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[Assistant] You know, okay. And then the defense, yeaah, it's, it's not good either. But I don't have enough faith in the Jets offense yet to sit here and go, they're gonna go into Denver, which is a hard place to play. It's gonna be on the grass field. It's gonna slow the Jets down a little bit and all that.


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[Assistant] And hey, I know everyone thinks that the Jets are going to be pumped up about the Nathaniel Hackett, Sean Payton thing. Sean Payton and that group are going to be pissed off too. And they're going to be trying to make sure that they don't get embarrassed here by this whole situation. I'm going to play Broncos 2320 in this one, Mike. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.


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[Assistant] I know what this one's gonna be. Chris, let me go ahead and start. Yeah, come on, you have to go first. This is always your territory here.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, hey, the Vikings we know, the defense is better, right? There's no doubt about that. It's better than last year, but it's still not great.


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[Assistant] Alright, so yeaah, I expect the Chiefs and kind of like what you said, the way they played last week, I expect their offense to bounce back and be super focused on this one. On the other side of the ball, I think Minnesota


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[Assistant] You know, can move the ball on the Chiefs a little bit too. You know, I'm a little, the Chiefs defense is really good. I know last week, I don't know what happened. I feel like they kind of played like, hey, we're going to play conservative and we think the Jets offense will mess it up. It wasn't their normal, creative, schematical approach there.


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[Assistant] Right? Uhm, so I think they bounce back in a little, in a little bit of a way as well here. I'm going Chiefs 3527. I think they do cover the spread and, uh, you know, and shove it right where the sun don't shine for you and the Vikings.


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[Assistant] Don't forget on DraftKings Sportsbook this season, new customers can bet $5 and pocket $200 in bonus bets instantly. Plus all customers can get a no sweat, same game parlay every day. Download the app, use promo code unbuttoned when you sign up. DraftKings Sportsbook, the crown is yours.


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[Assistant] Well, I'm a member of the fightin' Kyle Shanahan's, okay? So, I'm a little biased here.


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[Assistant] Alright, and that's who I'm rooting for too. You know, I am. I root for my buddy. And some of his other, you know, some of our other friends on that staff. Now, I got great respect for the Cowboys. Like, I know they're real. I do. Here's the difference to me.


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[Assistant] Or the thing I look at a little bit. Trayvon digs, him being hurt.


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[Assistant] This is, this, this, these are the games that are gonna miss him. This is it. Oh wait, we're a smaller defense. We need more people to stop the run.


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[Assistant] That's where Trayvon Diggs was special and, hey, I can play, man, I can play Brandon Ayuk. Don't worry, I'll be okay over here. Put that extra guy down in there to stop McCaffrey in the run game. So that's where they hurt, that hurts them, no doubt about it. Here's the other thing too.


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[Assistant] This 49ers team is, they're different than the last year in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] Last year in the playoffs, it was still a little bit of like, hey, you know, we're managing Brock Purdy. He's still a rookie. We're not just going to let it go. Their offense is better now than it was last year. It's not even close. McCaffrey has got more of a defined role and they have more tricks and things and bells and whistles for him.


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[Assistant] Deebo Samuel is healthy and different this year. I know he was a little banged up last week with the ribs or whatever else, but the legs and the ankles and all that are good. Ayuk's damn good, right?


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[Assistant] I like the 49ers this one. And of course the 49ers defense is amazing too. I look at it and go, if the Cowboys are going to win this game, they're not going to win it running the ball. I don't think they can run on the 49ers. They're going to have to win it with Dak Prescott.


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[Assistant] Throwing the ball down the field and outside the numbers. To me, that's one thing I look at with the 49ers still and go, if there's a place to be had, if you have good receivers, like we saw Mahomes last year in San Francisco, if you have good receivers, you can attack them out there. And if Dallas can do that, then maybe they can win. But I'm going Niners 24-20.


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[Assistant] I go back and forth with this one. I don't feel terribly comfortable with this. I don't.


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[Assistant] I know, I know, we're gonna have Jimmy Garoppolo back, right? So that's a positive.


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[Assistant] Definitely. What I've seen from the Packers a little here as of late has scared me. I can't lie. You know the defense showed certainly some cracks last week.


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[Assistant] Jordan Love has been just a little too inconsistent for me. I'm gonna take the Raiders to win this one at home.


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[Assistant] You know, I don't sit here necessarily and go, oh man, I feel great about that.


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[Assistant] But I think with the Packers, they're often still finding its way. They're a little simple still. That favors the Raiders. And then on the other side of the ball,


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[Assistant] I think the Raiders offense is kind of close here and Jimmy G being back and I think Josh Jacobs is close to being back. They're going to be able to run the ball a little on the Packers. I'm going to go with the Raiders 27-24.


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[Assistant] I think that I'm going to go with the under in the Bengals-Cardinals game is the first one I'm going with there.


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[Assistant] I think it's going to be low scoring, defensive struggle, not going to be easy. Uh, it sits at 44 and a half. I got the game at 20 to 16. Uh, I'm going with the under there.


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[Assistant] Yeah. Okay. I like that. I hear what you're saying there. Um, I'm, I'm going to stay in this four o'clock region of the games here.


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[Assistant] And I'm gonna go with the Eagles. I think four and a half is a little too low. Uh, I do. I just look at the Eagles and I just think they're a little too physically imposing for the Rams football team. I think they'll slowly wear them down. I got them winning 34-20 and they're favored by four and a half.


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[Assistant] Yeah, listen, and after this, I don't know, I really don't know where I feel comfortable with. I thought about the 49ers because I could see them winning, I got them winning by four, I could see them winning by more than that.


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[Assistant] Alright, but I'm gonna go, I'm going with the Chiefs here. That's what I'm gonna do. Alright, four and a half, and the more I think about it, I think I should have picked a bigger point spread. I think that defense for the Chiefs is gonna be pissed off with the way they play, and Mahomes is gonna be back at it on the offensive side of the ball.


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[Assistant] Yo yo, what up homies, thanks for watching. Remember, subscribe to Chris Sims on Button.


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[Assistant] We had to open with it. I mean, classic 90s nostalgia, uh, New York based. I didn't even know Jim Brewer was in it. I mean, young Jim Brewer. Hilarious. It was pretty good. So stupid and so funny.


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[Assistant] Man, I'd love to go sit and eat, but at that time it was a $2 hot dog. Now what is a hot dog on the corner? Like six, five, six bugs? Probably, I don't know.


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[Assistant] And I went back and looked, like, when it came out and what the story was behind him doing it, that was really his first successful thing. Apparently he was really failing in stand-up, and like, co-writing that and doing that was kind of the beginning of like, okay, this guy's having some success, and the rest was kind of history from there.


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[Assistant] Yeah, another loaded Ask Me Anything, but since we put this one on hold because it justifiably needed time, needed seasoning, the top 5 secondaries, I think you and I are going to have more of a back and forth with this rather than, you know, listing hardcore rankings.


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[Assistant] We'll have some good combo here. That's what's so interesting is how the game, I want to say it's changed because it's been a theme for a while, but with Nickel being base, the slot isn't some 30% snap position anymore. No, no, exactly.


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[Assistant] It factored so much into this and then you have some teams that have the star corner but they have questions at safety. Uhm, we'll start from the back end and go five down to the teams that are up for one. I did have three teams I thought you could make the argument for number one. Okay, alright. So I'm curious to hear you out.


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[Assistant] I think so as well. So my three teams I thought you could make the argument to be the number one secondary from outside corner nickel and safety. The Denver Broncos, the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. Those were the three teams that I thought now


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[Assistant] Never blossomed into the superstar of Texas we thought he would, and now he looks better in the NFL. Kind of interesting how that works. Miami, the addition of Jalen Ramsey, how much is that going to elevate them? We have Brandon Jones coming back from serious injury, when is he going to be ready? But Javon Holland and Xavier Howard are stars in my eyes. And then with the Jets,


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[Assistant] It's kind of the Broncos thing where Sir Tan and Sauce, you have the superstar corner. DJ Reid is as good as the number two you're gonna find in the NFL. Damn good. Michael Carter's a good slot. I'm not really excited about their safeties right now after losing Chuck Clark, and I think that hurt them the most.


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[Assistant] When I wrote it out in concrete, I landed with the Dolphins at one. It was just so hard not to. It would take a drastic fall off of Jalen Ramsey for them to not be that group. Or injuries, as we've seen. That's hurt them before. They fell into that hole with Byron Jones and they were kinda, uh,


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[Assistant] How did I blow this? I said his name a million times for years with the draft. He didn't turn out to be- We'll get there.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but then once again, yeaah, when you look at Denver, I-I'm glad you brought up Seattle, you're right, that's the biggest projection because you're looking for health at the safety position, and you're looking for a rookie corner to play up to the expectations we've set for him, but I think that there's a good chance he does.


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[Assistant] And it shocked me. I went through this exercise and I was like, holy shit, they are so much, because we look at my homes, Kelsey and Chris Jones, that you forget how good the secondary was last year. I'm with you all the way.


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[Assistant] It's not crazy at all. In coverage last year, they gave up 16 touchdowns. The only teams that were better were the Jets and the Texans with 15.


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[Assistant] When you look at the advanced metrics, EPA per play, just to kind of show how dominant they were, they were number 6 in the league. And nobody would guess they were in the top 10. Besides Jesse Bates, who's not there anymore.


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[Assistant] I think that's a great point. One team that I had in there, in the top five, that this one, you gotta hope somebody doesn't fall off a cliff, but he didn't last year as the Cowboys. Because Gilmore,


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[Assistant] Was really good last year. He's a nice addition to that group. They just locked up Diggs this week to a massive extension. Yeah, rattle him off. Go ahead. Right? So you got Trevon Diggs on the outside. You have Stephon Gilmore who looked really, really good last year. Yes, he did. It's expected that Jordan Lewis will be in the slot. And then quietly at safety. And he's a really good


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[Assistant] Borderline star corner with Diggs. Everybody knows Diggs isn't in the Sir Tan category yet, but he's really, really good. He would be in my top five in football. Right? And it almost feels like...


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[Assistant] Sure. Make the plays. He is. And he's also gotten better in that regard since that 14 year reception season. It felt like he was more balanced. And I just, I look at them and go, man, if they get 90% of Stephon Gilmore, it's gonna be really hard to throw on that team. Agreed.


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[Assistant] Some schemes want those high-end corners. Exactly right. Because they need them. Right. And then some schemes are saying, well all of our money is in the front four. Right. Maybe a rangy safety on the back end that'll make up for a corner that can't really open up his hips and turn and run.


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[Assistant] It started to look like that. Exactly. They just, there's not a lot of guys that can do what Marks Williams does. Yea. That's probably the differentiator there.


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[Assistant] And Humphrey's a great player. So it just matters what the Brandon Stevens, right, of the world, like that number two corner spot really does.


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[Assistant] Put a bow on it with this. Who's the team that you think...


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[Assistant] Consensus believes was outside the top 20 last year or is outside the top 20 that can make a drastic jump this year. Right, right. Where you're like, okay, maybe you're two for that guy or they made a free agency edition that, like this, that can make that jump. Who's the secondary nobody cares about but by the end of the year people will have their eyes on?


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[Assistant] There it is, our secondary conversation. Not a concrete top 5 rankings, but pretty dang close.


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[Assistant] How could you not? So now Fangio there makes you more confident.


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[Assistant] On the note of the secondaries, this question from Coordinated Chaos, there have been some rumblings about the Eagles cross-training Keely Ringo to develop slash play a similar role as a Derwin James type player. With a bit of uncertainty at the position, the safety position for the Eagles, do you see this as a smart move? I do.


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[Assistant] I'm a big fan of that as well. I think it's a good move. If he's open to it, I think it's a good move by the Eagles. Let's jump into the full Ask Me Anything Here Training Camp Edition. Alright, this is uh, we obviously floated out the question there. What's the biggest question you have about your team in training camp? We will start with the Jets here from Tyson Rouch. What are your thoughts on the Jets offensive line, especially at the tackle positions?


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[Assistant] It'll be interesting to see what their second round pick Joe Tippman can do. If he can win the job. But like you said, McGovern's back. It's gonna be fascinating to see if they try McGovern at guard or if they flip Tippman around.


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[Assistant] Good about them as, as I do or you would? I, I do if once again that giant health question. Yea, I know. It is, it also is interesting how they're gonna line up. It almost feels like they want Dwayne Brown to be their left tackle when he's healthy.


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[Assistant] And then they, to your point, they love Max Mitchell. I know. So Beckton might be the swing tackle out of the gate. Maybe. And it could be a ramp up thing too. Right. You know, when they brought him back, he missed the whole 2021 season, they brought him back last summer.


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[Assistant] They threw him into the fire and he got hurt again. So maybe it's a, we need to really slow play this and not just, and we're gonna have an injury at some point so he's gonna be out there.


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[Assistant] Our last Jets question is from Coach Neofight. Uh, shout out to my two favorite NFL analysts. Chris, can you self-scout thyself on Garrett Wilson? What did you see in his first year that made you change your opinion of him? Love the pod.


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[Assistant] Yeah, they're having a good start to training camp so far. That's going to be Roger's new best friend. This one in the AFC East, biggest training camp question for the Patriots right here. CJ the Jedi Master, is there enough offensive line talent to protect Mac Jones? What do you think of the Patriots offensive line?


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[Assistant] Alright, keepin' it movin' here. Uh, this one on the Naheem Hines injury. 2024 is our year. With Naheem Hines unfortunate injury, who becomes the Bills new crafty guy? Is it Deontay Hardy, increased role for James Cook, or someone else?


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[Assistant] Staying with the Bills roster. Dude in the shed. Who is going to win out the second linebacker spot behind Matt Milano on the Bills? Obviously they drafted Dorian Williams this year. They have Terrell Bernard there. Those two guys. Is there anyone else that you think is in the mix?


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[Assistant] Moving over to Cincinnati, the Boomer 99. Greetings from Scotland. How do you see the Bengals backfield shaking out behind Joe Mixon, and will it be enough to keep them as contenders? Love the pod. Thanks, Brian. Yes, I do think


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[Assistant] Especially when you look at who their 6th Division games are against, doesn't make it any easier, right? I mean, you've got Chilburro twice, Lamar Jackson twice.


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[Assistant] They also might just need a year. You got a rookie, Keanu Benton, a player I really like in the middle, but you might need some time. Joey Porter there. They just might need some time.


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[Assistant] What a good place to be. It is a good place to be. Broncos fan for life. Missing Ahmed, but enjoying Connor. Thank you, Bronco fan for life. Let it go, Bronco fan. We miss Ahmed too. Who do the Broncos turn to if Javante Williams isn't as good? Does Payton slash Patton keep, uh, oh, Payton and Payton keep what we've got or look at Dalvin Cook and how long did they decide? I think that's why they signed Simaji Perine. Yeah. Right? Yeah.


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[Assistant] Uh, ant dot dot dot, do you think Patrick Graham can get my Raiders defense together next year? We did a lot of overhaul on the defensive side of the ball. We had a crazy talent in Tyree Wilson and a much needed dog in Marcus Peters. Our offense can do some things, just worried about our defense.


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[Assistant] You're exactly right. Okay. MooseMaxwell31, If so, how high is their ceiling with Anthony Richardson at quarterback?


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[Assistant] That will probably dictate the ceiling of Quentin Nelson playing next to him. It's, I mean, it's gotta be hard to be a left guard in the league, and you're used to one thing next to you for so long, and then you've, you guys struggling, and there's just a lot going on, and communication, and... Definitely. So that's probably the variable I would have for them. Right. Right now, but yeah, I think the threat of Richardson running has to make life easier for them as a whole. Exactly.


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[Assistant] It doesn't feel like anyone in the NFC is terrifying you where you're like, wow the Eagles, you know, they're in trouble if they just run back the same kind of thing again.


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[Assistant] Well, maybe this team could be it. The Seahawks. This one from Task Force L. Love the pod. They would be in the running. Sending love from Germany. Do you think the Seahawks will be a true modern pass offense or again a run first team? Keep up the good work. Hope to see you one day here in Germany.


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[Assistant] Oh, you know, maybe they want to be really 11 personnel heavy. This is their third wide receiver now. We saw what that offense looked like when Lockett was hurt or banged up. But then they took Charbonne in the second round when they had Kenneth Walker and you're like, I think Pete's going to be Pete. And they are going to lean on a two-back downhill system, like you said, Sims, that can be an explosive play threat. And you just look at


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[Assistant] I mean, they used 11 personnel, 3 wide receivers on the field. They were 25th in the league. That is, that was not them. It's crazy. I know. So it'll be fascinating to track that if that changes, because they are one of the teams that traditionally has not moved into that. We live on the field with 3 wide receivers.


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[Assistant] Alright, your boy El Rey is back. What kind of changes can we expect to see from San Francisco with Steve Wilkes being the new defensive coordinator?


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[Assistant] One more on the Niners from Panicard37. Does Trey Lance end training camp on the 49ers roster?


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[Assistant] Bosnian Bear wants to know, Bucks are making a mistake having a quarterback competition at this point. Same situation Panthers had last year and the quarterback never got enough reps with the starters.


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[Assistant] Does this start to affect the pass catchers as well in the offensive line when you have two different guys getting those split reps and nothing's the same or nothing's even keeled or do you guys just kinda go out there and they're just gonna catch from where?


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[Assistant] Our last one here on Ask Me Anything Training Camp Edition, Coach Magnet, I don't like going cold turkey without my regular dose of unbuttoned. What do you think the Packers offense will look like? Will it be closer to the 49ers style of play, or will they take advantage of defenses being more concerned about the run game than Jordan Love?


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[Assistant] Not with Brock Purdy. Exactly. That's what's even more shocking.


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[Assistant] Exciting to watch, especially with the speed they have at wide receiver. And I like your point of that. It probably applies to a lot of young quarterbacks around the league. You could say the same for Anthony Richardson this year maybe a little bit. Yeah. You know, utilize his arm. Definitely him. He could also tuck the ball and run if you're playing off of him. Right. But that's a friendly way of helping.


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[Assistant] Running a training wheels offense necessarily in terms of dinking and dunking, you're running a training wheels offense in, we're gonna protect you with the run, and we're gonna utilize your strength throwing down the field. Exactly.


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[Assistant] Alright, that wraps up our Ask Me Anything Training Camp Edition. Uh, it's been a lot of fun, a lot to go on. Camps are open, flying.


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[Assistant] So before we start and we're going to talk about NFL futures here basically and the betting strategy with NFL futures, what advantages may be out there right now. Uh, before we get into that though, Drew is maybe the most interesting man. He has the most interesting hair on the podcast. Might be the most interesting man on the podcast because I'm hearing a rumor also that you not only are a betting.


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[Assistant] Expert. An analyst for us at NBC Sports Edge. But you're also a seismologist. What is that?


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[Assistant] That's cool. Simple. Keep it simple. Well that was enlightening. So we're going to enlighten people on not only all those topics that we've just mentioned, but also, uh, betting strategy with the NFL future. So first of all, let's just go big picture here, Jay. And the betting, the futures are basically over, under,


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[Assistant] You know, how many wins you're gonna get, or are you gonna win the division, or, you know, are you gonna get to the Super Bowl? Are those all the different kinds of future bets that are out there right now?


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[Assistant] Yeah, so, so Drew, how do you eliminate the ones that you just don't wanna bet towards and how do you pick the ones that you do?


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[Assistant] Yeah, you pounce on that now. I'm guessing, I'm guessing Drew, that's probably the case more times than not, that you're going to find something that you want to put some money on now, right? When, when are there, like Jay mentioned the advantage to maybe waiting Patrick Mahomes. You don't think it's going to change that much, but I would guess that oftentimes you see an edge or an advantage you're going to want to pounce when the opportunity is there.


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[Assistant] So something I think is, is super interesting is, eh, you guys have talked about this, is if you have something you really like, you, you really like it, you bet it immediately. But there's a chance that some of these teams, you might like one of these teams, Jay, that has a very difficult September schedule. And so you know that you got pretty good odds right now. Maybe you even bet those odds and you know that they could come out of September.


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[Assistant] You know, two and two, or one and three even, but you still believe in who they are.


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[Assistant] Are those situations I almost liken it to the stock market? If there's a stock you like and it goes down, you buy more of it, right? Do you find yourself doing that?


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[Assistant] I got one more question on that too though. Say, say, like I've always wondered this too, like how do you bet short? So say you like the, you don't like the Packers to maybe win the division, but you think they're going to start out six and one, like you mentioned, and so their odds are going to go down significantly there. Like can you get out of that bet at a certain point? How do you get out of that bet then?


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[Assistant] We're saying it's tough to predict the future, but right now what we want to do is have you guys predict the future. So we'll look at specific bets here. Jay, we'll start with you. Team bets, uh,


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[Assistant] I like that. The, uh, the gamblers, Drew and Jay, are kind of thinking like we're thinking on some of these teams. Dolphins and Jaguars, a heavy favorite in their division. And then, um, Ravens too. You said the Ravens, I like a Super Bowl quality team. Definitely.


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[Assistant] It's so funny, you talk about, you know, having a seismology degree, but Jay, it almost feels like you gotta kinda have a psychology degree in some of this, because it is the narratives that feed into this. Uhm, Drew, so what players are you looking at, where's some good value out there in these awards markets right now?


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[Assistant] So he is plus 2,000 to win that award right now. Right. Uh, the favorite though, odds on favorite, is Damar Hamlin at minus 350. Yeah, well that makes sense.


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[Assistant] So you can find us on youtube.com slash nfl on NBC or wherever you find your podcast. Bet the Edge is there as well, youtube.com slash NBC Sports and wherever you get your podcasts there. Drew, Jay, awesome stuff, great information. Awesome. Win some money out there. Yep.


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[Assistant] Oh, quarterback, Liz, here we go again. Just open me up for criticism, whatever. Oh, quarterback, Liz. Who can I piss off this year? Who can I not piss off this year?


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[Assistant] I'll probably drive my wife crazy somewhere in between week two and three. Where she'll be like...


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[Assistant] Aw yeah baby, what's up? We're back. It's Chris Sims. It's Connor Rogers. The break is done. It's football season officially.


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[Assistant] When Unbutton is back, that's when you know the league year starts, alright? So hope everybody's good. Yes, the hiatus was great.


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[Assistant] Did I drive my wife crazy a few times? 100%. That's what husbands do, especially this one, okay? Yes, there was tons of smoky, smoky, drinky, drinky. In fact, I think at one point she looked over, I don't think I drove her crazy until week three. That's pretty good stretch. Right after week three of the, of the hiatus. Right.


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[Assistant] It kinda got me, I guess, like that to a degree. I mean, football, world, even as a player, you capitalized on that. You know, you are training and doing stuff like that, but you wanna maximize fun that month before a training camp. But I think, yes, you're right, it went to another level, really, with my coach friends in the NFL.


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[Assistant] That's where, you know, I used to see some of them early on in the break and whatever.


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[Assistant] You know, it was like, oh yeah, you're right. It's limited time. Let's just have fun for three, four weeks in a row and just go after it. And it's kind of what I think of or put my mode in now. I kind of look at it the same way, like, okay, here's my break. Let's go. And you're right. There's those guys, that crew, the NFL is pretty much all gas, no breaks all the way through too.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I was officially going crazy. It was about time. I was like alright, how many vodka's on the rocks can I have? Like how much weed can I smoke? Like I need a little different stimulation here now. My last stop on vacation.


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[Assistant] Good looking, way better style than Ahmed. I mean, it's not even close. I mean, come on, you got a cool shirt and the sneakers, I was going to bring them up before the pod, but they're, they're kind of sweet right there. Blazers? What kind of color combo do you like?


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[Assistant] Yeah, good. It is a good summer look. You gotta have some color sneakers in the summertime. You got to. Got to. Alright, so where do you want to start? Go ahead.


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[Assistant] Oh, well, hey, at the real Mr. B, I don't mess with gummies, okay? So that's not in my repertoire.


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[Assistant] Right, uh, so I, I don't know about, you know, you or anybody else out there. You're old school dirty. I'm old school dirty. I'm a flower guy, I'm smokin' it. The gummies, I, for whatever reason, I don't like how they make my stomach feel. I don't like not knowing when it's gonna hit me. That's a big issue.


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[Assistant] Exactly, depending on what you ate and things you're gonna do. You don't know when it's gonna happen. So I don't mess with gummies. Alright, I do smoke and at 2K stuff. Uhm, but man, I'm a sativa guy. You should know that. I'm sativa sims, alright? And, I, no, for the dispensary, what I had, they were a little limited in the summer, but the ones I leaned on big time,


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[Assistant] That is one of my favorite sativas. I got strawberry cough, that was a big part of my life, uh, which is another one of my favorite sativas.


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[Assistant] Jack Herrera is a famous strain, uh, by a famous grower, I think, Jack Herrera. I don't even know the full history there, but those are my favorites right there. When I see them in stock, I'm like, give me ten of those.


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[Assistant] Right, yeaah. I can't remember what the history is there, but he's like a famous grower out in the west coast, and this is what he came up with, and uh, yeaah, it suits me. So that's usually what I mess with. That's like the weed version of like a college football


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[Assistant] You know, yes, I am a, we have all the animals. I enjoy waking up in the morning and making sure everything's in the right place. Let me check if these chickens are okay. The horse is okay. The pool, I, you know, survey the, the grounds, but really what took up most of my time, my son's baseball.


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[Assistant] You know, man, a dad sitting there at 42 years old like me last night, he's got a game. It's five 30 and a Sunday afternoon and you're watching your little boy play baseball. Come on. It's like the American dream. So I really enjoyed that. The pool, simple stuff. My daughter is 17 and my daughter was like, you know,


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[Assistant] She's great, but she was always simple and just about the, you know, the family and the farm animals and occasionally she'd hang out with her friends. To the point sometimes where we'd be like, hey, you need to go hang out with your friends a little bit.


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[Assistant] It's, the, the world has gone 180. Oh no. The last like seven weeks, it's like, she's a social butterfly, she's out every night. She's driving? No, she's, she's 17 and she's not driving yet. She's been cool with like kind of slow playing that, but also it's become like,


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[Assistant] Uber bills constantly. Because I can't always go pick her up at 12 o'clock or, you know, hey, me and mom just sat down to eat. I can't do this. So we started doing the Uber thing, but man, that's kept me, um, we got kids at the house trying to steal our liquor, right? And they got that kind of crap.


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[Assistant] I knew he was famous for something, so yeaah. We might have a statue in my house soon, cause that shit's good. Okay, I really do like it, but that's a cool thing, and what I do know, that's just to piggyback off that, that's some of the things I've read, and even watching a documentary on the history of the weed, it's funny, he's at the end there, he said the US government


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[Assistant] The, one of the big things behind the, the bad, you know, stigma behind Weed is two major industries, right? And one is paper.


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[Assistant] And, and, you know, I, I know, I don't know exactly how you feel about that. This player, to me, is a phenomenal football player.


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[Assistant] A hundred percent. Like I would sit here and go, the Saints let go of him for Tyrone Matthews. Crazy. Still crazy. That's crazy. He's a phenomenal football player. He's rare and then he does that nickel safety thing. He tackles like a linebacker but covers like a corner. Elite slot. Elite slot. Exactly right.


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[Assistant] And, here's the thing, I, I, I, you know, I was actually talking about the lines a little this morning. One of my things is that there are all their expectations, right? And what they have on them. You know, I know Dan Campbell's a good leader.


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[Assistant] You know, at looking at them, because I knew we were going to talk about them today on the pro football talk show, you know, you look at their team and their roster and you go, you know, who are the leaders of that football team? Who are the guys that you're going to call out teammates or go, hey, this practice sucked today, what the


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[Assistant] Chauncey Gardner Johnson probably would have been the short list of guys that I would say would have done that.


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[Assistant] Right, for a team that's got high expectations, not only does it hurt on the field,


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[Assistant] It hurts in the attitude department. He's got something to bring there that's special. That's why Sean Payton drafted him and loved him. That's why Detroit likes him, because Detroit, where are they all from, all those coaches? The Saints! They knew about this guy. So that's where I feel for him, and that defense of course needed that position.


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[Assistant] It was the last defense in football for a reason last year. It was because of a weak secondary.


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[Assistant] You know, being the number two pick in the draft, and then like you said, the biggest thing is, I think there's two things. One, it looks like he works and does all the things that you should do to be successful. And then two, the big part, what you just said is, he was successful on the field. He was definitely one of the bright spots of their defense last year, you know.


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[Assistant] If not the best player on their defense. So yeaah, I think that's something that's...


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[Assistant] Probably going to be thrusted on him more than your normal second year player just because of what we're talking about. There's lack of those guys on their team and there's lack of that marquee star that can go, wait, I've been here or done that or I've been the man for this long and we all need to do this or whatever. Oh, I think he is going to have to fill that role.


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[Assistant] You know, Justin Jefferson's awesome. I get it, you know, but like you said, I kind of look at 99s to be...


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[Assistant] I don't know, special and the fact that yes, it was one year that was amazing and all that. Yes, that was great too. He's a part of a system that really fit him and made it work.


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[Assistant] Right? But where I would also go is like, hey, Justin Jefferson's also not the type of talent where you can throw like a slant to and you think he's gonna run 70 yards to the house, that's not his game. Right. That's where the receiver one jumped out to me a little bit. And, and,


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[Assistant] Why we're on it, let's just unpack it a little bit, right? Cause like, here's my first thought, and I might be wrong about some of this, alright? And if you're watching, here's our graphic of the top 10 receivers and, you know, uh, Connor, go ahead, you can read them off.


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[Assistant] Alright, so let's start there. Brain blow emoji. First of all, leave this graphic up. The most egregious thing by far is AJ Brown in the 91.


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[Assistant] AJ Brown was unstoppable last year. Double team him, throw the ball up like he did in the Super Bowl. Oh, didn't matter. Touchdown. Throw a slam, 70 yard touchdown. I mean, Moss people all year long.


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[Assistant] You know, Madden, of course, is phenomenal. It's the greatest sports video game ever invented.


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[Assistant] Is Ocho Cinco still doing the receiver ratings a little bit? I know for a while Ocho Cinco was very a part of it, right?


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[Assistant] He was consulting with them. He was beyond the field and pregame because he was there to look at players and help out with Madden.


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[Assistant] I don't know if he still is, but one thing that jumped out to me about this list, to me, and where I think it's wrong, it's too heavily favored on the route runners. You know, it's too much, okay great, he runs a great route. Devante Adams is a great route runner. He can't catch a slant and run 90 yards like Jamar Chase can.


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[Assistant] Right? He can't, he can't just moss people and break tackles and break an ankle like AJ Brown can. So to me there was too much put on the route running stuff. Which of course is a great skill to have, I get that.


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[Assistant] I'm, you know me, I'm a little bit more of, I'm not that way. I think route running, of course is important, but I think it's a hair overrated.


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[Assistant] Tyree Kill is not the greatest route runner. Tyree Kill is still the most scary guy at receiver in all of football. You can ask any D coordinator in football that. That's not, that's not a question. So just from that alone,


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[Assistant] You know, that's where I'd go, you know, Tyree Kill I still think is the most feared guy. Jamar Chase I think would be up there with the second most feared guy. We can't leave him one on one or it's gonna be a big completion or a touchdown or whatever. And AJ Brown and Terry McCorran are also guys like that that I feel like


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[Assistant] Are being disrespected maybe because they don't run the best, you know, slant return route or the best post corner route. But I want to go, so what?


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[Assistant] They catch the ball and it's like a touchdown every fucking time they touch it. And I think that's being, you know, a little undervalued there. So those are like, those were at least four names to me that I felt like were a little disrespected in that wide receiver combination.


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[Assistant] Right, I don't, I don't, Debo, I know Debo had a down year last year, but see, so they're not giving them enough credit for their ability to take reverses and screens to the house where I go, like, Justin Jefferson, Devonte Adams, Cooper Cupp, and Stefan Diggs.


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[Assistant] We're throwing to him. Like, that's what I mean. And not to say there's anything bad. I mean, listen, Cooper Kupp and Stefan Digg, they're the man. Devontae Adams, Justin Jefferson, all of them. I just think they're a little high and the other guys are a little low and I'd like to see that meet in the middle somewhere that way.


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[Assistant] It's like 3 years late. It's like, it's done. If you would have made him a 99, 2, 3, 4 years ago, no doubt. Best guard in football. I don't think he's necessarily the best guard in football right now. So that does seem a little bit weird.


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[Assistant] That he was thrown into that, uh, at, at this point. Still awesome. Listen, if he was a 97 or, you know, a 98, I don't know if I'd really say anything, but a 99, like you said, it's a special club. It's a thing. Right. Last one's Aaron Donald. Yeah. So then you got, so, so I didn't agree with the Zach Martin and then the Aaron Donald one.


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[Assistant] I mean, in totality, he's, he's a 99 lifetime. I get it. It's a legacy 99. It's a legacy 99. Is he a 99 after last year? I, I, you know, again, I think I said it all, you know, listen, I love Aaron Donald, and Aaron Donald's the kind of guy who'd probably hear this, and he's gonna look at me and go, hey, Simms, what's up?


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[Assistant] I think last year was the first year, and I said this towards the end of the season, the first year ever where I got done with the year and I said Aaron Donald was not the best defensive tackle in football last year. He was not.


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[Assistant] You know, Chris Jones was better than he was last year. You know? And of course Aaron was hurt too.


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[Assistant] But guys like Quinn and Williams had an unbelievable year, but I think last year I can definitively say Chris Jones was the best D tackle in football over Aaron Donald. That was the first time I feel like I've been able to say that since maybe Aaron Donald's second year in the NFL.


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[Assistant] So yeaah, those ones jumped out to me. Again, not that I think Aaron Donald should be like a 90. I'm just saying 99 special. I thought, you know, after last year I was expecting to see him at 98 or 97.


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[Assistant] You know, Mike is just such a physical freak and so effective in so many areas of the football game. You know, I wondered where Trenton Williams might be. Right. I thought like, ooh, maybe he'll be close to that 99 club. Uh, you know, I think that that's one that looked at the corners. I did not agree with the corner one, why we're on that too.


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[Assistant] I'm gonna go back to what I said in the spring. Jalen Ramsey is not the top corner in football. At least for my money. I know there's people, Quandre Diggs and, you know, and Darius Slay don't, don't agree. But I, I, I, I don't


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[Assistant] Look at it, and I look at the best corners in football right now, and I go, Sauce Gardner, Patrick Surtain, Xavier Howard, Jair Alexander, uhm,


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[Assistant] I'm missing somebody else, another two. Oh, my guy Tyson Campbell down in the Jaguars.


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[Assistant] You know, and we're, you know, I know I'm gonna get pushed back by going, Jalen Ramsey's not the top corner in football. I love Jalen Ramsey. I hope he knows that. I mean, gosh.


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[Assistant] I've been, you know, kissing his ass and telling how people, how awesome he was since his first year. He's the man. I love him. But where he's at in his career, what we've seen happen to him man to man the last two seasons.


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[Assistant] No, it's not on par with the other guys, nor does he ask to be on an island as much as those other guys are, which is where I would say it's a little different. So, and then the thing I would pose to this, because I was saying this to a friend this weekend, I got it, and he's like,


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[Assistant] He's like, man, no, Jalen Ramsey, I mean, I think he stole the bet. And I was like, yeah, but I know you don't watch film and you don't do it. You're just, you know, you call me on Sunday to ask me about fantasy football, like stop. And, and I go, well, let's put it this way. Do you think if the Rams traded Aaron Donald right now, they'd get a third round pick for him? Oh, I mean, it would be more than that. No shit. Yeah.


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[Assistant] Right. Or any of the- That speaks volumes. Just stop. Like everybody just stop. He's awesome. He's one of the best defensive backs in football, but pure man-to-man cover corner? No. So I was a little surprised by that too.


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[Assistant] I want to hear yours first. I've started back in my Bleacher Report days on this subject with Lefkoe, how this is unfair to our running backs and this has to change.


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[Assistant] You know, and the thing I threw out over the last two years, and especially early on this offseason, is can they find a pool of money or whatever?


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[Assistant] Where, like, at the end of the year, there's a pool of money in the NFL, and it's part of the revenue bargaining agreement. And then they can go, you know, incentive based. So let's just say it's a second year running back who was a third round pick and he's making, you know, $700,000 a year. But he's the number three running back in football.


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[Assistant] Can they find a way to give these guys like a pool of money to go, wait, here's a four million dollar bonus for your year. Cause you were clearly one of the best players and then we have this, doesn't count against the salary keep.


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[Assistant] Right? So that was always one of my solutions to try to figure it out that way. Alright? So there's my first one. Let's keep going. What you got here? So, I came up with three last night.


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[Assistant] I like that. I like that. There's something along that one that I really do like because yeaah, you know, three years and they can be like I'm a free agent. Or I brought up even the, the, and I want to hear your third one here in a second. I even brought up today like, you know,


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[Assistant] An NFL running back should maybe be able to call for their free agency anytime in their rookie contract.


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[Assistant] And then the team gets a right to match whatever offer they get, right? So let's say you draft Saquon Barkley with the second pick of the draft.


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[Assistant] He has a good first year. Second year, he leaves the NFL in rushing and goes, wait, it's time for me to be paid. And we all go, yes, it is. You're definitely one of the best players in football. Right?


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[Assistant] Now, okay, he can go to the team and the lead can go, I'm gonna classify myself as a running back free agent this year, and he can open himself up to the market, and then the Giants have the light, the last right of refusal to match that offer or whatever. I would love to see something done like that. I like that a lot. It's along the line.


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[Assistant] You know, hey, Saquon Barkley, he's won, Ezekiel Elliott, it's over. He's a car crash runner, it's over, I get it. Saquon Barkley is a guy that's not a car crash runner, and he's a freaky freaky athlete, and I would be shocked if he fell off earth here in the next two to three years. I think he's still got a good two to three years left in him of being special.


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[Assistant] So, it's just a deep conversation. It really is.


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[Assistant] You know, I don't know how this gets fixed. I like some of our ideas we're throwing out there. I don't know if the NFL or, you know, the NFLPA will adopt some of these. I would like the player, the players understand.


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[Assistant] What the running backs are going through. I explained this to Florio today, right? The players are not going to be mad at Saquon Barkley. They're not. Because they understand. First off, they're all going, wait.


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[Assistant] The freakiest guy on our team is making 10 million dollars. The guy who could fight Dexter Lawrence in the middle of the locker room right now, we'd go, damn, this is a good fight. I mean, Saquon's hanging in there with him and, and, you know, or Leonard Williams or whatever, and he's a running back.


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[Assistant] Like running backs are freaky as hell. And then he can go out in the, on the grass and go, whoa, damn, he's the fastest guy on our team in a race. Whoa, he's, he's racing Jair Alexander here today and he's hanging in there. Whoa, holy like that's what a running back is. So the players are sensitive to what the running backs are going through here.


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[Assistant] You know, everybody on the Raiders knows Josh Jacobs is one of the freakiest guys on their team. So they're not going to be mad at him here for going, wait, you know, we got guys that are not even as freaky at him in other positions. They're making twice as much money as him.


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[Assistant] So that's where they have a little, but I don't know, their leverage is limited. That's the problem. And, and, and I think we have to unpack this a little bit because


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[Assistant] People go, well, you know, how did this happen and what happened and all of that, right? Florio brought up a great point today between analytics and Mike Shanahan. That started the devaluation of the running back. And I would say that's probably pretty true, right? And offenses have expanded, right? They've gotten better.


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[Assistant] Right, so you don't have to necessarily go, oh here Earl Campbell, here Walter Payton, here Emmett Smith.


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[Assistant] So yeaah, those are great ways to get yards, but offenses have become so much more creative where they go, well, okay, yeaah.


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[Assistant] I wish I had Emma Smith, but okay, I'll figure out a way to throw the ball four yards to the slot receiver here. We'll run a speed sweep with this guy. We'll put Debo Samuel a tailback for a play. So there's been, there's ways, there's a screen here to this guy. There's ways to make up for the lack of traditional running game in the league right now. That's what's devalued the position.


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[Assistant] The owners aren't, this is not collusion. They're not going, let's not pay their money back. They're not even a part of this. This is a GM coaches thing here.


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[Assistant] And it's, and it's part of the business, unfortunately. The supply outweighs the demand at the position. You got guys like Austin Eckler who want more money, but Austin Eckler, you're also the prime example of why you don't pay more money. You're a 6th round pick, right? Or, un-trapped, right?


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[Assistant] So that's why, you know, and then here's another one for you, just so, so we're on this. See if you like this. Here's another thing. I mean,


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[Assistant] The Ravens. Stable at running backs the whole year.


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[Assistant] Right, full committees. The Falcons are three in rushing. Tyson Algier.


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[Assistant] There you go. So they're three in football. The Giants, okay, they got Saquon. Alright, that's cool. The Eagles, they were doing it with the quarterback in a stable and running backs. They're doing it again. They're doing it again. Okay. The Browns have a stud, so we give them that at number seven. The, uh, six. The Bills at number seven.


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[Assistant] Josh Allen's the best. He runs the ball for them. And they're the seventh rushing team in football. So there you have that. You have the 49ers who are always in the top. This year they finally have Christian McCaffrey, but they've had a different leading rusher for the last five years in a row. Right? The Dallas Cowboys.


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[Assistant] Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs. Come to training camp.


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[Assistant] You don't take a year off. I love Saquon Barkley. I don't think he will. You can't. Right. You're gonna lose your explosiveness and speed and your ability to be as good at your craft as you are. Just like we saw with Le'Veon Bell. He took a year off, he was never the same. Never. He was not the same human being.


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[Assistant] So that's where I would say don't do that, let alone don't leave $10 million out there that you'll never make up again. I don't care what you do. You're not going to make it up, right? And what I would start to do if I'm Saquon Barkley and you listen, Xavier McKinney came out and said, we understand what Saquon's going through. We're not mad at him.


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[Assistant] He's gotta go around, he's gotta tell the team, team, I'm putting myself on a pitch count.


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[Assistant] I'm, I'm just sorry. So when Brian Dayball wants to look over on week four and go, hey, hey, we'll say one, he's gotta look over at Brian Dayball and go, hey.


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[Assistant] 20 carries today. I'm done for the day. I'm done. Sorry. You want me to, you should have paid me more. Sorry.


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[Assistant] And that's, that to me is the best leverage I have. Oh, damn, my shoulder is tight today. Man, that 15th carry got me. Damn, my shoulder's tight. I'm sorry, it's hardball, it's big boy business. That might be what you have to do here. They don't have many ways to use their leverage against these teams.


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[Assistant] Saquon Josh Jacobs, get there, sign that thing, get that money.


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[Assistant] Be there. Get in shape. Be your best self.


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[Assistant] And if you gotta start, you know, putting yourself on a pitch count or going, nah, I ran up the middle already 10 times on second one today, put the other guy in, then so be it and do it. Because, uh, I, I don't think they're going to get like side eye looks from the locker room. I think the locker room is very understanding of what's going on with the running backs right now.


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[Assistant] Or is it like something like you're saying where it's like he's got a ten million dollar contract, but it's really only five million counts against the cap at the position.


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[Assistant] No, well, just like 4io said this to me today, and he made a great point. The players in the NFLPA could go to the league right now and try to change this, but the league's gonna go, well, what are you gonna do for us?


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[Assistant] The running back thing. And you get into, it's a passing league, we know that. And the team that's been in the three to the last four Super Bowls, the Chiefs, they had three different running backs in all of those. The team that has dominated the century, I mean,


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[Assistant] It was a stable of running backs every year. They were in the Super Bowl for 20 years straight, the freakin' Patriots, right? Basically, and...


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[Assistant] You know, Deon Lewis, I mean, we can just keep going. I mean, so that's, that's why teams have adopted this new way of thinking. Like we said, supply has outweighed the demand of the position a little bit.


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[Assistant] But like, they're getting it. And the good ones are getting to a third too. And we're not seeing that happen with the running backs. So that's, that's the point there. You know, I don't think there's a...


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[Assistant] And D-Tackle's the same thing. Again, we're, you know, a good D-Tackle, especially the run-stopping ones, yeaah, they might not get their total value as far as what they're worth to a defense.


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[Assistant] Good run-stopping ones last 10-12 years in the NFL. Sometimes more. I mean, you know, look at Fletcher Cox right now, what he's doing. There's a number of guys like that. So, that's where it's a little different than the running back position. Uhm, now, the devaluing of the mo- I don't think there's a devaluing of the linebacker. I think there's a...


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[Assistant] A difference in philosophy for how the linebackers used compared to our day of when we grew up and stuff. The world's changed.


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[Assistant] You know, the traditional thumping middle linebacker, there's only a few teams in football that play that style of football anymore. Where they're like, we want a big guy that the Patriots were talking about.


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[Assistant] You know, the Ravens are probably still one of those teams. The Saints, New Orleans with Demario Davis, right? You know, the Bucks are a little bit like that where it's still like, yeah, we want a little bit more maybe size at that position. Okay, so that's where I think it's changed more than not.


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[Assistant] You know, now yeaah, you know, hey, some teams go, we don't even want a real linebacker. We want big safeties basically to come down here. We want more coverage base. We're going to blitz and be more predicated on movement and doing that. So I think that's where it's, it's moved all over, but like,


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[Assistant] No. Is there a devaluing going on with Fred Warner or Roquan Smith or them? No. They're special. They're real. They got to see a second contract and they're getting to see a third one. And that's where to me it's a little different than the running back.


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[Assistant] Yep, 240, right, 242, has to lift weights and work hard to kind of be that weight, right, but then runs like a really awesome safety and then has a physicality and a strength in him that's like out of this world pound for pound.


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[Assistant] That's where the league is. But I don't think that's been devalued. I still think, hey, guy in the middle of the field that can go run and get the football and make a tackle is still very high on the list for everybody. And I think, you know.


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[Assistant] You get, the Eagles had TJ Edwards and, and they're gonna replace him with the Jordan kid this year. He got paid, right? We saw Jermaine Edmonds get paid for the Bears, right? You know, you look at your Jets, the number three defense in football, you're linebackers, aren't we?


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[Assistant] They're the real deal. Matt Milano's the real deal, you know. I mean, you get through it here and you get to the top defense, the Kansas City Chiefs, who they are.


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[Assistant] Willie Gay and Bolton, they're real. If you saw them in person, you'd even think more of them. You'd go, oh my gosh, I didn't realize they're this big, this explosive, everything about them. So, you know, it's still a very important position, but I think yes, the look of that position is different than


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[Assistant] You know, Mike Singletary, Dick Buckus, Harry Carson, we're gonna knock your head off. That's not the guy that everybody's looking for anymore.


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[Assistant] Well, I'm, I'm, I like the Chiefs wide receiver room. I mean, I'm scared of one thing. And that's like what we're already seeing happen here is, you know, Tony Kaderius, Tony had a, off the field, another lower leg injury. Yeah. Right, so that's my concern. Special teams drill, I think.


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[Assistant] I mean, Kaderious Tony is a special talent. He is a number one superstar receiver. He is.


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[Assistant] This has to be lower leg injury number four or five of his short year, short career. That's what plagued him with the Giants. He got hurt last year and missed time with two lower leg injuries. And then, yeaah, I know he played in the Super Bowl, he was great, but that scares me for the Chiefs.


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[Assistant] You know, they, they are invested in him being their marquee guy. But my thoughts overall of the rest of the wide receiver room, I still think they got a little bit of everything. I love the Rishi Rice drafting from, uh, Southern Miss. I think they got him, what, in the third, maybe fourth, right? I think he just takes over what Juju did in that role of the offense.


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[Assistant] Right? I love, uhm, our, our guy Sky Moore. I think his role increases as far as slot usage and things of what he can do. They get Richie James to the Giants, who's another guy that's, hey, great, played, can do a little bit of everything outside, inside, whatever.


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[Assistant] You know, right. It's like those guys, and then, you know, hell, they got a Justin Ross they're gonna try out, John Ross, that's what I mean. So, you know, I'm kind of excited to see what they can do. Noah Gray, who's a tight end slash big receiver, I think they're fine at the position. Everybody- I think the Homes will be okay.


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[Assistant] I mean, have we just started the pod with the Madden ratings and all that? To me, it was the first year Aaron Donald wasn't the best he tackled in football this year. Chris Jones was. I mean, he was phenomenal. Let alone, hey, he's your guy.


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[Assistant] You drafted him. He's been tremendously huge and big moments for their football team, making big plays when they need it.


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[Assistant] Right? So, and, you know, I know they're, they have a little bit of a formula there in Kansas City. Once you start to get to age 30, they don't want to overpay and do stuff like that. Chris Jones is a guy, just like we talked about with defensive tackles. First off, I don't think he's a lazy SOB or anything like that. He works, he loves football.


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[Assistant] I don't think, like, falling off the cliff is coming here anytime soon with this guy. So...


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[Assistant] You know, to what you said, Connor, he deserves to be paid more than those other guys. Does he deserve maybe to be paid as much as Aaron Donald? No.


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[Assistant] But I think there's gotta be a sweet spot between Aaron Donald and Simmons and Quinnen Williams. That makes sense. Whether that's 28, 29 million dollars a year. I think that's fair. This is his last chance to get a big payday and I think the Chief's gotta, gotta make it happen here.


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[Assistant] He probably does. But the open market's a different piece. Yeah, yeah. I gotcha. You're right.


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[Assistant] They'll figure it, they'll figure it. I'm very confident they'll figure that one out. I think that too. It's too important. I wish he would, uh, do the old hold in. I'm always a, I want the players there. I do think it does them.


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[Assistant] Does, you know, them justice. It lets you be around, you get your mind in the right place, you're still getting to work out and move and doing all that, but you're not getting the scrum or doing anything like that. I wish he would do that, but he, he obviously feels like this is what he has to, to do to get


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[Assistant] I'm with you there. I wouldn't fall asleep on the Titans. To me, the Titans and the Colts are two teams in the ASC. I go, I'm not sure about you. We should just be writing them off over there. You know, I mean the Titans D is going to be good.


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[Assistant] They're gonna play the right way on offense and make every game tough and interesting and play old school New England football like Vrabel did when they were winning the first three Super Bowls and all that. I, I do think they're being overlooked. I'm, I'm totally with you there. Tynan Hill being a bottom five quarterback in football is


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[Assistant] It's insane. It's stupidity. It's laziness. It's hater-ish. It's all started by Brent Grimes and his significant other down in Miami, right? Who just couldn't, they just started this negative hate on him and that was the reason the Dolphins weren't doing well.


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[Assistant] And no, it wasn't him. He's like in the playoffs like every freaking year now, ever since he left there. And he carried them to the playoffs one year and got hurt late in the year and didn't get to play in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] But I feel like it's just like a jump off of all that. And why? Cause he's, I don't know, he's kind of like traditional looking. He doesn't have a big personality. He throws the ball traditionally. There's no sidearm or lasers like that.


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[Assistant] Really good. He's not a bottom five quarterback, I can tell you that. It's just health. It's, yea, it's health, right? Yea, it's all about health. And really, like,


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[Assistant] When I had to go back and do my quarterback rankings last year, like, everybody, what the f-


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[Assistant] Come on everybody, be a little realistic sometimes. It's just too many haters in the world ready to jump on it. They can win with Tannenhill. He can do it. And then I think the last thing that piles on that is the three interceptions against the Bengals, right? That's the last thing. And that was his worst game he's played in four or five years and unfortunately that was a playoff game and people hang on that.


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[Assistant] It's, it's, it's, who are the two teams that wanted them? The teams that are desperate for receiver. The Patriots and the Titans. The Patriots are one injury away from us going...


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[Assistant] Man, they're receiving Cruer. It ain't very good. You know, two injuries, you're going to be like, what? Who? Who can they rely on? Who's the go-to guy?


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[Assistant] You know, so I don't think the interest of the money was nearly the same from other teams as it was for those two teams. You go to Tennessee, I think they're underrated.


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[Assistant] And he's gonna be the focal point, he's gonna be the guy.


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[Assistant] So now he gets a chance to get stats, he's gonna make some pretty good money.


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[Assistant] And hopefully he can have a year and they can have a year where they get in the playoffs. He is the marquee guy and then he can go back next year and go, I want, you know, some bigger money or whatever else. But yeah, his reputation is not the best around the NFL, the age, the injuries.


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[Assistant] And all of that, I think, led to it. I think teams like the Bills and Chiefs were interested, but they weren't gonna go past a certain price point. And that's why he waited for a little while, but then I think he realized it wasn't gonna happen anytime soon, and he had to pull the trigger.


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[Assistant] Where Hopkins is a little different than Julio too, you know.


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[Assistant] Hopkins can play big slot. He can play the slot. He did that last year when he came back, really. That's all he did for the Cardinals for the most part. And the other thing I'll say about Hopkins where he has an advantage over like a Julio did at the late end of his career, and I think you'll agree with this,


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[Assistant] He's one of the great covered receivers in football. He's truly one of those guys where you go, when he's covered, he's really still not covered.


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[Assistant] So you're not even always worried. He's not going to separate and make a lot of big plays that way. But he knows how to run routes. He knows how to read coverage. He's got some of the best hands in the history of football. And when he has people around him, his hands are unbelievable in traffic. And I think that's where he's got a little bit more advantage over like Julio did when he made that switch.


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[Assistant] You know, the one thing he's done, the hard part, which is like, whoa, he could make game changing difference making throws. You know, that's the hard part of it. He does that. I don't have any questions about that. It's like, no, I want to see you hit


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[Assistant] The fifth, second, and seventh pass in a row, you know, on the last two drives, I want to see you hit it again. Alright, that's what you gotta do.


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[Assistant] I don't want to see, oh, incomplete first, incomplete second, incomplete third, come back, incomplete first, incomplete second, whoa he threw a 70 yard awesome throw, incomplete first, incomplete second, whoa another awesome throw, that's to me where it has to change and that's where I think Rogers can really help them.


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[Assistant] Especially Rogers at this point of his career, who's a little more conservative and cerebral, he might be able to rein in Zach Wilson a little bit more. It sounds like he's had a promising start.


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[Assistant] Exactly. He's going to get mechanical advice, you know, reading defense advice. I'd be shocked if Zach Wilson doesn't look really good in the preseason. I would think he, you know, every day he's looking at Rogers going, okay, I got to do this. I got to compete with this guy. I could show Aaron Rogers. I could throw it like this too. I think it's all going to be positive.


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[Assistant] Right. You gotta have them. It's, it's, you know, they don't, it's the, it's the, you know, the 49ers, the Seattle Scheme, whatever else, you know, it's predicated on the front fours, gotta be disruptive. We wanna have seven in coverage all the time, you know, and he's, he's, you know, by all due accounts, the Michael Bennett


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[Assistant] What Robert Sala had in Seattle, this is their guy here with the Jets. Put him at the three technique and he'll just.


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[Assistant] Uh, Dexter Lawrence, Simmons. Daron Payne. Daron Payne. They all got paid around the same. Those are the next group here of D-Tacos who are just about to hit the primer of their career and start, you know, taking over like we've seen Donald and Chris Jones do for so long.


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[Assistant] There's an adult in the room running the office. That's the big thing. I think is that, you know, first off, Mac Jones play.


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[Assistant] You know, the second half of the year last year was much better than people think or gotta give it credit for. Offense stunk, talent around him wasn't that great of a position, right? So I just, I, I, I, I liked physically what I saw from Mac Jones.


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[Assistant] His problems to me early in the year were really just like being a little too gunslinger, being a little too aggressive, not taking care of the football and doing stuff like that. But, uh, I, I do think that with that defense,


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[Assistant] And now an offensive system. See, to me, you draft Mac Jones.


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[Assistant] To have a guy that's got an intricate, unbelievable system.


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[Assistant] You don't draft Mac Jones and just go, well, he's such a great talent like Mahomes or Allen. We'll just, we'll kind of make shit up as we go along because they can do anything.


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[Assistant] No. Here's the guy where you're like, here's play 794, the playbook. Have it memorized by tomorrow. And he'll memorize it. That's, that's his great advantage. They took that away from him last year when they were just like, hey, you two run a slant and you two run a slant. Set hut!


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[Assistant] Like, what the fuck is the point of having Mac Joseph? That's what you're going to do. So, you know, that's where I'm excited for him. Like you said, Billy Oh is going to add something to that offense and I would be disappointed if he doesn't look better this year.


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[Assistant] Oh, that's what happened. That's the reports. If you would have bet, you know, we got this breaking news on pro football talk this morning. I was like, aw, I guarantee it was training and like, on the field, getting ready for conditioning test and something blue.


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[Assistant] A jet ski accident. Oh my gosh. Not great. Not great. Uhm, yeaah, it hurts.


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[Assistant] I mean, I think the bills, yes, they're literally, that's right. I think the bills...


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[Assistant] One, hey, he's a veteran guy who I think they were gonna find a role for, especially in the spread offense.


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[Assistant] Come out of the backfield. You don't have to worry about James Cook reading the right coverage and making the right cut every time. Hey, we can rely on Nahim because sometimes coaches don't trust the second year guys to make the right decision with all that stuff all the time.


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[Assistant] I think ultimately, it just puts more pressure on James Cook to fill that role, and that's what he'll be. I don't think it matters about Dalvin Cook. I don't think Dalvin Cook does not want to...


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[Assistant] I think that's very real, nor would I say this is the best place for Dalvin Cook to go with anyways. I'd go James Cook has potential. Damien Harris is there.


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[Assistant] He's damn good too, right? So I look at those two and go, hey, they, they can still hold down the fort. They got Latavius Murray, who's going to be, you know, your third or fourth guy that they're just dependable. But yeah, I don't think the Dalvin Cook thing's happening there in Buffalo. I think where it hurts them the


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[Assistant] He can do both. So yeah, I know. And you know, it's, it's, uh, I think it was one where,


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[Assistant] There was real hope for him this year. I know McDermott, he was a big fan of Naheem Hines and wanted them to use him more, you know, during the season this year. That was one of his goals and one of the things I think he said to, uhm, you know, the OC, uhm, Oh, the old Miami quarterback? Yeaah, what the hell, I don't know, what's it?


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[Assistant] Well, those rosters are real. I mean, that's the first thing. You know, it's not a disrespect of the, the Bill's roster. The division is great. It's as good as we've ever seen, like we were saying in the spring. I've never seen the AFC East this good. Never. And, you know, I think there's some teams in the AFC in general that have some big time playmakers and everything. You know, so that's where I think it's different. And yeah,


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[Assistant] You know, they, they got some signings at free agency, but what's, what, what was their signing in free agency that really changed their team? What, what, what, you know, that's where I'm going to go. Yeah, they did some good jobs. But I'm telling you, like, again, what we've been complaining about with the Bills is the upper echelons.


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[Assistant] Blue chip type players. That to me is what they're missing compared to the Bengals, the Chiefs, the Eagles, the Niners, the other top rosters in football.


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[Assistant] So they've kind of gone, let's spread the wealth and be good in all areas, but maybe not great in any area.


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[Assistant] And I think to that too, you know, what we all come to, or at least what I do, I just worry about, yeah, it's too Josh Allen centric. So I'd like to see, you know.


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[Assistant] More taken off of his plate to where it doesn't be, Hey, it's third and nine. Josh make a great throw or scramble and you know, do seven cartwheels and then throw a laser or Oh, it's third and two. Hey, Josh, run up the middle and run over the middle linebacker. Like it just, it seems like it's too much to ask.


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[Assistant] Listen, they're still gonna be thought of when I gotta pick who's gonna win these divisions. This is still, without question, one of the three best quarterbacks in football. But I think the rest of the roster is not quite as star power as some of the other teams in the AFC or the AFC.


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[Assistant] With the Dolphins, Jets, and Bills, we're gonna take more of the Dolphins and Jets position groups than we are the Bills. I think that's kind of the way to break it down.


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[Assistant] You know, I just think it's a little bit of what we said.


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[Assistant] Hey, they got Von Miller last year because they needed somebody that can close games out.


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[Assistant] You know, but I think Ed Oliver, who's really good, they need more dominance in the middle of their defense. Jordan Phillips has to stay healthy. That was kind of one of the under the radar killers to them last year was that he was their best run stopping, plug the middle up.


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[Assistant] You know, type of defensive tackle. And he got banged up for a lot of years. They re-signed him. You know, they gotta stay healthy on that front. Got him Puna Ford. Got him Puna Ford, another big body. They gotta be hoping that'll help a lot. They got to. You know, they have, they have depth.


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[Assistant] And, versatility. Again, it goes back to, yes, they have depth and versatility, but


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[Assistant] Just in some big moments, other than Von Miller in the Chiefs game or this game, like, when's the last time you can remember a Bill's defense alignment doing anything in a big moment? Like, that's where I would pose to people. Cause I can go through the bangles and go,


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[Assistant] Trey Hendrickson, DJ Reader, Sam Hubbard, I can pick out point, plays right off the top of my head. I can pick off plays with Chris Jones and guys on the Chiefs defense or the 49ers or the Eagles or the Cowboys or, you know, the other top teams in football. And with the Bills, I go, mm.


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[Assistant] I, I can't think of a marquee play or big moment that they showed up other than Von Miller making a few sacks before he got hurt last year.


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[Assistant] Exactly right. That's what it is. And yeaah, you know, they have a lot of things to love and respect and they're tough. And like you said, they're so well coached and you know, they do so many things the right way. But you know, you get deep in the playoffs, guess what? The other teams you're playing, they're well coached too.


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[Assistant] And they're, they're pretty good at all areas too. But then, you know, like I've said, they, you know, they're just, they got guys that...


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[Assistant] Oh, hey, oh, hey, oh, Aaron Donald gets a big sack and he wins the Super Bowl, or, you know, oh, whoa, there's A.J. Brown, double coverage touchdown, and, or, you know, or, or, you know, there, there's, you know, Christian McCavrey up the middle in the playoff game. Oh, he ran over this guy, ran over, and I think a touchdown, right? There's none of that going on with the Bills. If it's not Josh Allen doing it, nobody's doing it, and I think that's kind of the thing that's holding them back.


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[Assistant] And Josh Allen are very much like that. And I think Joe Burrow is too. I think people are actually scared to even talk to Joe Burrow because they like look at him and like he's an assassin, he might kill us and we don't want to piss him off a little bit. But I think they have a little bit of that.


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[Assistant] And yeah, quarterbacks are a little more intense than people realize. They're a little more shit talking and in your face shit they're saying. You know, Tom Brady wasn't over there telling everybody, Hey, you smell good. You're very handsome. He wasn't saying that to the other team a lot of the times. So there's a little bit of edge there. I'm, I, um, I almost started last night.


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[Assistant] So I watched the Schwarzenegger documentary. Okay, I heard his stats phenomenal. I got to watch Yogi Berra, which is phenomenal. I got to watch Nolan Ryan, which I heard is phenomenal. But my dad came in the house on Friday night this last week. He's like, Christopher, you watch quarterback series? He's like, damn, it's good. Oh, he, if he likes it. He got me going.


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[Assistant] My homes, his training. Oh, his training. He's like, he's revolutionary. He's going to change the game. So I'm, I'm, uh, I'm excited to see it. I know me and my son Philip will be on the couch watching this.


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[Assistant] I think so. I think so too. He's interesting. Yea, he's interesting. He's got a clutch and a coolness in his veins and a, and a...


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[Assistant] Humble cockiness that I think you're exactly right is interesting. So he would be one that I'd certainly look at. So then pick a veteran.


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[Assistant] So, you know, Lamar would be awesome, like, I'd love to see that.


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[Assistant] You know, so those are the ones that really kinda pop to me right away when I think about it. Uhm, you know, that group. But again, I, you know, did you want me to pick like superstar middle level or journeyman?


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[Assistant] They gotta be starting right now. They should be. Why not Tana Hill? Tana Hill's actually a good one for sure. I thought of Tana Hill. I thought of Derek Carr too a little bit. Sure. You know, maybe to be along that line. Or maybe a Baker Mayfield would be fun for that. That's probably your guy. He'll give us some sound bites. That's probably your guy. Baker's our journeyman. Yes.


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[Assistant] So, Baker's our journeyman, Burrough's our star, and then who's our mid-level nerd like Kirk Cousins? That's, maybe that's, maybe that's Daniel Jones. Yea, that's probably a Daniel Jones situation right there.


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[Assistant] No, no, it's not. He's, uh, he's really well thought out. Yeah. He's smart. He not going to give you too many soundbites. You're right. Um, but yeah, he would fit that, that mold a little bit of, of being that guy.


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[Assistant] Thank you Stephen Sullivan for saying that, I appreciate that.


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[Assistant] Herbert's amazing. He's pretty good. And I keep waiting to hear his new contract, like, come on the news here any day here. I would think that it's going to happen with him and then Joe Burrow's going to one up him and then we'll be good for the start of the season here. XFL, USFL, quarterbacks. Taylor Heinecke


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[Assistant] There's some value here, right? You know, Garrett Gilbert, right? Got some guys where I think it's great because I think some of these guys are


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[Assistant] Justified can be backups or at least third stringers in the NFL and maybe just didn't quite get the break or the chance to play or show it on a team to where this gives them another opportunity. Listen, we're never going to come away from these leagues and go, oh, we found a starter for the team. That's, that's not going to happen.


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[Assistant] The NFL's not that off-base on their, their evaluations. Some more Kurt Warners. But I think, yea, I think you're gonna get, you know, oh wait, that guy had a good year, hey, he could be our backup. And like, we can depend on him. I think that's what we're gonna find from the XFL and USFL and the quarterback department.


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[Assistant] Yeah, that's for sure. Is there any other really, really obvious one? Like the Chargers have the potential. You know, if J.C. Jackson when he's back healthy with Jermyn James and Asani Samuel and all that group there. Uhm, I would say Sauce and DJ Reed are in there. The Jets are definitely in the conversation.


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[Assistant] So we'll come back to that. Give us, give me til Wednesday. But I think we hit on some pretty good ones right there. That are certainly in the running. Uh, yeah, okay. Alright, we'll, we'll, we'll dive back in that at a later time.


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[Assistant] I don't know if I'm gonna say it's to Gino's capabilities. High level. Yeaah. I mean Gino, you know, as you know, you heard me say last year and before the year last year, Gino's talent is star-ish. It's star-ish. It really is.


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[Assistant] I do know, and I've said this during the spring, Shanahan's always like Darnold.


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[Assistant] He likes everything about him, the physical skills, what he's made up of, all of that, to where I...


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[Assistant] I certainly think Shanahan thinks he can have a Sam Donald resurgence of like, hey, look, this guy's good and can be a starting quarterback and he can win you a lot of games, no doubt about it. You know, Gino's year was pretty damn good last year. But I think something like that, I don't think is crazy.


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[Assistant] I don't think it's crazy at all. Can I see the 49ers starting the year out 4-0 with Sam Darnold the quarterback and then everybody we hear in Brock Purdy's healthy and it's like, oh shit.


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[Assistant] Really gonna bench Sam Darnold and put Brock Purdy back in? Do I think that could maybe happen? No doubt. I do. There's a reason Darnold was the number three pick in the draft. There's things alike, and like we talked about in the spring, he was stuck in maybe the two month


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[Assistant] So it's hard to be successful there. Uh, but yeaah, I'm expecting positive things if that, if that opportunity does arise.


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[Assistant] You know, battle tested, tough, you could say whatever you want. McVeigh's teams have always been like that.


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[Assistant] And last year, yeaah, I don't think they would have made the playoffs if they stayed healthy, but I think they would have been, like, hanging in there, if Stafford and Cooper Cup don't get hurt, and we would have been like, ooh, you know, maybe if they win the last three games of the year, maybe they can get in, something like that, right? But, uhm, I, I don't see playoffs. I worry about the O-line.


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[Assistant] I do think Stafford healthy and, you know, Cooper Cup healthy. They're going to be a pain in the butt. I still think they're very creative on the defensive side of the ball with Raheem Morris. Aaron Donald being back, of course, will be a great help.


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[Assistant] No, I don't know if I, when I have to make these decisions, if I'll be able to call Rams in the playoffs. I think I'd need more leaning right now to go Rams, pain in the ass in the NFC.


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[Assistant] Some teams dreams of getting into the playoffs, right? But probably you're like a 7 and 10 type of football team, I think is how I kinda look at them right now.


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[Assistant] You know, that, that's where they are. And that's what we scared us during the last five years when they were in the Super Bowl conversation. We kept going, man, if they're, if this guy gets hurt and that guy says they're screwed and they, they, you know, they were lucky that way in a lot of ways. And that's partly because of McVeigh knows how to train them and knows how to manage their bodies and all of that. But yeah, they're kind of rebuilding on the fly right now.


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[Assistant] They are, and yeaah, I don't expect them to be special, but I expect them to be a pain in the ass, that's for sure.


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[Assistant] You know, in the NFC, the Packers, the Saints...


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[Assistant] The Falcons I think are three teams that I probably look at that I feel like are being a little overlooked or not given the credit to their overall football team that maybe they should have.


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[Assistant] The person is liked in the locker room. They're gonna fight for him. They had a down year last year for a lot of reasons. I think the exhaustion of Rodgers and all the shit that was going on behind the scenes, that being gone, they got a good old line, they got two good running backs.


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[Assistant] I honestly think the young receivers will probably feel more emboldened now that they don't have Rodgers, you know, breathing down their neck a little bit. And the defense underperformed last year. And it still was good, just wasn't as good as we all thought it was going to be.


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[Assistant] I am leaning playoff-ish for the Green Bay Packers. Certainly not a team where I expect them to fall off or anything like that. I guess like, if, just to answer the question more specifically, like the floor? Okay, if


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[Assistant] You know, it gets off to a rock, rocky start, and man, love is all over the place, and making bad decisions, and yeaah. Okay, maybe they could be 6 and 10, or 6 and 11, 7 and 10, something like that. You know, but I, I, I do think they can win the NFC North. I don't think that's a crazy thought at all.


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[Assistant] You talked about the Devontae Adams and like, ooh, who's going to be the guy that makes the play in the big moment? That's the one area with like Saquon Barkley, I want to hit on this when we're in the running back with the Giants, right? Like,


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[Assistant] If the Giants don't have Saquon Barkley, they're going to have to play a different style of football this year. Absolutely.


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[Assistant] They're gonna have to rely on the pass game and being more open. One of the ways they were able last year to go, let's play conservative, let's run the ball, let's run a bootleg, a quarterback design run. Oh, okay, hey, the game's 17-14 in the middle of the third or late third, fourth quarter, whatever.


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[Assistant] The team had confidence that they can win those games. Why? Part of that was cause Seguin Barclay. They just go, he's gonna bust one. He'll make a play here. One of these


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[Assistant] I honestly can sit here and look at the AFC and go, the only team that I can definitively say will not make the playoffs are the Houston Texans. I'm 100% with you. The other 15 teams I can go, I can see it. I can see there's some that are less than others, sure.


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[Assistant] But it's like really the only team I'm like willing to cancel out. I think Vegas would be another team that I'd throw out there to go. I'm not sure they're quite ready for prime time yet. That I, that I would worry about them as far as like alright if I had to cancel them out. Uhm, but.


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[Assistant] You know, I'm not gonna give specific wins or losses right now, Robert, just cause I know that we're gonna have to do that here in a few weeks and I'm gonna have to get into that.


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[Assistant] Be shocked if they're not much improved. Be shocked if they're not in the thick of things here. You know, like you said, we're gonna, we're gonna see teams this year that I'm gonna go, you're gonna hear me in December go, this team might not make the playoffs, but if they get in, they could win the Super Bowl.


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[Assistant] We're gonna be in one of those years in the AFC. There's gonna be two or three teams we're gonna look at and go, they could have won the Super Bowl this year and they're not even in the playoffs. That's what I think we're looking at.


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[Assistant] Payton is going to get the offense back on track. He's going to get Russell Wilson back on track. One of the things Sean Payton does not get enough credit for is how physical his teams are and how they run the football. And with Javante Williams back at Praxton, I think that's going to be a great addition and we know the defense is going to be legit.


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[Assistant] And, and Vance Joseph, I think the world of him is a D coordinator. So I think they're much improved. But yeah, am I willing to just go here flat out right now on July 24th and go, there are the playoffs? No, I got to think about it a little more. I'd like to see a few preseason games first before I have to make that quite determination.


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[Assistant] That's where it's hard. I know, that's where it's hard. And I don't know if you can really find other teams that can actually really, they're like, oh wait, they're playing minor league football and now they're going to come up here and compete with the big boys this year. I don't know if there's enough to go around there in that department, you know.