Free Agency Frenzy Day 4! Trubisky and Curtis Samuel Off the Board

who passed away UH February five and Northern Exposure. West I mean as a as as Mark Sessler would say wrote c poems about Northern Exposure, and he said it was one of the truly greatest um television television programs. I believe it was like a half drama, half comedy. I never saw it. It It was a CBS show, and I don't know if I've ever watched the show on CBS that wasn't Sport or sixty minutes and a Northern Exposure was the show that was so near and dear

to West's heart. And because of that I have wanted to watch it um even even before West past it was. It piqued my curiosity because West has such great taste and pop culture. Um. However, it's one of those shows that never pops up and you can never find it um. So it remains a bit of a mystery. But I believe a listener at some point sent West the full box set or it was some type of ripped off somewhere of Northern Exposure. So I guess there's a big

underground contingent for that program. I think it's got It's a definitely a cult hit. I used to watch it periodically, but I I like Wes was a true expert, but it was it took place, you know, in a small little town, very quirky. I think there was the main

Carolasta yeah, in a radio show, among other things. Um. But I don't want to do the memory of it wrong, but I do think the box set came there was there was some sort of marketing um distribution snag with Northern Exposure, so it's hard to obtain and sound Yeah, they can't get the rights to the soundtrack. Well, I I was just it's funny. I was just thinking about this last week for some reason, about Northern Exposure. It's because it was like West's life in some way before

it happened. I don't know, if he watched it before it happened. But it's like Tybee was his Alaska, his when I went, when we went down there and I met his totally diverse and um wacky group of friends which all had their own little flavor, Like that was the northern exposure. The guy in the show is like the fish out of town and he ends up having a radio show. There's a little bit of west too.

I mean that didn't happen until l A, but it was like he loved collecting characters, and I think that's what that show was all about, everyone kind of doing their own thing, you know, our our deep Hollywood connection. Mike berk Awitz, if you're listening, Burke uh and I know you know you don't typically work in a television realm, but this sounds like a television show. Idea said it in Tybee. Maybe we start maybe it's our chance at a star vehicle in primetime, and just thrown it out

there as an option. There's something to think about. The NFL fires US and we all Our backup plan is a sitcom on CBS UM speaking of the Westlings, Phil Westling, all the Westling boys that we've met, our stand up dudes, and you know, a little left of center themselves, some of them, you know, quirky characters and interesting people. Uh. Nick Wesley, of course, was on the show, another Westling brother,

talking trash about cornhole. I wasn't too impressed when I when I took him on in Tybee, and I hope to have a rematch when we get back to Tybee. And then we kind of wiped the floor with you. I mean, I have to be I have to you know, it's not really how I remember it personally, but you know, opinions vary, I guess, or facts vary. The score I mean,

the scoreboard does not disagree. I mean, it was here's the thing, and you know, let's stick a pin in it, because I'd rather have Nick here to talk about it. But we did this hype up to the big corn hole match, and then it was on the day of West's wedding, and like we were wearing tuxedos and stuff. It's like, no, no, I want to have a couple of drinks. I want to be loose. Let's do this the right way. I thought that Nick kind of he set that up in a certain way that would benefit

him anyway. That's for another conversation. Phil Westling text me yesterday, Hey check this out, sends me a link. He knows that we are junkies for sports media. Uh, and he sends me a link to the great Andrew Marshaan to the New York Post, who's their media critic, Drew Brees. Addition means end is near for current Sunday Night Football booth.

Hello cat Nip for the A t N podcast. So he had to send out the old A t N bat signal to get Andrew back on the show for a return engagement, and he will join us a little bit later. But before that, let us get to the latest news in NFL free agency. Let's start again. There's some name brands that are out there that you would think I would, Oh, they would, they would come off the board immediately, but whether it be age or the market not being what they want, they remained on the

board longer than you expected. One of those people, Patrick Peterson, the former All Pro with the Arizona Cardinals who's been a little up and down in recent years. He is now joining a new team. It's the Minnesota Vikings on a one year deal. So Peterson gets a fresh start after I think it was close to a decade in the desert Um and Greg will start here, is he is this this version of Patrick Peterson and it feels like he's Oh, he's thirty five and this is the

end of the road. No, he's thirty years old. He's gonna be thirty one one week one hits. Is he a big upgrade to Minnesota Secondary or a question mark? He's a question mark. The price tag indicates they think he's a big upgrade. They didn't have much there last year. They went really and it didn't work. That was the weakness of their entire team, I would say, more than anything was their cornerbacks. Mike Zimmer is kind of the veteran cornerback Svengali he gets. He got Terrence Newman to

keep playing until he was thirty nine. Like He's helped a lot of defensive back. That's what I think of when I think of Mike Zimmer. So it's a great fit for Patrick Peterson. Maybe the the role is somehow um better there for him. But he's a guy who you know, was on the Hall of Fame path still has a chance I think a solid one UM. But because he was that number one cornerback. He he was like left to do a lot in Arizona, and if you watch the Cardinals, you gotta be real he was

getting lit up quite a bit. I mean, he struggled, and the PF grades certainly reflect that he was asked to do more. But he was getting lit up the last two years and he got suspended during that that stretch, which is not a great a great thing. If you look at every Mike Zimmer cornerback room and he's had a lot of stops before Minnesota too, that there were always one or two older veterans who were like awesome leaders and kind of set the tone, and they had

their room is really young. I mean member last year they wiped out that entire group and started over essentially. So if anything, maybe it's a come in like make sure these guys are doing their work right and maybe we got a good year out of you. But I think it's a question mark for sure. I agree with Greg. He has a chance now on the one year deal to to rejuvenated career. Maybe. So it's one of those changes scenery things we'll see um or is at the

beginning of the end. Uh. In other news, the Washington Football team continues to make moves. They have Ryan Fitzpatrick locked and loaded as their Week one starter. Most likely we'll see I hope the old rug doesn't get pulled out on fitz magic. Uh. And now they have a great weapon added to the mix. They signed Curtis Samuel formally of the Pathers three years, thirty four and a half million. Twenty four and a half of that is guaranteed, So I'll say it's a two year deal for twenty

four and a half million. I think that's right. Um, all right, so this, uh, this is a good this is a good one mark for Washington. A team that needs juice, they need you know, we all know what's on the defensive side of the ball and and there's a lot of potential there. And we actually saw that pidential uh come to life during their run to the playoffs. It was a limp to the playoffs, but they got to the playoffs. Now we're starting to see some pieces

on offense to make this team more interesting. I think it's one of the teams that you just feel differently about where from where we were a week ago. And I mean, yeah, it's Ryan Fitzpatrick and maybe that's a one year thing. But Ryan Fitzpatrick kind of fits with Curtis Samuel, who you know, when Cam Newton was in Carolina, they kind of struggled to get Curtis Samuel lit up. Joe Brady shows up last year and they used him

really well. And he was the only wide receiver in the league or player in the league with eight hundred yards receiving two hundred on the ground. He was a jet suite master that used him in the backfield a bunch. But now he goes back to Young Turner Scott Turner, who maybe didn't use him as well in Carolina. So my question is ken Ron Rivera and Scott Turner learned from what Joe Brady and the Panthers did last year. I mean, you've got Terry McLaurin there. I think Logan

Thomas is really interesting, Cam Sims, Antonio Gibson. So you can start to see, for the first time in a really long time, an interesting offensive course starting to build. And I love this edition. Who named him young Turner? Was that Michael keep to Leab during one of his Yeah, he's just odd, that makes sense. I'm I'm excited to watch the Washington football team for the first time. Okay, I don't know. I don't know when have I ever

been excited? You've not been their ally. I mean I have long said on this show, like thirty fan bases are like, you hate my you know you hate my team, you hate my team. And I'm like, well you're you're all wrong, Um except for Washington. Now you're right. I do Uh. I do not like your team just in general, just how it was run, and it's been tough to watch. It's like a one to punch um but out fits

Magic McLaurin. I love Gibson, I love I did like watching them last year because I thought the defense was fun and they were starting to get things going, but they were really limited at quarterbacks. And now you get Fitzpatrick, gets Samuel, who has a lot of fun to watch, uh used as a running back and stuff. You think turn it will do that quite a bit like this will be good. You got you got like two guys. I was just thinking about it with Gibson and Samuel,

who can basically play two positions if you want. I stated definitively last week on this podcast that I will not be picking the Dallas Cowboys to win the division. And I was worried about this possibility of August rolling around and all the other teams potentially sucking. But after the Fitzpatrick move, after the Samuel move, I am starting to feel um good about the idea of picking another team in the division with some level of confidence. I

like the Washington football team. And on the subject of that, a little quiet on the name change front. I don't know was the plan that for the season that they would have. Yeah, I thought they're gonna work shop it and not. The whole point is, don't rush this later early, No, but I don't we I feel like we all kind of agreed that they kind of stumbled into it. There's no other word for they stumbled into beautiful uniforms. And I'm kind of cool with the football team. That's what

they gotta do. This happening here, right, They gotta do it this offseason. That the timing of it might be, you know, April, May, June, but you gotta do it by then or it's too late. That I have a theory if it's gonna happen, it will happen right ahead of the draft, because it's all about selling merch and showcasing, and you want your you know, draft pick to come up on the stage with rog and and you want to have that new logo and all that stuff locked

and loaded. But if you don't see that, I would wonder if there are serious internal conversations about them staying with Washington football team, which I know that's buzzy to say, just keep it. I'm fine with that too, But you know, I also don't mind. I like uniformity when it's in terms of every team in the league. They gotta where they're from. They got the nickname. Now, oh you're special because you had an offensive nickname. Now you get to

be special. No, go find something new. I've come down on the other side. Sessler. Sorry, no, I just like they don't don't. I don't want, you know, seven months from now them rolling out with new fangled, bizarre, insane uniforms with like different shades on the helmet. It was just very sparse, um in old school the way they were last year. That's what I'm lobbying for. The name. Do what you need. It's like, let's cheer on the Washington Red Rockets. It's like, come on and don't hit

me up on Twitter. People are like, oh, you say it's offensive. I don't say it's offensive. People thought it was. That are in the Native American community. So just that's the way it is, and you just got to adjust and move on. That case is closed. Move forward, right, that one, that one's over. You lost, You lose forward alright. Uh speaking of the Panthers, good signing here, Hassan Reddick,

the former Cardinal, signs a one year, six million dollar contract. Now, I find the way things tend to work in the NFL in this time of year is if you get if you're a guy that's coming off a double digit sack season, you set yourself up very well to get a big, fat contract. Reddick's coming off a thirteen sack season. Yes, I understand, I believe five would were in one game. But that is a breakout season by really any standard

you'd think. But the contract tells you that the people around the league, uh or around the NFL, we're not necessary or our league, we're not necessarily sold on Reddick Reddick as a star. Um, that's what this contract tells me. Greg. Yeah, I think it's like the start of phase two of free can see all those edge rushers got similar contracts, and that was the demarcation line. It makes me feel good. I mean not to make it all about me, but it's about I. I put Reddick well below all those

guys too on my rankings. I was like, am I am I sleeping everyone down on this guy because I saw because I saw other you know, I saw the athletic are good friend Shield Capatti, who I think is I'm really good at doing this stuff. And his picks, by the way, oh my gosh, he like picked like sevent against the spread or something wild last year, so

all credited immediately infatuated. I'm just saying, I'm trying before I bury him for having Reddick way too high, because he was because he was kind of a problem for four years he was they didn't know what to do with him. He was a little bit of a bust. And you have one year that pops up out of nowhere. And oh, by the way, the Cardinals didn't seem that interested in signing him. I was just I wanted to see it again before before you give it to him,

just because he was used differently. Last year he had like fifty six pressures, and he had fifty seven the whole rest of his career, and I guess it's you know, Chandler Jones is out of the mix, so your role is gonna change. But I mean that's maybe it's about using it well. But I'm not surprised he didn't get some sort of mega contract. So here's my point. Then if I'm not being clear enough, or maybe I was

and now I'm just talking too much. But Trey Hendrickson, he's a guy that's kind of under the radar for a few years. He has a breakout here. I think he had thirteen sacks for the Saints. He gets a Tier one deal, Reddick, same type of deal. I know he was more of a premium draft pick, but that might even help his case that he was premium draft stock. He has his breakout year in a walk year, He'sn'tier two.

I don't know it's fair. I think Hendrickson personally, I always liked him before um I think he was better as a reserve player, uh than people realize. He just was only playing three under four undred snaps. But he he reminded me more of a Shack Barrett Um, which just like never got the chance as much in New Orleans, but always looked good when he got it. Have you

ever heard of. There's a theory in the you know n b A. I'm forgetting the name here, but it's essentially like if you're a reserve like the Numbers show, if you're a reserve that put up good numbers. If you give the guy more minutes, he usually puts up

the good numbers. You know, Greg dealing with your addiction in your past when it matters of the desert, when you see someone there was no addiction, there is a to when you see someone like sheel Um hit se against It probably wasn't seventy by the way by the end of the year, because that would be outrageous. But I was just puffing him up alop. He was very ageous. He was outrageous. He was he was great, He did very well. Does that is that a trigger for you

a little bit? Like maybe there is a way to master this realm, Maybe that I should be at the end of casino out there with the big thick bottle glasses like that's my future. You could topple the odds in a way because you see someone else, a contemporary doing you must vanquish him. That you It gets your motor going. You're furious you're complimenting him, an we're probably not. Like, if you made it your whole thing, maybe it'd be

possible to have some advantage over time. I guess I would, just I would want to see it over five years. A year is nothing, you know what I mean? Like anyone can pop, You could pop for a year, and to me, like having an advantage would mean like hitting what fifty eight maybe percent over if you could hit fercent over a five year period like great or sixty, like you would never expect that to continue if he did it year after year. A year is almost nothing

in in a sample size. Is Gregg is broadcasting to us that he would like to spend the next let's cut it. I'm saying it's not. It's not worth it because it's it's you know, almost entirely luck. And it's not where the juice isn't worth a squeeze unless unless you had so much, right, but unless you have like an exorbitant amount of money to put into this, and you're willing to do it over like a ten year period,

I don't know. I mean, no, it wouldn't be worth it because I think you might lose it the next year, all right, let me give you one before we move on. Let me give you one hypothetical. Okay, I can I can see TC right now. Cut that check to you, or promise you a scenario in which, from this point onward, from your age forty one, for age forty two, life two, whenever it comes to a close, you can hit on six of your picks, sixty six. I'll give you sixty

of your picks. You're taking the s Are you walking into the great unknown knowing that two out of three of your picks will always be right and you can do whatever. It's not the great unknown. You just told me two out of three picks are right. If somehow I know that's right, you take that, because that's infinite. You don't know when you don't know much of those three is wrong. I guess is another way of putting it. So it's not a slant. It's not bif finding the

sports almanacing back to the future too. But it feels like you're potentially in a big spot. The numbers are on your side, So I'm taking the two out of three. I mean, that's that's just math, right there. Give me a half a mill uh. In other news, Kyle Long retired unretired now signs with the Chiefs. Who mark the Chiefs really wanted to remake their offensive line and free agency. Uh, they did not get Trent Williams, their number one target at left tackle. They did not get Rodney Hudson, the

center that was eventually traded to Arizona. Uh. They do get Kyle Long. How much of a concern is this, Mr. Sessler that the Chiefs uh cut their tackles last week. They don't necessarily hit it out of the park here. Uh in the free agency portion of the off season, and you have the you know, greatest player in the league behind the potentially leaky offensive line. I think it's

like in terms of March concerns in March narratives. It is because we're fresh off of watching what happened to the most exciting offense in the NFL without those two tackles, And you know, there is a guy like Orlando Brown Junior sitting out there who wants to play left tackle on the Ravens and wants a trade. Um, there is the draft, but Daniel Jeremiah, UM, and I do Dan, I do trust what he has to say about the

tackle position in the funding draft. Well, I'm just telling you that last year, a lot of teams fixed the problems at the tackle position in the draft. It was one of the better ones. Ever that's not the case this time. So you know there is concern and like you're not gonna You're not gonna find a better version

of what Mitchell Schwartz was two seasons ago. Um, but I do wonder, like, would they ever resign Mitchell Schwartz if he stays out there at a reduced cost because he's coming off surgery, And it's like maybe they just wanted to say, let's reset the board. You might be back with us, And then you're looking for one guy could be Orlando Brown Jr. Could be a draft pick. I wouldn't panic, but I mean, you don't want to be a team looking for two tackles because finding one

is hard enough, right. I think they they've had a terrible week. They got Tuny. You paying a guard that much money coming from New England, it has some level of risk based on the precedent, and I think Hudson or Trent Williams would have been major gets, even better gets than Tuney. And you went hard after him. You were ready to pay Trent Williams, according to reports, you know,

basically the highest paid attack on the league. I think they probably had that in their mind when they cut Fisher in Schwartz and I'm with you Mark, I think cutting Schwartz and Fisher for that matter, although he might not be ready all season, they probably were thinking on some level, if we swing and miss and we still have cap space, like that is a potential route we can go. But Swartz it sounds like, may not play.

You know, he he's deciding whether he's gonna play. And Kyle Long was great, but he also hasn't been really Kyle Long in about three years. Even the year he set out, there were two years before that where he wasn't really healthy. Meanwhile, on the Throne of Sleeves, Kyle van Nooy is coming back to town about that you gotta get the Pats back in the show's minutes, Uh Kyle van Noy the outside linebacker. Who oh who ouch. I guess this means that Cam Newton failed Bill Belichick

in that scenario. I think about some ownership mean they can't I mean, they can't take away At this point, I still am surprised that people aren't like just lying back and being like, who, We're fine? What more do you want? What more do you want? Remember that old Bill Simmons tromp. It's like, oh, you can't complain about a Super Bowl away five years? I say, we trust them. How great for our planet? Reaching back into the greatest hits Rosa bo that's Lakisha saying, how great for our planet?

Go ahead, Greg, I don't even rebe he at this point. This annoys me by the way I do. Like getting Vanoi back though, that's let me, let me, let me help you with the trainer. Thought you were defending Bill Belichick. No, no, I was saying this. I was saying, like, calm down with like they need. There's no disaster at this point. You just watch the greatest run in football history, like you're logical that you know that not all Pats fans

are like that, and expectations. The expectations are through the roof now, which seems stupid to me. To me, there's still like a nine and seven team over under at Yeah, it doesn't make me think they're like some world beaters, but that is not going to be the belief you're which just it's not how it works. And I went to school in Boston, so I have a lot of Boston friends, and like, man, the Patriots became the Yankees.

And the thing about being a fan of a team like that is you don't ever say, oh, man, I really appreciate what happened there. And now I can just sit back and and you know, look at all my old you know, game programs, and and my replica championship ring that I've odd and my I'm gonna wear my Tom Brady jersey for the next thirty years and just be happy it happened. Uh, that's not really how it works. You just want more. It's the disease of more. I'm

trying to I'm trying to disconnect. It's like partly just our job. It's like I'd rather just root for football and not have any stress on send the good thing. I know, the Yankees fan, you are. You are fine at this point to take your foot off the pedal and have them coast to the mediocrity hanging around you whenever like a Yankees game is on. You're not plugged in what I'm saying. I'm like, I'm one of those people. I mean, you do you don't The Yankees have won

one World Series in the last eighteen years. Uh, they're they're always competitive, but that's not enough. Once you get to the mountaintop and you stay there for a while, it's like anything. It's a bit of a sneaky curse and no one's that are ever gonna feel bad for you. But you don't get to enjoy your team in the same way you once did. It's definitely different, I would say.

With the most annoying aspect to this is that the Patriots are because he went to the Dolphins cal Vannoy a year ago on a massive contract and got cut. They are about they getting a fourth round camp pick for Kyli van Noy, who is now back on the team. It's like Hugh Jackson trading great Carson Palmer and then going back to the Bengals with the draft picks he got from trading for Carson Palmer from the Raiders. It's

just like backwater nonsense. Their defense, to me is the bigger key they got, you know, and it's so hard to predict. But they're adding van Noy and High Tower and Jude On and they're still pretty very thin at defensive tackle, but they've got a good looking secondary on paper, That to me is the key because they were really mediocre to bad last year. And if you have a top eight or nine Belichick in type defense, you've got a shot. But but that's a I don't know, I

gotta see it first. The case for Belischick being a little bit on tilt is that drafting two tight ends in the third round last year and then signing two tight ends too massive contracts this year. That shows you something's going on, something's percolating. Whether you want to say it's a good thing or a bad thing. It's very interesting. I think they're there. Interesting organizations are bad also one year and listen, we we said it at nauseam, not

just us, everyone in the football Gagnans and Day. Last year was a disaster for being a rookie coming into this league. You didn't get an off season program, you didn't have training camp, you didn't have free season games. You get dropped into to use a warz and you get dropped right into the ship. And now we're writing off those guys. I don't know, I'm not I'm not writing,

but I I got you. But they're they were also what drafted outside like the top ninety or eighty fives or whatever, and it's like, Okay, those guys might not work out. It's like, um, you know, Rob Gronkowski was a late second round pick, Aaron Hernandez was a fourth round pick. You you needed to wait about one week of training camp to realize those guys were the real deal. And it's it's sometimes in covering the sport, like the coal posts move with with something like a third round pick.

Sometimes it's treated as well, it's you know, it's like a top one or right around their pick. Then some of the times it's like championship teams are built on third round picks. Like I don't know what to believe sometimes, right, but here I give you an example, like, so the Panthers get Jimmy Clawson and say he's our starter, and then a year later you realize this is not gonna work and we have a chance to get Cam Newton. What is do you stick to philosophy where you're like, no,

let's be, let's be and stick to Jimmy Clawson. I mean he's feel like that's a little different. I mean that's what they spent a two They spent a full year with these two tight ends who probably flopped on some level behind the scenes, or just aren't going to be who they want to be. So it's like you upgrade and Bill Belichick is sort of micro dosing this week and going insane. So I do appreciate Market is kind of in on the Patriots. Now. This is a

nice turn. It's to two to one here. I don't think, well, I don't think you've been paying attention. Mark has always had a Belichick going back to the brown stuff a little bit. Although I should note Mark, he never wrote you back the great piece you wrote, the Belichick letters. All the man had to do is write you back after you wrote that incredible piece on the dot com. Well, and maybe you should join me on the dark side. He doesn't need to write a media member back. He

wrote me when I was like a young naive. But I would say, also, Dan, I have been on your side on the Belichick is quietly furious about what happened with Tom Brady. I do believe that. But now that the Patriots are a little they look more like the Browns of the nineties, you know, with Belichick, like they're they're not the world beaters, even if they wind up having a good season or whatever, it'll be like a weird, ugly scrap now marks back in Because of that, they're

not like the dynastic, dynastic Patriots. One of the best, uh, one of the best face turns, I'll call it, in the history of this podcast is when the Patriots got Antonio Brown, and West, who had long carried the water up and down the hill for Belichick and the Patriots, uh, turned on the on in such a way. It brought me so much joy to have Wes on my side for that period and he never really did make peace with Belichick, uh for the rest of his time on

the show. That really really got in West's crawl and to me, when I think back of you know, some great back and force in history of the show when the passion was turned to eleven or maybe even too high West turning on Belichick over Antonio Brown signing is it's pretty high up there, and like so many things, he had great instincts. I do I and he didn't get a lot of argument either that it was a It was an embarrassing moment for them, and I think it was a real turning point for what was the

final season of Tom Brady there. I know they won a bunch of games after that, and then you know, they ended up winning twelve. But it really was it was it put up a total black mark on Tom Brady's last season and helped to end that. I think he was right on point that commentary. What's uppen? Was that what you were saying back then, I was saying I was hoping for the best, but uh, I mean he was in and out in like two weeks. Uh No, Well, I was saying that this is kind of an embarrassment.

But you know, there weren't any Antonio Brown defenders, and I would say that like two years ago, at this time, we were saying what a great job the Raiders did by signing Antonio Brown and how it was going to make a market difference, and this was the John Gruden offense. We're waiting for. Free agency is an absolute ghost. I mean, two years later, look where we are. It's it's beyond abserdain. So I want to push back. Actually, we're gonna talk

maybe on this on the broadcast. I was thinking about it's like people also need to calm down on the like spinning free agency like never works. No, But you know what, because now I'm seeing that no, I'm seeing that tweet. Those tweets are now starting to pop up. The new it's the new, like the new wave of coolness on Twitter is like, actually, let's be real. Free agency does help some teams. And it's like, alright, there's

no there's one way to do anything. It's like there are a million different ways, but you can't deny that. The e is the Rams, the painting, the Bucks and the Chiefs got a lot of their best players by spending a lot in free agency. So like it, it's a part of it. There's like no one right way to skin the cat. All right, let's hit pause on the news and welcome in a very special guest. And here he is, Yes, he is, uh The New York Post,

Secret Weapon and all things sports media related. Andrew Marshawn joins us now to talk about and I'll just again, I'm gonna read the headline again because I love it, Saucy. I don't think Andrew wrote the headline, but whoever did it captured it nicely. Drew Brees edition means end is near for current Sunday Night football booth motto. Okay, so you've got al Michael seventy six years old. You've got

Chris collins Worth in there, locked and loaded. But Drew Brees retires, Andrew he's knocking on the door now he's already in the house. And of course Mike Rico as well. How is this gonna shake out? Well, how exactly will shake out is still to be determined. But I mean when you look at it, Tariko came over five years ago and when he did, uh, he had Thursday Night football,

so he thought he'd did Thursday night. Al would do something. Now, I used to be able to do the NFL still along with the Olympics, and you know, the big money got um about what happened. NBC lost three night and when they had it the first year, Roger Goodell wanted uh the eighteen to do it. So even though Trico had done Monday night football, they still have al do it.

And then the next year Toriko got to do then that way, Wait, so he's been waiting to replace Alico's who's still uh not the best, one of the best uh play by players even at seven six years old. Uh So to Rico's win meeting and al contracts up at the end of this year. After the Super Bowl, which is in loss able to be a storybook ending, except there's no inclination to be my spoken to that. Michaels wants to retire. Now he comes in. He's gonna

work with Tariko on Notre Dame football. He's going to do the pregame show on Sunday night with my Trico. Um So, NBC had a conference called on on Wednesday. Uh, you know, nothing to see here. Everything slight. I wrote about last year when I had the breeze going NBC story about this, Um, you know now it's even closer and how exactly they could I'll get another one year deal. It's possible. But I do think Riego's knocking on that door, a little impatient, wants to get in there. Um, but

I doesn't want to go anywhere. Collins a lot of different opinions that you know how good he is, but he's very established. Um, Andrews don't know what he is. But that's their next generation. It's obvious, is the plan. I mean that there's no question about. It's a matter of if. And but I think no briefe geld stick on your day and maybe I could blow it up. But but like I I this is the point it's clear.

I guess my my one question if you know the nation we went through as a group, the Jason Witten experience with Monday night football, um, you know, and I get that there are I sense that these people have

egos that feels um like part of this. But how did they know when they tout Drew Breese and you know that's from a big parade, is the next guy it's gonna do X Y and Z that Drew Brees is going to actually be good at this like they hit gold with Tony Romo um at CBS and but but to me, like I'm just gonna say, like the Drew Brees experience that personality wise, wonderful guy on some level, But I don't know, it's not the first guy I tick is like I want to listen to him, um

wax poetic about football games. So is it like they they they've tested him and they know or they're just like, hey, it's a big name, we gotta roll him into the booth. And I want to just point out, first of all, is a wonderful guy. As you're saying this guy is gonna be no good. I mean, just to throw that in there, like the wonderful guy, but no personality not good. I thought that was very well done. Um, they're guessing. I mean, this is the thing. Drew Brees is a

great quarterback, um, wonderful guy. Um and you know, but into the booth now he yeah translate, well that well that's the question though, but can he Here's these guys basically all know what they're talking about and what the set. It's the ability to take what you have been doing on Sundays uh for twenty years and being able to make it understandable for idiots like me. You know what I mean? Can you say if you explain how you're checking off in a different way, just to understand what

the quarterback see? You know during brewe Breese has that informtion in his head. Now can you do it in an entertaining way? And here's to me, a lot of broadcasting isn't really what you say a lot of times, but how you say it. And I would argue that Romo did out the predictions all that, But the thing that Romo did right out of the bat is that

he's just talking about the game. He's very focused on the game, and even though sometimes he wavers in not as good at games, but like when there's been big games, he's into it and he's focused on that and he's enthusiastic about it. And I think that's what reason has to be genuine. It comes across where Bree, you don't know, so they answer your question, Yeah, they don't really know. They're guessing. They you know, educated guesses. But there's been

many mistakes. Pass from Joe Montana to be wonderful guys, but not very good in the boot Andrew Marshawn giving us the uh deep dive on Drew Brees and what comes next. Thank you for joining us, Andrew, And I'll say goodbye with my favorite Drew Brees quote maybe ever, and it's you know, it's there's a lot through the years where Drew Brees, Uh, the way he interfaces the media, you wonder how genuinely he's being with you or if he's just saying the right things. This quote from the

press gathering. I'm as excited to be in the booth with Mike Tarico as I was to throw passes to Michael Thomas on Sundays. And that's not enough. He can't just say that. He has to then double down with I am dead serious when I say that. Okay, all right, Drew, thank you Andrew and Marshall. It's like, well, Michael Thomas wasn't pain in the ass, so maybe that was like his way of getting Yeah. I thought that was interesting myself.

All right, and thank you so much, and uh follow Andrew on Twitter and all this stuff on the post. Always good to see you buddy. All right, there he goes and apologies technical difficulties there. We could not get a good connection unfortunately with Andrew, so we had to jump out of that faster than we wanted to. But at the same time, still talk good to talk about and fun to talk about this drama. Um, Gregg, do you buy the idea of al Michael's uh saying goodbye here?

Where do you stand on where Owl's at? Right? Well, then you know marciaun had a quote in there where he's said, al Michaels still throwing n on the black, you know, as opposed to when he was throwing a hundred miles an hour earlier in his career. Al Michaels is like the greatest to ever do it. But I'm not sure I'm with him there. I thought you could see some real decline almost like boredom, you know, last year, like Al was not feeling the pandemic. Uh loves being

at the center of everything. He loves he loves ratings. He wants to many people to be watching him. He wants to be at the center of the sports universe. And I totally get that it had to be a letdown for him. Still like a lot of people. Yeah, still like a top whatever, five, six, seven play by play guy at this point. But he but Tariko on another level and and some other guys too, and so maybe he goes back to ESPN or whatever. But it's funny. It's really funny because it kind of reminds me of

the Drew Brees situation. It's like if Drew Brees had wanted to come back this year, and there was some talk. Even when Drew Brees came back last year, there was a little bit of like, oh, well, okay, one more because we feel a little uncomfortable pushing you out the

door here. But now it's the year after. You know, Michael's is gonna get his one last year, and then it's I feel like NBC is gonna be like Sean Payton is, like, you don't have a choice to if you really want to come back, you're gonna have to do it with another team. I do love that every time Al Michaels comes up in one of Andrew's articles that he mentions the Oswald Lucky Rabbit trade, in which ESPN dealt Michael's to nbc UM in return for this

uh fictional character at Disney property. And like, I wonder if Al Michael's has like an al Pacino at the end of any given Sunday type of move left in him where you think he's out, and then he says, actually, I'm taking me and someone else to some other network. We're going to recreate all this go go displace um the Monday Night Football Crew, and which is displaced able? I don't seem very nice. It's too bad. It's a

bad spot for Steve Levy, but that'd be fun. I mean, he Michael's is such a titan and he hangs over all of this right now that when you ask Steve Levy about it, uh, Levy even says, and it's in this, it's in the article UM in an interview with the Athletic. If al decides on a whim that he might it might be fun to go back to Monday Night Football. I'll be like, here you go, Al, what am I

gonna say to Al Michael's It's which is okay. I don't know if that's true or not, but it just shows you, first of all, the deference to a figure. He's a titan al Michael's in the history you of broadcasting and sports broadcasting. But also like that would be leave giving up his dream job, I mean Monday night football play by play guy and Uh Andrew also called this it has uh, it has jay Leno Conan vibes.

Right now, you know the backstory there. Jay Leno did Late Night for you know, twenty years after Johnny Carson retired, and then uh, in like two thousand four, NBC announces that Conan, who was doing the late night show but after jay Leno, was going to succeed um Leno in the big chair at eleven thirty, but not for five years. And it created this really weird dynamic. Then it blew up and everybody's faces because then jay Leno didn't want to leave and NBC kept him on as well with

Conan and submarined everything. Um, you wonder if they're getting into a tricky situation here, especially with some big personalities, especially that's he's younger, and that's a big hurdle for that's a big hurdle for Breeze to clear. It would be being better than cons Worth, so unless he's But side note, Conan O'Brien is about a hundred and fifty times better than Jay Leno, who I never found funny on any level. No, I'm totally I mean, I'm a

huge um. Jay Leno played the game so well that it got to a point where it finally came back and bid him and everybody saw him as you know, fake and a phony that would do anything he did. He had the numbers, He had the numbers I was. That doesn't mean he's funny though I'm not funny to half of America. I just Conan is weirder and strange. It wasn't I completely agree with you there. I I spent many um an afternoon watching The Tonight Show with Jane Leno live as as a page at NBC making

sure the aisles were clear. That was my job for about four months, watching Jay Leno give the same little uh pre show speech, which always creeped me out because the inflection in every single word was the exact same every day and all was just was kind to you. He well, now we were pages, so we did not have personal relationships, but there could not have been a more beloved boss. Um and Uh. I think everyone there stayed there and they all got paid, they all got

rich off of it, so that makes sense. But every account, Um, first person account was he was like the nicest person of all time and a and a great boss. So you gotta give him that. That's important. It's important behind the scenes jay Leno stories. Let me share one more before we get back to football. My twenty ninth birthday. Um, it wasn't like I wanted as a birthday gift, but

it just fell that way. My wife was working for NBC at the time, and we went to a Jay Leno taping in two thousand nine and it was at the end of the road. Now when he's about to leave and it's starting to percolate that Conan is going to take his job. We go to a taping. I don't remember who the guest was. I remember, Um, Ashley Simpson is the musical guest. Uh, and I'll never forget

he did. That's that spiel that you're talking about, um Greg and then the show starts, and then during a commercial break when you know they're just resetting things, Leno sitting at the desk and he has a whole studio audience watching him, and you wondered if the whole moment and the situation with him losing his gig was hanging

over him. He just stared straight ahead, stone faced during the entire commercial break, and it's like in a war movie where there's an explosion and then all you can hear is just a high pitch like that's what I pictured going through his brain. And then it was like, all right, we're back in five four and then he turned it back ontto a human being. I'll never forget Jay Leno with a thousand yards stare like the guy that watching watching that every day, I got the feeling,

and it totally makes sense. It is like him during that show was like the equivalent of us, like, you know, checking our phone while we're way cheen TV was He had just done it so many times that it was like he wasn't even didn't even need to be there because he could do it so so easily. All Right, good Jay Leno Talk Guys Breaking news, Jeremy Fowler and Adam Schefter report former number two overall pick Mitch Trabinsky is signing with the Buffalo Bills. There you go, Sessler,

your dream scenario. Trabinsky uh shuddered behind a star quarterback, never to be seen or heard from again. Happy birthday, you know. I mean, honestly think it's good for Mitch Trobinsky, like go and hide away for a little bit, and he's young, who knows what will happen with his career. But I never liked the idea of him being shoved into another starting spot. Um. Any team that needs him as a starter is probably in trouble, and it would

have been I just I don't know something. I feel bad for some of these quarterbacks when they failed, even though I ripped them verbally. It's part of our job. If it weren't, If I if it were just me wandering around town, I wouldn't be tapping people on the shoulders telling them how annoyed by him by Mr Robiski on the Bears. But I love the fact that they're not linked together anymore. Those two needed to separate UM in every possible way, and the Bill's good landing spot incredible.

If we see him, that means total disaster, but um a good place to hide away for a bit and make a nice bit of money like e d Dead. If Mr Drobiskietre's lineup like you would be for certain backups, it gives you at least a fighting chance of something calamitous happens to Josh Allen. Isn't he automatically one of the better backups in the league. Yes, I'm not saying he's He's not. I'm not buying that. I'm not necessarily buying that. But I think any backup could potentially look

great in Buffalo. Matt Barkley, you go look at when he played his yards per attempt in Buffalo, like he moved the ball down the field like. I think that is at the most quarterback friendly UH system right now with wide open guys and Alan's athleticism, you know, is a huge part of that. And Alan took it to

another level that Mitch Drabrisky is never gonna do. But I don't know, Like if he ends up playing because Alan gets hurt, wouldn't surprise me if you put up some stats in that offense and then something to don't. That's why I don't hate Mitch is a backup, like he can come and he can do a few things. Do I clearly you know what I think about him, But I don't hate him as Quarterback's a nice But let's do another breaking news. Why not? I think I

think this counts. The Raiders are getting back on the board, signing Kenyan Drake, the former Cardinals running back, to a two year contract, pairing with Josh Jacobs. There Dan doesn't think this was worth breaking. I had I had seen this, Eric consented about fifteen minutes ago, and I had that blocked and loaded in eight o'clock to life. I figured

this was like a franchise tag level player. You're telling me the Jets signed Kenyan Drake to an Now you're putting it the show that's eighteen minutes of delight is what the another thing needs to be measured against the Jets. This is a this is an eight o'clock delight eyed item. To me. People will make fun of the Raiders for this because of the money, and like, hey, they want to be like a running team, and there's there's a fair point of that. I just want to say, I

like Kenyan Drake. I like watching him. I like him and Josh Jacobs together. I think that'll be a nice, nice group. Josh Jacobs has had some injury issues, so I mean go with the two back system sometimes. Anyways, Onto eight o'clock Din, eight o'clock de Light, Billip Lindsay. He's heading to free agency. The Broncos were sind their restricted free agent tender on the running back went back to back when thousand yards to start there see started

his career. But Mark, it just seems like the Broncos were never into Philip Lindsay. I think this has to also do with Lindsay wanting out Mike McCartney. His agents said that they came to an agreement. If that's what that means. They signed Mike Boone, who they like from the Vikings. Philip lindsays six hundred and eleven touches in his career, three thousand plus yards, a West favorite, zero fumbles.

Someone's gonna get a good player here. Kicker corner Matt Prader, adding to the Cardinal Trader he was with the Lions most recently and uh, he's had a nice solid NFL career. Listen, I had a bit of a unsavory meeting with him on media day way back in two thousand thirteen when he was with the forty Niners. He was wearing it and hearing in one ear and seemed to be thinking he was the coolest guy in the building. Probably wasn't,

but I'm putting that in the past. Okay, Matt Prador's had a great career and I's got a good job here at the Cardinals seven seven years in. Good Ryan suck Up also resigned to the Bucks. No comment. I mean they it's the first time they haven't had a new kicker in about seven years. So that's good. That's good. All right. Up next, Larry All good job heading to the Bengals from the Browns. Mark, how do you feel

about this good player? But I would say really streaky will do something really interesting and then kind of fade away, And so the Bengals are hoping for the better version of that. All right. Tim Boyle signs of the Detroit Lions as a backup quarterback. Get excited, Greg, Every everyone that covers the Packers is convinced Tim Boyle is awesome, and the fans too. And he did look good in the camp. I immediately saw like, oh, he'll beat out Jared Goff, so I maybe we'll see his nickname is

human Victory Cigar Gross. Finally, Jared Goff, the excuse me? Jared Cook the tight end. Most recently with the Saints, he bounced around obviously Now with the Chargers, that seems like a nice landing spot. I mean he always he always puts up numbers and he always does one or two things that drives you crazy. Kyle Rudolph also to the diet. So I guess it's like sign your you know, next tier of tight end is day. That's where we're at,

and that is anything else anybody wants to add that? No, that is eight o'clock the light, everybody, Ricky tells me. Kyle Rudolph to giants, We just said that. We literally just said that it was the last item of eight o'clock the light. She now writes in the check client. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. The level of discourse in that room is just um, it's incredible. All right, Um, that's it for podcasts this week. We gave you a

four in four days. You could not be more prepared to have a water cooler chat if water coolers still exist, in the future. I don't know if they do. In a world post pandemic, will things like water coolers melt away. Let's save that for a little deeper in the off season. Okay, save it for the post pandemic podcast. Sounds like a

nice podcast. Uh. Tomorrow though, we continue with our content creation when the around the NFL broadcast rolls back onto NFL network air waves, and we'll have kind of a look back at the week that was, in addition to any late breaking news that occurs over the next twenty four hours. So make sure you check that outset your DVRs. And I do hear some rumbling, some potential uh talk about uh decision makers gathering, huddling discussing, how do we

get this program to our UK audience. Uh, just just percolations. There's an NFL UH sky Sports channel out there now, uh, and it just it feels like a marriage that needs to happen. Now it's all over your you know, potentially you get sky Sports, you could be all over Europe, you could be an Asia even we you know, let's get this thing worldwide. Let's get the Asian Yes, our goal. You know, we we are not a We're not tied down by a national boundary, and you know it's operated

in multiple countries. I wished yesterday, I wished our Irish listeners a happy St. Patrick's Day. Did it on Twitter as well. You know I have Irish heritage, so it's near and dear to my heart. And I uh was then told by someone on Twitter, and I'll accept it as fact. Come to Ireland. You will sell out any arena, so just keep that. Let's sell out slain Castle, let's go for let's go bigger. I don't know, but I

would love uh. I would love uh to see the Around the NFL podcast travel the world at a post pandemic scenario, so maybe that will happen. Get up there to the Emerald Aisle is one place. Let's get on at Burke if you made it this far, all right, good stuff, alright, Uh, thank you everybody again, uh for listening. We sincerely appreciate your support through the years. This Dan Hansas signing off for the Quiet Storm, the Old Boss Roricky Hollywood Kill Friday on the television Heat The call s