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00:00The early I'm rocking and rolling here on a Friday.
00:02Love to see it on the Sports Grid Network here in the NFL was taking center stage last night.
00:06By the way, three NFL games last night in the preseason, only four in Major League Baseball.
00:10We hit those Major League Baseball games a little bit later in the show,
00:12but the focus last night certainly was on a quarterback competition from the Charm City.
00:17That competition didn't have anything to do with Lamar Jackson.
00:19It had to do with Daniel Jones and also Anthony Richardson.
00:23What's taking place now?
00:24We talked in the odds market show.
00:26Well, minus 350s were on the board yesterday to start game number one of the regular season for Anthony Richardson.
00:31We debated yesterday, what do we think is going to happen with the Colts?
00:33And I said, barring injury, I don't even care how Anthony Richardson plays.
00:37He will be the starting quarterback in week number one.
00:40Now here we find ourselves on a Friday morning, watch a little bit of the game.
00:43Richardson was two of three for 21 yards, gets crushed on a sack that just came free from a pass rushing edge for the Baltimore Ravens.
00:51And now we're having the conversation, is it just Daniel Jones' team?
00:54But before we get there, the Ravens win 24-16.
00:57The Colts are trying to work things out at the quarterback position.
01:00I just can't get excited about this Colts team.
01:03And even watching Daniel Jones taking sacks, 10 of 21 against backup defenses, no touchdown pass.
01:10As a matter of fact, the Colts didn't even throw a touchdown pass the entire night and got beat here.
01:13This looks like it could be a disastrous, boring season for the Indianapolis Colts, Joe.
01:19We're going to see what the prop is on Riley Leonard being the starting quarterback by the time we get to week six or seven here, Donnie.
01:28And if we're being honest, what's the difference between him and Danny Dimes anyway?
01:33I loved what he had to say at the end of the game.
01:36And this is a kid that, you know, was part of the national championship last year.
01:41And this was a guy that, you know, he's like, I got to make the adjustments to the NFL here.
01:46Obviously, I just can't think escape routes are the way to go.
01:51He's like, I'm learning.
01:52And there's hope for a kid like him maybe to come into his own while everyone is focused on Richardson, who is never going to stay healthy, let's be honest.
02:01And Danny Dimes, you already know what we're going to get.
02:04So, ironically, Riley Leonard here, your rookie quarterback, might be the one that is the best out of all of them come the middle of the season.
02:13You look at Baltimore, right?
02:14Like Cooper Rush is playing two or four passing.
02:16And then you have Devin Leary.
02:17Not Dennis Leary, the actor.
02:19Devin Leary.
02:20By the way, five completed passes for the Baltimore Ravens for roughly 60 yards total in the game.
02:26And they still won.
02:28Like you saw the violent line swing in this game.
02:30Oh, the Colts are really in it here.
02:31But also, just getting back to Anthony Richardson for myself, our struggles with him aren't the town itself.
02:37Maybe he's inaccurate.
02:38We get that.
02:39You have to be available to play football games.
02:42And you can no longer just like, oh, what do you want?
02:44He got hit.
02:44He broke his, like everything, every game it feels like.
02:47It's something new for Richardson.
02:49This injury, that injury, I'm tired.
02:51I don't feel like playing.
02:52I don't study my playbook.
02:53Now I'm getting benched at this point.
02:54It's almost like you're getting this in the preseason saying, the decision should be already made.
02:59We're just going to go with Daniel Jones.
03:00We hope we win two football games and hope we get a really good quarterback in the draft next year.
03:04It's never going to work for Anthony Richardson.
03:07And last night was just a microcosm, right?
03:09First couple snaps of preseason game number one.
03:12He's already injured, Joe.
03:15Like you don't cut the bait and say, okay, we're going to cut him right now and move on.
03:18He's going to be on this football team.
03:20But it's already out there.
03:21You just, hey, can he play 16, 17 games?
03:24He can't play a quarter in the preseason, Joe.
03:27No.
03:28And listen, it was never a matter of athletic ability.
03:32The guy's got a cannon.
03:33He can run.
03:35But when you're going to be the franchise quarterback, you better be together above the shoulders.
03:41And he's just not there.
03:42I mean, they're asking this kid who's had, what, two years, Donnie, of quarterback experience now, one year in Florida, and last year here with the Colts.
03:52You're asking this kid to grow up from a maturity level and be a leader in what, within the first three years as a quarterback?
04:00And then you're asking him to understand the blitzes and everything else on it.
04:06Like you're putting this kid in a position to fail big time.
04:09And let's face it, at this point, he's not going to be able to stay healthy to play a season anyway.
04:14Who are we kidding?
04:15Exactly.
04:16And I look at Daniel Jones.
04:17Like, he's still Daniel Jones from the Giants.
04:19Like, did he just morph over and say, okay, Shane Steichen's actually a real offensive coordinator slash head coach.
04:23He'll get him in gear.
04:25Like, he was so pedestrian yesterday as it is.
04:27Well, I thought he threw for 144 yards.
04:29You just watch the passes going up against backups.
04:31And it's like, he's just Daniel Jones.
04:33He's not going to do anything for this team.
04:35Maybe it doesn't embarrass you, but he's not going to lead to victories.
04:37But what I did like out of this preseason game yesterday certainly wasn't Daniel Jones or the quarterback competition for Anthony Richardson Sr., Cooper Rush or Devin Leary.
04:45There's a couple bright spots there on the Baltimore Ravens.
04:48Keaton Mitchell looks as fast as ever.
04:49I love him as that satellite running back, almost like that sprawls times two with speed.
04:54He had nine carries for 68 yards and a touchdown, which included a great 23-yard touchdown run.
04:59Have a Lajonte Wester.
05:00If you don't remember him last year from Colorado, explosive player.
05:03A six-round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens looked unbelievable.
05:06And special teams made a nice couple catches there.
05:08So I look at the Ravens.
05:09Like, that's that well-oiled machine I like.
05:11You don't get a lot out of these games.
05:12But Keaton Mitchell looks like he's back.
05:14And maybe Wester can be a player on special teams for those Ravens.
05:17Well, we were talking about Mitchell a couple of seasons ago, if you forgot.
05:21Like, we saw flashes of this kid being absolutely ridiculous.
05:25Then he got hurt and was just not the same player when he came back.
05:29So now he's 100% healthy.
05:31And what you saw last night is that is one heck of a change of pace back for Derrick Henry.
05:38And then you got to deal with Mitchell, two totally different runners, two totally different styles.
05:43And you throw Lamar in there.
05:45That's a good thing.
05:46But the backups have to figure out how to pass the ball.
05:49You got to be kidding me, Cooper.
05:50Like, what was that last night?
05:52By the way, did you notice there was a guy in the game for the Indianapolis Colts who had three catches for 18 yards named Ajou?
05:59Ajou?
05:59A-J-O-U.
06:01A-J-O-U.
06:02How about that name here?
06:03By the way, it says he's from Garden City Community College in Kansas.
06:07I don't even know anything about this guy.
06:08But I see his picture.
06:09It shows from USF at this point.
06:11So how about that guy?
06:11Did he make the team?
06:12With a name that doesn't matter.
06:13Name on the back is the name on the front, like we like to say.
06:17Anything is possible here.
06:20Anything.
06:20But, you know, also give credit to the Colts' defense last night, especially the pass defense.
06:26They held their own last night.
06:28It's not like Cooper Rush is a rookie.
06:30And it wasn't like they weren't trying to throw the ball.
06:32So, you know, the defense of the Colts could be the best unit for a while on this team moving forward this year.
06:40Yeah, showing here.
06:41It says the total yards passing as a team were 49.
06:43So I don't know how that factors into maybe sacks or whatever it is.
06:46But you took a look at the passing yards.
06:48240 for the Colts.
06:49It's like, oh, they must have had a really good quarterback battle.
06:51Oh, they must have won that game easy.
06:53No, they lost.
06:54So congratulations to the people who say, hey, I'm going to ride that steam and bet it here.
06:57One and a half to six and a half at game time.
07:00How about a 24 to 16 victory for those Baltimore Ravens here?
07:03Just the way it sort of plays out.
07:04Big dog night across the landscape here in the NFL preseason.
07:08And that game number one, we watched out.
07:10They sent the Baltimore Ravens.
07:11Shame on you people for not backing the Baltimore Ravens if you didn't last night.
07:15More National Football League talk in the preseason coming up next right here on the Sports Grid now.
07:20Football, football, more football.
07:22Triple header yesterday in the NFL.
07:24Had a couple early games in the late night out on the West Coast there between the Seattle Seahawks and the Las Vegas Raiders, which we'll get to.
07:30But in the city of brotherly love, the NFL champions here.
07:34Why?
07:34Because they won the Super Bowl last year.
07:36Taking on the Cincinnati Bengals.
07:37And this was an intriguing game to us because usually it's like, okay, Bengals not going to play any starters.
07:41Eagles not going to play any starters.
07:43What a boring game.
07:44We start hearing from Zach Taylor saying, no more slow starts in Cincinnati.
07:48Joe Ranieri.
07:49We're going to put our best players on the field and let them rip.
07:51And Joe Burrow did that.
07:53Nine of ten for a buck, 23, two touchdowns.
07:55Played a couple series in that game.
07:57That offense looks like it's moving.
07:59Now, granted, the Philadelphia Eagles defense was playing its backups.
08:02You understand that.
08:02But those were the expectations.
08:04Let's get hot.
08:04Let's get in.
08:05Let's get out.
08:06Let's score some points and see what happens.
08:08Now, the Philadelphia Eagles did end up winning this game, Joe.
08:10But what did you think about the Cincinnati Bengals playing their offensive starters in that game?
08:13They look pretty smooth.
08:15I got to tell you, it's pretty funny.
08:17I mean, Burrow ended up dropping back to pass more times last night than he has his entire preseason career.
08:25Donnie, that tells you exactly what you need to know.
08:28Like, they went out there and said, we're going to change this thing up.
08:31We're going to get our guys, the starters, the reps.
08:34We don't care if it's against the backups.
08:37And it's exactly what you would expect it to get.
08:40Nine of ten, a buck, 23, and two touchdowns.
08:43They got 15 reps, and they were, it was exactly, spreading around Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins.
08:51Everybody got involved.
08:53Chase Brown.
08:53Everything you would hope to get out of those 15 reps, you got out of them.
08:58Kudos to the Bengals for mixing it up and trying something different.
09:03Yeah, how about that, too?
09:04The Sharps out here on the street, pushing that line all the way up to six and a half.
09:07What an easy victory for those Cincinnati Bengals.
09:09Certainly not the case yesterday.
09:11If you had told me before the game started, 268 team passing yards for the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow was on fire.
09:17You probably thought that the Philadelphia Eagles got absolutely wasted in this game, because game number one of the preseason, like we'd call it preseason week zero, you got an absolute blowout in that Detroit Lions-Los Angeles Chargers game.
09:27You kind of thought you were looking for the same thing.
09:29Hey, one team's probably going to play better players than the other.
09:31It wasn't the case.
09:32Why?
09:32Tanner McKee was fantastic yesterday.
09:3520 of 25 for 252 and two touchdowns.
09:37Now, understand this, too.
09:39Social media's out there.
09:40Beat writers are there.
09:41We have more information than we would know what to do with in the past, like, 20 years when you used to look at preseason football.
09:47You had no idea what the depth charts were.
09:48The word on the street was we probably weren't going to see a lot of Tanner McKee in game number one.
09:53It'd be more Kyle McCord and maybe Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
09:56You saw a lot of Tanner McKee.
09:57He got 25 passes, completed 20 for 252 and two yesterday.
10:02He looked like the better quarterback on the field going up against Joe Burrow.
10:05Now, granted, again, it is the preseason.
10:07But most people reading the clippings here saying, yes, we understand how this game is going to play out.
10:13That's why that line moved all the way, only to tune in and be like, wait a second.
10:16But he's playing damn near the whole game.
10:18He wasn't even supposed to play in this game, Joe.
10:21No, we didn't think he was playing in this game.
10:23And then not only did it play, they let him air it out.
10:26But when you break it down on what he did, he was 5 of 6 for 73 yards and a rushing touchdown against the starters.
10:35He played for two series against the Bengals' first-team defense.
10:39And those were his numbers against the starters of the Bengals.
10:42Then he went 9 of 11, a buck 20, and two touchdowns to close the rest of the game, the rest of the half.
10:49I mean, what else do you want from the kid?
10:51He had a 153.2 QBR rating.
10:54I mean, he scored three total touchdowns.
10:58And the Eagles, I think, what, scored in four of the five first-half possessions that he was on the field for?
11:05So, what else do you want?
11:06I mean, win-win for everybody involved in that preseason game.
11:10By the way, also, you know, in college football, Joe, it's like, hey, man, which I never understand.
11:15Let's have a little bit of fun with this.
11:17I was in college.
11:18I was number 13.
11:19You would think of somebody else like, hey, man, I play defense.
11:22I want to be 13.
11:22Like, you're not wearing my number ever at this point now.
11:25I never understood where somebody's a number one on offense and a number one on defense.
11:28Like, don't you want to just be that individual and that superstar yourself?
11:31I'm looking at the box score right now for the Philadelphia Eagles.
11:32I've never seen this before.
11:34Like, Shun Derek Powell, it says, number 39-0, which means there's two 39s.
11:39Darius Cooper, the wide receiver, number 41 offense here.
11:42Taylor Morin, number 45 offense.
11:45I don't know if I've ever seen that listed here with multiple numbers like that.
11:48So, here we go.
11:49Just like in college, looks like in the preseason, guys just wearing random numbers out here.
11:54I think there was a kicker last night that was wearing 33, too, which made no sense.
11:59Like, what are we doing?
12:00Like, linebackers wear zero.
12:02Like, what is happening?
12:05It used to be, right, if you were a defensive player, linebacker, you were in the 50s.
12:09I don't care what it was.
12:10Yes.
12:10That's what you were wearing.
12:13Now we got kickers wearing 33s.
12:15Amazing.
12:17Like, we understand that, right?
12:18Like, you know, college has that sort of, like, intrigue.
12:20Okay, number one for a big, fat defensive tackle.
12:23Okay, that's charming.
12:24And the NFL, like, can we just get back to the old ways?
12:26The normal numbers.
12:27Everybody knows who they are.
12:28I don't think, oh, that's Jadavion Clowney wearing number two.
12:31Like, no, come on now.
12:32Just put him in his normal number.
12:33Let's be away with it at this point.
12:35But we did have one more football game to cover.
12:37We're going to get to that next.
12:38Vegas Raiders.
12:41Joe Aniri, Donnie Wright, said right here on the early line on the Sports Grid Network.
12:4523-23.
12:46If you like Michael Jordan, you loved that game last night.
12:48It was the Raiders.
12:48It was the Seahawks.
12:49Ended up in a tie.
12:51But if you did say, you know what?
12:52I took the points with the Seattle Seahawks at home.
12:54You cashed in and you won that football game.
12:57Aiden O'Connell played yesterday.
12:58Drew Locke played yesterday.
13:00Saw Geno Smith for just a little bit.
13:01Jalen Milrow, by the way.
13:036 of 10.
13:0461 yards passing.
13:05A passer rating of 77.5.
13:07Would you like to see that higher?
13:08But here's what I like the best, Joe.
13:10Three carries.
13:1138 yards.
13:12He's going to be a part of that offense.
13:14How big a piece of that offense?
13:16Probably going to be up to him.
13:17But I think everybody was intrigued about this game.
13:19And not necessarily because you wanted to see the final score unless you had a ticket.
13:22You wanted to see a little Ashton Gentry.
13:23Didn't play all that much.
13:24Didn't play all that well.
13:26But you did want to take a look at Jalen Milrow last night.
13:2823-23 final last night, Joe.
13:30Raiders, Seahawks.
13:32Yeah.
13:33And it was really a tale of two halves here.
13:35Because the Raiders were abysmal in the first half of this game.
13:40It was dominated by Drew Locke and the Seahawks.
13:43I mean, you had Geno out there for one series.
13:46And then you had Aiden O'Connell the rest of the way for the most part.
13:49And listen, it wasn't good until, of course, the third, fourth, and fifth stringers started
13:55coming in.
13:56Then all of a sudden, it was good.
13:58But we had guys.
13:59I mean, they were attempting 50.
14:00Every time I turned around, it was a 50-yard, 55-yard field goal attempt or something going
14:05on there.
14:06We didn't see any of the Sam Donalds, the Kenny Walkers.
14:11We didn't see Cooper Kopp.
14:14You know, we didn't see any of the guys we wanted to see there on that side of the ball
14:18for Seattle.
14:19But they dominated the Raiders in the first half of this game.
14:22Wasn't even close.
14:2316-3.
14:24And then, of course, the backups came in.
14:27And that's where it changed for the Raiders in the second half.
14:30Yeah.
14:31What do you think the angle is this year for Jalen Milrow?
14:33Like, there will be packages for him to be used.
14:35Because he is electric when he has the football in his hands with a chance to run.
14:38I was remembering this about, you know, Cam Newton being in New England.
14:40And hey, maybe he could have stuck around and just been like that goal to go back, fourth
14:44down, running back, slash quarterback at this point.
14:46Jalen Milrow is certainly a fun piece at this point.
14:48But obviously, they spent big money on Sam Darnold to be their starting quarterback as
14:51well.
14:52I didn't get a lot out of this football game.
14:53Number one, I didn't watch a lot of this football game because it was on late.
14:56But Aiden O'Connell, 18 of 30 for 205.
14:58He's basically just sitting there as, can he be the backup quarterback, knowing now that
15:01Gino Smith is the full-time starter for the Vegas Raiders at this point right now.
15:05But just looking at the overall statistics, not impressive either way.
15:08It was a lot more fun handicapping those first two games of the night because it seemed like
15:12there was more intrigue.
15:13Cincinnati Bengals starters, quarterback competition in Indy.
15:16We didn't really have too many competitions in the late night game.
15:18So it's probably, you know, rightful that it did end up in a tie at 23-23.
15:22Yeah, I mean, listen, Seattle picked them off twice in the second quarter, Aiden O'Connell.
15:29And it wasn't like they were the starters there.
15:32So, you know, the backup defensive backs for Seattle were having a field day jumping the
15:37routes because he was telegraphing everything there.
15:40So, but, you know, again, it is what it is, Raiders.
15:44But I'm not sure that it's that much of an upgrade with Gino Smith.
15:48But for the most part, you know, the defense of Seattle, I think, was maybe the most impressive
15:55unit in the first half of this game.
15:57I thought they did a lot of really good things.
15:59And even the backups, again, picking guys off.
16:03They seem to be way ahead of the offense in a lot of different areas.
16:08Yeah, certainly have here.
16:09But we'll see them moving forward.
16:11You got game one.
16:11You got game two.
16:12You got game three.
16:13You got the full season cuts.
16:14Then they head into September for the regular season.
16:16And, you know, he's not going to be there in the regular season this year.
16:19Rashawn Slater star left tackle of the Los Angeles Chargers, a devastating injury, because
16:24when you handicap that football team, the strength of the Chargers is the offensive line.
16:28The strength of the Chargers being able to run the football, the strength of the Chargers
16:32being able to hold off that pass rush and let Justin Herbert, you know, sort of matriculate
16:36that ball downfield.
16:37What a devastating injury, which also understand this.
16:41That's a patella injury.
16:42Like that is a serious injury.
16:43There are no guarantees that you just pop back, Joe, and you're back.
16:46Back to normal, even in a year at this point, hopefully the surgery goes well.
16:49But for a guy, it's a double-edged sword for the organization, right?
16:52Paid the guy because you want to.
16:54He's a superstar.
16:54But that said, superstar gets injured later.
16:5792 million in guarantees.
16:58He's going to be just fine the rest of his career, whether or not he wants to play again
17:02or not.
17:02But for the Chargers this year in 2025, the injuries also, Joe, they just don't stop.
17:07You lose your superstar left tackle.
17:08There's no saying that you can even get a decent left tackle.
17:11And he could even stay healthy for the season itself.
17:14Yeah, it's tough, man, because the offensive line was going to be one of the biggest strengths
17:20of this team.
17:21And nobody knows it better than Coach Harbaugh there.
17:25But, you know, you can't replace a guy like this.
17:29The good news is they have another young guy in Alt, the former Notre Dame offensive lineman
17:35who knows a lot about left tackle.
17:39He's played a lot of it.
17:41And they might have to switch him over there now to protect Herbert.
17:46But what do you – you can't – the guy's only given up three sacks and over 500 dropback
17:51attempts, man.
17:52That's why they gave him the extension that they gave him here.
17:57This is the guy literally in charge of protecting Herbert's blindside.
18:01And now, unfortunately, stupid freak injury during practice.
18:05Guy falls into his leg, and here we are.
18:08He's out for the entire year.
18:09It's just unfortunate.
18:12Maybe dodging a bullet here in Houston.
18:14C.J. Gardner-Johnson traded away from the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to go
18:18down to the Texans to be the mouth of the South, if you will.
18:20He goes down with an injury.
18:22Looked really serious, but it turns out his ACL is intact.
18:25I guess they're going to do more, like, MRIs and, you know, tests on that knee today.
18:29But it looks like he might have avoided the catastrophic injury.
18:33Yeah.
18:33He was – happened on a – during a tackle, during practice that they're having right now
18:40in West Virginia.
18:41So, good news.
18:43Unfortunate that it happened.
18:44But good news is they're not expecting it to be season-ending.
18:48So, he is going to be a big part of that secondary and that defense.
18:53It would be great to get him back on the field.
18:56Cam Hayward seems like he's on the last legs in the NFL, but still a really good football
19:00player for the Steelers.
19:00And sometimes you just want to take care of your own.
19:02It doesn't seem like right now that the Pittsburgh Steelers want to do that.
19:06Understand with the contract negotiation, he's basically on a year-to-year deal.
19:09We have one final deal.
19:10It's like $15 million this year, which they accelerated a lot of those guarantees earlier
19:14in the offseason.
19:15But now he's got those guarantees, and now he goes, well, I want a little bit more for
19:19the future right now.
19:20Sort of an impasse right now in camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cam Hayward.
19:24They're all world tackle.
19:2671 tackles last year and eight sacks at 35 years old here.
19:32He has been with this organization, and it's so Steelers, right?
19:36Because he's been with them since 2011 when they drafted him, right?
19:41But the combo of him and Watt have been is just, you can't get away from it.
19:47That is a huge one-two punch, and you need that.
19:51So I'm sure he's not asking for the world, but whatever it is, I'm sure the Steelers can
19:56figure out a way to make him happy and keep those two on the field this year.
20:00Exactly.
20:01The way to your hearts in Pittsburgh is having a bone-crushing defense.
20:05Highsmith, Harmon, Hayward, and Watt, keep those guys together.
20:08That's your chance at winning football games.
20:10A really good defense on deck.
20:12You just want to make sure you have all those pieces in game number one and happy moving
20:16forward.
20:17Cam Hayward, Mr. Steeler, I think they'll get a deal done sooner than later, but it seems
20:20like an impasse right now.
20:22But there is still time before the regular season.
20:24He's just sitting out some of those practices at this point.
20:26A guy that won't be sitting out this weekend, you know who that is?
20:29That's Travis Hunter, man.
20:30Going both ways on Saturday night.
20:32The intriguing part's going to be is, what's more the focal point?
20:35Splashes on offense, splashes on defense, full-time offense, a little bit on defense.
20:39We don't know exactly how they're going to deploy Travis Hunter.
20:42And the one thing I do know, Joe, they're not exactly going to tell you how they're going
20:46to deploy Travis Hunter.
20:47Keep it under wraps.
20:49I wouldn't either, to tell you the truth.
20:52But yeah, we'd be crazy to think that they didn't draft him in order not to utilize his
20:58set of skills.
20:58Very unique set of skills there, Donnie, on both sides of the football.
21:02I'm looking very forward to it.
21:05I think ultimately, they will decide whether it's defense or offense that he is going to
21:10play the majority of snaps this season.
21:12But it's going to be fun to see him on both sides of the ball.
21:15No, it will.
21:16And also, like, understand, like, where he's actually going to dominate.
21:19And it was at that tug of war, right?
21:21Where Liam Cohen's like, okay, I'm the head coach, but I'm also the offensive coordinator.
21:24And then you see Trevor Lawrence saying, what do you want to do?
21:26Break up, like, I'll pass a game?
21:28Or you want to come over here and I'll fire that football in your direction, double digits,
21:31you'll score touchdowns, you'll go over 100 yards, you'll have much more fun on offense.
21:34If you were pulling the strings here, Joe, where does he play more?
21:39Listen, you want to try to give your $250 million quarterback that you overpaid as many
21:45weapons as humanly possible.
21:47So let him play offense until your defense gets burned and you need him on that side.
21:52Right back out of here.
21:53Hour number two, the early line.
21:55You know you love it.
21:56This is Sports Grid Network.
21:58It's Donnie, it's Joe.
21:58We're carrying you through, setting up a monster weekend here for you that includes
22:01the NFL, that includes Major League Baseball, and a lot more, and also some of the hottest
22:06topics that we love to talk about, which we're going to get to a hot topic in just a few
22:09moments because I can't read between the lines with this certain player, this university,
22:14and his family, which we'll get to, Joe.
22:16But the vibes are high.
22:17The weekend is here.
22:18The people made it through.
22:19Monday through Friday, always the toughest.
22:21Everybody is working for the weekend, I think they said before, Joe.
22:24Is that correct?
22:25I believe Loverboy said that.
22:28But yes, I am with you here.
22:30I'm absolutely positive of that.
22:33And it holds true here because we are now just a couple of weeks away from that week
22:40zero weekend kicking it all off.
22:42And then it just, it goes straight up from there.
22:45By the way, you want a little Loverboy trivia right here?
22:48Did you know Jon Bon Jovi wrote, living on a prayer specifically for Loverboy, but decided
22:53to keep it here, where would we be in this world if Bon Jovi didn't sing living on a prayer
22:57and Loverboy got it, Joe Ranieri?
23:00Oh, it's, well, we probably wouldn't be talking about it at all because if a tree falls in
23:06the forest and nobody hears it, it doesn't really make a sound, Donnie.
23:10So, but, but kudos to Jon Bon Jovi for holding on to that, that wonderful piece of music that
23:17he kept.
23:18Exactly.
23:18You know what the people are going to hear right now?
23:20Fade the public.
23:21That's what they're going to hear.
23:21Ooh.
23:23Ooh.
23:29Now's the time right now on the Sports Grid Network on the early line.
23:31We like to reach out to the people and ask them a question.
23:34And boy, we got a hotly contested one this morning, and rightfully so.
23:37And it deals with Arch Manning and being at Texas.
23:40We'll get into the intricacies in just a few moments, but the question was asked on our
23:44account on X at Sports Grid.
23:45The question was, will Arch Manning stay at Texas beyond this season?
23:49Two answers here, obviously.
23:51It's yes and it's no.
23:52Did you know the yes right now is 50.7%?
23:55The no is 49.3% right now.
23:58Right down the middle, Joe Ranieri.
24:01Which way did you go?
24:03Listen, we talked about this yesterday, and to me, this has everything to do and is correlated
24:11to the success that Texas has this year.
24:15If Texas has the kind of year that, well, Texas always thinks they're going to have, let's
24:19be realistic here, and we are having conversations about, you know, Arch Manning being the Heisman
24:27winner, then there's no reason for him to come back to Texas because the market will never
24:31be as good as it's going to be in the draft for him.
24:35But if we're talking about a guy that, well, maybe he doesn't have the greatest of year,
24:40Texas doesn't win a national championship, well, then there's always the option for him
24:45to come back for one more year.
24:47It's not like he's been a starter for the last two years either, Donnie.
24:51So I think this is all correlated between what happens now until January.
24:57And then if it's not as good as we think it may be, well, then he can always go back
25:02to Texas.
25:03The Manning family has money, and I'm sure Cooper Manning does have money because Cooper
25:07is the father, obviously, of Arch Manning.
25:10It's not Peyton Manning, and it's not Eli Manning, because there will be sort of a process
25:14for me that's like, you know what, like if your dad is a billionaire, and you say, okay,
25:17I'm going to go to college, and I just want to work at the gas station, you can do that
25:21because you yourself are still a billionaire.
25:23It doesn't matter.
25:24But I understand that Cooper's probably got some money, but generational money like his
25:28two brothers do, probably not at this point where it's like, hey, son, don't worry, just
25:31have fun.
25:32And even if you don't want to be a professional quarterback, you don't have to, you can go be a teacher,
25:35which will be fine.
25:36But that's not the interest of Arch Manning right now.
25:39So what is the deal?
25:41Because usually players at his level are fast-tracked.
25:45You see them coming in eighth grade, all the way through high school, they get to college,
25:49and the most important thing is, let me put on a show.
25:52The faster I get to the NFL, be a professional, the faster I get to that second contract, and
25:57the money really starts to kick in.
25:58And also, you see like the gifted and talented programs in grade school, in middle school,
26:02in high school.
26:03They're designed to take the super talented kids and take them out of the regular class
26:08so they can excel.
26:10That's what a quarterback does when you think he's going to be a generational talent.
26:13Now, the one thing I don't understand, because even being a competitor, are you telling me
26:18that the family had the plan where, no matter what happened, he's going to Texas, no matter
26:22what the competition level was, and if he can beat them out, Steve Sarkeesian, don't you
26:26dare start this kid.
26:28I don't want him playing football until he's a junior.
26:30And then if he does play as a junior, and he's absolutely fantastic, he's not leaving
26:35school because we want him to play another 13 games in college just to get ready for
26:40the professional ranks.
26:41Something is amiss in this concept, because we're led to believe he's a generational talent,
26:45but he can't beat out quarterbacks his first two years in college, and now he's a junior.
26:51Do you see how I'm going with this, Joe?
26:52Like, something just doesn't add up to me in the Arch Manning situation.
26:55Yeah, they slow played it for whatever reason, the family, but when his grandfather comes
27:02out and says that he anticipates him coming back to Texas next year, it's not like he doesn't
27:08talk to the kid.
27:10I mean, there are very close families, apparently got a ridiculously close relationship with his
27:16grandfather.
27:16So there's got to be some doubt.
27:21He's never done it consistently.
27:23He's never been a starting quarterback at this level over any period of time.
27:28Can he do it consistently?
27:29What does he have, 95 total pass attempts, I think, in his college career so far?
27:35I mean, he might have that there in the first couple of games this year.
27:39So there's a lot of unknown, but I think it's very smart to give options, right, to leave
27:46avenues open if you're Arch Manning.
27:49The pressure and all of the noise is going to be for you to not only, first and foremost,
27:55you better win a championship at Texas, because that's what everybody expects every year.
27:59The Texas fan base is crazy.
28:01But it's, you know, championship robust here.
28:05And if you don't live up to that name, well, then, OK, but you can always come back.
28:11So I think it's smart of them leaving the option and letting people realize, listen, if it doesn't
28:16happen this year, this is a very young Texas team, too, Donnie, don't forget.
28:20This is a team that I think there's only five starting seniors on this team.
28:25Everybody else is an underclassman.
28:27So would it be the worst thing for him to come back another year when everybody stays
28:31together and all of a sudden they got a year under their belt?
28:34I don't think that's the worst thing either.
28:37Yeah, just as like a competitor, like, and we're not, I'm not knocking Arch Manning.
28:40I don't know the kid.
28:41But like, if I show up on campus day and I'm going with a lot of hype, my goal is to
28:44cut everybody in front of me, absolutely destroy them in competition that goes, yeah, even
28:48if the game plan was me not to play my freshman year, have Coach Sark look down the list and
28:52like, I don't care what the program is.
28:53I'm calling your dad tonight.
28:54You're starting tomorrow against Oklahoma in the Red River rivalry.
28:58Like, that's just the way it's supposed to be.
29:00So I understand there was a game plan moving forward, but it just does add doubt.
29:03Like, he's not going to play his first two years.
29:06Like, Quinn Ewers wasn't all in every game.
29:08There were so many tweets I put out last year watching Texas games.
29:10I was like, I don't understand.
29:11Is Arch Manning not that good?
29:12Is there something that we don't know about?
29:13Because Quinn Ewers looks terrible in this football game, but yet he can't crack the
29:17starting lineup.
29:18But if we do look at the Heisman race, it's been impacted here.
29:21No doubt about it.
29:22You look at the odds.
29:23Garrett Nussmeyer's the favorite right now.
29:24Plus 340 price.
29:25Cade Clubney, plus 380.
29:27Lenora Sellers, plus 380.
29:29Drew Aller, plus 470.
29:30They're all quarterbacks.
29:31Then there's Arch Manning at a plus 850 price.
29:34Are we saying to ourselves, you know what?
29:36We see the MVP market in the National League and the American League in baseball.
29:39You should just be taking these guys at these lower prices.
29:41Eventually, they'll be there.
29:42Or excuse me, number one pick odds.
29:43Arch Manning plus 850.
29:44Same thing you can use in the Heisman odds.
29:46Like, how can this be?
29:47He needs to be the starting quarterback.
29:50He needs to play well.
29:51And I would still bank that he's going to get drafted.
29:53Well, there's a – again, if this is a kid that we're talking about that is going to be competing in the playoffs and competing for a possible national championship as the starting quarterback in the University of Texas, yeah, he's in likelihood going to be the number one pick.
30:13But I think all of those names on that list, he's the one with the least amount of experience as a starter.
30:19So I get what the odds are.
30:21But the reality is all of these guys, depending on how they perform this year, will depend on where they're drafted next year.
30:30Tanking for Nussmeyer?
30:31It doesn't sound the same thing as, like, tanking for Arch Manning.
30:34Tanking for Klaid Klubnik out here.
30:36Lenora Sellers.
30:37All fine football players is the way we go, but all eyes are on the prize in Austin, and that prize is Arch Manning, who, if you look and say my uncles, yeah, they did pretty well in the NFL with NBPs and Super Bowls and maybe both being in the Hall of Fame.
30:50I think I could do the same thing.
30:51We'll see if he plays really well at Texas this year.
30:53And they go, hey, you know what?
30:54One more year is good, as we talked about before with Matt Leiner.
30:57Hey, go back and have ballroom dancing and basket weaving.
31:00Just about ruined his career.
31:01Should have came out earlier, but didn't.
31:03More talk next.
31:04A hot topic.
31:05Oh, it truly is a football Friday right here on the Sports Grid Network.
31:08Why is that?
31:09Because the early line is going to take a look at a triple header tonight in NFL action.
31:13Two games at 7 o'clock, one game at 7.30.
31:15But the game that maybe gets the most eyeballs tonight is Cleveland and Carolina.
31:20Estimated starting quarterback, Shadora Sanders.
31:23What are the odds, Joe Ranieri, for you tonight that the Cleveland Browns win this football game and Shadora starts?
31:28He takes the mic and goes, Cleveland, this is for you.
31:34Yes.
31:35Well, the reality, Donnie, is that we know the Browns are going to be absolutely atrocious.
31:42Total dumpster fire this year.
31:44We know this in that division there.
31:46When you have a quarterback room with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and a couple of rookies and Dylan Gabriel and Shadora Sanders, nothing good is going to come from that during the regular season.
31:58But what it may give us here is a pretty good Browns preseason team because each of these guys is going to be laying it all out on the line to try and keep their job in that room and possibly be the starting quarterback.
32:13So I think Shadora will have his opportunity.
32:16The spotlight is nothing new to him.
32:18But I do think when push comes to shove late in the games, the Browns are worth looking at in the preseason because of that competition.
32:27And because each guy is going to want to level up here and get it done to keep their job.
32:33So I would definitely look towards the Browns in this one, given the fact that, yeah, a lot of these guys, it's do or die this season.
32:40Now, I haven't gone through everything in this game, but obviously we know Shadora is starting here.
32:46Do we have a definitive answer on how long he's expected to play in this game?
32:51Is it a first quarter, the second quarter?
32:53So we don't know those numbers.
32:54Here's what I want to do.
32:55Like, I want to ask you some questions.
32:56Let's just say Shadora is going to get the start.
32:58Like, we want to give the kid a look.
32:59It's the first half, right?
33:00First preseason game.
33:01Shadora Sanders, first pass completion tonight, or excuse me, first pass to be a completion tonight, minus 175.
33:07Any thoughts on that singular bet right there?
33:09Which means you probably open up with a handoff, and everybody knows this.
33:14I doubt Shadora Sanders' first play is going to be a double max protection, 70-yard bomb down the field to see if he can throw it there.
33:22It just feels to me like a dump off into the flat to get the kid going.
33:26But it's a minus 175.
33:28How do you feel about that prop?
33:29Shadora's first pass to be a completion tonight to the yes, minus 175.
33:35How about this, Donnie?
33:36How about the first pass Shadora completes is to himself?
33:39I bet he just throws it to himself, and that's it.
33:42Just let me get it done here.
33:43That's because that's what Deion would want me to do.
33:46No, listen, I think they're going to be – he was listed as the fourth stringer here, right?
33:52He was fourth on the depth chart.
33:54But injuries have obviously – now they've catapulted him.
33:57They're going to want to see what he can do.
34:00But I do – it would not shock me if they just let him air it out.
34:04It really wouldn't, Donnie.
34:05I mean, what do you have to lose at this point here?
34:08So I bet you the first pass isn't completed, although he is very accurate.
34:13How about this?
34:15Whatever the prop is on his first pass intercepted, I'll take it.
34:18By the way, sometimes these props obviously hit or miss.
34:23We don't know how long they're going to play.
34:24We always talk about like betting in a vacuum.
34:25Like, yeah, I know he's going to play four quarters unless he gets injured.
34:30Shadora Sanders to have one touchdown pass in the game tonight.
34:34You would probably think it would be heavily like plus money because rookie coming in,
34:37we don't know how long he's going to play.
34:38It's plus 105.
34:40So if I told you that price point there, do you think Shadora Sanders throws a touchdown pass tonight
34:45going up against the Carolina Panthers?
34:48I do.
34:49I do.
34:50Let's face Carolina has invested a lot into the defensive side of the ball where they
34:54were atrocious last year.
34:56But remember what they were last year, Donnie.
34:58They were one of the worst rushing defenses last year.
35:02I could see a lot of ground and pound in this one, but I'd be willing to take a shot with
35:07Shadora throwing a TD pass.
35:09You know, he's going to take some shots, right?
35:12And being under duress is not new for him.
35:14So I would be willing to bet that he gets both a TD and an interception at some point
35:20tonight.
35:21Yeah.
35:21We take a look at the week one starting odds here for the Cleveland Browns, right?
35:24Joe Flacco at a minus 180 price, which I never thought he should be the quarterback,
35:27but it just feels like he is going to be that and rightfully so being the favorite.
35:31You take a look at Kenny Pickett at a plus two six plus 280 price and also Dylan Gabriel
35:36at a six to one Shadora Sanders at a 25 to one price.
35:39So a lot is on the line, but also usually we hear this big quarterback news like, okay,
35:42guys are fighting for spots.
35:44Like it moves in your direction, but Cleveland is a six and a half point dog at most outlets
35:50that on the road against the Carolina Panthers.
35:52So no buybacks here for the Cleveland Browns apparently.
35:55No, but that's what, you know, we saw this last night, right?
36:00Does that trend continue where, you know, we've, the dogs were barking last night and
36:05well, they also happen to be all home dogs.
36:08You've got Carolina laying six and a half.
36:11I don't know about that.
36:13We've got a quarterback battle happening tonight with the Browns.
36:16We have no quarterback controversy happening in Carolina, ironically.
36:21And a lot of times you bet with your gut.
36:22It's like, okay, I think this is what's going to happen.
36:24I think she's going to be set up for success.
36:25I think they're going to game plan.
36:26Then it doesn't turn out to work out and that's the preseason.
36:28That's what you get.
36:30Game number two tonight.
36:30I want to take a look at Detroit and Atlanta, which is intriguing to me, not because of the
36:34Atlanta Falcons and not really because of Detroit, but just the circumstances like Dan
36:38Campbell.
36:39Okay.
36:39This season is on me.
36:41I don't have my superstar coordinator.
36:42Let me talk about Aaron Glenn was a great defensive coordinator.
36:44He just got dealt a bad card last year because why the entire defense was injured down
36:49the stretch, but Ben Johnson widely respected as one of the best offensive minded football.
36:53He's not there.
36:54Which now leaves Dan Campbell.
36:55I'll run this ship all by myself.
36:56I will be just fine.
36:57They were embarrassing in week zero of the preseason.
37:01Again, that pro football hall of fame game.
37:03Again, preseason doesn't mean a lot, but there's pride in that building that they got crushed.
37:08So I see that price point at minus three and a half.
37:10And I want to buy into it as a favor for Detroit.
37:13But in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter.
37:15But also, do you want to get beat like 28-7 again and just have people start to ask questions
37:20like, well, maybe it is your coordinators, even though it is only in the preseason?
37:23Like, I just feel like I need to bet Detroit tonight because they can't lose this game because
37:27Dan Campbell's like, I need a better performance or we're going to go to boot camp next week.
37:31Well, the problem is, it's Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen again.
37:36So kudos.
37:37Good luck with that.
37:39But the other situation here is that you're not going to see Michael Penix or Kirk Cousins.
37:44You're going to see Easton Stick.
37:46Who?
37:47Yeah.
37:47Easton Stick, the former Charger backup, who is now vying for a spot here with Atlanta.
37:53It'll be him and Emory Jones, the former University of Florida QB there, who will finish out the game.
38:00So nothing screams big offensive efforts here.
38:04But you're right.
38:05Dan Campbell, not happy last week.
38:08But he also, secondary, a whole bunch of injuries right now for Detroit.
38:13Offensive lineman was hobbled in last week's game.
38:17So I don't know how much they're going to push the envelope.
38:19But it does feel like Dan Campbell will have the Lions cleaning up some of those mistakes they made last week.
38:27The effort will certainly be there.
38:29But given those two quarterbacks, I don't know that it'll be enough here to win this game.
38:33Last game of the night again just will be 730.
38:35It's nice.
38:36You don't even have that nightcap.
38:37Everything's going to be getting going in the 7 o'clock hour.
38:39That is the Washington Commanders taking on the New England Patriots.
38:42That line is six and a half.
38:43So breaking down that game, not a lot of intrigue to me.
38:46We know Drake May is going to be the starter.
38:47Obviously, Jaden Daniels on the Washington side.
38:49But last night, Joe, if you just blind bet all three dogs, you won two outright and pushed on another one.
38:56Fantastic odds.
38:57If you parlayed it, you would have made some good money.
38:59So I'm going to ask you that same question tonight.
39:02Carolina, six and a half point favorite here.
39:04Detroit, three and a half point favorite.
39:06New England, six and a half point favorite.
39:08If you blind bet the underdogs tonight, how does it turn out?
39:11Yeah, it's you'll probably be a probably a profitable night, but I'm not quite sure what we're going to get here with the Patriots and the commanders.
39:23They've been practicing all week.
39:25Right.
39:25So we know that we also know that not one, not two, but four offensive linemen are dealing with injuries on the Patriots.
39:34So that means there are going to be a lot of guys in the trenches tonight looking to battle for for paychecks and contracts here tonight.
39:42And we know Vrabel, the effort will be there.
39:45The toughness will be there.
39:48I think the Patriots could very well roll the commanders here tonight at home.
39:53Yeah, nice slate of games.
39:54And I always like to the preseason, which it is quite boring, but it's nice that they go Thursday night, Joe, Friday night, Saturday and into Sunday.
40:01And before I know there, it looks like there's no, at least on my docket right here, Monday night games with that final game on Sunday is a four o'clock start between the New Orleans Saints here and the Chargers.
40:10By the way, I do think that game has a good chance to go over here.
40:13Jack Hainer hangers out there.
40:15Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shuck.
40:17My goodness out here looks fantastic.
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