NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo holds down the fort and delivers the biggest football headlines of the day. Off the top, Mike, Gregg Rosenthal and Brian Baldinger react to the latest Aaron Rodgers drama. This time, Rodgers says he'll be one and done with the Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring. Then, the trio answers for who will start at QB for the Cleveland Browns. Cam Wolfe and Sara Walsh also chime in with analysis on Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. Also, Gregg Rosenthal officially announces the release of his new limited series: NFL Daily's Top 25 Players of the Last 25 Years. With the help of Brian Baldinger, the duo tease some names that could or could not make an appearance as the series takes flight on June 30 on the NFL Daily Podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Aaron Rodgers in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. Does it look
weird to you? Don't worry. It appears that you won't
have to see this for very long. Rogers today making
some comments indicating that his time in Pittsburgh could be short.
We'll explain shortly elsewhere in the AFC North the Ravens. Yeah,
this is a team that has been in contention the
(00:30):
last couple of years. It's time to make that step
to get back to the Super Bowl. What do they
need to do to get there? We will break it
down and Bryce Young he improved within the season last year.
Now it's time to stack on that improvement from twenty
twenty four to twenty twenty five. In his second year
with Dave Canallis and company, We'll take a look at
Young and what he needs to do to take that
(00:52):
next step. Welcome inside with the Insiders. Mike garrow Fullo
here with you today. We've got Greg Rosenthal joining the
program as well as Brian Baldinger, Cameron Well and Sarah
Walsh with us as well. All of that news we
just discussed and more coming at you tonight here in
the next hour. I mentioned Aaron Rodgers, he was on
(01:15):
the Pat McAfee program earlier today and he was asked
something that maybe, frankly I should have asked him when
I was there covering this right here Mini camp, because
he signed with the Steelers. It took a while he
talked about the possibility of retirement. Probably should have asked,
you know what, Rogers, is this the last year you
think you're going to play in the NFL period. Here's
what he had to say on McAfee.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I'm pretty sure this is it. You know. That's why
we just did a one year deal. Steelers didn't need to,
you know, put in the extra years on that or anything.
So you know, this was really about finishing with a
lot of love and fun and peace for the career
that I've had. I've played twenty freaking years, you know,
like it's been a.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Long, long run and I've enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And what better place to finish than in one of
the cornerstone franchises of the NFL. I don't feel the
need to prove anything to anybody, or don't have any
chip on my shoulder that I need to hold on to.
I don't want the attention. I know that's a narrative
out there when this is all done. It's kaiser So said,
you won't see me. I won't be in the public
(02:20):
I don't want to live a public life. And that's
why it's so strange what's going on right now with
my private life, because I don't want to live I
don't want to live a life in the public eye.
I'm not going to be in the public eye. When
this is done, I'm done, and you won't see me.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And like that, he's gone, well not yet, not like
Kaiser SoSE disappeared. But no spoilers. By the way, somebody
spoiled that movie for me. It was terrible of all
the movies anyway, moving on, Yes, before he is gone,
Aaron Rodgers has the chance to creep up on some
lists here touchdown passes to pass, Brett Farv Peyton Manning,
(02:57):
Ben Roethlisberger, some Hall of fame and legendary quarterback with
a chance to climb over them. Here with the Pittsburgh Steelers,
with Arthur Smith and that offense. So get in here,
Greg Rosenthal and Brian Baldinger. Rosenthal, I am going to
start with you, my friend. Look, it wasn't a great
ending in Green Bay. The two years with the Jets
did not go according to plan for anybody, but this
(03:20):
guy is still has been a phenomenal player and we
should really appreciate it. If this is going to be.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
The last season of Aaron Rodgers, I absolutely will and
I hope he plays at a higher level and makes
this team watchable because you know they're going to show
the Steelers a lot in primetime in national spots.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
But it's not surprising to me that he says this
would probably be his last year, because I believe if
he plays at the level he played with the Jets
throughout last season, even those last few weeks where the
numbers were a little better, I don't think he would
have a choice because I don't think there would be
a team out there still offering him a starting job.
(03:56):
He says it would be probably, and I would have
said that before this as well, because you mentioned it.
The last season in Green Bay was not a great season.
I would say it was probably the worst season of
his career. He is now forty two years old. There
is only one quarterback in the history of football who
has ever played well at forty two years old. That
is Tom Brady, and there's not a lot of reason
(04:17):
to think Rogers can play at that level.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
Again.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, look, there's some work to do, because, yes, the
Steelers trusted him that he didn't have to have the
spring session with them, but he's going to have to
hit the ground running when it comes to training camp.
It is a new system. He doesn't have those familiar
guys around him that he brought in with the Jets,
So there's a lot of things that need to fall
into place here. When it comes to Aaron Rodgers, Baldy,
I turn it to you and say, okay, so what
(04:42):
does this mean for the Steelers? Right? They drafted Will
Howard in the later rounds. This is a team that
we've said Mike Tomlin never has a losing season, so
they're always in the middle of that first round, if
not the latter part of it. It's kind of hard
to get yourself a quarterback when you're still there, so
you already know potentially you're looking for one in twenty
twenty six. How do they go about this?
Speaker 7 (05:00):
Well, I mean, you, look, you got to play out
the swan song of Aaron Rodgers this year. If he
plays great and they play well in the playoffs, they
don't have an answer to your point here to your question, Mike,
and so they there might be conversations about coming back.
I mean, Tom Brady won a Super Bowl forty two
and he came back for two more years, So it
(05:20):
doesn't necessarily mean he's going to walk into the sunset. However,
they've got six Lombardi Trophies, four with Terry Bradshaw to
it Ben Roethlisberger. I mean, they have been relevant in
winning Lombard's when they've had great players at that position
that they drafted and they developed. And both those guys,
Bradshaw and Roethlisberger are in their Steelers Hall of Fame,
(05:43):
and so that's probably where they got to go.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I don't know that Will Howard. I don't know that any.
Speaker 7 (05:49):
Of us feel like he's the answer going forward, being
you know, where he was drafted. They're relevant and they
can compete with Baltimore and Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson, Joe when
you get a chance to get one of the elite
players in the league at that position, and when they
have had that, they've been very very good.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Regardless of which coach you want to like.
Speaker 7 (06:10):
Talk about, whether it's Chuck Doll, you know, all the
way through the ranks to Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Right now, these Steelers do have a lot of draft
capital for next year, but that helps you get from
like let's say five to three or something like that.
It's kind of hard to go from twenty if you
got to get all the way up for a quarterback.
So let's see how they handle. Let's see if Will
Howard can make some noise and maybe let them know
that he could be their quarterback of the future. Maybe
one day we'll be talking about Drake May the way
(06:37):
that we talked about Aaron Rodgers. Frankly, right now, one
of the better quarterbacks in the league is doing that.
This is Josh Allen to a Sports Illustrated saying, Drake
is super talented, one of my favorite young quarterbacks in
the league. I've spent some time around him. He's got
his head on his shoulders the right way, just does
things the right way. I think that he exemplifies football.
(06:58):
Drake May did not have the greatest protect action last year.
They're trying to get their targets around him as best
they possibly can. Greg So that is some super high
praise from Josh Allen that clearly sees some talent that
really hasn't been unearthed on the NFL level yet.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
Yeah, I think Josh Allen looks at Drake May and
sees a little bit of himself, just a big, strong,
athletic player who loves football. And one way that Drake
May was better I think than anyone expected last year,
and better even than Josh Allen was his first couple
of years in the league, was his decision making.
Speaker 6 (07:28):
We were told this guy.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
Was going to be raw, it would take a while
to get up to speed at the pro level mentally,
and what I saw involved You can.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Tell me what you think.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I saw a guy who made a mistake and then
he didn't make it twice and that for a rookie.
A lot of it was the plays that he didn't make,
the mistakes that he didn't make. And I thought he
played fantastic considering the situation around him. And I think
Josh Allen knows he's going to have two tough games
against this kid for the next number of years.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
I tell you, Greg, I thought he showed a lot
of poise, a lot of athletic ability. He hung in
there behind an offensive line that honestly might have had
one legitimate starter. So they addressed the offensive line this
offseason via free agency via the draft.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Obviously, Will Campbell coming in.
Speaker 7 (08:14):
To play left tackle, Garrett Bradbury coming in at center.
They should be much better up front, you know. And
then you bring in Stefan Daks who's been at number
one for a long time in this league, you know,
in your draft, Trayvon Henderson out of Ohio State, and
so you give him a lot of help. And so
I expect Drake May to make a big jump this year.
I expect the offense and it's been dreadful for the
(08:37):
last four years.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
It just has.
Speaker 7 (08:39):
They have not been competitive offensively over the last three
or four years. Even in Belichick's last couple of seasons,
they were not good. This looks to be the best
group that they're going to put on the field in
a while.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
It's going to start up front, and it's gonna start
with the development of Drake May.
Speaker 7 (08:54):
And look, Josh Daniels, Josh mcgaiels has done a great
job with quarterbacks and so he's back in his role
in New England right now. I think they've got a
chance to really kind of, you know, playmaker, a play caller,
offense coordinator, quarterback really kind of coming together and growing together.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
So it should be fun to watch throughout this season.
Speaker 7 (09:13):
But it won't surprise me to see a big jump
from the Patriots offense led by Drake May this coming season.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
That last line from Josh Allen that I read, where
he said Drake May exemplifies football that fits with everything
I saw from May during the pre draft process and
into the season last year. The way that he interacted,
the way that he had that presence even in the
pre draft meetings with teams. He's just that dude, and
Josh Allen clearly is seeing that from Drake May now
that need to see him elevate his play with some
(09:40):
better support and protection around him. Greg and Baldy don't
go anywhere. Coming back to you in a little bit,
Travis Hunter not going anywhere. He's going to be there
for the start of training camp. That deal done two
days ago, four years, forty six million. The Jaguars, as
I reported a short while ago, did also just agree
to terms with Bai Shalt, the second pick of the
(10:02):
third day of the draft, the running back that's already
making a push for some playing time in that backfield.
So I think that leaves one Jaguar left to be signed,
Cameron Wolf. Come on in here, because it leaves two
first round picks that have yet to be signed. You're
seeing them right there today. Baron with the Broncos and
Shamar Stewart with the Cincinnati Bengals. Let's talk about Stuart.
(10:23):
This one has been pretty public. Usually these rookie deals,
negotiations are simple and also behind closed doors. We've heard
a lot about this one. Catch us up.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Yeah, the Bengals and Shamar Stewart are still at an impass. Look.
Holdouts are rare but not impossible in this new CBA,
and a lot of times they come down to contract language,
guarantees and precedent. And I talked to a few people
in this situation and it's simply like this. The Bengals
are trying to create a new precedent with Shamar Stewart
putting language in his contract on voiding for particular off
(10:54):
the field instance and whatnot that would avoid the guarantees
in this deal. Shamar's team obviously they don't want to
be a pig for this particular motive. They'll say the
last year's first round pick, similar pick place he didn't
have to sign these deals, and so all of a
sudden there's a stare down going on. The team will say, hey,
sixteenth and the eighteenth pick in the draft, they were
(11:14):
players who put this language in, and Chamar's team will say, well,
those people already had language in. And so right now
there's a lot of posturing going on. There's no imminent deal,
and from what I understand, Shamar is willing to linger
this out through training camp if there's no deal. This
is a situation where the Bengals need him on the field.
They don't have Trey hendrickson their top pass rusher for
(11:36):
another holdout situation, and so they need that pass rush
they need Shamarro on the field. And Shamar's agents willing
to negotiate publicly. They are willing to say, hey, you
give us a little bit of this, you give us
a little bit of that. We'll see how the team responds.
Last year, the Bengals on their first round pick in
July twenty second, and so training camp will be the
next deadline to see if there's any compromise on either side.
(11:57):
From the situation.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Great breakdown from Cam basically Shamar Stewart and his agent
saying you haven't had similar language here in Cincinnati. They're saying, yeah,
but it's the same language that they're using around the league,
and they're saying, that's not our problem. We're just focused
on what's happening here. So the dance is going to continue,
and in an error where we don't usually see extended holdouts,
we could see one here with Shamar Stewart. As we
(12:19):
get into training camp, stay tuned for that camp. Myself,
everybody will have you as filled in on that as
we possibly can. When it comes to Baron, by the way,
doesn't seem like it's anything overly complicated. It's just some
stuff that needs to be ironed out and done before
the start of training camp. I think there's a lot
of confidence that this is going to be done and
we won't see a holdout from Baron, So stay tuned
on that one as well. Cameron Wolf, thank you hanging there.
(12:41):
Coming back to you later in the program.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Here's a shotguned snap four man rush yunk with time
sends a deep downfield for feeling. It makes the catch
of the.
Speaker 8 (12:53):
End zone for a Carolina touchdown.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
HI five. It's all around. Here's the snap.
Speaker 8 (12:58):
The figs of food young backpedals, rolling to his right.
He cat on fo He's got the ten, He's got
the five. Bryce into the end zone and Carolina takes
the lead count up one, two, three, four, five touchdowns
today for Chrys.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Young, it'll make What is that look on Bryce Young's
face is like lips are curled up. I didn't see
much of that in his rookie season. They did see
it down the stretch. Happy for Bryce Young. Such a
good dude. Looking to see that continue. Sarah Walsh and
Cam Wolf. So let's start with you, Sarah, on Bryce
Young's development. You see plenty of him with as much
(13:37):
as you cover the NFC South. What do you think
we see from Bryce Young in twenty five.
Speaker 9 (13:42):
Well, the thing about Bryce Young, he's entering year three,
but this is.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
The first time he's going back.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Into the same system.
Speaker 9 (13:48):
Remember he was under Frank Bright, then he was under
Dave Canals, and this is the first time he's got
a year two of someone system. And Young said that
allows him to focus on growth rather than on learning,
and we saw that growth unfold late last year after
his own two start, he was benched. He didn't regain
his starting role until week eight, but after that we
saw his numbers improved dramatically and his completion percentage, his
(14:10):
yards per game is touchdown to interception ratio.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Dave can Allison said.
Speaker 9 (14:15):
He wants the offense to look like Bryce Young, and
Young says a lot of that has to do with trust.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Now.
Speaker 9 (14:20):
I talked to his offensive lineman Robert Hunt recently, and
he told me he's watched Young grow right in front
of his eyes. He says, Young is hungry, he wants
to be good, and he also said there is a
feistiness about him that people don't see. Said he's been
talking Smack and the lineman, the guys on the team,
they love to see that. Hunt told me that they
get this sense that this team they saw what they
(14:41):
could be and they have a sense that that direction
is starting to change in Carolina camp.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
Yeah, Sarah, a much more confident Bryce Young. He's been
trash talking jc Orn, who's been yelling back in practice.
But I talked to an executive early this offseason, said, hey,
surprise me. Tell me something that stood out to you
about this offseason. He said, the Panthers are going to
make a playoff push and be a top top ten offense.
And I said why and he said, just look at
the way they have surrounded Bryce Young with weapons. When
(15:08):
he first got into the league two years ago, he
didn't have the offensive line. He was running for his life.
He's now got two of the best guards in the
league and Robert Hunt who you mentioned, Damian Lewis, guys
they've spent big money on in free agency and they
have really created that running game where all the pressure
is not on Bryce Young. Two Behubbard rush for one
thousand yards last year. They brought in Rico Dowell Daldo
(15:28):
from the Cowboys who had a thousand yards there as well.
All of those guys are going to be able to
run the ball, which they did really well over the
second half of the year. And then you got Tederoh McMillan,
who they drafted in the first round to put with
Xavier Laguette, two big talented playmakers down the field. Bryce
Young has showed that confidence in the last month of
the season that they believe he is their quarterback and
(15:49):
now they have him the right weapons to succeed. I
think Bryce Young's had it to the best best season
of his career this year.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeap, hopefully from wire to wire. If you're the Carolina Panthers.
That's what you're looking for. No peaks and valleys. He's
not big ones during the season. Cam, Thank you very much, Sarah.
Let's go defense here. You're like Travis Hunter. You're two
way players. Let's talk about the Panthers defense and what
we can expect from them in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 9 (16:13):
Well, Mike, for all the spotlight on Bryce Young, we
know how it is with the quarterbacks in this league.
It was really the Panthers defense that struggled. If you
take a look at the stats, they're not great. Last
in the league in a ton of categories, points per game,
yards per game, rushing almost one hundred and eighty yards.
They allowed opponents to rush on the ground per game.
That is the most in that category in almost three decades.
(16:35):
But help is on the way, Mike, in the form
of new faces and a familiar one. One of those
familiar faces, Derek Brownie, tore his meniscus in Week one
last year was lost for.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
The entire season.
Speaker 9 (16:46):
He says he expects me back at training camp with
obviously a managed workload, But this is a guy that
the year before, when is healthy, a pro bowler.
Speaker 6 (16:54):
He had over Alle hundred tackles one hundred.
Speaker 9 (16:56):
And three, which is the most by defensive lineman since
ninety four. They've also signed Wharton from the Chiefs, all
part of a plan to be better upfront. As zero Everro,
their defensive coordinator, has said that Wharton's presence, his aura,
his note taking at all times has really set a
standard around the facility. And then another guy that folks
inside the building tell me has had a terrific offseason
(17:17):
with them, Pat Jones, who comes over from Minnesota. Jones says,
it is time for this team to set a new standard.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Mike great, great stuff. You see that big man move
that fast. Brian Baldinger, as we bring you in here,
and you have seen this Carolina defense and you've seen,
you know, some growth and some solid play in Spurts.
Got to put it all together.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
They do they do. Mike and Sarah hit on a
lot of individual players.
Speaker 7 (17:43):
You know, anybody that's been around as zero Everro, you know,
he is an elite play He's.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
An elite coach.
Speaker 7 (17:51):
He's been in so many different places under the guidance
of some great head coaches and coordinators.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
He's learned a lot. He's ready. I think he's to
be a head coach, but he's got to, you know,
obviously they got to.
Speaker 7 (18:02):
Jump up from the stats we just saw last in
the league. It starts up front. They're a four man
defensive front. So Wharton comes on and comes along with
you know, Bobby Brown. They draft Nick Skurton. But honestly,
Derek Brown.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Is a beast.
Speaker 7 (18:16):
I mean when you say he's got one hundred and
three tackles, nobody gets one hundred and three tackles a
defensive tackle in this business. Hall of Fame players don't
get one hundred and three tackles. This guy's unique. And
even with double teams and everything that he sees, he
still knows how to split it. So getting him back
is going to be a big presidence. Getting Trayvon Mooring
in the back end at safety's going to be a
(18:36):
big presidence.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
J C.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
Warren, he's got to go live up to this contract.
He got a big fat contract this year. He's got
to go step up. And so I think at every
level of this defense they should be better.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
There's the question all right now of ever really coordinating
this thing to make it better.
Speaker 7 (18:53):
And really they don't have any excuses because they've upgraded
the talent.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
They kept the defensive coordinators for his third year.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
Now a lot of head coaching attention from around the league.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Now it's time to put it together.
Speaker 9 (19:06):
Hey, I just wanted to say someone that's usually baking
down here in the NFC, cell Toddgles with the Bucks,
had this advice to the guys as they were breaking
before training camp, said, don't be working out indoors because
that's not going to help you in the heat. And Mike,
as someone I know that's going to be heading out
to training camp, viewers don't know his home is.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
Mike is roasting.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
He doesn't have.
Speaker 9 (19:23):
Air conditioning in his place.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Right now, the lights are on.
Speaker 9 (19:26):
He's like wiping himself off in between commercial breaks. So
I just wanted to applaud your dedication to being in
top form when training camp rolls around.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
Mike JA like that.
Speaker 9 (19:35):
I'll take the air conditioner, but you do you there.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
This is a leather chair. Let's just say when I
get up, it takes like five seconds or so. There's
a little bit of.
Speaker 7 (19:45):
Keeping keep hydrating, you know, to fluids it and keep
them in.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
It's probably not enough. Yeah, but thank you. Very much, Larah.
Thank you, Sarah see somebody appreciates it. Thank you, Sarah Walsh.
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(20:16):
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Terms and conditions apply, of course they do. There's a
raven Derek Henry. Here comes another one, Lamar Jackson. We're
gonna be talking Ravens after the break. One of the
teams is easy to talk about this time of year
because you could say, hey, they're gonna be good, They're
gonna be competitive, because they always are. But can they
get to the Super Bowl? Can they get to the
Promised Land? Talking that with Greg Rose and Don Cameron
(20:37):
Wolf coming up next, Kenny Pickett getting some work in
with Jerry Judy. And if I told you that a
couple of years ago, when Pickett got drafted, you'd say, oh,
Judy got traded to the Steelers. No, you mean Pickets
(20:58):
in Denver. Wrong again, both guys together in Cleveland where
Kenny Pickett's trying to win a starting job, and another
guy that did a new place in Cleveland. The Aantae
Johnson thinks that Pickets got the inside track.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
I don't want to put you on the spot, but
who do you think who you think is gonna be
the start?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I know we talked about it off camera, but.
Speaker 10 (21:20):
I mean, then they don't roll with Kenny for right now.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Just so you just had Rookie meunic camp right doing
with them and did all that stuff.
Speaker 10 (21:26):
Who looks saying Kenny going on like right now with
the ones, and then Joe would come in. I think
they're probably gonna roll with him, just like to see,
like just coming off the season he was with Philly
right right and having the Super Bowl, so I'll really see.
I think they don't stick with him through pre season
and then you know they can live with with Joe
come with brands at the table.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Thank you. Sports and suits two things I liked, just
not in the dead of summer. Here are the Browns
starting court. I mean, I like sports in the summer,
but suit it's a little hot. Twenty twenty one, the
Browns starting. We can't go back any further. If we did,
they wouldn't fit on the screen. I mean, you know
how it is when it comes to the Browns and quarterbacks.
But yeah, that jersey with all the names on it,
(22:11):
got all these names, including a really long one and
Dorian Thompson Robinson. So who's it going to be in
twenty twenty five? Who's going to be beyond that? Let's
just focus on this upcoming season. Let's start with Cameron
Wolf alongside Greg russdal Camp. Start with you on Deontay
thinking that Kenny Pickett's got the inside track past some
of these veterans. You think he's right on or now.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
I think it's interesting that he's given that perspective as
a receiver on the team. From what I understand, how
to handicap Joe Flacco as the favorite going into training camp,
but Kenny Pickett's going to have a chance to steal
that job from him. I think it's more likely that
it's Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco than Shador Sanders or
Dylan Gabriel. And I spent Draft week in Brea with
(22:52):
the Browns, and I talked to Kevin Stefanski on draft day.
I had a good idea they weren't taking a first
round quarterback. Said, are you comfortable with Joe Flats or
Knnie pick At, a shardened quarterback? Without hesitation, he said yes,
and I'm like why. He's like, Joe has an immense
knowledge of my scheme. Remember twenty twenty three came off
the couch four and one played really well. We know
(23:12):
that we're going to have a very high forward Joe
and he talked about Kenny Pickett and his talent and
feeling like they can develop more out of him as well.
We've seen in the past Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold sort
of get career resurgence, and there's a belief they can
do some of that with Kevin Stefanski. But the reality
is this Browns team not a high chance people think
of making the playoffs. There's a good chance we probably
(23:35):
see multiple quarterbacks start throughout the season, and even if
it is one of the vets earlier, maybe we still
see Shador and Dylan Gabriel later in the season as
his team continues to build and develop. I know one
thing is clear. There's four quarterbacks on the roster. There
may be a question at the end of August, is
there one out? Is one getting traded? From what I understand,
not planning to move on on either rookie, So maybe
(23:56):
whichever vet lose the job, maybe on the trading block.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Ultimately, I think Deontay Johnson is right that the Browns
want Kenny Pickett to win the job, But I think
Joe Flacco will win the job. And my main reason
is just watching how Kenny Pickett has handled his last
two opportunities. The film does not lie, and you look
at two organizations in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia who both need quarterbacks,
(24:21):
who essentially gave up on Kenny Pickett. So we know
what Joe Flacco can do. He can play at a
credible level. He went four and one with the Browns before.
When the Steelers traded Kenny Pickett just a few years ago,
they moved all they had to do was move down
from the third to the fourth round in order to
do so. Last year, the Eagles essentially gave Kenny Pickett away.
(24:43):
So if we're going to spend this whole offseason saying
Howie Roseman is the best general manager in the game,
and they could certainly use a good backup at a
low price, and he basically decided to give Kenny Pickett
away because Tanner McKee is a better quarterback than him.
And ultimately, I think Joe Flacco is going to be
a better quarterback than him and should her. Sanders will
(25:04):
wind up being a backup or third string quarterback.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, Flacco late in the season with Cleveland looking good,
not so much in India there. I think that Indy
season just didn't work for a variety reasons. I expect
to see a better Joe Flacco sort of what we
saw in twenty twenty three this upcoming season, which should
be able to win him the job. Elsewhere in the
AFC North, you've got Lamar Jackson making the play for
Jay or Alexander to become a Raven And that is
(25:29):
exactly what happened when your franchise quarterback speaks a lot
of times. Yeah, listen, here's another veteran in the secondary,
Marlon Humphrey talking about what the Ravens defense could be
with Jaiyir.
Speaker 11 (25:40):
I feel that when I first came to the Ravens,
it was all about the Ravens defense. It was all
about the Ravens defense. It was all about the Ravens defense,
and I feel like I've let that standard be in here.
I think the longest defensive guy, I've let that standard
kind of slip and that's something that I want to
get back. I want it. Obviously, we love Lamar Jackson,
it's a great, great player, but I want the Ravens
(26:01):
identity to be defense.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Yeah, that's smart, especially when you got a defensive coordinator
like Zach Orr so cam. How good can this Ravens
defense with with JayR Alexander added be?
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Yeah, the Ravens can be special. They can be one
of those elite defenses we talk about again, But a
lot of it's going to depend on help. Jay R
Alexander has been a number one cornerback for most of
his career, only played fourteen combined games the last two years.
That's why they got them on a little bit of
a discount. But I love what it can do for
Zach ore in this defense. Look last year, from week
eleven to week eighteen, the Ravens had the number one
(26:35):
defensive football and yards and points after an abysmal starts
the season, and a big reason why was they just
didn't have that depth earlier in the year, so Kyle
Hamilton was spread too thin. Zach Owor removed Kyle Hamilton
free safety. He locked things down. This year, They're going
to have a little bit more creativity because Malachai Starks,
who they drafted in the first round, can play free safety.
(26:56):
Kyle Hamilton go about being that chess piece again. You
got Jiyure, Alexander and Nate Wiggins on the inside, allowing
Marlon Humphrey to play in the slot where he played
his best last year. I think this Ravens team can
be really special because of these improvements.
Speaker 5 (27:10):
Yeah, I love that secondary. I love that Marlon Humphrey
is a good quote. I love the versatility they have
up front. But let's be real, this team is about
Lamar Jackson. They are hoping on the Ravens defense to
just be the supporting actors to one of the greatest
quarterbacks of the last twenty five years. I'm doing a
podcast series, the best twenty five players the last twenty
five years.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Spoiler alert, Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Is on it.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
Over the last two seasons, he hasn't just been the
best quarterback on balance in the league. They have been
the best offense the way that Derek Henry helped to
unlock that running game and what they have in terms
of the continuity and the depth of weapons that Lamar
Jackson has. They are by far the favorite to be
the best offense in the league. Defense is up and down,
(27:52):
it comes and goes offenses forever. Offense wins championships and
I don't care how good they are on defense. The
identity is going to be this man number eight, Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Thank you guys, Thank you Cameron Wolf. Appreciate you, buddy.
Looking forward to hearing from you as The Insiders rolls
on later this week. Greg, you ain't going anywhere. You
want to know why, because you just teased it your
top twenty five players in the last twenty five years.
It's going to be talking about that when the Insiders
comes back with you and Baldi.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Rosted new Sammarama Avenue new Today.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
They're in downtown Mobile, Yes, a fresh new look the
Panini Senior Bowl. Panini America the new title sponsor of
the Senior Bowl. Yeah, the draft starts in Mobile. It
still does with Panini as the new sponsor. Looking forward
to our first trip down to Mobile for the Panini
Super Bowl. Coming up in a couple of months. Greg Roosevelt,
(28:58):
Brian Bouldingerer back with us. Rosie, you talked about it
before the break, NFL Daily's top twenty five players of
the last twenty five years. We get started any position,
but we've got an offensive lineman with us in Brian Baldinger,
So you know where we're starting to give us some
old linement on the list.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
Yeah, I wanted to hear Baldy tell me I'm dumb.
And this is a list where I had to leave
off so many great players Hall of famers. I wanted
to pick guys who were the very best of the
best at their peak, and so Baldy, I went with
Joe Thomas as my top tackle, and Walter Jones is
also on the list. I stuck in Zach Martin two.
(29:34):
We had to get a good interior alignment. Joe Thomas,
of course, known for the consecutive snaps streak, known for
just repeating what he does on a play to play
basis on such a high level a technician, a nice
guy shows you don't have to be a mean dude
to be one of the best to ever do it.
And then as I went through the list, the second
tackle spot was really tough for me. But Walter Jones
(29:57):
was a player. When he was playing, a lot of
people just thought he was the best football player period,
forget about just tackle at any position, and so I
had to get him on the list as well, you know,
more than I do. I mean, I'm just a plebeian.
So tell me what you think about my offensive lineman
choices and maybe who I might have missed in this list.
Speaker 7 (30:18):
Well, Greg, first of all, I mean you're spot on here.
I mean, this is a difficult assignment. Okay, So there's
gonna be some guys that are gonna be left off,
and I don't really want to speak too much about
the guys left off, but the two guys you spoke of,
Joe Thomas and Walter Jones. Joe Thomas, when you say technician,
I mean the level of technicality that he played the
(30:40):
game with, from his stands to his set, which was
straight out of he was a shot putter in high school.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
It's a shot put stance.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
Lane Johnson copied it, you know, Jason Peters copied his stance,
and they copied his set, his vertical set, and this
stuff is what transcended some of the game, his ability
to keep one hand inside, one hand outside, to kill hand,
the guide hand. I mean he played differently than a
(31:11):
lot of people. Hit the hit and move the body.
I mean, just sitting down with Joe Thomas, things just
come to my mind, Greg, about how the game is played,
how you described the game, how you have to well,
how you have to play.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
To be effective.
Speaker 7 (31:25):
And then for Walter Jones, I remember when they went
to a Super Bowl that year and lost to the Steelers,
and you know, Hutchinson's the left guard and Walter Jones
left tackle. They were a left handed team, and I said,
I can build the entire game plan around that left
side of the offense line, but specifically Walter Jones. Matt
(31:45):
Hasselback is going to throw slants right by the aarhold
of Walter Jones. His de mand's not getting to him.
And then you know, you watch Shawn Alexander run and
how we ran and the year that we ran for
over four hundred carrys.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
They're a team. He ran behind Walter Jones.
Speaker 7 (32:01):
I mean the guy pushed trucks around the parking lot
for fun. Greg, Like this is real stuff, like moving trucks, because.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
That's the kind of power that he had. He walked
into the Hall of Fame rightfully.
Speaker 7 (32:14):
So I think you got two really good players at
that position. You can argue others, but you can't argue
those two don't belong in your top twenty five.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yeah, you're not gonna be wrong with any of these.
It's the question of the guys that you left off
and the heartache of leaving them up. But twenty five
doesn't leave you a lot of wiggle rooms. So outside
of offensive lines, give us some notable names on your
list of twenty five.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
One of the most fun parts of the exercise was
kind of going through position by position and making these decisions.
And one of the positions that was easy for me
was actually running back because I thought there was two
above the pack, Ladanian Thomlinson and Adrian Peterson. Tomlinson to me,
was just the most complete running back that you could
possibly create, an elab not a great on the goal
(33:01):
line and get me extra yards and him get small
in the hole and tougher than I think he gets
credit for, you know, going through those tackles that you
see there, but just an absolute dynamo on third downs,
whether you want him to block or as a receiver
to be He was my number one guy because I
think he's better on all three downs. But Peterson was
absolutely fantastic too. Another debate, and these two guys are
(33:22):
both very high on the list to me, was JJ
Watt or Aaron Donald as the greatest defensive player of
the last twenty five years. I won't give it away here,
but Wat is high on the list. I think what
he did in that three year run where they robbed
him of an MVP and he won those Defensive Players
of the Year was the best I've ever seen any
(33:42):
defensive player. He helped me and my friend Chris Wesley.
He helped us see the game differently because I didn't
used to watch a defensive player snap after snap after snap,
and he made it so entertaining, so fun that you
actually started to understand the game better just watching him.
And then of course finishes with a big year in
twenty eighteen with the Cardinals two. And then I will
(34:03):
mention a guy who didn't make the list and Baldy.
You can talk about any three of these guys you want,
but I struggle that safety Ed Reid is high on
the list for me. Palamolo didn't quite make it, and
he was one of the players that hurt the most
to leave off the list. And it wasn't that he's
not a great player, but just comparing him to some
(34:24):
other players at different positions and the value of safety
and the All pros and some of the consistency, he
didn't quite make the cut. So I think it's it's
a big debate between Ravens fans and Steelers fans, Ed
Reed or Troy Polamalu.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I made the.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Choice of Ed Reid.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
I don't know how you feel about it, Baldi or
the other players I just mentioned.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Well, I mean, look LT. You go back and look
at his numbers.
Speaker 7 (34:49):
Great, he's the only back in NFL history that went
four hundred plus touches eight years in a row and
didn't miss games, still lined up coda hunter ball in
a season. You know, you're trying to differentiate him with
Adrian Peterson, but LT's volume of Carring's volume of touches.
You watch guys now, whether it's McCaffrey or going back
(35:12):
to Deuce mccows or Shawn Alexander.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
You go back, you.
Speaker 7 (35:15):
Know, in the history and looking guys that touched the
ball four hundred times what they did the next year.
All LT did was just consistently produce four hundred plus
touches receiving rushing eight years in a row.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
I don't know that anybody.
Speaker 7 (35:30):
And then thirty one touchdowns in two thousand and six
still hasn't really been challenged yet. Maybe somebody will with
seventeen game schedule, but nobody really has challenged thirty one touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
And then look you get.
Speaker 7 (35:42):
To JJ Watt that run between twenty twelve twenty fifteen.
You know where he led the league in tackle for
losses three different times.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
He had seventy combined sacks in that run. And he played.
He was the piano man. He played up and down
the line of scrimmage, every position.
Speaker 7 (36:01):
He let everybody in the offensive line feel his punch
and they felt it. He just changed the game. Ed
reads the greatest safety of all time, just flat out.
I mean, there's nothing against anybody else. It's the numbers,
punt returns, game changing plays, How he picked quarterbacks pockets,
how he took Peyton Manning to you know, behind the
(36:21):
woodshed and picked him off. I mean, Ed Reid is
one of the greatest players of all time.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
I don't know, man, attendees of the Sack Summit, this
guy might be a double agent. You might be getting
all that information and bringing it back to the offensive lineman.
I'm just saying, Bryan Baldinger at the twenty twenty five
I guess this with twenty twenty four. I assume Baldi
twenty twenty five coming up. I don't mean you know,
(36:51):
I'm not taking a shot at your character there, Baldy.
I'm just saying, you know, an offensive lineman coming in there.
They got to be looking at you like this a
little bit. Let's talk about this year's Sack Summit.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Yeah, no, I tell.
Speaker 7 (37:01):
You I went last year and was invited, and it's
really run by Von Miller, Max Crosby, Cam Jordan, three
of the best out there in the league right now,
and it really it's really kind of an open forum
to talk about pass rush, to talk about defense, every
nuance of it, whether it's the moves, whether it's stunts,
how to set guys up. And so we're at UNLV
(37:22):
out there in the desert heat.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Of Las Vegas.
Speaker 7 (37:25):
We're outside, we're on the field for her, you know,
three four hours out there walking through things with Von Miller.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Right there, we come into the.
Speaker 7 (37:32):
Film room, Mike, I start showing a bunch of different
film Brian Burns is in the background right there, different players,
And it's interesting because we're now it's now really kind
of filtering down to a lot of younger players, Like
for example, last year and the rookie Braydon Fisk was
in the front row with a notepad taking notes, asking questions.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
He also just so happened to lead all defensive linemen
with eight and a half.
Speaker 7 (37:59):
Sacks a year ago. So the young guys are starting
to show up now.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Yeah, speaking of those young guys, what rookies could be
this year's Braden Fisks, Guys that could learn some stuff
and carried on the playing field twenty five.
Speaker 7 (38:12):
Yeah, Mike, it's pretty exciting. The list right now is
at least fifty guys and seven of them a rookies,
including the forty nine ers first round pick mikel Williams,
the eleventh pick in the draft.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
You know, from Georgia.
Speaker 7 (38:24):
He started as an eighteen year old freshman for the Bulldogs,
won a national championship there. You know, last year played
with the high ankles brain he didn't have the same
production he had his sophomore year, but he's a guy
that can really play anywhere on the defensive line because
he's six y five's two hundred and seventy five pounds
and he's really strong, and so I think he's a
guy that has a chance to really develop and make
(38:46):
an impact opposite Nick Bosa year one. And then there's
Jalen Walker, also from Georgia. He went to Atlanta the
fifteenth pick. He was an off the ball inside linebacker,
but he showed great promise coming off the edge, speed
off the edge, and really good size and power as well.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
And so the Falcons have been in search of a.
Speaker 7 (39:07):
Pass rusher to get after Baker Mayfield of bryce young
guys in their own division, I'm anxious to see Jalen
Walker his movement and how he takes to some of
the coaching. And then the last guy I want to
mention this guy from Arkansas who the Buffalo Bills took
in a third round. You know, the top five picks
we're all defense, is this land In Jackson. Because when
you looked at him and he studied him number forty
(39:29):
right here, he's six foot six, he's got long arms,
he had great production here he is playing over the
guard on a twist stunt with the end right there.
He's a good long on player. He's got natural moves already.
I'm kind of anxious to see his movement and how
he performs out there. They do a number of drills
on Thursday morning out there on the field before we
(39:50):
start breaking out into groups and sessions and just talking
about different positions. A guy like Kalais Campbell, ageless Kalayis
campbellill be out there. I'm sure a guy like Landon Jackson,
Jalen Walker, Mikel Williams could learn a lot from a
guy like Kalais, who's back playing again this year with
the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 3 (40:10):
I will at last year. I'm looking forward to learning
a lot this year and beating a lot of the
younger guys.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Just seeing that there with land and Jackson, that wasn't
just speed or power or a combination of both. That
was technique that he already has in his arsenal. So yeah,
adding a little bit more is going to make him
that much scarier. Hanging there, baldire with us till the
end of the show. Wied a Wire. The wait is
over and the countdown. The kickoff has begun. Single game
tickets for the twenty twenty five NFL season are on
(40:36):
sale now. Visit nfl dot com slash tickets to purchase
tickets today. Tickets are available through the NFL ticket network,
including Ticketmaster, seat Geek, and Sports Illustrated Tickets. Tight End
University is underway. George Kittle, Jeremy Shockey's still apparently yoked
these days. Travis Kelcey, Greg Olsen, that's Brock Powers on
(40:59):
the right, all of them professors at tight End University,
and a lot of folks taking in what Travis Kelsey
had to say. Yeah, they're not just there to see Taylor,
who's there for some reason. But Travis Kelsey not ready
to hang it up for himself, but making sure that
the next generation of tight Ends has all the information
(41:19):
that they need. And then speaking of people for some
reason that they're there for some reason. This guy is
there now, don't quit on them. Brian Baldinger, because the
first half is ugly, but he made some halftime adjustments.
Give us a bald breakdown of this.
Speaker 7 (41:35):
Well, look, Mike, I mean, obviously he's not bending his
knees at all to start with, and it looks like
he's got a blindfold on.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
He's got no periphery whatsoever. And so it was an
ugly start. It was a bad first half.
Speaker 7 (41:47):
Come in the locker room, get you show someonere in
slices right, really, refocus and once he started bending his
knees like an athlete. Okay, and then really you look
at him right here, watch him start to bend his
knees here, all right, take the blindfold off. Now, now
he's got confidence. It's all about growing confidence. You can
see rab Sheet got his.
Speaker 3 (42:06):
Confidence those last three you know flags that he that
he caught right there. But I saw a good neepend
at the end night. He was way too stiff to
start this drill.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Yeah, I agree. It is an ugly shirt. Oh you
said ugly start. Oh I'm sorry. Sorry the shirt was great, hey,
but you don't want to give him cryst He hung
in there. He didn't will maybe he'll be on the
show tomorrow. Now he's not on the show tomorrow, but
I'll be Brian Baldier, see you later. Join us tomorrow
Aaron Rodgers in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. Does it look
weird to you? Don't worry. It appears that you won't
have to see this for very long. Rogers today making
some comments indicating that his time in Pittsburgh could be short.
We'll explain shortly elsewhere in the AFC North the Ravens. Yeah,
this is a team that has been in contention the
(00:30):
last couple of years. It's time to make that step
to get back to the Super Bowl. What do they
need to do to get there? We will break it
down and Bryce Young he improved within the season last year.
Now it's time to stack on that improvement from twenty
twenty four to twenty twenty five. In his second year
with Dave Canallis and company, We'll take a look at
Young and what he needs to do to take that
(00:52):
next step. Welcome inside with the Insiders. Mike garrow Fullo
here with you today. We've got Greg Rosenthal joining the
program as well as Brian Baldinger, Cameron Well and Sarah
Walsh with us as well. All of that news we
just discussed and more coming at you tonight here in
the next hour. I mentioned Aaron Rodgers, he was on
(01:15):
the Pat McAfee program earlier today and he was asked
something that maybe, frankly I should have asked him when
I was there covering this right here Mini camp, because
he signed with the Steelers. It took a while he
talked about the possibility of retirement. Probably should have asked,
you know what, Rogers, is this the last year you
think you're going to play in the NFL period. Here's
what he had to say on McAfee.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I'm pretty sure this is it. You know. That's why
we just did a one year deal. Steelers didn't need to,
you know, put in the extra years on that or anything.
So you know, this was really about finishing with a
lot of love and fun and peace for the career
that I've had. I've played twenty freaking years, you know,
like it's been a.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Long, long run and I've enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And what better place to finish than in one of
the cornerstone franchises of the NFL. I don't feel the
need to prove anything to anybody, or don't have any
chip on my shoulder that I need to hold on to.
I don't want the attention. I know that's a narrative
out there when this is all done. It's kaiser So said,
you won't see me. I won't be in the public
(02:20):
I don't want to live a public life. And that's
why it's so strange what's going on right now with
my private life, because I don't want to live I
don't want to live a life in the public eye.
I'm not going to be in the public eye. When
this is done, I'm done, and you won't see me.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And like that, he's gone, well not yet, not like
Kaiser SoSE disappeared. But no spoilers. By the way, somebody
spoiled that movie for me. It was terrible of all
the movies anyway, moving on, Yes, before he is gone,
Aaron Rodgers has the chance to creep up on some
lists here touchdown passes to pass, Brett Farv Peyton Manning,
(02:57):
Ben Roethlisberger, some Hall of fame and legendary quarterback with
a chance to climb over them. Here with the Pittsburgh Steelers,
with Arthur Smith and that offense. So get in here,
Greg Rosenthal and Brian Baldinger. Rosenthal, I am going to
start with you, my friend. Look, it wasn't a great
ending in Green Bay. The two years with the Jets
did not go according to plan for anybody, but this
(03:20):
guy is still has been a phenomenal player and we
should really appreciate it. If this is going to be.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
The last season of Aaron Rodgers, I absolutely will and
I hope he plays at a higher level and makes
this team watchable because you know they're going to show
the Steelers a lot in primetime in national spots.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
But it's not surprising to me that he says this
would probably be his last year, because I believe if
he plays at the level he played with the Jets
throughout last season, even those last few weeks where the
numbers were a little better, I don't think he would
have a choice because I don't think there would be
a team out there still offering him a starting job.
(03:56):
He says it would be probably, and I would have
said that before this as well, because you mentioned it.
The last season in Green Bay was not a great season.
I would say it was probably the worst season of
his career. He is now forty two years old. There
is only one quarterback in the history of football who
has ever played well at forty two years old. That
is Tom Brady, and there's not a lot of reason
(04:17):
to think Rogers can play at that level.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
Again.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, look, there's some work to do, because, yes, the
Steelers trusted him that he didn't have to have the
spring session with them, but he's going to have to
hit the ground running when it comes to training camp.
It is a new system. He doesn't have those familiar
guys around him that he brought in with the Jets,
So there's a lot of things that need to fall
into place here. When it comes to Aaron Rodgers, Baldy,
I turn it to you and say, okay, so what
(04:42):
does this mean for the Steelers? Right? They drafted Will
Howard in the later rounds. This is a team that
we've said Mike Tomlin never has a losing season, so
they're always in the middle of that first round, if
not the latter part of it. It's kind of hard
to get yourself a quarterback when you're still there, so
you already know potentially you're looking for one in twenty
twenty six. How do they go about this?
Speaker 7 (05:00):
Well, I mean, you, look, you got to play out
the swan song of Aaron Rodgers this year. If he
plays great and they play well in the playoffs, they
don't have an answer to your point here to your question, Mike,
and so they there might be conversations about coming back.
I mean, Tom Brady won a Super Bowl forty two
and he came back for two more years, So it
(05:20):
doesn't necessarily mean he's going to walk into the sunset. However,
they've got six Lombardi Trophies, four with Terry Bradshaw to
it Ben Roethlisberger. I mean, they have been relevant in
winning Lombard's when they've had great players at that position
that they drafted and they developed. And both those guys,
Bradshaw and Roethlisberger are in their Steelers Hall of Fame,
(05:43):
and so that's probably where they got to go.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I don't know that Will Howard. I don't know that any.
Speaker 7 (05:49):
Of us feel like he's the answer going forward, being
you know, where he was drafted. They're relevant and they
can compete with Baltimore and Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson, Joe when
you get a chance to get one of the elite
players in the league at that position, and when they
have had that, they've been very very good.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Regardless of which coach you want to like.
Speaker 7 (06:10):
Talk about, whether it's Chuck Doll, you know, all the
way through the ranks to Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Right now, these Steelers do have a lot of draft
capital for next year, but that helps you get from
like let's say five to three or something like that.
It's kind of hard to go from twenty if you
got to get all the way up for a quarterback.
So let's see how they handle. Let's see if Will
Howard can make some noise and maybe let them know
that he could be their quarterback of the future. Maybe
one day we'll be talking about Drake May the way
(06:37):
that we talked about Aaron Rodgers. Frankly, right now, one
of the better quarterbacks in the league is doing that.
This is Josh Allen to a Sports Illustrated saying, Drake
is super talented, one of my favorite young quarterbacks in
the league. I've spent some time around him. He's got
his head on his shoulders the right way, just does
things the right way. I think that he exemplifies football.
(06:58):
Drake May did not have the greatest protect action last year.
They're trying to get their targets around him as best
they possibly can. Greg So that is some super high
praise from Josh Allen that clearly sees some talent that
really hasn't been unearthed on the NFL level yet.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
Yeah, I think Josh Allen looks at Drake May and
sees a little bit of himself, just a big, strong,
athletic player who loves football. And one way that Drake
May was better I think than anyone expected last year,
and better even than Josh Allen was his first couple
of years in the league, was his decision making.
Speaker 6 (07:28):
We were told this guy.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
Was going to be raw, it would take a while
to get up to speed at the pro level mentally,
and what I saw involved You can.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Tell me what you think.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I saw a guy who made a mistake and then
he didn't make it twice and that for a rookie.
A lot of it was the plays that he didn't make,
the mistakes that he didn't make. And I thought he
played fantastic considering the situation around him. And I think
Josh Allen knows he's going to have two tough games
against this kid for the next number of years.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
I tell you, Greg, I thought he showed a lot
of poise, a lot of athletic ability. He hung in
there behind an offensive line that honestly might have had
one legitimate starter. So they addressed the offensive line this
offseason via free agency via the draft.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Obviously, Will Campbell coming in.
Speaker 7 (08:14):
To play left tackle, Garrett Bradbury coming in at center.
They should be much better up front, you know. And
then you bring in Stefan Daks who's been at number
one for a long time in this league, you know,
in your draft, Trayvon Henderson out of Ohio State, and
so you give him a lot of help. And so
I expect Drake May to make a big jump this year.
I expect the offense and it's been dreadful for the
(08:37):
last four years.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
It just has.
Speaker 7 (08:39):
They have not been competitive offensively over the last three
or four years. Even in Belichick's last couple of seasons,
they were not good. This looks to be the best
group that they're going to put on the field in
a while.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
It's going to start up front, and it's gonna start
with the development of Drake May.
Speaker 7 (08:54):
And look, Josh Daniels, Josh mcgaiels has done a great
job with quarterbacks and so he's back in his role
in New England right now. I think they've got a
chance to really kind of, you know, playmaker, a play caller,
offense coordinator, quarterback really kind of coming together and growing together.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
So it should be fun to watch throughout this season.
Speaker 7 (09:13):
But it won't surprise me to see a big jump
from the Patriots offense led by Drake May this coming season.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
That last line from Josh Allen that I read, where
he said Drake May exemplifies football that fits with everything
I saw from May during the pre draft process and
into the season last year. The way that he interacted,
the way that he had that presence even in the
pre draft meetings with teams. He's just that dude, and
Josh Allen clearly is seeing that from Drake May now
that need to see him elevate his play with some
(09:40):
better support and protection around him. Greg and Baldy don't
go anywhere. Coming back to you in a little bit,
Travis Hunter not going anywhere. He's going to be there
for the start of training camp. That deal done two
days ago, four years, forty six million. The Jaguars, as
I reported a short while ago, did also just agree
to terms with Bai Shalt, the second pick of the
(10:02):
third day of the draft, the running back that's already
making a push for some playing time in that backfield.
So I think that leaves one Jaguar left to be signed,
Cameron Wolf. Come on in here, because it leaves two
first round picks that have yet to be signed. You're
seeing them right there today. Baron with the Broncos and
Shamar Stewart with the Cincinnati Bengals. Let's talk about Stuart.
(10:23):
This one has been pretty public. Usually these rookie deals,
negotiations are simple and also behind closed doors. We've heard
a lot about this one. Catch us up.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Yeah, the Bengals and Shamar Stewart are still at an impass. Look.
Holdouts are rare but not impossible in this new CBA,
and a lot of times they come down to contract language,
guarantees and precedent. And I talked to a few people
in this situation and it's simply like this. The Bengals
are trying to create a new precedent with Shamar Stewart
putting language in his contract on voiding for particular off
(10:54):
the field instance and whatnot that would avoid the guarantees
in this deal. Shamar's team obviously they don't want to
be a pig for this particular motive. They'll say the
last year's first round pick, similar pick place he didn't
have to sign these deals, and so all of a
sudden there's a stare down going on. The team will say, hey,
sixteenth and the eighteenth pick in the draft, they were
(11:14):
players who put this language in, and Chamar's team will say, well,
those people already had language in. And so right now
there's a lot of posturing going on. There's no imminent deal,
and from what I understand, Shamar is willing to linger
this out through training camp if there's no deal. This
is a situation where the Bengals need him on the field.
They don't have Trey hendrickson their top pass rusher for
(11:36):
another holdout situation, and so they need that pass rush
they need Shamarro on the field. And Shamar's agents willing
to negotiate publicly. They are willing to say, hey, you
give us a little bit of this, you give us
a little bit of that. We'll see how the team responds.
Last year, the Bengals on their first round pick in
July twenty second, and so training camp will be the
next deadline to see if there's any compromise on either side.
(11:57):
From the situation.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Great breakdown from Cam basically Shamar Stewart and his agent
saying you haven't had similar language here in Cincinnati. They're saying, yeah,
but it's the same language that they're using around the league,
and they're saying, that's not our problem. We're just focused
on what's happening here. So the dance is going to continue,
and in an error where we don't usually see extended holdouts,
we could see one here with Shamar Stewart. As we
(12:19):
get into training camp, stay tuned for that camp. Myself,
everybody will have you as filled in on that as
we possibly can. When it comes to Baron, by the way,
doesn't seem like it's anything overly complicated. It's just some
stuff that needs to be ironed out and done before
the start of training camp. I think there's a lot
of confidence that this is going to be done and
we won't see a holdout from Baron, So stay tuned
on that one as well. Cameron Wolf, thank you hanging there.
(12:41):
Coming back to you later in the program.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Here's a shotguned snap four man rush yunk with time
sends a deep downfield for feeling. It makes the catch
of the.
Speaker 8 (12:53):
End zone for a Carolina touchdown.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
HI five. It's all around. Here's the snap.
Speaker 8 (12:58):
The figs of food young backpedals, rolling to his right.
He cat on fo He's got the ten, He's got
the five. Bryce into the end zone and Carolina takes
the lead count up one, two, three, four, five touchdowns
today for Chrys.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Young, it'll make What is that look on Bryce Young's
face is like lips are curled up. I didn't see
much of that in his rookie season. They did see
it down the stretch. Happy for Bryce Young. Such a
good dude. Looking to see that continue. Sarah Walsh and
Cam Wolf. So let's start with you, Sarah, on Bryce
Young's development. You see plenty of him with as much
(13:37):
as you cover the NFC South. What do you think
we see from Bryce Young in twenty five.
Speaker 9 (13:42):
Well, the thing about Bryce Young, he's entering year three,
but this is.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
The first time he's going back.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Into the same system.
Speaker 9 (13:48):
Remember he was under Frank Bright, then he was under
Dave Canals, and this is the first time he's got
a year two of someone system. And Young said that
allows him to focus on growth rather than on learning,
and we saw that growth unfold late last year after
his own two start, he was benched. He didn't regain
his starting role until week eight, but after that we
saw his numbers improved dramatically and his completion percentage, his
(14:10):
yards per game is touchdown to interception ratio.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Dave can Allison said.
Speaker 9 (14:15):
He wants the offense to look like Bryce Young, and
Young says a lot of that has to do with trust.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Now.
Speaker 9 (14:20):
I talked to his offensive lineman Robert Hunt recently, and
he told me he's watched Young grow right in front
of his eyes. He says, Young is hungry, he wants
to be good, and he also said there is a
feistiness about him that people don't see. Said he's been
talking Smack and the lineman, the guys on the team,
they love to see that. Hunt told me that they
get this sense that this team they saw what they
(14:41):
could be and they have a sense that that direction
is starting to change in Carolina camp.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
Yeah, Sarah, a much more confident Bryce Young. He's been
trash talking jc Orn, who's been yelling back in practice.
But I talked to an executive early this offseason, said, hey,
surprise me. Tell me something that stood out to you
about this offseason. He said, the Panthers are going to
make a playoff push and be a top top ten offense.
And I said why and he said, just look at
the way they have surrounded Bryce Young with weapons. When
(15:08):
he first got into the league two years ago, he
didn't have the offensive line. He was running for his life.
He's now got two of the best guards in the
league and Robert Hunt who you mentioned, Damian Lewis, guys
they've spent big money on in free agency and they
have really created that running game where all the pressure
is not on Bryce Young. Two Behubbard rush for one
thousand yards last year. They brought in Rico Dowell Daldo
(15:28):
from the Cowboys who had a thousand yards there as well.
All of those guys are going to be able to
run the ball, which they did really well over the
second half of the year. And then you got Tederoh McMillan,
who they drafted in the first round to put with
Xavier Laguette, two big talented playmakers down the field. Bryce
Young has showed that confidence in the last month of
the season that they believe he is their quarterback and
(15:49):
now they have him the right weapons to succeed. I
think Bryce Young's had it to the best best season
of his career this year.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeap, hopefully from wire to wire. If you're the Carolina Panthers.
That's what you're looking for. No peaks and valleys. He's
not big ones during the season. Cam, Thank you very much, Sarah.
Let's go defense here. You're like Travis Hunter. You're two
way players. Let's talk about the Panthers defense and what
we can expect from them in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 9 (16:13):
Well, Mike, for all the spotlight on Bryce Young, we
know how it is with the quarterbacks in this league.
It was really the Panthers defense that struggled. If you
take a look at the stats, they're not great. Last
in the league in a ton of categories, points per game,
yards per game, rushing almost one hundred and eighty yards.
They allowed opponents to rush on the ground per game.
That is the most in that category in almost three decades.
(16:35):
But help is on the way, Mike, in the form
of new faces and a familiar one. One of those
familiar faces, Derek Brownie, tore his meniscus in Week one
last year was lost for.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
The entire season.
Speaker 9 (16:46):
He says he expects me back at training camp with
obviously a managed workload, But this is a guy that
the year before, when is healthy, a pro bowler.
Speaker 6 (16:54):
He had over Alle hundred tackles one hundred.
Speaker 9 (16:56):
And three, which is the most by defensive lineman since
ninety four. They've also signed Wharton from the Chiefs, all
part of a plan to be better upfront. As zero Everro,
their defensive coordinator, has said that Wharton's presence, his aura,
his note taking at all times has really set a
standard around the facility. And then another guy that folks
inside the building tell me has had a terrific offseason
(17:17):
with them, Pat Jones, who comes over from Minnesota. Jones says,
it is time for this team to set a new standard.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Mike great, great stuff. You see that big man move
that fast. Brian Baldinger, as we bring you in here,
and you have seen this Carolina defense and you've seen,
you know, some growth and some solid play in Spurts.
Got to put it all together.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
They do they do. Mike and Sarah hit on a
lot of individual players.
Speaker 7 (17:43):
You know, anybody that's been around as zero Everro, you know,
he is an elite play He's.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
An elite coach.
Speaker 7 (17:51):
He's been in so many different places under the guidance
of some great head coaches and coordinators.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
He's learned a lot. He's ready. I think he's to
be a head coach, but he's got to, you know,
obviously they got to.
Speaker 7 (18:02):
Jump up from the stats we just saw last in
the league. It starts up front. They're a four man
defensive front. So Wharton comes on and comes along with
you know, Bobby Brown. They draft Nick Skurton. But honestly,
Derek Brown.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Is a beast.
Speaker 7 (18:16):
I mean when you say he's got one hundred and
three tackles, nobody gets one hundred and three tackles a
defensive tackle in this business. Hall of Fame players don't
get one hundred and three tackles. This guy's unique. And
even with double teams and everything that he sees, he
still knows how to split it. So getting him back
is going to be a big presidence. Getting Trayvon Mooring
in the back end at safety's going to be a
(18:36):
big presidence.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
J C.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
Warren, he's got to go live up to this contract.
He got a big fat contract this year. He's got
to go step up. And so I think at every
level of this defense they should be better.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
There's the question all right now of ever really coordinating
this thing to make it better.
Speaker 7 (18:53):
And really they don't have any excuses because they've upgraded
the talent.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
They kept the defensive coordinators for his third year.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
Now a lot of head coaching attention from around the league.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Now it's time to put it together.
Speaker 9 (19:06):
Hey, I just wanted to say someone that's usually baking
down here in the NFC, cell Toddgles with the Bucks,
had this advice to the guys as they were breaking
before training camp, said, don't be working out indoors because
that's not going to help you in the heat. And Mike,
as someone I know that's going to be heading out
to training camp, viewers don't know his home is.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
Mike is roasting.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
He doesn't have.
Speaker 9 (19:23):
Air conditioning in his place.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Right now, the lights are on.
Speaker 9 (19:26):
He's like wiping himself off in between commercial breaks. So
I just wanted to applaud your dedication to being in
top form when training camp rolls around.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
Mike JA like that.
Speaker 9 (19:35):
I'll take the air conditioner, but you do you there.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
This is a leather chair. Let's just say when I
get up, it takes like five seconds or so. There's
a little bit of.
Speaker 7 (19:45):
Keeping keep hydrating, you know, to fluids it and keep
them in.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
It's probably not enough. Yeah, but thank you. Very much, Larah.
Thank you, Sarah see somebody appreciates it. Thank you, Sarah Walsh.
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(20:16):
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Terms and conditions apply, of course they do. There's a
raven Derek Henry. Here comes another one, Lamar Jackson. We're
gonna be talking Ravens after the break. One of the
teams is easy to talk about this time of year
because you could say, hey, they're gonna be good, They're
gonna be competitive, because they always are. But can they
get to the Super Bowl? Can they get to the
Promised Land? Talking that with Greg Rose and Don Cameron
(20:37):
Wolf coming up next, Kenny Pickett getting some work in
with Jerry Judy. And if I told you that a
couple of years ago, when Pickett got drafted, you'd say, oh,
Judy got traded to the Steelers. No, you mean Pickets
(20:58):
in Denver. Wrong again, both guys together in Cleveland where
Kenny Pickett's trying to win a starting job, and another
guy that did a new place in Cleveland. The Aantae
Johnson thinks that Pickets got the inside track.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
I don't want to put you on the spot, but
who do you think who you think is gonna be
the start?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I know we talked about it off camera, but.
Speaker 10 (21:20):
I mean, then they don't roll with Kenny for right now.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Just so you just had Rookie meunic camp right doing
with them and did all that stuff.
Speaker 10 (21:26):
Who looks saying Kenny going on like right now with
the ones, and then Joe would come in. I think
they're probably gonna roll with him, just like to see,
like just coming off the season he was with Philly
right right and having the Super Bowl, so I'll really see.
I think they don't stick with him through pre season
and then you know they can live with with Joe
come with brands at the table.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Thank you. Sports and suits two things I liked, just
not in the dead of summer. Here are the Browns
starting court. I mean, I like sports in the summer,
but suit it's a little hot. Twenty twenty one, the
Browns starting. We can't go back any further. If we did,
they wouldn't fit on the screen. I mean, you know
how it is when it comes to the Browns and quarterbacks.
But yeah, that jersey with all the names on it,
(22:11):
got all these names, including a really long one and
Dorian Thompson Robinson. So who's it going to be in
twenty twenty five? Who's going to be beyond that? Let's
just focus on this upcoming season. Let's start with Cameron
Wolf alongside Greg russdal Camp. Start with you on Deontay
thinking that Kenny Pickett's got the inside track past some
of these veterans. You think he's right on or now.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
I think it's interesting that he's given that perspective as
a receiver on the team. From what I understand, how
to handicap Joe Flacco as the favorite going into training camp,
but Kenny Pickett's going to have a chance to steal
that job from him. I think it's more likely that
it's Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco than Shador Sanders or
Dylan Gabriel. And I spent Draft week in Brea with
(22:52):
the Browns, and I talked to Kevin Stefanski on draft day.
I had a good idea they weren't taking a first
round quarterback. Said, are you comfortable with Joe Flats or
Knnie pick At, a shardened quarterback? Without hesitation, he said yes,
and I'm like why. He's like, Joe has an immense
knowledge of my scheme. Remember twenty twenty three came off
the couch four and one played really well. We know
(23:12):
that we're going to have a very high forward Joe
and he talked about Kenny Pickett and his talent and
feeling like they can develop more out of him as well.
We've seen in the past Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold sort
of get career resurgence, and there's a belief they can
do some of that with Kevin Stefanski. But the reality
is this Browns team not a high chance people think
of making the playoffs. There's a good chance we probably
(23:35):
see multiple quarterbacks start throughout the season, and even if
it is one of the vets earlier, maybe we still
see Shador and Dylan Gabriel later in the season as
his team continues to build and develop. I know one
thing is clear. There's four quarterbacks on the roster. There
may be a question at the end of August, is
there one out? Is one getting traded? From what I understand,
not planning to move on on either rookie, So maybe
(23:56):
whichever vet lose the job, maybe on the trading block.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Ultimately, I think Deontay Johnson is right that the Browns
want Kenny Pickett to win the job, But I think
Joe Flacco will win the job. And my main reason
is just watching how Kenny Pickett has handled his last
two opportunities. The film does not lie, and you look
at two organizations in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia who both need quarterbacks,
(24:21):
who essentially gave up on Kenny Pickett. So we know
what Joe Flacco can do. He can play at a
credible level. He went four and one with the Browns before.
When the Steelers traded Kenny Pickett just a few years ago,
they moved all they had to do was move down
from the third to the fourth round in order to
do so. Last year, the Eagles essentially gave Kenny Pickett away.
(24:43):
So if we're going to spend this whole offseason saying
Howie Roseman is the best general manager in the game,
and they could certainly use a good backup at a
low price, and he basically decided to give Kenny Pickett
away because Tanner McKee is a better quarterback than him.
And ultimately, I think Joe Flacco is going to be
a better quarterback than him and should her. Sanders will
(25:04):
wind up being a backup or third string quarterback.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, Flacco late in the season with Cleveland looking good,
not so much in India there. I think that Indy
season just didn't work for a variety reasons. I expect
to see a better Joe Flacco sort of what we
saw in twenty twenty three this upcoming season, which should
be able to win him the job. Elsewhere in the
AFC North, you've got Lamar Jackson making the play for
Jay or Alexander to become a Raven And that is
(25:29):
exactly what happened when your franchise quarterback speaks a lot
of times. Yeah, listen, here's another veteran in the secondary,
Marlon Humphrey talking about what the Ravens defense could be
with Jaiyir.
Speaker 11 (25:40):
I feel that when I first came to the Ravens,
it was all about the Ravens defense. It was all
about the Ravens defense. It was all about the Ravens defense,
and I feel like I've let that standard be in here.
I think the longest defensive guy, I've let that standard
kind of slip and that's something that I want to
get back. I want it. Obviously, we love Lamar Jackson,
it's a great, great player, but I want the Ravens
(26:01):
identity to be defense.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Yeah, that's smart, especially when you got a defensive coordinator
like Zach Orr so cam. How good can this Ravens
defense with with JayR Alexander added be?
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Yeah, the Ravens can be special. They can be one
of those elite defenses we talk about again, But a
lot of it's going to depend on help. Jay R
Alexander has been a number one cornerback for most of
his career, only played fourteen combined games the last two years.
That's why they got them on a little bit of
a discount. But I love what it can do for
Zach ore in this defense. Look last year, from week
eleven to week eighteen, the Ravens had the number one
(26:35):
defensive football and yards and points after an abysmal starts
the season, and a big reason why was they just
didn't have that depth earlier in the year, so Kyle
Hamilton was spread too thin. Zach Owor removed Kyle Hamilton
free safety. He locked things down. This year, They're going
to have a little bit more creativity because Malachai Starks,
who they drafted in the first round, can play free safety.
(26:56):
Kyle Hamilton go about being that chess piece again. You
got Jiyure, Alexander and Nate Wiggins on the inside, allowing
Marlon Humphrey to play in the slot where he played
his best last year. I think this Ravens team can
be really special because of these improvements.
Speaker 5 (27:10):
Yeah, I love that secondary. I love that Marlon Humphrey
is a good quote. I love the versatility they have
up front. But let's be real, this team is about
Lamar Jackson. They are hoping on the Ravens defense to
just be the supporting actors to one of the greatest
quarterbacks of the last twenty five years. I'm doing a
podcast series, the best twenty five players the last twenty
five years.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Spoiler alert, Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Is on it.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
Over the last two seasons, he hasn't just been the
best quarterback on balance in the league. They have been
the best offense the way that Derek Henry helped to
unlock that running game and what they have in terms
of the continuity and the depth of weapons that Lamar
Jackson has. They are by far the favorite to be
the best offense in the league. Defense is up and down,
(27:52):
it comes and goes offenses forever. Offense wins championships and
I don't care how good they are on defense. The
identity is going to be this man number eight, Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Thank you guys, Thank you Cameron Wolf. Appreciate you, buddy.
Looking forward to hearing from you as The Insiders rolls
on later this week. Greg, you ain't going anywhere. You
want to know why, because you just teased it your
top twenty five players in the last twenty five years.
It's going to be talking about that when the Insiders
comes back with you and Baldi.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Rosted new Sammarama Avenue new Today.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
They're in downtown Mobile, Yes, a fresh new look the
Panini Senior Bowl. Panini America the new title sponsor of
the Senior Bowl. Yeah, the draft starts in Mobile. It
still does with Panini as the new sponsor. Looking forward
to our first trip down to Mobile for the Panini
Super Bowl. Coming up in a couple of months. Greg Roosevelt,
(28:58):
Brian Bouldingerer back with us. Rosie, you talked about it
before the break, NFL Daily's top twenty five players of
the last twenty five years. We get started any position,
but we've got an offensive lineman with us in Brian Baldinger,
So you know where we're starting to give us some
old linement on the list.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
Yeah, I wanted to hear Baldy tell me I'm dumb.
And this is a list where I had to leave
off so many great players Hall of famers. I wanted
to pick guys who were the very best of the
best at their peak, and so Baldy, I went with
Joe Thomas as my top tackle, and Walter Jones is
also on the list. I stuck in Zach Martin two.
(29:34):
We had to get a good interior alignment. Joe Thomas,
of course, known for the consecutive snaps streak, known for
just repeating what he does on a play to play
basis on such a high level a technician, a nice
guy shows you don't have to be a mean dude
to be one of the best to ever do it.
And then as I went through the list, the second
tackle spot was really tough for me. But Walter Jones
(29:57):
was a player. When he was playing, a lot of
people just thought he was the best football player period,
forget about just tackle at any position, and so I
had to get him on the list as well, you know,
more than I do. I mean, I'm just a plebeian.
So tell me what you think about my offensive lineman
choices and maybe who I might have missed in this list.
Speaker 7 (30:18):
Well, Greg, first of all, I mean you're spot on here.
I mean, this is a difficult assignment. Okay, So there's
gonna be some guys that are gonna be left off,
and I don't really want to speak too much about
the guys left off, but the two guys you spoke of,
Joe Thomas and Walter Jones. Joe Thomas, when you say technician,
I mean the level of technicality that he played the
(30:40):
game with, from his stands to his set, which was
straight out of he was a shot putter in high school.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
It's a shot put stance.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
Lane Johnson copied it, you know, Jason Peters copied his stance,
and they copied his set, his vertical set, and this
stuff is what transcended some of the game, his ability
to keep one hand inside, one hand outside, to kill hand,
the guide hand. I mean he played differently than a
(31:11):
lot of people. Hit the hit and move the body.
I mean, just sitting down with Joe Thomas, things just
come to my mind, Greg, about how the game is played,
how you described the game, how you have to well,
how you have to play.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
To be effective.
Speaker 7 (31:25):
And then for Walter Jones, I remember when they went
to a Super Bowl that year and lost to the Steelers,
and you know, Hutchinson's the left guard and Walter Jones
left tackle. They were a left handed team, and I said,
I can build the entire game plan around that left
side of the offense line, but specifically Walter Jones. Matt
(31:45):
Hasselback is going to throw slants right by the aarhold
of Walter Jones. His de mand's not getting to him.
And then you know, you watch Shawn Alexander run and
how we ran and the year that we ran for
over four hundred carrys.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
They're a team. He ran behind Walter Jones.
Speaker 7 (32:01):
I mean the guy pushed trucks around the parking lot
for fun. Greg, Like this is real stuff, like moving trucks, because.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
That's the kind of power that he had. He walked
into the Hall of Fame rightfully.
Speaker 7 (32:14):
So I think you got two really good players at
that position. You can argue others, but you can't argue
those two don't belong in your top twenty five.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yeah, you're not gonna be wrong with any of these.
It's the question of the guys that you left off
and the heartache of leaving them up. But twenty five
doesn't leave you a lot of wiggle rooms. So outside
of offensive lines, give us some notable names on your
list of twenty five.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
One of the most fun parts of the exercise was
kind of going through position by position and making these decisions.
And one of the positions that was easy for me
was actually running back because I thought there was two
above the pack, Ladanian Thomlinson and Adrian Peterson. Tomlinson to me,
was just the most complete running back that you could
possibly create, an elab not a great on the goal
(33:01):
line and get me extra yards and him get small
in the hole and tougher than I think he gets
credit for, you know, going through those tackles that you
see there, but just an absolute dynamo on third downs,
whether you want him to block or as a receiver
to be He was my number one guy because I
think he's better on all three downs. But Peterson was
absolutely fantastic too. Another debate, and these two guys are
(33:22):
both very high on the list to me, was JJ
Watt or Aaron Donald as the greatest defensive player of
the last twenty five years. I won't give it away here,
but Wat is high on the list. I think what
he did in that three year run where they robbed
him of an MVP and he won those Defensive Players
of the Year was the best I've ever seen any
(33:42):
defensive player. He helped me and my friend Chris Wesley.
He helped us see the game differently because I didn't
used to watch a defensive player snap after snap after snap,
and he made it so entertaining, so fun that you
actually started to understand the game better just watching him.
And then of course finishes with a big year in
twenty eighteen with the Cardinals two. And then I will
(34:03):
mention a guy who didn't make the list and Baldy.
You can talk about any three of these guys you want,
but I struggle that safety Ed Reid is high on
the list for me. Palamolo didn't quite make it, and
he was one of the players that hurt the most
to leave off the list. And it wasn't that he's
not a great player, but just comparing him to some
(34:24):
other players at different positions and the value of safety
and the All pros and some of the consistency, he
didn't quite make the cut. So I think it's it's
a big debate between Ravens fans and Steelers fans, Ed
Reed or Troy Polamalu.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I made the.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Choice of Ed Reid.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
I don't know how you feel about it, Baldi or
the other players I just mentioned.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Well, I mean, look LT. You go back and look
at his numbers.
Speaker 7 (34:49):
Great, he's the only back in NFL history that went
four hundred plus touches eight years in a row and
didn't miss games, still lined up coda hunter ball in
a season. You know, you're trying to differentiate him with
Adrian Peterson, but LT's volume of Carring's volume of touches.
You watch guys now, whether it's McCaffrey or going back
(35:12):
to Deuce mccows or Shawn Alexander.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
You go back, you.
Speaker 7 (35:15):
Know, in the history and looking guys that touched the
ball four hundred times what they did the next year.
All LT did was just consistently produce four hundred plus
touches receiving rushing eight years in a row.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
I don't know that anybody.
Speaker 7 (35:30):
And then thirty one touchdowns in two thousand and six
still hasn't really been challenged yet. Maybe somebody will with
seventeen game schedule, but nobody really has challenged thirty one touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
And then look you get.
Speaker 7 (35:42):
To JJ Watt that run between twenty twelve twenty fifteen.
You know where he led the league in tackle for
losses three different times.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
He had seventy combined sacks in that run. And he played.
He was the piano man. He played up and down
the line of scrimmage, every position.
Speaker 7 (36:01):
He let everybody in the offensive line feel his punch
and they felt it. He just changed the game. Ed
reads the greatest safety of all time, just flat out.
I mean, there's nothing against anybody else. It's the numbers,
punt returns, game changing plays, How he picked quarterbacks pockets,
how he took Peyton Manning to you know, behind the
(36:21):
woodshed and picked him off. I mean, Ed Reid is
one of the greatest players of all time.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
I don't know, man, attendees of the Sack Summit, this
guy might be a double agent. You might be getting
all that information and bringing it back to the offensive lineman.
I'm just saying, Bryan Baldinger at the twenty twenty five
I guess this with twenty twenty four. I assume Baldi
twenty twenty five coming up. I don't mean you know,
(36:51):
I'm not taking a shot at your character there, Baldy.
I'm just saying, you know, an offensive lineman coming in there.
They got to be looking at you like this a
little bit. Let's talk about this year's Sack Summit.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Yeah, no, I tell.
Speaker 7 (37:01):
You I went last year and was invited, and it's
really run by Von Miller, Max Crosby, Cam Jordan, three
of the best out there in the league right now,
and it really it's really kind of an open forum
to talk about pass rush, to talk about defense, every
nuance of it, whether it's the moves, whether it's stunts,
how to set guys up. And so we're at UNLV
(37:22):
out there in the desert heat.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Of Las Vegas.
Speaker 7 (37:25):
We're outside, we're on the field for her, you know,
three four hours out there walking through things with Von Miller.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Right there, we come into the.
Speaker 7 (37:32):
Film room, Mike, I start showing a bunch of different
film Brian Burns is in the background right there, different players,
And it's interesting because we're now it's now really kind
of filtering down to a lot of younger players, Like
for example, last year and the rookie Braydon Fisk was
in the front row with a notepad taking notes, asking questions.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
He also just so happened to lead all defensive linemen
with eight and a half.
Speaker 7 (37:59):
Sacks a year ago. So the young guys are starting
to show up now.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Yeah, speaking of those young guys, what rookies could be
this year's Braden Fisks, Guys that could learn some stuff
and carried on the playing field twenty five.
Speaker 7 (38:12):
Yeah, Mike, it's pretty exciting. The list right now is
at least fifty guys and seven of them a rookies,
including the forty nine ers first round pick mikel Williams,
the eleventh pick in the draft.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
You know, from Georgia.
Speaker 7 (38:24):
He started as an eighteen year old freshman for the Bulldogs,
won a national championship there. You know, last year played
with the high ankles brain he didn't have the same
production he had his sophomore year, but he's a guy
that can really play anywhere on the defensive line because
he's six y five's two hundred and seventy five pounds
and he's really strong, and so I think he's a
guy that has a chance to really develop and make
(38:46):
an impact opposite Nick Bosa year one. And then there's
Jalen Walker, also from Georgia. He went to Atlanta the
fifteenth pick. He was an off the ball inside linebacker,
but he showed great promise coming off the edge, speed
off the edge, and really good size and power as well.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
And so the Falcons have been in search of a.
Speaker 7 (39:07):
Pass rusher to get after Baker Mayfield of bryce young
guys in their own division, I'm anxious to see Jalen
Walker his movement and how he takes to some of
the coaching. And then the last guy I want to
mention this guy from Arkansas who the Buffalo Bills took
in a third round. You know, the top five picks
we're all defense, is this land In Jackson. Because when
you looked at him and he studied him number forty
(39:29):
right here, he's six foot six, he's got long arms,
he had great production here he is playing over the
guard on a twist stunt with the end right there.
He's a good long on player. He's got natural moves already.
I'm kind of anxious to see his movement and how
he performs out there. They do a number of drills
on Thursday morning out there on the field before we
(39:50):
start breaking out into groups and sessions and just talking
about different positions. A guy like Kalais Campbell, ageless Kalayis
campbellill be out there. I'm sure a guy like Landon Jackson,
Jalen Walker, Mikel Williams could learn a lot from a
guy like Kalais, who's back playing again this year with
the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 3 (40:10):
I will at last year. I'm looking forward to learning
a lot this year and beating a lot of the
younger guys.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Just seeing that there with land and Jackson, that wasn't
just speed or power or a combination of both. That
was technique that he already has in his arsenal. So yeah,
adding a little bit more is going to make him
that much scarier. Hanging there, baldire with us till the
end of the show. Wied a Wire. The wait is
over and the countdown. The kickoff has begun. Single game
tickets for the twenty twenty five NFL season are on
(40:36):
sale now. Visit nfl dot com slash tickets to purchase
tickets today. Tickets are available through the NFL ticket network,
including Ticketmaster, seat Geek, and Sports Illustrated Tickets. Tight End
University is underway. George Kittle, Jeremy Shockey's still apparently yoked
these days. Travis Kelcey, Greg Olsen, that's Brock Powers on
(40:59):
the right, all of them professors at tight End University,
and a lot of folks taking in what Travis Kelsey
had to say. Yeah, they're not just there to see Taylor,
who's there for some reason. But Travis Kelsey not ready
to hang it up for himself, but making sure that
the next generation of tight Ends has all the information
(41:19):
that they need. And then speaking of people for some
reason that they're there for some reason. This guy is
there now, don't quit on them. Brian Baldinger, because the
first half is ugly, but he made some halftime adjustments.
Give us a bald breakdown of this.
Speaker 7 (41:35):
Well, look, Mike, I mean, obviously he's not bending his
knees at all to start with, and it looks like
he's got a blindfold on.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
He's got no periphery whatsoever. And so it was an
ugly start. It was a bad first half.
Speaker 7 (41:47):
Come in the locker room, get you show someonere in
slices right, really, refocus and once he started bending his
knees like an athlete. Okay, and then really you look
at him right here, watch him start to bend his
knees here, all right, take the blindfold off. Now, now
he's got confidence. It's all about growing confidence. You can
see rab Sheet got his.
Speaker 3 (42:06):
Confidence those last three you know flags that he that
he caught right there. But I saw a good neepend
at the end night. He was way too stiff to
start this drill.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Yeah, I agree. It is an ugly shirt. Oh you
said ugly start. Oh I'm sorry. Sorry the shirt was great, hey,
but you don't want to give him cryst He hung
in there. He didn't will maybe he'll be on the
show tomorrow. Now he's not on the show tomorrow, but
I'll be Brian Baldier, see you later. Join us tomorrow
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