Gary Myers: The Eli Manning Hall of Fame debate, Joe Schoen's QB search & Daniel Jones' high stakes week one of the NFL season is here and here on talking ball with Pat Leonard we have a season preview a Giants preview and a great discussion coming up with NFL columnist Gary Meyers a pro football hall of fame writer we will debate Eli Mannings candidacy talk about Daniel Jones Joe Shane and his book once a giant best-selling author Gary Meyers coming up next talking ball with Pat Leonard is brought to you by of course boom chaga mushroom super drink a natural extract loaded with anti-inflammatory immune boosting antioxidants and heart healthy compounds you can easily pour this natural liquid supplement into any of your favorite drinks I put mine in my coffee every morning and immediately feel the difference I personally have felt a post-workout like energy boost with boom chaka Al also has the ability to lower cholesterol reduce inflammation and improve immune and heart health with its beta glutens and antioxidants go to Boom cha.com today to place your first order and if you use the discount code talking all 25 or access it through the QR code on your screen you will get 25% off your first subscribe and save order right now that means a month supply cost you only $30 start feeling the difference today at boom cha.com also brought to you by estate 98 coffee and allnatural Specialty coffee with no sugar that is convenient for on the-go professionals parents if you need a quick coffee estate 98 is for you takes me less than 10 seconds to make a delicious estate 98 iced coffee and only a minute more to make it hot or a latte from this allnatural concentrate go to estate 98.com backtalkin ball to get a special buy one get one free deal through our show here on the believe Network and also bet online the world's most trusted betting platform and your number one source for everything football bet online has every stat matchup and even live odds and spreads to bet on during 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after football Gary great to see you thanks for being on Happy 2024 start of the Season Pat to be honest you know I'm always the guy I don't like people's countdowns to the start of kickoff to week one during the summer I like my summer I like my vacation but Gary when Labor Day hit I felt it you know I I I kind of I felt the itch and speaking of that you are it it appears U going to be everywhere around this giant season this NFL kickoff season at some really exciting events coming up could you tell the fans where they can find you where they can see you as we ramp up to this Giants uh week one game against the Vikings yeah you know it's funny is that um this time of the year always felt like to start of school for me uh when I was covering the NFL that Labor Day was really the the kickoff where you go you get that feeling in your stomach oh we're in for the Long Haul now you know so uh Friday night at the FanFest I'm gonna be on The Concourse kind of to the right of the team store you know maybe about 30 yards to the right of the team store uh around 5:00 when the gates open I'll be there for a while and then starting at 11 o'clock on Sunday opening game of the season against Minnesota I'll be in the same spot so anybody hopefully some players are going to stop by and sit with me for a little bit to sign books and and chat with all the giant fans wow that's excellent you were a voter you said on that top 100 um were there any as you were compiling your top 100 or having those conversations were there any areas there especially as you got into let's say who's in the top 10 and who who's not were there any that really gave you a difficult time or you know does it does it fall in place kind of as you as you look at their whole history yeah I mean it was really hard to figure out who was number one uhh obviously it was Lawrence and then kind of you know you didn't want to ignore the past because you know that's easy to do you know when you I've been Eli vs. Simms: Toughest Giants 'Top 100' decision covering the leak since 1978 but there was so many great Giants you know prior to that that you really had to take that into consideration honestly the toughest decision for me and I'm I'm sure this subject will come up a little bit in the next few minutes when we're talking was who goes first among the quarterbacks Phil Sims or Eli Manning and um because you have to look both of them in the eye after it and admit who you put ahead of the other one that that's right and uh full disclosure I have no problem you know revealing my vote uh I had Phil a little bit ahead of Eli um and no knock on Eli two times Super Bowl MVP and I'm gon be making a strong pitch for him to get into the Hall of Fame so I'm not I'm not saying anything critical it's just that Phil would have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago if he hadn't gotten hurt in 1990 and the Giants were able finished off that Super Bowl run like that did with Jeff hler and even Phil says there's no guarantee that if he was the quarterback instead of hus that they would have won it because hass's Mobility came into play in the San Francisco championship game and the Super Bowl but having seen you know the majority of Phil's career you know understanding that I was in Dallas for a good portion of it but still seeing him twice year for the giant cowboy games and then seeing Eli's entire career yeah I just think you know if you want to measure it I just put Phil just that much above Eli I just honestly I just thought Phil was a better player than Eli now I still had them both in the top 10 and I I don't remember you know where I had them each maybe Phil seven Eli n something like that or eight and 10 okay but um you know a feeling that I can really observe this objectively and having seen so much of their careers um I just thought the body of work that Phil put together once he got rolling in 1984 um was just a little bit better than Eli so that was really the toughest decision that I that I had to make again re iterating I had them both in the top 10 and I think Eli finished eth and Phil 11th if I remember correctly right well and like you said you're a strong advocate for Eli you're going to be one during this Hall of Fame cycle and let's get right into that so eligible for the first time in 2025 For That Hall of Fame class in Canton and Gary let me just put it to you this way to start it off do you think he will get in in his first year of Eligibility based on you know knowing the room uh knowing his career Will Eli Manning get into the Hall of Fame in 2025? understanding the landscape of who's gotten in and who hasn't at the quarterback position do you think sitting here now on Wednesday September 4th that Eli will get that I believe it's the 80% of the vote threshold well the first thing he has to do Pat is make it to the final 15 right right now I I would think that's fairly much a given but um you never know I mean it's it's a room of 50 people uh that well the room doesn't exist until anyway we vote individually until we get it to 15 and um that's not stopping us from starting the conversation now no because we're get we're gonna be getting our initial ballot relatively soon in which we'll first vote it down to 25 and then we'll vote it to 15 and how the process works after that is most people are aware we vote from 15 to 10 then from 10 to five and then once you reach five you have to get 80% of the vote if he gets to five I'm very confident he'll get 80% I confident that he'll make the cut to 10 and make the cut to five um no because I've talked to a bunch of Voters up until this point and um and they need to be convinced because they look at Eli's record overall being 500 and you know not having won a playoff game other than the two Super Bowl years they feel like it's really kind of an incomplete resume but I go yeah but you know those those two Super Bowl runs he was 4 and0 each time and and was a Super Bowl MVP and beat the Patriots both times the first time when the Patriots were undefeated each time with a two-minute drive to win the game like what else do you want from a Super Bowl quarterback and the comparison I'll make is Warren Moon the stats were fairly similar to Eli's except for one thing he never even made it to a conference Championship game and he got in on the first ballot right three and seven in the playoffs I believe yeah uh and the Oilers had good teams Jerry coach teams real good teams a lot of talent and I I thought that Warren came up um maybe it's too harsh this him it came up small in those big games but I think that he did and um and he he couldn't even get to him to a conference Championship game and in another thing about Eli I mean he beat Favre and Rogers in the playoffs at Lambo I mean that's pretty impressive so it's my feeling is like what else do you what else do you need to do what else do you want from a Hall of Fame quarterback and I can easily make the case at the Giants management failed Eli from the 2011 season on by not giving them an offensive line and other than Odell you know who uh was kind of a a flashing star it just didn't suain it was H you know um he a good way of describing Odell that's a that's a good description like a shooting star yeah that's shoting star that's I actually I meant to say yeah yeah that's good and and he was hurt a bunch too and then he was a knucklehead most of the time so um I I didn't think that Eli you know had the pieces around him to make a really good run you know for a third time and Eli should bring Eli should bring uh sorry to interrupt you but Eli should bring Little Wayne and Odell up onto the stage and can't when he gets in that would be that' be nice full circle no so um can you tell me this too you know having been a pro football uh Hall of Fame voter and seen this process and been involved in this process over the years and having covered the n fell for as long as you have can you tell me is there precedent how much precedent is there for a player getting in who was never the best at his position when he was playing but whose historical Do Eli's Super Bowls trump a .500 career? contributions to championships and big moments kind of are really at the you know if you were to write a book about the NFL would be in the first chapter you know I asked that because like as you just hit on it Eli has a a 500 career record obviously 57,000 passing yards 366 touchdowns but 244 interceptions no MVP awards during the seasons obviously wins the two Super Bowl MVPs but I guess where I come down Gary is like if you said to me this guy orchestrated two of the greatest playoff runs of all time he beat arguably the greatest team of all time in that game twice including a year that the Patriots should have and were about to go undefeated and you said that deserves its own room in Canton I I think it would be hard to argue with that being memorialized but then if you just zoom out and look at Eli Manning the player and his full body of work then I don't see him stacking up with everybody else so my question to you is is there precedent for that for a player like that getting in or do you as somebody who will be making a case for him have to convince people that the rest of his career was at a high level as well if that's a if that's an understandable question yeah no I get it and it's a great question and honestly I I'd have to kind of look at the list and I I'm sure I can point down plenty of players who were never considered the best at their position um in any given season I mean just just think about some of the receivers you know was Andre Reid ever considered you know the best wide receiver in the league was was um he was considered top three no or no am I I mean yeah I mean there were years that he was he was up there and um I don't mean to you know I voted for him so I I thought he was a Hall of Fame player but you know was Chris Carter ever the best receiver I mean he wasn't necessarily even the best receiver on his team when Randy Moss got there um that's true um Tim Brown was Tim Brown ever the best receiver in the NFL no but he was a great player um so I think you know obviously if you look at you know when you're talking about EMT Smith or Jerry Rice or Deion Sanders or Joe Montana those guys stand out as being the best at at their position during a given time but if we only get limited to that then the room would be as small as Deion Sanders wants it to be where he thinks it should be two levels you know the elite level on one floor and I mean how pretentious is that for him to say that stuff no doubt well I put I put it back to you here Carl Banks an all pro in 87 two-time Super Bowl winner right 13 tackles uh total tackles in those two Super Bowls team High 10 tackles in their first ever win over the Broncos he's not a Hall of Famer you know I think you know the two Super Bowls being Carl Banks a 2x SB winner who isn't in Canton14:50 Will Eli's candidacy be one of the most hotly debated? a huge part of those Super Bowls does that definitely get you in right I mean but then again two-time Super Bowl MVPs right Bradshaw Montana um you know BR Brady obviously seven of them he'll get in so I guess maybe quarterback is different but you know I love batting this around Gary because I feel like I mean what what is the could does this have the potential to be one of the more hotly debated candid Dees and then what which ones maybe is there one that sticks out to you that was like intensely debated that maybe will be similar to what the Manning case is well you know let's throw another quarterback in there and say like Kurt Warner he was considered the best quarterback in the league of 99 and he was great through 2001 that had this huge donut in the middle of his career including the one year with the Does Kurt Warner as a HOFer justify Eli Manning? Giants and then you know he wouldn't have probably would not have gotten in unless he had taken Arizona you know one of the um teams that had never been before he took him to the Super Bowl towards the end of his career I think that put him over the top was Curt Warner overall a better quarterback than Eli well in a specific season probably yeah over the course of his career probably not um wow I would debate that with you but yeah that's this is why this is fun right this is why yeah I mean just think about Kurt Warner went from 2002 to maybe 2008 something like that without doing very much lost his job to Mark Boulder in St Louis lost it to Eli in New York lost it to to Matt Leonard when he went to Arizona so you know he has some spectacular seasons and he's a great story and he's a great guy and I'm glad he's in the Hall of f but I mean I can argue Eli versus Kurt Warner with you easily uh the most difficult the hot most hotly contested by far and I've been on the committee since 2010 okay was to and it wasn't because of his his numbers or his accomplishments it was because For the First Time The Hall of Fame people told Terrell Owens the most hotly contested HOF debate us now you're not supposed to consider off the field right so I gets arrested 400 times it's like he got never got arrested um and that came up and became an a real issue before Lawrence Taylor was eligible and I was not on the committee then but you know the hall made it very clear that Lawrence's off the field problems were not to be considered o they told us the locker room is an extension of the playing field so yes you may consider too's Behavior no matter how you w to weigh it as part of his resume and I mean it's not unusual um or out there to say that too was considered a cancer in the locker room of many of the teams that he played with that San Francisco couldn't get wait to get rid of him Philadelphia couldn't wait to get rid of him Dallas couldn't wait to get rid of him like one year after they sign him to a big extension Jerry Jerry Jones who's his biggest proponent uh got rid of him um so that kept him out for a couple of years and people were looking at oh you know the voters are trying to teach tiio a lesson because he wasn't always Cooperative with the media I mean that never never I'm never take that stuff into consideration it's but I I did take into consideration is of the his locker room Stu that being said and I was outspoken explaining to people why he didn't get in at the same time I voted for him because I thought his contributions was so outstanding that he wasn't necessarily the first guy that blew up some locker rooms um but when I tried to explain it to people why he didn't get in they said oh you know look at him you know you know trying to rewrite the rule book and I'm going well no I voted for him I'm just trying to explain to you what he in you know so that that was Far Gary you know you know sometimes people just they can't handle how the sausage gets made right yeah you know it's it's funny yesterday I I texted I I tweeted something I am not and I put am not comparing Hassan reick to Lawrence Taylor and people want to know can reic be effective on Monday night if he comes in Thursday and I said flashback to 1990 Lawrence Taylor uh held out the entire training camp in a con until he signed a new contract the Wednesday before the Giants open the season against Philadelphia and Randall Cunningham who was the most elusive quarterback in the league and Taylor went out on two three days practice the heavy practice Wednesday and Thursday the light practice on Friday the walk through on Saturday and sacked Cunningham three times so the comments under my tweet is how dare you compare Lawrence Hassan rck to Lawrence Taylor and the first sentence is I am not I'm just trying to point out that players can be effective showing up as the season starts will he If he if he shows up on Thursday will he sack Brock pie three times Monday night probably not but would I be shocked if he does if they use him as a p situational pass rusher and he stayed in shape can he do it yeah he can do it but I'm not saying reic is Lawrence Taylor that's how people I can't I hate to keep saying people that that's how you almost can't win I I I clarified that self with by saying I voted for him but here's why he didn't get in and it was interpreted as well this is why you didn't vote for him right well the one comparison between reick and Lawrence Taylor if there is one is that reck's team looks like it could contend for a Super Bowl if if he's on the field and if their quarterback stays healthy and so let's stay on the quarterbacks and pivot to the Jets here well one last stat I have on the Eli Hall of Fame argument 13 quarterbacks have won two or more Super Bowls eight have come ible for the hall and seven have gotten in the only one who hasn't is the Raiders Jim plunket two Super Bowl rings one Super Bowl MVP to his name not in the Hall of Fame all right so we'll come back to the Giants but let's pivot to the Jets for a sec Gary I want to know you know you've covered you covered Aaron rogers's entire career uh you obviously saw as we did very closely last season how it kind of all came down um in that week one Tor Achilles do you think that the Jets can do it this year are you buying or selling the Jets as a Super Bowl Contender this Buying or selling Aaron Rodgers and Jets as Super Bowl contender? Is Joe Schoen's HBO quarterback comment a bad look? season well I I think I have to look at the price tag if I'm buying and selling and is there going to be an explanation about how many games he's going to play this year last year he lasted four plays and we were saying the same things last year boy the Jets can really make a nice run um to have Aaron Rogers nobody obviously thought he was going to last only four plays so if you can tell me that he's going to start say 15 of the 17 games yeah and he's gonna play like he did not in 2022 when he broke his stumb against the Giants in London and didn't have a great season but turn back the clock to 20 and 21 which is a long time ago and now he's in his age 41 season it'll be 41 December so can he play at that level and stay healthy if we knew the answers to those questions you know I'd get on one of these betting apps and put a lot of money on the Jets to win the Super Bowl the rest of their team is pretty good I mean so wait if if I told you Rogers plays 14 or 15 at least games regular season and is available to for the playoffs you think that it's a possibility well you didn't answer the second part of my question what level are we seeing Aaron Rogers have we seen the on from a few years ago when he played really well or we seen the ones from 22 when he didn't right just remember that last game of the year the Sunday night game at the end of the 22 season against Detroit where all Green Bay had to do was win at home and they were in the playoffs and he was horrific in that game that's the last game he played that counted um so you tell me which Aon Rogers are we getting if you're telling me we're going to get the one that we saw for the majority of his career yeah I think the Jets can go deep in the playoffs if he gets hurt or he's he's not the same player then might not even make the playoffs all I know is I saw him for one day in person this summer against the Giants and he looked like the old Aaron Gary I mean the movement element obviously has been a huge part of his game and he was moving around it's not the same so there's still kind of an open question of as great as his arm still looks at that age right like when the rush when the rush starts coming because you know it's extremely relevant given that he was under pressure when he moved and tour his last year right it's not like just an age thing it's actually how he got hurt last year trying to play that way so I think that's the question but I will say his arm looks like the old Aaron and his dissection of the field of the defense the way that he was changing plays at the line all of that uh but that'll be fascinating to watch pivoting back to the Giants Gary and this is this is hot off the press's Giants convo here okay this is the newest Giants topic of the day the HBO Hard Knock series obviously the Giants were the stars of it in the off season now the Chicago Bears episodes have been taking us through training camp and the finale just dropped and this is the headline going around right now is at the Georgia Clemson game so Gary this was literally three or four days ago okay at the Georgia Clemson game on the sideline Ryan poles the Chicago Bears GM and Joe Shane the Giants GM are standing next to each other and Shane says to hes it's got to be nice to not be looking at the uh and he does like a throwing motion with his hand and Paul says oh quarterbacks yeah hopefully it stays that way for a long time and Shane laughs Gary is this unfair shade from Joe Shane of Daniel Jones or is this the reality and what he should be saying which is I need a quarterback and without a quarterback you know my franchise is not going to be heading where I wanted to I'd love to know that that Shane if he knew he was gonna wind up on hardock saying that um maybe he thought the taping of that show was over maybe he didn't see the cameras around him but I mean are you surprised that they were down there looking at Carson Beck I mean no no I I'm I keep I guess I where I'm coming down on it is they're for sure scouting QBs this year just like they were last year they almost traded up for Drake mayor 3 it's more just a question of whether is is a general manager do you view that as the general manager uh Throwing Shade at his current quarterback in a conversation with another NFL general manager or do you think that's that's just part and parcel of the business like if you don't if you don't have a quarterback you know you're looking for one well clearly the week before the season you don't want to be on national TV advertis izing that you're you know you're in the market for a new quarterback because what impact that you want Daniel Jones I mean Daniel's a smart guy I mean he knows his career his Giants career is on the line this season does it need to be reinforced by his general manager saying to another general manager boy you're the lucky guy you don't have to be watching Carson Beck today you know I mean it's probably not in in the Giants best interest for for Shane to be doing that so publicly again assuming he knew he was on camera and was saying that knowing it was going to wind up on that show I mean I don't I don't see how that helps the Giants the season um for for Shane to be saying that I agree Pat the way things are now it was going to get out that Shane was at that game it I think it got out even before it was on hard knucks right because I think yeah so I mean Georgia and cl and always have a bunch of NFL caliber uh draft eligible players so he's he's going to scout that game especially on an off weekend and you know he's going to be looking at the quarterbacks there or or Carson Beck at least so I mean that stuff is not a surprise to be you know be jealous of another GM because you don't have to look at a quarterback doesn't exactly send a message of you we have a lot of confidence in you uh Daniel um we're already thinking about who would draft in next year not said but yeah no good point it's like yes that is what he should be doing scouting the QBs to potentially draft one next year you just don't want that publicly said a few days before the current quarterback who is making 40 million a year is supposed to put his best best foot forward yeah by the way Shane uh you know as you would expect but like last year it was the same way you know the college football season kicking off before the NFL season and Shane and his team on the road heavily scouting QBs and just you know prospects the league before the Giants even step on the field in regular season and you know he made his way around this weekend Schoen was all over the country on Labor Day weekend this past weekend Gary he was at the Colorado game shador Sanders he was at the Georgia Clemson game he was at Notre Dame Texas A&M big win for the Irish and he was also at the LSU um USC game so that's four games in one weekend that's pretty good work yeah I mean that's what he should be doing and um he needs to take advantage of you know the down the bi-week in in the schedule here before the regular season starts again Daniel Jones is a smart guy yeah um he knows he's got no guaranteed money coming after the season I'm not sure what the cap hit would be next year but you guys have been riding incessantly the Giants can G from under this contract so he he knows he's playing he's not playing for his NFL career He he'll be in the league somewhere next year but he's playing for his opportuni continue as a giant starter and if what should be going on in Jones's mind right now is it this Administration liked me enough to give me a $160 million contract with what $80 Daniel Jones has the weapons to play better in 2024 million guaranteed whatever that was so they at one point they had faith in me last year he should think to himself I was hurt I had no offensive line I had no wide receivers and the running back was always hurt uh so last year was an aberration I had no shot this year it's a clean slate the offensive line is better I don't know who's going to run the ball effectively uh but he's got a number one receiver I I I do like w Del Robinson also Hyatt seems like in in specific situations he can be a real deep threat uh maybe the rookie tight end gives him something this is his opportunity to show what he's got finally I I've said this to you for years I've seen Snippets or flashes of what Jones can do I've seen him be accurate I've seen him had a good arm have a good arm I've seen him be able to run the ball I've seen him do that all in one game once the Minnesota playoff game and very few times other than that if he's going to want if he wants this job if this is where he wants to be if he wants this job he's got to do it every week and that's not asking too much that's what they're supposed to do when they're making $40 million a year um so the pressure is on him but the pressure is on all these guys they need to win it's a production league and that's such a cliche but it's true you're not going to keep your job as a quarterback of the New York Giants if you suck and he's he's got to he's got to be good this year he's got to be better than good otherwise he's not going to have the job next year simple as that well said that's why you're the best going to tell our fans about uh our sponsor quickly Gary and then we'll do a quick rapid fire three question predictions for the Giants in the NFL season all right talking ball with Pat Leonard is brought to you by the boom chaga mushroom super drink a natural extract loaded with anti-inflammatory immune boosting antioxidants and heart healthy compounds you can easily pour this natural liquid suppl into any of your favorite drinks I put mine in my coffee every morning and immediately feel the difference I personally have felt a post workout like energy boost with boom chaga also has the ability to lower cholesterol reduce inflammation and improve immune and heart health with its beta glutens and antioxidants go to Boom cha.com today to place your first order and if you use the discount code talking ball2 or access it through the QR code on your screen you will get 25% off your first subscribe and save order right now that means a month supply cost you only $30 start feeling the difference today at boom cha.com all right Gary three quick predic prediction questions first uh I guess this is more of a question but you can tell me whether you predict it'll happen or not if the are getting a new quarterback next season do you think it should be Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent or that they should draft one you said if the Giants are getting a new quarterback the Giants are in the market for a new quarterback they're moving on from Daniel Jones do you think they should sign Dak Prescott as a free agent or draft one draft one Should Giants go for Dak Prescott or draft a QB next season? um I mean can can Dak Prescott get past the divisional rounds of the playoffs before the giant or any other team pays him $60 million a year that's how I look at it I I mean he's not an old quarterback he's in his early 30s I think um he just hasn't other than the regular season I I just he hasn't been really successful I'd rather identify the right guy develop him and win with him and have him here for 10 years rather than taking first of all I think the Cowboys going to wind up signing him but okay I I'd rather start over all right yeah and Dak probably would hate looking at that first pay stub and seeing those taxes in New Jersey versus what he's used to in Texas um all right Giants prediction time how do you see this season going I predicted them going four and 13 how do you feel their record is going to shake out they must be popular around that uh training facility oh you know I am come on you know this you know I I'm a little more lenient on that I'll say six or Gary Myers gives his Giants season prediction34:20 Gary Myers' Super Bowl prediction seven wins again you and I have talked about this a bunch if you flip-flop the first two seasons and what were they last year was it five and six and 11 six and 11 okay so if they go six and 11 um in the first year Shane and de ball and then uh 97 And1 and win a playoff game in the second then everybody all excited um the fact that they were flip-flopped and they're coming off a six- win season I I think there's a lot of pressure on everybody I can see them winning seven games this year I I think the Eagles could take a step backwards who knows what the Washington's going to be lot of turmoil in Dallas as it usually is at the beginning of the season um uh the Giants are probably a year away and a really good draft away from being playoff contenders again so wait I have to hold you to something here because the under in Vegas is six and a half so you're hovering there six7 I'll take I'll take seven all right Gary goes the over and Super Bowl prediction time I have Texans Packers in the Super Bowl with the Texans winning Gary I wanted to pick the Cincinnati Bengals I also think the Niners are a very good pick um but the Jamar Chase turmoil the Joe burrow coming off the you know with the wrist injury and whether there's going to be lasting effects there I that was I wanted to pick Cincy I wanted to I picked them last year I felt like maybe they're primed but I like the Texans I like the denal hunter Stefan Diggs Edition CJ strad and that ascending team um am I crazy how do you see it shaking out um no I won't say you're crazy I guess they wouldn't be the that wouldn't be my pick I I think uh we'll see if if the league is kind of caught up to CJ strout in the off season coordinators had a you know n wants to get ready ready for him um they are definitely an ascending team and I think they're a fun team to to keep an eye on uh my my Super Bowl pick in the AFC is gonna be Baltimore I you know they've come so close I really think glamar Jackson now that he has Derk Henry behind them to hand off to um their defense is real good they've come so close um the last few years I I look for them to get over the hump um on the other side I I think the fact that San Francisco returns everybody basically uh solving those contract situations with Brandon iuk and Trent Williams uh Christian mcaffrey being healthy for Monday night I mean just to Jet's luck right two weeks ago we don't know what's going on with mcaffrey he you know he's hurt most of the training camp Williams is not there auk is holding in and now they get them all back with plenty of time to get ready for the season open it's just a Jets luck but um I I think Sam I think think San Francisco to win it um I I just think this is the this is the year they take that next step uh and we have a rematch of the Super Bowl When the Lights Went Out in uh in New Orleans all those years ago between Baltimore right and San Francisco I think the most intriguing story in the League this year is is I was gonna say San Diego just the Chargers and Jim Harbor wins right away wherever he goes I just don't know if he can do it with Los Angeles because starting over at wide receiver and and Justin Herbert you know was out all training camp basically with that foot injury but Harbaugh will win uh with the Chargers I just think this is gonna be a little different first year than he's used to but so Baltimore San Francisco San Francisco winning it I like it great pick he is Gary Meyers long you Pat Leonard having a few hurricanes at the Super Bowl in New Orleans oh I I can't wait I Gary FYI I I don't know how I'm going to do it I intend to have a table down there in New Orleans it's radio row time for talking ball let's go oh a great idea I love that I I don't we're going to make it happen One Way Or Another We're going to make it happen he is Gary Meers the one and only longtime NFL columnist New York Times bestselling author Brady versus Manning Pro Football Hall of Fame voter his book is once a giant a story of Victory tragedy and life after football go get it Gary thank you so much for being on the show thanks a lot P have a great season that was a fantastic conversation with Gary Meers as always we are really excited for the giant season for the NFL season for week one on Deck remember we are sponsored here by estate 98 coffee estate 98.com backtalkin ball for a special buy one get one free deal also sponsored by bet online and by boom chaga mushroom super drink a natural extract loaded with anti-inflammatory immune boosting antioxidants and heart healthy compounds you can easily pour this natural liquid supplement into any of your favorite drinks I put mine in my coffee every morning and immediately feel the difference I personally have felt a post-workout like energy boost with boom chaga also has the ability to lower cholesterol reduce inflammation and improve immune and heart health with its beta glutens and antioxidants go to Boom cha.com today to place your first order and if you use the discount code talking ball 25 or access it through the QR code on your screen you will get 25% off your first subscribe and save order right now that means a month supply cost you only $30 start feeling the difference today at boom cha.com