February 18, 2025 • 40 mins
Brian Noe & Jason Fitz fill in for the guys and talk about Round 2 of USA vs. Canada in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, the Bengals looking to sign all their top free agents to long-term deals, Cam Ward warning teams not to pass on him, and more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, thanks for listening to the Two Pros and a
Cup of Joe Podcast with LaVar Arrington, Brady Quinn, and
myself Jonas Knox. Make sure you catch us live weekdays
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Show over at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us
(00:22):
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Speaker 2 (00:32):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, good morning everybody.
Hope you're Tuesdays off to a great start. We will
get to betting on the enemy, but first we are
broadcasting live from the tirec dot com studios tireraq dot com.
(00:52):
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Speaker 3 (01:00):
The way tired buying should be. Jason Fitz, what's going on, man?
How are things going with you?
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Man? I'm just living the dream hanging out with you
early in the morning. Let's go.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
I have my honey, do I feel like I'm just
you know, I'm ready to roll. I got you know,
I feel good, feel energetic. That put a little salt
on your melon. That's the best way to start your day.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
And then we go it's beautiful, man. I'm glad that
you're fired up and ready to go. You know what's
funny is I have to tell you a brief story
before we get to maybe betting on the enemy.
Speaker 6 (01:28):
You said, living the dream.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It always makes me think of one of my nephews, Tie,
because he lost a bet to me way back when.
That's a side story, and he had to get a
buzz haircut, right. So I take him to my friend
Chris the barber, and so Ty is about to sit
down in the barber's chair and my friend Chris goes, hey,
you live in the dream. And my nephew Tie, he
(01:51):
was really young. He looks at him and goes, no,
I had to like explain what the whole thing was,
but he was so young, you had no ideas. I
always think a Tie whenever someone says that.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
How did you look with the buzz cut? Though, that's
a real question.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You know what's funny is I thought they were the
cutest things ever because they had these real short buzz
haircuts when they were really, really young and then they
lost that bet to me and they had to get
the buzz haircuts that was part of the deal, and
they hated them. They wore like baseball caps immediately, and
they grew their hair out. They've had like not long hair,
but like grown out hair ever since then. I think
(02:28):
I completely turned them against buzz haircuts for the rest
of their lives.
Speaker 6 (02:33):
Is what happened on that bet right there fits everybody.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Can not everybody can handle it like it's you know,
it's not for I'll be honest. I went in a
few months ago and it was just like, hey, shave
it all off, just nice randomly.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
I went in and I shaved it all off one day.
But the thing is, this was the key.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
I didn't tell anybody I was doing it, so then
you know, the next day I'm walking in and seeing
friends or like posting videos on social media from you know,
the Yahoo work that I do, and all of a sudden,
people are the first thing people start asking when you're
an adult you shave your head.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
They're like, are you okay. I'm like, no, I'm fine, y'all.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
I just decided I didn't want to have any hair
for a while, so you know, I let it grow
back out.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
But I don't know, I kind of liked it.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
I kind of liked it just the freedom of not
having to worry about it like it was gone gone,
like it was it was all gone. So, you know,
I kind of like the freedom of just being able
to you throw on a hat or a beanie in
New England.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
You don't have to worry about whether or not it
messed up your hair in the middle of winter.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
You know, like these these are these are quality things
about bush cuts. You know.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
It's unfortunately they didn't like them, but you know, maybe
later in life they'll try it again.
Speaker 6 (03:31):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
You got to change up your looks from time to time.
I went shaved head for you know, a brief portion,
just for the heck of it, just kind of like
you like, oh, let me see what this is like.
I went with a mohawk that I called a no hawk, right,
that I dyed blue, because why would you just have
a regular mohawk. You need a blue mohawk, right, So
I did that for a stretch. I had long hair,
(03:52):
and this is the thing fits people said I looked
like Jesus Christ, you know, so I would go this
is like back in college, I'd go to a house party,
it'd be like Christmas.
Speaker 6 (04:02):
They'd be like.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Happy Birthday, man hey, happy bread And I hated that.
So I noticed if it was in small, single braids,
like loose braids, I looked less like Jesus Christ. So
I rocked that out for a little while back in
my guitar playing days. So I've had different looks throughout.
I feel like you got to change your looks from
time to time.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
Fits you and I are like we're soulmates. So it's
so funny because I had long hair for a minute,
but that was because humble brag. When I got my
first record deal, I'll never forget, the president of Capitol
Records at the time looked at us. We'd just finished
singing and he's like, you guys are amazing, and he
points to me and he's like, you are not cool.
So we're gonna grow your hair out of it. So
that's that's the only reason. And I always hated it.
(04:44):
And then when I shaved it off for a while
on the road, I went mohawk. But the key to
the mohawk was I went I went skunked mohawks.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
So like the middle was just I bleached it blonde,
and that.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Way I could use colored hair spray every day so
that I could change the color of my hair for
every show every night.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Like it was, you know, the the whole.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
I think when you've gone through the long hair stage
and then gotten gotten out of the long hair stage,
you're just more free with the hair for your rest
of your life. You're like, you know what, Sometimes I
have it, sometimes I don't. It's part of the joy
of it.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I just love the different phases of your life where
you're moving around a lot and your look changes so much.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
You know, like I have short hair now.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Like my friends that knew me with long hair, they'd
be like, who are you right now? You know, like
you don't even recognize each other. I just love that
part of your story. You get the record deal, this
is a big deal. You've made it. And then immediately
the guy you you're not cool.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Like and he was right by the way, very very
as to Tee was right, I was not cool.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
The hair didn't help that either, you know, the hair
didn't help you.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I got a question for you, fits Okay, so have
you been into this hockey stuff at all?
Speaker 6 (05:51):
The Four Nations face off US and Canada.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
They're gonna They're gonna go for the championship here on Thursday.
Speaker 6 (05:58):
I got a question. You've just been kind of like
lukewarm into this thing.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
No, I love it.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
I think you are. Oh, you're in nice.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
I'm all in. I'm all in on four Nations.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, what do you think about betting on the enemy,
because I think the championship game has all.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Canada written all over it? My friend?
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Is that, like, you know, is that a trader thing
to do as a US citizen to bet on Canada?
With the whole back and forth they're booing our anthem
over here?
Speaker 6 (06:26):
Fits? Is that permissible to bet on them?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
No?
Speaker 5 (06:30):
I mean, come on, like, I love making money, yes,
so you know, the entrepreneur me appreciates the hustle on
going out there. But man, I don't know, like they've
been booing like plus, the last game was so contentious.
We had two fights in the first eight seconds of
the last game, Like, right, you know, there's enough bad
blood here there. We've got enough full Taylor Swift here
(06:50):
that you know. To me, I don't know, man, Like
they're booing our anthem.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
We're fighting with them. We kicked their butts in the
last game.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
The empty netitor to help the final margin on it,
but still we kicked their butts in the last game.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I feel like this is this is anti American.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
You can't bet on Canada in this moment, Like, and
let's face it, there is something that we've lost at times,
and it's a communal pride moment, you know, when everybody's
sitting around I don't know, like if you're sitting around
with your buddies and you're like, I actually got money
on Canada. I feel like now you can't celebrate when
there's a goal. I can't celebrate for MoCCA like that.
(07:28):
There's so many different layers to why it holds you back.
I think this is one of those moments where what
you do is you don't bet Canada and then you
tell everybody so that you can feel good about it.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Hey, I thought Canada was.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Gonna win this, but I didn't feel good betting about it.
Now you're totally American and everybody.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Will love that.
Speaker 6 (07:44):
Yeah, this is uh man.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
There are there's a ripple effect with this potential bet
that's unlike other ripple effects, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
What I mean.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Like if you, let's say it's a football game and
you're like, you know what, it's Week sixteen, I'm gonna
lay the point with the Chargers against the Raiders or whatever. Right, Like,
more times than not, it's not You're not gonna be
looked at as a complete trader, you know, unless you
have to be a diehard fan of one of the
teams and you're betting against them. It's different when it
comes to that. But when it comes to like a
(08:15):
national type thing, when this is international hockey, right, yeah,
I could see where if you're I'm not gonna be
around up group of buddies that that problem solved.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
You know, there's no one around.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I'm gonna be like, you know what, I'm actually on
team Canada and they look at me like what.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Nobody. That's the that's the solt.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Don't watch with friends, just watch by yourself and make
some cash if you think that's the winning side.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
But here's the best part about making cash on these
things is that, like the fun in making cash isn't
just that you made a little bit of money. It's
that you get to bragg to everybody, right, Like you're
gonna throw it.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Up there for the world to see.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
You're gonna put it out in the group text yip,
got it, maybe myself a little cash tonight.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
You can't do any of that at this point, like
you got to.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
You gotta quietly win, like nobody will know what they'll
be intos, you know, like suddenly you're driving a better car, Like.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
That's like good fellas, you know, yeah, like the pink Cadillac.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
You got a mink coat. You know, everyone's like, wait
a minute, what's going on? You bet on Canada? Is
that what's going on here?
Speaker 5 (09:14):
I mean that's the the hard part about it is
like when you bet and you're right, you want to
tell the world.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
I don't know if you'll be able to tell the world.
Speaker 6 (09:21):
So that's a good point.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Finally take your money.
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Yeah, so you're saying, don't tweet the winning.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Ticket like oh Canada with like a Canadian emoji flag
on the right, Like probably a bad move.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
And the funny thing to me is you mentioned when
people bet on against their favorite team. And this is
one thing that I've just never understood because I have
plenty of friends that do it. They'll hedge their emotions
on a Sunday and say, well, you know what, I'm
a massive insert team fan here. But here's the thing.
I bet on the other team today. So either way
I'll be happy. No, you won't like that. That's such
(09:57):
a film you say either way, I'll be happy. But
when your favorite team loses, you are still so emotionally
despondent for so many of us. Let's be honest, Like,
if you made a hundred bucks on the game, is
it really suddenly softening the blow of getting your ass
kicked by your rival.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
I don't think it is. No, we're compartmentalizing. It doesn't
really work that way.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
So I think you're better off, you know, when there's
emotion around it. I think you're better off just being
honest with yourself and not even playing it.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
You know.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Fits.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I have a confession to make here because this goes
back a long time ago. So I'm from South Bend, Indiana.
I love Notre Dame football, and there was a year
a while ago they were just going to be terrible
this particular year, and before the season even started, I
bet on USC.
Speaker 6 (10:45):
It's a Notre Dame rival.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I'm like, there's no way Notre Dame is winning this
game or even covering the spread, And I bet on USC.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
And like, I don't know August or earlier.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
It was like one of these early lines that came
out whenever they played later in the season, and Notre
Dame was hosting the game. I think Jimmy Clausen was
still the quarterback.
Speaker 6 (11:05):
They were bad.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
They're a bad football team, and I bet it was
a bigger bet for me. I normally don't bet this much,
but I was. I bet five hundred bucks on USC,
and I'm gonna tell you, fits you bet for me,
it was a big bet. It's like, that was one
of the worst sporting experiences I've ever had. Notre Dame
was getting crushed. I forget what they're They're down by
at least three touchdowns, and they started making this comeback
(11:29):
and all of a sudden, they had a two point
conversion to basically be covering the spread late in the game,
and I found myself rooting for USC because I'm like,
stop them. And then I just had this moment of like,
I feel like I need to take twenty.
Speaker 6 (11:45):
Seven showers in a row.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
I will never do this again where I'm betting against
my team. It was the most awkward feeling because Notre
Dame wasn't gonna win the game. They were just in
jeopardy of covering the spread, and it would have been
a double whammy. My team loses and I don't win
my bet on USC minus the points.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
I will never do that again. Fits. That was the
worst experience ever.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
You know. I remember several years ago being at a
bar in Nashville at the time watching my beloved Raiders.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
And there was a long touchdown and I this was
back in the Darren McFadden era, and I had Dearren
mcfatten on a fantasy team, and I.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Remember jumping up and down and yelling at the the
It was like an eighty r touchdown run against the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
And I remember yelling in the bar because you know,
eightyr touchdown was also great for my fantasy team. And
one of my buddies watching the game pointed out that
it was actually the backup running back that been in
on that play and scored, and I was so mad,
like I was just the rest of the game. I
was livid, and I decided in that moment, and to
this day, I don't draft Raiders when I play fantasy.
(12:50):
I mean I host fantasy content for Yahoo also, and
I don't touch it.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
I don't like.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
There's just an element for me where I don't want
to sit there and have any reason to have any
feeling other than absolute joy whenever my favorite team scores.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
So I eliminate all these variables.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
I don't bet against four or against the Raiders, and
I don't involve the Raiders in anything on fantasy because
at least then all I have to worry about is
the one thing. The main thing, gets to stay the
main thing. Will my favorite football team win, because the
rest of this stuff just isn't worth it to me.
It's not worth what it does to you emotionally in
that moment when you're freaking out about a touchdown or
any sort of a score and then you realize, well,
(13:27):
actually that didn't help my fantasy team. Yeah, then all
of a sudden, you're that guy, and I say, I
can't be that guy when it comes to my favorite team.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Man, I love that approach. There's gotta be a time
or two. Maybe it's this upcoming draft where you're sitting there,
brock Bowers is on the board, it fits perfectly on
your team, and you're tempted. You're like, man, brock Bowers
is a stud I know if it's gonna be eighty
nine catching it, you know I'm not gonna mix them
(13:54):
up with somebody else. He stands out and that little
devil on your shoulder is like, draft him, just do
it him. And you're like, no, I'm gonna draft like
Bill's tight end Dawson Knox at.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
The very very you know, I'm you're right there.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I had to bend temptations over the years to draft
a Raider or two, right have to h.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Yeah, there are, But I'm you just got to stay
true to the rule. If I draft Brock, it'll be
simply to trade him. I shouldn't reveal that strategy to
the rest of my leagues. But if I draft him,
it will simply be a now I've got him, who
wants him?
Speaker 4 (14:24):
And what will you give me for him?
Speaker 5 (14:25):
That's the only way because other than that, like, I
don't want to find myself late in the season angry
that a touchdown went to you know, whatever wide receivers
they have next year as opposed to Brock powers and
then sitting there, you know, angry about the fact that
my favorite team didn't utilize my fantasy points to the score.
So I gotta stay true to you know it's it's peaceful.
And believe me, I have betting friends all the time
(14:47):
that tell me, hey, you know, the team you know
the best is the team you should bet on, and
that's clearly the Raiders.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
But yeah, I don't need that in my life.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
My god, it's already hard enough being a Raiders fan, Like,
I don't need to lose money on it.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
On top of that, it's just.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
I struggle enough to find joy every Sunday. On top
of like thinking about what it does to my wallet
when they lose.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Good time, man, I know it's too much, absolutely too much,
all right. So we are often running over here. We've
got Jason fitz Uh, I'm Brian know. We're in for
Two Pros and a Cup of Joe coming up. This
team is thinking about keeping the band together. Is it
a smart approach if the band has just been really bad?
Speaker 6 (15:27):
So we'll get to that coming up.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
We're live from the Tirack dot Com studios right here
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (15:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
He's Jason Fitz. I'm Brian Know. We're in for two
pros and a cup of Joe here on Fox Sports Radio.
We're coming to you from the tire rack dot com studios.
All right, fits, So the Bengals, they're trying to keep
the band together. They're going to attempt to sign three
of their stars to long term deals this offseason. They're
trying to sign wide receivers Jamar Chase and T Higgins
(16:11):
and also their defensive end Trey Hendrickson, and it's it's
gonna be challenging. Okay, they might have to franchise tag
T Higgins. Jamar Chase, you remember, right, he's a triple
Crown guy. Now he just led the league in catches,
receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. So signing that guy, you're
(16:32):
talking around forty million dollars per year. And they're trying
to get Hendrickson and they're trying to get T Higgins.
Speaker 6 (16:39):
That's a lot of cash, man.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
So I guess the first thing is do you think
it makes sense to devote that much money to two
wide receivers? Because I don't You've got Joe Burrow, who's
a special quarterback, and you're gonna have to skimp in
areas with that roster. And so to sign Jamar Chase
off a triple crown year and t Higgins to long
(17:02):
term deals plural, I just don't think that's a smart approach.
Maybe franchising tea for a year, maybe that would work,
But long term deals for all three I just don't
see how that's a viable way to go forward.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
I think the hardest part about the long term deals
is that you missed the window to do that effectively.
Because the argument to this is always, well, look at
what the Eagles are doing.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
And one of the keys.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
To how Howie Roseman has constructed his roster is A,
they're pushing the can down the street a little bit
on some of the salary cap numbers with avoidable years.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
At the end of contracts. But b he gets ahead
of it.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
He's run his entire organization for years under the press
on the premise of I'd rather sign you early and
get ahead of whatever market.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Value is than sign you late.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Well, the Bengals have missed all of those windows for
each of the players you just mentioned, like they're taking
a Cowboys approach of We're gonna let this thing go
as long as it takes well. When you take that approach,
it costs you more more So, I think anytime somebody
wants to use the comp of well, the Eagles have
managed to sign all these guys, you have to acknowledge
the fact that part of that method is getting ahead
(18:09):
of it. And you already missed that window for the Bengals.
So now you've got a team that frankly has money
to spend, but they have to look in the mirror
because you know, the way that they have wasted the
prime years at this point of Joe Burrow is malpractice
for an NFL's team. You know, I just you had
this great offense and you couldn't get everybody on the
field healthy the way you wanted and took forever and
(18:31):
then even after your quarterback started to just absolutely blow
up and had to look at MVP type season this year,
what did that actually result on the field with nothing?
We have to go back to this part of what
we just saw, like the method, the blueprint of beating the.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Kansas City Chiefs is out there.
Speaker 5 (18:50):
The blueprint we've seen in two different Super Bowls now
is dominate on the defensive line in a way that
their offensive line can't handle it.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Like that is easier said than done. But we've now
seen two.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Super Bowls where the Chiefs lost because they were absolutely
destroyed on the line of scrimmage. So what do the
Bengals do when they're sitting here with the quarterback that
is capable.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Of beating Mahomes we've seen it.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Well, they're gonna invest more in the wide receivers and
still not have a defense like that doesn't make any
sense to me. That's you're looking at the math that
we've already seen over here.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
And you say, well, we're not gonna do that.
Speaker 5 (19:20):
We're just gonna keep stacking the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
I just I don't think you can win in the AFC.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
I don't think that you can beat the Chiefs unless
you can put together a defensive line that can absolutely dominate.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
The Bengals don't have that.
Speaker 5 (19:32):
Their money, their focus, their draft picks, their allocation should
all be going.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
To that right now.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Yeah, man, their defense was rough last season. That's the
reason why Joe Burrow put up legit MVP type numbers
and they went nine to eight, Right and their defensive coordinator,
lou Anarumo got fired. Like he's with the Colts now
it's at a new address. So yeah, you need more talent.
It's not like lou forgot how to coach defense. They
(19:58):
just don't have a lot of talent on that side
of the ball. And it showed you can't have in
this day and age right the twenty twenty four season,
when your quarterback puts up numbers like Joe Burrow, you
should not be a nine to eight football team. You know,
he threw for almost five thousand yards, fits he threw
forty three touchdown passes in nine interceptions. His passer rating
(20:20):
is third in the entire NFL over one oh eight.
That's fantastic. They're barely above five hundred, you know, like
you can't have a defense that is that week and
signing T Higgins to a long term deal or even
franchising him that does nothing to fix the lack of
(20:41):
talent defensively. So I just know Joe Burrow is a
special quarterback and I think the Mahomes approach makes more
sense here where they didn't sign Tyreek Hill to this
enormous deal. They went in a different direction. They went young,
and really they got burned because Rashie Rice got hurt
last year. If you have Rashie Rice and Xavier Worthy,
(21:03):
that's a pretty good one two combo right there, and
that's what they'll have this upcoming season. But they didn't
break the bank for a wide receiver. What the Bengals
are trying to do, they're not only trying to sign
like the equivalent of Tyreek Hill with the Chiefs, they're
trying to sign another stud like alongside Tyreek Hill. The
(21:24):
Chiefs didn't even sign Tyreek so you don't have to
do everything the Chiefs way. But I think that approach
makes a lot of sense. If you've got a special quarterback,
you don't need to get him all the wide receiver
bells and whistles in the world. He's gonna put up
numbers regardless. You can use that money to address weaker
spots where you don't have a Joe Burrow type player
(21:47):
to compensate for that. So I just think moving on
from t Higgins makes a lot more sense to address
other areas of need.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Once you start paying people to it becomes even more
important the you nail it in the draft, and that's
part of what we I mean just the fact that, look,
there are a million reasons why Jalen Carter was available
when the Eagles went to the draft podium.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
I want to.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Stress that I've covered the draft since twenty sixteen. I
used to cover it for ESPN, now for Yahoo. And
the only time I've ever had to pre write a
statement and have it ready for a draft pick when
he was selected was Jalen Carter because we understood that
we had to get the verbiage very right on what he'd.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Been accused of and what had happened at that point.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
So I say that only to say that there was
context around why he was available, so you know that happened.
But then also you have last year's draft, where widely
Quinya Mitchell was widely respected as the top corner available
in the draft.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Just he was there. He fell for him.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
Cooper Degene is somebody that most people had a much
higher grade on, and just.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
The way the draft board fell, he was there. So
the ability to use.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
The draft, I tell people all the time, if your
favorite team stinks, you got to look in the mirror
and ask yourself, how many news do we need?
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Because a Hall of Fame offseason.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Oh my god, we have the executive of the year
running our organization. Offseason might net you a total of
four or five wow, new starters. Like that's a Hall
of Fame level. And that's what the Eagles got last year.
The Eagles got a Hall of Fame level offseason. It
doesn't happen very often. So if you're the Bengals, you
got to look around and say, Okay, if we're gonna
start paying guys, do we have the front office here
(23:26):
that is gonna nail every single draft pick. Because once
you start paying guys, boy, you better get the first, second,
third rounders. They better all turn out to be starters.
So now you're paying a wide receiver, which is when's
above replacement, one of the positions you should be able
to overtime, churn and burn, should be able to find
wide receivers in the draft more and more, so you're
(23:46):
paying one of those wide receivers. You're trusting your front
office to then nail the draft and get the rest
of what they need. Constantly like these feel like variables.
I wouldn't trust the Bengals to nail. So even in
the sense of even if you want to find the
to stack the bricks and say, okay, no, the signing
team makes sense. It only makes sense if all of
these other things are also going right for you, and
(24:07):
they're not gonna go right for the Bengals, so that
it just feels failed from the outset.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah, you know, I wonder if we're at some point
fits gonna see the way the league thinks of running backs,
you know, like in general, if they're going to start
thinking of wide receivers similarly, because if you look at
running backs, okay, the top top guys, they make decent money, right,
(24:33):
you know, like relative to their position. They're not breaking
the bank anymore for running backs. But you saw the
impact of Saquon Barkley, Derick Henry.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
Those are special guys. The way they treat other.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Running backs is they use them on their rookie deals
and then if they're not like Christian McCaffrey when healthy,
you know, upper upper echelon, they'd go young and they
draft the next guy, you know, And I wonder if
that's gonna be similar with wide receivers. The top, top
end guys, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, those special wide receivers,
(25:06):
they're gonna make major money I'm not saying they shouldn't,
but the next tier down instead of breaking the bank
for those guys, are they gonna look and say, man
wide receiver is it's typically a rich draft position, you know,
and you can go young and you can find someone
who's good, maybe not as good, but sufficient, and we
(25:30):
just go young with that number two receiver, that number
three receiver. Why are the Bengals trying to sign t
Higgins to a long term extension when they have Jamar Chase.
I just don't think that makes sense. If you had
like draft after draft after draft where there's just a
lack of depth at wide receiver talent, Okay, that makes sense.
(25:52):
That's not the case you see time after time rich
wide receiver drafts. I just think it makes more sense
to go young when you're talking about your number two
or number three receiver. If you've got a high end
number one, if you've got a bunch of number two's, okay,
maybe that makes more sense. You've got a legit, bona
fide number one stud in Jamar Chase, I just don't
(26:13):
see the sense and backing up the brinks truck Forty
Higgins also, I just think that's a bad approach by
the Bengals.
Speaker 5 (26:21):
So take a look at according to overthecap dot com,
right now looking at twenty twenty five wide receiver salaries
and look at the cap numbers. The number one cap
number next year at the wide receiver position currently is
DeVante Adams, who he most people expect are gonna be
cut by the Jets, right because of that large cap number.
The number three cap number belongs to DK Metcalf, who
(26:41):
is on the trading block according to multiple reports at
this point at thirty two million dollars, Cooper cup is
on the trading block, you know is twenty twenty nine
point seven million dollars, right like Calvin Ridley for the Titans,
twenty eight million dollars.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
Go up and down the list.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
These are all guys that you know have situations with
their contracts at this point speaks to what you're talking
about the next level. The aj Browns and Nico Collins,
Courtland Sutton's like those guys are all of the seventeen eighteen,
nineteen twenty million dollar range.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
You are absolutely right, like there's.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Going to become a have and have not at the
wide receiver position. If you've got a CD and you know,
Seed's gonna be worth thirty five million. T if you've
got Justin Jefferson, he's gonna be worth whatever he wants.
Like Justin Jefferson, right now, according to the over the
cap is only fifteen million. That number is about to explode.
The thing is Justin Jefferson is at fifteen million. That's
(27:34):
going to explode. Jacoby Myers is right behind him at
fourteen point nine million. That number ain't about to explode.
Like You're going to discover quickly that if you've got
one of the top five or six guys in the league,
you're gonna pay that guy, there's no doubt about it.
But if you've got the twelfth best wide receiver, now
we're talking about wins above replacement.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
If you've got the fifteenth best wide receiver, is it
worth getting.
Speaker 5 (27:56):
Into the thirty million dollar range for a guy like
that or is it worth continually going going back into
the draft. And I think we're gonna find over time
that that answers go back into the draft more often
than not.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Yeah, you know, it's funny, man, I'm just looking at
the twenty three draft. You know, I just went instead
of like all rookies, this past season. I just went
back another draft just to see how much depth there
is at wide receiver and fits man. We're talking depth here.
You know, the top wide receiver Chowsen in the twenty
three draft was the twentieth overall pick. Jackson Smith and Jigba.
(28:29):
He's been fantastic. He had a great year for the
Seahawks this past season, right same first round. Zay Flowers
with the Ravens, Jordan Addison with the Vikings. These guys
have all contributed. Jayden Reid with the Packers has been good.
Rashie Rice with the Chiefs before he got Hurts fantastic.
Tank Dell with the Texans before he had a leg injury.
He contributed. Josh Downs with the Colts has been pretty decent.
(28:53):
You keep going down. There have been other guys that
have contributed. Fifth round, Puka Nakua, the fifth rounder. You know,
like you're fine depth the Bengals. Coincidentally enough, that same draft,
sixth round andre Yosi Vosh, Who's contributed as like your
number three receivers.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
So when you can find that much.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Depth, I just I don't know why you're not trying
to move on from T Higgins. I don't get it,
but hey, they're trying to keep the band together at
least for now. Do you think it makes sense the
even franchise tea You think one more year? What do
you think about that fits? Because that's even a high
dollar amount.
Speaker 7 (29:30):
No.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
I think the only reason I have a franchising is
if I was trying to do a sign and trade.
And look, I think T is a number one somewhere too, Like,
this isn't about T.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
This is just about man.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
If you're the Bengals, you got to look in the
mirror and ask yourself do you have anywhere near enough
pieces on the defensive side of the ball, and so
otherwise you're just you're just constantly going to be running
back this nine wins sort of. You know this, this
conversation we have every year. Oh, nobody wants to take
on that team in the playoffs. Okay, fine, if that's
(30:02):
if you take a lot of pride in being the
team that nobody wants to faces in the playoffs, but
you're desperately trying to scratch and claw your way back
into this thing every year. To me, this is a
wild influx of new talent on the defensive side of
the ball. Is the only priority. And then I got
Joe Burrow. Like the other thing that I'm always gonna
worry about if I'm the Bengals is I'm just gonna
continue to hammer the offensive line. Like I don't want
(30:25):
to oversimplify here, but we just saw in a Super
Bowl that these things are won in the trenches, right,
And so we saw throughout the course of the majority
of the year, like the two best teams in the
NFC clearly most of the year were the Detroit Lions
and the Philadelphia Eagles. What do they have in common
of both of those teams, especially when healthy, We're dominant
on both lines. Like, I know, none of us love
(30:46):
covering the draft when you have to talk about a
bunch of fat guys getting drafted that we can't really analyze.
Like if your favorite team draft's a fat guy you've
never heard of, then put your feet up and have
a beer because, like you probably just had a really
good draft. I understand why you want the sexiness to
tea but man, there's just a lot of other needs
for the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
It really is true, man. And when we just saw
the Super Bowl and the Eagles dominate on both their lines, right,
the O line, the D line. They both did work.
And yeah, I know, it's kind of like the quote
unquote skill position players, the fantasy football players. Yeah, those
(31:26):
are fun and they can absolutely contribute. But man, if
you have work to do in the trenches and you're
bypassing that for the sexy players, that can absolutely come
back to bite you. It's happened time and time again.
I guess the thing is, to me, this is less
of a Bengals thing and more of ask yourself what
you would want if this was the same situation with
(31:48):
your favorite team. You know, if it's you'r a Raiders guy.
I've loved the Dolphins for whatever reason since I can remember.
You know, if they had exactly what the Bengals had,
same exact situation. They have Burrow, they have Jamar Chase,
they have T Higgins, They're off a nine to eight season,
their defense sucked, right, Like, would I want them to
(32:09):
re sign both wide receivers to long term deals?
Speaker 6 (32:13):
No, I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I would want them to sign Jamar Chase and move
on from T. Higgins, And like you said, maybe franchise them,
try to trade them, don't let them leave for nothing.
That sort of thing, But no, I think that you
got to address other areas of need. And we'll see
what the Bengals do. But at least that's not their
thinking right now, that's not their approach. But we'll see
(32:35):
what happens when they're trying to hammer out these deals. Hey,
shortly after the show, our podcast would be going up.
If you missed anything on today's show, be sure to
check it out. Just search Two Pros wherever you get
your podcasts. Be sure to follow, rate and review it also. Again,
just search two Pros wherever you get your podcasts, and
you'll see the show posted right after we get off
the air. All right, we've got Jason Fitz. I'm Brian No.
(32:57):
We're in for Two Pros and a Cup of Joe
here on Fox Sports Radio. Coming up next. Man, I
love this. This is a great statement by an NFL prospect.
It might work out well for him. It did not
work out well at all for another NFL prospect who
had similar thoughts.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
We'll share those with you. Next.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
We're live from the Tirack dot Com studios right here
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (33:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern, three am Pacific.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
He's Jason Fitz. I'm Brian No.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
We're in for two pros and a cup of Joe
here on Fox Sports Radio, coming to you live from
the tirec dot Com studios. I love this statement by
quarterback cam Ward. So obviously he's one of the top
prospects right, might be the number one overall pick.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
Fits.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
But he says if teams don't draft him, quote I'll remember.
I love that quote. Great quote. His full quote is,
if you don't draft me, that's your fault. You've got
to remember you're the same team that's got to play
me for the rest of my career.
Speaker 6 (34:08):
And I'll remember that. I love that.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
So he could be right, might be a stud might
make teams that bypass him pay over the years to come.
But it does remind me of Josh Rosen. Remember when
Josh Rosen said something similar out of UCLA. He went
tenth overall in the twenty eighteen draft, and his quote was,
nine mistakes were made ahead of me, and I will
(34:33):
make sure over the next decade or so that they
will know that they made a mistake and that did
not turn out to be the case at all. Fits
It's not very short NFL career from Josh Rosen, and
if you go back and look at who is drafted
ahead of him, it makes his statement even more wrong.
So we'll see what happens with cam Ward, but I'm
(34:55):
hoping for cam Ward's sake it doesn't play out the
same way it did for Josh Rosen.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
I to start here, I root for every kid that
has a chance to be drafted, and so my hope
is that every one of these kids it's drafted turns
into a Hall of Famer. That being said, I mean,
I think most of us that had been doing any
work on the draft for the last few years knew
that this year was coming, and we knew that this
year was going to be a down year for quarterbacks.
(35:21):
In fact, for anyone that doesn't know, most NFL teams
scout in two and three year windows at positions. So
a lot of the concept going into last year's draft
was teams are going to be more aggressive in the
first fifteen picks to take a quarterback because the quarterbacks
in the upcoming draft this year are considered to be
at a lesser level, and as a result, teams want
(35:41):
to be aggressive and get their guy last year and
that's we saw that. We saw the unexpected trade up
for Michael Pennix junior, We saw bo Nix go to
the Broncos. And you know, I've started even a bunch
of my draft prep. It's funny talking to everybody.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
I've asked the.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
Same question, like we're all asking where would these quarterbacks
rank in last year's class? And the best answer I've
gotten has been above bo Nicks.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
And the more.
Speaker 5 (36:05):
Honest answer I have gotten repeatedly has been below Bonick.
So Cam or Schador, either one would have been the
seventh best quarterback in the eyes of many last year.
So I just say that because look, I sit here
as a die hard fan of a team that desperately
needs a quarterback with the Las Vegas Raiders, and I'd
say the same thing to Giants fans. Just because you
are desperate to marry somebody doesn't mean that that you
(36:27):
should put a ring on the person you're dating right now.
Like hear me, that is not going to work out.
And unfortunately, I mean I love Cam coming in and
saying I'll make everybody remember but I think there's a
much better chance this draft class ends up being like
Zach Wilson, then this draft class ends up being epic.
Speaker 4 (36:45):
Oh my god, guys that you want to take.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
I genuinely hope that there's a run on these two
quarterbacks before the Raiders even pick, so that they're not
stuck in a situation where they take a quarterback that
you know isn't really the answer. So, you know, frankly,
it's it's a bummer. It's a bummer for all of
us as fans when your favorite team needs a quarterback
and it's a bad draft for one. But y'all, it's
a bad draft for quarterbacks. So that's just that's just
(37:08):
being real and being honest.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
Wow, that's that's wild, right, Like this this is the
right time for both cam Ward and Shouder Sanders because
they're gonna be high picks. And if that's the case,
if a lot of you know, league executives and the GMS,
if that's true, if they view cam Ward and should
do in that bow Nicks range maybe the sixth or
(37:31):
seventh best prospects if they were coming out last season,
that's really interesting, because man, this is the time to
strike this year, right, like they're gonna go a lot
higher than they would have had they been eligible last season.
So it's interesting for both guys. I think when you
go back to in light of what cam Ward said,
I'll remember if you if you bypass me in the draft,
(37:54):
just makes me think of Josh Rosen again, tenth overall pick.
How crazy is this fits where he said nine mistakes
were made ahead of me. So think of how it
didn't work out for Josh Rosen, Right, he was out
of the league before you knew it, and look at
who was drafted ahead of him. It's ridiculous. So a
lot of quarterbacks. Number one, Baker Mayfield, he's resurrected his
(38:15):
career in Tampa. Right, He's put together back to back
really good seasons. Saquon Barkley is an absolute stud. That
was the second overall pick. Then it was Sam Darnold
who got off to a rough start, but pretty good
season all things considered. With the Vikings last year, he's
still in the league. Right, it's better than Josh Rosen,
Denzel Ward, cornerback, Bradley Chubb, ben productive, Quinton Nelson stud
(38:38):
guard with the Colts. Josh Allen heard of him with
the Bills, right, like Rokwan Smith, who's been really good
for the Bears and the Ravens, and Mike McGlinchey, who's
an offensive lineman who's you know, still starting, still collecting
a paycheck. So nine mistakes were not made ahead of
Josh Rosen. That's probably one of the all time worst
(39:00):
statements as it turned out, like calling your shot and
that was not the case whatsoever.
Speaker 5 (39:06):
Yeah, and you think about that, and it's a reminder
of best player available. Like earlier we were talking about
the fact that the Eagles went out and you know,
just because of the way the board fell, they had
you know, QUINNYA. Mitchell and Cooper de Gen both available
to him right there. It's great work by them to
take the guys that the.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
Best player available.
Speaker 5 (39:24):
I just again, I'll come back to this home run
offseason concept. Like if you look in the mirror and
you ask yourself, how many players are my favorite team
would start for a high level playoff team, like a
high level playoff team, right, And if your answer to
that is I don't know, six or seven, then what
you're really looking at is okay, then I need fifteen,
sixteen new starters.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
If I really want to be a high level playoff team.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
When you start talking about those numbers, it's a three
year process to do that type of a rebuild, which
is why to me, best player available is a thing
like I don't believe there's a Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 4 (39:58):
In this draft. I don't believe there's this strout in
this draft.
Speaker 5 (40:01):
And so I know that that's the enticing thing for
everybody is let's go hit a home run. But I
think realistically, all of these teams picking in the top
five or six coming up in this year's draft best
player available, you need a ton of talent, Just take
the best player available.
Speaker 6 (40:14):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
It's really hard to hit a Grand Slam like Jayden Daniels.
You're trying to hit a lot of singles and doubles, right,
that's what you're trying for. By the way, last little
note on Josh Rosen. Look at the players after him
as well. Eleventh overall, Minka Fitzpatrick really good, dB, Vita
veya fantastic d lineman, and Deron Payne, who's been a
(40:36):
good defensive lineman.
Speaker 6 (40:38):
He was the only mistake. And like the top.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
Thirteen figs, it's hilarious how it worked out all right.
Coming up next, who's more drunk this guy or the
other guy.
Speaker 6 (40:48):
We'll get into that
Hey, thanks for listening to the Two Pros and a
Cup of Joe Podcast with LaVar Arrington, Brady Quinn, and
myself Jonas Knox. Make sure you catch us live weekdays
six to nine am Eastern Time three to six am
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. You can find your local
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Show over at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us
(00:22):
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, good morning everybody.
Hope you're Tuesdays off to a great start. We will
get to betting on the enemy, but first we are
broadcasting live from the tirec dot com studios tireraq dot com.
(00:52):
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Speaker 3 (01:00):
The way tired buying should be. Jason Fitz, what's going on, man?
How are things going with you?
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Man? I'm just living the dream hanging out with you
early in the morning. Let's go.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
I have my honey, do I feel like I'm just
you know, I'm ready to roll. I got you know,
I feel good, feel energetic. That put a little salt
on your melon. That's the best way to start your day.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
And then we go it's beautiful, man. I'm glad that
you're fired up and ready to go. You know what's
funny is I have to tell you a brief story
before we get to maybe betting on the enemy.
Speaker 6 (01:28):
You said, living the dream.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It always makes me think of one of my nephews, Tie,
because he lost a bet to me way back when.
That's a side story, and he had to get a
buzz haircut, right. So I take him to my friend
Chris the barber, and so Ty is about to sit
down in the barber's chair and my friend Chris goes, hey,
you live in the dream. And my nephew Tie, he
(01:51):
was really young. He looks at him and goes, no,
I had to like explain what the whole thing was,
but he was so young, you had no ideas. I
always think a Tie whenever someone says that.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
How did you look with the buzz cut? Though, that's
a real question.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You know what's funny is I thought they were the
cutest things ever because they had these real short buzz
haircuts when they were really, really young and then they
lost that bet to me and they had to get
the buzz haircuts that was part of the deal, and
they hated them. They wore like baseball caps immediately, and
they grew their hair out. They've had like not long hair,
but like grown out hair ever since then. I think
(02:28):
I completely turned them against buzz haircuts for the rest
of their lives.
Speaker 6 (02:33):
Is what happened on that bet right there fits everybody.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Can not everybody can handle it like it's you know,
it's not for I'll be honest. I went in a
few months ago and it was just like, hey, shave
it all off, just nice randomly.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
I went in and I shaved it all off one day.
But the thing is, this was the key.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
I didn't tell anybody I was doing it, so then
you know, the next day I'm walking in and seeing
friends or like posting videos on social media from you know,
the Yahoo work that I do, and all of a sudden,
people are the first thing people start asking when you're
an adult you shave your head.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
They're like, are you okay. I'm like, no, I'm fine, y'all.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
I just decided I didn't want to have any hair
for a while, so you know, I let it grow
back out.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
But I don't know, I kind of liked it.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
I kind of liked it just the freedom of not
having to worry about it like it was gone gone,
like it was it was all gone. So, you know,
I kind of like the freedom of just being able
to you throw on a hat or a beanie in
New England.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
You don't have to worry about whether or not it
messed up your hair in the middle of winter.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
You know, like these these are these are quality things
about bush cuts. You know.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
It's unfortunately they didn't like them, but you know, maybe
later in life they'll try it again.
Speaker 6 (03:31):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
You got to change up your looks from time to time.
I went shaved head for you know, a brief portion,
just for the heck of it, just kind of like
you like, oh, let me see what this is like.
I went with a mohawk that I called a no hawk, right,
that I dyed blue, because why would you just have
a regular mohawk. You need a blue mohawk, right, So
I did that for a stretch. I had long hair,
(03:52):
and this is the thing fits people said I looked
like Jesus Christ, you know, so I would go this
is like back in college, I'd go to a house party,
it'd be like Christmas.
Speaker 6 (04:02):
They'd be like.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Happy Birthday, man hey, happy bread And I hated that.
So I noticed if it was in small, single braids,
like loose braids, I looked less like Jesus Christ. So
I rocked that out for a little while back in
my guitar playing days. So I've had different looks throughout.
I feel like you got to change your looks from
time to time.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
Fits you and I are like we're soulmates. So it's
so funny because I had long hair for a minute,
but that was because humble brag. When I got my
first record deal, I'll never forget, the president of Capitol
Records at the time looked at us. We'd just finished
singing and he's like, you guys are amazing, and he
points to me and he's like, you are not cool.
So we're gonna grow your hair out of it. So
that's that's the only reason. And I always hated it.
(04:44):
And then when I shaved it off for a while
on the road, I went mohawk. But the key to
the mohawk was I went I went skunked mohawks.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
So like the middle was just I bleached it blonde,
and that.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Way I could use colored hair spray every day so
that I could change the color of my hair for
every show every night.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Like it was, you know, the the whole.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
I think when you've gone through the long hair stage
and then gotten gotten out of the long hair stage,
you're just more free with the hair for your rest
of your life. You're like, you know what, Sometimes I
have it, sometimes I don't. It's part of the joy
of it.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I just love the different phases of your life where
you're moving around a lot and your look changes so much.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
You know, like I have short hair now.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Like my friends that knew me with long hair, they'd
be like, who are you right now? You know, like
you don't even recognize each other. I just love that
part of your story. You get the record deal, this
is a big deal. You've made it. And then immediately
the guy you you're not cool.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Like and he was right by the way, very very
as to Tee was right, I was not cool.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
The hair didn't help that either, you know, the hair
didn't help you.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I got a question for you, fits Okay, so have
you been into this hockey stuff at all?
Speaker 6 (05:51):
The Four Nations face off US and Canada.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
They're gonna They're gonna go for the championship here on Thursday.
Speaker 6 (05:58):
I got a question. You've just been kind of like
lukewarm into this thing.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
No, I love it.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
I think you are. Oh, you're in nice.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
I'm all in. I'm all in on four Nations.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, what do you think about betting on the enemy,
because I think the championship game has all.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Canada written all over it? My friend?
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Is that, like, you know, is that a trader thing
to do as a US citizen to bet on Canada?
With the whole back and forth they're booing our anthem
over here?
Speaker 6 (06:26):
Fits? Is that permissible to bet on them?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
No?
Speaker 5 (06:30):
I mean, come on, like, I love making money, yes,
so you know, the entrepreneur me appreciates the hustle on
going out there. But man, I don't know, like they've
been booing like plus, the last game was so contentious.
We had two fights in the first eight seconds of
the last game, Like, right, you know, there's enough bad
blood here there. We've got enough full Taylor Swift here
(06:50):
that you know. To me, I don't know, man, Like
they're booing our anthem.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
We're fighting with them. We kicked their butts in the
last game.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
The empty netitor to help the final margin on it,
but still we kicked their butts in the last game.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I feel like this is this is anti American.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
You can't bet on Canada in this moment, Like, and
let's face it, there is something that we've lost at times,
and it's a communal pride moment, you know, when everybody's
sitting around I don't know, like if you're sitting around
with your buddies and you're like, I actually got money
on Canada. I feel like now you can't celebrate when
there's a goal. I can't celebrate for MoCCA like that.
(07:28):
There's so many different layers to why it holds you back.
I think this is one of those moments where what
you do is you don't bet Canada and then you
tell everybody so that you can feel good about it.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Hey, I thought Canada was.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Gonna win this, but I didn't feel good betting about it.
Now you're totally American and everybody.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Will love that.
Speaker 6 (07:44):
Yeah, this is uh man.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
There are there's a ripple effect with this potential bet
that's unlike other ripple effects, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
What I mean.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Like if you, let's say it's a football game and
you're like, you know what, it's Week sixteen, I'm gonna
lay the point with the Chargers against the Raiders or whatever. Right, Like,
more times than not, it's not You're not gonna be
looked at as a complete trader, you know, unless you
have to be a diehard fan of one of the
teams and you're betting against them. It's different when it
comes to that. But when it comes to like a
(08:15):
national type thing, when this is international hockey, right, yeah,
I could see where if you're I'm not gonna be
around up group of buddies that that problem solved.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
You know, there's no one around.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I'm gonna be like, you know what, I'm actually on
team Canada and they look at me like what.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Nobody. That's the that's the solt.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Don't watch with friends, just watch by yourself and make
some cash if you think that's the winning side.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
But here's the best part about making cash on these
things is that, like the fun in making cash isn't
just that you made a little bit of money. It's
that you get to bragg to everybody, right, Like you're
gonna throw it.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Up there for the world to see.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
You're gonna put it out in the group text yip,
got it, maybe myself a little cash tonight.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
You can't do any of that at this point, like
you got to.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
You gotta quietly win, like nobody will know what they'll
be intos, you know, like suddenly you're driving a better car, Like.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
That's like good fellas, you know, yeah, like the pink Cadillac.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
You got a mink coat. You know, everyone's like, wait
a minute, what's going on? You bet on Canada? Is
that what's going on here?
Speaker 5 (09:14):
I mean that's the the hard part about it is
like when you bet and you're right, you want to
tell the world.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
I don't know if you'll be able to tell the world.
Speaker 6 (09:21):
So that's a good point.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Finally take your money.
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Yeah, so you're saying, don't tweet the winning.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Ticket like oh Canada with like a Canadian emoji flag
on the right, Like probably a bad move.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
And the funny thing to me is you mentioned when
people bet on against their favorite team. And this is
one thing that I've just never understood because I have
plenty of friends that do it. They'll hedge their emotions
on a Sunday and say, well, you know what, I'm
a massive insert team fan here. But here's the thing.
I bet on the other team today. So either way
I'll be happy. No, you won't like that. That's such
(09:57):
a film you say either way, I'll be happy. But
when your favorite team loses, you are still so emotionally
despondent for so many of us. Let's be honest, Like,
if you made a hundred bucks on the game, is
it really suddenly softening the blow of getting your ass
kicked by your rival.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
I don't think it is. No, we're compartmentalizing. It doesn't
really work that way.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
So I think you're better off, you know, when there's
emotion around it. I think you're better off just being
honest with yourself and not even playing it.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
You know.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Fits.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I have a confession to make here because this goes
back a long time ago. So I'm from South Bend, Indiana.
I love Notre Dame football, and there was a year
a while ago they were just going to be terrible
this particular year, and before the season even started, I
bet on USC.
Speaker 6 (10:45):
It's a Notre Dame rival.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I'm like, there's no way Notre Dame is winning this
game or even covering the spread, And I bet on USC.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
And like, I don't know August or earlier.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
It was like one of these early lines that came
out whenever they played later in the season, and Notre
Dame was hosting the game. I think Jimmy Clausen was
still the quarterback.
Speaker 6 (11:05):
They were bad.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
They're a bad football team, and I bet it was
a bigger bet for me. I normally don't bet this much,
but I was. I bet five hundred bucks on USC,
and I'm gonna tell you, fits you bet for me,
it was a big bet. It's like, that was one
of the worst sporting experiences I've ever had. Notre Dame
was getting crushed. I forget what they're They're down by
at least three touchdowns, and they started making this comeback
(11:29):
and all of a sudden, they had a two point
conversion to basically be covering the spread late in the game,
and I found myself rooting for USC because I'm like,
stop them. And then I just had this moment of like,
I feel like I need to take twenty.
Speaker 6 (11:45):
Seven showers in a row.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
I will never do this again where I'm betting against
my team. It was the most awkward feeling because Notre
Dame wasn't gonna win the game. They were just in
jeopardy of covering the spread, and it would have been
a double whammy. My team loses and I don't win
my bet on USC minus the points.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
I will never do that again. Fits. That was the
worst experience ever.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
You know. I remember several years ago being at a
bar in Nashville at the time watching my beloved Raiders.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
And there was a long touchdown and I this was
back in the Darren McFadden era, and I had Dearren
mcfatten on a fantasy team, and I.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Remember jumping up and down and yelling at the the
It was like an eighty r touchdown run against the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
And I remember yelling in the bar because you know,
eightyr touchdown was also great for my fantasy team. And
one of my buddies watching the game pointed out that
it was actually the backup running back that been in
on that play and scored, and I was so mad,
like I was just the rest of the game. I
was livid, and I decided in that moment, and to
this day, I don't draft Raiders when I play fantasy.
(12:50):
I mean I host fantasy content for Yahoo also, and
I don't touch it.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
I don't like.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
There's just an element for me where I don't want
to sit there and have any reason to have any
feeling other than absolute joy whenever my favorite team scores.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
So I eliminate all these variables.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
I don't bet against four or against the Raiders, and
I don't involve the Raiders in anything on fantasy because
at least then all I have to worry about is
the one thing. The main thing, gets to stay the
main thing. Will my favorite football team win, because the
rest of this stuff just isn't worth it to me.
It's not worth what it does to you emotionally in
that moment when you're freaking out about a touchdown or
any sort of a score and then you realize, well,
(13:27):
actually that didn't help my fantasy team. Yeah, then all
of a sudden, you're that guy, and I say, I
can't be that guy when it comes to my favorite team.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Man, I love that approach. There's gotta be a time
or two. Maybe it's this upcoming draft where you're sitting there,
brock Bowers is on the board, it fits perfectly on
your team, and you're tempted. You're like, man, brock Bowers
is a stud I know if it's gonna be eighty
nine catching it, you know I'm not gonna mix them
(13:54):
up with somebody else. He stands out and that little
devil on your shoulder is like, draft him, just do
it him. And you're like, no, I'm gonna draft like
Bill's tight end Dawson Knox at.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
The very very you know, I'm you're right there.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I had to bend temptations over the years to draft
a Raider or two, right have to h.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Yeah, there are, But I'm you just got to stay
true to the rule. If I draft Brock, it'll be
simply to trade him. I shouldn't reveal that strategy to
the rest of my leagues. But if I draft him,
it will simply be a now I've got him, who
wants him?
Speaker 4 (14:24):
And what will you give me for him?
Speaker 5 (14:25):
That's the only way because other than that, like, I
don't want to find myself late in the season angry
that a touchdown went to you know, whatever wide receivers
they have next year as opposed to Brock powers and
then sitting there, you know, angry about the fact that
my favorite team didn't utilize my fantasy points to the score.
So I gotta stay true to you know it's it's peaceful.
And believe me, I have betting friends all the time
(14:47):
that tell me, hey, you know, the team you know
the best is the team you should bet on, and
that's clearly the Raiders.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
But yeah, I don't need that in my life.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
My god, it's already hard enough being a Raiders fan, Like,
I don't need to lose money on it.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
On top of that, it's just.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
I struggle enough to find joy every Sunday. On top
of like thinking about what it does to my wallet
when they lose.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Good time, man, I know it's too much, absolutely too much,
all right. So we are often running over here. We've
got Jason fitz Uh, I'm Brian know. We're in for
Two Pros and a Cup of Joe coming up. This
team is thinking about keeping the band together. Is it
a smart approach if the band has just been really bad?
Speaker 6 (15:27):
So we'll get to that coming up.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
We're live from the Tirack dot Com studios right here
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (15:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
He's Jason Fitz. I'm Brian Know. We're in for two
pros and a cup of Joe here on Fox Sports Radio.
We're coming to you from the tire rack dot com studios.
All right, fits, So the Bengals, they're trying to keep
the band together. They're going to attempt to sign three
of their stars to long term deals this offseason. They're
trying to sign wide receivers Jamar Chase and T Higgins
(16:11):
and also their defensive end Trey Hendrickson, and it's it's
gonna be challenging. Okay, they might have to franchise tag
T Higgins. Jamar Chase, you remember, right, he's a triple
Crown guy. Now he just led the league in catches,
receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. So signing that guy, you're
(16:32):
talking around forty million dollars per year. And they're trying
to get Hendrickson and they're trying to get T Higgins.
Speaker 6 (16:39):
That's a lot of cash, man.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
So I guess the first thing is do you think
it makes sense to devote that much money to two
wide receivers? Because I don't You've got Joe Burrow, who's
a special quarterback, and you're gonna have to skimp in
areas with that roster. And so to sign Jamar Chase
off a triple crown year and t Higgins to long
(17:02):
term deals plural, I just don't think that's a smart approach.
Maybe franchising tea for a year, maybe that would work,
But long term deals for all three I just don't
see how that's a viable way to go forward.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
I think the hardest part about the long term deals
is that you missed the window to do that effectively.
Because the argument to this is always, well, look at
what the Eagles are doing.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
And one of the keys.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
To how Howie Roseman has constructed his roster is A,
they're pushing the can down the street a little bit
on some of the salary cap numbers with avoidable years.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
At the end of contracts. But b he gets ahead
of it.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
He's run his entire organization for years under the press
on the premise of I'd rather sign you early and
get ahead of whatever market.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Value is than sign you late.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Well, the Bengals have missed all of those windows for
each of the players you just mentioned, like they're taking
a Cowboys approach of We're gonna let this thing go
as long as it takes well. When you take that approach,
it costs you more more So, I think anytime somebody
wants to use the comp of well, the Eagles have
managed to sign all these guys, you have to acknowledge
the fact that part of that method is getting ahead
(18:09):
of it. And you already missed that window for the Bengals.
So now you've got a team that frankly has money
to spend, but they have to look in the mirror
because you know, the way that they have wasted the
prime years at this point of Joe Burrow is malpractice
for an NFL's team. You know, I just you had
this great offense and you couldn't get everybody on the
field healthy the way you wanted and took forever and
(18:31):
then even after your quarterback started to just absolutely blow
up and had to look at MVP type season this year,
what did that actually result on the field with nothing?
We have to go back to this part of what
we just saw, like the method, the blueprint of beating the.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Kansas City Chiefs is out there.
Speaker 5 (18:50):
The blueprint we've seen in two different Super Bowls now
is dominate on the defensive line in a way that
their offensive line can't handle it.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Like that is easier said than done. But we've now
seen two.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Super Bowls where the Chiefs lost because they were absolutely
destroyed on the line of scrimmage. So what do the
Bengals do when they're sitting here with the quarterback that
is capable.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Of beating Mahomes we've seen it.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Well, they're gonna invest more in the wide receivers and
still not have a defense like that doesn't make any
sense to me. That's you're looking at the math that
we've already seen over here.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
And you say, well, we're not gonna do that.
Speaker 5 (19:20):
We're just gonna keep stacking the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
I just I don't think you can win in the AFC.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
I don't think that you can beat the Chiefs unless
you can put together a defensive line that can absolutely dominate.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
The Bengals don't have that.
Speaker 5 (19:32):
Their money, their focus, their draft picks, their allocation should
all be going.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
To that right now.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Yeah, man, their defense was rough last season. That's the
reason why Joe Burrow put up legit MVP type numbers
and they went nine to eight, Right and their defensive coordinator,
lou Anarumo got fired. Like he's with the Colts now
it's at a new address. So yeah, you need more talent.
It's not like lou forgot how to coach defense. They
(19:58):
just don't have a lot of talent on that side
of the ball. And it showed you can't have in
this day and age right the twenty twenty four season,
when your quarterback puts up numbers like Joe Burrow, you
should not be a nine to eight football team. You know,
he threw for almost five thousand yards, fits he threw
forty three touchdown passes in nine interceptions. His passer rating
(20:20):
is third in the entire NFL over one oh eight.
That's fantastic. They're barely above five hundred, you know, like
you can't have a defense that is that week and
signing T Higgins to a long term deal or even
franchising him that does nothing to fix the lack of
(20:41):
talent defensively. So I just know Joe Burrow is a
special quarterback and I think the Mahomes approach makes more
sense here where they didn't sign Tyreek Hill to this
enormous deal. They went in a different direction. They went young,
and really they got burned because Rashie Rice got hurt
last year. If you have Rashie Rice and Xavier Worthy,
(21:03):
that's a pretty good one two combo right there, and
that's what they'll have this upcoming season. But they didn't
break the bank for a wide receiver. What the Bengals
are trying to do, they're not only trying to sign
like the equivalent of Tyreek Hill with the Chiefs, they're
trying to sign another stud like alongside Tyreek Hill. The
(21:24):
Chiefs didn't even sign Tyreek so you don't have to
do everything the Chiefs way. But I think that approach
makes a lot of sense. If you've got a special quarterback,
you don't need to get him all the wide receiver
bells and whistles in the world. He's gonna put up
numbers regardless. You can use that money to address weaker
spots where you don't have a Joe Burrow type player
(21:47):
to compensate for that. So I just think moving on
from t Higgins makes a lot more sense to address
other areas of need.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Once you start paying people to it becomes even more
important the you nail it in the draft, and that's
part of what we I mean just the fact that, look,
there are a million reasons why Jalen Carter was available
when the Eagles went to the draft podium.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
I want to.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Stress that I've covered the draft since twenty sixteen. I
used to cover it for ESPN, now for Yahoo. And
the only time I've ever had to pre write a
statement and have it ready for a draft pick when
he was selected was Jalen Carter because we understood that
we had to get the verbiage very right on what he'd.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Been accused of and what had happened at that point.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
So I say that only to say that there was
context around why he was available, so you know that happened.
But then also you have last year's draft, where widely
Quinya Mitchell was widely respected as the top corner available
in the draft.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Just he was there. He fell for him.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
Cooper Degene is somebody that most people had a much
higher grade on, and just.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
The way the draft board fell, he was there. So
the ability to use.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
The draft, I tell people all the time, if your
favorite team stinks, you got to look in the mirror
and ask yourself, how many news do we need?
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Because a Hall of Fame offseason.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Oh my god, we have the executive of the year
running our organization. Offseason might net you a total of
four or five wow, new starters. Like that's a Hall
of Fame level. And that's what the Eagles got last year.
The Eagles got a Hall of Fame level offseason. It
doesn't happen very often. So if you're the Bengals, you
got to look around and say, Okay, if we're gonna
start paying guys, do we have the front office here
(23:26):
that is gonna nail every single draft pick. Because once
you start paying guys, boy, you better get the first, second,
third rounders. They better all turn out to be starters.
So now you're paying a wide receiver, which is when's
above replacement, one of the positions you should be able
to overtime, churn and burn, should be able to find
wide receivers in the draft more and more, so you're
(23:46):
paying one of those wide receivers. You're trusting your front
office to then nail the draft and get the rest
of what they need. Constantly like these feel like variables.
I wouldn't trust the Bengals to nail. So even in
the sense of even if you want to find the
to stack the bricks and say, okay, no, the signing
team makes sense. It only makes sense if all of
these other things are also going right for you, and
(24:07):
they're not gonna go right for the Bengals, so that
it just feels failed from the outset.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah, you know, I wonder if we're at some point
fits gonna see the way the league thinks of running backs,
you know, like in general, if they're going to start
thinking of wide receivers similarly, because if you look at
running backs, okay, the top top guys, they make decent money, right,
(24:33):
you know, like relative to their position. They're not breaking
the bank anymore for running backs. But you saw the
impact of Saquon Barkley, Derick Henry.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
Those are special guys. The way they treat other.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Running backs is they use them on their rookie deals
and then if they're not like Christian McCaffrey when healthy,
you know, upper upper echelon, they'd go young and they
draft the next guy, you know, And I wonder if
that's gonna be similar with wide receivers. The top, top
end guys, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, those special wide receivers,
(25:06):
they're gonna make major money I'm not saying they shouldn't,
but the next tier down instead of breaking the bank
for those guys, are they gonna look and say, man
wide receiver is it's typically a rich draft position, you know,
and you can go young and you can find someone
who's good, maybe not as good, but sufficient, and we
(25:30):
just go young with that number two receiver, that number
three receiver. Why are the Bengals trying to sign t
Higgins to a long term extension when they have Jamar Chase.
I just don't think that makes sense. If you had
like draft after draft after draft where there's just a
lack of depth at wide receiver talent, Okay, that makes sense.
(25:52):
That's not the case you see time after time rich
wide receiver drafts. I just think it makes more sense
to go young when you're talking about your number two
or number three receiver. If you've got a high end
number one, if you've got a bunch of number two's, okay,
maybe that makes more sense. You've got a legit, bona
fide number one stud in Jamar Chase, I just don't
(26:13):
see the sense and backing up the brinks truck Forty
Higgins also, I just think that's a bad approach by
the Bengals.
Speaker 5 (26:21):
So take a look at according to overthecap dot com,
right now looking at twenty twenty five wide receiver salaries
and look at the cap numbers. The number one cap
number next year at the wide receiver position currently is
DeVante Adams, who he most people expect are gonna be
cut by the Jets, right because of that large cap number.
The number three cap number belongs to DK Metcalf, who
(26:41):
is on the trading block according to multiple reports at
this point at thirty two million dollars, Cooper cup is
on the trading block, you know is twenty twenty nine
point seven million dollars, right like Calvin Ridley for the Titans,
twenty eight million dollars.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
Go up and down the list.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
These are all guys that you know have situations with
their contracts at this point speaks to what you're talking
about the next level. The aj Browns and Nico Collins,
Courtland Sutton's like those guys are all of the seventeen eighteen,
nineteen twenty million dollar range.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
You are absolutely right, like there's.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Going to become a have and have not at the
wide receiver position. If you've got a CD and you know,
Seed's gonna be worth thirty five million. T if you've
got Justin Jefferson, he's gonna be worth whatever he wants.
Like Justin Jefferson, right now, according to the over the
cap is only fifteen million. That number is about to explode.
The thing is Justin Jefferson is at fifteen million. That's
(27:34):
going to explode. Jacoby Myers is right behind him at
fourteen point nine million. That number ain't about to explode.
Like You're going to discover quickly that if you've got
one of the top five or six guys in the league,
you're gonna pay that guy, there's no doubt about it.
But if you've got the twelfth best wide receiver, now
we're talking about wins above replacement.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
If you've got the fifteenth best wide receiver, is it
worth getting.
Speaker 5 (27:56):
Into the thirty million dollar range for a guy like
that or is it worth continually going going back into
the draft. And I think we're gonna find over time
that that answers go back into the draft more often
than not.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Yeah, you know, it's funny, man, I'm just looking at
the twenty three draft. You know, I just went instead
of like all rookies, this past season. I just went
back another draft just to see how much depth there
is at wide receiver and fits man. We're talking depth here.
You know, the top wide receiver Chowsen in the twenty
three draft was the twentieth overall pick. Jackson Smith and Jigba.
(28:29):
He's been fantastic. He had a great year for the
Seahawks this past season, right same first round. Zay Flowers
with the Ravens, Jordan Addison with the Vikings. These guys
have all contributed. Jayden Reid with the Packers has been good.
Rashie Rice with the Chiefs before he got Hurts fantastic.
Tank Dell with the Texans before he had a leg injury.
He contributed. Josh Downs with the Colts has been pretty decent.
(28:53):
You keep going down. There have been other guys that
have contributed. Fifth round, Puka Nakua, the fifth rounder. You know,
like you're fine depth the Bengals. Coincidentally enough, that same draft,
sixth round andre Yosi Vosh, Who's contributed as like your
number three receivers.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
So when you can find that much.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Depth, I just I don't know why you're not trying
to move on from T Higgins. I don't get it,
but hey, they're trying to keep the band together at
least for now. Do you think it makes sense the
even franchise tea You think one more year? What do
you think about that fits? Because that's even a high
dollar amount.
Speaker 7 (29:30):
No.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
I think the only reason I have a franchising is
if I was trying to do a sign and trade.
And look, I think T is a number one somewhere too, Like,
this isn't about T.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
This is just about man.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
If you're the Bengals, you got to look in the
mirror and ask yourself do you have anywhere near enough
pieces on the defensive side of the ball, and so
otherwise you're just you're just constantly going to be running
back this nine wins sort of. You know this, this
conversation we have every year. Oh, nobody wants to take
on that team in the playoffs. Okay, fine, if that's
(30:02):
if you take a lot of pride in being the
team that nobody wants to faces in the playoffs, but
you're desperately trying to scratch and claw your way back
into this thing every year. To me, this is a
wild influx of new talent on the defensive side of
the ball. Is the only priority. And then I got
Joe Burrow. Like the other thing that I'm always gonna
worry about if I'm the Bengals is I'm just gonna
continue to hammer the offensive line. Like I don't want
(30:25):
to oversimplify here, but we just saw in a Super
Bowl that these things are won in the trenches, right,
And so we saw throughout the course of the majority
of the year, like the two best teams in the
NFC clearly most of the year were the Detroit Lions
and the Philadelphia Eagles. What do they have in common
of both of those teams, especially when healthy, We're dominant
on both lines. Like, I know, none of us love
(30:46):
covering the draft when you have to talk about a
bunch of fat guys getting drafted that we can't really analyze.
Like if your favorite team draft's a fat guy you've
never heard of, then put your feet up and have
a beer because, like you probably just had a really
good draft. I understand why you want the sexiness to
tea but man, there's just a lot of other needs
for the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
It really is true, man. And when we just saw
the Super Bowl and the Eagles dominate on both their lines, right,
the O line, the D line. They both did work.
And yeah, I know, it's kind of like the quote
unquote skill position players, the fantasy football players. Yeah, those
(31:26):
are fun and they can absolutely contribute. But man, if
you have work to do in the trenches and you're
bypassing that for the sexy players, that can absolutely come
back to bite you. It's happened time and time again.
I guess the thing is, to me, this is less
of a Bengals thing and more of ask yourself what
you would want if this was the same situation with
(31:48):
your favorite team. You know, if it's you'r a Raiders guy.
I've loved the Dolphins for whatever reason since I can remember.
You know, if they had exactly what the Bengals had,
same exact situation. They have Burrow, they have Jamar Chase,
they have T Higgins, They're off a nine to eight season,
their defense sucked, right, Like, would I want them to
(32:09):
re sign both wide receivers to long term deals?
Speaker 6 (32:13):
No, I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I would want them to sign Jamar Chase and move
on from T. Higgins, And like you said, maybe franchise them,
try to trade them, don't let them leave for nothing.
That sort of thing, But no, I think that you
got to address other areas of need. And we'll see
what the Bengals do. But at least that's not their
thinking right now, that's not their approach. But we'll see
(32:35):
what happens when they're trying to hammer out these deals. Hey,
shortly after the show, our podcast would be going up.
If you missed anything on today's show, be sure to
check it out. Just search Two Pros wherever you get
your podcasts. Be sure to follow, rate and review it also. Again,
just search two Pros wherever you get your podcasts, and
you'll see the show posted right after we get off
the air. All right, we've got Jason Fitz. I'm Brian No.
(32:57):
We're in for Two Pros and a Cup of Joe
here on Fox Sports Radio. Coming up next. Man, I
love this. This is a great statement by an NFL prospect.
It might work out well for him. It did not
work out well at all for another NFL prospect who
had similar thoughts.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
We'll share those with you. Next.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
We're live from the Tirack dot Com studios right here
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (33:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and
a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and
Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern, three am Pacific.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
He's Jason Fitz. I'm Brian No.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
We're in for two pros and a cup of Joe
here on Fox Sports Radio, coming to you live from
the tirec dot Com studios. I love this statement by
quarterback cam Ward. So obviously he's one of the top
prospects right, might be the number one overall pick.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
Fits.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
But he says if teams don't draft him, quote I'll remember.
I love that quote. Great quote. His full quote is,
if you don't draft me, that's your fault. You've got
to remember you're the same team that's got to play
me for the rest of my career.
Speaker 6 (34:08):
And I'll remember that. I love that.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
So he could be right, might be a stud might
make teams that bypass him pay over the years to come.
But it does remind me of Josh Rosen. Remember when
Josh Rosen said something similar out of UCLA. He went
tenth overall in the twenty eighteen draft, and his quote was,
nine mistakes were made ahead of me, and I will
(34:33):
make sure over the next decade or so that they
will know that they made a mistake and that did
not turn out to be the case at all. Fits
It's not very short NFL career from Josh Rosen, and
if you go back and look at who is drafted
ahead of him, it makes his statement even more wrong.
So we'll see what happens with cam Ward, but I'm
(34:55):
hoping for cam Ward's sake it doesn't play out the
same way it did for Josh Rosen.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
I to start here, I root for every kid that
has a chance to be drafted, and so my hope
is that every one of these kids it's drafted turns
into a Hall of Famer. That being said, I mean,
I think most of us that had been doing any
work on the draft for the last few years knew
that this year was coming, and we knew that this
year was going to be a down year for quarterbacks.
(35:21):
In fact, for anyone that doesn't know, most NFL teams
scout in two and three year windows at positions. So
a lot of the concept going into last year's draft
was teams are going to be more aggressive in the
first fifteen picks to take a quarterback because the quarterbacks
in the upcoming draft this year are considered to be
at a lesser level, and as a result, teams want
(35:41):
to be aggressive and get their guy last year and
that's we saw that. We saw the unexpected trade up
for Michael Pennix junior, We saw bo Nix go to
the Broncos. And you know, I've started even a bunch
of my draft prep. It's funny talking to everybody.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
I've asked the.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
Same question, like we're all asking where would these quarterbacks
rank in last year's class? And the best answer I've
gotten has been above bo Nicks.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
And the more.
Speaker 5 (36:05):
Honest answer I have gotten repeatedly has been below Bonick.
So Cam or Schador, either one would have been the
seventh best quarterback in the eyes of many last year.
So I just say that because look, I sit here
as a die hard fan of a team that desperately
needs a quarterback with the Las Vegas Raiders, and I'd
say the same thing to Giants fans. Just because you
are desperate to marry somebody doesn't mean that that you
(36:27):
should put a ring on the person you're dating right now.
Like hear me, that is not going to work out.
And unfortunately, I mean I love Cam coming in and
saying I'll make everybody remember but I think there's a
much better chance this draft class ends up being like
Zach Wilson, then this draft class ends up being epic.
Speaker 4 (36:45):
Oh my god, guys that you want to take.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
I genuinely hope that there's a run on these two
quarterbacks before the Raiders even pick, so that they're not
stuck in a situation where they take a quarterback that
you know isn't really the answer. So, you know, frankly,
it's it's a bummer. It's a bummer for all of
us as fans when your favorite team needs a quarterback
and it's a bad draft for one. But y'all, it's
a bad draft for quarterbacks. So that's just that's just
(37:08):
being real and being honest.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
Wow, that's that's wild, right, Like this this is the
right time for both cam Ward and Shouder Sanders because
they're gonna be high picks. And if that's the case,
if a lot of you know, league executives and the GMS,
if that's true, if they view cam Ward and should
do in that bow Nicks range maybe the sixth or
(37:31):
seventh best prospects if they were coming out last season,
that's really interesting, because man, this is the time to
strike this year, right, like they're gonna go a lot
higher than they would have had they been eligible last season.
So it's interesting for both guys. I think when you
go back to in light of what cam Ward said,
I'll remember if you if you bypass me in the draft,
(37:54):
just makes me think of Josh Rosen again, tenth overall pick.
How crazy is this fits where he said nine mistakes
were made ahead of me. So think of how it
didn't work out for Josh Rosen, Right, he was out
of the league before you knew it, and look at
who was drafted ahead of him. It's ridiculous. So a
lot of quarterbacks. Number one, Baker Mayfield, he's resurrected his
(38:15):
career in Tampa. Right, He's put together back to back
really good seasons. Saquon Barkley is an absolute stud. That
was the second overall pick. Then it was Sam Darnold
who got off to a rough start, but pretty good
season all things considered. With the Vikings last year, he's
still in the league. Right, it's better than Josh Rosen,
Denzel Ward, cornerback, Bradley Chubb, ben productive, Quinton Nelson stud
(38:38):
guard with the Colts. Josh Allen heard of him with
the Bills, right, like Rokwan Smith, who's been really good
for the Bears and the Ravens, and Mike McGlinchey, who's
an offensive lineman who's you know, still starting, still collecting
a paycheck. So nine mistakes were not made ahead of
Josh Rosen. That's probably one of the all time worst
(39:00):
statements as it turned out, like calling your shot and
that was not the case whatsoever.
Speaker 5 (39:06):
Yeah, and you think about that, and it's a reminder
of best player available. Like earlier we were talking about
the fact that the Eagles went out and you know,
just because of the way the board fell, they had
you know, QUINNYA. Mitchell and Cooper de Gen both available
to him right there. It's great work by them to
take the guys that the.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
Best player available.
Speaker 5 (39:24):
I just again, I'll come back to this home run
offseason concept. Like if you look in the mirror and
you ask yourself, how many players are my favorite team
would start for a high level playoff team, like a
high level playoff team, right, And if your answer to
that is I don't know, six or seven, then what
you're really looking at is okay, then I need fifteen,
sixteen new starters.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
If I really want to be a high level playoff team.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
When you start talking about those numbers, it's a three
year process to do that type of a rebuild, which
is why to me, best player available is a thing
like I don't believe there's a Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 4 (39:58):
In this draft. I don't believe there's this strout in
this draft.
Speaker 5 (40:01):
And so I know that that's the enticing thing for
everybody is let's go hit a home run. But I
think realistically, all of these teams picking in the top
five or six coming up in this year's draft best
player available, you need a ton of talent, Just take
the best player available.
Speaker 6 (40:14):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
It's really hard to hit a Grand Slam like Jayden Daniels.
You're trying to hit a lot of singles and doubles, right,
that's what you're trying for. By the way, last little
note on Josh Rosen. Look at the players after him
as well. Eleventh overall, Minka Fitzpatrick really good, dB, Vita
veya fantastic d lineman, and Deron Payne, who's been a
(40:36):
good defensive lineman.
Speaker 6 (40:38):
He was the only mistake. And like the top.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
Thirteen figs, it's hilarious how it worked out all right.
Coming up next, who's more drunk this guy or the
other guy.
Speaker 6 (40:48):
We'll get into that
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