# 3 & Out - Matt Stafford & Rams UPSET by Kirk Cousins & Falcons on MNF

An episode of [The Colin Cowherd Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1551365571), 30 Dec 2025, 1 h 00 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/arttrk.com/p/D5CA5/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/44c6e42b-f663-4492-888d-ae330034680f/e3f18907-7a6e-42e2-8fce-b3c300a82b83/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=e829cf60-fc06-4d61-8691-ae330034683e

Former NFL scout John Middlekauff reacts LIVE following the Week 17 Monday Night Football matchup between Matt Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams vs. Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons. John kicks off by reacting to the Falcons improbable win against the Rams on MNF. John discusses what this does to Matthew Stafford's NFL MVP chances as the team squanders an opportunity to remain in play for the NFC number 1 overall seed. John then previews the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers Week 18 Saturday matchup that will determine the NFC West divisional title winner. John wraps up by previewing the final Sunday Night Football regular season matchup between Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Finally, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. 03:50 - Rams-Falcons Reaction 17:59 - Seahawks-49ers Preview 26:46 - Steelers-Ravens Preview Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet Use promo code “3ANDOUT20” on https://nicokick.com/zone for 20% off at checkout! Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow - for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: The volume. What is going on everybody, John Middlecoff three
[0:18] Speaker 1: and out podcast. How are we doing? Hopefully everyone is
[0:23] Speaker 1: doing well out there in the UH in the real world.
[0:26] Speaker 1: We are brought to you by my friends's Zone pouches.
[0:29] Speaker 1: Just watch the Los Angeles Rams get kind of worked
[0:34] Speaker 1: for at least half the game by the Falcons, kind
[0:36] Speaker 1: of come back, did come back, tie the game, and
[0:39] Speaker 1: then lose it at the end on a field goal.
[0:41] Speaker 1: So we'll we'll discuss Matt Stafford and the MVP, which
[0:44] Speaker 1: is now looks like it's over. We will discuss the
[0:47] Speaker 1: Rams playoff hopes, which obviously were high a couple of
[0:51] Speaker 1: weeks ago heading into the postseason. You know, a couple
[0:55] Speaker 1: l's you start kind of looking at their flaws and
[0:57] Speaker 1: their deficiencies and you go, I don't know, some other
[1:01] Speaker 1: stuff going on. We got the Seattle Niner game, we
[1:03] Speaker 1: got the Steeler Raven game. We'll hit on those. So
[1:06] Speaker 1: it'll yeah, we'll talk a little football. Then we'll do
[1:10] Speaker 1: a little mail bag at John Middlecoff. At John Middlecoff
[1:14] Speaker 1: is the Instagram fire in those dms. Get your questions
[1:17] Speaker 1: answer here on the show. And tomorrow we'll talk with
[1:21] Speaker 1: Stucky and then we'sts off a mail bag and then
[1:25] Speaker 1: we'll have a podcast after the all the college games
[1:29] Speaker 1: on All Record one Thursday night, so something on for
[1:32] Speaker 1: Friday and then against Saturday night and Sunday night. So
[1:35] Speaker 1: we got a lot of content coming down the pike.
[1:38] Speaker 1: But make sure you subscribe to the podcast wherever you
[1:40] Speaker 1: may listen, Spotify, Apple, you guys know the Drill YouTube
[1:45] Speaker 1: as well, make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel.
[1:47] Speaker 1: We got you covered live videos reacting to all the
[1:51] Speaker 1: big games. So let's dive into some football. Let's just
[1:55] Speaker 1: dive in tonight and before we talk big picture with
[1:58] Speaker 1: the Rams, there was a short term path for Matthew
[2:03] Speaker 1: Stafford to be the MVP of the league. And listen,
[2:07] Speaker 1: he's already won a Super Bowl. He's already I mean,
[2:10] Speaker 1: gonna go down as one of a if not, he
[2:13] Speaker 1: might be one, maybe he's two as the highest paid
[2:16] Speaker 1: player in the history of the league. Now when he retires,
[2:19] Speaker 1: whether that's this year or next year, some of these guys,
[2:22] Speaker 1: the Mahomes, Allen Lamar generation of guys are gonna make
[2:26] Speaker 1: an ungodly amount of money. So it's not like he
[2:28] Speaker 1: will stay at top of the pyramid forever. But he's
[2:32] Speaker 1: accomplished everything except the individual award of being the MVP.
[2:35] Speaker 1: And he was the betting favorite coming into tonight against
[2:38] Speaker 1: a team who's actually playing well, but let's face it,
[2:41] Speaker 1: not going to the playoffs, who had six wins with
[2:44] Speaker 1: two games to go, and they were expected to win.
[2:48] Speaker 1: They were a huge favorite. Part of the reason I
[2:50] Speaker 1: just bet on the or bet on the Falcons was
[2:52] Speaker 1: these things get weird long travel. You know, LA doesn't
[2:56] Speaker 1: really have anything to play for it. They're locked into
[2:59] Speaker 1: the five or six, and because they play Arizona week eighteen,
[3:04] Speaker 1: they feel like a lock to be the five. Obviously
[3:06] Speaker 1: some things can change depending if Seattle or San Francisco win,
[3:09] Speaker 1: but Davante's not playing. But I was like, I don't know,
[3:12] Speaker 1: I still think. Then they start getting their ass kicked.
[3:15] Speaker 1: And then Matt Stafford, kind of a throwback to his
[3:18] Speaker 1: Lions career, starts throwing picks and he throws a pick six,
[3:22] Speaker 1: which ties him for the most in NFL history with
[3:25] Speaker 1: Brett Farv should have thrown another one and the guy
[3:28] Speaker 1: stepped out of bounds. Now he was tight rope in
[3:30] Speaker 1: the sidewalk or the sideline, But still I thought Matt
[3:34] Speaker 1: Stafford for the most part, tonight was atrocious. Now, part
[3:37] Speaker 1: of it is, and this is a big picture concerned
[3:40] Speaker 1: with the Rams is blocking up front if you have
[3:42] Speaker 1: a good defensive line. And let's face it, I was
[3:44] Speaker 1: hard on Atlanta for their decisions taking Pierce trading up,
[3:49] Speaker 1: and that's part of it. Like the Rams have the
[3:51] Speaker 1: Falcons pick. So when you lose to them tonight, you
[3:56] Speaker 1: you know, hurt yourself because your mojo going into the playoffs.
[3:59] Speaker 1: You hurt your own draft status for this upcoming twenty
[4:04] Speaker 1: twenty six draft because you have their first round pick
[4:07] Speaker 1: and that pick could have been somewhere between if they
[4:09] Speaker 1: lose out twelve and fifteen. And now it gets to
[4:12] Speaker 1: the higher teams, it's a big deal if you want
[4:14] Speaker 1: to move up into single digits. I mean that has
[4:17] Speaker 1: big impact. Right, So awful loss, awful loss for Matt Stafford,
[4:22] Speaker 1: who is no longer the betting favorite. And now it's
[4:25] Speaker 1: Drake May, which seems kind of crazy that Drake May
[4:28] Speaker 1: in year two is gonna win the MVP. But it
[4:31] Speaker 1: would take an epic collapse come Sunday of him having
[4:35] Speaker 1: to throw like multiple pick sixes for him not to
[4:38] Speaker 1: win it. And Matt Stafford had this thing kind of
[4:41] Speaker 1: like it was like a BP fastball. He didn't even
[4:44] Speaker 1: need to play that well, he just couldn't do what
[4:48] Speaker 1: he ended up doing. Throw the ball to the other
[4:50] Speaker 1: team three times, one has a touchdown, another one that
[4:54] Speaker 1: should have been a touchdown, and even on that last
[4:57] Speaker 1: drive of the game, where's wide open in the corner
[5:02] Speaker 1: and let's face it, I don't know if he scores,
[5:04] Speaker 1: but probably gets him down to like within the fifteen
[5:08] Speaker 1: yish yard line with I don't know ten ish seconds
[5:13] Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, you have a chance to
[5:14] Speaker 1: win the game. And who knows, maybe we forget about
[5:17] Speaker 1: the interceptions. But I think tonight you can say audios
[5:22] Speaker 1: to Matt Stafford's most valuable player. And I think this
[5:26] Speaker 1: now puts extra pressure on this team going into the playoffs,
[5:29] Speaker 1: because here's the thing. Their offensive line, like they're a
[5:33] Speaker 1: big picture and a lot of Rams fans hit me
[5:35] Speaker 1: up in the DMS, like Middlecoff. You're really hard on
[5:37] Speaker 1: them because of their defensive backs. That's actually not their weakness.
[5:42] Speaker 1: It's special teams. Well, what happens after Seattle Sean McVay
[5:46] Speaker 1: fires Chase Blackberg, longtime player, played for the Giants forever,
[5:51] Speaker 1: and tonight they get a special team touchdown. Now, I
[5:54] Speaker 1: don't think like changing the coach created Jared Verse making
[5:59] Speaker 1: incredible play blocking a field goal, having the ball bounce
[6:02] Speaker 1: right to him and running it. It was just an incredible play.
[6:04] Speaker 1: I could have been as coach for him to do that,
[6:07] Speaker 1: But it happens. They get huge momentum, and throughout the
[6:11] Speaker 1: game to night, you saw the Rams getting dominated at
[6:13] Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage. I mean dominated the line of
[6:16] Speaker 1: scrimmage from an offensive line standpoint. I mean they got
[6:18] Speaker 1: DJ Humphries who's been in the league for over a decade,
[6:21] Speaker 1: who had a lot of trouble tonight, the penalties just
[6:25] Speaker 1: getting their ass kicked. And here's the reality. If in
[6:28] Speaker 1: the first round, they you know, depending on what happens
[6:31] Speaker 1: on Saturday Night, they have to play the Eagles. One
[6:36] Speaker 1: big advantage the Eagles would happen that game, especially with
[6:39] Speaker 1: Jalen carter back that defensive line. So I do believe
[6:43] Speaker 1: before tonight that you know DeVante he's gonna come back.
[6:47] Speaker 1: A lot of people would have picked not the Rams
[6:50] Speaker 1: just to win the NFC. But I think a lot
[6:52] Speaker 1: of people would have picked the Rams to win the
[6:54] Speaker 1: Super Bowl. They would have been a very very sexy pick.
[6:56] Speaker 1: They check a lot of boxes. Right star coach, good defense,
[7:02] Speaker 1: accomplished quarterback who's been in a ton of big games,
[7:06] Speaker 1: super Bowl champ, high end skill guys, two elite wide receivers,
[7:12] Speaker 1: really good running back, multiple tight ends, impact guys up
[7:16] Speaker 1: front on defense, good defensive scheme. Just a team who's
[7:21] Speaker 1: been there, done that. They would have been a sexy pick.
[7:23] Speaker 1: And you watch it the night and you go, well,
[7:26] Speaker 1: do you have some deficiencies? And this gets back to
[7:30] Speaker 1: when we go into this playoff situation, we'll see. You know,
[7:33] Speaker 1: a lot of things can break from a seeding standpoint,
[7:37] Speaker 1: but I do think when it starts anywhere from eight
[7:41] Speaker 1: to ten teams you can pick to win the Super Bowl,
[7:44] Speaker 1: and we have not been able to say that recently.
[7:46] Speaker 1: The Rams are a good example. If they end up
[7:49] Speaker 1: in the sixth seed and they have to play the
[7:51] Speaker 1: Eagles in Round one, it wouldn't shock anyone if they
[7:54] Speaker 1: win that game, just like it wouldn't shock anyone if
[7:57] Speaker 1: they lose that game. They could be two weeks later
[8:01] Speaker 1: in the NFC Championship Game, and two weeks later they
[8:04] Speaker 1: could have been gone for two weeks, no clue what's
[8:06] Speaker 1: gonna happen. It's going to be very difficult to gamble
[8:10] Speaker 1: on this playoffs, partly because you don't know what team's
[8:14] Speaker 1: gonna show up, because none of these teams, even the
[8:17] Speaker 1: good ones to me, are like top to bottom, as
[8:21] Speaker 1: good as some of the teams we've seen in recent years,
[8:24] Speaker 1: and it's just hard to bet on it. Like, here's
[8:27] Speaker 1: the thing with Stafford. He obviously has experience going for him.
[8:32] Speaker 1: He still throws a beautiful ball. His knowledge of the
[8:35] Speaker 1: game has never been stronger, right, So he's playing a
[8:38] Speaker 1: cerebral sport that a lot of younger quarterbacks are not.
[8:43] Speaker 1: But at this point in time in his career, when
[8:44] Speaker 1: he's thirty seven thirty eight years old, there is no mobility.
[8:49] Speaker 1: He is a sitting duck back there. He is essentially
[8:53] Speaker 1: like when they got rid of Jared got for him.
[8:55] Speaker 1: Obviously Stafford was an upgrade, but in terms of athletic
[8:59] Speaker 1: abil at this point in time, there is no difference.
[9:02] Speaker 1: He was sacked three times. Some of those are obviously
[9:05] Speaker 1: his offensive linemen are just getting smoked. But there's no
[9:08] Speaker 1: ad lib and I'm not blaming them. It just is
[9:11] Speaker 1: what it is you know him and Rogers in their prime,
[9:14] Speaker 1: there was a lot of running around making plays behind
[9:17] Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage. Obviously Rodgers a little older than him,
[9:20] Speaker 1: but for both those guys, it's it's done. So the
[9:23] Speaker 1: play better be schemed up. Pooker DeVante better win one
[9:25] Speaker 1: on one. Their tight ends better win one on one.
[9:27] Speaker 1: He better get rid of the ball fast, and he'd
[9:29] Speaker 1: better be accurate because sometimes he floats that thing and
[9:31] Speaker 1: all of a sudden you got a guy in another
[9:33] Speaker 1: jersey going the other way. So I'm not trying to
[9:36] Speaker 1: overreact to I said this going into this game, weird
[9:41] Speaker 1: spot flying five hours across the country to play a
[9:43] Speaker 1: team that's not going to the playoffs, who actually has
[9:46] Speaker 1: some good players, I mean, the best player of the
[9:48] Speaker 1: field to night, and let's face it, it wasn't really
[9:51] Speaker 1: that close, was Bijon Robinson, who had twenty two carries
[9:55] Speaker 1: for one hundred and ninety five yards. No math major,
[9:59] Speaker 1: but that's averaging almost nine yards to carry twenty two
[10:03] Speaker 1: carries for one hundred and ninety five yards and he
[10:06] Speaker 1: had five catches for thirty four yards. What a performance.
[10:10] Speaker 1: And Troy was mentioning this the body types looked nothing alike, right,
[10:17] Speaker 1: Barry Sanders is a short, compact, muscle bound, just just
[10:23] Speaker 1: a unique looks like a running back where Bijon taller, slender. Honestly,
[10:29] Speaker 1: if you just said if you put eighty two on
[10:31] Speaker 1: his jersey, you'd be like, oh, he's a wide receiver.
[10:35] Speaker 1: But in terms of his play, the stopping and starting,
[10:38] Speaker 1: the change of direction, the ability to stop and then
[10:42] Speaker 1: burst and explode, the strength on contact, he does have
[10:47] Speaker 1: a Barry Sanders like game. He is. You know, he
[10:51] Speaker 1: said this at halftime and I'm just got done eating dinner.
[10:54] Speaker 1: My wife here is Rahee Morris, and she goes, wait,
[10:56] Speaker 1: did he did he just say he's the best player
[10:58] Speaker 1: in the NFL. She looks at me. He's he's the
[11:00] Speaker 1: best player in the NFL. I'm like, well, he's probably
[11:03] Speaker 1: not the best player in the NFL because he's on
[11:04] Speaker 1: this team that's not very good. But he's one of
[11:07] Speaker 1: the best players in the NFL. And from a talent standpoint,
[11:11] Speaker 1: he's as talented as anyone in the NFL. My scouting
[11:14] Speaker 1: buddies when he was coming out of Texas like, he's
[11:16] Speaker 1: one of the most talented players I've ever done. Coming
[11:18] Speaker 1: out he can do it all. And Troy's mentioned this
[11:20] Speaker 1: a couple of times when they've had their games, like
[11:22] Speaker 1: from a character standpoint, checks all the boxes, total package.
[11:26] Speaker 1: As a player, he's just a certified badass. And in
[11:30] Speaker 1: that first half it was him against the Rams and
[11:32] Speaker 1: you know, as as the kids like to say, belt
[11:35] Speaker 1: two ass, because that's what he was doing. He was
[11:37] Speaker 1: destroying them. And if it wasn't for that year ad
[11:41] Speaker 1: verse play, it felt like that game was kind of
[11:43] Speaker 1: getting out of control. And then they start referencing like
[11:45] Speaker 1: the last time the Falcons were up twenty one to
[11:48] Speaker 1: nothing at half and lost the game, it was this
[11:50] Speaker 1: thing called the Super Bowl, and you're like, oh my god,
[11:52] Speaker 1: here we go again. They shoot to Arthur Blank. He's
[11:55] Speaker 1: in one of patent and pinstripe soups with his hair
[11:59] Speaker 1: slick back, and you're like, bro, you just need to
[12:02] Speaker 1: stay up in the box and just let some of
[12:03] Speaker 1: these games, you know, materialize before you come down on
[12:07] Speaker 1: the sideline and watch the disaster happen. But it didn't
[12:09] Speaker 1: happen because then he made some big runs in that
[12:12] Speaker 1: final drive and he got him into a field goal
[12:13] Speaker 1: range and boom goes to Dynamite and all of a sudden,
[12:16] Speaker 1: Atlanta has a win. And now, you know, I think
[12:18] Speaker 1: we're looking at the Rams like they're vulnerable. They just are.
[12:22] Speaker 1: And you know, and like listen, Davante is an elite
[12:26] Speaker 1: player and his rapport with Stafford has been pretty fun
[12:30] Speaker 1: to watch this year. But like multiple times, you know,
[12:33] Speaker 1: he runs and that hamm, he gets tight and he's
[12:36] Speaker 1: gonna come back. You know, he's definitely not McVeigh regardless
[12:41] Speaker 1: what happens Saturday night. I envisioned him playing nobody on
[12:44] Speaker 1: Saturday or Sunday. Jimmy Garoppolo will start for him. I
[12:48] Speaker 1: would be stunned if Jimmy Garoppolo is not the starting quarterback.
[12:51] Speaker 1: I honestly thought of twenty one nothing tonight. You know,
[12:55] Speaker 1: in the NBA, this happens all the time, when you're
[12:57] Speaker 1: getting run out of the building and you just like,
[12:59] Speaker 1: don't put the starters back in. You know, sometimes you
[13:02] Speaker 1: just run with the backups for the entire second half.
[13:04] Speaker 1: It's harder to do in football because you can't just
[13:07] Speaker 1: remove your offensive and defensive lines. Like you only have
[13:10] Speaker 1: so many defensive backs dressed on game day, so you
[13:13] Speaker 1: can't just remove all your starters. But like Poka could
[13:16] Speaker 1: come out, Stafford come out. I was fully expecting to
[13:19] Speaker 1: see Jimmy Garoppolo come out of this, you know, be
[13:22] Speaker 1: the starting quarterback at half time. But McVeigh wrote it
[13:24] Speaker 1: out and they came storming back. I don't know, back
[13:29] Speaker 1: to back losses Seattle and Atlanta, and I just think
[13:32] Speaker 1: that he's got to figure some stuff out. That's why
[13:34] Speaker 1: he gets paid a lot of money. They have a
[13:35] Speaker 1: lot of good players, there's a lot of you know,
[13:38] Speaker 1: they're paying a lot of money for this team, a
[13:40] Speaker 1: lot of expectations for this team, and you know, you
[13:43] Speaker 1: want to be playing your best football at the end
[13:45] Speaker 1: of the year, and tonight when you're down twenty one
[13:47] Speaker 1: to nothing to a team that has nothing to play for,
[13:49] Speaker 1: as one of those we kind of look in the mirror.
[13:51] Speaker 1: It's like, you're not just gonna get your mojo back
[13:53] Speaker 1: against Arizona, who is a complete joke. I don't think
[13:57] Speaker 1: Arizona's won a game in like three months. So regardless,
[14:01] Speaker 1: your practice squad's practice squad could beat their team coming
[14:06] Speaker 1: up this week. I just think that it's gonna be
[14:09] Speaker 1: changed some people's opinions of this team going in Stafford's
[14:12] Speaker 1: MVP has gone. This team's momentum going into the playoffs
[14:16] Speaker 1: is gone. You watch their offensive line, they definitely got
[14:19] Speaker 1: some issues. And the other thing is like he watched
[14:21] Speaker 1: a really good running back and listen, Jon's a special player,
[14:24] Speaker 1: destroy them the night. There's some pretty good running backs
[14:28] Speaker 1: in the NFC that you're gonna play, right, there's a
[14:30] Speaker 1: decent what if you play take one Barkley in the
[14:32] Speaker 1: first round. I remember last year, didn't he have a
[14:34] Speaker 1: big run to start that game when they lost to
[14:36] Speaker 1: him in the snow in Philadelphia? CHRISI McCaffrey, last time
[14:39] Speaker 1: I checked, pretty good player. The Bears. Guys, they got
[14:42] Speaker 1: a couple good running backs. What Ben Johnson's done with
[14:44] Speaker 1: DeAndre Swift has been really, really impressive. So I think
[14:48] Speaker 1: the alarms are going off a little bit in LA.
[14:52] Speaker 1: You know, McVeigh, I'm sure he's got this second kid.
[14:54] Speaker 1: He probably hasn't slept much. He's got a lot going on.
[14:56] Speaker 1: He's got Puka Cosen problems, he's got a star receiver
[14:58] Speaker 1: with a tight hamstring, he's got firing coaches. So it's just,
[15:02] Speaker 1: you know, the the Rams are a little out of
[15:03] Speaker 1: whack for a team that myself included a couple of
[15:06] Speaker 1: weeks ago, probably would have picked to win the Super
[15:08] Speaker 1: Bowl or at least been in the Super Bowl. I
[15:11] Speaker 1: might have to I'm definitely rethinking that I would not
[15:14] Speaker 1: have the Rams in the super Bowl as of the
[15:17] Speaker 1: last two weeks because they got they got some issues.
[15:21] Speaker 1: And part of the problem too, is when you're a
[15:23] Speaker 1: wild card team, even in a more open NFL than
[15:26] Speaker 1: it's been the last couple of years, it's just more taxing.
[15:29] Speaker 1: Like I'm thinking tonight, they just went to Atlanta, they
[15:32] Speaker 1: come back, they're either gonna be playing Philly, Carolina or
[15:36] Speaker 1: Tampa Bay. So they're travel in the first round. Even
[15:39] Speaker 1: if Carolina or Tampa are quote unquote easier teams, which
[15:42] Speaker 1: they clearly are compared to Philly, it's still a five
[15:45] Speaker 1: hour flight, five hour flight home. You know, it's a
[15:48] Speaker 1: playoff game. More than likely you're not just gonna beat
[15:50] Speaker 1: them like thirty five than nothing. It's gonna take something
[15:53] Speaker 1: physically out of you. It's just a lot. It's why
[15:55] Speaker 1: being you know now that there's only one by it's
[15:58] Speaker 1: a really big deal. So let's just dive into some
[16:00] Speaker 1: early thoughts on Seattle forty nine ers. Obviously, in Denver's
[16:05] Speaker 1: the same thing. Herbert's out, not out, They're just not
[16:08] Speaker 1: gonna playim. Trey Lance is gonna start. You got to
[16:10] Speaker 1: win that game and get the buy The buye is
[16:12] Speaker 1: an absolute game changer. You are one hundred and twenty
[16:16] Speaker 1: minutes from the super Bowl. The advantage you have of
[16:19] Speaker 1: not having to play on wild card weekend is massive.
[16:23] Speaker 1: And you know when the couple things jump out to
[16:25] Speaker 1: me about the Niners and Seattle one from a coaching matchup,
[16:29] Speaker 1: it doesn't get any better. You know. I saw Christian
[16:31] Speaker 1: McCaffrey talk today about Kyle Shanahan and he's like, sometimes
[16:35] Speaker 1: you'll just be in a meeting and you know, as
[16:37] Speaker 1: someone that's grown up around this and who just is
[16:39] Speaker 1: a football junkie, his meetings are like football Heaven. It's
[16:42] Speaker 1: like crazy how much he knows. And the thing Christian mentioned,
[16:46] Speaker 1: he's like, this guy was like born to do this,
[16:49] Speaker 1: and some people are just born into this life. You know.
[16:51] Speaker 1: You see a lot of guys want to become coaches
[16:53] Speaker 1: because their dads are coaches. It's it's a very unique lifestyle,
[16:58] Speaker 1: but it's also one you see it with player They're
[17:01] Speaker 1: very comfortable in it, all right. For Mahomes or Steph
[17:05] Speaker 1: Curry or Klay Thompson, like they've been in locker rooms
[17:08] Speaker 1: their whole life. It's kind of like a second home
[17:11] Speaker 1: to them. It's a very natural feeling in that environment
[17:15] Speaker 1: with a bunch of other alphas, swearing, spitting, just being dudes,
[17:20] Speaker 1: and some people kind of feel like outsiders in that environment.
[17:23] Speaker 1: And no different with coaching. You know, coaching is kind
[17:26] Speaker 1: of unique because especially in football, it's you know, leadership,
[17:32] Speaker 1: but x's no's knowledge of personnel and players, dealing with players. Football,
[17:38] Speaker 1: your roster is so big, so you have so many
[17:41] Speaker 1: guys with so many different personalities. It's just it's not easy.
[17:44] Speaker 1: I mean, it's a talent that even if you are
[17:47] Speaker 1: born with, you have to develop and improve on. And
[17:51] Speaker 1: obviously from just a football coach standpoint, like on the field,
[17:55] Speaker 1: there's no one better in the league than Kyle Shanahan.
[17:57] Speaker 1: He's as good as it gets. As McCaffrey mentioned, his
[18:01] Speaker 1: postgame press conference is one thing that separates him is
[18:04] Speaker 1: like everyone speaks about him like an offensive genius. He's like,
[18:09] Speaker 1: you should see him talk defense. His understanding of the
[18:12] Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball is elite. And speaking of
[18:16] Speaker 1: elite defensive side of the ball, like Mike McDonald is
[18:18] Speaker 1: as good as it gets. If you were doing a
[18:21] Speaker 1: draft to have a guy was a defensive coach to
[18:25] Speaker 1: be your head coach, it would be between Mike Vrabel
[18:28] Speaker 1: and Mike McDonald. Like if you couldn't pick it into
[18:30] Speaker 1: the offensive guys, it would be between those two guys,
[18:34] Speaker 1: over the Tomlins, over the Harbaughs. Well, I guess Jim
[18:37] Speaker 1: Harbaugh's technically a quarterback, but you know, he kind of
[18:39] Speaker 1: feels like a defensive guy like Mike McDonald's elite and
[18:43] Speaker 1: unlike Kyle who was born into this life where his
[18:46] Speaker 1: dad's his superstar coach coach in l way, he's at
[18:49] Speaker 1: the sideline of the Super Bowl. You know, Mike McDonald
[18:51] Speaker 1: didn't even play college football, didn't you. He coached high
[18:56] Speaker 1: school when he was an undergrad at the University of Georgia,
[19:00] Speaker 1: and then he parlayed that into becoming like a graduate assistant,
[19:03] Speaker 1: which is like the lowest guy in the totem pole.
[19:06] Speaker 1: In the early twenty tens, I'm pretty sure Mark Rick
[19:09] Speaker 1: was the coach, and he just kind of got on
[19:11] Speaker 1: that staff and then from there, I think in twenty
[19:14] Speaker 1: thirteen or twenty fourteen, clearly his life changed. He became
[19:17] Speaker 1: a coaching intern, probably in his mid twenties for the
[19:20] Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens, and then he just went like this and
[19:24] Speaker 1: he was an absolute rocket ship. And now these last
[19:27] Speaker 1: two years. Last year he won ten games. This year
[19:28] Speaker 1: he won thirteen games, and he's sixteen minutes away from
[19:31] Speaker 1: being the number one seed with Sam Darnold. So the
[19:34] Speaker 1: coaching matchup between those two guys is pretty incredible. And
[19:39] Speaker 1: a couple of years ago on Christmas when Mike had
[19:41] Speaker 1: an excellent defense he punked the forty nine Ers who
[19:46] Speaker 1: ended up going to the super Bowl. And earlier this
[19:49] Speaker 1: year Week one, it's hard to take too much away
[19:51] Speaker 1: from that. You know, it was Donald's first game. The
[19:53] Speaker 1: forty nine ers had Bosa and Warners kind of a
[19:55] Speaker 1: low scoring game, and the forty nine ers one in Seattle.
[19:57] Speaker 1: It was a really big win. But I think this
[20:00] Speaker 1: matchup with how well Seattle's defense, I mean they just
[20:05] Speaker 1: Bryce Youngk's not a very good player, but through for
[20:06] Speaker 1: fifty five yards going up against I mean the forty
[20:09] Speaker 1: nine brock Perties has has ten touchdowns last six nights,
[20:13] Speaker 1: Like they played on Monday night, and then they played
[20:15] Speaker 1: on Sunday, any kunt of for ten touchdowns. Ten ten.
[20:19] Speaker 1: I mean that's like you can't be on any more
[20:22] Speaker 1: of a heater. But now you're going up against the
[20:24] Speaker 1: best in the business, with the team that's stacked and
[20:26] Speaker 1: loaded the you know, the forty nine Ers defense. And
[20:32] Speaker 1: that's the other thing about this game. The forty nine
[20:33] Speaker 1: Ers have a clear advantage of quarterback. I know everyone's
[20:36] Speaker 1: talking about Sam Donald his win loss record, and last
[20:40] Speaker 1: year Sam Donald was a major part of a lot
[20:42] Speaker 1: of wins. This year he leads the league in turnovers.
[20:45] Speaker 1: And I'm a Sam Donald guy, but a big reason
[20:47] Speaker 1: for Seattle's success this year has been the defensive side
[20:49] Speaker 1: of the ball. And the other question with Sam is
[20:53] Speaker 1: like in these big games, it has not gone well
[20:56] Speaker 1: last year. The final two games did not go well.
[20:59] Speaker 1: The first LA game this year did not go well.
[21:01] Speaker 1: The second al LA game this year was not going
[21:04] Speaker 1: well until that fourth quarter when he made some huge
[21:07] Speaker 1: throws and won them the game. But again, he leads
[21:11] Speaker 1: the league in turnovers. Now the forty nine Ers have
[21:16] Speaker 1: six interceptions on the season, that would be dead last
[21:21] Speaker 1: in the majority of seasons. But there happens to be
[21:23] Speaker 1: a team called the New York Jets that don't have
[21:25] Speaker 1: an interception, which on a side note, feels like statistically impossible.
[21:31] Speaker 1: They're head coach is a defensive guy. I mean, for
[21:34] Speaker 1: like seven games they had Sauce. I mean, they got
[21:37] Speaker 1: defensive play. You don't have one interception, like just tip
[21:39] Speaker 1: ball ball in the air, a linebacker just fall. That's insane.
[21:42] Speaker 1: That's like one of the craziest stats of all time.
[21:44] Speaker 1: But the forty nine Ers have six, which isn't very good.
[21:47] Speaker 1: Seattle is seventeen. But the number that really stands out
[21:50] Speaker 1: to me, the forty nine Ers are dead last in sacks.
[21:54] Speaker 1: They just don't get pressure, you know, once Bosa went out,
[21:57] Speaker 1: mikel Williams went out. Their defense line is not very good.
[22:01] Speaker 1: They just don't have the players. And defensive line, more
[22:04] Speaker 1: than any other position on the field, is about the
[22:06] Speaker 1: Jimmy's and the Joe's more than the ex's and the o's.
[22:09] Speaker 1: Can you just beat this guy one on one? And
[22:10] Speaker 1: the forty nine Ers don't have guys that can do that,
[22:12] Speaker 1: and that's why they have eighteen sacks and are dead
[22:14] Speaker 1: last in the NFL. For example, Seattle is forty four,
[22:19] Speaker 1: which ranks them like eighth. So it's like the forty
[22:22] Speaker 1: nine Ers aren't even in the vicinity as teams like
[22:25] Speaker 1: in the top fifteen, and so Sam Darnold, like, listen,
[22:29] Speaker 1: the pressure is on him to play well in this
[22:31] Speaker 1: spot because to me, that's still somewhat of the elephant
[22:34] Speaker 1: in the room. Can't get it done. And it is
[22:36] Speaker 1: a little reminiscent of last year Week eighteen when they
[22:39] Speaker 1: played that Lions game and the Lions were playing me
[22:42] Speaker 1: and you on defense and Aaron Glenn was just throwing
[22:45] Speaker 1: the kitchen sink at him and he was really bad
[22:49] Speaker 1: and he was really thrown off. Now we're gonna see,
[22:52] Speaker 1: like I have a lot of faith in brock Purty.
[22:54] Speaker 1: Now brock Purty throws picks every once in a while too,
[22:56] Speaker 1: Like brock Purty will make bad decisions, but brock Purdy
[22:59] Speaker 1: the moment ain't getting to it. He's played in a
[23:00] Speaker 1: ton of big games, going back to Iowa State where
[23:03] Speaker 1: he's playing games where they had no business winning, to
[23:05] Speaker 1: obviously with the forty nine Ers where he just stepped
[23:08] Speaker 1: into a Super Bowl team, and for back to back
[23:10] Speaker 1: years played in the biggest games in the NFL. So
[23:15] Speaker 1: I would expect him to play well, but it's a
[23:17] Speaker 1: really hard matchup because Seattle's defense is really really good,
[23:20] Speaker 1: and it's it's just really a fantastic game from a
[23:24] Speaker 1: coaching standpoint, from a quarterback storyline standpoint, from this game
[23:29] Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen was kind of a stepping stone for
[23:33] Speaker 1: Kyle's career. They played the same thing back then it
[23:36] Speaker 1: was only a sixteen game schedule. They played the last
[23:39] Speaker 1: game of the season winner got the number one seed
[23:42] Speaker 1: and the forty nine ers led by dra Greenlaw, and
[23:45] Speaker 1: the last play of the game, he tackled the dude
[23:47] Speaker 1: at the one yard line and they won the game
[23:50] Speaker 1: with no time left. Guys like Deebo had a breakout game.
[23:53] Speaker 1: Jimmy Garoppolo is the quarterback. Richard Sherman was on the
[23:55] Speaker 1: forty nine ers, and that was kind of one of
[23:57] Speaker 1: the last big moments for Russell Wilson, and then his
[24:00] Speaker 1: career in Seattle started going the other way, and a
[24:02] Speaker 1: couple years later he wasn't even on the team. And
[24:06] Speaker 1: you know, this was a huge rivalry fifteen years ago
[24:09] Speaker 1: when Jim Harbaugh got to the Niners with Pete Carroll there,
[24:12] Speaker 1: and this game should be a lot of fun, but
[24:14] Speaker 1: it's gonna. You know, does great defense win, does great
[24:17] Speaker 1: offense win? I don't know. I mean I don't. I
[24:19] Speaker 1: have a bet with Seattle, Pittsburgh, Denver, and New England
[24:24] Speaker 1: to all win their division's parlayed one hundred bucks to
[24:27] Speaker 1: pay seven g's. I've hit two of the spots. Now
[24:30] Speaker 1: if Seattle can do it in Pittsburgh, I have no faith,
[24:33] Speaker 1: so there's a decent chance I cash outer hedge. But
[24:38] Speaker 1: this is a fantastic football game. I mean, this is
[24:41] Speaker 1: It doesn't get much better. And last, but not least,
[24:46] Speaker 1: this Pittsburgh Baltimore game, which I do believe should have
[24:50] Speaker 1: been Saturday night. And I'm not just saying that, oh
[24:52] Speaker 1: middlegg just a nighter Homer. No, it's just these two teams,
[24:56] Speaker 1: Seattle and San Francisco are playing for the number one
[24:59] Speaker 1: overall seat, and I get like Network's pick number one pick.
[25:03] Speaker 1: I'm not exactly I didn't read an article exactly how
[25:05] Speaker 1: it went. But this game is for the four seed
[25:09] Speaker 1: in the AFC, where depending on who they play, they're
[25:11] Speaker 1: going to be an underdog in the first round, and
[25:13] Speaker 1: most people are gonna predict that they're gonna lose, be
[25:15] Speaker 1: one and done, especially the Steelers. But whoever loses this
[25:19] Speaker 1: game on Sunday night, someone's got to get blamed. Like
[25:23] Speaker 1: you can't miss the playoffs in Pittsburgh or Baltimore, especially
[25:27] Speaker 1: when you were a super Bowl preseason the pick to
[25:30] Speaker 1: win at all and rightfully so, I mean the last
[25:33] Speaker 1: couple of years you've been right there. I mean two
[25:35] Speaker 1: years ago the number one seed, best team in football
[25:37] Speaker 1: n till Patrick Mahomes came in your building in beach it.
[25:39] Speaker 1: Last year. You had no business losing that Buffalo game.
[25:41] Speaker 1: Should have won it. You were the better team. Lamar
[25:44] Speaker 1: obviously had a shitty first half and you couldn't overcome it,
[25:46] Speaker 1: and then Andrews had the drops. But someone's getting blamed
[25:50] Speaker 1: if you lose. Now, you know, most times in sports
[25:54] Speaker 1: it's the coach, especially in football, You typically don't fire
[25:57] Speaker 1: the players. Right watch the Lway doc. They weren't firing
[26:00] Speaker 1: John Elway. They fired Dan Reeves, which was the right
[26:03] Speaker 1: choice because they hired Mike Shanahan. But in Pittsburgh, to me,
[26:06] Speaker 1: it seems pretty easy because I believe Tomlin's gone when
[26:10] Speaker 1: it actually happens, even though I do believe if they
[26:13] Speaker 1: lost his trade, possibility in candidacy would be the most
[26:19] Speaker 1: realistic that it's ever been. But it's pretty clear who
[26:21] Speaker 1: would get blamed if they lose, because Aaron Rodgers forty two,
[26:24] Speaker 1: he's probably done no matter what. DK Metcalf would not
[26:26] Speaker 1: be on the scene next year like they would, especially
[26:28] Speaker 1: because they can get out of the money. Like DK
[26:30] Speaker 1: Metcalf would be done. He would get blamed for this,
[26:34] Speaker 1: him hitting that fan, whether the guy said what he
[26:37] Speaker 1: said or not. He's given some press conference which is
[26:39] Speaker 1: obviously clown behavior. The whole thing is just fucking ridiculous.
[26:43] Speaker 1: But you know what Pittsburgh would say, why are we
[26:44] Speaker 1: even in this situation? What are we doing? Why are
[26:48] Speaker 1: you gone? We just gave you seventy million dollars guaranteed,
[26:52] Speaker 1: we trade a second round pick for you, We depend
[26:56] Speaker 1: on you, and now you're disappearing. And obviously, once we
[26:59] Speaker 1: blew this Cleveland game, it really comes light because we
[27:01] Speaker 1: need you for this Baltimore game. It's why the Ravens
[27:03] Speaker 1: are heavy favorites in this game, at least with TJ.
[27:06] Speaker 1: Watt Like, that's not his fault, right, and who knows,
[27:09] Speaker 1: maybe it's not even the trainer's faults. It's a freak occurrence,
[27:13] Speaker 1: but We'll see if he's able to play this week,
[27:15] Speaker 1: but my guess would be if they lose, DK Metcalf
[27:19] Speaker 1: will not be on the pittsopg Steelers next year. They
[27:21] Speaker 1: will cut him this off season because they can get
[27:22] Speaker 1: out of his money. And I wouldn't blame them at all.
[27:25] Speaker 1: I said at the time when they made the trade,
[27:27] Speaker 1: doesn't make any sense trading a second round pick and
[27:30] Speaker 1: giving DK Metcalf that much money. Are you guys crazy?
[27:35] Speaker 1: Why are you doing this deal? With John Schneider or
[27:37] Speaker 1: John Sneyder's like, are you guys serious? You're really giving
[27:39] Speaker 1: me this? And I think in Baltimore, you know a
[27:43] Speaker 1: lot of people say it's time for Harbaugh, the same
[27:45] Speaker 1: thing I'll say about Tomlin. I'll believe it when I
[27:47] Speaker 1: see it. There has been some talk like, you know,
[27:51] Speaker 1: this Lamar and them is getting kind of weird. I see,
[27:54] Speaker 1: under no circumstance, even if Lamar is not healthy enough
[27:57] Speaker 1: to play this game, that would be a couple of
[27:58] Speaker 1: times over the course of his at the end of
[28:01] Speaker 1: the season, he hasn't been durable enough. I just think,
[28:05] Speaker 1: under no circumstances could you trade him? And if you
[28:08] Speaker 1: did trade them, teams would be fucking lined up around
[28:10] Speaker 1: the block. I don't really know what they do, Like,
[28:13] Speaker 1: I don't really have a defendant. What are they going
[28:14] Speaker 1: to fire the coordinators? I think the Ravens are just
[28:18] Speaker 1: kind of in a spot where you start asking yourself,
[28:21] Speaker 1: did we miss our shot? Like we had an absolute
[28:24] Speaker 1: loaded team, we had excellent coaching, and we blew it
[28:27] Speaker 1: a couple of years ago, and now we're in a
[28:29] Speaker 1: situation where we kind of limped throughout the season. We
[28:33] Speaker 1: had some moments, but we also had a lot of
[28:34] Speaker 1: shitty moments. And now we're missing the playoffs to this
[28:37] Speaker 1: crappy Steeler team who would probably if they If the
[28:41] Speaker 1: Steelers win this game and they have to play the
[28:43] Speaker 1: Houston Texas in the first round, I could see the
[28:46] Speaker 1: Texans sack and Aaron Rodgers like ten times in that game.
[28:48] Speaker 1: I could see that thing being a disaster. So people
[28:52] Speaker 1: are gonna get blamed. This is There's a lot on
[28:55] Speaker 1: the line in this game, because whoever loses it will
[28:59] Speaker 1: feel like the biggest failure of the year. I mean, seriously,
[29:02] Speaker 1: they're building the next day will feel like they won
[29:05] Speaker 1: five games. And right now, if I was a betting man,
[29:09] Speaker 1: I have zero faith in Pittsburgh, So why might parlay
[29:11] Speaker 1: with the Steelers winning it? Like, I want out of
[29:13] Speaker 1: that thing. I'm not feeling good about it because they
[29:19] Speaker 1: have no offense. They can't they can barely move the ball.
[29:23] Speaker 1: I mean, they have no passing game. So I think
[29:26] Speaker 1: the Steeler thing. You lose this game, it feels like
[29:29] Speaker 1: your whole organization kind of unravel really really quick. Today's
[29:39] Speaker 1: show is brought to you by representing sponsor hard Rock Bet,
[29:42] Speaker 1: the official sportsbook partner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and
[29:46] Speaker 1: Jacksonville Jaguars. It's Week eighteen and playoff spots are on
[29:50] Speaker 1: the line. Think you know how it's gonna play out,
[29:53] Speaker 1: Build a same game, parlay on hard Rock Bet, and
[29:56] Speaker 1: turn game day into a payday. If you miskickoff, don't worry.
[30:00] Speaker 1: Hard Rock Bet is live in game betting, so you're
[30:03] Speaker 1: never too late to the action. Find a winner and
[30:05] Speaker 1: grab that player prop you meant to play and live
[30:09] Speaker 1: bet on college or pro football between snaps and too
[30:13] Speaker 1: easy taps Baby plus hard Rock Bet. They offer new
[30:17] Speaker 1: promos every single day, so if you haven't tried your
[30:20] Speaker 1: first bet on hard Rock Bet, there's still time for
[30:22] Speaker 1: you to get one. Hundred and fifty in bonus bets.
[30:24] Speaker 1: If you win, just place a five dollars bet and
[30:27] Speaker 1: if it hits you not only get your winnings, but
[30:29] Speaker 1: also an extra one hundred and fifty in bonus bets.
[30:32] Speaker 1: Download the hard Rock Bet app today and make your
[30:34] Speaker 1: first deposit payable in bonus bets, not a cash offer
[30:38] Speaker 1: offered by Seminal Tribe of Florida. In Florida offered by
[30:41] Speaker 1: Seminal hard Rock Digital LLC and all other states, you
[30:46] Speaker 1: must be twenty one plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,
[30:53] Speaker 1: and Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about
[30:57] Speaker 1: gambling in Florida, call one eight three three play wise
[31:02] Speaker 1: in Indiana. If you are someone you know has a
[31:06] Speaker 1: gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and
[31:10] Speaker 1: nine With it. Gambling problem call one Hunter Gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois,
[31:15] Speaker 1: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia again, mail bag at John
[31:26] Speaker 1: Middlecoff Instagram. Fire in those dms just my name two
[31:30] Speaker 1: f's and dms wide open. I'm not quite sure on
[31:33] Speaker 1: the schedule this week, probably of another mail bag. I'm
[31:36] Speaker 1: sure I'll probably record one tomorrow as well, so uh,
[31:40] Speaker 1: and then we'll really get back on the saddle after
[31:43] Speaker 1: this week A little bit weird with New Year's and
[31:45] Speaker 1: New Year's Eve. A longtime listener fan of the show,
[31:50] Speaker 1: I like this guy, Blake. I have a question regarding
[31:54] Speaker 1: why teams seem to play not to lose instead of
[31:56] Speaker 1: playing to win. I'm an Eagles fan and watching them
[31:59] Speaker 1: this year is in credit frustrated when they get a
[32:01] Speaker 1: big lead in the first half, i e. The Cowboys,
[32:04] Speaker 1: the Broncos, and the Bills, they play super conservative and
[32:07] Speaker 1: either end up losing or making it close. I know
[32:10] Speaker 1: Patula is not a good play caller, but other teams
[32:13] Speaker 1: do it too. They call run plays or screens and
[32:16] Speaker 1: go three and out multiple times in a row, giving
[32:18] Speaker 1: the other team a chance to come back. I would
[32:22] Speaker 1: love to hear your thoughts. Well. I do think the
[32:25] Speaker 1: weather factor is in in a situation where it's pretty clear.
[32:29] Speaker 1: You know, once you're at halftime, let's score thirteen to nothing.
[32:32] Speaker 1: It's not gonna be some thirty five to twenty five game, right,
[32:36] Speaker 1: It's gonna be a low scoring at most. You're probably
[32:39] Speaker 1: gonna get twenty points, so the only way to screw
[32:42] Speaker 1: up is to turn the ball over. And you know
[32:46] Speaker 1: recently he's had a game, you know, the Charger game
[32:49] Speaker 1: where you throw the ball to the other team. You know,
[32:51] Speaker 1: in a in a rainstorm, you have balls flying through
[32:55] Speaker 1: receiver's hands. So maybe that rattles you a little bit.
[32:59] Speaker 1: But I Jalen was playing fantastic in the first half.
[33:02] Speaker 1: I mean I mentioned this to Colin. One of my
[33:03] Speaker 1: notes was like, he was excellent, Like he plays like
[33:06] Speaker 1: that every game that they're gonna be a major, major problem.
[33:10] Speaker 1: And yeah, they just it's it's something they consistently do.
[33:17] Speaker 1: I mean, they had a stretch I think in the
[33:18] Speaker 1: second half where it was like punt, punt, punt, punt, punt,
[33:20] Speaker 1: five straight punts. So they're just too talented to have
[33:25] Speaker 1: these moments. And you know, I know Sirianni was feeling
[33:28] Speaker 1: himself after the game. It's like, bro, doesn't your own
[33:32] Speaker 1: team not let you call plays. Let's calm down a
[33:34] Speaker 1: little bit. AJ's face at him was like relax, but
[33:39] Speaker 1: just a bizarre thing. I would say this about the
[33:41] Speaker 1: Eagles would not shock me, Like they could beat anyone
[33:46] Speaker 1: in the NFC and we'll see how the seating plays out. Again,
[33:49] Speaker 1: I'm doing this before the Rams game, but the Rams
[33:52] Speaker 1: can't even win the division, so they're gonna be on
[33:54] Speaker 1: the wild card. How it breaks between them and Chicago. Obviously,
[33:57] Speaker 1: if youre an Eagle fan, you're rooting for the Lions
[34:00] Speaker 1: to beat the Bears, and then you win this week,
[34:02] Speaker 1: and then you know you have the two seed, which
[34:06] Speaker 1: would be big because that would guarantee you two home games.
[34:09] Speaker 1: Obviously you have to win the first one. But if
[34:12] Speaker 1: you beat you know, as the two seed, the Packers,
[34:15] Speaker 1: who you did last year, then you're hosting Segon Round,
[34:18] Speaker 1: which was a big reason you beat the Rams, so
[34:22] Speaker 1: which could be your Segon Round opponent. So I think
[34:26] Speaker 1: that the Eagles, it's just a weird year. I think
[34:29] Speaker 1: part of it is your offensive line is not that
[34:32] Speaker 1: good relative to how dominant it's been in the past.
[34:35] Speaker 1: I mean a couple of years ago, you know, when
[34:37] Speaker 1: everyone was healthy with Lane and Dickerson, with Lane Mylotta,
[34:43] Speaker 1: and when Kelsey was there, I mean, you had arguably
[34:45] Speaker 1: the best offensive line in the league. And now you've
[34:47] Speaker 1: got because Lane's banged up, your interior offensive line hasn't
[34:50] Speaker 1: been as good. But I don't know. I don't I
[34:55] Speaker 1: don't really have a take beside whatever they call it
[34:59] Speaker 1: just doesn't work when they get in those ruts and
[35:02] Speaker 1: they I mean, I don't know if they still do.
[35:03] Speaker 1: I haven't checked as of after the last game, but
[35:07] Speaker 1: I mean a couple of weeks ago, they led the league
[35:08] Speaker 1: in three and ounce, which is insane when you have
[35:11] Speaker 1: a J Brown, Devonte Smith, Dallas Goddter and Saguon Barkley,
[35:14] Speaker 1: and you got other good running backs and you have
[35:16] Speaker 1: a running quarterback but he doesn't really like to run.
[35:20] Speaker 1: I believe in Milake Willis has a realistic chance of
[35:22] Speaker 1: being the next quarterback to find a home like Baker
[35:25] Speaker 1: or Donald. A destination that crossed my mind and I
[35:28] Speaker 1: think could make a lot of sense would be the
[35:30] Speaker 1: Panthers on a quarterback competition kind of deal, kind of
[35:33] Speaker 1: like what the Colts did with Daniel Jones and Anthy Richardson. Well,
[35:37] Speaker 1: if Milik Willis played like he just did, there's no
[35:39] Speaker 1: way probably young could beat about zero, just like Daniel
[35:43] Speaker 1: Jones was never losing that job to Anthony Richardson. I
[35:48] Speaker 1: do think there are gonna be a lot of competition
[35:50] Speaker 1: for his services now. We'll see. As I'm recording this
[35:53] Speaker 1: on Monday, Like, I guess, I'm assuming Jordan Love comes
[35:55] Speaker 1: back this week. I don't know why I would even
[35:57] Speaker 1: assume that. So who does. Maybe Milik Willis gets another game.
[36:00] Speaker 1: They're locked into the seven seeds, so maybe Milik Willison
[36:02] Speaker 1: just gets another game. Lafour kind of throws him a bone,
[36:05] Speaker 1: gives him more tape. Who knows. I mean, is he healthy.
[36:08] Speaker 1: He couldn't finish that last game obviously, you know he
[36:12] Speaker 1: messed up his shoulder and that one throw is kind
[36:14] Speaker 1: of weird. But yeah, I mean, I think I've said
[36:18] Speaker 1: this before. I'm pretty confident. Like my guess on Malik
[36:20] Speaker 1: Willis again, I feel like I'm being kind of conservative,
[36:23] Speaker 1: would be like two years, fifty million dollars. Now, again,
[36:25] Speaker 1: this is the NFL, so contract's kind of fake. I
[36:28] Speaker 1: would guess like thirty or forty guaranteed he's a better
[36:31] Speaker 1: player than Justin Fields. Justin Fields Now, granted it was
[36:33] Speaker 1: the Jets gave him two years and forty million dollars.
[36:36] Speaker 1: I mean, that's it's one of the worst contracts I've
[36:38] Speaker 1: ever seen. It was insane at the time, and clearly
[36:40] Speaker 1: it aged immediately awful quick, and I root for Justin Fields.
[36:45] Speaker 1: He's just not that good at playing quarterback. So I
[36:47] Speaker 1: think Milik Willis is gonna get some money, would be
[36:50] Speaker 1: my guess. And I think if you wanted to get
[36:52] Speaker 1: Milik Willis as a Panther fan or the Panthers in general,
[36:56] Speaker 1: they would have to be aggressive financially and basically like
[36:58] Speaker 1: you're gonna be our starter. Did the Bills coaching staff
[37:03] Speaker 1: just get themselves fired unless they win it all? I
[37:05] Speaker 1: think we can all agree that would have been an
[37:09] Speaker 1: all time snow game if it was cold enough in
[37:11] Speaker 1: Buffalo yesterday. That being said, the Brady screaming what are
[37:15] Speaker 1: you doing? And throw the ball at Josh from the
[37:19] Speaker 1: cozy booth was an embarrassment. Also, how does McDermott not
[37:23] Speaker 1: go for two on the first touchdown to make it
[37:26] Speaker 1: thirteen to eight, because there's you know, thirteen to eight
[37:33] Speaker 1: and thirteen to seven. There's no difference than being, you know,
[37:36] Speaker 1: being down five points. You still gotta score a touchdown.
[37:39] Speaker 1: So I don't think anyone when it's thirteen to six
[37:42] Speaker 1: goes for two in that spot. I think you're pretty
[37:44] Speaker 1: confident that your guys just gonna hit the pat and
[37:48] Speaker 1: even when he missed the pat, you're still just down
[37:50] Speaker 1: a touchdown and a pat, so you still control your
[37:54] Speaker 1: own destiny to win the game with a two point conversion.
[37:58] Speaker 1: So I don't think any in this modern day with
[38:01] Speaker 1: the analytics, I don't think anyone goes for two in
[38:04] Speaker 1: that spot. Even if the extra point wasn't blocked, the
[38:08] Speaker 1: Eagles can kick a field goal to make it sixteen
[38:10] Speaker 1: to seven. To me, it's I hear what you're saying.
[38:15] Speaker 1: I have a bigger issue of yeah. I mean, I
[38:22] Speaker 1: don't even know what my issue. I have no issue
[38:24] Speaker 1: with kicking the field goal there, and I have no
[38:26] Speaker 1: issue with going for two there. I don't even know
[38:29] Speaker 1: is anyone complaining about them going for two seems like
[38:31] Speaker 1: a kind of a no brainer given their situation that
[38:35] Speaker 1: they can't win the division. If it was like, win
[38:38] Speaker 1: that game, you win the division, then you're at home,
[38:40] Speaker 1: your defense has been playing well. Maybe be a little
[38:42] Speaker 1: more conservative. But I don't have a problem with what
[38:47] Speaker 1: they did at the end of the game. I really don't.
[38:50] Speaker 1: And let's face it, I mean, they had to get
[38:51] Speaker 1: kind of lucky to even be in that position. They
[38:54] Speaker 1: hit a hooking ladder, they hit a couple deep bombs.
[38:57] Speaker 1: I mean their offense just wasn't really working. I mean,
[38:59] Speaker 1: the Eagles good when you had Jalen carter back with
[39:04] Speaker 1: Jylex Hunt, Jordan Davis. You know, Phillips got a little
[39:07] Speaker 1: banged up, but their linebacker play. I mean Cooper dejen
[39:12] Speaker 1: I mean Brady couldn't stop raving about him because he
[39:13] Speaker 1: saw it. Like if Cooper Dejeen would have existed in
[39:16] Speaker 1: twenty twelve, there's no chance on guy's green Earth, Belichick
[39:19] Speaker 1: wouldn't have drafted him. But I feel Josh Allen is
[39:24] Speaker 1: giving two is given too many passes. No doubt Allen
[39:27] Speaker 1: is a top the quarterbacks in the league and more
[39:31] Speaker 1: responsible for the good that happens in Buffalo rather than
[39:33] Speaker 1: the bat. But time after time, I witness Allan making
[39:37] Speaker 1: crucial mistakes that heavily affect the outcome of the game,
[39:41] Speaker 1: and he gets no blame because quote no roster. Sometimes
[39:45] Speaker 1: it's silly, like the thirty yard sack fumble that easily
[39:48] Speaker 1: the two point conversion failed. Obviously Buffalo would be worse
[39:51] Speaker 1: without Allen, But I feel like he's never held accountable.
[39:55] Speaker 1: Uh let me say this, I think think all these
[40:00] Speaker 1: top guys mahomes lamar Josh Allen. It's football. It's really hard.
[40:07] Speaker 1: They have some shitty moments, right, some really shitty moments,
[40:11] Speaker 1: and they get criticized that that was an awful pass
[40:13] Speaker 1: by Josh Allen. I think he'd be the first to tell,
[40:15] Speaker 1: what are you gonna say, terrible past awful pass to me?
[40:20] Speaker 1: The sack like sometimes like he's got to make plays
[40:23] Speaker 1: out of as you know what, so you're gonna take
[40:25] Speaker 1: some terrible sacks. I have less of an issue with
[40:28] Speaker 1: the sack running around because he does that a lot.
[40:31] Speaker 1: It's kind of like the equivalent of his version. Barry
[40:35] Speaker 1: Sanders used to get a lot of TFLs and then
[40:37] Speaker 1: every once in a while he'd take its sixty. So
[40:40] Speaker 1: like you gotta take the good with the bad. With
[40:42] Speaker 1: that specific play now on the pass, like he's got
[40:45] Speaker 1: to hit that one hundred percent of the time with
[40:47] Speaker 1: the game online, there's I think he'd be the first
[40:49] Speaker 1: to tell you he's got to make that pass. But
[40:52] Speaker 1: I don't know, Okay, he's got to make the pass.
[40:54] Speaker 1: It's not an indictment of like when other guys don't
[40:57] Speaker 1: make the pass, you go, is this guy good enough?
[41:00] Speaker 1: And now I think you go long enough without winning,
[41:02] Speaker 1: you go is he actually a championship level player? And
[41:07] Speaker 1: the only way you can ever prove that is by
[41:08] Speaker 1: winning a Super Bowl. But you know, when I worked
[41:12] Speaker 1: in the NFL, I worked with the guys that played
[41:13] Speaker 1: against Dan Marino, and they said he was like the
[41:14] Speaker 1: best player in the league right there with John Elway
[41:17] Speaker 1: went to one Super Bowl in his entire career, never
[41:19] Speaker 1: won it. So I don't really know, Like when Patrick
[41:23] Speaker 1: Mahomes has a bad game, even like when Lamar has
[41:26] Speaker 1: a bad game. Now, the difference is Lamar's had awful
[41:28] Speaker 1: games in the playoffs. It's like Lamar is a bad
[41:32] Speaker 1: game in the regular seasons, like, yeah, it happens. Tom
[41:35] Speaker 1: Brady did, Peyton Manning did, Aaron Rodgers did. Now, I
[41:38] Speaker 1: think we look at in the playoffs for these guys,
[41:40] Speaker 1: that's where they're judged, Like we no longer judge Josh Lamar,
[41:45] Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers after a while, like regular season games, the great, awesome,
[41:49] Speaker 1: the bad, like whatever, was on to the next game.
[41:52] Speaker 1: You get to that level, so you're basically only criticized
[41:56] Speaker 1: on your playoff performances. But that's the way I look
[42:00] Speaker 1: at It could be wrong. Maybe we see it differently,
[42:03] Speaker 1: but I don't know what to say beside like, yeah,
[42:05] Speaker 1: she's got to hit the pass. He missed it. Okay,
[42:08] Speaker 1: what's what do you want to do, Like get rid
[42:11] Speaker 1: of him, you want to trade him. I talked to
[42:14] Speaker 1: a buddy in the NFL. He's like, Listen, Burrow's a stud.
[42:18] Speaker 1: Burrow's a stud. But I've evaluated all these teams in
[42:22] Speaker 1: the league, and their offensive line isn't as bad as
[42:25] Speaker 1: I think. The narrative out there like he holds onto
[42:27] Speaker 1: the ball for a while because he wants to make
[42:29] Speaker 1: big plays, like it's not perfect, like when other guys
[42:34] Speaker 1: do it, they tend to get crushed because they're not
[42:36] Speaker 1: as good as him. So it's like everyone has some
[42:39] Speaker 1: of their flaws, Like Josh Allen inherently has some inaccurately
[42:42] Speaker 1: flawed inaccuracy in his game, stemming back from when he
[42:47] Speaker 1: was a young player. He's not mister accurate. Same thing
[42:49] Speaker 1: with Kayleb Williams. Caleb Williams in that game made some
[42:54] Speaker 1: just throws that are like, holy Canoley, it's my guy.
[42:57] Speaker 1: Klay Thompson would say, just a just beautiful throws as
[43:02] Speaker 1: good as it gets. And he also missed some laps, right,
[43:05] Speaker 1: So what do you want to do like qrushing for
[43:08] Speaker 1: the mislaps. Yes, not ideal. I would like to just
[43:10] Speaker 1: be able to hit the guy in the flat, hit
[43:12] Speaker 1: the guy in the out route when you're running to him,
[43:14] Speaker 1: but for whatever reason, doesn't happen. Most people aren't perfect players.
[43:20] Speaker 1: Question for the pod. Say his name and it's just
[43:25] Speaker 1: a picture of Tyler Schuck. Yeah, I listen. I've been
[43:29] Speaker 1: giving the guys credit. I'm a Kellen Moore, Doug nuss Meyer,
[43:34] Speaker 1: I'm a sneaky Saints fan. I root for those guys.
[43:37] Speaker 1: So yeah, he's he looks pretty good. Let's be real,
[43:41] Speaker 1: if you could pick a team right now to represent
[43:44] Speaker 1: the South, you would take the Saints. They would be
[43:47] Speaker 1: the most fun because of that quarterback. As a Dieharden
[43:51] Speaker 1: Niner fan, I pride myself on being realistic. I doubted
[43:55] Speaker 1: winning the Super Bowl after Boson and Warner went down,
[43:57] Speaker 1: but I still cheered. Now after they're seeing Brock play
[44:01] Speaker 1: with only CMC as a star, I wonder is a
[44:05] Speaker 1: Super Bowl win possible. You get the number one seed,
[44:09] Speaker 1: the math is just in your favor. I mean shit,
[44:12] Speaker 1: you're one win away from just being in the champion
[44:15] Speaker 1: hosting the championship game. So I thought it was crazy
[44:19] Speaker 1: a couple weeks ago super Bowl win. I mean, that'd
[44:24] Speaker 1: be'd be pretty crazy if they can beat Seattle, beat
[44:28] Speaker 1: two more NFC playoff teams, and then beat whoever wins
[44:31] Speaker 1: the AFC with this defense. But like, if they beat Seattle,
[44:35] Speaker 1: then yeah, I would say they can get to the
[44:38] Speaker 1: Super Bowl, which would be one of the crazier accomplishments
[44:41] Speaker 1: in league history. When you factor and who's rolling out
[44:44] Speaker 1: on the defense. They're lasting the league in sacks. They
[44:47] Speaker 1: have backups all over the place, you know, at linebacker
[44:49] Speaker 1: and their defensive backfield. They get injuries constantly during games.
[44:54] Speaker 1: I mean Trent Williams gets injured chasing a pick six.
[44:59] Speaker 1: I just it was awesome, Like that was a cool game,
[45:03] Speaker 1: Like that was thrilling. But does that translate to playoff football?
[45:09] Speaker 1: You just gotta be able to get some stops. You
[45:12] Speaker 1: just can't rely on your offense to score like five
[45:14] Speaker 1: touchdowns a game. Do you think too many weapons is
[45:31] Speaker 1: an issue? Sounds dumb, but with all the reads and things,
[45:35] Speaker 1: wouldn't it be nice to have your go to guys.
[45:38] Speaker 1: Kyle deserves Coach of the Year and you can't change
[45:40] Speaker 1: my mind. I think the problem is whenever you say
[45:43] Speaker 1: we got too many weapons, and then you get a
[45:44] Speaker 1: couple injuries and you're pretty dependent on some random guy
[45:49] Speaker 1: I think fully healthy. You can have too many guys
[45:53] Speaker 1: because you're not utilizing a high end talent, you're probably
[45:56] Speaker 1: deficient somewhere else. Like one thing that stood out to
[45:59] Speaker 1: me in the Bears game is they are so stacked
[46:02] Speaker 1: with offensive weapons, right they got multiple tight ends. They
[46:06] Speaker 1: just draft Luther Burden, who clearly the head coach likes
[46:09] Speaker 1: a lot. DJ Moore is a well established, high end
[46:13] Speaker 1: veteran guy, and Rome Adonde was I think the ninth
[46:16] Speaker 1: or tenth pick in the draft, so they clearly need
[46:20] Speaker 1: defensive help. You know what hit me, like when I
[46:22] Speaker 1: was laying in bed and couldn't fall asleep, like I
[46:24] Speaker 1: would guess this offseason, either DJ or Rome, whoever Ben
[46:27] Speaker 1: doesn't like more, gets traded this offseason for defensive help.
[46:31] Speaker 1: Because I Rome was just drafted high. You couldn't you
[46:34] Speaker 1: trade him. You wouldn't get the ninth overall pick. But
[46:36] Speaker 1: you can trade him for like a second round pick
[46:38] Speaker 1: and use that guy on a linebacker or a defensive lineman.
[46:42] Speaker 1: Which they clearly need. So and who knows, Maybe it's
[46:45] Speaker 1: DJ Moore because he's an older player, but I would
[46:48] Speaker 1: guess again, assuming that they love Luther Burden. And when
[46:52] Speaker 1: I say they, I mean Ben Johnson, which is all
[46:54] Speaker 1: that matters. I think you trade one of those wide receivers.
[46:58] Speaker 1: But you know, sometimes also when you have too many weapons,
[47:05] Speaker 1: you know, sometimes you ask different guys to do different things.
[47:09] Speaker 1: Sometimes their skill sets kind of compliment each other. I
[47:11] Speaker 1: think you can definitely have too many of the same thing,
[47:14] Speaker 1: like if you have redundancy at one player, right, like
[47:18] Speaker 1: multiple speed guys. When your offense only calls for a
[47:21] Speaker 1: couple deep shots of game, it's kind of a waste.
[47:23] Speaker 1: But I think you've got to be very careful. A
[47:27] Speaker 1: position of depth or strength can become a weakness with
[47:30] Speaker 1: one torn achilles or a broken leg. How big is
[47:34] Speaker 1: a coaching gap in the NFL? It feels like football
[47:37] Speaker 1: is extremely coached dependent. Elite coaches like Kyle McVeigh can
[47:41] Speaker 1: elevate average talent, while poor play calling can make good
[47:45] Speaker 1: players look lost. When you compare top tier play callers
[47:49] Speaker 1: to someone like Tampa Bay's Joe Josh Grizzard. This season,
[47:54] Speaker 1: the difference feels massive. How much does the gap actually matter?
[47:58] Speaker 1: And what percentage of a quarterback success do you think
[48:00] Speaker 1: is driven by the play caller? I think a lot,
[48:04] Speaker 1: you know. I think once you get to a certain level,
[48:08] Speaker 1: you know, I think once like Baker Mayfield or Sam
[48:12] Speaker 1: darm Right, once they've resurrected their career, they know what
[48:16] Speaker 1: they're fundamentals, because a huge part, like any person, it's
[48:19] Speaker 1: like in golf, your alignment, your grip, like the basic
[48:23] Speaker 1: elements of you standing over the golf ball determines whether
[48:26] Speaker 1: you're Scottie Scheffler or mir or you. But that's where
[48:29] Speaker 1: it all starts, right. It's no different than football. Your footwork,
[48:34] Speaker 1: your delivery mechanics, your just you know, center quarterback exchange,
[48:40] Speaker 1: I mean basic shit. And once you hammer that home,
[48:43] Speaker 1: then you kind of build the offense around that. But
[48:46] Speaker 1: once the offense, the play calling kind of goes to
[48:49] Speaker 1: crap and you start getting issues. I think, fundamentals then
[48:52] Speaker 1: kind of slip, so then you're all out of whack, right,
[48:55] Speaker 1: And I think when you watch guys who are struggling,
[48:59] Speaker 1: it's the play callings poor and their fundamentals because they
[49:02] Speaker 1: try to I don't know, overcompensate for the poor play calling,
[49:06] Speaker 1: but just they just kind of get lost out there
[49:10] Speaker 1: that everything falls apart. And I think that's what happens
[49:13] Speaker 1: a lot. And I think when you see poor play callers,
[49:18] Speaker 1: I've said this forever, some people just think about Some
[49:20] Speaker 1: people just have naturally more innate skills at certain things. Right,
[49:24] Speaker 1: whether it's whatever industry you're in, sales, finance, chef, I
[49:30] Speaker 1: don't care what you do. Some people are just naturally
[49:33] Speaker 1: more talented. Now, maybe that's through your experiences when you're younger.
[49:37] Speaker 1: I mean, I'm watching the Lway doc Kyle Shanahan's standing
[49:39] Speaker 1: next right next to Mike Shanahan, who John Elway in
[49:42] Speaker 1: the documentary said, Mike Shanahan by far as the best
[49:44] Speaker 1: coach he's ever been around. There's not even a close second.
[49:47] Speaker 1: It's his fucking dad. So think about you know, for me,
[49:51] Speaker 1: I spend so much time with my dad as a kid,
[49:53] Speaker 1: driving around on the ranch, going different things, going with
[49:56] Speaker 1: them to work during the summers. When I was young.
[49:58] Speaker 1: He was just like, throw you just a ra And
[50:00] Speaker 1: if I was into that, which I wasn't, My brother
[50:03] Speaker 1: is you just soak in so much stuff, You're just
[50:05] Speaker 1: sitting there with like bankers coming in. You're sitting in
[50:08] Speaker 1: the corner. You can just soak up knowledge, and you know,
[50:12] Speaker 1: you see some of these guys, like I believe most
[50:14] Speaker 1: of these coordinators, like all love football at the same level.
[50:18] Speaker 1: Like they think about football, they're scheming football, they're watching football,
[50:23] Speaker 1: breaking down the tape. Some people are just better than others.
[50:26] Speaker 1: And it's always been like that and always will be
[50:28] Speaker 1: like that. At the most competitive, highest level of industries,
[50:31] Speaker 1: people are more talented than their competition. And it's like
[50:35] Speaker 1: that with players. It's like that with coaches. You know,
[50:38] Speaker 1: you say players or coaches and players is no different,
[50:41] Speaker 1: Like there are certain things that you possess obviously physically,
[50:45] Speaker 1: but there is like I mean, watching brock Perty last night,
[50:49] Speaker 1: there are natural instincts he has as a player that
[50:53] Speaker 1: clearly make up for some of his physical shortcomings that
[50:56] Speaker 1: he can't relate to Caleb Williams. He's not as fast,
[50:58] Speaker 1: he clearly doesn't have the arms, so you have to
[51:01] Speaker 1: make up for it in other places where if you
[51:02] Speaker 1: put his ability in the guys with the elite talent,
[51:06] Speaker 1: they'd be an unstoppable for us. But that's not the
[51:09] Speaker 1: way it works. You know, Tom Brady had to dominate
[51:13] Speaker 1: with his mind in accuracy because he couldn't run, couldn't move.
[51:17] Speaker 1: Same thing with Peyton Manning. So they had to beat
[51:19] Speaker 1: you with their mind. They had to become a coach
[51:21] Speaker 1: because if they didn't, they would fucking suck. So I
[51:25] Speaker 1: think part of it is just there's just an element
[51:29] Speaker 1: of you definitely can improve. But I do think there
[51:35] Speaker 1: was a cap on some people. You know. And I'll
[51:38] Speaker 1: just use my own example. I could give find fifty
[51:41] Speaker 1: people that love sports, fire on a mic and say
[51:46] Speaker 1: for one month, every single day, you're just gonna talk
[51:49] Speaker 1: for forty five minutes, right, And by the end, if
[51:52] Speaker 1: we just ran an experiment, there'd be a couple guys like, damn,
[51:55] Speaker 1: this guy's pretty entertaining, he's pretty good. And there'd be
[51:57] Speaker 1: other people like I know a lot about football. I
[51:58] Speaker 1: watch football, I watched basketball. I love sports. Who just
[52:01] Speaker 1: are boring you just you can't fake the funk, you know,
[52:05] Speaker 1: And clearly there are some coordinators who just lack I
[52:10] Speaker 1: don't know, ability, and some of it's talent around you.
[52:13] Speaker 1: But you watched Tampa Bay. It's like the receivers look
[52:15] Speaker 1: pretty good, you know. I saw Liam Cohen look austin
[52:18] Speaker 1: last year, and now I see him with Trevor Lawrence,
[52:20] Speaker 1: who I honestly thought was a bust look good. You know,
[52:24] Speaker 1: win game. They win twelve wins the Jags, So clearly
[52:27] Speaker 1: Liam Cohen is just better than most. Question for the Pod,
[52:31] Speaker 1: You've talked about some of the other bad teams offseason
[52:33] Speaker 1: decisions coming up. What do you think a realistic positive
[52:37] Speaker 1: set of moves that will need to be made by
[52:41] Speaker 1: Adam Peters in Washington? Cause that second round pick loss
[52:45] Speaker 1: is a backfire for Tunzel and they went old on
[52:48] Speaker 1: defense another failure. They need to get younger and infuse
[52:51] Speaker 1: the D with some players, and Daniel's not not to
[52:54] Speaker 1: be injured consistently, otherwise Quinn might already be looking at
[52:58] Speaker 1: being fired. I really think they had an opportunity to
[53:01] Speaker 1: build on last year's success. Congratulations on everything. It's tough, man,
[53:06] Speaker 1: I mean, I one of our guys is a diehard
[53:10] Speaker 1: Washington fan. In what game? I was watching the Christmas
[53:13] Speaker 1: Day game, and I have a lot of respect for
[53:16] Speaker 1: this player. He's clearly a future Hall of Famer. But
[53:20] Speaker 1: how is Bobby Wagner still in the field constantly? He
[53:22] Speaker 1: can't move in a game that's like a spread, you know,
[53:27] Speaker 1: lateral game. Now right, this isn't just like plugging the
[53:31] Speaker 1: a gap and stopping the run. How is this possible?
[53:34] Speaker 1: And sometimes coach like, well love is mine. It's like,
[53:36] Speaker 1: well he can't cover me, so this is going to
[53:39] Speaker 1: be a problem, and I just have to wonder. You know,
[53:44] Speaker 1: Dan Quinn seems like a nice guy. Got lightning in
[53:46] Speaker 1: a bottle last year. He's clearly a good defensive coordinator
[53:49] Speaker 1: when he has players, But like, I don't know, I mean,
[53:54] Speaker 1: could we have overvalued him a little bit? Like is
[53:56] Speaker 1: he as dynamic as we think? It was? Just hey man,
[53:59] Speaker 1: they made some bad persons, They got old, their quarterback
[54:01] Speaker 1: got injured. You know that their path to flipping this
[54:05] Speaker 1: thing around. Deebo's a free agent. He's been productive for him.
[54:08] Speaker 1: They have to extend Laramie Tunzel, who the Texans just
[54:12] Speaker 1: went we don't want anytime people that are good at
[54:16] Speaker 1: their job. Take a player who's like a high end guy.
[54:20] Speaker 1: John Schneider did this with DK They did this with
[54:22] Speaker 1: Laramie Tunzel and say we don't want to pay them.
[54:26] Speaker 1: I would be like, why do I want to pay them?
[54:29] Speaker 1: That's what I would ask myself, why do I want
[54:32] Speaker 1: to pay them? If they don't, what do they know?
[54:35] Speaker 1: Because they know the guy better than me that I
[54:37] Speaker 1: don't know. And it could be simply like I get it,
[54:40] Speaker 1: but we just need a left tackle and this is
[54:41] Speaker 1: our easiest path, which there's truth to that. But it's
[54:46] Speaker 1: gonna be tough because here's the other thing. The Eagles
[54:49] Speaker 1: team is just way more talented than you the Cowboys.
[54:54] Speaker 1: If they have a solid draft, they got a bunch
[54:55] Speaker 1: of picks, like they could just dramatically be much improved
[55:00] Speaker 1: on defense and their offense is already good. It's gonna
[55:03] Speaker 1: be hard, you know that division? And what if the
[55:05] Speaker 1: Giants just get a credible coach? What if they just
[55:08] Speaker 1: trade for John Harball or Mike Tomlin who their teams
[55:12] Speaker 1: might be over. But like for the Giants, that would
[55:14] Speaker 1: be a massive, massive win question for the POD I
[55:19] Speaker 1: don't understand people aren't sold on Ryan Pols's GM. He
[55:23] Speaker 1: has done nothing but filled the organization with talent and
[55:25] Speaker 1: really good coaching. One could argue he's been a better
[55:28] Speaker 1: GM than Veach. From a furnishing standpoint, Vach is not
[55:33] Speaker 1: giving Mahomes adequate receiving running back talent over the last
[55:36] Speaker 1: three years. Well, vach is also drafting thirty second. You
[55:41] Speaker 1: guys drafted first and then ninth. I mean, you've read
[55:45] Speaker 1: a lot high picks. Listen. If he was a big
[55:50] Speaker 1: part of convincing Ben Johnson to come, he deserves all
[55:53] Speaker 1: the credit in the world. Deserves all the credit in
[55:56] Speaker 1: the world, right, But was Ben Johnson coming to them
[56:00] Speaker 1: with or without him? Does he get credit for drafting
[56:03] Speaker 1: Kleb Williams number one overall? He was also on record
[56:07] Speaker 1: to think Drake May couldn't play dead in the Western
[56:09] Speaker 1: So I think I'm not gonna crush the guy. He's
[56:13] Speaker 1: the GM of a team that just won the division
[56:16] Speaker 1: for the first time in a long time, you know,
[56:18] Speaker 1: with a division full of Kevin O'Connell, Lafleur and the
[56:21] Speaker 1: Packers and obviously the Lions who had won the division
[56:24] Speaker 1: for several years. So you get credit for that. But
[56:28] Speaker 1: when you've sucked for a long time and you pick high,
[56:31] Speaker 1: you are just gonna end up with good players. Now,
[56:34] Speaker 1: if you tell me he was the salesman that landed
[56:39] Speaker 1: Ben Johnson, then I would give him one hundred credit.
[56:42] Speaker 1: He would deserve all the credit. I don't know I
[56:45] Speaker 1: don't know him personally. People that I know with the
[56:48] Speaker 1: Chiefs have always thought highly of him. I know some
[56:51] Speaker 1: people in the league that don't love him, but he
[56:52] Speaker 1: I mean, that's part of the business, you know, Beside
[56:56] Speaker 1: like a couple people, if you ask ten people in
[56:59] Speaker 1: the NFL about person X, you're gonna get some people
[57:02] Speaker 1: that hate him. You're gonna get some people that are jealous,
[57:04] Speaker 1: and you're gonna get some people that have known him
[57:05] Speaker 1: for twenty years and like whoever that individual is. But
[57:10] Speaker 1: you're the GM of a winning team, you get credit,
[57:12] Speaker 1: and you're the GM of a losing team, you get crushed.
[57:15] Speaker 1: It's the nature of this business. No one gives a
[57:17] Speaker 1: shit about your process. If your name's not Nick Saban
[57:20] Speaker 1: leagues about winning and losing. Feach would be the first
[57:22] Speaker 1: to tell you did a shitty job. They're probably gonna go,
[57:25] Speaker 1: you know, the Raiders better hope not. You know, they
[57:27] Speaker 1: go six and eleven. That means they ruin the Raiders season.
[57:30] Speaker 1: But obviously the Chiefs just weren't good enough this year.
[57:33] Speaker 1: When it happens, you make bad decisions. But I'd also say,
[57:37] Speaker 1: you know, Veach's resume speaks a little bit stronger than Poles.
[57:41] Speaker 1: And again, I think those guys are good friends, so
[57:43] Speaker 1: it's not like I'm pitting these two against each other.
[57:46] Speaker 1: But I don't know who's criticizing Ryan Poles in late
[57:49] Speaker 1: December in twenty twenty five. I think he's getting a
[57:52] Speaker 1: lot of credit. Meanwhile, the president, who's just laughing stock
[57:56] Speaker 1: you know, negotiated got destroyed by Fox and the negotiation
[58:00] Speaker 1: deal when he ran the Big ten, is threatening to
[58:02] Speaker 1: move to Indiana. You're not moving to Indiana, buddy, no one.
[58:07] Speaker 1: I think I saw Nick Wright say this. You never
[58:10] Speaker 1: have to worry about a big market ever leaving so
[58:12] Speaker 1: they can pretend to move. They would never leave a
[58:15] Speaker 1: big market. Why because that's where the money is. You know,
[58:19] Speaker 1: That's that's where the cash is. You know. The Raiders
[58:23] Speaker 1: left Oakland to go to Vegas. Why because there was
[58:25] Speaker 1: more money there for him. The forty nine ers would
[58:27] Speaker 1: not have left Silicon Valley for Vegas, just like the
[58:30] Speaker 1: Chicago Bears will not leave Chicago for Indiana. I can't
[58:36] Speaker 1: speak to the chiefs. I don't know all the geographics
[58:39] Speaker 1: of Kansas, Missouri. I mean, I've been there before, but
[58:43] Speaker 1: I don't I don't understand it. All. But I know
[58:45] Speaker 1: for a one hundred percent fact the Chicago Bears will
[58:49] Speaker 1: not leave Chicago. You know that ain't happening. So Poles
[58:55] Speaker 1: deserves more credit than and listen, his job's hard because
[58:59] Speaker 1: you got to deal with Kevin Warren that somehow has
[59:02] Speaker 1: become like the pseudo owner. So it's never He's always
[59:05] Speaker 1: in the in the videos behind Ben Jonson, like the guy.
[59:08] Speaker 1: The guy likes himself some camera time. He likes to
[59:10] Speaker 1: be a star. So if Ryan polls navigating that relationship
[59:15] Speaker 1: for a guy who clearly wants the credit when things
[59:17] Speaker 1: are going well, Kevin Warren's right there. Shit, if this
[59:20] Speaker 1: season had gone south, that guy would be nowhere to
[59:22] Speaker 1: be found. So I'll give Ryan Poles a lot of
[59:25] Speaker 1: credit on that one. Yeah, well we'll wrap up on
[59:27] Speaker 1: that for the night, So audios. The volume

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.