Greg Olsen on the NFL QB Problem, Underrated Dak and More, Plus Bucks Problems and Long Live End Zone Drops

Summary

Episode Summary: Greg Olson on the NFL QB Problem, Underrated Dak and More, Plus Bucks Problems and Long Live End Zone Drops

Release Date: November 1, 2024
Podcast: The Ryen Russillo Podcast
Host: Ryen Russillo
Guest: Greg Olson (Fox Sports)

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Introduction

In this episode of The Ryen Russillo Podcast, host Ryen Russillo teams up with seasoned sports analyst Greg Olson to delve into some of the most pressing topics in the sports world. The conversation spans across the NFL quarterback dilemma, the underrated prowess of Dak Prescott, challenges faced by the Milwaukee Bucks, and the intriguing phenomenon of end zone drops.

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NFL Quarterback Problem

Key Discussions:

• Structural Issues: Greg Olson highlights the systemic problems in quarterback development within the NFL, emphasizing that many talented QBs falter not due to lack of skill but because of inadequate coaching and development pipelines.
• Over-Reliance: The discussion touches on the excessive burden placed on quarterbacks, making or breaking teams single-handedly.
• Man-Made Challenges: Olson argues that much of the quarterback struggle is self-inflicted by the league's emphasis on star QBs without fostering a supportive environment for their growth.

Notable Quotes:

• Greg Olson [38:35]:

  "There is no doubt we have a quarterback problem in the NFL. I think a lot of it's man-made."

• Greg Olson [36:44]:

  "The quarterback position is unlike any other position. It's the most dependent on one position's success in the way current NFL football is set up."

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Underrated Dak Prescott

Key Discussions:

• Performance Metrics: Olson sheds light on Dak Prescott's consistent performance and why he remains undervalued in the broader NFL conversation.
• Team Dynamics: The conversation explores how Dallas Cowboys' strategies sometimes mask Prescott's true capabilities, making his contributions less visible.
• Support System: Emphasis on the need for Prescott to receive more support schematically to alleviate his burden and optimize team performance.

Notable Quotes:

• Greg Olson [54:32]:

  "He's got to get some help schematically. Take some of the pressure off him."

• Greg Olson [58:10]:

  "I have not given up on Dak the player, Dak the leader. I think there's a lot going on in Dallas that make it very difficult to just function there in general during the week."

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Bucks Problems

Key Discussions:

• Team Performance: Analysis of the Milwaukee Bucks' struggles both offensively and defensively, placing them at the lower end of league rankings.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo's Role: Discussion on how Giannis is coping with the team's issues, including his reduced three-point attempts and overall performance.
• Injuries and Depth: The impact of missing key players like Khris Middleton and how it affects team chemistry and performance.

Notable Quotes:

• Greg Olson [24:23]:

  "I think the Lions are right now the best team in the NFC and again, they could lose this week. So who knows in the AFC until someone beats Kansas City?"

• Greg Olson [52:06]:

  "He's got to get some help schematically. Take some of the pressure off him, generate some advantage pre-snap with your formations and condense the splits and get under center and get something out of your ground game."

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End Zone Drops and Celebrations

Key Discussions:

• Malachi Corley's Mishap: Detailed recounting of Malachi Corley dropping the football during a crucial play, sparking a broader conversation about end zone celebrations and their pitfalls.
• Psychological Aspect: Exploration of the emotional and psychological factors that lead players to celebrate prematurely, resulting in turnovers.
• Viewer Perspective: Ryen Russillo shares his evolving perspective on appreciating these moments despite their drawbacks.

Notable Quotes:

• Ryen Russillo [215 (approx.)]:

  "I enjoy it so much about this play because the camera's on the player that did it... you're hoping there's a way the ball was still."

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The Dallas Cowboys Breakdown

Key Discussions:

• Strategic Shifts: Olson breaks down the Dallas Cowboys' offensive strategies, focusing on Dak Prescott's role and the team's reliance on his decision-making.
• Turnover Issues: Analysis of how turnovers and defensive pressure hinder the Cowboys' ability to sustain drives and score efficiently.
• Offensive Line and Play-Calling: The importance of a supportive offensive line and diversified play-calling to reduce Prescott's burden and enhance team performance.

Notable Quotes:

• Greg Olson [54:36]:

  "How are you going to build your team around playing with a lead, rushing the passer, defending the pass, and generating takeaways because the other team's pressing through the passing game primarily to keep up with you."

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Conclusion

The episode offers a multifaceted exploration of current sports issues, with a strong focus on the NFL's quarterback challenges and the Dallas Cowboys' intricate dynamics. Greg Olson provides insightful analysis backed by his extensive experience, shedding light on why certain stars like Dak Prescott may not receive the recognition they deserve and how systemic issues within team structures contribute to broader league problems. Additionally, the Milwaukee Bucks' struggles and the human element of end zone celebrations add depth to the conversation, making it a comprehensive listen for sports enthusiasts seeking deeper understanding.

Listeners gain valuable perspectives on quarterback development, team strategy, and the psychological aspects of sports, all while appreciating the candid and analytical approach of both Ryen Russillo and Greg Olson.

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Note: All timestamps are based on the provided transcript and are approximate due to potential discrepancies in timecoding.

Transcript

[Ryan Rosillo]

On today's episode, this is what we're going to do. We're going to recap some of the NBA stuff, some noteworthy items that I think are worth talking about and also Malachi Corley dropping the football and how I learned to love this celebration. Greg Olson is fantastic on football. There's a bunch of stuff that we're going to do with him, including the young quarterbacks, incredible Dallas Cowboys breakdown and why he still kind of likes them. We've got the alliance trying folks and life advice, some NBA notes of stuff I want to get through for the last couple nights. Last night, Phoenix gets the win down 3720 at the Clippers. I went to the Clippers home game against Scoot Henderson and the Trailblazers on Wednesday night, so I have a little leftover from that as well. But third quarter Phoenix just goes crazy. 39, 23 outscores them. They started the quarter making 15 straight shots, so this one started 15 of 15. I think the good part about the Clippers this year is that, you know, whenever you think of the math of a player like Kawhi not being there and then Paul George not being there, they did a really good job with Terence Mann. The Norman Powell transaction was fantastic. He's one of the most underrated players in the entire league and they were playing really hard. And all of the things that you liked about the Clippers competitiveness, you know, they lost the Portland game down to the wire. Harden, you know, had some turnovers there, including the inbound pass that was terrible. But for the most part when you're watching them you're like, okay, maybe I can see how this kind of works. Harden's got a million possessions, he's going to get his numbers. He might just be happier in this spot. He got the extension, he's in la, takes a thousand shots. Some of the more impressionable officials still go for his off arm, but there's no expectations for this team really. The over under was with 39 and a half wins I think something like that. So it's a pretty stress free living and you get to put up some big numbers. But he is such a terrific passer that you know, you figure some of the workload for the guys around him, it's not necessarily like going to be the same thing. But the math part that I was talking about was that okay, well that means Norman Powell can take more shots. I think he's taken like 21 a game. I wish he had taken more shots to close the Portland game. You know, Zoo is just a matchup nightmare in some of the matchups that he gets night tonight in the NBA, like people just still don't understand like how good he is. And then whenever you're the big with the Harden pick and roll and Harden's not sharing the ball with anybody else, it makes your life easier. Right? But all the things that I had kind of liked about their effort because they have a really good coaching staff. Tyler is one of the best coaches in the NBA. You figure I was like, how long are they going to be able to sustain like playing kind of this hard? And then it just, it fell apart in that third quarter and doesn't mean it's going to fall apart now for the rest of the season. They also maybe, I don't know if because they had done well with some of the smaller transactions, like brought in some dudes this off season where the Kai Jones thing's interesting, but he's playing real minutes. He's not playing the position that he was as a draft prospect, but there's a lot of energy there. Amir Coffee is always really underrated. And then you have the Kevin Porter Jr. Part of this. Who, you know, you may think he doesn't deserve a second chance. I'd say he's probably like a guy that I wouldn't bring in, but he is really talented. But the talent doesn't like the other parts of the game just lag behind the talent. Right. His decision making is terrible. His effort is waning and he had a couple plays last night where the Suns are cooking. Booker's in the corner. There's a drive where I think he thinks he has to help on Nurkic and I don't know what the rule would have been on that for the defensive help rules, but I can't imagine like in today's day and age anybody wants you running away from Devin Booker with a wide open three. And that's exactly what happened. And there was another play where Harden is going into the foul baiting mode, goes up for three, falls down and then nobody gets back on defense and it's like a 2 on 0 for the Suns all while this game is like slipping away from them. Now you could blame Harden for, well, if you're going to fall down and you're the last guy back, I don't actually think you can blame Harden on that because the rule has always been the other guard as opposed to the one shooting, even depending on depth. Like the other guard has to get back after the other one shoots. But yeah, when you keep falling down a lot like it's not going to help you and transition a ton. And Porter doesn't even see it. So that might just be a few more weeks of playing with Harden, sharing those minutes, being in the rotations enough together where he'll go like, hey, this is something I have to have to think about. The other part of the story that's not just from last night, it's the Suns is Ryan Dunn, who started for Peel last night. If you watched his draft tape, you would think this is the most absurd transformation that we've seen in years. So Dun is now 51 and 44% from the floor. He hasn't taken a free throw yet. And I'll, I'll bring up the reason why here in a second, why that's important. He was 49 from 3 last night. If you had told anybody that does any draft prep like Ryan Dunn's going to be starting for the Suns and knocking down threes just be like, what, like the, the guy from Jackass. So I don't, I don't know how this happened. I don't. You could say, hey, Phoenix just knows how to develop. And does anyone know how to develop anybody this quickly at UVA? In the two years he was there, Ryan Dunn shot 24% from three and he was 50% from the free throw line. Sam Vasini had a tweet who we love. Great draft stuff from the Athletic, just running clips of his airball free throws. It just looked like it was so bad that maybe it was a mental hitch beyond anything else. So you're looking at it right now. Phoenix is 4 and 1. They've got two wins against the Clippers, they won the Lakers rematch, dropping the other one of them and a win against Dallas. So things are good in Phoenix as of right now. The Beal thing, a little concerning, but they just did such a good job kind of overhauling this and adding depth to the three guys. Milwaukee's on the not good side of the conversation today. They're one in four. The only other one in four team in the east is Detroit. A little aside on Detroit here, their point differential last year was minus 9. So even though with the 1 and 4 record, if you've watched the Pistons, there's definitely improvement. It does look better. They've done a better job with shooting around the main guys that we're all trying to figure out if they're going to be like real difference makers, whether that's Cade or Jaden. Endurance, just kind of like peak roll guy. But I still like him because just the competitiveness and energy that he plays with here. But when you add the shooting that they've added around him, it should just make everybody's life a little bit easier. It hasn't reflected that in the record, but they are more competitive. And the Jaden Ivey leap from last year to this year, a week or so in, it's real and you hope it sustains. I don't know that he's going to shoot 47% from 3 for the rest of his career. He's 34% his first two years, but he's 21, 4 and 4, and the aggressiveness is really there. He had a drive in a game where he got through, split the double team at the top. It reminded me exactly of why we all fell in love with them. Those of us that did at Purdue. Splits a double team, gets to the rim, and then sees Tobias Harris in the right corner for a wide open three that he missed. Also an aside on Tobias Harris. The Detroit Pistons announcing team did the game in Philadelphia, and Tobias is getting booed by Sixers fans because, look, northeast city, it's going to happen. Certainly going to happen in Philadelphia. But they were like, why are they pulling up? He was really good here. Okay, guys. And you can blame Philly a lot of time. I don't think you can. Am I soft on Philly now? Because I liked it after I went. The point was, it was like, you guys are being. They were like, oh, well, look who took all the shots. And be took the shots and James Harden took the shots and Ben Simmons is here. Like, well, he wasn't taking a ton of shots. And it was like Tobias was just the third option. Like, why are they mad at him? He was really good. It's like, yeah, I think it has a little bit more to do with just sometimes him just not taking any of those shots. So, yeah, there we go. Little Pistons minute. Didn't expect to get there. Let's get back to Milwaukee. So Milwaukee gets smoked by Memphis, who lost to Chicago and Brooklyn already this week. And Milwaukee. Speaking of Chicago and Brooklyn, they won at Philly. The home opener with Philly doesn't have their guys. They lost by 11 to Chicago, 13 at Brooklyn, 11 at Boston to be understood, and then 23 last night at Memphis. So four or five games to start on the road, okay, fine. But, like, you're Milwaukee and you're losing by double digits. It doesn't matter about Boston, but double digits to Chicago, Brooklyn and Memphis. And Memphis has actually been all right, you know, so we'll see what happens here. Let's look at some numbers for the Bucks. They're 24th on offense and 24th on defense. They're 28th and rebounding. Giannis is fine, 29 years old. Scoring's fine. He's taking less threes. He's only taken three total attempts this season, so that actually would be an improvement, but I can't imagine that they're going to be this bad. Dame's three point shooting again, early parts of the season, 27%. That's not going to happen. His advanced stuff, though, is way up because his free throw rate is absurd. A moment on Dame. Lillard one of the best finishers at his size and sustaining it for that long. Those huge moment shots, like the Dame time thing is so much fun. The OKC series was just incredible because basically, you know, I thought Westbrook was talking all sorts of and. And Dame took those guys out. So there's so much more about Dame that I've loved. However, the foul hunting is becoming egregious and my point on foul hunting is this. Is everybody played like the foul hunters. I would be living in Willimanic, not Manhattan Beach. All right? It wouldn't be a great product. Dame is now. I'm proposing him to be named all first team foul hunters. Trey and Harden are the captains. Embiid's nominated. No, Embiid's absolutely the captain. Excuse me, because I was. I was trying to figure out all first team foul hunters. I think it's Trey, it's Harden, it's Dame, it's Embiid. Does Brunson take the fifth spot? Is it Maxi for falling down all the time? That fifth spot may be still up for debate, but I don't think there's any debate here on Dane. Just the way he leans in on some of the shots. It just sucks to watch, but he's getting these calls. The free throw rate right now is at 0.574. His career is3.52. So we're basically talking more than half a free throw for every single shot that he takes out there. The positives for Milwaukee is that, well, Middleton's not back, so, all right, fine. But I've liked what Torian Prince has given them defensively, even in the loss against Boston. Like, I always think about the Milwaukee and Celtics matchup in the playoffs going. They just don't have the bodies on the wings to even come close to defending these guys. Like, I'm just not even the respect that I have for Giannis and the fear that you should have of him. I just think the wing matchups are brutal because they don't have the defenders. I thought Prince worked really hard in that game and showed you something maybe to feel hopeful about if they were to match up in the playoffs. Conaton and Trent haven't hit any shots. They're 31% from three. It's 28th in the NBA. Lopez looks old, but I still can't believe that they're going to be this bad. All right, Memphis 3 and 3. As I mentioned, with those couple losses, did you know that Alama has been their lead league. Excuse me, their team leading score. If he led the league in scoring, that would be a bigger story. But Aldama's actually led the Grizzlies in scoring twice this season. Okay, nice bounce back game from Wembanyama against Utah after this OKC one, which I'm going to spend more time on here so we get a bunch of points against Utah. Anyway, look, the concern that I had from OKC was. What is it? It was concerning. It didn't look good. It looked like Oklahoma City had like two plans of attack with him that I'm going to get into a little bit here, but alarming. Like how like now we have to revisit what we think of this dude. No, I'm not going to do that. It just was a really bad game and he just seemed kind of over. I don't know if it's overwhelmed or maybe just wasn't right physically. I don't know. Anyway, the point is, is that when Wembanyama is on the floor with Sohan at the exact same time when they share those minutes. Even though I like what Sohan is in theory, I've. I've been a Sohan fan for a while. I understand the limitations. But defensively, what the Thunder were going to do against spurs is that Chet is going to be on Sochan and then he's allowed to float. So now you already know, like, okay, this has added a wrinkle here that is going to just allow Chet to roam free. And a wing is always defending Wenbanyama. All right. And other teams have done this too. I mean, Dallas actually was really good straight up with their big guys because they have a nice one two punch in Gafford and Lively. But when Winmanyama would get the catch, he would just be swarmed. And I wondered if he was taking a little too much time before. Does Wembanyama wait a little bit too much? I've always been worried about somebody that Size as being able to take someone off the dribble and dribble. There are different kinds of dribbling the dribble with purpose where you know, okay, this is what I'm planning on doing and it's going to be like, you know, I've talked about like two dribble guys and then everybody else. Like some people are just two dribble guys. I'm not even saying that about Wembanyama, but to be that size and knowing all the defensive attention that you're bringing to yourself, especially if you're not getting great spacing around you. And Chris Paul started to take more threes. It's just it clogs a lot of things up and then check can just roam and come over and help. So the whole design of everything by the Thunder was perfect. And limiting him, you still would expect him to make more than one field goal and I think like 27 minutes. So I looked at some of the touch numbers. When Bama gets 57 touches per game so far on the season. Well, what was it last year? It was 59. It seems kind of low because you compare it to other people. Like Sohan gets 58 touches a game this year. Trey Mann who we sneaky like 61 touches. Kelly U56 touches. You're like, what the. Like when be the same number of touches as those guys in a basketball game, like that's just wrong. But then you can also play the game where you look at like Jaylen Brown at 61 touches a game. It's funny because I wrote down Donovan Mitchell, but Davion Mitchell's at 59 so I should put him in the other group. But Donovan Mitchell's at 57 touches. So there's some really, really good players that aren't touching the ball 100 times a game like we have with Jokic. Don't some of the other guys. Right. So when I looked at how long he has the ball in his hands, it's 2.57 seconds per possession, which is not that much different than 2.34 last year. So it's not necessarily that. I just think it's that defenses are going to do a lot on selling out on him and ignoring some of these non shooter combinations they have. And getting Vesel back could obviously improve some of this stuff as well. I also thought Oklahoma City attacked Wembanyama off the dribble way more than I'm used to seeing. Not saying like every time it was a win, but it looked like guys were going up to try to finish against him. That was a little surprising. So whatever, it was just a really bad game. It doesn't mean we need to reclassify him moving forward. Just some stuff that didn't look good. Final couple things here. Jason Tatum took 18 threes in the overtime loss at Indianapolis on Wednesday in 1984. Bird made 18 total threes on the season. Whatever. All these three point things you can do are just stupid because it's like asking a restaurant how many debit cards they ran in 1995. All right, one NFL note. The jets beat Houston 2113 last night. They sacked C.J. stroud eight times. I think he was 11 of 30. He still had the Robert Woods. I just love seeing Robert woods out there getting catches. The Robert woods catch on the sideline the third and 12. There's just. I think Stroud might be the best on the run of any quarterback, but didn't get it done last night. It was also sacked eight times, so not entirely on him. But they ran the football. The jets did. Rogers pulls us back in with a nice vintage performance. The throw that he had at the end of the first half to Devonte Adams that he dropped was such a sick throw on second down. And then Rogers just. And then he went right back to him on third down, too. So I don't know what that means. Stingley made a great play defensively. So the one play everybody's talking about or would be making the headline if the jets were to lose in prime time. Because that's what's going to happen to you. Although it just feels like the jets approval rating is. It's never been lower. And I understand Rogers approval rating being what it is, but we need to talk about our guy. Malachi Corley, rookie out of Western Kentucky, third round pick of the Jets. So it's 00. Gets a end around, run the right. 18 yards out. Beautiful play, tons of speed. 511, 215. Just all fired up. 18 yards out, runs in for the touchdown. The only problem is when he ran to the end zone, he didn't bring the ball with him and he desean Jackson did. We saw it again. We saw it on prime time. It keeps happening. And my position now is I want it to never stop. When people ask, why does it happen? I think what happens is you're so hyped in that moment. I know it's not supposed to happen, but I'm trying to understand. Like, there's a dude. It's his second touch of his career. He had a catch for four yards this is the second touch of his career. And then it doesn't explain. The other guys have been around a long time that do it. But I think in that moment, you're so fired up, you are crossing the end zone, and you just kind of lose your senses for a second. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but I think it's why it keeps happening. She would have thought, like the Utah game, Remember that one against Oregon? Des moments. I mean, you can go through it if you want to and start naming all these guys, but you would have thought like, hey, everybody, this is a bad way to celebrate dropping the ball before you get into the end zone. Because on top of everything else, it's a fumble, and then it's the Texas ball, the 20. So it's not even like the play's bad or you're getting it the one. You already know all this stuff. But what I enjoy about this play so much is that the camera's on the player that did it. And the way the player, during the review will have this look of defiance, because it's not confidence, because he knows he fucked up, but he's hoping. He's just hoping. Is there any way the ball was still? And he's going up to his teammates and they're grabbing their shoulder pads and it's like, no, no, we're good. We're good. It's like, you have no idea. If you're good, you probably know that you're not good. But you're going to pretend in this window of review that if you just wish hard enough, it'll go your way, because it's so embarrassing. And then the embarrassment part is the other thing that I'm enjoying now. This is why I want this play to never stop happening. Because the camera's on you and you're looking, and then there's nowhere to go. Like, a lot of us, if we screw up, we could just go somewhere else in an NFL game. Unless you're Antonio Brown, you have to stay there. This guy can't go anywhere. It's like having a house that gets trashed by your dog. And you come home and your house is trash. You walk in the door, it's just you, and your dog is looking at you. The dog is going to pretend it's not him, but he knows that you know that it's him. And you're going to know that it's him because he was the only one there. And it's a dog, but the dog's going to pretend there's this chance that if he just looks at you cute enough with his eyes that maybe you won't blame him. And then the next part of it, when it's actually confirmed that you dropped the ball before it and the other team gets the ball because it went out of the back of the end zone, you then because you're a Rookie and you're 5 11, you get speeches from every single guy on your sideline. I enjoy it so much. We should all embrace it. We should be happy that we get this gift every few weeks. Maybe a few weeks is a lot. Maybe once or twice a season. That's all I need. Just give it to me once or twice a season to remind it of that timeline of events and how much fun it actually is to watch it play out. Unless, of course, you were a Jets fan. The Ryan Rossila Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. What's better than touchdowns? Touchdowns with a boost. And with FanDuel, you can make your next touchdown bet an even bigger one with a 30% Gronk profit spike. That means you can get an even bigger payout on your next anytime touchdown bet. So when they get in the end zone, you'll win big. 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Its tough, rigid body design and refined details make the journey ahead not possible, but comfortable. It's an icon reimagined for the next generation of explorers. Discover the full Defender lineup @Land Rover USA.com that's Land Rover. Greg Olson of Fox Sports joins us again this season. So it's always good to kind of catch up and see what he thinks of His NFL world. What's up, man? Good morning.

[Greg Olson]

How you doing, man? It's good to see you always.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, no, I'm good. I'm fired up, man. It's been a lot of fun checking you out at home. Great job as always.

[Greg Olson]

Appreciate it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Look, I think at this point of the season, like, I don't like whenever we talk about like the best teams or the season because I feel like it gets replayed out every year and then people forget that they said it every single year. Be like, oh, every team kind of has a flaw. And you're like, well, no kidding. Like that's the whole point of the turnover on rosters. Like, even the best teams, you probably think there's something that they're not necessarily great at. But you know, you've been through a good chunk of the league and calling it and obviously the film work as well. Like, what do you think the cutoff is as far as the best teams? Like, it's this many teams and then it's a different, different tier.

[Greg Olson]

Yeah, I think there's. There's clearly right now the top right. I think you got to. You got to imagine in the nfc, I think it right now, as things stand, it goes through Detroit. I had a chance to see Detroit. I mean, they are. They're not just beating people. I mean, the game I had, they beat Minnesota on the road, fell down early, failed fourth down, punt fake, kind of got themselves in a little bit of a hole. And then their offense just explodes and they go bananas. I think of the season ends now. Jared Goff is the mvp. He has been incredible. I mean his efficiency, his production, his just all around everything. He's kind of having like a Brock Purdy year of last year where I don't know if people give that. Give him like the credit compared to some of the other maybe flashy guys, Josh Allen and Mahomes and Lamar and all those guys. But then when you look at it, it's like his completion percentage is through the roof. His ability to throw the ball down the field is through the roof and everything he does. So I think the Lions are right now the best team in the nfc and again, they could lose this week. So who knows in the AFC until someone beats Kansas City? I don't watch Kansas City and say, oh my God, that's a juggernaut. Yet nobody can beat them. And the teams we think are juggernauts, you know, the Ravens, who most weeks look like they're the best team in the league, they couldn't beat Them and then they get turned around and they lose to, you know, Jameis and the Browns and Jameis's first start, you know, when a Browns team that people had left for dead. So the NFL is a weird, is kind of a weird year. I feel like maybe we say that every year, but in my mind I think the Lions are the one team you say week in and week out. I'd have a hard time seeing them just completely collapse. They are a hard team to beat. I think they're the class of the league, you know, halfway through.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. So that's interesting there because you didn't like Buffalo.

[Greg Olson]

Buffalo. Buffalo, Yeah. I see more of the nfc so like they're fresh on my mind. So in the nfc, to me it's Lions. In the afc it, it's a three headed race. I don't think this has ever changed with Baltimore, Buffalo and obviously Kansas City. But Buffalo, the last two weeks has looked scary good.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, no, they have. And they have like the second best point of French on the NFL after the Lions there. But yeah, I mean, no, there's not really anything you said that doesn't, doesn't like. No, that's crazy. That doesn't make any sense to me. I think the Kansas City part of it that's just so funny is that if any other team were playing this way, you would just go like, I don't think they're that good. Like they're seven. And oh, you know how in years past you've had some weird. Was there even a Kansas City team that went undefeated, like really late? There was a Tennessee team that went undefeated really late and you were just kind of like, yeah, whatever. But because of the Mahomes factor and the fact that they figured out their offense at the most important time of the year last year, like, I don't love what I see from them every single week, but I still wouldn't want to pick against them at any point. And it's the same thing I felt at the beginning of the year. And yet Mahomes, technically, technically, if you look at some of those stats, is even less productive than he was in his most disappointing season last year.

[Greg Olson]

The only reason people feel differently about Kansas City this year is because exactly what you said about last year. Last year we called a bunch of their games and the were they were done. They're winning with, they're, they're just fooling people. They're winning with smoke and mirrors. They're not as good. This isn't going to last in the playoffs. The defense is carrying them. How long can the defense carry them? And they won the Super Bowl. So I think now everyone's kind of learned their lesson where it's like I'm not going to be the guy that stands on the table and says the Chiefs are done. The Chiefs can't do it, they don't have the weapons. This style of offense of Mahomes just putting everything on his back, it's just hard to sustain. And that's why I said like until someone proves come big time moment, AFC playoffs, trip to the super bowl on the line, until someone can prove that in those critical moments they can out duel Mahomes, arguably the best defensive coordinator slash defense in football. They've gotten good in like two years of young drafting and free agency. They've completely flipped to a defensive minded team. Spags has been one of the best defensive minds in football for decades and they have the ultimate ace in the hole which is the best quarterback in football, a generational quarterback, and arguably the best offensive mind that we've seen in decades. So when you have the defense and then you have the head coaches, the play caller and the legendary quarterback, you can, your margin for error is just a lot higher than everybody else. You don't have to play great to win every game. And that's what they've done.

[Ryan Rosillo]

What did you learn covering Washington for a week, doing the pre production, the whole thing. Like what did you learn during that experience?

[Greg Olson]

Well, I, I think what I've learned went back to just the last couple years, calling a million cowboy games and getting to talk to Dan Quinn every single week. If I, I always said if I was an owner, if I was an owner last year and I could pick one of the candidates and I'm usually the guy that says you have to take an offensive mind and that's a conversation for another day. Dan Quinn is maybe my favorite coach of a guy had never played with, just a guy I've never in the same locker room with. There's something special about Dan Quinn, his charisma. He's got like a magnetic kind of personality. He's got a little Dan Campbell in him where like when you're around him you just love everything about him. He's a big personality, loves his players. He's kind of a hard ass, but he's kind of a softy and like there's something charming about him. He's just, he's an incredible football coach. Obviously did incredible things with Dallas's defense over the years. Spent a lot of time in production, meetings with him and for him to flip that and get good. They had some good pieces. Rivera left them a handful of decent pieces. They struck gold on the quarterback. Obviously, Jane Daniels is just as good in person as we thought he was going to be leading up into the game. He has that kind of special quality that you can't scout. You just hope to God you hit it right when you pick them. And they had some good offensive pieces that he inherited. Brian Robinson and Terry McLaren and a couple of pieces on the offensive line. So they had some dudes. He brought in a lot of new bodies on defense. Obviously Bobby Wagner, the longtime future hall of Famer to bring like that veteran presence and stability. And then Frankie Louvu and Jeremy Chin and free agency kind of pieced it together. So he's the coach of the year. I think that's again through week nine. I think it's no question that Dan's the coach of the year. And for anyone who's been around Dan, talked to Dan, seen him coach, seen how much he loves and cares for his players, it's not a surprise.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I've never heard anybody talk about him and like, not like him, you know, at all the different stops. And, you know, it's funny, when you look at the Caleb Williams situation in Chicago and then Jane Daniels going into Washington, you think, okay, well, the receivers they bring in, Keenan, you know, they already have more who was really good last year. They draft Rome. Like, there's a, there's a ton. There's a ton of stuff that you really like. And maybe not the offensive line, you know, who knows about the play calling debate of it all. And then it's just as soon as the season has started and, and by the way, the receiving corps and the options and Cole come out, who I should mention as well, like, that was still a better group of personnel than what Jaden had on the offensive side for what was going on in Washington. But it's just funny to. I don't know if it's playing the results or that Jaden has just been that good. But then a revisiting of, oh, did he actually step into a better situation? And you go, like, not one person thought that in Aug. It may be true now. Not in the receiving cord, not in the receiving room or whatever. But it's, it's. Whenever I'll see that, I go, no, no, no. Not one person thought that thing two months ago. So I can't possibly think that's the answer.

[Greg Olson]

No. And then, and then the one piece, I, I forgot to Mention it's Cliff Kingsbury has done a marvelous job and I think it was such a smart hire for Dan to bring in a guy who had NFL play calling, NFL head coach experience. But also the bulk of his experience was at the college level. And the purpose of me saying that is he told us flat out, he's like, when I, the first time when we drafted Jaden, he came in and we sat down. I was like, hey, I'm not going to tell you my offense. I'm not going to give you install number one. I'm not going to tell you our terminology. I want you to give me your best five concepts. Run, pass, quarterback, run, play, whatever it is. Give me your five favorite plays from college that you could run tomorrow in your sleep. He goes, so he put together some thoughts, we talked through it. He goes, that was my install one at OTA practice number one. He goes, I didn't install my offense. My first install was the things that he was going to be day one comfortable with, had a million reps, but that having the understanding of the college game and then the aspects of the college game that do translate to the NFL and those the aspects of it that just don't. I think Cliff has a very interesting balance because he's experienced it at both levels and then gets a quarterback that has very unique traits and physical qualities and had the wherewithal and the self awareness to say I'm not going to just install Arizona Cardinals 2.0. That doesn't do us any good. I need to install an offense that he's going to connect with as quickly as possible and that's what he's done. They don't huddle, they're at the line. He's calling plays one words. He, it feels a little bit like he's accustomed to from his days at LSU and obviously before that in Arizona, but like it's felt a little collegey. But then they're running NFL style schemes so it's a nice blend. And I think you got to give Kingsbury a lot of credit. He's done a nice job here halfway through the year.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, look, I mean I wasn't even going to bring it up because people know that I'm a fan of Cliff and I think the resume and what he went through in Arizona, it. People look at it as like oh, another guy failed. It's like do you realize like the turnaround that they had in the development part and the development of the resumes and all the different stuff but during the summer people were so down on Cliff Post Arizona that it wasn't even thought of as like this massive positive. I don't think nationally it was like, oh, Cliff gets another job. Oh, this guy, you know, it's like he's always getting a job and it's like, well, I think there's a reason he's always getting a job. And we want to argue about the head coaching thing. Like, most of these guys are getting fired anyway. This isn't so much an Anthony Richardson question as it is a question about something that I've thought about for a long time. I've spent probably too much time, but I'm just so interested in the topic and the development, lack of development of quarterbacks where it's funny when you look at the depth charts, I'll always look at them before week one and the 53 man and everything's official and you'll go like, all right, who's that guy? Like, oh, he was the second or third or fourth rounder taken and you know, he just replaced the other second, third or fourth rounder. Usually it's like a third or fourth rounder because the second rounder is usually a first round quarterback. But you get the point. Like he replaced the other third or fourth rounder that was drafted two or three years ago that never got any reps, never played in any games, and now he's gone to never be heard from McKen and replaced by the new guy that probably is not going to get any first team reps. Maybe he steps in if there's some kind of injury. So I don't think there's any question that the, the quarterback, the NFL eats its own quarterback depth. But when I look at Richardson, who I think to this point, especially last week, like, it's just such a struggle, everything all week long, all of the reps, all the hits, all the stuff everybody else is doing on the team, doesn't matter if that guy can't figure it out. Which is just the most ridiculous, like, compromise you have to make when you're on one of these teams with a bad quarterback. So I understand to, to bench somebody that you're supposed to be developing because it feels unfair to continue to develop when you think your team's okay and all of the work that all these other guys are putting into it. I guess the question here is that do you ever see the NFL getting away from or maybe will they give up on drafting quarterbacks that haven't started a lot of games in college because they're the turning the page on these guys? This Quickly when we don't really know. Feels like there's no way you can continue to burn resources this way.

[Greg Olson]

Oh, I think it's spot on. I mean you look at guys now, there's the Cam Newtons of the world, right? There's the anomalies, there's the guys that are that had limited college experience. Cam played, you know, for all intents and purposes one year at Auburn, never lost the game. Won the Heisman trophy, first overall draft pick and then obviously became Cam new. So like there are examples of guys who have spotty, not a huge track record. But over the last couple years what we're seeing is the Brock Purdy's, the young players who are coming into the league and finding success and getting grounded and getting rooted. Played 48 games in major college football. They threw three picks in a game, they lost, they won, they played in the rain. They had good days, bad days. They worked through a lot of the normal things that are going to happen at the quarterback position. The difference was instead of working it out on an NFL level as the number one overall pick or the first round pick or whatever pick you are, you work through it in Iowa, you work through it in Virginia, wherever and it's just a different experience that's going to happen. I don't care who you are at the quarterback position, you're going to have your ups and downs as a young player and it's magnified because of the position. Your point about doesn't matter what anyone else around you is doing, if you're getting repeated poor play out of the quarterback position, you have zero chance of winning. In the NFL there is no sport more dependent on one position's success than the way current NFL football is set up. The entire game is in most cases put on the backs of a quarterback. And I think the teams that understand it, the Kyle Shanahans of the world and guys like that, yes, they understand the value of having a good quarterback. And when those teams do have good quarterbacks, the results speak for themselves. But when they don't, they don't fall off the face of the earth. Because the entire system is not predicated on the success or lack thereof of the quarterback. So when you talk about Anthony Richardson, the style he's being asked to play is what they were doing to Jalen.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Hurts.

[Greg Olson]

He's in shotgun every snap, no one's moving stationary spread formations. I understand why he's in the gun because you want to keep the quarterback run threat, but he gets hurt. So like asking your quarterback to stand in the shotgun, catch the ball and play and throw the ball. Every down is virtually impossible in today's day and age. But these guys don't learn to get under center. They've never taken an under center snap in their lives. Their entire lives have been seven on seven football, it's been passing offense. I coach middle school football here at my kids school. Of the eight games we played, six of the teams never one time lined up under center, never one time had two backs in the backfield and never one time had a tight end. These kids just don't learn real football. And now we're seeing the evolution of football at the NFL level. The best teams, they get under center. It's play action. The reason they're doing that is because it takes the stress load off the quarterback. So I think there is a developmental problem in the whole, the whole pipeline of quarterbacks from high school to college and then of course to the NFL. We don't develop them and we don't give them the skills to succeed as the levels increase. And then we also haven't yet bought into the style of offenses that alleviate some of the pressure from the position. We want the entire game to be on their shoulders and then we get mad when they can't handle it at 22 years old. So there is no doubt we have a quarterback problem in the NFL. I think a lot of it's man made. You can't tell me that these guys aren't wildly talented. They need to be coached, they need to be developed, they need to be draining along in a way that's conducive to their confidence and to their success. And I just don't think as a league in general we do a good job of that.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay, so let's go back to your rookie year. Didn't you have three different starters?

[Greg Olson]

Oh yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Was, was it, was it Brian and then Rex and Kyle?

[Greg Olson]

So it was Rex. Rex started. So yeah, I've had a very interesting quarterback journey in my career, so. And again, all these guys were good in their own rights in various moments and times and I never played with a bad quarterback. So Rex was the quarterback. We're coming off the Super Bowl. I wasn't on the team, but I got drafted that ensuing off season. Rex Grossman's the quarterback. Then we went to Brian Greasy who threw me my first ever touchdown. And then I want to say Orton either finished the season or he started as the starter. My second year in the league, but at least in my first, my first two years it was or it was Rex Greasy and Kyle Orton. And then in my third year we traded for Cutler. So in years three and four was. It was Jay. So I had four quarterbacks in my four years in Chicago.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, Kyle closed out the season.

[Greg Olson]

Okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And if you look at the game logs here, because I remember this came up recently, like how often you had a guy start, get benched and then start again. And I saw somebody try to argue that it's only happened twice in the last 20 years. I don't know that that's true. I would have to go through. But then there could be qualifiers of like if you're a high draft pick or whatever. But Rex started the first few weeks, then it was Greasy, then it was Rex and then it was Kyle. What was that like? What was that like to be the non quote? Like how you and the guys in the receiving room different, like the week to week of that. Like you understand it, but that's got to be a pain in the ass.

[Greg Olson]

It is. And, and again there's always the personal, the personal level which I think everyone is so quick to just dismiss. And I think again, we all understand what we sign up for. The nature of the NFL is there's not really a lot of people feeling bad for anybody. There's not really a lot of like pity parties in the outside fan in the NFL world that just is going to move on with or without you. We all understand we signed up for a big boy world, big boy football. Like no, we're not. No one's asking for any sympathy. But within the locker room, these are your buddies, these are your friends. There's personal connections of different levels with all of these guys. The starting quarterback, the scout team quarterback, these guys are all in your friend group. You go out to dinner together. So there's always the personal connection that I think everyone doesn't give enough credit to. But just from a football standpoint, you know, I go back to that rookie year and here I am, I'm just trying to find my way in the league. I'm just trying to find what I'm good at and how I can contribute as a young player that was had very high expectations on our team, you know, essentially coming off the super bowl loss the year before to Indianapolis. So. And now all of a sudden with every quarterback change, there is a slight change in game plan because every quarterback has their different strengths, weaknesses. I'm a better under center play action guy, I'm a better gun guy. I got more experience in west coast offense. I'm more comfortable in Spring, you know, whatever. There's a million ways to play quarterback and play offense and all these guys have their own individual journey leading up to their time in the NFL. So all of that shapes play calling, strategy. You know, do we want to be more defensive minded run game, do we want to open up the offense and go more passing game more 11 personnel, do we want to go big bodies and run it? Like there's a million factors and a lot of those things are heavily weighted on who is the quarterback and what do they do. Well, so yeah, I mean to have throughout the course of the season essentially three quarterback changes. Right. So again I'm. Thanks for refreshing my memory. So Rex Degrees back to Rex. Then ultimately to.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's kind of four.

[Greg Olson]

It's really four amongst three guys. So it's challenging on everybody. Obviously no more so challenging than on the quarterbacks themselves. But for everyone around him who like you said earlier, we are all dependent on that position is. It's challenging, it's new. You get a lot of questions in the media. That's a whole nother animal of dealing with the press, especially in Chicago. That adds more chaos and more distraction. So it's, it's a very multi layered issue when you start talking about replacing the quarterback, let alone multiple times in a season.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I just think, and I mean it's easy to just kind of lose perspective on some of these things. But I'm thinking about you as a rookie and just hey, we got to talk to Greg Olson about what he thinks about all this, this quarterback drama.

[Greg Olson]

And you're probably anything I don't even.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Know you must be having. Right. Your buddies are probably hitting you up being like, I can't believe you're addressing like this major issue with the Chicago Bears.

[Greg Olson]

Yeah. And I'm like, what do you mean? I don't know who. I don't even know what I'm doing. You know what I mean? Like, I don't even know. I'm just happy they gave me a jersey, you know. And you know, so it's, it is a, it is a. The, the quarterback position is unlike, you know, it. Think about it like the MLB playoffs, right? So we're all watching the World Series. The best players on both teams up until last night, right? Shohei Judge. They were non factors until judges home run last night. They were non factors in this series, give or take considering they were the MVPs. Right. But you only have to wait till your time in the lineup and in Judge's case, you just wait until the balls Hit in your direction. And the rest of it's like, okay, everyone else has to do it. The Kansas City Chiefs for the most part, can't afford Patrick Mahomes going in the tank on a, on a slump for four weeks where he just can't complete a pass. You just, it doesn't matter how good the defense is, it's just a different sport. The quarterback consistency and the quarterback performance has a direct correlation to the success of everybody around him and there's just no way around it. You just, you just can't survive for a long period of time unless you are good at that position.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Totally, totally aligned with you on that one. Okay. Is there any team. I know you did? Atlanta, Tampa. I still feel like I hold out hope for some version of the Niners because I think their ceiling is still a lot higher than a lot of teams despite the record. But I don't think the division is all that scary. So, you know, we could be looking at the Niners if there's like, I could always see this. I, basically what I'm saying is I could see this season where it's the last few weeks, they're gearing up, things are healthy, it looks right and you're like, okay, you do. I don't care what their seat is, you don't want to play them. But can you give me like a non Baltimore, Kansas City, Buffalo, Minnesota, Detroit team that you really like?

[Greg Olson]

You know, I, I've, I, I like Atlanta. I don't know if I love Atlanta. I do think just the nature of the NFC south, that Atlanta, barring a complete catastrophe, is going to be that the south winner. So I think they're going to be, they're, they're going to host a home playoff game. But to your point, you bust your ass all year to get a home playoff game and chances are you're going to get San Francisco and with McCaffrey and with that run game late in the year, you're banged up and they've kind of been up and down and they finish, I don't know, say they finish 10 and 7, 9 and 8, but they, they're a wild card team. You're going to like that's a losing proposition. You're not. So I, I like Atlanta. I think they're going to be a division winner. I don't necessarily love them. I love the Lions. I, I really like San Francisco. I don't love them right now. I think they can play a lot better. I thought they look good against Dallas. Defensively, they ran around that looked a little bit more like the San Francisco defense. We're accustomed to seeing speed, violence up front, running to the ball, generating take like they. They beat up Dallas pretty good on Sunday night. I just got done watching that film this week because I have Dallas this week. Who else in the nfc? I think Seattle's hit or miss. I love Gino as a guy. I think he's wildly talented. I think they are so pass heavy that I think that gets hard at the end of the year. I'd love to see them rely on that. That back is sick, Walker. So I think I'd love to see them. I think they got a shot to be. I mean, they definitely have a shot to be in contention to win the division out in the West. The NFC east, to me, is very interesting. I'm still waiting to see how the Eagles play out. I think the Cowboys have a lot going on right now, and we can talk about them. I spent a lot of time studying them this week, trying to figure out, let's do it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Because you know what? I'm still at. Like, this is the Jay Cutler thing that I've talked about in the past, where I feel like we were almost 10 years into Jay Cutler's career, and we were still talking about what he was or what he wasn't. And then at some point, you just have to go, like, I think this is what he is. Like, I think this is what he is. It's not the best, it's not the worst, but we got to stop pretending it's one version of these extremes. And with Dak, he comes in second in the mvp, we know he puts up the huge numbers. It's comical how often it turns out that they've been down this year. And it looks like he's getting all these yards. Later, once they're down two scores. And it just happened again against the ners. Like, I've watched him as much as probably anybody because they're always on. And all those Sunday nights, I'd be back in Connecticut, be like, can you figure this guy out? And all the numbers. Tell me what you see, because I think that the answer may be simpler than I realized.

[Greg Olson]

Yeah, I think it's a great question. And I think this, again, as we kind of play this exercise out, and you go, okay, division by division, who do I love? Who do I. There's a couple loves, and then everybody else is kind of like tbd. And I think that's why the NFL is so exciting. I think the final four weeks of this, you Know you're going to see teams just skyrocket out of nowhere and you're going to see teams that have been good all year just fall off the face of the earth. And I think that's what obviously makes us all keep coming back and looking back and saying none of us really have any idea. Because every team we think is good doesn't turn out good. And every team we think's outdone for broke, they win the Super Bowl. So that, that's the fun part about this exercise in regards to Dallas. And I've spent a lot of time watching them this week and really trying to wrap my head around what is different. I called like nine of their games last year. It was eight or nine. A couple in the playoffs. Like, I felt like I knew them. I Talked to Mike McCarthy more than maybe anybody had a real good feel for who they were, personnel wise and really what they wanted to be will start offensively. So you go back to last year, the prior season, they let in 20. After the 22 season, they let Kellen Moore go. McCarthy takes over the play calling and he makes it very clear they are going to get back to protecting the ball, not putting the entire game in Dak's hand, turning, cutting down on the turnovers, that picks the sack, fumbles and being more committed to the run game. They had Tony Pollard and they're like, all right, we're going to run the ball, we're going to protect Dak, we're going to be more play action. And the season starts last year in 2023. And I went back and looked at some of my notes that I'd written down preparing for their New England game, which was in like week three, like super early. And it was really good. Sustaining drives, not able to generate any chunk plays and they're struggling in the red zone. And you say, okay, well, he's not turning the ball over, but they're not scoring right, they're not throwing the ball over your head, they're not generating the chunk play. So then as the season wears on, all of a sudden now the turnovers remain down, but now all of a sudden they come to life and it's deep shot plays and it's ball over your head. It's Brandon Cooks, it's CD Lamb. Pollard gets better and better and better coming off the injury. As the year progresses in come playoffs, they're arguably the best team in football. I mean, they're scoring 30 plus a game. The defense is fantastic. I'll get to that here in a second. But now when I watch them now I see CD Lamb. No Brandon Cooks. Ferguson's had not quite the same production as he had last year, especially generating the downfield plays and the run game is completely non existent. Everything about the NFL, the number one factor in generating points is your ability to generate explosive plays. You cannot drive 12 plays at a time and then rely on being 100% in the red zone. If you think you're going to score 24 to 30 points in a game and give yourself a chance, it's just not going to happen. You have to be able to score fast and generate chunks. They're trying to push the ball downfield. Dak knows that they're underneath. Game is not leading to really any efficiency. So he's pushing the ball, throwing into tight windows. The entire game is sitting on his shoulders. And the picks and the turnovers from the 22 season that they thought they addressed are back. So I think there's a combination of. Dak feels the entire weight of the team on his back again. He's in shotgun. They're in spread formation more than anybody. What we're seeing now, condensed formations under center, early down play action, max protect, give your offensive line of help, easy reads for the quarterback. We're seeing that everywhere around the league and then certain places are still playing stationary static shotgun football. And it is just a very hard. That's the difference that I see some new pieces up front. The backs aren't really that explosive, but the entire game is on Dak's shoulders and he knows it. He's feeling it. He's got one real option and he's trying to chase points. He's trying to push the ball downfield and he's putting the ball in harm's way.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay, this was awesome, first of all. And this is why everybody loves you and you're so great at your job. But what I take from that is like you still see Dak as an elite quarterback.

[Greg Olson]

I do you right?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Like that's, that's what I take from that answer. It's like don't think that the league has now figured him out. And this is, he was a fluke and none of this stuff was real. You're telling me week to week he's just set up for failure and you still believe in him.

[Greg Olson]

I am a big Dak. I've spent time around Dak. I don't judge. I think there's two ways to evaluate a quarterback. Right is at the end of the day, it is a production based business. If you are A good quarterback, you produce, you got to get your flowers and you got to get your credit. But then the next level is, like, when you spend time with these guys and you watch how they work and you watch how they communicate, and you watch how their brain processes football and how they're able to explain things and their. And how fast they can think and process, then you go, oh, my God. Like, I can see why this guy is so good. And I've spent some time around Dak. I've had a lot of conversations with him. Spent a couple days in Nashville at teu. He came to throw and had a chance to pick his brain. Like, when you watch him, the presence he brings, the engagement with the other players. Like, you could pick a dude and be like, that guy's a dude. Like, that guy walks into the building every day and you're like, that's our guy. Like. And it's hard to describe it, but it's like one of those things. Like, you know it when you see it. So I. I've always been a DAX supporter. I understand turnovers are going to come. Picks are going to come. Not all picks and turnovers are created equal. He's going to be the first to say he's got to make better decisions. He's got to stop throwing force passes. A couple the other night were just bad balls. He'll be the first to say it, but at the same time, he's got to get some help schematically. Take some of the pressure off him, generate some advantage pre snap with your formations and condense the splits and get under center and get something out of your ground game. Get something. Get another weapon other than CD Land that we don't have to just move him around like high school football and say we're just gonna. When we need to throw it to that guy, he lines up there. When we need to throw it to that position, he lines up there. You just can't play that way. It's just. It's. This is. This is big boy. Like, it doesn't work. So I'm a big. I have not given up on Dak the player, Dak the leader. I think there's a lot going on in Dallas that make it very difficult to just function there in general during the week. And I think it's. And now we can get into the defense if you really want to get into it, because that's where I think it really gets interesting, though.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Well, see, now you say it that way, and I know it's going to be interesting. So Give us, Give us the film.

[Greg Olson]

I'll make it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Fast thing, man. Hey, you. You don't have to go. This is so good, Greg. You take as long as you need.

[Greg Olson]

I don't have any TV timeouts. God, it drives me nuts. I have, like a great thought and then your producer's like, and commercial in 8. And I'm like, ah, I can't say what I'm gonna say in eight seconds. As you could tell, I'm a. I'm a long talker. But that's why I love podcasts, because we can do this all day.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Hey, you don't need to apologize to me, man. The first five minutes with me on the phone, you don't talk like, it's just like, I get my five minutes out and then I'm like, okay, what do you have? So I gotta fix it.

[Greg Olson]

No, this is. I could do this all day. You're a blast. So defensively, people always want to look at each side of the ball as like an independent aspect of the team, and they're not. The really good teams build their offense to complement their defense and their defense to complement the playstyle of the offense. Right, that makes sense. So over the last couple years, when you're scoring 30 points a game, it is just common sense that how are you going to build your team? You're going to build your team around playing with a lead, rushing the passer, defending the pass, and generate takeaways because the other team's pressing through the passing game primarily to keep up with you. The last couple years, if you showed up to play a healthy Dallas Cowboy team, in your mind, you had to say, for us to win today, I've got to score 30 points. And in just a neutral possession game, I'm not. You can't count on a pick six, a fumble upon return, just neutral possession by possession. If I sit on the ball and run it and run it, even if I run it well, I'm going to lose two possessions of the game just out of sheer time. Right. I just, I'm eating up too much clock. And even if I am efficient enough to sustain the ball and go down and score touchdowns, I'm putting so much pressure now on my red zone offense, I have to be disproportionately great and not settle for field goals, because if not, I just. The math doesn't add up. I don't have enough possessions and enough. Enough opportunities to get seven points to get to 30. So I gotta push, I gotta press, I gotta be drop back pass and all Of a sudden, you got Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, you got Trayvon Diggs and Duron Bland leading the league in interceptions every year and pick sixes, and next thing you know, you're a strip sack and a pick six and the game is over. You have no chance because they've scored seven on defense and 30 on offense, and the game's over. So it didn't matter how they defended the run. It didn't matter if they weren't big and physical at the linebacker. You didn't have the time or the ability to even try to run the ball on me. But then all of a sudden, last year up in Buffalo, Buffalo runs the ball down their throat because the offense couldn't score. So McDermott is telling, you know, telling the offense, you don't. Joe Brady, you don't have to chase points here. You don't. You don't have to chase anything. Now. We got. Defensively, we got these guys under 17. Relax. This year it's been a little bit more like that. You're not coming into the game saying, hey, defensively, they got to throw the ball on us because if not, they can't score 30. And now you, all of a sudden, you take Deron Bland and Micah Parsons out of the equation, and now you weren't built to defend the run to begin with. You weren't built to play high teens, low 20s games to begin with. And now I take away your two best players. That is also now felt by Dak, and he's saying, shit, I've got to win. I have to carry the team. I'm not going to get a turnover every game. A strip sack, a pick six. Like we were the last two years when we led the. We led football and generating takeaways like it's all connected. And their formula right now is out of whack, man.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I feel like I should, you know, I should have to leave some money after that one. Greg, that was. That was such a great breakdown. Now I understand Dallas better. Um, before we let you go, I want to talk about. You think. And I know in the past we've talked about your passion for youth sports. What's wrong? You've done podcasts on it. You have a new thing coming out. Because a lot of people, we get a lot of life advice stuff from parents, their kids, the first, especially the oldest son, the first kid or the oldest daughter, the first one running through it. And it's especially some of the parents that maybe weren't athletes growing up, like, going through this stuff. The first time I know you're doing something that you put a lot of time into, so I want to make sure you share that as well. Yeah.

[Greg Olson]

So our, our journey through, through you sports. I mean, it started my dad was my high school football coach for 40 plus years, a public school up in New Jersey. Me and my brothers all played for him. We all went off to play in college. But like I grew up around high school sports. I grew up around town rallying around their kids, going to school with the kid you lived next door to in locker rooms as ball boys all the way up till I played. Like that was our life growing up. I experienced sports at that level. We were not going to college football games. I grew up 30 minutes from Giant Stadium. I probably went to Giant Stadium three times my entire life. Like our weekend was youth sports and high school sports and that was everything we loved. Those were the players we looked up to. Now really fast forward. I'm a dad, I'm retired. I made a career playing sports. Now I'm raising three young kids, two boys and a girl, and they're entering competitive sports. They're in middle school. Like, it's getting pretty serious. As crazy as that sounds, like it's getting pretty serious now at that age. And I'm sitting up with my wife saying like, I don't know what to do. Is this enough? Do we need to practice more? Do we need to get a trainer? He's falling behind, he's excelling. Do we need a better team? But he likes his team. Like it's. These are. And we would go to dinners and every family, every parent. The conversation after like two like hellos was like, what, what are you guys doing this season? How is your sports? How is the coach? How much are you practicing? Do you have a private trainer? So with that being said, we said, you know what, there's a lot of information out there that young, that families and young athletes and parents and coaches really could benefit from because they can't come have conversations with professional athletes and parents and coaches that maybe some of us can for guidance. We need to bring those conversations to them. So that was the inspiration behind you think. I did a 40 some odd interview podcast series. And through that we said, okay, there's more here. There is a platform around youth sports in the content space that we can bring other collaborators, other content creators, not just myself and really further these conversations. And that's what you think has become. We launched this fall with our, with Michael Gervais, who's like a world renowned sports Psychologist. He works with the, he was with Pete Carroll at usc. I met him when I was in Seattle Olympics. Everybody. He's a rock star. We just released that six parts, four part series. Four or six, I can't remember how many we recorded. And the idea being we're going to continue to elevate through all different aspects of the youth sports experience. Conversations with athletes, Olympians, coaches, mental health specialists, performance coaches, all the different subspecialties that make up this ever changing complex world. We're going to bring those conversations and those, and those interesting pieces of content to people who are all living the same life. And then in next year there'll be an e commerce component. We'll be able to streamline through those content, you know, pieces. We'll be able to bring people into our platform and you can do your team store, you can get your merchandise for your school's, you know, equipment for your school's lacrosse team and custom gear that you'd wear all week. But now it's got your son's travel ball team on it and just kind of bring like a more streamlined e commerce aspect into that. So it's kind of a content commerce play. Right now the big focus is on just the content, quality education. Very interesting. And we feel it has a lot of upside because there's a lot of people that are living that, that reality every day.

[Ryan Rosillo]

We should have you back. Just, just do life advice for this. If you want to do life advice for parents or ask about you sports.

[Greg Olson]

No, I need life advice. I am the first to admit that our. We spend a lot of time in the youth sports space, Ryan, but I don't always get it right. I'm learning how to coach my own kids, how to parent my own kids, how to coach your kids, how to coach other people.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Like, it's tough, man, it's hard. You played in the NFL and there's probably still a dad somewhere going, greg Olson doesn't know what he's doing.

[Greg Olson]

You know, it's not so much that people question how much you know about the sport. People, they, they come to give them.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The benefit of the doubt. Right?

[Greg Olson]

Yeah, I think not everyone is comfortable with different styles of approach. And listen, I'm the first to admit the style that worked for me my entire life was nothing's ever good enough. Gotta work harder. Great game. Bad game. Monday, it's back to work. Improvement, development. And like our motto of all of our youth sports teams is we might not be the best team. We never talk about how many games we win. We never talk about what our record is. We never. That is never discussed amongst the kids, the parents. We make no promises. Our motto is, can we get better the longest. That, to me, is the entire premise of youth sports. Can you improve indefinitely? But in order to do that, there's discipline, there's accountability, there's telling the truth. And kids don't love hearing the truth. They're not used to it. It feels personal. It feels like an attack. Once the kids come around that, like, you're doing this from a place of love and investment and like I'm living and dying with your development and that light goes on and they buy in, that's where the magic happens. But along the way, people think it's too hard. People think it's too tough. People don't like hearing the truth about where their kid stands and what they need to do to get better. And you weren't on time, so you didn't start. And like all these life lessons, people are a little uncomfortable with that at times. And it takes some give and take. And I. I'm not for everybody. My youth teams are not for everybody, and that's okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So you think that's what you would look up. And it's six episodes. They're out.

[Greg Olson]

Yeah, they're. They're out. Yep. With. With Michael Gervais, we had great conversations. Mick Cronin, the UCLA basketball coach, just a. We had some really cool conversations from the. From the standpoint with Dr. Gervais of Human performance, mental health, best practices of overcoming adversity. So less about how to dribble, how to shoot, how to score, how to tackle, and more about, like, what is the mental battle that people. Whether you're sixth grade or you're an all pro NFL player, Like, what is that meta. What do the best players do to handle failure, to handle success, to handle routine? All those best practices rolled up into some really cool conversations that I think people are going to get a lot out of.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I would agree. And you just great with the message, man, and great on the football as well. So enjoy the rest of the season. Hopefully we can catch up again. Man, this was great. Thanks, Greg.

[Greg Olson]

Yeah, look forward to it anytime.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The alliance marches slowly, but it marches on. Although there is actually, there's one guy. I was reading about Spartacus trying to leave the lower peninsula the other day, and he almost got boxed in. And as they were retreating, stragglers, man. Bad to be a straggler. And I was a straggler last week for the alliance, the only one to get it wrong. This is the worst year I've ever had in giving out picks. Usually I can say I'll get back to 500 and it's not. It's just. It's just the price of attendance. But no, it's three and one for everybody and we'll see what we can do. I'd like to ban myself Suri from alt spreads. I don't think I deserve them. Well, so.

[Ceruti]

But yeah, but I'm going to push back on that because then you're making it harder on us if you don't. If you don't do that.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay. Well, I just felt like if Irish spread.

[Ceruti]

I get it. But juice.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Yeah. All right. So why my pick wasn't even close last week. Right. I think I forgot after the Bears thing.

[Ceruti]

You had Washington plus ten and a half.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Oh, yeah. That actually was a game. Well, now the issue was it was.

[Kyle]

The first game of the day. It felt like so. It was like, yeah.

[Greg Olson]

When you lose the first one.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Pick six to start things wasn't a great tone set.

[Ceruti]

Not what you're looking for. Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Final score made it look worse. But there was. That was actually. I was in it there. I watched the whole game. I was in it for a little while and I was like, this is going to work out. All right, so war gone. Why don't you lead us off? What do you got? Penn State. Ohio State.

[Greg Olson]

Penn State, Ohio State. Ohio State all the way. I was talking to before the pod, he was like, oh, I'm nervous. I'm this, I'm that.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I'm not nervous.

[Greg Olson]

These games aren't close. They're never close. Ohio State owns them. It's just like the simplest bet ever. Ohio State money line. And I'm not worried about it at all.

[Ceruti]

I just said. I just said, is this the emotional hedge bet? He's a Penn State guy. A lot of people are on Penn State. I'm not betting this game. I just.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That.

[Ceruti]

That was just my observation.

[Greg Olson]

Well, you're part of this bet now.

[Ceruti]

No, I'm not scared, though. I'm not like, hey, I'm afraid that you're taking this pick. It's just like. Yeah, I don't know. It seems like a, you know, one of those. One with the heart, not the head. But hey, it's okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I actually really like this pick. You got an aller injury update for us?

[Greg Olson]

I don't. I think they're trying to be like, all koi.

[Ceruti]

Is it aller?

[Greg Olson]

Is it Prabula? Make it a Little tougher for Ohio State's defense.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I just. I just don't think it matters. I think it's the most overrated thing ever. Like. Oh, no. Yeah. Oh, no. I just. But look, the pick I'm going with is doing the exact same thing with A and M, but we'll get that a little bit later.

[Ceruti]

All right, well, you got burned by Washington last week in the points, but I'm going to go right back to the. Well there. They're playing USC at home. I'm going to. It's. It's plus three. I think right now. I'm going to take it up to plus seven and a half. Just get it over the full. Touchdown. Washington's really good at home. This is their first home game in a while, too. I think they're, you know, trying to get kind of bowl eligible here, and I don't trust usc. So Washington plus the points.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Did you pick them? Oregon. You had the usc, Maryland play. Right, Right. Okay. Went back to the.

[Greg Olson]

Well, picked against Maryland last week again.

[Ceruti]

To finally got it good.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay, Kyle.

[Kyle]

Okay. I think I heard this somewhere this week. That's really where it comes from. I don't remember who. I wish I could give credit, but I'm taking Pittsburgh plus. Well, I guess I don't make my own odds anymore. Seriously, what am I allowed to bet? I was going to say plus seven.

[Ceruti]

It's not an allowed thing. What is going on right now? I'm trying to help everybody out.

[Kyle]

I'm just getting into character.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Sorry.

[Kyle]

Well, you tell me what I'm allowed.

[Ceruti]

You texted the group that you wanted Pitt plus seven and a half, which is the actual line. I said, you know, we could. We could afford to take that over 10 and a half. So get it to two scores. So that's what we're going to do.

[Kyle]

Is what he says. So that's what we'll do.

[Ceruti]

Okay. Okay, pal.

[Kyle]

Thanks, guys.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I liked it better when I was winning and you two were fighting all the time. But it's now I'm losing and you're fighting, and it's just even worse. It makes me sad.

[Kyle]

Send you to Banana Splits.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Banana Splits is the most absurd name for any youth group ever spreading across America.

[Kyle]

They're everywhere, by the way.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I looked it up. You got to get a T shirt. I don't know.

[Ceruti]

Those are our two T shirts.

[Kyle]

I don't like their colors.

[Ceruti]

Oregon Trail and Banana Splits. No Resilo Merch. Just those two.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's just Ceruti and myself on both sides of the T shirt. And Kyle in the middle with a blanket. All right. I A M's Mike Elko, their head coach was like, we're not telling anybody what we're doing. Between Wigman and Marcel Reed, I think post a super emotional, big time home win against a good LSU team, you could think they're coming in here a little flat. I think you could also argue the South Carolina's defensive line and just their defense in general is more equipped to deal with it, to deal with the Marcel Reed, Wigman dynamic and all that stuff. This is pretty simple. I just think a name is really good. So maybe not the letdown. That's what I'm hoping for, obviously. And if it's Reed, great. If it's Wigman, I still like it. And so I was gonna punish myself and say, no more Alt juice for my boy. Well, that's me. So that's a really weird third person.

[Greg Olson]

I'm my own boy.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Yeah. Got another one from. I don't know what just happened there, but let's. What do we have? Cerudi is. I. I don't want to take it if somebody else. Although you jacked yours up to what, ten and a half? Is there anything left over seven and a half?

[Ceruti]

Seven and a half. We're good.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So we're.

[Ceruti]

That's.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That.

[Ceruti]

That's +500. We're good.

[Ryan Rosillo]

We're in a. Great. So what am I? Minus three.

[Ceruti]

You're money line. A and M money.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay.

[Ceruti]

Minus 150.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay. All right. Couch money research has been just terrible. So let's. Let's take a look. Let's see what we have. Okay. I was tempted to go Tampa plus nine here, but their injury report is just so bad, you know? Feel like the Chiefs are probably due to drop one here. And if you're getting eight and a half or nine with Tampa. But the injury report, unlike who did not participate in Thursday's practice, it scared the out of me. So I think I'm going to go with something that I imagine sharp people don't like. But Give me Baltimore -8 at home against Denver. I like Baltimore coming off the loss. Denver's defense, statistically is terrific. They're a surprising good record team. I've watched them enough where I'm like, I just don't even know that they're that good. And so let's go with Baltimore there. All right. The money part of this. The second highest public play of the week was the Texans plus two and a half last night. Loser. That probably means this one will lose. Because the most public play are the Giants plus four at home against the Washington Commanders and the research pick. I was trying to guess what I thought I would get today from my sources and boy did I guess wrong. The research play this week, the packers at home against the Lions plus two and a half. That's going to feel dangerous. Oh, by the way, I just got the rest of it. I was, I thought it was going to be Colts plus five and a half at Minnesota. That was the other play, but we're going with the Packers. Is the research play plus two and a half. And it's always like whenever it's the guys that do this for a living, it's always one where like, well, that doesn't make any sense. Yep, no shit. And that's why I tried to go with Colts plus five and a half. But I guess they do like that one a little bit. But the packers will be the official one here for something that has been super disappointing. So thanks for hanging out. You can check out all of Those odds on sportsbook.fanduel.com you want details?

[Greg Olson]

Fine. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid. So now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required.

[Ryan Rosillo]

LifeAdviceRromail.com is the email address for life advice. Also, throw in some Friday feedback. Friday feedback rr Gmail.com we'll do one of those mailbags for the YouTube page at some point. Next week.

[Ceruti]

Let's do it next week.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Oh well, there you go. Next week.

[Ceruti]

People love the YouTube only content.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Make sure you check it out.

[Ceruti]

Break out Breakout star Mike Warn.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, we're thinking of a segment called the War on Trail, but we haven't been able to brand it yet. It could be. Could also not be available. War Gone. Do you have any content creators in your immediate family that have already taken that?

[Greg Olson]

I wish.

[Ceruti]

No.

[Greg Olson]

That's a great name. Got some shirts made.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That would be awesome if our first show merch was the Woragon Trail. I actually want that to happen.

[Ceruti]

That's a good shirt, though.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, it is. It is. I'd wear it multiple times. All right. So I always like to do this when I think it's just really good advice for somebody that had previously written in something. So we had our restaurant guy that was sort of bummed out about where he was at in life and was doing the consulting Deal. And you know, I don't know half the time we do these, I'm like, is this helping? But this actually seems like great help. I did not think of it because I'm not in the industry, but it makes sense because I have friends that are in the industry. And here was his point. He goes, tell him to seek out local jobs in food service sales like US Food, Cisco Performance Food Group. They hire experienced restaurant people for sales jobs with no college degree. The restaurant experience is more important than agree than a degree to them. Hope this helps. I can tell you, I guess I don't know if it's firsthand, if it's my friends, so maybe it's really more secondhand. But friends of mine back in the OG days of the service industry that maybe were not, well, they avoided the student loan thing. But anyway, they've made great livings working in food services because of the relationships, understanding how the businesses work because they were on the service side for such a long time too. So I don't know, I thought that was really specific, efficient and potentially also helpful because I have, like I said, I've seen. When I got the email, I was like, yeah, actually there's like a handful of guys that I know that have done really well in that world that were just, you know, porn drafts for dudes a long time ago.

[Kyle]

And that's what happens when you talk to an expert. You get some real advice.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah, because yeah, this is a nasty email. We got this one. Well, if it's sent at this time of night, it also might have been first thing in the morning. Quote, it's amazing. Whenever Ryan interviews a supposed expert, Ryan spends more time giving his own opinions and allowing the expert to share his views. Annoying, arrogant and funny.

[Kyle]

Oh my God.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Sounds like he doesn't think it's funny, though.

[Ceruti]

No, no, you're just saying off, off camera. It's been, it's been a tough week for Ryan pr. I feel like, you know, yeah, alliance only went wrong last week.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The Bears game was my other pick.

[Ceruti]

The Bears. Bears people are not happy with you. Reddit is not happy with you after the. Your hosting capabilities. So, yeah, Alpha Ed Quinn.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Oh, that's right, the Alpha Ed Quinn thing. People, I would say this to the, to the listeners that maybe don't understand some of the interjections during interviews is that there are times like if I haven't talked for a really long time, I'll feel like I'll try to make it a little bit more of a discussion. But most of the Interviews are still pretty traditional where I lay out for a lot of it as opposed to having it be a conversation. And I actually felt like I should try to have more conversations instead of some of the more traditional radio interviews. So, you know, just pulling up the curtain for you. Yeah, but some of you, I could just not talk for 40 minutes.

[Ceruti]

I don't know. But I feel like my advice, talk more during interviews.

[Ryan Rosillo]

This guy be psyched. Maybe we just do intros and then we cut out my questions and then that way, I don't know, what's something to work on? Maybe this summer launch Ron Rosala podcast.

[Ceruti]

Just have a guest go on a monologue for 20 minutes.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I don't even read the ads. Kyle does life advice. I think people will be happy with that. Okay, let's do two quick ones. One's not serious. One is really serious. You know what? I'm going to read this other one just while we're on. While we're on it. Was I a bad host? Little background. I'm lucky enough to work from home, but my busy season is just starting up. My friends mentioned being in town a couple months ago. I said yes to hanging out, even though usually I'm kind of a shut in. Fast forward to last weekend. I really want to focus on work, but nevertheless reassured my friends we could see each other even if I had to work. They drove over an hour, but I was kind of in the zone when they arrived and subsequently wasn't able to completely block out my work duties while they were here. We ended up just doing what I normally would have done if they weren't there. They didn't stay long. Should I have ordered food or taken some time out of my work schedule? I don't feel guilty for being a bad host. I was. I was upfront with expectations. It's just I got the sense they were upset with me. At the end of the day, work is the most important thing to me. But I feel like I checked all the friendship boxes here. Was I a bad host? That's like, feels a little targeted.

[Kyle]

Yeah.

[Ceruti]

Did they get Jack in the box on the way home?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Kyle couldn't have had a better time. It was the most efficient one hour visit of his life. So yeah, I spent a lot of.

[Kyle]

Time wondering like, should I let him lead with the golf clubs or should I be like, so where they.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I.

[Kyle]

It was really nerve wracking. All I thought about smoking that cigarette was like, what? How am I going to approach this?

[Ryan Rosillo]

What if I hadn't given what I just like old guy forgot.

[Ceruti]

Yeah, I forgot the clubs.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Would you have said anything?

[Kyle]

Said something as we were getting in the car.

[Ceruti]

Now the move, the move is always to like when you're. Yeah, you're leaving, you're like, oh, the golf clubs. And then make it like you forgot to. And then you just.

[Kyle]

Probably. What would have happened? That's probably.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I would have seen right through that.

[Greg Olson]

Like.

[Kyle]

Oh, did you still want to like do that? I'm just glad that we. We didn't come across that bridge.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I wasn't going to forget because I was so excited to give them to you. So there was that. But yeah, I would say Kyle made out pretty well. Kind of tough for Wargon and Ceruti especially realizing that Woragon probably went right to the airport. Arm's reach.

[Kyle]

I'm still. They're just so light.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I love how light they are gone. You didn't go right to the airport, right? Did you go home, get a couple hours.

[Greg Olson]

Ceruti's flight was before mine.

[Ceruti]

It was.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Well, that's not mean anything.

[Ceruti]

We shared an Uber though now.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay. Yeah, yeah. So I think, I think all in all, whatever, the approval rating has been higher than the last couple weeks. But we'll just try to, you know, fight back approval.

[Ceruti]

There's a pie though, right? It's like a. It's like, you know, it's like blame pie but approval rating pie. And like yours is lessening and worn's is growing so you know, you got to make room for something.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, it's like bitcoin. There's only so much approval to go around. Oh, he likes bitcoin too.

[Kyle]

That's what makes it a feasible option.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right, let's go with this one. This has to do with pickup basketball. We're good with these, I think. I don't know if. Is this really his name? Fuck it, he said it is. My name is Twiggy. I'm 33 years old, 6'4 185, from Victoria, BC. Shout out to Victoria. He said shout out to Ryan for making his way over here this year. Sorry about all the homeless people.

[Ceruti]

It's not your fault, buddy.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It was just an observation, that's all. I loved it up there. I absolutely loved it. I think it had more to do with Vancouver really. So I, you know, whatever. I loved it up there. Probably would go back. Jim Stats look more like Steve Nash's shooting splits. So we don't need to talk about those player comp. Somewhere between Tony Allen and Andre Roberson. And therein lies the reason for my email. Back in August, I got invited by my friend of a friend to come join a group of dudes in their 20s who play pickup basketball every week at a local gym. As a lifelong basketball fan, I jumped to the opportunity because it's been 15 years old, font, since I last played, since joining this group of younger guys who I don't know. So that means he didn't. He stopped playing at 18. Those are tough development years, 18 to 33, to not play basketball, you know, some.

[Ceruti]

Yeah, he's a totally different guy.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. So who knows? Maybe he's got plenty of tread left on the tire. Like those running backs that are always hurt. Like. Well, he hasn't had many carries. Like, there's. There's a reason. All right. I'm starting to notice that I don't play like any of these people, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. For context, I grew up playing basketball all through school, from the ages of 7 to 17. I was never the best player, but growing up in small towns, I was always the tallest kid in school. So I've exclusively played at the 5 my whole life. I've never been much of a shooter, but I also never practiced at it, really, because coaches wanted me to focus on rebounding defense and maintaining range within the painting. In the 2000s, this was a totally normal thing for a young center learning the game. Fast forward to now, and all of these younger dudes who grew up watching Steph Curry are clearly influenced by his playstyle. Everybody wants to jack up shots, dribble the air out of the ball, and are generally disinterested in defense or team ball. Meanwhile, I'm out here setting picks like I'm Steven Adams. Nice to see old Steve O. Back on the court and fighting for rebounds. Remember that New Zealand International incident? I do. I talked about Stephen Adams. That was incredible. I was worried when I went down there.

[Kyle]

I was like, were you questioning his toughness? I forget what that. What was that about?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, it was kind of like.

[Kyle]

It was. Yeah, you were like.

[Ryan Rosillo]

A little bit. It's not that he's not a super tough guy. I just felt like they needed him to be tougher in the games and whatever. I don't want to do this all over again. They're probably going to lead the news with it again tonight. Fighting for rebounds. Like on Moses Malone. You can count the number of shots I've made in the past three months on two hands, but my teams usually win. I had a feeling they Might. And at the end of the day, that's all I'm really worried about. So my question is, am I the worst guy to play with? Should I change my play style to be more like these other guys I'm playing with or just keep doing what I've always done? Maybe it's time to look into joining a group of guys in their 40s who maybe don't play like the kids do. I figure you have three more. You have three, you three have more experience playing pickup as adults than I do considering my 15 year hiatus. So I'm looking for some insights. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help. You actually sound like the best guy to play with, so let's start there.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I mean, they're jacking shots and missing and you're grabbing boards. I mean, it seems like they're like, this guy's the best. It sounds like I should just keep doing what I'm doing.

[Ceruti]

This is no disrespect to Jason Maxill, but there's. There's a lot more Jason Maxeal's out there. Like, it's. It's easier to replicate what Jason Maxeal does in a pickup game than it is to replicate what Steph Curry does in a pickup game. Right. So that's a good point, though. People don't talk about how, you know, really, that millennial kind of group has really gotten screwed with the. It's not just the NBA players, it's the pickup basketball players.

[Ryan Rosillo]

They didn't.

[Ceruti]

We missed on this. I had a bunch of buddies who were like, you know, six foot. You were a big man. And, you know, it's like, hey, get in the paint. And those guys only, all they have is paint moves and, you know, up and unders. And those guys are shooting 25 shots.

[Kyle]

A game on a double rim and it's just, boom.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That's a good sound effect, buddy.

[Kyle]

It's a double rim sound.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, really, I would ask the emailer, do you care, like, if you're winning the games and you're doing all the stuff that you're better at, you're probably not going to be a great shooter if you never grew up shooting. And so why, why do you want to play like them? My concern would be that you don't want to play with these guys because it sucks to play with these guys. You shouldn't be worried about your game. Your game is awesome. There should be more guys like you that want to do some of that other stuff, but they don't, like, used to Drive me crazy when I was consistently playing all the time and guys would just. And the step thing's totally right. Like it's crazy when you play in a pickup game during like peak Steph. So this is still years and years ago and I remember just being a games with younger dudes going, this is fucking crazy. Like you guys don't even, it doesn't even go in but you just want to make it look like you don't even care if the shot goes in or not. It's that you're showing all the other guys that this is in your bag, you know, like I'll just pull from deep. It's like does it ever go in and like nobody's even set up. Yeah.

[Kyle]

And now we're running again. Come on.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, like whatever. I was hoping. No shit. You were 35ft away from the hoop. Like who's picking you up? Nobody's even set up yet. Like there's nothing that we didn't even even attempt to screen. It's not like I was going to go down to the post and get an entry pass in this kind of game. So eventually that shit gets old and then you watch no one boxes anybody out. People don't get back in transition and you're just running around being like, oh, so this game's just going to suck. Like you know, and every now and then I might be like, so this is what we're doing. Just so just a passive aggressive to nine strangers. So this is, this is what the deal is today, guys. You just want to lose.

[Ceruti]

So yeah, it sounds like he's, it doesn't sound like. It sounds like he's self conscious though. Like he's the one that's doing something wrong. And like I'm wondering are these dudes like yelling at you because you're picking and rolling, not picking and popping. Are you like not hitting the corners hard enough? Like I, that's what it sounds like. And I'll just let you know that you are, you are in the right. Like if you don't have that in your bag and you can't you. Again, we don't need a team full of five Steph Currys. Like everyone's got to play their role. So I don't know if you're a hustle guy and I, maybe I, it sounds like you just need to find a new pickup because maybe these guys, it's not fixable.

[Kyle]

So on that, can I ask, I mean my old guy pickup circles don't run very deep. And what I heard with Bill, now, you might be an anomaly through this, Ryan. I don't know. But, like, Bill was just like, you know, as you start to get older, you start, you know, hanging around the arc and shooting. That's basically what Bill said as he phased out of his pickup basketball. He was like, I became pretty much a shooter. And if you go older, do you think you run into more guys who are like, you know what? I don't think I'm going to throw my shoulder in, and I don't think I'm taking it to the rack today. Like, if you, if you jump up in age groups, do you think maybe you just would get a little bit more of the same, but maybe just a little more seasoned in their jump shots?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Well, Bill's right that, like, there's an age where you. You're not like off a screen just going into the pain as hard as you possibly can. Like, you might be able to on the first possession when you're not tired yet, but you end up being tired. And no, you could see with NBA players at the end of the game, like, how come he's not driving? It's like, well, because he's played 40 minutes and he's exhausted and he's thinking, if I just get a little space, I'm just going to pull up here. Because it's hard to get yourself mentally, when you're that tired, to continue to attack with the same prosody. So when we're talking about NBA players that get tired, think about pickup, especially with older dudes. So, yeah, he's right. I mean, you start floating around the arc, you start doing all those things. But when you just stop boxing out, you stop playing defense, you stop calling out screens, you don't do anything. You're running top of key to top of key. If you're even still playing full court, like, you know, it just. It's going to lead to all these other mistakes. If the other guys. Now if that's just everybody in the game and everybody's doing the same thing, then it kind of cancels it out and it's kind of easy and you get some buckets because nobody's really all that locked in. But this sounds like, to the point of this email, that it's almost as if he was asking if he was doing anything wrong. And our point is that you're not doing anything wrong. Pickup needs more guys like you, and if you're cool with them. It wasn't like the email was like, I can't stand these guys I play with to Rudy's point, he was being self conscious about it. If you like playing with them and you like the way that you play and you're winning games like keep doing it man. And you're still only 33 and you're 64 and you play like this, everybody should want you on their team. So I don't think you're doing anything wrong. All right. Okay. This one probably a little serious for our pay grade, but we're going to give it a shot anyway. People want a Pinehurst update. That's not the serious one. We never did it because of the way that things played out. I guess on a slower day. Saruti, just remind me and maybe we'll, we'll hammer out a little Pinehurst trip update because I, I loved it. It was great and it's worth giving those guys. All right, major screw up now. I fear from fear for my life. Here we go. Throw away email so personal name is not revealed. Big fan of the podcast. 34 years old. 5 11, 195 passes. Prime Gym rat pickup comp is Kyle Corver. Stuck in quicksand off ball game isn't there anymore. So just stick me in a corner. I'll knock a few threes and I know what team you can play on. Earlier this month I was going through the hardest time of my life. Hope this one's well. Actually, I don't know if it's fake, then I'm not going to feel as bad, but here we go. Had a really rough divorce and didn't know how to cope with it. A few of my college buddies invited me to make a trip back up to our hometown we all grew up in to come stay with them. I told them I was down and looking forward to just turning my brain off for the weekend and escaping from my problems. On the last night I was in town, we all went out to a bar hopping around. I ran into my ex girlfriend from high school. Haven't seen her in over a decade. She's now married with kids. The chemistry between us upon meeting was palpable from the way she greeted me and was talking with me at the bar. You would have no idea this woman was married. Couldn't believe how strong the sexual tension was between us. It felt like some sort of magnetic energy. I was sloshed on Molly and on gummies.

[Kyle]

All right, that's just poor planning.

[Ceruti]

Tough combo.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, that's just poor planning. Guy just went for it like I'm back in town. So I'm sure that was playing into as well, pretty good conclusion. She ended up inviting me back to her home. I shouldn't have agreed and should have listened to my buddies because we ended up having sex. I was not myself that night, heavily under the influence. I know that's no excuse. And I still live with the guilt of that night to this day. When I left to go back home, she was texting me, calling me, wanting me to stay longer, asking when I'd be back in town again. I told her that night was a mistake and never should have happened, and that I wanted her to have a happy marriage. This is where my big problem starts. She sends me a text that says, quote, if you don't come back up to see me in two weeks, I'm telling my husband about us, and he will shoot to kill. That's not going to happen. That's. That's not a good text.

[Kyle]

It's not going to happen either.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Come on. Unfortunately for me, her husband. Well, I'm going to leave out some of this. He apparently would not be a guy you want to mess with and has more guns in their house than anyone should own. So I'm inclined to believe her on this one. What do I do here? The whole situation is such a mess. I legitimately fear for my life, and she knows where I live. I don't want to ruin their marriage and their kids lives, but I also would like to not die before 40. Any advice on this one? Thanks for the help. All right, Kyle, you jumped in quick with the threat here, so why don't you take the lead?

[Kyle]

I mean, just game it out. Why would she ever do this? Why would she do this? What, like, what makes this. Yeah, like, even. Even if she, like, used a bunch of little fabrication things, you know, and made it seem like he was the, you know, the proponent of this whole situation, and she was like, you know, dragging her feet and finally just like. There's really no way to make this sound unless it's a complete lie and we're talking like, assault here, which doesn't sound like is the case. Why would she do this? It doesn't. It doesn't make any sense. So, I mean, I think you just kind of shove it down. I know you're sick to your stomach about it. I've been in situations where I'm like, yeah, I could probably.

[Ryan Rosillo]

This.

[Kyle]

I don't know what's happening right now, but there is the threat of violence and. Or death, and it's like, it makes you sick to your stomach and you hope it goes away. And in my case, it went away. So it's like, I think you just, just shove it down and move on. That's really what like it, it's not, it's not imminent, it's not impending. It's just like, wow, that definitely sounds terrible. And I think about it a lot, but I think this is what. It just goes away if you just leave it alone.

[Ceruti]

I think how he doesn't say how far away he lives, right?

[Ryan Rosillo]

We don't have a GPS pin, pin drop, anything like that.

[Ceruti]

You know, if it's like a couple hours, you know, it's one of those things, you're gonna be looking over your shoulder at the gas station for the rest of your life. If it's, you know, several states apart or coasts. Yeah, I'm with Kyle, I think. Do you tell her that? Do you just say, hey, like this is like, what, do you threaten me that he's gonna murder me? And like, get this all out there and see what she says? And if she keeps going on this, do you kinda. Then you're like, okay. Cause I mean, she definitely, I mean the fact that first night back in town, you haven't seen her in, however, and she brings you back to her home where her children sleep and you hook up and again, like, you know, you were fucked up. It is what it is. You don't feel great. But it's kind of more on her here. Who knows what she's capable of. I, that's like, that's obviously a pretty unhinged person. So I, I would be like, this is, are you threatening, like what's going on here and see how she kind of reacts to that. And if it gets escalated more like, then I would maybe have to get some people involved here. But if you're far away, it's like if, if this is like an east coast, west coast thing or a plane ride away, then I think probably fine.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Look, I don't have experience with this, so start there. But like, think of the number of times that you've heard about like somebody being threatened. And the reality is that, I mean, you don't want to be dismissive of it because certainly there are instances where you know it's something real and you may have to deal with it, but the way this is being set up, where if this is all true, right? If she's so unhinged to then be like, if you don't come back and start sleeping with me more, then I'm going to do this. It tells me that she enjoys this part of the process. Like she Enjoys fucking with you. And she's probably done it to somebody else. And this usually is only fueled by paying attention to it and giving her the attention that she wants. Like, she's doing this for the attention, and then she's hoping that you're going to. You're going to be so scared that you're afraid of cutting off any communication with her where whenever this stuff. Like, I remember there was a girl that I knew and somebody got her information and somebody was just randomly texting her and then, like, sending her pictures of them holding a gun. And it was like, you know, you got a cash app me? You know, just one of those deals. And you're like, look, you just gotta block the number. You gotta. You just gotta. It sucks. It's completely unsettling. It's scary as hell, the whole thing. But that person is generally feeding off of, like, you continuing to communicate. Like, as soon as they see you communicating and being worried, it's like, oh, I've got. We got them. Right? Yeah. So I know it can sound really dismissive here, but I think the odds of anything. Just think, too of, like, all the times that, you know, I remember just being younger and thinking about, like, being married. I was like, oh, my God, if my wife ever cheated on me, like, what would you do? You ruin the rest of your life? You wouldn't. What would you. You'd sulk and be mad, and then if you saw the guy in town, you probably wouldn't do anything, right? You'd say you would, but then you probably wouldn't, because most of us, at the end of the day, aren't going to do anything. So even if you're trying to make this more specific about who the husband is and all that kind of stuff, I think this has way more to do with. With whatever needs she has. And if you were to continue to talk with her about this, it's just going to drag out this stress thing where I think the best thing would be, I'm blocking your number. Do not threaten me. You know, whatever, Whatever. Like, you took it to a level that's way too far. I do not want to talk to you. So at least you're not being hit with, like, daily updates of it. Unlike, look, we've all seen the Netflix shows and read the stories and all that kind of stuff, but I always feel like in this position, this is somebody that somehow needs your fear and communication to, like, fill whatever void is going on with them. I think.

[Kyle]

I think just in general, like, the. I'm going to Kick your ass to asses. Actually kicked ratio is so fucking skewed in many situations. It's like, there's way more. I'm going to kick your ass and there are asses that are actually kicked. So I think that's one thing that you can just try to maybe find a better way to say that mantra in your head and just shove that feeling down. Block the number. You've got the Judge Judy text. If this ever goes anywhere, you'd be like, look, man, I tried. We're in a new age where, you know, a lot of our communication is that way. So if you're, if you're in the right in this situation, it will come out. If it ever gets there. I don't think it's going to get there. I don't think there's any asses to be kicked here. I think you just block the number, move on, and pretty soon you won't think about it anymore and you can stop being sick to your stomach.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think there's anything else there. All right, that's life advice. Thanks to Wargon, thanks to Saruti and Kyle, we have a new YouTube up for over, under and properly and Kyle's history fact. And of course subscribe to the pod. We'll be back on Monday. The Ryan Whistle podcast must be 21 and older president select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino are 18 plus and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit RG help.com call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 800-327-5050, 4247. Support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.