← Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Why Drake Maye and Sam Darnold have very different paths to a Super Bowl win
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- [00:00]
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- [01:01]
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- [02:07]
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James Palmer
Only glass that was clean is one that tells you how to make drinks. Martini glass it's like a mixing glass.
- [02:46]
Chase Daniel
Of glass of water 2 parts vodka.
- [02:49]
James Palmer
If you're looking to make a Tom Collins. Oh welcome into a Monday edition of Scoop City. James Palmer here with you. Please like and subscribe. You're not going to get information like this anywhere else. You're not going to get scoops like this anywhere else. Chase Daniel joins me to break down everything we have on both the offensive and defensive sides and obviously the quarterback breakdowns. With Sam Darnold and Drake May. We're going to give our keys to the game. Diane Rossini is going to give us the inside scoop. The athletic senior NFL Insider on what's gone on with with Kwesi Adofu Mensah, what's happening there? What's happening with the Cardinals and the Raiders as now we look to have almost every single spot filled in terms of the head coaching hires. Chase, how are you? It's super bowl week. I have to ask you, you've been to a Super Bowl. It was in Miami. What is super bowl like? Tell us from a player's perspective because we all see, you know, the glitz and glamour side of it. But first off, there is a lot of downtime in that hotel. But for a number of days, what do you do to fill your hours?
- [03:57]
Chase Daniel
Well, yeah, I mean, look, I, I can't, first of all, I can't believe it's super bowl week, right? Like that, that's I, I always find it awkward that week of like covering media now, like the week before the super bowl because I'm like, well, what are we talking about? Like, you don't really want to get too granular with the game. You don't want to do all this and then finally it's here and then it just seems like never ending for you guys, right? It's like draft and combine and head coaches and just that's why football is the greatest sport. But so I went to a Super bowl my rookie year, which is probably the worst thing that you could possibly do because you're thinking like, oh, it's so easy to get to like it's so this and that. And if you remember that 2009 Saints team, which is crazy, we won 13 straight games and so we were 13 and oh, and then we lost our next three games going into the playoffs although we had secured the number one seed. And then we ended up whipping, I think Detroit and Arizona and then whatever, Minnesota. And I just remember the kick. You remember this game, the Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, Drew Brees NFC Championship game where Garrett Hartley kicked that game winning kick. And I think it was like the New Orleans radio call was like when Pigs Fly or something like that. New Orleans Saints are going to a super. Like I'm getting like, like you know you're feeling right now talking about it. Yeah, because it was so cool. And I was a third string quarterback and in the playoffs and most of the season I dressed, I was behind Mark Brunel and obviously Breeze and the second that kick went through. So let me just take you to teams like the Seahawks and the Patriots. Right? Like I know the Patriots stayed another night in Denver. Seahawks was. It is just once, once they went. It is just a massive party for 24 hours. Like, like it is like beyond what you can imagine. It's just coaches are letting loose, players are letting loose. But it's like straight up 24 hours. Like that. That's what it is. Like it's a really fun night. I think you have off that, that Monday going into it and then we're going back a little Tuesday through Saturday routine. Pre super bowl week. It is literally like in your facility. It is in your facility. And I remember like Sean Payton coming up and I think it was like the Tuesday morning meeting. You don't really have practice like that, that Tuesday. And he all he said was like, guys, like we're gonna install the entire game plan pre super bowl week. But the main thing I want you guys to do is get rid of every single dist could possibly have. And what does that mean? Well, think about all the tickets that everyone wants. Think about all the hotel rooms. Think about your mom, think about your niece, think about your nephew, your second cousin. There's so many people just asking. And that's the week to get it all over with. Like, you know, I think you can buy up to 15 Super bowl tickets, but you buy them at face value. You're not giving them. I think you're given two free tickets. For a lot of people out there. They don't realize that.
- [06:55]
James Palmer
Yeah, two comps and you're paying the rest.
- [06:56]
Chase Daniel
Two comps and you're paying the rest. And they're expensive. And then you're like get travel plans, get all that stuff. And then for us, and I think this is how it probably is, the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday is a normal practice. Like you're having practices, might be a walkthrough, but you're installing that whole week. So it's really not an off week. You have the whole game plan installed. When we went down to Miami, there's.
- [07:16]
James Palmer
Some teams that do do a day in pads during that week.
- [07:19]
Chase Daniel
Yeah. And I think that's probably pretty smart because it's, you know, you did, we did Pads on Thursday of super bowl week in Miami. We practiced at the University of Miami. We did pads Thursday. And it was like a full, it was like two and a half hour Sean Payton practice. So it was crazy. But when you get down there and I think what most teams get there Sunday, they go on Sunday night. And when you, for us at least it was get in Sunday night. And Monday is like the media day, right? But Sunday, Sean Payton, I remember when we landed, he's like, this is your one night. This is your one night. Curfew is 1am Go out, enjoy it, have a great time, do all this. And so Sean Payton gave like the offense like breeze his credit card and was like, take him to like catch 112 or like whatever, whatever those fancy seafood places are. So we, we ended up there.
- [08:13]
James Palmer
We went to a bar.
- [08:14]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, Joe, stone crabs, all that stuff. I think it was like Prime 112 or something. I don't know. Something like that. And I remember this is crazy. A lot of people haven't realized this. We had people checking to see who missed curfew. And I believe we had a bunch of people miss curfew that night. And we were. Media day was not all. It was like. It is, but we ended up like having a come to Jesus meeting with Sean Payton that next morning, Monday, he was like cussing us. You guys don't even know.
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James Palmer
It's.
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Chase Daniel
We gave you the one night and that was like our lock in moment. Like, okay, here, it's time to roll.
- [08:51]
James Palmer
Do you think he's hoping you break curfew so that he could do that?
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Chase Daniel
There's always something like that for sure. Yeah.
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James Palmer
Yeah.
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Chase Daniel
And it totally, it totally locked us in. And then like for us it's like a normal week when you get down there, but you have family come down. So you know the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, your big practice days, Tuesday, it's just a lot of time in the hotel room. But I think Sean and I think these coaches do a good job. Okay, let's get out. Let's, let's try to just keep your normal routine. Let's do all this. And then obviously, like the game is way different because the, the warmups are way different. The halftime's way longer. We took off our pads at halftime. I mean, it's a long winded response. We could do a whole episode on it, but it's very, very in. Sean had never been to a Super bowl, but, but he called around and all these coaches called around how to handle each and every day. So it was, it's a lot, but it's. It's very. It's a unique week, man.
- [09:41]
James Palmer
Yeah, it's. It's unlike anything else. I remember having the conversation with Patrick Mahomes after he had been to a few of them, which is so wild early in his career, he's been to a few of them, and he was like, with all the downtime, actually, like, I have to stop myself from watching film. I have to keep myself on the same film routine I would do if I was a normal week, because then I'll drive myself nuts, then I'll start doing too much, and I just got to stay on what I would do during a normal week and how I go about each day of the entire week. Okay, so that's how you handle the entire part leading into Super Bowl Sunday. Now Chase and I are going to give you the keys to Super Bowl Sunday for both the Seahawks and the Patriots. We're going to start Chase with Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense, 8th in total offense, 3rd in scoring, 8th in passing, 16th on third down, 6th in yards per play. When you look at this Seahawks offense, specifically with Sam Darnold, what is the key to victory in putting points on the board against a very good Patriots defense?
- [10:36]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, the Patriots defense, I think is. Is a lot of, like, of all the four units we're going to talk about, I think the Patriots defense does. Does not get enough credit for how. How good they are, how much, like, pressure they bring, all this stuff. Right. And so it leads to me, to Seattle's offense. I think the biggest thing. This sounds so simple, and these keys are so simple. But you talk to anyone, any coach who's played, any player who's played any. Anyone who's been in this super bowl game, it literally comes down to fundamentals. And the fundamental thing that Seahawks have to do, they have to protect Sam Darnold. And Sam Darnold cannot throw turnovers. Like, he cannot turn the football away. And I think that's sort of what, you know, coming into the game. I think 20 turnovers, it's the most in the league behind Geno Smith, or maybe the second most in the league behind Geno Smith. I don't think that Sam Darnold can turn the football over because if you just look at it on paper and you look at jsn, you look at Cooper cup, you look at Shahid, you look at Sam Darnold, they're all playing really well. And the thing when you look at their losses, what's really stood out to me is if Sam Darnold turns the football over, I think that's where they're going to get into some major trouble. I love Clint Kubiak and we'll talk about him possibly taking the Raiders job. I think he's, he's the whole key to this game though. And he has to do a good job of putting Sam in the right positions early to let Sam get the game under him. Because it takes a quarter, quarter and a half, two quarters to be like, okay, forget about this. It's just a game. And so I'm going to be looking really closely at, like, how does he call the first 15? Because when I was with Sean Payton, we. I mean, Sean Payton's an offensive genius. He had two weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl. He had all this stuff. Do you know what our first play was? Our very first play in the Super bowl? Green right, slant, 60 base, a fullback dive. That's what we started the super bowl with because it's just a, oh, okay, everyone get there because people, they get so hyped. So I do think, like how Sam Darnold handles this week, how he handles the expectations, how he handles the different pressures that the defense from the Patriots are going to bring. But you can't turn the football over if you want to win this game.
- [12:48]
James Palmer
I love that. And I think it is a combination of what Clint Kubiak sees and how Sam Darnold reacts to what this Patriots defense is doing. We know that this is a group that may play one way the entire season in New England and then come super bowl may do it entirely different. How quickly does Clint Kubiak see that and then how do they move Jackson, Smith and Jigba around? You can't get away entirely from what has gotten you there. And that's JSN and he's your passing part of the offense. Obviously 44% of your receiving yards came from Jackson, Smith and Jigba. That's just an insane number. How do you move him around? They did that a lot against the Rams in that NFC Championship game. Does Christian Gonzalez follow him around? I'm not entirely sure that would happen. Just I don't think the way JSN is built Chase that, that's kind of the type of player that that Gonzalez actually thrives against. He's more of like a Nico Collins, Drake, London type of big body guy. Big body guy. And that's really not jsn. So how do they move him around to find matchups? How does maybe somebody else step up if there is so much attention given to jsn. How does Clint design things for a tight end in space across the other side of the field, things like that. I'm, I'm interested to see.
- [13:56]
Chase Daniel
Well, Cooper too, right? Been there, done that. He. A lot of people are going to lean on him this week and see Seattle. Right. He's got a ring with. Obviously he's one of the better receivers.
- [14:04]
James Palmer
That have been to a Super Bowl.
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Chase Daniel
That's it. Exactly. And I think he's one of them. And I, I do think to your point in jsn, I do think that what I would do is I would put him in the slot as much as possible, get them matched up on linebackers and safeties. I, I like the corners for New England, but I would keep them away from Christian Gonzalez at all costs.
- [14:20]
James Palmer
Yeah, that's a good call. He was 80% of the time outside this past year. And then you saw in the NFC Championship game, they put JSN all over this in the backfield. They've had success and I think that was really fun to watch. All right. For Drake May, specifically, man, the 23 year old in the Super bowl, in just year two in the NFL, we've seen this offense obviously struggle against some outstanding defenses in the postseason so far, and in some wild conditions, we'll put that in there as well. What do you see for Drake May and Josh McDaniels what they want to do against what many believe might be the best defense in football? Right up there with Houston and what Seattle's doing.
- [14:54]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, I mean, the run of defenses that Drake May has had to face, if he was able to get through to the Super Bowl, I mean, it's, it's unbelievable, Right. I think Josh, always the only other person to face top five defenses in all four postseasons. I mean, it's just, it's absurd what he's, he's, he's been able to do. And I think for the most part, Drake has played really well in the regular season. And then there's some times in the postseason where it's like, man, okay, like, I actually thought he played really well against the Houston Texans because you have to hit these one on one matchups, three touchdowns, and you have to, you have to do that. I don't think you're going to outsmart. And I, I love Josh McNeil. I think he's done a great job. I think this is like his ninth super bowl, so. Knows better than anyone how to call plays to get a quarterback in rhythm. But he's had Tom Brady, he's hadn't had Drake May. Right? And I think that's the, that's the thing is like, how do you start this game? You have to get Drake May into a rhythm and when you look at their offense, it's, it's, it really doesn't get spicy, I would say until like the second half finally you're getting Drake May like in rhythm. I do think they're going to have to run the football. You cannot allow the Seahawks defense to stay in too high because you're just, you're not going to win outside or inside. They're too good. How do you handle situational football? They have to extend drives. They have to stay on the field in third down. You're like, Chase, this is whatever. No, specifically, there has to be a game plan. And I think what is separated Drake May and a lot of people haven't really realized it unless you're really diving deep, is his legs. He's able to escape the pocket. He's able to scramble out and not only scramble to run, but scramble around to throw. His legs are going to be a big key in this game. I think the over under rushing yards is like almost 50, which is crazy for a quarterback. But I, I do think that he's gonna have to run for 50 some odd yards to then get this defense out of this. Too high look, but his legs and how he starts early is a huge key.
- [17:01]
James Palmer
I love that I'm going to talk about this the Seattle defense a little bit in that too high. I love that you brought that up. You know, if you talk to people around the league, Jason, you know this, they go base a lot and they go six offensive linemen a lot. And you can have success doing that if your quarterback has what mobility, right. Because you are taking a pass catcher off the field essentially in some of those looks, especially with six offensive linemen. I think you're spot on with Chase being able to, with, with. With Drake being able to go and use his legs as an added aspect and use his mobility. The fact that he at times this season, and I think this game is more than ever to be patient when he's, when he can be. But be aggressive when he sees it. And I think taking those shots downfield is going to be a big part of this offense. And if New England wants to win this game, and I've talked to people in New England, it is. He has so much trust in the deep shots to two players specifically, that is K's booty and that is Pop Douglas and booty number one, he has 140 passer rating to him on deep shots this season. That's unbelievable. And the trust, I'm told that's been built up with those two guys and Drake and he throws such a great touch on that deep ball. I think they need to connect on a few of those for them to have a chance in this one. But we know how good that secondary is and we'll get to them there in Seattle. But they gave up a lot of deep shots to the Rams. But a lot of people think that's kind of an anomaly just because of the way Louisiana was playing. They're the only team they've given it up to. All right. For the Seattle Z events. That's what we're getting to now. What's your key for this Seattle defense to continue to play the way they're playing? I believe they're giving up like hardly anything when they play at their best. So let, let's see what, what do we got for, for this defensive look. You mentioned the too high.
- [18:40]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, the, the kryptonite for the Seahawks defense. And the only thing that has done a good job versus Seahawks is the Rams. Like you look at how many touch like it's Sean McVeigh. So honestly I would, if I'm Joshua, I would try to copy in those two games what hurt the Seahawks defense. And what that is is these intermediate. So when you play these two high safeties looks, these intermediate to deep routes over linebackers underneath, these called layered throws. You have to be able to throw the football in the middle of the field. This Seahawks defense is built so good at corner where they're pretty much just locked down. In my opinion, they just don't allow a lot of just like hitch routes or stop. You have to do these like rap routes. You have to get in the middle of the defense and then when the Seahawks defense gets out of that too high look, then you take your shot. But I just think that the thing that has separated the Seahawks defense from a lot of other defenses, one is how it's coached. They don't do a lot of crazy stuff. They're just so fundamentally sound and they've been able to. And I think this is what New England has to do early in the game, what we talked about, run the football. They've been able to stay in these two eye safety looks and stop the run. So it's called light boxes. Right. You have six man box versus seven man box, a six man boxes, four defensive linemen, two linebackers, two Eye safety and nickels outside, you have a light box, which means you have. You have six to block six, and you're able to. But the way these safety fills these gaps and the way the nickel fills these gaps in this defense, it's really, really good. Now, where they've been hurt at times and it's been very, very little is when they have to get out of this too high look to stop the run and they're in single high zone and the seams are open, the intermediates are open, but they're going to stay in too high and they're going to make you march the football down the field. I just think the Seahawks have to if they're going to give up touchdown drives. These touchdown drives need to be 15 plays or 14 plays or 15 plays. They have to methodically move the football down the field to be able to score. No cheap ones. No easy ones, as I would call it.
- [20:42]
James Palmer
Yeah, I love that. And you know what I was just thinking, what does Josh McDaniel and Drake May, what did they learn from going against Jesse Minter in the postseason? Because a lot of similarities there with Mike McDonald and Jesse. And what did you learn about that in your first playoff game and going into that Chargers defense? I love that you brought up that too high look, because obviously I mentioned the explosive plays. I think if New England doesn't get them, it's going to be very difficult to win this football game. So can you stay in that? But I love the spine of this defense with Ernest Jones and you have Kobe Bryant and you have Nicki Minwari, who's kind of an X factor like crazy. They're big enough to stay in that big nickel and stay in that two and be able to come up and stop the run. Does New England continue to try to run it to wear out that group? That might be a little bit undersized, obviously, when you're staying in that look, I think that's going to be super fun. But I love the way Iman worry and Julian Love Chase can cover, like, corners. Well, you know, Love was a corner at Notre Dame, like, so they have flexibility in what they can do back there. It's.
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Chase Daniel
It's.
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James Palmer
It's outstanding. Okay. Patriots defense, which is really knocked the pressure rate up. Chase like crazy. When it came to this postseason compared to the regular season, they've been outstanding, giving up 8.7 points per game and eight takeaways. 12 sacks in this postseason.
- [21:57]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, well, I think, I think the biggest thing for them is they have to pressure Sam Darnold and they have to pressure him early. You look at their playoff games, in the first half of some of these games they sort of sat back and let the game come to him. And then the second half, a lot of these games they are just we are coming after and that's when they're at their best. Although it gives them one on one shots outside. I think the biggest thing for the Patriots defense and Brable, they have to continue to disguise at a really high rate. Which means when I watch and I turn on the film and I'm watching it like I'm an offensive coordinator or a quarterback who's played for a long time, about 40 to 50% of the time I can't even see and I have the clicker or understand what coverage they're in. You have to disguise versus Sam Darnold. Like you know they're going to motion, you know they're going to do this and that. So they have to be really, really good with their checks. A lot of defenses called two coverages in the actual call. So if you're in slot formation, you're running this. If they go to pro, you're running this. If they're into so you have to be really on top of that. But I do think from the start if you hit Sam Donald early and we and this was a key to the game for the Rams for Sam Darnold, if you hit Sam Darnold early, he's shown at times to sort of go into a show. Can you get to him early? Can you affect him in his psyche? That's the biggest thing for me.
- [23:14]
James Palmer
Yeah, I love that. And you know, he threw a league high seven interceptions when blitzed. I'm curious if they blitz, do you think they have to chase because they're blitzing at a rate of almost 40% during the postseason. If you compare that to the regular season for New England at 27%, do you think bringing extra guys is something that they want to do to create that pressure? And I'm also looking at the interior of that defensive line. Milton, Williams and Barrymore just been outstanding. And that has been. Milton is outstanding. I was talking to Zach Allen about him the other day and Zach was like, bro, he is so good. Like he is so fast, he is so quick, he is so powerful. He's got moves like he's like, dude, he can do everything. And that has been. If you want to look for some sort of a weak spot with, with this offense, it is a little bit of that interior part of the offensive line. For Seattle. So it'll be interesting to see what happens there. But I love you said change the picture on Sam. See how late you can change it and how you can do it. All right, so your X factor is going to be. I got two. I cheated but give me your X factor.
- [24:12]
Chase Daniel
So yeah, I didn't cheat. I mean I could have five. I'm going between a player and a coach. But I do know that like coaches can prepare but, but Sean Payton, Andy Reid always used to say hey players when not play. So I'm going to have to go with a player. Honestly, I think I'm going to go with Cooper Cup. Oh, I love it. I, I like like every JSN is going to get most of the targets but on third down in these situations early in the game when Sam Darrell needs a play and you know the Patriots, man, they're if they're not going to let their number one beat them like I would not I would double team jsn, Cooper cup in the slot. He had a touchdown last game. He's been there, he's done it. Look for him to have 50 to 60 yards but maybe two to three major third down conversions. When JSN's double two. I think he's the go to. I think that's, that's the X factor in this game.
- [25:03]
James Palmer
I love that. And maybe one of those being like a key red zone target where JSN draws some attention or whatever, you know, I mean that's what's happened. I mean there you've seen edge guys, right? Chase drop early on the side that JSN's on to make sure you don't get that quick slant or teams have tried everything because they know the football is going over there. My X factor is going to be another receiver on this team. Rashid Shahid.
- [25:26]
Chase Daniel
I knew it. I love that. I love it, I love it. I love it.
- [25:28]
James Palmer
You know what I mean? We've just been kind of waiting and maybe this is a slow burn. I mean obviously you're going to give that attention to Jackson Smith at Jigba and I do think Cooper cup could benefit. But also you can't sleep for a moment on a guy that runs a 43 down the field and maybe Shahid is that guy. And I saw this stat and this is why it came up to me. An in season acquisition has scored a touchdown in each of the last five Super Bowls. Where do you guess and when did Rashid Shahid join this team? At the deadline. I love that one. Maybe that's just Sam takes a shot at the perfect time and shaheeds that guy. The other one I had was kind of Josh McDaniels because he's just been something entirely different. Right. Like you could see New England just do something entirely different come this super bowl with two weeks. Yeah. Just, just unbelievable. That's a guy. This is his 13th season as an offensive coordinator where he has had a top 10 scoring offense that is just.
- [26:24]
Chase Daniel
Some guys are better coordinators.
- [26:26]
James Palmer
Yes. That's a well said, Chase. Well said. All right, coming up, we got Diane Orsini joining us. We're going to break down what's going on in Vegas, Arizona and Minnesota. Unbelievable reporting there with the Vikings imparting ways with their general manager. Next on Scoop City.
- [26:43]
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- [27:44]
Diana Rossini
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- [28:14]
James Palmer
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Chase Daniel
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James Palmer
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James Palmer
Your data stays secure as your company grows. Find out more@1Password.com specialoffer and start securing every login. All right, welcome back to Scoop City on a Monday. I teased it. Here she is. Diana Rossini, the Athletic senior NFL insider, joins us from parts unknown. Diana, where are you right now? Joining Chase and I. I am fortunately.
- [29:02]
Diana Rossini
Safe from the earthquake that hit in San Francisco.
- [29:06]
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
- [29:07]
Diana Rossini
Early this morning. I. It is day one of super bowl week, and I am at the Pro bowl practice, which is why you're gonna hear my sounds probably a little different than yours. I'm getting ready for. For the practice to start in a few minutes here, so I'm glad to pop on and kind of rip through some of the stuff that's been going around.
- [29:24]
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
- [29:24]
James Palmer
Awesome. Yep. You sound great. You look great. Hair looks great. Chase loves it.
- [29:28]
Chase Daniel
Okay, hairs line.
- [29:29]
James Palmer
Let's get to the goods here. Super bowl hair. Let's go. You're reporting with Alec Lewis on what happened in the firing of Kwesi. Adofumensa is outstanding. Everybody go to the Athletic and read what happened, what transpired. You won't get that coverage anywhere else. Diana, you were all over this for a period of time. When it finally happened, though, did you have a moment where you said, this just isn't going to happen. It's taken too long. Take me through the process.
- [29:57]
Diana Rossini
It's a good question because I definitely. So we. Alec Lewis, who covers the Vikings for us, he and I talk every day. And we wrote the story of Quesi essentially being fired early January because we really felt good, based on our conversations with people, that he was going to get fired. And then things changed and ownership met, and I was told, that's not happening. So because this coaching cycle got so busy, I kind of forgot about it, actually, to be really transparent with you. And I just went back to, you know, covering the stuff that I've been covering with you guys, and I got a text from Alec the morning of it and was like, you're never gonna believe this, but I think the Quesi firing may really happen now. I'm like, what? It's the end of January. It's almost February. So we did some digging on it, and we found out that ownership then made a decision after three weeks. So they met initially right at the end of the season. They had conversations with people in the building. They had really healthy conversation. From what I understand about is he the right fit for what they need moving forward? Is he the guy, is he going to be the best drafter? Is he going to be the best roster builder? And I feel like I should really emphasize this and I know football fans may not care about this, but I do think it's important to add Kwesi is really well liked in Minnesota in the building. Right. Players, coaches, that he is one of those NFL figures where it's very hard to find an enemy or he doesn't really have many because he is a really good guy. But when it came to, I think some of the management of this Vikings team, I think that's where some of the question marks were, which is why this team decided to move forward.
- [31:44]
Chase Daniel
What changed though? Like, because it was. He was getting fired, then he wasn't and there's a lull and he was at Senior bowl practices on a Tuesday. He gets fired on a Wednesday or Thursday? Wednesday. So, so, so why all this? I mean, this is very, very weird timing. Was there something that happened in between that to be like, okay, that's the last straw or like what's the deal there?
- [32:07]
Diana Rossini
So I asked some people that are. That are close to the situation about that because doesn't your flag go up of like, wait, did something happen? You know, you think NHR issue, you know, you just think of everything because why now? And there are theories. Nobody has exactly what happened. And probably the best and most common theory I received was Sam Darnold playing the Super Bowl. Wow. Ownership.
- [32:37]
James Palmer
Greener Grass watched a player that this.
- [32:41]
Diana Rossini
Team decided to move on from in favor of J.J. mcCarthy. And I think that there were some. The way it was explained to me, I think there was a little frustration there. So.
- [32:52]
Chase Daniel
So. But isn't that. Wasn't that Kevin OConnell's decision because Koc runs, it's his quarterback. Wasn't that some of his as well?
- [33:02]
Diana Rossini
Chase, we could do a whole show about the dynamics of power there. Because you're right.
- [33:06]
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
- [33:08]
Diana Rossini
They Trust in Kevin OConnells coaching of the quarterback position. So you would assume they're not going to move forward on any quarterback without Kevin's blessing. I don't necessarily believe that. In fact, I know Kevin does not have the final say on roster. He does not. That is not in his contract. So do I think this is 100% on Kwesi? No.
- [33:35]
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
- [33:36]
Diana Rossini
But I do think some of the decisions from moving on from Sam, from losing out on Daniel Jones, when they thought they had him, they thought they were bringing him back and then he decided to go to in Indianapolis to be the starter with The Colts, because he felt he could really win the job, which, of course, he did pretty early on. I think it's kind of a sum of all this. And ownership decided they want to stick with Kevin o' Connell and give him a different general manager moving forward.
- [34:05]
James Palmer
Unbelievable. And it is true. The perception. We do have to remember we're seeing Sam Darnold play great, 14 wins again, second consecutive year. Right, Diana? But the perception of Sam Darnold did dramatically change at the very end of the season. Like, it was like, he's got to come back. He's their guy. He's their guy. And then the wild card game.
- [34:21]
Diana Rossini
Remember those locker room videos? You weren't with us yet. The chase. Yeah, it was insane because we were so inspired, impressed, kind of like dreamed by Sam Darnold's lead show, because we had never seen him like that. The guys were like, unbelievable, you're right. And there was a little bit of, like, a dip. Can not handle the big moment. And guys out here in San Francisco, that's a question people are asking, too. Can he handle this big moment? He proved in the NFC Championship game he can, but can he do it now on the biggest of stages? So I do. James, I do want to hit one thing, because part of the reporting that Alec and I did was how outside of the box Kwesi was as a hire.
- [35:02]
James Palmer
Yes.
- [35:03]
Diana Rossini
You know, he wasn't a traditional type of general manager. And I do credit the Vikings for going in almost like, a different style to see if that could work with Kevin o', Connor, who I do believe is a really good adapter of people. And it was a good marriage. And by the way, they have a good relationship. But one of the things Alec and I shed some light on in our article was that, you know, something that made Quesie a little different was after the birth of his first son, he decided to take two weeks off during training camp for paternity leave. The Vikings were supportive of that. I was there at the training camp with the Tennessee Titans in Minnesota when he was not there. And there is definitely some chatter on the field about it, because it's just so unheard of for guys taking paternity, taking time away. But the Vikings were cool about it. Like, they were like, this is. Look, he's still meeting with us remotely. It just was different. Like, I don't want to say the Minnesota Vikings were excited about it, but they understood it. It just. I think when someone does that for the first time, it just takes a little bit of time for people to.
- [36:06]
James Palmer
Adjust Interesting what I, what I think about with that. DIANA so because that part jumped out to chase, it jumped out to myself. I think almost everybody that read it was looking at that aspect going, you know, Joe Brady and you mentioned that in the article, just said I missed the birth of my child. But to me, this is a next man up league. That's what it's built off of. If somebody's not there, next guy steps up, we don't miss a beat. I don't feel like your organization's very good if the general manager can't work remotely for two weeks. Like, I just think if that's a problem, it seems like it wasn't with the Vikings. DIANA Was it a problem in terms of his perception moving forward with others?
- [36:39]
Diana Rossini
Look, I just, I was giving my.
- [36:40]
James Palmer
2 cents, by the way, on that too.
- [36:41]
Chase Daniel
I think it's wild.
- [36:42]
Diana Rossini
Something that I think a lot of good people don't understand. Understand. James no, and I appreciate your opinion on it. And I think with the three of us, we're all parents. You two are dads. Like, I appreciate and respect it. But we also know what this league is like and you just said that and mentioned it. But I think something that I never shared with you guys on the show was this has been talked about for two years around the league. People are gossipy and they've been whispering about it, they've been making fun of it. And again, I, I have no opinion of it. This is, I'm just reporting what's been going on for two years about this paternity leave. And this is the first time it's been put in on, you know, in print for, for fans to see. And you see the reaction from the fans versus the league. Fans are think it's crazy that no one accepts that. But in the NFL, this, this was.
- [37:35]
Chase Daniel
That'S what I'm saying. Like that's from a, from a former player's perspective and a 14 year guy who has three kids. This league takes so much from you and you, you can't focus in. And I've been in there before and I've done this. You are so focused on the task at hand. I've never heard of anyone taking paternity leave. That is his right. That is, it is. But I'm telling you right now, when you sign up for the NFL, you sign up for one of 32 jobs in the world where take a day, your son or daughter's born, get back to work and fans will not like that. I, I get that it, there's so Many sacrifices that you have to make. And I'm not saying if you miss two weeks, he can't do his job, but it's just. It's not normally Stop working for two.
- [38:33]
James Palmer
Weeks, by the way.
- [38:34]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, yeah, I get that. I get that. But James, you know, and you've covered and I've played. That's just, it's never. And I think the reason why there's so much blowback on it, Diana. And it's just never happened before. And I think around the league, it's never happened before.
- [38:50]
James Palmer
I think it's that Chase and that he's not an NFL lifer. If there was paternity leave done by an NFL lifer, say a Kubiak, who is a lineage of whatever, or a Shanahan, there's a little different perception of taking the paternity leave. But since he is a Wall street individual who, by the way, let's not knock that Wall street people don't work. They work very hard as well in that. In finance and those things. But since he has that background, you can't deny that it probably plays a part in the perception of the paternity leave. But, Diana, you know somebody very, very well that has thought outside of the box for the entire time they were a head coach. And that's Bruce Arians, who insisted if you miss one of your child's basketball games, dance recitals, he'll fire you if you don't put the family first. So it's not like this is the first time we've seen somebody in that type of spot.
- [39:38]
Chase Daniel
I think the two weeks is. That's what's weird to me.
- [39:42]
Diana Rossini
That.
- [39:42]
Chase Daniel
And I get it. I'm not trying. I'm just saying in the NFL. And Sean, Sean Payton was complete opposite. You're working till 2am you're doing this. Andy re was like. Andy was like, bro, you need a day. Yeah, take two. Get back, though. Get back to work. We need your. And I think it's just hard to put into words because it's two completely different people that are looking at it.
- [40:03]
Diana Rossini
And I'm with you. And this is what I've heard From coaches and GMs about this, especially at a joint practice, because I've seen some of the pushback has been. It's just training camp, joint practices. There's a lot going on. There's a lot to observe, there's a lot to watch. There's a lot of relationship things between teams happening to. But what happens just like anytime anyone takes a leave, whether it's maternity or paternity or sickness or just time away. Someone else has to pick up the slack and someone else has to do that job and that role and to be in season having to depend on people who are already working crazy hours themselves. I think that's where the rub was of just you're in a leadership position and the leader needs to be there to set that tone. That's how it sounded. And look, there are some, there have been some wild reactions to this and when I say wild things that I would say that I could share with you guys that like when I say people were in disbelief, like that's putting it kindly. There are like, yeah, could not even comprehend this. And, and we've seen it and we understand it.
- [41:09]
James Palmer
Yeah, it's kind of. I'll say this too, Diana. We've done it. I left my mother in law's funeral to fly to Dallas because Tony Romo broke his collarbone. So that's how insane we all are around the NFL. All right, let's get on to the next two coaches that we can't say Clint Kubiak has been hired. We can't say that. It's not legal yet. But we all assume. And you've been all over this, Diana. Clint Kubiak to the Raiders. What can you tell us? Why would Clint Kubiak be their man if they decide to hire Clinton?
- [41:42]
Diana Rossini
I was Brady has had this interest in Kubiak for a while. He was at the top of his list when this search started. Heck, he didn't really hide his feelings either in the NFC Championship game. I think we all heard him and it was like a, we talked about it. It was like an interview on the job or an on the job interview. So I believe they'd always wanted to be go in the offensive minded direction. Right. You saw Brian Dabel had interviewed for that job as well. And from what I understand from talking to some of the candidates about what they were looking for, it was very quarterback centric. It was very much about what are you going to do with, let's just say Fernando Mendoza if that's the direction they decide to go in number one overall in terms of that development. Like this isn't a Raiders team who thinks that they are going to be down and out the next few years. They're trying to turn this around quickly and obviously making the moves that they did this offseason. And truthfully, some more issues that they're going to have to face and decide over the next few months as well. Like you know, Max Crosby still upset. How are they going to fix that? There's a. There's a lot going on and I, and I really think the Brady support of Kubiak is really what pushed this thing over the edge and we knew that. That's. I don't think that's anything surprising.
- [43:01]
James Palmer
Yeah, Chase, real quick, just tell Diana and I, what would you think about Clint Kubiak's offense if it is Fernando Mendoza at the number one?
- [43:09]
Chase Daniel
No, I love it. I reacted to it yesterday. I thought it was one of the better hires in terms of you're getting an offensive genius to pair with Tom Brady, to pair with Ashton Ginty, Brock Bowers and Fernando Mendoza because Fernando Mendoza is going number one unless they get a haul to move off of it. I think that's the biggest thing that this, this sort of higher seems is like, hey, we are all in on the quarterback. It had to be offensive fire or higher. And now I do think they need to fix their offensive line. I do think they need to fix other certain components of it. But Fernando Mendoza in the fit with Clint Kubiak's offense, who loves these under center, these play actions. He's. Fernando Mendoza's a lot of RPOs. There's a lot to really like because here's the one thing that, that I thought of. If it was anyone but Fernando Mendoza in this draft, they couldn't handle Clint Kubiak's offense because I don't know if they're as smart as Fernando Mendoza is. I think you're in there day one with Fernando Mendoza and you're able to run the full gamut of offense shifts, motions. That's just the type of IQ guy that Fernando Mendoza is. So I absolutely love it.
- [44:12]
James Palmer
I think that's great. I thought a little interesting, Doug, before we get to Michael Ford, I know you got to run to practice. I had heard that John Spytek, who was in Denver and worked there prior to going to Tampa Bay, was calling some people in Denver and a lot of people put that together going, is he calling about Davis Webb? Is he trying to get. Get some intel about another guy that potentially could be a finalist? But you have to remember when I started digging is that Glenn Kubiak was there for two separate stints in Denver after John Spytek left. He was there with two different staffs. That's a good call to make in a building that you trust about a guy going, how was he the first time he was here? How did he grow the second time he was here? Nice little intel there from. From John Spytic, who was part of this hiring process with Tom Brady. All right. Mike LaFleur, Diana. We are all kind of like, like wondering what's happening in Arizona. And I feel like you and I haven't even talked about Arizona enough during this entire hiring cycle.
- [45:02]
Diana Rossini
So they were going offensive minded head coach right out of the game. Okay. So to me, it was always. I immediately went to all the offensive minded guys and that was the direction they were going in. And then all of a sudden I heard through a very high ranking person around the league that they were changing it, that they wanted to actually open it up more just to see if they could find the, the leader of men tied to see maybe that's the way that's the direction they go in. And then you noticed it and you saw it and the cycle changed a bit in their interviews and who they were bringing in. And then it came down to Raheem Morris, Anthony Weaver. Right. Defense, defense. And then Mike Lafleur. And I just think when it came down to it, they were gonna go with what they originally felt as well as Weaver and Raheem both interviewed. And I heard they did very well. In fact, they both did very good in all the other interviews as well. Which. James, I don't know if you've done this yet, but I've been asking a lot of teams who interviewed poorly.
- [46:07]
James Palmer
I'm working on that right now.
- [46:08]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, those are very interesting because I've gotten different answers.
- [46:11]
Chase Daniel
Oh, I can't wait to hear this.
- [46:13]
Diana Rossini
Person like, like that interview poorly at all. I had, I actually had one candidate who bombed and won and was the number two choice somewhere else.
- [46:22]
James Palmer
Wow.
- [46:22]
Diana Rossini
And just like so interesting how that, how what teams are looking for. But back to Mike Leflore, offense. I do. I'm always going to think the tree he comes from is, is an important part of his image and what he's about. And, and I think they're going to try to figure out what they want to do with Kyler here, which is why I think Michael Forbes brought in.
- [46:40]
James Palmer
Yeah, I was gonna ask you you real quick. I know you gotta run anything on Kyler. Do you think there's any sort of information there yet or it's too early?
- [46:48]
Diana Rossini
I, I think it's early, but I think there's a belief in trying to make that work. Whereas I didn't feel so strongly. I didn't feel so strongly saying that six months ago.
- [46:56]
James Palmer
Wow. I never see any.
- [46:58]
Diana Rossini
I think there's conversations. There's gonna be conversations and we'll see where that goes.
- [47:02]
James Palmer
Okay. Outstanding. All right, run to practice. We love you. We'll see you on Wednesday.
- [47:06]
Diana Rossini
I love you guys, too. Super bowl week, we're here, guys. We did a whole season together. Let's. We've been doing this. This is awesome. So we're doing it. I'm down on the ground. I'm hustling for us. And next show, hopefully I'll drop some more nuggets for you.
- [47:19]
James Palmer
Awesome.
- [47:20]
Diana Rossini
All right, love you. Bye.
- [47:22]
James Palmer
I love that I squeezed that last question in there. Diana giving us a little nugget on Kyler Murray. Love it. All right, coming up, one last segment here on Scoop City. Chase and I are going to give you our super bowl predictions on Monday. What? Yeah, we're doing it. Excellent. Scoop City.
- [47:39]
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- [48:38]
James Palmer
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- [49:14]
Diana Rossini
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- [49:16]
Chase Daniel
Can I make my site firmer?
- [49:18]
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- [49:45]
James Palmer
All right, welcome back to Scoop City on a Monday. This show chase has been unreal. We got everything covered.
- [49:49]
Chase Daniel
Great show.
- [49:50]
James Palmer
Except, except your super bowl prediction. I need a score. I need an mvp.
- [50:00]
Chase Daniel
Well, look, that's, I didn't, I didn't know we were doing. Yeah. All right. So I'm, I go back and forth. It's so early. Like it's, it's Monday show on Monday and I'm like there's six more days so I'm sure this will switch. But as of today, I think it's the Seahawks and I think that it's not particularly close. I'm going to go Seahawks 31, Patriots 21. I like the Seahawks in this game. I just, here's, here's what it comes down to in the end. I think Sam Darnold's probably going to win MVP because it's a quarterback. Quarterbacks win MVP, whatever. Throws for a couple touchdowns, maybe, you know, 200 something yards. The whole thing to me on this matchup is I just don't know bearing some special teams touchdown or crazy amount of turnovers from Sam Darnold. I don't know if the Patriots can score like I, I don't know if they can score and in 21 might be too high. But it's just this Seahawks defense is so good and can beat you in so many ways and takes the football away. Pressures the quarterback Drake Mays only in his second year and I know Sam Darnold. Both these quarterbacks are inexperienced in Super Bowl. I just think that the team from top to bottom is just, is just better. And I do think coaching matters and I think, you know, both coaches, great defensive guys, all that stuff. I just think Seahawks are just too much.
- [51:28]
James Palmer
I think you're right. And you mentioned, we talked about in the Keys if they don't give up any deep shots and the corners play great on that defense. I'm not sure where the Patriots find space. They love that intermediate game which you brought up brilliantly in the middle of the field, which I think is a great point. But then when you look at who the Seahawks have in the middle of the field, you're like, that's better than 99% of the teams in football. Like what they're putting on defense in the middle of that field to attack the intermediate game. So I agree with you. I'm going 28, 14, Seahawks 14.
- [51:56]
Chase Daniel
I gave him an extra touchdown.
- [51:57]
James Palmer
I gave him an extra touchdown. I'm going to say, because I think they may hit one of these deep shots and then they're in the red zone. And yeah, Jackson, Smith and Jigba, he is going to join his teammate Cooper cup, who is a Super bowl mvp. If you remember, Cooper cup won. Won it. Won an MVP in a Super Bowl. But I think you're right, though. It's hard for the receiver to win it because the guy throwing the football is usually the guy who gets it. I just want him to win.
- [52:23]
Chase Daniel
I don't really care. But I wonder what you could win on that bet if JSN went. Because it's. It's got to be unheard of. Of for like receipt. I mean, Cooper cup is. It's just. Yeah.
- [52:34]
James Palmer
I don't know. It's tough. It's tough. He join his Cooper cup, lead the NFL and receiving offensive player of the year and win a Super Bowl. I think it'd be him and Cooper Cup. I think that would be it if he wins offensive player of the year. But I don't know. Who's your pick there real quick before we go? For what? Offense player of the year.
- [52:48]
Chase Daniel
Oh, gosh, I don't know. Who. Who do you have?
- [52:51]
James Palmer
I like him. I like. I think McAffrey was unbelievable with all the injuries.
- [52:54]
Chase Daniel
Up for two, right? Come back three.
- [52:58]
James Palmer
Offensive and MVP. Right. Isn't he in the MVP?
- [53:02]
Chase Daniel
I like McCaffrey a lot.
- [53:03]
James Palmer
I think McCaffrey might be the pick. That's a good pick. Yeah, that's outstanding. All right, for Chase Daniel, Diana Rossini, James Palmer here. Outstanding Monday show to start off super bowl week. Stay tuned like and subscribe because you don't want to miss any of the inside scoops here on Scoop City.
- [53:20]
Diana Rossini
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- [54:32]
James Palmer
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