Belichick Goodbye and 2023 Super Wild Card Preview

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Around the NFL podcast is Ready for the Playoffs.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
From the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's Around the NFL.
I'm Dan hansis Heroes here, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler, and
it is the two Thy twenty three I guess hyphen
twenty four Super wild Card weekend preview.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
And you know, usually that would be all we talk about.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
We have a great slate of games on Saturday, Sunday
and Monday night as the teams with of course the
Ravens and Niners on buy one of these teams will
win the Super Bowl. Love that where That's where we're
at now. We have said goodbye thirty two minais sixteen

(00:54):
would be sixteen, but.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Fourteen make it too many US eighteen teams out? All right?
That's right, Yeah, we're correct.

Speaker 4 (01:03):
There are some extra math going on there, but I
think thirty two minus fourteen would.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Have Could you see the flash of panic?

Speaker 5 (01:10):
There was some panic, but I mean you tend to
find your way out.

Speaker 4 (01:12):
Of those eighteen teams are.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Dunzo and also Dunzo Ding Dong, the coaches dead, oh
ding Dong, Bill and Bill is dead, Bill Belichick is
out and Gregy. That is what we have to start
with Bill Belichick and the Patriots mutually agree with much
respect on both sides, to part ways after twenty four years.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
I am absolutely thrilled by this news, clearly.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Because in the back of my mind I always worried
about him getting another quarterback and the Pat's getting hot again.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Now they're starting over completely.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
And obviously my feelings as a Jets fans are very
different from Greg's feelings as a Patriots fan. So we're
gonna kind of dig into all of it. But first
we start with Bill Belichick, who, after the greatest run
in the history of the NFL over twenty four years,
nine super Bowls, six wins, the greatest QB coach combo
ever with Tom Brady, unbelievable ride, he steps up to

(02:15):
the podium in Foxborough and talks about the end of
the road.

Speaker 6 (02:20):
Seen as many cameras since we signed t Bow.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
I forgot about that.

Speaker 6 (02:26):
Robert and I, after you know, a series of discussions,
have mutually agreed to part ways, and for me, this
is a day of you know, gratitude and celebration. Start
with Robert and his family. It's great, so much, thanks
for the opportunity to be a coach, here for twenty
four years. It's an amazing opportunity received from out of support.

(02:51):
We had a vision of you know, Billy and winner
Billy championship football team here and that's exceeded, exceeded my
my wildest dreams.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
And Robert Craft, the owner of the Patriots, who obviously
made this decision ultimately to start over with New England,
also spoke on this momentous day in franchise history.

Speaker 7 (03:11):
Yesterday we met and mutually agreed mutuk ways, amicably and
like a good marriage, a successful head coach owner a
relationship requires a lot of hard work, and I'm very
proud that our partnership lasted for twenty four years. I

(03:35):
don't think in the NFL there's been any other partnership
that lasted longer and has been as productive as ours.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Bill was hired in two thousand by Robert Craft, Is
that correct?

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, replacing Pete Carroll.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
By two thousand.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
The end of the two thousand and one season, he
was a Super Bowl champion when Brady took over, and
so many great moments followed.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
Greg as a Pats fan kind of where I mean
kind I don't know?

Speaker 2 (04:05):
You know now you're a Pats fan, maybe tomorrow or not,
But where is your head and heart at? I know
this was kind of expected in a lot of ways,
but now that you actually see it happening and the
Patriots are moving forward, Bill's moving somewhere else where you're at.

Speaker 4 (04:17):
Yeah, it was emotional, even though they didn't show a
lot of emotions really up there. I think the one
time Belichick showed just a little bit of a crack
was actually talking about the fans, talking about the parades
and the send offs before all those Super Bowls. But
this was expected, and I was just happy that they

(04:39):
stuck the landing that you're totally within your right stand
to be a little cynical about ended and be happy
that it's ended. I think your fear that things were
going to change with another quarterback was maybe misplaced, because
this is to me a different Belichick, a different era.
But I'm glad it just didn't end.

Speaker 3 (04:58):
I didn't even to see I didn't need to find
out right that way.

Speaker 4 (05:00):
It didn't need to end in rancor and sources kind
of talking about each other, although you're getting a little
bit of that. There was an article in The Athletic
and these two men both have egos as you would expect,
and they both have had gripes about the others over
the years, but I appreciate, as I guess in this case,
the child of this you know, of the many millions

(05:23):
of children of this marriage, that they put a nice
face on it publicly. So normally I would be cynical
about the pr of it all, but I was happy
that it did end that way. But I didn't know Mark,
and I thought I was really telling, in my mind,
not the best move that Craft had to go up
there and talk at all. That Belichick talked for five
minutes and then so did Kraft and it ended on Craft,

(05:47):
and it's just like I think that was just a
little bit telling there that in this moment of all moments,
you couldn't just let Belichick have the five minutes and
say goodbye. They didn't take any questions that then it
turned into kind of what it all meant for Robert Crafts.
I understand it, he's the owner. He's got to also
speak with the media later today. But I did think

(06:08):
that was just like a little bit of a window
into this moment, because I think we know from what
Belichick said that it really wasn't all his choice.

Speaker 8 (06:16):
I would rather that Belichick had the last word exactly,
and I'm with you on that. That said, I really
agree with something that you mentioned is that like the
tone of it.

Speaker 5 (06:26):
It was short and sweet and very Belichick fashion.

Speaker 8 (06:30):
But no matter what the whispers are, and that there
were clashing egos, It's like that seems natural to me
after a couple of really tough years and twenty four
years together incredible success.

Speaker 5 (06:40):
But I thought the tone of it was genuine enough.

Speaker 8 (06:44):
They both pointed to each other as having helped each
other completely exceed the expectations they set when they first
partnered together back in two thousand. I mean, like it's
funny that I feel, like Mike Garrifolo noted that, like
Sean McVay was fourteen years old when Belichick joined the
Patriots back then, I mean, it's spanned lifetimes of football following,

(07:05):
football watching. I was very into Belichick when he was
Cleveland's coach. I think, you guys know, it's like I
wrote him letters. He was a fascinating figure to me.
I don't know if I'd be covering football if it
weren't for that early period of Belichick.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
And Cleveland and kind of what he's been since.

Speaker 8 (07:20):
And it's like, as much as this was expected over
the last couple weeks and months that this was gonna happen,
it's still stunning.

Speaker 5 (07:27):
It's still like I almost I'm.

Speaker 8 (07:29):
Like, in the twenty four hours, we've lost Pete Carroll
and Bill Belichick and they both could be somewhere else
next year, and Nick Saban and Nick Saban. It's just
kind of like an incredible changing of the guard.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
I mean, it's interesting how they've gone about the announcement.
You said, how it's craft that kind of finishes the
presser five minutes each.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
Couldn't this have also been and.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
I know some of this pomp and circumstance, you know
his need, but come on, like, well, why you could
have also done the thing where all the famous patriots
are there and you play the video and you talk
about the good times. But I think part of the
reason maybe it was more cut and dry was because
there is some bad blood and it's reported that, you know,

(08:11):
and that's not the end that it's ten. There was
no tension, it was amicable. At the end of the day,
Kraft decided that he didn't want Bill around anymore, and
he wanted to start over, and Bill is now getting
that chance, and we're going to see what happened, so
as we expect it.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
Also, he's just free.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
There's no trade here, there's none of that that could
have gunked up some of the relation as well. So
they made that decision to end this nice and clean,
and now we see what's next for Bill Belichick, Because
there is a what's next.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
This guy will continue to coach.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
It's being reported that way, and you kind of always
knew that.

Speaker 4 (08:44):
That was what struck me. Craft saying he doesn't look
forward to watching Belichick in a cutoff hootie of another team,
or that it's just gonna feel funny and that'll root
for Belichick except for when he plays there. And Belichick
was careful and I think it probably hit him in
a special way too up there that Wow, this really
is the end. And he is reflective. He knows his

(09:06):
place in history, and I think he appreciates it. He
said he was looking forward to coming back, and I
think inherent in that Dan is having that moment with
all the ex players and being celebrated. But it's a
little hard to do that when he thinks he's at
his Tom Brady leaving for Tampa phase that he wants
to go get that all time coaching wins record. It's

(09:29):
either fifteen or twenty something, depending on if you count
the postseason or not. I don't know how we're going
to do that, but he wants to keep getting it.
He wants to get back at Don Shula for once
taking shots at Belichick back in the day. And he'll
probably get that opportunity. I don't know if it's a
lock that he's getting that opportunity, but I think he'll
get that.

Speaker 8 (09:46):
I think from that angle, like it feels like it
could invigorate Belichick. Something started to feel really stale about
the New Engle thing, and they did Etan did mention
that Craft and Belichick really did spend time trying to
decide if they could go on together. I mean, like
even if it was a foregone conclusion and they just couldn't,
and that a Kraft is looking at New England's journey

(10:08):
as a genuine rebuild, and like so Belichick wasn't really
the right guy for that. And if it's Jared Mayo
or if it's Mike Rabel or fill in the plank,
like there's an understanding that yes, you're gonna get that quarterback,
but it's not gonna all happen. You're not just picking
up where you left off from Belichick. Like there's some
organizational changes coming and the way that Belichick's been doing
it for twenty four years might look very different. They're
going to allow the new coach to do it in

(10:29):
his own way.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
I do think it's worth and we'll do it. You know,
when he retires retires, we who knows, he might just
try doing it forever. Like looking back, people talked about
we would talk about this show, Chris would talk about it,
and I would love for Chris to be here on
days like this. He had such a great sense of history.
But how how Brady had those multiple different kind of

(10:50):
Hall of Fame runs within his Patriots run. But that's
it's kind of true of Belichick too, because to me,
I look back at some of those old books. I
read the two defining ones where the Education of a
Coach and then Patriot reigned and if you're interested in
one of them by Michael Holly, what a great read,
and the other by David Hobberson, like Belichick's first run
one to four, I mean to me, that was still

(11:12):
his peak. Like that is the run where they won
twenty one straight after they were two and two in
three and we would talk about the Vikings last year, Oh,
they're they're luck in one score games, and I remember
as that those teams were very unique because they weren't
blowing anyone out and they would the little margins that
Belichick would have would get them to win those games.
They won thirteen straight one score games within that run.

(11:35):
And that was before Brady was really Brady. And that's
the thing is football. It's not just about one guy
or the other. He would have never been Bill Belichick
without Tom Brady, but Brady wouldn't have been the same
without Belichick either. Pro Football Reference sent out a stat
today that you know, from the day Belichick took that
job till today, the Patriots lead the NFL and it

(11:59):
wasn't that close in points per drive allowed that they've
been the best defense. Tom Brady has nothing to do
with since the day he got there to the day
he left. And that was so crucial to him going
thirty and twelve in the postseason. And then there was
that first run, which was the best I think coaching
he did. But then there was also the twenty ten

(12:20):
to eighteen run where they had eight straight years where
they had twelve wins, and they had eight or nine
straight AFC Championship games, and there was that long period
where you wondered would they ever dot the eye? Would
he ever get another title despite all this success, that
actually felt like they were underachieving, and then they ended
up getting three more out of those fights.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
This is how I look at it as someone that
lived through it, like a war that won an end
where one side was just kicking ass the entire time,
but you had you didn't even have the choice of surrender.
You're not getting repeatedly shelled, and you bludge and stop it.
So you have the starting with the mo Lewis hit
in September of one, going really the way I look

(13:00):
at it, Greg as you go straight through to eighteen
and zero, and then you lose the Super Bowl of
the Giants. But that two thousand and one to two
thousand and eight was outrageous records all over the place,
an undefeated regular season, and then Brady blows out his
ACL week one after the eighteen and one season, and
then they're kind of finding their way for a while

(13:22):
you have the Brady year when he comes back and
he's not quite himself yet, and you go through that
little wilderness where you're very competitive but you're not winning
super Bowls.

Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yeah, the then they're a number one offense in the
league with Gronk, but they can't feel the defense for years.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
They can't get they can't get over the hump.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
They get beat by the Giants again, and you're just say,
you're asking that question. But then starting with that twenty
fourteen season, when everyone else thought the Brady well I
for instance, thought Brady was starting to get old. They
go twelve and four, twelve and four, twelve and four,
fourteen and two thirteen and three eleven and five, twelve
and four, and that ends the Brady era with what

(13:58):
three more super Bowls?

Speaker 3 (13:59):
And what ends up the reason why he's not going.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
To break the record as a Patriot is he, as
Greg you've talked about and you've seen reported out there,
he was the one that was ready to move on
from Tom. And so Brady leaves and immediately wins a
super Bowl, which I think Craft probably still kills Craft
that that happened. And after that point they have not
won a playoff game. They made the playoffs once and

(14:22):
got absolutely destroyed by the Bills, and the mac Jones
draft pick, a first round pick bottomed out this year,
and Craft made the decision that this was the sign
of decline for the coach and his ability to build
a roster.

Speaker 3 (14:35):
And I get it.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
I mean, Bill is just like we were talking about
Carol seventy two, what's Bill seventy if not he's turning
seventy this year, And I get why Craft, who's again
another owner that's not getting any younger, wants to take
one more big swing and build it his way.

Speaker 8 (14:52):
I think that's also like, what makes this incredibly complex
and intriguing is Bill's next step because part of the
decline was post Brady. You're looking at an entire offense
that lacked weapons, that lacked ingenuity. You know, he had
the smallest coaching staff in the league. Half of them
are like related to him. It's like he had a
bunch of yes men surrounding him and as a general

(15:14):
manager fell off a cliff like it can still coach defense,
but it's like, what do you do if you're the
next team, what do you offer him to do?

Speaker 4 (15:21):
Right? Organizationally, he modeled himself after Paul Brown, and Paul
Brown was and this is how football used to be.
Coach as everything, you know, the only people he hasn't
passed in terms of like wins depending on how you
like look at it, and certain things as like George Hallis.
And that's when the guy would literally own the team
and coach the team. The guy who could do everything

(15:41):
and the amount of ability he had to do it
all at once to raise these I think there's fifteen
different guys from their personnel staff that are you know,
all over the league running teams. Like people get on
him for his coaching tree. His personnel tree is running
half the league right now. Nick Saban's part of his
coach by the way and the energy and the ability

(16:03):
to do all that at once, that's a lot in
twenty twenty three, it's a different game. It's really a
lot for a seventy one year old at twenty twenty three.
And it hit me with carol In Belichick leaving two
days apart, they were the two most powerful coaches in
the league. They had the most juice where they ran
the entire organization. It was a certain way that you
could run a team. Andy Reid is the closest to

(16:25):
the now, but he even he I think, has a
stronger personnel side helping him in a way that I
think that would be very hard for Belichick to replicate.
Is he willing to take a step back and just coach,
because I think he could do that well enough. But
to do everything you saw, he didn't have any people
to call upon in the personnel department. They're all gone,

(16:45):
they weren't working there. His coaching staff is out of ideas.
He's just running through Bill O'Brien and Bill and Matt Patricich.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
I think, yeah, there's a good bit of an issue.
I think he definitely gets hired. But that's going to
be the challenge. He's got a he needs to evolve
and maybe changed some things and Ken a man that's
turning seventy two in April, do that.

Speaker 3 (17:04):
That's the risk of bringing Belichick.

Speaker 2 (17:06):
But he will bring instant If any head coach can
bring box office, it's Bill Belichick. That fan base that
he goes to will be completely revitalized and thinking dreams
that we got this guy and he's gonna pull a
Brady with Tampa Bay. And I just want to share
one personal memory about it because when I was going
to college. I was a senior at Northeastern University in

(17:26):
Boston when that two thousand and one run happened, and
it was a great time to be a New York
sports fan in Boston.

Speaker 3 (17:34):
Because it was a dark, dark, dark era era.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
For sports in Boston, and when the Patriots went on
that run, the whole city was kind of like, wait,
is this actually happening to us? Like is this because
they've been down? They'd been down for years all the
sports teams in Boston, and the run kept on. The

(17:57):
special things keep happening, and then even Brady goes out
and Bledsoe comes into the playoffs and leads them to
a big win, and then the Super Bowls magical as
that was, and I remember going out from the dorms
and everyone was celebrating in the streets and it was
the beginning greg of an incredible run for Boston sports.
The Red Sox won. A couple years later, the Bruins won,

(18:18):
the Celtics won, the Patriots kept winning. So Belichick, I
always think he started that kind of Boston sports boom
of the two thousands, and I hate him for it,
but also I do respect him for it, and good luck, sir,
wherever you end up.

Speaker 8 (18:33):
The one thing I think is interesting is when he
was hired by the Patriots, his Q rating was very low.
He had essentially split with the Browns, like he like.
Their first season in New England was a disaster, and
there were a lot of people questioning if Bill Belichick
was a good hire.

Speaker 5 (18:48):
And I kind of love that.

Speaker 8 (18:49):
Now there are doubters around Bill Belichick again, is he
too old?

Speaker 5 (18:52):
Can he do it? Is the game passed him by?

Speaker 8 (18:54):
And it's like that is the kind of thing where
it's like the next chapter of Bill Belichick. And I
can already see if, for reason, he goes to a
team where New England is on the schedule next year, Hello,
opening Monday Night game Week one, it's gonna be Bill
Belichick going back to New England and it's going to
be incredible.

Speaker 2 (19:10):
Like we said, the NFL is starting to take over
days of the week and things like that. I don't
care where he ends up or the way, because the
schedule is kind of predetermined the season, the day the
season ends and all that. The NFL will maneuver this,
whether it has to send him to a certain team
or they have to change the schedule.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
Oh there's a little glitch, everybody.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Bill bell seventeenth game will be coaching against the Patriots
in New England next I hope.

Speaker 4 (19:34):
I just looked Bucket, Dan. You just motivated me to
look at their schedule. They do not have the Falcons
on their schedule, so that yet, that's what I'm looking for.
And Chargers. Chargers are there and it's in Foxborough, so
that that could be.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
That could be Aloss Belichick coming out southern California now team.

Speaker 4 (19:52):
He loves New England too. I think he would like
to just he's an East Coast bro, stay stay there forever.

Speaker 5 (19:58):
He'll hate us see him in the Deep South. And
the I mean, that's not the most novel.

Speaker 4 (20:01):
I'll never forget when he played Barcel's the first time here.
This will be like that. When he played Parcels the
first time. It was the biggest deal. You can imagine.
It was them versus the Cowboys, and like it was
Pupil versus Mentor, and it was just built up the
whole time. And there was a story of him telling
everyone you know around the team and he was just like,
you know, it's like, what more are they going to

(20:22):
say about us, we're just two a holes that haven't
worked together in five years. We don't matter and like that,
that'll be his approach if you ever place against the
Patriots again.

Speaker 3 (20:33):
All right, Okay, good stuff, Bill out.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
We'll see what's next, and you know we'll be tracking
everything New Horizons week.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
What does that call?

Speaker 3 (20:45):
By the way, Uh?

Speaker 9 (20:48):
What is it?

Speaker 4 (20:48):
Grandio? Mon? I don't remember.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
Come on, and if you hit it again, Eric, if you.

Speaker 8 (20:56):
Hit it twice, I'm not sure that's accurate.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
All right, let's take a break and when we get back,
we dig into Super wild Card weekend. All right, welcome back. Yeah,
super Wildcard. I called it Super wild Card Weekend, but
we're playing the soccer across three different days into Monday,
so it's not technically accurate. But here's what we got though.

(21:26):
It is a holiday weekend, so kind of is accurate.

Speaker 3 (21:31):
Holiday weekend. Nice Martin Luther King on Monday, Monday beautiful.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
All right, let's go six games to get to Let's
start with Browns at Texans.

Speaker 3 (21:44):
My goodness, Hello, Dolly, Mark Sessler. You know what now?

Speaker 2 (21:50):
Now we're talking Mark, because I've been doing this podcast
with you for eleven seasons I've known you Mark for
thirteen fourteen years now, and the Browns have made the
playoffs once since we've known each other.

Speaker 3 (22:03):
Right, it just so happened.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
It was in the COVID year and that was a
wonderful win in Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (22:10):
But the building's empty, you know what I mean? Yeah?
Like what you That whole year was weird. But now
we got the Cleveland Browns back in the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
With Joe Flacco on the magic carpet ride and Stefanski
dialing up plays and the whole team playing at an
elite level going into Week eighteen. And now they're going
on the road and guess what, it's not an empty
Heinz Field. It's gonna be seventy thousand screaming fans. Probably

(22:40):
a lot of Browns fans too. I'm gonna I'm gonna predict.

Speaker 5 (22:44):
They're gonna take advantage of this opportunity.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
I'm gonna predict a good fifteen percent will be Browns
fans who have gobbled up tickets to get down there,
and they're gonna face.

Speaker 3 (22:54):
Your boy C J.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
Stroud and the Houston Texans. The would could have should
a team of around the NFL.

Speaker 3 (23:06):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (23:06):
So we start right here two and a half the
Browns giving two and a half points on the road,
which tells you so much about the excitement around your
beloved Brownies.

Speaker 8 (23:18):
I really think it starts with Joe Flacco. Obviously, it's
one of the more stunning sports stories around because he
was their arch enemy for eons and has been completely
embraced by the city.

Speaker 5 (23:32):
And it's not just the nature of who he is,
Like four.

Speaker 8 (23:36):
Straight three hundred yard passing performances in the long history
of the Cleveland Browns, no Browns quarterback has ever done that.
PFF noted that when they played the Texans a number
of weeks ago, when Amari Cooper exploded for two hundred
and sixty five yards, that PFF has never charted a
single game in their history of a quarterback recording more

(23:58):
air yards than in that game.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
So receiver recording more area blacko, Yeah, okay, the quarterback.
I think also Cooper maybe in the history of their
their site as well.

Speaker 8 (24:08):
It would make sense because in that game you got
what you've got from Flacco and a number of these performances,
which is like electric downfield passing, I mean, and it's
like he's he's he's helped Dave and Nadjoku level up.
Amari Cooper, who's kind of worked with all their quarterbacks,
surprisingly has leveled up.

Speaker 5 (24:27):
I guess the thing about that game.

Speaker 8 (24:28):
Though, because it's like it was recent enough where you
could go back and track it, it's really hard to
put a read on it. You don't expect like Amari
Cooper to do that again that that just feels like
an aberration.

Speaker 4 (24:37):
But there was no CJ.

Speaker 3 (24:38):
Stroud.

Speaker 8 (24:39):
The Texans were banged up.

Speaker 5 (24:41):
In that game, had no Will Anderson.

Speaker 8 (24:43):
Although Will Anderson and half their defensive line aer on
the injury report right now, Tank Dell Or wide receiver
is still banged up. Nowhere Brown has banged up, Robert
Woods has banged up. Cleveland had no kicker in that
game and had to go for two over and over
because Dustin Hopkins had a hamstring injury and still does.

Speaker 4 (24:58):
And so they helped them.

Speaker 8 (25:00):
I mean it did help them because I think it worked.
You don't want to have to deal with that situation again.
But it does speak to how aggressive they were in
that performance. I think that was Joe Flaco's best game.
Can you duplicate it again? I guess that's the question.
Can you do it again because you're not gonna get
case Keenuman.

Speaker 4 (25:18):
I think c J.

Speaker 2 (25:18):
Stroud makes everything possible for the totally different, totally different scenario.
But to your point, the Flacco magic that was legit,
and Will Anderson, even if he plays as clearly, wasn't
the same guy who's going in and out on pass
rushing downs their last matchup. And I should since we're
mentioning injuries, I got a little developing news here.

Speaker 3 (25:40):
WHOA and this is significant an onhuh.

Speaker 2 (25:46):
Browns Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward suffered a knee injury
in Thursday's practice, putting his status in question for Saturday's
playoff game against the Texans. Kevin Stefanski said that war
Is according to ESPN, said that Ward limited in the
practice but offered no other details. The team officially lists
Ward as questionable. This is a man who's just named

(26:07):
to Pro Bowl. He is a key contributor mark on
the number one ranked defense of the Browns and c J.
Stroud is balling out at a historic level, so that
would be bad.

Speaker 4 (26:17):
That is huge.

Speaker 8 (26:17):
He's one of five players in the NFL to not
allow a touchdown and coverage Martin Emerson on the Browns also,
but in games when Denzel Ward has not been on
the field, dating back, you know, before this season two,
it's been a critical difference.

Speaker 4 (26:30):
They are special on defense because they can play man
coverage and there's almost no team in the NFL that does.

Speaker 3 (26:38):
It like that.

Speaker 4 (26:39):
I would say they are the best man coverag team.
They're the best at everything. You can slice up the stats,
and they've been excellent. Now they haven't been as excellent
in the back half of the year. They've been a
little more reliant on turnovers and they've been able to
do that, but they haven't been as stingy giving up
yardage week after week. That first game matters to me

(26:59):
because a it was only three weeks ago. I mean,
it was very recent, and it be I do think
it's kind of hard to beat the same team twice
in four weeks. I think that I don't know if
it's a disadvantage for the Browns, but it's just I
think it's a difficult thing to do to dominate them
like that.

Speaker 2 (27:14):
But yeah, Tamiko Ryan's a gifted defensive coach that gets
right Budy all that, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (27:19):
Exactly, and you know it goes both ways, but that
was a woodshed operation. And like you mentioned, Mark, some
of those throws in that game were just so outrageous.
I mean, there was the one where they were holding
Flacco on fourth and nine or something and he just
whips it to the sideline and it to totem that
I don't know what next Gen stats percentage was for
completing that play, but I'd give it like two percent,

(27:39):
and Flacco and Cooper made it happen. That said, since then,
things have actually worked out better. I think for the
Browns we got a little rest situation. The Browns got
to sit last week, that's a bonus, and the Texans
are more banged up. I know Anderson didn't play in
that game, but he was ineffective last week when he played.
What makes them you on defense was they were able

(28:02):
to get pressure rushing for Grenard and Anderson were one
of the best tandems in the entire NFL. Grenard hasn't
practiced this week. I don't know if he has an
injury designation, but he hasn't played in multiple weeks and
it seems like he is less likely to play. And
so the one thing he did do individual drills, I'm
seeing on Thursday, so that is a positive that he's

(28:22):
going to give it a go. But also they were
bad up front and their right tackles injured, and that
game really stands out.

Speaker 5 (28:30):
To me that the Browns whipped them up front.

Speaker 4 (28:33):
There's a guy Charlie Heck is their right tackle, Juice
Strugs is their left guard, and they've just got some
big time weaknesses which really stuck out to me last week.
I mean, watching that Colts game, Danny like, their offensive
line stunk. The only reason they won that game is
because of Steve J. Stroud, But on a snap to snap,
like series to series basis, the Colts were tougher. And

(28:54):
so if I look at a situation where I think
the Browns might be better up front, certainly on their
defensive line, and even though they're banged up on their
offensive line, does the Texans really have the players that
take advantage, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah, that's certainly fair. I mean we like the Texans
a lot. That AFC South Game Championship game, as it
turned out to be, was a dropped swing pass away
from maybe turning out totally differently, and the Texans aren't
even in the playoffs. Flaco is the guy I think
everyone is most excited to see because you want to

(29:27):
the chance to rest guys is great. I don't love
just putting them on ice for a couple of weeks
because he was so red hot. Is he gonna come
out and still be that way? The one thing is
the only thing you could say in terms of criticism
is he hasn't He's been airing and out at such
a lethal level. He's also turned the ball over. He
had more interceptions eight and five starts and Stroud did

(29:50):
in his fifteen starts five. So I think it's pretty straightforward.
If you could put heat on Flacco and he's going
to force the ball, it could turn into is there
a turn over that changes this game? But if they
don't get if they do not generate a pass rush Houston,
I totally see this going your way, Mark and the
Browns continue to be a huge story in the NFL.

Speaker 8 (30:10):
Yeah, the Browns could not run the ball in that
game against the Texans. I think they had a fifty
six yards off of twenty seven carries by running backs
and that you know that's not the team they want
to be, but they I think that's when I made
an argument for Kevin Stefanski being the Coach of the
Year because the offense like an EPA and.

Speaker 5 (30:27):
Stuff through the era up before Flacco was.

Speaker 8 (30:29):
Just not good and he's found a way to win
with this team without what his strength is like they
haven't been able to run the ball like their passing
game pre Flacco was a huge mess.

Speaker 5 (30:38):
It's changed a lot with Flacco.

Speaker 8 (30:40):
But I do think that like at some point does
the bow break when you've got so many injuries along
the offensive line, But they have been using six offensive
linemen at a higher percentage than any team in the
league over the past couple of months. And Bill Callahan
is one of those offensive line coaches who obviously is
a difference maker, and I think in a different situation
a different coach, some of these injuries start to create

(31:01):
too much chaos. But you gotta keep Placo safe, like
I don't. Vlaco has had a lot of turnovers as well.
He's thrown picks, and it's like it's the nature of
being aggressive, But the Texans don't turn the ball over.
There the fewest giveaways in the league, and so you're
gonna have to find a way to even that out.

Speaker 4 (31:15):
If you're Cleveland right in. I think focusing on the
running game is a big thing because these both these
teams would be desperate. They would love to run the ball.
They haven't been able to do it all season. The
Texans on paper are a great run defense, but again,
part of the reason those edges are good is they're
both good run defenders as well. They have injuries on
the front. Jerry Hughes is injured too, who also, you know,

(31:36):
made that big play a couple of weeks ago to
help them get to this point. Like, on paper, they're
a good run defense, but both of these teams would
be desperate they would love to run the ball because
most of the Texans offense this year has kind of
been like c J. Stroud just makes some magic on
third down and it's tough to do. But it does
worry me Mark, and I'm leaning Browns. They're minus one

(31:58):
forty two in terms of the honey line. I'm leaning Browns.
And yet this one, to me is the biggest coin
flip of the week. And the thing that worries me
is like everyone's picking the Browns. Everyone is picking the
Browns as like eight. If you want one surprise team
that could make it all the way to the super Bowl.
It's the Browns. I haven't seen almost no one's picking
the Texans. Which whenever it's a close to a coin

(32:20):
flip game and no one's picking the Texans, I always
that worries me.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
Of you and Claybon with your momentum madness, Why would
that affect the game?

Speaker 4 (32:28):
It doesn't, obviously, but it just.

Speaker 3 (32:30):
Why Why does that matter?

Speaker 4 (32:32):
But momentum is not real like totally, of course it
doesn't affect the game, but I think it's it's good
to point out, like the way I've heard this game
talked about, in the way people are picking it is
as if these two teams are totally uneven. Really they're
kind of well, they're kind of like at two and
a half point road favorite, like that seems fair, but

(32:54):
like a one point a pickup seems fair too. And
I think the Texans have have a chance here because
they have the better core. I think they absolutely have
a chance.

Speaker 8 (33:01):
Like this is this is the team as a Brown supporter,
like this season, Like I don't want them to play
the Texans.

Speaker 5 (33:08):
I don't want them to play cjson.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
Do you want me to pick the Texans to the
bounce of scales for Greg, I showed it up for you,
all right, I mean if that us Whens twenty seven,
twenty for a great game, picket.

Speaker 4 (33:19):
I've gone back and forth all week. I think I've
settled on the Browns just it makes too much sense.
But uh, I don't know. I don't I don't know
if I'm settling on it. Still don't have to pick
for game?

Speaker 3 (33:31):
De you yet?

Speaker 4 (33:32):
Well, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
Wait this this podcast superseds game.

Speaker 4 (33:35):
Well, that's true, but that's like kind of be a
final answer. We're not keeping track of any scores here,
but I'm going Browns. I'm going Brown score. I think
it's a little lower scoring than people expect. Nineteen seventeen.

Speaker 8 (33:47):
I will go Cleveland twenty eight, Texans twenty seven.

Speaker 2 (33:51):
Very nice, always one point game with Mark, I don't
feel confident. Most importantly, where are you watching the game?
What will you be wearing?

Speaker 3 (34:01):
TBD?

Speaker 8 (34:02):
I haven't decided. I mean, I'd love that it's on Saturday.
If it were out is this? Are you going to
be in your domicile? Are you going to go out?

Speaker 4 (34:09):
Like?

Speaker 3 (34:10):
What?

Speaker 10 (34:10):
Like?

Speaker 3 (34:11):
Where? Well?

Speaker 8 (34:12):
I still have to decide, but I think I'm I
maybe mix it up and do like first half somewhere
out and then second half of.

Speaker 3 (34:18):
Home interesting, wow, very interesting.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
And I do like that we've sort of we've gotten
past the drama of Brown's fandom and what we're.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
I don't want to hear. It's only because Joe fla.

Speaker 8 (34:32):
Well, this experience is completely unexpected and it's a little
bit different, and you could I'm getting killed all the
time for saying that you can flip flopped on this
or that, and it's like what I did not like
about this team, I still very much do not like.

Speaker 2 (34:47):
And let it be stated that Zzar always had a peg.
You were never gone, you were just a little bit
and hiding for a little bit.

Speaker 3 (34:55):
Can't flush that.

Speaker 8 (34:56):
It's a complex, can't flush that un a rewarding situation
to be put into.

Speaker 4 (35:00):
Throw me back to that twenty twenty run, that appearance
because Chris jumped on the podcast. Yeah, when the Browns won,
and it was maybe the most one of the most
special moments we've had on this podcast. A lot has changed,
We've changed since then. Everything has changed, these teams have
changed the situation, but we do have Mark's heart back.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
Nice uh And by the way, you could watch us
on fast channels across the world. Mark, you're wearing Brad
Paisley today, and I want to remind everyone that on
Wednesday's show, Patrick Claybond, we put out a formal request
for a clay Bond theme song and the winner of

(35:40):
the Claybon Theme Song competition, or if we might have
multiple winners depending on how the songs are, you get
a signed Mark Sessler eight by ten glossy wearing Brad
Paisley with Levi over it, leaning against an oak tree,
looking rooting intense. Think Luke Perry at Camp Happiness.

Speaker 8 (36:01):
I mean, if that, I'm not sure that's going to
motivate the the musicians out there to get going.

Speaker 3 (36:06):
But you sure about that?

Speaker 5 (36:07):
I just don't know, all right?

Speaker 2 (36:11):
Also come back to me, And no disrespect to Noah Eagle,
Todd Blackledge and Catherine Tappan with the call. An absolute
disgrace that Al's not on this call. This should have
been Al's game. They benched him, gave it to Eagle
and black Ledge. Fine, weird, look weird, look yeah you
got you got even with Al.

Speaker 3 (36:30):
Good job.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
Everybody a joke, But I like no Eagle and Todd
Blake Al deserved this game.

Speaker 3 (36:41):
We deserve.

Speaker 4 (36:41):
I have no opinion on Todd Blackledge.

Speaker 5 (36:44):
No Eagle is very good. I did I will say
that about Yes. No.

Speaker 4 (36:48):
They did a game on Saturday a few weeks ago
and I was just like, whose voice is this? And
how many times are you going to retell the same
uh story about t J. Watt?

Speaker 3 (36:59):
And now let's let's go.

Speaker 8 (37:01):
Todd Blacklitch who squared off against the Jets back in
the playoffs in the eighties.

Speaker 2 (37:06):
I didn't even know that. But you are significantly older
than me, so I didn't. I'd say it's a historical note.
No Eagle, I believe is the son of Iron eg. Yes,
they sound exactly. They look alike, they sound alike. It's
it's weird how that works. An iron Eagle is an
absolute stud. All right, let's move on next game. Oh yeah,
oh this is impossible.

Speaker 3 (37:28):
I'm telling you it's impossible.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
First, Eric behind the Glass, give me a weather report
in Kansas City for the game between the Dolphins and
the Chiefs.

Speaker 3 (37:42):
This game is played Saturday, eight pm Eastern. Get back
to me with that.

Speaker 2 (37:48):
But you have a Dolphins team obviously crushed by their
inability to close out the AFC East. They get picked
off by the Bills on Sunday Night Football, and now
they travel on the road instead of hosting the Bills
at home there on the road in Kansas City, which
Greg would tell me, oh, lock it up, you got

(38:10):
to lock up the Chiefs here.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
I know what is the weather?

Speaker 11 (38:13):
Eric, So the weather is on track to be one
of the coldest games in NFL history, is what I'm
reading for both franchises.

Speaker 4 (38:21):
A winchell of minus thirteen guys. Oh man, I saw
something that they said it might be up to minus thirty.

Speaker 2 (38:27):
So all right, so I want to say, you're going
to send the Miami team there?

Speaker 3 (38:32):
Give me a break? What a joke? Speaking of jokes,
lock up the Chiefs.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
But the Chiefs just don't deserve any trust at any level.
So is it to the point where the weather is
so bad that it goes from favoring the team that
plays in those conditions in their building to a complete
leveling of the field, because that is those are some raw,
bone cold this weather conditions.

Speaker 4 (38:55):
It's like a legit legitimately dangerous, like how cold it
would be. It's like negative.

Speaker 5 (39:00):
Twenty thirty degree, like stationary in a seat.

Speaker 4 (39:05):
I don't love that, you don't. It's hard to know,
like how that affects the passing game. You would think
it impacts the passing game, especially.

Speaker 2 (39:14):
You might not even get on the plane. I'd be like,
I'll see you back in Miami in July.

Speaker 5 (39:19):
You know, Al Michaels is glad he's not going to
this game, at least.

Speaker 4 (39:22):
Like during the during the game, I think the temperature
is probably like non win chill, supposed to be somewhere
under ten degrees, which it's going to be like that
Packers Giants game when Tom Coughlin's face almost a classic peeled.

Speaker 3 (39:37):
Off seven NFC championship.

Speaker 4 (39:40):
Yes, but when I think about, like the how these
two teams match up, and I think back to that
Germany game, which was really a defensive struggle for both.
You know, both defenses dominated in that game. Chiefs offense
had their best drive of the season to start the game,
I thought, and then did absolutely nothing in the rest
of the game. They had one nice long drive where
they really earned the Dollins only had fourteen points of foves,

(40:01):
so it was fourteen fourteen on offense, and then the
Chiefs got a defensive touchdown and neither team really looked
like the high flying team that we would expect. But
I think, like, well, what works in this cold you
would think would be the running game, which would be
the way to attack the Chiefs defense. And if I
have to trust in one of these two teams running games,

(40:21):
it's the Dolphins. Hopefully Raheem Moster's back, it sounds like
he will be. But the Chiefs have a huge split
in terms of their effectiveness versus the past one of
the best in the league, a heavy blitz team, versus
their effectiveness against the run sub mediocre like bottom five
to six and a lot of different run metrics. And
I think about, like, they've got all these injuries on

(40:43):
the offensive line two Miami, but they've looked good running
the ball all year, even last week the first half
of that game. Those outside runs with a chan and
then you can get some of the more inside power
with most are like as good as Cheko is. And
they can run the ball too, And I think that's
probably a good way to attack Miami. I don't mind
that for Miami, maybe taking a little bit of the

(41:04):
air out of the ball. The Chiefs offense is so
bad throwing the ball in good conditions, like, I don't
know if they're going to be able to do anything
in bad conditions. I almost trust the Dolphins a little
bit more offensively.

Speaker 8 (41:16):
I really like that game plan eh Chan and Moster
if you get a healthy version of mostart and and
Mike McDaniel said that most are jail and Waddle and
a flock of other guys would likely be questionable for
this game.

Speaker 3 (41:28):
So but it sounds like they're playing.

Speaker 8 (41:29):
They'll play, and I guess, like for me, I feel like,
if if Rahemo starts in there, he's in there and
we're good, why not at least try that?

Speaker 5 (41:37):
Why not run the ball thirty five forty times?

Speaker 3 (41:39):
Might not have a choice. If weather it's that bad
as a p I mean, that's what I'm saying. It
could be. If it's wind and cold at that level
that changes.

Speaker 5 (41:47):
Every It is also that weather for the Chiefs too.

Speaker 8 (41:50):
I know there's this assumption that like because it's the
Miami Dolphins, like that they've all grown up since childhood
and like South Beach, like they're all all these people
are from all over the county and have played in
different college systems and stuff. So it's like I think
it's just an equalizer and like, I don't know, Tyreek
Hill played in Kansas City for years.

Speaker 3 (42:08):
Yeah, so it's like a big plays in cold weather.

Speaker 8 (42:10):
And I think it's a fascinating matchup because like no
team knows Tyreek Hill better too, and so it's like
what like what like Tyreek Hill has been the absolute
separator and he's you know, his since he's been hurt,
his production's been down, and the defense is so banged up.

Speaker 5 (42:23):
They've given up like seventy seven points or something in.

Speaker 4 (42:25):
The last two weeks.

Speaker 8 (42:26):
It's like, I'm fairly concerned about Miami's defense in general,
but I don't know if I am against this Chiefs
offense because they've been as plotting and like anti watchable
as can be for weeks on end all season long.

Speaker 2 (42:38):
I think this is the game where you know who
I do trust that will be able to make some throws.
Not at the level of you know, peak because of
the conditions and the fact that the offense is down,
but I know Mahomes is going to make some plays
in this game. And I think even despite a down
year where he didn't even clear a thousand yards, Travis
Kelcey has made big type plays in January and cold conditions.

(43:02):
We just need a couple I think big plays from
those two guys. It's time with pacego giving them a
nice day on the ground and Kelsey and the red
zone making a play or two, and I think that's
what's gonna take for the bill. I'm gonna lock up
the Chiefs here. I don't feel overly confident about it.
But I don't feel overly confident about any team this week,

(43:22):
which is why it's such a fun for wild Card weekend.
I just don't imagine from what I've seen from Tua
that this season ends with him delivering a big performance
on the road against a very good Chiefs defense in
terrible conditions, with his offensive skill players banged up. I
think it's going to be potentially a reckoning for Tua

(43:44):
after this game where people are asking big questions. And
that's why I like the Chiefs in like a you know,
sixteen to seven type game.

Speaker 8 (43:53):
I am one game behind you in the locks competition.
I'm in last place, so it's like, why not just
start throwing Hell, you're.

Speaker 4 (44:01):
Only one back with Ford No, no, no, no, the one
you want.

Speaker 8 (44:05):
So like, what's the most exciting way to approach the
Locks this weekend.

Speaker 4 (44:09):
If you're in last place.

Speaker 2 (44:10):
If I blow this, not only will Dolphins fans be
giving me crow right, you and I will be tied.

Speaker 3 (44:15):
We will be tied weeks to play. And that sounds fun.

Speaker 8 (44:17):
And I also think it's like I'm I'm down on
the Dolphins, you know.

Speaker 4 (44:22):
But that said, the weather aspect to this, Hey, it's just.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
Every level tua meltdown mode on the road in sub
seventy degree whether minus seventy weather, you gotta do it.

Speaker 8 (44:33):
But this is like, so we're saying everyone thinks the
Browns are gonna win, Like, I think it's just across
the board people have written off Miami. Yeah, and and
because of the conditions, because it's in Kansas City, Like
it's just this assumption that Miami is going to go
in and lay a giant egg and then I'm gonna
lock up the Dolphins right now, that's a lot.

Speaker 5 (44:51):
I'm not switching out of it.

Speaker 3 (44:54):
Give me those fish, put them on ice.

Speaker 4 (44:59):
How about a little Jalen Ramsey on Travis Kelcey. You
shut down the one Ramsey on Kelsey. Interesting. I think
that's what the matchup that you'll see, So you can
shut down the one decent player they had. I wouldn't
watch that first game. They had a little bit too
just and I was thinking it sounds crazy, but I
actually think they need to break Cadarius Tony out of
ice here. They have just no explosive ability at all.

(45:21):
You just got to take your chances. You have no
chance going the way you're going in the playoffs. Right,
he's a little injured, and Donovan Smith might be back
to their left tackle for the Chiefs. You know, Dolphins
fans will point out, what are you gonna mention, We're
the most injured defense in the world, like that is
absolutely fair to point out Van Gingkle's that coming back, Chubb, Jals, Phillips,
They're all we have talked, right, They're all not coming back.
So that like the Chiefs in a real in a

(45:42):
normal world, would be able to take advantage. Uh, Javon Holland,
who's their great safety, has been out of practice. Zavian
Howard is expected to miss this game. Jerome Baker, I
believe they're they're starting linebackers expected to miss this game.
I mean, they have backups everywhere on defense, so they
are really asking a lot out of Vic fanjo in
that scheme.

Speaker 5 (45:59):
It's a tough spot for you, Mark Old, I don't care.

Speaker 4 (46:03):
It just reminded me though that if you go back
that seems so long ago that Germany game, the Chiefs
offense has stunk since then they have been bad since
The Dolphins are the pick and before I'm taking the
Chiefs to win this game. By the way, their minus
one or two twenty five the sixteen and.

Speaker 2 (46:17):
Two guys behind me too, Mark, if I'm not locking
them up this I was thinking about it, but now
that you guys are doing.

Speaker 3 (46:24):
This, forget. If this goes my way, yeah, you're in
a lot of trouble.

Speaker 5 (46:28):
It will be the worst I've ever performed this.

Speaker 2 (46:30):
I believe that you guaranteed you would not finish in
last this year. A few weeks back and you would
be you'd be two down.

Speaker 4 (46:36):
It means you shouldn't do this pick, you know. But
that's yeah, But.

Speaker 8 (46:40):
It's gonna look all the more rageous and heroic Dolphins
surprise Kansas City. I have an immense amount of respect
for you. Okay, well that matters to me too.

Speaker 4 (46:49):
I want to see too. Uh Now I'm now I'm
rooting for the dogs. He's not get on the plane
does to prove you wrong. He's very you know, he's
great against the blitz and they blitz a lot.

Speaker 3 (46:57):
Maybe maybe remember when like C. J.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
Mosley and others, they're like, it's Covid like I'm out,
I'm opting out.

Speaker 3 (47:03):
I'll see you next year.

Speaker 2 (47:05):
They're gonna be getting on the plane and Tua is
gonna be sitting in the locker room. It's gonna be
just like in his chair and guy, come on, man,
nah man, I'll see you in July. They'd be like,
that's your choice. Who's the backup of the Dolphins? Mike
White actually makes me nervous.

Speaker 4 (47:20):
One little footnote.

Speaker 8 (47:21):
I can't wait to see, like what Mike McDaniel is
wearing in this weather, because.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
He's gonna want to wear something swaggy red.

Speaker 2 (47:30):
I know Reid's gonna be in a big puff. What's
he gonna wear and he read's gonna be like a monster,
like a literal red monster. And then you're gonna go
over to McDaniels, who's gonna be like, you nailed it
in a very tough spot because he wants to be swaggy.

Speaker 3 (47:43):
He wants his calf out.

Speaker 11 (47:44):
Remember, remember last year, he was walking around the practice
facility in Miami's turning on the A C saying he
wants to be colder.

Speaker 10 (47:51):
I don't.

Speaker 4 (47:51):
I don't think he's gonna be all right, I walk
up the Dolphins. I don't think he's gonna be doing
like he did. There's some stat they've lost ten straight
under four forty degrees game, so this is well well
under forty and.

Speaker 3 (48:03):
Dolphins vans will say it again.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
If I am wrong here, I will offer a detailed
mia culpa on Sunday. That's my promise to you. But
you better hope I'm wrong. All right, let's move on.
This is the other game that I was thinking about.
I think a lot of people are gonna be on this.
When trying to figure out what is the quote unquote
lock of the week the Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of three

(48:29):
straight down the stretch to clinch a playoff, Berth travel
to Buffalo to meet the Bills.

Speaker 3 (48:35):
Oh those bills? Can you put? Can you figure out
what is going on with the Bills?

Speaker 2 (48:40):
Well, you know the desert, and the people that drive
the numbers with the desert say, oh, this is gonna
be a route.

Speaker 3 (48:49):
They got the.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
Bills by double digits, favored by ten in this game,
it's the Nance Romo Woolson joint.

Speaker 3 (48:56):
Greggy and.

Speaker 2 (48:59):
The Bill obviously, with that win on Sunday night, went
from waking up Sunday, are we even gonna make the playoffs?
To the number two seeds? So they're set up well
right here in their building. I don't like the weather
I'm hearing at a western New York as well. Eric
gets to me on that the heat lamps are gonna
be on in the lows, which I do not like.
It does not suit the people of that region, and

(49:21):
I feel like it has a residual effect upon.

Speaker 11 (49:23):
Twenty five degrees guys, with the seventy percent chance of precipitation.

Speaker 5 (49:27):
And also in wet and high and like very wind.

Speaker 3 (49:30):
Yeah, well, if it's twenty five, it's gonna snow, right,
Is that.

Speaker 4 (49:33):
How it works? Well, they're saying, they're saying nine plus
inches or maybe a lot of snow, but it would
have come before the game. Who knows we have.

Speaker 3 (49:44):
I think I'm looking at a lot of overseas listeners.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
I don't think they use the fahrenheit, but no, they
don't under thirty two.

Speaker 3 (49:50):
If the precipitations coming down. It ain't gonna be wet.

Speaker 4 (49:52):
Twenty five degrees in a tropical rate, noo is literally wet.

Speaker 3 (49:56):
Just saying, but win too, it's not gonna be wet.
Why snow. I'm just saying it's probably gonna snow, right.

Speaker 4 (50:06):
Yes, uh, that would be great. All right.

Speaker 3 (50:09):
Imagine, let's talk to me, let's talk Raggie.

Speaker 2 (50:11):
What do we got on this one? Do you give
the Steelers a fighting chance here?

Speaker 4 (50:15):
Well, that weather makes me think ten points is too much.
That the wins could be twenty thirty forty miles an hour.
That makes it too much because who's the better running
team here? That The Bills have done a good job
of late getting their running game going, But the Steelers
have bunch have had a nice identity on offense ever

(50:35):
since they they brought their first round pick into the lineup.
And he, you know, the right tackle and he's just
a big mauler and that's kind of who they've become.
Last week was a naj Harris game, and I think
you'll see some of that. But I also think you
know you saw it last week against Dolphins, Jalen Warren
getting to the outside of this Bills defense, and in
bad weather, that's what they're gonna try to do. They

(50:56):
don't have TJ. Watt. They're gonna try to you know,
shorten the game and avoid you know, turnovers. And Sean
McDermott is as wild the defensive coordinator right now as
any in the league. Is creative every week. It's he's
got these designer blitzes and you know, mixing their coverages
and changing things after this that maybe more than any
team in the NFL and very different than they used

(51:18):
to be. The Bills, Like McDermott's done a great job.
But the one way you kind of avoid all that
is like if we can just hand the ball off
and we can run And not to just sound like
the simplistic, basic football guy, but that's what I think
Mike Tomlin has got to think about it, that actually
weaving our defense can can maybe force a couple of
mistakes here and keep this thing close into the fourth court.

Speaker 8 (51:36):
Yeah, I think it's like Pittsburgh's mission, hang around.

Speaker 4 (51:41):
Hang around.

Speaker 5 (51:41):
Buffalo has blown four fourth quarter leads this season. If
you can if.

Speaker 8 (51:46):
The weather is chaotic and it reduces like explosive plays.

Speaker 5 (51:50):
For Buffalo, get them a little tight at the end.

Speaker 4 (51:52):
I think so too. You get into Buffalo's head. I
like that. I think the TJ.

Speaker 8 (51:56):
Watt though absence, Uh, you know, there are certain players
like this, like TJ.

Speaker 5 (52:01):
Watt's absence is immense.

Speaker 8 (52:02):
We're talking about stripping a defense of nineteen sacks, thirty
six quarterback hits, and someone that could make life very
dangerous for Josh Allen and someone who seems to always
have a magic spell near the end of close games.
So you're leaning a lot on Alex Highsmith, who's having
a career year. Marcus Golden's gonna have to step up.
Guys like Nick Herbig, Like You're gonna need to get

(52:24):
pass rush. You're gonna need to be able to like
contain that James Cook in the ground game too. I mean,
I think like Buffalo when they get hot on the ground,
Like James Cook has been a big difference maker outside
of the drops, which have been a problem. But I
see a game right now like then in this weather
that is low scoring. I think, like, I don't know
if the spread changes because of what the weather situation is,
but ten feels a little rich.

Speaker 4 (52:44):
The over under is down to thirty five, which means
like they're projecting a twenty five to fifteen score, like
it's hard to win. I don't know that.

Speaker 5 (52:50):
I don't know if someone's scoring twenty five points in
this but you never.

Speaker 2 (52:53):
Know so And this is important to keep in mind too,
because it was a nice finished by the Steelers, but
they beat the Ravens backups in the rain in Week eighteen,
and when you look at their greater season, verst on
Mason Rudolph as the quarterback of this team been good.
With all due respect, it's you know, they had a
minus twenty point differential in twenty twenty three that is

(53:16):
obviously the worst among all playoffs. All playoff teams, there
are four teams This is from the research team to
make the playoffs of the minus twenty point differential or
worse since twenty eighteen, which seems a little high. By
the way, all three of those teams lost in the
wild card round, including the Steelers in twenty one. And
that doesn't necessarily mean this team will go down to
but I do think this team has a defined ceiling

(53:38):
and I think the only thing that saves them, honestly
is the Bills doing what the Bills have done this year.
Shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly. But if they play
a smart kind of discipline brand of Bills football, I
don't think this game is close. I think they do
cover the spread, and I think they find a way
to put points on the board.

Speaker 3 (53:57):
So I feel pretty good about the Bills.

Speaker 8 (53:59):
The only thing though, like I get the minus twenties
scoring differential and a lot of that. You know, the
tracks through a lot of bad offense for Pittsburgh, Like
they've been a different offense passing wise with Rudolph.

Speaker 5 (54:09):
I don't know how that.

Speaker 4 (54:09):
Transits is Matt Canada, even if you're throwing the Trubisky numbers.
I think their offense is top ten success rate since
getting rid of Canada because they've had a good running
game there. We always say, well, yeah, Mike Tomlin, great coach,
Like he's a defensive coach. Cany gummy it up. You've
got Joey Porter, Like they've changed their team since they
started playing Joey Porter junior at as a starter. It's

(54:32):
kind of crazy they weren't for so long because now
now he's not only a starter, he travels and there's
very few quarterbacks that do this with the opposing team's
best receiver the whole game, So him versus Diggs, how
physical that will be? Like, that's fun. They have another rookie,
Kanu Betten who's been really good inside. Can he he
gets some pressure up the middle? You got herbig you
mentioned will probably replace TJ. Whitte, So they have some

(54:54):
young players. They're also possibly getting their two starting safeties back.
I mean that seems like it's a big deal. Minka
fitz Patrick is practicing. Demonta key Z remember was suspended
for that hit against Michael Pittman. He is back for
this game. And they're important because the Bills love throwing
to their tight ends and their running backs and that
those are the types of players that you have on them.

(55:15):
So to me, I think it's just like it's all
Josh Allen. If Josh Allen is ready to just go
on a magical tour like it's twenty one, then he's
gotta be fine. But if he's doing some crazy stuff
like last week, he won't be. And I just like
that he runs so much more at the end of
the season.

Speaker 9 (55:30):
He did.

Speaker 4 (55:30):
Remember he did this as a rookie. It changed their
mind about who he was. He did this in twenty
one and then the last two weeks are the highest
he's run in terms of rushing attempts all season. That's
not by mistake. It's like end of the year, it's
go time, and that's what I want to see out of.

Speaker 8 (55:44):
I think Fitzpatrick makes a big difference for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh
leads the league in red zone takeaways. The Bills get
a little funky in the red zone sometimes. But I
would ask you this, when is the last playoff game
we've ever seen between two teams that both fire their
offensive coordinators mid season.

Speaker 4 (56:00):
That is a rarity.

Speaker 3 (56:00):
Let us the.

Speaker 2 (56:01):
Nineteen eighty seven Redskins against the Bronco There you go, unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (56:07):
To see both those teams thrive that way?

Speaker 4 (56:09):
All right? Lines minus four eighty five by the way,
getting that in there, and yes, this would be the
obvious lock. It seems unsporting, but this would be right gutless.

Speaker 3 (56:18):
All right, let's uh keep moving. Uh.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
This is my favorite game of the week, the one
that I'm most excited for.

Speaker 3 (56:25):
And to circle back because I even though I.

Speaker 2 (56:31):
Do like Stroud a lot, the Texans never really grabbed
me this year. Don't really love the AFC South In
Houston's backstory. I wish the Packers in retrospect he spoke
about more as a team of atn.

Speaker 4 (56:47):
But we almost sked them at one.

Speaker 2 (56:49):
Yes, because that this is a team that fascinates me
with a young on the rise quarterback in the post
Rogers era, going to Dallas, where man, it is all
all the pressure is on the Cowboys in this game.
This is a game that's going to be played at
four point thirty PM Sunday. And I think about the

(57:11):
two thousand World Series was Mets versus Yankees, and there
was so much pressure on the Yankees.

Speaker 3 (57:17):
They had to win. They could not lose.

Speaker 2 (57:19):
George Steinberger was gonna fire everybody if they lost to
the Mets. So when they finally won, all those players
are like, it was just that. We weren't even excited,
were just relieved that it was over. That's how you
That's how I see the Cowboys this week, like we
have to win this game. Like if we don't win
this game, we could we could get fired, we could
lose our jobs. Like let's listen to Jerry Jones, the

(57:41):
owner of the Cowboys, after a huge Cowboys season as
Division champion, talking about his head coach Mike McCarthy and
where he stands about his future.

Speaker 9 (57:52):
Coach McCarthy's under contract for next year and so that's
not an issue. Secondly, I couldn't be more with what
he's done and how he's coached now. Apart from sitting
down and going over the daily receipts and going over
the detail of everything we do out there, I don't
know how you can answer a question any different to that.

(58:14):
I certainly haven't sat down to here right in the
middle of the playoffs and started talking to him about
something like a contract or something like that. Why would
you do that?

Speaker 2 (58:25):
So here's what I think. That's that's Shannon r. J
on one O five to three fan. This is what
I think, Greg. I think Zaddy, Oh, Zaddy is out
if they lose this game. I think Zaddy's out. If
they win this game and get blown out next week,
I think they either have to make the NFC title

(58:46):
game or at least have a good fight in the
division round loss. But if they lose this game, after
everything they've been through, after all the hype around this team,
after stealing the division from Philly, I just I'm just
I guess I'm making the point in a very long
winding way, that there has to be some tightness around
this team potentially going into this game, and the fact

(59:07):
that they're playing a very good, on the rise Green
Bay team doesn't take it any easier.

Speaker 4 (59:11):
Not at all. Like that quote we just heard from
Jerry Jones was him trying to walk back these comments
he had made. I think it was over the weekend
before their week E team game where he's like, well,
we'll see how each game goes with someone and he's
like and then afterwards he's like, Oh, I'm surprised that
became such a big deal. It's like, I thought everyone knew.
I like firing guys based on one game sample size it.
I think it doesn't make sense because they've proven that

(59:33):
they can win consistently under Mike McCarthy and they never
were able to do that before in the entire Jerry
Jones era, since Jerry Johnson, Jimmy Johnson, and like that
deserves some credit. That said seven and a half point
favorites here, you know, minus three sixty. If they lost,
it would feel terrible, and it would feel especially terrible

(59:53):
against a Green Bay Packers team that's sort of everything
that the Cowboys aren't right now, which is a surprise
and incredibly young and no expectations. And I think the
Cowboys defense and Dan Quinn is out there as a
possible head coach in a lot of places, including Seattle.
Like they've been giving up a lot of yards in

(01:00:14):
the second half of this season, and Jordan Love, to me,
has shown in the second half of this season he
can beat you no matter how you attack him. Like,
if you want to play it safe, he'll take what
you give him. If you're too aggressive, he'll hurt you deep.

Speaker 1 (01:00:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:00:28):
I mean we talked about it last week that since
Week eight, you're looking at a quarterback with an eighteen
to one touchdown to interception ratio. I mean, he's been pristine,
Jordan Love, and he's growing weekly. What I also really
love about this offense right now is that the return
of Aaron Jones and who Aaron Jones is right now

(01:00:49):
for them.

Speaker 4 (01:00:50):
Has been huge.

Speaker 8 (01:00:51):
He has led the league in rushing since Week sixteen
and the Cowboys, and we saw this against the Bills,
We've seen in other spots. Week fifteen, they're allowing one
hundred and sixty point seven yards rushing per game, So
you can run on them, and as dangerous as Micah
Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are and the potential of wreaking

(01:01:11):
havoc on Jordan Love. There are ways to attack this defense,
and we've seen it tangibly over a number of weeks.
I mean, I think the question comes down to beyond
like Rashaun Gary, like the Joe Berry defense for green
Bay has been better the last couple of weeks, but
that's against the Vikings.

Speaker 4 (01:01:27):
They played the Bears.

Speaker 8 (01:01:29):
How do you there's another world where the Cowboys just
simply explode and terrorise this defense.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
That's what I'm curious, because I think this game can
go one of two ways. The Cowboys score in their
first three possessions and they're off and running, and green
Bay is left after the season frustrated that Barry once
again has let them down and they have big changes
to make on side of that ball. But the other
side is what I said that there's maybe a little
tightness with the Cowboys and you're playing a Packers team.

(01:01:56):
This is a bad combination. A young, fast rising green
Bay quarterback on a team playing with house money. I
don't like the matchup for the Cowboys, and I think
I'll pick the Cowboys just because the talent difference is substantial.
They are a more balanced team, and I have a
lot of respect for the bounce back year that Dak

(01:02:19):
has had and how amazing Cede Lamba has been and
Ferguson's a playmaker, and Hollard maybe finding his way here
in the playoffs. We'll see Brandon Cook stepping up in
recent weeks and becoming a real guy again. So I'm
picking the Cowboys, but I would not be shocked at
all if this is what we're talking at leading our
precap on Sunday, the Cowboys getting picked up right.

Speaker 4 (01:02:39):
The Packers plus seven and a half is my I
think my favorite I'm not gonna go rain makeer an it,
but my favorite line of the week, just that this
comes down to the end. Seven and a half feels
too much. The Cowboys are the minus three sixty in
terms of the money line, because maybe I'm falling for
the banana and the tailpipe, but the Packers defense has
shown something in the last few weeks. And then you're
you're reminded, oh, yeah, these plays are good, Like they

(01:03:01):
should be better. I know they're not well coached, but
like they dominated the Bears because Wyatt and Rashaun Gary
and Kenny Clark were all winning and not many defensive
lines have won against this Cowboys offensive line, and they
probably won't, but that gives them a chance. And I
expect at this point Jordan Love to score points. I

(01:03:23):
expect this to be a really high scoring game. He
is the number one ranked PFF passer since Week eleven.
He is number one in the NFL in terms of
big time throws since then, and when I watch MA,
I just can't believe he's this good because it's it's everything.
It's the brains. I think he's got good eyes of
where he looks and goes through his reads. It's the

(01:03:44):
decision making in terms of sometimes he's aggressive, sometimes he's not.
And it's obviously the the ability, and it's the surrounding
to Dontavian Wicks. We've reached now the playoffs, and I
don't think this is even a hot take. Christian Watson
is to me their third best receiver moving forward. He's
obviously the third or fourth.

Speaker 5 (01:04:02):
Right now and he's been unavailable.

Speaker 4 (01:04:04):
But like Dantavian Wicks is a real dude, Like he's
done enough to me where he is a quality starting
receiver in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (01:04:12):
Jaden Reed is a real dude.

Speaker 4 (01:04:14):
Whichever tight end is in there, Muskrave or Croft are great.
And it's kind of crazy that they did this all
in one year. Guta Kunz should be winning these Executive
of the Year awards. I think get a little pop
for it. Staying with Jordan Love all these years, even
the contract they give and then this class is just
it's crazy. I expect them to put up like twenty

(01:04:35):
five thirty points and this just just be awesome. I
like the Cowboys to win, but I love it will
be thirty one. Yeah, exactly, something like that. It reminds
me of that game I went to back in the day,
Dak's rookie year, Aaron Rodgers versus Dak winning on the road.
I think that was thirty five thirty one with Rogers
with one of his classic You're finishes.

Speaker 2 (01:04:53):
No, Aaron Rodgers is the media conspiracist. He's he's not
an actual player.

Speaker 4 (01:04:57):
He was great back then, Richard Rodgers. I remember the
sideline he was running on the sideline that was I
was remember the East that sent me the games.

Speaker 5 (01:05:06):
I don't I kind of I kind of liked it
this game.

Speaker 12 (01:05:10):
And Rogers on TV is a lie.

Speaker 4 (01:05:13):
I know it's about what he says on TV.

Speaker 8 (01:05:15):
Okay, he like I guess in theory, if you're a
Packers fan, you'd want to have to have a team
come into green Bay and play in terrible weather and stuff.
But for the way that this offense is, I kind
of like green Bay going to Dallas and putting up
a ton of points. Their fourth the four highest point
totals this year of all come on the road. But
I mean, you can't ignore like what Dallas has been

(01:05:37):
at home, and I I I don't really share your suspicion, Dan,
the Dallas is gonna stumble here. I think next week
that's very much a possibility and probability. I I they've
had three hundred and seventy seven yards at least in
every home game.

Speaker 5 (01:05:49):
They've blown people's doors off at home.

Speaker 8 (01:05:51):
Uh, they have outscored their opponents by one hundred and
seventy two points at home. I think it's gonna be
high scoring. I think there's gonna be it's gonna go
right down to the end. But I got Dallas winning
it in overtime.

Speaker 4 (01:06:02):
Ah, you got it in overtime. They're literally tied at
the end of regulation, So you're you're kind of agreen,
you just.

Speaker 8 (01:06:07):
Yeah, But I just I think, like I don't I
think that the next level is Dallas, Like Dallas falls
apart and look and Mike McCarthy's fired the next one.
I don't flur like, yeah, crushes and picking on those
I don't see that happening.

Speaker 2 (01:06:20):
It's already again that you're hearing the whispers. Dan Quinn's
going to be the head coach if he loses this game.
Zaddy's out, So Zaddy.

Speaker 8 (01:06:29):
I one question, do you think that if you're Jerry Jones,
because you did this with Parcels, is there a little
bug in the mind of like, oh, if I get
rid of Zaddy, Bill Belichick coming to coach the Cowboys
a set to go roster, you don't have to worry
about the GM thing because I kind of end the GM.
I can work with Bill. I respect Bill, I respect
Bill Parcells Tree, I.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
Respect that you're going down this road. Uh, the idea
of Jerah and Bill working together, I guess jerro worked
with Parcels.

Speaker 8 (01:06:56):
And Bill Bill, but Bill isn't. Yeah, but Bill Parcells
was paying off his divorced. He did that, so he
did also Bill, No, I'm saying Jerry Jones didn't like it.

Speaker 5 (01:07:03):
He clear he was not that. He also didn't want
to be a Bill.

Speaker 2 (01:07:07):
Also, I could see Belichick being like, I want to
go to Dallas to do what Parcels failed to do,
win a win a chip, go.

Speaker 5 (01:07:15):
Back to the NFC where you can face face off
against the Giants.

Speaker 4 (01:07:19):
You're gonna go.

Speaker 3 (01:07:19):
Carolina poopoo this. I'm gonna indulge on this one. I
like it.

Speaker 5 (01:07:22):
It's like it's like NFL.

Speaker 8 (01:07:24):
It's like the NFL dream scenario always and Bill Belichick.

Speaker 4 (01:07:28):
It would be great, I think for for Bill Belichick.
I just don't think Jerry Jones would would want I
don't think Bill would want to work for Jerry Jones
like I did.

Speaker 3 (01:07:36):
None of it, all right? That, Oh well, the Zoo.

Speaker 4 (01:07:41):
Yeah, guys, before we get too far away.

Speaker 3 (01:07:43):
Just the game up.

Speaker 12 (01:07:44):
Now.

Speaker 4 (01:07:44):
By the way, what do you mean the Zoo is
four games back? Let's throw off those standings again. You
we saw you know, concerned that I know, but that
the listener would not know. Five games back. We don't
need to look at we're showing this lock standing.

Speaker 3 (01:07:58):
All right, Greg, the floor is yours going.

Speaker 4 (01:08:00):
I'm just saying the listeners probably wouldn't wouldn't know he's watched.

Speaker 3 (01:08:03):
I almost completed the sentence, but not quite.

Speaker 4 (01:08:07):
Eleven and seven for the Westbros, ten and eight for Dan,
and nine and nine.

Speaker 2 (01:08:11):
I have one game back of second place, which matters
a lot to me. The actual standings are sixteen and
two for Rosenthal, he's clinched everything West eleven and seven,
Ozer ten and eight and Mark nine and nine with
a huge lock off to.

Speaker 8 (01:08:28):
By the way, it's not it's it's not easy to
come in last, and I don't buy that. Don't mean
that it's unfortunate or it feels bad. It takes skill
to lose as many of these as I'm losing. From
another point of view, sure, I know Greg doesn't agree.

Speaker 4 (01:08:43):
With that, but it's I you're not. I see what
you're saying, because you're not trying to lose. If you
were trying to lose, I think that would be easy.

Speaker 3 (01:08:49):
I would say it's almost well true. It's equally as.

Speaker 2 (01:08:52):
Difficult, I think, to your point to go sixteen and
two as it is to go like eight and ten
or eight and eleven.

Speaker 4 (01:09:00):
Equal skill set.

Speaker 8 (01:09:01):
Yeah, like in terms of reg and I are have
showed an equal amount of skill this season.

Speaker 2 (01:09:05):
All right, the zoo, what do we got like in
terms of likelihood? It's right, that's all I'm saying that.

Speaker 3 (01:09:11):
Yeah, here you go, guys, this is the zoo.

Speaker 4 (01:09:13):
There.

Speaker 12 (01:09:16):
Good afternoon, gentlemen from Cincinnati.

Speaker 3 (01:09:19):
What is happening?

Speaker 12 (01:09:20):
This is what the common men have to do.

Speaker 13 (01:09:21):
We have to take time out from our busy schedule
do a video shoot back by the dumpsters. We're not
in our Armani suits that are paid for by the NFL.
That's from Taylor. This is real men work.

Speaker 2 (01:09:36):
The real men this week are gonna be sitting at
a dumpsters.

Speaker 13 (01:09:40):
The Packers have had a good run, but it's gonna
come to an end. Love Jordan Love, but he doesn't
have enough to match the firepower of the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 12 (01:09:51):
I really wanted to.

Speaker 13 (01:09:52):
Take Tampa Bay, but I didn't have the guts in
the end, So we're gonna go with the easy pick,
Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 12 (01:09:58):
Lock it up. By the way, why are we playing
for second?

Speaker 2 (01:10:06):
I think taking the idea of common man uh to
the extreme now by just sitting in a dumpster. That
what a common man is I don't know a man
that sits in a dumpster in an alley.

Speaker 8 (01:10:18):
Like a welder's apron on or something. I don't know
if I guess that's I'm not sure what his what
his day job is. He Yeah, he hit us up
on he runs a restaurant. Well, so it looks like a.

Speaker 3 (01:10:28):
A I thought he was gonna pull the metal like
face mask down.

Speaker 8 (01:10:34):
He attacked us on text about a week ago about
the nature of our common man's standings. And I have
to say I don't really disagree with some of his
major points.

Speaker 3 (01:10:44):
He's got some very strong takes about common men. And
I think.

Speaker 2 (01:10:51):
He put I think West right in the middle of
the Westling pack, and he put himself at the top.

Speaker 3 (01:10:55):
I believe did he put himself at the top.

Speaker 8 (01:10:58):
Well, he allowed his brothers to chime in with some
rankings too, but and then they just started sniping.

Speaker 4 (01:11:03):
He put you at the bottom that I remember of
what his common man rankings. That was what he said
in terms of who in terms of his rankings with
you guys, that's what guys with the jewelsy, he said.
Wes Wes Long said that too.

Speaker 8 (01:11:18):
I didn't walk around like saying I think also Wes Long.

Speaker 3 (01:11:22):
Said that what are you talking about?

Speaker 4 (01:11:23):
You even responded to that text? You said, Well, you
must have been joking. Wes Long said that that's what
he said. That was I'm just quoting that the text
you were you responded to, that's all, but don't you
And he was trying to get you going and and
it worked apparently.

Speaker 8 (01:11:38):
I think he was trying to need But like everyone
has a different like pov on what like, no one
was agreen what a common man is. So it's just
like you're gonna you were, You're atop your own rankings,
each of us individually, because you fulfilled I.

Speaker 2 (01:11:53):
Only saw Wes is my only competition as a common
man in this world.

Speaker 4 (01:11:56):
Well, that's finally right.

Speaker 8 (01:11:57):
That doesn't mean we have to agree to that.

Speaker 2 (01:12:00):
That was where I came down on it. And the
Westling brothers they existed in their own realm in the
western side of Cincinnati, which I mean the man was
just sitting in a dumpster.

Speaker 4 (01:12:11):
I think there.

Speaker 8 (01:12:12):
I think they fulfill many of the boxes to be
checked in the common man rankings.

Speaker 3 (01:12:17):
I agree, Yeah, I totally agree with that.

Speaker 2 (01:12:20):
All right, let's take a break and when we get
back we'll hit the rest of the games and a
couple other items and then we're out of here.

Speaker 3 (01:12:29):
All right, Welcome back.

Speaker 2 (01:12:30):
It is time for the Game of the Week presented
by Draft Kings. We are going through the wild card
weekend and this is a banger, indeed worthy of Game
of the Week.

Speaker 3 (01:12:43):
Rams at Lions.

Speaker 2 (01:12:44):
It is the first ever home playoff game at Ford Field,
uh and the Lions are given three point three points
to the Rams. And I think everybody knows it by now.
It's is the Tarrico Collinsworth game. By the way, everyone
knows the The overall big narrative points here that it's
Matthew Stafford of the Rams playing against the team that

(01:13:06):
once drafted him first overall, and it is Jared Goff
playing against the Rams, the team that once drafted him
first overall. So you have that nice setup and it's
gonna be I think a party in Detroit now is
going to be a winning party. That is I think
legitimately fair to wonder because the Rams should not be

(01:13:28):
seen as a pushover. But that place is gonna be rocking.
I don't think there's gonna be a better atmosphere on
this first round of the playoffs than Detroit.

Speaker 4 (01:13:37):
I don't think there has been all season. To me,
they are the best home crowd in the NFL. I
love them. Yeah, I'm with you.

Speaker 8 (01:13:45):
You know the Rams are rested they I think that helps.
Like the Lions forced to play obviously in Week eighteen
and you lose Sam Laporta and it sounds like arrow
up on him improving, But I don't know sure he'll play.
We're not sure how healthy he'll be. He had a
hyper extended knee. That doesn't sound like a real joy ride.

(01:14:07):
I think this is a like if we think the
Cowboys Packers is going to be high scoring.

Speaker 5 (01:14:12):
I see that in this I really do.

Speaker 8 (01:14:14):
I feel like one little thing that I like doing
some study was that Sean McVay is four and one.
I think Detroit's defense is obviously vulnerable. Their secondary is vulnerable.
We know that Sean McVay is four and one as
a head coach versus Aaron Glenn coached defenses with twenty
six plus points in all five of those games. And

(01:14:35):
I think that kind of stuff matters because it's the
same scheme. And it's like, I think that we already
know that if you study up on Detroit if you're
McVay that the Lions like are going to give up points.

Speaker 4 (01:14:43):
I do remember this matchup in twenty twenty one now
that the Lions were in the middle of their long
losing streak to start Jared Goff's run. I think how
many day lose straight to start ten something like that.
And the Rams. We had this sort of storyline back
then because it was GoF Re turning to La and

(01:15:04):
it's interesting now two years later to even and they
didn't make GoF look great in that game. He had
a couple of interceptions. It was close for a while,
but then the Rams pulled away and one it was
interesting to hear McVeigh talking about it now, even with
a few more years removed, like how completely regretful he
is about how he handled everything there, that he basically

(01:15:26):
didn't feel like he handled the human side of it
with Jared Goff at all, and that he's like mature
and that he essentially he was too focused on his
obsession with winning and getting to the Super Bowl and
all this stuff, and that he's grown up from it.
I don't think Jared Goff has really forgiven him for
any of that, And so like this is a true
revenge game. It's more for Jared Goff than anything, because

(01:15:46):
what a moment it would be for him, the supposed
throw in, the supposed guy that actually you have to
take Jared Goff to get him off our books, to
make this trade work and for him to find a
way to win because because yeah, of course, no one
thinks he's as good a quarterback as Stafford. But these
two teams are really mirror images when you look at
the numbers and what they're good at, in that they're

(01:16:09):
a top five to six offense, in that they're a
middle to lower the pack trying to be oper new
opportunistic defense, and Goff is at the head of that.
Now he has a great play color, but he had
one in La too. I think he's gotten better. I
think the Rams are gonna want to move him off
the spot. There's no secret like interior pressure. And what
team is better suited to provide some interior pressure against

(01:16:32):
a good offensive line than Aaron Donald and my defensive
rookie of the year, Kobe Turner. Is he your conductor?

Speaker 3 (01:16:40):
You gave him the first place.

Speaker 4 (01:16:41):
I did give him the first place.

Speaker 3 (01:16:43):
Yeah, wow, interesting.

Speaker 4 (01:16:44):
I think he has a chance to win it. Actually,
I mean he led all rookies by far in sacks
in the second half. His name everything was ten days.

Speaker 2 (01:16:53):
Matthew Stafford passing to Cooper Cup and Pooka Nakua against
Detroit's defense.

Speaker 3 (01:17:01):
That is going to be.

Speaker 2 (01:17:04):
He does walker and he set rookie records obviously with
catches and receiving yards and defense past defense for Detroit,
fair to wonder like if are they gonna be able
to handle that? They gave up nearly two hundred and
fifty yards through the air per game last season that
was near the bottom of the league. And listen, is

(01:17:26):
there a reality where Stafford goes nuts with those two guys?

Speaker 3 (01:17:29):
Absolutely, and then it puts the heat on GoF.

Speaker 2 (01:17:32):
I think Stafford is the more physically talented player than
Jared Goff.

Speaker 3 (01:17:36):
I agree with what you were saying that they're not
the same type of player.

Speaker 2 (01:17:40):
But if GoF gets into one of those grooves, he's
as productive and as good as any quarterback. And the
question is will he be able to do that? If
Sam Laporta doesn't play, losing the tight end to that
knee injury. What is his latest status?

Speaker 4 (01:17:54):
By the way, I mean, well, I think they were
saying he was very unlikely to play this week.

Speaker 8 (01:17:58):
Campbell says, sounds right. Every day he said, every day,
we're gonna do more with him. He's improving, but it's
gonna come right down to the end. And again it's like,
is he out there? Is like a real threat? Is
he a d'coy if he's on the field.

Speaker 4 (01:18:09):
And that's where GoF wins though, And that's the thing
with this as great as this offense is, and I
think they'll be able to run the ball against the Rams.
The Lion's actually their numbers and they're big and beefy
up front. Like they stopped the run pretty well, which
is important against this Rams team, one of the best
running attacks in the NFL. But when they went in
the passing game, it's over the middle of the field.
And I always watch with him, it's just like, man,

(01:18:30):
if you took one part out, are they gonna be okay?
And this is a good test of it because they
rely so much on Saint Brown and Laporta and they
just want that little extra like speed juice, and it's
they wanted it to be. Jamison Williams he missed the
last week's game, but he should be returning this week,
which is great because they lost kleef Raman to injury.
He's usually that speed. Like they really could use winning

(01:18:54):
something on the outside, because that's where the Rams to me,
are vulnerable. They are not like a great second. They've
had some miscommunications. They can give up big plays on
the outside. And I think keep an eye on Jamison
Williams maybe having a bit of a breakout game.

Speaker 8 (01:19:08):
Yeah, And like am On Ross Saint Brown, who is
just the like eternally underrated, has had eleven hundred plus
yards against zone coverage and the Rams play a very
high percentage of zones, So it's like there're I just
I kind of feel like the vision I have of
this game is like one of the two quarterbacks is
going to make a critical error in the final minutes
in game over I just have I just get a
sense that one of these two quarterbacks is heading towards

(01:19:32):
a fateful conclusion.

Speaker 4 (01:19:34):
Wow, I uh, the over unders fifty one here, the
Lions are minus one sixty six to win. And yet
I just think this Rams team is playing so well
at the end of the season, as as well coached
as Ben Johnson and their offenses. To me, Dan Campbell
talked about biting neecaps and making this team tough upfront,

(01:19:55):
and they certainly are on the offensive line and they
can stop the run. But this Rams team is sneaky
tough too. They are physical, mauling running game. You have
that plus Matthew Stafford. To me, that is tough to stop.
And I'm gonna lock up the Rams on the road
pretty gutsy.

Speaker 5 (01:20:11):
Well not when you've clinched them. Yeah, well no.

Speaker 8 (01:20:13):
But I mean I think, like if I think Dan
knows how, but I know Greg wants to continue to
compile like an incredible.

Speaker 4 (01:20:18):
Right I do. But at this point, no, I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:20:21):
And also with Rams front office officials, he's working his
game with him too.

Speaker 4 (01:20:25):
No, I mean, I'm definitely rooting for the Rams in
this game. These are the two teams I'd most like
to win the Super Bowl though, of all the teams
in the playoffs. So if the Rams.

Speaker 2 (01:20:35):
Literally you have a personal connection to the Rams, it's
your sure daughter loves the team.

Speaker 4 (01:20:39):
Right yeah, Amica, my wife as well. I'm definitely getting
on board the front. But if they lost, the Lions
are the team I'd most want to win the Super
Bowl too, So I like them, But I kind of
do think they are playing their very best right now,
and not that the Lions would fill another good game, sure,
but I think they can get.

Speaker 2 (01:20:54):
It another good game. I think it's a coin flip game.
I got the Lions. Let's go thirty to twenty seven.
But yeah, these are tough games to pick this week.
And you know, if the Rams win, that means our
buddy J. B. Long goes deeply good playoffs as well.
Ricky Hollywood, Ricky Hollywood maybe go into the game. I
think she gets any gwap for that, a little little cheddar,

(01:21:15):
you get a Super Bowl ring if they make it
all the way I.

Speaker 8 (01:21:17):
Mean, knowing the way that you know Ricky fashions these contracts.
I'm sure there's there's something going on there.

Speaker 1 (01:21:22):
Download the Draft King sports Book up now and use
code at N. New customers can bet us five bucks
to get two hundred instantly in bonus bets only on
Draft Kings sports Book with code at N.

Speaker 3 (01:21:33):
The crown is yours, all right.

Speaker 2 (01:21:35):
The last game of Wildcard excuse me, Super wild Card
Weekend is the free falling out and done nothing Philadelphia
Eagles traveling to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaners, the
Buccaneers the NFC South champions, and being the NFC South champion.
It don't mean much because it's not a good division,

(01:21:56):
but you know what it does mean. It does mean
you host a playoff game and going nine to eight.

Speaker 3 (01:22:01):
Beats going eleven and six.

Speaker 2 (01:22:03):
The way the playoffs are set up, so you have
the obvious storyline here is really around the Eagles.

Speaker 3 (01:22:09):
They're the defending conference champion.

Speaker 4 (01:22:11):
Here.

Speaker 2 (01:22:12):
They were ten and one in December at one and
then just completely flatlined finishing eleven and six, blowing.

Speaker 3 (01:22:19):
The NFC East.

Speaker 9 (01:22:20):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:22:21):
There's idea and speculation about dysfunction behind the scenes. The
Matt Patricia move to let him take over the defense
has not worked out. Jalen Hurts seems miserable. Everybody seems miserable. However,
this is the playoffs and they flipped the switch.

Speaker 8 (01:22:38):
Mark this is the best wild card round that I
ever can and they flipped I'll tell you why, because
this game seems like, oh, it's just.

Speaker 4 (01:22:46):
Going to go to Tampa Bay.

Speaker 8 (01:22:47):
Yes, I know, I'm getting to it, and I'm getting
to it, like I don't think so can they win?

Speaker 3 (01:22:55):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (01:22:55):
Against this?

Speaker 8 (01:22:56):
Okay, flip the switch like, I'm kind of over the
concept of like last both of last year's Super Bowl
teams were waiting for that to happen, and they're just
fundamentally different teams. And the Eagles have allowed more points
than any team in the league since Week twelve. And
when they played back in Week three, I remember praising

(01:23:16):
the Eagles their offense in general, for working themselves out
of a jam. They ran for two hundred and one
yards on the bucks a good run defense had almost
forty minutes of possession, and they showed it. It seemed
to be able to win games in different ways, and
now they're just losing games in different ways. It's they're
also banged up right now. Aj Brown was limping off
the field last week. Jalen hurts dislocated finger. I mean,

(01:23:39):
they're gonna play like Brown is.

Speaker 4 (01:23:41):
Okay now, they like that. It's just that like their hurt.

Speaker 8 (01:23:43):
DeAndre Swift was banged up, DeVonta Smith was banged up.
It's like, so what condition are they in? But on
the flip side, I think, like, I don't know, I
don't I'm pretty suspicious.

Speaker 4 (01:23:52):
Of Tampa Bay.

Speaker 8 (01:23:53):
But Bigger Mayfield is the kind of quarterback and we
talked about a little about this on Sunday. He is
dealing with an ankle injury, a rib injury, who knows
what else. And I think that Baker Mayfield is not
like the most I respect him playing through injuries, no
doubt about it, but he's not the kind of guy
where if he's banged up, it doesn't seem it seems
to affect his play, right. And I they were horrendous

(01:24:14):
to watch offensively against Carolina, and it's just like we're
a week later, it's a bad defense, the Eagles in
free fall. But to answer your question finally, then it's
like I think the Eagles kind of nip. They nipped him,
they survive, but it doesn't provide a ton of optimism
about who they are.

Speaker 3 (01:24:29):
Gotcha, I can't feel that I take back.

Speaker 4 (01:24:32):
What I said about Browns Texans being the hardest one.
I think this is the hardest one to pick because
the logic it all says, Philly finds a way, you know,
the talent, And yet this seems like it's bigger than
any sort of logic. It's bigger than than football, Like
this is such a football thing where like it's a

(01:24:52):
ViBe's off like that as much as the Bucks have
had bad games in the last two weeks, Baker Mayfield's
looked awful. It probably two worst games, you know, all
season in a row. That's very concerning going into the playoffs.
Like they're a team that I believe is together and
like it's a good locker room and all this stuff.
And there's just something ineffable about the Eagles.

Speaker 3 (01:25:14):
Right now that you can't even put a finger on.

Speaker 4 (01:25:16):
And that makes me like, after all the years we've
watched football for just makes me think, well, the Buccaneers
will find a way to win, Like they're not. They
found a way to win nine games, and it's just
more that the Eagles are looking to be taken out
to pasture by someone, anyone, and then it might as
well just.

Speaker 3 (01:25:33):
Be the Bucks.

Speaker 2 (01:25:34):
Yeah, but I see what you're saying, Mark, just because
if it was almost any other team, I would I'd
be on board with Yea.

Speaker 3 (01:25:42):
The Eagles are a team that's already dead.

Speaker 4 (01:25:43):
I think these are the two team round. If I
put them on neutral field, I'd take the Steelers right
now over these two.

Speaker 5 (01:25:48):
Did just get to their doors blown off by the Giants.

Speaker 2 (01:25:51):
Yeah, I think the Eagles against the Cowboys against the Lions,
against the Ram, against the Packers, I would say, oh,
they're done. I think they can survive this. And I
think Baker's Baker being banged up is a big part
of that, because I think the Bucks will struggle to
score points if Mayfield is playing the way he has

(01:26:13):
been the last couple of weeks we saw him. And
then the question is Greg if it goes the other
way though, If it really does, the Eagles really are
done and there's gonna be some very difficult conversations in
those headquarters on Tuesday morning. And I just wonder flash
Point Focus was ready, as was Eric Producer.

Speaker 3 (01:26:33):
That was real nice. Smid bed so happy if that
is what happens. Man.

Speaker 4 (01:26:43):
Maybe the Belichick I know this coaching. It was like
fairly quiet on Monday. And then each day we get Rabel,
one day, get Carrol, the next get Belichick, and who knows,
we still have McCarthy and maybe or Syria. And to
get to that number ten, say, now there there's been eight.
I think back to their first playoff game in the
Jalen Hurts era, which is against the Bucks, and it's

(01:27:05):
been such a crazy journey in just two years since
then and the whole takeaway from that game was like,
Jalen Hurts, is he basically can he handle the blitz?
But in kind of not said in that is like,
is he like a real quarterback? Can he do the
quarterback he things? Can he go through his progressions? Can
he do this and that? And then he proved every

(01:27:28):
sort of doubter wrong last year with the season he had,
and I think for the most part, has played well
this year, but last week was a mess. He They
were a total disaster against the Blitz. Their numbers this
year against the Blitz are crazy bad. They've been blitz
more than any team in the league. AJ Brown is
not practicing Thursday, so that is a concern. They were

(01:27:50):
kind of saying it shouldn't be a big deal, but
he's not practicing. Devontae Smith is back at practice. He
missed last week with injury, so that's a good sign.
But here he is against Todd Bowles. When they played
in Week three, they blitzed them seventy five percent of
the time, and you think, oh, that was a pretty
easy win for the Eagles, but you go back and look,
it was actually one of his lowest PFF grades of
the year, Jalen Hurts kind of struggled in that game.

(01:28:12):
It was one of those where we were like, Oh,
we're starting to wonder is Jalen Hurt's playing well even
though they're winning. So will the Eagles just do the
thing like Brian Baldinger and everyone's been asking for a
week after week. It's just like, just lean on those
guys up front and run it down the Bucks throats.
I know teams don't do that. They love to throw
against the Bucks. Is on paper, the Bucks are historically
good stopping the run. They're better stopping they run there.
They give up a lot of big plays in the past.

(01:28:33):
But I don't know, just focus on your strengths and
just like let Jalen run, you run with DeAndre Swift
and avoid all those crazy Todd bowls.

Speaker 2 (01:28:41):
Blake, you got the better players, they got the better roster,
and but are they going to be the better team?

Speaker 8 (01:28:46):
Does it matter that your quarterback, who is a running
quarterback has a dislocated finger like I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:28:51):
It like and hasn't been moving as well, just generally.

Speaker 5 (01:28:56):
Doesn't heal in four hours.

Speaker 2 (01:28:57):
You know, we have a of a friend, Greg that
we were texting with and then you know that Jalen
Hurt's great leader narrative has been walking quite.

Speaker 4 (01:29:09):
I think that's act fair. I think that's unfair.

Speaker 8 (01:29:11):
I mean they've been it's been He's looked very frustrated
week after week on the sideline. But I don't look,
I don't think it's changed to as a person that
all that stuff was real last year.

Speaker 4 (01:29:20):
What I take from that is like, we make too
big of a deal of all that stuff. Probably it
is a fair point to say, but I don't think
it like changes who he is as a character that
like their defense is historically bad.

Speaker 3 (01:29:32):
There were the worst defends of the lake.

Speaker 4 (01:29:33):
This was a report or a no, is this our friend?

Speaker 3 (01:29:37):
What I'm saying is.

Speaker 2 (01:29:40):
That might be dimmed a little bit because all the
all those dramatic postgame interviews when they were having all
those comebacks before this slide began, and and he was
the confident face of the team talking about you know,
you know, we never had any fear. I was born
for these moments. They need it. It seems to me
they need somebody in that locker room to get this

(01:30:02):
thing on track well, to maybe deliver some type of message, uh,
to say, hey, we are we are badass.

Speaker 3 (01:30:08):
We are, we can be what we were last year.

Speaker 2 (01:30:11):
Is there someone in that organization, whether it's the head coach,
and it's not the head coach, it's the quarterback that
is getting a message across that something the wires have
been cut.

Speaker 8 (01:30:21):
Now, I'm with you on this, Like I also say,
like I'm not saying he's not no, no, no, but you
could being Is there someone that can stop the bleeding?
Because I think this is mental as it is physical.
The what's broken that's the most like sort of stunning
aspect to all this for me, because you could be
hours away from Jason Kelcey not being on this team anymore.

Speaker 5 (01:30:41):
A lot of veterans made what I mean a million
of those guys.

Speaker 4 (01:30:45):
That's why I just feel like it's not gonna They
can't flip the switch right. You would have done it
by now.

Speaker 8 (01:30:49):
I thought when they were coming back in those games
during that stretch of time, they were resilient and they
had confidence in just who they were. I don't see
a team right now that has that same confidence. So
that does speak to what's happening in the locker room,
the coaching leadership, et cetera. But it's like do they
trust they can get out of a jam if they
get down in Tampa Bay. I don't know right now who's.

Speaker 3 (01:31:07):
More precious, Sirianni or McCarthy.

Speaker 4 (01:31:09):
Sirianni, I feel well, I don't know. Eagles areus depends
how those games go. I mean, if they were to lose,
what kind of losses they are and stuff. But they're
minus three minus one fifty five. And oh, by the way,
the Buccaneers a lot of veteran leaders. They have a
lot of Super Bowl champions on this team, trying to
make one last big game. You know. I don't think

(01:31:32):
they're gonna go far, but one home playoff win would
be nice step up in a big spot.

Speaker 3 (01:31:36):
I wouldn't hate having a little Jean degger off on
Monday night my life, not at all. It'd be bad.

Speaker 2 (01:31:44):
Let's pick the game and then we got to a
close up shop, hit a couple more things. I am
going to say, Eagles survive barely twenty four to twenty one.

Speaker 8 (01:31:54):
I've got Eagles surviving also as mentioned twenty three seventeen.

Speaker 4 (01:31:59):
I'm leaning I'm leaning bucks here. I hope Baker is healthy.
I actually don't hope it. I kind of want the
Eagles to win. But I just think they've shown us
who they are and who they are right now is
a mess.

Speaker 3 (01:32:10):
What do you got for score?

Speaker 4 (01:32:11):
Let's go twenty four to twenty all right?

Speaker 3 (01:32:15):
A couple things first.

Speaker 2 (01:32:18):
I have an announcement involving our overseas listeners.

Speaker 3 (01:32:23):
They love it.

Speaker 2 (01:32:24):
They should love it because the National Football League coming
to their house. The National Football League today announced the
designated teams set to play in London and Munich is
part of the twenty twenty four International Games. The Bears, Vikings,
Jaguars will each play international games in London during the
twenty twenty four regular season, while the Panthers will head

(01:32:45):
to Munich, Germany. Each team's opponent and along with the
dates and kickoff teams, will be announced when the twenty
twenty four schedules revealed this spring. And guess what our
guy Henry Hodgson, who runs the show for the UK
side of things for the NFL, you know, I said,
I asked him a couple of days ago, you can
do some media.

Speaker 3 (01:33:05):
Around this announcement. He said, maybe I will, and he did.

Speaker 2 (01:33:08):
He sat down with Will Gavin, our buddy from Talk
Sport over there, and here's a snippet of that about
these announcements.

Speaker 14 (01:33:15):
I think the near term focus will be on finding
new markets and really kind of how do we you know,
the footprint that we've established in the UK, which is
really seen as a blueprint for how you enter a market,
how could you do that in some other markets around
the world.

Speaker 10 (01:33:29):
We've obviously announced that we'll be playing in Brazil in
twenty twenty four, and so that that's kind of the
next market up. I think that's the most likely near
term outcome. But I could certainly see the UK having
the opportunity to host more games as that program expands
over the next ten years.

Speaker 2 (01:33:47):
I mean, I mean, Henry kind of made for television
taking over. Yeah, that's the commissioner one day.

Speaker 4 (01:33:54):
I see what he's doing too, sending the Panthers to Germany.
He's very loyal to the UK. Just see it.

Speaker 2 (01:34:02):
And finally, so make sure you get your tickets for
that and hopefully we'll be back overseas.

Speaker 3 (01:34:08):
You know what.

Speaker 8 (01:34:09):
We have to joke that he was going to become
the commissioner, but now it just starts to feel making
material gains toward that. Now I know it's possibility. The
Commissioner gets paid pretty well from like that would change
Henry's well.

Speaker 2 (01:34:22):
I'm absolutely living in his castle if it happens. All right,
Finally this happened after we signed off. Wanted to give
the a little more floor to Pete Carroll, who, of course,
the Seahawks and Carol parted ways at least as a
head coach. He's going to remain in the organization, and

(01:34:44):
he spoke to the media and as you might expect,
was emotional about the end of an incredible run. I
think it was what fourteen years with the Seahawks as
their head coach.

Speaker 3 (01:34:54):
Here's a little bit of that.

Speaker 15 (01:34:55):
This is worth crying for. And nobody would ever understand
how significant she've been through all of the stuff that
we've been through, and how important she's just been the
angel in my life. And you everything, boys, Brennan, Nate,

(01:35:18):
you guys would have no idea how valuable they've been
to me because they were the ones that would give
me all the crap about what I was doing wrong,
on what I was screwing up. They were harsh and
their critiques were rash, and the whole thing. It was
perfect because I needed that loyalty and they were the
epitome of it for.

Speaker 2 (01:35:34):
Me, and I just want to play one more portion
of the press conference, which struck a chord with me
and other people I saw on Twitter Carol talking about
advice for whether it's who's following him or in general
and finding success in life.

Speaker 15 (01:35:52):
Yeah, well, it wouldn't matter whether it's football or whatever.

Speaker 3 (01:35:57):
To me. The essence of being as good as you
can be.

Speaker 16 (01:35:59):
You have to figure who you are, and you got
to figure out that in a relentless effort to try
and get clear about what's important to you, What compromising
principles do you stand by, what makes you who you are?
To maximize your authenticity and being connected to that true
essence of who.

Speaker 3 (01:36:19):
You are, that's what's crucial.

Speaker 16 (01:36:21):
Without that, you're going to be sometimes and you're gonna
be sometimes.

Speaker 3 (01:36:24):
Good dude, great coach, and he will be missed at Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:36:30):
I there are football coaches through the years who kind
of go a cut against the grain in terms of
really wearing their heart on their sleeve. And like Carol's
always been that guy, and it's not surprising to see
him fall into tears talking about like I think you
know coaches, NFL coaches especially, but it puts such a
it puts a huge weight on marriage, on family, like

(01:36:52):
on parenting, you're not around, You're just not around that much.
And like he found some sort of balance in life
and he seems to just keep evolving and changing and growing,
and it's like, I can't wait to see what he
does next. And when he's giving that advice about being authentic,
being yourself, I mean, coming from someone else, it would
sound like hot air, but from him, it sounds like
sage wisdom because that's exactly like who he's been as

(01:37:14):
long as we've known it.

Speaker 4 (01:37:15):
Right, he did it differently. There's you know, it's hard
not to compare the how his tenure ends and then Belichicks,
and they're totally different in both Hall of Fame coaches.
But I think of his introductory press conference and what
he said he was setting out to do and what
he said here, and he was so consistent and how
loyal his players are to him. He went out and
partied with a bunch of the great Seahawks of all time.

(01:37:37):
Russell Wilson, not surprisingly is the one that sent out
the picture. And Russell was there last night in Seattle
and they all went out and you could see the
emotion you see Geno and Locket and and all these
people in the crowd that like looking like they want
to cry. And one thing he Carol does stressed like
we wanted to come here and make it as fun
as possible and then focus more than anything on like

(01:37:59):
what makes each player great and just focus on that
and like accentuate that. And I think that's why he
said such success like bringing out the best in people.
The tweets and stuff like he is winning in terms
of the game of life, just like connecting. I think
in terms of relationships, it's not just hot air at all.

Speaker 3 (01:38:18):
Like all those people. He means so much too, in
a way.

Speaker 4 (01:38:21):
I don't think maybe any NFL coach that I can
think of has been quite the same. Andy Reid is
another one. One last thing I wanted to listen to
from Pera before we go.

Speaker 15 (01:38:32):
It's been an honor and a thrill to be part
of this program and I've loved every minute of it, and.

Speaker 16 (01:38:39):
You've watched me love it in particular.

Speaker 15 (01:38:43):
And it's exciting that that there's such a future uh
here and you can see it and we know what's happening,
and it's bright and the club's got great places to
go when there's great chances you know what, ever happened automatically,
there's a lot of work to be done in all
of that, but the future is bright.

Speaker 4 (01:39:00):
It's amazing. He said that, and he said how excited
he was for John Schneider and was really saying how
they had this marriage while knowing in the back of
his head that John Schneider very likely helped to push
him out, and that Pete Carroll made it clear it
was not his choice that he wanted to continue coaching,
that even may continue coaching, he didn't really want to

(01:39:21):
entertain that, but he made it clear it wasn't his choice.
And yet to have the humility to be like, this
is how it works sometimes, this is life. We've had
this great relationship and to be like, do it with
so much place is amazing.

Speaker 2 (01:39:35):
And the difference between that press conference and the New
England one, it's notable. And you have Carol, Belichick and
Saban all going out the door in twenty four hours.
And like I've said before, you never want to be
the guy who replaces the guy. You want to be
the guy who replaces the guy who replaced the Yes,

(01:39:55):
So it's gonna be good luck. Good luck in Alabama,
goode luck up in New England, and good luck in
Seattle because they have big shoes to fill. All right,
thank you everybody. There's a big, action packed show, huge
games to talk, huge NFL news, and if you made
it to the end, well we.

Speaker 4 (01:40:17):
Love you, bully to you.

Speaker 3 (01:40:20):
We'll be back. You know when We're going to be back.

Speaker 2 (01:40:23):
Sunday night the Flagship program and then Monday to cap
wild Card weekend till then he the call.

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