Surprise Team MVPs

second here. This is the first time in the history of this program that we are doing a show where we are the group of four are in three different time zones. Okay, we got Ricky Hollywood over there in New Hampshire, um and some area of her estate. Right now, we have the old Zooster who traveled with the family to um Emily's parents home in central Texas, so I'm in the Central time zone. And then there's Mark of Gregg holding things down in the City of Angels. That's

this might be podcast history forgot about our show. Has this ever happened before? I'm gonna say no, I don't think so. I mean, certainly I would imagine that Los Angeles would also categorize Greg and Eyes holding down the metropolis. Um, I wouldn't point to anyone else other than the two of us doing that work here. It is quiet, I

you know, driving around this weekend a little bit. I mean, I feel like it's now in a new level of like lack of people here because people have left for the summer and the coronavirus combined that you can you can get the west you know, you can get the Westwood in about five minutes from my house is just smooth sailing. Wow, what are you doing in Westwood? Greg? That's that would be my question. Things. No one's allowed to know what Greg does in west out in and out,

you know. Um So, yeah, this is where. This is where we're at, and UH will continue to provide to you high quality football analysis with a touch of mirth. There is no NFL Network program this upcoming Friday. Um so don't don't look for that on your DVR. We're not canceled. We will be back, but we are taking

the week off. There will be no u NFL programming on Friday, which is connected to some some actual NFL news that that goodella, you know, gave June teenth off in the what what is now turning into more of a national celebration, used to be more where you were in Texas of uh, you know, the word that slavery was abolished, you know, years after the Imansi Patient Proclamation. So the NFL has it totally off and the shows are totally off, which is pretty rare for the NFL,

and they're running some special programming. Friday June teenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and sell Liberate Liberation Day, is an American holiday celebrated annually on June nineteenth. It commemorates June nine, eighteen sixty five, when Union General Gordon Granger read federal orders and Gavelston Texas that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free. So Greg with a very accurate set up there, and then I gave you a little bit of a wiki background on top of it. Mark,

I know you were just educated. No I knew all about it, because you know, that's that's what I do. I I heard last week that they we're going to move our show and others off the slate. I think it's a good thing they've done, and it's kind of funny. You would never imagine the NFL to have done this a couple of years ago, that a lot of things have have changed for the better. This is the classic Juneteenth episode of Atlanta. You know that's that's a winner.

That's one of my favorites. Yes, I don't know if I saw that one. Good show though, I like Atlanta FS. Wow, what programming that coming out with on a fairly regular basis. Daniel looking very um, I just want to say, like the hair is looking well, It's kind of like I've been following, um, you know Alec Baldwin's journey through the whole Corona time and he goes through periods where he looks a little unwashed and a little uh weathered, but he then suddenly looks very shiny and put together. And

you have kind of that fielding right now. Your shirt looks uh washed and folded and it's now cleaning to your body with Sydney part one of the great actors. Better you should stay that close. I think it's like it's less hollow when you're that close. I like that you're less hollow when you're this close. Nailed it all right, good show coming up today. We are going to break down a little envy P talk, but not not in the more basic way where you're just saying who's gonna

win m v P, Patrick mahomes Lamar Jackson. We're gonna kind of take a look at a team by team and throw out some team MVP favorites and maybe some surprise names, names that don't jump out at you. And whether they actually contend for league MVP honors is another um debate. But we're talking about team by teams, so we're gonna throw some out there and have a nice little conversation there. I have a piece on NFL dot com, A two part are actually coming out this week on

this on that very subject. So we'll talk it out and if you guys have some really good ones, I'm gonna probably steal it. Just let you know you haven't written the piece yet or you will. I'm halfway through. I'm halfway through the crowdsourcing exercise. UM, it's gonna it might very well turn into that, but it's really up

to you. I mean, put it this way, Mark, if you come up with a killer, like a killer m v P favorite that I said, WHOA, and I've already written the copy I probably won't go back and change because you know what, I'm just not going to do

that amount of work. But if I haven't written the team yet, I will and I might even put, as Mark Sessler pointed out on a recent Around the NFL podcast, if I'm feeling especially magnanimous or I might just jack it, well, I would just point out that Greg Greg did mention my name and his um and you forget the title of this series, but the projected starter series, I got a name drop in that. So if you want any

credibility with me, you better do the same. I mean, time's going to mention that you read that series from Greg Brown knows he's not your boss anymore. It's not, it's just fast. We're just part of it. It's like I read the top ten favorite players and Mark Sessler's history, he had Randall Conny Nham on there, which to me

as a kid was was my favorite. So a lot of you know, just shared DNA right now, But yeah, that changed Gregg's life, and it changed the lives of about forty eight other people that clicked into the article. So um, you know, there's no end of the scope. A lot of shared DNA between the two of U and l A right now, Um, all right, let's start though by doing some Newspreme Court has rule that LGBT Americans are protected by the anti discrimination laws of this

country at their workplaces. They cannot be fired or otherwise discriminated against at work simply because they're lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. How about that, Ricky Hollywood picking the news drop today and can get behind that the civil rights law uh protecting LGBT workers. It was a ruling by the Supreme Court. Erica, you're feeling good, right, Yeah, it's exciting. All fifty states, um, no discrimination in the workplace for

LGBT rights. So that's really exciting. I saw a cool map on Twitter that was going around and it was like all of the states in gray that you can no longer be discriminated against, and the whole United States was great. So it's pretty cool. It's a it's a it's good news for Monday morning. Thanks for giving the bare minimum. Supreme Court. Yeah, exactly, finally your government working for you. Um, all right, let's uh, let's get to the news. So that's very good news. Here's not so

good news. A small number of Dallas Cowboys players have tested positive for the coronavirus uh this report from rap Sheet earlier today, and some Houston Texans players have also tested positive. Among the players is Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott, who tested positive but is feeling good, according

to a report. Um. Elliott on Twitter later questioned why his medical information was being made public with a simple tweet that read, h I p A a double question mark that was referring to the health Insurance Portability and accountabil the act. UH mark your thoughts when you saw this, Well, I'm not gonna deep dive into the Hippa angle of this. I had learned later that you know, not everyone has protected the way that as Zukule Elliott mentioned by HIPPA

refers more to medical practitioners. And I will leave it there for someone to correct me, UM, but I will say that that I think it's a it's a lesson that coronavirus UM is not just gonna play by the rules of you know, oh, you're you're a third stringer that might see limited snaps, so I'll I'll come and get you. Um, I'm not gonna come get any star players. I mean, coronavirus is circulating um at a rapid pace

in multiple states right now. It's not just simply gone away because we long for certain creature comforts, and we long to sit by our friends pool side with drinks in our hands. It's just not UM. I think it's it's a thorny issue. And you're already seen UM in the NBA circles players for multiple reasons questioning whether they should be shoved in to an Orlando bubble to play UM for a couple of things. Number one, the coronavirus

health issues. Number two, what's happening in our country right now with a lot of other stuff and with the focus on equality and uh, black lives matter, do we want to make do we want to create diversions in terms of sports? The NBA players are talking about that. When it comes to the NFL UM you know, we're seeing college players, uh, you know, succumbing to the coronavirus still too. I think it just creates immense logistical issues.

John Harbaugh mentioned how impossible it will be to manage a team with the guidelines they put out, And we can talk all day long about how will player X look as a fantasy player all this, but none of us have coaching ties, and none of us really have a real concept of what it's like to have to train seventy to ninety players to prepare for a season, whittle them down and get them community wise into one

solid spot to start week one. It is the challenge of what they put into this, the challenges that are you know, now embedded into the league with with spacing and social distancing. Um are fine as long as coronavirus does not attack rosters. And we're already seeing that that's just not how not how it works, right, And you know, I think there's this date in everyone's mind, you know, September ten, can you know, the race to get there?

But in my mind, it's kind it's more like j that's or July when those Hall of Fame game teams are supposed to show up. Thirty is when the rest of the team starts going on. It's like that soon and that's a ton of people and the cowboys getting you know, a handful of cowboys and a handful of tech in Texans getting it. Who knows how many other players have gotten it that that we don't know about. And it's hard not to think about, Okay, all these

players are practicing already together. Texas, you know, is was one of the first states to kind of open back up, and this is just going to be part of what teams and the league has to deal with. In the league admitted as much even when they were laying out these guidelines. I mean, the NBA said this as much

to like, players will test positive. It's just what is the reaction going to be in terms of how you can keep them away from the rest of the team and just the million logistical you know, problems, which hard which hard hit on that are like coming soon. It's to me, it's like a rate. It's unlike any offseason in so many ways, but it has to feel like a race for the NFL to try to somehow have a plan ready for July and then be able to

adapt after that. And it really it does make me think, like why play a preseason for for one, like if you can buy any more time that that seems like something you should do. Just to question you guys, because it wasn't so many months ago that a just a small handful of confirmed positive cases in the NBA shut down basketball. I mean, it's shut it down for the long haul. Is it just because now we're exhausted. Um, we have a couple of confirmed case is in the NFL,

and it's just full steam ahead. It just seems like, um, the polar shift is in our thinking and in the league's thinking versus how we're treating it as a country. Is it? We just are we tired of this? Of course we're tired of it, but you have to be smart about it. And Hardback used the term he said, humanly impossible to follow the protocol that the NFL is laying out, And I don't know, it's it's interesting to me being in Texas right now that these Texans players

and Cowboys players testing positive. I'm not necessarily connecting dots, but it just made me think about when I went into a Walmart yesterday here and nine out of ten

people weren't wearing masks. And you know, if that's where we're heading right now, where people are going to get more and more lax with how they're trying to protect themselves and and people are getting more and more cavalier about going out and hanging out with friends, it just seems like we might be heading toward a potential disaster,

both in terms of human life lost potential. Uh, but also the right from a sports standpoint, that's gonna be something that could end up knocking all of us out of play and not being able to watch games and games cannot be played. So we'll see how it plays out, you know. I mean, it's like it's like two different things. Like at this point, I think the country on some level has just decided to accept you know, eight dred

nine D Death of Day will take it. We're gonna, you know, at this point, and we're the US is projected to get over two hundred thousand deaths, Like that's that's coming. We're in the one, you know, hundred teams right now. It's sad, and it's like it's trying to manage you know, businesses and your work around it. But the NFL and and pro sports is obviously, you know, not the same as setting up a couple outside tables

at a restaurant. You know. It's just there's so many I just think there's so many consequences that like teams and players and everyone. They'll probably get criticized in the end, but it's like who is prepared to really deal with this, you know what I mean, Like it's almost been it's and things are gonna happen that we haven't even thought about and that they haven't thought about. And I don't know, there's no one that really knows where this is going.

In other news, Pete Carroll was in the news late last week. Uh it was about Colin Kaepernick, and he said in an interview that he regrets the Seahawks not signing Kaepernick in seventeen. He denied that a second meeting with the quarterback didn't happen in eighteen because of the team's uncertainty about whether you plan to continue kneeling during

the national anthem. And then he added some intrigue to the Kaepernick story by uh saying that there is someone out there that reached out to him asking about the quarterback. Let's listen to Carol. I like our setup right now, you know, I love the way you know fits together

in a role and all that. So it's not really available at this time force, But um, I wouldn't have and I've said this ongoing for years, if Russie ever got tangled up and couldn't play or something, Kapital have been an extraordinary candidate to take over because of his the dynamics of his play. You know, we've always really cherished the unique qualities that players bring in, and he had a unique style that we couldn't have respected more. But um, I never talked to another head coach about

I never talked to anybody about it until today. I got a phone call today. I'm gonna tell you who was. I got a phone call today and asking inquiring about the situation. So I know, you know, somebody's interested. Greg, what'd you take out of that? The big thing is

that someone called Carol. I mean to me, I'm less interested in kind of you know, dissecting all the ways Carol's words are not quite you know, logical if you hold them up to you, you know, the light of day thinking about two thousand seventeen when he signed Austin Davis, and well, why do you bring him in if you weren't going to sign him, you know, as a backup?

I started. That part doesn't matter the fact that the team is actually calling Carroll for info is interesting to me because I thought, you know, by the workout last year, this was not gonna happen. Um, And so it gives me some hope. And I do think I do think

it's gonna just come down to the owner. Um. I think it's just gonna come down to the owner making a decision and maybe the coach maybe just making a unilateral decision, even if the coach isn't a percent on board, and just saying I'm gonna do this because I think it's good for the league, which owners used to do all the time, Like you know, small market big market teams in New York decided to share all the revenues with with Green the Green Bay Packers for what was

good in the league. And I think to reach out to the young fans, the black fans, like having the amount of roster is gonna say as much um, you know, in terms of being a symbol than any statement or or any money even that that that the league is donating fine with you. I think that also you look at the words of a lot of players that the stining of Colin Kaepernick is not a um maybe or a preference. It is what they are many are pointing to as a distinct um symbol of change in the

NFL versus lip service. And I do think the NFL's um you know, higher ups are looking at all of this very differently. We've been on some of these calls, UH with with our fellow employees who have spoken from the heart, and I do think it's changed, um the p O V and the way that the people, you know,

the lens that we see the league through. But to simply ignore the Kaepernick issue, and you've got a bunch of there are there are a handful of teams where you know, you can agree there's not a starting job out there, but there are a number of backups that you're talking about a player that went from Super Bowl starter two out of the league in a few years. Find me another case study like that. I mean, what

kind of mind was the Steelers? Um, that was one team that came to mind because they they can use a backup and you know they it's called the Rooney rule for a reason. They're also a team I think that an ownership group that has looked to the greater good of the league. It's not and I don't I want to make it clear like Kaepernicks earned an opportunity. It's not like you're doing them a favor, but on some level, like it is the best way to say

you're sorry, it is. It's not. It's not an apology contract, and it might be complicated, but like that, that's probably like the clearest way that that you can do it. I mean, they already settled the case, and that is this like side issue that no one wants to talk about, that they had already paid Kaepernick money. There was a grievance at the NFL admitted and and so there's a lot into it. I know it's not as simple, um, but it could be as simple as someone like a

Rooney just saying all right, let's just do this. Yeah, And it feels like they're although still polarizing issue of course, the kneeling issue. I'm looking at a poll that was just released that fifty two percent of Americans, the majority of the country, now agree that it is okay for players to kneel during the national anthem to protest killings

of African Americans. You know, I think that there's still there's always gonna be a lot of push and pull on that issue, but it feels like it's more it's the water is warmer now than it was when Kaepernick initially kneeled, and I think there might be an owner that sees that as well and says, well, you know what, maybe I can do this and not have to worry about getting hit, whether it's in revenue dollars and AD dollars.

And then the other part of it is, and I talked about this on our Friday show, Pee Carol keeps popping up in these conversations, and he keeps on talking about Kaepernick, and and he obviously has um a connection with him, both um during his time with the Seahawks and then when Kaepernick was a star for a rival team in the division. But I I just, for some reason, there's something about Carol doing all this talking but not actually doing any action and then saying, oh, well, we

have Geno Smith, so we're not in this conversation. Well, how about you bring Colin Kaepernick into the building also and have him compete with Geno Smith and if he is as good as you say he is, then maybe he'll just maybe beat out Geno Smith. Because the other thing we're seeing all this content the content mill and

during the quiet offseason. All right, everybody, right, your top landing spots are conceivable landing spots or Colin Kaepernick, I mean as a backup quarterback, he fits in with the majority of the league, So like that's that's fishing a barrel. There's so many places where he would make sense, and Seattle is one of them. Whether Pete Carroll wants to say it or not. Anyway, let's uh, let's move on Antonio Brown. Uh. He has taken care of his latest

legal issues. He pled no contest to felony battery charges charges and been sentenced to one hundred hours of community service. Uh. This was connected to that incident. I believe that was connected to a moving company in front of his house and a moving truck, a moving truck, a moving truck driver and other characters. There you go. So he's been that's been cleared from his his legal deck has been cleared, and now we find out what happens with the NFL.

A very different case than Colin Kaepernick. Obviously another guy who could absolutely uh be a playmaker in the NFL if he could play. But this is the situation of Antonio Brown has made himself toxic. You wonder if someone's going to take a chance on him. It's been pretty quiet on that front. You know, one go ahead, Well, I just think they're waiting to hear from the NFL. What is he's going to be suspended? That's it, right, How that's gonna be what gets in the job if

he gets suspended. Well, but there's there's gotta be a little bit more than just suspended, because I mean he you know, went into multiple locker rooms last year and caused uh, endless drama. He's also a top two or three wide receiver if he's on his game. So he put a picture of himself out there on Instagram in a Ravens uniform. He has spent this offseason at times practicing with Lamar Jackson, who was backed the idea of antone Neo Brown joining Baltimore. So you think maybe he

is on the Ravens. Have we considered that, well, that's a very fair question. We don't. We have not dived into the um the mental processing at this point. But I think it's it's that's the that's the dot I would connect most strongly at this point based on you know, if a free agent is putting in a picture of mouth there in a in the uniform of a certain team, I will look at that. You don't like that either, Mark, Like if you're if you're a fan of an a

f C North team that's not the Ravens. Perhaps Antonio Brown, if he ever got another job, would destroy a locker room just because he can't keep it together. But also the thought of adding Antonio Brown to that group in Balto that maybe maybe is missing that one final piece as like a weapon. Greg, you did great job on your projected starter series. Uh, they didn't bring in a lot of new talent at the wide receiver position. They're

just kind of hoping those guys developed. But if you brought in an Antonio Brown, my god, well he's but he's due to me a lengthy suspension and there is still a civil case um from his former trainer who accused him of sexual assault and rape that is still pending. So I guess I'm I'm skeptical. I wouldn't be surprised if we never see Antonio Brown and in the league.

And and I'm still skeptical that you know that would be coming this year, right because we've heard about it from Brown, and even if Lamar Jackson puts in a good word, we've not heard from the Ravens. And it is you know, there's owner buy into a lot of the stuff we're talking about today, but owner buy into

Antonio Brown will probably be necessary. I mean, he's supposedly well, we'll see if he's on the Patriots salary cap right now they they have a grievance against him to or they're supposedly potentially getting money back from Antonio about otherwise. Right now he's four million dollars on the cap. I think what a mess. Uh. In other news, let's head to Chicago, where the Bears have two quarterbacks competing for

the starting job. Nick Foles, who they acquire been a trade in the off season, and Mitchell Trabiskie, the former first round pick, the man taken yes before Deshaun Watson, before Patrick Mahomes, and yet he is on the ropes with the Bears after a really uh rough twenty nineteen campaign. He spoke to Chicago reporters on a zoom call on Friday, and he says, this is still my team, and yeah, I am a little annoyed that I have this competition in the building and I want to do something about it.

Here's what he had to say. I think I was kind of piste off in a good way. I've been motivated every since. I've been motivated, um since our season ended last year. I didn't feel like it went the way we wanted to, and we left a lot out there. But um, I'm excited for this year. It's I think it's gonna be a good competition. And uh, fools has had has a crazy career as well, so it's been

cool having him in our room talking ball. Um. I know we're gonna push each other, but I still feel like this is my team, um, and I'm excited for the competition and just get back on the field with my guys and and show everybody what I can still do. And oh I could see it market bumps just here in that. Well, I don't think it feels like his

team at all. I will give him credit for one thing when they asked him, all, why don't this is not the stuff that's getting me you know, that's you know, getting me to jump out of bed in the morning. I'll give you that much. But like when they when they say when they asked him about the fifth year option that he know they declined, which is notable, um

and speaks more than anything else they've done. Uh. He basically said he agreed he didn't earn it, and I at least, you know, there wasn't a lot of you know, nonsense around that he's being real and like he didn't earn it. I mean he is these he would they traded up for the for him in the second overall pick in the draft, and uh, to me, he has not lived up to that. Uh from any shading in any angle you look at and I think he is the not the starter. He is clearly the second in

charge without any question. Why bring in Nick Foles? It's a distraction. Why bring him in if he's not the starter? Nick Foles? Right, I'd love to do a historical analysis of quarterback who said this is my team. If it's your team, you don't have to say it. You know. Drew Brees isn't like this is my team. You know. Tom Brady wasn't saying this is my team. Like when once you get to the point where you have to

say it, it's too late. Yeah. I don't know what he could have said that wouldn't lead to him getting a little bit of uh, you know, jabs from jabronies like us. But I guess you're just in a situation where there's nothing to really say, and you you you go like the Eli Manning route where you're just like, yeah, you know, it's it's gonna be a competition, and I look forward to it and may the best man win. Anything else, You're just gonna come off as kind of

a joke, it seems. And that's where Trabinsky is at the stage of his career. Is there any chance I know your answer to this, uh, Mark, but Greg, is there any chance that Trabinsky can play? And he just had a bad year definitely seen enough now where he's just he can't. He's just no good. He's a backup

at the NFL level. I think to find I guess that define you know, can play if if everything is great around him and Naggy cooks up some plays, and then yeah, then he could have a season where people sort of fall for uh for him like they did a couple of years ago. Sure, I mean we've seen it. I don't think. But if that's your ceiling, I'm not

getting too excited. I also think that you know, there are a lot of people around there thinking we can stick with Mitch Robisky, but it might cost all of us are jobs, and they quickly looked around for something that they felt more sure of. Yeah, I mean, we we've talked about on the show that barring some type of seismic change in his career. That's going to go down as one of the most infamous moments in the history of the Chicago Bears. Trading up to get your

whisky too. With Patrick Mahomes on the board. There was a lot of picks to move up that one spot. It was like three twos or something like that, to just to just the you know, past the forty niners who had no interest in him anyways, and Ryan Pace was the guy he made the pick, right, that's right.

Kind of a little surprising he survived all this, but so far, I guess that that's why to what you guys are saying, that's why Nick Foles is there, because he needed to pivot out of this at a certain point and just hope for Foals to kind of save his job. That's where they're at in Chicago right now. By the way, I mentioned Lamar Jackson. Did you guys see the jet Ski football? Yes? Yes, I mean the

TMZ headline was a little overstated. It was like Lamar Jackson like barely avoid death, you know with jet Ski, And I was like, all right, come down, he like jumped over, I mean, not moving jet Ski basically, right, he's safe on that front. But it's again, it was another It was a collection of, you know, fifteen people not wearing masks. And I'm not trying to beat down the door of everyone must do this all the time. But um, you know, I don't care at all, and

we'll see how that works. I don't know where they were or what they were. I'd be more worried if I was a razing just seeing him running around on the beach. I don't like that. You know, Robert Yard, the Patriots rookie of the Year that essentially ended his career with the beach accident. I a lot of people running on the beach. You get a lot of you know, it's it's not good for you know, it's not good for you don't like did you Mark? Did you not

watch the whole video? I did watch the video immediately preceding the game. They all tested um negative for I didn't know. I didn't see that preuel to the video. I mean, I didn't see that they did the temperature scan before they stepped onto the beach. Oh no, I well, I I'm also then, my bad. I simply watched the action part of the film where he narrowly missed like a motor of a jet ski. Speaking of jet skis my wife as a Father's Day gift, we're gonna be at my um uh. And I don't like in laws.

I don't like that term because I cool for that. By the way, my wife's parents, Bob and are great people. And when I just throw my in laws like that, I'm not going to use that. That feels cold to me. Family. You know, they're your family. Okay, I'll go with that extended family x fan, which also sounds negative. That means that divorced. Yeah, okay, Well, anyway, I got it for a Father's Day gift, got a wave Runner to use, and so I just want and that's the same as

a jet ski essentially. So just want to let you get guys know that you know you might not see me again, provide video. Yeah. Is that one of those gifts that you're like, oh, this will be fun, honey. How was the what was your reaction? I've I've gone wave running before. I used the wave Runner before, and it's uh, it's quite a lot of fun, but it could be dangerous in the wrong hands. I mean, Lamar

Jackson was killed himself and the thing was stationary. But these things they got quite an engine in them, and they go pretty fast across the water. Ricky, I know there's got to be a whole fleet of wave runners and jet skis at the Godfather Kept Compound where you're at. No, No, no, they're they're not. But I do remember almost being late to Western Lakisha's wedding because I was out on the ocean on a jet ski and I was supposed to film the wedding and I was like, oh my god,

we got it stressful racing back at nine. Literally, well you made it all right. That's what's happening in the news. Did I miss anything? I don't think so, that's all that's happened. Bill O'Brien and Baker Mayfield are among those who say they will kneel during the national anthem come September if there is indeed football. That's that speaks to what you were talking about before with the yeah, like okay, owners maybe they feel differently about it, or they're worried

the fans do. It's like you're the coach of the tex since whose you know ownership is, you know, known as very conservative, is saying he's going to yeah, people are yeah. I think Baker Mayfield in Ohio took quite a bit of heat for um taking that stance. And you know what, go for it, do what you feel is right. These are the people that you line up against, you work with every day. They're essentially your brothers. I mean,

give me a break with what the fans think. All right, let's move on and get into some talk about team m v p s. Of this is as I said, it's going to be up on there on the NFL dot com, but I thought this would be a fun group conversation as well. There are picks when you do this type of exercise that you don't want to get overly cute and and uh and for instance, I'll use

the Ravens as an example. I can I could say Hollywood Brown is my pick for the team MVP of the Ravens in but that's ridiculous, so you gotta go with Lamar Jackson. But for some teams you can you can make a case for a player that's a little off the radar. You could also call that a non quarterback. So I was curious what you boys thought when you went through each of the teams. And we're trying to come up with who would be the most likely team MVP.

Who are Who's a guy? Uh, it could be a quarterback, but also not a quarterback who jumps out at you with someone that could end up garnering those internal honors at the end of the season. Greg, we'll start with you, okay, Um, Well, one night popped into mind mind as like a left field pick which I guess we're talking about, would be late in vander ash of the Cowboys. That if to me, he's like a he's such a key to their entire

team and defense. When he was on the field and playing like he was that you know, you made a Chris Westling fall in love as a young man just a couple of years ago. Uh, they were there were such a different defense. They were a faster defense, and he was the type of player who could be a Defensive Player of the Year type of guy, maybe a Team m v P type of guy. Last year it wasn't the same. And then he got a next surgery and everyone in Dallas was like, Oh, there, he's fine.

Now he got his next surgery, Like that is serious. He's a young player. Jalen Smith also played much worse a year ago than he did in twenty eighteen. And I think that was partly because he didn't have vander Esh next to him and playing playing as well, And so that was a guy like in a in a perfect world for the Cowboys, if Laton vander Esh balls out and is a team m v P type of guy, you know, along with their great offense and like, then they can do the things that a lot of people

are predicting they can do. I mean, I'd argue that he kind of was during that rookie year in a way. I mean the way he played down the stretch, so it's not inconceivable. And if he's healthy, um, you taking him right back into that role. And I like that pick. Yeah. You look at the Cowboys, they made the decision to bring in Ceedee Lamb with the first round pick. They were thrilled and they thought, and a lot of people think that he fell into their laps as a potential

star wide receiver. So if you had to pick, if you had to kind of wager not that we would ever do that connected to professional football, where the team MVP would come out of you would look at whether it was Zeke Elliott or Dak or um Amari Cooper or if you really wanted to get bullish on the rookie Ceedee Lamb one of those guys. But yeah, I think vander Esh is the guy that jumps out to you.

That's a good sleeper, Greg, I like that. And if the Cowboys are you know, eleven and five twelve and four team instead of like the typical nine and seven outfit they trot out, it seems like a lot it will be because the defense is badass. And if the defense is badass, that means that late in vander Esh most likely is a badass. So Dan, for your article, well, I just have to ask, is that one that you

had not already chosen? Someone in his Gregg maybe found an answer for you on that front for your article it's coming out. Greg's making me think. I mean, it's tough because if they go twelve and four. As you were talking, I was like, I don't know where Doc is in terms of like the national you know, m v P race, but certainly he'd be a guy that you would think it would have a chance if if they rack up some numbers. When you look at Dac, he's he's been almost doesn't get enough love for how

consistent he's been his ceiling and floora every year. If Doc does his you know it throws at yards and thirty four touchdowns or something that's. Yeah, that's kind of what we've come to expect from that guy at this point. Right Unless he has something like how we started last season and then carried it through for sixteen weeks, then then you're all bets are off. He might be the

actual m v P mark. How about you. I'll stick with defense, and I don't know if you've come up with one for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I'll go with Josh Allen uh their second year pass rusher. I think that's a team where you don't automatically ticket. I like Gardner Minshew as much as anyone, but you don't just take at the quarterback like him more than anyone, okay

more than most um. But you could see them going four and twelve or five and eleven um anyone din and I like, I would say that Josh Allen would have what would have a big part of what is happening on defense for them in general. He had last year, if you look at PFF, the highest UM edge rushing grade of any rookie outside of Nick Bosa. So I I think he number one. I think watching him earlier in the year, he was he's the guy. He's fascinating to watch. I think he's a legit um menace. He

could create tons of problems. They are not a great defense on paper, but they have added a bunch of people and he's not the only edge rusher on that team. So I like the idea of him um in terms of Jacksonville's most valuable player being someone that could notch double digit sacks um maybe helped create more chaos than anyone else on their entire defense and be a pro bowler. Yeah that I picked Josh Allen too for the X so we're locks step there right. Well, I feel a

lot better now. Yeah. I struggle with Jacksonville a little bit because I'm not and listeners know the podcasts. I differ with the opinions of Mark and west On Gardner meanshow so that kind of and I don't believe in Leonard four Nette like a lot of people, and so I didn't see anything anyone anyone obvious on the offensive

side of the ball. And then Alan would be the guy when he at the level that he flashes a rookie that jumped out to me the most, Greg, is there a guy, another guy in the Jaguars that maybe you could throw out there that would make sense for a minute. Last year, DJ Chark was like leading the league, you know. I know, he slowed down quite a bit and ended up with about a thousand yards. But he he has a pretty complete skill set. It came out

of it didn't come out of nowhere. I mean, he was a relatively high pick, but he he's a guy who could get even better in year three. All Right, I'll throw it out there. Let's move to the a f C North and I'll go Joe Mixon. Yeah, the running back. He is entering the fourth year. It's the final year of his contract, and I don't want to get bogged down and what if he holds out and all that business. I'd rather not think about that stuff. Uh,

and just assume they either extend him. Because he was a second round pick, he's not under the traditional fifth round option rookie deal. So this is it from mixing. So he's in a contract year and uh, Joe Burrow obviously is the guy that people are connecting to the Bengals is the guy that's gonna rise them out of irrelevance. But I look at Mixing is a fully formed guy that's at the peak of his talent and all purpose back.

And he's played for two seller dwelling Bengals teams the last two years, including a two and fourteen outfit last year, and he put up over those two years almost three thousand all purpose yards and seventeen touchdowns. His first year was he kind of a wipe out. He came to camp out of shape and and you take out the rookie year. But the last two years he's really been very,

very good. And now you add as we've talked about on the show, um a j Green back to a like a sneaky, very solid playmaker corps on offense, I think Mixing is in a great position to put up even better numbers. And yeah, the fact that it comes in his contract here he probably won't be there won't be any concerns about him coming to camp out of shape. He reports on time because he wants to get paid. Yeah,

I love that pick. He was one that popped up to me as like as he truly, I mean, this would be whatever a thousand to one or whatever it is as like a league M v P type of guy. Yeah, because Joe Joe Mixing, I mean in the Bengals that would have to win enough and there's a million things that won't happen that it will get in his way. But I saw on Twitter today that I think it was Sam Munson from PF and there there's an article said Nick Chubb is the best runner in the NFL.

He thinks, just the best pure runner. And Nick Chubb is on my list two of like guys who could be their team MVB probably was last year and he can be again. Um, And I thought about it and I said, and I thought, you know, just in terms of pure running, I don't think that's a crazy jake, but I actually would take Mixing. I mix Joe Mixing maybe just because he's got a little more flare to it. And that's and I'm and I'm falling for the style. But man, in terms of the power making you miss

vision everything, their line stinks. You watch him and he's he's it. I mean, he's got it all. He's he probably is my single favorite running back to watch, just in terms of his playing style right now, like he is that electric. Well, I mean I think Nick Chubb has done more from a tackle breaking angle, He's been better, been a better player, But mix and I just got that flare and that and maybe can be even better. Right, it doesn't take anything away from mixing and mixing to

your point, Dan has thrived in hideous conditions. And I've already told you that I believe Zach Taylor will be Coach of the year fodder. So that let goes arm in arm with it. I think you got number one. If you want to keep got a quarterback that they have no training camp, you better focus that offense around the ground game for the fur seven eight weeks of the year. And that's gonna be true of a bunch of teams. But they fit the bill for mixing to

have a huge workload out the gate. Now this was was it on the Friday Show where you he did Cessler did one of my favorite Sessler moves where you mail the prediction that and he had a take that that turned a hundred and eighty degrees out of the blue explanation And it was basically like za Zach Taylor suddenly went from like who is this guy? Has he done anything. He's totally nondescript to Zach Taylor is gonna be the man. And then you know what, I don't

know what change of just one show to the next. No, no, no, But it wasn't one show. Um. I called him a question mark that we just didn't know what he was. But then I started to look look at it. Let's just try to look at it from a completely different angle. And what if some of our leaders were to be flexible and they're thinking, you know, adopt new stances based on new information and new intuition like that, that's a good answer, and your Sessler flip it's called that. You know,

I'm known for that. I mean that's but it's like I'll be wrong with the first prediction, and I'll be wrong with the second too. You'll be you're you'll be good in well, in some ways, you'd be um good in politics because you are able to change your message slipper in a subtle but completely different way. That kind of will cover you both ways. But then you'll have an eagle eide like political correspondent like Greg Rosenthal that will then point out, oh, you tweeted this in March

and now you're saying this. I don't need that and I don't need the background check. All right, how about another one? Greg? Alright, let's go uh in defense? I know defense, Alright, let's go on. Derwin James, Derwyn Derwin James is um people that know football better and really watch the you know, the tape at safety because you

can't really watch safeties on TV. It's it's hard, I mean, but just watching the splash plays that he makes and the awe that he inspires in the people that I respect the most in terms of his football abilities is next level. It's as much as almost any defensive player

in the league right now. I feel like, outside of maybe some pass rushers, like in terms of what he can do physically and mentally, and that he is the key to their team, and that he came in last year off off the injury, wasn't quite himself for a few weeks. Definitely helped out. But this is different this. You know, he knows this system, He's been in it now for a few years, and he could have a monster year. You know. I thought Joey Bosa was the

other guy that jumped out to me. It was between James and Bosa, and I think Bosa entering what is this his third or fourth year? Fourth year? Now? Yeah, uh, he's you know obviously now kind of proven that he is one of the great pass rushers in the league. But with the supporting talent around him, maybe has one of the years that we've been expecting where years go by fast. By the way, sorry, that completely exhausting holdout to begin his career. It feels like it was about

a million years ago now. But he he's always He's on that short list. Your boy Mark Miles Garrett's another one like who could finally give the sack record. It's dignity back. After what Michael stray Hand did on that meadow Lands field with Brett Farve disgracefully sliding at his feet, stealing Mark Gastineau's glory from him in a completely needless and non professional way, It's time for someone to give the sack record. It's dignity back. And Joey Bose, I think,

is a guy that could potentially do it. When's the last time, well, I remember the uh the cult safety years back, Bob Sanders. Yeah, he won the Defensive Player of the Year, I believe, But we're talking team m V p. But to get team m v P uh and be a defensive player have to be very special, I think, and uh James certainly qualifies as that. Um, Greg Mark, you got one, Well, I actually came up with nine, but I'm gonna give you one that came into my mind like at the end, um, because I

could see that. You know, football is storytelling things happened where a player has been disgraced and they go into the shadows and then um, they emerged to do something that someone did to them. And this player was I thought embarrassed last year, lost their starting job and as it, lost their roster spot in the off season. And that is Marcus Mariota. Now do I believe in Marcus Mariota as um as an as a a like a long time starting QB? No? But you know, well, hold on,

you know who didn't you know who didn't agree? Let someone was who was a starting QB A couple of years ago, Ryan Tannehill stock low, No one thought a thing about him, boring Dolphins quarterback, very visible ceiling goes to Tennessee. The chemistry is different, the scene is different. Ryan Tannehill suddenly has a massive extension and a playoff run that knocked out Tom Brady off the Patriots. So I'm just saying weirder things have happened in the NFL

than Marcus Mariotta to go to Las Vegas. They have four primetime games and many of them are earlier in the year. If they struggle and Derek Carr is struggling, they gave him nine million dollars. Marcus Mariota, I could see a switch. That's all you need is a switch, and then the team to ride high and suddenly the story coming out of his you know what, we know. We came in in week six. He didn't play the whole year. He wasn't Josh Jacobs in terms of week

to week consistently, but he provided us spark. Marcus Mariota and him and Growden just seemed to click together. Bang. I could see it. I mean that sound you here is is all the entire car family now blocking Mark on Twitter. But it's not an anti card thing. But I do think that that's one area where I could see a starter switch happening if things don't get off

to a quick start. But what are we I mean, this podcast and Marcus Mariotta, it never ends what have we seen in that guy's career that he's gonna all of a sudden take over a team. And then but I would ask you that about it's just because one other to be his teammate, Ryan Tannehill, did it? Like what does that matter there? I think it's likely, but is it? But if you're going to write these articles, do you want to just put the likely person or do you want to like, wait a minute, what and

then like, what's the reasoning behind this? I'm just saying that every year there's someone two the two thousand eleven colts ended up on mark favorite teams. But ye football season has one or two characters that were totally counted out that like everyone quarterbacks do backup quarterbacks, especially veteran types like him. That does happen almost every year. There's one guy who catches a little fire and ends up being like a team m v P out of nowhere.

That's fair, right, I'm not saying he's Darryl Lamonica. Like, you know, we had a similar conversation last week and I asked you, oh, yeah, that's when we did the Raiders uh wheel of teams, And I asked you how many games he would start, and you said he would start like a couple of games at the very end of the season because the Raiders fell out of contention.

How are you gonna win team like that? More information, more intuition, grinding NonStop and so what I felt then, And I've you know, I've received more critical information from not only my sources, but um, you know, the intuitions up in the sky. And my answer will change and evolved, like I don't need to be one of these like talk radio guys that like sticks to something for two years and looks like a creaky dinosaur. That right, this is the way to do it. I've always I've always

given you that credit market. This is I'm throwing it out there. Like you make predictions in bulk. Your your predictions in bulk guy, and sometimes the even the prediction will shift in tone or direction over the course of a couple of shows I don't like. But then at the end of like the season, and you're saying, what did I get right? If you made a thousand predictions. Now we all make predictions in bulk. I am not.

It's not exclusively attached to me. I make. What I make is specific um predictions and many of them seem utterly looney. Others hit like a dart right into the bull's eye at the little hole in the middle of the dart board, and then you have to sit on that and deal with it. Thanks for your explanation about bulls eye. I appreciate you had nine names listed down and you went for the one that you thought would would be the spiciest for this podcast. That's good podcasting.

There you go. This guy gets it. He's been around the box I want. We haven't really hit the NFC too hard, so I haven't gotten this car yet. And this is subject to change when you see the written copy. But I'll I'll go with Calvin Ridley Over on the on the Atlanta Falcon side of things, they have an

interesting depth chart set up there. You have Matt Ryan, who we love, or like Todd Gurley, who we I don't know, maybe like Uh, Julio Jones is still Julio Jones even though he's getting up there a little bit. Who else is there, greg beyond uh Jones and Ridley that's gonna be taking targets away UH from those two top dogs. To know if Julio Jones is Julio Jones and his lower half stays healthy and all that, he's

gonna command the top defensive coverage guy. And then if there's not a lot of other big name targets from Matt Ryan to be cycling through, Calvin Ridley has a chance to really eat this season and maybe even put up, you know, an all pro type season. I think he's always had it in him. I think he's entering year three, so it's time to fly now. And I'll throw Ridley out there. Even though Ryan and Jones and even Todd Gurley maybe stand out is if you went to Vegas,

who would be higher up? If you're talking about a little bit of a dark horse, how about Ridley having a all pro type let's say ten him. I love it. I um. I did a series last week, but there's so so many little series two parter which was just

like kind of looking at like key homegrown player. No, I'm just saying between us all, you know, we're just throwing these things into the ether, like a key homegrown guy on a rookie contract for each team cut kind of like making the leap candidates, but just like key guys who would really helped their season if this guy stepped up and Ridley was that guy. And the numbers he had in that time between Snow getting traded and then Ridley getting hurt, uh were like, you know, number

one receiver type numbers. They really were. Like he had a monster I think it was five or six weeks there. Uh, and he's awesome after the catch, Like the two of them could be co number ones, and you could see them kind of being behind in some games and and putting up big numbers. I like, they have big plans for Hayden Hurst, but that's sort of a tv D. I mean that you don't just don't book that for automatic deection. Right, I'm gonna throw out. I was just

want to hit up Mark, what about Matt Job? Then we got Mariota in the mix here. Well, I don't think Mariota and Matt Shob are equivalents. That is, you know that this gonna be the year that Kirk ben Kirk knock Job out of that job. I mean, Job clearly has like a stack of polaroid photos that indict various members of the Falcons organization for activities we don't want to discuss. I don't know what how else is

he still there? Fair enough? What was that I was just gonna throw out one one name here for a team MVP that actually think would be a dark Horse League MVP, which I probably was my pick for dark Horse League MVP last year. Alvin Kamara. People forget about, you know, people sleeping on Alvin Camara playing at a year ago. And he's done it. He's done it at the NFL level. I've seen it, and he can do it again. And he's got a great offensive line and

a great team around him to just go crazy. There's your Remind me who was the best player on the field in the Saints playoff law you know what, Kirk Cunny unplugged. Maybe Taysom Hill is the only choice for any accolades in New Orleans. Some Hill could wind up starting games. You never know. Well, he had about two and less touches than Alvin Kamara last year, even with Camara hurt. So I'm going with the guy who's going

to get the ball. He's like he's He has replaced Matt Ryan on my uh Anti All Star team of fantasy guys that let me down, and I'll never forgive them because I eventually left a coin between Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey last year with the number three pig under the season. I was so upset that, Yeah, I would have been wrong about that too, I said. I said some dismissive comments comparing McCaffrey and Camara like after about one year of their career, which I regret and

I was I was wrong. This McCaffrey guy, he's pretty good, but that doesn't mean Camara. Doesn't mean Camara can't have a comeback awesome year. Now, I'm with you. I think he definitely makes sense, right because that are we? So you're just pointing to the ankle and knee issues. Is that the only reason why he was the way he was last year? I don't know, but he wasn't the same. He didn't have that same pop, and he talked about it and maybe maybe that's going to be an issue

for him again. I don't know, but we we've seen it from and in that offense with Breeze getting a little you know, I just think he has the potential to put up like yards All right, anything else? Mark, you have one more you want throughout? Are you all set? I would give you two quick names with no explanation. Eagles Miles Sanders Redskins Terry McLaurin, why not. I mean Terry Terry mclauren could have been their m v P

last run offense. I think he was. But I think he's a legit, like a legit um, a wide receiver that will think very highly up for years to come like those. Alright, check it out on NFL dot com later this week. Those a f C for us than NFC from the old zeuser. Before we go, it is time, Ricky Hollywood, where are you at Erica? Rejoin us if you might. She started, nappy, Hey, how are you guys? Wow, very just your NPR voice. I like it, Thank you,

thank you for joining. Are you ready? I think this is our our fifth time spinning the wheel this summer and last week, and we had a nice deep dive

there with Vic Tafer. By the way, big apologies to vict Tafer of the who is a man you don't want to get on the wrong side of, And yet we went through the entire segment calling him Victor fur, which, based on the spelling of his name t a f you are we wrongly inferred nailed it that the pronunciation of the name was to for, But it is in fact as was corrected by Vic himself in a private message after the show. Get it right or pay the price,

pay for Ricky. Spin the wheel. Oh it's spinning. It's spinning. It's spinning, Tom. I want the Jets. Oh the raven Wow. Oh Greg. Greg has got to stay seated for a while. After that one landed. The defending A North champion Baltimore Ravens are the latest Wheel of teams selection, which means on Wednesday's show we will do a deep dive on the reigning m v P and the rest of his merry gang of Crusaders. We started thinking of who who

we're gonna have on it. Actually they deserve it there like probably the most you know, the best regular season team, the most interesting team. I don't know if they've had that level of coverage on our show this offseason, so they well do some extra Ravens talk, all right, So we'll huddle up after the Ravens that we flew to consistently.

But the choice I can't remember, we haven't talked that much Ravens considering they're probably you know that we enacted the Ravens nest and then immediately they became a historically dominant team at least until the playoffs began. So whoever we nominate, whatever team we nominate, to get deep, deeply entrenched with three entire year, then come up with the name that might mean very good things for that team. I mean, the organic fish tank is going to be

flying this year. Well, they overachieved last year quite a bit, you know, winning five games people thought they might not win any That's right. The Ravens Nest was two years ago, but that team was also a quality team that made the playoffs. So well, it's all about us and what we decided to promote, and it has um, you know, psychic reverb around the league. Obviously, this is legit, this

is factual. I've always thought the same thing. Mark, all right, we'll be back on Wednesday with another show, so make sure once again from three different time zones. Ricky, can you get the Guinness Book of World Records on the horn after this and find out if that's ever happened

a professional football sports podcast? Yeah, I got them on speed dial, so it's definitely a category they had in place, you know, back when I would read those Guinness books back in the eighties podcast at you know, like the fat paperbacks they still yeah out. Okay, I don't know who's on the horn there. If you call as someone answering immediately, it doesn't feel like a hotline per se. But well, our producer Eric would never lie to me

to get out of doing work. So when she says they're on her speed dial, I just assume she's telling me the truth. Yes, and I'm gonna check in. How about this. I'm gonna make a note of it and check back with you on Wednesday show. Put your feet to the fire on this one. The time of me asking you to do things and then you just helping. I forget and then me forgetting and you winning is over. Okay, that was like all the time. Everything is over from

the past, starting now, all right. Dan had to signing off four Quiet Storm the old Boss Ricky Hollywood from the East Coast from the Central time Zone for the West Coast. Got you covered till Wednesday.