Ari SQRD
A podcast about NFL football hosted by two guys named Ari
Ari SQRD
The QB Industrial Revolution in a League That Won’t Stop Moving: Schedule Drops & Global Games
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This week on the show we announced our YouTube and social channels going live, then jumped into the NFL schedule release with its biggest primetime matchups, rivalries, and early storylines to watch. From there we tackled the league’s biggest shift right now: rookie quarterbacks are playing earlier and succeeding faster than ever. We broke down the data behind the trend, then explored what’s driving it, from college systems producing more pro ready QBs, to the transfer portal and COVID eligibility changes, to NFL teams simplifying schemes and building around quarterbacks instead of forcing them to adapt. We also looked at how drafting and development philosophy has shifted toward processing and readiness, why rookie contracts are speeding up decisions, and closed with the rising “QB revival” trend featuring players like Mayfield, Darnold, and Daniel Jones, asking whether this is true evolution or just system driven success.
Welcome back to another edition of Ari Squared. We are your host, Ari Lev and Ari Perkowitz, coming to you guys on a Thursday. And Ari, I am super excited to announce some things. How about you?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. Happy Thursday, Ari. I am very excited with what's what's been happening this past week. In the name of the great bar, another excellent.
SPEAKER_00I'm super excited. You know why I'm super excited? You know why you are super excited? You know why we together here on Ari Squared are super excited, is because we are officially live on YouTube.
unknownWoo!
SPEAKER_00Yes, sir. We are so excited. You can now get us, not just in audio, but you can see these beautiful pudding that Ari and I have that you have not been able to see it. You can also find us on our website. You can find us on Apple Podcasts. Our Instagram is up and running. So, guys, you can now find more ways to connect with us. You can find more ways to go ahead and share us. So please go ahead and give us a subscribe on YouTube. Go ahead and give us a follow on Instagram. And most importantly, help us together build the Ari community. We very much welcome any comments and feedback that you guys have. So by all means, let's make the Ari Square community even bigger, even better. And we would love to engage with you guys more than we are today. So that is some super exciting news that we are kicking off this episode with. So very, very exciting.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Yes, it's it's really uh it's about time, and uh we're we're getting there, and and this is just gonna continue to grow. And thank you to all of our listeners up until now who have gotten us to this point, and um to all of those first-time listeners listening in for the first time. We hope you will return.
SPEAKER_00And I'm sure they will because this is an awesome podcast.
SPEAKER_01Agreed, agreed. Somehow I agree with that. You know, it's really shocking that I do, but um you're you're a little biased, a little biased, but it's okay. Just a little though. You know, I I can't really stand you most of the time. So it's basically like I understand 50% of the podcast. So, you know, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, all right. So you're saying you're the smarter Ari in the Ari Squid? Is that what we're going with here? Um, I would just say better. That's what I would say. Listen, just because you're younger doesn't make you better.
SPEAKER_01Just say uh, you know, it's it's uh it's it's all just uh it is what it is, Ari. What can I say? The fact that we even need to explain it just means that uh it's just real, you know. That's that's basically how it goes. But on to but after all of this ridiculousness, we can get on to the actual beef of the discussion here on this week's podcast, which we definitely wanted to start with discussing a few interesting notes about the scheduling. And I know Ari, you were very keen on a few specific notes regarding the schedule. Um, and obviously it's it's gonna continue to uh trickle in and and and we'll we'll really have a better idea of everything. But Ari, you know, go ahead, kick us off. Well, what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, first of all, this is every NFL team's social media team, I should say, Super Bowl, because they do some of the craziest things, and I gotta tell you, one of my favorite things about the NFL schedule release is what the social media teams do with it, and some of them have been super, super, super duper creative, they drop all kinds of Easter eggs in, knocks on their you know, division rivals, and the very fact that this is even an event just speaks volumes to how amazing and how wild widespread the NFL is. Think about it. Could you tell me when the when MLB's schedule releases, NHL's schedule release, the NBA schedule release? No, I can't. Can you?
SPEAKER_01No, I can't, and and and it's it's a great, it's a great point that you make. And it's just you know, the the fact that the NFL has something built in that works directly with the current trends, which is you know, a smaller amount of something that gives it that novelty effect, and the NFL has absolutely mastered making every single one of these little moments into something they can market and further their brand. So power to them, and it's quite amazing.
SPEAKER_00They've really turned, even though the NFL season really, you know, kind of spawns from um from September through February. The NFL has done a phenomenal job at really being able to turn it into a year-long event, and they seem to find a way, even do the quote unquote off season. There's always something going on every single month to keep fans engaged, so really power to them. They also do a phenomenal job in season from game to game, because let's not forget there is only one game a week per team, they do a great job at keeping us fans engaged throughout. So, but on to the schedule. So, from what we know already, um, firstly, the fact that the season this year is actually kicking off on Wednesday is kind of cool. Um, reason being is because we've got the Rams and 49ers squaring off um in Australia on Thursday, so it's gonna be kind of cool to see that happening. First NFL game there, which is expanding the NFL reach as a general thing, and we'll elaborate a bit more on the international games that have already been released. Um, and what's interesting also is the fact that the Wednesday game to kick off the season is not the only official Wednesday game that we will be getting the season. Uh, the NFL this year is introducing a new Wednesday game, and that game is actually going to be taking place on Thanksgiving Eve. So we will be having on November 25th, we are going to be having a game between the Rams and the Packers that will be in SoFi, and that's gonna be another Wednesday game. And what's really cool is now between the um Thanksgiving Eve game, the three games on Thanksgiving game itself, and the Black Friday game, we now have a whole lot of football going on during that, which is kind of cool. Um, so pretty cool to see like the way that they've gone ahead and done that. Um, some of the other things we already know is my New York football giants will be hosting the Dallas Dallas Cowgirls for our season opener, ushering in the Harbaugh area. I am super pumped, and I cannot wait to smack those freaking cowgirls in the face and really start the season off with a statement win over the Cowboys at home. And yes, I know, and all the people are gonna be, well, you know, if you look at the past couple years over the 10 years in general, when we've been generally kicking off against the Cowboys, and history has not been in our favor. I'm excited for what's coming with Harbaugh, and I believe that we are gonna take it to them um on the first game of the season. And it was very considerate of the NFL, even for local New York fans, to wait for kickoff to happen after Russia Shana ends. So for all of our Jewish fans out there, especially ones located in New York, you will be able to actually see uh the games there. Um, other things that we already know the Monday night football opener will be the Kansas City Chiefs against the Denver Broncos. And what I find to be very interesting about that game is I believe that Patrick Mahomes is gonna beat all medical odds and he's gonna be starting that game. Because why else take a prime time game at the beginning of the season if we're gonna have um whoever their backup is, or it might be even their seventh rounder rookie QB that they picked, if that's who they thought was gonna be starting, there's no way that they give this kind of marquee matchup. So you want to watch Justin Fields? Oh god, oh god. No, I really do not want to watch Justin Fields um play, not on Monday night football and not on any night football. Uh, maybe if he was in the UFL, maybe uh he would get a little bit more pull. So um, I really think that that shows just how much they trust that Mahomes is gonna be back to start in that game, which is kind of crazy in its outright. Uh, the Buffalo Bills will be the ones starting um Thursday night football. They will be hosting the Detroit Lions and rushing in their new stadium, which, from everything I've seen, is just gonna be absolutely sick. That stadium is as much as it's an open air, the technology that they have in there, in order to be able to um keep the snow out, keep the fans warm, and not only that, but they're even going so far as they're going to have um eight different sensory rooms for um fans that are you know have some um autism or some other thing that gives them sensory issues, where if things get too loud, they'll be able to go into those rooms and calm down. And it's gonna be really cool to see the stadium that they have planned there. And I'm excited for the unveiling and the Detroit Lions, that's gonna be a good game. So I'm excited to see that. Um, we do know in terms of the Thanksgiving Eve games, we do know that the um, like I mentioned, the Packers will be hosted um by the LA Rams and SoFi. We've got the Dallas Cowboys um facing off against the Eagles, so that's gonna be a cool um um, you know, division showdown on there, and then to get to the international games, and then Ari, of course, love to hear your thoughts on the what we know so far. So we've got the Niners um and the Rams facing off against each other in Australia. That's on that's in week one. In week three, we will be having the ravens against the cowboys in Brazil. Week four, we've got the Colts against the Commanders in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Week 11, we've got the Eagles facing Jacksonville in um Tottenham as well. In week six, we've got the Texans against the Jaguars in Wembley, week seven, we've got the Steelers against the Saints in Paris in France, in week nine, we've got the Bengals against the Falcons in the in Spain, week 10. We've got the Pats against the Lions in Munich, in Germany, and finally rounding out the international series in week 11. We've got the Vikings playing against the 49ers. By the way, on the note of the 49ers, they are going to break the record for travel this year. Um, they will be traveling a whopping 38,000 miles um over the course of the season, which just is absolutely insane. So Ari, tell me, let's start with the international games. Which is your favorite, and which is I'm not bothering to even watch.
SPEAKER_01So I'll just first I just want to say to any of those people that are fans of the Premier League, and I want to make sure that they know that not everyone on this podcast thinks that it's pronounced Totenham, but it's rather Pottenham, um, which is an important distinction for those people that are fans of that team. I mean, come on. So let's just get that out of the way. And uh for those of you who cannot see, I'm nodding my head and making faces at Ari. But bes but beside for that, I mean, I think that's really cool that the two Wednesday games this year are both going to be played by the Rams. And uh I I don't I don't know if any specific game uh jumps out to me more than the fact that it's just everywhere this year, it's literally everywhere. Like it's wide. How many continents is that? South America, obviously, North America, Europe, Australia. So like they're they're hitting four out of the what six possible continents continents.
SPEAKER_00I don't think we're gonna ever see a game in Antarctica.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't think that's going to be happening uh anytime soon, but um, yeah, it's it's pretty, pretty wild. Uh Asia and Africa. I don't know if and when they're gonna be on the NFL's radar to have games there, but I'm sure that they are trying to think of how and when to do that as well.
SPEAKER_00An interesting continent that I think we're gonna see added to that list, probably before we see somewhere in Asia, um, may very well be Africa, actually, because we are seeing an increase in players coming from the continent, um, getting drafted and playing in the NFL. Um, and an interesting potential site for that game would actually be in Egypt. So it would be interesting to see if the NFL wine kind of goes there. Of course, nothing would make me happier than to see an NFL game played here in Israel. I think that would be cool. And I'm hoping with these, you know, please God, Team Israel will make the Olympics in, you know, with our flag team uh in the 2028 Olympics. And I hope that we'll already put our um, you know, put Israel even more on the map in the football world than it already is.
SPEAKER_01So if if there was one place that I'd envision them having a game in the next few years that isn't on the list, it would definitely be somewhere in the Emirates region, like somewhere in the Middle East, like Qatar Um or Saudi Arabia that that have built or are building all of these brand new, ridiculous Olympic style stadiums. The one drawback to Israel is that their stadiums are not that well equipped for for football for a few reasons. Um, they'd probably have to do a serious amount of overhaul before hosting, but um, you know that that so same with Brazil. Like Brazil had to do a crazy job, and uh all of the players on the Eagles, and I can't remember who they were playing, the Packers last year, they were all pretty upset about it. So, I mean, we could we could definitely do that. We could definitely have a game and have the players upset about that at this point.
SPEAKER_00I agree with you, uh, but I do I do think that's a good observation. Um, in terms of seeing a a you know, either in the UAE, in Qatar, in Saudi Arabia, I could absolutely see a NFL game happening. Um, I think another place, another country we could uh potentially see an NFL game happening in a lot sooner than later would be in Italy. I think that would certainly uh, you know, have it uh, you know, they could certainly host it, and they've definitely got the, you know, with uh how big soccer is there, um they have stadiums that could more than equip that. So it's gonna be interesting to kind of see exactly how that um all plays out. I would say is in terms of, although you never directly answer the question, so I'm gonna answer it for myself. Um, I think out of my least favorite game of the international games, the one that probably has the biggest potential to be a dud, I'm gonna say is gonna be one of two games. It's either going to be the Steelers Saints or the Bengals um Falcons. And I think the one that's probably most likely to be the biggest turd on this list is gonna be Bengals Falcons, because I think the Bengals are just going to be beat the absolute piss out of the Falcons in that game, and I don't think it's gonna be very competitive.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, that goes back to the point where we've been kind of hating on the Falcons since they hired Stefanski and everything since.
SPEAKER_00So, you know, if you want to get technical, I was actually hating on the Falcons um since they signed Kirk Cousins and then drafted uh Michael Panix.
SPEAKER_01But um, but yeah, either way, I don't know, everyone. Ari Sangdiv, thank you. That's uh wonderful. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00You're very welcome.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, but I'm just saying, like, they had the chance to uh, you know, obviously they've been doing some things wrong for a while, but they had the chance to kind of uh resurrect, and they went with the hire of Kevin Stefansky, who just doesn't really fit the direction that that franchise needs to go in at this point.
SPEAKER_00No, definitely not. All right, I'm gonna end this segment quickly with some of the, I mean, and this is for our Giants fans out there because you know, I am when all is said and done, I am a Giants fan. So I can tell you that some of the schedule leaks for the Giants are as such. Um, if these leaks are true, and we'll see, usually they are. Um, we're gonna host the um commanders for in week 10 on Thursday night football. Um, we will be hosting the Cardinals in week four. We will be um hosting the Titans in week three, which will be kind of interesting, you know, Gable coming back and flawed and Bellinger and Robinson, and then finally, um, we will also be hosting the Niners for the second year in a row um in week 13. So those are just leaks. I cannot confirm that those will be part of the final schedule. But generally speaking, um, when the leaks like this come out, especially like the day or two before, they generally end on being um pretty correct. Before we move on, Ari, do you have any jets-related schedule things that you want to throw out there? Or are we moving on?
SPEAKER_01We are definitely moving on, Ari. Let's let's get into the discussion uh about quarterbacks. We now have uh not as much time to take care of everything in terms of uh what the conversation was supposed to be, but we can get started, and I'll I'll throw it to you. You know, I think that over the last few years we've seen a very different trend in terms of both usage for quarterbacks and in terms of the talent level of quarterbacks coming out of college. And I was curious to hear your thoughts on how this trend really came to be, and if you think it has staying power. Um, and that being said, you could also go ahead and and talk about your favorites of the last few quarterbacks of the last few drafts. So what do you what do you have to say, Ari?
SPEAKER_00So I'll tell you, I think that the problem that we have that's plaguing the league is this is that you need the the biggest emphasis and the biggest, I would say, you know, key to either winning or losing is having an actual franchise quarterback. And while in the past we saw staying power, you know, I remember if we if we look back to the Giants, right? And when they drafted Eli Manning. And I remember, and I'll be the first to say this. I remember right before our what ended up being our Super Bowl winning season, I remember I was calling for both Coughlin's head, I was calling Eli a bust, and we need to get rid of him. And then we actually gave them the opportunity to to they ultimately went ahead and and ended up you know winning the Super Bowl and beating the the Pats and the rest of this history from there. And that was when Eli Manning actually got an opportunity to even make it to year four. We see such a trend now where number one, QBs are just not being drafted to teams that actually have a plan on how to properly development them. There's no longer the thought of, well, we still have a veteran, so let's play them behind our veteran QB, such as we saw successfully with Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes. Now we're, you know, it's just let's get them on the field as soon as humanly possible, even if they're not ready. And then there's such this win-down mentality of well, our QB, we're gonna give them a year or two, and then we're moving on. I mean, just take a look at the Titans over the past few years and how they cycled through you know, first round QBs without even you know taking, you know, taking the time to let them develop or see what can come out of them. And we saw it in Pittsburgh too with Kenny Pickett, we saw it um in Philly with Carson Wentz, and it's just we see just this you know juggling of. QBs way too quickly, and it's like, oh, you're not our franchise quarterback, so we're gonna move on. So here's an interesting fact I want to throw to you, and it's actually gonna come with a question. So 20 QBs have been drafted number one overall since to the year 2000. Now, how many of them, Aurori, have won a Super Bowl with the team that they were drafted by?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's that's a great question. I I mean I obviously there's uh Eli Manning is there. Um technically he isn't because he was drafted by the Chargers and then traded and all of that. So I don't I don't know if he counts. He does count. He does count. Yes. Okay, um beside for that, I mean I'm trying, I'm trying to think of quarterbacks. Uh you know, Matt Stafford obviously didn't win with his uh his team. I'm trying to think of uh earlier, you know, I can tell you that it hasn't happened since 2012.
SPEAKER_00Uh that much of a for the sake of time, Eli Manning is the only only one, the only one that has done it. And I'll get it, I'll tell you, let's go, let's move on to phase two and question two. Of those 20 QBs that have been selected first overall since the year 2000, how many of them are still currently actively playing for the team that drafted them?
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's that's fairly easy. I mean, considering the fact that we know um that basically most of them from earlier on are no longer in the league. So that's it's Joe Barrow, yes, um, Trevor Lawrence. That is correct, Bryce Young, yeah, Caleb Williams, yes, Cam Ward, yes, and Mendoza hasn't taken a snap, so that would be it.
SPEAKER_00Nice, all right, very well done. Yes, those are the six QBs, and that just speaks to the level of quarterback play and the problem. So, to answer your original question, Ari, the way I see it is is that it comes with a lack of planning to begin with, of when you drafted the QB. We are no longer being patient with those QBs and giving them the ability to sit behind a veteran and learn and develop. And then finally, it's what have you done for me lately if you have not shown me within year, let's say two, that you are indeed a franchise QB, I am just gonna move on from you.
SPEAKER_01So basically, to summarize, right? So, reason number one is the fact that the teams that are usually drafting at the top of the draft are the teams that have the least idea of how to move forward with their franchise. That's number one. Yeah, number two, the quarterback, the rookie contract scale now is of such that basically if you're drafted to a bad team, which is the team that's that draft top five, and definitely number one, if that team doesn't turn it around in two years, the head coach will be fired, the offensive coordinator will be fired, the GM will be fired. Now, they have nothing to do with the QB, plus they have one other year until they have to actually make a commitment financially past that uh rookie contract. They'd have to decide. Obviously, they could keep him, but that is the first time that they could give you a contract extension and pick up your option for the fifth year. So you basically have one more year in a lot of cases for these QBs. And and the Bears are, in my opinion, the best example of this running through through Biscuit and then Justin Fields, and then finally Caleb Williams, where they literally did this going through all of these different coaches, going through different GMs, going through different coordinators, and it seems like now it's finally in a good place for them. And that brings me kind of like to this to the second overall point after the structure changing, which is something else that you alluded to, is I see that really since the 2022 draft, where the only quarterback drafted in the first round that year was Kenny Pickett, it was known to be a very weak quarterback class. Since then, I see a vast change in the landscape of not only the teams that are drafting the quarterbacks, but the quarterbacks coming into the NFL. What do you think contributes to the fact that CJ Stroud can make it to the playoffs in his first season? Jaden Daniels can make it to the playoffs in his first season, obviously, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Drake May, they're all making it to the playoffs very, very early on. What do you think has contributed to the fact that pretty much before that, that had never been the case? And just going on one draft before Kenny Pickett, we're talking about Trevor Lawrence, who's been in the playoffs, I think, twice in his six or seven seasons in the NFL. Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones. I mean, what a disaster of quarterbacks drafted. I mean, even the 49ers who seemingly get everything right busted at number three overall to draft their quarterback. So clearly there was a significant change. And and and what do you make of that change? And how do you think this all came to be?
SPEAKER_00So I think, first of all, the fact that we're seeing a lot of A head coaches and B offensive and defensive coordinators actually once they're like fired off of whatever team just you know turned over again, they're ending up back in the college ranks. So we're starting to see um more often than not these pro-style offenses um already in in college, which is getting the QBs ready or more prepared, I should say, to move on into the NFL. That's first of all. Second of all, if we look at the more recent examples of where the teams seemingly seemed to be getting the QB right, it's because they had a plan on how to develop their QB, whether it was the head coach themselves or a the right offensive coordinator slash QB coach that actually knew how to go ahead and develop that QB into being successful. And so when you go ahead and you put the right player in the right environment, that's gonna give a better example. You know, you had mentioned before the Chicago Bears and how they kind of shuffle through. The reason why Caleb Williams actually played the way Caleb Williams played last year, and remember, you know, for our listeners, you know me, I was shitting all over him, and I was saying he was a bust, and I didn't think that Ben Johnson was going to make that much of a big difference for him. And I stand corrected. Uh Ben Johnson was absolutely the right head coach for him, and we can see that what a difference that makes. You know, you mentioned also Mac Jones. Mac Jones, New England Mac Jones, looks like a bust. 49ers Mac Jones, who after being under, you know, uh under Shanahan, now all of a sudden looks, you know, when he was replacing Brock Purdy with his turf toe, he all of a sudden looks like a QB that maybe just maybe might end up being a decent starting QB in the league. And I might even stretch it a little further and say franchise QB if he has the ability to play in the right system that knows how to properly develop him. So I feel like we're seeing this trend of doing better, where a the overall quality of QB coming out happens to be a better quality. The teams that they are going to and seeing success with is because there was actually a plan. You know, you had mentioned uh Jaden Daniels. Well, uh, we we know that you know, without Cliff Kingsbury, that just doesn't happen. So put them in the right situation, have a plan, you'll see success. Take Bo Knicks, right? So many people are like, oh, Bo Knicks, oh, he was the worst QP that came out of that group, blah blah blah. And he was a broken ankle away from playing in the Super Bowl last year, and that is because he was exactly like Sean Payton knew exactly what he was going to do, and of all the QBs that were available, Sean Payton knew that Bo Nicks was gonna be the one that was able to carry, translate out his plan onto the field the way he did for so many years, successfully with Drew Brees. He knew that he was gonna be the one to be the best at it. So, in my opinion, those are the things that have contributed to the region recent success, and interestingly enough, because of what a QP whisperery is, is the outlier is actually JJ McCarthy in uh with KOC, where and yes, the jury is still out on him, but if you ask me as we sit here right now in May, I think Kyler Murray is gonna beat out JJ McCarthy for the starting job in with Minnesota.
SPEAKER_01So those are my thoughts and answers to your questions, are so I mean, just to tap talk about uh the the KOC, uh what you just brought up. Um, I mean, it's just it's really interesting because I think that what's keeping JJ McCarthy back is injuries. You know, he just hasn't been healthy enough to run enough uh uh you know, basically to get the snap count up to where he needs to be in order to develop in that system. And who knows how injured he is and how how much he feels like he needs to play because of that. Uh so it's it's all it's all just like a question, you know. Sometimes it just happens and it's it's bad luck, or he just can't stay healthy. I mean, we've we've seen it happen before. To a large extent, Andrew Luck, uh RG3, you know, like we we've had quarterbacks before that just they couldn't stay upright for long enough, and they just they need, you know, as talented as they may have been, they they just couldn't uh couldn't pull it off in the NFL. Um yeah, so that's that's really uh it's unfortunate, but I I I don't want to lump him in with uh bust just yet, even though it's definitely trending in that direction. What I what I did want to discuss instead is basically um one key element that makes it so hard for NFL for uh college quarterbacks to adjust into the NFL, which is you know basically an explanation for why this is even a conversation, which pretty much um, you know, taking taking the uh the college game is that it's almost exclusively run out of shotgun now, and in the NFL, run fits are run pretty much exclusively out of under center, and so therefore, play action is almost exclusively run from under center, and this is one of the things that college quarterbacks have the hardest time adjusting to, and the reason for this is twofold. Number one is beside for everything else happening at the NFL game, which is tighter windows and better coverage and more disguises of coverage, blitzes, delayed blitzes, and all of that amazing stuff, beside for the fact that obviously the NFL talent level is far superior to the college talent level. The second thing, which not a lot of people talk about, is when you snap the football from under center, your first two or three steps, you take your eyes off the field. You have to basically pivot, and then you lose track of where things are on defense. So there's this very famous uh situation which you alluded to with uh with Kyle Shanahan and Mac Jones, which is why why are quarterbacks resurrecting their careers under you know the new Shanahan uh uh coaching tree, right? McVeigh, Shanahan, KOC. Why does this keep on happening? And I wanted to just explain that one of the reasons that what what they do so well is pre-snap motion and shifts, which basically uh Mike McDaniel used this uh in Tua's best season. Uh Mike McDaniel used this in I think 37% of uh the dolphins' snaps and pre-snap uh sorry, dolphins plays and pre-snap movement, which basically shows the quarterback where defenders are going to be before you even have to snap the ball, which then opens up everything else, especially in a zone run offense. So the fact that you can take one of the largest aspects of what makes it hard to adjust the NFL game and kind of have a loophole andor a workaround for it is just one of the reasons why Kyle Shannon, Sean McVay, and that whole tree have had so much success in creating this easy uh uh playing field for quarterbacks to acclimate into the NFL.
SPEAKER_00So, you know what's interesting, Aries, is that um you really need to wonder what how the NIL and the transfer portal is going to affect QBs? Because back in the day, when you committed to a to a university, right, you wanted to play for a certain coach. And then now, how do you on the flip side, how do you now turn around and and if you get offered a tremendous amount of money in NIL, how are you not going to go ahead and use the transfer portal? So that would be part one to it. Part two is I do believe that what we're gonna see a positive effect to the NIL happening is there's less of a rush to come out early. Since you're already making money, especially if you're like providing for your family, etc., you have the ability to spend that actually spend that senior year in university. That could be a whole season more of QB development and starting experience, even if it's on the smaller college stage, you're still getting that experience. And so I think that what you know, and and what brings an interesting question mark is Ty Simpson. So Ty Simpson really was only a starter for one year, and you've got like a million metrics and stats and analytics on how if they don't start X number of games in college, the odds of them being successful is like practically zero, yada, yada, yada, yada. Now, do I think that he got drafted into a phenomenal situation for him? Yeah, he's gonna be with McVeigh, he's gonna learn under future Hall of Famer Matthew Stafford, and he gets to sit for a barring injury, sit for at least a year, if not two years, um behind him, learning, developing, and not being just thrust into the opening lineup where he's going to have to perform right away. So I do view the transfer porter uh portal, sorry, and and NIL. I do believe that it is going to contribute um into getting a starting higher caliber starting QB, and I do think that we're gonna see more likely to see the Bo Nixes, Jaden Daniels, CJ Strouds in their first year trend versus all of the busts that did not get their teams to the playoffs in their first year.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, that it's it's a great point to make, and and even you know, as the quarterbacks that you you mentioned are of the mobile variety and how much the moving pocket has also been a huge factor in, for example, you know, Andy Reid and Sean Payton's ability to uh develop these young quarterbacks right off the bat. But to your main point, which is about the NILs, right? I I think that it's absolutely fascinating because one of the things that people keep kept on talking about over the years is you know, you're giving this very young player, you know, a ton of money. You're giving them, you know, a completely uh new situation where they have to immediately acclimate to that. It's nothing to do with the NFL game. And what the NIL is basically offering is to have more of a progression in that regard. Like you're not just getting that money and saying, like, you know what I'm going to do? Buy a house, buy a car, buy a boat, buy a plane, and jewelry. You know, like that's just not the way that that it's happening. Um, another aspect is that they'll have to continue studying in college. That's also a very positive aspect. And then the the last part is the adversity aspect. You know, if you're constantly going to new programs, you have to A, learn new schemes and new systems, and B, you have to get to know a completely new coaching staff. Um, people may not like you, may not have friends there. You know, there's so many other uh factors, and basically you're dealing with adversity from a much younger age. Look at Jaden Daniels, who yeah, he went from L I think it was LSU. Um, but I yeah, that's where it was. He went from LSU um to uh Arizona State. And um, you know, all of that.
SPEAKER_00Uh so so uh or I believe he went the opposite direction. Opposite direction, yes. He was Arizona State, and then ultimately went on to um have his, I believe he won the Heisman that year, his Heisman winning season and national championship.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah, yes, you are correct. He was at Arizona State when Herman Edwards was there, and then he left after Herman Edwards left, went to LSU, but but again, like it's a completely different system, and uh and yeah, so you know, whether it's that and and and the fact of uh there there just seemingly is such a a much larger uh crossover between coaches, you know. Uh seemingly every offseason there are coordinators and head coaches from the collegiate level hired into the NFL, and also the other way around, you know, like if you just look at Frank Reich uh and the Jets as as a prime example of something that would never happen in the past, which is he goes from being an offense coordinator and head coach in the NFL to coordinating for one season in college back to the NFL. Now you can say whatever you want about Frank Reich specifically, but this is just a model where it happened with Bill O'Brien. Basically, anyone who has ever considered an offensive genius at one point and then had everything go wrong for them in the NFL, they follow this one. No, but but seriously, the the the bottom line is that uh every single offseason, there's a handful of coordinators that are going from the college level to the NFL and the NFL to the college level, and seemingly it makes the games just a little bit more similar. So the question the question now becomes Ari, are we in the golden age of of QBs? Is is this you know a time where you can, for the first time maybe in history, you can go ahead, draft, draft a q a QB top five, and expect to make it to the playoffs in an unbelievable turnaround a la CJ Stroud and Jaden Daniels, or even Drake May, um, the following season, or do you think this is just some kind of cycle that we're going through uh you know, tremendous quarterbacks in the draft right now, and it's uh it's bound to stop. What do you think about that?
SPEAKER_00So I think two two things. Number one, I do think we are heading into the into a golden age of QBs, and the reason why is if you look at the players and forget, I'm not just talking about QBs for a minute. If you look at the talent that is coming out of college every year and being drafted into the NFL, everybody is bigger, faster, more athletic. Like you look at you look at every position, and that's true. You also see now, like, if if we think of back in the day, you had, let's say, like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Eli Manning. Yeah, sure, could they scramble out of the pocket if need be? Sure, but you knew they were not gonna take off running very lightly, and needing to account for their running ability, you know, wasn't something you even needed to worry about. Nowadays, what QB can't run, and which opens you up to all the RPOs and and different fakes like that, the tush push, and so we do see that the QBs as in general and are becoming that much better, their arms are that much stronger, they're that much faster, they're that much more uh athletic. So the the level of of athleticism coming into it is already higher. That's first of all. Second of all, we can see that as the level of athlete to get into the NFL is rising. To play at the big schools and to be successful in college, we can see there as well. There, we can see the players getting bigger, faster, stronger, more athletic, more talented. And especially if you want to snag those big NIL deals, you're gonna have to be just that much better. So I feel that we're getting better talent at all levels, and that's going into the NFL. Now, you're still gonna need in order to actually be successful, and again, like you had mentioned at the front end of this, the teams that are drafting the QBs that high are probably the teams that did the worst the previous season. There's a decent chance they just fired their head coach as well. So if you've gone ahead and you have gone ahead and actually hired the right coach or the right offensive coordinator and the right um QB coach, and you have the right plan to go ahead and develop, we will be able to see talent instead of being squandered, we will see it being um actually used well. And I think what's gonna be very telling to actually see are we truly in the golden age of QB or not, is going to be next year's draft when we're gonna see more and manning and the other names escape me at this given second, but there's a whole slew of like next year, supposedly is looking at like it's gonna be one of the greatest QB drafts that we've ever seen. Um, even beyond the one we recently had where we saw six QBs go in the first round. So to answer your question, I do believe that we are heading into the golden age of the QB. You're still gonna need to be able to develop and coach them, but yes, we are now looking, we are entering an era of where with the right coach, you can expect to see teams go from worse to first and actually make the playoffs in the first year max two of a QB, uh rookie QB.
SPEAKER_01So so just just for a second to indulge our listeners on what we're talking about for next year, because maybe not everyone knows what's happening. It's Dante Moore and Arch Manning are definitely at the top, and then there's there's Ohio State's quarterback Julian C. There's Lenore Sellers from South Carolina, there's Drew Mastomaker from Oklahoma State, there's the two CJs, CJ Carr from Notre Dame, and there's wait, I'm forgetting the other CJ. Okay, fine.
SPEAKER_00Just C isn't it CJ like oogly ugly? He has like one of those, like am I wrong?
SPEAKER_01I can't I can't uh recall uh off the top of my head. I thought I had it, and then it just wasn't there. Uh, there's Jordan Mayava from USC. There is Darien Mensa from Miami, and then there's the interesting thing that's going on with Brendan Soresby now. Um, I think that that's nine quarterbacks that are talked about as very possibly being first-round quarterbacks, and some of them can all join Arch Manning and Dante Moore in the top five conversation. So that's just that's just wild. There's never even been this amount of quarterbacks going into the following season of people of guys that people are like making note of that are interesting. Like that this never happens. Right now, they're borderline 10 quarterbacks who are top 40 picks. That's never ever happened. Just in and of itself, that's unprecedented. And obviously, Arch Manning and Dante Moore, if they would have come out this year, uh, and also Lenora Sellers for that case, they would have all made the case for going top five, uh, if not first overall. So, you know, it's just it's a really, really wild experience. And uh, you know, it it's it's a crazy time because we can we could literally be having uh a totally different conversation about this, you know, following not next season, but the season after that when we see how all of these guys do and where they get drafted. But um, could this be like the the blowout before this ends for a while? Or is this this just gonna continue going? Like that's that's the part that I'm not sure I can wrap my head around. And you know, yeah, go go ahead, Ari.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna say, I think it's I I think it's still too early to tell because we need to see who are like if we're looking at like the freshman and junior QBs of this year, like are they good enough? We don't know yet. I mean look, some of the guys you see, some of these commits coming out of high school now, dear lord. I mean, they just look insane. Insane. I mean, going even younger than that, Peyton Manning's 14-year-old, Jesus, what an arm. That kid is 14 years old and has a sick arm. Wow. So, and you got Peyton Manning as your dad. Like, if anybody can go ahead and train you up, it's gonna be Peyton Manning. So I think we're gonna we're in for for you know, we're we're in for a good time, but I just you know, to really properly, properly that's the word, be able to get make the most of these QBs, we gotta make sure to develop, develop, develop, and develop some more.
SPEAKER_01So, so putting it out there for to our listeners, you know, like we basically we had the pseudo Mac Jones and Malik Willis uh situations next year, so we can fold them into the question as well. But I'd like to hear if any of our listeners um think you know they know who the next uh QB revival could be. Could it be Kenny Pickett? Is Malik Willis gonna take the dolphins to the playoff? Is Mac Jones you know gonna really take that next step? You know what who do you think the next guy to kind of break out seemingly uh after being a total bust would be? You know, the following in the Baker and Darnold footsteps.
SPEAKER_00It's a great question. And listeners, by all means, hit us up on YouTube, hit us up on Instagram, hit us up on our website, um, send us a carrier pigeon or smoke signals. No, we probably won't actually see the smoke signals, but yeah, all right, that's a great question to put out there for our listeners, and I'd be very excited to see some of the comments we get back, you know, between now and the next time that we record and see how exactly what people think. Um, but let's ask you that question. Who do you think is most likely to be the next Sam Darnold?
SPEAKER_01I mean, I don't know. I genuinely, you know, I if I have an answer, I tell you. I just I don't know. Um, I I'm I like you look around and you see, like, oh, you know, Kenny Pickett kind of fits that mold um coming out. Some people thought that he should have gone gone first overall, but has he even signed with someone this offseason?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. I don't know. Yeah, I don't I don't believe in him. I didn't believe in him coming out, and I don't believe in him and being able to have a Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, even Mac Jones type revival. No, I don't see that. Um, I think the one who has the best immediate chance to show that obviously would be Malik Willis because he will be starting for the Dolphins. Um, I do think that the most likely QB to go the actually go the Sam Darnold Baker Mayfield route, I do believe will be Mac Jones next season.
SPEAKER_01I actually I had a call and I totally blanked on it. My call again, it's not going to be this season because he's still with the Titans, but when he is freed from the Titans, it's going to be Will Levis. I really think that that guy can be uh an NFL starter. Like, I really do. I don't think he'll be as good as Mayfield or Darnold, but I do see something there. So that that would be my call. Will Levis.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no, no. He is he he excels at two things: mayonnaise eating and leak sex tapes. That's all he's got going for him. He is not gonna have the next revival, to say it.
SPEAKER_01I'm I'm pretty good at one of those things, too. I'm not gonna tell you which one it is, though. Ooh, okay. Hot take right there. Yes, yes. Um, yeah, so it it's it's really I I think it's a it's a quite the question. I think we're coming toward a time where we can potentially see um a mid-round quarterback pop off for the first time in a while. I think I think you know, obviously we had Brock Purdy in the seventh round. Like, when does that happen? It happens once every what 15 years uh before that it was Tony Romo as a UDFA. Um, but the mid-round quarterback, the Dak Prescott, the Kirk Cousins who comes to Russell Wilson, exactly. We haven't had that in a while now, and I think we're due for one of those guys from this year's draft, whether it be uh you know a Garrett Nussmeyer or Carson Beck, but one of those kinds of guys from the middle of this year's draft that everyone was saying, oh, they're gonna be competing for a number one spot going into this draft, and then they just totally fell off the radar with a terrible season or just overall mediocrity. One of them will rise up and become a legit quarterback in this league. That's my call.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I like that hot take. I mean, Greg Gusmeyer will be like he'll have to take the a la Jimmy Garoppolo route, just because barring something terrible happening to Mahomes, we're not gonna see him start anytime soon. But I do agree. I think we're due. Um, not that I would call it a mid-round, but we have you know, Tyler Schuck from last year, who was second round, he wasn't a first round QB. And if he can build off of the season he had um last season, which I believe he can, uh, between um you know their draft pick and getting him a new shiny object and wide receiver, Kellen Moore being a high octane offensive-minded coach. So I think that he could we could see a nice uh year for him. Um, so we'll see how that all plays out. And of course, the QB that I am most excited about to really take the next step in year two would be nothing other than my boy, who happy birthday, his birthday was yesterday, Jackson Dart.
SPEAKER_01That's a surprise to me. I I thought you were going to go with anyone else. Anyone else? No, just joking. So, yeah, it's uh it I'm very I'm I'm honestly very excited to see the marriage of uh Jackson Dart and John Harbaugh. Um, I'm very curious. I'm very curious. I think the Giants are going to be one of the most interesting cases of football to watch because John Harbaugh is really one of an era that is seemingly ending in the NFL of a style to play. And as as much as uh you know, we're we're moving into a more you know, a different style, and and I can't remember which of the Ravens players address this after after uh Jesse Minter was hired and he kind of spoke out about and spoke ill of Harva, which I never like to see in public, but I'd let for for all you know as much as whatever I care about the Giants, I'd like to see that John Harbaugh style of that just like toughness and lunch pale football continue. So I'm I'm really hoping that there's uh there's a level of success there.
SPEAKER_00Speaking of which, all right, you know what the John Harbaugh's um opening week record is in 18 seasons with the Ravens?
SPEAKER_0116 and 2.
SPEAKER_00I wish no, it was 12 and 6. So I got the numbers all right. Yes, you did, just in a bit of the wrong order. Um, his teams are ready for week one. You know, some of the players in the eye I saw that article too, complaining that he train he you know trains them too hard, it causes injuries, yada yada, yada. No, it's time to continue to bring back some old school football. This definitely gives me like Tom Coughlin type vibes, and I'm excited for what John Harbaugh is going to bring in this era. And I do believe that you know the Giants are a playoff team this year. I really, really believe it. And like I mentioned, when we hire John Harbaugh, we will win a Super Bowl in the next three to five years, but we will definitely be a playoff team in this year, and I I don't even doubt that.
SPEAKER_01So just just before we we sign off, I just wanted to say that the 12 and 6 record isn't crazy, given the fact that it would it would literally come out to about 11 wins in a football season, which which again, it's like you know, not crazy, uh, but it's definitely very good.
SPEAKER_00Well, I more look at it as the standalone of are you ready, you know, because a lot of especially since the most recent CBA, where you're not doing two days anymore, and it a lot of times really takes a team a month to really actually get the identity and really kind of come together and play cohesively as a team and as a unit. The fact that John Harbaugh, especially in the tough NFC North that they play in, and that you know, that rivalry that you have within the division, the fact that he was able to win 12 out of his 18 games, two-thirds of his week one games. I'm not looking at what it means for the season overall, but I am looking at the fact that the Giants will be ready, and I do believe that they will be able to beat the Cowboys.
SPEAKER_01So John Harbaugh's record in first games of the season is 12 and 6. His record in final games of the season is 1 and 11.
SPEAKER_00Okay, and how many are those? Hold on, how many are those? Is because they've already locked up a playoff spot.
SPEAKER_01No, I meant uh in the playoffs, the final game, meaning he won one Super Bowl and then he has he's 13 and 11 in the playoffs, so easy math is basically one Super Bowl win is the last game. You know, everyone's last game is a loss except for the Super Bowl winner, um, in the playoffs, you know. So so I I just meant that as a slight jab, Ari, just to just to wipe the the smirk off of your face. That's basically what it was about.
SPEAKER_00Well, look, one of our teams is going to the playoffs this year, and one of our teams is firing their head coach midseason, and the giants will not be firing John Harbaugh, so you can sit there and make all your comments. But when the season ends at the end of the seasons, one of the Aries is gonna be happy, one of the Ari's is gonna be sad, and I am happy to bet just the same money, just the same, not sad, just the same. Well, I'm confident that I'm gonna be the happier of the two Ari's given our team's um outcomes this season. All right, on that note, Ari, it's time to bring this episode to a close. Ari, always a pleasure, and to all of our listeners out there, please go ahead, find us on YouTube, give us a subscribe, find us on Instagram, go ahead and give us a follow there as well. Our intention and goal is to start releasing social clips as well, especially as we approach the upcoming season. Go on Apple Podcasts, go on Spotify, leave us a five star review, and guys, we would love to hear your feedback. So, on behalf of both Ari and myself, peace. We out.