September 8, 2021 • 42 mins
In the opening episode of the NFL Inside Report podcast, Rhett Lewis is joined by Sara Walsh for an in-depth dive on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the team's chances on repeating as Super Bowl champions; Jane Slater, who gives us an update on Dak Prescott's health entering the season and Tom Pelissero, who shares how the NFL is handling another season dealing with COVID-19.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm Rett Lewis, and this is the NFL Inside Report podcast.
We are going in on Kickoff one. Thanks for being
with us here on this debut episode of the NFL
Inside Report podcast. We've got you covered for Kickoff one.
The reporters that are covering each team of Bucks and
the Cowboys every day this week leading up the kickoff
(00:36):
are with us. Sarah Walsh, who was with the Bucks
every step of the way on their Super Bowl run.
Stops by ahead of stop number one on Tampa's title defense,
or rather their quest to go win it again, an
important distinction that Sarah picked up talking to Tom Brady
this week. And for a team that is so similar
to the one that hoisted the Lombardy last year, why
(00:58):
what's different about this year's team will make them even better?
That's coming up. Jane Slater expertly covering the Cowboys for
US all offseason, all preseason, and now every hour leading
up the kickoff for a game that will include quarterback
Dak Prescott that after his shoulder injury in camp left
(01:19):
some doubt as to his availability for Week one. We'll
go inside the recovery that Dallas hopes will help lead
the Cowboys to an offensive rebirth against Tampa and COVID
is still here. Obvious major impacts throughout the country and
the world. And while the NFL was able to play
(01:40):
every single game last season without the vaccine, Tom Brady
has said he expects the virus and pandemic to be
an even bigger challenge this year. Tom Pellicero has been
at the forefront of our reporting on this subject. He
knows the protocols, he knows the guidelines, and he's telling
us how the league is position in itself or contingencies
(02:02):
and what about another emergency quarterback situation? Could what happened
to the Denver Broncos last year starting a wide receiver
at quarterback happened again this year. That's all ahead, but
first let's kick this thing off from Tampa with Sarah Walsh. So, Sarah,
I feel like the biggest headline surrounding the Bucks for
(02:22):
the last I don't know, four or five months since
they won Super Bowl fifty five was that they brought
everybody back, right, all twenty two starters, even the core
participation group outside of those starters is back. The whole
coaching staff is back. But I was having this chat
with Scott Pioli, a resident GM. It's like, the same
production is not going to cut it for the Bucks
(02:43):
if they want to win again. So what's really different
about this team? A couple of things are different. One,
the amount of time they've played together, right, that changes. Uh,
you know, I said it a million times. It felt
like last year and people would say, like, what's wrong
with them? Why can't this offense get going? And it
wasn't just a new quarterback. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Early on in the year, they would play on Sunday,
(03:04):
but they didn't practice during the week. They were really
banged up, and I think that that was sort of
underrated in these storylines because you'd see him on Sunday
and it took them a while to get on the
same page. And look, when Tom didn't have a preseason
last year, he wasn't in a preseason with those receivers,
and then he wasn't with him during the week. So
that's where I think when they started to get healthier,
that's when you saw them click. So now they've had
(03:24):
this entire time, they've had a preseason like they didn't have,
So that's different. This is a healthier team and and
that sounds insane in the sense that this was a
relatively healthy team last year, not a lot of injuries.
Obviously Vita Via Alice Kappa, and then O J. Howard,
which was kind of the forgotten guy in some sense
because he brought and Gronk right like o J is
a is a first rounder. O J can potentially be
(03:46):
huge for them, but there was so much else going on.
You know, they had Grounk, they signed Antonio Brown, and
so you sort of forgot that this guy who's can
be potentially a huge impact player was not on there.
So this is a team that stayed pretty healthy but
has gotten healthier. And even the guys and you know
the story outline. Obviously, even Tom Brady, nobody talks about
that he wasn't healthy during when the year was happening.
(04:07):
Nobody knew that that knee was as messed up as
it was. He had offseason surgery. A lot of guys
had offseason surgery. JPP was talking to us yesterday, he said,
this is the healthiest he has felt since. He said,
you're going to see the JPP. And the irony of
that situation is JPP was the lone pro bowler on
this team, and he told us yesterday he never felt
(04:28):
healthy Lester, he said he never trusted his knee. He
said he wanted to make it clear yesterday that he
can still do backflips. He did not say that he
would do them on Thursday night, even he did not
prove it. Uh, he was asked if he would do it,
If you would do it Thursday night. I'm not sure
that Bruce would like to necessarily see that or the
Bucks fans like, we'll just take you at your word
(04:49):
for that, Jppum. I would think for safety reasons, but
this is a team that that even the guys that
you would consider healthy that played all year, we're not healthy.
So overall, why is this team different? I think those
reasons right there. And house in this league is really everything. Oh,
it's huge, huge, and so much of it is luck, right,
and you know they were able to battle through a
lot of that, which you know says a lot about
(05:10):
that team in the short time that they had already
been together. Um, you know you mentioned Tom Brady and
his health and all that, and and now back for
another year. Has there been any conversation with or around
Tom about what it took to repeat when he led
the last team to a repeat title, oh three or
four with the Patriots, or his failed attempts to repeat
(05:34):
and each of his previous three Super bowls before this
last one with Tampa. He's very adamant that it just
doesn't carry over in the sense of he says, we're
not trying. At least he said this today, they're not
trying to defend their title, which I don't know how
much do you believe that. Of course, the goal is
to defend your title. But he's like, that can't be
taken away from us because this is obviously a team
with the target on its back, like it's really never had.
Even when they won the Super Bowl years ago with
(05:56):
the Ronde's and Derrick Brooks and that group, it wasn't
Tom Brady and and sort of the attention that he brings.
And so he's very adamant that this is about we've
accomplished nothing. I think that sort of mantra has been
like just pummeled into these guys brain that this this
isn't a carryover thing. I don't know how much you
can believe that, right, Like the signage is everywhere the
(06:19):
this is a different group of guys that was a
hugely an experienced team when it comes to like how
many guys have been to the player even been to
the playoffs at all before um Let alone won a
Super Bowl. So I asked him today, you know the
difference in the teams that he's been on that have repeated, Uh,
this difference between what those guys brought to the table
(06:40):
and what this team this year brings to the table, Like,
what do you see mentally? And he kind of just
he doesn't go there, like he's so focused, Like even
when I flat out asked him that, and he was like,
we are just about this team that has accomplished nothing,
but Sarah like that in itself is an answer, right,
because that that kind of clues you to the laser focus. Right,
(07:02):
that's what it takes. I feel like there's been this
there's always this misconception with champions and with teams that
won championships that you have to go out there and
defend it. I think Brady's right, like you have to
go attack it again, you have to go assume that
you are going to win it again. Right, And it
sounds like that's what this laser focus, that's what the
quote unquote go for two is all about right. Yeah,
(07:23):
And you know, Gronk has been there before with with
that Patriots franchise, and I thought he brought up a
good point. He said, you got to look at it
like all these other teams went out and got better, right, Like,
they go, you make the move to get this player
to get better. The Bucks didn't make moves that way, right.
So he's like, you you've got literally the rest of
the league, every team that did not win the Super Bowl,
which is everyone but the team right here, goes out
(07:44):
and it's like, how can we get better to get
close to that goal? Well, the Bucks did nothing, he
goes So in the sense of they don't go sign somebody,
they don't make a move, there's no there were no
positions up for grabs, Like this had to be the
most boring training camp in all training camps. If you're right,
for good reason, there's there's no positional battles. Uh. And
so in that sense, when you look at it that way,
he's like, you've got to look at that. Motivation is like, Okay,
(08:05):
if everybody else is doing something to get better, what
do we have to do? And like we have to
go just another gear, another level, and they are very
much about like that's put to bed. We've done nothing
so far, Um, we've earned nothing except I would say
a lot of hype. Yeah, how how much of that
must said? And that attitude philosophy does really come from
(08:27):
Bruce arians and how he sets the tone each and
every day with his honesty, uh, with with and with
his expectations as high as they might be for this
team that's coming off the championship. I love his honesty.
I like I think sometimes maybe, um, the team probably
wishes me he wasn't so honest, right, But and then
like they love it, right, he's not. He doesn't sugarcoat
things ever. I mean it's like day two a training camp,
(08:49):
he's like, we're awful. I mean, if you listen to him,
like they're the worst team in the league at times, right,
But you have to be like that, right, You're not
going to rest on your laurels. That's how to get
them anywhere. So I think all of it, well, I'd
like to say all of it stems from Bruce, but
that's probably not true, just because of who Tom is
and for how long Tom has done it right, So
I think that that's like a double headed monster. In
that stems from Bruce and Tom that that is over.
(09:12):
It's put to bed, We're done with it. We're moving on.
Bruce was asked even today about there's going to be
a huge ceremony on Thursday night. Um, they want fans
in the seats at eight o'clock, that's twenty minutes before kickoff,
because they say they're planning a historic celebration. But brit
was asked about that today and he said, we're not
going to be at that. And I was thinking, like,
what are you talking about. He goes, We're not gonna
(09:32):
be at that, that pomp and circumstance. He's like, we're
not there. We're in the locker room, and this is
just the same old team in the locker room, you know,
while we're in when we're on this talk of repeating
and trying to win another championship. Um, I feel like
we we buried the lead. Your first year with us
at NFL Network, you jump on the bandwagon of this
team and take them all the way to the Super Bowl.
(09:54):
So I mean, have they come to you for any
any guidance anything on on how to you know, defend
a championship? Reporting run that you were on. You know what,
this is probably the best question you've asked. Um, certainly
it deserves a long term contract. I don't know, and
I didn't even here's the best part. I didn't even
show up for training camp last year. I joined you
(10:15):
guys like into October. So like this heat. Uh Baldy
described it today as obscene heat in Tampa, which is
completely true. I like missed all of this. I like
cruised in in October when things are much better here
and then just like rode this thing to the super
Bowl right in That was awesome. Yeah, and I grew
up here like this like could not have been any better,
(10:37):
Like the script was great. So, um, if they don't
win at all, like forget the box being disappointed Like
this is all I know with the NFL. This is you. Yeah,
I mean, like you you joined some pretty good company.
Because I think we'll have to get our our producer
extraordinary here Thomas Warren to double check me on this,
but I think James Palmer joined the network from you know,
(10:57):
he's based in Denver for like the year of Super
Bowl fifty when the Broncos went to so so like,
you guys have a have a and he wrote that
wave like all the way through, right, And so you
guys share some elite company. This is We're building a
pretty good roster here is basically what I'm saying in
terms of champions Yeah. I like those stats. Yeah, Sarah
Walls everybody on the bus for us all last season
(11:20):
and all this week leading up to kickoff one. Sarah,
thanks for being with us, Thanks for having me. Guys.
Dak Prescott missing a month of training camp with the
shoulder injury. But how close did the Cowboys come to
actually missing him? For this opener? Some of the guys
that you know consult with the Rangers. It said, so,
what do you guys think? And they said, well, it
(11:40):
can be as simple as a quarter zone shot or
as bad as missing an entire season. I was like, well,
Jane Slater, with the tension surrounding Dack's injury and now
the anxiety ahead of his first start since Week five
last year. Next, So, Jane, you and I were together
(12:14):
in Oxnard, California for Inside training camp about a day
after we learned of Dak Prescott's shoulder injury, the shoulder
injury that set him on this month long rehab recovery
course and kept him out of the entire preseason. Go
back to that time period for us for just a moment,
how much tension was there within this Cowboys organization about
(12:39):
the recovery and about the availability for what was coming
kick against camp. We'll let me take you back to
that day, Rhette. We were covering the first padded practice. Uh.
We had been fairly limited in what we've been able
to see from dak in O t a s in
mini camp. But what stood out for me ahead of
(13:00):
that was if he was having any limitations with his ankle,
didn't see it. It wasn't heavily taped up. He was
moving side to side vigorously. He was throwing the football
like a gun slinger. If if anything, if you go
back and you look at some of those videos, you
could tell he was kind of I don't want to
say force it, because I think he'd take exception with that,
(13:23):
but I think he was ready to get out there
after having the ball, so to speak, taken away back
in mid October. It was the most innocuous way to
injure yourself. And I've asked him several times because I
said to him at one of the press conferences, I said,
did just sleep on it wrong? You know? Is it
one of those things? Uh? And he said no, uh.
(13:48):
And then I thought was more interesting was this was
not a football injury. This was an injury that's reserved
for baseball players, this muscle strain and his and his
lot muscle throwing shoulder. And they consulted with the Rangers
and Yanks, and everyone told him taking time off is key.
You know, with a lot of these injuries, you know
what the timeline looks like. You know when you're going
(14:09):
to come back. And when I talked to a lot
of uh, some of the some of the guys that
you know, consult with the Rangers, I said, so, what
do you guys think? And they said, well, it can
be as simple as a cortisone shot, or as bad
as missing an entire season. I was like, well, so
if you notice I didn't really talk about this injury
more than what I was being told and what he
(14:33):
was seeing. I mean, I can only go on that.
I can only imagine the tension that was going on internally,
like knowing like oh, man, like we think he's gonna
be ready, but what if he's not? You know, like
are we gonna go through this again? And so now
there's got to be some anxiety Jane about what that
finished product quote unquote for Dac is going to really
(14:55):
look like out there against this Buccaneers defense, because we
haven't seen him since five last year, didn't seem at
all this preseason, right Like, there's got to be some
anxiety there. Well, I think the fascinating thing for a
lot of us, quite frankly, is a lot of people
have asked me in the past, um, you know, who's
really making the calls on office and whose offenses this right?
(15:18):
And so today I asked what McCarthy. I said, you know,
what is your process? You know, heading into week one?
You know, especially without COVID, are you are you Kellen Moore?
All of you sitting on the room. And I've got
to find what he said to me, because I thought
it was interesting. I love that he said, to call it,
you have to install it. Make no bones about it.
(15:40):
Kellen is calling the offense. So I thought that was interesting.
He also talked about the fact that, you know, Kellen
Moore didn't coach the final preseason game, and that was
because Mike wanted him to have an extra week to
prepare for this game. And he also said, you know,
tax had some free time, and that from everyone that
(16:02):
I taught to one of the main reasons that Kellen
was the offensive cordineer. Not only did they John's family
and the Cowboys hav an immense respect for him so much.
To remember, he almost went to Boise State, UM. But
Dad and him have a great relationship. So the offense
last year, by necessity of a historically poor defense, was
(16:23):
put very much on that right shoulder of Dak Prescott,
and look, he was great, right one of the most
prolific starts to a season we've ever seen in NFL history. Certainly,
expect the defense to be better, But I thought this
was really interesting, and it was in a teaser for
an interview that Dad did with our playmaker Michael Irvin
for the game day season preview, Deck said he expects
(16:46):
to be better than he was in those first five weeks,
which again was historically good. UM. But my question is, like,
are they going to ask him to be that much
better in that kind of role this year? Like, is
that the idea for this offense what we saw in
those first five weeks. I think they wanted more balanced offense.
(17:09):
I think a lot of that is predicated on getting
Zeke involved. Ball security is going to be huge for him,
and I appreciate that he's taken a lot of ownership
for last year and said, you know, when you're carrying
the football, you carry the hope of the team. And
we saw him doing more work this offseason than I've
ever seen him do since he you know, joined the
Cowboys back in. Zeke also said I think this week
(17:31):
that Zack Martin is the best player on this offense.
Which look, I think, you know, as a running back
talking about your offensive lineman, like you love to hear it,
you want to hear it. Um, But man, that that's
still an impactful statement for a team that has, you know,
guys like Dak Prescott and Marii Cooper and Smith. Yeah,
(17:51):
Laren Smith of course, one of the best left tackles
in football. Um, when he's healthy and when he's right.
I haven't seen that very often the last couple of years.
So do we really judge the impact of missing Zack
Martin due to the covid um the COVID positive diagnosis
ahead of this game, Well, I think he's a six
time Pro bowler. He is, He's got a lot of
(18:13):
position flex for you. They've had to plug and play
him in a couple of places when they've had problems
with depth, especially last season. Uh And, as Ezekiel Elliot
said it, he's the guy he looks for when he's
trying to, you know, run behind this line. And I
just think when you're going to get pressure up front
from guys like in Dominican Sue and guys like Vita
Vea and Jason Pierre Paul, he's a guy that you want,
(18:36):
uh and so and and I keep going back to
you again. Lyle Collins just came back from that next year.
You know, Tyrn Smith at times, you know, during camp
he says he looks great. Both of them look great,
by the way, but they haven't played, you know, a
full game of football since loud Collins didn't even I
(18:57):
mean he was gone. I think it was like midway
through Camper in the pre season. Uh So we didn't
see him at all last year and then of course,
you know, missed some time because the next thing or
so I if if we didn't see Terrence Smith that
last year or Lele Collins, I don't know if I'd
be as concerned, But I'm concerned because they have collectively.
(19:20):
That's what's concerning to me. He would certainly be he would.
It would certainly give give me a lot more confidence
about this offense having him up there. And I think
the way that these players speak about Zach Morton should
tell you everything you need to know. You know, when
you factor all of it together, it could be, you know,
a domino effect, right, like you've got Zack Martin out
(19:43):
when you want to probably protect Dak Prescott a little
bit handed off more have a more balanced attack. But
if you're not getting the yards, you're not just gonna
run your head into a brick wall all game long.
You're gonna have to sit back there and throw it.
And then if you're missing, you know, one of your
best pass protectors to what does that then do? It's
just it's like it's it's like a snowball effect when
(20:04):
you're missing a player of that caliber, of that impact. Now,
I do think that I think it helps a little
bit too, though, is Connor McGovern at least, you know,
I don't want to completely mitigate you know, this isn't
some scrape you're putting in there. Which is the third
year at the Cowboys. He started eight games last season.
He got a lot of meaningful reps uh during the preseason.
So I'm trying to find the silver linings for this
(20:25):
team because I felt like I was reporting a lot
of bad news last year. So I think that's good.
The fact that they actually have Titans at their disposal
be nice if they had a fullback, but they lost
their full back in camp, so they don't have a
guy on the roster. So at least you have tighten availability.
You can rely on Ezekiel Elliott, and you just got
to hope, as Dad put it, that he can stay
off the grounds. Well, let's hope. Let's just hope for
(20:49):
a great game. And uh, I know you are going
to be there to watch it all unfold live, and
I know you're happy to be back out there and
to be hopefully not shouting from the stands at the
er subjects. At the end of the game, nobody puts
a blanket on the Cowboys and covers Dallas like Jane Slater. Jane,
thanks so much for your insights. We appreciate it. Safe travels.
(21:10):
We'll talk to you after the game. Appreciate it. Vaccination
status a huge topic ahead of roster cut down day,
But how much of a factor did COVID nineteen play
in roster construction as a whole within the thirty two
teams in this league. How are the teams planning to
supplement their roster during the season if they need to
(21:30):
pick somebody up on a weekly basis. The COVID conversation
with Tom Peli sera next. Tom COVID is still with us.
Nobody wants it, but it's here in the NFL has
(21:52):
to be ready for it yet again this time though
this year the difference is the vaccination, But what about
the protocols and the guidelines? How different are they now
this year compared to last year. Once you throw the
vaccinated and unvaccinated into the mix, right, first of all,
you have a number of moving parts. It's not nearly
(22:13):
as clear as it was a year ago in terms
of a positive test and you basically knew how long
somebody was going to be out, how many games that
they were going to miss. Because you have varying protocols
between vaccinated individuals and unvaccinated individuals, it does make it
more complicated with from a competitive standpoint, Raises a lot
(22:34):
of questions because you may be only a couple of
days before the game and not know for certain who
your opponent has available or who you have available. So
some of the key factors here are going to be
vaccinated or not. It is also going to be whether
or not you have symptoms, and it's also going to
be when your initial positive test occurred, because the process
(22:55):
by which they're confirming them is just a little bit different,
and without getting into all the technical calities, they are
taking rapid test MASA test that's the initial test this year,
whereas last year everybody was being PCR tested on a
daily basis, which means sending it out to a lab
you got the results the next day. In some ways,
it moves more quickly. In other ways, though, you end
up actually slowing things down, just because again the confirmation
(23:19):
process that you go through is different because the test
is different. Also, these MASA tests are very sensitive, from
what has been explaining to me by people who are
actual doctors, not just people who pretend to be like me.
They can pick up they can pick up traces of
COVID much earlier in the process, and so whereas last year,
from exposure to testing positive was generally five days. This
(23:42):
year they're seeing it can be much closer to the exposure,
so you can find out more quickly whether or not uh,
somebody has it. So to get back to your original question,
which is about return to play, all these factors play
in on a very basic level. You could say that
unvaccinated individuals must miss a minimum of ten days. There's
(24:02):
some different additional things cardiac screening and whatnot that goes
into it too, but minimum ten days that somebody is out.
For a vaccinated individual who is completely asymptomatic, you can
come back with two negative tests twenty four hours apart.
Even if you have symptoms, you just have to be
clear for forty eight hours of those symptoms and then
(24:23):
have those two negative tests twenty four hours apart. Now
that doesn't mean that somebody tests positive on a Monday
and they've got a good chance of coming back on
a Wednesdays. We're not talking about false positives here. There's
still a confirmation process before you're declared an actual positive
and go on the COVID list. This would be your
confirmed positive, and now do you begin to test negative.
(24:44):
So there have been examples within the league of people
coming back sooner than that ten days, but it is
still a process, and so if you're a vaccinated individual,
there's an unknown there. Could you be cleared within a
game week test positive on a Monday, play on Sunday.
It is possible. So sting positive for COVID nineteen is
one thing, and then being around someone who has is another. Right,
(25:06):
the we heard about this a bunch last year and
we're still hearing about it now is the close contacts,
the high risk close contacts. Now that's also very different
this year to last year based on your vaccination status. Correct,
That's right. And one thing to understand here is while
COVID is going to be with us throughout the course
of the season, there will be positive tests throughout the
(25:27):
course of the season. As we've seen through training camp
in the preseason, you're going to have fewer of these
mass close contact issues that you had a year ago
because only unvaccinated individuals are forced to isolate without a
positive test under the current protocols, which again this can
all change a month from now at like last year
when the Titans had now break around I think it
(25:48):
was week four, week five. Then the institute at that
high risk close contact protocol all of a sudden, the
Broncos play game without a quarterback, the Browns play game
without most of their wide receivers. Those things are much
less likely to happen unless you have a position group
that is largely unvaccinated. I can tell you I am
aware of some teams that have that issue, that have
certain position groups where they have a higher degree of exposure.
(26:12):
But in essence, what this means is, if you are
a close contact, if you would fall onto the normal
definition of a high risk close contact, which is based
on a variety of different factors, including the ventilation in
the area you were in, how long were you there,
were you wearing masks? All those things play into it.
But only the unvaccinated individuals have a mandatory five day isolation.
(26:36):
We saw Kirk Cousins have that early on in training camp.
We saw more recently Carson Wentz and Ryan Kelly from
the Colts that same thing happened. If you're a vaccinated
individual and you are a close contact, you're tested for
five days, but you are not forced to isolate. You
can continue to come in to work and so again,
unless you have an entire position group that's all unvaccinated,
(26:59):
you are not going to all of a sudden lose
your whole position group. Now you might have concerns, and
again just like some other some other little pieces that
are going to be different from a year ago, you know, Tom,
like inside the facility, quite different for those individuals that
are vaccinated. And as you've been reporting, vaccination rate is
that that's still correct, that's among players and staff is
(27:20):
upwards of so league wide you're talking about of all
individuals are fully vaccinated or on the way, because there
are still some players who are going through the process here,
which is another thing I think it's important to understand
because Bill Belichick made some comments the other day, look
(27:41):
at all the vaccine individuals, players and coaches who have
tested positive around the league. Um, the vaccine is I
can remember exactly how he put it, But the implication
of the vaccine solves our problem has not been substantiated.
He's right. The number of players and coaches and staff
members that have been infected by code IT in this
training camp who have been vaccinated is a pretty high number.
(28:05):
We've had minimal, but throughout the league there have been
a number of quite a high number, I would say,
of players who have had the virus who have been vaccinated.
Your implication the vaccination solves every problem, it's just not really.
I would say that that has not been substantiated based
(28:25):
on what's happened in training camp this year. Now. That
was framed, of course, and intentionally or not, it certainly
was taken by a lot of people as saying Bill
Belichick does not believe correct in in vaccinations, which he
attempted to clarify the next day. He's right, the vaccination
alone does not solve all the problems, which is why,
you know, he emphasized it in his clarification that you
(28:47):
still need to do hygiene, you still need to have distancing,
you still have to wear masks, you still have to
in certain settings, just be more conscientious of how you're
conducting yourself. But we are going to continue to see
the so called breakthrough aces among vaccinated individuals, in fact
to this point where it there are more cases in
the NFL of vaccinated individuals testing positive than unvaccinated individuals.
(29:10):
But that is a math issue where you have for
every one unvaccinated person, you have twenty fully vaccinated or
people on the way to full vaccination. Within the league,
Dr Still said a week or so ago that there's
a seven time higher incidents rate among unvaccinated individuals. In
other words, do the quick math there, seven times three
(29:32):
is twenty one. You could have three times the number
of cases among vaccinated individuals, but it's still happening much
less frequently than it is among the unvaccinated population, which
is what drives these NFL NFL p A protocols that
are jointly negotiated and put together by the medical experts
for both the league and the union. You touched under earlier,
the situation with the Broncos quarterbacks a year ago, the
(29:53):
situation with the Browns receivers a year ago. Just looking
at the denverse situation, whereas they were hoping they play
that game on a different day, can move it to Tuesday,
didn't happen because there were some there were some other issues.
I think I felt like it was going on with
the with the Broncos quarterbacks that led the league to
be less sympathetic about that situation. If those four players
(30:15):
are vaccinated this year, the bottom line is that's not happening. Correct.
They wouldn't be required to wear masks in the meeting room,
they wouldn't have those same types of restrictions. So right there,
there's nothing but yes, even in a setting where what
would be considered to be a close contact would occur,
what would have happened because I believe it was Jeff
Driscoll who tested positively? Are three quarterbacks are ruled out
(30:37):
as close contact if they were all fully vaccinated? But what
what happen is those three other quarterbacks would be tested
for five days on a daily basis. As long as
they test negative, which in this case those quarterbacks did,
they would be allowed to play in the game. Two
other questions that I've been curious about, roster construction is
certainly one of them. Not necessarily how did vaccination and
(31:00):
status play into roster construction? But how did contingency plans
for teams factor into roster construction around the league? Did
we see that play? Did you see that play a
big role in how teams dealt with quarterbacks? How teams
are dealing with certain position groups in that way? Tom
and as much as urban Meyer uh caught heat for
(31:21):
saying it publicly, I guarantee you and I should be
careful to say this. I would certainly have an educated
guess that all thirty two teams discussed vaccination status because
it is a part of availability. Every team talks about it,
whether it's injuries or other situations that might go on.
Are you available to the team. The reality of the
(31:45):
NFL n f L p A protocols, which again this
can't be emphasized enough, jointly agreed to by the league
and the union. UH, they are geared to be more
punitive towards unvaccinated players between the high risk close contact
to a call, between the mandatory ten day weight if
you test positive, all the restrictions within the building, and
(32:07):
so if you end up in a situation where you know,
we've seen it again in Minnesota. We saw where they
didn't have three quarterbacks for their big Saturday night practice
on back Together Saturday. We saw with the Colts where
they lose, you know, three players, including Carson Wentz because
of a high risk close contact with alectrat. It impacts availability.
So you know, there's a lot of different layers to it.
(32:28):
It's not just the setting of the fifty three man roster.
It's positions where you don't have a lot of guys
like quarterback, like your punter and kicker. UH, if you
have vaccination questions there. If you have unvaccinated individuals, you
better have contingency plans. Is the setting of practice quads.
Waiver claims were way down. I don't know that that
was entirely because of vaccination status, but certainly you have
(32:50):
to take that into consideration. And also right now you're
not going to see a lot of unvaccinated individuals getting
signed off the street teams. No, there are teams I
can tell you within the league who have different colored
dots on their board right now for free agents, have
vaccinated and unvaccinated. Because if you have an injury on
a Sunday, U m R I guy on a Monday,
and you go, okay, we got these two players, they're
(33:12):
basically the same guy. We can get the same from them.
They're both gonna be minimum salaries. This guy's vaccinated, could
be here tomorrow, can practice on Wednesday. This guy's unvaccinated.
He has to come here and sit for five days.
The way he's gonna be ready to play in the
game next Sunday. Those guys aren't gonna get signed. And
so I can also tell you so I know specific
examples of this. There are some veteran players unvaccinated throughout
(33:35):
the course of the summer who had not signed. They
are going through the vaccination process now because it's finally
come to uh, you know, fruition here that if they
don't get vaccinated, they're not going to be on a team,
They're not gonna play. And then lastly here Tom, we
saw a game played on what every day of the
week last year? Right, you know you mentioned the Wednesday game.
(33:56):
Last year, we had a Tuesday game. Is the NFL
making contingency plans once again? Although I know then you
guys have reported this, you know months ago that the
NFL is not going to make those contingency plans if
there is an outbreak amongst unvaccinated individuals within a team.
But are there those sorts of contingencies to play games
outside of a normal game day. There are always continuencies
(34:19):
from the NFL office. Um, they've got different options. But
they also make clear in a memo I think it
was two months ago or so now that they were
fully intending to play all uh two and I gotta
get this number right now to fifty six. It's now
two d seventy two games over the eighteen week schedule,
(34:40):
and they do not intend to add a week nineteen.
And one of the key qualifiers there, which certainly augurs
more as a threat than reality, but it's still there,
is they are not going to be looking to reschedule
based on outbreaks or COVID issues caused, or that can
be traced back to unvaccinated individuals and for anyone and
saying well, how could they possibly know? They can because
(35:02):
they have genomic sequencing, because they have ways to tell
um the variant, they can trace it with a relative,
relatively high degree of specificity. Uh, you know, you certainly
are gonna have questions about it if well, if the
vaccine I gave it to an unvaccinated and then this
person gave it to that person, all those things will
be worked out. But the bottom line is they're not
looking to reschedule games. If you have a legitimate issue
(35:23):
where there is let's say, an asymptomatic carrier who leads
to I'll break them on vaccinated individuals, the NFL will try,
within reason to do what it did a year ago,
which is move games around, move games back, whatever it
might be. But there is no thinking going into this
season that well, inevitably to three times we're gonna have
to blow up the whole schedule and move games around
(35:43):
from week fifteen to five and all this stuff. They're
not looking at it that way. They are wanting to
play as best they can within the eighteen weeks, played
as on time as they possibly can. Uh. And you know,
here's another just important thing to keep in mind right
before we're talking about just the context. Actually talked so
much about the unvaccinated individuals, and there is such vitriol
(36:05):
on social media as I look at my Twitter feed
just about everything pertained this. It is a extremely divisive
issue nationally, uh, you know, and the NFL is a
microcosm of society at large. We're talking about roughly a
hundred fifty players in the whole league who are not
vaccinated at this point, are fully vaccinated or on the way.
(36:30):
Plus percent of staff coaches and other staff are fully vaccinated.
So you have a relatively small number of players. They
are subject to different rules and different protocols, and so yes,
when those issues pop up, when for instance, somebody's rule
to hire us close contact, people are going to point
out that those individuals are unvaccinated. That's not us saying
(36:52):
that it's always unvaccinated people. You're ignoring the vaccinated cases. No,
it is. The rules are different. I didn't make the rule.
You didn't make the rules. The rules were negotiated by
the NFL, the NFLPA and their medical experts. These are
what they are. They could be different in October than
they are as we sit here on September seven. But
the rules pertain to everyone in the league. But we're
(37:14):
talking about a hundred fifty, certainly under two hundred and
all this precise number, but under two hundred players in
the whole league who are unvaccinated. And that's that's what
you're dealing with. That's the scope of the people who
are gonna be subject to these other protocols. And that's
not to say the vaccinated individuals won't test positive again,
they will. Based on every bit of science, based on
(37:36):
every statement from Dr Shills, you will continue to see
breakthrough cases, and so far we've had more of those
cases than the unvaccinated individuals. But this is math. It's
a small number of people who are unvaccinated. Everyone has
to continue to take the utmost precautions, to continue to
be smart about a variety of different things. And even
if Bill Belichick may have been less eloquent than he
(37:59):
intended in originally state did. He's right, vaccines don't solve
all the problems, but there's a reason that the NFL,
the NFL p A, and their medical experts have pushed
for vaccinations even though they don't mandate them for players.
Right now we are at well over everyone in the
NFL sphere who is vaccinated, and that's where things stand.
Heading into Tom Pellicero, over the course of the last year,
(38:22):
without taking a single class, is now just three credit
hours short of an honorary degree in epidemiology. Tom, thank
you for your just when I was about there in
my labor degree last spring with the c b A,
and then the next week we move. We moved into this,
but it's important to understand again NFL and beyond in society.
The good news for US REP and COVID certainly a
(38:44):
serious issue. The good news for us is we're gonna
be back on the field again as reporters this year.
We're gonna be closer still six ft away from people
on the field, but will be closer to them. You
won't have to see me, I hope, yelling for bleachers
to somebody to do a postgame interview. That stuff is
gonna look a little bit all the normal. I'm at
Indianapolis on Thursday, spend a couple of days with the Colts,
have the cold Seahawks opener, and I can't wait. That's fantastic, Tom,
(39:07):
Thanks so much for spending some time with us, my man.
Here's to uh it, Here's to you, Here's to everybody
uh for a safe and full football season. Thanks Tom,
that's gonna do it for us. Here Episode one of
the NFL Inside Report podcast. Nearly in the books. Reminder, though,
we're gonna be with you at least three times a
week throughout the year, so please subscribe, download, rate review
(39:28):
over on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you
get your podcast. We're coming back with you later this
week for a look ahead at some of the impactful
Week one showdowns on the Saints relocation from New Orleans
ahead of Hurricane Ida to Dallas Fort Worth and now
to Jacksonville for what was supposed to be their home
(39:49):
opener against the Packers, and ahead of the twentieth anniversary
of nine eleven powerful conversation with our reporters that covered
teams in New York at a time when a country
it was morning in sport, was trying to aid the recovery.
And before we leave you here today to close out
this first episode, some thoughts on a friend and NFL
(40:12):
Media colleague, Tara Deaker, who passed this weekend after a
courageous battle with cancer. Diex was a do it all
kind of person. So to say what she did, what
her title was, what her role was with us here
at the NFL Media group would be a disservice to
the great work she did on every show and with
(40:36):
every person she interacted with, because it was all encompassing.
So the better description is that Deaker was the spirit
of NFL Media. She was the smile. She was the
sunshine in a windowless studio, boisterously laughing down the halls,
(41:01):
unknowingly challenging your bad day. Issues with her infectious personality
and selfless concern and care. I had a conversation with
Deaker a few months ago and towards the end of
last season. She had actually called me moments after a
(41:24):
phone conversation with her doctor that had revealed to her
that her cancer had advanced to the point where it
was going to make beating it extremely challenging. She then
called me to talk about an issue that I was
(41:45):
having with the comfortability of a desk in a studio
space at our office. Like really, I just sat crisscross
apple sauce on the floor so that she didn't have
to make that kind of phone call after receiving that
kind of news. But that's the kind of person she was.
(42:09):
That's the kind of person we're gonna miss. Bless you, Deaker,
you are missed. NFL Inside Report is the production of
the NFL and partnership with I heart Radio. For more
official podcasts from the NFL, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Rett Lewis, and this is the NFL Inside Report podcast.
We are going in on Kickoff one. Thanks for being
with us here on this debut episode of the NFL
Inside Report podcast. We've got you covered for Kickoff one.
The reporters that are covering each team of Bucks and
the Cowboys every day this week leading up the kickoff
(00:36):
are with us. Sarah Walsh, who was with the Bucks
every step of the way on their Super Bowl run.
Stops by ahead of stop number one on Tampa's title defense,
or rather their quest to go win it again, an
important distinction that Sarah picked up talking to Tom Brady
this week. And for a team that is so similar
to the one that hoisted the Lombardy last year, why
(00:58):
what's different about this year's team will make them even better?
That's coming up. Jane Slater expertly covering the Cowboys for
US all offseason, all preseason, and now every hour leading
up the kickoff for a game that will include quarterback
Dak Prescott that after his shoulder injury in camp left
(01:19):
some doubt as to his availability for Week one. We'll
go inside the recovery that Dallas hopes will help lead
the Cowboys to an offensive rebirth against Tampa and COVID
is still here. Obvious major impacts throughout the country and
the world. And while the NFL was able to play
(01:40):
every single game last season without the vaccine, Tom Brady
has said he expects the virus and pandemic to be
an even bigger challenge this year. Tom Pellicero has been
at the forefront of our reporting on this subject. He
knows the protocols, he knows the guidelines, and he's telling
us how the league is position in itself or contingencies
(02:02):
and what about another emergency quarterback situation? Could what happened
to the Denver Broncos last year starting a wide receiver
at quarterback happened again this year. That's all ahead, but
first let's kick this thing off from Tampa with Sarah Walsh. So, Sarah,
I feel like the biggest headline surrounding the Bucks for
(02:22):
the last I don't know, four or five months since
they won Super Bowl fifty five was that they brought
everybody back, right, all twenty two starters, even the core
participation group outside of those starters is back. The whole
coaching staff is back. But I was having this chat
with Scott Pioli, a resident GM. It's like, the same
production is not going to cut it for the Bucks
(02:43):
if they want to win again. So what's really different
about this team? A couple of things are different. One,
the amount of time they've played together, right, that changes. Uh,
you know, I said it a million times. It felt
like last year and people would say, like, what's wrong
with them? Why can't this offense get going? And it
wasn't just a new quarterback. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Early on in the year, they would play on Sunday,
(03:04):
but they didn't practice during the week. They were really
banged up, and I think that that was sort of
underrated in these storylines because you'd see him on Sunday
and it took them a while to get on the
same page. And look, when Tom didn't have a preseason
last year, he wasn't in a preseason with those receivers,
and then he wasn't with him during the week. So
that's where I think when they started to get healthier,
that's when you saw them click. So now they've had
(03:24):
this entire time, they've had a preseason like they didn't have,
So that's different. This is a healthier team and and
that sounds insane in the sense that this was a
relatively healthy team last year, not a lot of injuries.
Obviously Vita Via Alice Kappa, and then O J. Howard,
which was kind of the forgotten guy in some sense
because he brought and Gronk right like o J is
a is a first rounder. O J can potentially be
(03:46):
huge for them, but there was so much else going on.
You know, they had Grounk, they signed Antonio Brown, and
so you sort of forgot that this guy who's can
be potentially a huge impact player was not on there.
So this is a team that stayed pretty healthy but
has gotten healthier. And even the guys and you know
the story outline. Obviously, even Tom Brady, nobody talks about
that he wasn't healthy during when the year was happening.
(04:07):
Nobody knew that that knee was as messed up as
it was. He had offseason surgery. A lot of guys
had offseason surgery. JPP was talking to us yesterday, he said,
this is the healthiest he has felt since. He said,
you're going to see the JPP. And the irony of
that situation is JPP was the lone pro bowler on
this team, and he told us yesterday he never felt
(04:28):
healthy Lester, he said he never trusted his knee. He
said he wanted to make it clear yesterday that he
can still do backflips. He did not say that he
would do them on Thursday night, even he did not
prove it. Uh, he was asked if he would do it,
If you would do it Thursday night. I'm not sure
that Bruce would like to necessarily see that or the
Bucks fans like, we'll just take you at your word
(04:49):
for that, Jppum. I would think for safety reasons, but
this is a team that that even the guys that
you would consider healthy that played all year, we're not healthy.
So overall, why is this team different? I think those
reasons right there. And house in this league is really everything. Oh,
it's huge, huge, and so much of it is luck, right,
and you know they were able to battle through a
lot of that, which you know says a lot about
(05:10):
that team in the short time that they had already
been together. Um, you know you mentioned Tom Brady and
his health and all that, and and now back for
another year. Has there been any conversation with or around
Tom about what it took to repeat when he led
the last team to a repeat title, oh three or
four with the Patriots, or his failed attempts to repeat
(05:34):
and each of his previous three Super bowls before this
last one with Tampa. He's very adamant that it just
doesn't carry over in the sense of he says, we're
not trying. At least he said this today, they're not
trying to defend their title, which I don't know how
much do you believe that. Of course, the goal is
to defend your title. But he's like, that can't be
taken away from us because this is obviously a team
with the target on its back, like it's really never had.
Even when they won the Super Bowl years ago with
(05:56):
the Ronde's and Derrick Brooks and that group, it wasn't
Tom Brady and and sort of the attention that he brings.
And so he's very adamant that this is about we've
accomplished nothing. I think that sort of mantra has been
like just pummeled into these guys brain that this this
isn't a carryover thing. I don't know how much you
can believe that, right, Like the signage is everywhere the
(06:19):
this is a different group of guys that was a
hugely an experienced team when it comes to like how
many guys have been to the player even been to
the playoffs at all before um Let alone won a
Super Bowl. So I asked him today, you know the
difference in the teams that he's been on that have repeated, Uh,
this difference between what those guys brought to the table
(06:40):
and what this team this year brings to the table, Like,
what do you see mentally? And he kind of just
he doesn't go there, like he's so focused, Like even
when I flat out asked him that, and he was like,
we are just about this team that has accomplished nothing,
but Sarah like that in itself is an answer, right,
because that that kind of clues you to the laser focus. Right,
(07:02):
that's what it takes. I feel like there's been this
there's always this misconception with champions and with teams that
won championships that you have to go out there and
defend it. I think Brady's right, like you have to
go attack it again, you have to go assume that
you are going to win it again. Right, And it
sounds like that's what this laser focus, that's what the
quote unquote go for two is all about right. Yeah,
(07:23):
And you know, Gronk has been there before with with
that Patriots franchise, and I thought he brought up a
good point. He said, you got to look at it
like all these other teams went out and got better, right, Like,
they go, you make the move to get this player
to get better. The Bucks didn't make moves that way, right.
So he's like, you you've got literally the rest of
the league, every team that did not win the Super Bowl,
which is everyone but the team right here, goes out
(07:44):
and it's like, how can we get better to get
close to that goal? Well, the Bucks did nothing, he
goes So in the sense of they don't go sign somebody,
they don't make a move, there's no there were no
positions up for grabs, Like this had to be the
most boring training camp in all training camps. If you're right,
for good reason, there's there's no positional battles. Uh. And
so in that sense, when you look at it that way,
he's like, you've got to look at that. Motivation is like, Okay,
(08:05):
if everybody else is doing something to get better, what
do we have to do? And like we have to
go just another gear, another level, and they are very
much about like that's put to bed. We've done nothing
so far, Um, we've earned nothing except I would say
a lot of hype. Yeah, how how much of that
must said? And that attitude philosophy does really come from
(08:27):
Bruce arians and how he sets the tone each and
every day with his honesty, uh, with with and with
his expectations as high as they might be for this
team that's coming off the championship. I love his honesty.
I like I think sometimes maybe, um, the team probably
wishes me he wasn't so honest, right, But and then
like they love it, right, he's not. He doesn't sugarcoat
things ever. I mean it's like day two a training camp,
(08:49):
he's like, we're awful. I mean, if you listen to him,
like they're the worst team in the league at times, right,
But you have to be like that, right, You're not
going to rest on your laurels. That's how to get
them anywhere. So I think all of it, well, I'd
like to say all of it stems from Bruce, but
that's probably not true, just because of who Tom is
and for how long Tom has done it right, So
I think that that's like a double headed monster. In
that stems from Bruce and Tom that that is over.
(09:12):
It's put to bed, We're done with it. We're moving on.
Bruce was asked even today about there's going to be
a huge ceremony on Thursday night. Um, they want fans
in the seats at eight o'clock, that's twenty minutes before kickoff,
because they say they're planning a historic celebration. But brit
was asked about that today and he said, we're not
going to be at that. And I was thinking, like,
what are you talking about. He goes, We're not gonna
(09:32):
be at that, that pomp and circumstance. He's like, we're
not there. We're in the locker room, and this is
just the same old team in the locker room, you know,
while we're in when we're on this talk of repeating
and trying to win another championship. Um, I feel like
we we buried the lead. Your first year with us
at NFL Network, you jump on the bandwagon of this
team and take them all the way to the Super Bowl.
(09:54):
So I mean, have they come to you for any
any guidance anything on on how to you know, defend
a championship? Reporting run that you were on. You know what,
this is probably the best question you've asked. Um, certainly
it deserves a long term contract. I don't know, and
I didn't even here's the best part. I didn't even
show up for training camp last year. I joined you
(10:15):
guys like into October. So like this heat. Uh Baldy
described it today as obscene heat in Tampa, which is
completely true. I like missed all of this. I like
cruised in in October when things are much better here
and then just like rode this thing to the super
Bowl right in That was awesome. Yeah, and I grew
up here like this like could not have been any better,
(10:37):
Like the script was great. So, um, if they don't
win at all, like forget the box being disappointed Like
this is all I know with the NFL. This is you. Yeah,
I mean, like you you joined some pretty good company.
Because I think we'll have to get our our producer
extraordinary here Thomas Warren to double check me on this,
but I think James Palmer joined the network from you know,
(10:57):
he's based in Denver for like the year of Super
Bowl fifty when the Broncos went to so so like,
you guys have a have a and he wrote that
wave like all the way through, right, And so you
guys share some elite company. This is We're building a
pretty good roster here is basically what I'm saying in
terms of champions Yeah. I like those stats. Yeah, Sarah
Walls everybody on the bus for us all last season
(11:20):
and all this week leading up to kickoff one. Sarah,
thanks for being with us, Thanks for having me. Guys.
Dak Prescott missing a month of training camp with the
shoulder injury. But how close did the Cowboys come to
actually missing him? For this opener? Some of the guys
that you know consult with the Rangers. It said, so,
what do you guys think? And they said, well, it
(11:40):
can be as simple as a quarter zone shot or
as bad as missing an entire season. I was like, well,
Jane Slater, with the tension surrounding Dack's injury and now
the anxiety ahead of his first start since Week five
last year. Next, So, Jane, you and I were together
(12:14):
in Oxnard, California for Inside training camp about a day
after we learned of Dak Prescott's shoulder injury, the shoulder
injury that set him on this month long rehab recovery
course and kept him out of the entire preseason. Go
back to that time period for us for just a moment,
how much tension was there within this Cowboys organization about
(12:39):
the recovery and about the availability for what was coming
kick against camp. We'll let me take you back to
that day, Rhette. We were covering the first padded practice. Uh.
We had been fairly limited in what we've been able
to see from dak in O t a s in
mini camp. But what stood out for me ahead of
(13:00):
that was if he was having any limitations with his ankle,
didn't see it. It wasn't heavily taped up. He was
moving side to side vigorously. He was throwing the football
like a gun slinger. If if anything, if you go
back and you look at some of those videos, you
could tell he was kind of I don't want to
say force it, because I think he'd take exception with that,
(13:23):
but I think he was ready to get out there
after having the ball, so to speak, taken away back
in mid October. It was the most innocuous way to
injure yourself. And I've asked him several times because I
said to him at one of the press conferences, I said,
did just sleep on it wrong? You know? Is it
one of those things? Uh? And he said no, uh.
(13:48):
And then I thought was more interesting was this was
not a football injury. This was an injury that's reserved
for baseball players, this muscle strain and his and his
lot muscle throwing shoulder. And they consulted with the Rangers
and Yanks, and everyone told him taking time off is key.
You know, with a lot of these injuries, you know
what the timeline looks like. You know when you're going
(14:09):
to come back. And when I talked to a lot
of uh, some of the some of the guys that
you know, consult with the Rangers, I said, so, what
do you guys think? And they said, well, it can
be as simple as a cortisone shot, or as bad
as missing an entire season. I was like, well, so
if you notice I didn't really talk about this injury
more than what I was being told and what he
(14:33):
was seeing. I mean, I can only go on that.
I can only imagine the tension that was going on internally,
like knowing like oh, man, like we think he's gonna
be ready, but what if he's not? You know, like
are we gonna go through this again? And so now
there's got to be some anxiety Jane about what that
finished product quote unquote for Dac is going to really
(14:55):
look like out there against this Buccaneers defense, because we
haven't seen him since five last year, didn't seem at
all this preseason, right Like, there's got to be some
anxiety there. Well, I think the fascinating thing for a
lot of us, quite frankly, is a lot of people
have asked me in the past, um, you know, who's
really making the calls on office and whose offenses this right?
(15:18):
And so today I asked what McCarthy. I said, you know,
what is your process? You know, heading into week one?
You know, especially without COVID, are you are you Kellen Moore?
All of you sitting on the room. And I've got
to find what he said to me, because I thought
it was interesting. I love that he said, to call it,
you have to install it. Make no bones about it.
(15:40):
Kellen is calling the offense. So I thought that was interesting.
He also talked about the fact that, you know, Kellen
Moore didn't coach the final preseason game, and that was
because Mike wanted him to have an extra week to
prepare for this game. And he also said, you know,
tax had some free time, and that from everyone that
(16:02):
I taught to one of the main reasons that Kellen
was the offensive cordineer. Not only did they John's family
and the Cowboys hav an immense respect for him so much.
To remember, he almost went to Boise State, UM. But
Dad and him have a great relationship. So the offense
last year, by necessity of a historically poor defense, was
(16:23):
put very much on that right shoulder of Dak Prescott,
and look, he was great, right one of the most
prolific starts to a season we've ever seen in NFL history. Certainly,
expect the defense to be better, But I thought this
was really interesting, and it was in a teaser for
an interview that Dad did with our playmaker Michael Irvin
for the game day season preview, Deck said he expects
(16:46):
to be better than he was in those first five weeks,
which again was historically good. UM. But my question is, like,
are they going to ask him to be that much
better in that kind of role this year? Like, is
that the idea for this offense what we saw in
those first five weeks. I think they wanted more balanced offense.
(17:09):
I think a lot of that is predicated on getting
Zeke involved. Ball security is going to be huge for him,
and I appreciate that he's taken a lot of ownership
for last year and said, you know, when you're carrying
the football, you carry the hope of the team. And
we saw him doing more work this offseason than I've
ever seen him do since he you know, joined the
Cowboys back in. Zeke also said I think this week
(17:31):
that Zack Martin is the best player on this offense.
Which look, I think, you know, as a running back
talking about your offensive lineman, like you love to hear it,
you want to hear it. Um, But man, that that's
still an impactful statement for a team that has, you know,
guys like Dak Prescott and Marii Cooper and Smith. Yeah,
(17:51):
Laren Smith of course, one of the best left tackles
in football. Um, when he's healthy and when he's right.
I haven't seen that very often the last couple of years.
So do we really judge the impact of missing Zack
Martin due to the covid um the COVID positive diagnosis
ahead of this game, Well, I think he's a six
time Pro bowler. He is, He's got a lot of
(18:13):
position flex for you. They've had to plug and play
him in a couple of places when they've had problems
with depth, especially last season. Uh And, as Ezekiel Elliot
said it, he's the guy he looks for when he's
trying to, you know, run behind this line. And I
just think when you're going to get pressure up front
from guys like in Dominican Sue and guys like Vita
Vea and Jason Pierre Paul, he's a guy that you want,
(18:36):
uh and so and and I keep going back to
you again. Lyle Collins just came back from that next year.
You know, Tyrn Smith at times, you know, during camp
he says he looks great. Both of them look great,
by the way, but they haven't played, you know, a
full game of football since loud Collins didn't even I
(18:57):
mean he was gone. I think it was like midway
through Camper in the pre season. Uh So we didn't
see him at all last year and then of course,
you know, missed some time because the next thing or
so I if if we didn't see Terrence Smith that
last year or Lele Collins, I don't know if I'd
be as concerned, But I'm concerned because they have collectively.
(19:20):
That's what's concerning to me. He would certainly be he would.
It would certainly give give me a lot more confidence
about this offense having him up there. And I think
the way that these players speak about Zach Morton should
tell you everything you need to know. You know, when
you factor all of it together, it could be, you know,
a domino effect, right, like you've got Zack Martin out
(19:43):
when you want to probably protect Dak Prescott a little
bit handed off more have a more balanced attack. But
if you're not getting the yards, you're not just gonna
run your head into a brick wall all game long.
You're gonna have to sit back there and throw it.
And then if you're missing, you know, one of your
best pass protectors to what does that then do? It's
just it's like it's it's like a snowball effect when
(20:04):
you're missing a player of that caliber, of that impact. Now,
I do think that I think it helps a little
bit too, though, is Connor McGovern at least, you know,
I don't want to completely mitigate you know, this isn't
some scrape you're putting in there. Which is the third
year at the Cowboys. He started eight games last season.
He got a lot of meaningful reps uh during the preseason.
So I'm trying to find the silver linings for this
(20:25):
team because I felt like I was reporting a lot
of bad news last year. So I think that's good.
The fact that they actually have Titans at their disposal
be nice if they had a fullback, but they lost
their full back in camp, so they don't have a
guy on the roster. So at least you have tighten availability.
You can rely on Ezekiel Elliott, and you just got
to hope, as Dad put it, that he can stay
off the grounds. Well, let's hope. Let's just hope for
(20:49):
a great game. And uh, I know you are going
to be there to watch it all unfold live, and
I know you're happy to be back out there and
to be hopefully not shouting from the stands at the
er subjects. At the end of the game, nobody puts
a blanket on the Cowboys and covers Dallas like Jane Slater. Jane,
thanks so much for your insights. We appreciate it. Safe travels.
(21:10):
We'll talk to you after the game. Appreciate it. Vaccination
status a huge topic ahead of roster cut down day,
But how much of a factor did COVID nineteen play
in roster construction as a whole within the thirty two
teams in this league. How are the teams planning to
supplement their roster during the season if they need to
(21:30):
pick somebody up on a weekly basis. The COVID conversation
with Tom Peli sera next. Tom COVID is still with us.
Nobody wants it, but it's here in the NFL has
(21:52):
to be ready for it yet again this time though
this year the difference is the vaccination, But what about
the protocols and the guidelines? How different are they now
this year compared to last year. Once you throw the
vaccinated and unvaccinated into the mix, right, first of all,
you have a number of moving parts. It's not nearly
(22:13):
as clear as it was a year ago in terms
of a positive test and you basically knew how long
somebody was going to be out, how many games that
they were going to miss. Because you have varying protocols
between vaccinated individuals and unvaccinated individuals, it does make it
more complicated with from a competitive standpoint, Raises a lot
(22:34):
of questions because you may be only a couple of
days before the game and not know for certain who
your opponent has available or who you have available. So
some of the key factors here are going to be
vaccinated or not. It is also going to be whether
or not you have symptoms, and it's also going to
be when your initial positive test occurred, because the process
(22:55):
by which they're confirming them is just a little bit different,
and without getting into all the technical calities, they are
taking rapid test MASA test that's the initial test this year,
whereas last year everybody was being PCR tested on a
daily basis, which means sending it out to a lab
you got the results the next day. In some ways,
it moves more quickly. In other ways, though, you end
up actually slowing things down, just because again the confirmation
(23:19):
process that you go through is different because the test
is different. Also, these MASA tests are very sensitive, from
what has been explaining to me by people who are
actual doctors, not just people who pretend to be like me.
They can pick up they can pick up traces of
COVID much earlier in the process, and so whereas last year,
from exposure to testing positive was generally five days. This
(23:42):
year they're seeing it can be much closer to the exposure,
so you can find out more quickly whether or not uh,
somebody has it. So to get back to your original question,
which is about return to play, all these factors play
in on a very basic level. You could say that
unvaccinated individuals must miss a minimum of ten days. There's
(24:02):
some different additional things cardiac screening and whatnot that goes
into it too, but minimum ten days that somebody is out.
For a vaccinated individual who is completely asymptomatic, you can
come back with two negative tests twenty four hours apart.
Even if you have symptoms, you just have to be
clear for forty eight hours of those symptoms and then
(24:23):
have those two negative tests twenty four hours apart. Now
that doesn't mean that somebody tests positive on a Monday
and they've got a good chance of coming back on
a Wednesdays. We're not talking about false positives here. There's
still a confirmation process before you're declared an actual positive
and go on the COVID list. This would be your
confirmed positive, and now do you begin to test negative.
(24:44):
So there have been examples within the league of people
coming back sooner than that ten days, but it is
still a process, and so if you're a vaccinated individual,
there's an unknown there. Could you be cleared within a
game week test positive on a Monday, play on Sunday.
It is possible. So sting positive for COVID nineteen is
one thing, and then being around someone who has is another. Right,
(25:06):
the we heard about this a bunch last year and
we're still hearing about it now is the close contacts,
the high risk close contacts. Now that's also very different
this year to last year based on your vaccination status. Correct,
That's right. And one thing to understand here is while
COVID is going to be with us throughout the course
of the season, there will be positive tests throughout the
(25:27):
course of the season. As we've seen through training camp
in the preseason, you're going to have fewer of these
mass close contact issues that you had a year ago
because only unvaccinated individuals are forced to isolate without a
positive test under the current protocols, which again this can
all change a month from now at like last year
when the Titans had now break around I think it
(25:48):
was week four, week five. Then the institute at that
high risk close contact protocol all of a sudden, the
Broncos play game without a quarterback, the Browns play game
without most of their wide receivers. Those things are much
less likely to happen unless you have a position group
that is largely unvaccinated. I can tell you I am
aware of some teams that have that issue, that have
certain position groups where they have a higher degree of exposure.
(26:12):
But in essence, what this means is, if you are
a close contact, if you would fall onto the normal
definition of a high risk close contact, which is based
on a variety of different factors, including the ventilation in
the area you were in, how long were you there,
were you wearing masks? All those things play into it.
But only the unvaccinated individuals have a mandatory five day isolation.
(26:36):
We saw Kirk Cousins have that early on in training camp.
We saw more recently Carson Wentz and Ryan Kelly from
the Colts that same thing happened. If you're a vaccinated
individual and you are a close contact, you're tested for
five days, but you are not forced to isolate. You
can continue to come in to work and so again,
unless you have an entire position group that's all unvaccinated,
(26:59):
you are not going to all of a sudden lose
your whole position group. Now you might have concerns, and
again just like some other some other little pieces that
are going to be different from a year ago, you know, Tom,
like inside the facility, quite different for those individuals that
are vaccinated. And as you've been reporting, vaccination rate is
that that's still correct, that's among players and staff is
(27:20):
upwards of so league wide you're talking about of all
individuals are fully vaccinated or on the way, because there
are still some players who are going through the process here,
which is another thing I think it's important to understand
because Bill Belichick made some comments the other day, look
(27:41):
at all the vaccine individuals, players and coaches who have
tested positive around the league. Um, the vaccine is I
can remember exactly how he put it, But the implication
of the vaccine solves our problem has not been substantiated.
He's right. The number of players and coaches and staff
members that have been infected by code IT in this
training camp who have been vaccinated is a pretty high number.
(28:05):
We've had minimal, but throughout the league there have been
a number of quite a high number, I would say,
of players who have had the virus who have been vaccinated.
Your implication the vaccination solves every problem, it's just not really.
I would say that that has not been substantiated based
(28:25):
on what's happened in training camp this year. Now. That
was framed, of course, and intentionally or not, it certainly
was taken by a lot of people as saying Bill
Belichick does not believe correct in in vaccinations, which he
attempted to clarify the next day. He's right, the vaccination
alone does not solve all the problems, which is why,
you know, he emphasized it in his clarification that you
(28:47):
still need to do hygiene, you still need to have distancing,
you still have to wear masks, you still have to
in certain settings, just be more conscientious of how you're
conducting yourself. But we are going to continue to see
the so called breakthrough aces among vaccinated individuals, in fact
to this point where it there are more cases in
the NFL of vaccinated individuals testing positive than unvaccinated individuals.
(29:10):
But that is a math issue where you have for
every one unvaccinated person, you have twenty fully vaccinated or
people on the way to full vaccination. Within the league,
Dr Still said a week or so ago that there's
a seven time higher incidents rate among unvaccinated individuals. In
other words, do the quick math there, seven times three
(29:32):
is twenty one. You could have three times the number
of cases among vaccinated individuals, but it's still happening much
less frequently than it is among the unvaccinated population, which
is what drives these NFL NFL p A protocols that
are jointly negotiated and put together by the medical experts
for both the league and the union. You touched under earlier,
the situation with the Broncos quarterbacks a year ago, the
(29:53):
situation with the Browns receivers a year ago. Just looking
at the denverse situation, whereas they were hoping they play
that game on a different day, can move it to Tuesday,
didn't happen because there were some there were some other issues.
I think I felt like it was going on with
the with the Broncos quarterbacks that led the league to
be less sympathetic about that situation. If those four players
(30:15):
are vaccinated this year, the bottom line is that's not happening. Correct.
They wouldn't be required to wear masks in the meeting room,
they wouldn't have those same types of restrictions. So right there,
there's nothing but yes, even in a setting where what
would be considered to be a close contact would occur,
what would have happened because I believe it was Jeff
Driscoll who tested positively? Are three quarterbacks are ruled out
(30:37):
as close contact if they were all fully vaccinated? But what
what happen is those three other quarterbacks would be tested
for five days on a daily basis. As long as
they test negative, which in this case those quarterbacks did,
they would be allowed to play in the game. Two
other questions that I've been curious about, roster construction is
certainly one of them. Not necessarily how did vaccination and
(31:00):
status play into roster construction? But how did contingency plans
for teams factor into roster construction around the league? Did
we see that play? Did you see that play a
big role in how teams dealt with quarterbacks? How teams
are dealing with certain position groups in that way? Tom
and as much as urban Meyer uh caught heat for
(31:21):
saying it publicly, I guarantee you and I should be
careful to say this. I would certainly have an educated
guess that all thirty two teams discussed vaccination status because
it is a part of availability. Every team talks about it,
whether it's injuries or other situations that might go on.
Are you available to the team. The reality of the
(31:45):
NFL n f L p A protocols, which again this
can't be emphasized enough, jointly agreed to by the league
and the union. UH, they are geared to be more
punitive towards unvaccinated players between the high risk close contact
to a call, between the mandatory ten day weight if
you test positive, all the restrictions within the building, and
(32:07):
so if you end up in a situation where you know,
we've seen it again in Minnesota. We saw where they
didn't have three quarterbacks for their big Saturday night practice
on back Together Saturday. We saw with the Colts where
they lose, you know, three players, including Carson Wentz because
of a high risk close contact with alectrat. It impacts availability.
So you know, there's a lot of different layers to it.
(32:28):
It's not just the setting of the fifty three man roster.
It's positions where you don't have a lot of guys
like quarterback, like your punter and kicker. UH, if you
have vaccination questions there. If you have unvaccinated individuals, you
better have contingency plans. Is the setting of practice quads.
Waiver claims were way down. I don't know that that
was entirely because of vaccination status, but certainly you have
(32:50):
to take that into consideration. And also right now you're
not going to see a lot of unvaccinated individuals getting
signed off the street teams. No, there are teams I
can tell you within the league who have different colored
dots on their board right now for free agents, have
vaccinated and unvaccinated. Because if you have an injury on
a Sunday, U m R I guy on a Monday,
and you go, okay, we got these two players, they're
(33:12):
basically the same guy. We can get the same from them.
They're both gonna be minimum salaries. This guy's vaccinated, could
be here tomorrow, can practice on Wednesday. This guy's unvaccinated.
He has to come here and sit for five days.
The way he's gonna be ready to play in the
game next Sunday. Those guys aren't gonna get signed. And
so I can also tell you so I know specific
examples of this. There are some veteran players unvaccinated throughout
(33:35):
the course of the summer who had not signed. They
are going through the vaccination process now because it's finally
come to uh, you know, fruition here that if they
don't get vaccinated, they're not going to be on a team,
They're not gonna play. And then lastly here Tom, we
saw a game played on what every day of the
week last year? Right, you know you mentioned the Wednesday game.
(33:56):
Last year, we had a Tuesday game. Is the NFL
making contingency plans once again? Although I know then you
guys have reported this, you know months ago that the
NFL is not going to make those contingency plans if
there is an outbreak amongst unvaccinated individuals within a team.
But are there those sorts of contingencies to play games
outside of a normal game day. There are always continuencies
(34:19):
from the NFL office. Um, they've got different options. But
they also make clear in a memo I think it
was two months ago or so now that they were
fully intending to play all uh two and I gotta
get this number right now to fifty six. It's now
two d seventy two games over the eighteen week schedule,
(34:40):
and they do not intend to add a week nineteen.
And one of the key qualifiers there, which certainly augurs
more as a threat than reality, but it's still there,
is they are not going to be looking to reschedule
based on outbreaks or COVID issues caused, or that can
be traced back to unvaccinated individuals and for anyone and
saying well, how could they possibly know? They can because
(35:02):
they have genomic sequencing, because they have ways to tell
um the variant, they can trace it with a relative,
relatively high degree of specificity. Uh, you know, you certainly
are gonna have questions about it if well, if the
vaccine I gave it to an unvaccinated and then this
person gave it to that person, all those things will
be worked out. But the bottom line is they're not
looking to reschedule games. If you have a legitimate issue
(35:23):
where there is let's say, an asymptomatic carrier who leads
to I'll break them on vaccinated individuals, the NFL will try,
within reason to do what it did a year ago,
which is move games around, move games back, whatever it
might be. But there is no thinking going into this
season that well, inevitably to three times we're gonna have
to blow up the whole schedule and move games around
(35:43):
from week fifteen to five and all this stuff. They're
not looking at it that way. They are wanting to
play as best they can within the eighteen weeks, played
as on time as they possibly can. Uh. And you know,
here's another just important thing to keep in mind right
before we're talking about just the context. Actually talked so
much about the unvaccinated individuals, and there is such vitriol
(36:05):
on social media as I look at my Twitter feed
just about everything pertained this. It is a extremely divisive
issue nationally, uh, you know, and the NFL is a
microcosm of society at large. We're talking about roughly a
hundred fifty players in the whole league who are not
vaccinated at this point, are fully vaccinated or on the way.
(36:30):
Plus percent of staff coaches and other staff are fully vaccinated.
So you have a relatively small number of players. They
are subject to different rules and different protocols, and so yes,
when those issues pop up, when for instance, somebody's rule
to hire us close contact, people are going to point
out that those individuals are unvaccinated. That's not us saying
(36:52):
that it's always unvaccinated people. You're ignoring the vaccinated cases. No,
it is. The rules are different. I didn't make the rule.
You didn't make the rules. The rules were negotiated by
the NFL, the NFLPA and their medical experts. These are
what they are. They could be different in October than
they are as we sit here on September seven. But
the rules pertain to everyone in the league. But we're
(37:14):
talking about a hundred fifty, certainly under two hundred and
all this precise number, but under two hundred players in
the whole league who are unvaccinated. And that's that's what
you're dealing with. That's the scope of the people who
are gonna be subject to these other protocols. And that's
not to say the vaccinated individuals won't test positive again,
they will. Based on every bit of science, based on
(37:36):
every statement from Dr Shills, you will continue to see
breakthrough cases, and so far we've had more of those
cases than the unvaccinated individuals. But this is math. It's
a small number of people who are unvaccinated. Everyone has
to continue to take the utmost precautions, to continue to
be smart about a variety of different things. And even
if Bill Belichick may have been less eloquent than he
(37:59):
intended in originally state did. He's right, vaccines don't solve
all the problems, but there's a reason that the NFL,
the NFL p A, and their medical experts have pushed
for vaccinations even though they don't mandate them for players.
Right now we are at well over everyone in the
NFL sphere who is vaccinated, and that's where things stand.
Heading into Tom Pellicero, over the course of the last year,
(38:22):
without taking a single class, is now just three credit
hours short of an honorary degree in epidemiology. Tom, thank
you for your just when I was about there in
my labor degree last spring with the c b A,
and then the next week we move. We moved into this,
but it's important to understand again NFL and beyond in society.
The good news for US REP and COVID certainly a
(38:44):
serious issue. The good news for us is we're gonna
be back on the field again as reporters this year.
We're gonna be closer still six ft away from people
on the field, but will be closer to them. You
won't have to see me, I hope, yelling for bleachers
to somebody to do a postgame interview. That stuff is
gonna look a little bit all the normal. I'm at
Indianapolis on Thursday, spend a couple of days with the Colts,
have the cold Seahawks opener, and I can't wait. That's fantastic, Tom,
(39:07):
Thanks so much for spending some time with us, my man.
Here's to uh it, Here's to you, Here's to everybody
uh for a safe and full football season. Thanks Tom,
that's gonna do it for us. Here Episode one of
the NFL Inside Report podcast. Nearly in the books. Reminder, though,
we're gonna be with you at least three times a
week throughout the year, so please subscribe, download, rate review
(39:28):
over on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you
get your podcast. We're coming back with you later this
week for a look ahead at some of the impactful
Week one showdowns on the Saints relocation from New Orleans
ahead of Hurricane Ida to Dallas Fort Worth and now
to Jacksonville for what was supposed to be their home
(39:49):
opener against the Packers, and ahead of the twentieth anniversary
of nine eleven powerful conversation with our reporters that covered
teams in New York at a time when a country
it was morning in sport, was trying to aid the recovery.
And before we leave you here today to close out
this first episode, some thoughts on a friend and NFL
(40:12):
Media colleague, Tara Deaker, who passed this weekend after a
courageous battle with cancer. Diex was a do it all
kind of person. So to say what she did, what
her title was, what her role was with us here
at the NFL Media group would be a disservice to
the great work she did on every show and with
(40:36):
every person she interacted with, because it was all encompassing.
So the better description is that Deaker was the spirit
of NFL Media. She was the smile. She was the
sunshine in a windowless studio, boisterously laughing down the halls,
(41:01):
unknowingly challenging your bad day. Issues with her infectious personality
and selfless concern and care. I had a conversation with
Deaker a few months ago and towards the end of
last season. She had actually called me moments after a
(41:24):
phone conversation with her doctor that had revealed to her
that her cancer had advanced to the point where it
was going to make beating it extremely challenging. She then
called me to talk about an issue that I was
(41:45):
having with the comfortability of a desk in a studio
space at our office. Like really, I just sat crisscross
apple sauce on the floor so that she didn't have
to make that kind of phone call after receiving that
kind of news. But that's the kind of person she was.
(42:09):
That's the kind of person we're gonna miss. Bless you, Deaker,
you are missed. NFL Inside Report is the production of
the NFL and partnership with I heart Radio. For more
official podcasts from the NFL, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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