Softy & Dick 3-13 Hour 3: Seahawks, Lance Zierlein, David Samson

In the third hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain continue to react to Sam Darnold’s introductory press conference today, then talk to NFL Draft expert Lance Zierlein about Hawks changes and the draft ahead, before covering the Mariners with David Samson.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can I pull the Schneider here and pivot a little bit?
Can I pivot for a second? I got this new
toy here. Jackson knows what I'm talking about. Makes them
very nervous. Where I can play audio directly off the
internet from my computer.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Remember, don't enter that one website.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Without yeah, right, without having heard the audio before I
put it on the air.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
What is with your boy? Steven A. Smith? He is
going on a Lebron tour?

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Oh if this is from his podcast on his podcast?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
This is from Fox News.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
He was on with Sean Hannity today talking about Lebron James.

Speaker 4 (00:33):
How about that maybod I don't know what.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay, you wouldn't see, by the way, say, I don't
know what happened? What was up with Lebron? He was
getting in your grill?

Speaker 4 (00:41):
What was that.

Speaker 5 (00:42):
He thought that? You know, he thought that I was
insulting his son, when in fact, that is not what
I was doing. I was getting on him because he
had gone through so many things to make, you know,
have his son in the NBA, and he was bringing
unnecessary attention on his some prematurely in my estimation. He
didn't like that, so he confront of me. It's his prerogative.
He didn't put his hands on me. That's all that matters.

(01:04):
He could feel whatever the way he wants to feel.

Speaker 4 (01:05):
I'm going to do. Was there, That's what I had.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Your back if I was there.

Speaker 5 (01:09):
I'm just saying, wow, absolutely, people that it wasn't necessary.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
But how about that? I mean, he's he's everywhere. He's
on ESPN, he's on the View, he's on Fox News.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
He's talking about running for president, He's hammering lebron It's
crazy how.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Much this guy's out there. Willn't run for president? What
is going on with Steven A. Man and Sean Hannity?
Have your back? I feel safe, man.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Nobody tougher out there than There's a reason why he's
going on that network.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
He's not stupid. Yeah, he's making money going on the
nice thing is calculated. But he's not going on CNN. No,
he's gobs on.

Speaker 6 (01:45):
ESPN, he's on Fox News.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Isn't The View and ABC owned property? Aren't they on ABC?
I don't watch The View, so I have to be there.
You watch the View? Jackson? No, okay, I don't watch
that show, so I don't watch. I mean, Dick watches
all these talks.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
I don't watch the view. I don't watch it exactly.
How all you work out? Not the view? See you
don't you don't want to?

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Hey, I think we should do a new segment. What
did Dick Fane learn of the View today? Woe show, Yes,
Wookie show.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
Sam Darnold spoke today. We're gonna hear from lant Zerline
next segment. NFL dot Com, NFL Network. He was with
us a year ago and frankly, I thought he was tremendous.
So we're gonna bring him back. Queen Anne Beer Hall,
Moss Bay Hall. They have a new place in Soto
opening up as well. The beer hall on Queen Anne
is just for me the Musco to spot before every

(02:38):
cracking game, right there at the bottom of the hill.

Speaker 7 (02:40):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
But they're gonna sponsor lant Zerlines visit with us every
Thursday starting in about thirteen minutes from now.

Speaker 7 (02:47):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
But Donald today talked about a lot of things. He
talked about, first of all, the process of siding with
the Seahawks, but that number three Jackson and the timeline
throughout all of this and how this became a reality, just.

Speaker 8 (03:00):
Kind of talking through obviously heard the Geno News. When
that broke, I kind of understood that this could potentially
be a spot for me. And then, you know what
was it Monday, just kind of you know, letting, letting
my agents and these guys kind of figure out, you know,
what would be a really good fit for me, and

(03:21):
that kind of you know, came to fruition a little bit,
and and then finally on Wednesday, you know, finally getting
getting to talk to some of these coaches and you know,
even have some of the players reach out to me,
guys that I played with at USC, having Jackson reach
out as well. Just so eager, you know, I met
Jackson at the Pro Bowl and just so eager to

(03:42):
to to get to know each other and uh, you know,
get get working, you know, talking about when we're gonna
throw each other and stuff like that. So just very
excited man about this opportunity and just to just to
go to work, go to work with these guys in
the building every single day.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Was he at USC with Leonard Williams by the way, No,
he wasn't. He came later.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
I was after, so who did he play with at
USC on the Seahawk roster?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Who was there? Trying to think of anybody on defense.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
I don't know off the top of my head who
was there, but yeah, I mean the fact that he
kind of saw this opening when the Geno Smith news
came down and thought of that as a possibility. I mean,
Dick and I were kind of talking off the air
just how quickly things can change in the NFL. If
I would have told you three years ago that Sam Darnold,
Baker Mayfield, and Geno Smith would be making over one

(04:29):
hundred million dollars combined between the three of them, there's
no way you would have bought that right. And how
about Schneider saying, look, he's been around late bloomers. Rich
Gannon didn't really become a star until he was like
thirty two. Hassleback later on Geno Smith and Seattle, So
I wonder how much of that made him feel better
about this. But here's the difference. Though, I don't think

(04:50):
those guys were twenty seven. Gino wasn't twenty seven and
rich Gannon wasn't twenty.

Speaker 6 (04:55):
S gives you more optimism that this can continue for
Sam Desold, and it's all about the fit. And by
the way, you Chennan Nuosu was at USC at the
same time. Sam Dargell was there, same year actually that
he was there. But you know, we were talking off
the break. In the break, what if Russell Wilson would
have been drafted in the third round by the New
York Jets thirteen years ago. Russell Wilson wouldn't even have had

(05:19):
a career.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Probably, yeah, I mean he might have survived a little
more because he can run, right, so that may have
saved him, But you're totally right, he would not have
been the player he was. What if Daniel Jones got
drafted by Andy Raid and what out the Giants?

Speaker 6 (05:29):
And what if Sam Darnold was drafted high but by
a really good franchise with a really good owner and
a really good coach.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
He might be making sixty million dollars a year right now.

Speaker 1 (05:41):
Well, the so here's the teams that were drafting in
the top four the year Sam Darnold went number three.
There's three of them because one team had two picks.
You know who those three teams are The Browns, Jets,
and Giants. Same teams right now. Some things don't change.

Speaker 6 (05:56):
And that tells Jones, Jets and Giants just that just
reaffirms that bad ownership equals consistently bad teams, because those
three teams have gone through multiple head coaches, multiple coordinators,
multiple quarterbacks, multiple rosters, and they still stink.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
But how did the Giants win all those titles with
Kaughlan and Eli Manning. It's the Mayra family, it's the
same guys. How did they win all those titles? I mean,
they just again, may have just drafted poorly. But I
don't know if the Giants have the same levels Jets
or the Browns, no question. But if if Darnold goes
to the Broncos at number five, or the Colts at

(06:36):
number six, or Buffalo or the Niners at number nine,
for example, right where he ended up later, his career
may have looked totally different. And I agree, I think
where these guys end up. That's why I think what
the Hawks did with Russell was so perfect. To build
everything else first and then get the quarterback. And honestly,
I would have been okay with that this time around.
If they would have come back and said, Okay, we're
gonna get rid of DK, get rid of Geno, get

(06:57):
rid of Lockett, spend someone in the line, build the
offense up, draft a young guy, or sign a guy
to a one year deal, or give the job to
Sam Howe and get a quarterback next year. If they
wanted to go with the Russell plan again, I would
have been fine with that.

Speaker 6 (07:10):
Still can What's nice about this is Sam Darnold's contract
doesn't prevent you from building around it and still having
a rookie quarterback come in in two or three years.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Whose contract?

Speaker 4 (07:21):
Who's contract?

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Sam Darnold, Sam Donald? What time land Zerline getna join?
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Speaker 9 (07:31):
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(07:52):
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Speaker 2 (07:55):
Here's SAFTI and.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
Did big thanks to our friend Juice sat there Queen
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Speaker 2 (08:38):
We did for.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
Lance what John Schneider would not do for DK Metcalff
and Gino Smith and lanz Zerline is back with us
from NFL dot com.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
How are you pal?

Speaker 4 (08:49):
Good? I know where I'm going. When I'm in town,
I'm going to that.

Speaker 7 (08:52):
I'm going to the hall you just talked whatever you
just talked about, I'm going there.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
Hey.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
Look, if you like good food, smash burger, things like
that will take care of your big boy. So you
just let us know when you're in town and you
are in man, you are in no doubt.

Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, that's that's gonna be me. Yep.

Speaker 1 (09:07):
Hey, let's uh, let's start before we talk some draft.
You got your mock draft two point zero that you
put out about ten days ago on dot com.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
We chat about that in a second.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
But hey, man, as a guy that covers the NFL,
what do you give us your thoughts and all the
change happening up here in Seattle? Geno's out, DK's out,
Locket's out. Sam Darner saying about that.

Speaker 7 (09:27):
Well, you know we're seeing in that division, San Francisco's
hitting reset.

Speaker 4 (09:34):
You can go so far with it.

Speaker 7 (09:35):
There's always an iteration of a team in any sport
where you can go so far with this offt You've
been around a long time.

Speaker 4 (09:42):
You remember the old Mariners.

Speaker 7 (09:44):
Team that that you had that with a Rod and
Randy Johnson and King Griffy Jr.

Speaker 4 (09:49):
And you went to Jay Buner. You went to a certain.

Speaker 7 (09:52):
Spot and then you had to you know, eventually you
start dumping the pieces and you try to hit reset
for the next iteration.

Speaker 4 (09:58):
I feel like that's what the Seahawks are doing right now.

Speaker 7 (10:02):
You knew Lockett had to get cut, Cap cut DK metcalf.
I think you know, there's some limitations in terms of
routes he can run.

Speaker 4 (10:09):
And and and and when.

Speaker 7 (10:11):
You have all these cover two shells that you're seeing
all over the place, now, it kind of limits explosive plays,
which really had an impact on a lot of quarterbacks
and receivers last year from a statistical standpoint. And so
you know, I wasn't completely surprised. I'd heard whispers that
that might end up happening, that you know, he might
get put on the on the market there. But there's

(10:33):
a lot of there's a lot of there's a lot
of work to be done for John Schneider. I mean,
let's face it, the offensive line has been an issue
for a long time. The interior needs a lot of work.
You now need one or two wide receivers, and and honestly,
the quarterback situation, I'm not sure you upgrade a whole
lot going from Geno Smith to uh to Sam Darnold.

(10:55):
I mean, Sam had a great season last last year
for the first you know, sixteen or so games, and
then his last two are terrible, and so it really
makes you a little nervous based on his background.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
So you know, I'd like.

Speaker 7 (11:07):
To believe that I think Sam Darnold coming back is
a great comeback store.

Speaker 4 (11:10):
I want to believe that he has.

Speaker 7 (11:15):
Matured as a quarterback and become the guy that we
saw most of last year. But he did that with
Justin Jefferson, with with Jordan Addison, with Jalen Naylor. He
did it with some pretty good wide receivers. So I
think it behooves John Schneider to really, you know, put
an emphasis on the wide receiver position in this draft
within the first three to four rounds.

Speaker 6 (11:38):
Lance, how many prospects do you have this year with
actual first round grades?

Speaker 4 (11:44):
I've got twenty three?

Speaker 2 (11:45):
Is that more or less are about the same as usual?

Speaker 4 (11:49):
Little less, little less?

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Okay, okay?

Speaker 1 (11:52):
And is that just because of the coaching going on
in college football? Is that because of the systems being
run in college football? Is there are reason for that
or is that just, hey, the way the ball bounced
this year.

Speaker 4 (12:04):
Yeah, I think it's just you know, I think it's
just the way it goes.

Speaker 7 (12:08):
There have been now there's some interesting things that have
happened over the last two or three years that are
are kind of changing the way I'm looking at the
draft And how many draft prospects I write up first
as nil we had fewer players come out as early
entries this year than we've seen in years, right, And

(12:29):
that's because they can make money in college football, so
they're not rushing to you know, get to the pros
unless they're a top twenty twenty five pick.

Speaker 4 (12:36):
Usually.

Speaker 7 (12:36):
The second thing is there's a lot of COVID. So
when we had COVID, if you were in college football
during the COVID years, you got an additional you know,
year of football. And then many of these players also
took a red shirt year at some point. So I
can't tell you how many guys I've written.

Speaker 4 (12:54):
Up for a sixty year seniors.

Speaker 7 (12:55):
It used to be unheard of unless you had a
medical red shirt to go along with a regular red shirt,
and those you had to petition for, and it wasn't
always granted. Now I'm right in a sixty year seniors
who are twenty four years old, and so you've got
more of these COVID guys coming in. You've got fewer
early entries coming in, so it's a little bit watered
down now the top end.

Speaker 6 (13:16):
Does that mean though, that the middle rounds are actually
filled with guys that have a better chance of making
the league than say, five ten years ago.

Speaker 7 (13:25):
There you go bingo, and that's where a lot of
teams feel like, you know, picks twenty through sixty have
a lot more value this year because it's just and
sometimes it's just a.

Speaker 4 (13:35):
Natural flow of the draft.

Speaker 7 (13:37):
And I think that's part of it too, is just
certain years, you know, just it just coincides with certain players,
So certain drafts are.

Speaker 4 (13:44):
Better than other drafts, and that's what is going on here.

Speaker 7 (13:47):
But this one is deep at certain positions and it
does give you some depth in rounds two through four,
and frankly, you know, I wouldn't want to be in
a top ten. I don't like the top ten much.
It's not a good top ten. But once you get
to about sixteen, and we get beyond sixteen, the value
starts to even out for what these players really are.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
Well, lanzerline nfl dot Com with us every Thursday through
the draft courtesy of Moss Bay Hall Queen Anne beer Hall.
Their menus always packed with Seattle's best smash burger, wings
and the best local craft beers to fuel.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
Every single play.

Speaker 1 (14:22):
Now, your original mock that came out in February, had
the Hawks taken Luther Burden the third the wide receiver
from Missouri. Your latest mock has them also going wide receiver,
taking Matthew Golden from Texas. But I gotta be honest
with you, I'm intrigued by the guy you got going
seventeenth right ahead of the Seahawks. I'd love to have
Tyler Warren playing here in Seattle. Maybe it's because I'm

(14:43):
scarred by him shoving it up our tailpipe and Happy
Valley against the Huskies back in November. But I mean,
let's just start with Tyler Warren because this guy man,
I was really impressed washing him play in person.

Speaker 4 (14:54):
Pow. Yeah, Tyler Warren.

Speaker 7 (14:57):
You know I'm gonna I'm gonna invoke a name from
the past.

Speaker 4 (15:00):
He's on my draft profile. He is.

Speaker 7 (15:04):
This player is my comp. And if you watched him
in college, you know what I mean. Jeremy SHACKI from Miamiah.
Jeremy Shaki had this swagger, this confidence, this playmaking ability.
Now that's my comp coming out. Now I'm not it's
not a comp because of Shaky had a lot of
injuries in the pros. But I get that same vibe

(15:24):
from Warren. He's more confident than cocky. Jeremy Shockey was
very cocky, but Warren is very confident. They say, from
a football standpoint, elite football character, elite personal character. He
comes in the room and he makes your football team better.
From a character standpoint, what I really like is that

(15:44):
he finds ways to make plays. And there's a lot
of people who over the years have said, man, what
is how is Travis Kelsey doing this?

Speaker 4 (15:51):
Or how is Gronk doing this?

Speaker 7 (15:52):
Right, Gronk doesn't look fast, and yet he's always open.
Guys had a hard time covering him. Travis Kelcey always seems.

Speaker 4 (15:59):
To get open.

Speaker 7 (16:00):
Tyler Warren is one of those guys that I don't
think he's a great tester. I don't think he's some
elite athlete. I think he's maybe a slightly above average athlete.
But he's a good football player. He knows how to
get open, he's great at making catches, and he has
a variety of ways at beating you. In the fact
that Penn State would snap the ball direct snap to
him to go get first downs on third downs and

(16:21):
fourth downs just tells you the type of you know,
pee wee league football, like when you're little league baseball,
the best player is always at shortstop or center field.

Speaker 4 (16:30):
Or they pitch.

Speaker 7 (16:31):
Well, Tyler Warren is one of those guys that like,
just put it in his hands. He's our best player.
Just give him the ball. I don't care what we
do it. We just need to play. Let Tyler Warren
go do it. And I don't blame you for being
excited about him if he makes it to eighteen. I mean, honestly,
he has a higher football grade, a higher draft grade
for me than any of these wide receivers.

Speaker 4 (16:50):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (16:50):
Well, I know a lot of people would think though,
Lan said that tight end is a quote unquote luxury
position for a team that's like about ready to win
the Super Bowl and just needs that last piece.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
Do you feel like it is an anymore?

Speaker 6 (17:00):
Or is just tight end kind of ubiquitous And it's
as important as anything else.

Speaker 4 (17:04):
This as important as anything else.

Speaker 7 (17:06):
And you know, if Antonio Gates didn't tell you that,
if Tony Gonzalez didn't tell you that, if Travis Kelcey
isn't telling you that, these are I remember when Antonio
Gates was with Philip Rivers. They really didn't have a
lot of wide receivers, but Gates was able to function
as the primary wide receiver Tony Gonzalez gave that same opportunity,
you know, to Kansas City and then to Atlanta. I

(17:28):
feel like the same thing is true with Travis Kelcey.
You didn't have to have Travis. You didn't have to
have Tyreek Hill to win a Super Bowl because you
had Travis Kelsey, who was your primary pass catcher.

Speaker 4 (17:38):
Tight Ends, for me, if you.

Speaker 7 (17:40):
Have a special one to me, they're just pass catchers.
Forget the name tight end. How many weapons do you
have pass catching weapons? You need to have three. If
he's one of them, great, then you just need to
have two wide receivers and the third wide receiver who cares.
And the other thing about tight ends is, I'll say this,
there are other tight ends who can be mismatch tight ends.

(18:01):
You know, they can be very fast and cause problems
with how you're going to defend them. We're Colston Lovelin,
who is you know a tight end for Michigan who
I think is up there with Tyler Warren and he
could be in you know, he could be in consideration
by John Snyder. If you target tight end, he's the
one that can block. He can block a little bit
from Michigan and he's a little bit faster than Tyler Warrens.

(18:23):
He's got the ability to stretch the feel more consistently.
So I think cut ends now have become real mismatch
players because it changes and offers.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
You know, you got to think about how you're.

Speaker 7 (18:34):
Going to guard so and then for others whore you know,
it's tough to guard. They're just average best atters. If
they can really block well, they really create opportunities for
you to to go to different personnel groupings.

Speaker 4 (18:45):
And that's what it's about, keeping the defense on their meels.

Speaker 2 (18:48):
Ye all right, lenzerline again with us.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
Join us every Thursday at five twenty courtesy of our
friends at Moss Bay Hall, Queen Anne Bear Hall got
a brand new spot opening up later this summer on
Occidental and there allumin Field. It's gonna be phenomenal. The TVs,
the foods, best smash burger in Seattle, best wings in Seattle,
best local craft beers as well. In Seattle, you're going
to a cracking game, going to a concert, whatever event.

(19:12):
At Climate Pledge Arena, Queen Anne Beer Hall is absolutely
the place you got to get to. And when that
new spot opens up on Occidental for Seahawk games, Sounder games,
Mariner games as well. But Lance, it's funny because we've
been sitting here for the last twelve minutes and we
haven't even mentioned the offensive line for the Seahawks, which
is the biggest issue by far on this football team.
They got a brand new OC in Clint Kubiak, who

(19:34):
runs that famous outside zone running scheme. Knowing what Clint
Kubiak wants to do offensively and what he'll need from
his offensive line, are there pieces in this draft that
can come in and make this line better right away?

Speaker 4 (19:50):
There are?

Speaker 7 (19:51):
But I would say this too, and I know he's
Gary Kubiak's son, and Gary Kubiak was a staunch outside
zone guy.

Speaker 4 (19:59):
More and more teams now are getting away.

Speaker 7 (20:00):
From steady outside zone like it needs to be. You
need to have gap skiing, You need to have offensive
linemen that are capable of being multiple and so one
of the things I found a little tricky now is finding,
you know, typical zone.

Speaker 4 (20:16):
He used to be easy. His own scheme guards, you
knew who they were. You had the gap scheme guards,
you knew who they were. Well, now you've got to
really have a blend of it because of how defenses
can stop outside zone.

Speaker 7 (20:25):
Now they can really do certain things to make it tough,
and I love the outside zone from guard standpoint.

Speaker 4 (20:31):
You know, Tyler Booker is not going to He's a
tough guy, but he's.

Speaker 7 (20:35):
Not a pure outside zone guy, and that would be
a first the first round, I pick now.

Speaker 4 (20:39):
Donavan Jackson from Ohio State.

Speaker 7 (20:41):
I think he can be an outside zone type of guard.
I wouldn't take him at eighteen, but Josh Spider likes
the trade back, so that might be a trade back
target somewhere later in the first round. I don't know
if you want to go behind the Houston Texans because
they need guard too, so I'm not sure you want
to go behind.

Speaker 4 (20:57):
Twenty five.

Speaker 7 (20:58):
There is a really impressive one from William and.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
Marry named Charles Grant.

Speaker 7 (21:04):
And Charles Grant is a pure outside.

Speaker 4 (21:07):
Zone steam guard in the NFL. He was a tackle
of William and Mary. He needs to get a.

Speaker 7 (21:12):
Little bit bigger, but every time I watch him, I
would think, man, this guy would have been great under
Garry Kubak, and now we're talking about Clint Kubak.

Speaker 4 (21:20):
It's the same thing.

Speaker 7 (21:21):
He may need a year to really beat up and
get to where he needs to be physically from a
from a body standpoint, but he is awesome at getting
to the angles. He needs to get guys cut off.

Speaker 4 (21:34):
But this is not gonna be a one year fixed
Seahawks fans. This is going to take some time.

Speaker 7 (21:38):
And I would tell you that on the on the
offensive line, to get this running game the way Clint
Kubak wants it, it's gonna take a little time to
get the right pieces up front.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well, you mentioned a few names there.

Speaker 6 (21:49):
How many plug and play interior offensive linemen are there
in this draft? And and about where would you have
to draft those guys?

Speaker 7 (22:00):
Well, you gotta draft him in the first three rounds.
There's not a ton, you know, there's not a ton.
I think Wyatt Milem from West Virginia could be one,
but he's not. You know, he could do some zone
scheme stuff, but he might be in consideration. Tate Rattledge
not a great athlete, more of a tough guy. He's
going to be a plug and play probably a third

(22:21):
round guard. But beyond that, you know, in terms of
my rankings here, I've got the other two. I mentioned
Tyler Booker from Alabama who's more an inline power player
and then Donovan Jackson, who can run out so he
can run plenty of outside zone. I think Donovan Jackson
is the guy if you wanted a first round guard
that you're really targeting too, because he is a plug
and play player and they do a lot of stretch,

(22:44):
you know, a lot of wide stretched stuff out of
there their shotgun looks. So Donovan Jackson, more so than
Tyler Booker, is somebody that Seahawks fans should look for.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, Donovan Jackson from Ohio State, no doubt. I won
the championship with him. I think we all know his
name for sure, but hey, Lance, before where you go?
We got we got seven weeks before the draft, so
lots of time to go over all these names. But
it kind of feels like there's a lightning rod that's
starting to develop around Shador Sanders.

Speaker 9 (23:09):
Right.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
People either love the guy or they hate the guy.
Ryan Clark was on TV the other day saying that
he takes criticism because he's African American. I got Hugh
Millen coming on our show saying his sack tape is
among the worst he's ever seen. Where do you stand
on Shdor Sanders?

Speaker 7 (23:27):
Well, I think what Ryan said is irresponsible, honestly. I mean, listen,
I talk to guys around the league, black, white, decision maker, scouts,
whatever the case, people in the league who do this
for a living day.

Speaker 4 (23:39):
No, it has nothing to do with any of that.
I mean, that's more of a media construct. That's more
of a fan construct.

Speaker 7 (23:44):
The guys behind the scenes in the league, we'll tell you.
It's a couple of things. Number One, he's more of
a second round type talent. He's not really a first
round talent. But he's going to get pushed up because
he's a quarterback, not because he's shed Door Sanders, because
he's a quarterback and quarterbacks get pushed up, and he'll
probably go on the first I've had a second round

(24:05):
great on him on my tape after I watched.

Speaker 4 (24:07):
Him, and I kind of liked him.

Speaker 7 (24:08):
But I like them enough to be a six point three,
which is an above average starter.

Speaker 4 (24:14):
I think that's how he projects.

Speaker 7 (24:16):
That's not a player I would take for me personally,
not in the top ten picks, and I'd really, you know,
it'd be later in the first round that I would
take him. With Shor Sanders. The braggadocio and the cockiness
and all that NFL teams don't care about that. What
they do care about, though, is are you gonna be
on pot you know, are you going to immediately have
your own podcast? Are you going to be a team

(24:38):
first guy? Are you going to be the guy that
threw your offensive line under the bus in the offseason
where you're streaming video games.

Speaker 4 (24:44):
That's no good for a quarterback. I don't care who
you are. I don't care if you're black, white, tall,
short zones. You know, a triple option quarterback or an.

Speaker 7 (24:52):
Air raid quarterback. You can't lay out your teammates publicly.
You're the leader. The second concern is that Deon Sanders
is his dad, and you know, it's one thing to
have a little bar bass situation, but Dion is Dion
is a dude. You know, Dion is a guy who's
always going to be around. He's got big opinions. And
there are a lot of teams that are worried that

(25:13):
when you draft Shador, you're drafting Dion. And if Dion
isn't happy with you know, the wide receiving core, if
he's not happy with the play calling, if he's not
happy with the head coach, then the coaching staff's gonna
get it. The front office is gonna get it, and
maybe eventually ownership will get it. That's a real concern
for NFL teams I talked to. But he's an accurate quarterback,
he's poised. There's a lot of things to like about

(25:34):
Shador Sanders. But I thought, well, Ryan Clark brought up
that really has nothing to do with what's going on
in the league.

Speaker 1 (25:40):
Circles at all Land Zerline NFL dot Com every Thursday,
courtesy a Queen Anne beer Hall, Moss bay Hall, and Kirkland.
Great stuff, and we're talking a week, man, appreciate it.
Actually we will not talking a week because we have
college basketball. So we'll get with your people and figure
out a way to get you on next week.

Speaker 7 (25:54):
All right, buddy, Yeah, you know where to reach my
people at my phone number.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
I've done Line NFL dot Com.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
He'll be with us typically every Thursday, but next Thursday
we got some college hoops, so we'll have to kind
of redistribute that.

Speaker 2 (26:07):
Maybe get him on Wednesday with you and Hughey.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
Good stuff from Lance and interesting about the d on
stuff he's saying that NFL teams have said that's a
concern because We've talked about that here on this show,
that if you're drafting Shador, you're drafting d On Sanders
as well. And I don't know, we talked about this
on the air the other day. If he's sitting there
at number eight, he didn't he drops far enough? Would
you want the Hawks to take him?

Speaker 6 (26:28):
To?

Speaker 1 (26:28):
Sam Donald now being on the roster, kind of say, well,
we'd like a quarterback, but maybe not that high. If
John Schneider has always thought that Shador was going to
be a star in the NFL, doesn't he still have
to take him answer, even though he's got Sam donaldant
your thoughts on that.

Speaker 2 (26:45):
Next on ninety three three KJRFM.

Speaker 9 (26:47):
You're listening to the exclusive home of the Huskies, the
Krack and March Madness. Now back to Softie and Did
proudly brought to you by Emerald quin Casino on Sports
Radio ninety three point three kJ R.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
So, do you think that there's a quarterback in this
draft that John Schneider looks at and he says that
guy is gonna be badass right there?

Speaker 2 (27:08):
That guy's gonna be really really good.

Speaker 4 (27:10):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
I think there's probably a quarterback in every draft. It
feels like it's gonna be good.

Speaker 1 (27:15):
Then if that guy's there at eighteen, the Hawks have
not found a trade partner because a lot of teams
are gonna want to trade down right. You just heard
Lan Zerlan last segment say he's got how many first
round grades in this year?

Speaker 2 (27:26):
Twenty three?

Speaker 1 (27:26):
So there's gonna be a handful of teams that are
gonna want to get the hell out of the first round.
If he's got twenty three first round grades, then there's
at least, you know, probably half the teams might have
the same kind of problem that we don't see first
round talent. So and the Hawks always want to trade
down right, So there's gonna be a lot of teams
that want to get out of the first round. And
if the Hawks can't find a partner and they're sitting

(27:49):
there at eighteen and Shador Sanders is on the clock
and he thinks Shador is going to be a star,
he's got to take him right, even though he's got
Sam Darnold.

Speaker 6 (27:57):
If you're sitting at thirty one, though, and there's twenty
three first rounders accord to Lance Dernline, maybe there's twenty
four or twenty five according to your board, But they're
they look like they're all going to be gone. Maybe
you'd maybe you want to trade up and get into
that spot.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Where you're actually getting a first round per first round.

Speaker 1 (28:14):
No, I mean, if they can move back to that
late twenties whatever and then get some more talks. I mean,
didn't they move back multiple times when they drafted Malik
McDowell in the second round, at least right when they
when Buddha Baker was on the clock and they said, no,
we don't need him, we'd rather have Malik McDowell. Imagine
saying no to Buddha Baker for Malik McDowell. And they
did that like multiple times in that draft that year.

Speaker 6 (28:35):
So no, your question on Sanders is a good one,
and I think I think, yeah, I think you have
to take if you firmly believe that this quarterback is
going to be your guy for the next decade.

Speaker 2 (28:46):
Nothing about Darnold should stop you.

Speaker 6 (28:48):
Right.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Oh yeah, because I love what Green Bay does with
their quarterbacks.

Speaker 6 (28:53):
Sit Aaron Rodgers for a couple of years, sit Jordan
Love for a couple of years.

Speaker 2 (28:58):
I fully believe that's.

Speaker 6 (28:59):
Why one of the main reasons Aaron Rodgers was as
good as he was Jordan Love is going to be
good because they sit and they learn from Hall of
Fame caliber quarterbacks in front of them instead of being
thrown into the fire.

Speaker 1 (29:11):
Well, and look, you know, I mean the Seahawks obviously
have locked up a guy to it. How many it's
a three year deal? Do we have we seen any
details on this? By the way, like two years, say
the cap numbers, blah blah blah. We got to get
our guy Jenetti on at some point and talk about
this because if they've signed him to a team friendly
deal that they can get out of after two years,

(29:33):
the salary cap is at what two.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
Eighty nine to eighty five whatever it is?

Speaker 1 (29:38):
I mean that thirty three million dollars dick that Sam
Darnold got.

Speaker 2 (29:41):
I just can't do it. Man, I cannot say the
name without saying it that way, driving me nuts.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
Saw it's not gonna be problematic this year, and it's
gonna be way less problematic next year and way less
problematic the year after.

Speaker 6 (29:57):
Well, you'd probably have a similar situation to what Gino was,
where you you'd have to choose, all right, do you
want to pay Sam Sam Darnold, you know, fifty million
that has fifty million that last year or cut him
for fifteen eighteen. Right, you're gonna probably have. It's probably
gonna be a similar type deal than what Gino signed
a couple of years.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
Well, I put the little quote out from lent Zer
line where he says he says, quote, I'm not sure
you upgrade a lot going from Gino to Sam Darnold,
which is exactly, by the way, kind of what hock
Blogger said, same thing, that he doesn't know if they're
better at quarterback. There's two guys that have been on
the show today that both said, we don't know how
much better you are at quarterback, to which Dave b
writes another idiot. Okay, let's see Danny Boye on Twitter.

(30:43):
That's fine when you stay the same at quarterback but
gain draft capital and cap space to address the rest
of the teams this year. Exactly right, Well, yes and no,
because if the quarterback is that much worse than the
previous guy, does the cap savings really do a lot worse.

Speaker 6 (31:01):
But that guy is saying, is there really help you?
What that guy is saying is if they're equal, it
really helps you. If the quarterback is equal or better,
then then it really helps you because you have the
draft capital and the extra ten plus million dollars a year.

Speaker 1 (31:15):
Okay, but if you have stayed the same, which there
are folks out there who think that they've gotten worse,
I'm not one of them. I think time will tell. Obviously,
I know that's a cop out to say something like
that and talk radio, but if they have gotten worse
at quarterback than they were a year ago, then it's
not gonna be worth it. It's not gonna be worth
the cap savings, and it won't be worth the draft capital,

(31:36):
and it won't be worth passing on a quarterback. And
I also wonder, by the way, how much time are
people in this town gonna give Sam Darnald if he
comes out and just looks terrible in the first month
of the year. Are we gonna hear people booing this
guy and ripping the Seahawks for getting rid of Gino Smith, yes,
and saying it was a one hit. Wonder how much
rope does Sam Donald get in Seattle Jackson.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
I think he gets a a month, maybe two months.

Speaker 2 (32:02):
But come on, Dick, Well, I.

Speaker 6 (32:03):
Think Twitter, yeah, I think, well, there's a difference between
Seahawks Twitter and booing him in the stadium.

Speaker 2 (32:10):
There is a big difference.

Speaker 6 (32:11):
You'll see Seahawks Twitter if Sam Donald goes oh for
his first three you'll i mean attempts. You'll see Seahawks
Twitter go off because you'll see the Geno nation out there.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Hate.

Speaker 6 (32:24):
Geno Nation isn't gonna give Sam Donald an inch.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
They aren't gonna give him an inch. They are going to.

Speaker 6 (32:31):
Look for reasons to convince everybody else that they were
right about Gino and they should have kept Genie.

Speaker 3 (32:38):
So you don't think that if if we start the season,
let's say we start two and four and Sam Donald
has been let's just some part of the world, yeah, subpar,
You don't think there's gonna be boozing the stadium.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
Yes, I think there was an absolutely after four or
five games, there will start being the SAMs in the stadium.
Last year for this football team.

Speaker 6 (32:57):
Sam Donald the one costing you those games or they
just playing poorly.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Across because he looks subpart. It looks bad.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
And guess what, when you're going out and getting a
guy like Sam Donald and you're giving up on Gino Smith,
he needs to look good like if you're gonna say
no to Gino and you're gonna go get Sam Darnold,
then he he needs to be responsible. Thirty three million
for your offense playing well. Now, thirty three million is
not much by today's standards. It's actually below the fold,

(33:24):
by the way, when it comes to average starting quarterback salaries.
But I think it's very low on the veteran chart.
As you said, I still think I don't give a
damn how much he's making. If you're gonna make this move,
it's the context of just making the move for me,
you make the move.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
He needs to be.

Speaker 1 (33:40):
Responsible for a large reason why the offense is good.

Speaker 3 (33:43):
I just think that what fans will see his fans
will see three years hundred million dollars and they'll be
talking into the stands thinking one hundred million dollars and
that's what we're getting.

Speaker 2 (33:53):
That'll be customers. I'm just I'm curious about all this. Man.
I know it's not a million. I mean, they have
they have gone Sam.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
Darnum gets on, and they have gotten rid of a
guy who was doing okay and they're trying to be great.

Speaker 2 (34:06):
And it's a roll of the dice. It is a
roll of the dice.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
And I look I'm totally fine with it because you
know what, the downside to me, The downside to me
is actually stinking. And that means rebuilding, and that means
bringing in a new guy. That means tearing this thing
down to the studs. That means I'm talking I'm talking
about offensively, right, Yeah, totally, so, I'm I'm I'm cool
with this man. If but they're working, then try to
get better. That's what they're doing. Why be scared? Why

(34:32):
be scared to try to be elite? We're gonna break.

Speaker 10 (34:35):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (34:35):
David Samson, former president from the Marlins, will join us.
How come the Mariners didn't do squat over the off season?

Speaker 4 (34:42):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (34:42):
And why does Jerry to Poto keep talking to people
like we're stupid? Next on ninety three three KJRFM, the
Mariners in Cactus League play tonight two weeks from tonight
is opening Day against the Sacramento A's at t Moble Park.
We're gonna call him Sacramento or the Oakland A's or
just the Ads.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
Are they to be known as the Sacramento Is or
just the A's. That's what I just said. I you know,
I mean, you said, are we gonna?

Speaker 6 (35:07):
Are we gonna call them that I'm talking about, like
major League Baseball. Are they calling them the Sacramento's or
just the A's.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
Well, if you go to ESPN's spring training standings, they
just have them as the A's, Okay, and that's it.
Joining us right now on the air Nothing Personal Podcast,
Dan Levittard Show, our friend Dave Samson, Dave, how are you?

Speaker 2 (35:27):
I am doing great.

Speaker 10 (35:29):
We are two weeks away from baseball and I literally
can't wait. Although we're way closer because the regular season
opens in just a week in Tokyo when the Dodgers
and Cubs play.

Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yeah, no doubt.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
Well let's uh, let's first of all before we kind
of dive into maybe some more national topics outside of Seattle.
You know, we're very two oh six Seattle centric obviously
on this radio show. And here the Mariners have this
phenomenal pitching staff and all of us are waiting and
hoping for the team to go out and make a
bunch of moves to strengthen the offense over the off

(36:02):
season and then nothing, nothing, whatsoever. The most money they've
spent on one guy was bringing back Jorge Polanco at
seven point five million dollars, so how would you characterize
the offseason so far for the Mariners?

Speaker 10 (36:17):
Man, I had so many off seasons like this where
we didn't do enough or we thought we didn't do
enough for our offense, and we were pretty proud of
our pitching. And there were some seasons where we thought
we were light on pitching, but our lineup was strong.
The reality is, I can't think of a team other
than the Dodgers in all of baseball that can sit

(36:38):
here today, two weeks from opening day and say they've
got their ideal twenty six. And so what you need
is over performance from players from last year, and you
need continued health from your pitching. And that's when you
have the problem that Justin Turner talked about and that
we now see with Kirby being shut down for a
hot second, is that having pitching health is super hard,

(37:03):
and when it happens and you don't win, it is
totally deflating. But the next year starts like this next
year is going to start for Seattle, and you can
again hope that you get better offensive production to match
what still should be even with Kirby hurt, a above average,
way above average pitching staff.

Speaker 6 (37:23):
What's your level of optimism for a bounce back from
the Polancos, the Garvers, the Jps, Mitch Hannigher, you know
that crew that's not the middle of your lineup.

Speaker 10 (37:34):
So the way I used to do this is that
I used to have a level of optimism that we
would have over fifty percent of our offense be above
their average at the same time in the same year.
And so what I mean is that you need to
have in order to win, and when you're not the Dodgers,

(37:56):
in order to win, you have to have a career
year from several players together. And if you're asking is
the talent there, it definitely is. Is it likely that
you will get above average performance from multiple players at
the same time. It only happens for several teams per year.

(38:20):
So the hope is you're one of those teams. And
I went as a team president into every season thinking
this was going to be our year to be above
average from places we didn't expect it. And it worked
once that we won a World Series, and it didn't
work seventeen times when we didn't win a World Series
or even make the playoffs in my career. So the

(38:43):
hope is one thing. The reality is what unfolds over
the next six months.

Speaker 1 (38:47):
Well, the word you just use reality has been thrown
around a lot with the word perception by our president
of baseball operations. And I don't know, David again, David
Samson with us on the show. I don't know how
much you've been following from your seat the Jerry Depoto
press conferences, and every time he goes in front of

(39:09):
a camera, in front of a microphone.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
Real a good offensive team, he.

Speaker 1 (39:12):
Just drives people nuts because he's trying to convince everyone
that they're wrong and it's not landing very well with
the media or the fan base in Seattle. Have you
been following any of that out here and why do
you think he keeps doing that?

Speaker 4 (39:27):
Well?

Speaker 10 (39:28):
I have, and he's doing it because that's what we do.
That's in the playbook for president of baseball operations and
presidents of teams is you want to fake it till
you make it. And the problem in sports is that,
unlike so many other businesses, every single day, for one
hundred and sixty two.

Speaker 4 (39:47):
Days, you are proven either right or wrong.

Speaker 10 (39:51):
And so he can keep saying it all he wants,
but at the end of the day, the record of
the Mariners will be what the record of the Mariners
will be. And believe me, I I would stay awake
at night dreaming about being right and getting to sit
in front of the media to say, Nana, Nana, I
was right, you were wrong, and I was able to
do it, as I said one time. So it doesn't

(40:14):
happen very often, but every year I would go in
front of the media and I would say a lot
of the same things. Now, of course, as host of
nothing personal, I poke holes in what people say to
the media who are in the position of Jerry because
I've been there and I know exactly what he's thinking
when he closes his eyes at night, he's crossing his

(40:35):
fingers and his toes and he's hoping for the above
average performances all to hit at once.

Speaker 6 (40:42):
I'd love to know, because I need to know why
John Stanton, in his first four years as owner of
this baseball team had a payroll of eleventh, thirteenth, eighth,
and eleventh. I think most Mariner fans would be fully
appreciative of that type of financial commitment, and yet here
we are seven years after that last year I just mentioned,

(41:03):
and he's actually spending more money on less money on
payroll now than he did. Then is this an RSN
issue that he just doesn't have the money, or do
you think this is a philosophical shift that he's just
not going to go back to doing.

Speaker 10 (41:14):
That ever Again, Well, listen, we shouldn't ask our team owners,
and this has been a real issue throughout my entire career.
You can't ask owners to lose money, except no one
believes that you're losing money. Everyone believes that these teams
print money on an operational basis, and it really is

(41:35):
not true, but no one cares. No one wants to
hear it because the view is you're a rich man,
you're a billionaire, you own a team that's worth billions
of dollars. I don't care be the Dodgers. The fact
is that the Dodgers are able to do what the
Dodgers are able to do because they have more revenue.
The Mets are able to do what they're willing to

(41:57):
do because they have an owner who is willing to
be irrational and is willing to lose tens of millions
of dollars. But even Steve Cohne came out this offseason
and said, hey, folks, this is not sustainable. This doesn't
make sense what I'm doing, but I'm doing it now.
But man, we better win. And I'll tell you now

(42:18):
if the Mets have another year where they make it
to the LCS but no further. And Steve Cohne looks
at himself and says, what am I doing? His payroll
is going to go down because their revenue can't support
the payroll. So having a payroll that is supported by
your revenue, that is important. So the Mariners, to me,
it's not a payroll issue. And this is when I

(42:41):
want to be careful because I'm not imputing Jerry specifically,
but what I am saying is that the Mariner's payroll
level is such that if they're not winning, then at
some point you say, we need different baseball decisions. And
I was in that position where we had to make

(43:01):
changes on the baseball side because at our low payrolls,
we had expectations that may have been irrational. But at
minium payrolls, which is where the Mariners are, they should
have expectations where they've got open windows of competition where
they are in the playoffs, and they were there. And
so the fact is you did make the playoffs. You

(43:24):
just weren't able to do it on a continuing basis,
which is what makes this season so gosh darn important
for the Mariners, because if it's another year of underperformance,
then it's another year removed from the success and another
year closer to a closed window of being competitive.

Speaker 1 (43:42):
Well, David Samson with US former president of the Marlins,
now with Dan Lemittard Nothing Personal podcast CBSHQ. Find them
on Twitter at David P. Sampson. By the way, on
X check them out there and give them a follow.
So is this like, for lack of a better term,
how much pressure is now squarely on Jerry because he
fired Scott Servis a year ago replaced him with Dan Wilson.

(44:05):
How much does he now move up to the number
one hot seat himself because he already fired a manager.

Speaker 10 (44:12):
Listen, let's face it, that's how it goes down the chain.
You start with the pitching coach, hitting coach, then you
move up to the manager, and you move up to
the general manager, then you move up to the president
of baseball operations, and then eventually you move up to
the dawn president. So the owner is never going to
fire himself, and the owner has to blame somebody when
there is losing, and so eventually you run out of runway.

(44:35):
Is Jerry out of runway? I would say no, because
he's survived a lot of underperformance already. So there is
a possibility that Jerry's relationship with Stanton as such that
there is an understanding that on field performance will not
be the sole arbiter of his future. And in that regard,

(44:57):
he may not be on the hot seat. But the
were only results related. I think it will be hard
if the Mariners lose ninety games this year, it will
be hard for him to survive that.

Speaker 2 (45:08):
David Sampson joining us.

Speaker 6 (45:10):
Had the Mariners had a reasonable free agent budget instead
of the fifteen million dollars that they told us that
they have had, which they have spent about half of that,
where would you have liked to see them go realistically
in free agency?

Speaker 10 (45:22):
Well, I must tell you that whole business of giving
what a free agent budget is I always found that
to be total horse hockey, because you never know what
you're going to be able to spend. What you get
from your owner and CFO is an overall payroll, and
whether you do it through trade by taking on money,
whether you do it through free agency. You build a

(45:45):
team according to the payroll that you're given by the owner.
You don't. It doesn't go the other way where you
just do a bunch of signings and then say to
the owner, well, here's where our payroll is. So I
never really focused on it that, oh, they didn't spend
enough money in free agency, or they didn't spend enough
in their arbitration eligible players. I look at the overall

(46:05):
payroll and so for me, if you have more money
to spend, where I always would spend it is pitching,
because pitching depth is what's going to help you because again,
he's got the offense right now that if they perform
at the same time above average, it's good enough to

(46:25):
get them to October because of how great the pitching
staff is. So I would want more depths. And it's
not a coincidence that the Dodgers spend a lot of
money putting together a ten member starting pitching staff, literally
because you need that sort of depth because the type
of health that Seattle enjoyed. And I don't have the

(46:47):
stat in front of me, guys, how many starters actually
started for the Mariners last year.

Speaker 1 (46:53):
Six or seven. Hancock was the one guy that got
some real time because.

Speaker 6 (46:58):
Brian Will got beast, and then Jonathan Diaz spot started
like three times.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
That was it. It was basically five and a half guys, Dave.

Speaker 10 (47:05):
So just keep in mind that that is the dream,
but it is not the reality. Almost ever, we always
went into spring training saying, we need a depth chart
of fourteen men who can start a game at the
big leagues. You have five on your staff, and we

(47:26):
need two or three in the bullpen that can be
moved up into the starting rotation, and then we need
about six between triple A and double A who we
can bring up during the course of the year to
cover for injury and lack of performance. When you can
go through a season with five, six or seven guys,
it is just bad luck that the Mariners didn't win

(47:47):
ninety five games last year, and it's because the offense
did not play above average and it happened to me.
It stinks, but it's a new year. Anything could happen,
but I would take the over. If you're offered a
bet on any market on the number of starting pitchers
Seattle will use this year, it is almost impossible to

(48:10):
believe that it will still be only seven, because that
is a stroke of luck that is very hard to find.

Speaker 2 (48:16):
Well, why do you think we were so pissed off
about last year when you got this dream scenario, this
unbelievable rotation and you missed the freaking playoffs because your
offense stunk up the joints. So look, we all get it.

Speaker 1 (48:27):
You know, we're waiting for Julio Crawford to bounce back, Garver, Hanneger,
Luke Rayley, we'll see about a Rose Arena whatever. But
at the same time, you might be Robin Peter pay
Paul because as you said, that pitching staff may not
be as functional and healthy as it was a year ago.

Speaker 2 (48:41):
So it really is disappointing.

Speaker 1 (48:43):
But David Samson's with us on the air, and David
got one more for you before you go. If I'm
not mistaken, the current CBA expires after the twenty twenty
sixth season. Are we heading for any kind of a
workstoppage in your mind down the road the next two years.

Speaker 10 (48:58):
I think it's guaranteed there will be a lockout after
the twenty twenty sixth season. I think that you've seen
indications from the commissioner already. I think that you've seen
owners come out. On Tomorrow's Nothing Personal Live at eight
am Eastern, I'm going to talk about what Dick Momford
of the Rockies came out and said today, where he
wants a salary cap and a salary floor. You have

(49:21):
more owners fighting against owners because of the salary and
payroll disparity, and before you can argue with players, you
have to have a united front with owners, and right
now there is not a united front, and so there's
a lot of issues that have to be dealt with.
And I don't see a path to an early extension

(49:41):
where you get labor peace, like in the middle of
the year next year, to avoid any expiration of the CBA.
I think, like last time, it will expire and then
there'll be an immediate lockout by the owners of the players,
but it'll be the offseason. So the real question is
do I think there'll be any miss time in twenty
twenty seven, And my answer is I think there is

(50:05):
a real probability there will be because it's still a
year before all of the national media deals expire. If
the new national deals were starting in twenty seven, then
the owners would bend over backwards not to have any
sort of delay. But they're better positioned to get more

(50:26):
money from the media companies with a good CBA and
a healthy league in twenty eight, and if they have
to sacrifice a little in twenty seven, I think that
that is going to be a plan that would be worthwhile.

Speaker 4 (50:40):
But of course the goal.

Speaker 10 (50:41):
Would be never to miss any time and only have
a lockout in the off season. But we're going to
have to wait.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
To see David before let's go real quick. Do the
Mariners make the playoffs? And how many wins wins this division?

Speaker 10 (50:55):
So I have not yet done my preseason predictions, and
I would love to come back with you. I'm doing
it on March twenty sixth on looking personal. And you
know what I did last year. I don't know if
you remember, but why would you, because you're focused on you,
which you should be. But I picked the Mariners to
win the whole damn time.

Speaker 2 (51:14):
I remember that. You told us that. That's right, So it's.

Speaker 10 (51:17):
Your fat That was my world's truth, all my thoughts,
there's no question. The good news is what I can
tell you breaking news. I am not choosing the Mariners
to win the World Series this year, thank God, which
means you're welcome.

Speaker 4 (51:32):
It means you've got a chance.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
David, you the man, great stuff. Appreciate this well, I'm
David Well of course at David P. Sampson on X
on Twitter. Great stuff, buddy, Thank you for doing this
and we'll talk soon.

Speaker 4 (51:45):
Thanks my pleasure.

Speaker 10 (51:47):
Have a great day.