Secret Weapons For Every AFC Team

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Colleen Wolfe and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic to give you the secret weapon for ever AFC team. Each team gets their time, starting with the AFC West (01:45), followed by the AFC South (11:40), AFC North (29:55), and AFC East (40:20).

Note: time codes approximate. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're all just trying to
keep a few feet away.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
From Colleen Wolf.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
I'm sure, I'm fine.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
We're in the Chris Wesley podcast studio. I'm Greg Rosenthal
here with Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic, my friend.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
And Colleen Wolf. Connie Fox back in the studio.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Oh my god, Hi guy.

Speaker 4 (00:23):
Okay, so I just said moments ago I asked if
it was really hot in here.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
It feels extremely hot. Maybe I'm having a hot flash.

Speaker 4 (00:31):
Who knows what's going on, But you guys clearly feel
like it's totally.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Normal and fine.

Speaker 4 (00:36):
I feel like I'm about to break out in a sweat,
and I think maybe I actually already have.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
And your voice is a little husky, which I like
for the podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
But it's thanks Greg.

Speaker 4 (00:46):
It might be well, No, my asthma husband really bothering me,
and I forgot my inhaler at one of my other jobs.
So I haven't had it.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
One of your other jobs.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
Yeah, I only have two jobs.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Okay, tell us about it.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
Oh, Women's Sports Now on Roku every Thursday.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
That was a good way to do a plug.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
All right, Well, we'll just get going then to get
you out of here as quickly as possible. We're gonna
hit every single AFC team today, Jordan, and we're gonna
tell you the listeners what each team's secret weapons are.

Speaker 5 (01:21):
Secret web.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
That's a fun, fun idea. I love it.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
So we will put two minutes on the clock, We'll
hit two divisions, take a break. Maybe we'll hear a
little bit about Connie's trip to the forest for the
first time. Maybe after the break we'll hear a little
bit about Jordan's got a big feature that dropped today
on the Athletic.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
So I want to hear a little bit about that.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
But let's start with the AFC West, because we always
start with the East.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
It's like East Coast bias.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
We're gonna we're gonna go from the bottom of the
document up in the AFC West, which means we're gonna
start with my Las Vegas Raiders. Put two minutes on
the clock, and I was trying to think about a
secret weapon here, and I thought that Chip Kelly's personal
growth would be a good one. Now I want to
hear from you who experienced the Chip Kelly era Connie

(02:12):
in Philadelphia, where he just did not seem like he
could manage the personalities and the people around him. And
he had one idea of how he was going to
do an offense, and that was his idea. And I
think in all the years since, in different roles in college,
he's found a way to adapt that. I was listening
to him at the podium. He's in his sixties now.
I think he's gotten a little older, a little wiser.
I think he likes not being the head coach and

(02:33):
that way he can manage the people and the way
he talked about, well, you can't just have an offense.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
You have to make it work around the players that
you have.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
So we've seen him be run heavy, we've seen him
be pass heavy, We've seen him do all sorts of things.
I think he loves Geno and so I think he's
in a better position to make a difference in the
NFL now than when he was the head coach.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
And that started well beat.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
That makes me so happy for Gino first of all,
and this coaching staff in general. First of all, they
all look so much younger than their actual age. When
we're talking about pe Carroll chip Kelly does not look
like he's in his sixties.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
However, yes, you're right.

Speaker 4 (03:04):
I was in Philadelphia when he came to the Eagles,
and what a switch that was for everyone, not just
the players and the media, obviously for Howie Roseman as well,
who was banished from the front office essentially to like
a storage facility and then resurrected himself from the ashes

(03:26):
like the phoenix he is. But Chip Kelly, I remember
it was so controversial because he came in and he
was running practices and training camp so hard, and the
defense was like so gassed, especially like middle of the
year was done exactly. It said that time of possession
didn't matter. He was making all of these This was

(03:48):
the first time that I was hearing about smoothies, like
customizable smoothies. So maybe he was ahead of his time there,
but I think, yeah, now his time he has grown,
He's matured, and I think he kind of knows now
how to how to work the.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Team secret weapons. He's getting older. Next up, we are
going to talk Jordan about your Los Angeles Chargers.

Speaker 5 (04:11):
My Los Angeles charge Yeah, you know what, I think
that their secret weapon is keeping Jesse Mintor for another year. Now.
I know that's not like a shocking thing that they
were able to retain what's he looked like first, by
the way, wonder a lot of us knew.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
What before the shows starts, so we checked it out.
And he just looks like a very normal looking guy
who I bet gets told that he looks like a
lot of other people.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
I was ryot or something.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
I was really surprised.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
I didn't Bret like he looked like Brandon Staley too,
who also looks like a lot of.

Speaker 5 (04:40):
People, kind of an average looking at or like a
Greg Rosenthal who said claims he looks like a lot
of different people.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
I guess that I think I look I'm just like
an average looking people are like, just you just look
like Yeah, it's because I'm just like sort of an.

Speaker 5 (04:52):
You know what. It's ironic that we're going in this
direction in the start of my segment on Jesse Mentor
because he is the multiple things are true at the
same time defensive coordinator. I really like the way that
he thinks about defense. I like the way that he
thinks about staying multiple while keeping certain core principles and
fundamentals in place. There was some chatter and whispers already
starting through certain coaching circles that maybe he's going to

(05:15):
be a head coaching candidate in these next cycles, so
I think having continuity in the short term is really important.
This is a guy who plays with light boxes yet
still knows how to teach defense to stop the run,
which they did so at a league leading rate despite
almost leading the league in light box rate last year.
This is a guy who has move players all over
the defensive backfield. Derwin James was a master chess piece

(05:36):
last year for him and seemed to have a lot
of fun doing it. This is a guy who, despite
being in the middle of the league in pressure rate,
also they convert their pressure to sack. So lots of good,
fundamentally sound football being played under Jesse Minter, who, like
I said, keeping him for a second year despite the
fact that he is getting some starting to get some
chatter for a head coaching positions I think is significant

(05:59):
and I think he's a Charger secret weapon.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
Think how many times a guy landed in with the
Chargers last year and suddenly they looked way better. Tierre
Tart was an example. A couple guys who got paid elsewhere.
Dean Henley like a rookie player or a second year
player who got way better.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
These rookie like late.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
Round picks at cornerback did incredible and Jim Harbough weirdly
kind of got all the credit but should be.

Speaker 5 (06:21):
That's why he's a secret weapon.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Even Khalil mack like looked a little better when they arrived.
All right, you got the chiefs, Colleen.

Speaker 4 (06:29):
Okay, secret weapon gassing up free agent wide receivers, like
just getting every last drop out of these wide receivers
that they bring in every single year. Like listen, I
love the way that they use their tight ends. I
love Andy Reid off of a Bye. It's like the
best cliche ever in terms of secret weapons. They always
find rookies to fill in these massive holes that they

(06:52):
have because they can't pay all of their guys.

Speaker 3 (06:55):
They always do such a good job with that.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
However, when they bring in these free agent wide receivers
who you think have nothing left or really aren't going
to fit what they're doing, they're still able to make
them shine. Like I mean, look at the run that
Kadarius Tony went on, and this guy isn't even on
its team right now. So it's what they're able to
do with guys they pick up off the street.

Speaker 1 (07:14):
Right like thinking about Hollywood Brown as a Kansas City chief.
Uh huh, Like, I'm excited about that and just assume
it will work. If he was on a different team,
I would not necessarily be assuming that will work. And
they're developing some young players too, like even Sprinkling and
Juju there.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
As like just like your fifth guy.

Speaker 5 (07:31):
Yeah, And it's interesting the floor is so high there
in their passing game. They already have such a foundation
established and when you have Patrick Mahomes throwing the ball,
like remains to be seen what their offensive line kind
of shakes out to be this year. And I think
obviously that's the not so secret potential problem and certainly
a solution they've needed to find and have tried to
do so this offseason. But calling to your point, like

(07:52):
anytime they bring someone in, it can be somebody who underperformed.
It could be somebody who's brought it in the middle
of the season you didn't previously.

Speaker 3 (07:59):
Have a job.

Speaker 5 (08:00):
You know that they're going to probably get the ball
in some big fashion, especially down the end of the
season into the postseason.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
Worthy Hollywood Brown RACI Ris have the highest ceiling that
they've had since it was you know, Tyreek Hill and
Sammy Watkins in that group now a while ago, and
Whdrick Malmes.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Kind of needs it, like, yeah, he does, he had.

Speaker 1 (08:17):
He hasn't been as good the last two years as
he was the rest of his career.

Speaker 5 (08:22):
Well and then hasn't been protected.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
Well, no, there was reasons for it, but he hasn't
been as good, partly because of the weapons.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
Yeah, Keienan Allen, has he signed anywhere yet?

Speaker 4 (08:31):
No?

Speaker 3 (08:31):
That' oh I would love that. Oh my god, I
love that.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
The reporting I believe or some buzz was he was
really trying to latch onto one of the ALA teams,
wanted to live back in la and hasn't been able to.

Speaker 5 (08:46):
Also, it is hot in here, by the way, you're correct,
it's pretty hot.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
But you were like every die show out.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
It struck me right in the middle of that last
segment where I was.

Speaker 3 (08:55):
Like, it's hot, right, Oh, it's going to come over
to you.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Greg next the lights that bright can you handle him?

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Let's go with the Denver Broncos and I'm going to
talk about their interior offensive line is the secret weapon
to this whole team. Zach Allen was one of the
best defensive linemen in the entire NFL. Last year, he
had forty four combined QB hits and quarterback sacks, and
no one else was even above thirty. That was an

(09:23):
interior defensive line, so he was like one of the
best players in the league full stop. And then the
other guys who aren't as famous, Jonathan Franklin Myers had
a lot of production last year eight sacks, nine quarterbacks.
Malcolm Roach is a guy they brought from New Orleans
who was very productive. DJ Jones just signed his second
straight three year, thirty plus million dollar contract with the
same team.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
That never happens.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
He's on his third contract like an underrated player that
they believe they had to play. So they're not household names,
but these are all grown men. They also had a
third round pick save on Jones, which to me is
kind of the basis which they've built this really excellent
defense off.

Speaker 5 (09:59):
Of what I think they're really good at as a
unit from the inside to the outside and then back
to the inside. Is understanding when certain players will occupy
more attention dialing up pressure, and it's not just the
coordinator who's who's doing that, it's a collective effort in
terms of, hey, I understand the way that team that
players are going to shift to you. There is where

(10:20):
I take my opportunity. It's a very unselfish group that
you can see how productive it can be because they
all they sort of all take their turns. And yes
there's some dominant games from certain players, but for the
most part, especially some of the ascending talent too. Like
they take they take turns, they sort of set each
other up. It's a really really cool group to watch.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, you know, Sirtain gets all the love.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
You know, defense player of the're Bonito Nick Benito got
some votes there, you got you got the Riley Moss
like white court, you know, cornerback thing, like let's give
some love to the big.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
Guys in the middle.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
John Franklin Myers, I know that it's like a little
bit of a thing right now online.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
With his PFF ranking, did you.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
No, I didn't know about this? Tell me please, I.

Speaker 4 (10:58):
Guess and I'm just like make sure that this is all. Yeah,
this was from four hours ago. Apparently he came in
eighteenth in the rankings, but it's still listed as part
of the Jets, so I'm not really.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
Sure he was upset or who's upset.

Speaker 3 (11:16):
We all are? We all are I'm upset.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
It was probably like a typo.

Speaker 5 (11:21):
Let him cook.

Speaker 3 (11:21):
That was a career year he had.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
He was really good and he wants more money. And
I believe he's so does Zach Allen. I believe they
are both, or at least Jonathan Franklin Myers is not
showing up to OTA's right now. It is tricky to
have to pay all these guys, but they just paid.
Like I mentioned DJ Jones, they waited till he got
to freegency and they made him. Hold, let's go to
the Titans. Jordan Rodrieg All.

Speaker 5 (11:46):
Right, Well, the secret I'm all over the place on
this list. The Tennessee Titans secret weapon is cam Ward's
combined aura and talent. I want to say, let me
be clear, this should not be a secret weapon. It
is not a secret weapon to anyone who knows ball,
who appreciates watching quarterback play. He is a number one

(12:06):
overall pick, but cam Ward has received nowhere near the
attention and fanfare of a typical number one overall pick.
Partially to blame is the market he's in and the
status of the team, but also blame us, the media
for not talking about him enough, and Greg wrinkles up
his face because you're blameless, Greg, and all things. Cam
Ward's aura and his oh so steady confident presence will

(12:29):
be a huge asset for a team that's basically preparing
for a deep rebuild. They have a long way to go,
and their fan base is only used to being in
the news where it comes to a quarterback. Lately, we're
seeing erratic play turning into viral moments and also straddling
Mayonnai's jars and a WITEU. So I can't wait. I
can't wait to see the long game between cam Ward

(12:50):
and Brian Callahan, and it's going to take some time,
but I think they're a really good match. And I
think he's a perfect fit for a team that needs
to grow a lot. A player who is a steady
leader and an extremely high talent ceiling who also will
grow up with the team as they continue to try
to actually become something significant and solid in that market.

Speaker 4 (13:09):
I think cam is in the perfect position. First of all,
everyone in the media who does talk about him talks
about how nobody in the media talks about him.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
That's like the main thing that it talked about.

Speaker 4 (13:19):
But when was last time a number one overall pick
that was a quarterback wasn't talked about and had didn't
have all of these crazy expectations like yeah, put upon him.
This is kind of great for him because now he
can show up, show out. If he's really good, then
everyone's like, damn, how did we not?

Speaker 1 (13:38):
Like it's gravy. They're expected to be the worst team
in the league. And I'd like that he has aura
off the field, like he's very engaging when he talked,
but more importantly aura on the field, like he plays
with a cocky He's incredible, which is ya borderline like dangerous,
but I just love it.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
It's very Patrick Mahomes.

Speaker 5 (13:56):
But it's dangerous in a controlled like I can see
your plan way, whereas previously when you'd see Will Levis
go into danger mode, you feared for him and everybody
around him.

Speaker 2 (14:05):
No, he did not give off like I.

Speaker 5 (14:08):
Know, but I'm just saying, we got to I'm excited
for Kim Wod because he gives this franchise like solid ground, spicy, dangerous.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Yeah, I feel I feel a little bad for Levis.
I've watched some of his interviews this offseason. He's handling
it really well, because you know you got your confidence
has been knocked. But no, on the field, he never
gave off an aura of confidence. He gave off an
aura of panic. Kim Woard's always out there like I'm
the best. Yeah, he's incredible. I can make it twenty five.

Speaker 4 (14:36):
So it's like to have all this happen, he'll be
for him to handle it well, I think, yeah, he
obviously is mature.

Speaker 5 (14:42):
He'll be fine. And I love the fit with Brian Callahan.
I got to talk with Brian Callahan a little bit.
Kevin Clark actually introduced us at the league meeting this year,
and he's kind of awesome. I mean I hadn't really
talked a lot with him. I'd respected as his work obviously,
but like he's just he's very chill when you kind
of get him away from football. I've only seen him
yelling or being grumpy at the podium.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
I like them very different.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
I like them at the podium too, and him and
came order now tied at the hip. If if they
make it work, their their careers are making it work.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
Go off, Colleen. You have the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Speaker 4 (15:13):
Okay, for the Jags, their secret weapon is big wide
receiver energy.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
That's what they have there.

Speaker 4 (15:19):
Brian Thomas Junior was their shining star and now they
have Travis Hunter, So I would only expect big plays
out of this offense. But then also when you look
at their depth chart right now, they have fourteen wide
receivers on the depth charts.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
Hey, just like the quantity so many wide receivers, Like.

Speaker 4 (15:39):
They have more wide receivers than I have hair extensions
and that is so many.

Speaker 3 (15:43):
That is a lot.

Speaker 4 (15:45):
But like and I was even looking at their looking
at the names on here, Brian Thomas Junior, you have
Diami Brown, Travis Hunter, Joshua Zephas, Austin Trammel, Parker.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
WASH's probably gonna beyond the team, you know who they have.
They have the former rugby player who Lewis Rees damn
it oh, a.

Speaker 5 (16:08):
Big stary last year spetional teams returner. Probably I would think, yes.

Speaker 4 (16:11):
Yeah, So they have a lot of guys, but they
need to get it right for Liam Cohens. So that's
nice that they're going to have few to choose from. Plus,
the entire AFC South is just going to beat up
on each other for no good reason. So just by
being in that division, it's a force multiplier just because
by virtue of their opponents.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
There's an incredible clip of Travis Hunter making the best
interception you've ever seen at OTAs on Tuesday and just
getting the people going excited because he's practicing on defense
one out of three days, and it's just like, what
that's big, big wide receiver energy even at corner.

Speaker 5 (16:50):
Also GM Jimmy Stones was a receiver in college, so
big receiver energy all over that roster and high drama
as a receiver could only appreciate.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
I at first was going to be like, is their
receiver room like a secret weapon? But I think you're
saying the energy, the energy it gives what's been a little.

Speaker 4 (17:09):
Bit of a vanilla franchise some pop like it's it's
not even like a wide receiver corps. Just it's like
a wide receiver platoon. It's just so many When.

Speaker 1 (17:18):
You have a quarterback as Chill and it seems like
a nice guy, but maybe not like getting the people
going as Trevor Lawrence, you need a little wide.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
Receiver energy to get That's right, Greg, get the party jumping.

Speaker 1 (17:32):
I am going to talk about Colleen's Indianapolis Cors.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, let's go okay.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
Well, first of all, just Colleen Wolf's undying love that
could always power the moon. You be incredible. But then
I looked at the receiver group. This is what everyone wants.
It's weird to think that this used to be a
weakness for them. Michael Pittman is exactly the possession receiver
that every team kind of wants. He's the prototype Alec Pierce.

(17:59):
I feel like this was averaged twenty two point three
yards per catch last year.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
Obviously that led the league. It led the league by
like four or five yards.

Speaker 5 (18:07):
Why do you think it was so quiet because he
was on.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
The Colts, but like that's a number out of nineteen
sixty seven and the San Diego Chargers, like no one
does that he is. He was just killing people down
the field, and then ful gets me, and then Josh Downs.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
I do think it's quite how good he is.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
I actually think he's the best receiver on the team
and maybe a future All Pro slot guy who is
that good? And then Adie Mitchell, who was an enigma,
was wide open all the time last season, a lot
of drops, a little bit of a up and down
experience off the field, I think, but always open. So
that's like I think about the twenty sixteen Falcons. You're

(18:47):
building a basketball team where all these different types of
receivers the Colts have that Your colts, I don't know
if they have anyone.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Who can throw it to them.

Speaker 5 (18:53):
But yeah, that was gonna be my next point details.

Speaker 3 (18:57):
I mean, we'll get the baby steps, all right, that's.

Speaker 2 (18:59):
Like what you that's what you want, all these different types.

Speaker 5 (19:02):
They are a grenade launcher without the grenade in it
right now in terms of secret weapons status, I do
feel like they're so complimentary. They even have a pretty
solid tight ends room too. They are like a team
that I think just has balanced everywhere but at quarterback,
which is going to always be the caveat with this
team and the biggest question about this team because I

(19:24):
think they're really solid. I think their defense will get
better as well. And I also think that this, like
you said, this receivers group is just quietly outstanding.

Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, I'm sure you know what, guys, this is going
to be the year.

Speaker 5 (19:36):
This will be the years they're going to figure it out.

Speaker 1 (19:38):
I went through all that and I didn't even yeah
mention like the joker Tyler warrenet at tight end kind.

Speaker 5 (19:43):
Of, I know, you gave me a look and I
was like, oh, no, did I step on?

Speaker 1 (19:46):
No, no, no, I just sort of I was thinking
the whiteout group. But he offers another very different skill
set to that. So it's just like, if you can
just get solid play. I hate the feeling that that
they really want Daniel Jones to win this job, and
I just have this feeling that Dana Jones is the
favorite for it.

Speaker 2 (20:02):
I just don't want that. I want I want Richardson
to be the guy.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
Maybe this is what Richardson needs.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
Maybe Jordan, let's do the Houston Texans.

Speaker 5 (20:12):
Okay, let me preface this by saying this was actually
kind of hard to pick because some of their weapons
are some of the ways that they've gone about trying
to fix this team from last year as they sputtered
out near the end and had issues with their offensive
line and with pressure. They fixed a lot of those things,
or they're trying to. So it's hardly a secret this
defense will continue to be among the best in the league,
among the most well coached in the league. That's even

(20:33):
with the retirement of a depth corner Ronald Darby, a
former second round pick of the Buffalo Bills played about
ten years in the NFL. Wish him Happy Trails. They
also went in the draft at corner, at position, corner, flexibility, corner,
so they should be okay depth wise there. They had
some injuries last year, so that shouldn't be as big
of a factor, but I think and then the offensive
line was obviously the biggest one of the biggest issues

(20:55):
that they had, especially.

Speaker 3 (20:56):
In pass pro.

Speaker 5 (20:57):
They basically brought in, whether it's Vet Urans or draft picks,
they brought in like eight or nine guys who are
going to compete for that those spots. So over time,
and certainly before C. J. Stroud's next his contract extension
is due, they should figure out at least the majority
of continuity on that line. Where I think, and I'm
going to take this time because you guys can give

(21:18):
me Jesse Minter okay, doubling up on the Ohios excuse
me on the Iowa State receivers Jalen Knowle and Jayden
Higgins to me is the secret weapon. Tank Dell's recovery
timeline is extensive and it's going to be really grueling
for him to get back on the field. And I
think you really like we're talking about. You need to
build a layered and balanced receivers room for c J. Stroud,

(21:40):
who doesn't just need offensive linemen in the context of help,
he also needs people to get the ball to outlets,
a complimentary set of receivers that can go all around,
basically satellite orbit around Nico Collins. Christian Kirk is going
to be in the mix there as well. He's impressed
Ota as although c J. Stroud is not the one
throwing it. So I think getting those two guys, they're

(22:00):
basically doing what the Rams did. Ni Kaylee was with
the Rams. They're basically doing what the Rams did last
year getting teammates, so you skip the chemistry building part
and you go right into building the offense in totality part.
They're trying to skip some steps here because they know
they're very close to being a contending team.

Speaker 4 (22:16):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (22:17):
Sorry, that was a real rant.

Speaker 3 (22:18):
That was incredible.

Speaker 2 (22:21):
You took that time and you ran with it. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
They turned a potential big weakness despite Nego Collins being
there this offseason, and turned it into a potential strength.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
Yeah. Yeah, they took.

Speaker 1 (22:31):
Swings now, so it usually works like they should be
happy if two out of those three pickups work between
Kirk and the two rookies. If two out of the
three of those work, then they're in like amazing position.
But I like that they really doubled up. Let's take
a quick break. We still have two divisions to go
with the secret weapon, and we'll be back to hear

(22:51):
a little bit about Colleen lost in the forest.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
Back at NFL Daily. Colleen, you haven't been here in
a few weeks.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
I know I've missed you guys. Last week I still
work here.

Speaker 2 (23:11):
You were up. But Big Sir, I where I went
at my honeymoon.

Speaker 4 (23:16):
Oh my gosh, It's such a magical places, incredible.

Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah, I just I'm always happy to go back there.
That not that I've been back there much. How was camping?
Was that the first time you've ever been camping?

Speaker 3 (23:29):
Ever?

Speaker 4 (23:29):
I've never been camping my whole life. I've always wanted
to go. This was so exciting because also I had
never been to Big sur and to kind of going
into the camping trip, I decided that a quick weekend
in Palm Springs would be a perfect way then to
immediately come back from Palm Springs and go straight to Big.

Speaker 2 (23:48):
Sirs and Yang.

Speaker 4 (23:49):
Yeah, exactly, but it was so awesome. We there was
like dispersed camping, which I did not know was a thing,
and we had a camper and we drove up this
mountain on this dirt road like thirty five minutes or
so forty minutes and got to this spot where it
was like three hundred and sixty degree views of everything

(24:10):
out there, so you had green hills over one side
and then the ocean and cliffs on another. And Chema,
my dog, she came and she had a great time.
She had her first war experience.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
She drove.

Speaker 4 (24:23):
She has her license now, she getting so big. But
she didn't know what water was. I hadn't taken her
in the ocean yet, and she's a baby, so the
only like water she knows is getting baths, so she
kept trying to bite the water as she was in it.

Speaker 3 (24:38):
It was very cute, but yeah, it was super fun.

Speaker 4 (24:41):
I loved it. Camping guys, big Sir is ridiculous. It's
so much prettier than I even could have imagined.

Speaker 5 (24:46):
Gorgeous.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
Yeah, it is incredible if you're a big, big surfan
like Henry Miller was the library. Yes, it's one of
my wife's favorite writers. You know, he has a lot
of big sur writing, and that's where he did all
his writing, but a lot of like nature writing.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
That was part of the reason we went up there.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
The other part was like, you know, she couldn't leave
the country as a you know, permanent resident or whatever
at the time, so we had to do We just like,
let's go somewhere you can drive. Big Sur is Yeah,
freaking and incredible.

Speaker 2 (25:15):
It's just right there.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Before we get back to the divisions, I did want
to mention an item of news that happened right as
we finished taping on Monday, which is going to impact
the twenty twenty five season and my early favorites to
be the NFC champion.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
Sorry calling the Detroit Lions.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
I don't feel quite as good about the Lions after
learning that Frank rag Now is retiring. He was their
longtime center and some of the numbers Jordan like when
he's on the field and not on the field are
are pretty outrageous in terms of how much better they
have been, especially running the ball.

Speaker 5 (25:51):
Yeah, had tipped to eight Tice who dug these up
so that I did not have to. But since twenty
twenty two with Ragnow on the field, the Lions offense
is third and success rate and tied for first in
EPA per play. Without him on the field, they are
twenty third in success rate and twelfth in EPA pri
So quite the dip in offensive production between him being

(26:13):
on the field and off the field. At one point,
he played through a fractured throat.

Speaker 3 (26:17):
I was just reading that, and that's so insane.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
He he came back from a torn pectora last year
in like a matter of weeks.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, outrageous.

Speaker 5 (26:24):
It just he embodies like the I think passion, physicality,
heart for a team and four teammate, but also the
deep brutality of this game. And I just think that,
you know, such a lot of respect to him from
people across the league and then from people who played

(26:46):
with them, and but you also comes tinged with that
sort of sadness of he's not feeling good, so he's
decided to step away.

Speaker 2 (26:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:54):
He essentially said in the statement that he thought his
body he was hoping it would bounce back, and just
he just doesn't feel good about it, and he's played
through absolutely everything.

Speaker 2 (27:04):
The type of player in.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Person, I think that's either gonna give you too much,
give you everything and then more until it's out. And yeah,
the age it kind of reminded me of you know,
when Andrew Luck stepped away. Obviously just a physical position
that Ragnow played. I do expect that the Lions had
some idea that this was possibly coming, but maybe not

(27:27):
for sure. They did, you know, make an early investment
on the interior line in terms of Tate Ratledge in
the second round, and they've been talking him up. So
they'll figure out how that equation is all going to
work and who's at center, who's at garden everything.

Speaker 2 (27:42):
But it's a huge loss for them.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
When I think Lions over the last eight years, even
before Campbell, I think of Ragnow.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
He's kind of been the keys.

Speaker 4 (27:51):
Which is a lot of it kind of unusual when
you're thinking of a team and you're thinking of center
from the offensive line.

Speaker 3 (27:57):
Also, just all the toe injuries that he had.

Speaker 4 (27:59):
He said that it was the most severe degree of
turf toe that he played, and also had a separate
injury to the same toe in another season. I mean,
he's just been through it and all the while starting
every single game he played.

Speaker 5 (28:14):
In Glad you brought that up, because this is some
beef that I have with some of the things that
we call injuries. Turf toe hurts like a mother. Really,
it is awful. And it's called turf toe. You got
it called something no, but you hear people talk about
how painful it is, and like these really tough elite
athletes talking about how painful it is and how it's

(28:36):
difficult to walk and you have to spend most of
your time sitting, and yet we've named it turf toe. Yeah,
it's like soft and fluffy. I know.

Speaker 1 (28:43):
I think the problem is just toe is kind of
a funny sounding, silly name.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
Just sounds so kind of.

Speaker 3 (28:48):
Like a Liz Frank injury.

Speaker 4 (28:49):
It's like, I don't really know what to do with
this that harlote information right, Oh, like even.

Speaker 1 (28:54):
Turf toe, like it just sounds like you stubbed your toe. Yeah,
it's kind of like, yeah, Mookie Bets right now is
out for the Dodgers, and they said he said he
stubbed his toe, like walking at night in the middle
of the night.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, Like, is that a real thing? Oh gosh, yes
it is.

Speaker 4 (29:08):
You have a sharp or throbbing pain at the base
of the toe, stiffness, difficulty moving it, swelling.

Speaker 2 (29:14):
Okay, this is the bummer.

Speaker 3 (29:16):
Let's get back.

Speaker 5 (29:16):
To the plansful plants our fasciata. She just sound like
you're into botany. You know, we got to think some
real things to call these things. Fractured throat, that's so metal,
like I understand that, and it sounds awful.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
Fractured throat gives.

Speaker 3 (29:30):
You broke your throat, man, it gives you.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
Some cred in the locker room when you play through that.
All right, let's get back to the secret weapons. Two
minutest trails to Frank. Yeah, much respect to you.

Speaker 2 (29:39):
Man, so much.

Speaker 1 (29:40):
And I'm sure he'll be watching this Lions team and
they their offensive line, by the way, was like not
quite as good as a reputation last year, and so
that this is going to be another thing to kind
of overcome.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
Now him retiring. All right, Colleen, you are up with
the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 4 (29:57):
Okay, So the Steelers their secret weapon is the first
Church of Tomlinology. This man handles the toughest of characters
and all the time, and he does it with some
type of divine intervention, because there's no other way that
you could see how he's able to handle such big

(30:18):
personalities and keep everything kind of so smooth and under
the radar.

Speaker 3 (30:23):
He's strong, he's direct.

Speaker 4 (30:25):
I love his ideology, his services on Sunday mornings. You know,
I like the one pm Mass, that's my favorite. All
of the homilies on the Standard is the Standard.

Speaker 3 (30:37):
It's really great stuff.

Speaker 4 (30:38):
But you know, I just think their creed we do
not live our fears. We walk into the light of
tom Ology. So yeah, I mean there is something to
be said. I know. It's like even me saying it.
If I was listening to me, i'd roll my eyes
about no losing season. But it's like, Okay, what was
he done in the playoffs? And like how do they get.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
Over the hump?

Speaker 4 (30:58):
But it's like now they're just sitting here waiting on
Aaron Rodgers and somehow, some way, I know that they'll
figure out some way to not have a losing record,
which is unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (31:09):
I'm falling into the trap of I'm like, man, I
think this is the year it's going to fall apart.
But I've that's happened to me every three years or so,
and it's always wrong because I lost my faith and
I should never lose my faith in the Church of Tomontology.

Speaker 3 (31:25):
Well, it's a light Greg.

Speaker 5 (31:26):
It is such a great Is it a metaphor? Assimilarly,
we're doing a metaphor. This is a metaphor. Correct, that's
the right one. So it is. It's interesting. It's a religion,
I know, but it is. It is interesting though, because
like the you know, real life topic, very polarizing at times,
and there is a wide, growing, vocal number of people

(31:48):
who are either on one side or either on the other,
and you can't change anyone's minds. It's almost like this
is rushing to a boiling point and nobody's gonna budget.

Speaker 1 (31:59):
Well, you know, who is a great person to decide it,
especially when we're getting like, you know, God talk in
the mix, Aaron Rodgers, you know.

Speaker 4 (32:06):
Perfect Yeah, but also for real, their defense is kind
of their secret weapon with DJ and Cam and Minka.

Speaker 2 (32:11):
That's absolutely true.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
Ye, let's do the Cleveland Browns. I'm going to say
their secret weapon. They're low expectations this year. Quietly since
Kevin Stefanci's gotten there, we've always thought they were going
to be good. I went back and looked at their
over under win total over the last five years.

Speaker 2 (32:27):
It's never been below eight and a half.

Speaker 1 (32:30):
This is the Cleveland Browns, and you know what, they
be expectations A few times. They had those years where
he won Coach of the Year, they won eleven games,
but like weirdly that that season where Joe Flacco played,
like going into the year, they were nine and a
half when over under like, we've thought they were going
to be good each and every year, and for the
most part, they've been average to very good until last year.

(32:51):
And this year they are tied for last place in
terms of expected win total five and a half, so
the expectations.

Speaker 2 (32:59):
Are very low.

Speaker 1 (33:00):
I actually really do think that can be a secret
weapon for teams.

Speaker 2 (33:04):
Maybe the Browns take advantage of it.

Speaker 5 (33:05):
Despite the quarterbacks, can I give you guys a hot take?

Speaker 2 (33:09):
Sure?

Speaker 3 (33:09):
Oh my god, yes, outside.

Speaker 5 (33:13):
Of Deshaun Watson, I really like the dynamic of their
quarterback room with everybody that's in it. I don't mind
the fact that there's a multi person even more so
than the starter backup a third string camp arm. I
like the fact that there's multiple people vying for reps.
I like the fact that they seem to all be
getting along with each other. I like the fact that

(33:35):
they're going through in actual evaluation of the quarterbacks before,
like I don't know, like blindly signing somebody who they
don't know whether they're going to turn out to be
good or not, spending an exorbitant, an egregious amount of
money on that person.

Speaker 3 (33:48):
I do like this.

Speaker 5 (33:49):
I like that they're kind of going back to basics
and basically troubleshooting how they evaluate quarterbacks through the entire process.
I like that it's a couple of relatively short kings
on that roster. And then like the towering veteran right,
I just I like all of this. I like the vibes.
I like having young energy in that room. I think
it's good.

Speaker 4 (34:07):
I hope it works out for Kevin Stefanski having all
of these guys in there. Like, I just this team
in general has been so snake bitten for so long,
and that position in general has.

Speaker 3 (34:19):
Just been such a mess.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
I just don't know if I can get on board
with the hot take it too.

Speaker 1 (34:24):
And yet, like, if they win seven games and they
get decent quarterback play, that's kind of that's a win
for Stefanski.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
He's gonna keep his job. I really think it is.

Speaker 5 (34:34):
Yeah, yet another vote Coach of the Year vote.

Speaker 2 (34:37):
I wouldn't go that far if he won seven or.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
Eight, but like like Cynthia Frielan had had them as
their third to last in terms of like expected win
total this year, which which feels about right. Where So
if he gets good quarterback, like decent quarterback play and
they win seven or eight games, like, that's going to be
more fun than the weight and the terrible feeling that
the Deshaun Watson era has mostly been, certainly when he's

(35:01):
played Jordan, you're up with the Bengals.

Speaker 5 (35:04):
Got a real barn burner here for the Cincinnati Bengals. Okay,
so the Trey Henderson Hendrickson contract drama is still not resolved.
The Shamar Stewart contract drama is still not resolved. So
I think that the secret weapon that the Cincinnati Bengals
have working in their favor right now as of June third,

(35:26):
is that it's almost time to talk about the Cowboys
contract drama again.

Speaker 2 (35:29):
Oh, it's a good call.

Speaker 1 (35:32):
Plus, you're right if they wait forever on Michael Parsons
the Dallas Cowboys, that is that kind of helps the
Bengals out when it comes to Hendrickson, right sure, because
if Parsons comes in early, that's just like another guy.

Speaker 5 (35:47):
Yeah, that's gonna there are things secret weapon there.

Speaker 1 (35:49):
Are Yeah, Bengals fans are like you guys said something
nice about every other team.

Speaker 5 (35:54):
There are things that were well, their weapons are not secret,
like Joe Burrow is the weapon, jamar Cha, you know
t Higgins, They are the weapons like it's all that's
all gravy. They have to prove a lot on defense
this year after fall Guy Lou took the heat there
and Zach Taylor I think has a hell of a
lot to prove as well, and especially there sort of

(36:17):
is it's a weird lobbying of like is he the
face of this contract situation? Is he not the face?
How much communication is he having with players? There seems
to be like a little bit of a weird snaffoo.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
They're kind of a national team though now it's interesting
like they're tied for the league lead and over underwin
total two and really I think because of Burrow they're
like a national team. Yeah, I don't know if the
attendant's totally going away.

Speaker 5 (36:38):
The weapon is not The weapons are not secret.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
If if you were going to try to come up
with a secret weapon for them, it's almost what's been
We've been calling their biggest weakness, which is they didn't
really do anything on defense, but they have great continuity.
All those guys have been there in theory. You could
flip out over that weakness.

Speaker 5 (36:53):
They're just they're just hoping that we all forget about
the situation and talk about something else.

Speaker 3 (36:59):
What is a secret full to look at it?

Speaker 5 (37:01):
They said, for you guys coming back, this is a
compliment for.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
It's in the name Jordan NFL Daily. We're definitely, We're
definitely going to be on the tree hundreds beat red, Colleen, Okay,
Mark Andrews, here.

Speaker 3 (37:17):
We go, Ravens.

Speaker 4 (37:19):
Yeah, the Mark Andrews Redemption Tour, So yes, yay. Instead
of starting a new year by watching the ball drop,
the Ravens ended theirs this way, and Mark Andrews's mission
now is to make sure it never happens again.

Speaker 3 (37:32):
So his entire offseason is.

Speaker 4 (37:34):
Dedicated to working, to stewing, to obsessing. Because long after
that locker room went quiet, the noise was still in
his head. Guys, and Mark Andrews. He didn't make excuses,
he didn't disappear. He dipped into the shadows to rebuild.
Haunted not by the critics but by the play. He

(37:55):
couldn't rewind this offseason. There were no vacations at all,
no distractions, just sweat, just silence, just solitude for him,
first beating the sunrise to the field every day, running
routes with ghosts, then rewatching film until it burned into
his memory, like scripture, a single moment, an obsession fueling

(38:19):
thousands of reps out there. He caught balls in the
rain with closed eyes, with weight strapped to his body,
I mean, honestly, anything to make sure his hands would
never fail him again. Not out of fear, out of purpose.
So Mark Andrews, he wasn't training to return, He was
training to rewrite the ending.

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Wow. Any of that true? All of it?

Speaker 5 (38:42):
I have no IDEA quick question, did you have some
sort of extraterrestrial experience when you were in Fixer? Just
not judging, just.

Speaker 3 (38:51):
Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (38:52):
You know scripture, I mean it would be a great place,
sort of zone out on nature.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Put it that way.

Speaker 3 (38:58):
Yeah, there was a lot of nature. The stars.

Speaker 4 (39:00):
I've never seen stars like that in my life. I
didn't even know that there could be that many.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
The nature is a little overwhelming there. It's almost like
that's the natural state and we've come in and kind
of ruined it.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
Well, yeah, it's just like that.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Man. Some of the Mark Andrews quote, the.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
Clock is ticking for all of us. Where's the asteroid?

Speaker 5 (39:21):
The life clock? We're back here.

Speaker 1 (39:24):
Since he brought up Andrews, I was too sad to
do his quotes from the other week when he first talked,
and this is what he said.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
He said for him, he said, it's tough.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
This is my life. I put a lot of work
into this. Everything I do is focused on that. Everything
I do is focused everything I think about is focused
on that. It wasn't the way I planned it, but
it's all part of the story. And he said he's
been using it and had an incredible off season and
is really excited the season.

Speaker 5 (39:49):
As I mentioned a previous show, every time I think
about that moment, my entire body just like clenches up.
I feel so And I know it's like he's a professional.
He doesn't want you feel bad from whatever, but like, oh,
my entire body just clenches up in like empathy and pain.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
It's great he's still with the Ravens because there was
a chance he wasn't going to be because I can
guarantee you that fan base will lift him up and
like cheer the hell out of him early, especially that
first game, like early this season, and let him know
that he's one of their dudes, one of the all
time great Ravens. All Right, I'm gonna go with the Jets.
We're wrapping up with the AFC East here, and their

(40:27):
secret weapon is gonna be a young offensive coordinator by
the name of Tanner Engstrand. And it's taken me this
long to like remember Engstrand, like Strand is at the end,
not like Hankstram, not no Strand, eng yenng Strand, Tanner Engstrand.
And I just gotta believe Aaron Glenn, who's been wanting

(40:50):
this opportunity to be a head coach for this long,
makes a good choice for his offensive coordinator that he's
got to think about that more than any other decision.
He knows that's the biggest decision. And this is the
young man that he has entrusted. It's supposed to be
a Lions type of offense. Offensive line. First, it's very
good offensive line. A lot of RPOs I googled him

(41:11):
and listened to his first press conference, just to like
get a normal guy, another guy who is in the
Jesse minter mole, just like.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
A normal looking, regular guy.

Speaker 1 (41:22):
But I think I trust Aaron Glenn so much that
this guy's going to have some great offensive ideas and
has the offensive line to pull it off.

Speaker 2 (41:30):
One minute, that's it.

Speaker 5 (41:31):
I love that. I think we talked earlier this year
about how the identity of the Jets offense is going
to be run through an MF first face, and the
defense has been strong with Aaron Glenn coaching it. I
have no doubt. Like I mentioned this the other day,
because they also just added Sean Clement to their analytics
staff and really well respected the analytics community. They are

(41:53):
everything they've done. Everything the Jets have done has been
pure high level competence. Like everything they've done this offense season,
it's like, if you were to do the severance thing
and just make this year exist and the rest of
it not, You're like, oh, yeah, that's a top ten team.
They make smart decisions. Wow, they make really sound organizational decisions,
and like, obviously there's a huge history of them not

(42:14):
doing that, but this off season has been awesome for
the Jets. In almost every way.

Speaker 3 (42:18):
The Jets are back. Baby, let's go. We love the Jets.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
I like the Jets' offseason.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
I have been saying I love that over That's one
of my favorite over unders. I'll be considering that for
our draft five and a half. And they're blowing that
out now. That position is really cursed, the Jets offensive
coordinator position. They've tried every kind of way. Rich Se
Media has a good article about it. Like the old guys,
the new guy like Chan Gaily, is the best offensive
coordinator they had probably in the last like fifteen years,

(42:45):
that Ryan Fitzpatrick's season.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
So I think a secret breaks it, the secret crazies.

Speaker 5 (42:50):
They brought in a guy who looks like every guy
that and actually he turns out to be a superpower guy.

Speaker 3 (42:56):
And what we call him is like Jesse.

Speaker 1 (42:59):
Winter Stordan is up with the New England Patriots.

Speaker 5 (43:04):
Okay, to be clear, when I wrote this letter to
the New England Patriots from me, I thought we were
going top to bottom. So just bear with me.

Speaker 2 (43:13):
Okay, does that have to do with it?

Speaker 3 (43:15):
You'll see we'll find out.

Speaker 5 (43:16):
Okay, New England, you have a type and that type
is a yes. You like to be led like to
be told what to do in every single way, from
the coaching staff to the field to the front office.
You have turned one of the most difficult personalities to
interact with as a normal human into a total asset
and a secret weapon, a type a head coach. As

(43:37):
it pertains to your organization. Mike Brabel's fingerprints are all
over this off season, from free agency and the hiring
process now to the succinct management of any off the
field issues with a certain receiver and a certain substance
on a certain boat. What incident we're onto Cincinnati.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
It is their type. Maybe it's just like everyone's got
a type. Everyone's a little more comfortable.

Speaker 5 (43:56):
Yeah, noted.

Speaker 3 (44:00):
What color was the substance?

Speaker 2 (44:02):
Pink?

Speaker 3 (44:02):
Thought it was purple.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
No, I think it was pink. I didn't know that
was a thing one minute. He's gotta be fine though.
They made it. They made it clear by the way.
Stephan Diggs reportedly looked great. There actually was some football
news out of Stephan Diggs on Monday, and there was
videos of it.

Speaker 5 (44:16):
Like, yeah, he's practicing.

Speaker 1 (44:17):
He's practicing pretty close to full like three quarters speed
individual drills some other stuff, like he's coming off a
TONYUSO did not expect that it might be close to
actually ready for day one of training camp, closer to
week one maybe than we expected. They're not going to
do anything about it, No, I mean Mike Rabel. Mike
Rabel is that's the thing different than Belichick. He is
a type A head coach. He's like, he's cool. He's cool.

Speaker 5 (44:42):
What I like about And my point really for all
of this is like, yes, he does seem like a
type A head coach in the same vein as Belichick,
But I think he has this real connectivity and like
ability to just vibe with players. I'm not saying that
like you'd see him on the boat as well, but
I'm saying that, like he can reach people, he understands
how to blend different personalities. If you look at his
coaching staff. Yes I mentioned this before, Yes, he hired

(45:04):
Josh McDaniels, who's notoriously difficult to work with and his
offense is difficult to understand. But he balanced the rest
of the staff out with people who are very easy
to work with and who can reach players and who
everybody sort of has a part to play. And that's
where I think he has a real gift, where a
type A personality in this regard is a real asset
and a secret weab.

Speaker 1 (45:22):
Yeah, McDaniels has had some of these players before. I
was reminded he's very type A. But what he's a coordinator,
he's a little different. But he's had Hunter Henry, he's
had Bramandre, he's had Michael and Win.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
Like they were there in New England. It seems so
long ago, Colleen, you're up with the Dolphins.

Speaker 3 (45:36):
Okay, this was tough.

Speaker 4 (45:38):
This team is pretty messy right now.

Speaker 3 (45:42):
So I guess you could say they're secret. It's not
so secret though.

Speaker 4 (45:46):
Their secret weapon is they're always a threat in the
running game, even when you know it's happening with Mike
McDaniel and Devat a. Chan is obviously the main character
of this operation. But it does speak to the success
of what McDaniel's is able to do, because when teams
are already preparing for it, they still are able to

(46:08):
have success with it. I mean, they also exceed on defense,
and I think that they don't get enough credit for
the amount that they pressure.

Speaker 3 (46:15):
That's always really good. But otherwise it's this is a
tough one.

Speaker 1 (46:19):
I think that's a good one, because it did fall
off a little bit last year. But if you're going
over track record, McDaniel delivers running game they have. They
certainly have the running backs to pull it off, and
that's like a great base to start from.

Speaker 5 (46:33):
Anthony Weaver too to your point, and one time guest
on NFL Daily did a great interview front of the
show it's myself and great yeah, friend of the show,
and had a really good year last year, which kind
of got buried and lost under the chaos of everything
else they went through as an organization, especially on offense,
how they sort of fell off and the injuries and
all of these things, but those guys played really hard
and it's they're like in a semi rebuild. Who don't

(46:55):
know if Jalen Ramsey's going to be there anymore going
into next year, but as long as you have stability,
it seems like they're really trying to identify, Okay, what
does culture actually mean to us on this team with
Mike McDaniel as a head coach, finding his DC having
some continuity on that side of the ball for the
first time in a little bit. I do think that
there are a couple different like sneaky secret weapons that

(47:16):
they might be able to lean on, including always depending
on the run game.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
Yeah, thirtieth in rushing DVA last year, So it fell
off a cliff so good, and that's going to be
their focus. And they've talked about it a lot this
offseason of getting back to the old.

Speaker 5 (47:31):
Met Yeah, they still and I think we're all doing.
It's like what they it's been a pattern for them
is once it gets into the middle of the season
and beyond, it's like they forget how to run the
ball when we know conceptually we've seen this with Mike
McDaniel for years to your point, calling like he has
the plans, he has the designs, he has the players.

Speaker 3 (47:52):
Like, especially when he was in San Francisco.

Speaker 5 (47:53):
Yes, so run the ball.

Speaker 1 (47:55):
Bad vibes in Miami lately, certainly at the end of
last season, great vibe in Buffalo.

Speaker 2 (48:01):
And that's it.

Speaker 1 (48:02):
Their secret weapon is their vibes. I really do believe
in this. They did an article in The Athletic about
Tredevius White returning and how happy Sean McDermott was to
have him. It was his first ever draftic. He is
great vibes as you learn. Yeah, with the Rams kind
of like the veteran rejoining the room. He's got you
know those those hats that everybody eats hats, oh, you
know everybody that is sort of their mantra, and everyone

(48:25):
buys in because that's Josh Allen.

Speaker 2 (48:27):
Josh Allen has great vibes. He just got married.

Speaker 1 (48:29):
The ol the offensive line, like Dion Dawkins is great vibes,
great continuity there. I just I do think vibes matters,
and I think they can handle the pressure that comes
with always coming close, and I think vibes takes them
over the top.

Speaker 5 (48:43):
I love Trey White. I have a very quick Trey
White story, very briefly covered him for a year and
he was new and he was learning his way around
the building, learning where everyone parks. He drove this like
giant suv into practice every day and had one of
the parking spots up front I had. Typically I used
to borrow one of the players who never who like

(49:06):
would be one of the veterans who'd like not be
at OTAs would asking if I could use their parking
spot as like an office space because the RAMS former
media room was like.

Speaker 3 (49:16):
Very bad, I remember it.

Speaker 5 (49:18):
Yeah, and so so I used to take calls out
there and sit on the curb with like my legs
crossed and like basically be on my phone like talk
doing an interview or something so that because there was
nowhere else in the entire space to do an interview
without people listening. And Trey White would come out for
the first couple of days he was there, and he
would look at me and he would kind of like
give like do a wave or like a polite nod
or whatever, and like be really quiet and like get

(49:40):
in his car and like be super super quiet, and
I'm like, hey, man, I'm sorry, I'm in your space,
Like you don't need to worry about me. Eventually, after
a couple of days, he goes, oh, my gosh, you're
actually doing work out here. I thought you were meditating.
I wanted to be respectful no.

Speaker 2 (49:53):
And I was like, ah, you're the mast you are awes.

Speaker 3 (49:56):
I love him.

Speaker 5 (49:57):
Oh great is he?

Speaker 3 (49:59):
He rocks.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
I also imagine meditating in on a curb camp parking.

Speaker 5 (50:03):
In a parking space. Bobby Wagner shout out to Bobby
Wagner was the first one who started who let me
use that parking space because he would take a car
and so you didn't have to deal with traffic, a.

Speaker 1 (50:12):
Lot of pressure being the Buffalo Bills. And yet like
Josh Allen, unlike their head coach, where is it so lightly?
You know?

Speaker 5 (50:18):
Yeah, where you're going to assume meditation is happening and
peacefulness and calm versus like the chaos of work. Like
that's the vibes over there in Buffalo right now.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
How secret weapon?

Speaker 5 (50:29):
I bet they have a lot of space to do
phone interviews over there.

Speaker 1 (50:32):
I'm just saying, see you next Tuesday. Yeah, yeah, the Rams. Yeah,
it's been a minute, but they've got plans. They're moving
into their new facility eventually. Yes, see you next tuesday.
Not our secret weapon. We're just we're on Front Street
with CN next Tuesday. And before we see next Tuesday,

(50:52):
I did want to mention your article.

Speaker 3 (50:54):
Yeah, your article. Oh okay, yea.

Speaker 1 (50:56):
You wrote about you tell you all the listeners to
check it out.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (51:01):
Well, so over on the Athletic I have a story
I've been working on for a while, couple of years. Actually,
it's about a bond between Sean McVay and Chris Peterson.
Chris Peterson and Sean McVay did not know each other
prior to the twenty twenty three season. Twenty twenty three
is a year in general, and Sean was going through

(51:23):
a really hard time, very publicly, and Chris Peterson saw
a video of some comments that Sean made about some
of the mental struggles that he was dealing with as
he considered stepping away from coaching and cold called him,
got his number from Kellen Moore, his former quarterback at
Boise State, and cold called him and left him like
the kindest voicemail and basically asked him, hey, man, do

(51:47):
you need help, because I can help you if you
need help, or I can try and became a close confidant,
a mentor. Chris Peterson has done a lot of personal work,
psychological work because he himself dealt with some of the
same issues that Sean McVay has dealt with in terms
of burning out at the top of your field, running
from your own success, kind of being becoming a victim

(52:08):
of your own success, and not really knowing where to
turn because your problems are very unique and you feel
guilty that you even have them because you're at the
top of your field. And so it was a really
powerful story, really powerful reporting process and very heavy reporting process.
At times because it took place over the course of
multiple years. It's not a story I would write if

(52:28):
I didn't really see and know that the work was
being done to personally improve And I got to see
that over the last couple of years and really really special,
really altering for me as well.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
Jordan, I can't wait to read this and for Sean
McVeigh you can tell too this experience that he's had
with Chris Peterson, who I really recommend everyone check it out.
I love great sports writing, like the type of really
inside stuff that I feel like there's not quite as
much anymore because you need that relationship, you need that trust,
you need the time to do it all, and you
did a great job.

Speaker 2 (53:01):
Wes would love it with that, Yes, he absolutely would.

Speaker 1 (53:05):
We will be back, I believe on Thursday, with my
friend Patrick Claybon and a special guest. I believe Matt
Harmon will be joining us in that episode. Until then, yeah,
it isn't OTA's poppin kind of week.

Speaker 2 (53:21):
We have mini camps next week.

Speaker 5 (53:23):
I'm recovering from the whiplash of laughing at your CEA
next Tuesday phrasing to talking about a deeply serious and
personal topic so you guys don't worry.

Speaker 3 (53:31):
I'm not sick.

Speaker 1 (53:31):
I mean, we don't need to pretend that cee you
next Tuesday doesn't kill it.

Speaker 2 (53:36):
Football's back.

Speaker 4 (53:39):
Yeah. I also like started working out so everything feels tight.