Hello guys, and welcome back to the week Side Podcast alongside Jenny Frentis. I'm Connor or Um. Thanks again for making our first mail bag episode so much fun last week. I thought we got a lot of really cool messages and interesting notes from everybody. And again, if you'd like to participate in that sometime down the road, UM, please leave us a note at week Side pod at gmail dot com. Doesn't have to be a question, it can be a comment anything you think. Um, you know this is your platform as much as it is our platform. Um, We're gonna kind of go back a little bit to a traditional version of the show this week. UM, not to say that life as we know it is going back to normal, but I don't know, Jenny, I had a bagel for the first time since coronavirus started, so maybe you know church. We got an email from church that we can start going back to church. Uh. So it seems like, you know, I don't know, at least things are at least trending back that way, So why not do a throwback and uh and and bring the weeks I'd podcast back to its old format. What kind of bagel did you have? So? Here? Is really you know, this is sort of marks the passage of time, right because, um, during coronavirus, I got like, like I decided to like take the time to super re examine my diet. And so the move was always everything bagel, that was always the move. But now today, um, we're recording this on Wednesday. Um, it was an eight grain bagel. So that's what I went with this morning, with turkey, bacon and eggs on it. Well, that sounds delicious. We're recording this on zoom and I just realized that you buried the lead, You're regrowing your beard, you know. It's it was a uh the shaving was like just a desperation thing. Like it wasn't as planned out um as as I thought. I think there was two pronged. One. My face got really hot when I was outside and I just had enough of it and I wanted to feel what it was like it just touch my chin again for the first time in five years. And the second part of that was to just emerge from the bathroom one day with a mustache and to and to make my wife cringe. That was really the other part part of the equation. But um, now it's coming back. I feel good. About it. Um, I actually kind of like the this is sort of where at the five o'clock shadow kind of stage. Um, I feel pretty good here, but I don't know how to maintain that like Brad Pitt just always has that, you know, how does that work? Right? No, I think it looks good. I like where it is. I'd say it's a little bit more than a five o'clock shadow, you know, it's it's kind of it's a nine o'clock hit. Yeah, it's a couple of steps past that, which I think is a good look. Okay, So all right, so a lot of a lot of things going on here. So alright, well let's jump right in to the news topics here. Um, we could talk about my beard forever. Um. And uh, just to mention for those of you have been listening on Friday's uh to the mm QB roundtable, it's now been two and a half months since editor Mitch has shaved, um become somewhat of a company sex symbol with that beard. So you know, just a big momentous thing going on there with the with the beard. So big ups to Mitch who is now two and a half months into his beard growing process. Um. But anyway. Topic number one, Colin Kaepernick has reportedly remained in shape and is still interested in playing professional football. Forty former forty Niner star who has led a team to a Super Bowl, has been at of football since sixteen. The Associated Press wrote a pretty interesting column this week advocating for Kaepernick to remain out of the NFL and to use this time of heightened awareness and what seems like more of a unilateral harmony between a lot of people. Maybe harmony is not the right word, but unilateral cooperation across the board, um to capitalize on the message that he's been advocating for all this time, while others I think could make a good argument that returning to a prominent role under center in the NFL would also do that. UM. So, I don't know, what do you think is the near future here for Colin Kaepernick. I think he should do whatever he wants to do. Hunter, And you know, I was thinking back. We had this discussion a couple of weeks ago, and I was thinking about what I said, and I worried at after the fact that maybe it came out the right way, or excuse me, the wrong way. UM. We talked about if he even wants to come back, right, And I think that's an important part of that. And by saying that, I didn't mean that he shouldn't go back to the NFL. But does he want to go back? Um? Does he want to, you know, a team to hold him up as some symbol that they've come a long way? Right? But if he does want to come back, then he by all means should and it sounds like he very much does that. He wants to continue his playing career as he has consistently over the past three years, and I think he should obviously have the opportunity to do that. Um. But I think one part of the conversation that's like this additional burden that he carries to have to vet a team to are they doing it for the right reasons? And I think that was the point I was trying to get at, which maybe I didn't elucidate clearly a couple of weeks ago, but it is kind of It's similar in a way, um too, when black coaches go on a job interview and they have to put extra effort or energy into vetting if this is a real interview or just a rooney rule box checker, right, And so I think for him, it's like you'd you'd have to go that extra step of understanding, like does the team really support you? You know, is it more than just words? Is it more than just symbolic? And I don't think that's fair for him to have to do UM, but I I certainly hope he has the opportunity to play and that it's a situation that he's comfortable in. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I think you're right. I mean, he has earned the right to do UM whatever he wants to do. I think that what he did at the time, UM and and place was incredibly brave UM, and it's proven to be exactly what is on our minds now four years later. And I think that any sort of UM foresight in a moment like that, where you're the only one doing it, or you're one of very few people doing it, and you have the entire really weight of the country bearing down on you, I mean, you know, do whatever you want, you know. I just hope that we can see a point where some of what he's advocated UM actually comes to fruition, you know. And it seems like there have been some really expedited changes that have already been made in the last few weeks. I think some things that he would certainly UM be happy about. But I don't want to put any words in his mouth. But I just hope that we see a nice ending. And I think if you go back in history, UM, there have been all these periods of tumultuous times and we've then reconsidered UM the athlete UM in a differ for since. I hope that kep It doesn't get to that point right where UM, we don't waste our time, uh like we did with Muhammad Ali or maybe Tommy Smith or any of these guys where we as a country sort of vilified them for what they believed in, uh, instead of getting to work on what they were talking about, you know what I mean, and and to allow them to still see that change while they can play and and perform. So I don't know, I mean, I just hope that we don't waste UM any more time. I think that the four years that we wasted already UM when he first started raising this message and all the people who started raising that message before him for years and years and years, I think we've wasted enough time. So hopefully, you know, here's to change and and whatever he wants to do, you know, yeah, and we've certainly heard a lot of players come out and indicate. Adrian Peterson said that he felt there would be a lot of NFL players kneeling this fall. And I think there has been a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks to kind of shift that stigma that strangely existed. But you know, it's I think what Kaepernick has done the last few years and as in the years ahead, will continue to be exhausting for him. It's obviously taking a hole on his career um, but you also have to think about, you know, just being out there and like being in a situation where you're trying to stand up for something you believe in and that requires some level of antagonism is the wrong word, but if you're pushing back against power structures that have been in place for hundreds of years, being a disruptor is really tiring. And he's taken a big toll over the last few years, and it would be nice to see him just be able to play football again and like have fun at the sport that he's good at, and like talk about Kaepernick also as a football player, and also this like kind of you know, I don't know this l it or part of his life to that he's also very good at, you know. To have him have the chance to do that again, I think would be really enjoyable for for him and a lot of people I'm sure that are around him. Yeah, definitely, UM, it'll be interesting. I mean, you know, I think that's something that people don't often think about. I mean, whatever you do in your free time, Um, that makes you happy that you associate yourself with that. You say, you coach your kids little league team, Say you, I don't know, you run track, or you run cross country, or you play in a wreck basketball league. I mean, you know, we all have something that sort of takes, um, that edge off of life, and that reminds us that we're here to have you know, a good time and too and to be with one another. And I think that you know, imagine not being able to do that for four years, you know what I mean? Um? And uh and just because you believe that everyone should be treated fairly, I mean, just think about that and in a broader sense and put that on yourself. Um. So here's the hoping that whatever it us. I mean, you know, I think we shouldn't be writing columns about what he should or shouldn't be doing, because only he knows that the answer to that right now, you know. But I hope that whatever it is, it leaves the entire country with a better taste in its mouth. I think than we went into this with because it was this has been a bad four years and they've We've wasted an awful lot of time for somebody who's just saying, we want to be treated the same as everybody else. Yeah, And I remember, on a related note to that what we're just talking about. I remember writing about Megan Rapino when after she took a need to support Kaepernick. You know, she endured a lot of backlash two and she got to continue her soccer career. Right. She's like very open about that, and she feels guilt about the fact that she kept being allowed to play, or guilt is probably the right word. She was very aware of the white privilege that allowed her to keep playing. But her pink hair last summer was a reflection of like, I just want to I'm out here playing soccer and I want to have fun, and there's this lighter side to you, and so I think it would then We celebrated her for that, and I think it would be wonderful to have the chance to celebrate Kaepernick in a in a similar way. I don't think he's going to go for pink hair, but you know, maybe he would or something. Just the idea that, you know, you could be doing something that just expressing joy in a different way right after a long period of time. So totally alright Topic number two. According to our own Albert Brier, Bill Belichick brought in Rassan Hall, director of the Racial Justice Program at the a c l U of Massachusetts, this week to speak to his players. Belichick also complimented Devin mccordy on his social justice work, and in a statement's ESPN added, I look forward to increasing my role in this process. Four years ago, Don Belichick ro Donald Trump an encouraging letter, which Trump read aloud on the campaign trail at a pivotal New England area campaign stop. One former player recently told Tom Curran he told the players not to get into the election or debate with the media because it would become a distraction. One former Patriots told me this week this is concurrent, so we listened. But when he endorsed Trump, a lot of people were upset. He tried to say he didn't endorse him and that he was just writing a friend a letter, but we all knew what that letter meant. Is it fair to wonder where Belichick's mind is at? Now? I have read both sides of this, uh w E. I came down and kind of wrote a counter to Tom Curran's calm, which that was the crux of it, is that we deserve to know where Belichick's head is at on this by saying that Belichick doesn't know anybody um to explain his politics. UM. But I think that if you're a Patriots player, you're certainly wondering, you know, I mean, you're definitely curious, um throughout this entire thing. You know, Tom Brady certainly got a majority of the pressure from the hat and the locker and you know, all that stuff, um related to his support of the president. UM. And you know he would go on saying, oh, he's just a friend, He's just a friend. But you know, Belichick wrote a mill her. I mean, this was and and really the crux of the letter was about how you know, bias the media was towards Trump, and uh, you know which I think I would hope that a lot of people see over four years as born out not to be true. I mean, I think we kind of knew what he was going into this, but um, you know, I don't know. I mean, I think that he deserves, you know, that players deserve a little bit of clarity on this. I mean, if not, you're just leaving that ambiguity um hanging out there. And I don't know how healthy that is. I mean, you know, maybe he and there's a good chance that he just doesn't care and he won't address it too. Yeah. I think one of the interesting things that we're seeing right now is there's been even greater pushback at the idea that issues of social injustice racial injustice are in any way political. I think right that has been I hope a shift in the conversation that these are human rights issues, they're not politics. And so I think brushing aside your support for the president as political um or saying let's not talk about politics, right, Hopefully that's in the past, because it's a lot more than political. It has ramifications on social injustices and on human rights. And so that's where this conversation is interesting, because we are in an election year, but people are putting the emphasis where it should be in saying these issues are It's not just about an election. An election has an impact on human rights issues, right, So if you're if you're telling your players not to talk about the election, you're essentially telling them not to talk about human rights. And so it'll be interesting to see how things go when teams are back in locker rooms. And also we're seeing a lot of teams try to address these big questions and issues right now. But what happens when the season starts, when most of these coaches have made a career or have lived in this NFL bubble of where you tell players to block out things, and here you have players saying we can't block out things like this is our life. So I'm I think this is a fascinating kind of microcosm into what's going to go around the league in terms of how engaged coaches are allowing. I guess it's the wrong word because they're adults. They can do whatever they want. But is there a mandate from coaches to you know, not be involved or not talk about it? As as this former player seemed to indicate to Tom Current had happened in the past. Yeah, my thing with the whole deal about well, he's he's just a friend, and I was writing him a letter that I didn't expect to be read out loud. If you're really friends with him, you would know that the first thing he would want to do when he got that letter was read it out loud to a large group of people. If you were really that, if you're really that good of friends with him, enough close enough to write him a letter of just vague hello, how are you doing support, you would one hundred percent know that he wanted to read that out loud to to a crowd. I mean, you know, I would hope that that would be one of the takeaways that you would have from him. And if the opposite is true, if that is a legitimate letter of adoration, support whatever it is, I think you owe your players um an explanation say either I was wrong or this is why I support this guy, And if you know you don't like it, you don't have to play for me anymore. Whatever it is. I mean, you know, but I think that ambiguity in any sense isn't gonna fly anymore. And you know, people can say I want to keep the politics out of work in sports and all that stuff. But the line has been crossed habitually so many times. I mean, the President has entered every foray of our lives. He's entered work, he's entered sports, he's entered school, he's entered church, and so you can't keep politics out of any of it now because it's all political and so, you know, too bad. And I think that this is the reality that we're living in right now. And we're in a different spot too, because we've seen teams and owners be scared of Trump in the past, you know, be scared of you know, angering him with an anthem policy or whatever. Now we're at a point where your actions could directly affect whether or not he continues to be in office. So it's just a very different point, um. And I just think the next few months are gonna be really interesting, and I think we're gonna see a lot of characters revealed, UM as we see teams and coaches trying to handle this as as a good friend UM from a previous employment stop Dan Hans this used to call it the revealed magnifico on everybody. So we will see that the grand reveal of all personalities. We will see, we will see what that's like. Um. Alright, so topic number three. Coaches are returning to facilities this weekend. I saw video this morning of Zach Taylor being screened for symptoms on his way into the Bengals facility, and he got his temperature taken with one of those neat thermometers that you beat at the forehead. UM for red scan, nurse for red scanners. Yeah. Anthony Lynn also looking stylish, by the way, wheeling his belongings back into the facility, um while wearing a mask. Um. By the way, there was there was no one around, like Anthony Lynz got a pack everything on a on like a home depot cart and move it all into the facility himself. Like there's no uh, you know, come on, Chargers, you know you can't have somebody out there and meet him and help him with the car, you know, social distancing Connor, Oh, true, true, very fair. That Yeah, I retract that. Good job, chargers. Um. Is it only a matter of time before we are all back to normal? Or is this whole thing, I mean, whatever we saw this morning, these little glimpses of it, um a signal that the normal that we once kind of knew in the NFL is just never coming back. Yeah, And that's what I feel like we're all facing right now, Connor, And I think that's something that I think about a lot. I went to this vigil at Carl Shurt's Park on the Upper East Side on Monday night, UM it's Black Lives Matter vigil and George Floyd and Brianna Taylor and you know, and ended up being a little march around the block. There was another group coming up, but there is uh. One of the speakers said, there's this big risk that when everyone goes back to their normal lives and their normal routines, we retreat to this place where we don't talk about racism anymore and until there's another George Floyd or another Brianna Taylor, and you know that that's something that leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement are scared of, right. And so I think we're at this interesting point like where we were in this coronavirus bubble, and in a sense it gave us the time and space maybe people who wouldn't have normally like reflected on the issues going on in our country, UM too, really pay attention and listen and learn and maybe show support and ways that they wouldn't have, which I know is a little bit tangentile, but just what we were you said at the top of the question to um, you know, going back to normal, Like I feel like this is what we're all facing right now, Like what do we go back to? Uh? What are routines and should they even be the same? Yeah, it's it's gonna be so interesting. I mean, you know, I'm just thinking as a reporter about you know, when I go to a training camp practice, if there is a training camp practice, you know, um, you know, am I gonna be hopefully subjected to the same screening that all these other people are. You know, when we get our infant red temperature scan? Well, they care about the fact that, Um, you know, I remember being a beat writer in training camp and you're trying to hunker down for that good spot in front of the drill where everybody lands and you want to get the picture and the video and all that kind of stuff. But that's where we're not gonna be able to do that anymore, you know. I mean, we're gonna have to be apart from one another. And you know, I'm thinking about all that kind of stuff. I wonder what what this is all going to be like, But it was sort of surreal to see videos of coaches kind of walking back in and just getting back to work, you know. And then I think that's a question too, for like how does access shift? Because if we go to a place where like, okay, maybe there's a pool reporter at practice, um during training camp, right, maybe there's one or two pool reporters a day similar to like the White House press pool or something right there in charge of taking account for what happens that day and filing a pool report. And then maybe there's like a zoom conference call afterward, and then our locker rooms open. You know. We saw some of the social distancing guidelines being put out by the league this week that like lockers need to be six ft apart, and like, so I think a lot of us are trying to wrap our heads around how does this work? And then I think if we settle into this routine for these other media protocols, then do you all of a sudden lose that access that's existed for decades? Right? So, like do teams say, well, we did it this way and it's fine and I think a fight for access has been a big thing in the NFL for the last several years. That's been one of the big shifts is that teams are shifting their access more to their own team websites and away from into pendent media. So if we go to this routine of where access is limited, do teams try to make that a permanent thing? I was this is sort of like going off the rails a little bit into uh like inside baseball journalism discussion. But I always I had an interesting discussion with a few people about this the other day, and like, you know, imagine if everything kind of goes that way where um, you know, our access to players, um is less on the individual uh level, where we can talk to them in the locker room and not in a big group setting, you know, all that kind of stuff, and everything is just crawled and held in by the team. I think historically, if you look across the NFL, the teams with the most I'm gonna try to find the best way to put this, the teams with the most negativity or constant negativity surrounding them are usually the teams that try to make that a habit long term. Because if you remove the players from the equation and disallow them from speaking for themselves and instead kind of just towing the company line and this thing, I think you build up frustration with them. I think you build up frustration with the media. And you know, everybody has a job to do. They have to report on the team, they have to look it into what's going on. And if if you don't provide that access to the players, people are going to go anywhere they can. I mean, you know, and and and not to say to go to great links to make up a story. I'm not saying that. I'm saying go to great links to do their jobs, you know. And I think that it's going to be interesting to see where the landing spot is there. You know, I think that we could as fans, just from a fans perspective, I think the way that we digest football could be a hundred percent different three or four years from now. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's it's going to be interesting to see think what things reset permanently and what things go back to the way they were before the pandemic. So definitely a lot of the next few months are gonna be interesting for that as well, just to kind of see what kind of routine we settle into. Speaking of big reveals, I think we're going to find out a lot about the PR directors around the league. You know, who really feels what you know? Right right? Just saying or and I could get boxed out big time. Maybe maybe maybe just me alright. Topic four and some rare transactional football news to Dave and Clowney remains unsigned, but not for lack of effort across the NFL an absence of team medical testing capabilities. It seems his best options are high end one year deals. Is it possible one team will break down the closer we get to the regular season to sign him. I think so, right, I mean, I mean, he's definitely playing, you know, this year, But um, I think he's been smart about this. I think that he's waiting. You know, he's the only really big time free agent left on the market that could command a deal like that that's in his prime. Everybody said, well, teams have already spent all their cap space. I don't think that's true. I think that there's plenty of teams with enough money in the bank to fit him in on like a two or three year deal. So I don't know. I think that the future is brighter for him than than as advertised right now. Teams never have spent all of their cap space. There's always another way, Like I mean, the Dolphins signed Jay Cutler to a ten million dollar deal in training camp? What was that three years ago? Two years? Losing track of time? UM, So, yes, there's always space. I guess the interesting question will be does does his asking price drop or does what teams are offering come up? Do they meet in the middle, Like what gives here? Right? Does he say I'm not going to get what I was asking for, so I'll drop down. Do some teams who have been offering X dollars aside to offer a little bit more? Maybe they meet in the middle. Maybe he goes back to Seattle. I think a lot of he would be a good fit in a lot of teams. I'm working on something that I think is going to go up this week on UM each teams biggest weak spots you know in the NFL, and you know there's still a lot of pass rush weakness across the league. UM, and you know, I'm looking at teams especially you know, someone like Detroit or Miami or Cleveland who need to have a good year this year. Who don't have a choice, you know, but to have a good year this year? Um? And I don't know. I think somebody breaks down and gives him whatever he wants, because, uh, you know, desperation is you know. I mean, that's that's what happens. You know, once you get your team actually in front of you and you look around and say, holy smokes, this isn't gonna work. What's the first thing you're gonna do is looked upgrade at the position. Yeah, everyone's always in need of pass rush. If not, you're gonna look like a clown. Eh. Wow, did you you didn't put that one in the script? Was that just spontaneous? Yeah? And I'm like, you know, you know, when you really you immediately feel it and you're like, not a good idea, That's all right, Okay, moving on to topic five. And I think that's the best thing to do. I think it's the ust thing to do. UM. Big investigative dropped from Pro Football Talk on Wednesday that Ben Roethlisberger will begin the process of unblocking everyone from his Twitter account, which, based on current calculations, may or may not take longer than an election recount. While Roethlisberger reportedly does not manage the day to day operations of a social media channel, whomever does has become legendary at swatting away all the haters. In quotes full disclosure, Jenny and I are among those who have been blocked, and as of before the showtime started, still blocked by Ben Roethlisberger. Are you excited to get the full Ben Roethlisberger social media experience again? Jenny, Well, I don't believe I followed him before I was, so I don't think I really noticed that I was blocked until people pointed out everyone so been blocked, and then I checked. I think for me it was the Lady on Bell story that we did where he kind of called out Ben for not relating to his teammates, and um, I'm kind of thinking he was on a different level. Um was when I got hit with the block. Do you know your approximate time? Connor? No, But all of a sudden, like in like the middle of the summer last year, I just started getting lumped into all these like Twitter threads of like rabid Roethlisberger support, and I was like, what's going on here? Um? I didn't write anything about him. Um, you know, I'm not shy about how I felt about him in the moment. But like it's not like there was anything like flagrant or anything like that. I mean, blocked by mistake. No, I mean I I certainly uh you know, I certainly wrote my fair share of times that I think that he deserved a share of the blame. I mean, you know, he was never really criticized for what had been falling apart in Pittsburgh. Obviously, what we know about Antonio Brown now has changed the calculus there a little bit. Um but um, you know, yeah, I don't know. Um, I don't I don't know if I'll follow. Um, I don't think I will follow. Um. But just you know, another another weight lifted off my shoulders. I think, you know, just you know, I don't like being blocked by anybody, you know, right, I got it, I got it, one of those people who, uh, you know, when someone doesn't like me, it bothers me, you know what. I mean to know why even though that everyone would have a perfectly good reason for not liking me, you know, well that's not true. Well it was once said that you have a punchable face. I don't have to agree with that. Has that changed to bring it back to the top of the show in the absence of a beard, I think we're gonna have to go back to the source of that. Who is oh ship, It's Mike Garafolo. So this is now no longer a Mike Garafolo free pot, but NFL Networks Mike Garrefolo who first pointed out that I had I had a punchable face. So did you have a punchable face pre beard, though, I think I mean yeah, I would definitely Yeah, Okay, so maybe maybe the beard softens it a little bit. Maybe the beard made me less punchable. Yeah, I think that might be true. I never thought you had a punch will face overall, but I think with the beard, probably even less so. But we will make sure to keep listeners updated on our status because I am curious how long the unblocking will take. Because you said you think he has to go one by one. I think you do. Um. I looked maybe like a couple of years ago, and I was up in the two to three hundreds of people that I had blocked. UM, And I don't think you can just open the gate, you know, and then they all run back out. I don't think that's how that works. And half of them were counts that don't even exist anymore, like Tom one two, three, nine, four, one, six, seven, five four, and like his Twitter avatars like an eagle, you know, and then he's on there for two days, um, and then he's not out there anymore, you know. So sure, right, Okay, Well, we'll have to keep tabs on this because I am curious about how long this process will take. It seems like a pretty long project. Yeah, yeah, yeah, good luck, Ben. Hopefully everything works out oracle time. I So I mentioned before that I'm kind of doing this thing where you look over every roster and you talk about team's biggest week spots. Um, and I have a kind of a spicy prediction upcoming, uh for this season, assuming that everything starts on time, and then assuming that everything goes back to normal, I think four weeks into the NFL season, if it starts on time, we are going to be talking about the playoff bound Dolphins and we're going to be mentioning Ryan Fitzpatrick in the m v P conversation four weeks in, four weeks in. I don't think it will remain that way, but I think four weeks into the season, we're going to be talking about Dolphins team that might be in first place, and uh and Ryan Fitzpatrick being in the m v P talk. Okay, interesting, Now the first four weeks other schedule. How's that looking? Okay, let's let's pull it up. That's good. Yeah, I should have probably looked at that before. That's okay. No, I mean you're you're you're banking on some early season fits magic, which isn't you know, never a bad thing to bet on? True? Um, Okay, here we go, Uh, Patriots to start tough one, but Jared's did him brand new Bills? Next again? I think a toss up at this point. Jaguars and then Seahawks. I could see them going three and one in that stretch. Okay, Okay, all right, Jaguars is definite win. So I mean, I don't know, I'm just perpetually low on the Jaguars. I know, I'm sorry. I guess it's like some kind of I need to work on this. I need to be a little bit more open minded. But yeah, I'm perpetually low on the Jaguars. You gotta let you gotta let Gardner Minshew into your heart. You gotta let him in. Yeah, that's true. There's some excitement there. I'll agree with at Yeah, um, all right, what do we have for our frente consensus? First one in a long time, So I'm looking forward to having hot And well, you know I mentioned earlier, I went to this vigil and then a little march on the Upper East Side, and you know, I think it was really there's so much going on in the world right now that is depressing and demoralizing in terms of like how much more work we have to do for equality and for there to be racial justice in America, And at times, like the work that needs to be done to make our society more equitable and more inclusive and not be racist feels like it just feels overwhelming at times. And I can only imagine how black people feel in America right now. But it was it was very uplifting, Like I don't know that I expected that feeling. I guess of up being uplifted because it's such a heavy subject matter, right, and you know, you sit in the park and you raise your they had everyone raised their fists for um, the exact length of time that George Floyd was fighting for his life and he realized, like I can't even hold my fist up for that long, right, um. And so there are lots of like heavy moments, but I love feeling very uplifted by this like sense of community and people marching together and raising signs and then this, you know, the nature of the Black Lives Matter movement is it's there's no one central leader, right, so as all these ad HOWC organizations kind of coming together. So there was a smart that had been coming up from Washington Square Park like hours earlier, and then someone announced there are a few blocks away, like let's go and meet them. So it was just this like really reaffirming sense of like community and people coming together. And you know, I think where we live, Connor, a lot of times, you know New York City, like it's definitely you it's a very progressive bubble, and I think sometimes you you know, forget about I don't know, it's it's a different viewpoint, I guess living here. But it was just being part of that in the middle of the street and feeling that energy was um, I don't know, it just gave me something that kind of carried forward and a little bit of hope that maybe we are headed in the right direction. So I guess I would just say, like I would encourage people if there's some kind of gathering in your area. You know, there's a lot of socially distanced like vigils or um just gatherings memorial types. Doesn't have to be a march. It could be a march. There's a lot of different things going on. And if that doesn't work for you as well, I mean there's other ways to feel connected. But I don't know, I just wanted to share that that was affirming for me, and I think, um, yeah, it was. It was a takeaway that I'll carry forward. So and I think it's just incredible that time after time, you know, a community that deals with so much still responds with messages of peace and togetherness and uplifting um, whereas you know, people who have not had it one iota is difficult or so quick to respond with anger, you know, and and frustration. And I don't know, I think that hit home for me, you know, just not only hearing your story, but you know, seeing similar marches on the news and everything that's been taking place. It's like the resilience is incredible, you know, And I think that that's something that we can all take something from there and and think about and reflect on. Yeah, I think that's really good because it's yeah, for you, like for me to just say, wow, it feels overwhelming, that's just like, well, I'm not even you know, I don't even experience this on any kind of level that other people do, and that can only imagine how overwhelming it feels for black people in America right now. So I think you're right, Connor. I think that resilience it's you know, it's it's amazing that the people who didn't create this issue, that are being oppressed by this issue are the ones that are sharing resilience with the rest of us. Um. And I think that's pretty remarkable, So no doubt. Well, thanks again for listening to this week's episode. Things went better today. We didn't have to re record that we know. Of of course, I could be drinxing things, um but as always, this is one of our favorite parts of the week, So thank you for joining us. All. The mm QB week Side podcast is me, Jenny Rerentis and Connor Or. We are produced by Shelby Royston SIS. Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody Ben Eagle is Director of Editorial Projects and Product Mark Mravik is Emeritus Executive director of the MMQB. Keep up with our entire lineup of podcasts five days a week by subscribing to the mm QB NFL podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, and while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a rating and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot com, stitcher side dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts,

Hello guys, and welcome back to the week Side Podcast alongside Jenny Frentis. I'm Connor or Um. Thanks again for making our first mail bag episode so much fun last week. I thought we got a lot of really cool messages and interesting notes from everybody. And again, if you'd like to participate in that sometime down the road, UM, please leave us a note at week Side pod at gmail dot com. Doesn't have to be a question, it can be a comment anything you think. Um, you know this is your platform as much as it is our platform. Um, We're gonna kind of go back a little bit to a traditional version of the show this week. UM, not to say that life as we know it is going back to normal, but I don't know, Jenny, I had a bagel for the first time since coronavirus started, so maybe you know church. We got an email from church that we can start going back to church. Uh. So it seems like, you know, I don't know, at least things are at least trending back that way, So why not do a throwback and uh and and bring the weeks I'd podcast back to its old format. What kind of bagel did you have? So? Here? Is really you know, this is sort of marks the passage of time, right because, um, during coronavirus, I got like, like I decided to like take the time to super re examine my diet. And so the move was always everything bagel, that was always the move. But now today, um, we're recording this on Wednesday. Um, it was an eight grain bagel. So that's what I went with this morning, with turkey, bacon and eggs on it. Well, that sounds delicious. We're recording this on zoom and I just realized that you buried the lead, You're regrowing your beard, you know. It's it was a uh the shaving was like just a desperation thing. Like it wasn't as planned out um as as I thought. I think there was two pronged. One. My face got really hot when I was outside and I just had enough of it and I wanted to feel what it was like it just touch my chin again for the first time in five years. And the second part of that was to just emerge from the bathroom one day with a mustache and to and to make my wife cringe. That was really the other part part of the equation. But um, now it's coming back. I feel good. About it. Um, I actually kind of like the this is sort of where at the five o'clock shadow kind of stage. Um, I feel pretty good here, but I don't know how to maintain that like Brad Pitt just always has that, you know, how does that work? Right? No, I think it looks good. I like where it is. I'd say it's a little bit more than a five o'clock shadow, you know, it's it's kind of it's a nine o'clock hit. Yeah, it's a couple of steps past that, which I think is a good look. Okay, So all right, so a lot of a lot of things going on here. So alright, well let's jump right in to the news topics here. Um, we could talk about my beard forever. Um. And uh, just to mention for those of you have been listening on Friday's uh to the mm QB roundtable, it's now been two and a half months since editor Mitch has shaved, um become somewhat of a company sex symbol with that beard. So you know, just a big momentous thing going on there with the with the beard. So big ups to Mitch who is now two and a half months into his beard growing process. Um. But anyway. Topic number one, Colin Kaepernick has reportedly remained in shape and is still interested in playing professional football. Forty former forty Niner star who has led a team to a Super Bowl, has been at of football since sixteen. The Associated Press wrote a pretty interesting column this week advocating for Kaepernick to remain out of the NFL and to use this time of heightened awareness and what seems like more of a unilateral harmony between a lot of people. Maybe harmony is not the right word, but unilateral cooperation across the board, um to capitalize on the message that he's been advocating for all this time, while others I think could make a good argument that returning to a prominent role under center in the NFL would also do that. UM. So, I don't know, what do you think is the near future here for Colin Kaepernick. I think he should do whatever he wants to do. Hunter, And you know, I was thinking back. We had this discussion a couple of weeks ago, and I was thinking about what I said, and I worried at after the fact that maybe it came out the right way, or excuse me, the wrong way. UM. We talked about if he even wants to come back, right, And I think that's an important part of that. And by saying that, I didn't mean that he shouldn't go back to the NFL. But does he want to go back? Um? Does he want to, you know, a team to hold him up as some symbol that they've come a long way? Right? But if he does want to come back, then he by all means should and it sounds like he very much does that. He wants to continue his playing career as he has consistently over the past three years, and I think he should obviously have the opportunity to do that. Um. But I think one part of the conversation that's like this additional burden that he carries to have to vet a team to are they doing it for the right reasons? And I think that was the point I was trying to get at, which maybe I didn't elucidate clearly a couple of weeks ago, but it is kind of It's similar in a way, um too, when black coaches go on a job interview and they have to put extra effort or energy into vetting if this is a real interview or just a rooney rule box checker, right, And so I think for him, it's like you'd you'd have to go that extra step of understanding, like does the team really support you? You know, is it more than just words? Is it more than just symbolic? And I don't think that's fair for him to have to do UM, but I I certainly hope he has the opportunity to play and that it's a situation that he's comfortable in. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I think you're right. I mean, he has earned the right to do UM whatever he wants to do. I think that what he did at the time, UM and and place was incredibly brave UM, and it's proven to be exactly what is on our minds now four years later. And I think that any sort of UM foresight in a moment like that, where you're the only one doing it, or you're one of very few people doing it, and you have the entire really weight of the country bearing down on you, I mean, you know, do whatever you want, you know. I just hope that we can see a point where some of what he's advocated UM actually comes to fruition, you know. And it seems like there have been some really expedited changes that have already been made in the last few weeks. I think some things that he would certainly UM be happy about. But I don't want to put any words in his mouth. But I just hope that we see a nice ending. And I think if you go back in history, UM, there have been all these periods of tumultuous times and we've then reconsidered UM the athlete UM in a differ for since. I hope that kep It doesn't get to that point right where UM, we don't waste our time, uh like we did with Muhammad Ali or maybe Tommy Smith or any of these guys where we as a country sort of vilified them for what they believed in, uh, instead of getting to work on what they were talking about, you know what I mean, and and to allow them to still see that change while they can play and and perform. So I don't know, I mean, I just hope that we don't waste UM any more time. I think that the four years that we wasted already UM when he first started raising this message and all the people who started raising that message before him for years and years and years, I think we've wasted enough time. So hopefully, you know, here's to change and and whatever he wants to do, you know, yeah, and we've certainly heard a lot of players come out and indicate. Adrian Peterson said that he felt there would be a lot of NFL players kneeling this fall. And I think there has been a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks to kind of shift that stigma that strangely existed. But you know, it's I think what Kaepernick has done the last few years and as in the years ahead, will continue to be exhausting for him. It's obviously taking a hole on his career um, but you also have to think about, you know, just being out there and like being in a situation where you're trying to stand up for something you believe in and that requires some level of antagonism is the wrong word, but if you're pushing back against power structures that have been in place for hundreds of years, being a disruptor is really tiring. And he's taken a big toll over the last few years, and it would be nice to see him just be able to play football again and like have fun at the sport that he's good at, and like talk about Kaepernick also as a football player, and also this like kind of you know, I don't know this l it or part of his life to that he's also very good at, you know. To have him have the chance to do that again, I think would be really enjoyable for for him and a lot of people I'm sure that are around him. Yeah, definitely, UM, it'll be interesting. I mean, you know, I think that's something that people don't often think about. I mean, whatever you do in your free time, Um, that makes you happy that you associate yourself with that. You say, you coach your kids little league team, Say you, I don't know, you run track, or you run cross country, or you play in a wreck basketball league. I mean, you know, we all have something that sort of takes, um, that edge off of life, and that reminds us that we're here to have you know, a good time and too and to be with one another. And I think that you know, imagine not being able to do that for four years, you know what I mean? Um? And uh and just because you believe that everyone should be treated fairly, I mean, just think about that and in a broader sense and put that on yourself. Um. So here's the hoping that whatever it us. I mean, you know, I think we shouldn't be writing columns about what he should or shouldn't be doing, because only he knows that the answer to that right now, you know. But I hope that whatever it is, it leaves the entire country with a better taste in its mouth. I think than we went into this with because it was this has been a bad four years and they've We've wasted an awful lot of time for somebody who's just saying, we want to be treated the same as everybody else. Yeah, And I remember, on a related note to that what we're just talking about. I remember writing about Megan Rapino when after she took a need to support Kaepernick. You know, she endured a lot of backlash two and she got to continue her soccer career. Right. She's like very open about that, and she feels guilt about the fact that she kept being allowed to play, or guilt is probably the right word. She was very aware of the white privilege that allowed her to keep playing. But her pink hair last summer was a reflection of like, I just want to I'm out here playing soccer and I want to have fun, and there's this lighter side to you, and so I think it would then We celebrated her for that, and I think it would be wonderful to have the chance to celebrate Kaepernick in a in a similar way. I don't think he's going to go for pink hair, but you know, maybe he would or something. Just the idea that, you know, you could be doing something that just expressing joy in a different way right after a long period of time. So totally alright Topic number two. According to our own Albert Brier, Bill Belichick brought in Rassan Hall, director of the Racial Justice Program at the a c l U of Massachusetts, this week to speak to his players. Belichick also complimented Devin mccordy on his social justice work, and in a statement's ESPN added, I look forward to increasing my role in this process. Four years ago, Don Belichick ro Donald Trump an encouraging letter, which Trump read aloud on the campaign trail at a pivotal New England area campaign stop. One former player recently told Tom Curran he told the players not to get into the election or debate with the media because it would become a distraction. One former Patriots told me this week this is concurrent, so we listened. But when he endorsed Trump, a lot of people were upset. He tried to say he didn't endorse him and that he was just writing a friend a letter, but we all knew what that letter meant. Is it fair to wonder where Belichick's mind is at? Now? I have read both sides of this, uh w E. I came down and kind of wrote a counter to Tom Curran's calm, which that was the crux of it, is that we deserve to know where Belichick's head is at on this by saying that Belichick doesn't know anybody um to explain his politics. UM. But I think that if you're a Patriots player, you're certainly wondering, you know, I mean, you're definitely curious, um throughout this entire thing. You know, Tom Brady certainly got a majority of the pressure from the hat and the locker and you know, all that stuff, um related to his support of the president. UM. And you know he would go on saying, oh, he's just a friend, He's just a friend. But you know, Belichick wrote a mill her. I mean, this was and and really the crux of the letter was about how you know, bias the media was towards Trump, and uh, you know which I think I would hope that a lot of people see over four years as born out not to be true. I mean, I think we kind of knew what he was going into this, but um, you know, I don't know. I mean, I think that he deserves, you know, that players deserve a little bit of clarity on this. I mean, if not, you're just leaving that ambiguity um hanging out there. And I don't know how healthy that is. I mean, you know, maybe he and there's a good chance that he just doesn't care and he won't address it too. Yeah. I think one of the interesting things that we're seeing right now is there's been even greater pushback at the idea that issues of social injustice racial injustice are in any way political. I think right that has been I hope a shift in the conversation that these are human rights issues, they're not politics. And so I think brushing aside your support for the president as political um or saying let's not talk about politics, right, Hopefully that's in the past, because it's a lot more than political. It has ramifications on social injustices and on human rights. And so that's where this conversation is interesting, because we are in an election year, but people are putting the emphasis where it should be in saying these issues are It's not just about an election. An election has an impact on human rights issues, right, So if you're if you're telling your players not to talk about the election, you're essentially telling them not to talk about human rights. And so it'll be interesting to see how things go when teams are back in locker rooms. And also we're seeing a lot of teams try to address these big questions and issues right now. But what happens when the season starts, when most of these coaches have made a career or have lived in this NFL bubble of where you tell players to block out things, and here you have players saying we can't block out things like this is our life. So I'm I think this is a fascinating kind of microcosm into what's going to go around the league in terms of how engaged coaches are allowing. I guess it's the wrong word because they're adults. They can do whatever they want. But is there a mandate from coaches to you know, not be involved or not talk about it? As as this former player seemed to indicate to Tom Current had happened in the past. Yeah, my thing with the whole deal about well, he's he's just a friend, and I was writing him a letter that I didn't expect to be read out loud. If you're really friends with him, you would know that the first thing he would want to do when he got that letter was read it out loud to a large group of people. If you were really that, if you're really that good of friends with him, enough close enough to write him a letter of just vague hello, how are you doing support, you would one hundred percent know that he wanted to read that out loud to to a crowd. I mean, you know, I would hope that that would be one of the takeaways that you would have from him. And if the opposite is true, if that is a legitimate letter of adoration, support whatever it is, I think you owe your players um an explanation say either I was wrong or this is why I support this guy, And if you know you don't like it, you don't have to play for me anymore. Whatever it is. I mean, you know, but I think that ambiguity in any sense isn't gonna fly anymore. And you know, people can say I want to keep the politics out of work in sports and all that stuff. But the line has been crossed habitually so many times. I mean, the President has entered every foray of our lives. He's entered work, he's entered sports, he's entered school, he's entered church, and so you can't keep politics out of any of it now because it's all political and so, you know, too bad. And I think that this is the reality that we're living in right now. And we're in a different spot too, because we've seen teams and owners be scared of Trump in the past, you know, be scared of you know, angering him with an anthem policy or whatever. Now we're at a point where your actions could directly affect whether or not he continues to be in office. So it's just a very different point, um. And I just think the next few months are gonna be really interesting, and I think we're gonna see a lot of characters revealed, UM as we see teams and coaches trying to handle this as as a good friend UM from a previous employment stop Dan Hans this used to call it the revealed magnifico on everybody. So we will see that the grand reveal of all personalities. We will see, we will see what that's like. Um. Alright, so topic number three. Coaches are returning to facilities this weekend. I saw video this morning of Zach Taylor being screened for symptoms on his way into the Bengals facility, and he got his temperature taken with one of those neat thermometers that you beat at the forehead. UM for red scan, nurse for red scanners. Yeah. Anthony Lynn also looking stylish, by the way, wheeling his belongings back into the facility, um while wearing a mask. Um. By the way, there was there was no one around, like Anthony Lynz got a pack everything on a on like a home depot cart and move it all into the facility himself. Like there's no uh, you know, come on, Chargers, you know you can't have somebody out there and meet him and help him with the car, you know, social distancing Connor, Oh, true, true, very fair. That Yeah, I retract that. Good job, chargers. Um. Is it only a matter of time before we are all back to normal? Or is this whole thing, I mean, whatever we saw this morning, these little glimpses of it, um a signal that the normal that we once kind of knew in the NFL is just never coming back. Yeah, And that's what I feel like we're all facing right now, Connor, And I think that's something that I think about a lot. I went to this vigil at Carl Shurt's Park on the Upper East Side on Monday night, UM it's Black Lives Matter vigil and George Floyd and Brianna Taylor and you know, and ended up being a little march around the block. There was another group coming up, but there is uh. One of the speakers said, there's this big risk that when everyone goes back to their normal lives and their normal routines, we retreat to this place where we don't talk about racism anymore and until there's another George Floyd or another Brianna Taylor, and you know that that's something that leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement are scared of, right. And so I think we're at this interesting point like where we were in this coronavirus bubble, and in a sense it gave us the time and space maybe people who wouldn't have normally like reflected on the issues going on in our country, UM too, really pay attention and listen and learn and maybe show support and ways that they wouldn't have, which I know is a little bit tangentile, but just what we were you said at the top of the question to um, you know, going back to normal, Like I feel like this is what we're all facing right now, Like what do we go back to? Uh? What are routines and should they even be the same? Yeah, it's it's gonna be so interesting. I mean, you know, I'm just thinking as a reporter about you know, when I go to a training camp practice, if there is a training camp practice, you know, um, you know, am I gonna be hopefully subjected to the same screening that all these other people are. You know, when we get our infant red temperature scan? Well, they care about the fact that, Um, you know, I remember being a beat writer in training camp and you're trying to hunker down for that good spot in front of the drill where everybody lands and you want to get the picture and the video and all that kind of stuff. But that's where we're not gonna be able to do that anymore, you know. I mean, we're gonna have to be apart from one another. And you know, I'm thinking about all that kind of stuff. I wonder what what this is all going to be like, But it was sort of surreal to see videos of coaches kind of walking back in and just getting back to work, you know. And then I think that's a question too, for like how does access shift? Because if we go to a place where like, okay, maybe there's a pool reporter at practice, um during training camp, right, maybe there's one or two pool reporters a day similar to like the White House press pool or something right there in charge of taking account for what happens that day and filing a pool report. And then maybe there's like a zoom conference call afterward, and then our locker rooms open. You know. We saw some of the social distancing guidelines being put out by the league this week that like lockers need to be six ft apart, and like, so I think a lot of us are trying to wrap our heads around how does this work? And then I think if we settle into this routine for these other media protocols, then do you all of a sudden lose that access that's existed for decades? Right? So, like do teams say, well, we did it this way and it's fine and I think a fight for access has been a big thing in the NFL for the last several years. That's been one of the big shifts is that teams are shifting their access more to their own team websites and away from into pendent media. So if we go to this routine of where access is limited, do teams try to make that a permanent thing? I was this is sort of like going off the rails a little bit into uh like inside baseball journalism discussion. But I always I had an interesting discussion with a few people about this the other day, and like, you know, imagine if everything kind of goes that way where um, you know, our access to players, um is less on the individual uh level, where we can talk to them in the locker room and not in a big group setting, you know, all that kind of stuff, and everything is just crawled and held in by the team. I think historically, if you look across the NFL, the teams with the most I'm gonna try to find the best way to put this, the teams with the most negativity or constant negativity surrounding them are usually the teams that try to make that a habit long term. Because if you remove the players from the equation and disallow them from speaking for themselves and instead kind of just towing the company line and this thing, I think you build up frustration with them. I think you build up frustration with the media. And you know, everybody has a job to do. They have to report on the team, they have to look it into what's going on. And if if you don't provide that access to the players, people are going to go anywhere they can. I mean, you know, and and and not to say to go to great links to make up a story. I'm not saying that. I'm saying go to great links to do their jobs, you know. And I think that it's going to be interesting to see where the landing spot is there. You know, I think that we could as fans, just from a fans perspective, I think the way that we digest football could be a hundred percent different three or four years from now. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's it's going to be interesting to see think what things reset permanently and what things go back to the way they were before the pandemic. So definitely a lot of the next few months are gonna be interesting for that as well, just to kind of see what kind of routine we settle into. Speaking of big reveals, I think we're going to find out a lot about the PR directors around the league. You know, who really feels what you know? Right right? Just saying or and I could get boxed out big time. Maybe maybe maybe just me alright. Topic four and some rare transactional football news to Dave and Clowney remains unsigned, but not for lack of effort across the NFL an absence of team medical testing capabilities. It seems his best options are high end one year deals. Is it possible one team will break down the closer we get to the regular season to sign him. I think so, right, I mean, I mean, he's definitely playing, you know, this year, But um, I think he's been smart about this. I think that he's waiting. You know, he's the only really big time free agent left on the market that could command a deal like that that's in his prime. Everybody said, well, teams have already spent all their cap space. I don't think that's true. I think that there's plenty of teams with enough money in the bank to fit him in on like a two or three year deal. So I don't know. I think that the future is brighter for him than than as advertised right now. Teams never have spent all of their cap space. There's always another way, Like I mean, the Dolphins signed Jay Cutler to a ten million dollar deal in training camp? What was that three years ago? Two years? Losing track of time? UM, So, yes, there's always space. I guess the interesting question will be does does his asking price drop or does what teams are offering come up? Do they meet in the middle, Like what gives here? Right? Does he say I'm not going to get what I was asking for, so I'll drop down. Do some teams who have been offering X dollars aside to offer a little bit more? Maybe they meet in the middle. Maybe he goes back to Seattle. I think a lot of he would be a good fit in a lot of teams. I'm working on something that I think is going to go up this week on UM each teams biggest weak spots you know in the NFL, and you know there's still a lot of pass rush weakness across the league. UM, and you know, I'm looking at teams especially you know, someone like Detroit or Miami or Cleveland who need to have a good year this year. Who don't have a choice, you know, but to have a good year this year? Um? And I don't know. I think somebody breaks down and gives him whatever he wants, because, uh, you know, desperation is you know. I mean, that's that's what happens. You know, once you get your team actually in front of you and you look around and say, holy smokes, this isn't gonna work. What's the first thing you're gonna do is looked upgrade at the position. Yeah, everyone's always in need of pass rush. If not, you're gonna look like a clown. Eh. Wow, did you you didn't put that one in the script? Was that just spontaneous? Yeah? And I'm like, you know, you know, when you really you immediately feel it and you're like, not a good idea, That's all right, Okay, moving on to topic five. And I think that's the best thing to do. I think it's the ust thing to do. UM. Big investigative dropped from Pro Football Talk on Wednesday that Ben Roethlisberger will begin the process of unblocking everyone from his Twitter account, which, based on current calculations, may or may not take longer than an election recount. While Roethlisberger reportedly does not manage the day to day operations of a social media channel, whomever does has become legendary at swatting away all the haters. In quotes full disclosure, Jenny and I are among those who have been blocked, and as of before the showtime started, still blocked by Ben Roethlisberger. Are you excited to get the full Ben Roethlisberger social media experience again? Jenny, Well, I don't believe I followed him before I was, so I don't think I really noticed that I was blocked until people pointed out everyone so been blocked, and then I checked. I think for me it was the Lady on Bell story that we did where he kind of called out Ben for not relating to his teammates, and um, I'm kind of thinking he was on a different level. Um was when I got hit with the block. Do you know your approximate time? Connor? No, But all of a sudden, like in like the middle of the summer last year, I just started getting lumped into all these like Twitter threads of like rabid Roethlisberger support, and I was like, what's going on here? Um? I didn't write anything about him. Um, you know, I'm not shy about how I felt about him in the moment. But like it's not like there was anything like flagrant or anything like that. I mean, blocked by mistake. No, I mean I I certainly uh you know, I certainly wrote my fair share of times that I think that he deserved a share of the blame. I mean, you know, he was never really criticized for what had been falling apart in Pittsburgh. Obviously, what we know about Antonio Brown now has changed the calculus there a little bit. Um but um, you know, yeah, I don't know. Um, I don't I don't know if I'll follow. Um, I don't think I will follow. Um. But just you know, another another weight lifted off my shoulders. I think, you know, just you know, I don't like being blocked by anybody, you know, right, I got it, I got it, one of those people who, uh, you know, when someone doesn't like me, it bothers me, you know what. I mean to know why even though that everyone would have a perfectly good reason for not liking me, you know, well that's not true. Well it was once said that you have a punchable face. I don't have to agree with that. Has that changed to bring it back to the top of the show in the absence of a beard, I think we're gonna have to go back to the source of that. Who is oh ship, It's Mike Garafolo. So this is now no longer a Mike Garafolo free pot, but NFL Networks Mike Garrefolo who first pointed out that I had I had a punchable face. So did you have a punchable face pre beard, though, I think I mean yeah, I would definitely Yeah, Okay, so maybe maybe the beard softens it a little bit. Maybe the beard made me less punchable. Yeah, I think that might be true. I never thought you had a punch will face overall, but I think with the beard, probably even less so. But we will make sure to keep listeners updated on our status because I am curious how long the unblocking will take. Because you said you think he has to go one by one. I think you do. Um. I looked maybe like a couple of years ago, and I was up in the two to three hundreds of people that I had blocked. UM, And I don't think you can just open the gate, you know, and then they all run back out. I don't think that's how that works. And half of them were counts that don't even exist anymore, like Tom one two, three, nine, four, one, six, seven, five four, and like his Twitter avatars like an eagle, you know, and then he's on there for two days, um, and then he's not out there anymore, you know. So sure, right, Okay, Well, we'll have to keep tabs on this because I am curious about how long this process will take. It seems like a pretty long project. Yeah, yeah, yeah, good luck, Ben. Hopefully everything works out oracle time. I So I mentioned before that I'm kind of doing this thing where you look over every roster and you talk about team's biggest week spots. Um, and I have a kind of a spicy prediction upcoming, uh for this season, assuming that everything starts on time, and then assuming that everything goes back to normal, I think four weeks into the NFL season, if it starts on time, we are going to be talking about the playoff bound Dolphins and we're going to be mentioning Ryan Fitzpatrick in the m v P conversation four weeks in, four weeks in. I don't think it will remain that way, but I think four weeks into the season, we're going to be talking about Dolphins team that might be in first place, and uh and Ryan Fitzpatrick being in the m v P talk. Okay, interesting, Now the first four weeks other schedule. How's that looking? Okay, let's let's pull it up. That's good. Yeah, I should have probably looked at that before. That's okay. No, I mean you're you're you're banking on some early season fits magic, which isn't you know, never a bad thing to bet on? True? Um, Okay, here we go, Uh, Patriots to start tough one, but Jared's did him brand new Bills? Next again? I think a toss up at this point. Jaguars and then Seahawks. I could see them going three and one in that stretch. Okay, Okay, all right, Jaguars is definite win. So I mean, I don't know, I'm just perpetually low on the Jaguars. I know, I'm sorry. I guess it's like some kind of I need to work on this. I need to be a little bit more open minded. But yeah, I'm perpetually low on the Jaguars. You gotta let you gotta let Gardner Minshew into your heart. You gotta let him in. Yeah, that's true. There's some excitement there. I'll agree with at Yeah, um, all right, what do we have for our frente consensus? First one in a long time, So I'm looking forward to having hot And well, you know I mentioned earlier, I went to this vigil and then a little march on the Upper East Side, and you know, I think it was really there's so much going on in the world right now that is depressing and demoralizing in terms of like how much more work we have to do for equality and for there to be racial justice in America, And at times, like the work that needs to be done to make our society more equitable and more inclusive and not be racist feels like it just feels overwhelming at times. And I can only imagine how black people feel in America right now. But it was it was very uplifting, Like I don't know that I expected that feeling. I guess of up being uplifted because it's such a heavy subject matter, right, and you know, you sit in the park and you raise your they had everyone raised their fists for um, the exact length of time that George Floyd was fighting for his life and he realized, like I can't even hold my fist up for that long, right, um. And so there are lots of like heavy moments, but I love feeling very uplifted by this like sense of community and people marching together and raising signs and then this, you know, the nature of the Black Lives Matter movement is it's there's no one central leader, right, so as all these ad HOWC organizations kind of coming together. So there was a smart that had been coming up from Washington Square Park like hours earlier, and then someone announced there are a few blocks away, like let's go and meet them. So it was just this like really reaffirming sense of like community and people coming together. And you know, I think where we live, Connor, a lot of times, you know New York City, like it's definitely you it's a very progressive bubble, and I think sometimes you you know, forget about I don't know, it's it's a different viewpoint, I guess living here. But it was just being part of that in the middle of the street and feeling that energy was um, I don't know, it just gave me something that kind of carried forward and a little bit of hope that maybe we are headed in the right direction. So I guess I would just say, like I would encourage people if there's some kind of gathering in your area. You know, there's a lot of socially distanced like vigils or um just gatherings memorial types. Doesn't have to be a march. It could be a march. There's a lot of different things going on. And if that doesn't work for you as well, I mean there's other ways to feel connected. But I don't know, I just wanted to share that that was affirming for me, and I think, um, yeah, it was. It was a takeaway that I'll carry forward. So and I think it's just incredible that time after time, you know, a community that deals with so much still responds with messages of peace and togetherness and uplifting um, whereas you know, people who have not had it one iota is difficult or so quick to respond with anger, you know, and and frustration. And I don't know, I think that hit home for me, you know, just not only hearing your story, but you know, seeing similar marches on the news and everything that's been taking place. It's like the resilience is incredible, you know, And I think that that's something that we can all take something from there and and think about and reflect on. Yeah, I think that's really good because it's yeah, for you, like for me to just say, wow, it feels overwhelming, that's just like, well, I'm not even you know, I don't even experience this on any kind of level that other people do, and that can only imagine how overwhelming it feels for black people in America right now. So I think you're right, Connor. I think that resilience it's you know, it's it's amazing that the people who didn't create this issue, that are being oppressed by this issue are the ones that are sharing resilience with the rest of us. Um. And I think that's pretty remarkable, So no doubt. Well, thanks again for listening to this week's episode. Things went better today. We didn't have to re record that we know. Of of course, I could be drinxing things, um but as always, this is one of our favorite parts of the week, So thank you for joining us. All. The mm QB week Side podcast is me, Jenny Rerentis and Connor Or. We are produced by Shelby Royston SIS. Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody Ben Eagle is Director of Editorial Projects and Product Mark Mravik is Emeritus Executive director of the MMQB. Keep up with our entire lineup of podcasts five days a week by subscribing to the mm QB NFL podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, and while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a rating and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot com, stitcher side dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts,