he's had five or six
(27:37):
different head coaches, he's had five different gms. I mean,
it's just it's alarming the number of voices he's heard
in a short amount of time.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
I wouldn't fault Max for being over it.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I also think that it's it's hard for me because
again Max has said repeatedly on the record, when I
have something to say, I'll say it. And he has
his own podcast that's very successful. They just reached one
hundred thousand subscribers. He has a show on Sirius XM
with Jim Gray and Tom Brady right like, so he
has all these opportunities to speak, and ever since all
of this really blew up, his only answer has.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Been I just don't want to talk about this anymore.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So it's interesting because I think, if I'm being fair here,
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
It doesn't surprise me that he's exhausted.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
I just think that he could tell the world he's
exhausted and it would get rid of all of this.
But that's just not the way that this is going down.
And this at some point where there's smoke, there's fire.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Jay.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Particularly you mentioned Jay, and I want to say that
Jay Glazer knows Max incredibly well.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
That's why it had weight for me when Jay said
it on my show.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
If it had been any other insider, if it had
been no disrespect to Adam Schefter, who personally helped change
my life, if it had been shifty, I'd think, well,
you know, somebody feeding shifty information.
Speaker 5 (28:48):
Fine.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Jay knows Max incredibly well, so for him to say
that was the first time that I stepped back and said, okay,
this has meaning that being said, I mean when I
read the Silver report. For example, one thing that Mike
Silver points out in his report about why you know
Max is not content with the Raiders is, you know
the Guerrero stuff. There's a personal trainer that has worked
(29:09):
with Tom Brady forever, all the way back to the Patriots, stays.
We heard all the stories about him being polarizing in
that building, and you know now he's the eyes and
ears of Tom Brady, according to this report within the
Raiders organization, and according to Silver's report, Max didn't like that.
I read that and thought, oh man, I think a
lot of us read that, thought oh man, that makes sense.
(29:29):
But then I saw Brian Hoyer, the backup quarterback that
played for both the Patriots and the Raiders, quote tweet
that and say, hey, this is surprising to me because
I don't know a single person, a single teammate that
I ever had that didn't want to get the opportunity
to be treated by Guerrero for ten or fifteen minutes
to the point that there were waiting lists and people
were trying to get in with them, and it was
(29:51):
like everybody, I know that, all of my teammates.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
We all absolutely loved what he did.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
And Brian Hoyer also played for the Raiders, so you
think that you know, given and his relationships there. And
then on top of that, the player report cards that
were just leaked the Raiders organization. The players gave the
training staff an A, they gave ownership an A. If
they had a problem with Brady or Guerrero off the
record right there, they could.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
Have dinged both of them. They dinged neither of them.
So I don't know what's real and what's just.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Conjecture from people that are coming out here trying to
figure out a way to get Max on any other
team because his career is being wasted on the Raiders.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
Mike Silver is very well sourced, So I have no
doubt in my mind that somebody, and I'm certain multiple
people in that organization who maybe aren't players, and again
we're I'm now I'm source guessing, which I really don't
like to do because I think that's a bit of
a flawed exercise. But still, somebody doesn't think that Alex
(30:52):
Guerrero is a good actor in that building right now,
whether that's the players who are receiving treatment from Remember
the line in the Silver Report that said, you know
there that Alex Guerrero would essentially, in not so many words,
threaten people's jobs if they did not listen to what
Alex Guerrero had to say and his level of influence
(31:15):
in that building and what he purported it to be
was the line. So I'm sure that does rub some
people the wrong way, just as it rubbed some people
with the Patriots organization. On the coaching staff famously, Bill
Belichick kicked Alex Guerrero off the sideline, right, if you
are one of these coaches or somebody in that world
that wants more control over the situation, understandably, so some
(31:38):
may be right, so may be wrong in that then yeah,
you probably don't love the idea of Tom Brady's guy
when Tom's not It doesn't sound like Tom's around a
whole lot, right.
Speaker 5 (31:48):
He lives in Florida, he's busy with Fox.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
So Guerrero kind of feels like Tom Brady's ambassador to
the organization in his in his his you know he's
there to represent Brady's interests in the building, because Guerrero
sounds like he's around a hell of a lot more
than Brady is on a day to day basis. I'm
sure that also rubs some kind of person the wrong way.
(32:12):
This is the and I understand the need for anonymous
sources and reporting, but this is the kind of thing
that you run into. What is the level of these
anonymous sources that are speaking to Mike Silver under the
condition of anonymity because they want their jobs to be protected,
And what is the actual impact of this. I'm not
(32:33):
saying that Mike Silver would would run a hit piece
or anything like that. And in fact, if I'm not mistaken,
isn't he a Raiders fan?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
No?
Speaker 3 (32:40):
No, no, no, no, He's not a Raiders fan.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
He's covered a lot, written a lot about the Raiders,
but not a Rader, at least not to my knowledge.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Okay, I don't know Mike on a personal level. We've
chatted here there, but.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Not in a person I for some reason I thought
he was a Raiders fan. Either way, I know that
Mike would do this story the right way, which again
begs the question, all right, who benefits from having this
story out there, right, the age old question when you
find new information or when new information is being reported on,
all right, who stands to gain from this being out there?
Who is trying to paint Alex Guerrero in an unfavorable light?
(33:16):
And maybe Guerrero has done some of it himself and
that's earned, but it doesn't align with what you're pointing
out about players who have both worked with Guerrero presently
and in the past to appreciate and respect his work.
And also what the NFLPA report cards that were not
(33:36):
supposed to be made public, but then we're immediately made
public since the NFL tried to the NFL ownership tried
to put the kaibash on them that the Raiders received
an A in that. I didn't realize that. That's a
very interesting detail to kind of throw into the mix
on this and be like, all right, where where is
the disconnect? Where's the disconnect happening here?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Yeah, Hoyer's tweet and I think it's I'm going to
read it because it's very thorough, says interesting because I've
never experienced anyone who didn't walk away from that treatment
that didn't feel better and have improvement. Matter of fact,
I had to wait at times for my treatment session
as Alex would try and squeeze in many players and
even coaches who would want to get just ten to
(34:14):
fifteen minutes of treatment from him, both in New England
and in Las Vegas. Speaking from my personal experience, I
was able to play three seasons after torn lateral meniscus
a week before the season in twenty one that I
was told required surgery, and also severe planner faescitas in
twenty three with his treatment principles very specific response to
(34:35):
anonymous sourcing.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
So I think all of
Speaker 2 (34:37):
This speaks to a greater question, which is why is
everybody so desperate to have Max Crosby somewhere else
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