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NFL Awards & Offseason Moves - Episode 3 · Banter with the Boys

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You're listening to Bantor with the Boys, talking all things sports.
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From betting and brawls, Superball to Stanley Cup Finals.
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Get laced up, it's time for Bantor with the Boys.
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What's up everybody, welcome back to Bantor with the Boys.
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We have our third episode coming at you today.
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Today we're going to be recapping some of the offseason news that has happened so far
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and also go over the NFL honors, which is the NFL awards for the year.
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So that's going to be pretty fun, but let's get everybody in here.
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So today we are joined by three fabulous gentlemen.
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We'll start with Kyle.
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How we doing?
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How we feeling, sir?
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Oh, I'm feeling good.
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Feeling good.
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Really excited to finally get episode three rolling.
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And next we do have our resident degenerate back, Moneylines with Mikey.
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How we doing today?
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Thank you, Tyler, for your heartfelt derogatory remarks as always.
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I have actually been off the train a little bit.
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I haven't made the trip to Diamond Joe's in a couple of weeks, but I will be getting
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back on the wagon here soon for all of our lovely listeners out there as we truly appreciate
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them and they definitely need those Moneylines without a doubt.
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Well we're glad to hear you're going to be back here degenerate ways there, Stanny, but
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to my right here we have Nick.
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How you doing, sir?
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Oh, you know, I'm just over here enjoying all the beautiful faces around me, ready to
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just talk some sports and just kick back and banner with the boys.
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Love to hear Mr. Nick.
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And as always, we have to thank Mr. Kevin behind the sticks making this all happen,
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brother.
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We really do appreciate it.
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And one more time, let's give him a round of applause.
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Thanks, Kevin.
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He's so beautiful.
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Beautiful face there.
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All right, boys, let's get this thing started, man.
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So we're going to start off with the NFL honors.
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We're going to kind of go over all of the awards.
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We're going to cover who did indeed win the award.
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And then one person is going to also say who they think would have been the most deserving
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second to that person.
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So we're going to have some fun with this one, but we're going to start off with the
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most important award of them all, the MVP.
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Mr. Mahomes got it.
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As we all know, he had one heck of a year, but let's hear what other takes we do have.
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Kyle, I know you had a certain someone that made another Super Bowl appearance there.
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What do you got, man?
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So obviously Mahomes is the MVP, I still think, but Jalen Hertz, you know, you could put him
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right up there as deserving for the MVP.
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This man could have easily won the Super Bowl MVP going head to head and out playing Patty
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Mahomes in the Super Bowl was very fun to see.
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I think Hertz, who by the way is only 24 years old, is a top five quarterback in this league.
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He has that it factor.
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He's all he has all the tools.
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He's got the arm strength.
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He can run.
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I feel like he kind of fell under the radar a little bit this year because the NFC was
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just so wide open and you didn't really hear his name so much.
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I think you still heard Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady even.
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I think Hertz kind of fell under under that radar, but he produced some pretty good stats.
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I wouldn't say he didn't have as many touchdown throws as a lot of quarterbacks.
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I think I think he was top 10 in passing touchdowns, but he did.
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You know, he had 750 rush yards, so that's pretty impressive.
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And then he also only had like six interceptions this year, which is pretty damn good.
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So I put him in that top five category.
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And I think the future is really bright for the Eagles for sure.
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Just based off the Super Bowl, I mean, he just went head to head with one of the best.
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So the future is definitely looking bright for Jalen Hertz.
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Yeah, I'm not going to lie, Kyle.
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The future is showing a whole bunch of cars on fire in Philadelphia.
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That man has truly some talent to keep going for years.
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Definitely cannot agree more with Nick and Kyle here.
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Myself, especially with my car not being paid off here, I for sure would not park within
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30 miles of Philadelphia, at least for the next who knows what the future.
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And the main reason why I grew with them is two key words.
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It's first of inconsistency, right?
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He was the first quarterback to amass 10 rushing touchdowns, more than 10 rushing touchdowns
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in back to back seasons.
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He had 10 his first season with 139 attempts and 13 the following season with 165 attempts.
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He's the core of this offense.
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It's amazing.
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And we've had many talks on the prior podcast about the generational talent.
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I think it's definitely the beginning of it.
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Obviously that means a longer 10 year.
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So we'll see what he does next year.
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They lost a lot of weapons.
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They lost a lot of coaches.
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If he can do what he did these last two years again next year, I think the debate will be
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settled.
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But at the end of the day, he didn't win the big game.
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He did have a crucial fumble that was a major, major factor in the game and Mahomes won it.
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And then that's going to be why we'll talk about later why I end up choosing Mahomes
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at the end of the day.
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But still, Jaylen definitely made a huge case, a huge argument.
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And for just a 24 year old, I mean his first two seasons, it's what a story he's starting
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to write.
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And definitely we'll see.
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It might be the beginning of a legacy.
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But yeah, I mean that's I think all we got.
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Unless any other comments from the room on Hertz here.
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That's some very, very good points boys.
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Hertz had one heck of a year.
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And one thing that wasn't mentioned is he actually was tied for the second most rushing
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touchdowns on the year with Austin Eckler and Derrick Henry, which is just insane from
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the quarterback level.
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Which just goes to show how truly great he was last year.
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And I hope he can continue to make a career out of this because he's certainly one of
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the young bright stars in the league.
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But let's take a shift here now.
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So my MVP is not one that will probably ever happen in this league with it being such a
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quarterback driven league.
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And the MVP is typically the best quarterback on the best team.
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That's I mean Mahomes played very, very well this year.
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I don't think anybody is going to disagree that he is deserving of it.
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But I just want to shout out Justin Jefferson.
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What this man did this year was just insane.
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He had 128 receptions on 184 targets.
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1809 yards.
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All three of those were first in the league this year.
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And that many yards is actually sixth most of all time.
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Now you can throw in there they did have the one more game than the majority of the receivers
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on that list.
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But that's still an insane performance throughout the year.
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I think the biggest thing that did hurt him is he did only have eight touchdowns.
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Which is best for eleventh in the league.
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That really can hurt you in the MVP race.
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Especially not at that prime position as a quarterback.
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He did throw one more rushing touchdown in there and he averaged a mediocre 14.1 yards
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per catch.
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Which isn't in the top it is in the bottom.
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It's very medium in there.
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But he was by far the Vikings number one threat.
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I don't think the Vikings would have touched anywhere remotely close to eight or nine games
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if he wasn't on the team this year.
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That is also coming from a Packers fan.
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So I just want to acknowledge that I am saying an MVP is a Viking.
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But I really think that he should have been in the conversation as he was all year.
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And this kid is so young.
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He's going to do so many good things in this league.
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And I am excited to watch him and Jair Alexander battle it out at least twice a year for the
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foreseeable future.
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What do you guys think though?
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I know you guys are all Vikings fans here.
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I'm on an island.
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So I'm sure you guys will like hearing this from a Packers fan.
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No I appreciate the kind of words towards our team.
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I think in a prior episode I think I called you smelly cheese if I remember correctly.
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And I don't take it back but yeah I know we still appreciate it.
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No I'm kidding.
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All joking aside he definitely was a powerhouse.
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As a Vikings fan it was the most fun football to watch.
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Just remarkable catches.
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I even saw a Facebook post saying that the NFL is rigged and that they might have magnetic
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gloves.
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I don't think so.
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Jefferson is just he's just a beast man.
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First things first is Tyler you pronounce JJ wrong.
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If you're gonna take some moment and give our boys some props.
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To counteract that I actually believe it's Jay Jeddas.
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If you were a true fan of the Vikings that is indeed his Instagram handle and everything
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he does go by.
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He did get you on that one Nick.
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You still smell like cheese Tyler.
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And ladies and gentlemen that's why they call me Mr. Wrong.
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So the only thing I really truly had to talk about is I mean whoa.
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Are we really gonna talk about Justin Jefferson and not bring up that ungodly catch by Justin
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Jefferson in Buffalo.
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Unreal.
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Unreal.
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I mean I thought I wouldn't see anything better than the old Del Beckham catch back in the
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day.
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And again this man provides.
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So yeah unbelievable year out of JJ.
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Huge shout out.
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Very right Mr. Right.
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Would you say that's one of the best catches you've ever seen.
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Where does it rank.
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Where does it rank.
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I don't see anything beating that in my opinion.
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Odell's close but man I think that takes a cake.
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I mean he ripped that out of his hands in such an age.
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I mean I don't know what he's doing with his fingers for working out but I need to find
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out because he's eaten more than just Wheaties.
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I mean given the circumstance it was fourth and 18 game on the line.
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I think it's more impressive than Odell's just the scenario wise for sure but also the
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grab I'd say it's probably the best catch I've ever seen.
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Justin Jefferson I want to know what your finger curls are.
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Yeah I'd still have to go with OBJ on that one.
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That catch was just absolutely incredible.
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He caught that thing with three fingers contorted his body around.
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It was just insane.
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I'm not going to discount that catch by JJ by any means because I was absolutely remarkable
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if you bring the scenario in.
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Yes I mean it was absolutely crucial he had to go up and make a play but that OBJ catch
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was just I mean I can still remember watching that Monday night game live and seeing that
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catch it was just absolutely insane.
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I mean it completely changed the way the receivers play the game nowadays.
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Alright enough about them pesky Vikings and Justin Jefferson now we're going to get back
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to him in a later segment here.
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Nick I know you had a take that might not be universally accepted or agreed upon.
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Who do you have bud?
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Well Tyler as we know I like to put myself out there and come up with some opinions that
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eh not everybody's going to have but I had to take a moment to shout out my main man
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Joey Money Mr. Burrow.
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You won me a beautiful championship belt in fantasy football but let's talk some numbers
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here I mean you came in with over close to 4.5 thousand yards which was fifth overall
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in the league.
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You came in with a whole 35 passing touchdowns second tied for the league.
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You dropped a little bit with your interceptions but I just think he had a great year.
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He showed consistency.
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Most people kind of thought he would take a step back and I just I feel like he really
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didn't drop off too bad.
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I mean coming from 2021 to 2022 there was only an eight point differential in the QB
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rating.
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He actually threw two less picks one more touchdown just a little less in yards so I
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just I really think Joey Burrow just needs a quick at least shout out.
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I know he's not the Mr. MVP but man there's something brewing out in Cincinnati.
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Yeah you definitely can make a case for Burrow this year.
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He really put the Bengals on the back the second half of the year.
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They didn't have much of a run game this year at least not as much balance as they had in
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the years past and we all know that offensive line is just as suspect as it gets so for
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him to have those kind of numbers with the lack of production around him which he was
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used to last year you know these these Bengals are going to be a team to reckon with for
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the foreseeable future and I'm excited to see them the Chiefs in the Bills just go at
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it the next you know five ten years feasibly.
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Now let's transition out of Burrow.
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We're going to have Money Mikey here talk about the MVP himself.
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Why did Mahomes win this award Mr. Stani?
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Thank you Tyler for properly addressing me Moneyline Mikey not the degenerate as my dad
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Sally has to listen to.
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He doesn't appreciate those words but anyways I definitely got the easiest of all the MVP
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mistakes Mahomes is the winning quarterback of the Super Bowl and I can barely remember
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any players who wasn't the quarterback of the Super Bowl to win the MVP award.
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Now he obviously has stat lines to back it you know 5200 yards passing and 41 touchdowns
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with arguably significantly less weapons.
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He's taken away Terry Kille one of the number one weapons in all of NFL next to Jay Jeddes
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as Tyler properly addressed him earlier.
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I'd be kind of curious why don't you look that up Tyler while we are bantering here
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as far as I mean I don't even know how many non-quarterback players have won it but yeah
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he's as far as some history though he is one of ten players now to win the MVP twice.
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You got quarterbacks Kurt Warner, Steve Young, Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers don't be smiling
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over there Tyler.
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Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Brett Favre don't be smiling over there Tyler.
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Johnny Unitas and then Peyton Manning having the most at a total of five rounding out that
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group of ten.
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I mean we'll see I have a feeling he could close in on Peyton.
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He's shown this year that he can do it without the weapons with the mastermind of Andy Reid.
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He's shown that he can do it.
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If that wasn't enough his key BR was a league leading 77 and a half and he did still manage
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a rush for 358 yards for rushing touchdowns.
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It's pretty amazing.
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He's just one of three quarterbacks to ever throw over 5,000 yards in a season in multiple
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years.
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So again it goes back to that first stuff thing.
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It's a pretty simple phrase but I mean everyone else out there is playing checkers for the
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most part other than a few.
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He's out there playing chess.
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He deserves it for sure and he won the Super Bowl hurt.
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I mean he pulled a comeback off.
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They were down.
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I think it might be the white jerseys that Derek called out in prior episodes but no
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he still won it with an injury and it was quite the show to watch.
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But yeah did you ever get that stat Tyler?
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How many quarterbacks?
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I mean it's always been quarterbacks.
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So it's been a pretty quarterback driven award.
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There's been 57 total MVP awards with 19 non-quarterbacks winning.
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So that's 16 other offensive players.
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We have two defensive players and one place kicker in 1982 did win the award but it's
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a quarterback award to be won here.
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Wow that actually surprises me I mean I know I don't have the best memory.
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Gambling is more my forte than remembering things.
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But still it is for sure a quarterbacks award.
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I wonder who that place kicker is though.
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That's pretty cool.
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What the hell did he do to get that?
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But anywho that's for another day maybe another podcast.
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Alright that's enough about the MVP award.
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We all know it was Mahomes to win this whole year.
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It was basically handed to him.
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So let's kick it over to the offensive side of the ball.
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We have the offensive player of the year, somebody we have already spoken about Mr.
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Justin Jefferson took this home with no real question at all.
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But Mikey I know you did have somebody that made a very very strong argument against that.
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Who do you got here?
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Yeah I mean the fan of me obviously wants to choose Jefferson.
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But from the play and the results of the season Travis Kelce obviously puts up a great case
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for offensive player of the year.
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I found something I had to do a little digging to build a good case here.
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The biggest thing is one of the more important stacks is when the receiver is getting targeted
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what the quarterback rating is.
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When Tyreek was getting targeted this year by Tua or good old Teddy depending on who
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had a concussion on which day it was a passing rate of 114.
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When Justin Jefferson was targeted by Kirk Cousins it was just a passing rating of 104.
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Travis Kelce on the other hand when targeted had a rating of 130.
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Quite a substantial difference.
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He was just Mr. Clutch.
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You throw it at him, you target him, he's going to catch it right?
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He's going to secure the ball and he's not going to make his quarterback look bad.
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He makes his quarterback look great on any given Sunday or the occasional Monday or Thursday
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or God are they going to play games Wednesday?
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I don't even know anymore.
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Kelce proves it.
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He's just phenomenal aspects.
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He's also just a great leader.
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He's a great personality.
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He's just yeah he's definitely a huge huge part of that team arguably one of the most
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impactful offensive players in the league this year especially with Tyler going over
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to Miami which you know he made a nice little check but didn't get any new shiny hardware
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and I kind of wonder how he feels about that.
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But anyways you know Jefferson obviously though puts up a great case and I'm not saying he
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didn't deserve it.
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I think Kyle is going to dive into that.
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I'm sure he's got some pretty good reasons and pretty good rebuttal here to me I suppose.
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He led the league in receiving with you know 1,809 yards.
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He's the heart and soul of this franchise of my squad I'll say that.
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He's the best receiver in the NFL.
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He's only 24 years old.
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One of the best route runners, best releases.
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I kind of put his releases in that Devontae Adams type of receiver.
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You know throw it to him in double coverage.
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He'll catch it triple coverage.
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I wish you know the last play of the season for the Giants they would have just passed
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to him instead of a check down.
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He also broke Randy Moss a single season receiving record which is really impressive.
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Just a generational talent.
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And Quasey has to sign him.
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It'll be interesting what that deal is.
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Probably over 40 million dollars.
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But we'll see but I think he's worth it for sure.
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But what a year he had.
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You guys both made some very strong arguments for the two deserving candidates of that award.
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But Jefferson you really couldn't argue against that one.
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He was very very deserving this year.
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But let's kick it over to the other side of the ball.
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We have the defensive player of the year won by Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers.
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He had one heck of a year.
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But if I were to have to put somebody else in that conversation I would pick Micah Parsons.
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That guy is an absolute stud on the edge.
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He is one of the brightest young stars we have in this league.
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And just to throw some stats out there he did have 65 tackles, 13 and a half sacks which
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was good enough for seventh in the league.
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And then three force fumbles and three recoveries.
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On top of that he tacked on 13 tackles for loss which was 17th in the league.
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So those numbers really don't scream out to you as a defensive player of the year.
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If you look at the overall rankings of where they came into play against his peers.
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But his overall impact on the field is just you can't question it.
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You have to put two people against him.
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At least bare minimum chip him with a tight end or a running back.
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His get off the ball speed and his ability to bend is just astronomical.
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He's so compact and strong.
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He is just a force of nature when he's on that field and you have to account for him
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at every single down and play.
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And that is you know that to me is the defensive player of the year.
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I'm not discounting Nick Bosa he had one heck of a year as well.
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But I think Micah Parsons should have been in that conversation as he was.
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And it's going to be fun to see these two battle it out here in the foreseeable future
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because I don't think either one of them are going to slow down anytime soon and they are
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just going to continue wreaking havoc.
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So that's what I have for Parsons.
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I know Nick you agree that it was indeed Bosa.
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What do you got here?
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Yeah that man is a machine on that defense.
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You know in this new generation type talent in the quarterbacks with how versatile they
20:26
are all over the place.
20:27
I mean you got Jalen Hurts coming in being very rushing.
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As you can kind of see in the numbers, sacks are slowly becoming less and less.
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So it's harder to get sacks now more than ever.
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He came in with a total of 18 and a half sacks.
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Now that doesn't really compare to Mr. T.J.
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Watt coming in with 22 and a half last year.
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But there is a lot more versatile quarterbacks coming in each year.
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So for him to lead the league with that, that's a big year alone.
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Especially taking that defense.
21:05
I mean that defense just went next level disgusting this year.
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They were mean, they were fast and it was hard to get around everybody with all that
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set up.
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Nick Bosa definitely, he had two force fumbles.
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It wasn't really too much tied for 22nd in the league.
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But that man was the heart and soul of that defense and it showed and it shows in him
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getting that defensive player of the year.
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Yeah I had Saquon Barkley, you know he had a hell of a year, fourth in rushing, carried
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the Giants this year.
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He had 1,312 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns.
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I think he was the only guy in that offense to be honest other than him and Daniel Jones.
21:53
Did you guys see anybody else in that Giants offense?
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Well they did have Kenny Galladay but that did not last.
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He was hanging out with Scambling I believe.
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Was there anybody else?
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No, he was very impressive.
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It was nice to see him healthy.
22:08
He looked like the old Saquon.
22:11
He had a lot of big runs.
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He was electric with the ball.
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It's really fun to see as a football fan just to see his running style.
22:23
I think he had a really good season and I think he should have won the comeback player
22:29
of the year award instead of Geno Smith.
22:32
It's tough hearing you say all that Kyle with how they wiped us Viking fans out of the playoffs.
22:37
It wasn't all Saquon but yeah he definitely had a good season but tough love there I suppose.
22:44
Yeah Kyle seeing Saquon perform at the level he did this year was one of the most heartwarming
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things in the NFL this year.
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I wouldn't say as heartwarming as the winner of this award but I was really really glad
22:54
to see Saquon get back to his form.
22:56
To be able to see what we knew we were going to get out of when he was coming out of college
23:00
at Penn State.
23:01
I was really really really impressed by him this year and I hope the Giants are able to
23:06
lock him up so that he can stay in New York and still continue with that day ball offense
23:09
which I think is just tailored to his skill set.
23:12
But let's talk about Geno.
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Geno Smith let me throw some stats at you real quick.
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So he was 399 for 572 on the year which equates to a 69.8% completion percentage which was
23:24
indeed the first in the league.
23:26
On top of that that's with the 8th most pass attempts.
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He also threw for 4200 yards which was good enough for 8th in the league.
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30 touchdowns which was good enough for 4th in the league and had 100.9 quarterback rating
23:38
which again is good for 4th in the league if you include Brock Purdy in that conversation.
23:43
Depending on how you value how many games played in that he very well could have that
23:47
third spot in that as well.
23:48
The one downfall is he did indeed have 11 interceptions which was 10th most but it was
23:53
less than Mahomes, Rodgers, Allen, Joey B and Russell Wilson.
23:58
So you have the high level quarterbacks out there making those interceptions and trying
24:01
to get the ball in those type places.
24:03
Geno is no different in that regard.
24:05
But I think the biggest thing that kind of sells me on this comeback player of the year
24:10
award is the difference between his year this last year and Russell Wilson last year for
24:15
the Broncos.
24:16
One could very much make an argument that Russell Wilson had a lot more talent on the
24:19
offensive side of the ball than the Broncos and Geno outperformed him in every single
24:23
category.
24:24
To think that the Broncos actually had to give up picks to get Russell Wilson when Geno
24:29
was on the market and Geno outperformed him across the board and it wasn't even close
24:32
is probably going to be looked back upon in the next couple of years here as one of the
24:36
biggest draft busts, I'm sorry not draft busts but trade busts that we've seen in quite
24:40
some time.
24:41
Now Wilson could turn it around in Denver with Sean Payton but that's to be seen where
24:45
we know that Geno just put the team on his back last year.
24:48
Kenneth Walker was having a heck of a year running before he got hurt and then it really
24:52
all relied to Geno.
24:54
And they made the playoffs.
24:56
How crazy is that?
24:57
Who would have thought the Seattle Seahawks were going to be the second best team in that
24:59
division and make the playoffs after the year they had last year and a lot of people say
25:04
it got worse on both sides of the ball.
25:07
So for him to put the team on his back and go out and just perform at a pro bowl level
25:12
as he was a pro bowler just solidifies to me why he is the comeback player of the year
25:17
and I was really really excited to see what he did last year.
25:20
It was really cool and wholesome to watch and I think that this award was made to give
25:25
to people like Geno Smith this last year.
25:27
Alrighty we had two really good strong candidates for comeback player of the year award.
25:31
Now we're going to switch it over to the new cats.
25:33
The rookies on the block.
25:34
We're going to start on the offensive side of the ball.
25:36
We had Garrett Wilson from the New York Jets winning this award.
25:39
I'm going to speak on who I thought might have been deserving.
25:42
Now people might say oh you're a Packers fan.
25:45
You have some bias.
25:46
I can't disagree with you.
25:47
If I wasn't a Packers fan I wouldn't be picking this player.
25:50
But what Christian Watson did this year in the second half of the year in really that
25:53
three to four game stretch I don't remember a rookie making that big of an impact in that
25:58
short of a period especially after having absolutely nothing the first six games of
26:02
the year.
26:03
But he finished the year with 611 yards on 41 receptions which is the fifth most yards
26:08
among rookies.
26:10
Seven touchdowns receiving and two rushing touchdowns which was tied first for the receiving
26:14
touchdowns and the most rushing touchdowns among receivers which does equate to nine
26:19
total touchdowns which was tied for first in the league with Kenneth Walker.
26:23
Now the yards aren't there with Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave had for that matter.
26:27
But those touchdowns and the way that he was able to come into the Packers offense and
26:31
bring that X factor he was the catalyst that we needed to turn that season around.
26:35
Now it all didn't come true to form with losing to the Lions in the last week of the
26:39
year.
26:40
But we wouldn't even have been close if Christian Watson didn't come in and just play like
26:44
an absolute dog for that four game stretch and really kind of turned our season around.
26:49
I can't disagree that Garrett Wilson was the winner here but with what Christian Watson
26:54
how he did not perform the first half of the year and then just came in with an absolute
26:58
vengeance and he did all that and only play in 14 games.
27:01
Garrett Wilson also only had four receiving touchdowns which you wouldn't think is a
27:06
number that would win this award.
27:08
But it was to be honest with you a pretty poor offensive rookie class especially when
27:12
Kenneth Walker went down with the injury.
27:15
But I know you agree with the actual winner here in Garrett Wilson Mikey what do you got
27:19
on him?
27:20
Well Tyler your kind of final points there actually kind of make my point.
27:25
For starters look and no further he played the entire season all 17 weeks which is a
27:30
huge sign.
27:31
He produced week in week out and what's most impressive is he never hit that rookie wall.
27:38
But there's a lot more I mean if you dig deeper he had the most touches by far establishing
27:43
himself as the lead force for the Jets passing game.
27:46
Wilson posted a stat line of 83 catches over 1100 yards with an average of 13.3 yards per
27:51
catch four touchdowns and the longest reception of 60 yards.
27:55
Pretty impressive stat line first year for a rookie.
27:59
Now what people don't forget and they need to factor in more is he did that with four
28:03
different quarterbacks and arguably the worst quarterback play out there.
28:08
Right I mean there's a lot of talk right now about the Jets just being a quarterback away
28:11
a quarterback away right they got these weapons they got an amazing defense but they had the
28:16
worst quarterback play and who knows will Rogers end up there is he going to end up
28:20
in Oakland is he going to retire we might be talking about that later.
28:25
But yeah it's pretty amazing and again I got to reinforce he still produced and never ran
28:31
into that rookie slump of any sort.
28:34
He executed as a top 20 receiver in football in terms of production standpoint in both
28:39
catches and yards as well.
28:41
Wilson lastly I mean he just he gave the Jets fans something to look forward to right I
28:47
mean imagine him with a you know a real weapon at quarterback what they could do with that
28:53
and who knows what they do with this offseason here as well.
28:56
But yeah I think the biggest thing is just again consistency he didn't need to warm up
29:00
he didn't need to cool down for a week he just said he stayed red hot all 17 weeks pretty
29:05
amazing I mean it would be kind of nice to have him with Jefferson in Minnesota but you
29:09
know can't have too much of a good thing at once I suppose.
29:13
But yeah I mean that's really all I got I definitely think Garrett Wilson was for sure
29:18
without a doubt deserving I mean he proved it 17 weeks in a row.
29:22
Alright we got the offensive player of the year covered we can agree to disagree but
29:26
again Wilson was deserving I can definitely agree with you on that one.
29:30
But let's kick it over to the defensive side of the ball this was a runaway winner I don't
29:34
think it was much debate if there's any sort of anonymous pick for an award it would definitely
29:38
go to Mr. Sauce Gardner.
29:41
Nick what made this year so special?
29:43
Oh man Mr. Teriyaki Sauce Gardner came into this league with an attitude and it showed
29:52
in multiple multiple multiple numbers.
29:55
This man played every single solitary week and just about every single snap he literally
30:03
faced over a hundred over 1115 snaps and only had a total of 74 targets.
30:12
That means that every 15 passes that's when he finally faced one pass.
30:19
That man was all over every single wide receiver he faced.
30:24
He did only get two interceptions but 60 solo tackles tied for 13th overall in the league
30:30
that's rare off of a CB alone.
30:35
And for him to only allow a total of 34 receptions off those 74 targets that's that's just unheard
30:44
of out of a rookie.
30:46
So the future is extremely bright with these Jets I mean for them to take home both the
30:53
offensive rookie of the year and the defensive rookie of the year I mean Sauce just came
30:58
in and threw some Teriyaki all over the league.
31:01
I don't know what you what you're thinking over there but I'm sure sure we got some extra
31:06
opinions under the KP brain of his.
31:09
Yeah Nick I think he hit the nail on the head there.
31:12
This wasn't even close.
31:14
I think Sauce Gardner's you know you watch his film he's just a stud he breaks up every
31:22
play he goes against the best wide receivers.
31:25
I think he I don't know if I'm pretty sure this is right but he only allowed like what
31:31
400 yards total out in 17 games.
31:35
So which is just ridiculous.
31:37
His instincts you know he is off the charts the fact that he can go up against the best
31:43
already and you know he's he's only I don't even know what his age is but he was only
31:49
a rookie.
31:50
I think he right now I'd say he's probably one of the best corners in the league.
31:58
I think I'd rather have Sauce Gardner over Jalen Ramsey at this point.
32:03
So it wasn't even close.
32:05
I mean you're not wrong.
32:06
I mean that that man is just beastly.
32:09
Sauce Gardner if you're listening we love you bro.
32:13
Keep keep spreading it.
32:15
Alrighty Sauce took the cake.
32:16
No questions asked or debate by I don't think anybody that watched the football season this
32:21
year but that's enough of these new cats.
32:24
Let's talk about some coaches.
32:27
We have the coach of the year up next Mr. Brian Dayball of the New York Giants took this
32:32
award and I really don't think there was much debate on this one but I know my resident
32:37
Vikings fans in here have some takes of their own here.
32:41
We're going to start this one off with Mr. Money Mikey.
32:43
What do you got here buddy.
32:44
Well I of course love to drink my own purple Kool-Aid and would have to have choose O'Connell.
32:52
It's hard to put exact stats on it.
32:54
I'm sure there's some numbers out there for most improved but I just know what I saw.
32:58
I saw an offense that couldn't produce struggle to get first down, go to a powerhouse and
33:06
in fact end up being the opposite.
33:07
We end up having a defense that really crushed us this season.
33:12
But yeah and then just from first impressions when he's speaking to the media he's just
33:16
level headed.
33:17
He's quite the opposite of Zimmer and I think he fits the new age coach of being a players
33:23
coach and to be able to reach and make a connection with them.
33:30
The culture shows it.
33:31
I think it also is a hand in hand relationship with the GM and first impressions are very
33:38
happy as a Vikings fan.
33:40
How do you feel about that Kyle and all you got some thoughts on O'Connell as well.
33:44
Yeah I thought Kevin O'Connell did a really good job this year.
33:47
You know going 13 and 4 the first season is very impressive especially with that awful
33:53
defense that we had.
33:56
I thought he put Kirk in the best situations and he gave his best playmaker the ball and
34:04
JJ.
34:07
Like his attitude and he just seems like a really good leader.
34:13
Like you said completely opposite from Zimmer and I don't think with the rookies coming
34:20
up now the old school coaching method doesn't really work unless you're like Bill Balachick.
34:28
I feel like these younger players have a different mindset and a little bit more attitude and
34:34
swag and I think Kevin O'Connell did a hell of a job this year so I'm glad we have him.
34:43
Just look at the culture of the team again.
34:46
Just look at Kirk Cousins on that airplane swaging it out and having fun.
34:50
I guarantee he doesn't do that under Zimmer.
34:53
Now we'll see what next year looks like.
34:54
They're bringing out Brian Flores.
34:55
That will be a discussion for a future podcast I'm sure.
34:59
He might bring that balance to O'Connell of the fun and the seriousness.
35:02
I know Flores has a lot to prove and wants that head coaching position as well.
35:06
So not to get off topic but yeah man it was a year.
35:09
Now Nick has another opinion on here.
35:11
Why don't you go on and introduce your guy Nick here.
35:15
Well thank you Mr. Michael.
35:16
I know the money lines aren't treating you too well but you know what you'll survive.
35:22
However just as wild as your bets were I have just as wild of a take towards the coach of
35:27
the year Mr. Wildman Doug Peterson himself.
35:32
So just a quick idea.
35:34
I did want to talk about the fact that you know he did come to the Jaguars turn things
35:39
around on many different levels.
35:43
He came in doing his typical Doug Peterson style whereas so just a quick little fun fact.
35:52
Fourth down conversions.
35:54
For the whole entire league there was a total of 31 fourth down conversions attempts sorry
36:03
attempts with a total of 10 that were converted.
36:07
Doug Peterson in his Jacksonville Jaguars total of 27 attempts on fourth down with 14
36:14
conversions.
36:15
I mean this man if that doesn't describe who this man is willing to take the bet willing
36:21
to take the balls and just put him straight on the line.
36:26
I just wanted to give him a quick shout out just because you know what nobody's really
36:29
going to fully think of him in that regard.
36:32
I do get it but man what he did with them Jacksonville Jaguars it was just beautiful
36:38
to watch and there was definitely many times where I was like scratching my head but again
36:44
somehow that man does something.
36:46
So that's pretty much what I got on the coach of the year.
36:52
Yeah that's a really good take.
36:53
If I were to have to actually pick somebody that I would say is the coach of the year
36:57
without agreeing with who did win it definitely would be Doug Peterson in my opinion.
37:01
I mean you take a team that had the number one overall pick the last two years to have
37:05
one change and that's a new coach coming in and he goes to the playoffs.
37:09
Goes to the playoffs not only goes to the playoffs beats the Chargers wins the playoff
37:13
game.
37:14
Nobody's been routed by the Chiefs that's nor here or there nobody expected them to
37:17
win that game but Doug Peterson had one heck of a year and one heck of an impact.
37:21
But I'm here to talk about Mr. Dayball.
37:23
Brian Dayball on the New York Giants took the New York Giants from a 4-13 team to a 9-7-1
37:29
team.
37:30
That might not seem like a huge great record however they were in the hardest conference
37:34
in football or hardest division in football one can make an argument for this year with
37:38
three of the teams making the playoffs.
37:40
One of those teams went to the Super Bowl.
37:42
So what he was able to do with pretty much the identical roster outside of you know cave
37:47
on tibetot.
37:49
The ability that he just brought to the offensive side of the ball he turned Daniel Jones into
37:53
a quarterback that's now expecting 45 million dollars a year.
37:57
That wouldn't have happened with the prior coaching staff but his ability and just his
38:01
mind of the offensive side of the ball you could definitely tell the impact it made on
38:05
Josh Allen and the Bills offense when he wasn't there this year and what have impacted made
38:09
on that overall Giants team.
38:11
Not only did he improve the offense but that Giants defense this year was just remarkable
38:16
and again it's pretty much the same talent that they've had the last couple of years.
38:20
He just got the right coaches in there he's one of the best leaders in the league and
38:23
again he goes back to them being a players coach.
38:26
I mean that guy is just incredible he's just looks like an NFL head coach and he plays
38:31
the part very well and I think he was very deserving of this award.
38:34
However you guys did make some pretty good counter arguments for Kevin O'Connell and
38:38
Doug Peterson.
38:40
But overall impact I give it to Brian Dayball and I think he was deserving of that award.
38:44
Alright now we're going to kind of have a change of pace here and we're going to go
38:49
into some of the off season headlines that have happened.
38:53
First we have two huge retirements with Mr. Tom Brady and JJ Watt.
38:58
We're going to take a little time here starting with Brady and just kind of acknowledge the
39:02
career that he's had.
39:03
I know he doesn't have it's a love hate relationship with Mr. Brady if you're a Colts fan you sure
39:09
as crap do not like him.
39:10
If you're a Packers fan and that NFC championship game a couple years back you don't like him.
39:15
The guy just knows how to win football games.
39:18
But what do you have to say here Kyle why don't you kick us off here with Mr. Brady.
39:21
I mean there's so much to say about this guy but I'll keep it brief here.
39:27
But it was definitely a privilege to see this man play.
39:30
He is the goat that's for sure.
39:32
He you know eighty nine thousand passing yards Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes you look at all
39:39
these young quarterbacks.
39:40
I don't think any of them are going to catch that record.
39:42
I think it's not going to be broken unless Mahomes or Allen or Burrow they would have
39:49
to play till they're at least 40 I think to have a shot or 42 or something like that.
39:55
But this guy even in his 40s played at a very high level I think.
40:01
But yeah he broke so many records.
40:03
He is definitely the goat for a reason.
40:07
Twenty three years I mean what hell of a run.
40:11
I don't think any other quarterback is going to play twenty three seasons ever.
40:16
So it was a privilege for sure to watch him and it's going to be super weird not seeing
40:22
Brady in the conversation.
40:26
Mikey what are your thoughts on Brady's retirement?
40:30
Well a couple different thoughts.
40:32
You got the money Mikey thoughts and then you got Mikey's thoughts.
40:36
Money Mikey's got him at plus 900 here to come out of retirement and negative 2000 to
40:42
not come out of retirement.
40:43
It's unlikely it's very unlikely right but who knows he might want to go home to San
40:47
Francisco be back at home get one more championship set the bar just that much higher.
40:52
He's got that three hundred fifty million dollar Fox deal though.
40:56
Correct but it doesn't start till next year.
41:00
He's got a gap year and with his early retirement who knows he might have had that all pre-recorded
41:05
and expedited to kind of potentially set a chance at moving out.
41:09
It's unlikely right but if he were to go somewhere I think he would go to San Francisco to be
41:14
close to home and after the season they had last year I mean they showed that they were
41:19
probably a quarterback away.
41:21
Who knows it's not going to happen as far as you know taking money Mikey out of the
41:25
picture and Mikey back in the picture I just I'm not a hater I'm opposite of Tyler.
41:32
His greatness man it's just I love it when someone goes out there and just dominates
41:37
dominates and just keeps setting that bar higher right.
41:40
I mean it's just awesome it's motivation right.
41:44
It's like the Michael Jordan effect.
41:45
I'm really excited to see what comes out of it right.
41:48
I mean everyone saw the Jordan documentary on Netflix.
41:51
I'm sure there's going to be some pretty interesting things that come out of Brady's legacy and
41:56
it's going to be fascinating.
41:57
I mean people are people look up to him.
42:00
There's a lot of haters out there but haters only hate those that win you know no need
42:04
enough of the haters out there.
42:06
But yeah I'm kind of curious if my brother is a hater or lover.
42:12
What do you think Nick love or hate Brady.
42:14
Well to me what separates Brady from the rest.
42:19
That man was a genius when it came to reworking his contract getting his money elsewhere by
42:25
just making a brand a staple.
42:27
I mean everything about it you know one two one two is a number that will be staying in
42:34
people's minds for a while.
42:36
A man came in this league worked his butt off and just nobody believed in him other
42:43
than himself.
42:44
He worked all the way from the get go came in filled in at every single moment was clutch
42:49
at every single moment.
42:51
But at the same time he knew he couldn't do it alone.
42:54
So that's why he restructured his contract allowed it so that they could constantly keep
42:58
stacking his team stacking his teams.
43:02
This man you know would stop going on darkness retreats and start taking a page from Brady's
43:07
book of restructuring his deals.
43:10
Maybe there might be a little bit more trophies over there in the cheese land.
43:14
But one thing you cannot say is Brady did not do it wrong.
43:20
That man did it right and his hands are probably getting the constant work out from all that
43:26
ring weight on his hands.
43:28
So congratulations Mr. Brady keep keep rocking your thing.
43:33
And if I'm a betting man definitely going to be putting some money on Brady coming out
43:39
of retirement.
43:40
I just think that man likes a little too much drama to call it quits yet.
43:46
But we'll see.
43:47
We'll see.
43:48
So with that Mr. Tyler I've been wondering what's on that Mr. Right mind of yours.
43:55
Well I'm going to let the Rogers comment slide for now because I don't want to put a negative
44:00
effect on Brady's greatness.
44:02
I am a hater of Brady.
44:03
I'm not a huge fan of him but I do respect greatness and Tom Brady is the GOAT.
44:08
Now the GOAT is a very very argumentative discussion depending on how you look at it.
44:13
To my opinion there's the most talented of all time, the most accomplished of all time
44:17
and the GOAT is the combination of those two.
44:20
So he's easily the most accomplished of all time.
44:23
Seven Super Bowl rings is only replicated by well no other person.
44:27
So that's pretty impressive.
44:28
On top of that this man was a six round pick.
44:32
A six round pick in 2000 to have a 23 year career.
44:36
You could break that 23 year career down in three different careers and every single one
44:42
of those three segments are Hall of Fame careers.
44:45
That is, nobody can say that.
44:46
It is absolutely insane what this man has done for the game of football, what this man
44:50
did for New England and then did bring that Super Bowl down to Tampa Bay as well.
44:56
I don't think there's much that needs to be said outside of Tom Brady as he is the GOAT.
45:00
He will be the GOAT for the foreseeable future.
45:02
I think there is a certain number 15 in case who could surpass him at a certain time.
45:07
But as of right now we just have to relish in this man's accomplishments and just thank
45:10
him for the greatness that he did bring to the league the last 23 years.
45:14
And it was an absolute honor and privilege for me to watch that.
45:16
As much as I didn't like seeing it, I will recognize greatness and I respect the heck
45:20
out of the man for what he accomplished in football and what he did for this league.
45:24
And I really am excited for what he does after football.
45:27
He's going to be the best Fox analyst there ever will be.
45:30
The amount of effort and time he puts into the game of football, he's just going to
45:33
continue that into his overall work ethic, into whatever venture he does look at.
45:37
I hope he can get things right with his family.
45:40
That was kind of a downer to see after the success that that family as a whole has brought
45:45
there and what Chiselle did mean to him during those Super Bowl runs.
45:48
But nonetheless, this man is a seven-time Super Bowl champion, three-time MVP, two-time
45:53
offensive player of the year, and a five-time Super Bowl MVP.
45:56
Those are stats that I don't think will ever be broken or matched or even touched.
46:00
So you just have to look at this guy and just thank him and just, it truly was an honor
46:05
to watch his greatness in its true form in the span of two decades.
46:10
So with that, we're going to wrap up on Tom Brady and we're going to go over to Mr. JJ
46:14
Watt.
46:15
I'm going to kick this one off.
46:16
As JJ Watt is, he means a little bit more to me being how I am from Wisconsin.
46:20
He's from Wisconsin.
46:21
He played at the University of Wisconsin.
46:23
He excelled at Madison.
46:24
I loved watching him play at Madison and I really, really wish the Packers would have
46:27
moved up in the draft to draft him.
46:30
He was probably the most coveted player that I wanted the Packers to ever draft that came
46:33
out of the UW.
46:34
And then, you know, his brother a couple of years later, I really wanted to make that
46:37
pick as well, but Ted Thompson will be Ted Thompson.
46:41
That's a discussion for another time.
46:42
But JJ Watt, let's talk about the man himself.
46:45
He's a three-time defensive player of the year award.
46:47
That's only been done two other times with Aaron Donald and Lawrence Taylor.
46:50
That alone tells you of but his greatness as a whole.
46:53
To think that he had in his final year this last year, 12 and a half sacks and then hung
46:58
him up, like he's truly going out on top of the game.
47:01
One thing I would have loved to see is him hoist a Lombardi and bring that back to the
47:04
city of Pewaukee.
47:06
But for a five-time first-team all-pro, Walter Payton, man of the year, what else needs to
47:11
be said about this guy besides just overall greatness and he was truly a game wrecker?
47:15
Even when the Texans wanted to mess around and throw him on offense, he was one of the
47:18
best tight ends on the team.
47:20
Just absolutely insane to watch this guy work.
47:22
His body of work that he put into it speaks for itself, but I think his work ethic goes
47:26
above and beyond anything else to see what him and his brothers are even doing in the
47:29
offseason nowadays.
47:31
To think that TJ Watt is arguably the best edge defender in the game right now, can just
47:37
have a call to his older brother who was one of the greatest interior defenders of all
47:41
time.
47:42
It's just wild to think the success that the Watt family has brought to the NFL and will
47:46
probably continue within that bloodline.
47:49
But I know, Mikey, you had some pretty good thoughts on JJ here as well.
47:51
What do you have there?
47:52
Yeah, all very valid points, Tyler.
47:54
If we had more time at you to be kind of curious though, I mean, the Kelsey bloodline is looking
47:58
pretty good as well.
48:00
But from being a defensive lineman myself through high school and varsity, Watt definitely
48:06
has been an inspiration in his time for me.
48:09
Unfortunately, I, the most I ever got to, was 6'2", 183 pounds.
48:13
I was not 6'5", 288 pounds.
48:16
So I ended up a little bit light despite eating five meals a day.
48:20
I don't know what Watt did different, but it didn't work for me.
48:22
Anyways, all joking aside, he was amazing to watch.
48:25
Just no one else has tore apart offenses as much as Watt did in quite a long time.
48:30
Fortunately, Moneyline, Mikey's got, has no prop bets.
48:32
I can't find any stats.
48:34
I think with his injuries the last couple of years at the shoulder and his pretty early
48:38
announcement, it's not looking very likely for him to come back.
48:41
So no grease here, unfortunately, for Money Mikey.
48:44
But let's go ahead and go around the table here.
48:46
What do you think here, Kyle, about Watt's retirement?
48:48
Yeah, you guys all make good points about JJ Watt.
48:51
Yeah, I believe he was the only player in NFL history with multiple 20 sack seasons,
48:57
which is very impressive.
48:58
I think TJ Watt could be the next, which is pretty sweet.
49:04
Yeah, he was just super dominant.
49:08
In his prime for sure, he's a freak of nature.
49:12
Going to fantasy football days back in 2014, I think I drafted him and didn't know it was
49:19
a defense only team.
49:22
You have to say defensive team, but I drafted JJ Watt in 2014.
49:27
He was a, he's a monster man.
49:29
You know, he's definitely a Hall of Famer and he'll definitely be missed for sure.
49:35
Nick, what do you think?
49:36
So in honor of Mr. Watt, I figured I'd kick it back to his best season.
49:40
Back in 2012, this man came in and just dropped numbers left and right.
49:50
69 solo tackles.
49:53
Perfect number.
49:54
I mean, in general, that man just was all over the field.
49:59
12 assisted tackles on top of it.
50:01
20.5 sacks, one of those seasons that Mr. Kyle quoted over there.
50:07
And even on top of all that, 16 passes defended, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
50:14
I mean, you can't, you can't, you can't even stress how unbelievable of a season that is
50:22
for a defensive lineman.
50:27
For him to do all that, you just, you can't, you can't replicate that.
50:32
He's going to be missed.
50:33
He surely was just a talent that you could not replicate.
50:38
Mr. JJ Watt, you were a force.
50:42
Enjoy that retirement, man.
50:43
Well learned.
50:45
One thing to add into that 2012 year as well is he had 39 tackles for loss, which since
50:50
1999, there is the next closest is 29 tackles for loss, which JJ Watt did twice in 2014
50:57
and 2015.
50:59
And then it goes to the next player at 28.
51:01
So his run between 2012 and 2015, you could argue is the greatest three year run in defensive
51:07
like football history.
51:08
What he was able to do was just absolutely astronomical.
51:12
And then he got the injury bug.
51:13
Then he played another full season and racked up another 16 sacks.
51:16
This guy is just a force of nature and it truly was an honor to watch him play, especially
51:21
be having that Wisconsin blood in him and, you know, a true hometown hero in his area
51:27
and just an overall Wisconsin hero for anybody growing up watching him play.
51:33
Alrighty we're going to wrap this podcast up with one of the most debated topics in
51:38
football as we speak.
51:40
We have a certain quarterback who has played in Green Bay for the last 18 seasons that
51:45
there is some some doubts in the air on where is Aaron Rodgers going?
51:52
We all know I'm the resident Packer fan here, so I'm going to go last in this one.
51:55
I want to hear your guys's takes first.
51:57
We're going to start with you Nick.
51:58
Where is Mr. Rodgers landing?
51:59
Well ladies and gentlemen, I have a feeling that Aaron Rodgers isn't going to have to
52:05
travel so far for that good old darkness retreat.
52:08
I see him going out to Vegas, you know, being able to try any sort of ketamine, anything
52:15
that he needs to try to be focused enough to throw that ball to Mr. Devante Adams.
52:21
You know, I do think Aaron Rodgers is a phenomenal talent.
52:25
Jokes aside, you know, he can do whatever the hell he needs to do in the off season
52:30
because every time he shows up, it doesn't matter what it was.
52:36
Every season there's something to joke about with this man and I love it.
52:39
I love it as a Vikings fan, but when we're talking to your talent, we're talking to your
52:43
record, we're talking to your just overall Rodgers, the man is unbelievable.
52:49
So he can go anywhere he wants, he'll be successful.
52:53
So Mikey, what you got over there?
52:55
Where do you see this man going?
52:57
Where do you see him being successful?
52:58
Yeah, Nick, Money Mikey here, did a little research and Vegas agrees with you.
53:04
It's the favorite at minus 300, 10 bucks only gets you $13.
53:08
Don't waste your money.
53:10
Jetson Green Bay are your next favorites and then comes New England.
53:14
But as far as my stance, I'm going with retirement A from a money Mikey standpoint, think I'm
53:19
going to drive down to Iowa this next week.
53:22
10 bucks would win you at least $210, which is pretty solid.
53:26
And on top of that, Rodgers is a drama queen.
53:29
It wouldn't surprise me for him to drag this whole retirement out, the darkness retreat
53:33
seems kind of like a marketing scheme.
53:35
He's probably just going to hop on, you know, maybe that pad McAfee podcast me full time
53:39
or who knows what he's going to do.
53:41
He's definitely just out there shaping his brand.
53:43
I feel like to ultimately retire.
53:45
He's just a drama queen in my opinion.
53:48
But sorry, that's the Viking fan coming out of me.
53:50
You know, I got no facts, obviously, that back that other than, yeah, screw Rodgers.
53:55
My last comment, it would be nice if we could repeat the far.
53:57
I hope he goes to the Jets and then we get rid of cousins and then we go and whip Green
54:02
Bay's butt in Lambeau for multiple years.
54:04
That'd be awesome.
54:06
But what do you think Kyle of that?
54:09
I agree with Nick on this one.
54:10
I think he I think he might go to the Raiders.
54:13
Him and Devante already have a connection, probably the best connection I've ever seen
54:16
with a quarterback and wide receiver.
54:18
If it's not the Raiders, it probably is the Packers.
54:22
I don't see any other team.
54:24
Honestly, I don't think the Jets.
54:27
I don't think he would go there.
54:28
I think it would only be the Raiders or the Packers.
54:33
But I'm going to go with the Raiders on this one.
54:36
Tell me what are your thoughts on this one?
54:38
Where's he going?
54:39
Yeah, I definitely have some thoughts.
54:41
For one, I didn't know Mikey was going to turn this into a Rodgers bash session.
54:44
I didn't know that was the name of the segment.
54:46
But you know, Vikings fans will be Vikings fans.
54:49
They are the most petty people out there, especially when you're a Packer fan living
54:53
in Minnesota.
54:54
It's not really in my favor outside of the trophy room that is not collecting dust.
54:59
But let's get back to Rodgers.
55:01
So Rodgers, I really don't see him going to another team.
55:04
I think it's either going to be retirement or coming back to the Packers.
55:07
He hasn't indicated anything other than either coming back to the Packers or retiring.
55:12
I think the Packers would have to make some changes.
55:15
They're going to obviously have to restructure that contract.
55:17
There's no way that you could retain anybody that we need to with that contract.
55:21
And we're going to have to keep those glue guys in the locker room that Rodgers does
55:25
like.
55:27
I think he's coming back.
55:28
I don't think he wants to end his career like the year he had last year.
55:32
He had in Rodgers terms a down year, which a down year for Rodgers, 90% of the quarterbacks
55:38
in the NFL would take.
55:39
But he didn't live up to that Rodgers level.
55:41
And I don't think he could live with himself with ending the season like that, especially
55:45
with how much they progressed throughout the year.
55:48
And those rookie receivers came into play.
55:49
He started finding old man Randall Cobb.
55:52
Robert Tunian started getting some actual targets.
55:54
And then they schemed up plays to get Mercedes Lewis in that game.
55:58
But I really think he's going to come back to the Packers.
56:01
I would welcome Rodgers back for the next 10 years, even if he's throwing for negative
56:04
yards in a game and he has a negative quarterback rating.
56:07
He's done so much for the franchise that I love and I've loved my whole life, that he
56:11
will always be a Packer in my opinion and I will welcome him back with open arms.
56:14
However, if he does retire, I really do want to see what we have in Jordan Love.
56:18
If he is going to be the future, then I want him on the field.
56:21
I don't want him to sit out another year and then go find another team in free agency.
56:25
And then we're back in the boat of having to draft somebody.
56:28
That would be probably the worst first round draft pick of all time if that took place,
56:31
if he isn't going to at least get a chance to prove himself and show that he is a franchise
56:34
caliber player.
56:36
If he were to be traded, the only team I could see that makes sense for him would be the
56:39
Raiders.
56:40
There's a lot of speculation of him going to the Jets.
56:42
I strongly believe Derek Carr is going to the Jets and they're going to get that figured
56:45
out before Rodgers makes his decision.
56:48
There's a lot of sense that makes with the Raiders.
56:49
It's closer to his home in California.
56:51
He has Devontae Adams there to throw the ball to.
56:54
On top of that, Hunter Renfro, Darren Waller, they bring back Josh Jacobs.
56:58
That offense would just be stacked and loaded.
57:00
They would have to do a lot on the defensive side of the ball, but who's to say they don't
57:03
have to for the Packers right now after the defensive miscues we had again in that first
57:07
half of the season.
57:08
But the Packers really showed who they're truly capable of being the second half of
57:12
the season, so I think if Rodgers is going to make a decision based on play, he has to
57:16
look at the progression they made.
57:18
Now obviously they kicked the curb with the Detroit Lions game.
57:22
That was not a good performance by in any way, shape, or form, but that's another reason
57:26
why I don't think Rodgers could end his career with Green Bay on a play like that, or not
57:30
a play like that, but a season like that and then such a pitiful game to end it on.
57:34
I just can't see it happening, but I think it is going to take the Packers to accommodate
57:39
and make some changes for him as well.
57:41
So my question is, so yeah, if they keep Rodgers, yes he would have to restructure his deal,
57:48
but what do you think is going to keep that man happy there?
57:52
What's truly going to keep him being able to stay there?
57:56
I mean, there's no weapons around him.
58:00
It's fully because of his contract, but I think there's too many problems of him staying
58:07
there when you have so much talent in Jordan Love.
58:10
I mean, at what point do you, I mean, you might as well sell high while you have the
58:18
high demand when you have something ready to replace.
58:21
I agree on the Aaron Rodgers thing, but what do you think is going to change that?
58:26
Now, I mean, I would agree, you've got to see what you have, but it's not a matter of
58:29
the Packers not welcoming back.
58:31
They've already made it very clear that they are going to welcome him back with open arms.
58:34
You'll hear stuff in the media, but you got to look more into it.
58:37
Media will be the media, especially involving Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
58:40
You have to look more in just the snippets and the news articles you see.
58:44
The Packers, they've shown open arms.
58:46
They want him back.
58:47
He's already acknowledged that there's too much money in this cap.
58:50
He's going to restructure.
58:52
He's acknowledged that on Pat McAfee, which he is a weekly participant on during the NFL
58:56
season.
58:57
To make him happy, I don't think he was unhappy as a Packer last year.
59:02
To make any drastic changes, we have to realize that there's a cap room here.
59:07
There's not a lot of free agent receivers out there that are worth anything.
59:11
The one person I would like to see, one of two people would be a Mike Isecki or a Dalton
59:15
Schultz coming in at the tight end position, giving us some depth and some solid people
59:20
there.
59:21
But to say there's no talents is just kind of silly in my opinion.
59:25
When you look at the production of the receivers that they had in the second half of the year,
59:28
and we still got Aaron Jones and A.J.
59:30
Dillon back there, they're not going anywhere.
59:32
We already just extended or restructured Jones, so he'll be back.
59:36
You'll see the balance in the offense shifted more to that run game this year, and it was
59:40
very successful.
59:41
As long as we can keep that balance and we give in Christian Watson and Romeo Dobbs a
59:45
chance to develop, and who better to develop with than Aaron Rodgers?
59:48
Granted, he's not meeting with him in the offseason and throwing with him, which a lot
59:51
of other quarterbacks are.
59:53
At the end of the day, it doesn't take him that much to get that timing when it's already
59:56
been established last year.
59:58
This year going into a rookie year, that lack of connection wasn't there the first half
1:00:03
of the year, and it was very evident.
1:00:05
But I think as they grow, there's a pretty good draft class coming in this year with
1:00:08
receivers.
1:00:09
Now, the Packers won't pick one in the first round.
1:00:11
They just simply don't do that.
1:00:13
But there's a lot of depth there, and there's a lot of opportunities in the later, even
1:00:17
the mid rounds there to get some receiving talent.
1:00:20
And I just can't see him playing in another uniform, especially if you bring up what's
1:00:25
going to get him there, so what glue guys are in a different locker room that he's going
1:00:28
to go to that he has that chemistry, that development with outside of going to Raiders.
1:00:32
It's just Devontae Adams.
1:00:34
There's nobody else that he'd prior played with there.
1:00:36
So I think bringing back Randall Cobb, he actually might, I believe he's a free agent,
1:00:42
but Randall Cobb, Mercedes Lewis, David Boctiari, and Robert Tunney are all guys that he has
1:00:46
said that are glue guys and he'd like to see in the locker room, but if we can't bring
1:00:51
back Tunney because he wants this big contract, I don't think Rodgers would look at that as,
1:00:54
oh, we're not offering to pay him.
1:00:56
We just have to work within the cap, and Rodgers has to acknowledge that he has a heavy cap
1:00:59
hip, which can be restructured and moved around.
1:01:01
The cap is almost non-existent nowadays with void years and all that BS, but I really don't
1:01:07
see him playing in another team.
1:01:09
And if he does, the only team I could see that would make sense would be the Las Vegas
1:01:13
Raiders.
1:01:14
Yeah, I see what you're saying by that.
1:01:16
I just, I feel like there's more missing than just a restructured contract with them.
1:01:24
I feel like it's just trying to beat the head over a nail with something that, you know
1:01:29
what, they aren't really that far off.
1:01:31
You guys have a defense now that is pretty solid.
1:01:35
So there's a lot for Rodgers to come back to.
1:01:39
I just see it as sell high, now's the time.
1:01:43
I mean, to say that sell high now is the time, that's out of the question.
1:01:46
The Packers aren't going to trade him unless if he wants to be traded.
1:01:50
They've made that abundantly clear through this whole process.
1:01:53
So that concept of it, and to think that, so put yourself in a Packers fan right now
1:01:58
and a Packers organization.
1:01:59
You invested a first round pick and this guy didn't play for three years and then turned
1:02:03
a three, or then for the next 15 years, won four MVPs, one Super Bowl, one Super Bowl
1:02:08
MVP, multiple All-Pros, and is always in the consideration for a top three quarterback
1:02:12
in the NFL.
1:02:13
As an organization, you cannot just get rid of that to sell high.
1:02:16
It has never happened at the quarterback position outside of maybe Peyton Manning, and that
1:02:21
was under different circumstances with the neck injury and Andrew Luck, a generational
1:02:25
talent from the get-go coming in.
1:02:27
So that is a little bit different situation.
1:02:29
Brady was a free agent, went to the Bucs.
1:02:31
Drew Brees requested a trade from the Chargers and went to the, or I believe he got traded.
1:02:35
If not, he signed as a free agent with the Saints.
1:02:37
You know, so for you to get rid of a quarterback that is coming off of not more than two years
1:02:43
ago was an almost unanimous MVP in the league, like an organization isn't going to get rid
1:02:48
of that to see what you have in question mark in Jordan Love.
1:02:53
So like that concept of it there, I can't get behind it all just because of what he's
1:02:57
meant to the organization and how much they've already said that they would welcome him back
1:03:00
with open arms.
1:03:01
All right, boys, that was one heck of an episode.
1:03:04
I had a really good time.
1:03:05
I'm glad we got to talk about the awards and some offseason moves and some predictions
1:03:09
of where Mr. Rogers is going.
1:03:11
It's been an absolute pleasure, boys.
1:03:13
We will be back next week with episode four of Banner with the Boys.
1:03:17
Kevin, cue the music.
1:03:20
Don't forget to follow, like and subscribe.
1:03:24
Tune in next time for more Banner with the Boys.