March 15, 2025 • 45 mins
Colin’s top takes of the week!
First, he’s joined by Jason Timpf, host of “Hoops Tonight” to break down all things NBA!
They discuss whether Luka Doncic could end up being a defensive liability, or whether the move to LA could motivate and rejuvenate him after questions of his physical fitness were a major part of the Mavericks moving him (2:45).
They break down why Jayson Tatum will never be a true “face of the league” due to both his personality and his lack of one true A+ trait on the court (7:00). They debate whether Nikola Jokic or SGA is more deserving of the MVP award and Colin argues that SGA has been more valuable despite Jokic being more productive (12:45).
They marvel at the Warriors resurgence after the Jimmy Butler trade and try to identify who the toughest opponent would be for Golden State in the postseason (19:00)
Then, Colin’s joined by Danny Parkins, host of “Breakfast Ball” on FS1!
They start by discussing the constant back and forth of Aaron Rodgers trying to decide between the Steelers and Giants and debate the pros and cons of each destination (32:00).
They try to predict who the most “interesting” teams will be in the 2025 season. Colin lands on the Bears, Chiefs, Packers, and Patriots. Danny offers Colin some pushback on his picks and highlights the Commanders as the most interesting team (39:00)
Finally, they discuss whether Jayden Daniels can make the jump to a top 5 quarterback in the league and win the NFC (46:30).
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
All right, busy NBA docket, A lot to talk about.
Jason Timp, host of Hoops tonight. You know, it's funny.
I saw a piece of video, so I had said
on the Luca trade, I would never have traded him,
but if he gave me three firsts Ad and Austin Rivers,
I'd sleep on it. And I said that because I've
(00:30):
always said Luca is a much better Carmelo. I never
think he's in great shape. I don't know. I think
he sometimes takes the ball a lot of teammate's hands,
and you know, I don't think and I love Luca,
but I saw when Luca first arrived in Los Angeles,
he looked Puffy hadn't played since December. He's never beguen
(00:51):
in great shape. But my take was La gets you
in better shape. The lifestyle is different and Lebron and
the pressure, you know, to kind of impress Lebron. You
can see Steph showing off with Jimmy Butler, Lebron's kind
of showing.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Off with Luca.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I mean, that's just it's it's ego.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's fun.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
You finally got your match and the players. I mean,
Steph is more efficient Lebron's playing with an energy of
a twenty seven year old. So, but somebody pointed this
out to me yesterday because I watched the entire game.
They said, look at the energy of Jason Tatum on
both ends of the floor, and Luca has bad stretches
(01:27):
like right now, like he has these four or five
minutes or longer moments on the floor And you're like, bro,
you're just you're a negative right now, like you're you're
just getting beat off the ball. And do you think
this is something Luca because you're not in your head,
you're seeing it too. Does Luca play himself into better
shape or did Dallas with their concerns about these consistent
(01:49):
calf injuries about not being in shape and lifestyle. Do
you think we're getting eighty percent in Los Angeles of
Luca that some of the videos on the internet that
show him three years ago, it was Tomahawk in it,
and you're like, not really quite what I see?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Now?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
What is your take on where Luca's at and where
he'll end up as a Laker.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
So that's a tough game for under any circumstances to
go on the road in Boston. A Boston team that's
had some disappointing losses at home this year yea, and
was kind of itching for they were itching for a
signature win, Like the Celtics really wanted that one. I mean,
you could tell the level of intensity they brought right
from the opening tip. It's a tough game under any circumstances.
(02:31):
Luca is not yet back into his peak shape. It's
gonna take a little while to get there. I actually
think it'll be somewhat there's a little bit of a
blessing in disguise with the Lebron injury, because Lebron has
been going full bore since like mid January, and it
was kind of inevitable that there'd be some sort of
nagging thing that would arise over the course of this stretch.
(02:53):
And I actually think it'll be pretty nice for Lebron
to get like a month off here, a couple of
weeks off here, just to take a little break before
the post season. That'll get more time for Luca to
really lean into usage, to really lean into having the
ball in his hands and build his rhythm back. That said,
like this goes back to the Dallas Series. The Dallas
Series is a different type of challenge the Dallas Boston
(03:14):
series in the finals, it was a different type of
challenge because Boston had all sorts of dudes that they
could help off of. They were putting chrisops Porzingis onto PJ.
Washington and Derek Jones Junior and leaving him under the basket.
The Lakers will be able to create more space for him,
but he wasn't even getting past Jalen Brown for the
most part last night, Like just one on one, Jalen
Brown had him in clamps and was bringing a ton
(03:36):
of physicality, And like, there's this kind of recurring theme
I've seen ogn Andobi did a little bit on Thursday night.
I don't know if you caught the Knicks game, it
was kind of a little bit similar in that game.
All the way back to the second round series with
Oklahoma City last year, lou Dort gave Lucas some issues.
Lucas struggles with the really big and strong forwards that
can guard, and so there's a little mini challenge here.
(03:58):
If the Lakers are going to be able to defeat
team like Boston in the finals, Luca is going to
have to overcome the Jalen Brown problem. But as far
as the big picture goes he's twenty five years old.
He's playing alongside one of the greatest work ethic dudes
you're going to meet in the league, one of the
greatest take care of your body type of dudes that
you see in the league. I think Luca is going
to get to a level of better conditioning. That said,
I don't think he's going to be the dude who
(04:19):
had like seventeen dunks in his rookie year. I think
those shit that I think that ship might have sailed.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You know, I say this often on the show, that
there's a real gap in them in what fans view
as hate and what I view as contextualization. So every
time I talk about Jason Tatum, I always say he's great.
He's a great player. He's a top eight player in
the league.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
I'm not.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
I don't believe he's top three. I trust Sja offensively more.
I trust Jokic is all around better. I trust Jannis
defensively more. I think Luca at his best is a better,
more natural offensive player. Hell, if you gave me one
quarter to win it all game seven, I take Lebron
over Jason Tatum. I actually would. But he's a great player.
(04:59):
He's going to be a Hall of He's a nice kid.
But I've said this, there are games where I'm like,
where is he? Is he on the floor? Now, this
was not one of them. He was terrific. And I've
watched him now play live three or four times. I
get to the arena early, he's the first guy on
the floor. But it is interesting people get very upset
about this, and I've said this. In the Olympics, when
(05:20):
you're playing with the world's best players, he was a
coach's decision do not play against Serbia, and he had
two in the gold medal game, and that Lebron and
Steph flourished in those games. So there are players that
sometimes are around great players. Lebron was like this very
early in his first Olympics. He was like, finally it
opened up more of Lebron. And then there are players
(05:42):
that actually love playing within a system. I think Jason
is one of those players. I think his god, his
DNA is he's a teammate, you know, he likes being
part of a collective. He chose Duke so he could
play with other great players. Right Like chef's key makes
you play defense. He was there with the you know
(06:04):
Grayson Allen, Luke Cannard, if I'm remembering right, Like, so,
my take is, I think he's a star. I think
the NBA's only ever had three true faces of the league, Magic,
Michael Lebron. I think Bird was a reluctant because he
was conjoined with Magic. He was face of the league,
but Magic was the face of the league. He he
(06:25):
loved it. You know, French Lick, Indiana pimples on the face,
Grumpy Larry Bird didn't feel face of the league, but
you know you joined him at the hit with Magic.
And it's like Okay and Shaq and Kobe. I think
you could argue as a pair or face of the
league for several years. Duncan never was a team, never was.
Karl Malone never was. So what do you make of
kind of my criticism of Tatum. It's not a criticism.
(06:48):
It's more like, listen, in any one time, the NBA
has two faces or one face of the league, two
global stars and about fifteen other stars Carmelo Anthony guys,
is that unrealist to say?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
No?
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I mean, I heard your rant about Jason Tatum, and
frankly like, there is truth to the fact that Tatum
lacks like the traditional NBA aura, right, Like, he's a
good dunker, but he's not Vince Carter. He's a good shooter,
but he's not Kevin Durant. He's big and strong, but
he's not Lebron. He's a good playmaker, but he's not
(07:24):
Luka Doncic. He's a good defender, but he's not what
Kawhi Leonard was in his prime. And he doesn't really
have a very big personality. So like it's really hard
to like put together, you know, something specific about Jason
Tatum to like market really well as far as like
face of the league type of stuff that said, like
he's really good at all of those things. Yes, and
(07:48):
so he's become like just by virtue of him being
a jack of all trades, he's become one of the
most useful players in the entire NBA. This is kind
of in the interesting trajectory of Jason Tatum's career. If
you go back in early years in like eighteen nineteen twenty,
in those years, Tatum was like projected to be one
of the best shooting forwards in the league. He had
some unbelievable jump shooting seasons during that stretch. Then what
(08:12):
happened was is he started to bulk up and he
got really big and strong, and it greatly improved his
defensive versatility. He improved as a playmaker. But in that
stretch twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, twenty three, twenty four,
his jump shot fell apart and became super unreliable, to
the point where it was like, sometimes it goes in,
sometimes it doesn't. All fifty in a playoff game. He'll
(08:33):
have seventeen in a playoff game, you know, Like it
became one of those things where he couldn't rely on
the jump shot. Honestly, I think the Team USA situation
right off of the heels of last year's playoff run,
as he shot very poorly in the playoffs on jump
shots and then he shot what over sixteen with Team USA.
I think he got humiliated and spent the entire summer
in the gym, and he's added like a reliable jump
(08:56):
shot to the Swiss army knife that he already was.
And now it's one of those things where, like I
agree with you, I think Jokic is better, I think
Giannis is better, I think Shay's better, I think Luka
Doncic is better. I think if you asked like league
average role players alongside all those players, I think Tatum
is behind those guys. But I do think he's closer
to that tier or in that tier at the bottom
(09:19):
as opposed to the next set of guys, Like when
you look at the next set of guys, like I
think Tatum brings more on a night in, night out
basis than Anthony Davis does. I think Tatum brings more
on a night in, night out basis than that next
tier guys, Kevin Durant, Lebron, James Stephka. I think he
deserves credit for being like a foundational, like reliable, you
(09:39):
can count on this dude type of superstar. But I
also think everything you said regarding he does not have
a flash point in his skill set, there's nothing like that.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
There's nothing.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
You can close your eyes.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
I've said this, and I can think of like five
Michael plays, six Lebron plays a bunch of magic bird.
You close your eyes with Tatum and you're like, it's
like Karl Malone. I don't have a Karl Malone play.
I don't have a Duncan play. There is something about
the persona the aora, the imagery that is face of
the league. Okay, So I watch most of the Nuggets
Thunder game. I missed the first quarter, but Shaye went
(10:14):
off for forty. Of course, this week Jokic had a
you know, a thirty twenty twenty plus game, right it's
I think it was the first time ever in league
history to somebody to do that. So I love Jokic.
I thought he should have won three straight embid was
sort of gifted one. But I'll tell you why. I
would give it to Sga, I'd give it to Shaye.
So I've said this on many occasions.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Words matter. You can get in.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Trouble for the wrong word, but you have to watch
the words. It's most valuable. Now, production is a huge
component to value, right, Like valuable is I mean, I
always say this, Moms are usually the most valuable person
in the house. Dad may make more, the kids may
have a brighter future. Mom's the MVP, she's the glue,
(11:00):
and she's super productive, right Like, at least in my house,
mom was the most valuable player dad. My dad was
the local optometrist. He paid the bills. So Jokic, you
can argue, is more productive. Okay, but he's playing with
Gordon Porter, Jamal Murray and a coach that's got a
(11:22):
ring thanks to Jokich SGA, and this is about fifteen
percent of it.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
As a better defender.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
SGA plays with a roster that is so young it
only averages one year older than the Auburn Tigers roster.
So he is playing with kids, and that matters. They're
still figuring out how to play basketball. Not to mention
chat Homekin, you know has been out for a while.
I mean you can argue outside of Shade, nobody else
(11:50):
on that roster none of their best offensive players have
even hit their prime yet. So and that's one of
the reasons I worry about them in the playoffs winning
big road games with young roster. So based on the
fact that his production isn't Jokic, but it's damn good.
He's a better defender, he's carrying a younger roster and
didn't have Homeworn for a spell, I would narrowly give
(12:15):
Shae the MVP.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
What say you?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
So?
Speaker 4 (12:18):
I actually think Shay has a decent sized lead. It
really let's just get to the foundational piece of the case.
He's twelve games ahead of Denver in the standings twelve.
That's an enormous gap between those two teams, and so
when you start to make a case for Jokic, it
needs to be overwhelming. And there are some things with
(12:40):
Yokic that I think are realities. I think Jokic is
a better basketball player than shake Yildas alexand same. I
think Denver would fall apart more than OKC would fall
apart if the two players were removed. But that's never
been the way that we've given MVP. It's never been
sheer value in a vacuum. It's never been who's the
guy that we think is the best player for a
(13:01):
sixteen win playoff front right, That's never been the way
we've done it. It's always been a combination of a
bunch of factors, team success, your individual value, like your
reputation in the league. There's always been a narrative element
that's regardless of how we want to pretend like it
should be factored in, it does get factored in. There's narrative,
there's momentum, there's all of that kind of stuff. It's
kind of like the Jokis thirty twenty twenty game. It's like,
(13:23):
we're here, we are two thirds of the way through
the season, Jokis puts together a stat line that's never
happened in NBA history. Hey, let's revisit this thing. Even
though the thunder have been consistently a better basketball team
this year, I think two things. One, Shay's having a
much better offensive season than people are giving him credit for.
You mentioned the youth. The youth for the Thunder manifests
(13:43):
an inconsistency. Ja Dubb is an incredible player. He is
what twenty two or he's young. He's super inconsistent, chet
incredible player. He's young, He's gonna make mistakes. He's not
a guy that's super dependable night and night out. He's
got two twenty something percent from three in the series
against Dallas last year. Shaye is the grown up in
(14:04):
the room. Shae is the night to night guy. So
many of these games break down for the Thunder against
good teams in particular, So many of these games break
down where it looks like every single Thunder player is
uncomfortable and a little bit like a little bit like
like kind of shying away from the moment. Yeah and Shae,
and Shae has to grab the reins and like control
(14:25):
things and like as Chet's been out of the lineup
a bunch this year. As Jay Dubb has had a
down shooting season and he's coming on as of late,
but he's had a down shooting season. Shay's been carrying
him through that. Shae has been the guy that has
lifted their elite defense to the point where they can
win games, and so I think he deserves more credit
than that. The second piece of it is a reality
with Denver. Denver has lost a lot of games this
(14:48):
year because they can't guard oh and Jokic, for the record,
in the twenty twenty three postseason, had a very good
playoff run. Defensively, he is capable of having good moments
on defense. However, there's a simple reality with Jokic that
causes a lot of problems for Denver's defense. He cannot
(15:09):
switch onto perimeter players and he can't play on his
heels back at the rim because guys just jump right
over him and go around him. That forces Jokic to
come out to the level of ball screens and put
two on the ball. So Denver persistently exists in rotation.
They persistently exist in four on threes. That's how the
(15:31):
Suns score on them so easily. That's how the Lakers
scored on them so easily. That is the problem that
they consistently run into is Jokic has to come up
to the level. When he comes up to the level,
it's a simple pocket passer skip pass, and they're playing
four on three out of it. And they just haven't
been very good defensively this year on the back line
rotating out of it, and so they just haven't been
as good. Their defense is bad. Jokic is a significant
(15:54):
part of that. I think that gets factored into this debate.
And so when I really look at it in the
big picture, there's not enough for Yo Kitsch, even though
I think he's having an unbelievable season, arguably the best
offensive season ever. But if you look at it, it's
not enough to justify that twelve game gap in the standings,
and then to tie things up, Shade just drop forty
on him today as a.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Now I think we're on the same page.
I thought a month before it happened, I said, Warriors
just get Jimmy Butler. I don't care what analytics say,
Stephi sleepwalking, And I remember saying Butler's the anti Wiggins,
like every possession is intentional, totally intense, everything's a street fight.
(16:38):
I always thought Wiggins was talented, a little passive, you know,
you didn't know possession of possession.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
If he was engaged.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I think we talked about this last time, so I
thought Butler would be a big help. It is amazing
there were eleven and two since Jimmy Butler arrived. What's
interesting now, if you start looking at their playoff position,
they could end up against Houston, which I think is
that rem scenario for Golden State because Houston can't shoot,
Like that's the team you.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Want to play.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
A young team that struggles shooting, you can beat Golden State.
You know, they don't have a ton of offensive firepower
from the perimeter outside of Steph Pods a little bit.
But when you watch the Warriors, it's really interesting. Oklahoma
City again, this tremendous defensive team, but I don't trust them. Okay,
(17:27):
see in a big road playoff game, they're too young.
I think Golden State has a lower ceiling but an
incredibly high floor. And I think outside of maybe at Cleveland,
Boston could go seven games with almost anybody. Is is
there a team let's just look ahead. Is there a
team the Warriors would not want to face in the
(17:48):
West and the playoffs that you just don't think is
a good matchup at all. Well, that's an interesting question,
because Dallas, if healthy, would be tough with gaffordly ad
their center rotations great, They're a big team, and I
could see that team slowing it down and being just
(18:08):
a handful for the Warriors. But I think they're gonna
go into a soft tank here and just keep everybody out.
I don't think it's a terrible idea. So Minnesota, if
they had the Twin Towers, you know, if they had
Cat and go Bear, could be problematic. But I sort
of look at the West, I'm like, I don't know,
is there a.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Team I think they're gonna get out of the plane.
It's been really fascinating just how immediately good they've been,
and it's been kind of like a kind of a
proof of concept for me about roster balance. Just like,
no matter what you're doing, if you ever ask somebody
to do too much, they're gonna be inefficient, they're gonna
start making mistakes. And there were so many role players
for that team that were being asked to do so
(18:47):
much more than they're doing now because there was no Jimmy,
and Jimmy's come in and just like crystallize everyone's roles
and everyone just has consistent minutes in the rotation now
and everything's coming together for them, they're gonna get out
of the plane. In my opinion, if that's the case,
it's the team that I would want to face if
I was. Golden State is a team that they can
load up on defensively, and so I think a team
(19:09):
like Denver, if they got the six to three matchup
against a team like Denver, that'd be good. Memphis is
another team like that that is a poor spot up
team that they could load the paint up on. The
other thing, I like we talked about earlier with being
able to bring Yokic up to the level, Steph is
that guy. Steph is the guy that will consistently get
Denver's defense into rotation, and now they have Jimmy Butler
(19:29):
to be the guy that kind of helps pay off
those sequences, as he's been so good in the middle
of the floor this year. I think, yeah, I would
lean towards if I was the problem with the Lakers
is Lebron and Luca will just hunt their small guards
all day long in space, and I think that that
could be a problem for them. And the Laker defense,
like we talked about earlier, is keyed up on the
ability to help off of people, and there are a
(19:51):
couple guys for Golden State that they feel like they
can help off of. So I think Denver if they
got into that sixth spot, I'd be looking at if
Denver slipped to the three as a potential matchup that
they could upset. Houston and Memphis, to me, are both gettable.
I look at it as I don't know about how
you feel, Colin, but I think there's a five team
inner circle. I think it's Boston and Cleveland out east,
(20:13):
and I think it's ok See, Denver and the Lakers
out west. I think those five teams are the like
if those five teams are the teams that have substantial
chances to win the championship. Behind that, all of those
teams I think are pretty heavily flawed. Golden State has
been really good since the Jimmy Butler trade, but they've
played a relatively light schedule, so I'd like to see
(20:33):
a little bit more before I decide where they kind
of fit into all of this. Like the Lakers before
they beat before they lost to Boston, they beat fourteen
straight five hundred or better teams like that. That's how
good the Lakers were playing before that Celtics game. I'm
not going to bail on them because they flew across
the country after a bunch of after a brutal schedule.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
In the middle game and missing two of their longest layers.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Yeah yeah, two vitally important starters their vertical space and
Jackson hat Like how often did you see Jared Vanderbilt
catch the ball under the basket yesterday with no idea
what to do because you can't finish over anybody like that.
That's the thing. I kind of have a feeling that
the Lakers are one of the inner circle teams because
I've just seen them be so good for so long
against so many good teams. I want to see a
(21:17):
little bit more like from Golden State, because I do
think they can enter into that group. But I just
want to see a little bit more from them. But
I think between Denver and LA I'd want to play
Denver if I was then.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Who's scoring big in the NBA?
Speaker 5 (21:30):
This season.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
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Speaker 2 (22:50):
Danny Parkins co host breakfast Ball, the winner of the
mythical FS one NFL Picks Championship. It should be noted
it's just like the USA today High School Basketball Championship.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
It's all mythical, so let's not go crazy on this ship.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
It is definitely true that I only made it a
competition between you, me and Nick once I started to
crush it and distance myself off the field.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
Yeah, so you.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Know, going into next year, if I start four and nine,
you know, it's just luck. But when I'm crushing it,
it's skilled. And you guys are in a competition you
didn't even know you had entered.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yeah, I had no idea.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, so I thought it was interesting today where Adam
Schefter was almost annoyed with Aaron Rodgers where he came
out and said pick a team.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
So I said this.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
On the air to day, if you ever tell a
corporation listen, I need more time all get back to you.
You have to have the self awareness to know how
that lands to the corporation, especially if you're in a
valuable position. It's a big fu. You're literally going back thinking, Eh,
(24:09):
what a what a prima donna?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
What a?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
And it's where I usually tend to think really smart
people have excellent self awareness. And I wonder sometimes with Aaron,
is he the rare smart dude doesn't read the room well?
I mean he he goes on this darkness retreat in
Green Bay and then is shocked when they're like take
a hike, like how can you be shot?
Speaker 5 (24:33):
But here's the thing with Rogers, and there's a lot
of it.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
He talks a lot, but do we believe anything he says,
Like what do you mean he said he didn't have
cell service? Like He's like, he's like, oh, like, can
you live in Malibu and I at twenty five million
dollar house you have cell service? Like?
Speaker 5 (24:56):
It was just I think that he has a lot.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Of narcissism to him, and he's like I love the silence,
and then he brought a film.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Crew, Like what do these things are just in conflict
with each other? I just you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I think that he is a so I don't know
that he knows exactly what he wants. And I think
he loves attention, and I think that he told Mark
Schlareth and Stink has told the story publicly. He did
like a week sixteen or seventeen Jets game, and he
stinks that that they talk for almost thirty minutes twenty
(25:31):
something was about the running game because Stink's insane, and
he was like five or ten minutes was about his future.
And he's like Aaron told me point Blake, like, I'm
only going to keep playing if the situation is perfect.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
Well now apparently it's down to the Steelers and the
Giants imperfect am perfect now at least the Steelers to me,
makes perfect sense. That all makes perfect sense. He loves
Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin loves him. Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Apparently it's impossible for this guy to have a losing season.
Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Duck Hodges, it doesn't
matter it's impossible for this guy to have a losing season,
So obviously you're hyper relevant. The fans care. You'll look
good in the iconic jersey. You'll get to play against
(26:22):
Joe Burrow, You'll play against Lamar Jackson. The AFC North
plays the NFC North this year, so the Steelers host
the Packers, they go to Chicago. Aaron will eat that
shit up like that. To me, that makes sense. He
can have an expectation of playing in a playoff game
and maybe winning a playoff game that Tomlin hasn't done
(26:42):
since twenty sixteen. They're not going to win a super Bowl,
but that makes sense. If he goes back and he
plays for the Giants. It's just pure vanity.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
It's just pure I want to Okay, So I'm gonna
argue because this was a discussion to on the show,
and I said, because I've moved so many times that
I get a yellow padout person cons and I said,
I'm gonna be Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I don't have to move.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
I get an offensive coach, I get neighbors and a
really good left tackle, and I'm gonna have more juice
in the building because the coach and the GM are
getting fired, or they had lost Nausee Harris in their
left tackle. They're completely toned aft offense. I'm old and
don't want to get hit, and they haven't had a
good line for seven years. I'll have really no power
(27:34):
in the building, and I'm going to have two guys
that are both going to demand the ball and neither
one runs a complete route tree. I can make an
argument selfishly, like every time I've ever thought about moving,
My take is, who is my Spengali in the building?
Will somebody get me? Brian Dabeles worked with Daniel Jones,
(27:56):
He's worked with Josh Allen. Brian Dables been around forever.
Man Jeanie calls him one of the best assistance he's
ever known. Like, you go into a building with a
guy you can literally be on the same wavelength. I mean,
Arthur Smith does not appear to be likable and Mike
Tomlin does not appear to care about offense, and you
got two receivers who want to be ones. I look
(28:17):
at Pittsburgh and think this is a powder.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
Kick to two things. One I could be wrong. I
obviously don't know the man. I don't think he cares
about moving.
Speaker 7 (28:31):
He'll like, come on, he travels to Tahiti in Thailand,
and he lived for fifteen years in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and.
Speaker 5 (28:42):
You know he'll be fine for eight months in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I have a hard time believing that that is going
to be a determining factor for him. Maybe I'm wrong,
but I just I think he'll be fine. He's a
very well traveled individual. He'll have as much power in
the offensive side as he wants. Who knows, maybe he'll
fire Arthur Smith and they'll hire Nathaniel Hackett like he
(29:07):
is the offensive coordinator in and of himself. I think
he loves Tomlin. I think that they've flirted with each other.
They wink at each other on the sideline. He shouts
him out when he does the McAfee interviews. I think
he's got a respect for him. Conspiracy theory. McAfee today
retweeted a video of Rogers talking about Tomlin from like
(29:30):
twenty twenty one. I think it's happening. I think it's happening.
I think he's going to announce it on that show.
McAfee is a Pittsburgh guy, or a Pennsylvania guy, whatever
he is. He's doing some show in Pittsburgh coming out soon.
He's going it big night act. I don't fully understand
the McAfee universe, but like I think Rogers, who's apparently
(29:52):
making seven figures from the guy, which is amazing, good
gig if you can get it. I think he's announcing
that he's going to Pittsburgh with McAfee at his show
in Pittsburgh, and he's a Steeler.
Speaker 5 (30:02):
That's what I think's happened, all right, And.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
You're probably right.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
I'm just telling you the stuff that matters to me,
which is, don't have to worry about moving left tackle,
offensive coach, great weapon, and I'm going to have power
in the building. I'll get a say in the building.
Where do you think he wins more football games.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Pittsburgh?
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yeah, so I guess okay, And this would be the
other thing I wanted to say to you. And this
is like a like developing more as my media career
continues to just get older or whatever.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
I root for interesting powder keg great, awesome.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
It is so much more interesting if Aaron Rodgers is
in Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin. That you know what point,
Like I've said it, I had our guys work up
a photoshop of him in a Steelers uniform the day
the season ended.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
Like, to me, it's made. Obviously.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
If Minnesota wants him, that's a better situation obviously. So
I see him holding I can see him holding out
for that. I think they're going to go JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
We'll see. But and the Steelers would be on national
TV six times.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
They would be hyper relevant and hyper interesting, good or bad,
good or bad.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
So I am if.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
He's going to play and we're going to talk about
him and he's gonna suck all the oxygen out of
a room, I would much rather him do it on
a ten or eleven win team than a five or
a six win team.
Speaker 5 (31:30):
So I'm personally am rooting for Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah, it's it's interesting, you and I both. That's you know.
I like fresh produce. I'm a chef. Just give me
the best ingredients. That's all I care about.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Jmack last year, before the season said Chicago's the most
interesting team, and they were early until they were just
you know, obviously bad, and then by week like ten,
you're like, okay, they're not interesting. Let's let's think about
this the three most teams next year. So I think
this year the Bears are really interesting because if Caleb
(32:08):
struggles again, he may not be the guy.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
In fact, he's probably not so rookie quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
I never think the team is too interesting because it's
going to be ugly and you can't make any stern judgments,
like obviously Jane Daniels is terrific, He's Lamar Jackson, NFC,
it's over.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
We don't have to argue about that.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
So I think Chicago is my most interesting team.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Well, then let's get those weekly hits on the TV
show going Buddy, Let's go Chicago.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Okay, let me think about it. Let me think about
this for a second.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
I mean, I think Washington's pretty high on the list.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I I will say this, I think Kansas City pulling
back for a year because the offensive line is absolutely
in flux. They're left tackle has never been a starting
left tackle. It's like boys, That's honestly like having a
Bentley and finding the cheapest insurance on.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
The market for it.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
It's like, no, just just call progressive or something. Okay,
let's not go discount insurance. So I think Kansas City.
I predicted the Niners in Dallas would pull back last
this year.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
They did.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I'm gonna say Kansas City is gonna pull back for
a year. Their offensive line is in flux. I mean,
if this kid from San Francisco to left tackle doesn't move. Also,
Joe Tooney may have been the most had more dexterity
than any offensive lineman in the.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
League last year.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
He's gone. So Chicago Kansas City are fascinating. How about
this Green Bay? I loved Jordan Love last year gave
me pop What if Jordan Love struggles this year?
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Like?
Speaker 2 (34:06):
What if it's God's ears? Chicago's better, Detroit's really good.
As long as Kevin O'Connell's coaching Minnesota, they're viable. I
I like, I really like Jordan Love. And then there
were times I watched them last year and I'm like, oh,
I don't know if the coaching staff right now.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
Trust Jordan Love. Like I'm not sure they do.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
So I'm gonna go Chicago, Kansas City, Green Bay and
and and we'll do four. I'm going to say, And
I don't know how interesting they'll be. I think New
England Vrabel Drake may A basically a thirty percent new roster.
I do think they'll get Travis Hunter. I think that's
going to be a pretty damn interesting team. Those are
(34:50):
my four Bears, Chiefs, Packers, Patriots.
Speaker 5 (34:52):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Let's revisit this after the draft, because I'm not at
all convinced that the guy that the Chiefs paid is
for sure the left tackle. I think it's for sure
the left tackle now, But I could see them this
is the last year of Kelsey.
Speaker 5 (35:10):
He's made it clear. We don't know how much more
Chris Jones has in him.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Obviously, Mahomes is going to be there and Reed will
be there and they're going to be good for a
long time. But I could see the Chiefs trading up
in the first round for a tackle. I could see
that happening, or a tight end or a tight end. Yes,
I just think I could see a big draft day
(35:34):
move for the Chiefs to try to inject a blue
chip offensive player. So you know where should door Sanders goes?
How far he falls? Is Dion Sanders like coach and
waiting like that. Sanders fall to twenty one and he
(35:55):
goes to Pittsburgh and he goes to Mike Tomlin and
he sits behind Aaron Rodgers, then they're really damn interesting.
Or does he go to the Giants, and it feels
like a mortal lock that Brian Davile gets fired and
they hired Dion Sanders. Pretty damn interesting either way. So
I think that we're going to change a little bit
(36:16):
of this out of the draft. I loved what Urban
Meyer said on your show. By the way side note
parenthetical on Travis Hunter. If you believe cam Ward is
a superstar, then cam Ward's the number one pick in
the draft. If you have any doubt, then clearly Travis
Hunter is the number one pick in the draft in
(36:36):
my opinion, because it's just a value proposition, Like if
you think he can be a Pro Bowl corner, well
that's twenty five million a year. And if he can
also be a slot receiver, well that's fifteen million a year,
even if he's a slot receiver for twelve snaps a game.
(36:57):
So I love it, and so I think wherever Travis Hunter,
his team immediately becomes interesting. But we's remove the draft
from it to get back to your point. Obviously, I'm
with you on the Bears. I think the Chiefs in
an all in situation is a great pick. The thing
that I don't agree with on the New England point
is is that all the guys, the guys that they
(37:18):
added are new but not terribly interesting. And while I
love Drake May, I think he looks like Justin Herbert.
To me, I was disappointed that they didn't figure out
a way to get him a number one.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
He has nobody to throw the ball to.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
And yeah, even if the line is better and Morgan
Moses upgrades their left tackle situation, no doubt, Rabel, they
spent all that money on like.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
Colin Davis and Spillane and Milton Williams.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
And I'm like, man, help your quarterback with a rocket arm, please,
Like I know, God who went back to Tampa. They
can't help. I know the Bengals franchise tagged t Higgins
can't help that. You couldn't beat the fifty eighth pick
for DK Metcalf like Cooper Cuff. Better be a patriot,
(38:12):
like do something to help out Drake May in terms
of pass catchers, because he has nothing in that regard.
So to me, they need some weapon to totally get there.
And Green Bay is just not new enough, like everyone's
back Watson Dobbs wis read. They're so young, you know,
they're so young that there's just not a lot of
(38:35):
turnover there to make them all that interesting. Though, I'm
definitely rooting against Jordan Love and the Packers in general,
just like the Chicago in in me.
Speaker 5 (38:44):
Kind to think who you left out, So I think Washington.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
The reason I said Washington while you were thinking about
it is I think Jaden Daniel said the best rookie
quarterback season of my lifetime.
Speaker 5 (38:56):
Yes, no, I think it.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Was better than Herbert who set the top Stown record,
better than Andrew Luck three, Cam.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Newton, especially if you look at his third down and
fourth quarter numbers. It's in their Joe Montana his eleventh
year in the league, they let.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
They led the league in fourth down conversions. Fourth with
a rookie quarterback, they led the league. It was it
was remarkable. And then he won playoff. He went to
the NFC Championship game. But the guys who've had amazing
rookie seasons recently, justin Herbert, it's been up and down.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
C J.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Stroud this past year he won another playoff game. I
don't think it was all his fault. He was staring
at the sky so much as offensive line as the disaster,
Diggs got hurt, tanked, all got hurt. Nico Collins got
hurt at various points, but C. J. Stroud did not
take another step from his rookie year. Well, we could
say plateaued. If Jaden Daniels takes another step like the
(40:02):
year two in the system, year two in the league jump, well,
then he's gonna win MVP. He's that he will win
m VP like Mahomes won m VP his second year
in the league, like Lamar Jackson won m VP his
third year in the league, second year in a system,
like he will he will be the MVP of the league.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
Well, also, if he's great, not dinner rup, but if
he's great again, then we have found our top five quarterbacks. Mahomes, Allen,
Lamar Burrow, Jaden because we all like Jalen Hurts, but
we're like, well, the line that I think it's.
Speaker 5 (40:36):
Ridiculous, I think it's ridiculous still I Eagles fans.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
Eagles fans kind of bothered me with this, But I
don't remember a time most of my life there have
been three great quarterbacks maybe four in the league, and
then it kind of peters out and to have five
first ballot level Hall of Fame talent. If j comes
out and even duplicates last year with much better players
(41:03):
around him. Then we've got five first ballot guy. And
by the way, now I'm moving because of his mobility.
I'm moving Stafford to sixth and he I believe he,
especially if he could get in that Super Bowl circle
again winn or lose, You're gonna have a hard time
keeping him.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
All I think Stafford, now that he has a ring,
is pretty I would be shocked if he's not a
Hall of Famer with where I mean.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Just think about this, He's not far from his prime.
Okay for him to be the sixth best quarterback in
the league, mostly because he doesn't move and the other
guys move. The NFL, like I've said this, we're in
the golden age of quarterbacking folks. Like if he's six,
if Herbert and Hurt.
Speaker 5 (41:48):
To seventh, forget about her, we are all time high.
By the way, do you have a line to Harbaugh?
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Can you like, yeah, can you tell him to throw
a little bit more?
Speaker 5 (41:59):
Please? Dude? Yeah, that's fair, that's fair. But you use
the Bentley analogy.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
I know that the winning went up, and I know
the passer rating was very good, and I know he
loves to run the ball? Can you just from the
Football Appreciation Society, don't my guy, well, my guy Justin
Herbert not be twenty sixth in the NFL and attempts
again or whatever he was.
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Please?
Speaker 2 (42:26):
Well they lost Palmer, so now they have Lad mcconky.
They need to tie it end in the first round
and a receiver in the third. Like it's one of
those things where and I've said this about Jim Harbaugh,
it's kind of fascinating. San Francisco had Michael Crabtree. It
was an online d line physicality. John Harbaugh is the
same way. What's the one thing the Ravens haven't had
(42:46):
wide receiver talent. They've always been a little shy the Harbaugh's.
It's their nature. He could have taken Michael Thomas, who
he loved, It took Joel It's who they are. Their
DNA is we want to intimidate you. We want to
physically like like listen, they let go of Mike Williams
and Keenan Allen. They kept mosting Khalil Mack. That was
very clear their day.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
I know, I just as a guy who loves Justin Herbert,
I want to see the guy throw a little bit more.
What were we just talking about. I'm sorry, I feel
like I lost my train of thought on Oh, but
so Jamey's but Washington, what Houston did off of C. J.
Stroud's rookie year was correct.
Speaker 5 (43:28):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
We have a quarterback. He turned our franchise around. We
won a playoff game. We have a ton of cap
space and a stud quarterback who we know we have
to pay on a cheap deal. Let's go all in
and Stefan Diggs was crazy expensive. Daniel Hunter was crazy expensive.
They paid Mixon like Mixon didn't really work.
Speaker 5 (43:50):
He was fine.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
It wasn't really his fault. The offensive line was a disaster.
Diggs was working, then got hurt. Daniel Hunter was fantastic.
Washington is in the exact same spot, and we've now
seen what they've done. Like they debo, we're going to
give Kingsbury and Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels, We're going
(44:11):
to give them a toy and see how it works.
We are going to trade a ton of capital for
one of the best pass blocking left tackles of his
generation to protect our investment. And then they paid kin
Law I think too much money. But they didn't want
to get too much weaker on the defensive line when
they lost Allen and they brought in kinl So maybe
(44:34):
they'll do one more trade or for a move or whatever,
but they're going to maintain Catholics. But we've seen their
moves Dtackle, left tackle, Deebo Samuel, plus what they had
in the draft.
Speaker 5 (44:46):
They're better and Philly got worse.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Now, Philly got worse by design and we know it,
and they should because they didn't want to pay Williams
one hundred million dollars so they could pay Jalen Carter
one hundred and fifty million dollars next year. Philly's top
ten players are still all excellent. They deserve to be
the favorite. But I think that what Jaden Daniels did
and like year two, does it plateau, does it go down?
Speaker 5 (45:10):
Does it go up?
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Because he's got way more talent and he should be
only more comfortable in the NFL. So of the to me,
they are very high on my list of interesting Danny Parkins.
This was fun as always. The volume
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
All right, busy NBA docket, A lot to talk about.
Jason Timp, host of Hoops tonight. You know, it's funny.
I saw a piece of video, so I had said
on the Luca trade, I would never have traded him,
but if he gave me three firsts Ad and Austin Rivers,
I'd sleep on it. And I said that because I've
(00:30):
always said Luca is a much better Carmelo. I never
think he's in great shape. I don't know. I think
he sometimes takes the ball a lot of teammate's hands,
and you know, I don't think and I love Luca,
but I saw when Luca first arrived in Los Angeles,
he looked Puffy hadn't played since December. He's never beguen
(00:51):
in great shape. But my take was La gets you
in better shape. The lifestyle is different and Lebron and
the pressure, you know, to kind of impress Lebron. You
can see Steph showing off with Jimmy Butler, Lebron's kind
of showing.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Off with Luca.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I mean, that's just it's it's ego.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's fun.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
You finally got your match and the players. I mean,
Steph is more efficient Lebron's playing with an energy of
a twenty seven year old. So, but somebody pointed this
out to me yesterday because I watched the entire game.
They said, look at the energy of Jason Tatum on
both ends of the floor, and Luca has bad stretches
(01:27):
like right now, like he has these four or five
minutes or longer moments on the floor And you're like, bro,
you're just you're a negative right now, like you're you're
just getting beat off the ball. And do you think
this is something Luca because you're not in your head,
you're seeing it too. Does Luca play himself into better
shape or did Dallas with their concerns about these consistent
(01:49):
calf injuries about not being in shape and lifestyle. Do
you think we're getting eighty percent in Los Angeles of
Luca that some of the videos on the internet that
show him three years ago, it was Tomahawk in it,
and you're like, not really quite what I see?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Now?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
What is your take on where Luca's at and where
he'll end up as a Laker.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
So that's a tough game for under any circumstances to
go on the road in Boston. A Boston team that's
had some disappointing losses at home this year yea, and
was kind of itching for they were itching for a
signature win, Like the Celtics really wanted that one. I mean,
you could tell the level of intensity they brought right
from the opening tip. It's a tough game under any circumstances.
(02:31):
Luca is not yet back into his peak shape. It's
gonna take a little while to get there. I actually
think it'll be somewhat there's a little bit of a
blessing in disguise with the Lebron injury, because Lebron has
been going full bore since like mid January, and it
was kind of inevitable that there'd be some sort of
nagging thing that would arise over the course of this stretch.
(02:53):
And I actually think it'll be pretty nice for Lebron
to get like a month off here, a couple of
weeks off here, just to take a little break before
the post season. That'll get more time for Luca to
really lean into usage, to really lean into having the
ball in his hands and build his rhythm back. That said,
like this goes back to the Dallas Series. The Dallas
Series is a different type of challenge the Dallas Boston
(03:14):
series in the finals, it was a different type of
challenge because Boston had all sorts of dudes that they
could help off of. They were putting chrisops Porzingis onto PJ.
Washington and Derek Jones Junior and leaving him under the basket.
The Lakers will be able to create more space for him,
but he wasn't even getting past Jalen Brown for the
most part last night, Like just one on one, Jalen
Brown had him in clamps and was bringing a ton
(03:36):
of physicality, And like, there's this kind of recurring theme
I've seen ogn Andobi did a little bit on Thursday night.
I don't know if you caught the Knicks game, it
was kind of a little bit similar in that game.
All the way back to the second round series with
Oklahoma City last year, lou Dort gave Lucas some issues.
Lucas struggles with the really big and strong forwards that
can guard, and so there's a little mini challenge here.
(03:58):
If the Lakers are going to be able to defeat
team like Boston in the finals, Luca is going to
have to overcome the Jalen Brown problem. But as far
as the big picture goes he's twenty five years old.
He's playing alongside one of the greatest work ethic dudes
you're going to meet in the league, one of the
greatest take care of your body type of dudes that
you see in the league. I think Luca is going
to get to a level of better conditioning. That said,
I don't think he's going to be the dude who
(04:19):
had like seventeen dunks in his rookie year. I think
those shit that I think that ship might have sailed.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You know, I say this often on the show, that
there's a real gap in them in what fans view
as hate and what I view as contextualization. So every
time I talk about Jason Tatum, I always say he's great.
He's a great player. He's a top eight player in
the league.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
I'm not.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
I don't believe he's top three. I trust Sja offensively more.
I trust Jokic is all around better. I trust Jannis
defensively more. I think Luca at his best is a better,
more natural offensive player. Hell, if you gave me one
quarter to win it all game seven, I take Lebron
over Jason Tatum. I actually would. But he's a great player.
(04:59):
He's going to be a Hall of He's a nice kid.
But I've said this, there are games where I'm like,
where is he? Is he on the floor? Now, this
was not one of them. He was terrific. And I've
watched him now play live three or four times. I
get to the arena early, he's the first guy on
the floor. But it is interesting people get very upset
about this, and I've said this. In the Olympics, when
(05:20):
you're playing with the world's best players, he was a
coach's decision do not play against Serbia, and he had
two in the gold medal game, and that Lebron and
Steph flourished in those games. So there are players that
sometimes are around great players. Lebron was like this very
early in his first Olympics. He was like, finally it
opened up more of Lebron. And then there are players
(05:42):
that actually love playing within a system. I think Jason
is one of those players. I think his god, his
DNA is he's a teammate, you know, he likes being
part of a collective. He chose Duke so he could
play with other great players. Right Like chef's key makes
you play defense. He was there with the you know
(06:04):
Grayson Allen, Luke Cannard, if I'm remembering right, Like, so,
my take is, I think he's a star. I think
the NBA's only ever had three true faces of the league, Magic,
Michael Lebron. I think Bird was a reluctant because he
was conjoined with Magic. He was face of the league,
but Magic was the face of the league. He he
(06:25):
loved it. You know, French Lick, Indiana pimples on the face,
Grumpy Larry Bird didn't feel face of the league, but
you know you joined him at the hit with Magic.
And it's like Okay and Shaq and Kobe. I think
you could argue as a pair or face of the
league for several years. Duncan never was a team, never was.
Karl Malone never was. So what do you make of
kind of my criticism of Tatum. It's not a criticism.
(06:48):
It's more like, listen, in any one time, the NBA
has two faces or one face of the league, two
global stars and about fifteen other stars Carmelo Anthony guys,
is that unrealist to say?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
No?
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I mean, I heard your rant about Jason Tatum, and
frankly like, there is truth to the fact that Tatum
lacks like the traditional NBA aura, right, Like, he's a
good dunker, but he's not Vince Carter. He's a good shooter,
but he's not Kevin Durant. He's big and strong, but
he's not Lebron. He's a good playmaker, but he's not
(07:24):
Luka Doncic. He's a good defender, but he's not what
Kawhi Leonard was in his prime. And he doesn't really
have a very big personality. So like it's really hard
to like put together, you know, something specific about Jason
Tatum to like market really well as far as like
face of the league type of stuff that said, like
he's really good at all of those things. Yes, and
(07:48):
so he's become like just by virtue of him being
a jack of all trades, he's become one of the
most useful players in the entire NBA. This is kind
of in the interesting trajectory of Jason Tatum's career. If
you go back in early years in like eighteen nineteen twenty,
in those years, Tatum was like projected to be one
of the best shooting forwards in the league. He had
some unbelievable jump shooting seasons during that stretch. Then what
(08:12):
happened was is he started to bulk up and he
got really big and strong, and it greatly improved his
defensive versatility. He improved as a playmaker. But in that
stretch twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, twenty three, twenty four,
his jump shot fell apart and became super unreliable, to
the point where it was like, sometimes it goes in,
sometimes it doesn't. All fifty in a playoff game. He'll
(08:33):
have seventeen in a playoff game, you know, Like it
became one of those things where he couldn't rely on
the jump shot. Honestly, I think the Team USA situation
right off of the heels of last year's playoff run,
as he shot very poorly in the playoffs on jump
shots and then he shot what over sixteen with Team USA.
I think he got humiliated and spent the entire summer
in the gym, and he's added like a reliable jump
(08:56):
shot to the Swiss army knife that he already was.
And now it's one of those things where, like I
agree with you, I think Jokic is better, I think
Giannis is better, I think Shay's better, I think Luka
Doncic is better. I think if you asked like league
average role players alongside all those players, I think Tatum
is behind those guys. But I do think he's closer
to that tier or in that tier at the bottom
(09:19):
as opposed to the next set of guys, Like when
you look at the next set of guys, like I
think Tatum brings more on a night in, night out
basis than Anthony Davis does. I think Tatum brings more
on a night in, night out basis than that next
tier guys, Kevin Durant, Lebron, James Stephka. I think he
deserves credit for being like a foundational, like reliable, you
(09:39):
can count on this dude type of superstar. But I
also think everything you said regarding he does not have
a flash point in his skill set, there's nothing like that.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
There's nothing.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
You can close your eyes.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
I've said this, and I can think of like five
Michael plays, six Lebron plays a bunch of magic bird.
You close your eyes with Tatum and you're like, it's
like Karl Malone. I don't have a Karl Malone play.
I don't have a Duncan play. There is something about
the persona the aora, the imagery that is face of
the league. Okay, So I watch most of the Nuggets
Thunder game. I missed the first quarter, but Shaye went
(10:14):
off for forty. Of course, this week Jokic had a
you know, a thirty twenty twenty plus game, right it's
I think it was the first time ever in league
history to somebody to do that. So I love Jokic.
I thought he should have won three straight embid was
sort of gifted one. But I'll tell you why. I
would give it to Sga, I'd give it to Shaye.
So I've said this on many occasions.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Words matter. You can get in.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Trouble for the wrong word, but you have to watch
the words. It's most valuable. Now, production is a huge
component to value, right, Like valuable is I mean, I
always say this, Moms are usually the most valuable person
in the house. Dad may make more, the kids may
have a brighter future. Mom's the MVP, she's the glue,
(11:00):
and she's super productive, right Like, at least in my house,
mom was the most valuable player dad. My dad was
the local optometrist. He paid the bills. So Jokic, you
can argue, is more productive. Okay, but he's playing with
Gordon Porter, Jamal Murray and a coach that's got a
(11:22):
ring thanks to Jokich SGA, and this is about fifteen
percent of it.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
As a better defender.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
SGA plays with a roster that is so young it
only averages one year older than the Auburn Tigers roster.
So he is playing with kids, and that matters. They're
still figuring out how to play basketball. Not to mention
chat Homekin, you know has been out for a while.
I mean you can argue outside of Shade, nobody else
(11:50):
on that roster none of their best offensive players have
even hit their prime yet. So and that's one of
the reasons I worry about them in the playoffs winning
big road games with young roster. So based on the
fact that his production isn't Jokic, but it's damn good.
He's a better defender, he's carrying a younger roster and
didn't have Homeworn for a spell, I would narrowly give
(12:15):
Shae the MVP.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
What say you?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
So?
Speaker 4 (12:18):
I actually think Shay has a decent sized lead. It
really let's just get to the foundational piece of the case.
He's twelve games ahead of Denver in the standings twelve.
That's an enormous gap between those two teams, and so
when you start to make a case for Jokic, it
needs to be overwhelming. And there are some things with
(12:40):
Yokic that I think are realities. I think Jokic is
a better basketball player than shake Yildas alexand same. I
think Denver would fall apart more than OKC would fall
apart if the two players were removed. But that's never
been the way that we've given MVP. It's never been
sheer value in a vacuum. It's never been who's the
guy that we think is the best player for a
(13:01):
sixteen win playoff front right, That's never been the way
we've done it. It's always been a combination of a
bunch of factors, team success, your individual value, like your
reputation in the league. There's always been a narrative element
that's regardless of how we want to pretend like it
should be factored in, it does get factored in. There's narrative,
there's momentum, there's all of that kind of stuff. It's
kind of like the Jokis thirty twenty twenty game. It's like,
(13:23):
we're here, we are two thirds of the way through
the season, Jokis puts together a stat line that's never
happened in NBA history. Hey, let's revisit this thing. Even
though the thunder have been consistently a better basketball team
this year, I think two things. One, Shay's having a
much better offensive season than people are giving him credit for.
You mentioned the youth. The youth for the Thunder manifests
(13:43):
an inconsistency. Ja Dubb is an incredible player. He is
what twenty two or he's young. He's super inconsistent, chet
incredible player. He's young, He's gonna make mistakes. He's not
a guy that's super dependable night and night out. He's
got two twenty something percent from three in the series
against Dallas last year. Shaye is the grown up in
(14:04):
the room. Shae is the night to night guy. So
many of these games break down for the Thunder against
good teams in particular, So many of these games break
down where it looks like every single Thunder player is
uncomfortable and a little bit like a little bit like
like kind of shying away from the moment. Yeah and Shae,
and Shae has to grab the reins and like control
(14:25):
things and like as Chet's been out of the lineup
a bunch this year. As Jay Dubb has had a
down shooting season and he's coming on as of late,
but he's had a down shooting season. Shay's been carrying
him through that. Shae has been the guy that has
lifted their elite defense to the point where they can
win games, and so I think he deserves more credit
than that. The second piece of it is a reality
with Denver. Denver has lost a lot of games this
(14:48):
year because they can't guard oh and Jokic, for the record,
in the twenty twenty three postseason, had a very good
playoff run. Defensively, he is capable of having good moments
on defense. However, there's a simple reality with Jokic that
causes a lot of problems for Denver's defense. He cannot
(15:09):
switch onto perimeter players and he can't play on his
heels back at the rim because guys just jump right
over him and go around him. That forces Jokic to
come out to the level of ball screens and put
two on the ball. So Denver persistently exists in rotation.
They persistently exist in four on threes. That's how the
(15:31):
Suns score on them so easily. That's how the Lakers
scored on them so easily. That is the problem that
they consistently run into is Jokic has to come up
to the level. When he comes up to the level,
it's a simple pocket passer skip pass, and they're playing
four on three out of it. And they just haven't
been very good defensively this year on the back line
rotating out of it, and so they just haven't been
as good. Their defense is bad. Jokic is a significant
(15:54):
part of that. I think that gets factored into this debate.
And so when I really look at it in the
big picture, there's not enough for Yo Kitsch, even though
I think he's having an unbelievable season, arguably the best
offensive season ever. But if you look at it, it's
not enough to justify that twelve game gap in the standings,
and then to tie things up, Shade just drop forty
on him today as a.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Now I think we're on the same page.
I thought a month before it happened, I said, Warriors
just get Jimmy Butler. I don't care what analytics say,
Stephi sleepwalking, And I remember saying Butler's the anti Wiggins,
like every possession is intentional, totally intense, everything's a street fight.
(16:38):
I always thought Wiggins was talented, a little passive, you know,
you didn't know possession of possession.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
If he was engaged.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I think we talked about this last time, so I
thought Butler would be a big help. It is amazing
there were eleven and two since Jimmy Butler arrived. What's
interesting now, if you start looking at their playoff position,
they could end up against Houston, which I think is
that rem scenario for Golden State because Houston can't shoot,
Like that's the team you.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Want to play.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
A young team that struggles shooting, you can beat Golden State.
You know, they don't have a ton of offensive firepower
from the perimeter outside of Steph Pods a little bit.
But when you watch the Warriors, it's really interesting. Oklahoma
City again, this tremendous defensive team, but I don't trust them. Okay,
(17:27):
see in a big road playoff game, they're too young.
I think Golden State has a lower ceiling but an
incredibly high floor. And I think outside of maybe at Cleveland,
Boston could go seven games with almost anybody. Is is
there a team let's just look ahead. Is there a
team the Warriors would not want to face in the
(17:48):
West and the playoffs that you just don't think is
a good matchup at all. Well, that's an interesting question,
because Dallas, if healthy, would be tough with gaffordly ad
their center rotations great, They're a big team, and I
could see that team slowing it down and being just
(18:08):
a handful for the Warriors. But I think they're gonna
go into a soft tank here and just keep everybody out.
I don't think it's a terrible idea. So Minnesota, if
they had the Twin Towers, you know, if they had
Cat and go Bear, could be problematic. But I sort
of look at the West, I'm like, I don't know,
is there a.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Team I think they're gonna get out of the plane.
It's been really fascinating just how immediately good they've been,
and it's been kind of like a kind of a
proof of concept for me about roster balance. Just like,
no matter what you're doing, if you ever ask somebody
to do too much, they're gonna be inefficient, they're gonna
start making mistakes. And there were so many role players
for that team that were being asked to do so
(18:47):
much more than they're doing now because there was no Jimmy,
and Jimmy's come in and just like crystallize everyone's roles
and everyone just has consistent minutes in the rotation now
and everything's coming together for them, they're gonna get out
of the plane. In my opinion, if that's the case,
it's the team that I would want to face if
I was. Golden State is a team that they can
load up on defensively, and so I think a team
(19:09):
like Denver, if they got the six to three matchup
against a team like Denver, that'd be good. Memphis is
another team like that that is a poor spot up
team that they could load the paint up on. The
other thing, I like we talked about earlier with being
able to bring Yokic up to the level, Steph is
that guy. Steph is the guy that will consistently get
Denver's defense into rotation, and now they have Jimmy Butler
(19:29):
to be the guy that kind of helps pay off
those sequences, as he's been so good in the middle
of the floor this year. I think, yeah, I would
lean towards if I was the problem with the Lakers
is Lebron and Luca will just hunt their small guards
all day long in space, and I think that that
could be a problem for them. And the Laker defense,
like we talked about earlier, is keyed up on the
ability to help off of people, and there are a
(19:51):
couple guys for Golden State that they feel like they
can help off of. So I think Denver if they
got into that sixth spot, I'd be looking at if
Denver slipped to the three as a potential matchup that
they could upset. Houston and Memphis, to me, are both gettable.
I look at it as I don't know about how
you feel, Colin, but I think there's a five team
inner circle. I think it's Boston and Cleveland out east,
(20:13):
and I think it's ok See, Denver and the Lakers
out west. I think those five teams are the like
if those five teams are the teams that have substantial
chances to win the championship. Behind that, all of those
teams I think are pretty heavily flawed. Golden State has
been really good since the Jimmy Butler trade, but they've
played a relatively light schedule, so I'd like to see
(20:33):
a little bit more before I decide where they kind
of fit into all of this. Like the Lakers before
they beat before they lost to Boston, they beat fourteen
straight five hundred or better teams like that. That's how
good the Lakers were playing before that Celtics game. I'm
not going to bail on them because they flew across
the country after a bunch of after a brutal schedule.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
In the middle game and missing two of their longest layers.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Yeah yeah, two vitally important starters their vertical space and
Jackson hat Like how often did you see Jared Vanderbilt
catch the ball under the basket yesterday with no idea
what to do because you can't finish over anybody like that.
That's the thing. I kind of have a feeling that
the Lakers are one of the inner circle teams because
I've just seen them be so good for so long
against so many good teams. I want to see a
(21:17):
little bit more like from Golden State, because I do
think they can enter into that group. But I just
want to see a little bit more from them. But
I think between Denver and LA I'd want to play
Denver if I was then.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Who's scoring big in the NBA?
Speaker 5 (21:30):
This season.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
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Speaker 5 (22:14):
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Speaker 2 (22:50):
Danny Parkins co host breakfast Ball, the winner of the
mythical FS one NFL Picks Championship. It should be noted
it's just like the USA today High School Basketball Championship.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
It's all mythical, so let's not go crazy on this ship.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
It is definitely true that I only made it a
competition between you, me and Nick once I started to
crush it and distance myself off the field.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
Yeah, so you.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Know, going into next year, if I start four and nine,
you know, it's just luck. But when I'm crushing it,
it's skilled. And you guys are in a competition you
didn't even know you had entered.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yeah, I had no idea.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, so I thought it was interesting today where Adam
Schefter was almost annoyed with Aaron Rodgers where he came
out and said pick a team.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
So I said this.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
On the air to day, if you ever tell a
corporation listen, I need more time all get back to you.
You have to have the self awareness to know how
that lands to the corporation, especially if you're in a
valuable position. It's a big fu. You're literally going back thinking, Eh,
(24:09):
what a what a prima donna?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
What a?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
And it's where I usually tend to think really smart
people have excellent self awareness. And I wonder sometimes with Aaron,
is he the rare smart dude doesn't read the room well?
I mean he he goes on this darkness retreat in
Green Bay and then is shocked when they're like take
a hike, like how can you be shot?
Speaker 5 (24:33):
But here's the thing with Rogers, and there's a lot
of it.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
He talks a lot, but do we believe anything he says,
Like what do you mean he said he didn't have
cell service? Like He's like, he's like, oh, like, can
you live in Malibu and I at twenty five million
dollar house you have cell service? Like?
Speaker 5 (24:56):
It was just I think that he has a lot.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Of narcissism to him, and he's like I love the silence,
and then he brought a film.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Crew, Like what do these things are just in conflict
with each other? I just you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I think that he is a so I don't know
that he knows exactly what he wants. And I think
he loves attention, and I think that he told Mark
Schlareth and Stink has told the story publicly. He did
like a week sixteen or seventeen Jets game, and he
stinks that that they talk for almost thirty minutes twenty
(25:31):
something was about the running game because Stink's insane, and
he was like five or ten minutes was about his future.
And he's like Aaron told me point Blake, like, I'm
only going to keep playing if the situation is perfect.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
Well now apparently it's down to the Steelers and the
Giants imperfect am perfect now at least the Steelers to me,
makes perfect sense. That all makes perfect sense. He loves
Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin loves him. Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Apparently it's impossible for this guy to have a losing season.
Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Duck Hodges, it doesn't
matter it's impossible for this guy to have a losing season,
So obviously you're hyper relevant. The fans care. You'll look
good in the iconic jersey. You'll get to play against
(26:22):
Joe Burrow, You'll play against Lamar Jackson. The AFC North
plays the NFC North this year, so the Steelers host
the Packers, they go to Chicago. Aaron will eat that
shit up like that. To me, that makes sense. He
can have an expectation of playing in a playoff game
and maybe winning a playoff game that Tomlin hasn't done
(26:42):
since twenty sixteen. They're not going to win a super Bowl,
but that makes sense. If he goes back and he
plays for the Giants. It's just pure vanity.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
It's just pure I want to Okay, So I'm gonna
argue because this was a discussion to on the show,
and I said, because I've moved so many times that
I get a yellow padout person cons and I said,
I'm gonna be Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I don't have to move.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
I get an offensive coach, I get neighbors and a
really good left tackle, and I'm gonna have more juice
in the building because the coach and the GM are
getting fired, or they had lost Nausee Harris in their
left tackle. They're completely toned aft offense. I'm old and
don't want to get hit, and they haven't had a
good line for seven years. I'll have really no power
(27:34):
in the building, and I'm going to have two guys
that are both going to demand the ball and neither
one runs a complete route tree. I can make an
argument selfishly, like every time I've ever thought about moving,
My take is, who is my Spengali in the building?
Will somebody get me? Brian Dabeles worked with Daniel Jones,
(27:56):
He's worked with Josh Allen. Brian Dables been around forever.
Man Jeanie calls him one of the best assistance he's
ever known. Like, you go into a building with a
guy you can literally be on the same wavelength. I mean,
Arthur Smith does not appear to be likable and Mike
Tomlin does not appear to care about offense, and you
got two receivers who want to be ones. I look
(28:17):
at Pittsburgh and think this is a powder.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
Kick to two things. One I could be wrong. I
obviously don't know the man. I don't think he cares
about moving.
Speaker 7 (28:31):
He'll like, come on, he travels to Tahiti in Thailand,
and he lived for fifteen years in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and.
Speaker 5 (28:42):
You know he'll be fine for eight months in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I have a hard time believing that that is going
to be a determining factor for him. Maybe I'm wrong,
but I just I think he'll be fine. He's a
very well traveled individual. He'll have as much power in
the offensive side as he wants. Who knows, maybe he'll
fire Arthur Smith and they'll hire Nathaniel Hackett like he
(29:07):
is the offensive coordinator in and of himself. I think
he loves Tomlin. I think that they've flirted with each other.
They wink at each other on the sideline. He shouts
him out when he does the McAfee interviews. I think
he's got a respect for him. Conspiracy theory. McAfee today
retweeted a video of Rogers talking about Tomlin from like
(29:30):
twenty twenty one. I think it's happening. I think it's happening.
I think he's going to announce it on that show.
McAfee is a Pittsburgh guy, or a Pennsylvania guy, whatever
he is. He's doing some show in Pittsburgh coming out soon.
He's going it big night act. I don't fully understand
the McAfee universe, but like I think Rogers, who's apparently
(29:52):
making seven figures from the guy, which is amazing, good
gig if you can get it. I think he's announcing
that he's going to Pittsburgh with McAfee at his show
in Pittsburgh, and he's a Steeler.
Speaker 5 (30:02):
That's what I think's happened, all right, And.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
You're probably right.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
I'm just telling you the stuff that matters to me,
which is, don't have to worry about moving left tackle,
offensive coach, great weapon, and I'm going to have power
in the building. I'll get a say in the building.
Where do you think he wins more football games.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Pittsburgh?
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yeah, so I guess okay, And this would be the
other thing I wanted to say to you. And this
is like a like developing more as my media career
continues to just get older or whatever.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
I root for interesting powder keg great, awesome.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
It is so much more interesting if Aaron Rodgers is
in Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin. That you know what point,
Like I've said it, I had our guys work up
a photoshop of him in a Steelers uniform the day
the season ended.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
Like, to me, it's made. Obviously.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
If Minnesota wants him, that's a better situation obviously. So
I see him holding I can see him holding out
for that. I think they're going to go JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
We'll see. But and the Steelers would be on national
TV six times.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
They would be hyper relevant and hyper interesting, good or bad,
good or bad.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
So I am if.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
He's going to play and we're going to talk about
him and he's gonna suck all the oxygen out of
a room, I would much rather him do it on
a ten or eleven win team than a five or
a six win team.
Speaker 5 (31:30):
So I'm personally am rooting for Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah, it's it's interesting, you and I both. That's you know.
I like fresh produce. I'm a chef. Just give me
the best ingredients. That's all I care about.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Jmack last year, before the season said Chicago's the most
interesting team, and they were early until they were just
you know, obviously bad, and then by week like ten,
you're like, okay, they're not interesting. Let's let's think about
this the three most teams next year. So I think
this year the Bears are really interesting because if Caleb
(32:08):
struggles again, he may not be the guy.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
In fact, he's probably not so rookie quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
I never think the team is too interesting because it's
going to be ugly and you can't make any stern judgments,
like obviously Jane Daniels is terrific, He's Lamar Jackson, NFC,
it's over.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
We don't have to argue about that.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
So I think Chicago is my most interesting team.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Well, then let's get those weekly hits on the TV
show going Buddy, Let's go Chicago.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Okay, let me think about it. Let me think about
this for a second.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
I mean, I think Washington's pretty high on the list.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I I will say this, I think Kansas City pulling
back for a year because the offensive line is absolutely
in flux. They're left tackle has never been a starting
left tackle. It's like boys, That's honestly like having a
Bentley and finding the cheapest insurance on.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
The market for it.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
It's like, no, just just call progressive or something. Okay,
let's not go discount insurance. So I think Kansas City.
I predicted the Niners in Dallas would pull back last
this year.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
They did.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I'm gonna say Kansas City is gonna pull back for
a year. Their offensive line is in flux. I mean,
if this kid from San Francisco to left tackle doesn't move. Also,
Joe Tooney may have been the most had more dexterity
than any offensive lineman in the.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
League last year.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
He's gone. So Chicago Kansas City are fascinating. How about
this Green Bay? I loved Jordan Love last year gave
me pop What if Jordan Love struggles this year?
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Like?
Speaker 2 (34:06):
What if it's God's ears? Chicago's better, Detroit's really good.
As long as Kevin O'Connell's coaching Minnesota, they're viable. I
I like, I really like Jordan Love. And then there
were times I watched them last year and I'm like, oh,
I don't know if the coaching staff right now.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
Trust Jordan Love. Like I'm not sure they do.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
So I'm gonna go Chicago, Kansas City, Green Bay and
and and we'll do four. I'm going to say, And
I don't know how interesting they'll be. I think New
England Vrabel Drake may A basically a thirty percent new roster.
I do think they'll get Travis Hunter. I think that's
going to be a pretty damn interesting team. Those are
(34:50):
my four Bears, Chiefs, Packers, Patriots.
Speaker 5 (34:52):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Let's revisit this after the draft, because I'm not at
all convinced that the guy that the Chiefs paid is
for sure the left tackle. I think it's for sure
the left tackle now, But I could see them this
is the last year of Kelsey.
Speaker 5 (35:10):
He's made it clear. We don't know how much more
Chris Jones has in him.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Obviously, Mahomes is going to be there and Reed will
be there and they're going to be good for a
long time. But I could see the Chiefs trading up
in the first round for a tackle. I could see
that happening, or a tight end or a tight end. Yes,
I just think I could see a big draft day
(35:34):
move for the Chiefs to try to inject a blue
chip offensive player. So you know where should door Sanders goes?
How far he falls? Is Dion Sanders like coach and
waiting like that. Sanders fall to twenty one and he
(35:55):
goes to Pittsburgh and he goes to Mike Tomlin and
he sits behind Aaron Rodgers, then they're really damn interesting.
Or does he go to the Giants, and it feels
like a mortal lock that Brian Davile gets fired and
they hired Dion Sanders. Pretty damn interesting either way. So
I think that we're going to change a little bit
(36:16):
of this out of the draft. I loved what Urban
Meyer said on your show. By the way side note
parenthetical on Travis Hunter. If you believe cam Ward is
a superstar, then cam Ward's the number one pick in
the draft. If you have any doubt, then clearly Travis
Hunter is the number one pick in the draft in
(36:36):
my opinion, because it's just a value proposition, Like if
you think he can be a Pro Bowl corner, well
that's twenty five million a year. And if he can
also be a slot receiver, well that's fifteen million a year,
even if he's a slot receiver for twelve snaps a game.
(36:57):
So I love it, and so I think wherever Travis Hunter,
his team immediately becomes interesting. But we's remove the draft
from it to get back to your point. Obviously, I'm
with you on the Bears. I think the Chiefs in
an all in situation is a great pick. The thing
that I don't agree with on the New England point
is is that all the guys, the guys that they
(37:18):
added are new but not terribly interesting. And while I
love Drake May, I think he looks like Justin Herbert.
To me, I was disappointed that they didn't figure out
a way to get him a number one.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
He has nobody to throw the ball to.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
And yeah, even if the line is better and Morgan
Moses upgrades their left tackle situation, no doubt, Rabel, they
spent all that money on like.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
Colin Davis and Spillane and Milton Williams.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
And I'm like, man, help your quarterback with a rocket arm, please,
Like I know, God who went back to Tampa. They
can't help. I know the Bengals franchise tagged t Higgins
can't help that. You couldn't beat the fifty eighth pick
for DK Metcalf like Cooper Cuff. Better be a patriot,
(38:12):
like do something to help out Drake May in terms
of pass catchers, because he has nothing in that regard.
So to me, they need some weapon to totally get there.
And Green Bay is just not new enough, like everyone's
back Watson Dobbs wis read. They're so young, you know,
they're so young that there's just not a lot of
(38:35):
turnover there to make them all that interesting. Though, I'm
definitely rooting against Jordan Love and the Packers in general,
just like the Chicago in in me.
Speaker 5 (38:44):
Kind to think who you left out, So I think Washington.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
The reason I said Washington while you were thinking about
it is I think Jaden Daniel said the best rookie
quarterback season of my lifetime.
Speaker 5 (38:56):
Yes, no, I think it.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Was better than Herbert who set the top Stown record,
better than Andrew Luck three, Cam.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Newton, especially if you look at his third down and
fourth quarter numbers. It's in their Joe Montana his eleventh
year in the league, they let.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
They led the league in fourth down conversions. Fourth with
a rookie quarterback, they led the league. It was it
was remarkable. And then he won playoff. He went to
the NFC Championship game. But the guys who've had amazing
rookie seasons recently, justin Herbert, it's been up and down.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
C J.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Stroud this past year he won another playoff game. I
don't think it was all his fault. He was staring
at the sky so much as offensive line as the disaster,
Diggs got hurt, tanked, all got hurt. Nico Collins got
hurt at various points, but C. J. Stroud did not
take another step from his rookie year. Well, we could
say plateaued. If Jaden Daniels takes another step like the
(40:02):
year two in the system, year two in the league jump, well,
then he's gonna win MVP. He's that he will win
m VP like Mahomes won m VP his second year
in the league, like Lamar Jackson won m VP his
third year in the league, second year in a system,
like he will he will be the MVP of the league.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
Well, also, if he's great, not dinner rup, but if
he's great again, then we have found our top five quarterbacks. Mahomes, Allen,
Lamar Burrow, Jaden because we all like Jalen Hurts, but
we're like, well, the line that I think it's.
Speaker 5 (40:36):
Ridiculous, I think it's ridiculous still I Eagles fans.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
Eagles fans kind of bothered me with this, But I
don't remember a time most of my life there have
been three great quarterbacks maybe four in the league, and
then it kind of peters out and to have five
first ballot level Hall of Fame talent. If j comes
out and even duplicates last year with much better players
(41:03):
around him. Then we've got five first ballot guy. And
by the way, now I'm moving because of his mobility.
I'm moving Stafford to sixth and he I believe he,
especially if he could get in that Super Bowl circle
again winn or lose, You're gonna have a hard time
keeping him.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
All I think Stafford, now that he has a ring,
is pretty I would be shocked if he's not a
Hall of Famer with where I mean.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Just think about this, He's not far from his prime.
Okay for him to be the sixth best quarterback in
the league, mostly because he doesn't move and the other
guys move. The NFL, like I've said this, we're in
the golden age of quarterbacking folks. Like if he's six,
if Herbert and Hurt.
Speaker 5 (41:48):
To seventh, forget about her, we are all time high.
By the way, do you have a line to Harbaugh?
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Can you like, yeah, can you tell him to throw
a little bit more?
Speaker 5 (41:59):
Please? Dude? Yeah, that's fair, that's fair. But you use
the Bentley analogy.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
I know that the winning went up, and I know
the passer rating was very good, and I know he
loves to run the ball? Can you just from the
Football Appreciation Society, don't my guy, well, my guy Justin
Herbert not be twenty sixth in the NFL and attempts
again or whatever he was.
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Please?
Speaker 2 (42:26):
Well they lost Palmer, so now they have Lad mcconky.
They need to tie it end in the first round
and a receiver in the third. Like it's one of
those things where and I've said this about Jim Harbaugh,
it's kind of fascinating. San Francisco had Michael Crabtree. It
was an online d line physicality. John Harbaugh is the
same way. What's the one thing the Ravens haven't had
(42:46):
wide receiver talent. They've always been a little shy the Harbaugh's.
It's their nature. He could have taken Michael Thomas, who
he loved, It took Joel It's who they are. Their
DNA is we want to intimidate you. We want to
physically like like listen, they let go of Mike Williams
and Keenan Allen. They kept mosting Khalil Mack. That was
very clear their day.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
I know, I just as a guy who loves Justin Herbert,
I want to see the guy throw a little bit more.
What were we just talking about. I'm sorry, I feel
like I lost my train of thought on Oh, but
so Jamey's but Washington, what Houston did off of C. J.
Stroud's rookie year was correct.
Speaker 5 (43:28):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
We have a quarterback. He turned our franchise around. We
won a playoff game. We have a ton of cap
space and a stud quarterback who we know we have
to pay on a cheap deal. Let's go all in
and Stefan Diggs was crazy expensive. Daniel Hunter was crazy expensive.
They paid Mixon like Mixon didn't really work.
Speaker 5 (43:50):
He was fine.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
It wasn't really his fault. The offensive line was a disaster.
Diggs was working, then got hurt. Daniel Hunter was fantastic.
Washington is in the exact same spot, and we've now
seen what they've done. Like they debo, we're going to
give Kingsbury and Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels, We're going
(44:11):
to give them a toy and see how it works.
We are going to trade a ton of capital for
one of the best pass blocking left tackles of his
generation to protect our investment. And then they paid kin
Law I think too much money. But they didn't want
to get too much weaker on the defensive line when
they lost Allen and they brought in kinl So maybe
(44:34):
they'll do one more trade or for a move or whatever,
but they're going to maintain Catholics. But we've seen their
moves Dtackle, left tackle, Deebo Samuel, plus what they had
in the draft.
Speaker 5 (44:46):
They're better and Philly got worse.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Now, Philly got worse by design and we know it,
and they should because they didn't want to pay Williams
one hundred million dollars so they could pay Jalen Carter
one hundred and fifty million dollars next year. Philly's top
ten players are still all excellent. They deserve to be
the favorite. But I think that what Jaden Daniels did
and like year two, does it plateau, does it go down?
Speaker 5 (45:10):
Does it go up?
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Because he's got way more talent and he should be
only more comfortable in the NFL. So of the to me,
they are very high on my list of interesting Danny Parkins.
This was fun as always. The volume
Host
Colin Cowherd
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