NFL Storylines We're Overly Invested In

I'm seriously thinking about going to all eight seasons and then just not watching the last episode of that would be wild. I mean, anyone's ever done that? You? I watched I think four seasons and then for me right fell off. I fell off like it's and I blame only myself, but also the show. I don't judge. I don't judge anybody for loving the show. What did you say?

I blame only myself but also the show. Well, I like it, um, but I think the last show that and this is a cultural phenomenon, a game of Thrones, no doubt about it. Um. The last show that I truly was head over heels for was Madmen, and I remember the final episodes not always thinking oh this is you know, this is going how I wanted to go, or they're not necessarily thinking they're sticking the landing, but enjoying all the final episodes because I'm gonna miss these characters.

You just want to hang out with the characters longer, and you know you're not gonna get any more Roger Sterling in your life after these last three weeks or whatever. Um, I don't sense a similar thing or the same thing going on with Game of Thrones, and that might just be because the show itself is obviously so different. It's fantasy, it's war, it's bloody and violent, and I think a

lot of people are getting killed. So there seems to be and we're gonna get into it on today's show a segment where we talk about what in the NFL, we're kind of as to use a Gregg term, wildly invested in, overly invested in the Game of Thrones fans, Greg are so upset, it seems about the direction of this last season because they're just so into the show. Yeah, I don't necessarily blame them, but I think the after seventies six hours of investment. That that everyone's given Game

of Thrones. You know, you're, you're. The emotional connection is just making people crazy. They're rooting for their rooting for certain things. It's just everyone's so invested. It's like it's like the super Bowl or something. It's like your team making it to the super Bowl, and this season is the super Bowl, and there's just emotions are high. I can't speak for everyone, but I went into the final season with the thought they had put so much time

into this. They are so invested. They have brilliant people working on this, brilliant actors, they have technology the likes of TV shows have never had. So the expectation going in, especially with these mini movies every week they're an hour and a half. The expectation is we might see television history, This might go down as the greatest television show, a spectacle the likes of which we won't see for decades, and it hasn't been that expect Those expectations are almost

impossible to match. That's part of what they were up against. But that's a good problem to have. Ultimately, well, there's also another thing going on. So you know, Shakespeare's Globe that featured players. That's what they're called players. Are we going back into like again? So like you have football players, but you also have players are actors. Both of them are dramas, right, one more stage than the other. They both rely on tension and release, mounting tension then resolution.

In Game of Throws Thrones, the last episode Sunday Night, the resolution was unsatisfactory, much like the no call in the Ram Saints game. And I think this is the fallout you're seeing. It was a very unsatisfactory resolution for viewers. I think one huge winner is George RR. Martin because if they're one and I don't watch it, but I but it's impossible to even log onto Twitter for more than three minutes without hearing every single person you knows opinion on it. So I only call it from that.

But the critique seems to be that since the books ended that the show is plot driven not character driven, that characters they spent all these time with are doing things they that they shouldn't be doing otherwise. And so if George R. Martin, who wrote the book, sitting back saying, oh yeah, I nailed it, they let these two showrunners go and watch the ending that is a fair criticism. Well it's not my criticism. Well, it's also like seven No,

nothing is meant to go on for seventies this conversation period. No, I mean it's fine. What about can happen? Well? That I don't agree with at all. I don't think ultimately it's kind of like uh an art. It's a form

of art. On some level, it is a form of And so I think of all the greatest television shows of all time, almost none of them were as good as they were in the final season as they were all along, because like, what's you know, it's like eighty it would be like writing a four thousand page book, Like it's just too you can't keep it at that level. How many shows do stick? You can't stick the limiting, but that every single part of the show is at

that same highlight. It's a lot to how many shows can you name that had a satisfactory the series finale? I love the Sopranos. At at the time, I wasn't trying to be Concerrian or anything. There wasn't like that public opinion. I love this bad ended very well. I thought I liked mad Men, and I thought, also what happened in the final season was an awesome final season's

character arc for our boy. Yeah, and six ft Under I thought ended extremely well way back in second to last episode of six ft Under is one of the best hours of television. You mean the penultimate episode, penultimate jumping on the Alright, it's a fun wordt don't come at it. We don't pretend to be excellent. I hear it all this like these guys they don't know anything about pop culture. I am telling you, I don't pretend to know anything about Game of Thrones. Settled down right,

Thank you for getting that out there. Mark, you heard Mark Seessler. Don't come at him at Mark Seiler. NFL any of us, Yes, we got a lot to get into it. Yeah, So what are we kinds so invested in uh in the NFL that we're going nuts. We can't even keep it together. And it is hot in here. Mark's doing that. He's got the vapor. Not just me this time. That should tell you something, that is you know, that tells me. Keep an eye on Ricky, keep an eye on Mark Sessler, because even when it's not hot,

he's hot. When we are hot, he could pass out if we could put like some type of a feigning couch next to the chair. We gotta keep Mark alive. Them wheel it in maybe like one of those sprits bottles. We just have somebody I want to request too many, I think, alright, anyway, so what do we overly invested in? But before that, let's do some news. So they're gonna lose that last game, letting some younger guys play thirteen and three respectable for Sam Donald the second year. Good

luck time to be right there. It is Greg. That is the Mark Sanchez on NFL Total Access here in NFL Network, predicting a not only the thirteen and three JET season, in that in that game they play where they at the Yeah, he went through every every game of the schedule. Uh they were thirteen and two and you know, rested all the starters against the bill. But that part is what I love the most. It was really great. He delivered it with a lot of panash

and uh, I hope to see Marvin, I thought. David Carr, who we like. He's been on this show and he fostered a broker to peace between this show and Derek Carr, the Raider's quarterback, who had blocked Greg and I for a time and then unblocked us live on on broadcast, which I still got goose bumps just thinking about that moment. We liked David car but Carr was a little bit annoyed. I thought that Um Sanchez was making a farce of what to me is the most farcical exercise done on

NFL network. Who he pitting the button w L for sixteen weeks. That's true, but it kind of made for better TV. He was kind of this straight man. It was like, what's going on here? We've lost the show. Mark Santes is taken over. Mark Sanchez is having fun. Stop him anyway? Good for you, Mark. I hope you get a He's not on a roster right now, right, Adam, why not? That's that's what we need on the He's one of those featured players at the Globe. He just is coming in every once in a while and trying

to get that long term deal. I don't do it. I think people saw just how inept he was with the Redskins last year, and he's not getting them. With the NFL network, we're saying we moved on from I think everyone's right. Everyone was nailing. They all that different takes on what I have laid out, but you're all right, all right, let's get into a start with the Denver Broncos.

Did that just have a cup of coffee in Denver? Yes? Uh. Big the head coach of the Broncos that Joe Flacco, the offseason trade acquisition, will get all first team reps in O T A s um. He addressed the media and made it clear that um Flacco will get those first team reps, then we have an open competition after that and will randomly play with the two isn't threes when we do our reps. O T s began on Monday. Of course, Drew lock is in the building. Uh, the

draft pick by the Broncos. Uh. So, a lot of people are wondering how long unleashed Flack will have And speaking of Joe Flacco, um gentleman. He spoke to the media today Monday and made it clear that you know the old reality show thing, I didn't come here to make friends. Well, Joe Flacco says, I didn't come here to mentor let's listen it. I think that is like I said, it's kind of riches job, you know, and it's and it's and it's to be in that quarterback

room and watch and that's how you can develop. Listen, I got so many things to worry about. I'm trying to go out there and play good football. I'm trying to go out there and play the best football in my life. Um So, as far as a time constraint and all that stuff, you know, I'm not worried about developing guys or any of that. You know. That is what it is. And like I said, I hope he does develop, but I don't look at that as my job.

My job ago win football games for this football team. Ys. You like what you hear, I mean, I don't really have strong feelings on that that. I've heard that from so many different quarterbacks, veteran quarterbacks over the years that it's customary. That seems normal to me, customary. From Flacco, who said similar things last year, he does seem a little uncomfortable with the with the notion it may be

annoyed and he's he's just a competitive guy. And you kind of got the same vibe from Eli Manning when they asked him those questions a few years ago that he wasn't ready to give that up at that point. I think he allies maybe more ready now I don't think. I don't think Joe Flacco is gonna go out of

his way to make it comfortable. I wonder if Flacco, when he got traded from Baltimore, thought one of the advantages of this move was that he wouldn't have to be answering these questions um this time of year, that he would have another young buck ready to take the throne. Probably was told that I look at the iron throne, mark the iron throne. I'm looking at a date here, October, which feels like the ideal date for Joe flat go to be benched. It is a evening game on Thursday, Chiefs.

He will get benched. Drew Lock will step in with ten days to prepare and only a week before the bye as well, a nice cushion for the youngster to come in Joe Flacco. I'm not buying this idea in West. I don't mean to buckheads with you. I know you're all in on Joe Flacco that he's going sixteen weeks. I promise you if he goes sixteen weeks, I will give you you can come to my house and take anything out of my house outside of a human being anything in my house. Cut that, Ricky. We're gonna need

to file that for potential. And if he doesn't, I'm going to West's house and taking anything I want out to West's house. Do you agree to that, Wes? No, I have some stuff I like. Yeah, I was like, why does marcalf that you would take you're not getting then I'll just do it the other way around. You don't have a car anymore while you share it. Yeah, I wouldn't take your car. I don't even want it.

I mean, Flacco is in a weird in a weird position because if you look at their talent, they might be the most rebuilding offense and the youngest offense in the NFL. They're running back as a second year player, their top three receivers until Emmanuel Sanders gets healthy, our second year players. They have a rookie tight end, they have a rookie offensive lineman uh starting. They have Drew Lock in place. So this is about as young as it gets. And then you have Flacco kind of leading

all these young guys. Another Broncos news Chris Harris, the star cornerback. Well, it looks like the Broncos are gonna keep him around or do everything in our power to make sure he's playing in nineteen at Mile High, Mike Lease of nine News, Denver reported that the Broncos will not trade uh the cornerback. He's been a no show at offseason workouts trying to get a new contract. The Broncos are expected to present a counter offer next week. Uh, it might not be that money that Harris wants. Uh,

So west Um this all pro corner. You know, he he doesn't have a lot of leverage here. I mean he could sit out mandatory mini camp and take a little pop there to continue to state his unhappiness. But if Denver doesn't want to trade him, it's probably gonna be playing with Denver. That's it. Everything was copacetic and hill. The Broncos went out and paid big bucks for Kareem Jackson and then Chris Harris had to watch a lesser cornerback get a better contract than him, and he's not

happy about it. But if you're the Broncos, Chris Harris, outside of Von Miller, is your best defensive player and your secondary is night and day with him without him. As we saw down the stretch last year, they're just not nearly as good of a secondary if he's not there. But he's a you know guy, how old is he right now? Thirty? Coming off a major injury. It's always tricky to pay up like an aging player coming off

an injury. And he was underpaid for so long. So do you pay on past performance because because you like the guy so much? Not many teams do that. I don't know if Vick Fungio thought that his first year on the job would be minus Chris Harris. I don't think that was part of the deal in his mind. So you'd like to think they would get something done here. Fondio's gonna get some business done. Let's move on and

talk about Yeah. We we now have our second deep dive on the Green Bay Packers in the culture within. This one comes from Tom Silverstein of Packard News. He writes for the Milwaukee Journals Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Thank you, Greg, uh and a really interesting breakdown. So Ted Thompson um Mike McCarthy fired obviously in December. Ted Thompson as this step down or has moved out of his position? Uh? And what's the letter you know revealed as because he's

dealing with some serious health issues. Mark Murphy, the president of the team, UM had a decision to make how he wants this team to run, and and this team has run smoothly for decades now. It was um Ron wolf Uh during the Brett Favre era into Ted Thompson. It was always a clear line of power, who was

making decisions, Who is the guy in charge? Well that's not so much the case anymore because Murphy greg Is is put into what's kind of a three headed monster here UM that puts the the the organization and a little bit of a tricky spot. Potentially. We haven't seen any outward sides of dysfunction, but when there's not a clear line of delineation of who's in charge, that can happen. Your thoughts on this piece, I though it's really fascinating and his worth reading in full if you're into the

inner workings of front offices. And I would say it's dysfunctional because the two guys that theoretically are as important as anyone in the front office, Russ Ball and then the GM Brian Gouda Kunts, we're both on essentially unhappy with the job that they got. That they felt like they each separately felt like they were sold one job and maybe got another one where they don't really have

the power they didn't. Guda Kunts thought he was getting Ted Thompson's job, and it's not because he has limited say for a general manager. Then you have Matt Lafleura over to the side, takes a little fire in this one, this piece too about whether he has a forceful personality, and you have these three competing areas of the team not on the same page necessarily. And then the thing that would worry me most about Packers fan is you have Mark Murphy getting in with the coaching staff and

doing the types of things that bad owners do. He's not technically the owner, but he's acting like one. It's a lot. I think. One of the things that surprised me the most in our job over the past decade is the level of palace intrigue in these front offices, the level the lengths they go to keep and foster power for themselves versus you know, kind of contenders for power in the same front office. When guna cuts Um interviewed for the job is Greg references when what is

this again? Then this is Brian Gooda cuts is on hold music. If you call Brian Goodacuts and you need to get through to him. If he if he's taken care of other business, this will be the song that plays. He's very proud of his armed herota, I mean a little off brand. If he essentially is a somewhat of a neutered figure inside the building compared to what we that sounds like someone very powerful, his dropping hammers on. Perhaps perhaps he picked that song before he found this out.

But anyway, the interview, he went in for the interview, thought it was like Greg said, Ted Thompson's job he was gonna get, which was, you know, all powerful job, and then was told actually, no, it's not going to be that way, and he had to they had to wait for him to come back and say I still want the job, because it threw everything kind of out

of whack. And then with uh Le Flora the head coach, there's questions about how much power he had to even pick his own coaching staff, and Mike Petton was, uh you could perhaps see it as pushed onto him a little bit. And then some other special teams coordinator that he quite liked quite a lot, and even the you know he flew in for the interview and then got apparently low balled in a contract offer and ended up being you know, going to New Orleans instead. A lot

of cooks in the kitchen. It just seems like not everything. It doesn't sound like anyone is particularly thrilled with things right now. Now. If they go in there, you know, eight and three in November, nobody's gonna even remember this anymore. But if a team that's sitting on back to back losing seasons, if this thing goes sideways, well, this is only I feel like this is only gonna fester and

become a bigger story. But some of these things take years to really blow up to so even if they were eight and three, I'd still be concerned with the overall structure. These teams that have this sort of mix and match scenario where you don't really know who's in charge, and inside the building there's arguments over who's in charge, and there's all these hurt feelings. It can last for

a year or two and then it utterly crumbles. The worst thing, like whether it's some sort of South American country or it's an NFL team, when there's a power void and everyone's rushing to fill the power it's really it's really important that it's done well in the NFL.

And this situation concerns me number one, based on every press conference we've seen so far out of Green Bay, where Mark Murphy is sort of treating Goody despite his on hold music and everything else, and or young new head coach as almost like young children or or people that need to be tutored into the rule and answering

every question over them. This is your head coach, and you're at least media facing GM well in the and if you're read between the lines, I got the sense Goody might not even have been totally the guy on board or with the La Fleur hiring, and that he was on the side for that press conference, which is I mean that that's troubling. Uh, I don't know if I'm a lot of it is understandable, like you can

see why, but it's how bad organizations start. And Ted Thompson having this automnemonic disorder which we didn't talk about, which is a pretty serious illness that he might have stayed with the job too long. And then McCarthy and Ball Mike McCarthy, the former coach, where apparently totally at odds and that created why his job is a certain way.

And I don't know, it's a lot. It's been a lot of success because since ron Wolfe was there, but ron wolf is no longer participating in Packers events and kind of U is mad at the organization, partly because of how they treated his son. There there's a lot going on. I remember at the combine I um two years ago when it was Goody's first run. I random you know how you randomly see people in the elevator and like the twelve year old and you was like,

oh my gosh, that's Mike McCarthy, the Packers coach. But we were alone. I was like, yeah, I really think your new GM seems like a great higher and he just looked at me and like his door open, he goes It wasn't that bad. It was kind of like it wasn't like, hey man, I think he's awesome dude working around It was just like a and walked out of the other Okay, what hotel is this? We've got to see if there's footage somewhere. It's the one we

always stay at an Indian Maria um Hilton. All right, I don't check hotel names Anyway, moving on, Greg, good news, Happy Monday for you. Some people got the case of the Monday's today, not you, Greg. You know, why do you know he's back? You knows back. The Seahawks sign the journeyman quarterback Um, the former second round pick of the Jets, spent last season doing nothing behind Philip Rivers with the Chargers. Uh, and now he is um going to be probably he'll probably be the number two behind

Russell Willlsonbody's got some competition. You know who it is, Baxton Lynch, Lynch v Gino to back up Russ. I would call that totally speaking of palace intrigue, clip the coins. Sorry, Greg, Well, don't be sorry. I think what teams are better than Baxton Lynch even I'll say that, Yeah, I won't say that necessarily show to me. You know what's more important talker action. You know, you can a lot of funny talk about Gino over the years. Look at the action.

What NFL You're not going to go back to the end of the team about leadership. What the NFL teams are telling us are like, if we want to pair someone with a quarterback who knows just about everything there is to know about the NFL, but needs a little something else behind him to really teach him the game. And Eli Manning of Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson, who do they bring in? They bring in Gino. They bring in Gino to help that veteran really be the best that

he can be. Here's another way to look at it. If you have a quarterback who never misses his snap like Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson, feel free to bring in Geno Smith is your number two because he's never gonna play. We'll always defend that start Gino had as a Giant against the Raiders, and that will always Watch the tape. Watch the tape. Watch the tape when he runs down the sideline cheering against Ryan Fitz.

He was the best on the same team. It was like the best game by a Giants quarterback gives his own teammate playing quarterback because he wanted to play. What a rotten teammate. I actually did give some a little bit of thought before the show when this, you know, I was putting together the rundown. Why does he keep getting jobs? He must be pretty good at picking up a playbook and he doesn't cost a lot he throws a pretty ball, throws a decent spiral. When he throws

it to his own team, he throws a pretty ball. UM. Finally in the news some sad news, former Chiefs coach Gutrick Cunningham has died at the age of seventy two. UM. The Lions, whom Cunningham last worked as a decordinator two thousand nine through two thousand thirteen and he worked with them as an assistant through two thousand seventeen, announced the news. Born in Munich, Germany, Cunningham moved to the US at the age of ten and became a naturalized citizen UH

two thousand ten. He attended the University of Oregon, where he played linebacker, but he was known as you know, a real lifer. As a coach in the NFL. UH started with the Baltimore Colts as an assistant, spent time with the Chargers and Raiders before moving to Casey as their d C from ninety eight. Some really good Chiefs teams in that mix. In ninety nine, he succeeded Marty Schottenheimer's the Chiefs had coach for two years when sixteen

and sixteen. For more than thirty years, UH Cunningham was a figure in the NFL and Bucky Brooks. We joke about it a lot on this program about Daniel Jeremiah having or not having a podcast here at NFL Media. Well, I'm gonna talk about this one. Uh. First of all, DJ wasn't on this episode. It was Rhett filling in with Bucky. But that I think that's a great combo, right, I think it's something to explore. But Bucky played under Gunther Cunningham UM for a phase of his career, and

he had some words about Gunther. So let's listen in to Um the most recent episode of Move the Stings. Look, the NFL lost a great one because he's one of the best defensive minds, one of the more colorful personalities.

He is a guy that UM, I think everybody has a story when it comes to Gunther, because he felt like he was the toughest guy in the room and anyone who was around him, anyone who was on his team, had to take on that personality because look, teams are really there, they take on the persona of their coach, and so having played for him, you walk out with a level of confidence and a level of kind of that bully nous that uh goes on. So look, I'm

gonna miss him. I'm missing dearly. He did so much for canc CD and the rest of the league the way he impacted it. Um, it's sad to see a great one pathway. I just remember those late nineties teams. His defense, you know, Marty Shotton ever got away with running the batt of the time because Gunther Cunningham's defense was number one in the league and points allowed two out of three years when they went thirteen and three.

I always feeling Chiefs fans have had some great teams over the years that that didn't get quite over the hump, but his defenses were awesome. He is one of the rare guys that was defensive coordinator for the Chiefs, became head coach, went to another team, then return How many head coaches return to their previous team as a coordinator. I cannot think of any other than him in these

last twenty five years. Secondly, if we love hard Knocks for what it teaches us about the coordinators and the coaches and the personalities running the two thousand and seven Chiefs, hard Knocks, there is no bigger star on that entire show than Gunther Cunningham, who I had no idea who the guy was before it, and he is a raging

badass through the entire He's unbelievably enjoyable to watch. He's the same dude on Thanksgiving when justin Force set way back when against the Texans, he was with he was with the lines at that point ran for that eight one yard touchdown that couldn't be uh, it couldn't be reviewed because Schwartz through the red flag during it and it was a scoring place, so they're said, sorry, it was clearly he was tackled to the ground, and they just show cunning him taking the playbook and throwing it

in the air like an old man and picking it with his foot. Then a couple of a couple, it was either a year or two after Monday Night Football shows him up in this up in the coordinator's booth, chewing out fans that are like like ten feet away who were giving him he was he was to me one of the I can see why Bucky feels a way would be hard forget him. Got Cunningham dead at the age of seventy two, That's what's happening in the news. Hey guys, Lisa knows how important rest is to a

better life. How are you sleeping lately? Mark? Much better? Good I had. I'm watching both my boys. My wife is away on business right now, and uh, they both slept in bed with me last night. Not a great night sleep that doesn't a lot of little legs kicking you repeatedly. Kind also have to protect your body, even awake or not, when your little children in the bed, because they're gonna kick you. Well, they're a little body. They're like little body heaters, like space heaters. You don't

need that. It's like what it feels like in here right now. I wouldn't be surprised they're like crawling on the floor somewhere right now. Anyway, Lisa is the foundation of a healthy, healthier, happier you. All Lisa products have been thoughtfully designed to go beyond creating a comfortable bed and to transform your bedroom into a sanctuary you want to spend time with. Speaking of my son, my eldest Jack, we got a Lisa bed for him. Uh, and you know he's not sleeping in it last night, not great,

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Order today and get off your purchase for a limited time at leasta dot com. Slash around and use promo code around. That's l e e s A dot com slash around and guys, one more thing. I'm not going very far. I'm in a rush. It's too uncomfortable. Sometimes I just forget. Don't kid yourself. There's no such thing as a good excuse for not buckling up. If you've used any of these excuses or others, you're putting yourself

at risk of injury or death. In two thousand seventeen, more than ten thousand people were unbuckled when they were killed and crashes. That's people killed in motor vehicle crashes that were not wearing seatbelts. No matter what kind of vehicle you drive, wearing your seat belt is the best defense in a crash. Greg, do you buckle up? Of course every time me buckle up. It's not cool not to. It used to be not anymore. And I used to not buckle up in the back seat. And then one

day I smartened up. I said, you know what, the buckles buckling back here too. I grew up in a live and let live house where you didn't have to buckle your seat, But since I've been an adult, always buckle my seat. Absolutelyn't remember, but west Uh, I was called you bob. Bob's not on the show. There you go. Cops are on the lookout and writing tickets, so why take the risk. So do the smart thing and buckle up every trip, day or night, front seat or back seat.

I added that in just to reminder, buckle up in the back seat, click it or ticket. Nailed it, alright, I should add in my mom's defense, that were like nine of us trying to fit in a firebird. The seat belts kind of where you know. My My mom also came from a large Catholic family where there were six children. She tells the story when they would drive to the beach in the summer. They'd be packed into the back of the station wagon. There'd be a dog

in there as well. And then Poppy, my late grandfather smoking a big cigar. There's no air conditioning. It character well less helicoptery parental scenarios back then. Yes, um, all right, there we go. Let's talk about it. What are we overly invested in as we look ahead to two thousand nineteen at a level where, yeah, this is what we do for a living, we should be invested in a lot of the subplots that surround the season as we look ahead. But for whatever reason, these subplots have really

kind of wormed their way into our old brains. And uh, I was gonna mention like a part of a brain, to just dress it up a little bit. But then I didn't know if it would be mentioning the right part of the brain, the north cortex, cortex would have been good. I was thinking of that. What was the m Gambada thing? What was that part? I almost did that, but I didn't want to stump all over the word. I might have stumbled upon it myself. Well, m Greg, why don't you get us going? Maybe sometimes I don't

have to, you know, externalize these internal thoughts. Well, so I think that's your job as the host. And this is a you know, somewhat confusing segment, and so I think it's it's good to set it up. It's really it really is inspired by Game of Thrones. We sort of did the intro already right off the top, but just that people they're in too deep. They've they've committed so long with Game of Thrones that they're just losing perspective on things. That's a little bit how I feel

with the Los Angeles Chargers at this point. I've been predicting that this team is gonna be one of the best teams in the a f C, that it's going to go to the super Bowl, that it's got one of the best rosters in the league from for so long that there's no there's no backing off at this point, Like, there's no I can't go off of that when they

went twelve and four a year ago. But part of me does, you know, the part of me that's not as invested, kind of looks at it from the outside and and looks at that offensive line and it's garbage for the most part. Uh. And there it was at the end of last season. And it's basically the same group coming back. And it's an it's an older quarterback and as loaded as that defense looks, and uh, and

it's really good overall. I I do worry about a team that doesn't really have much of a home field advantage. And did they Was that their best chance last year twelve and four? I don't really know. I can't tell because I'm in so I'm in so dear into deep. I'm in too deep. I can't see it. You're blinded. What about the idea of building into those things? And maybe be worried about the way the offense played down

the stretch. Yes, you know, after that amazing they peaked as a team one of the great moments in Chargers history, at least regular season. But maybe you can go the whole you know, Kit and Caboodle is when they went to Arrowhead and the buzzer beater win on Thursday Night football, And from that point on, I don't remember that offense being close to the same. What is it? Right? I do worry about that there little thin Uh. You know,

they have two great receivers. I believe in Keenan allen Um and Mike Williams is coming up, but after that it's Travis Benjamin and then there's a pretty big fall off. It's just a team that you're nervous. I'm not nervous. I'm not nervous. It just looks so good on paper that actually think now I've been rooting for the Charges to do well for so long. I'm getting some Charger fans thoughts in my head, which is like, it almost

looks too good. Something's gonna get funky. It felt like at the end of the year the problems were twofold, that their running backs were injured and they have one of the best, most productive back fields all year, and then the right side of the offensive line just fell apart and got exploited almost after. The offensive line was so bad the last four or five six weeks, and that was what I think separated this team. And the defense is really good. I hope Gus Bradley can take

advantage of all the talent that he has. It looks great on paper. This is an organization where it hasn't always translated from paper, uh to reality. Kind of like the last season of Game of Throw and talk about that I brought it back. I ound and Rodgers was the latest celebrity to make a camo on the show. I think he gets you know West, did you see? Oh yeah, it wasn't that going to be in the news.

I forgot. I mean I wasn't looking for him because it was about Game of Thrones, not some quarterback for the Packers. But no, I didn't see him. Well quarterback for the Packers. This is an all time great Why yeah, but he plays football. A football player has no place in Game of Thrones. Like, that's a whole different world. That's mid Earth. Are just guys that hang out in l A and work on their screen plays. Willing suspension of disbelief matters more for me than most people. It's

hard to pick him out. There's a scene according to some again don't watch it, but he obviously should have been doing But he comes, he comes, burning hound. You spent four or five scenes. He comes, burning down like a left turn as the dragon is like touch Rodgers and burning everyone up. According on Twitter, that's I don't think anybody watching this would have seen that as Aaron Rodgers. And even if they were looking for you'd have to

go back. So Why am I the one defend Aaron Rodgers? Finally, why are we so negative about him appearing on it on a television He's a huge just missed it? Yeah, all right, it's like a little he's a quarter if he's scene that they showed he did a nice job. Money and watch it. You know what's happening right now? There? He gets torched, It gets hot in here. It is. And it's funny you say that because I'm watching Aaron Rodgers get incinerated on Game of Thrones. And yes, it

happens so quickly that it's very easy to miss. And west obviously that's something you can miss as we completely bring the show to I mean, how would I know that's are on site watching it? In no way, it's only because it's been by you got killed. That's the point. You're not supposed to know. I'm I'm not supposed to know that it's him, and I'm I'm not saying there's anything wrong with I'm just saying nobody should be expected

to notice that's Aaron Rodgers during this. I also think maybe they shouldn't have had him in shoulder pads in a number twelve jersey. It just took me out Like the coffee cup thing didn't help, took me out of the moment, all right. Anyway, what am I wildly overly invested in? Well, I'm gonna keep it real. It's got to be involving my favorite team, but it's a it's a bigger picture as well. I am two invested in the year two of the two thousand eighteen quarterback draft class, UM,

just to see how this all shakes out. It starts, of course, with my boy Sam Donald, who I'm really excited. I feel like he's kind of in a good spot where, um, nobody, despite the additions, people still don't really think the Jets gonna be any good, So he doesn't have a lot of this. I don't think there's a lot of expectations really built up around Donald, which is probably not the worst thing. But when I look at the roster and Greg you hit the Jets in the roster reseat, they're

better in almost every phase of UM. Their team from last year now. Last year's team is a bad four and twelve outfits. So that doesn't mean now they're gonna go twelve and four. But I'm really excited, especially but beyond Levy on Bell and jameson James and crowder Um, the Adam Gaze angle, which as a Jets fan, you just have no it's been so long since they've tried to build an offense with Um, a coach that has an offensive mind. I'm excited to see how Gays and

Donald worked together. Mayfield and the Browns. We've talked about that a lot, but you want to see is he gonna be a superstar? Is he gonna be an m v P level guy? Unlike Donald? Obviously, the Browns have a ton of expectations, so I'm interested to see how um he fares facing that type of UM scrutiny. And then the other guy is Josh Rosen. I'm focusing on the first round obviously, Josh Rosen. What happens in Miami. Does he have a chance to sell well, he will

get a chance to salvage his career. What does he do with it? So I'm kind of really interested in how that shakes out. Josh Allen? Is he any good? I think there's some people that think Josh Allen is really good, and then there's some people that didn't see enough to get excited about him. I Uh, he seems very scattershot to me and an amazing athlete. And finally,

Lamar Jackson. I feel like Donald has helped out a little bit in terms of what you mentioned with lower expectations by the fact that by the end of last year, I think Baker Mayfield and you could argue Lamar Jackson became bigger stories than Arnold tucked away on a lost Jets team. But I would not say on any level that we're far away from it out here. On some level, but there is no way that Sam Donald does not have high expectations around him, and he should. He should

have high expectations. There are high expectations, but a lot of pressure, the scrutiny of the team being I'm not talking about him, I'm talking about the team. People aren't expecting the Jets to go eleven and five and knock off the Patriots. It's a different people aren't buying into now.

I get that, But I do think there is a lot of expectation for a first year head coach and second year quarterbacks just because the talent around him is so good that Levi on Bell, you think Chris Herndon's gonna make a big leap, You got a nice receiver crew and Anderson uh in the noon noir and who am I forgetting there? Jamison Crowder. I mean that's like a good He should be expected to have a good

season this year. Coaches should be better too. I'm the I would say this is um the most excited I've been about a Jet season in a long long time. You might have to go back to two thousand eleven after their second a f C title game, where I just not necessarily because I think they're ready to make them make the move to be a contender, but just to see how the team plays and see how Donald develops.

I've never had a quarterback in my life. Well, and you're not forcing that, You're not forced to quietly back a total sham quarterback, which has been the exercise when you root for these quarterback free, crappy teams for a decade plus. As you know, well, Mark all right, um, Chris Westling, I'm gonna invite Mark to go ahead of me if he wants to, because mine is more of

a macro view of the sport itself. Bullet involves Shakespeare mythology. No, mine is very microt I will I will go first here with with my thing because it is based on a smaller topic than the entire sport. Uh. For me, I feel like when I get way too deep, I cannot change my opinion on something, even if it is changing. And for me, I am in way too deep when I look at the Detroit Lions and I see nothing but their immense, profound, untouchable dullness. I wanted to try

to explain this to me. I think I had perceived them as boring for years on end correctly, and I need the team to pull off something dramatic to alter my worldview. When I'm flipping through games, whether they're live, run game pass, I want to feel something other than when I land on the Detroit Lions and think to myself next, the Lions arguably have one of the top run stuffing lines in the NFC right now, led by Damon Harrison. They have a competent quarterback in Matthew Stafford.

I like Carrie on Johnson Kenny Golladay. I kind of can get behind the Matt Patricia thing. But still I cannot see my way out of this conundrum. Here are a few ideas to change my opinion. How about win a playoff game for the first time since a longer streak than the Browns. How about stop being the least interesting team in your division for one in my lifetime.

How about consider the concept of not feeling aesthetically like the same exact dull trinket year after year after year, and before any ham and Egger Lion fans come after me, you should be ten times more steamed than I am. How many sundays have you wasted? Would you prefer to sip the most expensive champagne as the NFL crown is laid upon your brow or deal with another raging bowl of vanilla ice cream comes September. It's gonna take a lot to change my feelings. I'm way too deep in

on this one. It's like Saigon sixty eight. Who knows when any of us will get out of the ship. I agree with every word you said, and I totally get what you're saying that this could be the year the Lions are exciting, but you're too close to it. You're too too close, too invested in this marriage and not rooting for myself to feel that way. Year from now, I would love to feel different. The rest of the league is because it's coming to the point where there

aren't that many super boring teams left. A lot of them have gone out of the way to fix some of the issues. It should be the the solve really for the UH for their you know, boring nature. Because when he came in and at least was thankful that I thought he would say Thanksgiving the early game, I was like, all right, finally we're we're done with these Lions quarterbacks that are allowsy. We get Stafford in the nine thirty whole for the next decade. But I don't

know you're you're right. I mean, that's an underrated Mark Sessler storyline his feelings about the Lions. But I'm glad we explored it. Okay, Wes, I just don't know how I believe it. But I have something that I'm passionate about. It's not gonna be like I just can't stop thinking about the Miami Dolphins in their team building process. Like I don't spend time thinking about that and getting all hot and bothered over it. But the Lions that annoying.

I will say when I think about something that I felt passionately about this take since the minute this podcast started. And I'm not alone West because of the way we're indoctrinated in this country. We our minds tend to set and entrench as liberal or conservative, right or left, business or labor. That's the bias we bring into sports, and the people who follow football closes tend to break down into two separate camps, pro owners or pro players, and

we lose perspective. We get into deep when we view the league's issues through one of those lenses, instead of taking a broader view about what's good for the sport itself short term or long term, as well as the most rewarding entertainment experience for the fan, more fans, more writers should be thinking about what's good for writers and fans, not what's good for players or owners. M hmm, what are some I think that's a thought provoking uh idea there?

What are some what? What are some examples? Like what made you think about this? Uh one thing a topic that came up a week or two ago, the franchise tag. When you were talking like that might be an issue that the players, the NFL P we'll get rid of. There's no chance of that happening, because the sport itself

needs the franchise tag. It will be an awful awful sport if quarterbacks can just go wherever they want, like the NBA where you have these power teams and dream teams and only two teams or three teams are relevant every year. You can't do that in football. That's one thing. But I also think replay is another one. M Yeah, replay I could. I could totally see the franchise tag and player movement is is a double edged sword. With the NFL and the way talents dispersed in the salary cap.

You know, good quarterbacks are almost getting there, like Kirk Cousins kind of put a no trade, no tag, you know, clause on his contract, and theory Wilson could do that. I don't mind getting rid of it. I don't mind a little more player movement. I think actually the NFL that might make it interesting that if better players got

to free agency. But I think you're you're right about the replays that and this is across a lot of sports, so that I think you're losing the forest for the tree that someone that hasn't watched a lot of NBA in recent years, but tuning in for these game sevens, I mean to see like a two minute delay to see if Joel, I'm Joel Embiid was acting or not when his eye got hurt with six minutes left in the game, It's like, come on, you're also let's let's

wake up here. You're also allowed to look at the Levy on Bell situation and say, hey, the Steelers offered him a fair deal. Um, he hates the franchise tag, but the franchise tag actually would have been good for him had he accepted it. And as a fan of the game, I would have had a much better experience if he was playing for the Steelers instead of sitting

out all year. Let me ask you one quite like when when it comes to replay, because I like your argument that everyone it's great in in in March and April when we reconstruct replay and it becomes more expansive and it's going to address the stuff that hurt everyone's feelings a couple of months ago, rightly so, But then the game suddenly when it's if if they are going to become longer, We don't really know, because I think there's arguments to suggest that won't happen, Like I don't

know if any of this would be happening at all. If it weren't for Twitter and stuff like that, because in if this were like the expansion hubbub over Minnesota and New Orleans would have died down about ten days later and been largely something people wouldn't even be communicating

about publicly. It stayed such a fervor and the owners have to react, and the owners and everyone else had to vote that in like when you say pro owner or pro player, I mean some of these issues are right in the middle with with replay, Like do you want them to not be responsive to that kind of thing? The owners, I thought they did at least they tried

to make the game. I don't know. For me, it's confusing because their owners, to me, they tried to address what was a truly big guiling issue for the league going forward. I don't think you haven't a lot of owners or right now, like looking at the health of the league is the most important thing, which is it doesn't help that in almost every American sport the commissioners essentially powerless and he's just a lackey for the owners getting hot in here again. I mean that's the way.

That's the way it's evolved over the years. That like if you're an owner of the sport. The commissioner is under your employee. That's just the way it is. Um, good, say, guys, we have one more show before the Chris Westling Lakeisha Jackson Jackson nuptials. By the way, your brother, Nick, Oh yeah, I mean I got him triggered. He is. He is all up in his feelings. He's what happened now. He's sending me private text now saying how you know how badly wants to beat me. And he was gonna play

left hand, but now he's gonna play right. Heber, he got my number to teach me a lesson. And it's just like, bro, I love it up here living rent free in your head, Nick, and it's nice up here and roomy. And let me tell you something. You're not gonna like what happens this weekend. It's noisy though up in his head. It's a lot of chatter, a lot

of chatter. But um, just realize the pressures on you, buddy, the pressures on you, let's say, And he's listening right now, right Nick, You remember I'm the one with the microphone. And if you don't beat me this weekend, next week will be one of the lowest points of your life. Well you and Nick is is um and if we hear no updates about the game at all, you know

that Nick fared. Well here's here's the problem though, Nick, it's not a one on Well maybe you will do a one on one thing, but the problem is like if you and Nick are a close battle, that leaves you know, me and west too to decide that the wind. My feeling is clear, I care less now about the two on two? Is there a one on one? And and just um, Nick and I I guess a little concerned about the top heavy nature of the Wesley and Westling team. Well here's the We're we're big time underdogs.

I I don't mind it. It'll just uh, it'll just you know, make everyone more surprised when we shot the world. But that's just the reality is we're big. It also feels great, as all mentioned, two shows in a row just to be completely knocked out of the lineup at whim by you hobby horses. Enjoy yourself. Here's the tail of the tape. Um. Nick clearly a better cornhole player than Dane. But here's what I say, Nick not even in the same league as Dan when it comes to

psychological warfare. And this could backfire on Nick if he's talking about throwing left handed, because Dan might then force him to throw left handed. Nick Willet obliterated. We'll see, We'll see. I wouldn't. I wouldn't, you said clearly better. We'll see because he's got to perform. It's easy to do it when you're alone in Cincinnati in the backyard. But when the lights are on and when people are watching it, and when it counts, we'll see what Nick

Westling's got. We'll see if he's got anything in the heart. I'll leave it on that note. Let's go. Stan has a signing off four quiet Storm, the mail man, your boss, and Ricky Hollywood behind the glass. I want you, Nick Westley, I want you till Thursday m