July 10, 2019 • 33 mins
Hub Arkush and Arthur Arkush begin their Division previews leading up to the 2019 NFL Season. This week the guys look at the AFC East and .
Storylines include the New England Patriots win totals, as well as other looks at the New York Jets, the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills. The guys then preview the NFC East and look at win totals of the division, plus they dive into storylines surrounding the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington.
Storylines include the New England Patriots win totals, as well as other looks at the New York Jets, the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills. The guys then preview the NFC East and look at win totals of the division, plus they dive into storylines surrounding the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
Hi guys. You've got your ProFootball Weekly podcast again and we do appreciate
you coming along for the ride.I am the executive editor and general manager
at Pro Football Weekly Hub Arkish,and I am joined by our managing editor,
Arthur Arkish. And yeah, youknow the names are the same.
That's because Arthur, of course ismy middle son and has been part of
(00:32):
Pro Football Weekly his entire life,much like I grew up in it with
my dad. And you know,Arthur, I don't know where the time
goes. It seems like we justsigned off the final two and eighteen regular
season podcast, went into the offseason. I'm buying draft free agency, OTA's
mini camp. We're back in trainingcamp again in two weeks, and it
(00:54):
just seems to come out of nowhere. I do want to mention to everybody
one more time. We've been tellingyou this for the last few weeks.
Next week, Arthur and I workfifty one weeks a year. There's one
week off. It is the weekbefore we leave our families and go away
for training camp, and that isnext week, so there will be no
podcast. But hopefully you've got yoursubscription set up so you'll know that we're
gonna be back the week after next. If you don't have your subscription set
(01:18):
up, be sure and go toPro Football Weekly dot com and figure out
how you do not only for yourPro Football Weekly podcast, but you might
enjoy our Pro Football Weekly Chicago podcasttoo. Nonetheless, Arthur, I'm kind
of stunned that the season is startingagain in two weeks. But here we
are. You know, it's trainingcamps open. I don't know who the
first team's in camp are. Usuallyit's the team's playing in the Hall of
(01:41):
Fame game that will be early theweek of the twenty second, probably on
the twenty second, the twenty third, and by the end of that week,
by I believe it is Sunday,the twenty eighth, everybody will be
in camp. Yeah. Well,we know there's no real offseason, so
I'm not so surprised that we blinkedit and we're past. But you know,
very excited, certainly for family vacationwe want board the listeners with the
(02:04):
details of that, but then excitedto giant train pop around and get to
a few camps. At least.We'll obviously be spending a lot of time
with the Bears here locally, butyou know, it's the hundredth season of
the NFL. There's always excitement,and somehow it seems like it's even ratcheted
up this year to commemorate, youknow, a big season for the league
and all the great happenings going on. All Right, So here's what we
(02:27):
thought we would do for everybody.We want to make sure that we cover
or at least touch on all thirtytwo NFL teams during this preseason, and
so with our podcasts starting this weekand picking it up in two weeks,
we're going to do two divisions perweek and at least touch on what we
think are the stories, the projections, the hopes, the concerns for all
thirty two NFL teams, this beingour first week taken a whack at it.
(02:52):
We're going to start in the East, AFC East and NFC East And
you know, Arthur, I thinkyou probably want to start with the defending
World champions. Why not, Sowe'll go AFC East. And I think
the way to look at the AFCEast is if the Patriots don't win it
again for I believe the twelfth consecutiveyear, it'll probably be one of the
biggest upsets in the history of football. Well, I think so too.
(03:14):
When you're talking about three rookies excuseme, three second year players of course,
all the first round quarterbacks last yearand Sam Diarnold, Josh Allen and
we assume Josh Rosen beating out RyanFitzpatrick pretty quickly in Miami. But basically
you're talking about, you know,the David's versus the Goliath, if you
will, and Tom Brady, Ibelieve if they win it again this year,
(03:35):
it would make eleven straight seasons thatthey have won the AFC East.
It's been let's see here, it'sbeen ten years since they've failed to win
at least twelve games before last season, so they've got their over under set
at eleven. The win total,excuse me, has set at eleven over
minus one thirty under plus one ten. You know, I mean again,
(03:57):
they would have pushed last year,but the other three teams in the division
have won more than eight games eightcombined times over the past decade. So
I'm gonna say that that doesn't happentwo years in a row. I know
the odds aren't great, but I'mdefinitely going over on the Patriots win total
of eleven. Yeah, and Ithink. And by the way, folks,
if you want to talk handicapping,you gotta talk to Arthur B because
I don't really I don't know.I'm not even sure what the plus one
(04:19):
ten and then one twenty five andall that means. I see it on
the sheets and I just go buyit. I'm I've got nothing against gambling.
I'm just one who's always hated thelosing a lot more than I ever
enjoyed the winning, So I justdon't have much to do with it.
We can all figure out what atotal is, though, and that means
you know, they've got the Patriotsat eleven, you want the over,
they're gonna win more than eleven.You want the under, you take less
(04:40):
than eleven. And again, pointspreads odds don't really mean anything in terms
of who the best team is.Vegas is trying to get all the money
split evenly on either side so thatthey're guaranteed profit with the vig But nonetheless
it's stunning how close they are whenyou look at these points spreads, and
how many games come within a pointand a half a point of what the
spreads are. Said. In thiscase, not only is the total on
(05:01):
the Patriots eleven, The Bills andthe Jets are both seven, the Dolphins
five. In most divisions, you'regoing to find a couple of teams close.
They can't get anybody to bet thatanybody is close in the AFC.
So let's start with the Patriots,and we do have one unusual scenario here,
Arthur. You know, the greatestthing about the New England Patriots is
(05:24):
that, as much as they've dominatedthe NFL over the last two decades,
few teams turnover personnel as much asthey do. They don't spend big on
free agents. They like to playthe veteran free agent market. They are
constantly stockpiling draft choices. So youdon't end up with a lot of radical
questions. You end up with alot of small questions. But this year
you've got a pretty radical question,which is, you know, if they
(05:46):
lost Tom Brady, somebody might actuallybe picking another team. There's no debate
about who's been the second most importantplayer on this team. And so at
least going into training camp we're goingto talk about this season is ag what
is life like in New England afterGronk. Yeah, that's a good point,
and we'll have to talk about itnow, because who knows if come
November Gronk isn't back in the fold. I know, you see the photos
(06:09):
circulating on the internet. You say, well, there's no way unless he's
coming back as a wide receiver.But these guys can put it on and
take it off quickly. And I'mstill not so sure Gronk doesn't return.
But in his absence, how aboutyou know, I think they're gonna be
just fine. We saw them inJanuary and February morph into this power run
team. And granted they lose alot on the blocking side without Rob Gronkowski,
(06:30):
but you know, with Sony Michelleand you know, still Rex Burke,
They've got James White. I thinkthey've got the ammunition to kind of
continue that morphing of an identity alittle bit. And I'm really excited about
on Kill Harry. I think hecan make up for some of what they
lose in the red zone in Gronk. Their their first round receiver, of
course, the first first round receiverof the Belichick Brady era. So you
(06:53):
don't replace a Grock, but youtry and move on without him. And
as you said, the Patriots havelost some other guys that we thought were
fairly irreplaceable in recent years and havedone just fine. So I would imagine
that with the best coach, thebest quarterback, and still a decent enough
supporting cast, they will manage tofind a way. There are a couple
other fairly big defections that I'm guessingagain don't move the needle because they're defecting
(07:15):
from New England as much as insome other cities. But in Trent Brown
and Trey Flowers, the edges havecertainly been compromised a bit there in Foxborough.
Yeah, I mean, Trey Flowerswas key to the defense for Belichick
and of course Brian Floores who's nowthe head coach down in Miami, because
of his versatility, because they coulddo so many things with him, and
he would be a guy who wouldgive you two, three, even four
(07:38):
big plays per game, but neveryou know, the dominant defensive force that,
even in their own locker room,that you could say, you know,
probably a Devin mccordy. Certainly fora while it was Dante high Tower.
For a while it was Jamie Collins, who's back for round two,
but a big loss in Trey Flowers. Trent Brown had an excellent season for
(08:01):
them, but he would not haveeven been on the team, or at
least at left tech, if IsaiahWinn hadn't gone down in his rookie year.
They intend to plug Isaiah Win backin if he's healthy enough, so
you figure they'll be okay there.The reason I focus on Gronk is because
you know, I know there's stillsome stubborn folks out there who want to
argue, but they're just wrong.There's no question that Brady is the goat
(08:22):
at quarterback, and in my mind, and in the forty plus years I've
covered the game, there's no questionin my mind that Gronk is the goat
at tight end. And so evengo back to the rast Super Bowl win
over Philadelphia, in the end itwas you know, Brady needed to find
ron to hit him down at theend zone to set up the winning touchdown,
(08:43):
and so you know they're gonna haveto What I think is interesting about
it, Arthur, is they've gota bunch of guys named Joe at tight
end right now, you're right,and kill her. I mean, maybe
they're even thinking about growing him intoa tight end. I don't think they
are. I think they see himas a big wide receiver who can line
up in a lot of different spots. But but they're gonna have to find
somebody who Gronk knows is gonna behis I'm sorry, who Brady knows is
(09:05):
gonna be his guy in those keysituations. Yeah, no doubt about it.
And he's got to, you know, have the right body type because
of course Brady likes to lean onJulian Edelman too, but there are just
certain throws you can't make and hopeto have success on targeting Julian Edelman that
you did with Rob Gronkowski. SoI think after he serves his four game
suspension, Benjamin Watson can be areliable safety valve close enough to the gron
(09:31):
vane. I think he'll be fine. I know he's about forty years old,
but he has been a he's beena dependable guy. Uh it's after
that. I have no idea whathappens when they want to go to two
tight ends Steven and Anderson Ryan Izzo. Uh, we don't really know what
any of these guys are. Andyou're absolutely right, Hub it was the
U. There were two, ofcourse, connections between Brady and Gronk on
that you know, consequential drive inthe super Bowl. So just when we
(09:54):
assumed, uh, you know,Gronk isn't Gronk anymore. Of course,
he shows up when it matters themost. Four them, they'll have to
recalibrate things, but again, they'vegot the smartest guys in the league doing
it, and that's what gives youconfidence they'll find a way to do it
again. Yeah, I mean,I don't know. You know, we'll
talk about Super Bowl and things likethat when we have a little more information.
But in terms of this division,there's no question the Patriots the front
(10:16):
runner. What is intriguing to mein this division is that while nobody's catching
the Patriots, if you want totalk about the most improved football team in
the league in terms of their offseasonmoves, you got a lot of folks
excited about what they did in Buffalo, and you got a lot of folks
excited about what they did in NewYork with the Jets. And so I
don't think the Dolphins are anywhere nearthis conversation. But as far as who
(10:41):
is number two in the division,probably not even a wild card contender.
I wouldn't think. I'm not goingto rule them out, but I'm not
sure right now if it's the Billsor the Jets, both of whom's total
is set at seven, which onehas a better chance of going over.
I'm torn here too, hub Ithink I like the Bills roster better.
I like the coach gm dynamic betterin Buffalo with Sean McDermott, and of
(11:03):
course, uh you know, inBrandon being there. But I just trust
Sam Donald a lot more than Itrust Josh Allen right now. And I
also liked Fortunately I don't have tosign the checks, that's the Johnson's problem,
so I don't have to worry aboutwhat C. J. Mosley and
Levan Bell and Jamison Crowder getting paid. I can just look at those as
good moves that are certainly going tohelp the football team. So again,
(11:26):
from one to fifty three, Ilike what Buffalo has in place better,
But because I still see such abig gap between Josh Ellen and Sam Donald,
and I really do like those targetedpieces that were brought in to help
Sam Donald take another step to buildon what he did in December, really
ending his rookie season on a positivenote. You don't pick them both to
(11:48):
go over, at least I'm notgoing too so I'm gonna go with the
Jets on this one. You know, Arthur, I'm gonna agree with everything
you said except for one thing,and I think it was a slip of
the tongue. You said one tofifty three. I think we're two to
fifty three, you know, becausewell, I mean, I'm just having
fun with you. We agree.I mean, Buffalo, I think what
(12:09):
I think their offseason was far morestrategic. I think their focus was sounder
in terms of players they can buildaround, in terms of salary cap,
integrity, in terms of not makingany wild moves. The excitement in New
York is over overpaying for Levion Belland overpaying for C. J. Mosley,
And yes, these are very goodfootball players. But at the end
of the day, I think thatthat mister Bean did did a much better
(12:33):
job of building his new football team. I'm not even sure who did it
with the Jets. I guess itwas Mike mcagnet, and for his work,
he got fired, you know.So um, But when it comes
to the quarterback position, I amvery impressed by Sam Darnold, and quite
frankly, I haven't seen enough yetto convince me that Josh Allen was worth
the seventh overall pick in the draft. He's a nice athlete through the ball,
(12:56):
okay in spots, but as anNFL all quarterback, showed some of
the same weaknesses that had me questioningwhether he should have been a top ten
quarterback in the draft. And he'syoung and he's going to develop and he's
a good specimen, so we shallsee. But I think, you know,
if I was already leaping forward totwo and twenty, i'd probably say
(13:18):
the Bills because I like more ofwhat they did. But we know how
important the quarterback position is, andI am very impressed by Sam Darnold.
What I am not impressed by almostanywhere is what the Miami I don't know
what the Miami Dolphins were doing.To be honest with you. I think
the Josh Rosen trade was obviously smart. You know, they stole him based
on what his value was just ayear earlier. But other than that,
(13:41):
I'm not even sure what the planis in Miami at the moment. You
know, Brian Flores that we knowthat the Bill Belichick coaching tree has not
been nearly as fruitful as the BillBelichick front office tree has been. That's
not to say, you know,Bill O'Brien's done a really nice job in
Houston. So I think sometimes peopleare too hard on the Belichick disciple.
You know, flores Is, Iwant to say, now the second youngest
(14:05):
coach in the NFL, Sean McVeighis going to be the youngest one for
a while, and well that wasZach Taylor. I guess is I want
to say flores is thirty seven.I think Zach Taylor and Sincinnati is thirty
five. But the point is avery young head coach, a defensive wizard.
We always wonder about these new Englanddefensive coaches because when you look what
happened with Romeo Cromel, you lookat the first year with Matt Patricia,
(14:26):
you know how much of it wasBelichick and how much of it was them.
You know, Mike Vrabel did anice job in Tennessee, but he
didn't coach under Belichick. He playedunder him. So I'm not sure that
that's the same equivalence. I justdon't know what to make of where the
Miami Dolphins are at right now,other than I think they've got a hell
of a chance of having the numberone overall pick in the draft next year,
and hub I think that was everybit they're intent. I think they
(14:50):
were not so quietly taking I'd say, if you believe that in the NFL
or not, I know a lotdon't. But when you look at what
they did, getting rid of goodfoot players, building up the war chest
of draft picks and salary cap spacefor twenty twenty, it's pretty easy to
see how Miami may or may nothave been taking. And then I think
(15:11):
Josh Rosen kind of fell on theirlap. Well, I kind of kind
of think that there's no question thatJosh Rosen fell into their lap and they
made the smart move by by pickinghim up. But I do think that
that kind of had some people kindof rethinking, you know, the timeline,
or maybe rethinking the Dolphins sort ofgrand vision here. So, yeah,
they don't have nearly enough talent towork with. I'm not so sure
(15:33):
Josh Rosen's sort of QB incubator,if you will, is all that much
better than it was in Arizona.So I think they're gonna be a lot
more growing bands along the way forhim, although I do expect him to
uh supplant Ryan Fitzpatrick sooner than later. I just don't know where this team's
st well. I guess their secondaryhubs should be pretty good. Was Xavian
Howard and make A Fitzpatrick and ofcourse Rashad Jones after that, though,
(15:58):
I don't know how they're going torush the passer. I don't know how
they're going to protect Josh Rosen orrun the football. So yeah, this
is going to be really ugly.And what do we say? The wind
total was five I'm going under onit. Thanks as always to all of
our great sponsors of our Pro FootballWeekly podcast. Our executive producer, Dan
(16:19):
Mott is the man who makes allthis happen, and Arthur and I wouldn't
even be able to speak fluent Englishif it wasn't for Mott looking over our
shoulders, so we thanked Dan forall of his hard work. The guys
that Umfrees McGee our favorite Chicago band, we of course are based in Chicago,
supply US with our music, ourmusic beds, and our ins and
outs. It's a It's a localgroup, a bunch of Notre Dame kids
(16:41):
that Arthur has gotten friendly with throughthe years, and they really are a
great listen. They've got a specialshow coming up in Chicago on August tenth,
if you want to check their websitefor information and Arthur. Before we
now get to the NFC East,I do want to just pick up on
one thing that you said before wewent to the break. Tanking is different
in the NFL. You don't tankon the field because the most likely things
(17:04):
you're gonna get hurt, you gottago out there and play as hard as
you can every week. I thinkwhat the Miami Dolphins clearly we're doing was
tanking off the field in the offseason and the way they put the roster
together and the way they move playersaround and who they've kept and who they've
moved, so it does. Imean, the Cleveland Browns clearly tried to
tank under Sashi Brown and Paldi Podesta. Whether it worked or not, I
(17:26):
guess, remains to be seen.I can't think of other obvious tanking situations
in the NFL, but clearly,with what the Dolphins have done with their
roster and who they've kept and whothey've let move on, they've tried to
do some tanking and it could verywell be positioning for what many people think
could be a really good quarterback draftthis coming spring in two and twenty is
(17:48):
compared to what's been available the lastyear or two. So let's move on
to the NFC East. We've gotthe totals here right now, Eagles at
nine and a half, Cowboys atnine, Washington at six and a half,
the Giants at six. So again, a very clear split here between
the top two and the bottom two, but kind of inseparable in a lot
(18:11):
of folks minds or whether you likethe Cowboys or the Eagles, and I
don't think people rule out the possibilitythat Washington or the Giants could get hot.
They're much more talented than the AFCEast lower half, if you will,
But little doubt going into the seasonwhether you like the Cowboys or the
Eagles. More. A lot ofpeople on the Cowboys bandwagon, and I
get some of it, you know, as Ekil Elliott is probably the best
(18:33):
running back in football right now,DeMarcus Lawrence is a very impressive difference maker
on defense. But I also seea lot of potential holes in that Cowboys
depth chart. I don't really seeany in the Eagles depth chart. I
think Howie Roseman has done another reallygreat job of at least sending Doug Peterson
the training camp with one of themore talented teams in the NFL. Yeah,
(18:53):
I agree, and I think thedifference here I think why Vegas is
sort of forecasting a flop of rolls. Of course, Dallas won the division
last year. The Eagles went ontheir run as the wild cards, and
that appears to be reversed in Vegasis thinking, uh, you know,
the coaching advantage in Philadelphia, wecannot, you know, overstate because Jason
(19:15):
Garrett has seeming We've been on thehot seat for close to ten years now.
Doug Peterson is about as good asit gets in the league with Jim
Schwartz, and they just got agreat group there, and I think that
is a big advantage. I actuallythink I like the star Power Hub a
little bit more on the Cowboys whenyou look at some of those pieces they
have on defense and DeMarcus Lawrence andJaylon Smith and in Layton Vanderesh of course,
(19:37):
Zeke Allid and Amari Cooper. ButI am with you, I'm not
sure that they are in position towithstand a few key injuries the way the
Eagles are. So when you addit all up, I am picking the
Eagles to to take that division backover and I like them to be better
than nine and seven, to beat least ten and six this season.
Yeah, I don't know. Imean, I'll give you a DeMarcus Lawrence,
(19:59):
and I'll raise you Fletcher Cox.I'll give you a Layton vander Eschen,
I'll Raisio Malcolm Jenkins. I getwhere you're coming from. I certainly
trust the Eagles offense a lot morethan I trust the Cowboys offense. I
established at the top of the showand the last guy you want to go
to for handicapping information. But Ido know how some of this works.
I know there's smart money and there'sdumb money, and there's what they call
(20:21):
public teams. And one of thereasons the Cowboys always get a little more
loved than maybe they're worth is becausethey are the most public team and that
tends to drive the money a littlebit. But most NFL folks I talked
to GM scouts and analysts, they'regoing to take the Eagles roster over the
Cowboys. Now, you know,I don't think anybody questions that Carson Wentz
is ready to join the upper echelonof quarterbacks in the NFL if he can
(20:45):
stay on the football field, andthat's going to be the key. Remember
he came from North Dakota State withthis rap. You know, he was
the starter for three and a halfyears. We only started twenty five games
because of injuries. He has nowfailed to finish both his second and third
season in the NFL, and he'sgonna have to do better, that's the
(21:06):
bottom line. But what they didin terms of getting him weapons, I
mean, I thought that Miles Sanderswas the best running back in football.
I'm sorry. In the draft,I should say this this last year and
a lot of people like Josh Jacobs, I'll take Miles Sanders to get him
and then to trade for Pro bowlerJordan Howard of the Bears. You talk
about putting together a pretty good runningback tandem behind what is universally acknowledged as
(21:32):
one of the top five top sixoffensive lines in the NFL. And then
you'll let Carson Wentz stand back thereand try and stay healthy and pick his
targets. They're not overwhelming it widereceiver, but he's certainly got some really
good football players and el Sean Jefferiesin particular, I think the Eagles are
a pretty complete team. I justdon't find a lot of holes. He
(21:52):
got Zach Ertz, a Pro Bowltight end. You go back over on
the defensive side, this is wherethere's been more turn over. Really.
You look, you know, youlook at the trade of Michael Bennett and
and the loss of Chris Long toretirement. You know, a couple of
guys who may have been on theback side of their careers, but we're
still highly productive for them. Youdo, of course, still have Brendan
(22:14):
Graham there, one of the betterpass rushers edge rushers in the NFL.
I don't find a lot of spotswhere the Eagles worrying me. They probably
cornerback. I don't know if they'regood enough there. They've been trying to
fix that the last couple of years. But to me, the Eagles are
the slightly more talented team, andI've got them over nine and a half.
I've got the Cowboys. I don'tplay this one because I think they're
(22:36):
gonna win nine or ten games,and the total is nine. I think
they're gonna be a wild card.So I like the Eagles over, but
I hesitate to touch the Cowboys.I just wanted to add a little bit
more to what you said on theEagles. I think one of the additions
I'm most excited about is DeShawn Jackson. They clearly were not able to get
on top of defenses last year,so they go in and they re import,
(22:56):
if you will, maybe the bestyou know, lidlifter in the NFL.
So I think he is going tobe such an awesome fit. And
I think they're going to continue tobuild on what they did with Zach Ertz
and Dallas Godard in those two tightend sets last year. Malik Jackson,
another great fit on defense, comesin as the replacement of course for Michael
Bennett and you know, kind ofas their Tim Jernegan upgrade. So really
(23:19):
excited there about what they have tooup front on both sides of the football
outstanding. I do have some concernsin the secondary. Obviously, that was
a unit that was exploited by thesecond half of last season, and we
still don't know what Sidney Jones is. I think Rusuel Douglas is an underrated
player, and I really love theway he tackles and plays with physicality,
(23:41):
but we still don't He's probably nota number, you know, a number
one corner that's supposed to be RonaldDerby. They're able to bring him back,
but they had issues opposite and MalcolmJenkins too last year with Rodney McLoud
hurt, so we'll be watching forhis return to health and we'll be seeing
which kind of corner can step up. They hope it's Sydney Jones, the
former first talent and fell to themin round two, and then can Crave
(24:03):
on the bloc. Of course,the former Bear who was so good for
them in the playoffs. Was thata flash in the pan type situation or
did they kind of stabilize their Nickelsituation there as well? Some moving parts
in the secondary I'm keeping an eyeon, but overall, the talent here
is just so good. Yeah,you know, Arthur, we're based in
Chicago, and I was stunned whenthe Bears released Crave on the bloc.
Now, they also had Bryce Callahanwho was an extremely good Nickel with with
(24:25):
injury issues. But but yeah,I feel pretty comfortable that Craven le Blanc
is the real deal at Nickel,at least in terms of you know where
most teams are at and usually notall that set in that spot. But
you are right about all the otherquestions in that secondary. We move to
Washington, which continues to be oneof the more dysfunctional franchises in the NFL
(24:47):
and one of the bigger puzzles.I get a sense that Jay Gruden is
a really good football coach for thenumber of games he is to win with
all of the dysfunction at the ownershipand management level of this team, and
all the injury and contract concerns onthe football field. But I think the
one thing that Washington, in mymind, not only got right but got
(25:07):
lucky at and is going to bereally happy for is there was no doubt
from where I said that the bestquarterback prospect in the two and nineteen NFL
college Draft was Dwayne Haskins. Tome, he was an easy choice over
a Daniel Jones, over a KylerMurray, and I don't know what those
other two teams were thinking. Ido know he needs a little bit of
work, a little more development interms of reading and learning. You know,
(25:30):
he's not the world's best athlete,but he actually does move pretty well
in the pocket and extend plays,and in terms of being an NFL Pro
style passer, I think he's thereal deal, And you know, at
this point, sadly, because AlexSmith has always been one of my favorites,
you can't really count on him foranything at this point. I am
not a case Keenum guy. AndColt McCoy is a great number two and
(25:53):
a half or three. So asquickly as Haskins can come along, in
my mind, is going to dictate, you know, how many games this
team can win. Probably second halfof the season. They're not very impressive
from where I sit at wide receiver. If they can make Trent Williams happy,
they have an excellent offensive line,they are productive at running back as
(26:15):
long as ap at the age ofthirty four, I think, maybe even
turning thirty five this season, continueto get the job done. And you
know, they got a lot ofgood football players on defense. But again
there's so much turnover in turmoil thatPreston Smith was one of their best and
let him get away in free agencyto the Packers. So I think Washington
(26:37):
probably can win seven or eight games. If I got to make a choice
here on six and a half,I'm going over, but it's certainly not
because I see them making a playoffrun. Yeah, we're in agreement.
On that one. I'm torn onHaskins. I mean, I like him,
and I think where they got him. I want to say, what's
sixteenth overall clearly great value. I'ma little torn on whether here Kyler Murray
(26:59):
I will go on to have thebetter NFL career, But you know that's
to be determined largely by what happens. You know around them, and I'm
not sure you feel great confidence ineither what Arizona or Washington is going to
do to surround them. But Ifeel better about this thing, Hube.
You mentioned the Trent Williams stalemate thatseems like it's not going to end well.
And when I look at the depthchart and see Eric Flowers and the
(27:21):
left tackle spot behind Trent Williams,that just makes me shutter. So I
don't know what's going to happen there. I don't like the wide receiving corps
either, although Terry McLaurin was agreat pick in round three, and I
like the guy, the big physicalblocker from North Carolina State they got in
Day three as well, Calvin Harman. So I think the future is brighter
for Washington than the present. Ithink they're going to be a better team
(27:44):
likely in twenty twenty than they arethis season. It just felt to me
hub a little ominous with Ruben Foster'sinjury. This has been among the most
injury riddled teams in the league inrecent seasons. It's mostly been along their
offensive line, but now it's kindof seeping over to the defense, it
seems, so I don't know howthey're going to replace Ruben Foster. I
see former Bears Mason Foster and JohnBostick next on the depth chart. I
(28:08):
don't feel real good about either oneof those guys. And I just don't
see a lot in the secondary here. I mean, you get Rid obviously,
well you know, you spend bigto bring in Landon Collins, but
he just there's not much else there. Josh Norman is getting older. There's
not another corner you feel great about. I got aging, Dominique, Rogers,
Cromarty. So too many holes forme here. But ultimately this is
(28:30):
a year too developed to find outwhat they have in Dwayne Haskins and his
supporting cast, and again kind ofhave one eye toward twenty twenty. I
think, all right, two thoughtsbefore we move on to the Big Apple
and have to wrap this one up. First of all, Mason Foster is
a really good football player. He'shighly productive everywhere he goes, and nobody
keeps him and I just can't understandit. So yeah, no, he's
(28:51):
not going to be a pro bowler, a team captain, or a starter.
But but but I think you willget some production out of him.
The other one is I'm sure theone that folks are going to want a
bookmark and we're not going to getto the West for a few weeks.
But I'll just say it now,at some point, the epithaph on Kyler
Murray's career, and I'm saying onhis career, I hope he leaves a
long, happy and prosperous life.But at some point the epithaph on Kyler
(29:14):
Murray's career is gonna be that wasa mistake. And so guys, if
I'm wrong, believe me. I'lleat crow and you can cook it anyway
you want. But just remember I'msaying it from the beginning. Just don't
get it, and so we'll seewhat happens there. But he is not
a New York Giant. He's anArizona Cardinal. The New York Giants have
a new rookie quarterback as well,and this was one of the most controversial
(29:36):
moves of the draft, and bringingin Daniel Jones overall at number six,
Eli can still play. He isgoing to be the starter at the beginning
of the year. There is everypossibility he'll be the starter at the end
of the year if he plays well. But it's most likely that at some
point when you get to mid season, later in the season, if the
Giants aren't competing, they'll go toDaniel Jones. The question is can they
(30:00):
surprise and compete either. I thinkthis is a little better football team than
people realize. I thought that PatShermer had him playing very well the last
quarter of the season last year.They got a lot of no names on
defense, but offensively, I lovethe Golden Tate signing and you got sae
Quon Barkley, and I think thatthe Giants are going to surprise some people.
(30:22):
Now, you know, six isa tough number, but if I
got to make a pick, I'mgonna give him seven wins. I just
think that there's a little more talenthere than anybody's focused on. Pub and
I have went back and forth onrecent podcasts on Dave Gettlman's Giants, and
we definitely don't agree at all onthis one. I think Eli is washed
and we'll see Daniel Jones sooner thanlater this year. And I just I
(30:45):
don't know. I like Golden Tateas a football player, but how many
slot receivers can one team have?I mean they go out and give Sterling
Shepard his extension afterward, you know, Evan Ingram is a jumbo size slot
receiver, so I don't get thatat all. Just total redundancy to me.
I don't think. I don't thinkyou can lose me. Is the
type of talent the Giants did inOlivia Vernon, in Odell Beckham Junior,
and not really truly feel it.I just don't think there's gonna be enough
(31:07):
playmaking punch outside of sae Quon Barkleyon this offense. And I don't have
no idea how they're going to rushthe pastor I don't know how they're going
to be all that productive on defensein general. So I am going under,
what was it six wins? I'mgoing under on the Giants. I
think it's going to be really bad, right Arthur, We're gonna have to
put a rap on this one,and I'm gonna get the final word on
this. Okay, you're right aboutlosing tremendous talent in Odell Beckham Junior,
(31:33):
but you probably really cleaned up yourlocker room. Olivier Vernon his talent in
name only. He's talent in hisbank account only. I mean, he's
a good football player, but hehad one big year in Miami and never
produced anywhere near up to what theywere paying him for. So I don't
know that the Giants are gonna havethat difficult to time replacing him. And
again, I'm not sure we're disagreeingas much as you think. I didn't
(31:55):
say Eli's got a lot left inhim. I just said he's gonna be
the opening day starter, and we'llsee what point Daniel Jones takes over the
job. Assuming he does. Andnobody's predicting great things for the Giants.
I just think folks are underrating thema little bit based on the way they
were playing at the end of theseason last year. That's gonna do it
for this week's edition of our ProFootball Weekly podcast. Again, folks,
(32:17):
I would apologize, but I can'tbecause I'm looking forward to it. So
much. Arthur and I get oneweek off a year, and it's next
week, the last week before wego to training camp, so we will
have a one week hiatus. Ifyou've got your subscription set up, don't
worry about it. You'll be gettingyour next podcast in two weeks, the
week beginning July twenty second. Ifyou don't have your subscriptions set up to
(32:37):
both our Pro Football Weekly and ourPro Football Weekly Chicago podcast, please go
to Pro Football Weekly dot com andget that done. We want to thank
our sponsors. We want to thankMatt dan Mott, of course, our
executive producer, the guys at umFrees McGee. Most of all, though,
we want to thank all of youso much for listening this week,
for being with us each week asyou are. We hope that we've entertained.
(32:58):
You want to reach out to Arthuror I. You can DM us
at Twitter. You can reach usvia email with the first initial of the
first name the full last name atPro Football Weekly. So it's A A.
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K USh at Pro Football Weekly dotcom. We want your thoughts and
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(33:20):
enjoy these podcasts more love hearing fromyou. Until we do it is have
a great week and a half orso, folks, Enjoy the summer now
that it's finally here. After thefourth we'll be back visiting with you in
about ten days
Hi guys. You've got your ProFootball Weekly podcast again and we do appreciate
you coming along for the ride.I am the executive editor and general manager
at Pro Football Weekly Hub Arkish,and I am joined by our managing editor,
Arthur Arkish. And yeah, youknow the names are the same.
That's because Arthur, of course ismy middle son and has been part of
(00:32):
Pro Football Weekly his entire life,much like I grew up in it with
my dad. And you know,Arthur, I don't know where the time
goes. It seems like we justsigned off the final two and eighteen regular
season podcast, went into the offseason. I'm buying draft free agency, OTA's
mini camp. We're back in trainingcamp again in two weeks, and it
(00:54):
just seems to come out of nowhere. I do want to mention to everybody
one more time. We've been tellingyou this for the last few weeks.
Next week, Arthur and I workfifty one weeks a year. There's one
week off. It is the weekbefore we leave our families and go away
for training camp, and that isnext week, so there will be no
podcast. But hopefully you've got yoursubscription set up so you'll know that we're
gonna be back the week after next. If you don't have your subscription set
(01:18):
up, be sure and go toPro Football Weekly dot com and figure out
how you do not only for yourPro Football Weekly podcast, but you might
enjoy our Pro Football Weekly Chicago podcasttoo. Nonetheless, Arthur, I'm kind
of stunned that the season is startingagain in two weeks. But here we
are. You know, it's trainingcamps open. I don't know who the
first team's in camp are. Usuallyit's the team's playing in the Hall of
(01:41):
Fame game that will be early theweek of the twenty second, probably on
the twenty second, the twenty third, and by the end of that week,
by I believe it is Sunday,the twenty eighth, everybody will be
in camp. Yeah. Well,we know there's no real offseason, so
I'm not so surprised that we blinkedit and we're past. But you know,
very excited, certainly for family vacationwe want board the listeners with the
(02:04):
details of that, but then excitedto giant train pop around and get to
a few camps. At least.We'll obviously be spending a lot of time
with the Bears here locally, butyou know, it's the hundredth season of
the NFL. There's always excitement,and somehow it seems like it's even ratcheted
up this year to commemorate, youknow, a big season for the league
and all the great happenings going on. All Right, So here's what we
(02:27):
thought we would do for everybody.We want to make sure that we cover
or at least touch on all thirtytwo NFL teams during this preseason, and
so with our podcasts starting this weekand picking it up in two weeks,
we're going to do two divisions perweek and at least touch on what we
think are the stories, the projections, the hopes, the concerns for all
thirty two NFL teams, this beingour first week taken a whack at it.
(02:52):
We're going to start in the East, AFC East and NFC East And
you know, Arthur, I thinkyou probably want to start with the defending
World champions. Why not, Sowe'll go AFC East. And I think
the way to look at the AFCEast is if the Patriots don't win it
again for I believe the twelfth consecutiveyear, it'll probably be one of the
biggest upsets in the history of football. Well, I think so too.
(03:14):
When you're talking about three rookies excuseme, three second year players of course,
all the first round quarterbacks last yearand Sam Diarnold, Josh Allen and
we assume Josh Rosen beating out RyanFitzpatrick pretty quickly in Miami. But basically
you're talking about, you know,the David's versus the Goliath, if you
will, and Tom Brady, Ibelieve if they win it again this year,
(03:35):
it would make eleven straight seasons thatthey have won the AFC East.
It's been let's see here, it'sbeen ten years since they've failed to win
at least twelve games before last season, so they've got their over under set
at eleven. The win total,excuse me, has set at eleven over
minus one thirty under plus one ten. You know, I mean again,
(03:57):
they would have pushed last year,but the other three teams in the division
have won more than eight games eightcombined times over the past decade. So
I'm gonna say that that doesn't happentwo years in a row. I know
the odds aren't great, but I'mdefinitely going over on the Patriots win total
of eleven. Yeah, and Ithink. And by the way, folks,
if you want to talk handicapping,you gotta talk to Arthur B because
I don't really I don't know.I'm not even sure what the plus one
(04:19):
ten and then one twenty five andall that means. I see it on
the sheets and I just go buyit. I'm I've got nothing against gambling.
I'm just one who's always hated thelosing a lot more than I ever
enjoyed the winning, So I justdon't have much to do with it.
We can all figure out what atotal is, though, and that means
you know, they've got the Patriotsat eleven, you want the over,
they're gonna win more than eleven.You want the under, you take less
(04:40):
than eleven. And again, pointspreads odds don't really mean anything in terms
of who the best team is.Vegas is trying to get all the money
split evenly on either side so thatthey're guaranteed profit with the vig But nonetheless
it's stunning how close they are whenyou look at these points spreads, and
how many games come within a pointand a half a point of what the
spreads are. Said. In thiscase, not only is the total on
(05:01):
the Patriots eleven, The Bills andthe Jets are both seven, the Dolphins
five. In most divisions, you'regoing to find a couple of teams close.
They can't get anybody to bet thatanybody is close in the AFC.
So let's start with the Patriots,and we do have one unusual scenario here,
Arthur. You know, the greatestthing about the New England Patriots is
(05:24):
that, as much as they've dominatedthe NFL over the last two decades,
few teams turnover personnel as much asthey do. They don't spend big on
free agents. They like to playthe veteran free agent market. They are
constantly stockpiling draft choices. So youdon't end up with a lot of radical
questions. You end up with alot of small questions. But this year
you've got a pretty radical question,which is, you know, if they
(05:46):
lost Tom Brady, somebody might actuallybe picking another team. There's no debate
about who's been the second most importantplayer on this team. And so at
least going into training camp we're goingto talk about this season is ag what
is life like in New England afterGronk. Yeah, that's a good point,
and we'll have to talk about itnow, because who knows if come
November Gronk isn't back in the fold. I know, you see the photos
(06:09):
circulating on the internet. You say, well, there's no way unless he's
coming back as a wide receiver.But these guys can put it on and
take it off quickly. And I'mstill not so sure Gronk doesn't return.
But in his absence, how aboutyou know, I think they're gonna be
just fine. We saw them inJanuary and February morph into this power run
team. And granted they lose alot on the blocking side without Rob Gronkowski,
(06:30):
but you know, with Sony Michelleand you know, still Rex Burke,
They've got James White. I thinkthey've got the ammunition to kind of
continue that morphing of an identity alittle bit. And I'm really excited about
on Kill Harry. I think hecan make up for some of what they
lose in the red zone in Gronk. Their their first round receiver, of
course, the first first round receiverof the Belichick Brady era. So you
(06:53):
don't replace a Grock, but youtry and move on without him. And
as you said, the Patriots havelost some other guys that we thought were
fairly irreplaceable in recent years and havedone just fine. So I would imagine
that with the best coach, thebest quarterback, and still a decent enough
supporting cast, they will manage tofind a way. There are a couple
other fairly big defections that I'm guessingagain don't move the needle because they're defecting
(07:15):
from New England as much as insome other cities. But in Trent Brown
and Trey Flowers, the edges havecertainly been compromised a bit there in Foxborough.
Yeah, I mean, Trey Flowerswas key to the defense for Belichick
and of course Brian Floores who's nowthe head coach down in Miami, because
of his versatility, because they coulddo so many things with him, and
he would be a guy who wouldgive you two, three, even four
(07:38):
big plays per game, but neveryou know, the dominant defensive force that,
even in their own locker room,that you could say, you know,
probably a Devin mccordy. Certainly fora while it was Dante high Tower.
For a while it was Jamie Collins, who's back for round two,
but a big loss in Trey Flowers. Trent Brown had an excellent season for
(08:01):
them, but he would not haveeven been on the team, or at
least at left tech, if IsaiahWinn hadn't gone down in his rookie year.
They intend to plug Isaiah Win backin if he's healthy enough, so
you figure they'll be okay there.The reason I focus on Gronk is because
you know, I know there's stillsome stubborn folks out there who want to
argue, but they're just wrong.There's no question that Brady is the goat
(08:22):
at quarterback, and in my mind, and in the forty plus years I've
covered the game, there's no questionin my mind that Gronk is the goat
at tight end. And so evengo back to the rast Super Bowl win
over Philadelphia, in the end itwas you know, Brady needed to find
ron to hit him down at theend zone to set up the winning touchdown,
(08:43):
and so you know they're gonna haveto What I think is interesting about
it, Arthur, is they've gota bunch of guys named Joe at tight
end right now, you're right,and kill her. I mean, maybe
they're even thinking about growing him intoa tight end. I don't think they
are. I think they see himas a big wide receiver who can line
up in a lot of different spots. But but they're gonna have to find
somebody who Gronk knows is gonna behis I'm sorry, who Brady knows is
(09:05):
gonna be his guy in those keysituations. Yeah, no doubt about it.
And he's got to, you know, have the right body type because
of course Brady likes to lean onJulian Edelman too, but there are just
certain throws you can't make and hopeto have success on targeting Julian Edelman that
you did with Rob Gronkowski. SoI think after he serves his four game
suspension, Benjamin Watson can be areliable safety valve close enough to the gron
(09:31):
vane. I think he'll be fine. I know he's about forty years old,
but he has been a he's beena dependable guy. Uh it's after
that. I have no idea whathappens when they want to go to two
tight ends Steven and Anderson Ryan Izzo. Uh, we don't really know what
any of these guys are. Andyou're absolutely right, Hub it was the
U. There were two, ofcourse, connections between Brady and Gronk on
that you know, consequential drive inthe super Bowl. So just when we
(09:54):
assumed, uh, you know,Gronk isn't Gronk anymore. Of course,
he shows up when it matters themost. Four them, they'll have to
recalibrate things, but again, they'vegot the smartest guys in the league doing
it, and that's what gives youconfidence they'll find a way to do it
again. Yeah, I mean,I don't know. You know, we'll
talk about Super Bowl and things likethat when we have a little more information.
But in terms of this division,there's no question the Patriots the front
(10:16):
runner. What is intriguing to mein this division is that while nobody's catching
the Patriots, if you want totalk about the most improved football team in
the league in terms of their offseasonmoves, you got a lot of folks
excited about what they did in Buffalo, and you got a lot of folks
excited about what they did in NewYork with the Jets. And so I
don't think the Dolphins are anywhere nearthis conversation. But as far as who
(10:41):
is number two in the division,probably not even a wild card contender.
I wouldn't think. I'm not goingto rule them out, but I'm not
sure right now if it's the Billsor the Jets, both of whom's total
is set at seven, which onehas a better chance of going over.
I'm torn here too, hub Ithink I like the Bills roster better.
I like the coach gm dynamic betterin Buffalo with Sean McDermott, and of
(11:03):
course, uh you know, inBrandon being there. But I just trust
Sam Donald a lot more than Itrust Josh Allen right now. And I
also liked Fortunately I don't have tosign the checks, that's the Johnson's problem,
so I don't have to worry aboutwhat C. J. Mosley and
Levan Bell and Jamison Crowder getting paid. I can just look at those as
good moves that are certainly going tohelp the football team. So again,
(11:26):
from one to fifty three, Ilike what Buffalo has in place better,
But because I still see such abig gap between Josh Ellen and Sam Donald,
and I really do like those targetedpieces that were brought in to help
Sam Donald take another step to buildon what he did in December, really
ending his rookie season on a positivenote. You don't pick them both to
(11:48):
go over, at least I'm notgoing too so I'm gonna go with the
Jets on this one. You know, Arthur, I'm gonna agree with everything
you said except for one thing,and I think it was a slip of
the tongue. You said one tofifty three. I think we're two to
fifty three, you know, becausewell, I mean, I'm just having
fun with you. We agree.I mean, Buffalo, I think what
(12:09):
I think their offseason was far morestrategic. I think their focus was sounder
in terms of players they can buildaround, in terms of salary cap,
integrity, in terms of not makingany wild moves. The excitement in New
York is over overpaying for Levion Belland overpaying for C. J. Mosley,
And yes, these are very goodfootball players. But at the end
of the day, I think thatthat mister Bean did did a much better
(12:33):
job of building his new football team. I'm not even sure who did it
with the Jets. I guess itwas Mike mcagnet, and for his work,
he got fired, you know.So um, But when it comes
to the quarterback position, I amvery impressed by Sam Darnold, and quite
frankly, I haven't seen enough yetto convince me that Josh Allen was worth
the seventh overall pick in the draft. He's a nice athlete through the ball,
(12:56):
okay in spots, but as anNFL all quarterback, showed some of
the same weaknesses that had me questioningwhether he should have been a top ten
quarterback in the draft. And he'syoung and he's going to develop and he's
a good specimen, so we shallsee. But I think, you know,
if I was already leaping forward totwo and twenty, i'd probably say
(13:18):
the Bills because I like more ofwhat they did. But we know how
important the quarterback position is, andI am very impressed by Sam Darnold.
What I am not impressed by almostanywhere is what the Miami I don't know
what the Miami Dolphins were doing.To be honest with you. I think
the Josh Rosen trade was obviously smart. You know, they stole him based
on what his value was just ayear earlier. But other than that,
(13:41):
I'm not even sure what the planis in Miami at the moment. You
know, Brian Flores that we knowthat the Bill Belichick coaching tree has not
been nearly as fruitful as the BillBelichick front office tree has been. That's
not to say, you know,Bill O'Brien's done a really nice job in
Houston. So I think sometimes peopleare too hard on the Belichick disciple.
You know, flores Is, Iwant to say, now the second youngest
(14:05):
coach in the NFL, Sean McVeighis going to be the youngest one for
a while, and well that wasZach Taylor. I guess is I want
to say flores is thirty seven.I think Zach Taylor and Sincinnati is thirty
five. But the point is avery young head coach, a defensive wizard.
We always wonder about these new Englanddefensive coaches because when you look what
happened with Romeo Cromel, you lookat the first year with Matt Patricia,
(14:26):
you know how much of it wasBelichick and how much of it was them.
You know, Mike Vrabel did anice job in Tennessee, but he
didn't coach under Belichick. He playedunder him. So I'm not sure that
that's the same equivalence. I justdon't know what to make of where the
Miami Dolphins are at right now,other than I think they've got a hell
of a chance of having the numberone overall pick in the draft next year,
and hub I think that was everybit they're intent. I think they
(14:50):
were not so quietly taking I'd say, if you believe that in the NFL
or not, I know a lotdon't. But when you look at what
they did, getting rid of goodfoot players, building up the war chest
of draft picks and salary cap spacefor twenty twenty, it's pretty easy to
see how Miami may or may nothave been taking. And then I think
(15:11):
Josh Rosen kind of fell on theirlap. Well, I kind of kind
of think that there's no question thatJosh Rosen fell into their lap and they
made the smart move by by pickinghim up. But I do think that
that kind of had some people kindof rethinking, you know, the timeline,
or maybe rethinking the Dolphins sort ofgrand vision here. So, yeah,
they don't have nearly enough talent towork with. I'm not so sure
(15:33):
Josh Rosen's sort of QB incubator,if you will, is all that much
better than it was in Arizona.So I think they're gonna be a lot
more growing bands along the way forhim, although I do expect him to
uh supplant Ryan Fitzpatrick sooner than later. I just don't know where this team's
st well. I guess their secondaryhubs should be pretty good. Was Xavian
Howard and make A Fitzpatrick and ofcourse Rashad Jones after that, though,
(15:58):
I don't know how they're going torush the passer. I don't know how
they're going to protect Josh Rosen orrun the football. So yeah, this
is going to be really ugly.And what do we say? The wind
total was five I'm going under onit. Thanks as always to all of
our great sponsors of our Pro FootballWeekly podcast. Our executive producer, Dan
(16:19):
Mott is the man who makes allthis happen, and Arthur and I wouldn't
even be able to speak fluent Englishif it wasn't for Mott looking over our
shoulders, so we thanked Dan forall of his hard work. The guys
that Umfrees McGee our favorite Chicago band, we of course are based in Chicago,
supply US with our music, ourmusic beds, and our ins and
outs. It's a It's a localgroup, a bunch of Notre Dame kids
(16:41):
that Arthur has gotten friendly with throughthe years, and they really are a
great listen. They've got a specialshow coming up in Chicago on August tenth,
if you want to check their websitefor information and Arthur. Before we
now get to the NFC East,I do want to just pick up on
one thing that you said before wewent to the break. Tanking is different
in the NFL. You don't tankon the field because the most likely things
(17:04):
you're gonna get hurt, you gottago out there and play as hard as
you can every week. I thinkwhat the Miami Dolphins clearly we're doing was
tanking off the field in the offseason and the way they put the roster
together and the way they move playersaround and who they've kept and who they've
moved, so it does. Imean, the Cleveland Browns clearly tried to
tank under Sashi Brown and Paldi Podesta. Whether it worked or not, I
(17:26):
guess, remains to be seen.I can't think of other obvious tanking situations
in the NFL, but clearly,with what the Dolphins have done with their
roster and who they've kept and whothey've let move on, they've tried to
do some tanking and it could verywell be positioning for what many people think
could be a really good quarterback draftthis coming spring in two and twenty is
(17:48):
compared to what's been available the lastyear or two. So let's move on
to the NFC East. We've gotthe totals here right now, Eagles at
nine and a half, Cowboys atnine, Washington at six and a half,
the Giants at six. So again, a very clear split here between
the top two and the bottom two, but kind of inseparable in a lot
(18:11):
of folks minds or whether you likethe Cowboys or the Eagles, and I
don't think people rule out the possibilitythat Washington or the Giants could get hot.
They're much more talented than the AFCEast lower half, if you will,
But little doubt going into the seasonwhether you like the Cowboys or the
Eagles. More. A lot ofpeople on the Cowboys bandwagon, and I
get some of it, you know, as Ekil Elliott is probably the best
(18:33):
running back in football right now,DeMarcus Lawrence is a very impressive difference maker
on defense. But I also seea lot of potential holes in that Cowboys
depth chart. I don't really seeany in the Eagles depth chart. I
think Howie Roseman has done another reallygreat job of at least sending Doug Peterson
the training camp with one of themore talented teams in the NFL. Yeah,
(18:53):
I agree, and I think thedifference here I think why Vegas is
sort of forecasting a flop of rolls. Of course, Dallas won the division
last year. The Eagles went ontheir run as the wild cards, and
that appears to be reversed in Vegasis thinking, uh, you know,
the coaching advantage in Philadelphia, wecannot, you know, overstate because Jason
(19:15):
Garrett has seeming We've been on thehot seat for close to ten years now.
Doug Peterson is about as good asit gets in the league with Jim
Schwartz, and they just got agreat group there, and I think that
is a big advantage. I actuallythink I like the star Power Hub a
little bit more on the Cowboys whenyou look at some of those pieces they
have on defense and DeMarcus Lawrence andJaylon Smith and in Layton Vanderesh of course,
(19:37):
Zeke Allid and Amari Cooper. ButI am with you, I'm not
sure that they are in position towithstand a few key injuries the way the
Eagles are. So when you addit all up, I am picking the
Eagles to to take that division backover and I like them to be better
than nine and seven, to beat least ten and six this season.
Yeah, I don't know. Imean, I'll give you a DeMarcus Lawrence,
(19:59):
and I'll raise you Fletcher Cox.I'll give you a Layton vander Eschen,
I'll Raisio Malcolm Jenkins. I getwhere you're coming from. I certainly
trust the Eagles offense a lot morethan I trust the Cowboys offense. I
established at the top of the showand the last guy you want to go
to for handicapping information. But Ido know how some of this works.
I know there's smart money and there'sdumb money, and there's what they call
(20:21):
public teams. And one of thereasons the Cowboys always get a little more
loved than maybe they're worth is becausethey are the most public team and that
tends to drive the money a littlebit. But most NFL folks I talked
to GM scouts and analysts, they'regoing to take the Eagles roster over the
Cowboys. Now, you know,I don't think anybody questions that Carson Wentz
is ready to join the upper echelonof quarterbacks in the NFL if he can
(20:45):
stay on the football field, andthat's going to be the key. Remember
he came from North Dakota State withthis rap. You know, he was
the starter for three and a halfyears. We only started twenty five games
because of injuries. He has nowfailed to finish both his second and third
season in the NFL, and he'sgonna have to do better, that's the
(21:06):
bottom line. But what they didin terms of getting him weapons, I
mean, I thought that Miles Sanderswas the best running back in football.
I'm sorry. In the draft,I should say this this last year and
a lot of people like Josh Jacobs, I'll take Miles Sanders to get him
and then to trade for Pro bowlerJordan Howard of the Bears. You talk
about putting together a pretty good runningback tandem behind what is universally acknowledged as
(21:32):
one of the top five top sixoffensive lines in the NFL. And then
you'll let Carson Wentz stand back thereand try and stay healthy and pick his
targets. They're not overwhelming it widereceiver, but he's certainly got some really
good football players and el Sean Jefferiesin particular, I think the Eagles are
a pretty complete team. I justdon't find a lot of holes. He
(21:52):
got Zach Ertz, a Pro Bowltight end. You go back over on
the defensive side, this is wherethere's been more turn over. Really.
You look, you know, youlook at the trade of Michael Bennett and
and the loss of Chris Long toretirement. You know, a couple of
guys who may have been on theback side of their careers, but we're
still highly productive for them. Youdo, of course, still have Brendan
(22:14):
Graham there, one of the betterpass rushers edge rushers in the NFL.
I don't find a lot of spotswhere the Eagles worrying me. They probably
cornerback. I don't know if they'regood enough there. They've been trying to
fix that the last couple of years. But to me, the Eagles are
the slightly more talented team, andI've got them over nine and a half.
I've got the Cowboys. I don'tplay this one because I think they're
(22:36):
gonna win nine or ten games,and the total is nine. I think
they're gonna be a wild card.So I like the Eagles over, but
I hesitate to touch the Cowboys.I just wanted to add a little bit
more to what you said on theEagles. I think one of the additions
I'm most excited about is DeShawn Jackson. They clearly were not able to get
on top of defenses last year,so they go in and they re import,
(22:56):
if you will, maybe the bestyou know, lidlifter in the NFL.
So I think he is going tobe such an awesome fit. And
I think they're going to continue tobuild on what they did with Zach Ertz
and Dallas Godard in those two tightend sets last year. Malik Jackson,
another great fit on defense, comesin as the replacement of course for Michael
Bennett and you know, kind ofas their Tim Jernegan upgrade. So really
(23:19):
excited there about what they have tooup front on both sides of the football
outstanding. I do have some concernsin the secondary. Obviously, that was
a unit that was exploited by thesecond half of last season, and we
still don't know what Sidney Jones is. I think Rusuel Douglas is an underrated
player, and I really love theway he tackles and plays with physicality,
(23:41):
but we still don't He's probably nota number, you know, a number
one corner that's supposed to be RonaldDerby. They're able to bring him back,
but they had issues opposite and MalcolmJenkins too last year with Rodney McLoud
hurt, so we'll be watching forhis return to health and we'll be seeing
which kind of corner can step up. They hope it's Sydney Jones, the
former first talent and fell to themin round two, and then can Crave
(24:03):
on the bloc. Of course,the former Bear who was so good for
them in the playoffs. Was thata flash in the pan type situation or
did they kind of stabilize their Nickelsituation there as well? Some moving parts
in the secondary I'm keeping an eyeon, but overall, the talent here
is just so good. Yeah,you know, Arthur, we're based in
Chicago, and I was stunned whenthe Bears released Crave on the bloc.
Now, they also had Bryce Callahanwho was an extremely good Nickel with with
(24:25):
injury issues. But but yeah,I feel pretty comfortable that Craven le Blanc
is the real deal at Nickel,at least in terms of you know where
most teams are at and usually notall that set in that spot. But
you are right about all the otherquestions in that secondary. We move to
Washington, which continues to be oneof the more dysfunctional franchises in the NFL
(24:47):
and one of the bigger puzzles.I get a sense that Jay Gruden is
a really good football coach for thenumber of games he is to win with
all of the dysfunction at the ownershipand management level of this team, and
all the injury and contract concerns onthe football field. But I think the
one thing that Washington, in mymind, not only got right but got
(25:07):
lucky at and is going to bereally happy for is there was no doubt
from where I said that the bestquarterback prospect in the two and nineteen NFL
college Draft was Dwayne Haskins. Tome, he was an easy choice over
a Daniel Jones, over a KylerMurray, and I don't know what those
other two teams were thinking. Ido know he needs a little bit of
work, a little more development interms of reading and learning. You know,
(25:30):
he's not the world's best athlete,but he actually does move pretty well
in the pocket and extend plays,and in terms of being an NFL Pro
style passer, I think he's thereal deal, And you know, at
this point, sadly, because AlexSmith has always been one of my favorites,
you can't really count on him foranything at this point. I am
not a case Keenum guy. AndColt McCoy is a great number two and
(25:53):
a half or three. So asquickly as Haskins can come along, in
my mind, is going to dictate, you know, how many games this
team can win. Probably second halfof the season. They're not very impressive
from where I sit at wide receiver. If they can make Trent Williams happy,
they have an excellent offensive line,they are productive at running back as
(26:15):
long as ap at the age ofthirty four, I think, maybe even
turning thirty five this season, continueto get the job done. And you
know, they got a lot ofgood football players on defense. But again
there's so much turnover in turmoil thatPreston Smith was one of their best and
let him get away in free agencyto the Packers. So I think Washington
(26:37):
probably can win seven or eight games. If I got to make a choice
here on six and a half,I'm going over, but it's certainly not
because I see them making a playoffrun. Yeah, we're in agreement.
On that one. I'm torn onHaskins. I mean, I like him,
and I think where they got him. I want to say, what's
sixteenth overall clearly great value. I'ma little torn on whether here Kyler Murray
(26:59):
I will go on to have thebetter NFL career, But you know that's
to be determined largely by what happens. You know around them, and I'm
not sure you feel great confidence ineither what Arizona or Washington is going to
do to surround them. But Ifeel better about this thing, Hube.
You mentioned the Trent Williams stalemate thatseems like it's not going to end well.
And when I look at the depthchart and see Eric Flowers and the
(27:21):
left tackle spot behind Trent Williams,that just makes me shutter. So I
don't know what's going to happen there. I don't like the wide receiving corps
either, although Terry McLaurin was agreat pick in round three, and I
like the guy, the big physicalblocker from North Carolina State they got in
Day three as well, Calvin Harman. So I think the future is brighter
for Washington than the present. Ithink they're going to be a better team
(27:44):
likely in twenty twenty than they arethis season. It just felt to me
hub a little ominous with Ruben Foster'sinjury. This has been among the most
injury riddled teams in the league inrecent seasons. It's mostly been along their
offensive line, but now it's kindof seeping over to the defense, it
seems, so I don't know howthey're going to replace Ruben Foster. I
see former Bears Mason Foster and JohnBostick next on the depth chart. I
(28:08):
don't feel real good about either oneof those guys. And I just don't
see a lot in the secondary here. I mean, you get Rid obviously,
well you know, you spend bigto bring in Landon Collins, but
he just there's not much else there. Josh Norman is getting older. There's
not another corner you feel great about. I got aging, Dominique, Rogers,
Cromarty. So too many holes forme here. But ultimately this is
(28:30):
a year too developed to find outwhat they have in Dwayne Haskins and his
supporting cast, and again kind ofhave one eye toward twenty twenty. I
think, all right, two thoughtsbefore we move on to the Big Apple
and have to wrap this one up. First of all, Mason Foster is
a really good football player. He'shighly productive everywhere he goes, and nobody
keeps him and I just can't understandit. So yeah, no, he's
(28:51):
not going to be a pro bowler, a team captain, or a starter.
But but but I think you willget some production out of him.
The other one is I'm sure theone that folks are going to want a
bookmark and we're not going to getto the West for a few weeks.
But I'll just say it now,at some point, the epithaph on Kyler
Murray's career, and I'm saying onhis career, I hope he leaves a
long, happy and prosperous life.But at some point the epithaph on Kyler
(29:14):
Murray's career is gonna be that wasa mistake. And so guys, if
I'm wrong, believe me. I'lleat crow and you can cook it anyway
you want. But just remember I'msaying it from the beginning. Just don't
get it, and so we'll seewhat happens there. But he is not
a New York Giant. He's anArizona Cardinal. The New York Giants have
a new rookie quarterback as well,and this was one of the most controversial
(29:36):
moves of the draft, and bringingin Daniel Jones overall at number six,
Eli can still play. He isgoing to be the starter at the beginning
of the year. There is everypossibility he'll be the starter at the end
of the year if he plays well. But it's most likely that at some
point when you get to mid season, later in the season, if the
Giants aren't competing, they'll go toDaniel Jones. The question is can they
(30:00):
surprise and compete either. I thinkthis is a little better football team than
people realize. I thought that PatShermer had him playing very well the last
quarter of the season last year.They got a lot of no names on
defense, but offensively, I lovethe Golden Tate signing and you got sae
Quon Barkley, and I think thatthe Giants are going to surprise some people.
(30:22):
Now, you know, six isa tough number, but if I
got to make a pick, I'mgonna give him seven wins. I just
think that there's a little more talenthere than anybody's focused on. Pub and
I have went back and forth onrecent podcasts on Dave Gettlman's Giants, and
we definitely don't agree at all onthis one. I think Eli is washed
and we'll see Daniel Jones sooner thanlater this year. And I just I
(30:45):
don't know. I like Golden Tateas a football player, but how many
slot receivers can one team have?I mean they go out and give Sterling
Shepard his extension afterward, you know, Evan Ingram is a jumbo size slot
receiver, so I don't get thatat all. Just total redundancy to me.
I don't think. I don't thinkyou can lose me. Is the
type of talent the Giants did inOlivia Vernon, in Odell Beckham Junior,
and not really truly feel it.I just don't think there's gonna be enough
(31:07):
playmaking punch outside of sae Quon Barkleyon this offense. And I don't have
no idea how they're going to rushthe pastor I don't know how they're going
to be all that productive on defensein general. So I am going under,
what was it six wins? I'mgoing under on the Giants. I
think it's going to be really bad, right Arthur, We're gonna have to
put a rap on this one,and I'm gonna get the final word on
this. Okay, you're right aboutlosing tremendous talent in Odell Beckham Junior,
(31:33):
but you probably really cleaned up yourlocker room. Olivier Vernon his talent in
name only. He's talent in hisbank account only. I mean, he's
a good football player, but hehad one big year in Miami and never
produced anywhere near up to what theywere paying him for. So I don't
know that the Giants are gonna havethat difficult to time replacing him. And
again, I'm not sure we're disagreeingas much as you think. I didn't
(31:55):
say Eli's got a lot left inhim. I just said he's gonna be
the opening day starter, and we'llsee what point Daniel Jones takes over the
job. Assuming he does. Andnobody's predicting great things for the Giants.
I just think folks are underrating thema little bit based on the way they
were playing at the end of theseason last year. That's gonna do it
for this week's edition of our ProFootball Weekly podcast. Again, folks,
(32:17):
I would apologize, but I can'tbecause I'm looking forward to it. So
much. Arthur and I get oneweek off a year, and it's next
week, the last week before wego to training camp, so we will
have a one week hiatus. Ifyou've got your subscription set up, don't
worry about it. You'll be gettingyour next podcast in two weeks, the
week beginning July twenty second. Ifyou don't have your subscriptions set up to
(32:37):
both our Pro Football Weekly and ourPro Football Weekly Chicago podcast, please go
to Pro Football Weekly dot com andget that done. We want to thank
our sponsors. We want to thankMatt dan Mott, of course, our
executive producer, the guys at umFrees McGee. Most of all, though,
we want to thank all of youso much for listening this week,
for being with us each week asyou are. We hope that we've entertained.
(32:58):
You want to reach out to Arthuror I. You can DM us
at Twitter. You can reach usvia email with the first initial of the
first name the full last name atPro Football Weekly. So it's A A.
R. K USh at Pro FootballWeekly dot com. H A R.
K USh at Pro Football Weekly dotcom. We want your thoughts and
ideas as to how we can makethe product better how we can make you
(33:20):
enjoy these podcasts more love hearing fromyou. Until we do it is have
a great week and a half orso, folks, Enjoy the summer now
that it's finally here. After thefourth we'll be back visiting with you in
about ten days
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