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Aaron Donald's Return is Complicated & The Niners Aging Roster · The MMQB NFL Podcast

0:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Hello, welcome to the MQD NFL podcast, I'm a little bit doubtable for your I am worse because I took my kids to a carnival It was hotter than the surface of the sun and everything cost a hundred dollars That's what a carnival is now apparently just a lot of shit.
0:20
[SPEAKER_01]: I right now like we do
0:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
0:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's like the, you know, the, the carnies roll in and you're like, oh, this will be like good old fashioned family fun.
0:28
[SPEAKER_00]: $40 for a ride risk band.
0:30
[SPEAKER_00]: My God.
0:31
[SPEAKER_01]: What happened?
0:32
[SPEAKER_01]: So is this just in some parking lot?
0:33
[SPEAKER_01]: One of those that just pops up in some parking lot somewhere.
0:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like the vacant field next to the firehouse.
0:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
0:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
0:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
0:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought that the I thought we were supposed to get those are true in the arms like the ones that are those ones those are true.
0:46
[SPEAKER_01]: The road dogs.
0:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah, the road dogs, but note note no time to get into this today because we have 10 burning questions Albert that we're gonna address over a series of a couple of shows
0:57
[SPEAKER_00]: as we lead into training camp.
0:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I know that you're hitting the road.
1:01
[SPEAKER_00]: We're putting to bed the football preview issue, which I can't wait if you're not subscribed to the magazine, you're out of your mind.
1:07
[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be great.
1:09
[SPEAKER_00]: But I want to start with something that I think is on everybody's mind after seeing the aren't Donald workout video.
1:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, he wanted to just get a feel for being in pads again, and I think that that's a real thing for a player who was very comfortable walking away with his legacy secured.
1:25
[SPEAKER_00]: You're not going to go in half pregnant if you're going to unretire at Aaron Donald's age and come back and try to do this thing.
1:33
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Aaron Donald's a guy who does it full bore.
1:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:35
[SPEAKER_00]: But I mean, so I guess to reset the burning question, this is already I, I, I,
1:42
[SPEAKER_00]: at least from my perspective, the best team on paper that I can remember going into a season in my time covering the NFL.
1:51
[SPEAKER_01]: So can I throw one little bucket of cold water on that?
1:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
1:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I think the electric jackson thing is a bigger deal when people release one of the four five best offensive tackles in the NFL and there's a very real chance that he starts the season system.
2:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Allergy Johnson is spending I don't know who they replace him with right I think it's a problem you know and I think it's just with an older quarterback who you want to minimize
2:25
[SPEAKER_01]: I it's just it's not nothing you know what I mean like and I think there's going to be a lot of hype and rightfully so they were very close to getting the Super Bowl last year.
2:35
[SPEAKER_01]: They're adding miles Garrett.
2:37
[SPEAKER_01]: They're adding Trent McGuffie.
2:39
[SPEAKER_01]: They look loaded for bear expectations are sky high as they should be but left tackles a very difficult position to have a deficiency at and they've got a really good one who they paid.
2:54
[SPEAKER_01]: who, you know, now it looks like at least they're gonna have to manage as an absence and for how long we'll see.
3:02
[SPEAKER_00]: So I want to put this into a couple buckets.
3:04
[SPEAKER_00]: First of all, do you think that the Rams are worthy of just the unfound height?
3:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Because if you're the Seahawks you're standing over there and you're like, okay dude, like we actually beat you guys twice.
3:16
[SPEAKER_00]: We won the Super Bowl, but the addition of Miles gear, the addition of Trent McDuffie, like all that stuff, it creates a hype snowball that is impossible to tame.
3:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So let me give you a good anecdote on this,
3:33
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just interesting from my perspective, so during Super Bowl week, you know, you know, the Patriot coaches know that I have an AP vote and.
3:45
[SPEAKER_01]: they love Drake.
3:46
[SPEAKER_01]: They all love Drake, right?
3:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I had one of them come up to me after watching Matthew Stafford in the NFC title game.
3:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Say, if you voted for that dude, I can't blame you.
4:03
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was sort of tongue-in-cheek, but it was like a little bit more like real light, like this guy was out of this world.
4:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And you saw what Seattle did.
4:14
[SPEAKER_01]: to everyone else, you know, on that side of the ball and the ram scored the way they scored in that game and I and and look like they I think it was very clear.
4:24
[SPEAKER_01]: They tried to get away with having a lot less a corner the last few years and it finally wound up biting them and
4:33
[SPEAKER_01]: So they go in and they basically import the chiefs corners.
4:36
[SPEAKER_01]: They bring in Trent McDoffee, who is a pro's pro.
4:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe he's not Pat Sertan, maybe he's not Derek Stingley, but like he's somebody you can do a million different things with and you're going to get a really good level performance from.
4:51
[SPEAKER_01]: They bring in jail and lots and then of course, they get the big prize and bring in Miles Garrett.
4:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was a defense that was already pretty good even with the corner deficiency.
5:02
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I think expectations should be super high for them.
5:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Like it wouldn't surprise me if they won 15 games.
5:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's even in that division that has the Super Bowl champion in it.
5:13
[SPEAKER_01]: That has the, you know, has as two teams that were in the Super Bowl over the last.
5:19
[SPEAKER_01]: three years in it, you know, or there's the last two years in a row.
5:22
[SPEAKER_01]: No, two, two, two, two, two, two, two last three Super Bowl.
5:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So, um, yeah, I mean, I think that the, I think the Rams expectations are where they should be, it's a really, really good team.
5:34
[SPEAKER_00]: So, let's get to Aaron Donald because I think, so I agree with you in the sense that Alehr Jackson being suspended is devastating.
5:44
[SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, so this is like some fun research that I did for my first time, ProBolar's article, how many ProBolar offensive linemen has shown McVehat since he became the head coach of the Rams in 2017.
5:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Is this zero?
6:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Zero.
6:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
6:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So here's my rebel.
6:04
[SPEAKER_01]: My rebel.
6:04
[SPEAKER_01]: I go ahead.
6:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Is if you look at, if you look at coaches and that system, what they generally have is the left tackle.
6:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And they generally have the left tackle and I can work with everybody else.
6:17
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what Kyle Shanahan has had in San Francisco over all these years.
6:22
[SPEAKER_01]: It was Joe Staley and then it was Trent Williams.
6:26
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's the most for the most part what Sean McFay has had.
6:29
[SPEAKER_01]: One of the first things he did when he got there was sign Andrew Whitworth.
6:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Andrew Wettworth was a foundation piece for the first five years, and then they go to no book with the book.
6:42
[SPEAKER_00]: How did Wettworth not make any proposals there?
6:45
[SPEAKER_01]: That's wild.
6:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It could be just being in the same conferences, Trent Williams and Joe Staley, and I think Wettworth, it is wild that he did, you know, because he was, I mean, I think one of the
7:00
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he did make the, he made it during McVase first year.
7:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So I, I mixed up the, okay, it was first team all pro, actually.
7:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, McVase first year.
7:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, but take your good corner.
7:14
[SPEAKER_00]: But, so my rebuttal to the rebuttal is that the Rams, like Alehr Jackson was an undrafted free agent, right?
7:23
[SPEAKER_01]: And they developed into what he's become for sure.
7:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, throughout the course of a training camp.
7:31
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
7:31
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, but it is interesting, like Kevin Dodson, for example, on the Rams.
7:38
[SPEAKER_00]: So going into the games where he was injured.
7:42
[SPEAKER_00]: they were the second best team in EPA in rushing the ball first overall offensively when the three games that he missed at the end of the season they were 16th and if you pull out offensive linemen from a steady McVay system it does have
8:05
[SPEAKER_00]: it does have ill effects, you know, and so I absolutely think that that's worth our discussion worth some thought here, but I'll pivot to Aaron Donald because it's like
8:16
[SPEAKER_00]: It may not matter, if we get a fresh air and Donald, and yes, he's 35, but God, he went out at the peak of his career, he's refreshed, he is.
8:29
[SPEAKER_00]: But 35 isn't what it used to be, he maintained that shape.
8:34
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, pairing miles Garrett and Aaron Donald, even at their ages would feel historic.
8:41
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
8:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, what are your thoughts on that?
8:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I think we should, there, there's got to be some level of respect for how difficult it is to pull that off at his age with that layoff.
8:54
[SPEAKER_01]: No question.
8:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think for most guys, this would be like a total non-starger after that much time away from the game, but.
9:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
9:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Aaron Donald is an outlier in like so many different ways that.
9:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's kept himself in such great shape, and here's the key to me is the Rams have an ability to manage it because of how good they are at that position.
9:21
[SPEAKER_01]: because they have Kobe Turner, because they have Braden Fisk, because they bring in Pune of Ford, because they drafted Ty Hamilton last year and have developed.
9:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And like they have the infrastructure where like he won't have to play a ton of snaps.
9:38
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's really key to it too.
9:40
[SPEAKER_01]: The other thing is the timing.
9:43
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I had a great conversation with Eric Whitell about this, you know, a few weeks ago, and what it took for him to come back, and his layoff wasn't nearly as long.
9:53
[SPEAKER_01]: His layoff was, I think he'd more or less been out of football for two years, right?
9:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Like because his career ended, I think at the end of the 19 season with the Rams, and then he came back for the 21 playoffs.
10:08
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was like two years off.
10:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And he mentioned how, like, there are how many different things, like, it just, it was, there, there are, there are injuries that he's stuff like stuff that he very got hurt during that stretch that he's still feeling now here five years later, you know?
10:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
10:31
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's like a life aspect to this too.
10:34
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was interesting to, and this is where I think the snaps question comes in, right?
10:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Like McVay and where he more is at the time like like he relayed this story to me where he was like He thought he was going to be coming in is like, hey, I'm going to just kind of help out there and such a bad spot with their their their injuries at safety And like I think it was before the Tampa game, which was their second playoff game like where he and Sean come over to him and they're like
11:03
[SPEAKER_01]: You're ready to go all out you're ready to go you know play full time now right and he's like what You know and then he wound up playing every snap of the next game and he actually said to me is like the fact that the game was on grass really helped it was like little things like that and I think that that's the interesting part about this is like.
11:21
[SPEAKER_01]: What if Aaron Donald becomes their best option at the position or he's so good right like you still have to have like we're Because all they needed Eric Wettle for was a max of four games which they max that out because they won the Super Bowl
11:36
[SPEAKER_01]: You have to like, you're, I think you're going to have to be really, it's just an interesting question on how you manage that, especially if now all of a sudden he's your best option at the position, which I think that's why having really good players there already in Fisk and Turner, I think that really helps you in that like it's less likely that you're going to be in this spot where it's like, well, he's three times better than the guy that they already have because the guys they already have are pretty good.
12:04
[SPEAKER_01]: It's to the point where it wasn't that way because why was everyone was heard at that position for them.
12:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, right.
12:13
[SPEAKER_00]: It's still point where like I'm wondering, I think when we talked about this, the genius of the Miles Garrett move was kind of handing a bunch of predictive data over to Sean McVean or he Morris, right?
12:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Where you know where the protections are going to slide, you know where teams are going to run the ball, all that kind of stuff.
12:32
[SPEAKER_00]: With Aaron Donald, it's almost like the Texans move to get Daniel Hunter, where it's like now you have no options.
12:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
12:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Like now both sides of the line suck.
12:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Now the middle sucks.
12:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Like everything about this is a disaster for you defensively.
12:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And even if Aaron Donald can just get them off the field on third downs.
12:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
12:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that that's a game changer.
12:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, they're, he's such a tough match up, too.
12:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's just such a game on the edge.
13:02
[SPEAKER_01]: You can play, you can play anywhere.
13:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
13:04
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, like, I just like, like a guy who's kind of like got that, like, sought off build, that's like, like, I remember this is going to be the dumbest example ever.
13:16
[SPEAKER_01]: But we had a, um, we had a guy who was like a high school wrestler on our football team.
13:20
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a really good, really good high school safety.
13:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And,
13:24
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, when we were when I can't remember what year I was either I was a junior.
13:29
[SPEAKER_01]: He was his sophomore or I was a senior.
13:31
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a junior.
13:32
[SPEAKER_01]: We started playing him at nose tackle some and it was because he was so strong for his size and he could get underneath blockers, you know, and it was just like such a unique matchup and it was so different from what like guys normally had the block.
13:47
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, and Donald is that way, and that Donald is like, you almost have to like alignment almost has to adjust his technique to block him.
13:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And so if you're throwing Kobe Turner and Braden Fisket at offensive lineman, and then all of a sudden a third down, it's like, oh, here comes Aaron Donald.
14:05
[SPEAKER_01]: You know what I mean?
14:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, that's a problem.
14:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And I just think,
14:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm fascinated to see, I can't wait to see the Rams play.
14:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I think it's just, I think that like what Chris Schul what he's able to do in his first year is the court, his first, you know, his first couple years of the coordinator there and where I think he has the defense going.
14:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And now he has the cover guys in the back end, you know what I mean?
14:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Like it's just
14:36
[SPEAKER_01]: If they stay healthy, there aren't going to be a lot of ways to beat them.
14:40
[SPEAKER_01]: They're not going to be a lot of places where you can exploit them.
14:42
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's why I bring up left tackle, you know, but you're right.
14:45
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Aaron Donald, like, and that's as it is.
14:48
[SPEAKER_01]: That's without Aaron Donald.
14:49
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you throw Aaron Donald into that.
14:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And now all of a sudden it's like in spots.
14:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Now you got to deal with this guy, are you kidding me?
14:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, you know, like, that's the part where I look at it.
14:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm like, this is
15:01
[SPEAKER_01]: It's got a chance to be pretty awesome, and I would think that part of it for Donald that's got to be intriguing is that, man, I could really make my legacy different than everybody else's.
15:12
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, he's already the greatest ram of the last quarter century and possibly of all time.
15:20
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, like I think he's in the all time.
15:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know, but it will be interesting to see what happens there.
15:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you think
15:28
[SPEAKER_00]: At, you know, I think you will.
15:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Brass tax, do you think AirNol is gonna do it?
15:32
[SPEAKER_01]: I do, I just don't know.
15:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, here's the question of me.
15:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Does it make more sense for them to put them through a full training camp and plan through the year?
15:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Or does it make more sense for them to put this on ice and have them come in in November or December?
15:55
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, probably November, December, but then how do you manage that and I don't think like, I think with a lot of like guys at my cause of problem in your locker room, you know, yeah, but no, no one's going to have a problem with they are done on getting this whole, you know, I mean, it's like yeah, we're going to spend them for that, you know, and honestly, and this goes back to and we're going to move on here to the next one, but
16:19
[SPEAKER_00]: This goes back to our member.
16:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I think the year that the Eagles won or they reached the Super Bowl against the Chiefs and They brought in in Dominicans sue in Linville, Joseph, in November and the reason why is because Fletcher Cox was begging for people to take some snaps away from that point in time your body speed up
16:38
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure that everybody at that point in time is like, okay, the checks are already cleared for the season.
16:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure, you could bring an airtone, like, yeah, yeah, I'll let that guy take a couple snaps out of my, uh, out of my cash there.
16:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Why not?
16:51
[SPEAKER_00]: I put this one next on our burning question series because I think it directly relates to what we're talking about now.
16:57
[SPEAKER_00]: 49ers.
16:59
[SPEAKER_00]: have they aged out as we head into this on a critical season for them.
17:04
[SPEAKER_00]: They are a Super Bowl contender.
17:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think there's any question about it.
17:08
[SPEAKER_00]: They're stats last year and their wins they had winning record without their starting quarterback.
17:14
[SPEAKER_00]: They had a a pretty good defense and a winning record without arguably one of the Fred Warner's
17:21
[SPEAKER_00]: one of the most complete defense of players in the NFL, more of the most important defensive players to his entire defense, only played six games last year.
17:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Then you add Mike Evans to the fold, then you get another draft to help replenish your talent.
17:37
[SPEAKER_00]: My question, though, is
17:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Is there another move because after the draft the Rams go out and they add Miles Garrett and potentially Aaron Donald if you're the 49ers I don't think you can think about the rest of the NFL you have to be thinking about the ramps that is the team that's gonna See you in your way.
17:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, right so
17:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I ask you that all to ask you this.
18:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Max Crosby, Joey Bosa, like there are things that they can still do.
18:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Do they think that it's necessary in order to get past the ramps?
18:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So like it's funny because I think we've all kind of gone back to the old the Rams are all in thing from five or six years ago right the FM picks all that and I think you could make the argument that the Niners are as all in as the Rams are based on the
18:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so Fred Warner going into year nine, Nick Bosa going into year eight, you know, Trent Williams going into year 16, 17, I think, first in McAfrey going into year 10 as a running back,
18:59
[SPEAKER_01]: George Kittle going in the year 10, like that's their best players, you know?
19:06
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's like a lot of guys that you would say just in a vacuum, like it'll be interesting to see what he has left.
19:15
[SPEAKER_01]: And what happens if they all get old at once, you know?
19:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Because I think like a lot of them, McAfrey certainly kiddo certainly, Trent Williams certainly, a lot of those guys are kind of past the point from an age standpoint where we see players at their positions fall off, and others like, you know, others are getting there.
19:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Nick Bosa's getting there, Fred Warner's getting there.
19:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Nick Bosa's coming off the ACL.
19:40
[SPEAKER_01]: So like, I don't think they're going to do it in the summer.
19:45
[SPEAKER_01]: But man, if you are nine and two or whatever at the trade deadline, well, that would be definitely too late for the trade at seven and two.
19:52
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, six and two, whatever it is.
19:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Like however many not a math guy, however, people didn't, people didn't download the show for the math.
20:06
[SPEAKER_01]: So say they're seven and one.
20:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Then I think yeah, then I think you absolutely have to look at it if you're them because you're probably looking at it and saying
20:15
[SPEAKER_01]: This is our last, this could be our last chance with this crew of players, you know?
20:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Our last chance with this crew of players, we've been to two super bowls.
20:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And like, let's see what we can make happen here.
20:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And look, I think a part of this too is gonna be on the development of the young guys.
20:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it's like the young defensive tackles they drafted last year, Collins and West.
20:36
[SPEAKER_01]: It's gonna be Ricky Pierce all, you know, developing at receivers.
20:39
[SPEAKER_01]: It's gonna be some of the young offensive line and Pony who they really liked.
20:44
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, a corner, you know, like a, you know, or an art of green, like there's just, there's, there's guys in the roster where it's like, you need to have those guys take a step to, you know, but if that happens, now maybe you need to draft picks going forward a little less, you look at the group you have and
21:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm one of those guys though that like, and you can tie the rams back into this situation.
21:19
[SPEAKER_00]: The rams are different because the way that they operate is so fascinating, because the all-in thing is so incorrect.
21:27
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a misnomer because they had more grass over that period of time than anybody else.
21:30
[SPEAKER_01]: They just didn't have for it.
21:31
[SPEAKER_00]: They had more grass over that period of time than anybody else.
21:33
[SPEAKER_00]: They just didn't have for it.
21:34
[SPEAKER_00]: They had more grass over that period of time than anybody else.
21:36
[SPEAKER_00]: they didn't they have more draft picks they had and they have like the quarterback of the future already on the rock like you know like it's not they they they they've hit on a ton of picks and they fit on a ton of picks yeah they're there there's thing has just been like we're gonna fill out the guts of our roster
21:53
[SPEAKER_01]: with mid-round picks and we're confident we're gonna hit on the mid-round picks.
21:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, that becomes the guy's like John Johnson.
22:01
[SPEAKER_01]: You know what I mean?
22:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Who you get and let the fourth round.
22:03
[SPEAKER_01]: That becomes guys.
22:04
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's just, it's, it's Pugna Kua, you know, who you hit on in the fifth round.
22:09
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just your ability to find guys where other teams aren't.
22:14
[SPEAKER_01]: That frees you up to trade higher picks to spend money on players coming in from the outside.
22:23
[SPEAKER_00]: The 49ers build, and this isn't a knock on Kyle or John or anything, but it just feels more fragile to me, even though we're looking at a Ram's team without a left tackle.
22:37
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm looking at a 49ers team that, like, if you only get seven games out of George Kittle, this isn't going to work this year.
22:44
[SPEAKER_00]: If you
22:45
[SPEAKER_00]: if you don't get a full season at a Kyle use check and people are probably going to be up in arms when I say this, but like he's very important to what they do.
22:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And all of these guys and Trent Williams, like, is 38.
22:57
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, well, throw my cabins on the list too, because he's going into year 13, I think it is, right?
23:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
23:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
23:04
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like,
23:05
[SPEAKER_00]: You, I'm almost like trained for Max Crosby now because unlike the Rams, you kind of have the luxury of layering this.
23:13
[SPEAKER_00]: You are all in by virtue of how you've set this thing up.
23:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but I mean, the reason I would wait till November or late October is to see if Max Crosby's healthy.
23:25
[SPEAKER_01]: that but also like I just what happens if you get to September 15th and it's like, oh God, this doesn't look the way we thought it would.
23:32
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I just think giving yourself that sort of like leeway where it's like, I mean, what if what we're saying could happen if some of these guys do get old all at once, right?
23:44
[SPEAKER_01]: If that happens, then you know, you're probably going to say I'd rather just have the first round picks than Max Crosby.
23:55
[SPEAKER_00]: And if I'm John Spytech and you wait, I'm gonna say, interesting.
23:58
[SPEAKER_00]: The price of the bag has gone up, because I know what's going on here.
24:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's move on to another issue that I think is a beehive of a discussion here in the Northeast, maybe not so much anywhere else.
24:14
[SPEAKER_00]: But Malik neighbors is starting to become Giants fans' pet fascination and not in a good way.
24:22
[SPEAKER_00]: It felt like it got this way without a backup towards the end.
24:25
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
24:26
[SPEAKER_00]: It's very early.
24:27
[SPEAKER_00]: It's still very early for Malik neighbors.
24:30
[SPEAKER_00]: his health is a central question not only to what the giants are trying to do on the field with John Harbaugh's trying to build.
24:38
[SPEAKER_00]: John Harbaugh's got a thick training camp schedule.
24:42
[SPEAKER_00]: It's out of the green briar.
24:43
[SPEAKER_00]: You're not at home.
24:44
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of questions here.
24:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that Malik neighbors eventually making an appearance.
24:51
[SPEAKER_00]: at some point is going to be kind of a moment to make a break for the giants early on during the preseason.
24:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and I think like every indication, every tea leave there is to read is saying like, my neighbors may not be there on week one.
25:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
25:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Like you're going, you're bringing in Jesus' mixture, you're bringing in darn Elm mooney, you're bringing in Odeau back on like, it's just the amount of like fail safe
25:21
[SPEAKER_01]: for the possibility that he's not there.
25:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not even talking about guys like Slate and Malachi feels that are gonna be on the team, right?
25:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm talking about guys that are like, all right, like if this doesn't go the right way, we need to plug someone in for five games.
25:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Like those sorts of signings they're making, you know?
25:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
25:42
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, look, like I've heard this is in the most
25:46
[SPEAKER_01]: This is like the injury itself and the way that the additional surgeries like I've heard it's not like the strangest thing in the world, but I also know like these things keep happening and you're still hearing about you know cleanups and everything else this late in the game and then you tie that together with some of the moves they've made.
26:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's definitely reason for concern.
26:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And to me, it's a very big deal because I think neighbors ability, right?
26:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, and what he's shown he can be, if you have neighbors,
26:24
[SPEAKER_01]: the cast around him looks pretty good, you know?
26:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Because it's a bunch of complimentary weapons, slights of complimentary weapons, and Calvin Austin is a complimentary weapon.
26:34
[SPEAKER_01]: You hope his Iraqi fields can be a complimentary weapon.
26:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Isaiah likely is an interesting guy at tight end that you can use a lot of different ways, but he's not a focal point either.
26:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like if you've got,
26:46
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I'm like neighbors out there as your number one, everything kind of falls into place.
26:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything's kind of the way it.
26:52
[SPEAKER_01]: If you don't, then I think we're talking about like a different sort of equation around Jackson Dart.
26:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
26:59
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that what Giant's fans maybe aren't fully understanding.
27:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I don't know if it's like having known Odell Beckham in a previous time,
27:12
[SPEAKER_00]: having believed or, you know, believing that Judas Smith Schuster or any of these guys can get you more than they actually can.
27:22
[SPEAKER_00]: But we're talking about someone who defences have to roll their coverage to and they have to adjust for.
27:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think without Malik neighbors on the field, you just don't have the quality of weapon
27:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not a disson Isaiah likely.
27:39
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just the position that he plays out.
27:41
[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to look a lot more like a classic Ravens, Harba, Greg Roman team that you're just not getting a lot of help out of the wider severs.
27:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And what has been the eternal stress of those Harba, Ravens teams puts a lot of hits on the quarterback or potential hits.
28:00
[SPEAKER_00]: And Jackson Dart is not Lamar Jackson.
28:01
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not evading those hits.
28:03
[SPEAKER_00]: He's taking those hits.
28:04
[SPEAKER_00]: and camscadobo is not Derek Henry, you know what I mean, like now.
28:08
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think with eight men in the box comes a lot of issues, you know, and I put some more stress on an offensive line that's being rebuilt.
28:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
28:19
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's why.
28:21
[SPEAKER_00]: maybe everybody was a little bit surprised to not see them go Jordan Tyson with one of these picks or to at least see them explore the idea of one of the top-wide receivers when the giants had those two picks at the top end of the draft because now you've left yourself in a spot where you kind of got to play volleyball until Malik neighbors gets back but are you equipped to do it, you know?
28:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
28:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I think the question becomes like what form of molyabers are you getting?
28:56
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, like what version are you getting?
28:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Cause I mean, a serious injury is coming back off of cleanup surgeries that is coming back off of now we're talking about like,
29:07
[SPEAKER_01]: maybe a different version of Malik neighbors, at least in like September and October, while he's still getting his feet underneath him.
29:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's, I don't know that it's like a big national talking point, but you know, as John Harball looks to get his program off the ground, and I think rightfully, so he's, you know, I think he v-v-use it as a type of team that can make the playoffs.
29:32
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's a lot to like on the defensive side of the ball there, and there's a lot to like in general, like this one player in an interesting way can change the whole dynamic for the team if he somehow out there.
29:46
[SPEAKER_00]: This is like this may be a controversial thought, but I think the giants have more question marks.
29:54
[SPEAKER_00]: then almost any team in the NFL going into this season and the reason I say that is because we believe that the giants could be a good team by virtue of signing John Harbaugh, right?
30:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
30:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And that was their confidence level in this team.
30:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Jackson Dart had a promising rookie season, Camp Skatevo, had some good games.
30:15
[SPEAKER_00]: They're healthy again on the offensive line and they're rebuilding that position all that, right, but like there are so many
30:25
[SPEAKER_00]: So many butts.
30:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, this team, right?
30:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Not just 53 butts, but we haven't seen it yet from Abdo a Carter, but our Vell Reese is kind of raw, but it's going to be plain.
30:36
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what you're going to get from him, but yes, Paul's in a deep oak and he low up to his contract.
30:41
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot of F's for sure, F's and butts, and yeah.
30:45
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, that's what we're looking at.
30:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to spread out.
30:51
[SPEAKER_00]: the burning questions like we said over the next few episodes and we're going to give you guys a chance to kind of dig in.
30:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Let us know what is on your mind on YouTube, hit us up on social media.
31:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Are there some questions that you guys have heading in to training camp?
31:07
[SPEAKER_00]: We can address those over the next few episodes.
31:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Give us likes, comments, subscribe, all of it.
31:14
[SPEAKER_00]: We read everything.
31:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I promise you that.
31:17
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll be back next week.
31:20
[SPEAKER_00]: with a full slate of episodes.
31:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Albert, I'm on my way to Lego, baby.
31:24
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm on my way to a fishing camp where my friend, where my son's friend got bit by a shark yesterday.
31:33
[SPEAKER_00]: What kind of fish?
31:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I can tell everybody.
31:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I can tease that to next week and we can fill everybody in with details.
31:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I love the fish.
31:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow, the fish in the camp is great.
31:40
[SPEAKER_01]: They pulled a tiger sand shark out of the water.
31:44
[SPEAKER_00]: One of the kids got his hands too close.
31:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Hands.
31:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, to be continued, right?
31:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And you continue to keep a lot around the end of TV podcast.
31:54
[SPEAKER_00]: There you go.