Around The AFC in 47:29

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The Heed the Call Podcast.

Wants to just enjoy some ball, man.

That's who we are.

We're ball guys.

Dan Hansis, Mark Sessler, Heed the Call, episode 5.

Hell yeah, what's up, Mark?

I mean, that is not a statement.

That's not how I would have described my relationship with football verbally prior to this new assignment, but now I will.

I will do anything now.

Yeah.

I'll do anything anyone asks.

And

here's the thing: in case people missed it, I would imagine everyone that listens to our show listens to literally every second of the show, but there was a revelation late in our Monday episode, just to bring it back around again: true journal move, true broadcaster move at the top of the show today.

Call it Kismet, call it fate, call it sliding doors, Call it momentum.

Call it what you will.

How else

to explain how Mark Sessler is suddenly in a universe where he is colleagues with both Bill Belichick and Colt McCoy?

Oh,

this is unbelievable.

Yeah, well, you know, it's so interesting.

It's like

I probably got, sometimes you just find out it's like you don't even interact with anyone and then you get pinged on something by like a billion people and the Colt McCoy announcement um it's not about me it's about Colt McCoy so I was kind of feeling bad that like underneath some of his own messaging and stuff it's like oh like Mark Sessler is gonna go crazy and this guy's like who is this guy who is this person but I mean

I think if a year ago you said that we would be co-workers and I'm not sure that to equal degrees

Sessler I mean how about that guy who is that guy well how about he sit down because like look where we are now but like I don't know what Bill Belichick would think he's the top 10 football insider.

It is.

Part of the dance here is just dancing around these sound clips.

But

I do think it's hilarious to think a year ago that we would be working with two

icons, in my opinion.

And every minute takes us closer.

Every day takes us closer.

Every second takes us closer to that dinner in a couple of weeks, the showdown with Mark Sessler and the gravedigger, Justin Graver, for Colt McCoy's Love.

And then the old Seusser just having some Titos and vodka and being himself and letting the charm do the talking.

What's up, Justin?

Oh, no, I didn't have anything to say.

I just wanted an excuse to bring myself onto the screen.

That's a reference to me.

Mark, this is a problem.

I think we've created a monster, and I don't know if there's a way to take the monster down.

No, true analysis.

I think in our first week plus with Justin, he was sweet.

He was compliant.

He was professional.

And you're starting to see a shadow figure, a different version of Justin creep in with each passing hour.

Justin is on acid right now.

We're going to have a talk about these

stringest drops, too.

All right.

We're going to talk about that off mic.

On mic, one of my favorite shows we do every year.

It's around the AFC in

the AFC in

three-minute increments, 16 times.

Okay, that works.

Around the AFC in 47 minutes?

How do we play this?

How are we safe from any type of skullduggery?

Does anybody know?

47 minutes, 59.9 seconds.

Bang.

Nailed it.

There's that.

I think the middle one rolls off the tongue a little more, and it kind of means we can punish one team with maybe just a two-minute increment.

If that's how the math works, I'm now doing that.

Yeah, you know what I mean?

Maybe one team deserves to be punished for something that annoys us.

All right.

Well, let's keep that in mind.

Justin, as the producer, you will be tasked with deciding what team gets just two minutes.

I'm sure that's going to bring a lot of ear.

And what we do, Sess and Tugbo, what we do,

we know when to accept the praise from the audience and then know where we need to push the scorn.

So whoever gets the two minutes, it is the producer's decision, not us.

Another decision of ours was to get someone special on the show to do this.

We do it with four people.

Justin's one of them.

Mark's one of them.

Zuzzer's one of them.

And the fourth man is a legend, a real proper broadcaster joining us, the great Andrew Ceciliano.

Let's go.

When you said you were hoping to get a lot of ear,

and then I appear.

Good to see you guys.

This guy, he doesn't miss Ceciliano.

He does the bits.

He's got the self-deprecation and that voice.

Oh, that voice.

Andrew, we have been very blessed so far in just the five episodes

to have so much talent coming on the show, talent that we worked with at our previous stop.

So to be back together again is very nice.

We've had this special setup with James Palmer, who was on the show recently.

Obviously, reconnecting with Justin.

It was an amazing thing.

Hold on.

Did James Palmer wear a hat?

Because I would have to imagine, I'm wearing a hat.

I just came from Rams Practice.

Got to protect yourself from the sun's harmful rays.

I'm guessing that James Palmer did not have a hat on because he has luxurious hair.

No, he's got a hand.

Palmer has never

in his home.

Yeah.

You've got nice hair too, but he made it clear to

new viewers, new and old, that his hair is at an A-plus level.

Yeah, it's good.

I have hat head right now.

Not good.

Andrew,

you are, of course,

like I said, you just came off Olympics coverage for NBC.

You're going to be all over the place, NFL-wise, college football.

But you've also done this exercise before around the AFC in 47 minutes.

So you know the rules.

Each team gets the same amount of time, except for one.

Your thoughts on that before we get into it?

Can I clarify something with you guys?

Sure.

Last time I was in studio, I think doing the same bid,

you had like this hard clock.

Well, you had the countdown clock, right?

Right.

And then it was almost like if you...

If you finished a thought or if I tried to put a button on something or if I agreed with you, Dan, as the host, wrapping up that team's couple of minutes here, then it was like I was a dog hitting the electric fence, and like there were all the kinds of, and I, yeah, there's that too.

And I think, honestly, we had our group text afterwards.

I think you were unintentionally harsh with the way you came after me with the dark gun and all that.

So, are these the same guidelines?

Is what I'm asking?

Unfortunately, and I hate to be the bear.

Oh, that's fine.

I've learned the rules.

It's fine.

Yeah.

Yes.

We'll see.

But you should also know two important things.

One, I don't shoot the trank gun.

It's the producer.

Once again, good things, me and Mark.

Bad things, the other guy.

The other news is it's a different producer.

You got tranked by somebody else.

Justin has a steady hand, and he will only hit you with that dart if you go over the time limit.

I think that he's a man of integrity, but he's also a sharpshooter, so just be ready.

Yeah, and that's also a great plausible deniability from you.

See, we know each other.

We worked together for so long, and now we're together again.

Let's get into it.

Let's begin this fun trip through the AFC, and let's start with...

Are you ready, Andrew?

Yes, let's go.

All right, let's do it.

Let's start with the AFC East, and I will get us going.

Gravedigger?

Yes.

Usually we have some type of, it's like a fog horn, like if you're at DJs in Belmar, a celebration that throws us into it.

So now we're going to pretend that it's there, and then we're going to add it.

Oh, there it is.

All right, hit it on.

The Bills never got over the hump in phase one of Josh Allen's prime.

That's what I'm calling it.

They won a ton of games.

They got to an AFC title game, but of course that Super Bowl return remains elusive.

Now they have one of the league's toughest schedules.

They're playing in one of the league's best divisions, it seems.

And there's plenty of evidence pointing to this being a lesser roster, especially given the defection of Stefan Diggs, the wide receiver, and then that crushing recent injury suffered by linebacker Matt Milano.

He's out indefinitely, needs surgery on his bicep.

Other defections include Leonard Floyd and the 10.5 sacks he had last season, as well as former all-pro DBs, Tredavious White and Jordan Poyer.

That's a lot.

Josh Allen is obviously the key to Buffalo's chance of remaining dominant in the AFC East, but he'll be tested, I think, this year in ways that we haven't seen before.

Once upon a time, the combination of Brian Dables, a play caller, and Stephon Diggs helped turn Allen into a superstar.

As he enters this middle portion now of his career,

how does he remain an elite producer without either of those men?

Obviously, Buffalo's playoff streak seems to ride on that.

You know,

absolutely.

It is a vastly different roster with a lot of veterans gone.

And I'm looking at right now, I read something this morning that of their

91-man roster right now, weeks away from real football, 16% are injured.

You mentioned Milano, Nicholas Moreau is hurt.

Curtis Samuel, Marcus Valdez-Scantling, both of their backup quarterbacks are banged up.

And they opened the season after Arizona with the Dolphins, Jaguars, Ravens, and Texans.

So beyond the vast changes, it's like you're already dealing with the way that some teams look in September and October later on down the road.

So it just is mounting pressure on the coaching staff and Josh Allen.

Yet I trust them to win a bunch of those games.

I'm mildly surprised Sean McDermott is still here.

If you had asked me two-thirds of the way through last season

that after the Tyler Dunn article came out, the whole 9-11 anecdote, and listened, he owned it.

No, I'm being dead serious.

Remember, they were going to Kansas City that week.

I thought they were going to lose and lose badly.

But then Kadarius Toney happened.

The lateral got

wiped off the board.

And the Bills won that game, and all of a sudden, everything is right again.

Everything is not right there, but I still don't believe in the Dolphins winning north of the Mason-Dixon line come playoff time.

And I'm not entirely sold on the Jets.

I still think they're a playoff team, but as a drunken friend of mine who was fired up about his bills, got in my face and told me about last week, they're never going to win.

And I don't know that I believe that, but they still have to show me something in January.

They'll get there.

The Milano thing is huge, but you know, they're one of those teams where it's, well, call me in January and then I can make a decision.

I hate that Curtis Samuel injury

because he seemed like a potential big new piece for them.

And now turftoe.

You never know how those things go.

So the Bills got a lot to figure out to stay on top.

Four,

three,

two, one.

Nealed it.

Up next, the Miami Dolphins with Mark Sessler.

All right.

The Dolphins, as we know, one in six and out scored by 92 points against playoff teams in 2023.

So, asked about what's different, Raheem Mostert said, We've got a couple of things up our sleeve.

Up our sleeve, and that makes me think of Mike McDaniel, okay?

Because Mike McDaniel, look what happens with each of these seasons that he's been there.

Last year, McDaniel leaned on a lightning quick passing game and outside zone to keep Tua upright.

That helped their rushing game go from 25th to 6th.

The year before, he brought in Tyreek Hill.

Totally changed Tua's career.

So, what is the new wrinkle?

And it's like little birdies are talking right now, and we cannot necessarily understand what they're saying because they're birds.

But I think that the addition of veteran tight end Jonu Smith is going to be a key.

A year ago, Miami had zero tight end touchdowns for the first time in franchise history.

Tua was 40th in red zone passing.

John U is now being used on jet sweeps as a blocker, yards after the catch.

Tua McDaniel both have been talking him up left and right, and maybe this was sort of a nerdy path to go down.

But do we trust John U Smith as a veteran?

All the roster is talking about him as upping and adding the tight end element to that game that has been absent.

It's like you add Tyreek Hill, you add a running game, you go tight end now, and it's like maybe that helps in these winter games that we don't trust them in.

Do I trust John U Smith as a veteran?

I mean,

I know it's a bit of a fringe player, but I'm just saying, I trust Jonu Smith to be Jonu Smith and maybe a slightly more productive version of Jonu Smith playing this offense, at least during Super Bowl September in Miami.

But, I mean, if he's the Jangapiece that's been holding this offense back or a player like him, I'd be very surprised.

I would think, Andrew, the thing that scares me is there's a more,

whether it's schematic or systemic or just where they play and the way the world around them changes as the season progresses.

Those are the larger questions I have about the Dolphins because until they could prove they could win in cold games on the road in big spots, I just don't buy in.

And I don't think adding a middle link tight end changes.

I agree.

And I go back to Super Bowl week.

I was talking to Tyreek Hill, name dropper, but he was on the television with us.

And I said, what's going to change?

He goes, we're out of excuses.

No more.

Like, that's it.

We're done with excuses.

And I said, right, because it was cold for the Chiefs.

as well, wasn't it?

Yes, it was cold for the Chiefs.

So, look, they end the season in Cleveland and then against the Jets.

They had the Jets twice in the second half of the season, plus New England and Green Bay

after Thanksgiving.

So, we're going to find out if this team can play in the cold.

Now, the New England game is in Miami.

The Green Bay game is up there in November 28th, week 13.

I do think that

it might be a refreshing change for those defensive players without the Grumpy Vic Fangio and with Anthony Weaver.

But I've also heard that, you know, first-time DCs,

especially guys that come from a D-line perspective as a player, that it's hard to get the the back end set.

So, what the defense looks like, I love Anthony Weaver in the middle there.

Not Anthony Weaver, Anthony Walker, the former Brown, but it's a big question.

I knew that was too niche.

I knew it.

When I was writing that, I knew it was.

No, I knew it was.

I don't mean niche as intelligent, just like it was like I'm naming a player, I'm making an argument for a player that everyone's like, what?

This isn't three years ago, so I get it.

You got a dart in your neck.

I wanted to work in River Cray Cray Cray as well because his injury.

Yep.

Dart is assuming.

Right in the jug.

All right.

Time out.

Timeout.

Timeout.

We get three.

I've never been the biggest Tua guy, but

I get to know him more as he does press and, you know, there's always so much focus on him.

I kind of like the cut of his jib a little bit, and he recently appeared on, I think we heard Stugatz at the top of the show via an old sound drop, but the Dan Lebetard show on Monday.

Tua talked about his former head coach, Brian Flores, when he broke into the league and how Flores's coaching style was a real detriment to him and might help to explain why he was a little bit slow out of the gate as a pro.

Let's listen to a part of that.

To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don't belong belong doing what you do that you shouldn't be here that this guy should be here that you haven't earned this right

and then you have somebody else come in and tell you dude you are the best fit for this like you are accurate you are the best whatever you are this you are that like

how would it make you feel listening to one or the other you see what i'm saying and then you hear it you hear it regardless of what it is the good or the bad and you hear it more and more.

You start to actually believe that.

I don't care who you are.

You could be the president of the United States.

You have a terrible person that's telling you things that you don't want to hear or that you probably shouldn't be hearing.

You're going to start to believe that about yourself.

And so that's sort of like what ended up happening.

And it was,

I mean, it's basically been, what, two years of training that out of not just me, but, you know, a couple of the guys as well that have been here since my rookie year, all the the way down.

So Flores, by the way, who, of course, now is the defensive coordinator of the Vikings, he spoke on this today and

said that the words hit hard and he wished Tua the best and said that he's evolved as a coach.

But very interesting and also

Mark empowering, I suppose, and very complimentary towards Mike McDaniel showing the lighter touch and maybe how the game has evolved and how coaches need to handle players has evolved in this being an example.

Yeah, because it's not all defensive coaches,

but I think that the natural organic relationship between a quarterback and an offensive-minded head coach generates like, you know, this is like us planning the show, late night texts, phone calls, you know, time together.

You care about the product.

If you're an offensive coach, the quarterback's play is what you're tied to.

And so I think there's maybe a little bit of a difference there.

The only thing I would say is if people walked up to Michael Jordan in his prime and said, yo, dude, you know how to play basketball.

It's like, he knows you can play basketball.

Like, he doesn't care.

So, like, part of it is the player's got to just also roll with it.

But I'm not trying to be, I think Tua has evolved, and I don't have anything but kind of respect for him.

But if you're good, you're good.

And you don't need to be, you don't need to be told, like, you know, I need everyone's support all the time.

Football is completely different than basketball.

Yeah.

But I, you know, he intimated it there, guys.

And I could tell you with certainty, because I've had these conversations, he's not the only one in the building that thought that.

Brian Flores comes from the Belichick tree.

This is not at all a Bill Belichick's a bad guy thing and it flows downhill, but he coaches in a very specific way.

And he's hard on his team.

That team had its ups and downs.

I think all of us were surprised in the moment when Flores got fired, but I can tell you that I've heard from people in that building.

And now we're heading into Mike McDaniel year number three.

Like, wow.

So, like, we could breathe.

We can live.

Like, we can enjoy life again.

It's just that much different.

Now, can they win again?

I don't know.

And that remains to be seen.

And if they don't win again and they might have to blow it up again, then you are, if you're the Dolphins and Stephen Ross, faced with the age-old conundrum.

Like, do we go totally opposite of what the former coach was?

Right?

Because we think we need that change again in the opposite direction.

Or do we just find the best available coach?

I'm not firing Mike yet.

That's not what I'm saying.

But I do think it is important that Flores kind of owned it when he spoke about it on Tuesday afternoon and said, Yeah, you know what?

I can do better, and I see what the guy is saying.

Look, Tua has thrived.

He has thrived.

He has earned that contract.

Two years ago, none of us thought we would see that day.

So I am happy for him, most importantly, here.

And

I can empathize with that.

I've been in that position before, multiple times, in fact, at the NFL with bosses who came in and did not made it clear that they didn't necessarily see a path for me or didn't believe.

And you could go one of two ways.

You could

tuck your tail between your legs and go somewhere else, or you could prove them wrong.

And the fact that Tua now is an established QB1 who just signed a massive contract,

it speaks to him.

So, yes, Dolphin's fancy.

I can say nice things about your team.

Yeah, and

if I could add one more thing for the grumpy old get off my lawn people listening saying, if you can't take hard coaching, then find another job.

Okay, that's great.

You don't think Tua can take hard coaching?

He got coached by Nick Sabin, and he excelled with Nick Sabin as his coach.

Today's younger players,

and this is a generational conversation that probably needs hours and hours.

Obviously, they're a bit different.

So what you did in the 50s doesn't always translate.

That's it.

All right, time in.

Let's head to the New York Jets with Andrew Ciciliano.

All right.

First of all, I want to say, Dan, I am flattered.

I'm touched.

I am moved that you handed your baby to me.

I will try not to mess this up.

Thank you.

And whatever I say, you probably know more than me about the Jets.

I'll say, number one, if Tyron Smith can remain healthy, which is something he has not done for a long, long time, then I feel vastly different about this team than I would otherwise.

However, if he can stay healthy, also pretty good early reviews from Olafashanu, whether it's right side or left side.

So at least you have that next building block in place if Tyron Smith cannot stay healthy.

I do not know how good Aaron Rodgers will play.

I don't know how well he's going to play.

But I do know they are a vastly better team.

They are in the conversation.

And as Aaron said himself, there are 10 to 12 teams that you can put on that short list of making the Super Bowl.

They are one of those teams.

We are going to get them shoved down our throats in primetime, seemingly every week or standalone window the first half of the season.

So you better get used to them.

I am rooting for for them in a weird way.

I'm not a Jets fan, but I think the NFL is better if Aaron Rodgers and the Jets are better.

I think it makes for a better story.

And I think collectively, you guys know this from being in the building, all of us were deflated across the league last year when he got hurt four plays in.

I was hosting the show that night because you felt disappointed for everybody.

I would love to see a second receiver, if it is Mike Williams, when he eventually gets healthy, step up alongside Garrett Wilson.

I would love to see Brayon Allen, Braylon Allen get some run,

serious run.

I am not one of these people drafting Brees Hall as my top three guy in the top five of the draft.

And I think this defense as well, which is trying to do far too much last year to compensate for the horrible quarterback play, gave up some big plays that are concerning.

I'm curious to see if that concerns.

Defense, I'm not worried about defense.

And by the way, two-minute setup, though, Andrew, we're going to have to tighten that up.

Okay, we'll tighten it up next time around.

We'll tighten it up.

Defense, I feel good about it.

The offense is the question.

But Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippman, Elijah Vera Tucker, Morgan Moses, I mean, the difference between that offensive line, if it could finally stay healthy and what they've had in recent years, will be the key to the entire seasons.

Because even if Rodgers isn't the superstar anymore, Mark, if he's just a good quarterback with everything else around them, I think this is a team that could win 10 or 11 games.

And an AFC East that's wide open, that might be enough to get a home game, which they have not had in the playoffs since 2002.

I mean, there are just some startling elements of deja vu to where we were a year ago.

And so that kind of setup in sports always concerns me a bit.

But I was reading a bunch of Jets' coverage this week during their scrimmages, and the one kind of line that the writers had to kind of write differently each time was like a lot of pressure up the middle, Rogers would have been sacked in a real game.

Like, I don't like hearing that.

One,

two,

two,

The New England Patriots with Justin Graver, the grave digger, they call him.

All right, the Patriots enter a new era after 24 years under Bill Belichick.

Well, it's sort of a new era.

Gerard Mayo takes over as a new head coach.

He's obviously not Bill Belichick, but he did play his entire NFL career and his entire coaching career until now under Bill.

So I guess we'll see how different things really are.

But regardless, I don't think this team is positioned to compete this season.

So for the Patriots, 2024 is all about learning if they have their next franchise quarterback, which means the pressure is on new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to get the most out of the third overall pick, Drake May, because, you know, Gerard Mayo is a defensive guy.

The big question for New England this season is how long do they stick with Jacoby Brissette?

And their first eight games are against teams that we expect to be pretty good.

Six of those eight finished last year with a winning record, and the other two are against the Jets.

So, gentlemen, I pose this question to you.

Drake May will take over as the starter before or after the Patriots' week nine matchup with Tennessee.

Mark?

Well, no, no, I'd always go the under.

Unless you said something like week four,

I'd always go the under.

But you are right.

They have one of the more brutal schedules from wire to wire.

It is pretty crazy after what that entire division went through last year that that's where they sit.

I don't love the environment for a rookie quarterback at all.

There's not a lot of talent around him.

Alex van Pelt and Andrew, you know it better than I do about what actually happened on a day-to-day basis, but Stefanski is essentially your final choice maker on offense.

And Van Pelt was probably more meetings and management on some game day stuff, but I mean, Alex Van Pelt is doing it with a new quarterback.

Yeah, I like Alex Van Pelt.

I think he's going to be good for developing Drake May.

I'm with you on the schedule here.

I'm going to take the under.

I'm going to take week five.

I was talking about this earlier this week.

They go at Lou Anarumo, home for Mike McDonald, at Robert Sala, and then at the Niners, Nick Sorensen, Nick Bosa, the first four weeks.

Then they have a four-game homestand.

One of those games is in London.

That's when they do it to me.

Week five.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

I'll go week four, so I'll bang the under on that also.

And

with the Patriots, their offensive line is unsettled.

They don't have playmakers.

They don't have people that can separate.

And I think it's just a bad setup for Jake Brisket.

So that, I think, is going to speed up the clock here to get someone in that's athletic, that can buy time, that could throw guys or find, make up plays happen that aren't scripted.

So I think that's important.

The other thing, just a little positivity around New England, that the data shows in the last, like, I don't know, I want to say the last six or seven weeks of the season, they had one of the best defenses in football.

They were very, very good in terms of that side.

And since you have Mayo there, you would think that that has a good chance to sustain itself.

Judan's a big loss, obviously.

So it's the defense that I believe will keep them in games, but will they score enough points?

Three.

Get the kid in there.

Jalen Polk and Demario Douglas look exciting, too.

Dart yourself?

Turn it around and start yourself.

That was in time.

I don't know, Mark.

No, I think first of all.

Once you hear

that transition,

it's over.

I totally agree.

And I would note this, and I'm not calling a timeout.

This is just a programming note.

You are attempting to dart.

We're going to break, so you have a little bumper here, Mark.

Good.

You are attempting to dart us

through the internet.

We're not in a studio setting.

You have the gun.

You should be able to at least effectively tranquilize yourself from inches away.

And I think you need to play fair with us.

And if you think that my setup on the Jets was too long, because I was trying to impress

Dan with my Jets knowledge, then you could have and should have darted me during the setup.

That's why I got the stop board here.

You know, it's funny, Andrew, it crossed my mind.

would we ever have to do a dart in the middle of a setup?

It almost happened there.

But it was very informative and well spoken, obviously.

I don't know about that.

I was like, I got a couple of minutes.

Like, maybe I'll just take all three minutes.

Done.

All right, so try to take a break and then we'll head to the AFC North.

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That's WarbyParker.com.

All right, we are back.

Let's head to the north and let's start with the gravedigger and the defending division champ, Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens, one of the few teams with true Super Bowl or bust stakes this season.

Lamar Jackson has done pretty much everything in his career.

So far, he's set records, he's won two MVPs, he's secured the number one overall seed multiple times, everything except reach the top of the mountain.

So while Lamar's Ravens have been very successful, they've fallen short of expectations essentially every year since 2019.

And there are big question marks entering this season.

I'm not worried about the offense at all.

In fact, I think Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson probably gonna be the most dangerous running tandem in all of football, even with three new starters on the offensive line.

But on defense, the losses really stand out.

So former linebackers coach, new defensive coordinator Zach Orr has pretty big shoes to fill.

Mike McDonald's Ravens last year became the first team in modern NFL history to lead the league in scoring defense, sacks, and takeaways in the same season.

McDonald, gone.

Defensive backs coach Jenard Wilson, gone.

Associate head coach and D-line coach Anthony Weaver, mentioned already already in Miami.

Now he's gone.

The Ravens reportedly hand-picked Orr to replace McDonald.

But how will he go about filling the holes left by Patrick Queen, Geno Stone, Jade Clowney, Ronald Darby?

I know there are in-house replacements on the roster.

Can they prove capable of stepping up to this challenge?

And despite all those concerns on defense, really it was the offense who failed them in last year's AFC Championship game.

So can they finally put all the pieces together and reach the legendary Super Bowl summit, Dan?

Maybe.

Maybe.

We've been knocking on the door for a while now.

And

it doesn't matter what we say right now

to the visual audience they saw, but I was saying maybe another dart has to come.

That was a beefy setup there by the gravedigger.

They need to get a little lucky.

They need to have Mark Andrews on the field for a full season.

They obviously lost their right tackle

to free agency.

So you got to work on that.

That affects the running game, obviously, in a big way.

Derrick Henry is a legend in a Hall of Famer, in my opinion.

But what does he have left in the tank?

I like Andrew, what we've heard from Lamar Jackson.

You usually don't have to worry about anything with a reigning MVP, but he didn't move like Lamar last year.

So hearing him say that he's shed weight and is looking to be more explosive.

If you get one more peak year or big year out of Henry with a smoother, faster Lamar, look out.

Yeah, I keep Derrick Henry in the garage until November.

I'm being dead serious.

To me, he's a 12-carry-back game until you get to December.

And then you take him out of the garage and you treat them like a snowplow, and you destroy people.

They didn't run the ball in their loss in the postseason.

Never ran the ball.

Run it.

If they can get some revenge, beat the Chiefs, start well, then they get the Raiders, open up well.

Yeah, this is definitely a Super Bowl team.

I also want to see Lamar practice this year, not just, you know, it's DNP illness Wednesday, DNP illness Thursday, practice Friday.

We saw a lot of those, not trying to make light of it, but show me some.

Eight, seven.

They had eight running back rushes in that AFC title game.

Make a statement

on that opening Thursday night.

Let that one slide.

All right, the Cleveland Browns.

I can't go wrong here.

We're going to go with Andrew Ceciliano.

I mean, you could go wrong.

Let me get the stopwatch out.

Here we go.

Three, two,

and...

The clock's already running, baby.

One.

There are two big issues here with the Browns.

Actually, we'll make a three.

Number one, can the defense do what it did last year?

Yes, I think it can.

Naturally, you would say it would take a little bit of a step back.

You can't be that good.

Well, even if they do take a little bit of a step back, they're still really damn good.

They have a massive offensive tackle crisis right now.

Jed Wills had arthroscopic surgery last December.

He is still not practicing.

We are two weeks away.

That's a bad sign.

DeWon Jones banged up.

Jack Conklin coming back from major knee surgery.

Can they trade for Trent Williams?

I don't need Brandon Ayuk.

That's an issue.

And the other issue is the quarterback play.

We don't know what you're going to get.

If it's average, like you said with Aaron Rodgers, then this is a Super Bowl contender.

If it is slightly above average, I feel really, really good.

But Sessler, the issue here is I simply don't know what we're going to get.

We don't know.

We don't know.

And

I look for teams that are kind of set up for regression.

There's a reason that Stefanski won Coach of the Year.

That was a battlefield last year, but they were 5-0 in games decided by a field goal or less.

6-2 in one possession games.

That's good coaching.

That's a lot of luck, too.

David Njoku has been their best offensive player by far in camp, according to reports.

And people are wondering.

I like that Njoku.

Yeah, but there's basically people just sort of watching practicing, like,

why is Watson not getting the ball out quickly enough?

But this offensive line and what happened, because all the players that you mentioned, they lost three more tackles against the Vikings after a week-long of scrimmages where Minnesota's defensive line dominated the outer edges of Cleveland's line.

I just don't like that setup, although it's meant to be their strength.

They don't have Nick Chubb necessarily out of the gate.

So their identity now centers around Deshaun Watson, and we don't have any sense of what that identity is.

Yeah, Deshaun Watson hangs over everything with his team as he has since the day he got in the building.

Mark, I know you loved the Browns' offensive line coach

and the count he brought to the team last year.

He's no longer there.

And then I look at like the Our Lads depth chart, right?

And we see Dedrick Wills, left tackle, red, PUP.

You see Jack Conklin, red, PUP.

And then Nick Chugg, Nick, excuse me, Nick Chubb, red, P-U-P.

Where is Nick Chubb factor in all this?

And so there are a lot of questions, but you got Jim Schwartz back, Andrew,

and you have a defense, and there's a lot here.

But yes, it's a big question mark.

This team is a hard one to peg right now.

Yeah, the Schwartz is still with them, and they also have Ken Dorsey,

which is fascinating.

I'm talking to Stefani Stefani back at the combine, I really get the impression that he is so eager, was eager to spend the offseason kind of getting under the hood and rebuilding the offense from the ground up, like having those deep intellectual late-night conversations with Ken Dorsey, who's a really bright guy.

What does that look like?

More RPOs, more Sean in the run game, but then he's got to stay healthy.

So there's that.

They also got Jerry Judy.

Can they get him the ball?

I'll do it.

I'll do it.

Thank you, Justin.

Really, some surprising turns here with the dart game in this episode.

Up next is the Pittsburgh Steelers with the number one Pittsburgh Steelers fan, Mark Sessler.

Well, I spy.

I think we all spy problems for Pittsburgh.

The preseason has been ghastly after an excellent preseason a year ago.

So

take from it what you will.

But Justin talked about it yesterday that Russell Wilson, Justin Fields were shipwrecked against against the Bills.

They took 13 pressures, four takedowns.

These have historically been two of the most sacked quarterbacks on earth in recent years.

But the injuries, and it kind of reminds me of Cleveland, Andrew, they've got 2024 first-rounder Troy Fatano right now out with an MCL.

Should be back relatively soon, but has not played this training camp.

Broderick Jones, who is the future left tackle, is stuck playing the right tackle position and was treated like an open barn door against Buffalo.

You've lost your starting center, Nate Herbig, and that sets up potentially a rookie to play with Russell Wilson or Fields in week one against Atlanta.

The O-Lions injuries are a concern.

The quarterback is a concern.

I mean, Wilson to me is an apparition of his former self.

Fields is a mixture of an athletically juicy quarterback, but also the football definition of like a drunken girlfriend who randomly calls up your family members and berates them.

Three of your first four games are on the road.

Andrew, you're Mike Tomlin.

What do you do?

Did a drunken girlfriend ever do that to you?

No, that's why I don't have the...

I avoid that because I sense that would be problematic.

Just me.

Maybe it's

not where I'd go.

I look at the Steelers quarterback situation and say this.

Here's my headline.

The Niners and Brandon Ayuk are going to get a deal done because there's no way Brandon Ayuk watched the Steelers over the weekend and say, yeah, sign me up.

That's where I want to go.

I do think Russell starts.

I do think Justin Fields starts more games.

And I don't know that either is the answer, although I'm intrigued by the idea of Arthur Smith getting crazy and funky with Justin Fields in the run game.

Color me interested.

That said, much like the Browns, the defense has to do what it did last year, which is stand on its head the entire season.

And that is a tough challenge, despite the fact I love what they've done in the draft and the last two years with the O-line.

Let me...

The O-line is the key to it, I think.

And Arthur Smith and Justin Graver, you know this more than anyone as the Titans fan.

If you have a strong offensive line, they can set a lot of things up with play action in the running game.

But if they don't have that, they got no hope.

That's where I think the key is with this offense.

Yeah, and I mean,

he took Ryan Tannehill and renaissanced him into an incredible quarterback for two years before the falloff hit.

But like you said, it was largely based on just...

banging that play action over the middle over and over and over again.

And if the offensive line can't hold up or they can't sell the run fake well enough because Jalen Warren's dealing with a hamstring injury or whatever it is, I think George Pickens is a superstar, but if he doesn't have a quarterback that can get him the ball, he's not going to reach that status either.

I don't have any concerns with their defense, but how can you not be concerned about their offense?

Can I add one thought?

Ryan Tannibill is this year's Joe Flacco sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring, saving someone's season from November.

Two love it bangs.

Nice.

I'll take the dart.

I hate that Jalen Warren's hurt, too.

Because that

Jalen Warren and Najay Harris

that interests me with Arthur Smith.

And if it's a soft tissue injury he's dealing with,

who knows how that lingers.

Sucks.

Cincinnati Bengals.

Joe Burrow once famously said that the Bengals Super Bowl window is, quote, his entire career.

I love that swaggy.

We'll see about that.

The complications of the salary cap has a way of messing with championship

opportunities and how long you have those opportunities.

He signed a huge extension last September.

The big money kicks in next year.

So, this is it.

And it feels a lot to me, boys, like the Buffalo Bills conversation we had last summer, where it wasn't like the Bills can't win the Super Bowl in the next five, ten years if they don't win it this year.

But in terms of this phase of Burrows' career, this feels like the last time we'll ever see a season we'll ever see Burrow with Chase and Higgins on the same field together.

I like everything else around this team.

I love, obviously, the offense is upside, even with Joe Mixon gone.

The special teams is excellent.

The defense had issues last year, but I think we'll be better and aided by better offense.

I still see them seizing this moment and returning to superpower status.

How say you, Mr.

Sessler?

Yeah, I mean, I guess I'm trying to look at how they got better from a year ago.

I'd say offensive line.

I think, you know, Jermaine Burton's an interesting ad at wide receiver.

But Zach Taylor, not unlike Stefanski, did an incredible coaching job with this team and Jake Browning down the stretch.

And they have lost guys, but just getting Joe, just getting Burrow back healthy and the fact that he's able right now, and he's had a couple up-and-down training camp practices, but the fact that he's even available and playing right now is a sea change from previous years.

And I put them right back into, higher than the Bills, obviously, for me.

I put them right back into a window to win the division and win playoff games.

I really think with Joe Burrow, anything is possible.

This is the best division in football.

It's the only division since we've gone to the four-team divisions that had every team have a winning record the previous season.

You can make

a valid and strong argument for any of these four teams winning the division.

And as long as this team has Joe Burrow, he can match

their shortcomings.

The Jamar Chase thing to me

is a story.

I'm not suggesting he's going to withhold his services week one against the Patriots.

But, like, get the deal done.

Just get it done.

And I don't think they're going to get it done.

Like, Ayuk's going to get done.

Trent Williams is going to get done.

These other things.

This one's not going to get done.

And so you're going to have an upset Jamar Chase playing without a new contract week one.

I'm interested to see how that storyline takes them through the season.

Chad Ochocinko recently said he doesn't think Jamar will play without the new contract.

And I don't know what he knows or who he's talked to, but he said that.

He also said he thinks it's going to get done in the next week or two.

But Jamar Chase is a guy who sat out his last year at college because he wanted to save himself for the big payday coming in the NFL.

Is he a guy who would sit out another year because he knows that payday is coming at some point?

And Chase is gone because of a salary issue.

My own.

Let's move to the AFC South.

Yeah, you nailed it.

Does anybody else get the feeling that the Texans are going to rip the league apart on offense this year?

C.J.

Shroud is coming off a historic rookie season.

Tank Dell is back from injury.

Nico Collins in the building still.

Just a total stud last year.

Stefan Diggs and Joe Mixon added as reinforcements.

Throw in the very fortunate outcome of O.C.

Bobby Slowick coming back after one, two, three, four head coach interviews, and all the pieces are in place for the Texans to lead the NFL in scoring.

Am I nuts?

I think you're spot on.

The Texans are my, like, if I could bet on who's going to win the Super Bowl based on like who gives me the best value, which is something I will be doing before the season starts now that I don't work for the NFL.

I don't know.

Well, neither do I.

Over a year.

Yeah, none of them.

We all did at one point.

Anyway, that was cool.

The Texans are my pick because the value is there and the upside is more than there.

If they can just stay healthy, I don't know what stops this team.

CJ Stroud has looked excellent in the preseason.

He's picking up right where he left off.

He's a dark horse MVP candidate.

Maybe not even that dark horse.

I love the Texans, and I say that as a Titans fan.

I think the Texans are going to be really good.

Like, really, really, really good.

And I think they're going to run the ball better this year than they did last year, where they had a massive issue running the football, even with Bobby Sloic bringing that offense there, the Shanahan tree, whatever you want to call it.

Joe Mixon's going to run well.

And by all accounts, Damian Pierce, the light has gone on.

Last year wasn't his season, despite everyone thinking big things for year two.

I think Damian Pierce has a bounce-back year.

Can all these new defensive pieces, Daniel Hunter, et cetera, fit in and immediately turn what was not nearly as good of a defense as people thought you would get with D'Imico Ryans?

I am not sure, but I do think that they are clearly the best team in this division.

I want to say also, Stefan Diggs looked like a player declining, Mark, last year with the Bills, but he's also the type of player where I could see him going in a totally rejuvenation direction in a new setting with a great quarterback like Stroud.

Yeah, I know there was like the little sideline thing that happened, but vast accounts have players saying they love Stefan Diggs over there.

And this is one of these teams, and it's not the same type of team as like the Jimmy Johnson Cowboys that went from like playoff appearance to Super Bowl winner.

But what I see in both cases is player development.

There are a lot of young players that have become powerful parts of the roster very quickly.

D'Amico Ryans is a players' coach.

To keep Bobby Sloick was a total coup d'état because I think he makes that offense go.

That offensive line had injuries and issues last year, but was well coached and stood their ground.

And they've had a good training camp.

So it's kind of like everything's going well.

Everyone's expectations are high.

Stroud could have been an MVP last year had things gone a little bit differently.

And so the whole point is: can the team, a very young team,

just handle all this and get through it and not fall in on their own, you know, expectations and inner demons?

demons.

No.

No.

No.

Didn't get it in.

You had it.

It was like a type of thing where the landing was there,

but the pilot really needed to be at his best to stick it.

I just missed the running.

I thought you had it.

You could have just said expectations and not said and inner demons.

But I needed to alert you.

I needed to alert you and listeners that some inner demons do exist and parts of the roster, and that's what they're going to be fighting against.

And, you know, more on that later.

Elsewhere in the AFC South, we have the Jacksonville Jaguars with the

great Mark Sesser.

All right, hang with me here.

When I was in ninth grade, a new girl hit town.

Let's call her Doris Axelrod.

She was a Texas girl with a southern accent in a tri-state area middle school.

She talked about horses and making cinnamon pies.

Waves of ninth grade boys were taken aback.

Competition was in the air.

But then something happened.

Doris just sort of faded into the woodwork.

Kind of like the Jaguars in the AFC, where the head cheerleader and friends were like, not this time.

Multiple choice question for you.

The 24 Jaguars are A, like Doris Axelrod, a flash in the pan that once caught our eye, but will ultimately marry an average man and work for 18 years as a CPA in Outer New Jersey.

Result, 8-9 record, a life less lived.

B,

the team we're ignoring.

Promising young rookie wideout Brian Thomas, preseason wonder Parker Washington, Evan Ingram, Travis Etienne, a ready-to-rumble Trevor Lawrence, and a Super Bowl winning coach, Resalt, book them for the playoffs.

This is the team we aren't talking about.

C, Mark is venting because Doris wound up going on a date with Matt Troy, who took her to stupid Baskin Robbins, while Mark watched Faces of Death alone in the basement.

Dan.

Jesus.

That is so dark.

There was a Faces of Death night in the basement.

Oh, boy.

I think the one where they're a middling team, I think that was A, would be my choice.

I think that something that Josh and Hayden from our great football show here at the Underdog brought up when they were here last week, that they need Brian Thomas to be an instant difference maker.

That's a tough thing to put on any rookie, especially a rookie wide receiver.

So if that doesn't happen, then you're kind of back to some of the old gang.

And it didn't work out so well last year.

I'll say this, Andrew, that the Jaguars, if things broke a little bit differently, at least least on offense,

with some plays last season, they probably look very different and have a couple more wins.

But it didn't work out that way.

A lot of this is about Trevor Lawrence and how special he can be coming off a very up-and-down injury marred year.

Yeah, I think the injury thing here is the key.

I started last season, and I said it all last summer, that even though the Jaguars didn't want a playoff game, they beat Brandon Stanley and the Chargers in historic fashion the year before, that I wasn't convinced they were a Super Bowl contender.

I just thought they were a decent team in a really bad division.

Now I think they're a slightly better than decent team in a much improved division.

I think they're a wild card team that obviously could compete for the division, but I'm not entirely convinced.

But I am convinced to this, Trevor Lawrence showed that team something with the second half of the season toughness.

He wasn't healthy.

He probably should not have been playing the last couple of games there on that high ankle sprain.

I think that carries into this season, and I am actually more bullish on them this year than I was a year ago.

Their question to me is: how fluky are fumbles?

Trevor Lawrence, stop fumbling the ball, and this offense will be much better.

Is it just the way he holds the ball, or is it bad luck?

Well done.

Thanks.

Nailed up next.

The Indianapolis Colts with Andrew Ceciliano.

So here's my thing with the Colts.

I love meet some Anthony Richardson.

I am bullish on his future.

I'm very excited.

And if I were a Colts fan, I'd be even more excited.

However, the early returns from Colts Camp, and this I think is telling, Anthony Richardson, not good in 11-on-11.

I take it back, other way around.

Anthony Richardson, 7-on-7, bad.

11-on-11, good.

7-on-7,

there's no rush.

There's no

athleticism.

He's got to stand there and know the progressions and know where to go with the football.

And he holds the ball too long, and the play breaks down.

There's nothing there.

11-on-11, we could use his legs.

He's a dynamic quarterback.

So once we get to real games, he's going to have to be the dual-threat quarterback, and I'm concerned that he cannot stay healthy.

Jelani Woods, we just found out today from Shane Steichen, is going to be out for a while.

Their wide receiver room is already banged up with Josh Downs out for a little bit.

There's going to be a lot on that kid's back, and I hope that he can do enough to carry them and stay healthy because this division is much tougher.

And I think this team will struggle to make the playoffs.

The rumblings out of Indianapolis are that Jelani Woods might not even make the roster because it's a very crowded tight end room and they all sort of do similar things to each other.

I agree that it's about Anthony

Richardson's health.

And what is going on with the safety position here?

Because Chris Ballard has had ample opportunities to beef up this room, continues to maintain that he likes what they have there, but saw Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams sign with a division rival, Justin Simmons sign elsewhere, Eddie Jackson sign elsewhere.

They're just going to roll with what they have.

I'm very concerned about the secondary in Indy.

I think the Houston Texans are the heavy favorite here.

But two things.

You know, Richardson thriving.

I'd rather the guy look good in 11 on 11 because that's what the game situation will be.

And also, if there's going to be some growing pains here, it's understandable.

What did he play?

Four games last year?

He missed like half of three of us.

He had two full games.

Yeah, it's barely pleased.

So that's part of this that

we also know he can throw the ball.

It's not just a rushing quarterback.

And Jonathan Taylor, I mean, two years ago, this guy was the best running back on the planet.

If he can get back to where he was, that is a deadly combination, one of the best in the league.

Do not worry, though, because this week, Jim Ursa came out of the woodwork to tell reporters that Shane Steichen, he compared him to Don Schula.

Now, that is hyperbolic, but I will say I think Shane Steichen is a huge value add for this team and the perfect coach for your quarterback, for your offense.

And I kind of trust them to be one of these.

They were this last year, even without Anthony Richardson.

This gritty team that grinds out wins, gets to like the last week of the season, has a chance to get into the postseason.

That's the DNA of this team, and they're not perfect, they've got some weaknesses.

But if you get an upside of Anthony Richardson and he was the two and four fantasy quarterback in those two games, it's going to be interesting.

Two, one,

two,

two.

Finally, the Tennessee Titans with Justin Graeber.

All right, I'm obviously biased here, but I think the Titans are one of the under-the-radar much improved teams in the league this year.

They're another team entering a new era with Mike Vrabel and Derrick Henry gone.

But Brian Callahan brings a modern, pass-first approach, something we've literally never seen in Tennessee.

The Titans were extremely aggressive in free agency.

They got Tony Pollard pairing him with Ty Jay Spears.

They'll have four new starters on the offensive line.

They had one of the worst units in the league last year, now coached by Bill Callahan, who you were just praising when he was with the Browns last couple of years.

They had Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd along with DeAndre Hopkins.

That's a legitimately threatening trio of receivers.

The secondary has been completely rebuilt.

Legerius Sneed, Cheeto Awozier, Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams.

Now there are a lot of concerns with the depth of this roster, particularly on the offensive line, in the front seven of the defense, but the table has been set for Will Levis to succeed.

And this season for the Titans rests on his shoulders.

If Levis is actually good, the Titans will surprise a lot of people this year.

But that's the massive question with this team.

Mark, can Will Levis be that dude?

He's in a much better situation than he was a year ago, or that Ryan Tannehill was when we were in London and saw him getting carted off down a hallway with a battered ankle.

I think that it's Bill Callahan is a difference-making offensive line coach.

There's probably four or five of those that can really come in and transform right away.

I think Peter Skoransky at left guard, Lloyd Cushenberry, Dylan Redoons, like JC Latham.

There is a lot of new faces here, and it's easy just to be like, oh, well, they sucked on the offensive line a year ago and the year before.

So that's not who they are right now.

You're right about the secondary.

So I think they're a team building and there's hope, but we keep talking about this division.

Like they are not, they are the lesser of the four in this division right now.

But that doesn't mean this division could be a dogfight where they can go steal a game from the teams here and there.

I mean, we just don't know Brian Callahan as head coach.

I think that's a question mark, too.

JC Latham, by the way,

their first-round pick.

T-minus one minute.

Callahan is the right guy to train him, and we've heard good things about him in camp.

I would say this, Andrew, in terms of a little bit of a pushback

to Justin, when you look at their roster here.

DeAndre Hopkins, you know, a great, great receiver, but an older receiver, so you just don't know.

He could be falling off the cliff.

Calvin Ridley, they overpaid, I thought.

He's a good receiver, not a great one.

Tyler Boyd was terrible in Cincinnati in his final season there.

Now he's gone.

Tony Pollard, a bust as the Cowboys featured running back last year.

So you're asking a lot for Pollard and Spears to be difference makers.

And then Will Levis himself,

we don't have any proof yet that this is a dude.

So I think I'm just not as bullish as you, Justin, but I also respect you as a fan.

Andrew, where are you at?

I do think this team is going to run the ball.

And I do think that we're going to see a good Will Levis.

They're going to pound the football.

I think the Callahans are great coaches for this offense.

DeAndre Hopkins, over under five games.

One.

Two.

Over.

I would say that because I'm me, but I'll take the over.

I like DeAndre Hopkins.

Giant hands.

That guy's got giant hands.

I don't wish.

I'll go ahead and dart me if you need it.

I don't wish bad things upon DeAndre Hopkins.

He's just had trouble staying healthy.

He stays healthy.

This offense, I think, is going to score some points and be fun to watch.

I actually have more questions defensively.

Go ahead.

Me too.

Mark.

No, I don't want to dart you.

You can keep talking about the Titans all day, man.

We've got a transition.

I want to ask Mark about, was it Doris Rickenbacher?

Was it?

Who's the

Doris Axelrod?

Can I just let you know?

Because I still know this person vaguely, so I used an A.

Is that a real name?

Well, I came up with this name.

Oh, I was going to say, it's somewhat of an incongruous name.

It's funny.

Axelrods and Dorises don't often go together.

Correct.

Because now I'm living it again.

Somebody said it recently, and I loved loved it.

It was like,

you know, you go your whole life,

you go through school, and then when it's over, you can't wait.

You're so happy and thrilled that school's finally over.

And then you have kids, and then you do it again.

And you're back in the school all the time.

And instead of the kids, you're talking to the parents, and

you're going all the functions.

And it's not until your kids graduate that you're truly free of that world.

And i remember um a doris a rickenbacher type axle rod excuse me type um it comes to mind for me as well it's like it's so hard in high school to find your your lane and that's why i was i was always i liked exactly where i was right there in the b list um never too low never too high i played sports so i got uh got some of the a-list perks occasionally but very much you know a tier below and that was was okay.

Then you have the people who want to be A-list and they peak in like ninth grade and you think they're going to be stars, but just like prospects that they sputter out.

And by senior year, they're total afterthoughts.

And it's a disgrace in terms of where your social climbing is.

And you're just a kid, and you're trying to figure it all out.

And Mark,

that brought it back for me.

I hope Doris wasn't as self-aware.

of what you were able to see that that she had peaked in such a way because that that can wreak havoc on a teenager you know what i mean?

I don't think any, you know, I don't know if anyone in that middle school had more awareness than I did.

If that's what we're comparing here.

I think Doris, and that, you know, again, I know her real name, Doris could sense it.

I could feel it, that she was like the biggest thing going because you're walking down a school hallway and you can feel the attention and the energy and the love.

And then

it sharply...

went away because people just moved on to the next big thing and whatever's going on then.

And so I always felt a little bad for her.

I could sense some weight, a little bit of sadness, and then

kind of lost track of her.

I mean, she also didn't finish with Matt Troy, too.

Is this the point in the show where they roll in the, hey, therapy is okay pod?

I'm sorry, promo?

PSA.

Oh, yeah, which, by the way, it is.

I highly recommend it for anybody.

But, like, hey, BetterHelp, shout out to PSA.

If you want to come back to exactly where it rolls in, let's go.

I think that the takeaway here is that happiness is fleeting and you should cherish it when you have it.

So great use of a timeout.

Very nice, Justin.

And any A-listers here?

Any high school A-listers?

Don't be shy about it.

Hell no.

You can't.

I don't think you can walk around looking at yourself.

B-listers are below.

B.

I mean,

be aware.

It's okay to be aware of where you were.

B-listers?

That checks out.

That feels like

that's good.

Heed the call energy in general.

All right.

Do we need to take a break or are we closing this out, Andrew?

Or Gravedigger, excuse me?

Let's close it out.

All right, let's do it.

We only have 12 more minutes.

All right.

Or 11, supposedly.

Did

anybody get minus a minute yet?

No, I'm saving it for the last team on our list.

Just a random draw.

You ordered it.

So there it goes.

Wow.

Okay, here we go.

The Kansas City Chiefs with the Gravedigger.

All right.

This is the headline team of the 2024 season.

Can the Chiefs pull off the first ever three-peat in the Super Bowl era?

The questions about the age and longevity of Travis Kelsey and Andy Reid.

We'll push that until after this quest.

The receiver room received a makeover with the additions of Hollywood Brown, first-round speed sir Xavier Worthy.

Rashi Rice appears to have avoided a suspension for now.

And we know Mahomes can make it work with less talented players.

So with this kind of speed on offense, I expect to see fireworks on a weekly basis.

On defense, the team prioritized retaining their game wrecker Chris Jones over the lockdown corner Legerius Sneed.

And really, it was the strength of this defense that carried the Chiefs to their back-to-back Super Bowls last year.

Now they believe that 2022 fourth-rounder Joshua Williams is ready to fill Sneed's shoes and have a breakout campaign.

But look, the bottom line here, the 2024 season for the Chiefs doesn't really start until January.

The question is, will they be playing for that ultimate glory when February rolls around, Andrew?

I say yes.

Look, it's their title until somebody takes them, takes it from them.

And I know it is so difficult to get back there and to win another one, and then another one, and then another one.

But I'm sorry.

They are my team, and I do think this Avier Worthy thing, regardless of the Hollywood Brown injury, is a game changer.

Travis Kelsey's getting older.

Can he still be the 100-target go-to guy?

I'm not sure.

By the way, brief aside, Patrick Mahomes and Kelsey totally planned that behind-the-back thing.

Don't tell me they didn't.

Listen to the home team broadcast there.

Ari Wolf and Trent Green both say, oh, yeah, they're doing that in practice.

And they said they wanted to do it in a game.

That wasn't an accident.

That was planned.

And that's all I have to say about Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs, who I do think win at home in night number one, week number one over the Ravens, because, of course, they do.

Although they didn't win in week one last year, Mark.

I know, but Chris Jones wasn't there.

T-minus one minute.

You know, well, I

really like the fact that the Chiefs have won titles and gotten as far as they have with different types of teams and different types of challenges.

And until someone can convince me there's someone else out there with a better coach, front office, quarterback, and defensive coordinator combination to flexibly adjust through the ups and downs of the season.

No one else is on my radar, not the Ravens.

And, you know, they've got a good kick or two.

And I had dinner with Dan, and he told me that he agrees with everything that Harrison Butter has said this offseason.

So, Dan, I'll throw it to you.

And by the way, it sounds like a lazy take, Dan, when Mark and I say, yeah, until someone beats them.

I know that sounds like like a lazy take, but I'm sorry.

That's how I feel.

Sure, and someone's gonna win three in a row one day.

It's not the most absurd thing, it's not ten in a row.

Xavier Worthy's preseason has really been an eye-opener for me.

And Hollywood Brown is coming back, and she writes, like Grave Digger said, he's probably not gonna get suspended.

Nice, nicely done.

The Raiders, the Ceciliano.

The Raiders are

in a position that no franchise ever wants to be in.

Franchise, quarterback, no man's land.

They simply don't have an answer.

I think they went out and paid Gardner Minshew fully believing they were going to be able to draft a quarterback night number one.

That didn't happen.

And so now it's Gardner Minshew beating out Aiden O'Connell, probably because he's guaranteed $15 million, $12, and a half of it this year.

Yes, he could run around a little bit, and yes, he could move a little bit, and that's what Luke Getze wants, all the play fakes and the boots and all that.

But there's really not that that much to be excited about.

Defensively, Max Crosby, Christian Wilkins.

That is worth the price of admission.

But is that going to carry them?

I don't think so.

I think this team is in the conversation for a top-five pick again

this year.

They have some work to do on this roster.

And I say over-under week six, Devontae Adams wants out.

Yeah, I

we talked about that.

Devontae Adams is a major subplot around this team.

And I know there was a lot of good vibes, obviously, around the end of the season with Antonio Pierce and happy for the guy.

But it also struck me as this team has a lot of work to do to get back to actual contention.

And that's why Adams isn't a good fit for this team, in my opinion.

And you just...

You know, the Crosby-Wilkins thing, they threw a ton of money to get Wilkins in the building and make that defensive line now a nightmare.

They're going to have to do superhuman things and give this team turnovers and touchdowns and field position because like you said, the quarterback position is not going to do the job.

Minshew is a guy that works on his own clock and I think he's going to probably drive a guy like Devontae Adams who played most of his career with Aaron Rodgers, like the opposite quarterback crazy.

And Aiden O'Connell is a prospect that underwhelms me.

So

not a lot to love here, Mark.

No, I think they, you know, they're in a heat, a heated race with New England for the top overall pick.

I guess one.

Right away, though, it's another team like Colton Miller, left tackle, has not practiced yet.

Jackson Powers Johnson, their left guard,

had a concussion, missed all of camp, is wearing a red non-contact jersey right now.

It's like, okay, that's not a great setup for a quarterback that's probably the 36th best quarterback in the league.

They were stuck in a very tough position, and I think that their draft plans, because the Broncos, they beat the Broncos twice last year, including in the final game of the year.

Denver flips ahead of them.

They flip ahead of them in the draft position, and that sixth quarterback is gone, and the Raiders are left with an empty cupboard.

And then you take a tight end, and maybe they're, all right, let's spin positive.

Devontae Adams, maybe a top-five wide receiver.

If they know how to use, and this is on Luke Getze, obviously, Brock Bowers, the 24th overall pick, Michael Mayer, who obviously they believe a lot, maybe they can make some magic.

Two tight end sets and a great outside one.

Three.

Maybe.

This defense is going to be better than people think.

Timeout.

Let's give the Raiders some love.

What about it?

Obviously, we mentioned the defensive line with Crosby anchoring everything.

What else do you like about their defense, Justin?

I thought they showed a lot of flashes last year after Antonio Pierce took over, and he obviously will bring continuity as a defensive guy.

Jack Jones is like a breakout, major breakout candidate.

He's been...

I mean, he started his career in New England, right?

Ends up with the Raiders, and he's been getting interceptions all training camp long.

He got one in their second preseason game, I believe it was.

And he's just a guy that's like, he can be a true lockdown corner in the secondary.

So you pair that with the addition of Christian Wilkins.

Obviously, we know what Max Crosby can do.

How do you block both of those guys and prevent throwing the ball quickly?

You know, you're going to throw it quickly.

Jack Jones is going to break it up.

I think the linebackers are promising.

And I just feel like Antonio Pierce, like I said,

he had this defense playing well down the stretch last year.

Remember, they just absolutely absolutely decimated the Chargers on University of Prime Time National Game.

I take very little out of the post-firing bump, especially a rah-rah energy guy like Antonio Pierce, not ripping him for it, but like that's not the most surprising thing.

Now they actually have to build a program, and this is going to be a real challenge.

But, you know, who knows?

Strange thing, though, Dan.

I got the neighbor's kids in the driveway blowing whistles here on this idea that the defense, if you could hear that graver, is going to be better than you think.

Go ahead.

Well, I just think that you have to do it.

I do look where they were a year ago, where Josh McDaniel was, I think, a big reason that Devontae Adams felt

disassociated with the experience and wanted out.

And so I hear you, Dan, on like pump the brakes on interim guy that everyone loved, like down the stretch.

But Antonio Pierce, like, legitimately, seems to have really connected with that team.

And if that can continue, like, and you get through this season and you get, like, a year from now, they've got that top three or four quarterback, then you're in a different situation.

But it's like they're going to have to ride through some rough storms.

And he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I'm just saying

maintaining that good vibe train of playing out the string, but like surprising and embarrassing a couple teams in December is a lot different than shit.

Look at our roster as the season begins and look what division we play in.

I was at that Charger bloodletting, by the way.

It was a TNF game in December.

I have never seen anything like that in my entire life.

I texted Jeremiah in the middle of that game.

He was calling it.

I was like, are you okay?

I mean, there were a whole bunch of Charger people, and they will joke about this, that were like, maybe we just, like, it's over.

Like, maybe we just stay in Vegas.

Like, do we have to get back on the plane?

Tough.

Of all places to have this happen.

The coach didn't get back on the plane, as I recall.

All right, let's move on to the Denver Broncos with Mark Sessler.

All right, the Athletics AFC win total model tagged Denver with a conference-low six wins.

Okay, they went eight and nine a year ago, seven and four down the stretch, and since dispatched the dead weight of Russell Wilson, seemingly hit on a rookie quarterback and Bo Nicks, who at the very least brings experience, some hope, and feels like a fitting quarterback.

I'm just saying,

I'm waiting to see, but feels like a fitting pupil for Sean Payton.

Tim Patrick is healthy and a major part of this offense.

They split with the Chiefs a year ago and allowed just 28 points to Kansas City in two games.

They faced the fourth easiest schedule against opposing offenses in 2024.

Yes, Yes, they're low on stars, but they've got Sean Payton, Bo Nicks, new uniforms.

This is the team that's going to have

the fewest wins in the AFC.

Just six wins with Nicks.

Come on.

I mean,

I guess, and I apologize, you never talk over someone's intro.

And dart me for that.

I'm going to take a dart for that.

Irregular dart.

What part bothered you?

I don't recall.

Well, you said they hit on a quarterback in Bo Nicks.

We don't know if we hit on a quarterback in Bo Nicks yet.

This only works if they did hit on it.

I know he looked good in the preseason, and they've been,

and there is an idea that his skill set is a good match of Sean Payton, and that's great.

But also, like, didn't he, his first big move

trade was the trade-up for Marvin Mims, and that guy's not even going to make the team, and he was on there last year.

So, like, Sean Payton is a guy who's his whims, they're subject to change.

That's all I'm saying.

I'm just like, hold on.

We need Nick's.

They took him as a first-round pick, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's a first-round talent.

That's what a lot of people also are saying.

I said that at the very least, he brings experience, the most experienced college quarterback we've seen in our lifetime, and hope, and is a fitting pupil for Sean Payton.

I think the early evidence suggests that they can fit together.

And I also, my argument is that they're being tagged as the worst team in the AFC.

We've talked about the Raiders.

We've talked about the Patriots.

I think Denver, who already won an

eight a year ago,

they're not great, but they don't look to me as like a total piece of dead flotsam floating down a river.

No, don't agree.

Nor Jetsum, for that matter.

Yes, nor Bo Nicks.

Bo Nicks had 61 career starts in college football, the most ever.

By the way, Dylan Gabriel of Oregon, if he stays healthy, will break that this year, in all likelihood.

So that's five starts for every one start Anthony Richardson had in college, five to one.

I watched a lot of that game on Sunday.

I think they found the guy.

Granted, it is early.

It is the preseason.

But I am more optimistic now than I was on the Denver Broncos, say, a month ago.

Are they a playoff team?

I don't think so.

Does Bo Knicks make them imminently watchable?

Yes.

Their first six opponents at Seattle, Pittsburgh, at Tampa, at Jets, Vegas Chargers.

How many wins he saw?

Not good.

Three, two,

one.

Two.

Two.

Five.

Yeah,

I just didn't even hear.

I said, I heard Chargers, Raiders, so it's probably more than that.

I should have said not good just for the sake of it.

I'm going to dart myself for this, but Tim Patrick is back.

He's a guy to watch for fantasy purposes, I would say.

Better than Ezra.

Yeah,

they're going for a bunch of big, beefy dudes.

Go win.

All right, Dan, I'm putting two minutes on the clock for the Chargers here.

How about 229?

That way it still rounds down to 47.

Copy that.

So we're cleared in terms of IP.

All right, here we go.

Here's what would scare me about the

Chargers if I'm the rest of the NFL.

This is a team that was better than its record last season.

They blew a bunch of agonizing fourth-quarter leads.

You replaced the overmatch Brandon Staley with literally Jim Harbaugh.

He's a monster in terms of situational coaching and closing out football games and duh winning.

Harbaugh also loves to pound the rock, and he has a premium offensive line to do just that.

The Joel Alt pick is already going gonna have it's gonna have huge dividends on that team.

Uh, but that's not the scariest part.

The scariest part is that because of Harbo's reputation, there's this general feeling that Justin Herbert is now like kind of an afterthought on this offense.

No, sir.

Uh, this has a chance to be a bruising, punishing, rushing offense that just so happens to also have an elite talented quarterback who's never been given the infrastructure he has now.

I've been never been one to buy into the August Chargers hype, but this feels different.

Gravedigger, your thoughts.

I am with you.

I think this is going to be a run-heavy team because of what Jim Harbaugh brings, and they have run-blocked really well in the preseason.

Granted, it's preseason and it's against backups, but they look like they know what they're doing as a unit.

That cohesion, that chemistry is there.

You get Justin Herbert slinging some play-action bombs down the field because people are actually scared of a running game.

Watch out.

The khakis are back.

Ciliano, I know you work with the Rams, so you're programmed to hate the Chargers, but come true.

So, two things.

Number one, I'm sorry for yelling at my handyman who just let himself in.

Number two, I saw the Chargers in person this past week.

I only had so-five, but I went to one of the practices as well.

Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh are going to constantly churn the bottom of that roster, and they are doing that nearly daily.

Mike, I'm sorry, Quentin Johnston, number one pick a year ago, is running gunner on special teams and was playing in the third

quarter.

By the way, your handyman is such a legitimate timeout.

I'm pausing the clock.

This is our fourth timeout, which is.

No, this is a bit.

Let's keep going.

Do you still see me?

I still see you.

Let him go.

We're almost done.

My handyman's working on the electrical box.

He turned the electric, like much like.

So we lost the charge.

See what we did there?

We lost the

I think.

This is a talent-deficient team that is going to be saved by coaching and Jim Harbaugh, but it's a handful of wins.

That is hilarious.

That's the way you watch the YouTube channel.

I love that the handyman comes in.

He makes eye contact with Andrew because I saw them, him kind of waving at him.

So he knows that Andrew's literally broadcasting from this room.

And the first thing he does is cut the electricity in the room that Andrew's in.

Axel, give me a minute.

I just, I like the street characters.

He already had his short clip.

I like that Andrew has a handyman, and that's that's pretty uh that's a powerful

problem here, and he was going to come over today.

And I looked at my watch.

I'm like, oh, I forgot.

You never know what's what's going to happen on Heed the Call.

Episode 1, Earthquake.

Episode 5, Power's Out.

That was a trip, and

we'll make it up to you, Chargers.

In fact, hmm, there might be a recurring segment that shows up as Andrew takes out his flashlight.

There's part of me that's like, how do you have internet?

And like, how is this?

I don't know.

I'm hardwired into the wall right now, so that's why.

There you go.

A bit of a marvel in terms of tech right now.

That was our trip through the AFC in exactly

47 minutes and 29 seconds.

So thank you to everybody for checking it out.

Andrew Ceciliano, tell everybody, I'm like the guy from

Hot Ones, like, all right, Andrew Ceciliano, I want you to look in this camera, that camera, that camera.

Tell me what you got going on.

All right.

There are a lot of little things I'm still working on that I can't necessarily announce right now.

I know that sounds corny.

We're too excited to see the love season.

I can tell you, however, because NBC announced it today.

I will be doing some Big Ten games for NBC, for Peacock, notably here.

Excited for those.

Got a big one coming up in a couple of weeks that has not yet been announced, but I'm very excited for that first game.

So here comes Saturday night, Big Ten Saturday night, looking forward, not all night games, but looking forward to that.

So Big Ten football, baby.

And yes, there will be NFL stuff coming up that I'll announce shortly.

Sest Dog, not a coincidence, SESDOG, that a lot of our former colleagues, as we're reuniting here with Underdog, on Heed the Call, landing on their feet and continuing to have success because talent matters.

Yeah, and I'm not surprised at all.

And it's,

you know, Andrew, I would have a question for you.

If you look at the three of us, if one of us had to step in and replace you as a play-by-play guy, let's say you went out on one of these college campuses the night before and a little too much went down.

Which one of the three of us do you trust to do the most competent job out of the gate as a play-by-play person for 60 minutes of action?

Well, the answer obviously is the gravedigger.

But I would say, if not the gravedigger, then probably Hanzeus

channeling Marty Glickman and going old school jets.

And I think he'd be able to pull it off.

And I think, Mark, you would be an amazing storyteller.

Oh, great.

You'd be kind of like the Rinaldi down on the sideline, weaving in like these tear-jerking stories or just confusing and confounding stories where you say, back to you, and then they would go, I, yeah, I don't know.

I don't know.

That also sounds like less work.

So.

Yeah, just to recap that for everyone, Mark asked the question, who would be the best at it?

And he was told he'd be the worst at it.

No, no, I think he'd have a great job.

I don't know if the play-by-play thing, but I would love to hear it because you are such a teller of stories.

I do think in the modern era that we live in, and sometimes it could be a third rails all around you, Mark.

One of these stories about

Doris Beckerman could be taken the wrong way, and then you're in the news cycle.

And I just, I would worry for you.

You know, that's all.

Well, it didn't work out too well at the last place.

So it is a fair concern.

Tell Miss Axel Rod, I said hi.

Andrew, thank you so much for joining us.

You are such a stud, and we're lucky to have you on the show.

And let's do it again.

Let's do it again soon, guys.

With full electricity the entire time.

And congratulations on the new pod.

Long Long time listener, first-time listener, they both mean the same thing.

So, have a great,

thank you so much.

And coming up on Friday, we will go around the NFC with two people that are going to be new to Heed the Call, but you'll get to know them very well as the season progresses.

So, a lot of stuff to be excited about as we get closer and closer to the start of real football.

Till Friday, you know what you need to do.

Heed the Call.

Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company.

They're one of America's largest financial services companies.

Like how I'm more than just Peyton Manning.

I'm also motivating Manning.

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Now when I say nationwide, you say is both.

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Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, Ember Finrick, Columbus, Ohio.

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