Alright, guys. Episode to this week of the week Side Podcast. Alongside Jenny Frentis, I'm Connor Or and we're in the middle of just a fascinating time I think in sports, in our country's history and our world's history from an NFL perspective. This week, UM, a wave of high profile opt outs have begun, UM, starting with Laurent DuVernay Tardif I'm pronouncing there, I've never had to say that name out loud, actually, like I've just read it sounds pretty who's the doctor, right, But like, um, you know, he was really the first big one, UM that we had heard about. UM, Patrick Chung, UM, Michael Pierce. You know, there's a lot of guys now that are announcing either because they have a medical issue or because they're just legitimately, UM spooked by this virus. Is a lot of us are that they won't be playing this season. And my take off the top, Jenny is that this is absolutely none of our business. It's a hundred percent none of our business. Uh. This is we've grown so accustomed to being able to weigh in on everything in our athletes lives because of social media, UM, we weigh in on their politics. We weigh in on their the photos of the birth of their kids, like we're in their families. This is where the comfort level ends. If someone wants to opt out of the season because they're afraid of coronavirus, good for them. That's it. That is a noble choice at best, and at worst, it is absolutely none of our business. Yeah, I'm glad that players have this option, that they have a union to represent them, and that they have a you know, potential way to sit out the season, receive it either a hundred fifty thousand dollar stipend or a three thousand dollars if you're high risk, um, And that they have a route to choosing to forego the season, whether it's just a personal choice or a medical reason, or whatever the case may be. I mean, I think it's it's important that players have a choice, and I think that's the what we're discussing with college in a different way is you know, the college players don't have a union, don't have an option that way. UM. So I was, you know, I thought it was great that players were exercising that choice and that they were choosing to put their health ahead of football. We hear so many times at football and reaching the NFL is the ultimate thing um and I think we saw a lot of players saying no, they are all of these other reasons that I'm placing in front of football, and I thought those were some powerful statements those who chose to share their reasons. I think one thing that is hard is that there are players who feel like they can't sit out, even if they might want to. Whether you're a rookie or a person who this might if you sit out, your NFL career might essentially be over, or any number of reasons for players who feel like they can't, and there's always going to be that disparity. It's it's fantastic that they have the option, but that's there's always going to be people who have different abilities to take that option. And I think that will hard this season. But you wrote about this Connor in the MMQB, and I think you're exactly right. This is going to be a weird season anyway. It's going to be frustrating. We're seeing that with the Marlins and in Major League Baseball. What happens with an outbreak and are you making decisions on the fly, And also just like the idea that you might have coronavirus is something that would weigh on you. I mean, I know they're getting regular testing, but you know, there really is a strong panic associated with the idea that you might have infected someone you love whose high risk. You know, I think we've all kind of faced that with family members who are elderly or maybe high risk, and do you visit them? Do you stay away? If you do choose to visit them for a week after that, you're experiencing the panic of, oh my gosh, I hope that I didn't accidentally bring something home. So, you know, there's just a lot of reasons why exposing yourself to the additional risk of the season just might not be worth it. Yeah, And I think it goes back to and maybe this is um something that other reporters have experienced in different times in their lives, but I remember, uh, you know, one of the reasons that I was actually really lucky to be paired with Jenny as one of my first mentors was that Jenny was always really good at doing stories about people behind the the idea of the person behind, you know, what we talk about and think about on the field, And to be able to have that experience and to be able to then, um, through watching you learn to listen to players. I think in that way, Um, I think that it was fascinating because you start to hear the regrets, You start to hear um all the things that they worry about while they're playing. You know. Um, Chris Snee once told me, you know, am I going to have another year of this? And how do I weigh that against going to the beach and not being able to lift my kids up out of the ocean? You know? And you know you have that, and and people started talking about that, you know what I mean, this started to become a topic of conversation. I'm not saying it's because of us, you know, I'm saying, you know, it's but these players began to share their stories and give people an idea that like, hey, this is like anything else, It's what we do for a short period of time in our lives. I think they say, right that every person has four careers in their lives or whatever it is, with four things that you consider a career, and so you know, there's there's a life beyond this. And I think that it was great that that wave happened before this, right, because now we're in a position where a lot of players are saying, I can take that money, and I can take this year, and I can be safe, and I can do whatever. I can spend time with my family, I can take classes online, I can you know, uh, learn a new trade or whatever it is, and and begin to set yourself up, um for life after football. I think that this is a good thing, um. And it's a good thing that players began to experience this before coronavirus UM. This idea that the NFL is not your life, you know, it's something that you're going to do for money for a period of time. Yeah, And hopefully this is a situation that forces fans and teams to remember that players are human beings first, and as we discuss players choosing to opt out, I hope that that's that the forefront of the conversation. And the reality is football has the biggest risk of any sport to play anyway, and now playing football in the time of the coronavirus pandemic also carries the biggest risk among sports because there is no bubble because you're in close contact with other people, so it's higher risk on a lot of levels, and you know, it's understandable to see that players would say that the calculation just isn't worth it for them. Yeah, no doubt. I don't know, what do you say, Jenny. Let's get to it all right now. We'll move to the news topics. Conner news topic number one to a taga Bloa has been cleared for practice, meaning that the nebulous hip injury we spent months we'ring about before the draft ended up being a bit of a nothing burger for now. Does this make some other teams feel feel a twang of regret? Or is there still a long way to go from here? I have two thoughts on the matter, like the way you phrase this one go ahead. The first one is, um that if we had known that this was the case, and again I mean you know too, it could always you know, the injury could come up and nag him again, or it could be difficult to come through. But I wonder if, like, you know, if we knew that he was going to be cleared, if a team knew that he was going to be cleared on July, um, whatever the day is that we're recording this, July nine, Um, how would there that calculus change at all? If at all during the draft, would we have had more of a conversation about TWA or Joe Burrow at the top of the draft. Um, what would things have looked like? Um, that's sort of my first thought. My second thought is you still got a factor in the fits magic. It's gonna happen, you know, it's it's it's just as sure as the day is long. Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to have some weird impact on the NFL season. So I'm not totally shaken by this news just yet. Yeah. I mean, it's a much harder path for rookie quarterbacks to start this season because of the shorter ramp up period and there's just less There's going to be less practice before the regular season begins, So I do think it is still harder. Obviously, the Bengals are committed to that with Joe Burrow, he is there one and only option really, So, UM, I guess it's different in different places, but yes, I would agree you cannot count fits magic out. As for the twang of regret, I think it's an interesting question, but my sense was more the issue was kind of the durability overall, that it wasn't such so much this specific injury, though there were questions about when he could heal. I think there was a sense, okay, you could rid shirt him. And by the time the draft was conducted, we knew this was going to be a weird season anyway, and that it might be harder for a rookie quarterback to start this year anyway. So this year was less of an issue. But I think it was more the idea that he had suffered multiple serious injuries and uh, is this an injury that could linger? Are there questions about his durability long term in the NFL? So I think those are still valid concerns. And I think knowing that he's cleared right now wouldn't have changed the calculus for certain teams. And now I've used the word calculus probably three times on this podcast, Connor, which is really regrettable. Well, as we all know, calculus means you plus me equals us. So, um, do you get that reference? And I think very good referod good good. Um. Yeah. I mean I think that if I were the Dolphins, I wouldn't start him anyway. I mean regardless, I mean I think that um, time time and time again, it's shown that if you want to break one of these guys in. You let the Fitz magic happen at the beginning of the season. You go four and oh, or you go four and one, and then you pull the Alex Smith to Kaepernick and then boom you you unload your entire offense on unsuspecting teams. In all of a sudden, Dolphins are thirteen and three and sneaking into the playoffs. You know, I love that. I think that would be a great take. It's part of a broader Bill Belichick conspiracy theory that I've been developing workshopping over time. Uh. First, I will say this, Uh, people have tweeted that. Um. I think Adam Schefter tweet that an NFL nebulous anonymous insider types so that Belichick was cooking something up with all of these opt outs during coronavirus. I would say, come on like that, it's not that crazy, you know, let's let's not do that. Um. But I will say that there's probably a larger Belichick conspiracy at work, where like maybe the Dolphins, he wants to elevate Brian Flores to a legendary status in order to repair the perception of his coaching tree and then Uh, he hands off. You know, I don't know. I'm working on it. So I'm gonna put this out to our fans have the best Patriots conspiracy theories, so I'm gonna let them kind of handle this on the Graham. Uh yeah, already some good discussion about Josh Allen and the Graham today, by the way, So good job by all of you. Oh have you guys out there, um who've been reading that too. But you know, there's there's something going on, and I feel like there's some Fits magic. There's some Dolphins magic, there's some two magic, some Flora's magic, and it all some you know, but it can't function without Belichick magic. There's something going on there. You know. I'm just looking to put it two and two together, okay, right, I mean I think we probably, I don't know. I didn't make too much of the text, the anonymous text, because I figured, well, that would be this is an impossible scenario to plan for, and it just felt like the typical Belichick living in other people's heads, which there is, which is a valid thing. I mean, people are allowing him to live in their heads and thinking that he's one step ahead, because he often is one step ahead, But I don't know what that one step is here? Is that's what you're trying to workshop, Connor, Yeah, yeah, there's so there's something going on there. Um, I don't know, but I'm gonna put that to the people. Our fans are just listeners, are great. I think they're gonna be able to handle this. Um. You know. So, so that's that's good, you know. I think that's where we're going with this. UM Number two is interesting, right because you and I have covered the Jets. We love a good Jets happening, and this turned out to be an interesting Jets happening. But you know, Jamal Adams wanted out um forever. Um, he got his wish after months of public unhappiness, you know, tweeting about the owner, uh whatever whatever. Um. You know he's in Seattle, got his wish, and hey also did not get a new deal. By the way, you know, he wanted a new deal to stay with the Jets this whole time, and now he goes to Seattle and he's not signing a new contract before the start of the season. UM. So I will ask you, Jenny, would you rather an unhappy player with adams skill set or you know, pair of first round picks, the safety who might be sort of replacement level in return in some mid round compensation. I think if I were the Jets, this was a no brainer. And it seems like, you know, for a deal of this magnitude to have, you know, I think it's coincidental that it may have happened around the time that Adams started publicly stating his unhappiness, But this feels like something that was being shopped around for quite some time, and it would make sense to me that Adams not having contact with Gaye and Joe Douglas was probably part of the reason for this, Like they're not gonna they know that he's going to go out and tell everybody everything, right, So if you have Seattle on the hook for a deal like this, of course you're not going to talk to him. Connor, and I think that's a smart analysis of the situation, because if the trade came together because someone popped off and made public comments, they're not getting the compensation they got in return, right, So it was clearly something that had been in the works for a while and had been agreed to. And I do think it's the situation that really makes sense for both sides. For Seattle, you get a player that you wouldn't have the chance to get normally because you're not picking in the top five in the draft. You're generally picking in the twenties, um, and you get a piece that you think you need to kind of get over the hump. And then for the Jets, yeah, you can't move forward with him in your locker room. You get compensation, of course, you know, it does admit the fact that you're not going to be ready to win while Sam Donald's on his rookie contract. But I think we had already conceded that point anyway, right. I mean, there's just too much work that needed to be done on the Jets roster and continues to be done for them to be really in the mix right now. So I think it's just a realistic assessment of where they're at and that they need a lot of things to become have a contender or have a roster that's even in the mix now. I guess another question is, like, what what are these draft picks looking like right because is there a college football season? Is the draft process thrown off next year the year after that? Like these are things that we don't really know, So there is some some bit of a risk there, but it's hard not to say that this made a ton of sense for both sides, like and it's you know, I think oftentimes saying both sides win is kind of a cop out, but I really think it is in this situation because Seattle and the Jets are at such different places in their team building process. Yeah, I think the big the only loser here is the Raiders who did who got less for Khalil Mack. But but obviously but uh yeah, nice one. And you and I had covered the best Jets teams arguable not arguably the the best Jets teams since uh they're super Bowl in the in nineteen sixty nine, and I would the point that I would make there is leading up to that season season and the t that we covered together the two thousand ninth season that you covered, Um, what was the most important draft that they had And it's when they had a higher volume of picks and they got Nick Mangolden to britishaw Ferguson in the same draft. Right, that's the draft that was the foundation for these teams or six years down the road and the Jets have been just stuck in this continual mindset that they need to they need to win now, they need to win now. They don't tear anything down, and you have these nice seasons sometimes or Ryan Fitzpatrick leads you to nine wins or ten wins or whatever it is, but otherwise it's just it's this continual cycle and you have to eventually strip down the parts. I think that Jamal Adams is a great player. Um, he's a player that you need in today's NFL right now. But is it a player who you can live without? Yes, A and B. If you're really putting that much faith into Greg Williams and you look at the players that Greg Williams had in the past, you you know you can work around that, right. I mean Greg Williams doesn't run a traditional defense, you know, and he can make up presumably you're paying him to make up for the difference there. Yeah, I think those are those are all smart points. Connor. Alright, Charlon, move on to topic three since you said that one so well, uh yeah, let's do it all right. Joey Bosa of the charters have signedists. Contract extension came in at roughly five years and a hundred thirty five million. Good for him. It seems like a lot of money, though, and one has to wonder if the pass rusher market in general is getting a little wacky. That was my thoughts to Connor Um. Obviously, since he plays opposite Melvin Ingram, the production is you know, going to be spread out a little bit between the two of them. But he's he hasn't had a kind of production I think is high career highest twelve point five sacks for a season. So yeah, the numbers seemed a little high. Yeah, I think that, uh that I think in five years we're going to look at paying an outside pass rusher that kind of money as purely ridiculous. Like that market is in a bubble right now. That market is pets dot com. You know, everyone's saying, oh, yeah, you gotta get in on this, you gotta get in on this, and then poof, it's going to be gone. That's my take, And and here's why I think that mobility UM is only going to become a continue to become a prerequisite for the quarterback position. Um. You know, if you look at snack to throw times on next gen stats, even the worst quarterbacks now I think are better than a lot of the quarterbacks where five years ago. And I think that's going to continue to get better until you kind of optimize at a human level. But still that's two and a half seconds, two point seven seconds um, And I think that more focus is going to be put on interior guys because you're gonna start closer to the quarterback. Theoretically, you're gonna you're gonna have an easier path. You're gonna you know, most teams concentrate their strength of their offensive lines at the tackle positions, and while other teams have better guards and centers. You know, that's kind of the way that you want to structure your line there. There's weaknesses inside, more advantages to gaming and stunts that you can pull inside, at least from my perspective, And so I don't know, I just think that all of that said, your signature outside pass rusher is a aventually going to become the trophy like what we what we say now about like a number one wide receiver. You just don't need it to win. You don't need that person to be successful. That's interesting Connor. I mean, I do think we see pass rush come from a lot of different places and positions, and it's not just having the one premier guy that makes the difference. Though that person can make a difference, you can also generate rush from a lot of different places. And I agree with you on the interior. Another point that I thought of, and our friend of the podcast Brian Costello made it before I could on Twitter, but that the corners, like the corner market, hasn't had the same jump as the pass rush rush market. And that is interesting to me because I would have thought that corners would have seen a similar jump and they really have not. Yeah, No, it's fascinating. And what's really interesting to me is you know if you talk to college coaches and you say, hey, where are we going with this? Because everything bumps up and offenses come up, and so when defenses make those adjustments, where are we going with this? And what is it supposed to look like? And you know you've talked a lot about this too, I mean this idea of positionless football and where we're going with this? And you know we were in on the ground floor of a lot of that too. Rex Ryan and Mike Patton ran a lot of that. And where do we see a lot of sack production come from on that team, like uh, what was his name? Remember that cornerback like Drew Coleman, like would have like sacks or um um, Dwight Lowry. Yes, like like they would all come from you know. And I'm not saying that, you know, oh, it's just you know these guys or whatever, just another guy. Um. But at the same time, like, I think it's so much smarter to be able to simulate pressure, to force teams to defend, to use more to defend less, and then use those lanes to create a rush than to say, like we've got the stallion, we've got von Miller and he's gonna win every time and force a double team. Sometimes that doesn't work. I mean, you know, just last year, I remember covering a very forgettable Jets game, or two years ago, very forgettable Jets game at MetLife Stadium where Isaiah Kroll it was the Crow Show. He ran for like three d yards against the Broncos because Von Miller was getting outside to try to rush and they just would trap them and run through that gap. And there's weaknesses with luxury pass rushers, and so I don't know, I just I'm not hot on the luxury pass rusher market. I would say, cell, cell, cell, is that it if you I don't know how stocks work, but I'm presumably with the money made today, you would have made money and now you sell, you get rid of your stocks. No, it's interesting. This is a bold take. Connor, I really I like where you're headed with that. Nice Um. All right, number four, less fun news topic to talk about here. Lamar Jackson said Wednesday he's hoping his team signs Antonio Brown, noting that he's enjoyed his time throwing with Antonio Brown this offseason. Um, and he added that Antonio Brown is the kind of guy that we would like in the locker room. Uh, this all feels totally regrettable. Um, Lamar Jackson is on his star rise. I don't think a lot of what he said. It's going to be as challenged as critically as maybe a more tenured quarterback might feel and get challenged. But man, this is a dumb thing to say. It's just stupid. Yeah, I really I cringed when I saw it. I mean, it's just really ignoring the serious allegations that have been made against Brown. Obviously, one of Lamar Jackson's teammates is Marquis Brown, who is a relative of Antonio Brown's and they have had workouts together in Florida. Um. But you know, we talked a couple of weeks ago on the show about workplace culture and hoping that all teams take seriously what went on at Washington and that it isn't just a issue that people think is limited to one team. And I think part of that is when a player has serious allegations against him of misconduct that are levied by a woman, to not just brush those aside and talk about how how great of a locker room presence this person is. Right. Um, Obviously the Patriots would have loved to keep Brown around because of his on field talent last year, and they decided not to um very serious allegations off the field, And so I think the cavalier nature with which um we just we often see athletes kind of dismiss um players who have um serious issues levied against them, And I think it's comes from a place of saying like, well, this is my experience with him. But I think I really just I don't know. I just hope that we can get to a place where people can empathize with other experiences and just because you haven't seen something that you all of a sudden discount allegations that are made against someone else Connor, and you know, Brown has a lot that he asked work through and hasn't shown any kind of public atonement for um. I think that's the bigger issue is in terms of like not the bigger issue, but that is like a related issue, right. I mean, he hasn't even shown any willingness to acknowledge, um, mistakes that he's made or to show that he's going on a better path. Um. So it doesn't he hasn't even put in the work to have a path back to the NFL, is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, I I totally agree, um, you know, and I can promise you that I don't think that this is going to be a good thing for your locker room. You know. It's just I can promise you that I would say, call anybody on the Steelers and see how well that's been working out for everybody, um, you know, and how much of an addition he was to that locker room. Um. But anyway, I think that's just something that you know, a good lesson, I think for a young player to learn there is to sort of think his way through some of this stuff because you know, I don't know, I just don't think that's uh Um, I don't think it's gonna help your team. I don't think it's gonna make your team any better. And I think if it ends up working out, I don't think you're gonna feel great about it at the end of the day anyway. So yeah, and I think that's where education helps to right, And I think that's where teams should be educating players. And that's an opportunity for the PR staff to talk to Lamar Jackson and say to him, you know, you need to have a full understanding before you endorse the signing of a player, right, I mean, and if that conversation isn't happening, I think that's a missed opportunity. You know. Yeah, maybe some training for you know, a good good place for all PR staffs to be trained to, you know, And I agree, get them get them on the horn too, because a lot of these things, you know, sometimes start in offices that we don't think they started. So anyway, UM, number five, John Lynch, this was some late breaking news. Um, so we had to we had to do some major shuffling to the to the show notes here, Jenny, but John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan signed some big fat extensions. And this is on top of the fact that when they were hired, they were both fired on matching six year deals. Um, I don't know what do you think about that? That already you know, it's not like there was any pressure to get the deal done. But it seems like the forty Niners are going all in on the fact that like, hey, these guys are going to be around until the end of end of days. Yeah. I mean, they've always from the Star have said these two are tied together, and they've sort of ensured that they're on the same time timetable and that there won't be any um that there won't be any issues of GM versus head coach. That seems to be a big part of what they want their culture to be is that we have a head coach and a GM who are on the same page, even though there may have been small indications along the way or questions race right like in every relationship. Um, so yeah, I mean I still doesn't you know, I think the same question that we had about the forty Niners is the same one we've had all off season, like, how did you respond to a heartbreak like you had last year in the Super Bowl? And clearly they have have built a t that was special last year, that came within a few minutes of winning a Super Bowl, And I think now the question is, uh, how do you overcome that? How do you confront some of the play calling questions that come up? How do you confront some of the questions about the quarterback that stemmed from the play calling decisions that were made? So UM, I think they have a lot of things to address moving forward and how they respond UM. But evidently the organization is confident in what they've built to this point and confident that they will continue to push through UM this challenge at ahead of them. Yeah, I don't know. I think that the one reason that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan work out UM, at least from conversations that I've had on the periphery, is that Kyle Shanahan says I want this, and John Lynch says okay, and it's not the other way around. And I think that that is a thing that UM. I think that when their front office model is studied, I think is going to be copied. I think general managers UM are going to be less of personnel people in the future and more let me be a CEO, Let me understand what you need, and then let me direct the scouting staff to filter you those exact players. Because what's interesting is, you know, if you go back and you look at all the general managers and you say, well, who's the best drafter, there isn't one, right, Like, there's not a statistically significant difference between you know, one guy and the other. Maybe John schneider Is has a statistically significant difference in terms of like late round hits, and maybe there's a slight edge there, but everybody's lumped in the middle. This is all a crapshoot, right, And the better teams are the ones that listen to their coach and get him the players that he um that he wants, you know, And so I think that's something that John lynch Is is really good at. Yeah, and I think the Four Nights have been very intentional about Okay, we're going to write our you know, work on our vision together, and we're going to keep them on the same contract act schedule, and you know, we're going to make sure we take all of these steps. I mean, it's sort of some of that tech company mentality UM that I think is applied to the organization. But I think it's worked so far, so I think, and I think your analysis of the relationship is spawn on Connor, and I think maybe it's a slightly different dynamic than we see other places, but so far it's working. Alignment, that's the big corporate alignment. Yeah, but that's the word. But a lot of times people don't actually like put the work into. Get that right correct? Yeah, And you have to. You have to put the work in. It's just like therapy. You really have to commit yourself you're gonna do it, you know, you have to actually participate willingly and throw yourself into the process, no doubt. UM. So the oracle today, uh, is that I predict that the next big thing, the next big discussion that we're going to be having, UM is about finger licking. Jenny. I think the fingerlicking is going to be a big deal, um deeper that we get into this mess um And Drew Brees mentioned it today. He's trying to train himself to stop licking his fingers amid the coronavirus pandemic. Um. This is not going to come out the way that I wanted to. Uh, so forgive me, But I didn't think you ingested the coronavirus like through food. Um And, so that would be sort of a similar vibe, right to like your hand is under a sweaty butt and then you're licking your hand, which, by the way, should have been addressed a long time ago anyway, um and and kind of lopped off. But I don't know if you would get coronavirus from licking your hands. Um. But I think that hand licking is going to be a big topic of conversation here in the next couple of weeks. Okay, so he licks his fingers before receiving the snap, correct, Yeah, So then his saliva is on the football, which he's then tossing to a receiver to a receiver who's running back. Yeah, both of whom I guess theoretically have gloves on. But then there's a situation where you know you are I've tried to work this out in my head. So then like, but then the ball goes to the ref and then the ball goes to the center who doesn't have gloves on. Theoretically, and then the and then the ball goes back to you and you're licking your hands again and maybe to the ball boy and uh, you know, man, I mean, who who wouldn't be afraid of a disease spreading wildly at this point? I think a bigger concern of mine is, you know, I know that they're trying to devise those kind of face shields for your mouth, but when you're relaying the play call in the huddle, are you spewing saliva into your teammates faces and careful? That would play with teams be less prone to huddling and just do signals. But I think that becomes more challenging because if there's any verbal cues and there's no fans, you can hear everything. So I think that would be my bigger concern is when you're laying the play call, Yeah, I don't know it's gonna be um NFL is not going to be fingerlicking good and you're looking good? Um, all right? Onto the brendis consensus just a nod to the s I Daily cover on Wednesday, UM, which will still be available on Thursday, but UM to follow up to s i S previous investigation on the Dallas Mavericks and UM, here is a new account. Uh, they write, Um, Jessica Luther and John Worth, I'm writing the story yet. Here it was a year later and a woman was contacting the Mavericks about an executive. She said, I had forced himself on her late at night in a Las Vegas hotel room. And I think it really paints the picture of how challenging it can be to change cultures and how much work has to be done. And UM, I think it's a it's a powerful account. And there was another line in there that stood out, UM Sarah, which was the alias they gave for the woman. UM learned that there are so many forces aligned to silence accounts of sexual assaults, and how easy it is for complaints to fall between the cracks, for survivors to grow quiet and then grows silent, which is precisely why she has chosen not to. So, I think, as we continue the workplace conduct discussions, UM, this is another important read. It's in another sport, but it's obviously still relevant to the conversation. Definitely, yeah, definitely. Well, thanks everybody for joining us for our second week side pod. We'll be back next week with more to discuss. The MMQB week side podcast is Me, Jenny Rerentis and Connor Or. We are produced by Shelby Royston. Size Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody, Ben Eagles, Director of Editorial Projects and product Mark Mravik is a meritus executive director of the MMQB. Keep up with our entire lineup podcast five days a week by subscribing to the MMQB NFL Podcasts for free on Apple Podcasts, and while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a reading and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot com, Stitcher, si dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts,

Alright, guys. Episode to this week of the week Side Podcast. Alongside Jenny Frentis, I'm Connor Or and we're in the middle of just a fascinating time I think in sports, in our country's history and our world's history from an NFL perspective. This week, UM, a wave of high profile opt outs have begun, UM, starting with Laurent DuVernay Tardif I'm pronouncing there, I've never had to say that name out loud, actually, like I've just read it sounds pretty who's the doctor, right, But like, um, you know, he was really the first big one, UM that we had heard about. UM, Patrick Chung, UM, Michael Pierce. You know, there's a lot of guys now that are announcing either because they have a medical issue or because they're just legitimately, UM spooked by this virus. Is a lot of us are that they won't be playing this season. And my take off the top, Jenny is that this is absolutely none of our business. It's a hundred percent none of our business. Uh. This is we've grown so accustomed to being able to weigh in on everything in our athletes lives because of social media, UM, we weigh in on their politics. We weigh in on their the photos of the birth of their kids, like we're in their families. This is where the comfort level ends. If someone wants to opt out of the season because they're afraid of coronavirus, good for them. That's it. That is a noble choice at best, and at worst, it is absolutely none of our business. Yeah, I'm glad that players have this option, that they have a union to represent them, and that they have a you know, potential way to sit out the season, receive it either a hundred fifty thousand dollar stipend or a three thousand dollars if you're high risk, um, And that they have a route to choosing to forego the season, whether it's just a personal choice or a medical reason, or whatever the case may be. I mean, I think it's it's important that players have a choice, and I think that's the what we're discussing with college in a different way is you know, the college players don't have a union, don't have an option that way. UM. So I was, you know, I thought it was great that players were exercising that choice and that they were choosing to put their health ahead of football. We hear so many times at football and reaching the NFL is the ultimate thing um and I think we saw a lot of players saying no, they are all of these other reasons that I'm placing in front of football, and I thought those were some powerful statements those who chose to share their reasons. I think one thing that is hard is that there are players who feel like they can't sit out, even if they might want to. Whether you're a rookie or a person who this might if you sit out, your NFL career might essentially be over, or any number of reasons for players who feel like they can't, and there's always going to be that disparity. It's it's fantastic that they have the option, but that's there's always going to be people who have different abilities to take that option. And I think that will hard this season. But you wrote about this Connor in the MMQB, and I think you're exactly right. This is going to be a weird season anyway. It's going to be frustrating. We're seeing that with the Marlins and in Major League Baseball. What happens with an outbreak and are you making decisions on the fly, And also just like the idea that you might have coronavirus is something that would weigh on you. I mean, I know they're getting regular testing, but you know, there really is a strong panic associated with the idea that you might have infected someone you love whose high risk. You know, I think we've all kind of faced that with family members who are elderly or maybe high risk, and do you visit them? Do you stay away? If you do choose to visit them for a week after that, you're experiencing the panic of, oh my gosh, I hope that I didn't accidentally bring something home. So, you know, there's just a lot of reasons why exposing yourself to the additional risk of the season just might not be worth it. Yeah, And I think it goes back to and maybe this is um something that other reporters have experienced in different times in their lives, but I remember, uh, you know, one of the reasons that I was actually really lucky to be paired with Jenny as one of my first mentors was that Jenny was always really good at doing stories about people behind the the idea of the person behind, you know, what we talk about and think about on the field, And to be able to have that experience and to be able to then, um, through watching you learn to listen to players. I think in that way, Um, I think that it was fascinating because you start to hear the regrets, You start to hear um all the things that they worry about while they're playing. You know. Um, Chris Snee once told me, you know, am I going to have another year of this? And how do I weigh that against going to the beach and not being able to lift my kids up out of the ocean? You know? And you know you have that, and and people started talking about that, you know what I mean, this started to become a topic of conversation. I'm not saying it's because of us, you know, I'm saying, you know, it's but these players began to share their stories and give people an idea that like, hey, this is like anything else, It's what we do for a short period of time in our lives. I think they say, right that every person has four careers in their lives or whatever it is, with four things that you consider a career, and so you know, there's there's a life beyond this. And I think that it was great that that wave happened before this, right, because now we're in a position where a lot of players are saying, I can take that money, and I can take this year, and I can be safe, and I can do whatever. I can spend time with my family, I can take classes online, I can you know, uh, learn a new trade or whatever it is, and and begin to set yourself up, um for life after football. I think that this is a good thing, um. And it's a good thing that players began to experience this before coronavirus UM. This idea that the NFL is not your life, you know, it's something that you're going to do for money for a period of time. Yeah, And hopefully this is a situation that forces fans and teams to remember that players are human beings first, and as we discuss players choosing to opt out, I hope that that's that the forefront of the conversation. And the reality is football has the biggest risk of any sport to play anyway, and now playing football in the time of the coronavirus pandemic also carries the biggest risk among sports because there is no bubble because you're in close contact with other people, so it's higher risk on a lot of levels, and you know, it's understandable to see that players would say that the calculation just isn't worth it for them. Yeah, no doubt. I don't know, what do you say, Jenny. Let's get to it all right now. We'll move to the news topics. Conner news topic number one to a taga Bloa has been cleared for practice, meaning that the nebulous hip injury we spent months we'ring about before the draft ended up being a bit of a nothing burger for now. Does this make some other teams feel feel a twang of regret? Or is there still a long way to go from here? I have two thoughts on the matter, like the way you phrase this one go ahead. The first one is, um that if we had known that this was the case, and again I mean you know too, it could always you know, the injury could come up and nag him again, or it could be difficult to come through. But I wonder if, like, you know, if we knew that he was going to be cleared, if a team knew that he was going to be cleared on July, um, whatever the day is that we're recording this, July nine, Um, how would there that calculus change at all? If at all during the draft, would we have had more of a conversation about TWA or Joe Burrow at the top of the draft. Um, what would things have looked like? Um, that's sort of my first thought. My second thought is you still got a factor in the fits magic. It's gonna happen, you know, it's it's it's just as sure as the day is long. Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to have some weird impact on the NFL season. So I'm not totally shaken by this news just yet. Yeah. I mean, it's a much harder path for rookie quarterbacks to start this season because of the shorter ramp up period and there's just less There's going to be less practice before the regular season begins, So I do think it is still harder. Obviously, the Bengals are committed to that with Joe Burrow, he is there one and only option really, So, UM, I guess it's different in different places, but yes, I would agree you cannot count fits magic out. As for the twang of regret, I think it's an interesting question, but my sense was more the issue was kind of the durability overall, that it wasn't such so much this specific injury, though there were questions about when he could heal. I think there was a sense, okay, you could rid shirt him. And by the time the draft was conducted, we knew this was going to be a weird season anyway, and that it might be harder for a rookie quarterback to start this year anyway. So this year was less of an issue. But I think it was more the idea that he had suffered multiple serious injuries and uh, is this an injury that could linger? Are there questions about his durability long term in the NFL? So I think those are still valid concerns. And I think knowing that he's cleared right now wouldn't have changed the calculus for certain teams. And now I've used the word calculus probably three times on this podcast, Connor, which is really regrettable. Well, as we all know, calculus means you plus me equals us. So, um, do you get that reference? And I think very good referod good good. Um. Yeah. I mean I think that if I were the Dolphins, I wouldn't start him anyway. I mean regardless, I mean I think that um, time time and time again, it's shown that if you want to break one of these guys in. You let the Fitz magic happen at the beginning of the season. You go four and oh, or you go four and one, and then you pull the Alex Smith to Kaepernick and then boom you you unload your entire offense on unsuspecting teams. In all of a sudden, Dolphins are thirteen and three and sneaking into the playoffs. You know, I love that. I think that would be a great take. It's part of a broader Bill Belichick conspiracy theory that I've been developing workshopping over time. Uh. First, I will say this, Uh, people have tweeted that. Um. I think Adam Schefter tweet that an NFL nebulous anonymous insider types so that Belichick was cooking something up with all of these opt outs during coronavirus. I would say, come on like that, it's not that crazy, you know, let's let's not do that. Um. But I will say that there's probably a larger Belichick conspiracy at work, where like maybe the Dolphins, he wants to elevate Brian Flores to a legendary status in order to repair the perception of his coaching tree and then Uh, he hands off. You know, I don't know. I'm working on it. So I'm gonna put this out to our fans have the best Patriots conspiracy theories, so I'm gonna let them kind of handle this on the Graham. Uh yeah, already some good discussion about Josh Allen and the Graham today, by the way, So good job by all of you. Oh have you guys out there, um who've been reading that too. But you know, there's there's something going on, and I feel like there's some Fits magic. There's some Dolphins magic, there's some two magic, some Flora's magic, and it all some you know, but it can't function without Belichick magic. There's something going on there. You know. I'm just looking to put it two and two together, okay, right, I mean I think we probably, I don't know. I didn't make too much of the text, the anonymous text, because I figured, well, that would be this is an impossible scenario to plan for, and it just felt like the typical Belichick living in other people's heads, which there is, which is a valid thing. I mean, people are allowing him to live in their heads and thinking that he's one step ahead, because he often is one step ahead, But I don't know what that one step is here? Is that's what you're trying to workshop, Connor, Yeah, yeah, there's so there's something going on there. Um, I don't know, but I'm gonna put that to the people. Our fans are just listeners, are great. I think they're gonna be able to handle this. Um. You know. So, so that's that's good, you know. I think that's where we're going with this. UM Number two is interesting, right because you and I have covered the Jets. We love a good Jets happening, and this turned out to be an interesting Jets happening. But you know, Jamal Adams wanted out um forever. Um, he got his wish after months of public unhappiness, you know, tweeting about the owner, uh whatever whatever. Um. You know he's in Seattle, got his wish, and hey also did not get a new deal. By the way, you know, he wanted a new deal to stay with the Jets this whole time, and now he goes to Seattle and he's not signing a new contract before the start of the season. UM. So I will ask you, Jenny, would you rather an unhappy player with adams skill set or you know, pair of first round picks, the safety who might be sort of replacement level in return in some mid round compensation. I think if I were the Jets, this was a no brainer. And it seems like, you know, for a deal of this magnitude to have, you know, I think it's coincidental that it may have happened around the time that Adams started publicly stating his unhappiness, But this feels like something that was being shopped around for quite some time, and it would make sense to me that Adams not having contact with Gaye and Joe Douglas was probably part of the reason for this, Like they're not gonna they know that he's going to go out and tell everybody everything, right, So if you have Seattle on the hook for a deal like this, of course you're not going to talk to him. Connor, and I think that's a smart analysis of the situation, because if the trade came together because someone popped off and made public comments, they're not getting the compensation they got in return, right, So it was clearly something that had been in the works for a while and had been agreed to. And I do think it's the situation that really makes sense for both sides. For Seattle, you get a player that you wouldn't have the chance to get normally because you're not picking in the top five in the draft. You're generally picking in the twenties, um, and you get a piece that you think you need to kind of get over the hump. And then for the Jets, yeah, you can't move forward with him in your locker room. You get compensation, of course, you know, it does admit the fact that you're not going to be ready to win while Sam Donald's on his rookie contract. But I think we had already conceded that point anyway, right. I mean, there's just too much work that needed to be done on the Jets roster and continues to be done for them to be really in the mix right now. So I think it's just a realistic assessment of where they're at and that they need a lot of things to become have a contender or have a roster that's even in the mix now. I guess another question is, like, what what are these draft picks looking like right because is there a college football season? Is the draft process thrown off next year the year after that? Like these are things that we don't really know, So there is some some bit of a risk there, but it's hard not to say that this made a ton of sense for both sides, like and it's you know, I think oftentimes saying both sides win is kind of a cop out, but I really think it is in this situation because Seattle and the Jets are at such different places in their team building process. Yeah, I think the big the only loser here is the Raiders who did who got less for Khalil Mack. But but obviously but uh yeah, nice one. And you and I had covered the best Jets teams arguable not arguably the the best Jets teams since uh they're super Bowl in the in nineteen sixty nine, and I would the point that I would make there is leading up to that season season and the t that we covered together the two thousand ninth season that you covered, Um, what was the most important draft that they had And it's when they had a higher volume of picks and they got Nick Mangolden to britishaw Ferguson in the same draft. Right, that's the draft that was the foundation for these teams or six years down the road and the Jets have been just stuck in this continual mindset that they need to they need to win now, they need to win now. They don't tear anything down, and you have these nice seasons sometimes or Ryan Fitzpatrick leads you to nine wins or ten wins or whatever it is, but otherwise it's just it's this continual cycle and you have to eventually strip down the parts. I think that Jamal Adams is a great player. Um, he's a player that you need in today's NFL right now. But is it a player who you can live without? Yes, A and B. If you're really putting that much faith into Greg Williams and you look at the players that Greg Williams had in the past, you you know you can work around that, right. I mean Greg Williams doesn't run a traditional defense, you know, and he can make up presumably you're paying him to make up for the difference there. Yeah, I think those are those are all smart points. Connor. Alright, Charlon, move on to topic three since you said that one so well, uh yeah, let's do it all right. Joey Bosa of the charters have signedists. Contract extension came in at roughly five years and a hundred thirty five million. Good for him. It seems like a lot of money, though, and one has to wonder if the pass rusher market in general is getting a little wacky. That was my thoughts to Connor Um. Obviously, since he plays opposite Melvin Ingram, the production is you know, going to be spread out a little bit between the two of them. But he's he hasn't had a kind of production I think is high career highest twelve point five sacks for a season. So yeah, the numbers seemed a little high. Yeah, I think that, uh that I think in five years we're going to look at paying an outside pass rusher that kind of money as purely ridiculous. Like that market is in a bubble right now. That market is pets dot com. You know, everyone's saying, oh, yeah, you gotta get in on this, you gotta get in on this, and then poof, it's going to be gone. That's my take, And and here's why I think that mobility UM is only going to become a continue to become a prerequisite for the quarterback position. Um. You know, if you look at snack to throw times on next gen stats, even the worst quarterbacks now I think are better than a lot of the quarterbacks where five years ago. And I think that's going to continue to get better until you kind of optimize at a human level. But still that's two and a half seconds, two point seven seconds um, And I think that more focus is going to be put on interior guys because you're gonna start closer to the quarterback. Theoretically, you're gonna you're gonna have an easier path. You're gonna you know, most teams concentrate their strength of their offensive lines at the tackle positions, and while other teams have better guards and centers. You know, that's kind of the way that you want to structure your line there. There's weaknesses inside, more advantages to gaming and stunts that you can pull inside, at least from my perspective, And so I don't know, I just think that all of that said, your signature outside pass rusher is a aventually going to become the trophy like what we what we say now about like a number one wide receiver. You just don't need it to win. You don't need that person to be successful. That's interesting Connor. I mean, I do think we see pass rush come from a lot of different places and positions, and it's not just having the one premier guy that makes the difference. Though that person can make a difference, you can also generate rush from a lot of different places. And I agree with you on the interior. Another point that I thought of, and our friend of the podcast Brian Costello made it before I could on Twitter, but that the corners, like the corner market, hasn't had the same jump as the pass rush rush market. And that is interesting to me because I would have thought that corners would have seen a similar jump and they really have not. Yeah, No, it's fascinating. And what's really interesting to me is you know if you talk to college coaches and you say, hey, where are we going with this? Because everything bumps up and offenses come up, and so when defenses make those adjustments, where are we going with this? And what is it supposed to look like? And you know you've talked a lot about this too, I mean this idea of positionless football and where we're going with this? And you know we were in on the ground floor of a lot of that too. Rex Ryan and Mike Patton ran a lot of that. And where do we see a lot of sack production come from on that team, like uh, what was his name? Remember that cornerback like Drew Coleman, like would have like sacks or um um, Dwight Lowry. Yes, like like they would all come from you know. And I'm not saying that, you know, oh, it's just you know these guys or whatever, just another guy. Um. But at the same time, like, I think it's so much smarter to be able to simulate pressure, to force teams to defend, to use more to defend less, and then use those lanes to create a rush than to say, like we've got the stallion, we've got von Miller and he's gonna win every time and force a double team. Sometimes that doesn't work. I mean, you know, just last year, I remember covering a very forgettable Jets game, or two years ago, very forgettable Jets game at MetLife Stadium where Isaiah Kroll it was the Crow Show. He ran for like three d yards against the Broncos because Von Miller was getting outside to try to rush and they just would trap them and run through that gap. And there's weaknesses with luxury pass rushers, and so I don't know, I just I'm not hot on the luxury pass rusher market. I would say, cell, cell, cell, is that it if you I don't know how stocks work, but I'm presumably with the money made today, you would have made money and now you sell, you get rid of your stocks. No, it's interesting. This is a bold take. Connor, I really I like where you're headed with that. Nice Um. All right, number four, less fun news topic to talk about here. Lamar Jackson said Wednesday he's hoping his team signs Antonio Brown, noting that he's enjoyed his time throwing with Antonio Brown this offseason. Um, and he added that Antonio Brown is the kind of guy that we would like in the locker room. Uh, this all feels totally regrettable. Um, Lamar Jackson is on his star rise. I don't think a lot of what he said. It's going to be as challenged as critically as maybe a more tenured quarterback might feel and get challenged. But man, this is a dumb thing to say. It's just stupid. Yeah, I really I cringed when I saw it. I mean, it's just really ignoring the serious allegations that have been made against Brown. Obviously, one of Lamar Jackson's teammates is Marquis Brown, who is a relative of Antonio Brown's and they have had workouts together in Florida. Um. But you know, we talked a couple of weeks ago on the show about workplace culture and hoping that all teams take seriously what went on at Washington and that it isn't just a issue that people think is limited to one team. And I think part of that is when a player has serious allegations against him of misconduct that are levied by a woman, to not just brush those aside and talk about how how great of a locker room presence this person is. Right. Um, Obviously the Patriots would have loved to keep Brown around because of his on field talent last year, and they decided not to um very serious allegations off the field, And so I think the cavalier nature with which um we just we often see athletes kind of dismiss um players who have um serious issues levied against them, And I think it's comes from a place of saying like, well, this is my experience with him. But I think I really just I don't know. I just hope that we can get to a place where people can empathize with other experiences and just because you haven't seen something that you all of a sudden discount allegations that are made against someone else Connor, and you know, Brown has a lot that he asked work through and hasn't shown any kind of public atonement for um. I think that's the bigger issue is in terms of like not the bigger issue, but that is like a related issue, right. I mean, he hasn't even shown any willingness to acknowledge, um, mistakes that he's made or to show that he's going on a better path. Um. So it doesn't he hasn't even put in the work to have a path back to the NFL, is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, I I totally agree, um, you know, and I can promise you that I don't think that this is going to be a good thing for your locker room. You know. It's just I can promise you that I would say, call anybody on the Steelers and see how well that's been working out for everybody, um, you know, and how much of an addition he was to that locker room. Um. But anyway, I think that's just something that you know, a good lesson, I think for a young player to learn there is to sort of think his way through some of this stuff because you know, I don't know, I just don't think that's uh Um, I don't think it's gonna help your team. I don't think it's gonna make your team any better. And I think if it ends up working out, I don't think you're gonna feel great about it at the end of the day anyway. So yeah, and I think that's where education helps to right, And I think that's where teams should be educating players. And that's an opportunity for the PR staff to talk to Lamar Jackson and say to him, you know, you need to have a full understanding before you endorse the signing of a player, right, I mean, and if that conversation isn't happening, I think that's a missed opportunity. You know. Yeah, maybe some training for you know, a good good place for all PR staffs to be trained to, you know, And I agree, get them get them on the horn too, because a lot of these things, you know, sometimes start in offices that we don't think they started. So anyway, UM, number five, John Lynch, this was some late breaking news. Um, so we had to we had to do some major shuffling to the to the show notes here, Jenny, but John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan signed some big fat extensions. And this is on top of the fact that when they were hired, they were both fired on matching six year deals. Um, I don't know what do you think about that? That already you know, it's not like there was any pressure to get the deal done. But it seems like the forty Niners are going all in on the fact that like, hey, these guys are going to be around until the end of end of days. Yeah. I mean, they've always from the Star have said these two are tied together, and they've sort of ensured that they're on the same time timetable and that there won't be any um that there won't be any issues of GM versus head coach. That seems to be a big part of what they want their culture to be is that we have a head coach and a GM who are on the same page, even though there may have been small indications along the way or questions race right like in every relationship. Um, so yeah, I mean I still doesn't you know, I think the same question that we had about the forty Niners is the same one we've had all off season, like, how did you respond to a heartbreak like you had last year in the Super Bowl? And clearly they have have built a t that was special last year, that came within a few minutes of winning a Super Bowl, And I think now the question is, uh, how do you overcome that? How do you confront some of the play calling questions that come up? How do you confront some of the questions about the quarterback that stemmed from the play calling decisions that were made? So UM, I think they have a lot of things to address moving forward and how they respond UM. But evidently the organization is confident in what they've built to this point and confident that they will continue to push through UM this challenge at ahead of them. Yeah, I don't know. I think that the one reason that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan work out UM, at least from conversations that I've had on the periphery, is that Kyle Shanahan says I want this, and John Lynch says okay, and it's not the other way around. And I think that that is a thing that UM. I think that when their front office model is studied, I think is going to be copied. I think general managers UM are going to be less of personnel people in the future and more let me be a CEO, Let me understand what you need, and then let me direct the scouting staff to filter you those exact players. Because what's interesting is, you know, if you go back and you look at all the general managers and you say, well, who's the best drafter, there isn't one, right, Like, there's not a statistically significant difference between you know, one guy and the other. Maybe John schneider Is has a statistically significant difference in terms of like late round hits, and maybe there's a slight edge there, but everybody's lumped in the middle. This is all a crapshoot, right, And the better teams are the ones that listen to their coach and get him the players that he um that he wants, you know, And so I think that's something that John lynch Is is really good at. Yeah, and I think the Four Nights have been very intentional about Okay, we're going to write our you know, work on our vision together, and we're going to keep them on the same contract act schedule, and you know, we're going to make sure we take all of these steps. I mean, it's sort of some of that tech company mentality UM that I think is applied to the organization. But I think it's worked so far, so I think, and I think your analysis of the relationship is spawn on Connor, and I think maybe it's a slightly different dynamic than we see other places, but so far it's working. Alignment, that's the big corporate alignment. Yeah, but that's the word. But a lot of times people don't actually like put the work into. Get that right correct? Yeah, And you have to. You have to put the work in. It's just like therapy. You really have to commit yourself you're gonna do it, you know, you have to actually participate willingly and throw yourself into the process, no doubt. UM. So the oracle today, uh, is that I predict that the next big thing, the next big discussion that we're going to be having, UM is about finger licking. Jenny. I think the fingerlicking is going to be a big deal, um deeper that we get into this mess um And Drew Brees mentioned it today. He's trying to train himself to stop licking his fingers amid the coronavirus pandemic. Um. This is not going to come out the way that I wanted to. Uh, so forgive me, But I didn't think you ingested the coronavirus like through food. Um And, so that would be sort of a similar vibe, right to like your hand is under a sweaty butt and then you're licking your hand, which, by the way, should have been addressed a long time ago anyway, um and and kind of lopped off. But I don't know if you would get coronavirus from licking your hands. Um. But I think that hand licking is going to be a big topic of conversation here in the next couple of weeks. Okay, so he licks his fingers before receiving the snap, correct, Yeah, So then his saliva is on the football, which he's then tossing to a receiver to a receiver who's running back. Yeah, both of whom I guess theoretically have gloves on. But then there's a situation where you know you are I've tried to work this out in my head. So then like, but then the ball goes to the ref and then the ball goes to the center who doesn't have gloves on. Theoretically, and then the and then the ball goes back to you and you're licking your hands again and maybe to the ball boy and uh, you know, man, I mean, who who wouldn't be afraid of a disease spreading wildly at this point? I think a bigger concern of mine is, you know, I know that they're trying to devise those kind of face shields for your mouth, but when you're relaying the play call in the huddle, are you spewing saliva into your teammates faces and careful? That would play with teams be less prone to huddling and just do signals. But I think that becomes more challenging because if there's any verbal cues and there's no fans, you can hear everything. So I think that would be my bigger concern is when you're laying the play call, Yeah, I don't know it's gonna be um NFL is not going to be fingerlicking good and you're looking good? Um, all right? Onto the brendis consensus just a nod to the s I Daily cover on Wednesday, UM, which will still be available on Thursday, but UM to follow up to s i S previous investigation on the Dallas Mavericks and UM, here is a new account. Uh, they write, Um, Jessica Luther and John Worth, I'm writing the story yet. Here it was a year later and a woman was contacting the Mavericks about an executive. She said, I had forced himself on her late at night in a Las Vegas hotel room. And I think it really paints the picture of how challenging it can be to change cultures and how much work has to be done. And UM, I think it's a it's a powerful account. And there was another line in there that stood out, UM Sarah, which was the alias they gave for the woman. UM learned that there are so many forces aligned to silence accounts of sexual assaults, and how easy it is for complaints to fall between the cracks, for survivors to grow quiet and then grows silent, which is precisely why she has chosen not to. So, I think, as we continue the workplace conduct discussions, UM, this is another important read. It's in another sport, but it's obviously still relevant to the conversation. Definitely, yeah, definitely. Well, thanks everybody for joining us for our second week side pod. We'll be back next week with more to discuss. The MMQB week side podcast is Me, Jenny Rerentis and Connor Or. We are produced by Shelby Royston. Size Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody, Ben Eagles, Director of Editorial Projects and product Mark Mravik is a meritus executive director of the MMQB. Keep up with our entire lineup podcast five days a week by subscribing to the MMQB NFL Podcasts for free on Apple Podcasts, and while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a reading and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot com, Stitcher, si dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts,