January 5, 2026 • 42 mins
NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport, Judy Battista, and Mike Garafolo sort through the aftermath of a busy Black Monday in the NFL. Plus, they preview Wild Card Weekend with the help of a few of your favorite NFL Network Reporters.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Major changes across the NFL landscape in the past twenty
four hours, with four more teams joining the search for
a new head coach. We will take you inside each
decision tonight and tell you what is next for the Falcons, Browns,
Raiders and Cardinals. This season is long over for those teams.
For others, including Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, it is
(00:32):
just heating up. Wild Guard Weekend is almost here, and
our team of analysts and reporters will tell you what
you need to know on all six matchups. The Ravens
thought they would be in the playoffs, so did the
Bucks and of course the Chiefs. We will break down
where things went wrong for some of last year's contenders
(00:53):
and how they can get right.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
In twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Welcome Inside with the Insiders, presented by Progressive Insurance, alongside
Ian Rappaport, Judy Batista and Mike Garafolo. I am Tom Pelisero.
Ten hours into this day, live on NFL Network, two
hundred and seventy two games into the NFL season, and
just like the NFL season, we got some big stuff
(01:19):
here left six games on Wild Card Weekend. It all
kicks off on Saturday, afternoon with the Texans, No, just kidding,
not the Texans for once, Rams and Panthers kicking things off,
Packers and Bears going at it in primetime, a triple
header on Sunday, and then these Steelers hosting the Texans
(01:39):
for eighteen teams not so lucky they're out of the playoffs.
And for those making major changes today, that includes in
Las Vegas, where the Raiders have fired coach Pete Carroll
after just one season at the Helm.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Raiders were three and fourteen.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
They won their opener in New England, won just one
of their next fifteen games and then one a well
ultimately for them fortunately meaningless game yesterday against the Chiefs.
Still have the number one pick, Carol out Mark Davis
releasing a statemen notably say any in part. The general manager,
John spy Tech will lead all football operations in close
(02:16):
collaboration with Tom Brady, including these search for the club's
next head coach. Brady the minority owner, spy Tech, Brady's
college teammate. Here is what spy Tech had to say
on the events of today.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Just because we have the first pick in the draft
that didn't carry a lot of weight in the decision,
that we made. You know, I think we have a
great opportunity to build this franchise the right way.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Now.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
We never want to be in the spot again. I
never thought I would be in the spot. But we
got to be real with where we're at. We have
to understand the opportunity that we have in front of us,
and our focus and our vision is on everything going forward.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Now, let's start with the obvious here, Ian you don't
hire a seventy four year old head coach if.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You think you going to be this bad. They're going
to be drafting a number one.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
There were fire coordinators, there were problems on the field,
They wore out the patients of guys like Max Crosby.
Ultimately they just lost a ton of games. They are
going to draft number one. They quite possible get that
quarterback that they can build around. When you look at
the broader scope of where things stand, including Tom Brady
bean in the building today, what do you make of
the state of things in Las Vegas?
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Yeah, Well, to me, one of the big things that
stands out is this is looking to me like a
full rebuild, which is fine. You can rebuild it the
right way, and to hear gentlemenner John Spytek say that
probably was a refreshing thing for Raiders fans hire a
coach who comes in and understands that it's going to
be a process. Yes, they're going to take a quarterback
number one. Overall, that is a great start. If you
(03:46):
hit on that quarterback, that sets yourself up to have
a really good fifteen years if you do it the
right way and acknowledge that there's a lot of pieces
of this. What do they do with Max Crosby? Do
they end up trading him and using that draft capital
to continue to build? All of this makes sense, and
for John Spytek to go forward and say we're going
to build the right way, that to me is an
(04:06):
indication they knew that they did not do it the
right way.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Last year.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
Pete Carroll was a win now coach refused to play
some of the younger players. So many of the staff members,
including some related m came in and didn't do a
great job. Fired to coordinators, his hand pit quarterback Gino
Smith was not good enough through too many interceptions. I
could go on and on. The most important thing, though,
is they are in a much better position to have
long term success now than they were at any other
(04:32):
point this season. Pete Carroll officially fired after one year.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Tom Brady was involved in the head coaching search last year,
initially targeted Ben Johnson. It seemed like that was their
number one head coaching candidate. Johnson goes to Chicago, a
broad pivot to a coach at Pete Carroll, but very
little in common with Ben Johnson. Obviously, Pete has had
a ton of success in the league. He has won
a Super Bowl. It just didn't work out. Now Brady,
(04:57):
who Mark Davis has said before, can be use not
just to find the quarterback, but develop the quarterback. Now
we'll have his pick of quarterbacks along with John spy Tech.
That was not the only change today, Mike. We had
one in Cleveland as well.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
Yes, this one we expected Kevin Stefanski after six seasons
with the Cleveland Browns, which frankly is an eternity for
that franchise, longest tenured coach since the early eighties. But
Stefanski out as coach of the Browns after posting a
record of forty five and fifty six, the two time
NFL Coach of the Year. Frankly, we've seen a bunch
(05:34):
of Coaches of the Year be dismissed. In short, Arder
Stefanski now going to be a leading candidate for other teams.
Here is Jimmy Haslam, who, along with d made the
decision to part with Stefanski.
Speaker 7 (05:48):
And I want the fans to know we are as
frustrated as you are, and we hear a lot from
our fans, which we actually appreciate. We have great fans,
are extremely passionate, and they deserve better than what they've
gotten the last two years. Okay, I don't need to
say anything else. We are going to give you a
better product.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Our sole goal.
Speaker 7 (06:07):
Here is to be a consistent winner, not make the
playoffs in twenty and then make it again in twenty three.
Not win eight games in two years. That's not what
we're trying to do. That's not acceptable. Our fans deserve better.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
That is the theme of the day.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
Judy Batista, upper management taking responsibility, saying we're more pissed
than you are, the fans, but we understand how pissed
you are, and we're going to try to make things
better moving forward. So the Browns now look to do
that with a new head coach and a sergeant led
by general manager Andrew Berry is coming off a strong
draft and will remain in place.
Speaker 8 (06:39):
Yeah, and that is why this is For all of
the historic dysfunction that the Cleveland Browns have been known for,
this is not an unattractive job. There are pieces in
place there. They do have a very good rookie draft
class no longer rookie draft class to build on. Of course,
they have Miles Garrett. There are holes on the roster.
They do have two number one draft, two first round
(07:02):
draft picks coming up this spring. That obviously helps. What
they don't have is a franchise quarterback. You saw flashes
from Shador Sanders towards the end of the season, but
certainly nothing consistent enough that they can go into next
season saying he is our starting guy. We're going forward
with him. There's going to be a competition there. Andrew
berrys that, like you know, we need to evaluate everything.
(07:24):
They're certainly not clear on who that competition is going
to include. Again, two first round draft picks, though they
could probably get a quarterback in the first round with
those picks if they package them. We will see what
they do. But this is not the worst job available.
Let's put it that way, Yes.
Speaker 6 (07:42):
And I would expect for Stefanski, who's in the running
for multiple jobs, that the Giants would be intriguing to him.
He's from the Philadelphia area. Originally he vacations down the
Jersey Shore. It's a shorter ride from East Rutherford than
it is the Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
He used to make that drive by the way.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
So we'll see how that works out, because both side
is going to have interest in one another.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Tom The Cardinals also made a change today, firing their
head coach Jonathan Gannon after three seasons, including a highly
disappointing twenty twenty five campaign. Arizona actually started out two
to zero, then lost fourteen of its last fifteen games.
There were blowouts, there were some huge performances by opposing
offenses against a defense that is supposed to be ganing specialty.
(08:23):
Odermichael Bidwell did not want to go that direction, but
ultimately he and GM moniofsap for it felt like they
had no choice.
Speaker 9 (08:31):
I know our fans are frustrated. I am more frustrated.
I know MANI is more frustrated. This is something, and
so is JG. Every one of those coaches and players
we all expected more. But I also when I look
at it, some of the changes that were made with
other teams just a year or two years ago.
Speaker 10 (08:51):
Are those teams with new.
Speaker 9 (08:52):
Coaches from a year or two ago are now in
the playoffs playing this weekend. I know we can turn
it around, and I'm looking forward to getting on with
this search because it's going to be a great opportunity
for us to be that next story where we flipping around.
Speaker 11 (09:07):
I mean, first of all, I think we're looking for
the best head coach. You know. I know we're not
going into this saying we want an offensive coach or
we want a defensive coach. We want the best head
coach and the best fit for us. You know, as
as it pertains to Kyler. You know, Kyler's under contract,
Jacoby's under contract, Keaton Slovas is under contract. You know,
we we just came off the last game of the year,
(09:29):
and less than twenty four hours ago, we just left
the field, and so you know there will be a
time and place for those discussions. You know, I think
when you come off a season like we have, you know,
I'd say all options are on the table, whether it's
quarterback or any other position, all options are on the table,
and We're going to investigate all those that to improve
(09:51):
the team, and with with every roster decision, we're going
to always as we always have, we're going to do
what's in the best interest of the team.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Certainly the quarter situation Ian is going to hover over
everything in Arizona. Cayler Murray do close to forty million
dollars guaranteed in twenty twenty six, another close to twenty
million in twenty twenty seven becomes fully guaranteed if he's
on the roster on the fifth day of the league
year in March. What I'm most interested in, though, is
hearing Michael Bidwill talking about some of those other teams
that have turned things around. Because as much as you
(10:21):
and I and others had heard that Michael Biddle was
leaning toward keeping Jonathan Gannon, when you look right in
your division at Mike McDonald and how swiftly they turned
things around in Seattle, it just appeared as if the
trajectory was off with the way things were going in Arizona.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Yeah, and you know, there's a lot to like about
this Arizona Cardinals roster. To see Monte Oziboord sitting there,
you know, involved with the decision makes sense. I mean,
they have really bost of the town here. They were
good enough to win eight games last year. They do
have a quarterback question, which I'll get to in a second,
but at least a new coach would come in and
have the talent base to turn it around quickly. There's
(11:00):
a couple other examples of teams that have faced difficult
quarterback situations have been able to move and maneuver very
quickly and get a good quarterback they like they could
take them to the playoffs. Denver Broncos have done it.
Seattle Seahawks have done it. Seahawks obviously moved on from
Gito Smith, signed Sam Darnold and during the playoffs one
of the NFL's best team. Broncos took a huge cap hit,
(11:21):
moved on from Russell Wilson, draft Bonnicks probably earlier than
most people had anticipated, and there they are. So if
you are the Arizona Cardinals one, it can be done.
You can move on from Kyler Murray as we expect
them to do, and you could find a young, cheap
quarterback who is good, and then you could find a
head coach to come in and turn.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
This around quickly.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Had the Arizona Cardinals showed a little more life one
a little more games.
Speaker 12 (11:46):
At the end of the season.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
We might not be talking about this, but reality is reality,
and it is a restart in Arizona.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
From a salary cap perspective, it is often cleaner to
release a player than to trade them, which would require
a whole holding the player in all likelihood beyond June first,
There's only one team I can think of that allowed
a future guaranteed to vest on a quarterback that had
no future on the team, and the general manager and
head coach of that team, Judy, were also fired in
(12:14):
the past twenty four hours.
Speaker 8 (12:18):
All right, The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach him Mars
after just two seasons. They also fired general manager Terry
Funtnau and announced a restructure and basically of the entire organization,
but especially the football side of the building. They are
going to create a president of Football Operations position, which
we'll oversee all football decisions. The head coach and the
(12:39):
general manager will report to that new President of football Operations,
and the thinking is that that job is probably going
to go to a very familiar name and face. Matt Ryan,
former Falcons quarterback current CBS broadcaster that is Mike Garafalo. Mike,
we have talked about this throughout the day. There are
a lot of voices involved with the Atlanta Falcons right now.
(13:02):
They're going to hire a head coach and they have
one consulting firm consulting for.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
The head coach hire.
Speaker 8 (13:07):
They're going to hire a general manager and they have
a different consulting firm consulting on that. Lost Ken those
two decisions then will all report to the president of
football operations. What do we make about this sort of
convoluted organizational chart.
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Yeah, Tom made a great point earlier and he said,
if you're bringing in a head of football operations, if
now you try to interview other folks for a job
underneath that person, would that team have to let that
person interview then, because you don't necessarily have final say so.
A lot to sort out in Atlanta here. As for
Raheem Morris, he is already in the running for a
(13:43):
few head coaching jobs. Are Buddy Peter Schrager reported earlier
that he will interview for the Titans. I believe there's
another one that could be set up in short order. Certainly,
we'll have a lot of interest as a defensive coordinator
as well. Some folks around the league head scratching on
this one because his record stacks up with a bunch
of other teams over the last two years that didn't
(14:04):
fire their head coach, but the Falcons deciding to move
on from Raheem, who was an interim coach for them
previously in twenty twenty.
Speaker 13 (14:12):
Raheem Morris's coaching career, the.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Arc of it has been an odd one, but we'll
take another turn, certainly as either a head coach or
a defensive coordinator in the near future.
Speaker 13 (14:20):
Duty I firmly believe.
Speaker 8 (14:21):
That also surprising because Falcons owner Arthur Blank is not
necessarily considered an impatient owner. He's been pretty patient with
his previous head coaches. So only two years, very short
tenure for Raheem Morris.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Tom last game of the NFL regular season, and it
was an awfully good when Lamar Jackson Aaron Rodgers winner
against the AFC nor title in the number four see
let's go straight to the fourth quarter, Lamar Jackson throwing
two and you'll see this on repeat. Wide opens a Flowers,
no one even close. There was a flag. It was
(14:55):
against these Steelers Ravens take a twenty four to twenty lead,
and in Steelers possession, back comes Aaron Rodgers going for
Calvin ast to the third. Does anyone want to play
defense at all? Twenty six hours touchdown, Steelers take a
twenty six to.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Twenty four league Chris Bodswell.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Wow, that one got away from the old banana right there.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
So a two point game meeting.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
The Ravens can take the lead with a field goal
fourth and seven, Lamar Jackson with them.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
A little bit of time in the pocket goes.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
To Isaiah Likely going up top over Jalen Ramsey, a
huge catch that puts them in position for the game
winning field goal attempt. They got the ball centered. Here's
Tyler Loop the rookie and never had a chance. Pandemonium
in Pittsburgh, Misery in Baltimore, Ravens out Steelers in Mike
(15:47):
Tomlin fired UPO.
Speaker 14 (15:50):
Man, it's another one in the history of this series. Man,
it's an honor to be a part of his rivalry
with that group. They fought art and for it, not
only tonight, but throughout the entire journey. And so we
move forward and we have seen North champions and that
sounds good and it feels good.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
I mean, how can you put into words just the
thin line between if they make that kick, Season's over
comes to a screeching halting, missing that kick and the
winner going on.
Speaker 14 (16:18):
You know what it is if my heart had mail parts,
he'd be my uncle. That's what you want.
Speaker 10 (16:23):
You want the ball in your hands with two twenty
left and you need a touchdown. That's exactly what you want.
But I was confident that I was going to play
a good game and that I could kind of be
the magnetic force out there to keep guys confident and calm.
And that's part of it. Being the old guy. I
have a lot of gray in your beard. Is they
expect things from you, and it's nice to be able
(16:44):
to deliver in moments like that.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Let's bring it our Bucky Brooks to the conversation with me,
Tom Pilisaro, Bucky, you see Mike, Tom within be. It's
just for anybody going well, you only got in because
of Miskick.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
We almost didn't get in because of Miskick.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
This was the scene dealer's team that we had kind
of been waiting to see it. Even though you need
a little bit of luck on your side here it
does look like Pittsburgh maybe is finding their stride a bit.
Speaker 14 (17:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 15 (17:08):
Absolutely, And I think this is exactly why Mike Townley
wanted Aaron Rodgers to be his quarterback. He knew that
the four time MVP would provide some composure, he would
provide confidence, and.
Speaker 12 (17:18):
He would be a clutch performer when they needed it.
Speaker 15 (17:20):
And it hasn't been pretty all season, but I can
say watching that game on Sunday night, it was everything
that they wanted from Aaron Rodgers. He was in control,
he had commanded the offense, he was directing it, and
as they needed him to make plays without DK Metcalf,
he was able to do it. I think he gave
them a lot of confidence. I think he gives them
(17:40):
a lot of confidence going forward.
Speaker 12 (17:42):
And I don't know if.
Speaker 15 (17:42):
They can knock off to Houston Texans, but I certainly
believe that they feel like their quarterback is going to
give them the best chance to get it done.
Speaker 12 (17:52):
Now.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
They just got to go ahead and get that helmet
thing fixed. It enough to burden three timeouts before there's
five minutes to play, Bucky, lot more coming from you,
just a little bit. The Ravens will have plenty of
time to fix what has ailed them throughout the twenty
twenty five season, because by virtue of that loss to Pittsburgh,
they are out of the playoffs. A heartbreaking end on
(18:12):
a night where you saw flashes of Lamar Jackson. We've
been waiting for the entire season. Instead, it didn't heartbreak.
Speaker 16 (18:20):
Definitely, stune man. I thought we had it in the
bad I thought we had it in the bat Man.
I don't know what else we can do.
Speaker 12 (18:27):
Do you do you want to see John?
Speaker 16 (18:30):
You you asked me about next year, Jamison. I'm so
caught up in what just happened tonight.
Speaker 12 (18:36):
I can't.
Speaker 16 (18:36):
I can't focus on that right now. I just told you,
like he asked me, are you stunning? I'm stunn right now.
I'm still trying to process what's going on. I know
we lost, but what you know, that's all the.
Speaker 17 (18:47):
Chunk plays that have gotten us, you know, and they
came up again in this game. And that's Yeah, it's
really disappointing. It's it's not something that that should happen
as much as it did. I mean, you know, I
mean they have some chunk plays too in the back end,
and so it's football and it happens, but you know,
we don't want that to happen.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
I always appreciate the authenticity of Lamar Jackson ean and
you got a very real raw reaction there. I know
people are going to read into He didn't directly answer
on his future, didn't directly answer on John Harbaugh. He
was also ten minutes removed from standing there, going We're
about to go to the Oh my god, no has
to stand there in front of her porters. What do
you make of the end of that game? But also
(19:28):
what it means for the Ravens here as we move forward? Well,
I would say first to the end of the game. Yes,
obviously the Baltimore Ravens loss, but what we saw was
Lamar Jackson turn into the Lamar that the Ravens have
been waiting the entire season for. It seemed like all
seasons something was just not quite right. Whether it was
he was injured, or whether there was some turnovers of
(19:50):
misfortune or who knows, right, just things did not work
out early in the year, and it took all year
for Lamar to get to the special playmaking two time
MVP that he For Ravens fans, that window will take
you into the offseason because that is a look at
what Lamar can be now he's got two years left
on his contract. I would expect Lamar and the team
(20:10):
to revisit contract talks.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Kind of a weird year.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Players don't often want to redo contracts after having not
your greatest year. But we'll see, and as far as
Harbo goes, I expect some conversations in the building today,
tomorrow and moving forward to see what they want to
do staff wise. The only way I see the two
sides not moving forward together is if one side wants
to make serious changes and the other absolutely does not,
(20:35):
and I would be surprised if that was the case
for the rape.
Speaker 13 (20:39):
I am on board with that wholeheartedly.
Speaker 6 (20:41):
Ian there are some situations we were watching saying this
could and probably will happen today the ones that have.
Speaker 13 (20:47):
Played out today.
Speaker 6 (20:48):
There were others where we said, Okay, we're going to
wait to see how it goes the rest of the week,
because there's going to be some conversations and there also
needs to be a breath taken on this one. Lamar
alluded to it the way that that game ended the
way and everyone was stunned and involved. They want to
remove the emotion from it and then have those conversations.
And Steve Bushatti, the Ravens owner, is not one to
make impulse decisions. He is going to take a thorough
(21:11):
look at this one. They're going to have those conversations,
and I agree with you. I believe there's going to
be staffing changes when it comes to the Ravens. Look,
a lot of times you get a feel for this
and you start to talk about coaches that have just
been in a place as long as John Harbaugh has
been as successful as he's been. You say, hey, could
this be the year? And you kind of get swatted down.
Are you crazy? We're not getting those replies. So there's
(21:32):
going to be conversations here and everybody's got to make
sure they're on the same page.
Speaker 13 (21:36):
But yeah, I agree with how Ian is seeing.
Speaker 12 (21:38):
It right now.
Speaker 8 (21:40):
One more thing about the owner, Steve Bushatti, is he
has a really good close relationship with John Harbaugh. He
certainly knows what he has in John Harbaugh. He certainly
knows what he has in Lamar Jackson too. He is
a deliberate owner. He will take his time. It's not
going to be rushed into anything. It's hard for me
to imagine that he would want to break this up unless,
(22:02):
as Ian pointed out, unless they want to make changes
that John Harbat just cannot abide. But I would expect
that they run this back but have lots of conversations
about how to get past the bumps that occurred this year.
Clearly there was some friction somewhere in that organization and
that needs to be smoothed out because the reality is
what we saw Lamar Jackson look like Lamar Jackson last night.
(22:25):
We didn't see that for big stretches of the season,
and that's why they are in the position they're in today.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
It wasn't all bad news over the past couple of
days across the NFL. We got the good news. Do
we get Packers Bears? Part Three?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Can I wait for that one?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
As a part of wild Card Weekend Saturday Night, Caleb
Williams Jordan Love the rubber match in this series, our
Stacey Dales will be there, but first she'll be here
to break it all down for us on the inside
is presented by Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Major changes across the NFL today, including in Las Vegas,
Pete Carroll, super Bowl winning head coach win Now coach
barely won any games and is now officially one and done.
The Raiders moved on from Pete Carroll after a dysfunctional
season that saw him fired two coordinators and have his
hand picked quarterback Gino Smith lead the NFL in interceptions.
Speaker 12 (23:29):
It was a.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
Brutal year and now a new start for GM. John
spy Tech and Tom Brady, who will combine to pick
the new head coach. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, another situation where
a new face is going to be on the sidelines.
Kevin Zevanski, the two time head coach, fired after a challenging,
challenging two seasons. They've had plenty of problems at the
(23:53):
quarterback position, plenty of cap problems, including those created by
the Deshaun Watson trade.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
No matter kevin'svans, he.
Speaker 18 (24:00):
Is now out.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
They love him big fans just really needed a new voice.
And Andrew Barry will be among those who lead the
search duty for a new head coach in Cleveland.
Speaker 8 (24:12):
In Atlanta, Raheem Morris was fired by the Atlanta Falcons
after just two seasons. That's a pretty quick cook, and
after winning the last four in a row, that was
not enough to save him. The Falcons did not make
the playoffs this season despite finishing eight to ninth, same
record as the Panthers, who won the division. Raheem's exit
is part of a broader reimagining of the entire football operation.
(24:32):
Is going to be a new president of football operations.
That's probably going to be Matt Ryan. There's a lot
of moving parts here, a lot of decisions to be
made about the brain trust going forward.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
Mike Jonathan Gannon three seasons with the Cardinals fifteen and
thirty six is not good enough for owner Michael Bidwill,
who fired Gannon today.
Speaker 13 (24:52):
And now Gannon didn't have Kyler.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Murray for roughly half the time that he was the
head coach of the Cardinals because of injuries, but Bidwell's says,
we still should have won more games down the stretch,
so he makes the decision to part with Gannon. Monte
asen Fort remains the general manager. They are now going
to have to look for a new head coach and,
by the way, figure out what to do with Kyler
Murray and all that guaranteed money that they've got heading
(25:15):
his way next season. The Lions and Bears yesterday, with
the Bears saying we're playing football that's what their head
coach is been arrested.
Speaker 13 (25:24):
Me Bid even got a chance to the two seed here.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
Down sixty to nothing. That two seed didn't look great here,
but this Bears team has been resilient. Touchdown right here,
Caleb Williams, the jday Walker cuts it to eight after
the two point conversion, and then Caleb to the impressive
rookie Colston Lovelin another two point conversion in the game
is tied.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
But these Lions they played for pride.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
They did it against the Packers a couple of years
ago in the final week of the season.
Speaker 13 (25:52):
They do it again against the Bears.
Speaker 12 (25:54):
Here.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
Aman Ross Saint Brown twenty six yards, Brown eleven for
one thirty on the day, setting up Jake Bates from
forty two away, and the Allians take it nineteen to sixteen,
closing out the season playing strong despite not going to
the playoffs.
Speaker 13 (26:12):
The Bears, by the way, got.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
That two seed anyway because the Eagles.
Speaker 13 (26:15):
Decided to not play football.
Speaker 14 (26:16):
Well.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
They played, but with their backups playing football with Ben
Johnson called it now typ forer good coverage presented by
Progressive Insurance. Despite the loss Bear safety Kevin Byer, the
third recording his league leading a seventh interception yesterday. Seven
is the most playoff Bears player in a single season
since Kyler Kyle Fuller got it.
Speaker 13 (26:36):
They also had seven and twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
Chicago led the NFL with thirty three takeaways. In twenty
twenty five, nay Shan right, the cornerback, had a bunch
of them as well. Those guys were going after the
football and Dennis Allen's defense, and now they're going to
go after the football being thrown by that guy, Jordan
Love as they take on the Green Bay Packers. Oh
Man can't wait to see these two teams go out it.
They played two great games in the regular season, looking
(26:59):
forward seeing what the third round has to bring, and
we know it'll bring. Stacey Dale's covering the game. The
Chicago resident going to be on hand for this one.
Let's start with the Packers on this one. They decided
to let Jordan Love chill in week eighteen, despite him
getting clearance from that concussion.
Speaker 13 (27:16):
He will now play.
Speaker 6 (27:17):
They will now be as much as full strength that
they could possibly be at this point, Stace, what are
you expected from the Packers in this one?
Speaker 19 (27:26):
Yeah, they let a lot of players, starters sit out
of that Vikings loss yesterday, Mike. So that's good news
because they got a little bit more rest. And one
of the things Jordan Love has talked about is he
returns to face the team that knocked him out a
couple of weeks ago in the Bears Week sixteen. It
was an Austin Booker hit to the helmet. They took
a lot of one reps last week, so one's versus
(27:47):
one's good verse good. And he also talked about Jordan
did recently that he was able to take a deeper
dive into the Bears defense. Now you mentioned the Bears takeaways,
they got thirty three of them, and I'm sure he
sat down and took a look at all thirty three
and also took a look at this pass rush and
what the Bears do in terms of the disguise.
Speaker 18 (28:06):
And the changes they do up front.
Speaker 19 (28:08):
But Jordan Love getting the extra rest. We'll see if
there's any rest, But you have to think that his
ability to take a little bit of a deeper dive
into the film mic is going to help him coming
into this one. Just the third meeting, by the way,
all time in the playoffs between these two teams and
then for Chicago, they were so disappointed as we saw
those highlights Mike that you ran over. I was in
(28:28):
the press conference with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams last night.
I don't know if I've seen Ben Johnson that disappointed
and bothered by that performance. And he was specifically disappointed
with the offense. They didn't score a point until the
fourth quarter, and it was a sixteen point lead only
by this Detroit offense, and still the Bears just couldn't
(28:51):
find ways to score points. And it was very noticeable
on the ground, sixty five rush yards, well below their
average of one p fifty. Aleb Williams, I asked him
in the press conference, did you think maybe you should
have run the ball more or wanted to? And Mike
he had one rush for one yard. So I have
to think that as they get ready for Saturday night,
(29:12):
understanding how good their run game has been, they get
back to doing that or attempting to do it against
these Packers on Saturday night in an environment environment that
will be electric. Ben Johnson saying today Caleb Williams, though,
is built for these moments and he's at his best
when we need him to be. So this is going
to be an exciting matchup, thinking that Jordan Love wants
a little bit of revenge against the team that can
(29:33):
custom his first NFL concussion in his career as they
go into Saturday.
Speaker 13 (29:40):
Just wild. That's that that you just throughout.
Speaker 6 (29:42):
These teams that have been around for a combined like
two hundred years have only met in the playoffs three
times now, with the twenty ten NFC Championship game being
the last one. So you know what, folks enjoy it.
Hopefully it's worth the wait. Stacy Dale's always worth the
visit with you, Ian.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
This one is going to be worth the wait for
the Carolina Panthers, and it has been a wait.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Panthers are back in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
However, it happened lots of things, lots of watching, took
it extra day and a Saturday outcome. Maybe they weren't
looking forward to, but cool Rams Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Our good friend Sarah Walsh is going to be there. Sarah,
what's up? Thank you for joining us on the Insiders. Okay,
so we know the Panthers are in, however they got in.
(30:24):
Take us through this matchup between Panthers and Rams.
Speaker 18 (30:27):
What do you see.
Speaker 20 (30:30):
Well, look, Matthew Stafford comes in the grizzled veteran seventeen seasons,
He's got a Super Bowl ring. Bryce Young, in just
his third NFL season, is making his first postseason appearance.
But if you think any of that is going to
rattle this guy, well then you've never talked to Bryce Young,
because he is about his even keeled and as calm
as it gets. He talks every week about just wanting
(30:50):
to go one to zero. He was asked about the
fact that whether it's a good game or bad game,
which is easier to flush because he always talks about
just flushing the game away, and he said, you know what,
You're not gonna like my answer to this, But it's
all about the process.
Speaker 18 (31:02):
It's all about going back to work.
Speaker 20 (31:04):
He has thrived though in pressure situations ian twelve game
winning drive since he was drafted in twenty three that
leads the league in that span. Now, the last time
he saw these Rams, it was Week thirteen. They went
for it on fourth down three times. He converted all
three of those, and two of those were for touchdowns
in a game in which they beat the Rams. So
(31:25):
this is going to be an incredible rematch. It was
probably the best win in the Dave Canalis, the very
young Dave Canalis era in Charlotte, And you mentioned, hey,
who cares how they get in Canallis already said he's
just so happy to have another game at Bank of
America Stadium. And now there's that challenge of can you
beat a team twice in one season?
Speaker 18 (31:43):
And that's what lies ahead.
Speaker 20 (31:45):
For Bryce Young having a career year in Carolina this weekend.
Speaker 5 (31:50):
And what about the other side of this, because obviously
for the Los Angeles Rams, you know they were looking
to find their footing a little bit the end of
the year. Sean McVay played guys in the finale. I
don't usually see found some good football by the end.
Where do you see the Rams focus for this weekend coming?
Speaker 20 (32:07):
Well, I think when you look at the Rams, I mean,
this is a roster that is absolutely loaded with talent
on both the offensive and the defensive side of the ball.
I talked about Bryce Young having a career year, but
in seventeen seasons, Matthew Stafford has never thrown forty six
touchdowns before.
Speaker 18 (32:22):
This has not been.
Speaker 20 (32:23):
As you've sort of alluded to, the most dominant stretch
of Rams football we have seen this season late in
the game.
Speaker 18 (32:29):
This was a team that was down to Arizona this weekend.
Speaker 20 (32:32):
But when Matthew Stafford wants to take over a game,
he can do it almost at will through.
Speaker 18 (32:37):
Four touchdowns and then.
Speaker 20 (32:38):
The biggest thing is is they're going to get.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Some guys back.
Speaker 18 (32:40):
Davante Adams has not been in action.
Speaker 20 (32:42):
He had been nursing that hamstring injury, and you heard
Sean McVay say they were airing on the side of caution,
and being the competitor that Davante is, he was sort
of pissed about it. And now he said he looks
at him and he's got that look in his eye.
Speaker 18 (32:54):
He is ready to go.
Speaker 20 (32:56):
If I'm a Panthers fan, I don't love hearing that
about Davante because we know what this guy can do.
So the Rams are coming to town with certainly a
lot of motivation given what happened in week thirteen in
this very same place.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
Ian, I loved you guys so much, man, loved you
(33:32):
guy so much.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Seriously, Hey felt pretty damn.
Speaker 21 (33:40):
Hey. That's a great job, man, great job, great team win. Well,
probably what you guys handled this week.
Speaker 8 (33:46):
I mean that.
Speaker 12 (33:48):
Staff.
Speaker 21 (33:48):
Haven't you guys prepared? You guys prepared on your own. Man,
that's a great win. And I'll tell you what, guys
who hadn't played a whole lot came out here and
I impressed. Man, you really did. You took advantage of
an opportunity. What a special night, What a great environment.
It only happens in Buffalo, right here, right What a
great environment. Fans the whole game with us and you guys,
(34:10):
damn some of the cheermount man. Real special place to
play one more time in the stadium.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
You go, hey, go Tom Fels, go Tom. Let's go on,
Let's go man.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
I love us, I love them.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Fourteen teams still standing, including the Bills and the Jaguars,
going at it in a wild card game this weekend,
just eight years after the last time these teams met
in a wildcard game in Jacksonville. I was at that one.
The final score was ten to three. We don't give
gambling advice on this show, but safe to say I
(34:48):
would take the over. Welcome back to the insiders. Tom
Pilli Cera, Bucky Brooks camp Wolf. They will be at
that game. I will not Bucky, but tell me about
this Jacksonville team. You can feel the vibes man with
Liam cu. They've been winning all year, They've had some
big ones here is he'd have a lot of momentum
going into this postseason.
Speaker 12 (35:05):
Yeah, a lot of momentum.
Speaker 15 (35:06):
But I would tell you the best thing about this
team is not the x's and o's, it's the chemistry
at the continuity and just the way that they get
down in terms of their camaraderie with each other. This
is a team that's gone through some tough times early
in the season, but they figured it out and a
lot of the attention goes to Trevor Lawrence. Rightfully so,
because the job that Liam Cohen has done in unlocking
(35:27):
someone who should be an MVP candidate, and Trevor Lawrence
has nothing short of remarkable. Since the bye week he
has been on a heater. He has been phenomenal in
terms of finding the open receiver Parker Washington, Jacobe Myers,
Bryan Thomas, Junior Bretton Strange and Travis Atgen, really getting
the ball to the playmakers, but more importantly stepping into
that role of kind of being the alpha dog of
(35:48):
this team. The guys follow his lead and because of
that this offense is balled out of control. And oh
the defense. The defense doesn't get enough credit for what
they've been doing. Number one against the run, take the
ball away at an alarming clip. This is a really
good team, and I'm glad that the football world will
finally get a chance to take notice of what's going
on down in Duvault.
Speaker 22 (36:09):
Bucky, I'm just getting amped up hearing you talk. This
is the game of the week to me. I'm so
glad that we get a chance to be there because
these are excellent teams, teams that can make a run
to the super Bowl. And look the matchup that I
can't wait to see. You alluded to it there, James Cook,
who won the rushing title with the number one rushing
offense versus that number one rushing defense of.
Speaker 13 (36:29):
The Jacksonville Jaguars.
Speaker 22 (36:30):
And I'll start with this, James Cook waited all night
watched the Steelers Ravens game just to see if Dereck
Henry would pass his numbers so you can clinch that
rushing title. And then he got to celebrate. Sean McDermot
said he was watching too, getting nervous too. This is
something that Cook told me in April on a fishing boat.
That was his goal of his to put the rushing
title on the board. He got a contract and had
(36:51):
the best game of his career, best season of his career.
Speaker 12 (36:55):
And when you look at the Bills.
Speaker 22 (36:56):
Everyone asks who's going to help Josh Allen, James Cook
is the Bill route, But can they do it against
a really, really stout Jaguars defense. People are going to
be surprised at home on how they move around on defense.
They take the ball away, They stuffed people on defense,
and Josh Hans Allen called de Von Hamilton the nose tackle,
the best nose tackle in football for the year.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
He's played excellent this year.
Speaker 22 (37:17):
Anthony Campanellian at defense, they always fly around the ball.
I think this is going to be physical. It's going
to be smash mouth, and I can't wait to see it.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Buddy, If you were wondering if there was one more
bit of trivia about that twenty seventeen wild card matchup,
by the way, the only touchdown was scored by Bucky
You got five seconds. Who scored the only touchdown in
that Jaguars Bills wild card game back there eight years ago,
Josh Ellen.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Josh Helvien.
Speaker 15 (37:44):
But the Jaguars Josh was Josh Heinze.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Ben Koyak scored a touchdown, not a name that I
was expected to use.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
But here we are.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Right now, Cam and Bucky, thank you both very much.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Hey, the NFL.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
Playoffs are here, by the way, and it all starts
with wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon. Twelve team six games,
three days and one epic weekend. Wildcard Weekend powered by
Verizon January tenth through twelfth, because it watched not NFL
dot com for the full schedule.
Speaker 12 (38:25):
What a fun final weekend for NFL fans.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
No question about the juggle.
Speaker 23 (38:31):
Go in this football Gamele Panther fans arrayed a riso
fans want to know two dot oh though, guys like
Sarlon you are welcome.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
Burrow under pressure sacks.
Speaker 6 (38:42):
And there it is.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's just what Sean Payton ordered.
Speaker 23 (38:48):
Drink, bade the serenade with chances here where the tea shirt?
Speaker 12 (38:58):
This one He's not way to's wait.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
To send it up.
Speaker 15 (39:12):
Go home.
Speaker 12 (39:19):
Champions.
Speaker 8 (39:27):
Incredible final game of the regular season, incredible final weekend
of the regular season. And now we get to turn
the page to wild Card Weekend. And this is going
to be one of the highlights of that forty nine
Ers Eagles. It is the mid afternoon Sunday game. Cannot
wait for that. Let's bring in our bucket Brooks to
talk about this, all right, Bucky, Let's just lay the
(39:48):
landscape landscape out here. The forty nine Ers are hoping
to have left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Ricky pearsall
back for the game. They both missed the Week eighteen game,
and the Eagles are coming off a loss, but they
rested a lot of players. That is Nick Sirianni's theory.
He likes to do that. He's comfortable with it. It has
worked before them in the past. But certainly Bucky raises
(40:11):
concerns about are they going to be rusty going into
the playoffs.
Speaker 12 (40:15):
What's say you about this matchup?
Speaker 15 (40:16):
Yeah, Jude, there's a lot of concern about the Philadelphia
Eagles deciding to take basically Week eighteen off when it
comes to their starters. They decided to rest their players
a little low management to make sure that they were
ready for the postseason. And even though if they've won
against the Washington Commanders, it could have changed the matchup.
Speaker 12 (40:32):
I think the Eagles are very comfortable making.
Speaker 15 (40:34):
Sure that all of their top players are available and
ready to go.
Speaker 12 (40:37):
And when you think about this Eagles.
Speaker 15 (40:39):
Team, I'm going to have you think about them defense first,
offense second. When their defense is ready to go, they're
one of the best teams in football. Jalen Carter is
a force of nature on the inside, and his ability
to change the game and disrupt everything sets the table
for everybody else. So having him available, having their pass
usus available, and really having their secondary need to go.
Speaker 12 (41:00):
Is going to help them.
Speaker 15 (41:01):
And then offensively, it's about Jalen Hursts and Saquon Barkley,
that running game being able to get untracked. When you
look at the forty nine ers offensively, there's certainly a juggernaut,
but defensively they've had issues.
Speaker 12 (41:14):
So if you can run the football effectively throw it outside.
Speaker 15 (41:17):
Of Devonte Smith and AJ Brown, I think all of
this consternation about what they decided to do in Week
eighteen will fall by the wayside. I expect the Philadelphia
Eagles to play well. This is a team that when
they are locked and loaded, they're one of the.
Speaker 12 (41:31):
Best teams in football.
Speaker 15 (41:32):
I think we see that version show up when they
take off Francisco forty.
Speaker 8 (41:38):
We have been worried about the Eagles all season, Bucky,
thank you very much. When we return, we're going to
run down all the coaching moves today. Six jobs open
right now. We'll talk about each of
Speaker 12 (41:47):
Them next on The Insiders
Major changes across the NFL landscape in the past twenty
four hours, with four more teams joining the search for
a new head coach. We will take you inside each
decision tonight and tell you what is next for the Falcons, Browns,
Raiders and Cardinals. This season is long over for those teams.
For others, including Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, it is
(00:32):
just heating up. Wild Guard Weekend is almost here, and
our team of analysts and reporters will tell you what
you need to know on all six matchups. The Ravens
thought they would be in the playoffs, so did the
Bucks and of course the Chiefs. We will break down
where things went wrong for some of last year's contenders
(00:53):
and how they can get right.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
In twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Welcome Inside with the Insiders, presented by Progressive Insurance, alongside
Ian Rappaport, Judy Batista and Mike Garafolo. I am Tom Pelisero.
Ten hours into this day, live on NFL Network, two
hundred and seventy two games into the NFL season, and
just like the NFL season, we got some big stuff
(01:19):
here left six games on Wild Card Weekend. It all
kicks off on Saturday, afternoon with the Texans, No, just kidding,
not the Texans for once, Rams and Panthers kicking things off,
Packers and Bears going at it in primetime, a triple
header on Sunday, and then these Steelers hosting the Texans
(01:39):
for eighteen teams not so lucky they're out of the playoffs.
And for those making major changes today, that includes in
Las Vegas, where the Raiders have fired coach Pete Carroll
after just one season at the Helm.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Raiders were three and fourteen.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
They won their opener in New England, won just one
of their next fifteen games and then one a well
ultimately for them fortunately meaningless game yesterday against the Chiefs.
Still have the number one pick, Carol out Mark Davis
releasing a statemen notably say any in part. The general manager,
John spy Tech will lead all football operations in close
(02:16):
collaboration with Tom Brady, including these search for the club's
next head coach. Brady the minority owner, spy Tech, Brady's
college teammate. Here is what spy Tech had to say
on the events of today.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Just because we have the first pick in the draft
that didn't carry a lot of weight in the decision,
that we made. You know, I think we have a
great opportunity to build this franchise the right way.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Now.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
We never want to be in the spot again. I
never thought I would be in the spot. But we
got to be real with where we're at. We have
to understand the opportunity that we have in front of us,
and our focus and our vision is on everything going forward.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Now, let's start with the obvious here, Ian you don't
hire a seventy four year old head coach if.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You think you going to be this bad. They're going
to be drafting a number one.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
There were fire coordinators, there were problems on the field,
They wore out the patients of guys like Max Crosby.
Ultimately they just lost a ton of games. They are
going to draft number one. They quite possible get that
quarterback that they can build around. When you look at
the broader scope of where things stand, including Tom Brady
bean in the building today, what do you make of
the state of things in Las Vegas?
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Yeah, Well, to me, one of the big things that
stands out is this is looking to me like a
full rebuild, which is fine. You can rebuild it the
right way, and to hear gentlemenner John Spytek say that
probably was a refreshing thing for Raiders fans hire a
coach who comes in and understands that it's going to
be a process. Yes, they're going to take a quarterback
number one. Overall, that is a great start. If you
(03:46):
hit on that quarterback, that sets yourself up to have
a really good fifteen years if you do it the
right way and acknowledge that there's a lot of pieces
of this. What do they do with Max Crosby? Do
they end up trading him and using that draft capital
to continue to build? All of this makes sense, and
for John Spytek to go forward and say we're going
to build the right way, that to me is an
(04:06):
indication they knew that they did not do it the
right way.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Last year.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
Pete Carroll was a win now coach refused to play
some of the younger players. So many of the staff members,
including some related m came in and didn't do a
great job. Fired to coordinators, his hand pit quarterback Gino
Smith was not good enough through too many interceptions. I
could go on and on. The most important thing, though,
is they are in a much better position to have
long term success now than they were at any other
(04:32):
point this season. Pete Carroll officially fired after one year.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Tom Brady was involved in the head coaching search last year,
initially targeted Ben Johnson. It seemed like that was their
number one head coaching candidate. Johnson goes to Chicago, a
broad pivot to a coach at Pete Carroll, but very
little in common with Ben Johnson. Obviously, Pete has had
a ton of success in the league. He has won
a Super Bowl. It just didn't work out. Now Brady,
(04:57):
who Mark Davis has said before, can be use not
just to find the quarterback, but develop the quarterback. Now
we'll have his pick of quarterbacks along with John spy Tech.
That was not the only change today, Mike. We had
one in Cleveland as well.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
Yes, this one we expected Kevin Stefanski after six seasons
with the Cleveland Browns, which frankly is an eternity for
that franchise, longest tenured coach since the early eighties. But
Stefanski out as coach of the Browns after posting a
record of forty five and fifty six, the two time
NFL Coach of the Year. Frankly, we've seen a bunch
(05:34):
of Coaches of the Year be dismissed. In short, Arder
Stefanski now going to be a leading candidate for other teams.
Here is Jimmy Haslam, who, along with d made the
decision to part with Stefanski.
Speaker 7 (05:48):
And I want the fans to know we are as
frustrated as you are, and we hear a lot from
our fans, which we actually appreciate. We have great fans,
are extremely passionate, and they deserve better than what they've
gotten the last two years. Okay, I don't need to
say anything else. We are going to give you a
better product.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Our sole goal.
Speaker 7 (06:07):
Here is to be a consistent winner, not make the
playoffs in twenty and then make it again in twenty three.
Not win eight games in two years. That's not what
we're trying to do. That's not acceptable. Our fans deserve better.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
That is the theme of the day.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
Judy Batista, upper management taking responsibility, saying we're more pissed
than you are, the fans, but we understand how pissed
you are, and we're going to try to make things
better moving forward. So the Browns now look to do
that with a new head coach and a sergeant led
by general manager Andrew Berry is coming off a strong
draft and will remain in place.
Speaker 8 (06:39):
Yeah, and that is why this is For all of
the historic dysfunction that the Cleveland Browns have been known for,
this is not an unattractive job. There are pieces in
place there. They do have a very good rookie draft
class no longer rookie draft class to build on. Of course,
they have Miles Garrett. There are holes on the roster.
They do have two number one draft, two first round
(07:02):
draft picks coming up this spring. That obviously helps. What
they don't have is a franchise quarterback. You saw flashes
from Shador Sanders towards the end of the season, but
certainly nothing consistent enough that they can go into next
season saying he is our starting guy. We're going forward
with him. There's going to be a competition there. Andrew
berrys that, like you know, we need to evaluate everything.
(07:24):
They're certainly not clear on who that competition is going
to include. Again, two first round draft picks, though they
could probably get a quarterback in the first round with
those picks if they package them. We will see what
they do. But this is not the worst job available.
Let's put it that way, Yes.
Speaker 6 (07:42):
And I would expect for Stefanski, who's in the running
for multiple jobs, that the Giants would be intriguing to him.
He's from the Philadelphia area. Originally he vacations down the
Jersey Shore. It's a shorter ride from East Rutherford than
it is the Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
He used to make that drive by the way.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
So we'll see how that works out, because both side
is going to have interest in one another.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Tom The Cardinals also made a change today, firing their
head coach Jonathan Gannon after three seasons, including a highly
disappointing twenty twenty five campaign. Arizona actually started out two
to zero, then lost fourteen of its last fifteen games.
There were blowouts, there were some huge performances by opposing
offenses against a defense that is supposed to be ganing specialty.
(08:23):
Odermichael Bidwell did not want to go that direction, but
ultimately he and GM moniofsap for it felt like they
had no choice.
Speaker 9 (08:31):
I know our fans are frustrated. I am more frustrated.
I know MANI is more frustrated. This is something, and
so is JG. Every one of those coaches and players
we all expected more. But I also when I look
at it, some of the changes that were made with
other teams just a year or two years ago.
Speaker 10 (08:51):
Are those teams with new.
Speaker 9 (08:52):
Coaches from a year or two ago are now in
the playoffs playing this weekend. I know we can turn
it around, and I'm looking forward to getting on with
this search because it's going to be a great opportunity
for us to be that next story where we flipping around.
Speaker 11 (09:07):
I mean, first of all, I think we're looking for
the best head coach. You know. I know we're not
going into this saying we want an offensive coach or
we want a defensive coach. We want the best head
coach and the best fit for us. You know, as
as it pertains to Kyler. You know, Kyler's under contract,
Jacoby's under contract, Keaton Slovas is under contract. You know,
we we just came off the last game of the year,
(09:29):
and less than twenty four hours ago, we just left
the field, and so you know there will be a
time and place for those discussions. You know, I think
when you come off a season like we have, you know,
I'd say all options are on the table, whether it's
quarterback or any other position, all options are on the table,
and We're going to investigate all those that to improve
(09:51):
the team, and with with every roster decision, we're going
to always as we always have, we're going to do
what's in the best interest of the team.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Certainly the quarter situation Ian is going to hover over
everything in Arizona. Cayler Murray do close to forty million
dollars guaranteed in twenty twenty six, another close to twenty
million in twenty twenty seven becomes fully guaranteed if he's
on the roster on the fifth day of the league
year in March. What I'm most interested in, though, is
hearing Michael Bidwill talking about some of those other teams
that have turned things around. Because as much as you
(10:21):
and I and others had heard that Michael Biddle was
leaning toward keeping Jonathan Gannon, when you look right in
your division at Mike McDonald and how swiftly they turned
things around in Seattle, it just appeared as if the
trajectory was off with the way things were going in Arizona.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Yeah, and you know, there's a lot to like about
this Arizona Cardinals roster. To see Monte Oziboord sitting there,
you know, involved with the decision makes sense. I mean,
they have really bost of the town here. They were
good enough to win eight games last year. They do
have a quarterback question, which I'll get to in a second,
but at least a new coach would come in and
have the talent base to turn it around quickly. There's
(11:00):
a couple other examples of teams that have faced difficult
quarterback situations have been able to move and maneuver very
quickly and get a good quarterback they like they could
take them to the playoffs. Denver Broncos have done it.
Seattle Seahawks have done it. Seahawks obviously moved on from
Gito Smith, signed Sam Darnold and during the playoffs one
of the NFL's best team. Broncos took a huge cap hit,
(11:21):
moved on from Russell Wilson, draft Bonnicks probably earlier than
most people had anticipated, and there they are. So if
you are the Arizona Cardinals one, it can be done.
You can move on from Kyler Murray as we expect
them to do, and you could find a young, cheap
quarterback who is good, and then you could find a
head coach to come in and turn.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
This around quickly.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Had the Arizona Cardinals showed a little more life one
a little more games.
Speaker 12 (11:46):
At the end of the season.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
We might not be talking about this, but reality is reality,
and it is a restart in Arizona.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
From a salary cap perspective, it is often cleaner to
release a player than to trade them, which would require
a whole holding the player in all likelihood beyond June first,
There's only one team I can think of that allowed
a future guaranteed to vest on a quarterback that had
no future on the team, and the general manager and
head coach of that team, Judy, were also fired in
(12:14):
the past twenty four hours.
Speaker 8 (12:18):
All right, The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach him Mars
after just two seasons. They also fired general manager Terry
Funtnau and announced a restructure and basically of the entire organization,
but especially the football side of the building. They are
going to create a president of Football Operations position, which
we'll oversee all football decisions. The head coach and the
(12:39):
general manager will report to that new President of football Operations,
and the thinking is that that job is probably going
to go to a very familiar name and face. Matt Ryan,
former Falcons quarterback current CBS broadcaster that is Mike Garafalo. Mike,
we have talked about this throughout the day. There are
a lot of voices involved with the Atlanta Falcons right now.
(13:02):
They're going to hire a head coach and they have
one consulting firm consulting for.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
The head coach hire.
Speaker 8 (13:07):
They're going to hire a general manager and they have
a different consulting firm consulting on that. Lost Ken those
two decisions then will all report to the president of
football operations. What do we make about this sort of
convoluted organizational chart.
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Yeah, Tom made a great point earlier and he said,
if you're bringing in a head of football operations, if
now you try to interview other folks for a job
underneath that person, would that team have to let that
person interview then, because you don't necessarily have final say so.
A lot to sort out in Atlanta here. As for
Raheem Morris, he is already in the running for a
(13:43):
few head coaching jobs. Are Buddy Peter Schrager reported earlier
that he will interview for the Titans. I believe there's
another one that could be set up in short order. Certainly,
we'll have a lot of interest as a defensive coordinator
as well. Some folks around the league head scratching on
this one because his record stacks up with a bunch
of other teams over the last two years that didn't
(14:04):
fire their head coach, but the Falcons deciding to move
on from Raheem, who was an interim coach for them
previously in twenty twenty.
Speaker 13 (14:12):
Raheem Morris's coaching career, the.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Arc of it has been an odd one, but we'll
take another turn, certainly as either a head coach or
a defensive coordinator in the near future.
Speaker 13 (14:20):
Duty I firmly believe.
Speaker 8 (14:21):
That also surprising because Falcons owner Arthur Blank is not
necessarily considered an impatient owner. He's been pretty patient with
his previous head coaches. So only two years, very short
tenure for Raheem Morris.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Tom last game of the NFL regular season, and it
was an awfully good when Lamar Jackson Aaron Rodgers winner
against the AFC nor title in the number four see
let's go straight to the fourth quarter, Lamar Jackson throwing
two and you'll see this on repeat. Wide opens a Flowers,
no one even close. There was a flag. It was
(14:55):
against these Steelers Ravens take a twenty four to twenty lead,
and in Steelers possession, back comes Aaron Rodgers going for
Calvin ast to the third. Does anyone want to play
defense at all? Twenty six hours touchdown, Steelers take a
twenty six to.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Twenty four league Chris Bodswell.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Wow, that one got away from the old banana right there.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
So a two point game meeting.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
The Ravens can take the lead with a field goal
fourth and seven, Lamar Jackson with them.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
A little bit of time in the pocket goes.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
To Isaiah Likely going up top over Jalen Ramsey, a
huge catch that puts them in position for the game
winning field goal attempt. They got the ball centered. Here's
Tyler Loop the rookie and never had a chance. Pandemonium
in Pittsburgh, Misery in Baltimore, Ravens out Steelers in Mike
(15:47):
Tomlin fired UPO.
Speaker 14 (15:50):
Man, it's another one in the history of this series. Man,
it's an honor to be a part of his rivalry
with that group. They fought art and for it, not
only tonight, but throughout the entire journey. And so we
move forward and we have seen North champions and that
sounds good and it feels good.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
I mean, how can you put into words just the
thin line between if they make that kick, Season's over
comes to a screeching halting, missing that kick and the
winner going on.
Speaker 14 (16:18):
You know what it is if my heart had mail parts,
he'd be my uncle. That's what you want.
Speaker 10 (16:23):
You want the ball in your hands with two twenty
left and you need a touchdown. That's exactly what you want.
But I was confident that I was going to play
a good game and that I could kind of be
the magnetic force out there to keep guys confident and calm.
And that's part of it. Being the old guy. I
have a lot of gray in your beard. Is they
expect things from you, and it's nice to be able
(16:44):
to deliver in moments like that.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Let's bring it our Bucky Brooks to the conversation with me,
Tom Pilisaro, Bucky, you see Mike, Tom within be. It's
just for anybody going well, you only got in because
of Miskick.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
We almost didn't get in because of Miskick.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
This was the scene dealer's team that we had kind
of been waiting to see it. Even though you need
a little bit of luck on your side here it
does look like Pittsburgh maybe is finding their stride a bit.
Speaker 14 (17:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 15 (17:08):
Absolutely, And I think this is exactly why Mike Townley
wanted Aaron Rodgers to be his quarterback. He knew that
the four time MVP would provide some composure, he would
provide confidence, and.
Speaker 12 (17:18):
He would be a clutch performer when they needed it.
Speaker 15 (17:20):
And it hasn't been pretty all season, but I can
say watching that game on Sunday night, it was everything
that they wanted from Aaron Rodgers. He was in control,
he had commanded the offense, he was directing it, and
as they needed him to make plays without DK Metcalf,
he was able to do it. I think he gave
them a lot of confidence. I think he gives them
(17:40):
a lot of confidence going forward.
Speaker 12 (17:42):
And I don't know if.
Speaker 15 (17:42):
They can knock off to Houston Texans, but I certainly
believe that they feel like their quarterback is going to
give them the best chance to get it done.
Speaker 12 (17:52):
Now.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
They just got to go ahead and get that helmet
thing fixed. It enough to burden three timeouts before there's
five minutes to play, Bucky, lot more coming from you,
just a little bit. The Ravens will have plenty of
time to fix what has ailed them throughout the twenty
twenty five season, because by virtue of that loss to Pittsburgh,
they are out of the playoffs. A heartbreaking end on
(18:12):
a night where you saw flashes of Lamar Jackson. We've
been waiting for the entire season. Instead, it didn't heartbreak.
Speaker 16 (18:20):
Definitely, stune man. I thought we had it in the
bad I thought we had it in the bat Man.
I don't know what else we can do.
Speaker 12 (18:27):
Do you do you want to see John?
Speaker 16 (18:30):
You you asked me about next year, Jamison. I'm so
caught up in what just happened tonight.
Speaker 12 (18:36):
I can't.
Speaker 16 (18:36):
I can't focus on that right now. I just told you,
like he asked me, are you stunning? I'm stunn right now.
I'm still trying to process what's going on. I know
we lost, but what you know, that's all the.
Speaker 17 (18:47):
Chunk plays that have gotten us, you know, and they
came up again in this game. And that's Yeah, it's
really disappointing. It's it's not something that that should happen
as much as it did. I mean, you know, I
mean they have some chunk plays too in the back end,
and so it's football and it happens, but you know,
we don't want that to happen.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
I always appreciate the authenticity of Lamar Jackson ean and
you got a very real raw reaction there. I know
people are going to read into He didn't directly answer
on his future, didn't directly answer on John Harbaugh. He
was also ten minutes removed from standing there, going We're
about to go to the Oh my god, no has
to stand there in front of her porters. What do
you make of the end of that game? But also
(19:28):
what it means for the Ravens here as we move forward? Well,
I would say first to the end of the game. Yes,
obviously the Baltimore Ravens loss, but what we saw was
Lamar Jackson turn into the Lamar that the Ravens have
been waiting the entire season for. It seemed like all
seasons something was just not quite right. Whether it was
he was injured, or whether there was some turnovers of
(19:50):
misfortune or who knows, right, just things did not work
out early in the year, and it took all year
for Lamar to get to the special playmaking two time
MVP that he For Ravens fans, that window will take
you into the offseason because that is a look at
what Lamar can be now he's got two years left
on his contract. I would expect Lamar and the team
(20:10):
to revisit contract talks.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Kind of a weird year.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Players don't often want to redo contracts after having not
your greatest year. But we'll see, and as far as
Harbo goes, I expect some conversations in the building today,
tomorrow and moving forward to see what they want to
do staff wise. The only way I see the two
sides not moving forward together is if one side wants
to make serious changes and the other absolutely does not,
(20:35):
and I would be surprised if that was the case
for the rape.
Speaker 13 (20:39):
I am on board with that wholeheartedly.
Speaker 6 (20:41):
Ian there are some situations we were watching saying this
could and probably will happen today the ones that have.
Speaker 13 (20:47):
Played out today.
Speaker 6 (20:48):
There were others where we said, Okay, we're going to
wait to see how it goes the rest of the week,
because there's going to be some conversations and there also
needs to be a breath taken on this one. Lamar
alluded to it the way that that game ended the
way and everyone was stunned and involved. They want to
remove the emotion from it and then have those conversations.
And Steve Bushatti, the Ravens owner, is not one to
make impulse decisions. He is going to take a thorough
(21:11):
look at this one. They're going to have those conversations,
and I agree with you. I believe there's going to
be staffing changes when it comes to the Ravens. Look,
a lot of times you get a feel for this
and you start to talk about coaches that have just
been in a place as long as John Harbaugh has
been as successful as he's been. You say, hey, could
this be the year? And you kind of get swatted down.
Are you crazy? We're not getting those replies. So there's
(21:32):
going to be conversations here and everybody's got to make
sure they're on the same page.
Speaker 13 (21:36):
But yeah, I agree with how Ian is seeing.
Speaker 12 (21:38):
It right now.
Speaker 8 (21:40):
One more thing about the owner, Steve Bushatti, is he
has a really good close relationship with John Harbaugh. He
certainly knows what he has in John Harbaugh. He certainly
knows what he has in Lamar Jackson too. He is
a deliberate owner. He will take his time. It's not
going to be rushed into anything. It's hard for me
to imagine that he would want to break this up unless,
(22:02):
as Ian pointed out, unless they want to make changes
that John Harbat just cannot abide. But I would expect
that they run this back but have lots of conversations
about how to get past the bumps that occurred this year.
Clearly there was some friction somewhere in that organization and
that needs to be smoothed out because the reality is
what we saw Lamar Jackson look like Lamar Jackson last night.
(22:25):
We didn't see that for big stretches of the season,
and that's why they are in the position they're in today.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
It wasn't all bad news over the past couple of
days across the NFL. We got the good news. Do
we get Packers Bears? Part Three?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Can I wait for that one?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
As a part of wild Card Weekend Saturday Night, Caleb
Williams Jordan Love the rubber match in this series, our
Stacey Dales will be there, but first she'll be here
to break it all down for us on the inside
is presented by Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Major changes across the NFL today, including in Las Vegas,
Pete Carroll, super Bowl winning head coach win Now coach
barely won any games and is now officially one and done.
The Raiders moved on from Pete Carroll after a dysfunctional
season that saw him fired two coordinators and have his
hand picked quarterback Gino Smith lead the NFL in interceptions.
Speaker 12 (23:29):
It was a.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
Brutal year and now a new start for GM. John
spy Tech and Tom Brady, who will combine to pick
the new head coach. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, another situation where
a new face is going to be on the sidelines.
Kevin Zevanski, the two time head coach, fired after a challenging,
challenging two seasons. They've had plenty of problems at the
(23:53):
quarterback position, plenty of cap problems, including those created by
the Deshaun Watson trade.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
No matter kevin'svans, he.
Speaker 18 (24:00):
Is now out.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
They love him big fans just really needed a new voice.
And Andrew Barry will be among those who lead the
search duty for a new head coach in Cleveland.
Speaker 8 (24:12):
In Atlanta, Raheem Morris was fired by the Atlanta Falcons
after just two seasons. That's a pretty quick cook, and
after winning the last four in a row, that was
not enough to save him. The Falcons did not make
the playoffs this season despite finishing eight to ninth, same
record as the Panthers, who won the division. Raheem's exit
is part of a broader reimagining of the entire football operation.
(24:32):
Is going to be a new president of football operations.
That's probably going to be Matt Ryan. There's a lot
of moving parts here, a lot of decisions to be
made about the brain trust going forward.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
Mike Jonathan Gannon three seasons with the Cardinals fifteen and
thirty six is not good enough for owner Michael Bidwill,
who fired Gannon today.
Speaker 13 (24:52):
And now Gannon didn't have Kyler.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Murray for roughly half the time that he was the
head coach of the Cardinals because of injuries, but Bidwell's says,
we still should have won more games down the stretch,
so he makes the decision to part with Gannon. Monte
asen Fort remains the general manager. They are now going
to have to look for a new head coach and,
by the way, figure out what to do with Kyler
Murray and all that guaranteed money that they've got heading
(25:15):
his way next season. The Lions and Bears yesterday, with
the Bears saying we're playing football that's what their head
coach is been arrested.
Speaker 13 (25:24):
Me Bid even got a chance to the two seed here.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
Down sixty to nothing. That two seed didn't look great here,
but this Bears team has been resilient. Touchdown right here,
Caleb Williams, the jday Walker cuts it to eight after
the two point conversion, and then Caleb to the impressive
rookie Colston Lovelin another two point conversion in the game
is tied.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
But these Lions they played for pride.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
They did it against the Packers a couple of years
ago in the final week of the season.
Speaker 13 (25:52):
They do it again against the Bears.
Speaker 12 (25:54):
Here.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
Aman Ross Saint Brown twenty six yards, Brown eleven for
one thirty on the day, setting up Jake Bates from
forty two away, and the Allians take it nineteen to sixteen,
closing out the season playing strong despite not going to
the playoffs.
Speaker 13 (26:12):
The Bears, by the way, got.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
That two seed anyway because the Eagles.
Speaker 13 (26:15):
Decided to not play football.
Speaker 14 (26:16):
Well.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
They played, but with their backups playing football with Ben
Johnson called it now typ forer good coverage presented by
Progressive Insurance. Despite the loss Bear safety Kevin Byer, the
third recording his league leading a seventh interception yesterday. Seven
is the most playoff Bears player in a single season
since Kyler Kyle Fuller got it.
Speaker 13 (26:36):
They also had seven and twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
Chicago led the NFL with thirty three takeaways. In twenty
twenty five, nay Shan right, the cornerback, had a bunch
of them as well. Those guys were going after the
football and Dennis Allen's defense, and now they're going to
go after the football being thrown by that guy, Jordan
Love as they take on the Green Bay Packers. Oh
Man can't wait to see these two teams go out it.
They played two great games in the regular season, looking
(26:59):
forward seeing what the third round has to bring, and
we know it'll bring. Stacey Dale's covering the game. The
Chicago resident going to be on hand for this one.
Let's start with the Packers on this one. They decided
to let Jordan Love chill in week eighteen, despite him
getting clearance from that concussion.
Speaker 13 (27:16):
He will now play.
Speaker 6 (27:17):
They will now be as much as full strength that
they could possibly be at this point, Stace, what are
you expected from the Packers in this one?
Speaker 19 (27:26):
Yeah, they let a lot of players, starters sit out
of that Vikings loss yesterday, Mike. So that's good news
because they got a little bit more rest. And one
of the things Jordan Love has talked about is he
returns to face the team that knocked him out a
couple of weeks ago in the Bears Week sixteen. It
was an Austin Booker hit to the helmet. They took
a lot of one reps last week, so one's versus
(27:47):
one's good verse good. And he also talked about Jordan
did recently that he was able to take a deeper
dive into the Bears defense. Now you mentioned the Bears takeaways,
they got thirty three of them, and I'm sure he
sat down and took a look at all thirty three
and also took a look at this pass rush and
what the Bears do in terms of the disguise.
Speaker 18 (28:06):
And the changes they do up front.
Speaker 19 (28:08):
But Jordan Love getting the extra rest. We'll see if
there's any rest, But you have to think that his
ability to take a little bit of a deeper dive
into the film mic is going to help him coming
into this one. Just the third meeting, by the way,
all time in the playoffs between these two teams and
then for Chicago, they were so disappointed as we saw
those highlights Mike that you ran over. I was in
(28:28):
the press conference with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams last night.
I don't know if I've seen Ben Johnson that disappointed
and bothered by that performance. And he was specifically disappointed
with the offense. They didn't score a point until the
fourth quarter, and it was a sixteen point lead only
by this Detroit offense, and still the Bears just couldn't
(28:51):
find ways to score points. And it was very noticeable
on the ground, sixty five rush yards, well below their
average of one p fifty. Aleb Williams, I asked him
in the press conference, did you think maybe you should
have run the ball more or wanted to? And Mike
he had one rush for one yard. So I have
to think that as they get ready for Saturday night,
(29:12):
understanding how good their run game has been, they get
back to doing that or attempting to do it against
these Packers on Saturday night in an environment environment that
will be electric. Ben Johnson saying today Caleb Williams, though,
is built for these moments and he's at his best
when we need him to be. So this is going
to be an exciting matchup, thinking that Jordan Love wants
a little bit of revenge against the team that can
(29:33):
custom his first NFL concussion in his career as they
go into Saturday.
Speaker 13 (29:40):
Just wild. That's that that you just throughout.
Speaker 6 (29:42):
These teams that have been around for a combined like
two hundred years have only met in the playoffs three
times now, with the twenty ten NFC Championship game being
the last one. So you know what, folks enjoy it.
Hopefully it's worth the wait. Stacy Dale's always worth the
visit with you, Ian.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
This one is going to be worth the wait for
the Carolina Panthers, and it has been a wait.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Panthers are back in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
However, it happened lots of things, lots of watching, took
it extra day and a Saturday outcome. Maybe they weren't
looking forward to, but cool Rams Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Our good friend Sarah Walsh is going to be there. Sarah,
what's up? Thank you for joining us on the Insiders. Okay,
so we know the Panthers are in, however they got in.
(30:24):
Take us through this matchup between Panthers and Rams.
Speaker 18 (30:27):
What do you see.
Speaker 20 (30:30):
Well, look, Matthew Stafford comes in the grizzled veteran seventeen seasons,
He's got a Super Bowl ring. Bryce Young, in just
his third NFL season, is making his first postseason appearance.
But if you think any of that is going to
rattle this guy, well then you've never talked to Bryce Young,
because he is about his even keeled and as calm
as it gets. He talks every week about just wanting
(30:50):
to go one to zero. He was asked about the
fact that whether it's a good game or bad game,
which is easier to flush because he always talks about
just flushing the game away, and he said, you know what,
You're not gonna like my answer to this, But it's
all about the process.
Speaker 18 (31:02):
It's all about going back to work.
Speaker 20 (31:04):
He has thrived though in pressure situations ian twelve game
winning drive since he was drafted in twenty three that
leads the league in that span. Now, the last time
he saw these Rams, it was Week thirteen. They went
for it on fourth down three times. He converted all
three of those, and two of those were for touchdowns
in a game in which they beat the Rams. So
(31:25):
this is going to be an incredible rematch. It was
probably the best win in the Dave Canalis, the very
young Dave Canalis era in Charlotte, And you mentioned, hey,
who cares how they get in Canallis already said he's
just so happy to have another game at Bank of
America Stadium. And now there's that challenge of can you
beat a team twice in one season?
Speaker 18 (31:43):
And that's what lies ahead.
Speaker 20 (31:45):
For Bryce Young having a career year in Carolina this weekend.
Speaker 5 (31:50):
And what about the other side of this, because obviously
for the Los Angeles Rams, you know they were looking
to find their footing a little bit the end of
the year. Sean McVay played guys in the finale. I
don't usually see found some good football by the end.
Where do you see the Rams focus for this weekend coming?
Speaker 20 (32:07):
Well, I think when you look at the Rams, I mean,
this is a roster that is absolutely loaded with talent
on both the offensive and the defensive side of the ball.
I talked about Bryce Young having a career year, but
in seventeen seasons, Matthew Stafford has never thrown forty six
touchdowns before.
Speaker 18 (32:22):
This has not been.
Speaker 20 (32:23):
As you've sort of alluded to, the most dominant stretch
of Rams football we have seen this season late in
the game.
Speaker 18 (32:29):
This was a team that was down to Arizona this weekend.
Speaker 20 (32:32):
But when Matthew Stafford wants to take over a game,
he can do it almost at will through.
Speaker 18 (32:37):
Four touchdowns and then.
Speaker 20 (32:38):
The biggest thing is is they're going to get.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Some guys back.
Speaker 18 (32:40):
Davante Adams has not been in action.
Speaker 20 (32:42):
He had been nursing that hamstring injury, and you heard
Sean McVay say they were airing on the side of caution,
and being the competitor that Davante is, he was sort
of pissed about it. And now he said he looks
at him and he's got that look in his eye.
Speaker 18 (32:54):
He is ready to go.
Speaker 20 (32:56):
If I'm a Panthers fan, I don't love hearing that
about Davante because we know what this guy can do.
So the Rams are coming to town with certainly a
lot of motivation given what happened in week thirteen in
this very same place.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
Ian, I loved you guys so much, man, loved you
(33:32):
guy so much.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Seriously, Hey felt pretty damn.
Speaker 21 (33:40):
Hey. That's a great job, man, great job, great team win. Well,
probably what you guys handled this week.
Speaker 8 (33:46):
I mean that.
Speaker 12 (33:48):
Staff.
Speaker 21 (33:48):
Haven't you guys prepared? You guys prepared on your own. Man,
that's a great win. And I'll tell you what, guys
who hadn't played a whole lot came out here and
I impressed. Man, you really did. You took advantage of
an opportunity. What a special night, What a great environment.
It only happens in Buffalo, right here, right What a
great environment. Fans the whole game with us and you guys,
(34:10):
damn some of the cheermount man. Real special place to
play one more time in the stadium.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
You go, hey, go Tom Fels, go Tom. Let's go on,
Let's go man.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
I love us, I love them.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Fourteen teams still standing, including the Bills and the Jaguars,
going at it in a wild card game this weekend,
just eight years after the last time these teams met
in a wildcard game in Jacksonville. I was at that one.
The final score was ten to three. We don't give
gambling advice on this show, but safe to say I
(34:48):
would take the over. Welcome back to the insiders. Tom
Pilli Cera, Bucky Brooks camp Wolf. They will be at
that game. I will not Bucky, but tell me about
this Jacksonville team. You can feel the vibes man with
Liam cu. They've been winning all year, They've had some
big ones here is he'd have a lot of momentum
going into this postseason.
Speaker 12 (35:05):
Yeah, a lot of momentum.
Speaker 15 (35:06):
But I would tell you the best thing about this
team is not the x's and o's, it's the chemistry
at the continuity and just the way that they get
down in terms of their camaraderie with each other. This
is a team that's gone through some tough times early
in the season, but they figured it out and a
lot of the attention goes to Trevor Lawrence. Rightfully so,
because the job that Liam Cohen has done in unlocking
(35:27):
someone who should be an MVP candidate, and Trevor Lawrence
has nothing short of remarkable. Since the bye week he
has been on a heater. He has been phenomenal in
terms of finding the open receiver Parker Washington, Jacobe Myers,
Bryan Thomas, Junior Bretton Strange and Travis Atgen, really getting
the ball to the playmakers, but more importantly stepping into
that role of kind of being the alpha dog of
(35:48):
this team. The guys follow his lead and because of
that this offense is balled out of control. And oh
the defense. The defense doesn't get enough credit for what
they've been doing. Number one against the run, take the
ball away at an alarming clip. This is a really
good team, and I'm glad that the football world will
finally get a chance to take notice of what's going
on down in Duvault.
Speaker 22 (36:09):
Bucky, I'm just getting amped up hearing you talk. This
is the game of the week to me. I'm so
glad that we get a chance to be there because
these are excellent teams, teams that can make a run
to the super Bowl. And look the matchup that I
can't wait to see. You alluded to it there, James Cook,
who won the rushing title with the number one rushing
offense versus that number one rushing defense of.
Speaker 13 (36:29):
The Jacksonville Jaguars.
Speaker 22 (36:30):
And I'll start with this, James Cook waited all night
watched the Steelers Ravens game just to see if Dereck
Henry would pass his numbers so you can clinch that
rushing title. And then he got to celebrate. Sean McDermot
said he was watching too, getting nervous too. This is
something that Cook told me in April on a fishing boat.
That was his goal of his to put the rushing
title on the board. He got a contract and had
(36:51):
the best game of his career, best season of his career.
Speaker 12 (36:55):
And when you look at the Bills.
Speaker 22 (36:56):
Everyone asks who's going to help Josh Allen, James Cook
is the Bill route, But can they do it against
a really, really stout Jaguars defense. People are going to
be surprised at home on how they move around on defense.
They take the ball away, They stuffed people on defense,
and Josh Hans Allen called de Von Hamilton the nose tackle,
the best nose tackle in football for the year.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
He's played excellent this year.
Speaker 22 (37:17):
Anthony Campanellian at defense, they always fly around the ball.
I think this is going to be physical. It's going
to be smash mouth, and I can't wait to see it.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Buddy, If you were wondering if there was one more
bit of trivia about that twenty seventeen wild card matchup,
by the way, the only touchdown was scored by Bucky
You got five seconds. Who scored the only touchdown in
that Jaguars Bills wild card game back there eight years ago,
Josh Ellen.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Josh Helvien.
Speaker 15 (37:44):
But the Jaguars Josh was Josh Heinze.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Ben Koyak scored a touchdown, not a name that I
was expected to use.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
But here we are.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Right now, Cam and Bucky, thank you both very much.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Hey, the NFL.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
Playoffs are here, by the way, and it all starts
with wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon. Twelve team six games,
three days and one epic weekend. Wildcard Weekend powered by
Verizon January tenth through twelfth, because it watched not NFL
dot com for the full schedule.
Speaker 12 (38:25):
What a fun final weekend for NFL fans.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
No question about the juggle.
Speaker 23 (38:31):
Go in this football Gamele Panther fans arrayed a riso
fans want to know two dot oh though, guys like
Sarlon you are welcome.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
Burrow under pressure sacks.
Speaker 6 (38:42):
And there it is.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's just what Sean Payton ordered.
Speaker 23 (38:48):
Drink, bade the serenade with chances here where the tea shirt?
Speaker 12 (38:58):
This one He's not way to's wait.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
To send it up.
Speaker 15 (39:12):
Go home.
Speaker 12 (39:19):
Champions.
Speaker 8 (39:27):
Incredible final game of the regular season, incredible final weekend
of the regular season. And now we get to turn
the page to wild Card Weekend. And this is going
to be one of the highlights of that forty nine
Ers Eagles. It is the mid afternoon Sunday game. Cannot
wait for that. Let's bring in our bucket Brooks to
talk about this, all right, Bucky, Let's just lay the
(39:48):
landscape landscape out here. The forty nine Ers are hoping
to have left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Ricky pearsall
back for the game. They both missed the Week eighteen game,
and the Eagles are coming off a loss, but they
rested a lot of players. That is Nick Sirianni's theory.
He likes to do that. He's comfortable with it. It has
worked before them in the past. But certainly Bucky raises
(40:11):
concerns about are they going to be rusty going into
the playoffs.
Speaker 12 (40:15):
What's say you about this matchup?
Speaker 15 (40:16):
Yeah, Jude, there's a lot of concern about the Philadelphia
Eagles deciding to take basically Week eighteen off when it
comes to their starters. They decided to rest their players
a little low management to make sure that they were
ready for the postseason. And even though if they've won
against the Washington Commanders, it could have changed the matchup.
Speaker 12 (40:32):
I think the Eagles are very comfortable making.
Speaker 15 (40:34):
Sure that all of their top players are available and
ready to go.
Speaker 12 (40:37):
And when you think about this Eagles.
Speaker 15 (40:39):
Team, I'm going to have you think about them defense first,
offense second. When their defense is ready to go, they're
one of the best teams in football. Jalen Carter is
a force of nature on the inside, and his ability
to change the game and disrupt everything sets the table
for everybody else. So having him available, having their pass
usus available, and really having their secondary need to go.
Speaker 12 (41:00):
Is going to help them.
Speaker 15 (41:01):
And then offensively, it's about Jalen Hursts and Saquon Barkley,
that running game being able to get untracked. When you
look at the forty nine ers offensively, there's certainly a juggernaut,
but defensively they've had issues.
Speaker 12 (41:14):
So if you can run the football effectively throw it outside.
Speaker 15 (41:17):
Of Devonte Smith and AJ Brown, I think all of
this consternation about what they decided to do in Week
eighteen will fall by the wayside. I expect the Philadelphia
Eagles to play well. This is a team that when
they are locked and loaded, they're one of the.
Speaker 12 (41:31):
Best teams in football.
Speaker 15 (41:32):
I think we see that version show up when they
take off Francisco forty.
Speaker 8 (41:38):
We have been worried about the Eagles all season, Bucky,
thank you very much. When we return, we're going to
run down all the coaching moves today. Six jobs open
right now. We'll talk about each of
Speaker 12 (41:47):
Them next on The Insiders
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