2021 Trade Deadline & TNF Preview

Where were you You were Arizona, Arizona. Someone shouted out while you were doing a live hit. Uh, tiny Box. It happens all the time and I love it, so keep doing it, guys. It's great. It's always like stay heyed Dan. But what is like, what does Steve Smith think about that being shouted at you? Does he understand like the lineage of that nicknames? How many people? It feels like a nickname that needs context, but we never give it the count. I think it needs lots of context.

We're just happy. The large boxes not what took hold in the imagination. Absolutely not. We're not going to do Huge Box. Colleen's here, it's awesome. We are at the trade In fact, look at this play along because I know actually passed twenty two minutes ago, but where can it act like it's about to pass now? All right? Here we are twelve fifty nine on the West coast, Ricky count us down like Dick Clark and the biggest of all spots four three two, Oh my god, oh

my god. The best day of the year to kiss, get your hands off in Sessler colleague trade deadline has passed a little bit of a dad not a lot of drama, but there was one huge name moved. And we're gonna get through the big names connected to the trade deadline, whether they were moved or not. And you gotta start, of course, with Von Miller and Connie. This

is a big one. The Denver Broncos agreed to trade the eight time Pro Bowl linebacker to who else, the Los Angeles Rams for a second and third round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Broncos will also pay and this is this is interesting. There's a little brock Oswiler vibe here. The Broncos will also pay nine million of Miller's remaining nine point seven million bass salary for the nine games left in the season, so they said, we'll take the money, give us the picks. Uh, Connie,

what do you think? A lot of excitement? Obviously, Von Miller joins a front seven in l A that has Aaron Donald. Is this going to be as big a deal as it seems on paper? Or should there be some trepidation about what kind of impact he can make? No, I wanted to be I'm I'm selling this, I'm all in on it. I didn't expect this one to happen at all either. I feel like it popped out of nowhere. The Rams right now they lead the league in sacks,

and now they won't have to blitz as much. In theory, I feel like Rahe Morris, he must be on cloud nine their defensive coordinator, just because you have Aaron Donald who's so disruptive, and Leonard Floyd has been having such a good season on the other side. Then you add in von Miller. This team has been performing so well and the defense now just has so much more juice

with Jalen Ramsey on the back end. And when you have the Titans coming in for Sunday Night football without Derrick Henry, they're going to have to throw the ball, and you have you add von Miller, who they're expected to play this week. I love it. I think it sets up really well for them. Plus when you think about it and you look at their schedule, I'm out. This is it though, I mean, I have nothing else

for the rest of the show. Uh. When you look at their schedule, the Rams play Week seventeen in l A. They could have home field at that point if everything goes their way, and maybe never leave again the rest of the season. Oh, you went with the whole like staying home for six three weeks home narrative. I mean essler like you like that, right, staying home. I like to stay home. I do. It's it appeals to me. I'm I'm looking forward to in l A super Bowl.

I don't think it would be a good one to come in four, but I'm I'm glad to have one here and the Rams could be in it. Like this is why you make that move, but it that's such a high bar and like how much does von Miller alone change the calculus? Like you love it as a Rams fan that they're absolutely going for. It's a big price.

I mean a second and a third round pick when I when I saw that it was two second day picks that my mind was still in like two thousand and eight when they only had two days of the draft, and I was like, oh, like fourth or fifth round picks, Like that sounds uh like a good deal, you know when we and like this has definitely win for Denver. You know, what what are they you know doing right now? You might as well get those picks. Yes, is it a win? Yes, but you could get eight years of

contracts uh for you know, two rookies. You know Von Miller is not gonna be on that team next year, instead of having nine games of a guy when you absolutely know you're gonna have a different coaching staff. Like this is a move that I'm sure Vic fan Joe didn't love, but that it shows to me that like Vic fan Joe and the GM are not necessarily I mean, I think it's a smart move. I I think it's kind of sad whenever a player of his importance to

that organization. We were there in Santa Clara when he took over that game and took Cam Newton's soul and one Super Bowl m v P. So it ends this way, and it ends Mark with at a time and less we forget that this is the team of th H A L. And we'll get back to the Rams in a second. Um, you gotta wait till the season starts. West was always big on that, let's watch three games.

A Broncos team that entered the season thinking they could really contend in the a f C are trading Von Mill or uh two days after Halloween and that and that's rough for the Broncos and their fans. They still have so much work to do to get back to where they want to be. Yeah, it leaves me with lots of questions. I mean, Greg, if you if you after three games, the Broncos would have been three and O. I think there was actually a little bit more like

six games. Six games would have helped. But the future of Vick Fongio just future, right, the future, I mean it's it's when you're selling von Miller, you're basically saying this season is a wash. And at this point, I think Vick Fonio's job is in hot butt territory. If it was already there, we're gonna have to check. We're gonna check in on that next week. By the way, the season's midpoint where the hot butts are at SISS. It's just not fair to human beings to have to

be categorized that way if you're Vick Fongio. But um, I love this for a less need to me because it started with the Stafford thing, and like like in another universe the Stafford thing could be going very poorly right now, and it's like you guys blew up you know, roster a to go get this and you've given up a lot. Instead, it's going about as perfectly as you

could have ever imagined. And I kind of just trust the Rams to make this work with Leonard Floyd, Aaron Donald and Von Miller, and it's like a one season thing because they're ultra going for it. And if you're less sneaed, you you know, after what happened with Gurley and with Golf, where you had to answer so many questions about these players that you drafted and developed and

then overpaid went totally south. They're all about known quantity and other teams will simply copy what they do at this point because it's like, we don't care about draft picks. I'm not gonna have to stand up on a poty well, but it is working right now with staff they've been doing it for four or five years though. Ms right, Brandon Cook rams like it's working. And that's where I pushed back on people being like, of course they all are all in for this year. They even you know,

sent the little rounders tweet out about it. They're not. It's not like they're out for next year. Right, That's it was a great, great point not understanding the movie. Uh there, it's not like they're out for next year or the year after. This is what everyone said in other loading up for one more run. They said it going into last year. They're loading up training these picks for one more run. It's like, no, Stafford's gonna be here, Cook's gonna be here, Donald's gonna be here, Woods will

probably be here. Von Miller might be here because you might want to kind of amortize this deal and make it get a little better value and and uh, you know, sign him to a reasonable contract before the end of the season, just so you can keep them. I think it's said that they didn't think their defense had enough juice to your point, call like, yeah, they've played well, but you look at the teams they've played, and for

the most part, the offenses have stunk. The two decent offenses they played, the Bucks and Cardinals did whatever they wanted against him, and I think they felt like they needed more juice. So it told me, I think what they what they saw in their defense, and that makes sense they're going for They've had a pretty soft schedule,

so what do you guys think? And they've also rolled everyone, so it's like, I mean, you can't kind of you're doing what you're doing, and like they look, especially defensively. They've had a soft schedule special you know against the quarterbacks they played when they when they got when they struggled that much against the Bucks and the Cardinals. And von Miller has played well this year. He is a an above average good NFL starter you would think is

gonna get some extra juice. My question, Connie is does von Miller get the like Matt Stafford and Shaunwick the offense pop by playing it with Aaron Donald and being able to kind of not be the focus of the defense. That's I think another reason why they made this trade. They thought von Miller could be better than he has been in Denver the last couple of years, and we've seen that happen in multiple places. We've seen it happen

with the Steelers. We've seen it with a ton of teams, even like the Browns when they bring in Jadeveon Clowney and Miles Garrett, just guys having an extra body there and then then being able to benefit off of that. But did you see the rumors that the Broncos traded Von Miller because his teammates in Denver wouldn't help pay for the Halloween party that he throws every year. I just I don't know if fan talk, do you hear that? Get to work? What is it? There's there's always some

drama about the Halloween party. Wasn't the CEO? Was there? Their former quarterback was right in drama there? Did he wind up in someone's house? Was in someone's house? Noah? Fan tried to shut down this Halloween party stuff, saying like it was all cool with von everyone loves but I really love like von Miller. When I listened to him speak, he gave this long YouTube thanking everyone in the Denver organization. He seems like a guy who's, like, I don't know, like aware of how lucky he is

and he wanted everyone to know. And it seems very beloved there. So you're right there and you do lose something and you're trading and guy like you do. And um, it's funny during uh the Great Rachel Bannetta filled in from that money Smith on the Power Rankings building for the Great Money. They're both great, right, Matt money Smith is also, you're not suggesting that a great person. I

haven't seen Mark react that quickly. Uh, well, I just texted that, you know, he's dealing with Corona and Erica brought in like a swag bag from my from my pod here we get deesel Nick and Rosenthal and he because I was like I don't want that, and Mark to swoops in and grab Well, it was a specific type of everybody wants to know what's in the box that Mark wants, what a person on the ail grooming

uh utility he needs. Um. I wanted to say that there was like a roll of pregame hype celebration or you know, getting guys hyped up before the Week eight games that they rolled during the Power Rankings, and all the players are just going, It's like happy Halloween. Man, It's Halloween, and it's like these these players love Halloween. There still kids I know, well, yeah they're high five

and da Halloween. Well it's like there's Halloween that we all deal with, but then suddenly you're a millionaire and Halloween could take on your hold you maybe in the millionaire no degree, absolutely not. I wish I would love to get there one day. But this is probably not a popular take. But Halloween, believe it. I am totally with you. Although as a parent, you're you have to feign ultra. I like to take kids out and do

all that, but it's like another thing mark. You just have to be like my deeper feelings about Halloween and is all sort of a farce, but it's there is some fun. Halloween a success. I love Halloween. It's not an attached to it like on on deeper. It's just it's not everything has to be on a deeper level. You're right, You're right, but I had That's why I'm not fun to be with general. Let's get let's get back on track. I do think the bill will come

do eventually with the Rams. Just for instance, uh the two thousand twenty two draft, they have no first round pick, no second round pick, one, third round pick, no fourth round pick one fifth round pick, no sixth round pick. At some point you would think that roster is going to toll and it's going to turn over and not be pretty. But that's not the point because if you win, uh, if you win a title or two, you can deal

with what happens after that. But you gotta win. And I think they think differently than the rest of the NFL, and I think it always helps when you're doing something that others aren't. You know, they are getting value in these guys that they know. It's not like they're not getting value. And I think they know that Sean McVeigh, maybe more than any coach in the league. They believe will hire a good staff around them and develop these guys that we don't know the names of. On the rams.

There's about seven or eight starters every year, someone defense, someone offense, and you don't really know who they are, but they're out there and they're playing fifty or sixty snaps and they're contributing, and that's where they get the value from. Like and maybe they're looking at less Need and Sean McVeigh and what they do in the draft and they're thinking, well, we just spent our second round pick on two two at well, um, who does not seem like he's gonna help. He wasn't gonna help the

Rams this year before he got hurt. And you know, I don't know some of you. It's like the picks are big time gamble. Von is not one. One little nugget. Josina Anderson was texting with Adrian Peterson when he was being you know, signed by the Titans. She and she was just like, just do like, how do you feel about dealing with Aaron Donald and Von Miller potentially like

days from now. You know, he's obviously not been playing at all, and he was just like, ship, that's a whole different story, Like, uh, can you cut that please for future use? All right, let's get to a trade that didn't go down. Deshaun Watson, John McClean taking the l well, he wasn't alone, he wasn't, but he was out front on it. He can withstand it. I would say almost every big national voice had an almost identical or point to McClean after was happening. After that, Deshaun

Watson would be moved. And the Dolphins, obviously we're at the front of the pack and you had other teams like the Panthers that were connected than unconnected. Well guess what is unconnected? Word? Disconnected? Okay, anyway, the deadline has passed, as you just heard, and Deshaun Watson will remain on the Houston Texans. He will continue and this has to be weird. Actually was thinking about it today. He does because he has to to get paid and not get

fined and all that. He has to report to the facility every day, but he doesn't practice with the team obviously doesn't dress on Sunday. So where does he go when he's in the facility? Do you imagine he's like in the like the commissary on his phone. Where does he go? It's like when you break up with someone but you are still living together, but which still kind of have to tiptoe around the house. And I've never done it, but we just mentioned that exact scenario on

our Friday yow. I don't know why, but like, um, it is exactly like that to the show. Um, just repeating what you know? No, No, it's just that that's that's an apt compare. So Watson is going to continue to do that through the end of the season because he has not been traded. Now he will be traded. But now everything goes uh, well should go quiet, you would think, in terms of the talk around him, which is good news for the Texans because this is probably

a very unpleasant situation for them. Uh In terms of the media, I refer specifically the players and coach David Culley. Now we will find out what happens next, but Watson stays right where he is. In that kind of Collie always made the most sense in a lot of ways because the way Watson's legal situation is, with the twenty three lawsuits and the potential criminal um prosecution in hand,

he wasn't gonna play this year anyway. There's just so much unknown and the awkward relationship that just continues now.

And it's better for us because hopefully everything kind of just settles down because we don't have any clarity on anything, but we still have to talk about it when he comes up in these rumors in terms of like the trade to the Dolphins that didn't happen, but the Texans asking prize, according to Ian Rappaport, three first round draft selections for a guy that has this many pending lawsuits

against him, it's just so so messy. I mean, I think everyone involved looks so bad, Like everyone that that went through this charade the last couple of months to get to this point, Like the Dolphins look terrible, not just that they allowed themselves to be part of this, but that Stephen Ross, according to Ian, requested to speak with the Shawn Watson on Monday night, that the request

wasn't granted until Monday night. Deshaun Watson, of course looks the worst because he is responsible for all of this. He's facing, you know, twenty plus civil charges, still facing ten plus criminal charges. He denied the opportunity to David Tepper also, according to Ian, that the Panther's owner to speak to him the the Texans didn't want to let

Watson uh speak to him. Eventually they apparently did grant the permission or that he decided to speak to him on Monday night, the night before the trade deadline, and by that point the Dolphins decided it was too late. So to a tongue of viola knows that the owner who said he wasn't involved in football decisions, was solely you know, deciding the football decisions, and that they would have possibly traded for him if Deshaun Watson would have

settled the civil cases. This is all from Ian's reporting, but Watson, throughout all of this has not only pushed back on taking any responsibility whatsoever, um or deny. You're like, you know, apologizing, but he's still pushing through it. He wants everything to be out there. That's the man that these teams are trying to trade for. The Texans are doing everything they can to drive his price up. So

it's like they they they're not cleaning this. And then the most disappointing thing for me is that the media has done everything possible. And when I say media, I mean like the big national reporters has assisted Deshaun Watson's agent and really shown the power of an agent in the NFL, I think in being able to at least mitigate like the coverage of this story, and a lot of people sure seemed to be trying to help them trade this guy who's facing all of these charges over

the last couple of weeks, like they were trying. They're saying it's happening. They're trying to you know, snuff out other people to jump into the trades. And you know what all that for nothing, Like they were wrong. They they were helping out a man who is still pending, you know, facing all these charges. They were trying to help him and his age now and it didn't even work.

Well don't. I'm totally with what you're saying, but we're asking like cutthroat NFL executives to take the same moral or judgment stance that we do about watson situation, and frankly, like I think that you are hedging, Like if you're one of these gms that goes after him and you get him, you're playing off the fact that, like, essentially at some point, there are myriad players throughout the league that have been involved with terrible things that a year

or two later, we forget about it and we continue to watch them. I'm just saying that you're and that will happen eventually for Watson most likely, but for I think just from not most likely it will unless he never plays. From a football perspective, though, I thought this, it was always insane, and I don't think there is any defense, whether it's moral or not. I don't think you needed to be moral for them to get involved. Before any of this was settled, it never made any

sense because he wasn't gonna play this year. They were full, they were kidding themselves if he if he was ever going to play this year, and what you did to your football team if you're David Tepper or tongue of you know, Stephen ross is let your quarterbacks know, like you know, we're not. It's not like you helped your coaches that you heard him right. You're putt you're putting two up on the podium. And he has to face

these questions about the rumors as well. And it's like, meanwhile, to Uh and the Dolphin's offense, they're just trying to get on track, They're trying to do something in these games, and now you have all of these distractions coming in with Deshaun Watson. It's just so messy that it got to this, and you want to be right as a reporter, like so many of the reports said, it's happening sooner than it was, sooner than later, could happen any day,

any weekend, and it was all wrong. But hold up, but what if Steven ross Uh engaged with DeShawn Watson. I'd love to know what questions were asked or whether he didn't In the end, he he asked for permission. It was grant. But had had that happened, had it gone like the way that Steven Ross would want it to, we could be talking about a very different scenario. Supposedly, he also wanted them to say, I just thought it was the civil cases we're gonna get settled, and that

would have done it for him too, apparently. I think there's the power of an agent and and moving things along also the power of a franchise quarterback in his prime. I just don't know, Like, I know you're you've been hard on this Greg, You're going hard on this thing with the media. I don't know, Like, what is the play If Stephen Ross, the owner of the Dobbins is requesting to meet with the Shaun Watson with the interest of making a trade, do you just not report on it?

I don't not not that when it's been presented this whole time, it's been presented in a way two A inspire like other teams to jump into the bidding, like you're doing the bidding for this person, and almost almost to a report, it almost never brings up why you're in this situation and that he's likely not going to play this year and all of the other implications it's just from the football side, and I think that's letting the agent and Deshaun Watson off easy every time you

do it, because it's basically trying to pull the wool over the viewers eyes that like, what are we talking about here? We're talking about someone who is in this situation because he's been sued and facing charges for sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Like I I am amazed. And and it's partly because I've heard some of these people talk behind the scenes to and it's like there, like it's a it's not not everything has to be both sides, Like this isn't a both sides. Do you want the

agent to drop Deshaun Watson? Would that appease you? On this front? Like the agent is doing what agents do, which is I don't really care what Greg or anyone else thinks about this side of it. I'm I'm here to defend my client. And again it's like this, this is not the first player that has been through something that's ghastly to us or to most observers. But the agent's job, he's simply doing it. Whether you like him

or not, I get it. And he is maybe the most powerful or one of the most powerful agents there is. What I don't like is trading the relationships that you have developed with the reporters over the years for this situation. This is the insider game is so dirty that like this is it not the departure point for that being it is left, all right, But I can't think of one like this. That's how, but that's how information is

broken and traded between agents and insiders. So this is not This is not a new thing that just happens to be caught up in a very volatile situation and a criminal case, which makes it very thorny. And I can understand greg your opinion on this. Um, all right, let's move. We got him, let's move. The deadline passed, give it to me and give me the Jack Bower clock. Got Rosenthal fired up, Odell beckhams He's not going anywhere.

But it feels like speaking of agents and other people working behind the scenes to get what they want for their clients, not without some effort to get him moved away from a Cleveland Browns team where he has not been able to move the needle since his arrival in the Trade of the Giants a couple of years back. Um, just On Tuesday, you had Odell Beckham Sr. Post a eleven minute video showing all the time Baker Mayfield missed Odell Beckham on passing routes over the past two seasons.

Uh soundtracked, And at first I was like, did Odib Senior put this together? Yeah? No, you know he posted. I was like, he's an r EM fan. That's cool. Yeah, that was the first thing I thought, is like, do the Beckham's love? I didn't watch the video, and what

song is it? What's everybody hurts? So the entire the entirety of everybody hurts, like the most modeling like pop hit of the last thirty years, playing to Baker Mayfield, airmailing throws to Odell Beckham, and then all sort of all sorts of like amazing dad hashtags, which I'll get to in a minute. And then at the same time this is all breaking. You have Lebron James, who's the most confusing sports fan Connie in the world. He's like a Cowboys fan, but he's a Browns fan. He's a

Yankees fan, and then he's always at Rams games. I don't even know what's going on. He tweets that you know you gotta make O'Dell grade again, get him out of Cleveland. I thought you were a Browns fan. I don't even know what's going on air. But at the end of the day, the Browns don't make the move. Should they have traded O'Dell Beckham Jr. Colleen wolf Well, I don't think that they were in a position to do that with his contract, but just in general, his

dad just doing the most sports dad thing ever. I can't believe he went and got this whole thing cut up with production value of some sort two R. E. M obviously had to think. I think someone did that. Someone went through the efforts. But it's it's true because Odell and Baker they just have no chemistry. And we've seen it time and time again. Coming off that game against the Steelers one catch for six yards, even case Keenum and him had a something that was a little

bit better going in that game against the Broncos. So listen, Dad, he's going for it. And it's just a little bit of a nuclear option here. But there was no chance that the Browns were going to well. I mean, I'd say this like it's kind of like everyone's fault to me in terms of the on everybody's fault that too. I I mean since twenty En Mayfield has a sixty nine passer rating targeting O b J, which is, you know, the lowest among any NFL duo with a hundred plus attempts.

It's just not worked out. And last year that's a thing. I know, last year it got me like annoyed because I thought it was a narrative. But it just is playing out to be. The case is number Baker's numbers are much better when Odell has not been on the field. And there are you know, there's people saying, well, Baker Mayfield is hesitant to throw it to Odell because O'Dell, if you look at it's made his own mistakes. It's like a little bit on everyone. And we haven't heard

anything from Odell Beckham. I mean, it just tells me that it's fine to say, go trade them, but they got no offers that were tangible. This front office inherited Odell Beckham from John Dorsey. And you have to look at the current Andrew Berry front office and say, if anything they've been cunning. They don't overpay. The players have not been overpaid. And when they've made little moves here and there they've been for two it is, and I think that they're willing to just hang with Odell Beckham

for the rest of the year. He can be cut for no dead cat money this offseason. I'd be shocked at that didn't happen. Stefansky, I read, you know, wanted him, he didn't want to trade him, that he thought he can keep blaming himself for not I agree with what you said. There's not an easy like let's blame someone. But on that play, which I know caught your eye, Dan, and I hadn't watched it at the time that you texted.

You know, the play a lot of people were talking about kind of look like Odell had a little bit of Alex. That's a season changing catch right here. I rewatched that play though, and if you on the All twenty two from both camera angles, I mean they drew up the absolute perfect play. They always say like shade hands offense gives the quarterbacks the answers to the to the test. Odell's open early in that play, Baker is so late he he pumped fakes with absolutely no one.

No one is near Odell Beckham for two and a half three seconds of that play, like it was the absolute perfect play call. There's a lot of talk that Baker struggles to throw up the seams, whether it's his height or he's just a guy who lacks anticipation. He has to really see it open, kind of like Jay

Cutler before he lets it go. On that play, it's a it's a walk maybe a walk in touchdown, but it's an easy first down down to the five or so if he delivers it on time like a lot of quarterbacks was and he and he hesitates, he pump fakes, and he throws it late and above and behind Odell, who does jump and kind of put his arm up. When you see it from the sideline, it didn't seem like a crazy bad effort. But like when they're reviewing that play, it's not Odell that's getting the minus two

on their grading system. It's Baker, alright, but I know this is O'Dell is one of those guys just got out there that that one's not about Odell, But it's about what Mark said where it's it's both of them. You know. That is if you are a truly elite wide receiver, that's a difference making play where you could pick up your quarterback and make the catch, or not even make the catch. Greg make a better effort. And I'm not saying this is what's the problem with devilt.

He's not trying. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it is not working. And there's got to be blame assigned on both sides of this. It's it is O'Dell's fault in part, it is Baker Mayfield's fault in part. And I also agreed the right move was to stay in Cleveland and the Browns maybe get this worked out and save this thing. But I also think you're right, Mark. I think he's history after the year. You guys want to hear some great dad hashtags on this, some really

good ones here. So, as I said, it was soundtracked by the R E M hit Everybody Hurts Off Automatic for the People. Just one of the greatest records of all time, Erica. She's in her twenties still I see Christie Stapleton behind the glass. I don't even know R E M. Automatic for the People. You'll thank me later. Give it a listen. They look thrilled and really sorry. M Yeah, and check it out on the Throwback podcast. Here are the hashtags I'm a father before anything, okay

hashtag My twin and I do look very similar. He's in an incredible shape for for dad. Hashtag three my ace with an ace of spades. A little a little uh emoji in there. That was good. Next my a number one. Next, and now it starts to get a little weird. Next hashtag I'm hurting for you. Next one hashtag playing hurt. Next one hashtag I hurt for him, Next one hashtag this really hurts one of these hastag very hurtful hashtag disrespectful hashtag when I hurt the hurt.

I know well that I always actually check on that hashtag every night, just when I heard I heard, I know to see who's been posting. Hashtag I love Cleveland like I love home. Hashtag I love my son MO number seven hashtag seven eleven open, but he made the dad mistake. You put a number in there, it's not gonna hashtag so you hashtag open hashtagn hashtag all love hashtag Beckham legendary. That's a lot of hashtags. That's next to inside I might along with that all that business

none other than our friend Dwayne Bow. Dwayne Bow, Wayne Bow like, you know, like riding in on his white horse, said Pops. He tweeted to O b J. Pops. They did me the same way. This guy had like one catch with the brown saying like raging headaches bus. All right, let's take a break and then we'll hit the rest of the news. All right, let's get to it. It went down Monday morning, so you know about it by now,

but let's talk about it here. Derrick Henry is on the shelf bomber uh NFL networks ian Rap report reports that Henry uh is undergoing foot surgery. He's expected to miss six to ten weeks. That was the initial report, and then I heard IAN today, so I'm on NFL network and they said it's more closer to eight to ten weeks. And then you can start doing the math. I don't like to do it, but it's entering week nine. Eight weeks put you to the end of the regular season.

So in the best case scenario for the Titans, Henry returns for the playoffs. And then you wonder what version of Henry returns coming off foot surgery as a running back. Anyway, Greg, a lot of talk about this being the end of the road for the Titans that they're cooked now, and you can understand that side of things. How do you see it? No, I think they're gonna be a playoff team and Derrick Henry will probably be back for the playoffs, according to Ian, So, I don't think it kills him.

I think their play action passing game, especially Julio Jones, can be healthy enough, can still work, and losing Henry is massive. I kind of like the Adrian Peterson signing. I mean, he's he's run pretty well the last few years when you've given him the chance, and I'm not saying that Derrick Henry was struggling, but he also wasn't very efficient. You know, the last handful of weeks, you're running the ball twenty eight times for seventy nine yards

twenty nine times or eight years. He's playing great. But I think you can somewhat replaces rushing production. You can find other ways to win games and get to the end of the season, get him back. I don't know about replace him, um. I just mean you're a little lower on him than I am, and you can have the Titan. The Colts game hurt too, right, That's that's a great point. I think Adrian Peterson at least can give them something that they're not just going to fall

apart because they're running it. It's an extremely spicy signing um in the sense that like, if if it went the right way, it would be fascinating. What do you think he doesn't have? Obviously, Adrian Peterson doesn't have that like big playability anymore like he had before. But I do think that he could help kind of keep them on track here. And Jeremy McNichols, come on, how about we give him some luve this team. They're going to

throw the ball a lot more. But that's why if if Julio Jones could stay healthy, that's gonna look like an amazing move that they did in the off season to kind of help out with the with the whole offense there at the Rams this week, and there there's some tough games sprinkled in Saints right after that at at New England's in their ats. It's not all easy, but you have two games against the Texans, you have

the Dolphins, and you have the Jaguars. There there's four games like and then if you just win one or two of the other games like that, that's well and by the way you can count on the rest of your division fumbling and bumbling to know what'll They're in a good division, so they yes, this could end up in a place where Graver is okay because you're in the playoffs and you get your guy back. He didn't come to work today because I don't think he was

able to come in. He's emotionally, it was it was too much, too big of a mountain to get over. Tuesday's is off day. But I don't totally buy it. I think Raver showed a little bit of like a lack of professionalism. I'll put it. I'll go out Um and Eric and not jumping in because you do. It's like it's like we get it. You you host Titans podcast. But it is just like you don't even know Derrick Henry personally. And the team can still win like you just I think they will. I think it's gonna the

old adage. I don't know if it's an old adage, but as long as you have your quarterback still, I think the offense, and they have a very good quarterback in Ryan Townehill, even without hand, I think they're gonna be okay. They're just not as good anymore, and I will say this is not the best development to now have to put more on the idea of Julio Jones being a big part of this team because that signing is not or that trade has not worked out for them so far. He's always hurt. He's uh, he's had

a hamstring injury that will not go away. So if they get Julio Jones back, if he stays healthy, if A. J. Brown could stay healthy, if Ryan town Hill stays healthy, I think they're okay, but not a good situation. Uh. In other news, this is brutal, this is really terrible news.

At a Las Vegas UH Tuesday morning here on the West Coast, Henry Ruggs, the two thousand, twenty first round pick of the Raiders who's having a really good season this year, is facing a driving under the influence of charge after a fiery vehicle crash early Tuesday in Las Vegas left one woman dead. Rugs and his female passenger

were injured. UH, Las Vegas police said, and Rugs, who's twenty two, showed signs of impairment at the scene, and the police said in a statement that he will be charged with felony d U I resulting in death and Mark we obviously your thoughts are with the victims here, um, who were involved with the accident a fiery crash in Las Vegas and just a terrible story all the way around that's unfolding as we do this podcast. But Henry

Ruggs is in a lot of trouble right now. Yeah, it happened at reported time three forty in the morning. Um it you know, so you can only wonder what what the the lead up to? That was totally tragic. Um. You know, it changes everyone for the people that have been lost, but if you're Henry Ruggs, you're still a human being too, And like you spend this the rest

of your life thinking about this. Um, I had a friend growing up where something similar happened when they were a teen and like, you know that person who's left behind where other people were removed. Um, you're gonna your life will be changed forever. And it's it. You know, there's the on field side of it too, but it really has nothing to do with this at this point. You don't wish this upon anybody. This is this is awful and unfortunate and just so terrible and gout wrenching.

For everyone all around, and then just looking at the Nevada laws with Henry Rugg's there. I mean he's facing between two and twenty years in prison for this. So just the mental component of knowing this um moving forward and just like just a terrible dumb mistake that could have been avoided if this was in fact d u I. In other news, UM, as we pivot back to football in the field, the Vikings will be without Daniel Hunter

for the rest of the season. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer confirmed that Hunter suffered a torn peck in Week eight against the Cowboys. He'll miss the remainder of the season and that is a tough blow for the Vikings greg because Hunter was a big time contributor for their defense. Um, he was averaging a sack a game. He missed all of last year with a disk issue. Uh, and now he will miss the rest of this year. So injury issues killing Hunter, and it's going to really hurt this Viking.

I think he's the most valuable player on that defense in damashek parlance say, he might be the Jenga piece and the two guys you can maybe least afford to lose would be him and Patrick Peterson, who's out at least for now and for a few more weeks with an injury. And yeah, that makes our guy kirk Cousins life a lot tougher. It's just hard to see them being like a really good defense. They've been pretty good, I would say, on balance, but without Hunter, I can't

our guy kirk Cousins feels a little bit strong. It's such a bummer. I don't even know why. He's definitely not my guy. I don't well, you're the one slithering oiled up and slithering into his PLEXI glass Q, that's right, was saying um that he was playing pretty well this year and then the thing happened that we were worried about that. It's like you get into prime time and then it didn't didn't have is the killer? Is the killer for the vikings? Why again do you have to

get all oiled up and to get well? Wasn't that part of it? Dude? He has to be completely right. Dan said that right a window into Dan's mind. You know, no, it's just it's practical. It's I was right there with you. I think it's from a from a physical you want to make this work, This is how you if you're needing a gregg in there, you oil him up. He's got no he's got nothing on. He's very smooth. It's very like a seal because he has these these products

from his other podcast, the Grooming Products. So you groom them down, very effective. You lather him up, and you slide them right into the cube. Put a mask on. Though, Bro, do you have a name for the cube other than the cube? Well? He and he and Kirk have their own little lame You guys can't live out your little Kirk cousins. You know, bubble fans. I'm glad this came up today. It's a Greg Rosenthal bubble fans, right, at least is half Greg fantasy. All right, let's do a

little before we get to Monday night. Actually, let's do a little breaking news. Oh it's like it's like just on the borderline. DeShawn Jackson has been released from the Los Angeles. You know what that means. They couldn't find a Traine. They're like, we will give you a maybe seventh round pick with a conditional seventh round pick if he if he has one catch beyond twelve yards, and the other teams were like nah, we're good. He was asking for a treat. What are you doing you? You

came back home. He's from l A. The Rams are a good team, and he's like, no, no, no, I'm just Shawn Jackson. I want out. It's not right now. You hear the Eagles fan coming out, that ungrateful monster. Yeah. I wonder how it all transpired or they told him they were going to cut him in out of respect to him, then said we'll try to trade you first. I don't really know, but it's pretty telling that they cut him, even though they just put two two out well on I r for the rest of your at

well was really struggling. But they basically drafted a backup for Deshaun Watson, a hundred and fifty eight yard like guy who goes down the field and can return, who is now out for the season, and and yet they're still cutting design. If I were a team, it could be a personality issue. If that sounds like he he probably wasn't thrilled snaps the game. You could go back in the arch Kives and find some d jack stuff that is not He could have gotten a ring though,

you know who knows. I would say this and I don't know if he's interested in it, but like if you're a contender that's not happy with your punt return game, for instance, I mean maybe he's a guy that you investigate, but you don't really hang it. You're if you're looking to open up your offense. At this point, he's just not the same game. He feels like a Patriot if they didn't already have probow returner gunner shifts. All right,

let's say the afternoon to light all right. You know there's a certain element of football Twitter that just obsesses over Philip Rivers. Go ahead, have your fun. Not only would he quote, listen to the Saints, listen to a team it's the Saints, Greg's other hardcore crush. Go ahead. That would be great. He could replace and then ultimately, um, maybe do what Drew Brees couldn't in the last year. That would be in the last ten years. I guess so football polyamorous that it's um it's I'm starting to

concern me, what is it? Why is Philip River? There's this? I guess they don't want him, though it doesn't sound like they're sent that's like, oh, Philip Rivers, you have fun? Story? Did a search Philip Rivers, search and Twitter just to like figure out what was going on here, and it

was like, Oh, this person and this person. It's like if you're I think there's a certain group of football you know, plugged in people that just a door Philip Rivers, It's like, we'ren't you know, how about your high school team you're coaching. I guess that season wrapped over? Now, Yeah,

he's had nothing else going on. I don't know. I enjoy them to some degree, but telling me he wouldn't be better than Trevor Simeon, Taysom Hill's got to ruin another Uh, Honestly, I do think Peyton those sounds very dug in on keeping the quarterback. I don't think they hadn't think their interesting, and which doesn't surprise people that nobody wants Kim New and cannot get a job. There's been multiple options that have opened up here, still out

there anyway, including the Panthers. Melvin Ingram is heading to the Chiefs, and I saw segments of football Twitter excited about this, Connie. A lot of people are excited about Melvin Ingham to the Steelers, and that didn't quite work out of it didn't and his time was reduced playing behind t. J. Watt and Alex Heismith. So he goes to the Chiefs, which we know that they could use some help on the defense. They're allowing three yards per game twenty nine in the NFL. Maybe he couldn't make

some pop there, all right. Also we have Charles who tots and let's see what else we got. We got Mark and I asked Seth Paine for a potential breakout player on the Texans this year. That was the name he gave me back in July. So it's actually Houston. That's what he was able to do. It look good for him and uh, the doctors in the house, Dan Brown, the tight end traded to the Chiefs, coming back to Gang Green, Laurent DuVernay, Tardi m D. Doctor h And

actually that's a nice Sney. That's a five year starter for the Chiefs in the past, sat out last year helping people during the COVID pandemic, and now a guard add to the Jets mixed. The Jets always need to find more offensive lineman. That's the trade downline. Poor Allen Robinson still forgive about Free O'Dell, who hasn't made a play in five years free out. Robinson needs it. He's so underappreciated. He's like, I'm still working on chemistry with

quarterback x Bortles. Travisky folds Penny. I feel removed him from the offense to It's like, all right, yeah, let's do let's let's wrap up weekate. Monday Night football. Daniel Jones with DeVante Booker on fourthdown. They had a touchdown where Chiefs run up twice les down, he goes and now he flips it off to Aligneman who goes down that Frank Clark and Chris Jones on back to back sacks to win the game. It's good they won. Chiefs had fun, but there are still major problems here. Did

you watch that game match Altis with a call? Yes, the Chiefs defense showed up and I was able to keep the Giants from putting up much of anything just to touchdown in the second half, and then they got the field goal they needed to win it. So it's for the Chiefs. But you know, Mark, well not right. You watch the Chiefs and they're still not right. Not only did they have your now obligatory horrendous red zone

from turnover an interception from Mahomes. There are a couple other turnovers that got wiped away, whether it was a penalty that took it off the board or a fumble that the offensive lineman luckily fell on. That continues to be a thing. And even worse, the offense still is really jagged and Patrick Mahomes is having trouble getting on target with the receivers. There's still so much wrong with the Chiefs. I don't feel any better about them despite

the win. Everything's not beautiful right now. Those were the words from Andy Reid. Well, I mean, I kind of loved the quote because I was like, that's how I feel watching this team. I think that the oh all sorts of things, but this just kind of fit in there. But like the gallant and glorious Chiefs that we are

still like, they're not. They don't exist right now. And I think it's a pretty fascinating study in like all of us collectively watching football and watching this team that we could have just ticketed for the Super Bowl, that our eyes have taken a long time to adjust, and you know this is up Greg's alley. But like they're getting killed against the head because they're being uh, the spreads too big on the Chiefs. They don't deserve these These people want to people don't want to accept that

once is a potential long term makes you. Everyone is on the same page, like no, no, no, they're gonna get right. They're gonna get right. They're gonna and they never Vegas is loving it. I mean they're they're building new wings to the mirage on the chief Like this, Greg, we now live in a world where Tyreek Hill could be targeted eighteen times on Monday Night football, turn those eighteen targets into twelve catches twelve catches and not finished

with a hundred yards receiving. I keep hearing people say like if if Mahomes and the Chiefs would just be patient, stop trying to force I was like, what is this? They threw at forty times for two d and seventy more yards, Like, patients isn't the problem. Patients is the problem. There's no big plays like yes, okay, it's great when you go up and down the field slowly and you're taking the safe place. But they're averaging five yards per play or less than three of their last four games.

So that's not just the turn over. That's like bottom of the league numbers in terms of yards for play, so there's no big plays, there's no running game. So just piling up a bunch of first downs on the way to like three sixty yards against the Giants isn't gonna do it. Like they're not getting there on the scoreboard. That that part matters. We all lost this game, like we all there were no winners. Watching this game, it just feels like the Chiefs are a shell of themselves.

All of those penalties, how many twelve for one three, It's just so I find it interesting, though, to watch the Chiefs struggling this much. To me, it makes good TV because it's so surprising. You're like, I can't believe this. Travis Kelsey with the fumble, I'm like, what how is that possible? And he was on the sideline for a

while and then came in. It's just yes, it didn't feel like but said that afterwards, I think Michael Irvan came on the Manning cast and I thought what he said about us, by the way, he was great, but just you know, you've been the champs, you've been up there for so long, and mentally that you you work on something all week. We can't do these turnovers. We know how defenses are gonna play us every week. It's the same exact Chiefs game, and they can't get out

of it, and they keep just making them say. He says, it'll just drive you crazy, and there's there's like there's no like easy solution to where they are mentally, and he thinks like Mahomes and read and all of it. You can hear it with that comment that Andy Reid is usually not to coach you here like that. Imagine if we knew in August that this would be a Patrick Mahomes stat coming out of a real game. Fifteen for fifteen for a hundred and twenty yards on passes

behind the line of scrimmage. That is the most by a quarterback in the game since right in one for eleven outside the numbers like they can't get more patient, they're retreating, they're like backing up. So I don't know, they have to figure out a way to get big plays because that's that's like what the Chiefs are. This is not this is like he's trying all these quarterbacks

that are pressing because they're young. It's like they're trying to make big plays and it's not working in the Giants, I thought did a nice job on defense to kind of just like rush three guys a bunch of times and just cloud the secondary and right there was nobody open. It was crazy because there was no pass rush, which just makes you. It does you're not used to Okay, the Giants have zero pass rush, and yet they're so Now now, if you're trying to rationalize how do the

Chiefs fix this? You think, okay, there four and four. The rest of the a f C West is kind of calmed down a little bit. Here. The Charges will come back to the pack The Broncos are ready for a rebuild of some kind. The Raiders are the Raiders. You don't know what to expect from them, but they're not gonna, you know, win fourteen games. So it's like it's still there for the Chiefs to get things under control and get a home game and win a division.

But then you look at their road ahead, and you got the Packers up next, and then beyond that, the toughest schedule in the NFL from this point forward, and you just wonder if this is gonna end in a way that nobody could have predicted, which is a relatively healthy Chiefs team just bottoming out and not making the playoffs, and I wonder, I guess this is the last part of my um brain that's like I refuse to accept

that the Chiefs are this vulnerable. Is that they will rise to the competition and we'll see a great shootout with the Packers County. But at the same time, there's too much evidence right now that they're going to continue to scuffle on offense, well, especially against the Packers, who have won seven straight games. They've just been on a tear and the Chiefs they just can't It seems when I watched them, they just can't adapt to their new reality,

which is what we've seen all season long. And Mahomes he keeps pressing, he keeps trying to take those deep shots, and they're just not working. It worked a little bit

when they were running the ball. The offense did a tiny bit and we saw Derek Gore scores first touchdown, but Andy Reid, having watched him so long in Philly and so many times just screaming at him to run the ball more, I don't think that's going to have That is sort of the answer, to run the ball better, and the Packers are absolutely going to target Daniel Sorensen. I mean that was he was Waldo out there, and he's been Waldo and they gave up Sorenson, gave up

a perfect passer rating to Daniel Jones. So even Evan Ingrand got a touchdown on him. It's not pretty what we're seeing. If you want to make a case for them, their defense has played well for six quarters. Their defense won them that game. Well, I mean against the Giants offense, which again is missing, Like Tony got hurt during the game. Shephard got hurt during the game, and who else wants It's crazy how this is every week. Yeah, you wonder like, what the what did the Giants do? What? What did

they do to deserve this injury? Lucky you enter that game without Barkley, without Holiday, you lose Shephard, you lose, lose Pettis, Tony is compromised of the thumb injury. And Daniel Jones. We talked about it on the TV show Greg. We both kind of liked Daniel Jones, but so you can't really put it on his feet because Mark, who's he throwing too? With the game on the line in that spot, It's like Evan ingram ingram and pray for uh.

I don't know, a thunderstorm to take everyone off. John Ross right, a big seas you'd say, like Darius Slayton

was trade dangled and trade rumors as well. I mean, but I think if anything, if you're the Giants like you come out of this season, let's just say it plays out and there's sort of you know, milk toes from here to the end with with a different opinion of Daniel Jones that I went into the season with, and that that maybe is your positive one little giant snugget, like I know that they Joe Judge looked terrible, like burning those timeouts, right, He basically came out and oh yes,

let's it's very spicy. Every single stadium this year home in a way, I've had issues personally. Look, I don't know. Look, I don't want to make this all about headsets. We have things. I'd say that whoever's in charge of it, whoever the guys, look, Jordan's on the exact Dansher that comes more through the leaguer arsiter exactly, but they better fix it fast. That was like us before the show, right, no show had that persisted and that there was no

show from the Giants. I mean that sounded like passing the buck. I have a very stern warning. You know. The NFL put out the statement where they even product placement in the statement that it could not be the fault of the bows head. They said both that was an official statement for the NFL with like a restricted

circle around bows and all caps in the statement. I love when he says like it could be, it could be the NFL could be our people, Like if it is like you potentially taking like eight Giants employees and just whipping them under an eighteen wheeler, Joe Judge, I don't think will be there next year if this continues. Daniel Jones felt like he was collapsing a little under the weight of everything that was. That was one of his worst two games he had to where he's not

really played well this one in the Cowboys. Joe Judge has been outscored in the I couldn't believe this that I had no idea, but they just put it up on the graphics last night. The Giants have been outscored forty two to nothing in the final two minutes of the of the final two minutes of the first half, in games this year. What that like? That is coaching? Like that is the that is coaching. Like if I think about Bill Belichick, for instance, what advantage does he

give you? He gives you the advantage in the final two minutes of the first half and the second half, that is coaching. They lost this game partially because of penalties and taunting and stuff, and that's like all Joe Judge talks about, so like taunting, that's man. I couldn't remember when he dove um at training camp on the ball in the rain, all the players mobbed him. Don't you remember that? Yeah, you were not a fan of that when it occurred, though, No, I'm just I think

he's I think is cooked. I think the Giants are heading towards a reboot and uh cook and obviously gentleman. The most I do wonder like when they interviewed Joe Judge, who wasn't a coordinator calling plays. He's not that guy. It's like, why, Like these interviews are like fourteen hours long? Do you I would put them through like a grilled like a out of Greg run. It like an insane end of half test where we need to see Joe Judge clock management Joe Judge um thriving in that scenario.

You don't want to find out week one if you can't do to test Greg Rosenthal's clock management when he's not sitting in a podcast studio twelve hours after the game, would I love it. You need time simulation. We need like one of those like virtual reality things, and then you put them inside like when they're like flight training or whatever, and just give him the game experience of the sidelines. I don't want to be the coach. I want to be the guy up in the booth to

say and take the time out. Now you know that guy, right, But I just I'm not saying you couldn't do it, but I'd like to see it. I'd like to see how it how it plays out, that's all. Joe Judge has a shot here. They have nine games left, Like I think they've been better than the record shows that keep saying that, Like this is where the end of the season does matter for these teams. Like if they finished seven and ten, if they'll probably the Mars will

convince themselves to keep them. So it's like to him, those nine games matter. If they do five and four in their final nine, it's like they'll probably does Judge get I have been outside of the time management sins like he also hasn't had all those players on the fields, Miss Daniel Jones, Um Joe, Judge and Rich this week who grew up a Giants fan? Oh? Both Special Teams coach. I thought Chris Tabor for that. The Bears had a little juice, added a little juice without Naggi all the

Special Teams coaches. Fun fact, seven percent of Giants fans their last name is baccia Um. And how about clock clock management simulation chamber. We get Rosenthal in there and just see what happens. I think it come up. I hope it's not great for social You're right, it's different when you're in the arena when when you like it was easy to answer those wind Wests Toaster questions, and

then suddenly you got into the competition. And I shouldn't remember in a closet, West, who famously acknowledged, like like myself had like these time management things that you bring up like that was one blind spot for West that he would say, you had no idea what's happening at the end of these And I agree with him. And one more thing before we take a break here and hit Thursday Night Football in the chamber and the Clock Management Simulation Chamber see m SC. You need to be

stripped down and lived up. Stop it to get in. You're at home with that. I'm right back right yeah, I'd take it as a compliment. It's like, guys really want it all right, Prianka take it away. I make tube wait wait. Such a great singer. The song is delightful. The only problem with this song, I hate that they removed moved off this. This was my favorite then they it's all these other class was before. It's unfortunate Colleen never got to work on a broadcast that's kicked off

by can you just play it one more time? The only thing because I've listened to the song and full recently when we did the live shows in London, I put together and you can find it on Spotify, a like best of a t M playlist and I dug out this one your city or whatever it's called. Will I am fingerprints like two thousand ten arrow, will I

m are all over this? Oh my gosh it is You're right He's on this, so it's like all you hear is like got come out and all this like black Eyed Peas bullsh This is the song was dominated for a World Music Award Best Song, not a surprise cut Cut Cut Cut coming. I be able to get that out of my head now, and they'd have like if it was the Giants, for say, like it was like Daniel Jones's face, like shimmering along the Empire State buildings. I love the lyrics too, because you can really dive

into him. Everybody's welcome here. Everybody welcome to my city. We ain't got no worries here. I know you're gonna like it in It's also not true of any city. You got a friend in me, you ain't gonna want to leave alright. Thursday November four, two thousand twenty one. Week nine commences with the New York Jets, fresh off that really fun victory over the Bangals where Mike White through for four hundred yards in his first career. Are ah, so much fun. Now they go to Indianapolis to face

the Cult. So it's the Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Cults are favored by ten and a half points, which seems a little bit high. I'm gonna say it, um, Connie, you will be in Indianapolis, where I understand it's going to be in the twenties and the set will be outside. That's just rumors that I heard from a source, the

source being Andrews Siciliano. Um you have seriously, I did not know that outside unpleasant pregame show is I get it, But um so, anyway, I would say, just from a broadcast standpoint, conn the combine from the inside luck to fine. I think we have to be outside in Minneapolis too brutal. Anyways, Fine, the Jets not a lot of juice. Obviously, still two in five, but at least you have this Mike White follow up game and the Cults in a virtual must

win situation. I love Mike White. I don't know how you feel about him, but coming into this game, when I was watching the games on Sunday and watching Carson Wentz give the game away and lose, I had Mike White and he was He's kind of like my night and shining armor riding into this Thursday night game because I we need something like him because the Jets before I'm not gonna lie it wasn't that exciting. Don't take offense to that, but I loved how poised he was.

I loved how confident he was throwing for over four hundred yards and those three touchdowns against the Bengals, who everybody was so excited about. Someone's so excited about that defense, specifically in Cincinnati, and having never played a snap before

in his first career. Start love it. But um, you know, I'll tell you this because we saw Robert sal say after the game on Sunday that anything's possible if if Mike White and this is all the Jets fans are just gonna sucked in because you know something very bad is going to happen on Thursday, Winds, Mike White is injured on the first possession, or Mike White throws five interceptions.

It's coming. And I'm telling you, football gods, you can't surprise me because I know something bad is coming, so you can't hurt me. I just know that I know football gods anyway. If I mean, when you openly herbally challenged the football gods, they'll find a way to thought. Like a lot, it does feel like well what I'm saying, it feels like they're begging you to take the Jets, which is a concern. If the football gods somehow overlook this game, and they're like, oh, I thought the Jets

are playing on Sunday. We wanted to bang him um and Mike White plays really well again. Zach Wilson is not playing week ten. He is not. They're gonna say take another week on that knee, and Robert sal is gonna straight up be like, I want to see if I could ride something here with this kid. Where a long way away from that mark, But the fact that that's even a subplot that you get to watch and enjoy,

I'm happy about. He kind of reminds me of like Kelly Holcomb when he came out of nowhere and just started throwing like four yards game and like, well, but a lot of this, like the jet if you go watch Holcomb took him to the playoffs. Holcomb was like a thing that unse needed Tim Couch and I'm just saying these things happen, and I kind of like Solo's open mindedness to like, let's ride this thing out, like don't bury a hot hand. And Zach Wilson maybe could use a little rest, but a lot of it came

last week. Me through the ball forty five times yards after the catch was like six the yardage. I thought they got it. They got Michael Carter on the ground to get going. Finally it looked like a functional offense. And I thought that Mike White also the thing I liked about him, Like I think, I tweeted like, after an early he started, you know, nine for eleven for eleven, Mike White is a god. Like one second later he threw a killer interception. I just wrote, Mike White is

not a god. But I should have done another tweet on top of that tweet at some point saying Mike White might be a god because the way he came back from all that nonsense was very resilient. And I like that this. Your guys are gonna hate that I keep mentioning this, but I think that there was a fair amount of comfort on Michael Floor's part to not

have to be down on the sideline coaching. Zach Wilson person personally was up in the booth seeing the whole thing, and Mike White basically said, I don't need the coach down the sideline. I'm ready to roll. So there's something about this camp happiness in Connecticut. That's what I thought you were leading into. So that, yeah, there's I just think that you know, he's married to he has I believe twins or it's a child of some sort. Very nice man. Well, I don't think it's a slight to

Zach Wilson. You did do a lot of investigating and there was lots to investigate. I can tell you that going on. Um, I don't think it's a slight to Zach Wilson to say that Mike White showed a clear, bigger command of the offense. Like the balls coming out of his hands, he knew where to go with it.

They're calling all these Shanahan type plays and it's just like he I think at this point he's been in the league for four years, not all with you know, Michael Fleur, but he was a draft pick in twenty eighteen, that he was ready for the opportunity and that he

just understands the offense more than a he did. And it just made made me feel better about what the Jets are trying to do on offense because, as Mike Mark said, it just looked like an NFL offense Again, Joe Flacco trade kind of looks weird now, yeah Flacco, Um, yeah, so my guard's up there. Whether that was a you know, once in a in a lifetime thing with your backup quarterback in this first start, And I'll be accepting if that's what it is, and I'll just be happy that

it ever happened. But maybe it turns into like the NFL version of insanity and he gets hot, and it'll be interesting to see on the cult side. Yeah, Like they've had crushing losses before this season, uh, and they've bounced back. You may recall the loss to the Ravens on Monday Night a few weeks back, that they let that game get away. They follow that up with wins over the Texas Texans and Niners, and now they have

another crushing loss to the Titans. But howalla we just as we know, Derrick Henry is not in the picture anymore. You got the Jets this week in your building, Go get a W there. You got the Jaguars next week, one of the worst teams in football in your building, Get a W right there. Then you're five and five and then you could check out and the schedule tightens

up then because you got bills and bucks. But let's see where they are in two weeks this division with Tennessee two weeks without Derrick Henry and the Colts hopefully taking care of to the worst teams in the league. Maybe they have c South isn't done yet. It may not be done. But it is fools gold to me on some level that the Colts have lost eight straight games. This is not the fool's gold part. They've lost eight straight games two teams above five hundred. I mean, they

are a solid team that beats bad teams. But like we're talking about projecting them into late December, Uh, I'm not sure I need it. Well, I'm not projecting what is the former Eagles? You know what We're in the last eight minutes of that game. Not great for him. He's It's funny because I think he's been better than people realized this year for the most part. But then he went like full winds and weirdly, the reaction in INDIANAPO this was like blaming Frank Reich after the game.

I'm like, Frank Greig's the only reason you guys got a chance. Frank Reich did it to himself, like he came in and he's I love Frank Creig. I think he's one of the best play callers. And he also has this like like when he blames everything on himself.

It's not the Belichick move where he just like says that Frank Greig seems torn up inside, like he was putting it all on himself, and they sort of bought that, Like I shouldn't have called that tight end screen in the end zone where Wentz ended up throwing the pick. It's like, yeah, but every other quarterback would have just thrown it at the running backs feet right away, Like, so don't put it all on you, Frank, Right, it's the guy you brought him about the hideous pick six, right, Yeah,

I am not defending Carson Wentz's throw. It was a tricky play, but it was could have thrown it out of stuff. So his body was going I watched a few times yesterday. His body was going away from the running back went the other direction, and then he did have a tight end. I think it was Ali Cox. He was. He was in flat, but there was either an offensive lineman in front of blocking his vision there so he couldn't do it without hitting his line, in

which I guess would have been grounding. So he just I guess it was a panic, but there wasn't like a clear like oh that was so easy. He should have done this. It was a tricky and through from his left. Now, there's one other things that I took out of the game, Connie, and I'm sure this happened in Philadelphia as things got grizzily near the end there.

Check out the body language of the other Cults players on that pick six and then also on the interception, which by the way, Jonathan Taylor was wide open over the middle. Um where it's just like, come on, man, we're trying to win a ball game here, We're trying to stay in this division. In hindsight, with he imagine if they won that game again, they had multiple drives

in overtime, they could have won aged everything. Just one quick thing for the Jets defense is they were different with Jared Davis and especially C. J. Mosley back, and they're gonna be trying to stop a very good Cults running back in Taylor. My favorite thing about that wins play and people are acting like it was it had to be a safety or an interception. Well, no it didn't.

But um, when he's ripped to the ground, he kind of peeks his head up and looks at like the upshot of what he's just done, and the look on his face and he still got a face mask on. Um was beautiful. Mark still, you know, because the Browns passed on Carson Wentz and that was that was an issue for a while. But now it's not an issue. And you like to have your heads. Remember all that you and Sam You're you're doing like Sam Donald dance around your house every night. It's the same like when

when the cornerback you had. How do you know about my Sam Donald dance? I mean right there, you know, like from what I know. So just think of all the time though you wasted, you know, worrying internally combusting because you thought Carson Wentz was gonna turn into like this Hall of Famer. Well the remember when the Browns from office was getting roasted for various people saying we didn't see Carson Wentz as a franchise quarterback. Check that box.

You were correct, Baby management wins again. Well okay, that's strong, all right, good stuff. I like, no football gods, you're not gonna get me. I know what you're gonna do. I know it's I know it's coming. But if you're a person that likes the desert, keep an eye on this one. So they're dragging Mike White outside that even I think to win. I think it's I think that that's a ton of wood to lay on a Jets

team that's feeling revitalized. Now. The Jets famously played down to expectations, so they could show up like the Patriots game version of the Jets as well. But just keep an eye. We've we've had like Nick Mullins games before on Thursday Night football, So it wouldn't be the craziest thing to have Mike White coming to the podium dragging him out to twenty degrees. Well, no, I don't think that they'll have the roof open there, so I think it should be but it's just outside heard again or

else he would be a good one. I'm trying to think of some spicy Nelson was not in the walkthrough either, um for Tuesday's practice, So that's something to keep an eye on. Connie. You said it all I have, UM please, UM. If you do speak with Mike White, tell him I'm in love with him, no problem. If you don't speak with him, as I expect you not to, because I know what's happening here and I know what's about to happen and you can't do this to me because I

know what's happening. Well, this is so sweet of you. It's so sad also to see the internal workings of this. Tell the Colts congratulations on the wind. I mean, you kind of want to see Connie with Carson Wentz because something could go down there to some degree. Carson Wentz has to put a mask on immediately upon re entering the field for handshakes. So I don't know if do you want a guy with the mask during the interview process? Is that even allowed to interview them? You can take off?

I think I think we would have to get off of the desk and then not happening. There's not a great interview. There a cube that we can get Greg into with Winz slather Greg up, all right? I mean I take this all as a compliment that this is what you should. You're protecting yourself, though, Dan against potential disappointment. I know, I've I've been through this before, only now I'm modifying my fandom just slightly. I'm back in. But you can't hurt me as I know what you're trying

to do. He's growing. I see you, and there's nothing you can do to me? Are giggling up in the clouds. All right, we'll be back Thursday, uh with a another episode of the podcast, um the preview show, but also Thursday night will recap this game. And check out Connie Fox of course on NFL Network where she'll have this on Lockdown. Also Connie and Ricky Hollywood on the Split Ends podcast. I believe you had Rachel Bennetta on Today Awesome on the Power Ranking. She's a rising star. We

like her, so check that show out. Anything else? Mark, do you have a plug? How's your what's going on with the Underdog's column? Take us through it? I actually mentioned that Jets spread. I thought that was in the inane and I told people, go take your hard earned money and you put it on the Jets, baby, I subtext in sub text. I didn't actually say that that was my I'm not allowed to, but that's what you

should be reading on a different level. All right, Greg, do you have any other thoughts about the Shaun Watson situation? Before we signed off today? That was that was it culmination of months of wasting our time? All right, there we go, that's it. Theyn't had the signing off for the tiny box, the old boss fide storm, Ricky Hollywood, behind the glass, Where's braver? Isn't tears until Thursday hed that call