August 7, 2020 • 54 mins
Mike Blewitt and George Kurtz are back again for another edition of Football Full Circle! The guys continue to discuss the recent NFL player opt-outs. Then, they discuss Antonio Brown's 8-game suspension and his future as well. Which teams are interested in AB? Will he ever play in the NFL again? Mike and George take a look at the Texans WR group, focusing on Will Fuller. The guys also discuss the recent Jamal Adams drama
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Progressive presents forrest metaphors about bundling your home on auto
and sports. Three goals is a hat trick, and when
you bundle your home and auto with Progressive, you get
a hat trick of great savings and around the clock protection.
So you might be thinking, wait, that's two things. A
hat trick is three, But in this metaphor, great savings
counts as two goals, and so does around the clock protection,
so it's like four goals and that's more than three.
(00:22):
It's basic math forrest metaphors presented by Progressive Bundle and
Protect Today Progressive centulte in Trance Company unfially get discount
of the little in all states or situations. The NFL
is back and the NFL app has you covered, So
get ready for football all season long and just tap
into the NFL app NFL maybe take an Apple. Just
tap in to watch your local and primetime games all
(00:42):
season now through Super Bowl fifty six. Get up to
the minute news videos, highlights, stats and more on all
your favorite teams and rookies to watch. So they app
download to your mobile device today at NFL dot com,
slash Mobile or in your app store. Certain restrictions and
data rates may apply. Look for your children's eyes and
(01:03):
you will discover the true magic of a forest. Find
a forest near you and start exploring it. Discover the
Forest dot Org brought to you by the United States
Forest Service and the AD Council. 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,
(01:24):
predictive betting models, expert picks, and more. Want the edge
than get on the grid. Sports grid dot Com. Welcome
to another edition of Football Full Circle right here on
the Grid. Thanks for watching and listening. Everybody appreciate it. So, George,
you're gonna get right into the news surrounding the NFL,
(01:48):
talking all NFL this hour. We got a interview a
little bit later this hour with Brian Costello of The
New York Post about the Jamal Adams trade or Douglass
reaction to that trade. I think you'll enjoy listening to
his insight. So, George Damien Williams, I wanted to bring
up this story first because George and I we should
(02:10):
just tell everybody. George and I have a little bit
of a running joke that the show should change its
name to Circling the Drain, because in some ways it
does feel like we are doing that, We're staving off
the temporary or long term suspension of these sports. Baseball
(02:32):
second team has been hit with coronavirus. Their games have
been canceled St. Louis Cardinals, So we understand they for
the things that are are in front of us, the
hurdles that are in front of us in order to
complete these seasons. But in terms of Damian Williams opt out,
he was one of the high profile players that opted out,
and I do think there's a human side to this
(02:55):
that sometimes goes under disgusted, uh not reported well enough,
and I think it's important to note why he's doing this.
Nate Solder has a history of cancer, with both himself
and his five year old son, Marcus Cannon was a
survivor of non Hodgkins lymphoma. Damien Williams, the star running
(03:19):
back perhaps robbed of the Super Bowl m v P
by the half billion Dollar Man two touchdowns in the
fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, has opted out this season,
and the reason is because his mother has stage four cancer.
He revealed that today he's dealing with a major family issue.
With everything that's going on. Quote from him, He said
(03:40):
this on Sirius x M NFL Radio. With everything that's
going on, she was the only one there for me.
I never had the opportunity to have my dad there.
My mom is my rock, my everything. So during a
hard time like this, I think I should be next
to her every step. Yes, and I love that. I
respect that. I think it's the way most people should do.
(04:01):
You can I understand if you're a Chiefs fan, or
you know you d have to Damian Williams in the
third round your fantasy that you're upset right now. Yeah, hey,
if you have to Edwards Hillary, you're probably celebrating. But
you know, every player has to do what is best
for them. We don't know what is going on in
every player's personal life about why they are had that
started not to play. I think there are very few players,
(04:23):
especially in football, that are gonna say ah, I want
to hear off, have no other real eyes. Don't feel
like playing your career is so finite or you're not
gonna have a ten twelve of your career. Most of
these players, you need to play and make that money
while you can position right running back, especially right, they
don't last long as it is. Plus he has someone
challenging first starting job. I mean right, he may he
(04:47):
may not be on the Chiefs next season, alright. I
think that contract with Toll so he's still be on
the last year technically, but we all know those contracts
are written on paper, done if the Chiefs want to
go that way. But I said, I don't blame these players.
You have to do what's best for you, what's best
for your family, and take care of them my families forever,
you know, So I don't. I'm not angry at Damian
(05:08):
Williams on that, an angry at Nate Solder. I'm not
angry at any of these players are really at any
sport that decides to take the year off. Yeah, we
talked about football in general. I think we're over thirty,
around thirty players right now. They'll be rolling in over
the weekend and that number will concede will definitely go
up before Monday, which is the deadline August three. But
(05:31):
I thought it was important to kind of start out
and say, look, this is difficult for everybody and for
those of us to say, why wouldn't the football players
just go out there, they'll be fine. They're young, guys
are healthy. Well, there's other reasons. He doesn't want to
expose her, and with stage four cancer. We've seen other
football players in the past take time off. Chris Spielman
(05:53):
famously did this when his wife was battling cancer. He
took a year off in the middle of his career.
So I respect it. I just think it's a really
cool story, and he's some insight as to him the
person as opposed to him the fantasy football asset. Absolutely.
I think we're gonna hear a lot of stories about this,
(06:13):
about players who opting out for this reason, for that
reason you mentioned. It could be a kid, could be
your wife, you know, it could be in this case,
a mother in laws that live with you, all sorts
of things. I also wonder this, you know, our this
really goes back to baseball a little bit. But we're
hearing now that ice On Diaz is thinking about opting
out for the Marlins, not because of anything in his life,
(06:36):
but because was it eighteen teammates Havoc, you know, and
maybe he thinks, you know what, this is nuts, This
is just nuts. I wonder if what's happening. Baseball is
gonna push more football players out and going. You know what,
if one person gets it, I have a better chance
of getting I think it already has not worth it.
I think it already has to some extent, right, it's
got to have an impact on guys that have said
something this week, perhaps their decisions were already made. Um,
(07:00):
I you and I discussed that August third deadline. Maybe
it's a little too early. I understand if you're the GM,
it can't be September three, simply because guys walking away
right before the season, you don't have any time to
install a backup that could take care of the assignments
that he was supposed to take care of. So from
that perspective, I understand why it's as early as it is.
(07:24):
But I would assume baseball is having some impact on
this decision making process. And I welcome in the radio
audience to hear your response to that. Yeah, I wonder
what I think August starts is way too early. I
just do why can't it be done before final cuts?
Either way, if you have a guy does walk quick
because you able to pick up somebody from another team
who got cut at the same position if you want
(07:45):
that guy. Rather than make the why make the player
make a choice which might be an uninformed choice in
three days or tomorrow, you know why, why not give
them all the opportunities. I wouldn't want a player to say,
you know, on Monday, well I'm not sure here, but
i'm gonna I'm gonna, you know, edge on the side
of a qution. You know, I'm gonna opt out, where
in two weeks he might be like, all right, it
(08:05):
was okay, I'm gonna be all right, I'll play. They
won't be available for those opt out financial deals. I
would presume if they walk away after that. I think
it's difficult. I understand why it's early, because it gives
the team a better chance of feeling a more competitive
team across the board of Damian Williams walked away right
before the season, hard to get a replacement that's of
(08:27):
his ILK. So we'll come back after this and talk
about Antonio Brown right here on FFC. Get on the
Grid sports grid dot com betting insights and entertainment at
your fingertips as our team covers the most important topics
(08:49):
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. Look the your children's eyes to
see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook
world for them. You look and see a tree. They
see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched
(09:11):
to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see
a windy path that could lead to adventure, and they
see you. They're fearless. Guide this fascinating world. Find a
forest near you and start exploring it. Discover the Forest
dot org brought to you by the United States Forest
Service and the ad Council. Adoption of teens from foster
(09:32):
care is a topic not enough people know about, and
we're here to change that. I'm April Dinuity, host of
the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt us Kids.
Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told
by the families that lived them, with commentary from experts.
Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or subscribe
to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt us Kids, brought to
(09:54):
you by the U S Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. I'm
John Gonzalez, the host of Sports Illustrated Weekly. Sports Illustrated
has delivered the best storytelling in sports for seventy years,
first in the pages of the magazine, then on SI
dot com, and now that tradition continues on a new podcast.
(10:17):
Each week, we'll dive deep into the best stories from
around the sports world. We'll ask the questions that we're
all wondering and push for the answers we all want.
Everything from investigating the Super Bowl's impact on l A
to examining white booing is as big a part of
the fan experience as cheering. Sports Illustrated Weekly is here
to bring you the entertaining tales you can't get anywhere else,
(10:39):
the kinds of stories that make you smile and laugh,
clap and cry, marvel, think, and fall in love with
sports all over again. Sports Illustrated Weekly is available every
Wednesday on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe now, m M. You're
(11:11):
watching sports Screen Back on the Grid with George Kurtz.
Please follow us on Twitter at sports grid and on
Instagram at sports grid TV. George is at George kurtz
um at Mike Blue and George gets the hate mail,
I get the niceties. We'll see how that works out
long term. Maybe we switch when the season starts. I
(11:32):
don't know. I don't feel good about it, but anyway,
Uh news on Antonio Brown. I'll be honest. I tend
to avoid discussing the daily goings on in Antonio Brown's life.
The constant I'm retiring, I'm not retiring. I find it
(11:54):
to be boring because I don't really believe him. Every
time he says he's going to walk away. So what's
the point of saying some thing for news sake when
I don't really believe it's true and I end up
being right. I'm not saying I'm a soothsayer. I'm saying
I think the guy talks too much, and a lot
of the things he says just sort of fade away. Right, Oh, absolutely,
he certainly talks too much. We love social media because
(12:18):
it gets it gives us information, but a lot of players, man,
they really need to stay off of it. It only
gets you in trouble. They want they want to be heard,
because every he wants to be heard, right, everyone's at
talk here their voice and he has said some things
that we know he's not gonna follow through on, and
then I've got him in trouble, right. So the report
it comes first via Robert Klemcoe. He's a staff writer
(12:38):
of the Washington Post. Antonio Brown is being suspended for
eight games for violation of the NFL Conduct Personal Conduct Policy,
beginning where ever he signs, per league's source UH. To
follow up, Adam Schefter says, if Antonio Brown is signed
before the start of the season, he would be eligible
(12:59):
to participate in the club's preseason activities. Brown suspension would
take effect as a final roster deduction on September five.
He would be eligible to return after the team's eighth game.
There was some confusion when this story first came out,
but to to let everybody out, if he remains unsigned,
he can return in week nine. So it is for
(13:21):
the first eight games of this season, George. It does
not matter whether he's signed or not. It's not if
he signs then it's eight games. It's the first eight
weeks of the NFL season, or the team's first eight games,
whichever um. He's already effectively served a four teen game
suspension by nobody having signed him, So you tack this
(13:43):
onto that I sort of put them together. It's a
harsh penalty, but there's a lot going on with Antonio Brown,
and frankly, the book isn't closed on all of it.
I don't know if I'm gonna say I put them together.
Nobody's signed you, nobody's signed it. There was no suspension.
Team could have done it. You made that beg yourself.
All agreed, agreed. I'm just saying that he served as
(14:04):
suspension by way of his actions, because he made himself radioactive. Right,
That's what you do when you keep when you give
up on two teams, right, when you screw over the
Steelers and certainly screw over the Raiders and Force. Right,
I'm not I'm not feeling bad for the man. I
thought it would be eight games. Uh, originally we talked
about a couple of months. Age you said eight. I
(14:24):
just thought I'm just not trying. I know, using logic
with the NFL probably not the brightest way to do things.
But give right, and it's it's really a guessing game.
You're gonna give Zeke six for what he did well?
Then Brown went way over that, so it's gotta be worse.
He has multiple multiple transgressions he had to go over.
It'll be interesting to see if the team will sign him.
(14:44):
As you mentioned, it's just the first eight games with
the season, not when he signs. Uh do you want
to sign him for? What's gonna be? He's gonna want
some money, you know, So I don't know what teams
gonna have the cash to sign him. The distraction that
comes along with it, what's you gonna do for eight weeks?
Is he a guy you really want to be out
on his own for eight weeks away from the team
in September and October. I think he looks in great shape.
(15:07):
God keeps himself in an unbelievable shape. There's nothing on
the field. He's great, one of the greatest receivers ever
on the field. It's everything that comes along with it,
Everything that comes along with it, I mean a little.
As as as a teammate, I wouldn't want him on
my team alone because I keep remembering the last game
of the Steelers about the eighteen season, when he just said, hey, no,
(15:28):
you know that was greater. The Steelers weren't like you
to make the playoffs anyway. They needed a lot of
help but they needed to win that game first, and
he give up on my team, and as a teammate,
I can't forgive that alone. He no showed a playoff game.
It wasn't an actual playoff game, but it was a
playoff game. We all know how this works. They're playing in.
If they won, they could have gotten in. He didn't try.
(15:48):
He didn't show up and try to show up Sunday
morning after not showing up to practices during the week
and said I'm ready to go, and he hung out
on the sidelines in a fancy coat and took off
before the game was over. So he made it easy
on the Steelers. I'm done really feeling bad for him
in any capacity if I ever was in the first place.
(16:11):
It is what it is. It's the eight game suspension,
and per NFL media uh, it covers two of the
three pending items against him, an accusation that Brown harassed
via text message a woman who went public with concerns
about Brown's behavior to si dot Com, and an arrest
followed by a no contest plee on felony and demeanor
charges from earlier this year after an altercation with the
(16:33):
driver of a moving truck. You know, there's so much
going on. I don't remember that. I think maybe I've
blocked him out, but I don't even remember the instance
that I believe he didn't pay the guy and the
guys wanted to get paid and browned him. I believe
that's what happened there. But there were we sat multiple
things on your whatever social media want to use. When
(16:56):
he was yelling at I don't know, what's the mother
of his children or something of children, and using sts
of epithets that you just can't use. That does that
doesn't help your case any when you're trying to do this.
And even at the NFL said it's only these two things.
Well of course they took those of the consideration as well.
You don't officers the whole deal. That's sort of. I mean,
it just makes you look bad. It just makes you
(17:18):
look bad. I said, I'm as curious to anybody else
I I there's no doubt in my mind he's a
difference maker on the field, right, he could transcend any team.
We saw Lamar Jackson, well we heard Lamar Jackson this
week pretty much stumping for him. Hey, you know we
would he'd be great here. He used some words you
probably shouldn't have used that. May people made fun of
as far as that, I don't know Brown never gives
up or something like they're never quits, which we know
(17:40):
he has. He meant it a different context, but that
some of them people in the media had fun with that.
I just think, Mike, if I'm a GM, I'm a coach. No, No,
I just I don't want to deal with it, you know,
as a coach. I don't think. I certainly don't want
to deal with it. I just I don't need the
headache he might bring to my team. Belichick couldn't get
you know, he wasn't bad with them, But work out
(18:00):
there either. If you can't work out for Bill is
kind of like getting into it, Bob Craft, you know,
the day after they cut him for obvious reasons. He's
like getting into it, Bob Kraft. It's just anyway. Via
NFL Media, The punishment does not include an allegation of
sexual assault and rape made against Brown and a civil
(18:21):
lawsuit filed last September. The league apparently is going to
await resolution. This is all via Pro Football Talk and
Mike Florio. The league will await resolution of that lawsuit
before making a decision as to whether further punishment is required,
which obviously can do but also not will not place
Brown in the Commissioner exemption exempt list if he signed
before the civil lawsuit results in a vertict, dismissal or
(18:43):
a settlement. So a lot there. Uh, that's the bottom line.
He's out for the first eight weeks of the season
or the first eight games of whatever team chooses to
sign him. I think Tampa is one of those teams
that's absolutely still looking at him, even though Bruce air
In said no, go um. The Ravens are one of those. Seattle.
(19:07):
It makes the most sense for Seattle from a football standpoint.
I really think it makes them a really legitimate threat.
I think Jamal Adams helps. I think Antonio Brown makes
them better than the Niners possibly. I think that's the
kind of difference maker it could be. He could be
if they went more vertical with him. But I don't
(19:28):
know if Pete Carroll is going to do it. I
don't know. I agree with everything you said, right, I
don't think he's going to Tampa. They don't need him, right,
they just don't need another You got average, You've got God,
when you got gront Cows. You just don't Radio, won't
leave it alone. Don't leave it alone, Brady, I mean,
you just don't need it. It's it's just I think
it hurt the team more because I think Evans and
God would be upset about it. We don't need this.
(19:50):
You know, you're taking away cats, taking away full you know,
food out of my mouth and my contract and my
numbers here. So I don't see him going there, even
though Brady keeps stumping for it. I don't think Hardboys
going to deal with it with Brown. I just don't
see that happening either. Seattle does make the most sense.
They need his kind of player. Cale's strong head coach,
Russell Wilson, one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
But I keep going back to that Cattle says a
(20:12):
lot of things but then doesn't follow through. You know, Kaepernick,
he broke Kaepernick. Oh I should have signed Cabinick. Yeah,
but you didn't. You know that sort of thing. You'll
say all the right things, but then you won't do it,
you know. So I don't think he's going there, and
I think you'd have a tough time finding any team.
I can tell you this as a Cowboy fan. I
am very thankful that they are loaded at wide receiver
(20:33):
because Jerry Jones would definitely take a shot. If the
Cowboys had the receiving group they had two years ago
before Cooper right down Broadway down right, he would definitely
take a shot. I don't think there's any doubt about it.
And it's funny because as I was rolling through the
teams in my head, I was like, man, if there
was a spot, they'd be looking at it. But the
(20:53):
Cowboys are actually loaded at wide receiver. Whether or not
you think they overpaid Amari Cooper, they are loaded. Ceedee
Lamb fell to and they got Michael Gallup. We had
a good season there last year. I'm gonna come back
to a little bit more news and notes regarding certain players,
including somebody that did end up in Tampa. Mike and George.
Back on FFC. Get on the Grid will be right back.
(21:16):
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. What grows in the forest trees.
(21:36):
Sure you know what else grows in the forest. Our imagination,
our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too,
because when we disconnect from this and connect with this,
we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring.
(21:57):
I Discover the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by
the The States Fourth Service and the AD Council. The
NFL Podcast Network is your home for all things football.
Do you love hearing analysis around the league with a
touch of mirth, Or maybe you enjoy breaking down x
and os in the college scouting? Then did you breathe, sleep,
(22:19):
and eat fantasy football? Perhaps you love the funny headlines
that emerge each week. What if you want in depth
news coverage with reporters, or what if you want to
know exactly how each team got its name? While you're
in luck because the NFL Podcast Network has a show
for everybody. Our best network has the NFL's best talent,
(22:40):
bringing you right into the action each week. There's always
room to add more football into your podcast rotation, and
our vast group of shows will surely keep you up
to date with everything you need to know surrounding the
National Football League. Listen on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back on
(23:04):
the Grid Football Full Circle, Mike and George, welcoming in
our radio audience. Thanks for listening to us. And we're
getting into a little bit of news and notes here
regarding the NFL. Obviously, this whole show is really dedicated
to NFL news and notes, but some quick hitting stuff here.
And it is that time of year, George, We're in August,
and it's that time of year where you like to say,
(23:26):
how do we know when a coach is lying? When
is the lips are moving? So we do our best
to sift through what the coaches are telling the reporters
and then trying to figure it out from there. Uh.
You had a note during the break we were talking
about how it is going to be a little bit
more difficult for us to get some news this here. Correct. Yeah,
(23:49):
I mean the reporters are not going to have the
access they normally have because of what's going on with
the pandemic and COVID. You know, they're not gonna be
all over the locker of all over the practice fields.
And I think I don't think I think professional supports
sort of like this. By the way, I think they
might use use this as an excuse even when the
Panemics buy us to have I guess loosen the access, uh,
(24:11):
I should say tighten the access replayers after the team here,
I think they might just might come on for a
few years yet, which is silly. By the way. Yeah,
they're gonna reports of things you don't want report, but
they also bring publicity to your game and the reasons
why media members have fought for so long to get
the access that they have. It's it's it's probably not
a good idea of NFL teams, but I do think
this is coming for a little bit here that we're
gonna see this uh play out not the way not
(24:34):
fan friendly. Ne's really what it comes down to. It's
not fan friendly. If the reporters don't have accident, we
can't you know, we can't read stories, see highlights, certain
highlights of practice games of I think it is well,
I shouldn't say that as far as I know, it
is for the to l A teams. Correct. I haven't
heard it canceled. It's supposed to be in the two
l A teams. But how can it happen. How can
(24:54):
you have that those that kind of access in this
environment its lead sponsors. Yeah, that's what they want. It's
not a it's like a league sponsored HBO partnership. Right.
So anyway, Uh so that that's going to restrict access.
But we are getting some quotes, some good, some I'm
(25:16):
not so good. But generally when the coaches are talking,
they're being effusive with their praise of said player. Uh.
And this one is a guy that George and I
both like for this season. I'm particularly on board in
terms of his fantasy value this year. I think he
could be a league winner. And that's Will Fuller. Bill O'Brien.
This is via Aaron Wilson, Houston Texans reporter for the
(25:38):
Houston Chronicle. Excuse me, Bill brian on wide receiver Will Fuller,
who has recovered from offseason growing surgery. Quote. We're excited
about having him for sixteen games. He looks as good
as he's ever looked. How about that head coach says
he's as good as he ever looked? Shock of George.
Yeah that never happens, right, Uh? What else is he
gonna say? I mean I always find that find of
(26:00):
what else they're gonna say, oh man, these guys terrible. Alright,
he reported into the camp. He's like forty eight pounds overweight.
He can't run, he can't cut, he can't do anything.
Of course they're not going to say that. But it's
also why during the break you and I laughed a
little bit, because you know, when you do here report
of negativity and it's just slightly negative, all of a
sudden that raises the red flags. The antenna goes up.
(26:21):
What what he said? What about this guy in August?
You know? Uh? And I always wonder, once again, is
it true? Is it a motivational Ploy'll give him kick
in the buddy and let you go, Hey, stop stuffooling
around here. We gotta get serious. So I always wonder
about that. But I always as it's the negative stuff,
And I don't think it because I'm a negative guy.
I'm that's trying to be negative net here. But I
always pay much more attentionive and negative stuff, Mike than
(26:43):
I do the positive stuff. Yeah, I think that's fair.
I think most of us would have to do that logically,
because the coach is going to hide even if he
feels negatively about a player. Most coaches will take the
time to put them in a positive light. There's obviously
different scenarios where that might not happen, but generally those
(27:04):
relationships fizzle out quickly. So in terms of will Fuller
this year, look, he has an injury history that everybody
is well aware of. He's now effectively the number one
wide receiver. You could argue that Cooks is I would
argue that Fuller is because he's been in the system.
He's worked well with Deshaun Watson, even in a limited
number of games to where he should have played, and
(27:27):
I do think he has a lot of abilities. Is
shown himself to be explosive. The injuries are really what's
gotten him George. It has not been him failing on
the field in my opinion. And DeAndre Hopkins was obviously
a much more reliable target and he's a better player
than nobody's arguing, uh the reverse of that. But um,
I just think Fuller is a guy with the Texans,
(27:49):
I think pushing the ball down the field a little
bit more than they have in the past. I think
they'll be in a little bit more of a need
for scoring. I don't know if the defense is going
to be quite a staf has it's been in the past.
That's sort of my thought process. That doesn't mean I
have all the data to back it up, but I
just feel good about Fuller going into this season. If
he can stay healthy. Yeah, I mean I'm looking at
(28:12):
his numbers here. Now, the bugaboo has definitely been health right.
I mean for four NFL seasons, he's missed games every season,
uh two, six, nine, five. I mean that's an issue.
I don't a doubt that's an issue he does when
he plays. It's a lot of games in four years.
At six and a half games of season that this
(28:32):
is not good. I can't It's not gonna get it done.
He's gonna play it do better than that. I think
he's an interesting play because I would agree with you.
I think he is the number one wide receiver. You know.
I understand they have a lot of name guys here,
Brandon Cooks, Cob Stills, all right, but Cooks is another
guy can't stay can't stay healthy for any really a
length of time here, and I think cook is gonna
(28:52):
be the guy that Houston is going to use to
blow the top off the defense, get that safety to
play over the top there so that guys lie Fuller
Cobb have more room to roam here. David Johnson coming
out of the backfield. That's a yes, it's time NFL standards. Uh.
But I think everyone's sort of in a perfect world here.
(29:14):
I think they all have their roles. You know, Fuller
is your is your wide receiver. Here, a guy can
go deep short in the media every anyway you want
them to go. Cooks the deep guy, Cobb is just
slot guy, right, and it steals somewhere closer probably the
Cooks than the Fuller as far as another deep guy. Yeah,
home run here, that's that's actually a very good term.
I like it. So I do think Fuller is the
(29:34):
number one guy. And you know what I do worry
if this is another Smith shoes the situation and what
I mean by that is the number one guy's gone.
Antonio Brown left the Steelers. I was worried, as you
many times that Smith Shooester wouldn't have the kind of
year because a sudden he's gonna face the number one cornerbacks.
He's gonna face. Safety's all over the top, he's gonna
face Defense is worried about him. We didn't get to
(29:54):
see that last year. He goes to the injury and
the fact that Steel has said no quarterback. On a tangent,
the two players that I constantly think about whose evaluations
were really important last year that got put that got
completely paused are Juju and Sam Donald. Because it's like,
all right, we gotta do this all over again. I
don't really know what happened last year. Everybody got hurt,
sick and had bad play around them. So it's like
(30:16):
a reset button. It is like, and you we'll see
what's gonna happen with Smith Schuster this year. Uh Donald,
iald Jets. I don't know what the Jets does. We'll
see what those two number one picks bringing a couple
of years. Nice tease for our for the next segment
with Brian Costello. I'm a professional, Mike, I'm a professional.
I've forgotten about the segment move up right. But that
(30:36):
being said, I do think that this they wide receive.
A group of the Texans is a solid Groupie you
look at this. I just wonder this, all right, this
is good news for Fuller. What separates Hi from Smith
Schuster is that Steels didn't have a lot else going
up Beside Smith Schuster right Washington at that time, wasn't
anybody all that great? The Texans do have other options.
(30:58):
You might see a defense go you know what, full
is good, but I don't want Cook's blowing the top
off and getting you know, seven yard touchdown. Can't have that.
Let's put the stay at the other top here. We'll
keep one on one on one and Fuller. It is
the old theory, you know, death by a thousand paper
cuts rather than the big job gunshot wound. So I
wondered that plays into it as well. Cobb could be
a threat. He's mentioned Stills can be a threat to
if you're going forward wide receiver set more guys to
(31:19):
worry about here. So I do think as long as
full I could stay healthy, he'll have a good season.
The problem is when you play the old overrunder game,
he's averaging six and a half games missed the season.
What's the overrundown games? He plays eleven eleven and a
half in a sixteen game season, and I would stink
if he missed another quarter of the season, If he
(31:40):
played like eleven or twelve games out of sixteen, that
that would not be what I'm looking for. But because
his injuries have been nagging to It's not like he's fine.
After the four games are over, He's probably gonna come
back hurt. You know. That's that's what you're worried about. Anyway,
draft will Fuller he heard it here first. If he
gets hurt, don't say I didn't tell you as possible. Uh.
(32:01):
Next one, Ralph Acciano from s n Y reports um
that Joe Judge said tight end Evan Ingram has been
out on the field doing some work. Obviously he wasn't
placed on pup but Judge said basically quote, we'll see
on how quickly he'll be ready to go. Full good
news is he's not on the pup list. He can
get out there. He's not gonna be a six game
(32:23):
start to him, be on the on the pup or
the I R or whatever. And here he is Liz
Frank injury though big, bigger player. Obviously those can be
tough to heal. But whenever a player, whenever a coach
is not effusive with praise, as I said earlier about
somebody at this time of year, I'm concerned. Yeah, once again,
(32:45):
what did I say? Well, when do I get worried
when I hear negativity. Anything that's negative, I get concerned here.
Uh Evani Gram was a guy I believe in, Mike.
I believe in the talent. That's what I should say.
I think the talent is there. I think the Giants
are gonna have to throw a ton the season to
stay in games. Here. I mean that they're not a
good team. They're gonna have to throw the ball. There's
plenty of all can they passing to go around? It's bad?
(33:09):
I granted Nate Soldier just left. Maybe you're gonna get
Daniel Jones killed this year. We'll see what happens there.
But he's another guy can't stay on the field, you know,
And I wonder this, you know, I just just came
to my mind. Dear Fantasy football, if you thinking about
drafting any of these, but Will Fuller comes in mind
here as well. Should you be staying away from guys
(33:29):
that get hurt all the time? Because I don't know
what the rules are going to be in your league.
But if you don't, if we only played twelve weeks
this season, we don't get to the playoffs, your league
might have a rule where we switched to a points league,
which you need points. I don't know if I want
to have a god guys on my team. They get
hurt all the time. Time I missed, you know, weeks
four through eight, and I'm counting on the return for
the Fantasy playoffs, but there might not be a Fantasy
(33:49):
playoffs this year. Yeah, I mean that those are complications
which you're gonna have to work out with your commissioner
potentially calling this if the season gets called to have
a certain amount of games played. Um, as well as
adding at least one extra I L spot or I
R spot, however you'd like to phrase it. I think
you have to make it unlimited this year. Um. That
(34:12):
gets dicey though, because it really eliminates strategy. I think
you do have to have at least a couple of
slots though, for guys that are on the COVID list.
So anyway, Evan Ingram's first three seasons he played eleven
He played fifteen games eleven games, eight games, so he
missed half the season. Last year, he caught sixty four
passes forty five passes forty four passes. His yards per
(34:34):
catch have come down each year. He's got a total
of twelve touchdowns, so obviously they're gonna come down when
he's playing less games. So that's the impact of those
numbers there. I'm not waiting around anymore, dude, Like sometimes
you gotta cut bait on guys, and I think Everan
Ingram is a guy that I'm cutting bait on. I'd
rather have Golden Tate or Sterling Shepherd this year and
(34:57):
in years to come, Georgian. I'll come back with Brian
Costello The New York Post to talk about the Jamal
Adam Street 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 welcome back to Football
(35:23):
Full Circle and with us today we have Brian Costello
The New York Post. He's the New York Jets beat
writer for the Post and appears on w f A
n in New York regularly. First of all, Brian, thanks
for being on the show. And secondly, it's obviously been
a really big week for the Jets. They are in
the news in the NFL in a really interesting way.
(35:46):
Trading off one of their biggest assets for quite a haul. Yeah,
it's been quite a week. I expected some quiet days
leading into training camp, but they didn't get them. Um.
You know, obviously, you can even go back a week
and a half when stuff came out about Woody Johnson
overseas and the allegations against him, and then Jamal Adams
was forcing his way to the town and he got
(36:07):
his wish on Saturday afternoon. You know, obviously it's been
a story all offseason about what the Jets we're gonna
do with Jamal and whether they were going to give
him extension or not. Then it became whether they were
going to trade him or not. On for me, you know,
I just I never thought they'd get the package that
they got from Seattle, So I thought they probably wouldn't
would you know, have to wait a while to trade,
and maybe even to the deadline in October to get
(36:29):
a deal that they liked. So I was just stunned,
you know when I saw that what they got for him,
and I think, um, you know that that made it
a deal that they really couldn't say no to. Yeah, Brian,
I don't think anybody could argue that the Jets got
a good package in return. I'm curious, as far as
you know, deeed Adams force his way out? Did that?
(36:49):
Did him roasting the team? Really? Uh? Move this along?
It was this work? Do you think this was in
the works for some time now? Uh? Well, he's been
roasting the team for some time. So in terms of
like what he said that article last week about Adam Gates,
the deal was done before that, the deal was agreed
to from what I understand, they've been talking for a
few weeks. The initial offer was not as great as
(37:09):
what they got at sometime the week before the trade
was made, Seattle offered the second first round pick, and
that's when the Jets were like, Okay, this is something
we really have to consider here. And you know, hard
to turn down two first round picks and the player
they get a player that can they plug into McDougal
and the third round pick. So, but the salary cap
(37:31):
was still in flux, so for see, from Seattle's perspective,
they wanted to sign if they're gonna sign them off
to a contract, which it sounds like next year they
might do that. They wanted to know what the two
one salary cap would look like, because remember there were
reports out there that the cap could drop by seventy
million dollars and things like that. So when the cap
got settled Friday afternoon, they agreed to it. Um, that's
(37:53):
when this deal kind of came together, and you know,
they ironed things out on Saturday and made the deal.
So in a way, he shot, he's just shot his
way out of town because he if he had never
made waves through May in June, they wouldn't even consider
trading him. But it wasn't like what he said Friday
about Adam Gates was like the final straw. They had
agreed to this deal before that article even came out. Well,
(38:15):
my thing is, I was surprised Seattle didn't come back
after that article came out and said, no, I think
we're gonna pull on that first round picks, because why
don't you guys bring this to training camp Tuesday and
see how that goes. Like Seattle had some leverage there
that I don't think they really used, and the Jets
to be thanking them for that, I tend to agree.
He sort of rolled the grenade into the middle of
the locker at the Seattle said, no, no problem, we
(38:38):
can deal with it, so and uh so again as
Brian Costello of The New York Post. You find him
on Twitter at Brian kas ceo Z. And to recap
the hall that we're talking about, Jamal Adams and a
fourth round pick in two go to Seattle. Seattle brings
back to the Jets. Trades back to the Jets. Bradley McDougald,
who is a safety that can plug in right away,
(39:00):
but it's in the final year of his contract. First
round pick in third round pick in the first round
pick in so quite a bit. It's obviously um official
now that the physicals, as you stated on Twitter, officially
official with physicals having being passed. But you know, I
thought it was really pointing at what you wrote in
thinking your three major thoughts that came from this situation,
(39:24):
that the word that you said you kept coming back
to was that it was sad. Jets fans love Jamal Adams.
He played great, he was a he's the he's the
one of the Frankly, I wouldn't call it rare, but
he's one of the guys that returned an extremely high
draft pick and value. Yeah, I'd call it rare. I mean,
look at the last ten years that there's not there's
(39:45):
not a guys on this team that they drafted. It
worked out, um, you know, so he yeah, And I
just think back to like when they drafted him and
the story was, oh, you know, he fell to the Jets.
No one thought he'd be there, you know, which happens
a lot. But they were very excited. I mean, they
were genuinely excited when they got Jamal Adams and they
felt like, not only would he be a great player,
(40:07):
he'd be a culture changer. And you know the Jets,
the Jets have tried to change culture plenty over the
last ten years and it never seems to work. And
they felt like this was the guy that was going
to do this. And he really embraced the Jets and
Jets fans and all that stuff at first. So to
see him go out like this just torching the organization,
the fans really not feeling, you know, hating him, and
(40:30):
a lot of stuff on social media. It's just it
made me sad, Like it makes me. It makes me
sad when you think about it. It's like you just, um,
how did it get to this point? And you know,
we talked about the hall. It's a good trade, you
know for the Jets and what they got, But it
should have never gotten to that point. They should just
you know, just you wonder how how it got to
this point and where things went wrong between him and
(40:52):
the Jets. Right, I have uh two point question, I
really one for each team here. Were you surprised that
the Seahoaks didn't have a contract ready for Adds to
resign them? Are they sort of making the same mistake
he at the Cowboys are made with the Marie Cooper
where now the players gonna have all the leverage. But
his contract does come up with a few years to
get really whatever contract he wants. And also why didn't
(41:15):
the Jets view that Jamal Adams was worth a long
term contract? Is it because he plays safety and some
teams don't view that as an important position. Why didn't
Adams get the deal he wanted from the New York Jets? Yeah,
So from the Seattle perspective, it's kind of weird. It's
become a trend now where these teams make these trades
without deals. Like I I remember the Jets were in
the Khalil Mac discussion for that trade back then, and
(41:37):
I remember thinking and writing like this is tough because
the team has to give up draft picks and they
have to give him a big contract, so it's like
a big commitment. But now we've seen you know, you
mentioned to Mari Cooper, but Jalen Ramsey got traded without
a contract. Laramie Counsel got traded without a contract, and
then Council has cashed in, you know, getting I was
twenty two million dollars a year or something like that
in the contract by himself too, So you're right, they've
(42:00):
got leverage. Jamal has leverage with this thing now because
they gave up two first round picks. So it's a
strange decision to me. Why these teams are doing this.
I can't really figure out why. I mean, it's resulted
and we're getting a lot more star players traded, which
is kind of fun for the league, but it's a
weird trend. As far as the Jets, I think their
thing was, um, you know, when you draft a player,
(42:23):
you feel like you have them on a cost control
contract if they're in the case of a first round
pick for five years, but at least four, and I
think they would have done until next year with Jamal.
They looked at it as there was there's only three
defensive players who's gotten a contract after their third year,
J J. Watt, Luke Keickley and then Myles Garrett just
became the third since the cb A went to effect
(42:44):
in two thousand eleven. So they was kind of saying, well,
this is kind of, you know, not a precedent. We
want to set here where defensive players get this after
three years. Now. They might feel differently next year with
Sam Donald if he has a good year, to give
him a contract after three years. But I do think
they were kind of hung up that um. And then
when uh, the pandemic hit. I do think that's part
(43:06):
of this is that teams don't know what the financial
future looks like and they weren't going to commit to
a long term contract to a guy um with that.
But the bigger deal to me was I think the
Jets felt like, you know, we drafted you with you know,
within mind that we're gonna at least four years of
you at a low price, the fifth year options a
little bit higher. Um, but you know, they didn't want
(43:27):
to do a deal after just three years. Right, So
there's two major questions I want to ask. I'll go
in the way of Joe Douglas first, because in your
second article regarding this, it was really a Joe Douglas
interview where he was going through the paces of this trade,
and he was very specific in saying that there was
(43:47):
no contract discussed with Jamal and his team. George and
I had reviewed Jamal adams comments, taking them as such
in that he felt like he was promised and then
it was take and off the table. It's got to
be impossible for you to really sit through that, but
they're just add odds as to what happened there. Yeah,
(44:08):
so yeah, Basically, Jamal says he was promised the contract
offer and the Jets say they never promised him a
contract to offer. Um, you know, you gotta in my job,
you kind of have to evaluate what people tell you
and try to use logic and see if it makes sense.
And to me, I don't know why the Jets would
promise him a contract offer. That's what I keep coming
back to. I don't know why any general manager on
(44:29):
any team would promise a player or contract offer. There's
no need to give him a contract offer. I think
it's just about to say that unless it's ready, don't
say anything about it. I think Patrick Mahomes might be
an exception to that rule. Like after in the glow
of the Super Bowl in the locker room, Brett each
might have said, Hey, we're gonna pay you like and
I get that, but not you understand the time it
makes no sense. Why would general manager ever say that.
(44:50):
I don't think Jamal is lying necessarily. I think what
happens is the GM talks to the agent, the agent
talks to the player. It's a little bit of a
game of telephone, you know. I think maybe the message
got a little misconstrued. I also think Joe Douglas said
some things publicly that I took as a contract offer
was coming, and maybe Jamal did too. When he when
you say I wanted to be a Jet for life
(45:10):
in February, I can understand the player thinking, Okay, I'm
going to get a contract he wants me to be
Like now, Joe Douglas would say, well, I never said
that meant a contract now, like I could that come
in a contract next year? So and then he said
right before the draft, he said that they were going
to have discussions with his agent after the draft. Again,
that to me says, okay, we're gonna start talking about
(45:32):
a contract. So I understand maybe we're Jamal got that misconstrued,
but I do. I don't think the Jets ever promised
him a contract extension. You know, Brian's part of this train.
We all know the Jets got two number ones, number three.
How about Bradley McDougald. When I talk about no one's
really talking about Bradley. What kind of players the Jets
get here? Yeah, I think they got a solid starter,
(45:54):
you know, from everything I've talked to people about. Um,
you know, he had a really good game I guess
against the Eagles in the playoffs. I've heard, and you know,
he's consistent starter for the seat for Seattle for a
couple of years, and obviously they have a good team,
so he's he can be a starter. And we talked,
actually talked to him on a Zoom call today and
he seems like a you know, a pretty energetic guy.
He's enthusiastic about being with the Jets. Uh, they're the
(46:17):
Jets are excited to have him. They think he's gonna
be good in the locker room. He's got a good
reputation as a team guy, so you know, and Greg
Williams will figure out a way to use them. You know,
a lot of pressures on Greg now to make this
all work without Jamal um, But I think the Jets
are are genuinely excited to have McDougald on the team.
And he's not gonna be Jamal Adams, but I think
there they feel like he can be a good starter
for them. Now, I didn't intend to bury the lead,
(46:39):
but the article that you wrote almost immediately after the
trade was white Jets players won't be shedding tears over
Jamal Adams ending. So is it because they felt it
was going to be a distraction. He seems to be
a likable player as certainly amongst fans and potentially his teammates.
So can you explain a little bit more about what
that meant. I think all guys have guys that liked
(47:02):
them and don't like them. And I'm not saying Jamal
wasn't liked by everyone in the locker room. There are people.
There were people who Jamal rubbed the wrong way. Two
years ago, at the end of the season, you might
remember he gave a speech after the last game where
he thought the Jets needed more dogs in their locker
room and basically the insinuation was there weren't good players
on the team around and he was the only good
(47:22):
player on the team, you know, and and some of
the players were upset with that. And then last year
at the trade deadline, um, it was pretty well known
that he was trying to push his way to Dallas,
that he was calling players um on the Cowboys, saying
get me there, bring me there. That didn't sit well.
And after the trade deadline when he blew up, he
said to us the media said, I'd love to be
(47:42):
a Cowboy. I grew up in Dallas. And you know,
a few players said to me, like, you really say that,
Like you know, so there was a player. Yeah, he
rubbed them the wrong way with that stuff. And you
know he was a bit of he was a lot
about himself. Um, So you know, I think and then
all this stuff all spring and ripping the team on
social media and print. I don't think that's that well
(48:04):
with a lot of guys. So you know, there are
guys who are gonna be upset you while I was gone.
He's a very very good player. They know that, but
I didn't. I don't think it's it's like these locker
rooms going to be beside themselves if they traded Jamal
Adams bro We have less than a minute left here,
A little quick question for you. Let's have a little funny.
We have sports gread we we may like to make
a wager or two here. If you had to set
(48:25):
the over under on how many NFL games are played
this year? What would you said of that over underfferent
games played? I probably go, mmm, like twelve and a half.
That's pretty good. That's pretty good. I think that's my number.
Pretty good. I'll take it well is. Brian Costello is
(48:45):
the New York Jets beat writer for The New York Post,
and he appears on w f A and regularly find
him on Twitter at Brian Coz at c o Z Brian.
Thanks for Johnny as We'll talk to you again soon,
no problem. Thanks for having me, guys. Sports grid dot
(49:11):
com betting insides 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 m M. You're watching sports green, Get on the
(49:43):
back on the grid quick segment here to close out
this hour. Just got done talking with Brian Costello. Great
job there, he of the New York Post talking about
Jamal Adams and the fallout there. So George, now, now
the Jets mission is clear. If it wasn't already, there's
one guy on the team that matters. Now there were two.
(50:07):
Now there's one. You want to throw Quentin Williams on there,
go for it. And now, sorry, Denzel Mims, forget the rookies.
They matter. I don't know how good they are yet.
But if they're all great and Sam stinks, then it
doesn't matter. So really, one guy matters. It is often
the case with NFL teams that one guy matters, because
(50:30):
that's how you're building a franchise. But that's it. They've
stripped it all down, and Joe Douglas did a good
job getting him some assets he can work with. Denzel Mims.
He signed a whole bunch of offensive linemen, some of
whom are just guys out there. But give me your
thoughts were the Jet set now this is just a
good move. Are they pointed in a better direction now
(50:51):
than they were two weeks ago? Is it a good move? Well,
if you weren't going to sign him long term, then
this is a very good move. You got value one
one of three and at the very least, uh a
serviceable safety in McDougald. At the very least he might
even be a little better than that. I'm not saying
he's an all pro or anything like that, but he's
a solid safety. So you did well, assuming you make
(51:12):
good draft choice picks, which remains to be seen here,
but you're absolutely right now you need to make that
definitive decision on Sam Donald. Is he the man? If
he's not, then everything has to stop and scratch again.
That being said, if it's not nailed down, it gets traded. Right,
you fee looking to anybody you can now who's not
nailed down doing what the Miami Dontlins did last year.
You're not going to compete this year. You're pretty much
(51:33):
announced that by training Jamal outstand and even trying to
compete this year. So if you could trade Levan Bell
at the deadline for anything, he goes, you don't want
him anyway. He goes, Peaman goes, crowd, it goes anybody.
We go Herndon and Griffith. Someone's looking for a tight end.
Goes sameything with defensive players. I would start anybody that's
not nailed down. You truly don't believe it was a
part of your future, should be moved for pretty much anything.
(51:57):
As this is last year in New York. Whether he wants,
whether he likes it or not, he's out of here.
The Jets total is six and a half minus one
to the under, so not a lot of juice yet.
Um Is there a positive effect with Jamal Adams leaving
because his teammates didn't like him. I don't see it.
You got your top five draft pick next next April.
(52:21):
The schedule was brutal even before they get rid of Adams. Yeah,
I don't. I don't think he's an impact of wind
total all that much. They get to pay Marcus may
now though, his counterparts, so that's a good thing. Thanks
for watching this our football full circle on the half
of Brian Rokowski and George Kurtz on Mike Blewett. Thanks
for watching sports grid dot com Betting insights and entertainment
at your fingertips as our team covers the most important
(52:44):
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. The Rocket Mortgage Super
Bowl Square sweep Steaks is bad, and we're kicking off
the action again with the largest official game of Super
Bowl Squares ever. Here's the play by play. There's millions
(53:08):
of dollars in prizes and a bunch of lucky fans
are gonna win big. Every single score change will draw
one lucky winner from the square to win fifty thousand dollars.
That meets touchdowns, field goals, extra point safeties, even a
two point conversion is a winner. Fifty g s plus
to grand prize winners will win a half million dollars
(53:29):
they could use towards their dream home. There's one way
to enter, two ways to win, and zero reasons not
to play. See rules and get in the game for
free at Rocket Mortgage squares dot com. Rocket Mortgage official
mortgage sponsor of Super Bowl fift. You purchase necessary legal
residence in the fifty U, S and DC a age
of majority as eleven eleven, twenty two, equal housing letter
(53:51):
licensed alfifty states and the last number thirty. The NFL
Antacies have not offered a sponsor this promotion in any way.
Look for your children's eyes and you will discover the
true magic of a forest. Find a forest near you
and start exploring it. Discover the Forest dot org brought
to you by the United States Forest Service and the
AD Council. What girls in the forest, our imagination, and
(54:15):
our family bonds. The forest is closer than you think.
Find a forest near you and discover the Forest dot org.
Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and
the AD Council.
Progressive presents forrest metaphors about bundling your home on auto
and sports. Three goals is a hat trick, and when
you bundle your home and auto with Progressive, you get
a hat trick of great savings and around the clock protection.
So you might be thinking, wait, that's two things. A
hat trick is three, But in this metaphor, great savings
counts as two goals, and so does around the clock protection,
so it's like four goals and that's more than three.
(00:22):
It's basic math forrest metaphors presented by Progressive Bundle and
Protect Today Progressive centulte in Trance Company unfially get discount
of the little in all states or situations. The NFL
is back and the NFL app has you covered, So
get ready for football all season long and just tap
into the NFL app NFL maybe take an Apple. Just
tap in to watch your local and primetime games all
(00:42):
season now through Super Bowl fifty six. Get up to
the minute news videos, highlights, stats and more on all
your favorite teams and rookies to watch. So they app
download to your mobile device today at NFL dot com,
slash Mobile or in your app store. Certain restrictions and
data rates may apply. Look for your children's eyes and
(01:03):
you will discover the true magic of a forest. Find
a forest near you and start exploring it. Discover the
Forest dot Org brought to you by the United States
Forest Service and the AD Council. 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,
(01:24):
predictive betting models, expert picks, and more. Want the edge
than get on the grid. Sports grid dot Com. Welcome
to another edition of Football Full Circle right here on
the Grid. Thanks for watching and listening. Everybody appreciate it. So, George,
you're gonna get right into the news surrounding the NFL,
(01:48):
talking all NFL this hour. We got a interview a
little bit later this hour with Brian Costello of The
New York Post about the Jamal Adams trade or Douglass
reaction to that trade. I think you'll enjoy listening to
his insight. So, George Damien Williams, I wanted to bring
up this story first because George and I we should
(02:10):
just tell everybody. George and I have a little bit
of a running joke that the show should change its
name to Circling the Drain, because in some ways it
does feel like we are doing that, We're staving off
the temporary or long term suspension of these sports. Baseball
(02:32):
second team has been hit with coronavirus. Their games have
been canceled St. Louis Cardinals, So we understand they for
the things that are are in front of us, the
hurdles that are in front of us in order to
complete these seasons. But in terms of Damian Williams opt out,
he was one of the high profile players that opted out,
and I do think there's a human side to this
(02:55):
that sometimes goes under disgusted, uh not reported well enough,
and I think it's important to note why he's doing this.
Nate Solder has a history of cancer, with both himself
and his five year old son, Marcus Cannon was a
survivor of non Hodgkins lymphoma. Damien Williams, the star running
(03:19):
back perhaps robbed of the Super Bowl m v P
by the half billion Dollar Man two touchdowns in the
fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, has opted out this season,
and the reason is because his mother has stage four cancer.
He revealed that today he's dealing with a major family issue.
With everything that's going on. Quote from him, He said
(03:40):
this on Sirius x M NFL Radio. With everything that's
going on, she was the only one there for me.
I never had the opportunity to have my dad there.
My mom is my rock, my everything. So during a
hard time like this, I think I should be next
to her every step. Yes, and I love that. I
respect that. I think it's the way most people should do.
(04:01):
You can I understand if you're a Chiefs fan, or
you know you d have to Damian Williams in the
third round your fantasy that you're upset right now. Yeah, hey,
if you have to Edwards Hillary, you're probably celebrating. But
you know, every player has to do what is best
for them. We don't know what is going on in
every player's personal life about why they are had that
started not to play. I think there are very few players,
(04:23):
especially in football, that are gonna say ah, I want
to hear off, have no other real eyes. Don't feel
like playing your career is so finite or you're not
gonna have a ten twelve of your career. Most of
these players, you need to play and make that money
while you can position right running back, especially right, they
don't last long as it is. Plus he has someone
challenging first starting job. I mean right, he may he
(04:47):
may not be on the Chiefs next season, alright. I
think that contract with Toll so he's still be on
the last year technically, but we all know those contracts
are written on paper, done if the Chiefs want to
go that way. But I said, I don't blame these players.
You have to do what's best for you, what's best
for your family, and take care of them my families forever,
you know, So I don't. I'm not angry at Damian
(05:08):
Williams on that, an angry at Nate Solder. I'm not
angry at any of these players are really at any
sport that decides to take the year off. Yeah, we
talked about football in general. I think we're over thirty,
around thirty players right now. They'll be rolling in over
the weekend and that number will concede will definitely go
up before Monday, which is the deadline August three. But
(05:31):
I thought it was important to kind of start out
and say, look, this is difficult for everybody and for
those of us to say, why wouldn't the football players
just go out there, they'll be fine. They're young, guys
are healthy. Well, there's other reasons. He doesn't want to
expose her, and with stage four cancer. We've seen other
football players in the past take time off. Chris Spielman
(05:53):
famously did this when his wife was battling cancer. He
took a year off in the middle of his career.
So I respect it. I just think it's a really
cool story, and he's some insight as to him the
person as opposed to him the fantasy football asset. Absolutely.
I think we're gonna hear a lot of stories about this,
(06:13):
about players who opting out for this reason, for that
reason you mentioned. It could be a kid, could be
your wife, you know, it could be in this case,
a mother in laws that live with you, all sorts
of things. I also wonder this, you know, our this
really goes back to baseball a little bit. But we're
hearing now that ice On Diaz is thinking about opting
out for the Marlins, not because of anything in his life,
(06:36):
but because was it eighteen teammates Havoc, you know, and
maybe he thinks, you know what, this is nuts, This
is just nuts. I wonder if what's happening. Baseball is
gonna push more football players out and going. You know what,
if one person gets it, I have a better chance
of getting I think it already has not worth it.
I think it already has to some extent, right, it's
got to have an impact on guys that have said
something this week, perhaps their decisions were already made. Um,
(07:00):
I you and I discussed that August third deadline. Maybe
it's a little too early. I understand if you're the GM,
it can't be September three, simply because guys walking away
right before the season, you don't have any time to
install a backup that could take care of the assignments
that he was supposed to take care of. So from
that perspective, I understand why it's as early as it is.
(07:24):
But I would assume baseball is having some impact on
this decision making process. And I welcome in the radio
audience to hear your response to that. Yeah, I wonder
what I think August starts is way too early. I
just do why can't it be done before final cuts?
Either way, if you have a guy does walk quick
because you able to pick up somebody from another team
who got cut at the same position if you want
(07:45):
that guy. Rather than make the why make the player
make a choice which might be an uninformed choice in
three days or tomorrow, you know why, why not give
them all the opportunities. I wouldn't want a player to say,
you know, on Monday, well I'm not sure here, but
i'm gonna I'm gonna, you know, edge on the side
of a qution. You know, I'm gonna opt out, where
in two weeks he might be like, all right, it
(08:05):
was okay, I'm gonna be all right, I'll play. They
won't be available for those opt out financial deals. I
would presume if they walk away after that. I think
it's difficult. I understand why it's early, because it gives
the team a better chance of feeling a more competitive
team across the board of Damian Williams walked away right
before the season, hard to get a replacement that's of
(08:27):
his ILK. So we'll come back after this and talk
about Antonio Brown right here on FFC. Get on the
Grid sports grid dot com betting insights and entertainment at
your fingertips as our team covers the most important topics
(08:49):
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. Look the your children's eyes to
see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook
world for them. You look and see a tree. They
see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched
(09:11):
to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see
a windy path that could lead to adventure, and they
see you. They're fearless. Guide this fascinating world. Find a
forest near you and start exploring it. Discover the Forest
dot org brought to you by the United States Forest
Service and the ad Council. Adoption of teens from foster
(09:32):
care is a topic not enough people know about, and
we're here to change that. I'm April Dinuity, host of
the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt us Kids.
Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told
by the families that lived them, with commentary from experts.
Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or subscribe
to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt us Kids, brought to
(09:54):
you by the U S Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. I'm
John Gonzalez, the host of Sports Illustrated Weekly. Sports Illustrated
has delivered the best storytelling in sports for seventy years,
first in the pages of the magazine, then on SI
dot com, and now that tradition continues on a new podcast.
(10:17):
Each week, we'll dive deep into the best stories from
around the sports world. We'll ask the questions that we're
all wondering and push for the answers we all want.
Everything from investigating the Super Bowl's impact on l A
to examining white booing is as big a part of
the fan experience as cheering. Sports Illustrated Weekly is here
to bring you the entertaining tales you can't get anywhere else,
(10:39):
the kinds of stories that make you smile and laugh,
clap and cry, marvel, think, and fall in love with
sports all over again. Sports Illustrated Weekly is available every
Wednesday on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe now, m M. You're
(11:11):
watching sports Screen Back on the Grid with George Kurtz.
Please follow us on Twitter at sports grid and on
Instagram at sports grid TV. George is at George kurtz
um at Mike Blue and George gets the hate mail,
I get the niceties. We'll see how that works out
long term. Maybe we switch when the season starts. I
(11:32):
don't know. I don't feel good about it, but anyway,
Uh news on Antonio Brown. I'll be honest. I tend
to avoid discussing the daily goings on in Antonio Brown's life.
The constant I'm retiring, I'm not retiring. I find it
(11:54):
to be boring because I don't really believe him. Every
time he says he's going to walk away. So what's
the point of saying some thing for news sake when
I don't really believe it's true and I end up
being right. I'm not saying I'm a soothsayer. I'm saying
I think the guy talks too much, and a lot
of the things he says just sort of fade away. Right, Oh, absolutely,
he certainly talks too much. We love social media because
(12:18):
it gets it gives us information, but a lot of players, man,
they really need to stay off of it. It only
gets you in trouble. They want they want to be heard,
because every he wants to be heard, right, everyone's at
talk here their voice and he has said some things
that we know he's not gonna follow through on, and
then I've got him in trouble, right. So the report
it comes first via Robert Klemcoe. He's a staff writer
(12:38):
of the Washington Post. Antonio Brown is being suspended for
eight games for violation of the NFL Conduct Personal Conduct Policy,
beginning where ever he signs, per league's source UH. To
follow up, Adam Schefter says, if Antonio Brown is signed
before the start of the season, he would be eligible
(12:59):
to participate in the club's preseason activities. Brown suspension would
take effect as a final roster deduction on September five.
He would be eligible to return after the team's eighth game.
There was some confusion when this story first came out,
but to to let everybody out, if he remains unsigned,
he can return in week nine. So it is for
(13:21):
the first eight games of this season, George. It does
not matter whether he's signed or not. It's not if
he signs then it's eight games. It's the first eight
weeks of the NFL season, or the team's first eight games,
whichever um. He's already effectively served a four teen game
suspension by nobody having signed him, So you tack this
(13:43):
onto that I sort of put them together. It's a
harsh penalty, but there's a lot going on with Antonio Brown,
and frankly, the book isn't closed on all of it.
I don't know if I'm gonna say I put them together.
Nobody's signed you, nobody's signed it. There was no suspension.
Team could have done it. You made that beg yourself.
All agreed, agreed. I'm just saying that he served as
(14:04):
suspension by way of his actions, because he made himself radioactive. Right,
That's what you do when you keep when you give
up on two teams, right, when you screw over the
Steelers and certainly screw over the Raiders and Force. Right,
I'm not I'm not feeling bad for the man. I
thought it would be eight games. Uh, originally we talked
about a couple of months. Age you said eight. I
(14:24):
just thought I'm just not trying. I know, using logic
with the NFL probably not the brightest way to do things.
But give right, and it's it's really a guessing game.
You're gonna give Zeke six for what he did well?
Then Brown went way over that, so it's gotta be worse.
He has multiple multiple transgressions he had to go over.
It'll be interesting to see if the team will sign him.
(14:44):
As you mentioned, it's just the first eight games with
the season, not when he signs. Uh do you want
to sign him for? What's gonna be? He's gonna want
some money, you know, So I don't know what teams
gonna have the cash to sign him. The distraction that
comes along with it, what's you gonna do for eight weeks?
Is he a guy you really want to be out
on his own for eight weeks away from the team
in September and October. I think he looks in great shape.
(15:07):
God keeps himself in an unbelievable shape. There's nothing on
the field. He's great, one of the greatest receivers ever
on the field. It's everything that comes along with it,
Everything that comes along with it, I mean a little.
As as as a teammate, I wouldn't want him on
my team alone because I keep remembering the last game
of the Steelers about the eighteen season, when he just said, hey, no,
(15:28):
you know that was greater. The Steelers weren't like you
to make the playoffs anyway. They needed a lot of
help but they needed to win that game first, and
he give up on my team, and as a teammate,
I can't forgive that alone. He no showed a playoff game.
It wasn't an actual playoff game, but it was a
playoff game. We all know how this works. They're playing in.
If they won, they could have gotten in. He didn't try.
(15:48):
He didn't show up and try to show up Sunday
morning after not showing up to practices during the week
and said I'm ready to go, and he hung out
on the sidelines in a fancy coat and took off
before the game was over. So he made it easy
on the Steelers. I'm done really feeling bad for him
in any capacity if I ever was in the first place.
(16:11):
It is what it is. It's the eight game suspension,
and per NFL media uh, it covers two of the
three pending items against him, an accusation that Brown harassed
via text message a woman who went public with concerns
about Brown's behavior to si dot Com, and an arrest
followed by a no contest plee on felony and demeanor
charges from earlier this year after an altercation with the
(16:33):
driver of a moving truck. You know, there's so much
going on. I don't remember that. I think maybe I've
blocked him out, but I don't even remember the instance
that I believe he didn't pay the guy and the
guys wanted to get paid and browned him. I believe
that's what happened there. But there were we sat multiple
things on your whatever social media want to use. When
(16:56):
he was yelling at I don't know, what's the mother
of his children or something of children, and using sts
of epithets that you just can't use. That does that
doesn't help your case any when you're trying to do this.
And even at the NFL said it's only these two things.
Well of course they took those of the consideration as well.
You don't officers the whole deal. That's sort of. I mean,
it just makes you look bad. It just makes you
(17:18):
look bad. I said, I'm as curious to anybody else
I I there's no doubt in my mind he's a
difference maker on the field, right, he could transcend any team.
We saw Lamar Jackson, well we heard Lamar Jackson this
week pretty much stumping for him. Hey, you know we
would he'd be great here. He used some words you
probably shouldn't have used that. May people made fun of
as far as that, I don't know Brown never gives
up or something like they're never quits, which we know
(17:40):
he has. He meant it a different context, but that
some of them people in the media had fun with that.
I just think, Mike, if I'm a GM, I'm a coach. No, No,
I just I don't want to deal with it, you know,
as a coach. I don't think. I certainly don't want
to deal with it. I just I don't need the
headache he might bring to my team. Belichick couldn't get
you know, he wasn't bad with them, But work out
(18:00):
there either. If you can't work out for Bill is
kind of like getting into it, Bob Craft, you know,
the day after they cut him for obvious reasons. He's
like getting into it, Bob Kraft. It's just anyway. Via
NFL Media, The punishment does not include an allegation of
sexual assault and rape made against Brown and a civil
(18:21):
lawsuit filed last September. The league apparently is going to
await resolution. This is all via Pro Football Talk and
Mike Florio. The league will await resolution of that lawsuit
before making a decision as to whether further punishment is required,
which obviously can do but also not will not place
Brown in the Commissioner exemption exempt list if he signed
before the civil lawsuit results in a vertict, dismissal or
(18:43):
a settlement. So a lot there. Uh, that's the bottom line.
He's out for the first eight weeks of the season
or the first eight games of whatever team chooses to
sign him. I think Tampa is one of those teams
that's absolutely still looking at him, even though Bruce air
In said no, go um. The Ravens are one of those. Seattle.
(19:07):
It makes the most sense for Seattle from a football standpoint.
I really think it makes them a really legitimate threat.
I think Jamal Adams helps. I think Antonio Brown makes
them better than the Niners possibly. I think that's the
kind of difference maker it could be. He could be
if they went more vertical with him. But I don't
(19:28):
know if Pete Carroll is going to do it. I
don't know. I agree with everything you said, right, I
don't think he's going to Tampa. They don't need him, right,
they just don't need another You got average, You've got God,
when you got gront Cows. You just don't Radio, won't
leave it alone. Don't leave it alone, Brady, I mean,
you just don't need it. It's it's just I think
it hurt the team more because I think Evans and
God would be upset about it. We don't need this.
(19:50):
You know, you're taking away cats, taking away full you know,
food out of my mouth and my contract and my
numbers here. So I don't see him going there, even
though Brady keeps stumping for it. I don't think Hardboys
going to deal with it with Brown. I just don't
see that happening either. Seattle does make the most sense.
They need his kind of player. Cale's strong head coach,
Russell Wilson, one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
But I keep going back to that Cattle says a
(20:12):
lot of things but then doesn't follow through. You know, Kaepernick,
he broke Kaepernick. Oh I should have signed Cabinick. Yeah,
but you didn't. You know that sort of thing. You'll
say all the right things, but then you won't do it,
you know. So I don't think he's going there, and
I think you'd have a tough time finding any team.
I can tell you this as a Cowboy fan. I
am very thankful that they are loaded at wide receiver
(20:33):
because Jerry Jones would definitely take a shot. If the
Cowboys had the receiving group they had two years ago
before Cooper right down Broadway down right, he would definitely
take a shot. I don't think there's any doubt about it.
And it's funny because as I was rolling through the
teams in my head, I was like, man, if there
was a spot, they'd be looking at it. But the
(20:53):
Cowboys are actually loaded at wide receiver. Whether or not
you think they overpaid Amari Cooper, they are loaded. Ceedee
Lamb fell to and they got Michael Gallup. We had
a good season there last year. I'm gonna come back
to a little bit more news and notes regarding certain players,
including somebody that did end up in Tampa. Mike and George.
Back on FFC. Get on the Grid will be right back.
(21:16):
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. What grows in the forest trees.
(21:36):
Sure you know what else grows in the forest. Our imagination,
our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too,
because when we disconnect from this and connect with this,
we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring.
(21:57):
I Discover the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by
the The States Fourth Service and the AD Council. The
NFL Podcast Network is your home for all things football.
Do you love hearing analysis around the league with a
touch of mirth, Or maybe you enjoy breaking down x
and os in the college scouting? Then did you breathe, sleep,
(22:19):
and eat fantasy football? Perhaps you love the funny headlines
that emerge each week. What if you want in depth
news coverage with reporters, or what if you want to
know exactly how each team got its name? While you're
in luck because the NFL Podcast Network has a show
for everybody. Our best network has the NFL's best talent,
(22:40):
bringing you right into the action each week. There's always
room to add more football into your podcast rotation, and
our vast group of shows will surely keep you up
to date with everything you need to know surrounding the
National Football League. Listen on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back on
(23:04):
the Grid Football Full Circle, Mike and George, welcoming in
our radio audience. Thanks for listening to us. And we're
getting into a little bit of news and notes here
regarding the NFL. Obviously, this whole show is really dedicated
to NFL news and notes, but some quick hitting stuff here.
And it is that time of year, George, We're in August,
and it's that time of year where you like to say,
(23:26):
how do we know when a coach is lying? When
is the lips are moving? So we do our best
to sift through what the coaches are telling the reporters
and then trying to figure it out from there. Uh.
You had a note during the break we were talking
about how it is going to be a little bit
more difficult for us to get some news this here. Correct. Yeah,
(23:49):
I mean the reporters are not going to have the
access they normally have because of what's going on with
the pandemic and COVID. You know, they're not gonna be
all over the locker of all over the practice fields.
And I think I don't think I think professional supports
sort of like this. By the way, I think they
might use use this as an excuse even when the
Panemics buy us to have I guess loosen the access, uh,
(24:11):
I should say tighten the access replayers after the team here,
I think they might just might come on for a
few years yet, which is silly. By the way. Yeah,
they're gonna reports of things you don't want report, but
they also bring publicity to your game and the reasons
why media members have fought for so long to get
the access that they have. It's it's it's probably not
a good idea of NFL teams, but I do think
this is coming for a little bit here that we're
gonna see this uh play out not the way not
(24:34):
fan friendly. Ne's really what it comes down to. It's
not fan friendly. If the reporters don't have accident, we
can't you know, we can't read stories, see highlights, certain
highlights of practice games of I think it is well,
I shouldn't say that as far as I know, it
is for the to l A teams. Correct. I haven't
heard it canceled. It's supposed to be in the two
l A teams. But how can it happen. How can
(24:54):
you have that those that kind of access in this
environment its lead sponsors. Yeah, that's what they want. It's
not a it's like a league sponsored HBO partnership. Right.
So anyway, Uh so that that's going to restrict access.
But we are getting some quotes, some good, some I'm
(25:16):
not so good. But generally when the coaches are talking,
they're being effusive with their praise of said player. Uh.
And this one is a guy that George and I
both like for this season. I'm particularly on board in
terms of his fantasy value this year. I think he
could be a league winner. And that's Will Fuller. Bill O'Brien.
This is via Aaron Wilson, Houston Texans reporter for the
(25:38):
Houston Chronicle. Excuse me, Bill brian on wide receiver Will Fuller,
who has recovered from offseason growing surgery. Quote. We're excited
about having him for sixteen games. He looks as good
as he's ever looked. How about that head coach says
he's as good as he ever looked? Shock of George.
Yeah that never happens, right, Uh? What else is he
gonna say? I mean I always find that find of
(26:00):
what else they're gonna say, oh man, these guys terrible. Alright,
he reported into the camp. He's like forty eight pounds overweight.
He can't run, he can't cut, he can't do anything.
Of course they're not going to say that. But it's
also why during the break you and I laughed a
little bit, because you know, when you do here report
of negativity and it's just slightly negative, all of a
sudden that raises the red flags. The antenna goes up.
(26:21):
What what he said? What about this guy in August?
You know? Uh? And I always wonder, once again, is
it true? Is it a motivational Ploy'll give him kick
in the buddy and let you go, Hey, stop stuffooling
around here. We gotta get serious. So I always wonder
about that. But I always as it's the negative stuff,
And I don't think it because I'm a negative guy.
I'm that's trying to be negative net here. But I
always pay much more attentionive and negative stuff, Mike than
(26:43):
I do the positive stuff. Yeah, I think that's fair.
I think most of us would have to do that logically,
because the coach is going to hide even if he
feels negatively about a player. Most coaches will take the
time to put them in a positive light. There's obviously
different scenarios where that might not happen, but generally those
(27:04):
relationships fizzle out quickly. So in terms of will Fuller
this year, look, he has an injury history that everybody
is well aware of. He's now effectively the number one
wide receiver. You could argue that Cooks is I would
argue that Fuller is because he's been in the system.
He's worked well with Deshaun Watson, even in a limited
number of games to where he should have played, and
(27:27):
I do think he has a lot of abilities. Is
shown himself to be explosive. The injuries are really what's
gotten him George. It has not been him failing on
the field in my opinion. And DeAndre Hopkins was obviously
a much more reliable target and he's a better player
than nobody's arguing, uh the reverse of that. But um,
I just think Fuller is a guy with the Texans,
(27:49):
I think pushing the ball down the field a little
bit more than they have in the past. I think
they'll be in a little bit more of a need
for scoring. I don't know if the defense is going
to be quite a staf has it's been in the past.
That's sort of my thought process. That doesn't mean I
have all the data to back it up, but I
just feel good about Fuller going into this season. If
he can stay healthy. Yeah, I mean I'm looking at
(28:12):
his numbers here. Now, the bugaboo has definitely been health right.
I mean for four NFL seasons, he's missed games every season,
uh two, six, nine, five. I mean that's an issue.
I don't a doubt that's an issue he does when
he plays. It's a lot of games in four years.
At six and a half games of season that this
(28:32):
is not good. I can't It's not gonna get it done.
He's gonna play it do better than that. I think
he's an interesting play because I would agree with you.
I think he is the number one wide receiver. You know.
I understand they have a lot of name guys here,
Brandon Cooks, Cob Stills, all right, but Cooks is another
guy can't stay can't stay healthy for any really a
length of time here, and I think cook is gonna
(28:52):
be the guy that Houston is going to use to
blow the top off the defense, get that safety to
play over the top there so that guys lie Fuller
Cobb have more room to roam here. David Johnson coming
out of the backfield. That's a yes, it's time NFL standards. Uh.
But I think everyone's sort of in a perfect world here.
(29:14):
I think they all have their roles. You know, Fuller
is your is your wide receiver. Here, a guy can
go deep short in the media every anyway you want
them to go. Cooks the deep guy, Cobb is just
slot guy, right, and it steals somewhere closer probably the
Cooks than the Fuller as far as another deep guy. Yeah,
home run here, that's that's actually a very good term.
I like it. So I do think Fuller is the
(29:34):
number one guy. And you know what I do worry
if this is another Smith shoes the situation and what
I mean by that is the number one guy's gone.
Antonio Brown left the Steelers. I was worried, as you
many times that Smith Shooester wouldn't have the kind of
year because a sudden he's gonna face the number one cornerbacks.
He's gonna face. Safety's all over the top, he's gonna
face Defense is worried about him. We didn't get to
(29:54):
see that last year. He goes to the injury and
the fact that Steel has said no quarterback. On a tangent,
the two players that I constantly think about whose evaluations
were really important last year that got put that got
completely paused are Juju and Sam Donald. Because it's like,
all right, we gotta do this all over again. I
don't really know what happened last year. Everybody got hurt,
sick and had bad play around them. So it's like
(30:16):
a reset button. It is like, and you we'll see
what's gonna happen with Smith Schuster this year. Uh Donald,
iald Jets. I don't know what the Jets does. We'll
see what those two number one picks bringing a couple
of years. Nice tease for our for the next segment
with Brian Costello. I'm a professional, Mike, I'm a professional.
I've forgotten about the segment move up right. But that
(30:36):
being said, I do think that this they wide receive.
A group of the Texans is a solid Groupie you
look at this. I just wonder this, all right, this
is good news for Fuller. What separates Hi from Smith
Schuster is that Steels didn't have a lot else going
up Beside Smith Schuster right Washington at that time, wasn't
anybody all that great? The Texans do have other options.
(30:58):
You might see a defense go you know what, full
is good, but I don't want Cook's blowing the top
off and getting you know, seven yard touchdown. Can't have that.
Let's put the stay at the other top here. We'll
keep one on one on one and Fuller. It is
the old theory, you know, death by a thousand paper
cuts rather than the big job gunshot wound. So I
wondered that plays into it as well. Cobb could be
a threat. He's mentioned Stills can be a threat to
if you're going forward wide receiver set more guys to
(31:19):
worry about here. So I do think as long as
full I could stay healthy, he'll have a good season.
The problem is when you play the old overrunder game,
he's averaging six and a half games missed the season.
What's the overrundown games? He plays eleven eleven and a
half in a sixteen game season, and I would stink
if he missed another quarter of the season, If he
(31:40):
played like eleven or twelve games out of sixteen, that
that would not be what I'm looking for. But because
his injuries have been nagging to It's not like he's fine.
After the four games are over, He's probably gonna come
back hurt. You know. That's that's what you're worried about. Anyway,
draft will Fuller he heard it here first. If he
gets hurt, don't say I didn't tell you as possible. Uh.
(32:01):
Next one, Ralph Acciano from s n Y reports um
that Joe Judge said tight end Evan Ingram has been
out on the field doing some work. Obviously he wasn't
placed on pup but Judge said basically quote, we'll see
on how quickly he'll be ready to go. Full good
news is he's not on the pup list. He can
get out there. He's not gonna be a six game
(32:23):
start to him, be on the on the pup or
the I R or whatever. And here he is Liz
Frank injury though big, bigger player. Obviously those can be
tough to heal. But whenever a player, whenever a coach
is not effusive with praise, as I said earlier about
somebody at this time of year, I'm concerned. Yeah, once again,
(32:45):
what did I say? Well, when do I get worried
when I hear negativity. Anything that's negative, I get concerned here.
Uh Evani Gram was a guy I believe in, Mike.
I believe in the talent. That's what I should say.
I think the talent is there. I think the Giants
are gonna have to throw a ton the season to
stay in games. Here. I mean that they're not a
good team. They're gonna have to throw the ball. There's
plenty of all can they passing to go around? It's bad?
(33:09):
I granted Nate Soldier just left. Maybe you're gonna get
Daniel Jones killed this year. We'll see what happens there.
But he's another guy can't stay on the field, you know,
And I wonder this, you know, I just just came
to my mind. Dear Fantasy football, if you thinking about
drafting any of these, but Will Fuller comes in mind
here as well. Should you be staying away from guys
(33:29):
that get hurt all the time? Because I don't know
what the rules are going to be in your league.
But if you don't, if we only played twelve weeks
this season, we don't get to the playoffs, your league
might have a rule where we switched to a points league,
which you need points. I don't know if I want
to have a god guys on my team. They get
hurt all the time. Time I missed, you know, weeks
four through eight, and I'm counting on the return for
the Fantasy playoffs, but there might not be a Fantasy
(33:49):
playoffs this year. Yeah, I mean that those are complications
which you're gonna have to work out with your commissioner
potentially calling this if the season gets called to have
a certain amount of games played. Um, as well as
adding at least one extra I L spot or I
R spot, however you'd like to phrase it. I think
you have to make it unlimited this year. Um. That
(34:12):
gets dicey though, because it really eliminates strategy. I think
you do have to have at least a couple of
slots though, for guys that are on the COVID list.
So anyway, Evan Ingram's first three seasons he played eleven
He played fifteen games eleven games, eight games, so he
missed half the season. Last year, he caught sixty four
passes forty five passes forty four passes. His yards per
(34:34):
catch have come down each year. He's got a total
of twelve touchdowns, so obviously they're gonna come down when
he's playing less games. So that's the impact of those
numbers there. I'm not waiting around anymore, dude, Like sometimes
you gotta cut bait on guys, and I think Everan
Ingram is a guy that I'm cutting bait on. I'd
rather have Golden Tate or Sterling Shepherd this year and
(34:57):
in years to come, Georgian. I'll come back with Brian
Costello The New York Post to talk about the Jamal
Adam Street 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 welcome back to Football
(35:23):
Full Circle and with us today we have Brian Costello
The New York Post. He's the New York Jets beat
writer for the Post and appears on w f A
n in New York regularly. First of all, Brian, thanks
for being on the show. And secondly, it's obviously been
a really big week for the Jets. They are in
the news in the NFL in a really interesting way.
(35:46):
Trading off one of their biggest assets for quite a haul. Yeah,
it's been quite a week. I expected some quiet days
leading into training camp, but they didn't get them. Um.
You know, obviously, you can even go back a week
and a half when stuff came out about Woody Johnson
overseas and the allegations against him, and then Jamal Adams
was forcing his way to the town and he got
(36:07):
his wish on Saturday afternoon. You know, obviously it's been
a story all offseason about what the Jets we're gonna
do with Jamal and whether they were going to give
him extension or not. Then it became whether they were
going to trade him or not. On for me, you know,
I just I never thought they'd get the package that
they got from Seattle, So I thought they probably wouldn't
would you know, have to wait a while to trade,
and maybe even to the deadline in October to get
(36:29):
a deal that they liked. So I was just stunned,
you know when I saw that what they got for him,
and I think, um, you know that that made it
a deal that they really couldn't say no to. Yeah, Brian,
I don't think anybody could argue that the Jets got
a good package in return. I'm curious, as far as
you know, deeed Adams force his way out? Did that?
(36:49):
Did him roasting the team? Really? Uh? Move this along?
It was this work? Do you think this was in
the works for some time now? Uh? Well, he's been
roasting the team for some time. So in terms of
like what he said that article last week about Adam Gates,
the deal was done before that, the deal was agreed
to from what I understand, they've been talking for a
few weeks. The initial offer was not as great as
(37:09):
what they got at sometime the week before the trade
was made, Seattle offered the second first round pick, and
that's when the Jets were like, Okay, this is something
we really have to consider here. And you know, hard
to turn down two first round picks and the player
they get a player that can they plug into McDougal
and the third round pick. So, but the salary cap
(37:31):
was still in flux, so for see, from Seattle's perspective,
they wanted to sign if they're gonna sign them off
to a contract, which it sounds like next year they
might do that. They wanted to know what the two
one salary cap would look like, because remember there were
reports out there that the cap could drop by seventy
million dollars and things like that. So when the cap
got settled Friday afternoon, they agreed to it. Um, that's
(37:53):
when this deal kind of came together, and you know,
they ironed things out on Saturday and made the deal.
So in a way, he shot, he's just shot his
way out of town because he if he had never
made waves through May in June, they wouldn't even consider
trading him. But it wasn't like what he said Friday
about Adam Gates was like the final straw. They had
agreed to this deal before that article even came out. Well,
(38:15):
my thing is, I was surprised Seattle didn't come back
after that article came out and said, no, I think
we're gonna pull on that first round picks, because why
don't you guys bring this to training camp Tuesday and
see how that goes. Like Seattle had some leverage there
that I don't think they really used, and the Jets
to be thanking them for that, I tend to agree.
He sort of rolled the grenade into the middle of
the locker at the Seattle said, no, no problem, we
(38:38):
can deal with it, so and uh so again as
Brian Costello of The New York Post. You find him
on Twitter at Brian kas ceo Z. And to recap
the hall that we're talking about, Jamal Adams and a
fourth round pick in two go to Seattle. Seattle brings
back to the Jets. Trades back to the Jets. Bradley McDougald,
who is a safety that can plug in right away,
(39:00):
but it's in the final year of his contract. First
round pick in third round pick in the first round
pick in so quite a bit. It's obviously um official
now that the physicals, as you stated on Twitter, officially
official with physicals having being passed. But you know, I
thought it was really pointing at what you wrote in
thinking your three major thoughts that came from this situation,
(39:24):
that the word that you said you kept coming back
to was that it was sad. Jets fans love Jamal Adams.
He played great, he was a he's the he's the
one of the Frankly, I wouldn't call it rare, but
he's one of the guys that returned an extremely high
draft pick and value. Yeah, I'd call it rare. I mean,
look at the last ten years that there's not there's
(39:45):
not a guys on this team that they drafted. It
worked out, um, you know, so he yeah, And I
just think back to like when they drafted him and
the story was, oh, you know, he fell to the Jets.
No one thought he'd be there, you know, which happens
a lot. But they were very excited. I mean, they
were genuinely excited when they got Jamal Adams and they
felt like, not only would he be a great player,
(40:07):
he'd be a culture changer. And you know the Jets,
the Jets have tried to change culture plenty over the
last ten years and it never seems to work. And
they felt like this was the guy that was going
to do this. And he really embraced the Jets and
Jets fans and all that stuff at first. So to
see him go out like this just torching the organization,
the fans really not feeling, you know, hating him, and
(40:30):
a lot of stuff on social media. It's just it
made me sad, Like it makes me. It makes me
sad when you think about it. It's like you just, um,
how did it get to this point? And you know,
we talked about the hall. It's a good trade, you
know for the Jets and what they got, But it
should have never gotten to that point. They should just
you know, just you wonder how how it got to
this point and where things went wrong between him and
(40:52):
the Jets. Right, I have uh two point question, I
really one for each team here. Were you surprised that
the Seahoaks didn't have a contract ready for Adds to
resign them? Are they sort of making the same mistake
he at the Cowboys are made with the Marie Cooper
where now the players gonna have all the leverage. But
his contract does come up with a few years to
get really whatever contract he wants. And also why didn't
(41:15):
the Jets view that Jamal Adams was worth a long
term contract? Is it because he plays safety and some
teams don't view that as an important position. Why didn't
Adams get the deal he wanted from the New York Jets? Yeah,
So from the Seattle perspective, it's kind of weird. It's
become a trend now where these teams make these trades
without deals. Like I I remember the Jets were in
the Khalil Mac discussion for that trade back then, and
(41:37):
I remember thinking and writing like this is tough because
the team has to give up draft picks and they
have to give him a big contract, so it's like
a big commitment. But now we've seen you know, you
mentioned to Mari Cooper, but Jalen Ramsey got traded without
a contract. Laramie Counsel got traded without a contract, and
then Council has cashed in, you know, getting I was
twenty two million dollars a year or something like that
in the contract by himself too, So you're right, they've
(42:00):
got leverage. Jamal has leverage with this thing now because
they gave up two first round picks. So it's a
strange decision to me. Why these teams are doing this.
I can't really figure out why. I mean, it's resulted
and we're getting a lot more star players traded, which
is kind of fun for the league, but it's a
weird trend. As far as the Jets, I think their
thing was, um, you know, when you draft a player,
(42:23):
you feel like you have them on a cost control
contract if they're in the case of a first round
pick for five years, but at least four, and I
think they would have done until next year with Jamal.
They looked at it as there was there's only three
defensive players who's gotten a contract after their third year,
J J. Watt, Luke Keickley and then Myles Garrett just
became the third since the cb A went to effect
(42:44):
in two thousand eleven. So they was kind of saying, well,
this is kind of, you know, not a precedent. We
want to set here where defensive players get this after
three years. Now. They might feel differently next year with
Sam Donald if he has a good year, to give
him a contract after three years. But I do think
they were kind of hung up that um. And then
when uh, the pandemic hit. I do think that's part
(43:06):
of this is that teams don't know what the financial
future looks like and they weren't going to commit to
a long term contract to a guy um with that.
But the bigger deal to me was I think the
Jets felt like, you know, we drafted you with you know,
within mind that we're gonna at least four years of
you at a low price, the fifth year options a
little bit higher. Um, but you know, they didn't want
(43:27):
to do a deal after just three years. Right, So
there's two major questions I want to ask. I'll go
in the way of Joe Douglas first, because in your
second article regarding this, it was really a Joe Douglas
interview where he was going through the paces of this trade,
and he was very specific in saying that there was
(43:47):
no contract discussed with Jamal and his team. George and
I had reviewed Jamal adams comments, taking them as such
in that he felt like he was promised and then
it was take and off the table. It's got to
be impossible for you to really sit through that, but
they're just add odds as to what happened there. Yeah,
(44:08):
so yeah, Basically, Jamal says he was promised the contract
offer and the Jets say they never promised him a
contract to offer. Um, you know, you gotta in my job,
you kind of have to evaluate what people tell you
and try to use logic and see if it makes sense.
And to me, I don't know why the Jets would
promise him a contract offer. That's what I keep coming
back to. I don't know why any general manager on
(44:29):
any team would promise a player or contract offer. There's
no need to give him a contract offer. I think
it's just about to say that unless it's ready, don't
say anything about it. I think Patrick Mahomes might be
an exception to that rule. Like after in the glow
of the Super Bowl in the locker room, Brett each
might have said, Hey, we're gonna pay you like and
I get that, but not you understand the time it
makes no sense. Why would general manager ever say that.
(44:50):
I don't think Jamal is lying necessarily. I think what
happens is the GM talks to the agent, the agent
talks to the player. It's a little bit of a
game of telephone, you know. I think maybe the message
got a little misconstrued. I also think Joe Douglas said
some things publicly that I took as a contract offer
was coming, and maybe Jamal did too. When he when
you say I wanted to be a Jet for life
(45:10):
in February, I can understand the player thinking, Okay, I'm
going to get a contract he wants me to be
Like now, Joe Douglas would say, well, I never said
that meant a contract now, like I could that come
in a contract next year? So and then he said
right before the draft, he said that they were going
to have discussions with his agent after the draft. Again,
that to me says, okay, we're gonna start talking about
(45:32):
a contract. So I understand maybe we're Jamal got that misconstrued,
but I do. I don't think the Jets ever promised
him a contract extension. You know, Brian's part of this train.
We all know the Jets got two number ones, number three.
How about Bradley McDougald. When I talk about no one's
really talking about Bradley. What kind of players the Jets
get here? Yeah, I think they got a solid starter,
(45:54):
you know, from everything I've talked to people about. Um,
you know, he had a really good game I guess
against the Eagles in the playoffs. I've heard, and you know,
he's consistent starter for the seat for Seattle for a
couple of years, and obviously they have a good team,
so he's he can be a starter. And we talked,
actually talked to him on a Zoom call today and
he seems like a you know, a pretty energetic guy.
He's enthusiastic about being with the Jets. Uh, they're the
(46:17):
Jets are excited to have him. They think he's gonna
be good in the locker room. He's got a good
reputation as a team guy, so you know, and Greg
Williams will figure out a way to use them. You know,
a lot of pressures on Greg now to make this
all work without Jamal um, But I think the Jets
are are genuinely excited to have McDougald on the team.
And he's not gonna be Jamal Adams, but I think
there they feel like he can be a good starter
for them. Now, I didn't intend to bury the lead,
(46:39):
but the article that you wrote almost immediately after the
trade was white Jets players won't be shedding tears over
Jamal Adams ending. So is it because they felt it
was going to be a distraction. He seems to be
a likable player as certainly amongst fans and potentially his teammates.
So can you explain a little bit more about what
that meant. I think all guys have guys that liked
(47:02):
them and don't like them. And I'm not saying Jamal
wasn't liked by everyone in the locker room. There are people.
There were people who Jamal rubbed the wrong way. Two
years ago, at the end of the season, you might
remember he gave a speech after the last game where
he thought the Jets needed more dogs in their locker
room and basically the insinuation was there weren't good players
on the team around and he was the only good
(47:22):
player on the team, you know, and and some of
the players were upset with that. And then last year
at the trade deadline, um, it was pretty well known
that he was trying to push his way to Dallas,
that he was calling players um on the Cowboys, saying
get me there, bring me there. That didn't sit well.
And after the trade deadline when he blew up, he
said to us the media said, I'd love to be
(47:42):
a Cowboy. I grew up in Dallas. And you know,
a few players said to me, like, you really say that,
Like you know, so there was a player. Yeah, he
rubbed them the wrong way with that stuff. And you
know he was a bit of he was a lot
about himself. Um, So you know, I think and then
all this stuff all spring and ripping the team on
social media and print. I don't think that's that well
(48:04):
with a lot of guys. So you know, there are
guys who are gonna be upset you while I was gone.
He's a very very good player. They know that, but
I didn't. I don't think it's it's like these locker
rooms going to be beside themselves if they traded Jamal
Adams bro We have less than a minute left here,
A little quick question for you. Let's have a little funny.
We have sports gread we we may like to make
a wager or two here. If you had to set
(48:25):
the over under on how many NFL games are played
this year? What would you said of that over underfferent
games played? I probably go, mmm, like twelve and a half.
That's pretty good. That's pretty good. I think that's my number.
Pretty good. I'll take it well is. Brian Costello is
(48:45):
the New York Jets beat writer for The New York Post,
and he appears on w f A and regularly find
him on Twitter at Brian Coz at c o Z Brian.
Thanks for Johnny as We'll talk to you again soon,
no problem. Thanks for having me, guys. Sports grid dot
(49:11):
com betting insides 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 m M. You're watching sports green, Get on the
(49:43):
back on the grid quick segment here to close out
this hour. Just got done talking with Brian Costello. Great
job there, he of the New York Post talking about
Jamal Adams and the fallout there. So George, now, now
the Jets mission is clear. If it wasn't already, there's
one guy on the team that matters. Now there were two.
(50:07):
Now there's one. You want to throw Quentin Williams on there,
go for it. And now, sorry, Denzel Mims, forget the rookies.
They matter. I don't know how good they are yet.
But if they're all great and Sam stinks, then it
doesn't matter. So really, one guy matters. It is often
the case with NFL teams that one guy matters, because
(50:30):
that's how you're building a franchise. But that's it. They've
stripped it all down, and Joe Douglas did a good
job getting him some assets he can work with. Denzel Mims.
He signed a whole bunch of offensive linemen, some of
whom are just guys out there. But give me your
thoughts were the Jet set now this is just a
good move. Are they pointed in a better direction now
(50:51):
than they were two weeks ago? Is it a good move? Well,
if you weren't going to sign him long term, then
this is a very good move. You got value one
one of three and at the very least, uh a
serviceable safety in McDougald. At the very least he might
even be a little better than that. I'm not saying
he's an all pro or anything like that, but he's
a solid safety. So you did well, assuming you make
(51:12):
good draft choice picks, which remains to be seen here,
but you're absolutely right now you need to make that
definitive decision on Sam Donald. Is he the man? If
he's not, then everything has to stop and scratch again.
That being said, if it's not nailed down, it gets traded. Right,
you fee looking to anybody you can now who's not
nailed down doing what the Miami Dontlins did last year.
You're not going to compete this year. You're pretty much
(51:33):
announced that by training Jamal outstand and even trying to
compete this year. So if you could trade Levan Bell
at the deadline for anything, he goes, you don't want
him anyway. He goes, Peaman goes, crowd, it goes anybody.
We go Herndon and Griffith. Someone's looking for a tight end.
Goes sameything with defensive players. I would start anybody that's
not nailed down. You truly don't believe it was a
part of your future, should be moved for pretty much anything.
(51:57):
As this is last year in New York. Whether he wants,
whether he likes it or not, he's out of here.
The Jets total is six and a half minus one
to the under, so not a lot of juice yet.
Um Is there a positive effect with Jamal Adams leaving
because his teammates didn't like him. I don't see it.
You got your top five draft pick next next April.
(52:21):
The schedule was brutal even before they get rid of Adams. Yeah,
I don't. I don't think he's an impact of wind
total all that much. They get to pay Marcus may
now though, his counterparts, so that's a good thing. Thanks
for watching this our football full circle on the half
of Brian Rokowski and George Kurtz on Mike Blewett. Thanks
for watching sports grid dot com Betting insights and entertainment
at your fingertips as our team covers the most important
(52:44):
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. The Rocket Mortgage Super
Bowl Square sweep Steaks is bad, and we're kicking off
the action again with the largest official game of Super
Bowl Squares ever. Here's the play by play. There's millions
(53:08):
of dollars in prizes and a bunch of lucky fans
are gonna win big. Every single score change will draw
one lucky winner from the square to win fifty thousand dollars.
That meets touchdowns, field goals, extra point safeties, even a
two point conversion is a winner. Fifty g s plus
to grand prize winners will win a half million dollars
(53:29):
they could use towards their dream home. There's one way
to enter, two ways to win, and zero reasons not
to play. See rules and get in the game for
free at Rocket Mortgage squares dot com. Rocket Mortgage official
mortgage sponsor of Super Bowl fift. You purchase necessary legal
residence in the fifty U, S and DC a age
of majority as eleven eleven, twenty two, equal housing letter
(53:51):
licensed alfifty states and the last number thirty. The NFL
Antacies have not offered a sponsor this promotion in any way.
Look for your children's eyes and you will discover the
true magic of a forest. Find a forest near you
and start exploring it. Discover the Forest dot org brought
to you by the United States Forest Service and the
AD Council. What girls in the forest, our imagination, and
(54:15):
our family bonds. The forest is closer than you think.
Find a forest near you and discover the Forest dot org.
Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and
the AD Council.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.