00:00Always very patient with us.
00:02Always very pleasant with us.
00:03Always willing to talk some ball here during football season.
00:07And to have him join us, we head out to the Weishart, right?
00:10We make it right.
00:11Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:13This NFL Insider Call is presented by Nationwide.
00:17For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side.
00:24Look at that.
00:25Look at that.
00:25That is week one energy for you, Ross Tucker.
00:29Pretty good, Nick.
00:31Pretty good.
00:31I like it.
00:32Way to bring it.
00:33I'm ready to roll.
00:34I do have a question, though.
00:35He is.
00:36Who are the Browns playing on Sunday?
00:38How did you pronounce that?
00:40The Jaguars.
00:43Jonathan, how do you say it?
00:44I say Jaguars.
00:47You're joking, right, Nick, with the Jaguars?
00:50Yes, I do.
00:51Yes, yes, yes, I do.
00:53Have you had any Jaguar folks on the show yet?
00:57Yeah, we actually have a decent amount of them.
00:58In this area, a lot of people do go Jaguar.
01:00I like to keep it fluid.
01:02I like to say it a couple different ways because I don't respect that franchise as a whole.
01:08So there's a decent amount of Jaguar people in Pennsylvania, too.
01:12I'm not really sure how UAR becomes W-I-R-E or where that really came from, but I find
01:22it fascinating.
01:23I try as much as possible to not hang out with people that say Jaguar.
01:29That's your stipulation?
01:31That's like no-go?
01:31I'm glad that you guys both passed the test.
01:34I feel like there's some Princeton snobbery going on right now about pronunciation of a, again,
01:40I would arguably say bottom five franchise in the NFL outside of one good year.
01:45He makes a good point.
01:46I don't know how we got there, but there are just a lot of people that say it that way.
01:49Ross, in fairness, we can't get people to agree on how to say Jaguar here in Cleveland.
01:54We have so many Jaguars that my eye twitches at least once a show.
01:59Yeah, it's a real problem.
02:01You guys have Jaguars?
02:03Yes.
02:03All the time.
02:05Even from reputable people that come on the stage, you too.
02:07Really smart guests will come out and give it a Jaguar.
02:10And they're so impassioned, too, and they're ready to just make their take and be like,
02:14and then Jaguar, and you're like, what happened here?
02:16Yeah.
02:18That is incredible.
02:19By the way, Nick, you do not realize they won 13 games last year, right?
02:24Yeah, that was last year.
02:25When was the last time the Jags were able to go ahead and bounce back two great years in a
02:29row?
02:29I'll wait.
02:32Yeah, I don't know.
02:33Actually, I do know probably 98, 99, maybe.
02:36It's been about 26 years.
02:38Baseli, Fred Taylor.
02:40Mark Burnell, now we're talking.
02:42Mark Burnell, Jimmy Smith, Keenan McArdle.
02:44That one year, they were the best team in the NFL that one year.
02:49And they blew it against the Titans in the AFC Championship game.
02:53But they were the best team.
02:54That happens sometimes.
02:55They had a great run of Madden teams as well because of Burnell.
02:59And you remember Greg Jones, who you could just turn into a running back and nobody could tackle?
03:03Now, those are the Jaguars that I'm very interested in.
03:09Yeah, I love them because their tackles were Leon Searcy and Baseli.
03:15And that was when I was like a junior in college, 99.
03:18And they were just beating the you-know-what out of people.
03:22They played the game the way it's supposed to be played.
03:25I once did a national show the day that Baseli got into the Hall of Fame.
03:29And I realized in the moment that I was ripping his Hall of Fame induction, basically.
03:34He just didn't play long enough.
03:35He didn't play long enough, didn't have enough all pros.
03:37And then I put together that somewhere in the Canton area, there was a radio station
03:42that was definitely playing me ripping his family as they were leaving the induction ceremony.
03:46So I felt really great about that.
03:48You know what?
03:50Two things.
03:51One is Tony's a very good friend.
03:53And that's the only Hall of Fame ceremony and party that I've been invited to so far and attended.
04:01And it was amazing.
04:03Everything about it.
04:04The ceremony was cool, but then the party was really cool.
04:08So I will defend Tony Baseli to the death.
04:12I think, by the way, one of the reasons why I was invited, not just because we're friends,
04:16but I very much was supportive of his Hall of Fame campaign because when I was in college
04:26and even, I guess, maybe my rookie year, I thought he was the best guy.
04:30So this is back with, like, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, Walter Jones.
04:37Even if you ask guys that played back then, like a Roman Oban or certain guys that played
04:42a lot of left tackle, but they will tell you for whatever that was, the four, five, six
04:47years, that it was Tony.
04:50And then I thought when I was playing, the guy that was under the radar was Walter Jones.
04:55I thought he was a decent amount better in the run game than Ogden and Orlando Pace.
05:00But for some reason, Ogden and Orlando Pace were both great players.
05:04It just seemed like they always got the pub.
05:06And maybe that's because Walter Jones played for the Seahawks, and people never want to
05:11talk about the Seahawks, but he was awesome.
05:14All right, Ross.
05:15I did my AFC North predictions on TikTok earlier today, and the two things that have confounded
05:23people the most are, one, my Browns take, and then two, my Steelers take.
05:27I have the Browns at 8-9, and I have the Steelers at 7-10, finishing last place in this
05:33division.
05:34Which one is the hotter take, Ross?
05:37So, I love that we're starting there, because are we at the stage of your career where you
05:43just predict outlandish things to try to get attention on TikTok?
05:48Not really, but I'm not too far off that.
05:50This might be a toe in the water.
05:53Well, do we need an intervention?
05:55Because when I make a prediction...
05:56I'm not a quitter, Ross.
05:57When I make a prediction or a pick anywhere, okay, Ross Tucker football podcast, social
06:03media, at Ross Tucker NFL, or here on your show, I always do it based on what I think
06:10is the most likely scenario.
06:12I do not believe in your heart of hearts that you think the Browns are winning eight games
06:19this year.
06:19Dude, I don't believe you.
06:20How do you know my heart?
06:21You know what we should do on the show?
06:22You know what would really get good ratings?
06:25Let's bring in like a retired FBI guy or a cop and have them bring in a polygraph, a lie
06:34detector, and lie...
06:36Ross, I'm telling you, Nick would pass with flying colors.
06:40You can post your video to social media so your social media can go viral.
06:44That would go viral.
06:45You saying on the air that you truly believe with all your heart the Browns are going to
06:52win eight games while you're taking a polygraph.
06:55That I will watch.
06:57He passed with flying colors.
06:58And the only way I can tell you with confidence I know this is because it's been a three-month
07:02argument with us.
07:03You can't fake five hours a day for three months the way that he has.
07:07I've put him in so many corners and given him so many chances to back off of it, he just
07:11refuses to.
07:14So, I think the Browns pick is less likely than the Steelers pick.
07:20I don't think either one...
07:22I will say this, Nick.
07:23I don't think either one of them is like, no way.
07:28You're crazy.
07:30I think the Steelers pick, that could happen.
07:33You know, they're getting up there in age.
07:36What I find fascinating about the Steelers is if they go off to a bad start or like at
07:42some point, if it looks like they're going to have a losing season, would Mike McCarthy
07:47ever bench Aaron Rodgers to put in either Will Howard or Drew Aller or whatever?
07:53Like that to me, can you imagine benching a first ballot Hall of Famer who literally made
08:02you millions of dollars because he won the Super Bowl as your quarterback?
08:07And then you bet...
08:08I mean, that's somewhere in the realm of possibilities if the Steelers got off to a really bad start.
08:14However, the Browns winning eight games would really surprise me.
08:20Let me ask you in this scenario, how many games does Deshaun Jackson start a quarterback?
08:29How many games does Shador Sanders start a quarterback?
08:32That would be two games for Deshaun.
08:35And I could see him even getting benched as soon as halftime this week if it goes really,
08:39really poorly.
08:40And the rest go to Shador.
08:43Okay, got it.
08:44So then you believe essentially, because I'm going to assume then that the Browns lose
08:50at least one, if not both of those Deshaun Watson starts.
08:55You think Shador Sanders is good enough where he's going to win eight out of 15 games?
09:03I think Shador can be a competent NFL quarterback, and I think that's all it's going to take for
09:08this team to be a 500 team.
09:10So I will have to answer this question in the affirmative.
09:14So what's fascinating to me about that is if that happens, man, are you guys going to have
09:23a good topic in January, February, March, and April?
09:28It's about time we have one of those, because it's been a depressing couple of years, buddy.
09:33No, no.
09:33What I mean by that is, obviously, like if they made the playoffs or they won double-digit games
09:39or Shador was really good, that'd be great.
09:42You have your starting quarterback.
09:43If it's the opposite and he's really bad, okay, well, then fine.
09:47We've got to draft a kid.
09:48If they go eight and seven or eight and eight or whatever it is and Shador starts and he
09:56looks to your point like a competent NFL quarterback, is that enough?
10:04Is that enough where they still don't get someone else and they have Shador be the unquestioned
10:11starter going into 27?
10:13What I'm doing right now is I'm pulling a Nick Wilson and a Jonathan Peterlin, and I'm
10:19already fast-forwarding to next offseason, even though we haven't played a single game
10:24yet this season.
10:25You're welcome.
10:27You act like we haven't already done this this offseason.
10:29That was about half of June, I think.
10:31Come on, Ross.
10:35How many wins do you have for the Browns, then?
10:37Let's just get to the brass tacks on this.
10:39If Nick is eight, I've said six, by the way.
10:41I don't know that you know that or not.
10:42I've said six.
10:43Where are you?
10:45Probably four or five.
10:48That would be my guess.
10:50I certainly lean more towards six than eight.
10:55I think a lot of it comes down to how you feel about the offensive line.
11:02We know about the quarterback thing, okay?
11:04So forget the quarterback thing.
11:05I have a lot of faith in Todd Munkin.
11:08I really think he's good.
11:10I really think the Browns nailed it with that hire.
11:13So that's a feather in Nick's cap of eight wins.
11:17That's a feather in your cap of six wins.
11:21What I struggle with a little bit is basically having two rookies start at receiver.
11:30A totally revamped offensive line.
11:33That could go well.
11:35It's probably more likely that there's growing pains early in the year since they haven't played next to each other
11:41that much.
11:42I think what I struggle with is how good the defense is going to be.
11:48I think, you know, they had such a great thing going with Schwartz.
11:54And Miles was such a difference-making player that no Schwartz, no Miles.
12:01I know they still have a bunch of good players on that side of the ball.
12:06And I've actually known Rutenberg for a long time.
12:10He's an Ivy League guy.
12:11Ever heard of it, Nick?
12:13He's an Ivy League guy.
12:14I'm a BG guy, so you know I have.
12:16Yes, he's an Ivy League guy.
12:18So I've known Mike for a long time.
12:20I think he'll do a good job.
12:22Don't get me wrong.
12:23But it's always interesting when it's your first time ever calling the defense.
12:29He's never done it before.
12:31And so there's some positives to that because the offensive coordinators don't have a book on you.
12:37They don't know any tendencies because you don't have any.
12:40But there's also going to be some lessons he learned on the job where after the game,
12:45he made a call on 3rd and 10 that he didn't like.
12:48And they gave up a big play.
12:49And that's a lesson he'll learn from.
12:52So the reason why I can't go as many wins as you guys is because I don't have a high
13:01level of confidence
13:02that the defense will be as good as they were last year.
13:06So I do want to circle back to your lie detector idea because I've actually always been really interested in
13:11the idea of,
13:12I think lie detector, I think it's too predictable.
13:15So what I want to do is I want to do a lie detector at the same time that they
13:20put one of those things on you
13:21that detects whether you're getting excited by graphic images or not.
13:26But so the idea is you're taking two tests at once and you're never sure whether it's going to be
13:33a question that you have to be 100% honest on
13:35or whether it's going to be a picture that really gets you going in one way or another, Ross.
13:39And just think of the variables of outcomes that could happen there.
13:44I love that idea, but I also love the idea you should want the lie detector test.
13:51If you really believe that the Browns are going to win eight games, you should want that.
13:57Think about the credibility that that would give you with your audience.
14:01If you took the lie detector and you said on the air, I believe with my heart and soul.
14:09And in fact, I'm emptying out my children's 529 plan for college education and putting it on the over on
14:19the Cleveland Browns season win total,
14:21because I have that much faith in Todd Munkin and the boys.
14:27That would be your best segment ever.
14:29That'd be your best segment ever.
14:30Ross, I work in local radio.
14:32What makes you think I have an account for my kid to go to college?
14:36Come on now.
14:38Ross, he has already predicted a week one win over Jacksonville, by the way.
14:41That is true.
14:41I've locked that in.
14:42I've locked that bleep down.
14:43We got that early this week.
14:44Okay, okay.
14:45So this is where Nick struggles, because at Bowling Green, they don't have a logic class.
14:51But we do have Ivy on the walls.
14:53You have Deshaun Watson only starting two games and maybe getting benched at halftime of the first game, but you
15:02have them beating the Jaguars?
15:04Yes.
15:05I pointed out this fall.
15:05I said in the gamblers' world, you're supposed to make bets that align with what you want to actually have
15:10happen and how it figures out.
15:11Let me get this straight.
15:12Does this mean that Watson starts against the Jags, they struggle, he gets benched at halftime, Shador Sanders comes off
15:22the bench, he plays great, they win the game, but Munkin says we're still going to start Deshaun Watson next
15:29week anyway?
15:29Give him your dream scenario plan that you laid out.
15:32Oh, my gosh.
15:33Give him that one.
15:33All right.
15:34You got to stay for this one, Ross.
15:35So you got to fall behind a little bit, right?
15:37Maybe it's...
15:38Nick, I just want...
15:40You know people are listening, right?
15:42I'm aware.
15:43We actually...
15:44Number one ratings, buddy.
15:45This is not just me, you, and Jonathan.
15:47You're on the radio in Cleveland, and I'm not the only person that just realized that you think Watson getting
15:54benched at halftime or in the first two games, but you also have them beating the Jags.
15:58I'm so ready to be right about this.
16:00The I was right that is going to ring through the halls of Cleveland and your cell provider is going
16:06to be very enjoyable when I'm right on all fronts.
16:09You think I'm obnoxious when I'm wrong.
16:12Wait till you see when I'm right.
16:13Ross, we appreciate you, buddy.
16:15Great to have you back.
16:16Congrats on the success, and don't forget this weekend, Nick Wilson, my buddy on 92.3 The Fan.
16:22Don't forget to throw that in there on the national broadcast.
16:26Yeah, that'll be extremely relevant for Bill's ad detection Sunday at 1.
16:32Hey, you want to impress us.
16:33That's how you do it right there.
16:34Yeah, that's a sub-fit in local Cleveland radio.
16:36Yeah, I'll do the live detector test when he's throwing Nick Wilson out there on the Bill's text.
16:39Okay.
16:40Congrats, Ross.
16:41All right, buddy.
16:41Be good.
16:42Later, dude.
16:43Later, dude.
16:44This insider call is presented by Nationwide.
16:47For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side.
16:53Ross appearing on the Wiseheart, right?
16:55We make it right.
16:56Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
