Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume adultiple championship. That should always be the expectation.
All right, man, you go ahead, welcome back to the
Richard Sherman Podcast. You know what time it is. It's
time to preview these championship games, both the NFC and AFC,
(00:24):
and unfortunately, Mitchell, your Detroit Honolulu Blue Boys aren't in it.
But we have some really intriguing matchups. What do you
think about them?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You know what, bummer of a weekend, would love to
have my Detroit Lions in this NFC Championship game. But
I'm not gonna run from it. I'm still gonna rock
their logo with pride. Next year is gonna be a
good year, Richard. I'm excited whether or not Detroit's in them.
I'm excited. I want to start with the AFC because that,
to me is the matchup of the year. The Buffalo
Bills are going on the road against the Kansas City
(00:55):
Chiefs and it's Josh Allen's time to really slay that dragon,
if you will. With Patrick Mahomes. The Bills won already
this season while at home, thirty to twenty one against
the Chiefs, and did so and what appeared to be
pretty commanding fashion, Richard, how excited are you for this game?
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Like, where's your head at with it? I'm really excited
about it because it's gonna this is when it counts,
you know, I understand. The regular season matchup was cool.
The Buffalo Bills have won four straight in the regular
season against the Kansas City Chiefs, though the stickler the issue.
The problem to that is the postseason, when all the
(01:35):
chips are in and everything is for everything. They have
lost every single game. The Kansas City Chiefs are three
and zero versus the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs with
Josh Allen at the quarterback position. And so that is
the mountain they're gonna have to climb. That is the
heel they're gonna have to conquer. That is the dragon,
as you say, they are going to have to slay
No Darius, and I think they'll have a solid of
(01:57):
a shot as you could have. But when it comes
down to the Kansas City Chiefs is gonna come down
to the last possession. They have lived in last possession
games this season, they have won every single one of
them that they've played, and it's gonna be telling. You know,
Vegas as Kansa see Chiefs has one and a half
point favorites. Usually when you're a true favorite, you're a
(02:18):
three point favorite at home. We've talked about that in
the past, and so Vegas is seeing something. The Buffalo
Bills had thirty five takeaways this season, most in the NFL.
They had eight giveaways this season, least in the NFL.
They won the turnover battle in every single game that
they have played. That has to be some kind of record.
I don't remember hearing about a team having such a
(02:41):
dominant ratio as this and not being a really championship team.
And that's something we used to talk about, and Pete
Carroll used to talk about winning the turnover battle, win
the turnover battle, and a lot of times you'll win
the game. But this is the seventh straight AFC Championship
appearance for the Kansas City Chiefs, and that matters. Pedigree matters,
(03:02):
understanding these moments, being in these moments before that matters
in these games. And I know we talked so much
about the referees and the rough in the passer calls
and all that, it's still a really good team, a
team that's been here before, that has championship metal, championship pedigree.
They have the foundational pieces. They have the pillars that
have been there before. We talked about Kansas City and
(03:24):
their problems that offensive line. At the tackle spot. They
put Tony on the outside. He's held as his own.
They've shuffled it as much as they can. Obviously, on
the right side, Jawan Taylor has had his issues with
the penalties and the alignment issues. Can they overcome that?
And on the defensive side, Chris Jones, I mean, he's
(03:44):
will be his what second game in four weeks, our
second game in six weeks, well rested. You know, he
had a little he was a little banged up, but
he's he's rested now and I'm sure he'll be impactful.
McDuffie's been here before. Justin Reid has two rings on
his hand. So Watson was part of their championship team
last year. You've got a lot of guys who've been here,
done this. Carl Loftis had three sacks last game against
(04:06):
the Houston Texans. These guys are showing up in big ways.
And when you're going against Spags, it will be Joe
Brady versus spac What is it gonna look like? Are
you gonna let Josh Allen beat. You don't forget about
James Cook. He's been incredibly impactful. Khalil Shakir no drops
in the playoffs this season on thirteen reception, thirteen targets,
no drops. He's played a good game. Keon Coleman, you
(04:29):
got all these pieces that have been playing complimentary football,
but don't put it past this Buffalo Bill's defense and
the turnovers that they've been creating. That has been the difference.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You're not lying about that this Buffalo Bills team. It's
a wild stat. Thirty five takeaways and eight giveaways. I mean, shoot,
the Detroit Lions might have. Troy Lions had five last game,
so that the Bills have four straight playoff games, like
you said, with no turnovers. If it comes down to
it and Buffalo plays a clean game, do you think
I think they win it because let's look at it.
(05:02):
I mean, there's no lack of experience, especially playoff experience
on this Kansas City chief roster. I mean, they can
win anyway, whether it's a shootout or a grind it
out game. But if the Bills play clean, if they
don't turn the ball over, they win this turnover battle.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Again, do you think they win. I don't know. I
don't think it's that simple in this game, and it
rarely ever is. They won a turnover battle three to
zero versus the Baltimore Ravens, and the Baltimore Ravens were
one two point conversion drop away from tying the game
with a minute and a half left to go in
the game. So it's not always that simple as to say, hey,
(05:40):
they win a turnover, better if they win the game,
because who knows, maybe Josh Allen comes back after Baltimore
ties his up drive down the field, kicks a field goal.
They win the game anyway and it's easy, or they
go to ot and you never know what can happen.
And Patrick Mahomes isn't going down that easy. He had
two interceptions in the last game, got hit seven times.
They protect him better? Can he protect the ball better? If?
(06:03):
If Buffalo wins the turnover battle, obviously they're putting themselves
in a great position to be successful and win that game.
I don't expect them to turn it over very much.
They have it all year long, but that doesn't necessarily
guarantee anything.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, the Kansas City Chiefs should be motivated. I mean
they got. When you think, hey, winning and winning and
winning two straight Super Bowls, seven straight AFC Championship appearances,
how motivated do you think they are, Richard, to get
this third championship under the belts, Because I want to
bring you back in time, because you and I have
had conversations about your experience in Seattle and about the
(06:37):
team that you guys had formed and what you believed
it could be the beginning of a dynasty. You win
the first one, or you get close the first year,
you win the second year, and then unfortunately, you choose
to throw the football inside the two yard line with
under thirty seconds left in the game and ultimately lose.
That would have been two in a row. And you
(06:58):
said the following year that you guys kind of fell
off the rails a bit. Everyone was there was more,
I don't want to say drama, but everyone started looking
around and thinking about the past. Like, how motivated you
think the Kansas City Chiefs are to keep this train
rolling and get third the third Super Bowl victory under
their belt.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well, it seems like they're really motivated because they're here,
They're in the AFC Championship. They went fifteen to two.
You know, you look at that and you say, yeah,
they won a lot of nail biders. They won a
lot of games in the last possession or missed field
gold or block the field gold, or you know, whatever
the case may be. But they did it, and I
think they deserve a lot of credit for that because
(07:39):
it's tough. It's tough to be motivated when you got
two rings on your finger, you're you know, cleaning the trophy.
That's just going back into the case. Mike, you got
the best team in football, your quarterbacks doing all these commercials.
You're tidy in. Everybody's fed, everybody's eating, everybody's having a
great time. You had a great offseason, and now your coaches,
(08:00):
for some reason, they're not getting poached, which is weird,
you know what I mean, because you're not gonna Is
it all Andy Reid? I think that's what people believe.
They believe offensively, it's all Andy Reid. So Eric b
Enemy didn't get a coaching job, you know, not a
head coaching job, had to go coordinate somewhere else. He's
kind of gone to the wayside. Now they haven't Matt
Naggy coordinating for him. Now we saw how he didn't
(08:22):
in Chicago. It didn't go great, you know, so not
every offensive genius works out to be a great head coach.
But he's got two rings right now in Kansas City.
And then you got Spags, who's had opportunities to be
a head coach. Has been one of the best coordinators
in the National Football League defensively, hands down, over the
(08:43):
last few years. You would have thought he would get
an opportunity, but it hasn't happened. So it's led to
more continuity for the Kansas City Chiefs, which is great.
Those coaches continue to innovate, continue to be at the
forefront of creating game plans and schemes that they give
opponents problems. And I think this will be another one. Obviously,
(09:05):
Josh Allen has done as good of a job this
season has he done any season protecting the football. That's
a lot of the reason they're in a position to
be successful. But I just think this is going to
be a hard out. It's never easy, especially when you
have to conquer the mountain that you haven't conquered before.
It's easier when you say, oh, we can put on
the tape of a playoff game we've beaten them. Now
(09:28):
you can put on the tape of four regular season games,
you've beaten them and you've had success, but in the
postseason home are away, you haven't found a way to
get it done. And I think again, if you get
to these situations, you get deep in these games and
things don't go the way they that Buffalo thought it
would go, that seed of doubt starts to creep in.
(09:51):
That seed of doubt like, oh my god, it's going
to be like last time. Oh my god, not again.
That that mindset kind of creeps in because it's in
the back. You're here, these are human beings, so you
can you can say, oh, we know we can meet
these guys, we know, we know where we come in.
We expect to win. You do. These are pros, they're confident,
(10:12):
but you haven't done it in the playoffs. So that
seed of doubt is always in the back in your mind.
And the more Kansas City plays well they get a lead,
a touchdown, ten point lead, then that seed gets a
little bit of water on it metroll like see it
gets a little bit of water. It starts to Germany
because you start to believe, oh my god, not again,
not Kansas City again. And Kansas City usually plays their
(10:34):
best football when they have to have it, so we'll see.
So who's it gonna be? Rich?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I mean, you gotta make a pick right now. I need,
I need your prediction. Is it finally Josh Allen's time
to slay that dragon? Or do you think it's yet again?
Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelcey and the crew.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I want to give it the Josh. I want to say, hey,
Josh Allen and the boys, they're gonna get it done.
James Cook playing his best football, Joe Brady dialing it
up like it's gonna work out exactly like they see
like they see it is. Josh Allen's gonna protect the ball,
the defense gonna play well enough, they're gonna get this win.
You can't do it, Mitchell, can't go against the Chimps.
(11:17):
Something tells me, just don't go against them. Mitchell. I've
done it, and I played against them, literally going against
them then when it work out, we had him, had
him against the ropes, and it'll work out. So I'm
not gonna go against the mail. They proved me wrong
enough times now I'll go against them this time. Mitchell,
and they'll prove me wrong again and then Buffalo will win.
(11:39):
Of course, but I gotta go with Kansas City. I
think Kansas City finds a way to get this done.
I think there are evenly matched teams. But Andy, Andy
Reid and that pedigree and these guys just always find
a freaking way to win these games, especially at home.
They're a tough team to beat, Richard.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
If Patrick Mahomes is able to keep this streak going
and the Kansas City Chiefs are able to get back
to the Super Bowl and ultimately win it, what does
this due to his legacy? I know the conversation's already started.
Let's not mistake that.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Tom Brady is the goat right now, but Patrick Mahomes
is not too far behind. What does this do to
his legacy in that conversation for goat status?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Well, Minchell, he's a baby goat right now. He's a
baby goat. And Tom Brady's the big old goat with
the gray and his beard, and he's standing on top
of the hill and he can yet and eat and
eat the pastors and he can feel great. But this
kid is nipping Mitchell. He gets to another he gets
(12:44):
STETU to another super Bowl and finds a way to
win that Super Bowl, gets another Super Bowl MVP. It
starts to become a really really, really really interesting conversation
at this point in this career because his career is
an oh, and everybody talks about the first half of
Tom's career versus the second half. You know, there was
(13:05):
a there was quite a few years between his his
third super Bowl and the next super Bowl, et cetera,
et cetera. But this kid's already got his third super Bowl,
and if he gets his fourth this season, I mean,
it will depend on who saw him play. The people
who saw Tom play will say Tom, They'll say, this
game has become watered down. It's soft, they're flopping like
(13:29):
nobody can play defense in this and it's atmosphere you
don't barely you can barely can touch the kids, millennials,
et cetera, et cetera. Whatever they're saying, gen Z. But
the people who watch Patrick play, they're gonna say Patrick,
that's what That's what it's gonna be, Especially if he
wins this one, it's gonna be who you watched. And
I know people will have different differing opinions there are
(13:50):
people who think, uh, Montana's the best. You know, people
will watch Joe Montana think Joe Montana's the goat, and
they don't. They will not hear anything else. People that
watch Marino feel like Marino has an argument even though
he didn't win him a Bowl. But that's what I think.
I think people will think it's a whoever they.
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responsible gaming resources. Who would have thought the Washington Commanders,
led by the rookie Jaden Daniels, would be on the
brink of reaching the Super Bowl and they play Division
(16:01):
Philadelphia Eagles in Philly, and they split with them in
the in the regular season, albeit in Week sixteen. Let's
not forget the Eagles were without their starting quarterback Jalen
Hurts for the ball of that game. Saquon Barkley has
been on an absolute tear all season long. It just
hasn't stopped. He's put teams away in games away late
(16:23):
in the fourth time and time and time again. But
they're facing one of the hottest hands in football right
now in Jade and Daniels. This matchup, while they've already
played twice this year, is gonna be unique one of them. Richard,
who do you like in this game? And let's start.
Let's start with Philly, Like, what kind of advantages do
(16:45):
you think they have playing at home in front of
this ruckus crowd in Philly?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
What kind of advantages do they have? I mean, we
take that, take the crowd, take the home field, take
all that out of it. They have a ton of advantages.
They got the better Now that doesn't always mean anything,
but if you just look down the roster, they're the
better team. They got the better running back, they got
the better offensive line, they got the better receiving corps.
(17:13):
Their defense is played better. Then you say, hey, they're
at home. Now, do I think their coaching staff's better? No? No,
I'm gonna give my guy DQ the advantage every single
time and twice on Sundays. Do I think they have
the better Mike linebacker than the Hall of Famer the
All Pro? No, I don't. At the cornerback spot, very
(17:33):
interesting conversation, especially now that quin Jon Mitchell, you know
at the injury we don't know what his status is
for Sunday. Latimore's there for the Washington Commanders now, you know,
I'm sure they'll have him on all day, always open.
Aj Brown from majority of the game, you got got
big play Sleigh who had a great game against the
Rams last week. The safety position I think goes to
(17:55):
advantage to Philadelphia. You know, although I like Washington's safeties,
d line, Jalen Carter and the Boys. Again, I think
that goes to Philadelphia. But again, as I said earlier
that last game, and I know Philadelphia fans don't agree
(18:16):
with me, but I mean, what's new. When I watched
the Philadelphia Eagles versus of Washington Commanders, Jalen Hurts got hurt.
Earned in that game. He was one for four for
eleven yards or something like that, but got injured. Can
he Pickett played the rest of that game, Saquon did
what Saquon does, had one hundred and fifty yards, you know,
(18:37):
did his thing, ball control offense. They scored thirty three points.
But it was the other guy on the other side
that really had me looking very closely at the results
of this game, because you know what it told me,
Mitchell and I said it, and I want to say
I want to say I said it at the time
in that in the podcast next day. Better be careful
(19:00):
because that that game gave them a weird belief because
I understand Jalen Hurts got injured and their offense wasn't
the same, et cetera, et cetera, But can he Picktt
played okay, and you just ran the ball with saque
He ran the ball like he ran the ball the
previous game, you know, about the same yardage. He averaged
(19:21):
five point two. I think he averaged five point five
the game before when you played the Commanders. So it
wasn't that much crazier as Jayalen Hurts a good quarterback, yes, yes,
we're not arguing that, but he doesn't play defense. And CJ.
Gardner Johnson went out that game. That's a that's a
big piece of that that puzzle got you, but Quenyon
Mitchell potentially maybe out this game, big piece of the puzzle.
(19:44):
His QBR jade and Daniels QBR in that game, not
his quarterback rating. His QBR out of one hundred was
ninety six point two. They turned the ball over. Let
me let me confirm this, because I don't want to
lie to you. The Washington Commanders turned the ball over
(20:05):
five times in that game. They gave it to the
other team five times. They still scored thirty six points,
the most points the Philadelphia Eagles gave up all season
to a rookie quarterback, same weapons, same everything. His QBR
was ninety six point two out of one hundred. The
(20:25):
QBR puts a lot more into it than quarterback rating.
It puts a lot more into it. He threw two
interceptions and still was ninety six point two. I'm just saying.
I'm not saying he has it all figured out. I'm
not saying he played perfect. He through two interceptions, but
to overcome five turnovers and win that game with a
(20:46):
rookie quarterback going against a roster that's better than yours,
you could say Jalen Hurts was out all you want
and that's the truth. He was out. Is he gonna
stop them from scoring thirty six points? Like? What the
time of possession? People say, it's a time of possession
ball game, Mitchell. They said, that's why Jalen Hurts was
(21:08):
important in that game because it's time of possession and
they're a time of possession team. Can I tell you
what the time of possession was, Mitchell. Let's hear it.
The Eagles held the ball for thirty six minutes eighteen seconds.
The Commanders had the ball for twenty three minutes and
forty two seconds. So wait, the time of possession wasn't
(21:29):
wasn't the issue? That wasn't that much different. It was
skewed greatly to the eagles favor and they still lost
that game. Mitchell. And that's the part that gives me
angst when picking the Eagles in this game. Remember when
Jared Goff, your team Detroit had five interceptions in the game.
Remember how good it felt to watch your team overcome that.
(21:51):
That showed championship pedigree. This is a divisional game where
all that could go wrong went wrong, found a way
to win with the rookie quarterback. That's a team that's
coming into this game, and I know that's what the
tape that dan Quinn is showing this team. Hey, this
isn't this isn't something we can't get done. This isn't
(22:12):
something we've never done before. This is something we could do.
And even though they hit the ball most of the game,
we turned the ball over five times. Our quarterback threw
for five touchdowns and we won that game. That's what
I'm saying, Mitchell.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I got Washington, and you know what we have, Tate,
we got receipts here if you want to replay that
episode from week sixteen, because you're absolutely right. I mean
you called it and we were talking off air and
I was like, well, yeah, they were without Jalen Hurts.
You know, naturally the Commanders would win that game with
Kenny Pickett, Yes he can coming in the game. But
(22:48):
you said to me, hey, hey, Mitchell, the you gotta
look deeper here. What concerned me was the defense. And
what I saw was Jaden Daniels overcoming a lot of
adversity of his own. I mean, this kid is a
flat out stud. And again, we got receipts. Also our
season intro, we said, if Jaden Daniels can come in here,
and be a stud. The Washington Commanders could make some
(23:10):
noise and getting into the playoffs. And here they are
the only team in the league right now to have
two playoff wins or to have a playoff win period
on the road, and they're going for number three on
the road here again. But it's not going to come
easy at all. This Philadelphia Eagle team, I feel like
they've been knocking on the door of a Super Bowl
(23:31):
for a long time. Last season, they were the reddest
of red hot teams till about the week eleven of
the regular season and then they started the taper off.
And this year they kind of regained that flame in
the addition of Sakwon Barkley. The blunder and the gift
from the division foe, the New York Giants to the
(23:51):
Philadelphia Eagles is what I think could really tip the
scales in Philly's favor. If Jadon Daniels is able to
go into Philly and come away with this win, how
historic would this moment be? Rookie quarterback entering the Super
Bowl with a team that was picking number two last year,
(24:12):
it would.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Be historic, That would be history. But he's the sixth
rookie quarterback to start a championship game. But he's the
first without a top three defense. That tells you something, Mitchell,
And that's what I'm saying, Like, do I believe Saquon
Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles can beat the Washington Manors shortly?
I was there on Thursday night when they played the
(24:34):
first time, and they beat him. But I also remember
that game being closer than the scoreboard showed for a
lot of that game until Saquon Barkley broke that thing open.
And that's the thing, Mitchell. Until Saquon Barkley broke that
game open, and that's what he continues to do. Makes
him an MVP candidate, likely Offensive Player of the Year.
(24:54):
But they may give it to Lamar or Josh whoever
doesn't win MVP. I got you. But Barkley has been
the heartbeat. He's been the reason they've won a lot
of these close games. And when the game is in
doubt or it's close, or it's tied, and they're just hey,
they're they're spinning their wheels. Bang sa kwon Barkley sixty
five yard touchdown run Bank Now all of a sudden,
(25:16):
they're up. They're comfortable everybody's cheering, sigh of relief, and
it's happened. Nobody's been able to stop it yet. You
know the Rams again, they were in that game. It's
a doll fight, it's a battle. Bang bang bang sa
kuan bang. I'm I'm separating this game. Oh up. The
Rams feel like they got chance. You know, they're breathing
life into them. Damn, Saquan's ah slapping his helmet. You
(25:37):
are not stopping this man. If the Washington commanders and
they have not shown the capacity to do it yet
because they've played him twice and he's had one hundred
and fifty in both games. But one hundred and fifties,
it's okay, one hundred and fifty. Hold him there. If
you can hold him to one hundred and fifty, and
it sounds crazy, if you can keep him at one
hundred and fifty, you've shown them you can beat him.
(25:58):
In that game. They beat him after he had one
hundred and fifty and Jaydon Daniels played out of his mind.
Maybe Jayden doesn't play out of his mind this game.
Maybe the Philadelphia Eagles find some answers, find some game plans,
adjust some things. But again, these mobile quarterbacks are an
issue for defenses. It's not as simple as x'es and
oles and just draw off answers. It's going to be
(26:20):
down to the jimmies and Joe's and it sounds like
Queen Ya. Mitchell believes he can play. He's been limited
in practice, but again, the Kobe Dean is out. What
is going to happen in this game isn't as black
and white as people want to see, as want to
say on paper. The better team Philadelphia Eagles at home veteran.
(26:41):
The guys have been in a Super Bowl, best offensive
line in football, one of the best defensive lines of football,
great receiving for best running back in football arguably. You know,
someone say Derek Hendrie. They debate that with somebody else,
But I just feel like this kid is something special
and he's elevating, he's injecting belief. You know, do you
remember back in the day video games, it used to
(27:03):
be like the quarterback when he's hot, it like raises
the attributes of all your other players, And now eighty
five percent players are ninety five and this and that.
When a quarterback's hot, that's where he's at. Mitchell, he's
elevating He's increasing the overalls of the players around him,
and I think that's gonna be enough for them to
win this game. And I know Philadelphia fans are upset
with me. Find the hole in my logic. That's all
(27:27):
I'm saying. Hey, look, I'm here to listen. You can say, oh,
you just hate on our team all the time. I'm
just looking at the game that happened and what happened
in the game. Now, Jalen Hurts is gonna play this
game cool. I got you. It's gonna be closer than
Eagles fans think. I know you guys want to say
this is the same old Commanders or Redskins team that
(27:48):
you're used to playing. It's not. Dan Quinn is a
motivator of men. He's the leader of men. Be careful
with this team. Do not be surprised if you if
you watch your team not play the way that you
used to them playing if they win. In congratulations to
the Eagles, you know, I mean, Sirianni, He's done a
great job. But I'm excited to watch this game. I'll
say that. Well.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Back to your point on Jayden Daniels elevating those around him,
especially his receivers, case in point Deani Brown. I mean,
this guy hadn't been anywhere the first three years in
the league or whatever it's been that he's been there,
and now the last four weeks he's wide receiver two
in Washington and he looks darn good at it and
the other guy shot, and kudos to him because there's
(28:30):
so many wide receivers in this league that are, you know,
quote unquote divas, and Terry McLaurin is certainly not one
of them. I mean, this is the pros pro. He's
weathered the storm of dealing with the teams that have
finished in the top five of draft after draft after draft,
and if there's anyone in this league that deserves a
top flight quarterback to throw them the ball, it's probably
(28:51):
Terry McLaurin, and he's taken full advantage of it this year.
The other big thing in this is they are division rivals,
you know, at the end of the day, and you
played in a very very historic division rival NFC championship game.
When you run the Seattle Seahawks with the infamous to
the New York or the San Francisco forty nine ers
fans tip play, I mean, how motivating was it for you. Obviously,
(29:15):
you're motivated to win an NFC championship, but how extra
motivated are you to make sure your division fow does
not win the win that game and go on to
the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, I think there's definitely some added motivation, but there's
added familiarity. So you know, you may watch you know,
a team you gonna getst a non division team. Maybe
it's a blowout, maybe hey, they just overcome by too
much talent. But even when you have divisional rivals that
you don't even feel like evenly, match rarely isn't a
blowout because those teams just have too much pride going
(29:47):
for each other, unless one team is just totally inept.
But this is gonna be a game of teams that
aren't afraid of each other. They're not afraid. You know,
the Eagles aren't afraid of d Jaydon Daniels. They know
what he has to offer. They have a experience with
this team, they have experienced with Terry McLaurin. But on
the flip side, the same is true with the Washington Commanders.
They don't have the fear of the Philadelphia Eagles are
(30:08):
going into Philadelphia and trying to win this ball game.
I think they believe they're gonna be able to win
this ball game. The last time they played them, they
did win, and it was in Washington and Philly. But
the time that they played in Philly, they felt like
they were in that ball game. A lot of it,
you know, me ended up being a one score ball
game that Philadelphia Eagles ended up winning, and I think
it was by eight points or something like that. And
(30:31):
so it's gonna be a really good game and I'm
looking forward to it. I'll have my popcorn in hand,
i will have my feet kicked up, and I will
have my notebook in hand because I will be taking
notes because something tells me I'm gonna be right.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Obviously, teams get eliminated for playoff contention, and this coaching
circuit has started to really take shape, and unfortunately, my
Detroit Lions are starting to get cannibalized. I mean, we
already lost Ben Johnson to the Cago Bears. Aaron Glenn
just took the New York Jets job. Congratulations to both
those guys. Terrell Williams just got the job with the Patriots.
(31:09):
I mean, it's you see three staff members get poached
within the matter of not even what four days since
the Lions exited. I want to start with Ben Johnson
going to the Bears because I'm here in Detroit. I
got to listen to the Detroit local sports media and
it's wild. I mean, how quickly a fan base turns
(31:31):
on a team after a fifteen to two season and losing,
And a lot of these you know folks that are
writing in on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, whatever social
media platform you want to talk about, or you know,
calling into the local sports talk radio shows, are blasting
(31:51):
Ben Johnson for not being prepared and not you know,
and taking interviews in the lead up to that Washington
Commander's game and then exiting and allegedly having his staff
already ready to go within two days of an exit.
They're viewing it as a mega distraction and wanted him
out of town if he was going to be distracted. Like, personally,
I don't buy that. Ben Johnson has given it is
(32:13):
all here in Detroit. He's rivesen this team in this
offense up from the Ashes. He's deserved a head coaching
job for the last couple of years. He was very patient.
He went he went for it in Detroit to next
year when he certainly didn't have to stay. He was
one of the hottest names in last year's coaching circuit,
so I give him props. I think Chicago is a
hell of a fit. But my question to you is,
(32:35):
you know, how truly how much of a distraction do
you think it is? Like how turned off would you
be as a player seeing your oc H exit stage
left two days after you lose in devastating fashion to
the Washington com Batters.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
I don't think made me switch hats. Mitchell made me
switch hats because I don't know. I don't know about this.
Like my problem with this, and this is the loyalty
of sports that frustrates me because this is how quickly
(33:12):
the loyalty like waivers for certain fans, not all fans,
because you know what I mean, let's not generalize. But
if you think about last season and Detroit had won
their first playoff game in however many years, got to
the NFC Championship unexpectedly, they were talking about building a
statue of Jared Goff. He wins the Super Bowl, gets paid?
(33:34):
Does this thing? Fifteen wins season number one seed, Ben
Johnson's coming back. There's so much love in the city.
There's so much greatness, so much happiness, and then disaster strikes.
They lose. Now you're saying he was unprepared, it seems.
Scored thirty one points. Now you're saying Jared Golf isn't
(33:57):
worth the contract he was getting, had a really good season,
didn't play great in this game. Sure give him criticism,
but to almost like totally flip on these guys is
the disappointing part for me. But that's the way losses
affect fans. In some way effects some fans, and that's
(34:20):
why you don't expect don't expect loyalty from players because
of how quickly people are to turn on you because
it didn't work out the way you wanted it to. Like,
I don't think Ben Johnson wanted to lose that game.
I don't think he was distracted. I don't think. I
don't think if he didn't do head coaching interviews that
(34:40):
the game would have went differently. And oh my god,
he would. They would have came up with such a
good game plan. They had a good game plan. They
scored thirty one points. Jared GoF threw three interceptions, one
of them was a pig six, like it's gonna be
tough to win that game. I don't know if it's
because he's because Ben Johnson wasn't prepared ar through those interceptions,
(35:01):
like he just had an off game. I mean when
he threw the five interceptions. You know, I don't think
Ben Johnson was interviewing that week and Jared through five,
you know what I mean, and they found a way
to win that game. They didn't find a way to
win this game. I don't think because Aaron Glenn was
interviewing that this defense played that they were decimated and
they had been playing above their means for a long time,
(35:22):
and unfortunately it caught up to him. They got it.
They went fifteen until two. It was still a good season.
They lost to a team that's hot. Right now, I'm
sure those teams that lost to Eli Manning and those
Giants you know, are feeling away too. They're sitting there like,
how did you lose to a team that's nine and seven?
But they beat an undefeated Patriots team like football is
(35:43):
one of the craziest sports. That's why it's the best
sport in the world, because any given day, anything can happen.
That's why we watched. That's why we love this sport.
You know what I mean. It's people overcoming, it's underdogs,
it's good stories, it's storylines, it's to fight, it's the grit,
it's the grin. For you guys that think he hasn't
been building a staff for the next last two years,
(36:06):
he hasn't been having conversations for the last two years
of coaches. Hey, if I take a job, are you
coming with me? If I take a job? He didn't.
This didn't happen over the last week. Like that's silly
for you guys to think. That's silly for you to
to to really even consider. You think, all these guys
he's hiring, these conversations just happened two weeks ago. Like
(36:27):
that's silliness. These conversations have been happening the last two years.
If he would have taken a job last year, it
probably would have been the same staff. So again, like
it wasn't a problem last year and it shouldn't be
a problem now. Like, don't be mad, because the guy
is prepared for his moment, Like be happy for him.
He gave you his all, he did we he tried,
(36:50):
and he's even stayed another year. To try to try
to do it again. I can understand frustration, Like is
it disappointing, No question about it, Detroit, I understand, and
this appointment fully disappointed. I can respect that, and you're
you're not wrong for that. The problem comes when you
don't appreciate when you sit there and say, hey, was
(37:11):
he was he? Was he doing a lesser job for
us looking towards the future, Like don't do that, don't speculate,
don't speculate it. Just take the loss and say we
weren't good enough this day. Don't start saying, oh, man,
our quarterback isn't the right guy? Like was he the
right guy for those fifteen wins? Like when did he
stop being the right guy when he threw the interceptions
(37:33):
this day? Like come on, like it has to be
more than this, Like there's only gonna be one team
to win the Super Bowl this year, and so is
Are the other thirty one quarterbacks disappointing? Are they disappointments?
Are they just not the right guys for the job.
That's not true. You can't just turn on guys, you
know what I mean? Because it didn't go great this time.
And that's the same problem I have with some some
(37:53):
of the San Francisco fans. That's why I with a
lot of fans in general, Like there are lawyer fans
and they don't they don't stop being loyal to the
team and the logo. They just stop being loyal to
the players. They just stop being loyal to the players. Like,
let's get rid of him. I guarantee you could do worse.
You can do worse than Jared Golf. It won't be
(38:14):
as sweet without Jered Golf. But to that point, no,
I don't think. I don't think it was a distraction.
I don't think Ben Johnson was in here like, oh
man calling guys up till one o'clock in the morning.
Hey are you would you be my offic scure here?
Would you be my DC? Like? Hey, would you be
my Like? These conversations happened during off seasons. They happened
during the season. They happened through agents. They happen all
(38:36):
the time. You think somebody's gonna take a job and
then be like, let me get on the phone and
see who's available. Like, no, people have to move their families.
They have to talk to their families, their wives, their husbands,
their kids. Getting the schools like they have to be
prepared when it happened, So give me a break.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
You know what, the Detroit fan base is so used
to just lackluster management from the top down, from the
general managers to the coaches. We've never seen I can't
tell you. I think the last time they had an
OC hired to take a head coaching position, I believe
was Don Shula in nineteen sixty three. Success hasn't been
(39:14):
a thing for this Detroit Lion program, and frankly, I
think the Detroit Lion fan base has to come to
grips with the fact that just because you're good, and
just because you're damn good, really damn good, doesn't mean
you're gonna win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Richard. You've been on so.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Many damn good football teams that should have won Super Bowls,
And if there's anyone that can state how hard it
is to actually win it once you get there, I
would have to believe it's you, because when that finally happens,
when Detroit finally gets over that hump, and I believe
they will, I think this championship window just started getting open.
(39:51):
I think it just started getting open, and that will
be a great day in Detroit's bit history Detroit and
this fan base should be more than flattered that both
OC's got taken away from him. It sucks, it hurts,
It's devastating, especially coming off this unexpected loss to the
Commanders on Saturday. But what they're building right now. If
there is any indication that what you're building right now
(40:14):
in Detroit is the right right way to build things,
it's the fact that these guys are getting approached by
other organizations, all of them and getting interviewed, and three
of them have already been taken away. Dan Campbell has solutions,
like you already said. Ben Johnson had these conversations in
the offseason. Dan Campbell didn't know if Ben Johnson was
coming back last year, So you know, darn well he's
(40:36):
got a plan B in in mind. Same thing with
Aaron Glenn. He was the Aaron Glenn's number one advocate
to get a head coaching job. If there's any better
form of you're the man to Dan Campbell, it's having
your OC and DC take head coaching jobs. So Dan
Campbell should feel like he did a hell of a job.
So I Aaron Glenn taking the Jets job. Do you
(40:57):
think that's the right fit former Jet What are your
thoughts him?
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Well, I'm happy for him, you know, I'm happy for
anybody getting a head coaching opportunity that wants it, that
wants to pursue that. I'm sure that was a dream
of his, especially to do it somewhere that he played.
But I mean, I'm salty, you know what I mean.
I got a bad taste in my mouth just from
the way the Robert Solid situation went, the way Woody
Johnson handled it. They were two and three, going to
(41:22):
compete in Buffalo for the division. He fires him coming
off the London game, where I you know what I mean,
you know, the quarterback didn't play a great game, nobody
really played great, and then you know, to see the
season kind of go to shambles for that team and
everything that that kind of happened after that. I just
hope that lessons have been learned by Woody Johnson and
(41:45):
he stays out of it, you know, stay out of it.
Let let it, let it play out, you know, let
the coach coach. You know, if injuries happened and things,
put the do everything you can with management and everything
to put the best you know, fifty three man roster together.
That's fine, but don't fire the head coach five games
into the season and then say, oh man, I'm doing
(42:06):
this for the culture. The man's been there, Let him
in build a culture, let him see his contract through
or firing, but don't fire in five games into the season.
And so I'm happy for Aaron Glenn and I think
he's gonna do a great job. And they have a
talented team, and I hope that he he's able to
reach the players and the way that he was able
(42:26):
to reach them in Detroit and maximize their potential and
things like that. I just hope Woody Johnson stays out
of it. I just that part of it, wishing him
the best.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
How big of a decline DC for Detroit next year?
If any losing the OC and DC, well, I mean
it's gonna be tough. It's just a tough division in general.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
So I don't know if I necessarily feel a decline
as much as you know what I mean. I just
don't know what's gonna happen in the division. You got
the the Vikings who are coming off a fourteen win season.
The Packers are battling consistently. The Bears just got your
offensive coordinator. And they already had a really talented team.
They got a good defense, they got players, so you know,
(43:07):
I can't call it. They they're still a really talented team.
So I don't know. You know, fifteen and two is tough.
You know, it's tough to replicate that season period, no
matter how good you are. So do I think they're
gonna go fifteen and two or sixteen and one next year?
I doubt it. I think they're still going to be
a good team, and I think it's still going to
be a championship contender in the NFC.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Another team in that NFC north of Minnesota, Vikings, they
just signed Kevin O'Connell to Omega mega multi year extension.
How bright do you think the future is in Minnesota?
Speaker 1 (43:38):
The future is really bright and great job, and congratulations
to Kevin O'Connell and his staff and everything he's been
able to do with Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins and
you know, maybe JJ McCarthy in the future. And I
think that's the bright light for some of these offensive
play callers, you know, and some of these owners. That's
the beacon of hope. Is the job that Kevin O'Connell
(43:59):
has done Minnesota and even to a small degree, the
job that Dave Canalis has done in Carolina. Because everybody
thinks they need a quarterback whisperer. Hey, they get a
quarterback whisper or play call it like Mike McDaniel when
he first got to Miami and what he was able
to do with to a tongue of Wailoa, it's like,
oh my god, there it is. Look at that offense,
(44:20):
look at him like this team is just freaking skyrocketed
to the top. Now they've kind of come back down
to earth, have their own issues, but still to a
tongue of Vailoa, has progressed and has developed under Mike McDaniel.
I think this is great. I mean, I think this
is great for them, and I think it's it really
should be eye opening to other fans to appreciate what
you have. You know, Kevin O'Connell has done a great
(44:42):
job and they've they've won a lot of games, but
they haven't won anything in the playoffs. But that franchise
is still showing appreciation and trusting his head coach in
the direction that they're going there. There's teams whose head
coaches taking in the Super Bowls, NFC Championships, and there
are fans of that those teams are saying get rid
of like it's it's time, like we've reached our peak,
(45:02):
we've reached like we had a bad season, Like come on, guys,
you got to have a little bit more patience than that.
And I think that's a lot of the issue in
this league. It's like if you don't win it every year,
or you're not in the Super Bowl every year, then
people want to fire good coaches. And so I'm good,
it's good to see they're not doing that. Well.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
The big looming question in Minnesota is going to be
what they're gonna do at the quarterback position. Do you
think that Minnesota is going to roll into this season
with JJ McCarthy as their starter?
Speaker 1 (45:27):
Well, I think it depends on what Sam Donald ask
for him in terms of a salary, how the deals structured.
I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't go into
the season without Sam Donald because that's a known commodity,
especially within this system. Within this offense, you know what
you're gonna get. Do you have some problems on the
offensive line you need to fix this offseason. Surely, do
(45:50):
you think you have something great with JJ McCarthy. I
don't know, you know, I wasn't I didn't see the practices,
I didn't see how what he did. But if they
believe they got something special in him, and if his
demands are reasonable, I think given JJ time to heal
and to you know, mature and develop and see how
Probe prepares each and every game, you know, how he
(46:12):
goes through things, I'm sure he'll get his opportunity. But
to throw him in the fire after a fourteen and
three season, it's tough. It is a tough ask for
a rookie, but we'll see.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
If it's not Minnesota, where do you think the best
landing spot is for Sam Darnold.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
That's a great question. The way the draft order it
has has has come out, you know, because you would
have thought some of these teams, like the Raiders and
the Giants are going quarterback early. But they're not in
a position to necessarily get the best guy early. But
(46:51):
if they have a guy they fall in love with,
the sure but you know, I could see him being
a bridge quarterback at some of these places, the Giants
being one of them, you know, I really, you know,
depending on what they do with with Aaron Rodgers and
things like that. If they if Aaron Glenn has a
lot of respect for him, somebody in his own division,
it would be a crazy, crazy, crazy story. But it's
(47:15):
am Dnald, you know, prodigal prodigal son returns home to
the New York Jets, the place that threw him away
like a bag of still lays. I mean it, it
could happen. This is a national football They don't put
anything past anyone. But I could see that happening the
Las Vegas Raiders if they get somebody, you know, if
(47:37):
they if they don't feel like they can get the
guy they want to draft, and see them them taking
a shot at him. Yeah, those are the places I
could see him going and and and having a chance
to start, uh this season. Everywhere else is pretty much
I've counted for at the quarterback position.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
If I'm not mistaken, I mean, Robert Salah thin, there's
any way he goes back to your friends San Francisco
forty nine ers and returns to glory over there.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Yes, yes, I think that it's definitely a possibility if
he do.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
You think, like honestly, though, here Richard because ever since
Sala left there was a little bit of a time
for Damico Ryans. Obviously he then moved on, and then
San Francisco has kind of been kicking through defensive coordinators
looking for that next guy. Like, is there any thought
process that goes through Kyle Shanahan's mind that says, I
don't know if I want to take Robert Salad back
(48:34):
because I know he's going to be immediately looking for
a head coaching position after this next season.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
Mettell, sometimes you want that old thing back. You know,
you may not have heard that song, and I don't
want to go you know what I mean. I don't
want to go back through that with you right now,
But you know what I mean, It sounds like Kyle
saying I want that old thing back, and that's sometimes
that old thing is what you know, and what you
know is what go And a guy that he knows
(48:59):
he can work with, been in championship games, super Bowls,
They've built the great roster. You know, it's gonna be
that wide nine technique. Not a lot of coaches coach
right now, and I'm sure Nick Bosa will be happy
to go back to a nine and be able to
rush from that. This isn't the only you know, old flame.
I expect to be to be, you know, investigated by
(49:19):
the San Francisco forty nine ers. I expect him to
call the Indianapolis Colts and see see if the Forest Buckner,
you know what I mean, would potentially like to return.
I think they kind of try to go back to
the way they know they can win football games, having
a ferocious front, rushing the passer, having a very efficient offense,
(49:40):
and I think that's the direction they want to go.
I think they know the pass rush helps the secondary.
The secondary helps the pass rush, but if you got
some killers up front, you win a lot of football games.
Speaker 2 (49:52):
While we're talking about the San Francisco forty nine ers
here a little bit, we got to talk about Brock Perdy.
That is going to be the big question mark of
the off season for the forty nine ers is how
do they handle his contract extension situation. Do you foresee
brock prety resetting the quarterback market.
Speaker 1 (50:09):
I think Brock perty gets fifty five million dollars a
year now. I know some fans will be like, oh
my god, that's so prohibitive. That's gonna be killing the
team that's gonna do this. It's all about structure, and
the forty nine ers have done a good job of
structuring it. I'm sure they'll do a great job, especially
of the quarterback, of structuring his deal, whether it's you know,
(50:29):
per per year bonuses or whether it's stretched his signing
bonus will be stretched over years. They'll have voidable years
at the end. If you look at Joe Burrow's contract,
for example, it's the voidable years at the end. It's
the way they stretch the contract that makes it a
lot more feasible because you want the quarterback to stay
(50:49):
within seventeen to twenty percent of the salary. And I
know you're like, oh my god, fifty five million isn't
seventeen percent of the salary cap, but it's it's how
it hits every year. What is the cap number gonna
be every year? And if you keep that cap number
in the forty six to forty seven forty eight percent range,
you're perfect. And I think the San Francisco forty nine
(51:10):
ers can do that and still manage to have a
good roster and still manage to pay the rest of
the guys. Sure, they'll have to make some sacrifices with
you know, some veteran guys. I think they already talked
about moving on from Javon Hargrave and guys like that.
Tarvarius Wards likely won't be back his family. His wife
said she can't deal with the trauma of being in California.
(51:31):
So that's unfortunately gonna be a loss for the San
Francisco forty nine ers. But I think they're gonna do it.
I think fifty five million dollars is where they're gonna be.
Could they push it up to you know, fifty six
fifty seven? Sure? Do I think he resets the market
with sixty one million dollars? I doubt it. But even
if he did, it'd be structured in a way that
it would not it would not cripple or handicapped San
(51:53):
Francisco forty nine ers.
Speaker 2 (51:55):
Well, that's going to be the most important part, because,
like we talked about, there's still in this championship window.
But having to pay Rock Purty fifty five million dollars
versus whatever he was making this year one million bucks
is a whole different ballgames. So John Lynch is gonna
be on I'm sure, up late at night for several nights,
trying to make this all work out, so we shall
(52:17):
see what the forty nine ers. Richard, we got a
new fan of the program, Tom Brady. He's out there
liking the Richard Sherman podcast posts and he specifically specifically
liked your take on the Patrick Mahomes hit against the
Houston Texas when the Houston Texans were flagged for unnecessary roughness.
Tom Brady had this to say. The reality for me
(52:40):
is that offensive players need to protect themselves. When quarterbacks
become running backs and they're out of the pocket, they
should lose their protection. If you don't want to get hit,
you go down, you can run out of bounds. Richard,
we got a new fan. What are your thoughts on
the comments from Tom Brady?
Speaker 1 (52:57):
Well, thank you, Tom. We sure do appreciate you here
at the showming podcast again, whether you listen for a
minute and an hour a second, we sure to appreciate you, brother.
And he's right, and he's right. You got like they
put too much on the defense. Like it's hard enough
to play the game. If I didn't have to keep
offensive players safe, if I didn't have to try to
(53:19):
cover while guys are pushing and shoving and doing if
I just knew where the guys were going, Like, I'm
reactionary to everything, so I don't know where they're going.
I'm guessing they know where they're going. I'm I'm trying
not to get penalized because as a defender, as especially
as a corner, there's ten flags against me off the bat, Like,
(53:40):
there's ten ways for me to get penalized. Every play
for the offensive guy might be a couple. You might
get an unnecessary roughness, an offensive PI holding, you know,
potentially a chop block something like that. For defense, you
can't hit them high, you can't hit the quarterback, you
can't grab them by the back of their jersey horse Colin,
And it's the it's the the re slow mow refereeing
(54:03):
that's happening now. It's like, oh my god, did you
see him when he pushed off the way tredavi Is
White last week got run over by Kean Coleman and
people are yelling, oh my god, clearly passed interference. He
was in his way. It's not his job to get
out of his way. It's his job to defend him.
(54:24):
And if they're both hand fighting and Keank Coleman shoves
him to the ground, like it's a very frustrating place
to be. So to Tom's point, yes, I agree, like
it has some onus has to be on the offensive player,
like now you're you're using the rules against us because
you're using the rules that put doubt in the heads
(54:44):
of the defenders as your advantage has like a shield
around you on the field. And now you're running and
you're like, hey, oh my god, am I gonna slide?
Am I gonna not slide? Like you don't know. Now
I can't play fast, and I'm playing a really fast
and violent side of the ball, Like this isn't a
finesse de, this isn't a finesse side of the football. Like,
all I'm trying to do is take the ball from you,
(55:05):
like my job, my only ambition is to take that
ball and give it back to my offense. And so
you have the ball and you're sitting here running slow
and I'm sitting here like, hey, go down, so I
don't have to hit you. But if you're not going down,
I'm going to punish you. And people are like, oh
my god, there's spearing there. Yes, we're hitting hard as
shit out there. We're trying to destroy. We're trying to
(55:27):
hit these people and dislodge the ball. Like Tom was saying,
it's a violent game. If you don't understand that fundamentally
watching football, then don't watch it. Don't watch this game.
Like if you're saying, don't be so violent out there,
they're hitting too hard, and don't watch this game. That's
literally the foundation on what this game was built on.
That's what made this game great. Now, is there a
(55:51):
health and safety to it where it's you know, CTE
and concussions have become an issue and become something to
focus and the longevity of our players in the future,
no question, does not make it less violent. If we
talk that be like telling boxers, hey, don't hit each
other in the face, then then why have the sport,
(56:13):
Like like you know what I mean, At some point
you have to there is an inherent risk in the sport.
You're not going to be able to officiate that out
of it. And that's what they're trying to do. And
it's and it's the slow modes, it's the calling players dirty,
it's the nonsense like that that is really ruining the game.
And it's gonna ruin it for a lot of people.
(56:34):
But people are like, people are gonna stop playing this game.
They're not the people that play this game. They come
from the slums a lot of times, the majority of
the times, they come from really rough circumstances. They don't
come from affluents. So it's the people from affluence are
sitting there saying, man, this is ruining their lives, this
is ruining the game. They're getting too violent. I'm not
(56:55):
gonna let my kid play. Where I'm from, ain't nobody
not letting it you play football, So you're just giving
more opportunities to kids that will deserve it than I guess.
But like, at some point you're going to either ruin
the game or are you going to stop over officiating
and let them play? And I hope they let them
play at the end of the day. What's the solution
to this?
Speaker 2 (57:15):
I mean, if you're on the NFLPA, you know, if
you're on the Competition Committee, player Safety Committee, whatever it
may be.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
I mean, there's a difference.
Speaker 2 (57:24):
Between that as as hez l Schaier hit on Trevor
Lawrence and the hit we saw the Houston Texans make
on Patrick Mahomes is with the onus is on the quarterback.
Should there be conversation about telling the quarterback, Hey, your
slides have to be open and obvious. They have to
be a yard further back than when you were originally
(57:46):
starting your slides, because we can't put the fenders in
this situation where they have to guess whether you're going
to slide or not. Especially with mutile quarterbacks, especially with
guys like Patrick Mahomes that are able to get out
of the pocket and fake going out of bounds run
for another fifteen yards up the sideline, there has to
be a conversation about this exact set of circumstances because
(58:06):
these penalties, especially when you're the Houston Texans, you're already
the underdog in that game. You're already going on the
road to Kansas City. Every yard matters in that game.
When you get flagged for fifteen yards in an automatic
first down, that is an absolute backbreaking penalty. What is
the ultimate solution to this problem?
Speaker 1 (58:24):
Rich It's probably that it's probably something alone that but
they will never That's the problem with the Competition Committee.
And I have set as an NFLPA member in those
meetings so people are like, man, they need to have
somebody like you and those meetings I've said in them,
they don't listen to us. They don't listen to guys
who played the game and tell them, Hey, you know
(58:45):
how you say, see what you hit, Guess where your
eyes are. They're on your head, guess where your head
is hitting where your eyes look. And you just told
them to see what they're hitting. Now they're hitting what
they see, and you're telling them to take their head
out of it. You see how that's an issue. No,
you don't see it. You don't get it. Oh, okay,
So you don't want them to see what they hit.
You want them to turn their head away and shoulder
(59:07):
what they hit. Okay, So now you don't want them
to see it because if they see it, they're gonna
hit it and they're gonna use their head to hit it. Okay,
I got it. I got it. You don't get it
because you're saying things that don't physically like makes sense,
Like there are certain things that have to happen for
you to be able to make these hits. And the
same is true when it comes to this. They always
(59:29):
feel like the owners should be on the defender, The
defender should be able to add full speed see, hey,
this guy's gonna dunk his head five degrees are five
inches lower, and I'm gonna aim for that. But then
you hit a guy in his knees and take him out,
and now they're calling Kirby Joseph dirty. And now Kirby
Joseph is dirty because you said, hey, don't hit the
(59:49):
guy high, and don't hit him too low, hit him
right in his mid section. But every time you aim
for his mid section, he drops his head and I
get a penalty and I lose fifteen thousand dollars. So
the one place I can hit him in his leg
I know are gonna be there. And now you're saying, hey,
don't hit him in his legs because now you look dirty,
and I'm calling you a dirty player, and so there
is really no winning for that. It's happening too fast
(01:00:11):
for me to aim and change my trajectory and see
where I'm hitting. So if you're telling me full speed,
see what you're hitting, get your head out of there
at the last second and still strike the person in
the spot that I thought was gonna be there, You
see how impossible that is. When it starts to be
logical and they won't see it that way. So I
(01:00:31):
agree with Tom. The onus needs to be on an
offensive player because the game is you have time and distance.
We don't. We don't have time and distance to change
and do all this. You're watching and you can say
I could get a few more yards here, or I
could step out of bounds right here. Patrick Mahomes could
have decided to step out of bounds two seconds ago. Instead,
(01:00:52):
he returns to the field of play, and then now
there's an unnecessary a penalty, a penalty that would not
have happened if he just stepped out. And that's the
frustrating part for defenders because we're just playing fast and
all the things that we're asked being asked to do
within this game aren't always feasible.
Speaker 2 (01:01:11):
Shout out once more to Tom Brady, the new fan
of the program, and we appreciate all you guys. I
will let you wrap things up, Rich please sign us off.
Speaker 1 (01:01:19):
Well, thank you guys for joining us again for another
Championship preview. We appreciate you. We know you could be
anywhere in the world and join your family and your
friends hanging out, but you're here with us and we
sure do appreciate it. Thank you. For joining us. We'll
see you Sunday night after these games. Can't wait the
(01:01:57):
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