They Around the NFL podcast, the Alternative Rock of Football podcast. Welcome to another edition of Around the NFL. My name is Dan Hans. This I am coming to you from a virtual room filled with one hero. It's another two hand or with GREGGI. Rosenthal. What's up, Buddy?
I like being the Alternative Rock of Football podcast.
What do you think that means? How do you like describe that or break that down?
Well, you know, it's like there's mainstream and we're like a little left of center. Maybe we rock hard world enough that we were around when alternative rock radio stations were invented, Like they did not exist when we were children, and then they popped up around nineteen ninety three.
Right, I kind of see us maybe as if we're going to extend this the Smashing Pumpkins like but maybe before like Gish Era or Siamese Dream, but before Melancholin, Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness put us in that slot, certainly before Ava Door.
I mean, as long as you're Billy Corgan and I'm James Iha.
Who makes Who's Darcy?
Then?
Speaking of music, it's definitely Mark. Mark is in parts unknown today. Speaking of music, I am at my parents' beach house in Jersey for one more week before we batten down the hatches back in La For us would be a fun exercise. My dad, Keith has roughly two hundred old LP's down in the basement that have survived through fifty years now. So I'm going to share you just five that I pulled at random. This one, Connor Or would like this one. This is the best of
the Grateful Dead. How about that? Don't you miss LPs? Well we kind of missed him entirely, Greg, But the the cover art and everything is very nice art work there.
I can just imagine your dad, you know, rolling joints on top of that, you really can't, I'm joking, I kind of can't imagine that.
Well, you were on the right track. He used the parlance of the time, blown a bone while listening to The Grateful Dead. Then the eighties came along, and look here we go. Here's Huey Lewis Sports, which is seminal in eighties pop rock. Somehow, George Carlin check out the YouTube show to see these covers. George Carlin Toledo Window Box a stand up special of some kind. I don't know if this is Pete Carlin or not Gregy, but
seems to be close. Of course, here we go everyone had in the seventies Fleetwood mac rumors.
Does he have a working record player that you can play these on?
Yes? And my goodness, look at Stevie Nicks in the back of that, GREGI modern now beautiful woman. And finally, and I'm going to ask Keith about this one because I think some of my mom stuff sneaks in. But here's the self titled album by Chare nineteen seventy one.
All right, I think I think young men were share fans. My dad had all those records, maybe not the Share one, but there was definitely some Linda Ronstats, some Share and I think that was appropriate for the young men at the time.
Yeah, Ronstad had that Laurel Canyon cred back in the seventies. It is, so there you go, nice little detour there, and maybe I'll share a couple more on Thursday show. Today is Monday, July seventeenth, GREGI, for those who are hazy on the details training camp, when is it kicking off? Bud?
Okay, I'm glad you asked. I found this out today. I didn't know the Jets are the first team to show up. They're doing that thing that I said teams should want to get in the Hall of Fame game because then they get to show up for practice actually weekly, and then they get all the coverage for a week.
So the Jets are showing up Wednesday, the Browns taking their time also in that game, showing up two or three days later, and then the rest of the team start showing up a week from when we're recording this, which is Monday, so they start showing up next week. So this is also our last week where we're in parts unknown. We'll be all back together for the rest of time, essentially till a Super Bowl championhis ground.
That is that is interesting that the Browns have opted to take those few extra days off, just some of the track as we spin forward into the new season, and yes, with training camp on the horizon for all of the thirty two teams, we're gonna a little bit of a pre training camp primer, you know, storylines to watch out for, storylines, Gregy that matter. As teams report for another season of NFL football, the eleventh season of the Around the NFL Podcast, Can you believe it?
If we were like an NFL player, who would we be. I think Brandon Cooks might be entering his eleventh year, tenth year. I don't know. At some point we're gonna if we're lucky enough, we're gonna outlast every NFL.
I'll tell you why Cooks doesn't work, because you got to pick somebody that's spent their entire career with one team.
Let's think DeAndre Hopkins.
Yes, DeAndre Hopkins, a great wide receiver joining a new team. Let's get before we get to the free agency primer, Let's get to the news.
Fourteen seconds to go thirty one thirty one. Bat dodge the punt, get the highs laft gets it away. It's a Ducklow tracks, packs it at the thirty five, picks it up, looks the running rod.
He's at the courting. He's at the thirty time whatshop berth.
He comes dodge, he's.
Running around, but he's heavy. Tone.
He his bell toon heavy Eagles Man Diagles went business belcour the.
Battle arts no birth too.
Yeah.
One of the craziest games of the last twenty years. The Eagles Giants twenty ten. That's the Michael vickiear down thirty one ten midway through the fourth quarter, crazy comeback to get it to even and then Matt Dodge, Poor Matt Dodge, the rookie Giants punter kicks a line drive middle of the field to the most dangerous man in the world to shun Jackson, who takes it to the house for one of the great comeback wins in modern
NFL history. I'll never forget Gregi Tom Coughlin being so angry at his punter that that's the only thing on his mind. Immediately after the play, he ran confronted Dodge and said, what the hell were you doing? He was supposed to kick it out of bounds. You don't kick it to d jacks who you know. The reason I had Eric Roberts pull that gregy is because it appeared this morning that Deshaun Jackson was ready to end his career.
He posted on Instagram a photo of breaking a tackle as a raven he's bounced around a lot in recent years, with the accompanying text did it my way, fifteen years strong, Never another one like it. And then when it started to float out there that he was retiring, he said to follow up a message, y'all will know when the boy boy capitalized and it's spelled BOI retire And I
like that. Greg Actually, first of all the fact that Deshaun maybe does have another year in him, but a smart veteran move letting the people out there by getting himself of a news cycle, letting him know that Hey, I'm here and I want to play, And that was I thought a deaf the use of social media.
I mean, I don't know if it was totally intentional of the first time around, but yeah, Ram's legend Deshaun Jackson, I meant, yeah, the last few years, he still looks faster than everyone else. He is one of the rare NFL players that always looks faster than anyone else as an age that way, but he never stays on the field.
Yeah, so we'll see if d Jacks shows up again. Somebody who definitely will be on the field is DeAndre Hopkins, whose long odyssey in free agent free agency came to an end when he agreed to a deal with the Tennessee Titans. So he returned to the AFC South, of course, started his career and became a superstar with the Text
and spent the last few years with the Cardinals. Rap Sheet reported on Sunday that the three time All Pro wideout has agreed to a two year, twenty six million dollar contract base value of twelve million for year one, with a chance to get it up to fifteen million, and the deal could be worth up to thirty two million if he nails every incentive. You know that rarely, if ever happens, but he ends up Greg getting the
bag DeAndre Hopkins or something close to it. Maybe he didn't get the Odell money he was looking for, but that's pretty good money for a veteran wide receiver who's been sitting on the market for a month or two. However, you know, it's the Titans, and there's gonna be questions about whether he ended up making the right decision for his career beyond his bank account.
Yeah, I saw some Patriots fans like unhappy that they didn't get him. It sounds like it probably came down to the Patriots or the Titans of the There was a clue that Mike Reese said the Patriots were maybe around ten million a year, whereas the Titans were I guess thirteen million dollars a year. So he's gonna take the money. Patriots fan, Oh it was like, Oh, you're taking the money over a better chance to win. It's like, I don't know. I think the Titans signed DeAndre Hopkins
because they think they're gonna win. Not that I think they're they're gonna go win a Super Bowl this year or anything like that, but I think it's a sign Dan that Mike Rabel is in with this whole rebuilding idea. He still got Ryan Tannehill, he's got a defense that has a lot of veterans, most of the same group that was the one seed two years ago, and he's trying to go scrape out ten wins and win like an ugly division again. And DeAndre Hopkins is going to help him do that.
And in his mind, yeah, exactly. And I think we all waited for the Titans to dismantle their roster this offseason because it just felt like that this current iteration of the organization where roster had reached its ceiling and was coming down a bit after the AJ Brown trade last offseason. Then a very disappointing year and Derek Henry
is another year older, as is Ryan Tannehill. Teler Luwan retires, it just felt like the end of an era instead Mike Frable says, I think we could squeeze another year out of this. So Tannehill's back, Derek Henry's back, and now they go and find, hypothetically the replacement for aj Brown Treylon Trayvon Burks, who was the first round pick last year, who was supposed to step in and fill that void for Brown a year ago, now gets bumped down. But you have a compelling one to punch there. And
you know, I thought it was interesting that. I'll look at ESPN, for example, a headline Hopkins defends choice of new team and then on on Twitters, which is never you know how you want your big signing to be spun in the national media. He wrote, I always loved having haters and doubters, but I appreciate it even more now.
Titan.
So if you're a Titans fan, Greg, you're pumped up because you feel like the team has a chance in a division that's frankly even with the Jaguars rise. I think wide open.
Yeah, I've thought people have been digging dirt on the Titans too early, even before this move, Like, yes, it was the worst or close to the worst wide receiver group in the league before the Hopkins move. But now you got Burks, who I wasn't big on coming out of college but actually thought showed some things in the time that he was healthy as a rookie. Him and Hopkins are a reasonable one.
Two.
You have Acnquo at tight end who we love. You have Derrick Henry we'll see, but mostly you have a loaded defense. The question is, like, is Hopkins truly like an X receiver still where he can get open and win enough contested catches. I don't know. I think trailing Burks might be the guy that they might use that's moving around a lot more, and they hope Hopkins is on the other side of the formation and just winning those jump balls, almost like Obj was when he was
with the Rams. I don't think he's that guy anymore. He's not getting paid like that guy. Twelve or thirteen million dollars is is like number three receiver money in today's NFL, and it's the best that Hopkins could do. But that's it kind of shows where he's at. He said he'll retire if he doesn't gain a thousand yards, Like he's going to retire the day that he doesn't gain a thousand yards. So that's a lot, a lot on his plate this year, as.
I think it's it's something like fifty two yards a game. If you play every week, we'll get you to a thousand now.
Right, And he pointed out his pace like technically he wasn't a thousand yard receiver last year or the last couple of years, and tech you know, his pace was way over a thousand. So he was saying that, I don't know, like this Titans team has a chance. I don't think they're gonna be that bad. They always find a way, even last year, Like I think it's easy to forget what was the record. At one point there were seven and three and then they lost seven straight.
I mean, if I'm Gravedigger, our former producer, I'm excited today because it does feel like if you looked at where the team was, let's say at the start of free agency, when there was so much uncertainty, it felt like this team might be going into a total rebuild, and now you could, yeah, talk yourself into them playing relevant January football. I think I definitely think they can. And I've been vocal about this.
Greg.
I think it's a bad job by the Patriots who seemed to be organizationally and maybe I'll come up a little later, but kind of caught in the middle of what they're trying to do. And Jeremy Fowler or VESPN reported that they did stay in contact, as you mentioned it earlier, but they weren't even quote in the same ballpark as the Titans in terms of a negotiation and money.
So I thought he would have been a perfect fit for them, not necessarily like what you're talking about, like, oh, Nuke's in a much better spot now, but for the Patriots, I feel like that would have been a nice cherry on top where you had a lot of good vibes going into the season with a restart on offense. It's now still a lot of question marks there, and I
understand that. I'm sure Greg, if you go on like a Patriots subreddit, there's a lot of upset fans that thought they should have finished that.
Yes, my Twitter, what I've seen on it, it seems like people are unhappy. I got to think though they did. They were a little ambivalent about them though, I mean, why wouldn't they extend three or four million dollars more? They were really trying to bring them in at a total bargain basement price unless Robert Kraft is cutting them checks, which Bill Belichick kind of hit it at in terms of their cap spending a few weeks ago. But I really don't think that's it. I don't think they want
them that much. And I can't really keep my thoughts straight because it's three am right now in Tokyo and I feel like I'm podcasting while underwater.
Oh my goodness, that's right, you are back in LA You had the frame flight.
Talking like this is making me realize I'm more out of it than I realized.
You do.
I mean, and I mean this in the nicest way. You look a little nuts right now now that I kind of give you now that you said that, and I'm kind of looking at you in a different way. We're gonna get through this. But hey, I love Evan Ingram.
By the way. I'm a I'm an Ingram guy. I thought when Trevor Lawrence got a real chance last year and made that big leap in year two with the Jaguars that Ingram really reached his came into his own, and I think I could be just the start for that pairing as long as Ingram could stay healthy, which
obviously struggled with the Giants. But anyway, the Jaguars are on the same thinking as the old Zeusser because Ingram and the Jags agreed on terms of a new three year, forty one zero point twenty five million dollar contract ahead of Monday's deadline that's today for franchise tag players to work out an extension. The contract includes twenty four million fully guaranteed, so he was going to be on the tag. They decide twenty eight years old, it is time, and
he was a pro bowler. I kind of forgot about that. He had a Pro Bowl season in the pandemic year with the Giants, so he had flashed with them. But he was a very kind of maddening player with drops and inconsistency. But the Jags think he's a long term piece, and I agree. I think this was a smart move.
Yeah. I love seeing a player like this who was disappointing but showed talent kind of find the right home. Doug Peterson knows how to use him. I'm impressed they
were so willing to commit that. It's essentially the franchise tag for two years of what this year's tag would be, and then if they had kept him, next year's tag would have been So that's a franchise tag I think actually working out for the player because now he gets two years, they sort of have an option of a third if he's playing really well at what will be a relatively team friendly price. And the Jags are a good example of like, you don't need to have some
crazy number one receiver. I think they hope Calvin Ridley becomes a dude for them, but the big trend in today's NFL is like you just need three or four or five actual receivers, and Ingram's absolutely going to be one of those guys for a couple of years.
In other contract news, unless we should we hit on the quickly on the franchise tech deadline, we don't need to dwell on it because it's still got a couple hours from now is when it goes official. And hopefully we don't get burned on this podcast. But Tony Pollard with the Cowboys, Josh Jacobs with the Raiders, Saquon Barkley with the Giants, pay attention. They're all running backs, all trying to get deals done, but nothing as of press time. Anything you want to add.
There, Gregor sounds like Pollard definitely not getting in the contract. Jacob's almost certainly not getting it. Barkley. You know this will be out of date, but I wouldn't expect it it. Jacobs is the one in Barkley potentially that we're going to be stuck talking about a lot because I think they're going to go into training camp kind of annoying, just like yeah, because you know how it's gonna end.
They're not gonna miss any regular season time, but it'll be it'll be a topic because they'll skip the first few weeks of training camp and who wouldn't like to do that?
And it should just a quick reminder that if you look at the last five ten years of the NFL, the franchise tag has gone up like considerably for every position but down at running backs. So that is a It's been like one of the big off season storylines greg has been this running back situation and how teams view them, and you're seeing it again as we hit this deadline for long term deal.
You know, there hasn't been much going around in the NFL news when like every different website in television show is doing their version of like the how come the running backs, you know, like that's all we got.
Now.
Normally it'd be like some controversial arrest or something else. So I think that's a good sign that we're in a good place.
I don't think it changed. I don't think it's changed either. I think this is the new normal. These teams are signing up for five years of these backs, and unless you are a super duper star, that's just the nature of the beast play different position. Kids get out.
People talking like it's so unfair, and like, I get all that, Like you're right, it is unfair to running backs, but it just feels like a hill that. I mean, I'm okay with it that they're making ten million dollars.
And oh look at you. If it's not like Greggie the old these guys a millionaires with the big cigar on the mount, they shouldn't complain about nothing.
I'm just saying I'd not say that. I just mean, like, okay, they're underpaid compared to other like kickers and punters and interior eye offensive linemen didn't used to get paid. I'm not saying kickers and punchers should get paid, but it's just like that they're all doing fine. It's okay, all right.
In other running back news, Joe Mixon is gonna come back to the Cincinnati Bengals, looks like for a seventh season. The two sides finalized a restructured contract for twenty twenty three, is reported by on Friday by Tom Pellisero the pell Raiser originally and Mix it had been due ten one point one million this season with a cap number close to thirteen. The rework deal, according to rap Sheet, includes a base of five and a half million for twenty three.
He can hit up to seven and a half with incentives. So he took a haircut, Gregie, and the way it sets up, maybe he can be around next year as well on this contract if he plays well enough. But now that becomes the focal point. What's left? Or does Joe Mixon have more big years in the tank?
Yeah, he just didn't have that juice last year, Like just he had that great explosiveness that you can just see, like his zero to second foot was as good as anyone in the league his first few years, and so maybe that comes back. He's still not that old. It was drafted in twenty seventeen. It's pretty rare to see someone take like a five million dollar pay cut. That's a sign of the running back market too, because he knew if he got cut he was not going to
make five million dollars a year. He probably would have made if I the guess three to four or three, and so he can go try to win a super Bowl. He likes the situation there and he was willing to take a five million dollar haircut.
It is funny to me the is it cam Akers the guy that came out the only guy that didn't get was going on, and he wanted the Rams to give him a new contract this offseason. Everybody else is kind of like, okay, we see what's happening here, including Joe Mixon. As you see by what he was willing to agree to. Acres is like give me that bag. I deserve it and I need it.
Come on, but they kind of need Mixon to be great. By the way, their backup running back is either fifth round pick Chase Brown or Travion Williams. Like if Mixon actually got back to being Mixon as good as that offense was a year ago, Like, it'd be be even better because I think the offensive line is better.
And isn't there a certain former Pro Bowl running back with the Vikings, who's still out there? Like that is that's still a thing?
Huh?
Like I was going to say, maybe the writing was on the wall in retrospect with Sinnati looking to stay in business when they didn't make a aggressive draft pick of a running back. But man, they maybe could have done business and gotten with Cook, but they decided to stay with Mixing.
I'd rather have Cook. I do wonder Pollard is coming off of a broken ankle and leg, and we'll see if he's ready for week one. I think that's the expectation. But they're thin in the backfield. The Cowboys to me behind him and like you're gonna ask him to have his biggest workload ever coming off of a huge injury. They would be an interesting team. I think that no one has really talked about for Cook or for Kareem Hunt, who is out there as well.
This is kind of cheating because you could say this like about any player, just something about the Cowboys. But I could picture Dalvin Cook in a Cowboys uniform. It kind of makes sense to me. Let's finish up with a couple of fun items here, GREGI, speaking of running backs, Miles Sanders, former Eagles running back now with the Panthers. He's excited to play with number one overall pick, Bryce Young. But Bryce Young has another quarter back in the room
with him. It is Andy Dalton and Miles Sanders. Greg. Did you see this? Greg? Miles Sanders was on Sports Radio ninety two to seven w fn Z speaking about Andy Dalton, our friend, the man, the myth, the legend, the Dalton line himself. And this is what Sanders had to say.
And that's the main thing I've noticed in OTAs. We got a very very good young quarterback. That's it's being meant to buy a very very very good quarterback fer Andy Dalton, that I have a lot of respect for it.
Give it up for Miles Sanders. And yeah, it's a little strong to call Andy Dalton a future Hall of Famer. Maybe a touch, maybe a touch, But you know what else, I respect you, Miles Sanders for giving Dalton the pop, the glowing ginger man, three time Pro Bowl selection, he is top thirty all time in passing yards and us he's an incredible human being obviously, and eyebrows to die for Hall of Famer to me, So maybe that makes two of us.
I mean, I think two of those Pro Bowls were like as the number six, you know, replacement on the AFC. But I guess they don't. They don't put those asteriks upt. I I would like. I do feel like it's the natural evolution of future Hall of Famer. At some point the term just becomes meaningless, kind of like goat like and that's fine. Now everyone accepts if you say goat, it just means you're a good player. Right now, future Hall of Famer can just be like anyone who is pretty good.
Yeah, I hope that doesn't happen. The Hall of Fame enshrine. It's coming up is that next weekend.
This week we got it's Hall of Fame weekend when the Jets and Browns play, right, Actually that they play on Thursday, And yeah, the Hall of Fame ceremonies a couple of days later. They announced the order of that today. Dan, that's how slow the news is. That was a hot news item. Damn great Joe Thomas, I think is the last guy speaking that night.
Twenty fourth most Oh, he's gonna be good. Twenty fourth most yardage yards in league history. Greg.
Wow, Now I'm with it. If only because true Hall of famers do it in multiple places, and his twenty twenty two season will always be remembered by me as like a sneaky, underrated yea, you love.
His twenty twenty two season. Yeah, two hundred and forty four passing touchdown, twenty seventh Top thirty kind of guy. Finally in the news. Congratulations are in order and some privacy for Tyler Lockett, who, once upon a time. Greg a few years back discussed his h's he was a chaste man. Is that a way to put it? Sure?
He was.
He was waiting, He was patient, He separated, He separated the carnal side of relationships from the love side of it and the ring side of it. He waited, he was waiting for marriage. He was a virgin.
Okay, you made me say it, Greg, I mean I had nothing to be afraid to say. He was saying it. He was a thirty year old virgin by the time I think he got married. Here he'd been with his beautiful bride girlfriend for four years, made her wait, and so congratulations are in order, and he brought together You know, I saw the pictures from the wedding you got Russell Wilson there, you got Geno there, he's he's bringing people together.
I wish I had the and yes not to question anyone's faith based choices. So if you're out there and you followed a similar path, that are currently following similar path, go for it. I have a lot of respect, quite frankly, for the willpower that must take. And I don't know how it works, Greggie, but that is outrageous to be able to wait four years.
You said they dated.
That's what that's what they are un that's me is like.
The greatest achievement in the history of mankind, more or less from my perspective.
Well, and that I respect anyone that can do something so out of step with the rest of society and the rest of like an NFL locker room. It takes some hutzpa, some cajones to put that out publicly, that this is how I'm gonna lead. You try to make fun of me, you try to and just I'm not. I'm not gonna act like you act right and.
He and he also to put out a poetry book too. I mean, this guy was just operating on levels that I can't help but admire it.
Yes, it owns a real estate company, I believe, so he's he's a renaissance man.
M Meanwhile, Greg had, like, you know, one girlfriend after another, and in high school and you know, I don't I don't imagine you were a man of faith or much class back then. You were just rolling through western Massachusetts back.
Then minutchag Regional High School. I mean not exactly that. That's exaggerating it. But there was a little sweet spot before before I realized short guys aren't supposed to get all the girls.
You know what is you came to that realization. No, I'm just that awareness and that it slowed down.
No, I don't know, maybe a little bit or or the girls started caring in high school. They'll just take anyone with a little confidence.
High school was tough for me. Yeah, that was I was on the Tyler Lockett path to enlightenment, but not by choice because it again, I sometimes I forgot Greg. We have a lot of younger listeners. If you're a younger listener and you're kind of not doing so hot initially with the your opposite sex or your choice of sex and a partner hanging there, it is about confidence. It's all about confidence. If you don't think you're worthy of having girl and stuff like that, You're not gonna
get one. I don't know when I gained that enlightenment, Greg, but it took into my early twenties to really get that. Put a bow on the conversation.
I mean, it's and it can go up and down. You know, you could have the confidence. You can lose it for a little while, you can get it back. So if you lose it, don't worry, it's coming back.
I think this is the plot of the second Austin Powers movie. Basically, watch that, kids, and you'll understand everything that I'm trying to express. Let's take a break and we will be back with some training camp talk. Now, right, we are back, Greg, before we get to a primer of training camp things to watch for, things that matter. One last thing that I saw this morning I wanted to share with you. Somebody over on the NFL subreddit
put together a chart. Let's fly that up there, Eric of one score game flips in the NFL in two thousand twenty two. I find it interesting, Greg, when the difference, you know, how how many games just come down to one or two plays, and how different things would be, and when you talk about teams that will come back to the pack or maybe go in a different direction. Look at how the previous season ended, and maybe you maybe you get some what do they call that positive regression.
So teams that one score games, if you flip them, For instance, the Eagles had five one score games. If you flip those wins to losses, they would have finished nine and eight. The Raiders and Broncos both if you flip their one score losses to one score wins, they would have been eleven and six and ten and seven, respectively.
The Chiefs, the defending champions, were a negative. If they went negative four ten and seven, they would have been which, by the way, good teams and well coached teams win close games, so you're gonna see that as a theme as well well.
Surprising though to see the Raiders suddenly ahead of the Chiefs.
Or right, a lot of heartbreakers for the Chiefs. A very strange AFC West season last year. And then if you the NFC North, I'll just I'll take a look at the If the Chiefs lost three games on one score, they could have been eleven and six. In a different world, Bears could have been the Lions, Excuse me, could have
been eleven and six in a different world. The Bears, if you flip five losses by one score, they would have been eight and nine, and they still ended up with you know, top pick and a reconfigured roster, and then the Vikings. Again. Such a strange season, Greg, in so many ways, we all know it. This exercise is very interesting. They had nine wins by one score, a historic. If you would have flipped that, they would have finished four and thirteen.
Weird, weird, weird, Well, not just nine wins, but like plus nine. You know, they didn't have any close losses or maybe I think they might add ten close or eleven close wins and two close losses something like that. It is very weird, and I think that's why a lot of people are picking the against the maybe actually come in last instead of just coming in last.
In this and two outliers Greg, the Ravens and the Patriots their delta, which is an interesting way to put it. Zero one score games last year.
Is that possible?
I guess it is?
Well, it's no, it's that they were at five hundred in terms of one score games.
Is oh, I see, now I get it.
Okay, Like they went one in one, got it, got it?
Got it makes more sense? All right? Interesting kind of All right, let's get to it now, Greg, Training camp is ready. We are about to have a new season of NFL football. Tons of storylines are going to start flying at football fans. We are going to call out some impending storylines or situations to watch across the league that we think matter more than the avalanche of content you're gonna get. So we're cherry picking here, stuff that we think really matters. Why don't you get it going?
Yeah, I've learned over the years, like I love camp because it gets you ready and it gets you thinking about all the things. But so much of it is just waiting for Week one to start because you don't really learn that much about veterans, but you do learn a lot about rookies. And the one rookie quarterback that I think it really matters to watch is Anthony Richardson. Because I'm just assuming Bryce Young and c. J. Stroud start in Week one. I don't really I know Young
is and I'm pretty sure Stroud is. But Richardson and how he develops throughout the month and then especially how he plays in the preseason, to me, you know, impacts big time, whether the Colts are going to be interesting to watch week one or not, or if it's going to be Gardner Minshew and his development, to me is one of the most fascinating stories to watch.
That was my number one story to watch also, and it's because of multiple reasons, starting first and foremost with like how much hype is around Richardson. Now is this unbelievable athlete and potential playmaker at a elite level? But also what happened last year with the Colts and management and this feeling that what is that ship being run in the right way? Is quite frankly, Jim Mersey patient enough to handle a prospect is Raws Richardson who started
just thirteen college games. He becomes the number four overall pick. You have a very suitable, passable, competent backup in Gardner Minshew if you want to play the game, and you know, coming from a fan of a team that rushed a green quarterback into the lineup like the what Jets. The
Jets did was Zach Wilson. I'm not saying that would have changed Wilson's career necessarily or even Sam Donald before that, but when you do that and the guy's not ready or the team around him is not ready, you could irreparably harm the player. So I hope the best the best case for this, for the for the Colts, and for Richardson is that he is locked in. He's progressing quickly, he has some nice moments in the preseason, and there's a lot of positivity around him heading into Week one.
But the reports out of the rookie mini camp OTA's veteran mini camp. This is from James Boyd to the Athletic he quote rarely had the best day. Overall, the rookie must become more knowledgeable of the playbook and sharpens throwing mechanics. If Indie plans on handling the keys and its opener, he's a raw player, greg and they have to be careful not to because they want it so
much just to put him in week one. I know the way we do it now in the league is you just put the kid in almost always, but that doesn't mean you have to do it. And I just hope they are monitoring this the right way rather than just he's playing and that's it and it's gonna work out right.
And I think that's where having a good like beat reporter crew covering the team. In this case, they do have a good one. We got our friend Zach Kiefer. They get Stephen Holden, like they'll they'll be giving us the real deal of how he looks, and the first week less important. It's a couple weeks in once you put the pads on, once you get a couple of
weeks of data, and the preseasonal matter for him. Russell Wilson, to me, is the number one example of a guy who almost immediately was kind of winning the practice reports and then won the preseason two and you're like, wow, this is a third round pick that is going to be better than everyone expects and is going to start week one. But it's not always like that.
Yes, I agree.
By the way Ersay you mentioned, I know you're on the East Coast. Did you happen to make it over to Boston this weekend to the TD Garden for where the Jim Ersay collection was there traveling museum in a one of a kind of free event where the Jim Arsay Band played to a relatively packed TD Garden. Again it was free, including a band member's Mike Mills, founding member of Ram and Kenny Arnnoff, who's played with Paul McCartney in the row Stones. How about that.
It's about a ten hour round trip from far the Jersey Shore right here, so I did miss it. It does remind me like rim is one of my favorite
bands of all time. And at the Giants Patriots to super Bowl in Indianapolis, Mike Mills was at the Marriotte Bar at the same time as me and I had had a couple of tito's and I decided to go up to Mike Mills, who I think he was obviously connect the Dots, was at an event with Jim Irsey that weekend for the Super Bowl, and I told Mike Mills that I believed him to be, after shaking his hand, the greatest backing harmony vocalist in the history of rock.
And he looked at me like, that's a weird thing to dive into immediately after an introduction, But thank you very much, And that was the end of the interaction.
Well, I think it's important you had him ranked that high. He had to know. But yeah, where do you go? Where do you go from that? In a conversation? I want to do the kids? Do kids listen to RAM. You know, I would like to know if you, if you listen to this podcast, has RIM had any carryover with the younger generation. I don't feel like it they have as much as you would think.
It's funny you should say that because, as you know, my buddy Bob, we do the Throwback podcast and we've been building up to do an episode called Appreciate RM because I feel like they don't have that kind of next generation understanding of how important they were and how great they were. Maybe that moment comes in time, but I'm with you, they've kind of fallen through the cracks in terms of having a tail. If you will, you know who's fallen through the cracks, the Rams this time
last year, the defending Super Bowl champion. It is crazy what's going. I know you had Jordan Rodrigue on the show, who does awesome coverage of the Rams, last week, and man, i'ma be curious to check in with her during the summer because this is crazy what they're attempting to do. Where they're keeping Matthew Stafford and Cooper Cup and Aaron Donald and you know, I know they traded Jalen Ramsey
and Von Miller. Is not there anymore. But this is still a team with veterans and the idea that you know, different situation. But we were talking about it with the Titans, a team that's maybe hoping to squeeze out ten wins and be in the mix and then see what happens. This team is going to have forty forty four zero rookies on their roster at the start of training camp. That is expansion team stuff, Greg, That is teams that
are just completely starting over. I think everybody's kind of been scratching their heads trying to figure out what the Rams are trying to do right now, where they're at, what kind of needle they're trying to thread here. But to have these well known, established stars and in some cases superstars with Cup and a Legend and Aaron Donald, and then to surround them with a roster fully almost
fully loaded with people with no experience. I mean, this could go really poorly if just a couple of things go wrong, which is what happened last year, but maybe even worse than last year, if things go sideways.
Yeah, it's a camp where there's a ton of jobs available. You know, their offense actually looks like a totally normal offense and potentially a good offense. They think it'll be good. It's really all about the defense especially, And there are a lot of rookies, like undrafted rookies on the offense and stuff, but they're not going to be playing major roles.
I don't think where's the defense. If you look at their hour Lads page where they put red players in rookies in red, like it's all red, and there's five or six or seven starting jobs open and the rookies are competing for a lot of those. And so that's a camp where it's going to matter. The preseason games
will matter. Our friend Mina Chimes who does their preseason games with the Andrews silly and like, those games are actually going to mean a lot for a lot of these players because you can get starting jobs from them.
Yeah, and I would say that I would be very surprised if the Rams come out of the gate playing at a high level. And I do believe in the coaching staff and Sean mcvay's abilities, and you know, if Stafford can stay healthy, he'll kind of stabilize everything, as will Donald. He'll help obviously immeasurably. On the other side of the ball. Maybe you can get out of September two and two or whatever, and then you start to find an identity and the young players get get their
feet wet. But I think that's going to be you know, how did they look in training camp? The reports. Keep an eye on what Jordan and the other Beat reporters are saying about how these practices are going, how these preseason games look. Because this is a very green team. Certainly, I would imagine for teams that are recent Super Bowl winners, it's almost unprecedented that this is the roster.
Now.
Look at as a comparison point, look at the Bucks, who are kind of still running back the same team from a couple of years earlier that won a Super Bowl. The Rams are going in a different direction for the most part. We'll see how it goes.
Yeah, I think the thought is, if you have forty rookies, can you find seven like that? There's nothing more valuable than a starter or a significant player on a rookie contract by just throwing huge numbers of it. I wonder what the analytic like idea was behind to all this that, like, all right, if we can just somehow find five to seven contributors from this rookie class, like that'd be a great class and maybe just don't bother with the mid level veterans for now. Actually, I'm going to go for
a former Ram as my next one. OBJ is just someone I want to watch in camp. You could extend this to the whole the Ravens wide receiver group, because I don't know what's up with Rashad Bateman right now. He hasn't been healthy. The whole group was hurt, but OBJ particularly, I just am curious and want to be watching the camp reports and see what is going on. It's been a while since we've seen him, and we
don't know what kind of OBJ he is. I don't think he's gonna be playing in the preseason, but even the camp reports and whether he's practicing day one and all that sort of stuff matters to me.
Yeah. I mean, they paid him a lot, a lot more than a lot of people expected, and the Ravens are expecting him to be the guy, the guy that he was with the Rams in the playoffs and that Super Bowl before he went down with the injury. You know, thirty something wide receivers coming off to knee reconstructions are typically a step slow. Compared to their heyday, but they kind of need him to be better than that. I don't think they're looking for, you know, late period Derek
Mason here or something. They're looking for a game changer and a guy that kind of stretches the field and drives defenses crazy like Pete obj But yeah, like if if the camp or ports aren't glowing, yeah, I would be very nervous. If I was a Ravens fan.
He could have great chemistry with Lamar Jackson, fro we know, could be could be like Randy Moss in New England. I doubt that, But I do think he's someone just health wise, and that's what I look for a lot in camp that I want to see that he's actually out there every day.
All right, let's go to New England. We touch on the Patriots earlier about finishing Peers second in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes, although they kind of opted out of it, it sounded like we talked about mac Jones and what's going on there. This is good, this is interesting. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported that the question of how third year QB mac Jones is viewed inside the
Patriots quotes depends on who you ask. I'll continue to read from Volan's reporting, It's clear Patrio, It's president Jonathan Kraft passionately defends and protects Jones. The Crafts are invested in Jones succeeding. Belichick meanwhile, barely wants to say his name in public. The Patriots hired the new offensive coordinator, but it's not. As we enter training camp, I think the expectation, obviously is that Mac Jones is going to
be the starter. But you know, Belichick has got Baily Zappy there and seemingly a chip on his shoulder potentially with the quarterback. Does this get a little weird in training camp? How are rep split? Do you have any Do you have any inkling that Belichick could do one of those things where he surprises people and maybe there's a storyline about how reps are being split or any type of buzz in that direction.
It wouldn't be totally shocking because he does seem to like Bailey Zappy and he does seem to have something. But I think he got over it. And I think if Mac Jones is just better than Bailey Zappy, which I believe he will be, then he'll he'll go with him. I don't think it's quite a Tom Brady Drew Bledsoe two thousand and one situation where he just clearly loved Brady and thought Bledsoe is on the way out. I think there was a point this offseason where they could
have gotten rid of mac Jones. That point didn't happen, and now I expect it to be mac Jones. But you're you're right. As a Patriot hater, you could, you could root for some chickinery.
I mean, listen, I was a Patriot hater. Those those days are over, Greg, Please, They're over. I got bigger fish.
We'll see how you feel.
Weak.
When did they play? Is it Week two that they play? We'll see how you feel because they got to end that losing streak. I mean, the Patriots, they have one thing left from their dynasty days. It's ownership of the Jet. Well they have left.
That is true. And yeah, I would think that if Belichick is smart, and he is very smart man, he's a brilliant man. In fact, especially in matters of professional football, he will throw his support behind mac Jones at this point, and you know, speak speak about him in some level of high regard and throughout the training camp and make
this story completely disappear and everybody goes into together. But maybe this is even though the men didn't see eye to eye, GREGI maybe this is a little the Parcels in Belichick, Like how Parcels was with Phil Simms as an example, He's just gonna be hard on him, and until you prove it to me, I'm gonna kind of look at you a little side eyed until I could truly trust you. I think there is are trust issues in that building. We'll see if it manifests into anything
that gets the beat popping off during the summer. I would probably not. But also I've been surprised by some of the leaks out of Patriot Way this offseason, so you never know.
Yeah, everything seems a little messier. It's Week three, by the way. It's a one o'clock game in the Meadowlands.
You know.
The Patriots start with the Eagles and the Dolphins. The Jets start with the Bills and the Cowboys. I'm just hoping that's not too zher and two teams there none of those those games, sou easy.
I can't stress this enough to what you're saying. The Jets cannot cannot lose to the Patriots at home with a healthy Aaron Rodgers given everything here. Okay, that needs to be a w regardless of how the first two games go, or it's gonna feel like the same old, same old.
All right, you're up, all right, I'm gonna just go with the main quarterback battle that matters, which is the forty nine Ers. You could throw the bucks in there, like, are we sure Baker Mayfield this week one? Starter is it could try out Kyle Trust get a chance. I mean, that'll keep an eye on. But the forty nine Ers quarterbacks, I mean, we don't need to go too long on it. We're gonna be talking about, but that legitimately is up in the air. I think it's Perty's job if he's healthy.
But I don't think Kyle Shanahan is totally locked in on that either. I think his mind is open to Trey Lance, and his mind is probably open to Sam Darnold. And it could be a situation where their preseason games are like auditions for Week three, even if let's say it's pretty week one, or let's say he's not healthy and it's Lance week one, Like Sam Donald playing really well in August in the preseason could earn him like a week four job and a quick hook for whoever is the starter.
Yeah, and I'm I'm incredibly invested in this storyline because I do want to see Sam Donald to get a shot here. I feel like if he gets even a couple of weeks in the starting job, it might be hard to get him out of the lineup if he's able to play with this offense. There's He was on the part of My Take podcast and he said.
Talking ghost talking about the ghosts because we did hit that last show that was right up Mark Sessler's alley. I don't know if you've heard about that.
No, what would happen?
Oh?
He said that there was some sort of paranormal activity in George Kill's guests house when he was staying there.
Oh.
Really, you're hitting a different part of this what I.
Mean, what a varied interview by Big Cat and PFT commenter. But here is the line. Guys are open. I mean, there's a lot of guys open on dang near every play. It just seems like there's a ton of answers. So for a guy that hasn't had a lot of answers on the field in his time. It would be interesting to see how he performed with an offense like this. And then there's yeah, the Trey Lance of it all is something the track to like, how is how many
reps is he getting? Is he getting a real look, a real chance at this or is he the past in that organization already?
He'll play a lot. I know you're not a fan of the preseason, you know. I yeah, it has its use, but I get sick of it too after the first couple of weeks. But Trey Lance will play a lot in the preseason. I would assume Darnald will too, and so those are be one of the most, if not the most interesting team to watch in the preseason.
Regarding the Jets, there's a lot to be excited about. By the way, they finally announced Hard Knocks officially today. It's just crazy because it's July seventeenth. And then they talked to Rogers at some golf event. He's like, yeah, well, they're sticking it down our throats, so we just got to make the most of It's a very different vibe than past Hard Knocks announcements, I'll say that. And while there's a lot of optimism around the team as there
should be. I am nervous about the offensive line because it is a forty year old quarterback coming off a down season by his standards, and the offensive line was a major issue last year in New York, and they didn't make a lot of changes. They made some attempts at changes, some moves. They said they weren't trying to draft a tackle at the first round. You could believe that or not. But they're ending up with more or
less the same line. They did draft a rookie and Joe Tipman, so he's gonna it's gonna be a camp battle with Connor McGovern. They're in the pivot, Greg, that's what they call it.
I always like that. It's like the pivot, like using the word signal caller for quarterback, just to not repeat the same word exactly.
So you're gonna have left Dwayne Brown's gonna play left tackle again. You're gonna hope Elijavarah Tecker stays healthy. Makai Becton is in the picture in some capacity, but he also tweeted recently that he's a left tackle and that just doesn't seem to have any interest in playing him at left tackle, So it's going to be right tackle. If he even wins a job, that is a question
mark on their roster with this quarterback. And I want to see as a Jets van, you want to see the camp reports that the line is gelling, that Becton, who's down apparently sixty pounds from last year, is healthy and on the field that they're missing basically two straight years,
and he finds a role in the starting lineup. It is something to watch because if they don't get a good offensive line play, you could get Rogers hurt and then all of a sudden, guess who the number two quarterback is on that team, Zach Wilson, which is another questionable decision they made, which is keeping Wilson as the number two. And just imagine, for instance, Greg that Week three game against the Patriots, if it's Zach Wilson back
on the field. I don't even want to speak this into existence, but there's some vulnerabilities here if the offensive line can't play the guitar.
Yeah, I mean Joe Douglas, that's his baby, the offensive line. He's put so many resources Vera. Tucko's a first round pick. Beckton's a first round pick. Tipman's a second round pick. Tomlinson is one of the higher paid guards in the league. They kind of remind me of the Packers, where I think the Packers probably their baselines a little hard higher, but like they could either be a bit of a disaster if things go wrong on the offensive line, or
they could be really good. I feel like there's a high variance with the Jets and the Packers.
For that matter.
All right, you want to throw it out, all right? Last one more?
Yeah, Well this is kind of a catch off. I'll include your guy Bryce all in it. And I think it's probably the most important thing in campus, just the guys coming off of injuries, their progress. Bryce Hall is a key one. Like this is the time of year where it's a lot of like I expect to start week one, Like we heard that about Tredevius White as an example at this time last year. Tredevius White ended up not starting until about mid season and wasn't really
himself until about week ten. And that happens fairly often with guys that you hear are coming back week one. So we find out the truth on a lot of these guys. Bryce Hall is a key one. Von Miller is a key one. Tony Pollard's one I mentioned earlier, Javonte Williams, the running back for the Broncos. Jonathan Taylor's coming off the ankle injury. Sounds like he's gonna be okay. Darius Leonard, on the other hand, I don't know what's up with him and his back injury. Isaiah Pacheco, you
know who finished off that Super Bowl. He's coming off a shoulder surgery. Might not be ready. Jimmy g We're not sure what's up with him.
J C.
Jackson, you remember, got that huge contract and had a terrible injury. So those are some of the biggest names coming off like major injuries that there's optimism until then camp starts and then we'll see if there's still optimism.
Yeah, and maybe if you're a DeAndre Hopkins agent, there was maybe a little bit of pause. Do you sign this contract now or do you wait to see how some of these things shake out in camp with injuries. Maybe that's what Dalvin Cook's representation is thinking. Right now, maybe an opportunity presents itself that doesn't seem like it's there right now. But yeah, you're absolutely right, because you can't trust. You cannot trust any off season reporting for
the most part. Maybe you could trust it more when you hear it in a negative way about a guy's not practicing, a guy is a little behind schedule, but you usually don't hear that. You always hear his way ahead of schedule, or the trope alert sounds and the guy says, I've never felt better, or a matter of my knees actually better after the catastrophic injury I suffered
last October. Training camp has a habit of, you know, separating all that junk because guys are supposed to be out there and practicing, and reporters get their eyes on these guys. So yes, GC Greg as we say, and my last one was going to be von Miller, so it ties together. Von Miller is one of the most important players I think of the start of the season in the AFC, because the Bills really were getting a lot out of him before he went down on Thanksgiving.
He didn't play another snap and they need that extra juice that von Miller brings. And is he still von Miller when he comes back? He's another year older.
He's thirty four, Yeah, eighty four.
You want to see which version of von Miller shows up. If he shows up at all this summer, we shall see.
By the way, this is going way back to the beginning of the show. I was trying to think of, like what NFL player we'd be. We'd be Lane Johnson from that twenty twelve class with the Eagles the whole time, goes about his business like that. A lot of sauce to him, you know when it pops up, and a future Hall of Famer.
Okay, all right, Greg, yeah, baby, I like that one future Hall of Famer. I think we're going to the hall. You think we're in a hall trajectory right now.
I'm putting us in the in the look in the hall, we can ask our next You know what, though.
You know what I got to say, Yeah, oh, that is a great way say because you know what they say as we welcome in our guest. You don't make the Hall of Fame in your in your first ten years. You make him in those last three or four, you know, or that that second decade. Uh. And with that said a man that already is a Hall of Famer for the work that he's done both on our on our shore and now back in his native England.
He is.
A former executive content man for NFL Digital, now Vice President of UK and Surrounding Territories. Henry Hodgson, what's up, buddy.
I am doing great. It's good to see you, guys.
Good to hear you, guys.
I do have an issue though already, and I hate to do this to you. In the background here we're saving the Queen. You may not have heard, but but I think that that ship sailed.
You guys. Oh you changed the lyrics.
That's right, we changed the lyrics.
It's like the it's like the God save the Wind Elton.
Elton was able to quickly pivot from from Maryland to Diana.
The tune is the same, though, I mean same tune, same.
Melody, is the same lyrically. There's an important change in the.
Very important change. Let's get that fixed for next time.
Apologies, because that's right.
It's okay, it's it's fine. You get one shot, though next time it would be disrespect.
And and I'll throw you. I'll throw you a bone here and say I watched Wimbledon yesterday. I didn't.
I didn't, but I hope you had a great time. I wish I had done. I just I found myself not watching it.
Do you think that, let's start with the most important thing. Do you think that our podcast is on a Hall of Fame trajectory? Do you think even here's my take based on Greg's comment, even that being uttered is a sign that this is this is rome at the end where it's just like wow that they're talking about that that no Hall of Fame podcast would ever even have that conversation. Or do you admire the pluck of the show.
No, I mean, listen, I would liken it to nineteen eighty four Dawn Marino, right second year in the NFL, goes out and breaks every single record, And it's clear at that point, like.
There's from here, you're on that that was the Stitcher world. You're on that trajectory, and really, you know, even.
If you don't make a Super Bowl, you're probably going to you're probably going to the Hall of Fame. And that's what I've always seen you guys, as is eighty four Marino and you know the incredible career he had, So.
You see us like this basically ultimately.
No, not not go there with Marino.
Not a loser, you know, a giant amongst amongst NFL players, as I was trying to compliment you guys, you decided to take a shot at one of the greatest players of all time.
You know, it's like gaudy numbers, but not that well liked in the locker room, and doesn't.
Marino was beloved in the locker room.
He he What he did was demand greatness from his from his other players and bind them to his level. So in a way, you've done that in the podcasting industry as well. Before, before the Around the NFL podcast existed, what other shows were out there? Now look now, look at all the talent around that. After your last show, Gregor, I tuned into Jordan's amazing show, The play Callers.
I've just listened to two episodes of that.
On the back of that, and you guys, you know, without you sort of setting the tone, that doesn't happen.
That's very nice to be. And let me say that I I much rather you refer to us as the Dan Marino of podcasts rather than the Ken O'Brien. But I also I want to say that Dan Reno was very frightening and uh, just imagine being like a fourth round pick tight end and Reno throws one of those missiles between the eight and the four and it hits the turf and Marino ripping off that helmet and that red face just screaming at you. What a monster.
But that's what I mean.
He's demanding excellence, and I feel like that's what you've done to the NFL podcasting industry.
I've had some red foot face moments behind the scenes with this program, so I understand that. All right, So let's get to what you're here for though, Henry. And by the way, if you want to get any plugs in, you are Vice president of UK, you make a tremendous salary, you have a beautiful office.
What why do we go there?
I mean, yeah, spot the lie, Greg, Spot the lie.
I was just surprised.
It's a weird place to go.
You are taping from a beautiful countryside. It appears in England, that is true.
Where is Dan today?
I'm in my parents' bedroom in Spring Lake, New Jersey.
Yeah, Greg, where are you?
Just so we've got everything in I'm in hot, hot garage that I got back to.
Okay, you're back in La Yes, welcome home.
Maybe when I get back to La Greg, I'll come over and I'll help you maybe install an air conditioner. You got a window in there.
We do, so it's possible.
Okay, let's work. I actually have a spare if we let's talk. Let's talk off air. Hank, you are and this is I think of all the great things, and I view you as not only a dear colleague, but a great friend. But I think the thing that I've always appreciated the most about you is your tremendous passion for the NFL supplemental Draft.
And I know that's the thing that rubbed off the most over a long time together, that that's the.
Thing that you remember that that's the thing that stands out there. It's why your relationship has taking a tip over the last four years because there hasn't been a supplemental draft.
So we're a little late on this, but this is more like tya bow on the situation. The NFL Supplemental Draft return Tuesday, excuse me, not this past Tuesday, last Tuesday, but there were no players selected. Two eligible players for the draft, which Henry will tell you about them in a moment. But this was the first year and three years the NFL conducted the draft, but nobody was taken. If you want to just give the audience a little bit of a perspective on what the event is. Why
hold it without making a selection? What's the future of the supplemental Draft? Please have that at the floor as yours.
Henry, Sure well, I mean, look, the supplemental Draft is everyone is probably awab but just for those that don't is kind of the jewel of the NFL's offseason. You know, there are these other events that will take place, the combine, free agency, the draft, and to some extent, you look at those things and they're kind of one dimensional, right, There's there's an opportunity and an outcome, if you like. In the draft, it's the New York Jets turn to pick.
The New York Jets make their pick. What is turns the supplemental Draft from that one dimensional event into a three dimensional event, is there's another.
Opportunity in there.
And you saw a couple of years ago the Minnesota Vikings try to bring this to the draft. But really what it is is sometimes you don't make a pick, and you know, as you guys know, some of the best choices you make in life are not making choices, and so in a way, that makes this year's draft where there were two players eligible, thirty two teams, seven rounds, seven times, thirty two as Dan noses whatever it is and even and at the end of it, everyone didn't
make a pick seven times. And so that really is what made this year's drafts, you know, so exceptional and such a such a one for the books because we actually had an event, but in the event, in the end, the event wasn't an event that happened. And that's what you know, it's chess checkers thing compared to the NFL draft. And look, every team out there, you know you want, you know, you want to find the next Bobby Humphrey. You want to find the next Bernie Cozar, the next
Chris Carter, and that's hard to do. And this year, the two guys that were out there Jackson state wide receiver you remember him from from last year, Malachi Wideman who had I think five hundred and forty yards and twelve touchdowns in twenty twenty one with the Tigers, and then Purdue's Milton Wright, also a wide receiver. Milton didn't play last year, so I don't have his stats.
Exactly.
Every team looked at them, and every team made an assessment and in the end, every team passed seven times. Well, I think, and that's that's really the supplemental Draft. Now, look, I mean there have been some great names that have come through the program, and again mentioned some of them. Bernie Cozar, Brian Bosworth you'll remember, came came through the supplemental Draft. And there is some you know, there have been some guys that haven't worked out as as well.
And you know, we we you're, as I say, you're looking for the good guys, but you could end up with a Harvey Younger or a Milford Brown or a John Davis.
So howoud Steve Walsh.
Steve Walsh came through there, Steve Walsh, you know that, and that really was where my passion. It's interesting you mentioned that, Greg, because that's where my passion for the supplemental Draft actually came about. So that year, the Dallas Cowboys, with the very first pick in the draft, Jimmy Johnson came on board and said, I'm bringing in Troy Aikman.
Troy Oatman's my guy.
Then doubled down in the Supplemental Draft and went and got a guy that he coached in college, Steve Walsh. Now Steve Walsh University of Miami quarterback obviously one of the other University of Miami quarterbacks who came out of this this program and performed so well, Bernie Kozos, I was looking for gold in the same place, but didn't necessarily find it.
And if I may just to put a bow on this and talking about the importance of the sublemental draft, as Henry stated, thirty two teams decided not to make a pick, so their pick was to not make a pick. That was thirty two teams decided that only thirty one teams made a selection in the first year player draft because of Miami's issues.
Thirty two first round.
Yeah, yeah, thirty two is higher than thirty one. So, like just from a pure like math standpoint, when you talk about like what's more important, that's what's important.
Yeah, I mean, I think I've outlined all the reasons that it's it's it's, as I say, the gem of the NFL off season.
Right, I mean, beyond the existential delight that is, does this event even exist or not if someone doesn't get taken, I mean that it's sort of it's mind blowing. Frankly, there's no other event like it. There's also a way that you take the most exciting part of working in the twenty second or twenty first century, that is and it will be the next century, which is a massive group email, which is essentially what the supplemental draft is.
And it's two hundred and twenty four straight group emails just saying pass yep, I mean again and you're waiting to find out, Oh, it's round four, how Texans are up. I'm on the edge of my seat. Pick one thirty four. Nope, it's pass again.
Well, and there were trades.
You know, you can trade and you can still pass on the trade, and that's you know, that's it's all must practice.
For deputy general managers.
You know, like go out there really, you know, work a trade, work the phones, and then when you work the phones and you've traded up or trade it down, pass well.
You famously did the supplemental mock draft year after year on NFL dot com, and it would it would always include a lot of trades. That always that always made me laugh.
That ended with pass Henry before we say goodbye. In addition to your duties with the NFL UK and surrounding territories, you're also huge.
You're really you're really like on the fence on that one. You just don't know where to go, do you?
You're also incredibly connected, uh in a champion of the International Pathway Program. We just did a we just did a training camp, primer. I was curious if there are any I p P players that maybe we should keep an eye on that have a chance to make some noise across our league this summer.
Boy, you really put me on the spot.
I think there were a couple of guys last year who were often you know, it takes maybe a year for the guys you know, not like Jordan my latter are and the guys that get drafted. But then the guys that are in the program, what it is is you got you go on the on the practice squad for for two or three years, you can you can be around them. So I think it's normally the guys
who've had a year's experience that probably get the best shot. So, off the top of my head, the Indianapolis Colts had a defensive back named Mussel Dabo d A b O who who was super athletic, you know, could easily played played in Germany, could easily get a shot, you.
Know, depending on How Camp Goes.
There's a handful of really immensely talented players from Nigeria that Ocum and Europe found and you know they're they're playing a lot of bunch of them across the NFC North this year. So I mean, we'll look out for names, but I'm sure one or two of them will pop up and at least in the in the preseason, make some noise and then we'll see where they go. Actually, the other guy to look out for it. Do you remember in Hard Knocks? I'm very excited for you down
about Jets and Hard Knocks. Remember Hard Knocks? When the Cowboys were in Hard Knocks, there was a Mexican offensive tackle who was Isaac Alacon who was a big part of the of the the show.
He's actually.
There's a British coach, Adam Dirty, who I think I've talked about on this show before, who's on dan quinn staff there, and he has converted Isaac from offensive line to defensive line and they are raving about how.
Isaac is super strong is performing as a defensive lineman. So another one to look out.
For, beautiful, and you had met Marceau Dabo, So.
I am Marcel Dabo, Okay, you're in.
Have we Greg keeps dropping notes or hints rather about going to Germany because I don't know if you've heard, it's it's the country that his father's from a little bit like I don't know if you've heard, but Mark grew up in the UK, so I like, you.
Know, you know, isn't it funny? Henry? I catch a lot of He's like, oh, Dan doesn't want to go anywhere, and Dan loves America's like these guys won't shut up about this other stuff, and it's just like, how about looking at it from that perspective?
I like, I love it.
I mean, I actually I wish that you weren't so steeped in the white and blue and we can help it.
I know, these colors don't run anywhere. They just stay right there.
They just stay right there.
But I hope that you know, you guys will We'll be in London or Frankfurt at some point this season.
We've got some fantastic games.
We're gonna have fun. If it happens, we'd love to be there, and we love having you on the show. Hank, Thank you very much.
It's always great to see you. Guys, take care, love you.
We're gonna updatesk save the Queen. That was a bad That was a bad one. We just got to be better than that, Gregie.
What about uh, you know Princess Kate. You know she was there at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon.
Should be saving her.
Yeah, that's true, we should have. Yeah, we're going to clean that up. Apologies to our British listeners. We're gonna get that right. I think that's that's important. Good show, good app We're back Thursday. Like we said, we're gonna be all back together next week, so we got one more show. Remotely, I'm working on getting maybe Connie on with us, maybe maybe another special guest that we haven't had on the show in a while, which would be
very nice. We're working on some things, Greggy. But any final thoughts.
No, I think I need to go get some sleep.
Yeah, okay, you do that, and then we'll talk air conditioner as well.
It is quite warm, it's all right, warm, all.
Right, everybody, thanks again for listening until Thursday. You know what you gotta do, he duck all