Lindsay Rhodes | Host “NFL Rhodes Show” Podcast

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Learn more at Goalie.com today. We're always excited to have Lindsay on the show. Lindsay, there's a lot of news that we want to process. What I love about D'Amico Ryan's To The Texans is the fact that he actually wanted to go there. That job has seemed toxic for the last couple seasons, and yet he wanted to be there where maybe nobody else would touch that gig.

And for good reason, right? And there's the way that the last few head coaches and their tenure has gone there. I think that there's reason to be wary about going there, but they give him a nice long deal. And so I think that they, at least on the outset, they appear pretty committed to him. And he goes to the team, I think, at a good time. Like last year, it didn't it didn't feel like that was a long term situation that Lovey was signing up for.

And this does. This feels like they're going to build with him and they're in a position to go get a quarterback. And they kind of maybe have a plan in place and we'll see if they execute that plan.

Well, I don't know. I do think it's an interesting time for the organization. I thought that they finished the season. I thought they played pretty well for Lovey.

To be honest with you. And I know that that feels weird to say when you look at their record at the end of the year. But that that last game of the season, I was like, oh, they're 100 percent going to win this game going into it. Like it just it just seemed very much like they were a team that was going to fight to the finish and they weren't going to lose the game for any kind of draft positioning. That there wasn't anyone involved who had anything to gain from that, particularly Lovey. I think that the writing felt like it was on the wall. Sure. And and that he wasn't going to, you know, go down with that ship.

And yeah, I was impressed with the way that they fought. Although it is a little bit nutso to think this will be their fourth head coach in four seasons. That is not a recipe for success, obviously.

No, no. I mean, there have been some issues with the with the franchise and it's not just related to the coach and it's not just related to the players. I mean, there's there's some structural problems there, obviously.

And so we'll see, I guess time will tell whether or not they are committed to fixing those things. The other big name that dropped on Tuesday, Sean Payton, and it feels like the Broncos got their man. Oh, they were also in on D'Amico Ryan's. That was some interesting reporting, right? Like the back and forth about whether or not they they actually had gone back to D'Amico Ryan, whether or not Sean Payton was their first choice, that feels like that'll be an interesting one to watch and see how the reporting on that plays out in the next couple of days. Yeah. The idea, too, that the one of the owners had gone to Ann Arbor to try to talk to Jim Harbaugh at the last second as well.

So I'm not sure which person was actually their man. And for the second year in a row now, the Broncos have this big splash, right? They get Russell Wilson last year. Everyone's all excited that the franchise is energized. Now they get Sean Payton. How do you like this matchup? I love the coach. I think Sean Payton is an incredibly talented coach and I think he will make the most out of what they have.

I think it's an interesting choice for Sean Payton. And there was part of me that was thinking that it wasn't really a good match and that I wasn't really seeing a good match this cycle for him. Where I where I thought it was a good match was the Chargers. But then that immediately was like poo-pooed by people who have covered the Chargers who said, like, oh, they'll never do that. That's not that's not their style. And I was like, well, maybe they need to at least consider changing their style. Because, you know, like when your name becomes synonymous with a verb for failure, then, you know, like when people say they're going to charger, they're charging. Like when that becomes a phrase that is uttered that describes what happens to you in moments of pressure, then I think that maybe you need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how you can change that. So I was a little bit frustrated if somebody lives in Los Angeles and have really kind of been teetering on the brink of becoming a Chargers fan. Because I think it's such a I think he's such an exciting talent.

And I think that there's a lot to develop there. You see his arm talent is just insane. Right. Like the throws that he makes regularly. You're like, how did he do that? And there are only a handful of guys in the NFL who have that kind of talent. The thing that I haven't seen from him is consistently leading them on successful drives down the field. Like there isn't that like surgeon thing that game last year against the Raiders in was at week 18 at the end of the season playing for a playoff berth when he answered the bell every single time. And it was back and forth and back and forth. And he just kept making play after play.

I was like, that's what he can do. But we don't see it all the time. And this year I think it was easily explained away. And I'm sorry, I totally hijacked the Sean Payton thing and turned this into a Chargers rant. You had injuries to the wide receivers. You had injuries to the O-line. You had injuries to Justin Herbert, for crying out loud, with his ribs.

And then this injury that we found out about at the end of the season that he's having surgery on. But what we haven't seen is that consistency. Like I don't have this strong sense that he's in a good situation or that he is a quarterback who consistently puts them in good situations.

I don't know which one it is. I don't know who's making the choice to check down when they're big plays down the field or not. But I thought the pairing of Sean Payton when he started hearing the rumors that Sean Payton was interested in that job. I thought that's interesting to me because I trust that he will put Justin Herbert in a position to have success and to maximize the talent. And he has such a special talent.

I want to see it maximize. And if he needs to be pushed in some sort of way, you know, maybe it's just somebody who like is consistently telling him, hey, there was a play down field in case it is him that's taking the check down. And if it's not him that's taking the check down, he's been coached to be a little bit more conservative than I would like somebody to coach him differently.

So I thought that Sean Payton was a really interesting match for that specific team. I didn't see it really anywhere else around the NFL in where there was a coaching vacancy. And I didn't see it with Denver because I didn't like what I saw from Russell Wilson this year.

And they are so on the hook to him for a couple of years, like to the point where at the end of the year, I was like, I don't know, maybe you do cut bait. And I don't think that they I know, but my concern with Russell Wilson is that if you can't make him better. I mean, we saw we saw we saw some bad quarterbacking across the board this year. It wasn't just like, oh, bad play here and there. Like it was bad decision making. It was bad throws. It was like we saw a pretty massive deterioration. So if you can't pull him out of that, then are you just putting good money after bad?

You know, like, are you going to dig yourself further into the hole? And I'm curious about the coaches that went in there and what they actually said. And if they said I can fix this because they wanted the job, or if they said I can fix this because they literally think that they can fix this. Or if in the case of Sean Payton, if he maybe says I can work around this for a little while, you know, because if you're a good enough coach, then I think you can take something that isn't a perfect talent and you can say, what is it that you can do well?

And then you have other things teamed up around them. You know, I mean, Kyle Shanahan's a great example of this. He's never had like a star quarterback, right? He puts them in very specific positions where they succeed. And I don't think it's I don't think it's a fluke that his his quarterbacks tend to succeed in that offense. I think he's a really good coach and puts them in good positions. I think Sean Payton will do that to Russell Wilson and he could get the best out of him.

I just don't know what the best is. Lindsay Rhodes is with us here after hours. CBS Sports Radio. She's got the NFL road show. Just finished up another season of fantasy on DirecTV and also Sirius XM Fantasy Network.

All right. So we we mentioned Niners a few times. They once again are in a quarterback conundrum because of what happened with Brock Purdy. I kind of had the feeling this was just me that at the very least they were going to have a quarterback competition between Trey Lance and Purdy in the off season. Purdy could potentially not even be ready for training camp. And Trey Lance, it sounds like he's on schedule. If you're Kyle Shanahan, you're the Niners. Do you bring in another quarterback? Do you just give the job back to Trey Lance? But how do you do that once you've seen what Purdy is capable of?

So here's the thing that I keep putting on my notes of things to do that I haven't done yet. So just full disclosure, I don't know if this is even possible. I think I think unless and I think I saw somebody said that there's too much too big of a cap. I think you find a way to to deal trail and there are so many teams that are looking for a quarterback. And I think Trey Lance is an interesting project to go somewhere else. I think you could potentially recoup some of that draft capital that you gave up to get him. I think that I think that you move forward with Purdy or this is my approach prior to the injury.

Right. Was pretty pretty is the guy that you move forward with and you trade Trey Lance somewhere else and Jimmy gets signed somewhere else. And Purdy is the guy. Well, now Purdy is potentially not going to be available for camp.

And so now you're kind of back to square one. And as much as I don't want it to happen, I do think that it sort of opens the door for Tom Brady to be potentially interesting there. I know I'm not the one bringing it up.

So don't owe me because I'm just reacting to the things other people have said. And I have to acknowledge as somebody who really very much would like Tom Brady to go be with his family and ride off into the sunset and live a happy, retired life. I have to acknowledge that if he's looking for he's obviously a short term guy right now and the Niners, that would be a short term situation.

Right. Like if you're just looking for someone and and I thought Mina times had this video part of a podcast that she put out, it was like, is he never allowed to have a good quarterback? Kyle Shanahan is just meant to be blessed with all of these skills as a coach. And like, you are going to be incredible.

I'm stealing all of this from Mina. Like you are going to be one of the greatest offensive geniuses of your time. But you're never going to have a quarterback. That's like that's the that's the catch there for you. But, you know, maybe they could go sign a quarterback. And if it's a short term deal, then then that makes a lot more sense. I don't think that they're a team that's going to go, I don't know, sign a long term deal with them. I don't think that that that makes sense for their cap. And they've got a lot of people to pay. Right.

And they want to they want to maintain their structure. And I think Brock is I think Brock is interesting. He is. Brock was consistent and people wanted to be like, oh, he's only done it for a few games. And oh, look at all the talent. Yes.

Well, that's going to still be there. And he's still going to work with Kyle Shanahan. And and he was he was consistent. Like he didn't just have a good game here and there. He did the exact same thing consistently from the time he took over. So I think we have a big enough sample size to to to have a pretty good idea of who he is. And I think who he is is good enough for them to continue winning if he's their quarterback. Yeah. He learned pretty quickly.

You give the ball to the playmakers and you rely on people around you and you don't like many rookies do try to do too much or try to win the game all by yourself. We're spending a few minutes with Lindsay Rhodes here on CBS Sports Radio. And the way you feel about Tom Brady just right off in the sunset is how I feel about Aaron Rodgers. He's going to milk it on purpose.

Meanwhile, the Packers have a decision to make. Do you move on or do you bring him back? No. Yes.

The first one. One hundred percent. You move on. Yes. You move on. You move on.

I would be shocked if he was back in Green Bay next year. Shocked. Yes. No. No more.

No more. I think. I mean, don't you get that? Don't you get the feeling that he kind of like overstayed his welcome there that like it's just that they don't he doesn't he doesn't talk about them like they like he feels like they're on the same page anymore. I just I this feels like it's headed for a breakup and and it feels like it's headed to the exact same breakup as Brett Favre. I mean, right. Is he going to go to the desk?

Oh, man. Is he going to do that? Is he going to go the exact same path?

But the thing is, he comes with a pretty expensive price tag. So there's only a handful of teams that could bring him on unless he agrees to restructure and kind of scrap his 50 million dollars per year. Well, I think he he's acknowledged already that he will restructure. That doesn't mean he's going to scrap it, but he'll probably restructure so that like some of it can get pushed down the road and there's less of a salary cap hit.

So I think it sounds to me at least reading between the lines of things that he said that, you know, he's going to get his money. He's not going to like he's not going to be like Tom Brady over there taking less. But I honestly do think that the Jets would be a pretty interesting landing spot for him because there are there are weapons built in. I like like Garrett Wilson's a stud.

Yes. And the I mean, they have a plethora of running backs now and the defense is great. And so I kind of think that the Jets are one of those teams that might actually be a quarterback in a couple of pieces away from being legit competitive.

And so I think that that's an interesting spot to put Aaron Rodgers. The thing about the quarterbacks that are moving this offseason is like, I mean, find me find me a place where Derek Carr legit makes sense because I can't I don't see it. And somebody is going to end up with with a Derek Carr like the Colts, the Colts to me. They can't do that again. They can't do it again.

Yes, that's yes. Well, I think the Derek Carr and this is not a knock on Derek Carr. I think Derek Carr is a good quarterback, but I don't think Derek Carr is the type of quarterback that is fine with with a flawed offensive line and with wide receivers who need the ball to be, you know, like, I think he kind of needs everybody to be really good at their job and then he'll do his job. Well, also, I think that's how you get the most out of Derek Carr. And if you send him to Indianapolis where the O-line was a disaster and like and then again, I mean, I know that Derek Carr's contract is relatively cheap. Now, considering the quarterback prices that we're going to be looking at this offseason for guys like Joe Burrow and Herbert and the guys that are already making monster deals. But is that is that the path that's the best one for the Colts? Or do you just go and you draft a quarterback and you kind of you embrace the rebuilding phase because that's sort of where you are, unfortunately.

Right. Well, you were talking about the Niners. I mean, Derek Carr is not really a stopgap, but he at least could deliver the ball to the weapons. And there's been some talk that Derek Carr might end up with the Jets instead of, say, an Aaron Rodgers. So, yeah, it's a game of musical chairs where you have maybe one too many quarterbacks that are going to need Holmes. And and then don't forget about Baker Mayfield.

Right. And I'd be down on the list, but he is still a free agent quarterback that is likely to be available. And then, Lindsay, there's the concept of maybe the Ravens and Lamar Jackson not being able to come to a deal. And then he would be available if they choose to franchise tag him and then trade him. Yep. I think that one's I think that one's fascinating because and I know that the Ravens came out recently and they said all the things that they want him to come back and they want to sign a deal.

To me, I thought that I'm sure that all those things are true, but it could also be like public credit. It could be we are trying. Don't blame us. Yes.

I promise this is a priority for us. But all we've heard for the last year is that they're offering him pretty big, pretty big deal and that he is rejecting them. I mean, you know, these are just like what's been reported source. Right. And that if he is looking for a fully guaranteed deal like Deshaun Watson got, I don't think the Ravens do that. I just don't think that they do.

I wouldn't. And and I I think it's I think it's arguably bad business. And I think it's I mean, you're you're a quarterback, too. I think he's in a tough negotiating spot, considering the way that that the season ended for him. Like it's the second season in a row. Right. That he finished with an injury and missed missed a handful of games.

And then this year didn't play in the postseason when people were suggesting that that might have been a business decision as opposed to it. Like, I just think he's in a tough spot from a negotiating standpoint, if that's what he's looking for. And I think that you could probably argue if you're Lamar's camp, Lamar's camp, being him and his mom, which is weird because there's no agent here. Right. You could probably argue, like, I'm willing to bet that there's a team out there who's willing to make that deal and make a bad business deal because they're desperate.

And I think he might be right. I think there probably are teams out there that would be willing to do that. They were with Deshaun Watson. Why wouldn't they be with Lamar with Lamar? But I just don't think the Ravens are that team. And I don't think they should be.

I don't think that they should make a bad business decision out of desperation. I do think that you can then it creates an interesting conversation about like value over replacement at quarterback. And he's incredible. But could you how much more incredible is he then?

Like, let's say, you know, just for comp purposes, you were to let's let's say you treated him to, you know, the Bears or whatever. You took Justin Fields or I'm not saying this is even on the table, but like just to just to talk about like a young talent. Right. So if you went out and you got a quarterback who was ascending and and Justin Fields, who is a quarterback who plug into that often, it's going to have some of the same problems that Lamar had in that there are no pass catchers there outside of Mark Andrews.

Right. Like they would have to build the offense to develop him as a passer. But you at least know you have these exciting like splash plays you can make on the ground. Like how much more value does Lamar Jackson bring than that? Can the Ravens work with that? Can you find that in the draft if it's not Justin Fields? Like I'm just again, the placeholder name.

But is there something that you can find that you can win with? There were teams that were in the postseason that aren't now in the Super Bowl round in the Super Bowl. But, you know, Daniel Jones. The Giants got pretty far with him with good coaching. And I mean, I wouldn't even say putting good pieces around him because what do you have around him? Aside from Saquon? Like they've all just coached the heck out of that team.

So I think that there are other ways to build a roster. You don't just have to go all in on a quarterback like that, especially at that price. What are your initial thoughts on the matchup that we have coming up in Arizona, Lindsey? It's a head versus gut situation for me trying to break down these two teams.

Like it's the the Eagles are, I think, the top to bottom better team. And I think Sirianni is an incredible coach. And I think Howie Roseman just like it did incredible things in the building of this roster.

A hundred percent nailed it. Executive of the year. Give him all the awards.

Like there's no there's no contest for that one. So I, I think you would have to say the Eagles are the better team. Where it gets interesting for me is the Patrick Mahomes component in that he is such an outlier at the quarterback position. I think you have to start talking about him the way that we talk about Derek Henry at the running back position.

Like you just have to throw away what you think you know from an analysis standpoint about what you should expect out of the quarterback and what you what they will do in certain situations. With Derek Henry, he gets better as the game goes on. He gets better as the season goes on. He gets better as his career goes on. Like you keep waiting for him to fall off a cliff because he has so much tread on the tires. And up until potentially this year, he was just getting better and better and better and better.

It's like it's very outlier. And it's not how most running backs work. Patrick Mahomes is like that at the quarterback position. When he has a high ankle sprain, you have to go, OK, that would normally hamper a quarterback. And I understand that you think he's going to have to move around in the pocket a little bit.

Normally, that would be a problem. It's not going to be for Patrick Mahomes. It might make him a little bit less of what we're used to seeing from him. But even that is enough to take over a game when a game makes flashy plays like the physics. That he better in play when he throws the ball.

It's just it's not what it's supposed to look like. He throws off platform all the time. He's literally the example that you're like, hey, kids, don't do this because he can do that.

You can't do that. No one else can do that. He's just so good. And he's better and he's better in different ways than the other quarterbacks are in the NFL right now. So they have Patrick, they have Travis, they have their defense played really well last week, notably well, because that was the one hole of the four units in that game last week. I was like, OK, the Bengals defense is really good under the radar.

Good, but really good. The Bengals offense is really good. The Chiefs offense is really good. The Chiefs defense is kind of middle of the road.

So there's the weak link. And then the Chiefs defense was for me the story of the game. Aside from, you know, Patrick being crazy on the high ankle sprain. But like Chris Jones and some of the Chiefs defenders who really stepped up and had the game of their lives, it's at least in the mix. It may not be as good on paper and the stats may not be there, but it's got so much experience and it's got veterans who are used to making big plays. How often that team, that defense comes through when they got to have a big play. And we know the strength of the Eagles is their offensive line. They have gone more and more away from, I know Devontae Smith had the foe catch early in the game last week, but they've gone more and more away from going downfield.

A.J. Brown's had what, eight catches? I think in the two playoff games that's it. And they've got seven rushing touchdowns now in two games. They're dominating ball control. So I wonder if they're going to stick to that and just to try to keep Mahomes and the offense off the field, try to dominate the time of possession. That's the beauty of the Eagles, honestly, and it has been all year.

The special versatility that Jalen Hurts brings to the table and Nick Sirianni's willingness to be malleable. They give you the the ability to look at a defense and go, oh, that's where your hole is. OK, that's what we're going to attack next game.

Totally different hole. That's what we're going to attack. They can be a passing offense and come out and throw the ball downfield one week if that's where where your week is a defense. And then the next week, if you can't stop there on, they can use one, you know, and they will pivot week in and week out. We gave Bill Belichick so much credit for doing it for a number of years and we were frustrated in the fantasy world because we never knew who the weapon was going to be.

Well, I think Sirianni has proven that he is pretty adept at doing that also. Yeah, it's going to be fun, although we still have two weeks to hear all of the various ways that it could play out. Lindsay Rhodes has got the NFL Roadshow. She's Sirius XM fantasy. And we're so excited to have her again for the first time since we were talking fantasy draft. But I want you to know, Lindsay, that I took your advice and I did not take a quarterback in my fantasy draft until the I believe it was the seventh round.

Now, here's the deal. I took Aaron Rodgers. So I tell people that I won my fantasy football championship in spite of Aaron Rodgers.

I kept thinking maybe I should exchange him. And then I just never did. And so everyone on my roster, heck, my defenses sometimes outscored Aaron Rodgers. And yet somehow I still won. So I need you to be so proud of me.

I took your advice. I actually won my championship. Congratulations. I'm so happy to hear that. My first time ever. Oh, no, no.

That's amazing. It's funny you bring that up about the quarterback position, because and I was telling everybody, like, wait on a quarterback like you're fine. Like Derek Carr, you can get Hanley like in that offense, like totally, totally did not call that one.

Right. Like I thought Derek Carr with Davante Adams was going to be a totally different story this year. All of the quarterbacks in that range just blew it. Like Tom Brady, not great. Aaron Rodgers, not great. Derek Carr, not great.

And I think that we're probably going to see next year, you know, you're going to have an overreaction to what happened this year. And if you didn't have one of like five quarterbacks and you were scrounging for quarterbacks, there were only a handful of guys this year that you could consistently count on point production from. And so I, I, I think that that actually might be a way that people go next year is to get like a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts or a Burrow or a Justin Fields.

Strategically, it might be interesting. The other position is tight end. I mean, Travis Kelce had 100 points more than the number two tight end in the year.

Oh yeah. And, and we're talking, we're talking, we're not talking like thousands of points with a one 100 point differential. We're talking, he had 316 fantasy points this season.

And number two was TJ Hawkinson who had 215. Like he had, he had a third more of the point. Like what, what? So, so I think, you know, in, in years past I would be like, no, I'm not taking Kelce in the first round. Silly people like your tight end.

Like, are you kidding? And now I don't think that I'm going to be laughing at people who take Kelce pretty high this year. I think we're going to see him go in the first round pretty consistently.

And I'm not sure it's a bad strategy. This is my big pickup about, I think it was week 10 or 11 that really propelled me. Christian Watson, I got him on the waiver wire after he had that three touchdown game. From that point on was Aaron Rodgers favorite target.

Yep. I'm pretty sure that I'm the person that like put him on the waiver wire for people like you because I drafted him in a few different leagues and then just couldn't wait any longer. Like I was like, I just need, I need something, you know, and he was hurt a lot, so he was in and out of the lineup.

And then when he was in the lineup, it wasn't working and, and man, it seems like there were a few games where Aaron Rodgers, it felt like he hated him afterward. And I was like, I don't know if this, I just don't know if it's going to get there this year. Well, so here's the kicker and I've been waiting to tell you this.

I've been so excited because you're going to laugh and I'm sure you'll understand. One, a nice chunk for, for claiming the championship, got the money and then found out maybe three days later that my dog needed a minor, minor procedure. What did you know? It was pretty much the entire sum that I received for winning fantasy football. But there's two ways you could look at it, right?

I had the money that I didn't have before, but you know, easy come easy go fantasy money. There you go. Bye bye. Oh my gosh.

Yeah. Let's choose to look at it that way. Let's look at it like it was a gift so that you wouldn't have to dip into your pockets and spend money. Otherwise that you would just have this, you know, fresh, fresh set of dollar bills sitting in your bank account going, this isn't really yours. So use it on that. So use it on your dog.

I mean, it's just so ironic, right? I'll go from having this huge high. I finally won for the first time ever. Lindsay's going to be so proud of me.

And then, oh, well, right back to where I was before, but at least I had it. Yes. Forget Lindsay's going to be so proud of you.

I think Lindsay needs to ask you for advice next year. All right. Yes, let's do that.

Oh, man. You tell me who to draft and I will draft at least one of my teams, however you say. That'll be a fun challenge. OK, I'm in. I love talking fantasy with you. Normally it bores me, but with you, it's fun. Find Lindsay on Twitter at Lindsay underscore Rhodes.

RHODES. Oh, it's so good to talk to you. Thank you so much. This is a lot of fun.

You too, Amy. Thanks for having me. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals, you can actually taste them. The trick? Simply start with bite size steps like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health or Goalie Ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore and unwind. Mmm.

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The trick? Simply start with bite size steps like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health or Goalie Ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore and unwind. Mmm.

Tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie. Taste your goals. Learn more at Goalie dot com today. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals, you can actually taste them.

The trick? Simply start with bite size steps like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health or Goalie Ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore and unwind. Mmm.

Tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie. Taste your goals. Learn more at Goalie dot com today.