Richard Sherman breaks down Shedeur Sanders’ impressive NFL preseason debut and why the hate doesn’t make sense. From the Browns’ QB dilemma to potential trade destinations, Sherman keeps it real. Plus — Seahawks preseason takeaways, Pete Carroll’s emotional return, 49ers joint practices with the Broncos, and why Davante Adams is still a nightmare for defenses.
00:00 – Introduction
03:37 – QB-needy teams who passed on Shedeur
07:38 – Browns’ looming cut day decision
13:00 – Geno Smith’s fan interaction
14:39 – Rookie RB Ashton Jeanty struggles
19:17 – Upton Stout’s Ronde Barber comparison
20:51 – Davante Adams dominates Cowboys practice
22:39 – NFL smelling salts “ban” talk
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And what a
day for sha Door Sanders. Now everybody knew what he
did at Colorado, came in at eighth in the Heisman voting,
but for his first NFL preseason debut, with all the noise,
all the fanfare, all the media speculation, he just goes
(00:28):
out there and plays an excellent game. Has a touchdown
pass earlier in that game, threaded the needle layered football
in the end zone, throws some other accurate passes on
a dig a go route you know, ends up fourteen
for twenty three four one hundred and thirty eight yards.
Another touchdown on a post route where he showed incredible
(00:50):
pocket presence. He just seems to be the guy. A
lot of people, including mel Kiper, who was standing on
the table for him, slapping the table saying, I don't
understand how this guy's a fifth round pick and he
had him as the best quarterback in the draft and
he looked like that. And I know people are going
out there saying it's just a preseason game. It's just
a preseason game. We've watched a lot of quarterbacks over
(01:15):
the years play preseason games, play regular season games and
struggle mightily, and we all say, hey, you got to
give him time. That justin rookie adjusted the speed of
the game. Adjust to this like you give them grace
even if they're the number one pick in the draft.
You say, hey, there's an adjustment period. You got to
figure things out. Sure understood. They say he's going against
(01:38):
the toos, he's going against lesser competition. Well, he also
is running with his tools and running with guys that
aren't going to be the starters International Football League guys.
He wouldn't be necessarily be playing with if everything, if
it was day one and they were starting the season.
But I thought it was really impressive, the amount of
poise that he showed, the command of that offense, the
(02:02):
pocket presence when they were backed up. You didn't see
any panic. You didn't see him rushing to get rid
of the ball. And a lot of his critics are
saying he's holding the ball too long, he's holding the
ball moving in the pockets. These are live reps. So
this isn't seven on seven where you could say, oh man,
he's holding the ball too long and that would have
(02:24):
been a sack. He's in a live game, So if
he's not getting sacked on the play, and he's completing
passes and he's not holding the ball too long. Some
players are longer developing, some players aren't. But I thought
he did a really incredible job. And I'm looking forward
to the next game. Kevin Stefanski says he's gonna get
(02:45):
a lot of reps versus the Philadelphia Eagles. That's a
really talented team coming off a Super Bowl win, so
that'll be another litmus test for him. But I'm excited.
I'm excited. I know, you know, Prime is excited, and
and Shador was very humble after the game, saying the
things that he could do better, and he felt like
he let his dad down. But I know if I
(03:06):
if I'm Prime, and I'm sitting back watching my son,
who has been who has been talked about day in
and day out from sun up to sundown, and people
saying what he is or what he is and what
he set up to fail, whether he set up to
fail or he set up to succeed, and YadA, YadA,
he's not getting enough reps. And he just ignored the
(03:28):
noise and went out there and put on a show.
And I think I got a lot of respect for that.
The issue I have it's for the teams, the quarterback
needy teams that should have taken it, that are in
instilling quarterback turmoil. Whether it's the New York Giants, you know,
(03:49):
who went out and got Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston
and then ended up drafting Jackson Dark. If Jackson Dark
goes out there and has a preseason game like Shadora
Sanders does, everybody's gonna be screaming for him to start
for the New York Giants. It's gonna be fan fair,
it's gonna be all over. It's not gonna matter that
it's a preseason game. It's not gonna matter that. Uh,
(04:11):
it's whatever backups are out there. It's not it's not
gonna matter at all. And that's the that's the weird
narrative that that I I don't I don't understand the
weird hate that shador gets that everything matters when it's him.
They they they they nitpick every single thing that's on
the field when it's him. But if it was another
(04:31):
rookie quarterback, first round pick, and he's out there playing
well in the preseason and he's doing the things that
we expected him to do, and he looks great. He
looks like the game is not too big for him,
it's not too fasci on points, we would be celebrating
and saying, Man, this is a guy. This is he's
coming into the league prepared. He's coming in the league
ready to execute. Like I can't wait to see him
(04:51):
during the regular season because he looks the part. He
looks like the guy we thought he was. But for
some reason, Shador is so polarized for certain people, and
it's like they don't want him to succeed. They want
to come up with reasons and excuses why they shouldn't
celebrate his success. Hey, the guy's ball and appreciate it,
(05:12):
enjoy it. He's gonna be a good player. He looks
like he's gonna could be a great player. And I
think he's surprising some people in the NFL world, and
I think they're gonna have to trade for him. The
Cleveland Browns could run into a scenario where you don't
get to see Dylan Gabriel in a preseason game, or
you see him in very very limited reps in the
preseason game. You don't get to see Kenny Pickett in
(05:34):
the preseason game. Obviously you have tape on him from
you know, previous NFL stops. You know you got the
tape from Pittsburgh and what he did there. You likely
won't see very much of Flaco, but obviously you know
what you got in Flaco, And so all you have
is a tape that Shador Sanders is putting out and
if he gets a lot of reps versus the Philadelphia
(05:55):
Eagles say they go with Flaco first, and then they
go with Shador Sanders after that. And Dylan Gabriel is
still hurt, and can you Pickkett still hurt? I don't
know how severe those hamstring injuries are, but I know
they can be nagging, even for a quarterback. What do
you do when it comes down to cut day? When
it comes down to cut day and you're saying, hey,
we don't have a ton of film on Dylan Gabriel,
(06:16):
but we took him in a third round, so we're
not cutting him. Hey, we know, can you pickets a veteran?
You want a veteran quarterback to back up your starter?
You know, Joe Flacco is at the end of his rope,
but you know it's probably gonna have a good season,
and he's been really consistent and usually relatively healthy. And so,
so what do you do with Shador Sanders? Do you
(06:37):
risk trading him to a QB and needy team who
made a mistake on Draft Day and took somebody else?
And I'm not talking about the New Orleans Saints, but
I'm kind of talking about the New Orleans Saints. Do
you trade him to the New Orleans Saints? Do you
trade him to the to the Pittsburgh Steelers who after
Aaron Rodgers after this season? I believe he says he's done.
What do they have after that? They have that Mason
Rudolph who's been there for a while, but you also
(06:59):
know he has a ceiling. Can't Shador Sanders go in
there and make an impact and learn from a rod
and potentially compete for a starting job maybe next year.
I know the fanfare will be there. I know that
people will come and watch the games. I know that
the media will follow Shador Sanders if he goes to
New Orleans. All of a sudden, we're talking about the
New Orleans Saints way more than we would be talking
(07:19):
about the New Orleans Saints right now without Shador Sanders. Here,
So I think those are potential options. Obviously the Giants
now that they got Jackson Dart and they got all
the veterans that got it's not really a realistic option.
Could it be the New York Jets. Obviously that could
be a potential option as a backup, you know, because
(07:41):
he's still a rookie and he still needs time to develop.
But I just wonder what's gonna happen with the Cleveland
Browns when cut day happens. What are they gonna do?
Because if you trade Chaduel and then he goes somewhere
else and thrives and has an illustrious NFL career, it
just goes on the list of things the Browns did
(08:04):
that would were terrible decisions. Hey, you drafted the guy,
but then you traded him away or you cut him
when you knew what you had. And I thought it
was interesting something that has them said when he said
I didn't want Shador Sanders Andrew Berry drafted him, it
was like I've been watching the NFL for a long time,
(08:30):
been around the NFL, played in the NFL. Obviously, I
don't know many times an owner has just outright said
they didn't want a draft pick in the year that
the kid was drafted. I don't know many times that's
happened where an owner has during training camp. This isn't
late like maybe years later, when things didn't go the
(08:52):
way you thought it was you you come out and say, hey,
that wasn't That wasn't a guy I thought we should draft.
But I try trusted our staff. They went and got him,
they evaluated him, they thought it would be a good pick.
It didn't work out, okay, understood, But to come out
during training camp and outright say I didn't want this
guy about a quarterback on your team, a kid that
(09:16):
was drafted in this draft class, Like, how do you
think that makes makes your doors Sanders feel? Now, sure
he's got mental fortut he's not gonna let it show.
He's not gonna But my owner just came out and said, no,
I didn't want you to GM wanted you, but I
wish we would have drafted somebody else, Like this wasn't
even a first round pick. This fifth round picks are
(09:38):
a lot of times throwaway picks. And this is coming
from a fifth round pick. It's not like you're getting
a ton of fifth round picks that are just you know,
going out and becoming all pros and having illustrious careers
and being part of one of the best defenses in
all of the time. No, you're not always getting that.
You're not always getting Tom Brady in the sixth round,
You're not always getting George Kettle in the fifth round,
(10:00):
Cam Chancer in the fifth round. You're not always getting
those things. So for owner to come out and say,
I don't think we should have drafted him. I didn't
want him, that's really weird. That's really strange, because it
makes it even harder for them to justify keeping him
even if he plays well, because say he plays well
(10:21):
and he makes a team and you know, by some
crazy scenario ends up getting meaningful reps and starting games
and playing well, then you're gonna have to walk that
back in such an incredible way. You've already said, you've
already come out and said you don't want this kid,
you don't want Shador standing for no reason. There was
(10:43):
no it was unprompted, nobody told you to say it,
and I don't think it had any merit. There was
no reason. I don't understand the logic in saying that.
But congratulations to Shador Sanders, and I hope he continues
to shine in the preseason. I'm excited for him. I'm
excited for him to continue to show he is who
he thinks he is. And if he goes out there
(11:04):
and does it against the Eagles, I don't know if
he'll start again on what the plan is. I know
they're head coach that it will get a lot of
reps that game, and if he continues to show what
he's showing right now, it's gonna be an interesting media
day and an interesting decision for the Cleveland Browns. But
on to another preseason game that had a lot of
(11:25):
relevance for me and a lot of relevance for the
Seattle area. The Seattle Seahawks played the Las Vegas Raiders,
a debut game for Jalen Milrow, who had a really
cool game with his legs, with his arm, showed a
lot of promise, had a lot of Seahawks fans kind
of screaming, Hey, this might be the guy, This might
(11:46):
be the guy for the future, and is this the
time for them to get rid of Drew Locke. I
don't know. I'm not the head coach, but it does
look like there will be packages in there for Jalen
Milrow and he will factor into this offense and help
them win football games. Uh. The defense looked solid, made plays.
(12:08):
You could see some of the things that make Mike
McDonald both special, both as a play caller and the
head coach. It was an interception in the game where
they disguised it went to what looked like to trap,
the corner picked the ball off. It was a beautiful play.
I can't wait to see more of that and really
go into detail breaking those plays down. But it was
(12:31):
Pete Carroll's first time back in Seattle as the head
coach of an imposing team. It was well received. People
cheered for him, as they should. I thought it was
classy what Mike McDonald said. Hey, I mean, he did
a lot of great things here. He's a great coach,
he's beloved. I think the fans should cheer for him.
That was the right thing to say. And you know,
(12:51):
it just goes on to show what a classy human
being Mike McDonald is and the kind of man and
coach he is. And you saw a little bit, you
know a little bit of the other side fan Fair
with with Geno Smith and and you know, there was
a sign saying, who's a bigger bust? Uh JaMarcus Russell,
Gino Smith or shothing right on the corner where the
(13:15):
visiting team comes out, and hey, it is what it is.
That's part of the game. And Geno flipping flipping the
fans off and and people up in arms about that.
Hey if you if you can dish it, you gotta
be able to receive it. Do you know he doesn't
know them what he's supposed to do. Cheer him on
and then give him a hand and sign sign the sign,
the uh, the sign. I don't think that's how it's going.
(13:38):
I don't think that's how it's going to go. And
I love that for Gino. I love that for Seahawks fans.
You know that that that started a little bit of
a back and forth. I thought Gino played solid. Yeah,
only played one drive, got out of there pretty early.
But that was fun. That's fun. That's what sports is about,
being able to go. You know, you're the opposing team.
They can give you a little crap and you can
(13:59):
give it back. That's that's fun. I thought it was
great the way Pete showed showed love to all the
former players, all his former players, and they showed love
back to him. It was a beautiful moment. I think
it made everything easier that this was a preseason game
and not a regular season game, because I think it
during a regular season game, if it was happening like that,
it wouldn't have been as sweet. It's not as sweet.
(14:21):
You know, things are really serious during the regular season.
Things are a lot more laxed during the preseason, and
I think that's why it was able to happen the
way it happened. A guy that did have a forgetable
debut was Ashton genty Shesh. You know, I know fans
are talking about his stance and all that. I don't
(14:42):
think that was the case. It was just a rough game.
He got stuffed in the backfield, I want to say
a few times, and yeah, I don't think he had
a run over three yards. But this is the National
Football League. Does that mean he's gonna be a terrible
player going forward and and he's a bust No, by
no means, But people will remember this moment. If he
(15:03):
goes on to be five time All Pro, people will
look back and be like, hey, this look I had started.
He had a rough game. The rough debut, had to
figure himself out, had to find himself, and he ended
up being the player we all thought he could be.
But that was rough. A guy that's that's turning heads
at Seahawks camp, and a guy whose name I'm hearing
(15:25):
repeatedly over and over is Tory Horton. He had thirty
one three catches for thirty one yards and a touchdown
and and and you could just see it. At Colorado State.
He was the guy there. I only remember watching him
because obviously we were watching Prime in Colorado, but he
was their number one guy punt returning, and he just
seemed smooth and slippery and and you know, could get
(15:48):
to his spots, and he seemed at times dominant and unstoppable.
And sometimes guys at these universities, when you're the when
you're the go to guy and you're the you're the
only threat on that offense, defenses are game planning to
stop you. You develop a variety to your game. You
to develop really quickly, and you're able to understand how
(16:14):
to get to your spots, how to be consistent, how
to catch consistently, get open consistently, and be the guy.
And I think that's what makes him special. He's a
guy that has been the number one receiving for his
team for a few years. And so when you come
in and you're fighting for a spot, if you keep
that same mentality, you keep that same confidence, you go
(16:35):
out there and you play like you're supposed to be here.
You play like you're supposed to be the guy. I'm
supposed to be the number one. Somebody's gonna have to
tell him he's not the number one for him to
believe it, and I don't think even then he's gonna
believe it. So I'm happy for him. I think he
has a great chance at making this team. Apparently Marshan
is a photographer now, so you can add that to
his resume of things he's doing. He's a photographer, he's
(16:58):
an actor, he's in commercial, he's on Amazon Prime. He's
likely a Hall of Fame running back if they don't
put him in the Hall. I don't think none of
us going in. But that was fun to see. It
was fun to see Marshawn out there. Obviously, Mike b
and Cliff and all the guys did a great job
in the broadcast. That was fun to see. But Pete's
(17:19):
first game back, I think was a success, and of
course it all ends in a tie, and they blocked
the field goal at the end. I said, of course,
there's no other way this game could have ended. But
I'm looking forward to seeing more of those exotic looks
for Mike McDonald and his defense, and I can't wait
to give you guys a film breakdown of it when
(17:40):
I get a chance. Moving on, we're moving on to
the San Francisco forty nine ers and what they're doing
up there in Santa Clara. They had joint practices with
the Denver Broncos, and from what I understand, Denver Broncos
dominated early and their number one defense in the land,
and I think that's hardly debatable. Best corner in the
(18:02):
National Football League and Patrick Surtain. They have a really
elite defensive line, and they do a great job playing
man and man coverage, two man trap, and they have
corners that can do it in certain and Riley Moss
and I think they're gonna they're gonna continue to be
one of the best defenses in football. But then you
(18:23):
look up, you look up on the other side, and
you see the San Francisco forty nine Ers found a
way brock perty. They said he started to move the
ball and start to find his spots. Obviously, that receiving
core is really banged up. But you still have George Kittle,
you still have Ricky Pursaul, you still have Christian McCaffrey,
who was obviously from the Denver area and made some
(18:45):
huge plays in practice and really help open things up.
So that's good to hear from both sides. I'm looking
forward to that game happening today it's Saturday, and seeing
how both teams perform. I would imagine Kyle's gonna play
the starters for a little while, but not as much
as they're going to play in the next game. But
that's the story to watch. Upton stout as a guy
(19:07):
who showed up when I went out there for training
camp and has continued to show continue to show up
in these joint practices with the Denver Broncos. I got
a feeling he's gonna make this team, and not only
make this team, but really battle for starting spot and
play meaningful snaps for this football team. He's a guy
that that the moment's not too big for. He's sticky, scrappy,
(19:29):
he believes he belongs the forty nine Ers put out
a clip of him, you know, in one on ones
intercepting the football, and I don't think everybody understands that
one on ones are an offensive drill. As much of
an offensive drill as there ever has an existent There's
nothing but open space. The quarterback has no d line,
(19:51):
no rush, no nothing, there's no help, there's no there's
no nobody in the way. You don't have to wait
for windows to open. The receiver can just literally run
from one side of the field to the other side
of the field and then turn around and run back
to the other side of the field and nobody's gonna
stop him. So for him to thrive in that environment,
UH was really cool to see. I think he's he's
(20:12):
he's a guy that fans should keep an eye out for. Uh.
He's definitely a guy who's gonna who's gonna pop out
on tape today. I'm sure you know, obviously the game
hasn't happened yet, but I would imagine he's gonna be
a guy that that makes him huge place today Lynch
is comparing up and stout to Rendez. Barber got some
(20:34):
high praise, got some really high praise from a guy
who played with Rende Barbara on one of the best defenses,
uh in the history of International Football League. So hey, hey,
if John Lynch is saying it, I think I think
we gotta you at least gotta gotta take take heed
to what he's saying and and and we gotta see it.
We gotta see it, We gotta see it. And I
(20:55):
can't wait to see it. Davante Adams in l is
going to be an well. He's an issue everywhere. He's
an issue everywhere he's played. He's a problem. He's a
dominant receiver who has a really unique skill set and
he's a master at his craft and it's only gotten
better with time. But my god, that clip of him
(21:15):
versus the Dallas defense in practice. People had told me
what happened. You know, I was talking to Andrew Whitworth,
who's really really tied in with the Rams, and he
said Davante Adams might have had four hundred yards in
that practice, and I was like, you know, I mean,
I hear you, but Davante's cooking, but he ain't getting
him like that. And then you see the highlights and
(21:37):
you're like, yesh, my guy. I mean, obviously the Dallas
Cowboys defense could have played that better in some respects,
but Davante Adams is a doll and he may be
on his way to an All Pro season. On the
opposite side of pooking the cool, because you're gonna have
the game plan for pooking the cool, I'm sure that
(21:57):
there's gonna be very few times that Matt Stafford misses them.
So this is gonna be a really fun offense to watch.
I thought the San Francisco forty nine Ers should have
had a shot at him. I think he came, he
hurt him out. They didn't offer him enough money. I'm
sure hindsight is twenty twenty and Kyle, with the injuries
they have and how things are going with receiver at
(22:18):
receiver for the San Francisco forty nine ers, they would
have loved to have him, but they don't have the
money to pay him what the Rams are paying them,
so that's unfortunate. In other news, apparently the NFL is
trying to ban smelling salts. I don't think that's gonna happen.
I think the team. I think it's one of those
(22:39):
things that the NFL is trying to do to make
sure that they protect themselves and from liability and not
let the doctors are the training staff give it to
the players because a player can say, hey, they gave
me this and it massed my concussion symptoms, etcetera, etcetera.
(23:00):
But hey, that's how players get hype. That's how players
have gotten ready to play for a very very very
long time. I don't know how long. I can't say
thirty forty, maybe fifty years. I don't know how far
it goes back, but it goes back far. And those
smelling sauce get your going and get your going every
single time. And you got guys that depend on them,
(23:21):
guys that every single drive you you get it and
you you're ready to play. And so I don't think
that's gonna be a big issue. I think it's a
small story that that became a big story, and it's
gonna go away pretty quick because guys are going to
continue to use smelling sauce. You're going to still see
you you might just see another player holding it, you know,
(23:43):
or whether it's a practice squad guy or guy that's injured,
you know, carrying it around. But guys are going to
get the smelling salt and they're gonna be ready to
play because that helps with their performance and helps them
get their mind right and ready to play in the
National Football League. So I think it's a non story.
I'm looking forward to the game today. As always, I
appreciate you joining me. You could be anywhere in the world,
(24:04):
but you're here with us, and hit that sub button
if you're new. We'll see you next time.
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And what a
day for sha Door Sanders. Now everybody knew what he
did at Colorado, came in at eighth in the Heisman voting,
but for his first NFL preseason debut, with all the noise,
all the fanfare, all the media speculation, he just goes
(00:28):
out there and plays an excellent game. Has a touchdown
pass earlier in that game, threaded the needle layered football
in the end zone, throws some other accurate passes on
a dig a go route you know, ends up fourteen
for twenty three four one hundred and thirty eight yards.
Another touchdown on a post route where he showed incredible
(00:50):
pocket presence. He just seems to be the guy. A
lot of people, including mel Kiper, who was standing on
the table for him, slapping the table saying, I don't
understand how this guy's a fifth round pick and he
had him as the best quarterback in the draft and
he looked like that. And I know people are going
out there saying it's just a preseason game. It's just
a preseason game. We've watched a lot of quarterbacks over
(01:15):
the years play preseason games, play regular season games and
struggle mightily, and we all say, hey, you got to
give him time. That justin rookie adjusted the speed of
the game. Adjust to this like you give them grace
even if they're the number one pick in the draft.
You say, hey, there's an adjustment period. You got to
figure things out. Sure understood. They say he's going against
(01:38):
the toos, he's going against lesser competition. Well, he also
is running with his tools and running with guys that
aren't going to be the starters International Football League guys.
He wouldn't be necessarily be playing with if everything, if
it was day one and they were starting the season.
But I thought it was really impressive, the amount of
poise that he showed, the command of that offense, the
(02:02):
pocket presence when they were backed up. You didn't see
any panic. You didn't see him rushing to get rid
of the ball. And a lot of his critics are
saying he's holding the ball too long, he's holding the
ball moving in the pockets. These are live reps. So
this isn't seven on seven where you could say, oh man,
he's holding the ball too long and that would have
(02:24):
been a sack. He's in a live game, So if
he's not getting sacked on the play, and he's completing
passes and he's not holding the ball too long. Some
players are longer developing, some players aren't. But I thought
he did a really incredible job. And I'm looking forward
to the next game. Kevin Stefanski says he's gonna get
(02:45):
a lot of reps versus the Philadelphia Eagles. That's a
really talented team coming off a Super Bowl win, so
that'll be another litmus test for him. But I'm excited.
I'm excited. I know, you know, Prime is excited, and
and Shador was very humble after the game, saying the
things that he could do better, and he felt like
he let his dad down. But I know if I
(03:06):
if I'm Prime, and I'm sitting back watching my son,
who has been who has been talked about day in
and day out from sun up to sundown, and people
saying what he is or what he is and what
he set up to fail, whether he set up to
fail or he set up to succeed, and YadA, YadA,
he's not getting enough reps. And he just ignored the
(03:28):
noise and went out there and put on a show.
And I think I got a lot of respect for that.
The issue I have it's for the teams, the quarterback
needy teams that should have taken it, that are in
instilling quarterback turmoil. Whether it's the New York Giants, you know,
(03:49):
who went out and got Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston
and then ended up drafting Jackson Dark. If Jackson Dark
goes out there and has a preseason game like Shadora
Sanders does, everybody's gonna be screaming for him to start
for the New York Giants. It's gonna be fan fair,
it's gonna be all over. It's not gonna matter that
it's a preseason game. It's not gonna matter that. Uh,
(04:11):
it's whatever backups are out there. It's not it's not
gonna matter at all. And that's the that's the weird
narrative that that I I don't I don't understand the
weird hate that shador gets that everything matters when it's him.
They they they they nitpick every single thing that's on
the field when it's him. But if it was another
(04:31):
rookie quarterback, first round pick, and he's out there playing
well in the preseason and he's doing the things that
we expected him to do, and he looks great. He
looks like the game is not too big for him,
it's not too fasci on points, we would be celebrating
and saying, Man, this is a guy. This is he's
coming into the league prepared. He's coming in the league
ready to execute. Like I can't wait to see him
(04:51):
during the regular season because he looks the part. He
looks like the guy we thought he was. But for
some reason, Shador is so polarized for certain people, and
it's like they don't want him to succeed. They want
to come up with reasons and excuses why they shouldn't
celebrate his success. Hey, the guy's ball and appreciate it,
(05:12):
enjoy it. He's gonna be a good player. He looks
like he's gonna could be a great player. And I
think he's surprising some people in the NFL world, and
I think they're gonna have to trade for him. The
Cleveland Browns could run into a scenario where you don't
get to see Dylan Gabriel in a preseason game, or
you see him in very very limited reps in the
preseason game. You don't get to see Kenny Pickett in
(05:34):
the preseason game. Obviously you have tape on him from
you know, previous NFL stops. You know you got the
tape from Pittsburgh and what he did there. You likely
won't see very much of Flaco, but obviously you know
what you got in Flaco, And so all you have
is a tape that Shador Sanders is putting out and
if he gets a lot of reps versus the Philadelphia
(05:55):
Eagles say they go with Flaco first, and then they
go with Shador Sanders after that. And Dylan Gabriel is
still hurt, and can you Pickkett still hurt? I don't
know how severe those hamstring injuries are, but I know
they can be nagging, even for a quarterback. What do
you do when it comes down to cut day? When
it comes down to cut day and you're saying, hey,
we don't have a ton of film on Dylan Gabriel,
(06:16):
but we took him in a third round, so we're
not cutting him. Hey, we know, can you pickets a veteran?
You want a veteran quarterback to back up your starter?
You know, Joe Flacco is at the end of his rope,
but you know it's probably gonna have a good season,
and he's been really consistent and usually relatively healthy. And so,
so what do you do with Shador Sanders? Do you
(06:37):
risk trading him to a QB and needy team who
made a mistake on Draft Day and took somebody else?
And I'm not talking about the New Orleans Saints, but
I'm kind of talking about the New Orleans Saints. Do
you trade him to the New Orleans Saints? Do you
trade him to the to the Pittsburgh Steelers who after
Aaron Rodgers after this season? I believe he says he's done.
What do they have after that? They have that Mason
Rudolph who's been there for a while, but you also
(06:59):
know he has a ceiling. Can't Shador Sanders go in
there and make an impact and learn from a rod
and potentially compete for a starting job maybe next year.
I know the fanfare will be there. I know that
people will come and watch the games. I know that
the media will follow Shador Sanders if he goes to
New Orleans. All of a sudden, we're talking about the
New Orleans Saints way more than we would be talking
(07:19):
about the New Orleans Saints right now without Shador Sanders. Here,
So I think those are potential options. Obviously the Giants
now that they got Jackson Dart and they got all
the veterans that got it's not really a realistic option.
Could it be the New York Jets. Obviously that could
be a potential option as a backup, you know, because
(07:41):
he's still a rookie and he still needs time to develop.
But I just wonder what's gonna happen with the Cleveland
Browns when cut day happens. What are they gonna do?
Because if you trade Chaduel and then he goes somewhere
else and thrives and has an illustrious NFL career, it
just goes on the list of things the Browns did
(08:04):
that would were terrible decisions. Hey, you drafted the guy,
but then you traded him away or you cut him
when you knew what you had. And I thought it
was interesting something that has them said when he said
I didn't want Shador Sanders Andrew Berry drafted him, it
was like I've been watching the NFL for a long time,
(08:30):
been around the NFL, played in the NFL. Obviously, I
don't know many times an owner has just outright said
they didn't want a draft pick in the year that
the kid was drafted. I don't know many times that's
happened where an owner has during training camp. This isn't
late like maybe years later, when things didn't go the
(08:52):
way you thought it was you you come out and say, hey,
that wasn't That wasn't a guy I thought we should draft.
But I try trusted our staff. They went and got him,
they evaluated him, they thought it would be a good pick.
It didn't work out, okay, understood, But to come out
during training camp and outright say I didn't want this
guy about a quarterback on your team, a kid that
(09:16):
was drafted in this draft class, Like, how do you
think that makes makes your doors Sanders feel? Now, sure
he's got mental fortut he's not gonna let it show.
He's not gonna But my owner just came out and said, no,
I didn't want you to GM wanted you, but I
wish we would have drafted somebody else, Like this wasn't
even a first round pick. This fifth round picks are
(09:38):
a lot of times throwaway picks. And this is coming
from a fifth round pick. It's not like you're getting
a ton of fifth round picks that are just you know,
going out and becoming all pros and having illustrious careers
and being part of one of the best defenses in
all of the time. No, you're not always getting that.
You're not always getting Tom Brady in the sixth round,
You're not always getting George Kettle in the fifth round,
(10:00):
Cam Chancer in the fifth round. You're not always getting
those things. So for owner to come out and say,
I don't think we should have drafted him. I didn't
want him, that's really weird. That's really strange, because it
makes it even harder for them to justify keeping him
even if he plays well, because say he plays well
(10:21):
and he makes a team and you know, by some
crazy scenario ends up getting meaningful reps and starting games
and playing well, then you're gonna have to walk that
back in such an incredible way. You've already said, you've
already come out and said you don't want this kid,
you don't want Shador standing for no reason. There was
(10:43):
no it was unprompted, nobody told you to say it,
and I don't think it had any merit. There was
no reason. I don't understand the logic in saying that.
But congratulations to Shador Sanders, and I hope he continues
to shine in the preseason. I'm excited for him. I'm
excited for him to continue to show he is who
he thinks he is. And if he goes out there
(11:04):
and does it against the Eagles, I don't know if
he'll start again on what the plan is. I know
they're head coach that it will get a lot of
reps that game, and if he continues to show what
he's showing right now, it's gonna be an interesting media
day and an interesting decision for the Cleveland Browns. But
on to another preseason game that had a lot of
(11:25):
relevance for me and a lot of relevance for the
Seattle area. The Seattle Seahawks played the Las Vegas Raiders,
a debut game for Jalen Milrow, who had a really
cool game with his legs, with his arm, showed a
lot of promise, had a lot of Seahawks fans kind
of screaming, Hey, this might be the guy, This might
(11:46):
be the guy for the future, and is this the
time for them to get rid of Drew Locke. I
don't know. I'm not the head coach, but it does
look like there will be packages in there for Jalen
Milrow and he will factor into this offense and help
them win football games. Uh. The defense looked solid, made plays.
(12:08):
You could see some of the things that make Mike
McDonald both special, both as a play caller and the
head coach. It was an interception in the game where
they disguised it went to what looked like to trap,
the corner picked the ball off. It was a beautiful play.
I can't wait to see more of that and really
go into detail breaking those plays down. But it was
(12:31):
Pete Carroll's first time back in Seattle as the head
coach of an imposing team. It was well received. People
cheered for him, as they should. I thought it was
classy what Mike McDonald said. Hey, I mean, he did
a lot of great things here. He's a great coach,
he's beloved. I think the fans should cheer for him.
That was the right thing to say. And you know,
(12:51):
it just goes on to show what a classy human
being Mike McDonald is and the kind of man and
coach he is. And you saw a little bit, you
know a little bit of the other side fan Fair
with with Geno Smith and and you know, there was
a sign saying, who's a bigger bust? Uh JaMarcus Russell,
Gino Smith or shothing right on the corner where the
(13:15):
visiting team comes out, and hey, it is what it is.
That's part of the game. And Geno flipping flipping the
fans off and and people up in arms about that.
Hey if you if you can dish it, you gotta
be able to receive it. Do you know he doesn't
know them what he's supposed to do. Cheer him on
and then give him a hand and sign sign the sign,
the uh, the sign. I don't think that's how it's going.
(13:38):
I don't think that's how it's going to go. And
I love that for Gino. I love that for Seahawks fans.
You know that that that started a little bit of
a back and forth. I thought Gino played solid. Yeah,
only played one drive, got out of there pretty early.
But that was fun. That's fun. That's what sports is about,
being able to go. You know, you're the opposing team.
They can give you a little crap and you can
(13:59):
give it back. That's that's fun. I thought it was
great the way Pete showed showed love to all the
former players, all his former players, and they showed love
back to him. It was a beautiful moment. I think
it made everything easier that this was a preseason game
and not a regular season game, because I think it
during a regular season game, if it was happening like that,
it wouldn't have been as sweet. It's not as sweet.
(14:21):
You know, things are really serious during the regular season.
Things are a lot more laxed during the preseason, and
I think that's why it was able to happen the
way it happened. A guy that did have a forgetable
debut was Ashton genty Shesh. You know, I know fans
are talking about his stance and all that. I don't
(14:42):
think that was the case. It was just a rough game.
He got stuffed in the backfield, I want to say
a few times, and yeah, I don't think he had
a run over three yards. But this is the National
Football League. Does that mean he's gonna be a terrible
player going forward and and he's a bust No, by
no means, But people will remember this moment. If he
(15:03):
goes on to be five time All Pro, people will
look back and be like, hey, this look I had started.
He had a rough game. The rough debut, had to
figure himself out, had to find himself, and he ended
up being the player we all thought he could be.
But that was rough. A guy that's that's turning heads
at Seahawks camp, and a guy whose name I'm hearing
(15:25):
repeatedly over and over is Tory Horton. He had thirty
one three catches for thirty one yards and a touchdown
and and and you could just see it. At Colorado State.
He was the guy there. I only remember watching him
because obviously we were watching Prime in Colorado, but he
was their number one guy punt returning, and he just
seemed smooth and slippery and and you know, could get
(15:48):
to his spots, and he seemed at times dominant and unstoppable.
And sometimes guys at these universities, when you're the when
you're the go to guy and you're the you're the
only threat on that offense, defenses are game planning to
stop you. You develop a variety to your game. You
to develop really quickly, and you're able to understand how
(16:14):
to get to your spots, how to be consistent, how
to catch consistently, get open consistently, and be the guy.
And I think that's what makes him special. He's a
guy that has been the number one receiving for his
team for a few years. And so when you come
in and you're fighting for a spot, if you keep
that same mentality, you keep that same confidence, you go
(16:35):
out there and you play like you're supposed to be here.
You play like you're supposed to be the guy. I'm
supposed to be the number one. Somebody's gonna have to
tell him he's not the number one for him to
believe it, and I don't think even then he's gonna
believe it. So I'm happy for him. I think he
has a great chance at making this team. Apparently Marshan
is a photographer now, so you can add that to
his resume of things he's doing. He's a photographer, he's
(16:58):
an actor, he's in commercial, he's on Amazon Prime. He's
likely a Hall of Fame running back if they don't
put him in the Hall. I don't think none of
us going in. But that was fun to see. It
was fun to see Marshawn out there. Obviously, Mike b
and Cliff and all the guys did a great job
in the broadcast. That was fun to see. But Pete's
(17:19):
first game back, I think was a success, and of
course it all ends in a tie, and they blocked
the field goal at the end. I said, of course,
there's no other way this game could have ended. But
I'm looking forward to seeing more of those exotic looks
for Mike McDonald and his defense, and I can't wait
to give you guys a film breakdown of it when
(17:40):
I get a chance. Moving on, we're moving on to
the San Francisco forty nine ers and what they're doing
up there in Santa Clara. They had joint practices with
the Denver Broncos, and from what I understand, Denver Broncos
dominated early and their number one defense in the land,
and I think that's hardly debatable. Best corner in the
(18:02):
National Football League and Patrick Surtain. They have a really
elite defensive line, and they do a great job playing
man and man coverage, two man trap, and they have
corners that can do it in certain and Riley Moss
and I think they're gonna they're gonna continue to be
one of the best defenses in football. But then you
(18:23):
look up, you look up on the other side, and
you see the San Francisco forty nine Ers found a
way brock perty. They said he started to move the
ball and start to find his spots. Obviously, that receiving
core is really banged up. But you still have George Kittle,
you still have Ricky Pursaul, you still have Christian McCaffrey,
who was obviously from the Denver area and made some
(18:45):
huge plays in practice and really help open things up.
So that's good to hear from both sides. I'm looking
forward to that game happening today it's Saturday, and seeing
how both teams perform. I would imagine Kyle's gonna play
the starters for a little while, but not as much
as they're going to play in the next game. But
that's the story to watch. Upton stout as a guy
(19:07):
who showed up when I went out there for training
camp and has continued to show continue to show up
in these joint practices with the Denver Broncos. I got
a feeling he's gonna make this team, and not only
make this team, but really battle for starting spot and
play meaningful snaps for this football team. He's a guy
that that the moment's not too big for. He's sticky, scrappy,
(19:29):
he believes he belongs the forty nine Ers put out
a clip of him, you know, in one on ones
intercepting the football, and I don't think everybody understands that
one on ones are an offensive drill. As much of
an offensive drill as there ever has an existent There's
nothing but open space. The quarterback has no d line,
(19:51):
no rush, no nothing, there's no help, there's no there's
no nobody in the way. You don't have to wait
for windows to open. The receiver can just literally run
from one side of the field to the other side
of the field and then turn around and run back
to the other side of the field and nobody's gonna
stop him. So for him to thrive in that environment,
UH was really cool to see. I think he's he's
(20:12):
he's a guy that fans should keep an eye out for. Uh.
He's definitely a guy who's gonna who's gonna pop out
on tape today. I'm sure you know, obviously the game
hasn't happened yet, but I would imagine he's gonna be
a guy that that makes him huge place today Lynch
is comparing up and stout to Rendez. Barber got some
(20:34):
high praise, got some really high praise from a guy
who played with Rende Barbara on one of the best defenses,
uh in the history of International Football League. So hey, hey,
if John Lynch is saying it, I think I think
we gotta you at least gotta gotta take take heed
to what he's saying and and and we gotta see it.
We gotta see it, We gotta see it. And I
(20:55):
can't wait to see it. Davante Adams in l is
going to be an well. He's an issue everywhere. He's
an issue everywhere he's played. He's a problem. He's a
dominant receiver who has a really unique skill set and
he's a master at his craft and it's only gotten
better with time. But my god, that clip of him
(21:15):
versus the Dallas defense in practice. People had told me
what happened. You know, I was talking to Andrew Whitworth,
who's really really tied in with the Rams, and he
said Davante Adams might have had four hundred yards in
that practice, and I was like, you know, I mean,
I hear you, but Davante's cooking, but he ain't getting
him like that. And then you see the highlights and
(21:37):
you're like, yesh, my guy. I mean, obviously the Dallas
Cowboys defense could have played that better in some respects,
but Davante Adams is a doll and he may be
on his way to an All Pro season. On the
opposite side of pooking the cool, because you're gonna have
the game plan for pooking the cool, I'm sure that
(21:57):
there's gonna be very few times that Matt Stafford misses them.
So this is gonna be a really fun offense to watch.
I thought the San Francisco forty nine Ers should have
had a shot at him. I think he came, he
hurt him out. They didn't offer him enough money. I'm
sure hindsight is twenty twenty and Kyle, with the injuries
they have and how things are going with receiver at
(22:18):
receiver for the San Francisco forty nine ers, they would
have loved to have him, but they don't have the
money to pay him what the Rams are paying them,
so that's unfortunate. In other news, apparently the NFL is
trying to ban smelling salts. I don't think that's gonna happen.
I think the team. I think it's one of those
(22:39):
things that the NFL is trying to do to make
sure that they protect themselves and from liability and not
let the doctors are the training staff give it to
the players because a player can say, hey, they gave
me this and it massed my concussion symptoms, etcetera, etcetera.
(23:00):
But hey, that's how players get hype. That's how players
have gotten ready to play for a very very very
long time. I don't know how long. I can't say
thirty forty, maybe fifty years. I don't know how far
it goes back, but it goes back far. And those
smelling sauce get your going and get your going every
single time. And you got guys that depend on them,
(23:21):
guys that every single drive you you get it and
you you're ready to play. And so I don't think
that's gonna be a big issue. I think it's a
small story that that became a big story, and it's
gonna go away pretty quick because guys are going to
continue to use smelling sauce. You're going to still see
you you might just see another player holding it, you know,
(23:43):
or whether it's a practice squad guy or guy that's injured,
you know, carrying it around. But guys are going to
get the smelling salt and they're gonna be ready to
play because that helps with their performance and helps them
get their mind right and ready to play in the
National Football League. So I think it's a non story.
I'm looking forward to the game today. As always, I
appreciate you joining me. You could be anywhere in the world,
(24:04):
but you're here with us, and hit that sub button
if you're new. We'll see you next time.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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