Latest news with #JasonFitz
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steelers & Dolphins swap stars, but did either team actually get better? + NFL teams entering prove-it years
On today's episode of Inside Coverage, Jason Fitz, Jori Epstein, and Frank Schwab break down yesterday's trade between the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers. The crew discusses where this trade potentially makes both teams better and what timelines they seem to be operating on. Plus, they break down how the Steelers' moves impact TJ Watt's pending contract negotiations and if there's any potential for him to be traded before the season begins. Later, the trio discuss which coaches are entering major prove-it years and what they'll need to do in order to protect their jobs. Advertisement (2:00) - Dolphins trade Jalen Ramsey to Steelers: is this a rare no-win trade? (19:20) - Could T.J. Watt be next on the trade block? (24:35) - Coaches entering prove-it years: Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel, Brian Callahan (47:15) - Breaking: Dolphins acquire TE Darren Waller (50:30) - Coaches entering prove-it years: Brian Schottenheimer, Shane Steichen The Pittsburgh Steelers traded S Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for CB Jalen Ramsey on Monday June 30. (Yahoo Sports,) (Yahoo Sports,) 🖥️ Watch this episode on YouTube Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
What's the Cardinals' ceiling with Kyler Murray under center?
Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz, Jori Epstein and Frank Schwab discuss the outlook this season for Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript 8 and 9 last year, over under 8.5. Advertisement The Cardinals uh mired in the sea of mediocrity usually. Where are you, Joey, today on the Cardinals versus a year ago right now on the Cardinals? I feel like I just don't think about the Cardinal Cardinals much. Maybe that's like an obnoxious national reporter thing to say, but I would say I think that retreat because I feel like a couple of years ago we did feel like, hey, they've got, or not a couple of years, like a couple of years ago they had. They were only winning 4 games, but it's kind of like, oh, but you kind of could see what the plan was that they were doing. Then they get Marvin Harrison Junior last year and you're like, well, now Kyler might have the guy, and they still had a losing record. Advertisement And so I, I just have a lot of questions about can they put all the pieces together I felt like they had the pieces last year that they should be able to take that big jump, and they didn't, and I don't think that their division is going to make it any easier now that the Rams are actually quite strong, and I will get to them. I'm just kind of, I guess, repeat on the Cardinals. They're one of those teams that. It's just they're just kind of stuck in the middle. Like, I don't see there being a higher ceiling for them. Now, I will say this, Jonathan Gannon, I think is a really, really good defensive coach, and he hasn't had much talent, so what do they do this offseason? Advertisement They pounded the draft, even free agency, defense, defense, defense. I think the defense is going to be a lot better than it has been the last couple of years, but my question is Kyler Murray, what's his ceiling really? What's his team ceiling with him? It's not like Kyler Murray hasn't played a lot of games already. He's played a lot and just kind of been One of those quarterbacks who's OK, he's fine, but he didn't get the most out of Marvin Harrison last year. He didn't really elevate this offense like I thought he would. I thought Kyler Murray coming back from the ACL, he played really well late two seasons ago, 2023 season. Advertisement I thought, OK, 2024, he's gonna have a really big season. Again, Marvin Harrison's there, he's and it just didn't happen, and now you get to a point in Kyler Murray's career where you just wonder, is this it, this is as far as we're gonna go with Kyler Murray. I think the Cardinals are gonna be slightly better, like, they did approve a lot last year, especially in the win loss column, but kind of to Joy's point, it's one of those improvements where you're like, uh, do I really think the next step is gonna be 10 wins, 12 wins? I don't. I, I think they're gonna be just kind of slightly better, we're gonna get to the end of the year, kind of just say, this is what the Cardinals are, they're gonna be hovering around 500, they're gonna be OK, but really, I just don't see there being another big step for them with this core.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
49ers still have the bones of a Super Bowl contender
49ers still have the bones of a Super Bowl contender Jason Fitz & Frank Schwab go back and forth on whether or not to buy in on the 2025 San Francisco 49ers, who, despite some veteran losses, still have one of the highest win totals in the NFL. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. Advertisement View more Video Transcript You know, I, I'm gonna go with repeat because I look at the 49ers, and I've, I've done a 180 on them over the offseason. I think a lot of regression factors are in their favor, uh, including the injuries, as you talked about, shorty, they were so beat up last year, and all of a sudden you come back into this year, and everybody's given up on them. I, I think that, you know, everybody thinks the Rams are now they're they're gonna win the NFC West. The betting market hasn't changed. The betting market still thinks the 49ers are one of the best teams in football, and I looked into that. Advertisement I was like, why, why would they? 49ers win totals 10.5. I think only two teams have a higher. total. And I was like, why is that? I, when I'm really looking at these previews and thinking about the 49ers, you look at, you look at the injuries and you look at the guys who are going to get back. And yes, they didn't have a great offseason, but the, the bones are still there of that team that made a Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Christian McCaffrey has been hurt before in his career, and bounced right back. Yes, he's a little older, but Christian McCaffrey is such a difference maker that I'm not gonna sit here and predict that he's gonna get. Advertisement Injured again because I think he had a bad year last year, just a flukey unlucky year with injuries as most of the 49ers did. And yes, they lose Debo Samuel, but I think Ricky Pearsall was finished last season really strong. I thought, I think Jauan Jennings showed I could be a difference maker receiver. They still have talent and I still have a ton of trust in Kyle Shanahan. I think he's one of the best coaches in the NFL. Yes, their, their defense took some hits, but I thought they added a lot in the draft. To the defense that's gonna help them, help them get younger. I think adding Robert Sala to run the defense is a fantastic move. Advertisement Say what you will about Robert Sala. He was coaching in a clown show environment and the Jets still managed to produce great defenses out there. So I think he's gonna have a positive impact on the 49ers defense. Everything about the 49ers just leads me to believe they're gonna rebound, to what we thought they were going to be. I think last year was a really, really unlucky season, and they're gonna be back to being contenders this year. I, I do think this is just an interesting nugget, no matter how it goes down. Kyle Shanahan has had 4 winning seasons as a head coach and 4 losing seasons as a head coach. Advertisement And when they are good, they average about 12 and 5 as their record in those 4 good years. In those 4 bad records, they average a record of about 5 and 12. So they go from 12 and 5 to 5 and 12. Like this is a, a weird, they've had 4 great years, 4 really bad years under Kyle Shanahan. I I don't know y'all. Like I, I, the, the amount of injuries stacked up, like, I think it's easy to retreat on the 49ers at this point because it's just, it's too much. It, we saw too much last year and it's too much to get out of my brain. I just wonder what all of that does. Now they've paid Brock Purdy. Uh, I mean, we've, we've sort of anointed Kyle Shanahan as somebody that always figures it out. Advertisement He's about fifty-fifty right now and that, that this year will change a lot of that perspective. That's all one way or the other. I'm gonna retreat on the 49ers for the sake of having to do something on this.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Are the new-look Seahawks still an NFC West contender?
Jason Fitz, Jori Epstein & Frank Schwab give their thoughts on the Seattle Seahawks and whether or not they think an overhaul of the offense and coaching staff can keep them relevant in a tough NFC West division this fall. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. Advertisement View more Video Transcript Big changes for Seattle at the quarterback position, 10 and 7 last year, over under on this is 8.5. Frank, are you rise, repeat, or retreat on Seattle? I think a little bit of retreat, just because I was, I was pretty high on the Seahawks last year, and they weren't bad, like, by any means, they, they won a lot of games, they were in a playoff race, but they also had some confounding losses that that were bothersome, and now you you trade, like Geno Smith is not a bad quarterback, you trade him away, you trade DK Metcalf away, which does not help your offense. If you're, if you think that Seahawks are gonna be a playoff team. Advertisement And take the next step. It's because you trust Mike McDonald to kind of be better in his second year with his complicated scheme and teaching it and implementing it. And I can see that path, but at the same time, I'm like, I don't know if Sam Darnold's really a big upgrade on Geno Smith. I know that whoever they're going to get to replace DK Metcalf in that offense is not an upgrade. And where do the Seahawks go from here? I just think they're kind of their their team like the Cardinals to me where they're Just kind of are who they are. They're good, they're they're not bad in any way, but do I see them having the ceiling of the Rams or the 49ers? Advertisement I just don't. I think they're, they're good, they're solid. I do like Mike McDonald as a coach still, but I don't think there's some 12 win season coming. I think they're just gonna be kind of in the playoff race, probably not make the playoffs, and that's who they're going to be in the next few years. It's just, I, I don't see there being much more here for them. I would say rise not from where they ended the season again, but from where they were going into the season, because I think there were a lot of question marks in terms of what were the coaching staff going to do. They had Ryan Grubb coming from the college game, and they were hoping that would work offensively. Advertisement Now they have Clint Kubiak who does have a little bit more of an NFL background. He also has a similar offensive background to what Sam Darnold had, including an overlapping year in San Francisco. And so I think that even if the pieces aren't necessarily stronger in terms In terms of what the roster looks like, which I don't feel better about the roster. I do feel better about the cohesiveness of the coaching staff being able to maximize the roster than I felt like they would be able to do in the first year. Yeah, I'm also gonna rise because 2nd year under Mike McDonald, woo. Uh, as their head coach, as my Doy Brothers impression, uh, we'll make that, uh, defense even better. So I'm rise on the Seahawks, but from where I was a year ago, but I think they're about the same team, 10 and 7 feels about right.
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Stephen A. Smith blasted by ex-ESPN colleague in scathing attack after new $100million deal
Stephen A. Smith is arguably ESPN's biggest star, but not because he's the most prepared, according to one former colleague. Jason Fitz, a former ESPN sports radio host who was laid off in 2023 and has since joined Fox Sports, claims the polarizing media figure is actually too busy to watch games. 'Stephen A. is one of the least prepared people I've ever worked with in my entire career,' Fitz told Memphis' ESPN Radio affiliate during a recent guest spot. Smith, who recently signed a five-year, $100 million extension with ESPN, has faced criticism since being caught playing solitaire on his phone During Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Indianapolis. He's since claimed he was multitasking. The controversy surrounding Smith only grew this week when the 57-year-old Bronx native claimed Memphis' notorious crime rate was preventing the NBA's Grizzlies from attracting top-level free agents. 'But there's an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don't feel it's the safest environment. I'm talking to the local authorities in Memphis,' Smith said. 'You've got to clean some of that stuff up because it's dissuasive to NBA players. They have talked about it. I know. They've told me.' And it was that latest controversy that Fitz was responding to when he blasted Smith this week in Memphis. Claiming to work 80 hours a week during his time with ESPN, Fitz admitted Smith 'is busier than I ever was.' 'We see him making content 24/7,' Fitz said. 'So, I guess my question to people in Memphis is: how much Memphis do you think he's actually absorbed? And I mean all of it. Memphis culture, Memphis basketball. 'What the hell does Stephen A. know about the city of Memphis? And the answer to that is only what his friends or his people on his phone, tweet him, or text him. That's all he knows. He is so separated from actual reality. What does he know?' And Fitz didn't stop there. Smith's content, Fitz argued, is rooted in stereotypes rather than first-hand information. 'Stephen A. walks and talks and lives and eats and breathes stereotypes,' Fitz said. 'That's all he knows… Frankly, he has to talk about the city of Memphis because my guy hasn't watched a single Memphis basketball game in probably three years. 'Stephen A. has a staff and info group that feeds him information so that he can have somewhat informed opinions, and they're usually not because he works too hard to actually watch any games.' The West Tennessee city on the banks of the Mississippi has been plagued by gang activity with a whopping 398 murders in 2023 compared to less than 100 just 13 years earlier. But as Memphis mayor Paul Young said in his response to Smith, 'violent crime is down significantly in 2024 and 2025.' He went on to extend an invitation for Smith to visit Memphis, which the ESPN host accepted. 'Deeply appreciate your words and the sentiments that came with them,' Smith wrote on X this week. 'Progress is what life is all about and when it comes to Memphis -where some dear friends of mine reside − I wish for nothing less. The people deserve nothing less. 'So with that said, I accept your invitation to come to your city, as your guest. Let's make it happen. I'm looking forward to it.' As for Fitz's criticism of Smith, it's not the first time sports aficionados have questioned the First Take host's expertise. One such incident popped up in August of 2024, when the self-professed Yankees fans discussed New York's Aaron Judge and his then-teammate, Juan Soto. 'Judge has Juan Soto batting behind him so they can't get around him… they've got to pitch to the brother because you have Soto waiting in the wings,' Smith said ESPN. Smith, as countless baseball fans quickly recognized, was exactly backwards about the whole situation. It was Judge who hit behind Soto in the Yankees' lineup last season, thereby motivating pitchers to throw strikes to Soto in hopes of avoiding a walk and giving Judge the chance to drive in another run.
