Prepare to navigate the NFL's offseason chessboard with us, your guides Lacey and the astute Matt Paulson. We're dissecting the ripple effects of key player movements—think Barkley's leap to Philly and McCaffrey's 49ers saga—as we steer through the complexities of trades and transitions. It's a thrill ride across the NFC East and beyond, with each strategic play possibly rewriting the fate of our beloved teams. Dive into our playbook for a thorough analysis of how these shifts could shape the battles on the gridiron come fall.
The art of the deal takes center stage as we swap thoughts on heavyweight names like Derek Henry and the intrigue around Lamar Jackson's fluctuating performances. Matt offers a wealth of insights, and together we tackle the Cowboys' cap gymnastics and the ripple effect of stars like Joe Mixon and Stefan Diggs donning new jerseys. It's a candid conversation, where egos, economics, and elite talent collide, forecasting the potential highs and lows of the upcoming NFL season.
In the strategic trenches of offseason planning, Matt and I scrutinize the 49ers' frontline needs and the Cowboys' hunt for a gridiron gladiator. Could Prescott's future in Dallas be up in the air? We're weighing his worth and potential draft dazzlers, mapping out the maneuvers that could redefine team rosters. The NFL Draft looms large, promising to be a game-changer for franchises vying for dominance. So, sync in your earbuds and get ready for an episode that tackles the intricate dance of NFL team-building, where every draft pick and trade could be the next move toward championship glory.
Prepare to navigate the NFL's offseason chessboard with us, your guides Lacey and the astute Matt Paulson. We're dissecting the ripple effects of key player movements—think Barkley's leap to Philly and McCaffrey's 49ers saga—as we steer through the complexities of trades and transitions. It's a thrill ride across the NFC East and beyond, with each strategic play possibly rewriting the fate of our beloved teams. Dive into our playbook for a thorough analysis of how these shifts could shape the battles on the gridiron come fall.
The art of the deal takes center stage as we swap thoughts on heavyweight names like Derek Henry and the intrigue around Lamar Jackson's fluctuating performances. Matt offers a wealth of insights, and together we tackle the Cowboys' cap gymnastics and the ripple effect of stars like Joe Mixon and Stefan Diggs donning new jerseys. It's a candid conversation, where egos, economics, and elite talent collide, forecasting the potential highs and lows of the upcoming NFL season.
In the strategic trenches of offseason planning, Matt and I scrutinize the 49ers' frontline needs and the Cowboys' hunt for a gridiron gladiator. Could Prescott's future in Dallas be up in the air? We're weighing his worth and potential draft dazzlers, mapping out the maneuvers that could redefine team rosters. The NFL Draft looms large, promising to be a game-changer for franchises vying for dominance. So, sync in your earbuds and get ready for an episode that tackles the intricate dance of NFL team-building, where every draft pick and trade could be the next move toward championship glory.
Welcome to Lacey's lineup. We are continuing on in this offseason. Things are continuing to heat up as we get closer to draft day. We are here to break down some things leading up to draft, and I got another special guest, a return, matt Paulson. He is going to help me break down all my topics today, so let's not waste any more time and kick off the lineup for this week. All right, welcome to the show, matt.
Speaker 2:Thanks, lacey, it's been a while.
Speaker 1:It has been. Haven't seen you in a while. How's life outside of football?
Speaker 2:It's great. I'm glad to be invited back. It's been a couple of months for me, so thank you. It's been nice to kind of detox from football for a little while.
Speaker 1:Is it? See, I'm having withdrawals.
Speaker 2:It's getting to that point. You know things are starting to heat up a little bit.
Speaker 1:But I've had longer to mourn. True, you got to go all the way to the end, so that was nice for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was really a nice experience, thank you, I still can't eat cheese at the moment, just kidding.
Speaker 1:But yeah, there's been a lot of craziness going on. I mean, just when you think NFL is calming down, it just tends to keep heating up. There's been a lot of moves, a lot of trades. Obviously, free agency was insane, I think. Don't you think there's been more movement this year than we've seen in the past?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it kind of maybe goes in cycles when you see people on the back end of their second contracts and they're they're aging and so they're starting to look for that final contract and they're in that final home. So you're seeing some of that this year with some of the vets, some of the younger teams who are starting to, you know, kind of build underneath some of the younger players and some depth. So, yeah, it is an interesting couple of years that we're in here, not just this year. I think we probably get to that point where we say that every year. But yeah, this offseason has affected some of the other younger teams quite a bit.
Speaker 1:Seems crazy and it seems like the teams that were probably the most explosive teams last year only added to their arsenal. I think it's going to be very interesting to see only added to their arsenal. I think it's going to be very interesting to see. It's either going to be really good or it's going to be kind of like too many egos on one team, don't you think? But let's just start right away. Let's just say, let's talk about one of the big trades that were made Saquon Barkley to Philly, just neighboring over.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know he, obviously he's a name over. Yeah, you know he, obviously he's a name, he's he's pretty, you know he's pretty injury prone and so there's some of that. You look at when a team is already pretty good, you know, and they already had DeAndre Swift and they didn't really have a whole lot of holes in their team. So when they start adding big names it looks like a splash addition and it sounds on the surface like they're the net effect is they got better? But that doesn't necessarily. That looks like a splash edition and it sounds on the surface like they're the net effect is they got better? But that doesn't necessarily. That wasn't a huge hole in their team anyway. So the fact that they took on Saquon is great. It's great for Saquon as well to get out of New York. It's bad for everybody else in the East, obviously. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:And we haven't even gotten to the rest of the East, but that's fine.
Speaker 2:But in terms of the net effect on Philly itself, you know, I don't know. I mean they have some losses in other areas too, that you know. Once you look at the net effect, the defensive loss maybe outweighs the addition of Saquon. So great pickup. Obviously he's young still and he's got a lot left in him. But um, overall impact on the team I don't know how.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm saying. For me, he was the only reason the Giants were winning. I mean, he was their explosive, obviously, when they weren't great last year, but when he was injury prone, that is something that you always question. But speaking of injury problems, though, that's what everyone thought with Christian McCaffery, and he went and he's been extremely healthy for you guys.
Speaker 2:We had to bring that up. Knock on wood. I can't find any wood. We got to knock on something here.
Speaker 1:Yes, he has been very healthy.
Speaker 2:A lot of that is just game plan. Obviously, not being 75% of the offense like he was in Carolina is a huge part of it. You know he is going to get, continue to get older over the next few years and and it's coming. It's coming for every player right.
Speaker 1:Obviously, the more you handle the, handle the ball and and running backs are always going to have that workload, injury, high, you know backs like him anyway, and there's others like him.
Speaker 2:He he gets a lot of the spotlight because he was everything in Carolina and then he was a huge part of San Francisco's resurgence and so, yeah, it's coming. Obviously he's getting older. He's been healthy for a long time. So, as a fan, we're very nervous. We were nervous last year, but they've done a good job of managing his workload At times not as much as we'd like, but obviously the offense goes. Those, those types of guys go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, and we've seen but I was just if he's gonna leave, leave the east. Like don't go. I'm tired of playing him. To be honest, like I really just don't want to play him, so go somewhere else.
Speaker 2:The east doesn't like to go to the west coast anybody else. The east just likes to transfer players amongst themselves, and and then they focus on that revenge game, and so it does great for ratings amongst the.
Speaker 1:East. Our Super Bowl tends to be who wins the NFC East?
Speaker 2:Pretty much, yeah, pretty much, if that's the case, we've won a lot Cowboys.
Speaker 1:It'll be interesting to see what they do. Like you said, he won't be the factor for that team and I don't know if he will be okay with that, since he's been that for a while.
Speaker 2:He may not be okay.
Speaker 1:You also have Jalen Hertz running.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and in terms and this kind of leads also into the Baltimore situation with with Derek Henry, yeah, he may not be the spotlight, the focus of the offense, but that may be better for his career, similar to how McCaffrey was handled in San Francisco. Yeah, you're not. I mean he is still a large, a big portion of that offense. But going into Philly, a situation that's already very successful. Maybe it takes some of the pressure off he doesn't have to handle as much of a workload and but it also takes pressure off Jalen to get rid of the ball. Sometimes he could dump it off, hand it off.
Speaker 1:Or him not run because he was injured right. Just not run, so maybe they're just taking that away from him now.
Speaker 2:It changes the dynamic of the offense. So I think it's a great move all around for his health, saquon's health, but also he is an upgrade from. He's an upgrade, you would think, on paper from DeAndre Swift, but you would have liked to maybe find a way to keep them both.
Speaker 1:It's just not going to happen, I guess. But okay, let's move. You started to talk about Baltimore. This one hurt me. I mean there was things in the media that Derrick Henry was buying a house in Dallas. He trains in Dallas. You know it came out afterwards that he really wanted Dallas, but Dallas never contacted him. You know I was hoping for this in the trade deadline during the season. So this kind of hurt twice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, he even went out to say, quote the perfect situation would have been if, but Dallas didn't contact me so we don't know all the you know what's happening behind the scenes and who's texting who and talking to who we don't know. Is it a good play for Derrick Henry? Yeah, probably. I mean it's probably the best move he could have made, because he's going on to a team again that was already successful without him. He plugs a hole that they had. But again, kind of going back to the situation in Philly, does that make their team the net effect? Does it make them better? He's going into a situation where the quarterback is 60, 70% of the offense, the quarterback is the thousand yard rusher. How do those two work together and do they each get enough? You know they're both hungry, they both want the numbers, kind of Derek Henry's, kind of the sunset of his career, but at the same time he wants to get paid.
Speaker 1:He's injury prone and he's definitely gotten slower. I think the only way that works is Lamar Jackson is still able to create lanes for him and he can go the long distance. And I think where Derrick Henry is going to help is he's going to be that physical person that gets those third and ones, gets those short goal line run ins. I think he's just going to be that power that when you need one or two and not put it in the hands of Lamar to get that, which was kind of predictable last season for him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think it'll continue to be somewhat predictable, Like you just said. Great point that he becomes, potentially at the sunset of his career, maybe a short yardage back, you know, a third, a third down back or goal line back. He is going to be working behind a quarterback in a line that did force Lamar to pull the ball down and run a lot, yeah. So you know how strong is that offensive line to create holes for Derek Henry, who's fast in open field and out in space. But is he still that young, quick guy to find that gap and have that vision? It'll be interesting to watch. And then the dynamic between the two, you know, getting enough handles on the ball.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I don't know, but I do think Derrick Henry is towards his end too. Even though I wanted him for the Cowboys, he wasn't going to be like a long-term or a savior. That's why I wanted him mid-season, because that's what we need in that moment. I think him and Pollard would have really worked well together, because what Pollard was missing was the physical aspect of it. I don't know. I don't know if he'll do what Baltimore thinks that they're going to get out of him. I think Saquon will do more in Philly than Derek will do in Ravens.
Speaker 2:Yeah, overall a good move. Does it over overall? Is it a net positive for Baltimore? I'm not sure if it's. It might just be a kind of a break Even. They did lose some big names also that maybe are more impactful negatively than Derek Henry was positively. But he's a big draw. He'll put people in the seats and help them, you know with that big body, obviously. Yeah, big draw. He'll put people in the seats and help them, you know with that big body, obviously yeah, dallas would have loved to have had him.
Speaker 1:His price is pretty cheap in relative terms, like it was like 1.7 or something. I mean it was low for a one-year deal, but still that was in our cap space. We were at 2 million with a couple of restructures.
Speaker 2:You know, a blessing in disguise. You know you take a guy who's kind of on the tail end on his way out and that's not necessarily. Yeah, from an affordability standpoint that would have been a great pick.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like a steal right. It's not costing you much, not a lot against the cap, but he's going to contribute enough to be worth that.
Speaker 2:And it would have been a good PR move. So which one weighs the most? I don't know, but a good PR move. So which one weighs the most?
Speaker 1:I don't know, but in any event ship sailed, and so I still think Ravens are going to start. I still am not a believer that.
Speaker 2:Lamar can throw an accurate ball, he doesn't. He doesn't. I could sit here and say, because I I believe the same thing. He's not an accurate pastor. The stats point to it. The QB, the QBR, the quarterback rating points to it. But then again he beat San Francisco on Christmas night by 30 points. So he's one of those peaks and valleys type players.
Speaker 1:That one's still hurting. Is that still hurting right?
Speaker 2:now, I've gotten over it. I've gotten over it.
Speaker 1:You kind of threw that in and tried to move on fast. I'm just wondering if we still have emotions right now.
Speaker 2:I could bring up losses from 30 years ago, so from a few months ago is no problem.
Speaker 1:All I can do is bring up Super Bowls 30 years ago. I haven't seen anything since. But I know we can sit here and talk about so many moves and trades and that would make us be here all day, and I'm sure we would love to do break down each one of them. But one other one that I just want to highlight, and it's kind of we knew Mixon was going to the Texans and I think that's a great move for them as well. They lost Singletary and the latest, which is another heartbreaker for me, in Dallas. I mean, the whole hype was getting the Diggs boys back together and now they got them in Texas, which might make a reunion down the road, who knows, but Stefan Diggs to the Texans.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, how can you?
Speaker 2:blame him Right? I mean Stefan Diggs probably isn't. He's. He's got more years behind him than in front of them. So in that, in that aspect, yeah, you'd love to have them. From a PR move, a popularity standpoint, you'd love to have them on Dallas he's a name, but smart on him to go to a team that's really trending right. They're a team that doesn't have a lot of holes. They were great last year. They're young, they're really the destination right Right now. They're the Disneyland of the NFL. Everybody wants to go to Houston. So you know good for him. I don't necessarily like some of the noise and the chatter on his way out about his dynamic.
Speaker 1:Well, we knew he didn't like Buffalo. I mean, he's been very vocal about that.
Speaker 2:You could also argue that you know, he, he also just played behind a pretty great at least regularly season quarterback, um, and I'm not saying he's he's going into a good situation, of course, um, but he also has a lot to be thankful for because of Josh Allen and because of that offense, and so I don't like some of that noise that he's leaving with, but I do like the coaching situation he's going into. That could kind of and he's not the main guy in Houston right now, so obviously going into a situation where all the pressure is not on him, it's on Nico. Yeah, all the attention is on Nico.
Speaker 1:Well, but that's the thing, though Does that cause?
Speaker 2:another ego type situation Because a lot of the noise in Buffalo was him mad that he wasn't getting the ball. And I don't think Nico is the type especially with the season he had last year and even a tank Dell right, they're not going offense still, I think, goes through, nico Collins still goes. So they don't really have to change a lot in terms of strategy and game plan going into next year just because of these additions. But yeah, you're right, in terms of on Stefan Diggs' side it's going to be a little bit of a humbling experience but good for him, it takes some of the pressure off. He goes into a situation where they're going to you have to assume they're going to be successful. But yeah, he's going to have to kind of check some of that ego at the door. With a program like that and with that coaching staff especially, it's very humble, it's not ego-driven.
Speaker 1:Oh, DeMarco Ryan, great coach. I mean I definitely think he should have gotten coach of the year. The former Philadelphia defensive star, and he wonders why he hasn't been here in two months. Just joking, but yeah, so crazy.
Speaker 2:And former 49er for that matter.
Speaker 1:Crazy.
Speaker 2:Was he, of course. They all go through San Francisco, right, everybody goes through. He was in the 49ers' DC, and so I'm a little leery on DC's going to be head coaches, but he's done a great job.
Speaker 1:But they've all been successful. I mean defense wins, championships, yep.
Speaker 2:And Selah. Jury's still out on him, but he's had a decent offseason as well.
Speaker 1:Well, he's just had bad luck, he really has.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's more so on the offensive side of the ball. He's a defensive guy, he's made a huge— but the defense is the this year. And then look what they did.
Speaker 1:They just made one of the bigger splashes To where?
Speaker 2:Well, and they brought on Hassan Redick right, so they brought on, so they just again continued to solidify their defense, but a lot of the holes are on the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1:That's true, but I think it's still. I mean, are they rolling with Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 2:They might have to at least say that, just because they have to put people in the seats.
Speaker 1:It'll be interesting to see who they draft first round.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they should probably.
Speaker 1:Get a quarterback, because even if Aaron Rodgers goes, he's a one-year type. You just got to go year by year with that at this point with him. All right, matt, I need your help. I need you to help me say that everything's going to be okay. Like, let me know, because on the off or Cowboys did their typical roller coaster type season. We had great moments and then ended at a very low moment in my eyes. Right, I'm not taking anything away from the Packers, but we were definitely should have at least made it a game and we just didn't. So I'm just saying, coming off of that, well, the first interview which is always Jerry Jones, right, like, he's the first one to be interviewed he tried to do this pump up speech that he's going all in in the off season, that he will watch and see and we will be all in. Can you help me understand how we're all in right now?
Speaker 2:Let's listen. I'm a Niners guy and you're putting me in a position to be empathetic.
Speaker 2:I, just as a friend, matt Jerry Jones which has been a nemesis for 40 years, or 30, 40 years, even before I was born. But okay, so let's address the all in thing. Absolutely. It was a smart move to say that, because, yes, you're going to have people, you're never going to make happy, you're never going to please everybody. Because, yes, you're going to have people, you're never going to make happy, you're never going to please everybody. But when you say you're all in, so I equate it to a Donald Trump Everything is great. Look around, everything is great. Everything is perfect. It's the best. Everything I've done is the best. This is great. We're going to be great next year. We're going to be great.
Speaker 2:So a constant level of positivity going out from a PR. I mean, who's going to say, from a PR perspective, that Jerry Jones doesn't know what he's doing? Right, of course he does, and this is from a Niners fan. So, um, so I like what he did. He lost a lot of players. He's lost some very key players, but, um, I'm going to go. So I'm, I'm, I'm a little older than you, but I'm going to go. So I'm, I'm a little older than you, but I'm going to take it back to a movie from even maybe early on in my generation, but Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Speaker 2:Have you ever seen this movie? I feel like I've heard it Right. It's the shady, the shady friend who's trying to bring in the the, the nerdy little kid and give him confidence. He's like, look, what you want to do is always be confident and look around, and everywhere you are you want to say, hey, how great is this. Huh, how great is it. Look around, how awesome is it, how great is this? So it's this constant positivity that Jerry puts out, even if he knows there's it's, even if he knows there's nothing behind it.
Speaker 2:You're not helping my situation, no but I'm saying, you know, obviously he is still created a program where it's still a.
Speaker 1:Derek Henry. He's keeping us buzzed. He even made the comment saying that, good news or bad news, as long as we're talking about the Cowboys, I've done my job, like I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean again you're making me defend Jerry Jones right here, he has done a great job.
Speaker 2:Even despite the drought, even despite some of the playoff issues over the last 20 years, he is still a place where people want to play and that's pretty impressive, really, that a Derrick Henry still saw this as a perfect situation. And maybe he just doesn't care. You know care about playoff success at this point, but the point is is that it's still a destination for a lot of players because they see that the owner really supports no matter what supports the players.
Speaker 1:Well, you didn't help me because I don't. I just I'm used to us not doing much in the offseason as far as I mean we never really trade. I mean we trade it for Trey Lance.
Speaker 2:I mean we don't do anything impactful.
Speaker 1:But I've never in an offseason lost as many people as we did too. And I know we lost Dan Quinn to the commanders, and I think he knew what our cap looked like as everyone else, and it was his year to, you know. Get as many as those. I mean, our whole line went there, true.
Speaker 2:I mean, on the other hand, if I again you're putting me in a position to defend the cow we're, we should be switching seats here, but um you don't act like you didn't know we were going to talk about the Cowboys, you did lose Dan Quinn, but Dan Quinn's defense also did give up an obscene amount of points to the youngest team in the NFL in the first half in their playoff game.
Speaker 2:So yes, Dan Quinn has a very good reputation. I think Washington is better off with him at the helm. So I think Washington did improve in that aspect. But how big of a loss is it for Dallas? I'm not sure about that. I'm not worried about Dan Quinn.
Speaker 1:I mean I didn't want him to go last year because I thought defense was pretty consistent all year. This year we did hit and it became more. We weren't utilizing these players in the right way. I didn't think so. I was okay, I knew he was going to leave. Now do I really think Zimmerman is going to be the answer? I don't know. I mean, I think he's not going to be everyone's friend, which I do kind of like that mentality, kind of hold people accountable. But I just I don't know if that will rub wrong because, like the Micah Parsons of the world used to like being the buddy-buddy with Dan Quinn, if they're going to respond to him in that way, yeah, the players in.
Speaker 2:you know, in Dallas the players do tend to carry a lot of weight and a lot of I don't want to say experience, but in terms of how the team is governed, obviously their voice has a lot of I don't want to say experience, but in terms of how the team is governed, obviously their voice has a lot of weight. Sometimes it might even impact the coaching. So I, like Zimmerman, I think it was a good hire.
Speaker 2:Oh, you do like him Well, I mean, you know he is a hardliner, he's not necessarily a guy who's going to kind of bend the knee to, um, to the owner, to the players. Hopefully, you know, you hope, but um, you never know. When you know? We also thought that about McCarthy. We also thought that about Parcells years ago. So you never know, it's been a long road, it's a very long road, but there is reasons to be optimistic. I don't want to be that optimism for optimism for Dallas.
Speaker 1:We're going to be in New.
Speaker 2:Orleans, jerry will make and Stephen they will make sure that there is a team on the field that can put up points. This year it's going to be a little interesting if they can kind of mitigate.
Speaker 1:I mean, you play us this year. Are you worried at all at the moment?
Speaker 2:All right, I'm going to move on from you because you're.
Speaker 1:No, I'm joking, okay. Well, see, I can move on and I can be a team player and we can talk about San Francisco for a second. Unlike, just like us, you really haven't done much in the off season, but you haven't lost anyone. You did have a pretty. Oh, we did sign one person we did steal from you. You did have a pretty. Oh, we did sign one person we did steal from you. Remember, like he had agreed to terms with san francisco williams and then decided to come to dallas, so he did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a highlight, I know he's not going to be a factor.
Speaker 1:He's not. I know, I know I'm just I had to throw that in I just want to make your vet he played for there, and didn't he?
Speaker 2:You know it was interesting. It was when the notification went out. You think, oh, okay.
Speaker 1:I meant to screenshot and send that to you.
Speaker 2:That's not bad, but you're kind of like meh, I mean, you're not going to be a starting linebacker for San Francisco.
Speaker 1:Like, if I stole, trent Williams, would you have been then?
Speaker 2:Yeah well, of course, trent Williams, we can't compare. Yeah well, of course, trenton. Williams, we can't compare yeah, this is even um, diametrically different categories of players. But you know, from a linebacker perspective, yeah, I wasn't. I wasn't too worried about a one-year guy coming in, and you know, on a seven million dollar contract just give me, give me.
Speaker 1:Be like yeah, I'm really sad you stole him from me.
Speaker 2:Just say that I am really excited that you took Trey Lance from us. I'm still living off that.
Speaker 1:You lost Chase Young, not a big deal. He came in midseason. Oh, I knew that was coming. Not a big deal, though. I mean he came in midseason. I do think he had a great game. Was it the game to go to the Super Bowl?
Speaker 2:Was that?
Speaker 1:the one that because he was getting threatened to not be a starter, and then actually I saw him put a lot of pressure on the crowd. He might have even had some sex.
Speaker 2:He was really humbled in the Detroit game because of the missed assignments on the left side and he completely gave up. He completely gave up and I think he really did write the script of him leaving San Francisco in that day, instantly when he was made to come out and apologize and the coaching had to address it because the film says it all yeah, and so he was never going to be the long-term guy there. The left side is still a problem on the edge. We did plug that hole. I think we leveled up big time from Chase Young with the Leonard Floyd siding. So I think he's got a lot of potential. But he's just proven and he showed this in Washington. We hope to get a little bit of juice out of him in the second half of last year and we did, and he did come around in the Super Bowl, but it was a little bit too late.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, and I don't think he did. Leonard Floyd is huge. And then you had a couple of little buzzes about Iuke leaving and obviously your front office knows how to keep them.
Speaker 2:Well yet to be determined. I mean yes, the Iuke issue is still an ongoing issue would you miss iuk if he left, though?
Speaker 1:absolutely he stretches. So if dallas stole iuk, that would that would hurt. I'm just trying to find out what hurts kansas city hurts san francisco.
Speaker 2:so right, yeah, the iuk issue is still ongoing. Obviously it's um, yeah, sounds like there's a lot of optimism they're going to resign him. He would, because he stretches that defense so well on the back end. That's not something Debo can do. That's not something Juwan Jennings can do. We don't really have a replacement for Iyuk. I mean, nobody really has an Iyuk. So that would be a huge loss. But it's kind of where San Francisco is is gauging some of these young guys looking for those second contracts, versus being so heavily loaded with these vets that are currently on their second contracts. So you're paying so much out to these guys, but you got these. You do have a couple of young guys, ayuk, one of them, purdy. They're going to have to resign, probably next year, because he's going to start getting some interest elsewhere. So it's an interesting time for San Francisco. Like you said, we didn't lose much, we haven't done much, but quiet is not a bad thing right now.
Speaker 1:I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2:We're always having it. Dallas makes enough noise for everybody.
Speaker 1:We definitely do. We like to stay. That's how we stay in it. But just right now, off of predictions though, are you feeling like you're going to make a run again next year. I know we haven't done draft, I know you got to fill some holes, but just right now are you feeling pretty confident that you can still be a contender?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean to go off the last point and what we just talked about, because they haven't made a lot of moves, because they have lost some players, but they leveled up at some positions and they still have a few more holes to fill, especially on the offensive line, especially on the right side, but but other all the key positions, Scoring positions, are intact and are still hungry. So I may want it.
Speaker 2:I don't think anybody, I don't, I don't. San Francisco is not getting worse. Everybody else in the division you could argue. Seattle has done absolutely nothing, so they're becoming almost a rebuilding team, almost irrelevant.
Speaker 1:Rams. I think could be better next year.
Speaker 2:Rams yeah, but their go-to backup was Jimmy Garoppolo. So that's they're not. Yes, they're well-coached, they're always going to be, but in terms of who owns that division, who still has you know some?
Speaker 1:I think Puka is good, though.
Speaker 2:Puka is great, of course, but Aaron Donald did retire, so they lose a lot on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1:That was huge. By the way, it's massive. Of course. I bet you were happy to see him retire.
Speaker 2:Then he was a Niners killer. So yeah, that's a rivalry that kind of maybe has taken a step back. But yeah, san Francisco will still be a threat to go deep in the playoffs and it seems like there's still those other you know the regular teams that go deep in the playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't think there's going to be a lot of changes when you go into the NFC playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. We'll see what happens. So, just based off of kind of the stuff and everything that's happened in the offseason, who do you think has had like? What team do you think is winning in the offseason right now?
Speaker 2:On the AFC side of the ball you have to give Houston so much credit and they were so close already and they only got better. They only got more experienced. You know you'd like to see that materialize into something, especially if you could make an argument that maybe Buffalo took a step back unless they plug some of those holes. So I think on the AFC side of the ball, definitely, definitely Houston well-coached, good pickups. I mean they had the what, the rookie of the year, and the defensive player of the year, defensive rookie of the year so they're definitely training in that direction. On the NFC side of the ball you haven't seen a whole lot of noise from green Bay, but you know they were there in the playoffs and oh, were they?
Speaker 1:I don't remember that.
Speaker 2:Well, they were there for a minute, they were almost there for a longer minute.
Speaker 1:Somebody stepped in. Don't act like you just blew through them. Somebody stepped in and took them down, but Barely in the last two minutes.
Speaker 2:Well, you know what? Hey listen but you. But big credit to again I'm biased, obviously I'm a homer but big credit to just another year of experience for Brock Brody to take down the level of teams that he did take down. That's a respect to Detroit and to Green Bay. But yeah, I think you're going to see those teams just get more used to the game plan, working together, more experienced. But yeah, overall I think Houston is the team that really everybody should be, I bet that I mean overall.
Speaker 1:Like you said, texans for sure, they're stacked on both sides. They didn't lose much and if they did, they upgraded it with an even better person. Like you said, it's like Disney world. Everybody was going there, they had a lot of money to put into these things and they I thought they were very smart with their choices.
Speaker 1:I think it's just going to be they're going to be dangerous, very, very dangerous, and, of course, this is the year that the Cowboys played them in the regular season. So it'll be the battle of the Texas and there's always those things. You know Texans are the new best team in Texas. But you're going to be shocked by my second one. So my NFC side, the one that most impressed me, which they're rolling out the red carpet for their number one pick, is Chicago Bears, keenan Allen going there. Keenan Allen yep, I mean they have really brought in which is crazy, because bears didn't do much and they said Chicago is where you go to die in some terms. Right, and to bring this in and I think, really pad it for Kayla Williams, which we'll get to that in a while, because I still think that's overrated, but what they did, I think it makes them a contender.
Speaker 2:We don't know who's running the show, that we don't know who's behind center. I mean, yes, we know, but we don't know. Keenan Allen not hating on Keenan Allen, he's a big receiver. I would have loved to see Chicago with Keenan Allen last year or the last two years.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know what Justin Fields could do with a big target, a big experienced target in the red zone. Now he's going into a situation with zero chemistry, no matter who's behind center. So I'm not trying to downplay it. I think Chicago has had the right intentions. I think they were a little late on bringing in a guy like Keenan Allen, because they've always had talented position scoring players. It seems like they've always had big names, whether it's in the backfield or you know, out wide.
Speaker 1:but See, I don't know. I mean, all they had was more last year, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so this is an upgrade at the receiver position. If you just identified, if you just look in at the receiver position, of course the Keenan Allen's going to be a big target for him we do know, but he is at the tail end of his Keenan Allen fantasy football. 2018 is a little different than 2024.
Speaker 1:Where did Mike Williams go? He hadn't gone, so there's a chance he could re-sign with the Chargers. Huh, I remember they released him, but then I was like did I miss him going somewhere Kind of a sleeper team.
Speaker 2:Nobody's really talking about much just because they've lost so much. But you can't. You can't count out Harbaugh no.
Speaker 1:And then, herbert, I mean, you can't ever get rid of those.
Speaker 2:But I don't know I think it'll be interesting.
Speaker 1:I said it here what's today's date, april 11th? I said it here today that Chicago I think could make a splash, even though I really don't want them to, and you know what. Let's just go ahead and talk about it because, kalen Williams being the number one, I jumped down. But because we're on Chicago, there's been a lot of hype. It's been him not wanting to go there. Now he's all in, excited for whatever team gets him.
Speaker 1:I had the experience with him because I'm an Oklahoma fan, so I went through that whole thing with him and Lincoln Riley and leaving OU and going to USC, and then we saw kind of I don't want to say I'm saying it, but I don't want to say failure, but I mean he underperformed in USC. Is that part of Lincoln Riley? I felt like it was a little dramatic. I think he's overrated and him wanting a piece of a franchise and everything that he's offering. I mean to me that's not a team player coming in and I just don't think he's going to make the difference that bears are expecting him to make at the collegiate level, because you know all you read about is not how hard he's working, how hard he's training, how focused he is.
Speaker 2:All you hear about is how many cars he's bought and his penthouse apartment in downtown LA. All you hear about is it's all this noise. He wants ownership of a franchise.
Speaker 1:And that's why UIL is it hurts right.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean it can and it can't, right. I mean you could say that about him, but you can't necessarily say that about Caitlin Clark. So you know it's a personality thing. So when I look at the Caleb Williams situation specifically, is he overrated? That's the buzz. Is he overrated? Maybe, not necessarily from a talent standpoint. I mean, everybody looks at the highlights of his combine. He throws the ball 800 yards on a dime, so the guy can throw. But in a game situation with NFL pressure, he's. He's not a big guy, he's an underside.
Speaker 2:from an NFL standpoint, Is he big enough fast enough to kind of move the pocket like he did in the college at the college level? It remains to be seen. I'm not rooting against him, but I do think the buzz about his talent is kind of outweighing what should be talked about, which is the attitude.
Speaker 1:Well, it came to this week, it came out that the Bears had offered or not the Bears the commanders had offered the Bears their number two overall and two first round picks in 2025 so that they could have the number one overall, obviously going after Caleb Williams, and Bears turned it down With all the great quarterbacks in this draft.
Speaker 2:Is that a bad decision? It's not about. When I look at the quarterback situation, you take Dante Culpepper's situation, for example, and you could point to 100 of them over the last 20 years. But take Dante Culpepper, the greatest quarterback to come out of, you know, college level, and then he comes to the NFL and, yes, he could throw 80 yards in the air. But can he manage a game plan? Can he manage the field? Can he, you know, manage up and down and manage the offense? And you know the whole the bad term game manager. Can you be a game manager? And so if that's what Washington's intention was, there might be a blessing in disguise that it was rejected, because if Chicago's all in on a guy, you got to wonder if it's really the right move. I mean, chicago's never really proven to, you know develop quarterbacks either.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and to to hit that home run in the draft.
Speaker 1:So, um and they have the number nine or seven too, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean. So I think probably a blessing in disguise for Washington, especially because they've made so many positive moves. I think one of those other guys that we assume is not going to go number one, but maybe in the top 10, top 15, they'll have better success with, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. We'll see what happens. It's going to get interesting. I think there's going to be a lot of moves and things like that. But moving back, there is an unfortunate situation that happened in the past week here in Dallas. We had a rising star at the Kansas City Chiefs. I know that you don't, but he did beat you. I mean, he has a ring.
Speaker 2:Didn't seem called for. I mean, he has a ring. Didn't seem called for.
Speaker 1:But Rasheed Rice, I mean high hopes for this guy. I think Patrick Mahomes was really starting to love him as a target. He did great things. I mean he had a breakout year, really right. Like we know his name now, unfortunately, we also know his name in the news because he had an unfortunate accident where he got into a wreck down in Dallas and, I think, fled, at first denied he was driving it. Now he's driving it and now there's an arrest warrant and I mean what do you think is you know? Do you think he is going to continue in the NFL?
Speaker 2:I mean, that may not be up to him. I only think it's an unfortunate situation for the other people involved in that accident.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So when you're with multiple friends racing down and we know how you know 75, when you're racing down 75, they're not looking out for your better interest. You are an up and coming, you are a rising star, right? Maybe? If for no other reason, then you are a Super Bowl champion, playing with Patrick Mahomes. So the fact that you were even allowed to be in that situation is a huge problem for the NFL because it's such an image problem and you know so for his career. Does he have a future? He's facing what? Eight felonies, seven felonies now if you start adding that.
Speaker 1:I mean there's definitely suspension at the least at this point, even if he doesn't get.
Speaker 2:Goodell has a history of making examples of people, and a guy who's a relatively low risk in terms of losing him because of image to the NFL, he's absolutely an easy sacrifice for the NFL to make him an example of him. And oh, by the way, the Chiefs did add Marquise Brown, hollywood. So, granted, he's not as young as Rasheed Rice, but they were already building behind you a similar type of receiver, so you're already kind of behind the eight ball to prove yourself and put in the work. You didn't do it, and so, yeah, he's going to pay the price. I don't know how unfortunate it is for anybody except his career, and then, like I said, the other people involved.
Speaker 1:I agree. I mean, it's something that we're going to have to wait and see how it unfolds, but it's just another reminder that it's just one bad decision could really affect everything that you've worked so hard for. So I do wish him the best and I hope that he learns something from it, though, when it all come and done. But those are the situations that's a bad decision. Don't lease that Lambo.
Speaker 2:It's okay, you know just somebody who's in your ear to make the right decision. I just don't know how hard that is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree with that. So we'll see what happens with that. Like I said, I hope it's the best outcome it can be, but we'll continue to follow it and see what develops there. All right, one of the last things I want to talk about is quarterbacks. In Pittsburgh, we got two names that went there.
Speaker 1:We got somebody for pennies on the dime because of Denver's terrible move that they did. But Russell Wilson goes to Pittsburgh and a couple of weeks later so does Justin Fields. What do you think is going to be the starting quarterback week one?
Speaker 2:Who knows? Who knows what Pittsburgh is doing. I kind of thought that was a, unless there's something we don't know. I really don't understand that pivot away from Pickett Not to say he's lived up to his potential, but he is still young. But it's this culture that we get away from quarterbacks in some cases a little too quickly and in some cases not quickly enough, but to go from a picket with a lot of upside who does sort of fit that Pittsburgh model of big tough.
Speaker 1:Roethlisberger, yeah, roethlisberger, yeah.
Speaker 2:Roethlisberger big arm. Yes, he's not going to be a threat to run the ball, but it was interesting to see a pivot to a guy like a Russell Wilson at the tail end of his career, largely ineffective and smaller. And whether or not he's backing up or he's kind of mentoring fields, I don't know, I don't. I don't think this is a net positive for Pittsburgh. That's a, that's an organization that is really, I think, kind of confused right now from a coaching perspective. We weren't even sure if he was going to.
Speaker 1:Mike Tomlin wasn't even going to stay this year and that kind of just stayed quiet and just kind of moved on from it.
Speaker 2:I know you saw a lot of expectations coming into last season. I like Mike Tomlin, though I like Mike Tomlin historically.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think the game has passed him up and I think he's just sort of kind of stuck in 10 years ago, 15 years ago and sometimes-.
Speaker 2:Along with some other coaches Belichick sometimes the game just passes you up McCarthy and you can't adjust. Mccarthy is one of Also that. So I'm not a big fan of the move to solidify your quarterback room by going to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields over a picket. I thought they really could have built around him and built some coaching around him and, you know, really helped him grow. But we'll see. I think they are kind of closing in on a very significant rebuilding phase.
Speaker 1:More rebuilding than the Cowboys. You know I always have to revert back right. I just need to know Is there a team that's rebuilding more than us?
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sure there's several teams rebuilding more than Dallas.
Speaker 1:We'll just leave it there. I just want to know that, thank you. Thank you very much. Well, I think Russ will start, because he'll start in Pittsburgh, but week three Justin Fields will have the job. I think Justin Fields is good. I don't think Chicago should have ever gotten rid of him. I think they should have marketed around him. Justin Fields, I think, is a good player.
Speaker 2:But maybe the best thing for his career was a team saying hey, we don't want you anymore. You know, ship you off to another team for pennies. It could be the humbling thing he needed to pull the ball down, to not run as much, you know. I think maybe the discipline that he'll get from a Tomlin and from that organization could be really good for field.
Speaker 1:Well, and it said four teams were interested and he wanted to go to Pittsburgh. So there's something that put him there. So if that makes him happier, I just I think he's a good player and he deserves to play somewhere in the NFL, not a backup at this point in his career.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, like you said, I think Russell Wilson probably starts from a mentorship standpoint to kind of show him how to go through an off season and camps and go into the first couple of weeks of the season. But ultimately I think the whole intention is to train up, level up Justin Fields. Yeah, yeah, so we'll see.
Speaker 1:We'll see if those predictions are right. But I definitely think it will flip flop and Fields will have the job, especially after next year. I think it'll be a Fields depending. I guess everything's up in the air, everything's fluid, but all right. Draft 14 days from today. Two day, 14 days, two weeks. I get excited about these things. Off season you have to look forward to something right. But I'm excited to see how Cowboys are all in this, how we can get a whole roster in seven rounds. But what are you most excited about with the job? Do you like the job? Do you enjoy watching the draft?
Speaker 2:Yes and no. Uh, historically we're. We've had some really good picks and we've had some of the worst picks the NFL has ever seen. So it's kind of a grab bag. I'm the most excited to see who we take um in the very last draft, because we seem to be a good late draft, late round.
Speaker 1:The very last pick.
Speaker 2:I would love to have Mr Irrelevant this year, but I like quiet. If you're quiet in the draft and you're making strategic moves to get young guys who aren't necessarily going to be day one starters, if you're reaching for day one starters, that means your club is trying to fill holes in the short term in a panic mode, and I don't necessarily want San Francisco to approach it that way. So I mean, san Francisco has 10 picks-ish, I think 10 picks in the draft. There's always those compensatory picks and I think there's a couple of those. But they've shown a great ability to find talent, late rounds in the draft, mid to late rounds. So I'm hoping for quiet.
Speaker 1:What position would you like to see?
Speaker 2:The ones that stand out immediately are the right side of the O-line. But maybe also you have to address the fact that Trent is coming back but he's only guaranteeing a year at a time and probably that window is closed after this year. So you really have to address the offensive line across on both sides. Pretty, I think San Francisco is pretty confident the depth they have on D line linebackers, secondary. Some of those guys still are pretty young, but I would like to address, yeah, the offensive line and then maybe, looking at on the offensive side, they could find some flyers in the backfield, just because obviously we're aging at a lot of positions. Tight end is one of them, Running back is one of them, Young receivers but contractually we're not really sure how that's going to shake down between IU Contebo and some of those guys, Ducan Debo and some of those guys. So you know there's not a lot of pressure on San Francisco to make splash picks, but just quiet is good in some of these.
Speaker 1:See, and historically Cowboys are known for making actually great draft picks and we make noise in our draft picks. I mean we got CD and Micah Parsons and all of them that drop low. I am interested. There's some buzz now saying that we could trade up, and that will get interesting to see. I mean there's been talks of Dak going to the Raiders. I hope that's not right. I mean I'm not fully on board with Dak right now, but I don't think Dak was the reason for everything this season. So I think, unfortunately, just in the position that he's in, he gets a lot of that stuff. So I think we need a running back right away. I mean that's something that is a must and then offensive line and defensive line, so those two things, and then that's where I would rebuild and that's okay. Let's get a fresh line on both sides and develop these young kids and see what they can do next year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean in terms of trading Dak. You don't want that big hit on that next contract that he wants. Yeah, in terms of a trade capital how much weight does he carry? If you were to trade him? Are you really going to make a big splash?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the only thing I worry about is next year. The quarterback draft isn't as strong as it is this year. So if we are looking at one to two years, which it seems the way we're going, I don't know if that's the wrong move to not At some point as a fan, you kind of.
Speaker 2:They're talking about Sanders next year. Yeah, deons, yeah, I mean. Listen, there's moves you can make to put people in the seats. You know that Caitlin Clark effect to pull in women's basketball. It's how effective will they be versus how many people will just tune in? So Sanders to the NFL is kind of a Watch Dion He'll be our next coach too. Yeah it's all kind of a joke to me. Yeah, it's going to create a buzz. Put people in the seats.
Speaker 1:Not that I think Shador Sanders is bad. I mean, I don't think he's one of the best, but I don't think he's a bad quarterback.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know you almost need to, you almost want sometimes, as a fan, to blow it up right and to trade away the big name. To blow it up right and to trade away the big name. I'm not saying trade away Parsons or CD Lamb, but sometimes you got to choose one and I'm sorry, you're the sacrifice because we need to load up draft picks, to pick higher and you go into a three-year rebuilding mode.
Speaker 1:Three years.
Speaker 2:At least right. I mean, sometimes it's more than that.
Speaker 1:I can't.
Speaker 2:I've been waiting so long, I know, but it's you know, sometimes you have to do that because otherwise you're always going to be that mid. I get it and we're just going to keep yeah and keep being. I'm not going to use the M word here, because you do go to the playoffs and you but being able to go deeper in the playoffs and have the guy that really has the chops to to to win those games you're supposed to win, number one and then even pull it out in games maybe that you're not supposed to win. So I think there's a level of rebuilding that you would like to see. From a fan perspective, obviously, patience is wearing thin. You hate to look at a rebuilding process, but it is what it is. I mean, everybody wants to get fed and there's just not enough to go around, not enough.
Speaker 1:I think it'll be interesting. I mean, I'm excited to see, kind of, what happens, what moves, something to look forward to, and I think the draft is going to bring us, you know, a lot of interesting aspects to certain teams. So we'll see what happens and then maybe come back and talk about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean especially with so many quarterbacks available in the first round and this is actually going to be an interesting first round this should be exciting. Could even be some, really some game-changing trades. It could be interesting.
Speaker 1:You know, they're talking, you know they're all working it out, but they're saving it for the day to make the fans go crazy.
Speaker 2:So don't make me have all the faith for Cowboys fans. There's some splash trades.
Speaker 1:I feel like I'm slowly making you a Cowboy fan.
Speaker 2:No, the more you talk about it.
Speaker 1:I feel like the more you know about them.
Speaker 2:I tend to think I probably do. You always have to know more about your enemies, right? You know your enemy.
Speaker 1:You always have an answer for me. It's great, I love it, but I will break you. One day he will wear. Maybe we should just make a bet this year you have to wear cowboy stuff if you lose.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:You would make the bet this year. I'm not agreeing to anything. I would make the bet any year. Yeah, but thanks for coming on, matt. I appreciate you being here and breaking this down, and there's going to be a lot going on in the offseason. Love to have you back. It's always a good time.
Speaker 2:I'm especially glad that you didn't pepper me with any questions about the Super Bowl, so I thought I was kind of running into a buzzsaw on that one. I know I missed your post-Super Bowl show. It was for legitimate reasons. I was not avoiding facing the music.
Speaker 1:No, you weren't, but I did. I got to watch it with you. I understand the mourning process, but you'll be back. It was a good game. I just hate that it was like a repeat fill, because I was with you that day, right, and you guys were really feeling good at halftime, even the third quarter and then it was the fourth quarter deja vu all over again, and y'all knew it.
Speaker 2:Even the final drive in overtime, the final drive in overtime. See, you got me into this. I didn't expect this.
Speaker 1:You brought it up. Yes, I you brought it up. Yes, I was closing out.
Speaker 2:I did expect more out of that final drive and I think that would have definitely changed the dynamic Okay last question, though Are you disappointed with your? Team that they didn't know the rules in the overtime. Not necessarily.
Speaker 1:Yes, you should be.
Speaker 2:The answer is yes. The mission is always to, especially when you're down at the, you know inside the 10 yard line to score. So the nuances of the rules did that affect how the players played on that?
Speaker 1:Would you have taken the ball first?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was questionable. So that from a coaching perspective, that's really what.
Speaker 1:I was looking at. I don't mind going for it when they did, but I'm talking about taking the ball first and then giving it to Patrick Mahomes to go win the game.
Speaker 2:I mean, even taking the ball first, they drove the field, they got to the five, whatever yard line it was, and it just didn't pan out. So, yeah, still, you could look at play calling, you could look at a lot of things Understanding the rules. Taking the ball first versus deferring, yeah, I understand, it's always easy to look back and say that. But even taking the ball first, if we score the touchdown in that situation, it puts so much more pressure on the Chiefs to go down and convert some of those third downs that they did and to drive the length of the field. And they just didn't necessarily have that level of pressure because San Francisco just put up a three. So, knowing the rules, that's easy to focus on. But I'm not. That was just noise, I'm not too worried about that.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, just so you know, you brought this up.
Speaker 2:I did.
Speaker 1:But you know me, I got to ask questions now when you bring it up. I got to ask questions, I got to know.
Speaker 2:I know that it looked like I was avoiding.
Speaker 1:Cause I gave you your time. I know We'll continue to talk about it and we'll see. I'm sure we'll be talking about you in the Super Bowl next year. Maybe it'll be a different outcome for you. There's no wood here he's trying to knock. But, thank you, Look forward to the draft and look forward to more conversations with you in the future.
Speaker 2:A lot of fun, Thanks.
Speaker 1:Lacey? Yeah, of course, all right guys. Well, thanks. Thanks for tuning in. We are two weeks away and the off season is still just heating up. We will continue to cover everything leading up to the draft and, of course, everything that happens after the draft. Until then, keep waiting for more lineup with Lacey, let's go.