Cam Jordan Extension, Paintball Injuries, and Favorite NFL Games

to that. To some softball drama that I wanted. This West my Consigliari, my Don Zimmer, we were conferring this morning. Uh about some drama the softball team. We'll get to that. But I think the most pressing issue is that we almost lost our dear Erica tempose last night. Uh in a what was described to me by Erica, not you shouldn't use these words exactly, but it was kind of put out there that it was close to a five alarm fire in her apartment building that nearly scorched her alive.

And but she's here, she's alive. I made it. I made it up. Woke up at probably like four or four fifteen in the morning. My window is open, there's a heat wave at the a C going whatever, And I was like, why is there like a dump truck outside my window at four in the morning. And then all of a sudden, I smelled smoke and I was like, oh my god, that's not a dump truck, that's a

fire truck. So I hop so I hop out of bed, like fly out of bed, and I'm thinking, maybe I left on the stove or oven, like I got home late, maybe I forgot to do something. And nothing's on nothing's on fire in my actual apartment. But outside of my this huge window in my kitchen that overlooks really open window, and it was just gray with smoke like smoke, and it was coming through. So I was like shutting the windows.

I'm running around and put like and then I go out side and they just put some dramatic music under this. By the way, did you have the presence of mind to hit the hot butt drop with the whimpering man in the background. Seriously, it was so warm, it was like it was I've never seen anything like it. Smoke was like bellowing through my wind closed windows. And I went outside and the firefighters are there and they were spraying their two dumpsters. Yeah, there's like ten hot guys

just like spraying. Yeah, it's like spraying shirt under Yeah, I had like my retainer in. It was like and then I woke up and they I think, like like either two homeless guys apparently were awake and saw the fire and ran to the fire station and rang the bell because there is a fire station around here, right. But I talked to them. I talked to them this morning, and they did say that they ran to the fire station to grab the fire. Talk to the vagrants, yeah,

this morning hanging around here. Yeah, yeah, people they're still there. Um, but they said that the dumpsters were like set on fire by who. Well they don't know. Yeah. Um, up my entire wall through yeah yeah, couple. Um, all of the walls are scorched, My garage doors scorched, my car has burned. Marks. Um, it's a total disaster. And now my entire apartment reeks of smoke. Well you're moving, so it's perfect timing. What are you moving this weekend? Wow?

It's almost suspicious. Last Yeah, a detective. I mean, I don't know what you would gain out of this. It's not like you're getting insurance money for an apartment you're renting, but the timing is kind of beautiful. Did it see you later? Maybe they did it so I don't get my security deposit back. One question for you, because I once had cut off getting an apartment in Arizona. I started to cook rice and beans, fell asleep. In like an hour later, there were some massive knocks on my door.

I opened the door and it was like beefy fireman because my apartment was filled with smoke. The rice and beans had burnt, but my clothing for the next like month smelled like a like a hideous smoker's nightmare, and you couldn't get rid of it no matter how much you watch or your clothe. Is your clothing a disaster? At this point, my whole apartment smells like dead trash fire. Do you smell like it right now? I mean, I showered. Come in here a second. Yeah, okay, I want to

smell you. Come on, you're serious, I'm serious. I want to save you. Smell like fire or a dumps there. And even if it had nothing to do with the fire, you're covered. Smell act a woman. No, you're fine, You're okay, you're fine. So that's good. So it didn't catch everything. Yeah, no,

my my place is fine. But if those homeless guys that potentially set it off didn't go get the firefighters, then my entire room and everything, like my house it was under my garage essentially in my househould have just blown the hell out. And to tie this whole thing together, one of those homeless men was the guy that lived on Greg's front step for um. Alright, good story. I'm glad you're okay, Erica. That is scary fire fire bad wise man. Well, he wasn't one of the greatest inventions

in human history. In trouble without fire invention. Somebody had to invent it, just like somebody cracked open the first oyster and said, let me eat that. That's true. That is a brave person? Ever did that? All right? So Ricky's alive. She smells fine. I don't know about the rest of her wardrobe. Um, Wednesday, show Mark, you wrote a banger? How about that? Some of your favorite games? Ever? Wow? That takes work, That takes some actual effort. Well, a

look behind the curtain. It was meant to be ten games and I got five in and it was like two thousand words long. So I just made it five games. Oh yeah, now that's that's that's absolutely the strategy of of my writing at this point. It's like we there's an off season call. It's like, wait, I'm already at words. It's like eight takeaways is now five? Like no one knows the difference. It's fine, but I vouched for the five that I included. Good, we're gonna talk about that.

And speaking of takeaways, um, they announced the Hard Knocks team, the Oakland Raiders. I wrote a piece for dot Com. We'll get to that as well, talking about the Raiders on Hard Knocks. But before we do that, let's uh take a spin through the news Morgan for all this all off, I'm running Fox two thousand and nineteen. It's called and turned in from Class Range easy as You're like, Morgan, again, is it going to Betty? It is sympathy from the

USA plays, but any funtic victory for the USA? Um? Okay. So the United States women's soccer team, who are the defending World Cup champions UH defeated Thailand yesterday thirteen to nil. Uh. And first of all, there was some um pearl clutching about running up the score and I'm curious what you guys thoughts on that. But more I don't want to sound too like, what is a jingoistic but is this yet more evidence that? And I know the overseas listeners

are gonna come after me at this after this. The women are so great, We're so tremendous that we are dropping thirteen bombs on these teams. If we just canceled the NFL, when the NBA and baseball and just funneled all of our might into our soccer program, we could be doing this damage on the men's side, right, we'd be winning World Cups. Right, Yeah, you're nay. I think I think it's more about like maybe twenty years from now. Yeah,

I mean, I think it certainly would help. By It's it's also like an infrastructure and a tradition and a culture which is hard to just kind of like snap your fingers and create. It's one of the reasons in four years, right no, yeah, but in twenty years, if you have children today, we're all funneled into one sport

and that was the only sport they were playing. It's it's one of the reasons why our women are so good is because we do have a culture of women's sports, which is superior to uh much of the world and even interests, I mean people. I think outside the country, you have a hard time realizing, like how popular the women's national team is. We've got more Twitter followers and the men's team, so we like winners. It's a function

of timeline. At the beginning, Towards the beginning decades of most sports, games are less competitive and there are more blowouts. But as the sport evolves, and women's soccer came after men's soccer, it gets more and more competitive. So I think it's more that women's soccer is still relative in its infancy compared to men's. So I like your idea, but at no point where we ever dominated in men's soccer.

But other we're getting word men's teams were saying, but your plan is your it's a long range plan, and it's really one of my plan. Well I know, but I like it, But it's a vengeance. We're not going to sit in this situation where the men's team, which didn't even make it last time, spend the next two or three decades and start to done. It seems counterproductive though, to hurt our basketball and football. I think let's just

Why don't you just root for the women? I am, I am, of course it cares about But you know what, I do care about the man. It's an incredible sport, especially the World Cup, and it's fun and it's cute. Like maybe the men will make it through to the next round. No, at some point I'd like to see the US soccer men's team make a real run in the World Cup. I feel like that would set the country on fire. As things stand, though, I feel like we're kind of we have it in our developmental capabilities

because we have so much talent. Going to other last time was embarrassing for the men, right, but but but let the women can set the thing on fire, win it again. Just set Erica's dumps from fire instead, which is fun. Don't try to turn this into Dan you don't care about women. I'm happy about the one. I think. I think there's a point to be made there that the that the country as a whole does not get is not is going to get behind a men's team

more than the women's team. It's unfortunate, but that's true. Like I don't even think imagine if right, no, but I mean imagine if Serena Williams was a man like, how how big of an icon she would be, uh relatively and how much like people would watch it more. I think about that all the time because I love women's tennis like that, Like if she was, if she was a man like, people would be so much more into tennis. It's sexist and it's also it is not sexist though to say that the Men's World Cup is

a much bigger deal than the women's World Cup. That's all I'm not saying, right, not in not The interest level in this country is is pretty similar, I would say, but pretty much everywhere at most everywhere else. Well, if the men were good here, I don't think it would be the same. When the men were playing at the garage the one we went to you they were breaking IRA coats. I don't know if that's happening at the garage right now. Just to be honest, interest level, Yeah,

that's the battle they're fighting. Um, all right, let's get into it. Let's get into some news. Cameron Jordan and the Saints do business. A new three year deal for Jordan's um, the second time he's been extended uh and by the Saints. He's now signed through thirty thirty years old. UH, and this is a guy who has been one of the key members of this defense UH for years now.

And Greg we talked about this. There's been a couple of different cases this offseason of maybe a new trend in the NFL of teams not necessarily needing to take care of their best guys. Jordan in this case had two years left on his previous extension, but the team going to the player and saying, let's make a deal. Let's keep this happy marriage happy. And that's how I read this situation. Uh. It's a great marriage, a productive marriage, so why not do everything in your power to keep it? Though.

Absolutely a rare guy that has really gotten better. He was good to begin with, a very good NFL player to start and he's gotten better basically every year of his career. I mean he the last two years have been his best two years, and he continually gets better. They're a team that's in a little bit of has

some cap issues. I was talking to someone that there's in there's a lot of cap rules because the end of the c b A is happening, and the way that you can push money into the future is not nearly as easy in as it would be basically every other year, because you don't want to be pushing it into this nebulous uh non peba area. So I don't know if that's part of it too, that they're saving some cap money in in the short term by giving a guy who deserves it some money. They have a

stacked defensive line. I mean, we've spent most of this podcast up until the last couple of years talking about the Saints being a lopsided offensive base team. But when you sign one of your defensive core guys, now you're probably ejecting him to play into a post Drew Brees era. Not to go down that whole wormhole, but you may become more of a defensive team at some point, and

you've got to keep these guys around. But also for me, Cam Jordan's you lost mark Ingram, who I think was the ultra leader in that locker room, one of the dudes, and Cam Jordan's right up there. The only thing that he's delaye is the minute he leaves the NFL. I think his media career completely takes off in the minute that is already beginning. And so it's just when we shipped right into that career. He might be here. I feel like seems like what seems like one of those

Highers the last two years. If you remove Aaron Donald from the conversation, this guy's right there for Defensive Player of the Year. He's in the mix. I wonder by the way Cameron Jordan's he's entering, I believe is either ninth or tenth season. He's signed through three. If he actually played through that contract would be thirteen years with the Saints. His dad, Steve Jordan's played thirteen year with the thirteen years with the Vikings. Has that ever happened before?

Has ever a father and son had careers that length with just one team with the same team. Well, the Matthews is certainly and had longevity, but Clay Matthews is running Green Bay is now over. That was close, But I don't know. I did notice that they're using the Jordan's family in some advertisements for the upcoming Shaft movie, something to do with like Dad's, like Father's Day, Dad's and it's like the Jordan's and Shaft and his dad.

I don't know what it all means. That movie also looks like a minor disaster to me, but separate a separate topic, moving on other money matters, so that the Saints pay their stud on D the Jaguars are going to do that with their's. Jalen Ramsey um has been made aware that the Jaguars do not plan to give him an extension this year. The Jaguars corner said Tuesday during mini camp he's been told he's not getting that extension.

He believes that he's outperformed that rookie deal. He's probably right, but the Jags are waiting it out. Here's what Ramsey told the Florida Times Union. I'm not down about it or anything like that. I'm blessed and he's made a ton of money. Um, he's gonna make they exercise their fifty year option on the former number five pick. He'll be He'll make almost fourteen million next year. Uh, he's getting paid relative peanuts for his ability this year at three point six. It has the talent to be the

best cornerback in the NFL. And I think if you're the Jaguar, as you say, our locker room was a disaster in two thousand and eighteen, Let's see if this guy becomes a leader, the leader that we need on defense before we lock him up. I mean there's no reason, there's no hurry here. He tweeted. Uh a Dion Sanders quote yesterday, I'm asked for so much money they have

to put me on layaway. Those fifth year options, by the way, kind of bang the first round picks just a tiny bit like if if you could choose whether not the purpose of them. Yeah, basically like if you if you could choose whether to be like the thirty fourth pick in the draft or the thirty first and you turn into a star like Michael Thomas, for instance, you would rather be the thirty fourth pick because you

get the free agency quicker. I don't recall growing up a bunch of players where they would re up like two or three years into their rookie deal. That was not a phenomenon back then. Today it certainly is because you want to get them earlier than later. The Patriots famously did it with Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski like the first day possible that they could work out. One of those was one of the was the worst contract in NFL history. It's time to talk about the Giants

quarterback situation. Uh. There has been an assumption made by some that Eli Manning will be the starting quarterback of the Giants. That's not an assumption. That's what the Giants told one week one this year, Week one next year, week one the year after that. However, there is the reality that the Giants used the sixth overall pick on Daniel Jones, and the head coach Pat Shermer told Tom Rock of Newsday uh that you know the team tell him this, leaving the door open for an actual camp

battle this summer. Here's what Shermer had to say. He's on track with the goal to be ready to play on day one, Schrmer said of Jones. The QB stuff will be on the front burner for everybody. I get that, but he's on track. Schrmer than added, We're gonna play the very best player. I know we're dancing around the words here, but right now Eli is getting ready to have a great year and Daniel is getting ready to play. We'll just see what happens. We feel good where Eli is.

He's our starting starting quarterback, and he's got a young player that we think is going to be an outstanding player getting himself ready to play. It all sounds like to me that it's just a matter of time, maybe not week one, but the handwringing unnecessary. Well, the more this is a different message from the Giants. This is a death the Giants. No, this is the Giants. This is what the Giant said. Elis our quarterback. And now Shermer is allowed to talk instead of gentleman and Sherman.

I mean, this is a great idea I think for professional sports team to put their best team. I also think Daniel Jones. You know, we don't put much into O, T A s and mini camps, but if I'm a Giants fan, I'd prefer the uh drips and drabs coming out of Giants camp about how good Daniel Jones has looked versus the opposite which often happens with rookie quarterbacks. And you know, Pete Pete Traeger was on Good Morning Football talking about you know, jones is athleticism, saying he's

becoming a Paul Bunyan esque figure. Like people talking about, you know a guy that's in the NBA draft, who was that Duke uh talking about how Daniel Jones was like an a a U legend duncan over six ten guys that he's hitting home runs at softball UH games, and he's kind of impressing everyone at the Giants camp just that he's a badass athlete. Which I'd also say, this is Pat Shermer's last chance to be a head coach.

If this doesn't go well, it's not gonna happen again, and he would have a different message and desire to move on to the young guy and be tied to the young guy that everyone's not going to expect the world from a year one versus a sinking ship with Eli Manning that he's going to be blamed for all season long. I just think it's a good idea when the front office stays out of it and lets the coach play his best players, it's not a bad idea. It's always the writing was on the wall this day.

They made that pick, and and you could passwords or look at what the GM is saying about the quarterback and the veteran and what what the coach is saying about the rookie. But it's all it's just a it's a countdown right now for a new aeron Giants football. But there are situations where GM says, Hey, this is what we're doing. We're playing this guy and then the coach is not even allowed to open the competition. That was my issue with it. You don't see the cardinal saying, yeah,

we're gonna start someone else. They're gonna start the guy they drafted. It's also there is the matter of and I know he's not respected very much in this room, but Eli Manning is a legend of that franchise. So they've been cut two years ago. But that's but see, you look at black and white with Eli, but that organization has some fuzzy feelings for him. So it just makes it a bit of a trickier transition. I think the Giants have had a terrible offseason. I'm on but

I'm on the same page with you guys. But I don't I didn't think this is such a black and white issue. Um. I get what you're saying, though, was Ultimately we're on the sage put your best team. It's a big, wide page and you're both on it, not next to which it's one of those remember the old printers like little dot matrix. We're on the same role somewhere. Moving on more extension news written This piece written by Lakisha wesselingh Wow. By the way, your wife looking banging

in this head shot? Is that appropriate? Can I say that you can? I don't think anyone could, but you can. She looks great. And you know an our internal u NFL media inbox Lakisha who works on the editorial desk, when she sends out various things during the day. Now I keep on seeing like wrestling, posting some new Damna

Check podcast. I'm like, what is Chris doing. It's like, Oh, she should teach a class and like head shot photos and we should be her students because she really it a lot with which that little it's just a small little area you got up that box. I wouldn't limit it the head shots. I think we could share students in several area. Ours could use some work, no doubt anyway. Uh Lakisha wrote this piece for dot com Vikings and Kyle Rudolph agreed with terms on a four year deal

UH thirty six million dollar extension. Tom Peal Sero, our own Tom Pella Sero had this UM Rudolph confirmed weeks ago that the team had offered him a five year extension. Both sides are working to get it done. UH keeps him in Minnesota. They have the young kid Irv Smith, great name, who's drafted in the second round, uh in April,

So that's the kid in the future. But Rudolph who has had injury issues, But Wes, this is a guy that has put up the numbers before, and you could see a healthy Kyle Rudolph, even a little bit older, getting on the same page with Kirk Cousins and making some magic. Right. Hasn't missed the game in the last four years, and I think he's one of the few tight ends in the NFL who is just as at depth at blocking as he is at catching. So he's not gonna blow any fantasy football guys out of the

water with his production. But I think the Vikings value him because he can do both things well. The other guy they have David Morgan and Tyler Conkin outside of your guy, I Smith, those guys were on the field for less than eighty passing snaps lesser Rudolph dominated that part of their offense. So why would you There was rumors they're gonna move on from him and all this

not this year. If Smith sounds like a respected record label executive of Capitol Records, Yeah, like a guy that's making some deals, has worked with the Eagles and he's still in the mix or or not the not the team, the rock band of the seventy or like a creative like a high school creative writing teacher whose dreams were never totally realized, and so he takes out those frustrations on some of his students, just like in passive aggressive

way what they were when they read their story. He just you know, yeah, like he's harder on the on the ones that are like like more talented, just be like, it's not easy out there, you know, like you gotta really like even if you like bleed for it, you're not gonna So what if you appeared in the Iowa Journal Review, Hey hey, Mr Smith, Hey call me IRV. It's one of those. Yeah, that's the teacher, not the player. I think this makes Kyle Rudolph one of the wealthiest

people ever to come out of Elder High School in Cincinnati. Y. Yeah, you always wanted distinction like that. Let's move on to some camp injury news. Andrew Luck confirmed by Colts coach Frank Reich. He'll sit out mini camp. He has a calf strain. It's been it's lingered and uh wisely, the Colts they're not gonna push push that issue. We just came off, you know, a year and a half prior to last season of Andrew Luck injury updates and that team taking every precaution to make sure Luck was ready

for training camp. And they're doing the same thing here under much you know, lower lesser stakes, but wise we don't need Luck out there right now. And Jimmy Garoppolo, Uh, another quarterback news. Uh, he has the knee. He blew out his a c L. Last was it November October September? It was September. Uh, he has been limited to individual drills in minicamp. He is on he is on track for training camp, but it is not he's not fully cleared and all ready to go. But wouldn't be too

concerned about that. He has running two minute drills in their practice. It's a reminder though he's coming off in to ourn a c L. You're kind of just like, oh, they got Jimmy g back and that's fine, and uh, he's the guy who's barely started in the NFL. It was coming off a major reconstructive injury. Last week I wrote that um winding, uh double bang or piece and guessing team m VPS. I went with Garoppolo for the Niners.

But it's this is a big year for him because if another season, you know, God forbid for Jimmy G got swallowed up by injuries. Uh, and we're now approaching age thirty with not a lot of track record, or if he struggles, I wonder, I don't want to say I don't. I don't wonder about his job security. But this is an important year for It's kind of time for the Jimmy G Show to be put together in full. His cap number is over twenty six million for the

until the year. Like a star quarterback. They need it. Uh. Meanwhile, on the throne of Slee's Bill Belichick. Last time we heard from Bill, he was canceling Uh the last week of practice, which apparently you could do and you have eight rings or whatever worked last year. This year, you know, maybe more concerned. Maybe they should have taken the practices

and we'll find out come the regular season. That's him telling the NFL, you're little non contact rules that you've made, have made these offseason o t s the useless well you know what else is um? You know, maybe that's problematic that they took away the tackling. But you know what else is probably problematic. Shooting one of your players in the face. Yeah, that's not a positive typical, is it?

Is it? Bill Belichick uh shot Kyle Okay, Kyle van Noy uh in the face, in the face with a paintball gun, so not a real gun, but he hit van Noy. Here's what Vanoy said, I got hit. I'm telling you this paintball hit me in the mask and the mask hit my tooth and my blank still hurts. So more evidence that Bill Belichick now and he's getting older. You gotta keep that in mind. Maybe some scrambled eggs up there, canceling practice shooting his own players. It just

may be time. It's um making Bill kind of one of the guys on a human level. Because the only reason we know was Bill van Noy wasn't giving this up. He was embarrassed by it. But Dante Hi Tower come came and kind of like interrupted the interview and started telling him to tell everyone who who got him. It was Bell. It's Mr February to you, Dan, that's I mean, Kyle, know, you might as well call Mr February. After after that

Super Bowl performance that the New nice. Belichick is spending an off off season on these tours giving speeches, and he claims that High Tower should be referred to as Mr. February. I like that, and Van Noisen he's good at the shoot him up games. He's playing in a Fortnite pro am this weekend, so if Bill can take him out in that, who knows. My goal in my house is to simply keep my two children away from Fortnite. The

minute that that is, We're already too many wormals. I you know, you do the thing with your phone where you're clearing out videos to make room, And I found yesterday the video for all you, Mr Belichick so nice.

The seconds after they knocked out the Rams in the Super Bowl, everyone's hugging each other and a photographer just doing his job, trying to get a nice portrait of Bill hugging one of his people, and right away Bill just shoves the coach he's hugging out of the way and slams the photographer with it with an open fist or with an open palm, right in the face. And just now you could file a complaint. I would assume that's not what you'd want to happen. But nothing has heard.

How close are these photographers are allowed to get to? Well, I I hear that side of it. But it was like in the biggest moment of you know, another crowning achievement. Where that guy is, by the way, the reason there was no criminal. He's wild. He is under the mass place, he's there with he's with the two of them. He got a paintball on the face, in the face under all right, let's check in with some kickers. Chris Blewett, who got you know, got never had a chance. Let's

face it, bad name, it's family name. I don't want to s on the Blewett family. But if you're going to be a place kicker in the NFL, it's one of those things you just gotta change it. You gotta ellis Island that thing, you know, and it's gotta gotta happen soon because he's not getting younger. The Bears announced Wednesday they waved Chris Blewett, one of the three kickers in minicamp competing with the job. And it comes on what was another dis as for a stay in Chicago

for their kickers. So blew It, eight, Pinero and Elliott Fry all missed kicks from forty two yards back to back to back. Matt Age, who's got to be ready to lose it after practice told reporters, whatever went through your mind went through my mind. And again you know, and so I'm sorry, Chris Blewett, good luck to you. I hope you catch on somewhere else. But again, doesn't it feel like the Bears are going out of their way to promote the dysfunction at this position that essentially

cost them their season with a double doink? Yeah? He had all they had, all these like legends watching it or alumni, and first of all was a blocked kick. This is reminding me so much of when the Jets drafted Mike Nugent because they thought they were just a kicker away. Uh And the only thing that stepped in their way and herm Edwards this first season was that from advancing in the playoffs was Doug Brian missing The kicks are not going to be make or break your

season here. It's like you can't just get back to that game. Everything over. But I know what you're saying. I'm saying, I'm saying it's not for the Bears. Dann. You raise an interesting point if you are, Hey, let's say high end high school kicking prodigy. At what point in your career do you think about changing your name if it's blew it, Like at some point in college. After college, you could just do the thing where you like go by your middle name. Tom Cruise's middle name

is Cruise. You know, just happens all they still got a last name, So just like officially go by you know, or you just tell the team to you. I mean, if it's if, you probably don't even need to officially change it, just be like, hey, list it this way. If you change his name, you know, half a year ago to Chris Chicago, you know, he's still on that roster because people are loving him and buying jerseys of him.

There's no way to get you have to move things like someone with the last name blew it off the roster as soon as possibly. I just wonder why the Naggy and the entire Bear staff is leaning into this storyline and making it so public last week. We actually didn't get to it last week, but they made it be known that they're they're moved last week. I don't Maybe it's a show that they're smart and they're trying

different things. But it's not quite getting over that. They were employing what they called augusta silence when the kickers, So everyone on the field and on the sideline, the coaches, uh, everyone in the vicinity of the kickers, nobody was allowed

to say a word. How about how about Mitchell Robinsky, don't throw the ball to the other team and throw a little more accurately in your playoffs, because that was after that game and was harassed, right, I'm saying he had second half, he had a poor game, and he put his team in position to win, which it happens

all the time. Don't give up points at the end, you know, It's just like that was a great Everyone was like in their right place, Greg getting upset about something, West firing back at Greg hard, and then Mark looking for a reckoning about something he was wronged over. We all at the same time it was happening. I was just watching the world burn um and separating himself as as ratings tumble. Anyway, So we'll see what happens. Now

it's down to Piniero and Elliott Fry. And by the way, Elliot Fry, I don't know, he come up small, small Fry. How abounch of some strong names. Well, don't you know what what every Bears wants? And I don't Edie, Eddie's gonna save the season. I don't think that Doris closed. And you know what every Bears fan wants. I know Robert May's who's a you know, well known Bears fan who does the Ringer podcast. Uh, he wants Robbie Gold. Robbie Golds holding out in San Francisco. You bring the

Gold back home. It makes a lot of sense. We we talked about this too. Remember Robbie Gold is building a home in Chicago. He sold his home and building a new one. And uh, he's ready to go there. And he will sign there in free agency next year, mark my words. But for the time being, they know what the Niners are saying, Hey, we want one of the top five ten kickers in the league on our team. If he hates it here, he's gonna put it through the uprights for his own well being. What he what

a he's supposed to do? If just give him to the Bears. But Fry five days from now. Uh, he got small right Pry on your team. He got cousin Eddie got small Fry and he got blew it. You know what happened to Gary Cooper? As Tony Soprano once said, Um, the pride of the Yankees. Guy, Yeah, the men? What happened to the men? Where have all the cowboys going? Sometimes? I asked that question in the city. By the way, where have you gone, Joe? To manage you? Uh, it's

a fair question in the city, all right. Finally in the news, Yes, the announcement finally came down. HBO, uh and NFL Films have made it official. The Oakland Raiders will be the team featured on the newest season of Hard Knocks. It is the fourteenth season, believe it or not, and the timing was interesting. On the same day that the Raiders were announced as the Hard Knocks team, in Floren Park, New Jersey, Joe Douglas was introduced as the

new general manager of the New York Jets. And um, if you remember the first season of Hard Knocks, Uh, the Turk, which has always been you know, one of the most famous characters on every Hard Knocks season. He's the guy that goes get the gets the players, says, we're gonna need your playbook or your iPad now, and you gotta go see coach or cut. Joe Douglas a young spelt Joe Douglas was the Turk for the two

thousand one Ravens. So you want to talk about working your way up the ladder over a long period of time, but on the same day that happens. Yes, the Raiders are the team. UM. I wrote uh on the dot com six takeaways. Probably was aiming for ten and then I got to six and I was like, that's about eight and fifty words a lot more than that. No, I think, ultimately, uh, this is a good pick. We

We've talked about this on the show. There were there were five options that were eligible, meaning they didn't need to uh, they didn't need consent from the teams to be selected. Uh. You had the Raiders, the Redskins, the Lions, the Niners and the Giants. Uh, and the Raiders. They just have a lot of good subplot I think chief among them is John Gruden year two. Uh. He was born for this. They were the cameras of Hard Knocks and Gruden. I feel like we're made for each other,

and you have this world with Gruden. Uh. Mike Mayock is in the building. And one thing I wrote about in the piece we'll start here. Uh is that last year the most exciting um or scandalous part of the very good Cleveland Brown season was the apparent power struggle within the coaching staff who was running the show and Hugh Jackson saying I drive the bus and Todd Haley obviously being um dismissive of Jackson, who had gone one

in thirty one over the previous two years. It all plays out a couple of months later they both get fired. That will not be the case here. This is John Gruden show. Nobody thinks otherwise. So I'll be interested to see how a Gruden camp looks, especially after what we saw in Cleveland last year. All Right, I'm just annoyed by John Gruden acting like this is the worst thing in the world, and how how annoyed he is seemingly by it. It's just a little too much like protesting

from a guy who loves attention. But let's let's calm down. Let's calm down on like, oh, I don't want to disrupt. I don't want this attention on me. Please. Who is telling everyone that you're in in in the morning at three thirty am? In every article it's like yeah, I don't mind it. I love Gruden and I love Mike Mayock, and I know Mike Mack has kind of it made it sound like he doesn't want to be on it either.

It's like, I don't know. These guys have gotten where they are partly by promoting themselves because they're good at what they do and their interesting characters keep it going. Not all of them, but a lot of the coaches and gms, to Gregg's point, are charismatic guys that like the camera, that like to be heard, they like to be seen, and what what show is better than promoting

your personal brand? Uh? Than Hard Knocks and then you're old job p f T. They wrote they were belly aching, like they wrote a piece saying, oh, there shouldn't be any Hard Knocks anymore because it's outlived it's usefulness in the age of social media. And I I saw what the angle was that now we're seeing we get to see things from inside these camps via Instagram and Twitter that you wouldn't have seen before. But at the same time, like just because the teams don't want to do it

doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. It is actually a fan service because it gives you an incredible look behind the scenes year after year of these teams, and I learned a lot about the Browns last year. Yeah, I totally disagree with that take because we never would have known some of the fishers and some of the issues inside of the Cleveland organization by instagram photos on the field at training camp. We wouldn't have known any of that.

And I for me, I think I would I would buy that Mike Mayock is not totally into this in the sense that get it. Here's the issue though, But when you're when you're delivering, you know, a three minute spiel about a player that you watch tape on start say your thing close Now it's it's hundreds of our the footage edited in a way that you have no say over. That's what they do have to say. That was what I was gonna say, is they they get a lot of say and they can approve and take

out anything they want. And I think Hugh Jackson and the Browns probably regret some of the things that they left in last night. That was that was kind of the worst case scenario I think of what teams are afraid of when it comes to hard knock. But Mike Mayock got his job as rich Eyes and pointed out in a threat on Twitter last night, uh in the NFL by going to his his local Philly legend, Steve Sable and asking him, how do I get into this business?

And that's what this this Hard Knocks show is all about. It's NFL films. It's ultimately shows teams in a very part. So are you prepared to see Vonte's perfect in a different light, which which I think is gonna happen, Richie incognito, I don't really want to yuck anybody's yum here. The Hard Knocks is not my favorite show. Um and the Browns were a mystery after watching John Gruden and Mike Mayock on TV for a decade, I don't really need

to see any more of them. But you saw them as analysts that now they're being team built like Mike Mayak and John Gruden. R. I mean, I just don't need to They don't contain any mystery for me whatsoever. I don't find this team to be compelling, but that's all I know. What about the fact you guys should watch it, everybody should have fun watching fair enough, But what about the fact that Cruden is really is back up against the wall coming off last season. This isn't

him compelling in any way perform. I would absolutely enjoy any one of the thirty two teams. I would find it interesting because of because to me, just seen behind the scenes of any team is interesting and the way they make it is good TV. UM a couple other subplots that they'll be sure to be drilling down on. I am uh, I see your point, West, But one thing I do want to see with Gruden, even if you kind of know what his vibe is by this point,

the chucky, the intensity, the ship grin and all that stuff. UM, I want to see interactions between um, Derek Carr and Gruden, who had it was interesting watching that a relationship from a far last year. There was some heated sideline exchange ages and then we went through a draft process where there seemed to be some flirtation with the idea of replacing Car and Derek Carl that we love him and he's probably gonna be the m v P this year. Uh in the NFL complimenting Derek Car there we go. Um,

he's a sensitive guy. He's a guy that you know, watches things and tracks things. I wonder a chronic QB. Needler like Bruden, how that plays out with the cameras on got Antonio Brown in the building incognito? Uh? And the team is moving to Vegas. I hope Greg, they're not going to give us too many of those. Al Right, Front Office, Mark Davison Company, road trip to Vegas. Let's check out the status of the building. But part of it is a pr and they're going to want that.

I mean, too many more than one would be too much. Although I will hope that Mark Davis is in the show as much as possible. If you just wanted to make it inside now, that's what would make me watch. It was just like Hard Knocks Mark Davis. They just follow him around for an hour every week and cut. That showed me up. I couldn't really right about that on the website. But what you're saying, everybody knows exactly what you're saying, and I backed that. Give us a

lot of Mark Davis. Uh. That's what's happening in the news. Before we get to Mark's favorite games, um West, we have some some softball drama the Shield. We're in a good spot. We're six and two. We are second place, second place. The top three teams make the playoffs. Uh. We have I believe, four games left. So we have a big game against Barney's Beanery, another UM six and two team. And if we win this game tonight, we are in the driver's seat to go back to the playoffs.

And we know what happens when the Shield goes to the playoffs. We win, we win. Uh. There is more drama though, and UH, and you know what it's It's just the truth of the matter. With any drama we dealt with West over the three years, it's happened. It's a co ed league. It happens with the ladies. It's always something popping up with the ladies. And this year and Erica had on the She's on the team. She

had nothing to do with it. It wasn't her fault, but she was indirectly right in the middle of one of the great controversies Uh in the history of the Shield. Yes, last week Erica is starting. Were you aware of any of this? Ricky? Okay, Ricky, I put her in the lineup. She was starting in right center field, UH, and batting UH ninth, And I and I had a backup player. I won't say the name. But she came up to me right before the game started and she said, oh,

who am I up after? And I said, oh, actually, Erica is gonna start. She's gonna get a couple of bats and play out there, and then you're gonna go in. We took the field to start the game, came back to the dugout after the top of the first and she's gone. Is that what happened? That's why she left. She took her ball and went home, took her and uh. And then I waited to hear back from her over a course of days. Just almost shot Ricky there. You know. It's like, if I'm bench for Ricky, I'm taking off.

That's a shot. But well, you know, I think Ricky's a developing talent in the outfield. I wanted the reason she was starting is I wanted to get her innings, and I was hoping that that would be understood. But I never heard back from this individual. I sent an email checking in to see if everything was okay. Didn't get a response. So I had to put out a new starting lineup for tonight's game. And that individual, apparently so angry about Erica starting, is not in the lineup

and presumably off the team now in communicado. Yeah, I'm wait what Because some people just don't check emails or they get they get buried a little bit. I am guilty of that. I don't have I don't have this individual's number, but uh it was a private email sent on the NFL server and uh I expected to hear back from this person in some regards. So there's no mark as you're a front office uh worker of some kind for us pro bono. UM, I don't need it.

I'm not looking for any any official move or announcement. It's just kind of like a weird It's one of those weird NFL things that pop up where it's just a lingering issue and we have this lingering drama and I don't know quite as the skipper had to resolve at this point. So I'm just gonna let it just I think one fix sit, one fix for next year from a front office angle, and I put this, uh, you know, very very minorly on myself a team phone tree so that you can text versus just not having

the number of a key player. But you know what, Bill parcels back in the day, trying to get the Giants to the Super Bowl, had his star player, Lawrence Taylor, dealing with all sorts of off the field issues, major drug issues, and that was a big hiccup in his coaching career, but he handled it. This is your issue to deal with it. I think this is equally as large of a scenario too well to overcome. The difference though is lt is not bad and ninth and splitting innings.

You know, you might the different players have different rules. Tom Brady he's a starting quarterback, he has different O t A rules than I think if they had a twenty five year old starting quarterback. So you know, you treat each player as an individual. This is more like center that vanished to Mexico Super Bowl. There's a bad Robins vibe to this whole thing. It's a little bit of a mystery. Everyone a little confused. That's an organizational that's not just on you, there's it's it's a mystery

to all. So well, every coach has to deal with that tug and pool of what's best for each individual player versus what's best for the other members on the team. And in softball it seems to be even more pronounced. And dan is dealing with that right now in a big way and reminder why I hung out the Cleats by the yes and why I will once again after

the season think he's already retiring again. I think the guys on our team understand what your job is, and the girls on your team are more like what's good for me? I just also what that's just crazy and I hit my best game last week. You played well, but you responded like a champion. Your your fielding is not great, but you know what your effort and the reason why you were out there is because you don't

get better in the field without the reps. But as a hitter, you really you're making strides and that's why I want to keep you involved with the lineup. But there just has to be an understanding and everyone pulling in the same direction if you really want to build a champion. Right well, me and Brassey split reps a few games ago. You didn't see me leaving crying team player, So there we are. Was Wow, is this gonna go

out on the waves? I hope this. Hope she doesn't listening to the show, but maybe this will be the only way to communicate. Well, this is the wake up call signal. You're handling it through the media. You have to take things there. I tried to go one on one. Um, now I'm going to go through the media. Maybe the message gets through. I feel like I could get her numbers. Barney Beanery the best team in the league, because it

feels like that just sounds like a champions matchup. There an old rival of Town Tavern or were like the Bears in the in the packers or Cheers versus h what is it? Rexeltil Tavern more imposing than Dollar Dog Taco could whale. Those guys could rape really well. I guess, you know, I guess maybe that. Why should I assume that if you're if you are employed by Dollar Taco, you probably play some softball. I don't know what the makeup is the workforce. There, I'll stop talking. We're still

waiting for you to attend a game. By the way, I wait till it gets hot. I mean I I'm saving up for playoff tickets. So okay, it sounds good, very expensive? All right? Mark wrote a banger his favorite games in the history of your life or the NFL no my sort of my viewing history as a fan. You made it cleared, and I might I kind of. I find it interesting that this made its way onto the website, but I don't argue that it did. I'm

glad I enjoyed. It's a bit nebulous. I enjoyed the article, and I enjoyed you pointing out many times, just like trying to prevent the tweets at you have, like these are my five games. Well, I know they're not the best five games in NFL history, you idiots, but these

are the games that I enjoy. And then you're like, and then when you put the Patriots Browns in two thousands and you went back to that well and was like, once again, idiots, you're right because you know how they're going to be headlined and sent out over social media. And it's something like this guy thinks that a regular season Brown's game by a five and eleven Cleveland squad is one of the best five games of his life.

It's your games. Is what looks like about a week eleven matchup in between the Browns and Steelers that was seven final I don't I mean, you should be able to read the context clues that that is not an all time game in the history in the league. That was the first time I saw them in person, which is it was a personal importance. What was that day like, Well, that was that was my That was It was in Cleveland, and I had been a super obsessed Browns fan, but

only watched them on television from the East Coast. And the reason I included that game was because as a surprise, and this is good dad worked by my dad. I did not know this was going to happen. They basically took Bingo, took me to the airport and flew me to Cleveland and it was raining cats and dogs, and on the way, I realized this is where we're going, and we're going to a Brown Steelers game, and they were in a tight fight to get back to the

play offs. Kozar was their quarterback, and so we stayed overnight in this hotel that overlooked the stadium, which to me was like the most incredible thing I've ever seen out of any window ever. Walked to the stadium in the rain the next day watched them drop a giant bomb on the I believe Mark Malone led Steelers at that time, and that was the good old days, and it was like I had never been to the Dog

pound or anything. So it made my list because you know, with as a family, you go on we went skiing a few times, you go somewhere tropical, and they're like, weren't those your favorite vacations. I was like, the best vacation ever was the two the forty eight hour swing to Cleveland, Ohio. That's funny that you it was nineteen you said, yeah. My first Jet game was October second night.

It was a game against the Chiefs and it was a fitting way to start my fandom was a Jets fan because it was a seventeen seventeen final in a driving downpour in the Meadowlands. Freeman McNeil like fumbled the ball away when they were in chip Shot territory to win it. Sort of some heartbreak in there. It was some misery with the rain and you go home ultimately uh, kissing your sister essentially with the seventeen seventeen tie. Those things stick with you. The first experiences absolutely what I

noticed in your piece, which was really well done. The football itself, it was just a small part of the experience. In every one of these games. You had the raucous atmosphere on Wilsher Boulevard for your first one that made it cool for you. Then your father's son dynamic, and also your first time seeing the Browns in person. Um the third thing you know you had. I think people of our age we think of Parcels as magical. You think of Parcels as this guy who was just one

of the smartest coaches ever. But the difference between him and Belichick is Parcels humor comes out all the time. Totally agree. Uh, Then you had the Lway redemption story, plus you go into Camp Jewel and then the last one Mancini hillis and Rob Ryan slam your boy Belichick. I used to coach your team. These are all about other things going on other than footballs blowouts. I kind of love blowouts, so I love I love that you have the Rex Ryan Jets win over the Chargers in

January two. Can we can we listen to that Sean Green running over the Chargers defense, including an Antonio Cremarti, a scared Cremarti running away from contact, which was beautiful down. There'll be seven dragging head tuck it up. That's why he's not gonna be caught touchdowns. Cremarti wanted nothing to do with that. Why did that make your list? That is a flash forward to Cremarti doing the same thing against Tim Tebow a few years later when you and

I watched that game when he wasn't yet. It made the list because you know, sometimes when you're when your own team is not in the playoffs, you cle you hook onto someone else. And I really love the vibe of Rex Ryan, who came in that year and basically said, you know what, Belichick f you f your rings were coming after you. And instead of whet it being another story that doesn't really hold up, they did surge down the stretch and they were a team that won in

a very unusual way. They ran the ball at two at one point in the regular season for two straight games of three hundred plus yards, and then they got super hot down the stretch in the playoffs and they ran the ball thirty nine times on the road against the Chargers, and it was one of It wasn't big long runs. It was like they were just tiring San diego out and then when that when when Sean Green bust through for that run, it was like all game

long they were planning for that. In Sanchez had a hundred yards passing It was like they came in and they said, this is what we're gonna do. I'm Rex Ryan, and they did it. That was ground and pound at its finest. But my favorite Green run actually, and one of the most memorable plays of the Rex Ryan era was fourth and one. Uh, They're up three points of

like two minutes to play Philip Bridge Rivers. They were fourteen and two the the Charges that year, waiting to get back on the field, and they Jets have a chance to come, you know, go for the field goal or maybe pin with a punt, and Rex goes, no, I'm sending my running back and my offensive line out there to win the game, and they did. That was

that was Rex at peaks wagger. What about the your Brown's Patriots romp in November two thousand ten, because I don't think a lot of people even remember this game, but Tom Brady remembers it. Let's play that clip before they'll throw it to him, and he's a very good superant this game that we're out going off. That was one of the biggest man handlings I've seen in the

Belichick era. Absolutely to the point where everyone talks about we're on to Cincinnati, but they went out the Patriots and won the next ten straight games to close out that season, because I think this was a throttling that woke them up, and it woke me up because the Browns, they came out of their bye week. The week before the bye, they had on the road knocked off the world champion Saints, and that was like, how did that happen?

Because it was a very man genie esque team with not a lot of stars on offensive, guys like Chance He's stucky and Josh Cribbs getting snaps at quarterback. But then Peyton Hillis started getting hot, the guy that they basically shipped, Brady Quinn did the Broncos for in return for a running back of no name exactly after this though, this is what helped that happen, And this game, to me gave me one of those false flashes of intense hope where I thought the Browns were turning the corner

in a major way. In the cult. McCoy despite being like five nine or five ten with a pop gun arm, had all the gifts that you wanted. I completely was convinced what My son Luke was born days before this, and I thought all the turning points are happening. I named my next my next son, Colton, after Calton McCoy

because of this game. Big mistake, although I loved that he's named calling, but this game was such a butt whipping, and I don't you you have to search through years and years to look for a Patriots team that was so caught off guard because there was a clip at one point of Tom Brady roaming around the sideline in the third quarter and was sure that they had spiked something that he had eaten or drank that day because he looked drugged. And they never became unhinged. They never

had the ball in that game. Hill Us was just running back. It's it isn't like pretty much the worst. So many of the worst losses one sided losses in the Patriot in the Belichick era are from former Patriots assistants, including Variable and the Titans one year ago. Yep, uh, Matt Patricia got him last year right, Yep, he did close game either, So check that, check that piece out. Mark Sessler wrote about some other games to their um my favorite NFL games of all time, Colin Brown's triumphs

among top five. I mean, I guess it's for SEO purposes. But do we really need NFL to be in that headline. I don't think we do, but someone else clearly believes that we absolutely do. Uh. We will be back um Friday with another show. UM, so make sure you check that out. Will do some spin around the league like we did last week, checking in on camps all the you know, a couple of dozen teams almost uh wrapping up their final O T A s and mandatory mini camps.

So we'll check in on that, uh and that will be uh something to look forward to. I know you're excited. Great, I am. It's the best time of year. You won't be at the game tonight, um, so we will will keep you up to family. I'm not, I'm not. You know, only if she had not seen at the game last week, none of these problems would be occurring for you right now. Well that is true, although it's certainly not on her,

but the you know, they probably would have been. It would have happened this week as opposed we probably was unavoidably the inevitable. But we'll let you know how the shield does, can't. I want to find you know you should who's close to this person on the team and get some information West. Do you know I can. I can get some information if you want. Just to be clear, the person is safe and sound. We don't even know that. You know, a lot of people had a lot of

jokes about Barrett Robbins. Ultimately, it was kind of a tragic story. It's almost an unsolved mysteries episode. A woman with a white dog shows up to a softball game. We turn around and there's just a fog and she's gone, and no one has seen or heard from her since, I mean even more concerning. Nobody pursues her to find out what has happened. It's been some emails the games started.

They were committed, all right, let's go. Dan Handas signing off for Quiet Storm, the Mailman, the Old Boss, and Ricky Hollywood behind the Glass, go shill till Friday s