Hard Knocks, Cold Feet, & Playoff Predictions

But that's okay, a loss someone else out there. It's a reference to you the other day, Uh, sort of waiting to talk because you hadn't thought about what you're gonna It's it's got to the point where someone would reference something that happened, like on Monday Show. I don't remember five seconds of Monday Show. It's kind of like with a joke, if you have to explain the joke, the joke's already failed, if you'd explain the money drop. But that's sort of on us because it was a

recent You're right, we can us move past. Well, I got it. Delete the last West came up with an apparently, Dan, you did yell like Mark, I can't stop thinking about your slot and a lot of people were tweeting it and stuff, so I feel like they'll got it really at home. I don't blame you, lame, I'm sure I did say that. I say that a lot to Mark, both on Mike and off. All Right, here we go, Monday. We are, I believe, twenty nine days away from kickoff

of the regular season on this upcoming Monday. Or you know it's Wednesday? Right? Is today Wednesday? Yes, the whole I know you were in New York, but the whole world moved on. We had we had our Monday and Tuesday, but you were. I was, Yes, I was in New York. A great weekend with the family, went and so the Yankees. I got to see the Rolling Stones with my dad. Keith Hands is the biggest Stones fan alive, so that

was all special. And then my plane gets delayed, so I get back to l A at eleven PM and then straight into Hard Knocks duty is, which we're gonna get to later. The old Douser is not clocking in and opping into the second until about four m last night. A little It's good to always fly home and have a weekend that you could have had in nine six Yankees Baseball in the Rolling Stone. It was it was

a nice turn back of the or sixty six. Uh. Today's show, Yes, Hard Knocks premiered on Tuesday night, So UM I handled the right up over on the dot com and we're going to discuss what we took out of the first episode, which of course features the Oakland Raiders UM playoff predictions. It's always fun to UM take

a look at where everybody finished last year. Thirty two teams, six teams the n C six teams in the NFC six plus six is thirty two nice times ten teams in each So there's ten teams in each conference that don't make the playoffs of that group of is that right? Yes? I nailed it, but I wasn't like you say, show your work, like, don't don't your work? I got there though, didn't I. So there are ten teams from each conference

that did not make the postseason last year. We're each going to nominate a couple of teams from that group that will get into the dance of this January and yes, zero sum game, baby, So we gotta take some teams out that did make it last year of the twelve and those teams are shaking in their boots when they learned what we come up with here that hopefully they're aboard. They're very busy in training camps. You don't want to have that um, that voodoo on you, So stay away

from this. Clear this podcast. NFL teams, huh. Also coming up is the news, So let's get to it. Here's what we're hearing, presented by Sirius xm Ricky. Let's do it. You know the season, the season. Is there any Giants fans out there? Oh? The capacity crowd at MetLife Stadium? And Jagger? Who you know? Has Mick Jagger ever watched the NFL game? Yeah, your n I think he, well he hasn't he performed at the Super Bowl? Yes, he did the Super Bowl forty in Detroit. Maybe part of

that one, perhaps, I think he I even vaguely remember. Yeah, when they did the little press conference whatever, it was clear they were not you know, American Football kept the real stones. I thought it was Neil Reynolds for a second. It does have a bit of a Reynolds and vibe to it. Let's get to the news and yes, this is a story. Let's start here. When you when you go into the Hall of Fame, of weird sports industry injuries.

We have a new one, uh and it's submitted by Antonio Brown, the prized trade acquisition of the Raiders, who had a mysterious foot ailment to he's been dealing with for weeks now, and we didn't get really any true insight into how he injured the feed. I mean, obviously it's the off season. How would you have a foot injury that basically wipe you out a training camp? To this point, hoping to hear more on Hard Knocks last night.

You didn't get any more details from Hard Knocks, But there was a report that came out on NBC Sports Um on Tuesday that he was dealing with frostbite on his feet because he went into one of those cryo chamber things. Is that a cryo chamberry chamber, but wasn't wearing the right shoes, so it messed up his feet, leading to blistering and peeling and all that. And it was now so that was thrown out there Tuesday and then Wednesday confirmed by ESPN, confirmed by NFL Network that

that is indeed how Brown injured himself. And now now you could connect the dots, mark why John Bruden, we got the report a few days ago, was annoyed that he wouldn't he hasn't his star player on the field. This is an all timer. Oh yeah, I mean, and it keeps up a proud five thousand year tradition where the first case of frost bite was discovered, um and on the feet of a pre Columbian mummy in the

Chilean mountains. But I will say this because these athletes, they're doing all this stuff in the off season, and I wouldn't put a pass to have a cryo chamber in his own house. But I would just say, I would just say this if it's in a facility, the same way when you go to the dentist, and if if someone in a dental assistant, you know, took a moler out of your mouth by mistake without any warning.

You know, if if someone allowed him to go into this chamber with the wrong footwear, is that on Antonio Brown or someone else? I just don't have the facts, probably placing Europe well. And for that reason, he can be placed on the not football injury list, or the Raiders if they wanted to, could seek some money back. Because this is a non football injury. It happened in Europe, not playing foot but he already practiced, right, so so I mean he he went out there. It's frustrating and

we'll talk. Maybe we'll talk a B and hard knocks, but you could see how frustrating it is. And it kind of makes sense because once when he showed the maybe he wanted this to get out there. Because when he showed it, he showed the pictures of his feet

on Instagram. Many people's reactions were like those aren't blisters, Like I don't know what is happening there, but like that's not makes sense, Like yeah, you can see a guy who is famous essentially for his practice regimen is being you know, not able to do it, because that was it's the real thing. And they don't seem to know that he's out in there, like he's out in definitely they don't know. I would say, where are we now? So where today's Wednesday? You say, I'll take your word

for it August seven. I mean if if by the time we get to next week and he's still not practicing, that is to get legitimately nervous. So that's why you kind of hesitate. You want to you don't want to make too much light of it and have too much arong with But at the same time it's pretty funny. I mean, I mean it's it's like a guy that was trapped on Mount Everest for three months who was saved and rescued. That's what his feet would look like.

And if the pictures make a lot more sense. But frost plaite essentially destroys nerve endings and can lead to amputations in the most severe can it gets serious and it's a story, but you're right, then there would be something, you know, funny if like someone missed week four because of Gang Green, you know what, which is basically what's happening. It's a serious is happening. And yeah, it was like

a Foxhole injury. Then there were two. I was a little confused with how it was presented on Hard Knocks, but they at one point they show him working out with his personal trainer and he is moving around gingerly, and I wrote on NFL dot com it was kind of like a forty year old dad at like a flag football where he was all gimpy and trying trying to sprint, but you can tell his body is just not going along with him. Uh, maybe certain members of our softball time. That's how I feel. Run in the base.

Um uh. And then you should you saw him in camp for a practice, and I suppose I think he practiced, would practice for a thirty minute and he was lighting everyone like Antonio Brown. He looked good. It was amazing, and that's what everyone who watched the practice head was. He torched everyone in front of him. But he also lasted thirty minutes and then he had to stop, so he was probably playing through pain. What a mess. Hopefully it gets worked out soon. But I can understand why

John Gruden's pisted. I mean, come on, this is Antonio a bit much like you know the front office that invested millions of dollars, all right and other injury treatment news Bobby Wagner, he just got a three or fifty four million dollar extension from the Seahawks a couple of weeks ago. Well, he's out indefinitely following platelet rich plasma injection. Uh. Pete Carroll, the Seahawks coach, didn't really delve into it with the public, just saying that there was a quote

little procedure done on Wagner's lower body. Um. The news Tribune reported that Wagner should be ready for Week one. But this is not exactly the type of thing West that you like to hear. He's twenty nine year old linebacker, a superstar. You just gave him all the money in the world, and he's getting these injections. Usually not a good thing. But I know, in the modern medicine realm of professional sports, maybe this is just routine maintenance. At

this point, it's beyond my reach. But still, you'd rather not hear about this. You rather not be reading about Bobby Wagner getting uh platelet rich plasma injections. That is ailing me well, especially in relation to this Seahawks roster where the first round pick L. J. Collier has a rare ankle sprain and now they're saying it may not be as bad as they first thought. Um K J. Wright coming off his worst season in which he was

plagued by knee injuries throughout. Geron Red suspended six game, Frank Clark gone, h Bradley McDougald, the best player in their secondary coming off knee surgery. This office as in practiced, It's there's a lot of question marks for the Seahawks, and I think if if you want to look on the bright side, as far as Wagner goes, d Ford from the forty nine ers, I believe just had a similar procedure and they only have him being out two weeks.

So I'm sure every player is different in every case is different, but this doesn't sound like something that will haunt him going into the regular And they also said he's had it before. So I like it when we have a new procedures just added to the mix and we're expected to just know what that means, because suddenly platelet rich plasma surgery or injection is everywhere. Like everyone's just getting the plate but like, like we have any idea what that spinning theo's let's put those in those

frost bitten feet. But now it's like going to the dentist. It's just like, oh, yeah, I'm getting a PRP. Yeah what you said earlier. But we don't know. I don't know. Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's everything. I don't know. I'd be a little concerned if, especially in the D FOURD case, just because he's had so many knee injuries, we need like a medical attachee that we can just reach out too. Quickly on the phone for these types of things. Dr David cho we need a chow, We need a chaw.

It's like a chowdown chown and get him on the phone. It's got to be an auxiliary individual to chow chill. It has to he has to have the last named Chow because there's just so much to go with him. And you can find a few chows. Yeah, the Wednesday Night chow Down with David Chow get him on the horn. What was that was nineties six? Every person in Kentucky, Northern Kentucky had a dog that was a chow. They all had the same chow and they were all named Bear,

every single one of them. Why why, I don't know. That was like the dog of choice for this area of the country. And they were all named the named Bear because they're the kind of like have that furrow around their heads and stuff and hunched shoulders. That's a Kentucky type talk. They sort of surprises me that that would be the dog you'd find Kentucky. And I'm not talking about like the bluegrass part where you might find hound dogs. This is closer to the city, like closer

to Cincinnati. Very she she Kentucky elite. I would call him ghettos. Okay, I'm more confused. More injury news this out of Cowboys camp. Jane Slater reports defensive ed Robert Quinn fractured his hand during a proxy practice in ox Nerd. Uh and is ox nerd? Yes? I like ox nerd ox NERD. I'm sure there's some locals that do that, like a nerdy ox el segundo el sagundo type vibe. Anyway, broke his hand in Oxnard, California, heading back to Dallas

to have surgery. Another twenty nine year old that is a key role in a key member of this defense. They expect him to be ready for Week one against the Giants. Uh. That from Steven Jones, the team's executive vice president. But greg again, there used to be this line that used to drive Yankees fans crazy. Joe Girardi, their longtime manager. Anytime you asked him a question that was something negative about the team, he would always start

the answer the same way, well, it's not what you want. Well, in this case, it's not what you want, and it drove everybody crazy. No, and another thing everyone says at this time of year that drives me a little crazy is they're they're all expected to be ready week one. News flash, They're not all gonna be ready. They're not all gonna be ready to play a full compliment of snaps. Robert Quinn has been injured a lot over the years. Here here are the key Cowboys who may not practice

for the entire month of August. De Marcus Lawrence coming off surgery, Robert Quinn coming off surgery. No one has any idea when Tyrone Crawford, who is also starting on their defensive lines. That's three of the four. Byron Jones, by far their best cornerback a year ago, coming off surgery. Ezekiel Elliott, we don't know where he is. Like, that's a lot of key starting players on the Cowboys. It might be uh to the Giants favor playing them in

Week one. I don't know if they're really lit up West as Cowboys and legal many too many players with what receivers. I don't know, Eli running for maybe seventy yards. I'm just saying, if I'm a Giants fan, that's the week. If you're gonna have to play in Dallas, that might be the week to do it. I would think that the Cowboys look at it the same way God week got the Giants Week one with all these that's fair and one just moving off the Giants. Can someone in

America stop acting like the Giants? They're always bad and everyone thinks they're gonna be good. Are you gonna make me root for the Giants? Just going into on the one of my rules that I never want to see happen. I don't want anybody on my offensive line or my defensive line to have the club. And Quinn's gonna get

the club. He's gonna have the big old club, so I and you're gonna hear Collins wo explained, Well, you know, he's been working with the club a lot and it does limited in some ways, but he's doing his best and it's just like, no, get him out of the club. Uh. Another Cowboys news, they're still trying to get contracts done with a variety of big name stars Greg names, some of them NFL Networks. Jane Slater once again she's nailing

to keep. Friend of the Pod reported Tuesday that the Cowboys have quote generous offers on the table for quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver and Marie Cooper and running back Ezekiel Elliott. That would put each one in the top five at their position. What do they have like quadruple the cap space of any team in the league. Just

make everyone a top five star and pay anyway. Slater adds of the Cowboys are ready and willing to get deals done, but if both sides can't agree on numbers that make more sense, They're prepared to play this season with each player on a prove it deal. And finally, West over the weekend, um Jerry Jones confidently said quote, it'll happen when asked about the trio's contract situations, noting that the Cowboys are in too good a place not

to resolve the situations. What generous is in the eye of the beholder, right, If they were generous enough, they'd be signed on the Dottom line by now. So obviously the players didn't think they were that generous. And I think when the Cowboys, this is unique Deak Prescott probably wants to be paid more than a smart team would pay Dak Prescott. Zeke Elliott has what two more years on his contract, and especially unique kid, and I'm already Cooper.

I mean, he thinks he's arguing from a position of strength because he's saved the Cowboys season last year, but he's not a top twenty wide receiver. I was, well, but I think I think Dac and Cooper. I mean, look, they're at practice. They don't seem that Cooper especially doesn't seem worried about at all. And I think if I could, I would, well, I can't put money on it. We

work for the I would. I'm gonna predict Dak Prescott has a contract before a week one and it wouldn't surprise me if and if I had to, I would predict Cooper has one. You know, before week ten. You know that he has one. Zeke seems like the one that I don't know who knows. I mean, you look at these three guys the way Jane reported it that the generous offers would put each one on the top five of their positions. We don't really know what that means.

It's too vague to dig in, but let's just say it's not a surprise because you have to pay them that much to get anyone to sign these days. Everyone I got you. But like if it truly is when you factor in the guaranteed money, and that's the most important thing. A top five. I would say, if you're a Marii Cooper, Dak Prescott, you take that money those guys. You know, that's good money for guys that I'm kind of on western side with where Cooper is that player.

Prescott is on the right side of the Dalton scale, and I don't know if he's ever really go too much further than that. Maybe he gets better as the ages. Zeke is a top three, top two, maybe the best running back. He's the guy it's different than those two guys. I mean, do you feel like it this? You know, for the amount of time we have to spend covering every nook and cranny of the league, that the only thing that could possibly be more annoying than one touchy

contract situation in Dallas is three contracts situations. I mean, I would just simply like some of these to get resolved, to take them off our But Jones also said that I'm sure this is gonna get resolved because it's good for everyone. It's good for them, it's good and I agree with that. The Zeke one is I think different, but the other two is gonna happen. Let's roll through a holdout conversation Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans. He's been staying away from camp as he you know, he

wants to get that big contract. He hasn't gotten it. The Texans placed the franchise tag on Clowney the soft seasons. Um he expects to report this from rap sheet that he will report after the team's third preseason game against the Cowboys in August, which of course is also the last game unless you're Bill Belichick that you play your starters typically. Um So Clowney sitting out training camp, sitting out preseason, assumingly taking care of himself and will be

ready to roll week one. Nobody panic in Houston. Have a contract year. I mean, if he has a huge year and finishes it off the way he did last year, really the last couple of years, he tends to close very strong. I mean, he is gonna get an incredible amount of money. He is ranked fourth in my top two nineteen free agents list coming out Thursday. They said it was too earlier. It's it doesn't matter and put it out anyway. What I mean other sports you talked

about free agency like a year in advance. Why, Hey, here are the guys that you're kind of kind of be like watching Chris Jones is in there. Uh you know, Doc for now, think about it when you think about the football gagna Centi Cooper. As we know it, everyone has their writer reporter who handles certain types of articles. Okay, so let's say ESPN has Bill Barnwell, I think he'll be agitated at this, CBS has so and so has so and so, NFL dot Com. Greg's our guy. So

Greg is in competition with all those other dudes. So if you get it out, if you don't get it out first, you get it out last. That's what I mean. I think barn will be We're giving him this the first time. But I love going to see and go that I should have done. He's gonna sit MS. Did you know that? It's more that I've known. Like other sports, they're talking free agency all year round in the NBA. I know it's not it's good in the NFL. But by the way, I what, trying to do your job

well does not mean cunning. I asked, I asked, your boy moved the sticks to rank because I was seeing if he would agree with Chris Jones, Clowney and Lenny Williams one to three. What do you think you would do? Clowney and Leonard Williams? What does cunning mean? Cunning? No, you guys are right. It's having our showing skill and achieving ones ends by deceit ornivation just makes you think of like a villain. Basic. Yeah. I thought Semakia Vellion

I knew was a negative thing. I thought. I thought cunning was just more like sharp of mind and kind of creating some content that people want. Why not picture? I would like that? What's the bad guys on our I t videos? Those are? Yes? Um? Anyway, check that out that piece by Greg. What were you saying the three guys matter? Leonard Williams, Chris Jones and Jadevion Clowney. What about those are the three guys? Yes? Yes? Oh? I had had dj Rank and I was curious he

think he went in that? Or Jones? Clowney? Lenny? Yeah, Lenny is an interesting guy, he is. I think, by the way, I think Clowney is in kind of a similar boat to Joey Flacco years ago, where the Ravens probably could have gotten a deal done would have been expensive but not exorbitant, and they decided to wait it out. They got banged. Wonder what happens with Houston here? Well, what would have Nick have done here? Nicks? Yeah, I

mean I think he might have. He might have sealed this thing up if they had gotten the right GM in there. You know, I think Clowney will be playing elsewhere next year. I have a head coach, Plane Gea. He's trying to do the Belichick things. That's right. Finally in the news, mark your boys. The Browns ain't no leagues to be found here. It's a new Arab Brownies football. Uh. A little saga that broke out on Monday during the

Brown's press conference with Freddie Kitchens. First of all, Bob Wiley, who we all remember from Hard Knocks the earthtwhile offensive line coach big old belly, big old mustache drove a Lamborghini. Wild situation. Um, he kind of he kind of can't went on the radio and got after the Browns a little bit. Obviously, he's upset that he was let go and he found out that he was fired. He said when he was in the hospital after some surgeries to his lower body, um and maybe some plate platelet rich

plasma injections. I don't know, but um, Wiley basically goes out and says, Freddy Kitchens is the coach. Come on, he only got that job because he's Mayfield's boy, And that led to Freddie Kitchens addressing it, saying, you know, Bob knows what Bob knows about, how why he's not here anymore and that. But I also, while I'm here, I would like to make some statements about the ship here in Cleveland in twenty nine. You know, the days of inside information and the days of of unnamed horses

and stuff like that have ended. So you're not gonna get any information like that ever anybody. And if I ever see it, they're fired immediately. That's the way we're minding this organization. And I can take it. John Dorsey can take it. We won't crack, I'll promise you. M Why how do you think he got there from? Did you think the reason he chose not to bring Wildly back is because he thought he was a rat? Well he made one good point, all rats off the ship.

Well he's a huge, huge Jackson guy Wiley right, And Wiley, like I guess, had gone on and on about the fact that he wanted to retire, and he wasn't actually under contract with the Browns. So it's like, is that the guy you want to bring back as your dude? I mean, I think there's that. It's something like there was some bitterness. I thought it was interesting that he named Kenzie MPAs as the architect behind the late season offense, not Freddy Kitchens. It seemed a little bitter. But you know,

I don't know. Kitchens hasn't been in Cleveland for a long time, but there has been a ten plus year, much more act twenty year history of really damaging leaks in that building, coming from multiple regimes. It seemed like no matter what happened, regime at the regime was taken out by really I think he was leaking stuff. We all know that. But to me, I love this. The

thing is, it's here's the problem. Say, maybe so if you say you're gonna fire someone, something's going to come up, and then at what that point you're you know, you have you're gonna have to put a man on the case. We might get Frank Signetti on the Brown's payroll if you're gonna have to handle some of these cases. If this, if someone leaks something, but if we ever see it there fired immediately. What if Baker gets frustrated and says something to your girl, Mary Kay Cabot. There are there

are levels of you know who said what? So the most the most I think Freddie was understandably just annoyed at this guy because he took some pretty direct shots. And then the most I think direct was that Dorsey wanted Freddie Kitchens because he wanted a head coach he

could control. That was basically what he said. That Dorsey did not want a guy that he had to go head to head with like he did with Andy Reid in Kansas City and lose out on uh And he kind of has that in Freddie Kitchens, but it doesn't I don't necessarily think that's that bad of a thing. But if I was Freddie Kitchens, that annoys you. Of course you're going to be annoyed by that. The way the rhetoric from Bob Wiley as if that was the only reason that you wouldn't hire Greg Williams because you

wanted to control you. Greg Williams comes with many reasons not to hire I don't Freddie doesn't strike me as a guy like a puppet that you can pull the strings on. Too easily. Uh, that's what's happening in the news. Four men on a searching, each man different, living his own way, searching, discovering Numeral you know the new thing in Cologne's men. In all the world, there are only

four basic masculine cents. Here's the best of each. Numeral Luno Gold, Numeral Luno Green, Numeral Uno Red, numeral Lunos silver, four numeral Uno, Cologne's small different, all wild. Find yours with the searcher a jigger of each sent then get a full sized bottle of the one that makes it for you. All right, let's get to it. Hard Knocks is back. The acclaimed venerable cutting HBO hockey series return for a fourteen season on Tuesday, the subject, of course,

the Oakland Raiders, and yes, for eighth year. These zoos are writing up episode recaps on NFL dot com. Where have the years gone? And getting better? I might they are They have gotten better and better organized, but the writing itself has gotten like you're bringing it up a level. You have a historical grasp of the subject, some histories, so it kind of pours out of you when you tracked the show this close over the years, Um and this was always once it was announced, once it was rumored,

it was always going to be about John Gruden. And there were other players and we'll get to it that jumped out and coaches perhaps, But the episode opens, the first thing you hear from is John Gruden on the field and um, and that was kind of I think what the table setting was in episode one, that this is, this is what the John Gruden experience is in Oakland's here a little bit from the second year coach, and there was a saying around here once a raider always

we are gonna be physical. Most importantly, we're gonna be smart, and we're gonna be relentless. You can lead the league in effort because it takes no talent. It's just a decision that you make. We have a chance to be one hell of a big story this year. Man. If we put our heart and soul into this football team, we want to win, and we want to win. Now knock on what if you're with me, Okay, we should

start doing that. By the way, whenever we're having if we're having a show meeting and like so we're all agreement on that, go and we all knocked the table together that feels like a good move. Um, so West, I'll start here with this episode. First of all, I don't think for the hype building up, I don't think it was one of the all time Hard Knocks episodes. I thought the premier last year, for instance, with the Browns, was much more interesting. I don't think this was a

dud by any stretch. But I think that the um that you want to come out of each episode, Like last year, it was a home run because you had all that palace intrigue involving Todd Halley and Hugh Jackson and Freddie Kitchens, who people forget was also in that argument about guys sitting out practice US and that was

such cat nip for HBO films. And of course the audience nothing quite that good in this premiere, but I did get me thinking as I'm watching and how John Gruden, even though he did the cliche trope thing as the head coach leading up to the show's premiere where he said, uh, we don't you know, I don't need to be on Hard Knocks John Gruden, this is a good, good platform for a guy who and this this room right here

is a good microcosm of that um because Scott. I know, Mark, you've been outspoken on this, but you're far from alone. The idea that why should you believe in John Gruden is a head coach in twenty nineteen and and he is in the midst of a tear down and rebuild, and it's gonna take years to show whether or not he's somebody who should have your respect as a head coach in the modern NFL landscape. But for now, a show like this can show what John Gruden really does

behind the scenes. And I think to me the first episode he came off well. He didn't come off as a relic to me um so that that was one takeaway to me that he seemed like he was control of the ship. He didn't feel like an ancient guy trying to push his old teachings onto a new generation. But it is important to know Wes and remember how long it's been since Gruden was relevant as a coach two thousand seven as the last time he took a team to the playoffs, which is forever ago in any measure,

but especially in the NFL. What were your takeaways on Gruden an episode one. I think as far as Gruden goes, I think what you say is true. Maybe to most people he came off well, I think I've reached my saturation point with John Gruden, and to me, he always comes off as a relentless hype man, salesman. Carnival Barker, I just don't believe anything he says. Well, he's he's

great at a party, like that's what I think. You know, they had that little get together at the end where what was it season ticket holders or I think, and I was just thinking, like John Gruden would be a

great guy to have a party. I think it'd be a great guy to have on your Monday night football work at him, like he's just great at smoothing and dealing with people and he has a little bit of a salesman too, and so whether that helps, yeah, he's absolutely Whether that helps as a head coach, I don't know, Like you know this this speeches and the knocking and the always the raider, it's like, you know, you can see if you're a veteran that's been there for a while,

that stuff's only gonna work for so long. Like I'd love to have an analytics you know, uh, study how much speeches help, Like our speech is going away and post analytics world, because my analytics say you can make no speeches, and it probably wouldn't make any different. That said, because I already came in with fearing this, but I enjoyed him by the way. I love. Yeah, I keep in fearing this this edition of Hard Knocks for a

couple of reasons. And I would say I would have put Gruden and Antonio Brown at the top of the list, and I put them both in my winner's column personally because the way they directed the episode, which wasn't a total banger but I thought it would. They shied away from total tropes and some of the stuff that I saw with the Rams season that with eight minutes in, I was done with that one. I thought they did.

They understated some things and grud into me. I think, I agree with you West that all that stuff I feel too. But I kind of came away liking him and thought that he did himself a service and the Raiders overall. I mean, I thought, when we see Mark Davis, who knows what's going to happen there, everyone kind of was less was a little bit less annoying to me, and more watchable than I thought they would be. Um Ricky, what are your thoughts about speeches and hype speeches? I

think they're really important. And Greg, that was a really dumb comment. Wow, analytics clients. I wanted to give her the platform. I just feel like you're like analytic show that speeches don't make a difference, like when you're okay. I just mean, like all these shows, there's speeches all day, every day, and it seems like for grown man that a Bill Belichick agrees with me, like he doesn't make any Yes he does, but you pick and choose. You're

still dealing with emotional human beings. Here. Here's the parade that's they're organizing Aroundy ahead of their Super Bowl win. I mean that's the same stuff. It would mean. Like the the amount of it in the NFL. I think it's probably is a little much, but you have to to get it to get people together, to get them believing. I think it's really important. I think that's the difference is these are NFL players. This is in college like young kids. These guys are as motivated and as professional

for the most part. The ones that succeed as Jon Gruden, like he's got a young roster and you could tell that there are a lot of kids, obviously the three first round picks UM and they I don't know, you you can't tell just from watching a reality show, but it did seem like they he had, you know, and I hope he head coach would, But they're full at tension. Their full tension was on Gruden. They seem they seemed

to be buying in. And one thing I like you were talking about Mark about how once you watch season after season of Hard Knocks, sometimes you see kind of a Hard Knocks trope coming. And that's why I did like the scene because I don't track some of these bottoms the roster guys. Even if p f T does a news item on it, I'll typically miss it. So I didn't know anything about Ronald Ali. I didn't even watch Last Chance You, so I was not plugged in

on this at all. But Ronald Olly was a undrafted free agent who appeared on Last Chance You, which is that Netflix show, Greg that I know you're a big fan of Um and when he shows up in the beginning of this episode, you're thinking to yourself, Uh, if you're not tracking the raider's day to day. Oh, this is obviously a five episode arc. About Ali who who survived community college football. Now he's gonna make it all

the way to the end of cuts. Well, no, he kind of shows himself to be a little lethargic or not quite all the way in he pulls himself out of a practice miss is a training um training session, and Gruden says, get out of here, and just like that. As a Hard Knocks fan, that was a little jarring.

It's like when Samuel Jackson got eaten by the shark and Deep bluecy you know, you know seen obviously um or when while driving country this shocking movie doesth that was kind of a shocking Hard Knocks debt, So I did kind of like that. Although I feel bad for the young man from the Mississippi state, there's a lot of like, you know, this is the NFL. This is how the end. I mean, if that wasn't an NFL moment, I don't know what is Like it's incredible kind of

how sad it is, how long his journey was. This is a guy who watched his that his parents were murdered when they were both of them were murdered when he was five years old, and he had his issues in terms of like working hard and good, but very like really likable guy that you know, beat the odds, his first person in his family to ever go to any college, much less you know, community college. And then he gets through that barely, but he kind of excels.

And then he goes to like a low D one school and does well enough to get this one chance, and it's like over like and it's a reminder. I think the biggest difference I think between the NFL and those low d ones is like practice. You know, like practice is so professional. I think if you're coming from I forget where he played, it's like you better be

ready to to practice like a professional immediately. Or that's it, Like that might like that whole process of he had literally hundreds of people helping him along the way to get to that one point, and it might be over at the bottom of the NFL roster. It's so it's such a thin raise it thin line margin of error. You could tell the way it was being presented that he wasn't quite all the way there mentally, and that's it.

You're done. Once you're in that place and you're not realizing there's no you can pull yourself out of a practice with a sore achilles, but you cannot if you're on the edge of a roster then miss a training session. You're just asking to be sent home. And that's what happened this scene and some of the scenes from All or Nothing take me back to remember when we had Kara sneed On and she had that Iceberg example. The

stuff happens eat the surface. We watch on Twitter and we watch games, and we see the stats and we see the play, but we don't get to see the

personalities that much or what's behind the scenes. And when you watch some of this stuff on the reality TV you see how some players might get a reputation for being a little bit softer than other players, Why some players get cut, why some players aren't playing as much because maybe they don't try as hard and practice as other players do, and that gets them in the doghouse.

And then there was a great comment inside the show by one assistant to another saying how tough it is to coach players that aren't driven the way that Greg mentioned that Brenton Buckner, for the people that got into NFL Network in the early days, was one of the most enjoyable parts of the NFL Network. He was like a players correspondent and then sort of was an analyst, and like the networks a lot more serious, takes itself

a little more seriously than it did. Probably they just let Brenton Buckner kind of have them to lay the land in two thousand and six, and he was He was awesome. You know how Sam Farmer just got into the Hall of Fame Journalism wing for his coverage of Los Angeles and the scene. Yeah, that's a big achievement by Mr Farmer. That's that's your ticket to Canton in terms of your knowledge of NFL network history, especially the early days, the wild wild West days, which no one

has as plugged in as you are, Greg. I mean you referenced it many times on the show, like you know NFL network better than anyone else. Well, I watched the most I ever watched it was the first four years it was on because I'm just stuck in a in a you know, apartment in New York City hoping they have some news on for me. Uh. A couple of thoughts we hit on Antonio Brown. He was obviously a big part. I was so fearing the hot air balloon scene. I thought, that's the kind of thing. I

can't say. I thought that the way that they shot it, I want to get on the hot air balloon. I don't want to be Dante Stalworth and crash into a telephone pole in Miami. But like, I thought that the way they shot it like subverted what I thought it would look like it was. He was less annoying. The whole thing was just relaxing. Was like Antonio. I hope they don't have a random test when he gets off the off the balloon out of the basket. I have one of those tests. Probably. Well, he may seems to

be very relaxed, very relaxed. I noticed that his comment about the basketballs they all follow out right, that that's not getting as much traction as Jared Goff's sunrise sunset thing east And how long would it take to put two seventy five thousand basketball is in a balloon anyway? Um Jonathan Abram, one of the first round picks, the safety he stood out. He seemed to really like the camera. You could either think that's fun or that could get on your radar. I can see where you are on

that mark. I just I get I get think that like if you looked at the reaction to there was there were probably two camps like he's the breakout star. I don't know star means likable, because I I thought that he was. And I'm not trying to be an old idiot about this. And there was a little disrespectful to Grood and saying you can't cut me, you know,

no matter what I do. There was a twinkle in his eye at he created an awkward situation with Derek Carr at the dinner where like, this guy's taking everyone else. It just runned me a little bit the wrong way. And I thought on NFL Network today Steve Smith felt the same way and called him out about hitting people in a pathless practice, and you know, and Abram turned around or he he basically turned around and said challenge Steve Smith, like you'd be scared of me if I

did that to you. And it's like Steve Smith was like, no, I wouldn't. Like. I mean, at some point settled down just a bit. But one of the subplots is like

how the cameras change things. I mean, someone a Raiders reporter who's been watching all this says he thinks he just thinks people are ten to fiftcent more on guard or a little different when when the cameras are around, like of course, like the cameras kind of changed the alchemy of everything, Like I think of that with the Gruden's that like all of it, but that's that's part

of it. It's fun. And my final thought was Derek Carr, who's friend of the show Future m v P obviously UM famously came on the show and unblocked Greg and I from Twitter, has a bit of a reputation as being a sensitive fellow UM and such a nice guy, like one of those guys that's almost like you're almost put off by it. I don't know. Maybe that's like the New Yorker and me that I'm a little weirded out when someone's too nice. Will does the John Gruden

Derek Carr, Is that a match of personality match? I still I still have my questions, even growing at the end of the episode, he's like telling him to be mean, tell you know, He's like he said, like, you know, we gotta get you angry or something. I don't think it's in Derek Carr's nature. That to me remains when you look at for me, the Raiders in twenty nineteen, and beyond that marriage just seems like maybe a mismatch

of personality. Wise doesn't mean he can't succeed car going forward and get back to his two thousand fifteen ways. But is that a long term marriage. I don't know. I think Derek Carr there's skepticism surrounding him, not just what the coaches, but with other players. And to me, the scene with Abs Kid where he said where's Roethlisberger? I just wrote down. I hope that's not the theme of the Raiders season. H yeah, um, there you go. So check it out NFL dot com slash handsas every Tuesday,

we'll have recaps up on the site. And by the way, the intro is unbelievable with the well the autumn win, Like where else are you seeing poetry on HBO just you know, read for like a minute, which they also did in the middle of it. It's cool. I I kind of like the way. I mean, there's very little about any other team or any other sport that has

the tradition of the Raiders. Like I'm still into the Raiders being the Raiders, that they have the Cliff Branch jersey, that Mark Davis and Al Davis like I don't know. There is something special about the right. I like that they really played to that history. There's only a few of those franchises, and it's it's cool to see that. The facenda remix of the Hard Knocks theme was unbelievable. Um, all right, finally, let's do it. Let's have a little fun.

We haven't done this. We usually do this, like during the quieter times. I'll be kind of we held off this year. Um, when we make those fun old playoff predictions, and what do you do? All right, I explained to the time. I'm not doing the math again. I'm not doing it again. I got it right. What are the chances I get it right twice? Not high? Let's stay

out of it anyway. I reached out to research. Okay, I reached out to NFL research before the show, and uh new playoff teams by season okay, dating back to two thousand, fourteen five and fourteen four and fifteen six and sixteen eighteen seven, and so twelve teams to make the playoffs. You do the math, it's it's the turnover is over fifty on average, and look at the worst of first Then when you go teams that finished the previous season in fourth place, they go all the way

back to first place. It happens every year, and usually multiple times. The Redskins did it in twenty fifteen four and twelve to nine and seven. The Cowboys in sixteen went four and twelve to thirteen and three, the Jags three and thirteen to ten and six, and twenty seventeen, the Eagles seven to nine to thirteen and three in the Super Bowl. The Bears last year and the Texans last year both went worst to first five and eleven to twelve and four four to twelve and eleven and five, respectively.

So there you go, that's gonna happen again. History is instructive, as Chris Westling famously says, thanks to um so, I say that to set the primer that we're probably gonna be right with some of these predictions. So let's give it a whirl. I'll tell you how I did it. By the way, I looked at the ten teams from each conference, and I put stars next to three, and then I ranked them one to three most likely to

do it. And then I did the same thing the opposite way in terms of the teams that made it most likely to fall out, very scientific, very scientific, and look at the research I did. I went through l a researchers one just an amazing crew here at NFL Media, we would not be um the giant that we are without the research team. Mark get us going. Let's start with you, and please do not be bashful. You know, don't leave a certain team out that plays in the

Midwest just because just because well I'm not. I am going to the Midwest, but it's not where you think potentially. I have had my suspicions about the Chicago Bears. You feel like everything last year it was a great story. I like the organization, awesome fan base. So let's leave all that by the side of the road. Twelve and four last year in a division where I think the Vikings were still figuring themselves out. A lot went wrong

with the Packers. Last year was sort of a meltdown Organizationally, they are reborn green Bay and I'm not a huge green Bay supporter. But if we're going to wait a second, I don't want to send my time out, but that I'm coaching the game, I'll call time out. You're not buying that you've been you don't buy that I here here's the thing. I don't buy them as automatic Super Bowl contenders, but this division, to me is totally wide open, and I think you've got you've got. You still have

Aaron Rodgers at the peak of his career. I think for all this business about can Aaron Rodgers and Matt Laflour get through their how the pre snap adjustments work in all this business? Don't care. I think they've reloaded on defense. I like the upgrade from Dom Capers to Mike Patton. Always have your instincts on the Packers, it

should be pointing out, have been pretty darn good. I didn't like him at all last year, and I'm not saying I'm signing up signing then we talked about I'm not saying I don't like them, but part of it is like, I don't think that there's some sort of roving trash bag there. There's talent on it's a barrassing.

I think the Bears, the Bears last year, are these teams where you are getting American You're getting you're getting turnovers every single week, You're getting key touchdowns off of turnovers. You're winning games with those defensive touchdowns by three or

four points. And you're hearing reports of Mr Drabinsky, and I listen, I wish him well, but that he's already been very inconsistent in an offense that I thought schemed around the quarterback as well as you could possibly ask in the NFL, and you're asking him to make a big league, big leap. If that defense doesn't come in under a new coordinator and double down on what they

did last year. I just think the door is open for and I think we're gonna see it right in Week one, that there's gonna be a little bit of a snake bit feeling to the to the Chicago Bears this year. It's not gonna go just like last year

and Green Bay everything went wrong last year. If even five things that went wrong don't go wrong this year, and let's start with Daron Rodgers plan all every game, then I I would be I would be absolutely fine with a totally healthy, from wire to wire Aaron Rodgers, a rebuilt defense um without Don Caper's falling to sleep up in the booth went and key situation, and an offensive group that I believe in just enough to win the division or at least not take that playoff spot

away from Chicago. Okay, so you're doing the one for one, you're pass Bears out and Capers. You know, you know rest in peace. That was not their coordinator last I know he wasn't, but but Mike Patton was not the major issues I'm this Monday show. But um, all right, let me jump in here and say I'm with you. I was surprised because I knew you weren't a big Packers guy of late, because I also think the Bears.

I am an objective journalist. No offense to the Bears, but all the things you just said I agree with. So I had them number one on my list to fall out. And it's not all because I think the Bears are gonna collapse, but because that division it's I think year to year it's just chaotic. But I have the Vikings as that team that come in and go and get the Bears and kind of take back the North after Um, what was a disappointing season. I've talked about it last week's show. I don't need to go

down that road again. Why I think the Vikings will be better, but they're my pick and I had the Packers too, So I do think we're going to see a shake up in that NFC North, and it's gonna be very difficult for the Bears UH to repeat what they did last year. Now, West, you like Trabisky, I think a little bit more. Mitt Robisky could get better, and he was just in his second year, right. I am wholly unconcerned about any training camp practice reports about

Mitchell Drobisky. That doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. What I do like is that Matt. There are only I don't know less than fewer than ten coaches in the NFL who are great at getting UH playmakers the ball in space, and Matt Naggi is one of them. He did it with three Cohen last year. Now he has Cordarrel Patterson, he's got David Montgomery, he's got Mike Davis. He's got a lot more players to get the ball in their hands. I I think that offense takes a

step forward. The defense they're too talented to me to fall apart unless there's injuries. But I do expect major regression, as Mark Mark pointed out, I don't expect the twelve and fourteen and they were incredibly healthy last year, especially on defense. Mac missed about a quarter of the or at least wasn't mac for about a quarter of the year that but other than that they were very healthy. Yeah, I think to me, the best argument against the Bears is just I think the NFC has so many good

teams that you shake it all up. You just look at ten eleven teams, where four to five of them are going to be left out of the playoffs, and they're pants. Their fans are gonna be pissed, Like there's expectations they're pretty high for about eleven teams that that where if they don't make the playoffs, people are going to be mad. And the Bears to me, are in the toughest division, in the toughest conference, UM West. Why

don't you, why don't you give us um your pick? Well, there was out of all the playoff teams, there was one team that stuck out like a sore thumb to me as the obvious choice, and it's the Houston Texans. They according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football, they faced only two quarterbacks last year finished above average and success rate. They played the easiest schedule of quarterbacks in the last or plus years. They face nine backups or rookies at quarterback,

and they had the NFL's easiest overall schedule. This year, they're projected to have the hardest schedule in the NFL. They're facing Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan Um and they're the only one of these playoff teams with two major glaring

weak spots, the offensive line in the secondary. That secondary a little bit was covered up by the fact that they faced so many bad quarterbacks last year, but they weren't good last year and I think they got worse this offseason. Um and those two glaring week spots they have are the two week spots that are hardest to fill by rookies. You put an offensive lineman rookie in a cornerback rookie, they're usually gonna struggle into first year's

I just see this as a threadbare roster. They have some stars that can elevate the team and that's how they win games. But I don't see this as a as a playoff team. Cleveland Browns. There it is. Somebody had to say it. I was hoping Mark would, I mean, on my paper, I have something very similar exactly that. It's just that it feels so obvious for me to go there, and I'm a little I'm trying to simmer down on the moment. There's already this Brown's exhaustion that

I feel nationally, which is tedious to me. So I'm trying to you know, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. Is some sort of zeal lout? Is that that's pronounced I pronounced it zeal lot. Everyone else pronounced this where it's completely on the show, so nerd. Also, Matt Khalil, I can't believe that A He's there left at off. I can't believe that a super more hopeful is what you Texans think they are, is entering a season with him as there. By the way, I don't know who

the d M is. I guess it's Bill O'Brien. Go call the Redskins. I mean, not officially, but yeah it is. It is. Trent Williams is there to be had. And if you fancy in cap room and Clowney's out there unsigned and use that cap room, use the room, get cap room, give up. I don't know what was it gonna cast your second round? Pick maybe a third, maybe a third and a fourth or something. Do it because you can't leave Watson. This guy has got absolutely destroyed.

Especially last year. You like set records in the Beast sex taken since two thousand six, and the hits were off their charts to yes, and here's another week spot. If you take out Deshaun Watson's runs, the Texans would have finished dead last in rushing d v o A for a football outsider and they're they're one injury away in the backfield of having literally nothing. And yet if you're a Texans I agree with you. By the way, they would have been very close to the top of

my list of the teams that fall off. But if you're Texans fans, you can't make an argument like the receiver group. If if Kiki qt and right and u Will Fuller's healthy, like that's the best receiver group they've ever had. You have Watson, you have what fully healthy coming into a season and I want to be a billionaire. There's there's recipes then it was last time. You still agree with you because that division another division where I think there's no easy games in that division, and you

could see them going two and four. We were we were killing Houston's floor last last off season two and it's not the same. It's it's gotten worse in some areas. But that was the concern. They could they could be a playoff team where they could be four and twelve. They were twelve and four last year. If you guys make good points by the way, I but you know, every once in a while on the show, you gotta just go sit on a mountain, get your sword and

shield out and just fight up there. So I'm just gonna stay on Texans mountain, and you guys, even the Texans guys interesting stands from you. You got like the catapult thing with the rock on it. Like you guys, you got the fire. You've been right more than not. Bill O'Brien's had a winning thing in the playoffs every year that his quarterback didn't get hurt. This also stems been a great team. But this stems from a Dan.

I believe it was an article or that you wrote where Houston Talk Radio was tracking you down because you destroyed the Texans and like they were, the whole city was after you. You know, the way that Bill O'Brien found in the worst division in football, that's the way. This is what I'm talking about. Because he's not that great of a coach. Twaite A second, he beat out your colts for the division title last year and then got smoked sixteen games. They were the better team. No,

I don't think so. All right, I'll throw another one out there. By the one thing I I was looking at football UM outsiders or the Almanac look at you and yeah, see preparation for a show. Everybody should look into it. You know, they're not as bullish on the Browns. I was surprised they see them and their projections. Greg and I were talking about they have them. Uh usually they're a little modest with they're not gonna You're not gonna see a lot of projected for thirteen point two wins.

But they have him as an eight win team. And they cited, yes, the offensive line, which you've talked about a lot mark, but also that the defense specifically, they were takeaway machines last year. And if the one thing in all these and Bill Barnwell wrote a piece on ESPN that was in a similar realm to a we're talking about right now. Teams that will regress and get better.

Two things that don't carry over is turnover. Right that very rarely can you do the same thing two years in a row if you did it really well and record in um close games. So the teams and the Cowboys he picked as a regression team because I believe they were eight and two two in those such games. Those things tend to balance out cosmically, and the Browns for those reasons, they saw as a five night I

totally agree. Can I make one quick counter that they look at games where I think they had like six turnovers in week the Week one tie with the Steelers, where those turnovers didn't generate or turn into wins, and Hugh Jackson before he was fired, lost so many close games. I mean, they lost games they should have won. They lost games because of their kickers. So it's not like they're one of those teams that out of their seven wins, they all came in these flukey last second, pick six

type scenarios. So I the eight wins is not crazy. You can also compensate for some of that regression by adding talent such as Olivier Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, Greedy Williams like the other their offensive left tackle, right guard, right tackle is highly suspect. Right. There was an article last week in the Cleveland plane dealer. Is it time to start worrying about Greg Robinson? I was like, if you're

asking the question, it's too late. Why did you go into the season with him as you start worrying about him? I've been worrying about it. I think we all have. They have four years. They have the Houston Texans left tackle from last year as their backup, and then the other statistic the data that they say, Greg, and this kind of flies in the face of your geno Smith Week sixteen and seventeen, two thousand fourteen, that you've been dying for four years. I've been I went back and

watch the tape. I absolutely would will not be betting against Mayfield. But they said that there's no data backing up a strong second half. Corroborates in two of the game film um following season UM. Usually the full season sample size is the more trusting data. Historically, I can still look at the throws he makes and the kind of throws he makes, though that'll carry over. All I'm saying is I think it's important with the Browns to throw this stuff out there, just like the Super Bowl.

First of all, I can't stand people. I don't feel like if I ever done that. I'm saying that. Yeah, I'm like, I'm trying to counter what's annoying you. Those clowns are driving me nuts because like, how about going don't start one in five? The the early schedule is brutal. Well, I know that as a former Bengals fan. If you're trying to climb out of the seller and eradicate ghosts, you gotta the next year after you finally show progress, do not go over October. All right, we're creeping up

by an hour. Give us one more. I gotta I gotta sneak one in. Because this was inspired um by Bill Barnwell, who had his uh five teams that are going to improve and get worse uh this season. We try, We were going to try to have him on the show. Didn't work out scheduling wise. Shut up. But he's also a competing podcast, and I'm sure he was thinking to himself, I'm not going on the you know, really, he was taping I'm not going on that show because I want to beat that show. He's on a day, he's on

a gambling show on ESPN that we don't he was taping. Um, I don't know why. I brought that up. It's one of my favorite articles every year, and I I was gonna try to like get some spicier ones, but to me, I'll take the easiest ones now that left on the board, because you guys have taken to me. The Seahawks are almost the most obvious here. The defense, the defensive talent is just not great. I don't really trust the offensive

coaching staff. You have Russell Wilson, but if you just stack up their rosters and you put that on most teams like that looks like a like a six seven win eight when you know team at best. I give Pekar a lot of credit, but in that conference, I'm not really feeling the Seattle Seahawks, and we didn't feel this time around there. I just think the roster is even worse than it was. They have injuries, the defensive line especially I don't like. And then I think just

people are ignoring the Steelers too much. Any team that has been Roethlisberger and that continuity on offense and overall, I really like the defensive talent, Like they haven't performed as as consistently as you would like, but for the most part they've been a pretty good defense. I think they've got very good players. They've got the best quarterback in that division, you know, until proven otherwise, I believe, and to me, they should be one of the a

f C Super Bowl favorites. And they're just kind of not a fun team to talk about right now. But Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh put him in. I think it's fair. So you're not swapping them, you're just throwing them the Steelers NFC playoff team in this exercise. Easy to the Steelers. I've taken out the Texans and uh I'll probably take out I haven't really decided. Then you have to do it that Chargers were next up on a Chargers would all

of you where I would go next? Um, although the Ravens, I think just because they're in that division, it's gonna be it's gonna be tricky. I doubt this was addressed on Monday show, uh West, but I think maybe a correction as an order we talked about uh DK Metcalf, Oh yeah, that was that was my fault. I got duped. Yeah, there was. We were talking about, you know, whether or not Shawks, so we'll get putting too many eggs in the Metcalf basket is a rookie. Um. You know the

guy that fell almost fell out of the second round. West. You had mentioned that he had been asking for pictures and practice and size honor and and that was probably some people a long way, but that was actually not a real thing, though I thought I got dupes by. Basically, there's a new site that is like somebody tweeted me this, so I thought we should bring it up. It's like the onion for Rhoda World blurbs, and I fell hook

line and sinker for it. I have since been um in contact with some of the people who run that site, and they are friends of our show. Oh they are. I thought you were going to give him a piece of your mind the way you're setting up it's the guys from the guys who did the fantasy Land podcast said something to me about that it made the reddit born. I didn't want to bother you with it. I thought we just like I thought, in fairness and in no

way West to put to blow up your spot. But in fairness to DK Metcalf, we're not the National Inquiry here. We didn't want to know. Absolutely. I was wrong for even bringing it up, and I apologize to d K and we're not the Weekly World News. Remember the Weekly World News had like bat Boy has been found like every week male baby born pregnant, you know, typically with

a common theme. Um, all right, that was true. By the way, that baby was pregnant, which was well, no, it was this was a separate baby born, a male baby born pregnant. True, male baby born pregnant. Tough break, a lot of red tape. All right, We'll be back on Friday with another, um incredible, cunning episode of the Around the NFL Podcast. UM, so make sure you check that out. And yeah, we have a lot coming up

this season. Again, check out the Around the NFL um subreddit and leave iTunes reviews and leave five stars and and do all that good stuff that helps the show. And hopefully we'll have some announcements coming up about the twenty nine season. Exciting times, uh for both the members of the Around the NFL Podcast, including the wonderful Ricky Hollywood uh and all the listeners. Thanks. These are the good times, right they are are? You can hear it

in your voice. Pretty good, It's pretty good. Prictor. I just want to say real quick, when you guys were talking cowboys, I was at Cowboys camp yesterday and every every pass was to Randall Cobb or Jason Winn. So watch out for for those connections. Just to heads up side Randall cop only write this on Jason went, you know what, save save that for the Fantasy corner because that's coming up later this month. In fact, we gotta get on that. Maybe next week, well the Fantasy Extravaganza

or the week after. We'll figure that out. See, that's the stuff we'll do after we sign up. So let's let's end the show. We gotta work out the schedule. Shout, it doesn't end when we signed off that we we grind here, Dan, I have to sign up. Four Quiet Storm, The mail Man, The Old Boss, and Rocky Hollywood Behind the Glass Jul Friday t