- 5 weeks ago
Mike Jones joins the show to discuss why he believes Terry McLaurin is due for a massive season, his thoughts on David Blough, and headlines around the NFL.
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00:00I'm going to bring Mike up from The Athletic.
00:02Mike, I think you'll appreciate this.
00:06NFL Jesus, NFL GSIS is something every reporter uses
00:10in every press box around the country.
00:12And I think I finally have been able to access it
00:16since they changed a lot this offseason,
00:19and I think I'm finally breaking through.
00:21I thought you knew.
00:22No, it really was.
00:24It was weird because it's been the same login
00:28and same password for 100 years.
00:30Yeah, we all know it.
00:31It got really complicated and everything.
00:34And I don't know.
00:35I think I probably spent 15, 20 minutes trying to figure out
00:38how to get into it a couple weeks ago,
00:40and I know nobody knows what this means.
00:42But it's where we get all of the stats and the box scores
00:46and the play-by-play.
00:47And if you want to look back at a previous game,
00:49you can do that.
00:51And years prior, finding out when something happened
00:56in a certain game, it really helps us do our job.
00:59And it's like the only place you can get preseason stats.
01:03Right.
01:03And so if you were locked out of that thing,
01:05it really made it difficult for you to be able to know stats
01:09and scores and averages and all that stuff.
01:12So I'm sure there's feelings of panic there.
01:15I thought I figured it out, and now I need Google Authenticator,
01:18which I don't have, and I'm not going to be able to do that long.
01:20Oh, good Lord, yeah.
01:21You need that app on your phone.
01:23It's a pain.
01:23Yeah, we're working towards it.
01:26Well, I'll get you to tell me how to do it.
01:27I got Google Authenticator.
01:29Okay.
01:31Well, Jonesy, let's start.
01:32You want to start local or you want to start broad?
01:35I'm cool with whatever you prefer,
01:37because you know what my question is locally.
01:39Your radio show, I'm happy to be with you guys,
01:42whatever you want.
01:44It is, as Jaden Daniels said yesterday
01:46after the Baltimore practice, it's August 20-something.
01:50We don't play until September 13th.
01:52Commanders obviously have offensive line questions,
01:55significant questions.
01:57How concerning do you think it should be here for the Burgundy and Gold?
02:03Well, I mean, it's not what you want.
02:05You wanted all the pieces to be in place right now
02:08so they could just be working towards cohesion
02:10and getting this thing to be a well-oiled machine.
02:14That has not been the case.
02:17Slides have started dropping already
02:18and struggles here and there across the board.
02:24And so the only consolation, like Jaden said,
02:28it's September something, so 20-something.
02:31So you do have time to keep on working.
02:34Now, is it going to be as good as they hoped?
02:37No.
02:38Do they have time to continue to work to improve things?
02:42Do they have time to add more players?
02:46If they see somebody who gets let go that they think could help them
02:50or if they could work out a trade for somebody, you know, yes.
02:54So the good thing is there is more time.
02:57Now that clock is ticking.
02:59You know, and if you're feeling anxious about it, as a fan,
03:05Adam Peters and Dan Quinn are feeling a thousand times more anxious about it
03:09because the seat is hot and they got to get things going this year.
03:15So, you know, that's your only consolation is that they know it's bad.
03:19If you know it's bad, they know it's bad.
03:21And they're going to do what they can to get it done.
03:25See, that's the thing where I hear people talking
03:28and I think they act as if they're not trying to do anything
03:32and they won't be trying to do anything.
03:35They're in this position because Alegrity got hurt.
03:38Nobody expected that.
03:41They have some young guys behind them that they thought could possibly play.
03:45Like, JP, I think I agree with you where they have this thing
03:48where they don't like the young dudes, the rookies that go out and play just yet.
03:52But you're at a point now where you need to find out who's the guy you can count on
03:57if Alegrity may not be there for the whole year.
04:02And that to me, you know, I know, I understand how people feel,
04:08but they're trying to address it.
04:11And if we talk about it today, tomorrow, and the next day,
04:14it's not going to be solved in those three days.
04:16So it's something that, you know, I look at, but they're trying to get it done.
04:21It's not like they're not doing anything.
04:23No, you're exactly right.
04:25And look, yeah, would you like a veteran right there ready to go?
04:29Yes, of course.
04:30But you do draft and develop for a reason, you know,
04:34and right now I think they know what they have
04:36and they're trying to find insurance policies and figure out,
04:39okay, if this doesn't work, who do we put here?
04:42How do we work this and things like that?
04:44But every single day when they're watching practice,
04:47they are looking at combinations and, you know, pairings,
04:53and then they go back and they watch film and they're talking about it
04:56and they're turning this thing over.
04:58And so they're scraping and clawing and scratching
05:02and trying to pull their way to the best possible product, you know,
05:07even if it, you know, if it doesn't feel like it
05:10because we're on the outside, but trust me, they see it.
05:14And they know.
05:16Mike, I wanted to go back a couple, maybe to last week.
05:20You wrote a story.
05:21I know you were in Ashburn for a few days
05:22and you got some time with Terry McLaurin.
05:25I was curious kind of what your McLaurin story told you
05:28and, you know, where do you think he is going into the season?
05:33I think he's in a much better place than what he was last year.
05:36I thought that he was very real.
05:38During our talk, he talked about how the whole business side of football
05:44was something that last year was the first time he really encountered that.
05:49And, you know, you think you mean something to a franchise
05:51and then your agent goes and asks for this payday
05:54and they tell you, no, you're not worth that.
05:57And they're not budging.
05:58And then so he said that it gave him anxiety and insecurity
06:02and he started, you know, feeling like wondering,
06:04oh, am I not as good as I think I am?
06:06And then, you know, it was tough for him because he's a team guy
06:09and he's being told, you know, don't go to practice.
06:12Don't step on the field until we get this done.
06:15And so then they get it done and then he gets hurt
06:17and he's not able to be as effective as he wanted to be.
06:20And, you know, it was just a very tough year for him.
06:23But now he said he feels like he's back to normalcy.
06:26There's no contract stuff.
06:27He's healthy.
06:28He's been able to work throughout the offseason with his quarterback
06:30and other guys.
06:31He's been through every practice.
06:33And he's excited for the bounce back this year.
06:37And I think he also was excited to have Stephon Diggs,
06:40another talented guy, to help draw some attention away from the defense.
06:44But it was a learning experience that he leaned really heavily on his wife.
06:48He leaned heavily on his faith.
06:50Talked to Bobby Ingram, his wide receivers coach.
06:53He, behind the scenes, was really trying to prop him up
06:55because he played in the league a long time
06:57and he understood, like, the business side of things
06:59and let him understand, you know, that, hey, they were still there for him
07:04even though the money thing wasn't coming together.
07:06It didn't mean that he didn't matter to the guys in the room
07:08and his coaching staff.
07:10And, you know, he got through it and they're hoping
07:12that he's going to have a really productive year this year.
07:15Mike, you travel around a lot.
07:16You see a lot of different teams play.
07:18You watch guys.
07:19What are you expecting from Stephon and Terry?
07:23I think that we're going to see two guys who are very similar
07:29in the competitive nature and attention to detail.
07:32Stephon has had injuries.
07:34He's not as explosive as he once was,
07:36but he still is very detail-oriented.
07:38He's a precise route runner.
07:40You know, he had an unflashy but very productive year last year for New England.
07:45Now that he's here and he's got another talented wide receiver opposite him,
07:51I think that they're both going to help each other
07:54because there were times, and look, it's practice,
07:56but you saw Stephon finding a nice opening in the defense
08:01because the coverage was really, you know, devoted to stopping Terry.
08:06And then there were other times when Terry was wide open
08:08and the coverage is, you know, devoted to Stephon.
08:11It's going to be hard for defenses to take both of them away at the same time.
08:16And so, you know, look, we'll see how much time Jaden has back there
08:21with this offensive line, but if he has time,
08:23and look, there's going to be growing pains with David Blau,
08:26but it looks like he has the concepts and the understanding of how to exit O
08:30and draw it up and get these guys open.
08:33And just their natural ability and their instincts
08:35are going to help make things much better for this offense.
08:39Talking with our friend Mike Jones here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
08:43You can follow Jonesy at by Mike Jones.
08:46You can read all of his work in The Athletic.
08:49Dude, I wanted to ask about a cool story you wrote.
08:52I think you traveled around and talked to all of the rookie head coaches this year,
08:56guys like Mike LaFleur, Clint Kubiak, Halfley, Jesse Minter in Baltimore,
09:01and you asked them some interesting questions,
09:04like about kind of the weirdest stuff that has happened to them so far
09:08since they've been the head coach?
09:10Because head coaches get all sorts of demands on their time.
09:14What were some of the funniest, weirdest answers you got?
09:18Well, Jesse Minter had a really funny thing,
09:22a new head coach in Baltimore.
09:24He'd been a defensive coordinator,
09:26and he understood a lot of the responsibility that come with being a head coach.
09:29He never imagined that he was going to get a bunch of invitations
09:32to weddings and different things of Baltimore Ravens fans.
09:38And he's like, of course I'm not coming to these weddings.
09:40I don't know who you are.
09:41But he would write a little note and send the card saying best wishes and everything.
09:46But he was just shocked by how many of those people actually thought that,
09:51hey, let's invite the head coach of the team.
09:55And then Mike LaFleur had a really funny one where he came into his office
09:58and there's a football with a note saying, can you sign this, please?
10:00And he wanted to put a little personalization on it.
10:03And, you know, he goes to his assistant there with the Arizona Cardinals
10:06and said, who is this football for?
10:09And he said, it's for your dad.
10:10He didn't want to bother you.
10:13He hadn't been able to get a hold of you,
10:14didn't want to keep trying to bother you.
10:15And so he just sent it to us and asked us to have you sign it for his wall.
10:19So the daddy could just ask him.
10:22Yeah, I guess it was hard to get a hold of.
10:24And the dad was just like, you know what, I'll just send this here.
10:26And he'll make sure he does it when he's got time.
10:28And so that was pretty funny.
10:30That's like friends hitting you on social media saying, hey, man,
10:33you don't follow me.
10:34I'm like, look, bro, I talk to you every day.
10:36I'm not going to follow you.
10:37You're right, right.
10:38You know?
10:39And Clint Kubiak talking about, they were asking like, hey,
10:41what kind of pins do you want?
10:42And he was just like, I don't care a pin that writes.
10:45You know, like, it doesn't matter, you know?
10:47Totally.
10:48Hey, man, take advantage of everybody.
10:51You got it.
10:51Which of those rookie head coaches, I guess the obvious answers are probably Brady
10:55and Minter, but which of the rookie head coaches do you think are best poised
11:00for success?
11:02I think Minter is because they've really worked, you know,
11:06when you look at his roster, obviously they've got the quarterback take care of.
11:10That's the biggest thing.
11:11They've got a defense that has a lot of young talent.
11:15They've added to that to help improve their pass rush.
11:17Those pieces are there, and that's his baby is the defense.
11:19They've also overhauled their offensive line, added some more pieces,
11:24added some young, talented wide receivers.
11:26So I think that as far as like when top-to-bottom rosters and situation he's
11:31walking into, he is probably in the best situation.
11:34Lamar Jackson has really bought in, has really been working hard to get on the
11:38same page with the new offensive coordinator.
11:41More bought in and invested than people have seen there in Baltimore,
11:46even behind the scenes is what I've been told.
11:48I think Joe Brady up in, you know, Buffalo, he's got a good situation because
11:54he's got Josh Allen, but there's questions about their wide receivers.
11:58You know, do they have enough weapons for him?
12:00You know, they got more in the offseason that should help,
12:03but their defense is changing completely from a 4-3 to a 3-4.
12:07And you remember, or I hope, I don't know how many people remember,
12:10but when Shanahan came and they switched from the 4-3 to the 3-4,
12:14and it was like you had guys who were really best suited as interior linemen
12:18kicking out to defensive end, defensive ends, kicking out to standing up and
12:22learning how to rush again from a different kind of way and dropping the
12:25coverages.
12:25And it took two, three years of drafts and free agency to get those pieces in
12:30place to really run that defense.
12:31So, they are having to, they got some guys in free agency, but it's going to
12:36take some time for that defense until they have it really, you know, the pieces
12:40that they need to run it seamlessly.
12:42And so, there's a lot of pressure on Joe Brady, and it could be a little
12:46challenging.
12:47Even though they've got a pretty good roster, there definitely are some holes
12:50there.
12:50But I would definitely think that mentor of all the rookies has probably got the
12:55best situation.
12:56Rookie coaches, but you got two quarterbacks that have proven themselves.
13:00How much does the pressure fall on both of those guys?
13:03There's definitely pressure on them.
13:05I mean, there's always pressure on Josh Allen because he always has to make
13:08something out of nothing.
13:09The good thing for him is he didn't have to learn a new offense all over again
13:13because Joe Brady is an offensive coordinator.
13:15And I think that, you know, Lamar knows that, hey, there's a lot of pressure on him.
13:19And I think that's why he's been working so hard and so invested to learn this
13:24offense because he knows that, okay, they've made changes.
13:29A longtime head coach is gone now, and now we've got a new coach, new energy.
13:33But if that scapegoat of the head coach is gone, then, okay, then who are you
13:38going to blame if it doesn't work?
13:39It's going to turn to him.
13:41And so, I think that they both understand the situation, the sense of urgency,
13:45but they're doing what they have to do to position themselves for success.
13:48So, talking with our friend Mike Jones here from The Athletic, you can give him a
13:52follow-up by Mike Jones, read all of his work in The Athletic.
13:56I saw a story you put out, I think, this morning or maybe yesterday afternoon
13:59about the most intriguing people surrounding this NFL season.
14:05I think you went 26 for 26, but I just want to run through the top five.
14:10The five most intriguing people surrounding this NFL season, you went Mahomes,
14:16Aaron Rodgers, Baker Mayfield, Mike Vrabel, and then Todd Bowles.
14:21Can you give me kind of the logic to each of those fellas?
14:25Yeah, well, Mahomes, you know, there's a lot of pressure on him as he comes back.
14:29You know, he's done everything, but there's always the expectation that, okay,
14:31he's going to be able to put on the cape and lead them back to contention
14:36for another Super Bowl.
14:37We've come on off of the ACL surgery.
14:39They have definitely beefed up their defense, gotten younger, more athletic,
14:44but that offense is only going to go as well as Mahomes does.
14:48So it's going to be interesting to see how he does.
14:50You know, he's practicing fully.
14:52He's got a knee brace on.
14:54They say that he's going to be good to go week one, but once we see him in a real
14:58game,
14:59we'll know, and we'll see how he does carrying that offense, you know,
15:03and if he's able to continue to be as effective coming off that injury.
15:08Number two, Aaron Rodgers.
15:10Okay, he thought about retiring.
15:13He decided to come back.
15:15He's reunited with Mike McCarthy, who he didn't like when their marriage in Green Bay ended,
15:20and now they're going to see if they can kiss and make up and get the storybook ending.
15:26Obviously, I think McCarthy will be good for them offensively because that offense was very anemic last year.
15:32They've gotten better offensive line.
15:34And wide receivers are about, you know, kind of what they were,
15:38but maybe a new kind of level of creativity will help, you know,
15:42and they're going to have to lean on their defense.
15:44But eventually you're going to hit the wall.
15:46So how much does Aaron Rodgers have left in the tank?
15:48So mentally and physically and just relationship-wise, can he get it done?
15:54Vrabel, as we know, a lot of off-field distraction this past offseason.
15:59They're coming off of the loss in the Super Bowl where they're very listless,
16:02and so he was going to have a lot of pressure to get them to bounce back anyway.
16:06And then when you have, you know, personal stuff getting in the way,
16:09he's got to try to prove that he's still got a firm grasp in that locker room
16:13from a leadership standpoint and get the job done.
16:15Baker Mayfield, obviously, he's a guy that he was hoping that he's brought nothing but stability
16:21to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since he's there.
16:23He helped them.
16:24They never went into a wilderness after Tom Brady left.
16:27They've been competitive winning their division and making the playoffs every year
16:31except for last year when they had a lot of injuries.
16:33But he didn't get the payday that he was hoping for.
16:36And so he broke off contract negotiations.
16:39He's going to be highly motivated, though.
16:41It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out this year for him.
16:44And then his head coach, Todd Bowles, look, they were awful the second half of the season.
16:48Yes, they had injuries, but I think were they 1-7 or something like that?
16:52Missed the playoffs, you know?
16:53And it was like you thought he was on the hot seat.
16:56Well, he fired both coordinators, offensive coordinator, defense coordinator,
17:00oh, also in special teams.
17:02They're running this thing back.
17:04And so he really has to, you know, get them back on track,
17:08or he'll be gone after this season as well.
17:11And so I think that's part of the reason why they kind of have some reservations
17:13about paying Baker because they don't know if they're going to have to blow
17:15this whole thing up after the year.
17:17So that's why they were the top five of my most intriguing list.
17:21Yeah, I mean, you can make the case for all of them.
17:25I'm curious, in New England, has anything, like, I know he obviously got asked
17:31some questions early on there, but I can't, is that a topic up there?
17:36I mean, it sounds like everything has quieted down.
17:40You know, there seems like they're rolling on.
17:45They got, you know, through training, they got through the off-season program.
17:49That's when a lot of the questions were.
17:50Their training camp, it doesn't seem like it's been an issue.
17:54You know, we haven't seen, you know, actual real games.
17:56We'll see what the grass and the locker room and things like that are.
18:00But it sounds like things have quieted down for him.
18:03Well, Mike, let me ask you this question.
18:05San Francisco, they were in the news all the time because of Brandon Ayoub.
18:09Then Kyle has a mysterious accident, and then their owner ends up in a trailer park
18:16in Ohio.
18:18What's going on over there?
18:19That's a wild story.
18:22Maybe the electricity field that they practice on is impacting brains.
18:27I don't know.
18:28I don't know, man.
18:30That is just wild.
18:34I don't know.
18:36When I'm reading this, and you're like, oh, okay.
18:38Then it's just the more you read and the more you dug into it, the weirder it got.
18:42And just this is a billionaire.
18:44What are you doing rolling around in a trailer park when you have a lot of resources, you know,
18:51at your disposal?
18:51Get on the jet and go to Vegas.
18:54I know.
18:55I mean, I don't know.
18:56Everybody can't hula hoop, JP.
19:00Yeah, it's just wild.
19:02But, I mean, it's another distraction for a team that really needed to win this year.
19:07You know, and, I mean, it doesn't impact the guys on the field, but just the operation,
19:12and you just wonder what's going to happen, you know.
19:14But can the league really discipline him when they really didn't discipline Robert Kraft
19:20when he went down to the little spot in Florida a couple years ago
19:24before the AFC Championship game, you know.
19:26Is it different with York that he, like, has already pled guilty and done his time,
19:33for lack of a better word, than Kraft?
19:35You know, fought that thing in court, got it thrown out.
19:37Yeah, yeah.
19:38I don't know.
19:39I don't either.
19:40I know, like they say in football, the person that retaliates,
19:44like the second person to do something normally gets caught,
19:46you know what you're not supposed to be doing, and then you went and did it.
19:49They may be able to use that against him.
19:50And, yeah, yeah, you know, it'll be interesting.
19:55It's really wild.
19:58But, yeah, I don't know, man.
20:00That's a wild one, dude.
20:02Like, when that, B and I were on the air when that story first came out,
20:05and it's like, wait, Jed York's arrested for using a criminal tool?
20:09And then the picture emerged of where he was arrested,
20:13and B and I were like, either drugs or hookers, dude.
20:15There's no other way.
20:17What was he trying to do at a crowbar?
20:20Man, apparently the criminal tool was his phone.
20:22His phone was a criminal tool?
20:24I thought somebody said crowbar.
20:25Because he was using that to contact and, you know,
20:30connect with the prostitute undercover cop.
20:34What a world.
20:35I think that's why they said it was the criminal tool.
20:37Wow.
20:37Jonesy, thank you for the time, dude.
20:39We'll be seeing you in a press box soon.
20:41Sounds good.
20:42Thank you, guys.
20:42Thanks for having me.
20:43It's our friend Mike Jones.
20:44Give him a follow at by Mike Jones.
20:46Read his work in The Athletic.