March 18, 2020 • 53 mins
Dane Martinez and Jared Smith look at the latest news in NFL free agency. With Tom Brady going to the Bucs and Phillip Rivers heading to the Colts, the guys look at the future destinations for guys like Jacoby Brissett, Derek Carr, and Cam Newton.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Enjoy the show, and thanks so much for listening. Alright, everybody,
(00:22):
welcome here we are on Sports Grid at the window
Dane Martinez and Jared Smith. Listen. We know we're in
tough times, but that does not mean, Jarrett, that there
is not stuff to break down, and we have to
start with the NFL. Isn't it ironic, Jarrett? Isn't it
ironic that the NFL benefits because it's their off season anyway,
(00:42):
and now with everyone else shut down, even more attention
is paid to the NFL. This is a place where
the schedule release TV show gets better ratings than playoff
games and other sports, and now all eyes continue to
be on the NFL. Right, Jared, I mean, this is
best case scenario. I mean, I know it sounds morbid,
but it is best case scenario for the NFL. There
(01:03):
is nothing, There's no other show in town right now,
and I think this week would have, you know, gotten
some attention anyone. It's because of all the headlines, Tom Brady,
DeAndre Hopkins, all the things we're gonna talk about today,
but because there's nothing else going on, it gets even
magnified even more. And also as sports fans, you know,
throw aside just us as analysts, us as sports fans
(01:24):
are hungry for this right now, and we're getting our
appetites certainly filled this week with the NFL. Yeah absolutely.
I mean I'm watching everything from you know, classic games
ever to like darts and soccer in Azerbaijan. So the
fact that I see Titanic shifts happen in the NFL,
I'm certainly gonna pay attention to. And the books are
(01:46):
getting in it as well. Right you can still bet
everything from hor some of these quarterbacks going to sign
with next to win totals to changing division and conference odds,
and we're gonna have you cover with all that here
on Sports Grade. Yeah. I mean, I think right now
the wind totals are fascinating circle and I think what
you'll see over the next few weeks. Circa in Vegas
was the first book to kind of say, okay, here's
(02:08):
our best guest with the wind totals, and that, to
me is the first kind of domino to fall. My
guess is other books will kind of follow suit over
the next few weeks. I thought it was early to
release win Totals because so much is gonna change between
now and the draft. But I think I think because
of the climate that we're in, I think Circus said
all right, we're gonna be aggressive and and and and
(02:28):
credit to them out in Vegas. They've been kind of
the more aggressive book with this over the last couple
of months, you know, throughout the NFL season as well.
They're kind of on that cutting edge, and I think
other books will follow suit eventually. Uh, Circa took that
first stab and and and what we're seeing in the
futures market with the Super Bowl is obviously fascinating over
the last you know, twenty four hours with Tom Brady,
(02:49):
and with the things that are happening in Buffalo and
Tampa Bay, uh and in New England's odds changing. It's
it's been a very fluid market over the last twenty
four hours, and I think it's gonna change even more
over the next two to three weeks. Absolutely, and we'll
get into all the news you mentioned Tom Brady, DeAndre
Hopkins and others. But first, from a macro perspective, Jared,
you know, you mentioned the idea that the futures of
(03:09):
what we're looking at, but in this time of the
sports calendar, when we have free agency, when we have
the draft of coming. Honestly, Jared, I've always been told
that you can't listen to a damn thing you hear
right now, all sorts of smoke screens our teams truly
honest with their needs. So generally speaking, what are you
trying to do in the futures market with the Tampa
(03:30):
Bay Buccaneers, with the Deshaun Watson m VP candidacy. Are
you trying to rely on certain sources and get ahead
of the news or are you trying to react as
quickly as possible figuring out where it really benefits. How
do you approach, you know, a futures market when you
can't trust anything you hear. That's a great question, and
I always say this, and I'm sure we'll talk about
(03:51):
this in the next few weeks leading up to the draft.
Is trust nothing, uh? And I think that is now
carried over to the free agent market, just because of
the the the instant information that we get. I think
teams sometimes will release things and they will filter down
through the masses just to tweak the perception, just to
tweak maybe the the even the market itself and how
(04:12):
much you might be paying for someone, how many years,
how many millions of dollars. So I think the cautious
with what you hear. I wouldn't react to news immediately.
I would rather miss out on a little bit of
market movement if that means to solidify that the market
is moving in that direction. The great example, obviously what
happened with Tampa Bay over the last twenty four hours
is fascinating. The Bills odds have moved a lot. I
(04:34):
mentioned that the first Super Bowl bet that I made,
I've never made a bet this early in the NFL market,
but I think tough times called for tough decisions. I
made a bet on the Bills the other day at
thirty to one, and since they've moved to twenty two
to one on FanDuel, so that obviously makes me feel smart.
But it could go in both directions for Tampa Bay.
And we'll get into it when we talk Brady, but
that one moved I think just a bit too much
(04:55):
for my liking. I think the Bills are kind of
where they'll be over the next few weeks and it's
not gonna change much between now in the draft, all right.
So I guess the way we're gonna start doing this is,
let's look at the quarterback market. Right. There is no
more important position in all of sports than the quarterback.
And I mean, yes, Kirk Cousins got extended, Yes we
(05:15):
know who's going to go in the draft. But what
I think this really started with in terms of the
merry go round, in terms of the dominoes, was the
Tennessee Titans agreeing to bring Ryan Tannehill back. That to
me is the first domino to fall for a number
of reasons. What do you think about this, Jared? You know,
you know, I've been talking to you guys like Joe Ronery,
Game Moorenzi, and they say, in this day and age,
(05:38):
when not even with the vibe, but also with the
new collective gardening agreement and less practices, right, maybe less
preseason games in the next couple of years, the idea
of consistency year over year may become even more important,
and the Tennessee Titans do that not only with their
running back position, but retaining Ryan Tannehill. How do you
think this fits with the Rabel team with the Tennessee
(06:00):
Titans moving forward, is their stock up or stop down
with this consistency in Ryan Tanno? Well, I think this season,
more than any season, the ability to maintain your battery coach,
offensive coordinator, quarterback is as important as ever because there's
gonna be so few offseason camps, off season practices, off
(06:22):
season meetings, etcetera, etcetera as the world kind of recalibrates
from all this coronavirus madness. So what the Titans did
to keep their battery intact I thought was huge. I
think it's a massive buy for them. This was a
team that was, you know, thirty minutes away from going
to the Super Bowl last year. I mean, they had
a lead on the Chiefs in the first half of
that game. They just couldn't quite get over the hump.
(06:44):
But what they returned this year is basically their entire team,
and you you would expect a J. Brown to take
another step forward. I'm curious the mindset with Derrick Henry
coming off the franchise tag, but you would expect he'll
still be hungry and he's still young enough to produce
at a high level at the running back position. But
with Tannehill, to me, the question is can he repeat
what was a career year for him? I mean, it's
(07:06):
one thing for Patrick Mahomes to do it year after year,
the talent is through the roof. For Tannehill, it can
be a little more smoke and mirrors. And I don't
want to take anything away from Ryan Tannehill's talent. I mean,
the guy's a first round quarterback. He's a guy who
could certainly do it at a high level. But to
do it at the level he did it at last
year was exceptionally high. Can he repeat that in year
two of this Tennessee Titans experiment? Obviously, if you're Titans fan,
(07:30):
you hope yes. I think it will be a very
curious handicap going forward. I don't necessarily think he's gonna
have that kind of ceiling this year, but I think
the floor is certainly higher than some of the other
teams in the division. Yeah, absolutely, what a revelation. He
was maybe right. They were averaging thirty points a game.
They're literally carrying people to covers and to fantasy football championships.
(07:54):
I do believe the question is will he be able
to repeat it or was that the outlie. Let's continue
on here, Jared, because you know, the dominoes continue to fall, right,
So if Tennessee is going to commit to Ryan Tannehill,
that means Marcus Mariota had to go somewhere else. And
then after that we hear that the Las Vegas Raiders
(08:15):
and Marcus Mariota they have agreed to a deal. We
don't know necessarily if this is gonna be an open competition,
if that means Derek Carr is on the merry go round.
What do you think about Mariota? Because in all the
times we've been going through this, I've also been saying
that some people are gonna have to accept back up
money who may not be accustomed to it. We're gonna
(08:35):
see how the market shakes out. Do you view Mariota
as competing with car or actually maybe a promise to
become a starter, or do you think cars on the
move as well? What do you think about the fit
or is this just a low risk move for the Raiders? Yeah?
I mean I don't have the exact numbers in front
of me, But it does feel like a low risk move.
I mean, I think the Raiders have a lot of
(08:57):
other issues right now other than quarterback. I mean, I
would have been fine if our state under center for them.
I think they have so many other things to address,
especially defensively moving to a new city. I mean, you
talk about a team in transition, and again, the entire
world right now, Dan is in transition, So you're talking
about the world being as crazy and as unsettled as
(09:19):
it's ever been. And now you're talking about a Raiders
team that's about to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
They don't even know if their facility is going to
be open in time for in order to get their situation,
I mean exactly, So, I think I think Mariota's got
the toughest of all of these situations to handle, because
not only is he moving from one team to another,
but the team is moving from one city to another
(09:41):
a lot in plux. Granted, Gruden is still a great coach,
great quarterback coach, you would expect, uh Gruden. If Gruden
can't get the most out of Marcus Mariota, nobody can.
I mean John Gruden is one of the better offensive minds,
one of the better quarterback whisperers in all of football.
You would expect him to be able to squeeze the
juice out of Mary Outa as much as possible. I mean,
Marcus is still a very talented quarterback day There's no
(10:03):
doubt about it. He was the second pick in the draft.
He was almost a Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon. There's
no doubt about it that the talent is there. But
is the scheme the right fit? I think. I think
the Raiders have a lot to kind of, you know, unpack,
literally unpack over the next few months. Yeah, I mean
that is true. You know, I say it all the time.
There are very few quarterbacks in the NFL that actually
(10:25):
raise all boats right where you can put them any
system and they're gonna make the team better for To
be honest, most of these quarterbacks who can even win
a championship or win playoff games potentially, they have to
have the right fit. They have to be in the
right scheme. And we'll see if Mariota and Gruden can
make some beautiful music together. You are correct, they are
going to be moving both of them to a new city. Well,
(10:50):
I guess we get to the lead story right now
as the quarterback. Honestly, I heard Tennessee right, Giselle and
out schools, but no, we're ready to off about Towne Hill.
I heard the Las Vegas Raiders right. Oh, that would
bring in buzz with Grooden loving it if they were,
you know, moving to a new stadium to coordinate this transition.
(11:11):
But no. We have heard now over the last few
days that Tom Brady first on social media by saying
it's time to continue his journey elsewhere, and then Who's
came down that in fact, Tom Brady and the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers had a deal. It sounds like a good
thirty million dollars a year. I know the eyes need
(11:34):
to be dotted and the teams need to be crossed,
but this is a fate to complete, Jared and tell
me it looks like Tampa checks all the boxes. What
I heard that Tom Brady wanted was a player's collaborative coach, right,
and I wonder why he may want that after his
experience of the last I've heard he wanted an East
Coast team, right, so that he can still be mobile
(11:56):
on the East Coast with all of his ventures that
are out there, and when you look at it, what
were we saying about Tom Brady last year? He did
not trust any of his weapons, He didn't have any
actual outside threats. Will you put him now with a
Bruce Arians offense, with Mike Evans Chris Godwin, Maybe they'll
(12:19):
use the tight end this time around, Jared with O. J. Howard,
And this cupboard is not there when you talk about
the rest of the moves that are made and this
division you talked about moving odds. Jared, I see the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers now at nine to one to win
the NFC at our partners on FanDuel. I know he's
(12:39):
the greatest of all time and all, but at the
same time, he's gonna be forty two, forty three years old.
Jared from a football sense, does this make sense? From
an entertainment revenue? Butts in seats? Does this make sense?
And why did this make sense for Tom Brady? Well,
first of all, if you want to talk about the
box being, you know, a favorite to win anything, I
(13:01):
want to say it's probably been since the Gruden days.
Not to take what we were just talking about with
the Raiders to kind of bring this back to what
we're talking about with Tampa Bay. But it's kind of
an odd connection that we're seeing these parallels between what
we saw in Tampa Bay with the Brad Johnson Bucks
uh now going uh to the Tom Brady Bucks with
Bruce Arians. A lot of parallels there. Offensive coach quarterback
(13:24):
that's kind of on the back nine of his career.
Of course, Brad Johnson had the great career with Minnesota,
then he comes to Tampa Bay and they win a
Super Bowl, So it was it was very impressive. Stop.
Then all of a sudden you get to what you're
seeing with the weapons and I'm looking at O. J.
Howard right now six six pounds Gronk was six six
to sixty. I mean, just just O. J. Howard alone
(13:48):
now gets an immediate boost uh in the fantasy market.
And of course we all know what we're gonna get
with Evans and with God when those are all worldwide receivers,
and Evans obviously has to stay healthy. And you throw
Prashan Paraman into the mix as well. He had a
great second half of the year with with Jamis Winson
throwing a lot of picks but also throwing for the
for a lot of yards, leading the NFL in yards
(14:08):
this season. So I think it's obviously an immediate boost
to the fantasy situation for any Tampa Bay buccaneer. It's
obviously an immediate boost to the fan base and to
the city to kind of reel him into what is
now a city that was gonna be hungry for sports.
Tampa Bay is not known for its sports success. They
had a little good run with the Lightning. The Rays
have had their time in the sun, but of course
(14:30):
they're at their core a very small market team. Tampa
Bay is not one of those cities that really draws
the headlines, but now they do, and I think that's impressive. Absolutely.
So let's think about this from brass tacks. Okay, Now,
Bruce arians is a down the field kind of guy.
Does Tom Brady still have that anymore? Or is this
(14:50):
gonna be Mike Evans and Chris Godwin learning how to
run the five yard out? You know what? What? Actually,
do you think Tampa Bay is going to bring to
the offensive side of the ball all? You know, when
Peyton Manning went to Denver, he installed exactly what he wanted, right, Yeah, Well,
do you think this is gonna be Tom Brady installing
is offense or do you think part of the reason
(15:13):
he went to Tampa is because he likes what that
scheme is Byron Leftwich, the offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, we
know he's ready to wear these tangles and throw it
down the field. Where these tangles, well, I mean, based
on what we saw during his Arizona days, you would
expect there to be a very up tempo style. We
saw it a little bit this year with Winston, where
(15:34):
it was past Happy led the league in passing. All
that's is great, but now what But now, what Bruce
Arians has is more of an intellectual quarterback. And I
don't mean that as a knock on Jamis Winston. Winston
is a great quarterback, but he doesn't have that advanced
level to be able to digest what the defense is
giving him and to be able to say, hey, Bruce,
this isn't working, Let's try something else. Jamis was a
(15:57):
plug and play. Hey, we're gonna throw it down the
field and if it doesn't work, well, it's probably gonna
be an interception or a sack. Brady has the ability
to kind of maneuver around the game plan a little
bit and and and and Dan, You've been watching football
just as long as me. When you understand what a
defense is doing, and when you can adapt in game,
it changes the way that you can scheme, and it
(16:20):
changes the way that you can attack a defense. James
Winson just swept in that kind of quarterback Tom Brady
is and especially I was gonna say, Jared, even in
this league right now, the way it is evolving more
towards the passing game, you need the quarterbacks that can
quote unquote read the mail, have the hot route, kill, kill, kill,
and find the mismatch. That's what teams are doing. That's
(16:41):
what these veteran quarterbacks are doing, you know, Jared, I
heard yesterday. Remember Tampa Bay went seven and nine last year, okay,
And in their losses, seven of their nine losses, Jared,
were by one score or less. Okay. And in those
one score or less losses or Tampa Bay, Jamis Winston
(17:02):
through eight teen picks in those seven games, eighteen of
his thirty picks. Now, it does stand to reason, Jared
that if they flipped some of those games, and if
Brady can still dare I say it be an elite
game manager. The Tampa Bay could be cooking with gas
(17:23):
in a very changing division. Okay. We see in Atlanta,
DeVante Freeman, Austin Hooper gone, we see changes in Carolina
and potentially more staying the same in New Orleans. We
are not done with the quarterback news. There are still
plenty of names to discuss, from Cam Newton to Teddy
Bridgewater to Philip Rivers, and we are going to do
(17:45):
that here on Sports Grade. It doesn't matter if the
world is shutting down. There is still to discuss. NFL
Free agency is here. You gotta keep an eye on it.
We're gonna keep an eye on it for you. When
we come back, we talk about more of the quarterback moves.
Where will the merry go round? Stop for people who
are still out there and where the right fits might be.
(18:08):
As we connect the dot here on the NFL Free Agency,
it's Jared Smith and Jane Martinez right here on sports Grade.
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(18:30):
dot Com. Alright, so we're back here on Sports Grade
at the Window, Dane Martinez and Jared Smith, and we've
been talking about plenty of movement, especially at the quarterback position,
and the NFL still being open for business. Jared, we
know that free agency is happening right now, but another
(18:51):
big part of the NFL calendar is the NFL Draft
that was slated to take place at the end of
next month, which we know now is probably going to
be a time horizon where these things will not change
necessarily in our country, but in NFL true form, they'll
be able to still produce a TV show out of it. Jared, Will,
will people gather hundreds of thousands? No? Will these kids
(19:14):
be walking across a red carpet in their fashion sense, No,
but the annual selection meeting will still happen. And Jared,
you and I both saw had THET thirty about the
early eighties with Marino and Kelly, and that's exactly what
it will be. League business will can get conducted. Yeah,
and I'm happy that the NFL is going to keep
their draft as it is. Obviously, as long as everything
(19:37):
is safe, I think it is a good idea because
I think it's important to keep things as far as
possible because we have the league window opening up for
free agency on schedule. The draft needs to stay on schedule.
We'll figure out mini camps, will figure out training camps
as we go, but for the next month, I think
it's important to keep things, uh you know, as as
as close to quota, as close to all all things
(19:59):
nominal as possible, even though it's gonna be very difficult
to do. But again, we've seen the draft done in
smaller venues before. We used to see it done at
the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Uh So no surprise there. But
I'll be very fascinated to see how things kind of
come together over the next month. Absolutely, and teams will
be able to regroup for the draft after these big
waves of free agency as they take stock of their
(20:20):
roster and what their needs still are. And that brings
us back to our conversation that we've been having to
merry go round at the quarterback position. Another huge domino
that fell this week is Philip Rivers signing with the
Indianapolis Colts. A lot of people saw this coming. If
you looked at Jared the betting markets, and I know
you do a lot, but it was Tampa Bay at first,
(20:42):
right when he was gonna buy a house in Florida
for his nineteen kids or whatever. And as we saw
the you know, musical chairs begin to shuffle, a lot
of people zoned in on the fact that Frank right there,
the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, worked with Philip
Rivers before in when it was San Diego. Same with
the offensive coordinator. And what I would add to the
(21:03):
storyline here, Jared, is the Indianapolis Colts have one of
the best offensive lines in all of the NFL. They
re signed Costanzo, we know about Quentin Nelson, one of
the best guards in the entire league. And when you're
Philip Rivers in your late thirties and you're not one
of these dual threat quarterbacks, having a top offensive line
and a scheme you are familiar with so you don't
(21:26):
have to learn a new football language had to be
at the top of his list, right, Jared. Yeah, Well,
the transition we talked about it during the last segment, Dame.
Because of all the you know, the commotion and all
of the things that are happening around this world to
be able to keep things as as you know, as
streamlined as possible with your play calling, with the coaching,
with the quarterback position. Those are the three most important things.
(21:49):
So not only uh did Frank Reich and Philip Rivers
worked together with the Chargers, even the offensive coordinator, Nick Sirianni,
he was the quarterbacks coach with the Chargers. There is
just an incredible familiarity with the Colts coaching staff and
Philip Rivers. It makes a ton of sense from a
from a logistical standpoint to bring him in. We talked
about Brady as a plug and play, Rivers is even
(22:11):
more of a plug and play because of the scheme,
because of the fit, and you said it, because of
the offensive line. You can literally just throw Philip Rivers
back there in front of one of the best offensive
lines in football with the same verbiage, with the same
coaching staff that he dealt with with the Chargers and say, Okay, Philip,
go get that super Bowl that you so desperately want
that's alluded you for so many years. And I think
(22:32):
that's a stretch with this Colts team. But at least
they are in place. They are in a position to
succeed and hit the ground running from day one, because,
like we've talked about over this last couple of segments,
I think to me, to be able to talk to
your offensive coordinator and your coach with the same language,
and of course they're talking in English, but the same
play calling language, when they can hit the ground running
(22:54):
whenever training camp does begin, I think that is so
crucial because of the just un on unheralded and unprecedented
situation and circumstances we're dealing with in the world today. Listen,
the Indianapolis Coats were a sexy pick to win the
Super Bowl last year when we thought it was gonna
be Andrew Luck in his prime, finally back and healthy.
(23:16):
They wound up given Jacoby Brissett kind of like a
bridge deal. We looked it up before. It was what
one million, but you know, now you go and get
Philip Rivers, a borderline Hall of Famer. That is a
good roster. We liked the way this team is building
from the inside out, the culture. One of those teams
that also I mentioned it before with Tampa Bay how
(23:37):
many close losses they were in, were a similar kind
of team, Jared. They had a lot of one score losses.
They lost two or three games because of their Hall
of Fame field goal kicker. Even I know Philip Rivers
throws the yolo ball as much as anybody else, but
familiarity has to be key for Indianapolis. It is only
(23:57):
a one year deal, so it does also give them
the ability if it doesn't work. You know, Jared, you
talk about familiarity, all right, and that brings me to
New England, Okay, because Tom Brady is not going to
be the quarterback there in this year, so the question
becomes who will? Right? And I got an idea I
(24:18):
want to bounce off of you. You You talk about familiarity
and consistency, and also you can't wind up devoting so
much money to one position in one team, right, So
that's why now we know Tom Brady is in Tampa Bay,
Jamis is going somewhere else, right. I would also wonder
what about Jacoby Brissette. Jared, we're gonna hear a ton
of names in New England and being connect the dots, right,
(24:40):
We're gonna hear everything from Andy Dalton to two others.
What do you think about a guy that I haven't
heard a lot of talk about Jacoby Brissette potentially going
to New England. They can't go ahead and pay Philip
Rivers and Jacoby Brissette in Indie, can they not? I mean,
we'll see. I think the structure and you mentioned it
when we were talking about Rivers, and I kind of
perked up a little bit when I heard that it
(25:01):
was a one year deal, because I think it does
give now for it's gonna make You said at twenty
one million next year. Uh, it was a two year
deal where thirty million, but it was a backloaded two
year deal and only made nine million last year, and
he's gonna make twenty one this year. There might be
some odds and ends that they can restructure in terms
of the cat, but the cap hit for twenty one
million is the cap hit, and I don't know how
(25:23):
it's going to translate into what Rivers got. I I agree,
I don't see Rivers and Brissette coexisting together. But that
being said, you've now got a very short window to
deal him because we don't know what the rest of
the landscape is gonna look like. And and and we've
been saying it now, we've been handicapping the NFL draft
for the last couple of weeks, uh post super Bowl,
(25:44):
and I think the most certain thing in this entire draft,
other than Joe Burrow going number one, is the Patriots
drafting a quarterback at some point in the first three
or four rounds. I mean, I think it's almost a
it's almost a virtual lock at this point that Bill
Belichick is gonna try to identify some hidden gem, some
Tom Brady like player. Maybe in the first round with
(26:04):
Jordan's Love they pick twenty three, I could see that happening,
but also maybe in the later rounds as well. We've
seen a lot of names floated around with the Patriots,
and you never know where Old Bill's got up his sleeve.
He's always got something working, and I'm sure he's thought
about these contingency plans post Brady. I could see maybe
Cam Newton, but who knows. I mean, I I know
(26:25):
that there's a lot of issues with him as well.
I don't know what Carolina would ask for him in return.
We know he's on the trading block. We just heard
Nick Foles is going to be going to Chicago, so
that is a very interesting development. Things are starting to
fall into place. Who knows. We I think You're the
one that said it before we started this UH segment day.
You said that what if the Bengals say, hey, Dalton
(26:46):
and Green for a first round pick? Would you make
that move? If you're Bill Belichick. There are a million
different ways that New England can go. And as a
Jets fan, I'm scared because I don't necessarily think the
Patriots got worse with Tom Brady be leaving. Maybe they
did from a leadership standpoint, but from a talent standpoint,
this is still a team with the top five defense.
(27:06):
They've got the best coach in the NFL, They've got
an elite running back and Sony Michelle. Clearly the wide
receivers are something to be desired. They have no tight
end situation at all, which is an issue. But there's
still some some you know, a little bit of smoke
with this Belichick lad team now, and I'm fascinated to
see what direction he takes the quarterback position. Okay, one
(27:27):
of the things you just said, Jared was the the
window teams right now have to deal right And you
brought up another name and another team that is in
that same exact position. We go to the Carolina Panthers. Jack,
you know and at first to hear the owner coming out, oh,
we're giving him permission to seek a trade, and then
Cam comes right back out on social media. Don't try
(27:49):
to sell it like this guy's I've been down the
whole time. You clearly want to move on and Jared
move on. They have another quarterback here. Dominoes of all
is that the Panthers have gone ahead and signed Teddy
Bridgewater to a deal. Now, some people were talking that
he still may be able to re uh kind of
(28:09):
re up with the Saints. I thought that was never
gonna happen as soon as they offered a tender to
Taysom Hill Andrew Brees. There you've got another crowded quarterback room.
So let's start with just the Teddy Bridgewater news. Do
you think the contract he got signals face of our
future stop gap or something else? And how do you
see Teddy Bridgewater fitting in with the very much evolving
(28:33):
Carolina Panthers under new head coach Matt Rule. Yeah, it's
funny because the Panthers, you would think would have been
a massive rebuild project this year. They certainly still could be.
I mean, the roster is just absolutely decimated. Olson Keik Lee.
Those guys are all retiring or moving on in some capacity. Uh.
And then you've got the Cam Newton saga, which is
now with the Instagram situation has turned into a saga. However,
(28:58):
I do like Matt Rule and I like Joe Brady
a lot. I mean goodness, Gracious talked about an offensive
coordinator that's coming in with momentum. This is a guy
that took an LSU team that was a ground and
pound l s U offense and they turned it in
with the help of Joe Burrow and some great weapons
at wide receiver with turn it into an absolutely devastating
(29:19):
passing offense. And they've got continuity from their time in
New Orleans. Joe Brady was an offensive assistant for two
years with Bridgewater and so you've got the synergy there.
I love what Carolina did at the quarterback position. I
loved Eddie Bridgewater. I thought Bridgewater might have been an
interesting fit in New England. But they're passing offense and
how they like to kind of go short West Coast
(29:40):
and how Breag Bridgewater is such an intellectual quarterback and
how he can break down a defense with the best
went We saw that during his days in Minnesota and
we saw him fill in, if not become a starting
level caliber quarterback with the Saints this season when Brees
was out with an injury. I think Carolina has a
chance if they can figure out the rest of this roster. Granted,
they've got a first year head coach, a first year
(30:02):
starting quarterback at a first year offensive coordinator in a
league and a year and a world of transition. That's
gonna be a lot to digest. But if they can
get their ducks in a row. Their win total Dane
was four and a half. You're telling me that they
can't win five games with Tenny Bridgewater quarterback. He went
six and it was a starter for the Saints last
year in six games. So I I think there's an
(30:24):
interesting debate there as a sleeper team. But they've got
a lot of work to do with the rest of
their roster. And I don't love how they're handling the
Cam Newton situation, but we'll see it settle out over
the next couple of weeks. But man, oh man, is
that an intriguing, intriguing trio with rule, Brady and Bridgewater
all under center and all trying to get things moving
(30:45):
for this Panther's offense. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, Christian McCaffrey,
their young Weather. I didn't even mention him. Jay Moore
and Curtis Samuel all having a breakout. And if you
think about it, all guys that the offense is designed
to get the ball in their hands in space quickly.
They are built for the kind of offense that could
be very effective down there in Carolina. Just remember, though,
(31:06):
Teddy Bridgewater is now going to see Tom Brady twice
a season at least at Ryan you mentioned that, Lion.
I gotta say, though, when we're talking about divisions, to me,
the Atlanta Falcons are a big time loser in this division.
Everybody around them getting better. What do they do? They
decide to cut Davonte Freeman. Talk about running back contracts
(31:29):
that are in vogue now, talking about all the time
that one looked fine about three or four years ago.
Now is a news that they had to get rid of.
They also wind up losing the hottest tight end on
the free agent market in Austin Cooper. He goes to
the Cleveland Browns. But as we continue on the quarterback
Merry go round, Jared one of the names we brought
up now that Carolina has their guy is Cam Newton,
(31:53):
and I want to spend a minute or two on
that because people are talking about potential destinations from Cam Newton.
About a few hours ago, Jared, the favorite for where
Cam Newton was going to go was the Chicago Bears.
But you alluded to it before. That is no longer
the case because one of the more recent pieces of
news we are hearing is that the Jacksonville Jaguars have
(32:17):
traded there eighty four million dollar man Nick Foles to
the Chicago Bears. Now, let's talk about this from both sides, Jared. One,
that means that down south they are turning the keys
over to Gardner Minshew. It looks like, right, maybe they
signed a kind of veteran backup, a Joe type to
(32:39):
help him out in his progression. But I'm more interested
what does that mean in Chicago. When we knew that
the Bears were going to look to push Mitchell Trabinsky
this year, they were not entirely comfortable and this move
signals that, hey, Mitch, you better get your acting gear. Yeah,
I mean the Jazz. I mean the Jazz as the Jags,
(33:01):
not the Jags. The Jags they picked ninth in the draft,
so I don't see them taking a quarterback at that spot.
It's kind of no man's land for quarterbacks. Obviously you're
gonna get Burrowing. Two is somewhere in the top four.
Burrow obviously one and two. You know, it's between two
and five, and then there's probably a pretty significant drop
off between those guys and and the Herbert's and the Loves,
(33:22):
probably in the teams or twenties or even late first round.
So I don't see the Jags using their first round
pick at a quarterback. Maybe they do take a second
or third round flyer on a guy and try to
put him in a competition with Minshew and see where
the chips fall. I don't think you can totally give
the keys to Gardner Minshew. I don't necessarily think he's
earned that yet, but you certainly can make him the
starter and make him earn that starting role in what
(33:43):
will be a very intriguing training camp. We'll see who
they bring in, because I do agree they are going
to bring somebody else in. I'd like to see a veteran,
but we'll see how it shakes out. In regards to camp. Yeah,
in in regards to Cam Newton. The talents there, Dane.
I mean, you're talking about a guy that was the
m v P of the league what four years ago.
I mean, the the talent is certainly there. You obviously
(34:07):
question the health. You question the elbow, you question the shoulder.
Those are the things that he's had a lot of
issues with over the last couple of seasons. But man,
oh man, would he be a scary thought to end
up in New England? I mean, can you imagine that?
What would happen to the league all of a sudden
you gave Bill Belichick a quarterback with the physical tools
(34:27):
of Cam Newton. Now, again, the injury issues is something
I'm sure every team is going to do their due
diligence on. I could see the Chargers being a fit
as well, But they already have that kind of guy
into Rod Taylor. So are they gonna double up on
the mobile quarterback who is still having issues throwing the
football in an accurate way. I don't think they make
that move. I think the Chargers probably are a better
(34:48):
fit to go draft either two or a Herbert and
trying to make them the heir apparent. If they do
let to Rod Taylor kind of be the starting quarterback
at some point early on in the season. Now, I
do think Cam Newton has a lot of hopes to
jump through over the next few weeks. First, they has
to get traded, That he has to settle in with
his new team. That he has to learn a new
offense that he hasked to, you know, introduce himself to
(35:10):
a new set of receivers, tight ends, offensive line. And
again in the climate we're in with so many uncertainties, yeah,
you would think so. And when we come back here
on at the window will talk who do you think
will be under center week one for the Bears? What
does this mean for the Merry Go Round? With other
names like Andy Dalton to Justin Herbert. We will be
back trying to figure out the Merry Go Round. It's
(35:32):
Dan and Jared at the window, right, and you're on
sports Grade sports grid dot com, Betting insights and entertainment
at your fingertips as our team covers the most important
topics in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive betting models,
expert picks, and more want the edge than get on
the grid sports grid dot Com. All right, we are
(35:55):
back here at the window on Sports Grid, Jane Martinez
and Jared Smith. Really, you know, riding the quarterback merry
go round, Jarrett. And it is a world when, you know,
everyone says that they're just sheltered in place with nothing
to do, and oh my god, there's no sports, Jared.
We are not struggling to fill an hour with reacting
to just the quarterback news over the last week, from
(36:17):
Tom Brady to Philip Rivers to Teddy Bridgewater. And there's
more to discuss. Yeah, we haven't even gotten to even
like the odds of like where some of these teams
are gonna stack up futures wise, win totals wise. I mean,
the NFL is the gift that keeps on Giving Day. Yeah, absolutely,
And that doesn't even get to names like Joe Burrow
and to Herbert just yet. Because remember this is why
(36:40):
the lead calendar has to continue, right, because the kneebone
is connected to the hip bone. Teams needs still are
after this wave of free agency, Jared. One of the
things we just talked about is that Nick Foles has
been traded from the Jags to the Chicago Bears. We
knew that that was a potential spot for a guy
like Cam Newton, but instead Maggie who does have some
(37:02):
experience with Foles in Philadelphia. That kind of offense from Peterson.
It is something that Nick Foles has been successful in
in the past. My question for you, if you're a
handicapper and I know that you are at least to
play one on TV starting quarterback for the Bears come
Week one, is this, like, did they tell the job?
(37:24):
Is this gonna be a straight up open competition? Because
if I'm Mitched Trabinsky, I'm looking at this move. They
brought in some guy with a big contract. That means
that you know, my leash is very short. Yeah, and
and you know you feel for the Jags, or maybe
you don't feel for them, but they are certainly out
of pocket here. Uh. Nick Foles got paid thirty million
to make four starts for Jacksonville. Uh, and they on
(37:48):
the hook for this year of his contract. Uh. There's
still three more years left after that. The Bears obviously
will pay that. And it is a hefty price tag.
I mean, you're talking about the upwards of fifty million
dollars for Chicago to eat this deal. I don't think
they would have made this deal, Dane unless they had
intentions of him being the starter. Now, what you have
in Jacksonville compared to what you had in Chicago, I
(38:11):
would say a little bit more of an offensive scheme
that suited for Nick Foless system that suited for Nick
Foles's game up and down there at Jacksonville specifically, why
they signed Nick Foles. Wasn't that supposed to be a
perfect fit for him, but now Chicago was as well.
It was. You're right, it was supposed to be a
(38:31):
good fit. But the problem is, Leonard four Nett never
never materialized to what we expected this year. He took
a massive step back, and then of course the wide
receiver position for them was a little bit more. I
don't want to say unheralded, but I think there is
some interesting weapons in Chicago now, and I think I
like Allen Robinson. I like what we've seen from the
(38:51):
rookie Montgomery. I think there is a little bit of
punch there, and I like the head coach a lot
more than I like Moron. I'm certainly taking Naggy over
Maron any day of the week, so I think maybe
it's a good fit. Again, You're you're right. We did
think Jacksonville was gonna be a good fit, but it
just didn't pan out that way. Now, obviously he needs
to stay healthy. But I think quite what we're not
(39:12):
handicapping here, Dane, is the fact that this might actually
light a fire under Mitchell Trubisky a little bit more.
And I think Rubinski needs to have somebody in camp
with him that's going to push him, that's won a
Super Bowl, that knows what it takes to win at
the highest level, and that hopefully will make Rabinsky's level
of his game increase a little bit. So you might
(39:35):
actually kill two birds with one stone here, Dan. You
might get a guy in folds who could be the
starting quarterback, but you might also bring someone in who
might push Trabinsky to get to that next level. I'm
not willing to give up yet. Al Drabinsky, who was
a top ten pick just three years ago. He's had
some flashes, but he just hasn't put it all together.
Maybe this is the spark he needs to get his
(39:56):
game going. Yeah, I mean that's absolutely possible. We started
this show, Jared by saying, you know, there's so many
different options out there in the marketplace, right you want
a Haul of Famer At the end, Sunset and You've
got Tom Brady, you got Philip Rivers. You want a
guy that you think you can turn into the man,
you got a guy like Teddy Bridgewater. You want to
create a competition. Look what the Chicago Bears are doing.
(40:19):
The Las Vegas Raiders are doing the same thing, Jared,
what you just said about Trabinsky, you could insert Derek
Carr in the same exact paragraph and it would make sense.
But now you know this game is still continuing. The
merry go round still goes around. Right So I look
at Cam Newton, I look at Jamis Winston, I look
(40:39):
at you know, Andy Dalton. These are guys that still
will probably have a home where if you look at
Cam Newton right now on FanDuel, we're seeing teams like Washington,
the New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers as still
teams that maybe your quarterback needy now and are still
waiting for the music to stop. Help me connect of
(41:00):
these dots, Jared. When we think about a guy like
Jamis Winston, when we think about I like Cam Newton,
when we think about a guy like Andy Dalton, where
might they wind up? Do you see any whether it
be scheme fit, former relationships, location, or try the desire
to win. What do you think the market, trade market,
(41:21):
free agent market will be for these kind of guys
before the draft late next month. I mean, I think
Winston is the one to me that's the most fascinating. Dane.
This is a guy that was the number one pick
in the draft five six years ago. I don't know
where the fit is, but I would be shocked if
(41:41):
he did not get an opportunity somewhere. This is a
guy with all the armed talent in the world. Now
that being said, if if Bruce arians can't figure this
guy out, I don't know who can. Who knows maybe
staying in Tampa is the best fit for him. Learn
from Tom Brady, figure out what you're gonna do over
the next few years, and then your next move is
that next big move. Or maybe he stays in Tampa
(42:03):
and he needs to just wait for two or three
years until Brady decides to finally move on, and then
he gets to take the reins. I I don't see anything,
you know, right out of the gate where I'm like, Oh,
Jamis Winston has to go here. This is a perfect
fit for him. But there are definitely some intriguing situations
where you think he might be a good fit. I mean,
is there any chance that maybe the Dolphins would take
(42:25):
a flyer on him. He doesn't have to move very
far they I would say Miami has a lot of
interesting complications with what they do in the draft and
what they do with Ryan Fitzpatrick. But if you talk
about a guy with talent and a guy with a
chance to succeed at that next level, Jamis Winston's right
there with any other name we've mentioned, Dalton, Newton, any
of those guys. Winston's got the talent. He just needs
(42:47):
to find the right home. I don't know if it's
gonna be in the Sunshine State. I don't know. I'm like,
I mean, I guess I'll throw it back to you.
Do you think that there is a name right out
of the gate, or a team right out of the gate.
We're like, oh, yeah, Winston's gonna go here. I don't.
I don't, Jared. And so here's what I propose. Let's
play a little game here on at the window on
Sports Grade. Okay, there will be two rounds of this game.
(43:08):
It's almost like you know, Jeopardy. In the first round,
I'm gonna say a name, and the only response I
want out of you is starter or back up? Okay.
The first name I give you, Andy Dalton. Will he
be a starter or a backup? Backup? Backup? Interesting? Okay,
(43:28):
next name up, Am Newton. If healthy starters? The starter,
bro dude was healthy week eleven of the NFL season
last year. They just didn't know how to deal with
it because I was doing his thing. Okay, then I
will ask you the third name, Jared Jamis Winston. Unfortunately backup,
(43:51):
but he should get a chance in camp. He should.
He's a guy that needs to be comfortable and he
needs to feel like he's support it. But we've also
never seen him in the role of the number two guys,
you know, and everything we've always seen from him has
been the number one pick, the best guy on the field,
(44:12):
the starter, the best arm, the best everything. Sometimes when
you get moved back and you get taken back a
little bit, like we've clearly seen, he was, you know,
replaced by a forty three year old quarterback. You know, granted,
one of the best quarterbacks of all time, a six
Super Bowl rings, but still a forty three year old
quarterback who with very limited mobility, very limited physical talents.
Maybe this does change and light a fire in him,
(44:35):
similar to what we might see with Mitchell Trobiski. Sometimes
when you feel like this is the end, when your
backs against the wall, that's when you're real talent, You're
real you know, intestinal fortitude comes to fruition. Maybe this
is what Jamis needs. Dane, Yeah, I mean this is possible.
But here's the thing, Jared. I look at that. You
(44:55):
say he's the number one pick in that draft class,
the number two pick in that the exact scenario right now, right,
That's why this is so interesting to me. Right wherever
you are as a team, are you trying to contend
right now? Are you trying to break it down and
like kick the can down the road? Are you really
(45:16):
looking for one year from now? Or you know, or
thinking that with a new uh, a new clean slate,
that you are the coach that can make it happen
for one of these quarterbacks. And that brings me Jared
to the draft. Okay, because you're starting to talk about
teams like the Miami Dolphins, right, we still talk about
now the Los Angeles Chargers. Maybe they like to Rod
(45:39):
Taylor as the answer. Maybe Ryan can cultivate more magic
for another year or maybe, and in my opinion, more
likely they are going to spend draft capital, not on
a guy like Cam Newton, not on a guy like
Andy Dalton. But looking forward to the future, and we
know the names Jared, whether it be to Ah, whether
(45:59):
it be Herbert, We're hearing a lot of buzz on
Jordan's loved. Do you think any of these teams that
are now unsure at quarterback are gonna show the veteran
free agent market and go ahead instead and draft one
of these guys? Real high up, What teams are you
looking at that you think are gonna pull the trigger
in the first round in the draft on the quarterback position.
(46:20):
I mean, I'd be again, I'd be shocked, shocked if
there's a bet out there for New England to draft
a quarterback in the first four rounds I wanted because
that is a lot. To me, I'd be curious to see.
I'd be curious to see what Miami does, and I'd
be curious to see what the Chargers do now that
this now that the free agent market is kind of
settled in, those are the two teams to me that
(46:41):
obviously still have a massive need at quarterback. I don't
think Trod Taylor or Ryan Fitzpatrick are long term solutions.
Definitely not Fitzpatrick. You can make a case for Tarrod
Taylor being a long term solution, but certainly not based
on what we've seen in the past, and especially considering
the Chargers are moving into a new city. Where they
moved into the new city, now they're moving into a
new building and they're trying to make some kind of
(47:03):
a splash. You would think that the Chargers in the Dolphins,
because of their roster makeups, because of where they are currently,
would be those two teams that want to draft the quarterback.
And guess what once you get past Borrow at one,
which is about as big of a lock as you
can get at this point, there's two really good quarterbacks
out there in Herbert and into A that are available
(47:23):
for these teams to take, and guess what they take
fifth and six. So, unless somebody moves up and I'm
looking at the draft board right now, you can throw
the Vegas Raiders out of the mix. You can throw
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the mix. They've made
their moves. You're not You're not getting anything from Denver
or Atlanta or Dallas. Those teams have their quarterback situation
pretty set. Maybe Denver maybe based on what we've seen
(47:47):
from Drew Lock maybe he's not the answer, but he
looked pretty good in the last few weeks of the season.
Then the other teams that are in the back of
the first round, Philadelphia, they don't need a quarterback, Vikings,
they just gave Cousins an extension. New England at twenty three.
That's it. Could Bill Belichick make a little maneuver here
and say, hey, let's get up, let's trade with the Lions.
Let's figure out a way to get that third pick.
(48:09):
It's a lot, it's a big move to go from
twenty three to three. But if anybody can do it,
it's Bill Belichick. I mean could could you imagine if
Belichick gets crafty and wiley and figures out a way
to snag to or Herbert? We could I absolutely could, Jared,
and let's play another game. Okay, right now, as I look,
don't borrow is minus to be the number one overall pick. Okay,
(48:32):
So I think as you can get we can pencil
that one in, right, But I think you make a
great point I look at Miami at five and the
Chargers at four as we play this out, Jared, you know,
I think Washington is absolutely happy to have Chase Young
fall in their lap at number two. You've identified the
Detroit Lions and the New York Giants. Now the question is,
(48:56):
could that be a place for a team like New
England to pay up all the assets and go get
a guy, or are we talking about these other two
teams when the music stops right the Miami Dolphins and
the Los Angeles Chargers. We've played the game right now
we can maybe say Cam Newton is the only starting
level quarterback that's still going to fill up one of
(49:17):
these teams, whether it's one of these high top ten
draft pick teams or a team like Washington, which right now,
by the way, is the favorite for Cam Newton. Okay,
you can get all of these odds at our partners
on FanDuel. Right now, the Washington football team is the
favorite to be where Cam Newton is in Week one
of the NFL season. But you talked then about Miami
(49:40):
at five and the Chargers at six. Could this be
a situation where those are the teams that ultimately wind
up with a guy like two A Tagavaloa and Justin Herbert.
It could. I'm looking at the Patriots draft capitol right now, Dane.
It's not great. They've they've got a first rounder of
twenty three, then they don't pick again in till eighties seven.
(50:01):
They don't have a second round pick, and then they
pick again. So they've got three third rounders, but two
of them are compensatory picks, then one fourth rounder, and
then nothing until late in the sixth. So I don't
think they have the capital to move up and and
and make this move now. Now granted, they could just
take Love at twenty three and and move on from there,
(50:21):
and I have heard that they really do like Jordan Love.
I just I don't know. I think the Patriots certainly
could be one of those teams that makes this move.
Besides that, I think you've got a lot of dead
dead zone with these teams that really need quarterback. I mean,
I really think the quarterback situation it's weird. You've got
all it's it's it's actually a unique situation because you've
got all the teams that need quarterbacks picking in the
(50:42):
top six. So you would think theoretically that these guys
are gonna be gone right out of the gate. I
mean the Chargers and the and and the Dolphins. Really
are those only two teams? I don't know. If I
don't know if the Patriots have the capital to move up,
I think they's probably standpad. So let me ask you
this as we're running out of time here, but don't
worry about it. We'll be back Jared and I continue
(51:03):
to break down all this stuff in free agency. One
of the last questions I want to ask you, Jared,
then if you're talking about you know, since the Miami
and the Chargers as three, and then maybe you know
another team that will surprise us. One of the bets
I see here on fan duel is total number of
quarterbacks drafted in the first round. You know this happens
all the time, Jared, Someone that we're not thinking about
(51:24):
will come up. Maybe Detroit, for example, pairs an early
second or something they have to get back into the
first round. Teddy Bridgewater is something a guy that happened
to a few years back, and now look at him
making money. The over under on quarterbacks in the first
round Jared is four and a half. Okay, we know
about since we know about Miami. We expect the Chargers
(51:45):
to make this move. Do you see two other teams
doing that? Or do you like the under on this bet?
I like the under, and you know, I think Love
is a first round grade, but I don't know if
he's gonna slop that way. And really, the only other
name that I could see someone taking a flyer on
is Jalen Hurbs. I like his talent, I just don't
see it translating to the NFL level. That would be
(52:05):
the fifth quarterback, and I don't necessarily think he's the
guy that someone's gonna really reach out for. So I
would say under four and a half is pretty safe.
I would bet the odds they are juice to the under. Yeah,
and the juice is at that direction. So we'll follow
that and all the rest of the moves here. Jared
and gane On at the window. You know, we'll see
if another team all it takes is one Jared and
(52:27):
with the success of some of these running quarterbacks, maybe
another team is willing to shove all in on someone
like Jared Hurts. But we'll be here to talk about
it one way or another. Jared and Dane, it's at
the window, right here on sports Grid. Thanks for doing
it within as Jared. We'll talk again tomorrow, I mean, yes, sir,
let's do it all right, wash your hands, okay, buddy,
(52:49):
We'll be here tomorrow, right here on sports Group. If
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(00:22):
welcome here we are on Sports Grid at the window
Dane Martinez and Jared Smith. Listen. We know we're in
tough times, but that does not mean, Jarrett, that there
is not stuff to break down, and we have to
start with the NFL. Isn't it ironic, Jarrett? Isn't it
ironic that the NFL benefits because it's their off season anyway,
(00:42):
and now with everyone else shut down, even more attention
is paid to the NFL. This is a place where
the schedule release TV show gets better ratings than playoff
games and other sports, and now all eyes continue to
be on the NFL. Right, Jared, I mean, this is
best case scenario. I mean, I know it sounds morbid,
but it is best case scenario for the NFL. There
(01:03):
is nothing, There's no other show in town right now,
and I think this week would have, you know, gotten
some attention anyone. It's because of all the headlines, Tom Brady,
DeAndre Hopkins, all the things we're gonna talk about today,
but because there's nothing else going on, it gets even
magnified even more. And also as sports fans, you know,
throw aside just us as analysts, us as sports fans
(01:24):
are hungry for this right now, and we're getting our
appetites certainly filled this week with the NFL. Yeah absolutely.
I mean I'm watching everything from you know, classic games
ever to like darts and soccer in Azerbaijan. So the
fact that I see Titanic shifts happen in the NFL,
I'm certainly gonna pay attention to. And the books are
(01:46):
getting in it as well. Right you can still bet
everything from hor some of these quarterbacks going to sign
with next to win totals to changing division and conference odds,
and we're gonna have you cover with all that here
on Sports Grade. Yeah. I mean, I think right now
the wind totals are fascinating circle and I think what
you'll see over the next few weeks. Circa in Vegas
was the first book to kind of say, okay, here's
(02:08):
our best guest with the wind totals, and that, to
me is the first kind of domino to fall. My
guess is other books will kind of follow suit over
the next few weeks. I thought it was early to
release win Totals because so much is gonna change between
now and the draft. But I think I think because
of the climate that we're in, I think Circus said
all right, we're gonna be aggressive and and and and
(02:28):
credit to them out in Vegas. They've been kind of
the more aggressive book with this over the last couple
of months, you know, throughout the NFL season as well.
They're kind of on that cutting edge, and I think
other books will follow suit eventually. Uh, Circa took that
first stab and and and what we're seeing in the
futures market with the Super Bowl is obviously fascinating over
the last you know, twenty four hours with Tom Brady,
(02:49):
and with the things that are happening in Buffalo and
Tampa Bay, uh and in New England's odds changing. It's
it's been a very fluid market over the last twenty
four hours, and I think it's gonna change even more
over the next two to three weeks. Absolutely, and we'll
get into all the news you mentioned Tom Brady, DeAndre
Hopkins and others. But first, from a macro perspective, Jared,
you know, you mentioned the idea that the futures of
(03:09):
what we're looking at, but in this time of the
sports calendar, when we have free agency, when we have
the draft of coming. Honestly, Jared, I've always been told
that you can't listen to a damn thing you hear
right now, all sorts of smoke screens our teams truly
honest with their needs. So generally speaking, what are you
trying to do in the futures market with the Tampa
(03:30):
Bay Buccaneers, with the Deshaun Watson m VP candidacy. Are
you trying to rely on certain sources and get ahead
of the news or are you trying to react as
quickly as possible figuring out where it really benefits. How
do you approach, you know, a futures market when you
can't trust anything you hear. That's a great question, and
I always say this, and I'm sure we'll talk about
(03:51):
this in the next few weeks leading up to the draft.
Is trust nothing, uh? And I think that is now
carried over to the free agent market, just because of
the the the instant information that we get. I think
teams sometimes will release things and they will filter down
through the masses just to tweak the perception, just to
tweak maybe the the even the market itself and how
(04:12):
much you might be paying for someone, how many years,
how many millions of dollars. So I think the cautious
with what you hear. I wouldn't react to news immediately.
I would rather miss out on a little bit of
market movement if that means to solidify that the market
is moving in that direction. The great example, obviously what
happened with Tampa Bay over the last twenty four hours
is fascinating. The Bills odds have moved a lot. I
(04:34):
mentioned that the first Super Bowl bet that I made,
I've never made a bet this early in the NFL market,
but I think tough times called for tough decisions. I
made a bet on the Bills the other day at
thirty to one, and since they've moved to twenty two
to one on FanDuel, so that obviously makes me feel smart.
But it could go in both directions for Tampa Bay.
And we'll get into it when we talk Brady, but
that one moved I think just a bit too much
(04:55):
for my liking. I think the Bills are kind of
where they'll be over the next few weeks and it's
not gonna change much between now in the draft, all right.
So I guess the way we're gonna start doing this is,
let's look at the quarterback market. Right. There is no
more important position in all of sports than the quarterback.
And I mean, yes, Kirk Cousins got extended, Yes we
(05:15):
know who's going to go in the draft. But what
I think this really started with in terms of the
merry go round, in terms of the dominoes, was the
Tennessee Titans agreeing to bring Ryan Tannehill back. That to
me is the first domino to fall for a number
of reasons. What do you think about this, Jared? You know,
you know, I've been talking to you guys like Joe Ronery,
Game Moorenzi, and they say, in this day and age,
(05:38):
when not even with the vibe, but also with the
new collective gardening agreement and less practices, right, maybe less
preseason games in the next couple of years, the idea
of consistency year over year may become even more important,
and the Tennessee Titans do that not only with their
running back position, but retaining Ryan Tannehill. How do you
think this fits with the Rabel team with the Tennessee
(06:00):
Titans moving forward, is their stock up or stop down
with this consistency in Ryan Tanno? Well, I think this season,
more than any season, the ability to maintain your battery coach,
offensive coordinator, quarterback is as important as ever because there's
gonna be so few offseason camps, off season practices, off
(06:22):
season meetings, etcetera, etcetera as the world kind of recalibrates
from all this coronavirus madness. So what the Titans did
to keep their battery intact I thought was huge. I
think it's a massive buy for them. This was a
team that was, you know, thirty minutes away from going
to the Super Bowl last year. I mean, they had
a lead on the Chiefs in the first half of
that game. They just couldn't quite get over the hump.
(06:44):
But what they returned this year is basically their entire team,
and you you would expect a J. Brown to take
another step forward. I'm curious the mindset with Derrick Henry
coming off the franchise tag, but you would expect he'll
still be hungry and he's still young enough to produce
at a high level at the running back position. But
with Tannehill, to me, the question is can he repeat
what was a career year for him? I mean, it's
(07:06):
one thing for Patrick Mahomes to do it year after year,
the talent is through the roof. For Tannehill, it can
be a little more smoke and mirrors. And I don't
want to take anything away from Ryan Tannehill's talent. I mean,
the guy's a first round quarterback. He's a guy who
could certainly do it at a high level. But to
do it at the level he did it at last
year was exceptionally high. Can he repeat that in year
two of this Tennessee Titans experiment? Obviously, if you're Titans fan,
(07:30):
you hope yes. I think it will be a very
curious handicap going forward. I don't necessarily think he's gonna
have that kind of ceiling this year, but I think
the floor is certainly higher than some of the other
teams in the division. Yeah, absolutely, what a revelation. He
was maybe right. They were averaging thirty points a game.
They're literally carrying people to covers and to fantasy football championships.
(07:54):
I do believe the question is will he be able
to repeat it or was that the outlie. Let's continue
on here, Jared, because you know, the dominoes continue to fall, right,
So if Tennessee is going to commit to Ryan Tannehill,
that means Marcus Mariota had to go somewhere else. And
then after that we hear that the Las Vegas Raiders
(08:15):
and Marcus Mariota they have agreed to a deal. We
don't know necessarily if this is gonna be an open competition,
if that means Derek Carr is on the merry go round.
What do you think about Mariota? Because in all the
times we've been going through this, I've also been saying
that some people are gonna have to accept back up
money who may not be accustomed to it. We're gonna
(08:35):
see how the market shakes out. Do you view Mariota
as competing with car or actually maybe a promise to
become a starter, or do you think cars on the
move as well? What do you think about the fit
or is this just a low risk move for the Raiders? Yeah?
I mean I don't have the exact numbers in front
of me, But it does feel like a low risk move.
I mean, I think the Raiders have a lot of
(08:57):
other issues right now other than quarterback. I mean, I
would have been fine if our state under center for them.
I think they have so many other things to address,
especially defensively moving to a new city. I mean, you
talk about a team in transition, and again, the entire
world right now, Dan is in transition, So you're talking
about the world being as crazy and as unsettled as
(09:19):
it's ever been. And now you're talking about a Raiders
team that's about to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
They don't even know if their facility is going to
be open in time for in order to get their situation,
I mean exactly, So, I think I think Mariota's got
the toughest of all of these situations to handle, because
not only is he moving from one team to another,
but the team is moving from one city to another
(09:41):
a lot in plux. Granted, Gruden is still a great coach,
great quarterback coach, you would expect, uh Gruden. If Gruden
can't get the most out of Marcus Mariota, nobody can.
I mean John Gruden is one of the better offensive minds,
one of the better quarterback whisperers in all of football.
You would expect him to be able to squeeze the
juice out of Mary Outa as much as possible. I mean,
Marcus is still a very talented quarterback day There's no
(10:03):
doubt about it. He was the second pick in the draft.
He was almost a Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon. There's
no doubt about it that the talent is there. But
is the scheme the right fit? I think. I think
the Raiders have a lot to kind of, you know, unpack,
literally unpack over the next few months. Yeah, I mean
that is true. You know, I say it all the time.
There are very few quarterbacks in the NFL that actually
(10:25):
raise all boats right where you can put them any
system and they're gonna make the team better for To
be honest, most of these quarterbacks who can even win
a championship or win playoff games potentially, they have to
have the right fit. They have to be in the
right scheme. And we'll see if Mariota and Gruden can
make some beautiful music together. You are correct, they are
going to be moving both of them to a new city. Well,
(10:50):
I guess we get to the lead story right now
as the quarterback. Honestly, I heard Tennessee right, Giselle and
out schools, but no, we're ready to off about Towne Hill.
I heard the Las Vegas Raiders right. Oh, that would
bring in buzz with Grooden loving it if they were,
you know, moving to a new stadium to coordinate this transition.
(11:11):
But no. We have heard now over the last few
days that Tom Brady first on social media by saying
it's time to continue his journey elsewhere, and then Who's
came down that in fact, Tom Brady and the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers had a deal. It sounds like a good
thirty million dollars a year. I know the eyes need
(11:34):
to be dotted and the teams need to be crossed,
but this is a fate to complete, Jared and tell
me it looks like Tampa checks all the boxes. What
I heard that Tom Brady wanted was a player's collaborative coach, right,
and I wonder why he may want that after his
experience of the last I've heard he wanted an East
Coast team, right, so that he can still be mobile
(11:56):
on the East Coast with all of his ventures that
are out there, and when you look at it, what
were we saying about Tom Brady last year? He did
not trust any of his weapons, He didn't have any
actual outside threats. Will you put him now with a
Bruce Arians offense, with Mike Evans Chris Godwin, Maybe they'll
(12:19):
use the tight end this time around, Jared with O. J. Howard,
And this cupboard is not there when you talk about
the rest of the moves that are made and this
division you talked about moving odds. Jared, I see the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers now at nine to one to win
the NFC at our partners on FanDuel. I know he's
(12:39):
the greatest of all time and all, but at the
same time, he's gonna be forty two, forty three years old.
Jared from a football sense, does this make sense? From
an entertainment revenue? Butts in seats? Does this make sense?
And why did this make sense for Tom Brady? Well,
first of all, if you want to talk about the
box being, you know, a favorite to win anything, I
(13:01):
want to say it's probably been since the Gruden days.
Not to take what we were just talking about with
the Raiders to kind of bring this back to what
we're talking about with Tampa Bay. But it's kind of
an odd connection that we're seeing these parallels between what
we saw in Tampa Bay with the Brad Johnson Bucks
uh now going uh to the Tom Brady Bucks with
Bruce Arians. A lot of parallels there. Offensive coach quarterback
(13:24):
that's kind of on the back nine of his career.
Of course, Brad Johnson had the great career with Minnesota,
then he comes to Tampa Bay and they win a
Super Bowl, So it was it was very impressive. Stop.
Then all of a sudden you get to what you're
seeing with the weapons and I'm looking at O. J.
Howard right now six six pounds Gronk was six six
to sixty. I mean, just just O. J. Howard alone
(13:48):
now gets an immediate boost uh in the fantasy market.
And of course we all know what we're gonna get
with Evans and with God when those are all worldwide receivers,
and Evans obviously has to stay healthy. And you throw
Prashan Paraman into the mix as well. He had a
great second half of the year with with Jamis Winson
throwing a lot of picks but also throwing for the
for a lot of yards, leading the NFL in yards
(14:08):
this season. So I think it's obviously an immediate boost
to the fantasy situation for any Tampa Bay buccaneer. It's
obviously an immediate boost to the fan base and to
the city to kind of reel him into what is
now a city that was gonna be hungry for sports.
Tampa Bay is not known for its sports success. They
had a little good run with the Lightning. The Rays
have had their time in the sun, but of course
(14:30):
they're at their core a very small market team. Tampa
Bay is not one of those cities that really draws
the headlines, but now they do, and I think that's impressive. Absolutely.
So let's think about this from brass tacks. Okay, Now,
Bruce arians is a down the field kind of guy.
Does Tom Brady still have that anymore? Or is this
(14:50):
gonna be Mike Evans and Chris Godwin learning how to
run the five yard out? You know what? What? Actually,
do you think Tampa Bay is going to bring to
the offensive side of the ball all? You know, when
Peyton Manning went to Denver, he installed exactly what he wanted, right, Yeah, Well,
do you think this is gonna be Tom Brady installing
is offense or do you think part of the reason
(15:13):
he went to Tampa is because he likes what that
scheme is Byron Leftwich, the offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, we
know he's ready to wear these tangles and throw it
down the field. Where these tangles, well, I mean, based
on what we saw during his Arizona days, you would
expect there to be a very up tempo style. We
saw it a little bit this year with Winston, where
(15:34):
it was past Happy led the league in passing. All
that's is great, but now what But now, what Bruce
Arians has is more of an intellectual quarterback. And I
don't mean that as a knock on Jamis Winston. Winston
is a great quarterback, but he doesn't have that advanced
level to be able to digest what the defense is
giving him and to be able to say, hey, Bruce,
this isn't working, Let's try something else. Jamis was a
(15:57):
plug and play. Hey, we're gonna throw it down the
field and if it doesn't work, well, it's probably gonna
be an interception or a sack. Brady has the ability
to kind of maneuver around the game plan a little
bit and and and and Dan, You've been watching football
just as long as me. When you understand what a
defense is doing, and when you can adapt in game,
it changes the way that you can scheme, and it
(16:20):
changes the way that you can attack a defense. James
Winson just swept in that kind of quarterback Tom Brady
is and especially I was gonna say, Jared, even in
this league right now, the way it is evolving more
towards the passing game, you need the quarterbacks that can
quote unquote read the mail, have the hot route, kill, kill, kill,
and find the mismatch. That's what teams are doing. That's
(16:41):
what these veteran quarterbacks are doing, you know, Jared, I
heard yesterday. Remember Tampa Bay went seven and nine last year, okay,
And in their losses, seven of their nine losses, Jared,
were by one score or less. Okay. And in those
one score or less losses or Tampa Bay, Jamis Winston
(17:02):
through eight teen picks in those seven games, eighteen of
his thirty picks. Now, it does stand to reason, Jared
that if they flipped some of those games, and if
Brady can still dare I say it be an elite
game manager. The Tampa Bay could be cooking with gas
(17:23):
in a very changing division. Okay. We see in Atlanta,
DeVante Freeman, Austin Hooper gone, we see changes in Carolina
and potentially more staying the same in New Orleans. We
are not done with the quarterback news. There are still
plenty of names to discuss, from Cam Newton to Teddy
Bridgewater to Philip Rivers, and we are going to do
(17:45):
that here on Sports Grade. It doesn't matter if the
world is shutting down. There is still to discuss. NFL
Free agency is here. You gotta keep an eye on it.
We're gonna keep an eye on it for you. When
we come back, we talk about more of the quarterback moves.
Where will the merry go round? Stop for people who
are still out there and where the right fits might be.
(18:08):
As we connect the dot here on the NFL Free Agency,
it's Jared Smith and Jane Martinez right here on sports Grade.
If you want the edge, get on the grid sports
grid dot com betting insights and entertainment at your fingertips
as our team covers the most important topics in sports wagering,
real time odds, predictive betting models, expert picks, and more.
Want the edge than get on the grid Sports Grid
(18:30):
dot Com. Alright, so we're back here on Sports Grade
at the Window, Dane Martinez and Jared Smith, and we've
been talking about plenty of movement, especially at the quarterback position,
and the NFL still being open for business. Jared, we
know that free agency is happening right now, but another
(18:51):
big part of the NFL calendar is the NFL Draft
that was slated to take place at the end of
next month, which we know now is probably going to
be a time horizon where these things will not change
necessarily in our country, but in NFL true form, they'll
be able to still produce a TV show out of it. Jared, Will,
will people gather hundreds of thousands? No? Will these kids
(19:14):
be walking across a red carpet in their fashion sense, No,
but the annual selection meeting will still happen. And Jared,
you and I both saw had THET thirty about the
early eighties with Marino and Kelly, and that's exactly what
it will be. League business will can get conducted. Yeah,
and I'm happy that the NFL is going to keep
their draft as it is. Obviously, as long as everything
(19:37):
is safe, I think it is a good idea because
I think it's important to keep things as far as
possible because we have the league window opening up for
free agency on schedule. The draft needs to stay on schedule.
We'll figure out mini camps, will figure out training camps
as we go, but for the next month, I think
it's important to keep things, uh you know, as as
as close to quota, as close to all all things
(19:59):
nominal as possible, even though it's gonna be very difficult
to do. But again, we've seen the draft done in
smaller venues before. We used to see it done at
the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Uh So no surprise there. But
I'll be very fascinated to see how things kind of
come together over the next month. Absolutely, and teams will
be able to regroup for the draft after these big
waves of free agency as they take stock of their
(20:20):
roster and what their needs still are. And that brings
us back to our conversation that we've been having to
merry go round at the quarterback position. Another huge domino
that fell this week is Philip Rivers signing with the
Indianapolis Colts. A lot of people saw this coming. If
you looked at Jared the betting markets, and I know
you do a lot, but it was Tampa Bay at first,
(20:42):
right when he was gonna buy a house in Florida
for his nineteen kids or whatever. And as we saw
the you know, musical chairs begin to shuffle, a lot
of people zoned in on the fact that Frank right there,
the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, worked with Philip
Rivers before in when it was San Diego. Same with
the offensive coordinator. And what I would add to the
(21:03):
storyline here, Jared, is the Indianapolis Colts have one of
the best offensive lines in all of the NFL. They
re signed Costanzo, we know about Quentin Nelson, one of
the best guards in the entire league. And when you're
Philip Rivers in your late thirties and you're not one
of these dual threat quarterbacks, having a top offensive line
and a scheme you are familiar with so you don't
(21:26):
have to learn a new football language had to be
at the top of his list, right, Jared. Yeah, Well,
the transition we talked about it during the last segment, Dame.
Because of all the you know, the commotion and all
of the things that are happening around this world to
be able to keep things as as you know, as
streamlined as possible with your play calling, with the coaching,
with the quarterback position. Those are the three most important things.
(21:49):
So not only uh did Frank Reich and Philip Rivers
worked together with the Chargers, even the offensive coordinator, Nick Sirianni,
he was the quarterbacks coach with the Chargers. There is
just an incredible familiarity with the Colts coaching staff and
Philip Rivers. It makes a ton of sense from a
from a logistical standpoint to bring him in. We talked
about Brady as a plug and play, Rivers is even
(22:11):
more of a plug and play because of the scheme,
because of the fit, and you said it, because of
the offensive line. You can literally just throw Philip Rivers
back there in front of one of the best offensive
lines in football with the same verbiage, with the same
coaching staff that he dealt with with the Chargers and say, Okay, Philip,
go get that super Bowl that you so desperately want
that's alluded you for so many years. And I think
(22:32):
that's a stretch with this Colts team. But at least
they are in place. They are in a position to
succeed and hit the ground running from day one, because,
like we've talked about over this last couple of segments,
I think to me, to be able to talk to
your offensive coordinator and your coach with the same language,
and of course they're talking in English, but the same
play calling language, when they can hit the ground running
(22:54):
whenever training camp does begin, I think that is so
crucial because of the just un on unheralded and unprecedented
situation and circumstances we're dealing with in the world today. Listen,
the Indianapolis Coats were a sexy pick to win the
Super Bowl last year when we thought it was gonna
be Andrew Luck in his prime, finally back and healthy.
(23:16):
They wound up given Jacoby Brissett kind of like a
bridge deal. We looked it up before. It was what
one million, but you know, now you go and get
Philip Rivers, a borderline Hall of Famer. That is a
good roster. We liked the way this team is building
from the inside out, the culture. One of those teams
that also I mentioned it before with Tampa Bay how
(23:37):
many close losses they were in, were a similar kind
of team, Jared. They had a lot of one score losses.
They lost two or three games because of their Hall
of Fame field goal kicker. Even I know Philip Rivers
throws the yolo ball as much as anybody else, but
familiarity has to be key for Indianapolis. It is only
(23:57):
a one year deal, so it does also give them
the ability if it doesn't work. You know, Jared, you
talk about familiarity, all right, and that brings me to
New England, Okay, because Tom Brady is not going to
be the quarterback there in this year, so the question
becomes who will? Right? And I got an idea I
(24:18):
want to bounce off of you. You You talk about familiarity
and consistency, and also you can't wind up devoting so
much money to one position in one team, right, So
that's why now we know Tom Brady is in Tampa Bay,
Jamis is going somewhere else, right. I would also wonder
what about Jacoby Brissette. Jared, we're gonna hear a ton
of names in New England and being connect the dots, right,
(24:40):
We're gonna hear everything from Andy Dalton to two others.
What do you think about a guy that I haven't
heard a lot of talk about Jacoby Brissette potentially going
to New England. They can't go ahead and pay Philip
Rivers and Jacoby Brissette in Indie, can they not? I mean,
we'll see. I think the structure and you mentioned it
when we were talking about Rivers, and I kind of
perked up a little bit when I heard that it
(25:01):
was a one year deal, because I think it does
give now for it's gonna make You said at twenty
one million next year. Uh, it was a two year
deal where thirty million, but it was a backloaded two
year deal and only made nine million last year, and
he's gonna make twenty one this year. There might be
some odds and ends that they can restructure in terms
of the cat, but the cap hit for twenty one
million is the cap hit, and I don't know how
(25:23):
it's going to translate into what Rivers got. I I agree,
I don't see Rivers and Brissette coexisting together. But that
being said, you've now got a very short window to
deal him because we don't know what the rest of
the landscape is gonna look like. And and and we've
been saying it now, we've been handicapping the NFL draft
for the last couple of weeks, uh post super Bowl,
(25:44):
and I think the most certain thing in this entire draft,
other than Joe Burrow going number one, is the Patriots
drafting a quarterback at some point in the first three
or four rounds. I mean, I think it's almost a
it's almost a virtual lock at this point that Bill
Belichick is gonna try to identify some hidden gem, some
Tom Brady like player. Maybe in the first round with
(26:04):
Jordan's Love they pick twenty three, I could see that happening,
but also maybe in the later rounds as well. We've
seen a lot of names floated around with the Patriots,
and you never know where Old Bill's got up his sleeve.
He's always got something working, and I'm sure he's thought
about these contingency plans post Brady. I could see maybe
Cam Newton, but who knows. I mean, I I know
(26:25):
that there's a lot of issues with him as well.
I don't know what Carolina would ask for him in return.
We know he's on the trading block. We just heard
Nick Foles is going to be going to Chicago, so
that is a very interesting development. Things are starting to
fall into place. Who knows. We I think You're the
one that said it before we started this UH segment day.
You said that what if the Bengals say, hey, Dalton
(26:46):
and Green for a first round pick? Would you make
that move? If you're Bill Belichick. There are a million
different ways that New England can go. And as a
Jets fan, I'm scared because I don't necessarily think the
Patriots got worse with Tom Brady be leaving. Maybe they
did from a leadership standpoint, but from a talent standpoint,
this is still a team with the top five defense.
(27:06):
They've got the best coach in the NFL, They've got
an elite running back and Sony Michelle. Clearly the wide
receivers are something to be desired. They have no tight
end situation at all, which is an issue. But there's
still some some you know, a little bit of smoke
with this Belichick lad team now, and I'm fascinated to
see what direction he takes the quarterback position. Okay, one
(27:27):
of the things you just said, Jared was the the
window teams right now have to deal right And you
brought up another name and another team that is in
that same exact position. We go to the Carolina Panthers. Jack,
you know and at first to hear the owner coming out, oh,
we're giving him permission to seek a trade, and then
Cam comes right back out on social media. Don't try
(27:49):
to sell it like this guy's I've been down the
whole time. You clearly want to move on and Jared
move on. They have another quarterback here. Dominoes of all
is that the Panthers have gone ahead and signed Teddy
Bridgewater to a deal. Now, some people were talking that
he still may be able to re uh kind of
(28:09):
re up with the Saints. I thought that was never
gonna happen as soon as they offered a tender to
Taysom Hill Andrew Brees. There you've got another crowded quarterback room.
So let's start with just the Teddy Bridgewater news. Do
you think the contract he got signals face of our
future stop gap or something else? And how do you
see Teddy Bridgewater fitting in with the very much evolving
(28:33):
Carolina Panthers under new head coach Matt Rule. Yeah, it's
funny because the Panthers, you would think would have been
a massive rebuild project this year. They certainly still could be.
I mean, the roster is just absolutely decimated. Olson Keik Lee.
Those guys are all retiring or moving on in some capacity. Uh.
And then you've got the Cam Newton saga, which is
now with the Instagram situation has turned into a saga. However,
(28:58):
I do like Matt Rule and I like Joe Brady
a lot. I mean goodness, Gracious talked about an offensive
coordinator that's coming in with momentum. This is a guy
that took an LSU team that was a ground and
pound l s U offense and they turned it in
with the help of Joe Burrow and some great weapons
at wide receiver with turn it into an absolutely devastating
(29:19):
passing offense. And they've got continuity from their time in
New Orleans. Joe Brady was an offensive assistant for two
years with Bridgewater and so you've got the synergy there.
I love what Carolina did at the quarterback position. I
loved Eddie Bridgewater. I thought Bridgewater might have been an
interesting fit in New England. But they're passing offense and
how they like to kind of go short West Coast
(29:40):
and how Breag Bridgewater is such an intellectual quarterback and
how he can break down a defense with the best
went We saw that during his days in Minnesota and
we saw him fill in, if not become a starting
level caliber quarterback with the Saints this season when Brees
was out with an injury. I think Carolina has a
chance if they can figure out the rest of this roster. Granted,
they've got a first year head coach, a first year
(30:02):
starting quarterback at a first year offensive coordinator in a
league and a year and a world of transition. That's
gonna be a lot to digest. But if they can
get their ducks in a row. Their win total Dane
was four and a half. You're telling me that they
can't win five games with Tenny Bridgewater quarterback. He went
six and it was a starter for the Saints last
year in six games. So I I think there's an
(30:24):
interesting debate there as a sleeper team. But they've got
a lot of work to do with the rest of
their roster. And I don't love how they're handling the
Cam Newton situation, but we'll see it settle out over
the next couple of weeks. But man, oh man, is
that an intriguing, intriguing trio with rule, Brady and Bridgewater
all under center and all trying to get things moving
(30:45):
for this Panther's offense. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, Christian McCaffrey,
their young Weather. I didn't even mention him. Jay Moore
and Curtis Samuel all having a breakout. And if you
think about it, all guys that the offense is designed
to get the ball in their hands in space quickly.
They are built for the kind of offense that could
be very effective down there in Carolina. Just remember, though,
(31:06):
Teddy Bridgewater is now going to see Tom Brady twice
a season at least at Ryan you mentioned that, Lion.
I gotta say, though, when we're talking about divisions, to me,
the Atlanta Falcons are a big time loser in this division.
Everybody around them getting better. What do they do? They
decide to cut Davonte Freeman. Talk about running back contracts
(31:29):
that are in vogue now, talking about all the time
that one looked fine about three or four years ago.
Now is a news that they had to get rid of.
They also wind up losing the hottest tight end on
the free agent market in Austin Cooper. He goes to
the Cleveland Browns. But as we continue on the quarterback
Merry go round, Jared one of the names we brought
up now that Carolina has their guy is Cam Newton,
(31:53):
and I want to spend a minute or two on
that because people are talking about potential destinations from Cam Newton.
About a few hours ago, Jared, the favorite for where
Cam Newton was going to go was the Chicago Bears.
But you alluded to it before. That is no longer
the case because one of the more recent pieces of
news we are hearing is that the Jacksonville Jaguars have
(32:17):
traded there eighty four million dollar man Nick Foles to
the Chicago Bears. Now, let's talk about this from both sides, Jared. One,
that means that down south they are turning the keys
over to Gardner Minshew. It looks like, right, maybe they
signed a kind of veteran backup, a Joe type to
(32:39):
help him out in his progression. But I'm more interested
what does that mean in Chicago. When we knew that
the Bears were going to look to push Mitchell Trabinsky
this year, they were not entirely comfortable and this move
signals that, hey, Mitch, you better get your acting gear. Yeah,
I mean the Jazz. I mean the Jazz as the Jags,
(33:01):
not the Jags. The Jags they picked ninth in the draft,
so I don't see them taking a quarterback at that spot.
It's kind of no man's land for quarterbacks. Obviously you're
gonna get Burrowing. Two is somewhere in the top four.
Burrow obviously one and two. You know, it's between two
and five, and then there's probably a pretty significant drop
off between those guys and and the Herbert's and the Loves,
(33:22):
probably in the teams or twenties or even late first round.
So I don't see the Jags using their first round
pick at a quarterback. Maybe they do take a second
or third round flyer on a guy and try to
put him in a competition with Minshew and see where
the chips fall. I don't think you can totally give
the keys to Gardner Minshew. I don't necessarily think he's
earned that yet, but you certainly can make him the
starter and make him earn that starting role in what
(33:43):
will be a very intriguing training camp. We'll see who
they bring in, because I do agree they are going
to bring somebody else in. I'd like to see a veteran,
but we'll see how it shakes out. In regards to camp. Yeah,
in in regards to Cam Newton. The talents there, Dane.
I mean, you're talking about a guy that was the
m v P of the league what four years ago.
I mean, the the talent is certainly there. You obviously
(34:07):
question the health. You question the elbow, you question the shoulder.
Those are the things that he's had a lot of
issues with over the last couple of seasons. But man,
oh man, would he be a scary thought to end
up in New England? I mean, can you imagine that?
What would happen to the league all of a sudden
you gave Bill Belichick a quarterback with the physical tools
(34:27):
of Cam Newton. Now, again, the injury issues is something
I'm sure every team is going to do their due
diligence on. I could see the Chargers being a fit
as well, But they already have that kind of guy
into Rod Taylor. So are they gonna double up on
the mobile quarterback who is still having issues throwing the
football in an accurate way. I don't think they make
that move. I think the Chargers probably are a better
(34:48):
fit to go draft either two or a Herbert and
trying to make them the heir apparent. If they do
let to Rod Taylor kind of be the starting quarterback
at some point early on in the season. Now, I
do think Cam Newton has a lot of hopes to
jump through over the next few weeks. First, they has
to get traded, That he has to settle in with
his new team. That he has to learn a new
offense that he hasked to, you know, introduce himself to
(35:10):
a new set of receivers, tight ends, offensive line. And
again in the climate we're in with so many uncertainties, yeah,
you would think so. And when we come back here
on at the window will talk who do you think
will be under center week one for the Bears? What
does this mean for the Merry Go Round? With other
names like Andy Dalton to Justin Herbert. We will be
back trying to figure out the Merry Go Round. It's
(35:32):
Dan and Jared at the window, right, and you're on
sports Grade sports grid dot com, Betting insights and entertainment
at your fingertips as our team covers the most important
topics in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive betting models,
expert picks, and more want the edge than get on
the grid sports grid dot Com. All right, we are
(35:55):
back here at the window on Sports Grid, Jane Martinez
and Jared Smith. Really, you know, riding the quarterback merry
go round, Jarrett. And it is a world when, you know,
everyone says that they're just sheltered in place with nothing
to do, and oh my god, there's no sports, Jared.
We are not struggling to fill an hour with reacting
to just the quarterback news over the last week, from
(36:17):
Tom Brady to Philip Rivers to Teddy Bridgewater. And there's
more to discuss. Yeah, we haven't even gotten to even
like the odds of like where some of these teams
are gonna stack up futures wise, win totals wise. I mean,
the NFL is the gift that keeps on Giving Day. Yeah, absolutely,
And that doesn't even get to names like Joe Burrow
and to Herbert just yet. Because remember this is why
(36:40):
the lead calendar has to continue, right, because the kneebone
is connected to the hip bone. Teams needs still are
after this wave of free agency, Jared. One of the
things we just talked about is that Nick Foles has
been traded from the Jags to the Chicago Bears. We
knew that that was a potential spot for a guy
like Cam Newton, but instead Maggie who does have some
(37:02):
experience with Foles in Philadelphia. That kind of offense from Peterson.
It is something that Nick Foles has been successful in
in the past. My question for you, if you're a
handicapper and I know that you are at least to
play one on TV starting quarterback for the Bears come
Week one, is this, like, did they tell the job?
(37:24):
Is this gonna be a straight up open competition? Because
if I'm Mitched Trabinsky, I'm looking at this move. They
brought in some guy with a big contract. That means
that you know, my leash is very short. Yeah, and
and you know you feel for the Jags, or maybe
you don't feel for them, but they are certainly out
of pocket here. Uh. Nick Foles got paid thirty million
to make four starts for Jacksonville. Uh, and they on
(37:48):
the hook for this year of his contract. Uh. There's
still three more years left after that. The Bears obviously
will pay that. And it is a hefty price tag.
I mean, you're talking about the upwards of fifty million
dollars for Chicago to eat this deal. I don't think
they would have made this deal, Dane unless they had
intentions of him being the starter. Now, what you have
in Jacksonville compared to what you had in Chicago, I
(38:11):
would say a little bit more of an offensive scheme
that suited for Nick Foless system that suited for Nick
Foles's game up and down there at Jacksonville specifically, why
they signed Nick Foles. Wasn't that supposed to be a
perfect fit for him, but now Chicago was as well.
It was. You're right, it was supposed to be a
(38:31):
good fit. But the problem is, Leonard four Nett never
never materialized to what we expected this year. He took
a massive step back, and then of course the wide
receiver position for them was a little bit more. I
don't want to say unheralded, but I think there is
some interesting weapons in Chicago now, and I think I
like Allen Robinson. I like what we've seen from the
(38:51):
rookie Montgomery. I think there is a little bit of
punch there, and I like the head coach a lot
more than I like Moron. I'm certainly taking Naggy over
Maron any day of the week, so I think maybe
it's a good fit. Again, You're you're right. We did
think Jacksonville was gonna be a good fit, but it
just didn't pan out that way. Now, obviously he needs
to stay healthy. But I think quite what we're not
(39:12):
handicapping here, Dane, is the fact that this might actually
light a fire under Mitchell Trubisky a little bit more.
And I think Rubinski needs to have somebody in camp
with him that's going to push him, that's won a
Super Bowl, that knows what it takes to win at
the highest level, and that hopefully will make Rabinsky's level
of his game increase a little bit. So you might
(39:35):
actually kill two birds with one stone here, Dan. You
might get a guy in folds who could be the
starting quarterback, but you might also bring someone in who
might push Trabinsky to get to that next level. I'm
not willing to give up yet. Al Drabinsky, who was
a top ten pick just three years ago. He's had
some flashes, but he just hasn't put it all together.
Maybe this is the spark he needs to get his
(39:56):
game going. Yeah, I mean that's absolutely possible. We started
this show, Jared by saying, you know, there's so many
different options out there in the marketplace, right you want
a Haul of Famer At the end, Sunset and You've
got Tom Brady, you got Philip Rivers. You want a
guy that you think you can turn into the man,
you got a guy like Teddy Bridgewater. You want to
create a competition. Look what the Chicago Bears are doing.
(40:19):
The Las Vegas Raiders are doing the same thing, Jared,
what you just said about Trabinsky, you could insert Derek
Carr in the same exact paragraph and it would make sense.
But now you know this game is still continuing. The
merry go round still goes around. Right So I look
at Cam Newton, I look at Jamis Winston, I look
(40:39):
at you know, Andy Dalton. These are guys that still
will probably have a home where if you look at
Cam Newton right now on FanDuel, we're seeing teams like Washington,
the New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers as still
teams that maybe your quarterback needy now and are still
waiting for the music to stop. Help me connect of
(41:00):
these dots, Jared. When we think about a guy like
Jamis Winston, when we think about I like Cam Newton,
when we think about a guy like Andy Dalton, where
might they wind up? Do you see any whether it
be scheme fit, former relationships, location, or try the desire
to win. What do you think the market, trade market,
(41:21):
free agent market will be for these kind of guys
before the draft late next month. I mean, I think
Winston is the one to me that's the most fascinating. Dane.
This is a guy that was the number one pick
in the draft five six years ago. I don't know
where the fit is, but I would be shocked if
(41:41):
he did not get an opportunity somewhere. This is a
guy with all the armed talent in the world. Now
that being said, if if Bruce arians can't figure this
guy out, I don't know who can. Who knows maybe
staying in Tampa is the best fit for him. Learn
from Tom Brady, figure out what you're gonna do over
the next few years, and then your next move is
that next big move. Or maybe he stays in Tampa
(42:03):
and he needs to just wait for two or three
years until Brady decides to finally move on, and then
he gets to take the reins. I I don't see anything,
you know, right out of the gate where I'm like, Oh,
Jamis Winston has to go here. This is a perfect
fit for him. But there are definitely some intriguing situations
where you think he might be a good fit. I mean,
is there any chance that maybe the Dolphins would take
(42:25):
a flyer on him. He doesn't have to move very
far they I would say Miami has a lot of
interesting complications with what they do in the draft and
what they do with Ryan Fitzpatrick. But if you talk
about a guy with talent and a guy with a
chance to succeed at that next level, Jamis Winston's right
there with any other name we've mentioned, Dalton, Newton, any
of those guys. Winston's got the talent. He just needs
(42:47):
to find the right home. I don't know if it's
gonna be in the Sunshine State. I don't know. I'm like,
I mean, I guess I'll throw it back to you.
Do you think that there is a name right out
of the gate, or a team right out of the gate.
We're like, oh, yeah, Winston's gonna go here. I don't.
I don't, Jared. And so here's what I propose. Let's
play a little game here on at the window on
Sports Grade. Okay, there will be two rounds of this game.
(43:08):
It's almost like you know, Jeopardy. In the first round,
I'm gonna say a name, and the only response I
want out of you is starter or back up? Okay.
The first name I give you, Andy Dalton. Will he
be a starter or a backup? Backup? Backup? Interesting? Okay,
(43:28):
next name up, Am Newton. If healthy starters? The starter,
bro dude was healthy week eleven of the NFL season
last year. They just didn't know how to deal with
it because I was doing his thing. Okay, then I
will ask you the third name, Jared Jamis Winston. Unfortunately backup,
(43:51):
but he should get a chance in camp. He should.
He's a guy that needs to be comfortable and he
needs to feel like he's support it. But we've also
never seen him in the role of the number two guys,
you know, and everything we've always seen from him has
been the number one pick, the best guy on the field,
(44:12):
the starter, the best arm, the best everything. Sometimes when
you get moved back and you get taken back a
little bit, like we've clearly seen, he was, you know,
replaced by a forty three year old quarterback. You know, granted,
one of the best quarterbacks of all time, a six
Super Bowl rings, but still a forty three year old
quarterback who with very limited mobility, very limited physical talents.
Maybe this does change and light a fire in him,
(44:35):
similar to what we might see with Mitchell Trobiski. Sometimes
when you feel like this is the end, when your
backs against the wall, that's when you're real talent, You're
real you know, intestinal fortitude comes to fruition. Maybe this
is what Jamis needs. Dane, Yeah, I mean this is possible.
But here's the thing, Jared. I look at that. You
(44:55):
say he's the number one pick in that draft class,
the number two pick in that the exact scenario right now, right,
That's why this is so interesting to me. Right wherever
you are as a team, are you trying to contend
right now? Are you trying to break it down and
like kick the can down the road? Are you really
(45:16):
looking for one year from now? Or you know, or
thinking that with a new uh, a new clean slate,
that you are the coach that can make it happen
for one of these quarterbacks. And that brings me Jared
to the draft. Okay, because you're starting to talk about
teams like the Miami Dolphins, right, we still talk about
now the Los Angeles Chargers. Maybe they like to Rod
(45:39):
Taylor as the answer. Maybe Ryan can cultivate more magic
for another year or maybe, and in my opinion, more
likely they are going to spend draft capital, not on
a guy like Cam Newton, not on a guy like
Andy Dalton. But looking forward to the future, and we
know the names Jared, whether it be to Ah, whether
(45:59):
it be Herbert, We're hearing a lot of buzz on
Jordan's loved. Do you think any of these teams that
are now unsure at quarterback are gonna show the veteran
free agent market and go ahead instead and draft one
of these guys? Real high up, What teams are you
looking at that you think are gonna pull the trigger
in the first round in the draft on the quarterback position.
(46:20):
I mean, I'd be again, I'd be shocked, shocked if
there's a bet out there for New England to draft
a quarterback in the first four rounds I wanted because
that is a lot. To me, I'd be curious to see.
I'd be curious to see what Miami does, and I'd
be curious to see what the Chargers do now that
this now that the free agent market is kind of
settled in, those are the two teams to me that
(46:41):
obviously still have a massive need at quarterback. I don't
think Trod Taylor or Ryan Fitzpatrick are long term solutions.
Definitely not Fitzpatrick. You can make a case for Tarrod
Taylor being a long term solution, but certainly not based
on what we've seen in the past, and especially considering
the Chargers are moving into a new city. Where they
moved into the new city, now they're moving into a
new building and they're trying to make some kind of
(47:03):
a splash. You would think that the Chargers in the Dolphins,
because of their roster makeups, because of where they are currently,
would be those two teams that want to draft the quarterback.
And guess what once you get past Borrow at one,
which is about as big of a lock as you
can get at this point, there's two really good quarterbacks
out there in Herbert and into A that are available
(47:23):
for these teams to take, and guess what they take
fifth and six. So, unless somebody moves up and I'm
looking at the draft board right now, you can throw
the Vegas Raiders out of the mix. You can throw
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the mix. They've made
their moves. You're not You're not getting anything from Denver
or Atlanta or Dallas. Those teams have their quarterback situation
pretty set. Maybe Denver maybe based on what we've seen
(47:47):
from Drew Lock maybe he's not the answer, but he
looked pretty good in the last few weeks of the season.
Then the other teams that are in the back of
the first round, Philadelphia, they don't need a quarterback, Vikings,
they just gave Cousins an extension. New England at twenty three.
That's it. Could Bill Belichick make a little maneuver here
and say, hey, let's get up, let's trade with the Lions.
Let's figure out a way to get that third pick.
(48:09):
It's a lot, it's a big move to go from
twenty three to three. But if anybody can do it,
it's Bill Belichick. I mean could could you imagine if
Belichick gets crafty and wiley and figures out a way
to snag to or Herbert? We could I absolutely could, Jared,
and let's play another game. Okay, right now, as I look,
don't borrow is minus to be the number one overall pick. Okay,
(48:32):
So I think as you can get we can pencil
that one in, right, But I think you make a
great point I look at Miami at five and the
Chargers at four as we play this out, Jared, you know,
I think Washington is absolutely happy to have Chase Young
fall in their lap at number two. You've identified the
Detroit Lions and the New York Giants. Now the question is,
(48:56):
could that be a place for a team like New
England to pay up all the assets and go get
a guy, or are we talking about these other two
teams when the music stops right the Miami Dolphins and
the Los Angeles Chargers. We've played the game right now
we can maybe say Cam Newton is the only starting
level quarterback that's still going to fill up one of
(49:17):
these teams, whether it's one of these high top ten
draft pick teams or a team like Washington, which right now,
by the way, is the favorite for Cam Newton. Okay,
you can get all of these odds at our partners
on FanDuel. Right now, the Washington football team is the
favorite to be where Cam Newton is in Week one
of the NFL season. But you talked then about Miami
(49:40):
at five and the Chargers at six. Could this be
a situation where those are the teams that ultimately wind
up with a guy like two A Tagavaloa and Justin Herbert.
It could. I'm looking at the Patriots draft capitol right now, Dane.
It's not great. They've they've got a first rounder of
twenty three, then they don't pick again in till eighties seven.
(50:01):
They don't have a second round pick, and then they
pick again. So they've got three third rounders, but two
of them are compensatory picks, then one fourth rounder, and
then nothing until late in the sixth. So I don't
think they have the capital to move up and and
and make this move now. Now granted, they could just
take Love at twenty three and and move on from there,
(50:21):
and I have heard that they really do like Jordan Love.
I just I don't know. I think the Patriots certainly
could be one of those teams that makes this move.
Besides that, I think you've got a lot of dead
dead zone with these teams that really need quarterback. I mean,
I really think the quarterback situation it's weird. You've got
all it's it's it's actually a unique situation because you've
got all the teams that need quarterbacks picking in the
(50:42):
top six. So you would think theoretically that these guys
are gonna be gone right out of the gate. I
mean the Chargers and the and and the Dolphins. Really
are those only two teams? I don't know. If I
don't know if the Patriots have the capital to move up,
I think they's probably standpad. So let me ask you
this as we're running out of time here, but don't
worry about it. We'll be back Jared and I continue
(51:03):
to break down all this stuff in free agency. One
of the last questions I want to ask you, Jared,
then if you're talking about you know, since the Miami
and the Chargers as three, and then maybe you know
another team that will surprise us. One of the bets
I see here on fan duel is total number of
quarterbacks drafted in the first round. You know this happens
all the time, Jared, Someone that we're not thinking about
(51:24):
will come up. Maybe Detroit, for example, pairs an early
second or something they have to get back into the
first round. Teddy Bridgewater is something a guy that happened
to a few years back, and now look at him
making money. The over under on quarterbacks in the first
round Jared is four and a half. Okay, we know
about since we know about Miami. We expect the Chargers
(51:45):
to make this move. Do you see two other teams
doing that? Or do you like the under on this bet?
I like the under, and you know, I think Love
is a first round grade, but I don't know if
he's gonna slop that way. And really, the only other
name that I could see someone taking a flyer on
is Jalen Hurbs. I like his talent, I just don't
see it translating to the NFL level. That would be
(52:05):
the fifth quarterback, and I don't necessarily think he's the
guy that someone's gonna really reach out for. So I
would say under four and a half is pretty safe.
I would bet the odds they are juice to the under. Yeah,
and the juice is at that direction. So we'll follow
that and all the rest of the moves here. Jared
and gane On at the window. You know, we'll see
if another team all it takes is one Jared and
(52:27):
with the success of some of these running quarterbacks, maybe
another team is willing to shove all in on someone
like Jared Hurts. But we'll be here to talk about
it one way or another. Jared and Dane, it's at
the window, right here on sports Grid. Thanks for doing
it within as Jared. We'll talk again tomorrow, I mean, yes, sir,
let's do it all right, wash your hands, okay, buddy,
(52:49):
We'll be here tomorrow, right here on sports Group. If
you want the edge, get on the grid sports grid
dot com, setting insights and entertainment at your fingertips as
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