October 3, 2025 • 26 mins
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks are joined by former NFL GM Tom Telesco to preview Week 5 of the regular season. They open up the show with a discussion on roster-building while navigating the season (0:26) Then, the trio look at the most intriguing match ups of the week, including Vikings - Browns from London (05:28), Buccaneers - Seahawks (10:41), Texans - Ravens (16:25), and Broncos - Eagles. (20:50)
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now move the sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up everybody walking to move the sticks DJ, Buck
and back again our good buddy Tom to Let's go
longtime general manager of the National Football League, Tom. We
want to jump into some big games here. We've got
some big games coming up this weekend. And it's that
type of that type of of the season right now,
or that time of the season where you get to
week five, where was your marker where you kind of
(00:29):
felt like you knew what you had from a team
standpoint right now?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I used to use four games.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It's kind of the marker I really I wouldn't look
at any stats, any any data until after week four.
I just felt like you had a pretty good sample
size at that point. Certainly have a better feel on
your injury situation right now a month and I just
felt like, as far as the strengths and weaknesses of
your roster, it's really you got October first. I'm starting
to really see where we're at, which is kind of
perfect the way it lined up. You know, you get
(00:55):
the trade deadline at the at the end of October,
but this was an important time right now because I
think you had your best feel certainly much better now
than he did on You know, coming out of training camp, did.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You ever have any like, oh my gosh, I miss
I misread this like you thought maybe it was going
to be poor in one area and you were great
in that area, or vice versa, where it's just you're
a quarter of the way in. You're like, oh my gosh,
this is not the team that I thought I had.
Good or bad.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Absolutely, it happens.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I mean, every player doesn't perform to the level that
you think, and it could go either way.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
My first year at the Chargers, our receiver group I.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Thought was going to be outstanding, and we have a
couple of injuries, we have one player not play as
well as as we thought, and now we're really struggling.
And you know, thank god we had Keenan Allen to
jump in there as a rookie, and you know he
kind of took it away from there. But yeah, you know,
when you when you get a sense in training camp
where you are, you get a sense where your adepth
is in certain positions.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
But every year there'd be.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Something, you know, you come into uh September, maybe a
player you claimed at the cut to fifty three and
they jump into a role and you're pleasantly surprised. We
had claimed a lot to a defensive tackle last year
from the Colts and or Lalu from the Colts, and
(02:10):
you know, we brought him in more as a developmental player.
We were a little thin on the defensive line, and
then he came in and earned a role, and he's
playing a lot for us through the year, and he
kind of feeled the need for us that we didn't
anticipate being able to field during the season. So yeah,
every now and then you get like a pleasant surprise, you.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Know, Tom, So many people that listen and watch the
show may not understand the constant evaluation and assessments that
you're doing on players. Can you talked a little bit
about like an in in season evaluation of your team
and how you're always looking to find better parts, particularly
the bottom third of the roster.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, you're always just working on depth because nobody has
a perfect roster. I used to have our depth chart
on a magnetic board in front of me and I
would stare at that.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
I can't tell you how much throughout the day you're just.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Staring at it, and all you see is where we
need help. Where we need help, You're anticipating, Look if
this player goes down, do we have enough to fill
it right now? Do we have enough on our practice squads?
So you're constantly working through that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
But it's not just a GM.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
You you have a pro scouting staff that's also doing
that on a daily basis, seven days a week. And
then one of the things like as a general manager,
I stayed in house during the week, So there's different
trains of thoughts. Some gems go out on the road
scouting during the week. I stayed in house. And I
like to have a lot of just off the cuff
conversation with our position coaches on what they're seeing, Who
(03:30):
do they think feel is developing, who they feel is not.
I give some give and take and some opinion on
some different players, and just you have a pulse of
the team throughout the year to kind of anticipate where
you need to go before you have that emergency situation.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Were there ever conversations there with coaches where they weren't
quite as receptive to feedback. They can get a little
bit territorial, is what I'm getting at. But it has
to be a give and take because I'm not the
know all. I don't have all the answers either, so
I was always lucky.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I mean, there weren't very many coaches that that that
weren't but there were where they were great just give
and take conversations because I may see something that they
don't see, and they may see something that I'm not seeing.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So you have those conversations.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
That's why you know, scouting is it's objective and subjective
and you have to kind of put it all together.
But yeah, there's certain times like coaches are very narrow
focused during.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
The season, which they have to be and they should be.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
GM has to be a little bit more big picture
to look you know, down the road for no only
this season, but future seasons.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
But those are great conversations to have, Tom do.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
You sometimes have to got veteran players the clear path
for younger player to get on the field, because you know,
if you have the veteran in the building, the coaches
are always going to play the old again, like the
old Woolby.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
It's like the would be blanket.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, the security blanket as long as that veteran is
is declining in production. I mean, what you don't want
to do is just you know, if a guy's giving
me a really good you know, there's some spots for
a security vet veteran. There there are some spots, just
not too many, and you have to figure out where
they are because you know, having an old football, old
football teams get hurt and old football teams will fade
(05:09):
usually as you get to do November and December. So
you got to find the right spots. But yeah, there
are certain situations. But usually I would make those decisions,
you know, in the spring and summer. I don't make
those decisions during the Once the season starts, we're not
going to cut a veteran for a young guy. But
you have to foreshadow those early to make sure you
set up the roster the right way.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Let's jump into these games. Let's jump into the first
one here. It's going to take place in London, will
be early in the morning on Sunday, Vikings Browns, which
is going to give us a look at Dylan Gabriel
in his first start. I did see that note that
it's like the last I think it's the last six
Oklahoma quarterbacks I think are starting, and that's all.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
They were all there.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
I believe under Lincoln Riley going back. They're all six
starting this week that is in thesane, the number of
quarterbacks that they've produced there. But Dylan Gabriel, what's the
what's your expectation there and what do you think are
the best operating constructions for him in his first crack
at it?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Well, I mean, first I do like Dylan Gabriel. I
just have some concern, like the whole offense has to
step up no matter who the quarterback is, whether it's
Joe Flacco or Dylan Gabriel, they need more around him
right now. And they like both offensive tackle spots, they're struggling.
They don't have a ton of weapons. Thank god, Jenkins
has now signed and in and he looks like he's
(06:21):
pretty good. And the tight end Fanning, and they've in
a great rookie class and you know Fanning gives them,
you know, a pretty good outlet as a tight end.
But I think with Dylan Gabi, hopefully you're going to
see that the offense kind of pick up the pace
a little bit. He's a quick decision maker, he's got
quick eyes. He actually has really good arm strength for
a smaller quarterback, which you don't see very often, but
(06:41):
he gets.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
The ball out with a lot of pace.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Now playing the Vikings defense, I mean that is not
going to be easy and it may not look like
he's making quick decisions this week. It's his first start
against a really good team, so there's going to be
you know, some a growth factor there. But their offense,
they just haven't scored enough, so hopefully canet him a
little bit of spark at the ball out of Sandy.
He's a much more mobile than Flacco, so you know,
get some chunks of yards there, but you know it's
(07:06):
going to be a tough en verm.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And thus I didn't even realize. I mean, I realize
that now.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
But the bikes have been over there for a week,
so to me, that's certainly an advantage that they had
a chance to really get acclimated, whereas the Browns are
just flying over I believe yesterday to get there today to.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Tell what was your philosophy on those those overseas trips.
Do you prefer going over early? Are you a a
let's fly, let's play it and let's get back. So
we did a lot of work on that. I think
we had Gus Bradley and our staff with our first
trip to England or to London, and you know he'd
done it every year with Jacksonville, and you know, there's
(07:41):
a philosophy that you go early, get acclimated, and then
the downside of that is is just sometimes there's too
much time over there and you just get a little
bit stale for whatever reason, you know, the food, whatever
it is. So what we end up doing, especially coming
from the West Coast, we had played the Browns the
week before we went over to London, and we played
the Browns and we stayed in Cleveland Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
(08:03):
practice at bald and Wall's College actually, and then made
the trip over to London from there, got in there,
you know, Thursday.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
I believe we.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Had to walk through a quick practice Friday and or no,
we had to walk through Friday, quick practice, Saturday and
played Sunday. I don't know if there's one perfect way.
It's really just a survive and advanced type trip. It
just is it's difficult to sloppy game for both teams.
I don't know which best way to do. But I'd
rather just fly in, play the game and get out.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah, I would just remember that game because that was
the Titans right, and that was where it came down
to money. And I were sitting up there, going, if
they don't go, if Rabel doesn't go for two and
this thing goes to overtime, we're not going to be
able to fly out that night. We have to stay
over another night. So I was very thankful. I was
very happy the Chargers won, as someone who's calling the
Chargers game, but I was willing to be okay with
(08:49):
it even if it went the other.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Way, because Rabel at least was getting us all on.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
An airplane to go home that night, So we appreciated
that from Coach Rable, and the Chargers end up getting
a w. To me, I'm curious on Dylan Gabriel because
that was to me, I thought his superpower was everything
was quick, you know, quick mind, quick release, quick decisions,
get the ball out, And man, that's gonna be tough
with the way they kind of muddy the picture with
(09:14):
all the different bodies up around the line of scrimmage,
So gonna be a challenge there for him as he
gets rolling. But man, you talked about the draft for
the Browns swection, you're on the defensive side of the ball.
Mason Graham played well to go with those offensive guys
you referenced, like that is a phenomenal, phenomenal draft has been.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
It's been really good.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I mean his quickness, his route running, he's got outstanding hands.
I mean, you wonder how and this happens all of us,
Like you know, guys kind of fall in the draft.
You know we're not perfect at it. And you look
at him like he's a legit NFL starter from day one?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Can this be kind of that springboard draft for them?
Would stick on the Browns here for a second, just
because you know, you go back and look remember the
Saints draft where they got you know, Kamara and Ramchick
and all those guys in that one draft and it
was kind of like five starters that they ended up.
And we can go through a lot of those teams
and I'm sure you've been a part of them as well,
but can you kind of identify these teams and say, Okay,
this is the one that's going to kind of be
(10:07):
our platform for us to get going here.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Yeah, it has to be, because you know, they haven't
had a lot of access that the last couple of
years because of the quarterback trades. So there's just now
starting to get you know, enough draft picks and enough
cap space. But between Mason Graham, Carson s Wessenger has
been out standing from day one in an offense, you know,
not only Judkins have fandom, but Dylan Sampson has run,
(10:30):
has run pretty well.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
He's caught the ball.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
While of the backfield, Isaiah Bond is really a college
free agent who's playing already. So that's like, you know,
five six players right there from this draft class, so
you can build on.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
So how about Tampa? How about Tampa Seattle?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's one I'm thinking I might be looking forward to
more than any of the game this weekend.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
That's interesting. You know, the the Bucks are a good
football team. They're really well constructed. They're kind of holding
out on the offensive line and they I mean, it's
it's hard that like the Vikings have a ton of
injuries and on the offensive line, the Chargers have a
ton on the Bucks of that a lot with with
Kentucky and Cody Mack, but they're surviving it. And then
the defense has played outstanding, especially on third downs. So
(11:10):
and there's a fun team to watch play. It's fun
to watch Baker Mayfield play football, It really is. That's
when that's what I'm starting to realize being you know,
watching these games as a fan and not as a
GM where you're always focused on something else, and just
watching a player I can play with his enthusiasm, the.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
High plays, the low plays.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
It's just like a like appointment football, you.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Know, And thinking about that, like, what can we learn
from the Baker Mayfield experience. I feel like so many
of the quarterbacks that are having success, even his counterpart
Sam Donald, are having success later after he bounced around
and gain experience.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
What can we learn from the evaluation process on young quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Well, sometimes it's right place, right time, and that happens
at every position, but certainly the quarterback position. It's just
got to be you know, maybe it just has to
be the right fit, the right coordinator, the right supporting costs,
and you never know where it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
So if you see town.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
That's why we always used to go back to our
college report. Some players that may have failed in the league,
but hey, let's go back to what we saw in college.
We know what our eyes saw. You know, maybe in
a different environment the player will play a little bit different,
and we're seeing that with Daniel Jones with the Colts.
To me, he handled the whole process of being released
from the Giants, that whole whatever it was, four or
five month process as far as okay, how do I
(12:20):
get my career back on track the way Sam Donald
has or Baker Mayfield. And we tried to sign Daniel
Jones last year to the Raiders, you know, because we're
trying to figure out our quarterback situation. He decided to
go to Minnesota, go in their practice squad, learn from
Kevin O'Connell, kind of take a reset, kind of do
a little football rehab, learn something different, and then find
(12:41):
a team to go to where I can compete for
a starting job that has good talent around us, around them.
And the Colts have that and he's you know, he's
taken off so far.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Is that going to change how some teams approach the
draft going for when it comes to the quarterback position,
where it's like, hey, if we love a guy, will
take him. But if we think this is a B
plus player that were you know, we're a little mixed
on why would you do that when they're every year
there's going to be a washout first round pick quarterback
who's still in his mid twenties, that you have none
(13:11):
of the risk and all the reward.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
I don't know why you would.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Why would you force the college kid when we've now
seen time after time all these guys kind of make
things happen in their next stop.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, that's a that's a great point.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And if it's like a B plus quarterback you're not
all in line with, maybe you take them down the
road third, fourth round, but they use a premium mass
set and a guy that you're not all one hundred
percent invested in. That's just that's a recipe for failure.
So I believe what you're saying. You know, look at
the veteran market. You may have to take a chance
on a guy that hasn't looked great. I mean, Daniel
Jones didn't look very good the last couple of years
(13:42):
with the Giants.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
But he's big. He's bigger than you think. But he's big.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
He's a great athlete, super smart, loves to prepare, has
good arm strength, is mobile.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
There's a lot of things that work with there.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So you bring them in, you put him a different situation,
you let them hand the ball off to Jonathan Taylor
a little bit. You got Tyler Warren to throw two
down the middle. You got Michael Pittman and their offensive line,
which is not you know, big names, It's a really
good offensive line. They play really well together, certain solid,
and then Chane Stake and I love it's a play caller.
So it's just a perfect setup for a quarterback who's
rehabilitating his career.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Buck, can I make my pick real quick?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Because we always do this episode where we we draft
our reclamation projects once we get into the off season.
I'm gonna I'm already staking my claim right now because
when I just listen to you, that's a high, high
first round pick, big athletic, smart, tough, big arm, And
I'm like, Trey Lance. It is next next offseason. It
is Trey Lance season. He looked great in the preseason.
(14:39):
This year he's getting a chance to again just kind
of sit and take take a deep breath. There, little hardball,
sprinkle a little magic on him. I got his confidence
going like that to me, like going into next year's draft. Buck,
if I'm sitting there and I'm like I don't, I'm
trying to talk myself into Garrett Nusmeyer and I'm gonna
put my job on the line there, or I can
or I can just take Trey Lance is not going
(15:00):
to cost me that much money, and if it doesn't
work out, so be it. But I can get a
great player in the first round, and I've got him Tom.
What do you think, DJ, we just talked about this.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
If you're Joe Hortiz, you don't let him out of
the building, right We just talked about you gotta have
invest team, and now you're just letting him walk out
of the building.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Well, we'll see what I think he's going to have suitors. Man.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
I just think because the character, both the personal and
football character is so you.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Got a budget for it, then, yeah, you got a
budget for it. You can't.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
They're too good a football team right now that justin
happens to get hurt, God forbid. Got to keep that
ship going.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
The question is, if you're Trey Lance, do you sit
there and say, I mean I want to I want
to play right now, or do you sit there and say,
I'm in a great position here, I'm still really really young.
I don't know, Buck, that's going to be a decision
for him to make. I think maybe more so than
the team.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Yeah, probably so but I would think if I'm free lance,
given the challenges that I faced early. Sometimes it's cool
to be in an environment where you want it and
you want to compete. But as like Tom talked about
with Daniel Jones, maybe you have a long term perspective
on what would be better.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
For me long term as opposed to short term.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
The money would be great to be a starter, but
it could be the last opportunity that he gets the
next one. Maybe you stick with the charges for a
minute and can team to develop and then it becomes
a better opportunity for you down the road.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
All right, let's take a quick pause here and we'll
jump right back in with Tom Telesco. All right, Tom,
let's get to another one here. Houston Baltimore surprising, obviously
very surprising with where Baltimore is, But I'm a little
surprised that Houston hasn't taken that big leap that I
think everybody was expecting after the playoff runt last year.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Yeah, I mean, their defense is still really strong and
that's really what they're leaning on.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
And like I'm a big CJ.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Stroud fan, I just don't think he's regressed overnight.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
But you know, losing Joe Mixon hurts hurts a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Even though he's an older back, he still had a
lot of He's still performing at a pretty high level.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
The injury has its kind of mysterys.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
He's been an N five not peup, so that's been
something he did on his own in the offseason. But
you know, the issue there has just been the offensive line.
I mean, they last year, they they replaced a lot
of inconsistent, declining.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Production offensive lineman.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
But then they brought in a lot of inconsistent declining
offensive lineman, you know, so it's the same thing. So
they're not getting a lot of protection up front, they're
not running the ball that well. So the defense is
playing outstanding and CJ. Stroud, if you just give him
some time, he's gonna be fine. They got people a
throw to and what he Mark's got some run last week.
Liked him a lot in the draft. We see a
(17:33):
lot of him out here at USC. So, but yeah,
they're not where they need to be. But their division
isn't the strongest either, so I think in the end
they'll be back in the mix.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
And tell I want to ask you because Dimico Ryan
did something that was interesting he's been renowned as a
defensive play caller. Last week he gave a play call
and duties because he felt like he wanted to better
manage the overall operation. What do you think about that
as a head coach, when you've been so good in
one area as you give it up in an effort
to try and take some of the problems that are
(18:03):
prevented the team from winning.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Yeah, I think it shows just a ton of confidence
and self awareness with the head coach because he got
the job because he's a great defensive coordinator. But the
head coaching job is completely different than than a coordinator job,
and there's a lot you have to manage. I mean,
Brian Callahan is seeing that in Tennessee right now. There
are just so many parts of the game you have
(18:26):
to manage as the head coach that it's hard. Also
being a play caller. You know Andy Reek can do it,
he's been doing it forever, and there's other coaches that
do it. But I think, you know, for a younger
head coach with a lot on your plate, you're gonna
have to trust your staff a little bit.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Even during the week.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
There are a lot of things that you can't be
in every single defensive meeting, which you want to be
as a coordinator because there's a lot of stuff going
on you have to handle that are even non football related.
So I think it just showed a great amount of
maturity and self awareness that he and faith in his
staff that he could pass it over. Now, the defense
is still playing pretty well, I mean, not giving up
a ton of points, which is why they're staying into
these games. They haven't been great on third down, but
(19:04):
I think they'll improve. But I thought that was really
astute move by him. What point in time is there
from a Baltimore standpoint? And Lamar, you know, has to
practice for a couple of days this week. We'll see
what his health status is going to be. But I
know that division.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
I know Pittsburgh's three and one, But it doesn't feel
like that Pittsburgh's just going to run away and hide
inside that division?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Is there? How do you go about maintaining you know,
some calm amidst a very urgent situation when you're sitting
there at one and three of your Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Well, the good thing is you have John Harbaughs. He's
seen it all. He can kind of get things reset.
I mean, they may be missing ten starters on Sunday,
which is just that's hard to survive. And it's not
just role players you're talking about like impact players that
they're missing. And maybe this is the law averages because
last year they're one of the healthiest teams in the
league and this year so far, they're the complete opposite.
They're one of the most injured teams in the league.
(19:55):
But I just felt going into the year like they
had the strongest roster in the NFL. Again subjective, but
you look at it, I thought best roster in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
So now we're going to.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Really see, like do they have enough depth because I
thought they had some depth almost everywhere except for defensive line,
and that kind of showed up early. But you're gonna
have a lot of players have to step up in
their roles. They didn't anticipate this early, just to kind
of get them through because they're gonna get some players back.
The defense hasn't performed the way it has in the past.
That's going to have to get better. Offensively, they're scoring points.
(20:26):
I'd like to see a little more targets to the receivers,
just to spread the ball at a little bit more.
But look, they're scoring points. So John Harball always figures
it out. And it's so early in the year, you know,
I just I mean, you're always concerned. But I think
they got plenty of time to turn it around.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Man. It's such a fascinating team because it was one
of the teams that we've felt so good about in
terms of being a title contender. But yet here they
are kind of playing for their playoff loops about Denver
Philly last one. We'll hit hammer this one and then
we'll wrap it up here. But Denver Philly, Philly, I've
never seen anything like it. It cracks me up. That's
the Philadelphia sports fan for you. Four and oh and
(21:02):
it seems like nobody's happy, I know.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
And they've beat good teams, so I mean, is it
always esthetically pleasing, Probably not. But they forced turnovers. You know,
the defense hasn't played great yet. I think they will,
but they forced turnovers on defense. They play good special teams.
When they get in the red zone, they score touchdowns
(21:26):
a lot high percentage of time. And it's not all
just because of the of the quarterback sneak, but they
scored a high percentage of the red zone, and they
keep people a lot of the end zone, they give
up field goal. So it's going to have to get
better and moving forward. But look, they're four and oh
and they beat four good teams, so it's hard to
complain a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Okay, but to the point, you have a receiver, you
have a receiver on the perimeter who I can't tell
if he's complaining of that. We have cryptic, cryptic tweets,
we have some poudy faces, but we don't know. As
a general manager, how do you handle it? How do
you broach a conversation with Aj Brown? Like do you
(22:04):
have a conversation with him or do you just kind
of let it play in? Yeah, I probably would.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
I probably say, hey, Aj, go look at the receivers
at Granada Hills and see if they're confining.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Over four passes at four games. That's right, right, So
but yeah, I mean I would.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I mean, look, I know things are different for different
players and you know, different eras, but the head coach's
office door is always open. Just go see your coach,
goese your position coach, go see the coordinator. I think
there's a reason to put, you know, a cryptic message
out there I mean, if you're upset, you're upset. If
you have a solution, you know, come in to see
(22:40):
your coaches and talk about it.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And I probably would have a.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Discussion with the player on that situation. I get where
he's coming from, and I would be frustrated too if
I were him. But I think it's just something that's
going to have to play out. And look, they have
they have a new coordinator and a new offensive coordinator,
and I know they're running a lot of the same system,
but it's just different. You know, it's a different personality,
it's a different way to game plan, it's a different
(23:03):
way to call the game. So the fact that it
didn't come right out of the gates the way you
want it the first month is that shouldn't be a
huge surprise.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
But it's something you can work through during the season,
you know, something just hey, preach you a little patience.
I don't know if you've heard this story, Tom, this
is a true story. By the way, there was a
fifth grader. There was a fifth grader that came up
to Bucky this is a year or two ago and said,
I want to learn football, and I just I'm I'm
passionate about it, and then someday one day after I
graduated from college, I'd love to be a football coach.
(23:32):
So is there any why I can just come to
practice and maybe just you know, carry the water, or
just can I just sit in on the meetings?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
And Buck said, how'd you like to be our receivers coach?
And just jump right in. That's a job for me.
I'll drive up. I'll do that, just jump right in.
He just dances and starts it.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Do you send your receivers to the offensive line room?
Speaker 3 (23:58):
That what you do? Because they're gonna block for I
mean four.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Quarters, there's a lot of there's a lot of board drills, a.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Lot of bag holding, a lot of bag boarding.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
At the time on the slid, they get plenty of
water breaks because we're down doing the other stuff.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
I'd be transferring. H I'm not wide receiver. At first,
I would just coaching. I'm doing I'm trying to run
them off. What do you want to cover me?
Speaker 4 (24:24):
What am I.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Supposed to do? How about this?
Speaker 4 (24:25):
You send me a young Keenan Allen and then look
at the stats and see what it looks like when
you goes up. Until then, who's doing what we're doing.
But if you got send them up my way, I'll just.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
That is fantastic, all right, Uh, that's gonna do it
for us today, Tom giving us two great episodes. Man,
it was such a treat to catch up. I look
forward to getting back on the golf course. By the way, Buck,
we are on a golf journey together. There's a lot
of texts, there's a lot of videos, there's a lot
of text going for there's a lot of positive encouragement. Uh,
that's taking place, we both but we stink less. We're
(25:01):
trying yesterday and we're trying. There's a lot of care factor.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Okay, So then when y'all get together, is it two
buddies wanting each other to go well?
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Or is there like a little competitive.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Be I can't speak for Tom, but I consider myself
a very competitive person there. I'm not good enough to
have any competitiveness in this sport. And I did one
hundred percent cheering on his success and I and he
cheers on my success. And we're just trying to suck
less than we did yesterday. That's all we're trying to do.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
And two hundred shots later, we get back and we
discussed it again.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
So yep.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
We talk on the course book what we're going to
have for lunch, and then we finish our around and
figure ot we're gonna have for dinner.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
All right, that's a long one. All right, this has
been fun. Tommy are the best, appreciate everybody ever me.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Yeah, you're the best man. And we'll see everybody next
time right here on movie sticks.
And now move the sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up everybody walking to move the sticks DJ, Buck
and back again our good buddy Tom to Let's go
longtime general manager of the National Football League, Tom. We
want to jump into some big games here. We've got
some big games coming up this weekend. And it's that
type of that type of of the season right now,
or that time of the season where you get to
week five, where was your marker where you kind of
(00:29):
felt like you knew what you had from a team
standpoint right now?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I used to use four games.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It's kind of the marker I really I wouldn't look
at any stats, any any data until after week four.
I just felt like you had a pretty good sample
size at that point. Certainly have a better feel on
your injury situation right now a month and I just
felt like, as far as the strengths and weaknesses of
your roster, it's really you got October first. I'm starting
to really see where we're at, which is kind of
perfect the way it lined up. You know, you get
(00:55):
the trade deadline at the at the end of October,
but this was an important time right now because I
think you had your best feel certainly much better now
than he did on You know, coming out of training camp, did.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You ever have any like, oh my gosh, I miss
I misread this like you thought maybe it was going
to be poor in one area and you were great
in that area, or vice versa, where it's just you're
a quarter of the way in. You're like, oh my gosh,
this is not the team that I thought I had.
Good or bad.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Absolutely, it happens.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I mean, every player doesn't perform to the level that
you think, and it could go either way.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
My first year at the Chargers, our receiver group I.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Thought was going to be outstanding, and we have a
couple of injuries, we have one player not play as
well as as we thought, and now we're really struggling.
And you know, thank god we had Keenan Allen to
jump in there as a rookie, and you know he
kind of took it away from there. But yeah, you know,
when you when you get a sense in training camp
where you are, you get a sense where your adepth
is in certain positions.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
But every year there'd be.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Something, you know, you come into uh September, maybe a
player you claimed at the cut to fifty three and
they jump into a role and you're pleasantly surprised. We
had claimed a lot to a defensive tackle last year
from the Colts and or Lalu from the Colts, and
(02:10):
you know, we brought him in more as a developmental player.
We were a little thin on the defensive line, and
then he came in and earned a role, and he's
playing a lot for us through the year, and he
kind of feeled the need for us that we didn't
anticipate being able to field during the season. So yeah,
every now and then you get like a pleasant surprise, you.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Know, Tom, So many people that listen and watch the
show may not understand the constant evaluation and assessments that
you're doing on players. Can you talked a little bit
about like an in in season evaluation of your team
and how you're always looking to find better parts, particularly
the bottom third of the roster.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, you're always just working on depth because nobody has
a perfect roster. I used to have our depth chart
on a magnetic board in front of me and I
would stare at that.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
I can't tell you how much throughout the day you're just.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Staring at it, and all you see is where we
need help. Where we need help, You're anticipating, Look if
this player goes down, do we have enough to fill
it right now? Do we have enough on our practice squads?
So you're constantly working through that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
But it's not just a GM.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
You you have a pro scouting staff that's also doing
that on a daily basis, seven days a week. And
then one of the things like as a general manager,
I stayed in house during the week, So there's different
trains of thoughts. Some gems go out on the road
scouting during the week. I stayed in house. And I
like to have a lot of just off the cuff
conversation with our position coaches on what they're seeing, Who
(03:30):
do they think feel is developing, who they feel is not.
I give some give and take and some opinion on
some different players, and just you have a pulse of
the team throughout the year to kind of anticipate where
you need to go before you have that emergency situation.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Were there ever conversations there with coaches where they weren't
quite as receptive to feedback. They can get a little
bit territorial, is what I'm getting at. But it has
to be a give and take because I'm not the
know all. I don't have all the answers either, so
I was always lucky.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I mean, there weren't very many coaches that that that
weren't but there were where they were great just give
and take conversations because I may see something that they
don't see, and they may see something that I'm not seeing.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So you have those conversations.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
That's why you know, scouting is it's objective and subjective
and you have to kind of put it all together.
But yeah, there's certain times like coaches are very narrow
focused during.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
The season, which they have to be and they should be.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
GM has to be a little bit more big picture
to look you know, down the road for no only
this season, but future seasons.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
But those are great conversations to have, Tom do.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
You sometimes have to got veteran players the clear path
for younger player to get on the field, because you know,
if you have the veteran in the building, the coaches
are always going to play the old again, like the
old Woolby.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
It's like the would be blanket.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, the security blanket as long as that veteran is
is declining in production. I mean, what you don't want
to do is just you know, if a guy's giving
me a really good you know, there's some spots for
a security vet veteran. There there are some spots, just
not too many, and you have to figure out where
they are because you know, having an old football, old
football teams get hurt and old football teams will fade
(05:09):
usually as you get to do November and December. So
you got to find the right spots. But yeah, there
are certain situations. But usually I would make those decisions,
you know, in the spring and summer. I don't make
those decisions during the Once the season starts, we're not
going to cut a veteran for a young guy. But
you have to foreshadow those early to make sure you
set up the roster the right way.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Let's jump into these games. Let's jump into the first
one here. It's going to take place in London, will
be early in the morning on Sunday, Vikings Browns, which
is going to give us a look at Dylan Gabriel
in his first start. I did see that note that
it's like the last I think it's the last six
Oklahoma quarterbacks I think are starting, and that's all.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
They were all there.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
I believe under Lincoln Riley going back. They're all six
starting this week that is in thesane, the number of
quarterbacks that they've produced there. But Dylan Gabriel, what's the
what's your expectation there and what do you think are
the best operating constructions for him in his first crack
at it?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Well, I mean, first I do like Dylan Gabriel. I
just have some concern, like the whole offense has to
step up no matter who the quarterback is, whether it's
Joe Flacco or Dylan Gabriel, they need more around him
right now. And they like both offensive tackle spots, they're struggling.
They don't have a ton of weapons. Thank god, Jenkins
has now signed and in and he looks like he's
(06:21):
pretty good. And the tight end Fanning, and they've in
a great rookie class and you know Fanning gives them,
you know, a pretty good outlet as a tight end.
But I think with Dylan Gabi, hopefully you're going to
see that the offense kind of pick up the pace
a little bit. He's a quick decision maker, he's got
quick eyes. He actually has really good arm strength for
a smaller quarterback, which you don't see very often, but
(06:41):
he gets.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
The ball out with a lot of pace.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Now playing the Vikings defense, I mean that is not
going to be easy and it may not look like
he's making quick decisions this week. It's his first start
against a really good team, so there's going to be
you know, some a growth factor there. But their offense,
they just haven't scored enough, so hopefully canet him a
little bit of spark at the ball out of Sandy.
He's a much more mobile than Flacco, so you know,
get some chunks of yards there, but you know it's
(07:06):
going to be a tough en verm.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And thus I didn't even realize. I mean, I realize
that now.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
But the bikes have been over there for a week,
so to me, that's certainly an advantage that they had
a chance to really get acclimated, whereas the Browns are
just flying over I believe yesterday to get there today to.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Tell what was your philosophy on those those overseas trips.
Do you prefer going over early? Are you a a
let's fly, let's play it and let's get back. So
we did a lot of work on that. I think
we had Gus Bradley and our staff with our first
trip to England or to London, and you know he'd
done it every year with Jacksonville, and you know, there's
(07:41):
a philosophy that you go early, get acclimated, and then
the downside of that is is just sometimes there's too
much time over there and you just get a little
bit stale for whatever reason, you know, the food, whatever
it is. So what we end up doing, especially coming
from the West Coast, we had played the Browns the
week before we went over to London, and we played
the Browns and we stayed in Cleveland Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
(08:03):
practice at bald and Wall's College actually, and then made
the trip over to London from there, got in there,
you know, Thursday.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
I believe we.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Had to walk through a quick practice Friday and or no,
we had to walk through Friday, quick practice, Saturday and
played Sunday. I don't know if there's one perfect way.
It's really just a survive and advanced type trip. It
just is it's difficult to sloppy game for both teams.
I don't know which best way to do. But I'd
rather just fly in, play the game and get out.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah, I would just remember that game because that was
the Titans right, and that was where it came down
to money. And I were sitting up there, going, if
they don't go, if Rabel doesn't go for two and
this thing goes to overtime, we're not going to be
able to fly out that night. We have to stay
over another night. So I was very thankful. I was
very happy the Chargers won, as someone who's calling the
Chargers game, but I was willing to be okay with
(08:49):
it even if it went the other.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Way, because Rabel at least was getting us all on.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
An airplane to go home that night, So we appreciated
that from Coach Rable, and the Chargers end up getting
a w. To me, I'm curious on Dylan Gabriel because
that was to me, I thought his superpower was everything
was quick, you know, quick mind, quick release, quick decisions,
get the ball out, And man, that's gonna be tough
with the way they kind of muddy the picture with
(09:14):
all the different bodies up around the line of scrimmage,
So gonna be a challenge there for him as he
gets rolling. But man, you talked about the draft for
the Browns swection, you're on the defensive side of the ball.
Mason Graham played well to go with those offensive guys
you referenced, like that is a phenomenal, phenomenal draft has been.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
It's been really good.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I mean his quickness, his route running, he's got outstanding hands.
I mean, you wonder how and this happens all of us,
Like you know, guys kind of fall in the draft.
You know we're not perfect at it. And you look
at him like he's a legit NFL starter from day one?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Can this be kind of that springboard draft for them?
Would stick on the Browns here for a second, just
because you know, you go back and look remember the
Saints draft where they got you know, Kamara and Ramchick
and all those guys in that one draft and it
was kind of like five starters that they ended up.
And we can go through a lot of those teams
and I'm sure you've been a part of them as well,
but can you kind of identify these teams and say, Okay,
this is the one that's going to kind of be
(10:07):
our platform for us to get going here.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Yeah, it has to be, because you know, they haven't
had a lot of access that the last couple of
years because of the quarterback trades. So there's just now
starting to get you know, enough draft picks and enough
cap space. But between Mason Graham, Carson s Wessenger has
been out standing from day one in an offense, you know,
not only Judkins have fandom, but Dylan Sampson has run,
(10:30):
has run pretty well.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
He's caught the ball.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
While of the backfield, Isaiah Bond is really a college
free agent who's playing already. So that's like, you know,
five six players right there from this draft class, so
you can build on.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
So how about Tampa? How about Tampa Seattle?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's one I'm thinking I might be looking forward to
more than any of the game this weekend.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
That's interesting. You know, the the Bucks are a good
football team. They're really well constructed. They're kind of holding
out on the offensive line and they I mean, it's
it's hard that like the Vikings have a ton of
injuries and on the offensive line, the Chargers have a
ton on the Bucks of that a lot with with
Kentucky and Cody Mack, but they're surviving it. And then
the defense has played outstanding, especially on third downs. So
(11:10):
and there's a fun team to watch play. It's fun
to watch Baker Mayfield play football, It really is. That's
when that's what I'm starting to realize being you know,
watching these games as a fan and not as a
GM where you're always focused on something else, and just
watching a player I can play with his enthusiasm, the.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
High plays, the low plays.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
It's just like a like appointment football, you.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Know, And thinking about that, like, what can we learn
from the Baker Mayfield experience. I feel like so many
of the quarterbacks that are having success, even his counterpart
Sam Donald, are having success later after he bounced around
and gain experience.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
What can we learn from the evaluation process on young quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Well, sometimes it's right place, right time, and that happens
at every position, but certainly the quarterback position. It's just
got to be you know, maybe it just has to
be the right fit, the right coordinator, the right supporting costs,
and you never know where it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
So if you see town.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
That's why we always used to go back to our
college report. Some players that may have failed in the league,
but hey, let's go back to what we saw in college.
We know what our eyes saw. You know, maybe in
a different environment the player will play a little bit different,
and we're seeing that with Daniel Jones with the Colts.
To me, he handled the whole process of being released
from the Giants, that whole whatever it was, four or
five month process as far as okay, how do I
(12:20):
get my career back on track the way Sam Donald
has or Baker Mayfield. And we tried to sign Daniel
Jones last year to the Raiders, you know, because we're
trying to figure out our quarterback situation. He decided to
go to Minnesota, go in their practice squad, learn from
Kevin O'Connell, kind of take a reset, kind of do
a little football rehab, learn something different, and then find
(12:41):
a team to go to where I can compete for
a starting job that has good talent around us, around them.
And the Colts have that and he's you know, he's
taken off so far.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Is that going to change how some teams approach the
draft going for when it comes to the quarterback position,
where it's like, hey, if we love a guy, will
take him. But if we think this is a B
plus player that were you know, we're a little mixed
on why would you do that when they're every year
there's going to be a washout first round pick quarterback
who's still in his mid twenties, that you have none
(13:11):
of the risk and all the reward.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
I don't know why you would.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Why would you force the college kid when we've now
seen time after time all these guys kind of make
things happen in their next stop.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, that's a that's a great point.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And if it's like a B plus quarterback you're not
all in line with, maybe you take them down the
road third, fourth round, but they use a premium mass
set and a guy that you're not all one hundred
percent invested in. That's just that's a recipe for failure.
So I believe what you're saying. You know, look at
the veteran market. You may have to take a chance
on a guy that hasn't looked great. I mean, Daniel
Jones didn't look very good the last couple of years
(13:42):
with the Giants.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
But he's big. He's bigger than you think. But he's big.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
He's a great athlete, super smart, loves to prepare, has
good arm strength, is mobile.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
There's a lot of things that work with there.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So you bring them in, you put him a different situation,
you let them hand the ball off to Jonathan Taylor
a little bit. You got Tyler Warren to throw two
down the middle. You got Michael Pittman and their offensive line,
which is not you know, big names, It's a really
good offensive line. They play really well together, certain solid,
and then Chane Stake and I love it's a play caller.
So it's just a perfect setup for a quarterback who's
rehabilitating his career.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Buck, can I make my pick real quick?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Because we always do this episode where we we draft
our reclamation projects once we get into the off season.
I'm gonna I'm already staking my claim right now because
when I just listen to you, that's a high, high
first round pick, big athletic, smart, tough, big arm, And
I'm like, Trey Lance. It is next next offseason. It
is Trey Lance season. He looked great in the preseason.
(14:39):
This year he's getting a chance to again just kind
of sit and take take a deep breath. There, little hardball,
sprinkle a little magic on him. I got his confidence
going like that to me, like going into next year's draft. Buck,
if I'm sitting there and I'm like I don't, I'm
trying to talk myself into Garrett Nusmeyer and I'm gonna
put my job on the line there, or I can
or I can just take Trey Lance is not going
(15:00):
to cost me that much money, and if it doesn't
work out, so be it. But I can get a
great player in the first round, and I've got him Tom.
What do you think, DJ, we just talked about this.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
If you're Joe Hortiz, you don't let him out of
the building, right We just talked about you gotta have
invest team, and now you're just letting him walk out
of the building.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Well, we'll see what I think he's going to have suitors. Man.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
I just think because the character, both the personal and
football character is so you.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Got a budget for it, then, yeah, you got a
budget for it. You can't.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
They're too good a football team right now that justin
happens to get hurt, God forbid. Got to keep that
ship going.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
The question is, if you're Trey Lance, do you sit
there and say, I mean I want to I want
to play right now, or do you sit there and say,
I'm in a great position here, I'm still really really young.
I don't know, Buck, that's going to be a decision
for him to make. I think maybe more so than
the team.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Yeah, probably so but I would think if I'm free lance,
given the challenges that I faced early. Sometimes it's cool
to be in an environment where you want it and
you want to compete. But as like Tom talked about
with Daniel Jones, maybe you have a long term perspective
on what would be better.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
For me long term as opposed to short term.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
The money would be great to be a starter, but
it could be the last opportunity that he gets the
next one. Maybe you stick with the charges for a
minute and can team to develop and then it becomes
a better opportunity for you down the road.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
All right, let's take a quick pause here and we'll
jump right back in with Tom Telesco. All right, Tom,
let's get to another one here. Houston Baltimore surprising, obviously
very surprising with where Baltimore is, But I'm a little
surprised that Houston hasn't taken that big leap that I
think everybody was expecting after the playoff runt last year.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Yeah, I mean, their defense is still really strong and
that's really what they're leaning on.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
And like I'm a big CJ.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Stroud fan, I just don't think he's regressed overnight.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
But you know, losing Joe Mixon hurts hurts a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Even though he's an older back, he still had a
lot of He's still performing at a pretty high level.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
The injury has its kind of mysterys.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
He's been an N five not peup, so that's been
something he did on his own in the offseason. But
you know, the issue there has just been the offensive line.
I mean, they last year, they they replaced a lot
of inconsistent, declining.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Production offensive lineman.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
But then they brought in a lot of inconsistent declining
offensive lineman, you know, so it's the same thing. So
they're not getting a lot of protection up front, they're
not running the ball that well. So the defense is
playing outstanding and CJ. Stroud, if you just give him
some time, he's gonna be fine. They got people a
throw to and what he Mark's got some run last week.
Liked him a lot in the draft. We see a
(17:33):
lot of him out here at USC. So, but yeah,
they're not where they need to be. But their division
isn't the strongest either, so I think in the end
they'll be back in the mix.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
And tell I want to ask you because Dimico Ryan
did something that was interesting he's been renowned as a
defensive play caller. Last week he gave a play call
and duties because he felt like he wanted to better
manage the overall operation. What do you think about that
as a head coach, when you've been so good in
one area as you give it up in an effort
to try and take some of the problems that are
(18:03):
prevented the team from winning.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Yeah, I think it shows just a ton of confidence
and self awareness with the head coach because he got
the job because he's a great defensive coordinator. But the
head coaching job is completely different than than a coordinator job,
and there's a lot you have to manage. I mean,
Brian Callahan is seeing that in Tennessee right now. There
are just so many parts of the game you have
(18:26):
to manage as the head coach that it's hard. Also
being a play caller. You know Andy Reek can do it,
he's been doing it forever, and there's other coaches that
do it. But I think, you know, for a younger
head coach with a lot on your plate, you're gonna
have to trust your staff a little bit.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Even during the week.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
There are a lot of things that you can't be
in every single defensive meeting, which you want to be
as a coordinator because there's a lot of stuff going
on you have to handle that are even non football related.
So I think it just showed a great amount of
maturity and self awareness that he and faith in his
staff that he could pass it over. Now, the defense
is still playing pretty well, I mean, not giving up
a ton of points, which is why they're staying into
these games. They haven't been great on third down, but
(19:04):
I think they'll improve. But I thought that was really
astute move by him. What point in time is there
from a Baltimore standpoint? And Lamar, you know, has to
practice for a couple of days this week. We'll see
what his health status is going to be. But I
know that division.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
I know Pittsburgh's three and one, But it doesn't feel
like that Pittsburgh's just going to run away and hide
inside that division?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Is there? How do you go about maintaining you know,
some calm amidst a very urgent situation when you're sitting
there at one and three of your Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Well, the good thing is you have John Harbaughs. He's
seen it all. He can kind of get things reset.
I mean, they may be missing ten starters on Sunday,
which is just that's hard to survive. And it's not
just role players you're talking about like impact players that
they're missing. And maybe this is the law averages because
last year they're one of the healthiest teams in the
league and this year so far, they're the complete opposite.
They're one of the most injured teams in the league.
(19:55):
But I just felt going into the year like they
had the strongest roster in the NFL. Again subjective, but
you look at it, I thought best roster in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
So now we're going to.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Really see, like do they have enough depth because I
thought they had some depth almost everywhere except for defensive line,
and that kind of showed up early. But you're gonna
have a lot of players have to step up in
their roles. They didn't anticipate this early, just to kind
of get them through because they're gonna get some players back.
The defense hasn't performed the way it has in the past.
That's going to have to get better. Offensively, they're scoring points.
(20:26):
I'd like to see a little more targets to the receivers,
just to spread the ball at a little bit more.
But look, they're scoring points. So John Harball always figures
it out. And it's so early in the year, you know,
I just I mean, you're always concerned. But I think
they got plenty of time to turn it around.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Man. It's such a fascinating team because it was one
of the teams that we've felt so good about in
terms of being a title contender. But yet here they
are kind of playing for their playoff loops about Denver
Philly last one. We'll hit hammer this one and then
we'll wrap it up here. But Denver Philly, Philly, I've
never seen anything like it. It cracks me up. That's
the Philadelphia sports fan for you. Four and oh and
(21:02):
it seems like nobody's happy, I know.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
And they've beat good teams, so I mean, is it
always esthetically pleasing, Probably not. But they forced turnovers. You know,
the defense hasn't played great yet. I think they will,
but they forced turnovers on defense. They play good special teams.
When they get in the red zone, they score touchdowns
(21:26):
a lot high percentage of time. And it's not all
just because of the of the quarterback sneak, but they
scored a high percentage of the red zone, and they
keep people a lot of the end zone, they give
up field goal. So it's going to have to get
better and moving forward. But look, they're four and oh
and they beat four good teams, so it's hard to
complain a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Okay, but to the point, you have a receiver, you
have a receiver on the perimeter who I can't tell
if he's complaining of that. We have cryptic, cryptic tweets,
we have some poudy faces, but we don't know. As
a general manager, how do you handle it? How do
you broach a conversation with Aj Brown? Like do you
(22:04):
have a conversation with him or do you just kind
of let it play in? Yeah, I probably would.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
I probably say, hey, Aj, go look at the receivers
at Granada Hills and see if they're confining.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Over four passes at four games. That's right, right, So
but yeah, I mean I would.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I mean, look, I know things are different for different
players and you know, different eras, but the head coach's
office door is always open. Just go see your coach,
goese your position coach, go see the coordinator. I think
there's a reason to put, you know, a cryptic message
out there I mean, if you're upset, you're upset. If
you have a solution, you know, come in to see
(22:40):
your coaches and talk about it.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And I probably would have a.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Discussion with the player on that situation. I get where
he's coming from, and I would be frustrated too if
I were him. But I think it's just something that's
going to have to play out. And look, they have
they have a new coordinator and a new offensive coordinator,
and I know they're running a lot of the same system,
but it's just different. You know, it's a different personality,
it's a different way to game plan, it's a different
(23:03):
way to call the game. So the fact that it
didn't come right out of the gates the way you
want it the first month is that shouldn't be a
huge surprise.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
But it's something you can work through during the season,
you know, something just hey, preach you a little patience.
I don't know if you've heard this story, Tom, this
is a true story. By the way, there was a
fifth grader. There was a fifth grader that came up
to Bucky this is a year or two ago and said,
I want to learn football, and I just I'm I'm
passionate about it, and then someday one day after I
graduated from college, I'd love to be a football coach.
(23:32):
So is there any why I can just come to
practice and maybe just you know, carry the water, or
just can I just sit in on the meetings?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
And Buck said, how'd you like to be our receivers coach?
And just jump right in. That's a job for me.
I'll drive up. I'll do that, just jump right in.
He just dances and starts it.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Do you send your receivers to the offensive line room?
Speaker 3 (23:58):
That what you do? Because they're gonna block for I
mean four.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Quarters, there's a lot of there's a lot of board drills, a.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Lot of bag holding, a lot of bag boarding.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
At the time on the slid, they get plenty of
water breaks because we're down doing the other stuff.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
I'd be transferring. H I'm not wide receiver. At first,
I would just coaching. I'm doing I'm trying to run
them off. What do you want to cover me?
Speaker 4 (24:24):
What am I.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Supposed to do? How about this?
Speaker 4 (24:25):
You send me a young Keenan Allen and then look
at the stats and see what it looks like when
you goes up. Until then, who's doing what we're doing.
But if you got send them up my way, I'll just.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
That is fantastic, all right, Uh, that's gonna do it
for us today, Tom giving us two great episodes. Man,
it was such a treat to catch up. I look
forward to getting back on the golf course. By the way, Buck,
we are on a golf journey together. There's a lot
of texts, there's a lot of videos, there's a lot
of text going for there's a lot of positive encouragement. Uh,
that's taking place, we both but we stink less. We're
(25:01):
trying yesterday and we're trying. There's a lot of care factor.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Okay, So then when y'all get together, is it two
buddies wanting each other to go well?
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Or is there like a little competitive.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Be I can't speak for Tom, but I consider myself
a very competitive person there. I'm not good enough to
have any competitiveness in this sport. And I did one
hundred percent cheering on his success and I and he
cheers on my success. And we're just trying to suck
less than we did yesterday. That's all we're trying to do.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
And two hundred shots later, we get back and we
discussed it again.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
So yep.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
We talk on the course book what we're going to
have for lunch, and then we finish our around and
figure ot we're gonna have for dinner.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
All right, that's a long one. All right, this has
been fun. Tommy are the best, appreciate everybody ever me.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Yeah, you're the best man. And we'll see everybody next
time right here on movie sticks.
Hosts And Creators
Daniel Jeremiah
Bucky Brooks
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