The Best Season of Their Career - Our Lives Depend on It

up for Mark Sessler. Make him feel at home, Mark Cessler, Ladies and gentlemen. Well thanks for having me. I really I appreciate the chance to come on and um, you know,

talk with you guys today, are you buddy? Well, I didn't mean to have this like um prolonged absence, because there was a show that I was supposed to do, um somewhere in the middle of this wilderness, and I'd come home um from a trip at the same time as my children and like my you know what it is, one of my children got a terrible like twenty four hour bug and like I woke the next morning, the day of the show and was felled physically. I mean,

I had like like heavy motion sickness. And then I said, I, you know, the minute I texted you guys saying because I was then leaving again on a on my second vacation the next day, and I thought, the minute I texted these guys and told them I legitimately am not feeling well, and I really wasn't. It's like, no one is gonna believe me. Um, They're gonna think that I'm basically just like eradicating this one little work event in the middle of these two weeks off. But that was

not the case. It was one of the worst days of my adulthood. I promise you that it's just it's just a weird coincidence that these twenty four hour bugs almost always hit right on the cusp of a vacation to extend it on the front end or the back end, and just about there is some there are some breadcrumbs any in that direction. But you say that's completely a coincidence over the years, I don't know. I don't you need to provide facts about over the years. I can

comment only on the most recent um occurrence. But had I come on, I would not have been a pleasant experience for for me, for you or anyone listening. So I think I was, because certainly I would never be smirch you Mark, and and come after your integrity, uh and say that Mark is faking illnesses uh to extend vacations. But is there a possibility that the body Mark's mind willing to grind out a summer podcast in the in this little bubble of vacation time, but the body conspires

to shut things down. To speak to that, I can't speak to that. I like this, like the part of me that was conscious was hoping to do the show. Um, but maybe they're deeper forces. Well, we're glad to have you back. That's all that matters. Settler's back. Rosenthals here, steady as a rock, rock stone, move, stay right where they are. What if the studio Greg, Greg is stuck right where he is? We have to carrying with us, usters here too, tug boat here to pull things along

towards training camp just coming up. It's about to open a couple of teams Steelers and cowboys, is there right? Yeah? And I mean it was only it's been a month. We we we haven't done a show altogether since right before Tybee or no, right after Tybee that's only been one month. I mean, give us a break. I mean, am I am I harping on the television show that Greg missed, But I was present for that and I put in a you know, a yeoman's effort. If that's

the speak to that. Greg. Yeah, he's right, I mean I have I just it just is funny. You know it's funny too. I'm glad though, because you look great. I think we all needed it. Of course we didn't mind at the time, but these shows they move along,

their off season shows. I want to have the best mark, and you look fit, You look um, you have a glow about you, and you're wearing like a beautiful Hawaiian type shirt that reminds me of one of our old bosses, Um that got swept out in a scandal from the NFL. But you know which you specific well now that gentleman. I don't like that he co opted um this type of fashion because one of the greatest men we we we've met. So yes, there's a floral component to marks.

Button down and he looks refreshed. We're ready to roll. We got a nice show coming up today. We're gonna take a chance on ourselves and our ability to prognosticate in the National Football League today. Um, with some high stakes, we're going to guarantee I got I had two names in mind to think we go around the horn twice and and that's like playing a little bit of Russian roulette. Uh, to be honest with you, because coming up later today, we will guarantee a player having the best season and

of his career at the risk of our own lives. WHOA, Well, if we're not right, it's over, Johnny. How about that for stakes coming back from vacations Sizzler. Well, I mean we came up with this segment about eighteen minutes before the show, so it feels like we've you know that maybe we can look back at a bit of a hasty decision if one of our players, you know, uh, sprains and knee in week six and it's out for

on one hand, like it's it's dark. On the other, if you told me like Colin Coward did this as a segment, I'm suddenly invested um in that player throughout the season, and a little more invested in Coward. Um. So I think it's gonna be effective. Dan As, like, you know, this is your idea as of like sort of a producing mind. This is how you lock people in for the next seven months you need, and that's what we have. There are steaks. Our lives are on the line. So we'll come up with some names there

and I hope for the best. But before that, let's do some news, shall we. I've never been able to know la uh that not just that, but anything I thought that works better context free. I'll never know why I f that up. Uh. You know, it's been twenty five years since the Cowboys have been in the Super Bowl. So Jerry Jones, it could go in any number of directions. I believe that's his relationship. He was referring through his relationship with Jimmy Johnson, the head coach who we won

all those Super Bowls with in the nineties. But always interesting what's going on with Dallas And we're gonna get to that in a little bit, But let's start with some unfortunate injury news, because Thompson Pellicero of NFL Network reported and this has been confirmed, that Cam Akers, the hyper promising second year running back for the Rams, has

suffered a torn achilles tendon while training. Really, there aren't too many injuries that are worse than that for a running back a game that is driven on speed and explosiveness and achilles injuries. Really the stating so he will be out for the year and for Sean McVeigh and the Rams, Mark uh, this one really hurts because Acres looked like a guy who could potentially anchor that backfield in a big year transition era for the organization on offense.

With of course Matthew Stafford in town. Now they've got to figure out what to do without Acres. Huge setback here. Yeah, I mean I think you could look at cam Akers as someone that was a candidate to lead the league in rushing and fit. Really, I'm just he's he's in the mix, I would say, And you know that is a huge loss for them. Darryl Henderson, I like Darryl Henderson. I think if you go back and look, Um, you know, he's obviously going to be the starter at this point.

You go back and look what he did early in the year. Um, Week two against Philadelphia had a nice game. Week three, he exploded for a hundred and fourteen yards. That was a game where they did not have Malcolm Brown, they did not have Cam Akers. Um. I thought he looked good in that game. I mean he's had some up and down injury scenarios himself. I think he missed about four games. But the rest of the roster, I mean Xavier Jones, he's drafted, he has no UM NFL experience,

but they're saying that he may have a bigger role. UM. I like this guy, Jake Funk, and I just want to let you know that. UM, yesterday I was digging a little bit into the UH seventh rounder Jake Funk, and none other than Spice rack Um wrote me to say that he is, in quotes, very bullish on his ability to stick in the league and that he was in a group of UM football fans and gamblers who thought who said that Jake Funk caught their eye and kept impressing. So a little bit of a wild card

man crushed scenario. But I think the other news is like they're not gonna go re sign Um. You know, before you get to the second point that you've had like a crush on a white running on a white running back. Oh, I know, it's every year that it's not a squiver to that Gerhardt memorial, Mark Sessler love affair. It's fair I mean you guys. You guys continue to track past actions here with no um, with very little documentation, but that one seems accurate. Um. But I'll pass it

off to you Greg. But no, uh no, Todd Gurley going to l A. Oh yeah, I saw when like Eric Dickerson was like the sign you are one of the greats of your era. Can you just pipe down a little bit? Every time I see Eric Dickerson in the room in the news, it's him telling people the way things should be. The Rams uniforms should be this way, the Rams should be doing this, The Rams should be doing that. The Rams shouldn't have done this, but they should have done that. Hey, Eric, pipe down, Bud. You

gotta have other adventures going on. You're one of the great running backs in the league history. Just take it easy, go ahead. He likes getting the pop them. Coming back to l A was big for him, and they definitely like use him a lot. He seems like I think, like I've never been to a Rams game and not

seeing him around, So that's that's good. Uh that When people threw that out, I was like, oh, I don't think they realized how well first just how that ended, Like there was no way the Rams were remotely interested, I don't think. And bringing Todd Gurley back, we'll see if he gets a job. And he said they're not going to bring in a veteran, which you know may sense right now, because what's the rush. You get a get a look at your boy funk, get a look at Xavier Jones, who was a guy who was on

the roster last year who got no run. But at least they've talked up. But Henderson is a guy who's so fast and explosive but like does not try to avoid tackles in any way that he he seems like destined to be hurt, and he has been hurt this offseason, and McVeigh has gone out of his way to almost always call him a change of pace, sort of immediately put him in that role that like, we want him to be the explosive guy off the bench. So I wouldn't be surprised if they do bring in a guy

like Duke Johnson at some point. I'm surprised he's out there. Adrian Peterson, I don't know, but they'll they'll get they'll look at the young guys first. Remember C J. Anderson, A couple of years ago. We read a playoff game where he was the hammer against the Cowboys in a win. Someone tweeted at him, he's a free agent right now.

I don't know what they're like. Look, they were fine when um Todd Gurley went, I was like, yeah, they were fine until they got totally stuffed in the NFC Championship and then got stuffed even worse than the Super Bowl. Uh So, it's like this running game hasn't been great relatively. It had a little up, uh note last year towards the end, especially, but the offensive line, Like, you know, they believe in their offensive line, but on paper it doesn't look great. C J said, na bra, I'm good.

So it looks like the football days are behind him. We just talked about this on Monday Show that there were some notable names out there on the veteran market, Levan Bell, Adrian Peterson, who we talked about more in depth on Monday, Duke Johnson all out there. But we'll see. The Rams might think they're okay now, but let's see where they are in week one. I mean, I have a long way to go. Still. In other news, forty Niners are doing business of Fred Warner that seems like

a good idea. He signs an extension valued at over nine million dollars, almost forty one million of that guaranteed. He passes Bobby Wagner UH at nearly twenty million nineteen million as the highest paid per year linebacker and football, And that's a huge uh lockdown for the Niners. Greg. You know, this salary cap thing is always tough to

kind of figure out. It keeps on going up, and it will continue to go up COVID nineteen related issues notwithstanding, But the Niners have a lot of money tied up with star players, and you wonder if that's gonna cash drap him down the line, But for now, you lock up one of the best players in football on the defensive. So most of the deals they like get pretty flexible after two years, you know, including this one and uh warners obviously where I think he was the best middle

linebacker in football last year. I mean, he was that good. And it became sort of a trendy thing to de emphasize off ball linebackers. You know, Warrener plays middle linebacker, and they somewhat fit into this. But like a lot

of teams, just they don't spend any money. They don't care about off ball linebackers, like we're gonna spend on the secondary pass rushers, which is like that makes sense, But it is so hard to find a linebacker that is good on all three downs now because everyone is spreading you out with four receivers and you have to have linebackers that can cover. And Warner can do it all.

And you look at some of these first round picks at at these positions, Patrick Queen, Isaiah Simmons, whoever, and they're like losing their team's games because it's so hard to cover guys in the league. So if you find someone who's an absolute superstar like Warner is like, I think you're thinking about it too long, too hard if you're not putting major resources when you have like a top five guy like Warner, I'm with you. I mean,

he can do so much. And you know, I go back to when you know, obviously young and first started watching football and the like the mid eighties, and your middle linebackers were dudes who had like gigantic shoulder pads and we're thumpers, I mean they were. It was different. And Warner can you know, he's been the number one graded cover linebacker since pffs number one player under age.

You know, you played um a hybrid linebacker, slot corner roll at B y U And I think people thought, well, maybe that won't translate he was the third round pick, but it totally has. And he gives the Niners so much flexibility on defense. Um, he's been ultra reliably hasn't missed an entire game. I mean, leads them in tackles

year after year. And there's just like highlight after highlight of him, you know, fifteen twenty yards down field getting into a receiver's face aggressively and breaking up a pass. So there aren't that many guys like him. He's totally worth the contract. Darius Leandard with the Colts could be next. We continue to hear whispers on that on that front

as well. And to the point um that I was making about the Niners, and this from David Lombardi over at the Athletic, This forty Niners regime that's Lynch and Shanahan has now awarded four positional record contracts and its ford plus years at the helm Garoppolo in ten, George Kittle and Trent Williams in one, Fred Warner in one and that tight end, left tackle linebacker grouping. Obviously, Warner still stand. The other two still stand, as well as

the highest contracts of those positions. Mmm, I don't think any of those are bad. Garoppolo seemed a little like early but calling that the most it depends, you know, it depends on how you slice it. It was, Yeah, keep him out of that because that muddles up the point. The other three, I'm suddenly I'm suddenly like thinking they are due for some luck and uh, you know, we have a long time to previous season, but I'm feeling I'm feeling good about Simone Sessler's forty niners this year.

I feel like they're going to be coming back. Well, let her know. I don't think she's tracking it on any level. So you know, where's her fandom standing? Is it higher? Closer than I do? Really? Yeah? You know, Dan and Dan and Simone have something. I'm not quite sure what's happening there, but like, um no, I think her fandom sort of starts when the casual fandom begins for other people, when the game's begin. I don't think she's you know, she doesn't. I've checked her phone. She

has a lot of apps, potentially too many. Um, but I don't see like the old vestiges of the road o old app on there or anything of that sort. But how often are you checking your phone? What are you checking? Well? She gave me the code words to get into her phone, which I don't use, but she did, like in reverse, I would never not that, you know, there's just no reason. I don't care at all. But it's not a two way street. She gave me the code words to get into her phone. What is her

phone model? What is this thing? Well, just the patt for the four digit digits? Dig what I mean? What you know? It seems like you are sliced off a bit of her thumb print while she was sleeping and uses it, that's true, keeps it under one of those like glasses that they use for microscopes. Um. And that's smart, by the way. That don't look too closely at some modernized relationship babies, we have a type bond. I'll leave

it at that. Can I tell you real fast that she's been really deep into this like online lineage thing and we discovered she and I are are um tenth cousins wherever you want to it, which really got on my radar and very much concerned me. But I guess it actually dates back to like the middle four hundreds in Europe, so it seems like a lot of people would maybe be in that same boat. But um, a concerning Asterix relationship, how very Game of Thrones of the

Sessler's right minus the Kingdom. I could see that, you know, if, like if Mark shaved and put on a wig and stuff, there's some similarity here that certainly is not I can't say that, but that I think you're okay. I wouldn't. I wouldn't drew up the divorce papers just on the Well, we've already we've already crossed too many thresholds to even you know, there's nothing at this point. A little late

in the game, all right. In other news, I mean, I wonder if is there more to the Aaron Rodgers story, because with each passing update, I feel like he's becoming less and less the good guy here. I mean, this

is this is pretty wild. According to Adam Schefter on Twitter, the Packers offered Aaron Rodgers a two year extension earlier this offseason that would have kept him in Green Bay for the next five years, which you know, puts him into Tom Brady age range if he played out the contract, and the extension would have made him the highest paid

player in football. And Rogers rejected the offer obviously, and he continues to although he hasn't really spoken about it other than that one Scott van Pelt ESPN Sports Center thing at all. We had said on this podcast, like there's so many things in sports and life ultimately goes back to the money, and you offer the money, then then that should take care of it. Well, if this offer was as good as the Packers want to want people to believe, then Rogers is continuing to make this

more than about the money. Still meant that they took a quarterback. And at what point are you just being at Jerik at what point? At one point and I don't put anything into this one, I'm gonna push back on that because well I don't know how it got out. You know, it could come from the team side, could

come from both sides. They you know, if if Rogers wanted to show that like it's not about the money, it's principles, like who knows, maybe his side, I don't really know, but this means nothing to me that he turned down an offer. Like everyone in the league, including Darius Leonard we just mentioned or whatever is like, has

turned down offers this summer. That's called the negotiation. You go, you go back and forth, and it really means nothing without knowing what the guaranteed money is and what the structure is. You know, saying that he's the highest paid guy in the league because you tacked on a bunch of like phony years at the end and then release that to the media. That means nothing if you think

that's what the Packers did. I mean, we don't know one way or the other, but that feels like something that would be uncouth to to give him a phony offer. I feel like very possible that there was very little guaranteed money past this year. So if that was the offer, and let's say it was kind of like Tom Brady's last deal with the Patriots, where it's like, we'll give you a little bit into the sea just as much as anybody else right now, we have no idea what

I get it. That's what I mean, like without knowing that, it means nothing to me, because that's very likely if you look at like the Breeze and in brady final contracts, and even like the Rivers type ones like that's what happened? Usually like you give him like a little extra guaranteed into a second year and like so what he rejected that?

Why is this coming out? I would just go back to like Aaron Rodgers has been talking about breaking away from the Packers for like eighteen months at this point, really since that last draft. I mean it's this is not even a new topic. But we are in a weird territory. I mean, outside of like Carson Palmer, there aren't that many quarterbacks, you know, in late July who are essentially just staging total, uncontrolled like psychological warfare with their team. I mean maybe the Packers no more than

we do. But essentially, like Ian Rappaport came on NFL never can said, I don't know anything. We don't know anything. We don't know what's going to happen a week from now or four weeks from now. And I think it's the weirdest scenario is if he suddenly just shows up after all this drama, like why did this happen? So?

I mean to me, it's like if you're suddenly gonna if it was just about money, you could have done this with a lot less pomp and circumstance and headlines and frankly like disenfranchising a super loyal Packers fan base. I mean, what good came from this? If he's gonna suddenly show up a fortnit from now, well, I don't know. I don't want to go to hot take you on this.

I just but I just feel like it's either report to the team and stop being such a huge distraction for a team that's right there, right there to get back to the super Bowl. We'll retire or you know, walk away and and let the team move on. But the way this is playing out is just I don't know, man. I want to fire it into the sun up. I want to fire it up there with Jeff Bezos and but I can't because we do an NFL podcast and he's the reigning m v p uh. The whole thing

is just ponderous, man. That's Casey caysonone said, we'll forgive you if you know, we'll forgive everything. The Packers fans will too if he just shows up and nothing, you know, and you're right, we'd be like, why would we waste their time? But that would be better than the alternative, which and it won't. There won't be any bad blood for anybody after that. It will be over and you just move on. It's not too late, uh to stop this.

But I would still be a little I'm not gonna like I will, I'll keep it inside, but I'd still be a little annoyed at what he did um over the last couple of months. It seems completely unnecessary, and it involved thousands of people who are annoyed and us. That includes us, most importantly, it includes us. UM COVID night, that includes us. We're all connected to this, which is another ponderous thing. Can't get on the same page about this. There's medicine for that, and we can't get on the

same page. Tom Pallisera reports the NFL and just informed clubs that if a game cannot be rescheduled during the eighteen weeks schedule due to a COVID outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will forfeit, forfeit my friends, and be credited with a law US. That's huge. More from the memo, which also says the team responsible for a canceled game because of an outbreak among unvaccinated players, SLASH staff will be responsible for financial losses, mod own

and subject to potential discipline from the commissioner. Uh Greg, it's the NFL has got the iron fist. They're never afraid to wield it, and it really feels like they are listening. As a free country, you make your decisions based on how you feel. That's one of the bedrocks of the nation. It's a great thing. But in the case of this situation, with the health of the players and the fans and everything on the line, here iron fists coming down and saying get vaccinated or else. Yeah,

they're doing what they can. And this was in a four page memo where with a lot of other stuff where almost nothing was in bold type, and this little two sentence thing was like in bold types it's like, hey, um, giant CEO, don't don't miss this sentence. And on one hand, it sounds scary and it makes total sense. They're not going to extend the season. They're already extending season. On the other hand, if this was the rule last year, no one would have forfeited a game and you would

hope things won't be worse this year. Now, is it an indication that the league might not bend over as backwards. You know, the Steelers kind of got the short end of it where they're playing like Wednesday to Tuesday, and it was like never on them, Maybe they wouldn't bend over as backwards to help out the team that's in trouble this year. But if you just look at it, they never they never had to reschedule. They did to

get in all the games last year. So there, it's very I would say it's pretty unlikely that they would have to use this rule. I think part of it. I mean from from our angle a little bit. You and if you're the team's it's like you're waking up, remember waking up every morning, um, and the first thing you do was check, you know, league news to see

which player got COVID. And it's like, if you can get to the point where you reduce that by nineties something percent, um, it takes what I think it was a sinister element added to the season and for obvious reasons, but there was no vaccine and no solutions. So the league did everything they could, maybe even to the point of critique of getting a season through. They pushed it through. Now it's like we have a functional way to reduce

all that nonsense. And if you have thirty of players saying I don't want to be part of that solution, then it's like, look at your working for a company. This isn't you out in a field hanging out with your friends, um making those decisions. You're part of a massive billion dollar company. Played by the rules or pay the fine. And this delta variant which is causing issues, big issues, and it's going to continue to cause issues.

So I don't know how. You know. We're seeing breakthroughs all over the place, our own rich eyes and the face of NFL network. He uh. He posted last week on Instagram that he had contracted COVID even though he had gotten his two shots. Big Yankees fan Aaron Judge and several Yankees, some of them who had the vaccine. Uh they tested positive are currently on the injured list as a result. So, I mean, I think it would be It's just it's overly um hopeful. I think to expect. Oh, well,

last year was last year was a mess. Is gonna be much better because we're seeing we're seeing things that we still don't understand and it's very scary. And the Dallas Cowboys, let's talk about one of those teams connected to covid um. You have to get to over a vaccination threshold, the team and the I guess it's not just the players. Is at all personnel that I'm not totally clear, but the players players specifically the personnel, we're

all like close. If you hit as a team, you're able to go about your business in a much less restrictive way. The Cowboys will open training camp under stricter um COVID nineteen protocols because they did not reach that threshold. Jared jones Um did one of his pressers on Wednesday.

He had this to say about where the Cowboys are in, Uh, this realm, we have out of our ninety players here, we have a handful that in my mind have still to commit to this handful hand in a hand is five and and that's that's if he in that several in my mind of that finger of five, or on their way to potentially have in their bag scene what my biggest takeaway, there's so a handful is five. The gerred just I never knew that that was what a

handful is. And then he said, like hand up, each finger can count a person Like I didn't know a finger is a person. He's breaking news to me, that's developing news. Handful. Let's say you took a handful of M and m's that's not five, So I think he's I don't know, that's that's Jerry Jones mouth. Jerry Jones who spent um, you know, sixty one minutes opening the

press conference from what I could calculate. Then at one point, remember that for sixty one minutes this thing, I was actually this is one of these weird days where I was tracking NFL network in my house. This went on forever, like I saw the sun like moving watch on the one day, like I'm back from vacation. That's going on. We got the TV show Friday. They're an Oxnard. Like their training camp is starting. We're taping this on Thursday. They have their first practice today, so football is back.

But one little note about that, like after he went on and on and it really was like the most Jerry we already saw it during the Dak Prescott extension press thing where it was just like who is this guy? But at like sixty minutes in, he remembers that his head coach, Mike McCarthy is actually there and sitting next to him, and he just turned him. He's like, coach, coach, would you like to make any introductory statements? And Mike McCarthy is like about to talk and then n from

the nowhere. It's like, let's go to commercial, but we'll be right back. This is your head, coach. That that is the job. I love it. I love it. And it's been Mike McCarthy has been in the wilderness for a couple of years now. He was out of the league to getting fired by the Packers. You had that hatchet job, the hit piece on him, and I think some publication when he was like getting a massage during the meetings. He gets a job of the Cowboys. The team sucks last year, he gets more fire this year.

He's got like the George Michael faith beard and the aviators on. He's got like a pair of eight d aviators on. And I'm thinking to myself, like, alright, middle aged Mike McCarthy, you're you're showing the rest of us head in that direction that you could still look a little Yeah, that's your type of guy, you know, I mean a little overrated. He looks fine. I don't it isn't like you know about center. I'm not about to like, you know, like station like a Trill movie trilogy around

him or anything. But you know they are loving. They are loving this extra week of coverage. Though. I think they volunteered to do the Hall of Fame game every year just so Jerry can get like, oh yeah, no other podcast is tracking this McCarthy glow up story? Ricky? Did you this isn't You're not into these sorts of things, um bearish males in their fifties. But I want to ask you a question. Did you see Mike McCarthy in

the Beard with the aviators? Uh? Yeah, I did, And I didn't make any of those noises you were did. I never want to hear you make those noises again? Oh yeah, what are you the kool aid man? Just take a look at everybody paused the podcast, pull up a picture of that press conference, and tell me that Mike McCarthy isn't doing something right? How about it? Is it he's doing something better than Mike the unshaven Mike McCarthy, like of Old and Green Bay, where they were clearly

the you know, there are some issues going on. The nude Mike McCarthy on the massage table in his office that guy. Yeah, better than that incarnation, all right. Um anyway, Jara, good luck with that. I just seems like he's wearing sunglasses. That's basically what what's the difference. He just looks better. He feels like he's got there's there's some something to come in his his life. Not everything is in the

rear view mirror. And some people think that about Meg McCarthy, Like he had the street named for him outside Lambeau, he won the titles, he had all those runs, and now this is kind of the epilogue. You know, this is the the elderly lion out in the Safari, out in the Safari being. You know, he's an offensive guy and this is the you know, I don't know if any of those Packers team had as much talent as this Cowboys team does on offense. There is that's a that that is not a lion in winter. That is

that is a man that has more to accomplish. He kind of looks like late period George Michael, Like when things went really south for George and Rust and Peace. Uh. I was like, all right, this guy is plugged in. I mean, you better have like eleven wins in his future or it's not going to be sitting up on that podium next summer. Dan is he's still in Texas. He's coming back next week. He's gonna show up for our first Like Network show back in l A with the Aviators on with a nice beard with with a

cowboys hat. Weirdly, he's like, I don't know if I could do the beard, that's the only thing. I could definitely do the full face like McCarthy. I could do uh the Aviators. Um, but I don't know about the beard out. Does your beard not grow out like a normal man's beard? Tried that, we all did it a year ago. This you know what the thing is. You know what COVID taught us. The normal man's beard is actually closer two Greg's beard or my beard, which kind

of exists in this in between realm. I think you had a fuller beard for sure. West was more in the well. West had a pretty good beard, I think, Yeah, I think he did. Um, but the man he was at Man Yeah, West, West and Mark, you guys looked a little unruly. Yeah. Yes, the truly full beard. That

is a positive thing. But the negative thing about having a full beard and this thing I'm I'm happy about in my own life is that I'm noticing even men that I've known for years and years and years, you just these men, you keep on getting harrier and harrier and harrier and harrier, and hair is popping up in all different areas of your body and it's just wild. Uh. And so the guy that the guys that have the big mountain beard, it looks good, it looks maskingly, but

you're paying for it typically elsewhere on the bod. Wait, so you so you and your forties, you're saying that no, like, well, I don't want to dive into it, but like that that's not that's not a it's a credit to you that you're sort of hit. It's like, I can't grow a full beard. But I'm not like one of those guys that has like a hairy back, and it's the whole thing is a mess. Oh sure, the like just hair pouring out of the back of the neck and everything.

It's just like, what is going on with your body? You look like a wolfman. Like a lot of body image things come in and out of vogue, but I don't think harry back. And it's been probably hundreds of years since that's been a all right, let's get the next I like that he came back for this show because Monday Night Football News. Mark Sessler hit it Ricky former NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning Eli Manning, We'll take part in an alternate Monday Night football broadcast over the next

three seasons, the Worldwide Leader announced on Monday. That's like when Michael Jackson called himself the King of Pop. He just put out a press release one day in Please refer to me as the King of Pop. ESPN, please refer to us as the Worldwide Leader. Dion Sanders, please refer to me as coach. Sanders said that the Monday Night Football Mega Cast, as it's called, will air on ESPN two for ten games and each of the next three seasons, and will include current and former NFL players

and celebrities joining the Manning brothers on the broadcast. There is no host in place yet, but my agent will be placing a call. And this is a statement from Peyton Manning. He's got a statement out Sessler here. It is This partnership with ESPN and the Walt Disney Company reflects an ongoing shared commitment to offering fans fun innovative content.

ESPN Plus has been a terrific partner for Omaha Productions as we built out the places, franchise the places, and we're excited to co create a new mega cash format that will have something for everyone. Yeah, I added, I mean my first reaction was like, what's Brian Greasy thinking, because this isn't like you have to sign up and pay for ESPN Plus, Although it's I think, I'm sure

it'll be on that too. They're gonna put it on ESPN two, right, is that is not a vote of confidence for your number one team, Leavy Greasy, Riddick Salters, And it's not it's not their fault. But if you're like Greasy for instance, who you know, I know, you like Dan he did a solid job. They all did. It was you know, it was okay, it was a solid thing. Greasy is in that draft with Peyton Manning, it's like he he was like the sixth or seventh pick.

You know, he's down in the third round, he's you know, been out of the league for a while. He's like trying to earn his media career, and then here comes old Peyton Manning who got taken right atop that draft Agett swooping in and it's like, I don't know personally, I'm probably gonna watch that Manning thing and see how

it is like then then I'll then I'll adjust. But that's my first instinct is I know they're not at the game, which I do think hurts, but I kind of want to hear what Peyton and Eli have to say, especially if, like you know, they're they're giving each other the business. It could be good. I mean, they've been testing this with ESPN with college football, Um, you know the National Championship game where they had coaches sitting around a table talking. I thought I watched some of that

and like, I thought it was great. So I just think this is the way that the way they're going where it's like we don't have to convince all viewers that are three man booth is the only way to observe this event um. And I'm typically a little down on the Manning as comedic talent um in commercials and stuff,

but for this, I'd want to watch. I do wonder though, because whenever you talk to guys that announced these games, like they spend hours and hours and hours breaking down film of the two opponents for that Monday Night affair is that, like Lewis Riddick is doing that without question? Are Eli and Peyton going to be like that? I mean they're ultra competitors, so I would think so. But that is extremely time consuming. Is that their method or is it like, hey, let's just sit around and be us. Uh,

we'll see. And I'm the one thing that got me nervous is them over stuffing the booth. You put in a capable, capable guys the host, and you let Peyton and Eli do their thing analyzing the game. They have

natural chemistry. Obviously his brothers. I don't need like Rob Wriggle in the booth with him, or who's the voice guy on Fox, like like Frank Caliendo doing his John gruden An impression and mucking it up for some ABC, you know, ESPN, ABC Disney families like oh, here's Anthony Anderson in for the second quarter, Like you will chase me away immediately if you try to turn into a

promotional vehicle for your various various Disney entities. Just give me Peyton Eli and a guy that's steering the ship, and I think that would be I think it's a really good idea. They can mess it up so easily, though, and I think they will. You don't even need the other Manning brother, the one that has like a gig at Fox. You know, you know who you know who's super excited. We don't need cover in there. But what

we do need is UH New York Posts. Andrew Machard are our clicker guy, Marta Martiaan doing constant columns about it. I mean Marciaan. When he saw that, he was like, I never have to think of a column idea anytime. I'm a little bit low. I just fire up the last ESPN two telecast at the Sexy Beat. Yep, he's he's got a lot to time with UH. Flying to new destination. Melvin Ingram. Just talk about Melvin Ingram. He was on the street as of the beginning of this week,

but not anymore. He signs with the Steelers a one year contract, and I know it's sizzler. I know, as a Browns fan, who you think you got the Steelers by the throat? This is the type of signing that you are. He's going to come back and haunt the rest of the a f C North in December. Yeah, your name you know. The note I'm looking at right here, Um that I put down is this is the kind of signing that works for Pittsburgh. It just will. So

I'm completely with you. And look, I know that he Um, he had no sacks last year in seven games and was injured the year before. He's missed two. He's gone to i R with the issues two years, so there's a age. There's injury concerns, but there's also the fact that like, he recorded the most pressures last year without a sack in seven games, twenty eight. So this is not a player who's done UM. By the way, Clowney

was the other. Clowney was the other. If you any game where you lead with pressures and don't have a sack, you pulled the Clowney, you pulled the tied Clowney. So he totally pulled the Clowney and really Clowney were tied at the top of the list with twenty eight. So you're dead on. I mean, I don't still if it doesn't work out, UM, there's still very thin at edge Rusher. I mean they're counting on guys who have not necessarily been I mean T. J. Watt, And then you've got

Alex Highsmith. They have that. To me, that's you know, if Ingram's healthy, that's a good one to three high Smith as the starter, Ingram comes off the bench. Hopefully you keep him healthy that way. He's also just a beast. And they lost Vince Williams, who wasn't like a great inside linebacker, but he just retired surprisingly this week. He

was going to start for them. He kind of was that locker room like fire everyone up like beast guy and Ingram seems like one of the best guys in the league that like I've I have like no player has ever made a bigger impression on me. Just hearing him talk in person two different times in Melvin Ingram, I just wanted to like run through it through a wall. People say that though, it's like what if I did run through while they'd be like, what are you doing?

What are you going to be running through a wall or just you, I don't think that's you just wanted. Yeah, you wouldn't get to run through, you wouldn't go through it. You would just hurt yourself and then everyone be like what are you doing and be like, I don't know. Melvin Ingram, I really like him can you do it for someone? And then the person is like, wait, why did you just do that? Your life is effectively over now the life you knew, Well, I did it for you.

I didn't ask you, bro, what are you doing? And finally some upsetting news, New York Jets assistant coach Greg Knap fighting for his life after suffering severe injuries in a bicycle accident. Uh, he was on his bike, riding it near his home in Danville, California, fifty eight years old. He was struck by a single motorist at toot PM. The motorists thankfully cooperating with authorities. Drugs and alcohol not a factor, So it just sounds like a horrible accident.

And uh, those type of things are when you're like and hopefully that pulls through this. And he was a new addition to the Robert Salis staff. He was working with the quarterbacks and assistant coach. Um, he's gonna be working a lot with Zack Wilson and hopefully he will down the line. But just those type of things are like a guy going for a run or riding on a bike and a car clips him or hits him. Uh,

you just never know when things can change. There's one thing that I thought about that was listening to Steve weisch Um again. I was watching Network yesterday, but Steve weisch Um very like commenting about about him and this coach is one of the most popular guys around. He's been around for a long time. And it wasn't just other coaches. It was like journalists coming out there would work to say how much um, how great he had

been to them over the years. So when he was Steve was Steve Young's coach back in the day, he was Peyton Mannings coach in Denver at quarterback coach while he was breaking all those records. It's the type of I swear like every friend I have that bikes a lot has some sort of terrible accident and it has. It has scared me off of buying a bike. I've been wanting to buy a bike to drive, you know, to go around with my kids. I could do that around the neighborhood, you would think, but I don't know.

This is like it just seems like it always have best wishes to Mr Nap. All right, that's what's happening in the news, all right, as promised. Listen. Yeah, it was listening you did a little peek behind the curtain. Sometimes the segment comes together easily, an idea comes out and everybody's on board. But sometimes these things are labors of love, you know. It's like you have your first you have your whole life to write your first album. It becomes a hit, and then you have six months

to write your second. And sometimes that's what it feels like when the the sand is has just fallen through the hour glass. And in this case, I just kept on sending like C plus after C plus segment idea at the guys, and I was like, I was hoping one of you guys would throw one back, throw me a life preserver, but I just kept checking the match before. Then by the time it's like an hour before the show, I'm driving kids to camp, and it's stuff you can't

you know, you wait a minute. I threw out an idea. I throwed an idea, and dance response was, actually, I'm looking for an idea with some pops. So I was like, all right, I'm out, like you down. Mine was mine weren't really any better than yours. But then I yours is fine. Especially first you're off the I l you know, you're we're using you back into action. Anyway, came down on this, what do you do? Well? You got some steaks,

all right, let's add some steaks into this thing. Your life's on the line, okay, and you need to pick a player in our league who will have his greatest season ever. And if you're not right, it's out. You're time's up. The sand is through the hour glass for you, my friends. So with that in mind, one Guideline and Greg you were you were pitching on tax and it was already in my mind. So we're on the same

page on this one. It cannot be a player who's entering a second season, because it's very natural for a rookie to take the jump and have his quote unquote best year and year two. It has to be someone year three or beyond that their best season, and the stakes couldn't be higher. If it's not his best season,

we're out of here. Mark, welcome back. You're in the fryar Europe first, all right, I'm gonna go with a player who I think it's an ultra talent, but it's missed twenty one games over the last two seasons, because I mean, an injury pretty much ends your life here. Well, that's true. What we've seen of this player though, suggests um that he could be the best in the league. And that is Derwin James. And here's what I like about Derwin James this season. Um, it is Brandon Staley.

And you know is watching the Flying Coach podcast with Peter Schraeger and he had Mike Tomlin on, and Mike Tomlin said, when you're a coach, like it's one thing to take like C players and turn them into going down. We're gonna lose them, is just what we're dealing with this. The guy's missed like last thirty two games, but keep going. Mark, Well, I would know I would say this though. If his rookie year alone, I mean, people were comparing him to

some of the great defensive backs of all time. And if if, if he does not to pick him for this exercise because he was a first team All Pro, that is the bar. Let me finish my point here and I will explain. Okay, what Tomlin said though, the key to to to really becoming the next level coach is keeping your A players at a level or better. And I really think if you look at what Brandon Staley did with Aaron Donald and Jaralen Ramsey a year ago. It got him a job because of what he did.

I mean, the whole league by the end of the year looked realized this is a defensive wizard. So I think a Derwin James pair with Brandon Staley in that defense and you go back to what what Derwin James. The wave was creatively used in that first Lamar Jackson playoff game where the Ravens lost to the Chargers. There are just signposts that tell me is not only going to be that player, but that player plus more. I

think he's probably supermovid motivated to come back. They picked up his fifth year option, which says a lot to me. I cannot wait to see you know that I'm high on Brandon Staley. The pairing of Staley and Derwin James is going to create I think, one of the better stories of the league. And there'll be no looking back to the rookie season saying he wasn't who he was as a rookie. It will be paired with the fact that he came back from what he's come back with,

the way he's used here. It's gonna happen. To me, it's gonna happen, I promise you right now. Do you are you a kind of a casket guy or more like an earned guy. No, I would not want to be put into I would not want to be put below the ground um at all. That feels very old. So that's good. That's a good call, Mark that because Derwin James, if he does get back, you just worry

about the nature of the injuries the lower body. Is he just going to be um even if he is healthy, which is a huge if did he lose that magic that was in his legs, that lower half? The football gods were just not on board with him. There is some risk and if if, if he if he's failed again then and I'm suddenly taken out by a female assassin walking down the streets of Al sa Gundo. You know why? But um, I am betting on a healthy season. No. I loved I love the instincts. I love Derwin James.

I love you, Mark, though, so I want to see you alive. And so I think I took this exercise literally, and I think you don't want a guy that sets such a high bar. He was the first team opro. He he was getting some thoughts of like defensive player of the year. So he was like maybe the best safety in the league already, and is he's gonna like warm up to this season a little bit as he gets over the injury. The one thing I love, though, is you're right Staley and that system has made safety

is way better. If you think about Vic Fangio or Staley, you know who he learned from. You know, Eddie Jackson in Chicago, Justin Simmons in Denver, and then Staley laughter with john Johnson got him paid. That part of it makes sense. It's kind of a safety centric offense. That part of it makes sense. So I hope he stays healthy and that you stay healthy, my friend, miss my Michael Mack. You're up next, Greg Alright. I I took

it more um like trying to be safe here. So I was life and death if we can't, Yeah, it's life and death if we If we can't do second year players, I'll go third um because that's less years to try to improve upon. And I'm gonna go Deante Johnson of the Steelers, who are always loved and everyone always talks about his drops. He almost got bench last year because of his drops. Like that's like t O forever.

They talked about t O's drops, like to drop that many passes, You've gotta be open all the time, and Deonte Johnson is open all the time. He's uh. He's a favorite of our friend Matt Harmon and receptions. I just love watching him after the catch, before the catch, he's gonna be there. And his high right now is nine yards last year and he was a guy who when it's going he gets ten, fifteen, twenty targets. I like Claike Chase Claypool a lot, but I think Johnson

is the number one. I think they'll throw him a ton of passes. I feel like he clears that bar, and he clears it by enough where this doesn't feel like I'm trying to cheat. You know, he goes yards and he's like the clear one and has a monster year. I have a question though, specifically with this exercise, Greg is correct. I think it can surpass the yardage. Hope is like he had eighty eight catches, so if he pass, he's got to pass everything he's got seven Greg is

Greg is off the earth. I mean, if he goes eight seven for twelve fifty, you're taking me out you're the mark. The other two guys are We're at the gates St. Peter, and we decide. Only it's not heaven or hell. It's just you live or die. It's it's a little bit of a labored metaphor, but it's it's in that realm. So we'll decide after the season, we'll we'll circle back. What about the Ben Roethlisberger side of things, you don't and the fact that they have Naja Harris

there is their new running back. Is it possible that this just is not going to be an explosive passing offense at all. I think that's the biggest risk because the field, Claypool is good. I think Juju is almost underrated at this point. Uh, James Washington's good. They even you know, they have a vibronic tight end. You're right, it's a lot of mouse to feed. But I check,

check confused. Check actually got me. I almost retweeted this um picture he sent out that Roethlisberger showed up to camp in a shirt that said sevenge, like seven revenge, and it was like the Roethlisberger Revenge Tour, and I was like, Oh, he is leading into this. I love this. And then I realized though, check just like got a photoshop? Did you see did you see in general at the end of his Uh, the end of Ben's career is really just conversations about whether he's bad or not. Did

you see how he looks pretty tight? Looks pretty right? I wouldn't. I don't know if it's Tom Brady tight because we were told that his fitness regiment was even better than Tom's or his diet um. But he looks like he's ready for the season. One thing about that bothers me, though, like why all the people tracking the fatter thing he did? There were times when he balloon a little bit. What are we asking him to be like a hundred and forty eight pound breadth arean. I mean,

he is a larger boned human playing quarterback. That just his shirt said the word different on it. This was not photoshopped, So he he is one of those guys. I think he knows he's gonna have a lot of pictures of him being taken in that walk to the up to the first training camp, and he wears a shirt different and he's looking good in it. So I think you're both done for based on your first two picks, for Mark. You you really shot at the stars, and

Greg I was kind of with you. And then Greg made the correct point about the how great, truly great Derwin James was as a rookie, So you have to get past that bar. And then Greg, I think there's so many reasons why the Steelers passing attack, but it's gonna be worse than a year ago. There's well, there's could be, absolutely could be. But let me give you one, Greg, Damian Harris, your boy third year wasn't used a lot as a rookie, and right, he didn't even play as

a rector. I mean, this is safe, but okay, of course it is. My life's on the line. Yeah, it's fair, it's fair. Third year, great staff from PFF. The three the three highest graded running backs according to that analytics site. Number one Derrick Henry. He better be number two ahead of Dalvin Cook, Damien Harris. And you know what, I get it because the whole thing with PFF is studying every snap and Damian Harris is one of those guys

that passes the sniff test. You watch him, You're like, this guy is just better than a lot of running backs. He's uh and he hasn't had that true breakthrough season, but if you watch last season, his ability to run through tacklers just be someone that you don't want to have to deal with. Once he hits the whole, it was all there, and he got beat up last year. I think he had an injury that slowed him. He

missed six games last year. Yeah, apparently didn't play at all as a rookie because of injury basically, right, So that is I mean, that is my risk really more than anything. But I think he's the clear number one guy in a New England offense that is really trying to piece some things together right now, with Cam Newton still there and now Mac Jones in the mix, you get the idea this is gonna be a run heavy offense with a guy Harris, that bellcheck. I think you

trusts him. He says, I'm gonna give you the rock, give you the chance to be that dude, and I could I could see a thirteen d yards season coming out of Corey Dillon esque season for Damian Harris and year three and my life's on the line and I feel decent about it. I think you're fine. I mean, this is I wouldn't call this like Joseph Campbell, like heroes journey stuff he has to surpass. He's got a family that he's got a family to worry about it.

I can find an add Trent Brown. Uh, when you looks good, you know they've got on paper they might have one of the best run blocking lines in the league. That's kind of how they're built. And to your point, Mark, yeah, you could say I'm playing it safe, but again, the stakes are as high as the stakes could possibly be here.

My life is online and b I don't think he's gonna run for some seven und written four yards at four point oh pop. I think he's gonna have a big season that's going to there won't even be any need to even study the two years. It's like, oh that was his big breakout year. Greg, I think you're doing some type of making the leap piece for the dot com. I hope Damian Harris is a part of it. Otherwise you're just you're you're thinking too much. Now he is,

He's honest. All right, let's go around one more time, Mark, I hopefully hopefully you have protected yourself a little bit more with your second choice. Um. I actually came up with one that was extremely controversial in terms of the fact that no one would buy it. But I'm gonna go with what I would consider the safer of the three options I came up with, and that is Joe Mixon. Um. And this is no home run. This is no home run. He's never top twelve hundred yards, but he's come close.

But last year he was on pace when he got hurt in weeks six for six hundred yards. Do not play the funeral music just yet. I think this is a situation. You've got a healthier office, You're gonna have Joe Burrow, You've got no Giovanni Bernard, and I've a bonus, a little bonus, um nugget here. I think Giovanni Bernard down in Tampa Bay. I tried to get this out

during our West Hollywood broadcast. Um will have the biggest passing receiving year of his entire career, and he's had a couple of good ones, as Tom Brady and What to Happen both are happening, two former teammates will now both have But for Bernard, it's a nugget. Do you have a Basically, Mark has a death wish like he needs to feel alive. He's like, sorry, Simone, I just had to add g O to the mix to make it.

This is not Groundhog Day. You don't the lights don't go out and you wake up in your bed at six am. I think it would be ahead if Mixon does not eclipse yards. I think he is He is an easy candidate to do that. He stays healthy, easy because there's really no competition for him. There there isn't like a clear like he is the guy. And I think that with Joe Burrow, Um, you know, healthy, there's gonna be a lot like more way to confuse a defense.

And I mean they're passing game is they have one of the best wide receiver duos out there, and so that to me looks like it's a good setup for Mixing. Um, you'll have his best year, I will live. Full disclosure. When I was doing my research for this segment, I did think about Mixing. And the reason I thought about it because I've written on the dot com that he to me is a long shot, superstar club type guy. He's a guy that I feel I could have a big year, but there's just so many reasons why it

won't happen again. Injury, risk is a big thing. He missed half of last season with a lower body injury. Um, so you have that to contend with, you have a makeshift offensive line. They famously passed on pay Penny Sewell in favor of the wide receiver. And I know a lot of people are like, I was fine, that's good. If the wide receiver is great, it's gonna be awesome.

But uh, if Chase is not an absolute stud and Sewell turns into a rock um on the end of off line in Detroit, you're gonna think to yourself, my god, how did you How did you look that gift horse in the mouth and walk away? Uh? And then it's like the coaching staff, I don't that's fair. Well, we've talked about this totally anonymous coaching staff that Zach Taylor has done nothing to show that he's a true um coaching tree dude off the Sean McVeigh tree that you

can trust. There's just these are all reasons why it won't end with your life on the line. I feel like getting involved with the Bengals is never a good idea. It's tricky one. I will say. They like, if you're gonna say that, injuries from a year ago, or predictive or potentially a problem like again, he was on pace for sixteen hundred yards on the ground, three hundred through the air. Then he got injured. So I mean there

was the production too, And I'm with you. The coaching staff is slightly anhonest that I'm gonna have to hope that they form an identity. What was that? Oh my god, Mark, stop it. I mean I actually I probably buy you with mixing. That That's why it's like, I totally am with you on mixing. That's gotta just make it all the more painful when you're like in week fifteen. Oh wait, Jeoe Bernard has like two yards, uh, you know for the season on the Bucks. Why did I add that? Unnecessarily?

I feel more strongly about that point, and I think that will go down as a historical, accurate, historically bob bombshell that I've just dropped. You should have gotten behind that random white Joe Funk Mark crazy. Don't get me started on Funk. Alright, Gret, how about you, Mark, I'm very worried about you. I'm worried um this one. I feel a little safer about this one than my first one. It's a fourth year player. It's tight end Dallas Goddard um rising up to a top five tight end type

of player. Yeah, I think he's that good. I think he's been in tough situations. Zach Ertz is you know, expected to be on his way out and Goddard's career best numbers were in two thousand, nineteen fifty eight for six oh seven and five. To me, he could be the number one there. I know, you know, I know Davante Smith is gonna get a lot of run, but Jalen Hurts, you know, not not maybe the most accurate guy deep into the outside, like he's gonna be feeding

his boy got her. There's no words there. I could see him like going over a thousand. I feel I feel confident about Dallas got Ter. I like it a lot. It makes totally good. There is this though. There were reports even this morning though that Art's um is likely to stay now. The just reports, but it's not an absolute that he's out the door. It's a good point. He is still showing that that whole thing fizzled and he is showing up the training camp. I I kind

of figure they'll they'll find a spot for him. Or even cut him by the time for six oh seven and five. You know that's not that's okay, but that I think. I think he's definitely I think he's gonna be a Pro Bowl type of player where he's he's skying well above that. And I do think he really doesn't have the talent, like he can block a little

bit and that's great. People like to talk about that, but he really is a good down field Kiddle type of player that I don't think, as you know, he's not Kiddle, but I don't think he's maxed that his ability because well, Earth's verts is there and healthy. It's a little bit problem. Did they share the field? Are they gonna be splitting snaps a lot? I think god

Or is going to be the one regardless. I mean, god Her put up five twenty four last year despite missing five games, so I'm baking in a little bit of safety. All he would have to do is really keep going what he was doing last You had the lowest version of Earth's last year, who was hurt the entire time. When I think everyone is ready to like like throw him off the Earth. But if he's healthy, that the first fact god Or got hurt so he

doesn't like have a history of it. Um. You know, he had two healthy seasons before that, so if he you know, to me, he should get eight hundred falling out of bed. I agree with you, Mark, I've been saying that on this show off season Zach ERTs the disrespect, throwing the men's away like he can't can't play anymore. Maybe he couldn't last year. Maybe it was just an injury thing, and I mean, it's gonna suddenly be healthy. But he could be healthy. He's also a proud man

and athlete. He'd a champion that perhaps he'll want to shut some of the Rosenthal's of the football community up. Oh, I mean he's shut me up in that Super Bowl. How about you know what he did on the biggest place in front of it. Yeah, you're talking against so he's gonna have to shut you up again. That was right in front of us, Greg, We were in that second level there in Minneapolis, and he reached over that

goal line. That if only I didn't have like the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history the year before, and then a sixth super Bowl to top it off, like old school, you know, the next year, it's really just sandwich that tough memory, I mean fair enough, all right. Finally, Uh, Kyler Murray, let's go. Oh, let's go. Third year he was on pace for if he didn't get hurt, if he doesn't hurt his shoulder on Thursday Night football last year.

I'm not doing this because I think his numbers, he probably would ended up throwing for close to yards, he would have went over thirty touchdowns. His rushing numbers would be even better than they were and they were excellent. Um So again, and this is a this is a this continues to pop up in this conversation health. A

lot of these guys are tied to health. And if Murray entering his age twenty four season and his third season in Cliff Kingsbury's offense, an offense that I think is solid, maybe not spectacular, but it's solid, I think he has a very good chance, uh, with his skill set as a former number one overall pick, to have

a Lamarian type season UH in year three. And I think he has the chance to do something no one has ever done, which is go four thousand, one thousand in a season, throw for four thousand yards, run for a thousand. That's at the high end of this. But even if he's a step below that, I still think he could throw for around four thousand yards, throw for

thirty touchdowns, which he has never done. Uh add the six seven or eight hundred yards in the ground in another five or six scores, and clearly developed to the point whereas Y know, year three was the best we've seen from Kyler Murray. Yet get behind superstars entering their prime. If your life's on the line, and that's what I'm doing makes sense, I think it's pretty safe. I think you're counting on some people I'm not totally sure about

them to help you get over the line. Rondale Moore, everyone's excited about it, but he's like, you know, an undersized rookie A J. Green and Chase Edmonds maybe as they're starting running back. And then Cliff Kingsbury is the key one, Like can can Kingsbury with Murray and this group around him? And you know, I didn't mention Hopkins obviously, but I think you need those other guys to come through, and you need Cliff to help him out to make

this safe. Because Murray did rack up those rushing yards last year and it was a pretty good season, but you need a little help from the other Cardinals, and Cliff Cliff is kind of the guy that I'd be most concerned about. I mean, I would argue that if he just simply to your point and he just wasn't able to do uh Kyler Murray things for that later part of the season after their injury and the offense fell apart. Even at the team is not great. Um statistically,

we're talking about him besting his statistics. I think he could do all that and more. Look at some of Matthew weren't that bad though. I mean he goes and twelve touchdown interception and pretty good. I think he could pass twenty six though, and and maybe even lower his picks, right, sure, I think I think it's a pretty safe that. But he did have a nice step forward as a year two. It wasn't like the explosion, but he did take a

step last year. For sure. His step forward to to keep me alive in this exercise, will come as a passer. Because he ran for nineteen yards and leven touchdowns last year. That's really good. That's awesome, Like beating that will be and if he does that and improves as a passer, he is absolutely going to be in the m v P conversation. But I just think that's the ceiling. I think I'm just the Kyler Murray guy. So will Damian Harris had more rushing yards than Kyler Murray and will

that impact your survival rate? Well, if he matches Kyler Murray last year, I'll be safe because that will be Damian ris Is greatest year. We need him too, because you know the I'm not here to play hero ball Setsler. I'm gonna play live and raise my children ball some Sons fans, all the Phoenix fans out there, they need to pick me up. They need Murray to come through

after a heartbreaking NBA Finals. That's all the Cardinal is doing. Okay, the Cardinals, Cardinals beat writers and all the people covered. I get it. I'm going to give you a pass for this, you know, the summer months here because there's not a lot to write about. But we don't need any more. A J. A. J. Green profiles not like you. As I'm doing research for this seg and I'm trying to like learn more about Kyler Murray's season, everything is just about Kyler Murray. Thinking J. Green is gonna have

a big year. I hope. I hope they're right, Like there's no evidence on the field last year, but I was really stunned how bad Green was. I always have been like an A. J. Green is a Hall of Famer type of guy, and it's almost underrated for how dom in it. He was in a weird situation. It was ugly last year. But I want to hope that, you know, like Mike McCarthy, maybe he can he can, you know, show that aging men still have something in

front of them. And I hope, I hope that Kyler goes even a size greater with his helmet this year. Condicting the giant helmet and that tiny body. I love it. What a combo. That's entertainment, just the visuals. Wonder I'd like to see you telling me has a tiny body to his face. I mean, that guy is I'm sure has cut up, is fit, you know, on the line, he's probably got a tremendous bod. But that helmet just

it's it throws everything out of whack. It's it's it's just it's hard to really get a grasp on his entire physical makeup because his helmet is the size of a refrigerator. Yeah, very top heavy. All right, good stuff, Mark, are you gonna stick around? You're with us? Uh for the network show tomorrow? Big network show and film that worked around the NFL broadcast Friday Eastern three pm Pacific,

six pm Eastern. Check. I didn't show it up to that I might start finally getting on the radar of management, who I don't even think they know that I am part of the company. But if you just continually don't show up to assignments, you've got issues. So, I mean they've noticed those tweets that you had about going back to the office. I know some management figures definitely, well I've I've I'm I'm chilling on that front. Do wait,

do you have that? On authority? Good authority? It was sort of it was no more as a joking thing, just like I don't think I don't think Mark wants to come back to the office, it seems, and then they're gonna check into today's show and it's like, oh, Mark's back, and he's literally wearing a Hawaiian shirt. This guy's checked out. He came with some great analysis and he put it. He did. He definitely took some risks,

took some big risks, big costly ones. Watched NFL Network all day in preparation for today's show, and that shows that Sessler's back and he's ready happy to be How you enjoyed Mark where we have a little mini book club going on? We did on Monday's show pop Culture Recommendations, and I was singing the praises of the Once Upon in Hollywood, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood book by Tarantino. Um, and we have a little mini book book club. Me

you gonzo chopping it up. Um, this must be nice because you are the biggest fan of Tarantino's picture a well, and also not only that, but um, you know, because Colleen will be traveling for training camp. We actually, you know, the book centers somewhat around the Sharon Tate murders. We're the three of us are going to go watch the film together at Gonzos sort of lush seaside um Kingdom, and watched the movie together on the night of those of that event. But the book, I think is the

book was excellent. Um, you guys had some some minor issues with some of the chapters. But you know what I get every time I talk about this, and I get someone tweeting me. It's like you guys always talk about this this movie in this book, and I read it and I hated it. I I don't care if it's not my right, it's not my issue. Um. I think he is. Here's what's concerning form most authors. He

wrote his first novel, Tarantino, and it's better. It's more inventive and obsessive and well written than of any books I've ever read. So you know, check yourself at the door. Um, Greg is shaking his head. But Greg read it. He did not shake my head at all. Suspicious, But it's like he, Um, he honestly is an incredible writer. And I think it was a huge notebook dump. Um, if

you're into it, I would read it now. I was more saying you at the turn, because I got that you were annoyed with people criticizing you for talking about it, but then you just flipped it on the whole novelist industry. Right, take out the notch out. All right. We'll be back on Friday and then two more shows next week. Thank you everybody for listening, and remember always he's a call Eric.

It's it was so funny. Eric, I was just about the tide Bee to hit the like at that very moment, at it's time, it's time,