Navigating the Offseason: Jordan Love's Contract and LA Rams Outlook

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We are those guys we hope to be your guys as we continue to chart the NFL offseason.

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Nick, can you feel it in your bones? The smell of fresh cut grass as training camps are opening across the National Football League.

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Last time we were here, we were just talking about the teams playing in the Hall of Fame game, the preseason kickoff, but now Everybody's back to school.

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And that's not just a Bryce Young reference.

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You see him out there with that backpack, uh, there in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Uh, he's Nick Ferguson, former 10 year NFL safety.

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Uh, Nick, do you, I mean, listen, this time of year comes around, you're going to be in and out of the Broncos facility.

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You look out on those sidelines and for a split second, your brain says, we can, we can do a couple of reps out there.

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Yeah, you know, normally that takes place once we get to game week and there's an actual game.

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Okay.

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I have to be totally honest and transparent.

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When I'm out there, the fans are cheering and sometimes practice isn't going the way that the coaches would like.

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That's when I kind of get a little antsy.

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And I'm like, Hey man, let me borrow your helmet.

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Let me go back in.

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Let me get one more play to set the tempo.

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Yeah.

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That's kind of what happens to me at practice.

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Yeah.

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Let me show you how it's done.

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Like you need that veteran experience.

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You need that old head when we did things the right way.

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Uh, you know, and you look at the contrast, Nick, for certain teams, we're actually going to, uh, Preview the Los Angeles Rams today as we continue our offseason training camp, uh, sort of NFL previews here, uh, knowing full well that they don't really play their guys throughout the preseason.

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So, it's always, uh, a different approach as we get into the modern NFL, and while we talk about, uh, We're about to talk about a team that we won't see in the preseason.

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We have certain players that we don't see at training camp right now.

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I'm thinking this one's a formality, but Nick, you wanted to lead things off with the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love's ongoing contract talks.

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Um, Your thoughts on what Green Bay has after their one year starter, albeit a successful season from Jordan Love, moving on for the 2024 season.

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Well, great position for Jordan Love in his camp, but not so much for the Green Bay Packers.

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And here's why.

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When Jordan Love was drafted in 2020, everyone thought that, you know what, he's a, you know, successor to, you know, a guy like Aaron Rodgers.

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But it didn't work out because Aaron Rodgers would never pass the torch.

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Jordan Love had to sit there for three years and people were saying, Oh, this guy's a bust.

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But all he did was shine when the lights were their brightest.

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More than 32 touchdowns.

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But the biggest thing was he got the Packers in the playoff conversation.

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And they just destroyed Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys at home, but on the road, but at home for the Dallas Cowboys and Jordan Love more than 4, 000 yards passing to me when they talk about lightning strike, Jordan Love just waited to say, Hey, my finest moment is going to be my best moment.

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And when I give it to you, you're going to have to pay me because at this point, when Luke Musgrave, you got Josh Jacobs.

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You have Romeo Dobbs.

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Uh, you have, uh, you have Reid.

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You have all these good wide receivers.

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You gotta have a quarterback in place because If you're the Packers, you don't want to endure that whole process again.

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Who's going to be our quarterback? No, Jordan Love is your quarterback.

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The question is, Alex, how much you going to pay him? Well, I mean, listen, we're talking about some uncharted territory here, and we're knowing this because one, Jordan Love bet on himself.

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He wouldn't be entering a contract year coming into this season if he didn't Uh, you know, honestly put the trust in himself.

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He restructured his contract just to nullify the fifth year option, would have put him back on the market.

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And this was before he played, um, any starting snaps last season.

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So he bet on himself and clearly it's about to pay off.

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But based on what we saw in his.

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Uh, you know, uh, fourth year in the league, but his first year as a starter, uh, you mentioned the passing yardage and it took him time to adjust, but this team was playing their best football and he was playing his best football down the stretch.

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Uh, the Packers opened two and one, a four game losing streak that included seven picks from Jordan Love.

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Two of those four games, he had lower than 60 percent completion percentage on his throws.

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And then you fast forward to the end of the year, maybe it helps to be seeing Carolina and Chicago down the stretch and a Minnesota defense as well.

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He was, he was perfect.

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And it continued against the Dallas Cowboys as well.

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Those four games compared to the ones I mentioned earlier, uh, again, perfect record to go with.

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10 touchdowns, um, through the air.

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So I guess, look, you've got one successful season, but he reached a pinnacle, a height that we had never seen from Trevor Lawrence, who just signed a five year, 275 million contract extension.

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Um, maybe on par with the Jared Goff who took the Rams to a Super Bowl, but with the Detroit Lions, the NSC Championship last year, signing a four year, $212 million extension.

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These two guys alone are each being paid 55 and a half and $53 million a year respectively.

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So no wonder.

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You've got NFL insiders like Adam Schefter and the Athletics Diana Rossini who are saying that Jordan Love could easily be one of the highest paid quarterbacks, um, in NFL history.

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That, of course, until the next quarterback, maybe Dak Prescott, maybe not, up for a contract extension of their own.

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Well, you have Dak Prescott and you have Tua Tungelua down in Miami.

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Each one of those players agents are waiting to see what's going to happen.

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Who's going to blink first? Because if you're good in coups, you want to get this deal done because you don't want to be in the Jerry Jones sweepstake where you're banking and hoping that a player doesn't perform well.

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So you can part ways with him or you can pay him less money.

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The idea is, look, we know the money's going to go up for quarterbacks.

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It's not going to go down.

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You like your guy, he's young, he's been productive, he's been healthy, and this is the time that you reward him because you don't want to be caught in a situation where you're overpaying for a quarterback in the hamstring somewhat of your roster.

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But I'll say this, this whole situation with Joy and Love should be a testament for so many different things.

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Maybe sometimes when we look at young quarterbacks, We are too quick to judge and go, Oh, that guy is a bus right there.

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No.

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And maybe it pays for a guy to maybe sit behind a veteran quarterback.

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If you have time for that, if you don't, yeah, maybe you got to throw them into action, but this is telling everyone, you know what, maybe we should temper our expectations, be a little more patient with some of these quarterbacks.

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But when the moment is right, you break in case of emergency.

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And if you have the right coaching, the right skill players around them, they can be the next joy and love.

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So this should be a testament for everyone evaluating quarterbacks.

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But more importantly, the young quarterbacks who just We're just drafted in the issue of draft that you too can be a joy in love with time and patience and development.

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That sounds great.

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And we had six quarterbacks go in the top 12 this past draft, including for my New England Patriots and your Denver Broncos.

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Uh, but the fact of the matter is there's only one Green Bay Packers organization.

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It's the third time now.

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Right? Or the second time now, I should say, where they draft an heir apparent in the first round and a guy who rides the bench.

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There's so many teams that, that lack the discipline to not break that encase of emergency glass.

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To not run Aaron Rodgers out of town.

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Or, as other fans like Maybe the ones in Atlanta are experiencing right now following the Michael Penick's pick.

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Why aren't we getting help to our veteran quarterback and a team that we think can win now? But the reality of the situation is There are teams, again, the Atlanta Falcons, that are going to try to copy the Green Bay Packers M.

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O.

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Um, or what the Pittsburgh Steelers have done at the head coaching position.

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You can't just pretend that you have that same stability that a Green Bay Packers or a Pittsburgh Steelers organization has.

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That starts at the top.

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And for the quarterback coming in, a highly touted Aaron Rodgers, who felt slighted after Not only being drafted after Alex Smith, but 20 plus picks after Alex Smith.

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And for Jordan Love as well, we're going to see quarterback play from young players that were more raw than Jordan Love was.

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That were less seasoned than Jordan Love was.

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And some of them are going to be thrown into the fire right now because Whether it's a, you know, a short leash on a head coach or a general manager, they want to see what their guys look like now.

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Fans, you know, there's pressure from ownership and from fans that they want to see their guys play right now.

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And we've been denied the opportunity to see so many Jordan loves because when a rookie signs a Jordan, Five year contract out of the draft and we need to get their contracts done before we get to the fifth year option.

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There's pressure for them to perform year two, year three before either their coach, their general manager is fired.

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Or the team's already out on that player and they're not willing to sign them to a contract.

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But Alex, the whole idea is that why are you drafting the quarterback in the first place? And the whole idea is that you're drafting for the future.

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Correct.

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Just not just right now, but once again, it is how fast are you hitting the panic? But yeah, you know what? Maybe that quarterback may survive or outlast that head coach.

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Or that GM, but to me, that's the process within itself because you're playing the long game, not the short game.

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So, because your job is in jeopardy because you screwed up several jobs.

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I mean, drafts prior to what we're talking about with a young quarterback.

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Now you're speeding him up and it's just like, no, I mean, when you go back to watch any player, but more importantly, quarterback.

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Even watching them in college.

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They're not too many guys who are coming out after their sophomore season, right? Guys are coming out after their senior or junior season.

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That's why they needed that time to develop.

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But it's like, once you get to the NFL, everyone wants to hit that microwave button.

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We need that success.

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It's like, no.

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No, and that's, that's my point.

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Um, there are teams that can say we'll do exactly what the Packers did, but not maintain that level of patience and dedication to the process, right? And again, teams like the Philadelphia 76ers can try it, but they can't.

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The, you know, the, the, there's just no history of them maintaining that type of success.

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We've seen it with green Bay.

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They deserve all the credit in the world.

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And that being said, we're going to see what it looks like coming into this season with a number of veteran quarterbacks getting their contract extensions and it putting a stranglehold on the rest of the salary cap a year, two years from now.

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Um, so it'd be fun to see kind of, you know, that's when the job gets hard.

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When you have to navigate around keeping certain guys and making sure everybody's Kumbaya with a, a, a, a quarterback fully entrenched, which is kind of exactly where the Dallas Cowboys have found themselves.

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Uh, we don't need to quote.

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We'll be all in anymore from Jerry Jones.

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Um, yeah, I don't know if you've ever tried to, I know you're a better parent than, than, than most Nick.

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Uh, if you've ever convinced the kids to do something, uh, but I'll, I'll take you for ice cream later.

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Or maybe in your case, frozen yogurt or whatever the healthy alternative is.

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You've got to deliver on that.

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And for Cowboys fans, they were told they were going to get ice cream with, with uncle Jerry Jones.

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And it never happened for them.

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Unless of course you bought your Ezekiel Elliott Jersey 10 years ago.

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You can throw it in the washer, get the dust off and you can throw that bad boy back on.

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But.

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Now they're at a crossroads where, welcome to my neck of the woods.

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They're in Oxnard, California.

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Dak Prescott is there.

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Micah Parsons is there.

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CeeDee Lamb is not there, based on his contract holdout, each of them on the final years of their contracts.

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Um, so I guess it goes to show you, Nick, that if you want to win football games, you need a quarterback, a receiver, and an elite pass rusher.

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You need other positions.

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I might even say safety as well.

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But Nick.

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The Dallas Cowboys right now, um, fixing their problems with these looming contract extensions.

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Is it a matter of the Jones family opening the checkbook? Do you prioritize one over the other? Is C.

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D.

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Lamb, the fact that he's not there go front of the line to you? How do you sort of rank taking care of these players, whether or not you are running that Cowboys front office? Well, the first thing that I would do in history has shown that you take care of the quarterback position.

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As long as you have that guy secure on the long term deal, you can maneuver everything.

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Even if that means, you know, from me, I'm not being crazy, but Hey, You secure the bag with Dak Prescott.

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You try to figure out what's going on with CeeDee Lamb.

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And Michael Parson, worst case scenario, if you lose both, then now you get the opportunity to go back to the well with a better draft position, you hope.

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But if I had to choose of the three players, and I can only keep two, it's going to be Michael Parsons.

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Prescott and I know we've seen a lot of young wide receivers get the bag this past offseason driving the price up.

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But once again, I mean, how are you going to impact the game? A guy who can, you know, with who's very versatile, like a market, Michael Parson, who can play different positions on a defense and get after the quarterback and the guy who moves the needle.

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Zach Prescott, who is the quarterback, because you can go find another wide receiver.

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Now, it may not be the same level of production you're getting from C.

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D.

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Lamb.

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Maybe you can roll the dice and hope that you hit and find a guy like Pooka Nakua.

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Who knows? Sure.

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Easy.

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If that's a huge gamble, right? But the idea is that if You kept Parsons and you paid CeeDee Lamb.

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Who the hell's throwing the ball? No one.

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So I'm going to get the quarterback.

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I'm going to get the guy who impacts the quarterback.

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And I'll try to work out something with CeeDee Lamb long term.

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If we can't, you know what man, show appreciate you.

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You did your thing.

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We're just going to have to go find some other guys.

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You know, I might just be telling Dak that this is going to be the last ride.

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Um, Micah Parsons I think plays the premier position that you have to lock up long term and getting a deal done with Steedy Lamb I think is just the Smart.

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Uh, it's, it's tough.

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You know, I, I think the difference between maybe what the Green Bay Packers had done the last few years compared to the Dallas Cowboys is Aaron Rodgers historically, famously, right? They never use a first round pick on a wide receiver and never use a second round pick on a wide receiver since Devontae Adams.

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He's shown that he's been able to elevate the ability of the team.

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And I haven't quite made that determination on Dak Prescott.

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I think he has.

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I mean, certainly, um, having CeeDee Lamb on the offense is such a huge threat that Other players in, in, in smaller roles.

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Um, you know, whether it was, uh, Michael Gallup playing the two who was phenomenal before his rash of injuries, he just retired one practice with Aiden O'Connell and the Raiders here in Costa Mesa.

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And he's it's a shame.

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I mean, just the number of injuries just kept piling up, but they've.

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They've been able to throw different pieces around Dak and a strong running game with Zeke.

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And, I just haven't seen, you know, a sustainable team, um, on both sides of the football where all Pieces are working in sync, right? Dak Prescott has a great second half against those Green Bay Packers, but only after he turns the football three, you know, he turns the football over three times, the defense, meanwhile, completely collapsing and multiple games against the Niners and the Packers this past, uh, playoffs.

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It's, I, I, I wouldn't diagnose this as a Dak Prescott problem, but giving him 60 million a year.

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Which is probably where the quarterback market is going to end up, right? If we're at 55 and a half right now for Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, George Love pushes that number up.

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They're not negotiating with Dak until we hit the off season, right? Maybe a two, a deal gets done.

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We're gonna be close to 60 million for Dak Prescott entering his age.

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Oh, shoot.

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His age 30.

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Two season, he'll turn 31 later this month.

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So entering his age 32 season, a five year contract, uh, maybe 300 million, 60 million per, um, I I'm going to just take the two younger players.

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And I'm going to be able to drop in a quarterback at some point.

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Again, I, I understand.

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I understand.

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I understand.

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You need to win games.

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Listen, you need to win games.

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I bring up the Raiders because they're building the roster.

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They're using this year to have fun with Gardner Minchu and Aiden O'Connell, and they'll go back to the drawing board at quarterback.

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Do they have all the answers? No, but.

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If a Dak Prescott shows up in free agency, or if the Atlanta Falcons think that a Kirk Cousins shows up in free agency, or if there are six quarterbacks that get taken atop the draft, they may not hit on it, but they've at least given themselves.

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A plan.

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And I think with where the Cowboys are right now, there is no plan.

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So because there's no plan, you just can't part ways with Dak Prescott right now.

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I can't get them 60.

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Okay.

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Look, I get it.

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But if Jerry Jones was smart enough.

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He would have done this a long time ago to prevent himself.

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Right, but he hasn't.

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We don't live in that reality, Nick.

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Right! So you put yourself here.

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Unless you have a quarterback in waiting.

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And most of the time, most teams like to draft young quarterbacks because it allows them to pay other people on the roster.

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If you're telling me that that is going to be Jerry Jones philosophy, I'll say, okay, fine.

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Now you still have to go out and find another quarterback because even though C.

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D.

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Lamb has been spectacular with throwing him the ball.

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What is it going to be like with another young quarterback throwing the ball? And oh, by the way, you don't have a highly skilled guy at the tight end position.

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You don't have a highly skilled guy at the number 2 or the number 3 wide receiver.

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And oh, by the way, Right? Zeke is on a one year deal.

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There's no Tony Pollard who's helping out with the run game.

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You're going to find yourself in trouble.

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And if you're a Dak, if they want to play the game like this and allow you to play out this final year, fine.

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You brought up one of those teams who I think, okay, that would be a good fit for I think so.

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I think so.

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Okay, I got two, I got three more teams for you.

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Okay.

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The New Orleans Saints.

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Okay.

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I'll throw out the New York Giants.

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Right.

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And my long shot is Carolina Panthers.

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I'll take the Saints off that list immediately because they're paying Derek Carr probably until uh, Doc Prescott's age 40 season the way they kicked the can down the road.

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You know what? You can't count them out because they'll just continue to keep paying for players that aren't there.

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Uh, the Panthers are an interesting one for sure, right? They could cut bait on, uh, Bryce Young if they give another year or two and I like those three.

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I'm still putting the Raiders first.

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It just, it, it, it, it seems too natural of a fit to me.

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Um, Dak Prescott fighting for his life in Sin City.

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Uh, no issues with the LA Rams.

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If you want to start transitioning over it, listen, I saw what the Cowboys did in the draft, adding beef on their offensive line.

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Is this really my segue? Um, The, the Los Angeles Rams were a team.

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We, so again, Nick Ferguson, Alex Hardy, this is where those guys, those guys, uh, each week when we are with you, we'd like to talk about.

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Um, at least one or two of the NFL teams coming into training camp for the 2024 season.

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What our expectations are, uh, this past episode, we did the Houston Texans.

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Nick has a ton of familiarity with his former teammate, D'Amico Ryans, and an organization that is just full of San Francisco 49er footprints when he was in that facility as well.

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If you missed that episode.

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Feel free to go back on the podcast feed or the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, and listen to that episode.

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But I wanted to pick the LA Rams today because we started with Jordan Love, we talked about the Dallas Cowboys, and my common threads for the Rams are Matthew Stafford got the restructured contract, so he's back at training camp, and the Rams, coming into this offseason, loaded up on the offensive line.

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So what fascinated me, Nick, is for a team that Let's just call it like it is.

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They, they overachieved.

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They were at a talent deficit at a number of positions.

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They had more rookies on their 53 man roster than any other team in the national football league.

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One of the youngest rosters last year.

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And what did they go out and do? They ended up finishing second in the, uh, in the NFC West, a little wild card action.

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And they just rode Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald on their way to Above expectations.

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So in the name of a full rebuild, Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford laughed at it.

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Now, here we go coming into 2024, they sort of build on this.

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Kyron Williams and Puka Nakua come out of absolutely nowhere to become some of the most effective, uh, offensive weapons in the National Football League.

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But on the defensive side of the football, some of the younger guys are getting older, but now they have to replace Aaron Donald.

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Truly one of the best defensive players of this era.

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If he decided he want to throw on pads right now, he'd probably be the best defensive player in the NFL.

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So.

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Is it growth on the offensive side of the football, excitement with the youth injected in this team over the last couple of years, or is the loss of Aaron Donald too much for this team to overcome, Nick? Where do you want to start with the Rams? Well, I'll start with the whole Aaron Donald situation.

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I mean, it's going to be a significant impact to the Rams defense trying to find someone.

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Or maybe three guys to give you the same level of production that you were able to receive in one particular player in Aaron Donald.

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But this is where Sean McVeigh looked at his offense and say, look, here's what we're going to have to do.

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We may have to be put ourselves in a shootout every single game because we may not be able to slow people down like we did with Aaron Donald to get those extra possessions.

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So.

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Okay, well we know we have, you know, Cooper Cupp, Pooka Nakua, you have Williams, they added Blake Quorum to their roster, and then Boston Scott.

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So you got, you know, power, you got speed and burst guys.

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So the one thing that you do is you build up your offensive line.

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And understanding the school of thought where Sean McVay kind of cut his teeth.

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I know he was around Gruden, but he spent a lot of time around Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan.

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And what that means is that you have to have a stable of running backs, but more importantly, you gotta have those dogs up front, so that's where they want to put more of their attention because they're going to run the ball, which means more play action, which means.

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More explosive plays, but the problem is, right, can you keep Stafford healthy? When he's healthy, I mean, the Rams are balling, even when he's banged up, he finds ways to mustard, you know, these kind of odd throws where he's looking one way and he's throwing back the opposite way.

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Sure.

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That's what McVeigh is trying to do.

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He's understanding the division.

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Kyle and the 49ers are always going to be there and the only way you compete with those teams, you gotta outscore them.

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So, I love everything that you talked about, right? It was replacing a Hall of Famer on the defensive line.

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And it's, again, with the trenches, protecting their defense.

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Aging veteran quarterback who missed some time over the last couple of years, pretty much since his first season in LA when they went to win the Superbowl.

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So do you want to talk about the free agent beef or do you want to talk about the draft beef? I I'm just going to keep, we're just going to keep calling it beef, Nick.

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I'm in the mood for steak.

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Okay.

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Well, uh, let's get some of that.

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Uh, what is it? Some of that tri tip then.

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Let's go with the free agent beef.

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So Jonah Jackson.

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And Kevin Dotson, uh, each coming, let's see, Dotson from Pittsburgh, Jonah Jackson from the Detroit Lions.

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It's about 600 pounds.

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Uh, overnight, the Rams went from one of the smaller interior offensive lines, uh, to one of the largest with those two free agent additions.

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Plus Steve Avila, who was the second round rookie out of TCU, who's playing the center position at.

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I don't know, six, five, 338 pounds.

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So you've got nearly a thousand pounds keeping Matthew Stafford upright on the interior.

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And you've got Ulrich Jackson who made strides last year and Rob Habenstein, who has seemingly been there, uh, since this team came back from St.

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Louis.

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So they've made huge additions while keeping some of their, uh, depth pieces from a year ago.

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I think Matthew Stafford is poised to have more time and also Listen, a healthy Cooper Cup, based on what he looked like last year, it never seemed like he fully got to, um, a hundred percent health.

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And I wonder what that connection is going to do, knowing that.

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Stafford had missed time.

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Cooper Cup had missed time.

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They get a full offseason.

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They're both content.

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They're thrilled.

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And they both get the boost of a huge offensive line.

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So I do really like what they've done on the offensive side of the football.

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Um, and that gets us to the other rookie draft pick, um, before we get to the beef, but we'll stay on the offensive side of the football.

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Blake Corum.

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Kyron Williams, coming out of Notre Dame two years ago, injures himself in training camp.

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And.

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McVeigh's beside himself, right? They have to lean on Cam Akers.

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It was a toxic relationship that ends up flaming out this past season.

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He gets traded to Minnesota and Kyron Williams was on the field as a running back more than anybody other than Christian McCaffrey this past season.

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They leaned on Kyron to be the hub of this offense, especially with an injured Cooper Cup.

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And the addition of Blake Corum.

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Um, this according to, uh, the, the general manager, um, Les Sneed.

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That we can't leave Kyron Hunt in the field as long as we can.

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He was battered and beaten throughout the course of an 18 game season and a playoff game or 18 games, including the playoff game.

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We'll get to 18 games soon enough, Nick, as much as you hate it.

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They've just added, they've added these pieces to the offensive side of the football that I think are going to support Matthew Stafford and, um, with Cooper Cup getting healthy, year two of Puka Nuku'a, I just, I don't know what part of this offense there isn't something to like, I mean the overlap for Kyron and Blake and maybe this is a conversation for a different time, but we'll It used to be the, the, the running back rooms were Brandon Jacobs and Ahmaud Bradshaw, uh, D'Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

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It had to be thunder and lightning.

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But now you have kind of an overlap of skills, um, in Los Angeles and the Titans, maybe with Tony Pollard and Tajay Spears, where you have similar skill sets.

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Sean McVeigh just No matter who's in there, he can change the pieces out if that's a receiver with Kup and Puka or Kyron and Blake Corum.

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The offense is just going to keep humming.

323
00:29:38,71.0336555 --> 00:29:44,831.0336555
They don't have to change or maybe tell opposing defenses what they're doing based on the personnel out on the football field.

324
00:29:44,981.0336555 --> 00:29:47,251.0336555
I'm really excited by this Rams offense.

325
00:29:47,381.0326555 --> 00:29:49,821.0336555
Well, here's the way I look at it.

326
00:29:49,821.0336555 --> 00:29:53,71.0336555
Here's the best comp for what Sean McVay is trying to create.

327
00:29:53,711.0336555 --> 00:30:00,651.0336555
With, with the Rams offensive line, he's building a wall that would make Pink Floyd even smile.

328
00:30:00,871.0336555 --> 00:30:01,261.0336555
Sure.

329
00:30:01,471.0336555 --> 00:30:05,911.0326555
Knowing as though you have dynamic running backs with Williams and Blake Corum.

330
00:30:06,281.0336555 --> 00:30:07,601.0336555
But here's the biggest part.

331
00:30:07,951.0336555 --> 00:30:10,571.0336555
Those guys run with a low sense of gravity.

332
00:30:11,51.0336555 --> 00:30:19,561.0336555
And what it reminds me of is trying to play the New Orleans Saints or the then Los Angeles Chargers when they, when they had Darren Sproles.

333
00:30:19,611.0336555 --> 00:30:21,741.0331555
Like, where is he? I can't see him.

334
00:30:21,741.0331555 --> 00:30:22,561.0326555
I can't find it.

335
00:30:22,921.0336555 --> 00:30:26,370.9336555
So this is why you build the wall with massive guys.

336
00:30:26,651.0336555 --> 00:30:39,241.0336555
Going both east and west and north and south because you wanted to get those big bodies on defenders where they can't see those small powerful backs and you brought up an interesting name in Christian McCaffrey.

337
00:30:39,751.0336555 --> 00:30:41,691.0336555
It's the same thing that Kyle is doing.

338
00:30:42,1.0336555 --> 00:30:45,581.0336555
Get those guys on the edge where there's less defenders.

339
00:30:45,731.0336555 --> 00:30:52,451.0336555
Why continue to run those guys between the tackles where you're going to get them beat up, right? Run them outside.

340
00:30:52,661.0336555 --> 00:30:59,871.0336555
And once again, we haven't even gotten to the fantasy draft yet, but as a fantasy owners, That's what I want.

341
00:30:59,871.0336555 --> 00:31:06,51.0336555
I need a guy that's healthy when I need him the most in like week 16, right? So get those guys on the outside.

342
00:31:06,111.0336555 --> 00:31:08,961.0336555
So I love what Sean McVay is doing with offensive line in the Rams.

343
00:31:09,361.0336555 --> 00:31:13,471.0326555
I'm not backing off of Kyron Williams, of course, as a late draft pick.

344
00:31:13,521.0336555 --> 00:31:14,721.0336555
No, I'm, I'm, I'm lying.

345
00:31:14,841.0336555 --> 00:31:16,791.0336555
He was a week one waiver wire pickup for me.

346
00:31:16,881.0336555 --> 00:31:17,711.0336555
I didn't draft him.

347
00:31:17,711.0336555 --> 00:31:18,741.0336555
I didn't know any better.

348
00:31:18,971.0336555 --> 00:31:20,395.9336555
Uh, same with Puka Nakua.

349
00:31:20,616.0336555 --> 00:31:24,886.0336555
For Kyron Williams, listen, Blake Corham is going to be on the football field.

350
00:31:24,996.0336555 --> 00:31:26,426.0336555
Yeah, I still am.

351
00:31:26,456.0336555 --> 00:31:28,616.0336555
I'm still bullish on Kyron Williams.

352
00:31:28,916.0336555 --> 00:31:30,536.0336555
Um, I've drafted him already.

353
00:31:30,836.0336555 --> 00:31:33,536.0326555
I'm going to continue to do that throughout the course of the summer.

354
00:31:33,956.0336555 --> 00:31:37,786.0336555
Uh, I just, he's going to be healthy.

355
00:31:37,796.0336555 --> 00:31:48,796.0326555
Even if his snap share goes from 90 percent to 75, 70%, he's still going to end up with 200 touches on the ground, rushes, maybe 50 catches.

356
00:31:48,836.0336555 --> 00:31:55,486.0336555
I, I I'm just as bullish as I am on Kyron, you know, after what I saw week one of the 2023 season.

357
00:31:55,546.0336555 --> 00:32:05,626.0336555
And again, uh, Here's, here's my favorite rumor from around the NFL draft, right? And we're going to get to the, uh, first round selection.

358
00:32:05,626.0336555 --> 00:32:09,356.0336555
The first one that the Rams have had since Jared Goff.

359
00:32:09,576.0336555 --> 00:32:18,896.0336555
We'll get to Jared verse when Brock Bowers was starting to fall out of the top 10 in the draft, the Rams were making calls about moving up from 19.

360
00:32:19,316.0336555 --> 00:32:21,136.0336555
The reality was, was that.

361
00:32:21,481.0336555 --> 00:32:23,761.0336555
Oh, we pulled Puka Nakua in the fifth round.

362
00:32:23,771.0336555 --> 00:32:29,931.0336555
We've got three great past catches for Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay and Les Snead.

363
00:32:30,331.0336555 --> 00:32:35,121.0336555
They were really, really trying to get Brock Bowers out of Georgia.

364
00:32:35,451.0336555 --> 00:32:43,761.0326555
Um, ended up going to the Raiders instead, but they really want to utilize a, a moving tight end.

365
00:32:44,121.0326555 --> 00:32:50,891.0336555
And I'm not saying that Colby Parkinson is Brock Bowers because he isn't, but I'm curious to see.

366
00:32:51,211.0336555 --> 00:32:59,331.0336555
With a banged up Tyler Higby, um, Colby Parkinson is going to be on the football field and he's going to be the largest man on the football field.

367
00:32:59,781.0336555 --> 00:33:05,461.0336555
I, I, all I'm looking to do when I'm targeting a late tight end as a number two or even number three.

368
00:33:07,841.0336555 --> 00:33:12,711.0336555
I just need a, I need a guy that's on the football field and available for end zone targets.

369
00:33:13,31.0336555 --> 00:33:34,361.0336555
And I just get the impression that like we've seen with Tyler Higbee for a whole lot of years or a one Davis Allen game last year, Colby Parkinson's going to be a capable enough tight end that where he's going is maybe tight end 20, 25 could at least give you tight end two production and tight end one some weeks.

370
00:33:34,571.0336555 --> 00:33:34,941.0336555
So.

371
00:33:35,246.0336555 --> 00:33:40,896.0336555
That's kind of my deep sleeper for fantasy overall would be Colby Parkinson, the tight end of the Rams.

372
00:33:41,36.0336555 --> 00:33:47,456.0326555
Well, when you had Higby and Gerald Everett on that team, that's kind of what Everett's role was.

373
00:33:48,246.0326555 --> 00:33:50,76.0326555
Gonna be that tight end number two.

374
00:33:50,536.0336555 --> 00:33:57,26.0336555
And it's not like you're gonna get that Dalton Kincaid type of Production, but you really don't need that.

375
00:33:57,516.0336555 --> 00:33:59,386.0336555
You don't really need that type of production.

376
00:33:59,746.0336555 --> 00:34:06,306.0336555
And, and I think about Luke Musgrave, what, what we saw from him at times with the Green Bay Pack.

377
00:34:06,816.0326555 --> 00:34:07,16.0326555
Yeah.

378
00:34:07,16.0336555 --> 00:34:07,686.0326555
When he was healthy.

379
00:34:07,686.0326555 --> 00:34:08,6.0326555
Yeah.

380
00:34:08,216.0336555 --> 00:34:08,316.0331555
Yeah.

381
00:34:08,316.0331555 --> 00:34:11,906.0336555
When he was healthy, all you need is being that, that type of guy.

382
00:34:12,106.0326555 --> 00:34:14,866.0336555
Now, if somehow he develops into.

383
00:34:15,296.0336555 --> 00:34:17,415.9336555
Uh, Sam LaPorter.

384
00:34:17,416.0336555 --> 00:34:27,336.0326555
Now that's just, well, that, well, that was, that was year one, right? So what I'm, yeah, not a year one, but it is feasible.

385
00:34:27,386.0336555 --> 00:34:35,256.0336555
It can happen once again, you're talking about Higby on a PUP, but you still have Puka and Cooper.

386
00:34:35,656.0336555 --> 00:34:38,726.0336555
That's going to open up the middle of the field.

387
00:34:39,446.0336555 --> 00:34:44,316.0336555
So who knows what can happen? Uh, you know, it, it, it always goes back to your Broncos.

388
00:34:44,366.0336555 --> 00:34:46,396.0336555
I just get the feeling that both.

389
00:34:46,756.0336555 --> 00:34:52,746.0336555
Parkinson and Noah Phant when they were, their reps in Seattle were split down the middle.

390
00:34:53,256.0336555 --> 00:34:56,996.0336555
They're, they're, uh, um, they're both going their separate ways now.

391
00:34:57,226.0336555 --> 00:35:02,846.0331555
Noah Phant's the tight end one in Seattle and Colby Parkinson's the tight end one in L.

392
00:35:02,846.0331555 --> 00:35:03,116.0326555
A.

393
00:35:03,336.0336555 --> 00:35:10,496.0336555
I just see them both having above average seasons or maybe just outpacing their current ADP for, for fantasy football.

394
00:35:10,836.0336555 --> 00:35:18,501.0336555
Again, It's not, I'm not going to be able to leverage a second or third round pick on Sam Laporta this year.

395
00:35:18,501.0336555 --> 00:35:19,501.0336555
I'm just not going to do it.

396
00:35:19,811.0336555 --> 00:35:30,311.0326555
So, if I, if I find someone in a mid to late round and spend my last pick on Parkinson or Fant, one of them is going to shake out, right? Process of elimination.

397
00:35:30,651.0326555 --> 00:35:40,286.0336555
Um, and, and I mentioned Jared Burse and the, so, The Rams, again, it had been since Jared Goff that I had a first round pick.

398
00:35:40,456.0336555 --> 00:35:50,246.0326555
F them picks era is officially over, except when they paired Jared Burst, the outstanding pass rusher out of Florida State, with his teammate, Brayden Fiske.

399
00:35:50,516.0336555 --> 00:36:05,21.0326555
So, I thought it was so cool, the Rams have had, year after year, one of the best, Um, like draft videos and coverage where Jared verse flies into LA and is rushing to get to the facility.

400
00:36:05,181.0336555 --> 00:36:11,11.0336555
And then he's on the phone talking to Brayden, talking about how they're going to be teammates again in LA.

401
00:36:11,361.0336555 --> 00:36:26,151.0326555
Uh, but the Rams, interestingly enough, they had a first round pick, but they said F then picks to move up 13 spots in the second round, gave up their 20, 25 second round pick to the Carolina Panthers.

402
00:36:26,471.0336555 --> 00:36:29,421.0336555
Plus the selection that they use to take Jonathan Brooks.

403
00:36:29,711.0336555 --> 00:36:34,791.0326555
So they're, they're still, they identify talent and Nick.

404
00:36:35,186.0336555 --> 00:36:47,356.0326555
For a team that this past year in Kobe Turner in the third round, nine sacks on that defensive line, uh, Ernest Jones, uh, eight sacks on that defensive line.

405
00:36:47,366.0326555 --> 00:36:53,186.0326555
Was it Ernest, uh, Byron Young, sorry, Byron Young, eight sacks on that defensive line, uh, as a pass rusher.

406
00:36:54,936.0336555 --> 00:36:58,506.0336555
Now they're spending high draft picks.

407
00:36:59,61.0336555 --> 00:37:08,451.0336555
on quote unquote better prospects, but this is a team that consistently got great play out of their young players on the defensive side of the football.

408
00:37:09,531.0336555 --> 00:37:21,401.0336555
I mean, where does the rubber meet the road here when you reunite a pair of dominant teammates at the collegiate level, but also the Rams on the defensive side of the football? And their development of defensive players.

409
00:37:21,621.0336555 --> 00:37:46,531.0336555
Is this just a talent that the front office has in identifying the talent? Is this a Raheem Morris thing, knowing he has taken both, you know, his defensive coaches, as well as Zach Robinson, the former quarterback coach, now offensive coordinator, to Atlanta? Well, I mean, anytime you have success, your roster It's going to be depleted, both players and coaching line.

410
00:37:47,311.0336555 --> 00:37:55,521.0336555
So once again, this is going to be all important to keep our eye on the Rams and Sean McVay, but as we started this, we talked about no Aaron Donald.

411
00:37:56,101.0336555 --> 00:38:00,851.0336555
Notice that you don't have a dominating figure pushing a pocket from the interior.

412
00:38:01,591.0326555 --> 00:38:03,651.0336555
You, you had to get better on the outside.

413
00:38:03,731.0336555 --> 00:38:13,101.0326555
Now you, you hope that these guys, since they play together in college, somehow they can develop some kind of chemistry where they can bring that same level of production.

414
00:38:13,681.0336555 --> 00:38:18,221.0336555
Uh, to the Rams, but we just have to wait and see what it's going to look like.

415
00:38:18,231.0336555 --> 00:38:32,551.0336555
What will the departure of Raheem Morris and some of the defensive staff and offensive staff? Will it impact the Rams? Maybe slightly, but it's not going to be large enough to where we're talking about the Rams going 4 13.

416
00:38:34,61.0336555 --> 00:38:37,141.0336555
So they make the young additions on the defensive line.

417
00:38:37,291.0336555 --> 00:38:41,481.0336555
Worth noting that almost the entire secondary free agent acquisitions is off season.

418
00:38:41,711.0336555 --> 00:38:47,331.0336555
Trey White, who played at an all pro level for Buffalo, had been dealing with injuries the past couple of years.

419
00:38:47,591.0326555 --> 00:38:52,91.0326555
Darius Williams signs a three year contract coming over from Jacksonville.

420
00:38:53,281.0336555 --> 00:39:00,751.0336555
Cameron Curl, who played multiple safety positions for the Washington Commanders, is going to be featured in the backfield.

421
00:39:01,1.0336555 --> 00:39:06,691.0336555
Uh, our old friend, John Johnson, who played at a Pro Bowl level, um, kind of the vet there in the back end.

422
00:39:07,11.0326555 --> 00:39:27,341.0336555
Um, so again, They're, they're really hoping that even without Aaron Donald, a lot of pressure could be taken off that secondary, knowing that you've got a handful of guys there that, um, you know, are new to the team and have to adjust quickly to a first time defensive coordinator in Chris Shula, yes, from that very same Shula family.

423
00:39:27,661.0326555 --> 00:39:29,631.0326555
So Nick, we do this with every team.

424
00:39:29,631.0326555 --> 00:39:35,171.0326555
As we wrap up our Rams training camp preview, I want to know from you the floor for this team.

425
00:39:35,371.0326555 --> 00:39:36,641.0316555
They made the playoffs a year ago.

426
00:39:36,681.0326555 --> 00:39:40,21.0336555
Can they do it again? versus the ceiling.

427
00:39:40,21.0336555 --> 00:39:47,501.0326555
What happens when everything goes right for the Los Angeles Rams? Well, obviously the floor is being competitive.

428
00:39:47,501.0336555 --> 00:39:53,961.0326555
Last season they were 10 7 and the 49ers finished 12 5.

429
00:39:54,291.0336555 --> 00:39:57,721.0336555
So they were running neck and neck towards the end of the season.

430
00:39:58,151.0336555 --> 00:40:01,451.0336555
I see the Rams being in that same place.

431
00:40:01,971.0336555 --> 00:40:05,871.0336555
Now, the ceiling itself, they're a playoff team.

432
00:40:07,351.0336555 --> 00:40:13,351.0336555
Unless there's some unforeseen things where you have a multitude of injuries which can happen.

433
00:40:13,431.1336555 --> 00:40:19,991.0336555
To Williams, Cooper, or even, you know, Matthew Stafford himself.

434
00:40:20,871.0336555 --> 00:40:23,541.0336555
If that happens, we've got to revisit the conversation.

435
00:40:23,551.0336555 --> 00:40:26,311.0336555
But at this particular point, they will be competitive.

436
00:40:26,931.0336555 --> 00:40:31,591.0326555
I still would project them to be second behind the 49ers.

437
00:40:31,981.0326555 --> 00:40:34,391.0336555
Because the 49ers always find some way.

438
00:40:34,721.0336555 --> 00:40:36,461.0336555
To win a football game.

439
00:40:36,461.0336555 --> 00:40:43,61.0336555
So that's kind of a ceiling right now because we talked about a young, a bunch of young players, no Aaron Donald.

440
00:40:43,341.0336555 --> 00:40:49,631.0326555
So we can't put them, or I can't at least project that the Rams are going to be competing for Superbowl.

441
00:40:49,651.0326555 --> 00:40:56,681.0336555
They're going to be competitive, but I put them, you know, as far as NFC West finished second behind the 49ers.

442
00:40:57,501.0336555 --> 00:40:58,451.0336555
He's Nick Ferguson.

443
00:40:58,641.0336555 --> 00:40:59,581.0336555
I'm Alex Hardy.

444
00:40:59,851.0336555 --> 00:41:02,161.0336555
Those are the Los Angeles Rams.

445
00:41:02,751.0336555 --> 00:41:09,651.0326555
Nick, uh, before we split, because we are running a little long, but that's because we love the Rams.

446
00:41:09,691.0336555 --> 00:41:17,131.0326555
We love what else did we do? Oh, we love, we love, we love, we love, uh, Jordan love.

447
00:41:17,181.0326555 --> 00:41:18,121.0331555
That's, that's the whole point.

448
00:41:18,121.0331555 --> 00:41:19,171.0336555
I was trying to make a pun with the name.

449
00:41:19,731.0336555 --> 00:41:24,31.0336555
Uh, Nick, before we split, um, if you're looking at.

450
00:41:26,816.0336555 --> 00:41:43,666.0336555
I'm kind of at a loss here because I'm wondering now, as we get to training camp with all these teams opening up at what point, I guess, for, Guys that are either returning after a long offseason or it's their first year there.

451
00:41:43,826.0336555 --> 00:42:09,831.0336555
Nick, the best way to make a good first impression when you're out on the football field or does it happen in the meeting room, your thoughts and what it takes really to start things out on the right foot when again, you mentioned, no games are being played, but you could make your season at the end of July here before, uh, The real season gets going well.

452
00:42:09,831.0336555 --> 00:42:13,851.0336555
No one really makes the team in shorts and uh, shirts.

453
00:42:14,361.0336555 --> 00:42:19,511.0336555
And that was really making the team inside the meeting room saying, Oh, I'm the smartest guy.

454
00:42:19,731.0336555 --> 00:42:22,141.0336555
I know all the answers on the board.

455
00:42:22,331.0336555 --> 00:42:25,821.0336555
But once you get on the field, it's like, uh, I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

456
00:42:26,151.0336555 --> 00:42:28,881.0326555
So the idea is to go out there and show, you know what you're doing.

457
00:42:29,161.0336555 --> 00:42:30,631.0336555
But the moment you put on pads.

458
00:42:31,191.0336555 --> 00:42:47,11.0326555
The moment you have an opportunity, right, and you start off the right foot, getting off on the right foot, no, no, no, no, no, I'm going to get off on the right helmet, right, meaning that I'm going to show my level of physicality to the team and let them know, hey, listen.

459
00:42:47,426.0336555 --> 00:42:48,936.0336555
I'm a force to be reckoned with.

460
00:42:49,366.0336555 --> 00:43:00,216.0336555
This is how you stand out amongst so many guys who just want to fit in and just be a guy and just say, you know what? Everything I did in OTAs, I thought that really counted for something.

461
00:43:00,266.0326555 --> 00:43:01,906.0336555
It's like, hell no, it doesn't.

462
00:43:02,296.0336555 --> 00:43:08,696.0336555
It's what you do right now is when you put the shoulder pads and the helmets on and you're able to separate the mice from men.

463
00:43:09,116.0336555 --> 00:43:11,816.0336555
That's where you leave your mark.

464
00:43:12,336.0336555 --> 00:43:15,746.0336555
Both On the team and on another guy's helmet.

465
00:43:16,586.0336555 --> 00:43:20,606.0336555
Hey, he was lining up against Shannon Sharp and Rod Smith.

466
00:43:20,876.0336555 --> 00:43:24,406.0336555
And these guys weren't mossing on every single time, just once, once or twice.

467
00:43:25,306.0336555 --> 00:43:26,246.0336555
He's Nick Ferguson.

468
00:43:26,296.0326555 --> 00:43:27,186.0326555
I'm Alex Hardy.

469
00:43:27,186.0336555 --> 00:43:28,256.0331555
We are those guys again.

470
00:43:28,256.0331555 --> 00:43:29,366.0336555
We hope to be your guys.

471
00:43:29,616.0336555 --> 00:43:30,676.0326555
Uh, make sure you keep.

472
00:43:31,276.0336555 --> 00:43:32,386.0336555
It locked right here.

473
00:43:32,386.0336555 --> 00:43:34,866.0336555
Ride the Wave Media, Apple Podcasts, YouTube.

474
00:43:35,66.0336555 --> 00:43:43,556.0336555
If you want to see our faces, uh, I'm excited to get to more of these teams, uh, bring perspectives from, uh, different fans, uh, on their teams.

475
00:43:43,556.0336555 --> 00:43:46,936.0336555
As we get closer to the NFL season, Nick, let's get on out of here.

476
00:43:46,946.0326555 --> 00:43:59,796.0336555
What do you have to say to the people? Make sure before you tackle, you read the inside of the helmet to make sure that it is an authentic helmet and it's not a replica, no replicas.