Rookie WRs with Steve Smith Sr. & James Palmer + Bucs-Falcons TNF Preview

Popsicles, sprinklers, a cool breeze.

Talk about refreshing.

You know what else is refreshing this summer?

A brand new phone with Verizon.

Yep, get a new phone on any plan with Select Phone Trade In MyPlan.

And lock down a low price for three years on any plan with MyPlan.

This is a deal for everyone, whether you're a new or existing customer.

Swing by Verizon today for our best phone deals.

Three-year price guarantee applies to then-current base monthly rate only.

Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers.

I get so many headaches every month.

It could be chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more.

Botox, autobotulinum toxin A, prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine.

It's not for those who have 14 or fewer headache days a month.

Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor.

Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms.

Alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition.

Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk.

Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck, and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache.

Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness.

Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection.

Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects.

Why wait?

Ask your doctor.

Visit BotoxchronicMigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more.

The Heat the Call podcasts are yak freaks.

These guys are real sickas for that yak.

Hi, hello, and welcome to Heat the Call with Dan Hansis and Mark Sessler.

We are freaks.

We're sick, disgusting.

Freaks for that yak sess dog.

Well, a little later in the show, we're going to talk wide receivers, and Malik Neighbors has a lot of yak going on so far through four weeks.

Pretty much.

Absolutely part of his game.

Absolutely.

Great show.

A little synergy, a little cross-promotion here with the underdog NFL network coming up a little bit later.

Steve Smith and James Palmer from the 89 podcast.

We're going to talk about the wide receiver rookie class, the historic wide receiver rookie class, seven first-round picks this year, and we'll get Steve's take on where these guys come down, how they're developing, who's jumped out to them, who hasn't, all that stuff.

Also, you know, if we're talking Yak, or talking

our upcoming segment, how about we get into today's show?

And by the way, bye week for Connor.

No Wednesday appearance for him this week.

I think he's probably, if I imagine Mark, he's

probably underground and doing his own kind of tape-dogging as we get closer and closer to the Hallmark holiday season and the November 30th release of that NFL Hallmark Christmas movie.

That would be my guess what he's doing right now.

Yeah, well, he operates in the shadows sort of naturally.

Suddenly, like a massive feature cover story will come out on SI that he's been crafting for months behind the scenes.

But I think, you know, he's, as he's aged, he's a very balanced person.

He's able to balance the tape-dogging of the NFL and the immense load of footage that you've got to go through there with with the Hallmark responsibilities.

They're both passion projects, but he just does it seamlessly.

So you know he's going to get it done in time.

Absolutely.

So, yes, so we're talking Yak, we're talking wide receivers, rookie wide receivers.

How about three crazy-ass stats before we get to the preview of the first week five game, Thursday night football?

Justin, you want to jump in and share these with us?

Great figure.

Happy to do so.

Let's start.

What did you think he was going to say, Mark, when I said would he like to jump in?

What did you think?

I'm feeling a little shy today.

I don't want to express my opinion.

I might stay off camera if you don't mind.

By the way.

So I'm stunned by this development.

By the way,

Sess Dog, first of all, he's got a little bit of a party shirt on right now.

And this is why you should be watching on YouTube.

And of course, subscribe on YouTube, youtube.com at Heed the Call Pod.

And he's made multiple allusions to be needing needing to be out of this virtual studio by a set time.

It's one of those things where you don't ask Mark where he's going or what he's doing, but you just got it.

There were multiple requests.

Hey, can we get going?

I got to get out.

We got to do this.

I got to get out.

So

there's a bit of an anxiety creeping underneath me because I know Mark's looking at that clock with one eye.

Mark, you don't have to share what's going on, but I know you're going to be able to do that.

Well, no, I think that what I'll share is a fair counter to like what's being cooked up here.

Occasionally, when you do these shows, you have to do them at different parts of the day.

And our plan was we got up very early to do a very special segment that we've talked about, kind of to knock the whole show out on the earlier side.

So I planned a very wholesome to-do item

for the middle of the day, hours after we would have, you know, ostensibly wrapped.

But then other people had needs, and I said, absolutely, we can work around that.

But then, you know, time starts to tick on.

And my only concern was I don't want us to get to my absolute drop dead time and have to impact the show at all and I see I'm looking at the actual time and I see no issues I think we're absolutely in a safe zone gonna get you out that that's we're gonna smoke your weed

that shirt has a bit of a I'm gonna put on a helmet and hop on a Vespa and go down the coastline

yeah I got this for a

I don't know some sort of not age appropriate type activity I got pulled into like a concert type thing or a beach related type thing

So

any Frankie Adelon?

It looks like a Keith Herring pattern illustration.

Justin, I think you're right, actually.

I think you might be onto something there.

Were you at like a beach bonanza party?

It never actually

materialized, but I think it was purchased for the intention of that event.

Something along those.

Yes, it was something like that.

Just picturing you doing the wipeout in 1957.

All right, without further ado, three crazy-ass stats entering week five.

All right, the first one here is per PFF, turnover-worthy plays through four weeks.

Now, there's some names on this top five list that you might expect to see based on how the season's gone.

Jalen Hurts leads the league with 11 turnover-worthy plays.

Anthony Richardson, very up and down, first four weeks.

We'll see if he's even healthy this week.

Seven.

Kirk Cousins coming back from the Achilles, he's at seven.

Dak Prescott, a little eyebrow-raising to be up at seven.

And how about Patrick Mahomes with seven turnover-worthy plays, including a season-wrenching turnover-worthy play, the interception when he overthrew Travis Kelsey last Sunday and then took out Rashid Rice's knee with his shoulder.

I'm still waiting to hear on Rashid Rice.

But man, I don't know.

I guess Dan was a little, you were on this beat a little bit on Sunday with the Mahomes turnover worthy plays number.

When I saw it happen in real time, you know,

as many people did,

and

it was the first interception that he threw where I was like, this is starting to feel normal.

Like, it used to be when Mahomes made a mistake, it was like, what the hell?

I can't believe he's human after all, but he has seemed very human, and it's been that way for the better part of two years now.

And it's just kind of strange because you would think this is the apex of his career.

But, you know, I think he just needs more help around him, and they haven't done a good job with that.

And now injuries have further compromised injuries and age with Kelsey as well.

Like, it's not stunning when you factor in what he's working with.

There's people out there

breaking down the tape saying that he has, in quotes, happy feet.

And I believe it was Mitchell Schwartz who played with him, obviously, and had a pristine run to the Super Bowl before he retired and knows Mahomes and his game very well and went through a thread and basically said that's just not the case.

So I just think you are looking at a team that if other clubs on the offensive side of the ball went through as much transition personnel-wise as they have last year.

This year, but specifically right now at the wide receiver position, and you have Kelsey being a little, you know, a different version of Kelsey.

At some point, the bow breaks and you create some of these plays.

The difference between them and Jalen Hurts is they're 4-0.

The Eagles, like those Eagles, those Eagles turnover worthy plays by Jalen Hurts have really, really broken that offense at multiple times.

We'll get to the Eagles.

We'll get to all that.

But it's okay in Tony Romo, for instance.

It's okay

to say Patrick Mahomes made a bad throw or Travis Kelsey is old.

Let's start.

It's not, though, if you're Romo, it seems that way.

Right.

Let's normalize.

Let's normalize being critical of that offense because it's no longer fun to watch.

Next.

Yeah.

Next major stat here, slightly eyebrow raising.

Maybe not after Sunday night's performance, but Derrick Henry, in his age 30 season, he is 30.

leads the NFL in rushing right now.

And in fact, he has the most rushing yards of anyone in the league since the beginning of last year, since 2022, 2021.

Take that all the way back.

He has the most rushing yards of any player since 2011.

11.

He entered the league in 2016.

That is incredible.

It's a great stat.

And also, anybody who says that Derrick Henry isn't a Hall of Famer, it's crazy to me.

I thought he was before this season.

And by the time he's through this year, health willing, I think it should be a rubber stamp for him.

And another

mark, fun fact off the fun fact,

or what's the branding here?

Crazy ass stat off the crazy ass stat.

But there's only been one rushing champion or the most recent rushing champion post-age 30 was Tiki Barber way back in 2005 with the G-Men.

So, yeah, this is something that does not happen.

It's a young man's game, but Derrick Henry is not any man.

And like, if you think about how football was like, you know, 20, 25 years ago, I'm still surprised that there's only one 30-year-old that's ever done it.

Beyond that, you look at Barry Sanders, he did it at age 29.

Then you got like the Sean Alexanders and O.J.

Simpson,

most famous for his football career, at age 28.

And it just goes from there, Adrian Peterson to 27, but it's like, wow, this is like an outlier season, and it's such a huge event for the Ravens because I think there was a fair suspicion that you get a different version of Derrick Henry or they have to table him until later in the year to keep him fresh.

And the opposite is happening.

And one last thing on Henry before we move on to the last crazy ass stat here is Henry, throughout his career, traditionally has been sort of a slow starter and he really picks up November-December time.

So

there's a lot of football left and if he gets hurt, blah, blah, blah.

But he could really ramp this thing up.

He was one yard away.

We talked about this on the Sunday night recap or when we were doing Sunday night recap, but he was one yard away from 200 yards.

That would have given him the record by himself single-handedly for most 200-yard rushing games in NFL history.

What are the Ravens doing there?

I know.

Don't fumble the ball, Derek, Henry.

Last season.

Let me see.

What is he on pace for right now this season?

Hang on one second.

There's an extra game now.

A little bit on pace, guys.

3,240 yards.

He is on pace to run for 2,040 yards right now.

He's on pace for 2,000.

That's wild.

Not bad.

All right, last crazy stats.

I'm carving the bust in Canton right now.

Go ahead, Justin.

Somewhat tied to the Henry stat here is looking at the Cowboys rushing attack.

Cowboys famously didn't have the money to go get Henry this offseason, I guess, or didn't even try.

The longest rush by a Cowboys player this year is 12 yards through four games, 12 yards.

And you'd think, oh, wow, Zeke busted a 12-yard run at some point, or maybe it was Rico Dowdle.

No.

CD Lamb, a wide receiver, has the longest rush by a Cowboy this year at 12 yards.

Bad.

Bad roster construction, bad salary cap management.

But Jarrett will tell you, I couldn't afford Derrick Henry.

Like Derrick Henry's making 50 million a year or something.

You know, it happens.

You get what you deserve.

Like an overly sentimental attraction to Ezekiel Elliott.

Like you had other options here.

It's like, and why does Dak Prescott have, why is it on the top five list for turnover-worthy plays?

Well, you've got no running game.

You can't run play action at that point.

It limits you.

You've got one wide receiver you can really trust.

I don't know.

And a bad game script.

I mean, how often is Dak thrown from behind, and the defense knows you're passing, so their coverage changes as a result, and it's harder to fit it in.

All right.

Good stats.

Good stats.

Let's pivot.

Good job there, Gravy.

You're bobbing on top of the gravy dish today, and everyone's proud of you.

Gross.

By the way, Justin, we were, you know, yeah, we were pre-taping earlier, and

he had to pause to pop out of the chair to give a smoochie

to

Yessica.

A goodbye smoochie.

Yeah.

And it's just young love, man.

Like,

I can't finish this taping without getting up and giving the little bye-bye smoochie uh it's it's young love mark and it's we were done taping the taping was over

well apparently not we were still in conversation we were doing some production and she was off to the office she's a working woman and um you know

i i think that's the way he jumped out of the chair though you know mark it was like i thought maybe maybe a small fire had broken out in the kitchen and and or you know maybe there was more construction and a pillar had fallen within that apartment complex,

that doomed apartment complex.

But no, you had to get that little pre-work smoochie in.

Yeah, and the more concerning element, just to be, you know, totally open kimono here, is that I, you know, tongue-in-cheek asked, like, did you FaceTime her

when she got to the office, you know, soon after?

And the answer was yes, without even a second thought.

It's like, wait, what?

You're in love.

I think that's...

You're in love.

Love is a wonderful thing.

Makes you smile in the pouring rain.

I think it was Michael Bolton that taught us that.

All right, let's get to it.

Week five starts with an NFC tilt.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-1 and fresh off an absolute dismantling of the Philadelphia Eagles traveling into Atlanta to face the Falcons, a team that, I mean, I'm going to be real here, Mark, and let's start here.

And I can't, you know, I'm looking forward to talking about the Bucs because they're a fun team right now.

The Falcons are very fortunate to be where they are at 2-2.

And,

you know, you want to take positives out of that another division win over the Saints on Sunday.

But they stole that one with a pick six, with a muffed punt that turned into a touchdown, and then a nuclear blast from Koo at the gun

to steal one away from the Saints.

At the end of the day, though, this is a team I think the Falcons, especially on the offensive side of the ball, Mark, that we need to see more.

I think it's time as, again, we're past the quarter poll of the season

or close enough where you got to see Kirk Cousins start to find more comfort in the pocket and in this offense.

I'm still waiting for that Bijan Robinson explosion game.

It seems like he's right there, right at the edge of it happening.

And I felt like that a lot last year, even with the bad Arthur Smith game plan that he was hooked into.

He still hasn't broken through.

There are just elements of this offense that are so earthbound, and it's going to catch up to him, especially against the Tampa team that is playing with a lot of confidence on their side of the ball.

Yeah, I went back and watched that Falcons Saints game this morning, and I'm seeing a lot of the same stuff that just concerned me about Cousins coming out of the gate.

And, you know, he's concerned.

He was agitated.

You know, they win the game, and it's not, you know, beyond that, he came out to the post-game presser, and you could just see it on his face and in his words that they've got a long way to go.

And he's still a quarterback right now that that leads the league in terms of staying inside the tackle box and those drop backs, 93.6%.

That's by far the highest.

And the offense has scored five touchdowns.

It's the fourth fewest outside of Miami, Denver, and New England.

And it looks like they've got, from an angle, you could say, like, Raheem Morris is somehow getting him to play as a team because you mentioned all those other things that happened to get them to that win.

And it's kind of like, cool, we'll figure the rest of it out.

But you are running out of time a little bit with some of the matchups coming up.

And there was an underthrown pass of Cousins that looked like a lot of his ones that have just sort of gone into the dirt.

That was nearly an interception.

A wide receiver had fallen down, but bad throw.

Because he's in the pocket almost exclusively, there was another play where he was strip-sacked, and they're really lucky that they jumped on it because that would have been an absolute game-changing play.

And they're lucky that everything else kind of happened, like the pick-six, which was an awesome athletic defensive situation.

But the Falcons offense, outside of these late-game

fiery moments where they came back on Monday night, that was a big deal.

I'm just not seeing it.

I'll tell you one guy, though, who I do think has shown

he's playing his best football is Darnell Mooney.

I feel like each game he's really, really stepped up.

And there was an interesting article in the Athletic talking about how Cousins feels like rightfully checked.

Because he's like, Mooney has become such a smart situational football player that he kind of he'll challenge Cousins in reverse in certain situations.

And there was a play where he prevented an interception in the last game.

He's made big catches.

So you're looking for hope because it's not the, it's like the fifth year in a row where the guys you're hoping would be explosive or not.

Yeah, the top of that list, I would say, is Kyle Pitts, the tight end, former first-round pick,

came into the NFL seen as a potential generational talent at tight end.

It's easy to forget now.

And then there was a Rocky first few years in the league, and a lot of it was pointing at the quarterback play or the scheme or this or that.

And now here we are again, what is this, year three or four of Pitts where you're just waiting for him to go

and he is held without a catch in week four and targeted just three times.

And that led to Raheem Morris being asked about that.

Let's listen in.

One thing that was kind of like eye-popping on the stat sheet is Kyle Pitt zero catches today.

You know, really for me, man, stats are for losers, man.

I don't get involved in that stuff.

Stop.

Stop it.

I'm so sick of that.

We had this.

I can't remember who the coach was last year.

Shit, it might have been Arthur Smith with the Falcons, as I recall,

who tried to chide reporters for reading into a lack of statistical production to have a better understanding of the offense.

That's silly.

I mean, in some cases, you could say that, but if he's being real with himself, that's a larger question about how come this guy that was supposed to be a mainstay, building block, cornerstone of your franchise is a complete afterthought in the supposed prime of his career.

And I think that's totally fair to Watt, fair to ask that question.

And Morris, enough, that's silly.

And I'll say that on Twitter, somebody did a cut-up of Pitts' routes against the Saints, and they were pitiful.

It was no separation,

kind of just an absolute dearth of any type of quick Twitch movement.

This isn't a guy that's getting open and a quarterback's not seeing him.

It's a guy that's just, he's just a guy, a jag.

So maybe, Mark, maybe things change.

Maybe he's battling something right now.

But the fact that Pitts isn't the special guy that they were promised or thought they were getting is another reason why this offense isn't going.

I had this weird thought that if you really wanted to do something out of the box here, that you trade him.

Because another team out there is going to buy too high, thinking these guys over here in Atlanta, these clowns can't figure out how to use Pitts because he still looks like a total specimen.

We can.

And if the Falcons kind of know, like, this is just not the player we thought he would, like, you get value versus it just fading away.

I'll play, let's play GM.

Let's play GM.

And Brett Veach calls up the Falcons and says, I'll give you a conditional fourth that can become a third based on certain incentives.

Do you say goodbye to Pitts?

Do you bail on the Enterprise for a mid-round pick?

I just want to know what's going on behind the scenes because my inclination is to come up with that concept is yes, I think I might because it's just not working and it's just never worked.

Crazy.

It's crazy that we're even having that conversation.

On the other side of the ball, Tampa Bay,

I mean, they really took it to Philadelphia.

And I was so impressed watching that game, Mark, because

at one point it was 190 to 0 in total yards,

Tampa Bay versus Philly.

And this was the same Philly defense led by Vic Faggio that had really

handcuffed New Orleans and slowed them down.

And then what happens in this game?

Just they have no answers for Baker and Liam Cohen, who are very much a match, it seems.

And this is not to take anything away from Baker because we were saying Baker and Canales last year were a match.

So Baker being at the center of it, they have really have a good vibe going.

They're tacking early in the downs, especially.

And Baker's doing

what he is supposed to be doing, distributing, being the point guard.

And they are a team that is, let's let's see, this was per PFF, 190 yards after the catch in week four.

And that's a quarterback that's getting the ball out of his hand quickly, getting it to his playmakers, and letting them eat.

And that's what you're seeing with this offense, and it's really fun to watch when it's in full flight.

They were up 16 first downs to zero at one point.

You mentioned the yardage.

It got even loftier from there.

I think that this is

like when we're seeing with Sam Darnold, Baker's a different situation to some degree.

He does have a new offensive coordinator, but it's one who knew him, and it's one who's playing to his strengths, and he's well protected right now.

I think the Baker that really started to melt in Cleveland, I can think of 2019 when protection fell around,

fell down around him like right away in the beginning of the season, and he was lost.

And then he played injured, and it was like that was not the right version of Baker either.

He is getting the ball out quicker than all but three quarterbacks right now.

And that is by far the fastest time to throw of his own career.

And on top of it, where there were issues like, can Baker see the field?

Is he tall enough to see the field early on as a rookie and stuff?

And there were a lot of, you know, great plays, but then really killer plays.

He's seen the field really, really well.

And he is distributing.

It's just kind of incredible to see the decision-making in this specific offense.

They're running the ball well, like at least they did against Felly.

He's a real factor on the ground.

He had another big, gnarly touchdown run, and he ran for a really important first down with his feet, too.

Some of of that stuff just wasn't happening in the past.

And I really, when he is not pressured, he has the fourth highest success rate of any quarterback in the league.

And he's not getting pressured.

He wasn't against Philly.

He was, it was, they generated almost no pressure.

And so if they can't, if the Falcon, the Falcons have the lowest pressure rate in the league.

So you can see a recipe for the success to continue for Baker.

Absolutely.

I mean,

I love watching good Baker at capital G, capital B.

And you referenced it in the third quarter against the Eagles, they pulled it to 24-14.

They have a pulse.

They have a chance to get back on the game after a Saquon Barkley run sets up a touchdown.

And Baker converted back-to-back third and longs, one with his legs and one where he ripped it into Godwin, then set up a Bucky Irving touchdown run with a downfield completion to Mike Evans.

And it's just like, he's playing with such confidence.

And when he's playing with confidence, and the team believes, and he does have that charisma factor that, you know, when we're trying to figure out, and this isn't a shot because I'm not in the locker room, but like someone else that plays in Florida, Trevor Lawrence, like you like, what is the X factor?

Like what makes the team believe?

You get the feeling that the guys just love playing with Baker.

And when he's confident and he's going and he's hyping them up on the sidelines, like it gives that team a little bounce in their step.

And other guys don't have that je nous écroi, if you will.

So this version of, and there's going to be Bad Baker too.

And there was Bad Baker last year with Canales.

People forget he finished strong, but there were some really dark moments in the middle of that season.

Let's just see if there's more good than bad, because if there's more good than bad, I think they win this division going away.

We'll see.

Well, yeah, they look like the best team.

They beat Detroit.

They beat Washington, who we think more highly of now, by 17.

They just put it on the Eagles, and they put it on the Eagles multiple times with Baker.

These are big wins, and it's not like they're just collecting W's against Hammond Eggers.

So a lot of it has to do with Baker.

A little bit, like he became a father.

I think that can change certain guys.

It's like he's the weird mix of like he wanted to be wanted by the Bucs, but he's also at his best when he finds out someone's like verbally spurned him too.

So you got to find that little middle of the mix there.

And a perfect spot for him to land.

And I'll use somebody who's also playing really well for Tampa right now, Levante David, who's, I don't know, like 48, 49, but still playing like an all-pro.

And he had in this game, what did he do?

Two sacks, eight tackles.

He had the big strip sack that put the game away in the second half.

And you don't hear about David as much, but he's like a guy that's had an incredible career.

It's just the profile is a little lower in Tampa.

And I think that helped Baker really settle in and reset his career after like massive amounts of scrutiny earlier on as the number one overall pick and all the Cleveland, the mess that turned into.

And then the journeyman years, and it's just fun to watch.

Tampa's, you know, not bad.

Not bad.

I haven't always been a Bucs fan.

I feel like you and Wes used to talk about they were hard to watch because of their uniforms.

No, no, no.

It was

in the early game window.

The sunlight looked just horrible.

It was like a blinding white sunlight that looked bad on camera.

And it was more like when you're watching Game Pass, it's like it was putting me to sleep for some reason.

But this team does not, this feels different.

Well, the sun is different now, too.

It shines in a different way upon this Buccaneers outfit.

That is true.

The sun itself has changed as a natural element to our Earth.

You are right.

By the way, this Thursday night game, don't forget, you can build a pick'em entry for TNF.

And on Thursday, a 10% profit boost token drops for all users.

So download and play on the Underdog app.

Sign up with the code HTC.

That's us.

And receive up to $1,000 in bonus cash with your first deposit for our U.S.

audience only.

All right, let's take a pause.

And when we come back, we welcome in Steve and James and we talk some first-round receivers.

Be right back.

This episode of Heed the Call with Dan Handis and Mark Sessler is brought to you by BetterHelp.

Sometimes life gets so busy, we forget to make time to exercise our brains.

Our curiosity fades.

We stop trying to learn new things, but it doesn't have to be this way.

Therapy can help.

Therapy can empower you to be the best version of yourself.

It can help you to learn positive coping skills, how to set boundaries, and help find that motivation you've been lacking.

So, if you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.

Entirely online, it's designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule.

You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home.

To get started, simply fill out a short questionnaire and you'll be matched with a licensed therapist.

Plus, you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge.

Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp.

Visit betterhelp.com/slash

today to get 10% off your first month.

That's

H-E-L-P dot com slash HTC.

Attention all small biz owners.

At the UPS store, you can count on us to handle your packages with care.

With our certified packing experts, your packages are properly packed and protected.

And with our pack and ship guarantee, when we pack it and ship it, we guarantee it.

Because your items arrive safe or you'll be reimbursed.

Visit the ups store.com slash guarantee for full detail.

Most locations are independently owned.

Product services, pricing, and hours of operation may vary.

See Center for Details.

The UPS store.

Be unstoppable.

Come into your local store today.

All right.

Welcome back.

It was a historic rookie class.

The most first rounders, a tie ever taken in the NFL draft.

And now at the quarter poll-ish of the season, it's time to check in on where these guys are progress-wise.

And SESDOG to do this, you know, the other shows that aren't as good as this one, they don't have somebody that can come in and truly put this into the proper context.

We happen to have

one of the most exciting, charismatic, productive wide receivers of the century, and also James Palmer.

So let's welcome him in, JP and Steve Smith.

Let's do it.

It sounds a lot like our show, Steve.

Just to get something out of the way, because we're all on the underdog team here,

Steve, when James, over the summer, I sensed a little bit of pushback that the show is simply titled 89 and there was no James Palmer in the title or the graphic scheme.

Is that something you've bumped up against in private conversations with James?

I don't think so.

I just, I didn't even really know we were switching it to 89, but

it's whatever.

I got a text, Steve, with a graphic, and it was your hat and an 89.

And then I clicked on the graphic, the little thumb, and it got bigger, and then I zoomed in again, then I zoomed in again, and then I saw James Palmer at the bottom.

It was awesome.

I mean, James, it's just implied.

I think it's just implied to the viewing audience that you're just naturally baked into the show.

I don't think you're.

Yeah, I think so.

The name recognition is secondary.

We don't need names when you got chemistry like Steve and I have.

So yes, check it out and you could get all of the James and Steve content at youtube.com slash at 89 show.

So let's get into it.

Steve, now

you are someone who knows the game from every angle, but I know it's personal at wide receiver and it's been so much buzz.

I mean, damn near a quarter of the first round came from the position that you used to play.

What have been your overall thoughts?

Have you been, because there isn't somebody that, there's some players players that have done well overall, but no one that's like taken the league truly by storm.

Has that surprised you, or is it, is it difficult to make that leap in year one?

I think it's been a little bit skewed, a little bit different because of quarterback play.

Naturally, when you have this many wide receivers, you have more of established quarterback play.

And I think when you're looking at the NFL now, the quarterback play has been the points, the points of emphasis, and they're now getting the weapons.

But I can see now the way the game is going in college, that sometimes you now are building with a guy who understands the system, and then you just start to put a whole bunch of athletic guys, and then you're acquiring young, good talent at a quarter of the price with draft in the first round.

Then you have that fifth year option, which gives you flexibility.

But also teams are realizing when your quarterback is having such a huge number with the salary cap, you have to have some guys at the wide receiver position or at the pass catching position

to really earn their stripes before you pay them because we've seen a lot of guys get paid quickly.

and then not live up to those contracts.

And then teams now are stuck on the hook and then they have to

try to trade or deal with the salary cap hit and it just doesn't work in today's mathematics of the NFL and the salary caps and how high the contracts are and the salary and the cap hits are on your teams now.

I'd love to ask you this because I think the last time we saw you in person, we were in London and the Ravens were there and Odell Beckham was on the field for them.

It feels like a long time ago.

But

that's the last time you saw Steve like in three-dimensionally?

In person.

Well, because

life took us onto some different paths there.

That's how it was.

Well, in fairness, Steve and I did a Winnebago trip across America earlier this summer.

Well, that's okay.

I was not invited on that side of the business.

Steve has done that with the family, by the way.

All right.

I did not take a Winnebago trip with Steve.

Yeah, I was going to say I was not in Winnebago with you.

Yeah.

That traditional event.

You are a Winnebago veteran, Steve.

You are.

Yeah.

I've done it.

You've done it with the family.

Yeah, I have.

Fun with the family.

I'm not a Winnebago guy, though.

My wife has been pushing.

I'm a city boy.

Yeah, my wife's been pushing like the, what is it, an RV?

What is it?

It's a...

Yeah.

That trip for years.

I don't like sitting in a car driving for like 14 straight hours.

Like, I don't get the appeal of it.

And she's from Texas, my wife.

So, like, going to grandma's house is a three and a half hour drive that they thought was like 15 minutes

compared to like me growing up.

So it just, I don't know.

Anyway, back to topic, Mark Sessler.

Well, I'd see it.

You can have her do some of the driving in that situation.

But

I would ask you this, because when I think of Odell Beckham, okay,

I do think there has been a wide receiver that has looked to me consistently dominant, and it's Malik Neighbors.

I just think that he has changed that offense entirely.

He's changed the play of Daniel Jones.

And I'm not saying he's the same player as Odell, but there, to me, is just sort of a hearken back to what Odell did to the New York Giants and how he changed them.

Malik Neighbors to me feels like that kind of wide receiver who's already arrived.

I mean, to the point of being in college and hitting the scene, ready to go.

What do you feel about him so far?

I know he's got it dealing with a concussion right now, but has he lived up to where you had him pre-draft?

Yeah, I had him pre-draft as my number one with Marvin Harrison Jr.

being number two,

just because Marvin was already polished.

I think when you look at Malik Neighbors, He's young.

He's not even 21 years old yet.

I also don't believe Malik neighbors or marvin harrison or these top five top six guys top ten guys have arrived the way uh ses you said it i think they still have more room to grow you got to understand you're talking about uh a daniel jones where it depends on who you ask in new york in that fan base uh has that has malik neighbors made daniel jones better um

i think that's public opinion depending on which poll you're looking for you'll get the answer that justifies your feeling.

Malik Neighbors is a heck of a football player, but I think he still has so much more room to grow, to understand the game, to understand

all the positions at wide receiver.

He's still learning the nuances.

Brian Dayball's offense is extremely complicated.

It's all like two or three words that represents the whole offense.

Let's say hypothetically, the word paper represents what the play should be.

And then on the other side, when they call a different name, that's a totally different play with different responsibilities.

And then they go opposite of the call, and then everybody's responsibilities switch.

He's just learning that with a little bit of the learning how to be a pro.

He hasn't had a full offseason where he lives, he eats, breathes football.

He doesn't have those

March and April

OTAs and coaching sessions that normally pros have because he was just going through the draft process to figure out which team is going to pick him.

What is his bandwidth of understanding, complicated offense?

Is he a Z?

Is he an X?

Is he a ZX and a Y?

So all of those things.

And so that's why I believe that he's just kind of scratching the surface, Malik Neighbors, and then Marvin Harrison Jr.

as well.

He's such a defined and well-polished wide receiver.

But even yet, there's still some things that when he learns how to slow the game down completely,

he's going to impact the game.

And a five catch for 150 yards, man, now you add...

10 catches, that may be 220.

So these guys are really fast and advanced and yet haven't even, and they haven't even learned how to master the game yet.

And they're just in their first, what, six months on the job.

And James, you've covered the league for a long time.

And it's like when you look at how the Giants are deploying neighbors as a rookie player, to Steve's point, like so inexperienced, and yet he leads the NFL with 35 catches.

He has seen 38.2% of New York's passing targets this via the athletic.

And then this, I like this little nug, JP.

Hit me.

Only two players since 2000, Brandon Marshall and some guy named Steve Smith, had a higher team target percentage in a season.

And I'm going to guess, it doesn't say what year, Steve, you were killing it with the target percentage, but you were probably an established player, I would think, by that point.

The fact that this rookie player who's played one month has that much of the offense, that's unusual, right?

Yeah, it is.

And I was going back, looking at the notes, and Steve and I did a bunch of shows before we made this official and partnered and made a show.

I jumped on during the draft.

Remember, Steve, when we broke down a bunch of receivers, and I was going through some of those notes this morning, and it's kind of funny now, because one of the biggest notes was, he's just so gifted.

This was from a wide receiver coach.

He plays the game, Steve, exactly as you want the game to be played.

Just kind of the way he goes about his business.

The other note with that was,

I'm curious about what team he lands with.

A big market could be scary for Balique neighbors.

New York's not a big market.

Even a decent-sized market, I think, in New York.

But you're right.

I will say this.

There's been a player like this over the last couple of years, rookie-wise,

that has had to make this kind of contribution to an offense.

I think like three of the last four years, we've seen a rookie go over 1,400 yards.

So like there has been that.

And he looks to be the guy right now just by a system of circumstance.

But what Steve's saying is exactly right.

And I think he's showing like, if you talk to people in New York, he's he's showing like hints of that, of Steve's talking about understanding the position and understanding what comes with it, playing it at a high NFL level.

Like one instance that comes to mind is there was a, like a, he's changed some routes on his own, obviously during the week with Brian Dable.

Hey, if we see this, can I do this?

And they've listened to him.

To have that kind of input, I think, at times is kind of maybe a, a feather in his cap that he's headed in the right direction early.

How about the physicality, Steve?

Like in that game on Thursday night, there is a price to be paid there with that level of target share.

And he was beat up by the fourth quarter, and then he goes out with a head injury.

For a guy that's still developing physically as a rookie, do you think that, in your experience, is that an issue the way the Giants are using him?

I mean,

that's a fantastic question.

And I think there's the answer is yes, and the answer is no.

It really depends on each guy.

What is his habits?

Is he taking care of his body nutrition-wise?

You know, all of that.

You can't avoid

just the impact of football.

You can't avoid the workload.

Now, what is the question is how does a guy take care of his body?

Look at Derrick Henry.

He's had a heck of a workload.

And he's

what, in his 30s, in his 10th year.

So

it's not impossible, but not every football player is built the same.

Not every football player carries themselves the same.

Not every football player takes care of his body the same.

So each guy has to figure out what is their routine for them that can help them through the longevity of the season.

And then

what is their routine in the offseason that can help them with the longevity of their career?

I want to ask about Brian Thomas, because you mentioned like the up-and-down nature of quarterback play.

And if you get put with a rookie quarterback, like if you're on Doomsday, like we get that, there's going to be some hot and cold there.

You would have thought that Trevor Lawrence would have provided a really high-floor opportunity for Thomas.

And Thomas has looked great to me, but I just feel like he's also probably someone that could have about an extra 120 yards if Trevor Lawrence had found him correctly, especially in that Houston game.

He was there on Sunday.

Right.

In that Houston game, it's like he totally burned Cammy Lastery's wide open.

That's one of, I think, maybe three throws where Lawrence was just off to Thomas.

And so that connection is still building.

But with Thomas, am I crazy to think like he could walk out of this season with us thinking like he is an absolute number one?

He's big and physical, and he's the kind of guy that you can build like your wide receiving core around at starting now.

You have to, and that's why the Jacksonville Jaguars

took that opportunity to take him.

I know there are some other teams as well that was looking at Brian Thomas Jr.

as that same guy.

When I was watching the film at LSU, he was not given the same opportunities as neighbors because neighbors is neighbors.

And look at him.

But Thomas is one of those guys who was perceived as Robin.

But as I watched the film last year, I thought he was more, had the possibility of being a Batman.

And you can see now that he is Batman.

The unfortunate part is the inconsistency of that offense and the quarterback play for the Jacksonville Jaguars has impacted him.

But that's also a great opportunity because he's going to learn so much because he's getting so many different reps.

He's getting so many different passes, good passes, bad passes, going against some awesome corners who are really good.

So he's getting that on-the-field experience that you can't really get unless you play.

I like that.

I want to jump in on Brian Thomas because, Steve, the thing that jumps out at me and other people I talk to around the league kind of mentioning him is he's a big guy, but he moves like he's like six foot.

You know what I mean?

That's a dangerous combination when you have the speed that he has.

And I go into

the situation he landed in.

We're looking at some of the issues with it.

Also, he's landing into a situation where that offense goes through Christian Kirk, and he's allowed to grow in his rookie year, even though he's leading, I think, the team in receiving.

But, you know, there's guys that do get targets.

Evan Ingram, a year ago, had more targets than more catches than any tight end ever.

And the spot that he's filling in to kind of drive this home is Calvin Ridley's spot.

I remember being down there at camp a year ago, and it was like, Calvin Ridley is going to be their number one.

This is going to be great.

And the things that Ridley couldn't do are things that Brian Thomas can do very well.

I see Steve nodding his head down there.

And specifically,

that's getting off the line of scrimmage.

And that's that first step.

See, Steve keeps nodding.

Oh, I know I'm on to something.

And that means

the way he can, he's so slippery at the line of scrimmage.

His getoff

and press and those things, those were things Calvin really couldn't do in that offense.

And they recognized it, and they saw it.

And I think that's kind of interesting that his strengths

were, you know, he's filling in for a spot that were weaknesses for the previous guy.

And they recognized that in Jacksonville.

And being at that game on Sunday, and you're at that press box in Houston, you're like, you know, you're in the sky.

And you get to to see, though, the play develop.

He was open all day.

I mean, he really was.

I know you're close to the Chiefs, James.

And so I'd kind of like to quickly get both of your thoughts on the Xavier Worthy experience so far, because they're obviously maybe in a position where they wouldn't have wanted to be, where he's going to have to play a bigger role.

They're going to need him to play a bigger role.

But is this...

He strikes me as more of a, I don't want to say Deshaun Jackson because

that would be rich, but like like kind of a run him on go routes and use his speed but can he volume-wise go do everything else he needs to do

hey Mark and Dan

let me ask you yeah yeah

I just brought up my Brian Thomas

pre-draft yeah okay

you'd be interested to see what I said

back then

let's hear it yeah you ready yeah mark we're gonna get to X worthy no I don't want to hear this this is

treasure.

So I have

the remarkable.

So these are my handwritten notes.

Okay?

Love it.

Yeah.

Yep.

All right, Brian Thomas

Jr., number 11.

Best games.

Army, Florida, Old Miss.

Worst games.

Auburn,

Missouri, Alabama.

Where does he do his work?

12% in the slot, 87.5% out wide, 888 plays out wide, 122 in the slot.

38 games played, 127 receptions, 1897, 24.

20, 23, five drops, total in his whole college career, 13.

First downs in 2023, 48.

First downs total, 81.

Things I like and need to work on.

Very shifty.

See, most you see mostly when the ball is in his hands.

Has another gear.

Little too upright, leans up

to him and slips a little bit.

Smooth and effortless runs almost like

he is cruising, but it's not the case.

Pro Day runs like he runs his route like Brandon Ayuk.

Nice, easy route runner, sneaky good.

Wow.

That was my write-up on.

Well, I mean, brilliant, beautiful.

We get great pros.

I didn't know Steve was a writer, also.

He does the homework.

You don't know the homework my guy does.

No, that's incredible.

All right, I'll put it.

Let's get real then because that's glowing.

That's what you thought I was doing.

Yeah.

Is it possible that Brian Thomas can be the best guy to come out of the class?

Do you think that highly of him?

I don't think that's a fair assessment because it depends on his team, right, and his success.

Yeah.

Right.

So you can say that he's better than this guy because he had a hundred targets and the guy that you're comparing him to is picked ahead of him is on a team that he only has 20 targets.

Is that his fault?

Well, you know what?

And we got to let you guys go because you guys are real busy, obviously.

But this is part of the reason why Steve Smith should be in the

goddamn Hall of Fame, by the way.

Because what you were able to do with non-Hall of Fame level quarterbacks throughout your career, that's just certain guys are just the special type of dudes that make it happen no matter what.

And maybe, is that in some ways the true test of a wide receiver that you remain productive?

Not that Trevor Lawrence is a bad QB by any means, but I mean, these, the truly special guys, they don't disappear when the QB pay, unless it's the Miami Dolphins and, you know, respect and shout out and love to Tyreek Hill and poor Jalen Waddell.

But yeah, like that, that's a real sign of these wide receivers, too, right, Steve?

Like, can you keep producing even when the QB isn't at a high level?

No, I think that's unfair.

I was blessed and I was in the right position.

But I'm going to tell you, not every situation is built with the same efficiencies and deficiencies.

And so it's unfair to compare someone else's bad or good quarterback play in the same situation because there's reasons why.

Sometimes it's a quarterback.

What about the offensive coordinator?

What about the offensive philosophy?

What about what these teams emphasize?

Are they a run first team, right?

Are they a pass first team?

It all varies.

Is it a four or five wide receiver?

You got to remember, guys are running out of tunnel.

Now they're announcing three wide receivers at a time, where there used to be two wide receivers, a full back running back, and a tight end.

Now it's two tight ends, three wide receivers, one running back.

So it all varies, and I think it's unfair to compare apples and oranges

as the same fruit, but then you want to...

you want to utilize the fruit salad when it's convenient.

So it's very tough to do that.

And I don't think it's fair.

You like that analogy, huh?

I like fruit Help.

Also, I like Dalome in 38 was out of his mind playing at a great level, so respect to Jake.

One last thing before we go.

Well, do you have a quick because Mark needs it?

He needs Xavier Worthy take.

Is he going to be able to step up in that Kansas City offense?

The chance of a three-peat could ride on it, but they're all.

Like right now, basically.

Right now, no, this isn't what they planned for, Mark.

Like, that's the issue.

Like, he was supposed to be the compliment to Marquise Brown.

That was how they were going to bring him along.

That's how they planned it.

Steve and I had this conversation on our show kind of about what situation they're in.

And Steve made a great point about like when you get thrown into a situation or you were preparing for one.

They were preparing for Rashi Rice to have a big role last year when he was a rookie.

They weren't preparing for Xavier Worthy to be their explosive player.

They were preparing for him to be brought along in a manner, because I'm talking to a bunch of people there, is the compliment to Marquise Brown.

Now he's going to be thrown into a comment.

completely different situation.

And to be completely honest, they don't know how he's going to respond to it because it's not in the mold of which they've prepared for so

we're going to see uh over the next couple weeks um as his role is going to increase there's a lot of things they like about him for sure there was a really interesting thing um that's been kind of brought up by some people that speed is one thing that speed steve in the fourth quarter what's that speed like because it changes the through the course of a game in terms of how much you're used the physicality in which the game was um is that speed that he has that's so rare the same in the first quarter to the fourth quarter?

Because that's not the same with every player.

They don't know that yet.

So, what I had with Worthy,

right, it's

best games, Kansas, TCU, Rice, Oklahoma State.

405, 31%

in the slot, 895 out wise, 68%,

2,755

receiving yards, 197 receptions, 39 games, 26

touchdowns, 5 drops, 2023, 15 total drops, 44 first downs in 2023, 118.

Things I like, extremely fast.

Besides speed, what else does Worthy do?

He is your number two or number three.

Super speedy guy.

Very good yak.

After the combine, I believe when he ran his 4-2-1, his confidence built up.

If you watch his pro day at Texas, he was the only player when they did the pro day, he was going.

He didn't stop for water.

Guys were bent over, huffing and puffing.

This is a player

that I see he's going to get better and better.

But to expect that

worthy to all of a sudden be this number one receiver that

Rashid Rice was becoming this year at 40% of the receiving yards for the Kansas City Chiefs.

And all of a sudden, he goes down in the middle of the game, and you expect Xavier Worthy, who was just drafted six months ago, seven months ago, to all of a sudden wake up, roll out of bed just because he's fast, to be able to do what

Rashid Rice was doing, which they took almost a year and a half to develop and learn and walk through and get the muscle memory and get the coaching.

That's not a realistic expectation, but Worthy has all the tools and the ability and the willingness.

But you just got to be patient and understand this is a guy who you were expecting to be the home run hitter.

Now you're extending him to be, yes, the home run hitter and also be the intermediate route runner, also beat the press, also go across the middle, learn how to run a shallow and a cross that it took Rashir Rice a year to figure out.

Now he's supposed to just know and do it perfectly off the bat.

That's unrealistic.

However, Andy Reid is masterful and they know what they're doing.

Matt Nagy knows what they're doing, but they also know that you have to teach and give a guy a little bit at a time.

You can't give a kid a paper straw, turn on the fire hydrant and expect him not to drown.

You got to give them into it in cups and in measurements, because if not, that's how you have a top pick.

They figure out how to drown in a cup of water.

Lose that confidence he gained, Steve.

Mark, I use that straw paper cut analogy with you and our podcast as well.

It's not a steep

handle.

That's good advice for children everywhere.

So

it's not just football, it's life counsel as well.

So thank you.

Before we say goodbye, Steve, you were on Sunday night football.

You were doing something a little bit different,

trying something new.

Do you have this, Gravedigger?

Work it.

Oh, hell yeah.

Look at that.

Steve Smith Sr., the newest member of the Marching Ravens.

Is this a permanent gig, Steve?

What's going on here?

No, it's not a permanent gig.

Just from my YouTube show,

NFL channel.

NFL YouTube, it's most interesting jobs.

Getting an opportunity to do a whole bunch of stuff, man.

Having fun.

I've cooked for a team.

Got a team.

I've done their equipment for the Super Super Bowl.

What else have I done?

I did a flyover.

I've done how to make a football at Wilson.

So I've just, man, I'm just living my best life, bro.

I mean, it seems a little unfair that the star football player is also better than anyone in the marching band, too.

No,

see, that's a cat.

I was not.

You don't understand how nervous I was.

Just making sure.

I wasn't.

And I was really playing, but they had dumbed down my part because I was only able to play eighth notes and quarter notes.

Those guys play 16 notes, 32 notes.

I'm not there, won't even get there yet.

No, I'm not even trying to explore that.

Really?

I never thought Steve Smith ever got nervous.

That's a, I can't believe it.

I was nervous, bro.

I didn't have to give me a thumbs.

I had indigestion, bro.

All right.

Guys, it's so cool that we're on the underdog team together.

And thank you for joining us to talk some wide receivers.

It's 89.

It's It's Steve Smith.

It's James Palmer.

James, there you are, buddy.

And James, you're going to circle back with us and help us out with a little TNF recap of Bucks Falcons on Thursday.

So we're going to see you again soon.

So thank you very much, guys.

Thanks, guys.

Very welcoming.

Very welcoming podcast to join.

Very welcoming show.

All right.

Until next time.

Heed the Call with Dan Hanses and Mark Sessler is on Underdog.

So why not start playing on Underdog today?

The football season is nearly a quarter of the way through.

Before you know it, the Super Bowl will be here and then that's it.

No more football.

So why not maximize these next few months?

Get the most out of your football viewing experience by playing all season long on Underdog.

I've been playing and honestly, mostly winning.

Not every time, but many times.

So my underdog experience is just tremendous.

I love how easy it is to play on the Underdog app and it's even easier to get started.

Just download the Underdog mobile app or go online at underdogfantasy.com.

Sign up with the promo code HTC.

That's us.

And Underdog will give you a free pick to use on your first cash pick'em entry, plus up to $1,000 in bonus cash when you deposit.

That's Underdog Fantasy promo code HTC to claim your new customer special of a free pick and your first deposit offer for our U.S.

audience only.

Tito's handmade vodka is America's favorite vodka for a reason.

From the first legal distillery in Texas, Tito's is six times distilled till it's just right and naturally gluten-free, making it a high-quality spirit that mixes with just about anything.

From the smoothest martinis to the best Bloody Mary's.

Tito's is known for giving back, teaming up with nonprofits to serve its communities and do good for dogs.

Make your next cocktail with Tito's, distilled and bottled by Fifth Generation Inc., Austin, Texas, 40% alcohol by volume, savor responsibly.

All right, we are back.

Yes, excellent conversation there with Steve Smith and James Palmer.

And yeah, Mark, like that,

as a journal, you were doing the job.

You were getting that Xavier worthy question out.

But Steve was just,

he had on his mind.

He had another player on his mind, and he had to get more Jags takes out there.

And we came back and got to that worthy convo at the end.

So it all worked out in the end.

It did work out.

And, you know, it's funny because

your mind kind of can go in different places during these shows sometimes.

But I was thinking about another

ex-co-worker of ours who notoriously would get caught

like literally in a deep sleep during like the 10 a.m.

games here in L.A.

And like you just find him in a couchy at his own little room.

He's gone on to other things of maybe more.

I would say Deion Sanders.

Noel, I mean, it's a bit of a composite because it's Deion, yes, but it was also, there were similar stories to others, and many worked very, very hard.

But like, it's nice to see

Steve Smith, like, literally pulling out, like, his deep scouting report on these guys.

Wait, are you telling me that Deion wasn't tape-dogging when he was working at NFL Network?

I can't confirm.

These are stories.

I didn't

have a first-hand account, you know.

I remember the old post-game show where it would be the NFL Network would have Deion on to do Deion highlights, and they would have a DJ in the studio.

I was like, this is, you know.

Yeah, that all checks out.

I don't think he's grinding it out and giving out PFF grades

during the Sunday from his personal office.

No.

Deion was the only one,

anyone, I mean, anyone in the building at the old studio, at the old Culver City office, he had his own chamber that was his, that you needed a key card to enter, and they had decorated it with all Deion Sanders, like career highlight, you know, posters and bobbleheads and autographed footballs and this and that, and then a big couch.

And we one day we realized that our key cards, for whatever reason, or somebody's key card, could access Dion's private lounge.

That's where he would ostensibly watch football on Sunday or sleep.

And

we used it and filled a segment, like a pre-tape, with Ricky Hollywood directing it that involved us.

What was it, popcorn?

No, it was, we were, it was meant to be sort of an absurdist segue into one of our actual shows.

And it was all four of us passed out face down on the floor of Deion's cavern in masks and like dressed up in really bizarre sort of pirate uniforms.

And

I went to the huddle and got like a giant barrel of onions that we poured on the floor all around us.

And then

Sean O'Hara is, he played the role where he came into Deion's office to actually

find this,

be a football guy, right?

And he finds all four of us conked out from who knows what with onions surrounding us in masks.

So that happened.

Deion has no idea that ever happened in his role.

Well, and also, well, maybe he does because the capital of that story was that the key card didn't work after that when we tried it again.

Fair.

We might have gotten a talking two.

But I just said that to point out just that, you know, Steve Smith kind of is there showing us these papers dense with information and

collecting his receipts on how many times he was correct on these wide-outs so far?

Right.

The other fun part of that conversation is when I made the farcical comment that Steve and I had gone on a Winnebago trip together last summer, it was very clear he wanted to make that clear, that it wasn't something that happened.

Yeah, I think

for other receipt purposes.

Yeah.

All right.

Good stuff.

Good show.

Thank you to everybody

for supporting us.

Remember, hashtag 48.4.

That's what we're going for on the YouTube.

YouTube.com backslash at Heed the Call pod.

Also, Rolling Thunder, Throwback Podcast, the Friday draft, an upcoming Mark Sessler penned newsletter can be found on patreon.com slash heed the call.

So sign up there and get that extra HTC goodness.

Anything else, Mark?

No, I just would encourage people to listen to all that stuff and sign up.

They're all getting interesting to positive reactions so far.

And just not for nothing, it looks like we're a good 15 minutes clear of your self-imposed hard out.

So it looks like everything's going to okay.

No, it worked out fine, and I don't think I appear stressed on any level.

So, you know, strike that from the stress was on me.

I don't think that at all.

The stress was all on me.

Hop on that Vespa, shoot down the PCH, and get into those

Beach Bonanza 58.

Do the wipeout with whomever it is that you do such things.

Well, that happened 70 years ago, but I'll recreate it, yeah.

Mr.

Smoochies, yes.

Not to point out this to make you look bad, Dan, but a backslash is the opposite slash.

You said the YouTube address with a backslash.

It's gone

a little bit of a boomer moment there.

That's the wrong way.

How about we, I mean, okay, first of all, F you.

Second of all, are we still, do we still need to make it clear at this point?

it's in 2024 like if i say slash you know what direction it's going right no that's fair that's you still saying backslash i mean i'm just saying

i don't know i'm not i'm not gonna take that l

i guess it's synonymous all right all right we'll see everybody on thursday week five preview the wheel keeps turning till then heed the call