Marcellus Wiley

ESPN NFL analyst Marcellus Wiley joined the Dennis & Callahan show Thursday morning. To hear the interview, visit the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

Wiley weighed in on the top teams in the league this season. Wiley, wo spent 10 years in the NFL as a defensive end, likes the Jets, but not as much as some others in the media.

“I think that they have a great chance. It’s going to be interesting to see,” he said, noting that there still are question marks, especially regarding chemistry issues. “When you have a good team and you add some great players, human nature makes you think you’re going to be great automatically. It’s not automatic. So, they have to go out there and work for it.”

Wiley said he doesn’t think the Jets’ appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” will be a problem, even though they are providing opposing teams with ammunition. “I think it’s a great thing for them,” Wiley said. “I’m always a fan of anybody that can show personality and back it up.”

Wiley has the Cowboys as his top pick to win the Super Bowl. “I’m just thinking the Dallas Cowboys are loaded,” he said. “I just can’t see how they can mess up this team. The defense is so good. … They’re  loaded on offense. I think [Tony] Romo is maturing and taking his game to the next, elite level. There’s too many weapons.”

Wiley did not have much confidence in the Patriots. “I just don’t see it this year. The defense has a lot of issues,” he said, adding, “I would keep [the Patriots] out of the short conversation.”

Wiley was asked about a recent story indicating that a number of former NFL players are dealing with symptoms of ALS due to the pounding they take during their playing days. Wiley said he recalls two major concussions “where I blacked out and didn’t know where I was,” along with “dozens” of less visible head-rattling moments as well as body-numbing “stingers,” and he still has regular pain from a career that included four major surgeries. “There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about what did football do to me in the long haul,” Wiley said. However, he added: “Would I do it all again if could do it all again? Most definitely. … There’s a give and take with everything in this world.”

Added Wiley: ”You think about all those things, but then you also think about what the game gave back to me. Where else would I have spent my 20s and early 30s and had such a wonderful experience, when you’re talking outside the pain.”