In Part One of our special end of year two-part episode, Super Bowl champion and Walter Payton Man of the Year Andrew Whitworth joins Peter to address the rumors of a potential return to the Bengals (which Peter helped prompt with a tweet this weekend). Whitworth shares some messages he’s received from Bengals fans and one of his favorite stories from his first year on the Amazon's “Thursday Night Football” crew. Peter also addresses Sean Payton coaching speculation and gives his two cents on his Fox Sports colleague’s future.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
The season with Peter Schreeger's a production of the NFL
in partnership with I Heart Radio. What's Up, everybody, Welcome
to the season with Peter Schreeger. We are entering week seventeen.
(00:28):
Week seventeen, and just about every NFL team sounds like
there's still alive. I am so excited for the next
two weeks, but also for the playoff bush And there's
so many different little intricacies amongst the matchups this weekend.
I look at Packers versus Vikings, and it's like, all right,
Vikings meet the Packers. The Vikings, they eliminate the Packers,
(00:50):
they get that sweep of the Packers, first time they've
done it with Aaron Rodgers on the roster since two
thousand nine, and they can finally plant their flag and
say we're the Kings of the NFC North and in
the process stave off the forty niner. Is a little
bit that said, if the pack there's win, you better
believe this is gonna be the next twenty days of
(01:11):
like Packers talk, Packers talk, Packers talk, and if they
somehow get in the playoffs and somehow face the Vikings
in the opening ground, the wild card. That is gonna
be madness. Now, the San Francisco forty Niners are interesting here.
They just keep on winning with brock Purty, They've got
eight straight wins. They actually have the tiebreaker over the Vikings.
So the Vikings have a one game lead in the standings,
(01:32):
so they're the two seed. But I think that's the
most important thing here. Two verses three in the NFC,
because I think the Vikings can hang with the Niners
at home. I don't think the Vikings can travel out
to the Bay and go into San Francisco. So this is,
you know, multi pronged. If you are a Vikings fan,
get rid of the Packers once and for all, be
the one to put the steak in Aaron Rodgers and
(01:53):
Matt Lafloor's hart, but also get that home game in
the second round of the playoffs. You do not want
to have to go out to San Francisco. Meanwhile, in
the a f C, I mean the Dolphins. I came
out here on this podcast last week and I'm like, hey,
no moral victories brought. The Dolphins had an amazing performance
(02:13):
in Buffalo and they should be holding their heads high
and YadA YadA. Data Now the Dolphins embarrassed um by
the Packers in front of a national TV audience. Three
interceptions in the fourth quarter, and now we don't know
if two was gonna play. But recording this on UH
Tuesday's in the protocol, I would imagine Teddy Bridgewaters the guy,
and it might be Teddy Bridgewater for the rest of
(02:33):
the season. Can Teddy Bridgewater be the dude to get
them the win? Um Jets fans. Fascinating scenario with the Jets. Here.
The Jets were thinking they were done after laying an
all time egg Thursday night against the Jaguars, and I
was I referenced the Coming to America scene where Mortimer
(02:55):
and and Randolph are sitting there, the guys from trading places,
and they're like, we're back. That's what happened to the Jets.
They needed the Patriots to lose, they got it. They
needed the Dolphins to lose, they got it. They needed
the Raiders to lose, they got it. They needed the
Titans to lose, They got the Browns to lose. They
got it. The Jets are suddenly alive. The Jets win out,
which is not unlikely. They can go into Seattle and
(03:15):
win and they can beat the Dolphins in Miami. And
if the Patriots lose just once, it's the Jets who
are in the playoffs. Um, A ton of different things
have to happen for a lot of teams, but like
it's wide open and and I love that. Um. I'm
going to my producer, my guy, Aaron jan Kaufman, who
(03:36):
we are doing this remote today. Aaron, which team is
the most fascinating one for you right now? And it
could be anything. It could be the Titans, it could
be it could be the Buccaneers who are just finding
ways to win. Which team right now? If you have
to watch any team watchability right now in the league? Um,
which team are you watching? And which team is fascinating
down the stretch? I mean, it's gonna be the Bengals
(03:57):
because I'm I'm terrified of the Monday night game Bengals
Bills fan. For the listeners, Aaron is a guy hard
Bills fan, and we have a Monday night game against
the Bills, and uh and Bengals are home for that
one this week, all right, And I think, I mean,
so much has been made about with the Bills going
(04:17):
to away games in the playoffs, has been a struggle.
If they can get that home field advantage, that's huge.
But the Bengals are kind of playing like the best
team right now. I mean they're they're probably if you
made a top three, the Bengals are in the top three.
And I don't know if they almost yeah, but I
think that the Bengals. I mean, you know you you
(04:38):
had the bit um on g MFB with Whitworth. Um.
I think the Bengals they just lost some important pieces.
I'm very intrigued to see how they look going forward
the next two weeks, as well as the Eagles, who
have been relatively healthy all season and then suddenly are
suffering injuries to very important people. And and we just
(04:58):
watched the Cowboys game where they just picked apart the secondary.
So the Eagles and Bengals two teams who are like
top of the class, and I think also are showing
a little bit of weakness. So those are the ones.
Cincinnati is interesting. They've Joe Burrow there were the red
Hot They've won all these games. Joe Burrows never played
Josh Allen, you know, for all the Joe burrovers, Patrick Mahomes,
(05:19):
for all the Josh Allen vers, Patrick Mahomes. Joe Burrow
has never played against Josh Allen. That will be on
Monday Ight Football. I would imagine it's the highest rated
Monday Night football game of the year. And if I'm
not mistaken, if the Bills lose and the Bengals win,
the Bengals would have the head to head tiebreaker over
(05:39):
the Buffalo Bills for playoffs seating. And then you throw
in the Chiefs who have lost about those teams, it
gets really wonky. We'll see how it all plays out
real quick. I was in l A last weekend and
I spent not only Friday, but Saturday was Sean Payton
Um coach. Peyton and I had a good hand session.
(06:01):
We watched all the games together on Saturday. Look, I
don't know if he's leaving. I don't know if he's
going to take one of these jobs. He definitely wants
to coach again. But I'll tell you what, we had
a good time at Fox, and if the job that
is available is in his offered to him isn't ideal,
I'm not so sure he's just gonna take it. I'm
(06:23):
fascinating to see what happens because I think the l
A Chargers gig would have been really appealing. But last
night the Chargers just clinched a playoff birth with two
weeks left. I don't think they're firing Brandon Staley. The
Denver job is open, I don't know, and it seems
like a lot now he might consider it if they
offer it. Carolina job might be open. I mean, Steve Wilkes,
(06:43):
if he wins out, might be able to retain that job.
But even so, no quarterback within the division with the Saints.
I'm not sure he'd want to go to a rival
of the Saints. I'm not sure the Saints would let
him out of his contract to do it. So all
very interesting to me. The Charger has made a lot
of sense, the Saints going back to the Saints made
a lot of sense. But now Dennis Allen's won two
straight games, so uh, you know what I would say,
(07:05):
it's that Peyton will be coaching somewhere next year, just
from working with him at Fox every weekend. But like that,
twenty five is upticking more and more as the weeks
go by, and the jobs that I think we're probably
really desirable, the Cowboys, the Chargers might not be on
the docket for for Sean. So I don't think he's
gonna take a job that he doesn't he's not dying
(07:26):
to do. And um, you saw the schefter report that
Vic Fangio is, Uh, you're gonna be his defensive coordinator.
Vixman out of the league for a year now, he's
been waiting his time to to come back. That's I'm
not gonna confirm or deny it. It's not it's not
off base. Uh. I don't know if they're rushing back
just to pick a job though. So Sean Payton's living
a good life. Um, he's He's gonna be at the
(07:49):
TCU Michigan game. His son is a student graduate assistant
with TCU. He'll be there on Saturday. He'll be in
the Fox studio New Year's Day on Sunday. Uh. He's
enjoying himself. So we'll see. I think there'll be jobs
next year also, just to be here too. If he
does want to come back and coach, someone has to
(08:09):
trade with the Saints to get his contract. It's all,
and it's it's it's yes, and it's all to me.
It's like Peyton wants to come back and he's going
out of conference or is not going to right, Like,
are the Saints looking to Nickel and Dime? Are they
looking to you know, yeah, they'll get draft picks. But
I'm not sure Ms Benson, who's got a great relationship
with coach Payton, I'm not sure what how hard a
(08:31):
bargain that's gonna be if he's like, I want to
come back to coaching, you know, I don't know. He
he's got a lot, got a lot going for him
now on TV. He's a rising star in that world
and he can always come back. But the Sean Payton
watches Real and every team is texting me like, well,
what are you hearing? What are you hearing? I'll tell
you now, I think. But without a team to go to,
like I don't, I don't. I'm not speaking on behalf
(08:52):
of him, but like Houston, I'm not sure they're gonna
have an opening. I think Lovely Smith has won some games, Like,
I don't know if he would even want to go
to Houston. There's not a long list of teams that
are gonna be available that he's gonna want to go to.
So keep on it. Don't be shocked if he stays
in his you know, doing Fox Football Analysis next year. Also,
speaking of Cincinnati, I stirred the pot quite a bit
(09:16):
this week on Good Morning Football. They're right tackle Lyle
Collins and Cincinnati is down. And I went ahead and
said the following light through this tweet out last night
and they say, we joined the Bengals. After the Amazon
season ends Thursday, They're done? Can you fill in for
Lyle Collins. Whitworth rights back. I knew you're gonna get goods.
Conbos started with a little emoji here and say, hey, Witworth,
(09:38):
this is my claim to you. Witworth. Here we are
pal okay, this is my claim to you. Amazon ends
Thursday with the anemic Titans seeking on the Cowboys. The
season's over. You've already had your holidays. You had your
Christmas with your family. Andrew Whitworth, we love you. We've
seen you on TV. We've seen you at the table.
Your buddy Eric Weddle last year got the call from
(10:01):
the Rams and the playoffs came in, played safety and
want to ring? How cool would it be Andrew Whitworth
If you yeah, I'm talking to you, Whitworth. I know
you're watching. How cool it be if you came back?
I want to ring with the Rams last year, come
back with the Bengals. You're six foot seven, just kind
of standing. You know, we're not looking for you to
be an All Pro and you get a ring with
the Bengals as well. Andrew Whitworth, this is a call
to arms. We need you back on the field and
(10:22):
the Cincinnati Stripes. What do you say he was in studio?
It looks great. The whole season with Amazon. Felt like
he's skipping out on it. Ladies and gentlemen, with no
further ado. Welcoming him onto the season with Peter Schreeger.
Andrew Whitworth, welk up to the podcast. What's going on?
I appreciate you stirring up my Monday, Peter. Sometimes you
see yourself trending or you get the at thing and
(10:45):
it's got the twenty plus on Twitter and you say,
oh no, what did I do? Why am I? This
was a good thing. I was just trying to stir
something up here. Uh. What was your reaction when the
entire Cincinnati Bengals fan base started flooding your mention saying, hey,
Shreker is talking about you coming back. Yeah, you know what,
anytime I see an ol'man go down for some reason
why Twitter handle starts getting some attention. So they're one especially,
(11:07):
I mean the city of Cincinnati and what it's meant
to us, that was. That was pretty funny. It was
it was a fun day. I got some great offers.
I mean you know what, I got houses being offered
and food some of my favorites. You know, it'd be
a good option. I'll tell you what. Now, let me
ask you, because it's very easy for us to just say,
in all seriousness, Um, you're done. You did you? You
fulfill your obligations with Amazon? Yeah? That dumb and dumber?
(11:31):
Are you saying there's a chance? I think you know?
For me? Just who I am. I'm I've said this
since the day I retired. I'll never say never. There's
always a chance. I love adventures, I love taking on chances,
so uh, to me, there's always one. Obviously, there's a
lot of things that would go into it. I mean,
I'm technically under contract still with the RAMS, and i'd
have to I'd have to kick off the old dust
(11:51):
a little bit and see if I stee if these
tires can still move a little bit. But you know what,
I'd never say no to the option. But you know.
I I don't know it. It had to be a
sit down combo with with Melissa and the kids and
say hey, can we do this again or not? Yeah.
I mean you went out on top in a way
that think few players in the history of the sport
have gone out on top. Walter Payton, Man of the
Year in your final season, super Bowl Ring in your
(12:13):
final season, and like an amazing playoff run where you
guys were not the one seed. You had to go
on the road in Tampa and beat Tom Brady and
then you of course played the home Super Bowl. Do
you think it would turnish the legacy at all if
you came back and it was like not how you
wanted it to and you already ended on this fairytale ending. Yeah,
I think for me, really, I don't think you know, uh,
(12:33):
whether it be different corners I've put you played with,
Jalen Ramsey, Richard Sherman, different guys we talk all the time.
I think sometimes people don't understand when you flip sides
what a challenge that is, and when you've only done
it one way. And I've only played left tackle my
entire career, so when you flip your feet play the
other way, it's it's a very challenging. It's almost like
you've never done it before. In some senses, there's only
(12:53):
a few guys that are good at it. So for me,
it really wouldn't be about tarnishing the legacy. Would be
about I don't want to let those guys down. I
want I want Joe Burrow and those guys that have
all the success possible, And it would be more about
not knowing really how well you'd be playing and right tackle.
For me, coming in and playing somewhere at left tackle,
I know I could do. I feel good, I feel
great in that sense, and it would be confident, but
(13:14):
I wouldn't want to go in there and mess up
their chances, not knowing really what I'm capable of. Totally
get it, totally get it. Uh, do you know Burrow
and chasing those guys, I know there's an L s
U connection. You came on our show and you told
us that you went back and you've been back to
L s U for the first time I think since
since you've retired, maybe since you were a player. You
saw a game this season, like, is there any L
s U connection with Burrow and chasing those guests? Yeah,
(13:35):
I know most of them pretty well. I mean Burrow
and obviously over the years have gotten pretty close. I
mean we were both injured the same time when he
tours a c L and I and I tore my
pc L and m c L. So we had the
same doctor, spent some time together during the rehab process
out here in l A. And then have spent some
time together since. I actually had dinner with him when
I was in Cincinnati, uh this preseason. So you know,
he's a great, great young player, a great young man
(13:57):
in this league, gonna be a great rep for it.
So I watched those guys every week. You know, I've
always been on their bandwagon. So uh, it's exciting to
see how they'll finish. Man, I've leave this team has
as much potential as anybody in the a f C. Yeah,
you aside like that Cincinnati fan base has been awoke
in the last few years, and it is so cool
to see them so positive about their team. And I've
talked about it on on this podcast several times in
(14:20):
a Good Morning Football. It is a different deal than
maybe it was even when you were playing there where
it's like those home games, they've got the entire vibe going,
and no team wants to face them, even even now
that you're removed from the game as a player, Like
you have to have so much pride in the Bengals
and like it's got to be such a joy now
in all the years you gave them and uh, seeing
this franchise revitalized as one of the NFL powers, there's
(14:42):
no doubt. I mean just watching the energy it's in
that stadium. I remember watching watching last year when they
played the Writers at home. Uh, that playoff game. I
mean that was unbelievable just seeing you know that that stadium,
that city. Uh, they love their sports and for them
to have something to cheer for and believe in and
be behind. Uh, Joe Burrow and those guys on that
team and Zach Taylor have really created something special there
(15:03):
in the city of Cincinnati. And so I think it's
gonna be really fun to watch see how this thing
shakes out the end of the season. What I love
to be a part of it. Sure, I mean here's
what I do know. I could get pot stickers a
reservation that Jeff Rubies has been offered. This morning, Ruby said,
I got a table an amazing restaurant Jeff Ruby Steakhouse
that you got a table. That's that's that's a lot. Yeah.
(15:25):
He sent a tweet out off of your message this morning,
said me, Burrow and Zach Taylor dinner table anytime we
want it. So we're we're hooked up. Man. You know what,
I tell you what it might be a good financial
offer for me to go back there, just just for
all the opportunities they are being laid out by the
Bengals face coming out. I appreciate the love though. It's
it's definitely made uh feel appreciated and how much the
Bengal you know, all the Bengals fans have shown their
(15:47):
love over the last day or two of just my
career there and what I meant to them. Yeah, and
I'll say it's in a very serious No. You're one
of the most loved guys in the league and all
around great person and I think you are an outstanding
first year talent on television on the Amazon coverage as
you head towards the final week and we're recording this
on Tuesday. You guys wrapped this Thursday to see versus Dallas.
(16:08):
What was your big takeaway from joining the other side
being a part of the media and being a part
of that cool Amazon video team. I think for me
really watching it, sometimes you only thought of it as
a player, as the people who are covering you're just
doing a job, uh, and create being on the other
side now and seeing how much passion there is and
and you know, really people diving into what it is
they believe they're seeing and what it is they see
(16:29):
in special players, special teams um throughout the year, all
the narratives that it really means so much to them.
And I'm watching people like a Krissa Thompson and and
paying attention to other people that I've been around, you know,
through all of you guys obviously a Good Morning Football
and gotten into those relationships, just how much it means
to them to be great at what they do and
to really tell the stories the right way. Uh. That
(16:51):
there's a passion on this side as well, you know,
and sometimes you just think it's somebody just telling on
you or telling your story in some certain way, but
really there's a passionate behind what they do and wanted
to make sure that they create the best picture for
fans themselves. And that's been really fun to learn and
get to be a partner. Yeah. The thing about your
crew that I love, and you know, if you're watching
(17:11):
like a studio show is one thing, you go into
a city, do a studio show, you ever, the Amazon
crew goes into a new city every week. Um, and
you guys probably get dinner the night before. You probably
have a text chain, the whole thing. It's almost like
being a part of a team in itself. What was
the city that you really hadn't spent time in that
you guys were able to get to that you came
and away and said, Okay, I might have to get
(17:32):
back to this place. Well I think I got, you know,
I got. They gave me a pretty hard time. Christa
and Ryan uh Fitzpatrick and Tony and I went when
we were in Boston for the New England game. We
actually went to Harvard's campus. I rode the subway, never
been on the train before, the first time ever for me,
so I was in a big East Coaster, so I
hadn't been over there much. So I kind of shared
(17:53):
it dinner the night before. I've never been on a subway,
and they're like, oh, we're going somewhere tomorrow for sure.
So we got on the train and went to Harvard.
We got to go tour their campus. It was just unbelievable.
I mean, Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Beard, the Harvard Man, walking
you around Harvard's campus. It was unreal seeing those kids
see him and then him can get showing us all
the little nooks and crannies of Harvard and the special
(18:16):
things you always hear about. Uh, that was a really
cool experience for me this year. For sure. I love it.
We'll be watching you on Thursday, and as I said
in the clip on the show, I want you to
finish that string out, finish your first year. You'll come
back next to you to do second year. UM out
of a hundred Monday night football Bills versus Bengals, what
are the chances I think you'll be suiting up necessarily
that you'll be in the building in Cincinnati on Monday.
(18:40):
You know all this uh, all this talk has definitely
made it interesting. I think I might at least want
to go to the game. Uh, you know, I think
I at this point, Hey, look, if it's just an
extra boost energy for the for the Cincinnati Bengals, maybe
I'll you know what, I'll bring my cleats. I got
an old Roman up here, you know, in the attic,
and I'll just show up and hang out in the stands.
You know, I could be one of the crazy fans
(19:01):
and hang out. And I appreciate you joining us. I'm sorry,
I'm peer pressuring you to return to the Bengal. They
haven't even contacted me yet, so until they say shrieker,
shut up, I'm gonna keep this going. Uh, Andrew Worth,
You've been awesome all season on Amazon and uh, maybe
we'll see you in February. All right, thanks, Bunny, Hey
have it. I thought we were U's gonna come down
(19:23):
and just shoot it all down. Aaron Um, he said,
says never say never, So who knows. Maybe, Uh, my
my feverite dream of of seeing Andrew Whitworth's suitting up
for the Bengals one more time and leading them into
the playoffs might actually happen. I gotta tell you, I'm
I'm I'm a little surprised that he didn't just say no, no, no, no,
I'm good. Um, but that's the beauty of the podcast.
(19:46):
You get things that you never expect. I love Andrew
for coming on. I'm gonna tell you guys, this, uh,
this is gonna serve as part one of a two
part podcast. I'm gonna ask you to check your feeds
to go over there doing a big mail bag for
part two. What I mean by mail bag, I put
a Twitter call out to ask me. Anything could be
about off scenarios, could be about coaching, carousel, could be
(20:09):
about the draft. It could be about my favorite Elton
John songs. Um, it's not Tiny Dancer, It's not. Check
out part two of the podcast. Head over there on
this feed and gish were worth making a little news
on the podcast before the year's over. We'll take it.
(20:41):
The Season with Peter Schrager is a production of the
NFL and partnership with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
from my Heart Radio, is it the i Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts,
The season with Peter Schreeger's a production of the NFL
in partnership with I Heart Radio. What's Up, everybody, Welcome
to the season with Peter Schreeger. We are entering week seventeen.
(00:28):
Week seventeen, and just about every NFL team sounds like
there's still alive. I am so excited for the next
two weeks, but also for the playoff bush And there's
so many different little intricacies amongst the matchups this weekend.
I look at Packers versus Vikings, and it's like, all right,
Vikings meet the Packers. The Vikings, they eliminate the Packers,
(00:50):
they get that sweep of the Packers, first time they've
done it with Aaron Rodgers on the roster since two
thousand nine, and they can finally plant their flag and
say we're the Kings of the NFC North and in
the process stave off the forty niner. Is a little
bit that said, if the pack there's win, you better
believe this is gonna be the next twenty days of
(01:11):
like Packers talk, Packers talk, Packers talk, and if they
somehow get in the playoffs and somehow face the Vikings
in the opening ground, the wild card. That is gonna
be madness. Now, the San Francisco forty Niners are interesting here.
They just keep on winning with brock Purty, They've got
eight straight wins. They actually have the tiebreaker over the Vikings.
So the Vikings have a one game lead in the standings,
(01:32):
so they're the two seed. But I think that's the
most important thing here. Two verses three in the NFC,
because I think the Vikings can hang with the Niners
at home. I don't think the Vikings can travel out
to the Bay and go into San Francisco. So this is,
you know, multi pronged. If you are a Vikings fan,
get rid of the Packers once and for all, be
the one to put the steak in Aaron Rodgers and
(01:53):
Matt Lafloor's hart, but also get that home game in
the second round of the playoffs. You do not want
to have to go out to San Francisco. Meanwhile, in
the a f C, I mean the Dolphins. I came
out here on this podcast last week and I'm like, hey,
no moral victories brought. The Dolphins had an amazing performance
(02:13):
in Buffalo and they should be holding their heads high
and YadA YadA. Data Now the Dolphins embarrassed um by
the Packers in front of a national TV audience. Three
interceptions in the fourth quarter, and now we don't know
if two was gonna play. But recording this on UH
Tuesday's in the protocol, I would imagine Teddy Bridgewaters the guy,
and it might be Teddy Bridgewater for the rest of
(02:33):
the season. Can Teddy Bridgewater be the dude to get
them the win? Um Jets fans. Fascinating scenario with the Jets. Here.
The Jets were thinking they were done after laying an
all time egg Thursday night against the Jaguars, and I
was I referenced the Coming to America scene where Mortimer
(02:55):
and and Randolph are sitting there, the guys from trading places,
and they're like, we're back. That's what happened to the Jets.
They needed the Patriots to lose, they got it. They
needed the Dolphins to lose, they got it. They needed
the Raiders to lose, they got it. They needed the
Titans to lose, They got the Browns to lose. They
got it. The Jets are suddenly alive. The Jets win out,
which is not unlikely. They can go into Seattle and
(03:15):
win and they can beat the Dolphins in Miami. And
if the Patriots lose just once, it's the Jets who
are in the playoffs. Um, A ton of different things
have to happen for a lot of teams, but like
it's wide open and and I love that. Um. I'm
going to my producer, my guy, Aaron jan Kaufman, who
(03:36):
we are doing this remote today. Aaron, which team is
the most fascinating one for you right now? And it
could be anything. It could be the Titans, it could
be it could be the Buccaneers who are just finding
ways to win. Which team right now? If you have
to watch any team watchability right now in the league? Um,
which team are you watching? And which team is fascinating
down the stretch? I mean, it's gonna be the Bengals
(03:57):
because I'm I'm terrified of the Monday night game Bengals
Bills fan. For the listeners, Aaron is a guy hard
Bills fan, and we have a Monday night game against
the Bills, and uh and Bengals are home for that
one this week, all right, And I think, I mean,
so much has been made about with the Bills going
(04:17):
to away games in the playoffs, has been a struggle.
If they can get that home field advantage, that's huge.
But the Bengals are kind of playing like the best
team right now. I mean they're they're probably if you
made a top three, the Bengals are in the top three.
And I don't know if they almost yeah, but I
think that the Bengals. I mean, you know you you
(04:38):
had the bit um on g MFB with Whitworth. Um.
I think the Bengals they just lost some important pieces.
I'm very intrigued to see how they look going forward
the next two weeks, as well as the Eagles, who
have been relatively healthy all season and then suddenly are
suffering injuries to very important people. And and we just
(04:58):
watched the Cowboys game where they just picked apart the secondary.
So the Eagles and Bengals two teams who are like
top of the class, and I think also are showing
a little bit of weakness. So those are the ones.
Cincinnati is interesting. They've Joe Burrow there were the red
Hot They've won all these games. Joe Burrows never played
Josh Allen, you know, for all the Joe burrovers, Patrick Mahomes,
(05:19):
for all the Josh Allen vers, Patrick Mahomes. Joe Burrow
has never played against Josh Allen. That will be on
Monday Ight Football. I would imagine it's the highest rated
Monday Night football game of the year. And if I'm
not mistaken, if the Bills lose and the Bengals win,
the Bengals would have the head to head tiebreaker over
(05:39):
the Buffalo Bills for playoffs seating. And then you throw
in the Chiefs who have lost about those teams, it
gets really wonky. We'll see how it all plays out
real quick. I was in l A last weekend and
I spent not only Friday, but Saturday was Sean Payton
Um coach. Peyton and I had a good hand session.
(06:01):
We watched all the games together on Saturday. Look, I
don't know if he's leaving. I don't know if he's
going to take one of these jobs. He definitely wants
to coach again. But I'll tell you what, we had
a good time at Fox, and if the job that
is available is in his offered to him isn't ideal,
I'm not so sure he's just gonna take it. I'm
(06:23):
fascinating to see what happens because I think the l
A Chargers gig would have been really appealing. But last
night the Chargers just clinched a playoff birth with two
weeks left. I don't think they're firing Brandon Staley. The
Denver job is open, I don't know, and it seems
like a lot now he might consider it if they
offer it. Carolina job might be open. I mean, Steve Wilkes,
(06:43):
if he wins out, might be able to retain that job.
But even so, no quarterback within the division with the Saints.
I'm not sure he'd want to go to a rival
of the Saints. I'm not sure the Saints would let
him out of his contract to do it. So all
very interesting to me. The Charger has made a lot
of sense, the Saints going back to the Saints made
a lot of sense. But now Dennis Allen's won two
straight games, so uh, you know what I would say,
(07:05):
it's that Peyton will be coaching somewhere next year, just
from working with him at Fox every weekend. But like that,
twenty five is upticking more and more as the weeks
go by, and the jobs that I think we're probably
really desirable, the Cowboys, the Chargers might not be on
the docket for for Sean. So I don't think he's
gonna take a job that he doesn't he's not dying
(07:26):
to do. And um, you saw the schefter report that
Vic Fangio is, Uh, you're gonna be his defensive coordinator.
Vixman out of the league for a year now, he's
been waiting his time to to come back. That's I'm
not gonna confirm or deny it. It's not it's not
off base. Uh. I don't know if they're rushing back
just to pick a job though. So Sean Payton's living
a good life. Um, he's He's gonna be at the
(07:49):
TCU Michigan game. His son is a student graduate assistant
with TCU. He'll be there on Saturday. He'll be in
the Fox studio New Year's Day on Sunday. Uh. He's
enjoying himself. So we'll see. I think there'll be jobs
next year also, just to be here too. If he
does want to come back and coach, someone has to
(08:09):
trade with the Saints to get his contract. It's all,
and it's it's it's yes, and it's all to me.
It's like Peyton wants to come back and he's going
out of conference or is not going to right, Like,
are the Saints looking to Nickel and Dime? Are they
looking to you know, yeah, they'll get draft picks. But
I'm not sure Ms Benson, who's got a great relationship
with coach Payton, I'm not sure what how hard a
(08:31):
bargain that's gonna be if he's like, I want to
come back to coaching, you know, I don't know. He
he's got a lot, got a lot going for him
now on TV. He's a rising star in that world
and he can always come back. But the Sean Payton
watches Real and every team is texting me like, well,
what are you hearing? What are you hearing? I'll tell
you now, I think. But without a team to go to,
like I don't, I don't. I'm not speaking on behalf
(08:52):
of him, but like Houston, I'm not sure they're gonna
have an opening. I think Lovely Smith has won some games, Like,
I don't know if he would even want to go
to Houston. There's not a long list of teams that
are gonna be available that he's gonna want to go to.
So keep on it. Don't be shocked if he stays
in his you know, doing Fox Football Analysis next year. Also,
speaking of Cincinnati, I stirred the pot quite a bit
(09:16):
this week on Good Morning Football. They're right tackle Lyle
Collins and Cincinnati is down. And I went ahead and
said the following light through this tweet out last night
and they say, we joined the Bengals. After the Amazon
season ends Thursday, They're done? Can you fill in for
Lyle Collins. Whitworth rights back. I knew you're gonna get goods.
Conbos started with a little emoji here and say, hey, Witworth,
(09:38):
this is my claim to you. Witworth. Here we are
pal okay, this is my claim to you. Amazon ends
Thursday with the anemic Titans seeking on the Cowboys. The
season's over. You've already had your holidays. You had your
Christmas with your family. Andrew Whitworth, we love you. We've
seen you on TV. We've seen you at the table.
Your buddy Eric Weddle last year got the call from
(10:01):
the Rams and the playoffs came in, played safety and
want to ring? How cool would it be Andrew Whitworth
If you yeah, I'm talking to you, Whitworth. I know
you're watching. How cool it be if you came back?
I want to ring with the Rams last year, come
back with the Bengals. You're six foot seven, just kind
of standing. You know, we're not looking for you to
be an All Pro and you get a ring with
the Bengals as well. Andrew Whitworth, this is a call
to arms. We need you back on the field and
(10:22):
the Cincinnati Stripes. What do you say he was in studio?
It looks great. The whole season with Amazon. Felt like
he's skipping out on it. Ladies and gentlemen, with no
further ado. Welcoming him onto the season with Peter Schreeger.
Andrew Whitworth, welk up to the podcast. What's going on?
I appreciate you stirring up my Monday, Peter. Sometimes you
see yourself trending or you get the at thing and
(10:45):
it's got the twenty plus on Twitter and you say,
oh no, what did I do? Why am I? This
was a good thing. I was just trying to stir
something up here. Uh. What was your reaction when the
entire Cincinnati Bengals fan base started flooding your mention saying, hey,
Shreker is talking about you coming back. Yeah, you know what,
anytime I see an ol'man go down for some reason
why Twitter handle starts getting some attention. So they're one especially,
(11:07):
I mean the city of Cincinnati and what it's meant
to us, that was. That was pretty funny. It was
it was a fun day. I got some great offers.
I mean you know what, I got houses being offered
and food some of my favorites. You know, it'd be
a good option. I'll tell you what. Now, let me
ask you, because it's very easy for us to just say,
in all seriousness, Um, you're done. You did you? You
fulfill your obligations with Amazon? Yeah? That dumb and dumber?
(11:31):
Are you saying there's a chance? I think you know?
For me? Just who I am. I'm I've said this
since the day I retired. I'll never say never. There's
always a chance. I love adventures, I love taking on chances,
so uh, to me, there's always one. Obviously, there's a
lot of things that would go into it. I mean,
I'm technically under contract still with the RAMS, and i'd
have to I'd have to kick off the old dust
(11:51):
a little bit and see if I stee if these
tires can still move a little bit. But you know what,
I'd never say no to the option. But you know.
I I don't know it. It had to be a
sit down combo with with Melissa and the kids and
say hey, can we do this again or not? Yeah.
I mean you went out on top in a way
that think few players in the history of the sport
have gone out on top. Walter Payton, Man of the
Year in your final season, super Bowl Ring in your
(12:13):
final season, and like an amazing playoff run where you
guys were not the one seed. You had to go
on the road in Tampa and beat Tom Brady and
then you of course played the home Super Bowl. Do
you think it would turnish the legacy at all if
you came back and it was like not how you
wanted it to and you already ended on this fairytale ending. Yeah,
I think for me, really, I don't think you know, uh,
(12:33):
whether it be different corners I've put you played with,
Jalen Ramsey, Richard Sherman, different guys we talk all the time.
I think sometimes people don't understand when you flip sides
what a challenge that is, and when you've only done
it one way. And I've only played left tackle my
entire career, so when you flip your feet play the
other way, it's it's a very challenging. It's almost like
you've never done it before. In some senses, there's only
(12:53):
a few guys that are good at it. So for me,
it really wouldn't be about tarnishing the legacy. Would be
about I don't want to let those guys down. I
want I want Joe Burrow and those guys that have
all the success possible, And it would be more about
not knowing really how well you'd be playing and right tackle.
For me, coming in and playing somewhere at left tackle,
I know I could do. I feel good, I feel
great in that sense, and it would be confident, but
(13:14):
I wouldn't want to go in there and mess up
their chances, not knowing really what I'm capable of. Totally
get it, totally get it. Uh, do you know Burrow
and chasing those guys, I know there's an L s
U connection. You came on our show and you told
us that you went back and you've been back to
L s U for the first time I think since
since you've retired, maybe since you were a player. You
saw a game this season, like, is there any L
s U connection with Burrow and chasing those guests? Yeah,
(13:35):
I know most of them pretty well. I mean Burrow
and obviously over the years have gotten pretty close. I
mean we were both injured the same time when he
tours a c L and I and I tore my
pc L and m c L. So we had the
same doctor, spent some time together during the rehab process
out here in l A. And then have spent some
time together since. I actually had dinner with him when
I was in Cincinnati, uh this preseason. So you know,
he's a great, great young player, a great young man
(13:57):
in this league, gonna be a great rep for it.
So I watched those guys every week. You know, I've
always been on their bandwagon. So uh, it's exciting to
see how they'll finish. Man, I've leave this team has
as much potential as anybody in the a f C. Yeah,
you aside like that Cincinnati fan base has been awoke
in the last few years, and it is so cool
to see them so positive about their team. And I've
talked about it on on this podcast several times in
(14:20):
a Good Morning Football. It is a different deal than
maybe it was even when you were playing there where
it's like those home games, they've got the entire vibe going,
and no team wants to face them, even even now
that you're removed from the game as a player, Like
you have to have so much pride in the Bengals
and like it's got to be such a joy now
in all the years you gave them and uh, seeing
this franchise revitalized as one of the NFL powers, there's
(14:42):
no doubt. I mean just watching the energy it's in
that stadium. I remember watching watching last year when they
played the Writers at home. Uh, that playoff game. I
mean that was unbelievable just seeing you know that that stadium,
that city. Uh, they love their sports and for them
to have something to cheer for and believe in and
be behind. Uh, Joe Burrow and those guys on that
team and Zach Taylor have really created something special there
(15:03):
in the city of Cincinnati. And so I think it's
gonna be really fun to watch see how this thing
shakes out the end of the season. What I love
to be a part of it. Sure, I mean here's
what I do know. I could get pot stickers a
reservation that Jeff Rubies has been offered. This morning, Ruby said,
I got a table an amazing restaurant Jeff Ruby Steakhouse
that you got a table. That's that's that's a lot. Yeah.
(15:25):
He sent a tweet out off of your message this morning,
said me, Burrow and Zach Taylor dinner table anytime we
want it. So we're we're hooked up. Man. You know what,
I tell you what it might be a good financial
offer for me to go back there, just just for
all the opportunities they are being laid out by the
Bengals face coming out. I appreciate the love though. It's
it's definitely made uh feel appreciated and how much the
Bengal you know, all the Bengals fans have shown their
(15:47):
love over the last day or two of just my
career there and what I meant to them. Yeah, and
I'll say it's in a very serious No. You're one
of the most loved guys in the league and all
around great person and I think you are an outstanding
first year talent on television on the Amazon coverage as
you head towards the final week and we're recording this
on Tuesday. You guys wrapped this Thursday to see versus Dallas.
(16:08):
What was your big takeaway from joining the other side
being a part of the media and being a part
of that cool Amazon video team. I think for me
really watching it, sometimes you only thought of it as
a player, as the people who are covering you're just
doing a job, uh, and create being on the other
side now and seeing how much passion there is and
and you know, really people diving into what it is
they believe they're seeing and what it is they see
(16:29):
in special players, special teams um throughout the year, all
the narratives that it really means so much to them.
And I'm watching people like a Krissa Thompson and and
paying attention to other people that I've been around, you know,
through all of you guys obviously a Good Morning Football
and gotten into those relationships, just how much it means
to them to be great at what they do and
to really tell the stories the right way. Uh. That
(16:51):
there's a passion on this side as well, you know,
and sometimes you just think it's somebody just telling on
you or telling your story in some certain way, but
really there's a passionate behind what they do and wanted
to make sure that they create the best picture for
fans themselves. And that's been really fun to learn and
get to be a partner. Yeah. The thing about your
crew that I love, and you know, if you're watching
(17:11):
like a studio show is one thing, you go into
a city, do a studio show, you ever, the Amazon
crew goes into a new city every week. Um, and
you guys probably get dinner the night before. You probably
have a text chain, the whole thing. It's almost like
being a part of a team in itself. What was
the city that you really hadn't spent time in that
you guys were able to get to that you came
and away and said, Okay, I might have to get
(17:32):
back to this place. Well I think I got, you know,
I got. They gave me a pretty hard time. Christa
and Ryan uh Fitzpatrick and Tony and I went when
we were in Boston for the New England game. We
actually went to Harvard's campus. I rode the subway, never
been on the train before, the first time ever for me,
so I was in a big East Coaster, so I
hadn't been over there much. So I kind of shared
(17:53):
it dinner the night before. I've never been on a subway,
and they're like, oh, we're going somewhere tomorrow for sure.
So we got on the train and went to Harvard.
We got to go tour their campus. It was just unbelievable.
I mean, Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Beard, the Harvard Man, walking
you around Harvard's campus. It was unreal seeing those kids
see him and then him can get showing us all
the little nooks and crannies of Harvard and the special
(18:16):
things you always hear about. Uh, that was a really
cool experience for me this year. For sure. I love it.
We'll be watching you on Thursday, and as I said
in the clip on the show, I want you to
finish that string out, finish your first year. You'll come
back next to you to do second year. UM out
of a hundred Monday night football Bills versus Bengals, what
are the chances I think you'll be suiting up necessarily
that you'll be in the building in Cincinnati on Monday.
(18:40):
You know all this uh, all this talk has definitely
made it interesting. I think I might at least want
to go to the game. Uh, you know, I think
I at this point, Hey, look, if it's just an
extra boost energy for the for the Cincinnati Bengals, maybe
I'll you know what, I'll bring my cleats. I got
an old Roman up here, you know, in the attic,
and I'll just show up and hang out in the stands.
You know, I could be one of the crazy fans
(19:01):
and hang out. And I appreciate you joining us. I'm sorry,
I'm peer pressuring you to return to the Bengal. They
haven't even contacted me yet, so until they say shrieker,
shut up, I'm gonna keep this going. Uh, Andrew Worth,
You've been awesome all season on Amazon and uh, maybe
we'll see you in February. All right, thanks, Bunny, Hey
have it. I thought we were U's gonna come down
(19:23):
and just shoot it all down. Aaron Um, he said,
says never say never, So who knows. Maybe, Uh, my
my feverite dream of of seeing Andrew Whitworth's suitting up
for the Bengals one more time and leading them into
the playoffs might actually happen. I gotta tell you, I'm
I'm I'm a little surprised that he didn't just say no, no, no, no,
I'm good. Um, but that's the beauty of the podcast.
(19:46):
You get things that you never expect. I love Andrew
for coming on. I'm gonna tell you guys, this, uh,
this is gonna serve as part one of a two
part podcast. I'm gonna ask you to check your feeds
to go over there doing a big mail bag for
part two. What I mean by mail bag, I put
a Twitter call out to ask me. Anything could be
about off scenarios, could be about coaching, carousel, could be
(20:09):
about the draft. It could be about my favorite Elton
John songs. Um, it's not Tiny Dancer, It's not. Check
out part two of the podcast. Head over there on
this feed and gish were worth making a little news
on the podcast before the year's over. We'll take it.
(20:41):
The Season with Peter Schrager is a production of the
NFL and partnership with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
from my Heart Radio, is it the i Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts,
Host
Peter Schrager
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