WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 and with that the 2025 season comes to a close 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:05.519 Now, I know this is a somber moment for a lot 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:07.280 of fans, but I'm just going to be honest with 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:09.380 you. Everything's going to be all right. We're 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.300 going to get through this, guys. We are going 00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:13.740 to get through this because you know why? Over 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:15.820 here at the Football Junkies Podcast, we are 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:18.359 going to continue to give you the fix that you 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:21.859 all need and love because we still have a plethora 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:23.420 of different things we need to talk about. There's 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:24.780 a plethora of different things that we need to 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:26.559 prepare ourselves, okay? We got to get ready 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:28.480 for the combine. That's around the corner. We 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:30.120 got to get ready for free agency and everything 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:32.280 that comes with free agency, okay? But before 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:34.060 we get to... that point, we have to talk about 00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:36.060 the Super Bowl, we have to talk about the Dolphins 00:00:36.060 --> 00:00:38.259 cleaning house, we have to talk about the Cowboys 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:40.520 planning to franchise tag George Pickens, we 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:43.640 have to talk about the NFLPA's report cards that 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:46.159 are being discontinued because the league owners 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:49.460 are upset about it, and we have to talk about 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:52.039 the plan for the offseason, okay? All of this 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.700 and more. On the 104th episode of the Football 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:56.840 Junkies Podcast, okay, I am your host with the 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:58.960 most, all right? I am your chief bag roll dominance. 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:00.960 That's right, chief head of the table. Anything 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:02.820 and everything related to the bag, rumors to 00:01:02.820 --> 00:01:05.159 the bag, and more. I am your hopium, hopium, 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:07.459 hopium, hopium, hopium deal. That's right. All 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:10.120 the hopium that you need to make it through these 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:13.620 next six months, I am your guy, okay? I am your 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:15.540 GM who currently is not on a team right now. 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:18.200 But don't you worry about it, okay? Don't you 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:21.019 worry about it because guess what? I am all these 00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:23.349 things and more. importantly, the most important 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:25.450 thing that you must remember is I am your host, 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:27.909 Kale. Buckle up. It's going to get crazy. So 00:01:27.909 --> 00:01:29.969 guess what? On three, one, two, three, let's 00:01:29.969 --> 00:01:54.409 lock in. All right, folks, let's just get into 00:01:54.409 --> 00:01:55.909 the meat and potatoes of everything that is going 00:01:55.909 --> 00:01:57.590 on in the league right now. So let's talk about 00:01:57.590 --> 00:02:00.230 the Super Bowl. So Sam Darnold, 38 attempts for 00:02:00.230 --> 00:02:03.409 19 completions, 202 passing yards, one touchdown, 00:02:03.650 --> 00:02:06.109 5 .3 yards per attempt, and a 50 % completion 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:09.250 percentage. Kenneth Walker III, 27 attempts for 00:02:09.250 --> 00:02:12.349 135 rushing yards, five rushing yards per carry. 00:02:12.469 --> 00:02:15.520 Cooper Cup. 12 targets for six receptions, 61 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:18.020 receiving yards, and 10 .2 receiving yards per 00:02:18.020 --> 00:02:21.659 reception. Drake May, 43 attempts for 27 completions, 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:25.400 295 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.860 6 .9 yards per attempt, a 62 .8 completion percentage. 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:31.879 Drake May again, five attempts for 37 rushing 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.219 yards, 7 .4 rushing yards per carry. Mack Hollins, 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.080 eight targets for four receptions, 78 receiving 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.039 yards, one touchdown, and 19 .5 receiving yards 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.080 per reception. So my two take... takeaways from 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:45.120 this game is New England exceeded expectations 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:47.740 but needs to continue to improve their offense 00:02:48.430 --> 00:02:50.930 while Seattle dominated every facet of this game. 00:02:51.509 --> 00:02:53.509 Offensively, the two reasons why they made it 00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:55.930 this far was because they minimized their mistakes 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:58.789 and they converted on key downs. Now that can 00:02:58.789 --> 00:03:00.750 win you a couple of games, but at some point 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:02.689 you're going to hit that wall. And that wall 00:03:02.689 --> 00:03:05.530 was the Seattle defense. Even if the Patriots 00:03:05.530 --> 00:03:07.610 ran heavier formations, it still would have changed 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:09.669 the outcome because at the end of the day, the 00:03:09.669 --> 00:03:11.669 Seahawks were going to make those adjustments. 00:03:11.810 --> 00:03:14.550 And once they found a weakness on this offense, 00:03:14.810 --> 00:03:17.860 they were going to attack it. The Seahawks' defense 00:03:17.860 --> 00:03:20.199 was attacking that left side of the offensive 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:22.800 line, and the Patriots' offense didn't have an 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.219 answer for it. You don't believe me? I got some 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:28.460 junkie nuggets to prove it. According to NextGenStats, 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:32.000 Will Campbell allowed 14 pressures, which is 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.520 a 26 .9 pressure rate, which is tied for the 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:38.520 most by any offensive lineman in a playoff game 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:43.199 since 2018. Now, in the entire postseason, Will 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.500 Campbell allowed 29 pressures, the most pressures 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:49.340 allowed in a postseason in the next -gen stats 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:52.680 era. Think about that for a second. I even took 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:55.699 notes on every single time Drake May was sacked. 00:03:55.860 --> 00:04:00.080 The first quarter, 1st and 10, 851 left, Derek 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:02.979 Hall power rushes and chases down Drake May. 00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:08.240 3rd and 15, 415 left, Devin Witherspoon blinches 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:11.360 Drake May for the sack. The second quarter, 10 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:15.740 -43 left. Second and seven, Riley Mills walks 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:18.420 down, and I literally mean what I say, walks 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:21.839 down the left guard for a sack. The third quarter, 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:25.740 first and 10, 5 -10 left, Byron Murphy sacks 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.800 Drake May. And then in the fourth quarter, first 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.279 and 10, 5 -29 left, Byron Murphy sacks Drake 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.370 May again. It doesn't matter if the Patriots 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:37.790 brought in two tight ends, if they used their 00:04:37.790 --> 00:04:40.410 biggest tight end as a fullback, it wouldn't 00:04:40.410 --> 00:04:42.970 have changed the outcome because the Seahawks' 00:04:43.089 --> 00:04:46.470 defense was fundamentally sound and they had 00:04:46.470 --> 00:04:49.649 a plan to go after Drake May. They were going 00:04:49.649 --> 00:04:52.769 after Drake May so much that Drake May became 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:55.750 startled in the pocket. There were a lot of times 00:04:55.750 --> 00:04:58.009 he was just looking at his left side because 00:04:58.009 --> 00:05:00.910 he realized that Will Campbell was essentially 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:05.550 a rotating door. All four quarters. And since 00:05:05.550 --> 00:05:08.149 we're talking about Will Campbell, why is it 00:05:08.149 --> 00:05:09.970 that all of a sudden a report comes out that 00:05:09.970 --> 00:05:12.910 says, oh, Will Campbell played with a torn ligament 00:05:12.910 --> 00:05:15.829 in his knee? Is that supposed to be an excuse 00:05:15.829 --> 00:05:17.850 on why he didn't play well in the Super Bowl? 00:05:18.129 --> 00:05:20.529 Because I want to ask you this, my fellow Patriots 00:05:20.529 --> 00:05:23.370 fans. If you guys would have won the Super Bowl, 00:05:23.550 --> 00:05:26.050 do you think this report would have come out? 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:29.110 I'm going to ask it again. If the Patriots would 00:05:29.110 --> 00:05:32.430 have won the Super Bowl, Do you believe that 00:05:32.430 --> 00:05:35.029 the report would have come out that says that 00:05:35.029 --> 00:05:37.910 Will Campbell played the entire season with a 00:05:37.910 --> 00:05:40.970 torn ligament in his knee? Me personally, I don't 00:05:40.970 --> 00:05:43.089 think so. Now I'll give the Patriots defense 00:05:43.089 --> 00:05:45.170 credit because they held their own. They were 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:47.930 the sole reason why they were still in that game. 00:05:48.069 --> 00:05:51.029 But as the game continued on, they started to 00:05:51.029 --> 00:05:54.009 lose their grip. In eight targets, Christian 00:05:54.009 --> 00:05:57.310 Gonzalez only allowed three completions for 36 00:05:57.310 --> 00:06:00.660 yards. Craig Woodson was doing his thing. Robert 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:03.439 Spillane was doing his thing. Everybody on that 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:06.100 defense tried their hardest to keep the game 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:08.740 close. But unfortunately, the Seahawks made more 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:10.980 plays than what the Patriots did. And if we want 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:13.839 to be honest here, the unsung hero in this game 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:16.420 is the Seahawks' special teams. Because their 00:06:16.420 --> 00:06:19.120 kicker and their punter was green all night. 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:21.259 But let's talk about the Seahawks' defense. Because 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:24.339 this, by far, is one of the most dominating performances 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:26.560 that we have seen a defense show in a Super Bowl 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.949 in a very long time. The only two other times 00:06:29.949 --> 00:06:32.110 that I can remember a defense playing this well 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:34.689 in the Super Bowl was when the Buccaneers crushed 00:06:34.689 --> 00:06:37.629 Patrick Mahomes and then the Legion of Boom facing 00:06:37.629 --> 00:06:40.449 the Broncos. So when you compare the Legion of 00:06:40.449 --> 00:06:43.069 Boom defense to the dark side defense, there 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:46.209 is some similarities than differences. So with 00:06:46.209 --> 00:06:48.790 the Legion of Boom, they had two interceptions, 00:06:48.970 --> 00:06:51.550 two forced fumbles. They allowed eight points, 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:56.769 306 total yards, 27 rush yards, 279 passing yards, 00:06:56.850 --> 00:06:59.779 and one sack. Now, the dark side defense, however, 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.699 they have two interceptions, one forced fumble. 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:07.060 They allow 331 total yards, 13 points, and six 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.279 sacks. If you was to do a little bit of math 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.220 between both of these defenses, specifically 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.279 the total yards that they allow, it's only a 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.540 25 total yard difference. That's not bad. that 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:19.899 actually shows you how similar both defenses 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:22.259 are. Now, the approach that they have is a little 00:07:22.259 --> 00:07:24.759 bit different because with this defense, they 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:26.759 were more productive when it comes to sacks, 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:29.199 whereas with the Legion of Boom, they were just 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:32.199 menaces. God, I miss that defense, but we're 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:33.860 not gonna talk about them, okay? We're gonna 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:36.060 talk about this defense because this defense 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:38.540 was effective in creating pressure while not 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:42.019 overly blitzing. According to NextGenStats, they 00:07:42.019 --> 00:07:45.620 generated a 52 .8 % pressure rate. which is the 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:48.480 second highest for the team this season the highest 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:51.459 of any defense this postseason the fourth highest 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:55.060 in a postseason since 2019 despite only blitzing 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:58.220 on just 13 .2 percent of plays which is the third 00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:01.540 lowest for any defense this postseason the seahawks 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:03.980 front seven didn't allow zero explosive design 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:07.329 runs for the seventh time this season They hit 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:09.490 the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage 00:08:09.490 --> 00:08:13.389 on 53 .8 % of design rushes, which is the second 00:08:13.389 --> 00:08:16.290 highest for this team this season. Now that junkie 00:08:16.290 --> 00:08:18.689 nugget just highlighted how effective this defensive 00:08:18.689 --> 00:08:21.910 line was, but also sheds light on how bad the 00:08:21.910 --> 00:08:24.750 Patriots offensive line was. Now offensively, 00:08:24.750 --> 00:08:26.930 the Seahawks did just enough to win this game. 00:08:27.069 --> 00:08:29.670 However, Sam Darnold almost threw two interceptions. 00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:32.710 Now as the game continued on, the Seahawks started 00:08:32.710 --> 00:08:35.710 to rely less on the passing game and started 00:08:35.710 --> 00:08:38.429 to rely more on the run game. Another takeaway 00:08:38.429 --> 00:08:40.769 from this game is the rise of the nickel hybrid 00:08:40.769 --> 00:08:43.230 safety role. And the reason why I say that is 00:08:43.230 --> 00:08:45.909 because in previous years, that was a position 00:08:45.909 --> 00:08:48.549 that was not valued a lot, right? It was usually 00:08:48.549 --> 00:08:51.049 somebody who couldn't play corner or safety full 00:08:51.049 --> 00:08:54.590 time, but was athletic enough to do both. But 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:56.529 now what you're starting to see is players make 00:08:56.529 --> 00:08:58.870 a name for themselves in that position. You're 00:08:58.870 --> 00:09:01.210 starting to see people like a Jalen Petrie, a 00:09:01.210 --> 00:09:03.629 Nicky Manwari, a Cooper DeGene, a Devin Weatherspoon 00:09:03.629 --> 00:09:06.649 be considered elite players playing that role. 00:09:07.049 --> 00:09:09.129 And the trickle -down effect that comes with 00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:11.509 that is now defensive coordinators are going 00:09:11.509 --> 00:09:15.230 to start emphasizing that role now, and GMs are 00:09:15.230 --> 00:09:17.049 going to start emphasizing that role in both 00:09:17.049 --> 00:09:20.169 free agency and the draft. So somebody who's 00:09:20.169 --> 00:09:23.350 now considered a tweener may now become a first 00:09:23.350 --> 00:09:25.950 -rounder just because defensive coordinators 00:09:25.950 --> 00:09:29.110 may think, oh, we can use him like how the Texans 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:32.169 use Jalen Petrie, or we can use him like how 00:09:32.169 --> 00:09:34.750 the Seahawks use Nick and Matt Warren. My final 00:09:34.750 --> 00:09:36.669 takeaway from this game is that the Seahawks 00:09:36.669 --> 00:09:38.889 made the right moves to position this franchise 00:09:38.889 --> 00:09:41.370 in the right direction. And the reason why I 00:09:41.370 --> 00:09:43.690 say that is because when we look at the moves 00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:45.830 that they made to get to this point, they had 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:48.110 to move off of Pete Carroll. They had to move 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:51.289 off of Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, and DK Metcalf 00:09:51.289 --> 00:09:54.029 in order to be where they are right now. And 00:09:54.029 --> 00:09:56.350 specifically when we talk about the Russell Wilson 00:09:56.350 --> 00:09:59.789 trade, look at what they received from it. Of 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:01.570 course, we all know they got Drew Locke, Noah 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:03.809 Fant, and Shelby Harris, right? But look at the 00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:07.509 draft picks, okay? That 2022 first round pick 00:10:07.509 --> 00:10:10.710 later became Charles Cross. That 2022 second 00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:13.990 round pick became Boye Mafe. That 2022 fifth 00:10:13.990 --> 00:10:17.389 round pick became Tyreek Smith. That 2023 first 00:10:17.389 --> 00:10:20.190 round pick became Devin Weatherspoon. That 2023 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:23.269 second round pick became Derek Hall. And in that 00:10:23.269 --> 00:10:26.769 same draft class, they also drafted JSN and Zach 00:10:26.769 --> 00:10:29.940 Charbonnet. In 24, they drafted Byron Murphy, 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:33.240 Tyrese Knight, Christian Haynes, A .J. Barner, 00:10:33.259 --> 00:10:36.419 D .J. James. This past draft, they drafted Gray 00:10:36.419 --> 00:10:39.860 Zabel, Nicky Manwari, Elijah Royal, Jalen Milrow, 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:43.259 Ricky White, just to name a few. This is how 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:46.059 you build championship teams, by consistently 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:49.159 hitting on your draft picks. Everything that 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:51.360 I've been saying since starting this podcast 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.940 is shown right here, right in front of our eyes. 00:10:55.470 --> 00:10:58.370 The Seahawks have literally shown that if you 00:10:58.370 --> 00:11:00.870 consistently hit on your draft picks, if you 00:11:00.870 --> 00:11:03.730 have the proper infrastructure for success, you 00:11:03.730 --> 00:11:07.389 are going to be successful. And that's exactly 00:11:07.389 --> 00:11:10.029 what happened. Now, I'll be transparent just 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:12.730 for a moment. I was against the Cooper Cup signing. 00:11:12.929 --> 00:11:15.529 I was against the DeMarcus Lawrence signing because 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:18.450 I thought those two were washed. I thought those 00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:21.090 two didn't have no more juice left. But clearly, 00:11:21.090 --> 00:11:24.809 I was wrong. And so here we are in an offseason 00:11:24.809 --> 00:11:27.090 where, of course, we all know the Seahawks had 00:11:27.090 --> 00:11:29.289 the last pick in the draft, but you have a lot 00:11:29.289 --> 00:11:32.529 of cap space. So technically speaking, you could 00:11:32.529 --> 00:11:35.330 run this thing back one more time because the 00:11:35.330 --> 00:11:38.610 roster is still fairly young. So if you wanted 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:40.850 to, you could re -sign Tyreek Woodland. You can 00:11:40.850 --> 00:11:43.990 re -sign Kenneth Walker. You can re -sign JSN 00:11:43.990 --> 00:11:46.389 and a few other people. Now let's talk about 00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:48.230 the Dolphins for just a moment. So for those 00:11:48.230 --> 00:11:50.250 of you who don't know, they decided to move off 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:53.220 of Tyreek Hill. James Daniels, Nick Westbrook 00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:56.299 -Akene, and Bradley Chubb. Now making these moves, 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.139 they open up about $34 .4 million in cap space, 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:02.120 which is good. However, the question we all need 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:05.059 to ask ourselves is, how are they going to designate 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:07.659 Tyreek Hill's release? And the reason why I say 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:10.080 that is because there is a difference in cap 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:13.580 savings if they designate it as a post or pre 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:17.009 -June 1st designation. Also, if I'm not mistaken, 00:12:17.149 --> 00:12:19.490 some of his guaranteed money, I think that's 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:21.889 tied in with injury bonuses or something, something 00:12:21.889 --> 00:12:23.990 crazy. I will have to look at the contract again 00:12:23.990 --> 00:12:27.009 is either avoided or he's still going to get 00:12:27.009 --> 00:12:29.629 it. I don't know. That entire situation is a 00:12:29.629 --> 00:12:32.009 little bit complicated. I'll be honest with you. 00:12:32.049 --> 00:12:34.309 When they gave him that quote unquote extension, 00:12:34.529 --> 00:12:37.169 I was totally against it because he was already 00:12:37.169 --> 00:12:39.429 under contract with the Dolphins and there was 00:12:39.429 --> 00:12:41.889 no need for them to give him another extension. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:44.740 They only did it because he made some noise about 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:46.899 it and he wasn't happy because he wasn't, you 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:49.360 know, top five highest paid wide receivers and 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.600 whatnot. But when we look at this move, this 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.960 was sort of expected. And the reason why I say 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:56.120 that is because we knew that Tyreek Hill was 00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:58.080 going to be released, right? We knew that James 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.240 Daniels was going to be released. We knew that 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:02.120 Nick Westbrook -Akene was going to be released. 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:04.580 Now, Bradley Chubb's situation is a little bit 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:07.019 complicated because... I would have thought they 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:09.519 would have tried to at least keep him. But maybe 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:11.679 there was a conversation between Bradley Chubbs' 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:14.159 camp and the Dolphins. And they probably realized, 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.440 hey, it's just best that we just let you go right 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.899 now. So that way you can get a head start with, 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:21.580 you know, talking to other teams and figure out 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:23.179 what you want to do with free agency and whatnot. 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:25.120 But I think a player that we need to talk about 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:27.960 a little bit more than these guys is Tua. And 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:30.799 the reason why I say that is because... his contract 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:32.940 is a little bit more complicated. Now, according 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:36.200 to Spoltrak, if a team was to trade for him, 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.779 they would be inheriting a three -year $141 .4 00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:43.539 million contract that still has $54 million fully 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:46.019 guaranteed. I said it before when they gave him 00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:48.080 the contract, and I'm going to say it now. This 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:51.679 was a bad contract from the beginning. I understand 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:54.340 that at that point, Tua was playing well. He 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:56.740 wasn't having a lot of concussions. The Dolphins 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:58.620 were in a really good place. But at the same 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:01.080 time, I would have gave him a shorter term deal 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:03.820 so that if anything crazy happens, guess what? 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.080 You can get off of the contract and you have 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.340 nothing to worry about. Because now you're in 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:10.639 a situation where, for starters, if you was to 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.539 trade him, you have no leverage. Teams are going 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:15.820 to lowball you because they realize that, one, 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:19.000 I'm inheriting a bad contract. I'm inheriting 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:21.700 a player who is... declining and I don't know 00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:24.980 what state he's in right now. And I have to figure 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:26.799 out how I'm going to make that contract work 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:30.019 for my books. So the Dolphins can't say, oh, 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.500 we want a second round pick or first round pick 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:34.840 for Tua. They just have to receive whatever a 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.500 team gives them. But according to Jordan Schultz, 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.179 the Dolphins are beginning to field trade calls 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:42.539 for Mika Fitzpatrick. Now, if you're a team that's 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:44.980 looking for safety, Would you rather take the 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:47.340 cheap route and just draft one? Or would you 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:49.899 trade for a proven commodity, knowing that you 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:52.360 may have to pay that proven commodity a little 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:54.840 bit more money? Now, me personally, I would go 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:56.620 with the proven commodity, especially someone 00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:58.960 like Amiga Fitzpatrick. But the question is this, 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:01.379 what's going to be the compensation to acquire 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:04.620 him? And what's going to be the selling point 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:07.580 to keep him playing on his current deal? Now, 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:09.940 if you're a team like the Chiefs, there's nothing 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:12.679 for you to really sell. Come on over. Let's win 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:14.960 a championship, right? But if you're a team that's 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.320 sort of in limbo, someone like the Bills or the 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:22.740 Buccaneers or the 49ers or, I don't know, the 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:25.799 Cowboys, for instance, you may have to sell this 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:28.159 trade a little bit harder to Minka Fitzpatrick 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:31.299 because, again, you're in limbo. You're not necessarily 00:15:31.299 --> 00:15:35.190 a Super Bowl contender, but... you might be able 00:15:35.190 --> 00:15:37.529 to be a more competitive team if you acquire 00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:40.230 someone like Amika Fitzpatrick. So let's talk 00:15:40.230 --> 00:15:42.070 about George Pickens getting franchise tagged 00:15:42.070 --> 00:15:44.289 by the Cowboys. So for those of you who don't 00:15:44.289 --> 00:15:46.610 know, there's different variations of the franchise 00:15:46.610 --> 00:15:49.250 tag, right? There's the non -exclusive franchise 00:15:49.250 --> 00:15:52.210 tag, there's the exclusive franchise tag, and 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:54.909 the transition tag, okay? I'm gonna briefly go 00:15:54.909 --> 00:15:57.710 over each and every one of them. Then we're also 00:15:57.710 --> 00:16:00.110 gonna talk about the history of the Cowboys using 00:16:00.110 --> 00:16:02.350 the franchise tag on their star players, okay? 00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:05.879 So according to - The window to make the tag 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:08.519 offer begins 22 days before the start of the 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:11.679 new league year and lasts for a full two weeks. 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:17.100 A team can rescind an offer as long as the tag 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:20.320 remains unsigned, but once an offer is accepted 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:23.000 and a tag is signed, the tender becomes fully 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:25.759 guaranteed for skill, cap, and injury for the 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:29.320 upcoming season. Tag players can be traded, but 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.289 only if they sign their tender. Players who are 00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:34.830 tagged can still negotiate a multi -year extension 00:16:34.830 --> 00:16:38.669 until July 15th. However, if no extension is 00:16:38.669 --> 00:16:41.230 in place, then the player can only agree to a 00:16:41.230 --> 00:16:43.389 one -year deal for that season, which is essentially 00:16:43.389 --> 00:16:46.289 the tag, right? Now, players who are offered 00:16:46.289 --> 00:16:49.309 a tag must sign it before week 10 in order to 00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:51.850 be eligible for the season. Now, with the non 00:16:51.850 --> 00:16:54.500 -exclusive franchise tag, Players are free to 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:58.000 negotiate with other teams. However, if a player 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.320 agrees to the offer sheet from another team, 00:17:00.460 --> 00:17:03.340 then the tag team has five days to match the 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:06.549 offer. If agreed, then the player rejoins the 00:17:06.549 --> 00:17:09.089 previous team on the new contract. But if they 00:17:09.089 --> 00:17:11.670 refuse to match the offer sheet, then the player 00:17:11.670 --> 00:17:14.650 joins the new team on the deal and the previous 00:17:14.650 --> 00:17:17.049 team is given two first round picks. Now, for 00:17:17.049 --> 00:17:19.170 those of you who don't know, that was the tag 00:17:19.170 --> 00:17:21.670 that the Ravens put on Lamar a couple years ago 00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:23.430 when they were trying to negotiate his contract. 00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:27.039 Now with the exclusive franchise tag, the value 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.700 is calculated based on the average of the five 00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:32.180 largest current year salaries at that position 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:35.039 at the end of the restricted tender window. Now 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.740 unfortunately with this tag, players can't negotiate 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:40.420 with other teams, but players can be traded, 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:43.809 but they must sign the tag first. Now with the 00:17:43.809 --> 00:17:46.769 transition tag, it's the least expensive tag 00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:49.450 out of all three of them, but this one is calculated 00:17:49.450 --> 00:17:52.289 by the greater of the average of the top 10 prior 00:17:52.289 --> 00:17:56.369 year salaries at the position or 120 % of the 00:17:56.369 --> 00:17:59.420 player's prior year salary. now players can negotiate 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:02.779 with other teams however if the tag is signed 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:05.700 then the previous team has five days to match 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:09.059 the offer if the team refuses to match then they 00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:11.680 will receive no draft pick compensation for losing 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.960 the player the deadline to sign this tag is july 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.220 21st Now, if we was to calculate the franchise 00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:21.099 tag by every single position, here's the difference 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:23.880 between all of them, okay? So with the non -exclusive 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.339 franchise tag for quarterbacks, it would be 47 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:30.220 .2 million, 28 million for wide receivers, 27 00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:33.880 .7 million for offensive linemen, 27 .5 million 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:36.839 for linebackers, 27 .4 million for defensive 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:41.099 tackles, 26 .7 for defensive ends, 20 .7 million 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:44.859 for corners, 20 .7 for safeties, 16 million for 00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:47.549 tight ends. 14 .1 million for running backs, 00:18:47.690 --> 00:18:50.509 and 6 .8 million for kickers and punters. Now 00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:54.210 with the transition tag, the value is 28 .8 million 00:18:54.210 --> 00:18:57.569 for quarterbacks, 22 .9 million for wide receivers, 00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:01.970 17 .4 million for offensive linemen, 16 .3 million 00:19:01.970 --> 00:19:04.869 for linebackers, 13 .5 million for defensive 00:19:04.869 --> 00:19:08.529 tackles, 24 .3 million for defensive ends, 25 00:19:08.529 --> 00:19:11.769 .1 million for quarterbacks, 11 .4 million for 00:19:11.769 --> 00:19:15.539 safeties, 6 .1 million for tight ends, 40 .7 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:18.420 million for running backs, and 22 .3 million 00:19:18.420 --> 00:19:20.460 for kickers and punters. I think these numbers 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:22.980 are probably wrong, but this is Spotrack, so 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:25.440 do not fight me, okay? Now, the franchise tag 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.599 has pros and cons. For starters, if a team decides 00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:31.279 to tag a player, their cap hit is going to be 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.619 significantly affected by it. However, you can 00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:37.900 use the tag as a placeholder for contract negotiations 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:40.839 between the organization and the player. But 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.099 here's the kicker. you don't have a lot of time 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:47.059 to negotiate a contract extension. Because as 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:49.819 I just said, you only have a couple of days before 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:52.000 the new league year. So right now, if you're 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.299 the Cowboys, you need to figure out what you're 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:56.680 going to do with George Pickens. Now, unfortunately, 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.700 the Cowboys have a history of doing this. Now, 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.559 according to an article from Todd Archer of ESPN, 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:05.759 the Cowboys franchise tag history is a little 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.069 bit crazy. So in 2002, they franchise -tagged 00:20:09.069 --> 00:20:12.329 Flozell Adams. In 2008, they franchise -tagged 00:20:12.329 --> 00:20:14.650 Ken Hamlin. They franchise -tagged Anthony Spencer 00:20:14.650 --> 00:20:18.710 twice in both 2012 and 2013. They franchise -tagged 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:21.930 Des Bryant in 2015. They franchise -tagged Demarcus 00:20:21.930 --> 00:20:25.309 Lawrence in both 2018 and 2019. They franchise 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:29.009 -tagged Dak Prescott in both 2020 and 2021. They 00:20:29.009 --> 00:20:31.829 franchise -tagged Dalton Schultz in 2022. And 00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:33.990 then they franchise -tagged Tony Pollard in 2023. 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:37.980 Now, according to Spoltrak, George Pickens' market 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:41.940 value is four years, $122 .4 million, which is 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:44.680 $30 .6 million a year. Now, when we look at his 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:48.119 stats from this year, he had 137 targets for 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:52.740 93 receptions, 1 ,429 receiving yards, nine receiving 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:55.579 touchdowns, and 15 .4 receiving yards per reception, 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.640 which isn't bad. Technically speaking, he should 00:20:57.640 --> 00:20:59.259 have been a first -team All -Pro this year, but 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:01.559 we're not going to get into that, right? Now, 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:03.920 with that being said, if you're George Pickens, 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:06.480 What do you do at this point? Because remember, 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:09.420 George Pickens and Micah Parsons have the same 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:11.960 agent. And we all know how that Micah Parsons 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:14.420 situation went last year. I don't think George 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:16.380 Pickens wants to go through that. But at the 00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:19.039 same time, if you're the Cowboys, you realize 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:21.700 that if you franchise tag George Pickens, that's 00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:24.380 going to hurt your salary cap right now. Unless 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:27.140 you're not trying to pay George Pickens, you're 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:29.859 actually trying to trade George Pickens. Let's 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:32.180 think about this for a moment. Right now, if 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:34.619 the Cowboys were to entertain calls for George 00:21:34.619 --> 00:21:37.299 Pickens, I guarantee you they could get maybe 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:40.460 a second or first round pick for him. But why 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:43.019 would you trade away George Pickens knowing that 00:21:43.019 --> 00:21:46.240 he was super productive with CeeDee Lamb? See, 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:48.440 these are the things that make me wonder, what 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:51.680 is Jerry really doing? I understand a lot of 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:53.839 people are opposed to paying two really good 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.559 receivers 30 plus million a year, but times have 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.829 changed. That offense is really productive. As 00:21:59.829 --> 00:22:02.569 long as the Cowboys can hit on their defensive 00:22:02.569 --> 00:22:05.690 draft picks, this team could go somewhere. But 00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:08.049 it could only go somewhere when you have adequate 00:22:08.049 --> 00:22:11.509 weapons. The times when Dak Prescott is elite 00:22:11.509 --> 00:22:14.609 is when he has multiple receiving options to 00:22:14.609 --> 00:22:17.190 throw to. That year when he had Amari Cooper, 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:20.430 Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb, that was when 00:22:20.430 --> 00:22:23.490 Dak was putting up crazy numbers. The proof is 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:25.880 in the pudding, folks. That's the recipe for 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.259 success. That's what you have to do. Now let's 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:30.680 talk about this NFLPA report card dilemma. But 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:32.660 before we do that, we got to pay some bills. 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:35.400 Pardon the interruption, but this is your GM, 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.779 your bag road domus here to talk about rss .com. 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:41.200 All right. 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A lot 00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:00.000 of that money will go towards upgrading the microphones, 00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:03.579 computers, new subscriptions for more analytical 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:06.640 information that we can use for future podcasts, 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:09.269 all of that and more. Thank you for your support 00:24:09.269 --> 00:24:12.190 and thank you RSS .com for making me an affiliate. 00:24:12.390 --> 00:24:15.049 Now back to the good stuff. And we're back folks. 00:24:15.130 --> 00:24:18.130 So let's talk about this NFLPA report card conundrum 00:24:18.130 --> 00:24:20.190 because there's a lot to unpack with this and 00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:22.950 it's a little bit confusing. So here's the memo 00:24:22.950 --> 00:24:25.710 that was sent to all 32 teams talking about this 00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:28.470 grievance against the NFLPA and the NFL and I 00:24:28.470 --> 00:24:31.039 quote. We are pleased to report that the NFL 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:32.920 prevailed in the grievance filed against the 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:35.779 NFL Players Association, challenging its practice 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:38.119 of creating and publicizing annual team report 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:40.900 cards. The arbitrator held that the publication 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:44.519 of report cards disparaging NFL clubs and individuals 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:46.839 violates the collective bargaining agreement 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:50.259 and issued an order prohibiting the NFLPA from 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:52.420 publishing or publicly disclosing the results 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:55.160 of future player report cards. Throughout the 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:57.160 course of these proceedings, despite numerous 00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:00.640 requests, the NFLPA steadfastly refused to produce 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:03.339 any information or data related to prior year 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:06.980 surveys. However, at the hearing, the NFLPA's 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:09.019 witness and counsel characterized the report 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:12.819 cards as Union speech and admitted that 1. The 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:15.319 Union reviewed player responses and cherry -picked 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:17.880 which topics and responses to include or not 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:21.500 in the team report cards. 2. Players had no role 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:24.039 in drafting the commentary included in the report 00:25:24.039 --> 00:25:26.880 cards, which was written entirely by Union staffers. 00:25:27.390 --> 00:25:30.410 Three, the union selected which anonymous individual 00:25:30.410 --> 00:25:33.990 player's quotations to include or exclude entirely 00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:37.329 to support its chosen narrative. And four, the 00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:39.869 union determined the weight to give each topic 00:25:39.869 --> 00:25:42.109 and the resulting impact on the alphabetical 00:25:42.109 --> 00:25:45.069 grades it's assigned. In essence, the record 00:25:45.069 --> 00:25:47.210 established that the report cards were designed 00:25:47.210 --> 00:25:49.650 by the union to advance its interests under the 00:25:49.650 --> 00:25:52.849 guise of a scientific exercise. These facts highlight 00:25:52.849 --> 00:25:55.089 the numerous and significant limitations in the 00:25:55.089 --> 00:25:57.920 methodology and accuracy of the team report card's 00:25:57.920 --> 00:25:59.940 results that have been reported over the past 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:02.480 three years. Clubs should continue to solicit 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.799 feedback directly from their own players to assess 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.599 the club's strengths and opportunities for improvement 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.039 and when considering continued ownership investment 00:26:10.039 --> 00:26:13.539 into facilities, staff, and services. The arbitrator 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:15.779 did not find that the union's independent survey 00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:18.319 necessarily conflicts with its obligation to 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:20.720 conduct a joint scientific survey of players' 00:26:20.859 --> 00:26:23.559 opinions regarding the adequacy of the medical 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:26.619 care under the CBA. Therefore, the management 00:26:26.619 --> 00:26:29.099 council will continue to work with the NFLPA 00:26:29.099 --> 00:26:31.779 to design and conduct such a survey in the coming 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:34.140 season, end quote. Now here's the statement from 00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:36.400 the Players Association on the ruling of the 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:39.339 team report card grievance, end quote. The ruling 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:41.680 upholds our right to survey players and share 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.099 the results with players and clubs. While we 00:26:44.099 --> 00:26:46.299 strongly disagree with the restriction on making 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:48.859 those results public, that limitation does not 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:51.579 stop the program or its impact. Players will 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:53.980 continue to receive the results, and teams will 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:56.099 continue to hear directly from their locker rooms. 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.579 Importantly, the arbitrator rejected the NFL's 00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:01.900 characterization of the process, finding the 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:04.880 team report cards to be fair, balanced, and increasingly 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:23.890 positive over time. While I understand the Players 00:27:23.890 --> 00:27:27.049 Association's views, the ruling is correct. And 00:27:27.049 --> 00:27:29.109 the reason why I say this is because anytime 00:27:29.109 --> 00:27:31.809 you have a program such as this, you know there's 00:27:31.809 --> 00:27:34.740 going to be some level of biasness. Now, anytime 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:37.220 an arbitrator can find that the union reviewed 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:39.799 player responses and cherry picked which topics 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:42.900 and responses to include or not include in team 00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:45.200 report cards, you don't have a leg to stand on. 00:27:45.339 --> 00:27:47.480 You can't just choose the negative responses 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:50.119 over the positive responses. You have to play 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:52.539 it fair. And if you don't play it fair, they're 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:54.539 going to pick it apart. And that's exactly what 00:27:54.539 --> 00:27:57.400 happened in this situation. Now, my only question 00:27:57.400 --> 00:27:59.940 is this. What is the end goal with these team 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:02.019 report cards? Because I'm letting you know right 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:04.980 now, not every owner is going to do right by 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:07.279 the players. We have certain owners who are only 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:09.720 in it for the money. And then there's other owners 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:12.960 who are truly in it to win it. Jerry Jones is 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.079 not serious about winning a Super Bowl. He's 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:17.339 only serious about stuffing his pockets. I don't 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:19.759 care what he says publicly. I don't care what 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:23.039 moves he make. Jerry is about the money. He is 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.119 not serious about holding a Lombardi. He had 00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:29.259 his time in the 90s. If Jerry Jones was truly 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:31.779 serious about winning a championship, I guarantee 00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:34.019 you right now he would have invested as much 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:36.900 money as he needs to invest into his team to 00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:39.319 make sure that they maximize their opportunity 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:42.000 to win a championship. But they didn't do it. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:44.480 Really think about that for a second. There's 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:48.299 only so many owners who were born into the game 00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:51.210 of football, right? For instance, The Rooney 00:28:51.210 --> 00:28:54.089 family with the Steelers, right? The McCaskey 00:28:54.089 --> 00:28:57.569 family with the Bears. The Ford family with the 00:28:57.569 --> 00:28:59.890 Lions, for instance. Those are the prestigious 00:28:59.890 --> 00:29:03.829 family -run organizations whose legacy is intertwined 00:29:03.829 --> 00:29:06.289 with their team compared to a Jerry Jones who 00:29:06.289 --> 00:29:09.130 made his money from oil or Shad Khan who made 00:29:09.130 --> 00:29:11.549 his money from different industries. Make no 00:29:11.549 --> 00:29:13.910 mistake, I'm not against the team report card 00:29:13.910 --> 00:29:17.690 program. All I'm saying is that the NFLPA needs 00:29:17.690 --> 00:29:20.089 to do their job and make sure that there's no... 00:29:20.109 --> 00:29:22.410 holes in this program that the owners can poke 00:29:22.410 --> 00:29:25.569 through. Because again, these are the same people 00:29:25.569 --> 00:29:28.470 that colluded together to prevent quarterbacks 00:29:28.470 --> 00:29:31.349 from getting fully guaranteed contracts. Now, 00:29:31.369 --> 00:29:33.890 JJ Watt tweeted this out after the news broke 00:29:33.890 --> 00:29:36.869 of the ruling of the NFLPA's team report card 00:29:36.869 --> 00:29:39.930 grievance. The NFL won't let actual players grade 00:29:39.930 --> 00:29:42.549 the workplace they attend every single day, but 00:29:42.549 --> 00:29:44.589 they'll allow a third -party grading service 00:29:44.589 --> 00:29:46.890 to display their rankings of players on national 00:29:46.890 --> 00:29:49.029 television every Sunday night, which is very 00:29:49.029 --> 00:29:52.970 true. That is a very true statement. And that 00:29:52.970 --> 00:29:54.690 is something that needs to be brought up a little 00:29:54.690 --> 00:29:58.029 bit more because it's unfair to the players that 00:29:58.029 --> 00:30:00.890 I have to go into a workplace that I know doesn't 00:30:00.890 --> 00:30:03.410 have the resources that I need in order for me 00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:06.569 to play my best ball, even though they can get 00:30:06.569 --> 00:30:09.269 it. Now, I'm not expecting every single team 00:30:09.269 --> 00:30:11.849 to have an A -plus in every single major category. 00:30:12.269 --> 00:30:15.869 However, the teams need to do right by the players. 00:30:16.410 --> 00:30:18.529 You wonder why certain players are having to 00:30:18.529 --> 00:30:20.750 go out their way to get certain treatments and 00:30:20.750 --> 00:30:23.609 services because you guys aren't providing them 00:30:23.609 --> 00:30:27.089 even though you can provide it for them. What's 00:30:27.089 --> 00:30:29.190 a couple extra dollars to hire somebody that 00:30:29.190 --> 00:30:31.589 can give massages? What's a couple extra dollars 00:30:31.589 --> 00:30:34.829 to get some massage guns, to get a sauna, to 00:30:34.829 --> 00:30:37.470 get a hot tub, to get the necessary things for 00:30:37.470 --> 00:30:39.559 these players? Because it's going to pay for 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:42.240 itself. For all intents and purposes, if you 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:45.240 get all those necessary resources and it leads 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:47.640 you to winning one or two championships, who's 00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:51.180 really complaining? No one. But on to our final 00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:53.519 topic, and that's to talk about the offseason. 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:55.660 So here are some important dates that you guys 00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:58.839 need to remember. So from February 23rd to March 00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:01.619 2nd is the NFL Combine. Now what comes from the 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:05.200 Combine is rumors. This is when all those crazy 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:07.539 trade rumors start to heat up. This is when you 00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:09.400 start to hear about players potentially getting 00:31:09.400 --> 00:31:12.380 paid, maybe getting traded, maybe getting cut, 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:14.940 maybe not happy with their organization or their 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:17.819 situation right now. This is when all that stuff 00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:20.759 happens, okay? So on March 3rd at 4 p .m., the 00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:24.079 franchise tag window closes. However, we have 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:27.000 seen in recent years that teams are able to come 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:30.119 to terms to a long -term extension once this 00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:32.500 window closes. We saw with Daniel Jones and the 00:31:32.500 --> 00:31:35.410 Giants. if I'm not mistaken. Now, on March 9th, 00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:38.769 the legal tampering window begins. Let me explain 00:31:38.769 --> 00:31:42.109 this for just a moment. In this window, you're 00:31:42.109 --> 00:31:44.309 going to see a bunch of things, okay? You're 00:31:44.309 --> 00:31:46.549 going to hear Adam Sheff reporting, well, this 00:31:46.549 --> 00:31:50.039 player intends to sign with this team. Key word, 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:53.799 intends. So in the legal temporary window, all 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:56.500 trades and signings cannot be finalized until 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:00.359 March 11th at 4 p .m. Meaning, you can tell a 00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:03.240 team that I intend to sign with you, but then 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:07.079 sign somewhere else. Or you can intend to be 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:10.519 traded to another team, but in actuality, you 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:13.420 get traded to a team that nobody expected. We 00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:16.170 see it all the time. Remember that. Please remember 00:32:16.170 --> 00:32:18.329 that. Because I know you're going to see a lot 00:32:18.329 --> 00:32:21.170 of things. Oh, this person intends to sign this 00:32:21.170 --> 00:32:24.230 deal with the Buccaneers. Oh, this player decides 00:32:24.230 --> 00:32:28.609 to re -sign with the Cowboys. None of that can 00:32:28.609 --> 00:32:31.230 be finalized until the start of the new league 00:32:31.230 --> 00:32:34.700 year, okay? Now, from March 29th to April 1st 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:37.380 is the NFL League meetings. That's when all the 00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:39.880 owners come together. They talk about the rules, 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:42.180 what rules need to be changed, what rules need 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:44.279 to be getting rid of, all of that and more, okay? 00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:46.200 You probably really don't care about that, but 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:49.519 I sort of do. April 6th, off -season workouts 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:52.440 begin for teams with new head coaches. So for 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:54.779 every single team that has a new head coach, 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:57.220 that's when your off -season workouts begin. 00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:00.119 And in some ways, that gives you a little bit 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:02.039 of extra time so you can get comfortable with 00:33:02.039 --> 00:33:04.960 the playbook, the coaches, all of that and more, 00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:08.180 okay? Now, April 17th is the deadline for the 00:33:08.180 --> 00:33:11.039 restricted free agent offer sheet. And on April 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:13.819 20th is when the off -season workouts begin for 00:33:13.819 --> 00:33:16.450 teams with returning head coaches. From April 00:33:16.450 --> 00:33:19.690 23rd to April 25th, of course, is the draft. 00:33:19.990 --> 00:33:22.369 Yes, we will be live streaming it. We will be 00:33:22.369 --> 00:33:25.329 talking about it in real time. Stay tuned for 00:33:25.329 --> 00:33:28.029 that, okay? May 1st is the deadline for fifth 00:33:28.029 --> 00:33:30.750 -year options to be picked up for 2023 first 00:33:30.750 --> 00:33:34.339 -round picks. And from May 1st to May 4th or 00:33:34.339 --> 00:33:37.619 May 8th to May 11th is when Rookie Mini Camp 00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:40.420 starts, okay? So remember all of those dates. 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:43.140 Now, if you want to access those dates, just 00:33:43.140 --> 00:33:46.579 go on Google, type in important NFL dates, and 00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:48.299 they'll be able to show up, okay? But I'm going 00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:49.960 to end this episode here. If you guys like what 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:51.559 you are listening, please, please, please, please, 00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:53.579 please make sure you guys leave a five -star, 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:56.160 five -star, five -star, five -star, five -star 00:33:56.160 --> 00:33:57.720 review on anywhere and everywhere that you listen 00:33:57.720 --> 00:34:00.779 to podcasts, okay? 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Am I wrong about my approach 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:36.380 on the Patriots? Let's talk about it, okay? Now, 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:38.800 when you go on our YouTube, Football Junkies 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:41.719 Pod, Football Junkies Pod, there is a link tree. 00:34:41.820 --> 00:34:43.400 When you click on that link tree, you'll take 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:45.260 it to anywhere and everywhere that we have Football 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:47.320 Junkies content, okay? Now, for my Instagram 00:34:47.320 --> 00:34:50.000 people, football underscore junkies pod, okay? 00:34:50.039 --> 00:34:51.900 Football underscore junkies pod. Junkies pod 00:34:51.900 --> 00:35:00.010 is not what? It is together. not spaced. Okay. 00:35:00.050 --> 00:35:03.010 It is together, not space football underscore 00:35:03.010 --> 00:35:05.710 junkies pod. Now you can follow us on Tik TOK 00:35:05.710 --> 00:35:08.590 football junkies pod. All right. Football junkies 00:35:08.590 --> 00:35:11.469 pod. I have some more clips and some more content 00:35:11.469 --> 00:35:13.050 that I want to post out. Just got to give me 00:35:13.050 --> 00:35:15.230 some time. All right. Now you can follow me on 00:35:15.230 --> 00:35:20.380 blue sky at GM kale, GM kale. K -A -I -O -E, 00:35:20.519 --> 00:35:25.079 as well as on Twitter at G -M -K -O, G -M -K 00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:27.860 -A -I -O -E. As always, I hope I gave you guys 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:30.260 a fix as you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate 00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:32.400 you guys so much. Thank you guys so much for 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:34.679 listening to the best podcast that you can listen 00:35:34.679 --> 00:35:37.840 to on a week -to -week, day -to -day basis. And 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:40.599 stay tuned. The Stack and Shed series will continue 00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:43.519 on, especially now that the regular season is 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:45.840 over with and all we have to really talk about 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:48.300 is just like smaller little things. So just stay 00:35:48.300 --> 00:35:50.239 tuned. for that. All right. As always, I hope 00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:52.679 I gave you guys a fix that you guys need. I love 00:35:52.679 --> 00:35:54.820 you guys. I appreciate you guys so much. This 00:35:54.820 --> 00:35:56.840 is your GM Kale signing out. Peace and love. 00:35:57.199 --> 00:35:57.800 Later guys.