QBs & Covid; Lions talk with Patra

overseas this year because of you know. But I will say we can rest easy knowing that we were making progress. Year one, our first trip to London in two thousand eighteen, there were three people that were not white males at the UM Live show and thereby force, potentially there was no evidence that they went out and bought their own tickets. Right year two, there were at least eleven women. It was a little more diverse in general. UK UK fans get a lot of pop and we're doing a little

NFL UK show. They announced uh later this week on Thursday. The information is on the NFL UK Twitter Around the NFL Twitter to a little live show with Neil Reynolds.

That'll be fun. But I want to say give a little shout out to our Canadian listeners because you can't get so much pop. I happen to be perusing our like analytics and looking at the international numbers, and it's like Canada is a strong number two, and it's they're not as vocal apparently, but they're they're massive, and we don't we don't give a lot of a lot of pop to the Canadians. And while we're here, I'm going to give some pop to the American listeners. It is

our largest audience. And uh always always love you know, you know the old Zoo or he loves the USA. These colors don't run all that all right, this is suld I pick a nation or a country to post stuff, not too late, Very excited about the Estonian listening contingent. There's at least six or seven of them, and they're

there die hards according to Greg's analytical map. It's uh, it's always funny though when Dan points out like he loves the USA, as if like he loves it more than he's trying to say he loves it more than us I see what I do it I think he might do. I think we are a flawed country, but so too is every human. You know, we're we're working at it and hopefully we can be better. But the bones of this nation, what it represents, is a beautiful thing. But we could always strive to be better us. Okay,

now let's get to it. What's happening. America is not in a it's not a place. It's an idea. Boys, I'm letting you stay bed on this. It's you know. See, that's why I love the country, Mark, I mean, we all love it. We all love it. I see it as a complex idea. All right, today's show is a good one. We um, we're what we We've talked about behind the scenes. We're trying to navigate this. We've done over a thousand episodes we've done. I think this is gonna be what our eighth or ninth season. But this

one is like no other season for obvious reasons. With the nineteen and as such, it does feel a little strange to dive into certain conversations about the season that's upcoming, where it probably makes more sense to kind of live in the moment and just document what's going on right now and how the landscape looks as the NFL attempts to work its way through this really tricky situation that's presented itself in So we're gonna do all the news.

We're gonna have an a good friend of the show, a man who's I want to just say, who's Bob. Maybe lost some spotlight. It didn't lose any greatness, but it lost some spotlight because Nick Shook rolled in with those giant traps and biceps and all that stuff. Well, it's time for somebody else's body to get the recognition that it never deserved to lose in the first place.

So that that's my tease for later in the show to talk about the Detroit Lions on the team that's dealing with some very serious COVID nineteen issues itself right now. So let's get into it plenty to talk about Ricky. Let's hit the news. Yeah, Wayne understands that the NFL is the most profitable sports league on Earth, and there are only so many opportunities that come along like this.

I mean, you're talking about an enormous real estate play with an A list tennant and leaders had a great season's a shame Derek Carr went down when he did, Yeah,

he's a great QB. And that is the most I've heard or watched from Ba Dolers since the first episode, when I couldn't believe that Home Box Office had botched such a tremendous premise for a show the Rock as a former star turned agent, the ability to use all the real logos and team names, celebrity and and NFL star cameos galore, and somehow it was like our less

level bad. I hate Ballers. I never saw it, but I did see a couple of Twitter clips of Jay Glazers acting, so if that was kind of like an indication of what the rest of the show was like, I didn't need to see that. I mean, Glazer actually

in his he has a mail Bag. I'm not saying it's the pre eminent version of that type of article, but um he in his version of that, he talked about the fact that the Ballers director and producer allowed Glazer and others to really kind of impromptu on the set, that they'd go through like a lot of different just sort of hamming it up with Glazer and Glazers actor or NFL friends, and it created some high drum. I've

seen probably four or five episodes. I'm not as down on it as you are, Dan, but I never watched more, and I think that they botched what could have been something very very special. It had a lot of annoying cameos on it. Okay, Anyway, the reason why we just heard from Dwayne Johnson the Rock is because he bought a a steak in the XFL, buying it out of

bankruptcy and um. This kind of reminds me of when Justin timber Lake bought into My Space in two thousand eleven, thinking that he could be part of rebranding it and bringing it back. Uh. It feels similarly doomed for The Rock. But he's a very successful man. Maybe him and his partners, who included his ex wife by the way, nice job.

They're keeping it together for the for the biz. Uh, maybe they could figure something out to make the first true professional sports league alternative to the NFL since the a f L NFL merger. In it's gonna own a team, you know. There you go, And that's the lead story of today. No, here's the lead story of today. COVID time. It's that time again. Doug Peterson, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, has tested positive for the coronavirus. ESPN's

Tim McManus reported it uh. He added that Peterson believes he contracted the virus outside of the Eagles team facility. Peterson is asymptomatic. Fortunately, he says he's feeling fine. The Eagles also sent home another member of the staff um, so Peterson is out for in a definite period of time.

Once again remind you of how how quickly things can be depleted and how a team now has to begin preparing for a season that's five and a half weeks away, six weeks away, potentially without the leader of the team, Greg Obstacles upon obstacles right now. If I think, more than anything, it's just a reminder to the rest of the league they better have their backup plans in place. And Peterson spoke with the media on Monday. He's still gonna be doing some of the virtual meetings as much

as he can. Sounds like a lot. I mean, you know, if you know broadcasters, I remember what Chris Cuomo was doing shows from his basement with the with the virus. I guess you can beholding your virtual meetings. So Peterson is away from his family, Uh, he's away from his team. He's still gonna be doing his work somewhat. But it's a reminder every team needs a backup plan, and not just for your head coach. You need a backup plan for every single coach on your roster, for every single

staff member on your roster. I mean, what if you lose you know, you know, the Vikings or the Chiefs lost their their their medical examiners. So you're gonna need to have backup plans on backup plans for players, staff, coaches. And it's gonna be a season full of backup plans like best best blackup plans wins, because everyone's gonna need need some of them. I mean, I think in this case,

it's deuced Staley for the Eagles. And if you want to look at it from a rose colored glasses p O V. I guess you could say that in the season, a guy like Deuce Staley, some of these guys who have been um at the assistant level for so long that it might be a chance for them to come in and coach a win or two and show what they can do in the same spot. But I I think it's the when you lose the cluster of defensive coaches. Potentially Peterson is asymptomatic. That doesn't mean that we won't

get a coach at some point who is symptomatic. And while Chris Cuomo did CNN from his basement, I mean not everyone is gonna be, you know, in that level of you know, not being touched by it. I think that the coaching side of it and the staff side of it is as perilous as anything else. And it's just sort of like a high brow, high level name where it reminds you it's not just um, you know,

large defensive tackles opting out and catching corona. Like like Mark Sesler, I'm a huge baseball fan and watching my Yankees every night, including their sweep of the Red Sox this weekend. Tough break, Greg, I know you were watching the games as well, uh, And I think from watching that's it feels like the NFL is gonna be a

similar situation. This feels like a war of attrition, not just for the league just to try to survive it, but for every team and some teams if this does go on a schedule at the NFL, some teams you imagine they're gonna be more fortunate than others. Some teams are gonna see their seasons potentially wiped out because of this, And what I guess concerns me and makes me nervous as a sports fan. Uh. And somebody that covers professional

football for a living, is you watch what happened again? Baseball, which is the guinea pig right now. Um with the Miami Marlins, and they had a ton of positive tests and there was some talk and speculation that there was some irresponsible um things going on with the players that led to the big outbreak in their clubhouse. But now we have the St. Louis Cardinals, another team that's dealing with an issue here, and there's a possibility here that

there might not be irresponsible behavior going on. I don't I doubt Doug Peterson was irresponsible. And it just reminds you how easy it is to catch this and how one person getting it can change everything the fortunes for an entire organization that has dreams of winning a Super Bowl. Well, and the Cardinals, there's reports the Cardinals went to a casino, So I mean, I think that you could if you're gonna it is it comes down to the choices you make.

And I mean, I just think we're in a much different world than when when Tom Hanks and two NBA players caught it. It's shut down that sport entirely now the the NFL's viewpoint, and tell me if you think I'm wrong. Seems to be at all costs, we're gonna press on. And the the idea of you know, competitive

uh imbalance is already at play. I mean, when players are opting out left and right, there is a competitive and balance, and like when you're losing coaching staffs more of I mean, it's a very different world than we lived in in March well, and I think it's gonna

be up. It's really interesting that it's that the Saints, for instance, are creating their own mini bubble where a hundred and thirty of their hundred and fifty players and staff are staying in a hotel, are planning to stay in a hotel um for camp and they're they're taking that step on their own, and so it's trying to

mitigate whatever risk is out there. But it is funny, like people come apartmentalize, like everyone's furious at the players who are being irresponsible going out, and it's like and that that makes sense, but you know there's not quite as much fury of like all you have to do to get coronaviruses, go out a couple of times and you'll probably get it. Like you know, that's that's what I mean. If you're not gonna be solving, if you're not gonna be solving that issue, it's gonna be it's

gonna be pretty difficult to solve. The hotel for the NFL. The hotel is the idea for the Saints. Sounds like a sound one in principle, and I wouldn't be surprised of other teams do it. But that could also backfire in a huge way because somebody can contract the the virus and then take it into that hotel and then game over the Saints and whatever team else has done.

My I guess what I was saying, Mark, was whether the St. Louis Cardinals were at a casino or the Marlins were out at a at a hotel, bar or whatever, that's one thing and that would almost set in a

weird way, set your mind at ease. It's like you will ruin your season if you can't be disciplined but then there's gonna be a bunch of other guys and guarantee it happens, and already has with all these tests that are come through that didn't do something reckless, that maybe went to, uh, you know, take their daughter to the park, or went to the grocery store. Because it's that it's that contagious. It's virus is not simply you know,

responding to reckless behavior. All right, And speaking of the COVID nineteen virus, the Lions and the Jaguars have placed their starting quarterbacks on their reserve COVID nineteen list. Matthew Stafford hits the list after results came back from the team's third round of testing on Friday. Um It is unclear how long Stafford will be out per NFL protocol, but the team is scheduled to start their strength and conditioning workouts on Monday. And Stafford of course very um

uh unique situation for him. His wife, Kelly, had brain surgery in the not too distant past. She just had a child this spring. So you wonder what Matthew Stafford's thinking right now. We talked about this on Friday Show. What a huge franchise altering decision. Franchise quarterback has in front of him if he feels uncomfortable about playing. I have no idea where Stafford's at mentally right now on that, but that's a situation. And then your boy, uh, Mark Sessler, Gardner,

Me and Shoe Uh. He was added to the COVID Night Steam list by the Jags, along with um four other players on the Jaguars, So Minshew's who's locked and loaded as their starter for in Jacksonville. He also is in the same boat now as Stafford, waiting to get well and get back on the field. Think part of it is we're thinking it's August. There's all this time for conditioning, and you know everyone will be in Theory

back and ready to go in September. But imagine if this were a week seven and you lose Stafford, Kenny Golladay. We much mentioned in the last show T. J. Hawkinson, you're in theory, You're you know, blooming into a productive tight end person right there. That's a huge chunk of your offense. Again, it just points to competitive and balance for me and I. You know, losing a quarterback is one piece, but you can also lose for defensive linemen.

I mean I I want to be positive about this, but I think it's as tricky a scenario as um by ten that we've ever encountered. Now, the NFL is hoping that all this, you know, daily testing, that they're finding people you know, that are testing positive, and that the tests you know now that hopefully the players are coming in and they're being safe, that the numbers are

going to go down. But it's hard not to notice that they're a little clustered that I think there's seven, seven or eight teams that haven't had any positive test us. But you got like the Lions offense that you know, you don't want to you don't want to guess what's going on. But they were working out separately, like like the NFL p A told them not due then. And there's been clusters on a couple of teams, Jaguars and

Lions and Vikings being being three of them. And yeah, your mind thinks about the season and if if that happened, because in theory, you know, it's not like the virus knows what when the season starts. There there isn't that much that's really changing between actually does the virus is aware that September eight, they are very excited about it. Yeah,

well that that would be good news. But it's such a dramatic like whiplash of like Jaguars dot Com and sending out like this slow motion video of Gardner Minshew on Instagram and Twitter. Uh you know, check out our instagram by the way around the NFL big pop for that right now. You know, they're they're sitting up what's the handle on that, Ricky? It's at the eight n podcast. It's like, okay, so we're we got the we have we don't have any slow motion Gardner Minshew shots, but

the guers do. And it's like his hair is all flowing and it's like he was like just on the way in to get like test positive for coronavirus. I don't know, there's something that was That was a beautiful Minshew video, but there was something about it that I'm not I don't know what he's been doing with his offseason, but kind of felt like a ripe character to be plucked by the old Corona there. What do you think

is he's so charismatic that coronavirus gonna help it. I mean, I think that all sorts of things are attracted to Gardner Minshew and as are probably you know areas, including one guy on the show. I think he's a great player, and he's an exciting character, and the NFL needs him right now, so I couldn't be more on his on his uh get better? How about that. I'm excited for you, Mark because moving in you're moving. You shared me photos of your new home that you're moving into with your family,

and it looks great. I'm very happy for you guys. Just so happens that Corona did send an evite for that Thursday night kickoff game. Texans chiefs Uh. They they're setting up a party at your house that night, so

watch out. I mean, you know, you'd think in past years it would be my dream to get not a really devastating version of Corona, but just a soft one that kind of pulls you a lot of you know, a lot of people sympathy and empathy about this guy's been through a lot, you know, but it doesn't really you know, attach you too hard. In this case. I'm over it. I don't want to catch it. I don't want my kids to catch it or any of you.

It's it's lost its appeal. Good lesson to learn that prak just was get cessil outa here and put Patrick Clabon in here for the rest of this. What are you talking about. I'm just saying, you're really going out on a limb, you know, you know, thanks catch coronavirus and other New Years. I would have loved this coronavirus, but not done so much. It's lost, it's it's it's flat, and other news. It is good times to be a

Jets fan. Jets linebacker C. J. Mosley, who signed a massive free agent deal entering the two thousand nineteen season and then ripped up his groin in the opener and basically missed the whole season, He has now decided to opt out of the season. UM source told rich Domini was due to family health reasons. Mosley his contract tolls. You're gonna hear that a lot with these different things, and we'll we'll talk about the opt out situation in the NFL, which is murky right now and some people

are not happy about it. But Mosley, who has four years left on his deal, he opts out. So what that means is he gets the stipend from the NFL, I think a hundred and fifty grand. Is that what it is that will be taken out of a future salary unless he has an underlying medical condition uh and then next year the contract tolls, so he still has four years left. He doesn't have three years left, and I did think it was an interest interesting before we

get to what this means for the Jets. Interesting um report I read from Mike Florio at PFT that there is a little bit of buzz and I'm not connecting this to Mosley or anybody UH that that some teams are unhappy, that they have a h of feeling or a vibe that some agents are trying to use the opt out as leverage, whether it be UH for a contract extension or players who feel like they're not gonna make the team anyway, so they are opting out and taking the money. That is a report that I read.

I don't know what it means, but it it did raise my eyebrow. We'll put your name on it. Then that's a serious I mean the people that are being sources for p FT, because that's a pretty serious accusation. And I don't I don't see any like, I don't see any specific players that anyone's suspecting or fits that m because ultimately it's just fronting them, you know, unless they have a medical condition, which no one's going to

have a problem with, like like Marcus Cannon for instances. Officially, UM, you know the second category where he's getting three dollars because you know as a former cancer survivor. Um, it's just giving the money that they're gonna get later anyway. So if you're gonna be like whispering about that, I don't know, but put your name on it, all right.

I like that, Greig. And as far as the Jets go, Mosley was supposed to be an important part of this defense obviously, so in the span of a week they lost, uh mostly Jamal Adams to the Seahawks in a trade. And the Jets, I will say, they're pretty deep at inside linebacker. They did a nice job Greg Williams plugging

the holes with Mosley out last year. But it really does feel and I try to be optimistic because the Jets fan is stupid as that idea is, but you just you can't take away that much talent from that defense. And I do really like Greg Williams as a coordinator, uh and expect this team to compete at a high level um, and it just reinforces to me what the Jets season is about with all those draft picks ahead

and the idea of building towards the future. This to me is more and more coming a season that's about Ken Sam Donald progress. Can this offense take the next step with gays? Because once you remove those two heavy hitters from the defense, I feel less and less um confident that they're going to contend for a playoff spot.

There's just not enough talent on the roster. I mean, I think if you're Joe Douglas, who we can agree is probably the one thing you could say going forward, it's Douglas and Sam Donald that you could still see here um a number of years. When Mosley's contract now isn't gonna complete four years from now, it's just less and less in my book, the odds of him even being there at that point. I think if you're Joe Douglas, like, if you want to be an optimistic Jets fan, you've

got to go through another rough ride. It's gonna be it's probably you know, on paper, looks like a rough ride, but you're setting the table to attract maybe a different tier of available coach Um with all the future draft picks and a quarterback in place. If Donald improves to get a coach that you don't have to who is who isn't a dead man walking right now? Case is

a dead man walking. And I just don't know. I think it's to another tough year on a fan base to sign up in all the pretty words about Greg Williams, I mean, Greg Williams won't be there five now, he'll be interim. He'll he'll be an interim coach for the second time in three or four years. Williams of again, Yeah, I'm being optimistic. You're gonna get a better coach, which they probably have done earlier. About optimistics, you're in a

better environment. I think you could make a better argument. Well, Williams has a history. He was really good at improving kind of an under talented group to average or better than average, and the second year usually goes okay, and then it usually starts kind of going off the rails. But they're right, you know, we don't need to linger on the Jets too much. But it's funny. I remember

writing something about the Jets earlier this offseason. I said, you know, if you look at their roster I think the only position groups that are average or better or have a chance to be average or better are inside linebacker in safety. And now now those ones that I wouldn't say would qualify either. They'll probably keep Avery Williamson, who was maybe not gonna make the team. We don't really know. And and I am gonna point out it really reminds me of Juwan James, who wasn't in a rundown.

But I'm gonna throw it out there anyways. The Broncos right tackle, who like Mosley, got a huge salary like two of the highest paid players in free agency last year in terms of guaranteed money, barely played at all because of an injury last year like Mosley, and also opted out on Monday. And also, that's gonna be, you know, a troubling position group potentially for the for the Broncos. So like two guys, it's free agency, it's it's always

a risk. And these are two guys who got a lot of casts right now, not you're not You're not gonna find the right tack. The Jets also released Ryan Winters, their guard. He's been a start since he should catch on somewhere else as either a depth or starting piece. Uh, speaking of the opt out Patriots safety and they're forever Captain Devin mccordy on Sunday, he he spoke out he's angry with the NFL for attempting to move the deadline in which players can decide whether or not they want

to opt out this year. Here's what mccordy had to say. I think it's an absolute joke that, uh, the NFL is changing in the opt out period manly because they don't want to continue to see guys opt out. I'm sure they're shot about how many guys have opted out. I think it's terrible. I think it's bus that the league has changed that day. And the Patriots, of course, Greg have had eight players opt out of the season. That's the most in the NFL. And you wonder if

mccordy speaking out like this, if he could be next. Yeah, listening to um his quote, there are a couple of interesting things. Number one was what you just said the way he mentioned it, he thought players still hadn't decided, that they haven't even been in the facility, and that

there there's gonna be more to come. And so that was that was my take, which which has been born out because I think when we last spoke, we were in the mid twenties in terms of opt outs, and now we're we're speaking Monday afternoon, we're in the mid forties. So it's almost bolt since since Friday, and it looked like it's going to continue. And he indicated, you know, may maybe he wasn't, um, you know, totally on board

or not. The other thing that's interesting to me is he's responding to a report from Adam Schefter that the NFL was gonna make the deadline Tuesday or Wednesday instead of being one week from when they actually signed the c b A. Remember when we were like, oh yeah, they signed the c b A and we we said that live on NFL network. You know, we retaped like a whole second. That was that was ten days ago.

They still haven't signed. It still hasn't happened. Like the players don't have to let them move that deadline, so we haven't heard anything about it since that's kind of a floating story. And if they are going to move that deadline, the players are probably gonna ask for something

in return. There's no I have no idea what that would be though, And and Dan the other side to the report of agents saying that there's this sort of negotiating for new contracts is there is concern, according to Florio through a source un named source, that players are just using this as a way to guarantee income um, even though that doesn't make a lot of sense because

it would come out of next year. Players on the bubble are saying, if I'm if I think I might not make this team, I'm opting out to get the money, But you still have to give it back if you didn't make a team next year. So I find that to be a dubious idea. And look, I mean, if anything, I think the opt out, and this is just my

personal belief, should be extended. They should put it out a number more of more weeks, because this has to be a careful decision that you don't either you don't want to rush to opt out when you find out the team is handling it the way you are. If we were gonna go back into the workplace with a similar situation and you had family members concerned what you it makes sense that you'd say, let me go see

what it's like. Let's get an idea of how much uh this thing we think this can work and then make a decision, versus having to do it in a rush. I hate the idea that players feel. If more people feel like mccordy, that they're being pressured into this decision. I'm totally with you, and I'm gonna bring Kevin Patron right now, our buddy, to jump in on the combo if you like, why wouldn't it Why wouldn't you, Kevin, I'll set you up at this. Why wouldn't you extend

that opt out too deep into the training camp? Because don't you want to see if you're that player? I want to get on the field. I wanna be hitting some people. I want to see how those tests come back, and then I'll decide if I'm gonna try to play a whole season. It does feel like they're putting the players in a needlessly difficult situation decision wise. Well, I can't completely disagree with you, damn, But I mean you

think of from a coach's re sective. I just jumped on this call, so I don't know what you guys have been through before. But if coaches are uh constant whiners about everything they can't control, so that's just another thing you're throwing at them, and they're gonna they're gonna whine, and they're gonna complain about not knowing what players they have,

and you're just giving players. I mean, is it gonna be a situation where you got a player who probably knows he's cut, then he just takes the opt out as opposed to getting cut. So put it on baseball players are still opting now in the middle of the season, that that seems problematic. And ultimately the players agreed that they would. You know, that the deadline would be a week after they signed this thing, so so it's it's

not gonna be later than that, but it is. It's fascinating to me they're still negotiating like these they're even sending out transactions. Okay, this guy's officially opped out, this guy's on the COVID nine teamless. They actually haven't even signed an agreement that those designations exist. It's a it's a very strange time and there's a lot of trust between both sides. Actually think the players have done a pretty good job, as Devin McCarthy kind of pointed out,

standing their ground. And this is one I wouldn't be surprised if they do stay on their ground and the the date doesn't wind up getting pushed in the end, Patra, all right, that's what's happening in the news. Yes, Kevin Patrick is joining the show. It's been a while. It's been too long. In fact, it's been so happy that yes,

it has been. And it's it's the reason we you sprung to mind, Patras, because we wanted to pick one of these teams that's dealing with a lot of drama right now and in this modern NFL landscape, and your detro Lions are right at the top of the list because not only do they have I believe seven players on the COVID nineteen list, it's also now Matthew Stafford.

And it happens said against the backdrop of a very important year for the Lions, a year where there's a belief, Greg I think you talked about it on our Leaky Trendy I think they're kind of a sneaky trendy team that they're technically a favorite according to one odds maker, and there's a lot of hope around the team, but then also a pessimistic side that says matt Patricia is

still a head coach and they say, gonna work. Where's your head at as the Lions fan is just someone that follows and writes about the league so well on NFL dot com right now. Yeah, Well, I think we're all in the world of unknown. We don't know anything. Like there's a part of me that says, well, we don't know about COVID a lot, a lot of it.

Maybe this is a thing where you know, Matthew Stafford contracted it and now he's he's gonna be clear, he's got he's got antibodies that he's not gonna have to worry about it later in the year. We don't know that yet or not. So I think that the optimistic side says, well, maybe we get us out of the

way early. And I think with Stafford going out on the COVID list, people are kind of forgetting that Kenny Golladay and Hockinson are both on that list too, and that just like triples the uh, the factor for it's screwing up the entire offense that looked kind of like it could be one of the better offenses when Matthew Stafford was healthy under Daryl Bevel last year, and that you know, the ads swift, but the COVID situation just does what it does to every team, and it just

a lot of unknown at this point point. I mean, you hope Stafford's okay asymptomatic obviously, but at this point, but what what do we know about this virus is very little because it keeps seeming to change by the week and by the month. Well you can kind of the Redax player that's you know, Edward Rodrigue. We don't know what you know. We're not expecting this to happen

to like a great number of NFL players. But you think about the Red Sex pick picture Headward WARDO Rodriguez who's out for the season because of complications is having to do with COVID, and and that's what you are worried about, that this when these guys get back on the field. Look, the Lions players might be back on the field by the time pads are on anyways, I mean that's not happening until August seventeen, not not, not a lot is really happening other than like working out

and mentally preparing. But you're right, like having the unknown of like how these guys are going to deal with it afterwards is I don't know how can that not hang over you? What do you think about the Lions patra Um. I'm cautiously optimistic if Stafford can stay healthy. I liked, I liked, I mean I like the offense.

I my pessimistic side is on the Mat Patricia defense because I still don't see where the pass rush is coming from, unless somehow Gerard Davis turns into uh edge rush or something out overnight, because I don't see where he's gonna fit in otherwise, or Jamie Collins becomes something that we haven't seen in the last few years. I don't see where they're gonna get pressure the back end. The defense doesn't bother me so much. I like a cop. I think he's gonna be a really stud player that's

gonna fill in for Slay a lot um. But there's again, there's this whole pessimistic side that this is a team last year that had no depth, and you saw that when Stafford went out and other guys started getting hurt. Still doesn't have a lot of depths, and that's gonna be huge in this year with guys going on the COVID list. It's gonna happen. Since some Lions already got sick. So you just assume that's gonna happen during this season. And if you have a shallow roster, I think you're

gonna get screwed at the end of the day. You know, you talk about teams like the Saints, like the forty Niners, like the Ravens, like the Chiefs, the upper echelon's team they can withstand a guy going down to a position group Bob Quinn's fourth year there you know, shouldn't be but are I mean, when you're basically you're banking on ex pats the whole time, and that's your that's how you're building your roster, you're gonna be shellow because these

veterans you know who they are, and you know who they're not, and they're not they don't have crazy upside anymore. I mean, Kevin, let me ask you this, if you were to get if you were to get a Lions win, for every thousand news articles that you've written for NFL dot Com, I put them at about eleven or twelve win team at this point, if not a twenty win team right to the Super Bowl twenty and oh but you know I I we all deal with this variously in our newsroom. Um, if you root for a bad

football teams. Yeah, I was gonna ask that, right, Well, that's that's you're playing the Pro Bowl too. They're gonna go back to the old format. If it were the old format, you could go twenty and oh, if you went sixteen and oh and maybe one an extra preseason game. I don't know. The championships used to ply the College All Stars. We're gonna go back to that throw that I'm getting killed for math on this show. That's where

we're at with this point. I mean, I would just ask you, though, do you feel that the National because I think it was the last show where I said I thought they could be the seventh the seventh playoff team in the NFC, because I could see them maybe just go in old school and running the ball like forty five thousand times and just maybe sneaking in there. There is a reason to kind of like the potential

the Lions. Do you think when we but the other four thousand times I mentioned them, I just sort of feel like they're boring. Do you think that's an unfair viewpoint from the national media, Yes, just specifically you Mark, I think it's unfair open that on my own. Even that you've gone through the pain of a losing team year after year after year, just to look north of your rooting interests and just decide to kick us at every moment on the show, I think is just completely unfair.

I just called you the seventh NFC better a bigger heart. Yeah, yeah, you're trying to you know, one kissed on the cheek is not worth too little, too late, I hear you. Uh I don't, can I can I say something that track? I A lot of people are buzzing about the Lions if they can be healthy and on the field. I'm a little surprised that people are so pumped up about the Lions. Not not that they're so pumped up, but this team ended last year on a nine game losing streak.

Their defense was horrendous, and the head coach he just and listen. It's coming from a fan of a team that needs to get rid of their head coaching. You already know it, and he's still there. Patricia, to me has all that you're markets are one of those guys that just doesn't work out, and you you're almost planning ahead even while the season is yet to begin, as the future without him. I mean, maybe Matthew Stafford does stay healthy. But this idea, there's two things going on.

We're gonna do some division previews, so I don't want to get it too big picture. But two things that surprised me. What I've heard this summer's people talking up the lines and people assuming the Packers are gonna come down to Earth or somehow slip um this season. That surprises me as well. Oh, I think you got two fold things. I think that people saw what the lines look like with Stafford when he was healthy, and he

was top ten quarterback. In my opinion, I think he flew under the radar a lot because of because they lost some games and this is a team team that could have started out six and oh, I mean he should have met the Chiefs that that game wasn't that is a great game they I think that's what people are clinging to. Now I agree with you on the mat Patricia thing. I think, I mean, looks, let's let's

be honest. He took over for a coach who was a dead man walk in the time they got the G they's hired the GM, So I mean I was confused as to what Bob Quinn has been doing since the moment he took over. Why I understand that Martha Ford wanted to keep Jim called well, but why why did he get a second year when you knew he was gone right then after that and they wanted Patricia. It's been ear Mark since the moment Bob Quinn took over. So it's just been a a cavalcade of thing of

moves that don't stack on top of one another. And to get rid of him again this after this year, if it's like you said, it's so you know, it's a with a bust win or bust here for for both of them. So they're gonna be starting over from scratch again. And then do you get rid of the Darryl bevel if Matthew Stafford looks great with him? But you you go six and ten because your head coach, you know, can come up with one good defensive scheme

of year. Well, they have defensive players this year they add, you know, when your defense is as bad as they were. I think the way that they approached it of just adding so many pieces is the right move because they're just trying to get to average, and they added NFL quality guys I'm not as down on Patrician necessarily. I think he's got to have a chance. He's not a defensive mastermind, and it's not like the Patriots defenses with him were so bad. But the reason I think they

are exciting they have been a boring franchise. I'll buy that. But the reason they're exciting is because their offense. I mean, Matthew Stafford, I think you're under selling him in terms of the top ten quarterback. I think he was like a top three or four quarterback for the six or seven games he's in there. Now. Maybe it's a sample size thing you shouldn't get too carried away, but I I honestly don't think there was even a question. I thought that was the best he was playing in his

entire career. And then you look at the pieces around him. The line is fine. I don't think it's a great line, but I think it's fine. It's not bad. DeAndre shift Swift was the one running back in the class. I thought was like, if he was coming out ten years ago, he might have been a top ten pick. I mean, he just says everything you could pope posibly wanting a running back. You have Carrie on Johnson's who is a

great backup. You f T. J. Hockenson, who should be better in his second year, and you still have Galladay, Jones and Amundola, which is a rock solid, if not better receiver group. I mean, that is a that is a fun offense that was playing really well. The honestly, the only thing that worries me about all that was it was six games and it's Darryl Bevil and it's like, maybe we're putting a little too much on those six games.

But those six games, there was a lot to believe that that you could carry it over and that they would be maybe a top five, six seven offense, that they have that type of potential. Yeah, like I said before, I mean you named all the pieces, but aside from having two backs, Now, where's the depth, I mean the

wide receiver group. I don't see the depth there. Now, you can you find a fourth guy, but if Kenny Golladay gets hurt, Marvin Jones gets hurt again, I think they're just too thin at all those positions that they need everybody to stay healthy for sixteen games in order to contend the idea that I'm buying. Matt Matthew Stafford a top five quarterback from wire to wire. I'll buy that. I mean, I get that, but I think he was playing at that sort of level for for a five

or six game stretch there last year. I want to rectify something, Patra, because it annoyed me in the moment. Uh and now we have a golden opportunity on Friday Show, UM, myself, Greg and Mark all failed to really nail down what happened in Matt staff Stafford's loan playoffs start in his career. Um A a loss to the Cowboys. It was the week before the Dez Caught It game, but none of us in the moment could remember why it was so

painful and why Lions fans were angry afterwards. I want you to be the voice of the Lions fans and tell tell America and the world why the Lions got. The fact that not none of you great football minds remember is just exemplified. Forget about you, you're hurrying. I mean, it's true. I got over out of the next week

by penalty on the Cowboys pass interference. They threw the freaking flag and then got together decided they didn't want to piss off Jerry Jones and took picked up the flag and then we had the worst punting that went negative seventy five yards the wrong way and lost the game. I didn't. I did say something about pass interference on the show, by the way, but I couldn't. So, yes, maybe karma caught up to the Cowboys the next week. Is that? Did you? I guess as a Lions fan,

you got some something out of that. Well, I mean it was the Packers, but yeah, you know, it's true. It's all. That's why the Lions will always stay high up on the pain rankings, because with the true painful franchises there, there's layers to it. Just when you think that the onion is peeled back all the way, there's just more. And Patra, as a true fan, sees that one last thing, Patra, they are an apology another that's happening here. I don't know. And by the way, congratulations

on the birth of your son. It's been too long. It's been too long. He's almost four months. How you doing. How's how's fatherhood in a pandemic? Uh? You know, it was the first couple of months when he didn't see anybody, that was pretty good. We got to figure out how to be parents without you know, the in laws over every other week and such. So, but it's good that gets a little tricky with the in laws. Better hope

they're not around the NFL fans. They're American. But my apology Patrick is this and again an apology on behalf. This one not on behalf of the podcast. This one's just me. When Nick Shook hit the scene and started showing up in the podcast studio with that body, huh, I might have been taken. It might have been carried away by it. I might even given your drop to Nick Shook the workout drop at all. That was wrong

because you you are sneaky, yoked. You've always been somebody that's at a masculine build, and I want to tell you that I still appreciate your body, and just from the looks of this conversation own, thank you, sir, I appreciate I'm actually gonna go work out in about twenty minutes, so I'll be thinking of you. And I've been working on right now. I'm doing um Insanity Max thirty. Beach

Body know we are. Kevin and I have had many conversations about beach Body, so I feel like We're really missing West in this conversation though, because West was kind of the Kevin Patrick body truth there, because it was always like, yeah, like maybe it's like maybe maybe you Well, in his mind it was the truth. Third, you know, like I went, Dan's giving him a little too much pop. I think he said something like I've seen a billion five ft nine guys who weigh a hundred and sixty

pounds or something. Yeah, yeah, which he pounds off me. But that's fair. Uh. You know, I appreciate all all criticisms and all praise equally. You do, like like a fireman in his in his prime right now unit in Livonia, Michigan. There you go shout out to what's your brother's name? Shot out to Matt Patra the fireman. How about that? Who gets more respect in the family, your firefighter brother or you who has carved out a really good media career at the nfl UM Probably well, I mean it depends.

I'm not gonna answer that question. Thank on that one, all right, Patra. I know you have at a point where with the I T Department, which everyone dreads at the level of like a dentist root canal scenario. Well, so good luck with that, sir. I mean, it really comes down to and it's not just the NFL, is any any big company when you call it to it all depends who you get because there are some great people in the department that will help you out. And

somewhere it's like, oh my afternoon is over. This is gonna be terrible. Patro rolling the dice in real time. Yeah, and I'm sorry for Patrick's brother out there, but they respect you said that firefighting, I mean it was saving lives. How about writing a writing a blog on the four new additions to the Jaguars COVID nineteen less exactly. How about covering six Super Bowls? Right priorities? Please? Thanks guys,

appreciate it. All right, that was good. It's been too long, he really Maybe, as Mark alluded to in terms of his the amount of post he's written. If I had to guess, I think Kevin Patra has more page views than any writer in NFL dot com history. I think it has to doubt. It has to be. I mean he's gone NonStop for I mean, we were in there for for a while, but um now, you know, maybe even had a lead over Patrick probably for a while there.

But but he's he's dusted us. It's almost impossible to imagine this now, but I I remember working Saturday shifts when we were the news writers and doing sixteen stories in one day. Absolutely, Patrick Patrick has been grinding uh that path for for many years. And he's a good man. All right, before we go, here's the problem. Here is

the problem with ballers. Ultimately, what HBO and The Rock attempted to do was create sports Entourage, and they we all remember Entourage, the the autsu HBO comedy, and it's kind of become a bit of a punchline with the benefit of hindsight. But if you were in that moment, if you were in your twenties in that decade there and I will raise my hand to this and I and I think there's many listeners that are in our age range. Of the same way you watched Entrage, you

kind of into it. It was kind of a way to like live vicariously. What would it be like to be rich and famous and in your twenties in Hollywood? And then the show just got increasingly terrible. By the time Entourage ended, we didn't need Entourage anymore. But The Rock and HBO says, let's let's cook this, let's cook this stew up again and throw in the Miami Dolphins and the NFL and all this stuff. And it was just like it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

That's why I hate ballers. Hey, I mean, that's your right to to judge it as you see, as you see fit. How many episodes did you watch? I mean, I'm generally with you, but I watched. I did, honestly watch probably three or four. BEU. I really wanted to give it a chance, and I love HBO. I do you know. I think, Look, maybe a fictional weekly football show could work or not. But I think the part of the problem is, are you gotta be better than hard Knocks? Are you gonna better than Last Chance You?

I thought I was done with Last Chance You and the buzz out there? Is this the best season yet? Had to turn it back on and it's awesome. Like, I know, it's not that sort of things not for everyone. But if you're not going to top the drama and the characters that you're getting in those reality shows, you don't need it. You don't need balls. I mean, I'd say the NFL's actual news cycle has better stuff. Happening

than Ballers did too. It's kind of like a House of Cards scenario where real life started to trump plat plots that were fantastical in a dated time. I mean, Ballers, it's not it's not pushing the envelope enough when those episodes were coming out based on the floor that I saw, Ricky, you get the final thought on Ballers. Yeah, no, it sucks. You never know. I but it's not like I've seen

clips of It's terrible, all right. I'm just hedging my bets for when like takes over a big chunk of NFL media, like two years from now, like that Guy Show and my my one last rant. Kai for Bath got released by the Cowboys, and it's like, why did you even sign him? Why did you waste the man's time? Dallas, Jarrah Stephen, the whole game McCarthy when he just went and gave Greg's airline a nice contract, and then you keep Kai and Libo for months, and now where is Kai?

Kai is unemployed in the midst of a pandemic that's getting worse by the day. You didn't do right by Kai Kai Kai. But Kai doesn't deserve that, and the Dallas Cowboys speaking at Karma. Karma got you in the playoffs. It's coming for you again for what you didn't Kai four bath. If he's out of lage, if he's out of the league, if he's made his last kick, after what he did for your franchise at the end of December, you were a mess in your special team's game. And

what did he do? He shows up, he goes nine for nine and he just kicks everything straight through the middle. And this is how you treat him. You try to ruin the guy's career. Were According to over the cap dot com, Kai did get a hundred and thirty seven thousand dollars guaranteed for that contract, So that's a lot. I'm just saying, that's more gym equipment for Kai to be Kai. That's uh. I mean he could be in a support group with Brian Walter. To why Brian Walter

is getting dropped to the curb in August? Isn't that helpful timing either? I mean it's you know, did you say more gym equipment? What is he spending that money on? I mean he's got you know, the new entertainment all right? Anyway, that's it, Mark, Good luck with the move. Like I said, I would love to help you with the move, but I was just traveling and it's very important that I quarantine right now, so I just can't can't help you out.

I understand. What do you mean, Well, it's this sort of slow ho chi minh trail process that will take place over the next seventeen or eighteen days. I was doing when start how is I'm not judging either, but I would just claim it's not a pleasant experience. But thank you Greg for always diminishing what we your friends go through. It's appreciated, but I am unlivable in fourteen days. Thank you. We will speak then I'm literally leaving the

still right now, all right? By Mark stan Hansas. He did he actually actually I think he was done with today's show. Is a very legitimate take I have. Oh yeah, he was done thy minutes ago. I think he was done with Greg too. Oh yeah, you really you gotta text him, Greg, Yeah, this might be a text. He's not the first one, you know, it's not the first time. He's not the first one. Just is this is this one of those days, Greg? The only it happens a couple of times a year. Maybe where you you have

to say. The reach out text to Mark is this is this qualify? I mean, it's probably more than a couple of days. I don't know. I mean, my life is just a series of people that I annoy as I you know, travel along, travel along the human trail. All right. On that note, this is Dan Heads a signing off for in absentia, the Quiet Storm, the mail man who's doing well by the way, he's working at it, and he's he's working his way through this and we hope to see him back with this sooner rather than later.

The Old Boss and the Great Ricky Hollywood behind the Glass until Wednesday,