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Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Can the Browns keep Jim Schwartz after hiring Todd Monken + Super Bowl updates with Dianna Russini
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C
My husband says rock and roll every day. Let's rock and roll. Let's rock and roll.
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Getting ready to get into the car. Getting ready to leave a restaurant. And I try to stop myself all the time. Kev tries to probably stop himself.
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And then he goes, no, he embraces it. He loves it. Cause the boys say it back. Let's rock and roll.
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See, I'm trying to stay young. I think maybe it's an effort. My birthday was yesterday. I'm just trying to, like, not get old. Welcome in to a scoop city on a Wednesday. I'm James Palmer. Don't forget to like and subscribe. We remember we covered the NFL better than anybody. We got people inside buildings across the league. And we have Diana Rossini, the athletics team senior NFL insider, joining me in just a couple of minutes. Boots on the ground. What has she seen and heard in San Francisco? And I guess Santa Clara because everything's pretty spread out. We'll also get the sights and sounds from the Pro bowl, where Diana caught up with some of the biggest stars in the NFL and chatted with them about a variety of topics. I'll just leave it at that. And then we have Jason Lloyd joining me, who. Let's just see if he was won over by Todd Monkin's press conference. Everything you need to know from the Browns coming up next. But let's start with Diana, and let's head right out to Santa Clara. All right, as always, here we go. We have the athletic senior NFL insider Diana Rosini joining us once again, as always, from San Francisco. Are you in San Francisco? Where are you staying? This is also spread out.
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C
I am in San Francisco. It is very spread out. It is not the best logistics here from. Because the teams are out in Santa Clara, most of us are in the city. It takes about an hour and a half, hour and 15 to get out there. So when you want to do media availability for the teams for Seattle and for New England, you're pretty much stuck out there all day. But, yeah, I am in a awesome hotel. And it's starting. It's starting to sizzle here. You know, when we spoke last, it was like, all right, Pro Bowl's happening. It's, you know, there's people around. But now it's like, oh, okay, we have. We have a game in a few days here.
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B
Yeah, you got a game. You brought up the Pro bowl real quick. Is this thing dying? Diana, how was the vibe of the Pro bowl games? Because this is the first time we didn't have it on a football field. Like, it was not in a stadium. It was at the fan experience.
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C
Yeah, I went to it, and there were tons of fans. That was cool. People are so excited. Here's what. Where I do think it does well. It's the young kids. Like, I saw so many little boys and girls just so excited to watch this, because I think they could understand it better than actual football. Whereas, you know, they probably play flag football at school, but for the players, I don't know. It was just. For me, just having covered Pro Bowls before, just seeing Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase out there and Trent, like, Trent Williams and I were standing in the corner. I'm like, this is just. This is. This just doesn't feel the same. It just. It lost a little bit of its juice. So we'll. We'll see what the league does. There was definitely a little chatter on the field that. Is this it? Like, just exactly how you said. Like, a lot of people were wondering, too.
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B
Yeah, that's a really good point. I'm curious because it used to be in Hawaii. Right. And the players got away. It was a reward with their families and they got to sit by the pool. Peyton Manning used to tell these historic stories, you know, that are legendary by the pool to all the guys. And it was like a camaraderie thing away from all of the stuff you're mentioning. Maybe the younger players are something we go remember when the NBA used to do like rookies versus sophomores. Maybe it's like the rookies versus the second year guys or something like that.
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C
I like this. We should do an episode this year on we're going to make the Pro bowl better.
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B
Yeah. Let's put our brains together, our big fat brains together and figure this out. I think we got it.
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C
Here's my response. Here's going to be my best idea. Hawaii.
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B
Send it back to Hawaii with us in tow.
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C
Just go to Hawaii. Scoop city. Surfing.
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B
Yes. And we will call the game. You mentioned the vibe and it's changing because we're getting closer to the game. Let's get into the game a little bit.
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C
Yeah.
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B
You know both these teams really well. What is kind of some of the buzz that's going on with both teams there and, and practicing there? Obviously it's Drake May's shoulder or it's, you know, how Mike McDonald's defense matches up against Josh McDaniels. What, what are the vibes or what are the buzz that you're hearing about this matchup?
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C
I'm hearing a lot more quarterback centric conversation about nerves on both sides. The, the obvious one is Sam. Right. Because every, that, that, that storyline has followed him through the year. Can he handle the big stage? And then he goes out and his lights out in the NFC Championship game and you're like, well, maybe he shook it. Maybe, maybe he was able to mentally overcome anything that was holding him back and taking that next step. Because they don't win that game if Sam doesn't play at the level he played at. It's not even close. And I think the Rams went into it thinking that there's no way Sam's going to be able to manage it all. And he did. And then you have Drake May, who has not been good. He has not been good the last three games. And this is someone that I voted for, for mvp. This, you know, based on the regular season. So I have yet to see that. And, and obviously Seattle knows that and I, and the team knows it. And I was talking to Stefan Diggs about it. Basically, I. I mean, I pretty much just said to him, like, what's wrong with Drake? What's going on here?
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Sometimes you get the best answers when you just, you know, just throw it out there.
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Yeah.
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Like, they see it. They're not dumb. And. And he. He definitely mentioned he thought that the moment for him was. Was a lot as well. Like, he wasn't talking bad about Drake. He's just like, dude, that was. This is new for him. And by the way, the super bowl, very new for Stefan Diggs as well, because I did say that. I'm like, well, how are you gonna handle all this? But. But Steph's. He thinks that Drake shook it off in the AFC Championship game. He's like, I think the Denver game was the best thing for him headed into this game. It's. It's. It loosened him up. And that's just based on being around him. I think he was saying that, like, he's just. He's chilled out. So I think that. And. And really, just if the Seattle defense can just continue to do the things that they've been doing this year, I. They're not. I don't think the Patriots are a match. I just don't think they have the firepower now. The only thing that the Patriots do have working to their advantage. And I had a conversation with the Patriots coach at media night. One of the assistants were. I said, which quarterback do you think played the best against a Seattle defense that you saw that maybe you've been checking out? And they said, cam Ward.
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Whoa.
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Right.
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Because Cam Ward scrambled a lot. He created plays. And I think that's where they think Drake. That's what Drake does. Well, you know, and this is where they could have the leg up, no pun intended, because he uses his legs so much.
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B
I knew that's where you were going. And you're right. You know, you look at the formations that they use. They love six offensive linemen. times, you're going to take one of your pass catchers off the field. Oftentimes when you go big in jumbo packages. What's the added emphasis to your offense when you do that? It's the mobility of your quarterback. It's your ability of your quarterback to go out there and use his legs and have that second play and make a secondary that is very good and likes to play that too high shell stuff, make them play longer, make them cover longer. And so you touched on something there. And this isn't every super bowl, but it seems like this one has a vibe of, like, like you mentioned it, I don't know how New England stays up with Seattle when that's said by everybody. I feel like by the end of the week, there starts to be like, a nervousness with everybody going.
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That's still true.
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Like.
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Right.
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Like, it's almost like, you know, such a good point.
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C
It's so you're. And I've thought it, too. Every analyst is. Is looking at this very much on paper. Right. Because it does make sense. Seattle is the better team. But I don't think people are considering right now that a Super Bowls can be weird. They get weird, and I think these teams know that. But I. I do think a lot of the game management and the coaching could work to the advantage of New England in this case, as we saw even in the AFC Championship game. I think those little moments, those little things could work to the advantage of the Patriots and. And change the way this game goes. Like, the first 15 for Seattle, I believe will be, you know, I think the march down the field, it's. It's after that where I feel. I'm not as certain and confident that Seattle is going to be able to. To make it that easy, though. So I do like this. And I'm going to keep an eye on it for you. Yeah. Come Friday, people are starting to swing the other way a little.
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Yeah. Send the text.
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Just because it's like, you're right. People freak out when it's too much chalk. It's like something. It can't be this easy, you know.
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Exactly. And that's why I'm going back. And I know Bill Belichick's a popular name probably there this week, but he's not coaching in New England. But there still is Josh McDaniels and there still is Mike Vrabel, who spends so much time with Bill. And the reason I bring that up, Diane, is have you heard anything about, like, because they've done this in past Super Bowls, they will do something completely different than what they've done schematically on one of the sides of the ball when the super bowl rolls around. I remember super bowl was like, play zone all year came out played, man, the entire Super Bowl. Like, you know what I mean? Do you get that sense, even though Bill's not there, that that could be something we see from New England?
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I don't think that big of a difference. Like, I don't think anything that shocking. I do think because they're very prepared, they. They will have something. I do find it interesting in how they attack this, you know, this, the Kansas City Chiefs, they used to install everything. Last week they were done. They would just like show up here for the week before the super bowl.
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And tinker fine tune.
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Yep. Just little New England didn't do that. They, they, they still have a lot of stuff that they have to work on this week at practice.
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Did real quick. Did that, did Drake shoulder play a factor in that?
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No, I, you know, what's that? That's one of those storylines I've seen everywhere too that when I was around the team and talking to them, I didn't, I didn't really get a feel like this was a big problem that they were very worried about. We'll see how that. You know, I don't want to say it's not going to be an issue at all between now and Sunday, but for right now, I don't think this is something that that is, is keeping them up at night that he's going to have this injury. You brought up Josh McDaniels and you know, this is his 10th Super Bowl. 10.
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Unreal.
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Like when I saw that, I'm like, wait, I think, I think my Google was wrong.
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It's not. Yeah.
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So you have tons of experience there. But I was just thinking about him as a coach. It's hard to give him so much credit because it's always Tom Brady, but if he could get Drake may to win a Super bowl, this may be Josh's best coaching job.
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That's a great point. That's a really good point. And it was funny because I was standing on that sideline Dinah in the AFC Championship game and I'm talking to some people with the Patriots and I'm like, I'm like, this is. And this is no slight right. But I'm like, this is Pop Douglas. This is Keisha Booty. This is Stefon Diggs in year what, 11. Like, this passing attack in this downfield attack is really good. Like what makes it work. And without missing a beat, the coach was like, Josh. Like it's, it's Josh. Like he, he's the one obviously not taking anything away from our players. He's outstanding at this. Do you think he could get another. A third crack, a third bite of the apple at some point? Because we are still always searching for offensive play caller head coaches. It never.
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That's the only reason this never happen. Exactly. And you've seen what, what he's done with Drake. Drake looked good last year, but. But not like this. And it's just getting started. So look, he seems just happy to be doing the role he's in. So I could see teams, though, reaching out and calling, but, man, New England would be so bummed to lose that one. They've got it perfect. Perfect. I mean, this is. The fact that they're even playing in this this early is still pretty shocking. And I think that works to their advantage, too, headed into this game, just because it's like, hey, we weren't even supposed to be here yet and we're here.
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Yeah, I love that. Before you go, anything that. That kind of has caught your eye this week, league news, anything that you've just, you know, been making the rounds and talking to everybody, Is there anything that you kind of went, oh, I didn't expect to hear that this week.
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C
You know, the Roger Goodell press conference went down and a lot of media members, we kind of gathered afterwards to kind of digest it all and share our own opinions and thoughts. And we thought that it felt very intentional for Goodell to be very. He seemed almost tired up there, like, okay, disinterested.
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Okay.
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But sometimes that's part of the PR move. So because they had such Hot Topic.
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Items and we knew that going in. Right.
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They needed to downplay, like, it wasn't as sassy as I was expecting that press conference to be at all. And some of that was maybe on us. But he kind of, he navigated in and out and he didn't get a lot of pushback. And the two barrel question, James, you can't ask two questions in one because they always take the easier question and then they never answer probably the better question and the harder one, and somebody.
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Comes and takes the microphone away anyways, as soon as you get done asking.
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Exactly. So you got to just go one on them. But. But I've done it. You've done it. You can't help yourself because you're just. You're trying to get as much intel as you can. Yeah, but I do. My other thought is I've had a couple players tell me that them being out. I know I started the show telling you that we're really far away from them. I think that's. That's been awesome for, for the team. I know both the Seattle Seahawks and the Patriots, they had off on Tuesday. Both teams had really late curfews and everyone just laid low. Nobody went out. I saw some guys at dinner because I was up there, but they were in sweats like, no, no one's going. No one's coming to San Francisco to go to clubs. Whereas I'm sure if you ask, like, Mike Raybould during his super bowl weeks. They were, like, partying. They were out. Because, you know, that's just the way they did things back then.
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Totally. Go back and listen to Monday's show. By the way, guys, Chase told a great story about the first night that they were in Miami with Sean Payton. And Sean said, no curfew tonight. Or set the curfew. I think it was extremely late.
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Yeah.
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And he said, this is your one night. I think it was like, Sunday night or whatever it was when they first got there. But Sean actually did it hoping guys would break curfew, then he could ream them out and have them lock in.
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Come Monday morning and go, always, always some philosophy there.
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Yes, 100%. Okay.
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I was. Yeah, I was surprised they. They let them stay out. I think it was like a 2am curfew for Seattle and New England.
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B
Okay, all right.
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C
All right.
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I do have this one. Any chance we have a. There's so much international talk this week. Any chance we get a Super bowl sooner than later outside of the continental United States?
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Yeah, it's just. James is headed there. It's going there.
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Like, it's going there.
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You don't want it. A lot of people don't want it. I want it. But that's what they're building. That's what they're trying to do. Yeah, but where do you want it? That. That's where.
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I love London. I love London.
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Yeah. I think it goes to London. I think that would make the most.
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Sense because that's the longest tenured international site.
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I want it in Japan.
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I did Japan this summer. It was delightful. Tokyo. Everyone else, the Palmer family is travelers, and, man, do we love Japan.
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C
Okay, Japan, football, yes or no? Hmm.
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I don't think you've built it up like you have London with this. Like, the fandom has grown. Honestly, it really has. And I. I know some people question it. Right? Then I'll be like, we've been over there. Like, you can see it. Like, you can see the fandom has grown in the uk and they know the game, and they. They actually do really, really know the game. And it's such an economical hub of that part of the. Of the world. I does just make sense. Okay. I know you got a boogie. It was wonderful chatting with you. Enjoy. Make sure you catch Diana on everything, including Scoop City first. But everything else that she's doing, which is all over.
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C
And I'm writing, too, so my column's coming out this weekend, so we're back.
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On what I'm hearing the Saturday morning, what I'm hearing before the people.
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C
Let's do it.
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Have my coffee and watch it. Okay, friend, you're the best. All right. I teased it at the top of the show. Todd Monken had his introductory press conference, had had a touch of everything. I think we had some cursing, we had some tears, we had some, I guess, information. Jason Lloyd gets to the bottom of it for us and all of you Browns fans out there. Next on screen keeps it you're a pro at running your life, at committing to your workout, at showing up every day.
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B
All right, welcome back to Scoop City. We got the man who brings the goods every time he joins us. Jason Lloyd joins us once again here on Scoop City. And we got to talk. This Todd Monken press conference, it had a touch of everything. Jason, honestly, your initial thoughts, did they change after this press conference from when you were most likely? And I know you're not alone in this kind of scratching your head going, Todd Monkins, the next head coach of the Browns. Did that change at all after this press conference?
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A
No. I kind of ran my Head around it even before then. It was certainly a surprise. No question. It was a curveball. And I sort of poked around the league. It was like, what do you think? And I actually got a lot of positive feedback on Todd of, like, he's a great football coach. And of the three were looking at, he's probably the best football coach right now, if you know what I mean.
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B
Yep.
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A
I mean, obviously, who knows? Nate Shield House could be a great coach 10 years from now and. And be in that upper echelon. Jim Schwartz has sort of had his opportunity is how a lot of people look at it, and. And Todd hasn't to run a program. He's a great offensive mind, and it's a little bit of an unorthodox hire just because of his age. And it just feels like in this cycle, you know, when you Talk about Mike McCarthy and Todd Monkin land and two of the jobs, it's just. It's a move away from what the NFL for quite often is the young, analytical mind offensive genius. Right. Like, that's not the box that these guys fall into. But Todd's had a great career as a grinder and been all over the place. And he said he left Georgia for this moment to be a head coach in the NFL and he wasn't sure he would ever get it. And here we are.
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B
Yeah, it's interesting. And, you know, I always kind of look at this way. We're a league that is just stuck in everybody doing the exact same thing every year. And the results, apparently, from the number of openings every year, seem to be pretty similar. But when a team kind of goes outside of the box, like the Browns kind of did in this hiring process, and they were really having an emphasis on. On references and on performance track record ahead of maybe what the actual interview was. Oftentimes that gets panned. I'm not sure if I'm getting upset about somebody trying to do something different entirely in the process. Is it just because it's the Browns? I hate to say it that way, but is that why?
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A
Yeah, it's totally fair. I. I made that argument when some of the reporting came out that, like, you know, if this was the Eagles or the Patriots, everybody would hail it as. As genius, and this is going to do it.
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B
Yeah.
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A
But because it's the Browns, everybody makes fun of them and. And sort of laughs at him a little bit. And I did. I was having a conversation with a couple of executives and hiring positions across different sports. I talked to a couple NBA people, a couple NFL people, and I just like said, what do you think about this? Like the, the surveys, the questionnaires, stuff like that, and personality testing. And I had one former executive who had been in a hiring role say that. So this is someone who's hired multiple head coaches, said like data is good. You want to have data. The more data the better. But you can't really capture leadership with this type of information. And that's. He made the point of like, you kind of wonder if they know what they're looking for with some of this stuff because you can't. That's. You need the whole cliche of a leader of men. Right? Well, a survey isn't going tell you if you can lead men or not. Todd Monken looks like a guy who's going to look in the eye and tell you the truth and he's going to tell you what, what he thinks, good or bad. And that's probably going to rub people the wrong way, some people the wrong way. But I find it refreshing. I get tired of the, the same non answers week after week after week, whether it be in press conferences or whatever. You kind of like someone who's going to be pretty bold and tell you what they really think. And Todd got off to a great start with that yesterday with the comment on Jim Schwartz.
- [23:47]
B
Oh yeah, we'll get to that. We'll certainly get to that. But you're right and you know, we oftentimes don't even look at it where we go when teams are evaluating taking a quarterback in the first round, the pieces of the puzzle, there's so many of them, from the interview with the combine to their visit to how the other players interact around them when they're in your facility. And the used to be the Wonderlic test and then it was the S2 and all these different pieces, you can do the same with your head coach. You still want to have the interview, be a part of it. If they have that presence in the room, you want to feel that in the interview part. So I do get that, you know, all of these different things are at play and I do think that they looked at some different, different avenues and if it works, I mean, that'll, that'll be great. You mentioned the Jim Schwartz aspect of it. Those are, those are some interesting, interesting answers. Is Jim Schwartz completely out the door or is there any chance of him returning here?
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A
Personally, I, I don't think he's coming back. The only way I think he comes back is if the Browns sort of drag him back in a hostage situation, which I think would be probably not the right move to make now. The Browns historically have dealt with some something similar to this in the past and they always make the player onto the contract. David and Joku asked for a trade shortly after Kevin Stefanski arrived. The Brown said nope. Miles Garrett very famously went on a Super bowl row last year radio row and set the organization on fire day after day after day of super bowl week. And the organization said nope, we're not, we're not trading you. And of course they gave him the extension and gave him more money. I'll be curious to see how this plays out. I've spoken to people around Jim who feel pretty strongly he is not going back in that building. This is over now. He is under control for I believe two more years and, and we'll see if the Browns sort of hold his feet to the fire on that. He could just retire, I guess if he really feels that strongly about it. And you know, there, there was a notion of when cooler heads prevail. Give it a week or so, Jimmy will write him a bigger check with an extra zero attached to it and all as well. That ends well. I'm not necessarily sure I fall into that camp and if I'm Todd Monkin, do you want him back after the way that he behaved, after the way he acted? You're a first time head coach now. Granted he's been around forever but this is first time in this role and Jim is an incredible defensive minded coach but he also has a reputation of being difficult to work with sometimes. And when you combine that with how this is already the start that this is already off to, I think the Browns do need to strongly consider maybe just parting ways with Jim, finding another defensive coordinator, whether promoting someone within the staff or finding someone who shares the same philosophies that Jim has because Todd made it pretty clear yesterday this is a great defense and we're going to keep the same defense exactly as intact sort of regardless of who's running it. And Jim said like I took this job for Miles Garrett, I didn't take this job for Jim Schwartz. And I was just felt like the nuke of all nukes to drop on the guy's head. So if there was any chance of it coming back, I think that press conference yesterday may have closed it out.
- [26:42]
B
Yeah, it was almost like he was trying to tow the line. But in towing the line it just almost kind of like nuked the, to use your term, the Jeff Schwartz return type of aspect. And I do, honestly, I get it. Like you interviewed for the job. It started to be a buzz around the league that there was a very good chance you could, probably could land this job. You don't get it. And then, hey, we still want you to run the defense. The Jeff Ulbricht situation in Atlanta, far different. Never interviewed for the head coaching job. Kevin Stefanski retained him. Very, very different situations between the two. I wouldn't be surprised if he did find his way out of there. If he winds up with Clint Kubiak in Vegas, I could see that being something that could potentially maybe happen. But you mentioned Todd Monkin did say that they'd like to keep that same scheme, that same kind of feel, the same attacking defense. So internal, you know, maybe promotion might be where it's at. The, the. With the questionnaires, Jason, like, it seemed like Shador Sanders name came up in that. And what's your plan for Shador Sanders? Do you think he will be out there taking the first rep with the first team at the start of training camp?
- [27:49]
A
As of right now, yeah. And I, I mean, I've been pretty adamant. I don't, I don't think Shador is the starting quarterback in the NFL. I don't think he should be on this roster, Jason.
- [27:57]
B
He's a Pro Bowler.
- [27:58]
A
Don't even get me started on that. But I mean, could Shador have success in the NFL? Yeah, sure. Like, I'm never going to put a ceiling on a guy's head of what he can or can't do. I think there's a long, long, long, long way to go with him to get there. And I don't think he's good enough to be the starter. And I don't think that he can be the backup on a team like this. We just went through that last year. You saw the nonsense that came with that. There are spots where I think he could go and where he could thrive, frankly, where he could learn as a backup for a year or so, then get an opportunity. I just don't. Listen, Cleveland hasn't developed a quarterback in 25 years. You think they're going to figure it out now with this, with all the noise that's around him and with the, the, the, the distance that he has to go to get there.
- [28:46]
C
So.
- [28:47]
A
But as, I mean, it's just, it's, it's remarkable to me that this is the quarterback room that you're choosing between Shador Sanders and desean Watson as presently constructed. I, Last year they blew out the entire quarterback room. I think they should do the same thing again. Like, I Just I, I, I thought they should have moved on from desean already. Would it hurt? Yes, it would hurt, but it's not impossible, especially with the cap rising the way that it is. They could spread the hit out over two years, restructures contract one more time. It'd be about an 80 million dollar cap hit this year. I just think it's time to move on. It didn't work. The owner twice, twice Jimmy has said it was a mistake, that there was a big swing and a miss. But he's still here, he's still on the roster. So it just, the whole room needs a reset. Obviously this is not a great draft for quarterbacks. I get that. Do you really want to pay Malik Willis based on two starts? Do you really want to give San Francisco a high draft pick for Mac Jones? The options are not great. So as we sit here today, yeah, he probably is QB1 right now. I don't know that it's going to be that way when we get to the season. I, I'm just, I, I, I wish him well. I think he's a good kid. I don't think he's a bad guy at all. I just think he's got a really, really long way to go to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and this is not the situation where a lot of those guys are going to thrive.
- [30:03]
B
Yeah, that's a great point. The situation matters so much for quarterbacks. Obviously we know that that's a part of the reason they got Todd Monkton though, the developmental and the younger side of what this roster is going to be. I'm just interested, what does desean do this year? Like honestly, is he active? Is he the backup? He honestly is the most talented quarterback on their roster right now. What do you do with DeSean Watson? As you mentioned, they've repeatedly said and told him this is, this has been a mistake. Publicly you say that, but then at the same time he's still there. What does he do all season?
- [30:33]
A
I, he, he really sort of took Shador under his wing last year. There was a mentorship there going on between the two of them. Maybe that continues I would assume. I mean he could win the starting quarterback job. Jimmy. I suppose, as crazy as that sounds, Jimmy Haslam has said multiple times and said again yesterday he expects his team to win games and win more games than they won last year and not be, I, I kind of look at that go how, what, how are you going to do that? Like how are you going to get there? But I would tend to Agree with you. If you just take skill for skill, desean's probably the best quarterback they have on the roster right now, even though we haven't seen him. He's had a ton of injuries. He looked terrible, frankly, coming back from that rare shoulder injury that he had. He's now blown out his Achilles twice. So if you're saying that's the best option, and I am, that's a pretty low bar that you have to clear. But what is the upside of that? Like, yeah, they've invested a lot of money, they've given desean a lot of money, but it's sunk cost at this point. So why would you try and squeeze more out of that? I just think I, I again, that's why I think they should move on from both of them and just have a complete reset within that quarterback room. It's a, it's a mess that they're in because of all the money that they still owe them because they continue to restructure the contract. The thinking behind it is logical that the cap goes up every year, so the percentage of the hit is less every year. But in reality, it's been an absolute disaster. It's an anchor on the franchise and they continue to keep them around. So I guess it's. To answer the question, I guess he's the backup and competing for the. Maybe there's a quarterback duel in training camp between desean and Shador and I can't believe I'm saying that, but as the room is constructed now, what other option is there?
- [32:06]
B
I don't know if there is. Enjoy the quarterback battle. But you're right. I also did think some of those questions on the questionnaires and stuff with, with Todd Bunket and others were filling out about Shador Sanders kind of led me to also believe they understand the quarterback landscape in 2026. So this might be your guy for a year and then we're reevaluating. So what do you think of this guy? Because as a process of elimination, Storm might have to be our guy in 2026 as we rebuild this entire roster. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Jason, keep covering it. Keep crushing it. Good chatting with you, man. Appreciate you stopping by.
- [32:38]
A
Thanks, James.
- [32:39]
B
Thanks, buddy. All right, coming up, we have Diarena CD boots on the ground talking to a variety of guys at the Pro bowl games, I think they're called now for as long as they're last fasting. We're going to get to that next on Scoop City.
- [32:53]
C
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- [33:23]
A
Ollie.
- [33:23]
B
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- [33:44]
C
50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required. $45 for three months, $90 for six month, or $180 for 12 month plan taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy. See terms.
- [33:54]
B
Hi, it's Mark Bittman from the podcast Food with Mark Bittman. It's almost time for the big game, and I know, as you probably do.
- [34:02]
A
Too, that from those first chips to that last piece of cake, you can.
- [34:06]
B
Get everything you need for a watch party at Whole Foods Market.
- [34:09]
A
And you can do that at affordable prices.
- [34:11]
B
Find yellow sale signs all over the store, from the chip aisle right over.
- [34:16]
A
To the meat department. So fuel your game day with big.
- [34:19]
B
Flavors from Whole Foods Market.
- [34:21]
A
It's an instant touchdown.
- [34:26]
B
All right, welcome back to Scoop City. I'm James Palmer. We're closing things out with a little sights and sounds from the pro Pro bowl, or I guess the Pro bowl games as you can call them now. Diana caught up with a variety of players, talked some football, maybe some non football, with guys like Bijan Robinson, Jamar Chase, Cooper Dean, Joe Flacco, and Cortland Sutton. Well, Diana, take it away.
- [34:47]
C
Who texts you the most?
- [34:50]
A
My grandma.
- [34:51]
C
What does she text you?
- [34:52]
A
Just random stuff. Like from. From Instagrams to TikToks. Like literally anything random, she'll text me and I'm like, cool.
- [35:00]
C
How old is your grandmother that she's on TikTok?
- [35:02]
A
Oh, she does. She. She's past her 60s, but like, she's enjoying life.
- [35:06]
C
Is she one of those, like, you know, some people you. You ignore on text because you're like, they're just sending you junk. Do you ignore Her. Do you want. Do.
- [35:12]
A
Do you actually, I look at it. I ignored the video, but, like, I'll just, like, I probably already seen it.
- [35:17]
B
So I just, like, send her a.
- [35:18]
A
Message or, like, a laughing face so she gets to make it happy.
- [35:21]
C
And you went out and you won all these records. You broke them all. So what's. What's happening? The goal now, because you've done it.
- [35:26]
A
Individually, obviously, the goal is to win a championship.
- [35:29]
B
That's the main thing. The main thing is always first.
- [35:33]
A
But just trying to get my team in the best position as possible is what I could do. I got to control the things that I can control and just try my.
- [35:40]
B
Best to put us in a position to help us win.
- [35:42]
C
Once the emotion wears off, the frustrations.
- [35:44]
B
Where.
- [35:44]
C
Where are you at now when you reflect on the year?
- [35:48]
B
I mean, there was. There was a lot of ups and downs, you know, throughout the year, you know, that. That we went through and we were able to overcome and, you know, some things we didn't overcome. And that's. That's part of the game, you know, but it sucks not. Not to. To be playing on Sunday. Obviously, that's a goal for. For everybody, but only two teams can be there. But, you know, it's. I'm ready for next year already.
- [36:12]
C
How many people have reached out to you since you commented about sitting alone and even eating lunch and eating dinner?
- [36:17]
B
I. I mean, I went to bed that night just obviously not thinking anything of anything that I did that day and woke up to a lot of texts from some buddies, and it was amazing how many people could relate to that. And I was just kind of sitting there with the media telling stories.
- [36:28]
C
So who texts you the most in your life? It doesn't.
- [36:33]
A
In my life.
- [36:36]
B
I don't know. A lot of people get mad at me because I keep my phone on.
- [36:39]
A
Dude, on the third, you're one of those.
- [36:41]
C
Yeah, I hate those people. Why do you do that? I don't understand the, like. Don't you want to know? What if something happens?
- [36:48]
A
If it's urgent, somebody else will let.
- [36:50]
B
Me know that something's going on.
- [36:53]
C
Are you a facetimer?
- [36:55]
B
Yeah, I'm a facetimer. I don't really like phone calls. If you. If somebody calls me, then we're probably not that close. Oh, now I know why he never picks up my calls. Cortland Sutton. Appreciate it. For Diane Rossini, Jason Lloyd, I'm James Palmer. That was another edition of Scoop City. We got inside both of the teams in this Super Bowl 60 matchup. The Seahawks and the Patriots next. So make sure you tune into Scoop City tomorrow. Take it easy.
- [37:21]
C
Thanks for tuning in to Scoop City. If you want to hear more, make sure you like and subscribe. We drop our new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Hey, it's Olivia from Ollie. I gotta tell you, I saw when you asked AI about probiotics. No judgment, but I think Olli can help. Probiotics are the good bacteria that support your digestive and immune system. Just two gummies a day to bring balance to your gut. So save the AI for drafting that reply to your ex. That's gonna take guts. Go to o l l y.com to learn more. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Ollie Wellness doesn't have to be perfect, just personal and how your space makes you feel. Pura's well Being collection is thoughtfully crafted to support energy, focus, relaxation and sleep through scent. From soft florals to grounding woods, each fragrance is designed to create small feel good moments throughout your day because sometimes feeling better starts at home. Discover what your space needs@pura.com moods buying furniture for your business can be full of compromises, confusing choices and little support. National Business Furniture is here to change all of that. We believe that every business deserves furniture that lasts, service that cares, and a partner who gets it at a budget that works. At National Business Furniture, that's our commitment to you. Find the right furniture for you and your team at national business furniture, visit nbf.com and use promo code Potten to save 10%. Now.