Reasons For NFL Joy in 2025

16:35Jourdan Rodrigue:People, meaning Greg, is automatically always thinking tennis. Like, look at his face. Isn't that a tennis face right there?

16:40Patrick Claybon:No, because Greg knows how I – I have fielded accusations of being a shield robot. People can call to this conversation here because, yeah, I don't think it's – Yep. Nope. Nope. Not a robot here because we haven't changed anything. Here's the problem. What it does, though, Greg, is it lays the foundation to actually have an official say, ball's down right now. Somebody else looks at the time code and says, oh, okay, this is where the ball was. And the ball is spotted. Like that. Like the idea of getting to that point. There's going to be a lot of issues with that of like how far the ball progresses, the chip in the ball.

17:17That's another conversation. like that they finally are putting cameras on every single goal line and sideline which literally bill belichick has been asking for in turn you know now he's out of the league but he used to bring this up as a rules rules proposal decades ago and seriously like 15 years ago like how is it that we don't have cameras on every goal so all that's positive because you need that for this virtual measurement the execution of the virtual measurement system is a disaster right now I wonder if the NFL is going to go forward with it because what happened in the preseason to me was not good enough.

17:54And I only went to some games and I only watched so many games and it was malfunctioning everywhere. Half the time, they wouldn't even show it because something happened where whatever's happening execution-wise, it's taken too long and it's actually literally not even working. Sometimes they'll just tell the coaches, Oh, yeah, it did happen, but we're not going to show it. So I thought it was a pretty big foul ball in the preseason. And if it's not any better, I'm worried it's not even going to last like a week or two.

18:26Jourdan Rodrigue:I would just say you have to start somewhere to try to get this to be as accurate and perfect. I'm not talking about the accuracy. I'm talking about like the technology. That's what I'm saying. Like they couldn't get it to work for some reason.

18:38Patrick Claybon:Because the process still involves half of the old process. If you want to actually make it to a point where things work seamlessly, you just need to fully embrace utilizing the technology and come up with something different than somebody standing there and holding the football while the camera, and they're in the way and they're doing all this other stuff. Let's just spot the ball digitally. Sorry, you just hit upon a rant I've been meaning to have. Watching these games, there was like a Saints moment over the weekend where they took like four minutes, then didn't announce anything, didn't show the measurement, and just moved forward.

19:09Patrick Claybon:Because there was a potential challenge in that, right? Right, but there's all these little circumstances that they haven't really thought through that happened at the Chargers. A different one, another Saints game, but a Chargers-Saints game went to. So there's all these little particulars with the challenges and stuff, and it's just like anything that slows the game down is going to drive me crazy.

19:28Jourdan Rodrigue:I think what they need to do if they really want to test this out versus actually saying let's go for it in real games that count for things, you also need to say, okay, could we get a couple of teams to hold their joint practices at least one day in a stadium. And then we can practice it in the joint practice setting and not just in this limited sample size of preseason games where the entire world is watching you F up, right? Like I think you just need more reps of the process. I understand we're getting to the process itself. You need more reps of it. I just have like a nightmare thinking about like, it's some big moment of Chiefs Chargers in Brazil and we're all just waiting for like seven minutes for the virtual measurement system.

20:05All right, you're up Jordan.

20:06Jourdan Rodrigue:Bathroom break. Okay, I'm going to stay on our special teams here for a second because I had a moment of extreme joy in the preseason that's carrying me just floating into the regular season. We had, like, let me reiterate, I feel like everybody forgot about this so quickly. We had a kicker hit a 70-yard field goal at near sea level and in dense air. Cam Little, you are a preseason highlight reel and you are a reason for joy and a reason for a really great call, which we have here. We're not joking. This kid can really drill the ball. Holy smokes. He just kicked a 70 yard. Are you kidding me? I've never seen that.

20:54The NFL record.

20:56Patrick Claybon:That would be an NFL record. Holy smokes. That's unbelievable. Wow. 70 yards.

21:05Jourdan Rodrigue:That's pure joy. That was like one of my most joyful moments of the preseason. I'm floating into the regular season on just like grinning from ear to ear. Holy smokes. Like Bucky Brooks. Yeah, what a great call by Bucky. It was a great call. Yeah, shout out to the better half of the Move the Sticks podcast, Bucky Brooks. Love to hear it. Brandon Aubrey hit a 66 yarder in the preseason too. It's happening.

21:28Patrick Claybon:Which goes to your starting at the 35. Yes. It's like if you're playing one of these guys, especially on turf. All right, guys, we got 12 yards. Right. Exactly. Like if you're taking it out to the 35, you pick like eight yards and you're good.

21:41Jourdan Rodrigue:These kickers are fearless now. And for teams, if a team has nothing to lose, like some of these teams will have nothing to lose at any point than just trying it. This was like in humidity. It was like 80 % humidity, thick air, guys. And the football sales. 74 yards in the room. I do love that field goal kicking is one very obvious example that the athletes and our players are just better. And of course they're better. We say that. They're more athletic. They're always better. But they provide just a very statistical proof of it. The kicks keep getting farther and they're way more accurate. Everyone's mad if their kicker misses seven kicks a year.

22:24But in the 90s, you were lucky to have like a 70 % field goal kicker. And like, that's mostly like inside of 40. Like we're so much better at field goal kicking than we used to be.

22:34Jourdan Rodrigue:People kicking barefoot down there for, you know, a short while there in the, in the early days when, when Greg was a teenager, you know, I don't, I don't Tom Dempsey didn't have like a complete foot and he was getting it done.

22:47Patrick Claybon:That's why I like the long field goals even, even more so, or a product of joy because you get in a situation where you're watching Jake Moody kick one from 42 and you're like oh man like this this may be this this kid's last opportunity but when somebody lines up a long field goal it's kind of house money and we can just enjoy it and not feel bad about the results where like Cam Little has got a job for a while now yeah just because of that moment because if he misses one from from 37 like everybody's not gonna be like oh man it's like hey man Cam's just got too much of a leg dog you know like He rocketed that thing over the net from 32.

23:24Jourdan Rodrigue:The little kicker that could. Shout out to Tom Dempsey, by the way. I wasn't trying to be harsh there. Incomplete foot. It sounded rude. He did not have toes on his right foot, so he had a specially made cleat. They actually outlawed, and he held this record that Cam Little, in theory, broke. I know, I just love how you said it. I'm just Tulane grad, by the way, Tom Dempsey. Shout out to Tom Dempsey. Let's bring it back. Okay, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson are in the same division. We know this. They get to play twice a year. Hold the phone. I mean, I think because, you know, back in the day, like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady would play each other twice a year when they weren't in the same division after a very brief time together in the old AFCs.

24:08You don't think about like Lamar and Joe as maybe the best rivalry or best division rivalry ever. One of them, they're going to become that. I went through it. There really aren't that many examples of two quarterbacks at this level in the same division at their peak. And the two Ravens-Bengals games last year, and they've had some very good ones over the years when the two of the guys, two of the quarterbacks of healthy, but it went to another level. The two games last year were just absolutely outrageous. So knowing that those two games are coming, like we have a very clear, like best four quarterbacks in the NFL and these two guys get to play.

24:45and I started thinking like, what other examples are there? Dan Marino, Jim Kelly is probably the number one. And then after that, like Breeze and Matt Ryan in our era, I would say is probably the best division rivalry. And they really did have a lot of great games and they were rivals. But Matt Ryan's maybe not quite at that, you know, level of a Joe Burrow. Eli and Romo were great. They're not at that level, I think individually, but they had a lot of really great games. against each other. Peyton Manning and Steve McNair had a brief but really good one, but there really aren't that many. So just a little love for the Lamar-Joe Burrow rivalry.

25:25And they do face each other, even though they're both quarterbacks, Patrick.

25:29Patrick Claybon:Yeah, I would push back at the idea. It's like, oh, well, Joe's going to be extra good this time, or maybe you can make the case Jamar Chase's against the Baltimore Ravens specifically. But it's a joy. I clearly am on one side of it, but to be able to watch them and you know, the rings conversation will hound the both of them until one of them does it, but it's stupid. It doesn't make me, it's absolutely vapid. If these, if these guys are playing on Sunday, everybody's watching.

25:59Jourdan Rodrigue:I just love that. It's like these two figures in our sport who are at the extreme top of the sport, not just the upper middle, but like all the way at the top and they're bonded involuntarily and connected by this sort of like demon that shares them both. And I think that that's so, there's just like, there's something so poetic about that. And I love, I love. Wait, who's the demon? Patrick Mahomes and the chiefs? No, the demon is that they, they haven't won. That's the thing in the, in the post season and they haven't gotten all the way. And so that's, that's like this thing that's like, you have to get through each other, but you're also sort of bonded by this darkness, you know?

26:40Patrick Claybon:And they're both, they're both very unique men who kind of approach, the quarterback position and relating with the public differently. Yeah. And to watch them both become more comfortable at different aspects of it as it's really been a joy. And it's, yeah, it's, it's hard to, it's hard to look away.

26:58Jourdan Rodrigue:Quarterbacks with personality. Love that. Love that for all of us. I also love just points. The two scores last year, 41 to 38. That was the overtime game. That was wild. And in 35 to 34, that's pretty good. Stafford and far was another one that came up, but like the Lions didn't hold up their end of the bargain, but they had a lot of good matchups and they were, I mean, Stafford and Roger. Yeah. I was going to say, yeah. Stafford and Aaron Rogers, they're both peaking essentially at the same time came into the league near each other. One of them. That was fun. Place the other one. I think Lamar and Burrow outshines the moment.

27:31All right, let's take a quick break. We will have more reasons for joy after this. So many reasons.

27:37Jourdan Rodrigue:Incomplete foot.

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28:50Probably the last name I need to bring up on the Reasons for Joy 2025, again, is Tom Dempsey. But I do feel like I need to correct the record. Not a Tulane graduate, but he hit that field goal 63 yards that held as the record for decades. 50 years at Tulane Stadium. Ah, there we go. As a member of the Saints. And I just wanted to correct the record. That's really important that that got into the show before the season starts.

29:20Jourdan Rodrigue:That's what you wanted to correct? Yes. Okay.

29:23Patrick Claybon:Patrick, you're up. All right. Rest in peace to a legend, Tom Dempsey. I'll go the sports medicine route. I am thankful for opportunities for guys like Aiden Hutchinson, Stefan Diggs, Dak Prescott, people who have had success in the league, but injuries derailed their last season, including the entire Lions roster, especially at a time where we got a lot of pseudoscience out there. We got a lot of people grifting and selling wares and snake oils and all of these things that are going to fix people. And so, yeah, the industry itself could be seen as under attack. And I know that there's a lot of people just in the medical field that are working to help people.

30:03Patrick Claybon:And they bring me joy to see them work. and yeah, some of these NFL players with opportunities to be comeback player of the year, I'm joyful to see them in a league where the injury rate's gonna be 100%. Like everybody's gonna deal with something and people are gonna put a tag on them and like, ah, this guy, it's over, it's a wrap. Somebody's gonna win it and somebody's gonna have a great season and I'm excited to see it.

30:24Jourdan Rodrigue:I think about this a lot when it's the people that we never really see who are working, first of all, to help heal others, right? But then also when these players do end up getting back into a position where they can rehab and how lonely and isolating. And they're literally on the other side of a glass often from their teammates and watching everybody enjoy the camaraderie of being on a team. But they're in physical pain and they're working through actually coming back. Rehab is not easy. It is physically very painful to do because you're rebuilding certain muscles, ligaments, everything around whatever part of your body you injured.

31:03Jourdan Rodrigue:And so I think of the people, too, who go in there every day and talk this player out of his own head, who say, we need to get these exercises done today. I think of the people who are out there on the field with them, putting them through these really, at times, frustrating workouts where maybe your body can't do what you need it or want it to do. And how many of those people are all across the league. And they bring me joy. We saw this a couple of years ago when the Buffalo Bills staff sprang into action to save DeMar Hamlin's life. and how they just went back to work the next day. Totally thankless.

31:36Jourdan Rodrigue:They had probably, and I was one of these people who requested them to do a story. Like they had a million requests from all over the world to come talk about what they did and they just went back to work and it's just incredible. And that's really what the league runs on right there. It's just like Wednesday for them, you know? Yeah. That's what they do. That is, it's well put, Patrick. So that wasn't Lions specific, right? You're talking about all the people coming back from there. Yeah, no, just everybody. like Christian McCaffrey

32:03Patrick Claybon:in that list as well where there's so much work that we don't see like Jordan mentioned that goes into it and yeah somebody's going to get a huge reward off of that and I'm just I'm glad and again a lot of people are going to go through that process of getting hurt and have to deal with that and fortunately they have entire staffs and people committed to medicine who are going to help them it's a little preview of their sports mortality which you know mortality talk is hot on NFL D. A lot of death talk It's a lot of mortality talk, but they go through their own, you know, career death in a way that I don't think we can really understand to have that short of a career timeline and to be able to just try to maximize it as much as you can while you're there.

32:45And so they get a little preview of that.

32:47Jourdan Rodrigue:And I want to talk about somebody who I feel is pulling his own career death, like inch by inch off of the cliff with this massive rope and like digging his feet into the dirt to try to get his career back on this ledge, back on track. Brian Dable. I can see. Oh, wow. Not where I was expecting this to go. I know. Whoa. I think I've been watching his press conference because I told you guys a couple weeks ago, I'm so suspicious. We're going to see this man smile this year. I promise we're going to see this man smile while speaking at the lectern about Jackson Dart. And I think he's seeing enough and seeing enough from the future of this player that they've invested in.

33:29Jourdan Rodrigue:And maybe not, you know, the week one future, but the longer term or even the middle term future, even the in-season term of this guy starting for the New York Giants. And I think Brian Dable is starting to wake up to the fact and like have this. I can I can actually see so close. the other day when they were talking about Jackson Darts headset, uh, Mike turning off and him throwing like a 60 yard pass anyway, off the, off the wristband, like Brian Dable almost smiled. I haven't, I haven't seen that man smile at the, at the lectern since he got the job. And this is someone who is like resurrecting his own trajectory piece by piece.

34:05Jourdan Rodrigue:If he can get this quarterback where he needs to be, that brings me joy. I think it would bring him joy. I think it'd bring the giants fans joy. it just makes you wonder like why delay the joy you know let's get to the joy sorry russ

34:21Patrick Claybon:but the joy is is the whole thing right now like the the greatest show on turf averaged 32 points a game the 2025 new york giants in the preseason have averaged 35 i'm just saying just putting it out there the three-headed four-headed quarter did you see cutlets cutlets was out there dicing

34:37Jourdan Rodrigue:him off last time they're buddies it's like jamis and jackson dart and tommy cutlets are all in these like videos that the social team is putting out and they're all having the time of their life down there and they're playing in the preseason together and like you know russell wilson's like commenting on the video you know he's not in it but he's commenting on he seems very he seems very good on the sidelines with dart i do buy he's the team dad yeah he really is and these are all you know he's literally just I think it's actually pretty good vibes over there right now that's what it feels like which is such a huge change that's a good call and it's one of the stories I'm excited about that like I did not expected to be excited about I might throw this other way and by the way Dable will always be around you can't get rid of Dable if he's not a head coach again after New York he's just a guy that I can just imagine is going to have jobs offensive coordinator we're not going to live without Brian Dable is all I'm saying I was not expecting maybe I should have it seems obvious to you guys that something I am anticipating possibly giving me a little bit of joy is I think I'm kinda sorta back in on the Pats you know we didn't know wait what this is new this is brand new information can we have a break in new song let's do that oh my gosh let's at least at least get into it well I was thinking about week one and I would have you know that's Gino versus the Pats I got to watch that regardless.

36:03But I was thinking, you know, we assign out the games and whatnot. Like, what am I going to watch in the early window?

36:09Jourdan Rodrigue:Thank you, Eric.

36:09Patrick Claybon:Breaking news here on NFL Daily. Greg Rosenthal, once again, likes the Patriots. Kind of. Kind of, sort of. Yeah. Not as into, like, the coaches.

36:18Jourdan Rodrigue:For the listener. I mean, for the listener, a little, you know, behind the scenes of the show. He did, at one point, refer to the Patriots using the W word, we. So, I don't know if you even caught yourself doing that, you know? that's it's worrisome and it's probably not good for the listener so i'll try to be careful about that come on if it brings you joy go for it we'll see it brings joy you know things

36:41Patrick Claybon:bring pain it all comes together it's all sunshine all together rain patrick hugo i okay so i know it feels like a circuitous route to talk about the joy so i'll start with the positive um guys like James Harrison, Johnny Unitas, Kurt Warner, at one point were all cut. And looking back towards the end of the preseason and that Tuesday, there are a whole bunch of guys in the NFL that feel like their dream has ended. But I think it's really, there's so many examples that it's just deferred. And the system is not perfect. And sometimes people fall through the cracks via, you know, GMs having personal connections.

37:23Patrick Claybon:They want to keep their job. They want a certain guy to be successful. And I think one guy who's kind of emblematic of this process is Ben DiNucci, who just got cut for the seventh time. He went to the social media website, twitter.com, and he's in the Atlanta airport. Jordan knows the exact location.

37:42Jourdan Rodrigue:I know the exact location.

37:43Patrick Claybon:Where he sent the tweet from.

37:44Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, I've sat at that bar.

37:46Patrick Claybon:He pins out a tweet with a picture of a beer. It's like, there's not many beers better than the airport. I just got cut from the NFL for the seventh time beer. Trust me, you wouldn't understand. Obviously, he's going through it. It's a rough situation, but there's so many guys that feel like they lost an opportunity. They'll be back in this league, and they're going to be successful. And so it feels weird, but it gives me joy that they have that chance. It is crazy to think about, because every NFL player has some sort of example of overcoming someone that didn't believe in them.

38:22Jourdan Rodrigue:I mean, that's like the one thing that makes Tom Brady cry, that he had to wait six rounds for it before he got his name called or whatever. But the Ben DiNucci's of the world are the ones who are... I mean, they're the toughest ones out there to just keep putting that uniform on, keep going back year after year. And sometimes you do stick and sometimes you're just searching for those moments and it's tough. I do like the system the NFL has now of expanding practice squads to the point where it really does. It's not a minor league. They could use a minor league. But if you compare it to 15 years ago, it's literally double the amount of players.

39:03And they do make a lot more money for what it's worth on the practice squad than like 15 years ago. It was like$50 ,000,$70 ,000 a year, which is considering how much the NFL makes was outrageous. Now it's like more of an actual living. And so a lot of players are developing that way. You see it a lot where you're a practice squad god for like two years, and then you end up getting elevated.

39:25Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, those are always my favorite stories too. And it kind of goes back to my first point. Who are we not expecting to emerge? Who could just totally emerge and delight all of us? That happens every year. And a lot of that journey is traveled through the practice squad or through players finding new teams. Last year was like a quarterback renaissance of sorts. Players finding new teams the last couple of years. Your guy, Gino, obviously a big success story in that regard too. And I just, I love those types of stories. when somebody becomes in the place they're supposed to be, right? Like it's the, the, the path wasn't necessarily straightforward, but they ended up exactly where they're supposed to be exactly at the time they're supposed to be in it.

40:06Jourdan Rodrigue:And I think what's really cool about NFL, most NFL players and coaches is they're so reflective about that. Like they're so they can see that it's something to like really process and internalize in a, in a really cool, pure way. be in the moment. Be where your feet are. You know who got basically ignored cast aside from his original team kind of like you're mentioning was a linebacker by the name of Zach Bond who helped revolutionize the position turned into one of the best players at the position and you know who the man that ignored him and didn't know how to use him for so long in New Orleans his name is Dennis Allen.

40:46And this year we get a Dennis Allen versus Saints rivalry game. And that's one of my reasons for joy is actually some of the hatred games that are going to go on this year. So Allen versus the Saints, that gives me joy. I think Saints fans, they don't want to go 1-16. But I can bet if you could pick one game for them to win this year, if they were to go 1-16, they'd actually take the season sweep against the Falcons and they would beat Dennis Allen's Bears defense like a drum and get a win that day. Like that gives me joy to think about that. So it's, it's the different rivalries around the NFL.

41:26Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, but we got that back. That's spicy. What's your deal? I don't know if Sean Payton and has a rivalry with either Jim Carroll. I mean, Jim Harbaugh or Pete Carroll, but I could see one developing. Oh yeah.

41:39Jourdan Rodrigue:I could see him building. Right. They should, they should have one. And then this one's a little more under the radar, but Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson. And Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur. Oh, that's good too. And Ben Johnson and everybody in the Shanahan tree. And wait, give us a little more context on that. So, okay. So I, this is one of my, I'm so glad you brought this up. Because I have so much joy thinking about these types of like interpersonal rivalries and specifically when coaches have rivalries, it is the most fun thing in the world because you get like the subtle digs and the comments and the not so subtle digs, like Ben Johnson going up at the podium talking about how much fun it was to, you know, beat the Packers and how he wants to continue to beat the Packers and all this stuff and sort of not so subtly taking a shot at, at Maliflor.

42:26Jourdan Rodrigue:And then he had some comments as well in his opening presser about how he doesn't, he, he made his way despite the fact that he doesn't have a famous last name and wasn't on these coaching staffs or forming these coaching staffs where he had a famous family member, like the McVeighs, like the Kyle Shanahan's of the world. And I think that is so spicy. And the fact that the student and the master will face off against each other, Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson, at some point. I love it. I love it. So let's listen to a little bit about Ben Johnson. I mean, from Dan Campbell. And this one's, it's not specifically about Ben Johnson, but I've just been tracking the increasing amount of Campbell-Johnson heat under the surface.

43:08Patrick Claybon:I feel like, you know, collectively across the board, this is this looks pretty good, you know. And I would say, yeah, year five, this is the best we felt about it. Kind of top to bottom. But from where we've come year after year, this is we've taken it another level. And that's a credit to Brad. You know what Brad's done in the personnel department is outstanding, man. You were the best from top to bottom now. You know who's no longer in the top to bottom? Ben Johnson. I admit, I'm stretching it. I'm joking. In terms of that quote saying it. But I do think the Lions feel great about where they are.

43:50And when I heard Mike Tirico and Chris Collins were talking about it on the Hall of Fame game, that he could tell that the Lions coaches, specifically Dan Campbell, were sick of everyone, you know, just asking them about Ben Johnson. I was like, oh, you know how these things work. Like that absolutely was Dan Campbell in the room, just talking with Tariko and Collinsworth, like being a little spicy about Ben Johnson. And that was the way that they end up putting it out there. And it makes his way out.

44:23Jourdan Rodrigue:It makes its way out into the world. And then you could almost, you could see two players when they're asked about it, they sit and they think about it for like a hot second before they answer. Like they pause for just a second or they make a face or whatever. and they just sort of figure out. It's like they're measuring their response because clearly someone's been in their ear and being like, hey, man. Having the protege in the same division is fascinating. I know. I mean, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. It's the new Kyle Shan. Because guys, they want you to know. They're cool now. Right. But, you know, it's this.

44:57Jourdan Rodrigue:I love it. Saban Belichick was a fun one. Not for very long, but that was like a fun one back in the day. and while we're on the Lions, that's actually a combination of things that give me joy. So the rivalries, but also the Lions just as an establishment team. Just imagine, what if the Browns were the best run organization in the NFL over the last four or five years? Can't comprehend it. What if the Jets were? What if the Jets were the best run organization in the NFL over the last four or five years? like that's that's where we are with the Lions and we're so used to just like adjusting to new realities but it's insane that these are the Lions and now this is this is sort of officially the year where they are just that establishment team that's expected to be amazing like the ascent has essentially stopped on as a regular season win total basis you can't get any I mean you can barely get higher than they've been but I love that I love that they're like they've been so good that they're the bullies on the block now like just five years removed from bringing the freaking Lions.

46:02Patrick Claybon:And that's how Dan Campbell feels. And he's had to answer questions about somebody who's not there for several months. And, you know, I think to explain away, because we believe in all sorts of things to explain things that break trends. You know, some of it mystical, maybe it's the location of the stars, maybe it's magical momentum, right? And I think for the Lions, it's just real. Oh, there's this offensive coordinator. He's a genius. He's an absolute genius, and he's changed everything, and this has nothing to do with all the work that everybody that's still there has done. This is the reason.

46:36Patrick Claybon:And I think maybe that rattles around in Dan Campbell's head. And I don't believe the Lions are going to try extra hard. I think just the circumstances of luck and the way things shake out are going to determine how good they are. But yeah, they're just going to be a good team. And that's the world we live in, to your point, Greg. It's not the Lions. It's this edition. It's Dan Campbell's Lions, and it's fun to be here and live in it. And they're going to play against an offense that looks a lot like their offense in Chicago and vice versa. And how the two defenses, you know, decide to approach it.

47:10I don't know. Just schematically. There was that clip from Amon Ross St. Brown and Jameer Gibbs on K Adams' show where, you know, they just they said, well, we see the same place. You know, like it's weird just seeing them running the same place up in Chicago. They are running the same place.

47:25Patrick Claybon:But I feel like both of those guys you mentioned sometimes pitching the ball to each other. Yeah. That's the most unique aspects of that. That's not it's like it feels like a different play. Right. If it's Romo Dunze and, you know. Fair. Colston Loveland.

47:40Jourdan Rodrigue:I just think that there's such a long term potential in the NFC North now. You know, Matt LaFleur got there and established himself as a really, you know, high productive winning coach. then you have like Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes building this thing out into something super special something recognized as one of I think America's favorite teams right now certainly for the last several years watching them climb up from from nothing essentially was was such a great story and a feel-good story for a lot of reasons then Kevin O 'Connell is like in himself kind of the emblematic of the modern coach right the quarterback whisperer who also builds a culture goes out and hires Brian Flores running like the most badass defense.

48:25Jourdan Rodrigue:One of the most badass defenses in the NFL. And then now it's like, okay, the Bears got to start swinging at throwing their weight around a little bit. They got to start swinging up to their weight class a little bit because now you you're behind the Bears as an organization. You are behind what all of these other groups have built. And so, yeah, you better be chippy. I loved his his chippy comments. I love the fact that there's this tension brewing up there because that is what will get the Bears out of the dust, essentially, because they are far behind these other organizations. Maybe the spiciest division league, if I had to just pick one division where I want to watch all the games this year, might be NFC North.

49:04All right. I'm almost out of there. Is there any other reasons for joy you guys want to throw out?

49:09Jourdan Rodrigue:I just want to say I'm going to love watching these specific defenses. These will bring me joy. The Vikings, the Chargers, the Ravens, the Cardinals, the Broncos, the Eagles, and the Rams. I think these are going to be the most interesting defenses in the NFL. What's cool is it's all for different reasons. It's all slightly different strategies. It's definitely different schemes. The way they think about pressure is all different one over another over another. The way they think about coverage and how they want to shape coverage around the routes that are developing against them. It all is so unique.

49:37Jourdan Rodrigue:we're getting so many different fingerprints on defense the same way we have seen so many different fingerprints on offense. And there's this real individuality happening there from team to team, even within the same coaching trees that I absolutely love. Jesse Minter and Mike McDonald, you're going to see two totally different defenses by those guys this year, even though they're from the same quote unquote system, right? Zach or with the Ravens, you're going to see totally different stuff than him and Jesse Minter are running, even though they're from the same quote unquote family. I just, I love that.

50:06Jourdan Rodrigue:And nobody can run what Brian Flores is running. Right. And so I think that this is so you're the individuality in what has been thought of as such a monolithic, monolithic, um, side of the ball for so many years. It's really cool. And I think it gives more coaches an opportunity to show who they are. I want to see defense being back. There is this idea that defenses are getting some sort of advantage and then like the numbers just don't support it in any way, form, or fashion. Literally last year was the second highest yards per carry in the history of the NFL. Part of it was the kickoff.

50:39Patrick Claybon:A couple teams probably. Right. Yeah, but that's how these things happen. The kickoff return was part of it, but in terms of scoring on a percentage of the drives that you had, it was literally the highest in the history of the NFL. So everything is weighted towards the offense, and this isn't my reason for joy, but I hope we get some big plays there. Bring it back. That is one of my reasons for joy. He's not on a Brian Flores defense anymore, but Cam Bynum kind of being the celebrations coordinator for that Vikings team. I don't know how many celebrations this Colts defense will be able to do, but I do think, right, because looking back at a league that tried to ban celebrations and it made it a penalty into how far that we've come to where we could celebrate Cam Bynum having his team do the entire dance and routine from white chicks.

51:30Patrick Claybon:Like that's that special. And so I'm excited. It does bring me joy. And I hope, you know, maybe he'll have a chance to dance an inning zone for the Colts. Yeah. Let's, I could see the Colts being feisty. A little Lou Anaruma sans. We got the Brandon. Anaruma sans. We got the Brandon Staley sans. We got a lot of sanses. The Staley sans you can stop. But Anaruma sans, I'm, we're, we're riding with that the whole. Got some players. Got some players up front. Got Charverius Ward. We could have some fun there. The Colts, they're going to need it. There's more joy on that side of the ball.

52:03Jourdan Rodrigue:I've been listening to some of the press conference coming out of there lately, and I'm like, oh my God, is anyone here happy? Steichen not giving me many reasons for joy. Not looking too joyful. And yes, as we wrap up here, I'm joyful to be getting to do another spin around this NFL daily regular season. Don't want to be too navel-gazy. Like we end the regular season, We look back at what a great time and accomplishment that was. We did get to before the summer started. And this is what being in the NFL is kind of like. You have these little mileposts of the season. But man, I feel better about this show and love doing this show on another level compared to when we were doing it to start out.

52:50I love that too. but there is something about, to use the quarterback analogy, about going through an entire season of this new show where the game feels like it's coming at us slower and it lets you just enjoy it and free it up. I'm very excited to be able to do this with you two specifically, but everyone who joins our show regularly. And I really think it's going to be good. I think this last month is the best month we've had on NFL Daily too.

53:20Jourdan Rodrigue:I mean, I've had a blast. I could tell you are feeling good and ready for season two because what brings me joy is that Greg has started to cite specific segment themes as a part of his natural flow of conversation. So you've used I can fix him in your normal conversation. You've said stand on the tiny table a few times. Obviously, we know of the lore now that is Quarterback Island. And I always think the mark of a really good show is when listeners and the show itself is let in on the inside joke, has the callbacks, understands the lore. And I do think that that's what is cool to be a part of building.

53:58Jourdan Rodrigue:That brings me a lot of joy. A lot of Jordan this year. And well, that's a big part of it. When I when I heard you say like on a random show a few weeks ago, stand standing on the tiny table, you meant to say stand on the table. You said stand on the tiny. I think I did it on purpose. I did it on purpose. I never felt so seen in my life. It was great.

54:20Patrick Claybon:It's like, it's like Sean McDermott saying Buffalo to a core a million times on the promo for hard knocks. And it's like, is it at its core or is it to a T? Well, we've combined them. We've, we've crossed idioms and poor, poor coach. He's had to hear that a billion times. Like people have heard my stuff way too much. But I'm looking for my second year in the Greg Rosenthal offense.

54:45Patrick Claybon:I recognize that there's only one football but I just want to make plays for my... Oh, you'll be there in the big shows. The preview show and the recap show. There's no bigger moments. He's a big game player.

54:58Jourdan Rodrigue:Every down guy. Who takes advantage of momentum. Which is real. You know how I know I made it the first show of Reasons for Joy and we're doing it again here because I did want it to be like we take the job seriously but it's a sport like if you're not having fun doing it what what really is the point usually and this was a truism with with chris wesley and i we would always talk about it august is the hardest month because you're working the hardest and it's going in a million different directions but the games aren't real you know what i mean like you're actually working as hard or harder than the regular season but it's it's not as it's not as fun ultimately as the regular season because the games are real and I feel about as energized and like I actually enjoyed this preseason as any I can remember in a long time so I feel like I got good wind and good energy because you guys are keeping it hot.

55:49Best shape of its

55:50Patrick Claybon:podcast life baby. Yes, exactly.

55:52Jourdan Rodrigue:Can't wait to disappoint you by week three. I was going to say like revisit this in a couple weeks. That's it. Great week. On the show. We will be back in the feed starting to preview actual games. Thursday, Friday night football. But we'll also have a 40s and free agents preview of the season where we go through and draft our potential Super Bowl champions. It is that time of year. Football's back.

56:21Patrick Claybon:This is Troy Millings from Earn Your Leisure. When you think about discovering small brands, what store pops in your mind? Well, it should be Walmart. Seriously, Walmart has thousands of small brands, and they're all in one place. Just go online or in-store, discover, and shop. It could not be easier. Every one of these brands has a real story and real people behind it. They're true American success stories, and you can find them all at Walmart. Discover thousands of small brands at walmart.com today.

56:50Jourdan Rodrigue:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.