Playoff Expansion & Hard Knocks Eligible Team Rankings

And uh also you know the well who I consider the shadow fifth member of the Around the NFL Podcast, Roger Goodell, Big Rock. Well, I'm a little disappointed because we had a big We had a really actually and this is not fictitious. This is really a big surprise planned for the two of you. And I spent probably um two plus hours of my day. Yes, you were like it. I was about this, and I I went online to look for it was like, what could we get for Greg and west that they would both equally enjoy?

And we were going to try to get you guys into some news entanglement, some issues, some football head scenario and then have Walt waltzing into the room a singing telegram. Um, a woman named Angela was going to dress up as Marilyn Monroe and sing Happy Birthday, Mr Presidents the American Icon the icon and I I, you know, at the last minute, I was just gonna pay for to my own and try to get it expensed later because it

was semi affordable. That's when I was like, I took a step back and I said, I hope that works out for you, Mark. But well Erico was very smart. She said, run this up the flagpole to at least one shadowy League figure to see what they think. In The response I got was a pretty decisive no. Um on the b on the basis that a Maryland Monroe esque figure would be in quotes too sexual two sexual, So the whole thing got, the whole thing got, which

I find that to be absurd. It would be her coming in singing a song again as an American that Marilyn Roe Monroe, who represented really in some ways, yes, the sexual revolution of the middle of the twenty century. But she is not some like overly racy uh character that must be kept in the shadows talent. I mean

an actress and a singer in Multitalent. That scene with her singing Happy Birthday, Mr. President has been replayed in so many movies and TV shows that are not racy or say you're not sending the kids out of the room when they're playing the old clip, or too hot for this production apparently. I think, though, what my big takeaway is we know what to get Mark for his well, there were a lot of options of singing telegrams, and for some reason this seemed like it would have sometimes right,

that would have been perfect. But again the Shadowy League figures error on the side of Carton, and in lieu of that, we've gotten you nothing. I think that's appropriate. I think that um is consistent with with every birthday we have in this yea yeah, And now Greg is deeper into his forties, West is closer to fifty than forty. I'm a few years like Mark, I'm a few free years away from my A r P card. And here

I am still in my thirties. I'm forty one. Well, you're the one who um still couldn't survive a couple of sleds without tearing your shoulders. You gotta you gotta heal that shoulder up before you turn forty and enjoy the final days of your thirties. The shoulders are gone, buddy, get used to it. You're you're throwing arms gone. Your swing is gonna be gone soon happens. It's all happening. Uh, speaking of which is offline this west, but it is sign up time for softball. We have to figure out

what's going on there. Oh I threw my cleats away. Oh oh, well that's the way of like, wow, making sure you can't even change your mind, although you could buy new cletus. Okay, let's when you start out the championship game, oh for three as the leadoff hitter, you gotta walk away. It's just time. Wow. I mean, doesn't the entire team need to author some sort of a comeback story. That's what I thought, But it sounds like the competitor in West died when he turned forty six. Well,

I just don't want to be a liability. And again, I like with my scouts. I watched that performance in the championship game and said, your weakness was your leadoff You tape dogged yourself. I tape talked to myself and say, your weakness was your leadoff hitter. The whole team. Set that set the tone for the whole team, and everybody got a little too tense because I wasn't getting on base. It was disappointing. But the reason it was so disappointed

is because you had another rock solid season. And yes, you had a bad sixty minutes, but I would say that would not be the reason to walk away because you you went over your first three. I mean, I don't listen, it's your decision. I'd love to talk to you privately about this because I want to bring the gang back for one more run at it, but I just can't see doing it without my consigliari, my don Zimmer. I.

I will try to keep an open mind. But I took the cool analytic knife to my performance and it's said, look, the guy just doesn't have it anymore. His body is broken down. Wow, that was sobering. Um alright, Territory, alright, stick a pin in that today's show. I was nice. Oh yeah, you just got back from Hawaii. We ran into Calais Campbell at the airport, coming back from his own baby moon, and Kisha will be happy to hear this.

Throughout the entire island of Kauai, everybody in the service industry, knows what a baby moon is and basically caters to it and says, oh, you know, congrat you. Class camp one of the nicest guys in the NFL. Absolutely incredibly friendly, incredibly nice, as nice as you think he was. He was very one of the deepest voices in the NFL. Very deep when you say ran into as in the minute he saw you in Lakisha. He came up to you two saying how are you doing or how does

how did that work? We were like he would recognize me on the street. We were tagging our bags right in the same area on the way from Kauai to l a X on the way back, and Keisha just said hi. He stepped over and said alone and we chatted for a bit. Lusha. He's like deeper than remember the Guy and Boys the Men with the Cane, where all he did was the talking parts of the song. CLIs Campbell makes him sound like David Beckham. It's crazy.

Also a full head taller than anybody else at the airport. Giant, gentle giant though greg and potentially changing teams this offseason. See how he brings back. That's why Strieger has him at number one because he's out of this bs about talking about the airports and baby moons. Let's stock ball. It's good to have a Greg. I didn't know what else to say. I'm gonna I'm ann we're gonna hit the mail bag. That's been a few weeks since we did that. Also, Uh, Zeus or even with the bum shoulder,

wrote a banger. The teams that are hard Knocks eligible. I ranked them in order for the new listeners to be clear, you are the Zeus. It's not a guest we're bringing on to the show, just how you just want to let if anyone's join in. Hopefully we're getting some young, young listeners. No, it's me ranking the least the most compelling teams that have to be on the show potentially mandatory inclusion. There's five of them. Uh. But before we do that, I know Mark has a little

countdown that we're gonna get to after news. Yep. I wouldn't call it a banger, but I would say that it's Scott It's packed with information. Yeah, so stay tuned for that. Before we get to any of that, though, let's do some news. Some both caller conent box others say it's ton in box, but no matter, you know who they mean. She's here today on a t N talking in your favorite man NFL's Lone Wolf. Oh. This

is like the old brother where art now sounds. I'm glad we saved that for when West returned because I felt like it was right up Westling. I love it. That is stand we could put that to the into the files. I feel like, let's do it sort of like the Gourd's version of Gin and Juice. Yeah, I I really do think that's special or different and unique

from what everything we've heard so far. That, of course being the great competition, the Connie Fox Theme Song sweepstakes, and as I said, you have to get in submissions by the close of business tomorrow Friday. We're gonna seal it off. Even if you send something in on Saturday or anytime. We're not even block at it. I'm deleting it. I'm personally deleting the Gmail entry. So the a t N podcast at Gmail, send in your missions. Connie Fox

theme Song thirty seconds or less. That's another good one. Good job, Ricky. How's the curation going on. It's going well, there's a lot of there was a few. Uh, I grabbed a few for later, so if you want to listen to a few more at the end of the show. But they're good, some are pretty some are pretty bad. Yeah, they're pretty bad. Do we know who was the artist for that one? For that one? I do not. We don't want to. Yeah, we keep everything closer with us.

I did here. I got a I got a little bit of of pop heat on Twitter that the last entry the one we really liked. We loved the first in the in the fifth from Tuesday's show, fifth one, which was had a really nice hip hop sound to it, a great beat, and it was called It's a Wolf stupid, I believe stupid in parentheses that that beat might not have been original, and we have to talk about that

one or the rap one. I think that was. Yeah, but people were saying, Greg, who loves rap so much, didn't even notice the eminem beat, So maybe you don't look drop that much. I don't. I don't. Yeah, I'm not familiar with late period eminem. I'm not apologizing for it. All right. Let's get into a huge news um that came out yesterday, a report I should clarify that when the collective bargaining agreement is finalized, and there's hope that that's going to happen in the next week, which would

be very good for everyone involved. Uh. Part of that agreement will be an expect change to the NFL's playoff structure, and it could the change could come as soon as the season. Under the current CYBA proposal that the NFL owners are pushing for. This report is from Adam Schefter of ESPN, the playoff field would be expanded to seven teams from each conference, while the regular season would be increased to seventeen games per team in the preseason shortened

to three games per team. As part of the proposed playoff format, only one team from each friends would receive a first round by as opposed to the two that current currently do. That would mean a revised playoff schedule that would give us six games a wild card weekend, three on Saturday, three on Sunday, which that sounds like

a lot of fun. Uh. And like I said, the changes to the playoff format would take effect for the season, and then any change in the amount of games in the season, moving from sixteen to seventeen that would happen at twenty twenty one at the earliest. So there there could be a situation here where you're having the seventh playoff team in each conference, but it's still sixteen game season. But that might only might only be one season that

we get that. UM your initial thoughts uh to that mark when you heard about this change that seems to be coming, initially annoyed because to me it translates to football. In some cases, people feel like it could stretch into mid to late February depending on what happened, which I find unnecessary. For the playoffs won't change the playoff schedule, won't change up for that first year to know the playoff thing. I'm warming up to it because essentially because

it just feels like this stuff is inevitable. But I thought it was interesting that Warren Sharpe noted that UM of the twenty of the last ten years, the twenty teams that would have made it, five were ten win teams, nine were nine win teams, and you had six, eight and eight teams that would have been shoved into the playoffs.

Even looking at the last most recent round of playoffs, and certainly going back a few years, there always seems to me to be a team or two that I just don't buy on any level that are in the playoffs. So what are we adding? Are we adding quality opponents? And in some cases it feels just because you'd get that team that heat it up at the end of the year and snucked into a nine win season, and you want to see them with a chance to go against uh, you know, the ll rest of the playoffs field.

But largely to me, it feels unnecessary but unavoidable. So I will just simply drag me and bend me and shape me as you wish, do with me as you wish from Semper through February, because it's gonna get longer. It's more, I'm not sure it's necessary. I want to clip that for the future. Drag me. So we are getting just sort of pulled along in this. It's if you're saying, yeah, why fight it, It's gonna happen. Yes,

I mean it's being reported that it's happening. I I don't get I'm not upset about it, but I did think that the NFL, of all the sports leagues, had the perfect formula of teams, divisions, playoffs thirty two teams, eight divisions. I just whenever I say thirty two teams. I just tasion team right when the two alignment happened. Realignment happened, that that made it perfect. To two playoff buys. I liked that twelve overall playoffs, it just seems perfect.

And when you look, like you said, mark at the teams that are being added, like last year, you know have been the Rams and the Mason Rudolph Steelers, and you go back the last five years, it's a bunch of teams like that that I didn't feel like I needed to see another round of The biggest exception I found was the eighteen Steelers, who could have done some damage uh and cost themselves at the end of the year. But other than that, it's a bunch of teams that

I was ready to say goodbye too. I've find it unnecessary too, But I'm not the one trying to grow the league to billion per year, so I have that luxury of saying it's unnecessary. It doesn't bother me. Like replay review for past interference of the old Catro, where it's clearly upsetting the integrity of the sport, I don't. I don't find the integrity at stake here. I actually think it could be kind of interesting to see how

it changes strategy at the end of the year. I don't have a problem with the seven teams from each conference. I actually like the idea that only one team gets a buy. I think that creates more steaks, and obviously teams will probably have to play guys week seventeen more things like that if you're near the top of the standings. I don't love as somebody who loves um. One of the three things I love about sports is record books and the pursuit of various things. When we go to

seventeen games and it does seem like this is gonna happen. Um, last time they made a jump in games, they went from fourteen to sixteen, and that was in the late seventies, So we're going on forty plus years since they made that change. Uh. And adding that extra game does change certain county stats to me, and I care about that stuff, things like a hundred catches or two thousand yards or four thousand yards passing. You do you you screw around,

But that stuff changes in football anyway. It's that like baseball. That's that's fair, that's fair. I get that, But I guess I just I liked the way it was. And I the other thing that really is just on my radar a little bit and just seems silly, is that when you have an odd number of games in the regular season, that means half the teams are gonna have nine home games. In the other half we're gonna have eight.

And I asked I text about this yesterday and Greg, you mentioned that they're gonna alternate at a f C nacy. It just seems so silly. It just seems ridiculous. I think the other the pushes probably at some juncture in the you know, far off horizon, to have sixteen international games where there's or a neutral site at least, And that's my spect you know that no one's reported that. That's to me is that's my speculation. But it makes sense that then you would do these neutral site games.

I think initially like if they do this twenty uh this seventeen game season, and it sounds like two would be the most likely first time that that would happen. That yeah, the a f C will have eight home games whereas the NFC will have nine. It'll be uh, it'll be a little weird. And no one's reported yet whether and I've asked. So, I don't think people know whether you're gonna have a second bye week two in terms of player safety, because so I think the season

could very well be two weeks longer. You get the extra game, and you get an extra bye week, there will be people with O. C D picketing Dan seventeen week, the seventeen week things driving crazy. The only thing it really helps is fantasy sports because you chop off week seventeen and the regular season ends three weeks before, so now you can have an even number at the end of a fantasy season. I actually thought about that. That's nice. It really hurts the two seed for I mean, that

is the biggest takeaways. I don't mind that if you if you don't want to be hurt. No, no, it doesn't. That doesn't kill me. It's more I just like, there's a reason why those teams at the bottom rarely make runs. They're not good. You know. We we always see, as you mentioned, one or two teams in the playoffs that are kind of like they don't really have a chance to win the Super Bowl. So I don't think you're adding uh compelling teams to the mix. But it's not

a big deal. We're gonna watch it. I mean we would watch anything, of course, you like, that's not the point they of course we're gonna watch it, but that it's still I like that how meaningful every regular season game is. And it chips away at that, just the tiny bit. And I think Connor or wrote a piece or s I that shut up nerds, shut up nerds. Letting another team into the postseason is a good thing, and you know what, I see his point of it.

I would love it. I would actually be all in the two fifteen Jets would have been a playoff team. Noise Fit's the magic baby. But I if they would keep it as what it's gonna end up being this year, where we have the extra playoff teams and it's still sixteen games, that would have been one that's just not is pushback. I mean, maybe there's pushback on the seventeen game thing though the playoffs. I think everyone kind of

can get behind that a little bit. But there's I think it's easy to forget in February through June that there's a lot of bad football happening in after after Thanksgiving and a lot of crappy third string quarterbacks dueling second and third string quarterbacks. Do we need an extra week of that? I would say, And that's part of the argument. I mean, it's mostly just money. It's it's all money. But the part of the argument in terms of the playoffs seating is, yeah, our teams will just

be alive with the with the seven game. You know, it's if you're if you're the type of person that goes crazy that there's too many teams in the like, uh in contention, you know playoff little thing like like everyone's you know, it's gonna be hard not to be in contention for the seventh seeds. We just we just said by the way mark on Tuesday show that they're going to figure out a way to get this thing into June. Oh it's and and close that that opening

of things. Uh, quiet time in the NFL where this is just another big I am committed to try and to not complain about what is ahead because you cannot, you cannot essentially shut down a vastly multi trillion dollar giant that just is gonna trudge over you and trudge over the land and step step on your face. And their their meeting right now, and there's so much optimism that the cb A could get done in the next week, that it might even be presented to the players as

early as Friday to start voting on. If that actually happens and all this optimism from the last few months and years is well founded, that would be a major win because I just sort of after going through uh, you know, anyone that was around the last lockout and everything, it's like that was an absolute nightmare for the sport.

And if they can do it, good job by both sides avoiding uh, that sort of locked that you want to talk a little Sliding Doors Mark and I had just recently joined the company back in two thousand ten, and then the lockout hit and our old boss, Jim Loftus, very nice guy, uh, called me market all the other part timers into his office and said, hey, guys, just the heads up if this lockout goes on much longer. Uh. I think he put a couple of matter of weeks on it. Dead men walking, we gotta let you guys

all go Sliding doors, bro. And that whole time with the lockout, and you remember with who was it the big bohemoth that was hugging Robert Kraft. His wife had just died. Who was the big bohemoth? Remember the famous photo after the lockout ended Kevin Why nobody remembers that, you know he he Remember there was a photo of Robert Kraft getting he was the who was one of

the top union guys. It's probably not why, but that whole that was very contentious and if if you're a younger football fan you don't really have a lot of experience with the labor doubt, it becomes the overriding story. It hovers at Pro football talk. So if we can avoid that was not Jeff Saturday, by the way, Jeff Saturday, maybe I believe longer on Behemoth. One. One quick point on this. So much of football in the NFL is cyclical, and I guarantee you this point everyone's making about the

Mason Rudolph Steelers would have made the playoffs. If you go back to the early day of this podcast, you will hear Greg Rosenthal saying, well, look, the trend is that the wild card teams are getting to the super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens just did it there. Who knows what happens in five six years, what the trend will be. At the time just saying there was like a four or five year period where teams were making it as six seeds. That was kind of an anomaly in the

history of the NFL. And then at that door, for whatever reason, has been shot or you're gonna get a seven and nine, it has been seed that knocks off it. It helps, it helps U. It helps the one seed quite quite a bit. Um. That's kind of the big takeaway. As you go get that, you go get that one seed. I mean, it's not gonna change like in this last season. Sometimes it will change things. Sometimes it won't. The Ravens would have clinched, you know, regardless, uh and been able

to rest their players. Jeff Saturday is the big log. Old Robert Craft was an emotional, an emotional moment. Let's move on. Greg Olsen has a new home. It's in the Pacific Northwest. The three time Pro Bowl tight end as signed a one year, seven million dollar deal with the Seattle Seahawks. Mike Garret follow reported this on Tuesday night. The team later announced the signing. Uh. Olsen went on

a free agent tour, went d C Buffalo. Uh And this is all said against the backdrop of his broadcasting career. Has been doing XFL TV coverage, but he lands with the Seahawks immediately because I grew very fond of the man speaking of hard knocks. I thought, oh, this is the end of Luke Wilson. Uh in Seattle, he got a veteran tight end and uh, I don't know, thank you, Ricky uh West. Did Greg Olson have anything in the tank last year? He sort of moves like Witnes at

this point. I think the biggest problem with him is he's just never healthy anymore. He's reached the Chris Wesleyan as leadoff hit or stage of his career, and it might be time. You know, he has shown the ability and in the broadcast booth where we know you put him in here, he's gonna be one of the best color guys in the business. I'd rather see him do that.

But I understand that Russell Wilson seems to be taking a more aggressive stance towards let's pass the ball in Seattle, let's really do this, and maybe they're finally listening to the quarterback. He was pretty productive yard. I mean those a stat in fourteen games, and I don't think Jimmy Graham two tho for a tight end is nothing quite as quite as slow as as Witten, but it should

be fun. Uh. It's a great landing spot in the sense that what will just leave Jacob Pollister last year, tight ends were productive in that attack and if they're gonna throw the ball more, hopefully we'll do this. Lee can get healthy towards Achilles. He was having a kind

of a breakout season last year. Had Luke Wilson eating breakfast next to us at the Super Bowl, by the way, with a He's much bigger than I realized in person, but was with another man, not a football player, who was gotta be maybe six ft nine with a gigantic beard in like tattoos Oliver's body Jeff Saturday. That was not Jeff Saturday. Athletes always bigger in person. Celebrity is

always smaller, just general rule almost always. Remember when we were talking about how Rhodo World, uh did a bad job calling Tom Pella sero NFL dot Com tom Pella Sero when clearly well they needed to clean up that. To clean it up, well, guess what they have at articles for NFL dot Com primarily as an NFL network, as it felt like a potential slate. I don't think that's where they were. I feel like we west, all three of us were in lockstep that rode a world

had stumbled here. But guess what, they cleaned it up because they had a report on Stefon Diggs where they refer to Tom Palsero's NFL networks, and you just have to wonder if they someone listened and took them I hope so, or they got a sternly worded letter from the Pallisero pr agency. Anyway, pell Sero reported that Stefan Diggs, who apparently seems unhappy being a member of the Vikings. But it's according to pell Sero, it's a long shot

for the Vikings to trade the talented wide receiver. Um. I think the logic here, of course, is that the Vikings are close and they want to see what they can do if they can get over the hump Wes and losing Stefon Digs uh barring them bringing in somebody to replace him that's at his level or better, the team will just get worse. And they can't afford to get worse. They have too much invested in this current squad. I agree the logic is, why should we trade one

of our best players? One of you know, one of the top twenty wide receivers in the NFL, and and I think a better player than Adam Feland, So why would you trade him? And why make it clear that if you want off the Vikings, simply be an agitator or be just annoying enough for us to move you, whether you're very talented or not. I think you just gotta put this out though, if you're the Vikings, to

calm this down, because people are just like checking. You know, he deleted all his Vikings stuff on Instagram and he's like writing these cryptic rap lyrics, which could maybe mean that he wants out, and it says like you gotta comment, you gotta comment down. And people are gonna be trying to calm things down at the combine next week too.

But I I also think other, you know, other people covering that team have reported that they would they would maybe listen, and it doesn't make sense to me, um, but they are a rare team that doesn't have a ton of capram. I'm gonna throw the Everson Griffin news now because I think it's connected. Everson Griffin avoided his contract on Thursday. It was reported that opens up twelve or thirteen million, and maybe that makes easier to keep Stefon Diggs. They might cut the rear road, they might

cut Linval Joseph, they might bring Everson Griffin back. Who who really knows, but they they're a team that like has a lot of commitments and I think would want to sign Kirk Cousins do a deal to thirty two years. He spent his whole career with the Vikings on the Digs. Note there has been a subtle shift over the last couple of years. Certainly we saw it last year where just because the team wants to keep a player, if he's at a certain level, he might make it happen

that they wanted. Antonio Brown comes to mind with the Raiders. Jalen Ramsey, of course with the Jaguars. Could Digs just by his force of will, get himself out of out of Minnesota, just by continuing to put things out there in social media or talking to the right person at NFL network or ESPN and turn this into an untenable situation from Minnesota. I just think in today's NFL, don't put that out of the equation that that's how this inspires.

Just by being vocal about this he inspires a very attractive offer from a team to Minnesota, that Minnesota then to consider, Yeah, that they have if someone's willing to give up a first round pick, and I would listen to that. And then it's like then and you're like, Okay,

maybe Uh. Adrian Peterson sticking around with the Redskins. The Washington Football Club has picked up the option on his contract for It will be the age thirty five season for Peterson, who was rushed for over nineteen hundred yards and twelve touchdowns in two years with the Redskins, who is never supposed to get this much work. But the problem is that Darius Guys, the two thousand eighteen promising

draft pick, can't stay on the field. And I guess Greg, we're viewing Washington UH decision here a bit of insurance and also reward to Peterson, who continues to be somewhat productive at the stage of his career. He was good last year four point three yards uh per carry, ran hard. They could still cut him in camp. There's no real

big guarantees. But I think he he looked at the landscape and he heard one man who believed in him always, who never gave up on him, and that man was Chris Westling, and he decided, Hey, I've had a Hall of Fame career, but I need to do Chris Proud. I need to run hard in Washington and he's earned it. Do you feel that to story? I do not feel that whatsoever. But I did see a good tweet from Kevin Patrew said Peterson had more twenty yard runs last

year than Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel, Elliott, Todd Gurley. It look pretty good, Aaron Jones. He had the same number of twenty yard runs as Christian McCaffrey and also on a team that by you know, after the coaching changes happened, you knew they were going to run the ball like forty five times a game. Chris Thompson is also a free agent. He's been there forever, he'll be gone. And geis looked good in the very small sample size we

saw him. I think it's fair to question, or at least for the Redskins to make sure they're prepared to have another runner there. If guys doesn't, Gary and anybody listen to this podcast knows I was tremendously moved and caught up in the pursuit of Walter Payton's touchdown rushing touchdown mark uh which Peterson caught Peyton. He has a hundred and eleven rushing touchdowns, Peyton a hundred and ten. He also passed Jim Brown, who's had a hundred and six.

Next up on the list that Peterson wants to get into the top three Marcus Allen at one three. That's a big ask to one eleven thirteen touchdowns next year. And it's Smith number one, Marcus Allen number three, when West's toast or West who's number two with a hundred forty five career rushing touchdowns. I don't know, I was

I was not thinking. I don't know, still in Hawaii, but the Damian Thomison alright, bad news, not really for the Browns because they're moving on anyway, but bad news for the man Greg Robinson, the former UM number two overall draft pick of the Rams, who is in a West Texas jail without bond after federal agents said they found one fifty seven pounds avoid in a rented vehicle in which he and two other people were driving. Uh,

this is unbelievable. This story's twenty seven years old. He spent the last two years as the starting left tackle as the starting left tackle of the Browns, and he's driving around near the border. But the hundred fifty seven pounds of marijuana and if convicted him, this other bro and the third guy in the car was an Uber driver who apparently didn't even know what was going on. He realized he had a an entire drugs shipment taking an Uber. He paid a guy to be a driver

for this journey. The guy did not get charged because he said that he did not know what was in the car. And he showed federal agents, uh texts from Greg Robinson that said, Hey, if you take the fall for this, I will compensate you financially. And the guy was like, uh, here you go, d A or whatever. Uh. Anyway, if convicted, both men, including Greg Robinson, a twenty seven year old starting left tackle in the NFL a couple of months ago, could be sentenced up to twenty years

in federal prison. So we'll see how this goes. Well, you know, he can psyche in here. Anybody of a certain age immediately calls back to Nate Newton, who was arrested, I believe in two thousand one for two pounds of marijuana in a giant van, then paid his bail. In five weeks later got arrested for a hundred and seventy five pounds of marijuana, and he said, look, athletes are competitive. I sow a chance to make money, and I wanted to be the best drug dealer on the market. That's

what said. He said he wanted to be the best that this one though, I thought a Sam Brd which was a little um more recently, which was I think seven years ago Cowboys special teamer who was who was basically like a kingpin. He was running you know, big time deliveries, you know uh trailers, you know, thousands and thousands of pounds. This seems for a guy in Greg Robinson who has made almost thirty million dollars in his career, it's it seems too in between to me, Like the

juice isn't worth the squeeze here. You know, this is a small time. Whatever is going on here is not a big time. You're taking a lot of risk for not a lot of payoff considering uh the the income you're making. According to dre Or, former right fielder on the Shield, Oh yeah, Drake who she's knowledgeable on this front. One one of the one of the great newsroom personalities of all time and the author of maybe the defining play and shield history absolutely not arguably v defining play,

the shoe string catch with the bases loaded. In our first title year, we were heavy underdogs and if that ball gets down, everybody's running around the bases and we probably lose in crushing fashion. Instead, she makes the catch, we get out of the inning, we um take, we hold him off in the last inning, and we win

our first trophy and it doesn't happen without drey Day. Well, yeah, all that as well, said Dre says, you could expect between ninety thousand and three twenty thousand on the street value, depending of course on quality of product. Right, And she's she is someone with quite a bit of um innate knowledge about the movement of uh those substances. So I'm

sighting her as an expert. The top ten in the two thousand fourteen NFL draft, just for fun ja Davean Clowney number one, Greg Robinson two, Blake Boardles three to the Jags, Sammy Watkins for to the Bills, Khalil mac five to the Raiders, Jake Matthews six to the Falcons, Mike Evans seven to the Bucks, Justin Gilbert eight to the Browns, Anthony Barr nine to the Vikings, and Eric Ebron ten to the Lions. A lot of swings and misses there, Khalil Mack at five. I want to make

Mayax shining moments as a draft analyst. Finally, let's uh, let's keep tracking. What to me is the most important free agency saga of the offseason, the one that really affects all of us and the most people UM connected to the NFL. It's Tony Romo, who has, of course this opportunity to leave CBS and signed a massive contract with ESPN to become the face of their NFL um analysis. And Romo talked about his decision making process on Tuesday

an interview with Benn and Skin on the Eagle. Uh, let's listen in, uh to Romo, who sounds like a guy ready to go somewhere as someone who's making a decision in their life, Like you, guys, just did you just want something to be very straightforward and make it simple so that you just say, Leah, let's do it. Here we go And I feel like that will I think I'm already there a little bit, but we'll see how it plays out. Even though I think I kind of no, I'm just not telling you get I think

he's done. I think he's gone. I think he's breaking up with his boy, Jimmy Nance, uh, and he's leaving this life he had and we talked about it. Why do you why is that your take away? I just hear the way because he's already his decision. Sounds like he's conflicting and he's like, I've made my decision. I think he's taking the money and he's and he's going to greener pastures. That's just my based on just the inflection in his voice. I don't know nothing else other

than that. All right, it's fair speculations. I mean Nance needs him more than he needs Nance, right. Well, the logic being, yeah, if he was staying that, why wouldn't he just say he was staying kind of like, if you're if you're to keep the quarterback you have, why not just say it? When you don't say anything, it invites speculation. But I didn't know if there was more more to it. I have not heard that that interview. That would break you know, it would break my heart

break Jim nance's heart. That's what's happening in the news. I figured we're going to get an announcement on that soon. Feels like something that come could come out come combines. It's not about it's not about money because he's gonna get all the money he wants. I think either ways, is gonna match. Yeah, maybe it's maybe it doesn't want to work on the weekend. Who's the golf? All right,

that's what's happening in the news. Mark uh Wes, you were on your wonderful baby moon when we did a bit of a power rankings who Peter Schrager respects, and we kind of came down at stra because we asked one. We asked him in person and he did not Why did this come up now? Because that was back in May and suddenly because I think about it, think about it like probably five times a day. But we kind

of came down. The rankings that we had was Greg one because we knew West two was a football head, Me three because of my work with Good Morning football Erica four because of the great stuff she's doing on Instagram. Uh and he and Pete has a tremendous amount of respect for women. And number five Mark, I love this segment, and only five because there's not a six person involved in the race, because I would quickly pull down to number if we wanted to apparently include Connie Fox, she

might fly all the way to number one. I mean she's a real keep, a real TV a real TV head. But we had Mark Brady two is five, and then markets because he's worked with him in terms of setting up different things And yeah, I think you nailed the analysis. Yeah.

So now with that background in hand, Mark wanted to offer up his top five people he respects in the football industry And uh, you're so you're talking cotn sent the Really, it could be anyone whovers football, but it's has to be someone that I is it outside the NFL media empire in some cases, in some cases, in some cases there within the empire in NFL media like our where a couple of people attached to our company and from places beyond, got it? What about us? Are

we in the mix? So? Uh, you would all make my list without any questions. You're not in it that I don't want to rank you right now. That's gonna save that for season twelve. Maybe all right, let's go number five, Number five, Number five, Kyle Brandt. I think he's uh, it's someone who's just grown immensely over his run with Good Morning Football. I find him creative, he's willing to take risks, he's doesn't take himself too seriously

and engaging football man. Kyle had a great year. And also by the way, um, I can tell he's been lifting weights because he is he is. He is jacked right now. He's a little bit annoying because not only is he in fantastic shape. Damage has often pointed out, like the thing that jumps out to you with people in Hollywood are just good looking guys, it's the jawline. When you have the jaw line, it's really a huge asset. And nobody's got a better jawline in NFL media, I

mean outside and inside this company than Mr Brant. But he's also tremendously funny and a nice guy. Every it has a great reputation. You know, he's a nice guy. He's creative. I mean he's putting us all this. There's four people ahead of it. Well, no, I mean I struggled. I struggled to uh, who's number four? Number four obviously is Nate Burlison, who I who I again? Someone absolutely you know five years ago. Who knows what would have become of his career. But he's he is a climber

who can do anything. You know. I think he's great in the booth when he's been part of the color does everything, and he's able to communicate what he knows. He's on CBS, NFL Network and uh extra Hollywood, very versatile,

arraging talent. Number number three. I mean, how I have to go Kay Adams because she also she does everything you could ask she does it so well and all you know, the three people that I mentioned so far, the fact that they get up and do this show every day, multiple hours, and they keep that enthusiasm and that love for the game going. Uh, it's impressive. And she is a a I don't think he's Yeah, she's

a delightful. She's a very nice woman. And she's also yes, tremendously talented and a grinder number two number two, And I you know, I wanted to look a little bit beyond the NFL media community because this grinder has been doing it for a long time. De Orlando led Better, who covers the Falcons. I love reading this stuff. Atlanta Journal constant. Yeah, when we go when you know, when we were at the combine kind of grinding away those years.

He often would do the pool reports and he'd get up there and he'd kind of tell other reporters, I need someone else to get up here and do this too. Is he He gets people, He rallies his fellow veteran reporters and a lot of respect. If I ever want to know the Atlanta Falcons roster, I know where to find it in the Orlando Ledbetter's blog every day. I'm going to be very upset if Larry Fitzgerald Sr. Is

Not number one. But this is your list. Here we go in the number one UH media NFL media personality that Mark Sessler respects is it is Connor? How come nobody knows how to do the timpany? You wait till the timpany stops? It is Connor number one? A friend. But I I seen in Connor his football abilities as

writing abilities just double and triple since the time. I mean his most recent lead says we mentioned him today because he aggressively and creatively attacked the biggest story of the week, and he did it in a way that no one else but Conroor could do. Um, I think that when you sit down and hang out with Conroor for half an hour, he's gonna always tell two or three stories that are beyond insane. He had we before.

We don't have to explain, I think I think anyone listening, who's can I just say though, I just I am. I'm taking a step back. I'm divorcing myself from knowledge of anyone on this list or not on this list, and my relationship with you in this podcast. It does come off a little bit like some score settling to not have Schreegar in the top five. I'm just gonna say, because you you didn't put anyone else from NFL network on the list except for his three co hosts on

Good Morning Football. I think they do great work, and I you know it would be I would be you know, remiss to leave them off the list. Um, I am happy to talk with Peter. I was gonna say'd be or miss is the host of the show, not to get Schroeger on. Now we have to gotta this is becoming, this is now a thing. I think probably you know, we could we could have a chat at some point. Um, if this wouldn't be too much of an effort for

him to do that. Some people might deduce from your list that you have the three other Good Morning Football people at five, four, and three. Maybe Stroger just missed and he was number six. You could deduce that, if you wanted to, he might have been very close West. This is gonna make. This is ser I want the Orlando on the set. This, this is making the hands of Jeremiah. If you would look like Tilly winks well

that one. You know, some people might say that the percentage of which it's genuine is not Yeah, it's a little k fab This one appears to be real. Well, I'm not calling it more than it is. It's it's it's in progress. It has been something that's been sitting with you like a rock in the pit of your stomach since we were at pool side. At that I mean, he didn't rank he can rank you last. He just said great projected rankings thing. He did not need to rank me last. I think we knew where we were

going with that one. All right, let's get into its hard knocks. Let's talk a little hard knock. Actually, you know what, we got a little breaking we do The NFL owners have officially approved terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement Read on everything. The owners have agreed their proposal there they everything is set from their standpoint. They are now sending that entire pro proposal over to the players,

who will probably vote on it. It needs to be there's a what is it, a three fords vote from the thirds the NFL p A heads, the guys that lead each team, and then it just has to be a majority vote for all the players. Yes, so we're not there yet. We're not there yet, but the owners are basically done already. They already decided what the proposal is.

They're raising, you know, the percentage that players make, and a bunch of offseason stuff and a million things that actually hasn't been reported yet, but it's been sent and the players uh representatives will have a vote on Friday after This might sound boring to some listeners, but this is important. If they can get this done, we don't have to think about labor piece for another decade. And

the owners were not unanimous. There's no details on what the vote was, but something tells me Mike Brown was involved. Wouldn't any basic history of sports um labor negotiations suggested there will be negotiations before this is agreedable. This whole thing has moved along way faster than um anything I can remember, and certainly much differently than the last time. I kind of like the hold out though, that was

I thought it was spicy. Oh my gosh, so well it was like, oh well, I mean, if a season were canceled, it would be very very interesting time. Now, the post hold out free agency thing was one of the wildest seven transaction history that got us the Eagles Dream team. Are you angling Mark for a furlough? It sounds like a guy angling for a furlough? What is it furlough? Again? Like furlows? Where do they say go home and then you're not paid though you do get

paid after the fact. Potentially would you roll the dice on that? Yeah, people would definitely if there was like a long hold out, people would be people would lose their jobs. Here they had to use it as I mean, what would we talk about on the show this call this furlough idio over here Theology podcast. It is okay, all right, let's get into it. Hard Knocks fifteen seasons now, it's gonna be the fifteenth season and uh, I wrote about in the piece that within football circles, Hard Knocks

is now Saturday Night Live. It's an institution. It's it's venerable. It's the type of thing that people love to complain about it. They like to say that it's not as good as it used to be, or that it's just kind of the same stuff recycled over and over, or it should be canceled. And yet so many of those people then watched the season, just like so many people of S and L and um, I love it, and everybody listens to this podcast knows I love it. I've been the beat writer for NFL dot com. It's two

thousand twelve, My goodness, been here a long time. Um So, as I do every year round this time, I take the five teams that can be comp held forced to be on the show, which is always an interesting little hook that that this program exists and there's an NFL rule in place to make a team do it. What does that mean? What does that say? I don't know, it's just kind of I kind of like it, But I can understand why the owners are like, why is this show still exist when you need to put in

a rule to make us do it. I hope that that's not in the c b A getting rid of this rule because there's there is mandatory inclusion rules, and here they are to avoid being picked for Hard Knocks. And again, any team can volunteer and that does happen occasionally, but to avoid mandatory inclusion on the show, Um, they had would have to fall under any of three exemptions. One have a first year head coach, to have a playoff birth in the past two seasons. Three they have

appeared on Hard Knocks in the past ten years. So they're gonna have to adjust these rules with the seventh seed. Uh. You know, good call, good call, um, And that leaves five team believe it or not. Uh. And I'll go five to one, least compelling to most compelling. Will start with number five, the Detroit Lions. This is the second straight year the Lines are eligible for this. There aren't. They were one of five teams last year and they're one of five this year. Of course, Hard Knocks producers

went with the Raiders, which is kind of a no brainer. Uh. And you know, so simply put, and we've talked about this on the podcast, that they lacked juice and I think they still lack juice and barring let's say Matthew Stafford trade or something wild this offseason. This is a team that's probably gonna pour some resources into improving its defense. And is there anything to be get that excited about a team that you would want to cover throughout the

training camp? I don't know the Detroit Lions. Detroit Lions. No, nobody wants to see a show on the Detroit Lions. Yeah. The only thing is if it because I have these, like you, these ingrained sort of opinions about the Detroit Lions as an overall experience, like change my mind, Like I like, I'd like to see something like that happened. But no, they're there are number five for reason. They're already you know, forced on. You know a public that

doesn't want on once a year on Thanksgiving? You know, well that rules needs to talk about that back. I walked that back. If you're pointing to me coming after the Lions, I was just taking a shot. I don't even believe in I like the Lions and Thanksgiving. Keep him if that's spoken in a while. I just needed to get a shot out. Just look at for air time. Number four, the Jacksonville Jaguars the big get here. Of course,

Garden Meanshoe. Gardner means you who you know with that personality, He's going to do well on the show like this, and he'll be there, he'll be in the building. I don't know if he's gonna be their starter, but I know being on the roster. Yeah, I liked your piece. You did a very nice job. But this sentence give me a break with this. Well, we don't know if Minshoe will be Jacksonville's Week one starter at quarterback. Then in parentheses, Minshu maniacs over a look that their leader

was only a tick or two above. Okay as a rookie, that come on, that just propaganda. He was exciting. I was so hoping you're going to read that song. He did everything you could ask you simply put it in there. Doing with me. You know, it's a nice little bonus. But I do believe it. I mean, I know you guys think I'm wrong, but I do believe it. Yes, I think you're wrong. Yeah, I understand that, um, but I think Minshew is a big draw for that reason,

and Doug Marone is the hottest seat come August. When I when I write the piece about hottest butts in the NFL. I think it's safe to say Maron is gonna be at number one, and you know, and the full's minshew thing. Depending on where we are with it would be compelling. The Jaguars are that are that team though that's always raised their hand, which and wanted to

be on High Night. It doesn't help. It's like for some reason, you know, I did, I was gonna write about that in this piece, and I did a cursory Google search looking for that and I couldn't find anything. Do we just ha is that just been speculated pon or do we actually back in the day Shotkan wanted

wanted in? Yeah, number three, the Arizona Cardinals. I think this could be a potential match if they don't get the team that I haven't number one because the Cardinals, um, they agreed to the All or Nothing Show back in where they documented that entire season. Uh. And that's essentially a Hard Knocks spinoff series. Uh. And they seem to really like that experience. They gave me the assignment back

in the summer of sixteen. I took our buddy Jason Zumwaldt to the Premier and everybody the from ownership to the GM to head coach Bruce Arians at the time, to the players. I still remember Carson Palmer taking long poles of his bud heavy at the side of the bar for about two hours, and he's just like he was a very cool guy. I know he's not there anymore, but that just was a fun little memory. But anyway,

they seem to like it. And then Michael Bidwell, the team president, UM, had this to say this past week. We're always gonna listen to everything. We'll see what comes up, and we've always done a good job being available and volunteering to do things. He sees it as a way to elevate the brand. So Hard Knox feels painted into a corner perfect marriage. Kyler Murray and and Um Kingsbury feel very hard Knoxie up. I could see that in

just in terms of the history of the show. The young team, with the court, young quarterback and the young coach. It just feels that jamis Winston, it's a team they've uh yeah, and he he seems like Murray seems like the guy that could be on like uh, you know Lamar Jackson track where he has a huge year two. So if you can document that that training camp. That's fun number two. The Denver Broncos. And this is all about John because I find him as I do come

after after him on the show. But he's also a very compelling figure just because he's one of the icons of the sport. And this is a big year for the Broncos, who have gone four straight years about the playoffs. And I would imagine, Uh, if the Broncos were on this show, I want to see a lot of Elway. I can't have Elway in the shadows. I don't think you'd have him in the shadows. And if he was out of the shadows, I'd be very interested in the show.

If he was in the shadows, I would kind of just do it as a work assignment basically, because I'm not tremendously into the rest of the broncos us. But I like the idea of the day in the life a summer with John Elway. Foncio is a wild card. He's one of the fuge NFL coaches of this era who speaks his mind. I think people would like him behind the scenes. You never know who you're gonna like as the head coach. Remember Bill O'Brien, who's not the

most popular guy. He was very likable on the Texans Hard Knocks season when you learn more about him in his personal life. I do wonder if the Broncos, they have a very let's call it unsettled ownership situation, think that could prevent that from him, that the NFL might be like, let's just I'm gonna steer clear of Denver for the time being, which would take them out of the mix. But a lot of Hard Knocks like the pushes to make the owners seem they like to be

in the mix. Typically, although Mark Davis was not really in the mix, but the owners like it. Uh usually like to be on the camera. Number one, the Pittsburgh Steelers. This one's easy. And Greg you you like to uh, you don't like to bet the ponies, but you're a man who's interested in what happens in the deser not allowed to be allowed to be as a league employee. But I will I will tell you, you'll like these numbers.

You tell me you know who else is allowed? You know else is interested Like all the teams signing um sponsorship deals with with casinos and different things like that. I mean, it's coming, it's happening. So according to Bovada, What's That's that's one of the that's one of the online places. The Steelers are at UH minus one twenty the heavy favorite here the Cardinals plus two twenty five, Jags plus four fifty, Broncos plus and Lions plus seven

hundred and the Steelers. They're a blue blood franchise in the NFL. They have a huge passionate fan base. I would love to learn a little bit more about Mike Tomlin. You got Big Ben coming back from that serious elbow injury injury. You have great human interest stories around guys like Ryan Shazier and James Conner, uh even getting even get Whiz Khalifa coming to camp. You've got the old like school a Trobe Pennsylvania. They're one of the few teams left where they go to this small college St.

Vincent College that they've been going to love that. You have the Rooney family, and do we have that Mike Tomlin, Like yes, Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin his end of season press conference back on New Year's Eve had this to say, are you I don't were you doing it? They asked a nice little moment of levity there at the end of a rough Steelers season. So I was in, Mike Tomlin,

what's nothing to do with it? Taking so seriously add Addi Kinkawala tweeted out yesterday that I want to get it hurt exact tweet actually, because she obviously has been embedded with that team for a while and um, she knows the vibe of them. But she said this, I rarely doubt. Wait, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers pull, but if they managed to evade Hard Knocks, I may change that to never doubt h p s. If they don't, Dan Janzas has to make a road trip to Latrobe.

You guys should do I should spend this this Hard Knocks angle. To me, going to the Hard Knocks that's a home run, bad bad job. I never think Joe's college right. And by the way, what what what family has been documented more by NFL films? Which family has supported NFL films more? I went and looked, they thought, I remember Dan Rooney was on the Border directors and was a big part of like making NFL films what it is so you can make your your jokes or

whatever it is. Very much in the tradition of the Steelers to like have a little uh, have a little promotion for themselves and like get into it, get on board. Mike Tomlin, do not ask Hard Knocks producers just go show up. I think that's got it. It's gotta be. And if they're not it, they're not the choice. Do not think for one second. NFL Films and HBO were like, well, we like the Steelers as an option, but we want somewhere else that will be proof that this whole idea

that you have to be you can be picked. Uh is all phony and bs And if you are a blue blood blood team like the Steelers, you have more power than other Yeah, Mike Thomins got bosses and Uh, I would think the Rooney family would would be okay.

And how successful of the Steeler has been. If you if you took these current inclusion rules and put them all the way to the start of Hard Knocks which is two thousand and one and Brian Billock of the Ravens laying on a hammock during training camp, Uh, they would have been eligible from mandatory inclusion once before this year, They've been one of the best, most consistent NFL franchises.

This is their chance to do it, all right. You know one of the first money drops ever on this show was the Around the NFL podcast We'll follow Mike Tomlin anywhere. Yes, that's true, NFL dot com slash Hansas. All right, before we get out of here, let's open up the mail bag as for people to uh, you know,

get involved, and they did. First up, Kenny Law, would you consider it around the NFL after Dark podcast where you all consume copious amounts of alcohol in the throwback studio and discuss many things, uh, with non bleeped language. That would be the best. I don't think we'd be allowed to do that, Yeah, I don't. I think we'd be fired if we did that. Idea. And it's a terrible idea. It's a it's a it's a danger and

some love. Sometimes the rule rules you're stuck in, like the box you're forced to play in, creates, uh, creates some tension. That's good. It's like when Howard Sterton and people like, wow, it's really gonna be crazy. When Howard Sterton goes to you terrestrial off Terrest, Well it was it really like then people are just like, no part of the fund was him battling the bosses. That's a

good call. Tom Marshall says, what's more likely a Tom Brady led team beats the Patriots in the playoffs or Kirk Cousins wins Envy Tom Brady beats the Patriots in the playoffs, I would think the odds would favor kirk Cousins. I just feel like the odds would be higher that he would win MVP. A lot of a couple of different things would have to fall into place for Brady.

I'm with Mark, I don't. I just I'm standing on the ground that uh kirk Cousins will never and can never win the m v P. So so the Brady uh kirk Cousins can. Absolutely We've seen this. He could throw thirty seven to forty two touchdowns in the season and throw for five thousand yards and the Vikings to go twelve and four, and that kind of type of thing could get you an MVP. He's done it before. Statistically, I I think he's a good quarterback. He's a top

ten to twelve quarterback. But I don't see a world where that possible. How much more likely was it that Matt Ryan could have that outlier season than than Kirk Cousins more because his his highs are high higher. I think um and he had he had he had some seasons, but that's it depends on how you vote with stats. I agree with Dan. I could definitely see a forty two touchdown, five thousand yard Kirk Cousin season that he

hasn't been too far off that already. Well, they've both been with Kyle Shanahan and Matt Ryan's version of Kyle Shanahan was much better and on the others don't see him as an m v P I think, But the other side of his Tom Brady would have to sign with a team, most likely in the a f C, and also that team would then have to make the playoffs. The Patriots without Tom Brady would have to regroup get

into the playoffs. Then they would have to meet each other in those playoffs, and then Tom Brady would have to win a lot of things that happen. For that song, I'm I'm giving I'm giving fifty to one for that, maybe seventy and uh one for Kirk. You're the expert, alright, settled. Charlie Harwood asks if Mark Sessler could redesign one uniform.

Who would he choose Bucks or Browns? Well, I mean I know the Browns are being redesigned to the Bucks as well, and um, I think the more critic goal for me, it would be Browns because because I need that uniform to be changed. But uh, the Bucks. The fact that I just learned, think we just learned last week that they're changing it. Good for them. They you talk about time to self scout yourself like that uniform

has been impossible to observe. And their fans, their fans were, uh a uniform in the green that they did not like them. There it's a close horse race, but I'd go Browns by by a nose. You would take the Bucks on in pro bono, just do it for free. I want to just throw one thing out there with the Bucks. They're kind of in the the new current uniforms a mess, but they are similar, not at the

same level as the Patriots. And the Patriots have a terrible uniform that they can't change because it's all their glory is packed into this. Um who is the guy what's the head Elvis, flying Elvis or whatever it's called. But you can't bring back pat Patriot cause there's no rings for pat Patriot. The Bucks had all their glory and the Tony Dungee years with that redesign. Uh. But it's been redesigned since though. But yeah, I'm saying, like,

maybe you go back to that. The one thing I don't want them to do is get carried away and be like go back to Creamsicle, which is just not I mean, come on, maybe for a throwback week, but to make that your color scheme, be careful about turning back. I think these teams should have twelve to fifteen uniforms and like the Bucks can decide what they're feeling that year or that month. I love that. I like that.

I agree with that. Okay, sure, why not? I don't care. Uh. John Perry asked, given the choice with what Mark again, Mark knows to this point, would he do a straight swap of Baker Mayfield for Jimmy g right now? No, I would not. What about you boys, I wouldn't either. I agree with that. I think Baker's ceiling is higher. Um, I'm a little disturbed by some of the things I'm hearing about him and his maturity level. But people mature at different rates, and if it clicks for him, I

think he can be great. One little thing on that I think the last interesting question though it is close, but Jimmy was probably in one of the best mixes of coaches and environments and you know, team togetherness and game planning, and the Browns were the more things you hear from players describing what was happening on a weekly basis.

That Baker Mayfield was in a disastrous environment. We are Mark and I remember Mark and I doing shots at Cozy after Sam Donald and Baker Mayfield went one and three in the draft, uh three years ago in April, and the one thing that you always fear and was thrown out there. These guys are great talents, but you have to surround them with a good organization making good decisions, and we are not getting that with either guy so far.

And it really is disturbing to think that after years of the quarterback abyss, that you would actually potentially find a guy that has the ability and then you're such a mess everywhere else in the organization that you botch it, and then one of those guys go somewhere else and thrives later in his career. It's all stuff that's in

the ether. And I don't even like to think about it, but I agree like Baker Mayfield if he was with the Niners last year, and he does have grown up to do and apparently he's working trying to improve his footwork because a lot of things went wrong with him on the field last year. I bet nobody's worried about Baker Mayfield. I think he would have been fine, but he's stuck on a dysfunctional team. Uh. Lastly, which team is poised to steal the off season's champions crown from

the twenty nineteen Browns. Who is the team that is going to win the off season? I'll go first here. I like the Cults. I like the Cults as a team that is um going to go get one of these high profile veteran quarterbacks, which will get people super excited. And I believe I'll have to double check this over the cap. Greg has it up because that's why Strieger loves him. I believe they're near the top of the league in cap space. Yes, they are right behind the Dolphins.

So they're gonna then supplement that Phil Rivers acquisition with uh, maybe a big wide receiver. Maybe they give the world to Mark Cooper, I don't know something like that. Go get a tight end, uh, and here we go, We're flying. I think the Cults are the team that people are going to talk about as the favorite in their division after this. They always I thought they might be last year two and then they didn't really spend the money. They love rolling that money over like people love saving

all that cap space, rolling it over. Like seven eight years ago, everyone was all worried about cap space. No one's got caprium, and now all these teams, like the Colts over corrected. What's the point of rolling over forty million dollars every year? You're not using all the possible resources that you could. There's a bunch of teams like this. They have too much money and they can't spend it because there's not they can't find enough good players to

spend it on. Right. I think you're not being very generous to the Cults as far as their plan. And I think they were willing to spend the money. They just after that first wave of free agency, they said who's worth it? Right? I just mean the plan where the teams were trying to build up these gigantic war chests ended up I think being an over correction because there's a bunch of teams that have it, and what

are you gonna do with that? All that said, I'm gonna pick a team I'm just in who's also near the top, which is the Bills. I just think the Bills are going to get super aggressive and realized this is a nice window for them, and they did a really good job adding free agents last year that didn't have big names Mitch Morrison, John Brown, and Cole Beasley. But this time around, I could see some of the

defensive players, maybe a clowney who knows. Can you get the spending big time pop They got Mario Williams once upon a time when he was the number one free agent on the market. Can you get the top top guys to go to Western New York? Um? I guess money. That's been an issue that's been an issue with multiple I would say this because the Brown thing happened. It

never would have happened at all without Odell Peckham. It was that, and then everyone just kind of looked beyond everything else and some of the issues on the team and said super Bowl. They just became a really compelling story. Now what if the Packers and this is not some dark horse team. But we're Aaron Rodgers that everyone already

obsessed with Aaron Rodgers. And if they went out and signed to like game changing skill position players on offense, I think everyone just says, you've done it, You've completed the chore. You your your issues from last year are solved. Super Bowl Well, I like all of those choices. There's a team out there with more cap money and more draft picks, the Miami Dolphins, a coach now who everyone respects, and you get to live in Miami and you're gonna

get a hot shot quarterback most likely. Tax is no income. Texas beautiful, pretty Texas is great. It's a haven for o J. Simpson. I mean, what what is not to like? That's where o J is at. Ye. The pride of the Bills is hiding out in Florida. The Nicole Brown family and Ronald Goldman's family can never collect. Why am I still mad about I think it's you are passionate about it. That's fair. Drive by near you know where o J least to live it you think about him

all the time. I think about him all the time. I think that house has been raised, hasn't it the o J House. Privately, Gregor said to me, well, the d n A, I don't know, can you try? I do? It was it was people didn't understand d NA yet. And Greg's like, well, you know what about the gloves? They didn't fit? And I said, come on, man, you know that's quit, you know, big cochrane head. I mean no, You're always on this, the two of you. You know, he was a great He's a great um teacher of

a truth that lives on today. If you have enough money, they have a law. The law is pretty negotiable. Don't worry about it. You can break all the laws you want. Thank you everybody sent in mail bad questions before we go and before we head off to Indianapolis. Speaking of the cults for the two thousand twenty NFL Scouting Combine, how about here a couple more of these entries for the Connie Fox Sweepsteaks just for fun. Erica has been combing through our Gmail. Uh, and now she's gonna play

another one for us. Let's hear it. Here we go. It's Connie Fox, Ya, it's y'all, one of them rolls with the knocks, y'all. She got that Colly go Marry tick, so she reppit Viny and Miami traveling. All the glow is Colin Woolf. The history is very, very rich. Like it a lot first Gonza ref you're also playing to Greg. As soon as he hears that hip hop pete, his head starts noting, So that's good. It's a bit of a gatekeeper on this, like he has. He sort of

had one of the artists from last time executed. I mean, you were so against that person. Well, he took shots at Colleen Wolf and he was the worst rapper I've ever heard, So why do you why would we want to listen to that? Over years and years? This was It was fun. I think we've got some really strong entries already in the clubhouse. I'm depressed with the talent. Yeah, it's amazing. Uh, I mean we are nothing without our listeners.

And this is also just a reminder that in addition to be a great at push play, they are also multitalented individuals in their own right, many of them, many of them are, I wouldn't say all, but many. I got one more for you, guys. This one is a little bit of a twist on sort of what we asked for but I'm digging it is it's under thirty seconds. Of course. Okay, here we go, I'll care about. I'm Lukisha Westling and this is the beautiful, intelligent, funny thing.

Everybody a hard time booking boxes, very rich here. Hey, it's so great to be back Miami on there in spirit every week. Oh, I love it. That is like off the Prince Batman soundtrack, were we don't start picking ever listening to any of the others ever? Again? Is that how this is working? There's too many good ones, but we have to make a choice. I imagine that some of these, even if they don't win, will be

a part of our program going forward. But there can only be one winner, with a prize to be determined, but certainly not knocked in legally. That prize is going to be that'll be attractive. It won't be the two thousand and eleven Tennessee Titans Media Guide, which you've sent to someone as a gift before, about the what about the Sean Payton Sean Payton book, signed by Sean Payton and dedicated to another famous talent. I don't think we can work. I don't think we can give that away.

It's somehow could come back to haunts. Um, all right, I like that last one. I don't know if it's a winner, but it's I really enjoyed it. Effort. Wessie should go back and and just skip and listen to the colleen section because that some of the some of the entries that we've appreciation you didn't listen to. You assume that when I was in Kauai, I was not listening. Gonna hope not, would hope not. Um, Yes, we are

leaving for Indianapolis early next week. Uh, it's on Mark's radar that I'm staying at a different hotel than him. I know, I just don't understand. Could you use a little nervous that it's a better hotel? No, I'm not, because I've been to both hotels and I actually am happy or staying. We're worth staying. But you wrote, oh, look like an end of an era because we're staying at this other hotel. But then the winds up just

you are or some of you are. I'm just saying it seemed in the and yes it could get lost in translation on text, but uh, you seem to be a little upset when I first and you meant well you mentioned that it went well, I'm not gonna we don't need to good. I have a little insider info on that. Um Dan, you're sort of psyched about where you know, I'm at that same hotel with you. I'm psyched that if that means we're together in the same hotel,

I don't. I don't really have any information about this other hotel, okay, because the way that you phrase it was sort of like yeah, like moving up. Well, I heard that the one Mark is in is considered the higher one, the better one. That that feels right to me, and that's fine. I've stayed in the Weston, We've stayed at there for seven years, many many years, and I texted actually privately with Greg yesterday that I was gonna I was gonna look to maybe get into the Western

as well. But the Combine is such a groundhog day event for us where we do the same thing every year, probably in a different hotels. Let's get point like you acting when in in communicating with Erica, like it was just like positive sea change. You said, end of an era. We're staying at the name of the hotel, and not all of us were. So I didn't take that I thought, I assume that we were all staying at this other hotel. Hey, step it up. You know when I was with NBC,

they had that j We stayed at the JW. That was a nice one. We've been there before Super Bowl for can't you can't really go wrong? And the way in set they're all connected to the convention center. We are. We still taping, okay, but it's confirmed that I'm in the preferable of the two. But I'll still confirmed that you were annoyed and it was on your radar that you somehow had been left behind because of your wording end of an era, Like we've gotten out of you know,

we're not just like chumps anymore. We're staying at this hotel. It's like, actually, I'm not so how was How would I have taken that? What is end of an era? Wasn't like we've been bumped down a notch. You would have been furious if you thought that you had been put into the lesser of two hotels, which you have and that feels good. And the show, Uh so we'll be an indie. We'll have a show on Tuesday, uh Wednesday, Wow,

Tuesday Wednesday. And I believe Friday when we get back to town, and in fact we will do our free agency one oh one. The Chris Westling Greg Rosenthal joint will be unveiled next week. We're like Spike, how contentious it can get. You want to talk about actual bad blood. That's when the scientists have to, you know, fight for their their dream picks, what they believe their lists should be. And sometimes it's not pretty. Is there any guys that have really caused an issue for you? Now? We haven't

got uh, we don't. We don't know yet. Um Ali bon Purry has not given us back the master spreadsheet that combines our list. But I will say that I I thought I had more lucidity during this year's iteration of this exercise in any other year. Interesting. Good to hear that. All right, let's go, Thanks everybody for listening. We really really happened happening. Stan Hands is signing off for Quiet, starring The mail Man, The Old Boss, Rank Hollywood, Behind the Glass, Still Indy