10 Questions from Around the NFL with Greg Bedard
Greg Bedard of BostonSportsJournal.com joined Felger and Mazz on Tuesday and answered 10 questions from Around the NFL following the NFL preseason.
10. The Dallas Cowboys yesterday signed CeeDee Lamb to a four-year, $136m deal that includes $100m guaranteed and $34m per year. That puts him second all-time at the position behind Justin Jefferson. Did the Dallas Cowboys overpay Lamb?
Greg Bedard: Where it is now, by a couple million. That’s it. I mean, Amon-Ra St. Brown is at $30 million. Like Lamb has to get more than that. But the bigger issue is that because Jerry Jones dragged his feet on this, and probably wanted to draw out of the headlines, he’s paying like $8 million extra than if he just would have given it to him a year ago he’d be much less right now.
9. In a recent interview Jerry Jones said of his GM abilities:
“I have an ordinate amount of confidence that (F), if anybody can figure out how to get this (S) done, I can figure out how to get it done. I’ve been there every which way from Sunday, and have I busted my ass a bunch, a bunch. And there’s nobody living that’s out cutting and shooting that can’t give you a bunch of times they busted their ass. So hell no, there’s nobody that could (bleeping come in here and do all the contracts . . . and be a G.M. any better than I can.”…Your thoughts…..
Greg Bedard: He certainly likes the smell of his own farts, that’s for sure.
8. Here are the top nine highest paid players on the Kansas City Chiefs payroll ranking, based on AAV.
1. Pat Mahomes 45m. 2. Chris Jones 32m (DT). 3. Jawaan Taylor (RT) 20m. 4. Creed Humphrey (C) 18m. 5. Kelce 17m. 6. Joe Thuney (G) 16m. 7. Justin Reid (S) 10m. 8. Michael Danna (DE) 8. 9. Charles Omenihu (DE).
What’s missing from that list and what are your thoughts on it?
Greg Bedard: Wide receiver and I love it. I think that’s the way you need to construct rosters now. Especially with the receivers that are coming out of college, you don’t need to spend big on those guys. Of course it helps to have Patrick Mahomes. But I also love that four of the top six were big, beefy lineman.
7. The Commanders have reached a deal with Northwest Federal Credit Union for naming rights to their stadium, which will now be called Northwest Stadium. What is the worst stadium name in the NFL?
Greg Bedard: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati where the Patriots will open against the Bengals.
6. What is the best stadium name in the NFL?
Greg Bedard: Lambeau Field. Of course.
5. I won’t even ask you who the biggest tool bag of the week is: It’s Deion Sanders for banning a Denver Post columnist for asking questions at press conferences. Question: Does this is diminish Sanders in your eyes?.
Greg Bedard: Of course. I mean, what is this? Russia? North Korea? I mean, come on. It’s a joke.
4. Bonus toolbag question I. Is Doug Pederson a toolbag for this comment about Mac Jones?
Greg Bedard: Only if you’re a sensitive Patriots fan. Because, to me, I didn’t take that as it wasn’t a hit against the Patriots, it was “Mac developed some bad habits when in his final couple of years with the Patriots”, and they’re trying to get that out of him.
3. Bonus toolbag II. Who is the bigger toolbag — Tua for saying this about the treatment he got from Brian Flores or Flores for treating him that way in the first place?
Greg Bedard: I think it’s Flores. But now, after hearing it again, Tua definitely bears some responsibility in this. How about this, you go out and you prove him wrong. How about you go and earn it? I mean, Tom Brady went to Michigan and was crapped on by Lloyd Carr and guess what? It motivated him to be better and to be great instead of just going into a corner and crying and pouting, “he doesn’t like me”. Like, go prove it. Go prove him wrong, which was what Flores was probably trying to get him to do.
2. The Athletic came out with their QB tiers this week. Only three in Tier 1 – which is defined as “a quarterback that can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure-passing situations. He has no real holes in his game.”
Mahomes, Burrow, Allen. Does anyone deserve to be removed from that list? Does anyone else deserve to be on it?
Greg Bedard: I think that Joe Burrow should be removed from the list for a couple of reasons. #1 he’s had season ending injuries two out of his four years. #2 he didn’t really raise to great heights until they got him Ja’Marr Chase. Josh Allen does everything on his own, he has nothing in Buffalo. Patrick Mahomes went through one year where he had no offensive line. He had no receivers. Burrow has not been put in that situation yet. So I think the world of Burrow and I think he’s going to be great, I think he’s going to win a Super Bowl, but as of today, you can’t say that about Joe Burrow.
1.Back to Deion: Have you ever been banned from a locker room, or press conference or had your access curtailed in anyway by a team? Have you ever seen a case where it was actually deserved?
Greg Bedard: By a team….No. Probably the closest experience I had of that was that one year Jason Taylor wouldn’t talk to me. And that’s a whole long story that I’m happy to tell at some point.
Felger: Did you deserve it?
Greg Bedard: No, absolutely not.100% no, I did not. He was just being a sensitive baby and there was a lot of stuff going on in his personal life that I was not aware of. He took it out on me.
