LIVE: Pat Surtain's Record Extension, NFL Contracts & Hard Knocks Takeaways | GSMC Sports Podcast

[Music] [Music] hello and welcome into the gsmc sports podcast brought to you by the gsmc sports network I'm your host TJ maardi we are coming to you live today on Wednesday afternoon today is September 4th and we are going to be breaking down some of the contract developments in the NFL that have taken place within the past 24 hours we are now at this point just over 24 hours away from kickoff of the 20 2024 NFL season and teams are making their last minute cram moves to get under the deadline and head into the season with a strong start so that includes yesterday's contract extension that was handed out to Pat certan where he becomes the highest paid defensive back in NFL history so we will be breaking down that deal along with the contract extensions handed out to 49ers off offensive tackle Trent Williams to finally end the hold out and additionally a surprise move for another veteran in Cameron Hayward who got a new contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers so we're going to be diving into all of those additionally we'll talk about Stefan Diggs who is now with the Houston Texans after forcing his way out of Buffalo he was named a team captain for Houston and he also addition did an interview with GQ Sports where he had some interesting comments about his previous destinations in Minnesota and Buffalo so we'll talk about that we will also give my personal takeaways from this year's Hard Knocks which followed the Chicago Bears so I will share that and then finally we are going to react to the new college football AP polls that just released yesterday we'll talk about the key movements both in a positive and a negative light but before we get to everything just a reminder to like follow subscribe wherever you keep up with us to any of our viewers be sure to use the comment section to give us your thoughts and questions on the latest happenings in sports we want to hear what you have to say and if you really want to make sure that your comments stand out you can use the Super Chat button is now available on YouTube to click on the dollar sign at the bottom of the chat box to send in your Super Chat which will guarantee that your message gets on air and it is also a very helpful way for us here at the gsmc sports network in helping us continue to bring you entertaining Sports content so anything would be greatly appreciated there you can additionally use the link that is streaming across the bottom ticker gsmc podcast. net to do the same thing and again anything would be very greatly appreciated there we're starting off with the news that the Denver Broncos have signed cornerback Pat ceran to a record breaking contract he becomes the highest paid defensive back in NFL history and ceran it feels like has sort of flown under the radar a little bit since he was drafted in 2021 because of the fact that the Broncos as a whole haven't been a great team that defense especially has not been incredible either but that is sort of covering up the fact that certan has been one of the best cornerbacks really since the moment that he stepped into the league last or two seasons ago now in 2022 he was selected to the AP first team uh All Pro first team and he is coming off of back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons so the Broncos get in early here to make sure that they can lock him down for the foreseeable future a 4-year deal worth $96 million $ 77.5 million in guaranteed money and moving forward he should be somebody that they are going to hope to continue to build around he is going to be making $24 million in average annual value which surpasses Jer Alexander as the highest paid cornerback in the league and like I mentioned the Broncos defense being not spectacular these past couple years has sort of covered up the fact that ceran has been Elites and you have a lot of young cornerbacks that have really been coming onto the scene these past couple years s Gardner obviously has been tremendous from day one that people just sort of slotted him into that number one spot which I'm not saying is wrong entirely but that's also sort of just I don't know how all of these people just sort of leapfrogged Pat ceran when he is just as young and exciting he's still just 24 years old and has played three years in the NFL and he has just consistently been getting results now again the fact that the Broncos aren't that good definitely does disguise the level of success personally that he's been having but I think this is a great investment for the Broncos like I mentioned still just 24 years old by the time that this contract expires following the 2029 season he won't even be 30 years old yet and typically I don't love you know spending big on cornerbacks for the long-term future because I do think that cornerback is a position where we have seen historically dropoffs tend to kick in a little bit sooner than some other positions it's a position that is very reliant on athleticism considering the fact that you have to mirror these upand cominging star wide receivers and do it basically all in reverse while backpedaling so it is a position that I do think doesn't always age perfectly but that being said I find it hard to believe that ceran by the time that this contract expires is going to be a negative deal for the Broncos and I think that overall adding four years to what is currently on his deal is probably the perfect timeline because again ceran he will be 29 years old coming off of that contract he'll probably as long as he is still a prevalent force in the NFL be able to cash out one more time headed into his 30s and you know from there again it's a little bit of it can be a little bit of a crapshoot in terms of how players at cornerback end up developing long term but again I think for the Broncos there were some rumors about the idea that they could look to trade ceran but he's still young enough to the point that the Broncos have a lot of almost culture building to do considering the fact that it's been very messy for them the past couple years ever since of course the Russell Wilson trade but then even last year as well with Shawn pyton coming in sort of coaxing him out of retirement by giving him this massive contract as well the Broncos are expecting to be able to win under Shawn pyton to what extent that is is definitely still to be determined but they aren't hoping to just bottom out and be uncompetitive during this time because Shawn pyton I'm sure isn't trying to coach another 10 years that they paid big for him they want to get results and they have a player that it's not like they're just investing into because they're desperate because Pat certan is a very good value player and can continue to be somebody that they build around and you look at the Broncos defense and overall it's a mostly underwhelming group um Zach Allen is a nice player on that front end I like some of their linebackers Alex Singleton being one of them but overall you look up and down the board and there are not very many cornerstones whatsoever to build around outside of Pat ceran and if you let him walk yeah sure you could probably get a good return in terms of assets but then you just look like a totally Barren team on that defensive side of the ball and again they're trying to manufacture their way into being at least competitive I don't want to go contenders at this point because I do think that the Broncos are still a ways away until they get to that point obviously playing in the AFC West as well doesn't really do you any favors because you know the Chiefs aren't expected to let up anytime soon there's a lot of optimism as well about the Chargers now with Jim Harbaugh in town that he should be able to within the next call it two years I think two seasons is really the ma just about the maximum amount of time it'll take for Harbaugh to really turn the Chargers around now maybe I'm overly optimistic there but the history of Harbaugh would show that typically when he arrives somewhere it doesn't take all that long to be able to sort of transform it into a winner so I mean the Chargers have the pieces they have harba they have Justin Herbert and the Raiders I mean the Raiders are definitely a little bit more of a gray area in terms of what their exact path is pulling for Antonio pierce the interm coach that was hired full-time this past off season they have some good players I'm very stuck up on the quarterback situation there and they don't have their answer there yet but that being said if they end up picking in the top 10 and getting a shadora Sanders or a Carson Beck somebody that could could be their long-term option who knows really so again it's it's not a star studded division necessarily but the fact that the Chiefs are in the way is a huge obstacle to overcome so again the Broncos have a way to go here but there's a lot of optimism about what Shawn Payton can do with the offense this upcoming season drafting B Knicks 12th overall a lot of people a lot of NFL fans I should say aren't exactly Skyhigh on bonck and there's reasons for that the fact that you know it really took him a long time to come into a positive quarterback at the college level and now we're talking about can he make that next jump to the NFL where you know his arm strength or a little bit lack thereof could be a little bit more well documented the speed of the game all of the adjustments you have to make when taking that leap that being said you know quarterbacks drafting them in the first round is just as much as a crapshoot as I mentioned earlier with cornerbacks on that second contract so there's a lot of guessing games of course in the NFL But ultimately you know I think that their offense could be semi-productive this upcoming season and it's going to be that defense that's really going to push them you know again obviously still a bit question mark with B Knicks on the offense so not saying it's just the defense especially because it's most areas of the defense that they need to really lock up but I think Pat certan is a great start if you want to be able to compete with the elite offenses and shut them down the number one rule is you need somebody to match up against their number one and go rep forre with them and Pat ceran is 100% a player that I think is capable of that and again you know cornerback is also such a weird position in terms of counting stats can be very deceptive with you know how they play because if you're doing your job right as a cornerback you're not going to have me very many pass deflections or interceptions because they're not going to be throwing to you so I mean if you look at the statistics for certan last season I mean I suppose it's a little bit down but at the same time not really something that I'm putting all too much stock into I believe in the process I believe in the film ctan has been a stud since he was with Alabama he was worthy of a top 10 pick at the time ended up going number nine overall and he has given the Broncos no reason to regret that decision up to this point so again you know he gets to cash out become the highest paid player defensive back in NFL history the Broncos get somebody that they can hope to continue building around on that side of the ball and I think this is a win-win deal especially considering the fact that the Broncos really don't have all that much money tied up into different players other than Russell Wilson who isn't even on the team anymore but you know you look at their overall payroll they're at the in the bottom portion of the league and they have money to spend so why not go and get yourself an elite cornerback lock them up for the future again we know how these things work in terms of the progression of these contracts they're only going to continue to get more expensive for whatever it's worth as well just about every team in the NFL could use a star young cornerback so the hope I'm sure is for the Broncos to be able to in the next couple of Seasons really find out what their identity is and start to make a push towards being one of those more competitive perennial playoff teams but if that's if that doesn't end up being the case ceran I think would be a great trade chip to have on the books especially as these other contracts start to fly off as well and he gets pushed down the list a little bit more but again I I have no problem whatsoever with this move from the Broncos and it's a lot of unknown with their future at this current moment but again with Shawn pyton in the building they are hoping to jump start themselves a little bit and the fact that they have somebody the skill level of Pat ceran to continue to build around I think is a huge positive but definitely be sure to let us know how you feel in the comments section as we are now going to dive into a couple other contracts that were announced yesterday the hold out with 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams has finally come to a close it's been a very noisy off season for the 49ers in regards to contract negotiations so now that that everybody seems to be on the same page what can we expect out of the Super Bowl Runner UPS from last season and then Additionally the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to go out and spend on one of their veterans in Cameron Hayward so we will break down the details of both of those contracts but first we are going to take a quick break do not go anywhere we will be right back I feel like I'm Los my mind everybody in the world blind please Lord give me a [Music] a I feel like I'm Los my mind everybody in the world please Lord give me a I want to be the greatest everybody on the F sh I look around and feel like everybody is the F CU I make this every day and I'm impatient hoping one day I blow up from the basement St the top is so bacon I don't need that I think is amazing waiting for my day when I'm playing sold out shows or a thousand faces hey give me that Crown getting my way to be put down it Ain your place this my town if I want that then I get it right now I'm losing it the new fit I'm losing a stupid me you choose to live I choose to dip you choose to fight I lose your grip and lose a gift off feel my everybody in the world please Lord give me a [Music] a welcome back into the gsmc sports podcast as we are now going to dive into some of the latest developments on the NFL contract front as we are just over a day away from the beginning of the 2024 NFL season couple teams are trying to make these last minute moves to get everyone on the same page and that starts with the team that has been one of the most talked about during the entire off season in the San Francisco 49ers where like I mentioned it's been a noisy off season for them considering the fact that Brandon iuk his status and with the team has been very much in the air for a number of months he was publicly talking about how they don't want him and that he was looking for a trade ultimately the Niners get a deal done with him and then the last hold out for them was offensive tackle Trent Williams who signs a three-year 82.6 million extension with the 49ers just yesterday Trent Williams is 36 years old so he is probably just cashing out one last time he is entering his 15th NFL season and while injuries have definitely been a bit of a red flag for him over the course of the past few seasons he's been sort of in and out of the lineup but he's been available for them in all of their playoff games which is really the biggest thing but since coming to San Francisco he in 2020 he has made the Pro Bowl in every year that he's played the past three seasons even at his older age he has been all pro first team at that tackle position so somebody that has been invaluable to the 49ers and someone that as well you talk about you know when he did Miss time his absence was felt as much as we talk about the Christian mcaffrey the George KD the debbo Samuels Trent Williams is just as valuable as the rest of them and it flies under the radar but additionally if you sort of look big picture at this offense as well you know there are other weapons that they can sort of plug and play when you have basically the you have the best running back in the NFL in Christian mcaffrey and then you have two borderline top 10 wide receivers with I would argue the best tight end in the league that's definitely Up For Debate a little bit more I would say in indisputably has been one of the top three tight ends of the past handful of years in George KD there are a lot of different weapons that uh Kyle Shanahan has been able to utilize but there's no replacement for a Trent Williams when he's missing and you talk as well about Brock pie and the fact that you know a lot of people don't like to give him credit considering the fact that he has been in such a loaded offense which is definitely fair and I am Pro Brock pie that being said though it's not like he has these outstanding physical characteristics that set him apart Trent Williams being his Blindside blocker is massively important because you basically don't have to worry about Brock perie sort of I mean I think he has relatively good pocket presence as it is but it's almost just that much easier for him because with Trent Williams on your Blind Side you never really have have to worry so Trent Williams gets his new deal it is $48 million at signing and then a $25.69 million signing bonus this adds a couple extra years in 2021 he signed an extension with the 49ers after that first season 6 years $38.16 49ers you know they restructured the contract of defensive tackle Malik Collins to open up a little bit of extra cap space for this season as well and Trent Williams ultimately gets this deal done which I think is like I talked about massively important for the 49ers and also just given the fact that for a Super Bowl runner up that is running running it back with the majority of the same roster yeah you had some losses here and there along the margin but all of your key Playmakers are still available they're even getting talanoa hufanga back this season their former All Pro safety that missed the second half of last year yeah you're going to have to tread some water a little bit defensively maybe with Dre Greenlaw recovering from his Tor Achilles that he suffered in the Super Bowl but again this is for the most part the same team that is going to have yet another excellent chance to win the Super Bowl this upcoming season I thought it was a little bit un fortunate for their sake the fact that they were sort of juggling all of these different contract negotiations during this year while also keeping in the back of their mind that Brock perie is making not even a million dollars and that is unheard of from getting that level of production from a quarterback at that cheap of a price basically you know one of the best contracts of all time I and I don't think that that's hyperbole now you know let f you know come at me in the comment section if you disagree there but again just the fact that he's been able to lead them to back-to-back NFC championship games he's been extremely reliable in just about every game that he has played in especially during the regular season I I don't know how you could argue again I'm not saying he's the best quarterback of all time by any means but talk about getting somebody with the last pick in the draft and and him actually turning into a positive four team that's just about unheard of so again a great a great deal there but that being said that's going to come to an end and Brock p is going to be eligible for a new contract extension after this season so again did not envy the situation that general manager John Lynch had to navigate this offseason financially but here they are now everybody's back now it's time to lock in and try and avenge not just last year's Super Bowl loss Super Bowl loss a couple years ago as well this is a team that's been knocking on the door for a number of years and they feel like that this is a great chance for them to finally be able to bring it home so that's where we're at on the 49ers at this point um another deal that was announced yesterday was Cameron Hayward signing a new extension with the Steelers 3 years $54 million extension ultimately grants him 20 9 million dollar more on this deal this restructured deal in comparison to what he was going to make was a bit of a surprising move to me considering the fact that Cameron Hayward talked about the idea of contemplating retirement at the end of the season Cameron Hayward has been a leader for this Pittsburgh Steelers team for a number of years and not you know he has seen at least somewhat of a drop off in terms of production but still a very positive player for them and a crucial leader for this defense that has been among the best units in the NFL these past couple years so I do believe that Hayward again a little bit of a surprise here but they have some good money we just talked about the sort of bargain at quarterback that the 49ers have and Brock pie Steelers ultimately now I think that Brock py is significantly better than anything that Pittsburgh has right now that's at least my own opinion there but I mean they're not paying very much at the quarterback position at all between a quarterback on a rookie contract in Justin fields and getting Russell Wilson for a veteran minimum so you know they sort of have the money to spend and again ultimately Cameron Hayward he it's more about what he stands for I think think than the overall level of production we've seen a number of some of these other players really step in and take on a bigger role for the defense in Pittsburgh TJ watt is the obvious name that um has been he's been an elite player since they drafted him a handful of years ago but they have other guys too that continue to develop for them and ultimately you know this is still a good defense Cameron Hayward is still a positive player for them and somebody that again with a Steelers team that has been Treading Water a little bit these past few years in terms of being kind of in mediocrity haven't won a playoff game since 2016 you have somebody in the building along with Mike Tomlin of course but you know on the roster that has seen good playoff runs in the past and knows what it takes to win so ultimately again we're talking about a guy that he is headed into at this point I mean drafted in 2011 so you know quick math here year 13 something along those lines uh multiple All Pro appearances throughout his career and somebody that you know you think that you can definitely rely on from a leadership standpoint but I think it's a good move here uh we do have a comment here from Anthony monzano uh when you say Patrick ceran Jr broke the record for the highest paid corner is it perear average or the overall contract so I know for a fact the perear average is now the record because the average annual value on CER Tan's deal is 24 million per year the previous record was Jer Alexander of the Green Bay pack Packers who was at 21 million and I believe the total of it was $96 million is the most ever but um if that's not the case definitely be sure to let me know in the comments section but I am pretty sure that it is the overall uh contract highest paid ever for a defensive back so you know as we're sort of diving into the certan deal as well I feel like got most of the thoughts there out on Hayward again you know it's he's not the same player that he was even a couple years ago last year he saw a drastic drop off from 10 and half sacks to two sacks he was available in less games just 11 last year dealing with some injuries as well it was you know not an excellent season so again I can't say that this was a no-brainer deal by any means but I also do understand just the idea of bringing your veteran leader back and having that type of player in the locker room but you know outside of that as well we will hit on one last very quick note in terms of contract extension in the fact that the Washington commanders this news just broke double Che here a couple hours ago um that the Washington commanders are signing offensive guard Sam cosmi to a four-year contract extension as well to try and you know secure that offensive line in front of Jaden Daniels for the next handful of years Cosby has been a positive player for them they took him in the second round of 2021 and ultimately you now again it's just about protecting the future and right now the future is Jaden Daniels for the Washington commanders so I think that this is a positive move now you let me know what your thoughts are on any of these contract extensions but we are now going to uh take a quick break following actually well we have time for one more comment here from Anthony Manzano San has the highest then it's Alexander then it's Terell then it is Ward and Ramsay so yeah I mean I think that that makes sense and again the other part of it too is that certan is still just 24 years old so you're paying him yes a lot of money but $24 million for a quarterback I mean we'll see in terms of I'm curious how the market continues to develop for cornerbacks and defensive backs in general considering the fact that you know all of football it all moves together even with the separate pieces wide receivers and quarterbacks are now now you know some of the highest paid players in the NFL outside of that it's defensive ends what do they do Rush the opposing team's quarterback and then Corners obviously are massively important because uh are massively important because they need to shut down opposing wide receivers and opposing quarterbacks as well and we have a comment here from Joe who said as well the Pats got a pretty good value with the with the uh with a certain quarterback in the 2000s very fair point there getting Tom Brady at a sixth round pick is also incredible value as well and Anthony points out as well offensive tackle absolutely I mean it's just the direction this game is headed in is on the offensive side of the Ball airing it out all of those positions that sort of impact that as well are where the money is going to go over the course of these next handful of years so tackle is a great call there as well cornerback is sort of again one of those positions as well that NFL teams are going to need to you know secure in order to keep up with the massive you know exponential growth of the wide receiver position in the NFL to try and keep up with those Stellar athletes but again let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section we are going to move on here to some comments that were recently made from Houston Texans wide receiver Stefan Diggs who has I wouldn't say been a controversial figure but he's been one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and has also been one of the loudest wide receivers in terms of voicing his displeasure with certain things so we're going to talk about that and what the upcoming season for Stefon Diggs looks like but first we are going to take a quick break do not go anywhere we will be right back looking for your daily fix of sports talk without having to pay for it gsmc Sports network is available on YouTube just search gsmc sports network get your fix of daily Sports talk shows on YouTube absolutely free NFL college football NBA MLB MMA UFC fantasy football and so much more gsmc Sports network has shows running all day long with new sports shows starting every 2 hours just like on your Faceook Cable Sports channel except gsmc Sports network is absolutely free just search gsmc Sports Network on YouTube to catch one of your new favorite shows like the gsmc college football podcast Chip Shot football podcast hoops and heels women's sports podcast gsmc basketball podcast and so many more check it out for yourself gsmc Sports Network now available on YouTube absolutely free search gsmc Sports Network on YouTube right now welcome back into the gsmc sports podcast as we are going to now dive into the conversation surrounding Houston Texans wide receiver Stefan Diggs who has been obviously one of the more prominent figures in the NFL as of these past few years given his time in Minnesota where he emerged onto the scene the Minnesota Miracle of course is probably his most signature play of his career but we've now seen in the past few seasons him Force his way out of a couple different situations that have been ultimately I'm not going to argue that the Viking situation with Kirk Cousins was incredible but overall it was pretty stable All Things Considered and he just had one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and Josh Allen throwing to him and it seemed like for a lot of those years he was sort of hinting at his displeasure and I'm really not sure what it was because he was one of the most targeted wide receivers in the NFL for a couple seasons and I thought that they went out of their way almost to some degree as well to try and give him those looks and ultimately something behind the scenes it he talked about in an interview with GQ sports that he just uh appeared on the article came out on Tuesday afternoon I believe it was and he talked about the idea that you know in order for him to accomplish his goals he felt like he needed a change of scenery which is totally fair if you are anybody and this goes beyond Sports as well of course you have to sort of put yourself in the best position position you know and be a little bit selfish in terms of where you position yourself for your future which is totally fair but Diggs has been I don't want to say obnoxious about it but he's been definitely very vocal and a little bit cocky about it as well and that's that's totally fine because honestly if you're a wide receiver in the NFL there are just certain positions that you have to have a little bit of arrogance to you so it's not even like I dislike Stefan Diggs and if I say that he's cocky or that's not an insult to me you know you just have to have that edge a little bit but um to the comment that Anthony Manzano is saying in the in the comment section right now there were rumors that apparently he was getting frustrated with Josh Allen not showing up in the playoffs against Kansas City not sure if that's BS or if it's actually true I think that that game though and that was at this point 2021 20 21 is sort of when we started to see a little bit or 2022 I don't know whichever playoff year the Year where Diggs took the picture it was the 2021 AFC Championship game I think where he took the picture of the confetti coming down um it'll hit I think that ultimately that's where we started to see a little bit of frustration from Diggs and there was a lot of noise headed into last season during the off season about Diggs and Josh Allen not being on the same page I think that ultimately you know I think it would be unfair of him to specifically say Josh Allen isn't showing up enough I know that he has had moments where specifically I more so look at that playoff game against the Bengals and that one was 2021 I have my years all mixed up right now but um I think that that was the one where I was maybe more disappointed in him during that AFC Championship game against the Chiefs I mean 13 seconds like that's that's when Josh Allen ended up throwing the game timeing touchdown and the defense is the one who let it down but uh Anthony's comment here here as a football fan I'm not sure what the difference between arrogance and cockiness is I've always thought they're the same thing they're along the lines the same thing I think it's just a little bit of like some of the some of those words just have a bad connotation to them but I think ultimately it's it's just about having attitude which is another word that can be used in a negative light but if you're a wide receiver and really if you're a professional athlete in general you kind of have to be arrogant and believe that you're the best and you know I think where it gets for me with Diggs is when it turns into toxic toxicity a little bit and turning on his teams and as much as again I can defend the attitude and stuff like that you know Diggs even in this interview with g GQ magaz or GQ Sports he said quote none of those teams wanted to get rid of me where you know it sounds like uh being the general manager of the bills was not necessarily in line with that that he was definitely you know wanting to move on from Diggs this past off season you know again Diggs has an edge to him and that's totally fine I I don't love doing the cross Sports comparisons but Stefan diggs's career up to this point has been a little bit you know a little bit similar to me as a Jimmy Butler in the NBA and again I won't harp on this too long because those cross Sports comparisons are can be a little bit messy but Jimmy Butler is another athlete in American Sports that the talent is undeniable and he has sort of blown up on his teams at times for them not carrying their weight which is something that you know even all of the greats do that to some degree is you know demand Excellence out of their teammates as well and ultimately Jimmy Butler's career for a while was seeming like he's the problem the term locker room cancer was being thrown around towards Jimmy Butler But ultimately kind of seems like he happened to be right in at least some of those instances and ultimately once he got to the heat where that was there was that culture and that work ethic he was ultimately able to fully Thrive and have a lot of success people want to tear down Jimmy Butler but two finals appearances for a Heat team that ultimately I mean they had their good years without a doubt but it's not like they were ever World beaters but they were able to you know put together very impressive playoff runs during Jimmy Butler's tenure there in Miami and I think that you can there's a little bit of a spin-off to that with Stefan Diggs where he wasn't happy in Minnesota towards the end there he was not showing up to meetings getting fined by the team and ultimately was you know tweeting out about quote something needs to change I think was the uh the exact quote that he had and ultimately you know Diggs he's that's not it's it's a fine way to go about business for yourself in the NFL as long as you can continue to sort of cash the checks you right but fans are going to be rubbed the wrong way occasionally because of moves like that that Diggs has created and ultimately what he showed in this GQ interview is that he really doesn't care whatsoever he uh he said I love the noise I'm a person that enjoys being doubted I enjoy proving people wrong which is absolutely fair I don't know how many people really doubt Stefan Diggs as a wide receiver Talent I don't think that that's ever really been the conversation I think it more is about the locker room and you know when he adds to that the idea of leaving from Minnesota and Buffalo said things had to shake because I kind of wanted them to shake and that's fair again if you are a person in a work environment that you don't feel like can meet your personal needs do what you got to do but you know he's obviously been very public about it all which does sort of give him that Diva label to some degree especially playing wide receiver as well that he is definitely not the only wide receiver we've seen in recent history that has been a little bit picky about his destinations just ask Antonio Brown and his targets as well obviously all of those things sort of are rolled up into one here but you know I think that I think that Diggs you know when you go back to the attitude conversation as Anthony also adds Terrell Owens is another excellent example of that I mean you can go through there's just it it's kind of how it is you know you have these players and I think that especially in a position as well like wide receiver where you only have you know a certain amount of opportunities all these other things have to break right for you and then when you aren't getting the looks even though you are getting open at least you know Diggs is probably always thinks that he's open but you know when they you aren't able to cash out on those opportunities it's a very frustrating process but um you know we're talking about attitude and such Anthony in the comment section says going to use three players at the quarterback position that applied to what we're talking about with the confidence but not cocky or arrogant Drew Brees Tom Brady and pton Manning I would even argue I mean Tom Brady was a little bit cocky as well um I I mean I mean yeah I think that ultimately it's finding that balance of you can have you can view the world of yourself personally it's just a matter of when you take it out on teammates and that's where Diggs loses me a little bit with this whole situation with the bills because I and the stats do not back up what I'm about to say this is an eye test thing I've gone through it trying to find the numbers that would support that the bills were actually better in the second half of last season when they stopped trying to force feed Diggs ultimately Josh Allen's numbers went down and the team's overall points per game went down so you know I I again for whatever it's worth I thought that the bills did look better when they weren't trying to force feed Diggs and ultimately that obviously does not bode well for the relationship that already seemed to be a little bit shaky at the start and anyways headed into the season so now Diggs heads to Houston and he has sort of a lot to prove to to everybody to some degree again it's not about him being a good talent because we are a great talent because we know that already it's more so about the idea of can you keep a cool head and help contribute to a winning organization and this is a Texans team that is up and coming they're very young across the board he's going to go in as the veteran with that team and the attitude that he has is going to be ex exceptionally important for him and you know sort of one other wide receiver comparison I'll make is Devonte Adams last year after a win against the Patriots he talked about his frustration and he he said that his legacy isn't measured in wins and losses it's measured by greatness which is definitely an arrog thing to say but at the same time you know after watching at least personally watching the receiver show that was just released on Netflix I kind of understood his point of view by the end of it talking about it's about the process if the offense looks terrible and you're a wide receiver not getting your targets you're going to be frustrated when you're not getting your targets but you are winning and you are having a positive impact it's a lot easier to stomach the fact that you don't have all the counting stats along with it the issue for Diggs is he kind of did have the counting stats and the bills weren't winning games because of it and they started winning games more when they did start to look elsewhere but again I think ultimately Diggs this is probably a one-year stint in Houston where he is going to stop by I don't think that they're going to have the money to pay him long term given that they have so many young players that eventually they're going to have to cash out on so I'm very curious to see you know what this upcoming season looks like for Diggs in a new role with a new team and different expectations where he's also not the only wide receiver like he was in Buffalo where there really wasn't that much supplemental Talent now there are a bunch of mels to feed and Nico Collins and you have tank Dell who had an excellent rookie season before getting hurt Dalton Schultz they just signed to a contract extension so how is Diggs going going to respond to the criticism that surrounded him in the past handful of months guess we'll have to see but again let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section we are now going to be Switching gears here and going from the actual field itself I want to share some thoughts that I have from the Chicago Bears Hard Knock season that just saw its finale come to a close last night so we'll talk about what I saw from hard kns in general and uh my takeaways as a whole so stick with us and we will be right back after this quick break for the best and latest podcasts available anywhere go to the podcast app on your cell phone and type in gsmc to access free content-rich podcasts on health and wellness book reviews Sports entertainment relationships social Med media movies technology finance and even weird news subscribe and download the gsmc podcast Network's family of shows available everywhere podcasts are found welcome back into the gsmc sports podcast as we're now going to be diving into the overall takeaways from this season of Hard Knocks that followed the Chicago Bear for those of you who aren't aware hard kns is an HBO docu series that they do every year following an NFL training camp and this year they did the Chicago Bears which is a team that definitely has a lot to prove this upcoming season and ultimately I think that the biggest thing I got out of this because you only get so much of the actual football reps or anything like that I think the big thing is I was already growing on the infrastructure of Chicago now if you asked me this a year ago I would have been a little bit more skeptical specifically with general manager Ryan poles as to whether or not he is doing a great job I think that he's made a lot of moves but and he's taken risks which is a good thing but we also saw a pretty disastrous trade of giving up what ended up being I believe it was the it was the first overall pick of the second round in 2023 and ultimately they traded that for Chase Claypool who just never panned out in Chicago so PS has had his hits but he's definitely had his misses as well and he's been aggressive which is a positive but at some point if you're being aggressive multiple times and you you're missing you're just losing so you know I'm not saying that it's been the utmost confidence always for me with Chicago but I've been a fan of Matt Eber flu since he was hired maybe I'm naive about it but I do sort of get something out of the idea of the reports with Eber flu is that he connected with the team really well that again this is such a cliche storyline that I've sort of latched on to but this idea that he walks into meetings and doesn't have a list of notes that he's just reading off of he goes in empty-handed and just speaks from the heart and tries to connect with his team and again I know that when we're talking about football it's all about you know toughness and everything like that but I do feel like in order to be a successful head coach you know you have to be able to have some level of relatability to your players thought at the end of Bill bich che's tenure in New England there was a very clear divide between him and the players and maybe it's just this whole new age of the NFL with this younger generation that not coddled but the idea of connecting a little bit more but I not not just the fact that he is you know a nice guy or anything like that I do think he actually knows his stuff when it comes to defense as well that is his background and last year especially where I started to because you know ibra Flo's job I think was a little bit on the hot seat last season but the fact that they closed the season the way that they did with their defense playing like a top 10 Group after you know it had taken a while to really see a lot of these key defensive players shine and that's one of the other things that I think that hardnox showed as well was it kind of put people on and more so to some of the key players on defense because headed into last season I definitely was unsure about a lot of their defensive pieces but and you start to see the likes of I I think the biggest one that people sort of came away from from training camp with or Hard Knocks with was Jaylen Johnson who had just signed a contract extension earlier in the off season and had played like a one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL for a little bit um so it was less so that but then you start to see other names that I think are important to keep in mind that that secondary you have jaquin brisker hard-hitting safety Kyler Gordon is more of a Nickelback but again I mean he can lay the stick and is also pretty good in coverage Tyreek Stevenson ended up having a really good rookie season for them so ultimately you know this is a Bears defense that was taking a little bit of time to develop but they add also the likes of a TJ Edwards and a train adman Edmonds over the past couple years they make the trade for montz sweat at the trade deadline last season and again from that point on sweat produced and the defense produced at as a whole to the point where you can see sort of the direction this team is heading in and that it's not a complete dumpster fire and now you add on top of that the selection of Caleb Williams who you can again you can only get so much in terms of the actual football analysis out of a docu series like this but I think that you know it was really cool it was in the first episode I believe it was where they they saw Caleb Williams throw an interception in a scrimmage go over to talk to offensive coordinator Shane Waldren about the mistake that he just made then a couple minutes later they basically dialed up the same exact play and it ended up in a touchdown and just that idea that he's communicating with this organization that they are trying to do the best that they can after a lot of people have very much criticized the Bears for sort of butchering the Justin Fields tenure after taking him in 2021 and really they did not do a good job of of surrounding him with talent and giving him a situation that he could succeed in but now I think that with Caleb Williams they are doing everything that they can to try and just show him show him how to grow as a player they know that he is an Elite Talent But ultimately this is a situ ation where he is stepping in and he has massive expectations on his shoulders being the number one overall pick being one of the most highly touted being one of the most highly toted quarterback prospects in recent history to the point where I think that ultimately you know this is a situation where I am buying into the long-term infrastructure of the Bears and that's not something that I would have expected to be saying a couple years ago but I feel like they're at this point now where this is a little bit of a maker Break season to some degree as well considering the fact that Matt iberl does sort of have his job on the line they desperately need the quarterback's position to pan out for them they've had multiple number one overall picks over the past couple years and they decided to pass up on not not just Bryce young who ended up going number one overall in 2023 but also CJ strad who had one of the most impressive rookie quarterback Seasons that we've seen in recent history maybe in NFL history alt together so I do feel like this is a situation where I can feel good about the process right now but there is also still a lot of proving to be done from the Bears organization this upcoming season and ultimately you know him and Ryan PS they need this to work out for them and I have confidence in that and it was kind of funny seeing as well a lot of the internet made a big deal about it especially because it's the Giants of all teams but Joe Shane their general manager there was a clip towards the end of last night's episode where they were both at the Clemson Georgia game from this past weekend scouting and Joe Shane said to him it must be nice not having to evaluate that quarterback position anymore which obviously with the Giants with Daniel Jones with how much of a storyline that it obviously is you know the internet ran with that a little bit but I mean it's true it's just about sort of putting the surrounding pieces outside of him to make sure that they are set for the upcoming future so ultimately again I'm buying into the stock of what I already was sort of Leaning with with the Bears are in the right track and now that they have ideally the quarterback in position I I do think that they have the coach again Ryan poles he's made some bad moves in the past but when you talk about just the personal connections that Eber flu and polls were able to demonstrate during this year this season's uh series of it I think that it is the right way to operate under you know the sort of new times with where we are at in the world and you know with this next generation of athletes that's coming up right now I believe in the future I believe in the infrastructure and the Bears are going to be a team that is going to be vying for a playoff spot this upcoming season I would say generally speaking there are two things that are really you know up in the air a little bit it's the idea of can shayon Waldren be a good offensive coordinator I'm curious to see how this pans out for him he spent the past three years in Seattle as their offensive coordinator ultimately it was a mixed bag it was pretty middle of the pack in 2022 the the Seahawks were you know widely speaking here statistically a top 10 offense in the league that being said I'm also a big fan of Dave Canales who was with the Seahawks as the passing game coordinator that year he moved on to the Buccaneers in 2023 and the offense took a step back now it's not like the Seahawks they have their receivers absolutely and I do think that they have good running backs but it's not like it's the most talented offense in the world anyways with Gino Smith and some question marks on the off offensive line but I'm curious about Shane Waldren I'm curious about the offensive line where a lot of people are sort of burying the Bears because of the offensive line saying that they aren't going to be able to H hold up it's actually a pretty decent offensive line it's not going to be top tier it's not going to be you know among the elites of the world but they should be able to give Caleb Williams sufficient time to operate and ultimately you know sure the qu there are questions about Caleb Williams but you know I I think we just have to see how that plays out I am a believer in him personally I know there are people who aren't either so it's not like you can just shoe them in to be a success in the NFL but they at least have a temporary answer at that position these next couple years are going to be about continuing to build on the culture that they've established these past couple years and seeing what they have in Caleb Williams Because you know it's not often where you get to sort of parlay one first round quarterback directly into another first round quarterback and actually be in a better position than you were previously so again I'm believe I'm buying stock in the Bears long term but let me know what your thoughts are in the comments section we are going to finish off the show today by Switching gears a little bit to college football where yesterday we got the new AP poll rankings and we're going to be diving into that but first we have to take a quick break do not go anywhere we will be right back [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] n [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome back into the gsmc sports podcast for our final segment of the day where we are going to be reacting to the new AP polls that just dropped yesterday we were actually I think live when they officially dropped so I was trying to navigate both talking about uh what the upcoming week is going to look like while also a little bit giving my thoughts but now that I've had a good 24 hours to sit on it I have some takeaways so first we will start with some of the biggest risers from last week to this week you are looking at USC which was significantly the highest Riser up 10 spots from number 23 to number 13 and then Miami up seven spots from 17 to 12 now these are the two teams that significantly had the biggest wins in week one and I think that it is fair it is interesting that Miami and USC are sort of neck and neck here now that being said LSU was a significantly better team than Florida but for USC to move up 10 spots and Miami to move up seven as much as yes I would definitely agree that you know it's a better win for USC without a doubt Miami they also made Florida look a lot worse than they actually are and to be able to pull off that win on the road in Gainesville I think that that was very impressive and you know it is a question should they be a top 10 team now obviously it's the beginning of the college football season so it is basically overreaction season to everything that we've seen the first couple weeks so I don't want to you know get ahead of myself here with Miami it is just a little bit more of a fact that I was a believer in Miami headed into the season and with how dominant they looked I feel like there was a good case for them to maybe move up a little bit higher now right in front of them again Miami at number 12 you're looking at Utah at 11 Michigan at 10 Missouri at 9 I mean I don't know definitively how many teams I would take Miami over I would probably take them over Michigan and Utah I think that number 10 spot is probably where I would have slotted Miami into but again I don't typically hate not airing on the over reactionary side of things but I think Miami is going to be a top 10 team in the country this year and I I again I understand you don't want to panic over one win against an unranked team necessarily when looking at the rankings that way but I again I think it was just maybe that I am reaffirming myself a little bit too much here after what was a dominant win against Florida USC great win against LSU I do feel like LSU beat themselves a little bit with their offensive approach we talked about this on Monday the fact that they were airing more so on the Airing it outside and using the passing game which is totally fair because you have Garrett nus me who is an upand cominging quarterback I thought he made just about every throw um a little sure there were plays that was a little bit inaccurate but for his second career start you know that was an excellent performance if they ran the ball more against USC I feel like we could have potentially seen a different result their their drives just kept stalling in the air and it's because they would go to the you know deeper intermediate passing game on second down when they were having pretty good success running the ball so USC they're going to be a good team super encouraged by what I saw from the defense but that being said I feel like if LSU comes into that game with a different approach from an offensive perspective we could have seen a different result in which case USC would have been nowhere close to jumping up 10 spots but that's just my thoughts a lot of the teams that they passed anyways it's not like they played in all to high stakes of games anyways you got obviously Tennessee playing Chattanooga you have Oklahoma playing Temple so I kind of get it but I feel like that was maybe a little bit of an overreaction USC all the way up to 13 but they're going to have an outside shot at the playoffs definitely they're in that bubble so I also can't say that I'm firmly against it either biggest followers here of course Florida State came into the season ranked number 10 they are no longer ranked did not even receive a single vote which is the right call and my opinion based off of how they looked in these first two weeks I was kind of surprised that they didn't get a single vote again not that I would have personally voted for them anyways but you know just this idea that they could fall so far so quick is a little bit crazy to me also for whatever it's worth I don't know Colorado got a vote I I I and I don't even know I don't want to take a subliminal shot there at Colorado that's unnecessary and opens a whole different debate there but Florida State obviously the biggest Faller Clemson down 11 spots following their loss to Georgia down from number 14 to 20 the reality is you know they could have losing to Georgia is not a real blemish on your resume it's how they lost so I get it the coaches poll interestingly enough they were a little bit more conservative down they were down to number 22 um so not quite as drastic of a drop off there but you know Clemson's a team that is going to have to reestablish themselves among the best teams in the country because that is not the type of program that realistically they've been over the course of these past handful of years so um I I definitely understand the lack of confidence that exists right now with Clemson am I writing them off for dead certainly not but I do definitely understand the concerns there as well LSU down five spots because of that loss to USC so they now sit at number 18 I think LSU is a team that can definitely rebound from this loss I know that a lot of people are really concerned about it I think they played a really good game all things considered the biggest concern I have with LSU at this point talked about it as well on Monday is the fact that when the game came down to getting a defensive stop to you know survive in advance their secondary was swiss cheese and you know credit as wealth USC's offense Miller Moss was ALS so excellent in that game so it's not like it's a a one oneway road here that USC did earn that win but number one concern about LSU this upcoming season was about their secondary in my opinion and they got they got torched a little bit in this game so that I think that them falling like they did is very understandable but LSU definitely a team that I think could reinsert themselves into playoff bubble contention as well I wouldn't yeah I'd say they're in that is bubble right now but it's also weak too so there's no need to you know uh get to into the college football playoff discussion right now and then Oregon down four spots from number three to number seven I didn't love the fact that they dropped as much as they did I understand not a very convincing win against Idaho there were some real red flags especially when you were talking about the offensive line that allowed more than half of the sacks total that were allowed all for for Oregon in all of 2023 three sacks allowed versus Idaho they only allowed five in all of the 2023 season so that's definitely a bit of a red flag in the fact that it wasn't just the pass game The Run game as well they ultimately weren't able to get all that much going wasn't terrible numbers 14 handoffs and 67 yards not bad against Idaho though you do sort of Hope for better results than that sounds like you know people are talking about the injuries on that Oregon offensive line it sounds like Matthew Bedford their projected starter is or Dan Lanning is optimistic about him returning this week for Boise State I mentioned that Boise State game yesterday the fact that the spread at least you know when I checked yesterday was 19 a half points and Boise state is capable of keeping it closer because they have a good offense led by of course uh Ashton Jey but at the same time I you know their defense Got Run Over By Georgia Southern and this is a situation where if there were ever a bounceback spot and I also have the utmost faith in Dan Lanning to be able to sell to his team urgency and the need to win I think that he's very capable of that you can dislike the fourth down conversion or the fourth fourth down attempts in general um but I think he's a motivator he's he's the Dan Campbell of the college football game they both sort of definitely roll the dice a lot of the time but I think that they're incredible motivators I think Oregon is going to you know go in and move people around or at least that's the hope and if they don't then I'm going to start to be concerned but again four spots dropped in a loss I don't love that necessarily especially dropping them behind ol Miss ol Miss was dominant in their game against Ferman it's also against Ferman and I just I don't know M Miss maybe I'm just not putting enough respect on their name it's not that I don't think that they are worthy of being a top 10 team or anything like that it's just I'm not selling my stock on Oregon because of this win because of a win is what we're talking about here that it wasn't convincing enough I sort of understand I mean Michigan got docked one one spot down I thought that was a lot more fair than Oregon um I could have seen a little bit of movement there Bama had a dominant win Texas had a dominant win Notre Dame had I wouldn't say a dominant win by any means but a crucial win over Texas A&M that ultimately you know that's a it's a good win so I can understand a little bit of wiggle room but Oregon down to seven ultimately I think they're going to find their way back up there like nothing but um couple new additions to the group as well Georgia Tech now 2 and 0 obviously the win against Florida state is really what this is about because there wasn't a poll that came out after that win against Florida State so yellow jackets now 2 and 0 so they find them their selves in the mix after a win over the weekend against it was Georgia State I believe so you know they're two and 0 and then Louisville as well a team that a lot of people were sort of ready to turn the page on this upcoming season and they are now in the picture because you're looking at A&M and Florida State falling out opens up a little bit of wiggle room there interesting to note that in the coaches poll it's not George Tech that ended up making it into the top 25 it was Washington a team that again just like Louisville a lot of people since they lost a number of Key Personnel members even worse for Washington was losing klin dbor of course their head coach from last season but they are sort of hanging in there at least with votes um by the way shout out Boston College for receiving 49 votes as well into to the top 25 I'm from Massachusetts I don't think I've ever seen a number next to Boston College's name and I don't anticipate that that's going to be the case they play Duane this upcoming week and then they're going to play Missouri in Missouri so I mean if they pull off a miracle win there then the Bill O'Brien effect is in full full effect but that's not really how I see this going down but let me know what your thoughts were what your takeaways were from the new AP polls being released but that is all the time we have for today thank you very much to the gsmc sports network for allowing us to host this show remember to like follow subscribe wherever you keep up with us be sure to catch catch us out on social media as well for more exclusive short content and we will be back tomorrow afternoon NFL game day tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Eastern we'll be bringing you some fantasy implications and picks as as well for that so will not want to miss out there again 2:00 p.m. Eastern we will see you then take care let's go I wake up to a little bit of dro on my pillow feel like it's going to be a bad day I'm tired as and the coffee ain't hit yet damn