Episode 001 - The Pilot

In the pilot episode of Freee Reign, the guys talk about the newly released Paques 3 by Freee Agent and cover sports news covering the Chicago White Sox surprising season, the Bears stadium debacle and OTA reports. In culture news they discuss the recent drama surrounding Griselda and Stove God. In this weeks special segment the guys make their NFL division winner predictions.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is Free Rain, a podcast about sports, fashion, culture. This is the place you want to be. All right. I am one of the co-hosts, Tony Gill, and along with me, Ann Dope and Vic Lloyd. What's up, guys? How you doing? Great, great, great.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

What's happening, man?

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Nothing much, man. Like it, you guys are are extremely cool. Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 0:21

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Nah, he's the cool, he's the cool one. The vibes, the vibes you guys bring. I feel like I sometimes I feel like I have to, like, man, like, do I have to bring more more energy?

SPEAKER_04 0:33

Oh, nah. No, you bring the right energy. No. You bring the right energy. Right on top. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

But we got a full lineup for you guys. Um, we got we're we're gonna go over a lot of things today. So let's start out, man. Let's get right to it. Pack three, Trace is out right now. Now, right now, you can get it, and you guys are gonna be very, very excited about these designs. Um, I mean, first of all, all the packs, all the pack drops have been great. And for me, they've been progressively getting like it's like you guys are fine-tuning and already a fine product here at uh free agent. So uh let's jump into some of these designs, man. Um, you know, we all got our favorites.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

So uh And oh, yeah, uh for me, I think my favorite out of PAX three is the ballots. Um you know, the whole concept with ballots is kind of taking you back to uh a certain season in a certain sport where you got uh like three Hall of Famers kind of battling out for MVP uh and and sports center highlights and just kind of going crazy. And you don't really realize it when it's going on that you're watching something special. You know, there's a lot of speculation, maybe people don't buy into somebody, but that the ballots goes back to to 01 in the NBA where you got uh Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Alan Iverson. So uh, like you'll see in the ballots design that there's kind of an outline, a sketched outline of each of them. And then uh Iverson ended up winning the MVP. So his he's kind of a full color uh forefront of that design. But uh definitely one of my favorites to be done. We want to try to start injecting more of those kind of themed things uh so that it's not so so based on like I like that team, I don't like that team. It's I think uh to really pull off the nostalgia factor when you add multiple athletes from one year, now it kind of brings you, it kind of brings you back. It kind of brings you back, like, oh man, like I didn't even realize I was watching these guys go crazy at the same time. And then now we, you know, we just kind of reminisce about the times when that you know stuff like that was going on.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Uh and and before Vicky you jump in there, I think uh also that that time period needs to be remembered because that was you know the transition from Jordan's dominance into the remaining years of of the NBA, that was a tough transition for a lot of people. Uh, one in particular people in Chicago, uh, because the Bulls were awful. Yes, you know, during the end. So it's like the NBA didn't exist for some people because you know Jordan had left. Uh, but that time period that and and Iverson winning that MVP, it needs to be remembered what that time period was like because there was actually great basketball being played. It was just we were all so drunk off of the Bulls and Jordan's dominance that we tend to forget what was going on.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And just the nature of sports conversation is always love and hate and speculation versus confidence that these are this is the year for them and stuff. So uh even while it's going on now, you have guys who, you know, uh maybe you know, Wemby loses in the finals to the Knicks, and now you got a whole crowd of people like, oh, he's not gonna be able to do it. And you know, like you you have that, no matter how great someone is, when it's happening, you're not gonna appreciate it. You're gonna, you know, um, and so uh yeah, man, that's why I love that design, kind of brings you back to that point in time. And uh I think it is an interesting era as well, as far as um the generations that it'll span, you know, like uh having um, for example, like you know, like people, people my age, I remember that it was at a time when I was buying basketball shoes. I wanted the answer, I wanted the you know, the red bubbles on the side and stuff like that. But then even kind of kids uh, you know, maybe a decade younger than me, they're still familiar with them to wear uh this shirt coming out now. It's not so much vintage to them. Maybe it's a little like, you know, retro-y or you know, something that they they remember, but not not super clear. Um and that's the same with us, you know, uh sports events that happened before our time. We're still familiar with them. So I think it was uh there's a dope little little uh time capsule kind of bringing you right back, you know.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

And and also Iverson as a cultural icon, fashion-wise, too. I think this is what kind of hits on that as well. Uh not only did he win the MVP, but during that time period, Iverson was everything. Uh in terms of like, no, he's not coming in wearing a suit. No, he's not going to do your typical uh, you know, press conference, right? He was bringing kind of streetwear and uh hip-hop, combining that that to sports, and he was the initiator of that as that era of the 80s and 90s style of player, big suits and uh, you know, the Jordan era style had transitioned now where sports and hip-hop were meeting together in those early 2000s.

SPEAKER_04 5:28

Yeah. No, yeah, yeah. Alan Iverson was definitely like a cultural like pivot point for the uh MV, the NBA. He's also the reason that they went back to a dress code. Um just because, like, you know, for the longest, uh, they kind of was letting them do their own thing, but they was like, oh man, this dude's you know tripping. So exactly, yeah. So, you know, that was cool. I also uh in 2002, Philly All-Star Weekend, I was there and I saw Alan Iverson get somebody's lick stape CD and throw it like a frisbee out the window as gone. He told duty didn't want it. So that was interesting, but yeah, definitely like you know, really, really cool uh point in time. Uh I'm glad that we did the shirt to kind of commemorate that time and those three great art now. They're all Hall of Famers. So dope.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Yeah, and quick note Vic's right now wearing the this is the one-on-one that we rarely get to pull the packs ourselves because we don't know what's in them. Only the staff does, and the only reason the staff knows is so that people don't get duplicates. But anyway, Vic Vic's got the one-on-one on from PAX 2, and it just so happens to go pretty well with the new Ube Matcha uh joint that that that he that he dropped with leaders, which is super fire. So um, yeah, I'm jealous you got that one. I wanted the uh the Walter really bad from one, I wanted the uh Iverson from two, and I designed him and I got it.

SPEAKER_04 6:57

Because I had the pack, I got it, and then I just was just sitting in my drawer, sitting in my drawer, and I was just like, man, I kind of need something to wear. So when I DJed for the Fever Manifest, and I was just like, Well, I'm gonna open it and see what shirt it is. And it was this bro, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Man, I got a text from him, and I'm like, bro, who who'd you talk to, man? Like we tried. I'm I want to I want it to stay as true to like the random nature of created this and they don't know what shirts that they're gonna get.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

This is pretty easy.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Yeah, we got a cut, yeah. But I got an idea, and we can record my idea so people know. I think we should start, we should start doing like a uh so we can get the ones we really want all the time. We should just do a staff print on them so we can get the design. Yeah, yeah. Our own little uh proof of print. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like little things.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Not for resale, not for resale, like yeah, test print. Test print, yeah. So I don't have to guess. Maybe we'll start dropping some test prints into the packs. Yeah, people can go go get that uh that super rare first off-the-line joint.

SPEAKER_04 7:58

Yeah, see, good little, yeah. We can keep up, keep the rarity going.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

So, what do you got at the top of your list for packs three?

SPEAKER_04 8:05

Muracami, man. Southside samurai, south side sensei, man. Yeah, uh, you know, I need that. I need that official collab, man. Yeah, yeah. What you know, my guy, man. Yeah, you know, so really, really excited. You know, it sucks that we dropped it and he hurt right now. Yeah, not playing, but it's still a good one to chase, rookie card.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Yeah, he I think he represents a lot in Chicago baseball, uh, where we've had good teams get put together, but we've never really had this superstar potential uh kind of guy that's gonna hopefully get paid a bunch of money that we can start really rallying around whether we make the postseason this season or not, uh something to be excited about moving forward. Right now, the the farm has been sending up really good, really good stuff. So uh yeah, but the the Murakami design is is uh super fire.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

That was a tough that was a tough one for for me. I love this design. Yeah. Um I think it embodies everything that that he's he's bringing and his uh his culture um into the south side, where I think it's great that every era, every player brings something different. Um, you know, a couple years ago, right? The team was built kind of around the style and the influence of Tim Anderson. Now I feel like it's it's changing a little bit. And I think this design reflects that change and that's when it's in time stamp.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

It's a nice new flavor for us as well, because you know, it's uh like even his personality, um, like outside of him like crushing baseballs is uh just the personality when you see him, Colson and Mydroth kind of just goofing around all the time, like they're little kids, and then they get up to the plate and they're terrifying to throw a ball to like that's a that's a really cool just having some kind of character there that that people can latch on to, get to know these guys a little more outside of their competitive nature. But uh yeah, I don't know with the with the the flying pinwheels, yeah. Um yeah, that was hard. Yeah, yeah. I love that, love that design. What do you got? What do you got at the top of your list?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

So uh it for me, it was between the the murder comedy and this one, which I ultimately pick. This Jordan 3 design, man. Yeah, like one, anything Jordan is is eye-catching to uh to a sports fan. Uh and it's automatically, no matter if they read the shirt or looked at the shirt completely, you see the red and you see 23, you turn your head at it. Yeah. Um, and it's it's it's so embedded and ingrained in sports and pop culture that I mean, obviously that could be a terrible design, but it's going to stop people. And this one is an excellent uh design that people are gonna be like, where did you get that from? Yeah, it's how do I get it? It's a good and that that's that's the only issue with uh the randomness of the pack jobs is I can't tell you how to get it. You just have to take that job.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

I could bring you to the water. I can't guarantee you'll get assists, but yeah, like it's it's a cool change of pace too from the previous two Jordan designs, um, which everybody has loved, both of them, especially the first one, uh, where it's more kind of based in realism and uh and trying to bring you up close to him, where this one is more of a tribute to him, kind of uh an artistic ode to him with that kind of anime style. Yeah, you know, the I'm a big anime. Yeah, the kanji, the kanji at the top says lone goat, uh, kind of addressing the whole you know debate on who's the best. Oh, especially if you the uh the lone goat. So you got him sitting up there at the top of the mountain by himself. Um, I think it's a super fire design. And um one thing we did with this one that's kind of like we're saving for the pop-up that we'll be announcing soon. But uh we did we did some canvas prints on all of them, so we'll be stretching some paintings out. Uh and the the lone goat is one of them that we definitely will have uh at the pop-up.

SPEAKER_04 11:56

Check that out. Yeah, free agent art. So taking over.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

So uh we just mentioned our our favorite uh designs from the spike, and there's other designs here that are also excellent. You got the Drexler, uh you guys uh uh kind of updated the Tyson uh one. Um I mean these are these are all great designs. Please go check it out and and and and go grab one, right? Like and then take a picture. If you pull the Jordan 3, let a DM free agent, because I may like to purchase it off of you. Um but uh I think we when we look at the rarity, right? And what makes you guys decide the variation of the rarities um between the designs, how does that go?

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Uh so deciding the rarity comes down to it's not it's not random. Like it it comes down to like how much goes into actually making that shirt. You look at something like the that's why that's why we started introducing that checklist to let people know like this one is a 20 inch by 30 inch print. This is not something that's coming off the press 10 at a time. Like this is something that is being worked on by one person with their hands for 15, 20 minutes just to get the print right, you know, and and that's just one of them. So when we when we decide to make something rare or one per, that one takes the most out of us to make. So you're really you are getting a more expensive product as far as like it, it takes a lot more to make those rare ones. It's not just like, oh, they decided to only do a couple of these. Um, for the most part, it comes down to like, is this one going to take a lot of resources to create? And if it is, then let's make that the special one. And then some that are are more easy to do, maybe we'll do more of those because it makes more sense to do more of them. So the the rarity does come down to like the product you're getting got worked on longer and our hands were on it for a longer period of time, making sure every all the details were right. So, um, so yeah, that's the the the rarity mostly comes down to that. Um, and then now with this new uh palette variations, you see the PV next to the designs. That's where we we're gonna be reintroducing designs with just a remix on the colors. So we'll we'll sit down and look at it. And um, and you know, Vix, the color king between his shoes and his hats, he knows how to put together crazy palettes. So um, so yeah, that having that there now as well, too, that'll factor into the rarity as well, where it's like we don't want to overflood how many are out there, you know. We want to try to limit it, if especially if it's a design that means a lot to us.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Um, so uh especially in a time where like, you know, when people see something dope, it's like, okay, now once one person sees it and expands, oh, I want to get that. You guys are actually actively not um taking the bait of oh, people like this design, let's just make more of it, and then we'll sell more. You guys are are valuing the the quality of it and making it true to if you pull one of the Jordan 3 PV, you might be the only one in your area that even has this shirt, uh, maybe in the in the city that even has this version, you know, of of the shirt. Vic, like when you uh uh look at okay, how how do we define does the person go into that, right?

SPEAKER_04 15:16

Like who the athlete is, who is athlete is well I think that goes into uh the impact of the design, but I also think that it's like we're trying to create like what used to happen in like the sneaker game, and that's the scarcity and the rarity. Like of that don't really exist no more because all the brands know now, oh man, this is hot. We're just gonna make a bunch of them and try to sell as many as I can. And it's trying to do all those things to create some loyalty to our brand. So when we start doing just the inline stuff of free agent branded things that all the people like they want to be a part of our team and our growth and like be truly fans of the brand. And so we're using the art to kind of lure them into being a part of the brand.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

On the other on the other side of that, because it it does make sense to to increase the value of your product, scarcity is is the balance. On the other side of that, um where is that balance? And and we're this is probably getting to a little bit of the the business side of things of hey to give people that hope of hey, I could get this, um, and there's gonna be enough for me to to get this, uh, and balancing that out, that portion of just the amount of sales that you could make versus making sure that it the that scarcity and and making sure the the high value of the product.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

So the if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. I mean, so like the decision making of the business behind, well, we could make more money on this, why wouldn't we? Um, it's kind of something that you have to have uh you've got to have some control as far as with something like PAX and you're trying to create this mystery box thing. You know, if somebody licenses uh uh an IP and they want to make uh mystery box toys or something, they're playing off with everybody knows this already. And obviously we're we're bootlegging likeness for for this chance at experience, but I think that's the word that makes a difference is experience, is that my goal isn't to make the coolest shirt of this one person that we can. It's to kind of make sure that experience is constantly injected into the the process of buying it, you know. So um, like we've noticed a lot of people who have buying been buying free agents since we started who are buying more of it because now there's like there's a game to it. There's a it shows up at your door and you're like, man, this better be the one. And then we've had people, you know, order two, they like them, they wear them, but then they come back and buy two more because they're like, I gotta see if I could just get this joint really quick. So um the experience behind it, um, and then for me, like uh, you know, getting getting one that I wasn't going for, but then maybe I'm like, you know, uh, if somebody gets the Drexler out of this and they aren't familiar with them, now go educate yourself and um and you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:04

So I think yeah, because I also think the cool thing about it is they're all dope designs. Yeah. So you can wear them all. It's not like you, it's not a dude design. Right, right. Like, oh man, it might be like somebody like like Ander was saying, it's like, oh, I'm not familiar with them. But yeah, man, you got Google, you got all these AI things now, so many things that can just give you information so you can be a like you know, a learnable moment. So that's a part of it too. It's the chase and the education. You can learn about something that you maybe didn't know about.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Yeah. Pack three out now. Get you one of these dope designs. Again, like like Vic just said, there's no dud in this pack. You're gonna be very happy with what you get. Uh, and you know, the rarer you get, the happier you can.

SPEAKER_04 18:48

And also pull up to the pop-up if you get something you don't like. Yes, sir. Probably somebody there to want to trade with you.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Yeah, if that's if hey, if you get the Murakami XL, talk to me, bro. I I'll put a hundred dollar bounty on the Mirakami XL. You get that going. Start a Discord for free agent. Yes, so we're gonna have like, you know, within the community. If you pull the Mirakami XL, I'll give you $100 for it. I need to have that. Or he may come see you about you like a mob boss.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Free reign. We'll be back after this. Free reign podcast. You know what you guys know what it is. So um we're gonna get into some sports. Uh, and fortunately, we are all Sox fans. Self-sa. Self-sa. And they're good. Yeah. They're good. Um, and I want to set this up uh and get you guys' reaction because uh I wrote about in my newsletter that I don't know how to really truly enjoy what's going on and what's happening this year. Um because we're so ingrained through the trauma of being a Chicago sports fan of thinking this isn't gonna last, how do we make this last, versus enjoying kind of what's going on game to game, series to series, uh day to day during a baseball season and is long. So I think my struggle with watching what's going on right now, they're leading the division. Uh hopefully they stay that way through the injuries. But enjoying what's going on now and not too much leaning on how does this go past the this year into the next year, and always thinking, okay, how does this get you to a championship versus you know, this something's weird and dope is happening right now that we should probably take our time and appreciate.

SPEAKER_04 20:33

Uh, I just think it's dope because I feel like what's happening is like we're like uh like we're uh 100% like a year early. Yeah. Like this season, I was just going into saying, I hope we don't lose 100 games again. Yeah, that's all I cared about. The bar was in hell. Yeah. I was just like, man, I just don't want to lose 100 games again. So, and then we started winning. I'm kind of like, what is going on here?

SPEAKER_03 20:55

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 20:55

Then Murakami became like a superstar like in a week. Yeah. And it's like, oh man, then we're calling up guys left and right, yeah, and they're good.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Yeah, I think I think uh I think there were like levels to it. I think once once Murakami got hurt and uh guys started coming up from the farm and and the guys who were already on the starting lineup still kept winning games was one of those things that that was kind of the next level of like, oh, well, maybe we're buyers at the deadline. Like, you know, like that's that yeah. So that that that changed that that next level up, and now you see it. Um I mean, like it doesn't come without concerns. Like right now, way games are a a major concern of, you know, especially if you're in that are we gonna win the division or be a wild card or not make it at all. Um, now you know that that means a lot to a team like the Sox, who like we're playing great at home. Like we're those last three innings, our offense shows up, you know, but uh but having that um kind of in the air. So there's still, you know, the the word. With it, but for us, like you said, the bar was so low that uh it's fun to watch baseball again if you're a White Sox fan. Like it's it's fun to come see who's gonna show up. And then when you have these young guys coming up, like Braden Montgomery, I think obviously his first game in, he hits the walk-off to win to win the game, which was which was awesome. But since then, he has been uh one of the most consistent guys on offense. Like he's been he's he's been double, like hitting doubles, uh constantly getting on base. Um, and then you know, guys like my drawth who are are keeping their consistency up and stuff like that. There's moving pieces. It seems to be like they're they're moving positions uh more than I'm used to seeing, but um, I think they're trying to make sure people get their rest, and especially while we're kind of waiting, like we just got teal back. Yep. Um, and uh so teal's back this week, played last night, um, and and Murakami is supposed to be end of June, early July. Um, so if he comes back and we are still in this close race and he comes back without a hitch, I think we'll be in a a situation where even if, and I could say this from from far out, even if we miss the postseason and he comes back and looks looks good, White Sox fans are gonna be very excited. Very excited.

SPEAKER_04 23:14

And I don't think the postseason was in anybody's cards.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Yeah, yeah, that would be a bonus. Yeah if they if they and then obviously once you're in anything, you know, chicken's hot, yeah, right? Like anything can happen. Uh but Vic, you you you mentioned something earlier about the the expectations. Um I think that's was probably expectations, right? Uh I forgot the saying because it happens in Chicago sports all all the time. It's like um I guess that the sentiment of the the saying is the higher your expectations are, right? Like the more likely you to be disappointed. Yeah, yeah. Um, so if I don't have any, then I can't be, you know, disappointed. But with winning, it it creeps up in you. I'm like, okay, what could this be?

SPEAKER_00 23:58

Yeah. Yeah. And I think the White Sox have White Sox fans have a long enough uh sample size of having a low bar that I don't think anybody's getting like to, you know, like we're still looking at, all right, at the deadline, we need more, we need more pitchers. Like we need more pitching because we see these, we see the guys show up on offense and keep us in every game. And then it seems like we can't get out of a seventh and eighth inning without uh, you know, without the bullpen coming up, coming in and giving the other team a shot. So um there's there's needs like that. And I don't know. I mean, at least for the three of us, we're all just happy to watch games where the socks win. But um, but I think there's there's there's plenty, there's there's definitely holes to poke at it. And um, I'm sure Cause fan fans have plenty of theories on why this is all a flash in the pan. But I think there's there's just as there's just as many legitimate arguments about people like Colson Montgomery. Since Colson Montgomery is not being talked about enough, I'm a big fan of him. Um and you know, I'm collecting his cards. And I but like the the stuff he's doing, okay, 40 40 home runs through 40 games. These are the other people who have done it with him. Pete Alonzo, Mark McGuire, Rudy York, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Colson Montgomery. 40 home runs through 40 games. Those are the only people that do it. Since his MLB debut last year, only Schwarber has more home runs than him. So this is the guy, this is not the superstar of the team that we're waiting to come back. This is a guy who's uh who's who's been consistent since that happened. And I feel like that that energy that got injected into the White Sox organization uh stayed there and might have gotten stronger after Murakami got hurt. I think that's why everybody's kind of like it went from like, hmm, to like, oh, okay, and to like let's go to a game. And now it's like, you know, everything kind of ramps up from there. But that was the biggest shift in energy was once he got hurt and we kept winning ball games. And I think now uh, you know, we've we've we do have this this uh confidence that hasn't turned into crazy expectations, but just to see him break into the playoffs, seeing how much fun those guys are having out there. If your team's losing every game and they're having fun, you're probably angry. But if they have a if they have a shot and they're having fun, you have a reason to watch and you have a reason to know with with that long of a season, you know, um knowing that the game you're playing tonight could mean something is uh is something we're not used to and something we're excited about, where you know we're sitting down and watching baseball a lot more than we have in previous years.

SPEAKER_04 26:34

Yeah, and on top of all that, we have the number one pick in the draft.

SPEAKER_03 26:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:40

You know what I'm saying? So that's like the whole thing about being pyres or sellers at the deadline, is like I think it's everything's such a pleasant surprise. I don't think they want to give up any of their prospects to trade, to try to get business in, to try to go all in.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

And honestly, for how much deep-rooted disappointment there is involved with being a Sox fan, is that I almost want them like, let's keep building. If you can give me a couple years of this, that'd be pretty fun. And we kind of would prefer, like uh, you know, um nurturing this this culture because I think that's with with Chicago sports. Um I think that's one thing we don't have. You look at a city like Boston that are kind of perennial contenders across the board. With with Chicago, we have these these these years, you know, these like one or two years, with the exception of, you know, of of Jordan and his runs, we have we'll get a we'll get a one-year uh appearance in the championship and a loss, and then you know, each franchise has one one or two rings, well, like with except the Bulls, of course. And then um, you know, we're we're used to these, like, okay, it looks good. So now you're seeing with the Bears. I think for the first time you guys have this, and I say you guys, you're Bears fans, I'm a Bills fan, but uh, but you guys have this uh foundational confidence, not just like we might sneak one in this year. That's what we've we're used to, is like look, could we sneak one in or not? Now it's like, well, I can see how three years from now this still feels good.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

And that's where so now, you know, seeing that as a Bears and Sox fan, you're like, man, it's Chicago sports about to start uh changing things up, which um and and that's that's that's uh I think that that's an excellent that excellent point that you brought up is foundational trust uh from the fan base of the structure. It matters how you build and how you get to a destination versus just the destination. Um like the teams that are always in it, right? People people say there's debate, right? Like, man, I'd rather ride this roller coaster wave of kind of incompetence to you know greatness.

SPEAKER_04 28:43

No, but the good thing about being there's a San Francisco 49ers train. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're never bad.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

My team is consistent, my team is is smart and know what they're doing, even in the lean years.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Yeah, we can trust that it's a big deal because sports are more fun for you throughout the year. Like you get more to like, you know, if you're if you got four bad teams across the the major sports, yeah, yeah. It's like, all right, I gotta get in a fantasy league to care about this, or I gotta go play, I gotta go put together some parlays to really get my my blood flowing. But um But that's where the trust trust happens.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Yeah, even if a team is bad, and yeah, you it's very hard to be consistently championship contending every year in any sport. Like we say, I think. But if there's a plan, if the GM and the president and the owner, you can say, hey, uh, when Theo got to the Cubs, he was honest. He was like, I'm going to strip this thing down, it's going to be bad.

SPEAKER_04 29:40

But we do have a plan to get back and I think you just introduce us to our perfect segue into the Bears stuff. I think the Bears have finally figured out all the on-field stuff.

unknown 29:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:55

Now just everything else is a mess. As far as we're going to play and all of that.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

So yeah, I think the Bears definitely have uh Bears fans definitely have a reason to believe this is a new era, yeah, like an unprecedented era of stability. Yes. Uh, and you start to see this. I mean, that's where kind of well, like with the whole stadium debacle that's going on, right? That's a that's a big deal. And my first knee-jerk joke as uh somebody who's a Bills fan, surrounded by Bears fans. So I I kind of have to for my own survival, not like the Bears. But but uh, but like things like the stadium thing. At first, my knee-jerk joke to it was you guys were fans for a hundred years while they were bad. You finally have a reason to think things are gonna change and they get out of town. But but realistically, you I think the stadium move, a major stadium move like this, can kind of put a real stamp on this idea that here's what the new Bears look like without having to move the franchise. You have a it is a a layer of new hope that's like, no, let's stamp this, this, uh, this stadium on it and let's change things up. Let's change things up. Because with with something that storied and been around so long, uh you you get used to patterns and you expect them to return. But uh, but you know, the more changes you can make like that, the more really dynamic changes that uh change the way everything feels.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

Yeah, well, I also transitioning from White Sox to Bears.

SPEAKER_04 31:28

Yeah. But I also don't feel I feel like the Bears aren't going anywhere. They're not going to Hammond or Arlington. They're gonna be playing right there, just like they've been playing, just like they said they was moving when I was a kid and didn't happen. Just like they always say we're gonna build something over here, it doesn't happen. They're gonna be playing in Soldier Eel, Soldier Field forever.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

I think uh just to catch everybody up uh with the with the latest from uh the the Bears Stadium, um, there is gonna be another conversation with uh Illinois lawmakers. Um, so Illinois is still at very much an in at play. And I think Illinois will be, and I think the legislators know that Illinois is always gonna be in play because the Bears don't want to go to Hammond, Indiana. No, they're doing everything they can. Business wise, if the Bears were sharks, they would have already taken the the Hammond, Indiana deal because they're getting everything that they're asking for from Indiana. They don't want to go. So and they really don't want to go to Arlington either.

SPEAKER_04 32:25

Yeah, they they will go to Arlington, but they want to be on the lakefront. It's nothing more pictures-esque on Monday night football than swooping over a stadium, seeing the skyline, seeing the, you know, I'm saying you don't want to see uh single family homes and then you'll stay here.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

Well, I think I I think the reason why I would kind of push back on the the notion that like it's just gonna stay the same and nothing's gonna change is because there is a pretty unique dynamic for the Chicago Bears. They're one of the only franchises in sports where the owners made their money off the team. Like everybody else, they are they make their money doing something and then they buy a team and now they have money to go do this stuff where the you know the family uh running the Bears, they they made their money off the Bears. So it's not like you know, it's not like the asset to cash ratio is the same as most other franchises. So they need to be they need to be resourceful with these negotiations, they need to get as much as they can out of it because of the jump in the value of that franchise is going to be so big, they they kind of, you know, the you've gotta in a modern era where you have the Bills building the the future of stadiums and people all doing this, like they're due for it. And um, there's a lot of moving parts of it, but I know that I think that's one of the main factors that makes it like you can't just look at what normally happens with stadiums and assume that's gonna happen because they are in kind of a unique seat where it's like uh it's it's not they're not gonna maybe move at the same pace as everyone else because they've got more to consider.

SPEAKER_04 34:02

We're also at Soldier Field to 2030, at least. 2033. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

At least they're in there. So but the but the way they're talking and and the what they've always said is they want to be in their new building, uh, which is not gonna happen now, it was 2027. Right. Uh they're they're kind of by they're past that by now. But the Bears have fumbled this kind of all the way through, and now with the updated news, they're actually now working with the with the people that are going their need, their votes uh to get this thing going and and and get these new bills passed. Um look, I'm not a fan of the public paying for private. No, not at all. I'm not a fan of that. But I also live in a reality where it's most likely going to happen. Um, you know, anyway, we're gonna we're already splitting the bill. We're still paying for soldier field renovations. We're probably gonna end up paying for this new building if they stay, uh at least in part if they stay here, just because the bears can't afford to do this on their own. Um, so that's just kind of the reality of the situation and why Illinois is still gonna be in in play. Um, but you're right that the Bears, that's all they have. The McCaskies, this is their business. This is the money that they make that makes them wealthy. Yeah, they're not wealthy outside of this. So if we're honest, in in the grand scheme of things, they're richer than us, way richer than us. Yeah, but in the the spaces that they invade, they're not. Yeah, they're not, they can't afford to go out and pay for their own space.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

The leverage is the leverage for them is pretty unique among sports franchises. Right. Their their lack of leverage, I guess, where it's just like, well, if you guys don't want to do it, we're gonna go do it ourselves and you're gonna miss out on this money. It's like, no, if you guys don't want to go do it, why? Why not?

SPEAKER_01 35:49

And this all of this kind of you know collapsed into a very interesting conversation for them, with the economy being what it is right now, with the war that's going on that is raising the prices, and now you're presenting this to the people and saying, hey, could you guys we know gas prices are crazy, we know that grocery prices are crazy. Would you mind helping us pay for this stadium that you probably will never go or maybe go once in your lifetime? Would you mind doing that? Right and and and and also seeing what just happened to the Kansas City Chiefs, too, where they've been stable, they have the best quarterback in the league, they have one of the best teams in the league. Yes, that's the best quarterback. And the the people of Kansas City said, No, we're not paying for your stadium. So now the the Bears are coming in right after that, and saying, like, we're not as successful, our quarterback isn't as good. We don't have this long history of winning in in recent years. Would you mind paying for a stadium? Yeah, but we're exciting.

SPEAKER_04 36:51

So exciting.

SPEAKER_00 36:52

You guys like hope, right?

SPEAKER_04 36:54

Yeah. So a little bit of hope. Hope is like dope, man.

SPEAKER_00 36:57

Hope ain't free, man.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

So uh it changes every it changes every week, it changes every day. So, you know, keep following the news. There are people out there, uh, Adam Hole that that you know that are keeping us abreast about what's going on with the stadium. Um, it's big news, it's not just sports news. Yeah, it's on, it's it's heading major news.

SPEAKER_04 37:15

Because it it impacts where every wherever it goes, it impacts that area greatly.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Yep, yep. So this is this isn't going anywhere. Um they're gonna it looks like they may stay. I don't I don't think they're gonna go to Indiana.

SPEAKER_04 37:29

I don't see Indiana. Yeah. Is Arlington or the lakefront?

SPEAKER_00 37:32

I mean, they already they already bought our Arlington.

SPEAKER_04 37:36

That's like a sale that's somebody else. Yeah, it's real estate.

SPEAKER_00 37:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:40

But all right.

SPEAKER_00 37:41

We'll see.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

All right. We'll be back right after this. NFL is like joy, right? Every day. Every day could be NFL day, no matter if in season or out of season. So you we definitely gotta bring that here. We definitely gotta talk about that. Big NFL fans. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 37:58

Let's go. Bears. Hey, hey, man, we're under we're under two months until under two months until the fantasy draft. Yeah, there's only there's there's maybe five, six weeks left of sad season, and then we all get right back to being happy gentlemen, cheering on our imaginary teams. Yes, and if you're like me, this draft finding out how much money you're gonna win that year. It's an exciting time. Uh no, but in all seriousness, football is upon us, it's getting getting closer and closer, and um it seems like left and right, there's more transaction news.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

And uh we gotta talk about the biggest one though.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

Probably the biggest one in recent memory, probably since the the Khalil Mack trade. To be honest, I don't I can't I can't. Yeah, the Rams like a bigger church.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

The Rams are trying to do something, man. And I think there's a there's a lot to talk about as far as what the Rams are doing. I mean, Miles Garrett, on top of the the Jalen Watson and Trim McDuffie add-ons to that defense when you just had the MVP on offense, and now you're getting the uh defensive MVP, and you're getting uh it's a it's a pretty I don't think anybody's ever put this collection together.

SPEAKER_01 39:11

Um, so it's I mean it's not like Jarrett Verse was a bad player either, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:16

Like he's a good player in his own round. I mean, Cleveland won that trade for sure. Yeah, but what does that matter? Uh Cleveland won that trade because of the five-year time frame of it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:28

The Rams did they move is we got a senior citizen quarterback that's trying to win a Super Bowl. Yeah, like you know, in the next year or two. That's like basically.

SPEAKER_00 39:36

Which may but which makes me feel really like this is this is uh all chips pushed in the middle. Oh, yeah. This is this is absolutely like now, if they were to lose the first game of the playoffs, it would be, I think, uh a massive failure. I mean you have this is this is um you have these many these many pieces move into the defense when you have this explosive offense with uh with really talent at every position, yeah. Uh under that leadership, you know, that that coaching staff and what they're able to do. So yeah, it's definitely a uh all chips in type of thing where if you if you go lose that first game of the playoffs, it's like, man, that's it's gonna suck for a couple years now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:23

Um but they've they've built up between Sean McVay and what they're doing uh at the executive level. It's a risk if you're a fan that you're probably willing to take because you trust they've gone without picks for a while. Yeah, um they're not too big on the draft because they feel confident that hey, we can find, we're gonna have draft picks. And no matter where we pick, we are able to find talent. Yeah. The way McVeigh right, McVeigh's a standard, right? He's he's the best, somebody with the best coach in the NFL. They haven't won as much, but he can make anything happen. So you make this deal because you feel confident that not only Matthew Stafford can still uh play at at the top of the league, right? Just won MVP. Um but also because Sean McVeigh knows what he's doing on both sides of the ball, not just on the offensive side, uh, but he is an all-around head coach that you trust with this move, and then you just let the cards fall where they may. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Yeah, I mean, it's uh I think it's the the one thing that I have uh issue with um not issue, but I mean like the obviously the the most glaring red flag about this move and this organization is that you have two guys on offense who are really like the the the soul of your scoring, right? Uh with Puka and Stafford. I mean, the season before last, there was plenty of plays where you see Stafford take a hit and you're like ah, we're a little too old for that, you know? And so um, you know, father time always catches up. And so that's one. And then also, I mean, Puka Nakua is an amazing talent. I just with his his stature, I feel like every other play, when he gets hit, I'm like, oh, he might not come back up. Yeah, you know, he looks like a guy who could get hurt on every other play, and he's still a savage and and and you know not afraid, but there's a reality of how large defensive players in the NFL are, and especially if it's if it's short route uh yardage with with linebackers and stuff, and even some of the sideline plays where you see them kind of get hit at to the sidelines. Um, and when you are kind of you know not a workhorse, but you're you're definitely relied upon, and they they're not scared to target you back to back because you can you you'll have an edge on the defense. Uh, I think having those two injury prone weapons could make, you know, if one of those goes down, they could everything could come falling down.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

There's something to be said about that in the way Sean McVeigh likes to play football. He wants to be physical, he wants to challenge every opponent with physicality from unlikely sources, right? The the wide receiver position is hey, I want the big strong guy to outphysical you. I'm gonna line him up as a tight end sometimes, I'm gonna line him up in the backfield sometimes. Uh, and I'm I want to see if you want to match us physically. But the hit on that, no pun intended, is injuries. Yeah, yeah, is injuries. And if you're going to go that route, you're really banking on on Puka to be able to stay uh uh healthy in order to do that on top of whatever Puka is doing off the field.

SPEAKER_04 43:48

I feel like they gauge this whole thing is if nobody gets hurt, they feel they can win it. But that's the the that's what this whole thing is.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

There does seem like an urgency though. Like you know, if you remember. I remember back when the Aaron Donald retirement talk was going on year after year. I remember hearing something about McVeigh and potentially not wanting to continue coaching. Right. You know, where he he kind of you know spoke about it like a like a a quarterback at the end of his peak, where it's like, yeah, we'll see a couple more years. And uh I haven't heard a lot of that talk again, but it kind of creeps up when you see this kind of urgency. Yep. And I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not poking holes in what's going on. They look like the scariest team in the league. But but when when that kind of urgency gets pushed forward, you do think like maybe maybe he's like, you know, especially with you know what they did in the draft, and it's it's it came off as unapproved by him, you know. Maybe it is, maybe it is a thing where it's like, okay, we do have a time limit here, and uh, and I want to go get I want to go get a championship while we can. Right. Uh so you know, I mean that's that's all speculation, but with that kind of urgency, it's uh I mean I love it. I love any any kind of you know really risky ballsy move like that where you're gonna put you know put it on your guys and and do that. But you know, as far as uh consuming me information and trying to make sense of it, I definitely think if there feels like uh like there's something we might not know about this kind of urgency.

SPEAKER_01 45:10

I think it's uh I think that's a good point to I think to to discuss, at least for the next couple minutes is um it does feel that way. Yeah. Uh and he's already had that kind of teaser after they won the the first championship. And you know, that could have been a contract play, right? Hey, I I need to be the highest paid coach now. Yeah, um, but I think more and more from a player standpoint, right? Where players are retiring earlier because of their physical health, yeah, but also what it takes to be an NFL head coach, it weighs on you mentally, emotionally, and the most important part, your family. Right? Yeah, I if you haven't seen your family in two, three, four, five years to live this dream of being an NFL head coach, that that weighs on you uh a little bit. And I don't know if we consider that as an option when we look at uh how decisions are being made.

SPEAKER_00 46:01

Yeah, and especially with a young guy. I mean, you're you're essentially you're a you're a high stakes, very extremely public CEO, right? And and you're you're under a microscope when it comes to stuff like this. Luckily, he's he's had a lot of great success, but you know, you definitely have those guys who don't want to let go. Um, and then you have guys in across all sports who are like, I'm gonna get out of here while I'm on top. I don't feel the need to compete all the time. I know I'm realistic about the cycles of franchises and what it looks like. So um, so you know, just all those things kind of added up. It gives me this feeling of like, you know, the Rams are trying to have their their grand finale um and then go into some sort of rebuild. And like you mentioned with the picks, like they're gonna they're gonna need a whole new strategy. We know what it's like to not have a uh a strong system of coaching and a tree of people who have a game plan and a way they want to attack the the sport. Um, so you know, I mean, uh a rebuild for somebody like that, it probably looks a lot different, and maybe they're like, let's get what we can out of it. So we'll see. But they are they are not the only ones that I've noticed uh making a statement as far as you know what they want to add to their roster. I think uh the Giants uh continue to add pieces, and I hear more and more about um what they're doing, but with their their recent additions, um, I feel like you know, with the the the coaching move was a big one. Um uh there's it's still kind of up in the air. I don't think you know Malik won't be there for the beginning of the year. Um, so signed Odell again.

SPEAKER_01 47:29

Yeah, brought O'Dill. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, uh what about us on the Giants? Um Jackson Dark, right? Yeah, everything starts and ends with him and his next level uh of growth. Hopefully, I'm I'm very interested to see how he's coached this year. Yeah, uh, because last year was all just hey man, we need your physical body to get into those trenches for us. And I think you'll have a chance to win.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

I think he I think he was so competitive and uh and the way he played. Like I think he throws the ball great. And obviously the most talked-about thing is his running uh and his recklessness doing that. But there's one coach in the league who has the best record of taking a reckless runner and turning him into a better passer and a more well-rounded quarterback, and that's who his new coach is. So um, as far as that goes, I mean, as long as he he follows that formula and and protects himself, um, you know, they're they're definitely adding pieces and and looking to kind of, you know, like we're talking about with this uh structural change.

SPEAKER_04 48:33

No, they're a surprise team, and I think that that that would be my call to win their division.

SPEAKER_00 48:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 48:38

Because nobody ever goes back to back and win the division in NFC East. So I'd be like, this could be weirdly the Giants year. They if Hill stays on their side.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

Yeah, I mean, on paper, you look at the names, right? He got uh obviously Malik Neighbors, major injury last uh last year. Uh Cam, I mean Isaiah Likely's uh Isaiah Likely is probably the the most interesting name out of the group. Uh former bear Darnell Mooney uh is on this roster, but uh Isaiah kind of taking that next step as okay, there's no uh you know. Mark Andrews, nobody in front of you.

SPEAKER_00 49:14

I think I think there's just you. There's certain trades where you see a dynamic shift from where they were and how that team operates to where they go. And I think it unlocks certain people sometimes. Like I I thought this right right when I heard Saquon was moving to Philly. I was like, this guy is going now to the best run protection, and I was all over him uh in in fantasy and stuff, and and you see how how well he did when you go into this new system. Now look at Isaiah Likely is a guy who's never been depended upon. Yeah, that he's a guy who outperformed his expectations when in in a in a system where the Ravens, you never knew where they were throwing the ball. Yeah, they have really talented guys. Mark Andrews with you know with agent injury where where that got tricky, but it's from a fantasy standpoint. Zay Flowers is great, but you're not taking him over somebody with a defined role because the play calling is it's anything can happen. You add Derrick Henry to the mix, and there's not really like you don't really know uh an under-over on on Zay Flowers' receptions is it's a risky bet.

SPEAKER_01 50:15

Yeah, because I'm actually surprised that they didn't notice what they had in I Isaiah and Mark Andrews and able to work that out better. Where it was like, okay, we we obviously, whatever their game plan was, they obviously don't necessarily trust Zay from game to game. Yeah, they could have had something more stable with a two tight end set uh going going forward, especially the way they want to run the ball. Yeah, I mean I thought that would have helped.

SPEAKER_00 50:39

The Ravens are at the top of my list of things I'm most interested to find out. What is the what is the new identity of it? Uh, is it going to be kind of like Lamar, get out there, get back to yourself and and you know, set the tone for it, or if the coaching is gonna, if you know, if they're gonna try to change how they do things. But as far as it uh, you know, how how Isaiah likely came up going to the Giants, uh, and to my point about moving systems to one that's way more built for you, is like, man, without Malik there, and they got OBJ. Uh, they made one other uh they made one other addition at receiver. Uh, I can't remember that last one they did, but um I think I a guy like Isaiah likely in that on that team being dependent upon is something he's probably wanted for a long time. Um and I think he's right at that point in his career where uh you could see him shoot up the tight end uh fantasy charts for sure. With and um I I thought I thought Jackson Dart did a great job at dropping the ball into buckets. I mean, like hitting making throws that like I said, the the running became the topic of conversation, but he was making throws I remember seeing uh that that were really impressive. So uh we'll see how how the Giants shape up and and you know, same same situation as the Rams. Hopefully everybody's healthy. Yeah. Um and you know.

SPEAKER_01 52:03

Is there any other teams uh that you guys uh you know thought it was interesting so far this the this offseason or specific players that you think are interesting?

SPEAKER_04 52:12

Um the Browns and that whole weird QB thing that they got going on over there, yeah. Because we don't know what they're gonna do, and now I'm hearing rumors of in the like the supplementary draft or whatever, compensatory draft, that's what it's called. They might get the Sorns we do too.

SPEAKER_00 52:28

They want to be the first team with seven quarterbacks.

SPEAKER_03 52:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:32

Yeah. I mean, right now seven, you think you don't have one. So OT OTA reports are telling us that Deshaun's in the lead right now for that quarterback position. Um I don't know. I I don't think there's a guy here you can get really excited about finding out he's the starter as a as a fan of them because I mean maybe Shador, just because there's some personality now, and we could start we could start getting some some swagger to us, you know, uh offensively. I mean Judkins is I I'm I'm high on Judkins. I think he's I think he's a beast. He ran like an angry man last year. So that's some uh somebody who I think you can really rely on. But um yeah, I mean that's uh that's an interesting team. The uh Tennessee Titans, I know you're really big on Cam Ward. I am I am fully bought into Cam Ward as well. Yeah, um, I think he's somebody who um has a lot of potential, especially in like the card world, like collectible cards, like card values don't move the same way as fantasy values and stuff like that. It it comes down to like flashiness and um but but quarterbacks in general are are really valuable. And Cam Ward's a guy I could see um you know from OTAs, you're hearing Carnell Tate is uh making unreal contested catches. He's being heavily targeted by Cam Ward on plays they score touchdowns in OTAs. And uh Dayball even said this might be the best receiver that I've coached. So you're gonna run. And and um, you know, they're they're encouraging the the quarterback coaches, encouraging Cam to run more. I think you might see uh you might see that team make it tough for teams like like Indy uh to stay at the top of the division as they have. Um but uh but yeah, I don't know. I think that the Titans are are definitely an exciting team to watch. I'm very excited to watch Titans games this year.

SPEAKER_01 54:19

Yeah, yeah, and and and for me, like like you mentioned before, I'm I'm a big cam guy. Yeah, uh his disposition, right? All last year handling all of that losing, where you know, I thought he handled it as a professional, but also letting it be known I'm not okay with this.

SPEAKER_03 54:37

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

That like, hey, I'm not used to this, this is not what I'm about. That's a good point. Oh, but but did it in a way that didn't disparage any of his teammates or his coaches, um, which ultimately were were changed anyway.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

That yeah, but that's a good point that means a lot to me. I mean, I think it's a it's a an important thing to start noticing because you see things like um like Aaron Rodgers and his disposition towards the team is like, I mean, at this point, they're pretty much like, man, can we roll the dice and get one year of what we remembered? Uh, because there's not a whole lot of positive energy being brought by him. If anything, it's probably creating hostility. Right. And as the production winds down, I'm sure there's plenty of guys who are like, man, let's move on. Like, right.

SPEAKER_01 55:21

Like, oh, we we can deal with it if you know he's actually at that top level pledge.

SPEAKER_00 55:27

But it's but appreciating those those quarterbacks who are are honest and humble, but at the same time uh take accountability and expect greatness from themselves, I think that's a thing that, you know, I mean it's it's definitely an age thing. Once you're a guy like Rogers, you've got you know plenty to kind of rest your hat on. But uh the way the way Cam has carried himself, I think I uh he I could I could see him shooting up the fantasy charts and putting putting that team into a space where uh their their their expectations kind of rise season by season as a fan base.

SPEAKER_01 56:00

Um you know we're we record this out of Chicago, right? Like this is we're not hiding that. This is this is Chicago right here. Um But the way that Ben Johnson has been talking about Luther Burden, um and we we even when the Bears drafted him, I mean he slid down draft boards, uh, but everybody knew the talent and the ability was there. Uh so now there is no DJ more. Uh and when I mentioned to some folks the assumption, right? Roma Dunze, of course he's a number one. Everybody takes a pause, an uncomfortable, pregnant pause. And I'm like, you sure about that? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:42

And it's like, man, I think I think Luther Bernie may be better than what I think that I think that's starting to become more of the consensus is uh I mean by a margin, uh, especially when you have like the the interview that Rome was talking about, this is my new normal, uh, in terms of his injury, uh, where it wasn't like a uh well, I'm on the other side of it now, and you know, I'm I'm glad I'm past the setback. It was more of just I'm stuck in this setback, I'm gonna do my best. Uh, and then you see, I mean, you pair that with Luther's aggression. Yeah, yeah. Uh and the, you know, when plays he can make like once he has the ball.

SPEAKER_01 57:18

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:19

Man, when you see young guys play angry on offense like that, the the guys carrying the ball and catching the ball, uh, you know that they've they've got this this competitive edge where they're there, they're there to take the job. And uh, and you don't you you don't really, I mean, with an interview like here's my new normal, you don't get that uh no, that's my spot that kind of kind of reception. You kind of feel more like, oh yeah, let the let this guy get the ball. This is what it feels like.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

Vic, what are you what were your thoughts on uh on Luther Brown?

SPEAKER_04 57:50

Oh, you know, true. Last year in fantasy I drafted Luther. Yeah, so he's gonna be my keeper in our league already. Yeah like yeah. So I always necessarily I I thought Rome has this injury history that I I just do not like.

SPEAKER_03 58:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:07

But I think that they're both gonna be really, really good this year, having really, really different ways that they're gonna approach what they do. Rome being bigger in size, I feel like he'll be like more of that like possession receiver, need that first down. But I feel like Rome is, I mean, uh Luther's really, really gonna stretch that field and really, really make some explosive plays.

SPEAKER_01 58:28

For for fantasy-wise, you think as the you know the draft is proceeding and you you're looking at it, and it's like, okay, do you go with Rome, who is probably pinned as the number one? Uh, I don't think there's or is that is that a trick?

SPEAKER_00 58:44

I don't think there's a mock draft I'll do where I'll take Rome over Luther. Okay. I don't think there's a scenario where I do that personally. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 58:52

But I'm not mad. I like I would I wouldn't take Rome over Luther, but I would still take Rome. I feel like the Bears are gonna throw the ball a lot.

SPEAKER_01 59:01

Like in terms of uh the pass catchers on on the team, all of them, right? Yeah, Col Colson's still the number one pass catcher, yeah. Right? And then on the outside, it would next would be Luther. Yeah, okay. Okay. Yeah, I mean when Ben Johnson says something, yeah, you probably should probably pay attention because I don't I don't think he's like kind of gaslighting or using it trying to pump up Rome. I think he legitimately sees Luther as and also here's a here's another aspect too. Um he never in Detroit was able to figure out uh how to use Jameson Williams. Yeah, and I think that itch it that irks him a little bit in his game planning. So when he sees Luther, he sees kind of remnants of what he could have done with the athletics. Also with the quarterback of Jamison, right?

SPEAKER_04 59:52

You then like you know, you think that now you can utilize Luther's athleticism because of Caleb's athleticism. Yeah, you're able to stretch these plays. Yeah, like that's the problem with golf. Golf can get it to you, but you gotta be there already. Yeah, he can't extend the play to get it to you down there. So I feel like that's the difference. Like, and and now Ben has that and be like, oh, this is my ace in the ace in the hall.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

Definitely. All right, that was our NFL portion of the you're gonna get more NFL. Big, big NFL energy. You understand me? All right, we're gonna move on to some some culture stuff, all right? Check us out, free reign. Alright, guys, as you know, free reign. We're gonna get into some some pop culture and some music talk and something that I think we're all passionate about music, Vig me and the DJ. Uh I mean being a former artist, too. Yeah. Um and I'm just a big fan uh of music and culture and the art form of hip hop and and rap. Uh but the Griselda drama. Yeah. Um Griselda of the Heads, right, West Side Gun, Conway the Machine, and Benny the Butcher, uh that that had this kind of almost meteoric rise in the last like five years to really take that style of rap and make it mainstream to get people to kind of go back. Hey, it's cool to have these poppy songs, but yeah, like somebody's gotta rap. Somebody's gonna get and they've kind of taken it upon themselves to kind of bring that back, uh, which has been fun to see, but yeah, we've seen we're seeing some some some cracks.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that became they became for me on as far as their rise goes, where uh new songs will come out, maybe Drake projects or something, and people ask me what I thought about it. And no matter what I think about it, that's not what I'm driving around listening to. Yeah. But Griselda is that is what I'm like when I'm if I'm working and I got a playlist on, like I'll I'll play anybody out of the Griselda camp all day. That's what I'm listening to. So uh I think they they became a fan favorite for a lot of people, kind of uh in the know, and then how much they spread across different uh things from wrestling to you know being a part of Bill's mafia and all that stuff. So uh yeah, hearing the new thing, you know, Conway puts out the freestyle. Um, he talks about, you know, he he kind of questions in the freestyle. What would I be without Griselda? What would Griselda be without me? Uh also mention of uh a meeting with Jay-Z.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:22

It seems like the point of the issue was this meeting with Jay-Z. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:27

Yeah, or or at least the suggestion from Jay-Z of why don't you share some of this this Griselda IP with Benny and Khan. And uh supposed uh, you know, allegedly that idea was shut down by Westside, which gives you an idea of the hierarchy of how how things work at Griselda. You know, they are all related to each other, three of them. So that that's also another interesting dynamic. But um, I mean, first reaction is anybody's a fan of Griselda's like, come on, man, because we we love we love hearing their their work together. Um, Westside's been on a run uh and definitely been proving that he is the yams of the operation and he is the the curator of this. Um so uh yeah, I mean, what are your thoughts hearing that kind of back and forth going on with that?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:15

Well, I guess my biggest thing is I'm a I'm a huge believer in equity, and I feel like you know what I'm saying, they did all build that together, and that's not an unreasonable ask. Yeah. Well, you like, oh yeah, split it evenly, because I think they do understand that. It wasn't even evenly, it was like five percent. So I'm saying I understand that I understand not doing it evenly because I understand that West uh gun is kind of the brain trust of the situation as far as like and you gotta structure the deals.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:41

You can tell that. I mean, it doesn't justify a 100 to zero to zero split. But then, you know, there's things we don't know about it. For example, if if Westside has been bankrolling this for years and to a point where these guys are going out and living the life and and he's the only one taking L's while while building it, then yeah, I can see where that is. You know, I I guess shutting it down right away, it's weird. You got the the family part of it, but you've got the the business part of it, and uh that's the part that we really don't know anything about as far as who's been bankrolling business.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:14

Also, you don't know all his business with doing this, who he got deals with, how this partnership map really looks. So a lot of things to figure out because I also know that Benny has his own collective and uh Conway got his their own collective, so they are owners of a thing. It's not like they just like, oh man, we just employees and they are big, they're able to sit at tables as bosses and yeah, yeah, do some things.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:40

And you've seen since that freestyle come out, I've seen Conway be what seems like more active than usual uh and more motivated to really build his own personal brand instead of being one of the guys on this this super team. So uh that's been good, and maybe that's all it is. Maybe that's just like a hey guys, if you want to be like West Side Gun, go make yourself like that, you know. So it could be that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:02

Um it's but it's it's it's unfortunate. It's kind of, you know, we do sports on here. Pat Riley talks about the disease of me. Yeah, that you build something successful with a group and eventually it's gonna fall apart because uh people start, individuals uh start, you know, hey, what about me? I gotta go get mine. Yeah. Um, and also it speaks to another kind of sporting kind of discussion is organizations win championships and not necessarily players. Yeah. And Jordan's like, you're crazy, Jerry Krause. Uh I players make, you know, what happens. We gotta play, we go on the court and we execute. Uh, and it goes to that conversation, you know, as well. But for for Wes, I thought it was, yeah, you he's the curator, he you know, kind of pictured this and got this all together. But if it was just you and you did not have the talent of Khan and Benny. In there to really because that for me, it was really Benny that really brought for me Griselda on the map. Honestly, I entered the the Griselda space through Benny.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:11

So I think I think as far as how easy it is to listen to and the the natural uh average person walking in the door getting into it, I think Benny was definitely the first piece that we all could consume very easily. And then like my my journey was Benny and then Conway. And then to be honest, when I first heard West Side, it was it was over my head where I wasn't I my first reaction wasn't put more of that guy's voice on. Like at first, yeah. I think a lot of people, a lot of people are a little like, nah, I could do without that at first, and then you kind of realize, like, man, and then I find myself like, oh yeah, West Side's definitely my favorite. I every project he puts out, their constant involvement with Rock Marcy and and a conductor. Like, I mean, they what they really showed the world is how cold conductor Williams.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:59

Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, I'm like the other way. West Side was always my favorite from the beginning, just because the subject manner of what he kind of talked about was like my whole land and vibe. Yeah, the art of the fashion to the art, yeah, to just like you know, all that stuff was just like oh curation, dude.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:15

Curation is like really like you know what I'm saying. He's like a he's more like a Kanye, you know, of of like uh let me put some pieces together and see what happens. And I've heard that about him that he's very uh you know, controlling in those environments of no, like I've got the vision and you need a visionary to lead. But you know, it does when you hear about five percent and five percent being denied like that, it makes you it makes you kind of realize one, you guys are having a conversation about splitting it up once the money was there. That's your first mistake, right? You should have been splitting the first mistake conversation. You got to talk about that on the ride up, yeah. Um, which makes me think that either there was a trust of, well, we're family, we'll figure it out, or maybe he is really the business mind that is like, okay, guys, no, we gotta we gotta find the money to do this, and they're just like, I just want to rap.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:59

And he's like, I feel like that could have been happening earlier on. Right, yeah. It was kind of like, hey man, y'all wanna go put this thing together together. Oh man, I need five grand from you, I need five grand from you. Yeah, I can go do this.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:11

Yeah, maybe it was not. I want to be a famous rapper.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:13

I'm not like, man, like, no, man, I can really ain't got that. I can't really do that. Well, okay, but it's gonna be my thing. I'm gonna make sure y'all straight.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:20

Yeah, yeah, I think that's something that speaks it to that because if you notice it, they aren't being very direct, right? Wes is being very direct on social media about his stance on on this, that this is like this is nothing. Um, and he's kind of going back and forth and being combative with people on social media, but you don't hear much from the Benny, and which makes me in Con Camp outside of his freestyle.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:42

Yeah, I mean, Benny's been been pretty silent, and there's a chance that that was the case, right? Like, let's say that played out that way where it was a a decision to I want to make this thing, and if you guys don't want to take a risk on it, then I'll do it myself. And then, you know, after years of that, the egos of rappers will play out something like this. When you have a relationship like that, it'll play out something like this where it's like, man, I'm doing more than you think for this. And it's like, well, there was a point in time where somebody had to eat shit, yeah, and not every and and not everybody grabbed the plate, you know. So, so I mean, I I get it, man. So uh it's it's it's hard to hear with the amount of information we have, all we can do is speculate and hope that, but it it does seem to be kind of you can kind of figure out it's a little, as we say, catty, and I think that it's probably behind the scenes getting worked out in a real, but I just feel like you know, you wanna you wanna set the streets on fire, you put stuff in the court of people's opinions, yeah, you put it out here and my thing with with Wes is what's better for the long-term health and sustainability of what we have going here.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:53

If look things change, and I get it, but in in terms of the court of public opinion, that because art is so uh uh subjective, you need to control your own narrative. And if this helps Griselda, that I got then they won't be equal partners, but these guys are investigating.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:14

I think it's a promotional stunt.

unknown 1:10:16

Huh?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:16

I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah, they whole seem that passionate about it because I wouldn't be surprised this stuff was all put out here so they can drop this album and this album be the thing that everybody's talking about. There's Griselda, they came back together, disordered, do this new album together, and it's actually to take the next step.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:37

Yeah, you gotta think about put it this way. When I when I say they they don't, I feel like they don't need to do that. I guess my I didn't expect that strategy to come from there. From the underground Buffalo, right? It's like yeah, you guys have been the kind of like the the this gritty real type thing to challenge the strategic marketing efforts of major music labels to kind of strip switch to the if this is true, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:06

As as a marketing as a as a as a talking point, though, it brings up a very real, probably the most real, uh like talking point, which is a very free agent concept. Honestly, free agent, free the idea of the brand free agent is not all sports, it is it is where sports meet business. The idea of betting on yourself in free agency and saying I'm holding out for this money is a matter of learning how the business works and starting to make decisions based on leverage and trying to learn that. And and for most of us, man, business is not a it doesn't come naturally because most when when people figure things out in business, they do not want to share it. You have to figure out for yourself. Yeah, everyone's got to go find out for themselves how business works. And there's very few scenarios where you have people trying to educate everybody on this is how this kind of thing works. And uh, especially with something like rap, you could very easily fall into the like, so what happens with those percentages? Like, man, I've been dealing with that for 10 years.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:03

I kind of feel like you know, it kind of leads into the stove guy thing, yeah, is you you sign contracts sometimes because it's your only value at that point in time. Yeah, you do sometimes you sit down and sign something and you don't have the vision of what's gonna happen in three years. Yeah, so you look back what you did, and it's like, oh man, I kind of don't want to do that no more.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:27

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean it and uh I don't want to uh go go over this point too before right before we move on to to Stoveguard. I think he kind of connects the two uh is Jay-Z, right? Like in what context that he would offer that in front of all of them.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:45

Well, I'll probably like Jay-Z, they probably this is probably how it went. They're probably talking about it trying to figure out how to do something and how to grow to the next level, probably. And Jay Ty said the thing is he probably said, When back in my situation, we should have done this, this, and this, and we probably would have kept this ship rolling long. Yeah, and he probably was just like, Man, if y'all want to go to that next level, if y'all want to take money and probably get into a joint venture, put everybody in it so everybody can probably.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:12

Yeah, maybe, maybe the the theme of that conversation was maybe West Side was given hints of like, I feel like I'm I'm pushing forward by myself. And he's like, Well, get them some skin in the game. That could have been that could have very well been what it is. And um, yeah, I think the the business, the business side of it is you gotta understand that business is until you go swing for yourself and find out, you know, it's not you you never wanna you never want to learn too late about the business side of it.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:39

So this too, they could have been going into a partnership. Maybe Jay-Z said, hey man, such and such labels interested in y'all, but you know, this money they're giving y'all is not a gift, right? You know what I'm saying? The other guys would probably be like, Man, we should take that money. And then the rest of that, like, no, I don't want to take that money because I owe that money.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:58

And then the other guys could, then Jay-Z could have been like, Well, yeah, like you say, put some skin in the game. Yeah, put y'all name on that paper and be like, Yeah, we own this together. So now there's 30 million, I just don't owe it. So y'all gotta put out some projects under this. Y'all gotta do that. But you know, yeah, you never know.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:14

What's the uh I guess my last question before we move on to Stoke Guy was what's the negative for West, for West side in giving them 5% each?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:24

Uh the negative is is what if he owes somebody a hundred million dollars? And he tells them it's like, yeah, y'all can have five percent, but y'all gonna have to five percent of the debt too.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:34

Yeah, yeah, there's gotta be more to it because you can, yeah, I mean that that would have to be it. Like if you're if you're going to spread equity out, it's gotta be for a make my life, let's do it together, make my life easier, take some of this pressure off me. And and there, you know, and I I don't know, I mean, yeah, it's it's hard to really analyze what the negative form is because right now, like you're saying, all it is right now is publicity. Yeah, yeah. But that's what I think it is. The downside of handing those things out, like you said, it's gotta be a money thing. It has to be, unless, I mean, in the in the scenario that it's not about money and that he doesn't want to give up an inch. I don't I don't really see that being the case. Um, because um I he feels smart, he seems smart enough to know you gotta spread around and you want everybody to have a reason to get out of bed. Um, and uh there's gotta be more to it than that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:28

Um I mean, the the visceral, at least what the alleged visceral reaction was to that suggestion, it kind of made me think because they they know each other so long, it's like you don't know what these guys' business sense actually is.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:41

I don't believe that type of I don't think it was that type of reaction. I feel like it kind of could have been like, man, this is a conversation because Wes might not want to put all his business out in front of Jay-Z either. Now be like, oh yeah, like well, I can't really do that because of this, this initial.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:56

Yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you how these two put me in, put me in a in a bond. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and it could have also been, you know, I mean, Conway, like, I mean, I love Conway, dude. As far as I like as a as a collector, card collector, watching his new, his new show that he's doing, opening packs and stuff. Um, like he he's way more relatable than if you would have gave me the the the you know spec sheet on Kanye, uh on Conway, uh, how much I could relate to him. He's he's he's into the same kind of stuff we are. He's he's a really cool dude. And um, I I think this could have been a case of, you know, he says something um, you know, he says something uh about it and then learns more about the actual situation later. Uh like we said, we don't know exactly how it went down. And when it comes to business like that, there could be a matter of, you know, I'm not I'm not gonna pay myself. You guys get paid all you want, but I'm gonna play the long game on this. And then after taking the money up front, you're like, what's going on with the back end? Then you know, things change. So um, but yeah, I mean, I I hope, I hope that uh that you're right and that it comes together into a project because they are uh a fan favorite, definitely probably my my number one listen to as far as uh hip hop goes. But that brings us right into stove, god man. And uh that one is even I wanted to ask you, Vic, because the you know the situation is really that we've got we got reasonable, uh reasonable drought, uh, his one you know solo project. And then uh from there it's been a bunch of features between Rock Marcy and West Side and and the Griselda gang. So now we have um a couple a couple songs leaked out. Uh there was the Welcome to My Garden joint and then uh the Marvin Ye joint. Both of those that he premiered on different podcasts, I immediately was like, man, us this next Stovegod album is gonna go nuts. Um but we keep kind of we've been just sitting here. So I wanted to ask you, can you remember a situation like Stovegod where we've gotten sprinkles of him and he's a a super fan favorite? Like you're gonna not a lot of people are gonna be like, I'm not, I don't care for Stovegod if you're a Griselda fan. So can you remember another uh artist coming up where he got this buzz without a catalog with such a limited catalog like you have with uh Stoveg?

SPEAKER_04 1:18:10

It's really, really I'm trying to think. Like I got a suggestion. Who?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:13

Uh Jay Electronica.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:15

Oh, but yeah, Jay Electronica is different because Jay Electronica.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:18

It was more self-imposed, yeah. But uh in terms of the the the public being more high on him than artists right than you know, the business.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:28

This is weird because stove's is all contractual, the music is there. Yeah, I've never been listening to that. I've seen artists get a buzz and they decide that they really don't pursue what putting the stuff out. But this is all contractual, just also it's like, hey man, just do enough albums to get yourself out of your contract.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:46

I mean, look at Drake, he just put out those three albums, yeah. Well, what uh I mean I'm not a Drake fan, but I'm at 15, 20 hit rate. I mean, you're wrong, man. Yeah, because you're not outside, yeah, yeah, I know. That's the whole thing, is like, yeah, there's not it's not for they're lighting me up for that. But I think that you know, it comes down to at any point in business, you're going to you're going to have to do some things that's like, okay, now I learned from this. So look at how much time he's got is gonna be wasted on. I'm not giving you that. Like I saw him say, I saw him say, This is the music business. If you're gonna, if you're gonna hold back the business, then you won't get any music. And it's like that's easier said when there's not ink on paper. Yeah, like that the agreement was made. You gotta, you know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:30

I mean, maybe maybe you got some weird, yeah, uh imperpetuity contract in there that he basically saying, I'm not putting nothing out until we get rid of that, maybe. Yeah, because other than that, if it's just a typical record contract, you got three albums to make. Yeah, I know you got three albums of music, yeah. Just put these albums out and then go on to your next venture.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:48

And apparently, you know, the Jay-Z connection, right? Between the the last two conversations, Jay-Z went over the contract, like, just put out the albums. Yeah, so you did oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:57

Yeah, like there's no because it ain't no, it ain't no, because it's like in like little Wayne's situation where Jay-Z helped out, is oh, you have a legal thing here, this is wrong, right? So we can get you out of there. Right. Look at that contract, be like, Well, this you you signed this, yeah, and it's not a bad contract.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:12

Yeah, one one one big thing when it gets to this point is these decisions are so much different to make when there's money on the table, you know? When you're at that point where you're like, oh, okay, this isn't a like what if I blow up thing, like the the road is paved, and now he knows what he's gonna make. And and that's where that's where it like the human ego and the human like thought making, you know, because it was fine when you was a nobody.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:38

This deal was fine when somebody was like, I'll take this flyer on you, right? And our bank road.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:45

Unfortunately for him, the proof kind of came up before before everything came out and it all came to fruition. Or if the if the proof came from the albums, he would just be like, All right, what's next? Talking to Jay. Like, and uh, but yeah, man, it's I mean the the songs I've heard that I've seen the one on Jay heard the one on Jail and Jada. Yeah, yeah, that was fire. That was fire. I think that was the Welcome to My Garden. Yeah, that was super fire. And then um, or or no, yeah, maybe maybe the Marvin Yeager. Marvin Yeager. Yeah, yeah, the Marvin Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:15

Yeah, that's the Marvin Year for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:17

Yeah, he's a guy who I see like a West side where I believe he's a part of the tastemaking, uh, he's a part of the vi he's a visionary, uh, where he's got this uh he's got this storytelling writing style that is uh yeah almost action bronsonist, but but but it's also got that West side of like I can listen to him for a full album and I wanna I wanna bounce around to that. Uh so I mean he's somebody who you know it's gonna be a treat when we finally get some albums out of him, and I hope that it doesn't uh get bogged up for too long because it's time time for him to put it out. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:55

Let's just get through this. Because you know, like I'm the same as you. I listen to Griselda, Freddie, yeah, and Stove. Yeah, like that's really who I would listen to. Boldy James, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:07

I'm a big Boldy guy. Boldy's in the mix with all them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:10

But yeah, you're gonna get more of this. This is what this is what free reign is about. Business, music, culture. Come on, man. You know what it is. All right, we'll be back after this. Free reign, podcast. This is this is all you need. We got we got you on every aspect of culture, music, sports. We got you right here, and we're gonna pick some NFL division winners. All right, with big NFL. Um, I think we can start just with the one that we're currently in. We're in Chicago. Let's run it. NFC North. Fellas is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. So I don't think anybody could be wrong. Uh, I'm gonna think you guys are wrong, but but any one of our picks could could could be right.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:52

All right, NFC North, I got the Bears winning the division this year. Um I'm ashamed to say it, but that's what I believe is gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:00

Okay, well, but you know me, it's bear down, so I'm always gonna say the bears.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:06

I mean, it's bear down, but what you got, Tony. Come on. I think I I think I'm gonna go Detroit.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:14

I think I think I'm gonna go Detroit. I think the Bears do make the playoffs. I do say that. You can't. Uh that's a wild card. I think I think Detroit has still got it. And honestly, I'm I'm I'm big into Kevin O'Connell, and I know they're probably the least likely to win the division, but I don't think we should brush over Minnesota. So, but I got Detroit as is winning. Okay. Very, very interesting. All right, all right. Moving on. NFC East. All right. You know, it that's gonna be a tough division, you know, as well. So uh Vic, we start with you. Who's your NFC East?

SPEAKER_04 1:23:48

I got the uh Giants.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:50

Okay, okay. Giants. I got what this one, I'm I'm firm on the Cowboys win the division this year. I'm firm on that.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:00

I think they're gonna come. I think you're at Dak. I think you're at a time in your career where uh you're about to start hitting that point where you move into a Stafford-like role and expectation. I think uh if Dak stays healthy, I think you uh you see that I mean a crazy duo of wide receivers. Man, yeah. And uh I think that's a team that if they're they're adding pieces on defense, um Yeah, I think I think the Cowboys take the division. What do you got?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:28

I think I'm with you on that. Yeah, I think I'm I think I'm gonna go with Cowboys too. I mean, the Eagles are right now are currently the the the favorite still, but I mean you lose a weapon, you know, like AJ Brown, and all he asked was, can we get better play? And the answer was no. Then it was like, all right, well, you know, you get what you get. Uh they're still gonna be very, very good. I'm not gonna say the Eagles are gonna be bad.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:50

I think I think from a fantasy standpoint, I mean, Devontae Smith looks like a gold mine. Yeah, yeah. Right. I think I I've always liked him. I think he's uh, you know, I think it's a similar, like if Jamar left and and T. Higgins was the number one, you'd have the same kind of explosion of man, this guy has been good for so long. So I'm excited for uh Devonta's opportunity. But um, yeah, I don't think I see uh I got Cowboys, Cowboys, and Giants, Eagles over three on the free reign podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:20

All right, we're all right. We're already through two divisions, right? We're making good time here. So NFC West. We just did a a long segment on the Rams, and right now they're the the current favorite to win that division. But uh, who you guys got?

SPEAKER_04 1:25:33

Rams.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:35

Yeah, y'all know the the Seahawks just won the Scriper Bowl. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:40

Yeah, I think uh you know what? I mean, they're my they're my wild card for sure. Uh the Seahawks are, but the Rams, I think, win the division. There's too much on the line. Um, and like I said, that the catastrophe that would be uh midseason injury to one of those key guys. Um, that would change the whole landscape, obviously, but I I do have the Rams winning um and taking that division this year. No Niners either.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:06

No.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:07

Where are you going? I'm going to Rams. I'm not going to do that. It's hard.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:12

I'm here to make conversation.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:14

Yeah, you know. Well, when somebody puts together the best team on paper in NFL, modern NFL history, it's it's hard to ignore. So uh moving on.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:24

All right. Uh our last NFC division, NFC South. All right, that wasn't a particularly super strong uh division, but still an interesting one. So what do you guys got?

SPEAKER_00 1:26:33

I think this year uh we see the Saints put together uh one of those sneaky teams where they probably win the division and maybe even uh eke out a a win in the playoffs. I think uh I think the Saints made some good additions. I think they're I mean anybody in that division, you're not expecting much. Your ex expectations are maybe highest on the I don't know. It's kind of the same for all of them, to be honest. So yeah, I see the Saints winning it. Um if I'm wrong about that, it's it's the NFC South. So who cares?

SPEAKER_04 1:27:06

Falcons. Run the ball, run the ball, Falcons, run the ball.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:10

Uh I I I'm gonna take the Panthers. I think the positive momentum Bryce Young has got like the confidence that he has now as as a player. I think he's solidified. There's no, you know, you're not pulling him, you know, to prove a point. I think he figured it out that yeah, nothing's gonna be, you gotta earn everything that you get. Right. Uh and i I think they got some weapons around him too. So I'm thinking I'm gonna go with the Panthers. Okay. All right. AFC AFC, let's go. All right, AFC South Division. What do you guys got?

SPEAKER_00 1:27:45

NFC South.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:47

Uh uh AFC South.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:50

AFC South. That's a tough one. Uh I think the favorite. Who's the favorite right now? Houston. Wow. I thought it would have been a Jags. I think the Jags are the favorites, and I think the uh I think the Titans are probably in second for me. You know, I'm gonna say the Titans because I do think the Jags are the Jags aren't a team that is they like uh doing a progression regression pattern with their with their uh football team. So I think the Titans will sneak it out and win. That's a riskier pick, but I I see I see Cam Board and them making making some noises here.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:25

I'll take the Jags.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:27

I think I'm gonna take the Jags too. Um look that I don't know what's going on with CJ Stroud. Like I don't know what what he the regression has been crazy. Yeah. Um even though I'm uh I love Cam, uh I I think he's gonna take a step forward. I just don't think it'll be enough uh to supplant kind of the the the most stable right team.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:47

And what's interesting is I mean, like, we're we're between three out of four teams, and the team that we're leaving out had uh a hell of a year last year. So there's a lot, I mean there's there's weapons everywhere. There's guys like uh Bechal Tooten on the Jaguars that I think are going to and Parker Washington that I think are gonna be fantasy uh studs this year. Um and yeah, with Stroud, it seems like everybody has this with CJ Stroud. Everybody has this kind of unspoken, it's kind of like they're assuming that he's gonna have a good year this year. I don't know if you picked up on that. I think I mean I think he's gonna have a yeah, I think uh you can't guarantee that. No, you can't, and especially, I mean, it just looked terrible coming down the stretch last year.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:31

I mean, they the league figured him out fairly quickly.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:34

I mean, they surprised the Steelers, right, in the first round of the playoffs. But uh other than that, I don't think anybody was too high on what they were shaping up to be. So uh but speaking of the Steelers, let's move right on. AFC North. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:50

Um I mean, this is an easy one for for me. Good in. Oh, uh, I'm I'm taking the Ravens. Um I am very, very much interested to see how Declan Doyle uh transforms Lamar uh into that next stage and that next phase. Uh I mean he's a protege, right, of Ben Johnson. So he he had that full year sit with Ben and how to work with a star quarterback, uh a mobile dual threat quarterback. And I'm very interested to see how how that transfers to Lamar's uh I'm gonna go with uh another risky pick.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:25

I feel like that seems pretty likely. I'm gonna go with the Bengals um because of the amount of talent that's over there. You're banking on a lot of needs. And uh yeah, I'm thinking on a lot of need. But I think it's I I think it's just for that amount of talent to uh to not figure it out and kind of all go to waste. Um, you got to think that, I mean, another let's say let's say another year goes by and Joe Burrow is not even close to a playoff spot. Now look at what his career has been uh with that crazy start and then just constantly riding at the bottom when everyone knows how talented he is and that he has weapons around him. I think sooner or later that has to click uh in some fashion. So I'll you know I'll take a little risk. I'll say Bengals take it this year.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:06

Ravens, Lamar. Okay, okay. Uh AFC West. All right. Um interesting one. It's a really interesting one. Chiefs, man. I ain't about the Chiefs. Chiefs. I mean, can't it is is Patrick Mahomes gonna be able to you know bounce back. The Broncos, yeah. Uh Sean Payton has them, you know, humming. Uh, and then then the Chargers. There's nothing to, you know, sneeze at. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:34

Uh-huh. Uh, I the I mean the ch the okay, so the ray the Raiders are obviously the team that's like, they're gonna be the young, exciting team that that pulls off some upsets this year, and we're gonna start getting excited about what the rave the Raiders can turn into. Uh the Chargers and the Broncos are both those, both kind of those on the cusp teams that uh have a good shot of sneaking into the pla uh getting into the playoffs and and winning a game.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:00

That division to get two playoff teams.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:02

Yeah. Um, but I personally I'm I'm more bullish and I wasn't always on the Broncos than I am with the Chargers as far as those two. Um I think I think the Broncos win that division this year. Um I think Casey's problems last year, we're all assuming because of the track record of that coach and quarterback combo that uh things get figured out and it comes back to oh yep, there go the Chiefs again. But I think the Broncos proved last year um that they've they've got a lot of things that a team needs to consider when they're when they're game planning for them. And uh I see the Broncos taking it.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:40

Man, I just don't believe in both nicks like that, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:42

I don't man, I I I never did. I never did. I never did, but what I did realize is last year they were on a nine-game win winning streak and and taking down good teams. Yeah. And uh and when that happened, he still didn't get any respect. And nine straight wins in the NFL as a starting quarterback, at the end of it, for everybody to say, I still haven't seen enough, is like, well, at some point, man, there are quarterbacks who don't make the highlight reels that know how to win games. I don't think you can fully call him a systems guy. I think he does some some things that make everybody be like, I don't want that guy on my fantasy team. But um, but ultimately, uh that that's a well-rounded organization. Uh Chiefs are, like I said, everyone's probably expecting that to happen. Are you going Chiefs?

SPEAKER_01 1:33:31

Yeah, I'd probably go Chiefs just because I, you know, I Denver's good. The Chargers is good. Um, and the really only offensive weapon that they added on the Chiefs is Kenneth Walker, uh, which I think does help the situation.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:46

Which by the way, watch the regression season that guy has this year. People got hyped up because of what they saw last. Yeah. So what have you done for me lately? A lot of people are like, man, Kenneth Walker had a season last year. Right. If only he had the opportunity to do that. Go look at where, go look at where he finished last year uh in fantasy football, at least, right? Go look go look at where he finished and the guy who was injured for part of the season that allowed him to have his breakout maybe finished a spot or two behind him. And I think that was around.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:14

Was that a himping or was that just a coaching decision to have that dual?

SPEAKER_00 1:34:17

Well, there's the there's the split for sure, but um with the Seahawks, there's uh it seems like there's always this kind of waiting for a breakout uh on a lot of them. Uh, you know, with JSN that first season when DK was there, you were like, ah man, I thought he was gonna be the guy, and then he breaks out. And then you do get to a point where it's like, well, I don't know. I don't know if that's gonna happen. And um, I think he looked great towards the end of the season last year, but when you especially when you're talking about fantasy, that's not the same as how consistent is this guy's production? Can I rely on him to get me the points I need to win on a weekly basis? Uh so uh, you know, I I think I think you'll uh you'll see a lot of people go draft him because of what they remember from last year. But uh, I mean, if you go back, go look at the leaders from last year and running backs um and look where where he ended up, it's not it wasn't as remarkable of a season as I think you remember from the end at end of it. So uh and then if any of you do anybody want to make a mistake on the AFC East.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:16

Oh god. I mean they got they got the Super Bowl AFC representative there.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:24

Come on. That's who you should pick. Who are you picking?

SPEAKER_00 1:35:28

Oh the dolphins. Okay I mean the Bills, the Bills are gonna win the Super Bowl this year. Okay. Um, and I think there's gonna be there's gonna be an energy about him that is nuts. I I think a lot of people are expecting a not so crazy DJ Moore outing. I I've seen people uh say that they don't they don't think he's gonna go there and shine. I mean um I think there's a there's a window here where they gotta win with Josh. Um and I I think with the new stadium, uh the way things are shaping up this year, they're set up with a lot of really important parts. I think they might not be done. I maybe we get one more receiving weapon. Um but if they are done and they move forward like this, we've seen Josh do better with worse. And uh, and you know, it'll it'll it'll depend on the rest of the J E T.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:24

I got the I got the Beatles too.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:27

Yeah, yeah. I mean, uh there's no I don't think there's another answer here. Um, you know, the Patriots there they'll be okay, but a lot of off-the-field stuff, uh, as we know. Um, but yeah, I mean this is the year for them to do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:40

You get that notification yesterday, G. Gino's got some actions.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:44

So that prediction for the last time I talked goes out the window. Gino might be doing uh fat.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:50

When you're that good of when you're that good of a quarterback, you can afford to make mistakes like that and get it brushed under the rug. Okay, yeah. Gino's just one of those guys that, you know. Yeah. You gotta uh there we go. Poor Garrett Wilson, man. Poor, poor Garrett Wilson. Poor Garrett Wilson.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:07

This is gonna be like unlucky. He's gonna ask for a trade.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:11

He's there there, he's gonna end up going Antonio Brown. He's gonna end up going A B and going nuts. But I mean, imagine A B if he was on the Jets his whole career. Oh my god, he would have killed people.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:22

He would have crashed out, he would have crashed that hole, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:25

He'd have been butt naked out there in week two.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:29

But hey, this is what you're gonna get at Free Raid. All right. This has been the Free Raid Podcast. All right, I'm Tony Gill. This is Ando, and that's Vic. Let's run it back again. We'll see you guys next time. Peace.