2020 Training Camp Whisperssssssss

Just like the Sticks podcast itself, would you have liked U Matt Money to edit it himself? I mean he's he's a good radio man. He says a good good ear for a good line. Know what I do in the whenever we have these type of situations, you know what? You know? My move is just blame America. Well, another another option, um is to blame Daniel Jeremiah just for even recently starting a podcast. I'm glad he took our advice. I threw it out there on the Around the NFL broadcast.

That would be cool. He's had this popular Twitter account. Everyone knows him, you know, in terms of the NFL draft analysis, and he has started a podcast we found out recently, and good luck to him. I think people enjoy it. It's a good job by you. I mean to suggest, you know, another vehicle for him to get his voice out. I don't know why. It's last college football, so you know, there's just it's gonna be strange times for the draft analysts. Uh, this is the Wednesday edition.

I'll be around the NFL podcast. It's it's a fun one. Football is getting closer, boys, it's getting closer. So today wedn Day, day Day, and then day. Yeah, is football three weeks from Thursday. We're as we tape, it's twenty two days from right now. Oh my goodness. How about that? I mean, hopefully there's football, but you know what on that on that subject, I do not want to jinx

and I'm gonna knock on wood right here. But it feels like, and yes, you can get on the league for maybe being slow to action through the summer or or perhaps that's just how was perceived on the outside. But but things seem to be going very well right now in terms of how these training camps are operating once again, and we're watching Hard Knocks every Tuesday night. You see the way the Rams and the Chargers are going about their business and all the safety precautions. So far,

so good, So far, so good. Yeah, I think it's like the only blip on the radar is you know, in in Seattle where uh, you know, a low a low tier player tries to sneak in a female dressed in Seattle garb. That's the kind of thing that's gonna throw teams off. I mean, outside of that, I'd have to agree that. I don't know if I've ever been more optimistic about the league and the season getting underway

than the last couple of days. Right, And they're just starting to really practice and play football, which is a pretty big step to take in terms of contact and everything. But with the daily testing, it's like they're gonna be daily testing. They're gonna be testing daily through the start of the season. They're talking about maybe extending it beyond that. And I know that's not gonna solve the virus, but it does have to make you feel better about these guys,

you know, bumping up up against each other. It is really good. There's less I think there's a and each other stuff. They're bumping bumping ugly. How about like athletic combat. There's gotta be another way to put this. I mean, Mark will tell you as an next player. I mean this, it's a physical sport. You know, you're you're not gonna get in close contact with that with almost any other humans in your life. Greg, You're right. I mean there is a lot of bumping going on, and so I

think it applies. Oh yeah, a lot of rubbing and bumping and hugging. All right, today's show, it's gonna be fun. Yes, we're three weeks away, just about from the first kickoff of the season, so we're going to continue to kind of spin around the league and find our league, excuse me, and find some storylines out there that are percolating just beneath the surface. Yes, it's that time again. People training camp,

which I hope everybody did their homework. I got a lot, I mean with less kind of like on site reporting. It's just almost a breeding ground for whisper. You know, it's just like an or whispers. You can't you can't speak out loud anymore. They got all these media rules about what you can and can't report, so it's got

to come out in a whisper. You'd have to be six ft under the last couple of days, not to um, you know, be on the receiving end of some of these whispers, because it's the season to me, starts when the news move so quickly that if you leave your computer like an hour, you come back to like four hundred and six. Um some of them very snarky rohdo world updates. And that's what that's been the last couple

of days. And that's when I know that, um, you know, social life, family life is veering towards a hard stop for the next half a year or so. Yeah, that's about right. So we'll spin around the league and get you caught up to date on what the Beat reporters and so on are talking about. But before that, let us do some news the other thing. I uh, you know, you get a chance to reflect on it. Uh. I apologize for my four judgment taking my shirt off on hard knocks, all right, I mean it's all there. The

theory that I posited last week totally checks out. McVeigh makes up this idea that the dog that he had can do a trick with a football near basketball who clearly he's just pegging the dog in the snout repeatedly, dog does a know any tricks, you know, but it gave McVeigh a chance to take a shirt off, and then he takes them ribbing, both internally and probably on social media, and now he really He circles back an episode two of Hard Knocks, the recap of which you

can find an NFL dot com by the way, written by yours truly, and mentions again that he had his shirt off just in case some ladies may be watching missed the premier, they could cycle back and see Sean McVeigh and his glory. He he is a very well prepared coach, and you can tell his comedy as well prepared to I mean, he he has like he has his rundown of what he's going to accomplish at the meeting, and he knows he's gonna end that coaches meeting with

that joke. He knows he's gonna make the Andrew Whitworth has been playing for forty years joke while addressing the team. It's all very planned out. I don't know if that always leads to the best comedy or not, but at least he's given it a shot. When I think about what's what is the secret sauce to comedy preparation. Well, that's probably as good as it gets an NFL comedy. And I'm to again Colleen, I'm gonna give her all the credit because she's the one to mention on text

that guy is turning into Jon Gruden. He sounds like Jon Gruden. He started to look like Jon Gruden. I mean, that was his mentor. So it's not like it comes from you know, nowhere. It was the guy that he was trying to be like when he was a young coach. They love showing those clips, uh NFL Films does. And yeah, there's definitely a little imitation as the sincerest form of flattery there. I mean, but not every ment not every mentee winds up looking uh like mannerisms like speech like

the mentor. In this case, that's you know, he's going all out singing the Monday Night Football song, please, I know, I mean I didn't even piece that together. Are the great Andrew Marshand who dropped that nug that ESPN and McVeigh had a conversation and now he's singing this on when you know, I thought that was like it's in terms of preparation, that to me seemed like he was serving that up so that we would sit here and others would sit here talking about it for the following day.

Or to speaking of Sean McVeigh and Hard Knocks, Peter Schreger, a buddy has the Hard Knocks podcast and McVeigh is on the show this week, so make sure you check that out wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's get into the news. The charges are also subject a subject on Hard Knocks Los Angeles this season, and one figure who has not been on the field for the Chargers, Melvin Ingram, the great uh defensive end the book end with Joey Bosa that makes things go on that Chargers defense.

The athletics Daniel Popper reports that Ingram is holding out from practice because he's dissatisfied with his contract situation and Greg this is an interesting situation here because in the old days holdouts were commonplace. Today, with how heavy the fines are with the new cb A, you never see it anymore. Is Ingram a trailblazer? Has he found a way to hold out while also being in the holden?

It's either the holding or the in house hold out. UM. I think he is a sign of things to come because this is the first training camp since the c BA has been been signed, and they now it now No doesn't give it, No longer gives any wiggle room to teams finding players who skip camp. They have to there. It's a mandatory fine, and I think this is a

way to do it. You're gonna have to have some sort of mutual respect between the two sides, which these two should after nine seasons together, and he's coming up at the end of what was a massive contract extension back in I believe, and I think he's probably confident they can work something out. I did see a report though he wasn't at practice today. He's at least been outside watching practice, but now he hasn't even now he's

not even at practice anymore. And it's tricky because he's a leader, and yet I don't know if they would want to give him a big time extension. He's thirty one years old. He's coming off um his worst season in the last you know, probably four or five seasons. He had a couple of injuries. Still played well, but not at his previous level. So it's a thorny situation. A lot of times when there's a player like this, They'll find some way to make them happy. Maybe give

him some incentives, guarantee some of this money. If coronavirus ends up wiping out some of the some sort of small compromise without giving him a big contract, maybe gets it done. Like the agents shot that down. But that seems like a logical Uh. Perhaps the thing that he's pursuing is in a season that right now it looks good, but if things got weird, he's in the final year of his deal making sixteen million, none of it guaranteed.

Maybe angling for some guarantees at least for now, but trying to do it in a friendly way where then the contract comes after. But I kind of like the approach of um, you know, the being at work, sort of like I could imagine going to the newsman say I'm here, but I will not be producing anything. That was the entire run at Walgreen's, the drug store Pro River, New York. I mean, I think we've all had jobs where we're literally punching the clock and then just counting

down the hours. Your strawberry truck. You you almost took down the whole fruit industry, uh in New England. I mean, look, I my effort was strong with the tic strawberry truck going up and down the East coast. Now did I get lost many times in a pre GPS era, to the point where I was almost in tears, you know, like six hours from home at eight p m. And night. Yeah, that happened. But I was trying. I was putting in a good effort. I just don't have a great sense

of direction. We've seen that sense of direction, and it's it's all four of us are tagged with the lack of it. When you know, let's leave our hotel and go walk to uh the convention center on Super Bowl week and no one can find it and we we end up in a rough corner of town and need West to get us out of it. You young uns, No really, patra Patrick is the only guy that no better.

You young uns don't understand. Before GPS, before ways, before Google Maps, all you had was this thing called map Quest, and it would be something and you log onto your computer and you put in the entry point in the destination and it's spit out directions and that those worked okay until you made one wrong turn and then they were useless to you. And I remember to your point, Greg of you on being on the verge of teers when I was nineteen, uh, and I was not somebody

that ever really left my hometown. Really at that point, I was still just a kid, and I was driving to Villanova to visit my friend Sarah, and I got there. I got there with no problems, and I was really proud of myself. It was a little like victory in my Ford escort. But then going back, I made the wrong turn and another wrong turn, and then all of a sudden, I had no idea where I was. I had no cell phone, and I remember, I still remember

this day, gripping the top of my steering wheel. It's hard as possible, racing seventy miles down for hour down some turnpike and being like, what am I gonna do? Um, yeah, you kids don't understand now that we'll all have this time. But my dad once tested me, and I was not that young. I was probably like eighteen or nineteen, and also had essentially never left my town and he was like, come pick me up at work in Westchester, and I,

I mean, I had never really been dried. I've never driven into metropolitan surrounding before, and I'm like lost on the tappan Zee Bridge or somewhere like that, and you know, weird like to you to your point, and I thought my life is over. I've failed my father. Um. The quickest thing to do would be to park this car along the tappan Zee and just hoist myself into what other ever body of water is below. What can I

have from this point? You know what I had though in the in the Strawberry track, No, lie was a car phone like you know plugged in the one is a car phone? Now did I get lost sometime because I would just call up my girlfriend at the time on the car phone while all driving around and racking up phone bills in in uh in retaliation for the eight dollars an hour they were paying me for Like long loaded, give me a break, Greg, that was that

was sneaky loaded with humble braggs. You had a car cell phone and I had an extended astro van owned by this farm. It's not like it's sounds like the worst employee ever for that industry, But I didn't last long anyway. Good luck to you, Velvin Ingram. I think he's probably um part of the reason this might be the end of the road beyond the fact that he's thirty one, is that Joey Bosa just signed a five year,

one and thirty five million dollar contract. Maybe not fiscally responsible to do multiple massive deals on one line, but you never know. These teams find a way with the salary cap. But we'll see how it plays out. In other news, speaking of money news, NFL networks, Tom Pellisero having a big summer, right, Pellisero is having a nice summer. I haven't really spoken to Al Sarah much. He's kind of not a guy that I know too well. But I'm gonna give him credit where credits do he reports?

The vikings gonna be in a long time. You know, he's putting in the work, you know. And when we ever, when these league events ever, you know, come back together, the show is gonna be six hours long. Um. I am going to make a point of it too. Have a friendly conversation with Tom Pellisero. I mean, and he should know, or he should understand through back channels that if after many league events that you and he have not had that conversation, that he might be on your radar.

I'm just saying it's possible. I don't no one knows that but he would be but who it would behoove him to get off your radar on that on that front if we ever go to a league event ever again. Right anyway, Tom reports that Dalvin Cook, the great Vikings running back, broke off contract talks with the team and we'll focus on preparing for Week one. Uh. He has one year remaining on his rookie deal. He wanted to get paid going into this year after his big breakout

season in twenty nine. Team there was talk that he might hold out. That didn't happen. This feels like kind of a best case scenario for the Vikings where he appears to be ready to drop his grievance and just focus on ball. But we'll see how it plays out. He's one of many really good running backs that are slated for free agency. Alvin Kamara, um Joe Mixon is

one of the players out there. And then like kind of a long list of guys who are like a solid second tier and uh, I don't know, I sound like Dalvin Cook pop up in the top twenty five players on the top hundred list and I was like, I love Dalvin Cook, but um, I don't blame the Vikings for being hesitant considering his injury history and that it really was one amazing thing. He always looks great when he's out there, but it I would not want to be giving him a Todd Gurley contract right now.

I think they also love Alexander Madison, not in replace with Dalvin Cook in anyway. But these running back contracts make gms look like fools in some cases, so the hesitation makes some sense. If you're a GM, you kind of love the franchise tag when it comes to running backs. Yeah, I'll give you ten million dollars for one year. I just don't want to like give you, you know, four year contract. And other news, the Kansas City Chiefs will not be one of the NFL teams playing in front

of an empty stadium. The team finalized plans to host games at Arrowheads Stadium with approximately two percent capacity. I don't know how much it holds, so you don't get a chance to see me figure out the math on this one, but let's let's guess it's around fifteen to twenty people. I don't know. Uh, So we'll see how

this goes. This comes um after the Chiefs rolled out enhanced cleaning and sanitation measures and they will subject all staff members to health screenings upon arrival, and will direct all staffers to where personal protective equipment and exercise proper hygiene. Greg, what do you think you nailed it? By the way, sixteen point eight would be their capacity right now, I'm I'm getting worse and almost every other way as a man. But man, I'm just going through the roof lately. I'm

not sure I do the trade off there. I mean every other way. I mean, what's what's the up notot idea? What are what? I don't know all these colleges, for instance, that you know, brought their kids on campus for a week or two and then realize, oh, that was a terrible idea. Let's quit that, Like is this actually gonna happen? And what are what are they really getting out of it?

I guess the fans are getting the experience of going, and they do want to go, and and and it's outside and and hopefully there's a way they can do it safely and everyone separate. But it's like when you talk about like the sanitation and all, it's like that that feels like pr It's like it's like the research shows that the virus is not being transmitted too often. Um, you know through touch on on surfaces anyway. Yeah, it's great, it's great you're doing that, but it just doesn't feel

like the reward here is worth the risk. And I think you look at the rest of the world, which is in seven better shape whatever, like a million percent better shape, and they don't have fans in the crowd. So I don't know that is that now that didn't really make sense. They're they're in much better shape than us, and they don't have fans in the crowd despite being in better shape. So it's like, maybe we should start taking a queue from some countries that are doing a

better job. That part of the cynical part of me initially don't do this part of me is the NFL attempting to Um, they always want to be the center of attention and the spectacle of spectacles that that opening night. They want Americans in the stands cheering and the slick cutaways to that, I mean more reasonably, like the league said, some cities can handle it this way, others that it feels a little bit in the zone of competitive disadvantage.

If I mean, sixteen thousand fans, aren't it so weird. It's going to be mostly empty, like a right, it's gonna be Is that really gonna make you feel good? That? Is it going to be depressing? I don't know. Well, And they're talking about you know, they're looking into piping and noise like which we're seeing in other sports, and I think that that's fine. I don't have a problem

with that. I would love that job. I think you could do really weird things and freak some people out if you were able to control the crowd noise through a whole NFL game, if you're like an editor of that. But at the same time, I mean if if you replaced that with fifteen thousand fans and at any given moment, you know, three thousand or getting beers are going to the bathroom, that feels like a kind of lame crowd

to me. So I'm sure they want to do it for the For the to push the just raises a question about responsibility to the community you're in, which is where I think the university should take a lot of a lot of heat for what's gone on already across the country. You're contributing to your community, um having more coronavirus. You made it the decision out of you know, in those colleges, UH for more money, and the decision ended up being you are making it less safe for the

people in your community. So that would be the concern. We don't want to go to the team to team Why would one do you? Does anyone else think to have like four teams that can have fans going crazy and then the next week that same team goes and

visits the stadium where it's you know, completely silent. I feel like it's a failure in the realm of common sense by the NFL, both because of the safety obviously that Greg is hitting on, and also what you hit on that anything that gives a competitive advantage to however many teams do. This feels like it's unfair and and it almost encourages other teams to take risks. But heyst Cowboys,

they have fans too. They haven't really specified the details, but but Jerry Jones has been pretty clear about that. In Texas obviously is not, you know, one of the places that's in better shape, whereas New York is very clear there's no fans all season, and yet they're in the best shape because they've kind of been scared straight That's why I think it's tied to politics and who

your governor is. But there are a bunch of teams that have not made a final decision yet, so you we could see and maybe part of it is you're waiting to find out where we are a month from now or you know, middle of November exactly. My point, like, teams are gonna keep the door open, and then when it works in Kansas City, other teams are gonna open the doors. But are they gonna have the same safety protocols? Will they be able to carry it out in the

way Kansas City hypothetically? Can? It seems unnecessary. Let's talk some injuries. Not fun to talk injuries, but it's part of training camp. The Dolphins place linebacker Vince Bagle and injured reserve at the torn achilles that ends this season. Uh. He has been in the mix for uh the Dolphins. He had fifteen appearances last year ten starts um, but

he will not be involved this season. Yeah. The handful of players that have been deemed out for the season with kind of non contact injuries this week haven't been like Series. Bagal was their best pass rusher last year and they don't have many good players on defense, but you know, he kind of came out of nowhere. Robert Alfred was another guy, the cornerback for the Cardinals that caught my attention just because their their secondary to me is a big problem, and Alfred was expected to start.

And Uh, I think when you look at the Cardinals being kind of a buzzy team, they have a lot of fun things about him, but they have some parts of their team that look up as bad as any team in the NFL. And I would include, you know, their their cornerback depth and their defensive line among that. Right, only the Lions gave up more yards through the air than the Cardinals last year per game. And you know Alfred, I wonder what the future. He's a friend of the show.

You remember Dan, You and West and I interviewed him after the Falcons knocked off the Rams, uh in the playoffs a couple of years ago. A best friend of the show, A best friend. I mean, there's the the I mean, what could have been a Super Bowl hero if the if the team had finished it off big time? Pick six? Am I am? I crazy? In the Super Bowl? I mean is that a bad memory? I don't to check our research I was writing about this as well.

What you were saying. They're Greg on the power rankings, which you might think it's improbable, but it brings the clicks. So they asked the Zeusser to roll out a training camp power rankings that dropped today. And I said that very thing, Greg, that that the Cardinals, they're a buzzy playoff pick right now. But you can't ignore the fact that no team in the league allowed more yards on defense last year. And Alfred, even if they were high on him, he broke his leg last year and missed

the whole season. They were asking him, hey, now jump back into the league and line up across with Patrick Peterson and solidify that spot. Well, even that was seemed to be a gamble, and now they're scrambling. Three weeks before the season. He was the one with the pick six in the Super Bowl, which at that very moment was one of the lowest moments I felt in the Brady era because it was like, Oh, this isn't gonna happen,

this is never gonna happen. Ago. I love that the lowest moment in the Brady era, last one out one minutes and then suddenly you know the greatest moment in the Brady era suddenly is birth from that on the lowest Brady moment happened in the Super Bowl. Think about it, probably when he blew out his knee in week one, coming off eighteen and one and having revenge on the

mind and then it all going away. But maybe it was speaking of whispers, there are whispers that maybe rookie Isaiah Simmons could see a little time at slot corner, could see you know, they want to they want to move him all over the place, and so maybe with Alfred out of the mix, that could be uh an answer there. You know, Mark, don't think we didn't notice. You missed Monday show for moving and internet purposes, and then all of a sudden, Tuesday you're all over Twitter.

You're tweeting about the Lions defensive backfield, your tape dogg and on Tuesday night and then and then here you go, here you go dropping nugs about Isaiah Simmons. We're noting this. He's got the NFL Network Polo on today now? Is he on Insight training Kip Live? Maybe yes, maybe no, But as the job that you want, that's that's right.

And I somehow moved to um, you know the studio that we were in last year, if you want to last week at this time in my other house, was you know, leveling off at about nine degrees each time. And I've found a room that is somehow about eight degrees hotter. And so I don't know if that's an

up an upgrade or not. Bears cornerback Already Burns also on injured reserve with a torn a c L. That is very bad, uh for Burns, the former first round pick, rarely played for the Steelers last year, and now his chance to kind of reboot things with the Bears goes by the boards. You wonder what comes next for the

year old. And finally, Mack Wilson, a linebacker for the Browns who was in the news this week for the horse collar tackle that gave Nick Chubb a possible concussion, Well that I believe the same practice he suffered a what Mike Garrett Folo the next day, Mike Garrett Folo reported a significant hyper extended knee. ESPN reported it would be highly optimistic if we saw Wilson before October. So it could have been worse, but could have been better.

Is this guy a difference maker? For you, Mark, I, well, he was projected to be a starter. And you know, you follow some of these guys on Twitter, and I cannot find I cannot think when when this happened. He is the guy that I thought of all the Cleveland Browns, who seemed like he was working out like crazy and

so determined to make a big jump. And he did a couple You know, PFF did not love him last year, but mac Wilson had a couple of plays they gave you a lot of hope that they had found something, and I think enough that allowed them to think, we can move on from Joe Schobert, we can move on from Christian Kirksey. And now that linebacking corps has literally nobody other than b. J. Goodson with any experience, and I would be very concerned about you know, they played

the Ravens three weeks from now. I don't like the matchup at all. And and no matter what everyone talks about the offense, the defense could be one of these two if they get more injured than they are now. I don't like the situation for them at all. Against the run. It's devastating. Their linebacker corps maybe the worst in the league in terms of like known quantity right now, on paper, that was their worst position group before this

in and he was probably their best player. Um, I guess if you're the positive would be that's a good position to have as your worst position group off ball linebacker. So we'll we'll see I think their defense. Okay, alright, that is what's happening in the news. I need you to close your eyes. It's time now to listen, very very carefully, get in tune with yourself. How are you feeling inside? Do you hear that If you close your eyes and tilt your head a little to the right,

you can hear the training camp with Wow? Does that just put you in a place or what that was needed? That was serene? Sometimes I forget, like this is going to be the part that's cut for social I should I should like dial in that we're on camera. I try to just think it's like a podcast, you know, But then I just halfway through that, I'm like, oh, yeah, this one's gonna be cut, and I'm just sort of like checking my text. I had the same exact thought,

and suddenly it was like, oh, dance. Dan probably knew that this was coming, so he very in a very organized way, closed his eyes, and I caught up later and thought, I'm gonna jump in here and do as I'm told. I mean, it's an audio form, you know. To begin with, um, that is that is true? Like if if this podcast had pff it advanced analytics and there was a staff for like parts of the show that get cut for social, the numbers would really tell you that it's Erica tam posey jams that get cut

more than anything. We're just again, just background players the chorus when it comes to our social game on around the NFL, many of them very deserving because if we get too far down that wormhole will never appear on social again. So wise, all right, let's go through it. We're just gonna kind of jump around the league, our league with whispers. Let's try not to get too bogged down on any one topic to let's hit him. Yeah,

I have quite a few as well. So we're gonna kind of jump around and it on things and then move along, uh, sharing the whispers that we're hearing across the league. All right, let's start with one. I thought I was very intriguing today out of New England that Mike Reese the dean of Patriots reporters suggested not just in an article, but to Bill Belichick that the team might use a two quarterback systems. You don't do that

unless you unless right. Well, I think he was. I think he has not only a good feel of the type of team that they are, which is a team I could absolutely see doing this, but that he has some information um backing this that he's not going to

report anything. He's responsible. He also knows that they haven't made any final decisions, but that someone like Mike Reese, and that's why I wanted to bring it up as a whisper, would not bring this up unless I think there was some conversation that Okay, let's say Cam Newton, who supposedly early you know, it looks great, but you know, obviously doesn't know the offense as well as Didhaman Hoyer who have been there. Um that they could shuttle them

in and out. I think this is something Bell Bill Bill Belichick would like love to do before settling in later into just Cam Newton most likely, but early on maybe a little of both. You know. I can remember a game I was sitting in college was like four thousand years ago, but Broncos Cowboys and the Broncos shuttled between two quarterbacks the entire time, and it was amazing as a fan to watch. I thought it was highly dramatic. It didn't work at all. I think that when this

has been tried, people always hate it. It just doesn't work. And I think Belichick would have a beat on the fact that it's um. It could be like a one or two week type thing. I think Belichick would want to know exactly. He would know by then who his guy is. But this is the weirdest lead up for can New or anyone else to succeed. Belichick, though, came off that and said that don't be not you know, he said, we could lean on a ton of super heavy sets UM twenty three formations where you know you're

talking to running backs three tight ends. I think they're gonna get really freaky um, which only adds to the intrigue of what Belichick. You know, I think that he's got a heart of revenge the season to show what he can do, and all these little people saying the Patriots won't be relevant will be bitten in the butt. If anyone else was connected to this type of scheme in a lesser coach would be absolutely destroyed. Since it's Belichick, people will say, that's an interesting thought. He has a

little bit of credibility, doesn't he. I mean, well he did when Tom Brady was his quarterback. We'll see what he can do. Now, see if you can still play the guitar. Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't see him rolling

out fourteen win seasons before Tom Brady was around. Well, he was there for one year before that, but okay, I mean Cleveland also, I think he got canned, as I recall, but they also had a GA the fewest points in the league, win eleven and five, and in the last team to win a playoff game in Cleveland, So Belichick was treated unfairly when they moved to both eleven and five with the Castle too. Let's move on

to the next Whisper Snow playoffs. Go ahead, Mark, alright, I'll go to Philly because I think we've been focused on their wide receiver group for a while and it sounds seems like they've hit on something with Jillen Reagor like they winz is pushing him. Uh, He's compared him to Julio Jones. They are working together well in practice. Aaron moorehead, the wide receiver coach, says that he has that swag. I think they're just very pleased with their

overall rookie group. I throw another name in here too, who is sort of like a dark horse to make an impact. Quez Watkins, super fast, UM six round pick average six, most receiving yards per game in college football last year. He's a super small guy that when you take Marky's goodwin out of the picture, someone like this could get snaps that he might not have otherwise. But I think Jalen Reagor is someone that is obviously at

this point ahead of the curve. You know, you get some of these white outs that don't really pan out early and dot. This is a huge for the Eagles if they you know, you get to Sean Jackson back to h a team that basically had forty two skill position players six ft under a year ago. Even even worse, even more pressing or more important for the Eagles is the Smiles Sanders whisper out there. Uh he's weak to week with a lower body injury, and this man was

the key to their offense in the second half. I don't like the sound of it. ESPN reports at Sanders quote will be ready to play in Week one. Hopefully it's just one of those things where he's uh, they're being safe and cautious, which makes a lot of sense. But then you again worry about the odd nature of this year and whether injuries are going to stick with players the way everything has been rolled out. Sanders was on the field for their snaps in the second half

of last season and was a dynamo for them. They cannot afford with that wide receiver opium and if some of these guys pan out, Sanders not to have a similarly productive year. And he's he's a guy. I think everyone is expecting to be one of the clear lead type backs, that he is going to be a fulcrum of their offense. But you have to do it, you know. Running back is one of those positions where it's like you gotta see it, you gotta see it before you believe it. He he had two carries his last year

Penn State, so that's a pretty big workload. But he's never he's never been that guy um that's kind of been a bell cow type. There are fantasy drafts where he's going number one. There is a belief and that he can do it. I don't think this is a serious injury at this point because the Eagles and other teams are basically just shelving anyone who get these lower lower bodies. And there are people You're wait, you're telling me Mark that there are people out there taking Miles Sanders.

I'm not saying it's like happening all over the place, but I actually watched the show you yesterday where that's where that exact same thing happened, and it threw me because you're getting into fantasy suddenly. I'm let's dive into this little I'm hearing a little whispers about Mark Sessler. This is the time to prepare. You know, it's been a weird offseason where I thought maybe nothing would exist

in October November. Were suddenly, you know, we're two fortnits away from everything existing and probably being the only thing that exists in our life for six paces. You used to call the fantasy community a bunch of hobby horses, like playing like a pretend game, but now you're watching like live stream draft, so it just feels like a big one eighty degree turn. You know, I'm trying to I'm trying to change in better ways. But I also i'd ask you this is it bad to be a

hobby horse playing a game? Hey? Look it worse than everything. I love Fantasy. It gave me a entry into this whole thing. I thank God for Fantasy. And let me neatly transition into a plug for the Fantasy Extravaganza, which returns to the Around the NFL podcast next Wednesday. And let me just say this, listeners, this will be the biggest extravaganza yet. That is a promise. No extravaganza in the history of a t M extravaganzas will ever approach

what we're doing next week. Make sure you listen to that episode before you draft. We don't even bother showing up. Well, you could listen to Extravaganza all dayvaganza. It was a year ago during the Extravaganza that you, um, you deemed me to go sit behind the glass. I wasn't even part of the show. I don't think you can pull that. You can't pull that move on me this time. Or we could, like we put you in the waiting room of stream Yards. Well you probably could, or Erica could.

So you know what, why would we want to after this development that you're watching live streamed drafts, can I jump in the middle. That's in Philadelphia, it's connected, we're doing eagle US. I heard a little whisper and this

is not someone that's with the team. But after I sent out something um talking about the whole Nate Sudfeld thing, he might be the backup, not Jalen Hurts because they don't have a time I got, I got a little whisper from someone connected that was like, that's a bunch of that's a bunch of public bs, that that Jalen Hurts is out there impressing the heck out of this coaching staff and team on a daily basis, that sunfell baby shrinking from the pressure a little bit, and that

anything Peterson was saying publicly was a bunch of expectation lowering um nonsense hopefuly that they loved that they loved them some Jalen Hurts early on a natural leader and a you know, an athletic marvel. Wow, that's a good whisper. That's like a legit whisper. It was meant to lead with that. I think we whispering about Jalen Hurts on our network show a few times. Did you guys hear that by the one? Why do you seem so scared? All I wanted to do is to play with you bag.

That is problematic. Ure, Let's let's uh, let's head over to uh your neck of the woods. Mark Sess. I want to talk about the Cleveland Browns, and this is not just Cleveland Browns thing, but more a reminder of what's going on in our league right now. J C. Treader their starting center has a nice scope that they clear out some loose particles, and so far there is positive vibes. Rap Sheet reported that Treader will be ready

or should be ready for week one. But the Browns, like my Jets and other teams out there, are really up against it. If you're trying to gain a coherent feeling on your offensive line this summer, it's hard enough as it is. It's been it's unheard of to imagine to get an offensive and you can play all the call of duty you want. I've read some notebooks that offensive lineman are finding other ways to bond group text

chains with memes and everybody's becoming best friends. But she actually got to be on the field getting the work in to develop chemistry and know what the hell you're doing, so the Browns will use in his example, tread or maybe back week one. Even if he's back week one, he's not practicing with the team right now. This is a Browns team that has new tackles on the right and left side, and now a potential fifth round pick, rookie Nick Harris, who's gonna be picking up snaps at

center in the pivot as they say in the game. Uh. In the meantime, it's just the challenge for the Browns and other teams that are trying to get things figured out on a reworked offensive line. I think they have one secret weapon, and you're absolutely right, because they like Nick Harris, but this was not the plan. They had a number of of offensive lineman opt out um which really killed him at right guard. And you're asking Jendrick Wills,

and we talked about us a hundred times. I can't think of a tougher deal than a guy that played right tackle in college to go have to suddenly play left tackle again three weeks ago against a revamped Ravens defensive line and a Ravens defense that's gonna come in and kick people's butts. Anyways, I think the secret weapon is Bill Callahan. I mean, everywhere he goes the offensive

line really shines. And I had watched an interview with him where he went on for about forty five minutes about each one of these guys and barring injury, I do think they'll be much improved. But losing Shredder, who got a contract extension last year and totally deserved it. Um, I don't like that situation at all, or the idea that he that he gets in there too early. I mean, I this is this is a huge concern and it

would affect every part of the offense. Arguably the best coalfensive line coach of the last and yeah, Callahan is maybe the best in the game. But back to my point, he's still gotta be on the field and these guys gotta be getting the reps. It's gonna be very It is gonna be and I know I'm not the first to make this point. It is gonna be sloppy those first few weeks, especially Week one. I'm gonna call right now, we're gonna have a record in um pre snap pre

snap in fractions. They're gonna be talking about that on the second Monday Night Football game, making them run those laps. Speaking of what they they announced that the lead Monday Night football team is on the second Monday Night game, while the Herb Street Combo Fowler is on the first one. If you're a conspiracy theorist, it's kind of like, well, which team do you really want? You know more, which team Steelers Giants get a bigger game? Is going to

the college guys? It kind of raises the question of who's gonna be there next year. I have a I have a theory about that. Monday Football has been under so much fire for so long now that they probably want to get a big chunk of the East Coast audience to go to sleep after the Giants game, so that the second team, if they don't thrive in in week one, out of the gate, there's a lot less less pressure, a little less pressure. Yeah, alright, I like that.

Let's move on, Greg, alright, um, let's go to Oakland? Where are our friend vic Victor four? How did we mispronounce his name before I remember we did. It's tap for I'm gonna check. I'm pretty sure it's tap for. So he he was noting that that Mariota um buzz coming from John Gruden's press conference. Um was maybe a little overstated in retrospect, and he even prefaced this little note saying, here's one for the aggregators and then noted how stiff he he noted, how stiff and um not great.

Marcus Mariota looked throwing the football little four five of training camp, which makes sense because we've seen Marcus Mariota throw throw the football, and that if you were just watching these two guys, you would not think there's there's anything remotely close between Derek carr uh in Mariota, especially for a guy like car who has now been in that offense, and it is often very good in camping and should be good in camp, and it's just it's

just worth pointing out a little nice whispers stunning Tafer in a big spot, stunning that Marcus Mariota actually doesn't look that good, as if we didn't get enough years of tape to concern that they are pumping up Henry Ruggs and Brian Edwards quite a bit. I mean, I know it's rookies, and I know it's early, but I do think these guys will be playing and I don't doubt that Henry Ruggs speed is kind of on other worldly, so they are liking at least what what they see

so far in practice. From those guys, mark, you're up, well go to Buffalo. And I just impressed with how quickly the Bills have put together, um a bunch of interesting skill position players where they were a an empty cupboard,

you know, two or three years ago. Running back, you've got Devin Singletary, Zack Moss is getting a lot of heat, Joe Biscaglia, and Matthew Fairborne from the Art the Athletic UH went off on how he has been sort of a physical berserker at the goal line and basically saying if he if this continues out of practices and into the regular season, that you pair Moss, who is a like a really thumper type running back with single Terry and you've got something in the backfield to go along

with the rebuilt wide receiver group. The same crew though, has mentioned that I think the thing is with Josh Allen and this is and this is not a whisper, this is George just sort of like what we would expect to happen, is that he had a practice earlier in the week. I think it was Monday when Cole Beasley said he is making throws, completing throws that he couldn't even attempt a year ago. But then on Tuesday he was completely all over the map according to some reports.

So that's the Josh Allen experience. But there's a lot to like around him, and it does not dim my hopes for buff Low as an potential a f C title team, title title game. I'm not saying they're gonna win the game. I mean, if they get to the game, they can win it. I mean, if you're if speaking, here's a little fantasy extravaganza, uh teaser for you. Do not hesitate to draft Josh Allen because he's gonna be great in fantasy. He's gonna run the ball, he's gonna

score touchdowns of his legs. He'll throw twenty to twenty four more. But geez, I don't put too much into these practices. Right now, everything is so out of whack. But geez, yeah, I don't need there, I do. I think, hey, early fantasy stuff, don't be hesitant to draft Singletary. I know Moss is there and he's gonna steal some touchdowns and maybe that helps I think mom to bump Singletary's value down a little bit. But Devin Singletary is a special talent. We'll see if Zach Moss is and if

he gets more work, which he should forget it. Why are you eating the microphone? Greg, give it to me, Mike a phone. It doesn't sound good or look good. Actually, that just became the social clip. All right, let's cycle through quickly, a couple more guys each, Greg, alright, Uh, I want to give Jason Varette a little shout out. I I mentioned the forty nine secondary could be a problem. Jason Varette has only played one healthy season in the NFL,

so this comes with a major asterix. But there's some whispers in San Francisco that he kind of looks like the old guy that we used to see with the Chargers and that he's getting first team snaps, and uh, he would. He would be a major boost for them, even if they got five hundred seven hundred snaps out of him. I don't know if he's going to start or not. They should, they should try to be careful. But he was a dynamic player. I mean, he was

a pro bowler. I thought he was maybe an all Pro quality player that was five years ago now, so it's it's asking a lot. The guy has not been healthy, but he's just a name we kind of forgot existed on the forty Niners and he might be playing. You're obsessed with the forty is right now? Greg Mark Mark, all right. I will just say I think the early Rookie of the Year race to me is getting exciting because up in Detroit, DeAndre Swift has been doing it all.

Tim Twentyman saying that he's been great not only as a runner but on passing downs, which means, you know, if you're carry on Johnson, I don't know what the role will be there, but I love the under Swift. And then what if he goes up against Jonathan Taylor, who the cults are at this point now where they're putting clips of Jonathan Taylor weaving through the defense to classical music. They love him, and I think that he's going to have a huge role in a pretty young,

but exciting offense. Let's circle back to the Detroit Lions. T J. Hockenson, the two thousand nineteen first round pick, acknowledge this week that his ankle is still not quite on after sustaining a season ending injury less November. You may remember Hocketson going off in his NFL debut last September for a hundred and thirty one yards, but then he just kept getting hurt a bunch of injuries and

then the ankle injury that ended his season. You hope that his lower half is right or close to completely right by the time games start, because if he could build on his chemistry with Matthew Stafford and already solid Detroit offense gets that much better. But it is fair now to be concerned that the angle that wrecked his twenty nineteen could impact his Sorry, Patra, I'm gonna I'm gonna throw out one uh in the same division Minnesota. A name I haven't seen a lot, you know getting

buzzed this offseason is Irv Smith of the Vikings. Hit it. Let's hear it for the little girl. How do you seem so scared? All I wanted to do is play with you. Don't be scared of this Vikings offense. If Smith could be dynamic, He's one of a bunch of second year guys who I think can be really exciting. They're using him a little bit more as receiver. He's a guy if you waited till the end of fantasy draft. Too much fantasy info here that I'd be excited to take.

But he he seems to be flashing. Maybe it's taken justin Jefferson the rookie a little longer to get up to speed than than you would want. Uh, But to me or Smith might be might be the number two receiver in that team behind Adam Feeling. I got one for you real quick. Well, I just go down to Miami, and I didn't expect, you know, to a to start right away necessarily. I think it's because chan Gailey is there and they know Ryan Fitzpatrick so well, the two

of them, that it's gonna be fitzy. But there were some whispers I read some things here that even Josh Rosen has at times looked a little more with it and better than to uh. And I'll tell you know, it's camp. I mean, don't well it means so, it means it's a whisper. It's not a news report, but it's a little it's a little whisper out there. I still think to uh, you know, probably by week four they're gonna want to see what he can what he

can do. Ben Roethlisberger is throwing with some quote nice velocity. According to the Athletic, his throwing motion appears the change Mark Caboli, who's I think been at it for a long time with the Steelers, Big Big often on the d DFP. I feel like, there you go. Caboli Uh said he noticed it especially later in practice. So it's throwing motion a little bit different, more of a quote whip action, almost like Philip Rivers esque. So I don't

know what that means. It's just a whisper. But Ben Roethlisberger with a Philip Rivers type arm sounds like a total disaster. But we'll see, uh if he could still play the guitar after tearing three elbow ligaments. Uh last September. I think it's interesting because I read all that and um, you know, he said it was especially at the end of practice. Short army, the short army. But then you I went to NFL dot Com and that's my employer,

so I think they do a wonderful job. And the top video was big Ben lobbs deep dimes at Hines Field and training camps. It's like we've got a couple of different storylines clashing here. I mean, is it that

or is he short army philip rivers? I mean, you guys have been to some of these you know, we've been together to these rams early practices and stuff, and and seeing them live, you do realize how much you're putting your faith into the reporter recording like hot takes off of this stuff, because I think most people watching it would be like, oh, there was some practice. You gotta really know what you're watching, and you know what a guy like Mark Coboli has been going for twenty

plus years and is a real football head. You know it and you respect it, and that's why it's one of the whispers. But then you've got to be careful.

There's some other cities, there's some other sources maybe you don't want to put as much stock into And speaking of the Steelers, whispers whispers, whispers whispers, the d D Kinkabala, who does great coverage of the nf A f C North and the Steelers for NFL Network, I believe she'll be joining us on the Around the NFL broadcast on NFL Network on Saturday morning, so stay tuned for that.

Will almost certainly be asking her about Big Ben and other matters concerning the black and gold, black and yellow, black and yellow brow, black and gold, black and yellow, black and yellow. Well, I have a different name for them,

but I'll accept that your daddy basically since two. Um, all right, that that closes the whispers for now, but well, I'm sure we'll bring back some whispers before the season kicks off again, because that's a good way to you know, you see what's going on out there, because we are now it's legit. And I loved, I really loved the

most recent episode of Hard Knocks. How they really did um managed to show you the enthusiasm and the excitement, uh, and the joy, to be real honest with you, that was coming out of that those buildings as they actually put on helmets and and shoulder pads and run and all over the field and hitting each other, rubbing their bodies against one another. As Greg would say, UM, so

it's good, it's good. It almost felt it almost felt a little bit normal, um watching Hard Knocks when they're just going through a practice and some poor undrafted rookie is getting absolutely obliterated for being overweight, and it was like, Okay, this feels normal. Normalcy is not a bad thing, right. It was like kind of slow paced, but it was a little it kind of reminded me of like football

a SMR. You know, it's just like kind of pleasant to have football things happening, you know, with the sounds and everything on the TV. It didn't have to have a lot of like juice you know, or big like you know, um plot points. I mean, you want to you know, you want to fall asleep talk to Jared Goff while playing golf for a few more minutes. But it was just sort of like pleasant to have there. I like that. I like the episode a lot just because it really did feel like a slice of life.

They kind of accomplished what the show sets out to do, which is taking you behind the scenes to what it's like there, and that I think exactly. I think they got that across ahead Mark. Yeah. I think the contrast to like what we were dealing with with the Oakland Raiders a year ago in Antonio Brown, which was you know, a massive news story and unfolding. I don't you know that with this And I'd like to interest to see

what they do with Melvin Gordon next week. They're both very likable teams, and I've been harsh on the l A teams, but I've grown fonder of them this week especially. I didn't like last week's episode very much, but the whole like Andrew Whitworth thing, um finding out how Corona spread through his family and him like sort of calling out his nanny on HBO, I thought was the next

level of music. He did not go out of he did not call her and he actually went out of his way to say he didn't blame her for it, but he was, like it started. Her name has ever appeared on television, She's probably not. You know, there could there could be other circumstances. But I thought also the Seth Ryan Rex Ryan's son thing was fast neating to watch because from another Corona angle where like there's this decision or you know, results come in and then is

it true is it not? And like, but the whole idea that Seth Ryan materialized, which makes so much sense because you know, Anthony Lynn and Rex Ryan are super tight and it makes sense that Seth Ryan would show up there. But um, I thought there was a lot to like in the episode. Speaking of beat reporters, anyone that's a Jets fan that keeps up with the team.

Back in the golden years of Rex and the Jets, it was a very popular notebook item that Mark Sanchez would attend a lot of Rex's sons football games, high school football games. So it's just funny how the passage of time. Now that high school kid is Seth Ryan, who's a centerpiece of an episode of Hard Knocks for a false positive coronavirus test. I wish we had more Ryan's. It's good to have some Ryan lineage still in the league. But we gotta get Uncle Rob back in the league.

I know he's doing great stuff at Sky Sports, and now we need I want Rob coaching on the sidelines, and not just as a linebacker coach. I want him as a d C and swaggering up and down the sidelines of the flowing silver hair and the belly and just being completely in control of his domain. I want that Rob. Oh that means we can't have beer with our Robs. So I I like the just in London with us somewhere, you know, And that would take away if he if he left Sky. I think he's Neil

Reynolds as best friend, So we can't do that. You couldn't do that. All right, good stuff, guys, we'll be back on Friday. Lock. Coming up this week, we'll have our news edition of Rundown edition of the Around the NFL podcast, and then also we'll be taping our Around the NFL broadcast that you could check out on Friday afternoon on NFL dot com and then Saturday morning on the network so everyone can see it if they like. All Right, is Dan hans As signing off for quiet

Storm Your boss, Ricky Hollywood. There she is, wondering where she's been, all right until Friday.