Around the AFC in 48 Minutes 2023 Season Preview

In a room full of heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Marc Sessler, and Patrick Claybon go around the AFC in 48 minutes. The heroes start off the with AFC East (06:50) followed by the AFC North (23:27). After the break the heroes wrap up the show with the AFC South (38:33) and AFC West (53:25).

Note: time codes approximate. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Around the NFL podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
It's breaking hearts, ankles and records everywhere. I'm the Chris
Westling podcast studio, mighty high on our own supply lately
with the Zummy drops. It's around the NFL. My name
is Dan Hansas. They got heroes everywhere I look. On
this important episode Around the AFC in forty eight minutes,

(00:28):
Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal, Patrick Claybond back in studio.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
What's up?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Gang?

Speaker 4 (00:33):
Just glad to be here. This is a tradition. I'm excited.
I see if I can get shranked a few times.
This is one of my favorite parts of the year.

Speaker 5 (00:41):
It's a special day. You wake up and the cereal
just tastes a little better.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
M hm.

Speaker 5 (00:45):
Walk walk to school with your kids in back for you,
the air is just crisper.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Football is back.

Speaker 6 (00:52):
Well, I knew we were gonna get that that You
get this, Greg football.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
You're trying to make it a thing, Greg, And the
more you try to make it a thing, the more
it repulses Mark and I because we know football is
not back until the second week of February.

Speaker 5 (01:05):
It's been a thing for We're on like year nine
of this spit going strong.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
And yes, before the show we were talking learned a
couple of different things. Clay Bonn tomorrow right, Actually you've
heard the cliche, but Patrick wants to the world to
know he actually did walk uphill both ways to get
to and from his school as a child. And now
they've cut a path through the middle of the easy path,
which made me wonder, is oh, that sounds great for

(01:32):
the kids of today. But that's where to use the
parlance of my times. Back in New York, the skids
would hang out and the less populated less no cop
interference or people looking around. The skids could do what
the skids do, also known as what do we call them?
Where you guys are from burnouts? No chance about Massachusetts?

(01:53):
What were they known as gregs? Like I was one
of them. I don't know.

Speaker 5 (01:57):
Burnout sounds right, burnoutsound Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:00):
We didn't necessarily have a parlance. There weren't any like
creek Creek critters who would hang out on the past.

Speaker 5 (02:07):
Critters that's like with the arsonists would be another word.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
I guess the skit Well, that's different the it's just
a lot of fires.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
The only thing the skids really did that I ever
clocked was they put one foot up against the side
of the Walgreens over the fence from the high school,
smoked a ton of cigarettes, listened to a lot of metallica,
and threw snowballs at the normals.

Speaker 5 (02:30):
It's very Simpsons as the Skids.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
I was asking about Greg. I had to know because
you had the long hair, you were in a gothmo band.
Maybe you didn't know what the term was. Maybe you
actually were in that crew.

Speaker 6 (02:45):
Now, I don't think emos were like, there wasn't a
huge ven diagram crossover with burnouts.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
I mean, but also goth emo usually doesn't crossover, does it.
Or maybe.

Speaker 5 (02:55):
Certain Delaware are that man of your imagination now that
they existed.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
I don't know what the name is.

Speaker 5 (02:59):
I do remember I was once like like kicked very
hard by one and in a hallway in our class,
in our What did you possibly do to elicit that
react from a student?

Speaker 3 (03:09):
Nothing?

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Nothing.

Speaker 5 (03:10):
They were just kind of the types that would just
beat up fresh that's what the that's a senior.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Kids are gonna do what the kids are gonna do it.
It's classic burnout behavior.

Speaker 6 (03:17):
Craig's walking around his middle it's like marching. It's like
we're gonna kick you.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Around the AFC in forty eight minutes. And this is
like I said, I get a text from doing the
Scott Hansen Okay, Scott Hansen of Red Zone fame.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
Yeah, like seven hours no p breaks, which you can
get on NFL Plus.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
You can get on an NFL Plus. But you can
get us on NFL Plus. Uh starting uh next week,
we better get on that. He wanted to know when
around the ABC and NFC was dropping. It is right now.
We're going to go through the entire conference three minutes exactly.
And another thing came up before the show, Mark, you

(04:07):
grew up in Connecticut, also brief time in England. We've
heard it. I don't know how many.

Speaker 6 (04:13):
It's just factual biographical information, but I know it now
that you've had kids.

Speaker 5 (04:17):
What did they remember from years you know, zero to three?
Nothing right, And I'm just saying.

Speaker 7 (04:25):
Mark, looking at her, literally kill, they're from age three
to six. I take it back childhood.

Speaker 3 (04:33):
He always says, three.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
Mark, there was a Mimosa Stabber where you grew up.

Speaker 7 (04:38):
It was a section of my This is not in England.

Speaker 6 (04:40):
It was back when I let out, Like a section
of our town was called mosa like a neighborhood and
there was someone someone called the MoMA.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Someone was a little stabby in that area, and that well,
see how you made it real. And now it feels
like not something I could even make light of anything.
I think you can now I was fine, she escaped,
not mortal injuries. Another weapon is the one held in
the hands of our producer, Eric Roberts, who for the
first time and the grave digger Justin Graver, did so

(05:11):
many things well for us during his tenure as super producer,
but nothing better than shooting Greg right in the old
throat with a trenk, or any of us for that matter,
when we went over the allotted three minutes, okay, and
broke the rules of this hallowed game. So Eric, are
you feeling nervous like Aaron Rodgers playing his first preseason
game in six years, like he admitted he had butterflies?

(05:35):
I imagine that's the similar case. It's a big responsibility,
it is. I don't want to, you know, tarnish the authenticity.
The timer is the timer, so I will be stern
and quick.

Speaker 5 (05:49):
Well, plus he's playing hurt, so those tranks might not
be totally.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Don't use use the right hand. It's gonna affect the accuracy.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
Now I've become a little ambidexterrous here, So I got
we have a role.

Speaker 6 (05:59):
In that too, because I thought in the last couple
of times we've done this exercise, like someone gets fired
point blank in the middle of their forehead with a
so called dart and they keep talking.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Right, we got it. You're right on this side of
the last. You got to respect the TRNK, built.

Speaker 4 (06:13):
Up a tolerance to the you know whatever the medical
instrument is over the.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Time, and Graver got a little TRNK crazy in the
final episodes. I think he started to lose his mind
from us talking too much over it. So let's try
to be respectful of the time allotment because this, if
we do it right, this should be over in exactly
forty eight minutes plus three time outbreaks. That we only
have three clock management is important. Why don't we get

(06:38):
it going? Here we go, We're going to start in
the AFC East. Hit it, Eric Buffalo Bills, Greg.

Speaker 5 (06:50):
All right, I want to know what Sean McDermott has
in store with this defense when you look at what
happened with Leslie Fraser leaving now working with us.

Speaker 3 (06:59):
It's a little strange.

Speaker 5 (07:00):
I think Sean McDermott wanted control of his defense, and
you look at a team that I don't think the
window is closing in any way. But in terms of
this defense, Jordan Poyer, Tredevius White, Tron Johnson, Micah Hyde,
that to me is the Buffalo Bills under Sean McDermott.
What's made them really interesting and consistent. They've been together
for five years. That doesn't happen. That's the core of

(07:22):
this team. This defense, He've been as consistent as any
defense in the NFL. They don't get von Miller back
for four or five weeks. But I think Sean McDermott
wanted to shake things up, and I do wonder does
he have one great Buffalo Bill's defense with all this continuity,
all these great players, Matt Mlano, some good guys up front,
ed Oliver gregorw so like one great defense to shut

(07:43):
everyone up about the whole Buffalo Bills losing their steam.

Speaker 3 (07:47):
They could do it on the defensive side.

Speaker 6 (07:49):
You don't have von Miller for the start of the
year because of pup, but you are right, there's a
lot of consistency here.

Speaker 7 (07:55):
I always wonder like when you lose a coordinator.

Speaker 6 (07:57):
I think Leslie Fraser was underrated in that role in
Buffalo and part of why they were what they were.
You know, you lost Brian Dable a year ago. Know
Leslie Fraser, and sometimes I think mcdermt can handle it
because he's been doing this for so long. But when
you're the head coach that's to suddenly call the defense
on top of it comes not always the smoothest transition.

Speaker 4 (08:16):
And I think it's something that Pep Hamilton pointed out
as last week we were getting ready for Game Day Live.
Glad to have him, Glad to have coach Fraser come over. Well,
Leslie Fraser allowed Sean McDermott some leniency in terms of
how much attention he played to the defense that's gone.
I wonder how the change in the offense comes with
Ken Dorsey.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Are they going to run the ball more?

Speaker 4 (08:35):
They're going to be a little more complimentary now that
the head coach is calling the defense, if he's going
to just because it's something that people do, pay more
attention to the way that the offense does to facilitate
better defense and success.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
Now that he's the person that has to own it.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
We all had McDermott in the safe grouping when we
did hot butts. I still feel that way. Did get
some pushback on social media that McDermott should be seen
as guy may be a little bit warmer if the
defense has a bad year, the team falls short, would
he ever be in dangered? I don't think so. But
I do think there's pressure on McDermott, like you're saying

(09:09):
Greg to really build something up here on dates.

Speaker 5 (09:11):
Well, and Ken Dorsey's entering the second year, and I
think he did a good job for the most part.
Last year they declined when Josh Allen got hurt. There's
been some interesting things this preseason. I like what Dalton
Kincaid's looked like. Trent Sherfield's their number three. Like, there's
no reason to me why they should be viewed any
differently entering this year than a year ago.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
I did know they're healthier.

Speaker 6 (09:32):
I think there's like no team in the AFC with
kind of more of a tight butt pressure on them
where it's like anything less than thirteen wins in an
AFC title game appearance does not fly.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
Gotta get there. This is the year You've got to
get there. Beautiful the Miami Dolphins. There is a general
assumption that the Dolphins offense was good last year, even great,
and for the majority of the season with two with
the controls, it was. However, a close examination of the
game log might give you a little bit of pause.

(10:04):
After a Week twelve win over the Texans got into
eight and three, they lost five straight. You saw all
their numbers come down, Teams change their scheme, played more
press coverage, messed with what Mike McDaniel likes to do,
mess with the timing of the offense. Then TUA got hurt, disappeared,

(10:24):
They went one and done in the playoffs. I think
the offense is gonna be very good. I think the
defense is in some ways more compelling with mcfangio there.
But I'm just curious. Did the league catch up to
McDaniel's scheme at the end of last year, and if so,
can McDaniel make the necessary tweaks to ensure a high
octane attack doesn't putter out this time around?

Speaker 6 (10:44):
Man, I thought, like the Jordan Rodrieg like podcast series
about this crew of offensive dudes, like the Shanahan to
McDaniel tree, I don't think there's catching up because they're
working so hard week to week to recreate what they
do and do it in different way. And I mean
we've seen with Shanahan's scheme, which this so much is
that it isn't so much a catchup.

Speaker 7 (11:04):
It's like you're always ahead of it.

Speaker 6 (11:06):
And I think that McDaniel, if anything would have been
last year, would have been the growth year, and there
was no growth. They were explosive right out of the gate,
and you're still talking about how do you deal with
their speed? Their speeded is something you're gonna have to
deal with no matter what the scheme is.

Speaker 5 (11:17):
I think he's the guy that Kyle Shanahan never wanted
to let go. I think he almost held some of
McDaniel's personal struggles as leverage to keep Mike McDaniel in
his pocket. And so I'm very curious to your point
sort of what Mike McDaniel's going to do for a
second act, because maybe a little like Andy Reid and
certainly Andy Reid earlier in his career, but I think

(11:39):
he's gonna come out with a lot of different stuff,
and he's got the speed, as you mentioned, to make
it hurt.

Speaker 3 (11:44):
I'm not worried about Mike mcdee.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
Yeah, and it's not his first year at coaching anymore.
And we see offenses go through lulls sometimes, and it
just so happened that the Dolphins lull on offense coincided
with at the end of it, their quarterback getting hurt
and we never got to see them work their way
out of it.

Speaker 6 (11:59):
Armstead's got to be healthy though, yet when he was
not in their last year. Don't you think Dan, like,
one place you could grow is like the ground game,
which is such a Shanahan staple, like was not really
as much of a difference maker in Miami last year.
I think that's something you can add to the offense
and make it more balanced.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
I thought one more note, because you can't have a
Dolphins conversation without talking about to his health. Read this
in the Football almneck Kel Clinton. Big hits on a
QB are a part of the Shanahan system. The way
they do the play action. It asks your running backs
to do a lot of heavy lifting and tight ends
on edge rushers and linebackers. So when you look at

(12:34):
San Francisco's QB injuries, you connect the dots there. Look
at what happened with Tua he's a guy that's vulnerable
to start with. In the scheme he's even more so.
I hope he's healthy. I hope Mike White, if he
comes in, can push the ball down field, because that's
not really his thing. Was that too negative in there?

(12:55):
I don't know, No, think we're beina.

Speaker 7 (13:01):
The first one felt good.

Speaker 4 (13:02):
Not gonna lie Patrick the Jets all right, So a
lot of questions have been answered about this team already.
Makai Beckton earns that starting job at right tackle, which
felt like it turned it into a necessity versus earlier
in the off season when we thought it was a
little bit more of a luxury. They get Dalvin, which
gives them some brief insurance as he's working his way back.

Speaker 1 (13:19):
From that Week seven ACL tear.

Speaker 4 (13:21):
My only question is we've seen such an egalitarian Aaron
Rodgers the entire offseason. The opening schedule for the Jets,
you start off with the Bills, and then there's the Cowboys,
the Patriots, the Kansas City Chiefs. If things don't start
out well, because it was full on Nate Hackett defense, like,
where does the conversation go if the start is a

(13:43):
little slower, And again I expect them to be good.
But what if the start is slow?

Speaker 5 (13:48):
You get a little r e lax, relaxed vibe from
Aaron Rodgers, possibly because that schedule, especially you know, for
the offense, is especially brutal those first couple of weeks,
and I'm much more worth about the offense. I do
wonder if Aaron Rodgers has enough support, like you think, Okay,
Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson, that's incredible, it is, but

(14:08):
two players do not make an offense. And I I
just don't assume that Lazard or Hardman, or the offensive line,
or the running backs or the coach are better than
average anywhere else. So like you have a great quarterback
and a great number one, I believe everything else offensively.

Speaker 3 (14:25):
I have questions.

Speaker 5 (14:26):
They might be able to answer him, but I think
people are assuming they have more talent on offense.

Speaker 3 (14:30):
I really do.

Speaker 2 (14:31):
I questions around Breeze Hall are fair come off the ACL,
but you have Cook and Breeze Hall. That's pretty that's
pretty damn good.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
It's fine, Okay, I mean it's good. I think it's
still really fun. I think I guess you're right.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
It'd be great.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
By the way, it could be great.

Speaker 5 (14:44):
But if you put it up against all the other
running back groups in the league and they're run blocking,
it's fine.

Speaker 2 (14:50):
Their defense is going to be so good this year
that I think that's gonna help too. Like the offense doesn't.
I don't think needs does not agree. It doesn't need
to be studeley because when you have have that defensive
line and the back end of the secondary led by
Sauce and to the mark, to the point of look
at the top of their schedule and I get it
as a gauntlet like the old Bengals matcher from lest year,

(15:10):
they got to play us too, Like Thatt's are a
tough team to beat. I don't imagine they're gonna come
out of their own four one or three.

Speaker 6 (15:15):
I think there was no more dominant position group through
the entire preseason what than New York's defensive line. They're
so deep and you know that side of the ball,
and those meetings they kept saying it, we're gonna keep
this offense in games, and they are. And I think
that Look at we've seen Aaron Rodgers go through periods
and stretches where he didn't have immense talent around him,
and he still made it happen. I think he's at
least with people that he knows and that he's comfortable with,

(15:37):
and you're getting the best kind of mental version of
Aaron Rodgers. He's also like a corrector and he gets
moody and stuff, so I do. The one only thing
is like if psychologically it does not look great after
a month, like does this feel good thing kind of
wear off? And then you're in the middle of a battle,
what happens?

Speaker 5 (15:52):
Then that's the NFL season though, But that well, every
team's gonna go through it unless it's just like a
dream here, they're gonna have a two weeks stretch where
everyone's getting on them.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
And the schedule softens up after that.

Speaker 7 (16:04):
Maybe they went for those games.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Time out first time out little Hard Knocks talk. First
they plugged Colleen and I did our fourth episode, the
penultimate episode of the Hard Knocks podcast, which you could
catch in this feed whenever you like. You did see
Aaron Rodgers get fired up in practice and angry. As
a Jets fan, it was nice to see that the

(16:29):
Snoopy Bowl and Rogers calling it Jet Life Stadium and
really feeling like for the first time since the Rex
era pre Victor Cruz. It feels like it could also
be the Jets town, which it doesn't matter. Most people
study a football fan in that region this idea and
feeling like you're you're about to take over the town,
which hasn't happened there since Victor Cruz went ninety nine

(16:52):
on Christmas Eve.

Speaker 5 (16:52):
I mean the Jets, the Giants have left the door
pretty wide open for you in the last seven or
eight years.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
We weren't ready to walk on the door and was
ready to cut but uh, yeah, that was interesting and
the and you have some of the smack dog just
uh getting after Jihad Ward, the former second round pick Rogers,
that was some good stuff.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
Expect welcome on what that five?

Speaker 3 (17:16):
I know you are? You know, I've never heard.

Speaker 2 (17:19):
You, Gwards. I don't know who you are. That's a comeback.
It's a comeback. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (17:27):
Sometimes in a in the heated in the battle, you
just repeat what the person said, even though it does
makes no sense.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
As soon as it left his lips. He probably wanted
that one.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
There, Rogers, like what all right? Time in to the
New England Patriots closing out the AFC East Mark sas.

Speaker 6 (17:43):
All right, I ask you this, do you still believe
in Bill Belichick. It's the best coach in today's NFL.
And if he is, how does he steer this weird
offensive roster through the dark thicket of the AFC East
and beyond great defense? We get it, But I see
the worst QB in the division, all right, the lowest
gaggle of why so banged up offensive line with issues
of tackle and zero X factor on this side of

(18:04):
the ball.

Speaker 7 (18:05):
Where are we six months from now?

Speaker 6 (18:06):
And if things go south to conspiracy theories around the
idea of as Corporal's like to say, sun setting Bill
Belichick as a Patriots coach become a reality. And if
Belichick can be fired, what stops one thousands? What stops
one thousand alien crafts from invading next? That would be
a weird, like a very strange world we live in,
but it seems more possible than ever before. If you're
not a Patriots fan, this is the most interesting Patriots

(18:28):
season ever.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Mark's still trying to get Belichick back to Cleveland.

Speaker 5 (18:31):
He's still trying to get the Aliens invading. I think
Belichick's answer would be or at least mine as a Homer,
what he has up his sleeve is that defense. If
he's still got it, it has to show up in
this defense because he's been building up this defense to
this moment for about three years and they're kind of
fully formed. They've got some really young, intriguing players like

(18:55):
Christian Barbera. They have guys who have been there for
a long time wise, and you know Larry Guy and
the three safeties. You got Kyle Duggery, you have the
two Joneses at cornerback. You love this rookie quarterback, Like
if they can still make a difference on defense, this
is the time. This is Belichick because offensively, maybe you're right,
but that's not going to be his VALI wick. He's

(19:16):
hoping to be twenty second on defense, I think an offense.

Speaker 4 (19:18):
Yeah, nobody's punning on Bill Belichick in general, I think,
but maybe you bring Andy Reid into the conversation and
you look, because part of being a good coach is
developing a staff around you. And the decision with Matt
Patricia was just so baffling for everybody. It's kind of like, well, hey,
Bill can't always do everything all of the time, and
so I think the team is going to be good.

(19:40):
They're clearly going to be better and it kind of
gets restored, but it's hard to erase what was a
disastrous mistake in twenty twenty two.

Speaker 1 (19:48):
It still goes on the list, and it makes me wonder.

Speaker 2 (19:50):
And I think part of this is just recalibrating expectations
of what the Patriots are and what comes out of
a season for them, because we're still living in the
after effects of nine super Bowls and eighteen years or whatever.
And yeah, I think they're a middle of the road team,
and I don't think I think Belichick still has it.
There was no medical incident that we know of. The
Patricia move was baffling, but I think he's gonna coach

(20:11):
up the day and they're gonna win probably between six
and nine games. This world will go on.

Speaker 5 (20:17):
The schedule is so much suffer if he if they
only win six or seven games. I don't think he'd
be back next year.

Speaker 6 (20:23):
Had they gone and got like DeAndre Hopkins, you've got
to and he's here, he is what we think he is.

Speaker 7 (20:27):
You got a starting guy.

Speaker 6 (20:28):
I just don't I think everyone's being pushed up the
charts a little bit where you're not really where you
should be slotted as wide receiver on the team got
a bunch of guys, but it's like, who scares you
if you're a defensive coordinator going against this offense?

Speaker 7 (20:38):
This is twenty.

Speaker 3 (20:40):
That's the idea I think is Rimandre and old Zeke.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
They can't be worse?

Speaker 3 (20:44):
Should we? Should we take a time out here and
talk a little? Uh?

Speaker 1 (20:48):
Take it Grid?

Speaker 2 (20:49):
I don't know, step On No, Actually it's a TV timeouts.
It's the end of the quarter, so we can do
it without blowing it up. What does that even mean
the end of the first quarter? Well, I was gonna talk,
take a time out and talk a little, Zapi. You
don't have They're in a chiev e timeout. So it's great.
We actually timing worked out.

Speaker 1 (21:03):
For him a little, save the tomouts he did.

Speaker 5 (21:07):
He did not approve of your Sannis planned all three timeouts.
I thought we're doing a little cutdown Recapa any time out, Yeah, Zappi.
In terms of like having things planned out, I think
the fact that they cut Bailey Zappi and he made
it through waivers and now he's their practice squad backup
quarterback and I assume he'll be elevated if they don't
find another quarterback. But it does make it feel like
they're still winging it here on offense.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
If I'm Mac Jones, I'm pretty pumped up about Baillie's
Zappie summer because it removed any heat around him having
to play for his job in September and everything.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Why was there a heat from Bailey Zappi any.

Speaker 5 (21:41):
There never was except from the most basic of Patriots fans.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
I saw a guy wearing a jersey had a game
last year.

Speaker 7 (21:47):
People that are paying tickets to go to the game.

Speaker 5 (21:49):
Greg Right, Yeah, they were the most basic of like
w e I listeners who thought this guy at a
future When Mac Jones had a nice little rookie year
and Bailey Zappie was never a threat, it was almost
a shot from Belichick to that guy.

Speaker 6 (22:02):
I mean, Billy Zachy came in and destroyed the Lions
and beat the Browns and then came in off the
bench against Mac Jones when Matt Jones looked, you know,
had problems. Great for a couple of minutes, then he
melted against the Bears. But that that's not that crazy
that a fan base would start to go in New
England would start to go over wild Frame late round
white quarterback.

Speaker 3 (22:20):
Sure, it's not crazy.

Speaker 2 (22:21):
That the old late the quarterback.

Speaker 5 (22:24):
That any fan base goes for like a backup, but
they were they were.

Speaker 2 (22:28):
Shirt so uh a little tight in the peck area. Wow.
And the sleeves.

Speaker 5 (22:32):
It's almost like you sized it's preseason. Maybe I'm just
sizing up, you know. There we go on, it's preseason.

Speaker 3 (22:39):
You gotta get the shirt sitting where you can.

Speaker 7 (22:42):
It's a nice fit.

Speaker 5 (22:44):
Uh, let's just run through a couple interesting there were
a couple of backup quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
TV over they're coming back and.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
Okay, Jonathan Taylor on Pop we know he's out for
four weeks.

Speaker 2 (22:53):
That that might really handled that.

Speaker 5 (22:54):
Some kicker trades will Latts to the Broncos, that's fun.
Nick Folk to the Titans, that's fun, your boy. Kade
York on the Titans practice my boy still though, Chris
Jones and Nick Bosa updates. Alberto to the Eagles. Von
Miller We mentioned.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
It because the Eagles traded for him. It's it's perceived
as if they got a young Travis Kelcey in this deal,
and it's like, all right, we get it. You all
love the Eagles and everything they do.

Speaker 3 (23:18):
Kyle Allen is the becco Chamber.

Speaker 2 (23:20):
Chamber, Chamber, I love that for the Eagles. All Right,
we're back AFC North, starting with not me right, yes, me,
the Bengals. No team, Let's get the whistle. No team
has ever won the AFC North three years in a row.
Do you know that? Did not know that? I believe
the Bengals are fixing to make history. They nearly won

(23:41):
the Super Bowl with their Cinderella run in twenty one,
then fell short of the Big Game last season, even
though they had the better team last year. That's funny
how sports work. They bring the bulk of their quarterback.
They're a little worse at tight end, They're potentially a
lot better at left tackle. Orlando Brown deep talented, battle tested,
roster superstarquarterback in this prime. As long as this CAF

(24:01):
is okay, it's not practicing yet. He did today, good, excellent.
If the offensive line and Burrow hold up physically, this
is the number one seed in the AFC. And that
ain't a question, that's a fact. Jack.

Speaker 6 (24:13):
I'd like to see this. They came out of the
gate last year zero and two. The Burrow CAF thing,
I mean, just because it's like the kind of injury
where like you're just sort of sitting there with your
fingers crossed that it doesn't resurface.

Speaker 2 (24:25):
On some level, I'm working under assumption that they played
this smart and gave him extra time to get the date.
Hopefully so yeah, hopefully nobody wants to Joe barroget Her.

Speaker 3 (24:33):
Yes, it doesn't have a contract, which may be that should.

Speaker 6 (24:36):
Come out in the next couple of days. That needs
to be getting Browns. You're the Browns in week one
and the Ravens in week two. These are huge games
right away for a team that I mean, I think
number one, you have Louis Arama Rumo back.

Speaker 7 (24:47):
That is consistency. I love that for them.

Speaker 6 (24:49):
He could have been hired away, but you lost a
major chunk of your secondary. I kind of like the
pieces they put in there, but there's some moving parts.
I don't love what's happening with Jonah Williams at right tackle.
And you mentioned the thin situation at tight end. I mean,
there are some changes on this roster that leave some questions.

Speaker 5 (25:05):
They're a little thin. There's certainly thin at tight end.
The running back room has questions. I love the defense.
I love cam Taylor Britt how he played at the
end of last year, they get Uzi back, so that's
actually a big addition. I mean that's their best cornerback.
I think they're confident in daxx Hill in his second year,
Like getting into Rumo back, it really does feel like
him back, The continuity on defense, the relative youth and

(25:27):
experience combination, Like they to me are the most window
team right now.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
Not that they'll go away in any way.

Speaker 5 (25:34):
But like you're not gonna have t Higgins, Jamar Chase,
and Tyler Boyd ever again, this is Tyler Boyd's last
year in Cincinnati.

Speaker 4 (25:40):
I just can't help but get over, Like I'm trying
to get over the fact that Jesse Bates played ninety
eight percent of the snaps last year. Von Bell played
ninety nine percent of the snaps last year. They had
so much I don't think we could just like handwave
that away. We know the offense has been very good,
it's going to continue to be good. But though these
the secondary made so many plays.

Speaker 5 (25:58):
But like I can't get I guess question would be,
who was Von Bell before he was with this team.
Not that he's not a talented guy, but this team
to me, can help make these players.

Speaker 2 (26:08):
They've done a good job developing guys and setting up
for the next guy to come in. And I guess
it's a little bit of faith in the Bengals operation,
which is say, but we'll see they could take a
step back, There's no doubt about it. And Brian Callahan's
also back at OC. Their defense last year plus fifty
one second half point differential Wow, plus seventy if you

(26:30):
include the three playoff games. Captain loub the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Greg Rosehalt, all.

Speaker 5 (26:39):
Right, we've given the young offense a lot of love.
They're primed. We can get to them if you want.
But it's been a minute since Mike Tomlin had a
difference making defense, and I think he's got a chance
this year. It's one of the reasons why I think
Mark's twelve win prediction is looking great right now, because
the offense is fun, but the defense has Teacher in

(27:00):
his prime. Cameron Hayward's still playing at a very high level.
Alex high Smith a great second pass rusher who got
some money.

Speaker 3 (27:08):
We've loved what we saw Nick Krbig, Marcus Golden.

Speaker 5 (27:10):
Like this is a pass rush with some good guys
up front. Two that could be one of the better
groups in the league, and I want to see it
from Tomlin. Tomlan we talk about as a potential future
Hall of Fame coach. He is great on overall, but
he's also a defensive guy, and I think this defense
is what really could put them over the top and
compete with Cincinnati to win this don't you.

Speaker 6 (27:28):
Think also, like the where Patrick Peterson might not work
out somewhere else, I feeling he's going to work out
in Pittsburgh. Joey Porter, I was pushing for that draft
pick the entire time you mentioned Harvick. I think like
you're starting to see depth. This is a team that
found a way to win without TJ. Watt for the
vast majority of last season. You got him back. We
love the offense. Like I just think twelve wins in

(27:48):
this division is not out of control. Because Tomlin doesn't
do things other than win nine games plus every season.

Speaker 2 (27:54):
I think twelve wins is out of control.

Speaker 7 (27:56):
It is not out of control.

Speaker 2 (27:57):
With the Cincinnati Bengals in the division and no dog
in the division. I don't think. I think twelve is
a lot to ask.

Speaker 6 (28:02):
It's it's out there, but I think it's very possible.

Speaker 7 (28:05):
There's not a big weakness on this team.

Speaker 4 (28:07):
Twelve might not be enough to win the division. It
could be it could be that competitive. Looking looking at things,
my I just the Matt Canada situation. He's gotten so
much criticism, but I think that the success has been
relative to what they've had on offense, and we saw
towards the end of the year where Kenny Pickett started
to figure things out. I don't see a problem with

(28:27):
it overall. I think the offense will be find As
Greg said that they're young and exciting, a really good team.

Speaker 1 (28:33):
I don't think twelve is. I don't think twelve is.

Speaker 6 (28:35):
Think of the red zone offense, like they added Dornell Washington,
like the tight end, this massive bodied human that looks
bigger than anyone else around him. Like, I think they're
gonna be dangerous.

Speaker 7 (28:43):
I'm with you. I think Canada like got over some
of his issues potentially.

Speaker 5 (28:46):
I love the depth because Friarmouth is a great starter,
and then you have a nice right like Naja Harris
is a solid starter. You have a great backup in Warren.
I think Pickens needs to go to another level for
this to be a great team.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
Obviously. I'm in the I'm already here. It feels like
this room thinks the Steelers are gonna be a superpower
this year. I'm just not ready to go there yet.

Speaker 3 (29:06):
And you guys, I don't even know if I like
it more than the race.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
Bro all you want if they're seven and one in October,
but we'll see.

Speaker 3 (29:14):
I don't.

Speaker 5 (29:14):
I'm not with twelve wins because I'm confident the rest
of the division is so good.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
I like the first two weeks they have home for
San Francisco home versus Cleveland. If you are a big
time team, two dubs.

Speaker 6 (29:26):
They learned about close games at the end of last
year with pick It Too. I just think like something
about them, like because I think the way pick It
through in the preseason, Like if that none of that happened,
I'd be in a different place.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
And look out, San Francisco Cleveland, you get two wins,
then at La Vegas at Houston.

Speaker 1 (29:44):
Nice, very nice.

Speaker 2 (29:46):
Baltimore Ravens Mark Selick, all right.

Speaker 6 (29:48):
The Ravens are, you know, widely seen as a playoff
team in a post Greg Roman world. We're about to
witness the unveiling of Todd Monkins offense with a better
group of wideouts on paper than Lamar Jackson ever enjoyed,
and yet reports out a camp somewhat if he on
the new offense. What if Greg Roman knew that a
pass happy attack wouldn't work with his QB. There are

(30:10):
holes on defense. It's going to take more than Genevian
Clowney to save the day rushing the passer. Think that
the cornerback position is a hospital room. The Ravens are
seen as a legit contender, but I'm not sure they're
unquestionably better than anyone in their own division, much less
the Chiefs, Bills, Jaguars or Chargers or the rest of
the AFC East.

Speaker 7 (30:26):
Am I two down on this team?

Speaker 2 (30:27):
Well, you're questioning that Greg Roman doesn't know anything, which
is now stated fact that Greg Roman is bad, and
it's he's holding the Ravens back in full Patrick ahead.

Speaker 1 (30:37):
Well, where's Greg Roman coaching?

Speaker 7 (30:38):
Now?

Speaker 4 (30:38):
I'm sure Greg romanedingly coaching commander and somebody's.

Speaker 2 (30:44):
Ails which aren't bad at all either.

Speaker 4 (30:45):
No, no, they're certainly not. But he also there were
players that were a part of that as well, And
I think if Greg Roman thought that they couldn't pass
the ball, then having pat Riccard run twenty yard dig
routes might have been a questionable decision at the time.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
They didn't have any receivers last year because to.

Speaker 4 (31:00):
Be honest, why looking people look at wide receiver production
the most. The highest snap percentage that Hollywood Brown ever
had in this offense was eighty percent. The reason Lamar
wasn't targeting receivers a lot. You just didn't get receivers
on the field that much. In terms of the offense,
I think the offense will be successful regardless, but it
gives them the capacity to do more. They might have

(31:21):
topped out with Greg Roman, and I just personally feel
like if he was offering that much, then he would
be somewhere.

Speaker 5 (31:29):
I agree, just because his offenses tend to have shelf life.
So it happened in San Francisco too, where it really
got a little stale toward towards the end there. I
think they're the highest ceiling team in this division really.
I mean, I guess the bet they'd be tied with
the Bengals, But to me, they have a chance to
have a top three offense. But they also it could
really not work, and it could also take a while

(31:51):
to get going because there's so many new pieces, and
you mentioned the huge questions on defense where I just
don't see edge rushing, like they're not getting anything out
of David Jabu by the way, in preseason, like there
are there are certain things that you can you can
call from preseason, and you mentioned the cornerback room like
there are major questions. I just think they're boom er bust,
like they could be twelve wins or they could be

(32:12):
seven wins.

Speaker 4 (32:13):
Top two offense in the league since Lamar entered the league,
when he's playing, worst offense in the league when they
don't have.

Speaker 3 (32:18):
Lamar, Tyler Huntley is still on the roster.

Speaker 6 (32:21):
By the way, that Greg you was wrong, A bit
of a disappointment for you because you were no what we'll.

Speaker 3 (32:26):
See in over the next week. I still think you
might get traded.

Speaker 1 (32:28):
I mean, if Greg Roman couldn't make it work with
Tyler Huntley, come on, now.

Speaker 5 (32:31):
Well we wanted we wanted it to work with Josh Johnson.
I'm curious about this line too. Ronnie Stanley's like another
Boomer bus guy, like, yeah, it sounds great to have
Ronnie Stanley back. He wasn't quite Ronnie Stanley last year,
and he doesn't stay on the field for sixteen years.

Speaker 2 (32:47):
The Cleveland Browns with Patrick claibont.

Speaker 4 (32:49):
Okay, so we just talked went through this division and
we discussed a team in the Pittsburgh Steelers that has
Deontay Johnson and George Pickens. Of course, all of the
additions that the Rave have made at wide receivers. A
Flowers Odell comes in to go with Rashad Bateman, and
then T Higgins and Jamar Chase don't even need to
be mentioned. The Cleveland Browns come in with a twenty

(33:09):
second ranked passing offense last year. They paid the quarterback
all of that money, and their wide receiver too is
a Jets throw away or you know, now I'm blanking
on DPJ. Also, is that enough to properly even evaluate
this off do this? Do the Browns have enough talent
at wide receiver to make this work?

Speaker 3 (33:32):
I think it was.

Speaker 6 (33:33):
You know, they came into the offseason with that as
one of their clear, clear positional need. If Elijah Moore
is like what all the hype says he is, and
I think that's a real question mark at this point
because they're talking about like he's doing a lot of
Jets sweep stuff. And all this other pisode's like, is
he what they want wide receiver? I think Cedric Tillman,
the rookie, there's some promise there. They have bell from

(33:55):
a year ago. It's like, if these guys work out,
you've got a room. Amari Cooper seems like it can
still play. To me, you have to like factor in
Dave and the Djoku to some degree. There is a
big part of that attack. But I think it's a
wait and see. It's a wait and see because also,
who is DeShawn Watson shown true chemistry with There's no
evidence of that so far except other side of Nadjoku.

Speaker 5 (34:13):
If they don't work out, I don't think it's the
receivers because I just think they're a model of a
team that gets great pass protection and great run blocking,
and that's what makes the receivers work.

Speaker 3 (34:24):
Kind of like Green Bay.

Speaker 5 (34:24):
Used to be, kind of like the Patriots used to
be in the right year, that a great quarterback can
elevate your wide receivers if you have great protection a
great running game. The problem is like there's no expectations
of Doshaun Watson to be a great quarterback, like he
should be elevating everyone people are kind of hoping that
he's back to being above average.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
So the expectation I mean of.

Speaker 5 (34:44):
Him to be great, of him to like make his
receivers great, him to be a top five type of quarterback,
I don't feel like I think that would be a surprise.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
Yeah, maybe I think it's.

Speaker 6 (34:54):
It's one of the question marks hanging out there like
the Browns thought they were getting.

Speaker 5 (34:58):
My point is with that line aligne that good and
a good quarterback could make the receivers and the receivers
aren't terrible.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
And what we're gonna we're doing our season preview and
predictions next week, like, yes, this could all go terribly
for the Browns, and a lot of it hinges on
the QB as much as you don't want to simplify it,
but yeah, there is the other side of it where
he plays really well and there's a lot of pieces
here on both sides of the ball. And I wonder
if this is the year you finally get that defensive

(35:24):
player of the year from Miles Garrett and Nick Chubb.
Is he gonna be more active in the passing game
and we see another dimension to the offense in that realm,
you know, Mark, I love David Njoko. Maybe he's a
Pro Bowl guy this year. With a full year with Watson,
there's reason for optimism.

Speaker 6 (35:39):
I think a huge factor is that Jim Schwartz is
just like if you're Miles Garrett, your Zadarius Smith. This offense,
this defense is uncomplicated. Just go rush the quarterback and
like Miles Garrett, is set up for a defensive Player
of the Year type situation.

Speaker 8 (35:53):
Oh fast, got him right in the jugglar, been shot twice,
got your ace right in the jugular.

Speaker 2 (36:06):
Let's take a break halftime. But before we hit a break,
I want everyone to know.

Speaker 7 (36:16):
Sam Spence NFL films.

Speaker 2 (36:21):
Yes, around the NFL and NFL plus together in twenty
twenty eight three, we're gonna have two shows. A Monday
game rewatch our Game of the Week Thursday. We're gonna
have all sorts of your favorite ATN segments and other surprises,
all in bite sized form. And I want to put

(36:43):
this on the radar. And this is Patrick. This is
important because I don't even know if you know about this, Patrick,
and you're in the ATN family. Patrick doesn't have a
windscreen on his mic and it's freaking me out. Man.
The Thursday at n NFL Plus show, We're gonna have
the fans involved. We want the fans to submit video

(37:07):
entries that we will react to. The crazier, the better mark.
We want you to let your freak flag fly and
share your opinions about the NFL questions you have to us.
Not the one about would you fight tiny thousand ducks
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(37:30):
We know how creative our listeners are. We're setting you
loose to be a part of our Thursday NFL Plus.

Speaker 6 (37:36):
Yeah, we've got, you know, fleets of musicians, actors, actresses,
female musicians, male male assassins, female assassins like these are
our talented individuals who have a voice. And it's like,
if you don't have NFL Plus, you're walking around your
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Speaker 2 (37:52):
Oh look, it's a loser.

Speaker 7 (37:53):
It's a loser.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
Oh I'm sorry. Is that the mimosa stabber feeling stabby Chris? Anyway,
this is how you get in touch with a video
entry atn Fan of theweek at gmail dot com. Send
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(38:16):
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that's incredible atn plus. NFL plus coming your way starting
next week. We'll be right back. All right, welcome back,

(38:37):
and we move on now to the third quarter of
around the AFC in forty eight minutes to the AFC South.
Interesting little division, and let's start with Greg Rosenthal and
the Tennessee Titan.

Speaker 5 (38:51):
Okay, I look at the Titans defensive line, really their
defense as a whole. I see a good group. I
see a pretty loaded group up front. And then I
look at the three big names on this roster that
people know the best. Ryan Tannehill, can you give us
one more surprise? People always think Tannehill's, you know, just
a mediocre quarterback.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
He's been a good quarterback there.

Speaker 5 (39:10):
DeAndre Hopkins, could he get that second team boost for
a Hall of Fame case? And Mike Rabel if he's
really one of the best coaches in the league, which
we were all saying halfway through last year and the
year before when he won the Coach of the Year.
If they're all that good, why not go win the Division?
Tennessee Titan Man, you hate the Jaguars, I do not,
you do.

Speaker 3 (39:29):
I just don't.

Speaker 2 (39:29):
Bet you're looking for a reason to pick anyone else
other than the Jaguars. And now you've still some think.

Speaker 5 (39:34):
There's there's some huge separation when the Titans were destroyed
by injuries, including that quarterback and had to lead over
a Jaguars team and who struggled to beat the Titans
in Josh Dobbs, by the way in the game.

Speaker 6 (39:48):
That really helps the problem with what you're talking about, though,
because like so I think Frabil is that guy I'm with.

Speaker 3 (39:54):
He's that guy. He's got the defense, he's got some he.

Speaker 6 (39:56):
Also has the worst offensive line in football. And that's
how Tannehill got hurt a year ago. Is just beaten
up week after week.

Speaker 2 (40:03):
Then you're looking at what Malik willis or will the
old Ryan Tannehill.

Speaker 7 (40:06):
Right, No, but Tannehill can still play.

Speaker 6 (40:09):
But like there is another world where maybe Dereck Henry
hit the wall, I mean hope not. Maybe DeAndre hops
Hopkins is like late period Julio Jones versus the last
version we saw of Hopkins. So it's like in those situations,
you've got one of the thinnest wide out groups in
the league, the worst offensive line in football, and a
lot of other questions on that side of the ball,
So you need your defense to hold teams to nine

(40:29):
or ten.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
Points just on the O line.

Speaker 2 (40:30):
Quickly.

Speaker 5 (40:31):
They had the worst offensive line in the league, I
would say over the last two to three years, and
it might be the worst now. It's a lot of
different players, it's different coaching, and so you're right that
they need to creep closer to average there. But they
do have a top ten pick, they have a guy
they paid a lot at left tackle, they have different
healthier players, so they're hoping and you're right, that's that's
in their way.

Speaker 4 (40:49):
Yeah, And the Tenhill injury did so much to the
perception of the team because it happened at a point
in the year. Derek Henry could have easily led the
league in rushing again last year, but the offense just
fell off such a cliff. You put Malik Willison in
a situation where he probably shouldn't have even been playing
at that point, and he had to play a meaningful
time in meaningful games. It was just a bad situation.

(41:09):
I'm not saying it because I have questions about the
Jacks two. They might be Greg's exact questions, but I
think it's it's way early to write Tennessee off considering
what they had.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
They've been trying to write off Tannehill's whole career.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
I like I like Tannehill. I've been speaking with regret
about banging the under on this team because of figures
like Tannehill and Henry and Vrabel. However, is there a
higher Jeffrey Simmons? Is there a higher variance with a
one two wide receiver combo than Hopkins, who could be
cooked or could be good?

Speaker 4 (41:41):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (41:41):
And Treylon Burks who's entering year two. He's back at practice,
which is good this week, but they need him to
really kind of fulfill his draft potential. Those guys flop.
The offense has nowhere to go but on Henry up next,
the Indianapolis Colts. Oh, the Colts. Matron marksis all right.

Speaker 6 (42:01):
We get the whole Jonathan Taylor thing a disaster. We've
spent a lot of time on that. Let's peer elsewhere.
What's a positive? If you're Shane Steiken, you might have
the most intriguing player in the entire division in Anthony Richardson.
But this is a quarterback with three hundred and ninety
three college attempts all right, just thirteen starts and outrageous
fifty three point eight completion percentage. These are major outliers.

(42:23):
The closest comp would be Trey Lance, who had three
hundred and eighteen college attempts. Jalen Hurtz Stikeen's masterpiece still
at one thousand plus throws in college with a nearly
seventy percent completion percentage his senior year. It wasn't like
this guy that couldn't play turned into a player. So
I am genuinely excited to see Richardson. But do we
trust this hot and cold organization to handle the development

(42:45):
of this extremely unusual specimen.

Speaker 5 (42:48):
I trust Shane Steiken. I don't trust the organization because
I think the organization is the problem with Jonathan Taylor
right now. The fact that they were reportedly asking for
Jalen Waddle plus picks for Nathan Taylor, he means they
didn't want to make they actually it made me think
they want to give him. The front office wants to
give him the contract he wants, but ownership isn't ready

(43:08):
to swallow its pride yet. And it's like, maybe they
can make it happen, but without Taylor Man. Even if
Shane Steichen and Richardson are a perfect marriage, and I
think they will be, there's not enough around him to
win enough games right now.

Speaker 4 (43:21):
And you wonder what it takes, because clearly Anthony Richardson
has to buy in for his NFL career and whatnot.
But watching this situation unfold, a guy who's a leader
in the locker room, who's been really good player on
the team have to go through this, Like what kind
of feeling mitigates through the rest of the of the roster,
especially from the quarterback from the standpoint, especially when they're

(43:42):
going to run the ball so much and you would
like to have that centerpiece of your offense, but you
can't even get him in there because of this situation.
So like, as much as we don't need to talk
about it, because we have talked about it's so central
I think to the development or at least the first
season of Anthony Richardson that it's hard.

Speaker 2 (43:57):
To look past looking have the depth chart around Richard
if you take Taylor out of it, and at the
very least he's out for the first four weeks, Zach Moss,
Deon Jackson, and a rookie Evan Hall.

Speaker 3 (44:07):
I think Hall is the starter.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, you have Michael Pittman. Okay, we could live with
Michael Pitton. He could be He's good, he could be great.
Alec Pierce a second round pick last year, Isaiah McKenzie
there now in the slot. I don't know. We got
to see is the offensive line gonna bounce back after
last year? And does the team have the stomach to
go through the growing pains of Anthony Richardson, which there
will be. There has to be. Unless he's a phenom

(44:30):
that we're not. We haven't seen in a long time.
He's he's gonna be learning on the.

Speaker 5 (44:34):
Job, but they're also going to be trailing that defense,
like the secondary is maybe the most questionable secondary in
the entire.

Speaker 7 (44:41):
And untrafted players and rookies in.

Speaker 3 (44:43):
Rookie it's crazy.

Speaker 5 (44:45):
They have a lot of roster holes that even if
Richardson wins Offensive Rookie, he can win Offensive Rookie of
the Year and they could win six games. I've just
seen Sam Bradford action like.

Speaker 6 (44:55):
Ownership, front office, coaching staff not all on the same page.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
Oh, c Jim ob Cooter JBC. Yeah, you gotta take that,
you gotta take that.

Speaker 1 (45:08):
I just wanted to.

Speaker 2 (45:11):
The Houston Texans. Houston's offense ranked dead last in expected
points added for play last year. Okay, that that leads
to the number two overall picks. DJ Stroud should have
been the first pick they watched that, but you know,
Stroud could be great anyway. New coaches, a new quarterback,
some new weapons. Hopefully that changes things. Bobby slowick Slowick

(45:34):
Slow Slow. He's from the Shanahan coaching tree ys nice.
All that's good. So you have one of the most
accurate quarterbacks in college joining a Shanahan system. I'm at
least excited to watch what the Texans have on offense,
even if the weapons aren't high end. You have a

(45:55):
promising running back behind the rookie, at least the Texans
for the first time since Deshaun Watson before the scandal hit.
There's something to watch on this offense.

Speaker 6 (46:05):
I think there's also, like we talked a couple weeks
ago about you know, Dimiko Ryans and is he safe
in our hot butts rankings?

Speaker 7 (46:12):
Like, yes, I think he is.

Speaker 6 (46:13):
I mean I don't trust this ownership group to your point, Dan,
but I think there's some patients and there needs to
be patients with CJ.

Speaker 7 (46:19):
Stroud.

Speaker 6 (46:20):
I mean, we didn't see a whole lot of them
in the preseason, but the one thing that was consistent
with his college tape was, man, when he throws, he's
a couple throws a game where you're just like, there
aren't that many people that throw the ball with that
amount of beauty, And like, I do think that, Like
he's a high growth potential quarterback. No quarterback in a
two year window in the Big Ten history had more
touchdowns than he did. So it's like he's done it.

(46:41):
He played a lot of college football.

Speaker 5 (46:42):
And how quickly are these guys going to get open?
I thought the offensive line was shaping up to potentially
be a real strength, but you struggles a little hurt
right now. They had to trade for a guard. They
Titus Howard is hurt right now. They actually lost their center,
their original center for the season, who maybe wasn't got
to start. But they right off the bat, they're down
about four offensive linemen. You hate to see that in

(47:04):
front of a rookie quarterback.

Speaker 2 (47:05):
Yeah, you lose Kenyan Green to ir in a preseason game.
That is as bad as bad.

Speaker 4 (47:09):
As it gets, especially considering where this roster was a
few seasons ago, even till last year. They're gonna be
thin because they just have to come back from what
was a team that essentially didn't seem like it was
putting its best effort forward. And so to suddenly go to, hey,
the Texans are trying. Now, you're gonna have to have
some guys really just stay clean, stay healthy, and to

(47:31):
have that happened, it's gonna hurt a little bit, But
at least we do need to consider where they were.

Speaker 7 (47:36):
Well.

Speaker 5 (47:36):
One reason the higher dimigo Ryans is it's been proven
it's not that hard historically to go from a pretty
poor defense to an above average defense. A coach and energy,
tackling fundamental. Certainly some talent in the secondary with Petrie
and Ward, and you got Anderson up front, like they
could go to a frisky defense right off the bat.

Speaker 2 (47:58):
I think that's his predecessor. Robert Salad did the same
thing right York, so he can do that. The skilled
players Xavier Hutchinson a little bit of a Darth throat,
tanked Dell wide receiver. Are you and the Robert Woods
is an actually cooked bandwagon? If you are, maybe you
feel good. I don't feel good, But listen, all right, Greg,

(48:25):
sharpen your fangs. Here is Patrick Claiban on the defending
Division champion Jaguars.

Speaker 4 (48:30):
So the Jacks made some cuts, most notably Doug Peterson
cut his son yesterday. He got back on the PI
better than me. I wouldn't be doing that, hey, son,
you go yeah, you go ahead and fire me. They
didn't cut Parker Washington a sixth wounder at whiteout. They're
gonna carry seven windeouts as of right now. Doug loves
his offense, not his son.

Speaker 5 (48:51):
I think he loves his son. That's why he's on
the practice squad. He was not getting a lot of
NFL interest for a few years before that.

Speaker 2 (48:57):
Doug Peterson hates his own son. That the headline.

Speaker 4 (49:00):
My only question about the Jags offense is what's to
do in the meantime While Cam Robinson is dealing with
this suspension, the question is defense. They didn't make any
changes in the secondary. They were able to overcome that
towards the end, but they'll need those guys to grow
a whole lot. Is there enough growth in what's there,
like guys like Campbell in that secondary to be what

(49:21):
they need to be to win the division.

Speaker 6 (49:22):
I thought it was a weird offseason because yes, you exited,
you know, January, thinking this is one of the new
teams in the AFC. They're completely set on one side
of the ball in many ways. Dwayne Smoot arden Key,
two of their top three sack leaders from year ago exit.
They don't draft the defensive player till the fourth round.
It's like other teams well are rebuilding in one year.
It's like you pour all your resources into your weakness,

(49:45):
and the Jaguars did the opposite.

Speaker 5 (49:47):
They're building on strength. They're kind of like the old
cult system and it might might not be a bad
idea in this division.

Speaker 3 (49:53):
I'm not.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
I'm just down relative to consensus because I think there's
a chance, to Patrick's point, that they could be a
bottom five defense. I just think they're very thin at
ed Rutger, not like a very promising cornerback group, and
Boomer Buss at linebacker. Maybe it all works out, but
they didn't really show that they were like coach that
well on defense last year.

Speaker 2 (50:13):
To your point, the Trayvon Walker move is not looking
good right now. This is a big year or two
for him. Number one overall pick last year when you
could have had Hutchinson, Calvin Ridley's there, and you know what,
I don't think we talked about him enough. Trevor Lawrence
is there, yes, and Lawrence really made a huge step
last year, and I think you know, you want to
talk about dark horse and in the MVP race, like
Lawrence very much has a chance to become a superstar

(50:36):
this year and that is going to lead to a
blowout in this division.

Speaker 7 (50:39):
We don't know that. Like Trevor Lawrence has maxed out.

Speaker 6 (50:41):
I mean he had no year one obviously, so last
year was essentially like the first look and he almost
had like two seasons in one, and that second one
was he and the offense were among the best in
the entire conference. It's like we have but he's on
level seven of ten. If he gets better, then they
are a big problem in the South.

Speaker 3 (50:58):
I think that's the biggest question.

Speaker 5 (51:00):
Can he be a top five quarterback now for a
seventeen game schedule, It's possible.

Speaker 4 (51:04):
Well, we saw all of it in the comebacks against
Dallas and the one of the playoffs against the Chargers.
But they had to come back in the first place, right.
They built those deficits because they couldn't necessarily stop those
offenses early. And I just wonder has that changed enough?

Speaker 5 (51:17):
So to me, yes, he's in his third year, But
to me that that makes me think he's going to
be better in year six and seven. And I'm not
as convinced he's as lee out of the gate as Burrow,
Herbert Lamar, some of the guys we've seen come up lately.

Speaker 7 (51:32):
Well, the gate was locked for the first year.

Speaker 3 (51:35):
Time out, Sessler, and this is the time out that
you saved by.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
Not no, I'm winging it really, I'm like Todd Bowles,
real confused and need somebody by my side. I just
want to clarify my stance. I get a kick out
if you're not liking the Jaguars. I don't love the Jaguars.
In fact, if you look at what are the who
are the four kind of favorites in the divisions in

(52:03):
the AFC, it's the Bills. I guess the Bengals would
be the popular pick. Overall, the Jaguars definitely in the South,
and the Chiefs in the West. I would say the
Jaguars of those four, I think you're definitely in beneath.

Speaker 3 (52:17):
I think you just hit on it. For me.

Speaker 5 (52:19):
You can't just pick all the favorites. And there's other
three I feel good about.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
But you can. You could, but you won't.

Speaker 3 (52:25):
I don't want to.

Speaker 5 (52:26):
I truly do believe there's a special magic sauce in
Tennessee that like, at the end of the year, you're
gonna be like, how did they win ten games? Like
there's an organizational belief that I have in them.

Speaker 7 (52:40):
That that I think they've done that. So it's not outrageous.

Speaker 2 (52:43):
Yeah, I think it'll be interesting to see where the
Jaguars come down because I think they are beneficiaries of
a much weaker division.

Speaker 3 (52:51):
Than in schedule.

Speaker 5 (52:51):
You're right, I mean, there's opportunity for Tennessee and Jacksonville
to have better records than people expect, just because the
Colts in Texas could be that bad.

Speaker 6 (52:59):
The achieve like ride for months at a time over
the past couple years with like a bottom five defense,
and there's still winning in debtoning fe I mean I'm
just not as concerned about the defensive statistics when you've
got what they have on offense.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
And Doug Peterson's building something there. He built something in
Philly with.

Speaker 1 (53:15):
Howie literally a new facility open this summer, thank god.
And his film name is Soni Electric Complex.

Speaker 2 (53:21):
All right, let's head to the AFC West. I'm out
of the doubting or even softly questioning Mahomes and Andy
Reid game. It's a waste of time. I don't care
if Travis Kelsey's a year older, or Canarius Tony is
a stretch at wide receiver one, or Sky Moore is untested,

(53:42):
or that they lost their left tackle and free agency,
or and it sounds like doubting Isaiah Chenko, is he
ready really to lead the backfield? I don't care whatever.
Here's a crazy stat. I don't care about any of
those things. Here's a crazy stat from Football Almanac. Last year,
the chief saw their offensive DVOA improved from thirteen point
six percent to twenty six point two percent, and they're
passing DVOA specifically jump up from thirty four to seven

(54:05):
to forty one one. That was with Juju Smith, Schuster
and Marquez Valdi scanting is the top two wide outs
and Tyreek Hill putting up seventeen hundred in Miami, it's stupid.
The defense is young and perhaps perhaps punched above their
weight class a little bit during their Super Bowl run.
Then again, they also have maybe just found their footing
and they could be even better. Chris Jones, I think

(54:26):
he'll be there. La Jarius Snead, and then you have
young guns like Trent McDuffie and George Carloftis who really
stepped up down the stretch. So yeah, the offense above
reproach and the defense has everything necessary to get to
a floor of like middle of the pack. That's all
you need. My only question, who did the Chiefs play
in the AFC Championship win this year?

Speaker 7 (54:44):
I'm with you one hundred percent.

Speaker 5 (54:45):
I mean, according to you, the Bengals because you said
they're in. Didn't you say it's a fact that what
are they?

Speaker 3 (54:50):
Well, they were the best team in the conference, I
believe the one seed.

Speaker 6 (54:55):
But you can ticket Kansas City, so there's your game. Absolutely,
And like I like this way. Andy Reid is unquestionably
the best coach in football for me because last year,
at this time, in this various exercise, we were like,
whoa are the Chiefs? What are they gonna be? Can
we trust them anymore? It's like they refashioned their attack
in one season and change that we do it now.
I see them as more like they might have games
where they're a power run game, a run team with

(55:17):
Isaiah Pichaco, and then they've got the best interior offensive
line in the entire conference and can beat you in
new ways. And I simply trust him to take Mahomes,
to take guys like Richie James, Kadarius Tony when he's healthy,
and the rest of the crew and just find it
through the air like there's no weakness, because Patrick Mahomes
takes the weakness and turns it into a strength. In
one week, break his ankle, he's running forty five yards

(55:38):
again you in the next for the come on.

Speaker 5 (55:40):
I think he's gonna have to turn you know, those tackles,
I guess could be a question. Juan Taylor right tackle,
he should be fine. Donovan Smith left tackle. That's new,
but there's not much. I think you hit on some
of the names that are key to me. The key
for the Chiefs staying where they are is they continued
to find these young guys who aren't highly drafted that
turn into really good players. McDuffie was a first round pick,
but can they develop m McDuffie, can more step up?

Speaker 3 (56:02):
Can Karloftis step up? Because really he.

Speaker 5 (56:04):
Was okay last year, he wasn't great twelve. Nick Bolton
be like a star. Keep developing these young guys.

Speaker 1 (56:10):
Yeah, we saw Justin Ross a lot in the preseason.

Speaker 4 (56:12):
I'm starting to kind of park my ears up about
what he's able to accomplish there. I do worry like
Patrick Mahomes having to come back from ankle injuries and
play through that. We're not you want to see less
of that. It's the fact that it has to happen.
But we're in Belichick lamb with retreads. We got Matt
Nagy back an offensive coordinator. It's the parallels.

Speaker 1 (56:32):
He was looking. I think you got away. Yeah, I
was trying to stink it in there. Oh all right, justin.

Speaker 7 (56:38):
One of the most I got a huge clock to
the left.

Speaker 3 (56:40):
I'm watching you guys over here.

Speaker 1 (56:43):
Our clock is not reflective.

Speaker 6 (56:44):
I guess I think it's fair for the producers to
start to get a little, you know, irritated with us,
and he sounded a little irritated.

Speaker 2 (56:50):
Right there. It's good.

Speaker 3 (56:51):
I'm giving hi leeway. This's a it's a weird chime.

Speaker 2 (56:53):
It's not really precise at the zero excuses, two excuses
and right not fight. All right, we move on to
the Los Angeles super Chargers.

Speaker 4 (57:08):
Okay, so the Chargers just picked up a cast of
other teams discarded linebackers. Brandon Staley's defense was twenty first
in points allowed last year finish twenty eighth in yards
allowed dead lasting yards per attempt allowed last year at
five point four. If that trend continues, what change does
Brandon Staley make or is the only change left to
make regarding the Chargers defense?

Speaker 1 (57:29):
The head coaching position.

Speaker 5 (57:30):
It's whoa when you see your houser attempt you mean
on the ground? Yeah, yeah, okay here it's per carry.
Well that I guess answers. The question I would ask
you them is like, why not the Chargers? I don't
I think they look pretty good on paper defensively, You're right,
have they done enough to It's not really much of

(57:50):
a different crew in terms of stopping the run. They're
just gonna have to coach it better. They're gonna have
to be healthier out of Bosa, a little better out
of Mac. I think linebacker they can certainly proved. But
to me, it's hard to see a lot of holes
on this team.

Speaker 1 (58:04):
No.

Speaker 6 (58:04):
I mean, they poured all that money into the defense
a year ago and got all these pieces that you know,
they knew Staley if you're you know Mac, like all
these guys, and it was a disaster. They were like
a That had to be one of the biggest disappointments
in the AFC was LA's defense under Stalian. Like, there's
a lot of pressure there, but I think a lot
of it is that I from the on the other

(58:24):
side of the ball that I think the Kellen Moore
and Justin Herbert thing is going to work. And I mean,
so much of what was depressing about this team a
year ago was how they handled early downs, how Justin
Herbert was kind of pocketed in. I think you can
unleash him. He's going to be healthy. He was not
healthy for a month plus two months of last year.
That's where this thing starts.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
I think they get the reverse like tax that I
just was talking about the Chiefs like Greg your quote
just and I think they look better on paper. It's
like this happens every year and then something happens, either
by bad luck or poor play or slumps. It's like,
is this the year the Charges finally shut up and
just take this rock and maximize it. I'd like to
see it, but I'm still used to it not working

(59:04):
out that you just assume that it won't.

Speaker 5 (59:05):
I think the difference to me is the offensive line
on paper again, but it's based on how these players
have performed. Looks great, like I think this could be,
like they have a chance. I'm sure they don't have
odds in Vegas for this, but I would take the
odds that, like the Chargers finished first in DVA for
offense just because they probably would be the ninth or

(59:26):
tenth favorite, And to me, they have a chance. They
are that talented at every position on offense and have
a quarterback who I think, can you know, compete for
an MVP right now.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
You know what spooked me a little bit on Fantasy
draft days was Austin Eckler twenty touchdowns eighteen touchdown. How
many running backs have three straight years with that amount
of workload and that success. Is he going to be
able to keep it up? And what's a pivotal season
for him.

Speaker 5 (59:51):
Probably not, but they've showed a little bit more of
like a power North South running game. I think the
other guys will get more involved.

Speaker 4 (59:57):
But again, the even with Joe Lombardi, the offense did
everything it needed to do to have a lead in
the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
In the defense let them down.

Speaker 5 (01:00:03):
I think the answer your question, the answer is if
the defense doesn't work, yeah, they should get rid of them.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
Defensive masterminds got it back. That was one from last time.

Speaker 5 (01:00:17):
Uh the ratas Greg Rosenthal, all right, are we buying
any defensive improvement from the Raiders. One of the most
surprising storylines to me of the preseason was how consistently
good they looked in practice and in the preseason to
it to the point where I'm starting to buy into it.
You start off with Max Crosby, Chandler Jones, and Tyree
Wilson who's now come back and looked pretty good. And

(01:00:40):
a coordinator if you don't remember, Patrick Graham, who's had.

Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
Some big ups in the NFL and big downs.

Speaker 5 (01:00:46):
But I would describe his system as maybe a little
too complicated. Maybe year one you got through a little
bit of that, and maybe he's got players who know
what to do now, because if they are a decent defense,
if we're buying it, is anyone buying it could be
competitive at least not really okay because the players don't
look great on paper.

Speaker 3 (01:01:06):
But defense is more than just like the roster.

Speaker 6 (01:01:08):
You know what I feel like, if you lose, like
you go, you go about two or three deep on
this defense, if you lose Max Crosby for two months,
or you lose Marcus Peters, Like.

Speaker 7 (01:01:19):
Yeah, but the no, there's teams.

Speaker 6 (01:01:20):
There's teams that I think you could say on defense,
you've got like the Jets defensive line. We talk about
layers of players, like this is like a really Jenga
piece type defense with one or two guys and like also,
you know, I guess that's one area where like preseason
practice or preseason games and like camp practices where they're
looking good.

Speaker 2 (01:01:37):
All right, I definitely to Mark's cynicism around the Raider
is like putting too much in the preseason on how
the defense looks. But you're saying also camp reports and
what the beat reporters.

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
More about the practices and stuff.

Speaker 5 (01:01:50):
Now, granted, these weeks of practice were against the offense,
but it was partly the two joint practices too, that
they were just like Okay, I don't know, well, I.

Speaker 3 (01:02:00):
Don't think I don't think they're terrible.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
Yeah, there's so much talk about the Raiders being one
of the worst teams in the league. Is there a
path to them surprising and hanging around to the wild
card race?

Speaker 4 (01:02:08):
Patrick, Yeah, I think that might be a little bit
too far. It's just a team in transition, and every
single year it's become more accepted. The defense isn't going
to be as sticky and there's a little bit easier
to turn a defense around. But I think maybe we
should give more credit to the defenses who are consistent
year over year because of that. Uh, And I don't

(01:02:31):
know if I've seen enough to make that determination.

Speaker 5 (01:02:33):
Well, now, they need Jimmy G to be better than
Derek Carr. I think there is a world where Jimmy
G is better than Derek. Actually, I expect him to
be better than Derek Carr was for the Raiders.

Speaker 7 (01:02:44):
People are so low on Jimmy G.

Speaker 1 (01:02:46):
Do you expect him to be better than Derek Carr
this year?

Speaker 3 (01:02:49):
I think it's about the same.

Speaker 5 (01:02:51):
Yeah, I don't like to say I expect them to
be an upgrade from what they had a year ago.

Speaker 3 (01:02:55):
And they still have Devanta Adams.

Speaker 6 (01:02:56):
They have Judgy yeah, and DeVante Adams, who were months
removed from saying that he's simply going to have to
buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible.
I just think there's a couple of like ticking time
bombs all over this place, and it starts with Josh
McDaniels and his people skills.

Speaker 5 (01:03:09):
We did that. We did that. The kids draft. Uh Dan,
my kids are in the same fantasy. Divanta Adams is
still sitting there like late in the second, like the
radio is out there active.

Speaker 2 (01:03:20):
Josh Jacobs back. Did anybody say give up? I mean,
one of the best players in the league last year,
back and happy and paid. I'm happy, man, No effect Wait,
I'm disrespecting the game.

Speaker 7 (01:03:37):
Yeah you are.

Speaker 2 (01:03:37):
Can't do it.

Speaker 5 (01:03:38):
But you know, Josh, you made you were the one
that made the biggest speech about respecting the drink.

Speaker 2 (01:03:43):
I know. I just wanted to say, Josh Jacobs is back.

Speaker 6 (01:03:45):
We could the messages and don't I'm on your side,
but it's just like shooting me.

Speaker 5 (01:03:49):
Well we said I did say it.

Speaker 2 (01:03:53):
All right last time?

Speaker 1 (01:03:54):
Out.

Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
Jimmy Garoppolo is better than Derek Carr.

Speaker 5 (01:03:58):
I think he will be an upgrade. Okay, Eric Carr
with the Raiders in twenty twenty two.

Speaker 2 (01:04:03):
Day Adams one of the top five wide receivers in
the sport. Yes, yes, Josh Jacobs at least the Josh
Jacobs one of the top running backs in the sport.
Max Crosby one of the best edge rushers in the sport.
I'm saying, there is.

Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
The highest ticket price in the sport.

Speaker 2 (01:04:19):
Sure, sure there is a there is. I think a
case to be made that there's enough talent, top tier
talent to maybe lift all boats to mediocrity. I'm just saying, like.

Speaker 7 (01:04:31):
That that's better than the old runs.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
But not every team needs to have like Super Bowl
aspirations every year, Like if they is a transition year,
if they can fight for a wild card in January,
even if they fall short, I think maybe that's success
for this team, because I don't. I think Roppolo's a bridge.
I think that's all he is, and then they can
figure out what their next big step is. At QBIT, they.

Speaker 6 (01:04:52):
Fit perfectly as a team that will win just enough
games to disappoint in terms of the standings, but also
be out of the running for one of the great
college cour uarterbacks next year's draft.

Speaker 2 (01:05:01):
That's a blueprint. Yeah, but I thought you said they're
going to be horrendous.

Speaker 7 (01:05:06):
I think they could be.

Speaker 6 (01:05:07):
I'm saying that all these things that you're ticketing off,
which they had last year, by the way, come to
fruition in a more glorious way than last year.

Speaker 7 (01:05:15):
They win seven games.

Speaker 3 (01:05:16):
It's a tough conference. It's a tough one conference.

Speaker 2 (01:05:19):
Tough is a tough conference. We got one more team.
We got one more team, and that team is the
Denver Broncos with Mark Sessler.

Speaker 6 (01:05:29):
All Right, last year's coaching staff disaster much renowned in
some way, but to this year's Sean Payton regime, Okay,
I think it might be the biggest leap I can
recall in sort like a talent jump, maybe outside of
like the Urban Meyer thing that we talked about in Jacksonville.
And we don't know what will happen with Russell Wilson,
but I think number one, the only evidence we have

(01:05:50):
is that his body looks like he looks he went
and got in shape, and I think it's going to
solve some of the issues.

Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
From very hot here, he looks very tight. Congratulations, Absolutely,
it's a good job by her. But I do have
this twenty years of evidence telling me that Sean Payton
is better than ninety percent of other coaches in the NFL,
And so I think if even if RUSS is somewhere
between like good Russ from a while back and last
year's Russ. This is an AFC team that has an

(01:06:16):
offensive line that is not perfect, but they're kind of
built to mal people on the ground, and I trust
Sean Payton to find ways outside of just Russell Wilson
to win games. I feel like my I had this
weird arrow up on the Denver Broncos after really being
bored by the whole concept for months.

Speaker 7 (01:06:35):
Am I a fool to think this?

Speaker 5 (01:06:39):
I don't see it unless yeah, unless coaching is just
that important. They're a great test. I mean, he said
it's one of the worst. He's one of the worst
coaching jobs in history according to Sean Payton's which is like, look,
if you don't win more than five or six games,
then you're now the worst coaching job in history.

Speaker 3 (01:06:58):
Sean Payton.

Speaker 5 (01:06:59):
I just I don't see a lot of position groups
when I go through them that are above average, it
doesn't look like a great roster to me. They have
a couple great they have a good safety justin Simmons.
You have Patrick Sartan in the secondary. After that, it's like,
what am I excited about on this team? I don't
know if they're in the coach.

Speaker 2 (01:07:13):
I don't know if it's fair to even if they
didn't have a good year this year, to put it
on Peyton because you got to build the program. I mean,
even Sean Payton.

Speaker 5 (01:07:20):
They win five games after he says winning five games
was the worst coaching job in history.

Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
Tough sitch.

Speaker 3 (01:07:25):
I'm putting it on.

Speaker 2 (01:07:25):
It's a tough sitch. But remember before they hit on
that big draft in UH twenty seventeen, he had back
to back to back seven and nine years with New Orleans.
I mean, he's not not like he's never failed in
his life or had teams that were didn't reach the playoffs.
So like, it's all I say.

Speaker 6 (01:07:41):
Over seven and nine teams was that the offense was
still Sean Payton's offense. Those defenses were an absolute disaster
during that stretch. But I think the most delicious thing
if he rips the coaching staff that won five games,
then he won five games.

Speaker 2 (01:07:53):
Just he doesn't have Drew Brees anymore either.

Speaker 4 (01:07:55):
And that was and that was in an era in
the NFC South where you had like Matt Ryan Julio
at their peak.

Speaker 1 (01:08:01):
He had Cam coming up, and so there was explanation.

Speaker 4 (01:08:04):
But also now in the AFC West, it's not it's
necessarily an easy situation there. I think they can clearly
be better than they were last year, but is there
enough improvement to kind of heal all those wounds from
when we were saying, oh, the Broncos are going to
be Super Bowl contenders and they.

Speaker 1 (01:08:19):
Were miserable.

Speaker 5 (01:08:23):
Bronco's Raiders Week one, sneaky fun. I don't know what
I'm getting.

Speaker 2 (01:08:30):
It's over so I can talk about this and that
people love love to chicken and egg Belichick, Brady, but
we don't really talk about Sean Payton and all success
coming with Drew Brees, one of the greatest pastors who's
ever lived. How's he going to do without Drew Brees.

Speaker 5 (01:08:48):
I think it's partly because his record without Drew Brees
was so good in those last few years, although that
was true of Belichick in the Brady Era too. This
record was great without.

Speaker 6 (01:09:00):
Coach up Teddy coached up Winston. It's like, I don't know,
like I didn't. I think Sean Payton is not for
me in a world where suddenly I think without one player,
he's got no ability to coach, right.

Speaker 2 (01:09:11):
I don't like that argument. That's why I don't do
that with Belichick. I'm just saying like that was a
massive advantage that he had. Drew Brees was an incredible player,
and I and you could also say, well, Drew Brees
gonna become incredible player until you got in New Orleans.
That's fair too. It'll just be fun to see Sean
Payton with a fresh start a new QB, whether it
is Russell Wilson or who's the Fellows, if they they

(01:09:35):
recruited over from Jared Stidham or whoever comes next down
the line.

Speaker 6 (01:09:39):
If if Wilson fails, though, Sean Payton will not be taking
any credit for that, Like I guarantee there would be
any you know that's.

Speaker 2 (01:09:45):
Called Jared Stidham a fellow.

Speaker 5 (01:09:47):
I always am a little wary because of the historical
precedent of a coach taking a huge contract as he's
hitting you know, he's getting to his sixties with a
lot of previous success in an NFL history that hasn't
generally worked for the teams doing it, coaches in a
new spot after they've already achieved a lot, and oh,

(01:10:09):
by the way, he was like their third or fourth choice.

Speaker 3 (01:10:12):
That part was weird.

Speaker 6 (01:10:13):
That part was My mind goes to Jimmy Johnson's Dolphins
that I believe the last game he coached, like Dan
Marino lost in the playoffs, like seventy one to ten
to the Jaguars.

Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
Right, there's also like a very depending on who you
are and where you stand on what a head coach
should be doing. Disturbing Draft time video that rolled out
also fine completely of course you would say, I'm just
saying a completely insane, unhinged interview and which he wasn't
wrong about Nathaniel Hackett, but like completely like the type

(01:10:42):
of interview for you you give when maybe you're not
thinking clearly, we good, everything good, well, we good.

Speaker 1 (01:10:49):
Un precious it's it's wild to say that we good.
We literally agree with everything that he said.

Speaker 2 (01:10:55):
It's not just about what he said, it's you know
who he said it to. And then not having the
good sense to understand that was going to make just
massive waves that him and his team didn't need to
deal with.

Speaker 4 (01:11:07):
Well, I hope, like everybody has cried sufficient tears over
at this point because it was a whole thing, and
I can't remember anybody saying he was wrong.

Speaker 1 (01:11:14):
Everybone's like, well, just don't you it's a code?

Speaker 2 (01:11:18):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:11:18):
Is this baseball now? Like I'm so confused by it.

Speaker 5 (01:11:22):
Well, I'm not going to acknowledge Sean on that giving
he's giving off and believe I believe he has a
difference maker as an offensive coach, and I believe his
Bill Parcells in autumn vibes that he's giving off a
little Dallas, a little Miami even as an exect.

Speaker 3 (01:11:37):
Like I love that the NFL can use that. Let's
have fun.

Speaker 4 (01:11:41):
It's well, now that he's been sufficiently punished for it,
no coach is going to.

Speaker 2 (01:11:44):
Say and he apologized too, and he was going to
maybe reach out as well. I don't know if I
don't know if that ever happened.

Speaker 7 (01:11:50):
It's not according to Nathaniel Hackett.

Speaker 2 (01:11:53):
By way, it doesn't have to be patrick unwritten code
or whatever. But like the reason why you don't do
it is because like, if you follow the sport, it's
really hard to be a coach. It's a really tough life.
You bounce around, you grind through different levels.

Speaker 5 (01:12:11):
If we criticize Hackett to the to the nth degree,
so why can't other colleagues do it?

Speaker 4 (01:12:17):
Well?

Speaker 2 (01:12:17):
The reason I'm trying to make but you interrupted me
is that he is also a coach, and you understand
when things go sideways unless you don't care about it,
and your ego is so out of control that you
speak that could shoot off the lip of USA today,
which is fine. I thought it was fun too. I
love the story. I don't care that he's connected to
the Jets now. I think it's great. But I'm just saying,

(01:12:38):
you know, that's everything, all right, shun.

Speaker 6 (01:12:40):
It is in the realm of possibility that he's like
external based, high ego individual that like doesn't care about
all these codes and things.

Speaker 4 (01:12:46):
But if you get the guys open and Russ hits them,
none of it matters, right, That's my question is like
how much does it necessarily matter? It's a thing to
talk about, but like what impact does it happen?

Speaker 1 (01:12:55):
But he's okay, I.

Speaker 6 (01:12:56):
Say, if you're gonna you know if you're gonna take
a breather from coaching and go take a studio gig
pre game, like where's that fire?

Speaker 7 (01:13:02):
Then right exactly the most vanilla comments I've ever.

Speaker 5 (01:13:05):
Heard that there is something to that that's it's annoying,
like he could have had a different tone about it,
but there is something gutless about it that like we're
fine with all of us can say it, but they
can't say it about each other. It's kind of similar
how like we can't say certain things about other people
and broadcasting that we actually hold our tongue on some
level about that those sort of things because it's like
it didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:13:24):
I don't remember a certain broadcast are coming up to
you had a coach's breakfast and shaking you down and
wagging his finger in your face.

Speaker 3 (01:13:34):
It's happened.

Speaker 2 (01:13:37):
We'll leave it right there.

Speaker 7 (01:13:39):
That's how Greg knows where Sean Payton was when he.

Speaker 2 (01:13:41):
Gave it interview. But yes, insummation, I'm happy Sean Payton's
back to He's a character. He's from the parcels world,
and I love parcels and those guys that are a
little rough around the edges. Everyone else seems to be
so streamlined and smooth these days. Maybe I saw Nate

(01:14:02):
Hackett with his daughters after the Taylor Swift concert.

Speaker 6 (01:14:04):
Also, we're past hating on him too, he's a he
seems like a likable fellow.

Speaker 2 (01:14:10):
Great Dudek took him to Vegas.

Speaker 5 (01:14:12):
I mean past might be exaggerating. If they're the twenty
fourth ranked offense in Week four, we won't be past it.
So it's it's all based on how things go.

Speaker 2 (01:14:21):
My name is Nathaniel Hackett. Thanks, it's nice to see
you out here. All right, coming up tomorrow is around
the NFC. In forty eight minutes. We could not have
done literally well, we could have. It would have been
an inferior program without Patrick Clavin, who.

Speaker 1 (01:14:38):
Said it all well. Thanks Dan.

Speaker 2 (01:14:39):
Any final words, just go out there.

Speaker 1 (01:14:42):
And love football and love Ingle Hackett, who's a very
nice man.

Speaker 5 (01:14:46):
And check out Patrick hosting this year on Game deviut
with the plug Our our Pick shows.

Speaker 2 (01:14:51):
You're plugging yourself and may it seem like, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:14:57):
It's Cynthia's it's Cynthia and Patrick guy. But now he's
the host.

Speaker 7 (01:15:00):
We've been down this avenue before.

Speaker 2 (01:15:01):
What else are your NFL fantasy?

Speaker 4 (01:15:03):
Yes, you've got fantasy tonight, six o'clock Eastern, right here
on NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:15:06):
Now, I feel like you're a valued member of the team.
I think you're held in good regard with the people upstairs.

Speaker 4 (01:15:13):
Well that's that's because of the people on the floors
with me, which includes you guys. Anybody who's the chance
to do things and go all the way back to
t D and Dave Damashek put me on the first
podcast over Oh.

Speaker 2 (01:15:24):
My god, hit the music. You're right check Davis ires
start that's true.

Speaker 7 (01:15:28):
Talk about a great guy.

Speaker 2 (01:15:30):
Dave listens every episode of the show. That is not true.
Heed the call.