Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Breaking news right off the bat. The Broncos have agreed
to terms with Shaddy Barren, the first round draft pick,
and he will be reporting tomorrow with the rookies.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
The only rookie that remains unsigned is R. J. Harvey.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
He's part of that group of second rounders that are
all still holding out for fully guaranteed money, so that
remains unsigned. The only first rounder that remains unsigned now
is Schamar Stewart of the Cincinnati Bengals, and that situation
is pretty wild to me.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Stuart does not like the fact that there are still.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Certain certain language in the deal that he had that
they have in front of him, and that that that deal,
the language that's in that gives the Bengals sort of
some wiggle room with with collecting future guarantees on certain things.
(00:59):
And so today he had some stuff come out that
should that Stewart was planning to go back to Texas
A and M, which is not true.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
He's actually down there training.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
But the Cincinnati inquires Kelsey Conway said that, you know
the reported which is obvious because he hired an agent
that he could.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Not return to the Aggies.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
He is possibly sitting out the season and could go
back in the next next year's draft, but the dispute
between Stewart in Cincinnati cannot legally return.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
To the Anna bagues.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
You could re enroll and take classes at AN and M,
but would not be allowed to rejoin the football team.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
He could work out and you know and all that kind.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Of stuff, but he couldn't practice and he couldn't play
for them as well. The difference in in the situation
with him or the reason that there is a whole
because there's very little to negotiate and rookie contracts, they
are all sloted contracts, right, and he's he will eventually
(01:55):
either sign a four year, eighteen point nine million dollar
contract with a fifth year team option, or he won't.
That's collectively bargained. It's not negotiable. The conflict is over
future guarantees. The Bengals are trying to set a new
precedent with rookie contracts that allows the team to avoid
future guaranteed money and Stuart understandably is not on board
with that, and it's gone public with it, and that's
(02:16):
where the situation is right now.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Well, let's be totally honest.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Let me start off by saying this a good deal
of the Broncos were able to get that deal done
with Jaday Baron. Now that's what under the bridge. You
can get back and start focusing on the game of football.
But this whole situation, which Mark Stewart, I mean, for me,
it's like, isn't this typical Cincinnati Bengals. Even when I
was an undrafted player playing for the Bengals, they would
(02:43):
always pull these types of tactics. How do you get
a player or as a player to commit to an
organization and what I mean by that playing both injured
and hurt, and there's a difference between the two, But
yet you can't commit to what would be considered to
be some kind of offset language as it retains who
(03:04):
guarantees down the road.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Yeah, it's to me, it's baffling because the way the
Bengals are doing this, this language is not something that
ever anyone else uses, right, It's a subtle it's a
it's a very subtle change in language in the in
their contract.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
And I don't want to get drilled down too hard.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Into the minutia of this because I'm sure it'll bore everybody,
but like, it is a very sud that that allows
them wiggle room to come back and recoup money that
would otherwise be guaranteed for anyone else. Uh, And it's
due to injury, due to off field whatever, And yeah,
Shammar Stewart shouldn't agree to that. Nobody else is agreeing
to it. Nobody else says nobody. No other team is
(03:40):
trying to do this. The Bengals are trying to give
themselves outs for a Quinchhn Judkins situation, which okay, I
sort of understand that, but they're also trying to give
themselves outs for injuries and things like that, and I'm
not okay with that. Honestly, rookie contract should be fully
guaranteed across the board. It's dropping the bucket money. It's
(04:00):
you know these guys. I mean, even guaranteeing Stuart's whole
contract would be eighteen point nine million guaranteed. That's less
than he would get guaranteed in one year as a
second contract player.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
But this is penny pitching by the Bengals.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
This is kind of out of their old school playbook, right,
So once, can I go back to this, how is
an organization you can to ask a player to do
everything that they need to do or you want them
to do to be loyal, to show loyalty to you,
but you're unwilling to do the same for them when
it comes to the idea of the financial part of
(04:38):
the agreement. And if I'm from Schamar Stewart, I won't
agree with this because here's the thing.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
If Shamar decides to.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Agree to this as a first round player, even though
he was taking three spots ahead of Jaday Baron, you
reset the whole market for guys in the first round.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
And now everybody turns around and starts including that language
in their contracts. Money, the money that's air quotes guaranteed
is not really guaranteed, and if you get hurt, the
team can hose you out.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Of that money.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
That's that's not right, that shouldn't be fair. This is where,
once again, with everything that's going on in the PA
right now, this is where the PA needs to come
in and say, no, Cincinnati, we're not going to allow
you to do that. And if hopefully Shamara and his
representation has already called the PA, I mean, the PA
(05:30):
is from a lot of calls about it, a lot
of things, but this is where this how they make
their money.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And this is fascinating because The Bengals don't have any leverage.
They are perilously thin for defensive players. The Hens, their
other defensive end, is already planning on holding out because
he can't get a new contract. There's a lead in
the league in sacks, and they told him they would
do it, and then they went ahead and spiffed the
receivers and didn't do anything for him. They have the
(05:56):
Bengals have no leverage here. You're really gonna be without
your star defensive ends on a line and a defense
that is already perilously thin on talent.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
But this is how tight the Bengals have been financially
for years.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
This is there.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
This goes back a long ways, goes back even before
Carson Palmer never at the buck.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Let's go back before that they've been You ask Alfred
Williams about how true.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The Bengals are. Let's go back away.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
They could go into the season theoretically with Miles Murphy
and Joseph Assai as their starting defensive ends.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
And if you're saying who I'm saying exactly, but this.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Would you say that the situation that the Bengals are
trying to pull. Obviously this is part of the playbook.
But would you tie into what they did financially this
offseason with their wide receivers.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Well, I mean they did pony up a bunch of
cash to get Chase and Higgins done and all that
kind of stuff and keep Joe Burrow happy and all
that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Okay, well, those three are making a ton of money.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
You're going to be the team that scores the most
amount of points and still loses ten games.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Like you're gonna be averaging forty points a game and
losing forty five to forty.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
But that's maybe that's their mentality now known as though
they can put it forty points right and say, okay, well,
maybe at some point during the season, we're gonna catch
a couple of breaks here and there. Well we'll be
able to score forty points and a team maybe they
may famble or they may not make a play in
a key situation. To me, that's too much gambling and
(07:29):
I wouldn't want to roll the dice in that way.
I mean, when you look at the best years of
Joe Burrow, it's almost like, you know, when we would
talk about Nicola Jokis and his best year is here
with the Denver Nuggets. It's like, you don't want to
waste that time because you can't really get that bat.
But knowing as though you have to at some point,
you have to show that you can stop another team well.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
And that's the problem. You go back to last year.
Their defense already was bad. Last year, it was like
twenty fifth in the league, you know, and then they
lost talent on top of that. You know, they've lost
some players on that defense. Jar Ainy Prat's not there anymore.
Hendrickson's holding out. It's stellar Bolls sign Last year they
everged twenty eight points a game and only won nine games.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
They went nine to eight.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
From barely above five hundred score twenty eight points a game.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
So, if you were someone advising Shamar Stewart and you
can't really get anything done financially, you had a stalemate. Obviously,
knowing that he can't go back to college football, he
would have to sue in order to get that to happen.
But even if he did that, the Bengals would still
have his rights, so he still is under their thumb.
(08:38):
His only way to get out would be to sit
out this entire season. If you were advising him, would
you advise him number one.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Just to sit out.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
If Cincinnati they're not gonna budge they try to take
money out of your pocket in the future, just sit the.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Year out, I would.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
I would advise him to do that because the odds
are good that the Bengals are going to break before.
He's not under contract right, No, they can't find him
for missing anything, so he's it's not like you're a
player that's holding out in curring fines. It's not You're
not financially liable for anything. You're just not making money. Now,
you would think fit Jamar Stewart has enough nil money
in reserve.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
To do it.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
You would hope, you would hope to be able to
sit it out and come back next year. Now do
I believe he would be drafted lower next year?
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Probably?
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I didn't think he was going to be drafted that
high this year. So there's there's the possibility that you
could lose money that way, But there's also the possibility
come back to next year's draft, you tell him, don't
draft me, A'll sign as an undrafted free agent afterwards,
like similar to the Layo Collins I think it was,
And that's the way you might You might look at
trying to do.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
It that way.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Okay, with that being said, because we're looking at all
the options, he could sit out, get away, or get
from under the arm and the thumb of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Well put himself in.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
A predicament where he may not be viewed or drafted
this high next year because you got a new crop
of guys coming out.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
And oh, by the way, who is to say that
if he decided, you know what, I'm.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Not gonna play for the Bengals, I'm gonna sit out,
that the league itself decides, oh, this is what you're
gonna do.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
We're gonna teach you a lesson.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
So now we're not we're no longer going to evaluate
you as a first round pick, now even a second
round pick, which're gonna look at you as a free agent.
Could there be a possibility that that could be on
the horizon if she Marstrowits decides to sit out and
try to get redrafted again.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I think if the teams think that he's the guy,
who's gonna be the guy. So Marshewet's only twenty one
years old, by the way, he's very young. So it's
not like that this is I mean, yeah, it impacts
a year of earnings, but it's not like it's this
is a guy that's twenty four that you're you're eating
in your prime or whatever, as.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Far as that kind of stuff goes.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
If it's me, I'm sitting out and I'm banking on
my I'm training hard all year and I'm banking on
you know, I'm banking on what I got, you know,
with with with rolling it back in the next year.
The good news is if you don't get drafted the
first round, teams don't have a fifth year option on you.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Now, they only have four years of control.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Now you can if you show out in that first year,
you can you can get to your earnings potential quicker.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
But see, they're pros and cons to it. Yes, that's
one way one pro to look at it. The con
is how much money would you have sacrificed? Right, That's
that's the other thing. Now, I don't know what his
ni own money is, and I'm sure he is a reserve.
He doesn't want to go into it. But I wouldn't
(11:23):
want to be pressured into signing a deal with the
Bengals known as though they're taking future money out of
my pocket. That's brandy there. I mean, how could you
try to do to do that to a young player
coming in? But then say, you know what, we'll just
forget about this part of you gonna wave your hand
like these are not the George you're.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Looking for, like I'm supposed to forget that you played
me like this.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
I mean, at this point you're at you're up against it. Now,
you're you're about to come up with a day. The
deadline for rookies to report in Cincinnati's Friday, right, God,
is it Friday? So you got to tell Friday to
make to make a decision, and then you got it.
Then you got to stick with your stands. If it's me,
I'm sticking with that stance because there's always a chance
they could reverse course on into the season and whatever else. Right, So,
(12:08):
you know, the only thing that you're missing here is
potentially your contract. I mean, not that contract, toling, You're
years of service, right, So if you're going to be
like a ten year veteran, you're pension all that kind
of stuff. You're potentially chopping yourself off with the knees
for pension type stuff. But the reality is if you're
as good at player as you think you are, you
might gon to be able to make that up in
cash on the back end.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Anyway, a part of me would love to see Stewart
stick it to the Bengals for just trying to slide
this under the radar, right and trying to get him
to jeopardize future earnings. There is a part of me
that wants to see them just kind of fight the bullet,
like we were wrong.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
We should have never done that.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Because if you never push someone to change their mind
based on way negative ways that they always utilize, they're
never going to change. So something has a happened for
the Bingos who not want to even think about doing it.
But like I said, they have a history of being
a very cheap organization, well.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
They do, and there are cash poor.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Franchise, Like they've had to sell the naming rights to
their stadium a couple of years back just to be
able to pay Joe Burrow. They had to the pay
Corps now it's pay Corps instead of Mike b instead
Brown Arene or whatever. Now it's pay Corps or whatever.
Then that's they did that because that was the only
thing that they could do. To be able to raise
cash to be able to pay Joe Burrow. And they've
(13:37):
paid Burrow, Higgins and Chase all this money. They don't
have any money, any cash to be able to do
all this other stuff With Shamar Stewart. I think he
just doesn't want the rug pulled out from under him, right,
because all the rest of this stuff is all pre negotiated.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement has already negotiated all this stuff.
He's getting eighteen point nine million dollars for four years
and the team I have a fiftye option on him, Like,
(13:58):
that's not in dispute.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
So at this point, it's say even about the Bengals
being cheap, it's about the being obtuse because they're trying
to put weasel word language in a contract so they
can come back and recoup money if you happen to
get hurt.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Well, yeah, the Bengals are being uh, it's.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
A different kind of cheap. It's a shady kind of cheap.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Hey, they're being obtuse, they're being a rectangle, they're being
an octagon, they're being everything right now right, You're trying
to jam this situation up because they want to be
a team to just set president and be able to say, well,
this is what we would be able to negotiate where
you have more younger players come into the league now
looking for more guaranteed money. Because these kids, for the
(14:40):
most part, they're not stupid. They are looking at the
guys that came before them. They're looking at you know,
myself and Steve Atware and say, well, these guys didn't
have as much leverage.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
As we have now and based on what.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
They sacrificed, now we get a chance to stand on
their shoulders and demand to have this guarantee money.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
I don't know how this thing's going to resolve itself,
but obviously the Broncos have resolved their should Ay Baron
has signed.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
We'll get you more on that. We got an NFL
six pack coming up next. Let's get to an NFL
six pack.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Here's time for the NFL six pat I'm gonna trak
a last insight and insight information you can't find anywhere else. No.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Six The Top six NFL headlines what.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
NFL dot Com ranked the top ten defenses for this
upcoming season, or at least their projections of what the
top ten defenses will be and they've ranked the Denver
Broncos as the best defense for the twenty twenty five season.
Ranking right behind them are the Eagles in second, the
Ravens in third, the Texans in fourth, and the.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Chiefs in fifth.
Speaker 6 (15:54):
And will the Denver Broncos be the league's best defense
this season? If so, who will be their biggest challenger
for that title? And if not, who will be the
NFL's top defense?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
You know, you got Eagles probably, I would say that
just based on the bodies of the scheme, everything else,
the Eagles are probably the biggest contender for that. I
do believe the Broncos be the best defense in the league.
They're certainly the best defense on paper. Last year when
everybody was ranking the middle of the pack, I saw
him in training camp and I was like.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
No, man, this this group has potential to be special.
They were.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
They had a few injuries down the stretch to change
some of those numbers. Obviously that game against the Browns
changed a few things, but they would have been the
best defenses in the league, you know, as far as
that kind of stuff goes. So I believe they have
the potential to be the best, and I think the
Eagles are probably maybe the Ravens, but the Eagles probably
the best bet to be their competitor.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
With how being the number one determining factor and this conversation.
That being said, I think it's probably going to be
like a one two three with you know, you have
big fans Joe and you have Vance Joseph. So I'm
gonna go Broncos, Texans Eagles, right. And I think it's
(17:09):
fair to say because when I look at the Eagles
their front defensive front, it's amazing. Before guys created pressure
on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs and totally destroy them.
Their issue is going to be in the back end.
It's where the Broncos is strong. Now. With the Broncos
their issue linebackers, you got Singleton, you got Greenlaw. Those
(17:30):
guys are coming back off injury once again. If they're healthy,
they're gonna be right there. But man, don't sleep on
Jamica Ryans in that Houston Texas defense. Man, they are
loaded top to bottom from the front to the second
level to the third level.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So that's the way I look at it.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
The elite's secondary elite pass rush, they are I think
right there with the Broncos, right there with the Eagles
as the weak defenses in the ult don't sleep on
the Jets defense.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
They got a lot of talent on that defense. The
only problem there is that offense is probably gonna stink
and that defense will be on the field.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
The two.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Players one hundred through seventy seven so far have been
revealed in the NFL's annual Top one hundred Players list.
Eighty through seventy seven have been revealed so far this week.
For Shan Gary comes in at eightieth, followed by just
behind I guess Dak Prescott at seventy ninth, Khalil mackets
seventy eight, and T.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Higgins at seventy seven.
Speaker 6 (18:25):
What are your thoughts on those rankings and how would
you personally rank those four players one to four?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Okay, so there's two questions I always have to ask
with any rankings. Number one, who is doing the rankings?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
The players from around the league to doctor ever many players?
And then number two, what is this ranking? Is this
ranking what they've done or what they think they will do?
I believe what they think they will do.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Okay, Well, then in that case, Dak Prescott is way
too low and T. Higgins is too high Higgins is
a beneficiary of having chased On the other side, he
gets one on one matchups against number two corners that
he wouldn't get up otherwise, if he was the feature
guy on anybody's offense, he wouldn't be putting up the
numbers that he has. Dak Prescott's gonna fall out this year.
This guy's gonna have forty five hundred yards and forty touchdowns.
(19:10):
Like it's I mean, that's too low.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
I would agree with that, And I would say with
Shawn Gary is kind of right where he's following that
eightieth and right in the middle. And Khalil Mack. Obviously
this is low ranking for Kalil Mack, but I think
I feel as though it's right because Khalil Mack hasn't
really been the same guy as he was years ago,
and now you don't have you know, both on the
(19:34):
opposite side is now and with the Buffalo Bills, that's
going to change a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
And Ti Higgins, Look, I think T Higgins is.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
A hell of a wide receiver, and I don't think
there's anything wrong for being a beneficiary of a guy
next to you drawing a lot of attention and you're
making the most of that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
But I would think that every one of these are right.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Except for the one with Dek Prescott. I think he's
going to be so much better than this no one,
as though you got Lamb and you got George Pickins
as your wide receivers this year.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, they're going to be. Dallas is going to be
better than people think on offense. I just just get
ready for it.
Speaker 6 (20:08):
The last time Dak was healthy and I think his
receiver group or casta weapons was worse than it'll be
this year, he was second team aultro at quarterbacks. So
you know the prone for about big bounce back here.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, three.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
In ESPN's league source. Now to your rankings question.
Speaker 6 (20:27):
This is pulling a bunch of anonymous executives, scouts, and
coaches from around the league.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Okay, the Jeremy Fowler list, Yes, the Jeremy Fower List.
Speaker 6 (20:36):
In their rankings of the top ten quarterbacks, bo Nicks
wasn't ranked in the top ten or listed as an
honorable mention. There were only two of those, but he
did receive votes the players ranked ahead of Bownick. So
your top ten players and your two honorable mentions and
This is in order, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow,
Lamar Jackson, Jade and Daniels, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, Jared Goff,
(21:00):
and Hurts Baker Mayfield, CJ.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Stroud, and Jordan Love.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
Of those players which shouldn't be ranked ahead of bow Knicks,
if any.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
All those guys should be ranked out of bo Nicks
right now.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I mean Bo's only been here one year, and I
don't think he's out statistically performed any of those guys.
I would have Bo if I were ranking it, I
would probably have bow In there about sixteenth or seventeenth ballpark.
That's not say you can't move up with another solid
year and you know it takes that next step. I mean,
I'm all for that, and I hope that that's the case.
But I mean, I don't think any of those guys
(21:36):
that you listed are guys that you would have an
appreciable argument that bo Nix is currently better than or
has shown that he's currently better than.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
I think that there's one guy that you could say
that both showed a lot of things in that first
year as a player. And this may sound like a
home I'm not being home. I'm just being real about
the situation statistically based on touchdown interception ratio.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I look at that Justin.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
Herbert, right, another guy, Oregon guy, and I think, you know,
for a young guy like Bow, he came in and
actually showed a lot. Now is gonna put a lot
of pressure on him, and you're two to see that
if he can meet that same standard, but more importantly
exceed that standard. But if there was one guy that
I would say that Bowl, I would view Bow as
(22:23):
being from a performance standpoint a lot better than I
would say that it was Justin Herbert.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
I would man Herbert had three interceptions last year.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Well, I mean we did see Justin Herbert just fall
apart in the text.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
He did fall apart of the playoffs. But ifan during
the regular season again three picks.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Listen, I understand that the reason why I like Bowl
in this conversation against and being compared to Justin Herbert,
I look at Bow as what he's able to do
out on the perimeter, being able to make those throws
on the run. I mean, obviously with Tim jacobs On
we were talking about guys in the pocket, but to me,
those plays would need to be made on the perimeter.
That's where you're going to make your money. With so
(23:00):
many quarterbacks in this conference being.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
So good, I don't think many people are ready for
the bonus top ten conversation. I certainly have not, But
I did a poll on Twitter with Broncos fans a
few days ago, and they ranked him as the ninth
best quarterback in the league, ahead of guys like c. J. Stroud,
Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
And the like. So any one of those players was
a Bronco, they would have been ready to head a
botex in that poll.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Guys, we got, we got. We gotta be honest here.
We love ball, but we gotta be honest here.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Four.
Speaker 6 (23:33):
ESPN, alongside their quarterback rankings, also dropped their rankings of
the top ten linebackers.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Again, this is the league's sourced rankings.
Speaker 6 (23:41):
Drake Greenlock came in as the league's ninth best inside
linebacker and was ranked as high as third by at
least one voter.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
The rankings have Fred Warner in first.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
Rokwan Smith's second, Zach Bond third, Nick Fulton fourth, Frankie
Loubu fifth, Tremaine Edmund sixth, Leavonte David seventh, that Marion
over Shown eighth, Fred Greenlaw ninth, and Quincy Williams tenth.
Should green Law be ranked higher lower or is this appropriate?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I'd have him a little higher.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He's better than overshawn, and he's better than Nick Bolton's
more he's more complete than Nick Bolton.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Nick Bolton is a downhill thumper.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Green Law can go three hundred and sixty degrees, so
I would have him ahead of those two guys.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
But the rest of it, I mean it's fairly accurate.
That's a pretty good list.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Well, you know what, I would agree with this, and
here's why, because Greenlaw has been injured, and whether it's
fair or not, when you injure, there are some discounts
when people look at you evaluates the standpoint. A lot
of these guys on this list, I mean these are
top linebackers. I mean I spend time around.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
You know, Fred Warner in his first two years with the.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
San Francisco forty nine ers develop into a hell of
a linebacker. Zach Vaughd like he played himself into a
better deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. We know what Rokwan
Smith is and you're right. When you look at Nick Bolton,
he's a thumper. Is he one of those guys that
you can count on and coverage? Maybe not as much,
but it's a level of consistent. So when you look
at Greenlaw and these other linebackers who are all fantastic
(25:04):
in their own right, the only problem is that Greenlaw's
health has been somewhat of an issue and that is
the drawback.
Speaker 6 (25:11):
And it seems like top five is very achievable if
he's able to stay on the field this year and
improve himself again, I think you're right, it's the health
stuff dragging him down, but there's such a sharp drop off.
I think even after the top two. Zach Bond was
amazing last year, but he's a guy who's only done
it for one season. And then I'm with you, Ben,
I don't get Nick Bolton at fourth. And I feel
(25:31):
like Drake Greenlaw pretty early in the season could look
like the fourth best inside linebacker in the league.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
As the key for him is gonna be health.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Yeah, but the Nick Bolton, you get the Kansas City ball, Yeah, that's.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Gonna be what it is, because I mean, he's a downhill.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
The difference between Nick Bolton and Todd Davis is essentially negligible,
but he plays on a championship caliber football team in
a championship you know, in a championship caliber football then
it was.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I think a second round pick, so gets that draft
header game up. But I mean that's that's who Nick,
with all due repect to God Davis like that. Nick
Bolton is Todd Davis.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
Five.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they're going to be wearing
their Creamsicle throwbacks for the team's opening game against the
New York Jets. With throwbacks becoming more and more popular
around the NFL, which three teams and your estimation have
the best throwback designs?
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Oh man, the Dolphins throwback is classic. That's so good.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
That's so much better than what they've got. Yeah, that's
one that I think you got to put on this list.
I love the Creamsickle uniforms, as you know, I mean,
they're they're iron It's it's like they're, uh, what was
the what was the old list of the music? So
awesomely bad the tough but you know it's like they're
awesomely bad. Either're so bad they're good, you know kind
of thing. So that's got to be in there. The Patriots.
(26:49):
Those pat Patriot uniforms, those are fun. I don't think
they're I wouldn't put them up there on the on
the old timers, the Falcons inaugural season throwbacks from sixty six,
those are pretty pimp.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I'm trying to think the.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Green Bay, the old school Green Bay jerseys, like the
nineteen fifties jerseys. Uh, the old Green ones with the
gold numbers and stripes, those are those are pretty pimp.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
I think the Broncos. Honestly, you know, everybody loves the
Broncos throwback. I think it's up there, not in.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Any particular order. I'm gonna go Seattle.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
I'm going to Broncos, the Patriots, uh, and the Falcons.
Those are some of the most iconic. And I mean,
if you twist my arm, I even throw in the
old Houston orders.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Titans, Yeah, those were kind of some of the with
the with the oil tower on them. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Cle Cleveland and Indy the same thing. That's all you do.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I'll tell you what I like those old the old
Eagles uniforms with the wings, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, amazing. I mentioned those.
Speaker 6 (27:51):
I also think the Jags last year they they, you know,
brought out the old like Fred Taylor are uniform I
thought those were pretty They were.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Okay, but it like if you had to pay for it,
and it's something that you had to tell your wife,
I gotta pay three hundred fifty dollars.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
For some Memora bill you. I'm not doing that for
the Jags.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
What about the the Eric Dickerson era Rams uniforms. Those
are pretty tight. I don't like the new with the
bone and the weird highlighter stuff. I don't. I don't
like the current Ram uniforms.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Those of dope too.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
The Eric Dickerson Ram uniforms. I'll put that in there. Yes,
I'm with you.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Six a little more uniform news. Going to Los Angeles
with the Chargers. They unveiled two new uniforms today, an
all Navy set which is a throwback to their early
two thousands look when Ladanian Tomlinson was playing for the team,
and an all yellow set that attempts to harken back
to the team's seventies era when they've had Charger power
(28:46):
and what not going on. I guess they're kind of
equivalent to the Broncos Orange Crush era. What are your
thoughts on the Chargers new looks two distinctly different.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
I like the old Navy set right, but the r
KEL all yellow uniforms. My mind is me, No, those
are terrible, man, those are those are terrible uniforms.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Like someone failed to p test. That's what they looked like.
That's it's too much.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Wait, yellow Sax shirt right now?
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
What color is that shirt? Chargers Chargers Hydration.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Ye, his shirt.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Your shirt is more must It's more mustard.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
I'm like, man, the glare and I'm looking him like,
wait a minute, is that is that one of those
I got it. I got one of the jerseys early
fell off, fell off a truck.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Well, here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
If you are in the Charges uniform and you're playing
on the road and you just you can't get to
the bathroom because it's a further than you expected, you
can believe yourself.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
And no one ever know.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Look.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I don't know who would just was designing this, but
maybe they believe they could fly while they were designing it.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I don't that's too much yellow. That's too much.
Speaker 6 (29:55):
I need to start up the ignition and leave these
things behind. It reminds me of when the Color Rush
era started.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Yes, that's exactly what it looks like.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
The Washington team had an all yellow uniform that they announced,
but it was so ugly they refused to wear it.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, when when Nike or whoever tried to force it
on them.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
Meanwhile, he's got the Chargers over here willingly choosing to
have a uniform that looks like this. It's it's I think,
one of the worst alternates in the league immediately.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Yeah, the Commanders that all yellow with the red helmet,
that was that was too much. Honestly, the yellow would
have been okay if he does like the burgundy pants
with it, but it's too much.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
It was too much.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
I'll tell you.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
I did love the all black Washington Commanders yeah last season.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yeah, those were nice.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
I gotta get coach macgonna to get me one of the.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
And how about their throwbacks now, Yeah, I like that's
a that's a pretty good way to clean up the
white uniforms a lot. I don't like the weird white
gradient numbers they have going on on their current uniforms.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Yeah, some of the gradiot stuff looks all right, but
that's not one I think I that I think I
like it.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
R Kelly.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
The remix to admissions of the Chappelle Archie exactly. Hey,
just want to hate love, just want to love him.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
I know what you did one I don't even know
if know exactly what that is.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
He doesn't know. You gotta look that up. The r
Kelly information from my air is not knock. It's not good.
It's really odd. Broncos Country Knife back after this
Breaking news right off the bat. The Broncos have agreed
to terms with Shaddy Barren, the first round draft pick,
and he will be reporting tomorrow with the rookies.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
The only rookie that remains unsigned is R. J. Harvey.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
He's part of that group of second rounders that are
all still holding out for fully guaranteed money, so that
remains unsigned. The only first rounder that remains unsigned now
is Schamar Stewart of the Cincinnati Bengals, and that situation
is pretty wild to me.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Stuart does not like the fact that there are still.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Certain certain language in the deal that he had that
they have in front of him, and that that that deal,
the language that's in that gives the Bengals sort of
some wiggle room with with collecting future guarantees on certain things.
(00:59):
And so today he had some stuff come out that
should that Stewart was planning to go back to Texas
A and M, which is not true.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
He's actually down there training.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
But the Cincinnati inquires Kelsey Conway said that, you know
the reported which is obvious because he hired an agent
that he could.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Not return to the Aggies.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
He is possibly sitting out the season and could go
back in the next next year's draft, but the dispute
between Stewart in Cincinnati cannot legally return.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
To the Anna bagues.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
You could re enroll and take classes at AN and M,
but would not be allowed to rejoin the football team.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
He could work out and you know and all that kind.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Of stuff, but he couldn't practice and he couldn't play
for them as well. The difference in in the situation
with him or the reason that there is a whole
because there's very little to negotiate and rookie contracts, they
are all sloted contracts, right, and he's he will eventually
(01:55):
either sign a four year, eighteen point nine million dollar
contract with a fifth year team option, or he won't.
That's collectively bargained. It's not negotiable. The conflict is over
future guarantees. The Bengals are trying to set a new
precedent with rookie contracts that allows the team to avoid
future guaranteed money and Stuart understandably is not on board
with that, and it's gone public with it, and that's
(02:16):
where the situation is right now.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Well, let's be totally honest.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Let me start off by saying this a good deal
of the Broncos were able to get that deal done
with Jaday Baron. Now that's what under the bridge. You
can get back and start focusing on the game of football.
But this whole situation, which Mark Stewart, I mean, for me,
it's like, isn't this typical Cincinnati Bengals. Even when I
was an undrafted player playing for the Bengals, they would
(02:43):
always pull these types of tactics. How do you get
a player or as a player to commit to an
organization and what I mean by that playing both injured
and hurt, and there's a difference between the two, But
yet you can't commit to what would be considered to
be some kind of offset language as it retains who
(03:04):
guarantees down the road.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Yeah, it's to me, it's baffling because the way the
Bengals are doing this, this language is not something that
ever anyone else uses, right, It's a subtle it's a
it's a very subtle change in language in the in
their contract.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
And I don't want to get drilled down too hard.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Into the minutia of this because I'm sure it'll bore everybody,
but like, it is a very sud that that allows
them wiggle room to come back and recoup money that
would otherwise be guaranteed for anyone else. Uh, And it's
due to injury, due to off field whatever, And yeah,
Shammar Stewart shouldn't agree to that. Nobody else is agreeing
to it. Nobody else says nobody. No other team is
(03:40):
trying to do this. The Bengals are trying to give
themselves outs for a Quinchhn Judkins situation, which okay, I
sort of understand that, but they're also trying to give
themselves outs for injuries and things like that, and I'm
not okay with that. Honestly, rookie contract should be fully
guaranteed across the board. It's dropping the bucket money. It's
(04:00):
you know these guys. I mean, even guaranteeing Stuart's whole
contract would be eighteen point nine million guaranteed. That's less
than he would get guaranteed in one year as a
second contract player.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
But this is penny pitching by the Bengals.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
This is kind of out of their old school playbook, right,
So once, can I go back to this, how is
an organization you can to ask a player to do
everything that they need to do or you want them
to do to be loyal, to show loyalty to you,
but you're unwilling to do the same for them when
it comes to the idea of the financial part of
(04:38):
the agreement. And if I'm from Schamar Stewart, I won't
agree with this because here's the thing.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
If Shamar decides to.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Agree to this as a first round player, even though
he was taking three spots ahead of Jaday Baron, you
reset the whole market for guys in the first round.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
And now everybody turns around and starts including that language
in their contracts. Money, the money that's air quotes guaranteed
is not really guaranteed, and if you get hurt, the
team can hose you out.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Of that money.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
That's that's not right, that shouldn't be fair. This is where,
once again, with everything that's going on in the PA
right now, this is where the PA needs to come
in and say, no, Cincinnati, we're not going to allow
you to do that. And if hopefully Shamara and his
representation has already called the PA, I mean, the PA
(05:30):
is from a lot of calls about it, a lot
of things, but this is where this how they make
their money.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And this is fascinating because The Bengals don't have any leverage.
They are perilously thin for defensive players. The Hens, their
other defensive end, is already planning on holding out because
he can't get a new contract. There's a lead in
the league in sacks, and they told him they would
do it, and then they went ahead and spiffed the
receivers and didn't do anything for him. They have the
(05:56):
Bengals have no leverage here. You're really gonna be without
your star defensive ends on a line and a defense
that is already perilously thin on talent.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
But this is how tight the Bengals have been financially
for years.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
This is there.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
This goes back a long ways, goes back even before
Carson Palmer never at the buck.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Let's go back before that they've been You ask Alfred
Williams about how true.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The Bengals are. Let's go back away.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
They could go into the season theoretically with Miles Murphy
and Joseph Assai as their starting defensive ends.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
And if you're saying who I'm saying exactly, but this.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Would you say that the situation that the Bengals are
trying to pull. Obviously this is part of the playbook.
But would you tie into what they did financially this
offseason with their wide receivers.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Well, I mean they did pony up a bunch of
cash to get Chase and Higgins done and all that
kind of stuff and keep Joe Burrow happy and all
that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Okay, well, those three are making a ton of money.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
You're going to be the team that scores the most
amount of points and still loses ten games.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Like you're gonna be averaging forty points a game and
losing forty five to forty.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
But that's maybe that's their mentality now known as though
they can put it forty points right and say, okay, well,
maybe at some point during the season, we're gonna catch
a couple of breaks here and there. Well we'll be
able to score forty points and a team maybe they
may famble or they may not make a play in
a key situation. To me, that's too much gambling and
(07:29):
I wouldn't want to roll the dice in that way.
I mean, when you look at the best years of
Joe Burrow, it's almost like, you know, when we would
talk about Nicola Jokis and his best year is here
with the Denver Nuggets. It's like, you don't want to
waste that time because you can't really get that bat.
But knowing as though you have to at some point,
you have to show that you can stop another team well.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
And that's the problem. You go back to last year.
Their defense already was bad. Last year, it was like
twenty fifth in the league, you know, and then they
lost talent on top of that. You know, they've lost
some players on that defense. Jar Ainy Prat's not there anymore.
Hendrickson's holding out. It's stellar Bolls sign Last year they
everged twenty eight points a game and only won nine games.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
They went nine to eight.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
From barely above five hundred score twenty eight points a game.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
So, if you were someone advising Shamar Stewart and you
can't really get anything done financially, you had a stalemate. Obviously,
knowing that he can't go back to college football, he
would have to sue in order to get that to happen.
But even if he did that, the Bengals would still
have his rights, so he still is under their thumb.
(08:38):
His only way to get out would be to sit
out this entire season. If you were advising him, would
you advise him number one.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Just to sit out.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
If Cincinnati they're not gonna budge they try to take
money out of your pocket in the future, just sit the.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Year out, I would.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
I would advise him to do that because the odds
are good that the Bengals are going to break before.
He's not under contract right, No, they can't find him
for missing anything, so he's it's not like you're a
player that's holding out in curring fines. It's not You're
not financially liable for anything. You're just not making money. Now,
you would think fit Jamar Stewart has enough nil money
in reserve.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
To do it.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
You would hope, you would hope to be able to
sit it out and come back next year. Now do
I believe he would be drafted lower next year?
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Probably?
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I didn't think he was going to be drafted that
high this year. So there's there's the possibility that you
could lose money that way, But there's also the possibility
come back to next year's draft, you tell him, don't
draft me, A'll sign as an undrafted free agent afterwards,
like similar to the Layo Collins I think it was,
And that's the way you might You might look at
trying to do.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
It that way.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Okay, with that being said, because we're looking at all
the options, he could sit out, get away, or get
from under the arm and the thumb of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Well put himself in.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
A predicament where he may not be viewed or drafted
this high next year because you got a new crop
of guys coming out.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
And oh, by the way, who is to say that
if he decided, you know what, I'm.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Not gonna play for the Bengals, I'm gonna sit out,
that the league itself decides, oh, this is what you're
gonna do.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
We're gonna teach you a lesson.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
So now we're not we're no longer going to evaluate
you as a first round pick, now even a second
round pick, which're gonna look at you as a free agent.
Could there be a possibility that that could be on
the horizon if she Marstrowits decides to sit out and
try to get redrafted again.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I think if the teams think that he's the guy,
who's gonna be the guy. So Marshewet's only twenty one
years old, by the way, he's very young. So it's
not like that this is I mean, yeah, it impacts
a year of earnings, but it's not like it's this
is a guy that's twenty four that you're you're eating
in your prime or whatever, as.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Far as that kind of stuff goes.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
If it's me, I'm sitting out and I'm banking on
my I'm training hard all year and I'm banking on
you know, I'm banking on what I got, you know,
with with with rolling it back in the next year.
The good news is if you don't get drafted the
first round, teams don't have a fifth year option on you.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Now, they only have four years of control.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Now you can if you show out in that first year,
you can you can get to your earnings potential quicker.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
But see, they're pros and cons to it. Yes, that's
one way one pro to look at it. The con
is how much money would you have sacrificed? Right, That's
that's the other thing. Now, I don't know what his
ni own money is, and I'm sure he is a reserve.
He doesn't want to go into it. But I wouldn't
(11:23):
want to be pressured into signing a deal with the
Bengals known as though they're taking future money out of
my pocket. That's brandy there. I mean, how could you
try to do to do that to a young player
coming in? But then say, you know what, we'll just
forget about this part of you gonna wave your hand
like these are not the George you're.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Looking for, like I'm supposed to forget that you played
me like this.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
I mean, at this point you're at you're up against it. Now,
you're you're about to come up with a day. The
deadline for rookies to report in Cincinnati's Friday, right, God,
is it Friday? So you got to tell Friday to
make to make a decision, and then you got it.
Then you got to stick with your stands. If it's me,
I'm sticking with that stance because there's always a chance
they could reverse course on into the season and whatever else. Right, So,
(12:08):
you know, the only thing that you're missing here is
potentially your contract. I mean, not that contract, toling, You're
years of service, right, So if you're going to be
like a ten year veteran, you're pension all that kind
of stuff. You're potentially chopping yourself off with the knees
for pension type stuff. But the reality is if you're
as good at player as you think you are, you
might gon to be able to make that up in
cash on the back end.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Anyway, a part of me would love to see Stewart
stick it to the Bengals for just trying to slide
this under the radar, right and trying to get him
to jeopardize future earnings. There is a part of me
that wants to see them just kind of fight the bullet,
like we were wrong.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
We should have never done that.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Because if you never push someone to change their mind
based on way negative ways that they always utilize, they're
never going to change. So something has a happened for
the Bingos who not want to even think about doing it.
But like I said, they have a history of being
a very cheap organization, well.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
They do, and there are cash poor.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Franchise, Like they've had to sell the naming rights to
their stadium a couple of years back just to be
able to pay Joe Burrow. They had to the pay
Corps now it's pay Corps instead of Mike b instead
Brown Arene or whatever. Now it's pay Corps or whatever.
Then that's they did that because that was the only
thing that they could do. To be able to raise
cash to be able to pay Joe Burrow. And they've
(13:37):
paid Burrow, Higgins and Chase all this money. They don't
have any money, any cash to be able to do
all this other stuff With Shamar Stewart. I think he
just doesn't want the rug pulled out from under him, right,
because all the rest of this stuff is all pre negotiated.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement has already negotiated all this stuff.
He's getting eighteen point nine million dollars for four years
and the team I have a fiftye option on him, Like,
(13:58):
that's not in dispute.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
So at this point, it's say even about the Bengals
being cheap, it's about the being obtuse because they're trying
to put weasel word language in a contract so they
can come back and recoup money if you happen to
get hurt.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Well, yeah, the Bengals are being uh, it's.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
A different kind of cheap. It's a shady kind of cheap.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Hey, they're being obtuse, they're being a rectangle, they're being
an octagon, they're being everything right now right, You're trying
to jam this situation up because they want to be
a team to just set president and be able to say, well,
this is what we would be able to negotiate where
you have more younger players come into the league now
looking for more guaranteed money. Because these kids, for the
(14:40):
most part, they're not stupid. They are looking at the
guys that came before them. They're looking at you know,
myself and Steve Atware and say, well, these guys didn't
have as much leverage.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
As we have now and based on what.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
They sacrificed, now we get a chance to stand on
their shoulders and demand to have this guarantee money.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
I don't know how this thing's going to resolve itself,
but obviously the Broncos have resolved their should Ay Baron
has signed.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
We'll get you more on that. We got an NFL
six pack coming up next. Let's get to an NFL
six pack.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Here's time for the NFL six pat I'm gonna trak
a last insight and insight information you can't find anywhere else. No.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Six The Top six NFL headlines what.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
NFL dot Com ranked the top ten defenses for this
upcoming season, or at least their projections of what the
top ten defenses will be and they've ranked the Denver
Broncos as the best defense for the twenty twenty five season.
Ranking right behind them are the Eagles in second, the
Ravens in third, the Texans in fourth, and the.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Chiefs in fifth.
Speaker 6 (15:54):
And will the Denver Broncos be the league's best defense
this season? If so, who will be their biggest challenger
for that title? And if not, who will be the
NFL's top defense?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
You know, you got Eagles probably, I would say that
just based on the bodies of the scheme, everything else,
the Eagles are probably the biggest contender for that. I
do believe the Broncos be the best defense in the league.
They're certainly the best defense on paper. Last year when
everybody was ranking the middle of the pack, I saw
him in training camp and I was like.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
No, man, this this group has potential to be special.
They were.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
They had a few injuries down the stretch to change
some of those numbers. Obviously that game against the Browns
changed a few things, but they would have been the
best defenses in the league, you know, as far as
that kind of stuff goes. So I believe they have
the potential to be the best, and I think the
Eagles are probably maybe the Ravens, but the Eagles probably
the best bet to be their competitor.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
With how being the number one determining factor and this conversation.
That being said, I think it's probably going to be
like a one two three with you know, you have
big fans Joe and you have Vance Joseph. So I'm
gonna go Broncos, Texans Eagles, right. And I think it's
(17:09):
fair to say because when I look at the Eagles
their front defensive front, it's amazing. Before guys created pressure
on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs and totally destroy them.
Their issue is going to be in the back end.
It's where the Broncos is strong. Now. With the Broncos
their issue linebackers, you got Singleton, you got Greenlaw. Those
(17:30):
guys are coming back off injury once again. If they're healthy,
they're gonna be right there. But man, don't sleep on
Jamica Ryans in that Houston Texas defense. Man, they are
loaded top to bottom from the front to the second
level to the third level.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So that's the way I look at it.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
The elite's secondary elite pass rush, they are I think
right there with the Broncos, right there with the Eagles
as the weak defenses in the ult don't sleep on
the Jets defense.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
They got a lot of talent on that defense. The
only problem there is that offense is probably gonna stink
and that defense will be on the field.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
The two.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Players one hundred through seventy seven so far have been
revealed in the NFL's annual Top one hundred Players list.
Eighty through seventy seven have been revealed so far this week.
For Shan Gary comes in at eightieth, followed by just
behind I guess Dak Prescott at seventy ninth, Khalil mackets
seventy eight, and T.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Higgins at seventy seven.
Speaker 6 (18:25):
What are your thoughts on those rankings and how would
you personally rank those four players one to four?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Okay, so there's two questions I always have to ask
with any rankings. Number one, who is doing the rankings?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
The players from around the league to doctor ever many players?
And then number two, what is this ranking? Is this
ranking what they've done or what they think they will do?
I believe what they think they will do.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Okay, Well, then in that case, Dak Prescott is way
too low and T. Higgins is too high Higgins is
a beneficiary of having chased On the other side, he
gets one on one matchups against number two corners that
he wouldn't get up otherwise, if he was the feature
guy on anybody's offense, he wouldn't be putting up the
numbers that he has. Dak Prescott's gonna fall out this year.
This guy's gonna have forty five hundred yards and forty touchdowns.
(19:10):
Like it's I mean, that's too low.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
I would agree with that, And I would say with
Shawn Gary is kind of right where he's following that
eightieth and right in the middle. And Khalil Mack. Obviously
this is low ranking for Kalil Mack, but I think
I feel as though it's right because Khalil Mack hasn't
really been the same guy as he was years ago,
and now you don't have you know, both on the
(19:34):
opposite side is now and with the Buffalo Bills, that's
going to change a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
And Ti Higgins, Look, I think T Higgins is.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
A hell of a wide receiver, and I don't think
there's anything wrong for being a beneficiary of a guy
next to you drawing a lot of attention and you're
making the most of that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
But I would think that every one of these are right.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Except for the one with Dek Prescott. I think he's
going to be so much better than this no one,
as though you got Lamb and you got George Pickins
as your wide receivers this year.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, they're going to be. Dallas is going to be
better than people think on offense. I just just get
ready for it.
Speaker 6 (20:08):
The last time Dak was healthy and I think his
receiver group or casta weapons was worse than it'll be
this year, he was second team aultro at quarterbacks. So
you know the prone for about big bounce back here.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, three.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
In ESPN's league source. Now to your rankings question.
Speaker 6 (20:27):
This is pulling a bunch of anonymous executives, scouts, and
coaches from around the league.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Okay, the Jeremy Fowler list, Yes, the Jeremy Fower List.
Speaker 6 (20:36):
In their rankings of the top ten quarterbacks, bo Nicks
wasn't ranked in the top ten or listed as an
honorable mention. There were only two of those, but he
did receive votes the players ranked ahead of Bownick. So
your top ten players and your two honorable mentions and
This is in order, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow,
Lamar Jackson, Jade and Daniels, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, Jared Goff,
(21:00):
and Hurts Baker Mayfield, CJ.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Stroud, and Jordan Love.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
Of those players which shouldn't be ranked ahead of bow Knicks,
if any.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
All those guys should be ranked out of bo Nicks
right now.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I mean Bo's only been here one year, and I
don't think he's out statistically performed any of those guys.
I would have Bo if I were ranking it, I
would probably have bow In there about sixteenth or seventeenth ballpark.
That's not say you can't move up with another solid
year and you know it takes that next step. I mean,
I'm all for that, and I hope that that's the case.
But I mean, I don't think any of those guys
(21:36):
that you listed are guys that you would have an
appreciable argument that bo Nix is currently better than or
has shown that he's currently better than.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
I think that there's one guy that you could say
that both showed a lot of things in that first
year as a player. And this may sound like a
home I'm not being home. I'm just being real about
the situation statistically based on touchdown interception ratio.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I look at that Justin.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
Herbert, right, another guy, Oregon guy, and I think, you know,
for a young guy like Bow, he came in and
actually showed a lot. Now is gonna put a lot
of pressure on him, and you're two to see that
if he can meet that same standard, but more importantly
exceed that standard. But if there was one guy that
I would say that Bowl, I would view Bow as
(22:23):
being from a performance standpoint a lot better than I
would say that it was Justin Herbert.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
I would man Herbert had three interceptions last year.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Well, I mean we did see Justin Herbert just fall
apart in the text.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
He did fall apart of the playoffs. But ifan during
the regular season again three picks.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Listen, I understand that the reason why I like Bowl
in this conversation against and being compared to Justin Herbert,
I look at Bow as what he's able to do
out on the perimeter, being able to make those throws
on the run. I mean, obviously with Tim jacobs On
we were talking about guys in the pocket, but to me,
those plays would need to be made on the perimeter.
That's where you're going to make your money. With so
(23:00):
many quarterbacks in this conference being.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
So good, I don't think many people are ready for
the bonus top ten conversation. I certainly have not, But
I did a poll on Twitter with Broncos fans a
few days ago, and they ranked him as the ninth
best quarterback in the league, ahead of guys like c. J. Stroud,
Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
And the like. So any one of those players was
a Bronco, they would have been ready to head a
botex in that poll.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Guys, we got, we got. We gotta be honest here.
We love ball, but we gotta be honest here.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Four.
Speaker 6 (23:33):
ESPN, alongside their quarterback rankings, also dropped their rankings of
the top ten linebackers.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Again, this is the league's sourced rankings.
Speaker 6 (23:41):
Drake Greenlock came in as the league's ninth best inside
linebacker and was ranked as high as third by at
least one voter.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
The rankings have Fred Warner in first.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
Rokwan Smith's second, Zach Bond third, Nick Fulton fourth, Frankie
Loubu fifth, Tremaine Edmund sixth, Leavonte David seventh, that Marion
over Shown eighth, Fred Greenlaw ninth, and Quincy Williams tenth.
Should green Law be ranked higher lower or is this appropriate?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I'd have him a little higher.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He's better than overshawn, and he's better than Nick Bolton's
more he's more complete than Nick Bolton.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Nick Bolton is a downhill thumper.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Green Law can go three hundred and sixty degrees, so
I would have him ahead of those two guys.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
But the rest of it, I mean it's fairly accurate.
That's a pretty good list.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Well, you know what, I would agree with this, and
here's why, because Greenlaw has been injured, and whether it's
fair or not, when you injure, there are some discounts
when people look at you evaluates the standpoint. A lot
of these guys on this list, I mean these are
top linebackers. I mean I spend time around.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
You know, Fred Warner in his first two years with the.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
San Francisco forty nine ers develop into a hell of
a linebacker. Zach Vaughd like he played himself into a
better deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. We know what Rokwan
Smith is and you're right. When you look at Nick Bolton,
he's a thumper. Is he one of those guys that
you can count on and coverage? Maybe not as much,
but it's a level of consistent. So when you look
at Greenlaw and these other linebackers who are all fantastic
(25:04):
in their own right, the only problem is that Greenlaw's
health has been somewhat of an issue and that is
the drawback.
Speaker 6 (25:11):
And it seems like top five is very achievable if
he's able to stay on the field this year and
improve himself again, I think you're right, it's the health
stuff dragging him down, but there's such a sharp drop off.
I think even after the top two. Zach Bond was
amazing last year, but he's a guy who's only done
it for one season. And then I'm with you, Ben,
I don't get Nick Bolton at fourth. And I feel
(25:31):
like Drake Greenlaw pretty early in the season could look
like the fourth best inside linebacker in the league.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
As the key for him is gonna be health.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Yeah, but the Nick Bolton, you get the Kansas City ball, Yeah, that's.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Gonna be what it is, because I mean, he's a downhill.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
The difference between Nick Bolton and Todd Davis is essentially negligible,
but he plays on a championship caliber football team in
a championship you know, in a championship caliber football then
it was.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I think a second round pick, so gets that draft
header game up. But I mean that's that's who Nick,
with all due repect to God Davis like that. Nick
Bolton is Todd Davis.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
Five.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they're going to be wearing
their Creamsicle throwbacks for the team's opening game against the
New York Jets. With throwbacks becoming more and more popular
around the NFL, which three teams and your estimation have
the best throwback designs?
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Oh man, the Dolphins throwback is classic. That's so good.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
That's so much better than what they've got. Yeah, that's
one that I think you got to put on this list.
I love the Creamsickle uniforms, as you know, I mean,
they're they're iron It's it's like they're, uh, what was
the what was the old list of the music? So
awesomely bad the tough but you know it's like they're
awesomely bad. Either're so bad they're good, you know kind
of thing. So that's got to be in there. The Patriots.
(26:49):
Those pat Patriot uniforms, those are fun. I don't think
they're I wouldn't put them up there on the on
the old timers, the Falcons inaugural season throwbacks from sixty six,
those are pretty pimp.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I'm trying to think the.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Green Bay, the old school Green Bay jerseys, like the
nineteen fifties jerseys. Uh, the old Green ones with the
gold numbers and stripes, those are those are pretty pimp.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
I think the Broncos. Honestly, you know, everybody loves the
Broncos throwback. I think it's up there, not in.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Any particular order. I'm gonna go Seattle.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
I'm going to Broncos, the Patriots, uh, and the Falcons.
Those are some of the most iconic. And I mean,
if you twist my arm, I even throw in the
old Houston orders.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Titans, Yeah, those were kind of some of the with
the with the oil tower on them. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Cle Cleveland and Indy the same thing. That's all you do.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I'll tell you what I like those old the old
Eagles uniforms with the wings, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, amazing. I mentioned those.
Speaker 6 (27:51):
I also think the Jags last year they they, you know,
brought out the old like Fred Taylor are uniform I
thought those were pretty They were.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Okay, but it like if you had to pay for it,
and it's something that you had to tell your wife,
I gotta pay three hundred fifty dollars.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
For some Memora bill you. I'm not doing that for
the Jags.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
What about the the Eric Dickerson era Rams uniforms. Those
are pretty tight. I don't like the new with the
bone and the weird highlighter stuff. I don't. I don't
like the current Ram uniforms.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Those of dope too.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
The Eric Dickerson Ram uniforms. I'll put that in there. Yes,
I'm with you.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Six a little more uniform news. Going to Los Angeles
with the Chargers. They unveiled two new uniforms today, an
all Navy set which is a throwback to their early
two thousands look when Ladanian Tomlinson was playing for the team,
and an all yellow set that attempts to harken back
to the team's seventies era when they've had Charger power
(28:46):
and what not going on. I guess they're kind of
equivalent to the Broncos Orange Crush era. What are your
thoughts on the Chargers new looks two distinctly different.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
I like the old Navy set right, but the r
KEL all yellow uniforms. My mind is me, No, those
are terrible, man, those are those are terrible uniforms.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Like someone failed to p test. That's what they looked like.
That's it's too much.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Wait, yellow Sax shirt right now?
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
What color is that shirt? Chargers Chargers Hydration.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Ye, his shirt.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Your shirt is more must It's more mustard.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
I'm like, man, the glare and I'm looking him like,
wait a minute, is that is that one of those
I got it. I got one of the jerseys early
fell off, fell off a truck.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Well, here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
If you are in the Charges uniform and you're playing
on the road and you just you can't get to
the bathroom because it's a further than you expected, you
can believe yourself.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
And no one ever know.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Look.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I don't know who would just was designing this, but
maybe they believe they could fly while they were designing it.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I don't that's too much yellow. That's too much.
Speaker 6 (29:55):
I need to start up the ignition and leave these
things behind. It reminds me of when the Color Rush
era started.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Yes, that's exactly what it looks like.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
The Washington team had an all yellow uniform that they announced,
but it was so ugly they refused to wear it.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, when when Nike or whoever tried to force it
on them.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
Meanwhile, he's got the Chargers over here willingly choosing to
have a uniform that looks like this. It's it's I think,
one of the worst alternates in the league immediately.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Yeah, the Commanders that all yellow with the red helmet,
that was that was too much. Honestly, the yellow would
have been okay if he does like the burgundy pants
with it, but it's too much.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
It was too much.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
I'll tell you.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
I did love the all black Washington Commanders yeah last season.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yeah, those were nice.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
I gotta get coach macgonna to get me one of the.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
And how about their throwbacks now, Yeah, I like that's
a that's a pretty good way to clean up the
white uniforms a lot. I don't like the weird white
gradient numbers they have going on on their current uniforms.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Yeah, some of the gradiot stuff looks all right, but
that's not one I think I that I think I
like it.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
R Kelly.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
The remix to admissions of the Chappelle Archie exactly. Hey,
just want to hate love, just want to love him.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
I know what you did one I don't even know
if know exactly what that is.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
He doesn't know. You gotta look that up. The r
Kelly information from my air is not knock. It's not good.
It's really odd. Broncos Country Knife back after this
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.