Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
NFL Draft Preview | Nuggets Fire Mike Malone | Aston Villa’s Run-In and Rodrigo Muniz’s Hot Streak
18 Plays8 days ago
In this week’s episode of Who’s Got The Ball? the lads chat with Conall Diggin about the top prospects and some of the under the radar talent heading into this month’s NFL draft. The NBA topic of the week is the shock firing of Mike Malone by the Nuggets and then the lads wrapped up with a deep dive into the Aston Villa’s season run-in and the cracking form that Rodrigo Muniz has been in for Fulham.
Gan Seans continues with the score still at 21-12 to Shane & there is an update on the WGTB Multi-Sport Power Rankings.
Leave a review and subscribe to Who’s Got The Ball? to have every new weekly episode land in your inbox.
Conall’s Instagram & X: https://www.instagram.com/conall_diggin/ & https://x.com/conall_diggin.
Don’t forget to give us a follow across social media too!
Recommended
Transcript
Opening and Football Recap
00:00:09
Speaker
Right lads, welcome back to Who's Got The Ball, myself and Shane here. How's things, Shane? Good, can't complain. Once they did the job at the weekend, can did the decent thing, hopefully they can somehow go over there and do a decent thing again next weekend. Other than that, there was no football played because Liverpool lost, so we don't talk about it.
00:00:28
Speaker
And the Manchester Derby might as well not have been played. so Tragic stuff altogether. Incredibly bad, yeah. Wasn't even a Derby match. Nah, not at all. Even when there was a bit of fisticuffs there for like a second, they couldn't even follow through on that. like Yeah, literally nothing happened for 90 minutes. It was really, really impressive stuff. Other than that, all good. Can't really complain.
00:00:51
Speaker
yeah Yeah, it was a good win by Munster, as you mentioned. yeah Going over there and getting the win, and then you know you're going to have another big one over there. And if you win that, another a big one over there.
00:01:02
Speaker
France is the location to get to the final now if you need to get all the way. But yeah, a handy win for Leinster too. it' not real. There's no idea. Just so that was one of the easiest. It was actually embarrassing how easy it was from against Hardikman's like just it was like any time they wanted the score, we're just like, OK, let's go out another seven points there now and we'll just take a break then for five minutes to score another. Just yeah, Hardikman's didn't want that at all. Didn't want to be there.
Introducing Connell: College Football Expert
00:01:30
Speaker
They weren't in it at all. um I think they had root themselves very late to be honest before they even got there. was yeah We've got some some big topics to hit today so we're going to jump straight into it We've got a guest so let's go straight into that. lad So we're going to chat draft now with Connell. Connell does some of his own work with his own podcast and stuff but also he's got some stuff going on with Pro Football Ireland so my Myself and Shane aren't going to pretend that we're we're college football experts, but this man knows what he's talking about, so he's going to guide us through now some of the top prospects. So appreciate you for coming on, man. How's things?
00:02:05
Speaker
Yeah, it's all going very good at the moment. and ah we I'll be heading to the draft in, when is it, two weeks now? So that'll be you know that that that would be i mean that that would be a massive experience for us, at least. and It's the first one we've got to go to, so really looking forward to that and You know, it's kind of, it's very rewarding, you know, when you get to watch players the whole year and then everyone's like, okay, I think this guy's good. And you're like, oh, hang on. I've i've seen him play. Like, I know what this guy's good at and he's not good at. But then you're also going back and being like, okay, I was actually a bit wrong about this guy. And he, you know, he's much better than I thought. Or especially some of the smaller school guys, because, you know, you can't, yeah like, it's impossible, especially if you're in Ireland, to watch every single match. Yeah.
00:02:48
Speaker
and you're really just trying to get the the key ones every every few weeks. And, you know, like you do miss a couple of guys and there's a couple of guys here that I wasn't, you know, I was familiar with me with their names, but not, you know, not watching them. But there's a lot of really good players in this draft, especially at like a lot of different positions as well.
00:03:06
Speaker
Yeah. and But yeah, it's class having a any Irish media over at the draft, but especially so for yourself, like if you're going to be there in person and obviously you've been asked games college games in ireland and in the us which is absolutely unreal like it's just as you said to see things in flesh the flesh and you're kind of building up your um i suppose but what your takes are on things um which is really interesting so it's a pleasure to have you on i'm i'm just going to quickly run through for everybody listening i'm just going to run through the top 10 um picks coming up in the draft in a few weeks so who has what
00:03:44
Speaker
In case you're unsure, guys,
NFL Draft Picks and Strategies
00:03:46
Speaker
it's... So we got the Titans at number one, Cleveland Browns number two, New York Giants for my gorgeous Giants at three, New England Patriots at four, Jags at five, Las Vegas Raiders at six, Shane's Jets at seven, God help us, we're voting the top ten, Panthers at eight, Saints at nine, and the Bears at ten. So i think, like, if you look anywhere in terms of what...
00:04:13
Speaker
the Titans need, first of all, but also what everyone is projecting. It seems to be Cam Ward, number one. Are you following on that line too? Yeah, he he's he's not the best player in this draft. like If you go on a pure... you know who's If you're going best player available, he's not the best player, but because general quarterback is the most important position and a team as well, like you watched them last year, like the Will Levis experience, the Mason Rudolph experience didn't really work out. and I was a bit of ah you know, Will Levis apologize apologizer.
00:04:45
Speaker
And I do think there there is a chance just deep down, I think they might not even, like, I think they might, no, not about Will Levis. I think they might just stick with him another year and just see if they can get, because next year's quarterbacks look at least a bit better, you know, with Arch Manning and, you know, some of the other guys coming through. Although with Arch Manning, we still don't even know if he's actually good or not. He's played so little.
00:05:07
Speaker
But then, but Yeah, Cam Ward, I mean, the the best comparison, probably ah it like his ceiling or kind of his best comparison is sort of like a a Jordan Love sort of quarterback where, you know, he's going to turn the ball over. His you know his footwork, all that sort of stuff isn't great, but like you see the way he plays, he's really athletic.
00:05:28
Speaker
He works really well, especially off script. Like he knows what he's doing. mean, he threw, you know, someone will be through like 50-something touchdowns this year. it's It's weird because like some of the games where they were putting up a load of points, um they were maybe inflating his numbers a bit. I think it was against Duke or or something like that.
00:05:45
Speaker
They were playing they were playing a game and they had it won within like the last two minutes. They were fairly home and dry and they were still going for it They were passing for it. like There was five yards until the goal line and they were just passing the ball.
00:05:57
Speaker
and i actually i think he ended up fumbling it anyway. and so and that That has been a concern as well. People are worried about the fumbles. but and You know, that's not something I'm too worried about. Like, it's only really in the NFL that I start worrying about fumbles and all that.
00:06:10
Speaker
and But I think he's an amazing player. He doesn't have, you know, a top five quarterback in the league sort of arm, but it's, you know, it's perfectly serviceable. You know, he has a lot of growing, I think, left to do, which I think is honestly would really help him.
00:06:25
Speaker
um especially, you know, with Callahan there as the head coach. I think he's shown that he can really, you know, coach quarterbacks like he did in it with the Bengals as well. And, you know, his dad is coaching the offensive line and he's one of the best, you know, of all time.
00:06:41
Speaker
So you have their, their structure there. They have some really good weapons, especially in Tennessee as well. So I think he's being set up, I think fairly well to succeed, which is something you don't really see a lot with, you know, quarterbacks. I mean,
00:06:55
Speaker
You can look at Drake May last year where he was kind of just thrown into the fire and did you know extremely well given the circumstances. But you know it's a Cam Ward, maybe you know in his first season, there'll be couple of bumps. But I think as the year goes on, I think he'll get a lot more comfortable. And I think he he'll be a good quarterback in the NFL.
00:07:15
Speaker
Yeah, i I was actually pretty high on the Titans last year. i'm a kind of I thought after the rough start they had, I still thought that they had some of the pieces there. obviously I was miles off in the end, but yeah, i was on a similar boat to you that I thought Will Levis could possibly turn this thing around a little bit and get them to close to winning season, but obviously not. But I think slotting somebody like Cam Ward, like you said, he's not going to light the world on fire, but he has decent ceiling and it's an improvement and it's going to get a buzz in Tennessee as well, which is something they haven't had in a little while. So I think it's, it's nice. It would be nice to see him land there. I think,
00:07:54
Speaker
You touched on the fact that he's probably not the best player in the draft, but I think you probably will touch on who it is next. But I think two, three, four are quite an interesting run of picks here where things could go. So who do you think is is number one in your eyes in terms of talent, but also what way do you see that little run going of picks?
00:08:16
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's i so I kind of messing around earlier, just like before this being like, okay, if I did like just a quick mock draft, what would I pick or who would I pick for each team? And I think there was a thing that came out last night or the night before that said the Browns intend on taking Travis Hunter.
00:08:34
Speaker
And I think Travis Hunter is, I think he's the best player in the draft. Like, i think there was a... someone tweeted out where it was like the last time a wide receiver picked was picked you know this high was Calvin Johnson. And then like, the last I can't remember the last cornerback taken this high, but the fact that there hasn't been a cornerback taken, you know, with like a top three pick in however long is insane. And the fact that this guy is not only an amazing wide receiver, but also an amazing cornerback.
00:09:02
Speaker
The old Tanny of the NFL. Yeah, exactly. I mean, he's an insane, insane player. And like... there was a while I was like, okay, people have been putting...
00:09:13
Speaker
having put in Abdul Carter as the best player in this draft. But I think if you're the best player in two positions, I think the only knock you can really have on on Travis Hunter is the fact that he can't commit more time to being a better cornerback or being a better wide receiver. That's the only knock like you can you can put on his skill. And even then, he's the best player in the draft of two positions.
00:09:34
Speaker
like That's insane. And I think the Browns GM, Andrew Barry, I think he said that he sees Hunter as a wide receiver just like whenever I think whenever the pro day was last week, I think he got interviewed and he said that. But he he's a really special player.
00:09:51
Speaker
um Some of the best hands you'll ever see, whether it be defensively or on the offensive side as well. like he he just He's going to get interceptions and he's going to make really difficult catches you know to to get a touchdown. like That's how good a player he is.
00:10:03
Speaker
He just moves so easily. He has amazing coverage in man or zone as well. There was and one of the games where he's literally... Like he's left alone on the side of the field. And one of the safeties is like overcommitted basically into the middle of the field.
00:10:17
Speaker
And he's having to guard two guys at one time. And because he's Travis Hunter, you know, like he's going to be able to run as far back as he needs to, to get the guy over the top or just tackle the guy for a short game. Like he, you know, it's in a, it's a, it's a no lose situation with him out there.
00:10:33
Speaker
And again, like the, as I said, the only downside to having him on your team is that you have to decide you know, where you want to train him more at. But I think in the NFL as well, like they're you're going to have to, you just have to see which one he's better at. And if he's still amazing at both positions, you just keep playing him.
00:10:51
Speaker
And until it becomes basically a health issue for him, where like he he just can't take the physical strain of it, you then like pull back on one or, you know, try and even it out between the two of them.
00:11:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think we were kind of discussing this before when we were talking about, yeah I think it was a bit a buzz for a while, that he could end up at the Giants when Edwell Carter was tipped to go to the Browns. But yeah, now it seems like it could reverse that.
00:11:19
Speaker
But yeah, I would have loved him at the Giants. I think I mentioned to you Shane, like, ah well, he would fit in on... we were both speaking on teams that needed, but needed two positions. Like as somebody who can cover two positions, the giants are a prime example of that. yeah, so yeah I think from, we were, we were talking as well. We had him in as like we both thought that he would end up playing corner.
00:11:42
Speaker
was required would so his He is the elite hands of a wide receiver in corner will be unreal for a team who has struggles kind of defensively over the last couple of years. If you had a corner that came in there, it would make a world of difference to defense. Then you try and just build around that then.
00:11:57
Speaker
That's the thing, because I think he is a more natural corner anyway. And I think... At least if, let's say you're in like a training load, I'd much rather him train more as a cornerback because I feel like if you're a wide receiver, like especially with how just good of an athlete he is, he's going to find ways to get open and, you know, catch the ball anyway.
00:12:16
Speaker
Whether he has the, you know, chemistry with a quarterback, that's kind of a different thing. But I do think, training him more as a cornerback is probably more beneficial but then like whenever I'm watching stuff or you watch just even highlights and you see the catch he makes like offensively you're like that would be such a waste like to you know yeah yeah especially in a league that's predominantly offense first I think in terms of the minds of those consuming and also broadcasting the sport I think yeah to give up on a talent like that I think it could be a possibility that not to say
00:12:52
Speaker
before somebody's in the league that it won't work out. But if Cam Ward didn't really work out and we're looking at Travis Hunter being like an elite talent on both sides, the Titans fans will be scratching their heads. Like how do we let this guy go?
00:13:06
Speaker
And even the fact that, you know, maybe with the next pick, the Giants would, you know, get Abdul Carter, who by all intensive purposes looks like he's going to be, you know, a game breaker. I mean, everyone has been putting these guys one and two, you know, since the end of the season, basically. Like, they're two amazing players.
00:13:25
Speaker
Abdul Carter as well. Like, basically, like the one... you know comparison everyone's been making is the Micah Parsons thing, obviously because yeah they went to the same college, they're about the same size, you know both played linebacker at Penn State but then kind of converted to more edge rusher roles, albeit Abdul Carter actually played more edge rusher in college than Micah Parsons got to do. So I think he kind of probably comes in a bit more refined as a pass rusher, which is something you know if you told someone coming out of the draft that
00:13:56
Speaker
Micah Parsons, if you told someone a couple of years ago you're getting a more refined pass versus Micah Parsons, I think they would you know they'd be worried about how good this player is. and You only really worry about him really in the run game just because he's a little bit shorter, but because he's so good at everything else, I don't really think that matters that much. and even I think it was the yeah it's the Boise State playoff game.
00:14:19
Speaker
i mean he was just He was causing havoc. and I know you know that Boise State line isn't going to be have NFL-level talent and on it, But he's you know mixing and matching. He can go against guards. He can go against tackles. he It really doesn't matter. he's going to beat whoever's in front of him.
00:14:32
Speaker
And I don't think that changes in the NFL. Whether the Giants take him, I think that's that's really the question. I'm honestly worried about that right now. the They have some good pass rushers, but it's like I think you do just have to take best player available. yeah yeah And there's quarterbacks in this draft that are fine. like They're not great.
00:14:55
Speaker
um But there's, I mean, there's even a chance that it's supposedly people are saying that Shredder Sanders won't get past like the Saints at nine or something around that range. And even then, if I was the Saints, personally, I wouldn't take him. I'd just wait until next year.
00:15:11
Speaker
yeah But like, he's a good player there. I definitely have some concerns with him, but I think if you're the Giants, you just need to pick best player available and just see, like, just throw throw a second round pick at a quarterback. Or if you read if you think Jackson Dart is a good player, um just trade up at the end of the first round and try and pick him up.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think the the fact of the only reason it worries me as well is I don't think the Giants are going to take Shador, to be honest. I obviously don't, but I think I could see them going...
00:15:45
Speaker
de-tackle maybe here because we are a little bit light on the inside the interior defensive line and said we have strong edge rushers already but I don't think I think ah cut another compliment to that set of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeau who hasn't lived up to his potential so far I think yeah could only be a good thing and it would probably help Kayvon but the thing I'm a little bit is in my mind as well as how the Giants have been reluctant to take anybody with some kind of injury issue.
00:16:17
Speaker
And it's come out in recent weeks that there's this issue with his foot. Now, I don't think it's been overly something that a lot of teams are concerned about, but it is a Giants thing to overblow an issue like that.
00:16:28
Speaker
And that's like a little bit of a concern for me. I'm just waiting for them to pick. I'm looking through the list here, like, who would be the the weirdest player they could pick. They could pick Tyler Warren. He's a really good player. Tyler Warren's a really good player, but it it would be them to pick a tight end and with the third overall pick.
00:16:46
Speaker
It really would. And that would... honestly break my heart so but look i think yeah we've kind of touched on the best three guys there i mentioned d tackle do you think that mason graham is probably the best dt available yeah mason graham i think especially all as an all-around player is definitely the best because you know the rest of them and you know they're either a good run defender or they're a good pass rusher and then there's you know the other side of their game is a bit of a weakness but Mason Graham I was listening to you know I like to just listen to different podcasts you know about different stuff just to hear other people's input and one of them described to him as just like basically a big ball of energy like he never he doesn't take a playoff he even I think he had an ankle injury the majority of this year and he still had like all this power and strength going through and he he gets a really good like pad level so he's you know he's able to basically beat guys he's able to beat pass rushers you know
00:17:41
Speaker
to the punch and you he'll either break through and break up the run or he'll break through and cause a little bit of pressure on the quarterback as well and that's something as well he's he's only going to get better out as well i think that can that ankle injury definitely didn't help him when it came to like real speed off the line which is something you'd want more to get to the quarterback rather than get into a running back they still have to wait for the hole to develop so he he'll be a really big player. I'd be interested, you know, like yeah I can't see him going past like the number five pick really, like, but either any of the Giants, Patriots or Jaguars are are going to pick him up just because, especially, you know, you're looking at the,
00:18:19
Speaker
how how good the Eagles did the past couple of years, a lot of that is built on, you know, defensive line pressure and having so many guys that they can swap in to those positions. Just adding all these guys, you know, has proved to be really important. And, you know, the Eagles spent their first round pick two years ago on Jalen Carter. And I'm not saying, yeah you know, he's as good as Jalen Carter is, but there's you know there's similarities, especially in, you know, how aggressive they are to to try and get to the ball.
00:18:48
Speaker
Yeah. The main one for me is... Oh, sorry. Go ahead, man. I'm just going to say, him so even more on him. So you said you can see him going past five. Yeah. So if you don't see him going past five, if where do you see Austin Gentry dropping to on top of that then kind of, or...
00:19:04
Speaker
for him going ahead of him. it's still i the The problem, is like literally the only problem Gentry has is Gentry is probably the third or fourth best player in this and this draft.
00:19:15
Speaker
But his only problem, and it's the same for you know Tyler Warren at tight end, is that these guys are like some of the best players in this draft, but just their positions are just not valued and enough. But the only thing is that you know We're seeing, especially this past year, how valuable having a good running back is.
00:19:32
Speaker
right and i know that will hurt a bit for you, James, to hear that. you know it is It is true. and the The only problem as well that he has there so many good running backs in this year's draft.
00:19:45
Speaker
But it looks like, you know, he I can't see him if he falls to the the Bears at 10. Yeah, that's an interesting one on my mind. think they could even trade up possibly for him.
00:19:56
Speaker
yeah Yeah, the only thing I'd have against them picking him is that they just need to, like, fix their offensive line even more than, you know, they've added amazingly on the interior of the offensive line, but the tackles are still a bit...
00:20:09
Speaker
shaky and if a player like a you know a Membu or a Will Campbell fell to them would I value taking one of those kind of top tackles overtaking Ashton Gentry that's the problem but really I do think though the most Cowboys thing ever is if he ever if it falls to 12, they're picking him. like I i yeah bet my house on it. like If he falls to them, they're going to pick him because he's it's the most Cowboys thing ever. I mean, they took Ezekiel Elliott probably like eight years ago now with you know a top five pick.
00:20:41
Speaker
And you know that obviously worked really well until they gave him the extension. But he's... you know he's Yeah, he's he's an amazing player. they Literally the only problem that people have with him is that he just didn't show enough as a pass catcher.
00:20:56
Speaker
But the only problem I have with people saying that is you just don't get to see him that much as a pass catcher because he's such a good runner, you know, in between the tackles anyway. So there's no need to to use him like that. I mean, he's one of the best players ever. I mean, he had the second best running back season ever after Barry Sanders, which is, you know, that goes to show the level of that he's at.
00:21:16
Speaker
There's nobody's absolutely nobody was slowing him down. there's real need to to strategy. But I think, Shane, he's the would look at that don't think I don't think don't think so. don't but i think think I think think don't don't think don't think think think so. don't think don't think think don't so. I think so. don't think don't think don't don't think don't think don't so. don't don't so. I don't don't think I think don't think I don't so. don't think think don't think think so. don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think don't think I don't think If you pair him with Quinn and Williams as well.
00:21:47
Speaker
um yeah Yeah, exactly. and we are like yeah no one's You're not going to be able to run or you know do anything up the middle against them. like it It's going to be really difficult. I just think thank you for me, I just can't see Vrabel letting him fall if he's still there.
00:22:03
Speaker
I think he'll want him a lot for that Patriots defense, even though they do need weapons. I'm sure Patriots fans would love offensive talent to be at it, but I think and a guy like him to the team no just makes so much sense.
00:22:17
Speaker
I know Will Campbell is obviously strong offensive tackle available. but i I don't know. The Jags do need to add in that position too. So God, there's so many moving pieces.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yeah, and especially because in this year's draft, like once you get to kind of about pick 12 or 13, lot of the team needs are very similar.
00:22:42
Speaker
And you know there's not there is a bit of a gap between the top one or two guys at every position. And then you know the next kind of three, four, five guys are all about a similar level. And it's just which type of player do you want? you know If you're looking at receivers...
00:22:57
Speaker
You know, there's, you know, ah there's Travis Hunter and Ted Rowe and McMillan as kind of the top two receivers, right? And then you have a lot of slot guys or big outside receivers. There's no, there's no one who's kind of a good all rounder in the field. there same with kind of your pass rushers they're either a great speed rusher or a great power rusher and then that's that's kind of it so it's really what what do you think this player has you know from a developmental standpoint as well as how do they fit into your team like that I think we're going to see a lot more of that this year as well as you know some of the players getting picked this year as well are at
00:23:37
Speaker
you know Less valuable positions. you know We already said about the tight ends, the running backs. There's some really good safeties in this year's draft, good linebackers in this year's draft. so does it it's going to you know We're going to see i think some players who maybe people have graded as kind of second round picks.
00:23:52
Speaker
Falling into, you know, the the the end of the first round, not because they're bad players, but because the positional value that those players might have is worth a first round pick rather than picking, you know, a safety who is still going to be really good in the NFL. But I would rather spend my my early second round pick on them.
00:24:13
Speaker
Yeah, so what you're saying is that there's going to be an unbelievable player fall right into Howie Roseman's lap once again? Probably. like well i think that just is guaranteed to happen no matter what the draft is. but and Or he'll just end up trading up for one. He'll probably trade up to, don't whatever pick, 23 with the Packers. Actually, no, the Packers, to be fair, since they're hosting the draft...
00:24:34
Speaker
they'll have to make their pick. yeah so But there's someone, there's going to be, I think, especially at the end of the first round, there'll be a lot of chopping and changing of picks. In particular, I think a lot of the teams who are at the top of the draft will be wanting to maybe get another one or two players at the end of the first round.
00:24:50
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Well, we're all really looking forward to draft day and we really appreciate you coming on and kind of breaking down some of the top talent for everybody listening and also kind of going into detail about what positions there's there's depth there because I think that's quite an interesting one this time around.
NBA Team Dynamics and Management Changes
00:25:08
Speaker
There's maybe not the big names since the quarterback class is a little bit weaker, but you know you have depth there, as you mentioned, in a lot of positions, including we have a lot of DTs and running backs available, which I'm really interested in seeing how these running backs pass this year. But I think the last thing I want to kind of round up on – Is there anyone you see being a very, very like sneaky talent that might slip into the second round that we might see in a couple of years' time?
00:25:34
Speaker
Okay, yeah. So i have I have a lot of... So i have like a big like just list of players. I'm going to run through just my list of players. It's like done quarterback, so it's through position. And like when I see a player, I'll just call it out.
00:25:46
Speaker
ah like they're Obviously, a quarterback, Jalen Milrow, He has like one of the highest ceilings that there could be. a I think um when it comes to like explosive runs from a quarterback, he has more explosive runs and explosive runs for touchdowns.
00:26:00
Speaker
He had more than Lamar Jackson, so he had the most of all time. The the next one down is Lamar Jackson, so he's that level of athlete. I think he ran like a four three something. at his pro day. like he's He's an insane athlete.
00:26:11
Speaker
He throws the ball. like the way His deep ball is amazing. He just can't throw. if if But if there's a pass between 5 and 15 yards, it's going to be an incompletion. like he's such ah He's such a weird player.
00:26:23
Speaker
but like so like You're watching him and you're like, he's amazing. He looks a jet to me. Yeah, if you watch honest if you watch the first half of his game against Georgia, you think he's like one of the best quarterbacks we'll have ever seen. And then if you watch his game, his entire game against Oklahoma at the end of the year, a bad Oklahoma team, you'll think he's, you know, you think how is this guy even in consideration to go to the NFL?
00:26:45
Speaker
he's He's such a strange player. um At running back, there's honestly like too many players to count. Like this is one of the best, considering last year was a horrible running back class. This year, like you're going to find a really good running back like when you get into the fifth round. like That's how deep it is this year.
00:27:01
Speaker
Cam Scatterbow is probably going to fall a little bit further down than people might think just because there's some workload concerns and injury concerns with him. But he's an amazing player.
00:27:12
Speaker
For wide receiver, my favourite player in this entire draft... um is Jaden Higgins. i excited We had to watch a lot of Iowa State and Kansas State this year games this year because they're obviously playing in Ireland next year.
00:27:24
Speaker
And him and the other wide receiver on the team, Jalen Noel, like they're going to make some team very happy. and There's a chance one one of them might go late first round, but definitely like by the second round, both of them, have they'll be gone. I think they're two really, really amazing players.
00:27:42
Speaker
On the offensive line, Josh Connerly, he might go late first round or early second round. He's from Oregon. Very good offensive tackle, just like really solid all around. There's not really any weakness to his game, but he might not have you know the highest ceiling. But I think if the if the chief if he falls to the Chiefs, I think they'd be stupid not to take you know a player like him, especially with their offensive line need.
00:28:05
Speaker
and There's Charles Grant. He played at a really small school, William & Mary. yeah i think he only started playing football when he was like 17 years old. But he has a lot of people are kind of talking about him as a really impressive player um on the...
00:28:21
Speaker
on the edge rushers, edge rushers, Donovan Razoriku. So he's a defensive, he I think he led the country in sacks last year and he had like 80 tackles total. He had the most tackles for loss in the ACC this year. He played for Boston College He's a really good player. He's a little bit shorter. I think he's about the same height as Abdul Carter.
00:28:42
Speaker
And he's basically just a ah ah worse version of Abdul Carter is kind of the best way to put him. But I think he has a really high floor. And I think if you get the right team picks him up like late in the first round, he's goingnna he's going to be a really good player, I think. you And then as a player who's got a lot of... and A lot of interest in this part of the draft is Carson Schwestinger.
00:29:04
Speaker
He's a linebacker from UCLA. He'll probably go in the second round. but so He's not very strong. he was like a walk-on, so he didn't even get a scholarship to play college football. He just kind of you know enrolled in the college and you know showed up to training and got on the team.
00:29:18
Speaker
And he didn't start until this year. And know now he's going to be you know a second round pick, you know which is you know an incredible rise for him. But he's really he everyone has been talking about how smart a player he is. He interviewed really well.
00:29:32
Speaker
And you know even from watching him, you can see how quickly he diagnoses where runs are going to go, where passes are going to go. And he just has that extra step because he knows what's going on all around the field. And he's not going to be the best against the run.
00:29:45
Speaker
But if you have him in you know a pass possession, like he's going to do a really good job of covering the wide receiver or the tight end. And then you know if I'm just looking you know finally at some cornerbacks, Siobhan Ravel.
00:29:59
Speaker
and So he was at East Carolina and he was seen as kind of a top 10 pick before the year started. But he tore his ACL in like the second or third game this year. So there's no you know there's no tape on him for this year. or And he probably won't play until very early in the season. He might miss the first couple of weeks.
00:30:15
Speaker
But he's an amazing player. He played for a really small school, but he's like 6'3". and i was listening to someone talk about him. They were like, basically, he said he had to like slow down the how he runs when he was guarding receivers because he would be faster than the receiver.
00:30:30
Speaker
you know And he this guy's six foot three and someone's probably going to get him the late first, early second round And, you know, you might have to wait for him to to get healthy. But when he gets healthy, he's going to be a really good, you know, a really good cornerback. So there's a lot of really good players that, you know, I'm looking for in this draft. And I think, you know, you're you're getting a lot of value for money. I think especially in the second and third round of this draft, you're going to see a lot of value for money. It's not like last year where kind of once you got to the fourth round or fifth round, a lot of the best players were taken.
00:31:03
Speaker
But this year, there's I think there's plenty of value for money. Yeah. Oh, well, thank you. but Thanks a million for breaking that down. Those are definitely names we're keeping an eye on. I like the sound of this Ravel quarterback, our cornerback. I think the Giants, if the Giants were looking to go cornerback, which we do need to, didn't get a if we didn't get that Hunter, that might be something in the early second. But yeah, really appreciate you coming on, man.
00:31:27
Speaker
um And yeah, sure. Best of luck at the draft. would be We'll be keeping an eye out for all your stuff. I'm going to plug everything for Conal down below. We'll add all the links to his Instagram and and things like that. So thanks again. and we'll We'll chat to again.
00:31:42
Speaker
Thanks very much. Cheers, Conal. Okay, that was quality. We got a lot of breakdown on some and some prospects, the top guys, and also some people to look out for. So thanks again to Connell for that.
00:31:54
Speaker
We're going to jump into the NBA because as we were recording there with Connell, straight after it, he let us know that he got a notification that Mike Malone was fired um from the Nuggets. So...
00:32:06
Speaker
This is what we're going to hit today in the and NBA because this is just absolutely ridiculous. I cannot believe it. Ten-year head coach, obviously won the championship a couple of years back. GM Calvin Booth fired as well. So what the what do you think about is the crack with this?
00:32:20
Speaker
First of all, I'm mostly annoyed because I was really looking forward to talking about the Rockets, Joe Clinton, the Tuesday and everything, got everything written down. And then this popped up and I was like, well... It's very hard to kind of skip past this now. I can't make sense of it.
00:32:34
Speaker
And Sack in boot as well, it just makes it double kind of makes it double strange because apparently they weren't seen eye to eye. So it makes sense if if one of them was fired, other one was kept on. That would make sense because then to be like, like they're going in in one direction.
00:32:48
Speaker
But Sack in the two of them to bring in a full new structure is just it's baffling. Like 47 and 32, they're going to make the playoffs, obviously. Now they're going to be going into playoffs with, apparently with David Edelman, who was the assistant coach who's never had a head coaching job.
00:33:05
Speaker
Yeah. Like, what if whatever bounce was the Grizzlies did last week, this is 100 times worse than what the Grizzlies did because, so like, ah yeah i I was afraid of the Nuggets going into this. Like, know I thought there were they were good, so good, good chance of winning this. and Like, as an outside better, definitely reaching the conference finals.
00:33:26
Speaker
You can just, you can rule out now. You can pretty much rule them out because honestly just it's it's madness. It's absolute madness. I just can't can't get my head around this. Yeah, I think it doesn't it doesn't make sense, like you said, that they went double.
00:33:41
Speaker
Like, you either go one way or the other if two lads aren't seeing an eye to eye. It's another kind of thing with the Kings, like earlier in the season when they were saying... which now apparently isn't true, but they were saying that the Aaron Fox and Mike Brown weren't seeing eye to eye.
00:33:53
Speaker
So then they fired Mike Brown and then they traded away Fox then like shortly after. so it's like you're doing one or the other, but this, I think now it's come out a little bit.
00:34:05
Speaker
Some of the things I said to you guys yesterday when that came out, I was like, there's going to be stuff coming out about this because this isn't like... it like Usually with the Jenkins one, you'd expect something after to be like, oh, this was happening. But they just ultimately were going to do that at some stage and they did it.
00:34:19
Speaker
but But this one, it's ultimately like... what is going on. like Something has to go wrong, has to be going wrong. so i think I saw a couple of reports that the reason, obviously, Booth was fired is because there's absolutely no depth in the roster. like They let Caldwell Pope go.
00:34:37
Speaker
They didn't replace him at all Then they let other key pieces like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green go, who were part of that championship winning team. But then there was this talk that you know Christian Brown, who has taken a step up this year, but other guys like Strother,
00:34:51
Speaker
um are are going to step up into this team and and make that leap. But they they haven't. And they haven't the depth there. As we talked a couple of weeks ago about Murray, he's not pulling his weight.
00:35:02
Speaker
Lukic isn't happy with but the squad. So kind of it's like, okay, then maybe this does make sense, but but not now. and As we kind of talked with Jenkins, now is a bad time. And this is doubly bad because these lads just won a title two years ago. It's not like Jenkins, who's been there for youngs and hasn't done a thing.
00:35:22
Speaker
Yeah, like that is the strangest part. it's that he's He's been there for 10 years. like give him it's another It's probably six weeks left. I don't know how long he's left in season. It's not that long. Give him the two months to the end of the season and then sack up the season.
00:35:36
Speaker
You've been winning records. You're in the playoffs. You're even looking at a play-in. You're secure. I'm pretty sure you're top four secure. Maybe not because there's a lot of teams on the same record. but Like everything is in place for you to have a good end to the season and then reassess in the summer.
00:35:50
Speaker
Like sacking the head coach and the GM this late in the year, it's it's it's baffling. It really is baffling. It makes no sense for him to do. You've already started your your draft process as well, which is madness because you just sacked your GM and you have your draft process in place already like.
00:36:08
Speaker
Yeah, if you're going to sack him, then you do it a while ago. If you're going to sack your head coach, until the end season. like You don't do them both at the the end of August. There's three games left in the regular season. yeah like Yeah, no. It doesn't make any sense.
00:36:21
Speaker
like I understand they have been quite average without Jokic, and Jermaine Murray hasn't stood up. but joe As you said when we were talking about him, the potential he he should be able to stand up, but he just hasn't stood up. And I understand that. But...
00:36:34
Speaker
like The job that Mike Malone was doing with him this year, I think, for the players he had, so the the fact that there's so many players injured at the moment, it's just it's it's I'd say the fans are just angry, confused, confused,
00:36:48
Speaker
Just, I'd be fuming if I was a Nuggets fan because your player hopes are just non-existing now. Forget about it. There's no point even going. there's there is no so i think there's no real hope for them now because it's just blown the whole thing up and it's not even the chance of, like, even with the Grizzlies, you could say, okay, they had this guy in the background who maybe didn't have much control.
00:37:09
Speaker
He has his own ideas and then they just brought him in. But this situation now with Adelman and he's like the assistant coach, they're going to be playing the same way. it's still not going to work. And as you mentioned, they probably would have got a top four seed because I think they had the tiebreaker over a number of teams, even if they did finish on the same record.
00:37:27
Speaker
So this season has been madness with some of the stuff, like not even on the court that's happened. These two firings, the Mike Brown one earlier in the season, some of the trades we saw, like it's been nuts.
00:37:38
Speaker
But there was some quotes just after the Blazers game, I think it was like a month ago, that I thought were really telling of how he felt and maybe laid the groundwork to something like that.
00:37:49
Speaker
But like he said after that game, I don't think we played with any pride tonight. My job is to evaluate how they take things. My job is to be honest, sometimes brutally honest.
00:38:01
Speaker
Tonight was a brutally honest message that the guys are full of shit. He said, they'll say the coach is tripping, the guys that really do care well, because they're not going to go back and watch their minutes because nobody watches their minutes. Nobody watches their film.
00:38:14
Speaker
So we'll have to show them the film. And I said, if somebody disagrees with me, please speak up. And nobody said a word. So I'm not really concerned with how they took my message. My thing is being honest. And that's how just just how we played.
00:38:26
Speaker
like What on the earth is that to say after a game? And yeah at the time, i was like, okay, he's being super harsh. He's just throwing things out there. But now, looking back on it, he literally just said that the players don't watch the tape and that they don't put in the effort.
00:38:39
Speaker
Yeah, he he was basically saying there that... Yeah, d these guys don't want this, is basically what they're saying. And sometimes you do that as a kind of, like, you give them a kick up the hole kind of thing. It's like, oh, they'll, I'll say this now and they'll go and they're like, oh, I'm going to go prove him wrong now. And then they'll go on a fun game and win in streak. Whereas looking back then now, it looks like he was saying it and meant every word that they actually do didn't care.
00:39:00
Speaker
Like they didn't care, they wanted to be there. And like, maybe... know, as you said, something would come out about this and it could be that it comes out and he said, I want to go. He's like, he might have told him he wants to go at the end of the season. They're like, no, I'll just go now.
00:39:13
Speaker
Something like that could come out. It could be something like that where just like, I'm not bringing this shower of clowns into the playoffs now, I guess. So I don't want to do it. So it could be that as well. But... Yeah, I think so.
00:39:26
Speaker
We'll have to find out. but like nice and I think there's a lot of stuff that he was giving Murray and Jokic a bit of preferential treatment. You can understand Jokic, best player in the world, but like yeah murray those things that he said from the outside seem like they apply to Murray, but maybe not.
00:39:42
Speaker
so I don't know. It's absolutely nuts. If you don't have anything else on that absolute bit of madness, we'll move on to Ganshan's. Yeah, i just one last thing. so I just think like their schedule to end the season is Houses at home, Kings away, Grizzlies at home, Rockets away.
00:39:58
Speaker
like They can very easily win three, if not four of them. The Rockets have the two Cs kind of clinched now, so they might rest a couple of lads for the last game. They'll give Reid Shepard a star. like they They could very easily still get the three seed.
00:40:11
Speaker
Definitely the four seed is still there for them. And to fire your head coach at this stage now with those four games left is just... It's maddening. It's like you dream of when Brighton sat Chris Hewton and everyone was up in arms. They're like, how on earth have they made this decision?
00:40:25
Speaker
so It's worked out them in the end and maybe this will work out for them in the end as well. It's one of those that no one can understand the reasoning behind it at the time. No, not at all. And actually, nicely leading into Ganshan's.
00:40:37
Speaker
I was going to pick them against the Rockets on Sunday because there's a five-game gap right now. yeah But now I don't trust them a bit because even though I do think the Rockets will rest guys because obviously they have the two seats sewn up, I don't trust that these guys are going to be playing...
00:40:51
Speaker
in any way of of a good mindset so i was just like no i can't add that anymore but we we dropped two duck eggs last week again really bad impressive doing two zeros for us so you're still nine points in the lead and the league is slowly ticking towards an end so i need to make get my skates on here a bit so uh do you want me to go ahead and give mine yeah i'll let you go first this week as they catch the chaser Yeah, I'm going with a Palace to beat City away on Saturday. So I'm putting my money where my mouth is with all the talk I was doing about Palace last week.
00:41:25
Speaker
They're and City are 8-15. So I think it's a pretty good price, to be honest. 4.5-1 for Palace. Maybe worth a bet as well, just outright because it's such a...
00:41:36
Speaker
such a good price but they've only lost once since the new year since christmas so look i think they're worth their worth a shout here and i do fancy them i think they're very good at the moment and city mixed bag all season and they barely put any bit of effort in against united so I think Paulus could catch them on the hop here.
00:41:54
Speaker
Then I've gone with two NBA games. I've gone with a bit of a tactical thing here. So I've gone with the Knicks at home against the Cavs on Friday night. um So the Knicks have 50 wins, Cavs have 63.
00:42:07
Speaker
That's it after midnight on Friday. So going on into Saturday. And then I've also gone for the Pacers. who are playing at the Cavs, but that's on Sunday at 6, Pacers 48 wins, so I was like, i was I was thinking of doing the Knicks game because it's at home, and I think they'll finish out the season with a win at home, and the Cavs might be cruising, and then going with the Nuggets game, but then I didn't trust them, so I was like let me double up on Cavs losses, and hopefully one of them at least comes up, so that was my tactic there, but what have you got?
Weekly Sports Picks and Analysis
00:42:37
Speaker
ah So because of my multiple duck eggs over the last couple of weeks, I've gone back to what served me so well earlier in season. I've gone two football and one basketball this week. I also have Palace to beat City. Nice.
00:42:49
Speaker
There's just something about Palace at moment. I actually, when I saw it, they were 5-1 and City were 4-9. So they haven't gone out further than when you saw them, but I just think 5-1 is a great price for Palace. And as you said, City were horrendous last weekend. And...
00:43:04
Speaker
Palace just at pace, they players, people who like to run, people who work hard. like I can see him catching City, as you said. Don't mind me repeating what you said. like I'm kind of pretty much the same point as the SYU to pick them.
00:43:15
Speaker
and I've gone for United to beat Newcastle. okay I don't know why, but it really stood out to me when I saw it. There's something there about it. United at 15-4, Newcastle you United have been like they've been getting better. We've we've been talking to for the last couple of weeks saying that they're getting better, they're getting better. All they're missing is someone to put on the ball in the nest.
00:43:36
Speaker
But Joshua Dirksy is beginning to look like he's actually a footballer and not just related to one. So if he starts again, i don't see why not. Newcastle, I'm still waiting for Newcastle to have their posts...
00:43:48
Speaker
Carabao Cup crash. I just realised you picked against them now. I picked Leicester to beat them and yeah that worked out well. I just don i take i think if if they beat United this week then I'll just have to leave them alone and just say fair enough they're going to get top five.
00:44:04
Speaker
yeah And lastly, I've gone for a real top-of-the-table clash in the NBA. I've gone for the Wizards to beat the 76ers. The Wizards are 17-62, and sixty two and you're in your 76ers are currently 23-56.
00:44:18
Speaker
The 76ers are going to want to lose more than the Wizards want to lose. I don't care about the records. like So, yeah, that's what gone with. The Wizards are going beat the Sixers. It's just quality basketball. Impressive, yeah. so yeah do Two really, really good teams there. can't wait to stay up.
00:44:34
Speaker
Oh man. oh No, that one is a good one actually. I think just morally I couldn't pick the Wizards to beat the Sixers. That's probably a lock right now. It's probably a banker, yeah.
00:44:48
Speaker
um But yeah, no, I like the i like your three picks, to be honest. The only worry I have about United way I didn't go for them. One, I went for them last week and I didn't want to do it again. But the second one is because of the Leon game.
00:45:00
Speaker
And I think they'll put a lot into that. And yeah, possibly. But look, we'll see. don't know. Let's see what happens. um But thanks for supporting United. I really appreciate you're welcome.
00:45:10
Speaker
Happy to do it. so we'll get into another Premier League team now. So the team I picked to talk about this week in the football was Aston Villa. I think they're just in in an intriguing situation.
00:45:22
Speaker
and Not that there's anything overly interesting to me about them right now. Obviously, they've they've been on the radar for a while and we've talked about a few of their players. But I just think the situation they're in is an interesting one. So...
00:45:36
Speaker
Looking at the table here, they're two points off top five, which is good enough for Champions League this season. So seven games left in the league. They've got a pretty tough run. They have Southampton away, which is handy. But then they've got Newcastle at home, City away, Fulham at home, Bournemouth away, Spurs at home and United away. So after Southampton, I wouldn't say any of them are easy games.
00:46:02
Speaker
Then on top of that, we've got PSG. They're playing them tonight, actually. So we're recording on the Wednesday. So they're actually playing them to tonight. And that first leg is away.
00:46:13
Speaker
And I think if they get battered tonight, they might set their morale up very badly going into the rest of the season because they have the FA Cup 2 away at Palace. And as you know, I've i've talked about Palace a bit, but where do you see their season going? Like, do you think what chances do they stand in either cup? And where do you think they'll end up in the league?
00:46:30
Speaker
Well, Dave, the FA Cup is at Wembley, I'm pretty sure. and It's semi-finals at Wembley, so I don't think it is in... ah don't think it is in Sunderbar. London game, so... Yeah, true, yeah. probably yeah I actually spoke to a Villa fan when I realised we were doing Villa, and I asked him,
00:46:47
Speaker
and what like would he rather take would he rather win the FA Cup while he was named just he went to the share of us I asked him if if he would take the FA Cup win over the top four and he said that he personally would because he's never seen Villa lift a trophy in his lifetime barred a championship playoff he said that he would definitely take winning the FA Cup and i can see him getting knocked out by PSG and then kind of cruising along in the league, but given, given their all in that FA Cup to try and get to the final, at least. and I think Palace is, it's a decent enough time from my, like I love Palace. They showed us numerous times since January, how much you love them, but it feel I really wanted an Emery is just special in cup competition. So I can see them going out and getting to the final and whoever they play from the other side of the I'd make them favourites if they did get to the final.
00:47:37
Speaker
In terms of their Premier League run, like i it's it's disgusting, to be perfectly honest, really, isn't it? like Outside of the actors at Hampton game, as you said, nothing is easy. Newcastle pushing for top four.
00:47:48
Speaker
Man City pushing for top four. Bournemouth pushing for Europe. Fulham still pushing for Europe. Spurs pushing the for forget top half. They're not playing a single team that's on the beach, if you know what mean. They're not playing anyone who's relegated, no one who's marooned in 12th. Every single game they have means something.
00:48:05
Speaker
And that's hard with ten games to go. ah So seven games in the league and treat the three cup games. But that's it's a tough time for him. Yeah, I think it's a lot of games too. And like, obviously, they have a good number of players in their squad now. But like they have to go to the loan market in January to to fill a ah big enough gap.
00:48:26
Speaker
Now, I think they've done it very successfully. And because look, we've already gone into detail on Rodgers earlier in the season. how good he is is there standout guy to me he's just exceptional um but looking at what they've done like rashford obviously has been improved to what he was doing at united this season but that's rashford like he will put in the effort when he wants to but yeah think the english media has overblown how well he's played like He scored three goals and two were against Preston. under I saw a headline that was like, informed striker.
00:48:56
Speaker
And you're like, lads, come on, let's slow it down a bit. like This is the problem. like Because now you give him too much and he doesn't want to work for it. Just let him play and see what happens. Because he can do way more than what he's done so far.
00:49:10
Speaker
I've seen it firsthand like but the one for me is Asensio I think what a pickup like eight goals and one assist in 11 games across all competitions he's able to play because the UEFA rules he's to play against PSG which is very nice so I like that I like that you're able to play against your parent club like it's pretty funny seeing them line up in another jersey and they're only on loan but but think that I think that he's been really good, very good creatively for other players. Although he has not many assists, he still, i think he makes good runs that opens up space for other people too. he knows He's a top-level player, basically. you know He's just what he is absolutely top-tier.
00:49:53
Speaker
and hes like He's so good to watch. He's always been good to watch. He was so good to watch in Madrid. I know PSG kind of wastes him, to be honest, but... just He loves playing football and he sees you he shows that every single time he steps on the pitch. and i still love Morgan Rodgers. I think he is another lad. He's not top level yet. He's not top, top level. He's good, but he is going to get to that level as well.
00:50:15
Speaker
my biggest and yeah exactly My biggest worry for them is is is the games they're playing. I know they have a big squad, but outside Watkins and Asensio, who's scoring their goals, really like yes their top scorer is Watkins with 13.
00:50:30
Speaker
And if they're putting Rashford up front, which I have been doing, doesn't work. No, he doesn't want to be there. He wants be out in way some reason. But... Yeah, i'd like I'd love to see them win that FA Cup. Dem or Palace, whoever wins out of that side, I know I've i'm been chopping changing over and back from Forest because I think it would just make Forest's incredible season just one of the best they'd ever have. But I'd love to see Villa win it because I think i think they deserve something for the last two seasons they've put in. like The way they've played in the Champions League this year it been as is something to be admired. they've put on a really good effort against a lot of the big boys looking for.
00:51:08
Speaker
And I just I love Emery to all the all the nonsense he got in Arsenal. And he's now proved like he's a better manager than that. I know they did the job last night, but he's better manager than Arteta is.
00:51:20
Speaker
I can't stand of it. knew you were going to go in the tap. Oh, I He was so happy as well after the game last night. Oh, the smart face plays. I was like, oh, lads.
00:51:31
Speaker
I'm happy that set-piece coach. It's been long way from when the set-piece coach... Yeah, oh this is off-topic, but last night I said to you, this set-piece, like, Arsenal were so good last night against Madrid, but the set-piece coach, right, he's standing in the square where the manager is that supposed to stand.
00:51:47
Speaker
and they're just taking a free kick. It's a direct free kick. It's a direct free kick. What are you telling him? yeah And then Rice, after the game on Prime, goes, oh, he he he was telling me to cross it, and they were telling me to do this, and they um I was just like, nah, I'll just do my own thing.
00:52:03
Speaker
So why you standing there? Sit back down on the bench, man. Just sit down on the bench. He's there doing this with his hand, like swerving. Yeah. ah And then you're like, he's going to get all the plaudits for these like outrageously good free kicks. No, and I'm not having that. but Anyway, back to back to Villa. Two more players I want to touch on really quickly.
00:52:22
Speaker
There are two more loan players they've got. So I thought the sassy was an interesting one when they got him in. He's looked solid in the games he started. So I like that. And then also Mattson. I think he's so good. i would love I would have loved United to have signed him.
00:52:35
Speaker
um Obviously, they didn't go down that route last summer. I thought they might have went for that on a loan. I think they were looking, but he was so good at Dortmund and playing in the Champions League final and now he's there. I feel like he took a while to break into the team, but since he has done, he's been excellent. It took a while for him to get going. I was like, oh, have they thrown £35 million at the wall here and it's not going to stick? But he is. He'll be the quality operator. They've two good left-backs because Luke Adin is a good, good player as well. He is. And joe have the option to swap? I'd have him at Liverpool as well because...
00:53:10
Speaker
Jesus, Costa, Shimakas drives me in insane every time he takes to the pitch. So having someone like Mattson to swap in with Robertson would have made a big difference in the PSG game, for example. like Having Mattson there instead Shimakas to come on, he's like he's very, very forward-thinking, very good runner with the ball.
00:53:26
Speaker
Yeah, he's very creative. He could almost be a strong a winger, to be honest. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. I really like him. I really like him. And you I em really really dislike Arteta, and I hope has to be the winner of game.
00:53:40
Speaker
So let's make a final stance. So obviously we both do think PSG are going to go through there. We we kind of discussed that previously, but I'm still going to go with Palace in the cup.
00:53:50
Speaker
I just like the run that they're on. But I think the point that like let you know it would be great to see them win a trophy, obviously that's so understandable. And yes that's more like important for fans to you know have that moment of glory.
00:54:05
Speaker
But I honestly don't see... them getting through that Palace game just because of the way... it i could i could honestly... like it like They could come out and they'd have such a great game plan, but I just think the way Palace played recently and how they played against them only a couple of weeks back, that's just still in my mind.
00:54:23
Speaker
But I think they will push up and they'll they'll keep in the Europa League spots in the league. They might even push into fifth if they click into another gear. But yeah, I don't know. I think it's just a really interesting situation that...
00:54:36
Speaker
It could go mad and like you know they could topple PSG and you have an all-English semi-final then Arsenal manage to do the business and that would be nuts. But that is my opinion. I think it's it's a little bit negative, obviously, for any Villa fans out there. But yeah I think they've had a great season. I just think they they're in a lot at once now and it's all coming together.
00:54:55
Speaker
Yeah, for me, I think they'll finish sixth. I think of the four teams there, so Chelsea, Newcastle, City, Villa, there's two points between them. I think Chelsea are the one that will fall away out of those four.
00:55:07
Speaker
yeah And I think Villa will get to the FA Cup final. i don't want to see I don't want to say they're the winner or not because I don't want to talk about Forrester City because that just sends my mind into spin. But I think they get the Epigop final and I think they finish sixth. And if they do that, even if they lose to PSG, then it I think it's another, it's two, it's back to back.
00:55:27
Speaker
Brilliant teams, if they get a trophy in Europa League this year. Yeah, and it's already been such a good season. So let's see how they get on next season and which lads they bring in permanently. So that'll be an interesting one. But do you want to go ahead with your player for
Player Performance Analysis: Rodrigo Muniz and Liverpool
00:55:42
Speaker
the week?
00:55:42
Speaker
Yeah, so it' it'll actually only be a quick one, potentially, because we've we've done quite a lot of talking already this week. bo um i just wanted to just have a quick word on Rodrigo Muniz at Fulham. I hadn't really watched too much of Fulham. I'm happy to put my hands up and say that. I just haven't had a chance. bos What he did to Liverpool on Sunday, especially for that goal. like he would just I thought he was brilliant start to finish. He ran Kanate and Van Dijk into the ground.
00:56:09
Speaker
that His touch for that goal is out of this world. It's one of the best touches I've ever seen this season. It puts him in so much space out of nowhere. but i just said i'd I'd just look him up and have a look at his stats and see Joe, is he kind of, is he this flash in pan or was he this good last year as well? And yeah think it's safe to say he was he was solid last year for his first year in the Premier League.
00:56:29
Speaker
He got 10 goals. He's 11th to fire this year. He's strong. He can be a bully when he needs to be a bully. He can be silky as we saw when he needs to be silky. I think the price they pay for him is 8 million. I think for 8 million, they've gotten a steal.
00:56:42
Speaker
And when they do eventually sell him, it will be... it'd be upwards of 40 million anyway, because that's what they paid for Emile Smith-Rowe. So they'll definitely get 40 million for him. I just think he is really, really good. 23, plenty of time to grow.
00:56:56
Speaker
Learning from Jimenez, he's one of the best buddies the Premier League has seen up until his head injury. So yeah i I think he'd go on places. Yeah, I think the age definitely helps me agree with your point on the price. Like right now, i wouldn't see that being of ah like a proper price from over 40 million. But the fact he's young, and I think if he got another season in the league, then I could see him going for...
00:57:21
Speaker
up to that now Now, along the lines of view, I haven't watched a whole lot of Fulham match of the day bits, but last season I watched a good few of their games because I i was kind of interested by them last season. They were just a bit mad. I think they were winning a lot games at home and they were doing really badly away. So i was like watching them when they were at home.
00:57:39
Speaker
I think I remember, I'm not sure if this is right, but I think in his first game I was watching and I think he had to come off an injury and he started crying. And I was like like, okay, I like this because he has like a lot of passion for it. He wanted to prove himself in the league and he got his first chance. and And then I think when he scored his first goal, I'm pretty sure he started crying as well. So I was like, this guy has passion for the game. Now, last season I did think, you know,
00:58:06
Speaker
He played a bit of headless chicken ball at times, like running around a lot with no like real aim to the game. He needed to polish. And I do think that working with Jimenez, like you mentioned, is like such a benefit to guy like him. Massive, yeah.
00:58:20
Speaker
He's going to show him what to do because he has a good body shape. He's strong. He's fast. Now Jimenez is able to guide him. I think that's a great point. But... I still think he's very unpolished. like i watch He's very nice.
00:58:32
Speaker
Yeah, I watched the Arsenal and Fulham game last week, midweek game, and he came on with like 15 minutes left. He got a goal, but it took a massive deflection. and And he missed an open goal like five minutes before that, like an absolute sitter. And I was like thinking, if you're only going to get your 15 minutes here, you know, you need to be burying that.
00:58:52
Speaker
um So he is far from the finished product, but he has a lot of good talent um and a lot of good attributes, like you mentioned. And look, 11 goals this season and seven have come in his last 11 games. yeah So he's ramping up nicely. and yeah, I think he's an interesting player to talk about because I wonder, will he but he continue to go higher and higher? Will he get a few more this season and then maybe push even close to 20 next season?
00:59:16
Speaker
Yeah, so the thing for me was like, I'm glad you brought up the point there about how many goals he has. think you said seven in his last 11. Because yeah even last year, he was a very streaky player. Because if he won the Premier League player that won for March last year.
00:59:28
Speaker
Because he went on a run of scoring in four or five games in a row as well. And then just kind of stops. With Liverpool saying Sadio Mane, certain fans are saying that he was a streaky player, ah he wouldn't be able have to go and score 20 goals in a season, and then look what he did then at Liverpool. So like if he has that same kind of a trajectory, then you could have a serious player on your hands because he's he's strong, he's tall, quick, he can finish clearly, he has a good touch also clearly.
00:59:54
Speaker
like I think you'll definitely give Fulham another season, if not another two seasons, and then... Kind of see where he is at 25 and see where he's going. I think that's the smart thing to do.
01:00:05
Speaker
I think he needs to start as well, like consistently. And I hope he does the next season because even now that this run he's been on, like I said, he didn't even start in that Arsenal game. um so you know He kind of does need to start and it's tough. Obviously, our teams play one striker right now.
01:00:20
Speaker
So I would really like to see him consistently starting. And yeah, I think he's a good player for a mid-table Premier League team right now. And then me he might take that step up in a couple of years. But yeah, I think he's he is moving in the right direction. but ah Yeah, absolutely. An interesting player to talk about, like someone you wouldn't really think too much of.
01:00:39
Speaker
But I think even last year, like you mentioned, when he won that at the end of the season, he went in the run. it And yeah, and and then but then at the like at the end, at the start of this season, when people are building their fantasy teams, he was one of those ones people are thrown in because he started. it's five million. Yeah.
01:00:56
Speaker
yeah just for you but then he so something yeah And then now he's now he's coming good again. So it's kind of hard to it's it's a funny one to keep a look at. But actually, before we move on to the power rankings, just wanted to shout myself out on fantasy because Shane was top of our league right earlier in the season, just flying away. And I was dead rock last.
01:01:18
Speaker
It was a good couple of hundred points, I think, between us. and james has slowly edged his way back up the two of us are sitting now like third and fourth are we i honestly i couldn't tell you i couldn't tell you last time i even looked at this so look at this here this fella like last time i looked at he's absolutely glued to it he's just dying inside that i'm out of him so yeah i've taken the shane man down right now he's probably gonna come back now he's gonna make it his mission to overtake i actually am now i've seven game myself now to get past heady i i probably i probably have 23 transfers to use every time i go into into it again now so you're in trouble like uh i think i'm only like 20 points ahead yeah only just overtook you this week but yeah uh i was just holding on to that one <unk> i've had most solid captain for whole season and than he's forgotten what a football looks like at the moment it seems he can't even get can't even get a touch of it at the moment so i might have to change it up this weekend weekend so
01:02:12
Speaker
Yeah, he's been pretty poor, to be honest, the last few weeks. But do you want to get into your power rankings? Throw us out your last week one and what you've got for this week. Yeah, we'll do. So last week I had the Thunder, the Rockets, the Celtics, top three.
01:02:25
Speaker
Then I had Liverpool breaking up the NBA runaway. And then I finished up with the Warriors and Forrest and Lost. This week I have a new team at Topspot. Oh, they say if you're going if you're going to be the best, you have to beat the best.
01:02:41
Speaker
oh lot The Rockets beat the Thunder. So the Rockets are now the best team in basketball. 15-2 in their last 17. Amen, Thompson. is just he's He's my hero and he's 10 years younger than me. I just i think they're brilliant. They're going into the playoffs in a great run of form. absolutely love them.
01:03:00
Speaker
They're the best team in basketball now at the moment. More than 10.
01:03:07
Speaker
generous to yourself here. I'm going to look him up in a second. When you're giving out your nonsense now in a second, I'll look him up and see what younger me actually is. So the Rockets are at one. The Thunder are still, they're number two now. They've only dropped one. They're still good. They're still the best team in basketball, all jokes aside. They're still late in two in their last ten.
01:03:25
Speaker
The Rockets are just better than them at the moment, so that's fine. They will probably win it out though, in fairness. and i have Palace in a third. I just, what are they? They're on the most polished run of all time. Their record is 11 wins, 10 draws, 9 losses. They're going to finish, it's going to be like 13-13-11 or 13-13-12 or something. They love doing that enough.
01:03:45
Speaker
They have 4 wins in their last 5. They're just quality. Liverpool have slipped. No, they haven't slipped. They're four last week. Liverpool stayed fourth for me. and There's still four wins in their last five, but they're just really not playing very well.
01:03:56
Speaker
I know they're going to win the league, but they don't really deserve to be top three at the moment. Then finishing out Celtics, nine and one. Anyone who plays them in the playoffs is going to be scared because the the trees they put up is just scary. They're absolutely unreal. And Forest stay in sixth.
01:04:12
Speaker
uh three wins at five they're four points clear of the team and force and i think as we said they're to port them to six they're going to be fighting with each other and not fighting with for us i think i think they're safe for the air now i think that's a third Yeah, okay.
01:04:25
Speaker
Okay, nice one. Rockets first. Yeah, you can't knock it with the run around, like, and the teams they've just beaten recently, like, beating the beatating the Warriors so well and keeping Steph quiet and then beating the Thunder is just so good. But last week I i had so Thunder first, then Newcastle, Celtics, Liverpool, Rockets, and Palace.
01:04:47
Speaker
So this week what I've done is I've kept the Thunder in first. So I was going to drop them out and I was like, okay, if they lose last night against the Lakers, I'll put them i'll put them down in a spot.
01:05:03
Speaker
But then they won that game. I think, yeah, a blip of having two losses doesn't take away... the last few weeks and months of madness that we've seen um for me. But look, yeah, two losses is a good enough reason to drop them down like you've done.
01:05:17
Speaker
But I just didn't go that way. I've gone and kept Newcastle in second because honestly, what I noted here was that they're so close to Forrest with a win. Like if they win their next game, they'll be what? um but liy They'll only be a point behind Forrest with their game in hand if they win that.
01:05:34
Speaker
And Forrester having an outrageous season. Yeah, Newcastle have also already won a cup. So, like, I think they deserve a lot of credit for what they've done this season. I've gone then, moved the Rockets up, so they're in third for me now.
01:05:46
Speaker
and So, 8-2 run, beating the Warriors in OKC. Everything you've said. Celtics are in fourth, so they just dropped down one, but that was just to accommodate how good the Rockets have been.
01:05:57
Speaker
Celtics have been so good, really think they've been just out this world. Palace have moved up to fifth for me from sixth. They had another win, so but think just continuing the run, we have to move them up now. We can't just leave them and in sixth.
01:06:11
Speaker
Then in sixth place, a new entry. Liverpool can do one. They're gone out of my rankings for this week. I've got the Pacers in because I've been really impressed with the back half their season.
01:06:23
Speaker
In particular, Tyrese Halliburton. He's been so, so good. And they've won five in a row now. they're They're eight and two in their last ten. So that rounds out my top six. But I just wanted to point the reason now that I've put a Liverpool out.
01:06:38
Speaker
It's not to be biased, but I'm going on like ultimate. so for we are We're looking right at power, but we have been given the benefit of like the whole season too in hindsight at times. But right now, it's been a couple of months but since I've been impressed with watching Liverpool.
01:06:58
Speaker
They were very close to me dropping out as well, to be perfectly honest with you. They were lucky to stay in this week because there's a lot of NBA teams who are doing a lot more than Liverpool are. They lost the cup final. They were awful against Fulham. They weren't really good against Everton either. So if they kind of keep up this run of, even if they beat West Ham, but it's it's a dodgy win against West Ham, then they mightn't be in there for me either next week. i like I completely see why you're doing it. They're not very powerful at the moment.
01:07:22
Speaker
And even the the Wolves game and even the Southampton game, to be honest, weren't convincing for me. like not They won the game, so ultimately they got the points, but it's just not the same as it was earlier in the season.
01:07:35
Speaker
But I suppose you can't be consistently like the best team and in in Europe like constantly. So that's what they were for the first six, seven months of the Six months, um But yeah, that's my rankings this week. I don't have anything else. So we'll wrap it up there. But once again, just a point one really quick one for you. And I think we mentioned it a couple of weeks back, but there's still no team in the Premier League this year who's won five games in a row.
01:08:00
Speaker
so crazy like it's mad i i can't like liverpool and uh liverpool had a chance this weekend and lost to fulham like there's no how they've gone up how everyone's got a whole season without winning five in a row it's funny that happened right after you mentioned it as well that they were had the chance and it didn't come yeah come off yeah so much Yeah, madness. That is really, really bad.
01:08:21
Speaker
We'll be watching now into next season. i don't I don't know if it'll happen by the end of this season, we'll be definitely watching into into next season when it does happen again. yeah Just the openness of the league
Premier League and NBA Competitive Landscape
01:08:30
Speaker
at times. like It's kind looking at the league the way it is, how tight it is just below top four, and then we have how tight the West is in the NBA. It's kind of like some parallels there, so it's pretty interesting if you follow. Yeah, absolutely.
01:08:43
Speaker
follow both sports but thanks again to connell for coming on i really appreciate it he has you all set up nicely now for the draft so you have some names and to look out for i think me and shane will probably do a bit of the mock the week before ourselves maybe of the top five or ten just to to take what knowledge we've got and throw it out there maybe throw some mad trades in there for the laugh thanks thanks for everyone listening really appreciate it i'll throw it to you shane to wrap up Yeah, just if you wouldn't mind, just keep liking, watching the Reels, do whatever you can, because we really do appreciate it. Like every time we get a notification saying your Reel has a thousand views, it just puts a smile on both of our faces. I'm sure it does for me anyway. So just keep watching, keep listening, keep following, and we'll talk to you next week.
01:09:25
Speaker
Cheers, man. Talk to you later.