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Football at Four: DiCecco's Look at the AFC North · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As the Eagles get ready to report the training camp
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: on July the twenty eighth, and of course, you can
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: listen to every Eagles preseason and regular season game and
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: playoff game right here on ninety seven to three ESPN.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Our Division previews continue. Last week, we took a look
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: at the AFC East. I love doing these kind of
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: get you in that football thought. You get to hear
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: a little bit about each and every team in the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: league and get Andrew to Checko's perspective, a guy who
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: knows the draft really well, how these new draft picks
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: will factor into these new teams. As we take a
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: look at the AFC North today with Andrew de Checko
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: from the Inside the Birds podcast set to join us
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: here on the Sports Pass for today's football at four. Andrew,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Welcome back, buddy. What's going on, Mike?
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: I'm doing great? How about getting Kenny Vania on the program? Man?
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Yes, I will tell you this.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: I don't know if there's still tickets available, but if
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: there is, I will be making the trip to Margate
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: on Saturday night to check it out.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: I know that it is selling very well. I will
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: see if my people can talk to their people, and
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: I will let you know. But yes, a great sport.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: That was a lot of fun. It's gold, Jerry, it
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: was gold. I thought it was a good conversation. All right, Andrew.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: We got the AFC nord. Today the Ravens are the
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: favorite minus one fifteen, the Bengals, the Steelers, the Browns.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Very interesting division. This one is these four teams don't
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: like each other. Let's start the Ravens, who very interesting team.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: No Harball for the first time in most of you
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: know people's lifetimes out there. It's like he's the only
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: coaching people can remember. But it was a good while
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: that Harball was there. He is now out.
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: How do you just think that changes this team?
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: Well, I think it's gonna add some more energy because sometimes,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: and I'm not saying it's the case with the Ravens, Mike,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: but the messaging can get a little stale. And you
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: bring in a young coach who maybe has a different
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: I think that can almost rejuvenate a franchise. And they
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: also have Declan Doyle helming the offense. And that's a
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: young a young coach that I know a lot of
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: folks around the league are excited about. And we'll have
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: to see if they have enough offensively. I think they
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: do from an offensive line perspective, But in terms of
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: just the skill players, we'll see if they have enough
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: to maximize it. But I do like what they have
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: from that perspective with regard to the running game with
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Derrick Henry and some of the you know, say Flowers
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: of course at wide receiver.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you take a look.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: They still have Henry, they have Flowers, and Mark Andrews
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: is still the tight end. Lamar Jackson big ear for him.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: You know, this is one guy. Everybody loves what he
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: does in the regular season. Do you question though about
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: him in the postseason? Do they not win because of him?
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Why do you think that this Ravens team, with Labar
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: so talented, multiple MVPs, why have they come up short?
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: It's a great question, and I don't necessarily put that
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: solely on Lamar. He's a part of it. He needs
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: to be able to elevate his game. You can say
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: that for a lot of top end quarterbacks in the
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: NFL when the lights are brightest, that's something that Jalen hurts.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: If we're going to kind of bring it back to
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: the Eagles, that's something that he does very well. But
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: I think it's a culmination of things because there are
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: moments where you can see teams sort of try to
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: take away the running game and then they put the
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: emphasis on Lamar Jackson to beat him with his arm.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: And Lamar Jackson so special is that he is a
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: dynamic talent and can do multiple things. He needs to
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: be better in those moments to be sure, but I
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: don't know that you can put it solely on him.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: There were coaching lapses, defensive lapses, and Lamar of course
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: not playing to the standard that he set in the
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: regular season oftentimes. But it's a fascinating study because despite
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: all of that, he's still widely regarded as one of
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: the NFL's premier quarterbacks. And I would say, rightfully so, all.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: Right, offense, we think in Baltimore a lot of times
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: it's Lamar Jackson, but we a lot of times think
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: of their defense.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: Give us a.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Little overview of where they are. They got some you know,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: interesting names on that side of the ball. But is
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: this a defensive first team still?
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: I would be I would lean towards yes. They added
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson, he's a premier pass rusher. They have a
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: nom De Mattabuque, who I like quite a bit formerly
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Justin Mattabuque. For those who are wondering who that might be.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: Teddy Buttanan's a linebacker right in that second level in
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: the middle of that defense, who I liked quite a
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: bit coming out of the draft. Nate Wiggins is a
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: bright young cornerback that I think has a ton of
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: potential and is still climbing and ascending. They have some
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: cornerstone pieces there, and yes, based off of my initial
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: read of this team, it's still going to be, you know,
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: dependent upon the defense I think to carry them, because
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: when I look at their offense, Mike, they do have
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: some headline players. I mentioned Za Flowers, you mentioned Mark Andrews,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Derrick Henry fifteen hundred yard season last year, but I
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: don't know if they have enough depth there to really
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: balance things out, if that makes sense.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: All right, Let's look at the Bengals. Everybody's favorite all
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: the time, and injuries have just ravaged this team.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: I say favored all the time.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: They made that Super Bowl, they went out the next year,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: beefed up their offensive line, and it seemingly nothing has
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: gone right for them since that Super Bowl. Still have
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: huge names on offense with Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, T Higgins,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Chase Brown the running back there. But is this offense
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: a finished product? Do they have the pieces just you know,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: if they're healthy.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: I still have questions about their offensive line. Their tackles
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: are pretty solid in Orlando Brown and Amarius Mems out
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: of Georgia. He was a raw prospect when he came out,
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: but he's really starting to develop a little bit. I
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: like what he can bring to the table from an
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: athletics standpoint. Dalton Reisner has.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: Been around a while. Their guard.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: That's a player that you know, I thought that when
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: he was with Denver he did some good things. Needs
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: to be a little bit more consistent there. And Chase
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Brown offensively, they're running back brothers of former Eagle safety
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Sydney Brown. Is a player that I think is primed
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: for a breakout season. Then, of course, you mentioned the
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: two wide receivers who are among the league's best, and
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: Jamar Chase and T Higgins. Joe Burrow can't do it
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: all himself, nor can you lean on those wide receivers.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: You do need offensive line play, and I think that's
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: something that has sort of gone by the wayside for
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: a while with the Bengals and has sort of precluded
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: them from taking a step further. That could still be
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: the case this year, but they have balanced things out
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: tremendously on the defensive side, which has really been their
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Achilles heel of late.
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: I was gonna say, you look at their defense. I
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: think you know they got Dexter Lawrence. That's a big
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: ad for them, Jonathan Allen. Those two guys in the middle, Mafe,
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: a guy that's got talent. Orn Brooks, the former Eagle,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: is there. You take a look at up front at
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: least it seems that they're pretty They're much better. Losing
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Hendrickson big loss for them, however, they should be pretty
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: solid upfront.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Miles Murphy, Jonathan Allen, I mean you mentioned boy
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: A Mafe. They added Brian Cook to the secondary. You
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: have Dax Hill at corner from Michigan, who I liked
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: coming out of the draft. They have more playmakers on
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: that side of the ball than I can remember. And
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: one of the more maddening things about the Bengals because
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: they have all this potential and you ask yourself, why
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: do they keep falling short year after year?
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: Well, I would.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Point to the offensive line, which has been leaky and
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: not protecting their quarterback in Joe Burrow. But kind of
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: like the Dallas Cowboys, their defense has been susceptible to
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: big plays. They haven't come through in big spots, and
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: they don't look as vulnerable this season, at least on paper.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: All Right, Steelers, Aaron Rodgers is back. We don't know
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: this is his final season. It feels like it will be.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: He's kind of indicated that it will be. Let's just
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: start with him. Can a team with Aaron Rodgers at
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: this stage of his career be a playoff, super Bowl
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: level team?
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: I certainly think so, as long as the offensive line
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: in front of him is able to protect him. And
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: I really like what they have from an offensive line perspective.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: But Aaron Rodgers is you know, he's still better than
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: a lot of starting quarterbacks out there, and what he's
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: going to have to do is just play within the offense.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: I don't know that he's going to be able to
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: be the playmaker the Aaron Rodgers of the prime Green
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Bay Packers years, but he is someone that you can
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: win football games with, and you know you're basing it
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: off of the last couple of seasons. I think this
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: is probably a good year to you know, for a
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: last hurrah if you will.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Metcalf and they went out and got Michael Pittman,
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: so he's got he's got some weapons.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Jeremy Bernard by the way, from Alabama as a player
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: that I looked at and I saw a polished product
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: who can kind of step right in and give you
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: some production early on. And so they have have some
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: good playmakers there offensive line, Troy Fatanu, Roderick Jones, and
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: you know they.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: They drafted the kid from Arizona State, right in the.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: First Honachore they had Maxie Honachore, that's right, and Mason
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: mccorm Mason mccarne in South Dakota. Yeah, some South Dakota
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: State was a player that I liked to lot. They
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: draft them in the fourth round in twenty twenty four.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: So they have a number of bodies there at a
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: number of capable bodies, I should say, to protect Aaron Rodgers,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: and I think that ultimately will be the driving force
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: of their offense.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, by the way, Mason Rudolph is back. Will
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Howard drew Alar from Aler from Penn State, So they've
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: got some interesting things behind Rogers if he, in fact
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: can't make it through. You know what's Aaron Rodgers now
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: forty one, forty two years old. So they do need
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: some depth at quarterback. Jalen Warren. By the way, they're
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: running back Pittsburgh, like Baltimore generally thought defensive mine it
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Lot Hayward. They've got the high Smith, Patrick Queen is
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: back there, Joey Porter, They've Jalen Ramsey. This sounds like
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: a really good defense.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they have playmakers on all three levels. You mentioned
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Derek Harmon, Keanu Benton out of Wisconsin. He's been in
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: the league for a few years now, but he's a
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: player that I think is kind of underrated. You mentioned TJ. Watt,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Alex Highsmith. You like the pass rushers there, Patrick Queen,
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: Peyton Wilson at as your off ball linebackers and the
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: teeth of that defense. You know that they have some
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: pieces there at playmakers at all three levels that I
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: think will compliment the offense. Where I think their offense
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: is going to be a little bit more productive than
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: last season, solely because I think that they've really shore
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: some things up with the offensive line. I neglected to
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: mention Jennings Dunker, who they drafted in the third round,
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: as well as another probably a guard who's gonna be
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: waiting in the wings, are certainly in contention for a
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: starting spot.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: This year also picked up a Sante Samuel Junior, who
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: hadn't played in a lot with that neck problem. I
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: don't know if even factors in that shows you they
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: have some interesting depth there. We talked about Jalen Ramsey,
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: this is a really good j.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: Kwon Brisker from the Chicago Bears. Jamel Dean at corner.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: Jack Sawyer by the way, as well, they drafted.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry, what did you say, Jack Sawyer. That's right,
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: that's right, Yes, I mean they've they had I mean,
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: at least on the surface, they had a good draft.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: They've addressed a lot of areas of need, and I
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: think their defense is going to sort of be a stalwart.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: You mentioned the Baltimore Ravens and being you know, dependent
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: on their defense. I think the Steelers defense is going
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: to be a little bit better.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's it's an interesting team.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: If Rogers could play at a high level, or even
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: like a good level, they should be interesting.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: They went out and got Pittman.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: You mentioned the draft choice, you know, so to help
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: their offense because their offense last year got very stagnant
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: at times. All Right, the Browns offense has been stagnant
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: for pretty much my lifetime.
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: Let's start at the quarterback position. How do you see?
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: I mean last year they had a lot of quarterback
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: musical cheers. Now Deshaun Watson his back, does he, for
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: your money step right back into the starting spot?
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: No. I think Shador Sanders might have something to say
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: about that, and I ultimately think they won the dust settles,
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: it will be Shador starting. I don't know if you're
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Todd Mounkin, who is their newly minted head coach, if
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: you're gonna feel overly comfortable with that situation. But that's
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: that's the world that we're living in right now. Quinn
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Shawn Judkins the running back, I have a big season
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: that to me screamed that they're gonna be a run
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: first team this year. But I do think that when
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: the dust settles, you'll see Shador Sanders emerge as the
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: brown starting quarterback.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: That would be the first interesting storylining there, because obviously
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson they gave up a ton for he didn't play.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Now he's back, he was not good. I mean, why
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: do you think he just never was the player that
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: he was in the time off? And I mean we
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: see guy Michael Vick took time off and came back,
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: and you know some guys miss a season or so
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: within he doesn't look anything like the player that he was.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: No. And I even go back to a couple summers
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: ago when the Browns were here and Deshaun Watson had
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: a really difficult time, looked like a shell of himself.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: I don't know that he it was ever he's ever
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: really been able to regain the previous form that he
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: had prior to all that. And you have to wonder,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: at this stage of his career, Mike, is that is
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: that like going to come back on. I would tend
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: to say, no, I don't. I don't know that you're
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: going to find, uh that you're going to suddenly rediscover
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: that at this stage of the game right now, Which
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: is why I'm more inclined to lean towards Shador Sanders
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: as the young player who has a He's going to
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: be motivated, he's got a lot to prove. I think
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: he's going to enter camp really hungry and and prime
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: to take over that spot.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: Uh, Boston, Jerry Judy Fannin got some weapons there, I
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: mean this is his offense. Yeah, Casey Concept John as well.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Is this offense interesting to you at all? I mean,
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: or is it going to be a Browns offense that
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: we've seen? This Browns offense the last couple of years
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: has been comically bad.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not overly enthused with that offense. They did
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: draft Spencer Fano, they have Titus Howard, Elton Jenkins, so
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: I think the running game should be able to benefit
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: from that. But in terms of just the overall passing
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: game and having a well rounded offense that's going to
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: be able to keep them in games, I don't foresee that.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: I still think they have a ways to go. There's
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: going to be some growing pains to be expected, certainly
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: if Shador is the quarterback. That have some young pieces there.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: You mentioned Denzel Boston and Casey Conception. Those are two
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: really intriguing players. I just don't know if they're ready
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: to headline and face a lot of the pressure that
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: they're going to take on this season. They still feel
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: like a team that's a year or so away from
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: from really having all the pieces come together and then
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: being a little bit more competitive.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Well, where they have been very good is on the
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball. But obviously Miles Garrett is
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: no longer hear Verse takes his spot. But they we've
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: got a lot of interesting players. I mean, the defense
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: has been pretty solid. You feel bad for them at
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: times because they have worked and tried their ass off
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball, they just have
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: not got a lot of help. Who are some of
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: the guys that stand out to make this defense a
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: competitive one?
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Malie Collins and Mason Graham. Right in the middle of
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: that defense. You've talked about Jared Verse Denzel Award to me,
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: for some reason at this stage of the game, is
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: still not being talked about enough as one of the
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: better cornerbacks in football. I think maybe from a national
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: perspective you can make a case for that. But they
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: have a lot of a lot of playmakers there, and
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: I think that addition for Jared of Jared Verse is
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: ultimately going to open things up for teammates to be
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: able to clean up and make plays. And I led
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: with the two defensive linemen and Mason Graham, namely Mason
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: Graham as someone that can end Elie Collins as two
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: players that should be able to occupy blockers and free
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: things up for Jared Verse. But they have a lot
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: of other capable players on all three levels of that defense.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Well, they have perpetually pulled up the rear in this division.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: They are plus twenty one hundred to win the North.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: The Steelers are plus five ten, the Bengals are plus
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: one ninety four, and the Ravens are the favorites in
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: that division at minus one fifteen. So that's the way
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: they think it will go. Last year, the Steelers did
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: win it. They were ten and seven, Baltimore finished eight
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: and nine, Cincinnati six and eleven, and Cleveland at five
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: and twelve. So not a you know, powerhouse team last
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: year Baltimore Cincinnati ton of injuries.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: How does the North go this year?
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: This is one of the more fascinating division breakdowns you
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: know that you're gonna find. And I think the Ravens
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: lead the way, followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers that Mike
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: McCarthy led Pittsburgh Steelers. Then I will go with the
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: Cincinnati Bengals and at the pururbial basements of the AFC
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: North the Cleveland Brown. Some things never changed, Mike. I
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: still think, as I mentioned that they're a year or
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: so away, I could see the vision. I could see
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: the vision, and I think Todd Munkin is gonna get
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: some good things going on. But I just don't think
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: that they're ready at this moment to challenge for anything.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Three new coaches in the division should be very interesting again.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Steelers were the champions last year. Andrew likes the Ravens
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: this year, the NFC North. Next week we'll take a
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: look at the AFC South, very intriguing division, which is
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: a division the Eagles will face this year. So you
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: get the breakdown of those four teams. Andrew to check
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: O Football at four for the Inside the Birds podcast.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: Inside the Birds dot Com is back with that preview
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: next week right here on Football at fourth. Thanks man,
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: you're welcome, Mike, Take care all right? That was gold
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Andrew Gold. Yes, uh good stuff from Andrew to check
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: O here on the Sports Batch Live on ninety seven
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: to three ESPN