0:00

Before we begin, a reminder to please

0:02

rate and review our show. It helps new

0:04

listeners discover us and grow the program.

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On this episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly, we

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review Hard Knocks and preview

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the NFL season with Dan Hansis from

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the Around the NFL podcast and Colleen

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Wolf from NFL Network and

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also our living room. I'm

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your host, John Gonzalez from Sports

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Illustrated and I Heart Radio. This is

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Sports Illustrated Weekly. Dan

0:37

and Colleen, Welcome back to Sports Illustrated Weekly.

0:40

It's so great to be here. Thanks

0:42

for letting me borrow your headphones. John. I

0:45

love having repew offenders on the program.

0:47

So great to see you guys. We're gonna talk about the upcoming

0:49

season. We're also going to talk about the other

0:51

show that you two have, Cooking, but first

0:53

I want to discuss the show that you two are wrapping

0:55

up, Hard Knocks with the Detroit Lions.

0:58

You've reviewed every episode. It's always a great

1:00

show. Although I think it's really amazing that

1:02

they've managed to do something that Hard Knocks had never

1:04

previously done, at least from my experience,

1:07

which was find a team that did not convince

1:09

me that they're going to win the super Bowl that

1:11

includes Bill O'Brien's

1:14

Houston Texans, which Colleen will remember. I was like,

1:16

I think this is their year. Turns out it wasn't.

1:18

What if you guys made of the lines on Hard Knocks

1:21

so far, it's true. I think it's a good

1:23

call. Sorry, Colleen, go ahead, No, it's

1:25

all right. We're still finding our rhythm, you know what I mean. Listen,

1:27

we all of us are are doing

1:29

the dance right now, and you

1:31

can't. You can't can this chemistry. It's

1:34

just like it comes natural for us. Oh

1:38

God help us now. Anyway, Hard

1:40

Knocks, it's amazing. We've had

1:42

so many ridiculous recap episodes.

1:45

I feel like, just talking about like

1:48

the word art that is in the auditorium

1:50

behind the players, or in Dan

1:53

Campbell's office, or just

1:55

like the many different catchphrases

1:58

and weird quotes that Hamble has.

2:00

He could really have the

2:02

show and carry it for an entire NFL

2:04

season. So it's been it's been fun.

2:06

They're not gonna win the Super Bowl, but I still feel like

2:09

they're gonna be a little bit better than they were last year.

2:11

You know what, John I I I agree with you

2:14

too, And I've I've written about Hard Knocks

2:16

for over a decade for NFL dot Com, and I always

2:19

almost always came out of it the

2:21

same way as you did. Maybe that's maybe

2:23

there are some minor tweaks to the storytelling

2:25

for NFL Films for this season, and I think

2:27

it has been a really kind of in

2:29

a way of return to form for the show.

2:32

You kind of see some of the warts there as well, and

2:34

you see, especially on defense, they have

2:36

a long way to go. The fact that one of their underdog

2:39

stories this year, Malcolm Rodriguez,

2:41

who they called Rodrigo, is probably starting

2:44

at linebacker. Not only is he making the team as the sixth

2:46

round picky starting kind of tells you and gives

2:48

you an idea that the line still have a long way to go

2:51

to really build this thing up to contention. And

2:53

I feel like to another big thing John, I

2:55

think that you would love is the fact that the coaching

2:58

staff, and specifically Do Staley,

3:00

is such a huge character on the show.

3:02

And I feel like this year, specifically,

3:05

the coaching staff takes a

3:08

character in and of itself, almost like it

3:10

it plays such a huge role in the

3:12

show. The way that the coaches

3:14

interact and the way that they are former

3:16

players, but they want to be known as

3:18

coaches that played instead of former

3:20

players that are coaching, and kind

3:22

of like that is a huge driving force. I

3:24

feel like behind the season in Detroit. Yeah,

3:27

I've enjoyed Hard Knocks. I always enjoy

3:29

Hard Knocks. It's a credit HBO. It's consistently

3:31

fantastic. I think your point, though,

3:33

for the two of you just made like when

3:35

the coaches are the stars of the show a little bit

3:37

of a red flag for me. Maybeally, I'm

3:40

like a little nervous about this. Um,

3:42

what about Jared Goff, Like, do you guys have any

3:44

faith in him at all? Well, we're gonna do the preview

3:47

of the actual season coming, I'll let you take this.

3:49

That's a loaded question because if you're talking about

3:51

him as a sports documentary

3:54

entity, I would say the floor is very low

3:56

here, John, and there's not We're

3:58

pretty after the fourth season of him

4:00

being covered by NFL Films for a major

4:02

documentary series, we kind of know what

4:04

we're getting at this point. But I think that kind

4:06

of also speaks to what you're saying

4:08

that the coaching staff that is a

4:10

secret weapon in these

4:12

Hard Knocks seasons. So it's less

4:14

of a red flags we more of a bonus

4:17

because if you have a charismatic head coach, great

4:19

that that you can hang a season on that. But

4:21

the shows that stand out to me are the ones

4:23

where the offensive coordinator there's some

4:26

juice there, the d C when there's heat between

4:28

those two guys, that famous Brown season a couple

4:30

of years ago, where the coaching

4:32

staff is just warring at each other in a private

4:34

meeting. That stuff is really good. So

4:37

they are a disadvantage because they made

4:39

a purposeful decision to kind

4:41

of not push the QB one, which you would

4:43

think would be a centerpiece of the players studies

4:45

for any any football show. But it's

4:48

the right move because we know Jared Goff.

4:50

Let's learn about somebody else. Yeah,

4:52

I'm after the Rams appearance with Jared

4:54

Goff where he didn't know where the sun

4:56

sets, I was like, I'm probably good on

4:59

Jared Goff. That's a Hard Knocks related

5:01

question for you guys. Where did this season fall

5:03

in the overarching pantheon of

5:05

hard knocks seasons? The middle of the pack?

5:08

How do you well? I

5:10

think Dan has

5:12

a better barometer for this because he's been doing

5:15

the Hard Knocks recaps for years

5:17

and years, so he's really been combing

5:19

through all of these episodes every single

5:21

year. I feel like I kind

5:23

of came in this year, and

5:26

because of the podcast, I'm watching it in a

5:28

much different way. I'm just consuming it in

5:30

a different manner because years past, it was just

5:32

like a way easier thing and I wasn't diving

5:34

into all the different like minutia

5:37

in every episode. But I think that this

5:39

episode is really

5:41

interesting because of all of

5:44

the characters that you didn't think we're going

5:46

to be characters on the show. Like, I mean,

5:48

we knew that Jared Golf wasn't going to be like

5:50

an A type guy on the show, but other

5:53

people have kind of stepped up and colored

5:55

that in. So for me, I think that this

5:58

this season is pretty good, like Top Wild,

6:01

Top five. So wait, su Ser, let's get some

6:03

chocolate in the peanut butter. Give

6:05

me some Hard Knocks power ranking here for

6:07

this. Yeah, you want some Hard Knocks

6:09

power rankings. You know I'm a Hoomer. You know I'm

6:11

a native New Yorker. And there's only

6:14

two things that Jets fans have. We have

6:16

Joe Namath, which many of us weren't around for

6:18

and we have the two thousand ten season of Hard

6:20

Knocks with Rex Ryan. Those like the two things

6:23

we have. And even though it

6:25

comes off as Homer, that was a special season

6:27

of that show. And you talk to anybody behind the scenes,

6:30

uh with HBO and NFL films,

6:32

anybody that loves the show. The Jets

6:34

season with Rex kind of stands to

6:36

me above everything. I love that

6:38

aforementioned brown season because they were

6:40

coming off oh and sixteen Baker was entering

6:43

the scene and he had his own charisma,

6:45

his own like party RV if you recall.

6:47

And then all the drama around Hugh Jackson,

6:50

who was kind of a charming presence in the

6:52

Bengals Hard Knocks season when he was the o C.

6:54

But here he was under siege

6:57

at head coach, with a bunch of snakes underneath

6:59

him looking to take him down. So you had all this

7:01

great intrigue around the Browns. So I put

7:03

that kind of in the number two spot. Um,

7:07

you could argue lines maybe number three in

7:09

the power And I think this has

7:11

really been a fun story because

7:13

I think the city and the football

7:16

town always plays a big role, and

7:19

everyone kind of likes Detroit They like the

7:21

idea of the lines finally finding their

7:23

way, and Campbell is this guy that's saying,

7:26

we got grit, We're prideful of where

7:28

we're from, but we're willing and we're ready to change

7:30

the script. And you kind of feel that energy. I

7:32

think it's been a really warm season. I feel

7:34

like you could tell the closeness of the players

7:37

and um, you know, I need to see them stick the landing

7:39

in episode five, but I think I could slot

7:41

him in at number three here potentially, wow,

7:44

much higher than I thought. As people listen

7:46

to this episode of our show, the

7:48

final episode of your Hard Knocks show will be out,

7:50

so we encourage everybody to go back and listen

7:53

to that. That chemistry that you saw

7:55

or listen to between these two

7:57

earlier in the program will be Hold Hold the Supply.

8:00

Uh. And also they've got a new show coming out. We encourage

8:03

you to listen to that and also watch it. It's

8:05

the Power Ranking Show. UH. That will

8:07

be a podcast. And also Dan it will be streaming.

8:09

Correct, it is streaming as well,

8:11

and it's it's a podcast Colleen's hosting.

8:13

It's like the first parts I've ever done where I'm not

8:16

the host and uh so, John,

8:18

it's like she's in the driver's seat. It's like you guys

8:20

in your house. It's it's gonna be interesting

8:22

for me to see how she guides things.

8:24

Now. I know it well. I know it well, and I wish you well.

8:28

Uh So, I encourage everybody to listen to that. But I thought

8:30

for you too, because you're gonna do the power rankings.

8:32

I'm not gonna have you power rank here on this show. I don't

8:34

want to give away the game just yet. But we're gonna go

8:36

through the divisions and find out what you like, what

8:38

you don't like, and maybe pick some division winner. So we're

8:40

gonna start in the FC East. As Dan

8:42

mentioned, he's a Homer. He's got his New York Jets

8:44

there, that Dolphins, the Patriots, and the Bills. Uh

8:47

what are we like from these? It's the Bills probably

8:49

what Yeah, I feel like

8:51

if this is like the easiest division right

8:53

down to pick out of all of them. Yeah,

8:55

this one is Bills all the way, if anything

8:58

that you know, the Bills of the team with the high sealing,

9:00

the Bills of the team that came off that heartbreaking

9:03

playoff loss and have reloaded now with von

9:05

Miller. I think this is the division

9:07

I would actually feel the most confident saying that

9:10

is the team that wins the division and probably gets

9:12

a buy in the a f C. Colleen, are

9:14

you buying any Dolphins scrappiness?

9:17

No, I mean I think that they're gonna be way

9:19

more interesting than they've been in the past.

9:22

And I like Mike McDaniel

9:24

and his like mad scientists way and

9:27

he's really good just in terms of like a run

9:29

game, So I think that that could be interesting

9:32

because I'm not like totally sold onto

9:34

his arm like most people right now. But

9:36

the Bills are Super Bowl favorite, so of course they're

9:38

going to be favorites to win the division. Dan

9:41

is a self respecting Philadelphia and I

9:43

would never normally do this, but here's your opportunity

9:46

to talk about a New York team. It's

9:48

not the Giant, so we'll allow it. It's the Jets.

9:50

How do you feel about the Jets this season? I

9:53

think, you know, I just the new Power rankings,

9:55

that's that's out has the Jets. I believe

9:57

that about twenty six, So that's where

9:59

I have him right now. But here's the

10:01

thing, like they really are building

10:04

something there that you couldn't say

10:06

the last couple of years. They have skill players,

10:08

an interesting young talent on both

10:10

sides of the ball. What they need, and

10:13

this is gonna feel simplistic, but

10:15

it's basic, Like if they just get proficient

10:17

quarterback play, they don't even need star quarterback.

10:20

But they don't need Zach Wilson to

10:22

be a stud or Joe Flacco if

10:24

he ends up getting more starts than Wilson. You need

10:26

somebody that could be a professional and run that offense.

10:28

And I think they could hang around hypothetically

10:31

or potentially in the a f C playoff race,

10:33

not in the a f C East, but in

10:36

the a f C wild card race where there's three

10:38

wild cards. It's just a matter of getting that

10:40

play. They have a really good running game and approved

10:43

offensive line, some real interesting

10:45

talent and wide receiver, and the defense

10:47

has interesting players in the back end with

10:49

Sauce Gardner there uh and

10:51

the front seven, especially a defensive

10:54

line is stacked. So it's just like, give us decent

10:56

quarterback, like give us Ryan Fitzpatrick in two thousand

10:58

fifteen, and I think this team could win

11:00

like eight or nine games. You

11:03

are the hard knocks of Jets.

11:05

Fans because you just sold me on the Jets all of a

11:07

sudden. I'm like, and you know what, you do this to me in

11:09

the same way that hard knocks does it to me because you

11:11

get optimistic about them. You were super high on

11:13

Zack Wilson coming out, and then you know last year

11:15

happened, but you you sold

11:17

me again. Maybe this is it for the Jets.

11:20

Fingers crossed body fingers. Let's

11:22

go to the a f C North. You've got the defending

11:24

a f C champion Cincinnati Bengals. Shouts

11:26

to West Baltimore Ravens, the rebuilding

11:28

Pittsburgh Steelers, and the revamped Cleveland

11:30

Browns, who have not covered themselves in glory off

11:32

the field. We know when we don't like, what do we

11:35

like? I actually really like the Ravens.

11:37

Here. We always see teams go worst

11:39

to first every year, and I think the Ravens

11:42

have the best shot to be that exact

11:44

thing this year. They had so many injuries last

11:46

season. They lost all of their running backs

11:49

before the year even started. They had like no cornerbacks

11:51

whatsoever. It was like, really really bleak

11:53

for a while. So just getting those

11:55

guys healthy, they're automatically better

11:58

and then when you have the Brown send

12:00

the Steelers with their quarterback issues, Like,

12:02

it's really to me just the Ravens

12:05

and the Bengals, and I think the Ravens might

12:07

edge out the Bengals this year for the division. M

12:10

I certainly could see that they're my top two teams.

12:12

That seemed like a very doubtful skeptical

12:15

from you hands us. No. I certainly could

12:17

see because I have the Bengals at number five as

12:20

we start the season in the powering is I have the Ravens

12:22

at ten, and they both have

12:24

the potential to win eleven twelve games.

12:27

Health is so important for both. You know, can

12:29

Burrow stay healthy at offensive line?

12:31

They put money and resources into it this year, but I'm

12:33

still not so sure it's good. And

12:36

with Baltimore, if there's regression,

12:38

then they're gonna stay healthy, and then Lamar is gonna

12:41

be an m v P again. The Steelers are

12:43

the kind of interesting team for me in the division

12:45

in terms of let's see what

12:47

happens here, because we'll see what

12:49

when Kenny Pickett enters the free quarterback.

12:52

I assume it will happen unless

12:54

you're a Mitched Robinsky truther. But the

12:56

offensive line for them is woeful.

12:58

I don't think that got much at or at all. And

13:00

and you just you just wonder if pick

13:02

he gets put into a bad situation, if they can't

13:05

protect him. But if they work things

13:07

out on that old line, and and Mike Tomlin is such

13:09

a great coach, they're always in the mix. I

13:11

would not be surprised if they're also in the running for the

13:13

division come December. Man,

13:15

that Bengals season last year was so magical

13:18

and we had the two of you on to mark the one

13:20

year anniversary of Chris Westling's passing, and

13:22

like it just felt right. It

13:24

would be awesome if they could recapture that magic.

13:26

Anytime that the Bengals are doing well, it makes

13:28

me think of west So that's the fingers

13:30

crossed from me on that one. A f C South, We've

13:32

got the Texans, the Colts, the Jaguars, no more

13:35

Urban Meyer r I P. He's gone off to Broadcaster

13:37

heaven well maybe not having uh Tennessee

13:39

Titans as well. What

13:44

you know, Urban not the greatest guy. What do

13:46

we think about what do we think about the South? Here?

13:49

This seems like a like a really boring, awful

13:51

division. Sorry, I'm just thinking about urban Meyer

13:53

at the Gates of St. Peter, just like trying

13:55

to explain that you know it was it

13:57

was Cincinnati. It's a good nightline.

14:00

She was friendly, it

14:03

was a Thursday, like exactly.

14:10

I love the Colts. I think obviously,

14:13

whenever I stopped at these cities

14:15

and these teams for training camp, I

14:17

end up drinking all of the kool aid. But

14:20

the Colts I drank the most kool

14:22

Aid. And I love them. I

14:24

love Matt Ryan with this offense,

14:27

with he hasn't had a running game like

14:29

this and so long, and obviously the running

14:31

game is what makes this whole team go. But

14:33

their defense is also really

14:35

underrated, and I think they have actually

14:38

some pretty good pass catchers that

14:40

just aren't really like top of the radar.

14:43

And when you put a guy like Matt Ryan

14:45

in there and you pair him up with Frank

14:47

Reich, I mean, the Carson Wentz

14:49

experiment went so wrong last

14:52

year, and I think that they have all

14:54

of the pieces. They just needed someone

14:56

at quarterback to not turn the ball over,

14:58

to not make at breaking mistakes

15:01

at the absolute worst times. And

15:03

I think that Matt Ryan can be that guy.

15:05

Dan can I tell you that between the

15:07

combine and inside

15:10

training camp, Colleen spends an inordinate

15:12

amount of time in Indianapolis, and every time

15:14

she comes back, she's like, you know what I love and I'm like, no,

15:17

get out of people who live in Indianapolis

15:19

don't love Indianapolis that much. That

15:21

is yeah, that's you know, the cults. I

15:24

picked them to win the Division two and and the Tennessee

15:26

Titans lost Harold Landry, their best defensive

15:29

player in their front seven, to an a c L

15:31

tear and practice recently. And

15:33

that's just crushing because I think they're right on the

15:35

margin where they could drop down and be a five

15:37

hundred team. You take out a playmaker

15:40

like remember he had three of the nine sacks of

15:42

Joe Burrow in that playoff loss in January.

15:44

Now he's just gone and there's no time to

15:46

identify a replacement from outside

15:49

the building. So I think the Titans are gonna be an uphill

15:51

climb. I think the Texans, despite

15:53

my buddies on around the NFL, Greg

15:55

and Mark gassing them up, I think

15:57

the Texans still have a long way to go. The

16:00

Jaguars are interesting, real they

16:02

are. They are out of urban Meyer

16:04

that was definitely Urban Meyer. Hell, they're

16:07

out of that, and they put

16:09

a lot of money and resources into the team. They got

16:11

a professional head coach. I think you guys know who the

16:13

coach is, Doug Peterson, who

16:15

had some success that you guys might know about. And

16:18

Trevor Lawrence. It's not like he's

16:20

no longer a generational prospect. He was

16:22

just put in the worst situation a

16:24

rookie could be in. I would he

16:27

takes a big leap. I want to ask you

16:29

both about Trevor Lawrence because he was

16:31

so hyped up coming out and I realized

16:34

that he had to overcome the urban Meyer

16:36

hurdles, many of them. But how much of

16:38

it was Urban Meyer and that whole situation being toxic

16:40

and like just terrible coaching, and how much

16:43

of it was he didn't play well well?

16:45

I mean, they also weren't built for

16:47

him to succeed, so he didn't have

16:49

what he needed even if he had a normal

16:52

coaching staff. And the way

16:54

that the urban Meyer thing unfolded, I mean it

16:56

sounded like borderline abusive.

16:59

I mean he's kicking kicker, like physically,

17:02

physically, mentally, all of it.

17:05

I can't imagine being a rookie

17:07

coming into the NFL with such

17:09

a high draft picks status on your

17:11

shoulders and then being thrown into that

17:13

scenario. Like, I think he's going to

17:15

be way better than what we saw that first

17:18

year, because that first year was bonkers. Like

17:20

he caught St. Peter on the good day and St.

17:22

Peter's about to walk through the let him walk through

17:24

the gates, and then St. Peter looks at his notes one last

17:26

time, it's like, oh, wait, you kicked the guy.

17:31

Can I tell you that you both know

17:33

him? But sys connor Or was on the

17:36

program to discuss urban Meyer's departure,

17:38

and I don't think he's ever been more excited about

17:40

anything than to discuss urban Meyer

17:42

kicking the kicker. So I guess we're not on Jacksonville,

17:45

but I hope Doug Peterson does. Well. Uh,

17:47

we'll move to the a f C. What did you end up picking

17:49

handsas we know where Colleen is. I had the Cults, but I

17:51

had the Jackson maybe flirting with a playoff

17:53

spot. If things break the right way, that'd be cool. That'd

17:55

be cool for Peterson, all right? Last one in the f C

17:58

West loaded Bronch Those chiefs

18:01

Las Vegas Raiders and the Chargers. Great

18:03

division. Which way do we go here? And

18:06

my powering is I got Chiefs seven, Broncos

18:08

eight, Chargers nine, and Raiders eleven.

18:10

So so I like

18:13

I like the division. I think I don't think

18:15

it's hype. I think they're all very good teams.

18:18

Now we know how sports work, there's probably

18:20

gonna be one team season gets ruined

18:22

by injuries or the ball doesn't bounce the right

18:24

way in crucial spots and then up seven and ten. Yeah,

18:26

that's certainly possible. But just from what

18:29

their potential is, the talent on these rosters,

18:32

they're all very good. And I have the Chiefs

18:34

mostly because of my homes, but I understand

18:37

with no Tyreek kill there, they have

18:39

to change some things. But maybe that's not the worst

18:41

thing. Gonzo like the idea that if

18:43

we all we all watch that a C Championship game

18:45

in the second half against the Bengals where

18:48

the the offense just went to sleep in

18:50

a unbelievable way, that

18:52

maybe it was time to mix some things

18:54

up, change some things up. And even if you don't

18:56

get better by sending a Hall of Famer

18:58

out your door and hill, that makes you think differently

19:01

how to attack teams and they get a refresh that

19:03

way, Colleen, Uh, you

19:05

run into I feel like Siarra and

19:08

Russell Wilson regularly. How

19:10

do you feel about the Broncos and Russell Wilson.

19:13

It has happened. Um, actually it

19:15

has happened regularly because it happened to training.

19:18

It happened at the Super Bowl. Sierra

19:20

gave me a hug. I was like, well, friends,

19:22

this is what this is. Did you give you a hug

19:24

and say hi? Colleen like, hey,

19:28

no, but I did get like a high sweetheart from

19:30

someone in the elevator near them, and

19:32

I was just like sweating, kind of

19:34

like I am right now. So that

19:37

was that was interesting. But yeah, I

19:39

was with the Broncos for a little bit

19:41

during training Camp two, but this whole division,

19:43

like I don't know. I keep talking myself

19:45

in and out of different teams because I think

19:48

that the Chiefs is the easiest

19:50

way to go, and it probably makes the most

19:52

sense because they have this track record, they've

19:54

won so many years in a row. You

19:57

can never really trust the Chargers.

19:59

They all ways charger it up. The same thing

20:01

with the Raiders, but now the Broncos are

20:04

so interesting with Russell Wilson there, so

20:07

it is really tough. I actually though, am

20:09

in between the Chiefs and the Chargers because

20:11

I want to believe so hard in the

20:13

Chargers and they always let

20:15

me down. But guys, I think this might be

20:18

their year. I'm gonna go with the Chargers.

20:21

Yeah, justin Herbert's my m VP pick, so I

20:23

see them as a playoff team, and if I pick

20:25

a teams a playoff team, obviously they could also win the

20:27

division. Herbert is such a stud.

20:29

We're talking to Steve Wish of NFL Network

20:32

last week on our podcast and he's like,

20:34

when you just have conversations with coaches in front

20:36

office, guys, they're all just completely in love

20:39

with Herbert and how special he is. And we see

20:41

it on the field too, and he's being

20:43

put in a situation to thrive with a really good

20:45

offense. You could see that that season

20:47

happening for Herbert, and then who knows what happens. They

20:49

are the Chargers though, they are the Chargers,

20:52

and even if it happens, it's sort of tree falling

20:55

in the woods because we all live in Los Angeles

20:57

and like nobody will notice. Uh

20:59

No. I also think it's interesting. I

21:01

don't I don't want to take over your show, Gunzo, but do

21:03

you think the Police Chargers actually

21:06

go let's say twelve and five and

21:08

they're playing in the a f C title game against

21:11

Hell the Bengals. Do you think

21:13

l A is gonna catch fire with the Chargers

21:16

or you think it's I

21:19

think that building will still be if in

21:21

that scenario, that building will still

21:23

be predominantly Bengals fans. I

21:25

mean, you know what, Let's bring in producer

21:28

Isaac Lee. Resident Angelino

21:31

knows the city as well as anybody who's also

21:34

he's a Clippers fan. Uh,

21:36

he knows how this goes. Isaac. In this scenario

21:38

that Dan has just painted, do people

21:41

all of a sudden start caring about the Chargers

21:43

in l A. I don't think so, because

21:46

people barely cared about the Rams winning

21:48

the Super Bowl earlier this year.

21:51

Um. I was living in Portland at the time, and

21:53

I just remember like texting a bunch of

21:55

my buddies who are who are down here in Los

21:57

Angeles and being like, hey, you know Rams

21:59

and the Super Bowl? You guys doing anything fun? They

22:01

were like, no, man, We're just gonna go to

22:04

bed.

22:06

Yeah, like football. Football is like a third

22:09

rate sport in Los Angeles. Yet to understand,

22:12

Uh, it's basketball. We actually,

22:14

you know what DoD Argers is its own sport,

22:16

and then it's Lakers. And then there's like

22:18

a big drop off to football, which

22:21

is you know, odd because everywhere else football

22:23

is king but here. Yeah, and and there's

22:25

a huge drop off between the Rams and the Charges.

22:27

I mean, you guys know you work in that building or

22:30

adjacent to it. The Rams draw

22:32

pretty good crowd. The Chargers are

22:34

just a venue for people to hey, oh

22:36

they're playing the Chargers this year, let's fly out

22:39

to Los Angeles and we'll get a cheap ticket

22:41

and see a road game. It feels

22:43

like the Rams own that building

22:45

and that they just let the Chargers play there. Yeah,

22:48

literally and figuratively is

22:50

what it is. Um,

22:52

go ahead. No, I had nothing else

22:54

to add. Anything else said. They can sound like

22:57

I'm being a homer for the company, but like

22:59

we went to Rams camp this

23:01

summer and the place was packed with thousands of

23:03

fans. They're like, there's definitely a

23:06

strong vibe with that team, the

23:08

Chargers. Well, seeing they're actually there. Um

23:10

building a new facility in Elsa Gundo

23:13

right near Sofi Stadium. It's gonna

23:15

take some time for them to build roots

23:17

here because obviously that was a San Diego

23:19

team and starting from scratch, especially

23:22

like Isaac was saying, in this market the way it's

23:24

kind of unique, it will take time. Winning

23:26

will help, though, winning always helps. I'm

23:28

glad that you brought up the Rams like a professional

23:31

host. It's a wonderful transition. We'll go to the NFC

23:33

West defending Super Bowl champion Ellie

23:35

Rams. I know that Colleen

23:37

is concerned about Stafford's elbow. We've

23:39

got the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco forty

23:41

Niners and the Seattle Seahawks shot

23:44

to J j R. Sega Whiteside, who was jettison

23:47

uh to the team that also took

23:49

DK Metcalf. We'll discuss that later. Uh.

23:52

I assume we like the Rams here, but Colleen, you had

23:54

mentioned the forty Niners maybe being interesting

23:56

to you. I do think that the forty Niners

23:59

are going to be a risky team and that they

24:01

could potentially finish ahead of the Rams

24:03

depending on how bad Stafford's

24:06

elbow is. Because we don't really know, we have no

24:08

idea at this point, like we haven't seen him play.

24:10

We don't know if this is a serious

24:12

situation. I think he was asked about

24:15

it today at a press conference Matthew

24:17

Stafford, and he had this like long,

24:19

weird, awkward pause when

24:22

he was asked how he was feeling and how the elbow

24:24

was, and then he was like, yeah, it's fine, I'm

24:26

fine, everything's great, and it's

24:28

just to me feels like it might be

24:30

a little bit more of an issue than the

24:32

team and he are leading onto

24:35

even though yes, he played all last year with

24:37

it. This is an issue that the team knew about when

24:39

they traded for him. But at a certain

24:41

point, like as you get older and you have

24:43

these lingering injuries, they become a problem.

24:46

He's thirty four. Uh, it was

24:48

an injury to the elbow he suffered last

24:50

season, played through it last season, played great in

24:52

the playoffs, won the Super Bowl, got

24:55

an injection in the elbow this spring

24:57

or I don't know about the timeline when, but after this Super

25:00

Bowl was carefully managed through the summer,

25:02

the Rams probably the hesitations because the Rams

25:04

have been very careful about how they've

25:07

managed the message around what the

25:09

elbow situation is. But the

25:11

regular season One of the many reasons I'm

25:13

just so thankful that real football is about

25:15

to start is the team can't control certain

25:17

things anymore once you're out on the field.

25:20

And on Thursday night against the Bills, he

25:22

has to throw forty five passes. How

25:24

is that going to feel? And he takes a couple of shots helmet

25:27

to the arm or whatever, he goes down awkwardly.

25:29

We'll have a better idea of where he's at

25:32

physically after the first couple of weeks and maybe

25:34

even after one game. Colleen, you

25:36

had mentioned the forty niners. How

25:38

do we feel about I mean, Jimmy j still

25:40

exists, But how do we feel about Trey Lance?

25:42

Because there's been so much hype

25:45

and I'm excited, as Dan said, to see real football

25:47

and see whether or not this kid can do it? But how do we

25:49

feel about his prospects and that team's

25:51

prospects. I think it's almost more

25:53

how do we feel about Kyle Shanahan? Because Kyle

25:55

Shanahan's gonna simplify everything

25:58

for Trey Lance to make sure that he does look

26:00

good. And Kyle Shanahan loves

26:02

a run game, and he loves leaning on his defense,

26:05

and those are two things that are still strong with that team.

26:07

So as long as those things are good and

26:09

Trey Lance can just keep it together

26:11

and and keep things simple and keep things moving

26:14

and not make mistakes, then he'll be able

26:16

to get into a rhythm and get better as the season

26:18

goes on. And I think that's when they could be really dangerous.

26:21

Mm hmm. This is a situations,

26:24

the naughty situation, as

26:26

I say on a t N because I

26:28

think that the surprising revelation

26:31

that Jimmy g wouldn't be going anywhere

26:33

this year, it was good news for the Niners.

26:36

I think good news for the fans who have a safety

26:38

net Trey Lance. You know,

26:41

not only do you have this guy in the building that's

26:43

been to a super Bowl for this team, that's had success

26:45

for this team. All we ever

26:47

hear from the forts, even though

26:49

people study the game and analytics

26:52

and just watch closely, say well, Garoppolo

26:54

struggled for long stretches of time. He

26:56

was very ineffective through the playoffs last

26:59

year. But at the same time, that team

27:01

loves him like the locker room really

27:03

likes him as a person and as a quote unquote

27:05

leader and a quote unquote winner. So

27:08

Lance has that guy right behind him.

27:10

What happens if they lose three or five

27:12

to start the season. Where's Kyle

27:14

Shanahan gonna How much rope does Lance

27:16

have? It's it's kind of a fascinating subplot

27:18

for us on the outside, But for a kid

27:20

like Lands, that's a lot of pressure, a

27:23

lot of pressure. Although I'm not

27:25

in that locker room and I'm not that kid, so I'm looking forward

27:27

to this. Yeah. Fun, Well,

27:29

I have a level of empathy that you just can't

27:31

approach. I

27:35

think it's the Rams. Which way are you guys going,

27:38

I'm gonna say, ultimately there ams too? Yeah,

27:40

I got it. Nobody's in on the Cardinals

27:42

right, No, No, I can't.

27:45

Kyler Murray got his video games taken away. He

27:47

has to, you know. I think it's and

27:49

that was the craziest story of the summer in the NFL,

27:52

that whole contract provision. I just you

27:54

look at the roster and with new Copkins out

27:56

for six games with a p D band

27:58

and he's on the wrong side of thirty. So who knows what we see

28:00

when he comes back. Um, I don't

28:02

know if they've set him up very well Kyler

28:04

for success when you look at his surrounding talent,

28:07

and then nobody knows if Cliff

28:09

Kingsbury really is a guy that could thrive at

28:11

this level yet it hasn't really been proven. So

28:13

we're gonna learn a lot about Kyler and the Cardinals

28:16

very quickly. I think technical

28:19

difficulties, all right.

28:21

So we were about to talk about the NFC

28:24

South and what a disaster it is, but this recording

28:26

turned into an even bigger disaster

28:29

than that division. Dan explained to people

28:31

who are listening, what's happening right now. I've

28:33

got a tough situation here on

28:35

the remote set up. I blinked

28:38

and John and Colleen were

28:40

gone, and when they finally returned,

28:42

it's a grainy video of them sitting

28:44

next to each other. And now they don't have real microphones,

28:47

there's a there's a headset there sharing. So

28:50

I just think we're heading towards some of the greatest

28:52

broadcasting ever in the twenty one century. That's

28:54

just my prediction. How this is gonna go. There's

28:58

there's no other way around it. This is a exactly

29:00

what's happening. UM, welcome to our work

29:02

from home set up. Our work from home

29:04

setup has failed us much the same

29:06

way that our air conditioning has failed. This we're gonna soldier

29:08

on because we're professional broadcasters.

29:10

NFC South Atlanta

29:13

Falcons, Marcus Mariotta, No Calvin Ridley

29:15

because he gambled Carolina

29:17

Panthers. I want to discuss Baker Mayfield, the

29:19

New Orleans Saints, no Sean Payton, and

29:21

then we get to Tampa Town, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

29:24

and Tom Brady's very angular face. Uh,

29:28

this is a foregone conclusion, is that the Buccaneers?

29:30

What do you think? I think it's a bucks. But

29:33

I feel like too that the

29:35

Saints. I don't think they're going to

29:37

be good, but I don't think they're going to be as bad

29:39

as some people say they're going

29:41

to be because Jamis Winston just I feel

29:43

like, takes a lot of cheap shots and

29:46

he was actually pretty good before we got

29:48

hurt last year. And then you add

29:50

in Chris A Lave, the wide receiver who's

29:52

gonna be a rookie that's really good. Dan is shaking

29:54

his head. No, he's not buying it up. Are

29:57

we talking about Jamis Winston on

29:59

the field, the guy that became the first guy to

30:01

be a thirty thirty guy with thirty interceptions

30:03

off the field, all his various misdeeds,

30:06

every shot has been well earned for Jameis

30:08

Winston as a pro. But you

30:10

know what, what you're saying makes sense.

30:12

There are a lot of people, a lot of people that know things,

30:15

that follow the league closely, that think

30:17

the Saints have a real chance to beat

30:19

out the Bucks. I'm not one of them, but

30:22

I could see them being a playoff team because the

30:24

defense is excellent front to back. It

30:27

is about if you buy into the

30:29

offensive line without Toronto Armstead,

30:32

Winston staying healthy and not destroying

30:34

the team with turnovers, and then Michael

30:36

Thomas returning and being Michael

30:39

Thomas. And then you have Chris Olavy is

30:41

a really interesting rookie wide

30:43

receiver, and then Kamara, Alvin Kamara, who's

30:45

a when he's right, when he's healthy, when the

30:47

offense is efficient, he's

30:49

one of the top five running backs in the league. So it's

30:51

it's there. It just feels like a lot

30:53

of puzzle pieces have to lock in, and

30:56

usually those are the teams that it

30:58

doesn't happen for when the season actually starts.

31:01

Yeah, it's gonna be the box that take the division like,

31:03

it's gonna be Tom Brady. He's going to do his thing again.

31:05

They have such a good team and Todd

31:08

Bowles he's finally gonna get some like great credit

31:10

for being a head coach because he's set up. I remember

31:13

when I talked to him this summer saying

31:15

like, when you were the head coach of

31:17

the Jets, did you ever think in

31:19

a zillion years that you would one day

31:21

be the head coach of Tom Brady? And he kind

31:24

of laughed for a second and he was like, Yeah, that's

31:26

kind of funny how these things happen. Like I'm

31:29

I'm excited to see this team and I think they're gonna

31:31

be really good once again. Briefly,

31:33

before we move on, I want to discuss the

31:35

drama in Carolina with Baker Mayfield,

31:38

who said that he wasn't thinking about

31:40

his former team. He doesn't have

31:42

anything to do with this former team, and then all of a sudden he's got

31:44

merchandise specifically aimed

31:46

at his former team. How

31:48

do we think that's gonna go? Well, Bakers

31:52

a lot gonna be embarrassing if it doesn't. Baker's

31:54

a lot. He's just a lot to deal with, and

31:57

you're not gonna catch me defending the

31:59

Browns and how they handled their quarterback room.

32:01

But I get why they were ready to move on

32:03

it. Just Baker just seems to be a dude

32:06

that is out for Baker in a

32:08

lot of ways above other things. And

32:10

I think, can he being improven

32:12

on Sam Donald? Yeah, he can because

32:15

the offensive line is better and Christian

32:17

McCaffrey's healthy. But at the same

32:19

time, I think people that are thinking

32:21

he's gonna now be the guy that

32:23

Browns thought he was going to be, and he was certainly

32:26

at times effective in Cleveland, I'm

32:28

not buying it. I think we're gonna see Donald and Baker

32:30

this year. Alright. Moving moving

32:33

along to u NFC North Packers,

32:35

Vikings, Bears, and your hard knock Lions.

32:38

It's not the hard knock Lions. We've discussed

32:40

of the other three of you, who do we like Packers again,

32:43

Packers, It's it's the Packers.

32:46

For me, I think that the Vikings are gonna be really good,

32:48

but I think it's a tough It's a tough

32:50

thing to ask Kevin O'Connell in his first

32:52

year to make the Vikings

32:54

the division winners, especially with Aaron Rodgers

32:57

still there even if he doesn't have Davanta Adams,

32:59

Like, it's not going to be this swift

33:01

downfall for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

33:04

Like I think that the Vikings

33:06

will give them a decent shot, and I think they

33:08

could be a wild card team if everything falls

33:10

right. Like I love the Darius Smith and

33:12

Daniel Hunter on that defense

33:14

playing together, like that's gonna be their

33:17

stuffs. But we'll just have to

33:19

see if Kirk Cousins can hold up his

33:21

end of things and how they're really

33:23

able to make this passing game

33:25

evolve. Anybody who doesn't

33:27

pick the Packers in the NFC North is trying

33:30

way too hard and they should be viewed

33:32

with suspicion. It's their division. I

33:34

think the Vikings can take a wild card spot.

33:36

I think the Lions could be fun, but they're still building,

33:38

and I think Justin Fields is in for

33:41

a hard time again in Chicago. Godspeed

33:45

Justin Fields. All right. The last division. I saved

33:48

this one for last on purpose. It's

33:50

the NFC East, the Washington football team. I

33:52

will not call them the Commanders. That is an exceedingly

33:55

stupid and get ready to go on and

33:57

you know, take command it's

33:59

such a dumb named they had. They had the perfect,

34:02

no frills name that they stumbled into

34:04

by accident, and in typical Washington

34:07

franchise fashion, they decided

34:09

to move on from it and pick I'm much

34:12

so, I'm so bummed. I thought you were going into

34:14

a monologue defending the initial name. I

34:16

was like, all right, this is a spicy podcast

34:19

topic. John going In didn't

34:21

see this coming. I really

34:23

like working at us I and prefer prefer

34:26

not to get fired. Also in the division

34:28

the Giants, the Cowboys, and the Philadelphia

34:30

Eagles, Dan, Colleen and I are going to momentarily recuse

34:32

ourselves from this conversation. I

34:34

want you to start, you

34:37

know, say whatever you want. But it's really

34:39

freaking me out as a Philadelphian

34:41

how many people are on the Eagles.

34:43

It is on good. I don't

34:45

I don't like it. It's not good. I would

34:48

not feel good about it. If I were an Eagles

34:50

fan, I'd feel really good about the team. But

34:52

I feel like it would have been much better if it was like last

34:54

summer where people were with the Cowboys.

34:57

But the fact that everyone's bailed on the Cowboys,

34:59

and I think that's a little premature to totally

35:02

count out the defending division champions.

35:04

The Eagles do have the best roster, and

35:07

they have really gotten better in

35:09

different spots, and they have set up

35:11

a quarterback that has the opportunity

35:13

to kind of take the leap and and and

35:16

take command in Philadelphia.

35:18

So they are the smart pick to win the

35:20

NFC East. But I think it's a little bit

35:23

to what you're saying. People are a little

35:25

too confident about the Eagles because that's still

35:27

a projections. Some things have to fall into

35:29

place. And the Cowboys this idea

35:32

that the Cowboys should just be completely thought

35:34

of as an afterthought. They get to play

35:36

the Commanders, sorry, and the Giants

35:39

four times, they have a chance to

35:41

split with some of the better teams in the league. I

35:43

think they could hang with other teams and

35:45

be a ten win team, and I think that's

35:47

ultimately I think it's gonna win this division around

35:50

ten games. I think it's it's not

35:52

a coin flip. I think Eagles are the pick,

35:54

but the Cowboys aren't as far behind as people seem

35:56

to think. I think it was one thing

35:58

when the Cowboys on Michael Irvin,

36:00

also of NFL Network, was just gushing

36:03

about the Philadelphia Eagles. But when it

36:05

really hit a crescendo, a fever pitch for me

36:07

was ESPNS Mina Comes, who

36:09

was also a friend of Sports Illustrating and all of us

36:11

here on this program saying that they have

36:13

a top five roster, and I wanted to throw my

36:15

computer in the Pacific. And what I'm doing,

36:17

don't tell anybody that. Well, anytime a

36:19

team from Philadelphia is supposed to do

36:22

good, they never do good. So this is I

36:24

wouldn't say stream team vibes with Vince Young,

36:26

but that is exactly

36:28

what I was telling because that actually

36:30

wasn't a good you know, that was a roster that made

36:32

sense on paper, and then it became apparent

36:35

very quickly it wasn't gonna work. Howie

36:38

Roseman has done a really nice job building this roster

36:40

out, but let's not play

36:42

the second parade and start building another statue

36:44

just yet. That's all. Are

36:47

you taking the Eagles in this division? I

36:49

have the Eagles, And again my entire

36:51

life now refers back to the power rankings. I have

36:53

the Eagles as my number four teen team in the league,

36:56

right just ahead of the Cowboys. So I see it kind

36:58

of as a coin flip. But if you if you're like

37:00

saying, pick the team to win the division, I will

37:02

go with Eagles, like ten and seven? All

37:05

right, I I like, normally

37:07

i'd be excited about this,

37:09

but I'm not at all. I get it. I totally

37:11

get it. Let's wrap it up with some

37:13

super Bowl predictions, because between

37:16

actually talking to you guys and then the technical

37:19

difficulties that we've had, we've been doing this

37:21

podcast for about three days. Uh

37:23

So tell me who's who's playing in the Big Game? Dan,

37:26

this is it, this is it for the Bills.

37:29

It's happening. You know, the same thing

37:31

that you feel about the Eagles is what the Bills

37:33

fans in and Western New York feel about

37:35

this situation. They hate that everyone has

37:38

them winning the super Bowl or get into the super

37:40

Bowl. But I just think they have a great roster and

37:42

a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback

37:44

just reaching his prime, and I

37:46

think this is the year they get over the hump. And

37:49

it's very hard for me to pick an NFC

37:51

team, it's so wide open, but I'll say I

37:54

will say Bills over Bucks. Passing

37:56

of the torch, you

37:59

know what, Okay, I'm I'm actually with

38:02

you in the a f C. I think it's going to be the Bills as

38:04

well. I feel like they showed us that last

38:06

year and just you know, we're out out

38:08

of time. But it's gonna be the Bills

38:10

this year. And I think, just to just

38:13

to make it a little crazy, I'm gonna manifest

38:15

this for the NFC. I wanna say, don't do

38:17

it. I'm gonna say do it. No,

38:19

you know I'm not doing that. I'm not going there. I'm not gonna I'm

38:21

not that crazy. It's the forty

38:24

niners and it's gonna be Jimmy g Did

38:27

you say that the Bills ran out of time? The problem

38:29

for the Bills last year was there was too much time. There's

38:31

twelve seconds on the clock against

38:33

the Chief Tradabus. White's

38:35

a big guy. They need to get back in the lineup because

38:37

they don't lose that game without their star cornerback.

38:40

If their star cornerback was in the playoffs last year,

38:42

he'll start the season on the pub list. They'll

38:44

have him right. That's gonna be a big piece for Buffalo too.

38:46

Just one little bit of insight there before

38:48

a little bit and now we have mercifully

38:51

revamped postseason overtime

38:53

rules, which is wonderful, but

38:55

this was great. Two guys watched them on the NFL

38:57

Network. Listen to them on the Around the NFL podcast,

39:00

catch the final episode of the Hard Knocks

39:02

pod, and be sure to check them out on the

39:04

forthcoming Power Ranking show. You can

39:07

listen to that. It's also streamable. These

39:09

guys frankly on my on my

39:11

personal power rankings. They're very close.

39:13

I'm gonna give a slight edge to Colleen for domestic

39:15

tranquility purposes edge.

39:19

I love you both, Dan and Colleen. Thank you for

39:21

thus Thank you just doing a podcast

39:23

with the jay Z and Beyonce of sports media.

39:25

That I mean, I pinched myself which

39:29

one's Beyonce? You better say, mate,

39:31

you know what? But you said you like it's Colleen better than

39:33

me. But actually that makes sense, John, you are

39:36

the Beyonce. Alright, there we

39:38

go. You're the best body. Thanks Dan, alright,

39:40

bye bye.

39:44

Sports Illustrated Weekly is a production of Sports

39:46

Illustrated and I Heeart Radio. For

39:49

more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the iHeart

39:51

Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

39:53

you get your favorite shows and for more

39:55

of Sports Illustrated it's best stories and podcasts

39:58

visit SI dot com.

40:00

This episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly was produced

40:02

by Jordan Rozsieri, Jessica your Moski,

40:04

and Isaac Lee, who was also our

40:06

sound engineer. Our senior

40:09

producers are Dan Bloom and Harry sward Out.

40:11

Our executive producers are Scott Brody and

40:13

me John Gonzales. Our theme

40:15

song is by Nolan Schneider. And if

40:18

you've stuck around this long, we leave you

40:20

with this. Didn't

40:23

we lose John? He's left the riverside.

40:25

The hostess quit on the show. Now

40:30

I am hugging

40:32

the Internet. Urban,

40:35

very urban area