Prepare to have your thoughts on the NFL's future challenged as we tackle the contentious rule changes shaking the core of the sport. With the ban of the hip drop tackle, many fear the essence of football is slipping away, veering dangerously close to a gentler game of flag football. The debate rages on, fueled by concerns that special teams are being put at risk with the kickoff rule amendment. Step into the arena of heated discussion as we question whether these new decrees protect players or punish the very traditions that made football America's hard-hitting pastime.
As the dust settles on rulebook debates, we shift focus to the chessboard of team strategies, where the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys are making moves that echo through the league. Witness how the Titans' strategic acquisition of Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley could prime them for a deep playoff run, while the Cowboys' salary cap saga with Dak Prescott keeps us on the edge of our seats. We're not just breaking down plays here; we're decoding the future of these franchises and their quest for glory. Don't miss a moment of this insider's look at the gridiron's greatest, where every decision can lead to triumph or turmoil.
Prepare to have your thoughts on the NFL's future challenged as we tackle the contentious rule changes shaking the core of the sport. With the ban of the hip drop tackle, many fear the essence of football is slipping away, veering dangerously close to a gentler game of flag football. The debate rages on, fueled by concerns that special teams are being put at risk with the kickoff rule amendment. Step into the arena of heated discussion as we question whether these new decrees protect players or punish the very traditions that made football America's hard-hitting pastime.
As the dust settles on rulebook debates, we shift focus to the chessboard of team strategies, where the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys are making moves that echo through the league. Witness how the Titans' strategic acquisition of Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley could prime them for a deep playoff run, while the Cowboys' salary cap saga with Dak Prescott keeps us on the edge of our seats. We're not just breaking down plays here; we're decoding the future of these franchises and their quest for glory. Don't miss a moment of this insider's look at the gridiron's greatest, where every decision can lead to triumph or turmoil.
Yo, what's going on y'all? What's going on y'all? It's your boy TJ on the DK and Tree podcast, and we're back at it again, and apparently the NFL is too. Boy, oh boy, oh boy. I hope everybody's doing well today. I hope everybody's having a great day so far. It's 6 o'clock Eastern Time, so I'm pretty sure some of y'all are on the commute heading home, if not home already. So, if so, hope the traffic did you some good. So we got a lot of things to talk about today. Man, uh boy, oh boy, boy, oh boy. Do we have to talk about Dak and the Cowboys? Oh, man, oh man, but we have to, we have to.
T.J:Okay, so let's start. Let's start with these rule changes, man, okay, okay, so, so the NFL decided that they were going to ban the hip drop tackle. I just want to put this in a perspective for everybody. Two seasons ago, did anybody know a single thing about a hip drop tackle? Anyone, anyone, anyone? I didn't think so. You want to know why? Because it wasn't a thing two years ago. No one was talking about a hip drop tackle two years ago. We have a couple injuries that happened last year which, by the way, were not done intentionally. Calls for some Mark Andrews, tony Pollard to get hurt. Now we're just going to bait it all together. Okay, so Now I wonder, as the NFL, where, what are we doing?
T.J:What are we doing? Right, because if you remember, uh, shoot seven, eight, ten years, ten plus years ago they had the whole change about the hit area, about how can't hit above the head, there's a flag. If you hit, you know. If you hit below the knees, you know that's a flag. 15 yards Every time, no dispute. So this was your hit area, underneath the chin and in all the chest. That's it. That's all you get. You don't get anything else, nothing else. Right? Breaking news y'all NFL's offensive players have gotten stronger, faster, at a much better rate than ever before. Right?
T.J:So those tackles were actually for the defense's benefit. As crazy as it sounds, it was for the defense's benefit, because at this point we're just trying to figure out how we can avoid them from scoring. Right? So you had the whole hit area situation and then now we're banning the hip drop tackle, but a move that the nfl as a whole, the, the, the I want y'all to understand that when they said it, it was, it was banned, it made it sound like it was, like whoever did this type of tackle was intentional, like what was was literally like doing it on purpose to to try to bring someone down and bring an offensive player down and purposely swing all of their body weight with momentum and have the body weight land on their, on their on their knees or on their on their legs on purpose, seriously, seriously their knees or on their legs on purpose. Seriously, seriously. It just boggles my mind. It just boggles my mind. And hey, you know, maybe it's one of those scenarios where maybe I'm being dramatic, maybe us fans are being dramatic, I don't know. This seems just right, though I ain't going to lie, because how are you supposed to tackle? Are we going in the flag football route? Is that just where it's going? Like two-hand touch, you know, touch the jersey. That's it. Like come on man, come on, stop, stop it, stop it. So that's just mind-boggling to me.
T.J:That became a thing and you had a lot of people commenting about it, about how much of a disgrace it is. Because it is, there's no other way to put it, there's no other way to frame it. Um, that's, that's literally just what it is. Um, so you gotta wait and see how bad. It is Cause it will be bad. I'm going to tell y'all right now Um, cause, cause.
T.J:Tackling was already an issue before this. Tackling was already an issue before this. And now you're you're putting the D, you're putting the defensive player in a bind again because of something that is not even intentional. If we're being honest, it's considered a regular tackle, but now we're taking that away because why not? Come on, man, it's insane. So that just drives me nuts.
T.J:But then there was another rule change. There was another rule change, and this one. When I saw this, I was like okay, this is what are we doing. So they changed the kickoff again, where the kicking team and the receiving team are basically the blockers between the two are basically five yards within each other and the blocking doesn't start until the kick returner. The kick returner Like come on, ridiculous, thank you, ridiculous, thank you. The blocking doesn't start until the return man starts running down the field. Now, maybe this is something where I need to just sit back and watch and see how this actually goes. But if I'm on the field, if I am on the field, when exactly am I supposed to know that the return man has the ball? Is there going to be like another whistle that's going to be blown. Is there going to be blown? Is there going to be a? Is there going to be some sort of signal to let everybody know, hey, we're going to block, let's start blocking now. Like what are we doing Then on top of that? That's why I find this whole hip drop tackle thing, that being banned being so funny. But then they implement this. It's so funny to me.
T.J:So the reason why the kickoff situation throws me off is because it puts the kicker in a disadvantage and a chance for the kicker to get hurt. The same kickers that for some teams, if not a lot of teams, only have one on the roster, maybe two of their if they're lucky. So that kicker, that punter because there's been some scenarios over the past couple seasons where kickers have gotten hurt and have missed significant time and then you had the replacement kicker that they signed off the street. The punter they signed off the street Tried to fill in for that spot. It's happened before.
T.J:So now, basically, what you're saying is that it's going to be a turnstile full of that too, because the kickers are at a disadvantage. All it takes is one block. Take them little scrawny selves off the field and that's it. There's nothing that no one can do about that. But just ignore that, because all the player health and safety is going towards the hip drop tackle issue. Really, really, so we have the kickoff. That that's, that's. That's just I. I can't believe this is actually a thing. And, by the way, that rule came from what they're doing in the xFL slash USFL, which is now the UFL that they've been. They had a that's their rule that they've implemented since the iteration of that rebranding. I guess you could say Right, so it's one of those things where, yet, I guess you could say Right, so it's one of those things where, yet again, we're going to have to wait and see just how bad it will be.
T.J:Because I posted this on on my on my personal, uh, personal story on on Instagram, uh, which is underscore, underscore. Terrific Tom, you see my face, you'll know it's me, you'll see me there. I posted on the story. I said all right. So now all this tells me is that we're about to have NBA scores. But in the NFL, like seriously, it wouldn't shock me if we have a final score of.
T.J:Come on, give me a random NBA score 96 to 88. Oh, it's one of the most high scoring games we've ever seen, of course, cause the defense can't do anything. What can the defense do? What can't the offense do? I think that's a much better question. We're going to be having a high-scoring game after a high-scoring game and a high-scoring game after a high-scoring game for the sake of having a high-scoring game. That's whatscoring game, and a high-scoring game after a high-scoring game for the sake of having a high-scoring game. That's what it looks like it's going to be.
T.J:I was joking when I posted it on my story, but it wouldn't shock me if that actually ends up being the case this year. It wouldn't shock me at all. It would not shock me at all if we see a final score in the 80s, in the 90s, talking about oh, this is great, I've never seen so many points put on the board in my life. Yeah, what a surprise. Um, so I ain't gonna lie, nfl y'all. I don't know. I don't know what to say anymore. When it comes to them, man, they are making certain decisions that I'm just trying to figure out. Why, like why, why do why, why do it, why, why do this stuff? But let's wait and see how bad it is, because that's exactly where it's at.
T.J:We had a couple huge signings today Well, not today, well not today. Well, one today, one from a couple days ago. And I want to talk about Legereus Need getting signed in a sign-and-trade with the Tennessee Titans. The Titans paid luxurious need, a four-year $76 million deal. Now I don't know about you, but when I shared this news with Davis co-host on the show, love you, man, hope you're enjoying wherever you're at these days I know you're flying around somewhere I told him the news and the very first response that he had was where is Tennessee getting all this money from? And I couldn't help but laugh because that was the first thing that came to mind too. Where is Tennessee getting all this money from? Where is it coming from? 92 mil to Calvin Ridley, 70 mil to LaJerrius Sneed. Like my God, it's unbelievable what Tennessee is doing right now and it has me thinking what is the Titans going to get in LeJarrius Sneed? What are they getting in?
T.J:Lejarrius Sneed and I had to take the time out to put out his stats from last year. He had three interceptions, two sacks and he had 41. No, I'm sorry, I'm reading the wrong stuff. Jeez, louise, forgive me, forgive me. Two picks, one fumble recovery, 78 total tackles. So for me, I'm seeing that, and that's just from this past year. The reason why that's deadline is the way it is because, believe it or not, the opposing quarterback did not like throwing his way, they do not like throwing his way and he has made it to where he can take one side of the field by himself. He's gotten into that upper echelon of corners, quietly, by the way. Quietly by the way, quietly by the way, which has been very impressive. So Tennessee has Tony Pollard, calvin Ridley, lejarius Neade with a lottery pick in this year's draft as well, and I don't know what their draft capital is right now.
T.J:But I'll tell you this the fact that Tennessee is making these moves is very interesting, because this was a team last year who, sheesh, at one point we just thought that they were just going to get the number one pick, because that's just how bad it was going to be. The amount of injuries that was going on in Tennessee, the issues that was going on in Tennessee, the issues that was going on at quarterback with Tannehill and Will Levis and Malik Willis that was a whole thing, that was a whole conversation during the year, and you had all this going on last year, it was not a great year for Tennessee. You get rid of Mike variable, you bring in Callahan, a head coach that came from Cincinnati as uh, when he was an officer coordinator there, and now you're bringing in all these pieces. So, similar to what I've said last week about the Steelers. I'm curious as to what this message, what the Tennessee Titans, are sending in terms of a message standpoint to the league or to the team itself, to the league or to the team itself, because these moves seem like this is a team that is one great player away to competing for a playoff race, for being in the playoffs, for being relevant in the playoffs. They have an opportunity to do that. That's what these moves are saying, and in a division that has a Jacksonville Jaguars led by Trevor Lawrence and Doug Peterson and a defense that is very underrated, a Houston Texans team that is led by CJ Stroud, d'amico Ryans, and they brought back everyone and added some pieces, such as Joe Mixon and Daniel Hunter. That's what's going on in Houston, you know. By the way, in case you're wondering, houston won the division last year Worst to first, and they added pieces, pieces. That helps the timeline that they're in as a franchise right now which, by the way, is completely, completely fast-forwarded because of CJ and what he, cj Stroud and what he did last year. Completely fast-forwarded because of CJ Stroud and what he did last year, completely fast-forwarded now.
T.J:Then you have the Colts. Who is getting Anthony Richardson back, who has Jonathan Taylor for a full season hopefully, god willing, for a full season, hopefully, god willing With some weapons in Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr. Hey, tree, what's going on? Tree, michael Pittman Jr, josh Downs, an offensive line that, please, all right, these days, can we just get a clean bill of health? Because if we know anything about the Indianapolis Colts, they can block very, very well, and they have been. They just haven't been able to stay healthy. You could have some question marks about the defense, even though they shored up their cornerback room with bringing back Kenny Moore, but even still, that's the Colts, a team that also is going to make some noise this year. That's the plan at least. Also, it's going to make some noise this year. That's the plan at least.
T.J:So you're in Tennessee and you're making these moves and it's like, ooh, okay, all right, I like it. I like it. Okay, lejarrius, sneed, pollard, ridley. I'm like, okay, don't know where you're getting all this money from, but okay, cool, and it would suck to do all these moves with a certain expectation just for y'all to not even scratch the surface of getting seven wins this year. That would suck a lot. So, hey look, it's one of those things where we're going to have to keep a close eye on what Tennessee is doing right now. They look like a team that they's starting to put some pieces together, looking like they're being a little bit, you know, like they're ready to go for this upcoming season. Let's see how that goes. Let's see how that goes.
T.J:So I saw something else today. So I saw something else today Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have decided that Dak is going to finish out the season on his current deal, and I saw that, and the first thing that came to mind was this is bad, this is real bad, which, as an Eagles fan, this is by far one of the best feelings in the world. I ain't going to lie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it just is. It just is. Seeing cowboys having to struggle with any sort of misery for the whole world to see is a sight to behold. I will say that. And so when I saw that Dak is going to finish his year out on his current deal, I said, uh, so let me get this straight.
T.J:Dallas did absolutely nothing all offseason, all free agency. I'm sorry Because of the fact that they couldn't figure out Dak's contract. Just to still not figure out Dak's contract, just to still not figure out Dak's contract, just to not figure out Dak's contract. Still, because the conversation is they missed out on Derrick Henry, on a Calvin Ridley, even names like that because, hey, we're still trying to figure out Dak's deal, alright, which, by the way, is pretty insane when you think about it. Cause Dak. The asking price for Dak is $60 million, and I don't know about you, but if there's one guy I am not giving $60 million to, it's a guy who hasn't done a whole lot of success for me in the playoffs. Just not going to jump out of my seat to do that. That's just me personally, though, if you want to reward him for his service during this time, post Tony Romo and things of that nature, if y'all want to reward him for winning games, okay I guess.
T.J:But what are we really doing here in Dallas, outside of CD lamb? There's no one on the receiving core. You might address that in a draft. Oh wait, you're not going to be able to address that in a draft, or maybe you do, but you're not going to get the full. You're not going to really get the top of the top. You want to know why? Because Dallas don't have a whole lot of great draft capital this year. Also, which is a concern, because that was the only caveat that I had for Dallas was hey, you know what? Maybe they're not doing all these moves in free agency because they're going to address a lot of those issues in the draft. Then I looked to see how many draft picks they have for the year and I was like, oh, they don't have a lot.
T.J:So not only do you miss out on key free agents that could help your roster be better than it was before, and, by the way, there's still some guys that still haven't been picked up yet that I haven't seen a word about them talking to dallas. How about one that that was on your roster last year, stephon Gilmore? Haven't heard a word about him, even coming back to Dallas. Not a single word. And so when you're looking at that and you're hearing this, it's like, okay, so we got past free agency and we didn't do much because, because of Dak's contract and I'm trying to figure out that situation of Dak's contract, and I'm trying to figure out that situation we're kind of in the final stages of free agency, like the hype of free agency right now, if we're being totally honest, there's still some guys left that haven't been signed. They they're not the top of the top in this free agent class, unfortunately. So couldn't do much because of Dak's contract and that's why you couldn't get key free agents on your roster.
T.J:And now y'all really can't get a deal done Like at all At all. And then, like I said before, the caveat is hey, you know, we don't have to worry about this because we got some picks in the draft, we're going to be fine, but you don't have a whole lot of picks to choose from in the draft. So I ask Dallas Cowboys front office what is going on? I ain't going to lie because the way that this is going on, I ain't going to lie because the way that this is going, it already looked from the outside, looking in, that this was going to be a rough year for Dallas Cowboys on this upcoming season. It's looking like it's going from bad to worse, bad to worse, bad to worst, bad to worst. So I mean, and the thing with Dak is again, if you want to reward him for winning games, if you want to reward him for what he's been able to do post-Tony Romo, if you want to reward him from that, go ahead. $60 million is not my price range whatsoever, but hey, if that's what y'all want to do, by all means go for it. But now this leads to another point that I thought about too, because y'all decided to let him play out this current deal, not a whole lot of draft capital.
T.J:And let's be hypothetical here, right? Let's say Dallas goes on a huge losing streak, five, six, seven in a row. Then you got the fan base involved now, a fan base who, by the way, was already talking about. You know, can't stand Dak, we can't have anybody else. But Dak Don't like Dak, dak, this, dak, that, all this other stuff. You're in and you're out. By the way, as Davis will tell you, dak's not the answer. All this other stuff, this is the noise that that everyone has said when it comes to dac prescott at as the dallas cowboys quarterback, you have that losing streak, you pull Dak.
T.J:I hope you don't think that come this offseason, the following offseason, that there's going to be a market for him, a huge one, because it won't be. If you think you're going to try to trade him before that June or July 1st mark of having to pay him, it ain't happening, chief. I'm sorry. It's not happening. Not for Dak, not for Dak, which really sucks, because I think I think Dak Dak is. I feel like, I feel like any Cowboys quarterback and I don't feel bad for them per se. Sorry, not sorry, but like. It's almost like.
T.J:A Dallas Cowboys quarterback cannot catch a break every single year. They either do really really well and no one believes that they'll go further than what they already have, or they don't, and then everybody wants to get rid of them the following year. You like it, I love it, you like, like it, I love it, you like it, I love it. Um, so it just, it just goes to show that dallas is really in disarray right now and hopefully they can solve some of these issues with the remaining free agents that are left. Well, not hopefully for me, but you know. But hey, maybe they address some of those issues in the draft with the remaining free agents that are left, but if not, this is this is going to be one long season for the Dallas Cowboys. A long season, then, might I add, I will love the Dallas Cowboys. A long season that, might I add, I will love. So just wanted to put that out there. Just wanted to put that out there.
T.J:So we had another signing today of the Steelers picking up Kaderil Patterson, the return man. From the return man, slash, running back, slash, wide receiver. I feel like he plays every single position these days. Kaderil Patterson, coming from Atlanta last year, didn't get a whole lot of playing time last year. I know he missed some time due to injury, but they signed him to a two-year deal. Steelers signed him to a two-year deal and it was one of those things where I said, okay, cool, okay, two years, $6 million, all right, I like it.
T.J:So now I gotta ask again about pittsburgh is what do these moves? What are you telling your fan base with this move? Do these moves? What are you telling your fan base with this move? Because to me, on the outside, looking in, what this move means to me is that Pittsburgh is not too far away from being a contender and I'm not talking about a French playoff team, like they've been the past couple years. They're making moves like we for sure have a top 10 roster, and now we're just putting in a lot of plug and play Cadero here, russ here, russ here, justin here Like that's basically what these moves are telling me and, like I've said last week and I'll say it again, if you do not get it done with the moves that y'all are making, it's going to be rough, extremely rough. Next offseason might be the loudest Pennsylvania has ever been in its entirety.
T.J:The Pittsburgh Steelers did not get it done. They did not go into the playoffs. They do not shoot. If these moves start right if they start, I'm trying to tell you, the expectation will grow. If they start picking up some high-end veterans on offense or throughout the rest of the roster, on top of what they do in a draft which, by the way, they draft very well when it comes to weapons and wide receiver Hines Ward, antoine Randall, antonio Brown, deontay Johnson, george Pickens List goes on and on they do a pretty good job. Okay, they do a pretty good job.
T.J:So y'all making these moves and I look, look, I'm not critiquing the moves. Let me make something very, very clear. I'm not critiquing the moves itself. What I am ultimately asking is what are these moves supposed? What is the message of these moves supposed to send to your fan base, to the team? Because the message I just mentioned Implies that we're going, we're going to win at least one playoff game. We're going, we're going to win at least one playoff game. We're going, there is no. If there's no, ah, you know, if we have these different scenarios, then we might make it in, we might squeak in there. No, the moves that y'all are currently making are signs that y'all are ready for postseason football, which is fine, which is fine. If y'all really believe, if the Pittsburgh Steelers front office really believe, that that's the timeline that they are on, then go for it, totally fine.
T.J:Just know that if y'all do not get the job done, there's going to be a lot of noise, a lot of noise that you would have wished never existed. And then you're going to try to I can already see it now. If they go on a losing streak, I can already hear it now. Oh, then you're going to try to I can already see it now. If they go on a losing streak, I can already hear it now. Oh, they're going back at the fans. Oh, the fans aren't loyal. The fans aren't this. The fans aren't that. Oh no, fans are justified. The fans are justified.
T.J:Y'all made these moves. Y'all are starting to bring in some hype to this team, whether it's not, you know, massive or not, there's a lot of intrigue about Pittsburgh Steelers football these days. So the expectation is that, with the moves that y'all are making, so the expectation is that with the moves that y'all are making, that y'all will get it done and win a playoff game. So that is my only thing with what Pittsburgh is doing. And hey, like I said, if that's what they want to do, by all means go for it. By all means go for it. If that's what you firmly believe that your roster is capable of winning a playoff game, if that's what you firmly believe, go for it, go for it. But just know, if you don't get it done, there's going to be a lot of eyes, there's going to be a lot of noise, there's going to be a lot of stuff. There's going to be a lot of noise. There's going to be a lot of stuff that people are going to have to say. And when they do, I personally don't want to hear a whole lot of pushback. Me personally, me personally, so just wanted to put that out there.
T.J:Pittsburgh front office. So the NFL has officially lost its mind. Dallas has lost its mind. Pittsburgh is low-key, having an identity crisis. Tennessee is finding money from an imaginary vault that none of us knew existed.
T.J:And be prepared for some high scoring football, baby, because the hip drop tackle and the kickoff being changed, the kickoff rule change, oh yeah, it's a expect. Expect some high scoring games. Expect some high scoring games, expecting a. A expect a final score of a, excuse me, a final score of a one. Oh, seven, 107 to 93, like the NBA. Be prepared, be prepared, because with these decisions that they are deciding to make, oh boy, it's quite insane. I ain't going to lie, it just is um.
T.J:So again, thank y'all so much for joining me and watching the decaying tree podcast with your host for tonight, tj on the ones and twos. Thank y'all so much for watching. Y'all are awesome man. Y'all are awesome man. If you're watching this on YouTube or on Twitch, like share, subscribe and ring the bell icon for notifications, because we want to drop this stuff every single week, every single Tuesday, or if there's any chaos that ensues before, then we might be on before, right on that day. So it may not just be a Tuesday, it may be any day. So thank y'all so much for watching this show, man, it's been awesome. And follow DK and Tree Podcast on any and all platforms Facebook, twitter. I'm sorry X. I still, to this day, can't get used to'm sorry X. I still, to this day, can't get used to saying it. Youtube Twitch and we're signing off. Man, we're signing off, so Thank you.