REAL TALK! with Doc and Marlon
Doc and Marlon bring you the best takes from all of sports. #REALTALK #THATSRIGHTBROTHA
REAL TALK! with Doc and Marlon
AFC and NFC South BABY Preview: Season Predictions W/ Dwayne in NC
Real Talk delivers an in-depth breakdown of the AFC and NFC South divisions, analyzing each team's quarterback situation, offseason acquisitions, and prospects for the upcoming NFL season.
• Quick recap of MLB news including the Yankees' defensive struggles and the Braves' disappointing season despite recent success
• Discussion of NFL Hall of Fame inductees with special focus on Antonio Gates' impact on the Chargers and his relationship with Philip Rivers
• Update on Micah Parsons' contract situation with the Cowboys and how it's affecting team dynamics
• Analysis of Keenan Allen returning to the Chargers on a one-year deal and what it means for their receiving corps
• Comprehensive breakdown of all AFC South teams including the Texans, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans
• Detailed look at the NFC South with particular focus on the Falcons' improved pass rush and quarterback situation
• Special guest Dwayne joins to share insights on both divisions and college football predictions
• Fun segment where hosts create their all-time fantasy Falcons team selections
• Discussion of college football Final Four predictions and Atlanta Braves' future outlook
• Conversation about the Lakers acquiring Luka Dončić and top five boxers of all time
And welcome everybody to another episode of Real Talk. Doc, you doing all right today.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am. I'm amped up, man. Camps are in full swing in the NFL, football's around the corner. I'm eager to get this show started, man. A lot of good stuff going on, let's do it Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So this game, as you guys, or this episode, excuse me, as you guys know, we've been diving into all of the divisions, uh, in the nfl before the season starts. So we will do that, but we will have two divisions for you guys, this, this episode. So we're gonna have the afc south and the nfc south baby, so we will dive into that uh, but before that, of course, we have to uh talk. There's some micah news. Keenan allen is back on the chargers, so happy about that, some Hall of Fame inductees, but we are starting with some MLB. And without further ado, doc, we haven't done it in a while, but it's about time that you get it off your chest. Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Absolutely man. Being a baseball fan man, you got to be an absolute moron. I'm not even a Yankee fan. But how the hell is Jazz Chisholm is thrown out on the infield pop-up man? That Yankee squad is like in fundamental discipline. There's a lot of good Yankee fans out there. These are the Yankees. This is not the Colorado Rockies or something like that, or the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees are so undisciplined. But this has to be one of the most egregious plays in the history of the sport. Getting thrown out at first, you know, on an infield popper, chaz Chisholm, and then Volpe. He's an era, you know, waiting to happen.
Speaker 2:I know this is my buddy and our buddy's big-ass team man, but he's done with baseball because of the putrid play of the New York Yankees man. You know they're so talented, but Judge is supposed to come back tonight and you know, and Stanton, he's been a misfire all year. He has 10 home runs at the 6'7 frame. He's underperformed, but it's just that Aaron Boone, I think, has run his course. The voice is tired in Yankee Nation. They want him out and, unfortunately for him, cashman gave him a two-year extension. I don't know what the hell is that. You know George Steinbrenner has to be rolling over in his grave. Marlon, you know these are the New York Yankees, but that Jazz Chisholm play when he gets thrown out on the infield pop-up. That's going to be a blooper in years to come.
Speaker 2:And then on to my Braves man. We are an absolute disgrace. I know we've had injuries, man, but I think Brian Snickers lost the locker room. The voice is tired, you know he's an old man. Now we need somebody with fire, and brimstone is tired. He's an old man. Now we need somebody with fire and brimstone.
Speaker 2:Being a Braves fan is brutal, given the success that we've had in recent years, including winning the chip. We're getting misplays in the outfield. Ozzie Alves is not hitting. Austin Riley is hurt again. Of course Acuna. He's one of the top five players in the sport. He's out. It's just been a bad year. But I had to lead off with the Yankees man because, ironically enough, they're three and a half out of the wild card and their defense has to be one of the worst in baseball. You know it's ridiculous, especially with Volpe doing his miscalculations in the field. But yeah, that's it on getting it off my chest. You want to see good baseball. You know, I feel for my Yankee buddies, you know, and just kind of representing the big Bronx, the big city.
Speaker 1:That's all I got, man, and especially around this time, because we got playoffs starting at the end of next month. Of course it's about seven weeks away, but still, you know you got to be playing some of your best baseball around this time because when playoffs come, it's, it's, it's a wrap at that point. Next thing, you know we're, we're, uh, you know, in late September, early October, and we're getting into the thick of it. So, um, so, absolutely so, okay, all right, uh, moving on. Um the hall of fame.
Speaker 1:The the hall of fame game was on thursday. It felt great to see my team uh out there playing, flying around. Harbaugh was, uh, just coaching as if this was just a regular season game, so I loved every bit of it. Um, trey lance looked decent. Two touchdowns. We got some rookies on the offensive side. That did great. Uh, the defense was with, I believe, two or three interceptions. So it was overall there was a great game. Just to see the charger powder blues running out there flying around putting the hat on somebody, as we used to say back in the day. Um, but we did have some uh inductees get into the hall of fame. So the the big question that I have for you, doc, because I know you are a historian, you love to go back, and some of these guys were in the 90s and even before that. So who had, out of out of the five that got in, who had the biggest impact on their team that got inducted into the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 2:Well, as much as I love Sterling Sharp and he was long to get in, he should have been in a long time ago I love all the inductees. Man was long to get in. He should have been in a long time ago. I love all inductees man. Congratulations to all of them Jared Allen, eric Allen, antonio Gates and Sterling Sharp.
Speaker 2:But I have to go with Gates to answer your question directly, because he made Phillip Rivers what he is today, a budding Hall of Fame man and of himself. Your receivers weren't all there at that time and Gates was the linchpin to help out Phillip Rivers and I think the impact that he had on you know those teams with Schottenheimer going 14-2. You had a squad man. You know it was Danny and Tomlinson. But it all goes to Gates because Phillip Rivers can always depend on the big tight end who never played college football. He's the only inductee ever in the history of the sport in the Hall of Fame not to play college football. He was a basketball player, so that tells you what kind of athlete he was man. So I have to go with Gates to answer your question. But I am happy that Sterling got in after all these years man, his first seven years. It was unheard of the numbers he was putting up, leading the league in reception over 100, and then touchdowns too, back-to-back years. So yeah, you know Antonio Gates.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Yeah, it was great just being in Qualcomm and I love. In his speech he shouted out you know Los Angeles, thank you for embracing us and you know all of that just because we never wanted that.
Speaker 1:Nobody wanted to move and then all of my friends asked me how can you be a fan? Still, they left from San Diego to LA. You know you can't root for an LA team and the players didn't ask for it. You know the coaches didn't ask for it. You know the the the coaches didn't ask for it. This is what it is. I can't root for anybody else. I'm not going to root for the Cardinals or the Rams or whoever like this. This is just my team.
Speaker 1:So but I do love that he at least shouted out Los Angeles just for embracing and all that. And we didn't really have much of a fan base out there. Now it's gotten a lot larger from, you know, with Herbert and Harbaugh and and Derwin and all the other guys over there, but we didn't have much of a fan base moving there. But then I love that he did shout out to the city of San Diego, the team that drafted him from. Uh, you know we had the records and and all that, just being on the same team with with LT and Rivers, and all that. It was just amazing.
Speaker 1:So, um, I, so I'm happy for my guy and I just wish that, of course, I just wish that we would have never left. But here we are. It's five, six years later and probably longer than that, but it is what it is now. So okay, so moving on. We've heard it's just been a circus in Dallas with uh Micah Parsons news and and Jerry's you know talking and and he's you know uh taking jabs at him, taking jabs at Dak, and then Micah comes out and say he wants to trade, but he shows up at practice. And so what? What do you take of this whole? Uh, I'm gonna call it a circus that's going on in Dallas right now.
Speaker 2:It's unfortunate, brother, you know. I mean this is Dallas Cowboys, one of the top fan bases in the football, and I think Jerry Jones likes this attention. This is one of the best players on the team. You know he's one of four players to average over 12 sacks his first four years. And you know you don't do this to great people. He did it with CD Lamb and he did it with Dak Prescott and it's one of those things where it's unfortunate, brother, because this is a guy that wanted to stay wearing the star and he wanted to stay a cowboy. He's done everything right, never been in trouble, a tremendous athlete.
Speaker 2:And you just don't want to go through camp with the players we're marketing, looking at this thing here and seeing how they're treating their best player. So when they get the contract and get to go re-up, you know they're like well, you treated Michael Parsons this way. So you know it's one of those things where it's unfortunate for Dallas. Their season's getting derailed before it even starts and that's what's unfortunate, man, because the team is talented. Some people picked them to win the NFC East, but that's neither here nor there. It's not going to happen now, you know, with their tripping. But yeah, it's very unfortunate that this happened with Mike and I. Like the guy he produces, you know he wants to win. You know a lot of team players. They just want to earn money and take Jerry Jones' money. This is typical Jerry Jones, though, man you know. So yeah, there you go right there, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now on to some better news the Chargers. They did end up getting Keenan Allen back. The news did break today, so I'm happy about it. I figured once Michael Williams was going to retire, I figured that something would happen. As far as us getting Keenan Allen back, I thought we could possibly get both back and I do love this because even though we have some good rookies in Trey Smith out of Ole Miss and KLS out of I believe it's Clemson, you still need that veteran presence in that locker room and we have a lot of these young guys. And if Quinton Johnson is your oldest receiver, we got some work we got to do, so he can't be in any way, form or fashion, leading any young receiver in any way. So I do love that. We got him one year, 8.2 million. So I'm happy for him, happy that he's back.
Speaker 1:And I was telling my dad he said, well, how's that going to work with Ladd and Keenan on the field at the same time? I said you can run different packages that Ladd stays on the field the whole time and you can have Ladd Johnstonston, keenan allen and one of the rookies on the field and then you can have those guys rotate, keep lad in and have lad one of the other rookies and if brendan rice gets his act together, throw him out there. So we have different packages that we could do with them and and Keenan's just going to be that short route guy that he's not going to go. He's not going to run too many deep routes. I think he still probably can here and there, but we need him and we need his health. So definitely happy that we got him back on the roster. We need him. One-year deal, his farewell tour. I believe he'll be done after this year, but definitely great to have that veteran presence back in the wide receiver room.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm happy for you, Marlon, being a diehard Charger fan, and all the Charger Nation man, because it's one more weapon that you know. Justin Herb is familiar with Another weapon, you know you got Ladd McCompton, you got the rookie running back, omarion Hampton, you know, and you've got some other cats. But this was a big get. He's a big target. He's very familiar with the offense, very familiar with the city and organization. So congratulations on that.
Speaker 2:And I think you can make the argument we've talked about this previously on different shows who's under more pressure as a quarterback in the league? And some people think it's Lamar, josh Allen or Joe Burrow. I think it's Justin Herbert. He has to be in the top four. There's pressure on him too, man, because you know that postseason thing still sticks in his mind and he's come to camp in awesome shape. They haven't seen a look at Justin Herbert's eye in previous seasons and so he seems like he's focused. And then you add Keenan Allen. So good luck, brother. You know I got you getting double-digit wins, despite the schedule. You know going in, you know. So there you go right there, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1:Okay. So now time for what everybody's been waiting for. So we have the AFC South and we're going to get into the NFC South next. So, on the AFC South, doc, we're going to go ahead and start with the Titans. They haven't won the division, I believe, since Derrick Henry was there when, I believe, when they were 13, 14 wins, something like that. When they were the number one seed had a great season. I think they lost that divisional round, if I'm not mistaken, but they did go ahead and get Cam Ward. They have help on edge too as well. So what are your thoughts on the Titans and their draft picks and additions, and what are your thoughts on the Titans going into the season?
Speaker 2:Well, I got to win in seven games, man, to be honest with you, because the wide receiver position is somewhat barren and the running back position to help cam waters is questionable at best. But you know cam waters, cam ward, you know, I watched him at the? U I saw him bring that university miami team uh, they were down 25 on the road in ber cross country and beat Cal by a point, you know. So he has the wherewithal to bring a team back under enormous strain. But that's college. But he shows all the traits of being a great quarterback in the future. Now this will be his rookie year and you go through rookie mistakes. He's not going to have a Jaden Daniel output his rookie year, I don't think. But he's worthy of the first pick of the draft because he can make all the throws. That's excellent size at 6'3", 215, maybe even 6'4". He utilizes his feet well. The fundamentals are there. So I think seven wins is tops. They got a pretty good.
Speaker 2:I like Jeffrey Simmons on an interior defensive line on defense for the Titans. But they're they're, they're bearing of of, of of NFL talent. And so Cam Ward I don't know what the office line looks like. He might take a beating, but this kid could get rid of the ball fast. So you know he's not the runner. Jaden Daniels is out in Washington, but I think you know he's not the runner. Jaden Daniels is out in Washington, but I think you know he can make just enough plays where they could be respectable and make gains and then lose in the last two or three minutes because they just don't have that talent base. That's the reason why they were the first pick of the draft. He might get a rookie of the year, but again, the weapons in and of itself are barren. So give him seven wins and, if everything goes right, eight in a 17-game schedule. I love him.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, okay, all right, and then on to the Jaguars. Of course we know what Travis Hunter's interesting. I don't know how they're going to play this out because we I think everybody would have thought that he would have been the starting corner. He's. In my opinion, he's a better corner than he is a receiver, but he is a playmaker, so but it it looks as if from the depth chart, he's going to be starting at wide receiver, at least for the preseason, starting right receiver, and he's going to be a second string corner. So what are your thoughts, doc, on the um, on on the jags and what they're going to do with travis hunter and their acquisitions and everything moving forward for the season?
Speaker 2:well the pressure's on travel lawrence. You took my quarterbacks down an enormous pressure to prove their worth. He's on a big contract. He's no excuses for sunshine, you know, because now he has one of the best pure athletes in the history of the draft and the great hand-eye coordination and it's one of those things where he has to bring it man. You know, there's no more excuses for Trevor Lawrence and I know he was hurt last year but he's had some bad losses, bad turnovers, you know, and he just had to produce relative to that contract and prove that he's a top 10, 15 quarterback in the NFL. Man, I love that defense.
Speaker 2:Trayvon Walker, in his fourth year out of Georgia, was the first pick overall. You could say, well, he wasn't worthy of it. He should have took Hutchinson, but that's neither here nor there. The defense is solid and when your offense is struggling, your defense stays on the field. So there you go. The numbers are skewed, even though they have pretty good secondary and linebackers and I mentioned the D-line, walker and some other guys. But it all depends on Trevor Lawrence, man. This guy is the face of the franchise Now the rookie I love him.
Speaker 2:I love him when he went to high. I love him. I love him when he went to Ohio. I loved him at Colorado, cu, being a buff, and I think the fact that he I think he's a better receiver I beg to differ with you more. I think he's a better receiver than DB and he got a number, a second-string cornerback.
Speaker 2:But it remains to be seen, over 17 games in a man's league, whether he can keep this up. How many plays is he going to get on offense? 17 game in a man's league where they can keep this up? How many plays he's going to get on offense? How many plays he's going to get on defense? This is the NFL, this ain't college. In the 17 weeks you're going against men. I hope he stays healthy to do this thing, but he's not a big man. To begin with, I got Jacksonville winning six games. I think Tennessee Titans are going to finish in front of him. Trevor Lawrence has to prove, not only to me but the NFL world, that he's worthy of the contract, that he's a top tier quarterback, worthy of the first pick a few years ago out of Clemson. So there you go, right there, man, okay.
Speaker 1:All right and Dwayne in North Carolina joins us. We haven't heard him on Shine On Sports in a while he's been. You know he's a new married man, kids and everything and life has just been lifing for him but yeah so Dwayne joins us. How you doing, man.
Speaker 3:I'm good how you doing.
Speaker 2:Welcome aboard, brother. It's blessed to have you.
Speaker 3:I appreciate it. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:So go ahead with your thoughts on the jags and and I know you didn't uh hear earlier, but thoughts on the jags and titans going into the season. What are your thoughts on that so far?
Speaker 3:so my my thoughts on the jag. I agree with doc. I think trevor lawrence is under a tremendous amount of pressure, going all the way back to, you know, his draft day. He was supposed to be the savior. He was the second coming. He was the next. Andrew Luck, peyton Manning, he was the guy who was going to turn the franchise around. And I just don't think they, I don't think the Jags have seen the amount of success that came with the hype, but they believe that that success was there.
Speaker 3:Doc spoke about the contract. They paid him a whole lot of money to not be. You know, there's two teams in the NFL those with a quarterback and those without. They paid Trevor Lawrence a whole lot of money to not be one of those teams without a quarterback and now it's time to for him to prove that that he's that guy. Um, you know you spoke on Travis Hunter. Maybe I'm biased, uh, as as a defensive back coach. Um, I too think he's a better DB than he is a wide receiver. Um, I'm kind of curious to see how this works in the NFL. But you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Nobody thought you see it a lot playing both sides of the ball in high school and then you don't see it a lot in college. People doubted he could do it in college. He did it in college. The NFL is a different game. The question for me, for Travis Hunter, would be, once more taxing on your body delivering hits or getting hit? I would think and granted I didn't sniff the NFL, but I would imagine that getting hit is more taxing on your body. I would also think it would be easier to create offensive packages for a wide receiver versus creating defensive packages, but you know I missed the Titans talk. To answer your initial question, I think Cam Ward has it. You know, I don't know how to describe it, he just has it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:It's like there's just a chip on his shoulder. He's a guy that we talk about amongst our high school coaching staff a lot. He has no star prospects, didn't have the big schools coming after him and he just grinded. He just grinded it out and he's just a winner. He's won everywhere he's gone. He's a winner, he's won everywhere he's gone and I think he is going to elevate that Tennessee Titans team. There's questions on their O-line. I think he's mobile enough. I think Calvin Ridley silently had a pretty good year last year.
Speaker 2:Yes, he did yes, good point.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think Cam Ward is a step up at quarterback. I think that could boost what Calvin Ridley has already done. Chagosian however you say their tight end's name, I'm pretty sure I'm butchering it, but their tight end had a decent year. I think Tony Pollard may step up and do even bigger things now that there's just a threat at quarterback. I like the Titans. I think they're one of those teams that you could see potentially going worse to first. It seems like it happens every year that somebody goes from last place in their division to winning their division and it's a flip, and Tennessee could be that. Granted, it's not the strongest conference.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Right, it seems like it happens every year that somebody goes worse to first and there's that team that nobody talks about and, uh, I think that could be tennessee.
Speaker 1:I think that could be tennessee, okay yes, sir, and then and then, as we look at the other two teams and then I'm going to kick it back to you, uh, dune, you look at the other two teams. Of course, houston I'm still a little salty and, for those that don't know, dwayne is probably one of the biggest Justin Herbert fans out there. So there's a lot of debate on top five quarterbacks. I can tell you right now, dwayne has Herbert in your top five for sure. But I don't want to go and harp and look on this houston team because, of course, what we had in the playoffs and in the four picks and all that it was, it was the worst game ever of herbert's career. Um, but houston, they're, they're there, they're typically won the division every year. And then you got the colts, a team with anthony richardson I believe he's um, I'm not mistaken. I think he's dealing with some injuries right now. But but, dwayne, looking at these two teams, what are your thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans going into the season?
Speaker 3:I hope for the Colts' sake and everybody in that front office, that Anthony Richardson can figure it out, because if Daniel Jones is your answer, I don't know how you overcome that. When you picked this, you picked this kid fifth overall I. I remember when Anthony Richardson was coming out of Florida I I thought he was an amazing athlete. He had intangibles. He's just a raw prospect. I did. I never saw the quarterback. I saw anthony richardson the athlete. I never saw anthony richardson the quarterback. I think everybody fell in love with his ability to throw the ball 80 yards down the field. Yeah, but it in the nfl you gotta have some sort of touch, you gotta be able to. Can you put it over that, over top of that linebacker, in front of that safety? And I haven't seen anthony richardson do that yet. Now, to his credit, the colts have a winning record when he's a starting quarterback. So I I don't know the the colts are. They got to figure that quarterback situation out. And, like I said, when we're talking about Jacksonville, teams have a quarterback but they don't. Right now I feel like the Colts don't have a quarterback. I don't. I could see the Colts finishing last and not to do that. I just which is. I mean, they have all the weapons, but I don't trust either quarterback on their roster. I don't trust either quarterback on their roster.
Speaker 3:Houston, this is which CJ Stroud do you get? That's the CJ Stroud is just all over the place. I feel like Every time I watch a Texans game, sometimes he looks like he's okay, there he is, there's the guy that. And then sometimes you turn it on and you're like who is this quarterback that I'm watching? Um, so he's too inconsistent for me that he shows flashes, um, but I, I, I would take the Texans over the Colts, I would take the Texans quarterback situation over the Colts. And as far as Justin Herbert, you over-exaggerate. I never said Justin Herbert was bad. That's not what I said. That's not what I said. So he exaggerates so much, doc, it's crazy. That's not what I said at all.
Speaker 2:I believe you, brother, you know how you know Marlon is. But good analysis. On the ASC South, brother, I agree with you. Relative to the quarterback room Dwayne in Indianapolis, it's an embarrassment. Other than Cleveland. I can't think of a worse quarterback room in the entire league Marlon and Dwayne. I think Anthony Richen had to show his wares and had to do something to prove that. He was the fifth pick of the draft and I questioned that pick then. But as Dwayne mentioned Marlon, if you had to go to Daniel Jones who got blown and ran out of town, they actually had a parade that was leaving the Giants in New York. You know there's something wrong in that quarterback room there and it's unfortunate because it's a great fan base.
Speaker 2:Indianapolis is a great city. They got Jonathan Taylor, one of the top five running backs in football. He quietly had a great year. And then you drafted Tyler Warren. Tyler Warren is going to be I wouldn't say he's Brock Bowers, but he can have that kind of impact if he has some kind of competent quarterback play Selfishly.
Speaker 2:I want Richardson to start Now. He's going to miss time. Dwayne, because he thinks he's in college. He can bowl over defenders in the NFL. This is a man's league. You're not going to run people over when you weigh 245 and run a 4-4. He's missed time because of that and then he quit on his team. He quit on his team late, took himself out because he was tired. I've never heard that before I've been watching the NFL almost 50 years. Because he was tired, he took himself out of the game. So he has to win over the locker room. But what options do we have? Daniel Jones, you know he's an athlete. He can run, but he can throw to the other team too and lead the league in interceptions. So when I say they're the worst quarterback room in the league, I mean it, you know. And I feel for Jonathan Taylor. I like that offensive lineman. They had number 66 in his fourth year out of Notre Dame. I like Latu, the edge rusher from UCLA, you know. So, yeah, but they have nothing else, man, you know.
Speaker 3:I'm just curious what the other 10 guys in that huddle who they, who like? If you polled them, who do they want at quarterback? It feels like there's no right answer. If you ask those 10 guys like, it feels like it's a lose-lose situation with them. I agree with you. I feel bad for jonathan taylor. Yeah, I remember it wasn't that long ago that he was the best running back in the league and now because of his he's I don't want to say forgotten about. Yeah, people don't realize how good that kid is.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly, dwayne. That's a very good point, marlon, just as far as the Houston Texans, dwayne. I got to beg to differ with you there because CJ Stroud is a superstar and when you mention two, when you miss two of your receivers, especially Tank Dale on the devastating leg injury who knows if he's going to come back to be the Tank Dale of old it takes an effect on your throwing. He still has the arm talent and the consistency that you ask for on a quarterback, because they utilize the tight end a lot, but Joe Mixon is hurt and that's going to hurt them to help out CJ Stroud, but the receivers yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 3:Let me ask you, Doc, because I know you're a UGA guy.
Speaker 1:now I'm a Jackets guy.
Speaker 3:I don't talk about UGA often, but Nick Chubb down there, you know what do you think about? I mean Nixon's out. I don't know how long he's going to be out.
Speaker 2:Is this the received glimpses of? Maybe not Cleveland Nick Chubb, but I think you can, dwayne, answer your question. I'm a Nick Chubb fan but he's had two devastating injuries in the NFL and he's a workout warrior. I think he's squ squats like over 700 pounds. But can you do agility drills to avoid those contact hits in the NFL?
Speaker 2:It's good to be strong, but as a running back and Marlon you played the position and Dwayne you coach you have to be able to miss people, especially when you're 28, 29 years old. You know he's had a solid career, but he's been injury riddled. To ask you a question directly, dwayne, I think he can go down there and give you 700 yards and 10 touchdowns because he's a goal line guy. Joe Mixon in and of itself, that was their main cat. They're going to be missing him to start the year with some kind of mysterious injury, but CJ Stroud is one of those cats I love. D'amico Ryan, the coach. I just feel like that team is going to win the division with 11 wins.
Speaker 2:Given that putrid, it's one of those things where I think Houston is going to win that division. Cj Stroud, dwayne and Marlon is one of those catchers where you're giving us weapons. Again, we don't know how Tankdale is going to respond and the other receiver, but Will Anderson on the other side and some of the defensive pieces they have, the cornerback from LSU I forget the cornerback from LSU, stingley, whatever his name. Yeah, dwayne, this cat, he's great. So, cj Stroud, he has a supporting cast. They can fall into winning that division, to answer your question. But, yeah, yeah, go ahead, marlon.
Speaker 1:All right, all right, so that was.
Speaker 3:Marlon, you played running back yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh yeahwayne, that was low, but I get it. That was a good one.
Speaker 1:That was a good one. That was a good one. All right, all right, okay. So getting on to the NFC South baby. Of course, as you know, dwayne is a huge Falcons fan and, of course, if you're listening to this podcast, you know dr falcon is dr falcon fan, obviously. So we're gonna start off with the falcons um onto the draft picks and, of course, we'll go and dive into the over and unders, all that stuff. So, doc, we'll go ahead and start with you, um, you guys. You guys needed help a little bit all over. I definitely thought you guys would have drafted, uh, a tight end because kyle, because Kyle Pitts has been driving me crazy and I'm not even a Falcons fan, but you got some help. You know Jalen Walker out of Georgia, so I know you know all about him, and then, of course, it's a very defensive draft. So how did you like the draft strategy? Did you think that you maybe get more help for Pennix on the offensive side? What were your thoughts overall on the draft class?
Speaker 2:No, we've drafted on offense the past few years. In fact our last four draft picks were on offense in the first round. So I'm glad that we addressed the edge rusher position Marlon and Dwayne because we haven't had an edge rusher of note since John Abraham and that was damn near 10 years ago. I got Jalen Walker winning defensive rookie of the year because Kirby Smart really drilled this kid and he's taught this kid and physical practice in Athens. This kid can play inside on ball, off ball edge rusher, but they're going to start him out an outside linebacker because James Pierce Jr is your edge rusher on the other side, you know. So we're going to be upgraded on defense, given that Jesse Bates coming back for his third year in Atlanta after the transition from Cincinnati, and we got AJ Terrell who's been solid. He hasn't lived up to the number one draft pick, 12th overall out of Clemson that he should. But he's got a big contract and I think with the pass rush improvement Marlon and Dwayne he should be all right. But I love Jalen Walker, I love that pick when he got him out of Georgia. Now, offensively, pistons is sure up and, by all accounts, gentlemen, he's having a great camp where the quarterback can throw down field, as Kirk Cousins has been, despite his issues last year. We Her cousin has been, despite his issues. Last year we were one game from winning the division and if Raheem Morris, you know, calls the timeout to help the young kicker out and moves it in, we would have beat Washington on the road and won the division. We swept Tampa, you know, swept it, but we split with the Saints and we gave up 44 points at home in Week 18 to Carolina, you know, and Bryce Young was a quarterback that was benched for the first half of the year, so we had to go defense to answer your question. So I like the moves we made. B John Robinson is arguably the third best running back in the league, behind Saquon and Derek Henry, you know. So I think he's going to have a great year.
Speaker 2:And Penix is a breath of fresh air, gentlemen, because he can throw the deep ball. We haven't had that since Steve Bronkowski. Matt Ryan had a solid arm, if you will. He was all kind of team passing records and touchdowns and fourth quarter comebacks, but I'm talking about over 60 yards in the air. This is what Penix did. You saw him at the University of Washington. What he did.
Speaker 2:Now the sample size in and of itself is small because he started the last three games and you can argue that Raheem Morris and the staff stayed too long with Kirk Cousins and Marlon. You remember the four-interception game that Kirk Cousins gave to your Chargers, you know, including a fixed six after a bye week and prior to the bye week, Dwayne. We got blown out at Denver 45 or whatever you know. So it should have happened earlier with Pennix getting in there, but it didn't. So we're dealing with now. I think we're going to win 11 games and that's being conservative. I know the over-under is eight and a half. It might even be 7.5. And I think you know, given that we have Tampa's number, you know I think we'll win the division with this new offense we got now. You know I like Raheem Morris who's the offensive coordinator for the Rams. Yeah, but go ahead Blank.
Speaker 3:So you know I'm going gonna touch on the secondary again. Maybe I'm biased because I coach dvs yeah, go ahead you.
Speaker 3:you touched on the pass rushers, um, who both went to high school here in north carolina. I coached against james pierce. I, I knew wow, wow, okay, yeah, wow, wow, okay, yeah. But I love the Falcons draft. I love the Falcons draft. We needed help on defense. I'm going to touch on your AJ Terrell. Take Doc, it's hard to cover these receivers for eight to nine seconds because you can't get no pressure on the quarterback.
Speaker 3:That's right but I I feel like the lack of a pass rush has affected aj corral. Uh, because I do believe he's lived up to the hype, considering that there is no pass rush coming. Uh, but I want to. I love both pass rushers. I can't wait to see when they're both on the field together rushing. But I'm just as excited about both Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman, that's right.
Speaker 3:Billy Bowman's a littleles were attempts to make what we call them highlight reel tackles, where he just was trying to destroy somebody versus just break down, wrap up, take them down and I think with a defensive-minded head coach like Raheem Morris, you're going to see some of those defensive missed tackles kind of get fixed.
Speaker 3:Xavier Watts is a ball hawk. He just manages to find the football, football finds him. So I think being able to have Bowman who, from what I'm hearing out of camp and what I've been looking at is they're using him all over the place he's a nickel corner, he's a, he's another safety, he's lining up in the box, some one of the linebacker spots I'm excited about those two guys. If you, if I had a negative about the draft, I do wish we had at some point in the draft went and got another wide receiver, yeah, we can't rely the Falcons cannot rely on Ray-Ray McLeod.
Speaker 2:No, no, but I don't mean to cut you off, but Darnell Mooney showed his ass last year. Darnell Mooney really did really good to help us. You know, drake, london had 100 quietest 100 catches in the history of the sport 100 catches, marlon.
Speaker 3:Yeah, go ahead, brother. Drake London is that guy Now. I think we're going to see rookie year Kyle Pitts. I feel like maybe it's because it's a contract deal and it's come time for whether it's the Falcons or somebody else to pay this man. I think he's motivated. I think we're going to see that level of production like we saw the Kyle Pitts rookie year. Yeah, I agree with you about Michael Pennix's ability to his accuracy on the football. I believe it was four picks he threw last year. Three of them were dropped, hit the wide receiver's hands first. That's right. So you know he's very accurate with the football. He's able to drive the ball down the field with velocity. With velocity Something that I you know, that his downfield throwing ability reminds me of Michael Vick's ability as far as a deep ball passer, but accurately. Michael Vick chucked the ball down the field but he just trusted that Roddy White was going to go get it.
Speaker 2:That's right good point.
Speaker 3:Pinnicks can put it on a line and, like you said, 50, 60 yards down the field. So I'm excited about the falcons, um, the two-headed backfield, uh, with, with bijan and algier. Uh, you know, I I felt like last year it really we were a pass rush away and we went, the Falcons went. They addressed that in the draft.
Speaker 2:Yeah, don't forget about twice either, dwayne Twice from last year, from UW PennXX teammate. He's showing out. I mean he missed all of last year, so don't forget about him, but continue, go ahead.
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course you know we'll see how the trade. You know trading up for peers, they gave a lot for peers.
Speaker 3:They gave a lot for peers and that's going to put a lot of pressure on that young man, um, to come in and produce. Now what I will say is his speed rush, his, his ability to get off the ball, um, and and people can say what they want. I'm a Georgia Tech fan, so I'm an ACC guy, but that speed rush consistently worked at Tennessee against SEC competition, where you're looking at guys that are playing in the NFL on every single team. That's right.
Speaker 3:So Pierce's ability to just get after the quarterback, even if he is just his rookie year, if he's just a third down situational pass rusher because, you know, not a lot of people watch the Falcons outside of Falcons fans. But you know, towards the end of the season Ed McKinney seemed like he was starting to get it to figure it out. Yeah, out of Penn State fourth year?
Speaker 2:Yeah, fourth year out of Penn State. He seemed like he was starting to figure it out. Yeah, out of Penn State fourth year. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Fourth year out of Penn State. He seemed like he was starting to figure it out. I'm interested to see what we do. Grady Jarrett's gone, so I do want to see what you know. You do have to replace that in the middle of that defensive line, but I think the Falcons are in a real good spot and I believe they should be favorites to win the NFC South At last. I checked. I don't think they are, but I don't see why they're not.
Speaker 1:I would love to know what the argument is as to why they're not the favorites to win the NFC South. I'll tell you why it's because the Tampa Bay.
Speaker 2:Buccaneers? Yeah well, we swept them as I referenced. We swept them, yeah, 4-. We swept them as I referenced and we went, I said it. We swept them, yeah, 4-2 in the division. And don't forget Marlon. We signed Leonard Floyd, who's a 10-year veteran. If he gives us eight and a half sacks at 31, that's to help out the rookies, you know Ricky H Rutscher. So, dwayne, give Marlon before we go to the next thing, give Marlon a win total for our Falcons, your call.
Speaker 3:I would have to. So I'm going to say this the Falcons are notorious for losing a game there. They're definitely just not supposed to.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:So I have a feeling that game will come in the division. I feel like we're going to lose one to Carolina for for absolutely no reason. Yeah, I couldn't. The only analysis I could give you as to why we're going to lose that game to the panthers is the falcons always lose a game they're not supposed to lose. Yeah, I feel like it's always against carolina. Um, I feel like we'll split with tamp Bay because I know we swept them last year. Tampa Bay is still a good football team. I haven't gone down and done my official win-loss projection for the Falcons all the way through, but I think we lose two games in the division One to Tampa Bay, one to Carolina.
Speaker 3:We'll sweep the Saints and we'll sweep the Saints yeah, and we'll sweep the Saints. I can see Atlanta being a 10-11 win football team. I don't see them winning 10 games.
Speaker 2:And that's being conservative, marlon, if you will. I said 11-6, 17-game schedule. Remember, dwayne? We owe Carolina one, because they came to our crib, our house, and put up 44. That should have been the coupoupe de Grand, marlin, because Michael Penance led an offense to score 38. People forget we scored 38, you know yeah.
Speaker 3:That throw before the half? Yeah, that throw he made before the half right there at the pylon I believe it was Drake London right before halftime. Yeah, I thought that was going to be there it is. There's the momentum, and then we just came out flat in the second half. Sure did.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Okay, so real quick.
Speaker 1:I got some other topics I want to talk about while we got Dwayne on. So just, doc, if you can summarize and I know it's going to be almost impossible, but maybe three minutes just say what your predictions are on all the other divisions, so the Saints, the Bucks and the Panthers, and then Dwayne. I'll give you three minutes and then we'll go ahead and dive into something, a couple other topics that I want to throw at you guys. So go ahead, doc.
Speaker 2:Well, that's fair. I got Tampa Bay coming in second. You know I love their Bucky Irwin, the running back, to help out Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield can lead the league in inceptions and lead the league in touchdowns. That's who he is. You know they can win 10 games behind Atlanta, 11. And I love they're going to miss Tristan Wurst, the big tackle. You know they're going to miss him for the first six weeks or something like that. He's got a leg injury, I believe. But their defense is comparable, you know, to Atlanta's and you know they give us some points. You know Levante David is an all-pro. I like that. So, yeah, they'll come in second.
Speaker 2:The Saints you know I think the Saints are going to come in last place. I skipped over Carolina because I'm pissed off. Still, the Saints, with Tyler Sh Shaw, the quarterback from Louisville, I think it is. He's a rookie, and Connor unexpectedly retired because of an arm injury or whatever it was. But I think the Saints they're going to run out of a Camaro to death and he's going to get hurt because they're using these abuse. Remember, he's 31 too, 30 or 31. So they'll come in last. Cameron Jordan I mean, yeah, cameron Jordan, in his 10th to 11th year at a Cal. He's an excellent edge rusher, borderline Hall of Famer. Seems to make a living Dwayne on our offensive tackle. Remember he had nine sacks in one season, five in one game against Caleb McGarry. But they're coming to Atlanta Carolina. Oh, you did sign an extension, okay.
Speaker 3:They got that extension.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that offense is going to be putrid. Their main receiver retired. I forget his name, he got into trouble or something. But it all depends on Camara. Now the Carolina Panthers. The uptick on Bryce Young is impressive, gentlemen. But you know they did pick up Victoria McMillan from Arizona, 6'5", a Mike Evans clone if you will, but he's still a rookie. And can Bryce Young carry over the late-season success until this year? You know they were going to blow him out. He was going to be labeled a bust. He had a late season surge. So I think they'll come in third and the Saints come in fourth. I do like Carolina's defense man Derrick Brown, the big interior defensive line. He's massive and he's dominant. They're just on a bad team. I like their secondary and they got some linebackers. I like They'll come in third, behind Atlanta and Tampa Bay, and then the Saints coming in and bringing up the rear, george White.
Speaker 3:I think I agree a lot with Doc's analysis of the rest of the NFC South. I like Tampa Bay. I like what they did. I didn't necessarily understand the. I didn't like the Eggbooker pick, but I could see. You know their receiving core is aging and they wanted to take the next guy. Chris Goblin is going to be out for a little bit to start the season. You know Mike Evans is going to get 1,000 yards receiving every year until he's 75 years old, it seems. I like Tampa Bay. I'm curious to see what happens. Their offensive coordinator is left. What does their offense look like? Does it look the same? Are they going to switch some stuff up? They've got a nice two-headed monster in that backfield. So I think we will see them run the ball a little bit more because of Baker Mayfield's tendency to turn the ball over with just his style of play.
Speaker 3:The Saints you know I don't cheer for injuries. I don't cheer for injuries. I don't ever hope for anybody to get hurt. You know it's the same what happened to Derek Carr, you know, with the injury and being forced to retire, but that has put the Saints in just a really bad situation. Now I am cheering for the Saints to end up with the first overall pick. Now I am cheering for the Saints to end up with the first overall pick because of the quarterbacks in next year's draft class. I don't know if a lot of people have pieced this together, but as of right now, the top two quarterbacks on the board are Nussmeyer from LSU and Arch Manning from Texas. Arch Manning's dad famously played for the Saints. Nussmeyer's dad is the Saints offensive coordinator. So who do they take if they end up with the first overall pick and both of those quarterbacks are on the board? That's going to be an interesting conversation because if the Saints pass on their offensive coordinator's son, that could be awkward at Thanksgiving. But I don't see a lot of light in that tunnel. I hope they don't run Camara into the ground. I feel like he's an exciting player to watch.
Speaker 3:My take on Carolina is I love the pick. Like you said, big six, five can run, can, can do a lot of things at that size. I'm curious to see if Xavier Leggett can take the next step because if that's the case, those are two big guys that you can line up at wide receiver for Bryce Young to throw the football to. I give Bryce Young a lot of credit for how he handled getting benched last year and he talked about it. I think he got benched last year. Um, and he talked about it. I think he he got benched and I think he took the time to sit down and really watch how andy dalton prepared for the games and and things like that, and I think that benching made him a better quarterback. Um, you know, to those guys who believe that rookie quarterbacks shouldn't start immediately, bryce Young is an example of, maybe they should have let him sit and learn behind a veteran for a little bit, because when he had the four or five games to do that, he came back with a completely different quarterback.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Now I say about Carolina the opposite of what I said about Tampa Bay I don't like their backfield at all. I would be the first to admit I was completely wrong about Chuba Hubbard. I thought he was going to be an absolute game changer, much like he was in college at Oklahoma State. He has not been that. Now it looks like he's going to be the guy they drafted the Georgia running back. I believe Trevor Etienne, the younger Etienne brother.
Speaker 2:Yes, he did yeah.
Speaker 3:So you know, maybe that's the guy that comes in if Hubbard can't get it done. But I believe that they finish third.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:I don't think. I think the top two teams run away with that division. Whether it's the Falcons or it's Tampa Bay, one of those are going to win the division and those two teams are going to be far and away ahead of the last two.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, perfect. Went a little over your three minutes, dwayne, but it's okay. I gave you a little pass, so okay, I talk a lot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we know All right.
Speaker 1:So I'm about to get to some good stuff now. This is going to be some rapid fire questions for you, real quick, since we're on football, and you got to be quick with it now. I didn't prepare either of them, so letting the audience know I didn't prepare either of them for this question, I just wanted to just throw something out. I got two Falcons fans I know they're in their element talking, you know third string D tackles and all that stuff, so I know that they're loving everything right now. So, okay, if you guys were putting together a super fantasy team for your favorite players it doesn't have to be the historically great best player, but your favorite players I'm going to give you two quarterbacks. So, doc, I already know who one of your quarterbacks is going to be, but you get two quarterbacks, three running backs. This is all in the Falcons, all in the Falcons. Two quarterbacksbacks, three running backs, four wide receivers and you get two tight ends so this is just based off my guys.
Speaker 1:I like to watch it could be the greatest, the, the best of all time on the falcons, or just your favorite, it doesn't matter what it is. If you could, could pick two quarterbacks, three running backs, four receivers and two tight ends. Doc, I'm going to go ahead and start with you.
Speaker 2:You, starting with me. Yes, sir, okay, I'm going with Steve Bartkowski and Michael Vick, a quarterback. I love Matt Ryan, but Vick is so dynamic man. But Barkowski had a cannon for an arm, the first pick in the 1975 NFL draft. Up until Matt Ryan, he had held all the passing records. So Barkowski and Michael Vick. The running backs would be William Andrews, michael Turner and B John Robinson. That's three. The receivers well, let's do tight ends. We'll do tight ends. First I'll say Algie Crumpler and Tony Gonzalez, his last few years in Atlanta. All right, okay, receivers, you said four, right, so give me Alfred Jenkins in the 80s. Give me me Alfred Jenkins in the 80s. Give me Andre Rison in the 90s, julio Jones and Roddy White. How about that, you know. So there you go.
Speaker 1:Okay, alright, I love it. Top of the dome, I love it, dwayne you up.
Speaker 3:Alright, so quarterback I'm going to go with, I agree with Doc. I'm going. I agree with Doc. I go with Mike Vick. I'm gonna go with Matt Ryan. Michael go with Matt Ryan. My running backs would have to be Jamal Anderson.
Speaker 2:Wow yeah.
Speaker 3:Jamal Anderson, ward Dunn Dunn yeah. And I may surprise some people, I'm going to go with TJ Duckett. I used to love to watch that dude run the ball. Yeah, out of Michigan State. Yeah, there you go Big body bright. So I'm going to go Ward Dunn, jamal Anderson, TJ Duckett, wide receivers Got to go. Julio Roddy, that's tough. Terrence Mathis, right on, yeah, and I guess yeah. Andre Rison. So, Terrence Mathis Andre Rison.
Speaker 2:That's good.
Speaker 3:My tight ends would be the same. I would go with Algie Crumpler Just a guy who just seemed to do everything when you needed a big catch. Just go with Algie Crumpler and Tony Gonzalez. Those would be my two tight ends.
Speaker 2:Marlon. On a side note, real quick, Junior Miller in the eight 1980 1980s set the Falcons record for a tight end with nine touchdowns, steve Barkowski's favorite target coming out of Nebraska, number one pick. But he fell in that addiction thing in 83, and he was out of the league by 84. What a waste at tight end number 80. Google him, you know, dwayne Junior Miller.
Speaker 3:Junior Miller, I got to go look him up. Okay, I almost went with Devin Hester as my fourth receiver, but it was less for his ability to catch the football, that's right go ahead, yeah, okay all right, so now college football is uh, I believe, uh, there is 16 teams that get in, or is it?
Speaker 2:Well, is that next year? I think it's still that, yeah, 12.
Speaker 3:Probably a 12-team format To 12? Okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, All right. So all right. Final four predictions for you guys. Dwayne, I'll start with you on this one. Just final four college football teams that will make it to be fighting for that national championship.
Speaker 3:Go ahead, duane, you gotta go. I think ohio state has a very, very complete roster. I think they're going to get their quarterback situation figured out. So you go, you go. Ohio state. Um, I'm an Arch Manning believer. I know we haven't seen it on a very large scale, but even if he's competent, that Texas roster is loaded, so I'm going to go with Texas. Other two teams I just think those two teams are far and away better than everybody else. I could see a like I would pick Penn State, but something about James Franklin in a big game just doesn't make me think he's going to get to the Final Four.
Speaker 3:But, Drew Aller and Nicholas Singleton. They should. Penn State should be able to get there. So I'll go with Penn State and I'm going to go with Brent Key Hayes, king Jamal Hayes and the Fighting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, wow, that's a bit of a surprise ACC. Follow you, follow you. Yeah, okay, I see you. Yeah, yeah, okay, I see you. Yeah, well, you gave Georgia a fist in eight overtimes. I'll give you that.
Speaker 3:And Athens. Buster Faulkner seemed to forget that you can run the ball in overtime. It's what got us to overtime, and then we just stopped running the ball in overtime.
Speaker 2:That's right. Yeah Well, Marlon, I'm since Dwayne is an ACC fan, you know I'm taking Clemson, the best defensive line in the country, you know, and I just think that they're going to be shutting down people in ACC. Kate Klubnick, another draft-eligible future first-round pick, is coming to his own at Clemson. So Clemson will be one of my. I'm not saying they're number one in the country, I'm saying they're one of the four teams.
Speaker 2:Texas, yeah, texas Got to go with Arch Manning. Sarkeesian got that thing going down there with five-star recruits in and out of it. Anthony Hill, you got Colin Simmons on that defense and you got Arch. You know the reason why he stuck around at Texas when he could have transferred out of NIL. But I'm taking Clemson, texas and I'm putting Georgia in there. Georgia, kirby's sports crew, we're bouncing back from our three-loss. You know, disappointment last year and all the hard teams that we played on the road. They come to Athens this year. You know, alabama, texas on November 15th, alabama was on September 27th and we started with two pancakes, with a new quarterback, gunnar Stockton. So that plays right in. We got five-star athletes everywhere on offense and defense.
Speaker 2:If you ask me who's going to replace Jalen Walker, man, we got a kid and you remember this name CJ Allen, you know, and Raylan Wilson, number five. So that's three right there. You know, clemson, texas, georgia. And I'm going to go with Ohio State, man, you know. And the only reason you mentioned Drew Aller at Penn State. Me too, I don't trust the coach man at all in a big spot, you know. And Drew Aller is a former five-star quarterback man and he went to Penn State. But they got Nicholas Singleton, who's a dynamic running back, one of the top two running backs, the other one being Love at Notre Dame in the country. So I'm doing Ohio State as my fourth team man. Anytime. You had Jeremiah Smith, who was a true freshman looked like a number one pick last year as a freshman, you know. So they'll figure out the quarterback position. They still got defense and offensive line and they got five stars of running back that nobody's heard of yet. So there you go right there. Clemson, texas, georgia, ohio State, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, and I got three more questions for you guys. We're just about done with this. So, dwayne, if I'm not mistaken, you are a Braves fan, correct?
Speaker 3:Yeah, because I am a glutton for punishment.
Speaker 1:OK, perfect, all right, so I will go and start with you. Okay, perfect, all right, so I will go ahead and start with you. We'll start with you, doc.
Speaker 3:How long is it going to take for the Braves to get back on top of the National League?
Speaker 1:Just take a couple minutes, I know you can go on for years and years on this one, because it's a sensitive subject.
Speaker 2:But how long is it going to take? How many years do you think it'll take for the Braves to get back on top of the NL next year would be on top because Spencer Strider will be back fully from his injury, you know, give him a pass because it was a severe Tommy John type thing. Chris Sale, who won a sign on just last year, he's been injured. So those, that's two right there. Ronald Acuna, who I hope they shut down instead of bringing him back after 10 days. He's one of the top three or four players in the sport. So what you're counting on is Ozzie Alves and Austin Riley to stay healthy, and Marcel Osuna, assuming he doesn't go free agent route. You know Matt Olsen's having a decent year with 18 home runs and 67 ribbies, you know. So next year, when everybody's healthy, we should be a team, you know to be a force in the National League. He should have been this year, but injuries killed it.
Speaker 2:It's just too much to ask Spencer Strider to come back from Tommy John and Chris Sale. That was unexpected. He just won the Cy Young last year. And Acuna Jr man, I just hope this is not things to come, given that he's only 27. I don't want him to be injury prone. He should be healthy, you know, fully healthy next year, and that'll be a year after an ACL. So just give it. Let the Mets and Phillies do their thing this year and the Braves will be on top next year. To answer your question, go ahead.
Speaker 3:Clay, I could see next year. If I'm being optimistic, I could see next year. All five starting pitchers in the Braves' rotation after the first month of the season are now on the DL. They're shut down for the year. So we get our entire pitching staff back Now.
Speaker 3:I say next year, under the assumption that we fix the holes that we currently have. I don't think Ozuna comes back. I think the plan is to put both of those catchers, drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, in the lineup, with one of them DHing, and you use that Ozuna money, as well as the Iglesias money that's coming off the books, to fix that bullpen. I think they got to fix that bullpen. Maybe they'll get one more starter. So I could see it.
Speaker 3:I think Albies has to figure it out. He's having a down year. Riley's getting hurt often, I agree with you. I hope they shut acuna down. He's I call him the second most exciting player in baseball, but he's quickly starting to look like, unbiasedly, he's starting to look like the mike trout of the national league, like can he stay healthy? When he's healthy, he's elite. But can he stay healthy becomes the question, because this team seems to go how Ronald goes. When Ronald's playing well, the team's playing well. When Ronald's not playing so well, the team doesn't seem to be doing so hot. So I could see next year with the caveat that they fix that bullpen. That's kind of my take.
Speaker 2:What about Brian Snicker, the manager? I say let him go, respectfully retire him. He's old now down there pushing 75 or 80, whatever it is Been in baseball 50 years. Marlon, to answer your question real quick, we need a guy to kick ass, fire and brimstone. He's just a quiet. He gave us a chip, so respectfully do it. And then there's no. As you know, dwayne, there's no salary cap in baseball. We're hurting Marlon when we let Max Reed go to the Yankees Now. He struggled recently but he's still 11-4. You know, I don't know why Alex Anthopoulos let that premier pitcher go. You know I could see Mike Sirocco leaving, but not Max Reed. That's just too much to overcome in one season. When Max Reed started off, what was it? 10-1?
Speaker 3:10-1. It looked like he was going to win the Cy Young.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there you go, marlon, to answer your question real quick. It has to be some culpability with Alex Anthopoulos, the general manager.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, Alright. Two more questions for you now. Dwayne, as a Lakers fan, when we got to Luka trade definitely was happy. For sure was going to miss Anthony Davis, but was happy when we got him because a 25-year-old now 26, with what he can do on the court, even at his chunkiest, he can still go out there and cook up everybody. So we did give him an extension three years, 186. Really quick, two minutes. What does this mean for the Lakers going forward?
Speaker 3:Me first.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir, yes.
Speaker 3:I think it depends. Are the Lakers LeBron's team or are they Luka's team? Because if it's Luka's team, I think the best thing for the Lakers would be to trade LeBron. I think you could get something astronomical to build around him. I think they whiffed on connect. I think, uh, and? And if they, I don't think Dalton connect has looked the same ever since he was traded, and then he wasn't traded and then he had to come back in that locker room and play for a coach and a GM that had given up on him after however many games. It was Um. So I I think that it should be Luka's team and I think they should trade LeBron before LeBron retires to go get more assets to build around Luka Doncic, because some team is going to go all in and give you young pieces that fit better around Luka than LeBron does. I just don't. I like both players. I just don't think they fit with each other.
Speaker 2:Good point. I'm wanting to piggyback on that real quick. Lebron, he surprised me with his attitude, man, he took all the money 56, whatever it was when he could have took less and got some players, he did pick up DeAndre Ayton. He's a big man. He'd go with the youngster, you know. So you do have some center of seven ones two of them. But, like Dwayne said, lebron, he could fracture that locker room by doing the things that he's done his whole career at age 42, coming up season and not letting Luka take over. So congratulations on signing Luka Marlon.
Speaker 2:To answer your question, it's one of those things where the West is still brutal, even with that, you know, given that I still see the Lakers finishing seventh in that Western Conference. Man, it's just too many teams, you know, in the Western Conference it's just brutal, man. And we're not even talking about San Antonio, who gave De'Aaron Fox a huge contract to go with Wimbe Yama, who's going to be totally healthy. So, given that you know it's going to be hard to finish sixth, it's just being a generous for the Lakers, yeah, but Luka's going to do his thing. He's in shape. But is that enough? Go ahead, marty.
Speaker 1:All right, this is the last question I got for you guys. It's actually a two-part question but, doc, I'll start with you on this one, and I love switching topics. You guys are very versatile. Before I guys are very versatile. Um, before I get to the question, duane is actually one of my. I haven't heard his voice in about two years, so, uh, if not maybe a little bit longer. So I, I, duane is my guy, he's uh, you know, he, he had, he had a podcast, it was going great. Uh, he, I love this segment where it's it's doc, it's like what we have, where it's like get it off your chest. But duane has a segment with you've got detention and so yeah, and so it was yeah it was great.
Speaker 1:It was great, so I miss it. It was it was.
Speaker 3:It was easy to do a podcast before I had two under two I hear you, I hear you so I hear you uh so all right.
Speaker 1:So, uh, on this, uh, we're switching it up a little bit and and I know both of you guys are big boxing guys, so I will ask you guys, doc, I'm starting with you Top five boxers of all time and I didn't prepare him for any of these questions, but I know they know it off the top of their head Top five boxers of all time. Go ahead, doc.
Speaker 2:Regardless of weight class assuming I'm going to go number one you got to go with Muhammad Ali. You got to do that heavyweight. And then, of course, if you want to do Jack Johnson, in the early 1900s, the first African-American heavyweight, he was dominant but they tried to keep it low because of obvious reasons. Jack Johnson was dominant. So Muhammad Ali, jack Johnson, and then you know who could forget how dominant you know, sugar Ray Leonard, marvin Hagler in that era with Tommy Hearns. I'm going to take Sugar Ray Leonard. You know he beat Hagler. You know there to take Sugar Ray Leonard, he beat Hagler.
Speaker 2:There were some questions about that. I love Hagler. You got to put Sugar Ray Leonard in there. Of course you got to put Thion Mike or Mike Tyson in there. It's four right there. Then you got to put your boy, floyd, five, floyd's undefeated man. You know that's kind of a hard point. You got so many weight I'm missing out on sugar rate Robinson in the forties, dwayne and Dominic he was that's. I mentioned Hagler, you know, and I love Hagler. I think he had to beat Leonard. But Leonard's overall work, especially when he did Duran the dirty business the second time, you know. So all work, especially when he did Duran the dirty business the second time. There's my five right there. I think I put Tyson in there too, dana, yeah, I did.
Speaker 3:Like Doc said, it's tough with all the different weight classes, but in no particular order. If you were just five best I agree you definitely put Ali in there. You put Tyson in there. You know I'm going to go with a guy. We talk about different weight classes. He was moving all over the weight classes. He's back in the news here recently. I was a big Roy Jones Jr guy. Yeah, roy Jones Jr I would put in the top five just for his ability to go across weight class. He would move up classes, down classes. He didn't care. You know you talk about undefeated. You go Rocky Marciano.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 3:You could put Rocky Marciano in there, the big Italian knockout artist, and then, like you said, then you got both. Sugar Rays are there. You know which one. It's hard to leave either one of those, either one of them off. You know recency bias. You could put Tyson Fury in there. His ability, just what he can do in the ring at that size. Yeah, you know that's tough to leave it at five, but I agree, I think I would also. I mean, 50-0 is 50-0. Floyd beat everybody that was put in front of him.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Got robbed in the Olympics, should have a gold medal, but that's neither here nor there, so I would go with Floyd Mayweather Jr right there to round out my five again, not in any particular order. I want to see this. Roy Jones, floyd Mayweather fight also this exhibition. They keep going back and forth. Yeah, doc, you're the boxing guy. Roy Jones, floyd Mayweather fight Also this exhibition. They keep going back and forth. Doc, you're the boxing guy, you got Crawford or Canelo.
Speaker 1:See, now here's the thing. You messed me up, man. You stole my thunder, man. That was my two-part question, but it's all right. It's all right, Go ahead.
Speaker 3:Doc Go ahead. Marlon ask the second part of your question.
Speaker 2:Go ahead Crawford or Canelo, who you got, I'm taking Crawford brother, Terrence Crawford is the real deal, Canelo, he's skillful, a lot of heart, but Crawford's going to take care of that. And just to piggyback before Dwayne gives his response to that question man, you got George Foreman, you know heavyweight, the oldest ever, and he was dominant. Destroyed Joe Frazier in the early 70s. Man Knocked him down six times in three rounds. There's so many Joe Louis. We didn't even mention Joe Louis, Marlon. Shame on us. I'm sticking with my five. But damn, my grandfather would be like what's wrong with you? Joe Louis was the brown bomber, the brown bomber, Dwayne. And then there's some other cats. I threw some old school in there with Jack Johnson, but it's just too hard, man, it's tough.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I agree with you, doc. I'm going to go Terrence Crawford. I think his speed is going to give Canelo some problems. I don't know if he knocks out Canelo, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be shocked. But I think Crawford wins either by decision or by knockout. It would shock me either way.
Speaker 2:Oh man, this is a great show, marlon. Good job emceeing, or producing, if you will, dwayne, it's been a pleasure, man, god bless you. We could talk for hours. I know it's getting late on the East. I got to eat dinner on the West Coast. This was fun. Dwayne, we won't hesitate to bring you back on during the season, hopefully when the Falcons are on a three or four-game winning streak.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Right after Georgia Tech beats Georgia in the Mercedes-Benz.
Speaker 2:Bobby Dodd.
Speaker 3:Stadium baby. It's not at Bobby Dodd, it's going to be at Mercedes-Benz.
Speaker 2:Oh, I didn't know that, okay.
Speaker 3:I don't listen, I don't, you know, and this is a problem Marlon's like oh my God, here we go. If I'm Hyundai, which now has the naming rights at Grant Field, I don't know how you let that happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It has to be Home and home. It's always been that way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this year it's at Mercedes-Benz, so we get to be here at this field, right on brother, great show, brother, appreciate it bro.
Speaker 1:Hey, and last thing, before we let you go, I'm going to say the name wrong, jesus. Appalachian State is going undefeated this year. You heard it here first.
Speaker 3:All right, appalachian State, app State Okay, they are not. That is my alma mater. We are not. And I'm going to tell you, as an alumni of Appalachian State who is about to be very, very disappointed the University of Tennessee didn't get. They downgraded its quarterback, joey Aguilar, is not it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I hear you, brother, that's right, I love it, I love that. Take man college football, that's.
Speaker 3:I got to coach against Tennessee's next quarterback though Number one recruit in the country, Shazon Brandon, I got to coach against him later this season.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, I'll follow recruiting brother. I'll keep an eye on that. Good job on that, brother. Yes.
Speaker 3:Grimsley quarterback Okay, edit that out. Edit that out.
Speaker 1:No, nope, nope, nope.
Speaker 2:Staying in there, staying in there. Oh, this has been fun.
Speaker 1:Dwayne, you got anything for us before we get you out of here?
Speaker 2:No, that's it, brother. We covered everything. No, Dwayne.
Speaker 1:Dwayne, you got anything for us before we get you out of here? Man, we appreciate you for coming on, by the way.
Speaker 3:It's been a couple podcast. Sports school yes, Like I said, it was easy before. I had two under two. It got difficult after that.
Speaker 1:I hear you, man, one day we'll talk, we'll chop it up and catch up on life and everything. Man, it's great to hear from you. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:I appreciate both of y'all. Y'all have a good night. I'm going to go up here and probably explain to my wife where I've been the last hour.
Speaker 2:Thanks a lot, bro, god bless.
Speaker 1:We'll catch you guys next week. Peace, peace.