Latest / Football Junkies podcast / Stack or Shed Ep.1 (AFC Edition)

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Stack or Shed Ep.1 (AFC Edition) · Football Junkies podcast

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With the regular season coming to a close and
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the playoffs on the horizon, I decided to start
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a new series called Stack or Shed. Now in this
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series, we're going to be discussing all the
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teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs
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so far, and we're simply going to answer these
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simple questions. What went wrong in their season?
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What do they need? Stack or Shed, which essentially
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means do they continue to build with what they
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have right now, or do they just scrap everything
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and start all over again? Their draft picks.
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One move I would do in their cap space as well
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as their free agents, okay? Now, the first two
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episodes would be fairly lengthy because there's
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a lot of teams. But after that, we're going to
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transition into just doing one team per episode.
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So in this episode, we're going to do the AFC.
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And then the next episode, we're going to do
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the NFC. So let's start with the Titans, okay?
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What went wrong in their season? And I would
0:51
venture to say it was the lack of playmakers
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and inexperienced coaching. Now, at first I was
0:56
going to say bad coaching, but I don't think
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Brian Callahan is a bad coach. I just think he
1:01
bit more than what he can chew. And the reason
1:03
why I say that is because a lot of times these
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first time head coaches, when they go into these
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situations like the Titans or the Giants or the
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Jaguars or the Cardinals, you know, teams that
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are going through hard rebuilds, it's a lot to
1:18
take on. And a lot of times you're not going
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to be the answer on why that team changes and
1:23
becomes better. A lot of times you're going to
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be the sacrificial lamb. And that's exactly what
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happened. Not to mention, we can all agree that
1:31
under Brian Callahan's tenure, the Titans did
1:34
not improve. And in some ways you could say they
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were stagnant. So we can't say that he's either...
1:40
a bad coach or a good coach, but instead we can
1:43
just say that he's a coach that walked into a
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situation that he couldn't overcome. And that's
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okay. Now, the other problem that derailed the
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Titans this season was the lack of playmakers.
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Now, granted, Tony Pollard and Tajay Spears and
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Elick Umanor were doing their thing, but... This
1:58
was more of a group effort. This wasn't just
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one person being dominant. Here's the stats of
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all their playmakers this season. Tony Pollard,
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228 rushing attempts for 1 ,034 rushing yards,
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4 .5 rushing yards per carry, 5 rushing touchdowns,
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and had 30 receptions for 189 receiving yards.
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Tajay Spears, 69 attempts for 265 rushing yards,
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3 .8 rushing yards per carry, 2 rushing touchdowns,
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and had 38 receptions for 255 receiving yards.
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Aquanu. 74 targets for 54 receptions, 558 receiving
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yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Elick Ayumanor,
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79 targets for 38 receptions, 465 receiving yards,
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and four receiving touchdowns. Chamiri Dyke,
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70 targets for 45 receptions, 396 receiving yards,
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and four receiving touchdowns, as well as 18
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rushing yards, just to put that out there. Gunnar
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Helm, 55 targets for 44 receptions, 357 receiving
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yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Van Jefferson,
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52 targets for 29 receptions, 350 receiving yards,
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and one receiving touchdown. touchdown. Calvin
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Ridley, 36 targets for 17 receptions and 303
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receiving arms. Now, granted, if it wasn't for
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Cam Ward being the distributor that he is, I
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think these stats would have been a lot worse.
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But Tony Pollard and Tajay Spears were doing
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their thing in certain games. Elika Uminor was
3:20
showing a lot of promise. So I think there is
3:23
some promise, but at the same time, you need
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more playmakers. Now, am I saying that you can
3:29
go out and you can get a dominant wide receiver?
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No. Because most likely, they're not going to
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want to go to the Titans because the Titans are
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going to be winning a lot of games anytime soon.
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But instead, I think it would be better if you
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just draft one. Now, with that being said, let's
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talk about what do they need. And that is new
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coaching staff and more playmakers. Now, here
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are just some of the head coaching candidates
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that may be available this offseason. Van Joseph.
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Chris Shula, Jeff Halfley, Matt Nagy, Joe Brady,
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Robert Sala, Jesse Minter, Clint Kubiak, Arthur
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Smith, Kevin Stefanski, maybe even Mike McDaniels.
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Now out of those candidates, realistically speaking,
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who would you really want? Because me personally,
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I would say maybe Clint Kubiak or maybe Kevin
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Stefanski, maybe Arthur Smith, because right
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now you need an offensive head coach for Cam
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Ward's development. I understand that Van Joseph
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has done well this year, Chris Shula, Jeff Halfley,
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Joe Brady, Robert Sala, Jesse Mentzer. I understand
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they've all done well, but I want Clint Kubiak.
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If you put Clint Kubiak with Cam Ward, I guarantee
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you this offense will look a whole lot better
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next season than what they have been the last
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two or three years. And if you don't believe
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me, look at the Bears. This time last year, the
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Bears offense was either the worst or close to
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being the worst offense. Now look at them. You
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could consider them to be a top five, maybe a
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top three offense in the entire league right
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now. And that's from just making one move. If
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you're the Titans, that's all you need to do.
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You get Clint Kubiak, I guarantee you things
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are going to be a whole lot better. You're going
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to see production out of people that you wouldn't
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have expected. Now, with that being said, the
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question we all need to ask ourselves is stack
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or shed? Now, me personally, I said stack. And
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the reason why I say that is because you have
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some pieces. All you have to do is continue to
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build off of it. And you can continue to build
5:26
off of it by making the most important decision
5:28
that you need to make, which is hiring the right
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head coach. If you do that, I guarantee you everything
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else will fall into place. Now, with that being
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said, you have nine picks in next year's draft.
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You have your first, your second, your third,
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your fourth. You have two fifth round picks,
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two sixth round picks, and a seventh round pick.
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Now, the one move I would do is draft a wide
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receiver. Now, I know there's a lot of people
5:50
that are already turned off, but just hear me
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out for a second. I understand that most people
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will say, oh, the Titans need to draft Arville
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Reese or Sonny Stiles or this high -end pass
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rusher. No, you need to surround Cam Ward with
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weapons. productive weapons to be specific. You
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can get someone like a Makai Lemon or Carnell
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Tate, a Denzel Boston, just to name a few. I
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think if you add one of those wide receivers,
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this offense goes from being a mediocre offense
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to a really good average to slightly above average
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offense. And I think that's good. Now, when we
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look at their cap situation for next year, they're
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going to have 114 .9 million. which is fairly
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good. I feel like they could probably have a
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little bit more if they make a few different
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moves, maybe get rid of Calvin Ridley, maybe
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restructure a few deals and whatnot, maybe some
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extensions, who knows? But when we look at their
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free agents, you have Kevin Zeitler, Arden Key,
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Sebastian Joseph, Van Jefferson, Brandon Allen,
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Johnny Hecker, Morgan Cox, Jihab Ward, Joey Sal,
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James Lynch, just to name a few. So honestly
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speaking, could you bring back some of these
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free agents? Sure. Are you in a rush to bring
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them back? Not really. I mean, Kevin Zeitler,
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I don't know if he still wants to play. If he
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does, you can bring him back for a cheap deal.
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Same thing with Arden Keyes. Same thing with
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Sebastian Joseph. Van Jefferson, you can just
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let him walk. Brandon Allen, you can let him
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walk. Johnny Hacker, you can let him walk. Honestly
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speaking, there's certain parts in this team
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where you can get cheaper. and then there's other
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parts where you may have to invest a little bit
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more money now am i saying you gotta just you
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know spend a boatload of money in the first round
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of free agency no but at the same time if there's
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somebody that you really prioritize that you
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want to make sure that they don't hit free agency
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just lock them up right now now on to the colts
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the two things that i believe that went wrong
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in their season were injuries and losing too
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many games Because there was a point in time
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where I believed that they were the best team
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in the entire league. Because they were just
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killing teams left and right. Defensively, they
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were dominant. Offensively, they were putting
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up crazy numbers. Jonathan Taylor at one point
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looked like an MVP or Offensive Player of the
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Year candidate. And there were even points where
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I believe that Daniel Jones probably could have
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been an MVP as well. Now, I know I could have
8:01
been, you know, drinking from the cup a little
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bit, but that's how dominant they were playing.
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And then to just see them just fall off a cliff
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like how they have been the last few weeks is
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just crazy to me. But at the same time, this
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is what happens year after year with a lot of
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these teams. They come out guns blazing. And
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then once we get to the key points of the season,
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they just fall off. It happens all the time.
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Now, with that being said, when we talk about
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injuries, however, I know injuries is a part
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of football, but it's key injuries that I believe
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that caused the team not to win as many games.
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Specifically, Daniel Jones. Once Daniel Jones
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went down, their season was essentially over
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in my book. Because I believe no matter who they
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bring in, they're not going to be able to replicate
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that same momentum that they had with Daniel
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Jones. They couldn't use Anthony Richardson because
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he was still in IR. Riley Leonard is not proven.
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Who else could they go to? Ah, I know. They're
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going to call Phillip Rivers. The same Phillip
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Rivers that hasn't played football in over five
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years. Because they believe that by getting Phillip
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Rivers, he's going to bring stability back into
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this team. Which I don't blame them for because
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at that time, they still had a chokehold within
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their division. They were one of the best teams
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in the AFC. He's familiar with Shane Stuyton's
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system. He's familiar with some of the players
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on this team. So it's a no -brainer. However,
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this move was done at a time where they were
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going to start facing a lot of their tougher
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opponents on the schedule. They were going to
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start facing teams like the Seahawks and company,
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who you know have really dominant defenses. So
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I don't hate the Colts for making the move. It's
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just, it sucks to see that they made all of these
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moves this offseason and they were off to a really
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good start just for them not to make it in the
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playoffs. But at the same time, this isn't a
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race. This is a marathon. With that being said,
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I believe the Colts should continue to stack.
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And the reason why I say that is because right
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now you have a lot of good pieces on your team.
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There's no need for you to get rid of them. You've
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already made a significant investment at corner
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by giving up two first round picks to get sauce.
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So there's no need for you to just get rid of
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people. All you have to do is just address the
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few holes that are on this team. And I guarantee
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you, you're right back into being playoff contenders
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next year. Guaranteed. Because let's be honest
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here. If Daniel Jones doesn't get hurt, I guarantee
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you they would have at least fought to the end
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to possibly make it into the playoffs. With that
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being said, I believe the Colts should continue
10:27
to stack. And the reason why I say that is because
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you have to continue to let this thing play out.
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Because for all intents and purposes, next year
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could be the year where they make that crazy
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playoff run. Or better yet, win the Super Bowl.
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They're not in a bad spot. All they have to do
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is just address the few holes that are on this
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team. And they're right back to being playoff
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contenders. Now, with that being said, they have
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five to seven draft picks, depending on, you
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know, comp picks and whatnot. So, of course,
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they don't have their first. They have their
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second, their third, their fourth, fifth, sixth,
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and seventh. Now, with the draft not being an
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offensive heavy draft class, I think the Colts
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could possibly trade up into the first round.
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Because I believe, and this is just my personal
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opinion, and I know I have to talk about it,
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and I probably will either do a full episode.
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or at least half an episode talking about the
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draft and my views about the draft. But I truly
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believe that a lot of teams are going to trade
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out of the first round because 26 is the draft
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class that people need to be worried about. It's
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27. Because in 27, you could possibly have Archie
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Manning, Lenora Sellers, Jeremiah Smith, Ryan
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Williams. I could continue to go down the list.
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You could potentially have five to maybe seven
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quarterbacks that may be drafted within the first
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three rounds. Now, I understand that the draft
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is a coin flip, and I understand that there's
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a chance that a player might do great or bad.
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But at the same time, I heard a lot of people
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going into this season say the 26 draft class
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is going to be really good because Drew Howler
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is going to be there. Lenora Sellers might be
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there. Archie might be there. The list goes on
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and on. But in actuality, it hasn't panned out
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well. A lot of people have either hit the transfer
12:10
portal or just gone back to school. And a lot
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of people haven't played well. So when you factor
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all those things in, 26 is not the draft class
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you need to be worried about. It's the 27 draft
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class. Look at what the Rams, Cowboys, and Jets
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are going to do. Keep your eye on that because
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we're going to be talking about that moving forward.
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Now, one move I would do if I was the GM for
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the Colts, I would draft a right tackle. Now,
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I know there's a lot of people that are probably
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saying, why are you so obsessed with the offensive
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line? Offensive line this, offensive line that.
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Offensive, offensive, offensive line. Hear me
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out, okay? Braden Smith is going to be your free
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agent. Are you really going to bring back Braden
12:52
Smith when his market value, according to Spoltrak,
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is $13 .8 million? When you know you're going
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to have to give a big deal to Daniel Jones, and
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you know you're going to have to pay Michael
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Pittman Jr., and you know you're going to have
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to pay Jonathan Taylor a lot of money, no, you're
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not going to do that. You're going to go cheap
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at right tackle. Not to mention, there's a few
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good prospects at right tackle. Spencer Fonu,
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there's a right tackle from Miami. You could
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have some potential really good right tackles
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that come out of next year's draft class. I would
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make that move compared to just paying Braden
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Smith a boatload of money. And this is no shot
13:29
at Braden Smith at all, but sacrifices are going
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to have to be made. Now, with that being said,
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when we look at their cap for next season, they're
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going to have $54 .2 million. Now, can they create
13:39
a little bit more? Yes, of course. Anybody can
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do that. They can do some restructures, cut a
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few people, move some money around, you know,
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same old, same old. Okay, so I'm not really worried
13:49
about that. Now, when we talk about their free
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agents, like I just said, you're going to have
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Braden Smith, Daniel Jones, Samson Abukam, Quidi
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Pei, Mo 'Ali Cox, Danny Pinter, Alec Pierce,
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Jermaine Pratt, Neville Gilmore, Nick Cross,
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Jacob Phillips, just to name a few. Now, out
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of all of those names, realistically speaking,
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who do you think they're going to bring back?
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You know they're going to bring back Daniel Jones.
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Alec Pierce is most likely going to come back.
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Nick Cross, maybe Quiddipay, maybe Mo Ali Cox
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for tight end def. They don't have a lot of top
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end people that they have to pay a lot of money
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to. But at the same time. There's a chance that
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Jonathan Taylor may want more money. There's
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a chance that maybe this person may hold out
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or that person may hold out. So only time will
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tell. But I do believe that the Colts are in
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a really good spot. And I do believe that they'll
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be back to being playoff contenders next season.
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Now let's talk about the Raiders. So what went
14:46
wrong in their season? Bad coaching, lack of
14:49
talent, and bad roster construction. So let's
14:52
start with bad coaching. I understand that Pete
14:54
Carroll is a player's coach and I understand
14:56
there's a lot of players that love him, but I
14:59
never believed that the Raiders players bought
15:02
into what Pete Carroll was trying to sell them.
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Now, if this was a few years ago, oh, this Raiders
15:08
team would be all in on what Pete Carroll is
15:11
trying to sell them. But nowadays, I feel like
15:13
Pete Carroll's message has gone stale. I believe
15:16
that just the very aura that Pete Carroll used
15:20
to have. has withered away, and that's okay.
15:24
But what you can't do is bring in Chip Kelly
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and make him your offensive coordinator and think
15:29
this is going to work. It wasn't going to work.
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It was not going to work, folks, okay? Let's
15:34
really be honest here. Did you really think that
15:37
Chip Kelly was going to be this innovating mastermind
15:40
for this offense? No. Let me just read to you
15:43
some stats just to back this up, okay? They had
15:45
the 32nd ranked offense, and they averaged 14
15:49
.2 points per game, 247 .8 yards per game, 4
15:54
.5 yards per play, and 25 touchdowns. Now, if
15:57
you break that down by passing offense and rushing
15:59
offense, they were 27th in passing offense, and
16:02
they averaged 172 .8 passing yards per game,
16:06
5 passing yards per play, and 20 passing touchdowns.
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They were dead last in rushing offense, and they
16:11
averaged 74 .9 rushing yards per game, 3 .6 rushing
16:16
yards per play, and 5 rushing touchdowns. Five
16:19
rushing touchdowns. They just drafted Ashton
16:23
Gentry, and all you could do was get five rushing
16:26
touchdowns. Put a bookmark on that for a moment,
16:29
okay? When we go a little bit deeper with some
16:31
advanced stats, okay? Their offensive explosive
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pass rate was 12 .7%. Their offensive explosive
16:38
run rate was 8 .6%. They have 108 red zone plays
16:44
for 18 red zone touchdowns. Now, when we look
16:47
at their defense, okay, they allowed a 14 .6
16:51
% defensive explosive pass rate. They allowed
16:54
a 9 .8 % defensive explosive run rate. They allowed
16:58
214 red zone plays and also allowed 37 red zone
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touchdowns. Could you blame this on the players?
17:05
Yes. Could you blame this on the coaching staff?
17:07
Yes. But I feel like a lot of the attention needs
17:10
to go towards the front office because what you
17:13
have built is not sustainable. And what you have
17:17
currently needs to just be shredded. Now, I understand
17:20
Raiders fans probably don't want to hear that
17:22
because you're tired of going through rebuild
17:23
after rebuild after rebuild after rebuild, but
17:26
you really need to just scrap with what you have
17:29
because what you have right now is not sustainable.
17:32
Now, I understand that's probably not the best
17:35
move, but it's the most necessary move. Now,
17:38
the good news is you're going to have a lot of
17:40
picks. You could potentially have eight to 10
17:42
picks depending on the comp pick system, all
17:45
right? So, of course, you're going to have your
17:46
first, your second, your third. You're going
17:48
to have two fourth round picks, a fifth, a sixth,
17:51
and a seventh. Okay, which is good. Now, the
17:54
one move I would do, and I know Raiders fans,
17:56
you probably have all said this as well. I'm
17:59
moving off of Max Crosby. I understand that the
18:02
fan base loves him and he loves the fan base,
18:04
but this relationship isn't working. They haven't
18:07
gone anywhere since he's been with the team.
18:10
Now, sure, they've had a few different spurts
18:12
where the team is playing really good ball and,
18:14
you know, they're making some noise and whatnot,
18:16
but they don't have that consistency. They'll
18:19
have a team that's good for maybe two or three
18:21
seasons, and then guess what? They're going through
18:24
the same cycle all over again, which is what?
18:26
Being in the top five or top 10 range for every
18:29
single draft. Now, according to Spoltrak, if
18:32
a team trades for Max Crosby, he only has guaranteed
18:35
money in 26, and that's only 30 million. However,
18:40
his money in 27 becomes fully guaranteed on March
18:43
13th. Now the Raiders would take on a dead cap
18:46
this upcoming season of 5 .1 million, which they
18:50
would save 30 .7 million. So either way, this
18:53
is a win -win situation for both sides. Now the
18:56
question is this, what's Max Crosby's value right
19:00
now? Because I believe that his value has diminished
19:03
a little bit. He's still worth a first round
19:05
pick. It's just, you could have gotten two first
19:08
round picks for him. if you would have done this
19:10
in the offseason. Now, the question is this.
19:13
Who would be willing to trade for Max Crosby?
19:16
Would it be the Ravens? Would it be the Eagles?
19:19
Would it be the Cowboys? Because he has a market.
19:22
Make no mistake about that. He has a market.
19:25
The question is, will the Raiders be willing
19:28
to entertain teams? And if so, how long would
19:32
it take for them to make this move? Now, of course,
19:34
they're going to have a lot of cap space because
19:36
they essentially have nobody on their books.
19:38
They're going to have 121 .2 million, which,
19:42
I mean, that's not bad at all, right? But when
19:44
we look at their free agents, you're going to
19:47
have Kenny Pickett, Eric Stokes, Landon Roberts,
19:50
Lonnie Johnson, Raheem Mostert, Dylan Parham,
19:52
Jamal Adams, Tyler Lockett, Devin White, Zamir
19:56
White. These aren't really big contracts that
19:59
you would have to give them, honestly. A lot
20:01
of these people are either going to retire or
20:03
just go on to another team, honestly. Would you
20:06
want to bring back maybe Kenny Pickett? Maybe.
20:09
Do you want to bring back Jamal Adams or Devin
20:12
White? Maybe. But I don't think this isn't something
20:16
where, oh, we have to do something now or we're
20:19
going to lose him. Like, no, trust me. Now, the
20:22
question is this. If you're a head coach candidate,
20:25
would you take this job? Now, I know a lot of
20:28
people will say, hell yeah, I'll take this job.
20:30
This isn't Madden, okay? This isn't something
20:32
where you can just pick this person and pick
20:34
that person. You can just add them to your team
20:36
and everything's going to be a -okay and whatnot.
20:38
No, this is life, okay? But really ask yourself
20:42
this. Do you believe that if you was to bring
20:45
in your coaching staff, that you guys would be
20:47
able to turn this thing around? And then ask
20:50
yourself this. How quickly can you turn this
20:53
team around and how quickly can you start winning
20:55
again? Now, I'm not saying you have one really
20:58
good season where you're probably like 10 -4
21:01
or you make it to the second round in the playoffs
21:04
or whatever. No, I'm talking about consistently
21:06
winning year after year after year. Okay, now
21:11
let's talk about the Jets. So what went wrong
21:14
in their season? Inconsistent quarterback play,
21:16
a stagnant offense, and an inconsistent defense.
21:19
Now, when we look at the stats, okay? They had
21:22
the 28th ranked offense and they averaged 18
21:25
.3 points per game, 272 .4 yards per game, 4
21:30
.5 yards per play, and 25 touchdowns. Now, if
21:34
you break that down, they were dead last in passing
21:37
offense and they averaged 145 .8 passing yards
21:40
per game, 4 .4 passing yards per play, and 14
21:43
passing touchdowns. They were seventh in rushing
21:46
offense and they averaged 126 .7 rushing yards
21:50
per game. 4 .7 rushing yards per play, and 11
21:53
rushing touchdowns. Now when we look over to
21:55
their defense, however, they were 23rd in the
21:58
league and they allowed 29 .3 points per game,
22:02
348 .4 yards per game, 5 .5 yards per play, and
22:07
51 touchdowns. They were 16th in pass defense
22:10
and they allowed 213 .4 passing yards per game,
22:14
6 .7 passing yards per play, and 32 passing touchdowns.
22:19
They were 27th in run defense and they allowed
22:21
135 rushing yards per game, 19 rushing touchdowns,
22:26
and 4 .4 rushing yards per play. Now this is
22:29
how the Jets matched up statistically against
22:31
the league, okay? So they were 29th in success
22:34
rate at 40 .5%. They were 29th in pass EPA at
22:39
negative 0 .182. They were 25th in rush EPA at
22:44
negative 0 .61. They were dead last in red zone
22:48
touchdown rate at 38 .5%. They were dead last
22:52
in explosive pass play rate at 10 .4%. They were
22:56
seventh in explosive run play rate at 12 .2%.
23:00
They were 28th in third down conversions at 34
23:03
.6%. And they were fourth in pressure rate faced
23:07
at 44 .9%. Now defensively, they were 30th in
23:12
pressure rate at 32 .8%. They were 28th in explosive
23:16
pass play rate allowed at 18 .1%. They were 22nd
23:21
in explosive run play rate allowed at 11 .9%.
23:24
They were 14th in success rate at 43 .5%. They
23:29
were 16th in passing yards allowed per game at
23:31
211 .1%. They were 27th in rushing yards allowed
23:37
per game at 127 .1%. And 30th in points allowed
23:41
per game at 27 .5%. Now, with that being said,
23:45
after reading all of those stats, we can all
23:48
agree that on both sides of the ball, the Jets
23:50
were just bad. Now, offensively, Justin Fields
23:54
was just very inconsistent. Outside of that first
23:57
week, it was just a never -ending rollercoaster
24:00
with him. Now, if you pair that with Gary Wilson
24:02
being inconsistent and the run game being the
24:05
only bright spot on this offense, I don't know
24:08
what else to tell you. Justin Fields is just
24:11
not a good quarterback right now. Now, can you
24:13
blame that on the Bears? Yes. Can you blame that
24:15
on Pittsburgh? Somewhat. That's a deeper conversation
24:19
for another day. But the fact of the matter is
24:21
he's hurt his reputation more. And at this point,
24:24
if I'm Justin Fields, I'm looking for a backup
24:27
role. And I just want to learn. I want to refine
24:30
myself. I want to become a better passer. And
24:33
I just want to become a better quarterback overall.
24:36
Now, defensively, I'm not really surprised because
24:38
they've been inconsistent this entire season.
24:41
There was never a point where the defense was
24:43
just a little bit consistent for maybe like two
24:45
to four weeks. It was one game they're playing
24:48
really good. And then the next two or three games,
24:50
they're just downright atrocious. And it just
24:52
kept on happening week after week after week.
24:55
And it also doesn't help that you trade away
24:57
Quinton Williams and Sauce Gardner. Now, do I
25:00
think this team is in a really bad spot and all
25:03
is lost and you just have to get rid of everything?
25:06
No. You just have to continue to stack this team.
25:10
The offensive line is good. The run game is good
25:13
as long as Brees Hall stays, which I don't think
25:16
he's going to stay. I think he's probably going
25:17
to leave. But I think you can bring in another
25:19
running back and I think everything will be fine.
25:21
But that's another story for another day, right?
25:23
I think you have pieces on this team. I just
25:26
think you have to find a way for everything to
25:28
fit. And I think once they find everything to
25:31
fit, I think they're going to be in a really
25:33
good spot. It's just going to take some time.
25:35
You have to replace Quentin Williams' spot. You
25:37
have to replace Sauce Gardner's spot. You have
25:40
to find a better bridge quarterback than Justin
25:42
Fields. Now, all of this can be done, but it's
25:45
just going to take some time. Now, when we look
25:47
at their draft picks, you're going to have a
25:49
lot of them, all right? We all know you're going
25:51
to have two first round picks. We all know you're
25:53
going to have your second, your fourth, your
25:54
fifth, your sixth, and your seventh. Now, you're
25:56
going to have a little bit more depending on
25:57
the comp picks, all right? Now, one move I would
26:00
do if I was the GM for the Jets is find a bridge
26:03
quarterback. And when I mean find one, I mean
26:06
find a bridge quarterback. Don't just go after
26:08
somebody because you like the oohs and ahhs.
26:11
Go after somebody that you know that can win
26:13
you a few games. You can get someone like a Jacoby
26:16
Brissett. Shoot, you could just give Tyrod Taylor
26:19
an extension. Or you get Mack Jones or maybe
26:23
Kirk Cousins if he wants to join the team and
26:25
whatnot. You have options, okay? but you have
26:28
to find a competent bridge quarterback. Do not
26:31
try to trade up to try to get Fernando Mendoza.
26:34
You're gonna lose that battle. Instead, address
26:36
other positions of need on this team, and then
26:38
in 27, you go out and you get your franchise
26:40
quarterback. And when we look at their cap space,
26:43
they're gonna have 99 .2 million, which isn't
26:46
bad at all. So you could be playmakers in free
26:48
agency, but it's gonna be very limited, okay?
26:52
Now, when we look at their free agents, Andre
26:54
Sisco, Tyrod Taylor, John Simpson, Quincy Williams,
26:57
Elijah Vera Tucker, Tony Adams, Josh Reynolds,
26:59
Isaiah Oliver, Brees Hall, John Meche, Chris
27:02
Boyd, Stone Smart, Jelani Woods, just to name
27:05
a few. Now, you don't have any big ticket free
27:07
agents, but I feel like you have enough free
27:10
agents to where you don't have to sign them,
27:13
but if you value them a lot, then you can just
27:15
bring them back for the love. Just being honest
27:18
here, okay? Now let's talk about the Browns.
27:20
So what went wrong in their season? Inconsistent
27:23
offensive play calling and execution, lack of
27:26
offensive weapons, and not winning enough games.
27:28
Pretty straightforward, right? So when we look
27:31
at their stats, they had the 30th ranked offense
27:34
and they averaged 16 .2 points per game, 266
27:37
yards per game. 4 .4 yards per play, and 26 touchdowns.
27:41
They were 29th in passing offense, and they averaged
27:44
170 .3 passing yards per game, 4 .7 yards per
27:48
play, and 16 passing touchdowns. They were 27th
27:52
in rushing offense, and they averaged 95 .7 rushing
27:55
yards per game, 3 .9 rushing yards per play,
27:58
and 10 rushing touchdowns. Now, from a play calling
28:00
perspective, Kevin Stefanski has nobody to blame
28:04
but himself. Because there were points in games
28:07
where you could have easily won the game, but
28:10
you decided you wanted to make a boneheaded move.
28:13
And a lot of times, it costed you that game.
28:15
There was a point, and I forgot what game it
28:18
was, where they kept on running the same play
28:20
over and over again with Quenshawn Junkins as
28:23
quarterback. Why? I don't know. So it's those
28:26
type of things that are going to cost you games.
28:29
And I wouldn't be surprised if the Browns fired
28:31
him this offseason because let's be honest here.
28:34
He hasn't done a good job this year. Now, I understand
28:37
everyone can, you know, have the conspiracy theory
28:40
that, oh, he doesn't like Shador and all these
28:43
crazy. Shoot, there was even something where
28:45
someone trying to make a connection where his
28:48
wife is apparently. The daughter of the reporter
28:53
who Deion Sanders threw water on like back in
28:56
the day or whatever. Something crazy, right?
28:58
It didn't make any sense. But the fact of the
29:01
matter is the play calling was very inconsistent.
29:04
And that's probably one of the reasons why they
29:06
didn't win as many games. Now, from the execution
29:08
standpoint, you could put some blame on the quarterbacks.
29:12
But at the same time, they're rookies. My expectations
29:14
for them are fairly low, but at the same time,
29:17
they could have executed a few plays a little
29:19
bit better. But we all know that after one offseason,
29:23
they're going to be a whole lot better. Now,
29:26
from the lack of weapons perspective, you have
29:28
to blame that on the front office, okay? Harold
29:30
Fannin Jr. has been probably one of your most
29:32
productive offensive weapons outside of Jerry
29:35
Judy. The offensive line has essentially aged
29:38
out. Your running back room is fairly young.
29:41
That's not a lot to really hang your hat on.
29:44
And they have a lot of things that they're going
29:46
to have to address in this offseason. You're
29:48
going to have to rebuild the offensive line.
29:50
You're going to have to bring in more weapons.
29:52
You're going to have to do different things just
29:54
so you can make this team a little bit better
29:56
because... The defense isn't a problem. It's
29:59
just the offense. If you can find some stability
30:02
with the offense, I guarantee you this team will
30:05
be in a better place next season. Now, if you
30:08
want to compare Shador's stats to all the other
30:11
quarterbacks in the league, here they are. He
30:13
is 15th out of 40 quarterbacks specifically in
30:16
passing yards. He is 35th in completion percentage.
30:19
He is tied for dead last in passing touchdowns.
30:23
He is tied for the fourth most interceptions.
30:25
He is tied. for 25th in yards per attempt, and
30:28
he's 35th in EPA per play. Now, can you blame
30:32
that on the lack of weapons that he has? Sure.
30:34
Can you blame that on the late calling? Sure.
30:37
Could you blame that on a plethora of different
30:39
things? Yes. But some of the things that Shador
30:42
did, he didn't need to do. The stuff where he's
30:44
trying to roll out of the pocket multiple times,
30:47
he don't need to do that. But at the same time,
30:49
I know that after one offseason, he's probably
30:51
not going to do that anymore. A lot of times
30:54
after that first offseason, players tend to drop
30:57
bad habits. Now, if they continue on with those
30:59
bad habits, hey, that's just you and the coaching
31:02
staff that you deal with, okay? Now, the not
31:05
winning enough games part, that's pretty self
31:07
-explanatory. You just have to win more games.
31:09
That's it. And honestly, that's more directed
31:12
towards the offense to the defense because the
31:14
defense has been holding their own this entire
31:17
season. It's just the offense that are hit or
31:19
miss sometimes. That's all. Now, what do they
31:22
need at this point? Of course, more offensive
31:25
weapons, a better O -line, and better play calling
31:28
and execution. Now, do they stack or shed? I
31:32
would venture to say stack. And the reason why
31:35
I say that is because you have a foundation.
31:38
And I think it's a foundation that you can build
31:40
off of for the next few years or until you feel
31:44
like you may want to take a quarterback in 27.
31:46
Because I feel like that's what they're probably
31:48
going to do. Now with the draft picks, all right,
31:50
you have eight to nine draft picks. We all know
31:53
you have two first round picks. You have a second,
31:55
a third, a fourth. You have three fifth round
31:58
picks. You have a sixth and two seventh round
32:00
picks. You have a pretty good amount of draft
32:03
picks that you can use to really build this team
32:05
out. So you could address the offensive line
32:08
with two or three picks. You can get a few weapons.
32:10
You can do a plethora of different things. Now
32:12
one move I would do, now this may be controversial,
32:15
but just walk with me, all right. The one move
32:17
I would do. It surrounds Shador with a competent
32:20
offense. Now, I know that's very controversial.
32:23
You probably stopped listening to this. Thank
32:25
you for listening, okay? But just walk with me
32:28
for a moment, honestly. I think Shador Sanders
32:32
has shown enough that you have to ride with him.
32:34
I understand Dylan Gabriel showed you a little
32:37
bit of promise, but there's something in Shador
32:39
that you just have to give him a chance. Because
32:42
let's be honest here, the only reason why he
32:45
fell was because of his mouth. If him and Deion
32:48
Sanders didn't say anything, he would have been
32:50
drafted in the first round guaranteed. Because
32:52
there were teams that had him on their board.
32:55
But because they said, oh, we're not going to
32:57
go to this team or, oh, we're only taking interviews
33:00
if you're drafted at this point and whatnot,
33:03
everybody was turned off. And they wanted to
33:05
prove that, listen, you are not bigger than the
33:08
Shield. The Shield will always be bigger than
33:11
any other player, whoever you are, whatever your
33:14
accolades are, whatever your last name is. Now,
33:17
with that being said, yes, you still want to
33:19
keep Dylan Gabriel, of course. But if you believe
33:22
that Shador Sanders is going to take this team
33:25
to the next level, roll with it. But if you don't
33:28
believe it, in 27, whatever you need to do, you
33:31
trade up or you tank or whatever it is, and you
33:34
get your quarterback, whether that be Archie
33:36
or Lenore Sellers or whomever. Now, when we look
33:38
at their cap space, 5 .4 million. Yes, I know
33:42
that's not a lot, but they can do some restructures,
33:44
move some money around, cut some people, trade
33:46
some people, and they'll probably have some cap
33:48
space. Because they've been doing this for, I
33:50
don't know how many years now, with Deshaun Watson's
33:52
contract. And when we look at their free agents,
33:54
Joel Betonio, Wyatt Teller, David Njoku, Cam
33:57
Robinson, Ethan Pokich, Shelby Harris, Devin
34:00
Bush, Tevin Jenkins, Jerome Ford, DeAndre Carter,
34:03
Jerome Bakerson, Rashawn Jenkins, Martin Emerson,
34:06
Cam Thomas, Kendrick Green. Now, out of all those
34:08
people I just listed, I'm only bringing back
34:11
a handful. Tevin Jenkins comes to mind, Devin
34:14
Bush, Shelby Harris, maybe Jerome Ford, maybe
34:18
David Njoku. But outside of them, everybody else
34:21
can just go. Test your market. If you go to another
34:24
team, okay, cool. If you come back, okay, cool.
34:27
That's it. Because let's be honest here. With
34:29
multiple players on the defense making a lot
34:31
of money, you want the offense to be cheap. And
34:33
the reason why I say that is because take a page
34:36
out of the Eagles playbook, right? They've invested
34:39
a lot of money into the offense, but what do
34:41
they do with the defense? They kept it cheap.
34:43
They haven't invested a lot of money into it.
34:45
Now, I understand that they have to pay Jordan
34:47
Davis soon and Jalen Carter and this person,
34:50
that person, but out of all those people that
34:52
they're going to pay, are they really going to
34:54
pay the market value? Most likely not. Some of
34:58
them, they're probably going to get traded. Some
35:00
of them, they're probably just going to let them
35:01
walk. So I would do that exact same thing if
35:04
I'm the Browns. Surround Shador Sanders or whoever
35:07
the quarterback is going to be with young, cheap
35:10
talent and just let them grow. Because the defense
35:13
is going to be the reason why you're going to
35:15
continue to win games and possibly go on a playoff
35:17
run. The offense is just there to maintain whatever
35:21
lead that you have. Now, I know I could be wrong,
35:24
but... That's just how I view things. Now let's
35:26
go to the Bengals. So what went wrong in their
35:28
season? Bad roster construction, the lack of
35:31
defensive playmakers and execution, and inconsistent
35:33
offensive play. Now when we look at their stats,
35:36
okay, they had the worst defense in the entire
35:39
league, and they allowed 29 .5 points per game,
35:42
392 .2 yards per game, 6 .3 yards per play, and
35:46
51 touchdowns. They were 27th in pass defense
35:50
and they allowed 243 .3 passing yards per game,
35:53
7 .2 passing yards per play, and 33 passing touchdowns.
35:57
They were dead last in run defense and they allowed
35:59
148 .9 rushing yards per game, 5 .2 rushing yards
36:04
per play, and 18 rushing touchdowns. Now, are
36:06
we surprised at these stats? No. Because they
36:10
don't have Sam Hubbard, they don't have Trey
36:12
Hendrickson, and they don't have a lot of playmakers
36:14
on that side of the ball. DJ Turner is probably
36:17
the only bright spot on that defense. Outside
36:20
of him, who else can you say is a playmaker?
36:23
Miles Murphy? Jamar Stewart? You know, the person
36:25
that held out the entire offseason for a contract
36:28
and then finally gave in? No. Demetrius Knight?
36:30
No. Who else? But this is what happens when you
36:33
allocate the money the wrong way. I understand
36:36
that your three best players are on the offense,
36:38
but at the same time, you still have the defense.
36:41
You still got to put some money there. And you
36:43
didn't do enough on the defensive side. And clearly
36:46
it shows statistically. Better yet, let's go
36:48
a little bit deeper, okay? They allowed the most
36:50
total yards per game at 392 .2. They allowed
36:54
the most passing yards per game at 254. They
36:57
allowed the most rushing yards per game at 148
37:00
.9. They allowed the worst explosive pass play
37:03
rate at 20 .1%. And they allowed the worst run
37:06
play rate at 13%. I'm sorry here, folks. The
37:09
stats say it all. That defense is historically
37:13
bad. And I understand they had some spurts when
37:16
they were playing some really good ball and they
37:18
were doing their thing. I know the Steelers game,
37:20
we're not going to talk about that, right? But
37:21
the fact of the matter is this. If you're the
37:23
Bengals, you have to start making some investments
37:26
into the defense. Because if you don't, guess
37:29
what's going to happen? Joel Burrow is basically
37:31
going to throw his arm out every single season
37:34
just so you guys can win five or six games. Now,
37:36
that doesn't mean you have to invest a lot of
37:38
money into that side. You can keep it cheap by
37:40
just start hitting on your defensive draft picks.
37:42
That's it. Now, here's the crazy thing. The Bengals
37:45
defense actually did better without Trey Henderson
37:47
this year. You don't believe me? Here are the
37:50
stats. They were four and five without Trey Henderson,
37:54
and they allowed 27 .8 points per game. 378 .7
37:59
total yards per game, 245 .2 passing yards per
38:02
game, 146 rushing yards per game. They had two
38:06
sacks and a 59 .7 defensive success rate. Now
38:09
with Trey Hendrickson, they were two and five
38:11
and they allowed 31 .7 points per game, 409 .6
38:16
total yards per game, 265 .3 passing yards per
38:19
game, 152 .6 rushing yards per game. They averaged
38:23
one and a half sacks a game, 12 .1 pressure.
38:26
per game and a 55 .1 defensive success rate,
38:29
which is promising, but there's still room for
38:32
growth. Now let's shift things over to the offense,
38:34
okay? Here are some stats that show the Bengals
38:37
offense with Joe Burrow and without Joe Burrow.
38:40
Now with Joe Burrow, they were 5 -2 and they
38:42
averaged 28 points per game, 335 yards per game,
38:46
87 rushing yards per game, a 44 .7 % success
38:50
rate, a 58 .6 pass play percentage, and a 26
38:53
.6 red zone touchdown percentage. which isn't
38:56
bad. But here's the stats for the Bengals offense
38:58
under Joe Flacco. So the record was four and
39:01
five, and they averaged 29 .1 points per game,
39:05
356 .9 yards per game, 267 .2 passing yards per
39:10
game, 102 .2 rushing yards per game, a 47 .7
39:14
success rate, and a 62 .5 % pass play percentage,
39:18
as well as a 26 .7 % red zone touchdown percentage.
39:22
Now, I know a lot of Bengals fans are a little
39:24
butthurt right now with all the stats I just
39:26
read. But the fact of the matter is this. You
39:28
can make a strong point to keep Joe Flacco just
39:31
in case Joe Burrow gets hurt again. Because I
39:34
would venture to say, if you keep Joe Flacco,
39:37
this team will stay afloat. We saw what he did
39:39
with the Browns. We saw what he did with the
39:42
Bengals when he first got there those first maybe
39:44
three or four weeks. Hell, we saw what he did
39:46
against the Steelers on Thursday night. You don't
39:49
think that's promising? You don't want that as
39:51
your backup? If it was me personally, I would
39:53
give Joe Flacco 10 million just to sit on the
39:55
bench. And I know that's a little bit excessive,
39:56
but he has something that can't be taught. And
39:59
that's experience. And I think with his experience,
40:02
I think it'll make someone like a Joe Burrow
40:04
a whole lot better. Not saying that Joe Burrow
40:06
is bad. Bengals fans, don't come in my DMs. Don't
40:09
come in the comments and say, oh, you don't know
40:11
anything about football. No, just listen to me,
40:13
okay? When you look at that generation of quarterbacks,
40:16
right? The pace of the game for them is completely
40:18
different. The way that they're able to manipulate
40:21
defenses is completely different. The knowledge
40:24
that they have against different defensive coverages
40:26
and different defensive coordinators and whatnot.
40:29
I would pay a boatload of money just to have
40:32
someone like that on my team because that can
40:34
help you with the preparation for a lot of games.
40:37
Now, with that being said, we have to talk about
40:39
the run game because this is just my personal
40:41
opinion. I could be completely wrong, but ever
40:43
since Joe Mixon left the Bengals, their run game
40:46
really hasn't been the same. Like when Joe Mixon
40:48
was with the Bengals, that was another person
40:51
that you had to worry about, not only in the
40:53
rushing game, but in the receiving game as well.
40:55
And since his departure, I mean, sure, you have
40:58
Chase Brown. He's done a good job. Sure, you've
41:01
had Samaj P. Ryan. Sure, you've had Taj Brooks.
41:04
You know, you've had different people, but they
41:06
don't replace what Joe Mixon did. So I decided
41:08
to compare the stats of Joe Mixon's last year
41:11
with Chase Brown, Samaj P. Ryan, and Taj Brooks.
41:14
So Chase Brown this year. 219 rushing attempts
41:17
for 947 rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing yards per
41:21
carry, and 6 rushing touchdowns. Tomaje Piran,
41:24
76 rushing attempts for 340 rushing yards, 4
41:27
.5 rushing yards per carry, and 3 rushing touchdowns.
41:30
Taj Brooks, 16 rushing attempts for 45 rushing
41:33
yards and 2 .8 rushing yards per carry. Joe Mixon's
41:37
last year. 257 rushing attempts for 1 ,034 rushing
41:41
yards, nine rushing touchdowns, and had 4 .1
41:45
rushing yards per carry. The proof is in the
41:46
pudding here, folks. They missed Joe Mixon. Now,
41:49
I understand that Joe Mixon is a different running
41:51
back than those three running backs, but what
41:53
I'm trying to get at is that the Bengals need
41:56
to get back to having a really good run game.
41:58
And the reason why I say that is because that
42:00
eliminates Joe Burrow having to drop back 35,
42:03
45, maybe even 50 times a game just to put up
42:07
25 or 26 or 32 points. I think if the run game
42:11
is good, you can control the pace of the game,
42:14
control the time of possession game, and you're
42:16
able to wear down on defenses. But if you continue
42:19
to just throw darts at Jamar Chase and Mike Gusecki
42:22
and Tee Higgins, the defense ain't going to get
42:24
tired. You're going to get tired because every
42:26
single time that you score, your defense isn't
42:29
going to do anything and you have to go right
42:30
back on the field. You don't believe me? Look
42:33
up the stats. Now, what do they need to do? For
42:35
starters, you have to start drafting better.
42:37
And I'm talking about on offense and defense.
42:39
And the reason why I say that is because as long
42:42
as you're paying Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and
42:44
Tee Higgins all that money, You have to make
42:47
everything else cheap. And I think as long as
42:50
you do that, you're going to see the fruits of
42:51
your labor compared to just keeping those three
42:54
and just saying, oh, as long as we got those
42:56
three, everything's going to be fine. They're
42:58
going to be the reason why we go to the Super
43:00
Bowl. They're going to be the reason why we're
43:01
going to have this dominant team for the next
43:03
five to 10 years. No, you're not. You're not
43:05
going to go anywhere. The next thing the Bengals
43:07
need to do is find a new head coach. Granted,
43:09
I understand they went to the Super Bowl with
43:11
Zach Taylor. They went to multiple AFC championships
43:14
with Zach Taylor, but... Right now, it would
43:16
be best for both parties to just go their separate
43:18
ways. Because what they have right now is not
43:22
successful. And honestly, you're going to be
43:24
the scapegoat, bro. So just go somewhere where
43:26
you can maximize your potential instead of staying
43:29
with this crappy team and this crappy organization
43:31
and this crappy ownership group. I'm just being
43:33
honest here. I understand that Zack Taylor gets
43:37
a lot of flack. But we also need to direct a
43:40
lot of that smoke to the ownership and to the
43:42
front office of the Bengals. Because year after
43:45
year after year, they continue to neglect the
43:48
needs of this team and they continue to take
43:50
the cheap way out. At some point, this isn't
43:53
going to work. And at some point, people are
43:55
going to want to leave. You can already start
43:58
to feel that Joe Burrow maybe wants a new change
44:00
of scenery. Now, am I saying he's going to just
44:03
flat out request a trade this offseason? No.
44:06
But I wouldn't be surprised if he's thought about
44:08
it. Because think about it. I'm on a team that's
44:11
not going to go anywhere. Trey Henderson is going
44:14
to leave. The one time that I was actually outspoken
44:16
about the organization, they gave me what I want,
44:19
but at the same time, it came at the cost of
44:21
me not showing up, me being hurt again, and us
44:24
missing the playoffs again. So at some point,
44:27
you just need to just admit it. This whole experiment
44:30
is a failure. It was nice in those first two
44:33
or three years where they actually had a defense
44:35
and, you know, the league didn't have an answer
44:38
for Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins and Joe Burrow.
44:40
It was nice. But guess what? Everybody has caught
44:44
up to them. Everybody knows how to beat them.
44:46
Let's just be honest, all right? Now, the question
44:48
is this. Do they stack or do they shed? And I
44:52
would venture to say stack. Now, I know it's
44:54
probably not the best option, but at this point,
44:57
you just have to stack with what you have. Granted,
45:00
you have your quarterback, which is great. You
45:02
have weapons. All you need to do is just finish
45:05
what you started. Invest into the interior offensive
45:08
line. maybe get you another running back if you
45:11
want to do that. And the rest of those draft
45:12
picks, flood it with the defense. Whatever hole
45:16
that you have on the defense, use all those picks
45:18
for them. Now, granted, you have six draft picks,
45:21
all right? You have your first, your second,
45:23
your third, your fourth. You don't have a fifth.
45:24
You have a sixth and a seventh. Now, you can
45:26
do something with that. Now, the question is
45:28
this. What is going to be your priority? Is it
45:31
going to be the defense because there's a lot
45:33
of good prospects on that side of the ball? Or
45:35
are you going to do something with the offense?
45:37
Or are you going to trade down? They have options.
45:40
The question is, are they going to make the right
45:42
decision? Because it is the Bengals, folks. Now,
45:44
one move I would do if I was the Bengals GM is
45:47
draft a defensive player, specifically an edge
45:49
rusher. And the reason why I say that is because
45:52
Trey Henderson isn't coming back. Sam Hubbard
45:55
has retired. You need somebody to pair with Shamar
45:57
Stewart. Now, you can get David Bailey. You can
45:59
get Arvel Reese. You can get Mason Thomas. You
46:03
get Peter Woods if you wanted to. You have options.
46:06
And I would rather for this organization to invest
46:08
into another pass rusher than to go after a corner
46:11
or safety or inside linebacker because guess
46:14
what? That pass rusher would be the reason why
46:16
that quarterback thinks twice before they hike
46:18
the ball. That pass rusher could be the reason
46:20
why they sealed the game. So for all the people
46:22
that are saying, oh, go. after caleb downs or
46:25
go after this corner go after this inside linebacker
46:28
stop it get your pass rusher shut up and with
46:32
that being said they're going to have 77 .8 million
46:35
in cash space which is really good now they could
46:37
probably have more if they restructure some people's
46:39
deals move some money around cut a few people
46:40
whatnot you already know but when we look at
46:42
their free agents Of course, Trey Hendrickson,
46:44
Joseph Asai, Ted Karras, Geno Stone, Joe Flacco,
46:47
Noah Fant, Cam Taylor Britt, Dalton Reisner,
46:50
Tanner Hudson, Cameron Sample, Isaiah Foskey,
46:53
just to name a few, right? Now, out of all those
46:56
people, who do you think the Bengals are going
46:58
to bring back? It's not going to be Trey Hendrickson.
47:00
It may not be Joseph Asai. Maybe Cam Taylor Britt,
47:04
but I think he'll probably test free agency.
47:05
Joe Flacco? Maybe Noah Fant? I don't know, but
47:08
only time will tell. So let's talk about the
47:11
Chiefs. Yes. The Chiefs. I know everybody wants
47:14
to talk about the Chiefs. Oh, is the era over?
47:17
And I understand I was one of those people that
47:19
said, yeah, the era is over for the Chiefs. They're
47:21
not going to win any more Super Bowls. But I
47:23
had to take a step back just to rethink what
47:25
I said. And we're going to talk about that. All
47:27
right. So what went wrong in their season? Lack
47:30
of creativity, inconsistent offense and defense,
47:33
and a lack of talent. Now when we look at their
47:35
season so far, they had the 17th ranked offense
47:38
and they averaged 21 .9 points per game, 330
47:41
.2 yards per game, 5 .3 yards per play, and 38
47:44
touchdowns. They were 13th in passing offense
47:47
and they averaged 222 .2 passing yards per game,
47:51
6 passing yards per play, and 23 passing touchdowns.
47:54
They were 23rd in rushing offense and they averaged
47:57
108 rushing yards per game, 4 .2 rushing yards
48:00
per play, and 15 rushing touchdowns. Now, defensively,
48:04
they had the 10th ranked defense and they allowed.
48:07
19 .6 points per game 307 .6 yards per game 5
48:11
.3 yards per play and 32 touchdowns they were
48:14
13th in passing defense and they allowed 202
48:17
.7 passing yards per game 6 .3 passing yards
48:20
per play and 18 passing touchdowns they were
48:23
10th in rushing defense and they allowed 104
48:26
.9 rushing yards per game 4 rushing yards per
48:29
play and 14 rushing touchdowns so with that being
48:32
said let's be honest here over the last few years
48:34
we have started to see a decline in the Chiefs,
48:37
specifically from a talent standpoint. And the
48:40
reason why I say that is because once they traded
48:43
away Tyreek Hill, nobody else has really stepped
48:45
up. Sure, Travis Kelsey is their most reliable
48:47
weapon, but outside of him, who else is taking
48:50
that next step? Is it Rasheed Rice? Is it Xavier
48:53
Worthy? Is it Juju Smith -Schuster? Is it Isaiah
48:56
Pacheco? And the answer is nobody. Let's be honest
48:59
here, okay? Even if they don't have the receivers,
49:02
the one thing that the Chiefs offense can always
49:05
rely on is the run game. And this year, that
49:07
run game was non -existent. Now sure, we can
49:10
point fingers at Andy Reid or Matt Nagy or Patrick
49:13
Mahomes or this person or that person or the
49:15
janitor that only cleans the third floor on the
49:17
left side, but the fact of the matter is this.
49:21
In order for the Chiefs to go back to being dominant,
49:24
they have to start hitting on their draft picks.
49:27
It's time out for going after these shifty small
49:30
wide receivers. You need to start bringing in
49:32
some big body receivers that are good with contested
49:36
catches. I understand that the whole move with
49:39
Tyreek Hill and McCole Hardman and Sammy Watkins
49:43
and this person, that person was cool, but guess
49:45
what? That time has passed. You need to start
49:47
bringing in some big dudes. You need to start
49:49
going after someone like a George Pickens, someone
49:52
like a DK Metcalf. Those are going to be the
49:54
type of receivers that are going to hold up the
49:56
entire season instead of going after that small,
49:58
shifty receiver that can run a 4 -2. You drafted
50:01
one in the first round with Xavier Worthy. What
50:03
has he done? Has he taken that next step that
50:05
you can feel comfortable in saying that he's
50:06
the number one wide receiver? I don't think so.
50:09
I would venture to say he's probably wide receiver
50:10
too in my book. Can you rely on Juju at this
50:13
point? No, you can't. So at some point, they
50:15
have to do something if they want to remain competitive.
50:19
Now, am I saying they're going to have to go
50:20
through this multi -year rebuild and get rid
50:23
of this person, that person, even though I said
50:25
it on the podcast and I'm sorry for that? No,
50:27
they don't. Instead, you need to invest young
50:30
and cheap talent into this team, especially on
50:32
the defense. There's a chance that the Chiefs
50:34
may lose Trent McDuffie in free agency. What
50:37
is your contingency plan if that happens? Are
50:39
you comfortable with Chris Jones right now? Are
50:42
you comfortable with George Karloftis right now?
50:44
Because let's be honest here. If somebody called
50:46
for Chris Jones and they're willing to give up
50:48
a first round pick for him, you're not going
50:49
to take that call? If somebody calls for George
50:52
Kaloftis and they're saying we're willing to
50:53
give up a second and maybe a really good player
50:55
for him, you're not going to take that call?
50:57
Because I would. Because at this point, you need
51:00
to surround the star with young and cheap talent.
51:03
That's the only way this thing is going to work.
51:05
Now, granted, next year's draft class is very
51:07
promising with Patch Rusher. So technically speaking,
51:10
you could go and get your replacement next year.
51:12
Now, am I saying he's going to have the same
51:14
impact? of Chris Jones? No. But what I am saying
51:17
is this. If you want to move off of him, next
51:19
year is the year to do it. Now, with that being
51:21
said, I think we can all agree that the Chiefs
51:23
are going to stack. And the reason why I say
51:25
that is because the foundation is still intact.
51:28
It's just you have to continue to build off of
51:31
it. And sure, that may take some time, but that's
51:33
okay. I think if you're down for like two or
51:36
three years, but then you're back up for another
51:38
five or six years, who's really complaining?
51:41
Hell, the Patriots did it. There was a point
51:43
in time where the Patriots were not going to
51:46
the AFC Championship, let alone Super Bowls,
51:48
for a period of time. It happens. It's a natural
51:51
cycle. But the question is this. What are you
51:54
going to do in that moment? Are you really going
51:56
to start hitting on your draft picks? Are you
51:59
going to refine yourself? Are you going to find
52:01
that edge? Because at this point, and this is
52:04
no shot at Andy Reid, but I think his offense
52:06
has lost that edge, that juice, that creativity
52:09
that we love seeing year after year after year.
52:13
Now, am I saying that Andy Reid is washed? No.
52:16
But whatever he needs to do, do it. Find that
52:20
edge. Find that creativity that gave you an advantage
52:23
over every single defense that you went up against.
52:26
Because that's the only way that you're going
52:28
to go back to being on the mountaintop. Now,
52:30
with that being said, you're going to have six
52:32
draft picks. You're going to have your first,
52:34
your second, your third, your fourth, and two
52:35
fifth round picks. Not bad. Sure, you can have
52:38
a little bit more, but it is what it is. Now,
52:41
the one move I would do, and Steelers fans, this
52:44
is very controversial, and Chiefs fans, this
52:46
is very controversial. So hear me out. I'm trading
52:49
for Pat Fryer move. I'm just going to let that
52:52
breathe for a moment. Good? Everybody's done
52:54
saying oohs and ahs? All right, cool. Good. And
52:57
the reason why I say that is because The Steelers
52:59
are not utilizing Pat Friermuth. I'm going to
53:02
go to a quarterback that's going to utilize me.
53:04
Look at George Pickens. George Pickens with Dak
53:06
Prescott looks like one of the best wide receivers
53:09
in the league right now. I want that. I have
53:11
the skill to do that. So if I'm Pat Friermuth,
53:14
hey, I love you guys. I love Pittsburgh. I love
53:18
my time being here. But to hell with y 'all.
53:20
I'm going to Mahomes. And even when you look
53:23
at his contract, his contract is easy to take
53:26
on. His base salary this upcoming season, $7
53:29
.6 million. His cap hit, $11 .2 million. In 27,
53:35
$8 .5 million for base salary, a cap hit of $12
53:38
.1 million. In 28, $6 .8 million with a cap hit
53:43
of $10 .4. That is the perfect replacement for
53:47
Travis Kelsey. I'm sorry, I'll give up a second
53:50
round pick for Pat Frymuth. I may even have to
53:53
give him a first round pick for Pat Frymuth.
53:55
Now, I know that's a little bit excessive, but
53:56
the reason why I'm saying go after Pat Frymuth
53:59
is because he's a veteran, he's proven, and if
54:02
you get Pat Frymuth, it's going to unlock something
54:05
in this offense. With that being said, when we
54:08
look at their cap space, they're going to have
54:09
negative 40 .5 million. Now, I understand everyone's
54:12
freaking out. Oh, my God, what are they going
54:13
to do? They don't have no cap space. What are
54:15
they going to do? Look at the Saints. The Saints,
54:17
every single year going into the offseason, don't
54:20
have no cap space. And then they nickel and dime.
54:22
They pinch here. They pinch there. They restructure
54:25
this. They cut this person. They'll sign them
54:27
again. They'll cut this person. They'll trade
54:30
this person away. And the next thing you know,
54:31
they're going to have cap space. It's the same
54:33
thing with the Chiefs. All they have to do is
54:35
restructure Patrick Mahomes' contract, move some
54:38
money around for Chris Jones, move some money
54:40
around for George Kaloftis, and you're fine.
54:42
And when we look at their free agents, of course,
54:44
Travis Kelsey, Hollywood Brown, Jerry Tillery,
54:47
Kareem Hunt, Brian Cook, Juju Smith -Schuster,
54:49
Derek Nardi, Leo Chanel, Deion Bush, Mike Edwards,
54:53
Carter Minshew, Taequann Thornton, just to name
54:55
a few. Out of all those people, who are you going
54:57
to bring back? Because honestly speaking, you
54:59
can upgrade from having Hollywood Brown. You
55:02
can upgrade from having Brian Cook and Juju Smith
55:04
-Schuster and Derek Nardi and Leo Chanel. If
55:07
you're the Chiefs, you can still sign some people,
55:10
but at the same time, like I've said in the earlier
55:13
part of this segment, fill this team up with
55:15
young and cheap talent. Cheap. Talent, if you
55:20
do that, I guarantee you, you'll be right back
55:23
to where you once were a couple years ago. Now
55:24
let's talk about the final team, and that is
55:26
the Dolphins. So what went wrong in their season?
55:29
And that is inconsistent quarterback play. bad
55:32
roster construction, and just inconsistent offensive
55:35
and defensive play. Now, when we look at their
55:37
stats so far, they have the 21st ranked defense
55:40
and they've allowed 24 .1 points per game, 342
55:44
yards per game, 5 .7 yards per play, and 42 touchdowns.
55:47
They were 18th in pass defense and they allowed
55:50
216 .5 passing yards per game, 6 .5 yards per
55:54
play, and 28 passing touchdowns. They were 24th
55:57
in run defense and they allowed 125 .5 rushing
56:00
yards per game. 4 .6 rushing yards per play and
56:03
14 rushing touchdowns. They had the 25th ranked
56:06
offense and they averaged 21 .1 points per game,
56:09
308 .3 yards per game, 5 .5 yards per play and
56:13
36 touchdowns. They were 25th in passing offense
56:16
and they averaged 184 .4 passing yards per game,
56:20
6 passing yards per play and 22 passing touchdowns.
56:23
They were 19th in rushing offense and they averaged
56:26
123 .8 rushing yards per game, 4 .9 rushing yards
56:30
per play, and 14 rushing touchdowns. Let's start
56:32
with the offense. Sure, we know the offense has
56:34
been inconsistent this entire season, but there
56:37
is some promise. And the reason why I say that
56:39
is because when they started to rely on the run
56:42
game, that's when you start to see this offense
56:44
be really productive. But when they started to
56:46
rely on the pass game, that's when you know bad
56:48
things are going to happen. Now, can we put blame
56:51
on Tua? Yes. But we also need to put blame on
56:54
the coaching staff as well as the personnel.
56:56
Because everybody has a hand to play on why this
56:59
offense wasn't good. Sure, we can say Tyreek
57:02
Hill should be on the field. And sure, Jalen
57:05
Waddell needs to step up and do this and do that.
57:08
But that little stretch where they were winning
57:10
games and they beat the Bills and they beat the
57:12
Commanders and this team and that team, it was
57:15
nice. But guess what? They weren't going to make
57:19
it in the playoffs. They weren't going to go
57:21
to the Super Bowl. They wasn't going to go anywhere
57:23
this year. Now, when we talk about the defense,
57:26
however, sure, they were okay in spurts. But
57:28
consistently, they were not that good. And that
57:31
was expected because they didn't have a lot of
57:33
playmakers on that side of the ball. Sure, Mickey
57:35
Fitzpatrick was having a good season. Sure, Bradley
57:37
Chubb was doing his thing. Zach Seeler was doing
57:40
his thing every once in a while. But outside
57:42
of them, and maybe Jordan Brooks, who else could
57:46
you say really stepped up? Who else could you
57:48
say took that next step in the right direction?
57:50
Doc Robinson? Jack Jones? Kenneth Grant? Zach
57:53
Seeler? Eh, they were okay. But they didn't take
57:57
that next step to say, oh man, I can't wait to
58:00
see what's going to happen next season. They're
58:02
showing a lot of promise. I'm okay with this.
58:04
You didn't get that reception from this side
58:06
of the ball. Instead, they were okay. Now, if
58:10
you have low standards, sure, you're okay with
58:12
that. But if you have high standards, you're
58:14
not satisfied with that. Now, can we blame this
58:17
on the coaching? Sure. Can we blame this on Chris
58:20
Greer? Sure. But this team was not going to go
58:23
anywhere this year. Now, with that being said,
58:26
what do they need? For starters, they need a
58:28
veteran head coach. They need a good GM. And
58:31
they need productive players. So with a veteran
58:33
head coach, you need a culture builder. You need
58:35
somebody that has a high standard of excellence.
58:38
Because what you have right now is not sustainable.
58:41
Granted, Mike McDaniel stepped up. He put his
58:44
balls on the table and he said, you know what?
58:45
I'm not going to do this no more. We're going
58:47
to do things my way or the highway. But it was
58:50
too late. You should have had this attitude the
58:53
moment that you stepped foot in the Dolphins
58:55
organization. But you didn't do it. You want
58:57
to try to get along with everybody and be supportive.
59:01
That's okay at spurts. But at the end of the
59:03
day, sometimes you need to get in somebody's
59:05
ass. You need to tell them, hey, listen, you
59:07
ain't been playing well. Either you play well
59:10
or somebody else is going to take your spot.
59:11
Simple as that. Now, some people can handle that
59:14
and other people can't. And that's okay. Now,
59:16
sure, you could probably try, and I don't know
59:19
if this is going to work or not, but you could
59:21
try to get a Mike Tomlin. You could try to get
59:24
a John Harbaugh if they're available. But realistically
59:27
speaking, maybe Vance Joseph, maybe. I understand
59:30
he's a defensive -minded head coach, but eh,
59:32
maybe. Mike McCarthy comes to mind, maybe, if
59:36
he wants to take that job. I just feel like,
59:38
personally, if you're a veteran head coach, you
59:40
have to think twice before you take this job
59:42
because most likely Devon A. Chan will be gone.
59:45
Jalen Waddell may be on the move. Minkah Fitzpatrick
59:48
may be on the move. You may have to deal with
59:50
Tua for maybe a year. Are you willing to do that?
59:53
Because that's a lot to take on. And on top of
59:56
that, you're not going to have a lot of cap space.
59:58
So when you factor all these things in, do you
1:00:02
really want to take this on? Because this may
1:00:04
hurt your credibility. And this isn't going to
1:00:07
be an overnight fix. This is going to be a three
1:00:10
to five, maybe three to six year process. And
1:00:14
that's if you're hitting on your draft picks
1:00:15
and developing your players well and not making
1:00:18
boneheaded moves. That's a lot to take on. Now
1:00:21
with the GM part, you need somebody that can
1:00:24
build a team. Don't just get the really cool,
1:00:27
flashy GM that everybody is talking about. Get
1:00:30
the GM that you know has a track record of building
1:00:33
some really good teams. Not a good team that's
1:00:35
just good for two or three years. You want a
1:00:37
dominant team. You want somebody that's good
1:00:40
at drafting, that's frugal when it comes to spending,
1:00:43
and understands and values the right positions
1:00:45
on a team. Now when it comes to the productive
1:00:48
player part, you're going to have to get that
1:00:49
in the draft. Free agency is not gonna be your
1:00:52
best friend for a long time because nobody wants
1:00:54
to come to a crappy team that's not winning.
1:00:56
Now, sure, you could throw a boatload of money
1:00:58
at people, but at some point, they're not gonna
1:01:01
wanna stay there. Some people are gonna value
1:01:02
championships and winning more than just having
1:01:05
a fat paycheck. Now, when it comes to stack or
1:01:07
shed, you're gonna have to shed this thing. And
1:01:09
the reason why I say that is because the current
1:01:11
structure that you have right now is not sustainable
1:01:14
for long -term success. You need to clean your
1:01:17
books, which is gonna take some time. And you
1:01:20
need to get more draft picks. And the only way
1:01:22
that you can do that is start trading away assets.
1:01:25
I would trade away Jalen Waddell. I would trade
1:01:28
away anybody else that has value. And then from
1:01:30
that point on, you make this team as cheap as
1:01:33
possible. One move I would do is go after Mike
1:01:36
Tomlin. And the reason why I say that is because
1:01:38
we have seen him within the last few years have
1:01:42
competitive rosters without a franchise quarterback.
1:01:45
That's a major feat in itself. That is something
1:01:47
that not a lot of coaches have been able to do.
1:01:50
Now, granted, we can all get on about the playoff
1:01:52
success and all that other stuff, blah, blah,
1:01:54
blah, yada, yada, yada. But how is it that somebody
1:01:57
without a franchise quarterback has been able
1:01:59
to beat the Ravens nine times out of 10? Really
1:02:02
think about that for a second. Since Ben Roethlisberger,
1:02:05
he's had Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky. Mason
1:02:08
Rudolph, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and now
1:02:11
Aaron Rodgers. And he still finds a way to stay
1:02:14
in the thick of things when it comes to the playoffs.
1:02:17
Now the question is this. What would it take
1:02:19
to get someone like a Mike Tomlin? A first? A
1:02:22
second and a player? A third and a player? I
1:02:25
would pay it. Look at Mike Vrabel and the Patriots.
1:02:27
First year. First year. They looked really good.
1:02:30
You wouldn't want that on your team? Meek Mill
1:02:32
said it best. Scare money don't make no money.
1:02:35
So if you're really serious about winning, you
1:02:38
will make this move. I don't care if you've got
1:02:40
to call Omar Khan every single day just to entertain
1:02:45
this idea. Do it. Because I guarantee you guys
1:02:49
are going to start winning. And let's look at
1:02:51
their free agents. So they have Afitu Melefanu,
1:02:53
Larry Borum, Liam Eichenberg, Darren Waller,
1:02:55
Elijah Campbell, Rasul Douglas, Artie Burns,
1:02:58
KJ Britt, Willie Gay Jr., Alex Madison, Dwayne
1:03:01
Eskridge, just to name a few. Now, honestly speaking,
1:03:04
Who are you bringing back? Because I wouldn't
1:03:07
bring back anybody. And if you do, it's only
1:03:09
for competition in the summer. Outside of that,
1:03:12
I'm just wiping the slate clean. I'm getting
1:03:15
some young, cheap talent. And I'm just going
1:03:17
to be on the trash roller coaster. It may take
1:03:20
me a while, but hey. Hopefully on the other side,
1:03:22
you're going to start winning. But I'm going
1:03:24
to end this episode here. If you guys like what
1:03:25
you're listening, please, please, please, please,
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1:04:01
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1:04:04
talk about let's debate about it by the way thank
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you to everybody that's been subscribing to the
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junkies pod is not what it is together not spaced.
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Okay. It is together, not space. Football underscore
1:04:47
junkies pod. Now on Twitter, GM kale, GM kale.
1:04:53
It's the same thing as blue sky. GM kale, K -A
1:04:57
-I -L -E. Now for my TikTok people, football
1:05:00
junkies pod, football junkies pod. I got some
1:05:02
clips. I'm gonna post them. Give me some time,
1:05:05
all right? So as always, I hope I gave you guys
1:05:08
the fix that you guys need. I love you guys.
1:05:09
I appreciate you guys so much. Thank you guys
1:05:11
so much for listening to the first episode of
1:05:13
the Stack and Shed series. There's more to come.
1:05:16
Just give me some time. NFC is next, so stay
1:05:19
tuned for that. As always, this is your GM, Kale,
1:05:21
signing out. Peace and love. Later, guys.