Takes

Corey Davis only 'stepped away' from football because he was about to get cut

It probably means you can't fire me. I quit. Because you might not have made the roster. I feel like you don't step away if you're gonna make the roster. Right. But then the minute you see like, oh I might not, I might get cut here. Knowing that it seems like he might've been on the bubble. Even with the 10 million. It's a great move by him. Like 'I never got cut.'

If the Eagles trade for Jonathan Taylor, they will easily win the Super Bowl

If the Eagles get Jonathan Taylor on top of everything that they have already. Easy Super Bowl. Yeah. Easy. Not a doubt in my mind.

Garrett Wilson will have 2,000 receiving yards in 2023

Garrett Wilson. 2,000 yards this year. Easy. 2,000. Easy.

The Washington Commanders' win over the Ravens was the biggest win in preseason history

The Washington Commanders have had the biggest win in Preseason history. We did it... some people were being haters saying like, oh, that you guys are acting like you won the Super Bowl... This was not just a Preseason game for the Commanders. This was a release.

Aaron Rodgers is actually trolling Zach Wilson by being overly polite to him

I think Aaron [Rodgers] was being sarcastic when he said that [he'd turn it over to Zach for 20 years]. I think he was laying the praise on a little bit thick and having a big joke on everybody... Zach will not know that I'm making fun of him because I'm being so obviously over the top.

Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert are the top five quarterbacks in the NFL

Top five quarterbacks in the league right now. Sam Howell, Josh Allen—Sam Howell, no. Josh Allen. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, Justin Herbert. That's our five. Yep. That's our five right there.

Baker Mayfield will win NFL Comeback Player of the Year

I put a little future on Baker [Mayfield] Win Comeback Player of the year. And I, for whatever reason, I just think that I, maybe it's that game that he had on, was it Christmas? Yeah. The Christmas game sold me.

Christian McCaffrey's versatility makes him worth a high running back salary

I think the backs that bring that true three down versatility that you're gonna use him as much throwing in the ball as you are hand, those are the guys that are gonna get paid... you look at what Christian [McCaffrey] can do, he's a dual weapon. You can line him up in the backfield, you can split him out. He's a return. He just brings so many different elements.

The Steelers are my surprise team for the 2023 season

Kenny Pickett. Yes. Two touchdown drives. Diced them up. Diced him up. ... Steelers Look ready to go. Steelers are my surprise team. Yeah. No one's talking about the Steelers. We are.

Trey Lance sucks and doesn't know how to play football

Trey Lance sucks. Yeah. Well that's, doesn't even know how to play football. ... The one clip of him throwing, just standing there with no pressure while guys were open, feeling pressure that wasn't there, and then mis-throwing it. That was a bad look.

Bijan Robinson is the best running back of all time

Bijan Robinson is the best running back of all time. That was a great, great performance by him. That's, he's a clip monster.

Charles Haley was the final piece that shifted the NFC power from San Francisco to Dallas

That was the final missing piece to those teams. And it shifted the power in the N F C from San Francisco to Dallas for a number of years once we got Charles.

The New York Jets are legitimately a quarterback away from being a contender

Obviously everybody's looking at the Jets. ... It's hard to say that a team is one player away, but I tell you what, you watch the Jets last year, they had a great defense. ... They legitimately are like a quarterback away. I mean, that was the thing that held them back last year. And, how much does Aaron Rodgers elevate that team?

The Patriots will struggle to keep up in the increasingly difficult AFC East

I just think that that's a tough division, you know, with the Jets potentially being who they are, what Mike McDaniel did with the Dolphins and how good he made them. And then you still got Buffalo. So, you know, for a number of years the Patriots were able to feast on a very, very weak division. And now they've got a very, very challenging division.

I bet Hank $20,000 that the Patriots won't make a Super Bowl in the next five years

Hank and I have a five year Super Bowl bet. If the Patriots don't get back to the Super Bowl in the next five years... If they do get there in the next five years, I owe Hank $50,000. If they don't, he owes me 20 grand.

Jameson Williams might be cursed

Jameson Williams might be cursed because if you remember, he's already out for six games for gambling and now he's out [for the preseason]... he missed most of last year. They were using the preseason to try to get him reps... Now he's out again. He might be cursed.

The new Commanders ownership will make a difference and win a championship

I'm extremely excited for this team, this new ownership group because Josh Harris is a guy. He's all about the community... anytime you integrate those core pieces... they're going to make a difference within that organization. [They're trying to win a championship].

Fans are usually wrong when they criticize NFL play calling

A lot of times you get fans talk about play calling. Why didn't coach call this play? But they don't understand like it's all situational... It depends on what they're lining up in... certain plays that we plan for, we can't really run and practice. And then the fans... might be looking at a play totally different than the offensive coordinator.

Lamar Jackson will win a championship in the next three years

Lamar Jackson's gonna win the championship if he can still win between now and the next three years.

The Ravens will win the Super Bowl this year

The team that's gonna win the Super Bowl this year will probably be Baltimore Ravens.

The Washington Commanders secondary will surprise everyone this season

I think the Washington Commanders secondary is gonna surprise everyone.

Aaron Rodgers is coaching the Jets, not Robert Saleh

I walked away from this Hard Knocks episode two, asking myself a simple question. Who's the coach of the Jets? Is it Robert Saleh... or is it Aaron Rodgers? ... Robert Saleh turned to Aaron Rodgers and he said, we gotta get them right for you, buddy. And I said, huh, that's weird. Tail wagging the dog. That feels like Aaron Rodgers is coaching this team. Not Robert Saleh.

Will McDonald will win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

The Hard Knocks effect is in full swing on me for Will McDonald. Defensive Rookie of the Year. ... The defense is gonna be a problem.

Ezekiel Elliott will score two touchdowns against the Cowboys in Week 4

Jake, September 30th. Reminder bet. Ezekiel Elliott. ... Bet Ezekiel Elliott. Two touchdowns on that Sunday's game. It's the Patriots versus Cowboys. You know, Bill Belichick will do that for you. He absolutely will try to stick it to him.

Philip Rivers would have won the Super Bowl if he started for the 49ers last season

Kyle Shanahan's plan that he had in place. If the 49ers had made the Super Bowl and Brock Purdy was injured, Philip Rivers was going to start the Super Bowl. ... He probably would've won. ... It would've been the very best thing to ever happen to the NFL. ... We would've had to go to the Super Bowl and root for the Niners and wear Phil Rivers Niners jerseys.

Stetson Bennett is a future Hall of Famer

First, right off the top. Stetson Bennett, future Hall of Famer. Yeah. He looks good.

Justin Fields is officially 'the guy' and the Bears look awesome

I am at the point now where it is... there's a line in the sand. It's enough back and forth. Is he the guy? Justin Fields is the guy. I've started hate bookmarking Justin Fields slander to come back to it later... The Bears look fucking awesome and DJ Moore, you are the best ever.

Russell Wilson still sucks despite following Sean Payton's new rules

Russell Wilson sucks... He might be following protocol, but he sucks.

Justin Fields is currently a better quarterback than Trevor Lawrence

I think Justin Fields is better than Trevor Lawrence. It might be the worst take. I might look back on this in two years and be like, you've said a lot of dumb shit on this podcast before. This might be one of the dumber ones that I've said.

The Chargers should be faded in Week 1 because they didn't play starters in the preseason

Please put a note in the file to fade the Chargers Week 1... They're playing the Dolphins. They're not playing any starters. They're not playing any offensive starters. When Julian Edelman taught us this lesson, it's you need to play offensive starters. At least a few snaps... They're out. They're getting faded. Hard.

Kenny Pickett might be the 2023 NFL MVP

Kenny Pickett might be MVP. That's another one... Mike Tomlin said that Kenny Pickett needs to play more than a seasoned vet and he was very good.

Johnny Manziel's 'rich oil family' backstory was a fake story planted to cover up his autograph money

That's a great, a great great story that they planted out... Everyone was like, how come Johnny Manziel is able to afford to do all this stuff? And they were just like, we're gonna leak to the media that his dad's rich as fuck and that he grew up with this money and then everybody was just like, 'Oh yeah, that makes sense.' No, he is making a shitload of money selling autographs.

I would literally die for Josh Allen

Would I die for Josh Allen? Absolutely I would, I would die for him, man. He's done nothing but great things for me and my family. And I take it personal, like I really take it personal.

NFL practice is actually harder without pads than it is with pads

I think practice is harder without pads than it is with pads... because it's hard to differentiate from the trenches when you're in the trenches. It's physical all of the time. It's just the standard of physical... we might as well just put the pads on.

Anthony Richardson's first preseason tape will decide his fate in my eyes

That tape is going to basically decide Anthony Richardson's fate in my eyes. If he throws one touchdown pass I'm in. Or one cool like stiff arm or long run. I'm all the way in.

I should have been the first wide receiver taken in the 2021 NFL Draft

I'm going first. Yeah. I'd be a fool not to say yourself. I mean, all the receivers will tell you that. ... You'd be a fool not to say yourself.

Game speed is much more important than 40-yard dash speed

I think game speed is a completely different than 40 speed. ... There's guys that can run 4.3 but they go out there and they don't look 4.3. And there's guys that run 4.5 that when they go out there, they're playing fast.

DK Metcalf is wildly overrated as a wide receiver

DK Metcalf, he runs a straight line, but he's wildly overrated as wide receiver. ... He's not that good. I me and DK have a little thing, but I'm faster than him.

Quarterbacks aren't really 'dogs' because they don't hit people

For quarterbacks it's, it's different. I mean, you can't, he can't really hit anyone ever enough to be a dog. I feel like you gotta have some type of physicality for a quarterback. ... are you really a dog? I mean, you're just throwing balls around.

The Bears are coming to get everyone in the NFL this year

My son, who's four ... keeps saying that the bears are coming to get him. I feel like that's a good thing for the bears season. ... The monsters of the midway are back.

I am officially an Aaron Rodgers fan for the 2023 season

I've never seen Aaron Rogers happier. He looks so happy. He looks so relaxed. I'm so happy for him. ... Aaron Rogers, the shackles are off. He looks like he can be himself. ... He's a great fucking guy. Great football player. I've always loved Aaron Rogers this year. That's a fact. You can't dispute that fact.

Nathaniel Hackett is future NFL head coach material

I think he's future head coach material. Just the way that you, it's, it tells you a lot the way that you can get along with a star quarterback if you have that trust that guy's a rising star... Once he gets that under his Belt, I think he's gonna, he's gonna turn some heads.

I will bet the Eagles to win the Super Bowl for the rest of my life

I think I will probably have to bet the Eagles to win the Super Bowl for the rest of my life chasing that 22 to one. Because if they win it this year and I don't have a bet, I will be so, so upset. ... until the Eagles win their next Super Bowl, I have a future on them.

The Buccaneers' depth chart 'OR' listing is bad news for Baker Mayfield

My Hot Seat is the Bucks. ... At the quarterback position they have Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask listed as QB One. ... I feel like this is bad news for Baker. 'cause most people assume that Bake was gonna be QB one, right? ... This is telling me that Baker, they want Baker to be the QB one, but he's stunk in training camp, so they're like, well we can't demote him yet, so we'll just make it an or.

Carson Wentz is a bad backup quarterback

I still think Carson Wentz, even though he is better than a lot of backup quarterbacks, probably doesn't fill the backup quarterback role very well. ... You want your backup quarterback to be able to fill in for like one game. ... Chase Daniel is way better than Carson Wentz at the role of backup.

Trevor Lawrence will win the NFL MVP this year

I think he's gonna, I'm gonna put a lot of money on him winning the MVP. God, yeah. 'cause the odds have gotta be insane. Right. And he's so good. And now having Calvin Ridley... The Jags might have across the board the best skill positions.

Jalen Phillips will be one of the top pass rushers in the NFL

I think Jalen Phillips for the Miami Dolphins is a really good pass rusher. It's just a matter of time before he blows up. He has all the tools... I think over time he'd become one of the top pass rushers in the league.

Buffalo is my last stop in the NFL

If I leave the Buffalo Bills, I'm done. If Brandon Beane trades me, I'm done. Wherever I get to, I'm done. I'm wrapping them up. This is my last stop... I love this place.

The Browns defense will lead the league in swag this season

A stat that we'll have to keep our eye on this upcoming season. Jim Schwartz from the Browns said that their defense may not lead the league in points against, but they will lead it in swag. Okay. So we're gonna have to keep a running tally on whether or not the Browns are actually leading the league in swag.

Aaron Rodgers looks happier in New York than I've ever seen him

Aaron Rodgers looking as happy as I've ever seen him in his entire life. I'm so happy he's found a new home. The pre-game rundown of what Aaron Rodgers has been doing since his time in New York was hilarious. Yes. I don't know if you heard it, but they were like, he's been going to Broadway shows every week.