NFL Appeals Watson's Suspension, Hard Knocks Ep 1 Review, AFC / NFC South Preview

Welcome again, to another episode of the axis of football cor alongside char or Danish. And man, we've got some things to talk about Deshaun Watson suspension, but the NFL's got something to say about that. Football's back gave hall of fame game last week, some preseason action starting up tonight, officially the first week of preseason for the rest of the. Hard NOx featuring the Detroit lions and chars guy, Dan, the man Campbell. We've got just a full slate of topic. So, and of course, as promised, we'll get to our south preview AFC, south NFC, south char, and I will talk about the teams who are the movers and shakers and what we think Soly gonna happen in each of those divisions. But char let's, let's talk about the topic that's been dominating our AirWave. For, I feel like it's been forever. Now, at some point we gotta stop talking about it, but look, it's, it's still a big story and it still needs to be resolved. And that is the issue of Dashaun Watson. And so that suspension came down initially last week, Sue L Robinson, the third party, the NFL appointed to actually oversee the case. Found Deshaun Watson essentially that he violated several aspects of the NFL's code of conduct player, code of conduct. And she cited things like him purposely only wearing a towel to incite erections and put these in uncomfortable situations, seeking out women who weren't really massage therapists on purpose to be in the situ. All the things that we know, right. We don't have to rehash all that, but essentially the ruling, she came out with char six games and look in, in, I hate to say it, but in a typical Roger Goodell fashion, he comes out and says, thank you very much for the fact gathering, Ms. Robinson, I'm going out to take this and appeal it. And the word is now the NFL is pushing for at least a one year suspension. And look, this is kind of one of those situations. Roger Goodell is the, the judge, the jury and the executioner. And it's the expectation now that they're, they're gonna take UL Robinson's facts and then use it to justify at least a one year suspension. Sh your thoughts on all this and how it's played out thus far. We're just John Watson. We're coming to an end here, but the NFL kind of stepping in and extending things. I don't, I don't like it. I mean Initially when she came down with six weeks, I said, you know what? That's, that's fine. And again, my, my whole thought process behind this was what law did he break? What did he do that was wrong? And you know, if, if his biggest crime is that he's a pervert. And remember the entire time when we were talking about this whole issue, I was asking you, I would like to know how many of these women are actual massage therapists and not women that are basically advertising themselves. On Instagram, because we all know there's a bunch of those, right? And to me, that's a relevant issue to me, to me, it's, if you are a female that's using your sexuality to gain to gain whatever it is you're trying to gain, whether it be like, you know, fame or money or, or, or whatever it is, you, you are putting yourself in those dangerous situation. And I'm not saying that there's, there's a, you know, obviously I'm not saying that if they would've gotten physically attacked, there's no excuse for that, but we're talking about. You, you portray yourself as, as, as a sex icon and you have perverted guys that are gonna take you up on it. So I mean, I mean, but you could also have, and we obviously haven't gone through the Instagram accounts of all these women, but what about women who were there're obviously, maybe they're perhaps not like a, a licensed massage therapist, but did have like a, a side hustle, a massage thing they were doing, and generally. You know, wanted to, and that, and that's why no fair. And, and that's why I said, I would like to, I'm not saying that what I was saying that women do this, but I guess, I guess so. So like, if, if you could guarantee that all the women, let's just say, you know, all the women fell in that category of maybe I'm not, but, but I, I am advertising myself as just giving a massage and nothing more. And then Deshaun Watson kind of put them in that uncomfortable situation. Would you, would you feel then it's more justified. Yes, because under the NFL personal conduct policy, it, it falls under that. Now I disagree with the NFL personal conduct policy. I think like what people do in their. As long as they're not breaking laws and, and things like that. I, I, I think they should be left alone. Here's the things are, but, but, but I mean, if he's, if he would've paid for a sexual encounter, that that will be breaking a law, right. That like prostitution. Right. So like, right. I think we've also seen sure there is the precedent that the NFL suspensions are seldom based on laws being broken. Right. Right. You know, big, big bends, settle his case out of. Was still suspended Zeek, Elliot games, the, yeah, the Zeek, the Z Elliott thing, you know, the police found no wrong doing a judge throughout the case, even the, the NFL's initial independent investigator. So there's nothing here. They still suspended him. right. The, the Z case, the Z case was bullshit. The Z case shouldn't have been suspended at all. Yeah, but I mean, so my, my, my point. You know, the, the laws being broken seldom really impact right. All's decisions. Right now we saw Ray rice. I mean, there was a video of, I mean he straight up six weeks, six weeks? No. How long ago Ray rice was wasn't he suspended for the full year? No, no, no. He got, he got, he got six weeks before he got he. No, because, because the teams, the teams cut him once the video came out right. To do that once the video came out. But before. But here's the thing. He got six weeks for knocking out a woman with his fist. I don't give a shit if you saw it on video or not. It was enough for me that he knocked out a woman with his fist agree. I'm not one of those guys. I'm not one of those guys that says, oh, I need to see the video. Oh. Before I saw the video is, is, you know, to me, it doesn't give a, it doesn't matter. You lay your hand on a, can I ask you this then? Sure, sure. If. I'm gonna challenge a little bit here. If you're saying you're not a guy that needs to see the video, then why are you also saying I wanna see the Instagram accounts to see how they're advertising themselves? Why not just, no, no. I'm talking about it in the case, in the case of, of somebody putting their hands on a woman, not, not the level of I don't wanna say assault, but just the, the, the, the level of uncomfortability. Right? All, all, all I know is that he put his hands on her and he knocked her out. I don't, to me, whether I saw the video or not, the punishment should be the same. So did you feel that appropriate for Ray, right? I think play again. I, I didn't play again. Yeah. Play again. Yeah. But I, I think that should have been a year suspension, not six weeks. Well, and I think that's the thing too. The NFL's probably trying to. Right. Previous wrongs and, and that's the issue? Well, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't do that. That that's, that's not right there. Isn't really a press. There's, there's not a lot of consistency. With Dean. How long was that? Greg Hardy guy. How long was that? Great, Greg Hardy guys suspended for kuru. I think it was, I think it was four or six games as well, something like that. Okay. And, and you're trying to tell me, maybe tell me maybe, maybe it was 10 games, but yeah, it was, it wasn't a, it was, it was, it was, it was longer. But you're trying to tell me that what Deshaun Watson did, it is worse than that. Yeah, it was 10 games for Hardy. Okay. You're trying to tell me what Deshaun Watson did is worse than. The guy beat up a woman, the guy beat up a woman. He did then threw her on his weapons and said, if you ever leave me, I'm gonna freaking kill you. Yeah, it was. I, I think, I think the prob I think 10 games wasn't enough for Greg hard. And then here's the thing too. Agreed. He got, he got 10 games and then it got, he appealed that it got reduced to four. I mean, what, what a joke, what, you know what I, I guess, I guess we needed a video for that. Didn't we? Which is, which is stupid. Are you Greg? Is it Greg Hardy or Greg? Greg hard. Greg Hardy, Greg Greg Hardy. He's one of he's one of those guys. That look, I always tell people this I'm 52 years old. I have maybe two or three good fights left in me. Okay. I would love to waste one. I would love to waste one of my good fights on that piece of shit. I, I, I would, because he's a piece of shit. He's a piece of shit. Understand, and he's a fucking bully. He's a, and I was so happy that he went to MMA and got us ass bumped. Because he's a fucking bully. All right. What he did for that poor girl, he picked her up, threw, beat the crap out of her throughs. He had his guns laying on the bed as if his own physicality isn't enough to be in an intimidating course and threw that poor girl on top of the weapons and said, if you ever leave me, I'm gonna kill you. How much more horrific does it get on that? It's it's and he got four games. It's disgusting. It's that, that guy, that guy, that guy shouldn't have played again, unless he went to some kind of psychiatric therapy or, or help or something like that. And yeah. And of course, My yeah. But any case let's, let's, let's get back to it, but, but sure. Can, can I make one, one issue, like, go ahead. Well, first of all, I think the thing to note on in this situation is she, I think there were, what how many was it? 17 or 24? However, it was 20 plus women. Right. She only looked at five cases. Why? I don't know. I don't know why they limited it to five cases. Okay. Maybe they thought let's take. All these 20 plus cases you know, they're, we can divide them into five categories of things that, that happen. So we'll take five cases and look at a, we should the five worst ones. Maybe we should take the five worst ones, right? Maybe so, so you know, so either way to me, this looks like the NFL realizing we've, we've kind of messed up this domestic violence thing a lot in the past. And we can't do it again. We simply cannot do it again, but this is domestic violence. This is not the, this is not the EV situation. I'm sorry. You're right. The poor treatment of women I think is, is the category. I would put it in right now, obviously physical abuse is different, right. But I think the NFL's looking at it as if he was engaging in like predatory behavior that had emotional and psychological abuse that is still. A bad thing. And and so they're, they're, they're taking the, the facts that Sue Robinson dug up about his behavior. And I think the other thing was Deshaun, Watson denied everything. He, he, that was the other part of it too, is like, she was like, you, you, you, you didn't even own up to anything you did. You didn't own up to. It's smart. She can't do that because we have a legal system that you have a right. Not to incriminate yourself, but it's yeah, but it's, this is, this is not a fair, well, regardless, I think that was part of it too. It's. The fact that you haven't acknowledged anything is also deeply concerning, right? So it's like, no, how can we, how can we expect if you were his attorney, if you were his attorney, you'd be telling him, don't say a fricking word. Right? He, he, I'm not saying look sure. I'm not, I'm not saying like legally, what was RA I'm just trying to say, like, this was the justification. That was used to put him on blast. Right. I get what you're saying legally, right? Yeah. Why would you incriminate yourself? But she used that to say. You know, how can we expect any kind of a remorse and a change if you're not acknowledging anything? Right. So she, she cited several things like that. And obviously the fact that he purposely got naked and stripped down to a towel that he was the one going after them that he contacted whatever it was 300 plus women in a, in a short period of time. And that he, he engaged in predatory behavior. And then when they clear, when they. Indicated they were not okay with what he was doing and, and all that, that he didn't care and kept going. And so I think it was, yeah, it falls in, in the more like psychologically emotional than it does physical. However, it still falls into the category of like mistreating women. And I think that's how the NFL's looking at it. And ultimately the reason why they're going back and appealing to extend the. I, I think the reason why they're trying to appeal the suspension is that Roger Goodell basically wipe wiped his hands clean by getting a female judge to rule on this. And if, and whatever, he, if, even if she came up with like eight weeks or 10 weeks, he would've said it's not enough because he needs to show. He needs, it's an optic things. And, and this is the thing that bothers me the most. I think he did that by saying no matter what she does, I'm gonna say that, oh, I I'm, I'm out of it. I'm gonna appeal. I want more. And rod, and this is purely what, what, what stinks about this to me is that this is an opportunity for Roger Goodell to look, to come out of it. Spelling like roses. You're probably exactly right. He probably had this on the chessboard, right? Here's here's the part I don't get char okay. Post, like post the Zeke. I dunno if you recall this, the, the, the the CBA was like renegotiated and all that, right? Yeah. Part of, part of the renegotiation from the players union was like, players association was like, Hey, we don't like Roger Goodell having this, like unchallenged, no checks and balances type power. Okay. Right. So we want to have there be a third party Arbi. In these situations, which we just saw, the, the part, the CBA lawyers, I guess, did for fail to understand is he can still just take that and say we did it, but I still disagree. It's like, how, how could you, how could you negotiate that? And then not negotiate, whatever they rule was binding, right? It's like, what's the point of negotiating a third party Arbi. When a good job come in and wipe it clean and do whatever he wants. Right. Like pointless. Right. So it seems like the, as it almost like the, the NFL PA lawyers kind of botch botched this and did not adding that language. I, I, yes, it's, it's, it's ridiculous. And, but it is, it is what it is. So yeah, I mean, here we are. And now, and now I've what can you do about her? He's still not for the year. I, I want to make this clear. I don't want people thinking. That I'm saying what Deshaun Watson did was. Okay. I think he's a freaking pervert. I think he's a fucking moron because he's a quarterback of the Houston Texans. Like, I mean, do you really need to be a predator to get your Jolies off? You can go to a bar and get your, I mean, like, come on, you can just be a normal freaking person. You're a pro. All right. It, it's not hard. It's not hard to get women when you're a pro athlete. All right. I'm not defending Deshaun Watson. He's a fucking moron. What I don't like about this is that this was purely done for optics because Roger Goodell is gonna come out, looking like roses because when they botched stuff, the Ray rice situation, and when they Bo up all these other issues, all, all Roger Goodell, doesn't give a. About those women. Roger Goodell. Doesn't give a shit about what people do. As long as it doesn't put a smudge on the name of the NFL and he himself he's been taking a lot of fucking flack and a lot of heat for this. Well, what's his job. What's his job, his job. Okay. What did Ray, what did the owner, a guy that went and got a prostitute? How much of a suspension did he. Who, who, who, Mr. Craft owner of the owner of the I don't, I don't think he got anything. Did he get anything? Okay. No, he got a million dollar fine. Yeah, he got fine. I mean, owners get fined, right? That's it? I mean, no owners get suspended. Look at, look at the, look at the owner of the Redskins. Rightfully so he got suspended for a year and now I'm a owner of the dolphin is getting suspended for, I, I don't know how many amount of. It, it, it is you trying to tell me I mean, look, and again, I'm the one who doesn't care. I don't care if Robert Craft went and paid for a process, dude. Okay, sure. I don't care. It's his business, but you're trying to tell me, you're trying to tell me that you're gonna you and, and this is what sticks about at Kuro. Didn't matter if this lady came out with 12 weeks, didn't matter if this lady came out with a year, didn't matter. If this lady came out with 10 weeks, Roger Goodell would have, would have basically what is it called? Appeal that trying to get, trying to get more because now, oh my God, Roger Goodell is a forefront of women's rights. The NFLs at the forefront. Look, we're not gonna let people get away with this. Right, right. This is what, this is what stinks to me about it. Otherwise, I'm the one who said that I'm the one that said that Deshaun Watson should get suspended purely on the basis of stupidity. Yeah. Until you fucking learn you're dumb. Listen, you fucking moron. Sit your ass down and think about what you were doing. And, and you're not above the law. You're not like, like, what are you thinking? You should be suspended just purely for stupidity, but I don't like it when players. Are made to pay the price so that the NFL and the ownership can win a fucking public relations campaign. That's what I don't like about it. This, this, this is, this is, this happens sometimes, right? This happens. Sometimes it happens all the time. And, and, and again, I, I, I realize when I sit there and talking, I'm not defending Deshaun Watson I'm right. But, but, but you're also, I think, I think you're, you're right in calling. Let's not, let's not all of a sudden think that the NFL or the moral place of the world, all of a sudden, and that they're at the forefront of women's rights. Cause that's not what this is about. I, I promise you could rush that even if it was a 12 week suspension, even if it was a one year suspension, Roger, you were gonna appeal it. We're gonna it. Yeah. You're gonna appeal it no matter what that's that's fair. That's fair. So, and what's killing me is nobody's been talking about this. I'm like, listen to all these sports shows and I'm like, when is somebody gonna bring this up now? Why isn't anybody bringing this up? I'm like, I'm not the only one that has to think like this. Yeah, yeah. They were. Yeah, no, no suspension likely would've. Initially good enough enough for them? Yeah, they were gonna appeal it. I, I, I, I can totally see that given the calculated and and deceiving history Dean NFL has and look sharp and you U good, no go. I think that they're, they're, they're utilizing an opportunity where there, there been victims and there was a predator. As a, as a PR stunt as, as, as a, as a PR for them to gain popularity and, and, and to gain a better standing, all this is is, is so hot. All this is is for them in terms of optics. That's all, this is, I, I don't disagree with that. And, and now we're at a place where. Roger. Goodell's now hired another third party, a guy named Peter Harvey. This guy is was the former attorney general of the state of New Jersey. And he in the past actually show has advised the NFL on subjects of domestic violence, sexual assault another matters. So he's got some familiarity with the league and Roger Goodell has put the case in front of this guy and said, listen, Peter, you look at this. And and help me determine what is an appropriate amount of a suspension for Sean Watson. So this is, I mean, look this person's handpicked by the commissioner, right? So is it, is it farfetched to assume there was some close, lower conversations before he picked this guy? Probably not right in terms of what, what, what he wants him to get, but it's in Peter Harvey's hands now. The decision needs to be made in an expedited fashion, just because of how close we are to the season. But in the meantime, star Deshaun Watson is going to start in the pre-season. So we will see Deshaun Watson into Browns uniform just not probably in the regular season. Right. So he he's, he's gonna start that first game against the Jaguars tomorrow on Friday. And so there's that the other angle of the shark is that now reports come out earlier today, the Browns now open to trading for Jimmy Garo should the expectation, the expected event of Deshaun Watson's suspension extending actually become reality. So how about that? How about, so, so let's talk about this real quick. Let let's end on. Thoughts on Deshaun Watson getting into preseason reps and, and how that's gonna go. And you know, how, how creative are the fans gonna get with their, with their signage. Right. And then secondarily Jimmy on a, maybe a one year rental for the Browns. How, how does that sound to you buddy? It sounds good. Remember I told you, I said, if I was, you know, sometimes I sit down and I think if I were ruling the world, if I was king of the world, what I would do, and, and I said, I would've had some kind of a three way trade. What are you give? I feel like the thing is the, the, the good thing for the Browns is this Jimmy's trade value is super low right now. Nobody wants and there's in a spot farm. Okay. So I feel like the Browns could get away with a low ball. To acquire her services like the fifth round pick and, and look, and, and the 49ers wanna do what's right with Jimmy Groo. So why not? Why not do a fifth round pick, I guess, I guess you could argue this is doing right by him because he gets another year of first team rep. Yeah. As opposed to being on the bench and and you know, then maybe the following year, he goes somewhere else. I'd be curious if they do make that trade. You know, what's the structure of the contract or the Brown's gonna just take that on and then potentially of trading him. That's gonna be another problem for the Browns to worry about for another day, of course, but that will be interesting and fascinating. And I, I agree. If they did get Jimmy, it would make him more of a contender than riding out the full year with Jacobi ETT. In the case, they do have a really talented team on both sides of the ball around the quarterback. So that's a move. That's a move that the Browns have to do for their fan base and their current players that they're developing. That's a move that the have to do for Amari Cooper. That's the move that the Browns have to do for that great offensive line Nevada's own Joe bat. Yeah, we signed David and Joe to a long term contract. Yeah. Right. I mean, they've got some weapons there, here. Let me ask you this through hypothetical question. What if they signed Jimmy? He gets into, let's say a conference championship loses in the conference championship and then Dashaun misses the playoffs the following year. Is that, is that, is that whatever, cause it's still Dashaun or does that does, oh, oh yeah, it doesn't doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Cause Deshaun's gonna be there forever and ever and ever. And, but here's, here's the thing. Why if I, if, if he ends up getting a full year suspension or indefinitely where we know he's gonna miss the entire year and I not even be able to come back for the playoffs, why, why have him go through a preseason? Why put him, why put him through the scrutiny of, of the press and stuff like that? Let him go. I'll I'll tell you why, because maybe they don't know. Cause they don't know for sure that he's gonna miss the whole season right now. No, no, no. I'm saying, I'm saying if, if they do, if they do find out. Oh yeah, but I don't think you, I, I, I think that if. We knew for certain today that Deshaun Watson was missing the full season. They would not be starting him on Friday against the Jaguars, but because there's still some okay. Then yes then and, and chance there. And by the way, I, I actually think that Deshaun Watson and his camp were privy to the suspension terms before it dropped, because I dunno if you remember this, they made a preemptive statement. Before the day before the news dropped and it was expected to drop the following day. And they said, whatever, Sue SSON says, we support it. We're all for the process. Right. Right. Probably cuz they knew it was gonna be six to six. Right. And they try to kinda get ahead of it and, and do a little bit of a Jedi mind trick. It didn't work. So whatever. I mean that's what the Sean West is a freaking. He's a moron he's I, I used to always respect him saying that, you know what? He seems like a guy that was just a great leader and, and like a leader of men and, and so on and so forth. But, but when the thing that nobody else is talking about is, is one thing that the Sean Watson had gone for was those great runs that he had a Clemson and, and he came in and, and the people gravitating to him. I just wonder how people are gonna receive him now in that locker room, because I would look at'em differently. I would look at him and say, dude, you you're fucking moron. You're more on like, like I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna follow a guy that's that's stupid. That makes dumb decisions. It'll so that's, that's something that nobody's actually really talking about it is, is I think he's lost. He's gonna lose a little bit of political cache. If, if you know what I mean in, in terms of swagger and in terms of being able to come in and just, you know, galvanizing locker room and such, it's just gonna take, it's gonna take some time and he has to win and he has to win quick because if he's not winning right off the bat, there's gonna be some issues. The pressure's on look like everything else. Time will probably. Heal this for him, but right now he's square in the crosshairs of of, of all this. And look, yeah, we expect, we expect Peter Harvey to come down and, and make the final call here. And at least we'll have. Kind of closure some clarity and that way the Browns can, can have a good handle on what they wanna do going forward as well. Bring in, bring in, look, they need to bring in Jimmy G and, and I, I, and I would this, again, this is something that we spoke about last time. There should have been a three way trade between the 49ers, the Browns, because Browns need a quarterback. We knew you, you know, and here you go, Jimmy can do a full year audition. Kind of like Matt castle did back in 2000 and. With new England and, and, and who knows, who knows? Maybe, maybe there'll be, there'll be a suitor form next year. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who knows, man? But yeah, it would be, it would be intriguing. It, it would make that AFC north one heck of a lot, heck of a lot more intriguing. If the Browns did bring in G G least keep them competitive within the division with a proven guy. So we'll have to see how that all plays out a shark. You don't like Deshaun Watson, you made it clear. Let's move the conversation now, just for your sake, someone who you do, like right. Let's talk about, oh baby. Oh, Mr. Dan Campbell. Give it to me. Okay. And man, Dan, you can't even, you so excited. I can't even get through the intro. Yeah. Campbell he's. He is on our television screens. He's all across America. HBO's hard knocks. The Detroit lions are this year's team. And. Man, I gotta tell you. Usually the first episode is a little bit humdrum and the cameras don't really know what to focus on and the storylines aren't quite as developed yet. So we're kind of getting a feel for things. This might have been the best first episode of hard knocks that I can remember in the long, if not the best one. Right. I just, I, I can't remember a better one. And I think for me personally, it was fueled by. Dan Campbell's passion, his love for the game. His, just his, his motivating energy. I mean, the guy is a treasure Trobe of quotes, right. Is you know four camp rules. Don't be late. Keep your wait in check. Don't disrespect, your teammates don't disrespect the game. Right? I think he even was quoted your saying it doesn't matter if you've got one ass cheek and three toes, I'm still gonna beat your ass. Right, right. He's but there were a few things or a few specific things. I do wanna talk about with Dan that I noticed that I would love your take on there's no question his passion was exuded through the screen, but give me your initial take on what you saw from this team and your guy, Dan Campbell, from the first episode. Everything that I suspected of him was confirmed. The, the passion is real. It's not fake. There's not an ounce of fake in that man. He was not, he was not acting out. I could tell he was not acting out for the cameras. Sometimes you can tell when people are acting out for the cameras and they're not, then couldn't give I, I bet you. His speech would've been the same, whether the cameras were in there or not. And, and, and I, I'm not staying up for the entire Detroit staff because I, I noticed, I, I kind of raised my eyebrows a couple times when they were talking to some other coaches and I'm like, okay, like, you know, you're, you're kind of, you know, you're adding it up for the camera now, some of the players but Dan couldn't care less if there was a chamber there or not. He was exactly who I thought he. He is exactly the guy who I said last year before the season started, I can guarantee you and, and co you can attest to this. What did I say? I said that team is not going to quit on him. Do you remember that? Those were my words. I said, I don't. I said, I don't know how I, I don't know how good they're gonna be, but I can promise you that team's not going to quit on him. You remember that those, those were my prophetic words. That was the one thing you were sure about. They were not gonna quit on that, man. They're not gonna, and now do you see why they're not gonna quit on that guy? What he said when he had him hit and, and keep in mind, he's a player. So he knows, he knows what the players think about you like, but you having us hit full glass right now in this heat, in this humidity and the way, and some pushes might come in and say, you just do this because I FN said so, and this is how we do it. And this is, you know, like it or not get the F. And he was passionate. He was understanding he was empathetic towards their issues, their wellbeing. Yeah. Their wellbeing. And, and just, just, just sit some context, man. What shark's talking about, there's a, there's a, there's a scene in the show where it's one of the early practices. Right. And they're going to full pads and they're hitting they're tackling, which is. Which is not something typical that early on in a training camp that early. Yeah. And, and he's basically telling them, listen, man, I know this is not like a, this might not sit well with you or you maybe don't understand it, but I need you to trust me. And he kind of went into this di tribe of, you know, all I think about is you guys and he just, he broke down on the tears. You almost teared up. Yeah. He and he did tear up. Yeah. And and I saw that and I was like, man, I mean, To the, to some outsiders, it might seem like okay, this is a little bit much, but the man deeply cares. He de and I agree with you. You can say what you want about, about that style and his mentality, but there is not a fake bone in that guy's body. You know, he loves his team and, and you know, that, that's one thing that stood out to me. There's a couple other things I left to get, to get your point of view on. You know, one, one thing that people say is great. Okay, he's got this motivating kind of rah approach, but like, what about, there's gotta be more more to than that, right? Like at some point you have to be strategic. You have to know the ins and outs of the game. You have to be a good game manager, no situational football. So like how far does that stuff really go? Like, yes, he's a motivator of men, but at some point as a head coach, he's gotta be able to put the strategic cap on as well. And I think we. We don't, haven't seen enough of him yet to know that he's capable of that side of the coaching. In addition to the motivating stuff that we, we know he's still good at. Right. But here's the thing as a head coach, you need to be leader of men. You need to be a guy that people will follow, so you can get other people that can be great Xs and O. You can, you don't, you don't need to be look, although the staff, his staff is all former players and the thing is the all players I used to really like growing up. Right. Mark Brunell. Anine Randall L Aaron, Glen. I mean, he's got, and here's the thing. All, all Ru players. And, and beyond it being solid, they weren't superstar athletes. No, you're right. They were, they were phenomenal players and I've always said the best coaches are the guys that, that didn't, that it didn't come natural for them. Like, you know, somebody like me, Dan Campbell himself is one of those guys right. For 12 years. So, so guys that had like, I didn't make it to the NFL because I had, I, I had this, like, obviously I had the size and strength, but I wasn't a first round draft choice. I wasn't a superstar coming out. I wasn't a blue chip, five star recruit outta high school. I had to figure out how to play. And, and, and I had to overcome a lot of challenges and those are the best coaches I guarantee you, Michael Jordan is probably the worst basketball coach ever, cuz to him, he's like, well just jump up and dunk the ball where. Most people can't do what he can't do. You know, so know he is not a great owner, so right. Probably not. So well, you know, the ceiling is a roof, but you know, that's, that's a different story. That's the inside joke. Michael Jordan had said, but anyways, Dan, Dan, Dan Campbell, you don't, he doesn't need, I mean, I don't, I can't, I cannot attest to his exes and nos. All I know is he's, he's had some. Great coaches to glean from bill Parcell and Sean Payton. And and you know, and, and here's the thing. He did get a little bit of a run for like 10, 12 games as a, as a head coach in Miami and, and, and his team did respond to him. Well, as a head coach, you don't need to be good Xs nos, the best Xs and nose guide that that I've ever been with was north Turner. And we all, you know, again, I love nor I don't wanna say anything bad about Norbu. We all know about his success as, as a, as a head coach and you know what? He had some success. He wasn't, he wasn't bad, but, but he, there's no way like Norf Turner is an offensive coordinator. He's not, you know, that that's what he is known for. You don't need to be a good Xs in those guys. You just need to be able to be a leader of men. Look, you think Dan Campbell. Will ever lose that locker room if he continues to be doing absolutely. Dan Campbell can ask those guys to run through a fucking wall for him and they'll run through a wall for him. They will run through a wall for'em man. And I even noticed several times throughout the, the episode, there was this constant theme of players saying, we know coach has our back. We believe in coach. We know that whatever he is telling us to do, he, he, he knows what's best for us. And so he has the trust of the team. I wanted to get your perspective on a couple things, right? Number one, you said earlier, char he wasn't playing for the. There was an interesting scene where he was doing the up down drills with his team and the guy, the guy's in pretty damn good shape. I mean, I could, I could see him putting on shoulder pads in a helmet. Now I'm getting out there. Right. I mean, he's, he's built like a bull. He was doing the up down drills with the team. Okay. Is that something that, that stands out as a player? Do you respect that no big deal or is like, no, this guy's willing to get his, his, his hands dirty with the rest of us. Does that go a long way? You think stuff like. It, it, it does because it shows that he's like, look, I'm here with you. I look, if I could do, you can do it. So it, it, it kind of it's, it's like, okay, you guys are paid a punishment. You know what I'm with you, I'm gonna pay a punishment with you. It goes, it goes, it goes a lot. He doesn't have, he doesn't have to do that every time. He just needs to do once or twice, but, but look, and, and I wanna talk to all those freaking pundits that a year ago, a year ago, this time we're saying, oh, he's an ankle biter. He's a knee bit. Oh, ha. They were just Fu fooling him. You know what? Kiss my ass. Not only kiss my ass kiss, fucking Dan Campbell's ass. Okay. All you fuckers who have no clue about football, who have no who think analytics? Oh, you know, one plus one is two, two plus two is four. Therefore we gotta do this. No, listen, you fucking morons. This is what football is about. The passion, the, the, the belief in your team, the belief in your leader, the belief in a guy that you know is gonna beat for you, and you're gonna turn around and bleed for him. This is what football is about. And to all. Asses that made fun of Dan Campbell kiss his ass, kiss his ass because he's for fucking real. He, you know, I, and I gotta say, I, I was sitting on my couch. It was like the end of the day. And I was ready to get up and, and start doing some updates. Right. You know, and some knee highs and, you know, like, I mean, he, the man is such a motivator. You that, that is the thing you gotta say about him. There was a monologue that Jamal Williams had. I think it was one day the former Packers running back. He was with Alliance his first year, last year, but he's been a, he's been a veteran in this league for quite some time and they were breaking practice and they're breaking the huddle. And as a veteran, he was, he was one of the guys doing it. And he just went on this emotional tirade where he talked about getting better and improving on last year's record and how much he cares. And it's like, you know, they there's that cliche statement char that, you know, the, the, a team. Takes on the, the character of their coach. I really felt it. I really felt it there. And again, that's the situation where I said, okay, does I felt it on my couch? My question is, if you're a player there in that, in that huddle, does that matter is the fact that a veteran like him is tearing up and getting emotional and has all this passion and echoing the. Does that matter? Does it not matter? Are we making more within it? Is, is it just adding drama? Cuz it's an HBO show. Like how far did that stuff actually go? I, when I was watching that I started liking it. I'm like at VO, Jamal that's that's it? Yes. He's right. Listen to him. That's it. But he was just going on, like he's just talked too much. sometimes, sometimes less is more and. And I'm telling you that after a while, when you're saying the same thing over and over again, are you saying a lot of times people like to hear themselves talk, right? A lot of times people and, and I kind of got that and, and, and I wish Jamal would've said about one third of what he said. But I loved what he said, the tears. I mean, the tears were real though. The tears were real. They, they were, they were, but he, I mean, like, let the coach through the talking, right? You echo him for, you echo him for like 30 seconds. Right. And let's go, let's get, let's get the fuck outta here. Let's let's get to work. You know, so and, and, and couple other things I noticed, I, I kind of looked sideways at the, at the, was it Aaron, Glen, and the other coach. I was about Aaron Glen do still talk. So the offensive and defensive coordinator, Aaron Glen do well, actually know. I'm sorry, Aaron, Glen. Is the defensive coordinator I think do Staley is the running backs and he's the assistant head coach as well. Right. So yeah, they, they, they were going back and forth and talking trash offense versus defense in in practice. What were you gonna say about that? I would like to know how, how they would talk, how, how practices were without the camera still. So you don't think that was happening before. I, I suspect I, I just looked at it sideways. I'm like, come on, come on, come on. Now. Is it about you two to, or is it about the players, but to be fair? Sure. I would say that Detroit is in a very unique situation in terms of the makeup of their coaching staff. How many coaching staff have you seen with that many former players? Right? Like it's, to me, maybe that's just a product of these guys, still getting back in that player mentality and. Fuck it on that track. But, but here's the thing though, at one point when you're like, when I, when I was coaching, the thing that I always said to my players is that players win games and coaches lose games. And, and I was a firm believer in that. And, and, and you, you know, you take the blame for the losses and you try to do everything you can to put your players in the best situation to best situation to win. If I was a player and I was seeing that, I would be like, are, are, are, are you guys going competitive? Like, like it's, it's the players. They're the ones that you, you need, you need to calm down a little bit. And I, again, I really wanna know what if, if they're like, Even when cameras aren't there. If they're. Putting a little extra drama for the cameras, which is, you know, whatever, which I don't like anyways, either way, either way. I didn't like it either way. I didn't like it because at the end, like I understand talking shit back and forth to like I, I, I used to do that with some of our defensive coordinators, defensive coaches when I was coaching, but it wasn't every play. It was like a SNY remark of like, Hey, nice. Nice. Nice stop there on the fourth down. Or like, you know, like just, just throw a little bit there on every play as if they're playing, they're running at each other and yelling and screaming, and really, are you really paying attention to the individual players? Are you paying attention to like in a given? Well, maybe that was one part. The camera's capture this out of air. I don't know if it's representative of every, it seemed like it seemed like it was like on every. It seemed like people's on every way. No part of you thinks that that type of competitive drive amongst the coaches drive, you know, get the best out of them potentially. You, you're not, you're not doing your job as a coach and coach. When I was, when I was coaching when I was coaching, I literally, I knew where the ball, if the ball's being run to the left, I would watch, I would watch the center and the play side guys. And I would tell my assistant online coach say, Hey, I, I need you to watch your technique on the right. Or, or, or the on the back side, because you, you, you need to look at the technique and what they're doing is he taking, you know, is he taking his steps? Is he taking like, there there's so much, you have to pay attention to like, I, I used to be zoned in, on my guys and I'm like, oh shit, his, his, his look, look, his splits is too big and he's gonna have a, he's gonna have a hard time on that down block. What's he doing? Oh, then this way. And then as soon as the block would be blowing, I'm like, okay, here's what happened. First of all, your splits are, your splits are too big. Your angle of that that made you take a bigger step that you could, the guy crossed you over and then you crossed yourself over. So those were those guys really paying attention to their individual players that they had, or were they more busy trying to talk shit to each other? Yeah. And that's, that's that's fair. I guess time will tell. Now look, Dan Campbell has said he did not. And does not, is not gonna watch the episodes. Okay, great. so, so if, if you are, but if you are Dan Campbell and you, and you see that, then. Would you say something to the coaches like, Hey guys, just, just maybe, you know, cool it down or obviously I'm sure he goes back. He looks at the film. He doesn't need to watch hard knocks to see that there's cameras everywhere. There, there are the lion cameras on that field. Well, here's the thing he's there. This is, this is, this was a team drill where offense first offense was going against first defense. Otherwise those two coaches would not be on the same field. Yeah. Usually when you have defensive practice, they're on one side and offensive was on the other side. This was a team drill. Dan Campbell's there. Dan Campbell's watching this and, and. And, and again, on, on one hand, Dan, I was told that Dan Campbell lets people be themselves, which is great. Yeah. On another hand, on another hand, unless if those coaches don't care about, they're just making the play calls and they don't care about the individual individual techniques, it seemed like more like do Staley was was, was the one that was really initiating a lot. It seemed like Aaron Glenn was just kinda like aha. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it, it seemed to me like Aaron Graham was more, more tuned. To the, to the practice do Staley was kind of like being like a hype man, right? Yeah. Yeah. Because, and maybe as a running backs coach, maybe you, since you're only paying attention to one guy, maybe you, maybe you he's, it's easier actually. Right? Doce Staley was a guy who they were a lot, they were saying, cuz he used to be with Philly. They were saying after I remember them. Yeah. After Doug Peterson, he could have been a guy that got that job. And I think he actually left Philly leave because he expected to be the head coach and he felt like he earned his stripes and, and he wasn't given the job. So now he's in Detroit. So, so I think he's a guy that's that's has showed some promises as a coach in the NFL. And so far, Aaron, Glen, you know, I don't know him a lot about him as a coach. He was a hell of a player. He was a hell of a corner. Very underrated. In my opinion, the guy you don't play 14 years at corner in the NFL. If you don't know what the hell you're doing. So I he's a very, you can tell he's very cerebral SBR. Oh yeah. Very cerebral. And then Anton Randall, L from your Steelers, another nice player, mark Ru who could forget mark Brunell from those drag and a teammate of mine, a teammate of mine with the Raiders. Who's that? Oh, Brunelle he's yeah. Brunelle was a teammate of mine with the Raiders. I love Brunel. He's. Was he a was, was he a good dude? Brun Bruns. A good guy. Yeah, he was I was technically at, I was 30 at the time when I was with the Raiders and I was kind of like that halfway point. I'm a young guy. I'm an old guy. I realized I'm an old guy because you, you got kids coming in that are 21, 22. Right. And you know, like they're looking at me, they're like, oh shit, this is a seventh year player and so on and so forth. So the group that I hung out with in the locker room was mark Brunel, Jerry Rice, you know, tho those guys and mark, Mark's a funny guy. Mark's, Mark's a cool guy. So I like him a lot. Well, look, man. Hey, I, I am excited, genuinely excited for next week's episode. Love what I saw there. And man, here's the Dan Campbell. His, his passion is ever extending and we love it and it makes for musty TV. Okay. Char, let's go on to the south previews. You wanna go? AFC buddy? I'll I'll I'll I'll I'll leave. You make the call. You're the boss. Let's you know what let's let's cool. Cause we all know how you feel about the great Tom Brady. Let's start with the NFC south. well, that's a great place to start. Okay, great. So yeah. NFC south, right? Bucks saints, Panthers, Falcons. It does feel like a bit of a one horse race here, except we just know that the saints do. The bucks number on defense last time they play, they shut them out. They've made some nice additions to their team. Obviously, James Winston, getting the, getting the, the reins and starting QB job there. We've talked in depth out what the bucks have done. We talked about Julio Jones last week. They added Russell G right there. They've got a lot of that. Core intact. We know about the Panthers bringing in baker Mayfield to compete with Sam. Darn. So that'll be interesting to see how that competition plays out throughout camp and throughout the regular season. And the Falcons are interesting, you know, mark, I like the signing of Marcus Mariota, you know, but they're without Calvin, what's the receiver's name? Ridley Rick, about Calvin rid. They drafted Drake London in the first round, they drafted Cali Pitts in the first round last year. It seems like a team that's so bad on defense and protecting the quarterback is kind of getting these glamor pieces. So I, I kind of expect it to be like Atlanta and Carolina and a bit of like a fig. We're figuring it out. I wanna say rebuilding, cuz we're not like starting from scratch, but like I kind of were figuring it out mode. The saints could make some noise. They've got some, you know, Michael Thomas is. Healthy Alvin Camaro is obviously there when James can put it together, we know he's, he's an ice player. That defense is, is rock solid top to bottom as well. So I, I expect them be competitive, but I still think the bucks are most likely the class of the division. You know, what, what stands out to you when you look at this division? On the surface, it seems like the bucks are gonna run away with this, you know, new coaching staff, new quarterback but don't count on the same saints. I agree. Build their team. They build their team solid. They're very similar to Philadelphia. They start with their, they go inside out. They, they, they have a great offensive and defensive lines and, and they work their way out. And look, the last two years since Tom Brady's been with, with the bucks. Saints are four and one against Tom Brady tonight. They have one for before. Oh, on the regular season. Yeah. The one loss coming in the playoffs that mattered most, but still, I mean, and, and that was with drew Brees. Couldn't throw of bar more than 10 yards and those and those four wins. I mean, they were, they were butt kicking. Let's not, let's not, let's not get, yeah. I mean it, yeah, it's, it's not like. It's not like they, they pulled out the, they got lucky or something bad happened. Yeah. Marshon Lynch. Marshon Lynch just has something for the for the, for box, every time, lot of lawn lot. I'm sorry. Marshon Latimore. Thank you. He's like is I'm telling you if, if you ever play fantasy. I didn't last year, I didn't start. I didn't. I had Mike Evans, a couple of my teams. I didn't start him now. He ended up getting a touchdown late. He was like had one reception and a touchdown. The, you know, marshal and Latimore that look, they it's their trip tonight and the saints are gonna be better. And I got news for you. The bucks are nowhere near as good as they were last. The bugs are nowhere near as good as, as they were. They've lost. They've lost couple of offensive linemen. Yep. You know, they obviously they, they, they, they lost the key offensive weapon in terms of you know, our, our brainiac Antonio brown. Didn't addition by subtraction. There'd right. I think, yeah. Ali mark. Yeah. But you know, He, he was still a weapon that you had to account for. I mean, you had to account for the guy their defense that they lost. I think they lost end. Right. They did lose, they did lose Sue. Yeah. So, and remember, one of the reasons why I picked them two years ago to beat the chiefs in the super bowl, because I, I said that with via and Sue and the third guy, I forget who the third guy was. I said, you're gonna, yeah. Yeah. J don't forget JPP. No, I'm about the guys three guy. It was gold, golden Goldman. Like a really solid interior defensive lineman. I said, they're gonna put that pressure, you know, and, and, and they're gonna, you know, they're gonna do a great job and they lost Sue, so they they've lost, they, they lost Alex, but Alex CAPA, they lost their was it Jensen that retired? I mean, they've lost ally Marette Ali, Mar and, and then now though they have an injury to their left tackle. In camp. So it, it is, it's gonna be a little bit of a tough road for for Tom Brady. And, and again, here's the thing, we, the whole idea of him wanting to leave to go to Miami. And we spoke about this before. I, I said winning cures all, but as soon as they start, if they start kind of sagging back, you're like, well, wait a minute. How C how committed was this guy to us? How dialed in? Was he? Oh, for sure. And, and that's gonna be something that hangs over them all season. I think on paper. They're the class of the division, but you're right. They're not the team. They were a year ago. They don't have a ancy. They've lost some key pieces on the online. Now they have added Russell G they have added LIO Jones. If there're, Steve can stay healthy. And by the way, we didn't talk about this as of right now. No Robin and Kowski right. So there's some rumblings that he might come back later in the season maybe. And he, he doesn't wanna go through camp and all that, but operating on the assumption we have right now, No Gronk either. And he was, he took a massive leap in that. From year one to year two Rob, they're gonna, they're gonna miss they're gonna miss his run blocking because one thing that, that people don't realize Rob ske was more of an, of, of a run, like a great he's far greater at run blocking, and far more of a weapon in the run game that he wasn't in the passing game for, because. But with the addition of Julio Jones, now they got another tall, big receiver that Brady can dump off to. And look, Brady's always been great at getting the vs receivers. It's they gonna miss him? They're gonna miss him in terms of the run blocking, I dunno, who you're replace him with. Yeah. So it'll be interesting. It's still a good team. Still got some weapons. I don't know. I think they're really good. I thought they were went healthy. Were great last year. You know, I think the saints to me are still gonna be limited by. James Winston. I, I just, I still don't believe he's gotten over the turnover bug. I think he's gonna, he's gonna, it's just it's part and parcel the way he plays football. Right. And so I think they're gonna have some trouble, but look, they, they could be, they drafted crystal lava, the big Ohio eight stand out in the first round as well. We know Michael Thomas is coming back. They got Jarvis Landry as well, another nice signing for them. So they've got a nice trio on paper. Alvin Camara. Who's Alvin just come Alvin. Yeah, here. Here's, here's the thing I've been doing, you know, I've been doing my mark drafts and stuff like that. I can't believe that I'm getting by the way. Annie Dalton, you like that move is back in quarterback. Absolutely. And then, and how about a reunion Mark Ingram back in new Orleans. Probably more a locker room guy, but like, right. They've got, they've got a good stable of, of, of players here. Dennis Allen offense, the one, no, no Sean Payton, but Dennis Allen, the architect of that defense. Still intact and look, and, and this, this team still has the fingerprints of Sean Payton on it. Oh no, this, this, this, this, this is still a Sean Payton team. And, and just look, look how well they did the one year that Sean Payton was suspended and, and, and, and they were fine. They were fine. Yeah. It's it's you know, again, look, the saints are gonna be. Atlanta is on a rebuilding phase. I still think you're gonna win more than three or four games like everybody thinks you're gonna do. I, I think Marcus, I think people are underwriting Marcus Mariota and and, and I, I just don't think it's an automatic that Tampa bay and, and, and, and the great Tom Brady are gonna be as successful as everybody thinks it's gonna be. I I'm, I'm not betting against them, but I'm just saying don't, don't take it for granted. That's all I. Agreed agreed. Don't yeah. They, and nor, nor, nor should they. And yeah, I think, you know, Panthers, the storyline, there is gonna be, who's gonna end up be taking that QB one job. I think Matt rules talked very highly of baker Mayfield thus far. You know, we'll see what happens there. That to me is the main story. You know, they could steal a couple games in the division. I, I actually think. I would say, we talked about last week, who was in the hot seat. I think Matt rule might be on the hot seat too. We talked about McCarthy being one of the only guys. I think Matt rule could be on the hot seat too. Like, like if, if they tank again this year, I, you know, David te oh, absolutely. Listen that owner David Tepper. He's a, he's a wall street. Billionaire. You think he cares about results? Yeah. Yes. So you know, Matt, rule's gotta gotta, he's he's gotta show market improvement this year. If he wants to keep his job. So I think it'll be, it'll be, you know, interesting to see, you know, what happens in the Carolina locker room and with that team this year. And I think who he picks a quarterback and the effectiveness of the quarterback positions gonna really affect Matt rules in long term employment, right. With the team. So that, but here's the thing though. He, I agree that he's on a hot seat, but if Matt rule goes 10 and seven or even nine in eight, he's gonna be fine. Oh, I agree. Above 500. Even, even close, even close to 500 and, and, and, and, and you're show improvement. He's gonna keep his job if, if the Cowboys go nine and eight. Oh yeah. You can't compare those rosters though, right? Like, no, but, but, but, but still the amount of pressure that's on, like if the Cowboys don't go to the NFC championship, I think he's out of a. I hope so oh my God. You're ambitious. Hey dude, you're freaking vicious there. There's only 32 of these jobs on the planet, man. You gotta perform or, or get out. Right, right. But look, yeah, I think that's pretty straightforward for the NFC south. So what, what are we calling us a show? I think, I think we both agree. It's Tampa and new Orleans one and two, most likely who's gonna win the battle for third place between Carolina and Atlanta and your. I'm gonna go with baker Mayfield and, and Carolina and Christian McCaffrey. I mean, look, look, even Sam darn was having success when Christian McCaffrey was healthy last year. I, I agree. I think Atlanta's defense throws 10 holes in it and they can't take the quarterback. So if you can't play D in part quarterback, you're gonna be in trouble. I, I think Carolina's got a little bit more depth on their, on their line. I think, you know, they're probably. Improve. They have a very good left tackle. They have an excellent left tackle. Yep. You talking about Christian DAW, right? Academy academy. Kwano the, the Rick and this year. Yeah. And then the year before was, was it Christian de saw the year before, or I think it was was it DAW? No, that's Minnesota. That's Minnesota. Sorry. That's Minnesota. Yes. I Iggy is the guy I'm thinking about you're right. Austin Corbit. They have some, Hey Nevada, baby. Nevada's on Austin, corporate baby. There we go. You know, I'm always rooting for those guys, you know, Shaq, Thompson's another good player. I like yet two gross mottos. He was drafting a couple years ago. I think he's gonna come on this year on defense event. So again, I won't get it too deep into it. I just think, I, I think Carolina's built better than Atlanta. Atlanta. Doesn't do a lot of the fundamentals. Well, even with Mario being a nice edition, I see you being, yeah, just like you, Tampa, new Orleans Carolina, Atlanta. Okay, man, if Christian, one, one thing, if Christian McCaffery doesn't get hurt, he will be the top player in fantasy. This your mark. My words. I mean, every year I feel like right, but like that's, unfortunately it's been a big. Right. Let's let's let's talk. I actually think the AFC south is similar and then you have two teams that are, there might be neck and neck and then two teams that are probably gonna, gonna be at laggers. Right. So you've got Tennessee, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Houston out the gate, you know, Houston's is, is the sure bet to be last place. I think of by far the least talented team. They've got some up and coming talent here and there, but as a whole new coach, And all that. Probably not gonna be a good year for them. They're gonna be rebuilding year for them. They've got a stock pile of draft pick off the back of the Deshaun Wal trade. So they're really a team that's built for tomorrow, not for today. And that's okay. I'm sure they know who they are and it is what it is. Right. You know, Jacksonville, new start, Trevor Lawrence is second year. Doug Peterson. Now there we hope an offensive minded super bowl, winning head coach and come in and help that young signal call. There's many people's eyes and adult in the building now. And, and there's actually been a lot of stories coming out about urban Meyer and how terrible that was. So, so you think that the presence of a Doug Peterson will help Jacksonville, you know, get, take that next step and help Lawrence kind of advance in his career, but still very much rebuilding mode for them as well. Look it to me, it's between ind. Between Tennessee and we know Indy brought in Matt, Ryan, they've got a phenomenal element of line that beasts of a back in Jonathan Taylor and then Tennessee, they're the defending division champions at the number two seed. In playoffs last year, actually. No. Was it the number one seat or the number two seat? They, they had they had a, they had a buy-in they lost. Oh yeah, they had, they were the, yeah. Number one seat. Yeah. They were the one seat in the AFC last year got knocked off by the Bengals. So this is not, this is his team coming off a solid record. They, they lose AJ brown and there's that. And, and then they did add Robert Woods as well. So nice piece. They drafted trail and Burkes the, the big boy out of, out of Arkansas. Okay. So we'll see. Every year we ask the question about what's gonna happen with Derek Henry. Can he do it again? Can he keep taking the pounding at this point? I give up I'm I'm not gonna doubt him anymore. But look the Titans, you know, they, they, they, they do solve a good line. Derek Henry, can he last that's the, won't gonna be a question regardless. What do you think here? Let's, let's start with the top two teams who, who is, or who has the edge here between Indy and Tennessee. I, I, I keep always complaining and you know, about my relationship with Mike Bel you know, a good buddy of mine from the Steelers and every year, people just, he just he's in the background. He, everybody underestimates him year after year after year after year, he was winning games without Derek, Ken, he was winning games without AJ bar. He got the first place seat in, in the AFC, in the AFC last year, not having AJ brown. Most of the year and not having Derek Henry. Yeah. Right. And I find, and I find myself. Discounting his team. And, and I find myself saying, it's gonna have to be in Indianapolis. They, they have a better team because here here's what I'm worried about Derek Kendrie. And I'm not taking him in Ansy at all this year because he's coming off a foot injury. He's a big, heavy guy, foot injuries on big guys. It's it's it's, it's a death sentence. Cause remember that big guy, Greg Oden, that was, he was gonna be a great NBA player. Just kept having recurring foot injuries. It's it's similar to this. I'm worried about that. And, and look. Tennessee's offensive line has drastically become worse this year. It's one, one guy. Yeah, they, they they've, their offensive line has drastically gotten worse this year to where they were like one of the best in the NFL last year. And now they're somewhere like the lower tier. They're not the worst. I'm not calling the worst. I'm not, I would never say that, but, but in terms of run, blocking in terms of pass, blocking, having great left tackle helps. But I'm wor I'm worried about Derek Kendra's. I think his efficiency is gonna go way down. And so I'm, I'm again, I'm, I'm picking them, I'm picking'em to take to take second, even though Vegas has their over and under at, at 10, at 10 and a half points, you know what I would, like you say, kind of in sharp roll the world. I, I would, I would, I think if I could combine the best aspects of these teams, I would love to see Ryan Tana under center with the Colts, because the problem with Matt, Ryan, to me. He's just a sitting duck in the pocket. He can't avoid pressure. Once you get any kind of pressure on him, he's done. Now of course, the cold tub, a great offensive line. They can mitigate some of that. But to me, you get like the youth, the athleticism, the Arma, and the hand hold behind that line. I would've love to see that, but this is where we are. Right. Mr. Mr. Ryan is a signal caller over there in, in Indianapolis and and you know, Nothing super sexy at wide receiver, Michael Pitman, Paris Campbell. They drafted a kid named Alec Pierce out of Cincinnati in the second round kind of a shifty slot guy, which means he's white. Of course. Right. I say that in just no. Right. But you know they add a Kiki cutie from the, from the texting. So some nice piece of it, but no one in the receive room that's gonna make you really lose. At night, but it's that, it's that offensive line and the running game. And it's almost like a, we just need a guy. Who's not gonna mess us up. We need a guy, you know, hint, hint, Carson. WINZ who's not gonna come in and just give the ball together team and we'll probably win most of our games. That's really how they're looking at it. Defense is rock solid as well over there. You know, Shaq, Leonard quity pay a high traffic last year. Defor Buckner, Yannick, and Goway. I mean, they'd got some nice players, a Stephan Gilmore who they've added in free agency this past year. They got some nice players across the board here. They need, they needed an adult in the quarterback room, who they can trust to not just give these games away. And I think Matt, Ryan can fit the bill there. And I, I think I agree with your assessment there. What do you make of the. They're they're, they're gonna be fine. They're gonna be just fine. As long as they can win a game in Jacksonville, you know, that that remain to be seen. But yeah, so listen I I'm picking'em to I'm picking'em to win the south. They kind of disintegrated last year. They were like everybody Starling at at the end of the year and they just, they just kind of fell apart. All the Carson went. So it, it it'll be, it'll be interesting. It'll be interesting to see. But don't again, God, I hate doing this. I can't believe I'm picking against my boy. You know, degrade my CRA. So yeah. Yeah. I mean, it is what it is, man. It's it's it's it's I think it's it's gonna be a tough year for Tennessee. I think it is gonna be tougher for them probably gonna be a down year for them. But we say that every year and every year he comes out doing great. I know, but, but your assessment of the offensive line, losing a J brown. You know, if, if the issue with Derek Henry's foot injury is a thing, then he's the heart and self I'm really worried. I'm really worried about that. I'm, I'm really worried. He's a 260 pound runner that runs hard every play. And, and look, when he puts that step into the dirt and he cuts and he's got a foot injury now with that, I I'm not so Sur I've got. God bless him. I hope to God, I'm wrong because the NFL is much better with Derek Henry at full speed. I'm just, I'm just really, I'm just really worried. I'm just really worried about, and, and I'm telling you, I've been in a lot of drafts where he's dropped to me in the sixth round, in the six page in the first in the first round. And I'm, I'm, I'm going receiver and he's like the only RB one that's kind of left. I'm, I'm going receiver. I'm going Aaron Jones, or I'm going, you know because I'm just worried. I'm worried about that. I'm worried about that foot, but, and the other thing, Jacksonville is gonna make it leaps and bounds in terms of improvements. I, I agree with you, I think, and, and, you know, obviously, you know, Doug Peterson is a Cubi whisperer. He has a history like Carson once had his best years under Peterson. Trevor Lawrence that would say is probably a better prospect coming out than once was. So I expect, oh, easy market. From from, from from Lawrence and then look, they on the defensive side, I know he is VE guy, but look, they, they first serve all picking the trap. Trevon Walker, by the way, did have a sack in his first preseason action against the Raiders last year. And then you've got Devin Lloyd, another speedy linebacker that they, they drafted in the first round. So how about the great Josh Allen? How about the. Josh Allen, not the Bill's quarterback, right? The other Josh Allen, who just right. Interestingly the Jaguars beat the bills last year and Josh Allen sack, Josh Allen, how cool was that? Right. So and, and, and, and, and, and the star and the star of the game was Josh Allen of, of the, of the Jaguar. So, yeah, that was the game. They won nine nothing or six, nothing. That was ridiculous. It was insane. How they shut out that offense. It just baffles me in insane. Insane. Yeah, that was, that was wild. But yeah, Josh Allen coming. A solid a crew, you there. And look, we get to see now, keep in mind urban Meyer in that regime, they took Trevor launch number one, but they came back into the first round and they took Travis Etsy and the explosive Clemson back with the second first round pick. He unfortunately suffered Susanna injury last year. I think even before training camp started. And so we haven't even seen et TN in a in a Jaguars uniform yet. And they got the, it's almost, it's almost, he's a first round draft choice this year. So let's think about that. Yeah. And then look, they, they, they got, they got a rookie center as well, Luke for out Kentucky. Yeah, that that might or may not be great. But look, they added your boy Brandon sure. From Washington that that's a nice a on the line. He's a, he's a very underrated player. And, and then cam, Robinson's a nice left tackle. He's not, he's not a stud, but he's he's he's whole. No, no, no, no, no. Cam Robinson was one of the few bright spots yeah. Of that team last. And Josh Allen, him and Josh Allen were the few bright spots. And, and look, don't discount James Robinson. I mean, like, you know, everybody wants to forget about him, but he, you know, he's the guy, he's the guy that deserves some respect. I love anybody who outperforms their draft position. The guy was undrafted. He started running back in the NFL. I love that. And you know, again at receiver, they obviously, they, they overpaid for Christian Kirk, which is, you know, that's it, did they do. Good day though. They definitely did. They did. I mean, no, but, but after seeing all these look, they needed a receiver, did they not? It's like, it's like what came first sticking under the egg, right? Right. Was he under, was he overpaid? Cuz the first is he, is he underpaid now? Because afterwards it seems better. Like I, I was over and here's the thing. I laughed at that when it happened, we both did. I spoke to a buddy of mine who is an NFL coaching staff, a defensive coach. Okay. Okay. Okay. And he was telling me that Christian Kirk is is for real, okay. He was so I, I was like, I wanted to say something, but he's a defensive coach. And does he coach for a good defense? He, he was a former defensive coordinator. Okay. So so I guy, the guy knows what he is talking about. Like. Chris, like, yeah, he, he believes in Christian K and, and, and he said his, he said his speed off the ball to be able to go deep from the slot position is ridiculous. I guess he's got some kind of a great separation skill off the ball, which I, I have no idea about So who knows? Yeah. I mean, I guess we'll see. And look a Marvin Jones very productive year, last year for Jackson, 830, 2 yards, four touchdowns. And I like the rookie Liska Chanal as well. For too, he showed promise. I all that to say, I agree with you a hundred percent Jacksonville. I think they're gonna make a huge leap. It's still gonna be the LEAP's gonna be, we're not gonna be battling. I think they'll be clear. Cut the third place team and they got the Texan chart, lovey. The new head coach over there. Okay. Obviously best known for his tenure with the bears. I think in the bears also. So lovely Smith has done some things and accomplished in the NFL and you know, there, there's not a lot to be necessarily optimistic about for 2022 at this team. But look Davis mills showed some promise last year, Brandon cooks had a career year with the Texans, right? Larry, they got Larry T at left tackle. I mean, they got some players you know, but they're not make, make any mistake about it. This is probably a three, four win team tops. Right? They're they're they're well, they, they want for, they, they won four, four or five games last year without anything. And this year is really gonna be the year to see if they have the quarterback of the future. This is, this is all, this is, they have Marlon Mac who I believe in, I think Marlon Mack is a great talent. Can he come back from the Achilles that it remains to be seen? But yeah, I look, I, I, I think this is a great opportunity for them. Do, do they have their quarterback or are they gonna pick early in next year's draft in getting a quarterback? Yeah, I, I, I think it's one of those things where. You know, like if, if, if they got the number one, pick other worst record, that wouldn't be a bad thing. That's gonna be a quarterback heavy draft next year. So I think they're cuts much outta them this year. By way. I, I, I asked, I asked my friend about about some of these players in, in, in the AFC south, he told me if Davis mills was drafted this year, he would've been, he would've gone. The first draft is that based off. This year's talent or is that based off of after seeing him play on a guy? No. Based, based, based on, well, first of all, he said he didn't think Davis mills was, he said, he said, everybody's ranching raving by Davis mills. He wasn't, he's like, it's not like he was that great. He was that great because guys like Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence and, and guy, the kid from the kid from Chicago. Yeah. Basically underperformed and really the only one that, that, that performed decently was our boy in in new England, basically, he said, so, so I think the idea of how he performed last year is irrelevant. Cuz he didn't think he performed well. He, he said, if he performs this year, the way he did last year, then, then they're gonna look for a new quarterback. But he, he said based on the talent level of, of this year's draft class, that, that he would've compared to the kid that went to PI. So we'll have to see how things play out with, with the Texans. But I think we all can confidently say they're likely will be at the bottom of, of their division and, and let the league when all said and done rebuilding year, so that's, that's a Texan chart. So can we then say, is it safe to say in the FFC south, we're thinking indie, Tennessee, Jacksonville Houston in that order? Yeah. Yeah. I mean really not much else to talk about that. Yeah. It it's and again, I can't, I can't believe that. Gonna underestimate the grade micro. Hey, man. I'm sure he'll find it. It's hard to forgive you. if, if, even if you remember who the hell I am, I, I obviously he's gonna remember who I am, but like, man yeah, I'm kind hard to forget, but seriously. Yeah, no, I mean he, the last thing he, the last thing Mike thinks about is what sharper Don says about priests and rankings. Who knows, man, you never, you never know, could be out there in the air. But yeah, right. well, look Hey, Hey, the life goals, right? Maybe one day you will be listening to us. But you never know. We've got free. Season is back. The hall fan game was last week. Raiders Jaguars for me, this, this game kind of showed me like, as I've grown older, I, I love the. But my tolerance and, and time isn't the same. Like in my younger day, char I would've either watched that game live or recorded it, watched it beginning to end the whole thing right now. I'm just like, eh, oh, I'll just watch it on YouTube. Get your highlights. So I'm not as, as rabbit out of a fan. Having said that, you know, tonight we've got a couple games just giants at Patriots, Titan, Raven. Ran to be seen, who's gonna be playing, but Hey, football is back, buddy. It's here. And anything you're looking for this will begin in some of the action I'm trying to see. Yeah. I wanna, I wanna see how that offensive line plays in the first couple of years. If, if they're starting offensive line is gonna play, I'm not sure if you're gonna play Derek Henry, but I just, I just wanna see how that online plays and and, and New York. New York needs to come out and kind of show, show some flash of brilliance. I wanna, I wanna see how sequ Barkley runs. So I don't and and I doubt Sequan gets anything and that's, and that's a trend in training camp is like, people are talk, it's a glorified walkthrough and basically Septembers the new August down with the way these teams are, are, are talent training camp, you know? Yeah. Who, who, who. It just, you are still gonna be able to see if you can like, like, okay. Like I watched Josh Jacobs last week and I saw me a couple of cus I was like, oh, alright, alright, Josh. You know thing, because people were people Josh McDaniels got a ton of heat not a ton of heat, but basically the speculation that Josh Jacobs has to be on the trading blog, because why else would you play or start running back in the first preseason game and give'em that many. He wants to see how he performs scene. McDaniel said, look, in my, in my opinion, I think it's good for running backs to get reps in preseason to get used to the, the contact and the hits, you know? And, and he unequivocally came out and supported his running back and said, no, he's not gonna anywhere. We love Josh. We wanted him here. We just need get on the reps. So, right. You know, and, and this is kinda like, again, the much you do about nothing part of the season, A lot of rumblings about Patriot's offense not being, not looking great. Max Jones fell in camp. He'll have a chance to come and rectify that again. Well, no, he's not playing today. A lot of speculation cuz there's yeah, but they're not playing them. They're not, they're not playing their starters this week. They said on offense or defense and I'm interested to see what Matt Patricia does as an offensive coordinator or play call. I really am. Is Matt, Patricia. Yeah. Why is he running the alpha? That's so weird. L look, you can't, you can have success going on the opposite side because you bring in a defensive mentality of, of what defenses will try to do to you. So on and so forth. But again, I let's just say my confidence level, Matt Patricia is not very high, as long as he's got that, that pen in his ear and notepad, I think it'll be okay. I mean, like he's trying to be Billick heavy. I was gonna say bill, but you can't say about Matt, Patricia, so that's big guy, right? Right. yeah. Yeah. Please don't tell me, please. Don't tell me I look anything like Matt, Patricia. Come on. No, no, you're Don. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. Absolutely. You're a man that takes pride in your appearance. Takes good care of yourself, man. Well, let's, let's not, let's not go that far because I've looked them very lately and it's not a pretty sight, but we're, we're always wrong. We were always our own toughest critics, man. But listen, I, one thing I, before we sign off, I gotta ask one more question. I know you love your, your, your sports betting and all that. Are you degenerate enough to put money in the preseason game? No. Okay. Don't bet. The first two, three weeks, a season. Okay. Before until you get a feel for the, yeah, I did look there. I don't, I don't bet just for the sake of betting because I have lo I, I love betting. I I'm, I love betting because of the competitive nature of playing poker or black check, cuz I'm I have, I, I have an actual effect on the outcome. When I, when I'm sports betting, I have zero effect on the outcome. What, what gets me interested in that is me trying to beat the system of saying, oh, I know something more than the Vegas Vegas bookmakers. Therefore I have a clear advantage if I don't think I have a clear advantage Jewish, I'm not betting. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, and I guess in Bruce season, there's no way to really know that. So that, that none, right. That, that does make sense. I, I, I was seeing, as I had thought of that, because I was looking at the upcoming games and they have the lines next to the game and I'm like, are you serious? There's there. Who's gonna be these games. No way. I am sure. There are people out there who do about these games, right. It it's gotta exist. Someone's gonna be something I'm I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna do that. That's that's ridiculous. Yeah. All right, man. Well, look, we're, we've got our conference and our, so our divisional previews complete the Dashaun Watson story. It seems to be at least coming to some kind of a resolution here in an end. And Hey man in front of us is just football. I mean, can you believe it? We, we are here. It's I'm excited, buddy. I'm I'm getting hot and heavy to fantasy football. So I'm doing all my research and all my numbers and charts and graphs. So I'm big time into it. And I'm finding myself taking a lot of T Higgins and it, like, I turned around like, oh my God, I'm very heavy T Higgins. So fingers crossed on that. Okay. A little nugget of fantasy advice for those who state the land until next time, buddy. Always a pleasure. Can't wait to dive back into this thing with you next week and talk about more action, more hard knocks, more games, more everything. Let's. Sounds good buddy.