Maye Day Maye Day? MVP and Every NFL Award

34:14Like if CMC gets an MVP vote from you at running back and Bajon gets one at Offensive Player of the Year and you're saying the predicate for that is their value to their team, then their position can't be irrelevant, clearly, and the way they're playing it. those are two players who are big parts of the passing game right and i think for me too though those two players what they have in common is like when you watch them on tape you see the gravity like they and the same way that with jsn and puka you just watch defenses completely alter the way they play because of their presence either as a running back or as a pass catcher um i actually I think Cook to a lesser degree is what I felt this way about.

34:56But yeah, I think a running back could win, and obviously a running back has won recently, if there was no dominant receiver. But unfortunately for Robinson and CMC, there were two extremely dominant receivers who, I mean, this is just... Like I said, I went back and forth every day because it was so close between... I'm surprised. Mina, I'm surprised. Really? Okay, tell me why you're surprised. That was your hardest category. Really? Because I think it's Puka even if all we were allowed to talk about is pass catching. Who had the best pure receiving season and the conversation there? I still feel good about voting Puka.

35:36Do you not? Statistically, JSN has a really strong case. Strong case, but there's plenty in Puka's column. Yes. So let me rattle off some of these for people. JSN led in receiving yards, yards per route run. very barely came down barely but he played an extra game so he played an extra game so if you do like yards per game and scrimmage yards but total counting stats jsn um he led the league in target share amongst receivers he was an absolute target monster in that seahawks offense he also had a 0.6 drop rate so he was pretty automatic catching the football so he is that's but he has those points in his favor pukas was higher though but puka is asked to do make more difficult catches so you consider that puka um so but they tied to receiving touchdowns puka also had a rushing touchdown and then puka had more rushing yards than jsn which ultimately was the final thing for me um puka had more first downs he led the league in first downs he had a 78 catch rate which was higher than jsn um despite not having like a particularly low average depth of target he led the league in yards after the catch he was second in contested catch rate, which again is the drops rate factor.

36:48And he didn't drop a lot, but JSN had more open targets. Now you could also argue, well, he's an amazing art runner. That's part of the reason why he's open so much. Um, and then finally Puka, uh, had the 105 rushing yards, which was third amongst all wide receivers this year. So like I said, I thought it was extremely close. The reason why I ultimately went Puka though, was the first downs. I thought the contributions of the runs. And then when I just really thought like catches this season that made my jaw drop and took my breath away, which is not a statistic at all. I just could identify more of them for Pukadikua.

37:25But, Davey, it was really freaking close to me. Yeah, I don't want to discount how close it was and how good JSN was. And I want to finish there in terms of like a forward looking question as I texted you earlier today, because I think that's that's as important as this conversation we're having here. but just to counterbalance a lot of really good cases that you made for jsn puka is the highest wide receiver graded in pff history single game and season long did it both this year epa by a lot if i'm not mistaken epa like the best season of a generation he had the volume he had the efficiency and and what about closing stretch like if you want to at all overweight the win it matters most.

38:08Only two players in league history have gone for 165 in three straight games. They're both Rams, Puka and Isaac. Puka had a stretch deep in the year with 573 total, including a head-to-head against the Seattle Seahawks. That was actually the one that finally I was like, I'm going to stick with this because now he's done two games. But to do that, because he just destroyed the Seahawks in Week 16. without davante without davante against that defense everybody know he was getting the foot what he 200 yards right am i misremembering that in over in overtime but yes and like a 41 yard game winner that should have been because i went back and i know it could have been the sickest catch of all time because i went back and watched that game to prepare for the playoff game and just watching it i was just laughing like at his i mean he was just so unbelievable in that game.

39:03Now you could, you can even argue Jason was better in this game, but, uh, Hey, it doesn't matter. Playoffs don't matter. Before I lose the thread on the jaw dropping catches, which, which I think matters. If you're looking for tiebreakers, I would also contend that Puka had more like death defying catches wiped off the board than any player in football. Like he had some sensational catches. His highlight reel is incredible, but like just that Atlanta game alone he had somebody who had uber and akua and the lead in fantasy football it was going up against bichon robinson i am all too aware of the yards that were wiped off the board and that goddamn i had the lead jb i would have won if those counted i am i'm sorry to to strike that nerve but i do feel like the whose plays were more indelible i think that's a big check mark in Puka's column?

39:56It's funny because I think, obviously, when we do at the NFL Honors, they'll play the highlights and we'll see some of the crazy catches, the Cardinals. I mean, there's just some really... And I think the other thing, I mean, they both took such leap steps forward, but I'm going to say something really nerdy that is the other thing. Not nerdy, but obviously not to you, but I talked earlier about how the Rams have the most efficient run game in football. He's a big part of that. He is arguably the best or one of the three best blocking materials in football. And it's offensive player of the year.

40:29So that was like a little thing for me. That's why I was surprised to hear that this was a top final call. Because I have it in italics in my notes here. Blocking. A football muse who I listened to devotedly once said that the Rams have the most efficient running game in football. And Nakua is a big part of the reason why. He gets his hands dirty in a way that very few other receivers, frankly, do in the NFL. There's an unnamed coach on the Seahawks who once I was talking to, and I can't remember if it was after this game or a different game, but we were texting about Nakua killing you guys. He said to me, it's like a goddamn linebacker out there.

41:17and and you know where you see that is this is part of the running game stat that you mentioned which as a rusher like better than eight yards per carry two touchdowns but the jet sweeps to puka that's the rams gotta have it crutch and does it really matter how you get in the hands of your best playmaker runner pass no jsn gets it in other ways but i think those bonus stats in the run game do put him over the top break any tie in addition to his like you said are there three receivers who are better blockers than him i don't think so and none of them are as integral to their offense as puka sean mcveigh and michael floater literally built this offense around his viability as a blocker and we saw that from week one through 16 through nfc championship game weekend he probably has the most hidden yards of any player in football and not even just like runs like screens um sometimes in past but like he's just so physical and it's just completely changes what they're able to do on the ground so do you feel better about it now yeah i do i don't know why i do so blocking because it was in my notes i wrote run blocking adding to that but um i did agonize over it because jason was phenomenal this season but I'll say about Puka what I said on NFL live at the end of the year I don't think we as like the NFL commentary yet give enough credit to the fact that the best blocking receiver in football has also become one of the best premier deep threats that doesn't happen that's an insane combination of skill sets his evolution this year from being already one of the best receivers but the leap he took on throws over 20 yards this season was crazy in terms of separation the hands, body control.

43:04So I think it's that, that there's a story there too, that is kind of - We didn't do this category, but if you wanted to do most improved, he would be in my top three as well. And I think there's this perfect amalgamation of the lessons that he's learned from shout out Eric Yarber, receiver coach for the Rams, but Cooper Cup and Devante Adams and borrowing some of the best ingredients that they were willing to share with him and morphing it into one now generational receiver. Sorry if I'm jumping the gun. Feel free to throw your final thoughts on this debate, but who gets the bigger extension?

43:38Who goes first this offseason? Oh, God. They're both going to make an ungodly amount of money and they're both going to be watching each other like their agents rather are going to be. Yeah. But in terms of their operations and their future within their offensive systems? Well, Yeah, whose game is going to age better? Different discussion, too. Puka takes so much contact. You know, it's a whole thing. But they're clearly the best, first and second best receivers of football this year. Okay, Defensive Player of the Year requires very little discussion. This one should be unanimous. Obviously, Myles Garrett broke the sack record.

44:20But it wasn't just, like, I think the only thing that I will mention with him, JB, is that, like, it wasn't cheap sacks, you know? Like I think sometimes when there's always going to be a few, when you get those kinds of gaudy numbers, but I going back and watching some of them, I mean, he's just, he's just a freak. I don't know what else to say. Like, he's just insane, insane football player. Some things we did sink on before this conversation. This one, we did not. I went and watched the 26 plays on which she collected at least a half a sack. Sounds like you did too. Here's what I charted. 12 came while trailing.

44:53Okay. So more than half his sacks came while trailing. that's crazy only only eight of them came in what i would term and long situations so tech second and ten are worse so this was not i mean we know this but this was not someone who was feasting on known passing situations or favorable game scripts at all um i love that stat because it also adds to the whole mvp thing right like you know he was single-handedly keeping them in games and winning the few games that they did won. 30 tackles for loss. 30 tackles for loss. That's the thing that gets lost is that he's a good run defender. His game is so all around.

45:38The Browns defense this year, I think they added some talent around him. We're going to talk about one of the players. But you just cannot find an example of a defensive player making more of an impact in a season than what miles garrett did this year um which is a shame because will anderson jr who is probably my he was i had him second he was close man the five finalists uh were garrett anderson jr bonito hutchinson parsons um so basically just sacks people just looked at sacks but but but i do want to take a minute to acknowledge the season that anderson jr had because if not for miles garrett he would have been my choice 92 pressures which was actually first in the nfl 69 hurries he had 13 sacks um he was first in interceptions created uh he of course benefits yeah from playing with the secondary that gets those interceptions and opposite of player daniel hunter who was amazing but time and time again watching the texans defense he was on a field full of aliens because they are absolute aliens.

46:48He was the biggest alien, the most impactful one. So I just, Will Addison Jr. is an amazing footballer. I only have one criticism of Will and it's bad timing. Yeah. Because in just about any non-Miles Garrett sets the sack record season, he's your guy. One of the best cases that I saw, I think you follow, you know, Brandon Thorne and his great work. the data point that I had was a high quality pressure. Every eight and a half snaps. The next closest was Mike at 9.3 for Will Anderson. That's surreal. In addition to everything, he did great against the run as well. He competed against the run supremely well, which I think we always knew about him, but to see him be a viable, you know.

47:32Yeah. Yeah. I also thought some players who deserve Hunter, honestly, um josh heides allen really came on at the end of the year and then people are gonna accuse me of favoritism but i am telling you kyle hamilton once again saved the ravens defense and like if you're just looking for pure impact in terms of a defensive player you're never going to get the same stats playing that position obviously but like this literally that he as he single-handedly turns around that defense every year because of the way his, his, his, um, versatility in the way he's used. All right, let's take a quick break, come back and do coach of the year because, uh, who buddy, this one is, this one's going down to the wire.

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49:29Great brands, great prices. that's why you rack alright coach of the year so the five finalists in this one I think this was the only category where my picks were actually the same as the ones the NFL picks the five finalists for coach of the year are Mike McDonald and Mike Rabel the two Mikes who are in the Super Bowl and Kyle Shanahan sorry I'm scrolling because for some reason it's not coming up Liam Cohen and Ben Johnson. That's right to me. Is there anyone you think deserves to be in this top five or do you think the voters got it right? You know, it's interesting. Maybe this is often the case and I don't have the year to year perspective that you do as a voter.

50:18But when I looked at the landscape of the 32 coaches, 10 are no longer with their team that matches an NFL record in terms of turnover. So we're already down to 22 candidates of those nine had losing records. So we're not voting for them. So there's like 13 names before we even start comparing resumes. And I will say of those 13, in a lot of years, I would have voted for more than half of them and felt good about it. Like gladly, like the Ben Johnsons, the Liam Cohens, the Vrabels, like Sean Payton, D 'Amico Ryans, none of whom I gave serious consideration to, but all who were very impressive and in another year, I think had a viable case.

50:56Yeah. I think if I had to add one name, Sean Payton was a name I thought deserved consideration. Yeah. Given what that team accomplished. I know everybody's still thinking about the playoff game, but if you think about the regular season, what he did, the turnaround in that division with the quarterback that he used. Yeah, totally. uh so okay just to wipe a couple guys so so Liam Cohen obviously Jags great story really turned things around for me uh the offense actually only finished 17th in offensive EPA per play which was actually only one better than last year they were just awesome at the end of the season so I think we remember that but over the course of the year it took a while for this thing to get go and it got clicking and it's great and the future is bright Jacksonville by the way they he also like they clearly hit the ball of the park with Campanile who they get to keep their defensive coordinator but I just thought compared to these other coaching performances that one was a little bit behind put a pin in that name that you just dropped because I want to come back to it but to your point about kind of the way that the Jacksonville season progressed I saw them the Rams saw them face to face in London in the middle of the season at a dark point in their campaign.

52:15And if you had told me that Liam was going to guide this ship to the finish line the way that he did flying home from London going into the bye week, I would have been skeptical. So good on him and good on them for getting it done. Ben Johnson, you know, this is an offense that under him, obviously the Bears finishing making it to the NFC division round, pardon me, amazing turnaround. And this coach is often a turnaround award for sure. and the offense went from so I talked about Liam Cohen how that offense actually statistically kind of netted similar this offense in Chicago went from 26 in EPA per play 26 in DVOA to 8th and 10th massive massive turnaround he was brought in to do a job which was fix the offense get the quarterback on track and he accomplished it I think he has a really strong case and in another year totally could have won I just think it's not as strong as the guy spoke.

53:13You're making me realize that a lot of these strong cases are probably why there were 10 jobs turned over. Yeah. You know, the impatience, the possibility of finding the next Liam Cohen or Ben Johnson is driving this. So Ben, would you, or Ben, geez, Ben Johnson's in my head. JB, would you put as your final three, if you were a voter, would you go McDonald, Shanahan, Brable? yes but it's a two-horse race okay between the nfc west guys oh i love that get in here okay so you're okay because i rabel i kind of think he's gonna win because this is so often a turnaround yeah that's not how i treat it that's not how i treat it yes and this is i think one where this becomes he's not new he's not he's that's the only reason it might not happen well there's a couple reasons it might not happen but because he was already a made man in this league maybe that's why it doesn't happen and because he's got an mvp co-front runner at quarterback yeah i'll be so so you because you and i talk about with mvp it's like okay what are the what are we accounting for what what matters to us coach of the year i think is where it gets a little dicier because i do think people look at it differently it seems like overwhelmingly it's just a turnaround award i don't think that's i don't think you should simply give it to the team that went from worst to first purely on those grounds i think especially when you have two cases in mcdonald and shanahan that there's more to it than that.

54:58Kyle Shanahan this year, once again, had the most injury riddled team in the entire NFL. Once again, called a top five offense, despite not having his quarterback for much of the year, despite losing his two best players on defense, not having his number one red receiver and had them knocking on the door of making it to the NFC championship. Mike McDonald here, first of all, it was the best team in football. It finishes the best team in football and it's in the Superbowl. So I think he deserves credit for that. And then the turnaround here was two years, right? This JB people, I think people don't understand how bad the Seahawks defense was at the end of the Pete Carroll era.

55:39Love him. One of the greatest to ever do it, but that was a defense that you saw firsthand could not stop Sean McVay's Rams or Kyle Shanahan's offense for really several years. Mike McDonald comes in, turns it around, goes from 28th in DVOA to first in two years. I understand it's not a one-year turnaround, but to make them the best defense in football this year, I think deserves credit. Were the preseason expectations that different for the Seattle Seahawks than the New England Patriots? Great point. I don't think they, I mean, maybe if you were to look at preseason win total, I wouldn't guess by more than half a win would be my recollection.

56:22And I think he wanted to resurface the scheduling thing for the Patriots as more of a demerit for the head coach than the quarterback, which I'm fine with. It did remind me of something that made me chuckle yesterday, which was the New England Patriots 25 schedule. That instead of listing teams, all it said was fired, coach, fired, coach, fired, coach, Jets, NFC South, fired, coach, fired, coach, fired, coach, fired. Kudos to Vrabel for getting those coaches fired. I'm not saying he did anything other than a fantastic job. coordinator hire paid off good on you but and I think in another year he's a runaway winner but Mike McDonald made it easy for me by beating Shanahan head-to-head in week 18 at Levi's and holding him without a touchdown because that's as good a closing argument as I can remember and I'll be honest I'm hypothetically voting here I would have had a hard time not voting for Shanahan if San Francisco given everything you had said ended up as the one seed coming out of the best division in football completely agree instead i i feel good about giving it to probably the most deserving candidate i think for this award since sean mcveigh in 2017 if if if san francisco had won that final game i would have had to give it to kyle it's just too too insane of a coaching job not to deserve some credit um by the way i looked up something you just lose you uh i just looked up this came just up on yahoo seattle new england had the same preseason win totals.

57:49So like and then people say, well, Seattle was right on the door of the playoffs last year. First of all, the Rams didn't try in week 18, so there's that. But I really believe like a lot of I think part of the reason McDonald isn't being fairly okay. I think Mike McDonald has not gotten sufficient credit for the turnaround job on defense for a couple of reasons. One is the perception that the defense was better than it was. And it just was, it was not, it was really bad. If you'll just have kind of forgotten because nobody remembers anything that didn't happen more than two weeks ago. And then also that they have a lot of talent on that side of the ball and they have absolutely drafted and they have drafted well.

58:33However, you know, this JB, they have found talent both in late and undrafted picks guys like Drake Thomas or linebacker playing, you know, in big moments. okada played for much of the season i mean woolen was a late round draft pick josh jobe was a free agent pickup and then you had guys come who had amazing seasons under him and got better right um yeah i just think okay can i add defense man i don't know what to say in reflecting on this thought exercise i actually gave him more credit than i expected and you're more attuned to the Seattle ecosystem than I am in terms of the choices he made before the season even kicked off like between him and John Schneider like who gets credit for what I don't know but yes it is year two but he fired Grubb after year one and he hired Kubiak and then he empowered him look at the play sequencing the other night as they salted away that NFC championship game okay they break Mina's heart and they swap out Gino for Sam who was giving them flowers for that choice in the offseason They trade DK and bring in a 32-year-old Cooper Cup who had not played more than 12 games in a season since winning the Triple Crown.

59:46They extend Ernest Jones. They sign to Marcus Lawrence. And, yeah, they acquired talent, including drafting Nick Emanwari, whose vision cast led to that decision. I would assume it's the defensive-minded head coach who was brought in to derail the power structures of the Shanahan-McVay chokehold on this division. So if it was a two-year mission accomplished, so what? But I would say from the offseason all the way through kickoff and then definitely from kickoff to this point, he won both. I think a lot of the choices he's made on defense to have just paid off. You talked about the players drafted.

1:00:21It's undeniable to me that he has a hand in Eamon Worry, who is like the perfect Mike McDonald player. Right. He's literally built in a lab to play for him. The trade for Ernest Jones, recognizing that he could fix a lot of the issues that they had at the linebacker position. and then some of the free agents, they've been brave, like bold about like who's become starters. Like there are later round guys, undrafted guys who got the opportunity to start. And so, yeah, his vision for the defense is, is born out. So I don't know. Well, I, I, I, I, I truly don't know who's going to win this one, JB.

1:00:55I have literally no idea, but I just think he's got a rock solid case. I do want to propose a new NFL honor. I'm going to call it the Kyle Shanahan hazard pay award. It's an automatic million dollar bonus at the end of the year to the coach who lost the most life expectancy over the course of the regular season, but still managed to win a road wildcard game. Every time I see Kyle Shanahan, I just look, he just looks like he's 20 years older. This poor man. Yeah, he, he did a hell of a job this year. um okay assistant coach of the year uh so I had some different ones for the finalists I have one that I don't know if it's like people are gonna roast me for it um the actual finalists were Fangio Flores Vance Joseph Josh McDaniels and Clint Kubiak so I had three of those but I also had Matt Burke which I just the Texans defense and then but that one I can understand people opposing because the talent, but also just talking to people there and learning a little bit more about the talent and what he did with them.

1:02:10I just thought he deserved credit. I think they have a defensive head coach, which probably also, you know, I mean, that's also, and then I actually voted for Chris Sheila for this. And I know right now we're at a moment coming off of, you know, not a great stretch for the Rams defense, but part of the reason I voted for him jb was i was like who's doing the most with the biggest deficiencies very cheap defense lot of young players and i thought the fact that for most of the season they held up and were extremely good statistically reflected well on him which is why he got head coaching interviews he was he was my final pick but um i'll defend it i and clint kubiak by the way that's one where people are looking at and saying well wow we're just coming off of this awesome performance again I remind you the Seahawks offense was not good for much of the season but nobody remembers that he's great overall obviously he was amazing in the postseason well and with the Rams you have to freeze the tape at the end of the regular season right and if you look at say defensive DVOA over resources spent I think that's a pretty good ratio for Chris and I also think that if you look at the performance with Quinton Lake on and off the field like that is their Jenga piece.

1:03:21That's their Nick Emanwari. And for a defense that didn't have a ton of depth, especially in that secondary, what he achieved with his defensive captain and without is probably worth considering. And maybe you'll get roasted for it, but that's never stopped you before. And that's why I love this show. Well, so let me ask you this before I reveal my pick, do any of those names or even one that hasn't been mentioned, but I suspect you're probably in alignment with some of the ones we've thrown out. jump out to you as one you feel is deserving. So one question and then one nominee. How do you or how did you differentiate between the household name DCs?

1:04:01Like, I mean, the Brian Flores, the Vic Fangio, the Vance Joseph, like the really good defenses led by veteran coordinators working for offensive minds so you know it's their operation when they all achieved at a very high but similar level. I ended up picking Brian Flores of those three because I thought he did the most with the least. And it was this. So this is the Vikings defense. It really is a shame that the offense was what it was this year because this was a defense that finished third in DVOA, above the Rams, above the Broncos, who you just mentioned, above the Eagles. Despite the fact that the secondary really had some talent issues that would show up at times, good pass rush but you know nick bonito will anderson jr jaylen carter are walking through that door so i just thought like who who am i giving the most credit to to the coach of all these teams for me for him to finish third in dvoa with that offense i thought was just an unbelievable coaching job that offense is a great qualifier because i was not trying to set a trap believe me i was just based on what you said what i really thought i was going to come on this show and do and try and convince you of is why not Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanelli.

1:05:20So he was just outside for me. Okay. Because my case was going to build, like I want it for my friends James Gladstone and Jake Temme, and your argument about who did the most with the least in the shortest amount of time. I think he's. What a turnaround. Maybe your guy. Do you know that they had one individual honor this season? Roster wide, they're long snapper. That's it. That's crazy. So he's a first year NFL coordinator. he had only been a co-DC previously for one season at the college level and dies right in and turns it around and they catapulted from 31st to 6th I believe it was yes no it I and talent wise I mean I you know I obviously like Josh Hines Allen but like and they've got solid players but he also got some of the best careers out of players who are already on the roster you think about Devin Lloyd, obviously.

1:06:16But some of the young DBs as well. Even a guy like Jordan Lewis coming over, when they made a signing, I was like, really, that's your signing? And he was awesome before he got hurt. So I think if I had to do it again, that might be a name that I vault into the top line. Mina, he got 162 defensive snaps out of Travis Hunter. 15 % of the defensive snaps from their top pick. By the way, you see that he's probably going to play mostly corner next year. I hope so. That's my vote. And Anthony's back. That was probably a big condition. Yes. No. And, and what a coup for Jacksonville to bring him back and have that continuity.

1:06:53No, it's a great point. And honestly, I might, I might put him in. I don't know why I didn't. I, when I was thinking about it, I just, but yeah, he was excellent this year and the turn. That wasn't my final answer, by the way. Oh, okay. Well, who's your final answer? You know, you can, you can go first. It's your show. Flores is who I ultimately picked. Flores is. Okay. So not just among that. I went Flores and then Fangio was my number two. I have to admit, I can't unsee Clint Kubiak's two playoff game plans. I know. And I did not have to write my ballot down before that. I know. Yeah. But even if I were to just try and limit it to the 17 games, single season franchise record point score, top 10 DVOA, fifth and passing DVOA, overcoming an NFL high 20 turnovers by the quarterback Sam Darnold.

1:07:43And he too did it in a variety of ways. Like early on, it was bombs away. It was all gas, no brakes. But later on, it was like, hey, let's dial it down a bit. Let's get Sam back on track. Let's tuck him in behind our running game. Let's bring that running game to life in December and January. Make sure we don't squander this chance to be the one seed. And I go back to the way that his coach empowered him too. Like, yeah. Yeah. No, no, it's a great point about the quarterback is again, people last remember Sam Barna lighting it up. But for the second half of the season, they really had to protect him.

1:08:14And you saw that in the game plans. You saw that in his average at the target coming on. They figured out how to run the football better, did some cool stuff with their fullback and the multiple tight ends. He was great this year. I just thought it was like such a year of defense for me too like I just think like when I think back to the season so many of the great performances I thought were defensive coaching performances over offensive ones which is why well no one got more overshadowed by their defense than he and the Seahawks right yeah yeah true and then the offense ended up winning it okay offensive player the rookie of the year and defensive rookie of the year are final categories I'm not doing comeback player of the year by the way which is speaking of words that nobody can agree what it means it's like did they come back from being bad or like a debilitating injury are all batteries the same that's like asking if all soccer players are the same take Messi the most decorated player ever is there any other player who has achieved that no just him now take Duracell is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside no Just Duracell.

1:09:23Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

1:09:53Disney's Moana. Boatsnick. His name is Hey Hey. His name is Yum Yum. When he goes in my tum-tum. Game theaters July 10th. Rated PG. Parental guidance suggested. Pays Checkout is offered by your banks and credit unions. So when you shop online at participating merchants, your cards appear in one place, ready to use and kept up to date. And the best part, your actual card number isn't shared when you check out. Because boundaries are healthy. Like no work emails after six. one small step for boundaries one big leap for checkout pace it checks out activation required see pays.com to learn more terms and conditions apply let's do offensive rookie of the year first because i genuinely i legit don't know i don't know how either of these are going to shake out actually which is great really i was going to ask you if you thought offensive might be unanimous i think it should be okay i don't know if it will be though i don't think it will be uh the finalists were two quarterbacks dart and shuck emeka ibuka is it emeka or emeka i always get it wrong you you're good at pronouncing emeka ibuka emeka ibuka uh tett mcmillan who doesn't like to be called tett sorry tettaro mcmillan t-mac and then for some reason travion henderson okay which uh the actual finalists not your finalists no not my finalists i had both tyler warren and harold vanna jr in my finalists who i just thought they were both awesome they're not my picks but i thought they were both awesome this year over loveland loveland's late push didn't yeah what a year for rookie tight ends what a year for the rookie class in general like if we were to go back to the last weekend of april do you think anyone was touting this draft class in a way that would have given us this many options on both sides of the ball not at all it was like ah there's aren't good receivers and yeah great people thought the tight end class would be good but i think one of the big changes in football uh over the last five years is these rookie tight ends because you remember tight end used to be a position where guys would come in and not do anything and they're awesome right away right um okay so my pick was uh tedderall mcmillan that's why i thought it'd be unanimous um you get a thousand yards in this offense and play a full season i think it's going to take a quarterback campaign to unseat you and the quarterback didn't play enough games uh tedrow mcmillan led all rookies in receiving yards but was 11th league wide led all rookies in touchdowns um a couple things that caught my eye on third and fourth down he was massive for carolina second and target share league wide behind amin rossst brown uh and he was six and first downs led all rookies he was exactly who carolina needed him to be when they drafted him um i just don't think trying to do like statistical case for any of the skill players none of them egbuka obviously had the hot start but then things faded as the season went on The tight ends were both great, but nobody came close to McMillan in terms of impact on the team to me.

1:13:00I've been covering him since his freshman year in Tucson. And I remember one year along the way when he was left off the preseason Bolitnikoff award watch list, which like everyone who starts at that position is included. And that's how kind of underappreciated he's been throughout his career. And then I also popped to that preseason draft video where he was caught saying something like, I don't watch football or don't watch film. And now I think I know who leaked that. And it was probably the Carolina Panthers. That whole draft process made me feel crazy because I saw a lot of, not just of that video, but like just generally, oh, is he really trying?

1:13:38And I was like, I'm sorry. Do we not like guys who are six foot four and catch everything and smooth? Like, you know, like turn on the tape. His body control was unbelievable. Contested catchability. and he's not a burner, but at his size, he moves plenty fast. There was no doubt in my mind that he should be the first receiver taken, and it was a home run pick for Carolina. I'm curious to see where it goes from here, because no one saw better football from Bryce Young than I feel like the Rams did. We saw two great games from him. You're his Seahawks, yeah. I think the number was he had three games of at least 210 yards passing, like 210 or more, only three games.

1:14:23And that's the offense that produced this offensive rookie of the year. That's a great point. Okay. Defensive rookie of the year. I think, actually, I think I had the same final five. I'm not 100 % sure not to go full polian, but I don't have my ballot in front of me. The final five were Abdul Carter, Nikki Manwari, Carson Schwestinger, the Browns linebacker, and then two Falcons, James Pierce Jr., who led all rookies in sacks, and Xavier Watts, who was their excellent safety. You saw both of those players, obviously. I don't want to see Watts again anytime soon. He was first amongst all rookies in interceptions, in hawk rate, second in passes defense.

1:15:08He was excellent this year. Pierce Jr. had the nine sacks and then 41 pressures. Carter, I know people will say it's a disappointing season, but he actually, the advanced stats really liked him this year, which suggests he'll be good going forward. He actually finished six and passed rush win. Um, and he led all rookies in edges that said, all of that said to me, it's down to Eman Worry and Schwestinger agree or disagree. And I think just to underscore that it's who had the most impressive season, probably Carson who had the most consequential one i think it's emin mori i that's a perfect way to lay it out so uh just put out some some numbers here schwezenger uh had three sacks and 18 pressures of his own which was something i liked about his game in college too and you know this of course with your you follow that uh the pack 12 rip um i always liked him as a blitzer a lot and he he you could see that in the nfl he's just really good at um finding his way to the quarterback but he also had 129 tackles which was fourth amongst all linebackers.

1:16:11He played a ton of snaps for an excellent Browns defense and was impactful immediately at a position of great need with JOK not being available to them. So like you said, he was an immediate impact starter. Eamon Worry actually led rookies at his position in tackles. He was first amongst rookies in passes defensed. He had 18 pressures of his own, first amongst all defensive backs he was used a lot as a blitzer so i went emin warry here and i did accuses me of being a homer it was aligned in some ways with my mcdonald pick for sure because when i think about the this season and i think about the seahawks having the best defense in the nfl i genuinely don't know if that happens without nikki manwari because as you know, and we've talked about this a lot on this show, his versatility and the ability of the Seahawks to put him on the field and play nickel or big nickel or dime is what made this defense go, right?

1:17:22The uniqueness of the 2025 Seattle Seahawks defense is that they could stop the run without putting big bodies on the field, and Eamon Worry was not only a big part of that, he was shockingly good in coverage this season. So I just, for me, JB, it came down to like such a young player being so impactful on this defense and so representative of what they did and why they were able to do it that I was like, I just feel like I'm getting, I know people will roast me for it because of the Seahawks, but I just feel like, how many times did you watch him And you're like, I cannot believe that's a rookie out there making those plays.

1:18:04I think a lot of Cleveland fans would say the same thing. In fact, I asked our good buddy, Andrew Siciliano, anticipating the direction you might go. I said, what will your level of outrage be if Nicky Manwari wins defensive rookie of the year over Carson? He said off the charts. That's silly, Andrew. Can't be off the charts. A green dot inside linebacker day one, year one on a top defense. I get it. I think he was one of the most impactful players at his position, regardless of tenure, regardless of years on the job. And he played teams as well. But look, I'm inclined to agree with you in the sense that Eman War is a force multiplier.

1:18:46He was the necessary year two piece that brought the Seahawks defensive vision to life. And if you want to argue that a historically fantastic defense that claimed the best division in football and the one seed and may very well win a Super Bowl because of a rookie chess piece like him, I wouldn't hate it. This would be one of those where I would love to just see a co. I'm not a big co-award guy, but this is a unique case where I think it's warranted. on a defense full of monsters he's already like the face of it to a lot of people I I I think maybe maybe maybe a little too much so because I think like there's other players in the Seahawks defense who are probably deserve a bit more shine but um it for me it was just kind of like for him to come in and be that dude and be asked to do so much on this defense was just remarkable but Schwestinger has a really good case too.

1:19:45And I, this one, I don't know how it's going to shake out. I think maybe Schwestinger will win because of the counting stats, but. It's one of those years where like the, you don't want the Seahawks to sweep everything, but if they did, could you really find fault? They might not win any of these. If Puka wins offensive player of the year, I could see Vrabel winning coach of the year. I really could. it's going to be a great nfo honors because outside of the honorary miles garrett award i don't like any of the right like i like i think mcmillan to your point should win but i'm not i'm not 100 sure because some people don't even watch the panthers so um but other than that man i don't know i have no idea who's going to win assistant i think mvp is going to be stafford but it's going to get out of the wire.

1:20:39So yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be close. It's going to be a lot of fun. This is so fun. Ah, excited. Um, JB, where can folks now that when are you transitioning your, your, your NFL season is done. What are you up to? Basketball, a lot of hoops, a lot of hoops on TNT sports. Uh, we should bring my Gullick into that fray as well. Uh, be super interesting. Uh, but in the meantime, I will, I'll echo the sentiments of my nine-year-old walking to school. the other day, the morning after the loss to the Seahawks, he said, Dad, I forgot how long it is from the last game of one season to the first of next.

1:21:17And I said, I'm right there with you, pal. And I hope that you will be too. I love kicking off this season with you and Stetson Bennett at SoFi Stadium. There was some Rams preseason player who was on another team who I was like, whenever that happens, I'm like the Leo meme where when you see a random Ram from the past. I can't remember who it is now, so it's a terrible story, but I do love seeing those guys have success in other places. It's fun. The one co-voice of the Los Angeles Rams on this show who will be rooting for the Seahawks next Sunday. You're the best. Well, I'm sure, folks, you made a great case for Mike McDonald, and you're very thoughtful about these things.

1:21:59I'm sure people will understand how valuable your perspective is. And I loved our discussion about Matthew and Drake. And I'm sure everybody's going to be equally respectful and kind in the mentions. But in the meantime, I will be back next week for one show to preview the actual Super Bowl, which is insane. So I'll see you guys then. Oh, for those who watch Traitors and Fallout, recap of that show, David Dennis Jr. comes out on Friday morning. We'll be doing the latest traders. If you missed our interview with the great Rod Punches, that is also at youtube.com slash at media kimes. Thank you, as always, to our friends at Omaha Productions.

1:22:40Kirsten Seveki, Owen Saylor, Jack Foster, Tucker Tushin.

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