Does Lamar Jackson’s injury cripple Ravens season?

Summary

Scoop City: Inside The NFL – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Does Lamar Jackson’s injury cripple Ravens season?
Hosts: James Palmer, Dianna Russini (The Athletic), with guests Mike Sando and Mike Silver
Release Date: October 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the ripple effects of Lamar Jackson’s injury on the Baltimore Ravens' season, the mounting injury list in Baltimore, and what it means for their playoff ambitions. The panel also deconstructs shakeups across the league: rookie quarterbacks thrust into starting roles, shifting expectations, the Micah Parsons trade, Dallas Cowboys’ decision-making, and what’s brewing in the AFC South. Throughout, the hosts blend insider analysis, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and engaging banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Baltimore Ravens’ Crisis: Injuries, Lamar Jackson, and Playoff Hopes

[03:29 – 06:51]

• Ravens’ Early Struggles: Mike Sando highlights an unusually brutal early schedule, facing heavyweights like Buffalo and Kansas City.
  • “Baltimore… there’s a litany of injuries there… their top five salaried players are out right now.” (Mike Sando, 04:02)
• Lamar Jackson’s Hamstring Injury:
  • Hamstrings are “notorious for lingering.” Sando questions if 80% of Lamar is enough to elevate them in playoffs.
  • “That may be two plays where he gets tackled from behind and you lose.” (Mike Sando, 05:09)
• Defensive Identity Concerns: Dianna worries the vaunted Ravens defense is “suspect right now,” and wonders if head coach John Harbaugh deserves scrutiny amidst poor results.
  • “Are we at a point now where… maybe this is going to fall on their head coach?” (Dianna Russini, 06:39)

2. The John Harbaugh Question

[06:51 – 08:49]

• Fan Frustration vs. Reality: Sando notes fan impatience given playoff shortcomings, but credits Harbaugh’s consistent late-season improvement.
  • “I think John Harbaugh over the years has done a better job than anyone of developing coaches, weathering changes at coordinator positions…” (Mike Sando, 07:09)
• Injury Excuse? With no new coordinator this year, the defense’s performance can't be blamed on unfamiliar schemes—injuries loom largest.
• Harbaugh’s Accountability: Notable that Harbaugh publicly criticized his OC after the playoff loss to KC.

3. AFC North Quarterback Carousel & Cleveland’s Gamble

[09:27 – 11:22]

• Browns Move to Dylan Gabriel: With Joe Flacco aging and Deshaun Watson era over, Cleveland gives rookie Gabriel the nod.
  • “They’re actually willing to make a move maybe for the right reason… let’s take a look at Dylan Gabriel.” (Mike Sando, 10:34)
  • Dianna: “Sometimes these moves just give the locker room some hope… Maybe there’s a spark.” (11:11)

4. Giants’ Upset and Jackson Dart’s Unsustainable Heroics

[12:42 – 16:41]

• Jackson Dart’s Dangerous Style: Sando likens it to “Rocky Balboa,” but warns, “There’s no way that’s sustainable,” after watching the hits Dart took.
  • “He’s running back into the defender… That’s your throwing hand! I mean, there’s no way that’s sustainable.” (Mike Sando, 13:02)
• Locker Room Energy Shift: Dart may not last, but his play kicked off palpable excitement—for now.
  • “You never really see the real unvarnished, emotional guy. And I think Dart brought that, for a game, and that was palpable.” (Mike Sando, 15:13)
• Defense Steps Up: Dianna credits the Giants defense for energizing fans: “It was the first time this Giants D looked scary… they looked good.” (Diana Russini, 15:49)

5. QB Room Chemistry & Developmental Dilemmas

[16:56 – 21:24]

• Cleveland’s Rookie QB Room:
  • Sando: “Not an ideal situation”—Dylan Gabriel (rookie), Joe Flacco (“not here to mentor”), Shadour Sanders (third string, media-averse).
• Flacco’s Approach: Gabriel smartly frames the relationship: “It’s Joe’s job to try to play great quarterback; it’s my job to ask him questions… and try to learn.” (James Palmer, 21:43)

6. Cowboys, Micah Parsons Trade Drama, and Dak Prescott’s Ceiling

[24:34 – 33:46]

• Mike Silver on Jerry Jones’ Rationalizations:
  • “It’s the after-the-fact rationalization and talking that I think is throwing people for a loop.” (Mike Silver, 27:16)
• George Pickens Contract Extension: Jerry believes keeping Pickens offsets the Parsons trade; Silver highlights inconsistencies.
• Legacy Trades: Diana calls the Parsons move a “top three story in the NFL this season.”
• Dak Prescott’s Performance: Silver praises Dak as “MVP level” in big games and a consistent difference-maker.

7. Packers, 49ers, and Coaching Drama

[33:46 – 38:13]

• 49ers’ Bright Spot Despite Injuries:
  • Shanahan’s game-planning and Robert Saleh’s defensive leadership lauded, even after a loss and the Nick Bosa injury.
  • “One way they’re not going to get better is losing Nick Bosa… There’s no replacing that.” (Mike Silver, 35:38)
• Coaching “Royal Rumble”: Fun debate on which current coaches, GMs, or even owners would win a brawl—a segment full of inside jokes and NFL lore.

8. NFL Rookie Performances and AFC South Surprises

[40:17 – 43:02]

• Jaguars’ Travis Hunter Rookie Report: Despite muted stats, coaches are unfazed—see potential “unbelievable in the building—very coachable, great energy.” (Mike Silver, 40:32)
• AFC South Roundup:
  • Colts and Jaguars are the early surprises. Texans’ win vs. Titans keeps hope alive, while Tennessee’s “mess” continues.
  • Rookie Cam Ward provides harsh honesty about the Titans: “We ass.” (Diana Russini, 43:11)

9. Fan Mailbag: Most Hopeful “Miserable” Fanbase & Parenting Hacks

[49:12 – 58:44]

• Which Down-and-Out Fanbase Offers Most Hope?
  • Panel discusses Saints, Jets, Dolphins, Titans—none inspire optimism.
  • Notably: Dianna mistakenly picks the Giants over any listed, citing their defensive resurgence and new energy.
  • James thinks Titans have a “clean slate,” but neither host is excited about any team’s outlook.
• Parenting Segment:
  • Chris Branch asks for tips with a picky toddler eater.
  • Diana’s strategy: “Lean into your kid’s interests”—rename foods after dinosaurs, for example.
  • James: His son “ate sushi at five,” so can’t relate, but supports being creative.
  • Anecdote: Diana shares her son’s tooth loss drama—a humorous, relatable parenting detour.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Their top five salaried players are out right now… Can they ever get healthy enough to really become a championship team?”
  – Mike Sando, 04:02
• “Are we at a point now where perhaps this is getting so out of control… Maybe this is going to fall on their head coach?”
  – Diana Russini, 06:39
• “There’s no way that’s sustainable… That’s your throwing hand!”
  – Mike Sando on Jackson Dart, 13:02
• “It’s Joe’s job to try to play great quarterback; it’s my job to ask him questions and try to learn from him.”
  – James Palmer (quoting Dylan Gabriel), 21:43
• “It’s the after-the-fact rationalization and talking that I think is throwing people for a loop.”
  – Mike Silver on Jerry Jones, 27:16
• “Just appreciate Dak Prescott… The Dak Prescott I saw was MVP level.”
  – Mike Silver, 31:05
• “We ass.”
  – Cam Ward on the Titans, 43:11

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ravens Early Season Breakdown & Lamar’s Injury: 03:29 – 06:51
• Harbaugh Head Coach Discussion: 06:51 – 08:49
• Cleveland, Dylan Gabriel & AFC North QBs: 09:27 – 11:22
• Jackson Dart & Giants Hope: 12:42 – 16:41
• QB Room Culture (Cleveland, Giants): 16:56 – 21:24
• Mike Silver on Cowboys, Parsons, and Dak: 24:34 – 33:46
• 49ers Defense, Bosa, and Coaching Drama: 33:46 – 38:13
• AFC South Surprises & Rookie Watch: 40:17 – 43:02
• Fan Questions: Most Hopeful Hopeless Fanbase: 49:12 – 54:59
• Parenting Picky Eaters Advice: 54:59 – 58:44

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Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode balances sharp, insider analysis with a lively, candid, and occasionally irreverent tone. Hosts and guests poke fun at themselves, share behind-the-scenes stories, and don’t shy away from harder questions about coaching, management, and league-wide dysfunction. Segments like coaching “Royal Rumble” and the parenting mailbag keep things accessible and enjoyable, while in-depth breakdowns satisfy serious NFL fans.

For listeners wanting the inside scoop on injuries derailing contenders, rookie QBs’ trial by fire, and coaching intrigue across the NFL, this episode delivers insight, context, and a premium slice of football’s weekly churn.

Transcript

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[Diana Rossini]

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[Diana Rossini]

Can we angle you a little better so you don't look at my dad FaceTiming me?

[Mike Sando]

Just ask a lot of things.

[Diana Rossini]

Yes. Like that. Just ask my dad puts it in his nose when he. I'm like, right?

[Mike Sando]

Oh, yeah. No, it's more like this with dads. It's.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah.

[Mike Sando]

What's going on? What is that? Oh, it's just about. Anyway.

[James Palmer]

Welcome in to Scoop City on a Wednesday. I'm James Palmer, joined elways by senior NFL Insider. For the Athletic, Diana Rossini. We have a special guest with us at the top of the show. We're starting with Mike Sando from the Athletic. Diana, this is. This is. This is different. And I like it. It feels good. It feels good right now.

[Mike Sando]

Great to be here. Good to see everybody again. How you guys holding up?

Oh, we're doing great now.

[Diana Rossini]

We are so good, Mike. Loving, loving you. Love reading you every Monday morning. I appreciate you cutting through all the fat of all the Sunday doing all the work that you've been doing. So how's that been going for you? Has it been. Been quite challenging for you? You feel like some of These story lines have been, been easy.

[Mike Sando]

I think it's been fun. You know, early in the year, you know, you're, you're always just trying to not overreact and, and, you know, you get an.03 in team, you can kind of, you know what it's, you know, what the concerns are going to be. And so you try to just kind of lean into some of the big games and matchups, find the angles and, you know, mix in some research. And I, I, I don't think it's been too bad, you know, and I've got a great, you know, the editor that I work with, Dave Deschamp, is money. Like he, he has an eye on like all the games and is totally into it. So he's always like feeding me a couple things too that I didn't see. So I kind of have that good feeling of, you know, I can drill down on stuff, but I'm not going to miss something that's the biggest thing on a Sunday. Like when you're trying to do everything, you can miss something that's totally significant when you're in a certain rabbit hole, you know. So that's kind of what I'm trying to do.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, teamwork is huge. I'm still trying to get it from Diana, Mike, but it's, we're almost there, I think, I think we're almost there.

[Mike Sando]

I'm just, wow, this is great. Elaborate.

[James Palmer]

Oh, no, we've been outstanding. We've enjoyed our time together. It's been wonderful. Right, Diana? And listen, I want to start off with. There's always surprises like what Diana just asked you in, what happens in the league at the start, and it's always going, whoa, this team came out of nowhere. Indianapolis, whoa. This isn't the start that we thought. Baltimore 1 3. We know that there's a litany of injuries there, Mike, honestly. And we'll get to Lamar Jackson and Diana will give us everything we need to know there. But what's, what's your take on if you took that from a macro level, what would be, what's going wrong in Baltimore so far?

[Mike Sando]

Well, one really tough schedule where you're playing Buffalo and Kansas City early and you're getting Kansas City right. When they get Xavier Worthy back and they play their best game by far, they're up for that game. And you're, you're really flagging with the injuries. You know, their top five highest paid players. We put this in the Scoop City newsletter this week. Their top five salaried players are out right now. Now they haven't been out the whole year, but that's just kind of where they were at by the end of that game against Kansas City. So the real question now is just can they ever get healthy enough this year to really become a championship team? I still think they can be a good team. You know, Lamar Jackson will come back at a certain point, and they may make the playoffs. You look at who's playing quarterback in that division, we're going to talk about Dylan Gabriel probably, too. So they're not out of it by any means, but I think for a team like that, the standard is, how far are you going in the playoffs? Are we a Super bowl contender? And it's really hard to say that they're going to be that right now when they're putting guys on IR and, like I said, have all their top players out. And now Lamar with a hamstring. I mean, hamstrings are notorious for lingering a little bit. What if he's 80%, you know, of what he normally is by the time they get to the playoffs?

[Diana Rossini]

They.

[Mike Sando]

That may not be good enough. That may be two plays where he gets tackled from behind and you lose.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah. And you have to figure that that's going to be a factor in their designation with him and how they're going to manage him over the next few weeks, knowing that it's only early October. Right. And. Or, you know, soon to be here, or it is. I don't even know what time of year it is.

[Mike Sando]

It is October 1st.

[Diana Rossini]

It is October.

[James Palmer]

You love Halloween, Diana, let's go.

[Diana Rossini]

I do. I know. I'm happy this is the best month, but that being said, for the. For the Ravens, they're going to want to. Able to make sure they're. They're fully loaded come the postseason here. So it. I don't think they need to panic. But as much as the injuries worry me and concern me, and they are without a doubt the team that's dealing with them at the highest of levels because they're serious and significant. They're, you know, and the hamstring thing is obviously not great. Their defense, it's just so suspect right now. And we. We know the Ravens of being the team that always has a very clear identity of what they are on that side of the ball. I just don't know if this is the year that that's the Baltimore Ravens defense, and I think that's really what concerns me more than any of it. And of course, what does the offense look like without a Lamar being able to do the things that we know him to do so well, that really separates him from everyone else. But I think everyone is looking at this, like, wait, are we at a point now where perhaps this is getting so out of control, where the team is underperforming, that maybe this is going to fall on their head? Coach, do you think that we're at a point where we need to start having a conversation? Is this on John Harbaugh, like, how much have you seen it from that perspective, rather than just, we probably need to give him the benefit of the doubt here because of injuries?

[Mike Sando]

Yeah, I think that's a fan frustration. I sense that from Raven fans. You're seeing things from fans like, hey, are they wasting Lamar Jackson? People are just. They get tired of it. Right. And a consistent coach who kind of says the same things, and they haven't had the results in the postseason. I think there's a real tendency of fans to get frustrated from that. But I think John Harbaugh over the years has done a better job than anyone of developing coaches, weathering changes at coordinator positions, having his team ready to play well at the end of the year. I think the last four years, Diana, they are 25th on defense in the first half of seasons, and they're like, first in the second half. So they've had tough starts before. Mike McDonald's first half of his first season was rough, and last year was this, too. I think the problem they have right now is I don't see a formula by which their defense gets to be great in the second half of the year when you have all these injuries. And then the other thing is, they didn't change coordinators this year, so there's no real excuse for them other than the injuries to be as bad on defense. But those injuries, they've had three starting defensive linemen out. They've had, you know, their secondary out. I think that the injuries are a huge part of it. Every coach does run his course in a city after a certain amount of time, even good ones. We saw Andy Reid leave Philadelphia, and both teams have had success since then. So you. You do, you know, you run the risk of that if you have a bad season of. Of, you know, hey, it's time for that. I just don't. I don't really feel that. What has been notable to me is Harbaugh kind of took on his offensive coordinator a little bit with his public comments.

[James Palmer]

He doesn't do that very often. Yeah.

[Mike Sando]

And he was PO'd after their playoff loss to the Kansas City, and that brought it up. Remember when they ran the ball like three or four times in the first half and he's like, yeah, there was some contextual stuff but they made no mistake. The next year they came out and ran the ball. So for him to say those things when I mean, statistically there hasn't been a better offense since Todd Monkin spend there, that was kind of notable to me too.

[Diana Rossini]

So, you know, you've got Greg Roman with, with Justin Herbert throwing the ball now and he's like, where the hell was that when we were here? All we did was run.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think anytime that there's losing and expectations and super highly competitive and egos. Right. I mean, think of Lamar at the top of his game, a super competitor who's, you know, frustrated anyway because they haven't gotten over the top, you know, Harbaugh, where's the owner at? Right. I mean there's just the pressure gets cooked up. But I still think John Harbaugh is a great coach. I do.

[James Palmer]

I do too. It's 18 years there, Mike. Yeah, it's funny. You stick in the division. There's still Steelers fans every offseason that are going, is it time to part ways with Mike Tomlin, which you're sitting there going, he'd have a job before he left the parking lot in the NFL. But it always seems like this happens in some places. I'll be Johnny positive. It's a little bit. For Ravens fans, only one of your next seven games right now is a team with a winning record. That's the Rams. They have Rams and Texans both at home. Those are good D lines. So I'm curious about Lamar. But then you have the bye and you don't have another divisional game until week 11, which I think bodes well maybe for hopefully buying some time because you could still win a division that has. We're not sure about Jake Browning and going on in Cincinnati and we're going to be some questions maybe about the Steelers, but they're playing well. But the other team there, Mike, is the Cleveland Browns and they make a switch at quarterback and they go to Dylan Gabriel and make the move to the rookie third round pick. I think we all thought we'd see one, if not both rookie quarterbacks this season. What's your take on maybe why they made the decision? I think some would say this early, but perhaps the way we've seen them play offensive football, it might be.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah. And I mean Joe Flacco's 41 years for. Is he 41 or he's 40. You know, he. He's up there. I don't think he moves very well. And I think, you know, they're not. They're not committed to him financially. I think the frustrating thing, frustrating thing in the past was like, they stuck with the Sean Watson so long when he wasn't getting it done because they had all this money invested in him. So I actually see this as a. More of a maybe of a positive sign of, like, hey, they're actually willing to make a move maybe for the right reason. Right. They've made all these moves a lot of times for the wrong reasons, I feel like. And so, hey, let's go. We drafted these two guys. It's probably not going to be a playoff season. Let's take a look at Dylan Gabriel. And you still have time to do Shador Sanders at a certain point, if that doesn't. If you don't like how that's looking. So, you know, I'm fine with it.

[Diana Rossini]

I had someone playfully say to me, talking about the Bangles of like, hey, is Joe Burrow making an argument that he's. He should be up for MVP because the Bengals are so bad without him? Right. Which was, you know, obviously a joke. We wound up just talking about how obviously he's that good, Joe Burrow is that good, and that they are super bowl contenders when he's healthy. But it's not even about the skill level. It's the belief that you can win that actually changes so many teams. And, And, And I apply that to Cleveland here, that sometimes these moves just give the rest of the locker room maybe some hope if, if he can really do it, that, that maybe there's a little bit of a spark we saw with the New York Giants with Jackson dart, which we. We're going to get to in a second here of just, look, this isn't working. Joe Flaco's not the answer. Russell Wilson's not the answer. Let's give a shot here to, to somebody who can maybe do it. And, and we've heard. James and I both have heard some pretty good things about Dylan Gabriel. I don't think he's got the same aura and skill set that a Jackson dart brings, but they like him there. They. They, you know, and maybe this could be the future if this is something that Kevin Stefanski can get, you know, the most out of him. But I, I want to actually get your thoughts on Jackson Dart in terms of his style of play from, from what you saw.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah.

[Diana Rossini]

Do you think this is sustainable?

[Mike Sando]

No, I think they know it's not, you know, I mean, this was. Rocky Balboa been saying this.

[James Palmer]

I have been.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah. And I watched that. I did watch that game closely. And I was like, oh, my gosh, this guy's not going to make it. And, you know, I know they were excited and hugging after the game, but they had 250 yards. They averaged 3.6 yards per play. It's the lowest yards for second lowest yards per play. And the Giants last 198 victories going back 25 years, so that ain't happening. And this guy's limping around with the hamstring. They designed run him like, seven times. I think he took five sacks. And then he's Mr. Hero. When he runs down the field, he's not running out of bounds. He's running back into the defender. There's one play where he's slapping helmets. He's slapping a guy's helmet. I'm like, dude, that's your throwing hand. I mean, there's no way that's sustainable. And so as I was kind of texting and talking to, you know, some front office people, what do you. They're like, that's how he played in college, you know, So I think I totally understand the breath of fresh air after what happened. The Russell Wilson the game the week before against Kansas City on that red zone possession. I mean, they had to do something different. You. You can't go back to that, in my opinion, when Dart looked really good in the preseason. So I think Dart has some good qualities. I think he throws the ball well. I think he can. You know, I think he can probably do it, but they've got to have a. A different sort of plan for him, and they've got to be able to temper him. And I don't know if they can because he got the concussion spotter looking at him in preseason. I mean, how many guys have that happen from. From a scramble, you know, So I.

[Diana Rossini]

Never thought of it that way. It's such a good point, but how do you. I mean, it's probably for a deeper conversation, but just so much of this, the quarterback position is the personality of the player, you know? And look, you got to figure this kid was juiced up. The nerves, the adrenaline metlife was alive. The pressure, right? Like, he can say he was told he's not the savior. He knew he's out there because Brian Dable's like, you're my guy and you better save my job. It's why Brian was kissing him literally after the game.

[James Palmer]

Oh, Diana.

[Mike Sando]

Yes, it was a little. It was like, hey, this is. Reminded me of the. Remember. Remember that old story about Magic Johnson's first game? You know, Kareem hits the hook, and it's like the first game of the year, and Magic's, like, lifting them up in the air, you know, And Kareem Abdul Jabbar is like, dude, we got 82 more of these. We can't throw the confetti every time.

[Diana Rossini]

You know, that was life. That was like. That was the pressure and the buildup, the drama. That was everything in one moment, right?

[Mike Sando]

And I think that if they had won that game with Russell Wilson. I don't think you can go up and hug Russell Wilson right now and feel the same energy and juice. Right. And the same. You know, I think Russell's just been so canned, kind of, you know, just. Just so scripted that you never really know. You never really see the real unvarnished, emotional guy. And I think Dart brought that, you know, for. For a game, and that was palpable, and it was really cool, and they won the game, and now you got to figure out a way to do it without him, you know, getting so many hits.

[Diana Rossini]

Look, I love the fact that the defense came alive more than Jackson, like, the Jackson art element to cool, but it was the first time this Giants D looked scary because we've been waiting for. It's just. It hasn't been good with all the talent that they have. And. And I put a lot of that on them. And look, I know they don't have a great. A lot of great linebackers, all the excuses, but they looked good. And I guess the other way, it's. It's very. It's truly an expertise way of looking at it. The way I can gauge that fans are excited about something is when the kids in my son's daycare are wearing their Giants shirts again.

[James Palmer]

Let's go.

[Diana Rossini]

I saw it.

[James Palmer]

Soccer jersey.

[Diana Rossini]

They. They wear the. The. Granted, it said Barkley on the back, but whatever. They're wearing the Giant shirts again, so that's a good sign. So, you know, we'll see if they'll be able to do it against the Saints team that can't figure it out either.

[Mike Sando]

And there's a little bit of a Tommy DeVito feel to this, except, yes, Jackson Dart has a lot more talent, somebody who was drafted early and can throw the ball. But it was. It had that sort of a feeling of, like, the sustainability part wasn't there, but it was. It made everybody happy.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

Yeah. Before we go, Mike, I'M kind of curious because we're talking about the hope that we saw and you could, you could feel it in MetLife with Jackson Dart. And I'm. I don't want to say it's directly related, but then the next week you see Kevin Stefanski make a move at his quarterback spot. When you have a very good defense in Cleveland and you have a young core rookies that are playing really, really well from, from your running back to your tight end to your middle linebacker to your defensive lineman, I mean, all of them. And I'm curious if you try to just see that spark and you go, maybe we can create something with a change as well. Because, Diana, I was told this morning this had much more to do with the way Flacco was playing and less to do with Dylan Gabriels lighting it up in practice. We have to get him on the field. That's really more of why the change happened. So now you're putting Gabriel, who they do think can play and do think he's ready to play. But Mike, what is that, that aspect? I guess because you've talked about developmental, you know, aspects of. With these quarterbacks that you might be doing it to help your organization, but maybe it's not best for the quarterback at that time. And I feel like that might be happening to Gabriel.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah.

But I feel like it's a great time in Cleveland to do that, to do this because they're not the, you know, their window to win with Deshaun Watson is kind of over.

Right.

I mean, that, that team, they're going. So, like, I would do a big contrast to like Minnesota I'm going to write about for tomorrow. You know, Minnesota is like, won all these games, they had a good quarterback and it's not really the best time to be breaking in somebody who has. Needs a long Runway. Right. This team's ready to go now. Yeah. Hard time to just say, hey, let's take the season and see how it goes. I think Cleveland's much more in that window of what are we. What do we look at Joe Flacco for half the year? Let's see, we draft these two guys and we need some answers this year on these guys because they could be at the top of the draft early next year having to make decisions. And you don't want to be like, well, we have these two guys. We're just going to know. I felt like they got extra picks. So I totally think that unless it just looked like, hey, you know, Joe, Joe's got this team going and we're going to be a top half of the league offense and we can win in the playoffs. I think then you stick with Joe Flacco. You could justify doing that, but otherwise you can't justify it. And I love the fact they're moving on. And let's look at somebody that I think the coaching staff wanted. I think you could say that. Whereas I don't know if the coaching staff was all in on going after desean. That wasn't seemed like an ownership thing. The fit never seemed great. And then everybody wanted Shador Sanders to go earlier. But I think that the reason Gabriel went sooner was probably because the coaches kind of got a little bit more sway of somebody they wanted. So maybe this is someone finally that Kevin Stefanski, I don't want to put words in his mouth. I haven't talked to him about Dylan Gabriel, but, but my perception would be that, hey, maybe this is somebody that, you know, they, they kind of want to take a, take a look at and so let's see how it goes. It can't be worse than it's been. And if it doesn't go well, you know, then we'll see. Maybe the ownership or somebody wants to look at Shador later.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we remember just for everybody at home, Shador Sanders is still the third string emergency quarterback. Joe Flacco for this game on Sunday will be the backup for Dylan Gabriel. So for Shador to see the field against the Vikings, you'd have to have an injury to both Dylan Gabriel and Joe Flacco for that to happen.

[Diana Rossini]

James, he was asked about the quarterback change, Shador, and he mimed his answers. So he didn't give actual verbal answers, he just mimed to the media. Even when they were asked, they asked him to talk.

[James Palmer]

Did he take ASL in college?

[Diana Rossini]

I'm not sure what the play was there. I'm gonna guess that was just probably.

[Mike Sando]

I'll just call it so funny. You know, we hear about like the quarterback rooms, you know, so. So you've got Joe Flacco who's a good pro, but has, has publicly said.

[Diana Rossini]

In other stuff, I'm not here to mentor.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah, I'm a pro and I want to play and I'm competitive. And you have Shadour who was like telling teams whether he wanted to be drafted or not and comes with all this other sort of baggage is why he went so late and they were like, Dylan Gabriel, let's go. It's, it is still not an ideal situation.

[Diana Rossini]

It's a, it's a great point. And I know we keep connecting it to New York, but that was one of the things that I kept hearing out of the Giants was they love that quarterback room. We can say what we want about Russell and Jamis and they come with their own little personalities. But New York loves their that room and I think it's helped with Jackson at least helping him get prepared. So we'll see how valuable they've been for this, for this young player.

[James Palmer]

I love that. I've never taken offense to Joe Flacco's comments, by the way, when he's asked mentoring. I've always been and I loved Dylan Gabriel's answer when he spoke to the media for the first time as the starting quarterback and said it's Joe's job to try to play great quarterback play. It's my job to ask him questions and try to learn from him as a quarterback. And I think that's well put by Gabriel.

[Mike Sando]

This is awesome.

[James Palmer]

Mike, appreciate you joining us again. I love that this is becoming a thing. I'm feeling it. I like it. Coming up on the show, coming up on Scoop City, we have Mike Silver joining us who was at that thriller between the packers and the Cowboys. He had spent some time with Jerry Jones and saw a behind the scenes look of Micah Parsons that he wants to tell us. That's coming up next on Scoop City. All right, Diana, now we bring in. Dude, did you order the new iPhone 17 Pro? Got it from Verizon, the best 5G network in America. It never looked so good. You look the same. But with this camera everything looks better. Especially me. You haven't changed your hair in 15 years. Selfies check please.

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[Mike Sando]

Well, will you look at that.

[James Palmer]

It's exactly what I ordered. Like precisely it would be crazy if.

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[James Palmer]

Maybe our favorite guest of the show. I'll lose the. Maybe I'll say it is. It's senior NFL writer Michael Silver or just goes by Silver or whatever. We want to call Diana joining the show once again. I believe last time you were on Silver, we had to cut maybe like half of what we talked about because we went so off the rails. I didn't make the call. But we'll try to stick to football a little bit. Best we can today, huh? No, no, definitely not.

[Mike Sando]

I would. I would know the answer to that if I'd watched the episode, but sadly, I was so busy reporting on things going around the. On around the NFL that I was unable to see the final cut.

[Diana Rossini]

You have been busy, my friend. You've had some great, great pieces the last few weeks. And we want to actually talk to you about that in a sec here.

[James Palmer]

Very much so. Best writer in the game.

[Mike Sando]

I'm great. Yeah. So far we're off to a roaring start. I'm the favorite guest and I've been doing great work. Keep it coming, guys. This is awesome.

[James Palmer]

Okay, well, I didn't read your article when you were down with Jerry, but I'll have to get to it eventually. You went down and you got Jerry and you were there for that wild game that ends in a tie. And now I wanted to push this forward, though, but make sure everybody goes and reads Silver's article about what transpired there. And it was outstanding as always. Never expect anything less. But Jerry now this week says, well, we have the cap room. We didn't do Micah. We can bring back George Pickens on a contract extension. What are your thoughts on Jerry and the timing of this comment after what we saw and you saw in person on Sunday?

[Mike Sando]

Okay, well, first of all, I got to set the scene for you because, you know, Jerry is the general manager. But even for a general manager, let alone an owner, it is quite unusual what he does. And that's after every home game. He holds court outside the Cowboy locker room and a. A massive throng of media people surrounds him at the expense of Brian Schottenheimer's press conference, the players getting talked to, and you Got to make a choice, you know, and so that's just kind of how it is. And obviously this was a big game, a wild game, and a lot of people wanted to talk to Jerry for obvious reasons. So when I finally got close enough to connect with him and talk to him a little bit, he first wanted to inform me, and I'll paraphrase here, because it's a family show, I'm told, but he said, hey, you ripped me a new one. And you know, that was Jerry, you know, kind of friendly but kind of serious, acknowledging that. The last couple columns I wrote about him was before the Parsons trade and then immediately after, you know, put him, took him out to the woodshed a little bit. Jerry and I go way, way back to when I was at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and he was a rookie owner and we've had a great relationship for a long time and he can handle it. But it was definitely a cool way to start that off. He then looked at me and longtime Cowboy beat writer Clarence Hill and made a comment to the effect of, man, all the whiskey and wine I've bought you guys over the years. And here you are, you know, taking shots at me. And again, he said it smiling. But yeah, Jerry's been talking a lot. And so I would just back up and say this. If Jerry had said in March, hey, look, we are already paying Dak Prescott top of market. We love Michael Parsons. We're going to have to pay him the, the most of any non quarterback ever to keep him. We think that model is going to be hard for us. And yes, edge rushers are valuable, but we think interior linemen are valuable too. And we, we think we could do it a different way. I might have gone along with it. I think most people in football would have been like, yeah, but Mike is pretty special. It's weird that you would do that. But they would have gotten value and I could have maybe rolled with it. It's the after the fact rationalization and talking that I think is throwing people for a loop. It's like, ah. And he even, he even went out and said a few days ago we got more by trading Micah under duress in late August than we would have before the draft, which is a little dubious. So let's bring it back to George Pickens. That quote, just, just if you see that quote, you're like, wait, what? George Pickens, the guy who like was in a shoving match when he could have been a target on a last second touchdown.

Yes.

With the steelers, Etc. Yeah, etc. Etc. But I will say this CD Lamb was out on Sunday night. The Cowboys were unable to stop the packers, and they came very close to winning that game, largely because George Pickens was balling. And obviously Dak drives that, drives that offense. But George Pickens was in many, many ways looking like an elite receiver. So I see what Jerry's saying. Now. Some would argue that if you pay George Pickens, you might be getting a different version, but that's for Jerry and his money to decide.

[James Palmer]

Well, you know who represents George Pickens, Diana? Athletes First.

[Diana Rossini]

Sounds familiar.

[Mike Sando]

I hope it's David Mulagueda.

[James Palmer]

It's Athletes First. And David Willaguetta.

[Diana Rossini]

It's.

[James Palmer]

I mean, it's not his primary agent, but it's.

[Diana Rossini]

No, but it's still the same company.

[Mike Sando]

So I don't know. His. His back. What? We should make sure his back's okay as they head into this.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah, look, I, I think Jerry's always going to try to find a way and an angle to make us believe that he did the right thing. Even paying all the players that he did after the trade, you know, and, and just gaslight all of us to believing that it was the right thing. And, and look, who knows. Who. Who knows how this thing shakes out. I still believe, though, and, and I think the two of you agree with me that Micah Parsons is, is just a special player, and it's why that trade. Guys, I don't know what's going to happen the rest of the season. We don't know who's going to be playing in the Super Bowl, Mike. But I think no matter what, Micah Parsons getting traded will still be a top three story in the NFL this season when we look back on it, without a doubt. And this. Usually trades don't really register at that level, you know.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah, well, we'll see. You probably have a better way of seeing the future than I do. I. All I see is the past these days. I'm like, wow, I covered that guy's dad. But, yeah, you know, I will say this. First of all, let's just stop and appreciate Dak Prescott because he's been making top of market for a long time and he's. He's won his contract battles with Jerry. And, you know, there's this thought about Dak that, you know, well, he's in the middle. He's. He's really good. So you pay him. But if you pay him that much and he takes up that much of your cap, he can't elevate, and he isn't Winning playoff games. Listen, man, the Dak Prescott I saw in this game, which, make no mistake, was a big game as regular season games go, he was MVP level. And he has played well in playoff games that, you know, he lost one Aaron Rodgers, where he played really well. In others, he hasn't played so well. But I do believe in Dak Prescott. And that's, you know, it's going to take something special for that roster to make some noise in the playoffs, let alone get in, but that's possible with a guy that transcendent. You know, as far as Mike, I'll share one scene with you. It's interesting. There's this kind of perception, you know, I heard from Cowboy people before the game. He, he doesn't really elevate in big games. And I go, well, this would count kind of as a big game. So let's see. And he really didn't have much of a game. He had that two play flurry, though, that limited them to a field goal in overtime. But, you know, there's this sense of Micah, like he's into the podcasting and maybe he's more, you know, sizzle and all that, but I was waiting to talk to Matt LaFleur and walk to the bus with him and, you know, long after the rest of the Packer players were gone and he and Micah walked out together and they were in a very intense conversation, just the two of them for a while, and I didn't hear every word, but the gist of it was Micah just very animated and emphatic, essentially telling Matt, let's be more aggressive. And I think he probably meant defense, although it certainly applied on offense at times, too. But he was basically like, you know, he looked like someone who not only was very, very opinionated about it in a let's be aggressive way, but someone who was just really upset. And, you know, people have varying, varying reactions to a tie because it's so rare, but he was, he looked like a guy who just lost the game that he really, really, really wanted to win. And so I, I, it kind of gave me a little window into Micah's competitiveness, too.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah, yeah, for, you know, and I do think a lot of people around football have said that the same things that you were hearing from Dallas about playing those big moments. But I think we're going to see a different version of him there. I think it's a different culture. We obviously are seeing different coaching. Yeah, we still have a lot more to learn about Micah Parsons with this Green Bay packers team, but that Being said, the Thursday night game is between The San Francisco 49ers and the red hot LA Rams, who they just figure out ways every week with. As long as Matthew Stafford's there, as long as Puka's there, as long as Sean McVeigh is there, it's, it's just every single week they're showing up and no one is overlooking this team. They get so much respect around the league for the 49ers. Just with your tremendous amount of experience with them. What's the state of them right now? We spent so much time last year talking about the big black cloud over them. What about them now? How are you feeling about them?

[Mike Sando]

Well, they got to be really thrilled to be three and one, first of all, and I know they just lost to the Jaguars and hilarity ensued after the game, which we can get into on the Liam Cohen, former Ram assistant Robert Sala front. But that stung. But they got to be really happy to be 3 and 1. They pulled out three other games. They've been really well coached. You know, Kyle Shanahan, we know week to week, opponent specific, can come up with really good game plans and he's been really smart about the, the style of offense he's run to complement, you know, that young defense. But wow. Robert Sala, Whoo. Robert Sala, you know, was fired by the jets and then went back to Green Bay. Kind of helped out with the offense for Matt LaFleur, but in Roberts words, you know, that was more for me than for Matt. He was basically doing me a solid and, and then he had head coaching opportunities or, or buzz and interviews. And he also obviously had a lot of defensive coordinator interest and there are a couple of head coaching jobs, including the Cowboys, that he would have looked very hard at. But the entire time he was like, if I'm going to be a coordinator, I want Kyle. And Kyle was unequivocal. Jeff Ulbricht, who he had gone after the year before but had been blocked, was theoretically available. Brandon Staley, who'd been in the building. There were other people that Kyle could have looked at, but Kyle was similarly like Salah or bust. And, and now I kind of see why on both fronts, like we're, we're seeing what Robert Sala can do with a very young defense and now without its star edge rusher, it's Michael Parsons and Nick Bosa, obviously, you know, that injury and they did not have much of a pass rush against Trevor Lawrence. And that's going to be another challenge. But, you know, wow, he's been, he's been doing a really, really good job coaching up that defense, which can presumably get better in a lot of ways as the years goes on. One way they're not going to get better is, you know, losing Nick Bosa. There's no replacing that. That they will be worse for the rest of the year because of that.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, I don't think they sacked Trevor Lawrence. I don't think they hit Trevor Lawrence. I'm not sure if they, they did.

[Mike Sando]

I don't think they touched Trevor Lawrence.

[James Palmer]

I don't think they did. It was, he didn't even need to shower with these.

[Mike Sando]

I think, I think he just, you know, I think, I think Liam Cohen's rush on Robert Sala was more effective than any 49er rush on Trevor Lawrence during the game.

[Diana Rossini]

You're embarrassed by that.

[Mike Sando]

I, I, I, listen, I, I, I like both guys. You know, I, I understand in the big picture on Liam that we're, you know, we're the new Jaguars. We're not backing down. You know, we're coming in with some swag. We just won a game. We're three and one. I understand. It kind of reminds me of Jim Schwartz when he got to Detroit. It was like, hey, we're not these push over lions anymore. And you know, I'm gonna lead with my chin. You know, I, I get all that. I'm surprised Liam was so, you know, upset by what Robert actually said. And we could get into. Why did Robert say it? I think he was clumsily trying to make, to pay a compliment. It doesn't really matter.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah. And no, he said that he was always like, I didn't mean to say.

[Mike Sando]

I'm surprised Liam cared that much. So, you know, in this case, I would, I would tend to say it was probably over the top. And you know, I commend Robert for, you know, try to, to take the high road after.

[James Palmer]

I wouldn't fight Robert.

[Mike Sando]

Solid. Listen, in general, I am all about coach conflict, whether it's at the owner meeting pool, at the, in group texts, in text to us privately. You know, it's kind of like coaches feel when they hear that, you know, two insiders are having a thing at a Starbucks during the combine. Diana James, how many coaches did you, you know, share that with? Or they heard about it, like how happy were.

[Diana Rossini]

The biggest mistake I made was I told people that I was standing there. So then it was like, because I was a witness. Then it was, it got around and everyone's like, dude, I heard you saw this. I'm like, oh, my God, grow up, everybody. But everyone loves the drama.

[James Palmer]

They do love the drama.

[Diana Rossini]

I know everyone takes Robert Salah in, like, the Royal Rumble. Everyone's had these conversations, like, what? Which coach would you take in the fights?

[James Palmer]

I got mine. And it has never, it hasn't changed in years. Go ahead.

[Diana Rossini]

I don't think Robert Salah is mean enough.

[James Palmer]

That's too nice.

[Diana Rossini]

I think he's a rah rah guy, but he is.

[Mike Sando]

So. First of all, first of all, he's a coordinator now, so he's out. And, And I feel this is something I've been on for years, and I feel like the rest of the, the world is now catching up and it's very frustrating to me. So I may have to take it to a different level and go to GMs and owners because I think the coach thing has played out. I think we all, you know, Dan Campbell is a monster. Mike Vrabel, you know, Dico Ryan are the obvious ones. We lost Gerard Mayo and Antonio Pierce, they were big. Aaron Glenn would probably be, you know, another guy that you, that you throw in there. A lot of people have argued Sean McDermott to me because of the wrestling past and the leverage. If you look at Dan Campbell, you know, I, I just think. But when I do get into GMs, it's going to be really fun because, you know, obviously John lynch was such a fearsome hall of Fame safety, but to me, the obvious number one seed and for those who ever saw him play football, I think would agree, is Dan Morgan. I. I just think Dan Morgan was basically like, faster Luke Keakley, and then it had his career cut short by injuries. But Dan Morgan was an absolute beast on the football field. And I just, I can't imagine like that first round matchup with like, Howie or Elliot Wolf. Howie's trying to take on Dan Morgan.

[James Palmer]

I think he might be a 16.

[Mike Sando]

Feels, feels painful to me before we.

[James Palmer]

Get to owners, which I'm trying to think now. Like, that's an interesting, interesting one. Rob Walter, but he climbed Everest. I don't know. Listen, Silver, you were in that building in Jacksonville draft time and you know what went on there to get.

[Mike Sando]

Not just the building.

[James Palmer]

James in the room.

[Mike Sando]

James, not just the building. Let's. You were in the. I was in the room where it happened.

[James Palmer]

Where it happened. You were. And now we're four games in. I know it's early, but what's the sense there, if you know it all of Travis Hunter and has worked and.

[Mike Sando]

Thank you. Thank you for asking I do know and I'm happy to share. They're not that worried about Travis Hunter. And, you know, I think this will evolve. And in their mind, he is unbelievable in the building. Very coachable, great energy. They thought, you know, there was one play against the Bengals where he was going to catch a pivotal touchdown pass had Trevor Lawrence not been clocked as he threw and it was then intercepted and then he made a play at defensive back that would have clinched the game where they threw a flag that they felt was dubious. So they're like, look, if those two things happen, we'd all be talking differently because he would have been the guy who single handedly won that game. That's the one they lost. But, you know, I think they're not worried about Travis Hunter the way the rest of us are saying, wow, he's not popping. But there is another question that we're not talking about as much, and that is what's going on with Brian Thomas. Last year, this guy came into the league and was instantly an elite receiver as a rookie. And it was like, whoa, I think he fits third receiving.

[James Palmer]

Yeah.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah. What a great pick. And now he's got, you know, they got Diamond Brown, they got Travis Hunter there. You know, it's going to be really, really cool. And you know, he's dropped a lot of balls. He did not have a good camp. He's kind of a quiet guy and it's been hard for them to read. But that to me is the one that I'm kind of curious about. Like, what is going on with Brian Thomas? Because let's face it, if Brian Thomas looks like 20, 24. Brian Thomas, presumably that would open things up for everyone else, including Travis Hunter.

[Diana Rossini]

I know. And I feel like it's something that's fixable. Like we know it's fixable. And you just wonder if this is just something in his head. The.

[James Palmer]

Yep. It's like you calling it the yips, Diana.

[Diana Rossini]

I don't know. I don't know what it is. It's not technique. He knows what he's doing, but if he could just knock this out, they, they could be really good. Look, the Colts and the Jags, I did not have on my radar as the two teams coming out of the AFC South. I, I think the Houston Texans getting that win against the Titans were really good for them. I think they needed that win.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah. It would have been really bad if they didn't.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah. Yeah. And then obviously Tennessee. I, I think we all know that this, it's, it's, it's a mess there, and they've got to get their priorities.

[Mike Sando]

Straight there because they're using a lot of words. Diana, I think rookie quarterback Cam Ward used two words that summarized it really, really well.

[Diana Rossini]

Yeah, no, you're right.

[James Palmer]

And sweet. And to the.

[Diana Rossini]

Yes, we asked. I was on a talk show recently and they were queuing up the sound bite and it was taking some time, and I was just like, here, I'll help you. We ask. That's what he said. And the thing is, that was a painful press conference to watch just because the kids only been there, you know, a few months, really. And you can feel the frustration.

[Mike Sando]

I think that should be the Scoop City sign off, by the way. Like, I think we should all have drinks and at the end we should all, you know, be like, 1, 2, 3.

[Diana Rossini]

We asked. I like to set our bar a little. A little higher than that.

[Mike Sando]

Then we asked higher than ass.

[James Palmer]

Yeah. Silver, before we bounce, we talked on the show the other day about your Peter King impersonation. And Diana and I, it might be. What is it? Top three things we love in life. Diana is Silver's Peter King.

[Diana Rossini]

Excuse my marriage.

[James Palmer]

Are you. That was a good one. That was a good chat. Are you able to do Peter in public or not Peter in public?

[Diana Rossini]

I'm just gonna tell you guys before you do this. Scoop City probably can't get Peter King on right, because he's so busy. So why don't you just come on as Peter King? So welcome to Scooby.

[Mike Sando]

Why is he busy? He's retired.

[Peter King]

First of all, James, I noticed that you. You brought up the fact that I do, in fact, do the impersonation in front of Peter. So I, I don't want anyone to think I am disparaging one of the great sports journalists and a close personal friend of mine. He knows that I do this with love. In fact, I was talking to him Yesterday at about 6:42pm about the way that Emmett Smith emerged from the locker room in 1993 with his shoulder pad kind of askew, and he leaned over and told Daryl Johnston, who they called the Moose. Hey, that crack back block in the third quarter was the key to the whole ball game. But I'm just gonna tell you, I. I will do Peter King on and off the air. I'll do it in front of Peter. But Diana knows that in the wake of your Mike Silver imitation on Scoop City, I did in fact do a James Palmer imitation that I will not do now. But I want you to know that I have one and it will be surfacing and it'll probably be somewhere in that we ass toasting zone. We're going to get into the James Palmer imitation.

[James Palmer]

So good.

[Diana Rossini]

So what we're going to have to.

[James Palmer]

Do detail is through the roof.

[Mike Sando]

I want to.

[Peter King]

I want to tell you one other thing, guys. It's been great having you. It's been great having you here on Scoop City. I'm going to probably be the one.

[Mike Sando]

To sign off on this episode because I'm. I'm being Peter King.

[Diana Rossini]

Well, Peter, thank you so much for writing about me a couple of years ago. I appreciate that effort.

[Peter King]

Hey, I just want everyone to know that Diana Rossini is out there for the athletic, doing great work. You can watch her on Scoop City, but don't forget to read what I'm hearing. And her other great work. Like that story on the jet she did last year where they talked about Woody Johnson and his kids and not wanting to trade for Jerry Judy because his Madden rating was too.

[James Palmer]

Oh my God.

[Diana Rossini]

Silver, it was a pleasure. Thank you.

[James Palmer]

You're the absolute.

[Mike Sando]

I love you, Peter. I love you. You guys are okay, but I do love Peter.

[James Palmer]

Well, he's in a class of his own, Silver, and so are you. Appreciate it, brother. Nobody's better than the goat. Mike Silver. He'll be with us regularly throughout the season. Make sure you stick with us. Make sure you stick with Mike Silver and the stories that he brings. And we have more coming up on Scoop City. Chris Branch from the Pulse is gonna be Diana asking us questions about football and parenting. Dude, did you order the new iPhone 17 Pro? Got it from Verizon, the best 5G network in America. I never looked so good. You look the same. But with this camera, everything looks better. Especially me. You haven't changed your hair in 15 years.

[Verizon/Advertisement Voice]

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[James Palmer]

Check please.

[Verizon/Advertisement Voice]

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[Capital One Bank Guy]

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[James Palmer]

All right, welcome back to Scoop City. James Palmer, Diane Rossini with you and we're closing things out, Diana, which is something we always like on a Wednesday, right? Chris Branch is going to be asking us couple of questions from the Pulse. One football related one I believe parenting related. Let's go with football first.

[Chris Branch]

Chris hello friends. I come to you kind of sadly today. As a Saints fan, this early season has made me think a lot about fans and misery and you know what to hope for. And so I highlighted four teams. The Saints, the Jets, the Dolphins and the Titans. If you were a neutral fan today, which team would give you the most most hope as a fan? I mean the Saints first year coach, sure, maybe that's encouraging. The GM is still there who has overseeing this kind of demise. And the draft does not look as solid as we thought it looked three weeks ago. Tennessee, everything looks bad except the quarterback. The jets, everything looks worse than we expected but it's a new coach and it's still early. And the Dolphins. I don't even know what to say. I. I know Mike McDaniels might have a long leash, but I'm not sure. So if you had to pick one of those spots to be a fan, which would you pick and why?

[Diana Rossini]

Okay, couple things there. I love cat.

[James Palmer]

Oh, oh, I could hear a cat. I heard a cat.

[Diana Rossini]

I love when Chris joins the show, make sure you go check him out on the Pulse. It is such a good newsletter. He, he basically just touches on every single topic in sports that you need to know. It's like hey, I'm busy. I don't have time to read and listen everything. He will get you caught up on everything you need to know. I in every sport sign up for it. It's easy. It's free in your email box in your inbox. Okay. The other thing I always check out to see if he has his little basketball net, his toddler.

[James Palmer]

I always look for it and it's right.

[Diana Rossini]

Me too. It always just reminds me That I have to, like, practice basketball with my boys because I'm like, oh, they're definitely playing in their living room.

[James Palmer]

I also like that that little tyke basketball hoop has not changed in, like, 35 years. It's the same.

[Diana Rossini]

I know. It's just classic.

[James Palmer]

It's. They don't want to change it. No, I didn't when I was a kid, too, which is pretty sweet.

[Diana Rossini]

Okay. A couple things. The whole Spencer Rattler thing, I just feel bad for him. Like, at this point, he cannot get a win. He literally can. He may break records for starting a certain amount of games and never recording a victory in the NFL, so hopefully they can figure that out. I don't have any belief, so I am with him. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna take this first, James, if you're cool with it. The teams he listed, please.

[James Palmer]

First.

[Diana Rossini]

To me, it was like. And I'm probably a little bit of a victim of the moment here. I'm going to go with the Giants and a little bit of how I discussed it with Sando and you previously. It's the defense. To me, I think they've. They've built some confidence now, and I think they're just going to continue to improve. And I think this is where we can see Dable get some control over the offense with a guy that I think he truly believes in, that has skill, and that maybe the offense won't look exactly the way we imagined it look in New York, but I think Brian's going to be able to. To get the most out of Jackson and figure this out. Even though they lost Malik. Neighbors. So of the T. This is a hard question because of the teams that.

[James Palmer]

I don't think that you found it out and picked the other New York team that he mentioned.

[Diana Rossini]

Oh, he didn't even mention the Giants. Stop. That makes it even better. Well, it ain't the jets for me, so there you go. They were my call. They were my helpline.

[Mike Sando]

Yeah.

[Diana Rossini]

I just went with a team that plays in MetLife. That's what I went with.

[James Palmer]

Phoned a friend across, you know, from.

[Diana Rossini]

A different phone, a friend to the other place. All right, well, then if it's not the jets, then what do you think about the Titans?

[James Palmer]

I'm thinking of these teams and I'm like, at least there's a quarterback in place.

[Diana Rossini]

The fact that that's how we have to do this, though, right? Because. And I know what you're saying. We ask. But the problem there is they don't know what they are Again, this was the problem with Tennessee last year, and it's the problem in Tennessee. Again. When I say the Tennessee Titans to you, can you give me anything about the identity of the team outside the fact that they've got a really good quarterback?

[James Palmer]

No, I think they're searching for that. I think they're trying to flip a roster. I think there's a new regime in place that is trying to figure out an identity. And I think if you asked any of those guys who are part of Mike Borgansi's group, Diana, I think they tell you, like, I don't think we found it yet. I don't think we know what we are yet. And I think they're trying to figure out who's going to be that core. I think if you look at the teams that are there, I think, like, you saw an establishment of some core, like, ideas. When you re sign Sauce and re sign Garrett Wilson before the season starts, you're trying to tell a locker room in New York, this is who we are. You see some pieces, but you're kind of half flipping the roster in Miami. You're like, is this really Darren Waller? How long does this last? Like, Devin, like. Like, you know what I mean? Like, do we. It's just there's a lot of unknowns everywhere, anywhere. And you look at New Orleans, you're like, this is an aging roster for sure in a lot of aspects and even on the defense. And so I'm just kind of like, is. It is the cleanest slate, the Titans, essentially. And. And if you have patience, maybe that's my pick. I don't know.

[Diana Rossini]

This is the hardest segment we've ever done. This was really tough talking about losers, though. Like, this is the hard part about it, because you want to believe that they can turn it around, but there is nothing in Tennessee that gives me hope. I think maybe I'm listening to Buck Rising too much down there in Nashville.

[James Palmer]

But, yeah, you're right. I. I think the only thing that you try to accomplish sometimes when you're this bad is to make sure you made the right pick at quarterback. Right? Like, that's your goal for the first year once you get to the back end of it. Like, I just want to make sure that this is the guy. This is the guy. I think that. I think they think that's the case. I don't know. Who knows? All right, let's get to the second question. This might be harder. Who knows? Because I think this isn't about football, which actually, maybe this might be our Expertise. Go ahead, Chris.

[Chris Branch]

Okay, this is another kind of sad question, but much happier overall. I am the parent of a very picky three year old toddler and I need to know what your go to picky eater meals are. Please help. Thank you.

[Diana Rossini]

Great question.

[James Palmer]

You're gonna have to take it this.

[Diana Rossini]

No, I can't take it because I got the same situation.

[James Palmer]

Oh, well then I can't help because we had the least pickiest eater ever. I mean he was eating sushi at five. Like we.

[Diana Rossini]

Oh my.

[James Palmer]

No problems. The only thing we had an issue with was we wanted, we didn't want to go on to baby food. But this is way before three. We wanted to stick with milk, all the milk we can handle forever. And it's like there was no baby food that worked. But once we went to solids and you're clearly there at 3, it was anything he wanted. He liked everything. He liked everything. It was wild.

[Diana Rossini]

Chris, I think what could work for you, my friend, because it has worked for us, it doesn't work all the time, is we lean into what the boys are into in terms of toys, life, movies. So they're in their dinosaur era right now.

[James Palmer]

So you're doing dino nuggets.

[Diana Rossini]

So we do like for example, broccoli. It's very hard to get little boys to eat broccoli. So we call it boys. We call it dino broccoli. Like this is what the dinos eat, you know, this is what the bronchiosaurus herbivore.

[James Palmer]

Got it.

[Diana Rossini]

Exactly. And by the way, my son knows herbivore and carnivore. Like he knows all those terms. So he unders. Like we just got him eating a hamburger for the first time last night because we said T. Rexes are. And he goes carnivore. We're like, this is meat. And he was all right and he ate it. So we just. Yeah, you just have to like let them be dinosaurs. Let your son be a dinosaur and then he will do that. Now look, we have a separate issue with biting because of that because Michael thinks he's a T. Rex, but that's. I'm willing. I'm okay with Joey having bite marks as long as they're eating.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, as long as he's nourished and he's not like, correct.

[Diana Rossini]

Because then they need their teeth. That tells me they're eating. If they start losing.

[James Palmer]

Well, they will.

[Diana Rossini]

My 2 year old doesn't have a tooth, which is weird because it fell out after he fell off the kitchen table, but that's a different story.

[James Palmer]

Oh I don't think that's a different story. I'd like Karen.

[Diana Rossini]

So I didn't know this. If your child's baby teeth get loose, chipped, whatever happens, you only have one option. You have to pull it. Yeah, you have to pull it. So Joey was. Sound like the worst mom. Joey was standing on the kitchen table at one year old and he fell off. Just stood and just fell, Fell off. The poor kid doesn't cry. He gets up, smiles at me. Tooth just hanging on just by. Oh, my God. And so he sees my face and was like, oh. And so he starts crying. So they're always waiting for.

[James Palmer]

They're waiting for your reaction to see.

[Diana Rossini]

I rush him to the dentist. They gotta tie him down. Dentist looks at me, I was like, you gotta put it back in, right? Like use glue and stick it back. She goes, oh, no, no, honey. It's either we're pulling this thing or you're gonna get a veneer. Could you imagine little Joey with a face veneer? A veneer like a fake tooth, Like a cap?

[James Palmer]

Yeah. Oh, no.

[Diana Rossini]

So poor Joe, they call him. They like one missing. They, they call. They have a nickname from a preschool. It's very mean. Actually. They mock the poor kid for missing a tooth because he's so little. He's got no tooth. But that's all right. Tough, tough. A little Joey up.

[James Palmer]

Tougher. Yeah. Listen, this is gonna get a little.

[Diana Rossini]

You know, so more of the story. Lean into your kids interests.

[James Palmer]

Mm, I like that. I think that's good. I like. Lean into your kids interest or just try everything. California rolls were fire in our house.

[Diana Rossini]

At like 4 and 5. God bless you with a good eating kid.

[James Palmer]

He's a good eater. He's a good eater. Diana, this was outstanding as always. I will see you tomorrow. When we do another scoop City, make sure you, like, subscribe. By the way, make sure you interact in the comments. Subscribe, we'll jump in the comments. We'll interact with you a little bit. I think that's been a fun, fun aspect that's kind of growing a little bit. Make sure you do that. Okay? Take it easy.

[Diana Rossini]

Thanks for watching Scoop City. Don't forget to like, subscribe and feel free to leave a comment. New episodes of Scoop City drop every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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[Diana Rossini]

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