Trent Williams extends with 49ers, Does Breece Hall make the Jets great? | NFL | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Live from new York. It's a show that has. A star in its midst. Really? grant cohn? He's a he's great. We got to get him on. He's fantastic. He's he is. You know what? I see a lot of myself in him, and mahomes mountain is back. Yeah coming up, mahomes mountain is back in mahomes mountain, but grant Cohen first heard his arch rival Justin Trudeau line, though. Truth teller, thin line. All right. Well, we start with Trent's back. Trent Williams agrees to an extension. His holdout is over. Drew, there was a lot of tumult this off season. Yes Brandon aiyuk, remember, he was on the steelers. We did a whole show about that. Delete that. Right? right. CMC was injured. Trent wasn't around. But now outback CMC is practicing and the goat is talking about Trent Williams dominance on the Herd. Take a listen. I would be driving him to work every day if I was the quarterback. Having Trent in there, it's just an entirely different offense because of his athleticism, his rare combination of size, of quickness, of power. I mean, he's just and he gets out there on the field. He's a he's a match-up advantage for the niners every time that he takes a snap. OK Bruce, do you have any interest in changing your pick back to the 40 niners your beloved 40 niners which there were a lot of questions this is allowed they're one of your teams it's no games have been played. Yeah and there is a material change on the level of a quarterback injury which is a guy who some smart people myself and Tom Brady consider the second best player in football. I don't know if you try. I'm talking about Trent Williams. I didn't know you were is now back in the fold so yeah even as me I will not I will not hold it against you. I will not consider it a flip-flop. I trust wild. I don't trust bro. If I did switch to the niners the season they won it you would not give me hasn't even started. The season hasn't started. You want to do it? They're your team. OK, look, here's what I'm doing. It is tempting. It is very tempting because I do like Brock purdy. You love one thing. I'm definitely changing. I am changing his preseason grade from a d to a c. Why does he get a better grade? Because he it was circumstance. He's trying to, you know, work some things out. His receivers weren't there. He's just trying to experiment, see what he can get away with. That's why there were so many interceptions. So it's from a d to a c. That's not what's allowed to change. As far as my pick. If people didn't see you pick the packers, I pick the packers to reach the super bowl and lose to the ravens. Yeah I'm sticking with the package. I'm sticking with the packers, and here's why. Everybody talks. And we do talk about how San Francisco's been knocking on the door for the better part of five years. Right when healthy. Guess who else has been knocking on the door? The green bay packers and different doors. You notice under Matt Lafleur, under Matt, they have been knocking on the door. Aaron Rodgers got him in the two conference championships. They couldn't get over the hump. And you may say, well yeah it's a different quarterback now. Niners have a different quarterback too. Green bay under Matt Lafleur is ready. All right. They are primed and ready. You know Jordan love is good and I thought before last year, just the little glimpses I saw of him in his third season, I think it was he looked pretty good. And I said, I think next year he's going to be good. He was that receiving corps. Nick I don't know who's number one, but I think they have a couple of guys who have number one potential Jayden reed, Christian Watson, not a number one, but Romeo dobbs and Watson is pretty good. Yeah so I think that the packers are winning the NFC and I'm sticking with them because I got questions. But look, it's been the niners. It's been a rough off season and I know it's gotten better, but guess who else didn't practice and you this Christian McCaffrey sprained calf I know he's practicing came back today but that worries me so can I it worries me. So I while I have to admit something. Go ahead. I know you who suggested you ticked off? Who suggested this? Yeah I thought you were. Usually you like to get into the minutia of the contracts. You like to get a hold of it. But you suggested this because I suggested this question. Because he wants to pounce on me. Well, I mean. I mean, later in the season, he wants to pounce. Yes, that is correct. Yes but not for changing today, because I knew you wouldn't because I wanted this full video of you being like, I'm not changing, I believe, because not only do I, we all saw last year that for weeks on end brew, while saying he was committed to the eagles had his true love in San Francisco. Yeah that's OK we talked about it to the point to where brew had switched to the niners before the playoffs had even started because the eagles were just written off when they had lost to the giants. And it was official moment. Yeah, there was. And so I am now I will make the bold prediction of the segment which is not only is brew eventually going to flip to the niners, I'll tell you the show that he doesn't give me the packers schedule if you would please. The packers schedule you don't have the packers making the playoffs. OK so on Sunday, November 24th, the Sunday before thanksgiving, the packers host the San Francisco 49 ers. And when the niners win that game and the packers fall to six and five and they realize that people got a little over their skis on him on that Monday show, November 25th, right before thanksgiving, before the packers go to play the dolphins brew is going to say sheepishly to America, I've got the niners. I knew it all and he's going to and we're going to hear Iowa mafia Brock purdy stand up and all of it so that I'm just telling you guys so brew is eventually going to do this I buy that today is evidently not the day though. All right. Do you have more stuff that was cute to our star? No, that was cute. Well, it was accurate. But first of all, new information is new information he's already proving. No, no, I'm not going to switch. I don't think I've ever switched a pick on this show. You literally did. From the eagles to the niners last year during the supernatural. Once it became obvious. I mean, I am an analyst. Yeah I'm not just up here entertaining folks. Not a fan. I mean, once you hold up, I don't hold pompoms for anyone. All right. You're lucky that your hometown team happens to have Patrick mahomes. I mean, so you can carry pom poms and all that. But when if if the if the packers look like they're not going to make the playoffs at some point, I have to be honest. Yeah, that's fair. All right. So that's all the audience. But no, but right now I like the packers. OK, mark, this down dusty, because we will see so much. OK November 25th. That's no way. Let me see. No way. There is. If it even got close, I wouldn't do it just because he just said it. There is some urgency in the building. Friend of the show, grant Cohn, released this in the show. Yes, we love him. We think any retweets. He's a Brock purdy hater. He's he is saying I am known as a Brock purdy. He's a bit of an alarmist, but. OK Alarmist hello super bowl. A bit of an alarmist. The Shanahan that's I mean lynch they've done a good job they've done a great. Shanahan no, I don't. There are questions about him being able to win the big game. Yeah but if he barely the wild you know your rule on if the other team is rooting for me to kick I should go for it. Yeah that which is we need a clever name. Yeah, but. When deciding on right opponent's preference. There is AI agree with that. There's a yeah, there is a coaching version of that, which is if I fired this guy, would a dozen teams have meetings about firing their coach to hire him then? I probably. That doesn't always mean you shouldn't fire him. Yeah so like I think I think Andy is maybe the greatest coach ever. I also don't hold it against Philly that they moved on from him. You know what I mean? Like sometimes it is played out, it's played its course. You need fresh blood. I think Shanahan has done a brilliant job in San Francisco. I think John lynch is a weird one because lynch is first round picks have been littered with Mrs. but his drafts have been good because he has gotten first round value from so many mid and late round picks. Yeah and so, so I think what they have done is spend a lot of tomorrow's money today which you know what I mean. We can get into. I guess in this this this segment here but it's they have borrowed from future niners to help this year's niners which I understand them doing OK it felt like you wanted to tee something up there. Well this you're going to ask yeah I thought you were going to ask now or never for this version of the niners now or never for this. Well, I thought. I thought that's what you were doing. No, go ahead. It's it's definitely like their super bowl or bust. There's no doubt. And they're going to lose debo next year once you signed Isaac, that's that's pretty much a done deal. They may have to lose a few other guys, a lot of guys. What I will say, though, is, nick, I don't know if you'll agree with this or not. Even though this iteration of the niners is going to be different next year when the super bowl or not. I don't think their window is going to be closed. Like, I still think if they lose some of their top guys, they won't be the NFC favorite. Like a lot of people always have them, but I think they still will be a contender. And I do think Brock purdy, assuming he plays well this year and they sign him, I think he's going to win a super bowl for them at some point. They won't be as talented in the future, but I still think they'll have a ton of talent and be capable of winning a super bowl. So yeah, I mean, the if they don't get it done this year with the most talent Brock purdy will likely ever have around him and they didn't get done last year with that level of talent and health. It'd be very very difficult for me to see when Brock purdy all of a sudden is making 60x what he's making now and I don't buy Brock is the type of guy he'll take 30 no no one literally ever has like I could see him taking like 57. OK sure I do think there is a margin of. I'm not taking. No I'm I need it all but but I but I'm not going to dismiss that. I dismiss it outright. That just just for the sake of argument. Here's why I'm dismissing it outright. You pay me 880 for you almost owe me back. I'm not drake maye. I'm not getting Caleb's 25 million. You pay me less than $1 million. I need all but all, I don't see anything in his personality. I don't know his personality. From what we see, from what I see. And I'm not saying he's going to take, like nick said, 30 million, but I do feel like I don't know him. I'm just saying from what I see, he is the type of guy that might leave a few million on the table, but I don't know if they I guess I don't think that part I the reason I was kind of saying it doesn't matter is I don't think the difference between contending is 57 and 60. I do think it can help in the slightest of margins. But he's the niners are in a weird spot where it's not a weird spot but they obviously hope he plays well enough that giving him 55 plus million is a no brainer. But then things get complicated because so Wilde had a tweet that I think echoes what a lot of people feel, which is, I know the salary cap is a thing, but it sure seems like the niners play by a different set of rules. Yes and everyone's everyone responded. I said that it feels like the niners cap is three x your favorite teams to get everybody into it and they're like, well you're not paying the rookie quarterback. I'm like, no, that's I'm not paying my rookie quarterback either. And I'm CMC and Trent Williams. It's actually not the people are. We tried to get out and we couldn't get aiyuk the people are wrong about the rookie quarterback thing. This is the easiest, simplest way I can explain it to the audience. It's back to school season, right? Yeah So imagine that your kid has to buy lunch every day and you think, you know what? Just simple numbers. I'll give you 100 bucks for the week and the first day of the school of the week, he comes in with chipotle for him and his buddies and his friends are like, how can you afford that? We all got 100 bucks. But the answer is, well, he can afford it because he's borrowing from Thursday and Friday's money. And come Thursday and Friday, he's not going to have money for lunch. The salary cap is real, but you can always borrow from future years. And now people are like the cap rises. Yes, but the cap rises by the same amount for every team. And the niners, along with the dolphins, along with the browns, along with the saints, are the four teams that have leveraged the most of future years to help this season. I think it makes sense because Trent Williams is old because the because Christian McCaffrey is kind of oddly old for a running back. Kittle is old. Your quarterback is so cheap. You have all these extra things. But winter is coming. In this regard, the following players are free agents after this year. Dre, Greenlaw, charvarius ward, along with all of their starting corners, all four of their top four corners hufanga two of their starting offensive linemen. Those guys are all just free agents. Then you have to pay. Purdy this is why Trent, even though he's so great, they were hesitant to guarantee money. Next year because they could have saved it. So the point I'm making is this I believe in Shanahan and I think purdy is clearly good enough to for them to be in contention if the right teams around him and lynch has done a good job of finding pieces. But from a raw talent perspective, this is the most talent the niners will have for years. So I don't want to say it's now or never, but it's now or the near future, you know what I mean? So that's what I do truly believe. Which is why keeping aiyuk kind of swallowing hard and paying. Trent I get it. You've been you've been to four NFC championship games and two super bowls in five years. In that same time frame, you've won zero super bowls. The eagles have won the the eagles didn't win, sorry, in that five year time frame they ran right before. But the rams, the bucs, the chiefs three times like you're trying to win. I get it. But there is a cost to it down the road. Yeah all right. You want to talk about the jets, bro? I'm always open to. See my tie. I thought it was packers. Bill belichick on his debut on one of the several platforms. He's pulling checks from underdog fantasy. He's complimenting one of his one time bitter rivals, the new York jets. You've been saying this. It's like I have great minds think alike. It's almost like, first of all, I'm color me flattered that he's watching the show, apparently. It's almost like he's quoting me verbatim now when I bring up breece hall. Nick crushes me. Yeah I know nick doesn't value the running back position, but there are a handful of guys who are kind of special, and I don't know if hall is there, but what I will say. Right yeah. I'm not ready. He's not Christian. Had a good start when he's been healthy. Almost had. Here's how good nick, when he was a rookie with Joe flacco and Zach Wilson at quarterback they were five and two when he was the bell. That's so that's because of him, not because of the defense? No, it's both. You know, I love their defense, but I'm saying he was the bell cow, particularly in a three game win streak they had where he's getting almost 20 carries a game. And then when he got hurt, they finished the season two and eight. Last year, obviously, he was there. They didn't have a great year, but they didn't have Aaron Rodgers either at quarterback. So breece hall is a huge difference maker, especially when you have a quarterback who you have to be concerned about as a defense and receivers. So so here's where I this is where I get I, I don't want to come across like I don't think Garrett Wilson's very good I do think he's very good I think he's very good. He ranked eighth as a receiver or something. I don't know about NFL rank. I think I thought he was 12th and one, but there's all but they kind of speaks to where he's a very good receiver at a time where I think receivers are the deepest it's ever been. Right and so there's, you know 18 guys that are in your top 10, which means somebody who's in your top 10 is actually 18th. That's up. Breece I do. I think he's a very good running back who has been slightly overhyped by his fantasy ranking, which not by you because you don't care about fantasy. And but I think he's good. But a lot of the jets supporting cast conversation, it triggers the same thing in my brain as when we talk about the lakers outside of Lebron and ad and bru fairly I think is like D'angelo. Russell is a good player. Austin reaves is a good player, rui is a good player. And it's like all those things are true, but they are not playing in a vacuum comparative to the teams. They are competing with their supporting cast. I think it is lacking. So for the jets, when bill belichick says they are tough to game plan for, they are competing with, let's just stay in the AFC. Are they tougher to game plan for than baltimore? No are they tougher to game plan for than than cincinnati? No are they tougher to game plan for than houston? No are they tougher to game plan for? Then I'll go ahead and throw out Kansas city. No are they tougher to game plan for than miami? No we're at five now in the NFC because we're talking about them going to the super bowl. Are they tougher to game plan for in San francisco? Absolutely not. Then philadelphia? Of course not. Then detroit? No then the team Aaron Rodgers used to be on green bay. That is three potential number one receivers and Josh Jacobs. Now no, of course not. The rams may be like and now we're in the fuzzy area. The rams, I would say the rams are tougher now. We're at 10 teams. So it's not that I think these guys aren't good. It's that when we're like the weapons, OK, well I've got 10 teams that I think have better weapons, but so that means they have slightly above average weapons. OK you said better weapons, but game planning. Yeah and I'm not saying they're better than Houston, but Houston and Cincinnati don't have the run games that we think the jets will have or that belichick thinks far better receiving courts. Yeah, but you know when I game plan for Houston or Cincinnati they're throwing the football. Yeah but you know maybe it was different when Cincinnati had Joe mixon but they're throwing the Joe mixon now on Houston for the record but we know yeah they didn't have a good run game last year so you're right mixing now that could make them different. But if I know they're passing, even though their receivers are great. And here's the thing about Garrett Wilson, nick, because you're talking about receivers who have had c.j. Stroud and Joe burrow, this dude has gone over 1,000 yards in two seasons with Zach Wilson throwing the football. He's excellent. I don't think he's as good as jamaar chase and I think that there I just think that because we like to be fairly complimentary of good players. Yeah, sometimes we, we forget that in a football season there are going to be exactly as many wins as there are losses. So every team, no team is good with in a vacuum. It's all comparative. It's not how good, how many good players on my defense it's compared to the. Seems I'm competing with how good is my defense, my offense compared to the teams I'm competing with? How good is my offense? And that's what I'm saying about the jets. I think the jets, when you actually do the list that I love so much, they're like slightly above average in difficulty to gain player.