December 24, 2025 • 41 mins
Fitz & Buck talk about Notre Dame ending the rivalry with USC and their decision to opt out of playing in a bowl game after their playoff snub, how the LA Chargers are still alive for the AFC West and why they may really want to, a quick look ahead to what NFL jobs are and could be open, and more!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
One of the most unexpected storylines in college football this
year has been not about the playoff, but about Notre
Dame not making the playoff, and more importantly, what's happened
since then. You've seen Notre Dame be loud in their
criticism of the process. You've seen Notre Dame turn down
a bowl bit, You've seen Notre Dame try and take
action wherever they can. But now you've also seen USC
(00:48):
take action one of their biggest rivals in saying, hey, fine,
if you're going to be part of this and not
part of this in the way that we think is right,
we're just not going to play you anymore.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
And through all of this we've gotten the revelation.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
I should say that Notre Dame is now guarantee the
spot in the College Football Playoff, the only school in
America guarantee the spot in the college football Playoff if
they finished the top twelve. And all of this has
everybody screaming, but there are actual solutions to be had.
He's Buck Rising, I'm Jason fitz bucking fits taking over.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I'm Fox Sports Radio. Buck.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Look, I mean, first and foremost a boat producer of Stordinaire.
Here is he's a USC guy, right, so obviously going
to get his thoughts. You are a Notre Dame fan. Weirdly,
even though you went to Indiana, how are you feeling about?
Which feels weird to me? It feels like you're heads
in your bet. But how are you feeling? I mean,
I'm just saying, how are you feeling about Notre Dame
(01:42):
taking their ball, leaving the sandbox saying we don't want
to play anybody? And now we don't want to play
with you guys anymore, and now USC turning around saying, fine,
we just won't play you anymore.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Moving forward, Well, one, it's not weird.
Speaker 6 (01:56):
It's the only reason it's weird now is because Indiana
football is good. Indiana football has never been good. There's
never been a reason to route for a football team
not named Notre Dame in the state of Indiana. I mean,
I guess Produce had a couple of years, but whatever
then from there, I hate the way that Notre Dame
(02:17):
has behaved throughout this entire process. I understand why there
is an upset contingent of Notre Dame fans because the
College Football Playoff Committee yanked the rug out from under
them in the way that Miami fans thought was going
to happen to them when Notre Dame was placed ahead
of them in every other poll until the final one
where the college Football Playoff bracket was produced. I understand
(02:41):
why not why USC would look around and be like,
this doesn't make any sense other than the idea that
and I think I read this earlier in the week.
Except for the pandemic and three years during World War Two,
USC and Notre Dame have played each other every season
since nineteen twenty six. That is an incredible run, with
(03:04):
so much history and a real true rivalry that is
just simply not going to be able to be replicated.
It's a shame that this situation would create a circumstance
in which that is going to at least go on ice,
if not eventually go away. Now, it doesn't mean that
just because they're not able to reach an agreement to
(03:25):
play each other during the twenty twenty sixth season, that
this can't inevitably come back, or maybe not inevitably come back,
but it can't come back. At some point in time,
Indiana and Kentucky basketball went through a similar circumstance where
Indiana and Kentucky simply weren't playing each other because they
couldn't agree on neutral sites. They didn't want to go
to rough or to Assembly Hall to play these games
(03:47):
on either side, whether it was Tom Crane or John
Caliperi or whatever. Like, all these things got hashed out
Indiana Kentucky. That series just returned for the first time
this year. It's been off for I want to say,
more than five years at this point in time. I
hate it that it's going to cause any kind of interruption.
I completely get USC's perspective. Notre Dame has been pet
(04:11):
petulant in this. From the athletic director's standpoint, I really
was disappointed by the idea that they opted out of
Bowl participation entirely. I thought it looked weak. I thought
it played weak. I really didn't expect that of a
Marcus Freeman coach team. Marcus Freeman, by the way, has
not said a word about any of this, any of
(04:31):
the Notre Dame college football playoff stuff. I would love
to hear him in an honest moment to see how
he feels about the way that the institution has behaved.
But it's it's just kind of the nature of what
this is going to be subjected to, and the fact
that Notre Dame still has this leverage despite the lack
of championship anything that they've had and I don't want
to say the monitor in a football but still like
(04:53):
it's been a long time since Notre Dame has mattered
on a nat truly on a national championship level, other
than the appearance with Mantiiteo and just getting their doors
blown off by Alabama in that game. I am frankly
impressed that Notre Dame still carries this big of a
stick because they have no business doing it other than
they made college football relevant on a national scale at
(05:17):
the very onset of college football becoming such a phenomenon
in this country.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I mean, they make money right like that at the
end of the day. They make everybody money. So bo,
USC is near and dear to your heart. So how
are you feeling right now about all this?
Speaker 7 (05:33):
Yeah, it's a bummer, Like like you said, Buck, Like
they've been playing this game forever, Like even before I
was a USC fan or went to the school like
I was, I would watch USC Notre Dame. But like
Notre Dame gets to have their cake, have their cake
and eat it too right now, like they get to
avoid any blame in this rivalry ending. Everything I've seen
online and in sports talk is how could USC let
(05:54):
this end? Like a dear friend of the show's you
know here at FSR Petros Papadakas is you know, skewering
Lincoln Riley, And I think it's kind of deserved. It
comes off as being scared. But there is zero benefit
to USC playing Notre Dame late in the season, just none,
zero benefit for us to do that. Every game goes
(06:14):
for a Notre Dame when they do that. So I
totally understand why USC doesn't want to play those games.
I just get it. But it is sad to see
it end. And it is another nail in the coffin
of college football.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
If you ask me, no, I mean, that's that's exactly
how I feel about it, though, Like it's one of
those circumstances where USC is going it seems optically they
are being more harshly judged because people just expect Notre
Dame to be able to play by a different set
of rules, and for some reason, Fitzy, we've allowed for
that environment to continue to exist despite I mean, because
(06:46):
I mean Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
Yes, the brand still makes money, but.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
It is the television draw of Notre Dame such that
it's greater than some of these ranked SEC games. I mean,
we could probably go through the numbers at some point.
I don't know if that's a television rating. Radio is
a good discussion, but like how big of a draw
is Notre Dame still really like, I think they're as
(07:09):
national as national gets as far as a college football
fan base.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
I still don't think that.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
It outdraws at its height, USC Notre Dame more than
I mean, LSU Alabama this year was not a good example,
but even like Vanderbilt Alabama, Vandy did huge numbers.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
On television nationally.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
Die O Pavi was a nationally televised star on multiple occasions.
I would venture a guest to say that those games
did better than a Notre Dame the USC game did
this year.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
I'll have to look it up.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
I will say this, it's easy right now for all
of us to pile on Notre Dame because they look
bad for all of us.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
What's been lost.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
In this, though, to me, is that every single conference
commissioner signed off, literally signed off on Notre Dame getting
an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
You every single one of them.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
So if you are USC and you're sitting back and saying, oh,
you didn't know, If you truly didn't know, then you
have a legal issue with your conference commissioner number one.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
If you truly.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Didn't know, then I'd love to know where the paperwork is,
you know, because obviously things like that are discussed amongst
all of the leaders at every school. If you truly
didn't know, how is that humanly possible? Or was it
just buried in the minutia And like so many laws
that are passed, you just didn't feel like reading eight
thousand pages of something that seems unimportant, And now you
(08:35):
found out it's very important. Every single college commissioner, a
conference commissioner signed off on it.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
So I have a hard time.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
With everybody else complaining about Notre Dame getting this right
when frankly, the time to complain about that was when
they asked for it in the first place. So that's
my first issue. But the other part of this book
is that I think what USC is doing could actually
impact change if everybody else in college football had that,
you know what's to back it up. So the problem
(09:04):
here is they got rid of the USC Notre Dame game,
and within what a day, Notre Dame announces that BYU
is taking that spot. There's always going to be somebody
that wants the money from playing Notre Dame because they
do great draws in their stadiums. In fact, and the
ACC has talked about that that if you look at
the sellout rate of non Notre Dame games in the
ACC versus Notre Dame games in the ACC, it is
(09:26):
staggering the difference.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
So the ACC is not going to really force their.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Hand on it because they need the ticket sales that
come every time Notre Dame comes to town.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
But the real answer to this, if the entire.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
College football world turns around and says we are tired
of Notre Dame, then all they would have to do
is collude against them.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Literally, if every school.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Said, you know what we're gonna pull usc usc is right,
We're tired of this. We will not schedule Notre Dame
until they join a conference.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
If they literally, if.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Every single major conference, if the Big Ten went to
all of their members and said, you are not allowed
to schedule Notre Dame, the ACC went to all of
their members, the SEC went to all of their members.
If you get all the way down to the Mountain West,
and then, honestly, honestly, at that point, if every single
major school turned around to the group of five schools
and said, if you schedule Notre Dame, we will not
(10:13):
play you for the next ten years. You will not
get a game against Alabama for the next decade. If
the college football world really needed Notre Dame to join
a conference, I believe they could force it. The problem is,
like I was saying earlier about relocation, it only takes one.
There's always going to be a school that turns around
and says, well, not my problem, we need we need
the money that comes with playing Notre Dame.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
It and it's asking, it's asking as a sport that
is as much or really just a part of the
sports world. The college athletics to present some kind of
unified front on.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
Anything, it's it's damn near impossible.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
Right, and so it's Notre Dame's it's Notre Dame gets
to get it, basically gets to treat this like it's
its birthright. Maybe kind of is for the historical significance
that Notre Dame has in the landscape of college football.
If you really wanted to be an unlikable Notre Dame fan,
you could argue just that I'm not going to, but
(11:16):
you could. I think that that's just a problem that's
always going to exist fitcy because they're always going to
be worth X amount of money, and that's still the
thing that moves the needle the most in I mean
any kind of sport, a college athletics be a professional
sports the end of at the end of the day,
(11:36):
that dollar value, that quantifiable element of Notre Dame's impact
on these institutions that get to host Notre Dame or
get a game against Notre Dame, or get the ticket
sales the revenue streams that Notre Dame is able to impact.
I just don't think that they feel confident enough, because
(11:57):
I'm sure there are people throughout every conference that feel
that kind of way, but they don't think they can
get everybody else to get on the same page with
them and to just straight up turn down the money
that comes with Notre Dame, even if the instant gratification
of the money is not ultimately worth what it would
be to kind of force Notre Dame's hand here.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
But this is where, man, this is, And maybe this
is a flaw on how I see the world right now.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Maybe this is a me flawed. I'm willing to admit that.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Don't ask me to go running around the halls like
I'm Kermit the Frog with my air my arms flailing
the airs, and oh my god, there's a problem if
you have a solution to a problem and don't have
the self control to figure out a way to do it.
I just like, if the answer to all of this,
if we're going to sit here and say, oh my god,
it's a gross injustice that Notre Dame isn't in a
(12:44):
college football conference.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
And I can lay out a real solution to that.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I can lay that out, but we all know it's
not real because college football won't have the self control
to execute that solution. Then I aim my problem like
at that point college football is inability to hold on
to what the lack of discipline it would take to
see it through. It would take one year, one year
of everybody shutting Notre Dame out. One year of that
(13:08):
would absolutely change the way Notre Dame has to do everything.
And that's why instead of sitting here saying, well, why
doesn't Notre Dame do this?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Why doesn't Notre Dame do that?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Like you're right, asking all of the schools in college
football to agree on anything is wildly difficult and difficult.
I understand that, I truly do. But man, if you
really want the power in this situation, then go take
the power. If you can't solve it yourself, then don't
see here. Like Notre Dame doesn't need to do a
damn thing. Notre Dame's going to always be able to
(13:38):
schedule enough, they're always going to get in the playoffs,
They'll never have to plan a conference, They're gonna be
just fine.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
No, but who has the grid peer, because I mean
Jim Phillips was very diplomatic the Commission of the ACC
in the way that he's handled all this Notre Dame stuff,
even though again names that you would know other than
this college football playoff cycle. Pete Bavaqua, which is a
great last night just generally it's fun. He's the athletic
director at Notre Dame. Jim Phillips was very diplomatic about
(14:06):
how incendiary the comments of Pete Bavakua have been at
in the absence of that. Brett your Mark, the commissioner
of the Big Twelve. I can't remember the exact phrasing
that he used to describe the Notre Dame athletic director's behavior,
but he felt basically that it was inappropriate the way
that he was going about it.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
And yet still the Big Twelve signed off on.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
The idea that Notre Dame would be have an automatic
bid to the college football playoff here, so something, something
is different. There's a difference between what I feel like
the vast majority of fans want to see, which is
Notre Dame's hand being forced to be in a conference,
versus the people that aren't elected officials. Right, you don't
(14:47):
elect your conference commissioner to represent your best interests. They
just get put it in these jobs and say all right,
everything SEC Greg sank He's going to campaign and stump
for them at every turn. Different kind of politicking, but
it's an effective version of it. But you don't necessarily
need the approval of your constituency in those particular situations,
(15:11):
I feel like the people who are representing the interest
of college football do not accurately represent the interest of
the fans.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
The eighth most watched college football game of the season
was Notre Dame versus Miami. That is the highest of
any of the Notre Dame games, and according to On
three Sports, the ten most watched college football teams aggregate
by average by viewers through the entire season Alabama, Texas, Georgia,
Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan, Texas, A and
(15:41):
m Notre Dame not even in the top ten. So
there's a real there's a real question about that, all right.
Speaking to questions, we'll get back to the NFL. It's
a huge weekend in the NFL. I'm still trying to
figure out who we can actually trust for what now
looks like a wide open AFC.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Is Jacksonville about to go to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
We'll answer that question next block fits hanging out on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live. Polly Fools Go here with Tony Foodsco.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (16:16):
As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning
Polly and Tony Foodsco Show.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (16:20):
But instead of us telling you how great we are,
here's how Dan Fatrick described us when he came on
our show.
Speaker 9 (16:25):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
What are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, you wasn't
talking about you.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
You took those clips totally of context.
Speaker 8 (16:36):
Oh yeah, well after this promo, I'm gonna take you
out and beat you.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Speaker 8 (16:43):
Yeah, anyway, Just listen to the Polly and Tony Fusco
Show on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yea, he's bug rising up. Jason fitz Bucket Fitz hanging
out with you on Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to
subscribe to the Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel. Just search
Fox Sports Radio on YouTube. You'll see our best videos
from all our shows. Don't stop there. Hit that thumbs
up icon. Comment away. Let us know whose takes you
like and even whose takes you don't like. Just search
Fox Sports Radio on YouTube and subscribe.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
Buck.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
I thought last weekend we'd get the answer to a
lot of questions in one particular game in the NFL,
the Jags, the warm weather Jags.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Going to the Broncos.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I spent all week hearing about Trevor Lawrence being hot
of late, and.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Then he looked at the opponents.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
You're like, yeah, he's playing all trash teams, so he's
gonna go to Denver.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
This all those thing's gonna melt down.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
We're gonna realize that he's the weakness and nothing's really fixed.
I was convinced of this on Sunday morning as I awoke,
only to be slapped in the face by the realization
that if I thought the Broncos were a realistic Super
Bowl contender when last Sunday started, I now have to
put the Jags in that conversation, like there is still
a path for the Jags to get the number one seed.
(17:55):
I don't think anybody's talking about Jacksonville, but is Jacksonville
actually a Super Bowl caliber football team.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Do you?
Speaker 6 (18:02):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (18:03):
Absolutely?
Speaker 6 (18:05):
Are there five better teams in football than Jacksonville?
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Man, I know that just feels.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
I did not think that.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
Was gonna be the question that I flummixed you with
that night.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
You did? You got me on that.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Like, Look, I think if we're if we're taking the AFC,
I'll separate the NFC because I think Seattle and the
Rams are maybe in a different.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Conversation, but in the AFC, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Would I be surprised if this if the JAG's going
to run, Probably not. Would I be surprised if any
of these teams lost in the first round?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Probably not.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Like I honestly don't know who's good in the AFC,
Like they're all good.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
I don't know who's great in the AFC.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
Well, that's the thing.
Speaker 6 (18:48):
I don't know that there's any definitive team that is
so much in that side of the bracket anyway, that
is so much better above and beyond the rest of
the competition. Because who are we talking about that would
have a similar, like just even a similar outlook than
the than the Jags. Right now, the Bills and the
(19:09):
Chargers have the same record, The Patriots and the Broncos
are two twelve win teams, But like, which of those
teams do you feel definitively great about relative to the
rest of them? Are you just saying it? Would you
just say Buffalo because Josh Allen is the last super
(19:29):
star quarterback of the three or four superstar quarterbacks on
that side of the thing that we usually end up
talking about Lamar Jackson is I mean, they're not out.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
But they're they're teetering. The Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Don't you don't You don't have to worry about Patrick
Mahomes at this point in time. Unfortunate. Obviously the injury
deeply unfortunate, but Patrick Mahomes is not going to be
participating in the postseason, and we don't know what he's
going to look like when he gets back from his
knee surgery. If you're talking about Denver, are you are
you so convicted in that defense that no matter what
(20:03):
happens with bow Nicks, that that defense will be able
to bail them out. I don't know that you can
definitively say so. And I mean, I guess the Patriots
are the best of the bunch, but even then, I
don't know, like were the Patriots and the Jags to
play on a neutral field, I would think that the
Jaguars would be favored.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I would think so. I would think, so, yeah.
Speaker 6 (20:27):
They're better, They're a better defense, They're getting better quarterback
play theoretically at least, right. I mean, I know drag
mas an MVP. Canny was awesome in the second half
of that game. But like Trevor Lawrence has been pretty sick.
It's been I mean, I know they you know, he
had five against the Jets. Of the what is he
have twelve touchdown passes and no interceptions in this six
(20:49):
game win streak that they're on.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I believe is the statistic thirteen.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
I don't want to shorten one. I think it's thirteen.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
But yeah, I mean either way, double digit touchdowns, no
interceptions and six and zero in these last six weeks,
and five of those are against the Jets. So whatever,
But okay, go to Denver and do it, and they
did it pretty decisively. They've got an awesome rushing attack
to compliment that quarterback. We've talked about Jacoby Myers changing
the way that their offense works and how much smoother
(21:16):
it functions. Their defense is number one against the run.
They're not great at getting the passer, but they create
turnovers in bunches, and that's good enough to get you
additional opportunities to set.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
That offense up for success.
Speaker 6 (21:27):
I don't know who's been playing better complimentary football right now, which,
at the end of the day, is really the thing
that matters. For as much as we try to overcomplicate football,
if you're just playing decent football in all three phases,
you're gonna end up winning the game.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
If you turn the.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
Ball over, or if you turn the ball over at
a less frequent rate than your opponent, if you outrush
your opponent, Like, it's really not that complicated some of
these things that we talked about talk about. Jacksonville's doing
it right now as we get ready for the postseason.
We're not there yet, but right now they're doing it
better than anybody.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
I mean, I think the Patriots are hard part of
this example because the stat that's out there everywhere if
you haven't seen it, is that the Patriots have as
many wins this year over teams with a five hundred
a better record too, as the Giants have two. Right, Like,
that's what this schedule and look, you can only play
the teams that are on your schedule.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
But the fact is the Patriots just.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Lost to the Bills a couple weeks ago in a crazy,
crazy game, no doubt, and then they beat the Ravens
in a game that you know the Ravens were playing
without Lamar for how much of it And it came
down to the very end of that thing, right. So,
I don't know what to make of a team that
has wins over the Giants, the Bengals, the Jets, the Falcons,
the Browns, the Titans, the Saints, Like those teams all suck,
Just just they have a bunch of wins over a
(22:41):
lot of teams that suck. Now, I could say the
same thing about the Bills. Look, the Bills are so
maddeningly inconsistent. I don't know, Like one week, it looks
like one half it looks like the Bills are out
of the game, and then all of a sudden, it's
like Josh Allen comes up like he's hault Cogan in
the eighties. The hand doesn't hit the mat on the
third one and they as so he's up at Halkeman.
He is running wild all over you, like it's just
(23:03):
it's a weird dynamic this year in the AFC because
there are so many fatal flaws to every single team,
but at the same time they're winning a boatload of games.
Like the AFC feels to mean like as a bunch
of like really good teams and a bunch of terrible teams,
And so when you're beating up on the terrible all
the time, it makes it difficult to figure out. I
(23:24):
want to get your thoughts on the Steelers and where
they fall in this equation.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
But first, Steve to Sega.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Get us caught up on the scoreboard right now, what's
going on around the globe.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
James going in the NBA.
Speaker 10 (23:36):
Still, we do have a final, Orlando winning at Portland
one ten, one oh six, So just a couple games
still go on. Two minutes left, Pistons might be winning again.
That would put the record at twenty four and six.
They're leading at Sacramento one twenty nine to one twenty. Also,
the late game in LA has the Clippers still ahead
of Houston under ten minutes to go. It's one oh
(23:56):
one eighty eight for a Clippers team that is seven
and twenty one this year. Indiana lost at sixth straight
record of six and twenty four, lost at home to Milwaukee,
won eleven to ninety four. New Orleans is eight and
twenty three. They had won five in a row but
lost at Cleveland Tonight won forty one to one eighteen.
Donovan Mitchell twenty seven points. Victories for Charlotte, Toronto and Brooklyn,
(24:19):
which was eight and nineteen but got to win at
Philadelphia won fourteen one oh six despite twenty seven points
from Joel Embiid. Chicago edged Atlanta won twenty six one
twenty three, although the Hawks Trey Young had fifteen assists
and just one turnover. Minnesota at home beat New York
won fifteen one oh four despite forty points from Karl
Anthony Towns. Jalen Brunson did not play. Dallas edged Denver
(24:42):
won thirty one one thirty thirty three points for Cooper
Flag and thirty one for Anthony Davis. San Antonio won
its seventh straight game a strong fourth quarter and they
whipped Oklahoma City won thirty to one ten. Shay Gillich
kildus Alexander thirty three points. You know Okase He's lost
three of five now in including twice to the Spurs.
Victories for Phoenix and Memphis College basketball wins for Saint
(25:05):
John's and Villanova, which won at seed in all sixty
four fifty six NHL overtime victories for Nashville at Minnesota,
and for Detroit at home against Dallas. Bryce Harper says
he will play for Team USA and the World Baseball
Classic in March. The two game suspension of Steelers wide
receiver DK Metcalf was upheld. He had appealed. He loses
two game checks and reportedly forty five million dollars in
(25:29):
future guarantees in his contract. The two game suspension of
Chargers linebacker Denzel Parriman was also upheld. The Cardinals signed
former Rams kicker Joshua Carty. Buffalo tried out three kickers
but did not sign any of them.
Speaker 6 (25:43):
Today.
Speaker 10 (25:43):
Starter Matt Prater still has a quad injury. Bill's quarterback
Josh Allen says he will play this weekend despite the
foot injury. The Ravens lists quarterback Lamar Jackson with his
bruised back, as a non participant on today's practice report.
The Colts will start QB Philip Rivers again, with Riley
Leonard as the backup quarterback for Washington Marcus Mariota missed
(26:04):
another walk through due to hand and quad injuries. The
Commander's host Dallas on Christmas, and Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy
will miss the Christmas game against the Lions. He has
a hairline fracture in his right hand. Green Bay QB
Jordan Love was limited at practice. He's still in concussion
protocol and the backup quarterback there, Malik Willis, was limited
with a sore shoulder. College Football Bowl victories for Ohio,
(26:27):
U Western Kentucky and Louisville. Hawaii hosts the Hawaii Bowl
on Christmas Eve against Cal Back to you.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
He's buck rising on Jason Fitz hanging out with you,
bucking Fitz Fox Sports Radio. All right, so if we agree,
I can't you know, as we've gone through this, I
can't trust Bonnix, right, So we'll say that that's at
least a factor. Although bo was playing much better of late,
I think the Jags just looked like a much more
complete team.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
We've talked about, you know.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Trust issues with the Patriots, trust issues with the Bills.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
You just go up and down the list.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
As Steve Desinger just pointed out, no DK for the
next couple of weeks. But the Steelers, a team they
were supposed to be left for dead when they got
to the meat of their schedule, and a team that, man,
I'm not really still I'm.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Not sure how good the Steelers are.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
But my god, they just went in and they beat
Detroit in a game that they absolutely had to have
and a game that their defense just looked lights out.
They went into Detroit and won. Like, at what point
do we not look at the Steelers and say, in
a wide open AFC, why not Pittsburgh?
Speaker 6 (27:32):
Hm, why not Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Rogers is playing really well.
Speaker 6 (27:39):
And I think that's you know, I don't know if
that's a surprise. I just I guess this is all
going a lot better than I expected. And this game
at the end of the season with the Ravens, it's losing.
It's it's luster that Week eighteen matchup that we thought
could be for the division. But the Ravens just, I mean,
(27:59):
I don't they didn't fall apart against the Patriots, Lamar
leaving the game and dealing with a back injury and
then being in it till the end until Todd Munkin
just decides he doesn't need Derrick Henry for basically the
entire final quarter of the game is very very confusing
for me, especially and apparently confusing for John Harbaugh, who
got up there and said he didn't necessarily agree with
that position as the head coach, which, again, do your job.
(28:21):
But Aaron Rodgers is playing pretty high level football. How
many quarterbacks in the AFC do you trust more than
Aaron Rodgers? Do you trust Aaron Rodgers right now? Do
we think we're seeing? I mean, Philip Rivers is what
three years older than him? And I know that the
Niners got dusted on Monday night forty eight to twenty seven, But.
Speaker 5 (28:42):
Philip Rivers playing pretty good football.
Speaker 6 (28:44):
I don't know how much credit needs to be given
to a savvy veteran quarterback whose body is holding up
better than average, being able to navigate a team that's
good enough in giving them again, good enough compl metory
play on defense and special teams to navigate through an
AFC that's pretty uncertain. Would you how many teams with
(29:07):
the Steelers? How many teams who have double digit wins
right now in the AFC? Would the Steelers be favored
on a neutral field against the Chargers, the Patriots, not
the Broncos, in the AFC. I'm not really sure how
many teams would Vegas would view as definitively better than Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
And that's where see it gets interesting because the Chargers,
by the way, there's a very real scenario we are
likely going to end up with a Week eighteen matchup
between the Chargers and the Broncos that is going to
be for the AFC West. The Chargers are eleven and four,
the Broncos are twelve and three. The Chargers will have
the tiebreaker if they beat the Broncos again in Week eighteen,
(29:52):
So you're talking about a massive Week eighteen matchup for
the Chargers, who are banged up all over the place,
shouldn't be as good as they are. Their offensive line
has just been testimated by injuries. They seem to be a.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Shell of themselves.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Yet they are eleven and four, and if the playoffs
were going to start today, If the playoffs started today,
the LA Chargers would have to go to Pittsburgh. That
is not a great SITCHU West Coast team going east coast.
Weather's always going to be a factor in that going
to be an ugly football game.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
The Steelers defense should be able to.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Apply pressure on a beat up Chargers offensive line, physical
football game, Like I could see Pittsburgh winning that game,
and then all of a sudden, you have this weird
spot where I don't think the Steelers are a great
football team. But if they rented this year to try
and just figure out a way to get.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
A playoff win, they got the playoff win.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
They still don't have a long term manser at the
quarterback position. They still need a lot of help all
over their roster. I don't know that they solved any
of the issues that had fans wanting Tomlin fired a
month ago, right, but there's still a real shot that
these Steelers, I mean, at the very least, here's what
we know.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
The Steelers are going to have a winning record.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Yet again, I think that's a bit of a tired stat,
but it's still out there. They get the Browns and
the Ravens, they have a very very real shot at
ending eleven and six eleven for a team that we
had Tomlin left for.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Dead a month ago.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
Eleven and six home playoff game against a could be
a West Coast team right there, Like that feels like
your great matchup for the Steelers.
Speaker 6 (31:15):
So if they I mean it does feel like a
great matchup if they were to win eleven games, let's say,
but lose in the first round of the postseason. When's
the last time they won a postseason game. It's been
a couple of years, right, I mean, oh, it's been
a long time, right, It's like they have It's not
quite a decade, but it's something pretty close. I want
to say, I don't have the stat in front of me,
(31:37):
and I don't think it's a tired stat that the
Steelers haven't had a losing record under Mike Tomlin. I
think it's a tribute to him and the job that
he does in the organizational stability that they have that
you should not turn your nose up at that. And
I'm not here to wag a finger at Steelers fans
because they have higher standards than a lot of NFL
fan bases, and I respect that, but still, it's it's
a tremendous accomplishment to be able to win at that
(32:00):
rate and continue to maintain those standards as teams all
over the place bottom out with regularity and think that
just draft picks are going to be able to get
them back to competency.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Twenty seventeen was their last playoff win, twenty seventeen Divisional round.
Speaker 6 (32:16):
One hundred years ago.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
They went to AFC.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
Wildcard win and a divisional playoff win, both in January
of twenty seventeen.
Speaker 6 (32:23):
So they win eleven games this year, but they lose
in the first round to whomever you pick your matchup X.
Does Mike Tomlin coach the Pittsburgh Steelers next year?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
I don't think there's anything even if they lose their
last two games and get beat by forty in the
first round of the playoffs. The Steelers don't do they
don't do things rash to me, there's zero chance Tomlin
doesn't come like I think one of the under talked
about storylines of the NFL is that.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
A lot of these coaches are coming back. But yes,
Tomlin's coming back.
Speaker 5 (32:53):
To you agree, I would be inclined to agree.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
I just again, I'm just put some level of blind
faith that the Steelers are going to continue to be
stable that way, and as long as Tomlin wants to
be there, that they wouldn't rock the boat unless he can,
you know, unless he starts to lose some of that
luster that makes him so good at that job. And
again I get that Steelers fans would complain and say, well,
(33:18):
he's not actually that good at that job. He's just
kind of treading water and it's keeping us from doing
any meaning or winning of consequence. But I don't know, man,
I just don't think you're in a situation. There's so
little good, actual good NFL coaching, like genuinely good NFL coaching,
that I just don't think you can turn your nose
up with the one that you have.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
That's why when we come back, I think a lot
of you guys that are already looking forward to the
draft and you're saying the offseason is going to fix everything.
My team's about to turn it around. You're gonna be
pretty stunned when some of these terrible teams keep their
head coach.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
I'll explain why.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Coming up next to his buck Rising Up, Jason Fitzbucking
Fits hanging out with you on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten eastern seven pm Pacific.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
It's Fucking Fits taking over Fox Sports Radio. On The
Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmn He's Buck Rising on
Jason Fitz. Throw the guys for a loop here, we
got to tell you about the tyrack play of the day.
For over forty years, Tyraq has been helping customers find
the right tires for how, what and where they drive.
Chapman shipped fast and free, backed by free road hazard
(34:23):
protection with convenient installation. I almost said a bad word
options like mobile tire installation.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
You cannot stop that.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Tire rack dot Com the way tire buying should be. Guys,
Let's hear the Tyrack play of the day.
Speaker 9 (34:36):
Davis, he's feeling it with six to shoot. Here comes
to double from Jokics out to flag, three to shoot,
top of York three two, huge three pointer, a season
high four three point shot, his third game of thirty
or more this year.
Speaker 6 (34:53):
That is courtesy of ninety seven point one the Eagle
Mavericks Radio network. The day.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Look at that look look at the teamwork to make
the dreamwork high five from many states away. I think
some fans are gonna be disappointed when their favorite teams
don't fire their head coaches. And this is so I
see this permeate into everything, and right now I've spent
more time ever since Yahoo Sports Daily launched, which By
the way, you can check out on Yahoo every morning
(35:24):
through the week. Ever since that launched, I've spent a
lot more time just scouring the thoughts of fan bases.
So I spend more time on Reddit and social media
and just trying to get a sense of where everybody
are for our conversations that we're going to have and
what's alarming to me. And you know, even within our
show staff. We've got a Ravens fan on the show
that works on the show and he can't wait for
(35:45):
Harbaugh to be fired. We've got a Browns fan on
the show that cannot wait for Stefansgate to get fired.
We've got a Bills fan on the show that thinks
McDermot should be done if they don't go to the
Super Bowl this year.
Speaker 4 (35:55):
The list goes on and on, and what really hit
me So I went.
Speaker 5 (35:59):
Through this car agree with that last one, by the way.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
I mean, that's the difficult part on this.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
There's this process for everybody, and you don't want to
settle for mediocrity.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
But also, this isn't last year.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
There isn't a Ben Johnson out there that everybody covets
and universally.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
Understands is the guy.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
So I'm looking across and I've spent so much time
on Sundays, I just like to go in and type
in the name of the team and just read as
much as I can. From the concept of fans, everybody
wants their favorite team to fire their head coach, and
so I thought about that as I was reading ESPN's
article about ranking the top eight jobs that could be
open this offseason. And I think it's funny because in
(36:37):
my opinion, when you look across the board, based on
what I've been able to read from people that do
a good job covering these teams, what I've been able
to get from insiders that I think to a good
job covering it. If you look at the top eight jobs,
Cincinnati Bengals, I do not think it's coming open. Arizona Cardinals,
it might all right, But then go through the rest
of Bill's list. Browns, I don't think they're firing Stefanski.
(36:59):
Titans are already open, Giants are already open. Falcons, I
don't think they're making a fire. Miami Dolphins, I don't
think they're making a fire. The Raiders, I think they are.
When you go up and down, we're used to a
ton of openings. But Buck, I think a lot of
these fan bases are going to be shell shocked about
January tenth when they realize that their bad team isn't
changing their coach, because teams are just trying to let
(37:21):
this process play out.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
A little bit, and they're trying to figure out a
way to rebuild.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
Man Which would be the which would be the toughest
pill to swallow of those non firings the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Everybody wants Zach what seck Taylor going to do about
that defense?
Speaker 6 (37:41):
It's not the their offense scores forty ath will like,
I don't know how that's a Zach Taylor. I mean,
I guess he's picking these defensive coordinators.
Speaker 5 (37:50):
But also, is that not a play? Is that not
a person?
Speaker 6 (37:52):
Lsu lou Anarumo looks fine in Indianapolis, and he's got
better players than he did in Cincinnati, Like Cincinnati's defensive
roster has fallen.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
I don't know how that's Zach Taylor's problem one percent.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
That's why I don't think they're making a change. In fact,
if you read the athletic I like to read the
athletic writers because I think they're a little bit more
dialed in than most. And the athletic writer that covers
the Bengals, forgive me for not remembering the name off
the top of my head, put an article out last
week saying, hey, none of them are going anywhere. The
defensive coordinator Zach Taylor, the GM, none of them are
(38:24):
going anywhere. Now, I could all day long you tell
me the GM's going so like I need different people picking.
I'm all in on making a change, a coordinator change
or a GM change. I'm sorry, but you're right to
that point. They've made coordinator change after coordinator change with
respected coordinators and it hasn't made a difference to Browns.
Speaker 4 (38:44):
Another one that you know.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
I talked to Charles Robinson, are great insider at y'ahoo
at length a couple of months ago, asking him, hey,
is to fancy on the hot seat, and he pointed
something out look from the outset this year, the Browns
did not believe they were going to be competitive. What
they believe during this course of this season was they
needed to identify and develop young talent. If you look
at what has gone right for Cleveland, it's the way
(39:07):
their rookie class is developed throughout the course of the year.
Not it takes your door out of this conversation, but
everybody else from that rookie class, it looks really damn
good and they're all growing. So Cleveland understood this was
a multi year process. I don't think Stefanski is going
to be is going to be gone. I think Cleveland
Browns fans are gonna have to accept that this The Browns.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
Knew that this was the beginning of a multi year build.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
I think I think I would have a harder time
accepting that Kevin Stefanski was not going to be fired
if I was a Browns fan. That if I was
a Bengals fan and you told me Zach Taylor was staying,
I think that's.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Really I mean fire.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
Would you fire Stefanski?
Speaker 5 (39:48):
I think so.
Speaker 6 (39:49):
I just I'm very confused, and it maybe it's just
because I watched one of the worst coach games that
he had this year in person, Like I was in
Cleveland for that Titan game that the Titans went into
Cleveland and won, and again they're not those aren't good
football teams, but some of the decision making on the
two point conversions that they had where Shador had, you know,
as good a game as any rookie has had all
(40:11):
year long, and they take him out of the game
on the two point tries. It's just very, very weird
stuff that apparently, if you ask again, Browns fans will
tell you he's been that person all year long.
Speaker 5 (40:21):
But that was just a very visceral example of it.
Speaker 6 (40:24):
It's like, I don't get it. I don't understand what
he's trying to accomplish here, even as I know he
is a good coach and has been a good coach previously.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
I think what he's telling you is he doesn't trust Shador.
And by the way, I had no problem with that
play called Shador on a previous two point conversion had
flubbed the snap. I don't think he's gotten enough reps
on two point conversion plays to have a whole library
of them to be ready. And their offensive coordinator two
weeks before that spoke to their local media about how
much they prefer running wildcat in short yarded situations. So
(40:53):
it all speaks to why this is a process. We'll
keep breaking down the process and maybe a surprise firing
coming next Bucket right and Fitz
Speaker 4 (41:00):
I should say, Fox Sports Radio
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
One of the most unexpected storylines in college football this
year has been not about the playoff, but about Notre
Dame not making the playoff, and more importantly, what's happened
since then. You've seen Notre Dame be loud in their
criticism of the process. You've seen Notre Dame turn down
a bowl bit, You've seen Notre Dame try and take
action wherever they can. But now you've also seen USC
(00:48):
take action one of their biggest rivals in saying, hey, fine,
if you're going to be part of this and not
part of this in the way that we think is right,
we're just not going to play you anymore.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
And through all of this we've gotten the revelation.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
I should say that Notre Dame is now guarantee the
spot in the College Football Playoff, the only school in
America guarantee the spot in the college football Playoff if
they finished the top twelve. And all of this has
everybody screaming, but there are actual solutions to be had.
He's Buck Rising, I'm Jason fitz bucking fits taking over.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I'm Fox Sports Radio. Buck.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Look, I mean, first and foremost a boat producer of Stordinaire.
Here is he's a USC guy, right, so obviously going
to get his thoughts. You are a Notre Dame fan. Weirdly,
even though you went to Indiana, how are you feeling about?
Which feels weird to me? It feels like you're heads
in your bet. But how are you feeling? I mean,
I'm just saying, how are you feeling about Notre Dame
(01:42):
taking their ball, leaving the sandbox saying we don't want
to play anybody? And now we don't want to play
with you guys anymore, and now USC turning around saying, fine,
we just won't play you anymore.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Moving forward, Well, one, it's not weird.
Speaker 6 (01:56):
It's the only reason it's weird now is because Indiana
football is good. Indiana football has never been good. There's
never been a reason to route for a football team
not named Notre Dame in the state of Indiana. I mean,
I guess Produce had a couple of years, but whatever
then from there, I hate the way that Notre Dame
(02:17):
has behaved throughout this entire process. I understand why there
is an upset contingent of Notre Dame fans because the
College Football Playoff Committee yanked the rug out from under
them in the way that Miami fans thought was going
to happen to them when Notre Dame was placed ahead
of them in every other poll until the final one
where the college Football Playoff bracket was produced. I understand
(02:41):
why not why USC would look around and be like,
this doesn't make any sense other than the idea that
and I think I read this earlier in the week.
Except for the pandemic and three years during World War Two,
USC and Notre Dame have played each other every season
since nineteen twenty six. That is an incredible run, with
(03:04):
so much history and a real true rivalry that is
just simply not going to be able to be replicated.
It's a shame that this situation would create a circumstance
in which that is going to at least go on ice,
if not eventually go away. Now, it doesn't mean that
just because they're not able to reach an agreement to
(03:25):
play each other during the twenty twenty sixth season, that
this can't inevitably come back, or maybe not inevitably come back,
but it can't come back. At some point in time,
Indiana and Kentucky basketball went through a similar circumstance where
Indiana and Kentucky simply weren't playing each other because they
couldn't agree on neutral sites. They didn't want to go
to rough or to Assembly Hall to play these games
(03:47):
on either side, whether it was Tom Crane or John
Caliperi or whatever. Like, all these things got hashed out
Indiana Kentucky. That series just returned for the first time
this year. It's been off for I want to say,
more than five years at this point in time. I
hate it that it's going to cause any kind of interruption.
I completely get USC's perspective. Notre Dame has been pet
(04:11):
petulant in this. From the athletic director's standpoint, I really
was disappointed by the idea that they opted out of
Bowl participation entirely. I thought it looked weak. I thought
it played weak. I really didn't expect that of a
Marcus Freeman coach team. Marcus Freeman, by the way, has
not said a word about any of this, any of
(04:31):
the Notre Dame college football playoff stuff. I would love
to hear him in an honest moment to see how
he feels about the way that the institution has behaved.
But it's it's just kind of the nature of what
this is going to be subjected to, and the fact
that Notre Dame still has this leverage despite the lack
of championship anything that they've had and I don't want
to say the monitor in a football but still like
(04:53):
it's been a long time since Notre Dame has mattered
on a nat truly on a national championship level, other
than the appearance with Mantiiteo and just getting their doors
blown off by Alabama in that game. I am frankly
impressed that Notre Dame still carries this big of a
stick because they have no business doing it other than
they made college football relevant on a national scale at
(05:17):
the very onset of college football becoming such a phenomenon
in this country.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I mean, they make money right like that at the
end of the day. They make everybody money. So bo,
USC is near and dear to your heart. So how
are you feeling right now about all this?
Speaker 7 (05:33):
Yeah, it's a bummer, Like like you said, Buck, Like
they've been playing this game forever, Like even before I
was a USC fan or went to the school like
I was, I would watch USC Notre Dame. But like
Notre Dame gets to have their cake, have their cake
and eat it too right now, like they get to
avoid any blame in this rivalry ending. Everything I've seen
online and in sports talk is how could USC let
(05:54):
this end? Like a dear friend of the show's you
know here at FSR Petros Papadakas is you know, skewering
Lincoln Riley, And I think it's kind of deserved. It
comes off as being scared. But there is zero benefit
to USC playing Notre Dame late in the season, just none,
zero benefit for us to do that. Every game goes
(06:14):
for a Notre Dame when they do that. So I
totally understand why USC doesn't want to play those games.
I just get it. But it is sad to see
it end. And it is another nail in the coffin
of college football.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
If you ask me, no, I mean, that's that's exactly
how I feel about it, though, Like it's one of
those circumstances where USC is going it seems optically they
are being more harshly judged because people just expect Notre
Dame to be able to play by a different set
of rules, and for some reason, Fitzy, we've allowed for
that environment to continue to exist despite I mean, because
(06:46):
I mean Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
Yes, the brand still makes money, but.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
It is the television draw of Notre Dame such that
it's greater than some of these ranked SEC games. I mean,
we could probably go through the numbers at some point.
I don't know if that's a television rating. Radio is
a good discussion, but like how big of a draw
is Notre Dame still really like, I think they're as
(07:09):
national as national gets as far as a college football
fan base.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
I still don't think that.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
It outdraws at its height, USC Notre Dame more than
I mean, LSU Alabama this year was not a good example,
but even like Vanderbilt Alabama, Vandy did huge numbers.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
On television nationally.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
Die O Pavi was a nationally televised star on multiple occasions.
I would venture a guest to say that those games
did better than a Notre Dame the USC game did
this year.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
I'll have to look it up.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
I will say this, it's easy right now for all
of us to pile on Notre Dame because they look
bad for all of us.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
What's been lost.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
In this, though, to me, is that every single conference
commissioner signed off, literally signed off on Notre Dame getting
an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
You every single one of them.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
So if you are USC and you're sitting back and saying, oh,
you didn't know, If you truly didn't know, then you
have a legal issue with your conference commissioner number one.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
If you truly.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Didn't know, then I'd love to know where the paperwork is,
you know, because obviously things like that are discussed amongst
all of the leaders at every school. If you truly
didn't know, how is that humanly possible? Or was it
just buried in the minutia And like so many laws
that are passed, you just didn't feel like reading eight
thousand pages of something that seems unimportant, And now you
(08:35):
found out it's very important. Every single college commissioner, a
conference commissioner signed off on it.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
So I have a hard time.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
With everybody else complaining about Notre Dame getting this right
when frankly, the time to complain about that was when
they asked for it in the first place. So that's
my first issue. But the other part of this book
is that I think what USC is doing could actually
impact change if everybody else in college football had that,
you know what's to back it up. So the problem
(09:04):
here is they got rid of the USC Notre Dame game,
and within what a day, Notre Dame announces that BYU
is taking that spot. There's always going to be somebody
that wants the money from playing Notre Dame because they
do great draws in their stadiums. In fact, and the
ACC has talked about that that if you look at
the sellout rate of non Notre Dame games in the
ACC versus Notre Dame games in the ACC, it is
(09:26):
staggering the difference.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
So the ACC is not going to really force their.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Hand on it because they need the ticket sales that
come every time Notre Dame comes to town.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
But the real answer to this, if the entire.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
College football world turns around and says we are tired
of Notre Dame, then all they would have to do
is collude against them.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Literally, if every school.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Said, you know what we're gonna pull usc usc is right,
We're tired of this. We will not schedule Notre Dame
until they join a conference.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
If they literally, if.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Every single major conference, if the Big Ten went to
all of their members and said, you are not allowed
to schedule Notre Dame, the ACC went to all of
their members, the SEC went to all of their members.
If you get all the way down to the Mountain West,
and then, honestly, honestly, at that point, if every single
major school turned around to the group of five schools
and said, if you schedule Notre Dame, we will not
(10:13):
play you for the next ten years. You will not
get a game against Alabama for the next decade. If
the college football world really needed Notre Dame to join
a conference, I believe they could force it. The problem is,
like I was saying earlier about relocation, it only takes one.
There's always going to be a school that turns around
and says, well, not my problem, we need we need
the money that comes with playing Notre Dame.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
It and it's asking, it's asking as a sport that
is as much or really just a part of the
sports world. The college athletics to present some kind of
unified front on.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
Anything, it's it's damn near impossible.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
Right, and so it's Notre Dame's it's Notre Dame gets
to get it, basically gets to treat this like it's
its birthright. Maybe kind of is for the historical significance
that Notre Dame has in the landscape of college football.
If you really wanted to be an unlikable Notre Dame fan,
you could argue just that I'm not going to, but
(11:16):
you could. I think that that's just a problem that's
always going to exist fitcy because they're always going to
be worth X amount of money, and that's still the
thing that moves the needle the most in I mean
any kind of sport, a college athletics be a professional
sports the end of at the end of the day,
(11:36):
that dollar value, that quantifiable element of Notre Dame's impact
on these institutions that get to host Notre Dame or
get a game against Notre Dame, or get the ticket
sales the revenue streams that Notre Dame is able to impact.
I just don't think that they feel confident enough, because
(11:57):
I'm sure there are people throughout every conference that feel
that kind of way, but they don't think they can
get everybody else to get on the same page with
them and to just straight up turn down the money
that comes with Notre Dame, even if the instant gratification
of the money is not ultimately worth what it would
be to kind of force Notre Dame's hand here.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
But this is where, man, this is, And maybe this
is a flaw on how I see the world right now.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Maybe this is a me flawed. I'm willing to admit that.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Don't ask me to go running around the halls like
I'm Kermit the Frog with my air my arms flailing
the airs, and oh my god, there's a problem if
you have a solution to a problem and don't have
the self control to figure out a way to do it.
I just like, if the answer to all of this,
if we're going to sit here and say, oh my god,
it's a gross injustice that Notre Dame isn't in a
(12:44):
college football conference.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
And I can lay out a real solution to that.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I can lay that out, but we all know it's
not real because college football won't have the self control
to execute that solution. Then I aim my problem like
at that point college football is inability to hold on
to what the lack of discipline it would take to
see it through. It would take one year, one year
of everybody shutting Notre Dame out. One year of that
(13:08):
would absolutely change the way Notre Dame has to do everything.
And that's why instead of sitting here saying, well, why
doesn't Notre Dame do this?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Why doesn't Notre Dame do that?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Like you're right, asking all of the schools in college
football to agree on anything is wildly difficult and difficult.
I understand that, I truly do. But man, if you
really want the power in this situation, then go take
the power. If you can't solve it yourself, then don't
see here. Like Notre Dame doesn't need to do a
damn thing. Notre Dame's going to always be able to
(13:38):
schedule enough, they're always going to get in the playoffs,
They'll never have to plan a conference, They're gonna be
just fine.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
No, but who has the grid peer, because I mean
Jim Phillips was very diplomatic the Commission of the ACC
in the way that he's handled all this Notre Dame stuff,
even though again names that you would know other than
this college football playoff cycle. Pete Bavaqua, which is a
great last night just generally it's fun. He's the athletic
director at Notre Dame. Jim Phillips was very diplomatic about
(14:06):
how incendiary the comments of Pete Bavakua have been at
in the absence of that. Brett your Mark, the commissioner
of the Big Twelve. I can't remember the exact phrasing
that he used to describe the Notre Dame athletic director's behavior,
but he felt basically that it was inappropriate the way
that he was going about it.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
And yet still the Big Twelve signed off on.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
The idea that Notre Dame would be have an automatic
bid to the college football playoff here, so something, something
is different. There's a difference between what I feel like
the vast majority of fans want to see, which is
Notre Dame's hand being forced to be in a conference,
versus the people that aren't elected officials. Right, you don't
(14:47):
elect your conference commissioner to represent your best interests. They
just get put it in these jobs and say all right,
everything SEC Greg sank He's going to campaign and stump
for them at every turn. Different kind of politicking, but
it's an effective version of it. But you don't necessarily
need the approval of your constituency in those particular situations,
(15:11):
I feel like the people who are representing the interest
of college football do not accurately represent the interest of
the fans.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
The eighth most watched college football game of the season
was Notre Dame versus Miami. That is the highest of
any of the Notre Dame games, and according to On
three Sports, the ten most watched college football teams aggregate
by average by viewers through the entire season Alabama, Texas, Georgia,
Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan, Texas, A and
(15:41):
m Notre Dame not even in the top ten. So
there's a real there's a real question about that, all right.
Speaking to questions, we'll get back to the NFL. It's
a huge weekend in the NFL. I'm still trying to
figure out who we can actually trust for what now
looks like a wide open AFC.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Is Jacksonville about to go to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
We'll answer that question next block fits hanging out on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live. Polly Fools Go here with Tony Foodsco.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (16:16):
As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning
Polly and Tony Foodsco Show.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (16:20):
But instead of us telling you how great we are,
here's how Dan Fatrick described us when he came on
our show.
Speaker 9 (16:25):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
What are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, you wasn't
talking about you.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
You took those clips totally of context.
Speaker 8 (16:36):
Oh yeah, well after this promo, I'm gonna take you
out and beat you.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Speaker 8 (16:43):
Yeah, anyway, Just listen to the Polly and Tony Fusco
Show on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yea, he's bug rising up. Jason fitz Bucket Fitz hanging
out with you on Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to
subscribe to the Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel. Just search
Fox Sports Radio on YouTube. You'll see our best videos
from all our shows. Don't stop there. Hit that thumbs
up icon. Comment away. Let us know whose takes you
like and even whose takes you don't like. Just search
Fox Sports Radio on YouTube and subscribe.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
Buck.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
I thought last weekend we'd get the answer to a
lot of questions in one particular game in the NFL,
the Jags, the warm weather Jags.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Going to the Broncos.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I spent all week hearing about Trevor Lawrence being hot
of late, and.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Then he looked at the opponents.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
You're like, yeah, he's playing all trash teams, so he's
gonna go to Denver.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
This all those thing's gonna melt down.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
We're gonna realize that he's the weakness and nothing's really fixed.
I was convinced of this on Sunday morning as I awoke,
only to be slapped in the face by the realization
that if I thought the Broncos were a realistic Super
Bowl contender when last Sunday started, I now have to
put the Jags in that conversation, like there is still
a path for the Jags to get the number one seed.
(17:55):
I don't think anybody's talking about Jacksonville, but is Jacksonville
actually a Super Bowl caliber football team.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Do you?
Speaker 6 (18:02):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (18:03):
Absolutely?
Speaker 6 (18:05):
Are there five better teams in football than Jacksonville?
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Man, I know that just feels.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
I did not think that.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
Was gonna be the question that I flummixed you with
that night.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
You did? You got me on that.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Like, Look, I think if we're if we're taking the AFC,
I'll separate the NFC because I think Seattle and the
Rams are maybe in a different.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Conversation, but in the AFC, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Would I be surprised if this if the JAG's going
to run, Probably not. Would I be surprised if any
of these teams lost in the first round?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Probably not.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Like I honestly don't know who's good in the AFC,
Like they're all good.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
I don't know who's great in the AFC.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
Well, that's the thing.
Speaker 6 (18:48):
I don't know that there's any definitive team that is
so much in that side of the bracket anyway, that
is so much better above and beyond the rest of
the competition. Because who are we talking about that would
have a similar, like just even a similar outlook than
the than the Jags. Right now, the Bills and the
(19:09):
Chargers have the same record, The Patriots and the Broncos
are two twelve win teams, But like, which of those
teams do you feel definitively great about relative to the
rest of them? Are you just saying it? Would you
just say Buffalo because Josh Allen is the last super
(19:29):
star quarterback of the three or four superstar quarterbacks on
that side of the thing that we usually end up
talking about Lamar Jackson is I mean, they're not out.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
But they're they're teetering. The Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Don't you don't You don't have to worry about Patrick
Mahomes at this point in time. Unfortunate. Obviously the injury
deeply unfortunate, but Patrick Mahomes is not going to be
participating in the postseason, and we don't know what he's
going to look like when he gets back from his
knee surgery. If you're talking about Denver, are you are
you so convicted in that defense that no matter what
(20:03):
happens with bow Nicks, that that defense will be able
to bail them out. I don't know that you can
definitively say so. And I mean, I guess the Patriots
are the best of the bunch, but even then, I
don't know, like were the Patriots and the Jags to
play on a neutral field, I would think that the
Jaguars would be favored.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I would think so. I would think, so, yeah.
Speaker 6 (20:27):
They're better, They're a better defense, They're getting better quarterback
play theoretically at least, right. I mean, I know drag
mas an MVP. Canny was awesome in the second half
of that game. But like Trevor Lawrence has been pretty sick.
It's been I mean, I know they you know, he
had five against the Jets. Of the what is he
have twelve touchdown passes and no interceptions in this six
(20:49):
game win streak that they're on.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I believe is the statistic thirteen.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
I don't want to shorten one. I think it's thirteen.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
But yeah, I mean either way, double digit touchdowns, no
interceptions and six and zero in these last six weeks,
and five of those are against the Jets. So whatever,
But okay, go to Denver and do it, and they
did it pretty decisively. They've got an awesome rushing attack
to compliment that quarterback. We've talked about Jacoby Myers changing
the way that their offense works and how much smoother
(21:16):
it functions. Their defense is number one against the run.
They're not great at getting the passer, but they create
turnovers in bunches, and that's good enough to get you
additional opportunities to set.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
That offense up for success.
Speaker 6 (21:27):
I don't know who's been playing better complimentary football right now, which,
at the end of the day, is really the thing
that matters. For as much as we try to overcomplicate football,
if you're just playing decent football in all three phases,
you're gonna end up winning the game.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
If you turn the.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
Ball over, or if you turn the ball over at
a less frequent rate than your opponent, if you outrush
your opponent, Like, it's really not that complicated some of
these things that we talked about talk about. Jacksonville's doing
it right now as we get ready for the postseason.
We're not there yet, but right now they're doing it
better than anybody.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
I mean, I think the Patriots are hard part of
this example because the stat that's out there everywhere if
you haven't seen it, is that the Patriots have as
many wins this year over teams with a five hundred
a better record too, as the Giants have two. Right, Like,
that's what this schedule and look, you can only play
the teams that are on your schedule.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
But the fact is the Patriots just.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Lost to the Bills a couple weeks ago in a crazy,
crazy game, no doubt, and then they beat the Ravens
in a game that you know the Ravens were playing
without Lamar for how much of it And it came
down to the very end of that thing, right. So,
I don't know what to make of a team that
has wins over the Giants, the Bengals, the Jets, the Falcons,
the Browns, the Titans, the Saints, Like those teams all suck,
Just just they have a bunch of wins over a
(22:41):
lot of teams that suck. Now, I could say the
same thing about the Bills. Look, the Bills are so
maddeningly inconsistent. I don't know, Like one week, it looks
like one half it looks like the Bills are out
of the game, and then all of a sudden, it's
like Josh Allen comes up like he's hault Cogan in
the eighties. The hand doesn't hit the mat on the
third one and they as so he's up at Halkeman.
He is running wild all over you, like it's just
(23:03):
it's a weird dynamic this year in the AFC because
there are so many fatal flaws to every single team,
but at the same time they're winning a boatload of games.
Like the AFC feels to mean like as a bunch
of like really good teams and a bunch of terrible teams,
And so when you're beating up on the terrible all
the time, it makes it difficult to figure out. I
(23:24):
want to get your thoughts on the Steelers and where
they fall in this equation.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
But first, Steve to Sega.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Get us caught up on the scoreboard right now, what's
going on around the globe.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
James going in the NBA.
Speaker 10 (23:36):
Still, we do have a final, Orlando winning at Portland
one ten, one oh six, So just a couple games
still go on. Two minutes left, Pistons might be winning again.
That would put the record at twenty four and six.
They're leading at Sacramento one twenty nine to one twenty. Also,
the late game in LA has the Clippers still ahead
of Houston under ten minutes to go. It's one oh
(23:56):
one eighty eight for a Clippers team that is seven
and twenty one this year. Indiana lost at sixth straight
record of six and twenty four, lost at home to Milwaukee,
won eleven to ninety four. New Orleans is eight and
twenty three. They had won five in a row but
lost at Cleveland Tonight won forty one to one eighteen.
Donovan Mitchell twenty seven points. Victories for Charlotte, Toronto and Brooklyn,
(24:19):
which was eight and nineteen but got to win at
Philadelphia won fourteen one oh six despite twenty seven points
from Joel Embiid. Chicago edged Atlanta won twenty six one
twenty three, although the Hawks Trey Young had fifteen assists
and just one turnover. Minnesota at home beat New York
won fifteen one oh four despite forty points from Karl
Anthony Towns. Jalen Brunson did not play. Dallas edged Denver
(24:42):
won thirty one one thirty thirty three points for Cooper
Flag and thirty one for Anthony Davis. San Antonio won
its seventh straight game a strong fourth quarter and they
whipped Oklahoma City won thirty to one ten. Shay Gillich
kildus Alexander thirty three points. You know Okase He's lost
three of five now in including twice to the Spurs.
Victories for Phoenix and Memphis College basketball wins for Saint
(25:05):
John's and Villanova, which won at seed in all sixty
four fifty six NHL overtime victories for Nashville at Minnesota,
and for Detroit at home against Dallas. Bryce Harper says
he will play for Team USA and the World Baseball
Classic in March. The two game suspension of Steelers wide
receiver DK Metcalf was upheld. He had appealed. He loses
two game checks and reportedly forty five million dollars in
(25:29):
future guarantees in his contract. The two game suspension of
Chargers linebacker Denzel Parriman was also upheld. The Cardinals signed
former Rams kicker Joshua Carty. Buffalo tried out three kickers
but did not sign any of them.
Speaker 6 (25:43):
Today.
Speaker 10 (25:43):
Starter Matt Prater still has a quad injury. Bill's quarterback
Josh Allen says he will play this weekend despite the
foot injury. The Ravens lists quarterback Lamar Jackson with his
bruised back, as a non participant on today's practice report.
The Colts will start QB Philip Rivers again, with Riley
Leonard as the backup quarterback for Washington Marcus Mariota missed
(26:04):
another walk through due to hand and quad injuries. The
Commander's host Dallas on Christmas, and Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy
will miss the Christmas game against the Lions. He has
a hairline fracture in his right hand. Green Bay QB
Jordan Love was limited at practice. He's still in concussion
protocol and the backup quarterback there, Malik Willis, was limited
with a sore shoulder. College Football Bowl victories for Ohio,
(26:27):
U Western Kentucky and Louisville. Hawaii hosts the Hawaii Bowl
on Christmas Eve against Cal Back to you.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
He's buck rising on Jason Fitz hanging out with you,
bucking Fitz Fox Sports Radio. All right, so if we agree,
I can't you know, as we've gone through this, I
can't trust Bonnix, right, So we'll say that that's at
least a factor. Although bo was playing much better of late,
I think the Jags just looked like a much more
complete team.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
We've talked about, you know.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Trust issues with the Patriots, trust issues with the Bills.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
You just go up and down the list.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
As Steve Desinger just pointed out, no DK for the
next couple of weeks. But the Steelers, a team they
were supposed to be left for dead when they got
to the meat of their schedule, and a team that, man,
I'm not really still I'm.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Not sure how good the Steelers are.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
But my god, they just went in and they beat
Detroit in a game that they absolutely had to have
and a game that their defense just looked lights out.
They went into Detroit and won. Like, at what point
do we not look at the Steelers and say, in
a wide open AFC, why not Pittsburgh?
Speaker 6 (27:32):
Hm, why not Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Rogers is playing really well.
Speaker 6 (27:39):
And I think that's you know, I don't know if
that's a surprise. I just I guess this is all
going a lot better than I expected. And this game
at the end of the season with the Ravens, it's losing.
It's it's luster that Week eighteen matchup that we thought
could be for the division. But the Ravens just, I mean,
(27:59):
I don't they didn't fall apart against the Patriots, Lamar
leaving the game and dealing with a back injury and
then being in it till the end until Todd Munkin
just decides he doesn't need Derrick Henry for basically the
entire final quarter of the game is very very confusing
for me, especially and apparently confusing for John Harbaugh, who
got up there and said he didn't necessarily agree with
that position as the head coach, which, again, do your job.
(28:21):
But Aaron Rodgers is playing pretty high level football. How
many quarterbacks in the AFC do you trust more than
Aaron Rodgers? Do you trust Aaron Rodgers right now? Do
we think we're seeing? I mean, Philip Rivers is what
three years older than him? And I know that the
Niners got dusted on Monday night forty eight to twenty seven, But.
Speaker 5 (28:42):
Philip Rivers playing pretty good football.
Speaker 6 (28:44):
I don't know how much credit needs to be given
to a savvy veteran quarterback whose body is holding up
better than average, being able to navigate a team that's
good enough in giving them again, good enough compl metory
play on defense and special teams to navigate through an
AFC that's pretty uncertain. Would you how many teams with
(29:07):
the Steelers? How many teams who have double digit wins
right now in the AFC? Would the Steelers be favored
on a neutral field against the Chargers, the Patriots, not
the Broncos, in the AFC. I'm not really sure how
many teams would Vegas would view as definitively better than Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
And that's where see it gets interesting because the Chargers,
by the way, there's a very real scenario we are
likely going to end up with a Week eighteen matchup
between the Chargers and the Broncos that is going to
be for the AFC West. The Chargers are eleven and four,
the Broncos are twelve and three. The Chargers will have
the tiebreaker if they beat the Broncos again in Week eighteen,
(29:52):
So you're talking about a massive Week eighteen matchup for
the Chargers, who are banged up all over the place,
shouldn't be as good as they are. Their offensive line
has just been testimated by injuries. They seem to be a.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Shell of themselves.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Yet they are eleven and four, and if the playoffs
were going to start today, If the playoffs started today,
the LA Chargers would have to go to Pittsburgh. That
is not a great SITCHU West Coast team going east coast.
Weather's always going to be a factor in that going
to be an ugly football game.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
The Steelers defense should be able to.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Apply pressure on a beat up Chargers offensive line, physical
football game, Like I could see Pittsburgh winning that game,
and then all of a sudden, you have this weird
spot where I don't think the Steelers are a great
football team. But if they rented this year to try
and just figure out a way to get.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
A playoff win, they got the playoff win.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
They still don't have a long term manser at the
quarterback position. They still need a lot of help all
over their roster. I don't know that they solved any
of the issues that had fans wanting Tomlin fired a
month ago, right, but there's still a real shot that
these Steelers, I mean, at the very least, here's what
we know.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
The Steelers are going to have a winning record.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Yet again, I think that's a bit of a tired stat,
but it's still out there. They get the Browns and
the Ravens, they have a very very real shot at
ending eleven and six eleven for a team that we
had Tomlin left for.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Dead a month ago.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
Eleven and six home playoff game against a could be
a West Coast team right there, Like that feels like
your great matchup for the Steelers.
Speaker 6 (31:15):
So if they I mean it does feel like a
great matchup if they were to win eleven games, let's say,
but lose in the first round of the postseason. When's
the last time they won a postseason game. It's been
a couple of years, right, I mean, oh, it's been
a long time, right, It's like they have It's not
quite a decade, but it's something pretty close. I want
to say, I don't have the stat in front of me,
(31:37):
and I don't think it's a tired stat that the
Steelers haven't had a losing record under Mike Tomlin. I
think it's a tribute to him and the job that
he does in the organizational stability that they have that
you should not turn your nose up at that. And
I'm not here to wag a finger at Steelers fans
because they have higher standards than a lot of NFL
fan bases, and I respect that, but still, it's it's
a tremendous accomplishment to be able to win at that
(32:00):
rate and continue to maintain those standards as teams all
over the place bottom out with regularity and think that
just draft picks are going to be able to get
them back to competency.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Twenty seventeen was their last playoff win, twenty seventeen Divisional round.
Speaker 6 (32:16):
One hundred years ago.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
They went to AFC.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
Wildcard win and a divisional playoff win, both in January
of twenty seventeen.
Speaker 6 (32:23):
So they win eleven games this year, but they lose
in the first round to whomever you pick your matchup X.
Does Mike Tomlin coach the Pittsburgh Steelers next year?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
I don't think there's anything even if they lose their
last two games and get beat by forty in the
first round of the playoffs. The Steelers don't do they
don't do things rash to me, there's zero chance Tomlin
doesn't come like I think one of the under talked
about storylines of the NFL is that.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
A lot of these coaches are coming back. But yes,
Tomlin's coming back.
Speaker 5 (32:53):
To you agree, I would be inclined to agree.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
I just again, I'm just put some level of blind
faith that the Steelers are going to continue to be
stable that way, and as long as Tomlin wants to
be there, that they wouldn't rock the boat unless he can,
you know, unless he starts to lose some of that
luster that makes him so good at that job. And
again I get that Steelers fans would complain and say, well,
(33:18):
he's not actually that good at that job. He's just
kind of treading water and it's keeping us from doing
any meaning or winning of consequence. But I don't know, man,
I just don't think you're in a situation. There's so
little good, actual good NFL coaching, like genuinely good NFL coaching,
that I just don't think you can turn your nose
up with the one that you have.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
That's why when we come back, I think a lot
of you guys that are already looking forward to the
draft and you're saying the offseason is going to fix everything.
My team's about to turn it around. You're gonna be
pretty stunned when some of these terrible teams keep their
head coach.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
I'll explain why.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Coming up next to his buck Rising Up, Jason Fitzbucking
Fits hanging out with you on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten eastern seven pm Pacific.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
It's Fucking Fits taking over Fox Sports Radio. On The
Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmn He's Buck Rising on
Jason Fitz. Throw the guys for a loop here, we
got to tell you about the tyrack play of the day.
For over forty years, Tyraq has been helping customers find
the right tires for how, what and where they drive.
Chapman shipped fast and free, backed by free road hazard
(34:23):
protection with convenient installation. I almost said a bad word
options like mobile tire installation.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
You cannot stop that.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Tire rack dot Com the way tire buying should be. Guys,
Let's hear the Tyrack play of the day.
Speaker 9 (34:36):
Davis, he's feeling it with six to shoot. Here comes
to double from Jokics out to flag, three to shoot,
top of York three two, huge three pointer, a season
high four three point shot, his third game of thirty
or more this year.
Speaker 6 (34:53):
That is courtesy of ninety seven point one the Eagle
Mavericks Radio network. The day.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Look at that look look at the teamwork to make
the dreamwork high five from many states away. I think
some fans are gonna be disappointed when their favorite teams
don't fire their head coaches. And this is so I
see this permeate into everything, and right now I've spent
more time ever since Yahoo Sports Daily launched, which By
the way, you can check out on Yahoo every morning
(35:24):
through the week. Ever since that launched, I've spent a
lot more time just scouring the thoughts of fan bases.
So I spend more time on Reddit and social media
and just trying to get a sense of where everybody
are for our conversations that we're going to have and
what's alarming to me. And you know, even within our
show staff. We've got a Ravens fan on the show
that works on the show and he can't wait for
(35:45):
Harbaugh to be fired. We've got a Browns fan on
the show that cannot wait for Stefansgate to get fired.
We've got a Bills fan on the show that thinks
McDermot should be done if they don't go to the
Super Bowl this year.
Speaker 4 (35:55):
The list goes on and on, and what really hit
me So I went.
Speaker 5 (35:59):
Through this car agree with that last one, by the way.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
I mean, that's the difficult part on this.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
There's this process for everybody, and you don't want to
settle for mediocrity.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
But also, this isn't last year.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
There isn't a Ben Johnson out there that everybody covets
and universally.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
Understands is the guy.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
So I'm looking across and I've spent so much time
on Sundays, I just like to go in and type
in the name of the team and just read as
much as I can. From the concept of fans, everybody
wants their favorite team to fire their head coach, and
so I thought about that as I was reading ESPN's
article about ranking the top eight jobs that could be
open this offseason. And I think it's funny because in
(36:37):
my opinion, when you look across the board, based on
what I've been able to read from people that do
a good job covering these teams, what I've been able
to get from insiders that I think to a good
job covering it. If you look at the top eight jobs,
Cincinnati Bengals, I do not think it's coming open. Arizona Cardinals,
it might all right, But then go through the rest
of Bill's list. Browns, I don't think they're firing Stefanski.
(36:59):
Titans are already open, Giants are already open. Falcons, I
don't think they're making a fire. Miami Dolphins, I don't
think they're making a fire. The Raiders, I think they are.
When you go up and down, we're used to a
ton of openings. But Buck, I think a lot of
these fan bases are going to be shell shocked about
January tenth when they realize that their bad team isn't
changing their coach, because teams are just trying to let
(37:21):
this process play out.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
A little bit, and they're trying to figure out a
way to rebuild.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
Man Which would be the which would be the toughest
pill to swallow of those non firings the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Everybody wants Zach what seck Taylor going to do about
that defense?
Speaker 6 (37:41):
It's not the their offense scores forty ath will like,
I don't know how that's a Zach Taylor. I mean,
I guess he's picking these defensive coordinators.
Speaker 5 (37:50):
But also, is that not a play? Is that not
a person?
Speaker 6 (37:52):
Lsu lou Anarumo looks fine in Indianapolis, and he's got
better players than he did in Cincinnati, Like Cincinnati's defensive
roster has fallen.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
I don't know how that's Zach Taylor's problem one percent.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
That's why I don't think they're making a change. In fact,
if you read the athletic I like to read the
athletic writers because I think they're a little bit more
dialed in than most. And the athletic writer that covers
the Bengals, forgive me for not remembering the name off
the top of my head, put an article out last
week saying, hey, none of them are going anywhere. The
defensive coordinator Zach Taylor, the GM, none of them are
(38:24):
going anywhere. Now, I could all day long you tell
me the GM's going so like I need different people picking.
I'm all in on making a change, a coordinator change
or a GM change. I'm sorry, but you're right to
that point. They've made coordinator change after coordinator change with
respected coordinators and it hasn't made a difference to Browns.
Speaker 4 (38:44):
Another one that you know.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
I talked to Charles Robinson, are great insider at y'ahoo
at length a couple of months ago, asking him, hey,
is to fancy on the hot seat, and he pointed
something out look from the outset this year, the Browns
did not believe they were going to be competitive. What
they believe during this course of this season was they
needed to identify and develop young talent. If you look
at what has gone right for Cleveland, it's the way
(39:07):
their rookie class is developed throughout the course of the year.
Not it takes your door out of this conversation, but
everybody else from that rookie class, it looks really damn
good and they're all growing. So Cleveland understood this was
a multi year process. I don't think Stefanski is going
to be is going to be gone. I think Cleveland
Browns fans are gonna have to accept that this The Browns.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
Knew that this was the beginning of a multi year build.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
I think I think I would have a harder time
accepting that Kevin Stefanski was not going to be fired
if I was a Browns fan. That if I was
a Bengals fan and you told me Zach Taylor was staying,
I think that's.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Really I mean fire.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
Would you fire Stefanski?
Speaker 5 (39:48):
I think so.
Speaker 6 (39:49):
I just I'm very confused, and it maybe it's just
because I watched one of the worst coach games that
he had this year in person, Like I was in
Cleveland for that Titan game that the Titans went into
Cleveland and won, and again they're not those aren't good
football teams, but some of the decision making on the
two point conversions that they had where Shador had, you know,
as good a game as any rookie has had all
(40:11):
year long, and they take him out of the game
on the two point tries. It's just very, very weird
stuff that apparently, if you ask again, Browns fans will
tell you he's been that person all year long.
Speaker 5 (40:21):
But that was just a very visceral example of it.
Speaker 6 (40:24):
It's like, I don't get it. I don't understand what
he's trying to accomplish here, even as I know he
is a good coach and has been a good coach previously.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
I think what he's telling you is he doesn't trust Shador.
And by the way, I had no problem with that
play called Shador on a previous two point conversion had
flubbed the snap. I don't think he's gotten enough reps
on two point conversion plays to have a whole library
of them to be ready. And their offensive coordinator two
weeks before that spoke to their local media about how
much they prefer running wildcat in short yarded situations. So
(40:53):
it all speaks to why this is a process. We'll
keep breaking down the process and maybe a surprise firing
coming next Bucket right and Fitz
Speaker 4 (41:00):
I should say, Fox Sports Radio
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.