Transcript

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Announcer:
Welcome to the podcast, to be named later, where we explore the world of conversation at a time, sit back and enjoy. Here are your hosts Chris and Kelly.
Kelly:
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the podcast to be named later. I'm Kelly here in Wisconsin and I think he's finally done with his bracket as I've been chilling off air. I've got Chris out in California. Chris is your bracket.
Chris:
It is not so I'm not quite there. I'm. I'm close. I'm real close so.
Kelly:
Gonna make it pretty interesting when we get to that part of the podcast, buddy.
Chris:
Well, I can. I can work and talk with the best of them.
Kelly:
OK. Well as yeah, making reference here, it is March Madness. One of my favorite times of the sports calendar, especially the next three weekends. You know just basketball. I really love the first weekend. It's like all basketball all the time and just always a lot of drama. What about you?
Chris:
I thought I had more time. Sorry buddy. I'm work. I'm working, I'm working hard. I'm a bracket here. And yeah, this. I mean, this is exciting. So we went through this lull of, you know, kind of that that after the Super Bowl, there's we we've talked about it a couple times in this podcast. There's just this, like, general sports lull, you know, where. You know, you take a breath. There's not a ton going on. You know, guys start reporting to, to camp for baseball. And, you know, pitchers and catchers report and and on and on. Right and. Now this is what we're waiting for. You know the conference tournaments just took place. You know, we got all our champions from that. Obviously, you know, a couple of teams made runs. Oregon, for instance, wasn't by all accounts going to be in the tournament. But that's the beauty of the conference tournaments. You know these, you know, everyone gets an automatic bid and and especially for the smaller. I saw a really good one man between Brown and Yale that I was watching and, you know, but a buzzer beater there. And and I can't say that I sit and watch all the college basketball games or or even very many college basketball games over the. Course of the season, but you know, come tournament time, you know, conference tournament time, I, you know, start my year start to perk up some of the early games. I'm I may pass on those but you know once they get start getting into the quarter finals, semi-finals you know usually I'll I'll be tuned in and then I try to you know watch a lot of the semis and and the finals and you know every year. There's a couple of teams this year. More than anything I I listen to quite a bit on the radio. With. Various committee members you know, discuss and obviously you know they're taking some heat for, for teams that were left out, you know, how could you leave, you know, Indiana State out based on, you know, metrics and rankings and blah blah blah and. But you know, they pretty much to a person they they were all consistent and like hey man, this was a tough year. You know basically 5 bids got stolen, you know you know or or earned IA stolen is probably not a fair word. They were earned, you know or going to earn their bid. But you know people didn't anticipate that like oh, we didn't think Oregon was going to come in. They weren't. In our like. You know, final four final five teams that we were looking at and then they kind of came out of nowhere and they get one right, they won their tournament, they get it. And so well now we got to take one of these teams out and that just kind of kept happening over and over you know so teams earned their automatic qualifying bid through their tournament and now you know a bunch of teams. Pushed out as a result.
Kelly:
Yeah, I kind of like it. I mean in that you know. Your conference tournaments here still have an impact. Obviously, if you're one of the, you know, the regular season champion and you're kind of been running the table and you do that in your conference. But this is really some good competition ahead of the the big games. As you know it's called where you see different things happen again a little bit of a Homer here, but my Wisconsin Badgers had been playing pretty poor basketball in February after a really hot start. And yet I'd say they played some of their best basketball of the year here in the Big 10 tournament, you know, came up a little bit short on Sunday, but finally put together the kind of games we've been seeing back in November, December and the first part of January. And they obviously, you know, did an ultimately win, but I'm fine with, hey, you play your regular season games in your conference to, you know, have a seat at the tournament. And now we'll go battle each other. And if somebody can win their way through that and get an automatic bid. And it wasn't the, you know, the favorite from the regular season. I'm OK with that. I think it keeps the spark interested in. Yes, it does mean sometimes that you're going to see. I don't know if deserving is the right word, but you will see some teams you know the the old you know, on the bubble and all the other things get bounced out because of that. But I don't know. You got 68 teams here and I think for the most part it's one of the better structured. Tournaments in sports.
Chris:
Agreed. You know, sports offers us a wide array. I mean, the Olympics are are taking place this summer. I mean, that's an amazing event comes around. Every four years, you know, or for for the relative seasons and you know, that's structured, obviously entirely different. You know what's cool about March Madness and and you know really is. One-of-a-kind man. So the when you get into the knockout stage of like World Cup play, it's it's similar, right? So you get one game you you you know there's going to be a winner determined one way or another. Don't care how many overtimes it takes or in some cases you know penalty shoot out or whatever. But we're going to get a winner today and whoever wins moves on and the loser leaves. A little bit different cause they have group play and kind of a a seating. You know that takes place and and March Madness you know you you play all season for an opportunity to enter into this tournament and you know kind of like Eminem said you get one shot one opportunity man this is it. You lose your out that's that's it. I I don't care how good your record was. If you're 31 and oh. Heading in and Big 12 champion, that doesn't matter if if you lose, you know. So you know all all the chips are pushed in and and then you bring. All the different conferences up against each other, you know, and and you know, you're not gonna play against every conference, but within your bracket, you know you're gonna you're gonna run into whoever you run into some people maybe you've seen before, depending on how things shake up, maybe you come maybe two teams come from the same conference and and have played or already twice, maybe even three times, you know with the. Conference tournament taking place and stuff, so they got familiarity and. But most, more often than not, you're playing people you've never played before and or at least not, you know, in this season. So to me, that's super exciting, man. I mean, I I don't know that there's much I'm I'm a huge sports fan. Obviously NFL for me is probably king. That's the sport I follow the most closely. I'm the most knowledgeable about, you know, I I love, I love the Olympics. I love the World Cup. I think anything that's on a world stage is, is always extra intriguing to me, but nothing has the excitement like March Madness, man. And this first week. Again, starting well, I mean really it starts Tuesday, but but the real tournament starts on Thursday, you know and and you got your brackets, you know and and you put them all together and maybe you put some wagers down and this and that and and you know then the games kick off man and and that Thursday and Friday it's just there's nothing like it in sports where just every 30 minutes. There's a game ending you know, and and it's just, you know, there's four, there are four games taking place at a time, you know, and and there's staggered. And it's just, it's just an amazing for a sports fan. It's just an amazing weekend of just non-stop action. And I think most people, even casual sport sports fans, love this about as much as anything.
Kelly:
I think so, and I think what's fun is like you say, I mean, there's. I was surprised. I mean when I was a kid and actually till not too long ago, right, you couldn't even see all those first weekend games. You. Whatever games were near a region and you might get a look in from the other ones. But now with all the networks and stuff, you do have a chance to see all the games. And I enjoy, you know, you see conferences that you are probably not very familiar with and just about every year we know coming out of this first weekend, there's one or two of those Cinderella stories that keeps it interesting and makes it fun and. You know, we've also had over the last few years, the unthinkables happened. You know, we're a 16, finally did beat A1. We always you know and we always know about. There's always going to be 1 and 112 beating A5 seems almost every year that happens. It could be you know I haven't studied it but that's the one more so than anything where it seems to be.
Chris:
Yeah.
Kelly:
That the the 12 or the lower seed, if you will, knocks off an upper seed kind of hoping it's not my Bucky Badgers. This year, Wisconsin is actually a five seed going up against the 12 seed. That's, I don't know. Looks. I've picked Wisconsin in my bracket to win that game, but I've also said to some people that wouldn't be a surprise to me if that was one of the games that did go the other way.
Chris:
Yeah. And I I like I said, I haven't finished my bracket, but that is one that you know, I'm good. I mean, I obviously I pulled for all those guns and teams, but that's what I'm going to go the other way, man. I mean, I just. You know, I mean, Wisconsin played great down the stretch, obviously made a great run through the Big 10 tournament and everything, but they got a they got a brutal draw, man. It's, you know, they didn't. They weren't done any favors by any means in the draw they got. And James Madison's pretty darn good basketball teams. So. Obviously, smaller school, you know, smaller conference, you know, lesser competitions. So we'll see. You know, Miss Guns has been in there banging with some big boys and James James Madison hasn't quite had all of that, but we see it all the time. Like you said, the 12 and the five. I think part of it is optics. You know really everything from 5. All all all the way. You know, you take out the ones, the twos, the threes and the fours. Which they should be pretty, pretty significant favors in their games. And then from there it's a free for all men. Like literally anybody could win those games that that 611 is a is a coin flip. You know, a lot of times, you know the the lower seeded team will be favored if you go to Vegas and look at the odds, the 710, same thing. 8 nines are are are made to be that way, right? They're they're supposed to be the most competitive match up. They would stand to reason based on the seedings, right? They're right next to each other so. It's not strange that those are are highly competitive and and literal coin flips, but you know, but even the seven, the 7:10 or those are those are coin flip games as well. So depending on the point system. Your you know whatever your bracket uses, you know, sometimes you get points just for getting it right, but other times I've played in March Madness games where you get points based on the seed and then those you might as well take the higher one. You know, why get five points when you know it's basically a coin flip game? I might as well go for the 12.
Kelly:
Right. Yeah. And I definitely, I mean. You know, like you said, hey, 1234 against, you know 13141516. Pretty shocking when those happen, but that next batch, if you will. Thing, even the the number sounds great 5 to 12, you know. I mean that's obviously but. I think those games are all much more of a toss up and then the numbers might say and I think that's partly why the five twelves in particular seem surprising. Because generally, if you're a five seed, you got pretty good teams and the twelves they are. They are better than the average team still, but usually coming out of a place where maybe they face less competition. So it's a little bit of a little brother knocking off Big Brother, if you will.
Chris:
Yeah, exactly. And. You know the the you know, you know, between the 123 and four, at least one of those is losing pretty well, guaranteed. And then I would I would take the over like if you offered me a 1 1/2 right, like hey, 1 1/2 losses, I would take the over I think at least two teams between the 123 and four seeds. But you know, if you're asking me specifically to pick which one, that's where the challenge comes. And so I think a lot of us are fill out our brackets like man, I I know one of you guys is losing but I don't know which one. So I'm just going to go with all chalk for 1234 and then I'll start taking my Flyers on the on the higher seats.
Kelly:
Let's jump back while you're thinking about your bracket and so first of all, shout out to. Anyone that knows him because he's made the March Madness experience accessible for people such as myself for many years that used screen readers, Terrell Thompson step back from making the accessible NCA brackets. Last year he retired. But I want to give a shout out to him for doing that for ohh. I don't even remember how many. So I fill my barricades out electronically, but I know Chris before we got on the air, you were fiddling with your printer and filling it out on paper still. And can you just give us a sense of kind of how a printed bracket sheet is laid out, never seen one. Braille. And so I've always just used it on the computer. Conceptually. Understand. You know how it works, but just what is that bracket sheet like that? You know, too many trees are probably chopped down for once a year.
Chris:
Yeah, I'll give her my best shot. So, you know, generally it'll fit on a single piece of paper. And so if you could picture it, it's basically broken down into four quadrants. OK, so each the east to the West, the South and the Midwest each represent a quadrant. And they'll put the east and the West on the left hand side of the piece of paper, and within each quadrant there'll be 16 lines. So there's sixteen teams, you know, let's forget about the playing portion of it. So let's just start on Thursday. So there's sixteen teams that will be in each region. And what they do is they try to give the give the one seed the easiest pass. So they'll put the one at the top of the. Bracket. And then right next to them, believe or immediately below them will be the 16 seed and then they'll put the two at the bottom of the bracket and then you know. Right next to them will be the 15th seed and then they fill in all the middle, right. So. So you're going to have basically 2 lines and usually what they'll do is they'll put a line. Or a box around each team and then coming off of that game. So like Uconn's going to play Stetson, right. So Yukon has a line underneath it. Stetson has a line underneath it. And then in the center between those two lines will be a new line, and that'll be blank. And then you would put, like, who you think is going to win. I think most people probably think Uconn's going to win that game. You would write Yukon on that line and you do that for all eight of the games in each quadrant. And so if you picture the page, I'm going to have 32 lines. Down the left side and 32 lines down the right side. And then as you move towards the center now, I'm going to have 16 lines down the left side and 16 down the right and then you keep moving towards the center then be eight and four and so. On and eventually.
Kelly:
So just to be clear, I'm gonna pause you one for one second. OK. You keep talking about these lines because you're saying down the thing, but these are horizontal lines, correct?
Chris:
Correct. Yes. So they're horizontal lines and then the names are listed vertically and they all rest. It's basically underlined.
Kelly:
Gotcha.
Chris:
And you would make you would make your way towards the center, and then usually in the middle, you know, they usually like make it pretty and stuff and and give you a little boxes and things. But essentially you'd end up with in the center of the page. You'd have four teams you that would represent your final four.
Kelly:
So if you sold about it.
Chris:
Ally. Oh, go ahead.
Kelly:
Let me ask you this. Is are these kind of like if you will pyramids but tilted 90°?
Chris:
Yes, that's it. That's yeah. Yeah. That's an excellent way to think of it, that that's exactly what they are.
Kelly:
Got you. And then talking off here for a minute, you mentioned something else. Just thinking about how it works, I I kind of. That you really so left to right the the teams on the left, you move into the middle as you would read. But the the teams on the right, actually you kind of go backwards, if you will, from the right edge of the piece of paper into the middle, correct.
Chris:
Correct, Yep. And what I had said off air when you you had asked me like you know visually this you know best analogy I could think of is like a tree Kelly. So you know it it working backwards your trunk of your tree would represent your national champion. There's only one. And then from there maybe you got 2 main branches that come off the tree. OK, that would be your two representatives. And then from there you have two more branches and as you work further and further away from the trunk, eventually, you know, we know trees aren't symmetrical. It's not exactly 64, you know, little branches at the very end, right? There's not exactly. 32 on each side by any means, but if you can think about it, you know you're you're you're whittling down smaller and smaller until eventually you get to just one. Team will remain that that would represent like on a tree would represent the trunk and as you get further and further away, there's there's more and more lines which would kind of be representative of like the small branches, you know.
Kelly:
So you know, some people bracket filling out. Big deal. How many brackets do you typically fill out?
Chris:
Uh, well.
Kelly:
Well.
Chris:
I'll probably do somewhere in the neighborhood of six or seven. It depends how many offers I get, you know? So if you know, everyone knows I like to get into these kinds of things. I'm. I'm always game for, you know, any type of pool that's going on. You know, I I mean, I I I generally am am a sucker for those kinds of things. I I I love to have a little. Juice in the game, if you will, and. And so I have one guy that runs them every year and then, you know, I'll let Angie fill one out and and usually I'll say now we're going to move all the ones form. And then from there do whatever you want and so you know, it's kind of fun. Obviously she's not a huge sports fan, and you may have heard of a few of these schools, right? I mean, these are universities. So, you know, I mean, obviously, you know who USC is UCLA, right? And and so on. But. Other than that, she has, you know, very little knowledge of who's good and who's not. Good, right. So she. The we'll fill out her bracket just based on, you know well, if a Wildcat fought a badger, I would take the Wildcat or you know, she she just depends. And and that's what's fun about this man. You don't have to have a lot of knowledge and. Quite honestly, man, I mean. It's it's kind of better not to. I mean, I'd rather be lucky than good, right?
Kelly:
And just a hint. The Badger beat the Wildcat. Over the weekend.
Chris:
Yeah, it happens. But yes, I'll feel about probably six or seven to answer your question somewhere in that range, I.
Kelly:
Well, so it is I think.
Chris:
Bet Kelly.
Kelly:
And I usually do two or three now that I I mean the process is working you know. The Speaking of you know, hey teams, you never heard of. I know we're talking here. You've got your kind of sleeper candidate you were telling me about.
Chris:
Yeah, it was. You know, so I I got this kind of system I wanted to try out and I don't want to divulge all all, all, all of it. Right. So I'm recording this and I don't want everyone to know what I'm up to, but. In the course of, you know, my personal metrics, you know looking at various rankings and and ratings and things and one team jumped off the page is like holy cow. So there's a lot of numbers associated with the way I'm going about it. And you know, when you tally up. All the totals. McNeese State jumped off the page like Holy cow. Like you know, they're, you know, based on clear clearly my system may have some flaws to it. So I'm trying it out for the first time this year, but the. Yeah, McNeese State out of the Southland Conference jumped off the page. It's like, holy cow, they're right there with, you know, Auburn and Yukon and. Some of these teams and so. I was like, well, you know, the numbers don't lie. So yeah, my my sleeper team is is going to be those boys. They got to knock off the Zags right from go. Which is a tall task, and then they'll match up with Purdue to follow. So I I don't know how strongly I. I feel about this, but I will say that they're A-Team. Another one actually. Your your Badgers have to play was James Madison. They jumped off the page too, as like holy cow. That's a pretty good number that that I came up with for those guys. So obviously we know that the level of competition is significantly different and. You know, if I went to the.
Kelly:
We'll see. I mean, we'll check back in early April and see. If your team there can win even the first of those games, we'll see. But you know what? It's. Always amazing when you see like, OK, you know, we'll start playing games on Thursday and the headlines will start coming out, you know, especially when there's one upset, upset or something like how and I think that's how you win these big things. Somebody's still in the game, you know, they got a perfect bracket through the first weekend and it's because they took. Some of those Flyers.
Chris:
Yeah. I mean, you're gonna have to, man. I mean, that's that's all there is to it. You know, you and I were talking. It depends, know, know your league. You know what you're playing with? If I'm playing with five guys. Well, I'm, you know, I mean, I can stay pretty chunky and and you know, I'm going to, you know, the winner is going to be resting on, you know, an Elite 8 matchup, you know or two, right, you know. And so. You know, if you're in, if you're in a group of 158,000 people, you better. Well, you know, pick some Flyers now. You're not going to do yourself any favors by picking all the chalk, right? So, yeah. And then, I mean, you could do about as good just flipping a coin, probably Kelly or throwing a dart. I mean, it really, you know, nobody knows how these are going to go in there. There's going to be betting lines, there's going to be favorites, you know, there's going to be a money line and someone's going to be plus 140 and. And so, you know, clearly Vegas thinks that this other team is going to win this game. But, you know, if you've been doing this for any period of time, you know that that that doesn't always work out that way.
Kelly:
All right. Question you might not know the answer to, and I don't recall if I've ever known it. Do you know why or where the phrase like chalking that comes from?
Chris:
I do not actually. It's an excellent question.
Kelly:
Yeah, I don't. I don't know the answer, Chris. You've got homework.
Chris:
Ohh man. Well I got homework. You're the better research of the group. Let's send that to our producer.
Kelly:
OK, that's you this week.
Speaker
Oh.
Kelly:
Here I got a second homework assignment for. You.
Chris:
Ohh man yeah.
Kelly:
You can go track this down too, apparently, and I don't remember which game it was. But apparently in one of the games yesterday in one of the conference tournament championships, they lit off the OR they let go of the confetti at the wrong time. Because they at the end of the game, when the team finally won, they said, and now the confetti is coming from the right spot. So you, you got two homework from this podcast, buddy.
Chris:
Hey I did see, I did see confetti and I did pay attention. And I'll tell you what, that was very few of the places actually had confetti fall down. But of the games I was watching. So. I think it was the the Grand Canyon game that the they they finally launched some confetti out of the stands and it just came from like like right behind the benches. And so I I couldn't see there's too many bodies running around. I was trying to see if they had little like launch tubes or where it was coming from. But it all shot out from like. Basically in front of the stands and over the benches and the, the guy said, hey, there's some confetti. We finally got some.
Kelly:
So any any games you're really looking forward to seeing in the, you know, throughout the tournament or the first weekend here or teams you're curious about or any thoughts before we break out our final fours?
Chris:
Ohh. I mean, yeah, I mean, there's a bunch of games and then there's a bunch of, you know, teams in general to see like, OK, I'll Marquette for instance. I I, you know, I know they've been playing without their best player for an extended period of time and supposedly, you know, he's going to be ready start of the tournament. If that's the case then you know market is one of the better teams. In in. College basketball. But you know you take the best player off of any team, right? And especially when when you're, you know, in this setting I'm asking that's tough to overcome, right. So I know Kansas got riddled pretty bad with injuries and and, you know, some. It's unfortunate timing. You know this it happens, right? But, you know, that's one to see like, hey, man, how quickly. You know, they come all back together because that's a team that absolutely can make a run if they're if they're all healthy and. Playing at their best. Yeah, I mean, you know, we already talked about McNeese State and and Gonzaga game. You know, there's a bunch of, I mean, even the James Madison WI. You know that that we already talked about, those are some of the ones that like let's see you know, see if little guy can can knock off big guy.
Kelly:
I'm kind of curious to see talked a little bit about this before we started recording, but having lived out in Washington for so long, I mean obviously you know you get exposed to Gonzaga a lot, but kind of curious to see. How St. Mary's fairs are overall. Who makes a better run in the tournament? Gonzaga's kind of been the, you know. The. Again, Big Brother of their conference, St. Mary's been around a little bit like the little brother, if you will. Kind of think maybe. Little brother caught up to Big Brother a little bit more this year.
Chris:
Yeah, well, caught up and passed. So, yeah, I think probably St. Mary's got tired of, you know, they they were so close to Gonzaga there that those teams have been one and two. I mean San Francisco's. OK. But but it's been Gonzaga and then, you know, decent size, you know, let's say a head and the shoulder above of Saint Mary's and then. Saint Mary's is another head and shoulders above. You know, whoever is the the upstart team of the year, that. Here and St. Mary's has has been right there with him, you know? And and plugging away, plugging away. And then, yeah, this year they they surpassed him, you know. And St. Mary's in the conference was the better team this year. So. But St. Mary's has been competitive for a long time and that's a that's a school that's put a good product out there. They've been in the tournament. You know they've they've made a little noise. And they had a hard time getting getting past, you know, their arch rival in inside the conference. But yeah, we'll see their their team that I expect will do well in this tournament.
Kelly:
Yeah, I, you know, I've got to move it a little bit forward. We'll see. I think this is again this first weekend and then you know, we see what happens. So going to get ready to put you on the spot. So hopefully you're either going to make something up or you're done. But I want to jump in and. Talk about it. What do you see as your final? Sure.
Chris:
Well, I'll, I'll tell you what. I'll lead up it into it. So in in the East, I have the Yukon Huskies playing against Iowa State in the Elite 8 and Yukon prevailing in that game for my, you know, straight off the bot. Straight off the bat, chalk play, so Yukon's going to be one of my final four. And then it'll get a little more interesting from there, so go down to the West and I actually have the team we were just talking about knocking off UNC and St. Mary's playing against Arizona in the elite 8IN Arizona. The two seed coming out of the West and then that. Those two teams will a Yukon in in Arizona will end up playing each other, heading over to the Midwest. You're gonna love this. This is me sticking to my guns. I have Tennessee volunteers, the two seed. No surprise there, but the team they're playing coming out of the top of the bracket is McNeese State in the Elite 8. So I got a 12 seed knocking off Gonzaga, then knocking off Purdue and. Or they'd be knocking off Kansas actually, then knocking off Purdue and and going all the way. They're they're going to be the exciting story of of the tournament this year and then up in the South. I got the one versus the two. I I just think Houston is so good and they're going to be so mad. They got, they got just smashed by. Almost 30 points. They got beat by Iowa State. Put a whooping on them and you know, I think that's going to be a a wake up for those guys and realize they don't want that to happen again. So Houston's a a really, really good basketball team and then I'm going to, you know. Hope for the best and I'm going to roll with Marquette, so and then out of that game, I got Houston. So my final four would look like #1 seed Yukon #2 Seed Arizona, number two seed Tennessee and number one seed Houston. What about you? What? You.
Kelly:
Got buddy. So I'm going to jump ahead a little bit further. It's one of the differences just because of how I am doing this bracket thing and the way that Yahoo shows it, to me, stepping back to my Elite 8 for each one is a little bit harder on the recording. But you know, jump right down to my final four and I've got a. 2 ones and two twos. So I've got Connecticut taking on Arizona on one side. And then coming out of the other, we got a little bit of similar because I've got Marquette taking on Purdue. I think Purdue has really been a good team. I know they lost, but in the Big 10 tournament, but also obviously all four of these teams are good, so. But that that's my final four.
Chris:
Yeah, the the. So a couple of the teams. If if you wanna, if you want a couple of others that I really struggled with. Auburn is playing really good basketball right now and and that's an easy team to like. They got a brutal draw. Well. So did you come for that matter? All Auburn is clearly the best of the fours at the moment, playing the best basketball. Right now and that's they put him right in there with Yukon. So that is tough. But a team that absolutely could that's not A11 or A2 that could make a run and and win the whole thing and actually win the national championship. Auburn is one of those teams. You got somebody else like that you can think of that.
Kelly:
No, it's we're going to duplicate. Yeah. And this one because when I saw this come out, I actually I was surprised.
Chris:
You know is is outside of the ones and twos.
Kelly:
Say had Auburn gotten anything else other than where they are, they they I would have probably moved them into my final four, but they just really got a tough draw. Probably the toughest one in the tournament in my opinion.
Chris:
Yeah, agreed. I mean, because, you know, they're a four seed and based on the way they're playing right now, I mean, you know. But I I don't. I they could easily be a two or three no problem. And that would have put them at the bottom of any bracket. So they put them in a spot. Just making them a four in general that they were going to have to play either, you know, Yukon, UNC, Houston or Purdue and you know they they gave them the the worst of the bunch in Yukon.
Kelly:
Yeah. So what do you got? I guess I'll tell you. So my championship again is. Marquette. Against Purdue and. I'm sorry I spoke wrong. I spoke wrong, but we won't edit it. I've got Arizona against Marquette, and I've actually got Marquette winning 95 to 89.
Chris:
I like it, buddy. I I'm. I'm. I. I'm all for it. I might have put a little little wager down a little while back on Marquette, so they're one of my. Horses. Heading into the tournament that I'm pulling for, so I like it. Man, I I'll take it.
Kelly:
What about you?
Chris:
My championship game is the one versus 1 Yukon versus Houston. I think they've been the two most consistent teams. They got spread out to opposite ends of the bracket right? So. You know, there's a lot of good teams out there. I mean, you know, it's it's hard, right? So but to me, they've been consistent all year. They've been solid. You know they've been solid tournament tournament teams. Obviously, UConn won the championship last year, so I got UConn playing Houston and Yukon being the first back-to-back champion since I think Florida. So yeah, I know it's jockey, but at the end there. But you know, they're just the best teams. So that's what I'm rolling with.
Kelly:
It won't surprise me. I mean, we'll see, you know. You got to play in games starting tomorrow night and then, you know, we go for three weekends of excitement so.
Chris:
Hopefully you know I'm a bit of a sell out going with A1 versus one in the finals, but hopefully I get some some credit for McNeese State and St. Mary's, making the Elite 8 so.
Kelly:
Looking forward to it. I'll be curious to see if we if you get get it on either one of those. You know. But hey, man, that's what keeps it interesting. So Speaking of interesting and they have managed to really create a machine of interest in news. Let's jump back, you know, so the NFL did their annual shuffling of the players, otherwise known as free agent signings and wow. Has there been some movement?
Chris:
Oh, this has been crazy. I don't remember, you know? So I'm heavy on the fantasy side. I love NFL. Just period and and and you know who? Who's going to win, you know, Super Bowls and and what teams have gotten better and what direction they're going and stuff. But man, from from a fantasy point of view, I don't remember a time when there was more significant. Movement of big name players like difference making NFL players in this year. This has been one of the most exciting NFL offseasons ever that I can remember.
Kelly:
Just want to dive in on one of them and just get your perspective. Again, Packer fans here. Aaron Jones not not signing them? They asked him to take another pay cut. He had taken one, replace him with basically Josh Jacobs. Jones goes to the Vikings. I have some thoughts on that, but I want to want to get your thoughts first on that signing and all of that and Jones leaving and Jacob's coming.
Chris:
Well, you know, first straight straight away. First emotion is it's just kind of sad, you know, it's it's too bad. He's been a just a great Packer. He's a he's a great person to have on your NFL team. He's great in the community. Everybody loves the. Right, man. So you know, that part hurts, dude. And and and I would love he. And he's still very productive. I mean, he was carrying the squad, you know, on our playoff run last year and and carving up, you know, 49ers and and Cowboys and I mean he just looked amazing man and and but I also understand the business side of it. I I do understand, you know, you got to look ahead. You know, it's not just a matter of, you know what? What will you do for us next year? You know, you have with contracts being what they are and guaranteed money and and you know it's there's a there's you hear it time and time again there's a business side of football. I mean it's it's a a probably the biggest component is is the business and the things it's a. Giant industry and teams in order to be competitive with the salary cap and and continue to stay competitive, have to make hard decisions. You know, every year in the off season. I I know that the Packers would have loved to have kept Aaron Jones, but you know they picked up Josh Jacobs. He's four years you.
Speaker
Better.
Chris:
And you know, theoretically you're gonna be able to get similar production and and at least that's what you're hoping for. So it hurts a little bit though, man. I mean, I, you know to to you know, you it's not like the olden days though, man, it's not. It's not the 60s and 70s anymore, Kelly, you know what I mean? Like these these guys are, you know. Gonna move around and and sometimes when it when someone leaves your team and hurts a. Little bit.
Kelly:
Yeah, I mean, you know, this is this is definitely as a fan, but a human being and. This, these, these do hurt. I mean, just by all accounts. Really. Class act individual in every sense of the word, whether that's as a teammate, a player in the community and just. Media says he's one of the nicest guys to deal. And I don't know it's this is the tough side. I understand. You know, I mean no fault of his in that, you know, the two things going against him I guess for Aaron Jones or one his age. I mean there's just. Very few players can defy Father time, and two, he you know, he's been banged up from time to time when he's on the field. He's incredible. I mean, as you said, man, we like Packers went to, got as far as they did without Aaron Jones, so. I don't think these are. You know, they're human beings. So when I say it's a replaceable part and Jack Jacobs may come in and and and be equally as good in all those ways, I don't know as much about him aside from on the field. But. When you know, especially when you're given quarterbacks at some point in most roster is 15 to 20% of your total salary cap. This is the unfortunate other side of that coin where you do have to make these decisions, you know and that's that's tough to see as a fan. But it's it's a, you know, a necessary part of the game. Can't imagine. It's. Easy. I mean to be a GM with things like this. You know, you've really got to be able to separate your emotion and from your. Head and I think that's why overall it's, you know, not a good idea to combine those two roles anyway. That's one of the big changes.
Speaker 1
Uh.
Chris:
And there were a bunch, man. Yes and.
Kelly:
Another one that jumps out to me. That's just wow. I can't believe this all went down this way. Pittsburgh, right? I mean, wow. I mean. And and for not a lot of money, they just, you know, went and got 2 quarterbacks. With Wilson and the Barretts quarterback now playing for Chicago Justin Fields, and they don't have to pay either one or lot, Denver is going to be paying a ton of money for Russell Wilson not to play for him. I don't think the Packers had going on with Aaron Rodgers, but that's an intriguing 1.
Chris:
I mean the the pick the Steelers just absolutely smashed in free agency, picking up Patrick Queen, taking him from the division rival Ravens and adding him. And he's one of the better middle linebackers in football and and they added him to an already really good defense. And then. Yeah. So they. You know they. You know, they traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles, which I, I don't know why the Eagles would want him, but you know, you got to have a backup, right? So, and, you know, some teams, the Eagles are one of them that have always kind of prioritized that back up and and it served them really well. I mean, how they won a Super Bowl with with the backup so. You know the teams that have one are are really grateful they do when when they need them. And so I guess that makes sense. But what what really blew me away is, you know, when you look at all the. Compensation. So when Pittsburgh took in Russell Wilson. I'm I'm not a Russell Wilson believer. I believe he's been done. I mean, he was done in Seattle, so that's my personal opinion. I I definitely feel he'll be motivated. I mean, I think they're going to get the best Russell Wilson. I think he's going to have some things to prove kind of like I felt when Stafford went to. The Rams. I just really believe you know what if it's an extra hour and a half of film study on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, whatever it takes, Stafford's going. He motivated to prove that it was a lions problem, not a Stafford problem, right? Well, I think Russell Wilson is going to be of a similar mindset. That man he if he can go to the Pittsburgh Steelers and put up a really good season now all of a sudden the narrative will change that. Hey, man, it wasn't me. It was the Denver Broncos. Like, man, I was. I was fine. It was there that they were the ones that were all messed up, right? So I think he's going to be very motivated to try and flip that narrative. But what blows me away the most is is they they you know. So they got rid of. Pick it first. I forget what day it was, but I was like, man, this feels like they gave up pretty quick. And he's only got 2 years and Wilson's not gonna be around very long like I thought they try and develop. Pick it. You know, it's kind of odd that they just gave up all right away. And I was like, OK, well, that's their choice, you know. I mean, they're in the building with them. They must. You know, realize that Kenny Pickett's not the guy. And they got. I think it was a fourth and two sevens and maybe they had to send a fourth back or something. They swapped 4th and then they got two sevens. Something like that, right? For Kenny, pick it. And then they trade and go get Justin Fields and give up a six. It's like, wait, wait a minute so you get less.
Kelly:
2025.
Speaker
So.
Chris:
Yeah. So you're basically by the numbers, you're saying that Kenny Pickett's a better NFL quarterback than Justin Fields. I don't think most of us feel that. So they got Russell Wilson for for league minimum, someone else is paying the bill A, you know, a potential. We'll see. He's going to need the, you know, 2-3 years of of really good play, but. He's he's he's got potential to still get to the Hall of Fame. And you picked him up, and then you picked one of the best young prospects that the league has right now just by luck, because Carolina and Chicago cut that deal last year and and Carolina didn't, you know, you know, failed miserably this year. And so Chicago got the first pick. And just by sheer luck. You ended up in a spot where? Chicago kind of fell backwards into like ohh gosh, like we have a real opportunity here to pick what most people think. It's gonna be Caleb Williams and, you know, kind of a generational prospect. And it's like man, but this is man, we have too many good things. We have to get rid of some of them and it's just what Pittsburgh did picking up Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. I mean, they by far probably I mean. There's better starters out there. I mean, obviously I take my homes and Allen and I I could probably list a bunch of people that I like better than either of them. But when you look at the coder back room as a whole, the Steelers have one of the best quarterback rooms in football. And. Justin Fields has shown like, hey man, I I got some stuff to me. So you know, theoretically, man you you run. Wilson out there next year and pay him nothing and you know, fields can learn. He might get some playing time in there mixed in too, you know. And and then, you know, you could just like transition straight into fields if you like. What you what you see. You have to give him a contract, but the contract's going to be suppressed too, because it's not like he's going to go out there and and like the world on fire, right. And he's not even gonna be the starter most likely to start with. So you. Know you're going. To get a deal on fields, I mean the the the Pittsburgh Steelers just killed it. Man. Like I I don't. I don't know how they did it, but yeah, they came out smelling like roses. In this off season.
Kelly:
And the other part of that, that is a real positive for them is. Because of the what they are and aren't paying for the quarterback position, even with the trades and all of that that, you know, frees up a lot of money for other positions as well. So they've it was pretty ingenious of what they did. You know, obviously played for Wisconsin. So I've. I've always followed the career of Russell Wilson, all the drama side of it apart. I think the challenge for a guy like Wilson and I've said this, you know, I think when we first started doing this podcast. Is the challenge with quarterbacks like Wilson is? You definitely see the best of their career in just about every case. The younger they are because part of what makes them good as a passer is the elusiveness and fear that teams have for them. As a running back, obviously they're, you know, but as they quarterback gets older, that running capability gets less. But it's I don't. It's not like you see a corresponding improvement in the passing of. Ability because it's never. It's just one of their two traits. You can take a different guy, you know, a Peyton Manning never, never a runner. But as he progressed as a quarterback and as he his knowledge of the defense and just his overall awareness of everything. Only serve to enhance his passing capability. What Russell Wilson and quarterbacks like that are doing? They now need to compensate for the deficiency that their mobility has lost, and so they're just trying to stay a little bit more equal and not getting better.
Chris:
Well, he's going to have such. So Arthur Smith is the new OC out there. You know, he wants to run the ball. The Steelers have been developing an offensive line. And actually, I think it was, you know, week eight, week nine, week 10, something like that. They really turned a corner and they actually ran the ball really well down the stretch. So you know, Wilson's not going to be asked to. Carry the team by any means, right? That's just not the kind of offense they're gonna run. They got for iron youth they sent. Deonte Johnson out? I guess he was a bit of a problem and they got some experience with that, you know? And you know credit, you know, someone else made a point. I I didn't come up with this on my own, but I was listening to radio and someone was talking about AV, you know, Antonio Brown all the years there. And they were talking about like, hey, man, I don't think you've really, I don't think we give full credit to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and and Mike Tomlin for their ability to manage a football team and manage individuals. And you know, when Antonio Brown was in Pittsburgh, he was still Antonio Brown. He was still the same guy. And just Tomlin just has a way of managing. Things and keeping people people under control. Pole and once he got out of there and he went to a couple of lesser organizations that maybe weren't quite as equipped like the Raiders that are kind of a dumpster fire and not as well run organization, you realize like ohh man, this guy is crazy and you know, the Steelers kept it, kept it under control pretty well. So. I wonder, I'm wondering if with Deonte Johnson maybe they saw like a the the the startings of the Antonio Brown syndrome and and and they said, you know what, let's just nip this in the **** right now and and send him off because we don't want to do that again. But they they still have Pickens. George Pickens is there. He's a phenomenal talent. Russell Wilson can distribute the ball. Still with timing and accuracy, so you saw that, I mean, you know, he had a great connection with Sutton last year. I mean he still can can be a professional, you know. Passer and you know he's got some talent on the outside. So I just I think he's in a really good position to succeed if he's if he has the ability to. This is about a good spot.
Kelly:
As he could have gone to. Yeah, when I say that, I think his skills are, you know, diminishing, I think like. I like that quarterback room. I mean, I, you know, I know they say Wilson's coming in as a starter, but I think that both guys will push each other. And. You know, you never know. It's always hard when these quarterbacks kind of don't work out in their first spot. Is it the team? Is it the player or what? I mean, the bears, I mean, you know, we they've been through this many times. They thought it was going to be thought Mitch Trubisky was going to be the guy for him, didn't end up. Happening. He's bouncing around but. So we'll see. I think that fields is. I think he's still got something in the tank to and I think he can still show it. I just think the Chicago situation. Went S pretty quickly.
Chris:
Yeah, I I think they, you know, they were just in a I think they like fields and I I think so think about this fields was a project to begin with, right. He had some polishing to do coming out of college. He was not the most effective passer coming out of college, but he's really athletic. And he is. He has the arm strength and he can make the throws. It's just, you know, can you do it consistently? A lot of guys are like that. Josh Allen was like that coming out. You know, he was he could run. He was a tank. You know, he's kind of had that, that tibo. Kind of, you know, game to him and just a just a will to win and and would do anything for his team kind of guy. You know, Alan had a cannon for an arm though and. You know, I I think. Fields didn't go to the best place in the NFL in order to develop quickly. You know, Chicago does not have a history of developing quarterbacks well. I mean, the weather is a factor, man. I mean, there's all kinds of components that make it more challenging to play quarterback in Chicago. And I think you took a guy who was a project to start with was going to take. Some nurturing and some, and it's going to take them away. While you know 2-3 seasons just to learn how to even play quarterback in the NFL and then you put him in the place that was probably going to teach him the slowest. So. It's not strange that, you know, he hasn't fully blossomed yet, but that doesn't mean he can't man. I think Fields has a real chance to to still be an elite NFL quarterback. It's just, you know, he just hasn't gotten there yet. But he's still a young guy. I think he ended up in a really, really good place it with the with the strong organization. That will handle him properly.
Kelly:
So the bears, what do you think? I mean, it's all you know, who knows, but obviously they're going to pick, you know, who they're going to pick #1 again. How do you think that's going to work out? You yourself just said they don't have a good track record of developing quarterbacks. So now. I just wonder like you're picking #1, the expectations are going to be sky high from the beginning. I don't know. Sometimes I wonder some guys can handle that, some guys can't.
Chris:
Well, I'll say this. The bear the Bears have preemptively done everything in their power, so obviously they got DJ Moore in the trade last year with Carolina, he played great. I mean, he looked like a number one wide receiver, you know, not super Elite. Justin, Jefferson, Jamar Chase, but DJ Moore is a very, very solid NFL wide receiver. And then they went and got Keenan Allen, who's about as professional a wide receiver. As we've had in our generation, I mean he that this is what he does for a living and he has perfected his craft. Obviously he's older, he's not gonna have very many years left on him just, you know, father times gonna catch up but. Like I don't know what how many a guy caught like 109 balls last year. I mean, he's pretty good man. Keenan Allen. You know, talk about how you feel with Aaron Jones leaving. Think about the Chargers fans and Keenan Allen. I mean, he's been a staple in that organization and then, you know, they just ship him off, right? So I'm not a charger fan, but I imagine they feel pretty similar to like. How we feel about Aaron Jones is like, man, you're you're letting a good guy who never gets in trouble with the law, you know, helps out the community and has been here his entire career. And you're just like shipping him off, you know? Sending them out to the glue factory and but so Chicago added Keenan Allen to go with DJ Moore. And then, you know, they got a really solid athletic pass catching tight end and Cole combat. And then they picked up DeAndre Swift, who's one of the better pass catching backs in the league. Excellent in space. Chicago did everything they had to do in the offseason to prepare. Who? Whoever? The new quarterback coming in is now, I don't know exactly what they did with the offensive line, but you know, Caleb Williams showed when he was at USC, it kind of don't matter, you know, whatever. Just set me free. I'll. I'll find space. I'll just run around. No one can catch me, so. You know, ideally they would have a good offensive line. Every NFL team would like to have a good offensive line, but. But you know, it's not as important for a guy like Kayla Williams as it would be for a Peyton Manning or Matt Stafford or or Kirk cousins, right? I mean, Kate, he Williams has the ability to escape. So, you know, he's got guys that can make plays manky. And Allen, DJ Moore, Cole comet, DeAndre Swift and every one of these guys can catch footballs. And do stuff with it after the catch, so he's not coming into the worst case scenario and Chicago got this pick. And they had. They had a defense. I was playing really good down the stretch. I mean, they were not that far off. I don't know what their record was last year. It feels like they were about A7 win team or so sound about right 7-11, something like that sort of seven and 10. So that's not your normal first overall pick. You know that they got that because of the trade, but they're not the worst team in football.
Kelly:
Something like that.
Chris:
They they were a competitive football team and they're not that far away. So that is a lucky break for first overall quarterback to go into where you know generally that's not the case man. Usually you get that. Bryce Young treatment you know where they man our our team's terrible and you bring in. You come in here, we're still gonna be terrible. And we're gonna be terrible for a couple of years, but we're hoping you can turn it around. Where as whatever quarterback goes to Chicago's not gonna have to fight that same battle. Which is pretty lucky.
Kelly:
So Speaking of, you mentioned this guy. He's leaving one Dome stadium to go a little South and play ball. Kirk cousins. Leaves Minnesota for Atlanta, 100 million guaranteed on $180 million contract that guys had some of the best in FL quarterback contracts.
Chris:
Yeah. For a guy that wasn't wanted by well, back then, it was the Redskins, but wanted by the Chicago or Washington commanders. And they put him on the franchise tag and then they didn't want to give him a deal again. So they put him on the franchise. So he's getting, you know, top five, the average of the top five salaries. And so he's getting Max money basically on an annual basis. And he just kept betting on himself, like, you know, I'm not taking a bad contract. Just pay me basically. Max and I'll make it again next year and then they paid them again. They think they did that for three years, right? So they paid them basically maximum salary for three years. Then he went to Minnesota, signed a big, you know, big contract, and now he's going to Atlanta and signed another one. So I like her cousins, man. He's coming off a torn Achilles. So we'll see. You know what? He's an older guy. But I I know that dude's a worker if you followed. I think it was on Netflix. The quarterback. Yeah, he was on the the first season and and you could see the kind of work that guy puts in and where his heart's at. And you know, he he does everything to to be as good a an NFL quarterback as he could possibly be based on the gifts that God gave him. Right. So boy, talk about another dude who's going into a spot that's just like, you know. Really, Atlanta's got a a really solid defense. They have one of the best offensive lines in all of football. I mean, they have a top five, maybe even top two or three offensive line. So he's gonna get the protection he need. He's he's got maybe the most talented, like pure ability running back in all of football. I mean, definitely one of them, he's, you know, but Caffrey's pretty special. You know, there's a couple other guys that you could put in the mix in the conversation. But be John Robinson is about as talented a dude as you're gonna find and speed, power pass, catching the whole. He's got the whole package, right. So and then Drake, London and Kyle Pitts, and I mean he's just he's going to a just a cherry spot, man, where like literally that this is one of the very few times that you heard all the time where oh they're just a quarterback away. You know if they just had a quarterback and and you hear that all the time but this is one that I really believe it to be true like with with just competent quarterback. Play the Atlanta Falcons should be a really good football team.
Kelly:
I think so and I, you know, the division they're in, it's pretty open. And I I think it's a good landing spot for him, tough for the Vikings to lose him.
Chris:
Yeah. I mean, in the Vikings, you know, they positioned themselves really well. I don't if you saw they made a trade with. Houston, I think it was so. What do they have? I think they have like 11 or something and 23. So they have two first round picks, so you can tell and they haven't really been secretive about it. So the Vikings are positioning themselves to go up one more time and you know, probably if I had wish I had the draft list in front of me. But they have, I know they got like. 23 from Houston just recently, and then whatever their original pick was. So. You, you know you're talking about. Hey, man, we'll give you both our ones this year and we'll give you our 25 first. I think that would look really, really intriguing to a couple of teams. You know the I think the commanders really want to get their quarterback, but like the Patriots, for instance, who's shown a propensity and a willingness to move back in drafts. In the past. Now that was all under Belichick. So we'll see what the new regime, you know, how they feel. But as an organization, the Patriots have always done that and they've always done a great job of that, of picking up additional picks to build their their franchise. And so I think the Vikings probably go up high, man, I and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they cut a deal with the Patriots. And the Patriots say, alright, we got so many holes to fill, you know, we'll worry about the quarterback another time and you know, let's get two first rounds this year, two first rounds next year, we'll build up the offense and defensive lines, you know, we'll build we'll from within and we'll have to figure out the quarterback on the fly, you know, at some point. So I think the Vikings go up and get a young guy. And there's another spot where? You know you're going to a pretty good spot, dude. So if you know another team that wasn't that bad. You know, Cousins got hurt that kind of derailed everything for him, right? And they were just, you know, running Josh Dobbs and whoever they could find out there to try and plug the holes of the dam. Right. And it it just, finally, finally kind of got away from them. But you know, Justin Jefferson, George Pattison dude, I mean, they're pretty well stacked. TJ hockinson. I mean, they got they got dudes to throw the ball. You so if. The Vikings, who are a pretty good team, kind of similar to the Bears, can move up and get a rookie quarterback with some skills. That guy's gonna go into a spot. That's just you're you're ready right now, man. Fast as you can learn as as fast as we can win. So we got everything else in place. They need some help on defense. You know, their teams not fully complete, but as far as a quarterback to see, to be successful, I think he's got. Everything he needs to do that.
Kelly:
Yeah, I think you know again. Second-half of the year, you know, they they thought, you know, we had a. Little bit of. Pay. We kind of saw with some guys our our backups, some you know a little bit of success but then the wheels kind of came off. So but I wouldn't mind having half the offensive players they have on my team.
Chris:
They got well. I mean, you could make a. Very strong case that Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in football, so that right there.
Kelly:
I would challenge someone to tell me who's.
Chris:
Better just. Just just do what Kurt did and throw it to that guy over and over. Just keep throwing. It to him. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where or how many people are around him. Just throw the ball to Justin Jefferson and everything will work out. Buddy Kurt. Kurt made a whole career and and just sold out of doing that. So yeah, you're off to a pretty good start if you got that guy, but I don't know. They could probably get a haul for them, so that's going to be an interesting one. So I would hope they would keep him. But man, you know, you can get a pretty good return for that guy. And if you decide to go on a full rebuild, that's a pretty good piece. He's going to want to get paid pretty quick, right? So. That's a guy that maybe, you know, obviously you want to keep him, but man, you could get a lot for that guy. So it depends what they want to do, if they want to do kind of a competitive rebuild, then you keep Justin Jefferson obviously, right. He's he's as as good as it gets. But if you got to do a full rebuild, that might be a casualty that that takes place. So we'll see.
Kelly:
Yeah, I. And that's where I guess I, you know, I don't know what they'll do, but Cousins leaving. Makes it. I think it ramps up the possibility a little bit more that they might. Go for a full rebuild and yeah, I mean, you're going to get, you know, you make a trade like that, you're probably going to you get somebody's number one for the next two years. A two this year and probably at least you're probably going to get 4 draft picks overall. Three of which are going to be ones or twos for him.
Chris:
Right. So and I mean.
Speaker
Yes.
Kelly:
That's. That's a lot, man. So I I can. Yeah.
Chris:
And then a lot of teams help themselves just by keeping their own guys. You know Chris Jones was huge to to hold on to him in Kansas City. I mean, he's a. A A Super Bowl winning player. Man, I mean, he's he's made plays that have won that team Super Bowls. So you know, they held on to him. I mean, there's there's a bunch of very good football players that stayed where they were and, you know, not quite as exciting as the movement, but, you know, big deals.
Kelly:
Again, I'm not sure how impactful these guys will be, but two more running backs that moved around. Henry off to Baltimore.
Chris:
Yeah. So they've been trying to get him for.
Kelly:
And.
Chris:
Like 2 years.
Kelly:
Man, you know that may that may be the piece that will help push them to the. Next.
Chris:
Level well, and you know he's got a little gas left in the tank, right? Not a lot. But I mean, that dude has a lot of carries and a lot of hard carries. I mean, he was riding like Earl Campbell, right? Just, you know, Henry, right? Henry left Henry up the middle. Henry. Right. Henry left. Henry up the middle so. But he absolutely has some gas in the tank and he's going to a place that knows how to run the football, and he's never had what he's going to have there. In in a a running quarterback. So the what Lamar Jackson can do is absolutely gonna free up lanes if you don't pay some attention to Lamar Jackson, then then he'll tear you up. Right. So Derrick Henry's never had that. He's never had anyone to take the pressure off of him, and they got decent pass catchers. And that's a good football team with a good offensive line. Which he has had good offensive lines in his past. He didn't last year. Last year the Titans were one bottom bottom 7 or 8 lines in all of football, but in the past, he. Has and now he's going back to a situation where, hey, man, these guys can block. They're Maulers, you know, this is what Baltimore does, you know, for this is their identity. So Henry's a perfect fit. And they've known that. Like I said, they've been trying to get him for a couple of years and just haven't been able to get their hands on him. So now, you know, he's he's available. And I think it's going to work. Man, I think that. But. I you know, I don't know if it's just for a year, Kelly. I, you know, I don't know if you'll get two out of them. I mean, obviously you get diminishing returns as a as a running back ages. And then especially when you know factor in total carries and those types of things. But man, I I think that that is an excellent fit. And then the Saquon Barkley to Philly is another one that I just feel like hey, this is what they do, this is what they're built for. This is what they want to do. And that team has never had they've had some good backs, or they've had some backs that have played well for them. They've never had like a back like Saquon Barkley. And so he could not have gone to a better situation. Either you know where. Hey, man, we're built to run. This is what we want to do. This is this is who we are. And we have threats on the outside. You know, we have a quarterback who absolutely will scare teams. So you're not going to be, you know, 11 guys in the box like you were used to. You know, when you played for the Giants, man, you're going to have some room to run here in Philly. So that's another really big. Same guide that went to a new location and I think found a really nice home potentially.
Kelly:
I'm I am curious and kind of looking forward to seeing what. Baltimore does, with Derrick Henry, John Harbaugh, good coach and. Like to have what they have in their back pocket here because I've got, you know, defense has got to prepare for two great runners and one of who can, one of whom can throw the ball just as well. So it's not like you can key up on one guy. You know, oh, you think that you think Lamar is going to run it in? Well, just, you know, get it over to Henry or you fake it off to Henry and you still don't know? As Lamar running at it, you were passing it.
Chris:
Yeah, exactly.
Kelly:
And you know that, that, that indecision that you create, you know, is almost like another weapon when you've got that you bring in that indecision. You know, that's really another level. We'll see. I mean, a lot of things have to come together for all this. Any other big free? I mean we didn't we just kind of scratched some of them, but other free agents that intrigue you?
Chris:
I mean, there was some other movement and stuff that I I just kind of left me scratching my head a little bit. But you know, I Carolina letting Brian Burns go and it's like, what are you doing, man? Like you got one of the best young outside linebackers in all of football. You're you're a rebuilding team like he's he's he's young. He's. And he's your guy. You drafted him? Why would you? Why would you trade him to the Giants? You know? And it's like I I don't know. Bad franchises just make bad moves. The Titans given Calvin Ridley, he's like 30 years old. They give him a four year like 90 something $1,000,000 contract and it's like. Dude, if the guy couldn't succeed with Trevor Lawrence. I don't know, man. I mean, you know, you're paying them that kind of money and give them a four year deal. Not obviously these deals are always, you know. There's ways out of them and I, you know, I'm not dialed in enough to know exactly how each individual one is always structured. I do know kind of sort of rule with them is, you know, you can cut it in half, you know. That's generally about what?
Kelly:
Generally, you know, as a guy I've mentioned him on here a few times, former Packer executive still writes about sports. Andrew Grant would always say. You know, really most of these deals are two years and then we'll see no matter what the numbers say, correct. And he he he's open about this, he'll say that, you know, when he was doing these kind of deals with the Packers like, you know, the agents would come to him and say hey, are you OK if we say it like this? And he's like, yeah, I don't care because, you know, and it's really, I mean, there is the other side to free agency, right? Sometimes the salary cap thing, other times it is, you know, the team that knows them best has decided. They're not. What they were before and so not even you know, it's always interesting because of the the movement and the headline part of it. But you know, we could go back and look at free agent signings that have been absolute busts and there's probably as many, if not more. Those in the headline making ones that work out.
Chris:
Yeah, for sure. Well, I'll say this. I mean, I don't know if it's just, you know, me and my excitement or or what, but I I don't think I'm alone in that this for whatever reason. And NFL man, they just have a way of it does not matter what's going on in the world. They they still have a way of letting you know like hey, we're still in charge around here. Pay attention to us. You know, that's just we just eat it up. And and we all do. And yes, so this free agency period and and or legal tampering period followed by free agents, free agency and. You know, it just stirred up all kinds of intrigue and interest, and now I'm just salivating for the draft at this point, and I I've been as excited for this draft as any draft I can remember, just partly because of some of the movement that took place. But I think a lot of it and may it may be skewed towards the fantasy end of things a little bit, but there's so much. Talented skill position players coming out in this draft more than ever that that in my lifetime that I can remember. And so that it is drawn up, drawn up a lot of. Interest in in my mind, like, hey man, I'm curious because there's some. There's some dudes that I think are gonna be difference makers, right, from jump. And you know where they land is is going to be interesting. You know, are you going to be like Zach Charbonnet and get buried behind Kenneth Walker in Seattle or are you going to move into, you know, the Dallas tailback? Position that's wide open. Pollard left. They got they got, like, Deuce Vaughn on the roster. So, man, that that's a really good offense that all of a sudden, if a running back goes there. Man, that's a pretty good spot to go to. Like, you're probably gonna be able put up some some.
Kelly:
Numbers straight away so well. Don't worry. We all know Mike McCarthy likes to run the ball, especially in the second-half when he gets a little bit of a lead.
Chris:
You know. Right. So I think he's, you know, I I would assume this is going to be his last year. I assume the Cowboys will will fall on their face again in the playoffs and finally that that McCarthy will come to an end. But we'll see. I don't know.
Kelly:
We'll see well before our podcast come to an end. Just wanna touch on one other thing because. It actually starts this week. If you know, with a couple of games over in Korea, regular season baseball in a few days. Two games, the Padres and the Dodgers with Joey Attani, you know, making a start for the Dodgers.
Chris:
Yeah, and good for him. Come, come and, you know, recovering and coming back and we'll see what kind of year he has, you know. The Dodgers are absolutely they're worse than than the Yankees at this point. Man. I mean, you know, it's just. Baseball's tough for that, so I know we're we'll be doing our league. We'll be having our draft, you know, starting the league up this year, so that that'll be fun. And and we'll see how that goes. And you know, I'm sure they'll be a little bit of a learning curve for all of us. And you know, but hopefully it'll be fun. But yeah, I have more interest heading into the baseball season this year than I've generally had, you know? And. UM. You know, basketball is kind of winding down. Obviously we got March Madness. So yeah, we're on the brink of getting back into full swing. You know, between, you know, basketball playoffs, hockey playoffs, you know, baseball being a full swing, the Olympics going, I'm going to have quite a bit to talk about this summer. I think, Kelly.
Kelly:
I will say this about baseball, and you're talking to a guy, you know, who still remembers having a Mickey Mouse radio and listen. And to Merle Harmon and Bob Bucher, when I was like 5 or 6 on Brewer games. I am increasingly frustrated with the way that baseball works because the haves and the have nots and it's just unreal. And I I'm not faulting the halves but and I know that. Spending the money doesn't guarantee what's gonna happen, but it sure gives you a lot better chance. And the inequities I mean, and and what teams can play players. I just think that it. And the numbers I think I'd have to go run this for sure, but. You have so many the number of teams that have these, you know, win 100 games and then the teams that are close to losing 100, I think I'd bet. That's. Way more spread out than it used to be.
Chris:
Well, you know, I mean they they keep spending the money, obviously it's it must be working. They must be making it if they're spending it. But yeah, I'd the, you know. As much as we hate Aaron Jones going to the Vikings and and you know the movement in the NFL, you know there's something to be said about having parity in your league. And NFL was brilliant and recognizing that, you know, long time ago and saying, hey man every. You know, every team needs to feel like they have a chance, you know, and every fan base needs to feel like they have a chance. I mean, I get that LA's a big market. I get that. New York's a big market, you know, and there's some big markets out there, but we can't survive on these three or four markets alone. You know, it can't just be LA versus Chicago versus New York, right? We need the whole country. Involved and baseball. Just, I don't know, man. They just don't get it and for. For me and sounds like you and and you know a lot of fans, it's just kind of a turn off, dude. Like, I don't want one team to be able to buy everything, you know, you gotta earn it, you know, develop your farm system. You know, you, you know, have a better system in place that makes it competitive. So I'm not interested in watching the Dodgers play the Pirates. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. Just doesn't do anything for me. But I am interested in watching the Rams play the Steelers. You know what I mean? You know, markets can compete. Because you're you're good players are sprinkled throughout the league, man, right? And you know stuff cause because of the movement. You know what I mean? But, you know, baseball has all that movement as well. And it's just, yeah, I don't know, man, that the the way they run. Their. Business is not as I don't. I don't like it.
Kelly:
Well, Chris, you know thanks again for another entertaining conversation. Glad you got your bracket finished and we'll see how March Madness shakes out.
Chris:
Yeah. Yes, Sir. So again, I'll always enjoy talking with you, bud. And yeah, this was a fun conversation, and I'm excited. We'll have to get another one in. So, you know, things start real quick and you know by, you know, next week we will have already seen a bunch of. Confetti from all the brackets being ripped up and and all the upset so we don't know what where they're gonna be yet. But we know they're gonna happen.
Kelly:
Alright, you take some more notes on in addition to the other homework, want you to watch for the coolest celebrations.
Chris:
All right, I'll keep my eyes.
Kelly:
Peeled. All right, Chris. Thanks everyone for listening to another episode of the podcast to be named later.