Most Fun NFL Story Lines With Peter Schrager

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All right, we're taping this late Tuesday afternoon.

This guy has a busy schedule.

He's doing a lot of stuff for the ESPN, but he is still on this podcast, the king of the let's go,

Peter Schraeger.

Let's go.

Come on, let's go i'm so happy to be back with you i i texted you i very rarely would admit this but i was i was fishing i said you know what i've i've done the pablo tore origin story we've had diana rossini we've had kyle brain on a dozen times can i get back in here and you were like yeah let's do it and i i don't know i didn't know if you had to check uh for permission from mullet number two on the mcafee show or not those are my guys also i know i am everybody's guy i'm everybody's guy i don't even know where i fit in anymore you're just you have guys everywhere.

Guys, all these different shows.

You're busy as hell.

They're using you all these different ways, which I'm not surprised by.

You're doing great.

So much to cover with the NFL season.

So I don't think anything will happen before people hear this.

I hope nothing happens over this season.

I don't think so.

I don't think so.

I had a bunch of things.

I only gave you heads up on one thing that I wanted to talk about.

Otherwise, I'm just going to throw some shit at you.

But this is the one thing I wanted to talk about because you, you know,

we've talked a lot about the Chiefs over the over the last few years.

Okay.

Mahomes has the stature of best QB in the league.

And I'm with you.

Like if it's if it's one game for my life, I'm picking him first.

But he wasn't as good last year as I think people seem to think he was.

And he finished fifth in the MVP voting, even though he played the whole year.

Stats were down.

The deep throw stuff was really bad.

And you could say the supporting cast got a little worse, or you could say maybe he just didn't have a great year.

Now they got killed in the Super Bowl.

What kind of Mahomes year are you expecting?

Are we moving into like an Albert Pujols in his 30s, just not quite the same as good as he was in his 20s situation?

Or is this, I am taking back

all prisoners.

I am laying the SmackDown.

I am Kaiser Sozay in this entire league.

What's your vibe?

It's funny because I think this season could go one of two ways.

It could go the former where it's, all right, this is Albert Pujols.

This is one one of those other players that we have seen who just hits the cliff and it's still very good, just isn't in that thing, or it's scorched earth.

I would say this, everyone I speak with in Kansas City, and I know your listeners love when I give this because it always means it's going to be positive.

This guy is locked the fuck in.

And it has been rampage season all summer of like, we're taking this thing back.

And whether that's just big talk or not, I look at last year,

he was playing catch with Sky Moore.

Xavier Worthy was in his first season.

Justin Watson was like his number two option.

Micole Hardman and DeAndre Hopkins, who let's be honest, still has a great red zone target, but was not a true number one weapon.

And they still went to the Super Bowl.

And this year, he gets Xavier Worthy.

He gets Rashi Rice for at least some of the season, rejuvenated Kelsey.

and a healthy Hollywood Brown.

I think the options and the weapons are significantly better.

And they're

Kelsey going this way.

Trending that way.

Trending that way.

Yeah.

Trending that way.

That would be the one thing I would be like, all right, when Mahomes was at his apex,

Kelsey had one of the best receiving tight ends in the history of mankind.

And now that guy is moving into a different phase of his career.

No doubt.

And Tyreek Hill and him were, we're going to look back and say, you know what?

Like, we only got a few years of that.

We should have gotten more years of that because the two of them were electric.

Kelsey is an interesting one because his numbers were there last year at the end, and they still sustained and they had big catches and they needed again, they lost one regular season game last season until that final, you know, week 18, whatever with Denver.

But you were there for all those games.

I mean, each game had one player where it's like, wow, if that happened, they lose that.

He was never dominant or anything awesome.

But look, last year, he was not going to win you a fantasy league.

He's not going to be the analytics darling.

But like you said, two minutes left, he still found a way every single time and made the clutch play until the super bowl when the wheels fell off and then that left me and everyone else thinking all right is the chapter closed like

kelsey i this is this hasn't been reported like kelsey was in here

he was not himself in that super bowl he also was under the weather he also was

truly like a shell of himself in that game.

So he isn't the one coming out saying, hey, I was sick.

But I know from chief sources that he was not himself because he wasn't 100%.

well let's be honest like the healthiest kelsey ever they still get killed in that game they couldn't block the eagles that's it point blank yes and they they add simmons who i think is going to be good eventually obviously he's a rookie

as an offensive tackle and they feel good like i don't look i don't know if he's ever going to put up 5 000 yards and 50 touchdowns ever again i don't know if it's possible for him to do it with just whatever it is i do think josh allen could still do that i do think baker could still do that and what they have in their offenses right now.

The Chiefs are going to be great.

Mahomes, is he coming out here?

Look, if I had to put my hand up and say, is he going to win MVP because of his stats and all that?

I don't know if he's my pick to win MVP.

I do know that the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, he was like Michael Jordan in the gym and last dance, working out with the guys and encouraging them to get in the gym.

And he didn't just cut his hair.

He's been working out ferociously.

And what felt like a big offseason because you know, he was out and about and they opened a steakhouse and whatever else, they have been working and they are dialed in and Andy has gotten them back in the lab.

So

when you, when you talk to, you talk to a million people.

Yeah.

And it feels like as we head into this year, there's four QBs that are ascending above everybody else.

And then Jaden Daniels is like hovering.

Can you wait here in the Yeah, in the can you just wait?

The bouncer will let you in if we've decided to let you in.

The way he gets in is if he goes 12 and five 5 again

with a much harder schedule and a team that you know probably went sideways from a talent standpoint.

Um, a year ago, we would have said, All right, Mahomes here, yep, and then this next group.

When you talk to other people in the league,

do they think somebody else is the best QB?

Do they think it's him?

Do they think it's a group?

Like, what is the different reactions?

It's the group of four, and I think maybe we're just putting them all in the same conversation and we're not valuing enough

the stuff that doesn't come up in the stat sheet.

So I have Mahomes as one because of the clutch moments, because that's what we have been trained to treasure and to value in our quarterbacks.

We treasure and value who wins on the road, who wins in the AFC Championship games, who wins when you're down, who's the guy you want the ball in.

But statistically,

Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow are better than Patrick Mahomes.

So it's this classic individual versus

the stats versus the non-stats.

So, like, give me an NBA comparison.

Adrian Gantley fills the stats sheet.

You never put him in the same conversation as Magic Johnson.

And yet, but this was Brady versus Manning 20 years ago.

Brady had the three Super Bowls.

Manning had better stats.

And Manning had the NBA.

And I was arguing for Brady, Brady, Brady over again.

I guess my issue is.

Or not my issue, because I think this is a fun argument.

It's a great argument.

I just think if I'm taking a quarterback for 22 weeks and I could have any QB in the league, I think I'm picking Josh.

I think I am too.

And if I'm taking one guy for,

if I'm taking a guy for

this is now the most pressure we've ever had, it's a fourth quarter.

It's a tie game.

Who do I want for 30 minutes?

Take a Mahomes.

I think I would take Mahomes.

But I just think, to me, Allen is like LeBron in the late 2000s now.

It's like, I don't even care who's on his team.

I don't know who is, you can't even name the weapons he had last year other than James Cook was really good down the stretch, but I just think he's a guaranteed now 12 to 13 wins and he's going to be heard from in the playoffs.

And I don't know if you can say that about Mahomes based on how that playoffs ended.

I thought they could have lost to Houston.

I thought they probably should have lost to Buffalo.

They got killed by Philly.

So it's a good one.

It's the kind of thing, if you want to be the goat or you want to be the best guy in your generation, you kind of need to get kicked in the teeth a little bit to bounce back and be like, all right, I'll show everybody.

Brady certainly needed it.

Brady needed it.

And Brady had an 07 season where he was like, all right, if Peyton's the individual that you guys all think, if Peyton's the guy and he just won the Super Bowl, here, I'm going to go scorched earth and break all these offensive records.

Does Mahomes have that in him right now?

He's already done that.

Can he do it again at 30?

I don't know, honestly.

And

I don't know if

in the NFL and like history, like last year, Baker threw for 5,000 yards.

Are we talking about Baker?

I don't know if stats matter as much in football as they do in baseball or they do in the wins.

They don't matter.

Mahomes was getting the wins.

And that's right.

And that's it.

It's the ultimate team sport in a different way.

So we look at Lamar, like Lamar statistically last year had as good a season as anyone's ever had in football.

I will never remember Lamar Jackson's 2024 as a special season because it came up short and because he was the third quarterback in the AFC, not even maybe the fourth, maybe behind Burrow, because Burrow's stats were as good, if not better.

Mahomes, I'll remember.

Mahomes took that team and they won, again, Carolina game, like they're winning by three, to your point.

They're playing the Raiders.

They're basically, they're barely getting by on a Black Friday game.

And it's like, what is going on with this team?

And yet they find it.

It doesn't felt that good.

Yeah.

It's a weird one because like, you know, LeBron, who was the best player in the NBA for a long time, but didn't win the MVP after 2013.

And

there were real reasons for that because it was either he didn't play full season, he had injuries, or he was mad at the team and didn't really try for three weeks.

There was always like something.

He didn't play enough games.

The NFL, like Mahomes played the whole season last year.

And he was, and we watched the whole season.

We're like, you're fifth.

So that's why I wonder, like, how much of it, do you think he reads this stuff?

Does he care?

Yes.

So you think he does?

He's one of those like, I know what people are saying, guys.

This is LeBradford Smith shit.

Like, yes.

Like, he sees it all and knows it all.

And a couple of years ago, the NFL network put him fourth on the top 100 list and he scores a touchdown against Lamar.

And he's seen doing one, two, two, three, four, and does a shrug.

Like that stuff is so when he sees it, he reads it and he's motivated by it all.

I honestly, I think he's got this like otherworldly competitiveness and killer instinct to him that maybe wasn't valued enough in the pre-draft process because he played for a losing Texas Tech team.

But like Kingsbury will tell me that like, this, this has always been Pat.

We just didn't surround him with enough.

And he would have won maybe two games if he wasn't the quarterback.

And they ended up winning, what, eight or seven every season at Texas Tech.

He's got this killer instinct.

And he and Andy Reid, that's the thing.

Like you start realizing it's not just one-on-one and it makes for great talk radio and podcast stuff, but at the end of the day, it's coach and offense as well.

So are you taking Sean McDermott and Josh Allen, Zach Taylor and Joe Burrow, John Harbaugh, who has shown that in these big games, there are some head-scratching decisions and Lamar or Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

It's a package deal and the two of them together are still going to reign supreme over those other three combos.

Yeah, you think like he had that whole Tyreek section.

Tyreek was one of the best field tilters we've had at receiver this century.

And then you have Kelsey, who's been the best receiving tight end in the last 10 years.

So he had those guys in his formative years.

And now this feels like he's still in that 2006 Brady area where you're just kind of carrying the supporting cast that's not quite good enough.

I think the Kelsey.

I think 0707 lebron when it's like anderson varigo and you know ilgoskis and whoever else that he had out there i just think allen i i thought he was so good last year he was amazing and that the last piece of this i picked buffalo over green bay to win the super bowl and i really it really it's a pick on like i think that guy's a special player and at some point a guy that good is going to have to win a title it's just the way the NBA works.

I think it's the way the NFL works for the most part.

If you're tired.

knocked on the door right like and that's what we always need you need to knock on the door and he's done it so many times there are a couple other things like

last year we're going to get that stadium right like it just it feels like this is like all right buffalo's been ascending ascending ascending he feels like the guy and it just feels like the torch is ready for him to just grab it when you picked buffalo and i heard you do it when you went to sleep at night did you wake up and have any second thoughts on it because that matters to me if you're like oh did I really just pick against Mahomes?

You felt comfortable with going.

Here's the big thing for the Mahomes thing this year is the schedule combined with that, their division, I think the Chargers, I have the Chargers as the worst team in the division.

Other people have Vegas, but it's just not a walkover like it used to be.

And then you have all these night games, all these other stuff.

And I took note of

And I think they're the most interesting team to talk about out of all the teams.

I took note of some of the stuff they talked about during the Super Bowl last year about the grind of it and just 22 weeks a year of this bullseye and

how what didn't feel as special to be in the Super Bowl this year.

And like weird shit that you say when you've just been

Pacheco played in the playoffs, Duerbo, like Isaiah Pacheco was a huge, huge part of that offense.

He goes down in week two and they have to pick up Kareem Hunt off the scrap heap.

And they won 17 games with Kareem Hunt and Samajay Pirine as the running backs.

Pacheco's back.

Pacheco's healthy.

And I know you've already done your fantasy draft and you've had your fantasy podcast.

Like, please, everybody, take Pacheco.

Trust me on this.

Pacheco is ready to go.

And that is a huge piece to their offense also.

So they get back, guys.

Hollywood Brown is healthy.

You know, Rice and Worthy, I just feel like

for the Chiefs, it's, yes, they hit the wall and it eventually caught up with them and they were sneaking by, sneaking by, sneaking by.

But this was like a hard reset.

And they feel a lot better about their team coming into the season now than they did at the end of the season last year.

I had Denver winning the AFC West over them, but them having the same record.

And Denver is now like the sexiest.

Isn't it too?

And I hate it.

I hate it too.

But is it realistic to you that Denver could have a slight upper hand over Casey in the West?

Yeah.

I, I, I, yeah.

And like I talked to Sean today, and he, Peyton, sorry, first name Payton.

It's like when Collinsworth just calls him Patrick, you know, it's me talking about Sean.

But Peyton and I spoke today and I said, all right, two days, three days away.

Like, what, what are you thinking?

And he's like, here's the deal.

This is what he told his team.

He's like,

every team has a book on them.

And some books.

are small, some books are medium, some books are like big.

The Denver Broncos franchise is one of those teams that has like a big book.

There's a lot of chapters.

You have the Orange Crush, you've got Elway, then you've got Peyton Manning, like you've got this big book.

And he's like, we have the chance to add a really cool chapter to this franchise's history.

You guys, it's all here.

Like, there are only a few crown jewel franchises.

The Denver Broncos are one of them, and it's all there.

They had the number one rated defense last year.

The quarterback.

If you listen to Peyton, like he talks about him as if this guy can do no wrong.

And they added a whole new running back room that they're very excited about.

That said,

there are expectations now.

Last year, they snuck up on everybody.

You and I had them in the playoffs.

We did before the season.

It was the easy schedule, you know, newish coach bunch that we liked, but it was also keeping our fingers crossed that Bo Nix was confident, which he was.

He wasn't.

No idea.

We had no idea to know, but we felt relatively confident.

And you take Peyton's word for it.

Now, Peyton's 61 years old.

He's been doing this for a long time.

And he's like, this is one of the best teams I've ever had.

Like, I love this group.

So the next one.

I told you about when I did my talent rankings, I was shocked just how much talent they have.

It's everywhere.

I don't think people realize.

And like they had the number one defense last year and they added pieces.

And

here's the thing that scares you.

What scares you is that every NFL media outlet came through Denver and whether it be the aforementioned Roussini or it be ESPN or it be Kay Adams and FanDuel, whoever, they all leave and they say, that's the team.

That scares me because but this was Detroit last year.

It was.

Right.

And Detroit went 15 and two and then the wheels came off, but they had some bad luck.

They had injuries and also they handled the expectations.

Can Denver handle the expectations?

Because now you're not the hunters, you're the hunted, especially, I mean,

I was talking with McCordy last week, Jason McCordy, who I love.

And he's like, I've got, he's like, I've got Denver winning the AFC West.

I'm like, all right.

I walk away.

I talk to four other people.

They're like, I got Denver winning the AFC West.

I feel like more people have Denver winning the AFC West than they do the Chiefs right now.

Yeah.

And they're like

still three to one on FanDuel.

But yeah, I think it's 50-50 with

the schedule the Chiefs have combined with just a talent thing where you look at both sides.

Coaching staffs are both really good.

But I think the reason I wanted to lead with this talking to you, because we haven't really talked in a couple of months on the pod, is I think Case versus Denver is the most interesting of all the big picture storylines.

You can give me anything else, but I, you know, the way last year where we were like, the NFC North, and maybe we thought it was going to be Chicago instead of Minnesota, we were like, the NFC North, it feels like that's going to be driving a lot of story for us this year.

I think it's going to be the AFC West, whether Denver can be a real team, and then combined with the Baltimore, Buffalo, Case, Denver, like those four, those might be four of the best five teams in the league.

Do you put it along with Philly?

Yeah, do you put Cincinnati anywhere near there?

Nowhere near.

Not even like.

Because I'm not even in.

Oh, you're what?

What's the case for that?

With their defense?

Yeah.

And their offensive line?

I think big picture, they got everything done this offseason that you could have asked for and bringing back those two receivers, Healthy Burrow, and they could light it up.

They're going to be a pain in the ass to play.

You're going to have to score 35 points to beat them every week.

And I don't know if a lot of teams are going to be able to play.

You're going to be able to with their defense.

You're going to have to, though.

That's it.

Let's take a break.

And I have the other big storyline that you're uniquely qualified to discuss.

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All right.

You don't know anything else we're talking about because you don't need to, because you've been doing this non-stop.

So it took me a while to come around on this.

And I talked about it last week when we did the Bears, Sal and I.

And I was saying I was over.

I think they're a playoff team.

It just seems like the Ben Johnson,

all of it, the hype, which I was resistant of.

You know, I always

want to zag if there's a zag.

I've just been really impressed with everything I've read and heard this whole training camp.

Give me your best Ben Johnson will be immediately awesome case.

Like that he will immediately ascend to the Mick Shea,

LaFleur, Shanahan, Andy, like that he will get there right away this season.

He chose

to come here and he leaned in in so hard and didn't have to.

He could have taken the Washington job last year.

He decided to punt on that at the last second.

The story is actually crazy.

He was on a plane, a private jet last year.

Or I'm sorry, the Washington brass, Josh Harris and the executives were all on a plane, a private jet to go court him and finalize a deal with the, and, and then while they're in the flight, they find out over Twitter that he's backing out and they land and he's like, guys, I'm sorry, I'm staying in Detroit.

So could have had that job, could have had Carolina, i think two years ago david tepper loved him and he was a north carolina guy um good whiff on that one yeah look he he's calling his place like i'm waiting i'm waiting i'm waiting any team he could have any job this year i know everyone will say no actually that no he could any job he made it very clear he wanted one job he wanted the chicago job and in his opening press conference he's like i can't wait to beat matt lafleur and i texted lafleur because i'm like all right that's funny you guys obviously know each other lafleur's like i don't know that guy i have no relationship with that guy.

That's crazy that he would call me out in his press conference by name, but like he wanted that.

He chooses to coach against the Lions, the team he just spent six seasons with, and slicing up, you know, the rest of the NFC North.

He's like, no, no, I'll go up against them.

And then the last team, he goes up against a Vikings team where Brian Flores was hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and had this.

had this staff.

And one of the holdovers was Ben Johnson.

And Brian Flores is like, I don't need this guy.

We're good.

Like, we'll move on.

And Ben Johnson's like, all right, I guess I'll find another job and wasn't retained by Brian Flores.

Flores is now defensive coordinator of the Vikings.

Ben Johnson brings to Chicago all of this with like this giant chip on his shoulder.

And so he's got a chip on his shoulder against two of the teams and then knows the third team exceptionally well.

Exceptionally well.

And could have chosen to take in the soft AFC team in Jacksonville or wherever else and said, okay, I'll just get paid a bunch of money somewhere else and not take on this challenge.

The last piece, he wanted to work with Caleb Williams.

And not everyone necessarily after that first season would want that.

If you're the offensive genius and you're the boy wonder, you might say, give me a more established quarterback that I can work with, or let me pick my own quarterback that I can work with, like Cliff did with Kyler or whatever it else in the history of offensive coaches taking new jobs.

Give me Caleb because I'll coach him hard.

And Caleb's big thing is like, he's never been great with timing.

Like it's always been off script and Caleb like likes to work and be freestyle.

I'm like, that is not what Ben Johnson's offense is.

Ben Johnson's offense is, hey, Jared Goff,

here's the play.

Here's the first look.

Here's the second look.

Play action.

Go.

You're not doing it at a shotgun.

And Caleb's got to rewire his whole brain.

And from what I hear out of Chicago,

it's working.

Again.

Well, wasn't they doing the thing where he threw a lot at him and then he started scaling it back?

And that's the kitchen sink.

So that's legit.

Cause I know, you know, you read this training camp stuff.

You never know what.

Well, everyone's going to be amazing at a training camp.

That's what we hear.

So you got to read it with a filter.

In this case, like, all right.

So Mike Marks, I, I was brought, someone brought up Mike Martz recently was like, Mike Martz, offensive mastermind, kind of like a, like sit in the lab and not exactly a social butterfly, and maybe not the best communicator.

Yeah.

Mike Martz becomes head coach of the Rams.

They go to one Super Bowl and then it, you know, never happens again for him.

And he's just an offensive quarter.

It's just what he was.

This guy, a lot of people immediately thought, was some bookish nerd, just sits there and draws up plays.

He's not.

Like, he's not.

He's not a nerd.

He's not a geek.

He's not a guy who sits in the lab all day long and can't talk.

Like, he's a guy, and he's a dude.

And he, from what I hear, in Chicago, has established that pretty quickly.

Like, they're not going to play just air-raid football, and this guy's going to draw up fancy plays where the offensive lineman goes in motion.

no they're going to run the ball down your throat and he's also going to do that stuff and then he's going to talk some smack on the way also i said on espm a couple of weeks ago that he's the most interesting person in the nfl this season because if he can revitalize not just the bears to a winning team we've seen them win and go to the playoffs the last couple of years but if he can make the bears like a fun and sexy offensive team where we're like oh i've got to watch the bears on red zone or oh i'm gonna you and sal always talk about the four screens and what you're choosing like they're gonna be one of my teams They have to be there.

Yeah, yeah.

That is a totally new chapter for them.

And I think with Ben Johnson, they can do that.

Are the two weapons that they drafted both going to have huge impacts?

Yes.

Because Loveland's already getting drafted.

Like, he's a top 10 tight end.

Yeah.

And they took him before Tyler Warren and they had options to take.

I know about that one.

I know.

And

they could have taken wide receivers.

Like

off topic a little bit, like I've heard Abuka out there in Tampa Bay is already like the captain of the team, and Baker's absolutely in love with him.

And he's going to be right out of the gates, like a guy that they're going to feature in the offense.

I haven't heard that with Loveland yet, but that's because they have DJ Moore and they have Burden and they have the two running backs.

And I don't know in that offense if it's going to be tight end focused.

But if you look at the way Ben Johnson used Laporta, I would think that they're going to feature him heavily.

So if you had to say three NFC North teams make the playoffs and one does not, Who is your does not?

The Chicago Bears.

Still, you have them fourth.

Yeah, I do.

So what's the Minnesota case?

The Minnesota case is that they might have the best roster in football besides that quarterback and that quarterback might be awesome.

We just don't know.

The balls on Quasi, the GM, and Kevin O'Connell to move on from Darnold when you could have easily franchise tagged him or paid him what he's making in Seattle, to move on and say we're better off with a guy that we've seen throw three preseason passes is a crazy decision.

But they are so convicted in this that I have to believe that they believe they can win with this guy right out of the gate.

So JJ, they pay

40 million for Darnold.

Instead, they keep, they just basically use the QB money for JJ, which rookie scale.

Take the 40 million for Darnold.

Spread it out for a couple of times.

Give a couple to a backup, and then you get like four starters out of it, basically.

Yeah, more or less.

And then I thought, all right, let's see JJ mccarthy and maybe they sign aaron rogers to a minimum deal and rogers probably would have been open to that and they're like no like no we're good we're going with jj mccarthy it's a pretty big spot for that dude though it reminds me of the the arch meaning all the hype he got all summer and then it's like all right now uh

noon saturday at ohio state go knock yourself out like it's I don't know, it's a pretty big spot.

McCarthy's gonna have a couple of those.

Monday Night Football in Chicago.

That's about the same kind of

platform as arch is having where you're going to have a pregame show all day long and everyone's looking at it and you got ben johnson on the other sideline i guess i trust koc and flores in a way that i just don't know from the bears what we're going to get yet so i would say any other division i could argue that the bears could could compete

you know at least like this division it's a gauntlet You're not obeying the three and three out rule, which might even be the two and two out rule.

I know.

Somebody's got to,

we're not just running it back with three NFC North playoff teams again, the same three.

I do think

one of them has to flip.

I think the Lions do take a step back.

And I think it's because of Ben Johnson.

I think he's incredible and his ingenuity and the way he used Jameer Gibbs and the way they got Penne Sewell in motion and the way that they got open all these guys and used all the, I think they're really going to miss that.

And I don't know if John Morton, who's a longtime NFL coach, this isn't like they, you know, elevated some 28-year-old that they feel good on.

Like John Morton's been around for 30 years i don't know if he's got the ingenuity and the spunk and all that that ben johnson had and i i i hate saying this about jared goff because here's jared goff who took a rams team to the super bowl took the lions to an nfc championship game into a one seed last year and we're still after all these pro bowls and his name being chanted in the draft i still kind of like without mcveay or ben johnson in his ear like i still kind of don't know what that looks like with john morton as the oc so i might put an asterisk on the lions i might just go two teams and say it's vikings Packers out of the NFC North this year.

Whoa, and weaker offensive line, too.

I said this to Sal.

Like, I don't know who the year from hell team is yet, but we're going to have one.

And if you're doing fan duel odds on that, they're probably the odds-on favorite.

But I think the fact that the Chargers have already lost, you know, one of the three best guys in their team.

They're a candidate and maybe somebody else.

Last year was pretty easy to look at the Niners and be like, huh.

Yeah, the IU thing was stuff happening.

gross all summer, and we didn't know what was up with Trent Williams.

So that's an interesting team.

I heard you guys talking about it when you and Sal were doing all the NFC over and on.

You're like, what's your, what's your 30 seconds on the Niners?

Ambivalence?

Like, just

winning six games last year and then losing a shitload of veterans.

And then people are going, no, they're going to be good again because they have Kyle Shanahan and Ayuk's coming back in October and McCaffrey might play.

I just don't really see the case.

It feels to me like

there's more arrow pointing down potential than arrow pointing up.

I don't really know, but I just know that I like Seattle more.

And I think after that's one of my big week one plays is I just think Seattle is going to be good.

And I'm in the minority.

I know it's a nobody believes in us thing, but I just trust, I think they're.

I think they're just like steadier than this Niners thing, which is like all over the map.

I don't know what I'm getting.

Are they going to be able to block?

Are they going to have a pass rush?

When are their receivers going to all be healthy?

Am I getting 12 games out of McCaffrey?

Yeah.

And like

the schedule is the only case.

It's like their schedule is the same.

Okay, cool.

Great.

They cut Kyle Uschak and it was like, ooh, it looks like they're changing the look of this team.

Kittle's contract was still not finished.

I'm like,

are they going to move on from Kittle?

And then they were like, no, actually, we're going to re-sign Kyle Uzchak.

Then we're going to extend Kittle to a monster deal, like legit money for Kittle Kittle at this stage in his career.

And then, oh, we're also going to give money to Purdy and Fred Warner.

And we still got Ayuk and we're going to bring back Salah.

It was almost like, hey, fuckers, like we were, we were in, we were in the Super Bowl less than, you know, 18 months ago.

Like, chill out.

Like, don't, don't, don't give up on us yet.

So the conviction of John Lynch to not just say, all right.

Let's do a little changing of the guard here.

Let's get younger, but to bring back all those guys tells me that they think they can still compete.

And oddly enough, I'm not a big gambling guy.

I see the odds.

They're still the favorites in the NFC West.

And I guess that's because of the schedule.

But to say that they're the favorites over the Rams is crazy to me.

Right.

Okay.

That was going to be the next thing I asked you about.

Matthew Stafford, God only knows.

Yeah.

I don't either.

The left tackle seems like he's okay.

He's scheduled to maybe play.

So you have uncertainty with the quarterback and the left tackle, like real uncertainty.

And yet I still picked them to make the playoffs because it's just like,

and you were the one who was kind of talking me into the Garoppolo piece of it that you felt like that is about as good of an insurance policy as anyone has.

So make the case.

Yeah, for the, for the Bill Simmons Reddit folks who don't think you and I talk all the time, we still talk on text all the time.

And we were talking about the Rams.

And I said, this guy.

Garoppolo can still win 10 games if they need him to.

And when they played with the Cowboys in these intercamp practices to a man, both sides said he lit up the Cowboys' defense, was going up and down the field.

And he and Devontae, which everyone assumes because of what was said on the wide receiver documentary, hate each other.

They're great.

They're also adults and have made a ton of money and are like, let's just go win football games and try to get a Super Bowl.

So with Stafford out, Garoppolo was under center and McVay was like telling me Jimmy G looks awesome.

So at the very least, they have a capable backup that they know they can win games with if Stafford is unavailable.

And I hate saying this because Cooper Cup has been a great player and has a triple crown winner and all this thing.

They view Devontae Adams as a big upgrade from what they had at Cooper Cup last year.

So now you have Devontae Adams, Puka Nakua, 2-2 Atwell, Kyron Williams.

And at quarterback, you hope Matthew Stafford at 37 can stay healthy.

And if he isn't and has to miss a few games, you're not going to Brett Ripian like they did a couple of years ago.

You're going to Jimmy Garoppolo, who is a serviceable quarterback in this league.

Okay.

It's really hard to bet against McVay winning nine or ten games.

And dude, versus

yes, and that defense was awesome down the stretch last year.

You know, they were one pressure away from playing in an NFC championship game against the Commanders.

And, you know, they got to Stafford and that was that.

But like, they were in that game with the Eagles.

They were the only team that competed with the Eagles in the playoffs last year.

They had them on the ropes in the snow, and they came up short.

And then you

the 2025 hipster champs, the Arizona Cardinals.

Everybody's team.

Geez.

I don't get it.

I don't either.

I'll freely admit, I don't understand it.

I don't think from a talent standpoint, they have as much talent as the other teams in the division.

I don't, I was there last season.

I thought they had a chance a couple of times to maybe make a run and then would just have a terrible loss.

I'm not a Kyler guy, as I've mentioned many times.

And I just, I have them fourth in that division.

I don't really get it.

it so do i and maybe we're wrong and maybe this shows up on old takes exposed or someone digs this clip up and is like see told you guys but like i'm not worried about that one i don't see it i don't and i think it's a competitive nfc the way it is for me it's like

the best coaches are in the nfc and the best quarterbacks are in the afc

so i Let's, are you going to,

if you're going to win that NFC West, you're going to have to outcoach McVay, you're gonna have to out coach shanahan and then you're gonna have to also out coach salah and chris shula who are the defensive coordinators and oh by the way mike mcdonald did a pretty good job in his first year and they love kubiak as a new offensive coordinator like that's really good coaching staffs so jonathan gannon like year three you should be competing you should be doing it and if we're wrong we're wrong but i don't i don't know if they have the talent and i don't know if they've got all that goes into actually competing for a playoff spot in a loaded nfc i don't see the case um who is your nobody believes believes in us contender this year?

And I know you're doing some prediction stuff on ESPN.

Yeah.

Last year it was the Washington

former Redskins, now Commanders.

And I remember us talking about it,

and I couldn't get there to them as a playoff team, but they checked a lot of boxes for the bump.

Nobody had them in the playoffs.

Nobody in the planet had them go to the NFC title game.

So who is the team this year?

Who does nobody believe in?

Okay, so last year there were two teams that I had that I was very high on, and it was the Broncos and the Commanders.

And I kind of puffed my chest out all season about that.

This year, I have a team that literally nobody on earth, including their fans, seemed to be in on.

And I kind of like them to shock everyone and compete in their division.

The Miami Dolphins are very intriguing to me.

This is a good one.

You're right.

Nobody believes in the Dolphins.

I mean, it's like, this is everybody's, this team's team's going to suck team.

Mike McDaniel

has been hearing it all

offseason that he's on the hot seat and that this thing is kaput.

Tua Tunga Valloa has heard it all offseason that he sucks and he can't get over the hump and he can't win in cold weather.

Tyreek, Waddle, guess what?

I know guys with the Dolphins, they love Tua and Tua is.

Really good with them.

That is as good a 1-2 in the league outside of Cincinnati that you're going to find.

And McDaniel can still put up 40, 50 points with his offense.

Achan, great running back.

And their defense did not have their two best players last year in Phillips and Chubb.

They get them back.

And you get Chop Robinson in year two.

I know they lost a lot.

I get it.

And maybe Jalen Ramsey is the greatest cornerback of his generation.

Maybe he's not.

But Jalen Ramsey is out.

And with Jalen Ramsey being out, is you have a bunch of young guys who are going to step up.

And the locker room is maybe a little different than it was last year with a lot of veteran guys.

Oh, I like Mike McDaniel out with a chip on his shoulder.

I like Mike McDaniel knowing that he's got his guys on the field.

And I like the fact that absolutely nobody, including the most die-hard Dolphins fans, are riding with this team.

I'll take them.

I'll take the Dolphins.

Are they going to win the AFC East?

Probably not.

Can they compete for a wild card?

You better believe it.

Over-under is still seven and a half.

Take the over, folks.

So, legitimately bad defensive backs.

We don't know that.

I'm going to say they're bad.

We

don't know that.

They've been still scrambling to try to sign guys to potentially throw out there.

They don't have a single shutdown anybody on there.

I mean, Fitzpatrick's there.

Is that there?

And the offensive line.

Young.

Yeah.

And shades of the Pats last year.

Like, it might be bad, bad.

So those two things worry me.

Then you have Tyreek.

I have no idea where Tyreek's head is at.

They removed his captaincy, which I thought was interesting.

Waddles already banged up.

The running back situation, it's gotten to the point that Ollie Gordon has gotten buzzed in some of the deeper leagues because he might actually be playing.

Yeah.

So I don't know.

To me, it's like, are they going to be better?

Are they more talented than the Patriots?

Yeah, I think they do have more talent in the roster than the Patriots still.

I take your case.

Your case is pristine.

Look, you're the, because you're the only one who believes in them that I've heard.

And that's where I like to hitch my wagon.

Give me that team.

And I'll tell you, this team will embody Mike McDaniel.

And you might say, well, what the hell does that mean?

It means high-powered offense, fast.

Let's get the ball out.

Let's go.

And like the noise of like, you know, all the shit that's been going on this offseason, they had 100% participation this offseason.

And that's the first time I could say that's happened in Dolphins' like recent history.

And as much as we all say like last year was terrible, like they went six and two after starting two and six.

Like they finished the season strong last year.

So

I don't know.

I look at this team.

Two years ago, they were a playoff team.

Injuries hit them.

They went into Kansas City in the coldest game ever.

It was played on Peacock and everyone just remembers Andy Reid's frozen mustache.

That wasn't a good draw.

The year before that, they were awesome all season.

They get hit with the injury bug and they have to go to Buffalo and it's Skylar Thompson at quarterback.

I know they had a bad year.

It's like the Niners.

They had a bad year last year.

Can they bounce back?

Absolutely.

All those guys are still there for the most part.

I still think that they've got an offense that put up 70 points on the Broncos two years ago.

I mean, the better case is

they're playing

beyond what you just said.

Where are they?

So they have

at Indy

win.

Home Pats week two with the Gonzalez hamstring thing, which is now dominating my life as I just wait for updates.

Patriots in September at the Dolphins in September at Miami.

Not a a great history.

At Bills Thursday night that just crossed out probably a loss.

Probably a loss.

Jets Monday night at Panthers week five.

Home Chargers at Browns.

So you're saying five and one.

We could be six and one at that point.

We.

I don't give a shit, but we.

No, it's a well, we because you're the only this is you're in it.

This is it.

This is really good.

I'm, I'm, I completely disagree with you, but I'm also really jealous.

And this is it.

Like it's so funny because we've known each other so long.

I thought for sure

no, I thought for sure you're going to do Tennessee.

They check a lot of Schrager boxes and I was ready for a whole Cam Ward and this defense and the culture.

And I, I just thought you might be in on them, but you zagged on me.

I'm not in on them yet.

I like the Dolphins as a pick, a good team that has a coach that has something to prove, that has his guys on the field.

And that I think has been really, really dismissed this offseason.

And all the stuff about like, they they don't get along and Tyreek was questioning, you know, the running backs room.

Like, don't, if you're not there and you're seeing stuff in press conferences, it's hard.

And I, again, I think I might be the only person,

including JJ Dostremski and all the different Dolphins fans out there, actually feels that this team on paper still is as good as anybody on offense.

And that coach put the league in a blender the last couple of years when he's got his weapons.

Seven to one to win the AFC East.

McDaniel is two to one to be on Get Up With You in mid-November.

I know.

I know.

Let's take one more break.

I have a couple more things to throw you.

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You did this already in ESPN, but, you know,

I feel like you have to do it here.

You got to just do your whole Giants thing.

I had to do an imitation of you doing a Giants thing.

Just do the two minutes because every Giants fan I know is over the moon with the potential, you know, they're not going to win the Super Bowl this year, but like just having an identity again, knowing that they're not going to have a shitty quarterback, knowing that they're going to have a pass rush.

That's like the mid-2000s pass rush, knowing that

they're, you know, Michael Parsons now out of the division.

They have a real chance to be the second best team if Washington goes backwards.

But there's just a lot of

buzz, neighbors, you know, so give me the spiel.

The spiel is this.

I went to a couple practices, and then I saw him with the joint practice with the Jets, and Abdul Carter was absolutely unblockable.

And then you add that to Dexter Lawrence, who is arguably the best offensive tackle in football, who next to him is Brian Burns.

And then on the other side also is Kayvon Thibodeau.

You have a front four

that is as good as anyone in the league.

And that includes the guys in Philly right now.

I know.

I think it's them in Philly, right?

And I would even say if Carter is as good as we think he's going to be, they might even have the edge.

Yeah.

And Abdul Carter has been, to a man, unblockable.

And it's it's funny, like you get that one clip against the Jets or whoever it was in the preseason game where he gets chipped and people are like, see, he sucks.

I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you guys don't get it.

Like he's that good.

They love their defense.

They think their defense is as good as anybody.

I look at the defense.

The Jets could not move the ball in practice.

And the Jets had just got done running the ball down the Packers' throat in a preseason game.

And the Jets could not do anything against this Giants' defense.

The question is, what do we get on offense?

Well, the days I was there, neighbors didn't practice.

The days I was there, Slayton or Hyatt wasn't out there.

So I can't tell you what the offense looks like.

I do know that every time they put Jackson Dart in, the kid comes in with a ton of swag.

He walks in there like he owns the joint.

The other quarterbacks, Jameis and Russ, don't seem threatened by him.

In fact, they love him.

They're like, let's promote this guy.

Like, we're going to do the best thing we can.

There just seems to be positive vibes.

And like, Daniel Jones,

he was tough.

He was reliable.

He came to practice.

He never really embraced the whole, like, let me be a badass.

Let me be a New York City leader.

Now, nor did Eli in a lot of ways, but then Eli just did it on the field.

And that's where he gained everyone's love.

This kid, Dart, comes in, you know, dressed in his kith shirt and his necklace that's from his sister.

And he's got these sunglasses on.

He's just got something to him where...

from the very get-go, it's like, oh, this guy's coming in here with something,

a little swag to him that maybe we haven't had at the quarterback spot in some time.

And then there's a future.

And I know that Dable and Shane, they've casted their lot with him and they absolutely love the guy.

And Brian Dable doesn't need to talk up any quarterback.

He's had Josh Allen.

He's had all these guys.

He's been with Brady.

Like

he loves his Jackson dart.

So at the very least, last year, you look at this team,

they've got a great front seven.

And then Newbin and Phillips.

and some of these other guys, they bring in a player that they really are high on and Javon Holland at safety.

Like the defense is going to be great.

So you're going to be in games.

It's can this offense score enough?

And if Neighbors is even close to what he was last year with some inferior quarterback play, well then shit, they could put up some points too.

What about Giants cult hero Cam Scatabo?

I don't know if,

and like, it's funny because I see him going in fantasy leagues like really early.

Like they really like Tyrone Tracy and they really like Motor Singletary.

So I don't know where Cam Scatabo fits in now.

It's funny.

People just wanted to be Tyrone.

I know.

And it's, we went, I saw you at at a party over Super Bowl week, a Saturday afternoon party, and we're there.

And like, there's a lot of A-list NFL players and entertainers.

And you and I were hanging out.

And there was only one player I wanted a selfie with, and it was Cam Scatabo and he walked by.

Like, he's got that to him.

Like, he is very, very appealing as like a fan favorite.

I just don't know what role he has in the offense just yet.

So Pittsburgh has the 21st pick in the draft in 2025, April.

They took defensive tackle, Derek Herman.

Dart goes four picks later.

The Giants trade up.

That might have been a massive mistake because it really seems like Dart might be good.

Yeah.

And Pittsburgh hasn't had a quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger.

And he was sitting there and they must have checked him out.

And everybody thought they might take Shadora there because this was during the part of the draft before we realized Shador was going to drop.

multiple rounds.

But man, I wonder if I'm a Steelers fan, I'm dreading this Dart thing.

think we, when do you think we see him?

Cause Sal and I did this on the schedule.

Like it's, we were thinking like week four, week five range, or do you think they're going to let Russ steer the car for a while and kind of wait until December or something?

I don't know if it's December, but they're not going to yank Russ.

Like, I remember, just to give it a comparison, Bill O'Brien talking to him and he's like, look, Deshaun Watson will get in eventually, but Tom Savage is our guy.

And then literally halftime of the first game, Deshaun Watson was replaced Tom Savage.

Like, this isn't that.

This is Russ is going to get a couple games.

He might get a couple months.

I would think the bye week is always a weekly circle.

You know how brutal the start of the season is.

I think they have one game where they're going to be favored in that first nine weeks.

It might be against the Saints.

I would think at the bye week is when we start thinking Jackson Dart, unless Russ is winning and they're going to keep him in.

Give me 90 seconds on the paths.

Great.

Right?

Like

the arrows, you know, pointed up.

And as we see Belichick

on Monday night,

and it's like, geez.

And now you've got Vrabel, where it's like, okay, we have a piece of the good of Belichick, but it's like fresh and young.

And Vrabel is so good at time management and so good at having his guys be disciplined and ready to play every week.

It's the exact opposite of last year's team.

There's an immediate upgrade with just Vrabel and McDaniels.

And I'll throw Stretch in there, who is Vrabel's like game and clock management guy, who's like the next Ernie Adams up there.

And McVay loved him in LA.

And he left LA to come be with Vrabel, who he had in Tennessee.

A very, very niche name.

Stretch, not shy about doing media.

Right.

He's been out, right?

That was like a Boston Herald, like 4,000-word feature that I devoured by Andrew Callahan.

And then

he popped on somebody's podcast.

I'm like, look at Stretch.

Not an enigma like Ernie Adams.

I know.

Ernie Adams was down there in the basement and was like fed like scraps of food.

And meanwhile, Stretch is out there at the podium.

But like, that's a real thing.

That's a, that's an elite, elite clock management guy that has been long valued in the league.

And then Vrabel, of course, I think is the best in the sport as far as knowing the rules and knowing all that stuff.

And again, you're going to fall asleep listening to that.

If you're like, oh, we've got a guy who knows all the rules in the playbook.

Don't, hey, a lot of these NFL head coaches do not know all the rules in the, in the playbook and do not know how to do time management.

And you bang your head against the wall saying it, you're never going to see a unprepared Mike Vrabel team.

You're never going to see Mike Vrabel, you know, botch a timeout or not know that, hey, wait, actually, this is a 10-yard loss and a stoppage of play, whatever it is.

So

I don't have them in the playoffs this year.

I don't.

I think that they're better this year.

I think Drake May is in much better hands with Josh McDaniels than he was in the previous.

You probably gave them Cincinnati.

You gave Cincinnati their spot.

I love Cincinnati this year.

Yeah, I get it.

And Miami.

And I got Miami in there too.

Okay.

So I had the, so the Pats Vegas spots you gave to Cincinnati and Miami.

Yes.

I have the Pats in Vegas in the season.

And do we both have Denver and King?

Yeah, of course we do.

I didn't feel good about six and seven in the AFC.

I changed my mind a million times.

Me too.

But I think the Pats, the Gonzalez thing, if they don't win this week one game, I don't think they're going to make the playoffs.

I know, not to sound like it's a must-win game, but like, this is like, if you're going to to get to 10 wins, this has to be one of the 10.

And

I just find it hard to believe they're going to go 10 and 6.

Like the kind of,

you have to beat Vegas at home if you're going to make the playoffs, right?

Washington would have beaten Vegas at home last year in week one.

Yeah.

So if it's going to happen, we'll kind of know right away, I feel like.

Well, I feel like I got egg on my face last year when, you know, Gerard Mayo's team goes into Cincinnati and beats them in a really hard-fought week one game.

And I'm like, Gerard Mayo had them running drills.

They're in better shape than they were under belichick and then that all went off the rails of course i do feel without any second of hesitation like vrabel mcdaniels and the rest of that coaching staff and that goes i mean yeah it includes even like on the offensive side you know you've got all these different guys who have been with vrabel before and i think that they play a big role also like this is a very experienced coaching staff.

It's funny to read the quotes.

And we have really good beat reporters for the Pats.

You You do.

It's funny to how many players have not come out blatantly and said,

wow, this coaching staff is so much better than last year, but it's just been a lot of between the line stuff that's been pretty fun.

Like, it's like, wow, it's nice to have some stability this year.

Just like all these little.

Yeah.

And remember, Mayo was saying crazy stuff in the press conferences too.

And you're like, what?

Like, we're in like doing appearances and saying things on the radio show that, again,

not his fault.

First year head coach.

I know, but it's just unnecessary distractions.

Yes.

Vrabel comes in and Vrabel's, he's busting shots with the reporters.

I think he went at Mike Girardi.

I think he went at Tom Curran.

Like, he's not going to back down.

He also knows these guys and he knows Karen, knows all them.

He went to Ben Boland hard.

Oh, he did.

He did.

And it's like,

part of you is like, oh, I hate the way he's talking to the media.

Part of you is like, he's comfortable with these guys.

He's not going to be bullied around by them.

And he also respects the fact that they're the best in the game when it comes to a media market.

He's aggro

he's getting into scraps when the breaking up scraps of practice he's yelling at media people it's great it's good to have an identity again what was what was your reaction to belichek on because i guess this is probably the first time you'll talk about it on on monday night because that was i was really bummed i thought he was going to be awesome as this that like this last act college thing And it was so bad, I almost don't even know how to process it.

But it's so bad.

It was interesting how many people were delighted that it it was bad and some of that he brings on himself like he was a dick the last 12 years when he coached the jordan hudson things weird like i i get it but this guy is still the greatest nfl coach of all time and it's kind of it was the first time i was thinking to myself oh man i hope they don't go like three and eight and this is just like sad I know.

I don't want that to be the outcome.

What's the word Schottenfraud?

Like, I know I'm pronouncing it wrong.

And I know you pronounce wrong words.

Yeah, we all do it.

But like, it was so real.

And my, my phone was lighting up.

And, you know, it's not just for Bill, it's for Lombardi, our boy also.

Like, people wanted to see these guys because they thought, you know, just let us get there and we'll be all right.

And I think people want to see failure because of jealousy, but also because of the way that they came in.

And a lot of those players that were at North Carolina are like, we're good.

They can walk.

We'll bring in our own.

Like, we'll be okay.

And obviously, it didn't go well the first day.

Now they play a Charlotte team next week that from what I've heard, you know, App State is not a powerhouse this year.

It's not a great App State team.

And App State, you know, waxed Charlotte last week.

If, if they struggle against Charlotte in week two, then we've got a real problem and this thing can get real ugly.

It did feel like a moment for about 40 minutes.

Oh, it was cool.

They had MJ and LT in the in the suite.

They scored the first drive.

I was like, come in.

I'm like, who's this quarterback?

Lefty?

And I'm like, ah, first 15 plays.

It's amazing.

And then she ends up on the sidelines at the end.

And you're like, what the hell is going on?

So give us, before you go, give us the first like, how many months at ESPN now?

I got there in March.

Popping on all the different shows, being like Swiss Army Knife.

What's been the biggest surprise the first three months of being in that whole world?

It's been cool because I thought it was going to be like, all right, you're.

signed on as NFL analyst.

Here is your role.

And what I've realized very quickly is I have more freedom and more flexibility at ESPN than I ever did at NFL Network because they're like, oh, you know, Molly Carom's out.

Why don't you host First Take this week in July?

Or Mike Greenberg's out.

Why don't you host Get Up?

And then McAfee was out and they let me fly to Indianapolis and do that.

And then like when the Knicks were doing their thing and I'm a Knicks fan, they're like, why don't you get on Sports Center and talk Nick?

So all that stuff I never really thought about.

And then the bigger surprise is like, you know, I was doing a three-hour show five days a week and I thought everyone was watching Good Morning Football.

And I thought, okay, if I make a a point on Good Morning Football, everyone in the media world is going to know what I said because I'm Peter Schraeger and I'm so important and the world revolves around me.

What I very quickly learned was when you get to ESPN, like that's what's in the airports.

That's what's in the barbershops.

That's what's on in the bowling alley.

And that's what's on in every hotel lobby.

Like the NFL network stuff was big fish, smaller pond.

This is, I'm a smaller fish and like a massive pond, but everyone's listening to what I say.

And it feels like when I make a point on ESPN, like people hear it it that I'm like, oh shit, I got a text from XYZ because I said that at 9 a.m.

on ESPN with first take.

And it's like, all right, yeah.

So I think just the actual fire hose of the platform has been a pleasant surprise.

Yeah, the face being on in the airports and all these different places, that's when you start.

The thing I noticed when I, when I was in that whole world was like, when you start getting recognized by the TSA guys.

No doubt.

And the cab drivers.

That's it.

And I was like, I'd been so, I was a writer i'd been so anonymous for so many years and then once all of a sudden i'm on these shows and you kind of forget there's like oh that guy's what's

and then people yo man what's going on with the lakers what's it you know and you're just like i'm just having coffee right now it's eight o'clock in the morning no doubt and you're just kind of on call like a doctor for sports conversations totally and i live in brooklyn where and i you know i You don't know if people are into sports or if they're into like the new strokes album.

Like you don't know if they're into it.

So So I'm doing NFL Network for years living in Brooklyn and like maybe I get a head nod once in a while from a sports fan.

And I'm like, all right, it's just Brooklyn.

People would much rather talk about craft beer and, you know, some indie band.

No, since I've been at ESPN, everyone's like, oh, shit, like I saw you on Sports Center.

I saw you on, on this or that.

The one thing that's different is like at Good Morning Football, I came in to work with Kyle.

And it was like, it was our show.

And it was like, well, what do we want to talk about?

Let's, let's do it.

I've got to navigate that a little bit.

And the season's going to be interesting where tomorrow, for example, i'm on get up first take and then i'm doing sports center from the us open i'm going to be asked questions by greenberg and by molly and i'm going to be talking with stephen a but like it's not me coming in and saying hey should we talk about travis hunter like it's i don't have that anymore so we've got to figure that out and navigate it where my voice is you know my thoughts aren't just being call and answer it's more like hey what can i provide and offer up proactively Yeah, I miss you and Kyle.

I

really feel it during the season just because it was, it was

a habit um i love that dude and like listening to him and you i get jealous and fomo and i'm like oh they're good together like i i miss kyle i'm absolutely but i've been monitoring your s pants stuff you've you've stayed true to yourself you're still you trying

like i'm i'm monitoring and if i feel like you start veering in directions i don't like i'm i know it's gonna be a test like I'm on Mondays on first take with Stephen A.

Smith and Cam Newton and me.

And it's like, all right, dude, like, you want to still make your like pithy joke about some reference to the 90s?

Like, I don't know, it might not, it might not, it might not land like it did with Kyle Brandt giggling, you know, like Adam Durrett's joke might not work with that critical.

It's a long December,

Link.

Like, no, it might not work.

It might.

The third eye blind reference might go over some heads, even though Cam's hat is very high.

Uh, we'll see.

I, I've been, I've been thrilled with it, though.

It's been cool.

Um, you'll be fine.

It is, it has been fun seeing you just pop on all these different places.

I don't even watch as much ESPN as other people, but I feel like when I would tune in this summer, you were somewhere involved somewhere on some shit.

Can I say one thing?

I've got a new passion and you see me posting about it on Instagram.

I play this.

I know you're a racket sports lover and you love tennis.

Are you going to do paddle?

Yes, dude.

Paddle, this is so up your alley.

I hear you doing these Michelobe commercials and you're like crapping all over pickleball and I'm nodding along, but then you're like, tennis is my sport.

I play tennis.

You have to get into paddle.

You would love this sport, Bill.

And if your listeners don't know,

it's it's two-on-two it's doubles but it's got the glass wall i know how much you love tennis this is easier on the body and it's the most social thing in the world paddle's coming and i want you in on on on the ride dude paddle's coming where where's it coming from it's coming from south america it's coming from miami it's coming from like prime time

i don't know if it's ever going to be out prime time but it's a great sport and i agree with you on pickleball i couldn't get into pickleball but as a tennis player and a tennis lover like this this sport is so fun and i want to give you like a racket and I want to get you on the court.

And I just want to play with you because I think you would love this sport.

I would be an immediate natural because it's a racket.

I'm good at racket sports.

This is my goal over the pop right year.

Did you go to the USO?

I'm going tomorrow.

We're recording this on Tuesday.

I'm going tomorrow and I'm excited.

I love it.

Do you, are you any chance you'll be in town?

No, right?

No, no, no.

I don't go, but I did.

I'll give you one take that I had that I've been thinking about.

Is it about the honey juice or the chicken nugget with caviar?

No, I've been cultivating this take factory.

Let me hear,

you know, Serena,

who's been back in the mix a little and she lost weight, she's in great shape and she's been on row.

Yeah, she's pitching this row thing and she's the best she's felt.

I think she should come back.

Let's go.

I see Venus every night on these doubles with Fernandez.

And I'm like, I love those two.

I feel like if she started planning it right now and aimed for like French Open, wimbledon us open like all right seven months her kids are a little bit older how old is she she's early 40s but i was thinking like i was trying to think like

what would be a bigger non-nfl storyline than serena coming back in shape

like almost like mj coming back to the wizards but like like more favorable and trying to like take her throne back i i think it's a boxing reference i feel like it's a boxing reference i just feel like like everybody would be interested in this.

I don't know.

There's not a single person in my life who wouldn't be interested in a Serena comeback.

And I just think she should consider it.

I know you and your wife love the tennis and

me and my wife as well.

We watch it.

And like Sabalenka is unbelievable.

And Iga is unbelievable.

And you've got these two women right now playing at such a high level.

You think Serena can still roll with those two?

I don't know.

That's what would be so fascinating because it would be a whole thing like, she can't do this.

There's no way.

And then there would be this other side be like, she's Serena Williams.

She's the goat.

She's the best female athlete we've ever had.

If anyone could do it, it's her.

And it'd just be like incredible theater.

I wonder if she's thought about it.

I'm sure she has.

She looks amazing.

She's, what's she do now?

She owns all these things.

She's like a crazy business.

She's like, she's a great businesswoman.

It just would be so interesting.

I was trying to think of like.

anyone who could come back that would be a more interesting subplot than her because that nobody else is realistic, right?

Tiger's Tiger's like he's in his 50s now, he's had some all these surgeries, like he can't come back.

There's no, you know, LeBron's still playing, but if when LeBron retires, then it'd be like, oh, could LeBron come back?

We'd have that whole thing for two years.

But for two years that we've done the Brady,

I guess Brady would be the other one, but Brady's too old now.

Yeah, at this point, it would have happened last year.

What happened with the Niners a couple of years ago?

Like, he had his opportunities.

He didn't.

Serena coming back would be awesome.

Now,

my hot take on the tennis is like, we always had Nadal and Federer as the top guys, and then Jokovich obviously joined them.

But there was always this like Stan Warinka, David Ferrer, like there was always these other guys.

Right now, it's just, it's just Sinner and Alcraz.

And I don't, and like the gap is so big

between those two and everyone else.

Like, I don't know if this U.S.

Open has been as exciting because they win 6-1-6-1-6-1.

And it's like, all right, they'll play in the finals, but we have two weeks of tennis.

And I got to be honest, I'm going tomorrow.

I'm seeing the Canadian guy play the Australian guy.

I don't even know their names.

And I follow this thing on a daily basis.

So it's really just a two-man sport right now.

And I don't think that's great either.

Well, the Ben Shelton getting hurt was a murder.

That was a killer.

Because that was, I think they were counting on him to really potentially be heard from, especially because the crowd would have gotten completely.

Tiafo loses in straight sets.

Like, wasn't great.

And then Coco is like, Coco.

Just got slaxed by Osaka.

Worked her.

But yeah, it's,

I don't know, the Serena thing would be pretty fun.

That'd be great.

I like the U.S.

Open.

Hey, should we do a tennis pod together?

No, I don't think anyone would listen to it.

The one at the ringer who loves tennis is Debundo.

Okay.

Debundo's like, I'll just, like, I texted him today on Tuesday about like, what, what's a tennis bet that you would, you would go for.

And he's like, I like both underdogs and the woman's, like, he's like, really into it.

But yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know how hot the tennis pod would be.

It's

maybe, maybe paddle.

Maybe that's the, maybe that's the pod.

When paddle becomes a major thing.

You would love this.

And like the games you get in with these like random guys that are, you know, I work in oil.

I work, it's just, it's a crazy scene, this paddle scene.

And it's big in New York right now.

And I think it's coming to LA.

So are you like, you're officially like a McAfee guy and I'm like the old girlfriend?

Or like, how does this work?

Just walk me through it.

I don't know.

I'd like to to be able to swing a little bit and have you both.

And open relationships.

I want to be able to just be open.

That's great.

It's fun.

And we'll try to get along for you.

And it'll be good.

We just want you to feel good.

If I can bridge you guys, because like you mentioned mullet number two, like that's Boston Conner.

He's a good guy.

He's a Patriots fan.

I do like Boston Connect.

I like the Boston guy.

He's great.

Give my best to the Boston Conners.

He's great.

I like that he sticks up for us.

What you would appreciate about them, and it's got a good ringer Grantland feel.

Like it is like them against, they live in Indianapolis.

It's five friends.

They don't have a rundown.

I go down there and it's like, let's just talk football.

And I so appreciate it.

It's like the part that you and McAfee have, like the shaded thing is like the complete distrust and disrespect for middle management and like that kind of stuff of like the khaki pants and the suit and the lanyard and all that.

Like Pat doesn't suffer fools and he will tell them and they, you know, that that's just what it is.

He licenses the show.

It's his deal.

but like i know you guys both speak a very similar tongue when it comes to hey we're the talent we know what works and just trust us and don't try to interfere too much that's the game he plays and i kind of respect you both for that i always i always respected what he built i just didn't like the kimmel aaron rodgers thing but i'm over fair enough it is it was like what two years ago it's fine it's done it's fine now now you're there sometimes sometimes and now we now we are you know what's that guy's name boston conner boston conner i would love for you to have him and Ty Schmidt on.

Ty's great also.

These are your guys.

These are good.

They're good.

It's fun.

I'm like the old girlfriend.

You've got Diana and Pablo and the rest.

Pablo Torrey comes on talking about his quote-unquote origin story.

I'm texting Bill.

I'm like, can I come on and talk about the Seahawks?

What are we doing here?

I have some Mike McDonald thoughts.

I want to talk.

I've got some thoughts on Johnny Smith.

Can we talk?

All right.

Well, so you'll be popping on a few times during this season.

It's lovely to have me.

I would love to have you.

I'm excited for everything that's happening for you.

It's great to see you as always.

Dude, you're the best.

You've always been such a champion of mine.

And, you know, my love for you and the listeners that you guys have.

All right.

Good to see you.

Thanks, man.

Thanks, dude.

All right.

That's it for the podcast.

Thanks, dude, Peter Schrager.

Thanks to Gahal and Eduardo as well.

I'm going to be back on Thursday.

doing Ringer 107 with House and a whole bunch of other stuff.

So stay tuned for that as we get ready.

We might even go after the Philly Dallas game.

But at some point Thursday, you'll have a podcast for me.

So stay tuned for that.

I will see you then.

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