Latest / The Richard Sherman Podcast / FAN MAILBAG: Seahawks Super Bowl favorites? 49ers bounce back? Lamar’s final Ravens season? | Richard Sherman Predictions

Transcript

FAN MAILBAG: Seahawks Super Bowl favorites? 49ers bounce back? Lamar’s final Ravens season? | Richard Sherman Predictions · The Richard Sherman Podcast

0:05
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. It's still the
0:07
Speaker 1: off season. You guys got questions and we've got answers. Mitchell,
0:12
Speaker 1: start us off, Richard.
0:13
Speaker 2: Here we are you know what. We submitted a fan
0:15
Speaker 2: mail bag on Twitter last night. I appreciate you guys
0:18
Speaker 2: all for submitting your responses. We're trying to get you
0:20
Speaker 2: more involved. So we love you guys. We love our listeners.
0:23
Speaker 2: Here Richard, we got one and this one. You know.
0:26
Speaker 2: I know we're midway through this offseason. I guess we're
0:30
Speaker 2: entering the NFL Draft. We've gone through the beginning of
0:32
Speaker 2: free agency. At this point in the off season. If
0:36
Speaker 2: you had to pick next year's Super Bowl winner, who
0:40
Speaker 2: would it be?
0:40
Speaker 1: Well, Mitchell. Nothing this off season has led me to
0:44
Speaker 1: believe the Seattle Seahawks are not going to be the
0:47
Speaker 1: favorites going into this season because they've People on the
0:52
Speaker 1: outside are saying, oh man, they've lost so many pieces.
0:55
Speaker 1: I'm not under that same impression. They have lost pieces
0:58
Speaker 1: that they feel like they can replaced. They have lost
1:01
Speaker 1: seat pieces that they feel like they have either in
1:05
Speaker 1: house replacements for or can find their replacements in the draft.
1:10
Speaker 1: And I can agree with that. I think the same thing.
1:13
Speaker 1: I think Kenneth Walker is a guy that had an
1:16
Speaker 1: incredible run through the playoffs, incredible end of the season,
1:19
Speaker 1: and made a lot of plays, including the Super Bowl MVP,
1:23
Speaker 1: but I don't think they saw him as an irreplaceable
1:25
Speaker 1: piece to this team. Obviously, he split time with Charbonnay
1:30
Speaker 1: throughout most of the season and was incredibly fresh to
1:33
Speaker 1: make that run. There were question marks when Sharbonay got
1:36
Speaker 1: injured whether he would be able to carry the load,
1:39
Speaker 1: and he was. He was able to do it got
1:42
Speaker 1: himself a nice payday, but I don't think the Seattle
1:46
Speaker 1: Seahawks saw that as oh my god, if we don't
1:49
Speaker 1: bring him back, we won't have a chance at the
1:51
Speaker 1: super Bowl. In I think they feel really good about
1:54
Speaker 1: not only the depth they haven't running back, but their
1:57
Speaker 1: ability to draft well and find whether it's by committee
2:01
Speaker 1: or one guy to be able to replace the production
2:06
Speaker 1: that Kennth Walker had. I think Kobe Bryant. They feel
2:09
Speaker 1: like Taya Katta did a great job throughout the season.
2:14
Speaker 1: Boye Mafe is another guy who had an incredible impact,
2:18
Speaker 1: but again was a rotational rusher on this team, and
2:22
Speaker 1: they feel like they can find a guy like that
2:24
Speaker 1: in a draft, a guy that can get around the
2:26
Speaker 1: edge put pressure on a quarterback, and it'll be on
2:29
Speaker 1: John Snyder and their front office to find that. But
2:32
Speaker 1: I feel really good about the team and just the
2:34
Speaker 1: scheme that they're running. I think with what happened last year,
2:38
Speaker 1: people lose sight. Sam Darnold had a really good season,
2:42
Speaker 1: but I'm sure there are games Sam Donald watches from
2:45
Speaker 1: last season where he's like, man, I could play better
2:46
Speaker 1: than that. Man, I can do better than that. I
2:48
Speaker 1: missed this guy. I missed this guy, and it was
2:51
Speaker 1: his first year with the team. He's gonna be better
2:53
Speaker 1: in his second year. He's gonna have less than twenty turnovers.
2:56
Speaker 1: I would believe, you know, don't don't quote me or
2:59
Speaker 1: quote me. You know, the videos live forever. But throughout
3:03
Speaker 1: the playoffs he showed that he could play mistake free football.
3:06
Speaker 1: I think that's a big reason they went on to
3:07
Speaker 1: win the Super Bowl because he played mistake free football.
3:10
Speaker 1: He had twenty turnovers throughout the season and zero in
3:13
Speaker 1: the playoffs. And if he can play like that for
3:16
Speaker 1: a majority of the season next year, they will, I mean,
3:21
Speaker 1: they'll win more games than they won this year. Are
3:23
Speaker 1: As many games as they won this year and be
3:25
Speaker 1: an even stronger team. I think their defense is just
3:27
Speaker 1: as good as they were last year. Obviously, you lose
3:30
Speaker 1: Toreke wooland that's a big deal. But again, they had
3:34
Speaker 1: to play without Tarek Wooland for a number of games.
3:36
Speaker 1: There was times where he was in the lineup, out
3:38
Speaker 1: of the lineup, where he fell out of favor, was
3:40
Speaker 1: back in favor. So again, these are players that they
3:45
Speaker 1: have played without before and felt good about, felt good
3:49
Speaker 1: about the players they could do, the players that they had,
3:52
Speaker 1: and what they could do with those players. Josh Job,
3:56
Speaker 1: Josh Job got his pay day and I think he's
3:59
Speaker 1: going to be in this central part of why they
4:01
Speaker 1: feel comfortable losing Tarik Woolan. Obviously, John Snyder said they
4:06
Speaker 1: were priced out of the runnings for him. He signed
4:09
Speaker 1: a one year deal. There's nothing to say that. Maybe,
4:11
Speaker 1: you know, after one year in Philadelphia, who knows, he'll
4:13
Speaker 1: be a free agent again. They can have those conversations again.
4:16
Speaker 1: But I think the Seattle Seahawks going into this season
4:19
Speaker 1: will be the favorite.
4:19
Speaker 2: And you touched on you know, obviously Kenneth Walker leaving
4:23
Speaker 2: in the freeing up space in the running back room.
4:25
Speaker 2: If there was ever a draft to have a need
4:27
Speaker 2: at running back, this draft's pretty loaded, you know, top
4:30
Speaker 2: to bottom, and especially in the middle rounds. You know,
4:32
Speaker 2: they could go with a guy like Jadarian Price out
4:34
Speaker 2: of Notre Dame. You know, Jonah Coleman up in the
4:36
Speaker 2: Pacific Northwest, out of out of you dub Mike Washington
4:40
Speaker 2: junior out of Arkansas. I mean, all these guys you know,
4:43
Speaker 2: could be late first anywhere to fourth round picks. So
4:47
Speaker 2: you know, for Seattle, I'm with you, man, until somebody
4:51
Speaker 2: starts knocking them off that pedestal. They're the team to be.
4:54
Speaker 2: And I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sam Darnold
4:57
Speaker 2: has proven it over the last two years. He's more
5:00
Speaker 2: than capable of leading this franchise one more year of
5:02
Speaker 2: comfort with this team. I'm with you, Richard, Seattle is
5:07
Speaker 2: going to be a juggernaut again next season. Now, let's
5:09
Speaker 2: talk about some of the bad teams. I mean, each year,
5:13
Speaker 2: it seems that there's always a team and a division
5:16
Speaker 2: that goes from worse to first. Richard, who do you
5:20
Speaker 2: think is the best odds of being able to double
5:22
Speaker 2: their win total from last year? There's got to be
5:25
Speaker 2: someone that comes out of nowhere and surprises the NFL landscape.
5:34
Speaker 1: I guess your best bet right now of a team
5:37
Speaker 1: that go from you know, really bad team picking early
5:41
Speaker 1: in the draft to somewhat competitive will be the Giants.
5:44
Speaker 1: And I say that because you feel good about what
5:46
Speaker 1: John Harball is gonna bring. He's going to bring a
5:50
Speaker 1: great coaching pedigree, stability, They're gonna run a good defensive scheme.
5:54
Speaker 1: They already have a great defensive line, and a lot
5:57
Speaker 1: of this starts with a great disruptive defensive Lineviously, Dexter
6:01
Speaker 1: Lawrence wants out. Who knows what will happen with that
6:05
Speaker 1: may be a distraction throughout the offseason, I mean throughout
6:08
Speaker 1: the season. Maybe they'll get a deal done, uh that
6:11
Speaker 1: that keeps him in New York. I'm not sure. But
6:13
Speaker 1: with him in the lineup, they have a really strong
6:15
Speaker 1: defensive line. Uh. And I think they they continue to
6:19
Speaker 1: grow there. They feel good about Jackson Darton, what he brings.
6:22
Speaker 1: That quarterback has brought some excitement, brought some dynamic ability
6:27
Speaker 1: and another year under his belt. I think they improve
6:31
Speaker 1: as a team. The Tennessee Titans I want to see
6:34
Speaker 1: do better. I want to see cam Ward, the former
6:37
Speaker 1: number one pick, do well for Robert Sala and their staff.
6:40
Speaker 1: Can Brian dabol get the best out of him? And
6:45
Speaker 1: in your guy Wandale Robinson, in your guy Wandale Robinson.
6:52
Speaker 1: That's that's to be seen. Uh. The Raiders, they'll they'll
6:55
Speaker 1: pick first and draft Mendoza. What will that look like?
7:00
Speaker 1: I think they've done some really cool things defensively, obviously
7:03
Speaker 1: bringing Max Crosby back from the trade, the Botch trade,
7:06
Speaker 1: the fail trade, whatever you want to call it. But
7:10
Speaker 1: I think the Giants, I think the Giants have the
7:12
Speaker 1: chance to double their wins uh and be more competitive
7:17
Speaker 1: than they were last year. I think it's still it's
7:19
Speaker 1: a long shot for any of these teams to really
7:21
Speaker 1: be playoff contenders. But you know, we've seen it happen.
7:24
Speaker 2: Well second year Jackson Dart, like you said, And there's
7:26
Speaker 2: a new leader in the clubhouse and that's John Harbaugh.
7:29
Speaker 2: And obviously with his winning, winning pedigree coming over from Baltimore,
7:34
Speaker 2: I mean, he's not going to take any nonsense, and
7:37
Speaker 2: we see it. You know. Obviously they're facing a little
7:39
Speaker 2: bit of adversity with this Dexter Lawrence situation. I shouldn't
7:42
Speaker 2: say adversity, more uncomfortability, and maybe they're handling things a
7:46
Speaker 2: little bit differently. John Harbaugh was on record saying, you know, anyone,
7:50
Speaker 2: it can be traded. So you know he's walking in here.
7:53
Speaker 2: Here's a veteran in Dexter Lawrence that clearly wants more money. Richard,
7:58
Speaker 2: what do you make of Dexter Lawrence requesting this trade?
8:01
Speaker 2: What do you think is markets like? Uh? And whose
8:04
Speaker 2: side are you really on here? Are you on the
8:05
Speaker 2: team side or Dexter side in this situation?
8:08
Speaker 1: Uh? I'm always on the player side. More money for
8:11
Speaker 1: the players, more money for the players. Play the guy,
8:13
Speaker 1: max him out. I don't even I mean, I don't
8:16
Speaker 1: even mind overpaying guys because again I want more money
8:19
Speaker 1: in players pockets and less money for the team. I'm
8:22
Speaker 1: always player, player focused. But his market is interesting because
8:28
Speaker 1: he's at a deed. He's he's a very powerful and
8:30
Speaker 1: dominant defensive tackle. But him playing over the nos over
8:36
Speaker 1: the center isn't a scheme fit for everybody. Can he
8:39
Speaker 1: play a one? Can he play a three? I don't
8:41
Speaker 1: think he can play a three. I think he's always
8:43
Speaker 1: going to be a zero or one, But it does
8:47
Speaker 1: he he could be disruptive and be great for everybody.
8:50
Speaker 1: But I don't know if everybody puts the kind of
8:53
Speaker 1: value financially on the position as he would want, as
9:00
Speaker 1: E would want. You know, he may want to get
9:03
Speaker 1: twenty five thirty million dollars, and there aren't a lot
9:06
Speaker 1: of teams that value that position in a way that
9:08
Speaker 1: they feel comfortable paying regardless of what he's doing, regardless
9:12
Speaker 1: of how dominant of a player he is, not a
9:15
Speaker 1: lot of teams feel like they can afford to pay it. Now.
9:18
Speaker 1: Edge rushers, guys who are on the edge, they feel
9:20
Speaker 1: much different about. But dominant dtackles that don't have the
9:25
Speaker 1: high sacked numbers usually have a hard time commanding those
9:30
Speaker 1: big numbers. Now, it may be Albert Haynesworth's fault. You
9:34
Speaker 1: don't remember back in the day when Albert Haynesworth got
9:36
Speaker 1: that one hundred million dollars and then it went south
9:40
Speaker 1: really quickly. But a long time ago for you, for
9:44
Speaker 1: you kids that that just started watching NFL, look that up.
9:47
Speaker 1: Look up Albert Haynesworth and what he did. But yeah,
9:52
Speaker 1: I just don't I don't know, I don't know. I
9:54
Speaker 1: don't know if he'll find a suitor out there, especially
9:58
Speaker 1: after free agency has passed. You know, maybe if they
10:00
Speaker 1: would have done something before free agency, a team would
10:03
Speaker 1: have had would have been able to find some money
10:07
Speaker 1: and figure out their cap situation to make room for
10:11
Speaker 1: a guy like him, a quality player who they're going
10:13
Speaker 1: to have to pay a lot of money and make
10:15
Speaker 1: a cornerstone of their franchise. But once free agency is over,
10:18
Speaker 1: you ask for a trade. You know, team's got to
10:21
Speaker 1: do a lot of juggling to make his salary work
10:24
Speaker 1: with their team, and I don't know if a team
10:27
Speaker 1: will feel like it's worth it. Now. Maybe a team
10:30
Speaker 1: doesn't get the guy that they want in the draft
10:33
Speaker 1: and say, oh man, we didn't get the guy we want.
10:37
Speaker 1: Maybe we can see if the Giants are still interested
10:41
Speaker 1: in moving Dexter Lawrence, if we can meet their price,
10:44
Speaker 1: et cetera, et cetera. But who knows. You know, the
10:48
Speaker 1: NFL is crazy these days.
10:50
Speaker 2: It's tough for him too, because he's really coming off
10:52
Speaker 2: a down year. I mean, he had a half sack
10:54
Speaker 2: to his name last year. Prior to that, in twenty
10:57
Speaker 2: twenty four he had nine, So you know, he's trying
10:59
Speaker 2: to capital off of twenty twenty four success. We'll see
11:02
Speaker 2: what happens. I mean, you saw the Raiders clearly overpay
11:05
Speaker 2: on a guy like Christian Wilkins a couple of years ago,
11:08
Speaker 2: so the question's got to be asked. I know the
11:09
Speaker 2: production has been there for Dexter Lawrence throughout his career.
11:13
Speaker 2: Last year was a down year. You know, do they,
11:15
Speaker 2: as a team that is rebuilding and looking to reseurge
11:19
Speaker 2: the Giants, are they going to be willing to make
11:21
Speaker 2: that financial commitment. We'll see. I mean, obviously the Kansas
11:24
Speaker 2: City Chiefs did something similar with Chris Jones and look
11:27
Speaker 2: at the situation there and now, I mean, I know
11:29
Speaker 2: they love Chris Jones, reality is he's over thirty. They
11:33
Speaker 2: probably want to spend that money elsewhere. Richard. I don't know.
11:36
Speaker 2: I can't speak for the team, but an outsider looking
11:38
Speaker 2: in I would have to think they got bigger needs
11:40
Speaker 2: than a thirty plus year old defensive tackle. The other
11:44
Speaker 2: news we got out this week is Kirk Cousins. I
11:47
Speaker 2: don't know how this guy keeps doing it, but he's
11:49
Speaker 2: made the most guaranteed money next to I think it
11:52
Speaker 2: was Matthew Stafford throughout the NFL career, and he does
11:55
Speaker 2: it again getting paid twenty million dollars by the Raiders,
11:58
Speaker 2: obviously being brought into mentor the proverbial number one pick
12:03
Speaker 2: in Fernando Mendoza. Richard, what do you make of Kirk
12:07
Speaker 2: Cousins going to the Las Vegas Raiders? And what do
12:11
Speaker 2: you make of him as a businessman, Because whatever he's doing, man,
12:14
Speaker 2: it's clearly working. Obviously he's highly educated, being a Michigan
12:17
Speaker 2: State grad. So you got to give him kudos there.
12:21
Speaker 2: You got to give him big kudos.
12:22
Speaker 1: I mean, he's a Hall of Fame NFL businessman.
12:26
Speaker 2: He is.
12:27
Speaker 1: He should teach, He should have seminars, teach classes, speak
12:31
Speaker 1: to every draft class coming in because he has mastered
12:35
Speaker 1: the ability to get guaranteed money in the National Football League. Now,
12:39
Speaker 1: I think it's a great move by the Raiders. I
12:41
Speaker 1: think Kirk Cousins gets a bad rap. I think Kirk
12:44
Speaker 1: Cousins is a better quarterback than he's been given credit.
12:46
Speaker 1: And I think his numbers speak to that. Is he
12:49
Speaker 1: is he an all pro level, you know, elite guy
12:52
Speaker 1: right now? No, I thought he struggled last season. I
12:55
Speaker 1: think he'd be honest with it and say he struggled
12:57
Speaker 1: really bad. You know, he just wasn't seeing it as
12:59
Speaker 1: well last season as he has in the past. But
13:03
Speaker 1: I think if you talk to some of the best
13:05
Speaker 1: coaches in the National Football League right now, with Kyle
13:07
Speaker 1: Shanahan and Sean McVay, they speak very differently about Kirk Cousins,
13:12
Speaker 1: and I think the public perception of him is and
13:15
Speaker 1: I think he's great to be a mentor to a
13:17
Speaker 1: young quarterback if that's the role he's comfortable with, and
13:20
Speaker 1: it sounds like the way he's speaking, he's totally comfortable
13:23
Speaker 1: if that's the role they brought him in for. He's
13:25
Speaker 1: at that point in his career where he just he's
13:27
Speaker 1: getting his money, he has his family, They're going to
13:29
Speaker 1: be in a comfortable place, and he's happy to see
13:32
Speaker 1: the next guy succeed and do what he has to do.
13:34
Speaker 1: And does he still have competitiveness and want to play.
13:37
Speaker 1: I'm sure, but they're paying him enough to say, hey,
13:41
Speaker 1: whether you mentor or your play, you're getting your money.
13:44
Speaker 1: Be good. And I think he's in a great place
13:47
Speaker 1: to do that, and I think the Raiders are in
13:51
Speaker 1: the position to do it the right way. I think
13:53
Speaker 1: this is what should have happened with JJ McCarthy. This
13:56
Speaker 1: is what happened with Jordan Love. This is what happens
13:59
Speaker 1: to give quarterbacks the best possible chance to succeed. I try.
14:03
Speaker 1: They tried to do it with Jackson Dart in uh
14:07
Speaker 1: New York. But you know, eventually they're gonna have to
14:10
Speaker 1: play the guy they draft him number one. Does he
14:12
Speaker 1: play day one? Does he need to play day one?
14:14
Speaker 1: I'm sure people would argue, oh, you got to. You
14:16
Speaker 1: use number one pick on him. But in order for
14:19
Speaker 1: a quarterback to develop the properly, sometimes you got to
14:22
Speaker 1: learn how to play the position, how to how to prepare,
14:25
Speaker 1: how to read a defense, how to how to do
14:27
Speaker 1: things on game day. And when you don't have a
14:29
Speaker 1: chance to sit back and learn and watch, then sometimes
14:32
Speaker 1: you find yourself out there executing and learning bad habits
14:37
Speaker 1: that that you don't even know are bad habits because
14:39
Speaker 1: you had nobody to watch and learn the good habits
14:42
Speaker 1: from in the first place. I think learning from a
14:45
Speaker 1: veteran who's played in the league as long as Kirk
14:48
Speaker 1: Cousins has is a great deal for a young quarterback.
14:51
Speaker 1: And I think that's a great move by by the Raiders. Now,
14:56
Speaker 1: I think it could have been the same move by
14:58
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Falcons. If they hadn't paid him fifty million dollars,
15:01
Speaker 1: I thought I would have thought it was a great move.
15:03
Speaker 1: But they paid him fifty million dollars. Much different situation.
15:06
Speaker 1: You gotta started me. I don't care if you draft
15:08
Speaker 1: the guy, the next guy, number one, number two, top ten.
15:11
Speaker 1: You're paying a guy fifty million he starts. But you
15:14
Speaker 1: know that's the story for a different day.
15:15
Speaker 2: Reality here is kirk Cousins has experience playing alongside Clint Kubiak.
15:20
Speaker 2: Clint Kubiak was the quarterbacks coach, you know, in Minnesota,
15:25
Speaker 2: So obviously you're talking about a guy that has system experience,
15:29
Speaker 2: and I'm sure he brought him in there to be
15:31
Speaker 2: able to better explain and put Mendoza in that position.
15:34
Speaker 2: But kudos to kirk Cousins being able to put together this,
15:38
Speaker 2: I mean, unbelievable run of guaranteed money. Who would have
15:41
Speaker 2: thought the franchise take was a bad thing. Not kirk Cousins,
15:44
Speaker 2: I'll tell you that much, Richard. Not kirk Cousins. The
15:47
Speaker 2: other thing here, Richard is I can't believe it, but
15:50
Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson is back in the news and we're talking
15:54
Speaker 2: extension talks again. He's still got two years left on
15:57
Speaker 2: his contract, but Richard, they restructured his deal. They added
16:01
Speaker 2: a bunch of dead cap into future seasons. What do
16:04
Speaker 2: you make of this whole Lamar Jackson's situation with Baltimore?
16:08
Speaker 2: How do you see this playing out?
16:12
Speaker 1: I see it as a non story. He's their franchise quarterback.
16:16
Speaker 1: He's a great player in the National Football League. It's
16:19
Speaker 1: too hard to find a franchise quarterback right now for
16:23
Speaker 1: some reason. Other teams don't necessarily see Lamar Jackson as
16:27
Speaker 1: a viable option for some reason. That's the way it
16:29
Speaker 1: sended to me. When he was on the somewhat open market,
16:34
Speaker 1: teams could have been teams could have offered him a contract.
16:36
Speaker 1: Now everybody's saying, well, if we would have been a
16:39
Speaker 1: put a contract out for him, then they just would
16:41
Speaker 1: have matched. And well, you got to figure it out.
16:43
Speaker 1: You gotta find out if they would have matched. You
16:45
Speaker 1: got to put a contract together and put it in
16:47
Speaker 1: front of him and see if the team would have matched.
16:49
Speaker 1: But no team did that. The Ravens retained him. I
16:54
Speaker 1: think he went on to win MVP the next season
16:58
Speaker 1: and the rest is history. So I think he obviously
17:03
Speaker 1: they don't have a succession plan. They haven't drafted a
17:06
Speaker 1: quarterback in the first or second round since he's been there.
17:10
Speaker 1: So I don't think it's a situation where hey, man,
17:12
Speaker 1: they have a guy in the waiting and they're just
17:16
Speaker 1: gonna let Lamar Jackson's contract run out and expire and
17:19
Speaker 1: then let the next guy start. So I think this
17:22
Speaker 1: is a non story. I think Lamar Jackson is a
17:24
Speaker 1: guy who who represents the Baltimore Ravens really well. He
17:28
Speaker 1: represents them, the city, the culture really well. He's a
17:31
Speaker 1: guy that plays hard, puts his best foot forward every
17:34
Speaker 1: time he goes out there, doesn't have any off the
17:36
Speaker 1: field issues, a guy that is a consummate professional in
17:40
Speaker 1: every way and has been great for the Baltimore Ravens.
17:43
Speaker 1: So I don't see this as as a big deal.
17:46
Speaker 2: Richard making headlines again and I can't believe this. I
17:49
Speaker 2: hope this doesn't happen. But the refs, the union for
17:53
Speaker 2: the refs is I guess they're at a crossroads with
17:56
Speaker 2: the NFL. We might be staring at another replacement refs situation,
18:00
Speaker 2: euation at the beginning of this year. How bad you know, Richard,
18:04
Speaker 2: you played with these replacement refs when they first started
18:07
Speaker 2: shoot what was it twelve years ago? And now we
18:10
Speaker 2: could see that again. How bad of a scenario would
18:12
Speaker 2: this be for the NFL if this came back.
18:15
Speaker 1: It'd be all.
18:17
Speaker 2: Richard. We were just talking about it off air last week,
18:20
Speaker 2: and you know the infamous Golden Tate pail. Mary Russell
18:27
Speaker 2: Wilson keeps it up to Golden Tate simultaneous catch even
18:31
Speaker 2: though it wasn't. It should have been an interception. Golden
18:33
Speaker 2: Tate walks away with a called touchdown. Richard, we've seen
18:38
Speaker 2: it play out in real time. Do you think it
18:40
Speaker 2: could have happened again? Realistically?
18:44
Speaker 1: I don't think that's an ideal world for the National
18:46
Speaker 1: Football League to be in. That's why they put up
18:49
Speaker 1: the resolution to say, hey, if we have to go
18:51
Speaker 1: to replacement refs, we will use video evidence to overturn
18:55
Speaker 1: obvious room calls. Because the NFL will keep a very
18:58
Speaker 1: close eye on these games if replacement refs are or,
19:02
Speaker 1: they will never let a situation like that happen again
19:05
Speaker 1: where it's that controversial, because it gave the the the
19:09
Speaker 1: I guess normal refs the regular full I can't call
19:12
Speaker 1: them full time because there's no full time refs, but
19:15
Speaker 1: it gave the referee union a lot of leverage to say,
19:19
Speaker 1: hey see, not everybody can do our job, and it's
19:22
Speaker 1: the worst product when we're not out there. Give us
19:24
Speaker 1: our money, give us the things we ask for, and
19:26
Speaker 1: we'll get back to work and make this a better
19:30
Speaker 1: product than you have right now, because right now you
19:32
Speaker 1: have a bunch of crap. And that was the peak
19:36
Speaker 1: of the crap mountain with the replacement refs. I love it.
19:39
Speaker 1: We won and we had a great game that day.
19:42
Speaker 1: I think we sacked Aaron Rodgers eight times in the
19:44
Speaker 1: first half. You know, if we'd have lost that game,
19:46
Speaker 1: I'd have been very frustrated because we played really well.
19:48
Speaker 1: But in other news, I think it's a leverage point.
19:53
Speaker 1: It do is the NFL being unreasonable with their asking points.
19:57
Speaker 1: I don't think so. I don't like the it's seniority,
20:00
Speaker 1: and maybe the refs will be mad at me for
20:02
Speaker 1: saying this. I think it should be it's point based
20:05
Speaker 1: for everything else. They do have a point system. They
20:07
Speaker 1: have a have a way to judge these referees and
20:13
Speaker 1: a point system. When you make mistake, you lose points.
20:15
Speaker 1: When you when it's a bad call, or it's a
20:17
Speaker 1: corrected call, you lose points. And when you make great
20:20
Speaker 1: calls throughout the game and you have you get a
20:23
Speaker 1: certain amount of points. So there is a system they
20:26
Speaker 1: have in place, but for some reason in a playoffs
20:28
Speaker 1: they still go with seniority and give certain guys because
20:31
Speaker 1: they've been in the league a long time. And I
20:33
Speaker 1: don't like that. I think it should be merit based,
20:36
Speaker 1: and if it's merit based, then there's accountability. And that's
20:40
Speaker 1: all the NFL is saying. If you're not doing a
20:42
Speaker 1: great job, you're not going to be in the playoffs.
20:44
Speaker 1: And I agree with that because I used to say
20:46
Speaker 1: that to so sometimes, like hey, I'm glad we're not
20:49
Speaker 1: going to have you in the playoffs because you're doing a
20:50
Speaker 1: terrible job. Like you pissed me off, you made three
20:54
Speaker 1: bad calls today. The NFL will send us a letter
20:56
Speaker 1: on Monday talking about your bad calls. But I got
20:59
Speaker 1: to sit here and watch you throw a flag on me,
21:01
Speaker 1: and here here you sit there and explain to the
21:03
Speaker 1: crowd how I did something I didn't do. And then
21:06
Speaker 1: I get into the letter in the mail on Monday
21:09
Speaker 1: to the late from the league, like oh well, this
21:10
Speaker 1: was a bad call in the second quarter of this game.
21:14
Speaker 1: This shouldn't have been called, or this should have been this,
21:15
Speaker 1: and this should have been that, And it's frustrating because
21:19
Speaker 1: you feel like these guys should be punished for that,
21:21
Speaker 1: and then you get to the playoffs and you don't
21:22
Speaker 1: see those guys. You don't you don't necessarily see those
21:24
Speaker 1: guys making those calls, So that that would be my
21:26
Speaker 1: own little you know, me being a little shit. But
21:30
Speaker 1: I think the NFL is being reasonable with their ass
21:32
Speaker 1: I think the union is trying to protect their guys
21:35
Speaker 1: as they should, and they'll they'll be you know, nobody's
21:39
Speaker 1: happy in the end. There's always a middle ground. They'll
21:41
Speaker 1: meet in the middle round, and that's what the agreement
21:44
Speaker 1: will be. I think the NFL does have a plan
21:47
Speaker 1: for if the replacement refs are are needed, but that's
21:50
Speaker 1: not where they want to go, Richard.
21:52
Speaker 2: That would be devastating if they're not able to get
21:55
Speaker 2: something done, but it sounds like they do have a
21:58
Speaker 2: contingency plan. With massive amount of reviews available.
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23:17
Speaker 2: NBC just came out with the piece analyzing their top
23:21
Speaker 2: five coaches in the NFL. Do you see any disagreement
23:24
Speaker 2: with here? Sean mcvay's at number one, followed by Andy Reid,
23:28
Speaker 2: your guy, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDonald, Seattle's own, and Sean Payton.
23:33
Speaker 2: Is there any you know you see any differences there
23:36
Speaker 2: from Richard Sherman's top five coaches in the league?
23:41
Speaker 1: I mean, I think the only argument you had have
23:44
Speaker 1: was is the order you know, you can you can
23:45
Speaker 1: put those depending on where you're at in the world,
23:47
Speaker 1: what team you root for. The order can be switched up.
23:51
Speaker 1: But I think that's about right. I think Shanahan, Reid, McVeigh, McDonald,
23:56
Speaker 1: and Peyton or are the cream of the crop. Obviously,
24:00
Speaker 1: the Patriots went to a Super Bowl last year, so
24:04
Speaker 1: you know, Rabel's new names in the news for obviously
24:06
Speaker 1: different reasons right now. But he took his team to
24:09
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl in the first year as a head
24:10
Speaker 1: coach for the New England Patriots, so you got to
24:13
Speaker 1: give him some credit for that. Yeah, I think it's
24:16
Speaker 1: tough on the AFC side because you know, the Chiefs
24:20
Speaker 1: weren't in it this year. You can give Liam Cohen
24:25
Speaker 1: some credit for what he's done in Jacksonville.
24:28
Speaker 2: Lawrence Man. He's got to have a quarterback to lead
24:30
Speaker 2: the charge there.
24:32
Speaker 1: Right right, right right, Trevor Lawrence st law law doing
24:36
Speaker 1: it thing, doing it. We Uh, yeah, I think this
24:41
Speaker 1: is about right. I think this is about right. Honestly,
24:44
Speaker 1: it's NFC heavy. It's NFC heavy for a reason because
24:48
Speaker 1: the NFC has the you know, I mean NFC West,
24:51
Speaker 1: NFC West heavy, three of the top five or in
24:53
Speaker 1: the NFC West. And that seems crazy, but it's accurate.
24:57
Speaker 2: Richard had we had a fan ask a question, and
24:59
Speaker 2: this be a wild one, but I gotta ask it
25:02
Speaker 2: because your fans asked it, so I'm gonna ask you it.
25:05
Speaker 2: If Kyle Shanahan and the forty nine ers missed the
25:08
Speaker 2: playoffs this year, do you think his job potentially would
25:12
Speaker 2: be in danger.
25:15
Speaker 1: They missed the playoffs this year. I don't know. I
25:19
Speaker 1: don't know who asks this question, but we gotta check
25:21
Speaker 1: what's in their cup. If Kyle Shanahan missed the playoffs
25:26
Speaker 1: this year, would he be on the hot seat? Absolutely not,
25:30
Speaker 1: absolutely not. He wouldn't even be close. He'd be on
25:32
Speaker 1: an iceberg. He'd still be on an absolute iceberg, and
25:36
Speaker 1: if he somehow was on the hot seat, then there'd
25:38
Speaker 1: be twenty seats in the NFL getting hotter as he
25:41
Speaker 1: got hotter, because if he ever got fired, so would they.
25:45
Speaker 1: Because there are at least twenty teams in the National
25:47
Speaker 1: Football League that would fire their coach that day to
25:51
Speaker 1: have a chance to interview Kyle Shanahan to be their
25:53
Speaker 1: head coach. I might be heavy high on the number,
25:57
Speaker 1: but it's I would say it's at fifteen to twenty
26:01
Speaker 1: that would love Kyle Shanahan as their head coach and
26:04
Speaker 1: the leader of their franchise. And I don't think that
26:07
Speaker 1: Jed York would would be and would be willing to
26:12
Speaker 1: fire Kyle Shanahan to make him available to other teams.
26:17
Speaker 1: There's a reason people think about him and hold his
26:20
Speaker 1: name in such high regard. I know he hasn't had
26:23
Speaker 1: success winning the Super Bowl. As team is always in
26:25
Speaker 1: the running, you know they are always going to be
26:27
Speaker 1: a factor, even this year where you lose your top
26:29
Speaker 1: three four best players throughout the season, you lose your
26:32
Speaker 1: quarterback for almost half the season, and he still put
26:37
Speaker 1: out a competitive team. They won twelve games. They ran
26:39
Speaker 1: into a juggernaut of a Seattle Seahawks team and got
26:43
Speaker 1: their heads caved in in a divisional But but in
26:48
Speaker 1: the end, it's a lot of teams and a lot
26:52
Speaker 1: of coaches would take the resume that Kyle Shanahan has
26:55
Speaker 1: had over the last nine years over the coach they've had,
27:00
Speaker 1: and people undersell how much it means to be competitive
27:05
Speaker 1: and always in the NFC Championship, always in the Super Bowl,
27:08
Speaker 1: always in the running. There's not a lot of coaches
27:12
Speaker 1: that can say that. I mean, you can say that
27:13
Speaker 1: about McVeigh red Shanahan. That's it. McDonald won the Super
27:19
Speaker 1: Bowl in his second year, so put it in the
27:21
Speaker 1: name in a hat too. But outside of that, there's
27:24
Speaker 1: not a lot of coaches that are always in the
27:26
Speaker 1: NFC championship game, always in the super Bowl, always in
27:30
Speaker 1: the running. You think they have a chance, no matter
27:32
Speaker 1: how beat up the team is, no matter how injured
27:34
Speaker 1: they are, no matter this substation conspiracy that people want
27:41
Speaker 1: to make, They're somehow always in the mix. And that's coaching.
27:45
Speaker 1: That's coaching, and that's the job that he's done. They've
27:47
Speaker 1: had great coordinators who've gone on to b head coaches,
27:50
Speaker 1: with Robert Sala being one of them. The most recent
27:54
Speaker 1: but yeah, Demico Ryans did it. They're a great franchise,
27:59
Speaker 1: and I think he's not anywhere close to the hot
28:01
Speaker 1: seat because he's such great coach. And I don't think
28:04
Speaker 1: him missing the playoffs this year would be the master
28:09
Speaker 1: class that he just put on this year. Losing Bosa,
28:12
Speaker 1: losing Fred Warner, losing Brock Perdy, losing Kittle for a while,
28:17
Speaker 1: you lost Persal for a while, and I know I'm
28:19
Speaker 1: missing something. You lost Mike Mikhael Williams for maw Wow.
28:24
Speaker 1: He lost a lot of your top players for a
28:26
Speaker 1: good portion of the season and they still won twelve games.
28:30
Speaker 1: So I think missing the playoffs would just be negated
28:35
Speaker 1: by what he just did this past season.
28:36
Speaker 2: And you look at it. I always gauge a coach
28:39
Speaker 2: and their success with what they bring out of their players,
28:42
Speaker 2: you know, making them the best version of themselves, and
28:44
Speaker 2: you look at it throughout his tenure in the NFL. Here,
28:47
Speaker 2: I mean he took Kirk Cousins, right, I mean, this
28:50
Speaker 2: was supposed to be RG three's team in Washington, and
28:53
Speaker 2: he took Kirk Cousins, and I mean help propel him
28:56
Speaker 2: to be the most money, the second most money in
28:59
Speaker 2: the NFL. Then you look at what he's to been
29:02
Speaker 2: able to do with Brock Perty, and I wonder where
29:04
Speaker 2: Brock Purty would be at in his career without Kyle Shanahan,
29:09
Speaker 2: and obviously the resurgence of Mac Jones last year. I know,
29:12
Speaker 2: Kyle Shanahan's system is perfect for the right quarterback, and
29:17
Speaker 2: it's clearly perfect for those three guys. But everything you
29:20
Speaker 2: laid out as well, Richard, the adversity he's had to
29:23
Speaker 2: overcome with injuries. I would imagine there would be a
29:26
Speaker 2: lineup of teams that would want his services if they
29:29
Speaker 2: ever let go of him with the Niners.
29:33
Speaker 1: You could even add Sam Donald to that list. Sam
29:35
Speaker 1: Donald was the backup to Brock Perty when they were
29:37
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl and twenty three, you know, and
29:39
Speaker 1: he helped revive his career. I mean, Kyle Shanahan has
29:43
Speaker 1: had a hand and a lot of this.
29:45
Speaker 2: No question about it, absolutely, Richard. Already you already labeled
29:48
Speaker 2: the Seattle Seahawks as your favorites to win the Super
29:50
Speaker 2: Bowl next season. Reality is, John Schneider has had to
29:54
Speaker 2: thread the needle here this offseason. A lot of big
29:57
Speaker 2: names went into free agency and left this organization. John
30:02
Speaker 2: Schneider and the Seahawks haven't been making a ton of
30:04
Speaker 2: splash moves in free agency. Do you think his conservative
30:09
Speaker 2: roster building approach has cost the Seahawks a real super
30:13
Speaker 2: Bowl window? Do you think it's more of a flash
30:15
Speaker 2: in the pan for them, or do you like it
30:17
Speaker 2: as a smarter long term play?
30:20
Speaker 1: What conservative roster building conservatives.
30:25
Speaker 2: That are given to us by by what fans, by
30:27
Speaker 2: our fans of the podcast here. So you tell me, man,
30:32
Speaker 2: I don't.
30:32
Speaker 1: I don't see it as conservative roster building. You don't.
30:35
Speaker 1: You have a super Bowl roster, You lose a few guys,
30:39
Speaker 1: you retain as many guys as you can within reason.
30:43
Speaker 1: You pay your best players, which they did. They just
30:45
Speaker 1: pay Jackson Smith and Jigba forty something million dollars a year,
30:49
Speaker 1: which you know, over you know, pushing it out over
30:52
Speaker 1: the six years that he has left, or the plus
30:54
Speaker 1: the two years that he has left, you know, it
30:56
Speaker 1: ends up being a very reasonable deal. You're gonna have
30:59
Speaker 1: to pay Devin Witherspoon. You already have one of the
31:03
Speaker 1: best defensive lines in the National Football League. You have
31:07
Speaker 1: depth there. You'll have to replenish that depth your offensive line.
31:11
Speaker 1: You've done great job to retain both tackles. You guys,
31:16
Speaker 1: you got a quarterback for a bargain right now. You'll
31:18
Speaker 1: probably have to address that after this season. I don't
31:22
Speaker 1: see this as a conservative deal. I think they have
31:25
Speaker 1: a really good team and they've done their best to
31:27
Speaker 1: continue to keep continuity to give themselves a chance next season.
31:31
Speaker 1: So no, I don't think. I don't think you thought
31:34
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. The same person would have thought the
31:36
Speaker 1: super Bowl window was open last year. So excuse the
31:39
Speaker 1: hell out of me. I mean, if that same person
31:42
Speaker 1: that asked this question was in the same position last year,
31:46
Speaker 1: which you have told me the Seattle Seahawks have the
31:48
Speaker 1: roster to win a Super Bowl, I don't know if
31:51
Speaker 1: you would have. I don't think you would have. You know,
31:53
Speaker 1: hindsight is twenty twenty. I thought they could win the division,
31:56
Speaker 1: but I wasn't sure if Sam Donald could do it again.
32:00
Speaker 1: It was the Gino Smith move, the right move. I
32:03
Speaker 1: wasn't sure at the time because of the history. You know,
32:06
Speaker 1: you gotta look at the history. You can't just look
32:07
Speaker 1: at one offs. But now Sam Donald has done it.
32:10
Speaker 1: Fourteen wins over two seasons for two different franchises. That's
32:13
Speaker 1: not fluky anymore. That's a guy who takes command, a
32:16
Speaker 1: guy who plays well and is consistent and consistently gets
32:19
Speaker 1: the best out of his teams, consistently makes the right
32:22
Speaker 1: decisions for his team, and they had a great defense.
32:25
Speaker 1: Mike McDonald's scheme, it's not a gimmick scheme. It's not
32:30
Speaker 1: a scheme that, oh, they're gonna look in this offseason
32:32
Speaker 1: and find the holes and find a way to figure
32:34
Speaker 1: this scheme out, and next year they're gonna have trouble.
32:37
Speaker 1: And sure there are teams that are gonna say, hey,
32:40
Speaker 1: we're just gonna take what the defense gives us and
32:42
Speaker 1: deconduct the ball down the field and be able to
32:46
Speaker 1: move the ball a decent amount. But the blitz is
32:49
Speaker 1: the way he's attacking the protections, the way he's attacking
32:52
Speaker 1: offensive line schemes. That's not easy to figure out there.
32:57
Speaker 1: These offensive line schemes are or they have stood the
33:01
Speaker 1: test of time. They how they identify the mic, how
33:06
Speaker 1: they slide certain guys, how they identify where the blitzer
33:10
Speaker 1: is and where the quarterback is hot. Those things have
33:13
Speaker 1: been around for a long time and they haven't changed
33:16
Speaker 1: a ton. So the way Mike McDonald has devised the
33:20
Speaker 1: scheme to attack the core principles of how offensive lines
33:25
Speaker 1: protect their quarterback and how offenses, including the running back,
33:30
Speaker 1: are used in these different schemes, and who they're dedicated
33:35
Speaker 1: to and who they're responsible for and who they're hot
33:38
Speaker 1: off of. If you understand that, it's similar to what
33:41
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan and they do to defenses. They know their responsibility,
33:46
Speaker 1: they know what the responsibility of the MIC is, the nickel,
33:49
Speaker 1: the d tackles, the three technique stuff, the nine technique
33:53
Speaker 1: ends the safety that's coming down in the hook, whether
33:55
Speaker 1: he's inside the hook or he's the buzzer, the cover
33:58
Speaker 1: three corner, and then they advise schemes to attack the
34:02
Speaker 1: rules of these defenses. That's what Mike McDonald does to
34:05
Speaker 1: offensive lines, and it's very tough to combat that. That's
34:08
Speaker 1: why he had so much success and his defense had
34:11
Speaker 1: so much success because he's putting a lot of pressure
34:13
Speaker 1: on himself to be right, to know the coverage and
34:18
Speaker 1: to attack it. So do I think John Snyder is
34:21
Speaker 1: being too conservative? No, I think he's basing it off
34:25
Speaker 1: the staff he has, the personnel he has, and his
34:29
Speaker 1: understanding of what they need to continue to be great.
34:31
Speaker 1: Within this scheme, and I think he's done a great job.
34:34
Speaker 2: The NFL Draft is two weeks away, Richard. If you're
34:38
Speaker 2: the GM of the Raiders, Jets, and Cardinals, he's the
34:42
Speaker 2: top three pickholders. Who are you taking in this draft?
34:49
Speaker 1: Well, if you don't have a quarterback, you gotta go quarterback.
34:55
Speaker 1: There's not a ton of depth that quarterback. I know
34:57
Speaker 1: they're trying to hype up these guys at the end
35:00
Speaker 1: to say, oh man, this guy, you guys didn't know
35:02
Speaker 1: about him. And if we didn't know about him by
35:04
Speaker 1: this point, guys, it's a reason you didn't know about him, like,
35:06
Speaker 1: but they got to hype somebody up. Like this should
35:08
Speaker 1: be a draft where maybe two quarterbacks are picks in
35:11
Speaker 1: the first round, maybe three if you stretch it. But
35:16
Speaker 1: after Mendoza, I think there's a there's a fall off.
35:19
Speaker 1: Some people would argue I'm not gonna argue with anybody,
35:22
Speaker 1: but if you go quarterback, defensive end, or left tackle,
35:29
Speaker 1: and you can find the quality guy, then those are
35:33
Speaker 1: foundational pieces and foundational areas to build your team. You
35:37
Speaker 1: gotta have those. You got to have those. You gotta
35:38
Speaker 1: have a great left tackle who can protect your quarterback.
35:41
Speaker 1: You gotta have a franchise defensive end, a pass rusher
35:43
Speaker 1: who can get ten plus sacks. You got to have
35:46
Speaker 1: a quarterback that can take you to the promised Land.
35:48
Speaker 1: If you feel like the guys that are coming up
35:51
Speaker 1: in those spots can beat those guys, then those that's
35:54
Speaker 1: who you go with. But if I have a quarterback,
35:57
Speaker 1: then I'm built. I'm building my team in the trenches.
36:01
Speaker 1: The best available defensive or offensive line is where I'm
36:04
Speaker 1: going each and every pick. I feel like corners. You
36:08
Speaker 1: can find a very feisty, productive corner in the second
36:13
Speaker 1: third round if you if need be. But championship teams
36:20
Speaker 1: have a lot of similarities. You know, you look at them.
36:23
Speaker 1: If you looked at the championship this season, if you
36:26
Speaker 1: looked at the NFC and AFC championships, you would find
36:29
Speaker 1: great defensive lines. You'd find very productive defensive lines. If
36:32
Speaker 1: you looked at the Denver Broncos defensive line. I thought
36:35
Speaker 1: the Houston Texans should have beat the New England Patriots,
36:39
Speaker 1: but they didn't, you know, And I thought they got
36:42
Speaker 1: there because they had a great defensive line. Their quarterback
36:44
Speaker 1: just had probably the worst playoff run of his life.
36:47
Speaker 1: And I hopefully he will never play that bad again.
36:50
Speaker 1: But on the on the other side, you look at
36:53
Speaker 1: the Rams. The Rams have a really good offensive line
36:56
Speaker 1: unit and a really good defensive line unit. Defensive line,
37:00
Speaker 1: those are the things that make the championship teams good.
37:03
Speaker 1: It's been a long time since you look at the
37:07
Speaker 1: NFC Championship, AFC Championship where you don't have a really
37:10
Speaker 1: good either one side of the dolphensive line or both.
37:13
Speaker 1: There's usually an all Pro offensive or defensive lineman on
37:16
Speaker 1: either team in the championship games, because that's how you
37:21
Speaker 1: build teams. That's how you win in the playoffs, running
37:23
Speaker 1: the football, great offensive and great defensive line play and
37:28
Speaker 1: a quarterback that doesn't make a ton of mistakes, Like
37:32
Speaker 1: that's what's gonna win.
37:32
Speaker 2: You're not alone in those thoughts. I mean, there's pretty
37:35
Speaker 2: much every mock draft we see has got Mendoza and
37:38
Speaker 2: then a combination of either Rvel Reese, David Bailey, or
37:43
Speaker 2: the offensive tackle for Miami, Francis Malgoa, you know, Richard.
37:47
Speaker 2: But we've also seen a couple mock drafts that we've
37:51
Speaker 2: saw Jeremiah Love flirting with a top three pick. Is
37:55
Speaker 2: there a world that you live in that you would
37:57
Speaker 2: take a running back, specifically Jeremiah Love at three. I mean,
38:01
Speaker 2: and let's talk about the Arizona Cardinals here, because they're
38:04
Speaker 2: situated with the third pick. Is there a scenario you
38:07
Speaker 2: see that possibly going with Love at three?
38:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think teams are being talked into it.
38:14
Speaker 1: I mean, Ashton Genty just went too, so it's it's
38:17
Speaker 1: obviously not out of It's not crazy to see a
38:20
Speaker 1: team do. I think it's the right drafting strategy. No,
38:22
Speaker 1: I would never do it. I would never do it.
38:24
Speaker 1: As a GM. I'm not picking a running back in
38:26
Speaker 1: the top ten unless he's just a generational talent that's
38:29
Speaker 1: clearly you can't miss. And some people feel that way
38:31
Speaker 1: about Jeremiah Love. But I just have seen in the
38:34
Speaker 1: National Football League really productive and some of the top
38:39
Speaker 1: running backs aren't top picks. You look at Derrick Henry,
38:44
Speaker 1: who's who's a Hall of Fame running back second rounder.
38:47
Speaker 1: You look at Jonathan Taylor and the season he had
38:50
Speaker 1: just had, you know, and and the seasons he's had
38:52
Speaker 1: early in his career. Second round pick James Cook. James
38:56
Speaker 1: Cook one of the best running backs in the National
38:57
Speaker 1: Football League right now. One of the key lay at
39:00
Speaker 1: the league in Russian to give us a second round pick.
39:02
Speaker 1: Then you Jamiir Gibbs, your guy from Detroit, twelfth pick
39:07
Speaker 1: of the draft, and people were questioning that when it happened,
39:09
Speaker 1: they were like, oh, twelfth pick, that's very high for
39:11
Speaker 1: jaminro Gibbs. And of course, hindsight's twenty twenty, nobody's saying
39:14
Speaker 1: that anymore. So I just don't see the need. I
39:18
Speaker 1: don't see it. That's why running backs aren't getting paid
39:20
Speaker 1: like that, because spending a top five pick on a
39:24
Speaker 1: running back when there are guys that get the same
39:28
Speaker 1: production out of a second round running back, there are
39:30
Speaker 1: guys that get the same production out of a late
39:32
Speaker 1: round running back. It's hard now, I know. You look
39:36
Speaker 1: at the college statue, look at the film, you're like,
39:38
Speaker 1: oh my god, this is a can't miss pick. But
39:40
Speaker 1: you could say the same thing about Ashton Gent. Then
39:42
Speaker 1: you watch him get to the National Football League and
39:44
Speaker 1: you see there's an adjustment period. Has he found his
39:47
Speaker 1: footing near the end? Is he on the best team? No,
39:49
Speaker 1: he's not on the best team. That's why they're picking
39:52
Speaker 1: so hot. And so is this guy going to the
39:57
Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals. Is that gonna get you over the hump?
40:01
Speaker 1: Is that Do you have bigger needs and bigger voids
40:05
Speaker 1: other places in your roster? And I'm sure they do,
40:07
Speaker 1: That's why they're picking this high in the draft. So
40:09
Speaker 1: I think you got to think about those things when
40:12
Speaker 1: you're drafting. You can you maybe move back up a
40:15
Speaker 1: few spots and pick up more picks so that you
40:17
Speaker 1: can feel more voids on your team and still get
40:20
Speaker 1: the same quality of players, still get the same player.
40:22
Speaker 1: You check with the team's behind you, Hey, who are
40:25
Speaker 1: they interested in? Are they going to pick offensive lineman,
40:27
Speaker 1: attack or a corner a defensive end? And then maybe
40:33
Speaker 1: if you do your homework you can pick them up later.
40:35
Speaker 1: I remember you saying the Lions were thinking about Gibbs
40:37
Speaker 1: at six, but they felt confident that they could trade
40:40
Speaker 1: back and get him at twelve, and they were able
40:42
Speaker 1: to get more picks for him, and you create a
40:47
Speaker 1: better team. You make yourself a stronger team than if
40:49
Speaker 1: you would have just picked them at six.
40:51
Speaker 2: No no question about it. I mean, going back to
40:53
Speaker 2: that draft and not to toot the Lion's horn, but
40:55
Speaker 2: I mean that's really was the franchise defining draft for them.
40:58
Speaker 2: You know, they ended up taking Jami or Gibbs, Jack Campbell,
41:02
Speaker 2: who's one of the best linebackers in football, Brian Branch
41:04
Speaker 2: and Sam Laporta and all the four of these guys
41:06
Speaker 2: are core four guys in their rosters, so you know,
41:10
Speaker 2: and yeah, being in Detroit, people were up in arms.
41:13
Speaker 2: Why in the world would you take a running back
41:15
Speaker 2: first round? We got bigger needs, et cetera, et cetera.
41:19
Speaker 2: But it all makes sense now, so it just to me.
41:22
Speaker 2: It depends on the scheme fit. I don't see a
41:24
Speaker 2: problem in drafting a running back mid first I think
41:27
Speaker 2: when you're the Cardinals and have so many needs, you know,
41:29
Speaker 2: the Cardinals are Titans picking at four, would I be
41:33
Speaker 2: shocked if they went with love. No, But I'm with you.
41:36
Speaker 2: I think you got to target an edge, somebody big
41:39
Speaker 2: that's going to be disruptive, and you can find a
41:41
Speaker 2: better running back in second, third round. There's a lot
41:44
Speaker 2: of good running backs in this draft. I wouldn't get
41:46
Speaker 2: too greedy. But Richard, you're already talking like a GM,
41:49
Speaker 2: So let's put you in the shoes of a GM here.
41:51
Speaker 2: If you were constructing your own team, who would you
41:54
Speaker 2: build like? What type of style of team would you
41:57
Speaker 2: build around today's players.
41:59
Speaker 1: I built I built it around the quarterback in a way.
42:03
Speaker 1: But I built it the way the same old school
42:07
Speaker 1: championship strategy that's going on to the test time like that,
42:12
Speaker 1: you don't need an elite, elite world beater quarterback. We
42:16
Speaker 1: can name the top five quarterbacks in the National Football
42:19
Speaker 1: League and really only one of them has won Super
42:23
Speaker 1: Bowls like in that's Patrick Mahomes. You can say Joe Burrow,
42:27
Speaker 1: you can say Josh Allen, you could say Lamar Jackson.
42:29
Speaker 1: These are the guys who've won MVP. So you can
42:32
Speaker 1: argue which mama, But only one of them has won
42:36
Speaker 1: to won Super Bowls and gone to Super Bowls consistently.
42:39
Speaker 1: Now everybody else. You could say Brock Perdy, you could
42:42
Speaker 1: say Jalen Hurts, who have gone to Super Bowls. Jalen
42:47
Speaker 1: Hurts won the Super Bowl last year. Drake may now
42:52
Speaker 1: Sam Donold. You know, are they in the same class
42:56
Speaker 1: as the top the Big three International Football League? Which
42:58
Speaker 1: you put them in the same class as Mahomes, Josh
43:01
Speaker 1: Allen and Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. I don't
43:06
Speaker 1: think you would. I don't think many people would and
43:08
Speaker 1: some would even throw Herbert in that mix. Some of
43:11
Speaker 1: people put Herbert in that top five mix because of
43:13
Speaker 1: his arm talent, because of his his field, his stature,
43:16
Speaker 1: and the things he can do on the football field.
43:18
Speaker 1: But they haven't won Super Bowls. The teams that have
43:20
Speaker 1: won Super Bowls, of the teams that have built, are
43:22
Speaker 1: built more complete. They have a great defense. It starts there.
43:26
Speaker 1: Great defense, great defense, great defense. They have the ability
43:29
Speaker 1: to run the football when they need to. They can
43:31
Speaker 1: just run the football. They have a quarterback who plays
43:34
Speaker 1: mistake free football. He's not turning the ball over a ton,
43:37
Speaker 1: especially when the games that matter. You get to the playoffs,
43:39
Speaker 1: you're not going to turn the ball over a ton.
43:42
Speaker 1: He can push through it. He can be dynamic when necessary. Now,
43:46
Speaker 1: can those quarterbacks play at an elite top five level
43:50
Speaker 1: at times? I think Drake May had times this season.
43:54
Speaker 1: That's why he was up for MVP, where he played
43:56
Speaker 1: at a top five level. And you can throw Matt
43:58
Speaker 1: Stafford in there. His age is why they aren't putting them.
44:01
Speaker 1: You know, to me as number one, but Matt Stafford
44:04
Speaker 1: is a high level quarterback. He won MVP this season deservedly,
44:07
Speaker 1: so but again, he has really good receivers around him.
44:12
Speaker 1: He has a good offense and they can run the football,
44:14
Speaker 1: and his defense can get the job done. In that
44:17
Speaker 1: defensive line puts a lot of pressure. So again, I'm
44:20
Speaker 1: building a great defense. First, I'm getting a quarterback who
44:23
Speaker 1: can get the job done, can can move into the
44:26
Speaker 1: stratosphere of being an elite quarterback, but doesn't live there.
44:29
Speaker 1: He doesn't live at elite status, but he can get there.
44:33
Speaker 1: I'm gonna find offensive linemen. Really, whatever scheme I'm going in,
44:37
Speaker 1: whether it's whether it's gap or zone scheme, running the football,
44:41
Speaker 1: I'm gonna find the lineman that worked for my scheme.
44:43
Speaker 1: I'm gonna find a back that can get the job done.
44:45
Speaker 1: You can find him in the draft, or you can
44:47
Speaker 1: find a bargain basement running back that can be consistent.
44:50
Speaker 1: There are running a lot of great running backs out there,
44:52
Speaker 1: a lot of guys who are sitting behind guys who,
44:55
Speaker 1: if they had the opportunity to run the ball consistently
44:58
Speaker 1: fifteen twenty carries a game, they be way more consistent
45:01
Speaker 1: and productive than you would think. And receiver, I need
45:05
Speaker 1: a true number one. You need a guy that can
45:06
Speaker 1: beat man and man coverage that hey, third and five,
45:10
Speaker 1: they know we're going to him and we can still
45:12
Speaker 1: get him the ball. He's going to get one hundred
45:14
Speaker 1: and forty targets a year and he can win. And
45:17
Speaker 1: then you need complimentary receivers, a good tight end. Depending
45:20
Speaker 1: on twelve and thirteen, personnel are starting to become more prevalent,
45:23
Speaker 1: So you need a couple of good tight ends, a
45:25
Speaker 1: good blocking tight end, and guys that can catch and
45:28
Speaker 1: get a little Yet, but I'm building defense first. You
45:31
Speaker 1: build a great defense, the offense can figure it out.
45:35
Speaker 2: It sounds like the Seattle Seahawks of last year, Richard,
45:37
Speaker 2: is a team you just constructed.
45:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's most of the Super Bowl teams. You look
45:44
Speaker 1: at Super Bowl teams, this is how they're constructed. Unless
45:47
Speaker 1: you got pastor Mahomes and you can get away with
45:50
Speaker 1: fudge and defense. But even those Kansas City defenses have
45:53
Speaker 1: been really good. And we've been talking about Spags and
45:56
Speaker 1: what he's done with his scheme for a number of
45:58
Speaker 1: years and a number of those Super Bowls. But that's
46:02
Speaker 1: the way to do it.
46:02
Speaker 2: Bellas all right, Richard, next question on the list. Obviously
46:07
Speaker 2: the forty nine ers they struggled against Seattle Seahawks defense
46:11
Speaker 2: last season. What can the Niners offense do this upcoming
46:16
Speaker 2: year to combat this tenacious Seahawks defense.
46:21
Speaker 1: Well, they got bullied and they got bullied and they
46:24
Speaker 1: had a chance in San Francisco, the bobble Christian McCaffrey,
46:29
Speaker 1: a pass to the flats that ended up getting intercepted,
46:32
Speaker 1: ended up tilling. That game was the damning factor. But
46:35
Speaker 1: then you look at the playoff game and it was
46:37
Speaker 1: decimation and you got to get some attitude back on
46:41
Speaker 1: that offensive line. I think that's where you got to go.
46:43
Speaker 1: And I think that's what the San Francisco forty nine
46:46
Speaker 1: ers have focused on this offseason, just whether it's depth guys,
46:49
Speaker 1: versatile guys. But I think they're going to continue that
46:52
Speaker 1: in the draft and they're going to have to and
46:54
Speaker 1: then you're gonna have to get some defensive lineman. But
46:57
Speaker 1: to combat this Seahawks defensive line that understands that they
47:02
Speaker 1: have been able to control you, you haven't been able
47:06
Speaker 1: to move them. You haven't been able to move Byron
47:08
Speaker 1: Murphy and Jaron Reid and Leonard Williams. You haven't been
47:11
Speaker 1: able to move them, whether it's double teamed or not.
47:14
Speaker 1: That means your guys aren't strong enough. That means your
47:16
Speaker 1: sinners and guards aren't strong enough to move these men.
47:19
Speaker 1: They are taking on double teams and standing pat and
47:23
Speaker 1: you've seen it consistently in those games. And if you
47:26
Speaker 1: can't move them with the double team, then you got
47:27
Speaker 1: to get people in there that can. And that's that's
47:30
Speaker 1: grown man, that's grown men. You can't there's no other
47:32
Speaker 1: way to combat that. You can try to do it
47:34
Speaker 1: with scheme. You can try to scheme around, like running
47:37
Speaker 1: around them, but they're fast too. They're really fast, they're disciplined,
47:40
Speaker 1: they know what you're trying to do. So you're gonna
47:43
Speaker 1: have to get body movers, you know. That's at the
47:45
Speaker 1: end of the day. You got to get guys who
47:47
Speaker 1: can move people. And if you can't move them, then
47:49
Speaker 1: you're gonna have the same problem next year. You know.
47:51
Speaker 1: Unless you just want brought Perdy to throw it forty
47:54
Speaker 1: five times and you think you're gonna beat the secondary,
47:56
Speaker 1: you're gonna beat the scheme that way, which could happen,
48:00
Speaker 1: you know, or you expect your defense to create turnovers
48:02
Speaker 1: and put them in compromise the situations. The Rams beat
48:05
Speaker 1: them once that way in La where Sam Darnold had
48:09
Speaker 1: four turnovers and the Rams found a way to win
48:12
Speaker 1: by two because Seattle fell short on the field goal
48:14
Speaker 1: at the end of the game. But they're a very
48:17
Speaker 1: difficult team to beat. They are very sound. It's very difficult.
48:20
Speaker 1: They have guys in positions that do the jobs that
48:23
Speaker 1: they are asked do really well. They have guys that
48:26
Speaker 1: are built for this scheme. So you have to have
48:28
Speaker 1: guys that are built to be productive and better at
48:32
Speaker 1: your scheme. And that's what it's going to come down to,
48:34
Speaker 1: who can execute it better. Unless they find some guys
48:36
Speaker 1: or the guys that they have get better at moving
48:38
Speaker 1: those guys out of position, it's going to be a grind.
48:42
Speaker 2: Next question in our mailbag, Richard, who are some wide
48:46
Speaker 2: receivers today that will give you a tough time when
48:49
Speaker 2: you earn your prime.
48:53
Speaker 1: A tough time? I mean, there's some really talented receivers
48:57
Speaker 1: out there, but I guess I don't know because I
49:02
Speaker 1: haven't stood in front of them. I haven't stood in
49:04
Speaker 1: front of him and really really have to deal with
49:06
Speaker 1: their releases. I've seen the tape, but tape can be deceived,
49:09
Speaker 1: and I've seen guys who give opponents one hundred and
49:12
Speaker 1: seventy five yards and then they when I play them,
49:15
Speaker 1: they have twenty thirty yards, you know. And I've seen
49:17
Speaker 1: guys who who play really well or not as well
49:21
Speaker 1: against other people, and don't you know, really shine against
49:23
Speaker 1: other people. And I've stood in front of him like,
49:25
Speaker 1: oh man, this guy got a lot more in his
49:27
Speaker 1: bag than people think. Not necessarily struggled.
49:30
Speaker 2: But.
49:32
Speaker 1: You know, I mean, you got to give Jessin, Jefferson,
49:34
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase, those guys a ton of credit because they've
49:37
Speaker 1: been doing it at a high level for a number
49:40
Speaker 1: of years. They're obviously doing something right, and these schemes
49:42
Speaker 1: that they're in are really highlighting their abilities. JS and
49:47
Speaker 1: just one player of the year and his versatility ability
49:50
Speaker 1: to move into the slot, out of the slot, into
49:52
Speaker 1: the backfield has created a lot of issues for teams.
49:55
Speaker 1: So you know, it's well, it would be tough to
50:02
Speaker 1: know because I haven't played them. You know, I played
50:03
Speaker 1: against different kind of guys Julio Megatron, AJ Green, Antonio Brown,
50:11
Speaker 1: just different types of receivers than these guys are.
50:13
Speaker 2: But who knows, Richard, We're gonna rap it fires. These
50:18
Speaker 2: last few questions here for you looking back at your
50:21
Speaker 2: draft profile, right, I mean there's a lot of critiques
50:23
Speaker 2: on you. Mel Kiper called you a reach in the
50:26
Speaker 2: fifth round, in the fifth in the fifth rich joke.
50:31
Speaker 2: Do you think they were accurate or or they just
50:33
Speaker 2: bad analysis overall? I mean, how much do you think
50:36
Speaker 2: your game really grew when you were in the NFL.
50:41
Speaker 1: I thought I was a really good player when I
50:43
Speaker 1: came into the NFL, and I felt like I proved
50:45
Speaker 1: the point when I was in the NFL. I definitely
50:47
Speaker 1: had some room to grow. But I thought they their
50:50
Speaker 1: analysis of me was insane. Some of the things they said.
50:54
Speaker 1: I didn't doesn't tackle well in space, could couldn't make
50:59
Speaker 1: for a serviceable back up, doesn't recover well average ball skills,
51:05
Speaker 1: Rich doesn't.
51:06
Speaker 2: Track man those tracks. I watched you throughout your whole career.
51:09
Speaker 2: It makes sense, Shit, it makes sense.
51:11
Speaker 1: It makes sense. I'm not recognizing these routes very quickly, Mitchell.
51:15
Speaker 1: I'm definitely not diagnosing things and reading them and reacting.
51:18
Speaker 2: And that's not like his strength or anything.
51:21
Speaker 1: You know. No, no, no, I don't play the game
51:23
Speaker 1: above the shoulders. I'm playing off pure athletic ability off here, Mitchell.
51:27
Speaker 1: That's what I'm doing so. I you know, I think
51:30
Speaker 1: some of the things about some of these players. You
51:33
Speaker 1: can't messure. You can't measure a doll and I'm a dolt,
51:36
Speaker 1: and you can't measure the competitive nature, the competitive spirit,
51:41
Speaker 1: how well a guy really meshes with the National Football
51:45
Speaker 1: League in the style in the National Football League. I
51:47
Speaker 1: don't think I was a great college player because I
51:49
Speaker 1: wasn't great in a college scheme and the things they
51:52
Speaker 1: were asking me to do didn't fit my my strengths.
51:55
Speaker 1: And then I got to the league and they were like, hey,
51:57
Speaker 1: play play how you're comfortable. But yeah, I just felt
52:00
Speaker 1: like I was a better fit in the National Football
52:01
Speaker 1: League and I could study film more. I could feel
52:05
Speaker 1: I understood the West Coast offense. So, you know, these
52:08
Speaker 1: these analysis aren't always accurate, and sometimes guys don't fit
52:12
Speaker 1: the place they're they're going. You know, sometimes you're drafted
52:14
Speaker 1: in a spot that isn't a great scheme, fit, isn't
52:19
Speaker 1: a great city, fit, isn't great for what you do
52:23
Speaker 1: and what you're going to be asked to do. So,
52:26
Speaker 1: you know, you hopefully hope these guys land in a
52:29
Speaker 1: spot that really really can showcase their abilities.
52:33
Speaker 2: Who is the hardest team for you to play against,
52:35
Speaker 2: both physically and emotionally.
52:38
Speaker 1: That was San Francisco for nine ers, just because there
52:40
Speaker 1: was so much history, so much background, so much depth
52:43
Speaker 1: to those rivalries. I don't think we got emotionally involved
52:46
Speaker 1: with many other.
52:47
Speaker 2: Teams outside the NFC West. Who would you say the
52:50
Speaker 2: biggest rivals were during the lob era?
52:53
Speaker 1: For you, probably the either Green Bay or the Carolina Panthers.
52:57
Speaker 1: Those are the teams we saw most. We saw Carolina
53:01
Speaker 1: dang there every year for some reason, and it felt
53:03
Speaker 1: like they were a division rivalry at that point. We
53:06
Speaker 1: kept seeing them so often. But uh, Green Bay we
53:09
Speaker 1: just saw in a lot of big games. Uh. We
53:12
Speaker 1: saw both those teams in the playoffs. So those two.
53:15
Speaker 2: What was your favorite memory as a Seahawks player?
53:20
Speaker 1: Uh, I don't know if I want to go one
53:22
Speaker 1: specific memory. Obviously went in the super Bowl was incredible,
53:26
Speaker 1: But I think just all the locker room moments and
53:28
Speaker 1: just that time of being around such high level players
53:31
Speaker 1: and and it's it's almost like a you know, for
53:34
Speaker 1: a five year period, you're in a zone, you know
53:36
Speaker 1: where you feel like you can you can execute your
53:39
Speaker 1: You're in total rhythm mentally with the guys you're you're around.
53:43
Speaker 1: Everybody has the same goal and moving in the same direction.
53:46
Speaker 1: And although you're all you know, alpha males in your
53:49
Speaker 1: own right, uh, you recognize that it takes humility to
53:53
Speaker 1: to be able to to win together in a team sport.
53:56
Speaker 1: And I think we had the perfect guys to do
53:59
Speaker 1: that with Richard.
53:59
Speaker 2: When you moved on to go to the play for
54:01
Speaker 2: the San Francisco forty nine ers, what was this standout
54:04
Speaker 2: moment for you when you realize the forty nine or
54:07
Speaker 2: Faithful had won you over.
54:09
Speaker 1: You know, I think just throughout the season, you go
54:12
Speaker 1: on a road as a San Francisco for nine as
54:14
Speaker 1: you just hear them, you know, especially during the nineteen season,
54:16
Speaker 1: we were winning so much on the road, you'd hear
54:20
Speaker 1: them almost takeover stadiums and that was really cool, and
54:23
Speaker 1: that was really fun, you know, coupled with winning and
54:26
Speaker 1: playing great defense, it made for a great environment. And
54:30
Speaker 1: you know, that was a really fun season being able
54:33
Speaker 1: to do that after we had we really struggled with
54:35
Speaker 1: the season before, and I was coming off the injury
54:38
Speaker 1: and I was able to play better closer to my
54:41
Speaker 1: true ability that season. Just getting that kind of support
54:44
Speaker 1: on the road was fun.
54:45
Speaker 2: Do you ever regret And I know this is one
54:48
Speaker 2: of the staple moments you probably get asked a lot
54:50
Speaker 2: about Richard. You ever regret calling Michael Crabtree mediocre trash?
54:59
Speaker 1: No, No, Michell, Michell, You'll never regret call it saying
55:03
Speaker 1: the truth, Michell, the truth, Truth stands the test time.
55:07
Speaker 2: Well, guys, we really really appreciate you guys submitting all
55:10
Speaker 2: these questions. We're trying to, you know, keep you guys
55:14
Speaker 2: in the loop as much as possible with the content
55:17
Speaker 2: Richard's delivering on a weekly basis. Greatly appreciate you, guys. Richard,
55:21
Speaker 2: I will let you sign us off my friend.
55:23
Speaker 1: As always, you guys are incredible. Thank you for joining
55:26
Speaker 1: us again. You could be anywhere in the world, but
55:28
Speaker 1: you hear with us and we truly appreciate it. Stay tuned,
55:31
Speaker 1: we'll have some Draft day coverage after the first round,
55:34
Speaker 1: we'll have more guests on the show. We'll see you
55:37
Speaker 1: next time.