Latest / NFL Game Previews / Dak Prescott’s Contract Talks, Saquon Barkley’s Impact on the Eagles, + State of the NFC North

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Dak Prescott’s Contract Talks, Saquon Barkley’s Impact on the Eagles, + State of the NFC North · NFL Game Previews

0:09
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Insiders. I am Steve Whitch and on
0:11
Speaker 1: Ingwood California Newsroom. That is Ian Rappaport. He is in
0:16
Speaker 1: the rap Cave.
0:17
Speaker 2: Ian.
0:17
Speaker 1: We're gonna be joined by Stacy DALs, Bridget Condon and
0:21
Speaker 1: Brian Baldinger in just a bit. But coming up tonight,
0:25
Speaker 1: cowboye quarterback Dak Prescott. He clears up the boot gate issue.
0:30
Speaker 1: We're gonna have training camp storylines for the Philadelphia Eagles,
0:33
Speaker 1: plus Ian. We're gonna be joined by Lions upstart safety
0:37
Speaker 1: Kirby Joseph. That is going to be a dandy. But
0:40
Speaker 1: let's get to what is going on new today. And
0:44
Speaker 1: as I mentioned, Dak Prescott hosting here his youth football
0:49
Speaker 1: camp in South Lake, Texas. You can see he's moving
0:51
Speaker 1: around without that walking boot. We saw him in that
0:54
Speaker 1: picture on July fourth. He addressed that boot and his
0:58
Speaker 1: contract earlier today.
1:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm great, Honestly, I'm getting older. It's the same
1:04
Speaker 3: ankle right that that that snapped and had a nasty
1:06
Speaker 3: surgeon on four years ago. So yeah, a couple of
1:09
Speaker 3: hard days of training and you know, you can get
1:11
Speaker 3: a little sort and then you're going on a fishing
1:13
Speaker 3: trip and you want to protect it and and make
1:15
Speaker 3: sure that things don't get worse. So literally, it's absolutely
1:18
Speaker 3: Note that's why I said people people are reaching trying
1:21
Speaker 3: to make things that they aren't. I'm getting older, have
1:23
Speaker 3: to take care of my body. I have to be
1:25
Speaker 3: smart and if I can take precautions and lessening something
1:28
Speaker 3: by putting on.
1:29
Speaker 4: A boot, I'm gonna do it. And so sorry that
1:32
Speaker 4: the calls set to the world.
1:33
Speaker 3: There's there's been conversations back and forth, but for the
1:36
Speaker 3: most part for me, as you'll know, I've been let
1:38
Speaker 3: my agent do that, especially as we get right here
1:40
Speaker 3: into training camp they want to training camp. My mind
1:43
Speaker 3: flips to just obviously helping my team and just doing
1:45
Speaker 3: everything I can within the organization and on the football
1:47
Speaker 3: field to make sure that I am my best and
1:49
Speaker 3: everyone around me is their best, and the money and
1:51
Speaker 3: all that.
1:51
Speaker 4: Will take care of itself as it always has.
1:53
Speaker 1: Eat a lot of interesting stuff right there, not so
1:55
Speaker 1: much with a boot any ankle. You have addressed that
1:58
Speaker 1: it is what it is. But Ian, this is the
2:01
Speaker 1: first time we've really had heard Dak talk about ongoing
2:04
Speaker 1: contract talks.
2:06
Speaker 5: What about that? Now?
2:08
Speaker 6: Back and forth was the way he described it. The
2:10
Speaker 6: fact that the Dak Prescott, his camps, agent Todd Franz,
2:13
Speaker 6: and Dallas Cowboys have at least had some conversations about
2:16
Speaker 6: his contract is newsworthy and Dak is right.
2:19
Speaker 7: The ankle is really nothing.
2:20
Speaker 6: Going to be fine for training camp out of the boot,
2:23
Speaker 6: no big deal. Contract is a big deal, And as
2:26
Speaker 6: it stands right now, Dak Prescott heading into the final
2:29
Speaker 6: year of his contract with the kind of leverage that
2:32
Speaker 6: we have rarely seen a quarterback out. The Cowboys cannot
2:35
Speaker 6: trade him, they cannot franchise him. If they don't do
2:37
Speaker 6: a deal with him, he is going to be a
2:40
Speaker 6: free agent, and then you will he sign with the
2:42
Speaker 6: Cowboys after they let him be a free agent. I
2:44
Speaker 6: guess anything's possible, but certainly hard to imagine there. So
2:47
Speaker 6: it is on the Dallas Cowboys right now if they
2:50
Speaker 6: are going to do this, if they're going to avoid
2:52
Speaker 6: Dak Prescott going into the final year of his deal,
2:54
Speaker 6: like Mike McCarthy is, it is time for them to
2:57
Speaker 6: start talking and try to get a new contract done.
3:00
Speaker 6: I would't be surprised if maybe it was a little
3:02
Speaker 6: bit of a shorter deal. I know the fact that
3:04
Speaker 6: people have mentioned the number sixty as in sixty million
3:07
Speaker 6: per year, the fact that that's not crazy, just based
3:10
Speaker 6: on where he is, what the numbers have been, the
3:12
Speaker 6: kind of leverage he as, This could be the kind
3:15
Speaker 6: of contract we're talking about.
3:16
Speaker 7: But the clock is ticking of course in training camp.
3:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm glad you stressed that because a lot of
3:20
Speaker 1: people I still think, believe that because nothing's been done
3:23
Speaker 1: by now contract talks are over. But no they're not over.
3:26
Speaker 1: They're going to continue. So again I'm glad you said that.
3:29
Speaker 1: Let's get to another Cowboys player who wants to get
3:32
Speaker 1: some paper, and that's wide receiver CD Lamb. Now we
3:35
Speaker 1: know he's skipped mandatory mini camp, but he's looking for
3:37
Speaker 1: a new deal. He, like Prescott, is also holding a
3:41
Speaker 1: youth football camp and he posted this on social media.
3:43
Speaker 1: I'm not speaking about my contract negotiations.
3:46
Speaker 5: If that's your question, you'll get zero answers. It's about
3:50
Speaker 5: the kids, you know.
3:51
Speaker 1: Chick Daddy the rapper likes the kids, so to CD Lamb,
3:53
Speaker 1: But what is the status for CD and his contract?
3:57
Speaker 6: Cedee Lamb doesn't have to say anything. He did his
3:59
Speaker 6: speak with his actions. Was not a man into a
4:01
Speaker 6: mini caamp for the Dallas Cowboys took defines a hardest
4:04
Speaker 6: stance as the player can take in the spring to
4:07
Speaker 6: say I'm not happy with where things are going now.
4:10
Speaker 7: As Cede Lamb has waited.
4:11
Speaker 6: And waited and waited for a potential new contract, the
4:15
Speaker 6: wide receiver market has done some very good things if
4:17
Speaker 6: you are an excellent receiver as CD Lamb. As we saw,
4:21
Speaker 6: of course, Justin Jefferson reset the market, the highest paid receiver,
4:25
Speaker 6: the highest paid non quarterback, all the things that Justin
4:29
Speaker 6: Jefferson did his contract. The fact that Cede Lamb has
4:32
Speaker 6: not done yet really does make you wonder, Doude the
4:34
Speaker 6: Cowboys see him as someone who they can pay above
4:37
Speaker 6: Jefferson or right below.
4:39
Speaker 7: We do not know the answer to that question. For sure.
4:42
Speaker 6: Jefferson is going to want to make as much as
4:44
Speaker 6: he possibly can, but until we know where the Cowboys
4:48
Speaker 6: slot him in, there's no deal done and we will
4:50
Speaker 6: wait whether or not he will be a training camp Yeah.
4:53
Speaker 5: Equally though Ian, if not more intriguing.
4:55
Speaker 1: It's Brandon Aiyuch's contract situation with the forty nine Ers,
4:59
Speaker 1: and this only adds to it. He posted this a
5:02
Speaker 1: picture of him watching Commanders film.
5:06
Speaker 5: That's odd.
5:07
Speaker 1: Remember that ayuk and Jayden Daniels, the Washington Commanders new quarterback,
5:11
Speaker 1: were together at Arizona State.
5:13
Speaker 5: The word things stand with Ayuk and the Niners hold on.
5:16
Speaker 6: First of all, it's not like Brandon nyuk is getting
5:20
Speaker 6: practice film of the Commanders.
5:21
Speaker 7: First of all, you can't do that would. Second of all,
5:23
Speaker 7: it's not happening.
5:24
Speaker 6: It sounds more more likely here FaceTime with Jayden Daniels.
5:28
Speaker 6: Practice film came up, took a little screenshot, Boom posted
5:31
Speaker 6: it and there's your storyline.
5:33
Speaker 7: Look, Brandon Nyuk, who is an.
5:34
Speaker 6: Awesome player, has done a great job of getting everybody
5:37
Speaker 6: talking during the very slow time, getting everyone to know
5:40
Speaker 6: whether or not it's you know, do the forty nine
5:42
Speaker 6: ers really wanted back, what his feelings, whether or not
5:45
Speaker 6: he believes the Commanders will be a team potentially to
5:48
Speaker 6: try and come and get him now they have his
5:50
Speaker 6: good friend as starting quarterback. All these things are kind
5:53
Speaker 6: of happening in the dead time of the NUP, so
5:54
Speaker 6: we are talking about it a lot. What is facts, though,
5:58
Speaker 6: is that Brandon Ayukuo for short, is a huge contract
6:01
Speaker 6: extension does not have one yet, and really it makes
6:03
Speaker 6: you wonder as well, is he going to step on
6:06
Speaker 6: the field without a new deal. This market has defined
6:09
Speaker 6: itself very well. The fact that he does not have
6:12
Speaker 6: a deal done. The clock is ticking on him as well.
6:15
Speaker 6: Another intriguing receiver awaiting payback.
6:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I you can quarterback rock Perty they got
6:20
Speaker 1: something special. It will be intriguing. Let's flip it to
6:23
Speaker 1: the other side of the ball. Ian look at some
6:25
Speaker 1: of the available free agent defensive backs. As veteran Patrick
6:28
Speaker 1: Peterson said, he is surprised that so many accomplished defensive
6:32
Speaker 1: backs have yet to sign contracts.
6:34
Speaker 5: Shot, we know some of that could be coming.
6:36
Speaker 1: You're looking Stefan Gilmour, Justin Simmons, Micah Hyde, Eddie Jackson,
6:41
Speaker 1: players like that. Let's bring in our Brian Baldinger and
6:45
Speaker 1: let's talk about some of these defensive backs. And Ian,
6:47
Speaker 1: we're going to start with you, bald Do you pick
6:49
Speaker 1: it up? But someone like Justin Simmons, who played most
6:52
Speaker 1: of all of his career with the Denver Broncos, what's
6:55
Speaker 1: the market for him? And guys, where could he be
6:57
Speaker 1: a good fit?
6:57
Speaker 5: Neman.
6:58
Speaker 6: Justin Simmons was a surprise cut, I would say for
7:01
Speaker 6: the Denver Broncos trying to shed some salary trying to
7:03
Speaker 6: retool get a little bit younger. I think a lot
7:04
Speaker 6: of people thought that he would sign very quickly. Justin
7:08
Speaker 6: Simmons is an excellent player, and despite the fact that
7:11
Speaker 6: he is thirty, he still believes he can get it done,
7:15
Speaker 6: and I know teams believe he.
7:16
Speaker 7: Can get it done. If a player bald he waits
7:18
Speaker 7: this song to sign, you know what it's about. It
7:21
Speaker 7: is about money now.
7:21
Speaker 6: I would also say Justin Simmons does not need to
7:23
Speaker 6: go to offseason conditioning, doesn't need to go to miniicamp.
7:26
Speaker 6: This is the guy who can slide in any system
7:28
Speaker 6: and get it done. He can take his time and
7:30
Speaker 6: see if the money is there before he resigns, before
7:33
Speaker 6: he signs with a contender in training camp.
7:35
Speaker 4: I don't think there's any question about it.
7:37
Speaker 2: He's going to get signed and I don't know what
7:38
Speaker 2: the contract status around the league is going to provide him.
7:43
Speaker 2: But he's coming off a very good season fifteen starts
7:46
Speaker 2: you saw there. He's got twenty four interceptions over the
7:48
Speaker 2: last five years. Highly productive player. I've got anomo Vieer's
7:52
Speaker 2: in like. First of all, he is a student of
7:55
Speaker 2: the game. I don't think there's any system that he
7:57
Speaker 2: can't play in that he can't step in and learn
8:01
Speaker 2: and really become a productive player and a player that
8:04
Speaker 2: can really rule the middle of the field.
8:06
Speaker 1: Oh, Baldy, imagineing with Talano Hufonga with the forty nine ers,
8:10
Speaker 1: what they could do. All righty, let's go to Stefan Gilmore.
8:12
Speaker 1: The Gilly lock one of the things up with him.
8:14
Speaker 1: We know he's been in this situation of previous years.
8:17
Speaker 1: What's his status and where could he end up?
8:19
Speaker 2: Oh?
8:20
Speaker 7: Yeah, you know Stefan Gilmore.
8:22
Speaker 6: You know that he is methodical and he will absolutely.
8:26
Speaker 7: Take his time.
8:26
Speaker 6: So I think if he was one of the better
8:28
Speaker 6: free agents this year on the top one hundreds, I
8:30
Speaker 6: mean he was coveted, but he is.
8:32
Speaker 7: In no rush.
8:33
Speaker 6: Another veteran who doesn't need to go to OTAs, doesn't
8:36
Speaker 6: need to go to Minichamp, could come in before training
8:38
Speaker 6: camp and be himself. Really has played very well over
8:41
Speaker 6: the last couple of years. Dan Morgan, the general manager
8:43
Speaker 6: of the Carolina Panthers, has said the door is not
8:46
Speaker 6: closed and him potentially going. They remember they signed Clowney
8:49
Speaker 6: another homecoming at least is worth keeping an eye on Baldy,
8:53
Speaker 6: But of course, when you have a player who is
8:54
Speaker 6: as good as Gilmore, they're not going to be the
8:56
Speaker 6: only potential shooter.
8:57
Speaker 7: As you get closer to real football starting.
9:00
Speaker 2: I would even you know, he started seventeen games last year.
9:03
Speaker 2: He started every game and highly productive player. You know,
9:07
Speaker 2: he had the interceptions past his defense all that. But
9:10
Speaker 2: if you put Stefan Gilmour in your secondary, your defensive
9:14
Speaker 2: back room, he makes everybody smarter. This guy's ability to
9:18
Speaker 2: understand route combinations, routes, offenses, what they're doing, how they
9:22
Speaker 2: come at you. But he is a coach in the
9:25
Speaker 2: room and he's always been like that. I've sat down
9:27
Speaker 2: in film sessions with them. You can't talk to Stefan
9:30
Speaker 2: Gilmore and not learn football. And I think he would
9:32
Speaker 2: benefit any young player in any secondary room around the league.
9:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, put him opposite aj Terrell in Atlanta and you
9:39
Speaker 1: might have something real special on the perimeter right there.
9:42
Speaker 1: All right, last, let's talk about former Bill safety Michael Hyde.
9:44
Speaker 1: He's still available in.
9:47
Speaker 6: He is still available. He could still run in another
9:50
Speaker 6: big time, big name player unsigned them. Michael Hide has
9:53
Speaker 6: come out publicly and said for him, it is either
9:56
Speaker 6: Bills or retire.
9:58
Speaker 5: Now.
9:58
Speaker 7: Players have said things before me.
10:00
Speaker 6: Another opportunity comes, maybe with a contender, maybe he changes
10:03
Speaker 6: his mind. But that's a pretty interesting thing because the
10:05
Speaker 6: Buffalo Bills this offseason, they have not done They have
10:09
Speaker 6: not signed big name older veterans. In fact, those are
10:12
Speaker 6: the guys they've released. Remember they did all that salary
10:15
Speaker 6: cap shedding right before free agency cut a bunch of
10:18
Speaker 6: their veterans, saved tens of millions of dollars against the
10:21
Speaker 6: salary cap. That was the direction that went rather than
10:24
Speaker 6: re sign some older expensive veterans.
10:26
Speaker 7: So I have my questions about this one. But still
10:29
Speaker 7: a player certainly that can still do a Baldi.
10:31
Speaker 4: I think so too.
10:32
Speaker 2: And I would say you that thirty three years old,
10:34
Speaker 2: he devise the age and sometimes you know, experience is
10:39
Speaker 2: a great teacher, and he has all that in a
10:41
Speaker 2: variety of systems, and he's reliable, like he just understands
10:45
Speaker 2: what's happening in the back end. I always say this Ian,
10:47
Speaker 2: you make mistakes in the back end of your defense,
10:49
Speaker 2: you're giving up touchdowns. Well, Buffalo bill has been one
10:52
Speaker 2: of the best defenses in the league over the last
10:54
Speaker 2: six years, and a big part was because of the
10:57
Speaker 2: play at Michael Hyde all right.
10:59
Speaker 1: Guys, great stuff right there, because coming up next we're
11:02
Speaker 1: gonna talk Philadelphia Eagles, and we know last season they
11:05
Speaker 1: really faded down the stretch, got knocked out in the
11:07
Speaker 1: first round of the playoffs. But we've got some training
11:09
Speaker 1: camp storylines for this recast, coaching staff and roster that's
11:14
Speaker 1: coming up next. On the inside, he walked the insiders
11:26
Speaker 1: and a few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were back
11:29
Speaker 1: on the field getting the work in. They report to
11:31
Speaker 1: training camp July twenty third to try to right some
11:34
Speaker 1: wrongs that happened at the end of last season. I'm
11:37
Speaker 1: Steve Weiss, joined by Brian Baldinger and Bridget Condon enters
11:41
Speaker 1: the conversation and Bridget, let's start with you.
11:43
Speaker 5: We know the Eagles made one of the.
11:45
Speaker 1: Biggest offseason splashes by signing running back Saquon Barkley. What
11:50
Speaker 1: does he do for their retooled offense.
11:52
Speaker 8: Well, Steve, Saquan is expected to have much more room
11:55
Speaker 8: to run with the Eagles than he did last season
11:58
Speaker 8: with the New York Giants. Let's look at the difference
12:00
Speaker 8: between the offensive lines according to PFF last season. Right,
12:04
Speaker 8: Remember this is still with Jason Kelcey on the field.
12:07
Speaker 8: He of course will not be on the field this
12:09
Speaker 8: season for the Eagles. But when you look at the
12:10
Speaker 8: two grades according to PFF, the offensive line grade overall,
12:15
Speaker 8: the Eagles were one.
12:16
Speaker 7: Of the best.
12:16
Speaker 8: They were second best in the NFL, whereas the Giants
12:19
Speaker 8: were dead last, and they weren't just last by a
12:22
Speaker 8: close margin, they were last by far. They were ten
12:24
Speaker 8: points lower than the thirty first team. And when it
12:27
Speaker 8: comes to run blocking per PFF, once again the Eagles
12:30
Speaker 8: were one of the best. Well, the Giants again were
12:32
Speaker 8: one of the worst. And then when you look at
12:34
Speaker 8: pass blocking, we know that Saquan has always had a
12:37
Speaker 8: great reputation as a pass blocker and it was something
12:40
Speaker 8: that was very attractive to the Eagles when they signed
12:43
Speaker 8: him last season.
12:44
Speaker 9: He had a pass.
12:44
Speaker 8: Blocking grade of about eighty and Swift DeAndre Swift had
12:49
Speaker 8: about fifty four. So when you put him in there,
12:51
Speaker 8: you just talked about it coming into the segment Steve
12:54
Speaker 8: about how down the stretch the Eagles really struggled, especially
12:57
Speaker 8: against the blitz. But when you have someone like that
13:00
Speaker 8: can help pass blocking and take off the way he can,
13:03
Speaker 8: he's definitely going to elevate this offense.
13:05
Speaker 7: Baldy Well, I would.
13:06
Speaker 2: Say that you know this year that Jalen Hurts has
13:10
Speaker 2: to be rebuilt over that one in six collapse.
13:14
Speaker 4: He was a part of that collapse. He wasn't the
13:16
Speaker 4: only individual.
13:17
Speaker 2: So if we have a whole new staff now, you
13:19
Speaker 2: know Kellen Moore, Doug Nusemeyer coming in, more of the
13:22
Speaker 2: offensive coordinator, Newsmyer, the quarterback coach working with Jalen Hurts,
13:26
Speaker 2: and you know, I mean, he's got to do a
13:28
Speaker 2: better job of getting rid of the ball on time
13:31
Speaker 2: when it's there, and then when he does run, he
13:34
Speaker 2: wasn't the same runner that he was a year before.
13:37
Speaker 2: And so I think a big part of coming back
13:39
Speaker 2: and getting back to the playoffs and making it run
13:42
Speaker 2: in the playoffs is really a keeping Jalen Hurts healthy
13:46
Speaker 2: and then improving his overall play.
13:48
Speaker 4: And I think he's more than capable of doing that
13:50
Speaker 4: this year.
13:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, Bally, we've seeing offensive coordinator Kellen Moore do that.
13:53
Speaker 1: Two stops are already really helping the quarterback get his
13:56
Speaker 1: numbers up. That could be big for Jalen Hurts and
13:59
Speaker 1: all that. Note, Bridget Paris Campbell is a number three
14:02
Speaker 1: wide receiver, so to speak with Philadelphia. What does he
14:05
Speaker 1: have to do or does he need to do much
14:07
Speaker 1: for the Eagle offense to take off without really a
14:10
Speaker 1: truly established number three.
14:12
Speaker 8: Yeah, well, that'll be the interesting thing, Steven Baldi. When
14:14
Speaker 8: you look at training camp, all eyes are going to
14:16
Speaker 8: be on who's going to fill that third spot. Of course,
14:18
Speaker 8: they have a set one into with aj Brown and
14:20
Speaker 8: DeVante Smith, who have had back to back thousand yard seasons,
14:23
Speaker 8: but who's next in line. The Eagles signed Devonte Parker, remember,
14:27
Speaker 8: and he was there. They signed him in March. He
14:28
Speaker 8: retired in May, so they were hoping that he would
14:30
Speaker 8: be that number three guy. But once he retired, it's
14:33
Speaker 8: left this hole as to who's going to be that
14:35
Speaker 8: guy to step up. You talk about Paris Campbell. The
14:38
Speaker 8: team picked him up in free agency. He's entering his
14:40
Speaker 8: sixth year in the league, so he has that veteran experience.
14:43
Speaker 8: But one of the things that we have to think
14:45
Speaker 8: about with him is he's had a lot of injuries
14:47
Speaker 8: over those five seasons in the NFL. He did get
14:50
Speaker 8: most of the work during mini camp, so it'll be
14:52
Speaker 8: interesting to see who the ball goes to during training camp.
14:56
Speaker 8: Nick Sirianni was asked about who will be that third
14:58
Speaker 8: person when they were playing in mini camp, and he
15:01
Speaker 8: said he likes the depth and also talks about that
15:04
Speaker 8: it doesn't necessarily need to be a receiver in that
15:06
Speaker 8: third position. He talks about twelve personnel, twenty one personnel.
15:10
Speaker 8: So it'll be interesting to see how they mix and
15:11
Speaker 8: match come training camp.
15:14
Speaker 2: Well, Bridges, the fact is aj Brown and DeVante Smith,
15:16
Speaker 2: they're like, we're fine, just throw us the ball.
15:18
Speaker 4: We don't care about a third guy. That's kind of
15:20
Speaker 4: how they think.
15:21
Speaker 2: But honestly, I think that this whole secondary has to
15:24
Speaker 2: be rebuilt. I know Vic Fangio is coming in to
15:27
Speaker 2: run the defense right now, and you look at the
15:30
Speaker 2: guys there, Joe Caspa, the safety coach, Roy Anderson, and
15:33
Speaker 2: the guys that they drafted. They give up thirty five
15:36
Speaker 2: touchdown passes last year. That was second worst to only Washington.
15:40
Speaker 2: I mean, the ball was going over their head, especially
15:43
Speaker 2: in the second half of the season, and it was
15:45
Speaker 2: way too frequent.
15:46
Speaker 4: And so they have got to tighten up their communication.
15:49
Speaker 2: They've got to play better defense as a group, and
15:52
Speaker 2: they got to tackle better.
15:54
Speaker 4: So that's one area of this whole team.
15:56
Speaker 2: I mean, you can put the new coordinators in, they're
15:59
Speaker 2: going to played better is a group, especially the second
16:02
Speaker 2: If you give up big plays in the back end,
16:04
Speaker 2: you give up touchdowns, and so that's something that has
16:07
Speaker 2: to get fixed going forward this season.
16:10
Speaker 5: A right, Baldy and Bridge.
16:11
Speaker 1: We do know that the Eagles is gonna be one
16:12
Speaker 1: of the teams that people are expecting to come out.
16:14
Speaker 5: Of the NFC.
16:15
Speaker 1: We'll see if they get any more challenges from other
16:17
Speaker 1: teams in the conference like the Detroit Lions and one
16:21
Speaker 1: of the top upstart safeties.
16:23
Speaker 5: And Kirby Joseph he's joining us. Next.
16:25
Speaker 1: See that ball right there, that's one of his three
16:27
Speaker 1: interceptions of Aaron Rodgers. Oh, he's reaching for the second one.
16:32
Speaker 1: He's getting greedy. Kirby Joseph coming up on the insiders next.
16:43
Speaker 5: What are we? What makes us what we are? It's
16:47
Speaker 5: our core foundation, man, grip. They've done it, first win
16:51
Speaker 5: and almost a year. We'll go a little bit longer,
16:54
Speaker 5: We'll push a little harder.
16:55
Speaker 10: This football team is show joop up their capable of
16:58
Speaker 10: next year. This bar is set.
17:02
Speaker 5: We'll play anywhere.
17:04
Speaker 10: He's telling these Lions, Man and Turf.
17:06
Speaker 5: It's a new air Boys playing Blandfield.
17:09
Speaker 10: No, baby, it doesn't matter if.
17:11
Speaker 5: You have one ass cheek at three toes.
17:13
Speaker 2: When you knock this down, you're gonna buy a kneecap off.
17:17
Speaker 5: Wow, I'm not a lunatics. You gotta get a gimpsy.
17:20
Speaker 7: Do it the right way.
17:21
Speaker 5: I got a plan. I swear to you. All I
17:23
Speaker 5: think about it is you, guys, Detroit.
17:25
Speaker 11: You waited for this, sixty five thousand strong standing turn
17:29
Speaker 11: up the begin to get farmer team.
17:32
Speaker 10: You're good enough for Georgia.
17:35
Speaker 6: This is just the beginning, boys going we all bet
17:38
Speaker 6: how ke the liars?
17:40
Speaker 1: I'm going to the NFC Championship game with a trip
17:43
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl on the line. You guys are unbelievable, man,
17:46
Speaker 1: how hard it is to win the league in the playoffs.
17:49
Speaker 5: That's two, all right, that's two.
17:50
Speaker 2: There's gonna be something this city's proud of because they're
17:53
Speaker 2: gonna take on the identity to this city.
17:58
Speaker 5: Now, that is high video.
18:00
Speaker 1: I'm joined by Ian Rappaport, Stacy Dale's and third year
18:04
Speaker 1: Lion safety Kirby. Joseph Kirby, Like I said, that was
18:07
Speaker 1: a hype video. And speaking of hype, your teammate Aiden
18:10
Speaker 1: Hutchinson said, there is well deserved hype around your Lions
18:15
Speaker 1: after going to the NFC Championship game last season.
18:19
Speaker 5: What about that hype? Why is it well deserved?
18:22
Speaker 12: I mean it just goes to show that man, like
18:25
Speaker 12: you know we're here, you know, like the Lions, like
18:27
Speaker 12: we're not the same no more, like we're like we're
18:31
Speaker 12: just coming for it all, you know what I mean,
18:33
Speaker 12: Like we want to chance the narrative around the organization
18:35
Speaker 12: and just showcase for the for the fans of showcase
18:38
Speaker 12: for the city.
18:39
Speaker 9: Kirby.
18:40
Speaker 13: You know, I was actually at that NFC championship game.
18:42
Speaker 13: It's last season, of course. How transformative because this offseason
18:47
Speaker 13: it feels like this team is hungrier than ever And
18:50
Speaker 13: I'm just curious within the locker room as you get
18:53
Speaker 13: ready for training camp, how transformative that moment was knowing
18:56
Speaker 13: you were really that close.
18:58
Speaker 12: Like Cole was saying, man, it take a little bit
19:00
Speaker 12: them or like you just got to keep on going.
19:02
Speaker 12: You can never stock but once you stop, like it's over,
19:04
Speaker 12: you know. And the fact that we got that far,
19:07
Speaker 12: like it shows that we could do this, but we
19:09
Speaker 12: just got to put the little things together and just
19:11
Speaker 12: come together as a whole team.
19:13
Speaker 6: I want to ask about you personally for a second.
19:15
Speaker 6: You very famously picked off Aaron Rodgers three times in
19:18
Speaker 6: one season, and of course still I believe still have
19:21
Speaker 6: the ball that was his last pass as a package quarterback.
19:25
Speaker 10: Is that right?
19:25
Speaker 7: You still have it?
19:27
Speaker 4: I got it right here, I got it right here.
19:30
Speaker 5: I keep it wing.
19:33
Speaker 7: I got That's amazing. This is great, bro, props.
19:39
Speaker 6: How much do you keep track of Like, all right,
19:41
Speaker 6: I've intercepted this quarterback.
19:43
Speaker 7: I haven't got this one. This is on my list?
19:46
Speaker 6: Like how how closely do you track which quarterbacks you've
19:51
Speaker 6: picked off?
19:52
Speaker 7: And you have like a like a hit list as well.
19:54
Speaker 12: Everybody on the hit list, every quarterback I go against,
19:57
Speaker 12: Like I just because it's it's amazing to catch up football,
20:00
Speaker 12: Like I'm catch an interception in the NFL, Like it's
20:02
Speaker 12: just big, Like it's a big moment, Like going against
20:05
Speaker 12: Aaron Rodgers catching interceptions against him, Like that's just big,
20:08
Speaker 12: Like I just I just want them all.
20:10
Speaker 1: Well, kurb, But you know, we see in your first
20:12
Speaker 1: two seasons you've got eight interceptions, four in each season.
20:15
Speaker 1: But I'm looking at your tackling numbers, eighty two tackles
20:18
Speaker 1: in each of the past two seas you are asked
20:21
Speaker 1: to do.
20:22
Speaker 5: A lot and you deliver.
20:23
Speaker 1: But going into the season, one thing that's going to
20:25
Speaker 1: be talked about, especially in training camp, is the addition
20:28
Speaker 1: of the are the penalty for this hip drop tackle?
20:31
Speaker 5: Like, as someone who's.
20:33
Speaker 1: So involved in bringing guys down, how much do you
20:37
Speaker 1: guys discuss that?
20:38
Speaker 5: How much do you think about that?
20:40
Speaker 1: Is that really part of the consciousness when you have
20:42
Speaker 1: to make bang bang plays on the field.
20:45
Speaker 12: Honestly, I feel like it's not too much to think about,
20:47
Speaker 12: Like you just got to get them down no matter what,
20:49
Speaker 12: because like, once you get to thinking about tackling, like
20:52
Speaker 12: you get a little timid, and I don't like playing timid,
20:54
Speaker 12: you know, So I feel that for me, I'm finishes
20:57
Speaker 12: tackle of how I always been tackling. Just get them
20:59
Speaker 12: down and however it happened, whatever happens, happens. I'm not
21:03
Speaker 12: finna think too much about it. I think if I
21:05
Speaker 12: see ball off and go.
21:06
Speaker 13: Get the ball, well, you guys kind of curbing body,
21:09
Speaker 13: Dan Campbell right and Aaron Glenn, I mean, what.
21:11
Speaker 9: Did he say, one ash cheek and three toes.
21:14
Speaker 7: You're going on her kneecaps.
21:15
Speaker 9: I'm curious. I'm curious.
21:19
Speaker 13: You know, we all know that maybe to you it's infamous,
21:22
Speaker 13: but that famous Matthew Stafford, former Lion clip that.
21:26
Speaker 9: You know, he thought you might be a little bit dirty.
21:29
Speaker 13: At times, and although I think when he faced you
21:32
Speaker 13: he would say you played pretty clean. But how misunderstood
21:36
Speaker 13: are you? Because you know I've been around you, I've
21:38
Speaker 13: been around the locker room. I know how hard you
21:40
Speaker 13: play and how much of a dog mentality you have.
21:42
Speaker 13: But how misunderstood do you feel?
21:44
Speaker 12: I mean, you know, everybody's going to have their opinions.
21:48
Speaker 12: For one, I don't care, like you're not going to
21:51
Speaker 12: hurt my feelings or anything. Like I feel like with
21:54
Speaker 12: the hit, I mean, prayers out to him and his family,
21:56
Speaker 12: Like nobody wants to get injured, but injuries happened in
21:59
Speaker 12: this game. But I feel like that just comes with
22:02
Speaker 12: the league office, like they don't want us to hit
22:04
Speaker 12: them a high Like I made a hit one time
22:06
Speaker 12: up Hie and I got fined for it. So now
22:08
Speaker 12: it's just like if you stay at blow the bell,
22:10
Speaker 12: you won't get fined. And that's just what it's like
22:12
Speaker 12: forcing us to do. You know, I feel like they're
22:14
Speaker 12: just kind of limitating our play like, especially with the
22:16
Speaker 12: new hip drop tackle, like we have to make a
22:19
Speaker 12: concert like a like a very concerned effort just to
22:23
Speaker 12: make a tackle, and football has never been like that. Like,
22:26
Speaker 12: I play defense, and I play defense one because I
22:28
Speaker 12: like to hit and I like to tackle like so
22:32
Speaker 12: I feel like that just takes away from all the aggression.
22:34
Speaker 5: Jill Kirby.
22:35
Speaker 6: One of the developments that happened this offseason a couple
22:37
Speaker 6: of months ago or whatever that was, feels like a
22:39
Speaker 6: million years ago, is Antoine Winfield became the highest paid
22:43
Speaker 6: defensive back in the NFL as a safety. It is
22:46
Speaker 6: a first time in forever that a safety has been
22:51
Speaker 6: the highest paid's on a four year more than any
22:52
Speaker 6: four million dollar contract extension. You are not yet eligible
22:57
Speaker 6: for an extension, but as someone who is very good
23:00
Speaker 6: and new stats are very good, and it's kind of
23:01
Speaker 6: coming up in the national conversation of the young excellent safeties.
23:07
Speaker 6: Is that something you paid attention to? Is that something
23:09
Speaker 6: you took pride in? Knowing that the safety is the
23:11
Speaker 6: highest paid defensive back over a bunch of corners.
23:15
Speaker 12: I would say, shout out that boy, because he got paid.
23:17
Speaker 12: That's what's up. I don't pay that, no mind. All
23:20
Speaker 12: I could do is control what is in front of
23:22
Speaker 12: me right now, like as you said, like, I'm not
23:24
Speaker 12: even eligible for that, so I'm finna focus on this
23:26
Speaker 12: season or where about all that other stuff later?
23:28
Speaker 1: All right, kurb, Hopefully you can see this clip we're
23:30
Speaker 1: about to show you because it's on social media all
23:33
Speaker 1: over the place, and that is your teammate running back
23:35
Speaker 1: David Montgomery.
23:37
Speaker 5: Okay, let's call it up here, deadlifting more than seven,
23:40
Speaker 5: oh my god, hundred pounds?
23:42
Speaker 4: All right?
23:43
Speaker 10: That was strong.
23:44
Speaker 5: Okay, were you there like wow, like where is he
23:47
Speaker 5: doing this?
23:47
Speaker 1: Because I seeing like jerseys on the walls here, like
23:49
Speaker 1: the crib or what.
23:50
Speaker 12: I don't know why he I'm fine acts though, because
23:53
Speaker 12: that boy is super strong.
23:57
Speaker 5: Hurt the leads, hurt the lead.
23:59
Speaker 7: Let me stop.
24:02
Speaker 5: Hey, we know you can rack it up like that too.
24:04
Speaker 5: You know you're you're getting for sure put me under
24:06
Speaker 5: the bar.
24:07
Speaker 12: I gain fifteen pounds this season, so I'm looking to
24:09
Speaker 12: come in, you know, a bit more healthy.
24:12
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, so we're gonna be looking forward to
24:14
Speaker 1: You can probably get see a lot of stacy, especially
24:16
Speaker 1: up at training camp. But we got to get out
24:18
Speaker 1: of here, man. We want wish you and the Lions
24:20
Speaker 1: the best. You were fantastic. Thank you so much for
24:23
Speaker 1: the time. Again, We'll be seeing plenty of you this season.
24:25
Speaker 7: Kirby, Steve, Steve see stays go ahead.
24:29
Speaker 9: The hip, the hip is good. The hip is good.
24:31
Speaker 9: You're gonna be ready to go.
24:32
Speaker 1: Oh for sure.
24:33
Speaker 5: Ain't nothing.
24:34
Speaker 12: Yeah that hip, that hip not nothing for real. Like
24:36
Speaker 12: last season, I played through the injury and like it
24:39
Speaker 12: kind of like you know what I'm saying. It was there,
24:40
Speaker 12: but I feel like I feel ten times better now.
24:42
Speaker 12: So I just can't wait to get out there with
24:44
Speaker 12: the guys. Like that's just amazing. I appreciate you asking
24:47
Speaker 12: them so.
24:48
Speaker 1: Kirby, that's what we call a good pickup right there,
24:50
Speaker 1: because Stacey wanted to ask you about that offseason hip surgery.
24:53
Speaker 5: That's what teammates do. They look out.
24:55
Speaker 1: So well done by Stacy and good job by you,
24:59
Speaker 1: and we come back, Krbie.
25:01
Speaker 5: We're going to continue talking about the NFC North. Oh
25:05
Speaker 5: We're not.
25:05
Speaker 1: Done, because this could be one of the deepest divisions
25:07
Speaker 1: in football, and we're going to break down the teams
25:10
Speaker 1: trying to knock the Lions out.
25:12
Speaker 14: Of the top spot. That's next on the Inside. Welcome
25:22
Speaker 14: back to the Insiders.
25:22
Speaker 1: I'm Steve White with Ian Rappaport, Stacy Dales, and Brian Baaldinger. Guys,
25:26
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk training camp storylines for the NFC North.
25:29
Speaker 1: We're not going to talk the Lions because Kirby Joseph
25:32
Speaker 1: just told us all about them in that great interview.
25:34
Speaker 1: So Stacy, let's start with the Bears team that you're
25:38
Speaker 1: very familiar with you live right there in Chicago. Not
25:41
Speaker 1: only did they add Roma Dune Day in the draft,
25:42
Speaker 1: but the veteran wide receivers they've added to support Caleb Williams.
25:46
Speaker 5: What about those acquisitions?
25:48
Speaker 9: Yeah, I just I thought you'd never asked me on
25:51
Speaker 9: the Bears.
25:52
Speaker 13: But let me go, it is underrated, fellas, it is underrated.
25:57
Speaker 13: Just how significant Dj Moore and Key and Alan will
26:00
Speaker 13: be to Caleb Williams, the rookie quarterback who, by the way,
26:04
Speaker 13: biggest takeaway for him for me this offseason is how
26:07
Speaker 13: extremely competitive he is.
26:09
Speaker 9: Think about it.
26:11
Speaker 13: DJ Moore and Keenan Allen a.
26:13
Speaker 9: Combined seventeen seasons. Right more, six previous seasons. Allan eleven
26:19
Speaker 9: previous seasons.
26:20
Speaker 13: I checked with our research team, ad thank you thirteen
26:24
Speaker 13: hundred and sixty four receptions. Between the two over seventeen seasons,
26:28
Speaker 13: they shared over seventeen thousand receiving yards eighty eight receiving.
26:33
Speaker 9: Touchdowns for those two.
26:34
Speaker 13: Alan's been in the league a little bit longer, but
26:36
Speaker 13: they're going to help bail him out and make him
26:38
Speaker 13: look pretty good.
26:39
Speaker 9: Maybe a little early this season, Baldy.
26:41
Speaker 2: And really the question though, Stacey, is how soon can
26:44
Speaker 2: this all come together in a brand new offense that
26:47
Speaker 2: ever he's playing in with Shane Waldron as the offensive
26:49
Speaker 2: coordinator bringing his system to Chicago, How quickly can they
26:55
Speaker 2: all assimilate and then be productive with this rookie quarterback
26:58
Speaker 2: Caleb Williams. That truly the question mark right now because
27:02
Speaker 2: we all feel like the defense took a big jump
27:05
Speaker 2: last year. We feel like Fluse has got that in charge.
27:08
Speaker 2: He's got a lot of veteran that side. So that's
27:11
Speaker 2: really the question mark with his Bears team right now.
27:13
Speaker 2: Ian is how quickly can Shane taylorb along with Keenan
27:17
Speaker 2: and a Doonday and dj how quickly can they bring
27:20
Speaker 2: this together and become really a force the way we
27:24
Speaker 2: saw Houston last year of the course of the season,
27:28
Speaker 2: and what.
27:28
Speaker 7: Kind of strives.
27:29
Speaker 6: Can this offensive line making DeAndre Swift there? Now, how
27:32
Speaker 6: much can he help to go to pressure off the
27:33
Speaker 6: young quarterback?
27:35
Speaker 5: But you're right.
27:35
Speaker 6: I mean, we talk all the time about rookie quarterbacks
27:38
Speaker 6: and we all say the same thing.
27:39
Speaker 7: You gotta have patience, You.
27:40
Speaker 6: Got to give them time, got to let him play and.
27:42
Speaker 7: Make mistakes and all that.
27:44
Speaker 6: This supporting cast, because of how much talent there is,
27:46
Speaker 6: how many high profile acquisitions they've made over the last
27:49
Speaker 6: couple of years, the way they have drafted, the way
27:51
Speaker 6: they've traded, it is going to be hard to tamp
27:55
Speaker 6: down the expectations for this team.
27:57
Speaker 7: The other thing I would say is.
27:58
Speaker 6: Caleb Williams still a rookie, still a lot to learn,
28:01
Speaker 6: despite the really strong supporting cast around of it might
28:04
Speaker 6: take a minute from to kind of get his feet
28:06
Speaker 6: under him.
28:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they're still going to be expectations there in
28:08
Speaker 1: the Midway Ian Ian come, let's come back to you
28:11
Speaker 1: with Green Bay Packers. You know, we know Jordan Love
28:13
Speaker 1: talking about quarterbacks. Really finished seat strong last year. The
28:16
Speaker 1: Packers have basically given their every indication he's going to
28:19
Speaker 1: be their long term guy. What about him and a
28:21
Speaker 1: possible contract extension.
28:23
Speaker 7: Yeah, and he should be the long term guy.
28:25
Speaker 6: And you know, remember last year this time we all
28:27
Speaker 6: were wondering, you know, is Jordan love it and and
28:29
Speaker 6: what kind of strides would he make and what does
28:31
Speaker 6: he need to do to show the Packers he's It
28:33
Speaker 6: is pretty clear the way he played this year, not
28:36
Speaker 6: just on the field, but the way they responded to him.
28:38
Speaker 6: I mean, he is their franchise guy. So now it's
28:40
Speaker 6: really about it are they going to get a long
28:42
Speaker 6: term extension done with him at some point before training camp?
28:46
Speaker 6: The Packers do do extensions during training camp. Now all
28:50
Speaker 6: teams do, but they do. Certainly getting something done with
28:53
Speaker 6: him is their top priority. It's really just a matter
28:56
Speaker 6: of arriving at the right number. And then it's also
28:58
Speaker 6: a matter of does he let some of the other
29:00
Speaker 6: quarterbacks Stacy go first. Does he let let's just say
29:04
Speaker 6: Tua for instance, go first if he's going to do
29:06
Speaker 6: a deal. The timing of these quarterback issues always something
29:09
Speaker 6: to keep an eye on.
29:10
Speaker 9: Yeah, and there's no question it's going to get done.
29:12
Speaker 13: Ian, It's just a matter of to your point, when
29:16
Speaker 13: I think one of the tell tales in the NFL
29:17
Speaker 13: is why do players go places. I think you can
29:21
Speaker 13: arguably say now in green Bay, players want to go
29:23
Speaker 13: to Green Bay because they want to play with Jordan Love.
29:26
Speaker 9: You mentioned his season last year.
29:28
Speaker 5: Ian.
29:29
Speaker 13: The Packers, of course, made the playoffs. Nobody thought they would.
29:31
Speaker 13: They won seven of their last ten games. Jordan Love
29:34
Speaker 13: in that span. In those ten games seven wins led
29:37
Speaker 13: the NFL touchdown to interception ratio twenty one tds, three picks.
29:41
Speaker 13: But his last eight games Ian again to your point,
29:44
Speaker 13: they went six and two. He had massive numbers seventy
29:48
Speaker 13: percent completion rate, eighteen touchdowns to one gentleman interception, and
29:53
Speaker 13: a one thirteen passer rating. I think he's going to
29:56
Speaker 13: get a turkey leg on Turkey Day in Green Bay
29:58
Speaker 13: against the Dolphins, and that's looking way for our head,
30:01
Speaker 13: all right.
30:03
Speaker 2: When the season ended, the Backers showed Joe Barry the
30:06
Speaker 2: door and they brought in Jeff Hapin, head coach of
30:09
Speaker 2: Boston College who had coached in the NFL. He brings
30:11
Speaker 2: a completely different system, a four to three based system.
30:15
Speaker 4: He plays a post safety.
30:16
Speaker 2: They would have robbed the middle of the field when
30:17
Speaker 2: they play teams like the forty nine ers that want
30:20
Speaker 2: to sting you in the middle.
30:21
Speaker 4: Of the field.
30:21
Speaker 2: They got two new safeties thing Xavier McKinney and Javon Buller,
30:24
Speaker 2: the rookie. Like, I'm really curious how quickly Halfley's system
30:29
Speaker 2: really catches on with guys like Keyshawn Dixon and you know,
30:33
Speaker 2: JayR Alexander and all the first round picks they have
30:36
Speaker 2: on the outside of the ball, including Rashan Gary hitting
30:39
Speaker 2: Jared Goff right there. So this is what my eyes
30:42
Speaker 2: are concentrating on, is how quickly this defense comes together.
30:46
Speaker 1: Light bad, let's say, on the defensive side of the
30:47
Speaker 1: ball when we go up to the Minneapol. Brian Flores
30:49
Speaker 1: got that defense turned around over the season last year,
30:52
Speaker 1: but it has really been retooled.
30:54
Speaker 2: Look at those names on the bottom of your screen here,
30:57
Speaker 2: this is a completely brand new defensive I mean one
31:00
Speaker 2: two eight, including Brainerd and Cluder, Bullard, including Dallas Turner.
31:05
Speaker 2: I mean it is a brand new defensive line. Now,
31:08
Speaker 2: Ryan Flores is a master schemer. He's got a great system,
31:12
Speaker 2: but you break it in a brand new defense line.
31:14
Speaker 2: I haven't seen that in this league in a long time.
31:17
Speaker 2: I'm curious how quickly they come together up.
31:19
Speaker 13: Front, Baldy, I want to go to training camp to
31:22
Speaker 13: see one player, not Justin Jefferson.
31:25
Speaker 9: I'd love to see him.
31:26
Speaker 13: I want to go see Jordan Addison because I'm told
31:29
Speaker 13: he had an incredible offseason. Could this be the best
31:33
Speaker 13: wide receiver duo in the National Football League between these two?
31:36
Speaker 9: This young man on your screen.
31:38
Speaker 13: He had ten receiving touchdowns to lead all rookie receivers
31:42
Speaker 13: last season. He had four different quarterbacks in the process,
31:46
Speaker 13: and a stretch in which Justin Jefferson was injured I
31:50
Speaker 13: think it was seven games. This young man could have
31:53
Speaker 13: a whopping sophomore season in the NFL, and we'll see
31:57
Speaker 13: what happens.
31:57
Speaker 9: At quarterback.
31:58
Speaker 13: Sam Darnold has walked in I to a pretty nice
32:01
Speaker 13: situation with Kevin O'Connell in this offense.
32:03
Speaker 6: He really has and you know, the defense is going
32:05
Speaker 6: to be good. I think we know that, and the
32:07
Speaker 6: hope is that allows them to have some patience with
32:10
Speaker 6: JJ McCarthy. If Sam Donald ends up as a starting
32:13
Speaker 6: quarterback Week one, that is exactly fine because these defense
32:17
Speaker 6: is good enough. The other parts of this team are
32:19
Speaker 6: good enough to kind of keep things rolling until JJ
32:23
Speaker 6: McCarthy is ready.
32:24
Speaker 7: We just don't know when that's going to.
32:25
Speaker 2: Be all right.
32:26
Speaker 5: Grace up, guys, Stacy, I love it.
32:28
Speaker 1: Addison and JJ the best combo in the NFL wide
32:31
Speaker 1: receiver we'll see. But next up on the insiders, Deon
32:34
Speaker 1: Sanders dat Man Colorado. They're now joining the Big Twelve Conference.
32:38
Speaker 1: We're going to be joined by Big Twelve Commissioner Britt
32:41
Speaker 1: your Mark. Next on the Insiders, and while he thinks
32:44
Speaker 1: the Big twelve is the deepest conference in college football.
32:53
Speaker 1: The twenty twenty four NFL season is fast approaching and
32:56
Speaker 1: single game tickets are on sale now. Slash Tickets to
33:01
Speaker 1: purchase tickets today.
33:03
Speaker 5: Tickets are available.
33:04
Speaker 1: Through Ticketmaster, seat Geek, and Sports Illustrated Tickets, all members
33:09
Speaker 1: of the NFL Ticket Network. And right now you're looking
33:14
Speaker 1: at one of these cool three sixty lenses aerial shots
33:18
Speaker 1: of Allegian Stadium in Las Vegas, where the Big Twelve
33:20
Speaker 1: Conference held its.
33:22
Speaker 5: Media day today.
33:24
Speaker 1: And right there on the field, I believe the stadium
33:26
Speaker 1: the sixteen helmets Football Helmets are the teams that comprise
33:30
Speaker 1: the conference.
33:31
Speaker 5: That's from Utah. Football is a new number of the conference.
33:34
Speaker 1: And now we're joined by Conference Commissioner Brett your Mark,
33:37
Speaker 1: and Brett, you can tell that I'm a member of
33:39
Speaker 1: the media and you're the commissioner. By our varying attires
33:42
Speaker 1: for this interview right now.
33:43
Speaker 11: Well, I can tell you they're experiencing an incredible heat here,
33:47
Speaker 11: so I'd rather be in what you're wearing than in
33:50
Speaker 11: a suit.
33:51
Speaker 15: But after this interview, I might do a little wardrobe change.
33:54
Speaker 5: There we go.
33:55
Speaker 1: Well, Brett, you know today you held your media day
33:57
Speaker 1: and you addressed the media. I think you told me
33:59
Speaker 1: more than five one hundred and roughly five hundred media
34:01
Speaker 1: members were in attendance, and you said, this new Big
34:05
Speaker 1: twelve conference, which has sixteen teams, you're open for business.
34:09
Speaker 1: What exactly did you mean by that?
34:11
Speaker 11: Well, I mean I candidly I said that two years
34:14
Speaker 11: ago when I became the commissioner of the Big Twelve,
34:16
Speaker 11: and at the time I think it was misguided only
34:19
Speaker 11: from the standpoint of people interpreted it meant about expansion.
34:23
Speaker 11: But when you look at the new state of Affairs
34:25
Speaker 11: and Collegiate Athletics and this next chapter that we're going
34:28
Speaker 11: to be entering into, open for business means we have
34:31
Speaker 11: to explore everything and anything to create value for our
34:34
Speaker 11: member institutions and to drive revenue and certainly, that's what
34:39
Speaker 11: I was referencing this morning, and excited about the opportunities
34:43
Speaker 11: that are in front of us, and many of which
34:46
Speaker 11: were going to take full advantage of and.
34:48
Speaker 5: Speak of that. You had four new teams join the
34:50
Speaker 5: conference this year, all.
34:51
Speaker 1: Coming over from the PAC twelve Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado,
34:54
Speaker 1: and Utah.
34:55
Speaker 5: What about their addition to this conference.
34:58
Speaker 11: Well, listen, they've made us stronger and it's been great
35:00
Speaker 11: to get to know them and integrate them into the conference.
35:02
Speaker 15: Over the last twelve months. We got better in football.
35:06
Speaker 11: We certainly got better in basketball, being the number one
35:09
Speaker 11: conference in America. I wasn't sure that was possible, but
35:11
Speaker 11: adding some of those four corner schools, specifically Arizona, made
35:14
Speaker 11: us stronger, and we got stronger in Olympic sports, where
35:18
Speaker 11: many of the four Corners have excelled over the years.
35:21
Speaker 11: So the addition of the four corners not only makes
35:24
Speaker 11: us a truly national conference. We're in ten states now,
35:27
Speaker 11: four time zones, but we got more competitive across the board,
35:31
Speaker 11: and we got deeper across the board, which is very
35:34
Speaker 11: exciting for our fans.
35:35
Speaker 1: I love how you talking about four corners because the
35:37
Speaker 1: next person I'm going to ask you about played cornerback
35:40
Speaker 1: and football and Deon Sanders consider arguably the best cornerback ever.
35:44
Speaker 1: He's the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, and what
35:47
Speaker 1: about adding somebody with his gravitas and media presence to
35:52
Speaker 1: also help the football presence of the Big Twelve.
35:54
Speaker 11: I think it's very additive. I mean, Dean and I
35:57
Speaker 11: have become very close. I communicate with him quite often. Obviously,
36:02
Speaker 11: he's a football legend. I love his passion and energy
36:05
Speaker 11: for the game, and that plays out each week, you know,
36:10
Speaker 11: on the field with his team, and he brings a
36:13
Speaker 11: lot of eyeballs, no question about it, a lot of
36:15
Speaker 11: media attention to the conference, which is of.
36:18
Speaker 15: Great value to us.
36:19
Speaker 11: But we got sixteen great coaches in this conference and
36:23
Speaker 11: arguably some of the best coaches in the country.
36:26
Speaker 15: So Dion is a big part of that.
36:29
Speaker 11: We're excited for him and Colorado to be in the conference,
36:32
Speaker 11: and as you know, Colorado now returns to the Big
36:35
Speaker 11: Twelve where they were once before.
36:38
Speaker 1: You talk about the growth of the conference, but we're
36:40
Speaker 1: also seeing at college football the growth of the new
36:42
Speaker 1: playoff system where there's going to be twelve playoff games
36:45
Speaker 1: this year. How does the Big Twelve approach that, and
36:48
Speaker 1: what do you think about having the added games does
36:50
Speaker 1: to the overall exposure of college athletics.
36:53
Speaker 11: Well, listen, I like the twelve team format. I think
36:56
Speaker 11: access is great, certainly for our student athletes. I think
37:00
Speaker 11: it was a little limited before. So even though much
37:02
Speaker 11: of that conversation predates me as far as expansion, I
37:06
Speaker 11: was a part of it when we when we ultimately
37:08
Speaker 11: got it solidified, and twelve feels like a good number.
37:11
Speaker 11: But you know, we'll consider going beyond that if it
37:14
Speaker 11: makes sense. And but I think what's most appropriate right now,
37:18
Speaker 11: what we need to focus on is to get the
37:19
Speaker 11: twelve team format right as you as you know we're
37:23
Speaker 11: going to play those first round games on campus.
37:25
Speaker 15: We got to execute those flawlessly.
37:27
Speaker 11: But what's great about, you know, the twelve team format
37:30
Speaker 11: as we effectively have an AQ and the winner of
37:35
Speaker 11: our championship game we'll get into the CFP, and it
37:38
Speaker 11: makes that game much more you know, important in many respects.
37:44
Speaker 11: And I think the month of November, given the parody
37:48
Speaker 11: and the death of this conference, is going to be
37:50
Speaker 11: very exciting. In fact, we're going to brand it the
37:52
Speaker 11: Race to the championship, because I think there'll be very
37:55
Speaker 11: many scenarios in that month of November that will lead
37:59
Speaker 11: us to the two teams that ultimately find their way
38:01
Speaker 11: to Dallas on that first Saturday of December.
38:04
Speaker 1: Well, from the football perspective, we know the conference is
38:07
Speaker 1: loaded with a tremendous amount of talent and last year
38:10
Speaker 1: you partnered with the NFL Network to have a Big
38:12
Speaker 1: twelve Pro Day where a lot of those players were
38:14
Speaker 1: showcase for NFL scouts. What about that relationship and where
38:18
Speaker 1: do you think things are going forward?
38:20
Speaker 11: Well, the NFL relationship to me and to our conference
38:23
Speaker 11: is critically important, and I speak often Detroy Vincent, who
38:26
Speaker 11: has become a great partner, and if there.
38:29
Speaker 15: Are ways to extend and expand the.
38:32
Speaker 11: Partnership with the NFL, we're all in and we are
38:35
Speaker 11: exploring different options right now. I am happy to say
38:38
Speaker 11: that we're going to do the Big twelve Pro Day
38:39
Speaker 11: again in partnership with the NFL, and we're excited about it.
38:42
Speaker 11: It gave our student athletes a great stage, great visibility,
38:46
Speaker 11: and it was more than just.
38:49
Speaker 15: What played out on the field.
38:51
Speaker 11: I mean there was life lessons and skilled development for
38:56
Speaker 11: our student athletes that get them better prepared for life
38:59
Speaker 11: after foot ball, and that took part during this multi
39:03
Speaker 11: day pro day event in Dallas.
39:05
Speaker 15: So excited to be continuing that effort with the NFL.
39:10
Speaker 11: And you know, we got a lot out of it,
39:12
Speaker 11: and next year will be better than the first year,
39:14
Speaker 11: for sure.
39:15
Speaker 5: Brad.
39:15
Speaker 1: The one thing we talk about college athletics, of course,
39:17
Speaker 1: or the acronym, the NIL issue that's out there. Where
39:20
Speaker 1: do you think in terms of how the Big Twelve
39:22
Speaker 1: Conference is affected, and maybe just college athletics overall that
39:26
Speaker 1: NFL and as we get used to what's going on
39:29
Speaker 1: with NIL, how do you think that's going to affect
39:32
Speaker 1: maybe the conference building, the conference expansion, just the overall
39:36
Speaker 1: growth of college athletics.
39:37
Speaker 11: Well, listen, I got a taste of NIL before I
39:41
Speaker 11: even took the job as commissioner. In my former job,
39:45
Speaker 11: I worked at Rock Nation and we were in that
39:48
Speaker 11: NIL space, if you will, working with student athletes on
39:51
Speaker 11: helping them monetize their name, image and likeness. Now that
39:55
Speaker 11: I'm on this side, I continue to be an advocate
39:59
Speaker 11: for NIL. I mentioned earlier in my comments that you know,
40:03
Speaker 11: I've always been a firm believer in the value equation
40:06
Speaker 11: and those that create value should be rewarded, and I
40:08
Speaker 11: think the settlement that's been out there and discussed publicly
40:13
Speaker 11: affords student athletes with enhanced benefits which I think are good.
40:17
Speaker 11: So I'm a big supporter of NIL, good nil, And
40:23
Speaker 11: there's a distinction between pay per play and good nil.
40:26
Speaker 15: But I am an advocate of good NL for all
40:28
Speaker 15: the right reasons and to the extent that student athletes
40:32
Speaker 15: can take advantage of the brands they're building, why not.
40:35
Speaker 15: I think it's a wonderful thing, right, fantastic information. I
40:38
Speaker 15: love the energy you're bringing to the conference and the
40:40
Speaker 15: energy you brought to this interview.
40:42
Speaker 1: Now go ahead and make that wardrobe change. Wardrobe change,
40:45
Speaker 1: and good luck.
40:46
Speaker 5: The rest of the way.
40:47
Speaker 15: Thank you so much. Appreciate being with you.
40:51
Speaker 1: Two of Hard Knocks off season with the New York Giants.
40:55
Speaker 1: And that man there, Brian dave Ball. How fast is
40:58
Speaker 1: he really? Maybe we'll find out a little bit later
41:02
Speaker 1: later on tonight. Be sure to check out The Insider's
41:14
Speaker 1: podcast Monday through Friday. Scanned the QR code to subscribe
41:18
Speaker 1: and listen to the Insiders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,
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Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcast.
41:26
Speaker 5: Well, HBO is hard not to.
41:27
Speaker 1: Take me behind the scenes of the offseason with the
41:29
Speaker 1: New York Giants. Stream new episodes every Tuesday at nine
41:33
Speaker 1: pm on Max. Here's a sneak peek at tonight's episode.
41:39
Speaker 7: I guarantee you I could run a seven forty.
41:41
Speaker 5: I would like you guy it no way, no way.
41:43
Speaker 1: If you put a play full of wings on the
41:46
Speaker 1: other end, I'm doing that.
41:50
Speaker 5: So you think you could be.
41:51
Speaker 15: Less than three seconds behind him?
41:52
Speaker 10: Dave's yes, there's no doubt in my mind. I can
41:59
Speaker 10: run on he seven?
42:04
Speaker 7: You think I could run under him? Seven man?
42:09
Speaker 15: Dude, I saw you run across the street.
42:11
Speaker 10: I could run, oh man?
42:21
Speaker 1: Looking forward to that on Max at HBO tonight isn't
42:25
Speaker 1: doing by Ian Rapper and buying Baldinger?
42:27
Speaker 5: All right, Baldi? Daves? Seven seconds? What do you think?
42:31
Speaker 2: Well? I saw him at the last mini camp this
42:33
Speaker 2: year and I was I was starter.
42:35
Speaker 4: He's lost one hundred pounds.
42:37
Speaker 2: So sometimes when you lose that much weight and all
42:40
Speaker 2: of a sudden, you're tucking your shirts and right Steve,
42:42
Speaker 2: you start tucking your shirts and you feel good about yourself.
42:45
Speaker 2: You're confident underneath that jacket is a fast twitch man.
42:49
Speaker 2: I believe he's got a little fast twitch muscles. Maybe
42:51
Speaker 2: short legs Ian, but I think he can make it.
42:53
Speaker 4: Under Sell.
42:56
Speaker 7: Why did you say short legs Ian? You could have
43:00
Speaker 7: said short legs, Steve.
43:02
Speaker 5: I would have short.
43:03
Speaker 1: Legs Ian, Baldy, let me tell you this about the
43:05
Speaker 1: aging process, which you need to go aheady in real quick.
43:07
Speaker 7: No.
43:08
Speaker 6: So, I don't think Dave wal could run as seven
43:10
Speaker 6: second forty either, but our good friend Rigeison runs in
43:13
Speaker 6: the sixes. I feel like I could probably beat that,
43:16
Speaker 6: right like if we were doing it, Baldy, I don't know.
43:18
Speaker 7: I don't think I could beat you. Steve. I could
43:20
Speaker 7: probably beat but I don't think I could beat you, Baldy.
43:22
Speaker 1: What I would smoke you and then I'd be laid
43:26
Speaker 1: up in traction with a pull hammy.
43:29
Speaker 7: Why not running at away from the pool ham shrieks.
43:32
Speaker 7: I believe I'm out