Miller and Moulton

February 27, 2026 Hour 2 Pat Kirwan

41 min
Feb 28, 2026about 2 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Pat Kirwan reports from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, discussing draft prospects across defensive and offensive positions, with particular focus on edge rushers, running backs, and the overall strength of the defensive class. The hosts also analyze the NFLPA's franchise player survey, debating whether player satisfaction metrics should influence ownership decisions and franchise valuations.

Insights
  • GMs are expressing strong enthusiasm for the defensive talent pool in this draft, with multiple teams planning to take 4+ defensive players in succession due to depth at DL and LB positions
  • Sonny Stiles is emerging as a top-5 edge rusher prospect after initial 12-18 range projections, with Kirwan comparing his potential to Dave Gettleman's 'gold jacket' standard applied to McCaffrey and Barkley
  • The wide receiver class lacks a true #1 receiver who commands double coverage; instead, it's deep with #2 and #3 options, suggesting day-two and day-three value
  • Player satisfaction surveys (NFLPA grades) show significant variance between teams sharing facilities (Chargers A- vs Rams D for locker rooms), suggesting organizational culture matters beyond infrastructure
  • Anthony Richardson trade discussions reveal limited market interest despite first-round pedigree; compensation expectations (2nd round minimum) may prevent movement
Trends
Defensive-heavy draft class positioning teams to address secondary and pass rush needs through multiple rounds rather than early picksRunning back position losing early-round value despite elite talent (Jeremiah Love); depth in day-two/three suggests positional devaluation continuesCombine metrics hierarchy for edge rushers: traits (height/arm length) > 10-yard split > change of direction (shuttle) > 40-timeFree agency focus shifting to teams locking up own players before market opens rather than external acquisitionsFranchise tag usage declining from 7-8 annually to estimated 4-5, indicating more deals getting done before deadlineOwnership transparency and player treatment becoming measurable differentiators in franchise desirability (Miami Dolphins #1 for 3rd consecutive year)Stadium infrastructure age creating competitive disadvantage in player recruitment; older facilities (Kansas City, Pittsburgh) receiving lower satisfaction gradesQuarterback evaluation shifting away from measurables; Nussmeyer (LSU, under 6'1") gaining traction as 'ready to play' starter despite size concerns
Companies
NFL
Primary subject; Combine coverage, draft analysis, free agency, and franchise operations discussed throughout
Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson trade situation analyzed; team considering compensation expectations for first-round QB
Miami Dolphins
Ranked #1 in NFLPA franchise satisfaction survey for 3rd consecutive year; discussed as potential Richardson trade de...
Minnesota Vikings
Mentioned as potential Anthony Richardson trade destination; discussed free agency needs
Kansas City Chiefs
Analyzed for draft strategy at #9 pick; discussed free agency challenges with defensive back retention
New York Jets
Discussed as potential Sonny Stiles destination at #2 pick; analyzed for edge rusher needs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ranked 29th in NFLPA survey; analyzed for facility and ownership satisfaction issues
Pittsburgh Steelers
Ranked 32nd in NFLPA survey despite strong head coach rating; discussed for locker room and facility criticisms
Washington Commanders
Released starting center; discussed as potential Linderbaum sweepstakes participant and defensive youth initiative
Atlanta Falcons
Discussed for franchise tag strategy with Kyle Pitts; analyzed for new ownership approach under Matt Ryan
Las Vegas Raiders
Ranked 6th in NFLPA survey; discussed for ownership perception improvement with Brady involvement
New York Giants
GM Joe Shane received lowest GM grade (D+) in NFLPA survey; discussed for organizational dysfunction
Philadelphia Eagles
Mentioned in context of center prospects and draft strategy
CBS
Pat Kirwan noted as part of CBS NFL Today show coverage
People
Pat Kirwan
NFL analyst reporting from Combine; conducting 60+ player interviews and 20 GM/coach interviews for draft analysis
Mark Miller
Co-host of Miller and Moulton podcast; leads discussion on draft trends and NFLPA survey analysis
David Moulton
Co-host of Miller and Moulton podcast; provides counterpoint on player satisfaction and ownership accountability
Sonny Stiles
Edge rusher prospect emerging as top-5 candidate; Kirwan's top pick at #2 for Jets
Jeremiah Love
Running back prospect; discussed as potential first-round pick despite positional depth
Anthony Richardson
Colts QB given permission to seek trade; discussed for limited market interest and compensation expectations
Kyle Pitts
Falcons tight end; discussed for potential franchise tag vs. contract negotiation strategy
Matt Ryan
Falcons president; discussed for different organizational approach and Pitts evaluation
Daniel Jones
Dolphins QB target; discussed for contract negotiations and backup QB strategy
Jacob Hester
Former NFL fullback; Kirwan's partner conducting Combine interviews for NFL Radio
Dave Gettleman
Former GM referenced for 'gold jacket' draft philosophy applied to Stiles evaluation
Saquon Barkley
Referenced as example of high first-round RB pick with Hall of Fame potential
Christian McCaffrey
Referenced as example of high first-round RB pick with Hall of Fame potential
Caleb Downs
Safety prospect; discussed as difficult to pass early despite positional depth
Mansoor Delane
Corner prospect; discussed as separating from peer group due to productivity and health
Dan Quinn
Commanders head coach; discussed for defensive youth initiative and center strategy
Joe Shane
Giants GM; received lowest GM grade (D+) in NFLPA survey
Mike Tomlin
Steelers head coach; received A grade from players despite team's low overall ranking
Ruben Bain
Edge rusher prospect; discussed for short arm concerns and inside vs. outside positioning
Cassius Howe
Edge rusher prospect; Kirwan's preferred option over David Bailey
Quotes
"I'm taking Sonny Stiles at number two. And these guys that he came when we got here, he was like 12 to 18 was the range for him. But he has been blowing it up here."
Pat KirwanEarly in interview
"What was Dave Gettleman's rule? I'm not taking a guy at the top of the first round that I don't believe has got a chance for a gold jacket."
Pat KirwanDraft philosophy discussion
"The first thing is traits. You want some height on the guy? You want some long arms on the guy? Then you really are paying attention to the 10-yard time."
Pat KirwanEdge rusher evaluation
"I don't see a number one receiver that's going to command double teams, the Mike Evans-type guys that come out. I think there's a lot of twos and threes here."
Pat KirwanWR class assessment
"If I'm the ownership, Mark, you know, I'm moving in five years. So do I invest in the locker rooms that of a stadium we're going to tear down or am I taking notes now?"
David MoultonNFLPA survey discussion
Full Transcript
You're listening to Miller and Moulton, coming at you from the Floormeister Studios. Floormeisters, keeping it real. And now, here's Mark Miller and David Moulton. Nothing happened at Purdue except more guys transferred out. Hour two of Miller and Moulton, and you can hear Pat Kerwin, who's live on the field at the Combine in Indianapolis. They're already bothering him. He can't even have his breakfast. He can't just do a friend's radio show. They're already bothering him. Pat, of course, NFL radio moving the chains weekdays, three to seven. Joining us once again, courtesy of Pinchers, Tampa to Key West, all points in between. Pinchers, where you can't fake fresh. So how's your week in Indy going? It's going well. You know, it's very organized, which always helps. The guys are on schedule and, you know, we're at the mercy of them being on schedule. It looks to me like these are little things that no one cares about except me, but they're getting them in and out of the hospital quick. That's why they should never leave Indy, by the way. And when they're supposed to be here at 8.05, they're here at 8.05. It's been great. And we're cranking out 15 player interviews a day, which is all you can do. And then we get the show for four hours after that. So it's been good. And I think the kids will come in here, and they're better with us than they are with the clubs, because at the clubs they're memorizing answers, but here we kind of drill down into them. Jacob Hester is my partner here, former fullback in the league, and at the College Network for six years. So it's been great because he's got a little – he's kind of like you, David. He knows the kids from college, so we're on top of a lot of things. It's been fruitful, to say the least. So I'm going to get out of here with 60-player interviews and about 20 interviews of GMs and coaches. You used that informational year. Well, let's start with the GMs and coaches, Pat, because, you know, we talked to a Bears guy yesterday. He was really impressed with how transparent polls was. We've seen a lot of the comments, the Dolphins GM pretty transparent. What have you learned from whether it's – is there something you've learned from a GM or a coach that you didn't know heading into the combine? Well, that's a great question. So they – a lot of times, as soon as we get off the air, I'll take the headset off him and start asking him some other questions that he will answer. But then I have the information, so if I don't reveal the guy's name, I can use it. But they're all loving this draft for defense. So as these people and all of us start figuring out who needs defense, there's one GM told me, I'm going to take four defensive guys in a row. And I think after you get done with Mendoza, who I'm going to talk to this morning, you start realizing that this draft is stacking up with, As we talked about before we got here, the defensive linemen are impressive. They're big. They're fast. And then you've got the linebackers. You won't have to take them early, but they're deep for the grounds four, five, and six. And I think a lot of the GMs are feeling great about that, too. So I think if you're looking for defense, you're thinking, I'm going to get good players all the way through to Saturday, Mark. And they're kind of excited about that. So that's a general theme from the guys I've talked to. Is there a clear edge rusher or defensive end that's better than the rest that the Jets are making a mistake if they don't take him at number two? Well, I've said this before. I'm taking Sonny Stiles at number two. And these guys that he came when we got here, he was like 12 to 18 was the range for him. But he has been blowing it up here. And to me, I go back to Dave Gettleman. What was Dave Gettleman's rule? I'm not taking a guy at the top of the first round that I don't believe has got a chance for a gold jacket. He took McCaffrey. Everyone gave him a hard time. He took Saquon. Everyone gave him a hard time. They pretty much both got a chance for the gold jacket. To me, this Sonny Stiles is the one. I don't want to keep talking about him. But starting this morning, the tune is going to change. He's going to be looked at as a top five player. So I love the guy. The running back seems, the Notre Dame kid, seems to be settled into the middle of the first round. But he's going to be around today. He might move up too. But I just think that the pass rusher crowd, and so it comes in a lot of flavors. And it comes in basically three, four outside guys. We all know the answers. I think Ruben Bain to me. I'll tell you the guy I like. You tell me. You see a lot of this stuff, David. my favorite guy right now is Cassius Howe from that group and I like him more than I like David Bailey how's that wow and Bailey set the world on fire with his 40 time yesterday was very good but you know Pat that's one of the things I wanted to ask you about I was reading an article and I'm curious because you've done this not only you've worked the combine for years now with your NFL radio job but you did it when you were with the Jets and um you know 40 I'm I'm reading and I don't know a thing like the 40 for an edge rusher isn't as important as like the three cone drill so when you're looking at edge rushers like i know bain has the short arms which has everybody freaked out what is it is there one thing is it a combination of things when you're watching these guys are seeing their numbers and i know you got to look at tape but when you're taking tape combined with the combine what is it you're looking at for an edge guy first of traits are important because most of the left tackles that they're going to rush against and even the right tackles have long arms. So if you're rushing with short arms, Bain, that's why I've been saying Bain should go inside to the three technique. He's 275 pounds. Get inside. The short arm thing won't be as pregnant. But outside rushes, to your question, the first thing is traits. You want some height on the guy? You want some long arms on the guy? Then you really are paying attention to the 10-yard time so anyone who's listening is going to watch the combine today watch the guys sitting at the 10 yard mark to me get off counts and it counts a lot and then after that it's change of direction stuff so you go right to your short shuttle test how fast can you change direction because often you're going to have to change direction to beat somebody or go from speed to power which means you're rushing outside fast the guy is set on that then you got to cross his face so anything that's going to show me change of direction with long arms with height is going to be appealing to most of the guys here me included i saw two people last night say that they thought jeremiah love was the best player in the draft and if that's the case then you take them very high you know saquon went two mcafree went eight uh four net went four but i'm just wondering are you sure that love can get past the Chiefs at nine or if somebody really wants them they're gonna have to leapfrog KC well I'd be surprised if someone ever moved up for a running back I'll make that statement first would I criticize anyone who took him no I'm gonna get a chance to talk to him this morning as well but the depth at the position David you the three of us talk about this a lot yes you got depth at this position so if you're going to pass one of the elite defensive players or the left tackles tackles for me are tomorrow morning and they're going to be a couple of good ones that's where the the supply might be a little different that's where if you pass on that guy you're not going to see that quality of a player in the second round but i contend that you will see a running back in the second round um but if i'm at nine and i can't imagine they're going to do that think about some of the things they need to get done. I know. And they've got free agents. That's the biggest problem they have in Kansas City. Are they going to get those defensive backs signed? And I'm not sure they will. But if they don't get them signed, you're going to be thinking about that. So they're going to have to have the temperature of the signability of their own guys, which is definitely going down. Caleb Downs is going to be hard to pass early. That kid is quite impressive. We all know his heritage, his family, and everything else. But I talked with Mansoor Delane yesterday. He, to me, is separating himself from the other corners. Why? He's very productive. He's got every one of those features you want in height and speed, but he's also healthy. And some of the other guys that are in the top of this class, one didn't even play in 2025. So I think that corner is going to be tough to pass if you're minus a corner on your team. Okay, if I may, you said taking a running back that high, you know, you wouldn't do it. Well, what about nowadays? Can you take a safety that high? I agree with you. I think Caleb Love is one of those six best players in the draft without question. Might even be three or four. But can you take a safety that high? A corner, I know you can take that high. Can you take a safety that high? Well, it depends on how you play football and what you want the safety to do. If you get a rock and roll safety where you can play strong, weak, and nickel inside, fine. If you in a division where and you know the answer to this the divisions that throw the ball all over the place and you got what we call those move tight end types in your division and now you want a guy that can break out of the box and go line up man on those open tight ends. If you live in a division with that stuff, yes, you'd absolutely need the guy. Pat, the wide receiver group, you know, there's a couple of guys that I see in the first round potentially, but I've read that this is a really good day two and day three wide receiver group. What are you seeing out of that group? Whoever wrote that is on target, and I'll tell you why, and I agree with them. You tell me, between the two of you, do you see a number one receiver that's going to command double teams, the Mike Evans-type guys that come out? I don't see one. I think there's a lot of twos and threes here. You don't think the Ohio State kids are one? No. Okay. I think he can play like a one, but he's not a one in the sense of on opening day, you're going to roll coverage to the guy. I think if time proves that he can catch 10 in a game and he's uncoverable singles, but most of the guys that I talk to do not see this draft as a number one receiver who demands some kind of coverage role or double on a guy. don't see it and and most of the guys i'm talking to don't see it either that doesn't mean they're bad it just means you got a lot of twos here one quarterback one tight end one running back expected to go in the first round at least 29 other players at all the other positions seems to me like this is a draft on both sides of the ball for the big uglies the big uglies are tomorrow and i certainly will have it my clear report on those guys when i talk to you on tuesday um i see the big guys and i see the defense so back to how i see the strength of this draft and i was high on nussmeyer the quarterback from lsu as a guy you know whether it was a friday or an early saturday pick and now i'm seeing from the senior bowl that he was a little under six foot one so is he big enough to be a quarterback a good quarterback not a great quarterback but you know where i'm asking is nussmeyer good enough to be a starter in the nfl if you're comparing your question to the rest of the field in this combine yeah i think i like him more than the alabama kid to be honest with you i'm gonna have nussmeyer this morning bright and early here and I'm glad we're doing this early enough so I can get ready for him but what he is is ready to play can he is he a long-standing guy that's going to carry you to a Super Bowl probably not but if you think the Alabama kid is going to do it I'm not so sure about that I'll tell you who's gone down a little bit in the perception business and that's the Penn State guy people are not they're like not sure about him all right pat kirwin moving the chains nfl radio weekdays three to seven more with pat after this you're listening to miller and molten and now here's mark miller and david molten 21 minutes past the hour on this friday edition the final one of february miller moulton miller moulton.com miller underscore moulton on x steve carney will join us in about 40 minutes time we'll talk little ray spring training they've made a lot of changes first year under new ownership and bill bender in a little over an hour a couple of big college football and college sports issues we'll go big picture with bill bender in a little more than an hour but pat kirwin rejoins us courtesy of pinterest tampa to key west all points in between pinchers where you can't fake fresh. So, Pat, the guy that you and David and I were all against coming into the draft, every once in a while we're right. I don't mean you. I mean David and I. Anthony Richardson has been given permission to seek a trade. I told David earlier in the show I was surprised in an article that I read that there are going to be plenty of teams interested in him because I don't think he can play. But the Vikings were in that list. The Dolphins were in that list. do you see him being traded quickly from indianapolis a couple things i'd say to the listeners first typically you the agent is the one complaining to get the kid out right he doesn't want to be here he doesn't want to be so you give the agent permission but as we've said on the show many times with parameters so the colts are going to say what they want for for us to move if you want to go shop the kid go ahead mr agent but we want whatever they want and i think that's where the the the problems will come because i don't think anyone's willing to give a lot for him doesn't matter that he was a first round pick what if they want a second round pick i don't know if they do but i wouldn't give him away and remember he's young enough that people that graded him coming out have an opinion of him i bet you not a lot of guys thought he was a first rounder but I bet you they think he's worth a second rounder. Now, that's going to cut the herd real fast. The guys that are talking like the Vikings, they're not going to give that. So whatever that compensation is, is going to be really the tough part of this whole thing for them. I'm not giving him away for nothing. He's cheap, relatively cheap, and I need a backup anyway. So I'm not giving him away for free. Someone said to me, oh, he's a seventh or a sixth. would you give him away for a seventh or a sixth no way so if they give him away it's because he's a problem and i don't think he's a problem i just think he's not a very good quarterback if you're indianapolis would you rather have the best draft pick you can get your hands on probably a fourth rounder i think is the best pick they can get or would you rather do a deal with the dolphins where you get to a for a year as the backup quarterback the dolphins eat almost all of it financially they get a young prospect quarterback you get a proven veteran backup quarterback in case Daniel Jones gets hurt and Daniel Jones has a history of getting hurt it sounds great and if they were willing to take on the whole contract or literally the most of it yeah of course I'd like to have him on my football team I did talk to their head coach the other day and he was very clear that they are right now in the process of getting Daniel Jones signed. And they're working hard at it. Talk a little bit of numbers with them. I think they've got, and I think Daniel's got some realistic. I don't think it's going to be a shocking deal. But if you pay him, you better do that. You better get him under contract before you start flipping to his name around. Pat, you've said for the longest time one of the most interesting parts of the combine is dinner, where agents are sitting and coaches and agents and GMs and agents are talking to one another. Anything out there that you've seen or heard that you're able to share? Well, I think what's been visible to me are the GMs and the agents trying to lock up guys before free agency starts on their own teams. I think when they get to the point of the other stuff, which is I was part of that, is you do that in a hotel room where no one's watching me. And because it became so obvious to everyone over the last couple of years that I think there might have been a memo sent out saying, you know what? You're not supposed to be doing it, so don't make us have to discipline you for it. So I think it's almost everyone I've talked to are talking really about getting their own guys locked up right now. And that's a really smart thing to do. And I think some of the elite name players, there's not many of them, I think David's going to eventually ask me the over-under on franchise tags at four. I have a feeling that's the number he's going to use. And I'm getting ready to say push. we're down from the seven and eight so i think guys are still threatening the franchise tag with their guys but at the end of the day i think we're going to see a couple of deals done and and it'll be a small list that it won't be much more than newsworthy for a half hour the next time we talk about that when it opens up well pat you know if it's a number coming from miller and there's always a half to it okay so it'll be four and a half is the number and for the record i'll go over because i think it gets to five interesting move by the commanders yesterday they get rid of their starting centers 28 years old only has one year left on his contract um they don't have anybody on the roster better than him but they have a ton of money that they can spend do you think that they'll be in the linderbaum sweepstakes i do um and i've talked to dan quinn at length about his plans while you're looking at that roster david tell me how many over 30 guys are on defense well it was the oldest team in the league last year we said it and we were worried about it heading into the season and it reared its ugly head and they still old yeah and i think they taking a little lesson from the patriots who went out and bought a defense and got to a super bowl with it they are going to be i think pretty active in the opportunity to get younger on defense that's the first piece on their agenda secondly there are some nice centers in this draft. And they might be looking at that Florida center saying, Wheaton Gate came in the second round. We got a starting center for 10 years. So look at the center list. There's two or three guys that could play early. Okay. You got to know Matt Ryan a lot over the past year. He's made a lot of moves. It looks like Pitts is one of those guys that's going to get franchised. Cousins is gone. Matt Ryan has a very different approach to what's been there in the past in Atlanta, doesn't he? Well, it's a very unusual situation, Mark. The president of the club played with a bunch of these guys. He knows them as the player. He was the quarterback throwing to Pitts. He has an opinion of Pitts. I think he's honestly has been disappointed over the last couple of years, although last year was his best. I think he knows both sides of Pitts. It'll be interesting to see if it really gets to the franchise tag. It's easy to do it and just say, well, that ends that problem. We know we have him for a year. I'll be interested at the end of this thing. And maybe he's forcing the negotiation now so he doesn't have to franchise tag him. But I'm okay with franchising him because that gives me one year to see if he's really for real. I would not negotiate with him. Pat, we've got a minute or so left. I know you don't like the NFLPA survey, but if you were an owner, Is there any part of it that you would take seriously, like how the players feel families are treated or like the Steelers? The one thing that if I was the Roonies would raise my eyebrow is they think they're cheap. OK, and they criticize them in like four different areas, basically saying our facilities suck and they're cheap. I'm just wondering, is there anything about the survey that you would go? Huh? I don't think it creates a working atmosphere, honestly. I've had an owner say, yeah, you criticize our food. Good. I'm going to reduce the menu. So I think that stuff should be behind closed doors. I think they could have meetings and say, we'll give you a year to fix this. Otherwise, we'll be public with it. I would not be throwing it out there the way they do, because I've seen the it backfires a bit on these guys. And I'd like to know, honestly, I'm with the Steelers enough to say, where they criticize the Steelers' food. And I said this on this show before. On my camp tour, it's my favorite food stop, honestly, of all the camps. I wish some of these guys would go to some other teams and find out what's going on at other places. You get a couple of malcontents, and they convince the young guys, let's all write down this stuff is terrible. I don't take it very seriously, and I hope the owners don't either. He's Pat Kerwin. NFL radio is moving the chains during the season. He's also on Sunday as part of CBS's NFL Today show. Pat joins us courtesy of Pinchers, Tampa to Key West, all points in between. Pinchers, where you can't fake fresh, Pat is on the floor in Indianapolis. He'll fly back to Southwest Florida tomorrow. He'll be back on the show Tuesday. Pat Kerwin on Miller and Moulton. Welcome back to Miller and Moulton. Text the guys what's in your mind at 21000. That's 21000. And now, here's David Moulton. 22 minutes until Steve Carney is going to join us. He's covering the Rays in spring training. He's part of the Lightning Radio Network. So we'll talk about both those teams with Steve Carney. Coming up at the top of the hour. Bill Bender, an hour from now to talk about a couple of big issues in college sports, one of which theoretically is going to be addressed in some way, shape, or form a week from today at the White House. Talk to Bill Bender from the Sporting News one hour from now. I get Pat's thoughts about the NFLPA's grades. I understand where he's coming from, but you also have to remember Pat's a front office guy. Right. I mean, that, you know, that that's where he worked. That's where he spent his life. That's where his friends are. Pat has always been pro owner. And I don't mean from the standpoint of, you know, discussions with how much money they get. But Pat's a guy who you hear him, Mr. Rooney, you know, Pat's that old school guy. That's not a young man. He still refers to most owners as Mr. Whatever. And as someone who spent a lot of time in hockey, I was always impressed with the hockey player who referred to the GM as Mr. So-and-so. The owner was always Mr. So-and-so or Miss if it was a Mrs. if it was a woman, but there weren't that many of those. So I've always respected Pat for his respect of that position. Let me ask you this, David, because I have a little different opinion than Pat, and I respect the hell out of what he said. But when you see certain grades for teams, I don't just think of it in terms of the player beating up on the owner. If I'm a fan, for instance, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had terrible grades in this thing, their 29th is where the Bucs ended up. Right. If I'm a fan of a team and that team looks to be cheap, wouldn't that affect the fan and their thoughts of ownership and therefore their willingness to spend money to go to games? What are you spending all my money on, owner? you're making a boatload of money and you're treating your players like crap and we're not good enough wouldn't that honk off a fan base in some way shape or form david or does that not matter i don't think it's enough of an issue to get somebody to cancel their season tickets i think the product is what determines that and or the price but where i disagree with pat And there's no doubt, Mark, you and I are more on the side of the players than Pat is. Pat's a front office and owner's guy. Okay, we're, you know, we think the players count for a little more than Pat does. Right? There are three to five, there are 17 items on this survey that the players have to give grades on. 17. By the way, 57 guys per team on average responded to this survey. 57. I mean, 1,759 guys in the league responded. That's pretty damn good. Count practice squads, you're talking 69. You know, I mean, the active roster is 53. Never mind what you can use on game day. but anyway here's the stuff that if i was an owner mark i would pay attention to like if you're the glazers and you mentioned they came in 29th right they got a d by the way the team ownership got a d well that's one of them in which i'm like wow they think we're poor owners i've been i think we're pretty decent why do they think we're poor owners i'd want to talk to a couple of guys and i would talk to the Evanses and the Levante Davids and the Bakers of the world, you know, and I'd talk to Bowles and I'd be like, so what's the gripe? Why do we suck? Okay. Facilities, you know, locker room D minus training room, C food and dining area D plus the field F minus. Wow. A grass field and the players think it sucks that much? Wow. Treatment of families, D. This would interest me as an owner. You want to, you know, weight room, strength coaches, position coaches, OC, DC, special teams coordinator, team travel. Hmm. Buck's got an F. An F. huh, well, what are we doing? What are we doing wrong? Okay. You know, so there are a handful of these topics, items, whatever, that if I were a GM even, but certainly an owner, like to me, come on. I know the Steelers are either going to say nothing or they're going to, you know, out of the side of their mouth say something. But you know treatment of families F field F locker room F teen travel f ownership d minus i tell them come on now tell me you one of the roonies and you look at that you go what the heck i mean remember on average 57 guys in your locker room voted right by the way the steelers voted their head coach in a right i mean just for what it's worth by the way the only a out of the 17 categories was their head coach. Right. GM got a C+, ownership got a D-, head coach A. Right. All those Steelers fans who don't like Tomlin. Well, good luck. Exactly. Good luck. Exactly. But, you know, this doesn't mean, obviously, you're going to be good because the Miami Dolphins were the number one-ranked franchise. Right. For the third year in a row. The worst grade that the Dolphins got were two Bs for the head coach and special teams coordinator. Their treatment of families was a B+. Every other grade was an A. Every other grade in every category. Yeah. So this doesn't mean you're going to win. By the way, Jacksonville fifth. Right. Now, I know they just had a good year, but Miami won, Jacksonville five. Tampa Bay 29. That concerned you at all if you're a Bucs fan. but Minnesota two, Washington three, Seattle four. So they pulled it off. Players think it's awesome, although they don't like the field. Did you see that? Seattle got an F minus for field and still ranked fourth. I found that to be, that means, that means the players love everything about that place, but they hate the field. That's where, if I'm the owner in Seattle, I'm not joking around because they're going to have a new one. I'm looking at this going, all right, apparently we do everything right. I don't need to change anything. What's wrong with our field? Right. Why don't players like it? I get that the guys in the Meadowlands, because both the Jets and Giants get F's. Everybody hates that field. They're all scared they're going to get injured and blow their knees out there. Yep. They've hated it since, quite frankly, Giants Stadium opened in 76. The field has sucked. It's concrete. They've made it a little bit less concrete, but trust me, it's concrete. Bottom four, by the way. Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Arizona, Pittsburgh. I was stunned to see Pittsburgh 32nd. I really was. Yeah. That one floored me. I mean, if it was middle of the pack, so be it. But like you said, you know, Miami's one. Vegas is six. Atlanta eight. Detroit nine. I'm surprised to see how much the Vegas players think ownership is good. I know. Because Davis has always been regarded as a cheap owner. Right. Is that because now Brady's on the list and he's changed things? He's got, what, 10% or whatever it is. That shouldn't matter. So that one, when I saw ownership that high in Vegas, I scratched that little bit of hair I've got left on my head. Don't you think that means that he just treats them really well? Yeah. I'm guessing they also grade well for treatment of families. I would think it would be tough to grade out well, and then they think you don't treat families well. I mean, treatment of families for the Vegas Raiders, N-A. No. But Miami, Minnesota, Washington, Seattle, Jacksonville, Vegas, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Denver. That's your top ten. So Kansas City, by the way, 22nd. Well, they weren't that good last year either. I know. You know, locker room and F, treatment of families is C. I mean, you know, the team travel, a D minus. See, those three things, to me, can be easily fixed. Yes. If I'm getting an F in the locker room, if I'm the owner, I'm saying, let's go to where the A's are. I want to see what the difference is between our locker room and their locker room. Now, I really do. If I'm the ownership, Mark, you know, I'm moving in five years. So do I invest in the locker rooms that of a stadium we're going to tear down or am I taking notes now? OK, and making sure when we build the new digs that everybody goes, holy blank, look at how great this is. Right. Because I can fix the travel immediately. I can fix the treatment of families immediately. I may even bring the leaders into the team and say, hey, we're not going to do much to the locker room. We're five years away from a new stadium. What are the three things that are most important to the locker room to fix? Because it could just be a space thing for some of these guys. Guys could come from place A to place B, and, you know, Arrowhead's older. It just doesn't have the room that a new locker room may have. I guess one of the big knocks in the Steelers locker room is there's only five stalls for them to go to the bathroom. Think about it. How many people are walking around in the locker room? Here's what's amazing to me. This is how different it is, though, David. The Chargers, A- for their locker room. The Rams, a D. How is that possible? I don't know. I don't know. at all. So maybe Pat's a little more right than we are. I mean, it is a brand new facility. They both play there. One ranks at a D, the other one ranks at an A-. There you go. By the way, according to the players, the Jets grade out as a much better franchise to play for than the Giants. And the Jets right now, probably amongst the NFL fans, Is there a team in an organization right now that you view more negatively than the Jets? I don't think so. I don't either. I don't think so. I think the Raiders and Cardinals are close. I really do. But the Cardinals are kind of an out of sight, out of mind franchise. But they're historically bad. so you know obviously this doesn't i don't believe this doesn't have an impact on winning i don't i i would like to think that occasionally occasionally somebody makes a free agent choice if the money's similar, if you view the franchise ability to win similar, that somebody goes, well, I got to admit, honey, I hear nothing but good things about how they treat families. Okay, the locker rooms, travel. I mean, you know, they're grade A. But otherwise, I don't know if any of this matters. the most money matters to your point, money similar, maybe it breaks a tie, but free agents care about one thing, how much money they're getting. Right. 95 plus percent of them. I think there are 5% that want to win if they've never won before, but at the end of the day, how much is there in it for me? And how do you blame them for that? I will say I took great pride in which the players rate, their general manager. I believe Joe Shane of the Giants got the lowest grade of all the general managers. He got a D plus. I took great pride in that. He's in charge, David. He told us earlier this week. Uh-huh. Right. He's in charge. He's in charge of nothing. He's in charge of hiring the realtor that his family is going to use to sell their home at the end of the season. I don't even think he's in charge of that. I think that's her call. You know what I think he does? I think he's the one that goes to the door when Harbaugh and Aponte order DoorDash, and he's the one that goes and he gets the order and he brings it into the room. Huh. DoorDash. That's what he's in charge of. Maybe I'll use that for lunch today. Miller and Moulton. Steve Carney coming up top of the 8 o'clock hour. We'll talk a little bolts. Bolts will talk a little raise with Steve Carney and then Bill Bender at the bottom of the eight o'clock hour. Bill Bender to talk some college football. Lots going on between the potential rules for tampering. And then President Trump next week bringing a lot of people. to Washington to discuss college football from former players to athletic directors to Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, and many in between. We'll see what type of legs Bill Bender thinks that meeting has, as well as all of the tampering rules that the NCAA is talking about putting into college football with some severe penalties for those that violate, like six games for a coach and 20% of your budget. Miller and Moulton, Steve Carney next.