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Hello and welcome to Don't Rat.

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I'm Narbonne Crt and I am

1:32

giant by the whole squad this

1:34

week. Dream Team! Lindsay. Johns,

1:36

I, Lindsay. I.

1:40

Asked. And gal. How. We doing.

1:44

Fantastic. Internet aside, fantastic.

1:47

Throw. Their at Austin was having some connectivity

1:49

issues before we started the pod and. And.

1:53

For a moment we were blessed

1:55

with multiple Austin's. On. i

1:57

riverside it was to austin to gail as

1:59

So we'll see if we get any of that energy

2:02

because it's good stuff. And Stephen Ries, of

2:04

course, is here. Stephen, hello. Happy

2:06

Wednesday. How's it going? I have to say, my internet

2:08

is doing well. It's doing really well. It's just a

2:10

quick connection. That's great. I'm sure

2:13

all the listeners really, really care

2:15

about our various Wi-Fi speeds and

2:18

connectivity problems or lack thereof.

2:21

So you're welcome. That's the type of content that you

2:24

get on the Ringer NFL show. We've

2:26

got a fun show. We're going to start

2:28

with just some news and notes. There's some fun little stories

2:31

that have popped up, both

2:33

in the week following the

2:35

draft and also just some random stuff

2:38

that's going on. And then we're

2:40

going to go through the AFC and

2:42

we're going to do most improved, least

2:44

improved by each division.

2:46

We're going to debate the teams that have

2:49

helped themselves through the draft and through

2:51

free agency and any other

2:53

off-season moves up to this point and the

2:55

ones that maybe haven't made as

2:58

many strides. But let's start with

3:00

the news notes. First of

3:03

all, I want to know if you guys are going

3:05

to be watching the Roast of Tom Brady, which is

3:07

this weekend. It's live on Netflix. It's at 8 p.m.

3:09

Eastern on Sunday. It's going to be

3:12

hosted by Kevin Hart. And

3:15

the confirmed attendees include

3:17

Jeff Ross, Randy Moss, Julian

3:19

Edelman, Gronk. And

3:22

according to Greg Rosenthal of NFL Network,

3:25

Bill Belichick, Austin, are you

3:27

a big roast guy? I feel

3:29

like you would be in the roast matrix.

3:33

I'm actually anti-roast. I don't know if I'm

3:35

there for that. I haven't laughed at a

3:38

roast in a while. I do feel like

3:40

there were in the early parts of

3:42

the Comedy Central roast some really good

3:44

stuff. But since then, they've kind of become

3:47

in ways, just kind of like grabby and not

3:49

necessarily cut throat enough to really push me to

3:52

watch them. But if Belichick's there, I'm definitely going

3:54

to tune in. Steven, I

3:56

think you've been on the Bill Belichick media

3:59

circuit. watch train

4:01

this spring. Will you be watching the roast

4:04

of Tom Brady? Do you have any zingers?

4:07

No. I think we've moved beyond the point where we

4:09

need a roast anymore. We have Twitter now. I don't

4:11

need to watch this. I can see the best clips.

4:13

I don't have to sit through Gronk. You guys are

4:15

not excited enough about the roast. I'm sorry. This is

4:17

not the energy. I'm

4:20

very excited that it's happening, and I can't wait to

4:22

see the best clips from it. But I'm not going

4:24

to spend my time watching Gronk and Julian Edelman try

4:26

to tell jokes and do stand up. I'm sorry. I

4:28

have better ways to spend my time. Now, Bill Belichick,

4:30

on the other hand, I will watch every

4:33

second of his segment or

4:35

whatever he ends up doing because, first

4:37

of all, I want to hear Bill Belichick make jokes

4:39

about Tom Brady. I think everyone wants to

4:41

hear that. Second of all, Bill

4:43

Belichick has some good roasts out there. Like, if

4:46

you look through his history of roasting other players

4:48

and coaches, like, yeah, he'll throw shots at everyone.

4:50

Charlie Casterly, I think we've covered that on the

4:52

pod extensively. Marv Levy, he's

4:54

dunked on. Dominic Reola, a former center,

4:57

I think, for the Lions, he's dunked

4:59

on. This guy just shits on people

5:01

all the time, and he's done it

5:03

throughout his career. And now that

5:05

he doesn't have to worry about media backlash for it, and

5:07

now that he's in this setting for the roasts, I think

5:09

he might be the top performer. I

5:12

mean, the funniest thing in the world would be

5:14

if Bill Belichick comes out and just does a

5:16

type 5 on Charlie Casterly and Weatherman. And

5:18

Dominic Reola. His two favorite guys

5:20

just doesn't mention Brady whatsoever. By

5:24

the way, Dominic Reola's son is like

5:26

the top recruit, quarterback recruit in

5:28

the country last year, I believe. And it would

5:30

be very interesting if Belichick does get a job,

5:32

and that guy is the quarterback his team has

5:35

to draft, because there's beef between those families. You

5:38

learn something new every day. I did

5:40

not come on here expecting

5:43

for the Dominic Reola chatter, but I'm thrilled to

5:45

have it. Lindsey, are you going to

5:47

be, are you sitting on

5:49

Sunday evening in front of Netflix? I

5:52

will be, but with like AirPods in,

5:54

because I don't think it's something that

5:57

I should probably expose my seven-year-old child.

5:59

Sure. on previous roads, but yeah, it

6:01

feels like one of those events that

6:03

will be, yes, it will

6:05

be clipped and put all over Twitter, but it'll

6:08

probably be more fun to like watch

6:10

it with a second screen and get

6:13

our jokes off altogether as it's actually happening.

6:15

So I will do my best and I

6:17

will do my best to not traumatize my

6:20

child as well. Don't expose your

6:22

child to Rob Gronkowski. Limit

6:24

her exposure to Rob Gronkowski. I

6:27

don't let her watch the Fox NFL Sunday for that

6:29

very reason. Terry Brad... You're killing

6:31

two birds with one son, Terry Bradshaw. Yeah, Terry

6:33

Bradshaw, not... We can't be doing that. Nora,

6:37

I did prep a list of jokes

6:39

on looking for at this post and

6:41

ones that I feel like I

6:44

am expecting to see the cheating

6:47

of the Brady Belichick, the flakegate era is

6:49

going to come up. I don't think any

6:51

of those jokes are going to be funny.

6:53

I think it's a high bar to clear.

6:55

If the Brady brand and its failure

6:58

is not brought up, that is a...

7:00

My favorite thing about the trailer... The

7:03

Brady brand... My favorite thing about the trailer is that I want

7:05

to let you keep going. I want to let you cook. But

7:07

I just feel like I have to bring up that in the

7:09

trailer, Tom Brady says something like I'm

7:12

unroastable, which the

7:15

lack, the sheer lack of self-awareness

7:18

that it takes for Tom Brady, an

7:20

incredibly roastable person. I think he physically

7:22

means his face cannot burn at this

7:24

point. He's had so much enjoyment. Why,

7:27

L.B., did you get it in his

7:29

face, joke? Had too much water. Okay,

7:32

Austin, continue. Sorry, I was not letting you

7:34

cook, but I would like you to continue

7:36

to do so. No, no, I'm

7:38

just saying the failure of the Brady

7:40

brand has to be included. They deleted

7:42

the website from the internet. They've deleted

7:44

all of their posts on Instagram. They've

7:46

merged with Noble, which

7:49

has sponsored the NFL Combine the

7:51

last couple of years. They've also,

7:53

the Brady brand merged with TV12,

7:55

and then Noble bought that merger,

7:57

or whatever shell of that is.

8:00

left, Brady made a brand where all the

8:02

clothes just set his name on it and

8:04

it failed. If he's on roastable, I mean,

8:06

what are we even talking about here? Austin

8:08

knows that the failure of the

8:10

Brady brand and Tom Brady, incredibly

8:13

successful athlete, not

8:15

so much in the outside endeavors. Austin knows that this

8:17

is something of like a hobby horse of mine. Seming

8:22

from an incident when I realized that Brady

8:24

brand like a year or so into

8:27

its existence was just like doing a lot of

8:29

sample sales, which

8:31

didn't seem like a great sign. So

8:34

I personally would love

8:36

for that to happen. I'm not sure

8:39

that the greater public has

8:41

the background info for

8:44

those jokes to hit, but I'm rooting

8:46

for it. I'm really excited

8:48

for this. I love a roast. I think

8:50

the roasts of, let's see,

8:53

the Bieber one was great. And then

8:56

I think the Pete Davidson one was the other,

8:58

the other like sort of canonically excellent

9:02

roast. I'm excited for

9:04

this. I have to say the one thing that bummed

9:06

me out or made me less enthusiastic was

9:08

the guest list. That's too many athletes.

9:11

You like you need stand up comedians

9:13

with nothing to lose. It's

9:15

a great take. And

9:18

I just don't need like Randy

9:22

Moss, Julia, Edelman, Rob Gronkowski is

9:24

perhaps three too many, but it's at

9:27

least two too many, uh, former

9:29

Brady teammates. I will say this, I will

9:32

say if you've seen the old chat roast,

9:35

the, the, the, the roast of Emmitt Smith, there's

9:37

a lot of athletes there. One of the best

9:39

roasts of all time. Actually go look that up

9:41

on YouTube. Very funny. Oh, I don't know that

9:43

one. Okay. I'll speak that out. At one point,

9:45

Jeff Ross is like, Oh, Daryl Moose Johnson stole

9:47

my shit before he went on is very good.

9:49

I mean, this

9:53

might be a bit of a hot take, but like, and

9:55

it's hard for him to hear, I'm sure, but

9:57

Gronk's not, he's not, I mean, I Gronk. I

10:01

don't get the shtick, it's not for me,

10:03

I'm out on it. I don't think that's

10:05

gonna be great. I think if I was

10:07

betting on who's the funniest athlete

10:09

or person connected to the NFL there, it's gonna

10:11

be Belichick. I honestly think Belichick throws the best

10:14

dings. I think I honestly, that's my bet. I

10:16

agree, good take. I think that's probably right.

10:18

I think that's probably right. Randy Moss,

10:20

I wouldn't be surprised if

10:23

he has some good moments. I mean, you know, they

10:25

get help. And

10:27

it's not as though a lot of the athletes that have

10:29

done the roast in the past have been really good.

10:31

Like Peyton Manning's been good. Blake

10:34

Griffin was there for one, and I think he was

10:36

really good. It's just too many.

10:40

It's too much of a critical,

10:42

like Shaq has always been good. It's

10:44

just too much of a critical mass of like, oh,

10:46

all of these guys know him, are friends with him.

10:49

I need like Natasha Ligaro,

10:52

who just like simply could not give less of a shit

10:54

and it's gonna rip him to shreds. And I don't

10:56

think it seems like they're

10:58

bringing that type of energy. But, you

11:00

know, Jeff Ross, a lot on

11:02

your shoulders, man. See,

11:04

a guy like me would just bring out Jimmy G and

11:06

no jokes necessary from there. You just bring them out and

11:08

just have them stand next to Tom Brady and look younger

11:10

and more handsome than him. It would kill Brady. That's

11:14

the best bet. Netflix, it's

11:17

stupid. Maybe they'll do it. Like

11:19

when they did, when Demi Moore came

11:22

up for the, in the Bruce Willis roast

11:25

and started just like zinging him about their marriage.

11:27

You have an extensive knowledge of roasts. No, I

11:29

love a roast. I like, if it was a

11:31

roast. You do, you really do. It's

11:33

not me in my cultural wheelhouse. It's

11:35

like too bro-y and that's just like

11:37

not, I love a roast. I

11:40

watch, like I've seen most roasts.

11:43

And sometimes when I'm like brushing my teeth, I

11:45

pull up old roast flips and just like watch

11:47

them while I'm brushing my teeth. So

11:49

anyway, we're gonna move on now. But

11:52

I'm excited for it. And we'll

11:54

certainly follow up if it's any good. Here's

11:57

another thing that made me giggle this week. So

11:59

Albert Barre, had a really informative

12:03

MMQP column after the draft, and there

12:05

was a lot of interesting info in

12:07

it. But I'm going to read you

12:09

something that really stood out to me, which was an

12:12

anecdote from a meeting that BONIX

12:14

had during the pre-draft process with

12:16

Sean Payton. So this is

12:19

from the column. It

12:21

was closing in on noon on

12:23

a sunny, mild, late winter morning in

12:25

Eugene, Oregon, and BONIX was reaching down

12:27

to grab his bag as he and

12:29

the Denver Broncos brain trust were wrapping up three

12:31

hours of meeting time, getting set

12:34

to head out onto the field for his workout. What's

12:37

in your backpack? Sean Payton asked.

12:40

Nix reached inside and grabbed a roll of tape that

12:42

he explained he'd need for his ankles if he were going

12:44

to train. He also pulled out a

12:46

spare pair of football cleats and a lacrosse ball that

12:49

he said he'd use for rolling out his back. And

12:52

what wasn't in the bag was just

12:54

as significant. Anything

12:57

was football related. All of it. So

13:02

here's the deal. Along

13:07

with Roche, I'm

13:09

a long-time enthusiast of the

13:12

what's in your bag style

13:16

of celebrity

13:18

profiling. Just the

13:20

what's in your bag content

13:23

universe. That

13:27

said, this is everything that's wrong with scouting. I'm

13:29

sorry. This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

13:33

It's everything and work.

13:35

I have a tweet

13:37

out from a year ago where I'm

13:39

like, how the NFL evaluates hires, fires,

13:41

coaches, and scouts, and even just player

13:43

evaluation is very, very flawed. And this

13:46

is like lower than what I even

13:48

thought in terms of like driving decision

13:50

making for. And I always

13:53

bring this up. I think we

13:55

forget it. Multi-million dollar decisions. Like

13:57

these are multi-million Dollar Decisions. This isn't

13:59

share. there's something at class and fifth

14:01

grade what's in your backpack Bonus! Oh

14:03

a football sticker. Like it's not that

14:05

this is a multibillion dollar franchise defining

14:07

decision. it's both overall and were picking

14:09

a over stuff in their backpack like

14:11

a village. we continue to create new

14:13

ways to to make fun of Believe

14:15

for how they have a way coaches

14:17

how they have I were players all

14:19

that doesn't like really that come out

14:21

and the best said they did this

14:24

all by itself. Know

14:26

in the I don't know There's more that

14:28

I think that. It comes

14:30

in various forms. I think that the fact that

14:32

like this stories like something, he's like this. Getting

14:34

out and buy some one who ever is like

14:36

telling it is banging their chest with it is

14:38

a problem. That's the problem you need to keep

14:41

their close to the vast. I don't want to

14:43

know that you made the decision space on him

14:45

having a football sticker in some tape in his

14:47

backpack that makes no sense to me. I mean

14:49

first of all, listen to sound a little bit.

14:52

Everything. Every one of

14:54

these football related items that collectively

14:56

represent bonuses. Undying. Commitment to.

14:59

The. Game. That. He has

15:01

been drafted to play a specific. Versailles.

15:05

That also. Implied

15:07

the fact that. Phone.

15:09

X is all. It's

15:11

all thanks yes everything on me

15:13

hurt my knee on his to

15:15

does. This who spends his that's not

15:17

a Grammy that you know I'm I'm. I'm

15:20

kidding a little bit. Every football player tapes. And

15:22

tapes their ankles and and does stuff like that.

15:25

Come on man. I mean. I

15:28

can. just like a kidding aside. I

15:31

can see the universe. And

15:33

I'm So serious. In which

15:35

there's like also a book in there. And

15:39

it turns in allow books. Or books. Or book He

15:41

can have a book in their. know

15:43

it's not beauty that goes back to be a

15:46

football players that makes even beyond is awesome sorry

15:48

about them basing million dollar decisions on this like

15:50

there's another call from paying like not in the

15:52

briere story where he's talking about how he had

15:54

his analytics team take out all the rp oh

15:56

throws and all the be on the line of

15:58

scrimmage both figure out if pro

16:01

mix could still throw downfield. And

16:03

it's like you need your analytics team, which you're

16:05

dedicating, I'm assuming millions of dollars to, to just

16:08

use an area arts filter, you can

16:10

find that on espn.com split. Like

16:14

they have, they have chips in the shoulder

16:16

pads now, Sean, you can make it tell

16:18

you how fast they're running, they can tell

16:20

you how fast their heart is beating. And

16:22

you're using area arts filters that I can

16:24

get on pro football reference, like, and then

16:26

book stuff in his book bag. And then

16:28

like the Falcons had a similar thing where

16:31

they fell in love with Phoenix in part because they

16:35

asked all the quarterbacks like who would they

16:37

model their like work ethic after and they

16:39

all said, 10. It's like,

16:41

Yeah, these are like 22 year old kids who

16:43

cares what they think you wouldn't trust them to

16:45

tell this guy. Also, presumably

16:47

if they're asking the top

16:51

six, the top, you know, maybe, the

16:53

top seven or something, they're, they're asking

16:56

the quarterback, including

16:59

the top three, who are all sort

17:02

of competing with each other, maybe

17:04

even four, if we throw in, and McCarthy,

17:08

the incentive is

17:12

either the incentive is not

17:14

to say, Caleb Williams,

17:16

Drake, May, Jayden Daniels, even JJ McCarthy,

17:18

right? Like the incentive is to say

17:21

like, Oh yeah, Bo Nicks is really

17:23

cool. That's who you should be talking

17:25

up because he's not perceived as a

17:27

threat because he shouldn't have been drafted

17:29

as high as people. Well,

17:31

and you also on Michael Pennick said to work so

17:33

hard is because he's had like 18 ACL repairs

17:35

and a busted up shoulder that he had to work

17:38

hard. He wouldn't be able to play football to

17:40

get with. I

17:43

really think we've jumped the we've jumped the shark

17:45

on how we're interviewing players and trying to get

17:47

creative. I was a pro for the top golf

17:49

thing. And I was putting that together to compete.

17:51

If we get to the point where we're like,

17:54

where we're like, what's in your backpack? Ooh, just

17:56

football stuff. You're, you're going to make $22 million

17:58

for Our football team. Our

18:00

I just a my backpack there is a

18:02

spill. the. Bottle. Of allergy medicine

18:04

that I've yet to put back in the bottle

18:06

and I'm still smoking each day. I have two

18:09

different laptop covers that I don't use am afraid

18:11

both and I'm trying to read that I haven't

18:13

picked up yet like of I to interview based

18:15

off the back and forth so maybe this is

18:17

just me kind of project things but I still

18:19

don't think we should def with Wizard Devlin I

18:21

grew these questions and our decision making process of

18:24

the i'd i'd buy bad reflects well on me

18:26

lot of like. Used Straw

18:28

rappers. Pounding somebody would be in

18:30

the that you can. We also point out that

18:33

bonus was attending like a football teams facility where

18:35

like working out was very much on the table

18:37

that be like me going to the gym with

18:39

a gym bag be like wow this guy only

18:41

has gyms stuff in his bag he was really

18:43

be about the to get see that us with

18:45

the show is working out for football team. This.

18:49

Best Story associates are delighted to be

18:51

amazed like this. It didn't even make

18:53

drastic like it didn't even make the

18:55

fictional movies like it's to looney tunes.

18:57

it's to fairytale like a military even

18:59

grass this deep of a weird question

19:01

when like we were like stone with

19:03

to his birthday party and it's like

19:05

well what's in your backpack is there

19:07

a fleet in there is a good

19:09

thing that I have a little margins

19:11

are over to my the fact is.

19:14

I mean this is the question to me is

19:16

what? What have that the frog answer? Like.

19:19

What? What Is bad? What?

19:21

Would have reflected poorly on.

19:23

Bonus. Implications: The storage is anything

19:25

that doesn't have to do with football. But.

19:28

I need him alone A know anything that doesn't

19:31

pay you as like a tough football player like.

19:33

Like motion. Soap

19:35

would have been bad. Who.

19:38

Hand Sanitizer He's done his hand sanitizer.

19:40

He's a mass as like, literally not

19:42

even on the board he sat on

19:44

a blog is the bottom of the

19:46

board. sorry, can't wash your hands. Bambee

19:49

I sound so bad. that was such

19:51

a good for an umbrella and umbrella

19:53

to see later in the rain. For

19:55

so many an umbrella. that

19:57

is a few north of you care if you need an umbrella

19:59

book bag. That's all I gotta ask. A

20:02

snack, even a snack, I think a snack is

20:04

too prepared for football players. No, it depends on

20:06

the snack. It's

20:09

beef jerky, that's good. Beef

20:12

jerky, anything that's just sort of

20:14

like fuel, you

20:16

know, like a power bar, I think is fine. Better

20:18

though. Raw protein powder. Raw

20:21

protein powder, those little like goo

20:23

squares that people take during marathons. Yes.

20:25

I think that would have been fine. But

20:28

anything like, you know, not

20:31

even from a health perspective, but like you don't

20:33

want little nothing

20:35

snacky, you know, like

20:38

Swedish fish, bag of Swedish fish. No, I

20:40

don't like it. Oh my God. I'm serious.

20:42

Descent. Sour patch kids? I get out of

20:45

here. I say that because sometimes I keep

20:47

a bag of Swedish fish. Like if you

20:49

just get a little lightheaded, like little

20:51

Swedish fish. I do think

20:54

for next year, for players that are

20:56

interviewing with Sean Payton or the Broncos,

20:59

you have to get creative with what's in

21:01

your bag. I want like a picture

21:03

of Sean Payton or something. Like you have to go

21:06

all out. You know what you have? I'm so curious

21:08

if you would do like celebrities

21:10

who would do like Vogue profiles because they

21:12

loved to do like what's in your bag.

21:14

And so you would have like Nicole

21:17

Kidman being like, Oh, and

21:20

here is this photo of my of

21:22

my late grandmother that I keep

21:24

in my purse at all times.

21:26

No, you don't. And I

21:28

need I if a prospect is

21:31

willing to go there. I don't

21:36

know how to end the sentence because I can't

21:38

help them in any way, shape or form. This

21:40

is what you do. A fan of it. Listen

21:42

what you do hometown home team DVD in your

21:44

in your backpack with Kevin James, the

21:47

Sean Payton. Wow. Wow.

21:51

All

21:53

right. It's a

21:56

framed picture of the surprise

21:58

onsite from the Saints. like,

22:02

signed or something, I don't know. Who

22:05

was the guy that recovered it, like something tuned? I

22:07

don't remember. But anyway, go ahead. That's it. I just,

22:09

I just, I wanted to chat that through with you

22:12

all and you really didn't disappoint.

22:16

Let's take a little break. We'll come back

22:18

and we will get to our division

22:20

by division, most improved, least improved.

22:22

Look at the AFC. All

22:28

right. Welcome back to dual threat. We're

22:31

still talking about what's in our bag, but

22:34

we're going to go to the AFC and

22:36

do a little round up division by division

22:39

of which teams we feel

22:42

got better than free

22:44

agency in the draft and which didn't

22:46

do as much. Let's kick it

22:48

off with the AFC East. Steven,

22:50

I'll go to you first. Who's your most

22:52

improved team in the East? I

22:55

mean, this was the hardest one to pick out and

22:57

like almost by default, I had to pick the Jets

22:59

because I like what I looked at was the, what

23:01

should have been the objective going in and with the

23:03

bills, I think it was kind of

23:06

maintaining and keeping that championship window opening

23:08

with while also purging your roster,

23:10

some of the expensive vets. And I don't think they

23:12

did that first part part while I do think they

23:14

did a good job of that second part. I do

23:16

think the rosters in a much better spot than it

23:18

was. And then the Patriots, I do

23:20

think they like came away with this offseason with renewed hope

23:22

because they got Drake made, but like their

23:25

offseason moves weren't meant to move the needle. And

23:27

then the Dolphins kind of had to get rid

23:29

of some guys that kind of have the same

23:31

offseason as the bills. We just didn't really notice

23:33

it. So for me, it's the Jets who I

23:36

think the objective coming in was just get to

23:38

a point where we can all envision this team

23:40

being good if Aaron Rodgers is healthy. And I

23:42

think with the additions, whether they stay healthy or

23:44

not, Mike Williams, Tyron Smith, the

23:47

two offensive linemen from the Ravens, I

23:49

do, well, I can envision

23:51

this Jets team not only being a

23:53

contender for the playoffs, but I think it could be the

23:56

best team in this division if Aaron Rodgers is healthy. And

23:58

I think the Moves showed that. Was

24:00

pull off at this off season have helped them

24:02

minutes have pushed them forward whereas the movie other

24:04

teams in the division as bait about push them

24:06

back. English it

24:09

said. Acknowledge begun senior see him

24:11

to. An important point about

24:13

just how this exercise works. That yeah,

24:15

thats the name of the game is.

24:17

Improved for next year, right? It's not

24:19

purely do we agree with the moves

24:21

because I hate By and large the

24:24

Bills have had a pretty. Pretty.

24:27

Well reasoned off the then right.

24:29

But I also think that because of that, the

24:32

financial situation they were, and because of the. Age.

24:34

Of their roster and because of the needs had. Purge.

24:37

Some. Of those players. That doesn't necessarily

24:40

mean that I think. This. September. The

24:42

Bills have a better roster than they

24:44

did last season. And

24:46

it's see. It's the

24:49

hot it's a better going into next year that

24:51

we're looking at so I meant to point that

24:53

out but you reminded me of it. I'm ah

24:55

said. Did you go with the just as well? Or

24:57

did. You have anybody else here? J.

25:01

E T S Just yes Yes I'm with or

25:03

well I'm with Ruiz. I think it was. it

25:05

was really underrated in the off season how much

25:07

Miami was doing exactly what Buffalo was doing and

25:10

that like we're not in a good job situation

25:12

we don't have a lot of money we are

25:14

going to be able to retain or added on

25:16

Italian free and seen. I think that they've had

25:19

like a minor exodus or a minor purge of

25:21

talent in the same way that Buffalo has and

25:23

then with the Patriots know their I think have

25:25

they the worst odds to make the playoffs? Have

25:27

any team in the Nfl like they added challenge

25:30

us? They got. Better, but I still think you

25:32

to call them the most prisoners division with the

25:34

jets. They. Improved for this

25:36

year with this is a loss I

25:38

think I made this analogy last time.

25:41

Services like that that experiment where you

25:43

like rap and ageing as many tools

25:45

as you can like duck tape and

25:47

tissue paper and stuff like that your

25:49

disconnects Rob at one time for the

25:51

one time. see what happens Mike Williams

25:53

and his A C O or history

25:55

of your seasonal air mattresses podcasts since.

25:58

The I like to bring it up, isn't it? a

26:00

lot from it. But then you got sure

26:02

both their offensive tackles, both

26:04

their offensive tackles are 33 years old. Tyrone Smith hasn't

26:07

played a full 16 game season since

26:09

2015. Mike Williams,

26:11

I've already mentioned him Aaron Rodgers, obviously coming off

26:13

the Achilles. And then I also feel that this

26:16

is the last ride for Joe Douglas and

26:18

Robert Sala. Like if you don't make the

26:20

playoffs this year, I actually

26:22

think if you don't win a playoff game this

26:25

year, good night. It's over. Like you don't get

26:27

three swings of the bat at quarterback. I can't

26:29

imagine. I know they've added talent. Ahmaud Garner and

26:31

Breece Hall is really challenging. Garrett Wilson is really,

26:34

I get it, but like you don't

26:36

get two shots. You don't get Zach Wilson and then you

26:38

get to punt on that for a day three pick swap.

26:40

And then Aaron Rodgers, if this doesn't pan out either, I

26:42

do think they end up cleaning house. So I do think

26:44

it's one last ride. We're dropping the egg at the top

26:47

story. And if they win a couple playoff games, maybe people

26:49

come back and we have to rebuild and figure out who

26:51

the quarterback of the future is. But they are the most

26:53

improved team, but I don't think they are built for the

26:55

future. We can turn our noses up at that style of

26:58

like roster building, but you look at the last couple of

27:00

years in the NFL and the teams that are winning the

27:02

Super Bowl, not that this is like, that's like proof because

27:04

it is a small sample size, but the teams that

27:06

are winning the Super Bowl are the ones that use

27:08

this like dropping the egg model. Like the box, it

27:11

was like one or two years at most. The Rams,

27:13

it was one or two years at most with Matthew

27:15

Stafford. And I think the Jets are in a similar

27:17

spot. And I think it's a commendable way to build

27:19

a team rather than just being like, give me seven

27:22

years in a bunch of second round picks to build

27:24

a roster like Chris Ballard. I would not want to

27:26

root for that. There's

27:29

also an argument I was thinking about this too. Like

27:31

there's also an argument that it's lower risk. Yes, I'm

27:33

just that's coming off here. Like Robert Saul and Joe

27:35

Douglas are probably gonna get fired. They don't want to

27:37

play off game, but like they're going to get jobs

27:39

elsewhere because the vision is so clear. Hey, we brought

27:41

in Rodgers, he got hurt. It didn't work out. We're

27:43

ready to swing this bat again. To take

27:45

to another analogy, if you're a GM and

27:47

a coach combo that takes like three, four,

27:49

five years to build this massive Lego set

27:51

and it like falls on its ass after

27:53

four years. Cough, cough, Trent, bulky, like you're

27:55

not going to get another shot, but no

27:57

one's going to want to see you build that Lego

27:59

again. Like no one wants to see you do

28:01

get a full four or five year plan again,

28:03

if you don't make that work. Whereas

28:06

with the Jets, they tried with Zach Wilson, they punted

28:08

quickly, honestly, and then you moved to Rogers. I do

28:10

think that Salah and Douglas still have legs in the

28:12

league if slash win, this doesn't pan

28:14

out. I think the

28:16

Jets are the right pick. I want to make a

28:18

quick, I'll make a quick argument for the Patriots in

28:22

the sense that, you know,

28:24

if you're counting Rogers coming back

28:26

as the Jets improving, then it's

28:28

probably indisputable, but that doesn't really count,

28:30

right? Because he's not an offseason move, he's

28:33

just coming back from injury. And I

28:35

do think in New England, they

28:37

did a lot less in free agency than the

28:39

Jets. But I do think in New England, it's

28:41

maybe getting a little bit underrated, Drake May's potential

28:43

to contribute in year one. This is

28:45

something that Ben Solach wrote about in

28:47

his column this week on

28:49

the ringer.com. But the

28:51

history of highly

28:54

drafted quarterback in the zone of a

28:56

third overall pick says that he's going to

28:58

play this year. I

29:00

even think that Jacoby Brissett is going

29:02

to give them an upgrade over

29:05

what they were getting out of the

29:07

quarterback position last year. And,

29:09

you know, I like both the

29:11

addition of Jalen Polk and

29:14

Javon Baker to the receiving group.

29:16

I think they had a really smart draft. I like that they

29:19

went really heavy on offense because that's the side of the ball

29:21

that really needed some help there. So

29:24

I think just because the

29:26

build, and it should be this way, right, like

29:28

Drake May needs some time to

29:30

develop, and that offense has

29:33

a lot of room to grow. I

29:36

think because the understanding is that this

29:38

is a work in progress, and this

29:40

is not a team that is trying

29:42

to compete now and prioritize

29:44

how many games they're winning in 2024.

29:47

Although if you talk to Robert Kraft, I

29:51

think maybe it's becoming a little bit

29:53

underrated their potential to

29:55

improve this season on the

29:57

offensive side of the ball, even if it's just a step in the right direction.

30:00

direction. I'd give it to the Jets

30:02

but I just I want to make I want

30:04

to make a quick argument for New England. Lindsay,

30:06

did you go with New York as well? I

30:08

did, although I was with Steven that I

30:11

feel like this is kind of the hardest

30:13

division to to determine like a clear winner

30:15

and loser a team that got a lot better and a team that got

30:18

a lot worse because I feel like in a lot of ways nobody

30:20

made a significant move there. The one thing I

30:22

do want to like bring up with Miami and

30:24

I don't know if this is like a plus

30:26

or a minus or what we where exactly this

30:28

falls into their offseason moves is that the

30:31

biggest move that's kind of been hanging out there

30:33

for them hasn't happened yet and that's paying to

30:35

us. And I feel

30:37

like if all of a sudden in two weeks

30:40

or two months at some point between now and

30:42

you know training camp they give him 50 million

30:44

dollars a year I think that will color a

30:46

lot of the way that we have viewed their

30:49

offseason their their future plans and

30:51

kind of their resource allocation. Did

30:55

anybody put Miami as the least improved? Yeah

30:57

that's why I would pick them as like

30:59

the worst offseason of this bunch just because

31:01

one you've lost you've

31:03

lost contributors you've lost Christian Wilkins you've lost Robert

31:05

Hunt you've lost Zavin Howard I know he's been

31:07

heard you lost Andrew Van Ginkel you lost Jerome

31:09

Baker I know he was heard last year but

31:12

you lost a lot of talent I think

31:14

you lost a good defensive coordinator and Vic Fangio and

31:17

you replaced him with an unproven one from the the

31:19

Raven staff which I think could work out in the

31:21

long run but then we still have to wait and

31:23

see it we don't know how Mike McDonald's assistants are

31:25

going to work out in the long run and

31:28

then on top of that like if we're comparing them to the

31:30

Bills the Bills have Josh Allen whereas the

31:32

Dolphins have this question mark that's just

31:34

festering even more now that we've gotten

31:37

to this point in the offseason with

31:39

Tua Tagovailoa and like honestly there isn't

31:42

a great solution to this problem they have

31:44

so like I don't know

31:46

what happens with Tua over the next couple months where I

31:48

look at it and go oh yeah the Dolphins did a

31:50

good thing and like they're they're set up better for the

31:52

future because of it outside of like training him for a

31:54

bunch of first round picks which I don't think is going

31:56

to happen anybody

31:58

want to make the argument for Buffalo

32:00

or New England? I

32:05

will say that for Buffalo

32:07

they were in the conversation for me I ended

32:09

up picking Miami but they were in the conversation for

32:11

me because I feel that if

32:13

the Buffalo Bills win this division and they are favored to win

32:15

the division it's a narrow favorite but they are

32:17

favored it's gonna be a

32:19

Herculean career year career best

32:21

performance from Josh Allen like

32:24

he's going to take

32:26

a next step like a similar next step that we've seen

32:28

the homes take like two or three years ago and that

32:30

I think I'm rather bank

32:32

on that happening and him improving year over

32:34

year and him improving you know continually as

32:36

he grows in his career then to a

32:39

tank of Iowa unlocking something after what was

32:41

a rough offseason for Miami like they weren't

32:43

able to bring a lot of these guys

32:45

back the only thing the only saving grace

32:47

that I'm stewing on is if I can

32:50

hear through the through the or see through

32:52

the smoke screens Mike McGain

32:54

will coming up with another wrinkle to

32:56

this office last year weeks

32:59

one through six third

33:01

best rushing offense by EPA we've seen in

33:03

the last 20 years the

33:05

cheap motion was the most copied concepts

33:07

in football that I can honestly remember

33:10

since like the wildcat that died immediately

33:12

I admit Daniel

33:14

gets back in the lab and comes up with

33:16

some some other fairy dust type of magic maybe

33:19

the Miami Dolphins do get back on a heater I think

33:21

we forget we forget they scored 70 points in week three

33:23

they were averaging 37 points a game in

33:25

weeks one through six like he can get

33:27

in the lab and make some plays so if

33:29

he has another trick up the sleeve what's in

33:31

his bag right what's in my bag because if

33:34

he's good if he's got so I'm gonna wait

33:37

wait but I've got a backpack that's even great

33:39

Daniel carries around league of ads just just throwing

33:41

it out now we're talking now I I do

33:43

think you bring up a little point is and

33:46

that the Dolphins coaching could be underrated and I

33:48

don't know what this defensive staff is gonna look

33:50

like and how they're gonna coach but there is

33:52

a chance that they can like replicate maybe 65%

33:55

of what Baltimore had going on with their defense

33:57

and if that happens like and Mike

33:59

McDay does have another wrinkle, which I

34:02

mean, he's had a new wrinkle like for the past

34:04

five years, even going back to his time as a

34:06

49ers assistant. Like I do think they can make up

34:08

for the offseason, but that doesn't change the fact that

34:10

this was a bad all season for people.

34:14

People were writing articles about the dolphins at

34:16

the end of the 2022 season,

34:18

Mike McDaniel's first year, like, is there a blueprint out

34:20

for this offense? Do you just have to press up

34:22

the line? And like, they lost a lot of games

34:24

down the stretch. And then you go into next year

34:26

and like, literally, they people are calling the greatest show

34:28

on surf, they're ready to give the offensive name, like

34:31

it was so unsolved. It was funny. And like, obviously,

34:33

down the stretch of last season, it wasn't where they

34:35

wanted to be. And to not show up in these

34:37

big moments, Ruiz wrote a great article for the ringer.com

34:39

on that exact topic. I still think

34:41

Mike McDaniel has more. I and maybe that's

34:43

greedy. I'm greedy, but I still think he has more. He

34:45

has to have more is the thing. Yeah,

34:49

true. Right. I still

34:51

think I

34:53

hear everything you guys are saying. I don't

34:55

want to underrate just how much walked

34:57

out of Buffalo this offseason. I don't have this

34:59

in front of me, but I remember we talked

35:02

on another show about how they lost something

35:04

like 5000

35:07

snaps from from starters in

35:10

free agency. I mean, just in

35:12

terms of the releases alone, you know,

35:14

Jordan Poyer, Mitch

35:18

Moore, Trey White, the

35:20

number of just like real contributors that

35:24

that they had to cut, in

35:27

addition to the free agent losses just feels really

35:29

significant. And then in the draft, I think he

35:32

on Coleman has a lot of upside. And that

35:34

was a good recovery from just trading back on night

35:36

one. But it's still

35:40

they're just left in the situation where so much

35:43

went out, then came in, which

35:45

might be good for the long term health of the

35:47

roster. But I think it's tough to see how how

35:49

they're in a better position to start 2024 than they

35:52

were at the end of last

35:54

year. All right, let's move to the West. Lindsay,

35:57

who is your most improved AFC West team?

36:00

Okay, so I guess I just, I know I

36:02

just said that the AIC East was really hard. I

36:05

thought the West was fairly challenging as well. And

36:07

when I went through all of the rosters, I

36:10

think the Chiefs, I picked the

36:12

Chiefs here. Because

36:14

when I looked position by position, the

36:17

places that they were weak last year, I think they

36:19

went ahead and addressed a lot of those. And they

36:22

got better at a number

36:24

of positions. And that should be kind of

36:26

scary for the rest of this division that

36:28

has been just dominated for basically

36:30

a decade now by the Kansas City Chiefs

36:32

that none of the rest of the teams

36:34

in the AIC West, I think made much

36:36

of a significant move

36:38

to close this gap on

36:41

Kansas City. And that said, I mean, I don't think

36:43

that the Chiefs have solved all of their problems. I

36:45

still think there are big question marks about exactly how

36:48

some of these receivers are going to pan out. But,

36:51

you know, and I think some of the offensive line questions

36:53

that had out there still exist. But

36:57

when I look at kind of where

36:59

teams ended the season, whether

37:01

that was, you know, week 18 or

37:03

February 13th winning the Super Bowl, I think the

37:05

Chiefs are the team that have made enough moves

37:07

to get better than

37:11

the rest of the division. I did think

37:13

about the Chargers just in that they've had

37:15

like the most overhaul in terms of like,

37:17

I think they had the biggest coaching change.

37:19

I think moving from Brandon Staley to Jim

37:21

Harbaugh is going to be a huge needle

37:23

shifter that we should, you know, like, I

37:25

don't think we should discount that. But when

37:27

I was looking at the roster, I had

37:29

to go with the Chiefs. What do you

37:31

think is the biggest impact move Kansas City

37:34

made? I

37:36

think it's with both of the receivers spots. I

37:39

think it's with adding Hollywood Brown and

37:41

then drafting Xavier Worthy. And who knows

37:43

how quickly Worthy is going to be

37:45

like a legit contributor. You know, sometimes

37:47

it takes rookies, especially in an Andy

37:49

Reid offense, a while to do

37:51

that. But this is an

37:53

offense that we have seen continually evolve

37:56

over the course of the Mahomes Reid tenure

37:58

where, you know, they went. from having a

38:02

tie-rekill-dominated offense to

38:04

going to bigger, slower receivers trying

38:06

to get as fast a deep

38:08

threat but those guys couldn't cast.

38:10

Now we're going to see what

38:12

this next evolution is. Even

38:15

though it's hard to project exactly how those guys are

38:17

going to pan out, I'm really intrigued

38:19

by what it's going to look like and

38:21

what sort of possibilities it opens up. I

38:25

think I give them the benefits of it

38:27

out in a lot of cases because

38:29

we have seen a lot of them make it

38:31

work with all these different iterations of

38:33

pass catchers. Stephen and Austin,

38:35

did either of you choose Kansas City? I

38:38

chose the Chargers. It was between the

38:40

Chargers and Kansas City. With

38:43

Kansas City, I agree. I feel like you always, in this

38:45

division particularly, I feel like you view the offseason moves

38:47

through the lens of do they have a quarterback or

38:49

not. The Raiders' offseason moves don't really make sense because

38:52

they don't have a quarterback. Denver's

38:54

offseason moves aren't inspiring at all because they don't, well,

38:56

they didn't have a quarterback and I don't know if

38:59

they have one now in BONIX. The

39:01

Chargers, I feel like it's so much easier to

39:03

be optimistic about this offseason because they do have

39:05

a quarterback in Herbert. Then when you really look

39:07

at the moves, they're eating $50

39:10

million in dead cap. They

39:12

took their medicine this offseason, which I think was

39:14

a smart move on their part. Next year, they're

39:17

slated to have over $100 million in cap space,

39:19

fourth most in the NFL right now. That's before

39:21

they can rework the deals of Joey Bosa and

39:23

Derwin James. Some of these guys on

39:25

the wrong side of 30, they're making nearly $30 million

39:27

per year. They have

39:29

a chance to have one of

39:31

the better cap situations in the league next

39:34

year coming off a season

39:36

where they had one of the worst. Like a month ago, they

39:38

had one of the worst. Then when you

39:40

look at the roster and who they lost, they

39:43

didn't lose irreplaceable players.

39:45

They lose Austin Echler, who was hurt last year

39:47

and he's a running back. They lose Mike Williams,

39:49

who barely even played last year. They

39:52

lose Gerald Everett, who you can replace. Michael

39:54

Davis, you can replace. Eric Hendrix was replaceable.

39:56

He was gettable when they signed him. Kenneth

39:58

Murray was not. good linebacker. So they've lost

40:00

a lot of names, and they

40:02

shed a lot of salary. But

40:05

like the roster isn't much worse than it

40:07

was a year ago. And if Herbert's healthy,

40:09

and the coaching is better, and

40:11

some of their young players take a step forward

40:13

in like Joe Alt is a player right away,

40:15

lad mcconnies is the receiver they drafted in the

40:18

second round as a player right away. Like I

40:20

can see the team being better than they were

40:22

last year, and like significantly better than they were

40:24

last year. And if you look at like implied

40:26

playoff odds Vegas doesn't disagree, they have better implied

40:28

playoff odds than the Jaguars do right now. And

40:30

we talked about the charges like there's this team that's destined

40:33

to be one of the worst teams in the league, I

40:35

feel like they have a lot of like 2023 Rams energy

40:37

to them and I wouldn't be surprised if they have the

40:39

same season. Can I say that

40:41

we as a society are not spending enough time

40:43

talking about Jim Harbaugh

40:46

drafting Joe all yes to play

40:49

right tackle. Just the

40:51

most football hard Oh move to

40:53

be like neighbors. Adunze

40:56

No, thanks. Let's take the premium tackle

40:58

off the board and not even ask him to

41:01

play the blind side because we are committing to

41:03

the trenches. I think it's I

41:06

think it's inspired I was like, to me,

41:08

this was the chargers I picked the chargers

41:10

and I didn't think that hard about it just because I

41:13

totally agree. I think they got two

41:15

players in

41:17

all at in lad mcconnies in

41:20

the draft who could be pretty

41:22

immediate, significant contributors.

41:25

And I hear everything about the Chiefs and

41:27

I think they've they've had a totally

41:30

good offseason. They also just get like Chiefs privilege because

41:32

they're going to probably win the Super Bowl. But

41:34

I'm not sure you know, there's

41:37

a world in which Hollywood Brown and

41:39

worthy are a little bit redundant. I in

41:42

general trust Andy Reid to figure out how

41:44

to do that. But I don't know how

41:46

much they're getting immediately that that they didn't

41:48

already have, right.

41:50

And then in free

41:52

agency, their their offseason is kind

41:54

of defined by they spent all the

41:56

money on Chris Jones, which they think that

41:59

was something they needed to do. to do, keep them in the building,

42:01

great, great, great. They

42:03

did lose need, which I think is significant. So

42:05

I don't know that I can say that

42:07

I think that much more went in

42:10

than came out. I just think they're the Chiefs. So they're

42:12

going to be really, really good. And that's fine. But

42:15

I'm, I'm totally in agreement with you, Stephen,

42:17

where I think that there's potential

42:19

for the Chargers to significantly

42:22

improve over expectations

42:25

next season. And

42:28

I really liked their draft. And

42:31

I just think that the

42:34

way that Harbaugh went about prioritizing

42:37

the trench play there feels like

42:39

something that is really smart

42:41

and is sort of a philosophy

42:44

and an identity that they've been missing there.

42:46

Austin, ASU West, tell us.

42:50

I'm with the Chargers as well. I think that,

42:53

you know, part of me considered the Kansas City

42:55

Chiefs. I do actually like the Xavier worthy draft

42:57

pick for the Kansas City Chiefs. I also

43:00

like them adding Kinsey Sumitaya, the BYU office,

43:02

the tackle to compete there and potentially even

43:04

start. But you can't say the Chiefs

43:07

are the most improved team in this division when like

43:09

they're coming off like Super Bowl, back to back, Super

43:11

Bowls. And I don't know, it's tough. It's like, and

43:13

like, I do think that they've gotten better in some

43:15

spots. I think they've gotten worse in some spots. Travis

43:17

Kelsey is not going to be better next year than

43:19

he was last year. There's just no way, right? There's

43:22

no way Travis Kelsey is going to be a better

43:24

football player next year than he was last year. I

43:26

do think that there's regression coming for him. He's obviously

43:28

a focal point of the office. I

43:32

mean, are you exactly, exactly. Well, I

43:34

have a playoff Travis Kelsey. Yeah. Travis

43:37

Kelsey. He was not that good. So I

43:40

don't see that with the with the with

43:42

the contract. I mean, I don't

43:44

I don't know if the contract them coming in, like

43:46

giving him all that money is like, okay, I

43:49

don't think this guy has it anymore. Rishi Rice has

43:51

his own issues off the field. I mean, the contract

43:53

has a big deal on the field. It's

43:56

not an extension. They're just giving him a little bit

43:58

more money. And at a certain point, you know,

44:01

they had 4 million bucks to spare

44:03

and presumably there's

44:05

some possibility of a

44:07

retirement and you do what you need to do

44:10

to keep that player happy. So like, I

44:14

don't think that that looks like we

44:16

believe that, you know, all the

44:18

rhetoric about Travis is a unicorn and

44:20

he's going to play well into his 30s

44:22

and stay at as high of a level

44:24

as he's been, they know.

44:26

Like, I think the Chiefs are

44:28

smart enough to know that he is

44:31

a step slower than he used to be but is

44:33

still capable of turning it on in big moments and

44:35

they're just giving him a little bit of a bump

44:37

to keep him happy. He's

44:40

staring the Jason Witten arc in the face. It's coming.

44:42

It comes for us all. It comes for us all.

44:44

The charter is why I really like what they've done.

44:47

I think that,

44:49

you know, some of me, and

44:51

I think you hinted at this Ruiz, that like, was like,

44:54

hmm, maybe it's going to get worse before it gets better,

44:56

right? They're going to invest in the offensive line. They're going

44:58

to have to shed some players like Keenan Allen and Mike

45:00

Williams and Louis Austin Echler and maybe it gets worse before

45:02

it gets better in Los Angeles. I don't know if that's

45:04

going to be the case. I think it could be immediately

45:07

pretty good in Los Angeles. I like what

45:09

they've done. That's also, I mean, that is

45:11

the hardball history, right? It's coming in and

45:13

rehalling the program pretty quickly. And maybe you

45:15

run into trouble down the road because in

45:17

year five, that guy starts to grate on

45:19

people. But in year one, the results tend

45:21

to be pretty good. Is

45:24

that even true though? The offensive line won

45:26

in championship after year five. I think people,

45:28

do you know who started a great on

45:30

people? Trent Valki started a great on people.

45:35

Let's get, we'll get to him. We'll get to him. The

45:37

Chargers, I want to leave with this. Like they brought

45:39

in Greg Roman. They bring in

45:41

JK, or Gus Edwards. They, there's like,

45:44

there is, there is

45:46

a vision here in terms of this

45:48

offensive line being an absolute monster with

45:50

Rashawn Slater and Joe Aldet tackle, you

45:52

have Jamari Salyer and Zion Johnson, two

45:54

guard spots in Cora Lindsay at center.

45:56

That to me could be

45:58

like a legitimate, like. like, strength to a

46:00

point where, like, they were gonna beat on people. And

46:03

then, just Jim Har in general is just improving the

46:05

vibes in Los Angeles. I'm a believer. I'm definitely a

46:07

Harbaugh believer. I think he's still... No,

46:10

no, I didn't say Jim Har. I didn't say Jim Har. You're

46:12

right. That totally did. Maybe

46:15

I did. Maybe I did. An accidental abbreviation,

46:17

and I'm sorry. Not even an abbreviation, but

46:19

a cut off. But I just feel like

46:21

that the... Harbaugh continues to be underrated. He

46:23

continues to be underrated. I think what he's

46:25

gonna do in Los Angeles is gonna be...

46:28

I'm too stunned by Jim Har to continue

46:30

this conversation, so let's move on to least

46:32

improved. I'm sorry. You will never apologize enough

46:34

for that often, Gail. Stephen, who is your

46:36

least improved AMP C West team? I have

46:38

a feeling no problem. I'm gonna be in agreement.

46:42

I'm picking the Broncos. And, like, I don't

46:44

think they had, like, the worst offseason of

46:46

the 14th. I want our listeners to know

46:48

that everyone is just nodding in their little

46:50

Zoom. I would say

46:52

the Raiders had the most naive offseason

46:55

and, like, not very productive, even

46:57

though they did a lot of

46:59

activity. Like, you got Antonio Pierce dropping these sound

47:01

bites all the time. But, like, they didn't solve

47:03

the quarter. There's a vision there, Ruiz. There's a

47:05

vision there. Would you like to explain what it

47:08

is? I'm envisioning Aiden O'Connell

47:10

starting week one. That's my vision. No,

47:16

I'm with you on the Broncos. I think that the Raiders,

47:19

that's it's gonna get worse before it gets worse type

47:21

of thing. The Raiders have hired more head coaches than

47:23

any team in the NFL over the last 25 years.

47:25

It's gonna continue to be bad until we figure out

47:27

the quarterback position. For the Denver

47:29

Broncos, the vibes aren't getting better.

47:32

The quarterback position is arguably not getting better. The

47:35

receiving room is getting worse. The

47:37

defense, in my opinion, has not improved over the offseason.

47:39

Like, there is nothing to like about this Broncos offseason.

47:41

And it just continues to get worse with every detail

47:43

we find out about their profits. Do we still have

47:46

confidence in Sean Payton? That's my question. Do we have

47:48

confidence in Sean Payton during this around? I do not

47:50

right now. If Phonix is the guy he's hitching his

47:52

wagon to, I'm sorry. I'm off. I'm off the train.

47:57

The best explanation for that, though, is, like, I think

47:59

it was Jill. how do you who said

48:01

it either with us or on extra point

48:03

taken where he's like This how

48:05

many more years does Sean Payton got left? He's like,

48:07

I'm not gonna start Jared sit him next year It's

48:10

like I'd rather swing the bat on Bo Nicks on

48:12

resources that don't matter to me at all So

48:14

just get a slight upgrade at quarterback rather than like

48:16

even think about any type of long-term plan and that

48:19

kind of decision-making Is what's gonna keep the Broncos in

48:21

a hole that they've dug themselves in. Don't worry. He's

48:23

gonna be my home I Can't

48:27

feel And I I

48:29

do think that like this is an example of Sean

48:31

Payton just being like it's kind of like the Kyle

48:33

Shanahan thing When we talked about his view on quarterbacks

48:36

where I think Peyton was like Bo Nicks He's

48:39

played the most football if you watch him, he's

48:41

comfortable in the pocket. He goes to his progressions

48:43

He listens to his coaches like just give me

48:45

that guy Just give me an on-field avatar and

48:47

I'm smart enough to do the rest and

48:49

like one I think Sean Payton is confident enough to believe

48:51

that he can make it work like that We saw it

48:53

at the end of his reign in New Orleans To

48:56

he doesn't really have a choice now looking at

48:58

this roster like this roster needs every bit of

49:00

his genius for this to work And

49:02

Bo Nicks needs every bit of his genius

49:04

for his rookie contract to work Not

49:07

a good spot Militite

49:11

ended pain. I don't come

49:13

on now. Come on now. We oh

49:16

we over we overuse genius We overuse

49:18

genius we overuse genius. Come on. He

49:20

made a player Teddy Bridgewater As his

49:23

quarterback man, let's let's come let's give

49:25

him some credit How

49:28

long ago was that? How long ago

49:30

you were just gonna throw 25 yards downfield and

49:32

they were playing in the divisional round every year

49:34

I'm not I'm not taking flowers away from Let

49:38

it let the record Sean Payton

49:40

has the outside kick was

49:42

great. You referenced it earlier So

49:45

he tried to be let's not forget that he

49:47

did it as his first play as Denver Broncos

49:49

head coach Does he called an iron side kick

49:52

to open last season and it failed? Okay, you need

49:54

a new John

49:57

Payton has cooked Sean Payton has cooked

49:59

and now he is cooked. Okay, like

50:01

it's fine. It comes first all. This

50:07

is not in dispute. I just want

50:09

the record to reflect that Sean Paine has cooked.

50:12

The exercise that I tried to do with myself is

50:14

just to say what is the best move that the

50:17

Broncos have made this

50:19

offseason? Like their biggest free agency deal

50:22

was for Brandon Jones, the safety.

50:24

Like it's really hard to go down the

50:26

list. That is good as Justin Simmons.

50:28

Right. And you

50:30

factor in that Justin Simmons was like a pretty beloved,

50:33

like one of very few players who people

50:35

were like, oh yeah, I like that Bronco.

50:38

It's really hard. I mean, Lindsay, do you have one

50:41

where you can be like, yeah,

50:44

that was a good move. No. And I think

50:46

like everybody around here in Denver

50:48

is like waiting for another shoot a drop

50:50

that like feels like they're not done with

50:54

bad or like questionable moves. You

50:57

know, they got so they they're not done.

50:59

No. So I mean, you know, they had the New

51:01

Jersey release a couple weeks ago that were like widely

51:03

panned except for the throwbacks, which are awesome.

51:05

And they should be wearing the

51:08

throwback all the time. Like they're fine. The

51:10

old uniforms were bad. It was time

51:12

to go. Like they're fine. They

51:14

could have been better. The throwbacks are awesome. But

51:16

you know, who's noticed who is absent

51:19

from the rollout of all of

51:21

the uniform reveal and all of the

51:23

photos, all of the videos, everything was Portland Sutton, who

51:26

is one of their like actually good

51:28

players. So everybody is waiting

51:30

for like another, another good player

51:33

to walk out the door. You

51:35

know, I think I brought it up on

51:37

this pod before is like the whole Jersey

51:39

idea. They unveiled these New Jersey is like,

51:41

for sale, everybody get them. Who

51:44

would you get? There are like no,

51:46

like marquee players that you feel good about

51:48

like, I this player is going to be

51:50

here a long time. I love this guy.

51:53

I want to root. I mean,

51:55

is he I don't even know. That's the one

51:57

if Sean Page, because even Even

52:02

like a throwback sirtan jersey would be sick,

52:04

but you don't even know if he's got

52:06

long-term plans and the worst thing you can

52:08

do. The only good move that they made business-wise

52:10

is that the throwbacks are sick and you can

52:12

go get a John L. Way

52:14

or a Shannon Sharp. Throwback

52:17

jersey and Ed McCaffrey, Sean

52:21

P. or something, yes. Sean

52:23

Payton's Kobe Bryant when he's like, job's not

52:25

finished, but it's just kidding. Just make it

52:27

work, just continue to just do horrible. He's

52:32

gonna make us record this segment in a week.

52:34

He's gonna train his best players. But

52:38

yeah, I mean, they haven't made good moves. They

52:41

haven't had a lot of money to spend. I

52:45

wrote a note in the Jets section about

52:47

addition by subtraction by getting rid of Zach

52:49

Wilson, who the Broncos have now added to

52:51

just make the vibes even weirder

52:54

in that absolutely weird in that room.

52:56

So, yeah, I mean, I think we're all kind

52:59

of definitely done with him to pick up his

53:01

fifth-year option. I mean, never in a million years.

53:03

Yeah, though. Oh my God. I don't know why

53:05

there's like 48 hours to go. That's a Matt

53:07

Rule. Move. Sean

53:09

Payton is in the zone where

53:12

it just feels

53:14

like anything is possible with the quarterback. Do

53:17

you know how Sean Payton turns it around? This is a

53:19

low. He turns this around and beats Austin's allegations. You gotta

53:21

get rid of the visor, man. I

53:24

gave the same advice to Doug Peterson. It's 2024. The

53:27

visor doesn't work anymore. Office of geniuses

53:29

aren't wearing the visor. Josh

53:32

McDaniel's wore the visor. Where's he? Where's

53:34

he? You know, like the visor is

53:36

a death knell. I also think that, and this is

53:38

the last time I'll say it, but what's in Sean

53:40

Payton's backpack? Is it a framed

53:43

picture of the on-site kick? Is it Taysom Hill's phone

53:45

number on a piece of napkin? Like

53:47

what's going on? It's definitely a framed picture of

53:49

Taysom Hill. Is the framed picture Taysom Hill? What's

53:51

going on? What's going on? His

53:53

quarterbacking talent is in there. The,

54:00

yeah, I don't

54:02

know, like a notebook where he writes down everyone

54:04

who's wronged him in the past so

54:06

that he can enact his revenge. And

54:09

we know it's not like a takeout sushi menu because

54:11

he's made it. It's very clear. It's

54:14

not like sushi. Probably

54:16

some chicken tenders. I don't know. I

54:19

mean, okay. Ditch

54:21

the visor would be one thing. The

54:24

funniest thing for Sean Payton to do would

54:27

be to film a What's in My Bag

54:29

segment with like the Broncos content team. It

54:31

would be electric. Self-awareness.

54:35

That would be good. That would actually like be good.

54:37

It would be really good. No, I don't expect it.

54:39

Yes, I do not expect it, but I will forward

54:41

this segment to some people who could pitch that and

54:43

see if they can get that happen. Please,

54:45

please. All right. Let's go to

54:48

the AMC North. Austin, kick us off. Who got better

54:51

in the North? Why

54:54

do I want to say the

54:57

Ravens? I don't know. I think all these

54:59

teams didn't like make major, major splashes in

55:01

free and sealed draft, but I do think

55:03

I came out of the Ravens draft class

55:06

like most impressed. I think that they're a

55:08

team that continues to draft value-wise

55:11

against the consensus board. They're

55:13

also looking at steals versus the consensus board. Essentially

55:15

any pick in the top 50, that's more than 10

55:17

to 15 picks above consensus. They have four of

55:19

like some of the biggest hits on that board and

55:22

they continue to like tap into that. I think

55:24

that the Baltimore Ravens got better and I think that

55:27

this one's another tough one though. I

55:29

don't know. I think that I can't say the Pittsburgh Steelers.

55:32

I can't say the Pittsburgh Steelers even with this combination

55:34

of Justin Fields and Russell

55:37

Wilson. The Cleveland Browns, I still them

55:39

being healthy is obviously going to make them a better football

55:42

team next year. They suffered a lot

55:44

of injuries. I think that was a core reason why

55:46

Kevin Zefanski won coach of the year last year is

55:48

because he was playing without his left tackle, right tackle,

55:50

star running back. Injury is obviously at quarterback. Since

55:53

Sandy Bangles in the same vein, if Joe Burrow is

55:55

healthy and obviously T Higgins still under contract, Trey Hendrickson

55:57

requesting a trade with still under contract, I think this

56:00

team is able to kind of compete as long as Burro's

56:02

healthy. The Ravens are the team that I saw add talent

56:04

in free agency and not add talent in

56:06

the draft and not lose a ton of talent in free

56:08

agency. I'm curious why you

56:10

said you feel like you can't say the

56:12

feeler. I know the

56:14

you know the quarterback room is not exactly

56:17

inspiring, but given what they

56:19

gave up very little to add

56:23

there and then the

56:26

fact that their draft seems to be the

56:28

one one of the drafts

56:30

that's getting a huge amount of praise.

56:34

I was expecting a lot of feelers shatter in this

56:36

category, but what are you not impressed by there? I

56:40

guess I you know, I think that their draft

56:42

class is one that I really liked as well. I think

56:44

going Trove for the town and round one and also getting

56:46

Zach Frazier of the West Virginia Center and round two were

56:48

both like value picks. I think that building a line that

56:50

move it on for the young quarterback. Exactly

56:54

and then even just the improvement from Matt Canada to Arthur

56:56

Smith. Say what you want about Arthur Smith. I think it's

56:58

going to be a lot better than where they were last

57:00

year. I just come back to it. I don't know who's

57:03

playing quarterback with him. I

57:06

like Arthur Smith. I think

57:08

right now Fandall has the odds at Russell Wilson

57:10

being the starter at minus 750. If Justin Fields

57:12

isn't the starter to open the season, I question

57:15

a lot of the decision making process and like

57:17

who's making these decisions? Why? Why is Russell Wilson

57:19

starting over Justin Fields? What is the upshot of

57:21

that? Why not try? I agree, but you want

57:24

to be like what if he is? Yeah, right

57:26

because I would be the starter as an upgrade

57:29

at quarterback for the Steelers. Absolutely.

57:31

If fields is the starter and Arthur Smith is able to

57:33

like cater this offense to his skill set, like running the

57:35

football and doing these different things. I think there's a lot of

57:37

value there, but like they're going to have to play in different

57:39

offices. Like Russell Wilson does not have the juice anymore. And so

57:41

I think that yeah, what we're seeing

57:43

in the betting odds and obviously what we've seen already in

57:46

that I think that Russell Wilson is going to

57:48

end up being the starter and that worries me. I don't even know if that's

57:50

enough for you over Kenny Pickett. Yeah, it is. Let's

57:53

go back and rewatch Kenny Pickett. First

57:55

of all, yes. Second of

57:57

all, I'm. We'll

58:01

have to have this conversation in the fall at

58:03

some point because I'm just trying and

58:06

maybe this is desperate grasping

58:08

at some semblance of rationality.

58:12

I'm choosing to believe that

58:15

talent is going to win out and I

58:18

think that Justin Fields has more to offer the Steelers.

58:20

I also, by the way, the Steelers are paying him

58:22

more money and neither case is it a lot but

58:24

they're paying him more

58:26

than twice as much as they're spending to have

58:28

Russell Wilson on the roster and to

58:30

some extent those things matter to football team.

58:33

So Justin Fields is

58:36

playing there which I think he will be because

58:38

I think he is the better player. The

58:41

fact that their draft class and

58:44

their moves have been

58:46

designed to create a context that can help either quarterback

58:48

and can help in any situation and by the way

58:50

can also help you know if these are

58:52

short term moves and they have maybe

58:55

they become a Dak Prescott contender

58:58

or maybe Kurt Cousins

59:01

gets so mad in Atlanta that something happens

59:03

and or it's another quarterback that

59:05

they draft or something happens there in the future.

59:07

The fact that they are rebuilding

59:09

that offensive line in particular I think is going

59:11

to help no matter who is playing quarterback

59:14

and to Lindsay's point let

59:17

us not forget what that looked like last year

59:20

and I think behind an

59:22

improved line which they should have

59:24

with a better offensive

59:26

coordinator and hopefully with

59:28

with Seals having

59:31

won that job and being in an offense that makes

59:33

sense for his skill set I just think that that's going to

59:35

be a meaningful

59:37

improvement. Steven where are

59:39

you on the Steelers or on your most improved

59:41

North team you can take that in either direction.

59:44

I feel like this was the hardest one to

59:46

pick because like none of these off seasons really

59:48

moved me I think I

59:50

agree with Austin like I think the Bengals in

59:52

terms of net like losses and gains I think they're

59:54

the ones that that lost the least amount of talent but

59:57

I think they're the ones that kind of went into

59:59

offseason with questions that. I don't think people

1:00:01

were asking enough. Like this defense really fell off down

1:00:03

the stretch and really it

1:00:06

they lost talent from it over the last couple of

1:00:08

years. And I think that matters more than we realized.

1:00:10

And I think we need to give more credit to

1:00:12

the defensive side of the ball for the success of

1:00:15

that team has had in January over the last couple

1:00:17

of years. And if they don't have it, like this

1:00:19

is going to change. And I think the fact that

1:00:21

we haven't had a resolution on T Higgins and that's

1:00:23

still an open ended discussion is a

1:00:25

loss for them. So I can't give them the win,

1:00:28

even though I think they probably had the best offseason

1:00:30

on paper and then like even with Baltimore, it's tough

1:00:32

to say because they've lost so much, not

1:00:35

even like from the roster, but from the

1:00:38

coaching staff, like losing Mike McDonald is a

1:00:40

huge deal. I

1:00:42

can't harp on that enough. And I

1:00:44

don't think like bringing in Derek Henry. I

1:00:47

don't think that's going to change a dump. That's not

1:00:49

going to move the needle enough to make up for

1:00:52

the fact that they just lost maybe the best defensive

1:00:54

coordinator in the NFL, the best defensive play caller. And

1:00:56

then some of his assistants, they lose an assistant to

1:00:58

Miami. They lose that court in Miami. I

1:01:02

think it's going to be tough for them to replicate what they did last

1:01:04

year. And then like the Steelers and

1:01:06

Browns offseason don't move. I don't I don't want to

1:01:08

pick a team here. I don't think any of them

1:01:10

are the most improved. I think they've all moved, improved

1:01:12

or got worse the same amount. Yeah,

1:01:16

I thought we were going to have more and more enthusiasm

1:01:18

for the north. I got to say, I really

1:01:20

like the Bengals draft. I thought you were

1:01:22

I was really wrong about where this this

1:01:25

part was going to go. I thought you were all going to come in

1:01:27

here with Steelers

1:01:29

takes. And I was going

1:01:31

to come come on and say, let's put

1:01:34

some respect on the Cincinnati Bengals draft, because

1:01:36

I do think the fact that, you

1:01:38

know, look, they have

1:01:40

lost some defensive talent. They are

1:01:42

in a situation where the bills

1:01:45

are coming due on some of the high impact players.

1:01:47

And that's a that's a tricky mold to be in

1:01:49

for an NFL team and for a front office to

1:01:51

navigate. But I think taking

1:01:53

a big swing on MIMS

1:01:56

in the first round is an exciting

1:01:58

move for them. I like. that

1:02:00

they are taking a chance

1:02:05

and going for something high upside there. And

1:02:07

in particular, I love the

1:02:10

idea of the Bengals building

1:02:12

just an absolutely ginormous offensive

1:02:14

line. I mean, think

1:02:16

of Joe Burrow's history. I

1:02:18

think that's a smart building block

1:02:20

for them. And

1:02:23

they still were able to add a potential

1:02:27

impact player in the second round in

1:02:29

Chris Jenkins. So, you know,

1:02:31

shout out to Big Lou, we'll see what he can do

1:02:33

there. So actually, I thought that they

1:02:35

had a really smart draft. The T Hagan

1:02:37

situation is unfortunate.

1:02:41

I am, you know, one of my

1:02:43

personal Roman empires is that even

1:02:46

though the franchise tag is such a like

1:02:48

kind of unfair tool of player

1:02:51

control that the disposal of teams,

1:02:53

if you're using the franchise tag

1:02:55

a lot, it's because you're not making smart

1:02:57

moves early enough in your your player contract.

1:03:00

So that's not great. But at the same time,

1:03:02

looks like T Higgins is going to be a Bengal next

1:03:05

season. So at the very least,

1:03:07

they're in a situation where they can can

1:03:10

go and try to make a run and

1:03:14

still have their their

1:03:16

two elite

1:03:18

receivers. So I don't

1:03:20

know. I think I'm higher on the north overall than

1:03:24

maybe you guys are. I like a lot of the

1:03:26

music. I guess my concern, especially with like the Steelers

1:03:28

and the Bengals, is that the draft

1:03:31

class won't be ready to contribute in a way

1:03:33

that moves the needle in twenty twenty four. I

1:03:36

think down the road. Yes, I think this these two draft

1:03:38

classes have set these teams up. But I don't know about

1:03:40

for twenty twenty four. I don't know if they filled the

1:03:43

holes that these teams have. Like the Bengals had

1:03:45

holes beyond Joe Burrow getting hurt. And I think

1:03:47

the fact that he did get hurt and the

1:03:49

fact that he missed half the season has kind

1:03:51

of covered that up and covered

1:03:53

up their deficiencies. We haven't paid attention to them

1:03:55

at all because we assume Joe Burrow is coming

1:03:57

back and everything's going to be fine. He was

1:03:59

playing. during the season, like the first half of

1:04:01

the season, I know it was hurt for the first month, but

1:04:04

it did look great then either. Joe

1:04:07

Barro getting hurt is like crashing, like wrecking a car,

1:04:10

but like right before that, like you threw up on

1:04:12

that seat and like, wait, did we look at the

1:04:14

defense? Did we look at the defense and what was

1:04:16

going down here? Like this is not going well before

1:04:18

all this happened. But then you're like, well, the car's

1:04:20

wrecked. Who cares? Like next year we restart,

1:04:23

we get this whole thing refreshed up and we're going to

1:04:25

be back in the saddle. The more I talk about, talk

1:04:27

this out, the more I feel like it is really the

1:04:29

Ravens division to lose. They have the best

1:04:31

quarterback in this division, in my opinion. And I also feel

1:04:33

that like, yes, losing Mike McDonald, I still think that this

1:04:35

roster is good enough to be, I think they're the

1:04:37

rightful favorites. Now, would

1:04:39

I sprinkle a little unit or two on

1:04:42

the Steelers plus 750? Cause I think

1:04:44

this division could be kind of chaos, especially cause all of

1:04:46

them are a little top heavy in terms of their rosters.

1:04:48

Absolutely. And sorry, I heard that. Everybody's

1:04:50

in agreement on Cleveland at the bottom. They

1:04:53

didn't have a lot of resources. I would definitely

1:04:55

put them at the bottom. They didn't have the

1:04:57

resources. And I just want to correct myself. You

1:04:59

said, Zach Orr went to Miami. Anthony Weaver went

1:05:02

to Miami. Zach Orr took over in Baltimore for

1:05:04

Mike McDonald. Yeah. Catch,

1:05:06

good catch. All right. AFC

1:05:09

South, our last division. Lindsey,

1:05:12

you want to start us with the most

1:05:14

improved? Yeah, I

1:05:16

mean, I think it's the Texans.

1:05:19

They had money to spend. They had- At

1:05:22

some point they'd spend it. And

1:05:24

they spent it. They had limited

1:05:26

draft resources because of the previous moves

1:05:29

that they have made a little

1:05:31

bit, right? They still had a little bit less

1:05:33

from their Deshaun Watson trade, but the move for

1:05:35

last year when they moved up to get Will

1:05:38

Anderson Jr. after getting CJ Stroud. So they

1:05:40

were a little hampered in terms of their

1:05:42

draft resources, but they went out and spent

1:05:44

money. And this is, I think when we're

1:05:46

talking about the Texans, we kind of have

1:05:48

to remember what their previous off seasons were

1:05:50

like, where they could not bring in guys

1:05:53

and free agency on anything beyond these,

1:05:55

like one year, kind

1:05:57

of that minimum type of deal. were

1:06:00

not a destination place. Free agents were not

1:06:02

wanting to play there. There were questions about

1:06:04

the coaching staff and how long the coaches

1:06:07

were going to be in place there.

1:06:09

Ownership was a big question. And all of a

1:06:12

sudden, this has become a place where it

1:06:15

seems like guys want to play. CJ

1:06:19

Trout is a hell of a recruiter, it seems

1:06:21

like, just from watching the tape and saying

1:06:23

that's a guy I want to play with. But then also, I also

1:06:26

think he's just like, did

1:06:28

you guys watch him on Michael Parsons' podcast?

1:06:31

Yeah, like, this is

1:06:33

a dude that I think when you get in a

1:06:35

room with him and you get to like, talk football,

1:06:37

watch football, have any sort of interaction with him, you're

1:06:39

like, that's the guy I

1:06:41

want to I want to be on a team with him. So I

1:06:44

just think that they, at

1:06:46

a lot of places just made some smart moves, maybe

1:06:48

the finances of some of the

1:06:51

decisions, you know, the

1:06:53

Danielle Hunter deal versus keeping Jonathan Grenard,

1:06:55

they're paying Hunter more than they could

1:06:57

have paid, maybe would have

1:06:59

paid Grenard, he's older. But I

1:07:02

think they got better at a lot of

1:07:04

positions. And they're going to, they put themselves

1:07:06

in a situation here now, where they're not

1:07:08

going to be like a sneaky playoff team,

1:07:11

they're building to be like a perennial playoff

1:07:13

contender. So I like them,

1:07:15

I think there are some risky moves involved.

1:07:17

Stefan Diggs is probably the riskiest of them

1:07:19

just in terms of if it hits, like

1:07:22

that is great. He could be a great elevator

1:07:24

for CJ Stroud, it also has the potential to

1:07:27

like, blow up the chemistry of your

1:07:29

receiver room in your offense if it's not working.

1:07:32

But overall, I really, really, really like what

1:07:34

the Texans have done and what they're building.

1:07:38

I do think that it's a really, really good

1:07:40

example of and seems kind of

1:07:42

stupid to say, but like what drafting a good

1:07:44

quarterback and bringing in a good

1:07:46

head coach can do like like like D'Amico

1:07:49

Ryan's who hired Bobby Sloane at

1:07:51

the offensive coordinator and like obviously was a longtime

1:07:53

Texans player and like him bringing a culture and

1:07:55

a vision and obviously he was celebrated as the

1:07:57

defensive coordinator in San Francisco. That's a dub. Then

1:08:00

you draft CJ Stroud, who like on the

1:08:03

football field obviously was heroic last year, right?

1:08:06

Like awesome. 10

1:08:09

quarterback in the league. And

1:08:11

he's this like locker room magnet. Like he

1:08:13

looks like a locker room like amplifier in

1:08:15

terms of any clip you see of him

1:08:17

talking with either teammates or even like opponents,

1:08:19

like Michael Parsons and stuff like you're just

1:08:21

like attracted to what he has to say.

1:08:24

Massive, massive dub. That

1:08:26

can hide a lot of like, like all of a sudden Nico

1:08:29

Collins does look a lot better. And this offensive line does, you

1:08:31

know, a tight as power contract does make sense. And like all

1:08:33

this other stuff like, Oh, you know what? I can kind of

1:08:35

get on board with this tank. That was

1:08:37

only 160 pounds soaking wet. But like, this is working

1:08:39

for me like CJ Stroud and D'Amico Ryan's and Bobby

1:08:42

Stolich have been like a not a band aid, but

1:08:44

like they just make everything look a little bit better.

1:08:46

And I think that has been awesome to see in

1:08:48

Houston. Obviously, it's like a really cool success story to

1:08:50

follow. What I will say in addition

1:08:52

to that with the Stefan Dix piece, and I'm glad you

1:08:54

brought it up, I do think that that is my biggest

1:08:57

thing I'm looking for this year. Because

1:08:59

we all saw the details about the contract and like

1:09:01

he was going to come in with like three years,

1:09:03

nine guaranteed like, Oh, this is a nice deal. Second round

1:09:05

pick, he could be a part of like this, this

1:09:07

transition. He's like, No, I actually only want a one

1:09:09

year deal, because I want to stay motivated on and

1:09:11

off the football field. What I'm

1:09:13

really interested in is if the first four weeks of the

1:09:15

season, Dix isn't getting his

1:09:17

targets and maybe the Texans start maybe

1:09:20

two and two or three and one

1:09:22

even, but he's not the focal point

1:09:24

of the offense. How much does he

1:09:26

strong arm his way into funneling himself

1:09:28

the football either through conversations with a

1:09:30

very young still being evaluated offensive coordinator

1:09:32

and Bobby Sloak and an objectively very

1:09:34

young quarterback and like, if

1:09:36

that messes with Nico Collins in a contract year or

1:09:39

the development with tank Dell and on

1:09:41

his way that worries me a little bit now like D'Amico

1:09:44

Ryan's in my opinion does give energy like Antonio Pearson that's

1:09:46

like Guardians at the gate like we're not letting cancers in

1:09:48

the locker room and I'm just going to make sure the

1:09:50

vibes are good. So I think he's going to be able

1:09:52

to defend that. But Dix has been in two locker rooms

1:09:54

now and at both times he's left on bad terms and

1:09:56

he's when's the last time you seen a star player go.

1:10:00

to a team and everyone knows he's not

1:10:02

coming back from the chair. Like it's like guaranteed. Like

1:10:04

he's on a one-year deal, he's going to want for a

1:10:06

big money and like they probably want Nico Collins and Sam,

1:10:08

they probably have to save money for CJ Stroud like to

1:10:10

bring in a star that wants the football like a

1:10:12

25 to 30% target chair and

1:10:15

no, he's not coming back. That's going

1:10:17

to introduce vibes that I don't even know if it's happened before.

1:10:19

It's going to be an interesting challenge for Ryan's and the staff.

1:10:23

I mean, I feel like you have to pick the Texans

1:10:25

by default, especially when you look at the other teams in

1:10:27

this division. I mean, obviously they spend a lot of money.

1:10:29

I do think there's like some danger of becoming the 2019

1:10:31

Browns here. Like

1:10:33

you get the rookie quarterback and then you just try to

1:10:35

rush everything and you give them all these tools. And then

1:10:37

like the second season doesn't go as well. We saw that

1:10:39

in Cleveland after Baker Mayfield rookie

1:10:41

year. One thing is, I think Tomiko Rines is

1:10:43

a better coach than Freddie Kitchens is.

1:10:46

And then CJ Stroud is way better than Baker Mayfield

1:10:49

ever was. But

1:10:51

interesting. Interesting. I

1:10:53

do think there is a little concern there that

1:10:55

it's too much too soon with them. That like

1:10:57

when you compare them to other teams in the

1:10:59

division, it's funny because these teams are just like

1:11:01

leaning into their bits even more. The Colts did

1:11:03

nothing. Like this is Chris Balak's thing at this

1:11:06

point is we're going to bring back the same

1:11:08

team for the most part, add a couple of

1:11:10

mid day two picks and then try to win

1:11:12

eight games. That's what they're doing with this offseason.

1:11:14

The Jaguars, it's another Trent Balke masterclass, bringing in

1:11:16

a bunch of talent and overpaying for it. Not

1:11:20

needle moving talent necessarily. I do think the Jaguars

1:11:22

got better, but the price they paid was

1:11:24

a little too steep for me, which reminds me

1:11:26

of the previous offseason or two off-seasons ago when

1:11:29

they get Christian Kirk and they bring in the

1:11:31

receivers. And then there's the Titans who just

1:11:35

no rhyme or reason to how this team acquires

1:11:37

players. What their timeline is. Is this team trying

1:11:39

to win now? Are they trying to win in

1:11:41

five years? I don't understand it. I

1:11:44

mean, I think this is a three team division.

1:11:46

This is a three team division. No,

1:11:48

the Titans. The Titans,

1:11:51

the son is the head coach. His

1:11:55

dad is on the staff. I mean, their

1:11:57

whole shit's wax. I don't know what they're

1:11:59

doing over there. picking the players and like, you're

1:12:01

like, you're going to tell your dad that you're

1:12:03

not picking an offensive lineman. No,

1:12:05

he's right. Like they don't have

1:12:07

it. They don't even have a timeline. Like what's

1:12:10

the timeline? Like they have nothing. They wanted Joe

1:12:12

all at seven. They ended up still forcing offensive

1:12:14

tackle because Bill Callahan's literal dad is on the

1:12:16

staff, probably strong hiring and making some of those

1:12:19

decisions. But they're still

1:12:21

not the least improved team. This Trent

1:12:23

bulky continues to both literally

1:12:25

and figuratively start in front of people and

1:12:27

no one's willing to listen. No one's willing

1:12:29

to listen because this is

1:12:32

a team that was drafted below

1:12:34

consensus, 500 spots

1:12:36

below consensus over the NFL draft, 500 spots as

1:12:38

in first round, second round, third round, fourth round,

1:12:40

fifth round, sixth round, seventh round. Literally just like

1:12:42

my board. I'm sticking to it. I don't care.

1:12:44

I can't believe how fast you can get words

1:12:46

out of your mouth, Austin Gale. It,

1:12:48

it, when are we going

1:12:51

to pod? I am,

1:12:53

I am flabbergasted anew. I know you're, I

1:12:56

know you're cooking right now. I

1:12:58

know you're cooking. I just

1:13:00

got to say, I mean,

1:13:02

that was really something. It's

1:13:06

getting to the point where urban

1:13:08

Meyer might be under. It's

1:13:10

getting to that point. It's getting to that

1:13:12

point. Take Trevor

1:13:14

Lawrence, Trevor Lawrence was gift wrapped a

1:13:16

Trent bulky on a freaking golden platter

1:13:18

and he's wasted him. Brought in Doug

1:13:20

Pearson to be an adult in the

1:13:22

room. And then one year after they

1:13:24

went to play off game, he relinquished

1:13:26

his office to play calling duties to

1:13:28

press Taylor and they freaking dropped the

1:13:31

ball, signing Christian Kirk, bringing in Gabe

1:13:33

Davis. Now time to pay up. The

1:13:36

four of the five starters on the offensive line have

1:13:38

been brought in by Trent bulky, either drafted, traded for,

1:13:40

or signed the entire receiver room and

1:13:42

the tight end drafted, traded for, or

1:13:44

signed by Trent bulky, the quarterback and

1:13:47

the running back Trent bulky. If this

1:13:49

doesn't work and he gets to

1:13:51

like push out another coach like he did

1:13:53

with Jim Harbaugh, by the way, this is

1:13:55

a freaking disaster. Like the Jaguars are

1:13:57

literally ruining what people are calling the

1:14:00

princess. promised with a guy who is

1:14:02

farting on camera. Like, what

1:14:04

are we doing? I can't get over it.

1:14:07

I also have the Jags is my least improved.

1:14:10

Even though I like favorite one. I'm sorry. I'm

1:14:13

sorry. I'm sorry. Yeah, they

1:14:15

needed to add a corner bag to

1:14:17

play opposite Tyson Campbell and they didn't.

1:14:20

But how do you follow

1:14:22

Urban Meyer is underrated? I

1:14:25

don't... Can we talk about it?

1:14:27

I'm ready to talk about it. We have the

1:14:29

conversation. I suppose I think we just did. I

1:14:32

think we just did. And I'm glad. I'm

1:14:35

glad we had it at a reasonable speed

1:14:38

because then people can really hear your words.

1:14:41

Awesome. People can really interpret. Yeah, really

1:14:43

soak it in because it comes in so like tempered.

1:14:45

Yeah, you want to let that journey. You want to

1:14:47

let it... You want to let it grade a well-marbled

1:14:50

take like that. You really want

1:14:52

to let it... Wait, I'm

1:14:55

all for a bulky hate fest. But

1:14:57

like, who did they lose? How are they least

1:14:59

improved? I don't get that take, even if they

1:15:01

overpaid for it. So

1:15:04

here's what it is. They

1:15:06

lost Ryan Nielsen, the defensive coordinator, who everyone

1:15:09

was celebrating as this new veteran. He

1:15:11

literally left for a lateral move to get out of

1:15:13

there. Like left to get out of Jacksonville. He's like,

1:15:15

I got to go. That's the headline loss? Is

1:15:19

Ryan Nielsen? I don't think they lost that much. I

1:15:21

was going to say that they had a really

1:15:23

glaring need at cornerback that they didn't fill.

1:15:26

And I do like the Brian Thomas pick. And

1:15:30

I like what they... that they traded back

1:15:32

in round one. But

1:15:34

ultimately, you are compensating

1:15:37

for the fact that you bungled the Calvin Ridley

1:15:39

situation. And

1:15:41

I also... I mean, Steven, has your least improved as

1:15:43

the Colts? Yeah, I'm picking the Colts.

1:15:47

Enough of this Chris Ballard stuff, man. Like this

1:15:49

is why he does it because Falcon actually makes

1:15:51

moves and he gets rigged for it.

1:15:54

Yes, it... Here's who they signed. Flacco,

1:15:56

Rayquod, Davis and Trey Sermon. You

1:16:02

have a second year quarterback on a rookie

1:16:04

deal. You are saving money on your quarterback.

1:16:06

And your big move is Joe Flacco. Well,

1:16:11

I did. So I think they had a better, I think they had a

1:16:13

better draft than the Jaguars ultimately did.

1:16:16

I mean, that's fine, but the draft is not gonna hit it. It's

1:16:18

not gonna hit it in 2024. I

1:16:21

still, and I even still feel like that's overrated,

1:16:24

right? Like I think Lietu Latu is a great

1:16:26

edge rusher, maybe arguably the best pass rusher in

1:16:28

this class, but like Chris Ballard in the frontwards

1:16:30

hat, like with the slick back lettuce, just celebrating

1:16:32

it. Like it's the steal, the draft is absurd

1:16:34

to me. Adana Mitchell in the second round, like,

1:16:36

yeah, it's the seal versus consensus board, but he

1:16:39

fell for a reason. Sometimes the data point that

1:16:41

all 32 teams pass on him once, it's not

1:16:43

twice, means something. So I- You

1:16:46

can't rip the Jaguar for not following

1:16:48

the consensus board and then turn around

1:16:50

and say sometimes, who cares about the

1:16:52

consensus board? I'm just saying- This

1:16:54

is a game Ballard plays. No, Ballard's overrated. Ballard's

1:16:57

a bit overrated. I don't think he's worse than

1:16:59

bulky, obviously. I think he's just a bit overrated

1:17:01

because he like doesn't shoot. Like

1:17:03

where's that shot? Where's the chips? Let's see

1:17:06

a little chip action. I wanna see someone

1:17:08

push. I feel like that they just sit

1:17:10

in the middle and now they literally

1:17:12

have let the Houston Texans just like run

1:17:14

by them, like sprint by them. And that

1:17:16

to me is just, I don't know, that

1:17:18

obviously is a concern. Yeah, I'm all here

1:17:20

for the take that the Colts have not done enough

1:17:23

to show the proper enthusiasm

1:17:25

for supporting Anthony Richardson. I

1:17:28

just don't know that that necessarily translates to

1:17:31

they did the absolute least this off season.

1:17:34

Joe Flacco, Rayquod Davis, Trey Sermon.

1:17:38

I'm done. That's the end of the list. It's

1:17:41

gonna keep playing. They've done the least.

1:17:44

When Joe Flacco is winning his second

1:17:46

comeback player of the year award when he

1:17:49

has to replace Anthony Richardson and play the last

1:17:51

like 10 games of the season. Don't

1:17:53

put that evil into the air. Don't put that evil

1:17:55

into the air. Hey, don't say that. That's too true.

1:17:57

I thought I like heard that and like, if I'm

1:17:59

watching. I don't want to see that. I don't want to see that.

1:18:03

Hey, the Atlanta Falcons just taught us.

1:18:05

QB2 matters, guys. It matters. Well

1:18:10

then, this has

1:18:13

been a vibrant discussion. Maybe we'll

1:18:15

close it out there. This has

1:18:17

been dual threat. Thank you so much

1:18:19

to Stephen Ries, Lindsey Jones, Austin Gale.

1:18:21

Thank you to Stephon Anderson for producing

1:18:24

this episode. Thank you to Eduardo Ocampo

1:18:26

for his work on socials. And thank

1:18:28

you to Connor Nevins and

1:18:30

Arjuna Remkopal for their additional production

1:18:32

supervision. Ben and Sheil will be back

1:18:34

with extra point taken at the end of this week. Thanks

1:18:37

a lot. must

1:18:59

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