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January 15, 2026 41 mins

Dan and the Danettes don’t want to hear anything more about the ’85 Bears. Former NFL quarterback and New York sports radio host Boomer Esiason joins Dan to talk about the impending hire of John Harbaugh and what it means for the Giants. Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III stops by and discusses the future for Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, what this playoff means for the legacy of Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and how he sees the divisional round of the NFL playoffs playing out.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Final Hour on this Thursday. More of your phone calls.
We'll talk to RG three a little bit later on
eight seven seven to three DP show operator sitting by
Tyler will take your phone calls. Sunday night, everything on
the line. Matthew Stafford leads the Rams against Caleb and
the Bears Sunday six Eastern on NBC and Peacock. By
the way, we have a Chicago Bears T shirt for

(00:27):
sale up on the website. Very proud of that T
shirt we do. It's a good one. Yeah, So, Paul,
could you explain why we have a T shirt of
the Chicago Bears up on the website.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
You may have heard of a team called the eighty
five Bears day and I don't know if I've mentioned
him on this show, particularly they won the Super Bowl,
the only Super Bowl actually remember on that date January
twenty sixth, nineteen eighty six.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
Okay, but you can get a T shirt.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Eighty five Bears eighty six Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, while the Bears are still alive in the postseason.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
And again if they win the Super Bowl this year,
that shirt will lose its luster. You'd better buy now.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
That would be the only reason why I'd be rooting
for the Bears. So we don't talk about the eighty
five Bears anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
I think they're on their fifth documentary.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah. Poll question for the final hour, and then we'll
bring in Boomer or sciencin.

Speaker 5 (01:15):
Would you rather talk about the eighty five Bears or
the twenty twenty five Bears.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
I'd rather talk about the twenty twenty five Bears. Could
be a disaster?

Speaker 4 (01:23):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:25):
Is John Harbaugh in a better football situation now than
he was a month ago? We're at about sixty five percent.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Say no. Boomer Sison co host WFA NS Boomer and
Goo and of course a quarterback for fourteen years. Good
to talk to you, Boomer. Did the Giants get it right?

Speaker 6 (01:44):
Good to see you, Dano, And sorry about my background.
We're under construction here at WFAN, so you're gonna have
to deal with it. It's not quite as pretty as
your your studio there that has a ton of stuff
in it, by the way, you feel like a hoarder. Yes,
I want everything you got in there.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Believe you know what. I was called a elector and
then all of a sudden they came up with this
word hoarder, yes, and I'm guilty of that, but I
take it as a compliment. Thank you.

Speaker 6 (02:08):
By the way, A happy Harball day here in New York.
For sure. The Giants got this one right. And no,
I don't want to talk about the nineteen eighty five
Bears because they kicked my ass many times. But yeah,
they need they needed somebody here Dan, They needed credibility,
they needed instant credibility. They do have a quarterback, as
we all know, that we think is going to be
really good. I think Todd Monkin is going to be

(02:29):
the perfect offensive coordinator for him. When you think about
Lamar Jackson's two previous years twenty four or actually twenty yeah,
twenty four and twenty three, he was awesome and Todd
Monkin was the offensive play caller. They had the number
one offense in the league one of those years, at
the fourth offense in the league another one of those years,
he won one of his MVPs. And that's exactly what

(02:52):
the Giants and Jackson Dart need here. So this is
going to bring stability. I think it's going to make
John Mara very happy, who's obviously ill deal with cancer.
I thought Chris Mahra's initial fora down to Baltimore last
week to have lunch with John Merraw. I mean, John
Harbaugh really set the tone for these negotiations. And I
think a Harbaugh to the Giants, to me anyway and

(03:14):
the NFL world makes a total, total sense.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
But you go from Baltimore, where you have to win,
you got a Super Bowl roster, to now the Giants.
How much time do they give him to get this
team back to respectability?

Speaker 6 (03:29):
I mean, Kenny Paula, Ben Johnson, Kenny paul A, Mike Rabel.
You know, these new guys went into places where they
had second year quarterbacks who were can't miss players, and
look at what those two coaches did with their quarterbacks
and what they did in free agency. Everybody forgets that
the Patriots spent the most money in free agency last offseason,
mainly on defense, and then the Bears spent mainly on

(03:52):
the interior offensive line to protect Caleb Williams. And how
has that worked out? So I think expectations would be
high here. I certainly think with elite neighbors with Andrew
Thomas with their running tandem with you know, with Jackson Dhart,
the offense is pretty solid. I think they'll probably add
a wide receiver in the draft, but their defense is
really what needs the most work, and it'll be interesting

(04:14):
to see who he hires as his defensive coordinator, because
I haven't heard that yet.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
What would you can you teach Jackson Dart to play differently?

Speaker 6 (04:23):
No, you know, you always to his learn I call
it youthful inexperience is what it is. He's trying to
prove to his teammates that he belongs on the field.
I think he gets caught up in the emotion of
the game, wants to get the fans, especially at home,
into the game. He wants to lead by example. He
does remind me a little bit of Josh Allen the
way he plays and at times when he runs, he's

(04:44):
a little bit reckless. And Josh has learned and nobody
does it better than Josh for that matter. But I
remember when he was a rookie and even to a
second year they were saying the same things about him
Dan that they're saying about Jackson Dart and running with
the football and protecting himself. But blieve me, he will
learn quickly.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, but you know, Josh wasn't in the blue tent
like Jackson Jackson darted. I mean, that's a co op
for him, Like, you know, we we can't have that.
I mean, come on, slide, it's okay.

Speaker 6 (05:16):
Well I know, and you know he actually did learn
when he came back from the late the latest injury,
you know, towards the end of the year against the
Raiders and at home, he learned how to play the
position better. I mean, look, he's a football player. That's
what I love about him more than anything else. You know,
Patrick Mahomes, he's a football player. Drake May, He's a
football player.

Speaker 4 (05:36):
C J.

Speaker 6 (05:36):
Stroud. I mean, these guys all loved getting mixed up
into the action and taking some hits. Maybe I was
not one of those types of guys. I always try
to stay away from it as much as I could,
and maybe that's why I lasted so long. But again,
like I don't want to take the inner football player
out of him because that's what makes him so special.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
Why did the Jets always get it wrong?

Speaker 6 (06:02):
Well, you know, it always starts at ownership. That's where
it always starts. And you know they've they've gone this
coordinator route for many years, and they were really close
when they first acquired Aaron Rodgers. You know, when Aaron
came running out on that field that first September eleventh
with the flag, and then it gave me chills and
I wish that I could have been in that uniform

(06:23):
like he was that night, and what it really brought
to all of us as football fans here in New York.
And then what three or four plays in he blows
out his achilles. I mean, that was the moment where
the Jets had it right, and he came back and
had a pretty good second year, by the way, but
then Woody Johnson got involved and they fired Rob solid
and then all hell breaks loose. So now Darren Mugie's
got to pick up the pieces. I would say that

(06:44):
Darren's done a great job here in terms of acquiring
assets for a team that desperately needs them. But until
they find a quarterback, they're going to be stuck in
neutral too, just like every other team that's in their
same situation.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Talking to Boomer as sisin, co host of w Fans,
Boomer to you, what do you do with that second
pick in the draft now that Dante Moore is going
back to Oregon.

Speaker 6 (07:06):
I think the Jets lucked out, and I think Dante
Moore is making a fifty million dollar bet. I that
would be hard for me to do that, but I
had advised him on our show here in New York,
please stay in school. You need more playing time. And
I think he made the right decision. And I'm sure
he's going to get a nice paycheck from Oregon, but
he's making a fifty million dollar bet on himself, which

(07:28):
is really quite amazing. So for the Jets, the second
pick can be anywhere from you know, one of these
top defensive players from Ohio State, maybe an edge rusher.
It also could be another wide receiver to go along
with Garrett Wilson, I mean, or trade out of it
and even add more assets, which would probably be the
smart thing to do, because you know, the draft is

(07:50):
a is a you know, lottery picks, and you want
more shots on gold than you can possibly get. And
that's one thing that Jets have going for them going
into this year's draft.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
What about Malik Willis or Mac Jones, you know, do.

Speaker 6 (08:04):
They want to come here? That's the thing, you know,
I mean, that's if Mac Jones want to come play
for the Jets. I don't see that, and they would
have to trade for him. He's got another year in
his contract with San Francisco, Malik will be an unrestricted
free agent. I would hope that somehow Green Bay would
be able to keep him, but I if I were him,
I'd want to go be a starter somewhere, or at least
have a shot to be a starter somewhere in Green Bay.

(08:25):
That's not going to be the case, but I could
see the Jets trying to maybe use him as some
sort of, I don't know, gap year quarterback if you want,
if you want to say that. But then again, remember
next year's quarterback class could include Arch Manning and it's
probable and it will include Dante Moore and a few
other guys. So maybe they'll be in a better situation

(08:45):
to draft one of those guys next year, meaning that
I don't think you want to go out there and
try to win six or seven games. I mean, really, realistically,
you look at it, you want one of those young
quarterbacks that is going to change your franchise, like Jackson
Darter is doing here for the Giants. You're going to
have to have another bad year next year to be
at the top of that draft. To be able to
select that guy.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Yeah, but Boomer, they're trying to win six or seven
games and they can't do it. So it's not like.

Speaker 6 (09:13):
I said. I was there for three years. I had
three different head coaches. You know, it was crazy. And
I always scream about one thing, Dan in professional football,
professional sports for that matter, is stability. You want to
know who's running the organization, who the GM is, who
the coach is. And if you keep changing, like Daniel
Jones found out as the quarterback of the New York Giants,

(09:34):
you know you're going to take two steps forward, three
steps back, two steps forward, three steps back. So the
one good thing about the Harball situation here for the Giants,
I think that this solidifies Jackson Dart's next ten years.
If everything works out right with Todd Munkin as his
offensive coordinator and John Harbaugh as his coach, that should
be a ten year run. That should be great for
him as a quarterback and he should be really successful.

(09:57):
As for the Jets, I mean, who is that guy?
Where's that guy coming from? If it is Malik Willis,
God bless him. If he comes here with this team
the way it's built right now, not the greatest place
to be successful.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
Give me the surprise this weekend in the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (10:14):
Wow, I did pick the Texans and the Rams to
go to the super Bowl, so I got to stick
with those two guys. I guess I would be surprised
if somehow the Patriots, you know, beat the Texans, because
I just think the Texans defense are like the eighty
five Bears. They're that good. I mean, they are all
over opposing quarterbacks and every quarterback has struggled. So even

(10:36):
though the Patriots are favored, if they won, for me,
that would be a surprise. I guess if San Francisco wins,
that would also be a surprise given what Seattle did
to them the last time they played. And now with
the loss of George Kittle. You know, no matter how many
more guys are they going to take away from Brock
Perdy and Josh Allen this weekend, Dan, I mean, those
guys are playing fantastic football, but they're losing guys left

(10:57):
and right around them, So I would think that both
are going to stry go a little bit this weekend.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
Guess those defenses, what's it like to go to the
line of scrimmage and you look at that defense.

Speaker 6 (11:07):
Which one, well.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
If I threw out the eighty five Bears or the
eighty six Giant, Like when you go to the line
of scrimmage and you just know that, yeah, this is
gonna be a long, this is gonna hurt.

Speaker 6 (11:21):
Yeah it is, and you know what, and you got
to get yourself in the mindset to be able to
absorb that. And playing all those years back in the
old AFC Central, we had the Houston Tech Oilers to
deal with, we had Cleveland to deal with, we had
Pittsburgh to deal with. Jacksonville ultimately came into the mix
as well. But I mean every weekend it felt like
we were playing against a great pass rusher. And then

(11:43):
when we did get to the playoffs, we saw Bruce Smith.
I mean that was no fun. And then years of
playing him when I was with the Jets, you knew
that somehow, some way he was going to get to
you somewhere along the line. The game's a little bit
different now, but these guys still take major hits, as
Justin Herbert showed us last week, and as Matthew Stafford
and Josh Allen both showed us last week. But stepping

(12:04):
up there, man, you got to have your chin strap button.
You got to be totally focused, and you got to
find out if you can on film and on tape,
any tendencies that they're giving you, any tips that they're
giving you, and hopefully you're reading it right that day.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
What were Boomer's numbers against the Bears?

Speaker 3 (12:22):
Pulley oh Man, Dan, September twenty eight, nineteen eighty six. Boomer,
I have the Bear Bears forty four to seven over
the Bengals.

Speaker 6 (12:31):
That sound crrect, that's right, that's right. And here's the
funny thing about that game. It was early in the season,
and thanks for bringing that up then. So the funny
thing about that game was the Bears were coming to
Cincinnati and it was a really hot September day. It
was hot, steamy and muggy, and I remember saying to
my center Dave Rimington, man, we got the Bears here.

(12:51):
They're not gonna like this weather. They're gonna they're not
going to deal with it. And after the first quarter
was over, Dave said, you sure they don't like it here?
I think they like it pretty much. I think I
remember throwing the ball off of one of the back
of my offensive linemen. They got picked off by Wilbur Marshall.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
So what are the numbers? By the way, Boomer did
win an MVP NFLMVP.

Speaker 6 (13:12):
That's all right, listen, I've been around long enough. Take
a joke.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
Okay, the Boomer stats in that game fourteen for thirty
to twelve, one TD, four picks and three seconds. However, Boomer,
you did lead the team in rushing to carries fourteen yards.

Speaker 4 (13:26):
I like that.

Speaker 6 (13:26):
I was running for my life. Yes, that was the
you got to remember. So they had the forty six
defense with Buddy Ryan, and it was something that nobody
had ever seen before. So it took us a while
to figure it out what was going on and how
they were running it. And once we figured it out,
our offensive line coach, the great Jim McNally, who just

(13:47):
got elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for
assistant coaches, he came up with so many different plays
to beat that defense, which ultimately propelled us to the
Super Bowl a few years later.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
To talk to you, uh tell, Geo, we said hello,
thanks for joining us. All righty Dan, anytime see Bud
Boomer Sison, co host of WFAN radio show Boomer and
Geo spent fourteen years. I can't imagine facing the Bears,
facing the Giants back then. Oh man, you know the
Ravens back in the day. There's certain defenses where you go. God,

(14:24):
I don't know if there's a weakness here. It's like
what's the lesser of two evils here?

Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (14:31):
Early results on the poll question, would you rather be
a backup for the forty nine ers or a starter
for the Jets? Sixty nine percent would rather be a
backup for the forty nine ers.

Speaker 2 (14:40):
If I'm mac Jones, I I'd probably stay for another
year just because I'm gonna be with Kyle Shanahan and uh,
you know I can Mac or brock Purty probably won't
stay healthy the whole time, and then maybe you find
a play.

Speaker 4 (15:00):
Yes, but I don't.

Speaker 6 (15:02):
Man, oh man, it's.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
A real question.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
But they're gonna pay him well for one more year there.

Speaker 3 (15:11):
Well, let's say he stays. Once he make six million,
Mac Jones will make four million even next year as
a backup. Let's say he was offered and.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
He should go to Oregon, and then he can go
to Oregon, go back to Alabama. Yeah, but just watching
those teams, I remember watching the Bears play Washington at
RFK and that's that was nineteen eighty five, and man,

(15:40):
was that scary dexter manly. I remember asking him what
did he think of the Bears defense and his quote
to me was byb be swarming, Yes, Mart.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
So basically, whoever won the NFC basically just won the
Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yeah, but god, you had the Niners and you had
the Cowboys. I mean, you had a lot of the
Washington Redskins. And that was at the very tail end
of the Washington Redskins dynasty.

Speaker 4 (16:09):
When the Bears came into RFK for that playoff game, damn.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
And watching the Giants got to see that defense up
close in person a few times that Super Bowl year.
In fact, for a couple of years, yes, Tod, And
therefore we saw the Bills lose four straight Super Bowls
and the Broncos get humiliated three and four years.

Speaker 4 (16:29):
Thank you, Tom.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Welcome, take a break. RG three will join us next
we're back. After this Dan Patrick Show.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
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(16:58):
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Speaker 2 (17:14):
Away, Paul, you ran around the neighborhood naked when the
Cubs won the World Series?

Speaker 4 (17:20):
Correct?

Speaker 2 (17:21):
What will you do if the Bears win the Super Bowl?

Speaker 6 (17:25):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (17:25):
The same or more?

Speaker 2 (17:26):
I guess more?

Speaker 4 (17:28):
You got it.

Speaker 3 (17:29):
I can't do what you did before, but I would
do the same for sure.

Speaker 2 (17:32):
So you gotta run around a bigger block.

Speaker 3 (17:34):
Yeah, maybe longer, Okay, longer stretch?

Speaker 4 (17:36):
Yes, Seaton?

Speaker 2 (17:38):
Why why you run naked?

Speaker 4 (17:41):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (17:41):
I was asked, asked, asked.

Speaker 4 (17:45):
Yeah, you said ass I thought as you were asked.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
You were asked.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
In all seriously, when the Cubs won the everyone was asleep,
ran out of the house naked, yelled not very sleepy town.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
Okay, all right?

Speaker 2 (17:59):
Were now let people know that you could be doing
it around here. Yeah, yes, Todd, tough.

Speaker 4 (18:04):
Transition for you. Right now, to the guest and waiter
talking about PAULI running around.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
Naked, we bring in Robert Griffin Junior, the third He
ran around naked when Baylor was winning football games, right
or Washington was winning football games or something like that.
Great to have you back, the Fox football analyst. I
was just talking to Boomer A. Siason about going to

(18:30):
the line of scrimmage and you look over and you go,
there's the eighty five Bears. Yep, eighty six Giants. Was
there a time a moment where you went up to
the line of scrimmage and he looked over and you go,
oh my god.

Speaker 4 (18:45):
There wasn't Dan. But that's that's just the quarterback in me. Wow.
They don't want to be in the fearless guy that
you have to be to play that position. But I
will say, when I first got in the league, those
moments came more on the fact that I was widing
these guys growing up. So the Bears is a great example.
You know, I look across the line of scrimmage and

(19:06):
I've got Brian her Lacker and Lance Briggs, and those
are guys that I like, grew up watching and you know,
admiring so to play against them, to play against DeMarcus Where,
to play with Santana Moss and Chris Cooley at the
time in London, Fletcher, Uh, those moments really hit me.
You know. I got ed Reid, ed Reid tried to
ed Reid me and I got him to move off

(19:29):
the middle of the field and do a touchdown against him.
Like those types of moments were pretty cool. I had
one against Tampa Bay with Ronde Barber and you know,
he was a slot corner, had a really good reputation
of being able to ride the inside slant and fall
off to the outside slant pick it off, and he
almost got me. And Kyle Shanahan was my offensive coordinator

(19:49):
in Washington during that time, and he told me during,
you know, before the game, like, hey, don't don't try
to pick on Ronde, like he's really good at it.
And we got him on a on a third and
eleven on a slant route and I threw it completed
it looked at coach and he was like, hey be careful.
Those kind of moments for me that were that were
more so the like, why, I'm just blessed to have

(20:10):
a chance to play against these guys.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
All right, Uh, how did the Giants do?

Speaker 4 (20:15):
Oh? I mean they's a plus plus plus higher with
John Harball, you know, d I don't know if I've
talked to you about it before, but John's is the
best coach I ever played for in the NFL. When
you talk about identity creating identity for your team, I
don't think the Giants could have got a better guy,
especially with the young talent that they have. If you

(20:36):
just look at their roster, they have the quarterback in
Jackson Dart, they got the running back in Campscattaby, they
got the receiver in the league Neighbors. They got the
young pass rushers, you know, I have Dual Carter, especially
from last year's draft, and they just need direction and
that's what John Harball provides. So I think I don't
know what the other hires are going to be during
the cycle, but this is the best higher and the

(20:57):
Giants knocked it out the park.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
Is Pittsburgh a good chum.

Speaker 4 (21:03):
Ooh? Prestige wise one hundred percent. It's a great job.
You know, when you have a team that's only going
to have their fourth head coach.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
But let me take away that. It's let me just
give you the roster. Let's just look at rosters. Is
Pittsburgh a good situation?

Speaker 4 (21:24):
Oh, that is so tough the answer. Outside of the
organizational prestige and the fact that you're going to get
an owner that's going to be dedicated to you, it's
not a great roster because it's aging and you don't
have a quarterback. So I know that's what you're getting
at Dan. It's like, I think Rogers is done. If

(21:45):
Tomlin stayed, I could see Rogers coming back for another year.
But I don't think Aaron Rodgers wants to deal with
the first time head coach coming back in there. And now,
if you're a coach, it's attractive if you if you're saying, Okay,
I'm gonna have t J. Watt like this Cam Hayward
coming back, I don't know. He's been fighting with the
organization the past couple off seasons for money and rightfully so,

(22:08):
he's he's one of the best players in the league,
although he's aging. So if you come in and you
think that one of these young quarterbacks in the draft
is the guy that's gonna that you can build around,
then I think it's an attractive job. If not, it's
really hard to go to a place that has a
bunch of old players and no quarterback.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
Would you rather coach Atlanta or Pittsburgh. I'd rather coach Atlanta.

Speaker 4 (22:31):
And it's not because of you know again, I think
you have to put a lot of value in the organization.
I think what they do there and how they run
their ship is a great thing for Pittsburgh. But if
I'm looking at it for division and talent, I'm going
to Atlanta. You know, I got v Jon Robinson arguably
the best runner back in the league this past year.

(22:53):
You know, I've got London at receiver. I've got you know,
potentially Kyle Pitts at tight end, like I've got a
young QB and Michael Pennock junior if you still believe
in him, like, I can go in there and make
that work and when pretty immediately because that division is
so I mean, it's tough to say, but it's a
weak division. Yeah, when your division winner has a losing

(23:13):
record every single year, like coaches should be falling over
themselves to go to Atlanta right now, What.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
Do you think Mike Tomlin does next, I think he'll
be on TV.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
He resigned step down, so you know, it's not like
he retired, so Pittsburgh still owns his right. So if
he goes and coaches somewhere else that they're gonna have
to trade him. And if you're looking at a place
like Atlanta, which he clearly fits in to the fabric
of what Atlanta is, you know, the Black Mecca, and
it's like yeah, but then you're gonna probably have to

(23:45):
trade one of those young assets or trade some picks
to get him to go there. So I think he
goes to TV. I think he's earned it. I think
every time I've heard him talk, he teaches you something,
and I think that's what TV networks they cove it. Personality,
the ability to still retail. I think he's the total
package when it comes to that. So I definitely see
him being in a studio show, you know, for one

(24:07):
of the major networks.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
So I can RG three foks Football Analyst and his
podcast out of Pocket with RG three give me the
surprise this weekend.

Speaker 4 (24:17):
Ooh, the surprise this weekend. Boil boy, that's a good one.
I think the Bears beat the Rams, I think people
will be surprised by that. You know, Matthew Stafford, number
one quarterback in the NFL, thrown the deep ball this year,
and I think it's gonna it's gonna stress that Bears secondary.

(24:38):
But I think the Chicago Bears played the three worst
quarters of football I've ever seen in my life wild
card round, and they found a way to have one
of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. I think Caleb
Williams in that locker room, did you did you see
you heard the speech after the game by Caleb to
Johnson that was so impactful if you just know the

(24:59):
whole story of what he went through last year and
how he wasn't being taught and how he felt, you know,
middle of the year, like he shouldn't have been there
to come back and now have a coach that believes
in you instills that confidence in you. I think the
Bears are one of the hottest teams in the league,
and if they could even play forty five minutes of

(25:20):
great football, I think no one in the league wants
to play them right now.

Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah, and I wondered about Caleb last year. Was he
being taught? I wondered about him at USC with Lincoln Riley,
did he want to be taught?

Speaker 4 (25:33):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (25:33):
And what was he taught? But with Ben Johnson there
was You're gonna be taught, There's no doubt that. So
there is a real difference in that, and you got
to embrace each other. Yeah, and having that head coach.
Normally you're OC, but you know Ben's your OC, your

(25:54):
quarterback whisper all those things, just like Kyle Shanahan. I
mean the value of having somebody like that who puts
you in those positions. I mean, you know that feeling
when you go to line of scrimmage and you're like, damn,
this is going to work. There's going to be a touchdown,
Like I got the answer to the test and that
feels like Caleb and I made the analogy. Ben probably

(26:16):
wants Caleb to be more like Jared Goff for the
first three quarters. In the fourth quarter you go be
Caleb Williams correct and you're right, You're on hundred percent
right there. Dead personalities they have to match.

Speaker 4 (26:30):
And when you look at Lincoln Riley and what he
was able to do with Caleb, like Caleb followed him
to us. It wasn't like he had to really try
to prove him to go there, Like Caleb knew, like
I've had success with this guy. You know, I know him,
I know this system. I'm going to be successful at
USC And he was maybe not as successful as they
wanted to be national championship wise, but he was successful.
Then you come in to a situation where you don't

(26:53):
have an offensive head coach. That coach is on the
hot seat. He's trying to do everything he possibly can
do to save his job, but you're not taking priority there.
And so Ben Johnson comes in, and I think they're
on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. I think, you know,
Caleb is the he's painting his fingernails, he's wearing the

(27:14):
craziest clothes. He's got a different personality. You hear him
when he talks like he's a deep thinker. And Ben
Johnson is like a maniac, you know, like he wants
He's like Kurt Signetti. He wants to score sixty five
points on you and he doesn't care. Like that postgame
handshake with Matt Lafour was. It was hilarious because basketballship,

(27:37):
like I get, but this is the guy that said, hey,
I like beating that guy two times a year, you know.
So I love that part of it, and I think
they balance each other out. And I don't think Caleb
Williams will ever be Jared Goff, and I think that's okay.
When he was on the sideline during the game last
week and he was you know, some people were saying
he was throwing little, you know, little fits on the
sideline and getting upset. I just looked at it as like, hey,

(27:59):
when we do it's not good enough. When we don't
do good, it's not good enough. And he held them
to that standard and that's why I think they got
out of the rut that they were in. So I'm
seeing massive increases in the leadership ability from Caleb Williams,
and it's because Ben Johnson has created an environment where
he can lead. I thought that was the most impressive thing,

(28:20):
and I think they're flourishing together.

Speaker 2 (28:22):
Finish this sentence. If the Bills lose in Denver.

Speaker 4 (28:27):
Oh Sean McDermott is gone. I thought for sure if
they lost to the Jags, they would make an organizational shift.
But I think the narrative outside the building is really
strong right now that Lamar Jackson isn't there. Patrick Mahomes
isn't there, Joe Burrow isn't in the playoffs. And I've

(28:49):
been the very adamant and vocal about all the clowns
out there that keep saying that this is a legacy
defining playoffs for Josh Allen. I don't think it is.
He's one of the greatest playoff quarterbacks we've ever seen.
You know, you can list the stats. He's total touchdowns,
he think he's first or second in the in league history.
Total yards, he's number one touchdown interception ratio. I think

(29:09):
he's one or two. So like he he is a
high performer, and wins aren't a quarterback stat. But if
they lose with the same staff, essentially in the same
head coach, without those guys being there, the noise from
Bill's mafia alone would be enough for them to make
a change. So I think if they lose that game,

(29:30):
McDermott goes with it.

Speaker 2 (29:32):
How did the Niners beat Seattle? Got to get pressure
on saying they don't sack anybody.

Speaker 4 (29:39):
They don't. They don't got Bosa Fred Warner. I've seen
his miraculous come back. I don't know what he's taking,
but we all need to eat some of that, but
they're not They don't sack anyone. They don't have the pressure.
But when you look at Sam Darnold, like as a coach,
if I'm the defensive coordinator, I don't go with the
game saying, damn man, we can't we can't sack the quarterback.
I just have to look at the numbers and say,

(30:00):
when Sam Donald is pressured, he's a fifty to fifty quarterback.
I think he's His touchdown interception ratio is six to six,
and when he's not pressured, he is unbelievable. He might
be the league MVP when he's not pressured. So if
you're Sam Frian, you have to decide do you want
to die fast or do you want to die slow.
If you want to die slow, play play zone coverage,

(30:23):
don't don't bring any pressure, don't try to blitz him,
and just see if he has a you know what
many believe is like a Sam Sam Donald moment where
he he just doesn't perform in the playoffs, Or you
can say, you know what, I trust our guys. We're
gonna bring pressure and we're gonna try We're gonna try
to make him uncomfortable, not just by rushing for and

(30:46):
I think that's what they have to do. And the
same thing on the other side for Seattle at brock Purty.
Brock Purty was one for seven against the against the
blitz against the Eagles, Like I anticipate a lot of
blitzing in this game. I don't think they're gonna sit
back and say, well, let's just see if we got
it today. You know, I think they're going to try
to go make it happen and that's how they beat them.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
The Texans, to me, are really fascinating because people just
don't talk about the Texans. They don't and that defense
has been staring at everybody the last half of the season.
I don't know about Nico Collins, c J. Stroud can't
have that kind of game on the road. But I

(31:28):
wouldn't be surprised at all if they win that game,
and they win it with defense. But you know, you
got to get a couple of offensive touchdowns there and
take a little bit of pressure off that defense, correct.

Speaker 4 (31:40):
You know, before we get into that, did you guys
see the postgame press conference when when Will Anderson was
sitting next to Alsherzir, the linebacker. The contrast and how
big of a human being will I mean, that's a
big linebacker. And Will Anderson was like doublest. It looked
like he ate him for breakfast. So like you look

(32:02):
at the offensive lineman and you're going against these guys,
and Will Anderson is even the biggest one. Daniel Hunter
is bigger than he is. I think that's an intimidation factor.
But for the Texans to win, they have to do
it essentially what they did to the Steelers. They have
to they have to run the football. You know what
he marks and and Shubb had you know, over one
hundred yards you know, combined, I think it was one

(32:23):
to sixty something like that. But they have to be
able to run the football to take pressure off of CJ.
Stroud because CJ has struggled this year. Yeah, and it
could be new offense. You know, Nico being in and
out of the of the lineup. You know, I don't
know what it is, but it's something is off with him.
So yes, CJ, you'll have ten great passes and then

(32:44):
you'll have seven throws. You're like, where did that come from?
So when you have that situation with your quarterback, you
have to play great defense and run the football. The
Patriots on the other side, Drake May, I noticed during
the game, like, you got sacked five times that first round.
It's like, at some point Drake May has to make
the decision to get jiggy with it in the open field.

(33:06):
He's got to use his legs. The Texans are top
ten in every dang near defensive category, the number one
defense in the league, I believe, But they're the worst
defense in the league against quarterback scrambles. So if you're
Drake May, you have to say to yourself, Hey, after
one or two of these sacks, man, I gotta give
my line some confidence and I got to break out
in the open field and go make a play happen.

(33:28):
You know, I could see in my offensive lineman's eyes
when they couldn't block someone. I walk in the huddle,
I'm like, hey, we got three jet and they're like
three hit. Come on, man, I'm fighting for my life
out here. And of one run would give them the confidence,
Dan one run would give them the confidence to say,
all right, even if I miss this guy, I'm still
gonna fire my hands quick because my guy back here

(33:49):
is going to have my back. You know. Seventy percent
of the time. Maybe I'll give up a sack or two,
but I'm not going to get beat the entire game.
And I think Drake has to take that mindset into
this one. The quarterback scrambles going to be a big
part of it.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
I can't wait until after the game with the Patriots
win and he has some of these runs and he said,
you know, I'm just quoting RG three of just getting
jiggy with it.

Speaker 4 (34:11):
Oh, that'd be better than some of the coaches he's
had with Cam tearing them down, right, I.

Speaker 2 (34:15):
Know what, Why is Cam tearing down a kid who
idolized Cam Newton growing up?

Speaker 4 (34:21):
It's it baffles me. And listen, I know Cam's your guy,
he's my guy. We like Cam like but at the
end of the day, they always say, don't meet your
heroes sometimes, and this is one of those moments. Like
Drake may loves Cam Newton. It's like top two and
MVP voting. I always find it weird when people hate
on people or try to devalue them when they're having

(34:43):
the like the greatest seasons they've ever had. Yes, like,
we're supposed to celebrate sports, but Cam was upset the
Colts didn't reach out to him, and they reached out
to Philip Rivers. I know that's a that's a relationship thing, Dan.
Philip was there and he knows those guys. He knows
that system. I think sometimes in this media game, when

(35:06):
it's when it's everyone's trying to compete for attention, like
some people are trying to find ways to be slighted,
and I, you know, I just I don't think that.
I don't know. I'm not mad that the Coast didn't
reach out to me.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
You know you are You're not in the College Football
Hall of Fame yet?

Speaker 3 (35:24):
Me?

Speaker 4 (35:24):
Yeah, did that vote?

Speaker 2 (35:27):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (35:29):
Have you been breaking news here? I didn't know that.

Speaker 2 (35:31):
No, No, did you You're not in the College Football
Hall of Fame?

Speaker 4 (35:35):
Right? I'm not? Okay?

Speaker 2 (35:37):
Are you upset that you're not in the College Football
Hall of Fame?

Speaker 4 (35:42):
That's a great question, Dan, I don't. I don wouldn't
say upset. I would say that it would be an
honor to be in the College Football I would say that,
you know, as a Heisman Trophy winner and everything that
I was able to accomplish at Baylor with my teammates,
that's a that's an honor that I look forward to
sharing with them. I wouldn't say I'm upset that I'm

(36:03):
not in. I would just say I look at it
as just being grateful and not not worrying about that.
That stuff's gonna happen when it happens.

Speaker 2 (36:10):
Cam is not in either. Really, Yeah, that's yeah, Now.

Speaker 4 (36:17):
I can go harder on that for you me to.

Speaker 2 (36:21):
That's legitimate that he would be upset. You know, if
he was going to be upset not being in the
Hall of Fame College Football Hall of Fame, he can
he can be upset.

Speaker 4 (36:29):
He should be more upset that he's not in the
college Football Hall of Fame as a guy that won
the Heisman National Championship, put a team on his back,
and had one of the probably the single greatest year
maybe him and Joe Burrow, single greatest year I've ever
seen in college football. He could be upset about that
more so than he should be upset at Drake may for.

Speaker 2 (36:46):
Being an ad camp better college quarterback you or Cam
Newton better college quarterback?

Speaker 4 (36:52):
Yeah? Uh, I mean, that's just it's a hard question.
One year coage football, you had two played, I had
two great Americans. But here's the question, would I take
Cam Newton over myself in college football. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:15):
Uh, great to talk to you. Have fun this weekend.
Good luck with the podcast. Appreciate your brother, God blessed.
That's our G three out of Pockets With RG three podcast,
Cam Newton had. You can make a case like Joe
Burrow had two of the greatest receivers in college football history,

(37:36):
Cam Newton had Cam Newton. So if you want to
talk about single handedly, he's more responsible probably for a
national championship than maybe any other quarterback.

Speaker 3 (37:48):
Yeah, Paul, Yeah, as you said, Cam barely played it
all at Florida. One year at Auburn thirty touchdowns, seven picks,
and then of course you know he ran for almost
a thousand yards hycy check that check fourteen and seventy
three yards and twenty touchdowns.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
We will take a break, last call for phone calls.
What we learn, what's in store tomorrow after this.

Speaker 1 (38:09):
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.

Speaker 2 (38:21):
Just got more information here. Federal prosecutors have charged dozens
of people in a wide ranging scheme to fix basketball games.
In recent years, indictments target about two dozen people, sports,
gamblers and others to recruit players to participate in a
variety of schemes to impact the games, including point shaving.

(38:43):
Betters would cast wages against the player's team. Some of
those bets were for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The
scheme allegedly involved Division IE players from Tulane, Nickels State,
Kennesaw State, Northwestern State, and Leasal. The operation involved thirty

(39:05):
nine players on more than seventeen Division one teams, with
Better's waging millions of dollars on at least twenty nine
different games. One of the players who is indicted is
the leading scorer right now for Kennesaw State. Simeon Coddle

(39:29):
is currently the leading scorer in Conference USA at twenty
points per game. So there's a long list of players
former players that are indicted. Here, you're talking millions of dollars. Now,
as I said to you, sometimes you go to these
smaller schools, so we're talking Kennesaw State, Nickels State, Lasal,

(39:56):
tou Lane. I mean, these aren't basketball powers. That's why
you can go to these kids at these schools and
you probably they think nobody is going to follow this,
nobody is going to notice this. They're not making nil
money there. That's where if I was going to fix
a game.

Speaker 4 (40:14):
That's where I would be going. Yes, un, I think
they're Billy making a nickel at Nickels State night.

Speaker 6 (40:18):
Sometimes you got to do it under.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
Thank you to too soon. How about we go around
the room. We're at the end of the show.

Speaker 6 (40:25):
Where at the time.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Going, I don't know, let's do another hour. Who's with me?

Speaker 4 (40:31):
No?

Speaker 2 (40:34):
Well, Todd, would you learn today.

Speaker 4 (40:37):
RG three sets?

Speaker 3 (40:38):
If the bill was in Denver, Shaw mcderalid be fined
and Drake may have to get jiggy with it in
the open field against such satan Did you.

Speaker 5 (40:43):
Learn seventy six percent of our audience would rather be
a backup for the forty nine ers than to start
it for the Jets.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
Marvin, it's harball day in New York.

Speaker 3 (40:51):
Paul Kennesaw State played just last night with that player. Mmmm, Todd,
would I learn great broadcasters like Costas Nanson yourself, failing to.

Speaker 2 (40:59):
Prepare is preparing to fail.

Speaker 4 (41:01):
You guys make it look easy.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
For over forty years, tire Rack's been helping you find
the right tires for how and one and where you drive,
ship fast and free back by free road hazard protection,
Convenient installation options like mobile tire installation, tire rac dot
com the way tire buying should be. Thanks for the
phone calls, emails, tweets, the all around support. Can't wait
for tomorrow and meet Friday. Hope you'll join us. Have

(41:23):
a great day, everybody,
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Hosts And Creators

Todd "Fritzy" Fritz

Todd "Fritzy" Fritz

Dan Patrick

Dan Patrick

Patrick "Seton" O'Connor

Patrick "Seton" O'Connor

Paul Pabst

Paul Pabst

Marvin Prince

Marvin Prince

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