The volume.
All right, busy NBA docket, A lot to talk about. Jason Timp, host of Hoops tonight. You know, it's funny. I saw a piece of video, so I had said on the Luca trade, I would never have traded him, but if he gave me three firsts Ad and Austin Rivers, I'd sleep on it. And I said that because I've always said Luca is a much better Carmelo. I never
think he's in great shape. I don't know. I think he sometimes takes the ball a lot of teammate's hands, and you know, I don't think and I love Luca, but I saw when Luca first arrived in Los Angeles, he looked Puffy hadn't played since December. He's never beguen in great shape. But my take was La gets you in better shape. The lifestyle is different and Lebron and the pressure, you know, to kind of impress Lebron. You can see Steph showing off with Jimmy Butler, Lebron's kind of showing.
Off with Luca.
I mean, that's just it's it's ego.
It's fun.
You finally got your match and the players. I mean, Steph is more efficient Lebron's playing with an energy of a twenty seven year old. So, but somebody pointed this out to me yesterday because I watched the entire game. They said, look at the energy of Jason Tatum on both ends of the floor, and Luca has bad stretches like right now, like he has these four or five minutes or longer moments on the floor And you're like, bro, you're just you're a negative right now, like you're you're
just getting beat off the ball. And do you think this is something Luca because you're not in your head, you're seeing it too. Does Luca play himself into better shape or did Dallas with their concerns about these consistent calf injuries about not being in shape and lifestyle. Do you think we're getting eighty percent in Los Angeles of Luca that some of the videos on the internet that show him three years ago, it was Tomahawk in it, and you're like, not really quite what I see?
Now?
What is your take on where Luca's at and where he'll end up as a Laker.
So that's a tough game for under any circumstances to go on the road in Boston. A Boston team that's had some disappointing losses at home this year yea, and was kind of itching for they were itching for a signature win, Like the Celtics really wanted that one. I mean, you could tell the level of intensity they brought right from the opening tip. It's a tough game under any circumstances. Luca is not yet back into his peak shape. It's
gonna take a little while to get there. I actually think it'll be somewhat there's a little bit of a blessing in disguise with the Lebron injury, because Lebron has been going full bore since like mid January, and it was kind of inevitable that there'd be some sort of nagging thing that would arise over the course of this stretch. And I actually think it'll be pretty nice for Lebron to get like a month off here, a couple of weeks off here, just to take a little break before
the post season. That'll get more time for Luca to really lean into usage, to really lean into having the ball in his hands and build his rhythm back. That said, like this goes back to the Dallas Series. The Dallas Series is a different type of challenge the Dallas Boston series in the finals, it was a different type of challenge because Boston had all sorts of dudes that they could help off of. They were putting chrisops Porzingis onto PJ.
Washington and Derek Jones Junior and leaving him under the basket. The Lakers will be able to create more space for him, but he wasn't even getting past Jalen Brown for the most part last night, Like just one on one, Jalen Brown had him in clamps and was bringing a ton of physicality, And like, there's this kind of recurring theme I've seen ogn Andobi did a little bit on Thursday night. I don't know if you caught the Knicks game, it was kind of a little bit similar in that game.
All the way back to the second round series with Oklahoma City last year, lou Dort gave Lucas some issues. Lucas struggles with the really big and strong forwards that can guard, and so there's a little mini challenge here. If the Lakers are going to be able to defeat team like Boston in the finals, Luca is going to have to overcome the Jalen Brown problem. But as far as the big picture goes he's twenty five years old.
He's playing alongside one of the greatest work ethic dudes you're going to meet in the league, one of the greatest take care of your body type of dudes that you see in the league. I think Luca is going to get to a level of better conditioning. That said, I don't think he's going to be the dude who had like seventeen dunks in his rookie year. I think those shit that I think that ship might have sailed.
You know, I say this often on the show, that there's a real gap in them in what fans view as hate and what I view as contextualization. So every time I talk about Jason Tatum, I always say he's great. He's a great player. He's a top eight player in the league.
I'm not.
I don't believe he's top three. I trust Sja offensively more. I trust Jokic is all around better. I trust Jannis defensively more. I think Luca at his best is a better, more natural offensive player. Hell, if you gave me one quarter to win it all game seven, I take Lebron over Jason Tatum. I actually would. But he's a great player. He's going to be a Hall of He's a nice kid. But I've said this, there are games where I'm like, where is he? Is he on the floor? Now, this
was not one of them. He was terrific. And I've watched him now play live three or four times. I get to the arena early, he's the first guy on the floor. But it is interesting people get very upset about this, and I've said this. In the Olympics, when you're playing with the world's best players, he was a coach's decision do not play against Serbia, and he had two in the gold medal game, and that Lebron and Steph flourished in those games. So there are players that
sometimes are around great players. Lebron was like this very early in his first Olympics. He was like, finally it opened up more of Lebron. And then there are players that actually love playing within a system. I think Jason is one of those players. I think his god, his DNA is he's a teammate, you know, he likes being part of a collective. He chose Duke so he could play with other great players. Right Like chef's key makes
you play defense. He was there with the you know Grayson Allen, Luke Cannard, if I'm remembering right, Like, so, my take is, I think he's a star. I think the NBA's only ever had three true faces of the league, Magic, Michael Lebron. I think Bird was a reluctant because he was conjoined with Magic. He was face of the league, but Magic was the face of the league. He he
loved it. You know, French Lick, Indiana pimples on the face, Grumpy Larry Bird didn't feel face of the league, but you know you joined him at the hit with Magic. And it's like Okay and Shaq and Kobe. I think you could argue as a pair or face of the league for several years. Duncan never was a team, never was. Karl Malone never was. So what do you make of kind of my criticism of Tatum. It's not a criticism.
It's more like, listen, in any one time, the NBA has two faces or one face of the league, two global stars and about fifteen other stars Carmelo Anthony guys, is that unrealist to say?
No?
I mean, I heard your rant about Jason Tatum, and frankly like, there is truth to the fact that Tatum lacks like the traditional NBA aura, right, Like, he's a good dunker, but he's not Vince Carter. He's a good shooter, but he's not Kevin Durant. He's big and strong, but he's not Lebron. He's a good playmaker, but he's not Luka Doncic. He's a good defender, but he's not what Kawhi Leonard was in his prime. And he doesn't really
have a very big personality. So like it's really hard to like put together, you know, something specific about Jason Tatum to like market really well as far as like face of the league type of stuff that said, like he's really good at all of those things. Yes, and so he's become like just by virtue of him being a jack of all trades, he's become one of the most useful players in the entire NBA. This is kind
of in the interesting trajectory of Jason Tatum's career. If you go back in early years in like eighteen nineteen twenty, in those years, Tatum was like projected to be one of the best shooting forwards in the league. He had some unbelievable jump shooting seasons during that stretch. Then what happened was is he started to bulk up and he got really big and strong, and it greatly improved his
defensive versatility. He improved as a playmaker. But in that stretch twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, his jump shot fell apart and became super unreliable, to the point where it was like, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. All fifty in a playoff game. He'll have seventeen in a playoff game, you know, Like it became one of those things where he couldn't rely on
the jump shot. Honestly, I think the Team USA situation right off of the heels of last year's playoff run, as he shot very poorly in the playoffs on jump shots and then he shot what over sixteen with Team USA. I think he got humiliated and spent the entire summer in the gym, and he's added like a reliable jump shot to the Swiss army knife that he already was.
And now it's one of those things where, like I agree with you, I think Jokic is better, I think Giannis is better, I think Shay's better, I think Luka Doncic is better. I think if you asked like league average role players alongside all those players, I think Tatum is behind those guys. But I do think he's closer to that tier or in that tier at the bottom as opposed to the next set of guys, Like when you look at the next set of guys, like I think Tatum brings more on a night in, night out
basis than Anthony Davis does. I think Tatum brings more on a night in, night out basis than that next tier guys, Kevin Durant, Lebron, James Stephka. I think he deserves credit for being like a foundational, like reliable, you can count on this dude type of superstar. But I also think everything you said regarding he does not have a flash point in his skill set, there's nothing like that.
There's nothing.
You can close your eyes.
I've said this, and I can think of like five Michael plays, six Lebron plays a bunch of magic bird. You close your eyes with Tatum and you're like, it's like Karl Malone. I don't have a Karl Malone play. I don't have a Duncan play. There is something about the persona the aora, the imagery that is face of the league. Okay, So I watch most of the Nuggets Thunder game. I missed the first quarter, but Shaye went
off for forty. Of course, this week Jokic had a you know, a thirty twenty twenty plus game, right it's I think it was the first time ever in league history to somebody to do that. So I love Jokic. I thought he should have won three straight embid was sort of gifted one. But I'll tell you why. I would give it to Sga, I'd give it to Shaye. So I've said this on many occasions.
Words matter. You can get in.
Trouble for the wrong word, but you have to watch the words. It's most valuable. Now, production is a huge component to value, right, Like valuable is I mean, I always say this, Moms are usually the most valuable person in the house. Dad may make more, the kids may have a brighter future. Mom's the MVP, she's the glue, and she's super productive, right Like, at least in my house, mom was the most valuable player dad. My dad was the local optometrist. He paid the bills. So Jokic, you
can argue, is more productive. Okay, but he's playing with Gordon Porter, Jamal Murray and a coach that's got a ring thanks to Jokich SGA, and this is about fifteen percent of it.
As a better defender.
SGA plays with a roster that is so young it only averages one year older than the Auburn Tigers roster. So he is playing with kids, and that matters. They're still figuring out how to play basketball. Not to mention chat Homekin, you know has been out for a while. I mean you can argue outside of Shade, nobody else on that roster none of their best offensive players have even hit their prime yet. So and that's one of the reasons I worry about them in the playoffs winning
big road games with young roster. So based on the fact that his production isn't Jokic, but it's damn good. He's a better defender, he's carrying a younger roster and didn't have Homeworn for a spell, I would narrowly give Shae the MVP.
What say you?
So?
I actually think Shay has a decent sized lead. It really let's just get to the foundational piece of the case. He's twelve games ahead of Denver in the standings twelve. That's an enormous gap between those two teams, and so when you start to make a case for Jokic, it needs to be overwhelming. And there are some things with Yokic that I think are realities. I think Jokic is a better basketball player than shake Yildas alexand same. I think Denver would fall apart more than OKC would fall
apart if the two players were removed. But that's never been the way that we've given MVP. It's never been sheer value in a vacuum. It's never been who's the guy that we think is the best player for a sixteen win playoff front right, That's never been the way we've done it. It's always been a combination of a bunch of factors, team success, your individual value, like your reputation in the league. There's always been a narrative element that's regardless of how we want to pretend like it
should be factored in, it does get factored in. There's narrative, there's momentum, there's all of that kind of stuff. It's kind of like the Jokis thirty twenty twenty game. It's like, we're here, we are two thirds of the way through the season, Jokis puts together a stat line that's never happened in NBA history. Hey, let's revisit this thing. Even though the thunder have been consistently a better basketball team
this year, I think two things. One, Shay's having a much better offensive season than people are giving him credit for. You mentioned the youth. The youth for the Thunder manifests an inconsistency. Ja Dubb is an incredible player. He is what twenty two or he's young. He's super inconsistent, chet incredible player. He's young, He's gonna make mistakes. He's not a guy that's super dependable night and night out. He's got two twenty something percent from three in the series
against Dallas last year. Shaye is the grown up in the room. Shae is the night to night guy. So many of these games break down for the Thunder against good teams in particular, So many of these games break down where it looks like every single Thunder player is uncomfortable and a little bit like a little bit like like kind of shying away from the moment. Yeah and Shae, and Shae has to grab the reins and like control things and like as Chet's been out of the lineup
a bunch this year. As Jay Dubb has had a down shooting season and he's coming on as of late, but he's had a down shooting season. Shay's been carrying him through that. Shae has been the guy that has lifted their elite defense to the point where they can win games, and so I think he deserves more credit than that. The second piece of it is a reality
with Denver. Denver has lost a lot of games this year because they can't guard oh and Jokic, for the record, in the twenty twenty three postseason, had a very good playoff run. Defensively, he is capable of having good moments on defense. However, there's a simple reality with Jokic that causes a lot of problems for Denver's defense. He cannot switch onto perimeter players and he can't play on his heels back at the rim because guys just jump right
over him and go around him. That forces Jokic to come out to the level of ball screens and put two on the ball. So Denver persistently exists in rotation. They persistently exist in four on threes. That's how the Suns score on them so easily. That's how the Lakers scored on them so easily. That is the problem that they consistently run into is Jokic has to come up to the level. When he comes up to the level, it's a simple pocket passer skip pass, and they're playing
four on three out of it. And they just haven't been very good defensively this year on the back line rotating out of it, and so they just haven't been as good. Their defense is bad. Jokic is a significant part of that. I think that gets factored into this debate. And so when I really look at it in the big picture, there's not enough for Yo Kitsch, even though I think he's having an unbelievable season, arguably the best
offensive season ever. But if you look at it, it's not enough to justify that twelve game gap in the standings, and then to tie things up, Shade just drop forty on him today as a.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Now I think we're on the same page. I thought a month before it happened, I said, Warriors just get Jimmy Butler. I don't care what analytics say, Stephi sleepwalking, And I remember saying Butler's the anti Wiggins, like every possession is intentional, totally intense, everything's a street fight. I always thought Wiggins was talented, a little passive, you know, you didn't know possession of possession.
If he was engaged.
I think we talked about this last time, so I thought Butler would be a big help. It is amazing there were eleven and two since Jimmy Butler arrived. What's interesting now, if you start looking at their playoff position, they could end up against Houston, which I think is that rem scenario for Golden State because Houston can't shoot, Like that's the team you.
Want to play.
A young team that struggles shooting, you can beat Golden State. You know, they don't have a ton of offensive firepower from the perimeter outside of Steph Pods a little bit. But when you watch the Warriors, it's really interesting. Oklahoma City again, this tremendous defensive team, but I don't trust them. Okay, see in a big road playoff game, they're too young. I think Golden State has a lower ceiling but an incredibly high floor. And I think outside of maybe at Cleveland,
Boston could go seven games with almost anybody. Is is there a team let's just look ahead. Is there a team the Warriors would not want to face in the West and the playoffs that you just don't think is a good matchup at all. Well, that's an interesting question, because Dallas, if healthy, would be tough with gaffordly ad their center rotations great, They're a big team, and I could see that team slowing it down and being just
a handful for the Warriors. But I think they're gonna go into a soft tank here and just keep everybody out. I don't think it's a terrible idea. So Minnesota, if they had the Twin Towers, you know, if they had Cat and go Bear, could be problematic. But I sort of look at the West, I'm like, I don't know, is there a.
Team I think they're gonna get out of the plane. It's been really fascinating just how immediately good they've been, and it's been kind of like a kind of a proof of concept for me about roster balance. Just like, no matter what you're doing, if you ever ask somebody to do too much, they're gonna be inefficient, they're gonna
start making mistakes. And there were so many role players for that team that were being asked to do so much more than they're doing now because there was no Jimmy, and Jimmy's come in and just like crystallize everyone's roles and everyone just has consistent minutes in the rotation now and everything's coming together for them, they're gonna get out of the plane. In my opinion, if that's the case, it's the team that I would want to face if
I was. Golden State is a team that they can load up on defensively, and so I think a team like Denver, if they got the six to three matchup against a team like Denver, that'd be good. Memphis is another team like that that is a poor spot up team that they could load the paint up on. The other thing, I like we talked about earlier with being able to bring Yokic up to the level, Steph is
that guy. Steph is the guy that will consistently get Denver's defense into rotation, and now they have Jimmy Butler to be the guy that kind of helps pay off those sequences, as he's been so good in the middle of the floor this year. I think, yeah, I would lean towards if I was the problem with the Lakers is Lebron and Luca will just hunt their small guards all day long in space, and I think that that
could be a problem for them. And the Laker defense, like we talked about earlier, is keyed up on the ability to help off of people, and there are a couple guys for Golden State that they feel like they can help off of. So I think Denver if they got into that sixth spot, I'd be looking at if Denver slipped to the three as a potential matchup that they could upset. Houston and Memphis, to me, are both gettable. I look at it as I don't know about how you feel, Colin, but I think there's a five team
inner circle. I think it's Boston and Cleveland out east, and I think it's ok See, Denver and the Lakers out west. I think those five teams are the like if those five teams are the teams that have substantial chances to win the championship. Behind that, all of those teams I think are pretty heavily flawed. Golden State has been really good since the Jimmy Butler trade, but they've played a relatively light schedule, so I'd like to see a little bit more before I decide where they kind
of fit into all of this. Like the Lakers before they beat before they lost to Boston, they beat fourteen straight five hundred or better teams like that. That's how good the Lakers were playing before that Celtics game. I'm not going to bail on them because they flew across the country after a bunch of after a brutal schedule.
In the middle game and missing two of their longest layers.
Yeah yeah, two vitally important starters their vertical space and Jackson hat Like how often did you see Jared Vanderbilt catch the ball under the basket yesterday with no idea what to do because you can't finish over anybody like that. That's the thing. I kind of have a feeling that the Lakers are one of the inner circle teams because I've just seen them be so good for so long against so many good teams. I want to see a little bit more like from Golden State, because I do
think they can enter into that group. But I just want to see a little bit more from them. But I think between Denver and LA I'd want to play Denver if I was then.
Who's scoring big in the NBA?
This season.
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Danny Parkins co host breakfast Ball, the winner of the mythical FS one NFL Picks Championship. It should be noted it's just like the USA today High School Basketball Championship.
It's all mythical, so let's not go crazy on this ship.
It is definitely true that I only made it a competition between you, me and Nick once I started to crush it and distance myself off the field.
Yeah, so you.
Know, going into next year, if I start four and nine, you know, it's just luck. But when I'm crushing it, it's skilled. And you guys are in a competition you didn't even know you had entered.
Yeah, I had no idea.
Yeah, so I thought it was interesting today where Adam Schefter was almost annoyed with Aaron Rodgers where he came out and said pick a team.
So I said this.
On the air to day, if you ever tell a corporation listen, I need more time all get back to you. You have to have the self awareness to know how that lands to the corporation, especially if you're in a valuable position. It's a big fu. You're literally going back thinking, Eh, what a what a prima donna?
What a?
And it's where I usually tend to think really smart people have excellent self awareness. And I wonder sometimes with Aaron, is he the rare smart dude doesn't read the room well? I mean he he goes on this darkness retreat in Green Bay and then is shocked when they're like take a hike, like how can you be shot?
But here's the thing with Rogers, and there's a lot of it.
He talks a lot, but do we believe anything he says, Like what do you mean he said he didn't have cell service? Like He's like, he's like, oh, like, can you live in Malibu and I at twenty five million dollar house you have cell service? Like?
It was just I think that he has a lot.
Of narcissism to him, and he's like I love the silence, and then he brought a film.
Crew, Like what do these things are just in conflict with each other? I just you know what I mean.
I think that he is a so I don't know that he knows exactly what he wants. And I think he loves attention, and I think that he told Mark Schlareth and Stink has told the story publicly. He did like a week sixteen or seventeen Jets game, and he stinks that that they talk for almost thirty minutes twenty something was about the running game because Stink's insane, and he was like five or ten minutes was about his future.
And he's like Aaron told me point Blake, like, I'm only going to keep playing if the situation is perfect.
Well now apparently it's down to the Steelers and the Giants imperfect am perfect now at least the Steelers to me, makes perfect sense. That all makes perfect sense. He loves Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin loves him. Mike Tomlin.
Apparently it's impossible for this guy to have a losing season. Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Duck Hodges, it doesn't matter it's impossible for this guy to have a losing season, So obviously you're hyper relevant. The fans care. You'll look good in the iconic jersey. You'll get to play against Joe Burrow, You'll play against Lamar Jackson. The AFC North plays the NFC North this year, so the Steelers host the Packers, they go to Chicago. Aaron will eat that
shit up like that. To me, that makes sense. He can have an expectation of playing in a playoff game and maybe winning a playoff game that Tomlin hasn't done since twenty sixteen. They're not going to win a super Bowl, but that makes sense. If he goes back and he plays for the Giants. It's just pure vanity.
It's just pure I want to Okay, So I'm gonna argue because this was a discussion to on the show, and I said, because I've moved so many times that I get a yellow padout person cons and I said, I'm gonna be Aaron Rodgers.
I don't have to move.
I get an offensive coach, I get neighbors and a really good left tackle, and I'm gonna have more juice in the building because the coach and the GM are getting fired, or they had lost Nausee Harris in their left tackle. They're completely toned aft offense. I'm old and don't want to get hit, and they haven't had a good line for seven years. I'll have really no power in the building, and I'm going to have two guys that are both going to demand the ball and neither
one runs a complete route tree. I can make an argument selfishly, like every time I've ever thought about moving, My take is, who is my Spengali in the building? Will somebody get me? Brian Dabeles worked with Daniel Jones, He's worked with Josh Allen. Brian Dables been around forever. Man Jeanie calls him one of the best assistance he's ever known. Like, you go into a building with a
guy you can literally be on the same wavelength. I mean, Arthur Smith does not appear to be likable and Mike Tomlin does not appear to care about offense, and you got two receivers who want to be ones. I look at Pittsburgh and think this is a powder.
Kick to two things. One I could be wrong. I obviously don't know the man. I don't think he cares about moving.
He'll like, come on, he travels to Tahiti in Thailand, and he lived for fifteen years in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and.
You know he'll be fine for eight months in Pittsburgh.
I have a hard time believing that that is going to be a determining factor for him. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just I think he'll be fine. He's a very well traveled individual. He'll have as much power in the offensive side as he wants. Who knows, maybe he'll fire Arthur Smith and they'll hire Nathaniel Hackett like he is the offensive coordinator in and of himself. I think he loves Tomlin. I think that they've flirted with each other. They wink at each other on the sideline. He shouts
him out when he does the McAfee interviews. I think he's got a respect for him. Conspiracy theory. McAfee today retweeted a video of Rogers talking about Tomlin from like twenty twenty one. I think it's happening. I think it's happening. I think he's going to announce it on that show. McAfee is a Pittsburgh guy, or a Pennsylvania guy, whatever he is. He's doing some show in Pittsburgh coming out soon.
He's going it big night act. I don't fully understand the McAfee universe, but like I think Rogers, who's apparently making seven figures from the guy, which is amazing, good gig if you can get it. I think he's announcing that he's going to Pittsburgh with McAfee at his show in Pittsburgh, and he's a Steeler.
That's what I think's happened, all right, And.
You're probably right.
I'm just telling you the stuff that matters to me, which is, don't have to worry about moving left tackle, offensive coach, great weapon, and I'm going to have power in the building. I'll get a say in the building. Where do you think he wins more football games.
Pittsburgh?
Yeah, so I guess okay, And this would be the other thing I wanted to say to you. And this is like a like developing more as my media career continues to just get older or whatever.
I root for interesting powder keg great, awesome.
It is so much more interesting if Aaron Rodgers is in Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin. That you know what point, Like I've said it, I had our guys work up a photoshop of him in a Steelers uniform the day the season ended.
Like, to me, it's made. Obviously.
If Minnesota wants him, that's a better situation obviously. So I see him holding I can see him holding out for that. I think they're going to go JJ McCarthy.
We'll see. But and the Steelers would be on national TV six times.
They would be hyper relevant and hyper interesting, good or bad, good or bad.
So I am if.
He's going to play and we're going to talk about him and he's gonna suck all the oxygen out of a room, I would much rather him do it on a ten or eleven win team than a five or a six win team.
So I'm personally am rooting for Pittsburgh.
Yeah, it's it's interesting, you and I both. That's you know. I like fresh produce. I'm a chef. Just give me the best ingredients. That's all I care about.
Jmack last year, before the season said Chicago's the most interesting team, and they were early until they were just you know, obviously bad, and then by week like ten, you're like, okay, they're not interesting. Let's let's think about this the three most teams next year. So I think this year the Bears are really interesting because if Caleb struggles again, he may not be the guy.
In fact, he's probably not so rookie quarterbacks.
I never think the team is too interesting because it's going to be ugly and you can't make any stern judgments, like obviously Jane Daniels is terrific, He's Lamar Jackson, NFC, it's over.
We don't have to argue about that.
So I think Chicago is my most interesting team.
Well, then let's get those weekly hits on the TV show going Buddy, Let's go Chicago.
Okay, let me think about it. Let me think about this for a second.
I mean, I think Washington's pretty high on the list.
I I will say this, I think Kansas City pulling back for a year because the offensive line is absolutely in flux. They're left tackle has never been a starting left tackle. It's like boys, That's honestly like having a Bentley and finding the cheapest insurance on.
The market for it.
It's like, no, just just call progressive or something. Okay, let's not go discount insurance. So I think Kansas City. I predicted the Niners in Dallas would pull back last this year.
They did.
I'm gonna say Kansas City is gonna pull back for a year. Their offensive line is in flux. I mean, if this kid from San Francisco to left tackle doesn't move. Also, Joe Tooney may have been the most had more dexterity than any offensive lineman in the.
League last year.
He's gone. So Chicago Kansas City are fascinating. How about this Green Bay? I loved Jordan Love last year gave me pop What if Jordan Love struggles this year?
Like?
What if it's God's ears? Chicago's better, Detroit's really good. As long as Kevin O'Connell's coaching Minnesota, they're viable. I I like, I really like Jordan Love. And then there were times I watched them last year and I'm like, oh, I don't know if the coaching staff right now.
Trust Jordan Love. Like I'm not sure they do.
So I'm gonna go Chicago, Kansas City, Green Bay and and and we'll do four. I'm going to say, And I don't know how interesting they'll be. I think New England Vrabel Drake may A basically a thirty percent new roster. I do think they'll get Travis Hunter. I think that's going to be a pretty damn interesting team. Those are my four Bears, Chiefs, Packers, Patriots.
Yeah, so.
Let's revisit this after the draft, because I'm not at all convinced that the guy that the Chiefs paid is for sure the left tackle. I think it's for sure the left tackle now, But I could see them this is the last year of Kelsey.
He's made it clear. We don't know how much more Chris Jones has in him.
Obviously, Mahomes is going to be there and Reed will be there and they're going to be good for a long time. But I could see the Chiefs trading up in the first round for a tackle. I could see that happening, or a tight end or a tight end. Yes, I just think I could see a big draft day move for the Chiefs to try to inject a blue chip offensive player. So you know where should door Sanders goes? How far he falls? Is Dion Sanders like coach and
waiting like that. Sanders fall to twenty one and he goes to Pittsburgh and he goes to Mike Tomlin and he sits behind Aaron Rodgers, then they're really damn interesting. Or does he go to the Giants, and it feels like a mortal lock that Brian Davile gets fired and they hired Dion Sanders. Pretty damn interesting either way. So I think that we're going to change a little bit of this out of the draft. I loved what Urban Meyer said on your show. By the way side note
parenthetical on Travis Hunter. If you believe cam Ward is a superstar, then cam Ward's the number one pick in the draft. If you have any doubt, then clearly Travis Hunter is the number one pick in the draft in my opinion, because it's just a value proposition, Like if you think he can be a Pro Bowl corner, well that's twenty five million a year. And if he can also be a slot receiver, well that's fifteen million a year, even if he's a slot receiver for twelve snaps a game.
So I love it, and so I think wherever Travis Hunter, his team immediately becomes interesting. But we's remove the draft from it to get back to your point. Obviously, I'm with you on the Bears. I think the Chiefs in an all in situation is a great pick. The thing that I don't agree with on the New England point is is that all the guys, the guys that they added are new but not terribly interesting. And while I love Drake May, I think he looks like Justin Herbert.
To me, I was disappointed that they didn't figure out a way to get him a number one.
He has nobody to throw the ball to.
And yeah, even if the line is better and Morgan Moses upgrades their left tackle situation, no doubt, Rabel, they spent all that money on like.
Colin Davis and Spillane and Milton Williams.
And I'm like, man, help your quarterback with a rocket arm, please, Like I know, God who went back to Tampa. They can't help. I know the Bengals franchise tagged t Higgins can't help that. You couldn't beat the fifty eighth pick for DK Metcalf like Cooper Cuff. Better be a patriot, like do something to help out Drake May in terms of pass catchers, because he has nothing in that regard. So to me, they need some weapon to totally get there. And Green Bay is just not new enough, like everyone's
back Watson Dobbs wis read. They're so young, you know, they're so young that there's just not a lot of turnover there to make them all that interesting. Though, I'm definitely rooting against Jordan Love and the Packers in general, just like the Chicago in in me.
Kind to think who you left out, So I think Washington.
The reason I said Washington while you were thinking about it is I think Jaden Daniel said the best rookie quarterback season of my lifetime.
Yes, no, I think it.
Was better than Herbert who set the top Stown record, better than Andrew Luck three, Cam.
Newton, especially if you look at his third down and fourth quarter numbers. It's in their Joe Montana his eleventh year in the league, they let.
They led the league in fourth down conversions. Fourth with a rookie quarterback, they led the league. It was it was remarkable. And then he won playoff. He went to the NFC Championship game. But the guys who've had amazing rookie seasons recently, justin Herbert, it's been up and down.
C J.
Stroud this past year he won another playoff game. I don't think it was all his fault. He was staring at the sky so much as offensive line as the disaster, Diggs got hurt, tanked, all got hurt. Nico Collins got hurt at various points, but C. J. Stroud did not take another step from his rookie year. Well, we could say plateaued. If Jaden Daniels takes another step like the year two in the system, year two in the league jump, well,
then he's gonna win MVP. He's that he will win m VP like Mahomes won m VP his second year in the league, like Lamar Jackson won m VP his third year in the league, second year in a system, like he will he will be the MVP of the league.
Well, also, if he's great, not dinner rup, but if he's great again, then we have found our top five quarterbacks. Mahomes, Allen, Lamar Burrow, Jaden because we all like Jalen Hurts, but we're like, well, the line that I think it's.
Ridiculous, I think it's ridiculous still I Eagles fans.
Eagles fans kind of bothered me with this, But I don't remember a time most of my life there have been three great quarterbacks maybe four in the league, and then it kind of peters out and to have five first ballot level Hall of Fame talent. If j comes out and even duplicates last year with much better players around him. Then we've got five first ballot guy. And by the way, now I'm moving because of his mobility.
I'm moving Stafford to sixth and he I believe he, especially if he could get in that Super Bowl circle again winn or lose, You're gonna have a hard time keeping him.
All I think Stafford, now that he has a ring, is pretty I would be shocked if he's not a Hall of Famer with where I mean.
Just think about this, He's not far from his prime. Okay for him to be the sixth best quarterback in the league, mostly because he doesn't move and the other guys move. The NFL, like I've said this, we're in the golden age of quarterbacking folks. Like if he's six, if Herbert and Hurt.
To seventh, forget about her, we are all time high. By the way, do you have a line to Harbaugh?
Can you like, yeah, can you tell him to throw a little bit more?
Please? Dude? Yeah, that's fair, that's fair. But you use the Bentley analogy.
I know that the winning went up, and I know the passer rating was very good, and I know he loves to run the ball? Can you just from the Football Appreciation Society, don't my guy, well, my guy Justin Herbert not be twenty sixth in the NFL and attempts again or whatever he was.
Please?
Well they lost Palmer, so now they have Lad mcconky. They need to tie it end in the first round and a receiver in the third. Like it's one of those things where and I've said this about Jim Harbaugh, it's kind of fascinating. San Francisco had Michael Crabtree. It was an online d line physicality. John Harbaugh is the same way. What's the one thing the Ravens haven't had wide receiver talent. They've always been a little shy the Harbaugh's.
It's their nature. He could have taken Michael Thomas, who he loved, It took Joel It's who they are. Their DNA is we want to intimidate you. We want to physically like like listen, they let go of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. They kept mosting Khalil Mack. That was very clear their day.
I know, I just as a guy who loves Justin Herbert, I want to see the guy throw a little bit more. What were we just talking about. I'm sorry, I feel like I lost my train of thought on Oh, but so Jamey's but Washington, what Houston did off of C. J. Stroud's rookie year was correct.
Oh my god.
We have a quarterback. He turned our franchise around. We won a playoff game. We have a ton of cap space and a stud quarterback who we know we have to pay on a cheap deal. Let's go all in and Stefan Diggs was crazy expensive. Daniel Hunter was crazy expensive. They paid Mixon like Mixon didn't really work.
He was fine.
It wasn't really his fault. The offensive line was a disaster. Diggs was working, then got hurt. Daniel Hunter was fantastic. Washington is in the exact same spot, and we've now seen what they've done. Like they debo, we're going to give Kingsbury and Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels, We're going to give them a toy and see how it works. We are going to trade a ton of capital for one of the best pass blocking left tackles of his generation to protect our investment. And then they paid kin
Law I think too much money. But they didn't want to get too much weaker on the defensive line when they lost Allen and they brought in kinl So maybe they'll do one more trade or for a move or whatever, but they're going to maintain Catholics. But we've seen their moves Dtackle, left tackle, Deebo Samuel, plus what they had in the draft.
They're better and Philly got worse.
Now, Philly got worse by design and we know it, and they should because they didn't want to pay Williams one hundred million dollars so they could pay Jalen Carter one hundred and fifty million dollars next year. Philly's top ten players are still all excellent. They deserve to be the favorite. But I think that what Jaden Daniels did and like year two, does it plateau, does it go down?
Does it go up?
Because he's got way more talent and he should be only more comfortable in the NFL. So of the to me, they are very high on my list of interesting Danny Parkins. This was fun as always. The volume