December 26, 2025 • 41 mins
Brian Noe in for Ben Maller starts hour 1 recapping the main storylines from a full day of NFL & NBA, and Charles Barkley putting the NFL on blast and why he doesn’t buy the Broncos.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, thanks for listening to the Ben Maler Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
It's me Ben.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Be sure to catch us live every weeknight from two
to six Eastern eleven pm to three am Pacific right
here on Fox Sports Radio. You can find your local
station for the Ben Malers Show over at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Oh what is going on? Welcome in here.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Merry Christmas to everybody still on the West coast. Right
Christmas not over yet, but you know everybody else, you know,
we're into what Thursday morning, Friday morning, Friday morning.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Goodness, My days of the week are all screwed up here.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
You know what's funny is we got a lot to
talk about tonight, mostly football related, some basketball related.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
But it's funny.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
They put together a cut sheet at Fox Sports Radio.
The editors do a great job. They edit a bunch
of audio throughout the day. They put a cut sheet
together and at the very top of the cut sheet
it's Charles Barkley and the cut is entitled NFL Got Greedy?
Christmas is an NBA day. No, it is not sorry
(01:14):
like it is not anymore when you have a NFL
triple header. We could do a little tail of the
tape if you want to do it. Ratings wise, NBA
doesn't want to play that game. And I love the NBA,
trust me, this is not like anti NBA stuff. I
watched the NBA all the time. I used to watch
it every single day. I would still watch it every
single day. The problem is I can't figure out how
(01:36):
to find some of the games I'm getting. I'm getting
readjusted to the new TV package right here. But you know,
I typically watch the NBA every day. So this is
not me like typical anti NBA stuff. But bro, if
you want to get into a tail of the tape
ratings wise, the Nightcap was a pretty bad game.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Very vanilla, very boring game. It was on Prime Video.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I guarantee it dusted anything that was on ESPN. And
the Nightcap in the NBA was tremendous. That Timberwolves Nuggets
game was crazy, Like the the t Wolves made this
dramatic comeback at the end of regulation. Ant hits a
corner three to force overtime. There's a tremendous comeback. Didn't
(02:23):
we get to overtime? In Minnesota's up by like nine points.
They're killing Nver, and you're like, all right, this looks
like it's a wrap. Denver's like, no, not gonna happen.
They make this dramatic comeback in overtime and ended up
winning the game. The Kola Jokic goes nuts a fifty
six point triple double. So I'm not anti NBA, But
(02:44):
for anyone who's like, oh, no, Christmas is still the
NBA's day, No it is not. The ratings would suggest otherwise.
And I don't know what else you're going by. Were
you just like because it used to be the NBA's day,
it still is, like what do you have to be up?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Do you have ratings to back that up? No, you don't.
The NFL does.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
The NFL can point and be like interesting, So it
looks like millions and millions and millions of people watched
our product while little little millions watched your product, NBA.
That's what it looks like to us. I don't know
if you want to, you know, you can't bring something
else to this little debate over I don't know. The
tail of the tape is the ratings. If you want
(03:25):
to say it's still this league's day.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
I think you gotta back it up with ratings and
say the people are watching our product more than that product. Now,
both of these first two games in the NFL were
on Netflix. That's a little bit of a different deal
in terms of gauging ratings. I don't even know how
they go about doing that.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
I'm sure there's a way they can gauge it. I
don't know how much it differs from any of like
the linear TV, if a game is just on Fox
or CBS or what have you. I don't know how
much different it is with nets. I'm sure there's a
way they can ballpark it. But I guarantee you, even
though we watched some bad football on Christmas Day, mostly
(04:09):
I'm sure it blew the NBA's ratings out of the water.
And you can give me the best NBA matchup possible.
You can give me Lebron and the Lakers against Kadie
and the Rockets. And even though that was not a
good game, man, it's still a close first half. You
still got the Juggernauts going toe to toe. It's it
just doesn't hold a candle to the NFL sorry, like
(04:31):
the NFL is king. We don't say that because you know,
it's just something that's like a niche thing to say.
We say because it's the truth. The NFL is king
by far. And even though Christmas Day was the NBA's
day when there wasn't competition, when it was just NBA games,
now that the NFL is like, you know what, screw
(04:53):
the NBA. Let's let's make it our day too. It's
the NFL's day. Make no mistake about it. It's completely
the NFL's now. One of the games on Christmas Day
was the Vikings beating the Lions. The Lions season is
officially dead. It's a little bit like squid Game. You
know how they do this on Squid Game where someone
(05:13):
gets knocked out and they have the little voice that's
right eliminated.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That would be the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
They are dead dead, as Robert de Niro said in
I think it was Good Fellows, right dead dead. I
know know, I was casino, Sorry getting my movie references
mixed up.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
But no more Lions.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
They are audio s muchachos. And this is the crazy thing.
If you look at the Vikings, not exactly gaudy passing numbers.
So Max Brosmer he got the start for the Vikings.
He was nine for sixteen for fifty one yards. Now
you might think, man, fifty one yards, that's pretty low total.
(05:56):
It actually gets lower than that. That's what he passed.
Now when you factor in the sack yardage that was lost, right,
you lose yardage with these sacks that mount up. So
when you factor that in, the Vikings passed for a
grand total of get this, three yards. That's the Vikings
passing attack against the Lions on Christmas Day. Three passing yards. Somehow,
(06:22):
some way, the Vikings passed for three yards and one
by thirteen points. That's how badly the Lions season ended
up here. It's just completely falling off the tracks. They
were eight and five, had a legitimate shot to make
the playoffs, and they've lost their last three games and
they're officially eliminated. They're done, Audios, and I get it.
(06:48):
They lost to the Rams. No crime in losing to
the Rams. The Rams are arguably the best team in
the NFL this season, even though they're third in their division,
which is just insanity. But a lot of people like
the Rams with good reason. Very very good team. Matthew
Stafford has been fantastic this season. So a couple of
weeks ago the Lions they lost to the Rams on
(07:11):
the road, no crime in that, right, Rams are nasty.
But since then they lost to the Steelers at home,
and then they lose to the Max Brosmer Vikings. When
the Vikings passing attack put together a brilliant aerial display
to the tune of three yards, and they still lost
(07:33):
to the Vikings. So it's over with. It's amazing too,
because now the Vikings and the Lions have the exact
same record. They are both eight and eight. How about that.
I said this the other night when I filled in
for Big Ben. If you look at how disastrous this
Viking season has been, think about it. You've had JJ
(07:54):
McCarthy start nine games, and a lot of that was bad.
You know, first year starter, ugly play, inaccurate passes, injured,
out of the lineup, then back in the lineup.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Hey, it looks bad. He looks like a first year starter.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
A lot of it was ugly, and so they have
JJ McCarthy in there. Then they have Carson Wentz in
there for five games, and you get a little dose
of Max Brosmer and oh, my lords, he threw for
fifty one yards against the Lions. That was like a
breakout performance for Max Brosmer. You see him against the Seahawks.
My lord, they had four interceptions. He had the one
(08:33):
single worst interception of the entire season. It was like
the no look trying to get rid of it and
just went right to a Seattle linebacker for a pick six. Right.
It's been a horrible season for the Vikings, and yet
they have the exact same record as the Detroit Lions.
Crazy how that has worked out. One other thing to
(08:55):
mention that it's getting a lot of attention here and.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I totally disagree with it.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
There is a lot of talk, particularly on x I
see a lot of tweets about this where it's like, wow,
I mean the Lions they sure do miss Ben Johnson.
I see that a lot a lot of comments about man,
they missed the former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who's now
the head coach of the Bears. I mean, look at
(09:22):
the Lions right now, and look at the Bears right now. Look, man,
offense is not the issue with the Detroit Lions now
on Christmas Day, Yeah, you could point to the offense
and say, whoa, if you had more offense, you would
have beaten the Minnesota Vikings. That's fair, But to put
(09:42):
that on the entire season, that's not the reason why
the Lions are eight and eight and find themselves where
they are. You know as well as I do. When
you look at what the Lions collectively have done. Offensively,
their numbers are fine. They're among the league leaders in
many different categories offensively. The problem is defensively, you had
(10:05):
a bunch of injuries. The defense isn't as good as
the offense is not the problem with the Lions. They're
number three in passing offense, their twelfth in rushing offense.
They score the second most points in the league this season.
They averaged just over thirty points per game. It's not
the offense that is killing the Lions here. That's not
(10:27):
the case. They've had a lot of injuries. Defensively, their
secondary is mangled, the offensive line a little bit banged up.
They can't run the ball like they usually can. That's
not a Ben Johnson thing. That's just a you know, listen,
if you have an identity and all of a sudden
you can't do quite as effectively what your identity is
(10:48):
what you are at your core. Then like Ben Johnson's
not changing that, he's not fixing that. Donaldly is the
Ben Johnson problem. I just think listen and there are
seasons like this in the NFL where there's a talented team,
high expectations. Maybe they drop a game here or there,
and then they start pressing. It starts to snowball, and
(11:11):
then they find themselves on the outside of the playoffs
looking in. I don't think that you can look at
Dan Campbell and his play calling and be like, whoa
grease fire?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
What is he thinking?
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Right? I just don't see it that way. I just
don't see Ben Johnson walking in there and all of
a sudden it's just, you know, it's an aerial display.
And the other thing here is it's not a Ben
Johnson thing at all. That Jared Goff sucks in one
area when he is facing a pass rush of any sort. Like,
(11:47):
I don't know what it is. If you look at
Jared Goff, he's an enigma. You know they had the
Enigma documentary with Aaron Rodgers. You need Enigma starring Jared Goff.
From this perspective, it's not you know, I get it
with Rogers. He's a little eclectic, a little out there,
a little different, right, That's what it means as far
as that goes. I'm not saying that with Jared Goff,
(12:09):
but just his game. His game on the field is
an enigma. If you look at Jared Goff's numbers, his
numbers are sick, Like going into Week seventeen, going into
the Christmas Day game against the Vikings, thirty two touchdown passes,
five interceptions, Like, that's fantastic. He's third in passing yards
(12:32):
per game, He's second in passer rating.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
His numbers are nasty. His numbers are like off the charts.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
And yet when you watch Jared Goff, you're like, ugh,
I'm sure I'm not the only one who you just
watch me, You're like, oh my gosh, Like that was
a rough one right there. I don't know about that performance,
right like, And when he faces a pass rush is
just brutal to watch. Is rough, ugly, like ugly ugly stuff.
(13:02):
So there you go, there's Jared Goff. We'll get to
more stuff here. I think I got to reset stuff.
You know, I don't know, you know, my connection might
not be connected very well, So I need to shut
up here momentarily. But we've got a lot of football
to get to, a little bit of basketball. I've got
basketball headlines for you. I'm not scared to talk Coops,
(13:24):
but lots of football here. Very excited to talk about
the playoff picture. I want to do that next, and
I'll get to these fugazy Broncos in a second. It's
probably a good thing that Coop isn't here. Like the
performance from the Broncos on Christmas Day, it might have
broken the friendship between myself and Justin Cooper apart. It
might have ripped it apart at the seams, like this
(13:45):
team just sleep walking through games and playing down to
the level of their competition. I just I'm not a
big Broncos fan. I'm not a big Broncos believer. But
here's the thing that is what I want to get
to next. The theme of the the NFL playoffs as
it stands right now, right we're nearing, we're approaching ever
(14:07):
so closely, the NFL playoffs. I think the theme of
the NFL playoffs actually is a lyric in a heavy
metal song. I think that this this lyric from the
heavy metal song makes the most sense in terms of
your approach as a fan, maybe even a sports better
when it comes to the upcoming NFL playoffs, I'll share
(14:29):
that with you right around the corner. I'm Brian in
for Big Ben Mallard. Keep it locked right here on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Pally Foods Go here with Tony Foods Go Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning
Polly and Tony Foods Go show. Yeah, but instead of
us telling you how great we are, here's how Dan
Patrick described us when he came on our show.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny opinion.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
What are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, it wasn't
talking about you. You took those clubs totally out of context.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Oh yeah, well, after this promo, I'm gonna take you
out and beat you.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Yeah, anyway, just listen to the Pauly and Toni Fusco
Show on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Yea, it is Fox Sports Radio. I'm Brian no In
for Big Ben Meller. I hope you had a fantastic
Christmas celebration or you know, Christmas Day for those that
aren't celebrating. You know, not.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Everybody does celebrate.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Hopefully, hopefully your Christmas, your Thursday was outstanding, your top shelf.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
It was good for me. It's good.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Watch them ball of course meeting football, right, ball means football.
Any rational thinking human being feels that way. I believe
I'm worried about this connection. You know, hopefully it sounds
you know, top shelf, double thumbs up, you know, whenever
they're like, I don't know, man, you sound like I
just it's the worst. I can't even tell you, man,
(16:05):
it's the worst. If somebody came up and said you're
a disgusting human being and I hate you, that would
be way less horrible than someone on Fox Sports Radio
staff saying, yeah, man, your connection sounds bad right now.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Like the latter is way worse. I don't know how to.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Explain it to you, man, Like for any host, it
just throws you off. You have no idea. As soon
as you have it in your head, like it sounds bad,
you're like, well, shoot, I mean you're trying to put
a thought together and it's a disaster. So that's what
we're dealing with. But hopefully we got it ironed out.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Hey.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Feeding off the success of our college basketball Bracket challenge
each March, we decided to do a bracket challenge for
the college football playoffs. That's right now that there are
eight teams left standing, it's Bracket Challenge time. Compete against
our Fox Sports Radio hosts and against fellow listeners to
see who has the best college football playoff bracket. Play
(17:03):
for your chance to win one thousand dollars. Visit FOK
Sports Radio dot iHeart dot com to register, get rules,
and to fill out your bracket. Entry will be open
until just before kickoff at seven thirty pm Eastern on
New Year's Eve. Again, fill out your bracket at Foxsports
Radio dot iHeart dot com for your chance to win
one thousand dollars. And by the way, Militia, feel free
(17:25):
to check in eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox.
Is your number always open for you? Like being interactive
with you guys. Now I did mention this. I think
that the theme of the NFL Playoffs as it stands
right now, we're getting closer and closer to playoff time.
It's gonna change, but as of right now, I think
(17:46):
the official theme is a lyric from a heavy metal song. Okay,
now this is from Gojira. You might not be familiar.
It's okay, you don't need to be.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
By the way.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
This band, I think they're from France. I think they're
French over here go Jira. Believe that's true. And fun
fact from them, they actually played a bit during the Olympics,
like the opening ceremonies, so because it was in France
and I'm ninety nine percent sure they're French. Yeah, they're
(18:17):
rocking out during the opening ceremonies. I couldn't believe it.
They were playing heavy stuff. I'm like, this is the Olympics,
this is the opening ceremonies. This is as mainstream as
it gets. And they're like, yeah, let's get go Jura,
and you know, let's get some metal. We need a
little more metal in our Olympic diet over here. But
they have this song called Stranded, and there's a portion
(18:38):
of the song where I think you'd be able to
tell what they say. If you don't, I'll tell you
what they say in a second listen to this lyric.
I think it's the official theme of the NFL playoffs
as it stands right now. Here you go, there you go.
Don't lock the door on me, That's what he says.
I think that's where we're at in the NFL playoffs
(19:00):
right now. If you think about this, normally, in an
NFL season, I would start locking the door on numerous teams.
Right If we had Mahomes and the Chiefs and they've
been to the super Bowl five straight years and this
is a normal season, I could just start eliminating.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Teams right away.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
I could be like, yeah, Texan's better luck next year.
Chargers no good season, but not quite. Steelers, Yeah, right,
get out of here. They were they gonna have a
deep playoff run. They never have a deep playoff run.
It's been a decade since they've won a playoff game.
What are they gonna do in a play right? I
just start locking the door on all these teams are
(19:39):
a lot of them, but as it stands right now,
without a clear cut favorite, I hate to say it,
but I think the best approach is to not lock
the door on hardly any of these teams. If you
start playing the game of It's like, what did Russell
Westbrook say this one time?
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Like why not?
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Me?
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Right?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Like? Why not?
Speaker 4 (20:02):
If you look at team by team in the playoff
picture in the NFL, it's like, why not the Broncos?
Why not the Patriots getting to the super Bowl? Why
not Jacksonville? Right Like some people will laugh at me
saying why not Jacksonville? Think about this. If you look
at Jacksonville right now, they're a three seed. We'll see
(20:23):
how everything shakes out as we wind down here with
the Broncos winning on Christmas Day, that they don't have
any shot to catch the Broncos for the one seed.
So they did before you know, Week seventeen got started.
They still had a shot, like an outside shot at
the one seed, and so they're gonna end up as
a two or three right around there. You're telling me
(20:45):
that no chance to know how Jacksonville emerges from the
af SE.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
I'm not telling you.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I'm running to the betting window to put everything I
own on Jacksonville getting to the super Bowl. But I'm
here to tell you we can't just eliminate them as
if they have no shot, that's still not with the
lack of teams around them, I mean, you look at
these teams. They have strengths and they have capabilities of
deep playoff runs, and then they have warts, they have shortcomings,
(21:15):
They have things that could come back and bought them
come playoff time, and there they fizzle out relatively quickly.
But if you just look at the AFC playoff picture,
it's like you're telling me no way for the Jags. Like,
think about this, if Jacksonville ends up facing Denver, Like
Denver is the one seed right now, they've got a
(21:36):
good shot to be the one seed in the AFC.
What if the Jags end up in Denver again, you're
telling me they can't beat them again. They crushed Denver
last week, just a couple of days ago, right, kill
them in Denver. They're not capable of going back there
and beating them again. Like, you start playing this game
with teams, who's the no chance know how team?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
There might be a couple.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
Maybe you say the Steelers are that team no chance
know how.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
They at least get to the Super Bowl. Let's put
it that way.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Right, If you handicapped the AFC, and then you also
turn around and handicap the NFC, who are the teams
that you would say no chance. Know how they get
to the super Bowl. Maybe the Steelers are on your list.
I think for a lot of people, whoever wins the
NFC South would be on their list. You don't see
the Carolina Panthers or Tampa Bay having this deep playoff run.
(22:34):
I don't think that's crazy at all. I would agree
with that. I wouldn't go as far as to say
no chance. But in the NFC, I think there are
some some tougher, tougher upper echelon teams to get through.
Like for a team like Carolina, just think about their path.
Their path would be something like, as it stands right now,
(22:58):
Niners in the first round, yeh right, Like, okay, you
survive that, Maybe Seahawks on the road, second round, yeesh right,
and then whoever's left, maybe Philly. That would be your
potential path throughout the playoffs. That is a tough path
for a team like Carolina. So I wouldn't have them
in the mix. I would say, yeah, no, better luck
(23:22):
next time. Not gonna happen. But you understand the point
when you start looking at okay, could Seattle Yeah, could
they get to the super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
I don't love them as a team, but they have
home field throughout the NFL playoffs. Yeah, they got a
legit shot to make it to the playoffs to the
super Bowl. They don't run the ball very well. Sam
Darnold is shaky at best, especially in big games.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Holds onto the ball way too long, take sacks, you know.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Doesn't get rid of it, turns the ball over. I
just I don't love Seattle, but too playoff wins. If
they're the one seed to get to the super Bowl,
it's doable.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Bears.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
I don't like the Bears either. Like the Bears defense
not very good. They live, they survive on takeaways. They
create a bunch of turnovers. That's how they survive. That's
how they like keep their head above water. Basically, I
see a team like the Bears with a pretty weak
(24:26):
defense that is getting by by forcing a ton of turnovers.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
What if that happen?
Speaker 4 (24:31):
What if that stops in the playoffs, or if they're
just not forcing takeaways, what if they somehow lose the
turnover battle in a game. That's how they've been winning
these games. It's like crazy off the wall, fluky stuff
at times. I'm not trying to say that's all their
season has been. But when you have like a point
five chance to beat the Packers before you recover an
(24:52):
on sidekick, when no one recovers on sidekicks, that's a
fluky win.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I just don't buy them.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
But with the lack of juggernauts around them, I mean,
I can't just start writing them off. So I think
that's where it goes back to the song Don't lock
the Door on Me Gojira said it best, and I
think that that's the tough part here, is because if
you're trying to guess who's gonna emerge and get to
(25:19):
the super Bowl, and if you're betting on those things,
well you got to hit your wagon to someone, and
you got to start eliminating these teams and betting against
certain teams. And so it's like the question is who
are you betting against? Who are these teams that you're
just like, yeah, I think the four Seeds are both
kind of weak.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
I think they're both weak.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
The Steelers and right now the Panthers, those are weak teams,
so I don't see them making deep playoff runs. But
when you look outside of that, I just don't buy
the arguments of you know, no way Broncos.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Why not? Why not?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
No way?
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Like no chance, that doesn't make sense, No way, Bears.
I don't like either team. I don't like the Broncos
or the Bears. I don't like the Bears defense at all.
I look at the Broncos and a little bit like
you saw on Christmas Day, like, the Broncos are a
team where their formula for success is this. They typically
play really good defense, they have a great offensive line,
(26:22):
and what they're able to do they able to put
heat on your quarterback. They have the most sacks in
the NFL this season, by par and they allow the
fewest sacks, so they get to your quarterback and they
don't allow you to get to their quarterback that often.
And bow Nicks does a good job of getting outside
the pocket buying some time. They just don't get up
(26:45):
many sacks. And they protect the football too. So with
that formula, you're gonna wut a lot of games. But
what's weird about the Broncos is you also see how
low their ceiling is on Christmas Day. That was I
was just like yo throughout the entire game. If I
was watching the Broncos performance specifically, I'm just.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Like, oh, man like I just ate a.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Whole turkey, you know what I mean, Like the trip
the fan is kicking kicking in I'm just like, oh,
just that's the way the Broncos played.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
It's this like the stats.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Are insane, like one of these things Bo Nicks he averaged.
Let me get it for you, so I'm not misquoting
this here. This blew my mind. He averaged less than
three air yards per completion, Like it's dink and dunk
defined not pushing the ball downfield. Now, some of it
(27:41):
you could say, that's part of what Spags did. You know, right,
the Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo keep everything in front
of us. The Chiefs, what they tried to do was
shrink the game. It was a smart game plan for
the Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
They ran the.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Ball quite a bit, tried to keep the clock moving.
Let's shrink the game. It's not a big plays. So
part of that did make sense from the Broncos approach.
But that's what I mean. The Broncos allow certain defenses
to dictate terms to them, like they don't dictate the
terms offensively.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
A team like the Chiefs, who.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Has struggled all season, who does not have a pass rush.
Was dictating terms like bo Nicks averaged less than three
air yards per completion. That's like screen screen ooh, radical
five yard out? Like whoa really pushing the ball downfield?
It's like what are we doing right here? So you
(28:40):
don't have a consistent running game, you have like backup
running backs, and bo Nicks is limited. Man, I'm not
saying bo Nick sucks, but he's a limited quarterback.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
I don't want to make it only what he does wrong.
He is too inconsistent for my taste. But he has
been clutch many times this season. He's been really good
in the fourth quarter. He can move the very mobile guy,
can create with his legs, extend plays, throw on the run.
He can do some good things, but just too inconsistent
(29:16):
for my liking. I just need more consistency from whoever's
playing quarterback, and bow Knicks just doesn't provide that. So,
if you're asking me, does a team that has a
lackluster running game who might really need bo Knicks to
step up and have big performances to move on in
the playoffs, Do I expect that team to make a
(29:39):
deep push?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
No?
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Bo Knicks is twenty third in passer rating this season,
his passer rating is eighty nine. Bryce Young has a
higher passer rating. Jackson Dart, a rookie quarterback, has a
higher passer rating than bow Knicks bo Nicks unless you
think two a tongue of I loo is crushing it
this year.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
He just got benched.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
Right, Tua is zero point five below bo Nicks, like
bow Nicks is barely above Tua tunka I looa in
passer rating, and you might wonder, like what is passer ratings?
That it takes four different categories and smushes them together,
and all four of these categories matter. Right, We're talking
about completion percentage, touchdowns, and interceptions and yards per attempt.
(30:24):
So that's what really hits bo Nicks. It's the lack
of yards per attempt because it's a dink and dunk
offense mostly Like he pushes the ball downfield at times,
but he certainly didn't do it on Christmas Day, like
at all. I think he had one pass beyond ten
yards one the whole game. It's just dank dunk, dink,
(30:46):
dunkdink dunk. It's too much of that, man, So I
know I don't like the Broncos. But again getting back
to what I think is the theme of the upcoming playoffs,
don't lock the door on me. I can't lock the
door on the Broncos and say no chance know how
they get to the Super Bowl. As much as I
hate to admit it, they've got a shot. Like I don't,
(31:08):
I just don't. I don't think highly of their team.
I don't think their formula for success is likely to
produce great playoff results this season. I just I don't
see that. But can I tell you they have no
shot at home against the Patriots if that's the playoff matchup?
Somehow someway, of course they've got a shot. One other
(31:32):
thing is I think we just act like the Broncos
defense is really good and we just stop that conversation
right there. It's like, man, they've been leaky lately. If
you look at the Broncos critically, which I can do.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
If you don't, I can do it for you. You know,
I can look at them critically.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
So the last couple of games, right they're giving up
twenty six points to the Washington Commanders. Are they crushing it?
By the way that offense is killing it? That was
Mariota starting that game. By the way, the Commanders score
twenty six points. There's an overtime game, but they moved
it on the Broncos consistently. So you give up twenty
six there, you give up twenty six points to the Packers,
(32:16):
You give up thirty four points to the Jags.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
The Jacks smacked them around.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
I don't know if that was Parker Washington or Jesus
Christ out there, Like Parker Washington had an all time
game against the Broncos, so that defense a little leaky,
little leaky.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So I don't know.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
I expect them to be good come playoff time, but
I think we just we act like it's a given
they're gonna be all world, and they certainly haven't been lately.
They have not, so keep that in mind. But I
can't wait for the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Man.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
I think some wild things are capable of happening, and
some stuff that you didn't foresee happening might happen, And
I just think it's tailor made for you know, you
have like the cold.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Tweets exposed or whatever.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
There's gonna be some cold tweets exposed from like, oh,
this team sucked and they're gonna end up in the
super Bowl. This team, if such a Fugaysey fools Gold team,
that team ends up in the Super Bowl, right like,
it can absolutely happen. So as much as I dislike
some of these teams, I can't tell you they have
no chance. That would just be incorrect. Like the Broncos
(33:31):
and the Bears. I don't like either of those teams.
That could possibly be your super Bowl matchup. I doubt it,
but it's possible. I'm at least not shutting the door
on that possibility. I just think that if you get
anything from this, I think this is the year to
not say no chance, know how for a number of
teams that are going to be in the playoffs getting
(33:52):
to the super Bowl. Hey, this show is sponsored by
DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL
and NBA. Right now, use the promo code Malor to
claim your special offer at DraftKings. Again, that promo code
Mallor is at DraftKings. The crown is yours all right?
Coming up next? You know, Ben does the who Am I?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Game?
Speaker 4 (34:13):
So I'll, out of respect for him, I'll throw one
year way. So I was watching this Vikings Lions game,
and Drew Brees said something really interesting during the game.
So Harrison Smith shut out Notre Dame right from remember
the Irish Right. He's been at it for a number
(34:35):
of years with the Vikings, and he's closing in on
a special special club, the forty twenty club. So that's
forty interceptions and twenty sacks. And according to Drew Brees,
he said, there are only two other players in NFL
history that are in this club. So I guess instead
(34:58):
of who am I, it's who are we? That's the
who are We?
Speaker 3 (35:02):
Game?
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Who are the two other players in NFL history with
at least forty interceptions and twenty sacks? Feel free to
share your crazy responses on x tweet me at the
no Show is where you can find me, so we'll
share some of that stuff right around the corner.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
I'm Brian no In for Big Ben Malor. Keep it
locked right here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Mallor
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
It is Fox Sports Radio. I'm Brian no In for
Big Ben Malor. For over forty years, Tyrak has been
helping customers find the right tires for how, what and
where they drive ship fast and free, backed by free
road hazard protection with convenient installation options like mobile tire installation,
tire rack dot Com the way tire buying should be. Now,
I'll get to your NBA headlines here momentarily. Right, we've
(35:54):
got some NBA headlines, some good stuff. How about how
about okay See losing again? The Spurs beat him again.
The Spurs have beat him three times in like the
last two weeks. It's crazy insanity right there.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
Man.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
I'm sure that luckily I did not bet on this game,
but I'm sure there's there are a lot of sports
betters out there that are like, Okay, Christmas Day, Okay
see at home?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
All right?
Speaker 4 (36:25):
Wait, the Spurs got him a couple of times. Oh
this is where okay See responds. This is really punched back, baby,
and nope again, smacked again, one seventeen to one oh two.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Wow. Crazy.
Speaker 4 (36:38):
But I'll get to other NBA headlines next hour. Got
to give the association a little bit of love. But
I mentioned the who are we?
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Game?
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Right? I thought it was gonna be the who am I?
Speaker 4 (36:50):
Game?
Speaker 2 (36:50):
But it kind of morphed into the who are we game? Right?
Speaker 4 (36:54):
So it's a really interesting fact that our guy Drew
Brees shared on the telecast on the game with the
Vikings and Lions that was on Netflix, and he said
that Harrison Smith, the Viking safety, he's closing in on
(37:15):
the forty twenty club. And I'm like, the forty twenty club.
What the what is that? I know that existed? The
forty twenty club?
Speaker 3 (37:23):
What?
Speaker 4 (37:24):
And he said, that's forty interceptions and twenty sacks in
your NFL career, And so Harrison Smith, he's very close.
Drew Brees is right, So I believe Harrison Smith's sad
thirty nine career interceptions, twenty one and a half sacks.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
In his career.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
So Harrison Smith had both an interception and a sack
against the Lions on Christmas Day, so he is one
interception away from this forty twenty club. Didn't know that
was even a thing, but I learned that it was
today and I'm very happy about that. So we got
(38:05):
some guesses over here. Let's see if anybody's got this.
Let's say, who am I Mallard prop He went with
Lorena Navidad. Okay, so he's got Lorena in this mix.
There are two other players in NFL history that are
in the forty twenty club forty interceptions twenty sacks in
their NFL careers. Okay, so we're looking for these two
(38:27):
other mystery NFL players. See if anybody's got this. So
Lorena Navidad is the first guest here. Not a Burner
went with Earl Thomas. Okay, went with Earl. Not a
bad guess. Donkey went with Burton Ernie. Who am I
very nice, very nicely done, Gunner. Shout out, Gunner. The
(38:49):
answers are Barney the purple dinosaur in Big Bird. By
the way, quick story sidebar makes me think of my nephews.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So my nephew.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
I've talked about my nephews for years here on Fox
Sports Radio. They're grown now, Like they're not super old,
they're just you know, like twenty one and nineteen I
think are their official ages. But they're both married, like
they're both may they're twenty two and twenty. I can't
do the math in my head that fast, but they're
(39:17):
both married, these little guys. But anyway, Gunner's answer there,
The answers are Barney the purple dinosaur in Big Bird.
I said, a flashback. I was driving around, like my
sister was driving the van that they had, and my
nephews are still younger at the time, they're watching Barney.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I said of them.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
I was like, heyes, big Barney fans. And my younger
nephew tie. He looked at me, he goes, no, huge
Barney fans. Okay, all right, that's subtled, got it, huge
Barney fans. My bad didn't know. So there you go.
Got a bunch of guests this year. Let me see thumbing, thumbing, thumbing.
(39:55):
Oh no, no, no, we'll get some milkman. Mike in
a second, getting the the references here movie references. That's
a whole other subject right there. So the answer right here.
The two other players in NFL history that are in
the forty twenty club forty interceptions twenty sacks, that would
be Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson. How about that. Yeah,
(40:19):
it's correct, And if you look at these guys in
their numbers, it's ridiculous. Charles Woodson had sixty five interceptions
and twenty sacks, and then Ronde Barber forty seven interceptions
and twenty eight sacks in his career. The only two
players in NFL history that are in this club forty interceptions,
(40:42):
twenty sacks, Harrison Smith one interception away from joining both
Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson. That that was the funnest
of the fun facts all day, shout out Drew Brees,
relaying that information very good stuff, all right.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Plenty to get to.
Speaker 4 (40:58):
I want to get to the five biggest surprises this season.
Hey, thanks for listening to the Ben Maler Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
It's me Ben.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Be sure to catch us live every weeknight from two
to six Eastern eleven pm to three am Pacific right
here on Fox Sports Radio. You can find your local
station for the Ben Malers Show over at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Oh what is going on? Welcome in here.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Merry Christmas to everybody still on the West coast. Right
Christmas not over yet, but you know everybody else, you know,
we're into what Thursday morning, Friday morning, Friday morning.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Goodness, My days of the week are all screwed up here.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
You know what's funny is we got a lot to
talk about tonight, mostly football related, some basketball related.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
But it's funny.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
They put together a cut sheet at Fox Sports Radio.
The editors do a great job. They edit a bunch
of audio throughout the day. They put a cut sheet
together and at the very top of the cut sheet
it's Charles Barkley and the cut is entitled NFL Got Greedy?
Christmas is an NBA day. No, it is not sorry
(01:14):
like it is not anymore when you have a NFL
triple header. We could do a little tail of the
tape if you want to do it. Ratings wise, NBA
doesn't want to play that game. And I love the NBA,
trust me, this is not like anti NBA stuff. I
watched the NBA all the time. I used to watch
it every single day. I would still watch it every
single day. The problem is I can't figure out how
(01:36):
to find some of the games I'm getting. I'm getting
readjusted to the new TV package right here. But you know,
I typically watch the NBA every day. So this is
not me like typical anti NBA stuff. But bro, if
you want to get into a tail of the tape
ratings wise, the Nightcap was a pretty bad game.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Very vanilla, very boring game. It was on Prime Video.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I guarantee it dusted anything that was on ESPN. And
the Nightcap in the NBA was tremendous. That Timberwolves Nuggets
game was crazy, Like the the t Wolves made this
dramatic comeback at the end of regulation. Ant hits a
corner three to force overtime. There's a tremendous comeback. Didn't
(02:23):
we get to overtime? In Minnesota's up by like nine points.
They're killing Nver, and you're like, all right, this looks
like it's a wrap. Denver's like, no, not gonna happen.
They make this dramatic comeback in overtime and ended up
winning the game. The Kola Jokic goes nuts a fifty
six point triple double. So I'm not anti NBA, But
(02:44):
for anyone who's like, oh, no, Christmas is still the
NBA's day, No it is not. The ratings would suggest otherwise.
And I don't know what else you're going by. Were
you just like because it used to be the NBA's day,
it still is, like what do you have to be up?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Do you have ratings to back that up? No, you don't.
The NFL does.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
The NFL can point and be like interesting, So it
looks like millions and millions and millions of people watched
our product while little little millions watched your product, NBA.
That's what it looks like to us. I don't know
if you want to, you know, you can't bring something
else to this little debate over I don't know. The
tail of the tape is the ratings. If you want
(03:25):
to say it's still this league's day.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
I think you gotta back it up with ratings and
say the people are watching our product more than that product. Now,
both of these first two games in the NFL were
on Netflix. That's a little bit of a different deal
in terms of gauging ratings. I don't even know how
they go about doing that.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
I'm sure there's a way they can gauge it. I
don't know how much it differs from any of like
the linear TV, if a game is just on Fox
or CBS or what have you. I don't know how
much different it is with nets. I'm sure there's a
way they can ballpark it. But I guarantee you, even
though we watched some bad football on Christmas Day, mostly
(04:09):
I'm sure it blew the NBA's ratings out of the water.
And you can give me the best NBA matchup possible.
You can give me Lebron and the Lakers against Kadie
and the Rockets. And even though that was not a
good game, man, it's still a close first half. You
still got the Juggernauts going toe to toe. It's it
just doesn't hold a candle to the NFL sorry, like
(04:31):
the NFL is king. We don't say that because you know,
it's just something that's like a niche thing to say.
We say because it's the truth. The NFL is king
by far. And even though Christmas Day was the NBA's
day when there wasn't competition, when it was just NBA games,
now that the NFL is like, you know what, screw
(04:53):
the NBA. Let's let's make it our day too. It's
the NFL's day. Make no mistake about it. It's completely
the NFL's now. One of the games on Christmas Day
was the Vikings beating the Lions. The Lions season is
officially dead. It's a little bit like squid Game. You
know how they do this on Squid Game where someone
(05:13):
gets knocked out and they have the little voice that's
right eliminated.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That would be the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
They are dead dead, as Robert de Niro said in
I think it was Good Fellows, right dead dead. I
know know, I was casino, Sorry getting my movie references
mixed up.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
But no more Lions.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
They are audio s muchachos. And this is the crazy thing.
If you look at the Vikings, not exactly gaudy passing numbers.
So Max Brosmer he got the start for the Vikings.
He was nine for sixteen for fifty one yards. Now
you might think, man, fifty one yards, that's pretty low total.
(05:56):
It actually gets lower than that. That's what he passed.
Now when you factor in the sack yardage that was lost, right,
you lose yardage with these sacks that mount up. So
when you factor that in, the Vikings passed for a
grand total of get this, three yards. That's the Vikings
passing attack against the Lions on Christmas Day. Three passing yards. Somehow,
(06:22):
some way, the Vikings passed for three yards and one
by thirteen points. That's how badly the Lions season ended
up here. It's just completely falling off the tracks. They
were eight and five, had a legitimate shot to make
the playoffs, and they've lost their last three games and
they're officially eliminated. They're done, Audios, and I get it.
(06:48):
They lost to the Rams. No crime in losing to
the Rams. The Rams are arguably the best team in
the NFL this season, even though they're third in their division,
which is just insanity. But a lot of people like
the Rams with good reason. Very very good team. Matthew
Stafford has been fantastic this season. So a couple of
weeks ago the Lions they lost to the Rams on
(07:11):
the road, no crime in that, right, Rams are nasty.
But since then they lost to the Steelers at home,
and then they lose to the Max Brosmer Vikings. When
the Vikings passing attack put together a brilliant aerial display
to the tune of three yards, and they still lost
(07:33):
to the Vikings. So it's over with. It's amazing too,
because now the Vikings and the Lions have the exact
same record. They are both eight and eight. How about that.
I said this the other night when I filled in
for Big Ben. If you look at how disastrous this
Viking season has been, think about it. You've had JJ
(07:54):
McCarthy start nine games, and a lot of that was bad.
You know, first year starter, ugly play, inaccurate passes, injured,
out of the lineup, then back in the lineup.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Hey, it looks bad. He looks like a first year starter.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
A lot of it was ugly, and so they have
JJ McCarthy in there. Then they have Carson Wentz in
there for five games, and you get a little dose
of Max Brosmer and oh, my lords, he threw for
fifty one yards against the Lions. That was like a
breakout performance for Max Brosmer. You see him against the Seahawks.
My lord, they had four interceptions. He had the one
(08:33):
single worst interception of the entire season. It was like
the no look trying to get rid of it and
just went right to a Seattle linebacker for a pick six. Right.
It's been a horrible season for the Vikings, and yet
they have the exact same record as the Detroit Lions.
Crazy how that has worked out. One other thing to
(08:55):
mention that it's getting a lot of attention here and.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I totally disagree with it.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
There is a lot of talk, particularly on x I
see a lot of tweets about this where it's like, wow,
I mean the Lions they sure do miss Ben Johnson.
I see that a lot a lot of comments about man,
they missed the former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who's now
the head coach of the Bears. I mean, look at
(09:22):
the Lions right now, and look at the Bears right now. Look, man,
offense is not the issue with the Detroit Lions now
on Christmas Day, Yeah, you could point to the offense
and say, whoa, if you had more offense, you would
have beaten the Minnesota Vikings. That's fair, But to put
(09:42):
that on the entire season, that's not the reason why
the Lions are eight and eight and find themselves where
they are. You know as well as I do. When
you look at what the Lions collectively have done. Offensively,
their numbers are fine. They're among the league leaders in
many different categories offensively. The problem is defensively, you had
(10:05):
a bunch of injuries. The defense isn't as good as
the offense is not the problem with the Lions. They're
number three in passing offense, their twelfth in rushing offense.
They score the second most points in the league this season.
They averaged just over thirty points per game. It's not
the offense that is killing the Lions here. That's not
(10:27):
the case. They've had a lot of injuries. Defensively, their
secondary is mangled, the offensive line a little bit banged up.
They can't run the ball like they usually can. That's
not a Ben Johnson thing. That's just a you know, listen,
if you have an identity and all of a sudden
you can't do quite as effectively what your identity is
(10:48):
what you are at your core. Then like Ben Johnson's
not changing that, he's not fixing that. Donaldly is the
Ben Johnson problem. I just think listen and there are
seasons like this in the NFL where there's a talented team,
high expectations. Maybe they drop a game here or there,
and then they start pressing. It starts to snowball, and
(11:11):
then they find themselves on the outside of the playoffs
looking in. I don't think that you can look at
Dan Campbell and his play calling and be like, whoa
grease fire?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
What is he thinking?
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Right? I just don't see it that way. I just
don't see Ben Johnson walking in there and all of
a sudden it's just, you know, it's an aerial display.
And the other thing here is it's not a Ben
Johnson thing at all. That Jared Goff sucks in one
area when he is facing a pass rush of any sort. Like,
(11:47):
I don't know what it is. If you look at
Jared Goff, he's an enigma. You know they had the
Enigma documentary with Aaron Rodgers. You need Enigma starring Jared Goff.
From this perspective, it's not you know, I get it
with Rogers. He's a little eclectic, a little out there,
a little different, right, That's what it means as far
as that goes. I'm not saying that with Jared Goff,
(12:09):
but just his game. His game on the field is
an enigma. If you look at Jared Goff's numbers, his
numbers are sick, Like going into Week seventeen, going into
the Christmas Day game against the Vikings, thirty two touchdown passes,
five interceptions, Like, that's fantastic. He's third in passing yards
(12:32):
per game, He's second in passer rating.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
His numbers are nasty. His numbers are like off the charts.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
And yet when you watch Jared Goff, you're like, ugh,
I'm sure I'm not the only one who you just
watch me, You're like, oh my gosh, Like that was
a rough one right there. I don't know about that performance,
right like, And when he faces a pass rush is
just brutal to watch. Is rough, ugly, like ugly ugly stuff.
(13:02):
So there you go, there's Jared Goff. We'll get to
more stuff here. I think I got to reset stuff.
You know, I don't know, you know, my connection might
not be connected very well, So I need to shut
up here momentarily. But we've got a lot of football
to get to, a little bit of basketball. I've got
basketball headlines for you. I'm not scared to talk Coops,
(13:24):
but lots of football here. Very excited to talk about
the playoff picture. I want to do that next, and
I'll get to these fugazy Broncos in a second. It's
probably a good thing that Coop isn't here. Like the
performance from the Broncos on Christmas Day, it might have
broken the friendship between myself and Justin Cooper apart. It
might have ripped it apart at the seams, like this
(13:45):
team just sleep walking through games and playing down to
the level of their competition. I just I'm not a
big Broncos fan. I'm not a big Broncos believer. But
here's the thing that is what I want to get
to next. The theme of the the NFL playoffs as
it stands right now, right we're nearing, we're approaching ever
(14:07):
so closely, the NFL playoffs. I think the theme of
the NFL playoffs actually is a lyric in a heavy
metal song. I think that this this lyric from the
heavy metal song makes the most sense in terms of
your approach as a fan, maybe even a sports better
when it comes to the upcoming NFL playoffs, I'll share
(14:29):
that with you right around the corner. I'm Brian in
for Big Ben Mallard. Keep it locked right here on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Pally Foods Go here with Tony Foods Go Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning
Polly and Tony Foods Go show. Yeah, but instead of
us telling you how great we are, here's how Dan
Patrick described us when he came on our show.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny opinion.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
What are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, it wasn't
talking about you. You took those clubs totally out of context.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Oh yeah, well, after this promo, I'm gonna take you
out and beat you.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Yeah, anyway, just listen to the Pauly and Toni Fusco
Show on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Yea, it is Fox Sports Radio. I'm Brian no In
for Big Ben Meller. I hope you had a fantastic
Christmas celebration or you know, Christmas Day for those that
aren't celebrating. You know, not.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Everybody does celebrate.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Hopefully, hopefully your Christmas, your Thursday was outstanding, your top shelf.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
It was good for me. It's good.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Watch them ball of course meeting football, right, ball means football.
Any rational thinking human being feels that way. I believe
I'm worried about this connection. You know, hopefully it sounds
you know, top shelf, double thumbs up, you know, whenever
they're like, I don't know, man, you sound like I
just it's the worst. I can't even tell you, man,
(16:05):
it's the worst. If somebody came up and said you're
a disgusting human being and I hate you, that would
be way less horrible than someone on Fox Sports Radio
staff saying, yeah, man, your connection sounds bad right now.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Like the latter is way worse. I don't know how to.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Explain it to you, man, Like for any host, it
just throws you off. You have no idea. As soon
as you have it in your head, like it sounds bad,
you're like, well, shoot, I mean you're trying to put
a thought together and it's a disaster. So that's what
we're dealing with. But hopefully we got it ironed out.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Hey.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Feeding off the success of our college basketball Bracket challenge
each March, we decided to do a bracket challenge for
the college football playoffs. That's right now that there are
eight teams left standing, it's Bracket Challenge time. Compete against
our Fox Sports Radio hosts and against fellow listeners to
see who has the best college football playoff bracket. Play
(17:03):
for your chance to win one thousand dollars. Visit FOK
Sports Radio dot iHeart dot com to register, get rules,
and to fill out your bracket. Entry will be open
until just before kickoff at seven thirty pm Eastern on
New Year's Eve. Again, fill out your bracket at Foxsports
Radio dot iHeart dot com for your chance to win
one thousand dollars. And by the way, Militia, feel free
(17:25):
to check in eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox.
Is your number always open for you? Like being interactive
with you guys. Now I did mention this. I think
that the theme of the NFL Playoffs as it stands
right now, we're getting closer and closer to playoff time.
It's gonna change, but as of right now, I think
(17:46):
the official theme is a lyric from a heavy metal song. Okay,
now this is from Gojira. You might not be familiar.
It's okay, you don't need to be.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
By the way.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
This band, I think they're from France. I think they're
French over here go Jira. Believe that's true. And fun
fact from them, they actually played a bit during the Olympics,
like the opening ceremonies, so because it was in France
and I'm ninety nine percent sure they're French. Yeah, they're
(18:17):
rocking out during the opening ceremonies. I couldn't believe it.
They were playing heavy stuff. I'm like, this is the Olympics,
this is the opening ceremonies. This is as mainstream as
it gets. And they're like, yeah, let's get go Jura,
and you know, let's get some metal. We need a
little more metal in our Olympic diet over here. But
they have this song called Stranded, and there's a portion
(18:38):
of the song where I think you'd be able to
tell what they say. If you don't, I'll tell you
what they say in a second listen to this lyric.
I think it's the official theme of the NFL playoffs
as it stands right now. Here you go, there you go.
Don't lock the door on me, That's what he says.
I think that's where we're at in the NFL playoffs
(19:00):
right now. If you think about this, normally, in an
NFL season, I would start locking the door on numerous teams.
Right If we had Mahomes and the Chiefs and they've
been to the super Bowl five straight years and this
is a normal season, I could just start eliminating.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Teams right away.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
I could be like, yeah, Texan's better luck next year.
Chargers no good season, but not quite. Steelers, Yeah, right,
get out of here. They were they gonna have a
deep playoff run. They never have a deep playoff run.
It's been a decade since they've won a playoff game.
What are they gonna do in a play right? I
just start locking the door on all these teams are
(19:39):
a lot of them, but as it stands right now,
without a clear cut favorite, I hate to say it,
but I think the best approach is to not lock
the door on hardly any of these teams. If you
start playing the game of It's like, what did Russell
Westbrook say this one time?
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Like why not?
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Me?
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Right?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Like? Why not?
Speaker 4 (20:02):
If you look at team by team in the playoff
picture in the NFL, it's like, why not the Broncos?
Why not the Patriots getting to the super Bowl? Why
not Jacksonville? Right Like some people will laugh at me
saying why not Jacksonville? Think about this. If you look
at Jacksonville right now, they're a three seed. We'll see
(20:23):
how everything shakes out as we wind down here with
the Broncos winning on Christmas Day, that they don't have
any shot to catch the Broncos for the one seed.
So they did before you know, Week seventeen got started.
They still had a shot, like an outside shot at
the one seed, and so they're gonna end up as
a two or three right around there. You're telling me
(20:45):
that no chance to know how Jacksonville emerges from the
af SE.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
I'm not telling you.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I'm running to the betting window to put everything I
own on Jacksonville getting to the super Bowl. But I'm
here to tell you we can't just eliminate them as
if they have no shot, that's still not with the
lack of teams around them, I mean, you look at
these teams. They have strengths and they have capabilities of
deep playoff runs, and then they have warts, they have shortcomings,
(21:15):
They have things that could come back and bought them
come playoff time, and there they fizzle out relatively quickly.
But if you just look at the AFC playoff picture,
it's like you're telling me no way for the Jags. Like,
think about this, if Jacksonville ends up facing Denver, Like
Denver is the one seed right now, they've got a
(21:36):
good shot to be the one seed in the AFC.
What if the Jags end up in Denver again, you're
telling me they can't beat them again. They crushed Denver
last week, just a couple of days ago, right, kill
them in Denver. They're not capable of going back there
and beating them again. Like, you start playing this game
with teams, who's the no chance know how team?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
There might be a couple.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
Maybe you say the Steelers are that team no chance
know how.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
They at least get to the Super Bowl. Let's put
it that way.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Right, If you handicapped the AFC, and then you also
turn around and handicap the NFC, who are the teams
that you would say no chance. Know how they get
to the super Bowl. Maybe the Steelers are on your list.
I think for a lot of people, whoever wins the
NFC South would be on their list. You don't see
the Carolina Panthers or Tampa Bay having this deep playoff run.
(22:34):
I don't think that's crazy at all. I would agree
with that. I wouldn't go as far as to say
no chance. But in the NFC, I think there are
some some tougher, tougher upper echelon teams to get through.
Like for a team like Carolina, just think about their path.
Their path would be something like, as it stands right now,
(22:58):
Niners in the first round, yeh right, Like, okay, you
survive that, Maybe Seahawks on the road, second round, yeesh right,
and then whoever's left, maybe Philly. That would be your
potential path throughout the playoffs. That is a tough path
for a team like Carolina. So I wouldn't have them
in the mix. I would say, yeah, no, better luck
(23:22):
next time. Not gonna happen. But you understand the point
when you start looking at okay, could Seattle Yeah, could
they get to the super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
I don't love them as a team, but they have
home field throughout the NFL playoffs. Yeah, they got a
legit shot to make it to the playoffs to the
super Bowl. They don't run the ball very well. Sam
Darnold is shaky at best, especially in big games.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Holds onto the ball way too long, take sacks, you know.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Doesn't get rid of it, turns the ball over. I
just I don't love Seattle, but too playoff wins. If
they're the one seed to get to the super Bowl,
it's doable.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Bears.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
I don't like the Bears either. Like the Bears defense
not very good. They live, they survive on takeaways. They
create a bunch of turnovers. That's how they survive. That's
how they like keep their head above water. Basically, I
see a team like the Bears with a pretty weak
(24:26):
defense that is getting by by forcing a ton of turnovers.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
What if that happen?
Speaker 4 (24:31):
What if that stops in the playoffs, or if they're
just not forcing takeaways, what if they somehow lose the
turnover battle in a game. That's how they've been winning
these games. It's like crazy off the wall, fluky stuff
at times. I'm not trying to say that's all their
season has been. But when you have like a point
five chance to beat the Packers before you recover an
(24:52):
on sidekick, when no one recovers on sidekicks, that's a
fluky win.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I just don't buy them.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
But with the lack of juggernauts around them, I mean,
I can't just start writing them off. So I think
that's where it goes back to the song Don't lock
the Door on Me Gojira said it best, and I
think that that's the tough part here, is because if
you're trying to guess who's gonna emerge and get to
(25:19):
the super Bowl, and if you're betting on those things,
well you got to hit your wagon to someone, and
you got to start eliminating these teams and betting against
certain teams. And so it's like the question is who
are you betting against? Who are these teams that you're
just like, yeah, I think the four Seeds are both
kind of weak.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
I think they're both weak.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
The Steelers and right now the Panthers, those are weak teams,
so I don't see them making deep playoff runs. But
when you look outside of that, I just don't buy
the arguments of you know, no way Broncos.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Why not? Why not?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
No way?
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Like no chance, that doesn't make sense, No way, Bears.
I don't like either team. I don't like the Broncos
or the Bears. I don't like the Bears defense at all.
I look at the Broncos and a little bit like
you saw on Christmas Day, like, the Broncos are a
team where their formula for success is this. They typically
play really good defense, they have a great offensive line,
(26:22):
and what they're able to do they able to put
heat on your quarterback. They have the most sacks in
the NFL this season, by par and they allow the
fewest sacks, so they get to your quarterback and they
don't allow you to get to their quarterback that often.
And bow Nicks does a good job of getting outside
the pocket buying some time. They just don't get up
(26:45):
many sacks. And they protect the football too. So with
that formula, you're gonna wut a lot of games. But
what's weird about the Broncos is you also see how
low their ceiling is on Christmas Day. That was I
was just like yo throughout the entire game. If I
was watching the Broncos performance specifically, I'm just.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Like, oh, man like I just ate a.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Whole turkey, you know what I mean, Like the trip
the fan is kicking kicking in I'm just like, oh,
just that's the way the Broncos played.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
It's this like the stats.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Are insane, like one of these things Bo Nicks he averaged.
Let me get it for you, so I'm not misquoting
this here. This blew my mind. He averaged less than
three air yards per completion, Like it's dink and dunk
defined not pushing the ball downfield. Now, some of it
(27:41):
you could say, that's part of what Spags did. You know, right,
the Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo keep everything in front
of us. The Chiefs, what they tried to do was
shrink the game. It was a smart game plan for
the Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
They ran the.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Ball quite a bit, tried to keep the clock moving.
Let's shrink the game. It's not a big plays. So
part of that did make sense from the Broncos approach.
But that's what I mean. The Broncos allow certain defenses
to dictate terms to them, like they don't dictate the
terms offensively.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
A team like the Chiefs, who.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Has struggled all season, who does not have a pass rush.
Was dictating terms like bo Nicks averaged less than three
air yards per completion. That's like screen screen ooh, radical
five yard out? Like whoa really pushing the ball downfield?
It's like what are we doing right here? So you
(28:40):
don't have a consistent running game, you have like backup
running backs, and bo Nicks is limited. Man, I'm not
saying bo Nick sucks, but he's a limited quarterback.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
I don't want to make it only what he does wrong.
He is too inconsistent for my taste. But he has
been clutch many times this season. He's been really good
in the fourth quarter. He can move the very mobile guy,
can create with his legs, extend plays, throw on the run.
He can do some good things, but just too inconsistent
(29:16):
for my liking. I just need more consistency from whoever's
playing quarterback, and bow Knicks just doesn't provide that. So,
if you're asking me, does a team that has a
lackluster running game who might really need bo Knicks to
step up and have big performances to move on in
the playoffs, Do I expect that team to make a
(29:39):
deep push?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
No?
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Bo Knicks is twenty third in passer rating this season,
his passer rating is eighty nine. Bryce Young has a
higher passer rating. Jackson Dart, a rookie quarterback, has a
higher passer rating than bow Knicks bo Nicks unless you
think two a tongue of I loo is crushing it
this year.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
He just got benched.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
Right, Tua is zero point five below bo Nicks, like
bow Nicks is barely above Tua tunka I looa in
passer rating, and you might wonder, like what is passer ratings?
That it takes four different categories and smushes them together,
and all four of these categories matter. Right, We're talking
about completion percentage, touchdowns, and interceptions and yards per attempt.
(30:24):
So that's what really hits bo Nicks. It's the lack
of yards per attempt because it's a dink and dunk
offense mostly Like he pushes the ball downfield at times,
but he certainly didn't do it on Christmas Day, like
at all. I think he had one pass beyond ten
yards one the whole game. It's just dank dunk, dink,
(30:46):
dunkdink dunk. It's too much of that, man, So I
know I don't like the Broncos. But again getting back
to what I think is the theme of the upcoming playoffs,
don't lock the door on me. I can't lock the
door on the Broncos and say no chance know how
they get to the Super Bowl. As much as I
hate to admit it, they've got a shot. Like I don't,
(31:08):
I just don't. I don't think highly of their team.
I don't think their formula for success is likely to
produce great playoff results this season. I just I don't
see that. But can I tell you they have no
shot at home against the Patriots if that's the playoff matchup?
Somehow someway, of course they've got a shot. One other
(31:32):
thing is I think we just act like the Broncos
defense is really good and we just stop that conversation
right there. It's like, man, they've been leaky lately. If
you look at the Broncos critically, which I can do.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
If you don't, I can do it for you. You know,
I can look at them critically.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
So the last couple of games, right they're giving up
twenty six points to the Washington Commanders. Are they crushing it?
By the way that offense is killing it? That was
Mariota starting that game. By the way, the Commanders score
twenty six points. There's an overtime game, but they moved
it on the Broncos consistently. So you give up twenty
six there, you give up twenty six points to the Packers,
(32:16):
You give up thirty four points to the Jags.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
The Jacks smacked them around.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
I don't know if that was Parker Washington or Jesus
Christ out there, Like Parker Washington had an all time
game against the Broncos, so that defense a little leaky,
little leaky.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So I don't know.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
I expect them to be good come playoff time, but
I think we just we act like it's a given
they're gonna be all world, and they certainly haven't been lately.
They have not, so keep that in mind. But I
can't wait for the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Man.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
I think some wild things are capable of happening, and
some stuff that you didn't foresee happening might happen, And
I just think it's tailor made for you know, you
have like the cold.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Tweets exposed or whatever.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
There's gonna be some cold tweets exposed from like, oh,
this team sucked and they're gonna end up in the
super Bowl. This team, if such a Fugaysey fools Gold team,
that team ends up in the Super Bowl, right like,
it can absolutely happen. So as much as I dislike
some of these teams, I can't tell you they have
no chance. That would just be incorrect. Like the Broncos
(33:31):
and the Bears. I don't like either of those teams.
That could possibly be your super Bowl matchup. I doubt it,
but it's possible. I'm at least not shutting the door
on that possibility. I just think that if you get
anything from this, I think this is the year to
not say no chance, know how for a number of
teams that are going to be in the playoffs getting
(33:52):
to the super Bowl. Hey, this show is sponsored by
DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL
and NBA. Right now, use the promo code Malor to
claim your special offer at DraftKings. Again, that promo code
Mallor is at DraftKings. The crown is yours all right?
Coming up next? You know, Ben does the who Am I?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Game?
Speaker 4 (34:13):
So I'll, out of respect for him, I'll throw one
year way. So I was watching this Vikings Lions game,
and Drew Brees said something really interesting during the game.
So Harrison Smith shut out Notre Dame right from remember
the Irish Right. He's been at it for a number
(34:35):
of years with the Vikings, and he's closing in on
a special special club, the forty twenty club. So that's
forty interceptions and twenty sacks. And according to Drew Brees,
he said, there are only two other players in NFL
history that are in this club. So I guess instead
(34:58):
of who am I, it's who are we? That's the
who are We?
Speaker 3 (35:02):
Game?
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Who are the two other players in NFL history with
at least forty interceptions and twenty sacks? Feel free to
share your crazy responses on x tweet me at the
no Show is where you can find me, so we'll
share some of that stuff right around the corner.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
I'm Brian no In for Big Ben Malor. Keep it
locked right here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Mallor
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
It is Fox Sports Radio. I'm Brian no In for
Big Ben Malor. For over forty years, Tyrak has been
helping customers find the right tires for how, what and
where they drive ship fast and free, backed by free
road hazard protection with convenient installation options like mobile tire installation,
tire rack dot Com the way tire buying should be. Now,
I'll get to your NBA headlines here momentarily. Right, we've
(35:54):
got some NBA headlines, some good stuff. How about how
about okay See losing again? The Spurs beat him again.
The Spurs have beat him three times in like the
last two weeks. It's crazy insanity right there.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
Man.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
I'm sure that luckily I did not bet on this game,
but I'm sure there's there are a lot of sports
betters out there that are like, Okay, Christmas Day, Okay
see at home?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
All right?
Speaker 4 (36:25):
Wait, the Spurs got him a couple of times. Oh
this is where okay See responds. This is really punched back, baby,
and nope again, smacked again, one seventeen to one oh two.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Wow. Crazy.
Speaker 4 (36:38):
But I'll get to other NBA headlines next hour. Got
to give the association a little bit of love. But
I mentioned the who are we?
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Game?
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Right? I thought it was gonna be the who am I?
Speaker 4 (36:50):
Game?
Speaker 2 (36:50):
But it kind of morphed into the who are we game? Right?
Speaker 4 (36:54):
So it's a really interesting fact that our guy Drew
Brees shared on the telecast on the game with the
Vikings and Lions that was on Netflix, and he said
that Harrison Smith, the Viking safety, he's closing in on
(37:15):
the forty twenty club. And I'm like, the forty twenty club.
What the what is that? I know that existed? The
forty twenty club?
Speaker 3 (37:23):
What?
Speaker 4 (37:24):
And he said, that's forty interceptions and twenty sacks in
your NFL career, And so Harrison Smith, he's very close.
Drew Brees is right, So I believe Harrison Smith's sad
thirty nine career interceptions, twenty one and a half sacks.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
In his career.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
So Harrison Smith had both an interception and a sack
against the Lions on Christmas Day, so he is one
interception away from this forty twenty club. Didn't know that
was even a thing, but I learned that it was
today and I'm very happy about that. So we got
(38:05):
some guesses over here. Let's see if anybody's got this.
Let's say, who am I Mallard prop He went with
Lorena Navidad. Okay, so he's got Lorena in this mix.
There are two other players in NFL history that are
in the forty twenty club forty interceptions twenty sacks in
their NFL careers. Okay, so we're looking for these two
(38:27):
other mystery NFL players. See if anybody's got this. So
Lorena Navidad is the first guest here. Not a Burner
went with Earl Thomas. Okay, went with Earl. Not a
bad guess. Donkey went with Burton Ernie. Who am I
very nice, very nicely done, Gunner. Shout out, Gunner. The
(38:49):
answers are Barney the purple dinosaur in Big Bird. By
the way, quick story sidebar makes me think of my nephews.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So my nephew.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
I've talked about my nephews for years here on Fox
Sports Radio. They're grown now, Like they're not super old,
they're just you know, like twenty one and nineteen I
think are their official ages. But they're both married, like
they're both may they're twenty two and twenty. I can't
do the math in my head that fast, but they're
(39:17):
both married, these little guys. But anyway, Gunner's answer there,
The answers are Barney the purple dinosaur in Big Bird.
I said, a flashback. I was driving around, like my
sister was driving the van that they had, and my
nephews are still younger at the time, they're watching Barney.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I said of them.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
I was like, heyes, big Barney fans. And my younger
nephew tie. He looked at me, he goes, no, huge
Barney fans. Okay, all right, that's subtled, got it, huge
Barney fans. My bad didn't know. So there you go.
Got a bunch of guests this year. Let me see thumbing, thumbing, thumbing.
(39:55):
Oh no, no, no, we'll get some milkman. Mike in
a second, getting the the references here movie references. That's
a whole other subject right there. So the answer right here.
The two other players in NFL history that are in
the forty twenty club forty interceptions twenty sacks, that would
be Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson. How about that. Yeah,
(40:19):
it's correct, And if you look at these guys in
their numbers, it's ridiculous. Charles Woodson had sixty five interceptions
and twenty sacks, and then Ronde Barber forty seven interceptions
and twenty eight sacks in his career. The only two
players in NFL history that are in this club forty interceptions,
(40:42):
twenty sacks, Harrison Smith one interception away from joining both
Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson. That that was the funnest
of the fun facts all day, shout out Drew Brees,
relaying that information very good stuff, all right.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Plenty to get to.
Speaker 4 (40:58):
I want to get to the five biggest surprises this season.
Host
Ben Maller
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