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00:00Albert Breer of the MMQB joins us. Welcome to the show there, Albert.
00:05What's up, guys?
00:06Oh, we're living the dream over here. How about yourself?
00:10Oh, good. Good. I just got back from overseas, so that was good.
00:15My adjustment is underway, so I think right now it's technically like 9.30 body cloth time for me, so
00:23I'm...
00:26Where'd you go?
00:28We went to Paris. We took the kids to Paris over Easter weekend, which is great.
00:33I suggest anybody does that with their kids.
00:36I was a little worried because I thought they might be a little bored by some of it,
00:41but I think it's good to expose your kids to those things.
00:45We went to London a couple years ago. I actually went to Europe a lot when I was a kid
00:49because I'm first generation on my mom's side, so we were over in Austria quite a bit
00:54when I was little, and yeah, yeah. It got off to a little bit of a rough start.
01:00I fell down a flight of stairs in a subway station, but after that, it was all downhill from there.
01:08All right. Well, we're glad you're healthy.
01:10All downhill, however you want to put that, yeah.
01:12It literally was, yeah. It was all down the stairs from there.
01:17All right, Albert. I know we don't talk a lot of college basketball here,
01:21but many Ohio State fans were irate.
01:23Dusty May was one of the finalists for the basketball job two years ago.
01:27He just wins the Natty last night with Michigan.
01:30Were you watching that as an Ohio State fan thinking this could have been us?
01:36Yeah, I mean, I was. Now, if we're being honest about it, look, do I think Michigan would trade
01:43everything it has for the last 25 years that we had in football? I would say yes, and they can't
01:49have that, so that's great, but I mean, we've seen Ohio State perform at a high level in basketball,
01:57and I don't think anybody's expectation is that they're going to be the football team.
02:00You know what I mean? Like, I don't know anybody who watches. I don't know anybody who I went to
02:07school with that watches the basketball team as we watch the football team. Mike, the football team
02:12loses, and it ruins your week. The basketball team loses, and you go on with your night.
02:18Yeah, Mike, so it's never going to be quite that, I don't think. We're never going to be North Carolina
02:24or Duke. I think the expectation is just be competitive. Compete for the Big Ten every few years.
02:31Maybe you get to a Final Four once a decade, and if we win a national championship at some point,
02:37we'll win a national championship at some point, and I think the frustrating thing for everybody now
02:43is that we had two coaches that were wholly capable of doing that back-to-back, and Jim O'Brien
02:49and
02:50Thad Mata. And, you know, after, I'm not sure, maybe we all didn't realize how good we had it, but
02:58you know, it certainly feels like since, you know, Thad went through the health problems he had and
03:03everything else, it hasn't been quite the same. And, you know, again, like, I just don't think the
03:09expectations need to be that, you know, we'll be in the Final Four every other year or whatever. Like,
03:14no one's expecting that. But I think most people expect it to be better than it was,
03:19and I do think, based on the evidence we have, like, maybe Dusty May wouldn't have won a championship
03:23in year two at Ohio State, but, you know, I certainly think there's evidence to show that
03:30he would have gotten the program to where O'Brien or Mata had it.
03:34Albert, Miles was not there at the start of the voluntary portion of OTAs this week,
03:38and he was not there this morning. And it was Nick and I don't really care about that,
03:42if we're being honest. But it is interesting to note Lamar Jackson did show up, because he's got
03:46a new head coach, new offensive coordinator. When you have a new offense or a new head coach,
03:52and in Miles' case, new defensive coordinator, do you feel like there should have been something
03:56more done by Miles' behalf to maybe show up and maybe, like, almost endorse Munkin?
04:01Or does he just not have to? Yeah, I think it's different with quarterbacks.
04:05You know what I mean? Like, I just think with the quarterback, there's symbolism to it.
04:10There's also a functionality to it where, you know, if your quarterback just shows up on day one of
04:16OTAs and he didn't go through all the meetings in the month plus prior to that, you know, is there
04:22a
04:22chance that that quarterback is holding everybody back? Yeah, sure there is. Do I think Miles Garrett's
04:28going to be holding anybody back if he takes a week or two off during the portion of the
04:34offseason program that's just lifting and beating? No. So, I mean, would it be nice to have him in
04:39the house? Of course. You'd love to have everybody you can have in the house, especially your leaders.
04:44I'd pay more attention if he doesn't show up at the beginning of OTAs, because for people who don't
04:49know, like, basically the way this goes is you've got steps over the course of the next,
04:56you know, few weeks where the first two weeks is phase one, which is basically just lifting,
05:02running, and beating. And then after that, you know, like, you start to work in where you can go
05:08out in the field and you can do stuff, but you can't do team stuff. And then you can do,
05:13like,
05:14on-field stuff, but the offense can't be facing a defense. And then, you know, when you get to OTAs,
05:19you can actually start to do 11-on-11 work, and I think that's when it really starts to matter.
05:23So,
05:25you know, at this point, like, I don't think it's the most important thing in the world that they're
05:29there. But, you know, over the course of the next six or seven weeks, it'll become, you know,
05:35I think more important to what they're trying to accomplish that the key guys are announced.
05:40Albert, last week, Andrew Barry says Miles Garrett will be a Cleveland Brown for life.
05:45We've had almost a full week to digest those kind of comments there, as has the NFL.
05:51So does that mean we should slam the door shut on a Miles Garrett trade the next two years?
05:58No, because I just, you know, I've seen too often these things go the other way.
06:05You know, now, I don't think Andrew Barry intends to mislead anybody with that comment, but I just
06:12think it's like, we've seen time and time again where these things can turn on a dime, you know?
06:19And so, you know, I don't have any reason to believe that everybody isn't in a good place right now.
06:26That, you know, like the new coaches haven't endeared themselves to Miles, and that Miles is fine giving
06:33these guys a shot and everything else. But, I mean, it's, I mean, look, like, you know, he's on the
06:40back end of the prime of his career. If you just kind of, like, take it as what, you know,
06:45generally
06:45happens with players, like, you get the 30, that's the back end of your prime. You know, and there's going
06:51to be some urgency around that, I'm sure, for him and everybody else. And so, this is a stage
06:56of a guy's career where things can change quickly, and I wouldn't rule anything out.
06:59All right, Albert, last week you said that, like, April 1st is when you really start to
07:03dive into everything with the draft. You already had some intel, obviously, telling us about
07:06Ty Simpson and you thinking he's going to go in the second round. What have you learned
07:10so far in the past week or so as it relates to the Browns at No. 6?
07:15Well, I would just say, you know, I think it's going to be interesting to see the way
07:22the offensive linemen come off the board, you know, and I think the way you want to look
07:29at this is, you know, I don't think, obviously, there'll be a lineman at one, and that's going
07:35to be the quarterback, of course. I think it's probably going to be a pass rusher at two
07:39to the Jets would be my guess. I've leaned David Bailey right now, but I think Arvell
07:43Reese is right there, that mix. And then I think when you start to get to the teams
07:48where an offensive lineman might be a consideration, you're talking about the Cardinals at three,
07:54the Giants at five, and the Browns at six. So I think in a perfect world, the Browns come
07:59away with an offensive lineman at the sixth pick. That said, if for some reason Maui Noah
08:05and Fano are gone, you might be really reaching for somebody if you take one there. Would it be
08:11the guard from Penn State after you just paid Jenkins? And Zion Johnson, probably not. Would
08:18you reach on Freeling from Georgia? I mean, that seems like that'd be pretty rich for him.
08:25So, like, I'd say, you know, like, if I had to guess which way they go right now, I'd say
08:30probably a lineman, an offensive lineman. But again, like, I look at where, you know, I look
08:38at where Arizona is. They could take a pass rusher. They could take a Sonny Stiles. I look
08:44at where the Titans are. I don't think that's going to be an offensive lineman. My guess would
08:50be that's either, you know, a Jeremiah Love or, you know, someone, if one of the pass rushers
08:57falls to them, maybe that, or a receiver. And then the Giants, you know, like Sonny Stiles,
09:03Caleb Downs, are one of the linemen. So, you know, I think if they had their druthers, they
09:08would go and come away with a really good offensive lineman with a sixth pick. But they
09:14don't control what happens in front of them. So it'll be interesting to see the way that
09:18the first five picks shake out.
09:19Albert, this is a weird year where it seems like the only consensus, I know there's the
09:25strong Cardinal Tate hive. There's some people that are BPA. There's, you know,
09:30a fractured, you know, some people like Freeling. But it's interesting that the number one thing
09:34it seems like people can agree on most is a trade down is in the Browns' best interest.
09:40But yet there isn't the quarterback to trade, you know, for somebody to trade up for.
09:45Is there, are there players that are maybe getting buzz as trade up worthy for teams in the
09:52teens or below?
09:54Yeah, I just said the issue with this year's class in general is that, like, I just don't
09:59think, and again, like, this can change and there can be runs on players on the clock and
10:04all that different stuff. You know what I mean? Like, you're, you're sitting there at
10:07six and like I said, like, somebody gets antsy to go get an offensive lineman, maybe, you
10:13know, I like, like, I guess something like that is possible. But, you know, I just think
10:19as it stands right now, without those top end prototypes, without the Joe Alt left tackle,
10:26without the, you know, Clowney or Peppers or Garrett defensive end, or the Patrick
10:33Santana, I just don't know what you're going up to get, you know? Now, I think it's more
10:38likely, if you're going to have trades in the first round, is once, you know, you get
10:43down towards 10 and 12, and maybe there's a little bit of a cliff at a couple of the
10:47positions, then it's like, okay, like, maybe there's some movement, but I don't
10:51know that six would be a spot where you're going to be able to move out. And I'm
10:56with you on the idea. Like, I think it would be great for the Browns if they could
10:59get value for the pick. I'm just not sure if there's going to be value there for
11:04that pick.
11:05Would Tennessee at four, would they go Jeremiah Love, or is that the type of thing
11:08that they're not ready yet with an offensive line that isn't?
11:12No, I think so. I mean, look, they spent $20 million per on a left tackle last year
11:17in Dan Moore. I think it's just okay. And then the right tackle was a top 10 pick
11:22from J.C. Latham. So, you know, the problem that they have there, if it was an
11:27offensive lineman, is that the top two tackles are both right tackles, right?
11:31Spencer Bono and Francis Maui Noah. So, you look at that right tackle spot, and it's, I
11:39mean, do you move J.C. Latham back to left tackle after that didn't work a couple
11:43of years ago? Would they go receiver? They took a couple of receivers last year.
11:49Maybe, maybe not. I think they would go pass rusher, but, like, do you view Reuben
11:55Bain as being worthy of going that high? They might, you know, they might, but
12:00at Freese and Bailey are gone. They might not see a pass rusher there worthy of that
12:05pick. And I just, like, look at Love, and I see who I think is probably the
12:09best player, like, maybe the best player in the draft if you just take the
12:13mid-positional value out of it. Here's the other thing about Love, because I do
12:17think, like, to some degree he helps you develop your quarterback. You know, we've
12:20seen this before. You know, what Zeke Elliott meant to Dak Prescott, what Todd Gurley
12:26meant to Jared Goff, you know, what Saquon Barkley meant to Daniel Jones. We've seen
12:31young quarterbacks really benefit from having this sort of back. We can, you know, do
12:36everything. You catch the ball out of the backfield, you run between the tackles, who
12:40can get you in second, six, and third, two more consistently. They can really help you
12:44with your young quarterback. So, if I'm looking inside the top ten of teams that
12:48would have, potentially have an interest in Jeremiah Love, you know, the two I have
12:53circled up top are Tennessee and Washington.
12:56Albert, today we found out Fernando Mendoza will be skipping the NFL draft. Instead, he's
13:03going to be hanging out with his family in Miami. I'm always curious at what the
13:07reaction is, both around the league and from the league. Like, how much does the
13:12NFL league office care that Fernando Mendoza, the presumptive number one pick, won't be
13:17attending the draft in Pittsburgh?
13:20Well, I mean, if you're talking about around the league, other teams don't care where they
13:24are. You know, like, that's, I would say that's way down the list of things they're
13:28worried about going into, you know, going into the draft. I think as far as the league
13:33office goes, you know, look, I think they'd love to have, like, what they don't want is
13:38the entire top ten not there. You know what I mean? If it's one or two guys, I think
13:43they're fine. But if you got to the point where it was like, it looks weird because
13:49there's only a couple of them walking up there and shaking the commissioner's hand, that's
13:53probably where you would have a little bit more of a problem. I don't think the mix
13:56would really bother them that much, though. I mean, look, like, I almost think of a scenario
14:01like this, like, given how much attention Mendoza's family got, you know, and a really
14:07cool story with his mom there, his mom being part of the decision to stay home.
14:12And, you know, his dad obviously has been a bit in the spotlight as well. His younger brother
14:18is, you know, a pretty prominent college player himself. Like, I just, I look at it like
14:25this could actually, like, from a TV perspective, be a better chance to showcase all these people
14:31that we got to know in the fall when Indiana was going on.
14:34Albert, I want your thoughts on Troy Aikman's comments and him saying the Dolphins hired him
14:38knowing that he has information that they don't have or can't get and said that they were
14:42really smart in taking advantage of that. We obviously see Tom Brady, and that was a big
14:45discussion about his access within some of these broadcasts. Are we just going to get
14:49to a spot where if you're, like, if you're Harp Street, you should be lining up to take
14:53some money from one of these other NFL teams? Is it like if you're a color commentator, you
14:58now get a job with some squad, whether that's the Browns, Colts, whoever? Or is this the type
15:04of thing the NFL is going to have to step in and say, wait a second, this has gone too
15:08far?
15:10Yeah, that's why I love Aikman. Because he doesn't give a crap. He said the quiet part out
15:14loud, which I saw somebody say that. I don't love all these cliches, but that one works
15:21here. He did say the quiet part out loud. He's privy to information and going and studying
15:29these teams and then visiting them and getting to know the people with these teams. I know
15:37this, those production meetings, they say a whole lot more than gets on the air. So there's
15:44obviously a lot of information that's shared in those sessions. And I actually think ultimately
15:48guys here, like the loser winds up becoming the fans. Like, this to me is another, like,
15:54one of those, you know, the league gets fat, hogs get slaughtered, however you want to say
15:58that type scenarios, right? Like, because if you think about it, right, if you really break
16:04this down and think about it, um, the reason the league was going to let Brady do that is
16:10because the league wants Brady to be part of their broadcast universe, you know, because
16:16having Tom Brady on a broadcast elevates the game because he is a international superstar.
16:25So, like, Tom had leverage, um, with the league and saying, like, no, I want it. Like, you
16:30got to let me do this. Like, okay, Tom, whatever you say. And most people were like, most people
16:35said in that scenario, well, it's Tom Brady. He can get away with whatever he wants. This
16:39right here becomes the problem, you know? Because now it's like, well, wait a minute. If
16:45you're going to say no to Tom Brady, why are you saying no to Troy Aikman? And if the Raiders
16:48can have that advantage, why can't the Dolphins have that advantage? And if you let Troy Aikman
16:53do it, then is Greg Olson next? Is Tony Romo next? Is, I mean, name the guy, you know? And
17:01so, like, these guys basically become, I mean, more or less, uh, more or less funnels into
17:09funnels for these teams into the production meetings. So let me ask you guys, what's the
17:15logical step to that? If, like, now all of a sudden these guys are both broadcaster and
17:23information gatherer for one particular team, what do you think the next thing that happens
17:27is? Jimmy Haslam's going to hire somebody? Jimmy's going to spend a lot of money, yeah.
17:32Well, no, nobody says anything in the production meetings. Oh, that's obvious, yeah, okay.
17:37Wouldn't that be the obvious next step? It's like, well, all right, so, like, now, all right,
17:44like, now, like, you've got all these guys are, and why wouldn't you if you were one of
17:49these ex-players, right? Like, they're not journalists. They don't have the same sort
17:53of, like, code that we all have, right? Like, so, like, wait a minute, somebody's going to
17:57pay me what to do what? That's it? Like, that's all I got to do? Yeah, sure, where do I
18:02sign?
18:03You know? So, like, I just, I think, ultimately, if you think about it, logically, the fan winds
18:10up being a loser here, because if these guys are going to be less forthcoming to the production
18:14meeting, I think it adversely affects the broadcast. If it adversely affects the broadcast,
18:19that becomes a problem. The thing people don't, the thing people fail to, like, think about
18:23what the Brady thing is, like, he is fresh off the field. It's only been a couple years.
18:29As these guys, like, go on in their broadcast careers, they have to become, they become
18:35more and more reliant on their relationships, and the production means their ability to get
18:39this information. So, you know, like, Loma was great when he first got out of the league
18:44because he knew everything, because he had just been playing for a team. Well, I think
18:48now we're seeing, like, what that looks like a few more years down the line. Like, it takes
18:53work to keep up with that stuff after you haven't been playing for a few years, and now you've
18:58created a barrier to those broadcasters doing that work. That's not good for the fans.
19:03Albert, great stuff, buddy. We're glad you survived France and those damn French stares.
19:08We'll talk to you next week.
19:10All right. Thanks, guys.
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