E.P.I.C. Podcast "Every Play Is Crucial"
Life is full of moments you cannot predict or control only experience and enjoy right? Come join Vernon, Isaac, Justin, and Jared every Wednesday where we lend our opinions about current event going on in sports. Every episode is promising to be entertaining, not necessarily informational.
E.P.I.C. Podcast "Every Play Is Crucial"
Firing Coaches and Breaking Hearts: When Good Teams Make Bad Decisions
We dive into Florida's defensive-minded win over Houston in the NCAA championship and explore the shocking firings of both the Denver Nuggets' coach and GM despite their recent championship success.
• Florida's clutch free-throw shooting (81%) versus Houston's struggles (64%) made the difference in the championship
• Houston failing to get a shot off in the final 20 seconds will haunt them throughout the offseason
• Denver Nuggets firing both Michael Malone and Calvin Booth simultaneously has left basketball experts baffled
• Reports of a "Cold War" atmosphere between coach and GM affecting the Nuggets locker room
• Memphis Grizzlies also made a surprising coaching change with Taylor Jenkins
• Boston Red Sox fans frustrated by ownership's refusal to spend despite having one of the biggest caps in baseball
• Cincinnati Bengals need immediate defensive contributors in the upcoming draft
• Team scouting departments vary dramatically across the NFL, with the Bengals reportedly having just two scouts
See you next week as we break down the NBA playoff matchups and discuss the early MLB season storylines!
Music. See your lips, don't talk about it. Real eyes, realize, realize all the time, stand on it. If we said it won't walk around it, loose lips ain't ships. Red cup, blue strips, new phone who did? No, we don't allow it Really. On goal, I don't know what's an off day Now. We on road came from smoking in the hallway. Now we got shows. Boys feeling like Broadway, always look both ways, even on a crossway driving down cross bay. Our town park lays really on. Big tanks came up a small way. Championship rings baby, that's a ball name.
Speaker 2:Oh, she won a little bag. Yo yo yo. Welcome back to another episode of that big podcast lighting the house again. Man, this week just me and jared. Man, how's you? I ain't gonna ask how your sports week been man you've been on vacation. You've been gone. How was that?
Speaker 3:It was cool. Man Went quick Vacations with the kids always seem to do. I'm chilling, man. How was you? How was your weekend? It's been three weeks since I've been on here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was about to say yeah, it's been a minute, Everything's been cool. Man Just chilling, man Watching the the patients do their thing. Man, we almost at the end of the season they're hoping for sure so they're definitely playing their best at the right time was a little shaky, uh, at the beginning of the season, but yeah, now, man, they came around. So LeBron and Luka still doing their thing, so I'm good right now, man. As far as basketball, um outside of college, you know what I mean. Looking at Florida, that was crazy.
Speaker 3:Pulling it off against Houston, yeah, I'd have loved to see them actually get up a final shot, but I mean, it is what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Also looking forward to the draft. Man, that's really it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I am too for sure.
Speaker 2:It's kind of definitely slow motion right now, but looking forward to the draft man, that's really it. Yeah, I am too for sure it's kind of definitely slow motion right now, but we're going to kick off the show. Actually, just talking about the national championship a little bit, you said you wish they would have got off a shot at the end.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean of course you would like to see the game end with them at least getting up a shot. I mean, 20 seconds is a lot of time to not have, you know, been able to get a shot in the air at all, which is crazy. But you know I didn't have a dog in the fight so I was cool with you know whatever outcome?
Speaker 2:Yeah me, neither man. I was just looking at these shooting percentages man. Florida shot 40% from the field. Houston shot 35% from the field, 25% from the three. Florida shot 24% from the three. For Houston, I think maybe the difference probably been Florida shooting 81% from the free throw line and Houston only shooting 64%. So maybe that was the difference. But it just seemed like it was just a defensive game Bunch of shots getting put up, nobody hitting a lot, even Clayton, I think we was me and Justin was talking last week about him being a factor man. He was three for 10. It was, it was. It was tough sledding out there, man. He was three for 10. It was tough sledding out there, man.
Speaker 2:Zero points in halftime it was rough. Yeah, it was real rough. Roberts, three of 13, sharp, Three of 11. It was just some crazy shooting nights but it seemed like nobody from Houston could really get it going outside of Cryer. Everybody else was struggling, pretty much what you call it. Tugger got in foul trouble, so like they were switching him out with a couple guys, but I mean, it seemed like nobody was in double figures outside of Cryer. They couldn't get another point in double figures.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I saw that. I looked at that earlier when I was looking at the box score at work. Yeah, I saw that. I looked at that earlier when I was looking at the box score at work. Yeah, I saw that, because at first I was going to say damn, nobody scored double figures, but then I seen that he had what? 19?
Speaker 2:19. And then like a bunch of guys one guy with nine, two other with eight, three other with eight Like I don't know man, it was just one of them. Games is definitely a defensive game. Florida, I mean they have been up and down in basketball but pretty consistent over the past. I mean, if you want to look back 20 years, I mean I think they got what three in 20 years.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, because they got two when Joe, kim Noah and all of them were there.
Speaker 2:So even though it's been a while, that's not bad. Every five to six years you win and won. If you want to screw that out like that, that's not bad in college, especially going through the March Madness and the tournament and all that man. So congratulations to Florida man Again. I didn't have a dog in this fight either, but I'm glad it was a good game. Me and Justin was talking about that last week.
Speaker 2:We didn't want to see no blowouts Surprised at what happened to Duke, but I mean it's March Madness, it can happen to anybody. But yeah, man, glad it was just a good game, wasn't a blowout? Not the best basketball, but like you said you don't like to see them get up a shot, like you said, 20 seconds left. That's crazy not to get a shot up, even if it's not the best shot. Get something up, right.
Speaker 3:The way that their luck had been going. Whatever shot they threw up probably would have went in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean yeah, Down the stretch anyway.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they've been one of them teams all year, especially how they played against Duke man. They were damn near destined to win, just based on you know that comeback.
Speaker 1:If they had kind of shot up.
Speaker 3:I'm almost certain it would have won. But I mean, we'll never know.
Speaker 2:But then also, like I was saying last week about Florida, like Florida has been going on runs and if you can't stop, they run. And luckily for Florida they didn't really have a strong run in the first half, like not that crazy, like not how they had been, like coming back and fighting and clawing. It kind of came in the second half. But like when Florida goes on the run man, they can compete with anybody in the country, from what I've seen just in the tournament. But, like I said, continue Congratulations to Florida man, and we're going to jump over to the NBA because this is crazy man. We just got some news over there talking about the Denver Nuggets fired their coach and GM. Crazy. Same time. Same time, same meeting.
Speaker 3:There's something weird going on with these teams, because I mean, I feel to believe that somebody actually anybody, let alone somebody in an organization was sitting back and was just like you know what Michael Malone is underachieving, let's get rid of him. That couldn't have happened. I think it's almost like these coaches are fed up with these players. I mean, they act like brats. I mean, he actually had a pretty decent team. I couldn't imagine how he would react to coaching.
Speaker 2:From my understanding, reports say there was a disconnect in the locker room and it's been kind of like a Cold War vibe between Booth and Malone who and Malone Huh who and Malone Booth. Calvin Booth, their GM.
Speaker 3:Oh, okay, but they both got fired. They had to have been on the same page, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I think that because they were bumping heads and like, like I said, from what I read, there was just a disconnect in the locker room, like I guess players just weren't feeling it no more. I mean, I guess the tensions between them two, and then, once you start getting tensions in the locker room like it's hard to pull a locker room, a coach and a gm all together right before the playoffs to try to get on the same page to battle through the west of all places that's nuts I'm.
Speaker 3:I'm not even a Michael Malone fan, but I mean, I don't know how much better you get than him. And he's brought I mean the only championship.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean, that's the same way with Taylor. Is it Taylor Jenkins or Henry Jenkins? Yeah, I think it's either Taylor or Kendrick somewhere. Wow, and I can't. I hate when I miss misspeak, but yeah, the same thing with him. The Grizzlies coach, like there's I mean, I don't believe that there's anybody in that organization that was like you know what, we're going to get rid of him because he's not doing a good job. I feel like it was definitely, uh, you know them fed up with the players or the players fed up with him, but it was something attached to it. It was almost like a you know, I'm out of here type thing. Oh well, we fired you. You know what?
Speaker 2:I'm saying, yeah, we talked about that last week. It was no way, it's performance-based. No, I think. Well, I ain't going to say I think From what I read last week with Jenkins, it was again the offense.
Speaker 2:John Morant basically they felt like it had to be him, him and Jackson, because they were talking about the offense not touching the ball enough, john Morant clearly being one of your best players. I mean I'm just saying, like, not running offense through him, like maybe he don't have the same control or leeway that other you know superstar guards have. I don't know, maybe Jenkins was making him run offense a certain way, like, but it definitely. That definitely stemmed from the players. From what everything got read. They just didn't like the direction they were going in. And once you start, like I said, once you guys get started, players complaining, your GM going to listen you know what I mean they're going to start trying to figure it out, especially with the roller coaster that Grizzlies has been on. I was looking back at their record and it was just no consistency. You know what I'm saying. Especially towards the end of the season they really been on the slide.
Speaker 3:But you got to think, though Job misses every other game, triple J has been out a lot. I mean they've had a lot of injuries. They got young guys that's hooping, zach Ealy's playing way better than everybody thought. Jalen Wells is giving decent minutes. I mean, I don't even see where that team is lacking. I mean.
Speaker 2:Like I was saying last week they got five players averaging double figures and three more averaging nine, two more averaging eight and four more three four more averaging seven. Like they're a very balanced team.
Speaker 3:I mean it's like how much better do you get than that?
Speaker 2:I don't know man, I just I can't do anything but go off what I read. But I think like, especially after four losses in a row, one win. I mean you can really say seven losses in a row. If you take out the one Utah win, you know what I mean. And then that's Utah. So I mean, and you lost against some of the best teams in the league. You lost against OKC, then you lost to the Lakers, then you lost to Boston, then you lost to Golden State, back to back After you fired a coach you beat Miami, then you lost to the Lakers, then you lost to Boston, then you lost to Golden State back-to-back.
Speaker 2:After you fired a coach. You beat Miami and then you beat Denver and they playing. They should be what's today. Tuesday they play Minnesota. I mean not Minnesota, they play Charlotte tonight. So I don't know. I just think, like you said, once you get that disconnect in the locker room, players start complaining Like you're not moving. No players right now.
Speaker 3:I still don't Like nah, man, because you think they would fire. You think the Spurs would have fired Popovich if the players complaining? No, they just got rid of the players. But I don't even think. I don't know, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, but I think it's a well. You're Popovich man, that's like. You're like reaching for the stars right there, like that's just like one of the best all-time. I don't think we could, but if you think about coaching Michael Malone or Jenkins, If you think about coaching right now, who's better than Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins?
Speaker 3:I'm not, I mean coaching, and yes, they are, they are. You know, obviously I wasn't meaning him like after five or six rings, however many ass, but like any point in that situation, like he was, you know, arguably one of the best coaches, like yeah, how, how do you?
Speaker 2:I don't understand how that works yeah, I think the nugget is more than the the uh, grizzlies, uh, I think, grizzlies, if it was me and I was ownership or even the GM because they still have the GM it would have been kind of a situation of like, the only way I'm getting rid of the coach, first off, I have to get my players in line. The players ain't been in line. Like, hey, john Moran, how many years did you waste just on BS? That's at least two years. You don't have two seasons. You know what I'm saying. Just between you being, you know, doing what you're doing in the streets and getting hurt the next year. So you wasted two of our years, you know what I'm saying Can't put that on the coach.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying. So now everybody, healthy us playing good, going into the playoffs, y'all need to show us something. If it's really the coach, then we'll talk about that. We'll talk about it in the decision or something along those lines, based on the playoff run.
Speaker 3:There's no possible way that it was the coach. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:If it was me talking, if me as the GM of the Grizzlies talking to John Morant, that would have been my conversation, with him directly saying hey look, we have to learn to adjust the offense to other players because you haven't been here Right, so you not getting the ball is not personal, but we have to make sure that we're prepared to play without you. Also Facts. So that's what would have been my conversation. But with the Nuggets I'm a little more shook because you're two years off of a championship. You got a three-time MVP, could possibly be four, like you're in the fourth spot but you kind of in the running until you could fall to the play-in, depending on how the end of the season go to play in, depending on how the end of the season go. But nonetheless, like I don't know if just ownership was like frustrated with the Calvin Booth, michael Malone situation, just themselves butting heads and then possibly wasting taking the chance and possibly wasting Jokic's prime when you got, you know, two people, that's keying your organization bumping heads.
Speaker 3:I just don't see how you fire both guys if they're having a dispute.
Speaker 2:Because you also don't want to make it seem like you're picking favors for whoever come in next.
Speaker 3:That's exactly what you do, because if you fire the coach because of the players, you're picking the player's side. So that's absolutely what you do. It's not like you're working at Kroger and you know the bag boy and the cart guy get into a scuffle in the back room. Then in that situation you do fire both guys. But this is the NBA, this is a business. If it was them going head to head, there's no way both of them get fired.
Speaker 3:But then I mean, but I mean, and then they got to win, so you're going to pick and your organization isn't sad, so both guys have been vital in that championship. So there's no way you fire both those guys because they have a disagreement.
Speaker 2:You pick one and you move on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, but also or you just let them fucking go at it. As long as games are still being won, the Nuggets are still winning, so the LLT is winning.
Speaker 2:They've slipped the back end since the All-Star break. I think they're like 11-13 since the All-Star break they got injuries too.
Speaker 3:Yoke has just missed games.
Speaker 2:Murray has missed games.
Speaker 2:But it seems to happen like this, towards the end of the season, you just lost four in a row. You just lost to Minnesota, you lost to San Antonio, you lost to Golden State and you lost to the Pacers. So it's like I don't know. Hopefully it's not a thing, but it's like towards the end of the season, when you're fighting for playoff position, you lose four in a row. Your coach and your GM are button heads. So, as an owner, you got to think. As an owner is knowing what's going on behind the scenes, and then looking on the court, like maybe and that's what I'm saying, I'm just saying maybe, because the only person that could do this is like president of operations or owner. They could fire both of them. So that's what I'm thinking Like maybe it got to be, maybe it was just too much at this point in time, and maybe Jokic or Murray or somebody spoke up too, like look, I don't know, maybe not making a move at the trade deadline.
Speaker 2:I don't know, but this is probably most probable.
Speaker 3:I don't think I've ever seen a situation where a good team fires the GM and the head coach two years off of a championship. I don't see that. And then they went to the Western Conference Finals last year right. Like bro no.
Speaker 2:I'm not buying it, I mean that might be. No, they didn't. That was Minnesota.
Speaker 3:Okay, so it was the year before that they went to the Western. Did they even go to the Western Conference Finals after winning it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they beat the Lakers.
Speaker 3:Was that the Western Conference Finals? I'm not sure they didn't go to the finals back-to-back, did they? I thought they won the finals and then went to the Western Conference Finals. I could be wrong, though no Maybe it was because they beat the Lakers.
Speaker 2:That's when they went to the finals and that's when they won. Oh, okay, that's when they won.
Speaker 3:And then last year, twice in the playoffs recently Uh-uh. That was yesterday.
Speaker 2:Unless they beat them earlier in the playoffs, it wasn't in the conference finals yeah, yeah, yeah it wasn't back to back years in conference finals. They probably did beat them twice. They probably beat them, they probably put them out last year, but I just know that it wasn't back-to-back Western conferences for them. But yeah, I mean, like you said, still two years removed, that's tough, unless you're about to sell the team. That's the only time I've ever seen that before People start cleaning the house or something like that.
Speaker 3:So they fired a good coach in the GM because they're selling the team.
Speaker 2:Listen to coach a good coach in the GM because they're selling the team.
Speaker 1:Listen, I'm just saying, that's the only other time.
Speaker 2:I've seen it. Like I said, the digging everywhere on the internet is just saying that it was a disconnect with the locker room.
Speaker 1:Never seen that shit.
Speaker 2:Booth and Malone was basically just beefing behind closed doors. That's all I got. I went to ESPN. I clicked on Denver's Nuggets website, anywhere that this story popped up, because I was, like I said, I was just as puzzled as you. I'm like what is going on? Why, like you said, this team has been competitive. You got a championship out of this team, but not only that. They've been very competitive. Yeah, they've been very competitive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they lost these last four, but you still got three more games, and it's against Sacramento, memphis and Houston, which ain't no easy slide. I mean, if you can win those three going into the playoffs, I think those are all three good wins. But chances are that Memphis and Houston game you could possibly lose both of them with how they've been playing lately, but nonetheless, I don't know man. I just thought they was heading in a good direction, with Westbrook playing really well. I mean, I think they still going to run, regardless of where they're seated. They'll be a tough out for anybody. But everybody in the sports world is saying the same thing they didn't see this coming.
Speaker 3:Yeah, not at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, like I said, I have nothing else on that man, we are only 20 minutes in and we are. It's just been dry.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man.
Speaker 2:It's the sports world man. It's been very dry.
Speaker 3:Baseball's kicking up. I'm excited about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, man, it's been very dry. Baseball's kicking up, I'm excited about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, man, it's all good Red.
Speaker 2:Sox man. I don't know, man, how y'all doing so far this year? Horrible bro. Our ownership man is just starting to irk me, man. We have one of the biggest caps in baseball and we just don't spend it. We do not go after guys.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because y'all used to be like the Yankees and the Dodgers. Y'all used to spend whatever.
Speaker 2:Bro. We got good at building talent in our AAA and AA teams, bro, and like bringing talent up.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:What we did is and it started with fucking Mookie Betts, bro we built him up, came up through the gauntlet, man Got good, got time to pain, traded him.
Speaker 3:Who'd y'all get from him? Probably nobody. Who am I fooling? Nobody ever gets anybody back for trades these days.
Speaker 2:Well, some situations, some situations, yeah, but in baseball that's a little bit more Like. Mookie Betts is One of the best. He's top five in the league, like right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and y'all traded him. What? Five, six, seven years ago. For nothing bro, he's still one of the best. I mean he's still getting MVP votes.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying On the team with who he on the team with half the team get votes.
Speaker 3:Man for sure.
Speaker 2:It's just crazy that we haven't. I think we're just patiently waiting for the next guy to come up through the minors. And it's just like dude, at some point you got to keep competing, competing first off, being in boston, being in red sox, you know, having nine championships. Like you gotta keep competing. Like or our fan base, we get shitty, real quick, especially in baseball. Like we get real shitty, real quick. So, like I'm I'm tired of waiting, bro, like I'm ready for a good year. It's been too long, ain't Ain't nobody coming up. You need to spend some money, just like all these other teams do. Spend some money. Go get some players and compete, bro, because it ain't nobody in the AL East except for the Yankees Everybody else, I'm pretty either topped off, which aren't that good, or bottomed out.
Speaker 2:Tampa Bay bottomed out, detroit done bottomed out. Toronto done bottomed. They will blow their cap. They do not care Every single year. They're going to make sure that they go get some of the best guys and they're going to compete. And I think Boston should be doing the same thing. But nonetheless, man, back to NFL. It just man. It just makes me mad. That's why I don't really bring up, which I can't, I guess now, if it's me and you, I could bring up baseball, but man, I'd just be getting angry. We ain't much better though.
Speaker 3:So everything you just said, I don't feel bad for you, bro, because we're the worst franchise in sports. I think the Bengals and the Reds are probably definitely both in the bottom 10% of all franchises in sports, so it's hard for me to say for people I don't know.
Speaker 2:I got a question for you though, before we start this Rumor you guys be on the new stadium in Cincy.
Speaker 3:No, I heard some rumblings. I actually hoped that I was talking to my dad about this. I was like I actually hoped that Bengals leave.
Speaker 2:I've heard that as a possibility too.
Speaker 3:I still root for them. That would still be my team, but Cincinnati deserves better and I'm always picking my city before the team. Like Cincinnati deserves better. I'm sick of this cheap-ass owner. I'm sick of this cheap-ass, poorly run organization. Like I'm just over it. So if you want to leave, leave.
Speaker 2:Really I couldn't care less, although that was like oh, but building a new stadium, I'm like that'd be fire did just become a season ticket holder today, literally.
Speaker 3:But so I was joking with Dave. I was like I don't even know if past this season, because technically speaking they got until June to say, hey, after this next season, we out of here, which I don't think they're doing. I'm hoping the city, cincinnati, the county of Hamilton County, call it a bluff. But they need to get into the new century. Man Teams are putting up money for their stadiums these days. You know what I'm saying. They pay for nothing and they just refuse to pay for anything. Come on, man, pay for something. Forego some cash, make some renovations to the stadium, help the county. You know what I'm saying. So I actually hope Hamilton County, ohio, calls their bluff and say if you want to leave, leave and then let. I don't even know if they got enough money to leave.
Speaker 3:Broke-ass owner, like I mean, please go ahead, I'm with you, I'm with you, I'm with you. I'm Burrow, I'm Chase, I'm T Higgins. Those are my guys. Wherever they go, I'm going to be a fan. But the city of Cincinnati deserves better. The state of Ohio deserves better. That's that.
Speaker 2:I'm with you, man. We're going to start with the best 20 free agents out there, still Starting at 19,. Devon Miller, man, Anything else I mean he's 36. I think he had like five, six sacks last year, Anywhere you think he'd fit in at.
Speaker 3:Bengals. We literally need anybody with a pulse on defense. We could use them. I mean literally we need help at every single position, every single position. I would even look into adding a wide receiver. Like we need everything, everything except for a quarterback. Like we need everything Because I mean we loaded up with Chase and T Higgins, but even outside of that, who's our three? Like we don up with Chase and T Higgins, but even outside of that, who's our three? Like we don't have a legitimate three.
Speaker 3:We don't got no three that could sneak off and get you 150 yards Like we don't have that?
Speaker 2:What about Yoshivas? No, no, not Yoshivas I'm thinking about people out there, tyler Lockett.
Speaker 3:Oh, you're talking about free agents. I don't know about any of that man.
Speaker 2:But I mean, I think the series.
Speaker 1:I mean he would be good. He's only 32.
Speaker 3:If we picked up another wide receiver but I think it's bro, I think we're at 17. If there's a game-changing wide receiver at 17, I would take him Because, I mean, our defense is so bad. You got to make the offense historic. The offense has to be historic If we could pick up a Jameer Gibbs at 17 or anybody. Obviously Jameer Gibbs is in the NFL.
Speaker 2:I'm just saying a dynamic player like that at 17,.
Speaker 3:I don't even care if it's a wide receiver, you got to take him because we have to be dynamic. And I know people say, oh well, Chase and T is more. We need more. We had them last year. We need more More.
Speaker 2:So like we have to take him. But then you got to load up the defense somehow.
Speaker 3:We got to take the best player available at every single spot in the draft.
Speaker 1:The best player.
Speaker 3:No matter what the best player at each and if I don't care, best player I mean so I mean looking out here.
Speaker 2:I mean you still, you still got amari cooper out there, you still got uh keenan allen out there, uh jk dobbins out there, and he's just offensive players. That's just still out there. Uh, I don't know about him, but uh, dante johnson because I was like man.
Speaker 3:If you got like a title locket.
Speaker 3:Those would probably be your best bets I would even be cool with moving chase inside and bringing in somebody you know on on the outside and then just letting him go crazy down the field across the middle like bubble screens like bro I'm. I'm with all that. But like some people think I'm crazy, saying, oh the bingos. Just letting him go crazy down the field, cross the middle like bubble screens Like bro I'm with all that. But like some people think I'm crazy, saying, oh the Bengals, they better not take him. No, if we can get our hands on another game breaker, at whatever position, we need to take him for sure, like no doubt about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or we're going to be in the same situation, I think you're going to have to have some, I mean on the offensive end, like just putting so much money into, you know, those three guys, like I think you're going to have to, just the rest of the guys may have to just come from the draft offensively, I mean, unless you're going to put some money on defense, which you need to do that also.
Speaker 3:However, you got to do it. But I'm okay with even break not paying hendrickson and spreading that money out like let's pay some guys with that like. But see, the thing with the bingles is we don't have any scouts. We got like two scouts. I think normal teams have like anywhere between like 8 and 10 or 8 and 12 or something like that. We have two. But my thing is, bro, just watch espn on draft day, they'll tell you the draft it's not, it's not that hard.
Speaker 3:But we always draft somebody that's nowhere on anybody's board, like nobody. Like miles murphy was on nobody's board, like nobody was like, oh yeah, miles murphy's is definitely uh, a first round, uh draft pick, and then it it showed. The tape shows itself when you get to the season. He can't get on the field. We need starters in this draft. I don't care if it's first, second, third, seventh round. We got to draft some starters. We have to draft starters. I don't care if offensive, defensive, we got to draft some starters. We don't have no room. That we got. That's why we keep drafting the same position. I mean, we drafted, I think Chris Jenkins was maybe second round, and then the year before that was Miles Murphy first round. That's a first-rounder and a second-rounder.
Speaker 3:And what do all the experts say that the Bengals need defensively? We took DJ Turner in the first round one year. Dax Hill, I think, was first round. That's them two. I think Jordan Battle was late in the draft, but that's three DBs we drafted. Ivy is another late rounder, so that's four DBs we drafted within the last, I believe, three years. What do all the experts say that the Bengals need? It's not a coincidence. You got to strike gold man. We have to draft beast in this, in this draft. I don't care where they are, I don't care what position, I don't care what school conference they played in. We got to draft guys that can play day one or we going to be in the same situation we was in last year.
Speaker 2:Nah, I agree with that man and I'm kind of kind of the same way on, like I said, speaking and kind of the same way, like I said, speaking on the Colts is just definitely got to show up to tight end position, like you said. I mean dynamic on offense. I mean if you get one of those guys then you take them in the later round and like I mean I think we kind of filled our holes on defense. What we need, I think now is just start looking at your age guys just getting up there, your Buckners you know what I mean, he approaching, you know what I mean over 30, grover Stewart. So I will definitely get some DTs, start getting them coached up. Shoot. Everybody else is relatively young and O-line. I mean you can never not have too many.
Speaker 2:We lost three O-linemen this year, so get a couple O-linemen which we've been good at drafting. None of our guys have been free agents. Everybody we got on our line right now is people we done draft. So we've been doing really good in the draft O-linemen, so we can get some luck on D-linemen and maybe a solid linebacker or two with losing EJ Speed. Yeah, man, I would be happy with that. I just hope we just don't reach and just get some bullshit Like I mean like something. I mean like I mean what can't you use? But just don't do something stupid. Like I feel like you man, like now, with all this pressure on Ballard, it's like he may do something, you know, like radical, just to try to shake things up.
Speaker 3:Use the masses or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know what I mean. Like do something. Like don't reach or trade up and get something done. You know what I mean. Like just don't do too much. Like whatever it's going to be is going to be like at every position you done pretty much paid somebody you can't. You done filled your holes on defense. We got DBs. We got what we needed. As far as that, everybody else has been playing decent. Like I said, you just got to bring in some younger guys to fill in for some of the older guys and work on your O-line. Make sure that you got, because we just tend to have injuries on O-line. Make sure that you got, because we just tend to have injuries on O-line. So get some O-line and then sit down. Man, don't do nothing crazy. See what your quarterback going to be in offseason and I mean play ball. That's all you can do right now because you done paid Daniel Jones. So I mean to draft. I mean I guess you could draft another quarterback, but I mean not at what we at 15?
Speaker 3:17?.
Speaker 2:You can't draft another quarterback at 17.
Speaker 3:You can't sign. Daniel fucking Jones. Y'all should have rioted, because that's crazy, bro.
Speaker 2:It was too many people out there that if you really wanted to bring somebody in to compete, compete, you could have did it. You know what? I wouldn't even have been mad if they'd have traded for, like Kirk Cousins, not him. I'd have been like all right, now they serious about competing and winning.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'd have definitely messed with Kirk Cousins, because I mean, one thing nobody can say about Kirk Cousins is that he don't win where he goes. I mean he ain't going to blow you up, but I mean he'll win some games.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and he's going to win a lot more games than Daniel Jones. And that's what I'm saying. I mean ACL. Last year he was a little uh, but Atlanta was still fighting towards the end to almost win the NFC South.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. So even with bringing in what you call it, I mean I don't think he's lost it. Maybe he needs a little more time to get back in the groove of things. But towards the end of the season he wasn't playing bad and they just put old boy in because it was the end of the season and once they play our hopes are going to give him a couple games. You got to give him some experience. I get that.
Speaker 2:I think they actually did like bench Buddy, though that is one. Oh, did they Legit? I think it was like Kirk Cousins. I would look at that as true competition.
Speaker 3:I'm definitely taking him over, daniel Jones, bro, for sure.
Speaker 2:And, like I said, there's just a bunch of guys out there that definitely could have helped us more.
Speaker 3:Bro, do you got this Lakers game on? Why was it 4-3 at the end of?
Speaker 2:the first, I'm not surprised. No defense at all, I'm not surprised it's the end of the season.
Speaker 3:And the Thunders are supposed to be the best defensive team in the league. We know the Lakers ain't playing no damn defense yeah.
Speaker 2:Shoot man. That's all I got right now. Man.
Speaker 3:That's it, man, 35 minutes man, it is what it is, man, we'll be back next week and see what's going on.
Speaker 2:Probably just be talking basketball playoff scenes.
Speaker 3:I'm glad that Stephen A Smith-LeBron thing kind of died down.
Speaker 2:We didn't even talk about it. Honestly.
Speaker 3:I didn't even bring it up.
Speaker 2:last week I just totally spaced it.
Speaker 3:You may think he's so hard man. I don't understand it. Never have.
Speaker 2:It is what it is. I don't even really like saying it is what it is, but again, we had a point that you're kind of like you're splitting hairs. Lebron heard what he heard. You know what I mean. He feels the way he feel At the end of the day. Stephen A, if you're just talking about the sport, that's fine, and I think everybody's pretty much been saying the same thing. If you're talking about the sport, fine.
Speaker 2:If you're critiquing LeBron's play cool If you're critiquing Bronny's play cool, but when you're talking about oh, like you put him in this position. You, as a father, put him in this position, yeah and you need to pop and all this and that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and like then it's not.
Speaker 2:Then we're not talking about critique and play Right Like he's going to be critiqued as a basketball player.
Speaker 3:Bronny is up against his dad forever Like that's just my thing is this people want to say of course you know all the LeBron haters are always going to gravitate towards what the opposition is saying, but they're just like well, he could talk about Bronny's in the NBA.
Speaker 3:Okay, why are you even talk? Why are you mentioning LeBron in a sentence with, even if you are critiquing Bronny, what is LeBron? Why even mention LeBron? You know I'm saying that's. That's how you know that there's more to it than just, oh, I'm, I'm. No, I didn't mean it. I was just critiquing, uh, brawny. That's all I would know. Because why is lebron even in your mouth? And if you're, if you're, pause, if you're, uh, that's that's a.
Speaker 3:That's a lie in itself, you know, and he was trying to say oh, I wasn't talking about your son, I was talking about you. You know, steve Naismith, I think he saw I was talking about you. Then why is Brownie's name being said?
Speaker 2:why are they like? You don't have to put them in the same sentence to critique one or the other exactly you don't like. No, I'm with you on that so that just blew it.
Speaker 3:But his whole, like that just blew his whole cover. Yeah, you're just talking about one or the other. Why is the other's name being mentioned in the same? You know, that shows you right there that you're trying to put them together and break down Like, nah, if you're going to talk about Bronny, just talk about Bronny, that's it.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. And if you're talking about LeBron, just talk about LeBron. Bronny, just talk about Bronny, that's it. You know what I mean? And if you're talking about LeBron, just talk about LeBron and keep it simple and keep it moving. There's no reason to make it more than what it is. Bro, Keep it sports, and I think that's probably what LeBron said too. Bro, just keep it sports. That's all that's to it. Yeah, but yeah, man. With that being said, man, we'll see y'all next week. Man, get ready for the NBA playoffs, man. And if it's me and Jerry, we're going to talk some baseball. Yes, sir, just a little bit. See y'all later, man. Peace, yep.