- 2 months ago
Broadcaster for NBC Sports John Fanta joins the show with much energy and certainty that the Canes will rise above! John Fanta talks the Canes' upcoming season, Malachi Toney being a Top 10 Player in the country, and gets into a full-blown therapy session with Leroy over Deshaun Watson!
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00:00John Fanta joins us there from NBC Sports.
00:02He joins us with DraftKings.
00:03They had a DraftKings game day this Wednesday on exclusive offers.
00:06Free gas in select locations.
00:08We had Chad Ochoacinco.
00:09He's doing an event coming up Wednesday in Miami.
00:12And we're all excited to kick off this football season.
00:14John, how are you, man?
00:16Great to be with you guys.
00:18I'm going to start hot with you here.
00:21And I'm not just saying because I'm on your show.
00:23I think Miami could be even better than last season.
00:28The Canes?
00:30Yes.
00:30I love it.
00:32That's the way to ingratiate yourself here, John.
00:34I like that.
00:35I do because I don't know if the ACC at the top will even be as sharp.
00:42Okay, we all know that they got to win the ACC championship.
00:45That's that elusive thing.
00:46They got to be in that championship game and win that championship.
00:50But to me, like Malachi Tony back, you've got Mensah quarterback.
00:55There's a lot to like about Darian Mensah.
00:57I think he's a Heisman hopeful.
00:59At the line of scrimmage, they've become a juggernaut.
01:03Cristobal seems to have really just settled into the job perfectly, identifying talent left and right.
01:07The defense flies all over the field.
01:09What's there not to like about Miami?
01:12And here's the thing.
01:15They can't control if they don't face the Big Ten or the SEC.
01:18Here's what they do control.
01:19They can own the ACC.
01:21They got Notre Dame in November.
01:22But they don't have to win that game to make the playoff.
01:26But I think that they're in position to be a top four seed in this playoff, not just sneak in.
01:31But they're a motivating team, too, because when you don't sit on the mountaintop of your league, as some people
01:38may think, oh, that's a dumb thing to say.
01:40But here's the thing.
01:40They weren't.
01:41They weren't in the conference championship game.
01:43I think that gives you an extra sense of like, all right, there's some unfinished things for us to accomplish
01:47here.
01:47And I expect them to.
01:48And now they got that fan base back in full swing.
01:52So, John, when you replace, and it's a little bit different in the NFL, but in college, when you lose
02:00two first round draft picks, right, that's a big deal.
02:04And so when you think of the last couple of years of the Canes, it's been the secondary, but they
02:10kind of had that pass rush to make up for it.
02:12So you think they're going to be OK, you know, one with a pass rush or in the secondary to
02:18be able to support whatever rush they have?
02:22You know, look, it's it's not it may not come seamless to start the season.
02:27OK, but there's there's still there's a lot to like about this football team.
02:34And, you know, Motore is a guy that I think is going to be a steady presence for them, a
02:41rock on defense.
02:43And there's no sign that indicates that they're going to take some giant step back.
02:48So for me, you know, I think that they're positioned to to be one of the lead horses here in
02:55the country.
02:56And I think that crystal ball has earned a little bit of a knows how to navigate the portal.
03:02A little bit of the benefit of the doubt now.
03:04You know, the other thing is this.
03:05You're talking about defense that may have some things to figure out.
03:08I get it.
03:09But you're facing a Stanford team that barely got past Hawaii to start the season.
03:14I'd rather start that.
03:15A lot of people are like, well, West Coast trip.
03:17I hate starting the season that way.
03:20Now, I'd rather start there than play at week two or week three, because week two or week three, then
03:25you you are you're trying to be in rotation and then you're in rotation.
03:29That can take you all out of whack.
03:30Start the season here.
03:31Then you got Florida A&M.
03:33That's a cupcake.
03:34You've got Wake Forest on the road.
03:36They haven't shown any signs of anything.
03:38Central Michigan.
03:39My point is this defense will be able to find its way through the first four games of the season
03:44before facing Clemson.
03:46So do I Leroy, do I have some mild concerns because of who they lost?
03:50You'd be disrespecting those guys if you didn't have some mild concerns.
03:54But because of the way the schedule shakes out early, they don't have Notre Dame week one.
03:58If they had Notre Dame week one, I'd probably be singing a little bit of a different tune here.
04:02I know I would be, but I'm not doing it here with this football team.
04:05I think and I also think they're going to be able to put up a lot of points.
04:08I mean, they may next to Jeremiah Smith.
04:10They have the most dangerous receiver in football.
04:12Right.
04:14Yeah.
04:14I was just going to ask you about Malachi Tony because of we know this is like everyone's zoned in
04:18on the quarterbacks this year.
04:20This is going to be a great quarterback class in college football.
04:22But with Jeremiah Smith, you know, and how close they are, where does Malachi Tony, I guess, just rank as
04:28blockbuster must-watch talents in the country right now for you, John?
04:31He's a top-ten player in the sport.
04:34You know, he really is.
04:35And he's as must-watch a wide receiver as anybody because you don't know what he's going to do next.
04:42And look, we know the quarterback position.
04:46This class is loaded.
04:47Like, if you ask people who their favorite players are in college football heading into this season,
04:51or if not their favorite, the guys they know the most, your first answer is probably going to be Arch
04:56Manning.
04:57Okay.
04:57You're going to get a Jeremiah Smith.
04:59You're going to get a Julian Sayon, I suppose, and a Dante Moore.
05:04All right.
05:05After that, maybe a Gunnar Stockton, I'll say, because you know his name.
05:09After that, Malachi Tony better not be after that.
05:13And he could even be before, like, at Stockton, okay, because he made him to the national championship game.
05:21And people recognize his electricity.
05:24He's an electric presence.
05:26I mean, he's got this type of swagger and this type of playmaking ability, you know,
05:34that I likened to when I was a kid growing up and Mario Manningham would pop up on my screen
05:39in the college game.
05:40And you couldn't not watch what he was doing, right?
05:46Or Jamar Chase, you know, when we turned on the television, we knew that Jamar Chase was going to be
05:52rocking on Saturday afternoons.
05:54So, to me, that's Tony, you know, and could he have an even better quarterback?
06:00I mean, I know that Beck has had a nice preseason.
06:05But Mensah and Tony, Tony with a year under his belt, Mensah, who fits the profile of this electric playmaking
06:14quarterback too,
06:16now an even higher profile place with even more talent and an offensive line that's going to protect him even
06:20more,
06:21that to me says Malachi, Tony, I'm going to label him as a top seven talent in college football.
06:28I don't think that's far-fetched.
06:30I think Miami is going to be in the top four in the national rankings throughout the season.
06:37John, you had one of the all-time rants when it came to Deshaun Watson.
06:41I have to get your thoughts here.
06:44As a Cleveland guy, Leroy has been, you know, watching this whole situation as well.
06:50Where are you at with this right now, man?
06:51You know, this whole Cleveland quarterback situation, I have to know what your feelings are with them going,
06:58circling the wagon back to Deshaun Watson.
07:01Leroy, did he have to know?
07:04So, here's the deal, John.
07:06So, I, before the season even started, I said Deshaun Watson was going to be the quarterback.
07:13Oh.
07:14Part of the reason, but part of the reason why, here's what I thought would happen.
07:19They were going to name him the starter.
07:21If Shadour beat him out, they were going to cut him.
07:25So, I think this has more to do with where Shadour is and the money.
07:32And the money.
07:33You got to pay him anyway.
07:35And where are you if you say, we're going to bench, you know, Deshaun Watson and start Shadour?
07:41You have more of a chance of ruining your next five years if you force Shadour too early than if
07:50you just go ahead and let him play.
07:53Like, Shadour has made, I have seen, tremendous leaps.
07:58Mm-hmm.
08:00Tremendous leaps in what he's done and how he looks on a football field from last year to this year.
08:08Agreed.
08:09But there's still moments that he needs to, like, game time stuff, like simple stuff.
08:18Getting the team ready to go and run a play.
08:22Right.
08:24But, you know, I'm repping DraftKings here.
08:27And DraftKings likes to say it's more fun when it's for fun.
08:32DraftKings platforms are a four-man entertainment and should be fun.
08:36Again, my football team is no fun.
08:38Yes.
08:38Okay?
08:39I agree.
08:40And here's why.
08:43You, and let's remove Shadour Sanders.
08:45Let's just, for the sake of the argument, let's just say there's nobody else here.
08:50Okay?
08:51Correct.
08:51Or maybe if you want to say plant in below average question mark backup quarterback here.
09:01Okay?
09:01Just for the sake of this argument.
09:03All right?
09:03But with all those things, backup option presents more upside than starting option.
09:10All right?
09:11Right.
09:12You sign this guy, you acquire this guy for $230 million.
09:17You give up everything that you have for him.
09:21So when you make a move like that, you're saying that he's going to lift you to the promised land.
09:27All right?
09:28What he has done is bring you to football hell.
09:31Yes.
09:32Yeah.
09:32He hasn't lifted them to any promised land.
09:34He hasn't even been mediocre.
09:37Right?
09:39He's unplayable in the National Football League.
09:41That is what is damning about this.
09:44So you combine the level of play.
09:47All right?
09:47It'd be one thing.
09:49If he was out there in the community and being a real great guy to people, this guy has a
09:57storm cloud that will hang over him forever.
10:01Right.
10:01And I understand it's alleged it's a storm cloud nonetheless.
10:07We are ignoring it if we say otherwise.
10:11The NFL, though, is a league of second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth chance.
10:15And by the way, it's not the only league of that.
10:17Welcome to professional sports.
10:19If you perform well on the field or on the court, there are many occurrences where people will say, well,
10:26you know what?
10:27He's winning us games and guess what?
10:29We're committed to him or her or whoever that may be.
10:33When he came out and attacked fans who pay money to watch him play and said that it's personal, buddy,
10:44fans, when they go to a game, there's nothing personal about it.
10:48Okay?
10:49You made it personal when you said that.
10:52You don't go at people.
10:53You don't go at fans.
10:56Browns fans, of all fans, they're the ones who would pay to watch even average quarterback play or they would
11:05lift average quarterback play onto a platform.
11:08Okay?
11:09I mean, they did it with Baker Mayfield and then he fell off and now Baker Mayfield, Baker Mayfield, what,
11:14top 12 quarterback in the league, top 13?
11:16But he's like hanging into the middle ground of purgatory.
11:19And there's a lot of people who are like, well, the Browns, you'd kill to have Baker back right now.
11:22Well, of course you would, but they went for it and they made the biggest mistake.
11:25Like they've ever mistake they've ever made.
11:27My point is this.
11:29It is malpractice to the highest order.
11:32Sports is an entertainment business.
11:36When you say to your fans, you're still going to start this guy.
11:41And one of your reasons is that the first games on the road, let's face it.
11:46If the Browns were opening their season at home, I don't think they would be able to justify starting this
11:51guy because it would backfire on them.
11:52And so badly, so poorly, that you'd have a scene that would be straight out of a movie.
11:59It is disturbing and wrong that this franchise continues to operate the way it does.
12:06Slapping a fan base with as much love as Clevelanders have for them, they get nothing in return.
12:11All they get is a quarterback, a QB one who has stunk one and two gone at the fans.
12:20So remove Sanders, remove whoever the backup is.
12:23This is about him.
12:24It's about him.
12:25He has gotten not two, not three, not four, not five, not six.
12:29Leroy and Tobin, this owner said he swung and missed on him.
12:34He did say that.
12:36When you strike out, you don't get to keep swinging.
12:41It's like, I struck out, but I'm going to keep at it.
12:44This isn't little league baseball.
12:46This isn't your five-year-old who gets to keep swinging until they hit the ball.
12:50I'm fully supportive of little five-year-old Bradley for getting his base hit after seven swings.
12:55That's great, buddy.
12:56That's awesome.
12:57This is the NFL.
13:01So my question is, this has to be coming from the top.
13:06You think Mankin really thinks that this is the best option if they told him to make – this has
13:16to come from the top, right?
13:17Yes.
13:17How would you like to be – I feel bad for him.
13:20Your first coaching job – first of all, we already know the Browns are in the –
13:27that dumps the fire anyway.
13:29So it's not even the Browns part of it.
13:33It's the part that you got to now play with Deshaun Watson who – yikes.
13:39Who wants to tie themselves to that?
13:42It's – I'm just – I'm beyond belief.
13:48I am beyond belief.
13:51And I do feel bad for Mankin.
13:55I'm also going to play devil's advocate a little bit here on this.
13:58How many other NFL head coaching jobs could Todd Mankin have?
14:02Yeah, right?
14:05Well, it felt like that whole search was like, who wants this?
14:09Correct.
14:10So I think –
14:11He only won a 32, though.
14:12Oh, I agree with that, Leroy.
14:14And I'm not – and look, hey, nice paycheck.
14:16We'd all kill for that paycheck.
14:18But I think he convinced Haslam I could fix this guy.
14:24And I think Haslam thought to himself, all right, maybe I can get a nice bargain here
14:31and I can fix this guy and I can prove everybody that I might have swung and missed,
14:36but I can then put it on Stefanski.
14:38You know, remember, he's kept the GM employed.
14:41But how many guys can keep their – and Andrew Barry, I don't want to – I got to be
14:47–
14:47look, you're paid a lot of money.
14:49You're open to criticism, okay?
14:51How many general managers retain their job after six, seven years
14:56and their QB room right now is Deshaun?
14:59And then it's – like, if you want to blame the owner for Deshaun, that's fine.
15:03But then your QB room is a fifth-rounder, okay, who we don't know if he can play.
15:07A third-rounder who definitely can't play.
15:10Like, they drafted Dylan Gabriel in the third round of the NFL draft.
15:15That is football malpractice, okay?
15:17And then you got Green, the kid from Arkansas.
15:19All right, well, we all know what they were signing up for there.
15:22That's your QB room.
15:24And listen to this one.
15:26This is why this football organization is so – is messed up.
15:30Their starting offensive line from last year, Leroy and Tobin,
15:36their starting offensive line – look this up.
15:39The guys currently are either backups or unemployed.
15:45Jed Wills doesn't have a job right now.
15:47Sheesh.
15:49The Browns don't – not one – not one of their five offensive linemen
15:52that started a game last year are positioned to start week one this year.
15:56So, when people evaluate Sanders last year, how could you evaluate Shadur Sanders
16:01as a fifth-round rookie who has an offensive line that currently doesn't even have a job?
16:06Right.
16:07So, it's just – it's manning.
16:10I think it is – and I don't think it's going away.
16:13You know, there's some national people out there who are like,
16:16well, the Browns are irrelevant.
16:17You're not irrelevant when you have Deshaun Watson and Shadur Sanders on your football team.
16:22You're just not.
16:23I don't know.
16:24It's going to be a coverage.
16:25People are going to tune in.
16:26They're going to tune in.
16:27It's as hot a story as ever, and they just – yeah, I feel bad for Clevelanders.
16:31I really do.
16:33John –
16:33I don't want to cry.
16:35I know.
16:35This is therapeutic for you both, though.
16:37I feel good about this.
16:39At least we have this all out there.
16:41John Fanta joins us here with DraftKings.
16:44Just tell us a little bit, John, what do you got going on with DraftKings?
16:46What do we got coming up Wednesday?
16:47And we appreciate you giving us some time today.
16:49Yeah, and thank you guys for having me.
16:50DraftKings is kicking off its first football season available nationwide with DraftKings
16:55game day on Wednesday, September 2nd.
16:57It's a full day of exclusive customer offers, fan experiences, and special events celebrating
17:01the return of football.
17:02And get this.
17:03We're helping fans fuel up for game day by giving away free gas in select cities from
17:0810 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
17:10Exact locations are going to be revealed Wednesday morning on DraftKings social channels.
17:14But one of the cities that free gas will be given away is Miami.
17:20So how about that?
17:21We know the price of gas.
17:23How about DraftKings giving away free gas in select cities?
17:26One of those is Miami.
17:27It's important to remember DraftKings platforms are a form of entertainment and should be fun.
17:31And as DraftKings likes to say, it's more fun when it's for fun.
17:36And it has been fun.
17:38Joining you, Tobin and Leroy, thank you for a free therapy session from me.
17:42And I hope we can speak again.
17:45Can you send me the name of your therapist?
17:47Because I think now I know.
17:49I think we're the therapist.
17:50The name of my therapist is Leroy.
17:53No, no.
17:55I can't.
17:56I do talk to myself.
17:58So, you know, maybe.
18:01You've got the job, Leroy.
18:02You earned it.
18:03You earned it.
18:04Okay?
18:05By not doing a whole lot other than listening to my behind ramble on.
18:10But, hey, I think Dolphin fans, they could at least relate a little bit to this Cleveland.
18:15For sure.
18:16I mean, we don't have any baggage with Malik Willis.
18:18But everybody just booed the hell out of Tua at a preseason game.
18:21So, they got that out of their system.
18:23But Tua took a job as Deshaun Watson did.
18:25Deshaun will not get another job after this.
18:28No.
18:29Right.
18:30At least Tua got another job.
18:32I don't know if he could get a job in the UFL.
18:35Oof.
18:36Oof.
18:36Hey, you got a running back in Miami.
18:38You do have a running back.
18:39I think your coach has some potential.
18:41We'll see.
18:42You know, we'll see.
18:43We'll see.
18:45Yeah, the Dolphins have a unique position.
18:47They're in a unique position.
18:48They're certainly in a hard division.
18:50But, you know, they at least don't dislike their fans.
18:54You start Watson after all that.
18:57You don't go with fans.
18:58This is the latest example.
19:00You just don't.
19:01They're fans.
19:04John, we appreciate it, man.
19:06All right, John.
19:07Have a wonderful Monday, guys.
19:08We will, buddy.
19:10Thank you so much.
19:11John, go check out his work.
19:12What did you do?
19:14I had to.
19:15Listen.
19:16He is now on.
19:17Like, I might have to call and make sure he's all right to do a wellness check.
19:21Well, that's good.
19:23He is like.
19:25Tough situations are better to get two together.
19:27They're better to get two together.
19:28They're better to get two together.
19:29They're better to get two together.