Why Tom Brady in the Raiders’ coaches’ booth could impact you

Summary

Scoop City: A Show About the NFL

Episode: "Why Tom Brady in the Raiders’ Coaches’ Booth Could Impact You"

Date: September 18, 2025
Host: The Athletic
Featuring: James Palmer, Dianna Russini, Robert Mays

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the evolving NFL landscape with a focus on three key issues:

1. Tom Brady’s unique position as a Raiders minority owner and coach’s booth presence – is it a genuine conflict of interest?
2. Early-season quarterback health and decisions for various teams
3. "Panic Meter" Check: Assessing how worried fans should be about the Bears, Dolphins, and Chiefs

The hosts, joined by The Athletic’s Robert Mays, analyze these topics with insider knowledge, lively debate, and timely humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. QB Injury Updates and Team Responses

Segment Begins: 05:00

• Jayden Daniels (Commanders):

  • Sprained knee, MRI confirmed; team maintaining secrecy about playing status.
  • Team likely to be cautious, possible game-time decision.
  • “They’re really doing a good job of, of keeping us guessing.” (Diana, 05:49)

• Brock Purdy (49ers):

  • Turf toe/"Deathfoot"; less severe than Joe Burrow’s injury, no surgery needed.
  • Expected back sooner than first thought, backup QB holding steady.
  • “This is really great news for the Rangers.” (Diana, 09:09)

• J.J. McCarthy (Vikings):

  • High ankle sprain, not placed on IR—hopeful for a quick return.
  • Carson Wentz steps in; strong endorsement from league coaches.
  • Kevin O’Connell is viewed as strong in QB reclamation.
  • “He wants J.J. McCarthy, but I think he loves the challenge.” (Diana, 14:07)

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2. Tom Brady & The Raiders: Examining Conflict of Interest

Segment Begins: 15:26

• Issue Raised: Brady is both a minority owner of the Raiders and occupies the coaches’ booth for broadcasts, gaining access to sensitive information during production meetings.
• Industry Split: Some NFL execs don’t care, others see a “completely unfair advantage.”
  • “If Tom Brady really wants to get intel, he can go find it... Of course it makes it easier.” (Diana, 16:37)
  • “There is a circle of trust… It’s just understood.” (Diana, 20:11)
• Production Meeting Context:
  • Coaches and star players often reveal far more than in standard media situations, trusting broadcast crews to keep details confidential.
  • “To Bill Belichick on the podium with the media are two vastly different human beings. I can’t stress that enough.” (James Palmer, 17:26)
• Virtual Access & Rule Relaxation:
  • Brady attends meetings virtually; rules relaxed compared to last season.
• Potential Impact:
  • Even if Brady “keeps secrets,” the perception of an unfair edge is a league-wide concern.
  • “The perception of conflict of interest might be a greater issue right now than even the actual conflict of interest…” (James Palmer, 23:55)
• Brady’s Role Clarity:
  • Need for Brady and Raiders to define whether he’s merely a figurehead or an active football operator: “Tom Brady needs to own what he is with the Las Vegas Raiders, which is running the Las Vegas Raiders.” (Diana, 21:54)

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3. Panic Meter: Key Franchises Under the Microscope

With Robert Mays
Segment Begins: 27:19

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A. Chicago Bears

[30:33]

• Early Season Panic?
  • Tough opening schedule (two 14+ win teams); some room for patience.
  • Caleb Williams showing growth, but offense sloppy, OL struggling with injuries.
  • Defense underperforms, but Robert Mays draws hope from how NFL teams can rebound (e.g., 2023 Broncos’ turnaround).
  • “I am concerned. I’m not freaking out... I’m actually feeling like it’s not time to panic quite yet.” (Robert, 30:33)
  • Diana on Williams: “Where we’re seeing him have that trouble, is when he’s escaping. You can tell they’re coaching him to sit in the pocket...”
  • Opening drives look promising, but consistency issues remain.

Notable Quote:
"If this goes on for three, four more weeks... you should like check in on me every 36 hours. But right now, I'm actually feeling like it's not time to panic quite yet." (Robert Mays, 32:39)

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B. Miami Dolphins

[39:01]

• Organizational Uncertainty:
  • “Pretty high” panic in Miami; offseason questionable moves, lack of clear organizational vision.
  • Aging/expensive roster not aligning with transition attempts; internal personality issues (Ramsey, Hill).
  • Transition to “soft rebuild” underway, but unclear if leadership (GM/Coach) have owner’s trust for next phase.
  • “They’re in a very, very, very similar situation [to the Browns]... but while Cleveland, I think, could very clearly articulate to you what their plan is... I don’t think the Dolphins can do that. I think they’re hedging all over the place and it’s left them nowhere with no discernible direction.” (Robert, 45:49)
• Tua’s Comments:
  • Candidly admits he’s not Josh Allen.
  • “As a journalist, I love Tua’s honesty. He’s almost a little too honest all the time.” (James Palmer, 46:14)

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C. Kansas City Chiefs

[46:54]

• No Panic Yet — But Trust Issues Emerging:
  • 0-2 start for first time in Mahomes era, but roster injuries create context.
  • Offensive line inconsistency, lack of trustworthy receivers, and Mahomes forced “to do too much” biggest worries.
  • “There is nothing they can go to on offense... whether or not that changes when the receivers come back, I think we wait and see about that.” (Robert, 47:36)
  • Diana on Mahomes: “They’re relying, they’re going too far that way and they know it... This isn’t 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes.”
• Mahomes’ Mindset:
  • “If Patrick Mahomes closed his eyes on this 30th birthday and said really to himself, what do I want? I think he’d say, I want trust. I don’t think he has any trust in what’s around him right now.” (James Palmer, 50:04)
• Travis Kelce as Reliable Target:
  • Mahomes’ trust with Kelce remains, but lacks it elsewhere.
  • Potential right tackle change discussed.

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4. Lightning Round: Fun & Mailbag

Segment Begins: 57:24

• Kicker Superstitions:
  • Audience Q: If you were a kicker, would you slather balls in evaporated milk, use acupuncture, or sleep with them?
    • Dianna: “I would dip the football in olive oil, maybe a little garlic.”
    • James: Endorses the benefit of making the football softer like a crockpot.
• Kirk Cousins Trade Musings:
  • Despite QB injuries, no real trade market for Cousins—Falcons want him as insurance, most teams content at backup QB.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tom Brady’s Access:
  “To Bill Belichick on the podium with the media are two vastly different human beings… [in production meetings] the conversation can go anywhere.” (James Palmer, 17:26)
• On the Bears’ Patience:
  "Concerned, not panicked." (Robert Mays, 37:27)
• On the Dolphins’ Identity Crisis:
  "I think this is just a team in no man’s land." (Robert, 40:43)
• On Chiefs' Play:
  "There is nothing they can go to on offense...there is a fear in that building that Patrick's going to keep trying to do more and...it's a little bit of a concern." (James Palmer, 50:04)
• On NFL QB Hardships:
  "Unless you’ve done it...you see fans try it at the stadium and...you’re rallying. I mean, look, Pat McAfee does it every Saturday on college game day...It’s so hard." (Dianna, 61:18)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

| Topic | Time (MM:SS) | |---|---| | QB Injury Updates | 05:00 | | Tom Brady Conflict of Interest | 15:26 | | Panic Meter – Bears | 30:33 | | Panic Meter – Dolphins | 39:01 | | Panic Meter – Chiefs | 46:54 | | Kicker Superstitions + Kirk Cousins | 57:24 |

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Summary

This Scoop City episode delivers insider analysis, front-office musings, and spirited banter on the conflict of interest Tom Brady may pose as a minority owner with coaches’ booth access, the challenges of navigating early-season QB injuries, and how much fans should really worry about a few struggling franchises. Expert guests, candid league reporting, and off-the-cuff humor make this an engaging episode for any NFL fan—especially those keeping an eye on the league’s most high-profile personalities and teams.

Transcript

[A]

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[C]

I'm trying to be better about bringing my own food on Sunday. Week one was really bad because I felt I'm one of those people. And Diane, I'm sure you understand this. Coming from an Italian family. Like, I've never shown up empty handed to any sort of gathering of human beings ever in my entire life. I can't do it. And week one I was like, okay, Chicago, everyone came here because I live here. I feel like a deep need and obligation to be the host in this situation. So I brought donuts for week one and then we ordered sandwiches at lunch and by the time we recorded the show on Sunday night I was like, I can't even think, I'm so full. And so I'm trying to be a little better about eating healthy as we have to do a podcast at 10:30pm every single week.

[A]

Hello and welcome to Scoop City, presented by ebay on a Wednesday. I am James Palmer. Don't forget to like and subscribe. As always, we say that. And on a Wednesday, as always, it is Diana Rossini, the athletic senior NFL insider, joining me once again. We're going to have Robert Mays later on the show. It's going to be a party. Diana, how are things today?

[D]

Good. I feel like we, we hit the backup quarterback circus a little too early for my liking. I, you know, it's always coming. Like we're always going to have the week where it's like, well, all the backup are in. But you don't want to hear that in September. And I definitely, I don't want to continue talking about turf toe. And I was Googling before, why isn't it not grass toe? Right. Why is it just turf toe? So all that stuff, it's been a fun few days of just looking into it and watching some surgeries as well. I get a little weird sometimes when I get into certain medical things in.

[A]

Football, watching some surgeries. Oh, I thought you were like Seinfeld when Kramer drops the Junior Mint in there. Like you were watching a surgery. But no, you're just watching with the timetable on some of these surgeries. I get it, I get it, I get it. Listen, we're gonna talk about Tom Brady. Cause everybody is.

[D]

I'm watching the surgery.

[A]

James, you're watching the surgeries.

[D]

I mean, I was looking at the videos. I had to make a call right there in my head. I'm like, should I just let James think I'm not really doing that?

[C]

Because I guess he's really like, you're watching.

[A]

And then you're like, you're sending a tweet going, like, from my expert eye. The surgery went well?

[D]

No, I just wanted to see what it looked like and what Joe Burrow was actually getting done to the ligaments. So again, probably need to not do that while I'm at traffic lights.

[A]

No, but. Well, I don't know about traffic light, but above and beyond. I applaud that, but not the time period in which you're using the phone. Listen, we're going to get to a lot. Diana, on the show. We're going to talk about Tom Brady. Is there really a conflict of interest? Is there really. Diana and I asked around. We're going to get to the bottom of that. We're going to talk about the panic meter. We're going to have Robert Mays to talk about that with us. Whether we should be panicking in Miami or Chicago or Kansas City. We'll find out. And then lastly, we're going to get to these quarterback injuries that Diana's talking about. It is a big deal. And it is only week three. It is a very big deal, Diana. So here's what we're hearing. This is what we're hearing with some quarterbacks. The biggest one, really, I think, is the former rookie of the year, the one that's really up in the air now that Jaden Daniels is in year two. Ryan, we're taping this on a Wednesday. He did not practice, but where are we for Sunday?

[D]

Yeah, so we're at a point right now where we at least know it's a sprained knee. Received that MRI right after that game against the Green Bay Packers. And, you know, credit to Grant Paulson in Washington for putting out that report all of last week, and the team confirmed it, and so he's dealing with it. And I do think that the team is going to try to be conservative here. They're obviously going to try to be competitive and have some good gamemanship here. And Dan Quinn said that he's not good to practice. They didn't even have him speak to the media, which usually is a good sign. They said if he were to play, though, if they decide that maybe he can go, he'd be available to the media on Friday. So. So they're really doing a good job of, of keeping us guessing.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

But I think that you can look at the situation, understand the injury and know that. That it probably push a little too much if he were to go. So I wouldn't be surprised if he were to miss this game. But of course, we, we. We got to see how this knee feels come Friday.

[A]

Yeah, they're going to go through the entire week to my understanding. Right. They're going to take it all the way up. Maybe Friday might be a call. We'll see. I think they want to kind of gauge where he's at. There's benchmarks that Dan Quinn has, I think you mentioned with something important. There is the type of player he is, where he is in his career, where they are in the season, and again, how he plays the game, I think that's extremely important. The legs are a huge part of the way Jayne Daniels plays this game. He led the commanders in rushing last year, Diana. He had more scrambles, 75 than any other quarterback in football. Nobody else was above 50 last season. And he already, I believe, has 10 scrambles this season through two games. So using his legs, playing outside the pocket, a big part of how he plays. And I think all of this is getting put together because also they've had some issues protecting so far a little bit. Took a lot of sacks last year, and I believe the Raiders have six sacks already this season. So I think all of this is probably going around in that bald Dan Quinn head of his as he tries to evaluate when they bring with the.

[D]

Hat or no hat.

[A]

I like that he rocks the backwards hat. That, like, he just doesn't care. He's like, I don't care what anybody thinks how I look. This is what I do. I rock this dad.

[C]

Backwards hat.

[A]

It looks like he should be mowing along in, like, the suburbs with that backwards hat and being like, yeah, I love it. Mowing. And be like, how's it going, Dave? And just mowing along as he's, you know, as he's. As he's. As he's hanging out on a Saturday. But he's not. He's one of the best coaches in football. Speaking of one of the best coaches in football, Kyle Shanahan has a. A quarterback that is banged up as well. Diana, in Brock Purd, you have been reporting brilliantly, I might add, that this might be a little bit, maybe on the shorter end in terms of recovery from his very own turf toe, or dead foot, as I'd like to call it, to maybe give it a little more gusto or death slip. Yeah. I put death foot on the Internet and nobody really seemed to pick that up.

[D]

They're like, what a weirdo. I think maybe you and I are the only ones who wanted to change the name.

[A]

I liked Deathfoot. The only comment I got was from Silver and Silver Sun. So that's the only people that really seem to care. Where are we at in Rockport? Because you seem to have been on top of this, that this might be a little bit. Maybe a shorter absence.

[D]

Yeah, James, I think there was a little bit concern initially that this would be a longer recovery period because it's truly about pain management where, you know, with Joe Burrow, he's getting surgery, he's getting those tendons.

[A]

And these are two different turf toe type of like, essentially grades.

[D]

Grades, yeah. So this is a. This is still a tear, but it doesn't need surgery, and it's not as significant as Joe Burrows. So it's all going to be about how Brock feels this week. So I would expect to see him at least out on the field trying to do something to see how that feels. Mac Jones did a really good job against the New Orleans Saints, which we talked about before the game.

[A]

We knew did a Certain show think that that was going to happen.

[D]

Oh, yeah. So he called it. Which. It doesn't really take a rocket scientist because that's how good Kyle Shanahan is. Relax.

[C]

Give us some credit.

[D]

I know I should. I'm a little too hard on me. Too hard on you. So I think that the good news is it appears that the backup quarterback can handle the operation for now, so they're not going to feel rushed to put Brock in there. But I think the even better news is this isn't so significant that we're not going to at least see Brock around over the next week or so. I think. I think all signs are pointing to him returning on the earlier end of this compared to maybe the later when we initially thought he injured this foot. At least when he did injure this foot, we thought maybe this would take longer. So this is really great news for the Rangers.

[A]

That is good news. That is Good news. Yeah. 2 and 049ers. You're right. And let's feel it.

[D]

Right.

[A]

It doesn't feel it. It just seems like people are kind of, like, weary a little bit. Right. They're like. I mean, they still have some talent. They still have a good core. Brock, is he going to get consistently, like, find issues with injury, like, I don't want to believe and then watch back into this year? They'll be doing just fine. I. I guarantee it. Carson Wentz is going to be manning the quarterback spot for Kevin o'. Connell. We just talked about Jane Daniels. Filling in for him would be Marcus Mariota. What year is this? Carson Wentz, Marcus. Man on the field. But that all stems from where things stand with J.J. mcCarthy. And he was not placed on IR. I think that's a big part of this, right?

[D]

Yes. That is the best part of the story is that they have not made that decision yet, which means that they've got hope that the high ankle can recover. But James, you know this because we've covered so many of the high ankle situations. Again, another pain management situation where it really depends on the guy. It depends on the player.

[A]

Right.

[D]

In Tannehill was trying to get out there after like two days of injuring his. I remember that back in Tennessee. So it. And. And look, I don't know the type of pain tolerance JJ has. I'm gonna guess based on that one quarter we saw and the fire that kid has, he is gonna probably try to push closer to getting back than the opposite. But. But you've got Carson Wentz in there now. Kevin o' Connell reached out To Andy Reid, he reached out to Sean McVay, did all the homework on who is Carson Wentz before they sign him. Is this a guy that I can actually do this with? Because Kevin OConnell has had such great success, obviously with so many backup quarterbacks, is this even feasible? And Carson really got the sign off from both the two super bowl winning coaches that, yeah, Kevin, go ahead, take it. You can do it. You can make something work with him. And when got the opportunity this past Thursday to. To take first team reps. So he had. He had a chance to really go out there and as you know, like Thursday practices in the NFL.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And he looks good. Like, I think Kevin o' Connell even said publicly that I think there was not one ball dropped. Like the ball never hit the ground that Carson looked that sharp out there. So I think there's certainly belief there, you know. So I think this is good news for the Minnesota Vikings, who I'm sure, look, J.J. mcCarthy had a hell of a week, you know, short week, baby. I don't think I did a good enough job talking about that last show of like, oh, wait, he had a. Do you remember what you were like? But obviously different experiences for you as the father. Not saying it's any different though, in terms of the adrenaline, the life change.

[A]

I think it's very different. Actually, Diana, I think it's extremely different. Shut up.

[D]

I do not remember her screaming, that pain is so awful. But. But at the same time, like, you remember what it was like, right? Like it took a while. Sorry, Kevin gonna speak for you, but like it took a while for him to be normal again. He was so high and obviously in love and excited that imagine having to go game plan. Like, I don't care who you are. That's hard.

[A]

Oh yeah. I mean the focus. I mean, it's your child. You're like, your eye is constantly over there. Like you could have your iPad wherever you're at. But you're. You're gonna be like, I can't believe that's like my kid. I can't believe I had a kid. Like, that is unbelievable. Nick's was born during the bi week. Mom.

[D]

Like, you're worried about a million things.

[C]

It's wild.

[A]

Nicks was born during the bye week. By the way, Meg was a genius when I was covering the Texans way back when, which was awesome.

[D]

That's the type of commitment I look for in the people that are part of the scoop city.

[A]

Very much so. She has commitment. She has commitment to the league.

[D]

We love you.

[A]

Girl, yes, very much so. And with Wentz, it was funny that you brought all that up because we didn't talk about it. I remember being with the Chiefs towards the end of last season and just kind of being like, how's Carson? And they were like, great. Like, we think he's kind of like. Like, he's a starting caliber player in this league still at the quarterback position. And so it's going to be interesting because what do we love seeing Diana? Kevin o' Connell with a reclamation project at quarterback, and we just love to watch it happen. And this is on him. Honestly, I said this.

[D]

He loves this.

[A]

I think he might look, I think.

[D]

He wants J.J. mcCarthy, but I think he loves the challenge. I think he looks at this as another way to show that he is a fantastic play call and truly a head coach who's got the pulse of his quarterback and knows how to get the most out of whoever that is. He's already earned that respect. But keep it coming. Work your magic, Kevin o'.

[C]

Connell.

[D]

We'll see it.

[A]

I love it. I think it's great. But also, I would be remiss if we didn't say the situation that they're in right now falls squarely on Kevin's shoulders. So it's going to be fun to watch the reigning coach of the year go out there and try to put this together until he can get his starter back. And the other part that I look at is look at how JJ McCarthy grows when he's working, when he's in the environment, when he's doing right. He gets better in week one. By the fourth quarter, he's a different quarterback again. Another injury eliminates that process of learning on the job that we, you know, we have seen some points where that. That helps J.J. mcCarthy. Some people help, you know, help themselves by watching and taking a step back. Happened for Bryce Young a year ago. But I feel like JJ's kind of one of those players from doing it helps and he can't do it here. All right. To Tom Brady and the conflict of interest and our man Peter Schraggs, who I feel like nobody's really, like, backing or whatever. He was just told by Chip Kelly.

[D]

I know. Do you think Peter just made that up?

[A]

Yeah. Peter didn't go, like. Anonymous sources tell me that Tom Brady's been meeting with. No. Chip Kelly told me in our meeting, which is ironic because this is what we're going to talk about. Chip Kelly told me in our production meeting that he's meeting with Tom Brady two to a week and they're going over film and they're going over game plans. And then we see Brady just devastatingly overdressed for the coaches booth in a suit and tie with the headset on. And he's, he's there. And then the Internet goes bonkers about the, the conflict of interest about being in a broadcast booth and a coaches booth as a minority owner. Diana, what's the pulse around the league when you ask, do people genuinely in the decision making roles care?

[D]

I feel like I've gotten a pretty good split call on it. There's some teams who like, I do not care. Like literally that was the text back, I do not care. We do not care. It does not bother us. You know, you have some that have the philosophy of what are the. If Tom Brady really wants to get intel, he can go find it. Like, he doesn't need to be in a production meet. Of course it makes it easier.

[A]

Yeah, of course.

[D]

You know, and then I have others who like, yeah, it's a completely unfair advantage and the fact that it's been allowed this long and everyone's just okay with it and still like, well, it's Tom Brady. You know, I just think there's a couple layers to the story.

[C]

Right.

[D]

Because you have. Let's start with the conflict of interest as the minority owner and as the broadcaster. That that's the first thing of being given this access. And James, for those that are listening, you've been in these production meetings. I have been in these production meetings. Tell me what you like about a production meeting that you think teams would maybe be weary of with having Brady in it, that maybe the football fan doesn't know that was get revealed in a meeting.

[A]

Yeah, great point. Because I feel like this meeting is getting downplayed by a lot of people this week. Maybe my opinion's different being in it and maybe because I've spent the majority of my time standing at the coach's podium on a Wednesday or a Thursday trying to get as much information as possible out of a coach that wants to give you none. Brady also comes from an organization that wants to provide none in all of those settings. But when it comes to a production meeting, there is a completely different feeling. I brought up New England, Bill Belichick in a production meeting. To Bill Belichick on the podium with the media are two vastly different human beings. I can't stress that enough. I've been in one with Bill Belichick and it's a very different feel now. The conversation can go anywhere. I think in one of them. He started arguing with Kurt Warner about a previous super bowl of the two of them going against each other. So like these meetings can go a lot of different ways, but. But I take a lot of value out of it. I think you can figure a lot of things out. Big picture Diana, as opposed to game plan strategy. And I think that's where everybody's looking at this. Anything I put out on social media at a tweet that got a lot of attention. A lot of the comments I look at are like, well, the Raiders still stink. The Raiders only scored such and such points. I don't think that's the competitive advantage, the distinct game strategy. I think it's the larger picture. Who's liked and disliked in the building, who's liked and disliked in terms of their usage. All of that, from coaches to players to anything, is a little nugget of information about what the big picture is going on in that organization and how maybe somebody that's involved in that could impact the way the Raiders operate. Because I think we are looking at somebody that's extremely competitive. I think he's the greatest player this league's ever seen. And is he just going to turn that competitive nature off about finding every little nugget that can help his team win? I just find that completely bonkers. And so again, I'm curious what you've taken out of the meetings. Because scheme. No, they don't tell you like we're going to scheme this, we're going to do that and direct X's and O's. That's really not mentioned in that meeting. But oftentimes in that meeting, I think, I think the favor of certain players and things like that might be mentioned and could be taken as getting an added advantage in a position that no other owner's in.

[D]

And look, it depends on which coach is sitting there, which player, 100% you're usually getting the stars, right? Most star players are very well media trained. Once in a while they'll throw you in. A rookie, a high draft pick. And that's usually where the sharks can attack, right? Because they're not as trained as the older players. And maybe something would get revealed, something a little bit more than you'd expect. And some teams, look, I've sat in there with head coaches where I can't believe, believe what they're telling, what they're sharing with us because there's an understanding that the broadcast partner, the, the team that's calling the game, that there is a circle of trust, is if there no One says it, no one talks about. It's just understood. And I can tell you as being friends with tons of people that are in these meetings, like friends of mine, good friends of mine, if I see them before the game or they still.

[A]

Won'T tell you morning of.

[D]

I mean, no, they don't act like they know the answers to everything and they won't even give you a wink, a hint. Like, not that that you'd ever use it as a source, but, like, I mean, I'm talking the most casual conversations, like, freak out because there's just such an understanding in that space. Tom Brady, when he was a player, what do you think he was like? Right. I bet you he was neurotic about what he was saying and how, who knew who. And so I see this as ironic that he is getting this access and maybe using it to his advantage. While when he was a player, I'm sure he didn't even like any of that as. Same way as Belichick. So you've got that story then. I had somebody with the team make this point to me yesterday, and I guess I just didn't think of it, of just the idea that he's a minority owner sitting in a booth. And we're not really criticizing that because we're all consumed with the conflict of interest on the broadcasting side. But what about the minority owner sitting in the booth? Like, I know he's the greatest quarterback of all time, but what is his role? Is he the owner? Is he like, John Elway was with the Broncos where he ran all football operations? Tom Brady needs to own what he is with the Las Vegas Raiders, which is running the Las Vegas Raiders.

[C]

Yeah, right.

[D]

And. And because when he gets asked about it, he does not say much. Like, he's like, oh, I'm just in the background. Like, I don't know why he talks like that. He does not talk like that.

[A]

He does not speak like that.

[D]

I just think that he is doing his best to reveal very little pryush because it is going to be a conflict when the wrestling really, like, we knew how involved he was because you and I are reporters. The world found out on Monday Night Football that was the first time people that, like, I'm friends with that, like, wait, Tom Brady is doing this? I'm like, yes, yes, he is. And I think the more examples that we uncover and hear about whether it's Alex Guerrero the trainer being there, there's. There's a million little tentacles of Tom Brady that, that are smothered over the Vegas Raiders and I'm not sure how this is going to sit by the end of the season.

[A]

Yeah, I think it's very interesting. I think it's interesting that the rules were actually relaxed for him this season compared to last season. He was not allowed to attend these production meetings last season. Now, again this year, he is not allowed to attend them in person. He's not allowed to attend practice, which often happens with the broadcast teams. He's allowed to attend these virtually. So I'm assuming he's sitting on, like, an iPad in the middle of the table, because it's usually in a big conference room and there's Tom's head and he can ask questions as well. So he's there virtually. But that's the strange part of all of this. Right, Diana, like we did talk about, and I love that you brought it up, about these broadcast friends of ours, whether it be Joe Buck or Troy Aikman or Tracy Wolfson or Jim Nance or whoever it is, I want to give all of them a lot of respect and give them their kudos because they keep everything that's said in these meetings very close to to the vest and have a very good understanding about what should be said on the air and what should be just kept to themselves. Now, I don't want to accuse Tom Brady that he's not doing that. I just think it's putting everyone involved in a very interesting position. And with everything that has been done, I just feel like the perception of conflict of interest might be a greater issue right now than even the actual conflict of interest, which is something that the NFL could have avoided possibly, and maybe has not. Okay, do you have anything else on this at all.

[D]

As nice as Tom Brady's? Like, do you have one in there that you think you go toe to toe with them? Because that was a very nice suit.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

You dress very well. So I. That's why I asked you. I would not have asked you that if I thought you dressed like a garbage can.

[A]

I think I got one. I usually, like. I used to, like, save one for the super bowl, like, all year. It'd be saved and it wouldn't be worn on Sundays.

[D]

Really quickly, because you're Philadelphia. What do you call the thing that picks up the stuff you throw out? What do you call that big thing with wheels in the morning?

[A]

Trash truck.

[D]

Okay. We call it a garbage truck. Isn't that interesting?

[A]

Garbage truck. Right.

[D]

We call it a garbage truck. Philly people call it a trash truck. Just something I learned recently.

[A]

Yeah, well, we do things our way. Diana. Coming up on scoop city, presented by ebay, we have Robert mays joining us to talk about where our panic level is with the Chicago bears, the Miami dolphins and the Kansas city chiefs. Panic meter, where is it? Find out next. You saw that play when your quarterback dropped back, looked off the safety and threw a dime deep for the go ahead touchdown. Well, that's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy. And you can own a piece of it when you shop. The unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay, the home of collectibles since 1995. Huddle up with 132 million users around the world to find that rookie autograph you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading cards, singles and sealed boxes. Unreal live card breaks, truly unique game. Used memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on ebay. Plus, with the ebay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the app store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right [e-mail] theathletic come through and collect with us today.

[E]

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[D]

Hi, I'm Kristen bell and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.

[A]

We're really doing this, huh?

[D]

Thankfully, carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your vin or license and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

[A]

Goodbye, truckee.

[D]

Of course, we kept the favorite.

[A]

Hello, other truckee.

[D]

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[A]

All right. Welcome back to scoop city, presented by ebay, James Palmer, Diana. And we have a very special guest. Diana, it is Robert Mays. It is the host of the athletic football show. And Robert, I'm a little jealous of your guys studio setup. I'm not going to lie there in Chicago. I like your new addition. I love that guy. And so how are things, man? How are things?

[C]

They're great. It's fun to be in Person. It's fun to do the shows in person. It's fun to watch the games together. There's just a lot of new on the athletic football show this year and we are very much enjoying it to this point in the season.

[D]

What are you guys eating when you're watching? Are you ordering food?

[C]

Like, so we've been ordering food. There's a couple. So the studio is in the West Loop Fulton Market area in Chicago and there's a dozen really good sandwich places within delivery distance. I'm trying to be better about bringing my own food on Sunday. Week one was really bad because I felt I'm one of those people. And Diane, I'm sure you understand this. Coming from an Italian family. Like, I've never shown up empty handed to any sort of gathering of human beings ever in my entire life. I can't do it. And week one, I was like, okay, Chicago, everyone came here because I live here. I feel like a deep need and obligation to be the host in this situation. So I brought donuts for week one and we ordered sandwiches at lunch. And by the time we recorded the show on Sunday night, I was like, I can't even think. I'm so full. And so I'm trying to be a little better about eating healthy as we have to do a podcast at 10:30pm every single week.

[D]

Yeah, yeah. And, and the energy it takes, like, also rev back up after you've watched the games. And some of these games, they've been good, but a couple duds here and there, right? So you like, lose your steam. But I've been impressed so far, you guys. You ramp it up and it's, it's always such great analysis. Especially like, you don't have a lot of time to think about it. Like, you watch it, you saw it, you go. So it's definitely a must. Listen. So we're so psyched to have you here on Scoop City, where we don't do the type of work that you're doing with that immediate reaction. We're doing a lot more of breaking news stuff, as you know, and things that everyone around the league is talking about. So we, we kind of want to get some insight on some of the topics that we're kind of hot on right now.

[A]

Yeah, we're going to have a great conversation. We're gonna have a great conversation here between the three of us. And listen, I always bring alcohol. I just want to throw that out there. I don't bring food. I just usually bring the booze. So maybe make the show like off the rails are super awesome by the end Sunday night rolls around if you show with a bottle of bourbon.

[C]

Robert, I don't know. Dave and Derek six drinks in talking about the Falcons pass rush. I think that's what everybody wants.

[A]

Yeah, right. Dave's got the beer going. All right, let's, let's get. Let's get down to brass stacks here. We're going to talk about a panic meter a little bit here with a few teams and we're going to start with a team right there in your backyard. Robert, in the Chicago Bears. I've talked to some people there. I want to hear the buzz of what's happening in Chicago right now because it feels like people are already in full on panic mode. But I do want to make this disclaimer before we jump into it. No other team in the history of the NFL has started out playing two teams that won 14 or more games the previous year. That has never happened. I looked it up. The other three or four teams that have had to do it with a winning percentage that high with their first two opponents all played football in the 1920s. So this is rare time for the Bears to start with these two opponents. Does that cut them any slack, Robert, at all, at all in what we've seen in two weeks?

[C]

It depends on who you're asking. If you're asking a random person on the streets of Chicago, I don't think anybody cares. I think everybody is in full on panic mode right now. I went back and rewatched the game this morning and I don't know if this is just severe cope for me as a Bears fan or if I'm trying to see it with a little bit of rationality. I am concerned. I'm not freaking out. I guess that's where I land. Two games into the season. The offense I actually thought did some really nice things on Sunday, specifically the quarterback. After week one, I feel like some of the misses were troubling. But even the way that he was playing out some of the plays, reading things out, watching him and just the mechanics of playing the position against the Vikings, I didn't love what I saw on Sunday against the Lions. I truly think you saw some of the best moments from Caleb Williams his entire career in terms of the throws he was making, how he was reading things out. There were so many splash plays where I'm like, okay, you can, can really attach yourself to this. The offense has been sloppy and the defense right now looks sloppy. And so that's how I'm trying to rationalize this is, it's two games of a new regime and the example I keep throwing out, you know, James, you. I'm sure you remember this deeply. Week three, I believe, of the 2023 season, the Broncos give up 73 points to the Miami Dolphins.

[A]

This is in my notes right here about this Bears team. I love that you brought it up. Go ahead.

[C]

Vance Joseph is somebody who is a head coach in the league, is a well respected defensive coordinator. That defense looked like the worst unit in the NFL for the first month of the year in that season. And you can extend it to week four when they actually played against the Chicago Bears. And Justin Fields had one of the best games of his career. We know Dennis Allen can do this. And so I'm really hoping with a little bit more time, with a little bit, couple more weeks to kind of hone these things in the defensive talent. There are some issues with injuries, things like that, but I really hope we can get back to a competent level on that side and you can continue to see progress from the offense. So if this goes on for three, four more weeks and we get into like the middle of October and this is still happening, you, Diane, you should like check in on me every 36 hours. But right now I'm actually feeling like it's not time to panic quite yet.

[D]

Yeah, I feel like when he has that time in the pocket, he, he does look stellar. Like, he looks really good. It's just. Can this offensive line continue to improve and give him more of those moments? Because I think where we're seeing him have that trouble is when he's escaping right like that. That's. It's almost like you can tell that they're coaching him to sit in the pocket because that's just where his best is. It's just, unfortunately, he's not getting all that protection. And I'm sure it's also natural for him to want to escape because, hell, the last few years, at least the last year or so, that's what he had to do to survive. And I think a lot of this is breaking those old habits. So I appreciate that you, you aren't freaking out because there has to be a level of patience which we talk about a lot, even though it's. I just, people don't like to hear it.

[C]

When they were going through the offense in training camp and Ben Johnson was explicit about this, they. And I talked to Declan Doyle when I was there. I think that some of the process that they were doing when they were installing the offense was. It was a Lot of volume. Just like, seeing what they could do and what they couldn't do. And I don't think that left a lot of time to hone in on what things they were good at. And so I always expected it to feel a little bit uneven at the beginning of the season offensively. And that's why what you've seen. There are some elements of the offensive line play that leave me a little bit worried. Like, Braxton Jones is hurt and he's going to continue to ramp up. And so the moments you've seen from Braxton Jones that have left a little bit to be desired, I'm less worried about that. Darnell Wright has not been great over the first couple weeks. This is now year three. You want to see more from him. And then Dalman and Jonah Jackson have had their issues. And so, again, this is an area where you put a lot of investment with a little bit more time on task, with a little bit more cohesion as the season moves along. Do we see better play from the offensive line? Does that make the offense feel a little bit less disjointed and a little bit less sloppy than it's felt over the first couple weeks?

[A]

Yeah. And I think that's part of this, right, Robert, because you mentioned everything, and that's what we all heard, is what. What does Caleb do right? What does he do wrong? What can he handle? Let's give him as much as possible and figure all of this out, but at the same time, then refining the things that he can do very, very well maybe has a shorter period of time where you can focus. And maybe that's why you're also seeing with a new system and a new guy in charge, there's still some operational issues, in a sense, in and out of the huddle a little bit. In a sense, there's still the footwork stuff that Ben's trying to work with him on, and that's where you see some of the accuracy things creep back in. And these are all different aspects of what Ben Johnson's trying to do. And I'm curious if there in Chicago, if people are putting all of this on Caleb, Caleb, or are they putting any of it on Ben? And I think that's been an interesting part of this early on because everybody's going, you know, this was the savior. Everybody's wanting him for the last couple of years. I looked at the stats through two weeks. They're identical to last year for Caleb Williams. I mean, identical. It's wild. He's got 208.3 passing yards last year, 208.5 passing yards per game through two weeks this year, the completion percentage, almost identical. Passer ratings. Almost identical. Identical. But what stands out to me the most is the opening drive. Like, the opening drive of both games. He's been incredible. He's completing like 90% of his passes. They've scored a touchdown on both opening drives. To me, that's Ben Johnson setting him up to succeed throughout the week in the first 15. This is what we want to do, and then it somehow differs the rest of the game.

[C]

I'll say this. I think that's true of game two. In game one, I'm less inclined to think that way because a lot of the big chunk gains on that first drive against the Vikings are plays he was making out of structure. So I don't think that was the play design really contributing to that. That was him making plays that, while exciting, are still very volatile. And that's where I land with Caleb Williams. That first drive, especially that throw he makes running to his right, down the right sideline. That stuff is fun. It's exciting. I want to see him do more of that, but what I want to see is him working on time with just a real command from the pocket. And that's what you saw in the Lions game. I think maybe one or two misses. The interception he throws while rolling to his right. Trying to make one of those spectacular plays is a nightmare decision. But the ratio of good to bad in that game was so much better than it was even in week one. I think that there are encouraging signs of progress there. And if you get encouraging signs of progress from the quarterback and everything else can just get a tick better on the offensive line. The operational stuff, the penalties, and you just get the defense to a playable level. That would be a livable situation for me as a Bears fan over the course of the season. They're the 18th best defense in the league. But Ben. But Caleb Williams looks like he's a professional quarterback from the pocket. By the time we get to the end of this thing and they go 7 and 10, I think I can live with that. They're a far cry from that now, but I think if that's the final result, I'll be able to live with that.

[A]

Okay. Live with that. I would live with that. Diana, can you live with that?

[D]

Again, I can live with it. And I think we can officially say that. The panic meter. You're not panicked, right? Is that fair, Robert?

[C]

Concerned. Concerned, not panicked.

[D]

But. But I think we. We had to put our feet to the fire on this. I'm going to do that to you. We're to say not panicked because it's not not a choice. Concern is not a choice. We're tough on this.

[C]

I am not panicking yet. Yet is a key word there. Check back with me in like two to three weeks and there's a chance I am panicking. Also, if you want to check in with me on Sunday in real time, I will be panicking. But that's that's it's not the best time to ask me about how things are going.

[A]

Well, I'd be curious what the panic meter will be if eber flu who's running that Cowboys defense and that's who they face this coming Sunday ends up just mauling Ben Johnson's offense. We'll see where the panic meter is after this Sunday when they face their.

[C]

Former that's probably enough to get it to like an eight and a half or nine considering the way the Cowboys defense played on Sunday against Russell Wilson.

[A]

100% accurate and maybe that's a get right game. Maybe it could be just explosion. We'll see onto the Dolphins. And before I do get to both of your opinions on what's happening with Mike McDaniel and his group down there, make sure you read Mike Silver's article on the athletic this morning about Mike and about what's going on down there in Miami. I think it's outstanding. Robert, what's the panic meter at for the Miami Dolphins when you have a player only meeting after week one? Haven't really heard that before in all my years covering the NFL and you I have seen this a plane circling in week two talking about firing the general manager and the head coach. And now you have a standalone game on Thursday night against the Bills, which we always know what owners think about being the only game in town on a given evening and what the perception can be in a performance during one of those games.

[C]

It's pretty high. I am panicking about the Dolphins and part of the reason that I'm panicking about the Dolphins is that I was semi panicking before the season even started. And so when you're already that far along, I think the temperature gets much higher, much quicker and that's where I am with Miami. This was always a weird situation and you guys have a better sense of this than I do. And I'm curious to hear hear what you think about the organizational dynamics down there, but the way that the Dolphins were built and how they tried to do this over the Last few years, it always felt like they were trying to thread a needle with how they were using some of these resources and even the players that they were seeking out. When you make that trade for Tyree Kill, when you go sign Toronto Armstead, when you trade for Jalen Ramsey, you have all these guys that are 30, 30 plus. You have a couple year window to make this work. It didn't work. And they pushed all their chips in financially, they leveraged themselves financially over the last couple years. You fall short. And coming into this year, I always felt like, okay, you fell short. Now you retool and kind of figure out what else is going to happen and what the future of the organization looks like. Maybe that includes a reset for your decision makers and the stakeholders, general manager, the head coach, everything. They didn't choose to do that. And then they kind of halfway tried to retool some of the elements of the roster coming into this year and, and I never really understood what the goal was. Like, what are you trying to be, you're getting younger, but then you're trading away draft picks to move up in the second round for a guard. Like it all felt very misaligned and so I just didn't know what to make of this team. And it felt like they'd kind of run out of road coming into the season. And that's what it feels like. It feels like this group ran out of road and they found out or made a decision on it six months later than they should have in terms of the people they retained and how they tried to build the roster. So I think this is just a team in no man's land.

[D]

I think you could run back what you just said for multiple teams every single year because you see so many organizations get stuck in this, we'll call it gray, where they probably should have made a decision. They didn't. They, they had a belief in something, right? And I think the belief that they've had has been in their head coach Mike McDaniel and in what he's done well for this offense when they were humble and it wasn't that long ago. And I think sometimes that is what's hurting the expectations for what we have for this Dolphins team when the way you laid it out is very true. It's not built to be as good as we want it to be based on what we saw. There's no growth from year to year at this point. And just seeing the way they're losing to some of this, some of these self inflicted decisions and moves, I think that always adds up and starts telling you the story of where this team is at and what they're about and what they care about. Look, we had heard in the off season too that they had some personality differences with some of these guys on the team. Right. Jalen Ramsey is no longer there. We've seen Jalen Ramsey before. We know what he's about. When he's not happy, he is going to let you know he's not happy. Right. And I don't think he was thrilled there, which is why they shipped him out. And Tyreek Hill is not happy. It's, he has said it, he's taken aback, but it's pretty evident. And I think he's just trying to get through to what whatever the next step is going to be for him, whether or not they trade him by the trade deadline or not. But the Miami Dolphins know they need Tariq in order for TUA to have success. But the problem is now the quarterback's not even playing well like we always gave them credit because Tua and McDaniel appeared to understand what they needed to do to win some of these games and put together good offense. And now I, I, I don't see it. And I think this is where we're seeing this become a problem. I why the future seems very bleak.

[A]

It's why oftentimes, Robert, when teams are built very specifically, when things start to change within that pivoting is sometimes difficult. The entire offense is designed around TUA and a left handed quarterback no less. The way the progressions are, the way they operate as an offense is designed specifically for tua. But nobody really wants to say it. They're in like a soft rebuild right now in Miami. And I think, I think when you, Diana, you mentioned how they're built when you're built specifically for one thing, and now you have to go through the transition of changing some of that. When Tron Armstead retires and you move out Jalen Ramsey and you try to change some of the things that are happening there, you're trying to rely now on younger players. You have to, when you have a TUA contract that's kicking in that you didn't have before now, you have to pivot from what you were doing. And when that happens in an organization, oftentimes there's questions from ownership going as we pivot into this somewhat rebuild or change, is this the two individuals we want running the ship for what we're changing? Right. Is that going to be Chris Greer? Is that going to be Mike McDaniel? I think that's where Steven Ross's thought process has to be. And there's one lying part of this that I think we should remember now and maybe just put it in the back of our mind. Anthony Weavers really liked in that building, like a lot running that defense. If you wanted to make a change and take a look at him before you dip into the coaching world of 2026, that could be some of the thinking if this continues to spiral in the wrong direction.

[C]

What you just said, James, about do you have the right people in place for a soft rebuild? The first place my mind goes, and I think there's actually a lot of similarities between these two situations is what happened in Cleveland this offseason. And I think you can quibble with a lot of the stuff that the Browns have done under Andrew Berry over the last three or four years. The draft record is horrendous. And we all know part of the reason the draft record is horrendous is because they didn't have picks the same way the Dolphins did. So the Browns this off season with those two guys, Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Barry, still in charge, they said, okay, we ran out of road with this thing with how we tried to build around Deshaun Watson. We know that as we move into a new era here, we need to do everything we can to stockpile draft picks and start to make up for the lost years that we have filling out the second and third tier of this roster with young cost control players. And look what the Browns did. That was the entire point and motivation for how they handled the draft in the entire offseason.

[A]

The Dolphins, it made sense.

[C]

It's exactly what you should do again, and it's the mindset you should be in. It's what you should do. We'll see if it works out. But early returns like Schlesinger looks good. You know, Dylan Sampson looks like he can play. Harold Fannin looks like he can play. It's their hope is this is a transformative rookie class to kind of restock the cupboard with those play. The Dolphins were in a very, very, very similar situation. They had fewer rookie contract players on their roster last year than any other team in the league. They'd made fewer draft picks over the last three or four years than any other team in the league. But while Cleveland, I think, could very clearly articulate to you what their plan is to get out of this, I don't think the Dolphins can do that. I think they're hedging all over the place and it's left them nowhere with no discernible direction. And I think you've really started to feel that right right now.

[A]

And you got the Bills on Thursday night. Mike, I love you, Josh Allen.

[C]

To get that secondary, I'm sure it's.

[A]

Going to be great.

[D]

Do you see what Tua said about Josh Allen, too? It's like, oh, it's kind of a tough quote. He was honest but essentially saying like, yeah, I am not Josh Allen. I can't be. I will never be Josh Allen. You know, and it's like, well, you're right.

[A]

As a journalist, I love Tua's honesty. He's almost a little too honest all the time. Let's go to the Kansas City Chiefs to close the this out and where everybody's panic meter is with Big Red and company as they are 02 for the first time in Patrick Mahomes career. He has not had this type of start. We had Chase on with us on Monday, Diana. He was like, I was on that 2014 team that started 02 the last time in Kansas City. This is a different group, though. I would like everybody's panic meter on the Kansas City Chiefs because obviously this is very different feeling than the other two, mainly because of where the head coach and the quarterback stand.

[C]

I'm not panicking yet. I think that there's too much earned equity with who the Chiefs have been over the last three or four years to be panicking. Two games into the season. You have your number one and number two receivers not currently playing, and I think you absolutely do feel some of that. The left side of the offensive line. While everyone coming into the season, I think hoped that that group would be better than it was last year with Josh Simmons and Kingsley Sumataia. But you still have two guys playing new positions on the left side that I think hopeful will get better over the course of the year. Simmons looked great in week two. Kingsley, I think still some ups and downs, especially in the run game.

[A]

He could track down tacklers, tell you that he was moving down that sideline.

[D]

What did they clock him at, like 18 miles an hour.

[A]

18 miles an hour flying down the sideline. Yeah.

[C]

I think my biggest issue with the Chiefs right now, and I do think that they can come out on the other side of this, but rewatching that game this morning, I was shocked at the gap in physicality between how the Eagles were playing and how the Chiefs were playing. And that's my issue right now with the Chiefs offense. First and foremost, if you're not going to be Explosive because you don't have your pass catchers. You've got to find consistent methods of offense, especially on the ground. And they can't do that right now. They're getting pushed around right now. There have been other stretches I think back to like 20, 23 or 22. I've been thinking back to even like last year and a couple times over the last few years when they haven't necessarily been this high flying, explosive offense. They've still been able to run the ball. They haven't been explosive on the ground, but they've been consistent. And so right now it just feels like truly outside of, of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce mind meld moments and Patrick Mahomes scrambling, there is nothing they can go to on offense. And whether or not that changes when the receivers come back, I think we wait and see about that. And that's not, that's why I'm not all the way there totally panicking just yet. Even if I think there are a lot of causes for concern.

[D]

Yeah, they were 10 and oh and one score games last year. So let's just remember this wasn't a Chiefs team that was really dominating anyways last year. They're a bit of an extension of what they, they of what we saw last year. It's not like I'm not feeling great improvement from a team that I thought would definitely take that loss from the Philadelphia Eagles in the super bowl and go, all right, we've got to make some changes here. And we know how Andy Reid likes to build this team and we knew he'd address the offensive line because we knew that that was the problem. But that being said, if you don't have Patrick Mahomes doing the things that he does so well, I just don't know how much of that we, how much this offense can rely on that at this point. What? Patrick just turned 30 today, correct?

[A]

Happy birthday, Patrick.

[D]

I think, I think they're asking perhaps a smidge too much. This isn't 25 year old Patrick Mahomes and this isn't me saying he's now old. He's not the same guy. He's still the best to do it, you know, in football at this moment. But I just think that they're relying, they're going too far that way and they know it by the way, like they're waiting for these players to come back back and then let's see what happens before the trade deadline if they, if they make a decision as a team. Like look, this, this isn't enough. This isn't good enough. So I'm not as panicked because I believe in Andy Reid's ability to know and have his finger on the pulse of his team on what they need. But. But I think at the end of the month that this can obviously this continues. This is gonna be bad.

[A]

On the wizard of Oz when everybody's asking what they want and it's I want a brain, I want courage, I want a heart. If Patrick Mahomes closed his eyes on this 30th birthday and said really to himself, what do I want? I think he'd say, I want trust. I don't think he has any trust in what's around him right now. I think that is really the crux of this. Well, why listen? Exactly. Because Robert brought up the offensive line. There is a unbelievable inconsistency issue at left guard. Rightfully so.

[C]

Right tackle there.

[A]

Right?

[D]

Right.

[A]

You beat me to it. They believe Josh has been fine at left tackle. Fine for a rookie. Right tackle is your second highest cap hit and that is a very inconsistent player at your right tackle spot. I think Creed is an outstanding center. I think Trey has even hasn't really played up to the contract in a lot of people's minds in that building so far this season as one of the highest paid right guards in football. So what do I trust in front of me? And then I've covered this team extensively for a long time. He needs to maybe more so than most quarterbacks because this is part of every quarterback. But he needs to trust you to throw you the ball like big time. And you saw that last year and how that was gained with Rushy Rice. Go look at how much he targeted Rice in the early portion of the season before he went down. That was his guy. He gained the trust over the previous of the previous season into that and it was there. He now has a little bit of that hesitation on who do I trust around me. My. My concern with my panic meter is that this continues to snowball and is at a difficult spot before Rice can return. So over the next couple of weeks, what Patrick does is when he knows these things and he's brilliant, that he can't trust these things. He knows these issues lie. He tries to do too much. He's 15th in the NFL in rushing right now or 16th in the NFL in rushing right now. He tries to do everything when he has this feeling around him that he doesn't trust everything. And there is a fear in that building that Patrick's going to keep trying to do more and keep trying to do more and have these heroics and what happens to him before he can get these weapons back is a little bit of a concern. And I think the division is better. I think that plays a part in this as well as previous years. Does anybody want to put a bow tie on this by asking maybe what they want Patrick to have as a birthday present from them, them to, to the great Patrick Mahomes to help him out?

[D]

But Robert, where do you think the trust, where do you think the trust lies with Travis Kelce right now for him?

[C]

I think it's still pretty high. There was a play, it was in the first half and it was one of the bigger chunk gains they had in the entire game against the Eagles. And if you go back and you watch the All 22 on that play, it's the one where Kelsey's kind of over the middle of the field and he just kind of turns around at the sticks. Patrick throws that ball two steps before Travis is going to turn around. And that's not happening with anybody else on this offense. And so I still feel like that trust is there, but I think it's eroded with everybody else on the offense. And James, you bringing up Juwan Taylor I think is a really important thing to do because I think when you think about investments and returns for every player on that Chiefs offense, right now he's at the bottom of the list. And I truly think, I don't know how long it's going to take, but they should consider playing Jalen Moore at right tackle at some point. I really think they should because I don't know how it can get worse than what you're getting out of Juwan Taylor right now. They need to find some consistency because I think some people would look at this and they would say, well, Josh Allen doesn't have superstar receivers, Lamar Jackson doesn't have superstar receivers. They're fine. Those are two of the best rushing teams in the league and have been over the last couple years. There's nowhere that this group can turn with KC right now to find any sort of consistency. And I think like James just said, that's why you're starting to see it spiral a little bit. And that's why I think you see Patrick Mahomes is just trying to do way too much without anywhere else that he can turn.

[D]

And we all, we all can see it. Like you don't even have to be an expert football watcher.

[A]

Just played otherworldly Diana in week one and they just see it.

[D]

You're like what is it? He's so chaotic and. And. And sometimes he still makes the play because he's that talented, but you. You can just see it. And. And unfortunately my. My best memories of watching him do too much have been the two super bowls. They look lost. Right. We saw him running around like a lunatic because he knew he didn't have anyone and he certainly didn't have time in either Super Bowl.

[A]

Yeah, that's his.

[C]

And he missed that Taekwond Thornton throw in that game on Sunday and it. The reason that sticks out so much is you need those plays. One mistake starts to become so astronomical because the misses matter that much more because the margins are so slim. And I think that's just what it feels like to watch this team right now. Everything is hard.

[A]

Yeah, it's been tough. I was. It was put to me best by when Patrick is at his best and plays on such an unbelievable level and they still aren't there. That's when there's a little bit of a worrisome in Patrick's mind on how this offense is operating. Robert, this was outstanding. We got to have you back. I'd love to jump on your show if you ever want to have me. If you do anybody virtually. I know you're a big in studio guy with this big fancy studio in Chicago.

[D]

Fly him out.

[A]

Diana, I'd love to hang out with you if you can. Tell Dave I said what's up?

[C]

We would love to do that. Thursdays is our day to kind of have people on the show and so we will absolutely make that happen at some point over the course of the season.

[A]

Diana, we invited ourselves over. I love it. I do it in my personal life, too. All right, coming up in the last block of scoop city, we have. I believe it's Chris Branch. Yeah, Diana. Chris Branch is going to give us a couple of questions and we're going to answer them as we finish things out with scoop city presented by ebay on a Wednesday. You saw that play when your quarterback dropped back, looked off the safety and threw a dime deep for the Go ahead. Touch the touchdown. Well, that's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy. And you can own a piece of it when you shop the unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay, the home of collectibles since 1995. Huddle up. With 132 million users around the world to find that rookie autograph you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading cards, singles and sealed boxes. Unreal. Live card breaks. Truly unique game use memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on eBay. Plus, with the eBay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the App Store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right [e-mail] come through and collect with us today.

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[A]

Welcome back to Scoop City, presented by ebay on a Wednesday. James Palmer, Diana Rossini closing things out. Diana Every Wednesday we get asked a different question by one of these individuals from their newsletters. Here is Chris Branch with the Pulse newsletter. We never know what these are, right? We don't know what they are. Then we answer. Chris, what do you got this week?

[G]

Hey Scoop City, Chris Branch of the Pulse back here and we have a very serious question that we're pondering this week.

[A]

Week.

[G]

And it comes with football. Specifically kickers. Footballs. In Mike Sando's column this week, he detailed how kickers now have basically all season to mold and shape the footballs, how they want and how they are kicking extremely well with them. Understandably. I was talking to Mike and he sent me this article from 1999 detailing all of the funky ways that kickers do this and three of the ways that I wanted to ask you guys which one you would do if you were a kicker? One of them slathering them in evaporated milk, 2. Using acupuncture on the football or 3 just sleeping with the football? Pick your choice. I think I'd go acupuncture.

[A]

Whoa. Not sure where this article came from. Sleeping with the football. Okay Mike, interesting. Kickers are strange Cats. Diana, do you have one out of the three? As I think about which one I want. Do you know know?

[D]

Yeah, I think I would probably go with my own original. So, yeah, I cook everything with olive oil, and everything just tastes better with it. So I figured I could translate it to my kicking. So I would dip the football in olive oil, maybe a little garlic.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

It also smells good. As it's flying, I can hear the.

[A]

Holder just being like, well, he holds the ball.

[C]

So weird.

[D]

The whole thing is bizarre. The acupuncture thing, I don't get. Have you ever had acupuncture?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah, me too. I just tried it last year for the first time, and I, I just.

[A]

Picture the ball popping, but I don't.

[D]

That's what I don't get. Like, are we back to, you know.

[A]

Inflate just slightly, Just slightly in before we get to the bladder of the ball?

[D]

I don't know. I know. Is that wild how they, like, can connect parts of your organs to things in your vet? It's so weird, but it works.

[A]

It is weird. It works. I, I, first off, don't mind this kicking a football so hard, specifically in NFL football. I want to give some context. I was our kicker on our high school football team. Way to go up. Marion area high school champs, division 2001. But a high school ball is so easy to kick. Like, I was money from like 45, 48, like Easy College ball, then a pro ball. I was so high on myself, I kicked a pro ball in college. It barely went anywhere.

[D]

Anywhere.

[A]

They're like a rock. They don't kick like a college ball. They don't kick like a high school ball. They're so difficult. So I think you should be allowed to do whatever you'd like. When you talked about cooking, I thought about putting it in a crock pot, kind of bake this bad boy up a little bit. Softener. They're so hard. So maybe the olive oil and maybe just kind of like steam it a little bit. Is not a terrible idea.

[D]

Yeah. I feel like all those options were things like you do for children. The way it's like, you sleep with it.

[A]

This bowls are life, right?

[D]

So when I would go to practice, so I played Division 1 soccer. No big deal, no video. But in order to get over to the facility, you had to cut through our club football's practice area. The quickest way to get to my practice was to get cut through theirs instead of going all the way around. And so there were a few times where I'd be out there, and they were just starting. So the guys were just hanging out and the kickers were warming up and they would have me kick to just try and just. And you're right. Like, it. It was not easy. Like, I was obviously very cocky approaching it. Like, guys like, club playing football losers, right? Like, watch this. Yeah, they were great. They were so fun. And they let me do it over and over for like four years. So, yeah, no, it's definitely one of those things. Unless you've done it. It's. And you see fans tried at the stadiums and stuff, like, you're rallying. I mean, look, Pat McAfee does it every Saturday on college game day, and you see how hard it is for people to do it.

[A]

Yeah, totally.

[D]

But. But Brandon Aubrey, I think just right now, it's just his story and just this idea that, like, you talk about, like, the dream, you know, like his wife just going, why don't you just go do that? We're watching this on tv. You're better than these guys. Oh, yeah, Let me just go do it. And boom. On the Dallas Cowboys, and perhaps Jerry Jones favorite player now.

[A]

It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell told me once he was holding a ball and he was like, here to here, about an inch and a half is the difference between a miss and a make, like, of where you strike the ball. Like, it's not. It's that. That. That tiny of a. Of a. Of a difference. Okay, we got one more from Chris, I believe.

[G]

Hey, Diana and James, one more question before you go. And this one is actually serious. In light of the Joe Burrow injury in Cincy, what is it going to take for somebody to press the Kirk Cousins panic button? I know it's probably not the Bengals, but it has me thinking about him sitting there with that big contract.

[D]

Good question. Because I've thought it. Obviously, as soon as you start seeing all the starting quarterbacks down, you immediately pull up the list of who's available, who's on the street, and who's open to trade. And we know Kirk wants to get out of there. He wants to be a starter somewhere. He wants an opportunity to play. Unfortunately, from what I can gather, the Atlanta Falcons are not trying to move him at this moment like that. That is just. They don't have any idea about what they want to do after this season. But the thought has been, we want to keep him on this roster. Unless there's a team that's going to come in and say, we'll pay for his full Salary. And I just don't see a team willing to do that for Kirk Cousins. Because my thought too, when I saw J.J. mcCarthy go down before we found out what the injury was, excuse me, not go down, but when we found out that he was injured and I wasn't sure about the timeline of it, I was like, ooh, maybe a reunion of Kirk Cousins and Kevin o' Connell and the Vikings. And we know how much Cousins loved it and he almost stayed. And the whole backstory. And from what I understand, that's not on the table. That's not something Minnesota's looking in on, that's not something Atlanta has done to reach out. There's no story right now where Kirk Cousins goes back to play for the Minnesota Vikings.

[A]

And that makes sense to me a little bit. I remember talking to people in Atlanta in the spring and I don't think, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, because I know you did as well. I don't think there was anybody that thought he was going to be on the roster in 2025. Like, they all thought this was probably going to end when the season ended and they knew Michael Penix was going to be the guy. They were like, I just don't think this is going to work with him staying in the building and being as highly paid as he is and being Michael's backup. I just don't see him on the roster. I had multiple people tell me that. I do think the entire environment of that quarterback room has changed now a little bit. And I think everybody's a little bit more comfortable with it. And you look at the totality of the salaries in that room, you're on par still with everybody else in terms of quarterback salary because your starters on a rookie deal and your backups on the starter deal essentially, and you're not overpaying if you're Atlanta. And also you have a veteran backup behind your guy that has five starts now in the NFL. I mean, I don't think that's something that Atlanta wants to just give away. So I think that part is kind of interesting. And then the other part that I look at dynamic is there were some people around the league that I talked to that think Kirk Cousins is essentially done. I don't know if that's a universal thought or not. And so it has to be the right team that doesn't think that and have the availability cash wise and the availability in terms of the need to make something happen. So I don't know. I never thought I'd say this But I think him staying right now is probably, if we're doing percentages, the most likely weekly outcome as of right now as we see.

[D]

I was gonna say it's September 17th.

[A]

Trade deadline's like seven weeks away or whatever it is just about.

[D]

And you know, you don't know what's gonna happen injury wise and. But when you look around the league, you're right. Like, a lot of teams have pretty solid backup situations now when you, when you start going through it, it's like, oh, well, they're good there. They're set there. They're, you know, it's gonna take a really desperate situation for a playoff contender to I think, make that move. So Atlanta's fine having them sit there. You know, they don't want to pay the bill, but they got a good backup if they need one, even in Atlanta now, you know. So unfortunately, a story that I think we thought was going to be pretty juicy this year and I think it's gonna flame out.

[A]

Yeah, the juice is loose. No juice, no juice there. Is the juice as loose? Is that what does that juicy?

[D]

No, it's Juicy Fruit. Yeah, it's juicy fruit from 1999. Back to Sando's article. I'm gonna go Google that, by the way.

[A]

Bang, there it is. Diana will close us out with that. For Robert Mays, I'm James Palmer. That's Diana Rossini. This was a scoop City presented by AD on a Wednesday. See you on Thursday.

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