January 11, 2026 • 50 mins
Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is reacting LIVE immediately following the NFL Wild Card Weekend matchup between Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers vs. Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. John kicks off by reacting to the Bears comeback win vs. the Packers. John gives flowers to QB Caleb Williams for his performance in the 4th quarter to lead his team to victory. John then debates if Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is on the hot seat due to choking away the lead against the Bears. John then reacts to Rams surviving on the road vs. the Panthers and questions whether Matt Stafford and head coach Sean McVay would consider stepping away after this season if they can't make the Super Bowl. John wraps up with his expectations for the Bears and the Rams moving forward in the NFL playoffs.
03:52 - Packers-Bears Reaction
36:19 - Rams-Panthers Reaction
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume What is going on Everybody? John Middlecock three
and out podcast brought to you by my friends at
(00:22):
Zone Pouches. What a night in Chicago. Remarkable, incredible, glorious.
It's gotta be cool to be a Bears fan because
that is doesn't get any better. We will obviously talk
about what we just witnessed. I'm recording this late on
a Saturday night. Chicago Bear score twenty five points, come
(00:44):
storming back to beat the Green Bay Packers in just
an epic, epic game Caleb makes, I think the play
of his career. Matt Lafleura and the Packers kind of
melt down, even as they kind of don't melt down.
Just it was crazy. So we will dive deep into
that game. There happened to be a game before that
(01:05):
which shouldn't have been entertaining, but it kind of was.
That the Rams barely beat the Panthers as a massive underdog.
Bryce Young made some plays, Matt Stafford made some plays
that he didn't make some plays. Rams Special teams is
a disaster. So we will talk some We'll just talk
(01:27):
football to night. We'll talk those two games, and here's
the plan. This podcast is also on YouTube. Starting tomorrow night,
all of our video podcasts will live on Netflix. So
Sunday Nights pod we'll go up live on Netflix on
Monday morning, and then moving forward, all of the podcasts
(01:49):
will be on Netflix, so exciting times for the three
and Out crew. And audio won't change a bit. We'll
just keep rocking and rolling we obviously do. This is
an audio podcast first and foremost before video ever came around,
so we have a large group of people that listen
on audio. Nothing's gonna change. If you want to check
it out, check it out on Netflix, because that's where
(02:11):
we are and that's where we're gonna be. So appreciate everyone.
And I guess let's talk some football, But let's start
with what we witnessed tonight. My thought all along for
this game, before the kickoff and before we saw the
context of the actual experience. The Chicago Bears have had
(02:32):
a miraculous season. They have pulled games out of crevices
of their body that we didn't know exist. It's been
fun to watch, and the two previous Packer Bears games
have been must see television. Right, I remember the Bears
in a loss, I earn more respect from the Bears
and that loss to the Packers and Lambeau than a
(02:55):
lot of their wins, and then obviously the game that
they pulled off several weeks ago in the comeback fashion
on Saturday Night against Green Bay, which was one of
the cooler nights probably in Chicago when it came to
football in the last fifteen years. But you're the two seed.
You're hosting Green Bay, who's this bitter rival who's kind
(03:17):
of owned you as a franchise for a long time.
They've had Far, they've had Rogers, and then they just
are beating your brains in. You're down twenty one to three.
It feels like forty to nothing. You then kind of
come back in the second half, but you look up
in the fourth quarter, Jordan Love drives them down the field.
You're still down twenty seven to sixteen. There's a fourth
(03:39):
and eight play that it for a split second it
looks like Caleb's gonna get sacked, and five minutes later
you have thirty one points. They have twenty seven points.
And I can't imagine the experience, not just of the
city but the paying customer, you know, because this league
(03:59):
is built upon you and I those of us that
sit on our couch and watch the games. That's where
the league makes all their money. That's what pays for
the players, That's what pays for everything. That's what makes
these teams worth billions of dollars is their television contract.
But as someone who has been to a lot of
NFL games, great ones, bad ones, you never know what
(04:22):
you're getting. But when you go to a playoff game
and an experience like this with this team and then
you're getting your ass kicked, you're like, obviously, we have
this special coach and we have this quarterback who's proven
these late quarter comebacks there's no disputing as physical skills,
but it's all just going wrong. And then for it
to flip like that and score twenty five points in
(04:44):
the fourth quarter, and to beat the fucking Green Bay Packers,
and to put Matt Leforre's job status in major questions
and head to the second round where you host another
playoff game, that there can't be a sweeter feeling as
a sports fan. If you're a Chicago Bears fan, that's
as good as it gets right there. I mean, honestly,
(05:05):
besides like winning the super Bowl, that's worth like ten
playoff victories by itself. The crazy part about this rivalry
between these two teams is they've only played twice in
the history of the playoffs, and they've both been around
since like eighteen fifty, once in the forties and once
in twenty eleven, and the Packers were one of both,
(05:26):
and it felt like it was going that way again.
And I'll be honest my take. I didn't have any
money on this game. I picked the Bears just because
I kind of trusted the football gods. Did not feel
good about that. Ben Johnson was really letting me down,
you know, Kleb and the run. It was just off
that their play calling was off. The fourth down calls
(05:48):
in the first half I thought were reckless. I know,
the analytical guys are all like giving each other reach arounds,
like what ew. Yeah, it's like, you can't go for
it in a fourteen three game at your own thirty.
You can't do that, not now, not twenty not ever.
That is moronic. Well, we don't know if our defense
(06:09):
could play let the game play out. If you've got
to do that in the second half, okay, but with
five minutes left to go in the second quarter, that
is dumb. It really is. And Ben Johnson was a
part of a team that had a huge lead against
the forty nine Ers a couple of years ago in
the NFC Championship game, and they got reckless. You can't
(06:29):
be reckless with these fourth down calls, and it almost
cost them the game. But then luckily, I mean, the
craziest experience of this game is the Chicago Bears defense
in the first half looked like it had been looking
not very good. They can't cover a soul. I mean,
they cannot cover a soul, and honestly, even toward the
end of the game, they can't cover a soul. But
(06:51):
they have pulled turnovers just constantly, so they just make
plays and flip the game that way. But it wasn't
really happening. Jordan Love isn't even putting the ball in
Harm's way. And then the second half comes, they're getting
the ball. Obviously, McManus misses the field goal at the
end of the first half, which would have made it
twenty four to three. Still twenty one three. They get
(07:11):
the ball and their next four drives are punt, punt, punt, punt.
They gained one first down over that experience and gain
a total of twenty nine yards. So whatever Dennis Allen
and the defensive players said to each other, they obviously
lost TJ. Edwards to what looked like a shattered ankle
or dislocated ankle. And he's like, I don't know. I
(07:33):
looked at my wife. I'm like, they just don't have
the bodies, even the guys they're rolling out. You know,
Jalen Johnson, who's a you know, former Pro Bowl level
guys come back from injury. You know, he's had growing surgery.
I think over the offseason or early on in the season.
Clearly he's just not running as fast as he used to.
He's never been like a burner. But he doesn't look
to say they're their defensive backs can't really cover anybody,
(07:55):
but they listen. I don't blame the floor. You start
running the ball. You start run the ball. You try
to kind of shorten the game, control of the clock.
They couldn't go anywhere. I don't have the numbers in
the second half from a run game perspective, my guess
is Josh Jacobs in gain over twenty yards the entire
second half. Honestly, it might be like under fifteen or
twelve yards. It was a dominant dominant performance, and then
they were getting pressure on Jordan Love and then it
(08:18):
kind of flipped and what still Then the offense for
the Bears kind of sputtered. You know, Caleb was inaccurate
at times. They just couldn't get any drives going. They
had to settle for some field goals. They went forward
on a fourth down, which he ended up throwing an interception.
He threw two interceptions on fourth downs, which my take
(08:39):
on that would be those aren't as bad as like
interception on a second or first down, because you have
no choice, like you got to throw the ball. You
got to get rid of the ball. It's you can't
think a sack. So it's it's it's not as bad
as you know, other down interceptions, but obviously it didn't
feel good when it happened. And then it's twenty seven
(09:01):
to sixteen. Lovelin turns into Kelsey and his prime or
Shannon Sharp and is just dominating the game. He had
eight catches for one hundred and thirty seven yards. Honestly,
it felt like he had two hundred. He was getting
open with ease, even balls that were called incompletions or drops.
He was just no one could cover him. He was
fucking dominating the game. And as twenty one to sixteen,
(09:26):
they get the ball back and Jordan Lovely's them right
down the field. I think they go six plays, he
has four completions. Golden with the play so far of
his early you know, young career has that play. I
think he goes like twenty three yards for a touchdown,
and all of a sudden, it's you think gonna be
twenty eight to sixteen, but he misses the extra point,
so it's twenty seven to sixteen, and he's just kind
(09:47):
of doing the math. You've watched the Bears, who, let's
face it, have been awful most of the game. I
mean have been awful. Their defense came to play there
for a stretch in the third quarter, but then Jordan
love drove right back down like, well, they're just probably
runing out of gas. And offensively, Ben Johnson, who's been brilliant,
it just there's been no rhyme or rhythm to what
(10:07):
they've been doing. He fell off. He honestly kind of
looked off. I don't know if it was the freezing
cold temperatures, but I just I didn't have that much faith.
And then they got in that situation on fourth and
was it fourth and eight or fourth and six when
Caleb Williams I think it's the play of his career.
(10:28):
It was fourth and eight at the Chicago forty three.
He hit Rome rolling to his left. I mean there
is Josh Allen Herbert are probably the only two guys
that can make that play who physically I'm not saying
they do make that play. I'm just saying have the
capability to make that play. And when we nitpick, like
like when Fernando Mendoza gets nitpicked, you know how great
(10:50):
are his physical attributes, Like he can't make that play, right,
So there are elements And this is where I can
live with Caleb's inaccuracies because he does miss a lot
of throats, but he also can make throws that no
one else can make, and he does make them in
huge spots. And that individual play saved the game because
(11:10):
two plays later he's a twenty two yard pass him
a nunji. A couple of plays later he throws the
touchdown pass to Zakias and then they get the ball,
they drive right down the field. Of course, mcmannus misses
a field goal again, I mean he was he was
bad tonight. You had no faith when he lined up,
and then the Bears get the ball, drive rut down
(11:31):
the field and score another touchdown twenty five points in
the fourth quarter. That is that's his exhilarating of a
sports ending as you're gonna see, and it kind of
symbolizes their season that these are this is a team
that just you can't out count out because how many
(11:52):
of us are texting people this game's a wrap, this
game's over. They look like shit, we all were doing
it because they did it looked that bad. You're watching
them and you're like, they can't cover a soul, and
you look at the Packagers, like, well, they got good
wide receivers. Dobbs when he's on is excellent. He had
a big game. Golden starts making plays. The route he
(12:16):
ran on that final drive because Jordan Love was driving
him right down the field. Hit Golden for a first down,
hit Dobbs for a first down, he hit was its yeah,
read for a first down. Hit three big first downs
to drive them, and obviously the center gets hurt and
they're deep. At where are they They're at the forty No,
(12:40):
they were they were at like the twenty yard line.
Twenty three yard line, the center gets hurt and they
have the ten second runoff, and then they ended up
getting a delay a game. I thought, I thought lafloor
with the timeout on the delay of game, Well he
didn't call a timeout on the delay a game up,
(13:00):
pushing them back a little bit for the field goal,
and then he called the time out when they were
on defense with a bunch of time left against the Bears.
We'll dive into Lafleur here in a second, but you know,
things just come up the Bears, and a lot of
it is their defense makes tonight it was timely stops
and throughout the season it's been timely interceptions and they're
(13:22):
defining characteristic are these huge plays by Caleb and the
Caleb talent and the ceiling that everyone agreed upon when
he was coming out, Like a small percentage of people
have that physical ceiling right, the arm strength, the mobility,
the ability to run and throw to your left. Like
(13:45):
a lot of talented guys can roll right and throw right.
Jordan Love can do that right, roll right, throw right. Now.
Certain people can throw it farther or a little bit harder,
but most guys with athleticism in the NFL, well can
roll right and throw right. A very small percentage of
people can avoid sacks. Right handed quarterbacks roll left, throw
(14:09):
a ball forty plus yards in the air on a
dot to a guy on fourth down to save a season.
And when we talk about attributes, it matters. Now here's
the thing about physical attributes. There are a lot of
guys that have them that don't even ever make plays.
So then you get like the inaccuracy and you don't
get any place. You just beget it and become a
(14:30):
bad player. But you can live with some of the
misshots when you're making the great plays. And obviously when
he had do tonight on some of those big drives,
he hit quote unquote routine passes and then on the
schemed kind of fake screen that slipped Dj Moore down
the sideline, Caleb hit him in stride, he walked in
the end zone. And that's, you know, at the end
(14:52):
of the day, kind of the difference in the game, right,
I mean, that was the game right there, when Dj
Moore scores touchdown twenty seven ballgame, like Jordan Love I
was actually making routine passes, doing well from within the pocket,
hitting Dobbs, hitting Reid hitting Golden like I thought Jordan
Love for a lot of the game played pretty well,
(15:14):
definitely in the first half and definitely you know, down
the stretch of the game. But he doesn't always give
you the miraculous and that's part of why he was
more of a late first round pick, right even as
a quote unquote project. He still has good physical attributes.
Pretty good athlete, not great, you know for NFL standards,
probably average, and has a good arm, and when he's
(15:36):
in rhythm and playing on time, he can look really good.
You know, I think he can get a little reckless,
like the back foot throws. He's not gonna have the
same physical talent as Caleb kind of freelancing with his
lower half, and it cost him a couple times to
night on some misses, a couple underthrows on some big spots,
(15:57):
and that's reason one team moving on the other team's
not going anywhere, right. It's it's really that simple. Is
one team has these crazy plays in their back pocket
because of their quarterback, and the other team doesn't. Really
they kind of have to scheme to play and then
he's got executed. Like say what you want, Like I
(16:17):
didn't think Ben Johnson was that great tonight. That's probably
the worst game I've seen him have. But Caleb bails
them out. And this is a thing. With a great
play caller, they're gonna have bad games. They're gonna do
stupid shit. I've watched Kyle Shanahan do it for a
long time. Sean mcvaigh today, I thought was really bad
at stretches. It's like, Sean, your quarterback has a hurt finger.
(16:41):
He's clearly off. Your team is averaging over five yards
of carry. Run the ball. Sean's like, pass it again,
and pass it again, And it's like, bro, just call
some runs. Slow down the game. Coaches can get in
a bad rhythm, they can make mistakes. It happens. It's football.
It's really hard. Bill Walsh a lot of games, Belichick
(17:01):
lost a lot of games, playoff games, Super Bowls. Like
it happens. Sometimes players can bail you out, and in
a weird way, like this guy, I'm watching him, like, God,
you know, it's not all his fault. It's not like
he's got Mike Singletary and er Locker and Briggs out there.
So the talent is not great. I mean, clearly six
was a major liability. The Packers were going at him
(17:23):
over and over. It just didn't feel like they have
much team speed on defense. But it felt like, God,
just this, Dennis Allen is going to go down like
this and whatever adjustment they made loading the box, maybe
these guys just started playing a little bit more focused.
Maybe they play a little harder. I don't know, but
they definitely looked at because they started dominating the line
(17:44):
of scrimmage against the Green Bay Packers. They owned the
line of scrimmage. I mean, Josh Jacobs kid just take
over a game. Hell we saw last year in a loss,
remember against the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.
Jacobs was every bit at the player on that field.
He was just a dominant force. And he has games
where he just imposes as well. Today there was nowhere
(18:06):
to go. I mean, the best run for him today
was when they put him at kickoff returner and first
one second like is he gonna take this in the house,
he ended up fumbling. I mean, there were also some
crazy plays with fumbles. That fumble. There was the fumble
on the play where the Packers threw to the offensive
lineman who I think got a little cocky and then
(18:28):
got very lucky the ball went out of bounds. You
have the Christian Watson play in the first half. They
end up scoring a touchdown anyway, but they got extremely
lucky that his ball didn't go out of bounds and
stayed inbounds. And you can't advounce advancing, but if that
thing goes out of bounds as a touchback. There was
just some crazy shit going on. The football gods had
(18:50):
their hands all over this thing. That's why. As the
game kind of went and it never got quite like
if it had got to twenty eight to three or
thirty one one to six or something, there would have
been a gap. But the gap never widened enough where
even if you're someone listen, Not that I think they're frauds,
(19:10):
but like, if they lose tonight, they would have been
two and five in the division and like three or
four plays away from being a seven or eight win team.
That doesn't take away they have a ton of talent,
they have an excellent play caller. They've just had a
lot of shit go their way in big moments, and
you hit credit for that. The Commanders did too. But
the Commanders last year ended up in the NFC championship game,
(19:33):
so like, yeah, they're playing with house money in the
sense that no one thought the Bears were gonna be
this good, not a Soult, Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles,
the mccaskeys in August, didn't think they were gonna be
the two seat. But then you are the two seed, right,
It's like I don't have any money, and all of
a sudden, you're rich. It's like, well, you better start
investing your money or figuring out where you want to
(19:54):
put it. Maybe buy some I do something with it,
because you're here now, this is where you're the two
seed at home against his rival, and now you win
this game, Like obviously, who knows the sky's the limit.
Maybe the football guys just carry you to the to
the Super Bowl. I do think it's hard to ever
top that. I've been watching football for thirty plus years.
(20:16):
We've all seen crazy playoff games. When you factor in
a crazy playoff game against the connection you have with
the team you're playing, factored in with the setup of
the game, given that you're down eleven points with like
five minutes to go, and then you score twenty five
points in the fourth quarter, you win the game at home.
I don't think it gets any better than that. Like
(20:38):
if if they would have just played the Rams or
the forty nine ers and just won the first round,
like just won a game like thirty one to ten,
like kick their ass, that would not have been as
cool as this. This is as good as it gets
in Chicago, right beside like winning NBA Finals with Michael
Jordan with the Chicago cub Obviously winning the championship is
(21:02):
the best possible outcome, but I think this is right
behind it. And I think most Bears fans would agree.
Biggest win for a lot of people. I mean, when's
last time the Bears have had a bigger win. You'd
have to go back twenty plus years on that Super
Bowl run team with Rex Grossman, And this feels a
little bit different because, like you have a quarterback he
(21:25):
just drafted number one overall, you have a coach who,
again bad night happens, feels like a star right and
it's like you just get some more defensive pieces that
this team could be something because Lovelin looks special, Burden's
really good. DJ Moore is kind of a bizarre player.
I thought Ben Johnson there were plays, there were times
(21:48):
a night where he got away from Swift, which I
didn't understand. I mean, he gave Dj moorecerry in a
big spot. It's like the under Swift had the best
year of his career. He just a fantastic player, Like
he's the confidence in which he runs, he's breaking tackles.
I mean he had the one run today. I think
it might have been a pass, but he cut it
(22:09):
all the way back gain like seven yards when it
could have been like a ten yard loss. Looking Barry
Sanders out there, I don't think he had enough touches
to night. You only had thirteen carries. To me. I
bet Ben would admit, like he's got to be closer
to like eighteen nineteen twenty carries. He's too good of
a player. He's playing too well this season, and he's
(22:29):
just too impactful. Now. I understand they were down so
he kind of had to get a little pass happy,
but I bet Ben Johnson be the first to agree
that forty eight pass attempts for Caleb is not the
way we want to play. I mean, he threw fifty
percent right and obviously the two picks, but like I said,
I the picks, It's not like he's throwing first down picks.
(22:49):
This is Dante Moore last night throwing pick six on
a first and ten. You throw interceptions on fourth down
or you don't have a choice. I mean, you just
got to throw the ball up. The play call where
it was clearly going to DJ Morty slipped like. I
don't love forth down calls. One I thought you could
have run it there and two fourth down calls when
you clearly have one distinct option if something goes wrong,
(23:13):
and listen, it's we're human beings. It's a field like
you can it's freezing cold, you might fall on the ground,
and it just you gotta hope Caleb pull something out
of as you know what. He tried to overthrow it
a little bit, but I saw I think Portanoy said,
big pet peeve when a guy intercepts the ball and
(23:34):
ended up losing their team like twenty yards, because they'd
be better off just knocking the ball to the ground.
You get the ball farther up the field. But you know,
I don't blame defensive players just in the mode. But yeah,
twenty four or forty eight, a couple touchdowns three or
sixty yards, but the touchdowns down the stretch, just the
massive plays and that Rome play, I truly believe that's
(23:56):
that's one of the more miraculous plays you'll ever see
given on the line. Speaking of what's not miraculous is
I think it's just hard to shake this. If you're
Matt it really is. Now your best player comes into
the game in sweats on crutches, so you had a
built in excuse. We trade all this for Micah Parsons.
(24:17):
He tears his knee. You lose your star linebacker in
the middle of that game, right gets hitting a pile
in the shin or ankle or whatever. He gets kioed.
You lose some offensive lineman. I get it. It's football things.
Things happen, you lose players. The Bears lost guys tonight.
You're up twenty one to three on the road, getting
the ball at halftime. You gotta win that game. You
(24:39):
just do. And you talk about no rhythm to the
play calling, that's stretching. The second half kind of did
them in because if they just get a couple field
goal drives, and obviously their field goal kicker was not
reliable tonight, so there's no guarantee even if you've got
a field goal range. He's gonna make the kick, but
everyone and let's I've watched a lot of his press conferences.
(25:02):
He feels like an impressive guy, and I followed his
career since he was a dB coach. When I used
to go to Niner practice in like twenty fifteen sixteen range.
He actually worked for Chip Kelly and Kyle Shanahan. I
didn't even know much about him. I remember asking people.
They're like, hey, he's pretty impressive. Forty nine er spoke Islum.
So I've followed Halfley's career ever since then Ohio State,
(25:22):
Boston College, obviously the last couple years. But it's a
rough night for those two guys, and one guy wants
to become a head coach in your season and your
career is not defined on one half of football. But
like you gotta find a way. You can't. You just
can't lose that game. And the laflor time out situation,
I'm sorry, I just the delay a game situation when
(25:46):
you're in field goal range, like the points are at
such a premium there you're up three points to go
up like a field goal camp beat you is so
big and honestly, like your wide receivers have got open
to put yourself into third and long. When you're in
third and eight or third nine, or third and ten
or whatever it was, you gotta call the time out there.
(26:08):
And clearly he was willing to use him because he
used it on defense a couple of plays later when
the Bears had the ball. This was a guy that
came into this season on an established platform by his
new president who was essentially the owner of like we're evaluating,
and their record down nine to seven to one, essentially
(26:29):
nine to eight in one, loose to the Bears twice
in less than a month, getting knocked out of the playoffs,
where it felt, I mean I even wrote down they
are gonna have two wins as a seventh seed in
the last three years. That's an incredible accomplishment. A couple
of years ago they went to Dallas ended Mike McCarthy's career.
(26:50):
This year, it felt like they're gonna go to Chicago
and ruin their season. After all, the Bears fans are
wearing cheese graders on their head, feeling themselves like, damn lafleur,
that's that's a big one. And and listen, I'm not
saying I'll probably get into Matt Ryan more tomorrow. If
Lafloor's available, Lafour's Ben Matt Ryan's quarterback coach. I would
(27:14):
imagine that the Atlanta Falcons would be extremely interested in Lafloor.
So I'm not acting like Laflour is just gonna go
to the unemployment line, have to go on food stamps
and bake for food. Like He'll be fine. He more
than likely would be one hundred percent immediate head coach.
But there's not many better jobs in America any industry
than the Green Bay Packers. About as good as it gets,
(27:37):
and I think his job status is very in jeopardy
over the next forty eight hours. It's something to keep
a close eye on. And I'm recording this at ten
thirty Arizona time. It would not shock me at all
if leading into that Jags Bills game schefter and Glazier
and those guys talk. It's going to be like the
(27:58):
Packers are going to have a lot of Discsessis over
the next couple of days and he's gonna talk with them.
They're gonna talk with him. I personally would keep them,
But you watch something like this this season, like I
understand the question marks, I do he's not a dominant
enough coach that like, oh, you can't get rid of
this guy. Now, who you replace him with? How do
(28:19):
you just elevate Halfley? After that twenty five fucking points
in the fourth quarter, You're just giving it to Halfley.
So if I'm a Packer fan, I like Jeff Halfley
a lot. But I don't know. We're kind of in
a weird spot. And the great unknown is there's not
an owner. He just does not exist. There's just this
(28:39):
president who gets to act as the pseudo owner and
make these decisions. Gudakin's a made guy. He's not going anywhere,
and who knows, I don't know all the inner dynamics
of the organization. How much juice he has to fight
for la floor? Does he have another guy in mind?
Does he want Halfley more than the floor? But then
you just put yourself in a position like who's your
offensive coordinator? There are a lot of question marks for
(29:01):
the Packers, which you know, forty five minutes ago felt
like gonna be one of their finest moments in years.
Ruining the Bear season on the road is a seventh
seed to now, like, does their coach get fired? Is
Matt Lafour gonna get fired and after tonight choking a
game like that, because that's what choking a game like that,
(29:23):
I get the Bears make a lot of people choke,
but they were on the choke side. I think these
people are asking these questions and it's to me the
number one story to go. And there's still obviously a
lot of talent on this team moving forward, assuming that
Micaeh Parks has come back. It's a team that next
year can be very good. Like they always draft well,
(29:44):
they were missing their right tackle tonight, they had a
bunch of offensive line injuries. They have a lot of
talent on the team, and they easily could be competitive
for like the number one seed next year. Right. But
I think these next forty eight, three or four days,
I guess it could bleed into like Tuesday or Wednesday.
Is something really to watch when it comes to the
Green Bay Packers, because that's tough. That's losing. Football games
(30:09):
are always bad. You only play one game a week.
This is not basketball, this is not baseball. You don't
get to just well, it's play again tomorrow. It's not
the way this works. But playoff losses in this type
manner just sting as hard as possible. It's just it's
hard to it's hard to get over this sometimes, and
(30:30):
people in power sometimes never look at you the same Again,
a couple of years ago, it's this is an apples
to apples, But Mike McCarthy, when he blew that game
against the Green Bay Packers, he was clearly a dead
man walking. Next year, the season didn't go well, and
it was a no brainer, but he was. He was
done that year. Jerry just didn't want to pay him
to go away, so he rolled him back. But his
(30:51):
career unofficially ended that night. And you have to wonder
if tonight officially ended Lafleur, which I like. I said,
I think Atlanta would hire him yesterday. I think Matt
Ryan it'd be a go to again. He coached Matt
Ryan with Kyle Shanahan on the year that he won
the MVP, so I'm assuming they have a good relationship
(31:12):
and it would make some sense. A guy with a
ton of experience, a guy with a ton of playoff experience,
a guy that you no can coach quarterbacks, So I
think he would immediately get another job. But this is
a conversation that has been brewing in Green Bay. You're
sitting there as a Bears fan, You're going, wait, our
coach is this guy that everyone loves who thinks the
star and the Packers have questions about their coach, they
(31:34):
might fire and have to go on a coaching search.
What world are we? Is this really what twenty twenty
six is? And I've never been to Soldier Field, and
I would guess part of the reason the aspirations to
get the new stadium is the outdated sweet situation. You
make so much. These new stadiums come equipped with just
(31:56):
so many suitees that that's how you print money, right
any of these you know, the Staple Center changed the
game with the amount of suites they have. That's where
you make your big cash. You can sell the suites
at the price of like I don't even know how
many normal seats, but it's they go. They're very expensive
and after a while they start just being free cash
(32:17):
for the owner. So I understand the aspirations to build
the more of a modern stadium, but I will say this,
that stadium at night, with that crowd, you know clearly
they've renovated the press box over the years. I think
it looks fantastic like that does not feel like some
Decrepit doesn't feel like the Oakland Coliseum or Candlestick like
(32:39):
that place feels badass. And again I'm not speaking from experience.
I've never been there. Clearly, there are financial reasons to
one upgrade. I get it, Like who's not in the
business of trying to make more money or as much
money as possible? Like I understand it. I'm not one
of those like you know Big Jay's that just hate
on people trying to make more money. We celebrate that
(33:00):
here on this show. But I will say this my
experience this year of just being a fan of football
and a lover of great environments at night, It's why
I gravitate towards these SEC games that the Bears games
at night are fucking awesome. That was that crowd erupting
in the fourth quarter. That experience down the stretch doesn't
(33:22):
get any better in that like that. Chicago has something special.
Obviously the stadium's downtown. I can't imagine that vibe of
the people leaving, the excitement, everyone going to different bars,
freezing their ass off, having cocktails and beers with each other.
There's something pretty special, you know, in this day and
age of I try to spend less and less time
(33:43):
on social media. It's just the same old shit over
and over. People scream at each other. It's just not
real life. I go out. In real life, everyone's friendly
to each other. But there's something so communal and just
what sports, and specifically football and football towns in people together,
people that don't know each other, people from different sides
(34:04):
of town, and everyone pulling in the same direction for
the same common goal and celebrating it together. It's just
something we don't get very often, and football brings it.
I don't think it's shocking white. It's the number one
sport in America. In that game, the night probably had
forty million people watching. It's fucking awesome. Congratulate Chicago Bears,
Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson for moving on. Get to
(34:26):
host another game, you know, you get to those another game.
So it's it'll either be It'll either be the Rams
or the Eagles, I guess right. So if the forty
nine Ers win, they'd play Seattle, and if the Eagles win,
the Rams will play The Rams will play Seattle. So
(34:47):
we'll learn tomorrow the matchups. Today's show is brought to
you by are presenting sponsored hard Rock Back Sportsbook, partner
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New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. On the Panthers Bears game,
went over to a buddy's house with my wife, Chris
and Sarah. We had a little midday Chili just kind
of seeing his new pad, enjoying ourselves. I watched the
(36:56):
first quarter there and I'm not gonna lie. We both
looked at each other like this, this game is so stupid.
Why are we playing this game? What is going on?
It felt like when it was seventeen to seven and
the Rams were driving at the end of the first half.
This thing's got like forty to ten written all over it,
and obviously they go for it on fourth down at
(37:18):
the end of the first half. They don't get it.
Carolina drives scores seventeen to fourteen. And as the game
played out, Stafford was atrocious for most of the game.
And I thought Sean McVay was not good either. You know,
he gets very east. He's much closer like his style
of a coach. I've said this forever. He's a pass
(37:39):
game guy, right. He wants to pass. He wants like
Ben Johnson, will not love seeing forty eight attempts. That's
not the way he wants to play football. Right. He
would much rather have Caleb Bee like in the low
thirties and they had twenty eight rush attempts. He'd rather
have forty rush attempts. He'd rather flip that number. He'd
rather have forty eight rush attempts in twenty eight pass attempts.
(38:01):
Sean mcvay's like Andy Reid. He'd throw it sixty times
a game if he could. But tonight there were stretches
in that second half after I don't know if it's
Stafford's finger. I don't know if he just started playing bad,
but it was not working. And their running game at
the time, I remember looking the two running backs were
averaging over five yards of carry. Blake I've loved Blake
Corms as he was a Michigan. Kyen Williams is one
(38:23):
of the more steady eddy players when he's not fumbling
the ball in the league. Just run the ball. You're
in control of the game. It's it's fourteen I guess
it was seventeen fourteen at the end of the first half.
Then they kick a field goal, so it's twenty to fourteen.
But they get back in the game, so it kind
of abed in flowed like Carolina would not die. And
(38:44):
then the ironic part about the Rams is they had
fired their special teams coach Chase Blackburn, former New York Giant.
I think he's won like two Super Bowls as a player,
definitely won one. And you know, anytime a unit sucks,
head coach loves going. It's all that guy's but like, hey,
we really appreciate you, wish you and your wife and
your children best of your future endeavors. Like bullshit, you
(39:07):
just fucking told the guy to pack up a shit
and leave that there's nothing more fraudulent in sports when
they wish them the best mid season with the coordinator,
it's like you just love me like a week ago,
and now you're firing me because something screwed up, Like,
is the owner GM want you to fire me now?
Their special teams have been bad, but like was it
the coach or is it the players? Because when they
(39:28):
got that punt blocked and then all of a sudden
the Panthers score and take the lead thirty one to
twenty seven, You're like, the Rams are going to lose
this game on the road to an eight to nine
Panther team because of their special teams. And I had
people because during the season like the downfall of this
Rams team is gonna be their secondary. And the ten
(39:51):
Rams fans that exist were DM and me like Middlecoff,
it's not our secondary, it's our special teams. It sucks.
And on that punt block, ISAIAHS Simmons, who might be
the best special team or former first round pick like listen,
not a defensive player, clearly overdrafted, but when you're six
foot four and the dude on the edge just kind
(40:11):
of goes like this, he just walked right into the punter.
A lot of times when a punt or a field
goal gets blocked off the edge, the dude has to
like come out the blocks like he's Carl Lewis, layout
like he's Ricky Henderson. You're like, that is peak athleticism
right there, that explosion out of the blocks, the leap
like it doesn't get it. It's a great play, right
(40:33):
when a punt or a field goal is blocked coming
around the edge. This play, the dude on the Rams
honestly gave a pat on the ass, like, go get him, Tiger,
Like that play was an embarrassment they deserve when that
play happened to lose the game. But then Stafford seven
plays later leads him on the game winning drive. And
I think I saw on social media that he said
(40:55):
told DeVante like let's rip their heart out or some
cliche comment, and he did it. And he's done a
lot in his career. And the Rams should beat the Panthers.
They should never lose to the Panthers. But you watch
that game thirty four to thirty one, and you go,
it's hard for me to trust this team. It really is.
Now we'll have to see, you know, the bearers have
(41:17):
defensive issues. Want to see the Eagles and the forty
nine ers tomorrow. You know, Seattle still got Sam Darnold.
Like all these teams have question marks. It's hard to
watch the Rams today and go, yeah, team that can
win the Super Bowl, that team that can win three
more playoff games. They're just not playing that well that
they lost to Seattle. Obviously they were getting Their defense
(41:41):
was getting cooked by Jacoby Brissett for two and a
half quarters. Cooked, And you're watching today Bryce Young just
scrambled around making throws to what's his name, I mean
cocher nine catches, one hundred and thirty four yards. Guy
was dominating McMillan at five for eighty one one. Mccocher
(42:01):
had that play that they dialed up for what felt
like for a second, potentially the game winning touchdown. Was
beautiful play, beautiful pass. But you go, you have to
stress this much to beat an eight to nineteen in
a beautiful day too, Like this is not Soldier Field
where it's freezing cold. What was it like sixty eight
degrees there? Gorgeous, It's it was one of those when
(42:28):
they took the lead and I was thinking, well, if
the Rams don't drive the field and score. Does McVeigh
just quit and go to Amazon, you know, Raheem and Tom.
And if I'm McVeigh, I just get out ahead of it,
like I just steal their chair. I go, actually, I'm done.
Like he kind of had this look on his face.
They're gonna lose this game to the fucking Panthers as
(42:48):
a ten and a half point favorite special team. When
your special teams can't be trusted, Listen, I gave the
Bears a lot of credit. I can't take you seriously,
the Super Bowl contender, whin your defense like that, you
can only pull so many games, like eventually, you can't
go down twenty one to three and come back when
your defense is not trustworthy. It can't happen. When your
special teams at any moment can just like give up
(43:11):
a block field goal for a touchdown, can give up
a block punt at the thirty yard line, can just
have a disaster happen anymore. I just can't take you
that seriously. And you know clearly Stafford, who I think
is numbers twenty four to forty two, three hundred yards,
I mean not great. I think he started the game
like eight of eight or nine of nine, and then
they didn't have a completion for a while. Through a
(43:33):
couple of touchdowns, Now two of them were Pooka technically
probably should have been four. They counted one as a run.
Puka also dropped one. In fairness to Stafford, he would
have walked right into the end zone. But I don't know,
I what the hell's the difference? You know, people nitpick
the Bears, like what's the difference with the Rams because
their coaches won a Super Bowl? Because their quarterbacks won
(43:55):
a Super Bowl? Like you watch them play, it's hard
to have faith in them. There's hard to be trusted. Now,
Pooka Naku is a dominant force. I think he's I
feel like he's one of the best players I've ever seen.
That might be a little over the top, but like
when you're watching him and he's rolling, you're like, what
is this? How's the guy's unstoppable? And Devonte coming back
(44:16):
obviously helps him. Parkers in touchdown catch with Sweet that
was nice. And I gotta say one area I was wrong.
I've been hard on this guy. I didn't think he
could play. And this morning, Chefter I think tweeted or
might have said on TV, and then he tweeted that
the expectation is for the Panthers to pick up the
(44:37):
Bryce Young fifth year option. And I've talked about it.
I said I would not do that. I think I've
come around a little bit. I at least can understand it.
He's still not my ideal quarterback, a little small for me.
Clearly not terrible. He's had some moments over the course
of the last month. Today he was pretty good, made
(45:00):
some big plays, made some beautiful throws. And at the
end of the day, if you pick up the fifth
year option, and this is according to Google, I'm not
a cap manager says the number will be around twenty
six twenty seven million dollars they owe him because on
these rookie deals, they pay him a ton of upfront money.
So the cash they pay him next year is like
five point five million dollars. So basically over the course
(45:21):
of the next two years, it'd be sixteen million dollars
a year. Well, you know, Bridge Gardner, Minshew's like a
ten to fourteen million dollar quarterback, Like that's how much
kind of those guys cost. So you get this guy
for two years, keep building up the team and figuring
it out. He's shown enough that's like, what are other options?
What are we gonna do? I understand it. And there
(45:43):
are individual plays you watch him, he grows on you.
Now he also makes plays where it's like, ugh, don't
love that. I mean, there was a throw today early
in the game, McMillan coming around or coming over across
the middle that he just hits him in stride. I
think McMillan walks into the end zone, but for it
would have been like a forty yard touchdown, like twenty
yard throw and McMillan would have ran another fifteen twenty yards.
(46:05):
But he throws like this wobbly duck and you know
it's not totally his fault. The last play of the game,
when I think was at Horn Junior from I think
he played a Colorado last year. Just needs to hit
the ground. Greg Olsen was like, Bro, you can't try
to kiss out with your hands. So that's not totally
his fault. But not the biggest Canalist guy. But Bryce
(46:30):
has definitely improved. And for sixteen million dollars a year
for two years, I would not be in favor. There
can be no discussion about future big contract, even like
three year one hundred million dollars like none of that,
But I do understand when you look at the landscape
and the costs of the league. You know, Daniel Jones
(46:51):
just went for fifteen million dollars to the culture fourteen
million dollars. Getting a guy that you drafted, you clearly
like a lot that the team likes. High character guy.
He just has the laws. Small, can't really see. Not
a great athlete, not a huge arm, so he's got
to be on time. When he gets in rhythm, he
you know, he kind of becomes a playmaker. But if
(47:11):
you get him scrambling and moving like it's not like
he's running away from anybody. Take some bad sacks, but
a lot of guys at his price point two. So
I've come around to at least understand the logic of
picking it up and trying to continue to build this
team because they do have some building blocks. I mean,
(47:32):
their young wide receiver corps is very interesting. There's a
couple running backs are pretty good. You know, they have
good defensive backs. You know, Horn got hit in the
head to day, had to go to the tent. But
Mike Johnson was I didn't know that much about that guy.
He's guy was making plays all over the place. If
they can improve their defensive line, they just got a
(47:52):
little foundation there to be a very very competitive team.
Their defensive coordinator UC Davis, Guy Avauro, he's pretty good
like him. And you know, Dan Morgan's done a good
job of just kind of getting this franchise going in
the right direction. Now. I like I said, I would
not compare Canalis to you know, the top offensive coaches
in the league. Going back to last week where he
(48:12):
ran a flea flicker in a rainstorm, but it happens.
You know, that's I do dumb shit too. I think
he'd liked that one back though. That was that was
pretty bad, and his justification for it might have been worse.
But today they fought, They fought really hard, and they
made some big plays when they had to. And the
(48:35):
the Rams just I'm telling you, I thought they just
looked like shit most of the game. But today's all
about the Chicago Bears. And again, we will be live
on Netflix Monday eight am Eastern reacting to all the games.
Tomorrow I'll be on YouTube with Coward tomorrow afternoon after
(48:55):
the forty nine er Eagle game. Have a great Saturday,
night and for you, I go Bears fans, Congratulations. That
was really really cool. Okay, before we get out of here,
let's talk about someone that needs his zone in. I'm
a defender of Justin Herbert ever since he ran that
ball in and the Rose Bowl, been rooting for the guy.
No disputing his talent. This year, what he's done has
(49:17):
been remarkable as offensive lineman, injured reserve, torn knees, broken hand.
His playoff record is not great. I mean last year
was a trocious I mean I think he just threw
another interception in that game. It was really bad. And
obviously the legendary loss of the Jacksonville Jags. I think
(49:38):
on a Saturday night when they just melt it down,
you get to go on the road, big underdog against
a second year quarterback, kind of with nothing to lose.
But I do think Sunday night football a lot of eyeballs.
Having a good performance can just go a long way
of quieting everybody. You can lose the game, but if
(50:00):
you play well, because right now, if you have another
one of those games where it does not look good,
you throw some picks, it's gonna be hard to dispute.
Three playoff games three bad performances. I'm a Herbert guy.
I got the Chargers tomorrow, but if they're gonna make
a little run here, specifically, just win this game as
a road underdog, flying five thousand miles taking on the
(50:23):
number two seed. My guy, justin Herbert is gonna have
to zone in the volume
The volume What is going on Everybody? John Middlecock three
and out podcast brought to you by my friends at
(00:22):
Zone Pouches. What a night in Chicago. Remarkable, incredible, glorious.
It's gotta be cool to be a Bears fan because
that is doesn't get any better. We will obviously talk
about what we just witnessed. I'm recording this late on
a Saturday night. Chicago Bear score twenty five points, come
(00:44):
storming back to beat the Green Bay Packers in just
an epic, epic game Caleb makes, I think the play
of his career. Matt Lafleura and the Packers kind of
melt down, even as they kind of don't melt down.
Just it was crazy. So we will dive deep into
that game. There happened to be a game before that
(01:05):
which shouldn't have been entertaining, but it kind of was.
That the Rams barely beat the Panthers as a massive underdog.
Bryce Young made some plays, Matt Stafford made some plays
that he didn't make some plays. Rams Special teams is
a disaster. So we will talk some We'll just talk
(01:27):
football to night. We'll talk those two games, and here's
the plan. This podcast is also on YouTube. Starting tomorrow night,
all of our video podcasts will live on Netflix. So
Sunday Nights pod we'll go up live on Netflix on
Monday morning, and then moving forward, all of the podcasts
(01:49):
will be on Netflix, so exciting times for the three
and Out crew. And audio won't change a bit. We'll
just keep rocking and rolling we obviously do. This is
an audio podcast first and foremost before video ever came around,
so we have a large group of people that listen
on audio. Nothing's gonna change. If you want to check
it out, check it out on Netflix, because that's where
(02:11):
we are and that's where we're gonna be. So appreciate everyone.
And I guess let's talk some football, But let's start
with what we witnessed tonight. My thought all along for
this game, before the kickoff and before we saw the
context of the actual experience. The Chicago Bears have had
(02:32):
a miraculous season. They have pulled games out of crevices
of their body that we didn't know exist. It's been
fun to watch, and the two previous Packer Bears games
have been must see television. Right, I remember the Bears
in a loss, I earn more respect from the Bears
and that loss to the Packers and Lambeau than a
(02:55):
lot of their wins, and then obviously the game that
they pulled off several weeks ago in the comeback fashion
on Saturday Night against Green Bay, which was one of
the cooler nights probably in Chicago when it came to
football in the last fifteen years. But you're the two seed.
You're hosting Green Bay, who's this bitter rival who's kind
(03:17):
of owned you as a franchise for a long time.
They've had Far, they've had Rogers, and then they just
are beating your brains in. You're down twenty one to three.
It feels like forty to nothing. You then kind of
come back in the second half, but you look up
in the fourth quarter, Jordan Love drives them down the field.
You're still down twenty seven to sixteen. There's a fourth
(03:39):
and eight play that it for a split second it
looks like Caleb's gonna get sacked, and five minutes later
you have thirty one points. They have twenty seven points.
And I can't imagine the experience, not just of the
city but the paying customer, you know, because this league
(03:59):
is built upon you and I those of us that
sit on our couch and watch the games. That's where
the league makes all their money. That's what pays for
the players, That's what pays for everything. That's what makes
these teams worth billions of dollars is their television contract.
But as someone who has been to a lot of
NFL games, great ones, bad ones, you never know what
(04:22):
you're getting. But when you go to a playoff game
and an experience like this with this team and then
you're getting your ass kicked, you're like, obviously, we have
this special coach and we have this quarterback who's proven
these late quarter comebacks there's no disputing as physical skills,
but it's all just going wrong. And then for it
to flip like that and score twenty five points in
(04:44):
the fourth quarter, and to beat the fucking Green Bay Packers,
and to put Matt Leforre's job status in major questions
and head to the second round where you host another
playoff game, that there can't be a sweeter feeling as
a sports fan. If you're a Chicago Bears fan, that's
as good as it gets right there. I mean, honestly,
(05:05):
besides like winning the super Bowl, that's worth like ten
playoff victories by itself. The crazy part about this rivalry
between these two teams is they've only played twice in
the history of the playoffs, and they've both been around
since like eighteen fifty, once in the forties and once
in twenty eleven, and the Packers were one of both,
(05:26):
and it felt like it was going that way again.
And I'll be honest my take. I didn't have any
money on this game. I picked the Bears just because
I kind of trusted the football gods. Did not feel
good about that. Ben Johnson was really letting me down,
you know, Kleb and the run. It was just off
that their play calling was off. The fourth down calls
(05:48):
in the first half I thought were reckless. I know,
the analytical guys are all like giving each other reach arounds,
like what ew. Yeah, it's like, you can't go for
it in a fourteen three game at your own thirty.
You can't do that, not now, not twenty not ever.
That is moronic. Well, we don't know if our defense
(06:09):
could play let the game play out. If you've got
to do that in the second half, okay, but with
five minutes left to go in the second quarter, that
is dumb. It really is. And Ben Johnson was a
part of a team that had a huge lead against
the forty nine Ers a couple of years ago in
the NFC Championship game, and they got reckless. You can't
(06:29):
be reckless with these fourth down calls, and it almost
cost them the game. But then luckily, I mean, the
craziest experience of this game is the Chicago Bears defense
in the first half looked like it had been looking
not very good. They can't cover a soul. I mean,
they cannot cover a soul, and honestly, even toward the
end of the game, they can't cover a soul. But
(06:51):
they have pulled turnovers just constantly, so they just make
plays and flip the game that way. But it wasn't
really happening. Jordan Love isn't even putting the ball in
Harm's way. And then the second half comes, they're getting
the ball. Obviously, McManus misses the field goal at the
end of the first half, which would have made it
twenty four to three. Still twenty one three. They get
(07:11):
the ball and their next four drives are punt, punt, punt, punt.
They gained one first down over that experience and gain
a total of twenty nine yards. So whatever Dennis Allen
and the defensive players said to each other, they obviously
lost TJ. Edwards to what looked like a shattered ankle
or dislocated ankle. And he's like, I don't know. I
(07:33):
looked at my wife. I'm like, they just don't have
the bodies, even the guys they're rolling out. You know,
Jalen Johnson, who's a you know, former Pro Bowl level
guys come back from injury. You know, he's had growing surgery.
I think over the offseason or early on in the season.
Clearly he's just not running as fast as he used to.
He's never been like a burner. But he doesn't look
to say they're their defensive backs can't really cover anybody,
(07:55):
but they listen. I don't blame the floor. You start
running the ball. You start run the ball. You try
to kind of shorten the game, control of the clock.
They couldn't go anywhere. I don't have the numbers in
the second half from a run game perspective, my guess
is Josh Jacobs in gain over twenty yards the entire
second half. Honestly, it might be like under fifteen or
twelve yards. It was a dominant dominant performance, and then
they were getting pressure on Jordan Love and then it
(08:18):
kind of flipped and what still Then the offense for
the Bears kind of sputtered. You know, Caleb was inaccurate
at times. They just couldn't get any drives going. They
had to settle for some field goals. They went forward
on a fourth down, which he ended up throwing an interception.
He threw two interceptions on fourth downs, which my take
(08:39):
on that would be those aren't as bad as like
interception on a second or first down, because you have
no choice, like you got to throw the ball. You
got to get rid of the ball. It's you can't
think a sack. So it's it's it's not as bad
as you know, other down interceptions, but obviously it didn't
feel good when it happened. And then it's twenty seven
(09:01):
to sixteen. Lovelin turns into Kelsey and his prime or
Shannon Sharp and is just dominating the game. He had
eight catches for one hundred and thirty seven yards. Honestly,
it felt like he had two hundred. He was getting
open with ease, even balls that were called incompletions or drops.
He was just no one could cover him. He was
fucking dominating the game. And as twenty one to sixteen,
(09:26):
they get the ball back and Jordan Lovely's them right
down the field. I think they go six plays, he
has four completions. Golden with the play so far of
his early you know, young career has that play. I
think he goes like twenty three yards for a touchdown,
and all of a sudden, it's you think gonna be
twenty eight to sixteen, but he misses the extra point,
so it's twenty seven to sixteen, and he's just kind
(09:47):
of doing the math. You've watched the Bears, who, let's
face it, have been awful most of the game. I
mean have been awful. Their defense came to play there
for a stretch in the third quarter, but then Jordan
love drove right back down like, well, they're just probably
runing out of gas. And offensively, Ben Johnson, who's been brilliant,
it just there's been no rhyme or rhythm to what
(10:07):
they've been doing. He fell off. He honestly kind of
looked off. I don't know if it was the freezing
cold temperatures, but I just I didn't have that much faith.
And then they got in that situation on fourth and
was it fourth and eight or fourth and six when
Caleb Williams I think it's the play of his career.
(10:28):
It was fourth and eight at the Chicago forty three.
He hit Rome rolling to his left. I mean there
is Josh Allen Herbert are probably the only two guys
that can make that play who physically I'm not saying
they do make that play. I'm just saying have the
capability to make that play. And when we nitpick, like
like when Fernando Mendoza gets nitpicked, you know how great
(10:50):
are his physical attributes, Like he can't make that play, right,
So there are elements And this is where I can
live with Caleb's inaccuracies because he does miss a lot
of throats, but he also can make throws that no
one else can make, and he does make them in
huge spots. And that individual play saved the game because
(11:10):
two plays later he's a twenty two yard pass him
a nunji. A couple of plays later he throws the
touchdown pass to Zakias and then they get the ball,
they drive right down the field. Of course, mcmannus misses
a field goal again, I mean he was he was
bad tonight. You had no faith when he lined up,
and then the Bears get the ball, drive rut down
(11:31):
the field and score another touchdown twenty five points in
the fourth quarter. That is that's his exhilarating of a
sports ending as you're gonna see, and it kind of
symbolizes their season that these are this is a team
that just you can't out count out because how many
(11:52):
of us are texting people this game's a wrap, this
game's over. They look like shit, we all were doing
it because they did it looked that bad. You're watching
them and you're like, they can't cover a soul, and
you look at the Packagers, like, well, they got good
wide receivers. Dobbs when he's on is excellent. He had
a big game. Golden starts making plays. The route he
(12:16):
ran on that final drive because Jordan Love was driving
him right down the field. Hit Golden for a first down,
hit Dobbs for a first down, he hit was its yeah,
read for a first down. Hit three big first downs
to drive them, and obviously the center gets hurt and
they're deep. At where are they They're at the forty No,
(12:40):
they were they were at like the twenty yard line.
Twenty three yard line, the center gets hurt and they
have the ten second runoff, and then they ended up
getting a delay a game. I thought, I thought lafloor
with the timeout on the delay of game, Well he
didn't call a timeout on the delay a game up,
(13:00):
pushing them back a little bit for the field goal,
and then he called the time out when they were
on defense with a bunch of time left against the Bears.
We'll dive into Lafleur here in a second, but you know,
things just come up the Bears, and a lot of
it is their defense makes tonight it was timely stops
and throughout the season it's been timely interceptions and they're
(13:22):
defining characteristic are these huge plays by Caleb and the
Caleb talent and the ceiling that everyone agreed upon when
he was coming out, Like a small percentage of people
have that physical ceiling right, the arm strength, the mobility,
the ability to run and throw to your left. Like
(13:45):
a lot of talented guys can roll right and throw right.
Jordan Love can do that right, roll right, throw right. Now.
Certain people can throw it farther or a little bit harder,
but most guys with athleticism in the NFL, well can
roll right and throw right. A very small percentage of
people can avoid sacks. Right handed quarterbacks roll left, throw
(14:09):
a ball forty plus yards in the air on a
dot to a guy on fourth down to save a season.
And when we talk about attributes, it matters. Now here's
the thing about physical attributes. There are a lot of
guys that have them that don't even ever make plays.
So then you get like the inaccuracy and you don't
get any place. You just beget it and become a
(14:30):
bad player. But you can live with some of the
misshots when you're making the great plays. And obviously when
he had do tonight on some of those big drives,
he hit quote unquote routine passes and then on the
schemed kind of fake screen that slipped Dj Moore down
the sideline, Caleb hit him in stride, he walked in
the end zone. And that's, you know, at the end
(14:52):
of the day, kind of the difference in the game, right,
I mean, that was the game right there, when Dj
Moore scores touchdown twenty seven ballgame, like Jordan Love I
was actually making routine passes, doing well from within the pocket,
hitting Dobbs, hitting Reid hitting Golden like I thought Jordan
Love for a lot of the game played pretty well,
(15:14):
definitely in the first half and definitely you know, down
the stretch of the game. But he doesn't always give
you the miraculous and that's part of why he was
more of a late first round pick, right even as
a quote unquote project. He still has good physical attributes.
Pretty good athlete, not great, you know for NFL standards,
probably average, and has a good arm, and when he's
(15:36):
in rhythm and playing on time, he can look really good.
You know, I think he can get a little reckless,
like the back foot throws. He's not gonna have the
same physical talent as Caleb kind of freelancing with his
lower half, and it cost him a couple times to
night on some misses, a couple underthrows on some big spots,
(15:57):
and that's reason one team moving on the other team's
not going anywhere, right. It's it's really that simple. Is
one team has these crazy plays in their back pocket
because of their quarterback, and the other team doesn't. Really
they kind of have to scheme to play and then
he's got executed. Like say what you want, Like I
(16:17):
didn't think Ben Johnson was that great tonight. That's probably
the worst game I've seen him have. But Caleb bails
them out. And this is a thing. With a great
play caller, they're gonna have bad games. They're gonna do
stupid shit. I've watched Kyle Shanahan do it for a
long time. Sean mcvaigh today, I thought was really bad
at stretches. It's like, Sean, your quarterback has a hurt finger.
(16:41):
He's clearly off. Your team is averaging over five yards
of carry. Run the ball. Sean's like, pass it again,
and pass it again, And it's like, bro, just call
some runs. Slow down the game. Coaches can get in
a bad rhythm, they can make mistakes. It happens. It's football.
It's really hard. Bill Walsh a lot of games, Belichick
(17:01):
lost a lot of games, playoff games, Super Bowls. Like
it happens. Sometimes players can bail you out, and in
a weird way, like this guy, I'm watching him, like, God,
you know, it's not all his fault. It's not like
he's got Mike Singletary and er Locker and Briggs out there.
So the talent is not great. I mean, clearly six
was a major liability. The Packers were going at him
(17:23):
over and over. It just didn't feel like they have
much team speed on defense. But it felt like, God,
just this, Dennis Allen is going to go down like
this and whatever adjustment they made loading the box, maybe
these guys just started playing a little bit more focused.
Maybe they play a little harder. I don't know, but
they definitely looked at because they started dominating the line
(17:44):
of scrimmage against the Green Bay Packers. They owned the
line of scrimmage. I mean, Josh Jacobs kid just take
over a game. Hell we saw last year in a loss,
remember against the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.
Jacobs was every bit at the player on that field.
He was just a dominant force. And he has games
where he just imposes as well. Today there was nowhere
(18:06):
to go. I mean, the best run for him today
was when they put him at kickoff returner and first
one second like is he gonna take this in the house,
he ended up fumbling. I mean, there were also some
crazy plays with fumbles. That fumble. There was the fumble
on the play where the Packers threw to the offensive
lineman who I think got a little cocky and then
(18:28):
got very lucky the ball went out of bounds. You
have the Christian Watson play in the first half. They
end up scoring a touchdown anyway, but they got extremely
lucky that his ball didn't go out of bounds and
stayed inbounds. And you can't advounce advancing, but if that
thing goes out of bounds as a touchback. There was
just some crazy shit going on. The football gods had
(18:50):
their hands all over this thing. That's why. As the
game kind of went and it never got quite like
if it had got to twenty eight to three or
thirty one one to six or something, there would have
been a gap. But the gap never widened enough where
even if you're someone listen, Not that I think they're frauds,
(19:10):
but like, if they lose tonight, they would have been
two and five in the division and like three or
four plays away from being a seven or eight win team.
That doesn't take away they have a ton of talent,
they have an excellent play caller. They've just had a
lot of shit go their way in big moments, and
you hit credit for that. The Commanders did too. But
the Commanders last year ended up in the NFC championship game,
(19:33):
so like, yeah, they're playing with house money in the
sense that no one thought the Bears were gonna be
this good, not a Soult, Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles,
the mccaskeys in August, didn't think they were gonna be
the two seat. But then you are the two seed, right,
It's like I don't have any money, and all of
a sudden, you're rich. It's like, well, you better start
investing your money or figuring out where you want to
(19:54):
put it. Maybe buy some I do something with it,
because you're here now, this is where you're the two
seed at home against his rival, and now you win
this game, Like obviously, who knows the sky's the limit.
Maybe the football guys just carry you to the to
the Super Bowl. I do think it's hard to ever
top that. I've been watching football for thirty plus years.
(20:16):
We've all seen crazy playoff games. When you factor in
a crazy playoff game against the connection you have with
the team you're playing, factored in with the setup of
the game, given that you're down eleven points with like
five minutes to go, and then you score twenty five
points in the fourth quarter, you win the game at home.
I don't think it gets any better than that. Like
(20:38):
if if they would have just played the Rams or
the forty nine ers and just won the first round,
like just won a game like thirty one to ten,
like kick their ass, that would not have been as
cool as this. This is as good as it gets
in Chicago, right beside like winning NBA Finals with Michael
Jordan with the Chicago cub Obviously winning the championship is
(21:02):
the best possible outcome, but I think this is right
behind it. And I think most Bears fans would agree.
Biggest win for a lot of people. I mean, when's
last time the Bears have had a bigger win. You'd
have to go back twenty plus years on that Super
Bowl run team with Rex Grossman, And this feels a
little bit different because, like you have a quarterback he
(21:25):
just drafted number one overall, you have a coach who,
again bad night happens, feels like a star right and
it's like you just get some more defensive pieces that
this team could be something because Lovelin looks special, Burden's
really good. DJ Moore is kind of a bizarre player.
I thought Ben Johnson there were plays, there were times
(21:48):
a night where he got away from Swift, which I
didn't understand. I mean, he gave Dj moorecerry in a
big spot. It's like the under Swift had the best
year of his career. He just a fantastic player, Like
he's the confidence in which he runs, he's breaking tackles.
I mean he had the one run today. I think
it might have been a pass, but he cut it
(22:09):
all the way back gain like seven yards when it
could have been like a ten yard loss. Looking Barry
Sanders out there, I don't think he had enough touches
to night. You only had thirteen carries. To me. I
bet Ben would admit, like he's got to be closer
to like eighteen nineteen twenty carries. He's too good of
a player. He's playing too well this season, and he's
(22:29):
just too impactful. Now. I understand they were down so
he kind of had to get a little pass happy,
but I bet Ben Johnson be the first to agree
that forty eight pass attempts for Caleb is not the
way we want to play. I mean, he threw fifty
percent right and obviously the two picks, but like I said,
I the picks, It's not like he's throwing first down picks.
(22:49):
This is Dante Moore last night throwing pick six on
a first and ten. You throw interceptions on fourth down
or you don't have a choice. I mean, you just
got to throw the ball up. The play call where
it was clearly going to DJ Morty slipped like. I
don't love forth down calls. One I thought you could
have run it there and two fourth down calls when
you clearly have one distinct option if something goes wrong,
(23:13):
and listen, it's we're human beings. It's a field like
you can it's freezing cold, you might fall on the ground,
and it just you gotta hope Caleb pull something out
of as you know what. He tried to overthrow it
a little bit, but I saw I think Portanoy said,
big pet peeve when a guy intercepts the ball and
(23:34):
ended up losing their team like twenty yards, because they'd
be better off just knocking the ball to the ground.
You get the ball farther up the field. But you know,
I don't blame defensive players just in the mode. But yeah,
twenty four or forty eight, a couple touchdowns three or
sixty yards, but the touchdowns down the stretch, just the
massive plays and that Rome play, I truly believe that's
(23:56):
that's one of the more miraculous plays you'll ever see
given on the line. Speaking of what's not miraculous is
I think it's just hard to shake this. If you're
Matt it really is. Now your best player comes into
the game in sweats on crutches, so you had a
built in excuse. We trade all this for Micah Parsons.
(24:17):
He tears his knee. You lose your star linebacker in
the middle of that game, right gets hitting a pile
in the shin or ankle or whatever. He gets kioed.
You lose some offensive lineman. I get it. It's football things.
Things happen, you lose players. The Bears lost guys tonight.
You're up twenty one to three on the road, getting
the ball at halftime. You gotta win that game. You
(24:39):
just do. And you talk about no rhythm to the
play calling, that's stretching. The second half kind of did
them in because if they just get a couple field
goal drives, and obviously their field goal kicker was not
reliable tonight, so there's no guarantee even if you've got
a field goal range. He's gonna make the kick, but
everyone and let's I've watched a lot of his press conferences.
(25:02):
He feels like an impressive guy, and I followed his
career since he was a dB coach. When I used
to go to Niner practice in like twenty fifteen sixteen range.
He actually worked for Chip Kelly and Kyle Shanahan. I
didn't even know much about him. I remember asking people.
They're like, hey, he's pretty impressive. Forty nine er spoke Islum.
So I've followed Halfley's career ever since then Ohio State,
(25:22):
Boston College, obviously the last couple years. But it's a
rough night for those two guys, and one guy wants
to become a head coach in your season and your
career is not defined on one half of football. But
like you gotta find a way. You can't. You just
can't lose that game. And the laflor time out situation,
I'm sorry, I just the delay a game situation when
(25:46):
you're in field goal range, like the points are at
such a premium there you're up three points to go
up like a field goal camp beat you is so
big and honestly, like your wide receivers have got open
to put yourself into third and long. When you're in
third and eight or third nine, or third and ten
or whatever it was, you gotta call the time out there.
(26:08):
And clearly he was willing to use him because he
used it on defense a couple of plays later when
the Bears had the ball. This was a guy that
came into this season on an established platform by his
new president who was essentially the owner of like we're evaluating,
and their record down nine to seven to one, essentially
(26:29):
nine to eight in one, loose to the Bears twice
in less than a month, getting knocked out of the playoffs,
where it felt, I mean I even wrote down they
are gonna have two wins as a seventh seed in
the last three years. That's an incredible accomplishment. A couple
of years ago they went to Dallas ended Mike McCarthy's career.
(26:50):
This year, it felt like they're gonna go to Chicago
and ruin their season. After all, the Bears fans are
wearing cheese graders on their head, feeling themselves like, damn lafleur,
that's that's a big one. And and listen, I'm not
saying I'll probably get into Matt Ryan more tomorrow. If
Lafloor's available, Lafour's Ben Matt Ryan's quarterback coach. I would
(27:14):
imagine that the Atlanta Falcons would be extremely interested in Lafloor.
So I'm not acting like Laflour is just gonna go
to the unemployment line, have to go on food stamps
and bake for food. Like He'll be fine. He more
than likely would be one hundred percent immediate head coach.
But there's not many better jobs in America any industry
than the Green Bay Packers. About as good as it gets,
(27:37):
and I think his job status is very in jeopardy
over the next forty eight hours. It's something to keep
a close eye on. And I'm recording this at ten
thirty Arizona time. It would not shock me at all
if leading into that Jags Bills game schefter and Glazier
and those guys talk. It's going to be like the
(27:58):
Packers are going to have a lot of Discsessis over
the next couple of days and he's gonna talk with them.
They're gonna talk with him. I personally would keep them,
But you watch something like this this season, like I
understand the question marks, I do he's not a dominant
enough coach that like, oh, you can't get rid of
this guy. Now, who you replace him with? How do
(28:19):
you just elevate Halfley? After that twenty five fucking points
in the fourth quarter, You're just giving it to Halfley.
So if I'm a Packer fan, I like Jeff Halfley
a lot. But I don't know. We're kind of in
a weird spot. And the great unknown is there's not
an owner. He just does not exist. There's just this
(28:39):
president who gets to act as the pseudo owner and
make these decisions. Gudakin's a made guy. He's not going anywhere,
and who knows, I don't know all the inner dynamics
of the organization. How much juice he has to fight
for la floor? Does he have another guy in mind?
Does he want Halfley more than the floor? But then
you just put yourself in a position like who's your
offensive coordinator? There are a lot of question marks for
(29:01):
the Packers, which you know, forty five minutes ago felt
like gonna be one of their finest moments in years.
Ruining the Bear season on the road is a seventh
seed to now, like, does their coach get fired? Is
Matt Lafour gonna get fired and after tonight choking a
game like that, because that's what choking a game like that,
(29:23):
I get the Bears make a lot of people choke,
but they were on the choke side. I think these
people are asking these questions and it's to me the
number one story to go. And there's still obviously a
lot of talent on this team moving forward, assuming that
Micaeh Parks has come back. It's a team that next
year can be very good. Like they always draft well,
(29:44):
they were missing their right tackle tonight, they had a
bunch of offensive line injuries. They have a lot of
talent on the team, and they easily could be competitive
for like the number one seed next year. Right. But
I think these next forty eight, three or four days,
I guess it could bleed into like Tuesday or Wednesday.
Is something really to watch when it comes to the
Green Bay Packers, because that's tough. That's losing. Football games
(30:09):
are always bad. You only play one game a week.
This is not basketball, this is not baseball. You don't
get to just well, it's play again tomorrow. It's not
the way this works. But playoff losses in this type
manner just sting as hard as possible. It's just it's
hard to it's hard to get over this sometimes, and
(30:30):
people in power sometimes never look at you the same Again,
a couple of years ago, it's this is an apples
to apples, But Mike McCarthy, when he blew that game
against the Green Bay Packers, he was clearly a dead
man walking. Next year, the season didn't go well, and
it was a no brainer, but he was. He was
done that year. Jerry just didn't want to pay him
to go away, so he rolled him back. But his
(30:51):
career unofficially ended that night. And you have to wonder
if tonight officially ended Lafleur, which I like. I said,
I think Atlanta would hire him yesterday. I think Matt
Ryan it'd be a go to again. He coached Matt
Ryan with Kyle Shanahan on the year that he won
the MVP, so I'm assuming they have a good relationship
(31:12):
and it would make some sense. A guy with a
ton of experience, a guy with a ton of playoff experience,
a guy that you no can coach quarterbacks, So I
think he would immediately get another job. But this is
a conversation that has been brewing in Green Bay. You're
sitting there as a Bears fan, You're going, wait, our
coach is this guy that everyone loves who thinks the
star and the Packers have questions about their coach, they
(31:34):
might fire and have to go on a coaching search.
What world are we? Is this really what twenty twenty
six is? And I've never been to Soldier Field, and
I would guess part of the reason the aspirations to
get the new stadium is the outdated sweet situation. You
make so much. These new stadiums come equipped with just
(31:56):
so many suitees that that's how you print money, right
any of these you know, the Staple Center changed the
game with the amount of suites they have. That's where
you make your big cash. You can sell the suites
at the price of like I don't even know how
many normal seats, but it's they go. They're very expensive
and after a while they start just being free cash
(32:17):
for the owner. So I understand the aspirations to build
the more of a modern stadium, but I will say this,
that stadium at night, with that crowd, you know clearly
they've renovated the press box over the years. I think
it looks fantastic like that does not feel like some
Decrepit doesn't feel like the Oakland Coliseum or Candlestick like
(32:39):
that place feels badass. And again I'm not speaking from experience.
I've never been there. Clearly, there are financial reasons to
one upgrade. I get it, Like who's not in the
business of trying to make more money or as much
money as possible? Like I understand it. I'm not one
of those like you know Big Jay's that just hate
on people trying to make more money. We celebrate that
(33:00):
here on this show. But I will say this my
experience this year of just being a fan of football
and a lover of great environments at night, It's why
I gravitate towards these SEC games that the Bears games
at night are fucking awesome. That was that crowd erupting
in the fourth quarter. That experience down the stretch doesn't
(33:22):
get any better in that like that. Chicago has something special.
Obviously the stadium's downtown. I can't imagine that vibe of
the people leaving, the excitement, everyone going to different bars,
freezing their ass off, having cocktails and beers with each other.
There's something pretty special, you know, in this day and
age of I try to spend less and less time
(33:43):
on social media. It's just the same old shit over
and over. People scream at each other. It's just not
real life. I go out. In real life, everyone's friendly
to each other. But there's something so communal and just
what sports, and specifically football and football towns in people together,
people that don't know each other, people from different sides
(34:04):
of town, and everyone pulling in the same direction for
the same common goal and celebrating it together. It's just
something we don't get very often, and football brings it.
I don't think it's shocking white. It's the number one
sport in America. In that game, the night probably had
forty million people watching. It's fucking awesome. Congratulate Chicago Bears,
Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson for moving on. Get to
(34:26):
host another game, you know, you get to those another game.
So it's it'll either be It'll either be the Rams
or the Eagles, I guess right. So if the forty
nine Ers win, they'd play Seattle, and if the Eagles win,
the Rams will play The Rams will play Seattle. So
(34:47):
we'll learn tomorrow the matchups. Today's show is brought to
you by are presenting sponsored hard Rock Back Sportsbook, partner
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(36:36):
New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. On the Panthers Bears game,
went over to a buddy's house with my wife, Chris
and Sarah. We had a little midday Chili just kind
of seeing his new pad, enjoying ourselves. I watched the
(36:56):
first quarter there and I'm not gonna lie. We both
looked at each other like this, this game is so stupid.
Why are we playing this game? What is going on?
It felt like when it was seventeen to seven and
the Rams were driving at the end of the first half.
This thing's got like forty to ten written all over it,
and obviously they go for it on fourth down at
(37:18):
the end of the first half. They don't get it.
Carolina drives scores seventeen to fourteen. And as the game
played out, Stafford was atrocious for most of the game.
And I thought Sean McVay was not good either. You know,
he gets very east. He's much closer like his style
of a coach. I've said this forever. He's a pass
(37:39):
game guy, right. He wants to pass. He wants like
Ben Johnson, will not love seeing forty eight attempts. That's
not the way he wants to play football. Right. He
would much rather have Caleb Bee like in the low
thirties and they had twenty eight rush attempts. He'd rather
have forty rush attempts. He'd rather flip that number. He'd
rather have forty eight rush attempts in twenty eight pass attempts.
(38:01):
Sean mcvay's like Andy Reid. He'd throw it sixty times
a game if he could. But tonight there were stretches
in that second half after I don't know if it's
Stafford's finger. I don't know if he just started playing bad,
but it was not working. And their running game at
the time, I remember looking the two running backs were
averaging over five yards of carry. Blake I've loved Blake
Corms as he was a Michigan. Kyen Williams is one
(38:23):
of the more steady eddy players when he's not fumbling
the ball in the league. Just run the ball. You're
in control of the game. It's it's fourteen I guess
it was seventeen fourteen at the end of the first half.
Then they kick a field goal, so it's twenty to fourteen.
But they get back in the game, so it kind
of abed in flowed like Carolina would not die. And
(38:44):
then the ironic part about the Rams is they had
fired their special teams coach Chase Blackburn, former New York Giant.
I think he's won like two Super Bowls as a player,
definitely won one. And you know, anytime a unit sucks,
head coach loves going. It's all that guy's but like, hey,
we really appreciate you, wish you and your wife and
your children best of your future endeavors. Like bullshit, you
(39:07):
just fucking told the guy to pack up a shit
and leave that there's nothing more fraudulent in sports when
they wish them the best mid season with the coordinator,
it's like you just love me like a week ago,
and now you're firing me because something screwed up, Like,
is the owner GM want you to fire me now?
Their special teams have been bad, but like was it
the coach or is it the players? Because when they
(39:28):
got that punt blocked and then all of a sudden
the Panthers score and take the lead thirty one to
twenty seven, You're like, the Rams are going to lose
this game on the road to an eight to nine
Panther team because of their special teams. And I had
people because during the season like the downfall of this
Rams team is gonna be their secondary. And the ten
(39:51):
Rams fans that exist were DM and me like Middlecoff,
it's not our secondary, it's our special teams. It sucks.
And on that punt block, ISAIAHS Simmons, who might be
the best special team or former first round pick like listen,
not a defensive player, clearly overdrafted, but when you're six
foot four and the dude on the edge just kind
(40:11):
of goes like this, he just walked right into the punter.
A lot of times when a punt or a field
goal gets blocked off the edge, the dude has to
like come out the blocks like he's Carl Lewis, layout
like he's Ricky Henderson. You're like, that is peak athleticism
right there, that explosion out of the blocks, the leap
like it doesn't get it. It's a great play, right
(40:33):
when a punt or a field goal is blocked coming
around the edge. This play, the dude on the Rams
honestly gave a pat on the ass, like, go get him, Tiger,
Like that play was an embarrassment they deserve when that
play happened to lose the game. But then Stafford seven
plays later leads him on the game winning drive. And
I think I saw on social media that he said
(40:55):
told DeVante like let's rip their heart out or some
cliche comment, and he did it. And he's done a
lot in his career. And the Rams should beat the Panthers.
They should never lose to the Panthers. But you watch
that game thirty four to thirty one, and you go,
it's hard for me to trust this team. It really is.
Now we'll have to see, you know, the bearers have
(41:17):
defensive issues. Want to see the Eagles and the forty
nine ers tomorrow. You know, Seattle still got Sam Darnold.
Like all these teams have question marks. It's hard to
watch the Rams today and go, yeah, team that can
win the Super Bowl, that team that can win three
more playoff games. They're just not playing that well that
they lost to Seattle. Obviously they were getting Their defense
(41:41):
was getting cooked by Jacoby Brissett for two and a
half quarters. Cooked, And you're watching today Bryce Young just
scrambled around making throws to what's his name, I mean
cocher nine catches, one hundred and thirty four yards. Guy
was dominating McMillan at five for eighty one one. Mccocher
(42:01):
had that play that they dialed up for what felt
like for a second, potentially the game winning touchdown. Was
beautiful play, beautiful pass. But you go, you have to
stress this much to beat an eight to nineteen in
a beautiful day too, Like this is not Soldier Field
where it's freezing cold. What was it like sixty eight
degrees there? Gorgeous, It's it was one of those when
(42:28):
they took the lead and I was thinking, well, if
the Rams don't drive the field and score. Does McVeigh
just quit and go to Amazon, you know, Raheem and Tom.
And if I'm McVeigh, I just get out ahead of it,
like I just steal their chair. I go, actually, I'm done.
Like he kind of had this look on his face.
They're gonna lose this game to the fucking Panthers as
(42:48):
a ten and a half point favorite special team. When
your special teams can't be trusted, Listen, I gave the
Bears a lot of credit. I can't take you seriously,
the Super Bowl contender, whin your defense like that, you
can only pull so many games, like eventually, you can't
go down twenty one to three and come back when
your defense is not trustworthy. It can't happen. When your
special teams at any moment can just like give up
(43:11):
a block field goal for a touchdown, can give up
a block punt at the thirty yard line, can just
have a disaster happen anymore. I just can't take you
that seriously. And you know clearly Stafford, who I think
is numbers twenty four to forty two, three hundred yards,
I mean not great. I think he started the game
like eight of eight or nine of nine, and then
they didn't have a completion for a while. Through a
(43:33):
couple of touchdowns, Now two of them were Pooka technically
probably should have been four. They counted one as a run.
Puka also dropped one. In fairness to Stafford, he would
have walked right into the end zone. But I don't know,
I what the hell's the difference? You know, people nitpick
the Bears, like what's the difference with the Rams because
their coaches won a Super Bowl? Because their quarterbacks won
(43:55):
a Super Bowl? Like you watch them play, it's hard
to have faith in them. There's hard to be trusted. Now,
Pooka Naku is a dominant force. I think he's I
feel like he's one of the best players I've ever seen.
That might be a little over the top, but like
when you're watching him and he's rolling, you're like, what
is this? How's the guy's unstoppable? And Devonte coming back
(44:16):
obviously helps him. Parkers in touchdown catch with Sweet that
was nice. And I gotta say one area I was wrong.
I've been hard on this guy. I didn't think he
could play. And this morning, Chefter I think tweeted or
might have said on TV, and then he tweeted that
the expectation is for the Panthers to pick up the
(44:37):
Bryce Young fifth year option. And I've talked about it.
I said I would not do that. I think I've
come around a little bit. I at least can understand it.
He's still not my ideal quarterback, a little small for me.
Clearly not terrible. He's had some moments over the course
of the last month. Today he was pretty good, made
(45:00):
some big plays, made some beautiful throws. And at the
end of the day, if you pick up the fifth
year option, and this is according to Google, I'm not
a cap manager says the number will be around twenty
six twenty seven million dollars they owe him because on
these rookie deals, they pay him a ton of upfront money.
So the cash they pay him next year is like
five point five million dollars. So basically over the course
(45:21):
of the next two years, it'd be sixteen million dollars
a year. Well, you know, Bridge Gardner, Minshew's like a
ten to fourteen million dollar quarterback, Like that's how much
kind of those guys cost. So you get this guy
for two years, keep building up the team and figuring
it out. He's shown enough that's like, what are other options?
What are we gonna do? I understand it. And there
(45:43):
are individual plays you watch him, he grows on you.
Now he also makes plays where it's like, ugh, don't
love that. I mean, there was a throw today early
in the game, McMillan coming around or coming over across
the middle that he just hits him in stride. I
think McMillan walks into the end zone, but for it
would have been like a forty yard touchdown, like twenty
yard throw and McMillan would have ran another fifteen twenty yards.
(46:05):
But he throws like this wobbly duck and you know
it's not totally his fault. The last play of the game,
when I think was at Horn Junior from I think
he played a Colorado last year. Just needs to hit
the ground. Greg Olsen was like, Bro, you can't try
to kiss out with your hands. So that's not totally
his fault. But not the biggest Canalist guy. But Bryce
(46:30):
has definitely improved. And for sixteen million dollars a year
for two years, I would not be in favor. There
can be no discussion about future big contract, even like
three year one hundred million dollars like none of that,
But I do understand when you look at the landscape
and the costs of the league. You know, Daniel Jones
(46:51):
just went for fifteen million dollars to the culture fourteen
million dollars. Getting a guy that you drafted, you clearly
like a lot that the team likes. High character guy.
He just has the laws. Small, can't really see. Not
a great athlete, not a huge arm, so he's got
to be on time. When he gets in rhythm, he
you know, he kind of becomes a playmaker. But if
(47:11):
you get him scrambling and moving like it's not like
he's running away from anybody. Take some bad sacks, but
a lot of guys at his price point two. So
I've come around to at least understand the logic of
picking it up and trying to continue to build this
team because they do have some building blocks. I mean,
(47:32):
their young wide receiver corps is very interesting. There's a
couple running backs are pretty good. You know, they have
good defensive backs. You know, Horn got hit in the
head to day, had to go to the tent. But
Mike Johnson was I didn't know that much about that guy.
He's guy was making plays all over the place. If
they can improve their defensive line, they just got a
(47:52):
little foundation there to be a very very competitive team.
Their defensive coordinator UC Davis, Guy Avauro, he's pretty good
like him. And you know, Dan Morgan's done a good
job of just kind of getting this franchise going in
the right direction. Now. I like I said, I would
not compare Canalis to you know, the top offensive coaches
in the league. Going back to last week where he
(48:12):
ran a flea flicker in a rainstorm, but it happens.
You know, that's I do dumb shit too. I think
he'd liked that one back though. That was that was
pretty bad, and his justification for it might have been worse.
But today they fought, They fought really hard, and they
made some big plays when they had to. And the
(48:35):
the Rams just I'm telling you, I thought they just
looked like shit most of the game. But today's all
about the Chicago Bears. And again, we will be live
on Netflix Monday eight am Eastern reacting to all the games.
Tomorrow I'll be on YouTube with Coward tomorrow afternoon after
(48:55):
the forty nine er Eagle game. Have a great Saturday,
night and for you, I go Bears fans, Congratulations. That
was really really cool. Okay, before we get out of here,
let's talk about someone that needs his zone in. I'm
a defender of Justin Herbert ever since he ran that
ball in and the Rose Bowl, been rooting for the guy.
No disputing his talent. This year, what he's done has
(49:17):
been remarkable as offensive lineman, injured reserve, torn knees, broken hand.
His playoff record is not great. I mean last year
was a trocious I mean I think he just threw
another interception in that game. It was really bad. And
obviously the legendary loss of the Jacksonville Jags. I think
(49:38):
on a Saturday night when they just melt it down,
you get to go on the road, big underdog against
a second year quarterback, kind of with nothing to lose.
But I do think Sunday night football a lot of eyeballs.
Having a good performance can just go a long way
of quieting everybody. You can lose the game, but if
(50:00):
you play well, because right now, if you have another
one of those games where it does not look good,
you throw some picks, it's gonna be hard to dispute.
Three playoff games three bad performances. I'm a Herbert guy.
I got the Chargers tomorrow, but if they're gonna make
a little run here, specifically, just win this game as
a road underdog, flying five thousand miles taking on the
(50:23):
number two seed. My guy, justin Herbert is gonna have
to zone in the volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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