Super Bowl LIX Preview with Greg Olsen & Fred Warner

NFL Daily heads to New Orleans, where Gregg Rosenthal, Jourdan Rodrigue of the Athletic and Nick Shook preview Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The trio is joined by two esteemed guests, former Pro Bowl tight end and current NFL on FOX color analyst Greg Olsen, as well as All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Daily where we have finally made it to New Orleans.
I'm Greg Rosenthal here on the beautiful iHeart Studio set
at the Convention Center in downtown New Orleans, obviously with
NFL Media. The collaboration of a lifetime, and I've got

(00:27):
the collab I've always wanted surrounding me right now. On
one side it's Jordan rod Rieg of The Athletic. On
the other it's Nick Schuok coming in at two hundred
and no.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Thank you for not doing my way Christian and media.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
What's up?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
We're here, we're here.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Yes, I'm glad you guys landed. I've been here since Sunday.
I'm glad you made it safely. I hope you're adjusting
to Central time.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, you know what. I'm a little nervous about our
seating placement right now.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Nick.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
For the listeners, we are in the middle of the
Greg Rosenthal hand flying about zone.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
Oh you're real close.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Almost got smacked twice three times, and I might have
to smack you back.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Greg, I don't tent me with a good time. We
are really excited about this show. It's a previous show,
but it's it's not just any previous show. And it's
really cool. By the way, just like, yeah, I love
having you next to me, Jordan. We we've done that
a week. Heck, we we flew down here. We got

(01:26):
in to New Orleans around midnight, got to the hotel
like it was a whole thing. We got we got
celebs on the on the plane, we got Roma Duneesay
picking up bags. But we never have our our buddy shook. Yeah,
and it's just like it's a long time. It's good.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
I know, it's fantastic. The last time we did a
show in studio is great. Now I'm happy to be
here with you. I've been looking forward to this for weeks.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Okay, So, like I said, it's not a normal preview show.
We're gonna have a couple of guests to help us
along the way. But for the you of the Super Bowl,
we are going only to prime ball Knower. So we
are going to throw it to an interview right now
with Fred Warner, one of the smartest players in the

(02:15):
entire NFL, four time All Pro who has played these
two teams, the Eagles and the Chiefs, at the highest
of levels, the NFC Championship, the Super Bowl, of course,
last year against the Chiefs. After that, we'll come back
and we're gonna give our preview and then we'll finish
out the show with my favorite color analyst in the

(02:36):
entire game, Greg Olsen. Hell yeah, So we're gonna be
the meat in some great analysts sandwich. But we are
starting the show. You know, Nick, you're not part of
this interview, So we'll say goodbye to you for just
a second, and we'll say hello to Fred Warner and
we'll be back in just a little bit. All right,

(02:59):
we are here with one of our favorite I'm just
gonna say it players in the entire NFL. We went
there Fred, four time All Pro linebacker Fred Warner, who's
here on behalf of experience which can help you improve
your financial help and keep money in your pockets. And
yet it's I think it's because like you can see

(03:21):
the ball knowing right, Jordan, when you're watching Fred.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
We have to tell you NFL daily we go into
the weeds on x's and o's all the time, and
we cannot wait to talk to you because you are
to us the elite ball knower in the NFL. So
we're gonna we're gonna do something a little bit different
with you today, and I know you're ready because you're
ready for corner. Yes, so we want to break down

(03:44):
this game with you. We're trusting you with.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
Our our.

Speaker 5 (03:48):
Kicking a couple of things some football.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah so yeah, so we've so we've seen. Yeah, so
we've seen. So we're just excited to dig into this matchup.
You know, it's it seems like faded at this point
in my opinion. These are two of the best teams
in the NFL right now this year clashing against each other.
And I guess when you look at one key matchup
that you cannot wait to just diagnose breakdown, probably jump

(04:12):
out of your seat because I know you want to
be out there doing it yourself. Like, what is something
that jumps off the page to you about these seams?

Speaker 6 (04:19):
Yeah, I think the matchup I'm looking at obviously Saekwon
Barkley against the Kansas City defense. I can't even just
say one player because it's going to take the entire defense.
The Kansas City's defense, I think has been the thing
that people haven't talked about enough. Of Course, it's easy
to talk about Andy Reid, It's easy to talk about
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce because they're all Hall of Fame
you know people, right, Like, they all have done an

(04:41):
amazing job winning championships for their team. But the defense
I think has done a tremendous job. It's under Spagnola
and what he's been able to do with these guys
interchange Like there's guys who've been interchangeable throughout their system
for years now. I think they saw the piece that's
been remaining the same as Chris Jones, you know, Perennial Allpro,
who's a amazing But you know, I'm interested to see

(05:03):
how do they stop Saquon because everybody's been wanting to
do that all season long, but everybody says it every week,
nobody's done it, you know, So.

Speaker 5 (05:09):
I want to see what that looks like.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
And you and your role, you have to think about
that all the time, and especially because if he does
get past Chris Jones hard to do. But if he does,
Saquon Barkley is one of the hardest players to stop
in the second and third level of the defense in
the entire NFL and certainly has looked every bit of
that this year. So as I'm middle linebacker, how do
you stop him? Once he gets to the second level.
What's your communication to the rest of sort of the

(05:30):
players orbiting around you in getting to him and bringing
him down.

Speaker 6 (05:35):
Well, the beautiful thing about it is you're not out
there alone, all right. People try to make it about
one on one matchups in football, which you know a
lot of the time it is about winning your one
on one. But in this game, it's going to be
about all eleven swarming to the football like more than ever.

Speaker 5 (05:48):
You cannot allow him to have that space.

Speaker 6 (05:50):
If he does have space, then he's able to create,
you know, So you got to make sure that you're
liminitating that space bay getting all guys. I need that
outside corner out there, who's covering aj Brown as as
soon as you see as you need to be sprinting
because we need everybody at the ball.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
You've obviously been in this position. Let's say you're lining
up against the Eagles. We talked a little bit about Saquon,
but before the snap, they present a lot to you. Obviously,
you know they can do the RPOs, then they can
play faster if they want. Jalen Hurts is obviously a
good kind of vertical runner. What are some of your

(06:25):
keys as they're setting up to snap the ball. When
you're playing against the Eagles, that are in your mind.

Speaker 6 (06:31):
Yeah, I mean I played the Eagles a couple of times,
especially a couple of years back we played them in
the NFC Championship and then the year after playing them
in the regular season. And the thing for me as
a middle linebacker, like my coach always tells me, just
take a step back. Like everybody wants to crowd the
line of scrimmage because you want to. You're so eager
to stop the run. But if you're getting too tight
to the line of scrimmage, you're not able to see
the full picture. You get down there and you start

(06:52):
trying to just expose the excuse me, stop the run.

Speaker 5 (06:56):
Guess what.

Speaker 6 (06:56):
A J. Brown is running a slant right behind your
head and they're doing the RPO. They're dunge in to
him and he's running for a seventy yard touchdown on
a slint. It's like I thought we were we were
just being told to stop squon. It's like, no, they
have weapons all of Devonte Smith, A J. Brown, Dallas Goddard.
So at the end of the day, you got to
take a step back, give yourself more time to read
the play. Who has the ball? Is it Jalen or
is it Saquon. That's another level of it where you

(07:17):
got to read the zone read. If you're a defensive
end and they and you got his own read. Are
you being told to take the dive, Saquon? Are you
being told to take the quarterback with with Jalen? All
these little things are so monotonous, but there every detail matters, and.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Just keep the ball.

Speaker 6 (07:35):
If I'm a coordinator, I'm like, hey, tackle the dive,
tackle Saquon, Make Jalen take the ball every single time.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
And I love how you describe that, like, of course
I did, because you're Fred Warner. But the way that
you have to give a play patience on your side.
You hear it all the time when people talk about
running backs. Be patient, let the play unfold. On your
side of things, you have to do the same thing
and trust what you see and trust what you know.
And so I wonder when you're flipping it around and
you're looking at the chiefs and they're giving you misdirection

(08:01):
of motion and all kinds of wrinkles and little cheap
motions to the outside that I know you guys see
a lot in practice, yeah, and little orbits and things
where you're keeping track of all of these different orchestrations
pre snap. How do you give those plays patients? How
do you trust what you see there? What do you
look at first?

Speaker 5 (08:17):
It's so tough. I mean, I hate to say it.

Speaker 6 (08:19):
I have yet to defeat them, you know, and solve
that puzzle, right, I mean, I tried my best, and
we've had some game plans where they've been more effective
than others.

Speaker 5 (08:28):
The thing about Kansas City offense is they're unorthodox. You know.
You prepare every week where.

Speaker 6 (08:33):
It's like, all right, this team runs this system, they
have these players, they are going to do exactly that,
and that's exactly what we need to stop. And then
you go against Kansas City, it's like, wait, they run
what they do?

Speaker 5 (08:43):
What he runs?

Speaker 6 (08:44):
It?

Speaker 1 (08:44):
Like how?

Speaker 6 (08:44):
And it's like and then you get in the game
and it's like you might have been prepared for some
all week, and it's like it's so much different when
you're in the moment you're trying to play against the
players like at Travis Kelcey, lack of Patrick Mahomes with
the savvy and the connection that they have right, So
there's so many levels to it, and at the end
of the day, everybody got to do their one eleven
and you know, and hope for the past.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
We like to talk a lot on this show about
how Andy Reid and the Chiefs, particularly with his screen game,
which it's a legendary playbook. It's like six hundred pages long.
It just screens right. Yes, I know Kyle's is similar
in terms of the amount of plays, but Andy Reid,
I mean, my goodness, and so the the the ways
he sets things up, the ways he layers things in

(09:24):
the first quarter and then builds off of it in
a totally different way based on your first reaction in
the third quarter? What have you seen from that offense?
And I guess what is it? Even as elite as
you are all of these years at an all pro level,
what does it still teach you after all this time?

Speaker 6 (09:41):
It humbles you every time because it truly is a
game of chess, you know, And that's exactly what Andy's doing.
That's what all the great play play callers and offense
coordinators do in this league. You know, they are setting
you up for the long game. Because people talk about
coming out in the game and starting fast, which, of
course you'd love to start fast. Everybody wants to start
fast because that helps you out a ton in the game.

(10:02):
But now the thing that I'm learning more and more
throughout my career is it matters more how you finish.
You've got to finish even faster than how you start,
and if you're implementing certain things within the beginning of
the game to then set yourself up for success later
in the game where it's like, oh, yeah, I remember
he did kind of come down on the run early
in the game, so now we can hit him on
the RPR play action later on the game. Like those
little things do matter in the heat of battle.

Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, because look, last last year's game couldn't have been
more evenly played. Obviously, it was overtime, it's a team game.
A lot went into what happened. But I watched that
game and I talked about it afterwards, and I remember
saying what I thought was the forty nine ers defense.
They did come out fast. They they did enough to
me to win. They they held mahomes down for a

(10:46):
long time. So what was it in that game where
you're holding them to single digits after a lot of
possessions in that game that you thought you guys were
doing well in that game that slowed them down.

Speaker 6 (10:58):
Well, I mean if you look back a year ago
before that game, in the entire playoffs or not entire
we had the one season we had to buy, but
playing against Green Bay, playing against Detroit, we could not
stop the run to save our lives on defense, like
we were getting just thrown like toss to the Wolves
before that Kansas City game, saying like, oh my gosh,
this Niner defense is nothing like it's been in the past,

(11:20):
don't We don't see these guys being able to stop
anything Kansas City's.

Speaker 5 (11:23):
Got to do.

Speaker 6 (11:24):
So of course we carried all that with us and
had a huge ship on our shoulder going to the
end of that game. So you saw the emotion right away,
like of now we're coming with a with some heat,
you know what I'm saying, Like we know for a
fact that we're the best defense in the league. We're
gonna show it today on the day that we need
to show it the most. And but again talking about

(11:44):
start versus the finish, we started fast, but what was
more important to finish And we lost dre Green Lawn
in that game, which was a huge loss for us.
That was a huge emotional dump for myself, you know,
like I'm shedding tears on the sideline in that halftime
and when you need all the juice that you can
get towards the end of that game and overtime, like
you need all of that, right, And so those little
things are so crucial in a.

Speaker 5 (12:07):
Game like that.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
And we can talk scheme all day long, but it's
the emotion of it, right, And a lot of these teams,
I mean the Chiefs, I always compare them to long
haul truckers. They just know how to get there and
they know how to get to that extra gear in
the dark, down that highway and just go right.

Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
But this Eagles team, they've rebuilt very quickly, and there's
a lot of youth, there's a lot of guys who've
been there for getting there for the first time, a
lot of emotion probably happening. Team that's kind of had
an emotional season overall. There's been every week it's something man, right, Like,
I hope you don't have a copy of that book
at this point, But how would you as a captain,
as a leader, like, how would you talk to these

(12:46):
young players? What would you tell them to be ready
for in a game like that.

Speaker 6 (12:49):
Yeah, I mean it's so cliche to say it's a
whole it's just another game, but you truly have to
just treat it like it is another game, because if
you if you go into it thinking, Okay, it's a
super Bowl, this is my moment, I'm gonna go out here,
I'm gonna just throw everything that my coach has been
telling me out the door and just go rogue. I
promise you, it is not gonna go well, It's gonna
be a long day for you and you're probably not

(13:09):
gonna end up with the trophy. So I know, for
me my first super Bowl in my second season, I
had guys like a Richard Sherman who had been there
and done that be able to tell me like, hey,
young Buck, like this is just another game. Like just
do what you've been doing all season, like you've been
playing at a great let at a high level. Just
do that again this game and we'll get to where
we need to go. Now, we ultimately didn't get to

(13:30):
where we needed to go. But you know, so many
things have to happen in your favor in order to
win these games. And you know, there is something to
be said about having been there and winning the game
and knowing what that recipe looks like for Kansas City.
But on the opposite side, Philly is loaded, like you
cannot find a weakness in the roster, whether it be
O line, D line, skilled players, like, everybody's so great,

(13:53):
So it's gonna be an even matchup.

Speaker 5 (13:55):
I can't wait to watch.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
As a as a forty nine er. I mean, who's
played these teams in big spots like do you have
any uh in your in your real gut, like the
real threat owner that you want?

Speaker 6 (14:06):
No, I hope no. I don't want both teams to lose. Yeah,
I know that's unfortunately not possible. I wish it was,
but yeah I did. I dislike both teams a lot.
So there's there's no result where there's no result where
I'm happy people.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
People are sick of y'all too.

Speaker 5 (14:22):
This is Yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
In the last six years, four of the Super Bowls
have been forty nine Ers Chiefs or Eagles Chiefs. That obviously,
you guys made it back to the NFC Championship game
so many times. We're looking forward to watching you next year.
But before you go, tell us a little bit about
experience that you're working with here.

Speaker 6 (14:38):
Yeah, No, experience is amazing. They're all about saving time
and money, which is what we're all trying to do.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Right.

Speaker 6 (14:44):
You talk about subscriptions for example, Uh, let's say you
have you've got a brand new peloton and you get
on that peloton and.

Speaker 5 (14:51):
You know, say, hey, listen, new year's resolution. Right, it's
a new year.

Speaker 6 (14:55):
You get on the peloton and you and you you
have to get the membership, right, it's not just buying
the bike.

Speaker 5 (14:58):
You got to get the membership.

Speaker 6 (14:59):
But then a couple of weeks later you're like, uh,
you know, it just wasn't for me, so he put
the bike away.

Speaker 5 (15:04):
But then you forget about the membership.

Speaker 2 (15:05):
Right.

Speaker 5 (15:05):
We all fall.

Speaker 6 (15:06):
Victim to getting these little subscriptions. They might be like
the little three ninety nine ers, right, that just just
kind of go under the radar and they stack up
over time. Experience does a great job of just you
download the app. They take care of those subscriptions that
you don't need or don't want and just eliminate them.
So then you're saving your time, saving your money, and
live a grade life.

Speaker 1 (15:25):
He's taking a step back. He sees the whole field.
That's right, and on the field, Bred Warner, Yeah, four
time all pro. Appreciate you joining our previs show.

Speaker 5 (15:35):
Appreciate you guys. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
That was s Fred Warner. Of course, handsome man, very gregarious.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
He is such a great break he just would He
was breaking down so many things. I loved hearing about
the detail, the patience that he also has to show,
and even defending you think defending a player like Saquon
Barkley you just have to you know, ram face through wall,
right if you're looking from the outside. But him explaining
the interest sees and the nuances, that's what we're all
about here on NFL Daily.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yeah, it is really cool to sit next to someone
and kind of get the vibe of like, okay that
even in that short of a period, you can kind
of see how he's the type of guy. If he
shows up to a combine interview, like all the coaches
are gonna be like, oh, I want him on my team,
Like that's a leader. That's a real dude. But we're
the leaders too. I don't want to sell us short.

(16:26):
We're gonna give our bulk of the preview right now,
because look, I know it's it's Super Bowl week. We've
been talking a lot about the rams and different news
stories of what's happening, and we're gonna have a lot
of great interviews the rest of the week. At this point,
I think we can just start teasing him. I was
a little worried, but it's kind of crazy.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
I know you don't want to jinx him. I get it, Like, if.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
They don't show up, that's on them. We have Jayden
Daniels coming up this week. We have Jordan Love coming
up this week. We got Puka Nakua, Kobe Turner, Ashton Genty,
John Than Taylor, Jimir Gibbs, Montgomery. They're all coming up
later this week and we knew that, and there'll probably
be some super Bowl talk there with them, but a

(17:09):
lot of that will be about their old team. So
this is really where we're gonna get into our preview
of the game. And we have six categories, and we
all like to honk. Can we possibly get through six
categories in the time we have allotted? That is the
challenge here. And I'm gonna start with you, Shook and

(17:29):
just ask a really basic question, just like, what are
you most excited?

Speaker 3 (17:34):
Little table setter.

Speaker 4 (17:35):
I'm just most excited for what probably everybody is who
was here two years ago, the rematch. It is Eagles Chiefs.
It was one of the most thrilling super Bowls that
we ever saw. In fact, in the third quarter of
that game, I was sitting there and I had a
moment where I just thought, I'm at the best super
Bowl in history. It didn't end that way, but it
was pretty close. Now we get these two teams again
two years later. Yes, the roster is a little bit different.

(17:57):
We have a combined total of twenty seven stars between
these two teams, returning a lot of familiar faces, some
bad blood from that last matchup.

Speaker 1 (18:06):
I like it and it's greatness. It's truly great players,
and that game builds the story. And I like the
point that you made because I think sometimes games that
don't have the hot ending make you forget, like, oh,
the first fifty seven minutes of the game were absolutely electric.
It's why I always stand for Saints Colts as maybe

(18:28):
my favorite and maybe the best super Bowl of all time,
even though the big moment happened with four minutes left
in the game, But because those two teams were so excellent,
because of the first fifty five minutes and everything that
went into it, and that's what happened in that first
Eagles Chiefs game. I'm totally with you, what are you
most excited about?

Speaker 2 (18:42):
Kind of on along your point, Greg is like, these
are the two best teams in the NFL this year
and it almost never works out this way where we're
seeing them in the actual super Bowl, and again with
so much tension and heat behind this history that these
two now have, and these are just the teams of
who has the most dudes super Bowl? This is this

(19:04):
is the dude Bowl. Really, dude, this is the Dude Bowl, Like,
and I think the Eagles have the edge here. Frankly,
we'll get we'll get into it. But it's like, at
every position, a dude, right, I mean, someone who you
would love if you're a fan of any team, at
almost every position, you would love to have that player
on your team. And I love that we're going to
see these teams collide in this way, and I love
that they have these unique storylines that are very unique

(19:26):
to them, the Chiefs being this dynastic super force that
now people are starting to turn on a little bit
as that super villain. And then and then the Eagles,
who I personally love because they are so gd messy.
I love how messy they've been. They've just lived with
their hearts on their sleeves all season and they've solved

(19:47):
their own problems that they have also created. And I
just I love watching these two teams kind of reach
their peak powers at the right time and collide on seite.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
I have to ask, are you into trash TV? Do
you watch reality?

Speaker 2 (19:59):
I'm not, But that's why I think I get a
fix out of this because I don't watch reality TV
other than Quarterback Island, plug but which you need to
be on. By the way, it would be great Quarterback Island.
But I just I love it because they really they
do not care. They're showing you exactly. The Eagles will
show you exactly what their problems are, a lot of

(20:20):
them of their own creation.

Speaker 1 (20:21):
Nick can be our bouncer, by the way, on Quarterback Island.

Speaker 3 (20:24):
True, I will throw them out metaphorically speaking metaphor.

Speaker 1 (20:27):
How messy will it be if Nick Sirianni actually wins
the Super Bowl? You thought he was bad before. That
guy is not going to shut up. You know how
the Rams party so much after that Super Bowl? What
is a Nick Sirianni party, and then I need.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
To see I need to see that dude on top
of a bus.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
I don't want to think about it, but Nick Sirianni
losing the second not a second super Bowl in a row,
but in three years here.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
Uh, it's like the you know, the Jane Lynch, the
Jane Lynch meme. I'm going to create a situation so toxic,
that's really what it is. It's like, it's seriously like
I can't wait. And Andy Reid on the other hand,
so calm, so stoic. But it works for both of
these behemoths that we're about to see it.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
It's kind of funny though, to think of the Chiefs
says like, oh, they're the less talented team, Like they're
it's they have a first ballot Hall of Fame tight end,
maybe the greatest tight end ever still take Gronk, but
there's plenty of arguments to be made there. They have
the greatest quarterback of all time. They've got a first
team All Pro cornerback. They've got one of the greatest

(21:28):
defensive tackles of all time. If, like George call Office
gets the free agency, you'd probably make about twenty five
to thirty million dollars, You're.

Speaker 7 (21:34):
Like, and yet the Eagles are deeper, Sure they are.
They are more wild, but it's wid The Chiefs areted
extremely constant. Thing I'm most excited about just basic, you know,
as a true ball nowhere I got really down and dirty.
It's just it's just the matchup in the trenches. I
think it's because in the playoffs I have more time
to watch the All twenty two when during the season

(21:57):
I'm trying to watch every game that I can and
like power through those can ends most of the time.

Speaker 1 (22:02):
And seeing these two four man pass rushers in past
rushes and thinking about that matchup and how man how
much Nolan Smith has improved in Milton Williams and Jalen
Carter next to them, how much they've improved as well,
Josh Sweat who's just as consistent as it gets, and
Jylex Hunt even is adding a little pop and great

(22:24):
Brandon Graham, who finished it out the last time, is
probably in that game. And so that could be a
great matchup against the Chiefs offensive line, which played really
well in the AFC Championship. And then on the flip side,
I do think people are sleeping a little bit on
the four man rush that the Chiefs have Now they
and this is a theme I have throughout this preview.
They are not the same team as they were the

(22:44):
first eleven twelve weeks of the season. First of all,
Carl Loftis says that there is such a thing as playoff.
Carl Loftis, Mike like Mike Dana wasn't always the most consistent,
maybe isn't there like, but has played really well in playoffs.
Like that is a good for me. In pastors Omana
who wasn't there all season and adds a lot to

(23:06):
that group. And then Chris Jones is like beating really
good tackles on the edge and thinking about that matchup
against the best offensive line in the league.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
So just yeah, I love it. I do believe you
had a camp yesterday in the wee hours of whatever
time it was. We finally got got to New Orleans.
You're the Jalen Carter of NFL daily. I got to
be the Milton, the Milton Williams. Nice.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
That was nice.

Speaker 3 (23:32):
I thought that was more name recognition than Milton.

Speaker 5 (23:35):
He's played well.

Speaker 2 (23:36):
I love I love history.

Speaker 1 (23:38):
We're at the portion of NFL daily in our relationship,
where now she's just lying. She was the Jalen Carter
for the bit. She was the Jalen Carter and she
had you as the Milton Bruins.

Speaker 3 (23:50):
All right, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 2 (23:52):
Don't do that, ruined, don't don't do that.

Speaker 5 (23:54):
Don't divide us here.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
I will tell you Carlton, but seven seventeen pressures, three
sacks and the postseason alone. I mean, it's funny. I
mentioned him on the show, you know, a couple of
weeks ago, and like I got like Twitter mentions or
Blue Sky mentions about thanks for mentioning carl Loftus because
he's sort of like a cult favorite in that in
that fan base, and you can see why it really

(24:15):
turns it on the postseason. I'm excited to see this.
I think this is best on best in so many ways,
and the way that those four man rushes, like you said,
can just really execute. Both of these defensive coordinators can
do dastardly things.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
Okay, let's go to the next question. Which coordinator. Now
you wrote it up. We have a nice little document
we all we all shared, we collaborated, we came up
with topics, and Jordan's was which coordinator will be the
biggest factory? And I'm like, where's the juice when you
mentioned that initially You're like, which coordinator is gonna, like
gonna be the bigger creep? What was it? Who's going

(24:51):
to be a bad guy?

Speaker 2 (24:52):
I forget Oh, I said, which coordinator is going to
be the biggest bastard on Sunday?

Speaker 1 (24:57):
Yeah, like sell it.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
That's because these guys are gonna be so mean to
each other. And I love it. It's gonna be awesome,
And I just I love how this vic Fangio defense
has accelerated what normally would take a couple of years. Traditionally,
his system has taken a little bit of time to
really not just be implemented, but like to have the
right players and then to have everybody buy in. It's

(25:21):
a lot of tendency studying, it's a lot of you know,
pattern matching. It's a lot of these things that are complicated,
and it also is predicated on having good players who
can rush for upfront and then mixing different things that
he likes to do out of those zone coverages and
get a little sticky in those zone coverages on the
back end, and having really good inside linebackers helps with
this as well. Having Cooper dejen you can stay in

(25:41):
your preferred nickel package the entire game. And I just
think that not only is this the one of the
best defenses we've seen all year and really manifested that
way over time. It drew some concern early in the season,
and I remember saying on NFL Daily that's just a
big Fangio defense. You're going to wonder what they're doing
early on, and once it clicks, you can really really

(26:02):
see the vision. And I think that where one of
the things I'm most excited about to the first question
is how well the Chief's offense and Andy Reid. I'm
going to count him in with the coordinators. He's not
a coordinator obviously, but he's going to be calling the
game against.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
Vic Fanas Well.

Speaker 2 (26:20):
Matt Maggie and Vic Fangio have their own history, which
is fascinating. They work together in Chicago. They went against
each other all the time, and Matt Naggey knows what
Vic Fangio is capable of. But this Andy Reid offense
and the way that the Chiefs have been so comfortable
just picking away at different parts of the field, picking
at the seams a little bit, getting the screen game
going and really like biding their time and setting up

(26:42):
the longer downfield passing game that we've seen in recent weeks.
It's a perfect way to play this Vic Fangio defense.
It's going to be fascinating that juxtaposition between what Vic
is going to do and what he's going to try
to deploy with all of these talented players who've really emerged,
and then what Matt nag But we have to talk

(27:04):
about spags.

Speaker 1 (27:06):
But I want to know what is your answer you
asked the question.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
I mean, I am like the biggest Vic Fangio fangirls felt.

Speaker 1 (27:13):
Okay, it's a really good point on the screens too.
If it's hard to find a bad number for the
Eagles defense in general, I think at this point we
can safely at least I feel comfortable. I don't want
to speak for you guys, but they are the best
defense in the league. Yeah they are seven, Yeah, the
most talented, the results, all of it. But the one

(27:34):
weakness is that they can kind of find in the
numbers the next thing except they're not a good screen defense,
and that really plays exactly Chiefs. What is your answer
in terms of who's a bastard.

Speaker 2 (27:44):
Well, we say that lovingly. Also, I want to point them, Yeah,
it's the thing.

Speaker 4 (27:48):
You can say it lovingly, but it could also be
interpreted negatively depending on the outcome. And this is where
I get nervous with Kellen Moore. You've got a lot
of head coaching heat.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
With the Saints.

Speaker 4 (27:57):
We're in New Orleans and everything else, right, but if
there's one weakness in this matchup, it's him. I don't
trust him as much as I trust all the other
coordinators involved.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
I think that's fair.

Speaker 3 (28:08):
Yes, even Naggie. And because Naggie is he's insulated by Reid.

Speaker 1 (28:13):
Yes, also results has experience.

Speaker 4 (28:17):
He rose to head coach because of what he'd done before.
Right more, I don't care about whether he's not been
a head coach before. I care about what he did
in recent weeks, which is putting his quarterback, who was
hobbled in a divisional round game, into deep drops in
his own end zone with pressure bearing down on him
in a tight game. It's Situationally, I've had issues with
them all year, and a lot of the blame has

(28:38):
shifted to Jalen Hurts holding onto the ball too long,
which is somewhat valid at times, but I think that
he hasn't quite put them in the best spots all
the time, which is hard to do.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
Nobody's perfect.

Speaker 4 (28:46):
But in a matchup like this, where it's best on
best and the margin can be so slim, that's the
last guy I want to trust out of those coordinators.
So that's where it comes in as a negative thing.
They are also if you look at them a year
over year, and I know they fell apart down the
stretch last year, but I did like just some digging
into where were they last year versus this year, prepping

(29:07):
for what might await more after this game. They finished
eighth in offense last year. They finished eighth and offense
in total yards again this year, but vastly different appearance.
They were second in rushing obviously with Saquon twenty ninth
in passing, which kind of leads to where we'll go
later in this game. In this preview regarding this game,
I just don't I don't trust him.

Speaker 1 (29:25):
Even those numbers are flattering to them because they're given
better advantages because of their defense. In terms of like
dv AWA and yeah, total efficiency, they've been pretty similar
the last two years overall, You're right and in totally
different how they got there, But they're not even like
a top ten offense, which is crazy when you have
Saquon Barkley. And it's why the answer is clearly Spags

(29:48):
because he's the biggest bastard in maybe the history of
football in terms of defensive coordinator. At this point, you
gotta give him the love. Belichick would be there if
you counted him as like a play caller, and there's
been other ones, but I'm talking about what I know
best over the last twenty five years. They're the two.
They're the two on defense that would be at the

(30:09):
very top. And to me, the number one question in
this game is what you just said, Can Spagnolo make
Jalen hold the ball?

Speaker 2 (30:20):
That?

Speaker 1 (30:21):
To me?

Speaker 2 (30:21):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (30:21):
I honestly think that like that's going to be the test.
You might be able to tell it early. When he's
getting rid of the ball quickly, everything can work, and
when he's holding onto the ball, good things are just
not gonna happen. So with what he is showing, can
he make them hold onto the ball? And then when
he does hit on those blitzes because he will he
always does. Is it a catastrophic play for Jalen Hurts

(30:47):
or is it just a bad play? Is it a throwaway?
Is it a three yard sack? Like you can live
with that? You can't live with the turnovers, the fumbles,
the negative fourteen yard sacks that Hurts will take. So
to me, it's Hurts And it's so funny because it's
it's these storylines that have been traveling with him for
years since Todd Bowles did it to him how to

(31:08):
see handle the blitz? So it's can he get rid
of the ball? And when Spags does confuse their offensive line,
which you will at some point, how does Hurts handle that?

Speaker 2 (31:16):
This offensive line. By the way, these tackles have like
the second and fifth best protection against pressure rate in
the NFL right now at their respective position. And still
despite that, and and part of this nick is about
Kellen Moore too. I refuse to say that this is
all about Jalen Hurts. But when he does hold onto
the ball, his pressure rate skyrockets to forty and a

(31:38):
half percent, despite the protection that he gets from those
two bookends on the outside. And he even takes a
long time to get the ball out against the blitz,
which also is a schematic thing two point eighty five
seconds on average per next gen, fifth longest in the NFL,
and has the second highest sack rate against the Blitz
in the NFL this season. And you have Saque mf

(31:59):
and Barkley, who is also a good pass catching outlet
back who is also a good pass pro back. I'm
gonna get to that later in the preview. But part
of this is just infuriating design as well, in my opinion,
and that's what I think SPAGS is gonna watch some
of the ways that teams, and particularly Rams a couple
of weeks ago, played Kellen Moore and almost forced Kellen

(32:22):
Moore to play into his worst habits and his worst tendencies,
and in turn, Jalen Hurts to play into his worst
habits and his worst tendencies, and he got teed off on.
And I do believe Steve Spagnolo is a huge factor.

Speaker 1 (32:34):
Meanwhile, he's like, you know, it's spending his nights putting
together his Saints staff. Here, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (32:40):
This is know what I'm saying. Yeah, it's not good.
It's not setting up good for him. That doesn't mean
that I don't think that the Eagles can win. It's
just that that is the situation which he's gonna have
his work cut off for.

Speaker 1 (32:50):
It's not quite Parcels making calls from I believe it
was in New Orleans.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
Putting his house in the market in New Orleans.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
From his hotel room, putting together his his staff. And
there was only there was only like one week in
between at that point, between the Packers and the Patriots
Super Bowl, and he's not paying attention at all. In
Belichick's getting all mad because Parcels isn't paying attention before
Patriots Packers. That was a long time ago. Let's move
on to what matters more experience or youth. We're way
behind pace here really quick.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
Though. I want to say Jalen Hurts was great against
Baggs and the Blitzes in the last time these two
teams played in the.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
Champions It's a great it's a great point.

Speaker 2 (33:26):
That thanks glad we got to it that like here.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
He did handle it perfectly. Yeah, last time around, he
could not have played better. And I think he needs
to do what he did there, which was be aggressive,
you know what I mean, Like he's gonna have to
throw those go balls on like third and two when
they blitz and just trust trust himself.

Speaker 3 (33:47):
Brown for that.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
So that's good. What matters more here in this in
the Super Bowl, youth or experience?

Speaker 3 (33:52):
Nick, It is youth.

Speaker 4 (33:54):
It is youth because the Chiefs have paved their path
here by being the most annoying team to play against.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
When they're on offense.

Speaker 4 (34:04):
Third and five, Patrick Mahomes rolls out, everything's breaking down,
all hell is breaking loose, and yet he finds somebody
be on the line to gain or he's already five
yards past the line of scrimmage and they're still biting
on the pump fake and they're gate picking up first downs.
How do you eliminate that? You eliminate that with a
bunch of young dogs who are athletic and can cover
a lot of field and who are coached really well.

Speaker 3 (34:27):
And that is who these Eagles are.

Speaker 4 (34:29):
I know that there's more experience on the side of
the Chiefs, but the Eagles athletes, I think tip the
scales in their favor. They're also one of only two
teams in the Super Bowl era to have the NFL's
rushing leader and the number one total defense in the NFL.
I just want to think about that for a second.
The last team though did that was the Cowboys with
them at Smith. We know what happened with them. They
won Super Bowls. They played the K gun offense, they dominated.

(34:51):
I have a feeling that if there's one antidote to
this Chiefs offense this year, and America can all get
on board with this because you all hate the Chiefs,
it is where whatever shade of green they wear, now
hopefully they go back to Kelly and the people with
the wings on their helmets.

Speaker 3 (35:05):
It's Philadelphia, you okay, so you go youth.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
It's funny because, yeah, the Chiefs has more starters returning
from this game fifteen to twelve, but they have a
lot of young players too. When I think of vulnerabilities
for the Chiefs, it's people that nobody talks about. Jayden Hicks,
Brian Cook. I think about half their second maybe Jalen Watson,
maybe Chamar Economar who's healthy and like, these names never
come up, but those are guys that if Kellen Moore

(35:30):
and Jalen Hurts and those receivers do their jobs, they
should have mismatches with. So so there are two teams
that have a nice mix of youth and experience. But
it's the Eagles that are definitely a little younger.

Speaker 2 (35:40):
Yeah, And I was conflicted on this. It was a
great question because I just I can't shake this feeling
in my head that the Chiefs are The Chiefs are
like this monolith. They're like Pangaea breaking apart, like they
are inevitable right like it is. So it's so hard
to stop them when you feel that sense of dread.
If they start playing stuff a ball, if a couple

(36:01):
of marginal things swing their way, you just can't shake
that feeling that they just know how to do this
and they've just been here before. At the same time,
that youth, that energy. It's the reason why this sprint
rebuild that Howie Roseman did is so successful so fast,
is because they identified the correct talent and they are
maximizing that young talent at every single position, which supplements

(36:22):
and even equals that in places they're core stars and
some of the veterans that they had on the roster.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
They swarm, and I think that's where you see the youth.
I do think they're a little bit faster overall, but
these are two pretty physical teams in a league that's
getting a little lighter. They're two of the bigger teams.
I like that. I'm going to kick off the next one,
which is if a player is at his best, who
moves the needle in this scheme? And I want to

(36:49):
talk about Xavier Worthy's development. They are using him and
he is performing like a true number one receiver and
he doesn't that mold because he's, you know, one hundred
and sixty five pounds, and you think about him that
he's not totally complete, and that's that's fine. They haven't.
I mean, Sammy Watkins had one of the greatest postseasons

(37:12):
of all time on this team. He wasn't a complete receiver,
but for that postseason, he was a number one receiver
and he helped them win a freaking super Bowl. And
Xavier Worthy is that guy. But more I think the
subtleties that they focused in on, and I think it's
a lot about Marquise Brown showing up and starting to
do some of the other Xavier Worthy things, where he's
got about three different types of routes that he can do,

(37:35):
and his footwork is so excellent and he is so
fast and he can win against any type of coverage,
and the offense is really built around him in a way,
I think over the last five weeks, especially the playoffs,
that it wasn't earlier in the season that he really
is that good. I don't think there's a good matchup.
Of course, the Eagles have a great secondary, but it's

(37:58):
not like I'm trusting any one of those guys in
a one on one situation. And they're a great team
in terms of their pattern match and passing off guys
and maybe that's how you do it. But if you
told me that he goes nine for one sixty five,
oh like something crazy like that, I actually think he
is capable and he he is the guy playing at
a level that I don't think the rest of the

(38:18):
country is totally caught up to where he is now
because he's so different than where he was in the
first twelve weeks.

Speaker 2 (38:23):
Well, it's also about the interconnectivity between what he can
do as running you know, pretty much a full tree
at this point, which he did in college, right, I mean,
I know you watched a lot of them in college. Nick,
he did that in college. So it's now it was
almost like getting like one toe after the other into
the water, like with him with Andy Reid and trusting
as Andy Reid likes to sort of test his receivers
and his skill players how much can I trust you

(38:44):
and how much can I stack onto your plate? You're
really seeing it. And when he is in compliment with
Hollywood Brown, the Chiefs over the last four games have
increased their scoring average by five points per game because
the interconnectedness of the two, it builds more dimension into
this passing game that was all like screens and traveling.

Speaker 1 (39:01):
They were, they were the slow. They were somehow the
number one seed as the slowest team in the NFL.
And now when you watch them, like there are some
routes where the two of them fly off the ball
and then they do comebacks because every everyone is like,
oh my god, these guys are actually fast, and it's
just like you didn't see that. There wasn't that element
and the Chiefs offensive literally wasn't there.

Speaker 8 (39:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
I think I think Hollywood Brown is like one of
the biggest X factors in this game. Good or bad.
I'm not sure how it's going to go, but he
makes them so much faster. Give me your give me
your player who moves the needle.

Speaker 4 (39:33):
Well, I think on that point it was a lack
of verticality and they can now get vertical. It's an
overall improven on all parts. My player, if he's at
his best, why does he move the needle? Going back
to the defensive side, Zach Bond, because of the point
I kind of just made the last one, which was
it's the stuff over the middle, Because if you are
spending time taking away suddenly an offense that can get

(39:54):
vertical outside, who is the one guy that's going to
be able to stop what the Chiefs do best, which
is fine sawt spots over the middle. Zach Bond the
number one graded coverage linebacker in the NFL this season
according to PFF. I feel like a lot of teams
they've played have missed that X factor you go down
the path that they just followed, you know, playing Buffalo,

(40:14):
playing Baltimore, you could say Rocwon was that guy. But
it just seems like if I have to find one
player on this defense against them, and I feel like
I'm skewing heavy anti Chiefs and I'm not intentionally, but it.

Speaker 3 (40:24):
Just feels like Zach Bond, Nah, don't do that.

Speaker 5 (40:26):
Don't do that.

Speaker 4 (40:29):
Unfortunately, Zach Bond, He's gonna be the guy that's gonna
be able to not only match up with Travis Kelce,
but also take away enough of that area.

Speaker 3 (40:35):
But it's really still a collective effort on the defensive
side for that.

Speaker 2 (40:37):
Yeah, the Eagles are one of the best linebacking teams
and defending the middle of the field, especially in coverage.
In the NFL, Travis Kelce has more yards in the
middle of the field and against linebackers on passing plays
since since twenty eighteen, he has like the highest EPA
of any players just where he lives. Insane. Yeah, but
like that is Zach Bond, NFL Daily, first Tea pro.

Speaker 1 (41:00):
There you go. By the way, I didn't have the
heart to tell Fred Warner that he was on our
second team, but I was like, but it.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
Had an incomplete because the injury. Yeah, yeah, we love
you Fred, one of the players of NFL Daily. Yeah.
So I think that that's a great point because that
is an X factor between Zach Bond and Cooper Dejean
and some of the rotations that they get into and
being able to trust the guys on the outside and
trust the safeties. That is going to make defending the
middle of the field so hard. And that's where the

(41:27):
Chiefs have liked to live and breathe through most of
the season before your guys emerged. I can't believe none
of you brought up the most obvious one outside of
Pat Mahomes. It's just Saquon Barkley. You know that, that
obvious Yeah, I'll be I'll be that guy, Okay, But
Saquon Barkley, you you hold your breath every time he
gets the ball, right, because if he it's not like

(41:49):
if he's going to break off the big run, the
explosive run, not just twenty plus yards run, but like
the fifty plus yards run, it's a matter of win.
And you just feel the state like a couple of
games of his in person, and like you just feel
the entire stadium hold their breath every single time. And
I just think that it's just going to be an
absolute X factor if Saquon Barkley A does Saquon Barkley things,

(42:15):
which is play really well in the first half, but
then increase in his yards per carry and his effectiveness
and overall success rate through the second half of games,
which he's done all season, and if he has twenty
or more carries in a game. He has always every
single game this season gone over one hundred rushing yards
and that is an absolute factor when you also count
this offensive line and you also count some of the

(42:37):
things that you need to do to a stay in
your A plus game plan and take the teeth out
of that bastard's blitz.

Speaker 1 (42:44):
There you go. I mean we said that word a lot.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
I hope that's okay, bastard.

Speaker 1 (42:47):
I think it's allowed. I am.

Speaker 2 (42:50):
We mean it lovingly.

Speaker 1 (42:51):
Want I want to go to what you think we
might be overlooking here because talking Saquon there, he's not
just you know, a runner, uh, He's a pass protector.

Speaker 2 (43:02):
This is the thing that I've geeked out on so
much over this season. And by the way, it will
be hard for him to run against the Chiefs defense.
They have the lowest mistackle rate in the league this season,
and those linebackers are very good on the Chiefs defense too.
So what I really really liked about what I watched
all season with Saquon Barkley is how he effectively navigates
his responsibilities in pass protection. It was so interesting the

(43:25):
way that the Commanders tried to attack using Frankie Louvu
as a blitzer pretty much anytime Saquon was off the
field on a passing down or anytime he was split
out from the stack and into the flats as like
an outlet for a blitz play, they would attack. You know,
they would try to get to Jalen Hurts that way

(43:45):
because they did not have Saquon in pass pro. And
then they also that quarterback lead draw that they ran.
They also like faked that Saquon was going to just
be in pass pro and instead he just like leaked
up the gaps as a lead blocker. So the Eagles
are very aware of his gifts and his talents here,

(44:05):
and I think that's another thing that could be a
game changer against Steve Spagnola in all of his ability
that we know he can do. But Steve Spagnola is
gonna have seen that on tape, and he's gonna he's
gonna look at those tendencies. He's gonna have seen some
of those things that even through the course of the game,
what dan Quinn was doing in order to try to
torment Jalen Hurts a little bit with that pressure, which

(44:27):
you know, Eagles broke that game wide open, But there
are a couple of times there where you thought, man,
that's a good plan against the Eagles offense sneaky.

Speaker 1 (44:35):
Big factor could be Kenny Gainwell. He's made himself some
money this year. Yeah, I think he's a nice How great?

Speaker 2 (44:41):
How great of our name for a running back is
gain Well.

Speaker 1 (44:44):
Either way, it's the perfect I never even thought about it.
And you lose a lot when field, But I think
too Kenny Gainwell can make big plays. I think the
Chiefs might be a little vulnerable on the run.

Speaker 2 (44:54):
Do you like that we're air fiving over your head?
Does that make you feel good?

Speaker 1 (44:57):
Is very uncomfortable. So it's like very very easy.

Speaker 2 (45:02):
Greg, I swear to God three times you almost hit me,
and I swear to God.

Speaker 3 (45:05):
I swear to God. Number four.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
Who's the player or element we're overlooking Nick Bolton?

Speaker 4 (45:11):
And it sounds a lot like what I just said
about Zac Bond, except Nick Bolton. The grades don't shine
well on him, right. I think he's overlooked. He's never
garnered a postseason an accolade that he may have deserved
over the course of his career.

Speaker 3 (45:22):
But he makes.

Speaker 1 (45:24):
Grades, especially the coverage ones, not like they're not a
piece to the puzzle.

Speaker 4 (45:29):
Just saying I know nothing and I don't judge my
analysis on it. But I just know that if you're
looking to justify my analysis, he makes big plays. He
he just has a knack for coming through in the
biggest spots. I think back to what Week three against
Atlanta where he just shut down the Falcons rushing attempt
on fourth down to win that game. It was early,
it was on the road, but it felt like a

(45:49):
tone setter and a reminder of this guy who was
playing through a back issue at the time.

Speaker 3 (45:53):
He's not going anywhere. He's got experience.

Speaker 4 (45:55):
He made a big play in this Super Bowl two
years ago when they played in Phoenix with that return
of that fumble, which kind of swung the game in
their favor. At that point, the Eagles had a lot
of the momentum. I just feel like he's gonna come
through in a big spot this time around. It's going
to be again kind of like what the Eagles is
going to be a collective effort. It always is. But
if there's one guy who I think people are not
paying attention to on this team, I mean, we could

(46:16):
talk about Carloft is obviously going people are gonna pay
attention to.

Speaker 5 (46:18):
Chris Jones.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
Don't forget about Nick.

Speaker 1 (46:20):
Bole Now that linebacker crew is coming so cool.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
The other on in this entire.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
Run, dang good linebacker crew.

Speaker 1 (46:27):
Like Drew Tranquil channel in Bolton. It's always rotating. There's
no more Willy Gay there. But like every year we
get to this point in the season, they always like
it used to be a thing that it was always
a weakness for them year after year after year, even
after Spegnola got there. And then they figured it out
about three or four years ago with with this crew,
and they've only gotten better and it makes them so

(46:47):
multiple As part of the reason, uh, my element people
are overlooking is just like this Chiefs team is so
much better than they were eight weeks ago, yes, ago,
And I don't I don't think they're worse than they
were two years ago. I think they're better than they

(47:09):
were at this point last year. Yes, think about what's changed.
For like, when you think about the AFC, was like, oh,
the Chief's gonna get lucky and get through. And then
you actually watch how the Bills played over the last
month and watch how you know the Ravens played in
that game certainly and some of the ups and the downs,
and then you watch it. What's different about this Chiefs team.

(47:31):
Number one, I mentioned the speed with the receivers, they're
just a different offense. Number two that time off Hunt
and Mahomes in particular on offense, they look like different
players just in terms of their agility, so they're different.
Number three health I mentioned Amana who I mentioned on
the back end, it's some of it's some of their

(47:53):
rotational players. In terms of Samari Connor being back there,
it's Jalen Watson, who who's a huge upgrade from Nas
Johnson like that, that's a huge upgrade. It's not something
that you're really thinking about exactly. Justin Reid back there
wasn't always healthy one of like Omana, who wasn't healthy
at all this season. Like these are big time pieces

(48:14):
for them that they're essentially because they have a lot
of cap commitments replacing guys that were minimum salary, bottom
of the roster guys that they've done a good job
filling in. But it's one of the reasons they didn't
look as good this year as a lot of those
guys were in there and they're not in there, and
as much you can actually kind of include like DeAndre
Hopkins and Justin Watson in that mix. They're not really

(48:37):
in the three receiver sets. So though, it wouldn't shock
me if like Watson shows up uh in the Super
Bowl and like makes a couple of plays. So you
look at that, and then you also look at the
way Mahomes has been playing. We haven't talked Mahomes. I
know you wanted to talk about him a little bit,
Jordan here. He's just been playing, I think a little
more confidently, getting rid of the ball more quickly, and

(48:57):
more willing to be aggressive over the last five You
add all that up, and if this was the team
that we saw all season, we would have been like, oh, yeah,
that's the best team in the NFL. Or maybe like
you could convinced yourselves the Eagles or the Lions at
the time, where.

Speaker 2 (49:11):
But it wouldn't be as mad at them because they
couldn't argue with you.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
They wouldn't be lucky. These playoff results in December results
weren't lucky. If anything, the Bills were lucky to even
be in that game. Yeah, let's just let's all hail
Patrick Mahomes before we move on to our final point.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
I know, it's just it is so fun to watch
and play football, and I think it's it's interesting because
we go through these phases with players who are great,
who are all time great, and I think it's actually
if you look at some of the on the ground
chaddar and some of the narrative swings not necessarily year
over year, but week over a week, or you know,

(49:47):
fans and how fans react and all of those things,
it's hard to be that sustainably great without someone just
really hating you. Oh yeah, And and I just I
love that we are getting to watch the entire arc
of this player's career in the biggest games, in the
biggest stages, and honestly, he is one of the biggest

(50:09):
X factors on the field for both teams. Saquon Barkley
is gonna make a huge difference in this game if
he can get going. We know that already. We know
that the Eagles, in my opinion, the Eagles are the
more complete of these two teams and the deepest of
dude teams. Right. But Patrick Mahomes has that magic in
him and he's just got this like when he really

(50:29):
turns it on, it just you can't stop it. It's
like watching this wave coming at you and you're just
like all right, Well, this is my fate.

Speaker 1 (50:37):
Right, Like I think the weight of having to make
it every year and how tough it is to make
it back every year like that does show up with
the Chiefs. They just find a way to win like
ugly games during it and you can almost see him
playing with like a little more joy once they saw
the light at the end of the tunnel with the
three games and fifteen games.

Speaker 5 (50:53):
That's what it happened, Chris.

Speaker 2 (50:55):
It's kind of like, yeah.

Speaker 1 (50:57):
Okay, the weight is finally off and now I'm just
back to Patrick and I'm playing ball play.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
They played the best ball of the year and they've
continue to do.

Speaker 4 (51:03):
They have figured out how to peak late, and it
starts with their quarterback. He was still playing some of
the best football in the NFL for most of the season.
You know, we've talked about this. I'd get crushed.

Speaker 3 (51:14):
Online every week.

Speaker 4 (51:14):
Why is Mahomes in your top five? Because it doesn't
look good, But trust me, it's good.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
A little style for him.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
He had a down year for his caliber, for his standards.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
Yes, yes, because a lot of it was a slog
early in the season.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
It was creaky. Yeah, that's the word I use a
lot when I watched Travis Kelcey run like that, it
was it felt creaky. Their whole operation just felt like
it just hurts.

Speaker 4 (51:38):
But I think that they know that they have the
opportunity to get here almost every year if they play
it right.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
And these are long seasons. I mean, they built for it.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
They are the greatest team of all time in terms
of a dynasty. If they win this game. It's really crazy.
I mean, you could say others if it had higher highs,
if you wanted to, or come up with some or
to argument, but there is no argument against three straight
Super Bowls and making it five out of six years

(52:06):
and winning for it. There's just that it just hasn't happened. Now.
Shout out to the Packers, by the way, who get
a little loss in the shovel. Like they did win
three straight championships. It just so happened. It was the
last two uh NFL championships and the first couple the
last NFL championship, in the first couple of Super Bowls.

Speaker 4 (52:24):
Half of it they weren't there. Merger, it doesn't count.

Speaker 1 (52:27):
It's honestly kind of stupid. They did win three three
state straight titles. It's just like the league changed one year.

Speaker 2 (52:34):
Before the forward pass was barely legal. Ye just kidding.
I know you were five at that time, but that actually.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
That actually is still the best dynasty over like a
six eight year period, but it was a different league,
and we do count the Super Bowl as the bottom are.
So that's what I'm talking about. Final take. We got
to get out of here. We got we got a
lot of interviews. Uh, and we're getting to Greg Olsen next,
so we're going to wrap this up. It's one final take,
so hot that it hurts my feelings or hurts your feelings.

(53:08):
Shout out to the underrated singer songwriter Caroline Policheck who
has a song, so You're so hot it hurts my feelings,
which always stuck in my head.

Speaker 2 (53:15):
You've said that a few times today. I've not reacted anytime,
and you keep saying it. Yeah, look at this poll.
Look at this poll. Pole p u lll like, look
at this deep cut. Look at this deep cut.

Speaker 4 (53:28):
Greg, Oh my god, I mean I'm gonna look at
Caroline Wow, Polo check.

Speaker 3 (53:32):
I think that's how you come on.

Speaker 1 (53:33):
She's got a lot of streams so Spotify.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
It is shocking because and I know You guys did
this out of respect for the dock, right, because we
were all in the dock like talking back and forth
with each other. But it is something that can fit
in so many of these categories, whether it's a game
changing scenario, whether it is a player at his best,
whether it is something we're all overlooking. And one of
the things that will probably make a difference in this

(53:55):
game that made a difference in the last matchup in
the Super Bowl when these two teams play was Patrick
Mahomes scrambling and moving around. He doubles his scramble rate
in the postseason, and the Eagles are the number twenty
two ranked defense against scrambling quarterbacks this year. His fifteen
percent scramble rate is the highest in his career, not

(54:17):
just the postseason, and it absolutely killed the Bills a
couple weeks ago.

Speaker 4 (54:21):
You know why the Eagle struggle with that, because when
they're too busy flying around the field all the time
with all their youth, you lose a little bit discipline in
that process.

Speaker 1 (54:27):
Yeah, that's what swung this game two years ago.

Speaker 4 (54:29):
Mahomes on a bad ankle, just takes off down the
middle of the field like it's always been a problem,
but it could very much be a problem.

Speaker 1 (54:35):
It sung's I feel like it swung every big Chiefs
game ever that he only runs when he absolutely needs
to rip your heart out. He did it in his
first playoff run ever, in one of the greatest comebacks
in NFL history against the defense that gave up three
points a couple weeks later in the Super Bowl. And

(54:56):
the only reason Pat Mahomes doesn't have another Super Bowl
trophy because they lost the coin toss and the Patriots
got it first in the twenty eighteen Championship because he
was going touchdown after touchdown after touchdout and a lot
of it was him scrambling. It's absolutely rageous. My final
take is the Chiefs actually aren't that good defending the run,
and that their defense, if you want to find a

(55:18):
flaw in the playoffs, hasn't been quite as good as
they were in the regular season on outside zone runs
in the playoffs. You know who's cooked them. Joe Mixon.
James Cook then did it too. If you add up
their outside runs over the last two weeks, it's like
nineteen for one thirty two. Like play after play after play,

(55:38):
they are not really maintaining gapper integrity. Then you look
over the course of the season, what are they awful
at stopping tight ends like EPA per play success rate
thirty first thirty second in the league's I think Dallas
Goddard could take advantage. Those are two really important parts
of the Eagles. I think that's why the Eagles have
been good. They can hit you wherever your weakness is,
the outside runs and the tight end, and I think

(56:00):
that's how the Eagles do it.

Speaker 2 (56:01):
Nine point three yards per carry on outside runs for
Saquon Barkley this season.

Speaker 1 (56:06):
Look at that. That's team works NFL Daily.

Speaker 5 (56:09):
Yeah, Hi five.

Speaker 1 (56:12):
Is so hot that it hurts your feelings.

Speaker 4 (56:14):
Shook polar opposite of what you just said, which is,
if this Chiefs defense finds a way to shut down sau.

Speaker 3 (56:22):
Ken, Jalen Hurts and Kellen Moore overcome that, or are we.

Speaker 4 (56:26):
Destined for a miserable experience in which Jalen Hurts is
forced to.

Speaker 3 (56:30):
Hold onto the ball too long and it repeats that
little period against the Rams.

Speaker 1 (56:35):
Who are you picking here? Are we going to pick
the game? Why not?

Speaker 2 (56:38):
That was also that was polar opposite, not polar opposite,
which sounds the same, but are two very different words.
Because I say pole as pole, not poll.

Speaker 4 (56:49):
For like ten maybe three seconds there, I was like,
what is she talking about?

Speaker 2 (56:56):
I did to enunciate my us.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
I had no idea what five minutes when you said
that's a nice poll, and I was like, that doesn't
make sense.

Speaker 2 (57:03):
Yeah, looking just beyond you just.

Speaker 1 (57:05):
Got to move on. I mean, I'm I'm taking the Eagles.
I just said why. I'm not as bold as Claybon
who thinks they might be up a couple scores and
not have to sweat it out. But I do think
they find a way. What I don't, I really hope
we're not all going Eagles.

Speaker 4 (57:22):
Well, I was on board with Clayban with the same idea.
My score landed around like thirty twenty five that range,
and the idea is that it's really more like thirty seventeen.
The Chiefs score, they go for two some sort of
you know, we end up in that range. But I
worry about that because.

Speaker 3 (57:40):
You say it worry a lot.

Speaker 2 (57:41):
It's a way to threat. I'm also a threat.

Speaker 3 (57:43):
We're all picking a lot of anxiety in this body.

Speaker 5 (57:45):
Here.

Speaker 4 (57:46):
The Eagles had such a lead in the in this
first iteration, I know these are two different teams two
years ago, but I hate the idea of them being
building another big lead and then my home storm's back inevitable.
Like you said, So, I'm not super I'm confident Eagles
are winning.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
Oh we're all picking the Eagles because hell yeah, I'm
picking the Eagles twenty four to twenty one. And I
think that the first at least the first half of
this is going to be just a delight of a
defensive battle that'll get the non ball Knower's going.

Speaker 3 (58:12):
Eh, we're super Bowl ever, the super Bowl nobody.

Speaker 2 (58:15):
Wanted, when actually it is a beautiful masterclass in these
two defensive coordinators who rock.

Speaker 1 (58:20):
As we've gotten closer to it, and I wonder if
that's everyone out there, or maybe it's just the people
I've talked to, I think, what have you gotten closer?
It's like, actually, these are two incredible, kind of historic teams.
The Eagles have been this good for a while, two
super Bowls out of three, but also one of the
best NFC teams really throughout the Howie Roseman era, and

(58:41):
this chief team, like the players, the coaches, it's an
incredible matchup. We're not done talking about this game. Just yet,
We're going to bring on another ball nowhere. That's Greg Olsen, yes,
of Carolina Panthers' fame, but also now of Fox Sports.
Right after the break back here on NFL Daily. Thrilled

(59:04):
to be wrapping up the best preview show in the game.
We started with Fred Warner, we gave you the nitty
gritty in the middle, and now we have Greg Olsen,
for my money, the best color man analyst in the
business and apparently a long time buddy of Jordan Rodrigue,
who knew.

Speaker 8 (59:23):
We go way back to those early Panther beat days
standing by my locker having to answer why we win
win more games?

Speaker 2 (59:31):
Okay, to be fair, was that.

Speaker 5 (59:34):
What you're tell me? Remind me what you're using?

Speaker 2 (59:36):
Sixteen?

Speaker 8 (59:36):
Yeah, okay, you got seventeen, Yeah, you got seventeen. Playoffs
was fun and then and then you were there.

Speaker 4 (59:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (59:42):
Then, but I got to tell you, like Greg, I
mean listeners, like you guys got to know what kind
of guy Greg was in the locker room. I mean,
I was a kid recorder, scared every single day walking
in there. You got me in with Ryan Khalil, which
was a big deal, and then you looked out for
me every single day I was in there and you
explained things to me, which I loved and it really

(01:00:03):
had helped me set up. And when people are saying, hey,
he's going to get into commentary, into color analysis and
all of that, I was like, I mean, obviously he
explains things better than anyone else.

Speaker 8 (01:00:14):
I appreciate you saying that it was fun working with you.
It's been fun to see your career just continue to
ascend and it's all come full circle.

Speaker 2 (01:00:21):
I know here we are on the daily desk.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
I know, I know, I know Greg Wilson loves talking
ball because he said he's been here for what is
this seven.

Speaker 8 (01:00:29):
Now, I wasn't doing media the whole time. I had
a panel, like a press conference panel I had to do.
But I'm going on, that's a wild eight hours. He's
here with DraftKings. We're going to ask him about that
in a little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
But I wanted to get into the game and and
just you're looking, let's start on the Eagles offensive side
of the ball. If like, what is the coolest thing
that they do in terms of the running game that
maybe the average fan would wouldn't totally understand it in
terms of the details that they get done to help

(01:01:02):
Saquon Barkley do what he does.

Speaker 8 (01:01:04):
Yeah, so, I think the first place you have to
start when you start talking about a team's willingness and
ability both of those things to do really well in
the run game. You can talk about the offensive line
and the scheme and the running back and Sakon. We
can go on and on about that, we probably will,
but none of it matters if you're playing in shootouts.
None of it matters. If you're not playing good defense,

(01:01:26):
none of it. Like when anytime you talk about it
offenses ability to run the football, it always starts on defense.
And when you talk about a defense's ability or inability
to stop the run, my first question is, well, how
many points does their offense score? Because if your offense
is scoring seventeen a game, you better stop the run.
If your offense is scoring thirty a game, it doesn't

(01:01:46):
matter if you stop the run or not, because lep
teams run it, you're not gonna beat me. So it
always starts with the other complementary side of the ball
that sets the table right, So obviously they check that box.

Speaker 5 (01:01:56):
Picfangio.

Speaker 8 (01:01:57):
The job he's done defensively, Now what they do you
think two years ago when they were on this stage,
it was Miles Sanders. He was a twelve hundred yard rusher.
This has been a traditionally high level running team. Jalen
Hurts is a factor in that, and of course the
offensive line and the style and the coaching and YadA,
YadA yad. Now all of a sudden, you insert arguably

(01:02:19):
the best, one of the best running backs. Right, it's him,
It's McCaffrey, it's Derrick Henry, It's that small group of
guys over the last handful of years that are generationally
good running backs, and you put them behind this offensive line,
and now this is where you get the magic. Right,
So it's the whole thing. Like I can't believe the
Giants let him go. No offense to Sa Kwon Barkley
or the Giants, but Sejuon Barkley wasn't rushing for two

(01:02:41):
thousand yards, and if he did, they were probably gonna
not win a game because they weren't ready to have
a great running team because it wasn't going to move
the needle. So they checked so many boxes. What that
unlocks for them to do philosophically with the third downs
and fourth down and the tush push, and it can
go on and on about what it unlocks for them.
But it's a very special combination that most teams don't have,

(01:03:04):
which is why you don't see most teams run the
ball this frequently.

Speaker 2 (01:03:09):
I love what you said about bringing the complement of
the defense in there too, great because I'm wondering if
you can explain a little bit more to the listener
about just how much Vic Fangio's death by one thousand
paper cuts system is really the inversion of the suffocation ball.
They play on offense and really plays keep away in
the best way from teams.

Speaker 5 (01:03:26):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (01:03:27):
Well, I've been covering a lot of Kyle Shanahan, so
you know it's a dark time the.

Speaker 1 (01:03:32):
Like I like, he's great.

Speaker 8 (01:03:34):
So yeah, so again you can't. So again, you think
about the two year journey for Philadelphia to be back
in this spot, and their defense under Jonathan Gannon two
years ago was really good. The offense under Shane Steichen
was really good. They lose a close one shootout, wasn't
their defense's best game, but they're playing Mahomes and things
happen and they lose both coordinators and then last year

(01:03:55):
they definitely take a step back defensively, and they take
a signific again step back also offensively, and he has
to Sirianni now has to bring in a new set
of coordinators. Again, that is very hard to do. You're
in and year out on either side of the ball,
let alone both. Now, somehow the miracle that Vic Fangio
is not good enough to be down in Miami and

(01:04:16):
he's available. As a whole other conversation, but he's available.
He's a great fit. It's exactly what they needed. They've
got some young pieces. He kind of brings the experience,
he brings the edge, he brings what they need. And
now everything that their offense wants to be is perfectly
complimented by what the defense was all season long. I
think they finished either one or two in total or

(01:04:37):
overall points allowed. And again, without that, so many aspects
of what makes the offense so good is less effective,
So you can't get I would argue that Fangio's the
Assistant Coach of the Year or whatever that award is,
because his impact on that team to get them back
to this super Bowl is as equally important as Saquon

(01:04:57):
and Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown and Kellen Moore, and
they we all deserve their flowers, but it hinges on
the ability that the opponent's not scoring a million points.

Speaker 4 (01:05:06):
We saw that all kind of come together in the
NFC Championship game, right, you forced all the turnovers, you
capitalize offensively. But for much of this season, I feel
as if, especially since probably a week seven, it's been
more about the defense than anybody. Right, they hold the
Giants to three points, they start to ride this wave.
Saquon is the face of the offense, but I feel
like what we don't pay attention to at times. What
I want to ask you about is how is he

(01:05:27):
married with this offensive line? Because they've undergone a lot
of changes. You know, year over year, they lost Kelsey,
they moved Jurgens over to center, where he was playing
center in college before he had to play guard. You
have a number of different guys mckaype Beckton goes from
tackle to guard. What can you say about all the
changes that they've undergone and how it's kind of just
led them here.

Speaker 8 (01:05:43):
Yeah, I think it's a great question. I think when
you bring in these really established veteran running backs, you know,
you look at just this past year. Right, you got
Joe Mixon down in Houston, you got Derrick Henry in Baltimore,
you got Saquon obviously in Philadelphia, and all of them
to mixed results in different But what team find themselves
being forced to do is they say, Okay, I'm taking
in Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, whoever it is.

Speaker 5 (01:06:06):
What do they specialize in? Right?

Speaker 8 (01:06:07):
Are they gap runners? Are they inside zone? Are they
perimeter runners? Are they one cut and go guys? Or
they see it patient and then hit it. Every running
back has their different style and flavor. But what happens
is now you bring in this running back and you
pay them a gazillion dollars and you say, okay, I
gotta do what they're comfortable doing. I'm not going to
ask Saquon Barkley to not do what he's comfortable doing.
But then what that does is, well, what about the

(01:06:29):
offensive line. What if you have an offensive line that's
built to be a zone team and all of a sudden,
you want to be a gap scheme down downhill counter team,
or you want to be a downhill gap counter team,
and your big bodies and you're big and vertical, and
maybe you're not as good on the perimeter. Maybe you
can't get big bodies in space. Well, then you have
the Philadelphia Eagles, and they can run zone, they can
run counter, they can spread you out, they can pack

(01:06:51):
you in, they can play, they can play vertical and
remove you off the line of scrimmage. They can pin
and get big bodies out on the perimeter. They have
the combination of the verse running backs who can really
check every box to go along with an offensive line
that is not going to be challenged or strained by
anything that Saquon Barkley or Kellen Moore feel comfortable doing. Again,

(01:07:12):
that's not normal, Like, that's not most teams. That's not
how most offenses. They build it around a certain identity
and they lean into it because that's the best way
to maximize it. There's so many layers to this Philadelphia
team that one unlocks, the next unlocks the next, and
when it all rolls together, they're really good.

Speaker 5 (01:07:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:07:33):
I love that. And one of the things Greg brought
up earlier in our preview, our middle portion we were
like in a sandwich between Fred and Greg is great.
The outside run Saquon Barkley nine and a half yards
per outside run that he's had this year at thirty
seven times, we think that might be a factor here,
stretching that Chiefs defense out a little bit wider. But
I have to ask you because we do want to
talk about the Chiefs, and I know we've only got

(01:07:54):
you for a limited amount of time. We could talk
to you all day, Greg, but how do you counter
what's deef Spagnolo is going to bring? And how have
you I mean, I know you have watched the history
files of Spags and admired him for a long time,
So how has he continued to do this? And how
do you stop those blitzes?

Speaker 8 (01:08:13):
Yeah, the play callers and the assistant you know, the coordinators,
play callers and Andy Reid case obviously he's the head coach,
but just the assistance, the staff, the play callers, the
coordinators of this matchup are equally as entertaining and equally
as interesting as the star players. I mean, these are
as good of combination of especially on the defense side
of the ball, defensive play callers, as you're going to find

(01:08:34):
in the league with Spags and Fangio. So what's so
unique about Spags, especially when he has this this two
week head start and not a head start like a
two week lead in is his ability to be game
plan specific, to attack you at what you do is
really what his calling card has been all the way
back to the Giants. So his ability to game plan
his ability to say, Okay, what are the ways that

(01:08:56):
I can eliminate Saquon Barkley without exposing myself on the
back end to quick passing game, explosive plays on the
perimeter to AJ Brown and not let DeVante Smith get
over the top, Like how do I put all of
the things that Philadelphia is capable of doing in a bucket,
organize them and say okay, this is priority one, this
is priority two, and work his way down the checklist.

(01:09:17):
So if I'm Spags, I'm saying, Okay, I don't want
Jalen Hurts to operate as a passer inside the pocket.
I want to get him moving laterally. I don't want
him moving up in the pocket. He's a better I
think he's a better pocket thrower and a scramble runner
than he is a scramble thrower. And what I mean
by that is so often when you play quarterbacks that

(01:09:38):
have this skill set, you hear every coach in the
league say keep him in the pocket. Keep him in
the pocket, don't let him escape. I think Jalen Hurts
is one of the unique conversations where like, no, I
want him to move now. I don't want him running forward.
I want him running sideways and make him throw on
the run towards the sideline because in the pocket on time.
As an effective in rhythm passer, he's really good. He's

(01:10:01):
got great weapons, he's got great timing, he's got anticipation,
he trusts his line, so all of those things play
into his favor.

Speaker 5 (01:10:07):
He will kill you.

Speaker 8 (01:10:08):
As a scramble runner, I think he can. You can
force him to take sacks, throw the ball away, force
the ball into some bad windows. As a on the
move passer in scramble drill, so I would try to
get interior pressure, off ball pressure inside games, get that
pocket in his lap and get him moving sideways.

Speaker 5 (01:10:28):
And now you've got to be able to plaster.

Speaker 8 (01:10:29):
Now you've got to be able to match up on
second reaction drill with Devonte Smith and Dallas Goddter and
aj Brown, which again is a challenge all and of itself.
But I think Spags is as good of a defensive
play caller as we've seen in the history of the league.
He's as good of a game planner, especially in these
big moments of any defensive play caller we've seen in
the history of the league. And he's going to have
something unscouted, something that they haven't seen before that Philly's

(01:10:53):
gonna have to identify early in the game and have
a plan.

Speaker 1 (01:10:56):
For before we let you go. I want to you
did this game a couple of years ago. Great call
on the game. We got to get Greg back on that.
That's a whole other story. But what do you think
is different better maybe about Patrick Mahommes now than then,
or at least different I.

Speaker 8 (01:11:10):
Think their offenses played. Their offense wasn't the juggernaut this
year or really the last couple of years that we've
seen the early days, right where it was lightning in
a bottle, It was Tyreek, it was Kelsey, they were flying.
It was like fireworks all over town. They went through
a very interesting transition the two year you know, the
Super Bowl two years ago when they beat Philly. Remember

(01:11:30):
the narrative the entire season long was you can't win
with this young rookie laden defense, and then they won
the Super Bowl and then last year there's the turnover,
there's the uncertainty at wide receiver and skill group other
than Kelsey, who does he have? And the defense really
carried the load. They became the strength and the identity
of the team. I think this year it's balanced out

(01:11:51):
more than it was in the past. Now, is this
offense the high scoring thirty mid thirties pointed game they
were in the Tyreek era years ago. No, but I
don't think they have to be right like in those
days because the defense wasn't as strong. They were planned
to just outscore you from the moment they got the ball.
They don't feel that pressure anymore. So they have the
ability to win shootouts. They did two years ago that

(01:12:13):
they can win a thirty point game, but they don't
have to. And I think that's the biggest difference with
this Chiefs, This iteration of the Chiefs then like the
not even the last couple of Super Bowls, but like
the previous era of that, like early in Mahomes' career,
they just wanted to outscore you and how offense you
they can, they don't have to, and that's a credit

(01:12:33):
to their ability to rebuild this defense through the draft.
Through free agency, of course, Chris Jones being the constant
and that defense. It's an understatement, but like more than
carries their fair shit.

Speaker 4 (01:12:44):
It seems like since Christmas they've taken a next step offensively, though.

Speaker 3 (01:12:47):
What has really kind of keyed that?

Speaker 8 (01:12:48):
In your opinion, good teams with good coaches and good
quarterbacks and veteran players DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce. Those
guys have played a lot of football. Yeah, and I
think the offensive line has settled down. I think he's
getting better protection than he has over the last stretch.
And listen, you got the best player. He could go
down as the best player ever. He's on his way.
He's not there yet, but he's damn near close. And

(01:13:10):
he's got Kelsey, He's got DeAndre Hopkins again later, but
a veteran late Like good players get better the longer
it goes. The goal is not to be the best
team in September and October, and they've proven that. They've
no one's ever coming out of the first half the season,
being like the Kansas City Chiefs are a juggernaut. We
haven't said that for years, yet here we are in

(01:13:31):
February and they're the last team stand one of the
last two teams.

Speaker 1 (01:13:34):
Stands as I admire your your bracelets. Can you tell
us what you're doing here with Draft Kings. Yeah, I
like the bracelet game.

Speaker 2 (01:13:41):
One of them is the football team he coaches by.

Speaker 5 (01:13:43):
One of them is their football team. One of them
is TEU.

Speaker 8 (01:13:46):
We got a whole bunch of stuff going again, a
pod for another day, But it's been a lot of fun.
I've worked with Draft Kings over the last year or so,
you know, helped them when they brought sports betting to
North Carolina.

Speaker 5 (01:13:57):
Was a part of that launch.

Speaker 8 (01:13:58):
And again this is the week right where everyone tunes
into the game for a lot of different reasons. Of course,
you're a die hard Chiefs fan, you're a die hard
Philadelphia fan, or you're just a football fan, or you
want to have a little entertainment value, you want to
have some skin in the game, you want to have
a fun prop bet, you want to there's something for
everyone from the entertained purpose that draws people into the
biggest spectacle in all of sports. And with DraftKings and

(01:14:20):
their partnership and what they allow for their fans and
their customers to just again connect with the game, even
a little bit deeper, have a little bit more vested
rooting interest in the outcome. Even if you don't care
who necessarily wins, you might care who wins for other right,
so for the other reasons. So I think that's so
much fun. No bigger week than super Bowl week. And
it's been a lot of fun working with them over
the last couple of last year or so.

Speaker 2 (01:14:42):
And honestly, it's funny. I know you're describing DraftKings, but
you also describe yourself.

Speaker 1 (01:14:45):
Greg.

Speaker 2 (01:14:46):
You bring people into the game unlike any other and
in ways that really help people feel connected and like
they are they do have a vested interest a stake
in it, because you describe those stakes so well. And
I'll say it and tell them blue in the face,
but one of my favorites of all time.

Speaker 5 (01:15:01):
Appreciate you guys.

Speaker 1 (01:15:03):
You're sitting here next to me, and yet I'm suddenly
transported just hearing that voice and some of the Yeah
if you're talking about to my couch and playing Madden, Yeah, yeah,
you're You're a big part of our lives now.

Speaker 5 (01:15:14):
You can't. I love that com good combo.

Speaker 1 (01:15:16):
It's great.

Speaker 8 (01:15:17):
We have a lot of fun with Matt and that's
that's that's been a lot of fun. Actually, I didn't
know anything about the process of it all, and it's
actually a fairly interesting recording process. Just making up stories
in your head off of an Excel sheet. It's a
little more challenging early on, it was a little more
challenging than I thought it would be. I'm getting my
groove now, but uh, you know you're calling You're calling

(01:15:38):
lines of the game off of spreadsheets and game situations
typed out. There's no video, there's no context, there's no
who is it. It's like completion third and ten converted,
first down, outer third of the field, second quarter up
by ten go.

Speaker 3 (01:15:54):
Yeah, decades of knowledge.

Speaker 5 (01:15:56):
I don't know who did it? What was the past?
Was he open? Was he covered? Did he touch with what?
I don't know? Like, but uh, it's been a lot
of fun. I've got my groove with it.

Speaker 1 (01:16:04):
And uh, ten year old Walker rose Thal he's going
to announcer preferences and he's clicking that to Rico and
Olsen button thank you all right, there goes Greg Olsen's man.
I could have sat there.

Speaker 2 (01:16:19):
And just kind I know that used to be me.
I'd stand at his locker and he would just talk
ball and just teach for forever, and it just oh man.

Speaker 1 (01:16:27):
It's one of those things. We're at the end of
the day here. He's been here since nine am. He's
been doing a lot of stuff. Bet I was tempted
to just push that as far as we can go.
It's like, can we just do an hour with Greg Olsen?
Because I just have a feeling like I'm sure his
handler at some point would have uh stepped in, but
he seemed like he was enjoying the conversation.

Speaker 3 (01:16:48):
Maybe I was ready to drill down.

Speaker 1 (01:16:51):
Look, yeah, they try to build big threes in the NBA.
Bosh And and Dwayne Wade and Lebron He here's your
big three right here. Good first day at the Super Bowl,
first time NFL Daily on site. Really excited. Why are
you laughing?

Speaker 4 (01:17:10):
I'm just curious now, like like Jordan's laughing over here,
and I know she's thinking, like, which one's Chris Bosh No, I.

Speaker 1 (01:17:17):
Didn't want to think about that. It's a good point.

Speaker 2 (01:17:20):
Though, anyway, don't write it.

Speaker 1 (01:17:23):
Do you do you have any takeaways from your.

Speaker 2 (01:17:25):
First I just I loved it. I thought this was
so much fun. I like to learn as you guys know,
and I feel like every guest we had. Getting to
talk to both Fred and Greg, elite ball knowers on
a podcast that prides itself on knowing ball, it was
fun and they genuinely enjoyed being here with us. It
seemed like otherwise they're really good at faking it, and

(01:17:47):
it just was. I just I had the best.

Speaker 1 (01:17:49):
Time and the time just go so fast.

Speaker 2 (01:17:51):
We got Greg a square meal. Shout out to iHeart
because Greg, you know, we have three meals a day,
and one of my prime goals internally I didn't tell
you that was make sure Greg because Greg is a
machine and he'll just work all the way through and
you got to make sure he eats otherwise he starts
to look at if I was if I was.

Speaker 1 (01:18:08):
A little off for that Warner interview, I was not.
You were great.

Speaker 3 (01:18:12):
Fuel for the Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:18:15):
I Heeart has taken such good care ofcters today.

Speaker 1 (01:18:17):
It's we got a long week ahead. As I mentioned,
Thursday is a massive show, a lot of really good guests,
as I mentioned Jaden Daniels, Jordan Love, Ashton Janty Stars,
Puka Nakua and uh and more, and we're gonna have
great interviews on Friday as well. I'm glad you guys

(01:18:38):
will be next to me, and yes, let's let's wrap
this thing up. When when we're hearing Greg Olsen's Madden
voice in our head, except he's like right next to
me and I just I just want to touch him.
You know, football is back, y,