December 17, 2020 • 27 mins
Doug previews Thursday Night Football between the Raiders and the Chargers and why Jon Gruden needs to prove himself with a win tonight. Doug explains why James Harden is not a championship caliber player in the NBA even though he's very talented. Plus, former NFL general manager Joe Banner joins the show to tell Doug how the Eagles can try to save QB Carson Wentz from a disastrous season.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlip
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for The Doug Gottlip Show at Fox Sports Radio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the I Heart
Radio app by searching fs R. This is the best
(00:22):
of the Doug Gotli Show on Fox Sports Radio. But tonight,
the Oh the Oakland, the l A Chargers take on
the Las Vegas Raiders, and it's a It's really weird
for Los Angeles because the truth is that the Raiders
(00:42):
are the most popular professional football team in Los Angeles,
and l A has two professional football teams, neither of
which are the Raiders. I don't I haven't done any
research recently. I can only tell you that whatever search
is done in my mind and in my eyes and
(01:04):
in my senses during my lifetime as somebody who's spent years,
the thirty years in southern California, the Raiders are the
most popular team, and they're taken on the Chargers, who,
if healthy, I think they're actually the most talented of
(01:24):
the three teams. Raiders, Chargers Rams. The Rams have been
the most successful of the three teams in the last
twenty years in terms of playoffs and of course the
Super Bowl. But tonight, this is the biggest game since
(01:47):
John Gruden hopped out of the booth. That's that's how
big this is. I am not over selling the importance
of this game because well, it's on Fox and got
Liy've got a memo, got to talk about the game
on Fox. Actually, nothing can be further from the truth.
Nobody tells us what to talk about. Nobody tells us
what's important. Heck, I could just as easily tell you
(02:09):
about this newest, latest, most interesting James Harden story, or
maybe we could get into more of this plaver about
the BCS, or maybe gets you ready for the kickoff
or the tip off of the NBA, including the Lakers
taken on the Clippers next Tuesday, like all of those
(02:29):
things I could do. But tonight is the most important game.
The Chargers are taken on the Raiders. This game is
in Las Vegas, and the Raiders, you know, there's seven
and six on the year. And if we focus on
the positives, they beat in the Saints, they beat in
the Chiefs. They're taking on the Chargers who are four
(02:51):
and nine and between Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen, we
don't know who's going to play for the Chargers, who
have very little other than personal accountability and maybe their
head coach's job to play for. Meanwhile, the Raiders are
saying all of the things that desperate teams say. We
(03:11):
need to have a sense of urgency. This is a
must win. And I it doesn't mean that Gruden gets
fired the third year of a ten year contract, but
we will make a determination as to where this rebuild
is based upon Chargers, Dolphins, Broncos. I've been a defender
(03:38):
of the process and and look, even if they lost
tonight and one, their next two and nine and seven
would look better than previous seasons. The problem is you
got stopped by Atlanta, right because because the other losses,
you know, New England it was early in the year.
Other losses Buffalo, Tampa, Kansas City, Indie, all playoff teams.
(04:04):
They would look then they would look similar at least
to the Cowboys of last year. Of course, you gotta
throw in the fact they beat Kansas City, New Orland.
Something the Cowboys didn't do last year. But you beat
the Chargers, you beat the Dolphins, you beat the Broncos,
you end up ten and six and in the third season,
all of very very attainable wins because they've already had
(04:28):
important players test positive for COVID. So uh, some of
those guys are in the clear in the in the
weeks to come. But you can't beat the Chargers tonight,
a team that has found ways to lose games far
more than they found ways to win games with a
rookie quarterback. And however important being at home is, I
(04:53):
gotta tell you, it's better than being on the road.
The Chargers are losers of five of the last seven games.
They're only wins, um, they're only wins this year. You
wait for it, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Jets, Atlanta. Literally, they've only
beaten the worst teams in the league. There is There
(05:15):
are no excuses with a team that's not motivated, not healthy,
starts a rookie quarterback playing on the road to not
beat that team. I could go through you know, Darren
Waller's health or Josh Jacob's health, and you know what
happens with Derek Carfy doesn't have Josh I could go
(05:35):
through all that stuff, but you know what, none of
it actually matters. I am the guy who stood up
and said when they made the trade trade the you know,
the best defensive end and outside linebacker in the NFL.
When they traded Khalil Mackow was the one guy that, yeah,
that makes sense. When Marie Cooper was was doubtless that
makes sense. But and it doesn't mean that you have
(06:02):
to deliver a Super Bowl in order to be along
the right track in the process. What it does mean, though,
is you need to win tonight. You know you just
you need to win tonight. This is a Charger team
that was smoked by New England handled by Buffalo. They're
disaster and special teams. Their young quarterback wasn't even expect
(06:26):
to play this much. Their best defensive player hasn't played
this season. They may shut down some of their star
players for the future. If you can't win this game,
well again, it doesn't mean that you're fired. He already
fired his defensive coordinator. It just means that they are
not nearly They're not nearly as far along in the
(06:48):
process as one would be led to believe one should expect.
And the Raiders have wanted everyone to know and you
I don't think I'm over selling it to say this
is the most important game, not just you know, everybody said, well,
(07:08):
our next game is the most important game for John Gruden,
A standalone game on a Thursday night against the Charger
team that no one thinks is a winning organization whose
coach is very likely to be fired, who found ways
to lose games they should win, who haven't beaten a
single playoff team this year. This is a must win
game for for the Raiders, and realistically they should win.
(07:31):
Kind of going away, the Paths throttled him and didn't
even And now some of it was special teams disasters,
but it's not like the Charges that fix their special teams.
In two weeks, be sure to catch the live edition
of The Doug Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Easter
noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio in the I Heart
(07:53):
Radio a app. I think James Harden buy and large
as a basketball player. I'm sure he's won way more
games and lost not just an Arizona State or Artisa
High School, but but in the NBA with the Oklahoma
City Thunder and then the Houston Rockets, He's won a
lot of games, he just hadn't one the ones that
they carve your name into a trophy about. And I
mean only got into the finals once. That was with
(08:14):
Oklahoma City. And what I'm about to read you is
our almost word for word, what I've shared with you
about Harden, and it's from Sam Amis article in The
Athletic talked to a front office executive who said, quote,
Harden is a terrific score, but not a champion. He
isn't a two way player, and he's hard to play.
(08:35):
He's hard to play with. He's so used to getting
his own way. I think there are concerns he can
negatively attack affective teams culture. Now you compound this with
the article that came out from Kevin McMahon yesterday or
the day before on James Harden, and you start to
realize that I've been painting you an accurate portrayal of
(08:58):
who James Harden is. And we talked about this all
the time. In basketball, you are who your best player is.
You are who your best player is. I think about it,
Who are the l a Lakers? Why did they win
last year? Well, Lebron loves the pass and is committed
(09:22):
as a defensive player and a leader. Right, He's physical
more than fluid, and that's who they are as a team.
Look at the Golden State Warriors. You know, Steph Curry
May he's not really a point guard when they were successful,
most all of their players were kind of not really
(09:45):
point guards. But love that. He loves to pass, loves
to take the big shot, loves to move the basketball.
Plays with a tremendous amount of joy and fun and
almost like he's out there messing around. That's that's how
they played. That's who they are. You are who your
best player is. James Harden is a terrific scorer. He
(10:08):
is not committed to winning, and it's it's interesting, you know,
there's I thought Carmelo Anthony was one of these guys
that was like that before Alan Iverson before that. The
one difference in James Harden is he's a very good
passer and he will pass the basketball, but everything is
off of him creating him. You know, at this I
(10:33):
saw the quote where when he didn't have the ball,
he just kind of stood there, sometimes barely crossing half court.
When Chris Paul was on the team, He's not dedicated
in terms of his fitness. He's not dedicated in terms
of his defense. He's not dedicated in terms of buying
into other people handling the basketball being successful. He's not
(10:54):
big into getting there on time or or taking care
of himself. He's not a winner. All doing all these
things don't guarantee that you're gonna win. But what they
do is they give you the best possible scenario, the
best possible odds, and winning. That's what it is. I
(11:15):
completely agree. And the best thing you can call a
basketball player to me, or an athlete to me, is
he's a winner. And the worst thing you can say
is somebody's really talented. When you say somebody's really talented
and you don't say they're a winner, it only shows
that you don't think they're getting what matters out of
(11:36):
their talent. Doesn't mean he's not getting a lot out
of his talent. And he's gonna make a ton financially,
and he's able to be really successful and score a
ton of points, but none of it matters if you
don't win games. And don't give me the MJ comparison,
like that's a dumb Michael Jordan's did like to play
(11:58):
golf did like smoke cigars. He clearly likes drink some
of that brown stuff, right, look at his glass every
time in the last standing. But Michael Jordan's was remarkable
as a worker at his craft, his body, his game,
that practice played both ends guard. The best player competed
(12:23):
was a winner. Those things those things that you do
or you don't do, you do or you make, you
make excuses, that's what you do. And you know Sam
Ammikins saying this is something that I've said for the
three and a half years that I've been on Fox
(12:44):
Sports Radio. Whenever We've talked about James Harden, we can
pull tape after tape after tape. I am fully respectful
of how talented he is, how he creates fouls, how
he can shoot, how he can pass. His passing is
totally underrated. But what cannot be understated is he and
(13:05):
a winning player. And anybody who convinced that actually matters otherwise,
and if Daryl Morey thinks that this is good for
their culture the Philadelphia seventies years, well, then Darryl Morey
is simply that's that's the problem with analytics. It simply
goes by the book and doesn't go by the things
that we see, the things that we feel, and the
things that that emotionally affect other guys on the team.
(13:32):
If you see your best player, your highest paid player,
late to meetings, no showing at practice, late to the
team plane, going to Vegas, not playing defense, what's your
level of personal buying? There will always be guys that
go like he does have that's James. James does names
and I do me. But there's a lot of other
guys that they will go with whichever way the wind
(13:56):
is blowing. Be sure to catch the live edition of
the Doug Gottlieb Show days at three pm Easter noon Pacific.
Joe Banner joins us former general manager of the National
Football League. What are your thoughts on the status of
the of the Raiders renewal? First of all, I'm ready
to meet you for that weekend in Vegas. It doesn't
(14:17):
sound too bad. Yeah, I'm gonna listen. I work with
John Guten for a few years, and you know, what
they're doing there is kind of what most of us
with them would have expected. Hi mean, he's as bright
and offensive mind as there is in football. Um and
he's developed an offensive is playing really well and you know,
their defensive struggling, and maybe the overall talent isn't quite
(14:38):
what it needs to be. But um, they're fun to
watch and he's quite a character. I can promise you
that just same guy in person is what you see
and in the Monday night boot when he was there
and on the sideline now, no, no, look. I liked
the Khalil mac move. I like the idea I everyone
gets white, you'd only take, you'd only leave what was
like a lifetime appointment. Uh to the money I football
(15:00):
booth if you had, if you get a ten year deal,
you can do it your way. You can rebuild it
your way. They've really struggled on the defensive side. Firing
Paul gun through mid season? Is that the right move?
Is that? Is that a way to fix it in
the short term? Well, you know, I think if you
thought that from a scheme perspective, it's really difficult to
(15:20):
make a big difference at the moment. I think if
you wanted to send the message in a very clear
emphatic way that what we're doing isn't working, we're gonna
change things up. We're gonna hold everybody in the same
high bar. I can understand it. I was never somebody
who favored firing coaches in the middle of the season.
I just don't think it could make the difference. You hope,
but they were really heading self on defense and otherwise
(15:42):
seem to have things working fairly well, So I understand it.
But I'm usually very reluctant to make coach and changes
this season because how limited what you can do is. Yeah,
I mean it's really you're not gonna You're basically gonna
call different plays, not better places that works, like called
different places. Uh, Joe Banner joining us, if if if
your pals in Philadelphia call you and say, Joe, how
(16:05):
do we fix his Carson Wentz thing? What do you?
What do you do? Well? I think the person you
gotta do is sit down with him and see what
he's prepared to a willing to do, because you know, he's,
by all accounts are really nice guy, but very strong willed,
and uh, you know, anybody who's around strong world people
at times that's a little bit challenging. So you know,
(16:28):
I would be doing everything from bringing a sports psychologist
I've been going, you know through and really trying to
break him down to build him back up. Almost like
you know you're building a new house. I mean we
I was a fan of the pick. I've believed in
him and he was unrecognizable and what we've seen really
this whole year, but especially the last half a dozen games,
(16:49):
so I feel like, you know what he can get
back to, at least you think you know when he
can get back to. And SWI a lot of efforts.
So I would start when with our football coaches and
tape and starting from scare actual, I would bring in
a sportside college that I said, I'd try to set
up an offseason program for him that you know, really
rebuilt his confidence. I mean, it's just I mean an
analogy recently. I don't know if people think this carries
(17:11):
any water, but I remember remember the fighter Rondo Rosie
and she was just just destroying people. She was just
and then she got knocked out and she was never
the same, never the same. So you know, for me,
that's the only thing that gives me about once I
wonder if something is just kind of sort of, for
lack of a better world, broken a little bit because
we don't see this often top tier athletes that achieved
(17:34):
greatness and then regress this dramatically, So I kind of
thought of her analogy. You know, she just looked like
the rocket Gibraltar and then she has one loss and
all of a sudden she could never get it back together.
I don't know if that's what's going to happen to him,
but we certainly saw somebody that most of us would
love to have the quarterback of our team. Gotlip show
here on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, so would you play
(17:54):
him at all the rest of the season? Well, I wouldn't. Now,
I mean, for me, a week ago, there was an argument,
should we try to leave him in and rebuild some
of the football stuff while he's on the field, or
should we sit down and just let him clear his
head and look the next september. At that point, to me,
I was probably leaning towards leaving him in the live
of not having any illusions that he was going to
(18:14):
suddenly play well and we were gonna win a bunch
of games, but just focusing on his long term development.
But now that they've made the move, whatever consequences there
are to him, you know, emotionally or building confidence wise, um,
you know those are gone. So let him take a rest,
let's learn what Jalen hurt springs and doesn't bring to
the table. Let's see, his teams are a little more
(18:35):
used to what they're likely to do with him, how
the defensive play him. So I've kind of changed my mind.
I was in favor of sticking with him solely for
the purpose as of looking to next September, not with
any illusions with the immediate future. But now that Hurts
went in and did a reasonably good job, I think
I'd stick with that and just count on the off
season being when I'm gonna work with cousin Uh Joe
Banner joining us on the Doug Gotlin Show on Fox
(18:57):
Sports Radio. We you've seen, um, we've seen Baker Mayfield
play statistically exceptional football over the last three weeks, especially
and really since O b j Went down with an injury.
Now there's there's a lot more to it than just Hey,
Odell Beckham Jr. Is not there. They're better addition by subtraction,
(19:18):
but there does appear to be a little bit of
addition by subtraction. I don't know what the markets like
for Odell Beckham Jr. But if you're the Browns, are
you convinced that you're better without a very very talented
wide receiver if I'm convinced, but I'm open minded to
getting the right offer and being willing to move him. Um,
you know, you saw what I did to Philadept. I
(19:39):
was a real purist son. Guys that you know, no,
no high maintenance, no guys that I was gonna worry
about picking up the paper the next day and worrying
about some article about him, not that that's what he is.
And so you know, I probably wouldn't brought him at
to begin with. So I may not be the right
person to ask. But you know, the shocking thing to
me about Baker is, even for those who don't focus
(20:02):
or believe in analytics, the most basic stats tell you
that when he's pressured, he really really struggles, and when
he's not pressured, he can really look good. And yet
we've seen teams, including last week of the Ravens, that
are tend to be quite aggressive defenses, and I don't know,
it seems I've got a fear of him running with
(20:22):
the ball or getting beat deep for a play, or
some of the rollouts they run. They're effective, they back off,
and you know, I think that over time he's either
going to have to improve that or he won't look
as good as he has here recently, with or without.
You know, Odell, I'm kind of mystified by the decisions
strategical coaches are making that are playing the Browns last
(20:45):
four or five weeks. What would you what would you
do differently? Well, listen, I mean I would would tell
my defense evenge, you're gonna be very aware he's gonna
throw screen passes and they're gonna start calling rollouts if
they see us coming after him, and I'd be throwing
the house at him all the time. I mean, the
Ravens did that for scame, they played the Steelers did
the first game we played up forget there was a
third team that did that. Everybody else has played him
pretty straight, and in all three of the games that
(21:07):
they really attacked him, he really struggled. So you know,
you see him come out and stopt defenses against them,
zones usually a form in fronts that you know you
see sometimes they move lineback and say you're not sure
they come in and they dropping. You know, they don't
even do that to him to try to create even
a little mental confusion or um, you know, uncertainty about
what's gonna happen once he snaps the ball. And some
(21:29):
of the games, including some very good defensive word. I mean,
the Colts played him and you know, they lined up
four in the front and free linebackers. You know, it
seemed like every snap and I literally don't think they
blitzed once the whole game. And that's a pretty smart
defensive for that is. So he's two different guys. Now,
everybody is better when they're not pressure them when they are,
but his difference is much more dramatic than most teams.
(21:49):
So it's been kind of mystifying why teams they're choosing
them to play defensively against them the way they have.
Doug Gotlip Show on Fox Sport Trader. That's the voice
of Joe Banner, former general manager, a long time front
office executive in the National Football League. Kind of have
to spend some time with this year on the Doug
Otlip Show on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, let's this to me.
Demands your kind of expertise. Um, you look at the Cowboys,
(22:12):
and I will grant you don't have Dak Prescott, you
don't have your book end tackles. You're not going to
be the same football team that said, there's been some
times when there's just doesn't seem like you have the
right amount of effort. This is even after they cut
some guys mid season in an effort to kind of
generate some some momentum and some urgency. Jerry Jones came
(22:32):
out earlier this week and he said he hadn't even
dreamt of the possibility of making a coaching change. Let
me let me start with coaching. What's your reaction to
Jerry And I know they just hired him, so it
would be admitting their own mistake, but they're not even
thinking about the possibility of getting rid of Mike McCarthy. Yeah,
I listen quoting what you have said, and Jerry said, literally,
I think that's crazy. I'm not saying I would fire him.
(22:55):
I'm saying I would make a change, but at least
think you have to have the discussion. Right, Is this
the right? Actually? How could be seriously not even be
having that conversation or if he's feeling somewhat concerned. I mean,
it's a while human. You know, you've got to be
saying did we get it right? And by the way,
if you think you've got it right, Mike then it's
a totally reasonable question. Well, the then micro hire the
right people to work under him. I mean, we've more
(23:16):
or less forced him to keep the offensive coda. He
bought on a defensive cored that had his time. Not
sure it's now you know, so if it's not Mike,
did you know his first, in my mind, most important
responsibilities to hire and managers coaching stuff? Did he did?
We get the right head coach, but then he didn't
make the right decision of the coaches because you cannot
watch that team in my opinion, and I think coaching
(23:37):
is contributing at a minimum to the problems that they're
having in the way that they're playing. And they were
seeing nothing that makes us think all of a sudden
next September it's going to click and that's gonna be fine.
At least, I'm not seeing anything that lead me to
believe that that's going to happen. Then they'll be better
once these injured guys come back, but they're not going
to be what they thought they could be unless the
coaching staff as part of the improvement. Well, they weren't
(23:58):
winning when Doc was held. I mean that's they weren't
they It took him a miracle to beat Atlanta, who's
one of the worst teams in the NFL. Okay, so
if you're going to fix their personnel, what do you
what do you do? You got you got dak on
a franchise franchise deal. You got Ezekei Elliott on a
deal where he's he is not what he is being paid.
(24:19):
Got a Marie Cooper? Uh yes, some other Jealen Smith
doesn't seem to be able to run the way you
would think a guy at that payade should be able
to run. How do you how do you rebuild when
you're the Cowboys personnel wise? You know, obviously I'm kind
of eating the fact that I've probably overspent on offense
and I'm kind of out of whack, and I'm sitting
(24:40):
here going now, listen, I've got to just trust that's
going to be good enough. Um, And I'm totally focused
on my defense. I think that Prescott they have to
find a way to resign. I think physique there at
least committed for now. It's not that much longer before
they get out of that contract. A ton of consequences
if that's what they decide, But at least for next year.
I'm just saying, listen, I'm gonna k for the offensive
line getting healthy. Maybe I had a little depth in
(25:02):
the middle of the draft just in case, um, but
I am really focusing on defense, and I you know,
Janalen Smith is not playing his contract Vandish looks really
good when he plays, but he hardly plays. And you know,
you go through the whole thing that that they probably
only have two or three guys on that defense that
you'd say good enough to be on a really good defense.
And if they're not about playing winning the division and
playing well into the playoffs, that defense is way way
(25:26):
far from getting to that point. And I do, by
the way, think that coaching is part of that, but
they're not even maximizing talent they have now, and even
with a great defensive coach, they don't left talent to
win the way they're hoping to win their Yeah. No,
I mean what's interesting is Ron Rivera. And granted it
was helped by this year's draft. I mean, you draft
an absolute star, um, but Ron Rivera has kind of
(25:48):
quickly rebuilt that that one. In terms of rebuild, obviously
they got to figure out quarterback, but their defensive front
is one that will keep them competitive in that division
for years to come. Of my am I wrong in
stating that so boldly in uh in three quarters of
one season with the Washington football team. No, I don't
think you are. Again, I worked with Ron and it
(26:09):
was a great higher and expect him to do really well,
and he is the great guy that everybody portrays him
to be. But they're kind of the they're you know,
look in the mirror of the Cowboys. I mean, they
have a defense that looks like it's pretty close to
being able to compete and win against really good teams
in an offense in my mind, certainly starting with a quarterback,
but not ending with the quarterback. You know, they other
ways to go, So you know, I think they need
(26:31):
to really focus on that. And you know, listen, I'll say,
probably not something many people would agree with at the moment,
but I think that whereas like the Cowboys have a
bit of a challenge on the coaching defensively to just
maximize the talent once they get it. Um, I kind
of feel a little bit the same way about the Redskins.
It's you know, it's Scott Turner and all its sun
kind of sacrilegious to be critical, but he's, uh, you know,
(26:53):
he's very very conservative, and I don't I don't see
a lot of the things with seeing some of the
better offenses that are coming into play, you know, as
part of their their offense. And it wasn't when they
were in Carolina together either, So I'm not sold they
have the solution of the coaching side of that equation there. Hey, Joe, listen,
I hope you have the very merriest of Christmas. Can't
tell how much we appreciate all the knowledge that you're
(27:14):
able to give us and just incredible insight into things
that we always wonder appreciate being our guest on Fox
Sports Radio. My pleasure could being with you.
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlip
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for The Doug Gottlip Show at Fox Sports Radio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the I Heart
Radio app by searching fs R. This is the best
(00:22):
of the Doug Gotli Show on Fox Sports Radio. But tonight,
the Oh the Oakland, the l A Chargers take on
the Las Vegas Raiders, and it's a It's really weird
for Los Angeles because the truth is that the Raiders
(00:42):
are the most popular professional football team in Los Angeles,
and l A has two professional football teams, neither of
which are the Raiders. I don't I haven't done any
research recently. I can only tell you that whatever search
is done in my mind and in my eyes and
(01:04):
in my senses during my lifetime as somebody who's spent years,
the thirty years in southern California, the Raiders are the
most popular team, and they're taken on the Chargers, who,
if healthy, I think they're actually the most talented of
(01:24):
the three teams. Raiders, Chargers Rams. The Rams have been
the most successful of the three teams in the last
twenty years in terms of playoffs and of course the
Super Bowl. But tonight, this is the biggest game since
(01:47):
John Gruden hopped out of the booth. That's that's how
big this is. I am not over selling the importance
of this game because well, it's on Fox and got
Liy've got a memo, got to talk about the game
on Fox. Actually, nothing can be further from the truth.
Nobody tells us what to talk about. Nobody tells us
what's important. Heck, I could just as easily tell you
(02:09):
about this newest, latest, most interesting James Harden story, or
maybe we could get into more of this plaver about
the BCS, or maybe gets you ready for the kickoff
or the tip off of the NBA, including the Lakers
taken on the Clippers next Tuesday, like all of those
(02:29):
things I could do. But tonight is the most important game.
The Chargers are taken on the Raiders. This game is
in Las Vegas, and the Raiders, you know, there's seven
and six on the year. And if we focus on
the positives, they beat in the Saints, they beat in
the Chiefs. They're taking on the Chargers who are four
(02:51):
and nine and between Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen, we
don't know who's going to play for the Chargers, who
have very little other than personal accountability and maybe their
head coach's job to play for. Meanwhile, the Raiders are
saying all of the things that desperate teams say. We
(03:11):
need to have a sense of urgency. This is a
must win. And I it doesn't mean that Gruden gets
fired the third year of a ten year contract, but
we will make a determination as to where this rebuild
is based upon Chargers, Dolphins, Broncos. I've been a defender
(03:38):
of the process and and look, even if they lost
tonight and one, their next two and nine and seven
would look better than previous seasons. The problem is you
got stopped by Atlanta, right because because the other losses,
you know, New England it was early in the year.
Other losses Buffalo, Tampa, Kansas City, Indie, all playoff teams.
(04:04):
They would look then they would look similar at least
to the Cowboys of last year. Of course, you gotta
throw in the fact they beat Kansas City, New Orland.
Something the Cowboys didn't do last year. But you beat
the Chargers, you beat the Dolphins, you beat the Broncos,
you end up ten and six and in the third season,
all of very very attainable wins because they've already had
(04:28):
important players test positive for COVID. So uh, some of
those guys are in the clear in the in the
weeks to come. But you can't beat the Chargers tonight,
a team that has found ways to lose games far
more than they found ways to win games with a
rookie quarterback. And however important being at home is, I
(04:53):
gotta tell you, it's better than being on the road.
The Chargers are losers of five of the last seven games.
They're only wins, um, they're only wins this year. You
wait for it, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Jets, Atlanta. Literally, they've only
beaten the worst teams in the league. There is There
(05:15):
are no excuses with a team that's not motivated, not healthy,
starts a rookie quarterback playing on the road to not
beat that team. I could go through you know, Darren
Waller's health or Josh Jacob's health, and you know what
happens with Derek Carfy doesn't have Josh I could go
(05:35):
through all that stuff, but you know what, none of
it actually matters. I am the guy who stood up
and said when they made the trade trade the you know,
the best defensive end and outside linebacker in the NFL.
When they traded Khalil Mackow was the one guy that, yeah,
that makes sense. When Marie Cooper was was doubtless that
makes sense. But and it doesn't mean that you have
(06:02):
to deliver a Super Bowl in order to be along
the right track in the process. What it does mean, though,
is you need to win tonight. You know you just
you need to win tonight. This is a Charger team
that was smoked by New England handled by Buffalo. They're
disaster and special teams. Their young quarterback wasn't even expect
(06:26):
to play this much. Their best defensive player hasn't played
this season. They may shut down some of their star
players for the future. If you can't win this game,
well again, it doesn't mean that you're fired. He already
fired his defensive coordinator. It just means that they are
not nearly They're not nearly as far along in the
(06:48):
process as one would be led to believe one should expect.
And the Raiders have wanted everyone to know and you
I don't think I'm over selling it to say this
is the most important game, not just you know, everybody said, well,
(07:08):
our next game is the most important game for John Gruden,
A standalone game on a Thursday night against the Charger
team that no one thinks is a winning organization whose
coach is very likely to be fired, who found ways
to lose games they should win, who haven't beaten a
single playoff team this year. This is a must win
game for for the Raiders, and realistically they should win.
(07:31):
Kind of going away, the Paths throttled him and didn't
even And now some of it was special teams disasters,
but it's not like the Charges that fix their special teams.
In two weeks, be sure to catch the live edition
of The Doug Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Easter
noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio in the I Heart
(07:53):
Radio a app. I think James Harden buy and large
as a basketball player. I'm sure he's won way more
games and lost not just an Arizona State or Artisa
High School, but but in the NBA with the Oklahoma
City Thunder and then the Houston Rockets, He's won a
lot of games, he just hadn't one the ones that
they carve your name into a trophy about. And I
mean only got into the finals once. That was with
(08:14):
Oklahoma City. And what I'm about to read you is
our almost word for word, what I've shared with you
about Harden, and it's from Sam Amis article in The
Athletic talked to a front office executive who said, quote,
Harden is a terrific score, but not a champion. He
isn't a two way player, and he's hard to play.
(08:35):
He's hard to play with. He's so used to getting
his own way. I think there are concerns he can
negatively attack affective teams culture. Now you compound this with
the article that came out from Kevin McMahon yesterday or
the day before on James Harden, and you start to
realize that I've been painting you an accurate portrayal of
(08:58):
who James Harden is. And we talked about this all
the time. In basketball, you are who your best player is.
You are who your best player is. I think about it,
Who are the l a Lakers? Why did they win
last year? Well, Lebron loves the pass and is committed
(09:22):
as a defensive player and a leader. Right, He's physical
more than fluid, and that's who they are as a team.
Look at the Golden State Warriors. You know, Steph Curry
May he's not really a point guard when they were successful,
most all of their players were kind of not really
(09:45):
point guards. But love that. He loves to pass, loves
to take the big shot, loves to move the basketball.
Plays with a tremendous amount of joy and fun and
almost like he's out there messing around. That's that's how
they played. That's who they are. You are who your
best player is. James Harden is a terrific scorer. He
(10:08):
is not committed to winning, and it's it's interesting, you know,
there's I thought Carmelo Anthony was one of these guys
that was like that before Alan Iverson before that. The
one difference in James Harden is he's a very good
passer and he will pass the basketball, but everything is
off of him creating him. You know, at this I
(10:33):
saw the quote where when he didn't have the ball,
he just kind of stood there, sometimes barely crossing half court.
When Chris Paul was on the team, He's not dedicated
in terms of his fitness. He's not dedicated in terms
of his defense. He's not dedicated in terms of buying
into other people handling the basketball being successful. He's not
(10:54):
big into getting there on time or or taking care
of himself. He's not a winner. All doing all these
things don't guarantee that you're gonna win. But what they
do is they give you the best possible scenario, the
best possible odds, and winning. That's what it is. I
(11:15):
completely agree. And the best thing you can call a
basketball player to me, or an athlete to me, is
he's a winner. And the worst thing you can say
is somebody's really talented. When you say somebody's really talented
and you don't say they're a winner, it only shows
that you don't think they're getting what matters out of
(11:36):
their talent. Doesn't mean he's not getting a lot out
of his talent. And he's gonna make a ton financially,
and he's able to be really successful and score a
ton of points, but none of it matters if you
don't win games. And don't give me the MJ comparison,
like that's a dumb Michael Jordan's did like to play
(11:58):
golf did like smoke cigars. He clearly likes drink some
of that brown stuff, right, look at his glass every
time in the last standing. But Michael Jordan's was remarkable
as a worker at his craft, his body, his game,
that practice played both ends guard. The best player competed
(12:23):
was a winner. Those things those things that you do
or you don't do, you do or you make, you
make excuses, that's what you do. And you know Sam
Ammikins saying this is something that I've said for the
three and a half years that I've been on Fox
(12:44):
Sports Radio. Whenever We've talked about James Harden, we can
pull tape after tape after tape. I am fully respectful
of how talented he is, how he creates fouls, how
he can shoot, how he can pass. His passing is
totally underrated. But what cannot be understated is he and
(13:05):
a winning player. And anybody who convinced that actually matters otherwise,
and if Daryl Morey thinks that this is good for
their culture the Philadelphia seventies years, well, then Darryl Morey
is simply that's that's the problem with analytics. It simply
goes by the book and doesn't go by the things
that we see, the things that we feel, and the
things that that emotionally affect other guys on the team.
(13:32):
If you see your best player, your highest paid player,
late to meetings, no showing at practice, late to the
team plane, going to Vegas, not playing defense, what's your
level of personal buying? There will always be guys that
go like he does have that's James. James does names
and I do me. But there's a lot of other
guys that they will go with whichever way the wind
(13:56):
is blowing. Be sure to catch the live edition of
the Doug Gottlieb Show days at three pm Easter noon Pacific.
Joe Banner joins us former general manager of the National
Football League. What are your thoughts on the status of
the of the Raiders renewal? First of all, I'm ready
to meet you for that weekend in Vegas. It doesn't
(14:17):
sound too bad. Yeah, I'm gonna listen. I work with
John Guten for a few years, and you know, what
they're doing there is kind of what most of us
with them would have expected. Hi mean, he's as bright
and offensive mind as there is in football. Um and
he's developed an offensive is playing really well and you know,
their defensive struggling, and maybe the overall talent isn't quite
(14:38):
what it needs to be. But um, they're fun to
watch and he's quite a character. I can promise you
that just same guy in person is what you see
and in the Monday night boot when he was there
and on the sideline now, no, no, look. I liked
the Khalil mac move. I like the idea I everyone
gets white, you'd only take, you'd only leave what was
like a lifetime appointment. Uh to the money I football
(15:00):
booth if you had, if you get a ten year deal,
you can do it your way. You can rebuild it
your way. They've really struggled on the defensive side. Firing
Paul gun through mid season? Is that the right move?
Is that? Is that a way to fix it in
the short term? Well, you know, I think if you
thought that from a scheme perspective, it's really difficult to
(15:20):
make a big difference at the moment. I think if
you wanted to send the message in a very clear
emphatic way that what we're doing isn't working, we're gonna
change things up. We're gonna hold everybody in the same
high bar. I can understand it. I was never somebody
who favored firing coaches in the middle of the season.
I just don't think it could make the difference. You hope,
but they were really heading self on defense and otherwise
(15:42):
seem to have things working fairly well, So I understand it.
But I'm usually very reluctant to make coach and changes
this season because how limited what you can do is. Yeah,
I mean it's really you're not gonna You're basically gonna
call different plays, not better places that works, like called
different places. Uh, Joe Banner joining us, if if if
your pals in Philadelphia call you and say, Joe, how
(16:05):
do we fix his Carson Wentz thing? What do you?
What do you do? Well? I think the person you
gotta do is sit down with him and see what
he's prepared to a willing to do, because you know, he's,
by all accounts are really nice guy, but very strong willed,
and uh, you know, anybody who's around strong world people
at times that's a little bit challenging. So you know,
(16:28):
I would be doing everything from bringing a sports psychologist
I've been going, you know through and really trying to
break him down to build him back up. Almost like
you know you're building a new house. I mean we
I was a fan of the pick. I've believed in
him and he was unrecognizable and what we've seen really
this whole year, but especially the last half a dozen games,
(16:49):
so I feel like, you know what he can get
back to, at least you think you know when he
can get back to. And SWI a lot of efforts.
So I would start when with our football coaches and
tape and starting from scare actual, I would bring in
a sportside college that I said, I'd try to set
up an offseason program for him that you know, really
rebuilt his confidence. I mean, it's just I mean an
analogy recently. I don't know if people think this carries
(17:11):
any water, but I remember remember the fighter Rondo Rosie
and she was just just destroying people. She was just
and then she got knocked out and she was never
the same, never the same. So you know, for me,
that's the only thing that gives me about once I
wonder if something is just kind of sort of, for
lack of a better world, broken a little bit because
we don't see this often top tier athletes that achieved
(17:34):
greatness and then regress this dramatically, So I kind of
thought of her analogy. You know, she just looked like
the rocket Gibraltar and then she has one loss and
all of a sudden she could never get it back together.
I don't know if that's what's going to happen to him,
but we certainly saw somebody that most of us would
love to have the quarterback of our team. Gotlip show
here on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, so would you play
(17:54):
him at all the rest of the season? Well, I wouldn't. Now,
I mean, for me, a week ago, there was an argument,
should we try to leave him in and rebuild some
of the football stuff while he's on the field, or
should we sit down and just let him clear his
head and look the next september. At that point, to me,
I was probably leaning towards leaving him in the live
of not having any illusions that he was going to
(18:14):
suddenly play well and we were gonna win a bunch
of games, but just focusing on his long term development.
But now that they've made the move, whatever consequences there
are to him, you know, emotionally or building confidence wise, um,
you know those are gone. So let him take a rest,
let's learn what Jalen hurt springs and doesn't bring to
the table. Let's see, his teams are a little more
(18:35):
used to what they're likely to do with him, how
the defensive play him. So I've kind of changed my mind.
I was in favor of sticking with him solely for
the purpose as of looking to next September, not with
any illusions with the immediate future. But now that Hurts
went in and did a reasonably good job, I think
I'd stick with that and just count on the off
season being when I'm gonna work with cousin Uh Joe
Banner joining us on the Doug Gotlin Show on Fox
(18:57):
Sports Radio. We you've seen, um, we've seen Baker Mayfield
play statistically exceptional football over the last three weeks, especially
and really since O b j Went down with an injury.
Now there's there's a lot more to it than just Hey,
Odell Beckham Jr. Is not there. They're better addition by subtraction,
(19:18):
but there does appear to be a little bit of
addition by subtraction. I don't know what the markets like
for Odell Beckham Jr. But if you're the Browns, are
you convinced that you're better without a very very talented
wide receiver if I'm convinced, but I'm open minded to
getting the right offer and being willing to move him. Um,
you know, you saw what I did to Philadept. I
(19:39):
was a real purist son. Guys that you know, no,
no high maintenance, no guys that I was gonna worry
about picking up the paper the next day and worrying
about some article about him, not that that's what he is.
And so you know, I probably wouldn't brought him at
to begin with. So I may not be the right
person to ask. But you know, the shocking thing to
me about Baker is, even for those who don't focus
(20:02):
or believe in analytics, the most basic stats tell you
that when he's pressured, he really really struggles, and when
he's not pressured, he can really look good. And yet
we've seen teams, including last week of the Ravens, that
are tend to be quite aggressive defenses, and I don't know,
it seems I've got a fear of him running with
(20:22):
the ball or getting beat deep for a play, or
some of the rollouts they run. They're effective, they back off,
and you know, I think that over time he's either
going to have to improve that or he won't look
as good as he has here recently, with or without.
You know, Odell, I'm kind of mystified by the decisions
strategical coaches are making that are playing the Browns last
(20:45):
four or five weeks. What would you what would you
do differently? Well, listen, I mean I would would tell
my defense evenge, you're gonna be very aware he's gonna
throw screen passes and they're gonna start calling rollouts if
they see us coming after him, and I'd be throwing
the house at him all the time. I mean, the
Ravens did that for scame, they played the Steelers did
the first game we played up forget there was a
third team that did that. Everybody else has played him
pretty straight, and in all three of the games that
(21:07):
they really attacked him, he really struggled. So you know,
you see him come out and stopt defenses against them,
zones usually a form in fronts that you know you
see sometimes they move lineback and say you're not sure
they come in and they dropping. You know, they don't
even do that to him to try to create even
a little mental confusion or um, you know, uncertainty about
what's gonna happen once he snaps the ball. And some
(21:29):
of the games, including some very good defensive word. I mean,
the Colts played him and you know, they lined up
four in the front and free linebackers. You know, it
seemed like every snap and I literally don't think they
blitzed once the whole game. And that's a pretty smart
defensive for that is. So he's two different guys. Now,
everybody is better when they're not pressure them when they are,
but his difference is much more dramatic than most teams.
(21:49):
So it's been kind of mystifying why teams they're choosing
them to play defensively against them the way they have.
Doug Gotlip Show on Fox Sport Trader. That's the voice
of Joe Banner, former general manager, a long time front
office executive in the National Football League. Kind of have
to spend some time with this year on the Doug
Otlip Show on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, let's this to me.
Demands your kind of expertise. Um, you look at the Cowboys,
(22:12):
and I will grant you don't have Dak Prescott, you
don't have your book end tackles. You're not going to
be the same football team that said, there's been some
times when there's just doesn't seem like you have the
right amount of effort. This is even after they cut
some guys mid season in an effort to kind of
generate some some momentum and some urgency. Jerry Jones came
(22:32):
out earlier this week and he said he hadn't even
dreamt of the possibility of making a coaching change. Let
me let me start with coaching. What's your reaction to
Jerry And I know they just hired him, so it
would be admitting their own mistake, but they're not even
thinking about the possibility of getting rid of Mike McCarthy. Yeah,
I listen quoting what you have said, and Jerry said, literally,
I think that's crazy. I'm not saying I would fire him.
(22:55):
I'm saying I would make a change, but at least
think you have to have the discussion. Right, Is this
the right? Actually? How could be seriously not even be
having that conversation or if he's feeling somewhat concerned. I mean,
it's a while human. You know, you've got to be
saying did we get it right? And by the way,
if you think you've got it right, Mike then it's
a totally reasonable question. Well, the then micro hire the
right people to work under him. I mean, we've more
(23:16):
or less forced him to keep the offensive coda. He
bought on a defensive cored that had his time. Not
sure it's now you know, so if it's not Mike,
did you know his first, in my mind, most important
responsibilities to hire and managers coaching stuff? Did he did?
We get the right head coach, but then he didn't
make the right decision of the coaches because you cannot
watch that team in my opinion, and I think coaching
(23:37):
is contributing at a minimum to the problems that they're
having in the way that they're playing. And they were
seeing nothing that makes us think all of a sudden
next September it's going to click and that's gonna be fine.
At least, I'm not seeing anything that lead me to
believe that that's going to happen. Then they'll be better
once these injured guys come back, but they're not going
to be what they thought they could be unless the
coaching staff as part of the improvement. Well, they weren't
(23:58):
winning when Doc was held. I mean that's they weren't
they It took him a miracle to beat Atlanta, who's
one of the worst teams in the NFL. Okay, so
if you're going to fix their personnel, what do you
what do you do? You got you got dak on
a franchise franchise deal. You got Ezekei Elliott on a
deal where he's he is not what he is being paid.
(24:19):
Got a Marie Cooper? Uh yes, some other Jealen Smith
doesn't seem to be able to run the way you
would think a guy at that payade should be able
to run. How do you how do you rebuild when
you're the Cowboys personnel wise? You know, obviously I'm kind
of eating the fact that I've probably overspent on offense
and I'm kind of out of whack, and I'm sitting
(24:40):
here going now, listen, I've got to just trust that's
going to be good enough. Um, And I'm totally focused
on my defense. I think that Prescott they have to
find a way to resign. I think physique there at
least committed for now. It's not that much longer before
they get out of that contract. A ton of consequences
if that's what they decide, But at least for next year.
I'm just saying, listen, I'm gonna k for the offensive
line getting healthy. Maybe I had a little depth in
(25:02):
the middle of the draft just in case, um, but
I am really focusing on defense, and I you know,
Janalen Smith is not playing his contract Vandish looks really
good when he plays, but he hardly plays. And you know,
you go through the whole thing that that they probably
only have two or three guys on that defense that
you'd say good enough to be on a really good defense.
And if they're not about playing winning the division and
playing well into the playoffs, that defense is way way
(25:26):
far from getting to that point. And I do, by
the way, think that coaching is part of that, but
they're not even maximizing talent they have now, and even
with a great defensive coach, they don't left talent to
win the way they're hoping to win their Yeah. No,
I mean what's interesting is Ron Rivera. And granted it
was helped by this year's draft. I mean, you draft
an absolute star, um, but Ron Rivera has kind of
(25:48):
quickly rebuilt that that one. In terms of rebuild, obviously
they got to figure out quarterback, but their defensive front
is one that will keep them competitive in that division
for years to come. Of my am I wrong in
stating that so boldly in uh in three quarters of
one season with the Washington football team. No, I don't
think you are. Again, I worked with Ron and it
(26:09):
was a great higher and expect him to do really well,
and he is the great guy that everybody portrays him
to be. But they're kind of the they're you know,
look in the mirror of the Cowboys. I mean, they
have a defense that looks like it's pretty close to
being able to compete and win against really good teams
in an offense in my mind, certainly starting with a quarterback,
but not ending with the quarterback. You know, they other
ways to go, So you know, I think they need
(26:31):
to really focus on that. And you know, listen, I'll say,
probably not something many people would agree with at the moment,
but I think that whereas like the Cowboys have a
bit of a challenge on the coaching defensively to just
maximize the talent once they get it. Um, I kind
of feel a little bit the same way about the Redskins.
It's you know, it's Scott Turner and all its sun
kind of sacrilegious to be critical, but he's, uh, you know,
(26:53):
he's very very conservative, and I don't I don't see
a lot of the things with seeing some of the
better offenses that are coming into play, you know, as
part of their their offense. And it wasn't when they
were in Carolina together either, So I'm not sold they
have the solution of the coaching side of that equation there. Hey, Joe, listen,
I hope you have the very merriest of Christmas. Can't
tell how much we appreciate all the knowledge that you're
(27:14):
able to give us and just incredible insight into things
that we always wonder appreciate being our guest on Fox
Sports Radio. My pleasure could being with you.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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