The Madness!!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Welcome in to the sidelines shuffle. It's March.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
So today we're talking about the madness. Thanks for tuning in, everybody,
a little madness conversation today. The madness that is not
just this overarching NC doublea tournament that we're not supposed

(00:44):
to talk about because of licensing and blah blah blah blah,
but because of the all important, the all dominant NFL landscape.
The league year is resetting this week. We have free
agency kicking off, the legal tampering period. As if we

(01:06):
don't know these teams, these.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Gms, these.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Players, these agents, these coaches haven't been already cutting deals,
haven't been talking since the combine, haven't been talking since
the end of the season, don't talk.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
All the damn time.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
But the legal tampering period kicks off, we already know
some of the top free agents are off the board.
Right you look at NFL dot com. They do their
top one hundred list. I like to frequent the top
one hundred list. They have their best available right. They
have the guys who are already signed down at the bottom.
You scroll through the hundred names, and then they put

(01:47):
the guys who have been signed all the way down
at the end of the hundred names, and it changes every.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Now and then.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
But Ronnie Staley's got himself a contract, Zach Bond. Best
thing he could have done. The best thing he could
have done was stay in Philadelphia, and he got paid.
He got paid nice. But the best thing he could.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Have done was stay in Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Nick Bolton has decided to re up with the Chiefs,
So all the rumors about him possibly ending up in
Dallas or in Denver, we can put those to bet.
He's getting three years forty five million dollars from the
chief thirty million dollars guaranteed. Markus Brown shortly after we
hear about James Worthy getting arrested, Marquise, Hey, brother, we

(02:31):
gonna need you to sign up for another year. I
don't know how close together those two announcements those two
stories were, but it was pretty close that. As soon
as we heard James Worthy had been arrested, we also
were getting the news that Marquise Brown had re up
with the Chiefs. Dron Reed resigns, Baron Browning I saw

(02:53):
this morning has resigned. Bobby Wagner re signed with the Commanders,
Mike gets Sicky the tight end, and Cincinnati resigned. Marcus
Davenport re ups with Detroit for one year. Look if
he can come in and be healthy for a year
and he's gonna give us, you know, four to six sacks,
be that rotational guy. We're not counting on him to

(03:16):
be the other guy on the other side of Hutch.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
I'm good with it.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
He's twenty nine, he's still got some some tread left on.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
The tire, so to speak.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Elbow injury this year, triceps or something like that, I
think is what took him out ultimately, and then maybe
a groin or a hamstring or something was in there too.
I'm good with especially for what less than five million dollars.
So I frequent this list. I don't always agree with

(03:49):
the ranking, mind you, but it's a nice list to watch.
What is it Tuesday afternoon, I think, or Wednesday afternoon,
something like that.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Free agency officially kicks.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Off, So this list will be filling up quickly, right
or emptying quickly, depending on how you look at it.
A lot of teams are gonna spend some money. We're
probably gonna see the Raiders spend some money. We're probably
gonna see Washington spend some money. We'll see how many
guys choose to leave Philadelphia? How many guys choose to

(04:19):
leave a Minnesota or Detroit or Washington. How many guys
choose to go to those type of places.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
It's the fun time for me. It's Round one of
free agency. Right.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
We're in the hopes, in the dream phase. We're in
the rumors phase, we're in the speculation. We're in the
deflection and the false story phase of this is talking
to this, and this is talking to that, and this
means this and he took this off his social media
and all of the Madden video type GM team management

(04:54):
nonsense that all of us go through without being able
to put numbers for this year, next year, five years
from now into the books to see what it looks
like long term to run an organization.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
We all sit here and go ooh.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Miles Garrett and we'll talk about Miles here in a minute.
No longer on the market, right, Oh if he joins
this team, Oh what he'd be like on this team?

Speaker 1 (05:20):
Right?

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Nobody had Geno Smith going to the Raiders.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
So Round one.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
Kicks off this week. All the big names, right, that
first wave of guys. I want to get this guy
or maybe this couple guys before the draft. Let's see
how the draft pans out. Then we roll into round
two a free agency, and I think there are multiple
rounds to free agency. Right the final round of free
agency comes post trade deadline, and that's when you're filling

(05:50):
your roster with You know, you've had some injuries, right
a guy went down in Week thirteen. You got to
bring somebody up. Maybe you didn't have somebody on the
practice squad. You're signing somebody from another team's practice squad.
So the first round, now second wave, second round of
free agency, comes right after the draft. Right now we

(06:11):
have the draft in place, we know where we're gonna
try and slot these rookies. Let's see how we can
fill out that ninety man for spring training or not
spring training, for training camp. Then that third round to me,
a free agency is post training camp when all the

(06:32):
cuts happen, and now you got teams trying to pick
off maybe a guy here or there to bring onto
their roster. That's the third round of free agency. Fourth
round of free agency goes into the regular season. Right now,
you're in the season, maybe some injuries have happened. Again,
you're working with your practice squad. You're pulling guys off

(06:53):
the other practice squad. Five rounds of free agency to me,
with that final phase coming post trade deadline, and that's
where you're just filling injury holes. But you're still bringing
in free agents, right, you're still bringing in guys to
fill your practice squad that you're then bringing up. So
five rounds, we're currently in the hopes and dreams. Then

(07:14):
you go into team building, then you go into those
last little bit bits to fill the cupboard. Then you
start filling holes right in the regular season. Okay, we
got this happened, This happened, and then it's that end
of the season, do we need anything? And not a
lot of teams participate in that fifth round, right, you
don't always have the need to find somebody in week thirteen, fourteen, seventeen,

(07:37):
because maybe your season's over by then and you're not
looking to bring somebody in in that fifth round of
free agency. But we've got a legal tampering kicking off tomorrow,
if I'm not mistaken. We've got guys being signed. Like
I said, some of the top guys already re signed

(08:00):
out of that one hundred and one list. We've got
guys like Geno Smith being traded for a third round pick.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
Miles Garrett, I.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Am not going back to Cleveland. Doesn't matter. They're not
on the same page as me. They don't have a
win now mentality to try and get a championship.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
Chi Ching Chi Ching Chi ching.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
Money talks. Because we got the news this morning. He's
getting an average of forty something million dollars per year,
he's getting an extension, and he's getting a hundred and
something million dollars guaranteed. So all of a sudden that
number went up. Remember this also was not about getting
more money. That's what Miles told us. That's what his

(08:41):
people told us. This is not about getting more money. Well,
more money came, contract restructured, an extension added, and Miles
Garrett's back in Cleveland, so he must feel that they've
got a plan now that says we're about winning championships

(09:01):
and we're gonna win one this year. We're gonna be
a contender this year. No starting quarterback right now, running
game influx. Nick Chubb might not be coming back receiving corps.
We'll see a division with Pittsburgh Cincinnati, who's infinitely better

(09:24):
on offense right now, and Baltimore, who to me is
still the best team in that division. So what changed
for Miles other than that dollar side? Gino goes for
a third round pick. Seattle's clearly saying we are restarting.
Now we know why metcaff requested a trade. He saw

(09:46):
a locket cut. He probably got word that Gino was
about to be traded, and he was like, Nope, I'm
not doing it. Go ahead and trade me too, Get
me out of here. I don't want to rebuild now.
I would not be surprised if he ends up in
a Washington or a Las Vegas or even on another
team in the NFC West. Now, it'd have to be

(10:09):
via trade, not a free agent, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Wouldn't surprise me if he ends up in Green Bay
or Kansas City, right, don't think Philadelphia is legitimate. Maybe
he could end up in a place like Dallas. We'll
have to see, But Seattle is totally resetting. If I'm

(10:33):
Kenneth Walker, I'm like, man, you already use me a lot,
and now all of these cats are gone. I'm about
to have four hundred touches this year. Like right, I'm
getting massaged extra into Ota if I'm Kenneth Walker, so
it's fun. I can't wait to see how it goes down.
I can't wait to see do the Lions make a move?

(10:54):
Do some of these friends teams from last year make
a jump? The Chargers make a jump with Harball in
the second year, to Sean Payton in his third year,
get Denver over the hump and get that one last
big piece that really brings it all together. They've got
a contract situation going on with Zach Allen that's out there.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
What happens with Sam Darnold? Do those last two games week.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Seventeen against our eighteen against Detroit and the wild card
round against the Commanders impact the money that he gets?
What does the defensive tackle and edge position? Do Josh
Wett and Milton Williams leave Philadelphia? Does Chris Godwin find
his way to Denver? Does Carlton Davis take more money

(11:40):
or choose to stay in Detroit and try and win
that championship?

Speaker 1 (11:43):
Because I know.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
He's rumored to Jacksonville for big money. You got to
weigh your options. I might not make as much money here,
but I got a chance for my legacy for that title.
If I go to Jacksonville. I'm not winning a title.
They are not one of the top teams in the AFC.
It's not gonna happen. Trevor Lawrence has not continued to develop.

(12:06):
That's not all on Trevor Lawrence. That team's been a disaster, right.
Does DeVante Adams get picked up as that veteran guy
who becomes the possession receiver on maybe a one or
two year deal. Does Aaron Rodgers come back and fit
in somewhere? Does he go to a New York Giants.
I would love to see Byron Murphy get picked up

(12:28):
in Detroit, Minnesota corner.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
Let's bring him in.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
I know Darius Slay's out there reunion type thing, but
a youth player. I'd rather see that Dre Greenlaw. Sign
me up for Dre Greenlaw. That he's a beast. I
will take him in Detroit eight days out of seven.
Khalil Mack does he come back to the NFC? I

(12:52):
personally think he needs to stay and with the Chargers.
I think that's what will end up happening ultimately. But
we shall see Stefan Diggs.

Speaker 1 (13:02):
Where does he end up? Right?

Speaker 2 (13:05):
Kalais Campbell, thirty nine year old veteran can still do
with the thing at the defensive tackle position.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
Give him a rotational role.

Speaker 2 (13:13):
I would love to see Khalas Campbell finish his career
in Denver, come back to his home state, play for
the Broncos, be competitive, and be able to be around
his people in the Colorado area. You know, Chase Young,
does he find a way to extend his career again,

(13:36):
there's guys out there. It's exciting. It's the rumors. We're
getting ready to reset the season as soon as this happens.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
It's all talking about the draft. So I'm excited. I'm excited.
There's a lot to talk about.

Speaker 2 (13:49):
But that's as much time as I'm going to give
to that madness right now, because on the other side
of the madness for March, we have these two tournaments
for the men and the women, And this is something
I had a strong connection with right going back to
the early days in middle school.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
Didn't watch it a whole lot in elementary school.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
Like if I was watching sports in middle school, it
definitely wasn't during the in elementary school, it definitely was
not during the day. That was not an opportunity that
was afforded to us. But in middle school, we had
two or three teachers that during lunches would put the
tournament on in their classrooms and allow anybody who wanted

(14:32):
to come watch to watch the tournaments. Now, back then,
most of it was all the men's tournaments. You didn't
see a lot of the women's tournaments on TV, or
at least not on the broadcasted channels.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
During the day back then. But it was fun, like
that was.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
As special as getting to be part of a damn
pizza party or earning some reward for academic success or
It's like, no, this is March Madness time. We get
to go upstairs, eat lunch, watch back, basketball, cheer, hang out,
you know, brow up, all those kind of things.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
Right, So I loved it.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
And I would consume as much of it as I could.
I would do brackets, I'd be part of pools through
middle school through high school. In college, heavily connected, watched
as much as March Madness and you know, college basketball
as I could, especially the Yukon women, right, the Tennessee
women back then. I had my cousin went to Yukon

(15:28):
at the time when Rip Hamilton and Gino and all
them were coming aboard on the men and women's programs.

Speaker 1 (15:33):
So I got into it. I was hooked.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
H I would say this year, however, has been the
least connected I have ever been to college basketball to
what's going on heading heading into the NCAA tournament. And
I don't know that's a bad thing, right, I've had.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
Other things obviously that I'm doing.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
It's not that I've lost my love for the game
in any way, but uh, you know, life presents things
and you have to fill your day with what needs
to be done. But yeah, over the last five, ten, fifteen,
twenty years, easily, this is the least connected I've ever been.
When I started bringing up the brackets, when I looked
at the men's bracket, and I was like, Okay, who's

(16:14):
on the bubble? First four in, last four out all
that kind of stuff, Right, who's the potential number one?
I see Auburn as the potential number one. Now I had,
you know, sports center here and there. Throughout the season.
You hear things, you see things, but you kind of
forget when you're not engaged. So I see Auburn and
I'm like, Okay, that's blowing me out. Then I look

(16:35):
at the last four in San Diego State, They're normally
right in the middle of the pack, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Xavier.
Then I look at the first four out, Boise State,
North Carolina first four out, Texas first four out, Like what,
that's crazy to me? Those two teams first four out.

(16:57):
You got quinni Pac making it, you got Bucknell making it,
but you might not have Texas or North Carolina in
the tournament.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
Like I'm out, I'm not connected. I see Duke.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
I know they were gonna do their thing this year,
or had been doing their thing this year. I should
say Michigan State, they're always right in it. Houston's having
a nice year apparently.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
Florida.

Speaker 2 (17:23):
I've been impressed the last couple of weeks. Been trying
to pay attention to some more of the highlights, get
myself ready for the tournament. I like the way Florida
plays basketball. Kansas seems to be losing a lot. Auburn
lost what twice in the last week, right two upsets
Texas A and M and then what Alabama I think
beat them last night three night before, So Auburn is

(17:44):
hurt a little bit heading into the tournament. Right now,
you and c the school I went to Northern Colorado.
We're slated as a fourteen seed?

Speaker 1 (17:53):
Are you kidding me? Go Bears?

Speaker 2 (17:57):
So yeah, the men's tournament, look, I'd love to see
a Yukon. They're an eight seed, two time defending champions,
not gonna get it this year.

Speaker 1 (18:05):
More than likely that squad's just not hitting the way
they have in years past. But it's the madness. Anything
can happen.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
Ken you in C Northern Colorado upset Iowa State, which
is kind of just a predicted slotting right now. Obviously
none of these have been formalized, none of these teams
have gotten their invites yet.

Speaker 1 (18:24):
I think that might actually be happening.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
Today as the conference championships and everything kind of come
to a close. So I'm excited. I'd love to see
you know, you and C get in there. It's not
the Tar Heels, but hell, I'll take it. Then I

(18:47):
look at the women's side, I'm like, Okay, I expect
to see a South Carolina, right, I expect to see
a Tennessee. I expect to see a Yukon. Right, page Bukers.
We all know the names. Last four in Iowa State, Washington, Princeton.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
And Harvard.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
First four out Virginia Tech, Saint Joseph's Minnesota, and Arizona Arizona.
If this was the men's bracket, everybody raising an eyebrow.

Speaker 1 (19:14):
They had a bad year.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
What happened with the Wildcats women's side not as big
of a surprise, but to not be good enough to
be in there with Princeton and Harvard, that's kind of
an ouch a little bit.

Speaker 1 (19:28):
Usc They're good.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
Texas has been impressive this year, Ucla, South Carolina again,
these teams you expect to be there on the women's side.
I don't expect, honestly as many upsets potentially on the
women's side as I do on the men's side, but
there should be some. The madness is real for both,
for both the sides of the isle, as far as

(19:52):
the men and women's I did like in what the
Texas game the other day, you had the.

Speaker 1 (19:58):
Young lady who.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
Her shoe fell off. She continued to play defense. The
point guard picks up the shoe. I'm thinking she's gonna
use the shoe to swat at the ball or you know,
do something with it. They end up playing playing out
the possession. Texas gets the rebound, the person without the
shoe gets the rebound, she dishes it to the point guard,

(20:23):
who simultaneously tosses the shoe back to the other girl
who gets her shoe on, and while she's running down
the floor, who took the teammate scores on the opposite it.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
It was a fun, little fun, little possession to watch.

Speaker 2 (20:36):
For sure, as that took place, little brief madness, if
you will. So, yeah, between the NFL, between the rumors,
the free agency starting the league year, starting things like
Miles Garrett resigning, Gino Smith getting traded. Who knows what
else is gonna happen. You got draft picks that could

(20:56):
get traded. All kinds of things could be happening. Aaron
Rodgers going to go somewhere. You got one hundred. I
don't remember how many.

Speaker 1 (21:04):
Games it is.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
I used to have that. That's how connected I used
to be. I used to be able to say exactly
how many games took place throughout the tournament. But you
got over one hundred basketball games getting ready to take
place in a month, men and women's side.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
It's a great month.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
And then right after that baseball kicks off, you start
getting into the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs start kicking around.
You got Alexandrovchkin closing in on Wayne Gretzky's all time
goals scored mark. He's within like ten of breaking the record,
should do it sometime in early April, based on his
career average of scoring. So a lot of great stuff

(21:40):
coming up, a lot of madness coming up. I appreciate
you guys listening to the Sideline Shuffle today and we
will talk soon. It