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CheeseTalk S1 Episode 30 Sports talk with Tyler!
30 Plays4 months ago
In this episode, I sat down with Tyler, a HUGE Jaguars fan. We discussed the Jaguars draft, free agency, Trevor Lawrence, etc... We switched over to Packers' talk as we discussed Jordan Love, receiving depth, MLF as a play caller, McKinney and Jacobs free agency signing, etc... please be sure toncheck it out!
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:43
Speaker
What's up, everybody? Welcome to the cheese talk podcast. I am your host, Brian Rago. Tonight I am joined by Tyler. What's up, Tyler? What's up, man? How are we doing? Good. We finally got the technical issues out of the way for now. Yeah. Yeah. The year is 2024. We still got technical issues. So, uh, can't live with technology. Can't live without it, I suppose. Right. Um, I just want to give a quick shout out to the open network for letting me podcast on your other umbrella, the open network. If you follow them on Twitter, they are 35 followers away from giving away an eight by 10 autographed Jair Alexander photo. Tyler, can you tell people all about yourself? Yeah, man. So I do a podcast with two of my best friends, the next guy at podcast.
00:01:31
Speaker
Talk a lot of sports, talk a lot of talk a lot of food here recently. We've been heavy and talking about fast food and different restaurants and things like that. but So we do that over on the fresh network. You can find us on YouTube or on our own um um own channels, the next guy up on Spotify and Apple. but ah So that's a little bit about me, but I'm sure we got some other stuff. If you can't if you're watching, I am a huge Jaguars fan. I'm sure we'll talk about that at some point tonight. Right away, I'll talk about it. Love it, love it. So what are your thoughts on your draft this
Jaguars' Draft Picks and Impact
00:02:05
Speaker
year? And and who was your favorite pick? um Surprisingly, my favorite pick was Jarian Jones, the corner out of Florida State. i love I love having a corner on the team who's kind of got that that dog mentality of he's not scared to guard anyone. And he's kind of shown that and talked that way so far in OTAs and stuff.
00:02:27
Speaker
good player for stay a little bit older. I think that's why he fell in the draft. He's kind of seen as like a slot guy, but I think he's going to come in and make an impact for us. He's going to be a day one starter. Um, so I'm very excited about him. And then obviously I'm excited about Brian Thomas Jr. I mean, it's, it's always fun to draft a receiver. Uh, we've not had the best track record of drafting receivers in the first round. So I'm hoping that that changes this year, but, uh, so those, those two are the guys I'm i'm very excited about. Yeah, I'd say for me, i'm for the Packers, I'm i'm excited about Adrian Cooper and Jevon Bullard. See what kind of an impact they can make. Yeah, Cooper being another, like, Patrick's got for you guys. that was That was a big pick. Yeah, and I think Rishon Gary's going to come out with a vengeance this year, too. Yeah. Just seeing some of his off-season training videos and just some of the workouts he's doing is just mind-blowing.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah, him and Preston Smith. I mean, you guys got you guys got a bunch of pass structures up there. Yeah, a lot of first round picks on the defensive side. Yeah, yeah exactly.
Trevor Lawrence's Contract and Comparisons
00:03:34
Speaker
and Now, Trevor Lawrence just signed an extension, right? Five year extension. Yep, yep, extension add on to his rookie contract. So I was glad to get that done for Tua and Dak and even Jordan Love got theirs because it's, you know, the price is just going to keep going up. Yeah, so do you so obviously you believe in Trevor Lawrence? Oh yeah, definitely. yeah What is it about to believe in? He's 24 about to be 25. Has shown that he he's got what it takes to be um one of the top two quarterbacks. He had down here a little bit last year after his injuries, but before that he was playing at a great great top 10 level. I mean we were 8 and 3.
00:04:15
Speaker
um He was cruising to have his best year ever, and then he gets banged up in that bingles game on Monday night, and we lose Christian Kirk, same game for the rest of the year. So it was just kind of like a double whammy, and it's kind of all the way downhill from there. Yeah, i'm I'm afraid to see what they're going to sign Jordan Love for. I know it's coming just a matter of when. I think it's going to happen before training camp. So that's as a big reason why I was glad we got our deal done with Trevor first because Jordan Love and I love Jordan Love. He's one of my favorite quarterbacks in the league. I think he's I think he's awesome.
00:04:48
Speaker
ah But Trevor does have the years of experience and some playoff success. So if whatever Jordan Love would have got, Trevor could have been like, well, you've got to pay me more than Jordan Love, I've proven it longer. So that's why we got that, and Tua too. Tua is just sitting back like, please let everyone get contract extensions, I'll just keep waiting. Yeah, better not wait too long, you might get another concussion, you know? okay No, I mean, all jokes aside, it sucks that he was putting a situation by his own coaching staff. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, no. I mean, he should have been playing those games after that. I mean, it was even just like as a fan watching on TV, you knew that something was wrong. Like he definitely was injured, had a concussion, and then they still put him back in. Yeah, that that should have been lost in draft picks or something. A huge fine, you know, all of the above. Yeah.
00:05:41
Speaker
Packers and Jaguars, what do you think of Darnell's average? Darnell. So I didn't know a lot about Darnell Savage. but He was not on my radar as guys that we were going to go after. ah weve we We have a pretty solid like safety group. Andre Sisco, I love, is a good player for us. We had drafted Antonio Johnson ah the year before. So he was, this was,
Jaguars' Defensive Strategy
00:06:05
Speaker
this is going to be his second year, but he performed well as a rookie. So I kind of figured we were going to go on the season with those being our safeties. And then we gave a pretty big chunk of money to Darnell Savage. Now, Doug is talking like Darnell's going to play some slot. Darnell's never done that in the NFL, but the way our defensive coordinator kind of calls plays is it's a three safety look with the three safeties all being able to do this different things. Like Darnell Savage could line up at strong safety and Cisco in the slot and just kind of ever rotating between those three guys. Right. so Who was the other packer that came around there?
00:06:41
Speaker
Do what? Who is the other Packer that signed with the Jogwares? Wasn't there somebody else? Like a Mindman? Oh, the Titan, who's like a fullback.
00:06:52
Speaker
This last name starts with a D. Number 81. Oh, the Gora. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
00:07:07
Speaker
Yeah. He, he was a blocking tight end. I thought we use him. He got hurt. He got hurt though. I know that we, from OTA's look like he was playing a lot of like H back, um, which, I mean, Doug Peterson loves just tied in. So he'll, he'll see some point if he, if he makes the 53. Yeah, I think you will he will. He's decent. Uh, which jaguar do you think has a breakout season? Um, man. All right, I've got two, I've got i got one on offense, one on defense. So I'm gonna go defense first. I think this is going to be Trayvon Walker's like, oh, this was the reason they picked him first overall. he's He's slowly built, his rookie year was solid, but people are like, really? That's what you drafted first overall, six and a half sacks. But he's a great run stuffer, just big physical defensive end.
00:08:00
Speaker
Last year, he got 10 and a half sacks, started to show some of that pass rush ability. I think this year, adding Eric Armstead to the defensive line, making sure we kept Josh Allen. And so now, there's no one you can double. You can't really shift offensive lines towards just either side because Josh could beat you or now Trayvon Walker could beat you with Eric Armstead and that pressure up the middle. So I think Trayvon Walker is going to have his best season as a pro and really kind of show like, okay, now we understand why the Jags took this guy first overall over Aiden Hutchinson, who is just a sack merchant who taps guys while they fall on the ground and that counts as a sack. I i watched that game. He got like three sacks in one game on Thanksgiving. Those not those aren't real sacks. I love getting arguments about Adrian Hutchinson.
00:08:47
Speaker
He does not play an ounce of run defense. He is just out there to try to get sacks.
00:08:57
Speaker
Yeah, I i have to i'd have to agree with you on that.
00:09:04
Speaker
And then offensively, the the easy answer would be to say Trevor. um So I'm not going to say that. I'm going to go with Evan Ingram, who already had a career like career year last year, had the most catches for a tight end, had just under a thousand yards, but just a few. I think we only had like five touchdowns total for the year. um We've added a lot of weapons on the outside. I think that's really going to free up the intermediate and short yardage stuff for Evan, who's great after the catch. And I think he's going to put up a third straight career year with the Jags showing that all he had to do was to get away from the Giants and Daniel Jones to show that he's a good player. Yeah, it seems to be the Giants get rid of all their good players. Yeah, when they like let Evan walk.
00:09:54
Speaker
Yeah. Well, they they they let McKinney walk too. Yeah. Oh yeah. And he's not with you guys. He's like your Darnell Savage replacement. He's, he's a great player. I like McKinney. He's, he's going to be a good player for you guys. Yeah. I'm, I'm excited to see him play in the green and gold for sure. Um, I just still can't believe that the giants let him walk, you know, 24 years old, 24 years old, your own draft pick. They had the capper and the keep him and they just, they just let him walk. That just blows my mind. i He hasn't hit his prime yet, you know? And you're letting your captain and your defense go. Yeah, six picks last year, had a ton of tackles. I mean, I don't know, like, and 24 years old. So you get him now for a long-term contract. You get him through his whole privacy. So I thought that was kind of crazy to let him walk like that. But the Giants are a little bit dysfunctional. So does it's not that surprising.
00:10:53
Speaker
Yeah, you give your quarterback just doing nothing, a huge contract, and you let all your good players walk. Yeah, they like Barkley walk. I can't think of anybody else right now off the top of my head, but gave away Kings ransom for Brian Burns, who's a good player, but that was a whole lot of draft capital for a defensive end.
Doug Peterson's Role in Jaguars' Culture
00:11:12
Speaker
Right. what are your What are your thoughts on Doug Peterson as a head coach? ah he he better take back play calling this year. That's my opinion. He has an affinity for press Taylor, our offensive coordinator, and he got to call plays last year. And I just, I don't know, he's just not the play caller that Doug is. I like what Doug's doing as far as building a culture in Jacksonville. um And the guys seem to want to play for him and and and all that stuff, but he is a
00:11:42
Speaker
brilliant offensive mind. And I want to see him calling plays because his first year in Jacksonville, he was calling the plays and Trevor took off. We made that little bit of a playoff run. um So I'd like to see that, especially with the addition of Gabe Davis and and Brian Thomas and, and the offensive line, you know, should be better. We've upgraded in a few positions. So I'd love to see Doug calling plays and getting back to, to, you know, the glasses down on his nose, looking at that play sheet, cooking it up. Yeah, glasses down, that's always a always a good look on the sidelines, you know. I always picture Andy Reid sitting there looking at a menu from like RBs or, you know. Yeah, the popular name for jack Jacksonville is, ah you know, Doug's Waffle House Menu. That's where Trevor took everybody after the playoff comeback. Yeah, that's funny. How much talent do you guys have at Wide Receiver, do you think?
00:12:37
Speaker
I think this is the best room Trevor's had since we, since he got here. I mean, if you look at our, his rookie year, we, we had players like Lacroix, Treadwell, Tabon Austin, and Marvin Jones starting at wide receiver. ah Last year was, was pretty talented, but it wasn't deep. Zay Jones, as much as he did for Jacksonville in his first year, signing with us for free agency, he is just kind of like a ah mid tier, third option at wide receiver, and we were counting on him to be a pretty important part of our offense the last couple of years. And Calvin, I mean, Calvin Ridley is an insanely talented wide receiver. I'm sure all the tight fans that are watching right now have seen me ah um otherwise ah here on Twitter, but I can give it to him that he is a very talented receiver, has a case of the drops every once in a while, maybe the seventh most in the whole NFL last year. but ah
00:13:31
Speaker
But yeah, no, I love our receiver room. I think we've added a lot more explosiveness with Gabe and Brian Thomas and and let Christian Kirk keep working the middle with Evan. And I include Evan Ingram as a wide receiver. He's a for she's a wide receiver and a tight end spotty. He's not blocking anybody out there. Right. What do you think of Green Bay's receiving room? You guys have a crazy young receiving room, which which is fun because now you, you've got all these guys kind of long-term. You got mid-round picks. You've got the first round pick was with Christian Watson. Uh, dude, Romeo Dubs was a second round pick, right? Yep.
00:14:08
Speaker
something like that. So I mean, you've got high end picks, you've got mid-round picks like Wicks and Reid. So it's it's fun to have all these guys drafted and young and be able to grow their chemistry with Jordan Love. like I think that's the best that's the best way to do it. ah been thinking the same way for like the Jags like every year like draft receivers to grow with Trevor like let's let them build chemistry for years to come like that's the smart thing to do um so I think that was a very good investment by the Packers doing that and kind of doing something they never really did for Aaron I guess that is I mean y'all drafted a bunch of Adams and he got to be with Aaron for a long time but Aaron's whole drive was that he never got receivers
00:14:46
Speaker
He never got a first-round receiver. You don't need a first-round receiver to be successful. you know You can take second, third, fourth, fifth round. Look at Randall Cobb. you know look at yeah look at i mean It's Donald Driver, seventh-round pick. Jordan Nelson was wasn't a first-round pick, I don't believe. Greg Jennings. i mean But honestly, the better receivers, yes, those top tier wide receivers for the most part come from the first round. But there's a lot of bust in that first round too. But if you can find the the the diamond in the rough in those later rounds, those receivers pan out to last a lot longer and and you know more cost effective as well for the first few years. Right, what what are your thoughts on for your agency as far as our Jacksonville Green Bay and around the league?
00:15:35
Speaker
What's going on? um It is a, it is a wild free agency. There's still some, some pretty big names kind of left. They're probably just waiting to see what happens with training camps. But I mean, I thought the Jags, this should be the last year where we spend a lot of money in free agency. I mean, we made some splashes with Eric Garmstead. He was a player I had no, he wasn't on my radar either. I didn't think we would make that big of a swing. um I think it's just because we lost out on Calvin that we ah had some money to play around with. And the Darnell Savage was another good pick for us and then Gabe Davis. And honestly, the most, the most slept on.
00:16:11
Speaker
from a free agency that we got, who's going to make the biggest impact will be Mitch Morse, who's a center. Most people will be like, what are you talking about? Like, that's not really that important of a position. Our center last year was like one of the worst ones in the NFL, caused a lot of pass blocking issues, a lot of run blocking issues. So even just getting a slight upgrade there will help. And then I think what the package did is what you perfectly want to do before you pay your quarterback. You kind of fill in those last holes that you feel you had on the team. I mean, you guys are a real threat in the NFC this year. We're about to be doing a ah segment on our podcast where we talk about like future, it's our future Fridays where we talk about teams that we can see, you know, going over their win totals or having a good season. And the Packers are pretty high on all three of our lists or the team that we're kind of picking the to be that team in the NFC.
Green Bay Packers' Offensive Strategy
00:17:03
Speaker
Quite the rebuild, huh? Yeah. I mean, that first half of the year, I felt like the Packers were like, oh, I don't, you know, there was questions starting to come out like, OK, are we really going to go with Jordan Love, like long term? Like, how's this going to work? And then about halfway through the year, he he flipped that switch and and he really showed, you know, like who he is as a player. And I think he's going to kind of show that all year. I mean, I'm very excited to watch the Packers this year. Yeah, for sure. Same here. I just, like you said, halfway through the season, the the switch has flipped and they, uh, they, uh, just, they hit it in stride and it just kept on going, you know, and it showed big time when they, um,
00:17:45
Speaker
went to Dallas in the playoffs and they smoked them. Oh yeah. I mean, it's just out the gate. Dak Prescott throws like two picks sixes and then Aaron Jones just does what did what he does against the Dallas Cowboys. I think that was my biggest. I was like my one question mark with the Packers. And maybe you have a little more inside is why did Aaron Jones get, get to, you know, why did they let him leave? I know you got Josh Jacobson who, I don't know. I'm i'm not super high on him, but, uh, Like, I don't know, Aaron Jones felt like that that veteran leader for the Packers. I i just think it was a disagreement with money, yeah to be honest. And, you know, I don't know. Maybe they got Josh Jacobs thinking that Jones did stay for the one-two punch. And he's like, no, I want to do it. I thought, too, I thought you guys were going to keep both. And I was like, oh, wow. They're about to just be able to run and do whatever they want on offense, especially with that receiving court. We thought that for about a good hour.
00:18:43
Speaker
and then And then they released Aaron Jones and he went to the Vikings. So, um, well, I like, I like, uh, Lynch, the rookie that you guys got out of USC. He's a Lloyd or Lloyd. That's right. Lloyd. Uh, if you're a fantasy football dynasty guy, uh, Lloyd is the long-term investment there for the Packers. I think, uh, see what, what I think they're doing too is I think him and Jacob's are kind of similar in how they play. Yeah. like their run style and it's kind of like their body build and everything. I think we signed Jacobs for four years, but I don't think he's going to stay of the full four years. I think they drafted Marshawn Lloyd knowing that he was going to replace Josh Jacobs. So yeah, that's his, his college film is just crazy. Yeah. He's definitely put up a lot of highlights. Yeah. I mean, okay.
00:19:36
Speaker
um so Just around the NFL, it was a pretty crazy, it was a crazy off season. Kirk Cousins going to the Falcons. ah I don't know, there's just a lot of big signings everywhere, which I mean, I think that made the Packers, the NFC North a little easier for you guys. I'm not the biggest Lions believer. ah And the Vikings got worse with a rookie quarterback and the Bears and the Bears until they're not.
00:20:05
Speaker
Which will be never. yeah they ah They always seem to find a way to screw up. I mean, let's be honest here. We we talked about it on our podcast quite a bit that we really thought that Justin Fields should have been the guy there. I get having the number one overall pick, but trade that. Get a bunch of picks, or finally so surround Justin with talent you've never had. I mean, take Marvin Harrison first overall, and then take another. That's what I've been saying. I've been saying that the whole time. like justin justin Justin's a good quarterback and I'm very excited for the Steelers. they are They're my dark horse team in the AFC. I'm taking them to win the AFC North. I just think they they did great free agency. I don't think Russell's going to be the starter. And even if he is, I don't think it lasted very long before
00:20:57
Speaker
before Mike Tomlin was like, I'm trying to go to playoffs. I'm not trying to just just win nine games and miss. like Justin Fields adds an element to that offense that they've never had. Yeah. I mean, you can go back on my podcast in the past with like Barry, just Barry's friends, pack of friends, just in general. And I've been saying for a long time, I've never thought high of Ohio state quarterbacks coming into the NFL because they don't really turn out. but Justin Fields was the one quarterback that I was actually afraid to play in Chicago because I mean, he, he, he's a bigger quarterback. Obviously he can throw the ball. He can run the ball, you know, and he brought him in, uh,
00:21:37
Speaker
DJ Moore and then you got Keenan Allen, draft Marvin Harrison Jr. Why are not? And they just traded them. Instead of getting rid of their coaches at underdeveloped quarterbacks, they traded They traded the King of the North. You know what I'm saying? Because that's what that's what they're calling them. Why not get rid of your coaches that can't develop quarterbacks and get a quarterback developing coach in there, you know?
Chicago Bears' Quarterback Strategy
00:22:05
Speaker
it's And I've been saying too that Russell Wilson isn't going to, halfway through the season, he won't be the starter in Pittsburgh. Justin Fields will take over, you know?
00:22:15
Speaker
And that's if he doesn't take over in training camp. I mean, he, he, he has the ability, Justin Fields does where he's going to look so good. Mike Tomlin, Mike Tomlin doesn't care that Russell Wilson's a 13 year pro as a Super Bowl ring. Mike Tomlin cares about winning football games and he does not care about guys feelings either. yeah Justin's the better player. Justin's going to play. And I mean, I'm big on Justin Fields. The year is the year that. the, they were coming out in the draft that whole season. The Jags had won their very first game and the Jets hadn't won any games. So I was fully accepting to that we were going to get the second overall pick for the whole year. And I was, all right, cool. It sucks. I'd really love to have Trevor Lawrence, but Justin Fields is a playmaker and I'd be happy to have Justin Fields second overall i'll pick.
00:23:02
Speaker
That was until my guy Frank Gore, who is forever now a Jaguar legend, went off against the Rams for no good reason and beat them pretty much single handedly to let them win a game and the Jags got to leap frog them for the first overall pick. So ah that that was, you know shout out my guy Frank Gore. Yeah, Frank, he's a Miami boy, ain't he, Frank Gore? Yeah. I don't know he played for Miami, but is he from Florida? I believe, I think he is from Florida. um I don't know. I played with him a lot in Madden. But I will always love Frank Gore for that game. I remember it was his all my birthday. He's just dicing up the Rams. And I was like, my gosh, they're going to win. And the Jags are going to get the first overall pick. What a gift. But having thought, I've been cool with Justin Fields for sure. But ah um I'm glad we things ended up the way they did.
00:23:58
Speaker
I just, you know, like the bear, you had a quarterback that showed glimpses of being good, Justin Fields, and you could have gotten Marvin Harrison Jr. I mean, Yeah, I just don't I don't get it. You know, yeah, I get I get the contracts out of it because they were going have to pay Justin soon. So I get resetting and getting a rookie quarterback contract that's that's gold in the NFL because you have so much control for so long that such a cost effective.
00:24:29
Speaker
ah contract, but still, I mean, you're taking the gamble. I get Caleb Williams as Heisman trophy winner and and did all these things, like made all these big plays in college, but there is no guarantee. Like you knew what you had in Justin Fields. You don't know what you have in Caleb Williams. yeah He is not playing a down in the NFL. The NFL, I don't care how well you played in college. The NFL is a whole different monster than college football. That's what I'm saying though. he's he mean You got Romeo Duns and then The next question is, can you keep him on his feet to throw the ball? Yeah, yeah. I was mad. I was mad that the that's Bear Scott, Roma Dunsey. That was my guy. That was my I wanted him pretty. I was hoping the jack for him. He's he's going to be a very good receiver. I think I like him. But yeah, no, I mean they don't have the greatest offensive line.
00:25:24
Speaker
I don't super believe in their run game. They went and got DeAndre Swift, who is just okay. Like he's just an okay running back. They do have receiving options out, out out of you know, more than they probably know what to do with as far as Cole Comatt, very good tight end. Roma Dunzay in the slot and then Keenan Allen, you know. veteran player, but he's still got something left in the tank, and the D.J. Moore is very good. But, like, I don't know, Caleb Williams, there's just something about him that I just, he does too much running around in the pocket unnecessarily. And guys like that, I'm like, this isn't Madden. You keep running side to side and trying to wait for someone to get open, you're just going to get sacked. It's not Madden, it ain't the Pac-12.
00:26:08
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. like you You know, he did all that against the Pac-12, which, you know, not to not to downplay division one football, but the Pac-12 is not known for the defense of this. Try doing that in the SEC. Yeah, yeah, Johnny. Yeah,
00:26:30
Speaker
yeah i I still kind of. I still kind of not shocked by this. Can't believe Justin Jefferson. signed the contract in Minnesota with what they have their quarterback. I was I was saying that I thought that he was going to go out to Cincinnati and play with Joe Burrow, his college quarterback. Yeah, I thought he would kind of fight back a little harder. I mean, I understand they could have franchise tagged him and drug this thing out probably for a couple more years, but. Yeah, I'm surprised he willingly. I mean money talks. He got a huge contract, so maybe that made it worth it for him. but ah
00:27:07
Speaker
It's kind of crazy that you signed the biggest, that big of a contract in your quarterback situations, question mark. I do like their head coach. I feel like he's going to develop all he can get out of JJ. I just don't know how much there is to get out of JJ. I don't know how much of an NFL quarterback he truly is. I guess we'll find out. Yeah, he's really good situation too. Good offensive line, good running back now with Todd Chandler and Aaron Jones, you know, TJ Hawkinson and, or no, TJ's not there. Yeah, he is. Yeah, I think he is.
00:27:45
Speaker
Yeah, he is. I got mixed up where he got traded from. But yeah, I know TJ is there and then you've got jeff Jefferson and Jordan Addison. So I mean, he's got options. well Him and Caleb Williams are kind of a situation where you'll know pretty soon whether they're going to be able to sink or swim in the NFL because they are put, they've both been put in pretty solid situations.
00:28:09
Speaker
Yeah, I, uh, I don't hope the best or anything is the honest, you know, I still think it's kind of ironic how we got our, ah our assets kicked in green Bay by Detroit. Then we went to Detroit and kick their asses. So it's, you know, they're our biggest rival right now in the, in the NFC North lemon. I mean, the bears, mean you talk about losing 10 games in a row to a team that really ain't a rival no more, you know? Yeah. But, uh, So you said earlier, you like Jordan Love. What are your thoughts on Jordan Love? I think i mean, he's he's athletic enough to where he can make plays with his feet, but he's got a rocket of an arm. I mean, he throws some beautiful, beautiful long passes. I mean, he was fun to watch last year.
00:28:57
Speaker
um And the weather doesn't seem to bother him, which, you know, that is a factor. When you talk about these NFC North teams, you do have to think about whether playing outside and and for the Bears or playing outside in Green Bay, I mean, that those are true. Like, that that can affect a player. There's some guys that can do it, some guys that can't. Jordan Love seems like he's just fine playing in that kind of weather. Um, and he's not afraid of the moment. Like he, he stepped up against the Cowboys. He, you know, he went blow for blow with the 49ers in that, in that playoff game. So I think he's got a bright future ahead of him, which makes sense. I mean, the Packers have had, you know, before him two quarterbacks, like what in the last 30 years, I'm sure Jordan is going to be around for 15. And then the next guy will be around for, twenty I mean, it's just what the Packers do, right?
00:29:45
Speaker
and developed the key position, you know? Yeah. I don't know if they've had the same skull for the last 30 plus years looking at quarterbacks or what, but I don't know what it is. Like, I mean, what, Bart Starr before that was there for a long time and then. and Yeah, Bart Starr, even not Bob Mikowski before five, you know? Yeah, so. Magicness. Some positions for some teams, they just always seem to work out and the Packers have nailed the most important one by always, always having the quarterback, which is the biggest question mark on the team. Like if you've got a quarterback, you can pretty much, you're always in there. Like you're, you're always in contention. As long as you've got one of those guys, if you have one of those stuff guys, you have a chance of winning a Super Bowl every year in my opinion. And then I think one of those top 10 guys.
00:30:38
Speaker
Do you think Eric Stokes makes an impact this year for the Packers if he comes back healthy? I hope so. he was He was a guy I was very interested in because we had taken Tyson Campbell. So I was like, OK, cool. Let's get this Georgia a cornerback combo going back together. um he's He's not performed super great in the NFL so far. He's had a lot of injury, injury bad luck. I have a Stokes rookie card. numbered, uh, prison rookie card that I got out of the pack a few years ago. So I'm hoping his stock goes up, you know. Yeah. I, uh, I think he'll come back and make an impact and get his injuries under control. And like him and and not, him but like I know Christian Watson, they, they brought him to a hamstring specialist at UW Madison and got him looked at the guy's new training staff.
00:31:31
Speaker
Yeah, I saw I saw an article about Christian Watson about how his his hamstring injuries or something of like some kind of statistic that like, like one in every 3000 people have this kind of hamstring injury keep reoccurring. Um, and that he went to that, that was new doctors and the new training staff have hopefully figured out how to, how to prevent that. Cause he's a fun player. I had him, I drafted him pretty early in fantasy football last year and a couple of leagues hoping, you know, to have that magic and, uh, it didn't work out just cause of the injuries, but he's, he's a fun player. Yeah, for sure.
00:32:08
Speaker
Do you think Green Bay's defense will be better this year, going to a 4-3? I think you guys have the players for it. We were talking about those pass rushers at the beginning of the episode. ah If your new secondary pieces kind of pan out and having to a new defensive coordinator, sometimes it's just, that's what you need. You need to have kind of a new breath of fresh air come in, kind of put in some new philosophies and get the boys fired up on defense. And I think you guys got all the pieces too. I think Preston Smith's awesome. Gary is a solid player. You got a couple good rookies and then the free agent signing of Jeremy Kinstry from the Giants. and Solidify that back field.
00:32:48
Speaker
to where he he's kind of the general back there making sure everybody's where they're supposed to be. Yeah, I think Kenny Clark and I think my breakout player for defense
Fantasy Football Experiences and Strategies
00:32:58
Speaker
for sure, I think is going to be Devontae Wyatt. Get him in there and defensive, defensive tackle. Yeah, yeah, big boy him and I think another breakout one is going to be quite Walker. Yeah, he was. He was a high. You guys got him him. You got the Georgia guys in the first round, right? The yep why it didn't Walker.
00:33:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think I have walker in a dynasty league that i'm in and Where we have individual defensive players and I just always draft like a rookie linebacker because they get a lot of points for tackles Uh, so I think I think we have walker somewhere i've been a bunch i've been way too many fancy football all leagues keep pass of What's going on I think i'm in like five dynasty leagues and i'm in like three just normal redraft every year so It's it's a lot. It's it's a it's a third part-time job a third part time job. Wow. Yeah. ah When you hear Green Bay knowing the storied history, what what comes to mind?
00:34:00
Speaker
For me, it's it's the cheese heads. i grew Growing up, ah played a lot of Madden, and I would always love playing against the Packers, because I'd always do like franchise modes. And every time you you play in Green Bay, the fans just have those hats. And so for me, it was just like, oh, wow, that's really cool. ah Lambo Leap comes to mind. That's it's like a cool tradition. I like how your guys' is fans like will not let an opposing player jump up there. That's fun. I like that. um
00:34:32
Speaker
And then Brett Favre, I grew up in the golden era of Brett Favre slinging that football around, early 2000s and mid 2000s before he got traded around. So Brett Favre, I always trade for him too on Madden, because the Jaguars quarterback situation was always so bad. I was like, I could just get Brett Favre to team up with Fred Taylor and Marisha McCrew, I have something cooking here. Yeah. Fred Taylor. That's a flash in the past. That is my guy right there. Fred Taylor is my favorite player all time. I was going to ask you, who is he your favorite player of all time? I was going to ask you that. Favorite player of all time. Yeah. My, we just talked about this recently. We did an episode where we did a, we had two of our friends on and we did like a draft where we took our top five favorite sports moments of all time.
00:35:22
Speaker
Um, it was very fun episode, but one of the picks I gave was Fred Taylor's 90 yard rushing touchdown in the playoffs against Miami. Um, that's like my first memory of watching football. Um, and I joked and told the story on there. I was like, you know, I thought that's how football was. I thought the Jags were dominant. We were always going to be winning because we won that game by 62 to seven or something as biggest blowout playoff history. Um, I said, if I could go back and tell six-year-old me, this is not how it's going to be. Buckle up, buddy. But no, for for my first few years of watching football, I was like, oh, cool. like we're We're like one of these teams that just always wins. we were not We are not one of these teams that always wins, it turns out. But yeah, Fred Taylor, that was my guy. yeah I wore his number when I played football growing up. Just just one of those, just my favorite player. Just a running back.
00:36:16
Speaker
mean to be 642 30 and do the kind of things he did. I just thought it was just just magical to watch. I like watching him out Florida in college. Yeah, yeah, he was great Florida too and then he he kind of got banged up his first couple years and in the NFL and kind of got mislabeled. It was like a fragile guy, but after I think it was like his first two years he had some some hamstring injuries and then after that he averaged 100 yards a game for like 10 years in a row so. I think at one point when I did, when I did fantasy football, I, uh, pretty sure I had him on my team a few times. You know, he'd always be like the goal line touchdown guy. And yeah and then it was, it was fun. It was fun. Um,
00:37:03
Speaker
It was fun. Whenever Maurice Jones drew kind of, they got, they drafted him and Fred's like towards the end of his career and it kind of, kind of revived him a little bit. He didn't have to carry the rock so much and he'd come in and he'd have like eight carries in a game, but still have a hundred yards. Cause he still had that ability to bust one off and you know, make, make a couple guys miss. So yeah, yeah Fred Taylor, I'll always, you know, that's my guy. You should have already been in the hall of fame. I'll beat that drum for forever. It'll be a it'll be a day a happy day for me when he gets in. He'll he'll make it. It doesn't matter a time. Yeah, he got close this year. He he made it as far as he's been. he He got to be a finalist. So, should be, you know, in the next couple of years, we should finally get him in there. Right. Yeah, I hope he gets in there. I had fun watching him in college and and the NFL. Favorite type of cheese? Favorite type of cheese. I am a pepper jack kind of guy.
00:38:00
Speaker
Okay. Do you ever try ghost pepper? I, you know, I'm not, I like spicy food, but I don't like spicy food to the point where I'm not to have a fun time. Like my wings, I like a good mild buffalo wing. Uh, anything above mild, I'm like, you know what, it's starting to hurt. And, uh, where's, where's some water or some milk? I'm getting lit up over here.
00:38:31
Speaker
So you're going to a game and you're going to go to the tailgate.
Game Attendance and Stadium Exploration
00:38:33
Speaker
What are you bringing? huh Well, so I actually live in Tennessee. Um, so I don't go to any tailgates because I don't like to Titans at all. Um, but when I go down to Jacksonville, I make sure and bring my wallet because, uh, there's, and I'll give them a shout out bolt city brigade. They do all the tail. They do the best tailgate in Jacksonville, um, food drinks, but they also have a shop where you can buy stuff online.
00:39:02
Speaker
Um, but they also, they bring stuff to the games. So I always make sure I get some merch while I'm down there. Um, cause it's all retro stuff for the most part. And it's just, it's good, good quality products, good hats, hoodies, all that good stuff. Okay. But not a big tailgate guy. guy i like to Honestly, I like to get to the games obnoxiously early. My wife's like, why do we have to be there so early? I like to watch the guys warm up. up I like to walk around the stadiums. One of my buddies that we do the broadcast with, we do ah we've been doing a stadium tour the last couple of years where we we hit a new stadium every year that we've never been to.
00:39:38
Speaker
And so we like to just go and check those out and just kind of check out the stadium. We walk the whole thing and see everything we can see. So not a big tailgate guy. I like checking out the stadiums more. You ought to come to ah Lambo. Oh, it's it's on the list for sure. it's a We've kind of fallen into where We've just been going where the Jags play. He's a, he's a great friend. My, my boy Mason, uh, he, he's a huge Titans fan, but he willingly goes to Jaguar games with me. Uh, I tell him he's a better friend than me cause I'm not traveling anywhere to watch the Titans play. Like it is the Titans versus the Falcons. I'm not going to that dude. Sorry. I got a Jags game to watch. Uh, he's a better friend than me. Uh, we went to the Steelers stadium last year. Uh, and that was fun. It's very, you know, historic stadium.
00:40:28
Speaker
I got all their, their Super Bowl trophies up and a lot of history there. So that was, that was a fun step to get to. Yeah. If you ever do go to Lambo, A, let me know and B. i have ah They have a Hall of Fame, a Packers Hall of Fame inside the stadium. It's like a two story and everything from beginning to current. And it's just the amount of history, even if you're not a Packers fan is just respect the history of the game. And yeah, I'm a huge historian of of the NFL. I love, I love getting into like the, the older stats and just kind of.
00:41:02
Speaker
Me and my buddies we just kind of will play that random game of just name random NFL dudes. We just start naming players and it's yeah i guess Enjoy the history of the NFL if there's a lot a lot you can go back and research and cool fun stats fine But the Packers Stadium is definitely half
Visiting Lambeau Field and its Attractions
00:41:20
Speaker
of my list. I just don't know how I'm gonna get tickets Don't you guys have like like your season ticket holders take up like the whole stadium? I Well, you can still come up on the off season stadium tour. Oh, that's true. Okay. That's true. Stadium stadium is open like all year round, except for I think New Year's day. hu and for likecdu game tour You can do the Hall of Fame tour. You can do a stadium tour.
00:41:45
Speaker
I mean, and walk around, they have big statues of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi outside. They have a mock Lambeau leap outside. You can go take a picture. They have a three-story Vince Lombardi trophy and one of the wings of the stadium. Oh, that's pretty cool. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know all that. That's, that's cool. That's what happened earlier than normal. Just hoping you're around. I mean, come up for a game is cool, but I mean, just ah be able to be up here and not feel rushed by everybody around you. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
00:42:22
Speaker
What do you think of Matt Leflore as a play caller ah offensively? He comes from that McShea or McVeigh tree, right? So he's he's got it. that was It's like a ah supercharged West Coast offense. Yeah, I think you're gonna see him get the most out of Jordan love this will be you know year two of being in the offense and You know Jordan's gonna have that offense down and I and I think he's good play caller I I feel like he's he's put together He's kind of got a guy now on defense where he doesn't have to worry so much about the defense I think last year he's having to kind of put his hands in on the defensive side of the ball, be like, hey, like, you know, I got to help you make decisions because our defense is kind of letting us down here. I think he can solely focus on offense now, which is going to be a good thing for the Packers. Yeah, I, I'm glad I think Jordan loves the perfect quarterback for his offense. Yep. I think you had a ah snarly veteran in there before that.
00:43:21
Speaker
We changed the call. Yeah, Rogers Rogers at the end there and and even with the Jets, he's he's not making himself very likable. You know, like I always say, I thank him for what he did in the past, but I'm yeah, you know, love the guy, but I'm just glad that he's not our problem anymore. You know. two Yeah, we did, even though when he got hurt, we lost a second round draft pick. because there was something to do. He had to play like 50% of the games or we wouldn't get, you know, this hybrid draft. Anyways, you never want to see somebody to get hurt, but you know, yeah I still think we met we did good. yeah Do you think ah Jordan Love will win a ring with Green Bay? I mean,
00:44:17
Speaker
It's hard to see how he, how he wouldn't as far as like, I mean, the Packers are an organization that seems to always have their their ducks in a row and and know how to build teams. And he's such a young player that he should be around for, I mean, we talk about Packers quarterbacks 12, 15 years. It's hard to imagine he doesn't get one unless passion for Holmes is just going to win the next 15 and none of us have any fun. Yeah, yeah I think he will. It seems to be a trend. At least get wondering. Yeah. Wondering every years, I'll take it. Yeah, I would take it. Yeah, I would take a ring. You'd hope for more, but just everything's getting so different and complicated sometimes in the NFL. It's hard to, you know, you got trying to beat the salary cap and injuries and
00:45:08
Speaker
All that fun stuff. All right. like got one One final question for you, and then i'll I'll let you get on with your night. How do you think the Packers will finish this year in the North and in the NFC? I think this is going to be a bold take here. um I've got the Packers being the number two seed in the NFC, but I have them winning the NFC North. Uh, finishing around 11 and six, I believe, right? 17 games. This keeps throwing me off that new schedule stuff. Um, but I think, that I think the 49ers are going to take first again. They're just, they're just so, I don't know if they're just the team, the beat over there, but, uh, I think they, they get the number one seed as far as the NFC goes, but I think the Packers are right behind them.
00:45:54
Speaker
Um, I think the lions have a fall back to earth a little bit moment and hang over. Yeah. Yeah. Same thing. I think it's going to happen. Those Texans too. Uh, it's a lot harder than repeat when you have expectations on yourself. Yeah. I think the line come down a little bit. The Packers ah take advantage of having, you know, I mean, I haven't looked at their schedule in depth, but it's not a first place schedule. So it should be a little easier. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I had the Packers finishing 12 and five. There's some traffic. Yeah, 11 and six were probably the only game separating us is, you know, I think the Jags beat him down to Jacksonville. That's that's probably our only difference right there. Yeah, it's crazy how they sometimes they can't win like the warm weather games. They only win the cold weather games, you know.
00:46:46
Speaker
copy
00:46:49
Speaker
But. Well, that's going to bring it into this episode, Tyler. I want to thank you for being on. I'm glad we were able to figure out the technical issues and I look forward to possibly when the season starts or training camp to having you back on and see if that anything comes up and stuff to talk about. Maybe we can talk a lot more sports and do you watch much basketball or just a lot of football?
Next Guy Up Podcast and Personal Interests
00:47:13
Speaker
I'm more of a college basketball guy. um Okay. And then I do watch a lot of lot of college football um and then hockey. I've been getting into hockey the last couple of years, so no okay I don't know if you're a hockey guy or not, but it's been a new new sport for me the last couple of years. I've ah i've i watched the playoffs.
00:47:35
Speaker
Yeah, I watch a lot of baseball, football and basketball. So, okay. I'm trying to get in the baseball trying. Yeah. it's I bet on it enough that I'm trying to watch it now. So, but yeah, man. I appreciate you having me on for sure. I'm for sure. Anytime you want to have me back on, I'll be glad to come back on. Thanks for having me and let me shout out my podcast and all that good stuff. Wanna do it again? Give the shout out to the podcast. Yeah, so i make sure, so I am Tinseltown over on Twitter, but you can follow me and my guys at the Next Guy Up podcast. We are on ah Spotify, Apple. We have episodes every Monday and Friday talking sports, just talking really everything. We talk about a lot of random stuff, a lot of Pixar movie, Disney movie kind of stuff, but, ah and then sports as well. So have a fun time. So check us out over there.
00:48:31
Speaker
And yeah, appreciate it. Awesome. Well, thanks again, Tyler.