Alex Curry & Carmen Vitali talk NFL Wild Card Weekend, NFL Coaching Carousel, College Football Playoff Semifinal Reactions & MORE!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome to Fox Football Saturday. I'm Alex Curry here with
Carmen Vitally. Thank you for spending your football Saturday with us.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
Carme Happy wild Card weekend.

Speaker 4 (00:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 5 (00:14):
It's a busy Saturday, I know, dude. I'm gonna be
honest with you, Alex. I really thought that Bears Packers
was going to get the Sunday night slot, and I
was like, great, this will be cool. I got I
got the show on Saturday. Head over to the stadium.

Speaker 4 (00:28):
No, no, double, dude, I'm gonna go.

Speaker 5 (00:30):
I'm going to condense everything into one essentially afternoon night.
So as soon as we get off the air here,
I'm trecking over to Soldier Field.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
So much is it? It was snowing this morning.

Speaker 5 (00:42):
It was sleeping this morning. Nothing stuck. So actually the
sun is out. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's not even that cold,
you know by Chicago standards in January.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
There's something like that with like the Bulls Arena, like
it was so hot that like the floor was wet.

Speaker 5 (00:58):
Or so there was there was what is going on?
It was too warm outside from my understanding or like
versus like how the building was being like the climate
parent hold so like they were, but it was like, yeah,
it's been a weird winter already in Chicago. We got
more snow than we got last year all of last
year in November and then now like we haven't had

(01:20):
snow since and it's been like like yesterday it was
sixty degrees here, so whoa, I know, but now it's
I mean it's in the thirties now, but it's still
there's suns out.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
It's more beautiful day for football. Like I'm actually excited for.

Speaker 4 (01:33):
You actually, especially nor football right now.

Speaker 5 (01:37):
You know, you can't ask for a better although honestly,
I think a snow game between the.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Bears Packers would for everybody, like that would have been
It's like cinema when you get a snow game, like
it looks like art the photos.

Speaker 4 (01:48):
Like I know the guys don't like playing in it,
but we do. It's fun.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
It's fun to watch all It's like the most beautiful
thing to watch if you're at home, Chili when you're there.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
But like, we got two games today.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
We got rams at Panthers coming up here in a
about thirty minutes, which is I we'll get into that
in a second. But I still think it's wild that
you know, Panthers are the home team here.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
But that's just how uh, this.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Whole situation works. And we got Packers at Bears tonight.
As we mentioned, Karli's gonna be running straight to that
game right after our show. We also watched an absolute
beat down last night, Sure and Diana handed it to
Organ literally right out of the gates with a pick
six and never looked back. The NATTI is set Miami
against Indiana home game for Miami at the hard Rock,
But like, is that going to be enough to out

(02:33):
take Innanna. We're gonna break that down a little later
in the show. We've got a lot to get to today.
We're gonna talk about all the different wildcard games. We
got a lot of first time playoff quarterbacks this weekend.
Because some great guest today too. Bill's team reporter Matty
Glab will join us in about thirty minutes, and we
have NBC Phillies Ashland Sullivan in our two to break
down the defending champion Eagles. We have producer Bree with

(02:55):
us today, technical producer Chris and Martin Wise at the
news desk.

Speaker 5 (03:00):
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Speaker 3 (03:17):
Love telling people like, yeah, just give it to us, it's.

Speaker 5 (03:20):
Wow, or just like you know, I don't ever say
a bad thing or a bad take, So go for it.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Go for it, beautiful. We're just like elite.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Okay, let's get to these NFC wild Card games and
start with the game that's kicking off here. In about
thirty minutes. Rams are ten and a half point favorites.
You guys on the road in Carolina, pump up speeches
are happening right now. On the field, they are getting ready.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
It is packed.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
I mean, you have a veteran Super Bowl champion quarterback
in Matthew Stafford going up against Bryce Young in his
first ever postseason playoff start. Games like this make me
a little uneasy, Carmen, because the Panthers feed him back
in Week thirteen and they were double digit underdogs.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
Then Rams were in a six game winning streak.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
They were looking good, they were feeling hot, and then
Stafford had three turnovers, two picks in a fumble, and
the Rams have been kind.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Of shaky these last I'll give it these last three weeks.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
They kind of had a made up game against the
Cardinals last weekend, but losing two straight, a tough one
in Seattle, they blew that huge lead in the fourth
the Atlanta Stafford had a really bad game. I'm trying
to focus on the positives here that DeVante Adams is
going to be back after missing the last three games.
He is their top guy, leading the league and receiving touchdowns.
And that's also going to help Pooka because having Adams

(04:46):
back kind of allows them like him not to get
double team.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
But also Puca's had.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
To take some weird off the field things going down
these last few weeks, So I don't I think that's
going to help the Rams today. I think what will
help them the most is that playoff experience. But I
think it's going to come down to if Matthew Stafford
has a good game. If Matthew Stafford has a good game,
I think they're going to be able to pull this off.

Speaker 5 (05:12):
Yeah, I mean, that's the recipe for the Rams, always right,
and that's been He's been a little bit less stable,
I feel like in the last few weeks, because I mean,
during the season. It's sad to say at this point,
I think that Matthew Stafford kind of lost his MVP.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
Candidacy in over the last few weeks in those two games.

Speaker 5 (05:33):
Because of how inconsistent he's been and the fact that
Drake May, who was his biggest challenger for that award,
seemed to ramp it up even more. And I mean
I had thought I had talked about Drake May kind
of being MVP of this season because I know that
he played games that were like his strength of schedule
wasn't as good as Matthew Stafford's and this, that and

(05:54):
the other. But if you look at their stats, which
are eerily similar, by the way, Drake May faced so
much more pressure because he did not have the offensive
line that Matthew Stafford did, and he still had the same,
very similar.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
Numbers to Matthew Stafford.

Speaker 5 (06:06):
And you know, any any guy that can do that,
I think is MVP in my book. But that being said,
Matthew Stafford then kind of furthered that narrative when it
just you know, that game against Atlanta, I really lost
of the MVP candidates unfortunately. But that being said, that
doesn't mean that Matthew Stafford has.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Lost it or is it bad quarterback?

Speaker 3 (06:25):
No, no, no, no, is He's.

Speaker 5 (06:27):
Got the most experienced him and Sean McVay McVeigh. What
I love McVeagh has done this year with this Rams
offense is McVay is kind of like the taste maker
of offensive football in the NFL. And his tree between
him and Kyle Shanahan, their coaching tree covers like almost
half the teams in the league at this point. Yeah,

(06:47):
in the on the offensive side of the ball, and
they continue to evolve it and this year the tight
endage in LA is starting big trend he has. That's
that's a sadly what you know, that's what tastemakers do.
The NFL is a cyclical league. You've got to find
ways to keep beating these defenses that are getting more
sophisticated every week. So he's been deploying thirteen personnel, which

(07:09):
just three tight ends on the field, more than any
other team by a long shot. So how the Carolina
Panthers deal with those tight ends deal with that personnel
grouping is going to determine how well this game goes
for Carolina. I think that there's the door is open
for Carolina to make some noise and create some chaos.
But they do you know what the Rams are coming

(07:31):
in here to do. They have the personnel to do it,
they have the talent to do it, they have the
experience to do it. And can the Panthers keep up
now that it's the postseason where they don't have as
much experience there.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
No, I mean, this is Bryce Doone's playoff debut and
I was listening to Sarah Sarah Walsh on the pregame
show just talk about like Bryce saying, they don't need
the motivation, they don't need any boltim Boar material because
they have it. They just created in the locker room.
This is what happened the last time they played the Rams.
And I mean this is Bryce Young is having a
career best in completetion percent his passing years, passing touchdowns.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
I just don't think.

Speaker 4 (08:09):
I think the.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Experience from the Rams today it needs to. It should.
I mean again it should. They're a ten and a
half point favorite.

Speaker 4 (08:17):
Sad though, wild the Panthers already beat the Rams this year.
We have this similar spread, right, and I'm like, did
we learn nothing? I know it's the past season, but
did we learn nothing?

Speaker 3 (08:26):
We learned nothing.

Speaker 5 (08:28):
I also Fagas seems to know some things too, so
I can't completely count.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Out what they say, which is weird and no, so
if the Panthers pull off because also, like Bryce Young
has one more year guaranteed on his rookie deal, so
the Panthers have to they have to pick up his
option in twenty twenty seven. So I think what happens
today is kind of going to determine what happens with that.
They they'll immediately pick it up and pay Bryce Young

(08:53):
if they If they win, they lose, maybe not a
bad thing, you know, kind of like sit on figure
it out.

Speaker 5 (09:01):
They would be wise to pick up his option either way.
It's only you know, it's it's the fifth year, it's
you know, you want to have that stability, maybe give
Bryce Young a little bit more of a runway. I
know that Dave Kanalis in Carolina is a huge believer
in what Bryce Young can do and the talent level
that he has, and it's just been a matter of
there's been some injuries for the Panthers on offense. You had,

(09:21):
like and you had a running game that had gotten
the Chubahabber got injured and then Rico Daubell kind of
took uspot. But then like it was, it's not exactly
a complimentary run game, but you have these two backs
that make up a significant run game that Bryce Young
can lean on.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
But I think it's.

Speaker 5 (09:37):
It's a matter of just giving him a little bit
of extra time to see what you really have in now.

Speaker 4 (09:42):
That he's got.

Speaker 5 (09:42):
Yeah, I do, he's got He's got good guys around him.
I'm on the fence, but I think it still could
be better in Carolina and if you if you add
some more pieces around him, I think that Bryce Young
is capable.

Speaker 4 (09:56):
What he's shown down the stretch of the potential of
this season. I think it's one more year, pick up
his option. That's fine.

Speaker 5 (10:04):
I know it's you know, it's more expensive, but it's
still yeah, it's still a deal when it comes to
these quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
Quarterbacks for where it's where it's headed. All right, let's
get to the game of the day. The best NFC
matchup I think in Wildcard weekend Packers favored on the
road at the Bears. Carmen is headed to this game
right after our show, and there's so much anticipation for
Bear fans here. It's been fifteen years since the Bears
have won a playoff game, and this is the exact

(10:30):
reason that they hired Ben Johnson and drafted Caleb Williams.
Number one overall is to be here and to win
a playoff game. And I think the Packers being favored
on the road as the lower seed and without a
Micah Parsons is only going to add fuel to the
Bears fire. Carmen, you have been around this Bears team
all season. I think they have exceeded expectations already this year.

(10:54):
I know you you temper your expectations, but what's been
the temp and the vibe of this week round this team.

Speaker 5 (11:01):
I mean, Chicago's so excited about this, first of all,
and they have a right to be. And I am
I'm the one that temper's expectations. And after watching you know,
I covered Ben Johnson in Detroit as well, and then
when he took over in twenty twenty two as offensive coordinator,
the Lions started one in six and it wasn't an
immediate fix, but then they finished that season strong. They

(11:22):
knocked the Packers out of the playoffs just out of
spite at the end of that season, and then we
know what he went on to do in Detroit, which
is why he ended up in Chicago. So I was like, hey, guys,
he runs a complicated scheme.

Speaker 4 (11:34):
It takes a lot.

Speaker 5 (11:35):
He really asked a lot of his quarterbacks like you
really you need to give this time?

Speaker 4 (11:39):
And boy was I wrong. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (11:42):
I do still think that there are a ton like
the Bears aren't quite there yet. They have been scratched
the surface of what they're ceiling is and I think
that that's a good thing. And that's why that as
they're developing, they were finding ways to win. And to me,
that told me everything I needed to know about Ben
Johnson as the head coaching higher because also this was
his first time being in that h and was how

(12:03):
was that transition going to go?

Speaker 3 (12:04):
Incredible?

Speaker 5 (12:04):
But the thing that Ben Johnson has done so incredibly
well in Chicago that's impressed me the most is he's delegated.
That is really hard for a first year, first time
head coach to do, is to give up control over
the aspects of a team that he just doesn't have
the capacity to run. So like the defense, the defense
is Dennis Allens, and Dennis Allen's only Ben Johnson does

(12:26):
not interfere over there. And that is the smartest thing
he could have ever done, because you have so many
more micro decisions you have to make as a head coach,
and he's still the offensive play caller, so adding the
head coaching stuff on top of the offensive stuff, there
was no room for defense. But that doesn't stop some
coaches from trying anyway. And the fact that he was
able to delegate and learn from his coaching staff, his

(12:48):
very experienced coaching staff. By the way, you know, Ben
Johnson himself has been to the playoffs. There have been
plenty of coaches on this roster that have posteason experience.
And then you added some free agents like Joe tun
the now all pro Joe Tuney yet again in his career,
who has four championships. He's won the division all but
one year of his career, no matter what team he

(13:08):
was with. So you add this experience and all of
a sudden you realize, oh, there are people on this
Bears team that know what a good competent team looks
like and that's why I think you've seen the Bears
kind of be ahead of schedule. And that being said,
everybody in Chicago is so excited. They wanted the Green
Bay Packers for this first round because they wanted another

(13:30):
chance to beat Green Bay. This is the oldest rivalry
in the NFL. These two teams have played each other
more than anyone else in the league. And the fans
are so incredibly into it. I mean, you walk down
the street in Chicago and it's just Bear fan like
Bears regalia everywhere, the coming out of the.

Speaker 4 (13:47):
Shops, going into the bars.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
I mean, I'm in part of so many group chats
of people trying to figure out which bar to go
to to watch this game.

Speaker 4 (13:55):
It's so cool.

Speaker 3 (13:56):
Wow, where's everyone going.

Speaker 5 (13:58):
I know that there's some people going a great Mallys
that's in my neighborhood.

Speaker 4 (14:01):
I absolutely adore that place.

Speaker 6 (14:03):
They have.

Speaker 5 (14:03):
Ay, I think they have a special and some specials
today for game day. They're not taking reservations either. I
read that they are like just show up between five
and five lee and like the equal opportunity they're They're phenomenal.
But yeah, that's That's where I think I would go
if I wasn't actually high tailing it over to.

Speaker 3 (14:20):
Soldier field work in the game.

Speaker 2 (14:22):
I love hearing you say that, Ben Johnson delegates because
great leaders delegate, know your strengths and bring people in
to help lift you up. Now, these two teams, as
you mentioned, very familiar with each other, oldest rivalry in football.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
But they also split their regular.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
Season matchups just last month. But Jordan Loves in three weeks. Yeah,
so I mean they are very very familiar, like recently.
So Jordan Love hasn't played since that week sixteen. Do
you think he'll be rested or rusty?

Speaker 4 (14:54):
What do you No, I think he'll be I think
he'll be rested.

Speaker 5 (14:56):
The thing also that you have to take into account
as Green Bay has is a four game losing streak.
So if Matt Lafleur is the coach we all think
he is, he has gotten his team ready and angry
about the fact that they have not tasted a victory
in a month. So this is something that I think
they're going to come into Soldier Field and they're going
to be very dialed in. It's something that Jordan Love

(15:17):
has shown that he can do by the way, his
first year starter, they made it to the divisional round,
the Packers did, and then they were in. They were
one and done last year. But Jordan Love has that experience,
and he also has all of his guys pretty healthy
at this point, so I think this offense is going
to hum pretty well. I think the biggest question mark
is how Josh Jacobs is feeling. But for all intents
and purpose, all the reports coming out of Green Bay

(15:38):
say that he is healthy, he is ready to go,
he feels good. And if that is the case with
this Packers offense, if it is as well rounded as
it could possibly be because of the health that they
now have, Yeah, it's going to be really hard for
this Bears defense that has not been good really at all,
save for leading the league in takeaways, but those takeaways
have masked a lot of issues defensively for the Chicago Bears.

Speaker 2 (15:59):
Oh, I'm so excle for this game tonight. We're gonna
We're gonna save our last game for the next segment.
We're gonna take a quick break here. But when we
come back, you guys, the Natty is set a home
game for Miami. But will that be enough? You're listening
to Fox Sports Radio.

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Speaker 2 (16:55):
Welcome back to Fox Football Saturday. I'm Alex Curry you
with Carmen Vitally. We are podcasting live from the Fox
Sports Radio Studios in Los Angeles. Thank you for spending
your Saturday afternoon with Carmee and.

Speaker 5 (17:05):
Me and for the best pregame show every weekend. Be
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(17:28):
and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
And speaking of countdown to Kickoff, we are about five
minutes away from the Rams at the Panthers kicking off
on Fox, the first game of this wildcard weekend. I am,
I love when we get football all weekend.

Speaker 3 (17:45):
It's so great. And I mean we've been getting it
since Thursday, so.

Speaker 2 (17:49):
You guys at college football playoffs, the nattiest set we
got Miami against Indiana Monday, January nineteenth in Miami base
This is a home game for my I mean, the
first team to play a national championship in their home
stadium since like the BCS College Football Playoff Ara began
in nineteen ninety eight.

Speaker 3 (18:08):
And I oh man, I mean.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
Thursday was like such a great game, quite possibly one
of the better fourth quarters in a college football game
I've seen. Last night, Indiana absolute beat down on Oregon.
You kind of had a feeling the game was going
to go that way when Organ through the pick six
in the first nap of the game, but Indiana was
on fire. Quarterback for Nando Mendoza is just like do

(18:36):
you watch his postgame interviews?

Speaker 4 (18:37):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (18:37):
For me, I mean this is just he is, like
he exudes positivity and happiness.

Speaker 3 (18:43):
He's just so grateful to be there.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
I want to like bottle up his positivity and just
like share it with the world.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
He's phenomenal.

Speaker 5 (18:51):
And you know, it's there's been a lot of conversation,
especially like around the Heisman ceremony this year, about how
there weren't any like good candidates or maybe it was
should have been a year their quarterback didn't in it,
and this that the other. But I swear like I
watch his postgame interviews and then I watch him on
the field, Yes, and I'm like, you know, he has
the talent level he obviously is with a Heisman Trophy winner,

(19:12):
and his team did not lose a game this entire season.

Speaker 4 (19:16):
They're going into the National Championship. And I'm like, if
you're a.

Speaker 5 (19:18):
Coach and you see the attitude that this guy has
and clearly the preparation that he has, I mean, this
guy is a machine. Bernana Mendoza is an absolute football
machine and If you don't want that guy on your team,
I don't know, you're not a good coach. Legitimately, I
don't know one coach that wouldn't love a guy like that.

(19:39):
Where you don't have to worry about him get in trouble,
you don't have to worry about where he's at, what
he's doing. You know that he's at home watching film, yeah, preparing,
and then you know when he's in the locker room,
you see just how wonderful he is with his teammates
and how much he shouts out his teammates and how
much they all love him.

Speaker 4 (19:55):
I mean, like I love Bernando, and his family is so.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
Sweet, so sweet, and he grew up in Miami.

Speaker 4 (20:01):
So this is all I was gonna say.

Speaker 5 (20:03):
Fernando from Miami. Yeah, first Miami in Miami.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
It's just like and but like this, if Indiana can
pull it off, I mean, their heavy favorite, it would
be the first national title in school history.

Speaker 4 (20:15):
Yes, this was not a football school.

Speaker 5 (20:17):
Everybody that's school I grew up in outside Chicago. I
went to school with a ton of people that ended
up going to Indiana. Indiana was actually a school that
I almost went to because they have for money to
go there. Yeah, and they they didn't have points journalism
program that Arizona State.

Speaker 3 (20:32):
It's stunning.

Speaker 4 (20:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (20:33):
So but like I went, I didn't go there, honestly,
alex because they weren't a football school and I wanted
to go to a school with a big football program.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
I get it, And that was like one of my
boxes I wanted to check when I went to college too.

Speaker 4 (20:46):
And that wasn't Indiana back then. That's Indiana Now.

Speaker 5 (20:51):
What's so funny to me is that Kurtzignati, their head coach,
has really taken it upon himself to change that narrative
to the point where like Indiana runs up the score,
and not necessarily because I mean, I think that's their attitude,
that's what they want to do, but also because they
know that they needed all the help they could get
as far as the rankings went, the playoff rank all
of that stuff that all factored in. They needed to

(21:14):
be not just good, they needed to be dominant because
they were working against a narrative that they weren't a
serious football program despite the fact that they've had a
ton of success and when you look at the last
few champions, the national champions I like I'm not going
to say that the Big Ten has superseded the SEC,
but the Big Ten is consistently producing the national title

(21:35):
team over the last few years, and Indiana has been
going toe to toe with all of those.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
Guys since then.

Speaker 5 (21:42):
So it's so cool for me because I have so
many friends that are Indiana fans. One of my best friends,
his wife went to Indiana and they drove down to
Atlanta to go to that game, and I was riding
a high for her the entire time because it was
just like, also, you know that crowd was probably ninety

(22:02):
five percent Indiana. Yeah, And I was like, yeah, because
it's driving distance. And people are like, what, that's like
an eleven hour drive. I'm like, yeah, that's driving.

Speaker 4 (22:10):
Distance to people in the Midwest's that's driving distance for us.

Speaker 5 (22:14):
So I can't wait to see how many people make
the drive down to Miami, because I guarantee you there
will be.

Speaker 4 (22:18):
And I mean, did you see the prices on those tickets?
What are they in the door?

Speaker 5 (22:23):
On the secondary market is like thirty six hundred dollars. No,
that was like the cheapest ticket available on stub hub
as of right now.

Speaker 4 (22:31):
Now that'll fluctuate.

Speaker 3 (22:32):
Oh, the other same.

Speaker 5 (22:34):
I know, it's I mean they are super Bowl prices. Yeah,
they are a super Bowl ticket price.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
It's going to be that.

Speaker 2 (22:38):
I mean, like I said, it's a home game. It
is a home game for Miami. I mean, Miami's playing
in their first national title since two thousand and one.
And we have so many connections to Miami's still obviously
Joe Joey Taylor, her brother Jason, her nephews on the team,
and then my brother in law born and raised there.
So it's like there's so many heartstrings tugs for both

(23:01):
of these teams. It is going to be insane. There's
so many ties to.

Speaker 3 (23:04):
Miami obviously, with both of these teams.

Speaker 2 (23:06):
It's just I just hope that Miami's defense has enough
because they had a couple key guys go down in
that game against All Miss, that they have enough to
slow down this just absolutely dominating Indian offense.

Speaker 4 (23:22):
And that's what it's been. That is what it's been.

Speaker 5 (23:25):
I mean, you know, Oregon ended up scoring twenty two
points yesterday, but it wasn't even that close, Like it
really really wasn't. It's it's going to be a tall task.
I mean, that's a defense in Miami that has like
that old miss game. I mean the fourth quarter came down.
Yes they won it in the fourth quarter, which they
did what you want to do, but it was a struggle.

Speaker 4 (23:45):
Yeah, up until that point.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
It was Dami las second, let's play the game like
it was completely right, and you.

Speaker 5 (23:51):
Know, Miami's defense kicked in at the end there, so
that like, you want to be able to maintain that though,
and Indiana is not going to make that easy on you,
because I think Miami's a little bit younger of a
team than Indiana.

Speaker 4 (24:04):
Is.

Speaker 5 (24:04):
The big thing that current Signetti has done in Indiana
is kind of bring in a lot of these transfers
that are a little bit older, a little bit more experienced.
And that showed against Oregon because Oregon is a young team,
a very young team, and.

Speaker 4 (24:16):
You just it felt like I saw I saw a meme.

Speaker 5 (24:21):
It was from Always Sunny, Yeah, and it was the
two guys in Oways Sonny like beating up all the kids,
and it was like Indiana versus Oregon.

Speaker 4 (24:27):
Right now, it was like essentially, that's what it looks like.

Speaker 5 (24:29):
That's what it was, beating on kids, brutal.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
Okay, we'll save our picks for next week. Right now, let's.

Speaker 3 (24:37):
Check in with Martin Wise as he was trending.

Speaker 8 (24:40):
Is that Martin Hey Wildcare weekend kicking off any minute now.
Rookie tight end Terrence Ferguson will be inactive for the
game for the Rams. Josh Wallace, cornerback, also inactive for
the Rams. Kevin Dotson the right guard, and wide receiver
Jordan and Whittington were previously ruled out as right now,
achieve Bryce Young warming up. It looks like the Panthers

(25:01):
are receiving the opening kickoffs, and justin Molle mccam newton,
they've got everybody out here for this Panthers Garan saw
Steve Smith there earlier today. Panthers hosting the Rams first
of the wild card weekend games starting any minute now,
and the Bills for Sunday will not have our receiver
Josh Palmer for the game against the Jaguars. Matt Ryan, quarterback,

(25:22):
former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, has been named the
Falcons President of football. The head coaching gym will report
to him. The Washington Commanders have named David Blow their
new offensive coordinator. Chargers rook running back Omar and Hampton
expect to play against the Patriots and the Dolphins. Interviewed
Seahawks offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak today for its vacant head

(25:43):
coaching position and men's college basketball. Two games in.

Speaker 4 (25:46):
The top twenty five active.

Speaker 8 (25:48):
Right now, with twelve minutes left in the first half,
Arizona has a nineteen to nine lead over TCU and
with twelve seconds left, I'm twelve minutes left in the
first half. Oklahoma State leads number three Iowa State undefeated.
They are I was staged just fifteen and oh two
and o on the conference play, seventeen to thirteen the score.
Early earlier today, we saw an undefeated team fall in

(26:10):
college basketball as Michigan, the number two ranked team in
the nation, lost for the first time to Wisconsin ninety
one to eighty eight.

Speaker 4 (26:18):
Tough day, Sorry Martin, Sorry Martin.

Speaker 8 (26:22):
It's all good. You know what if we go if
you keep at this ratio, h fourteen wins to every loss.

Speaker 9 (26:29):
All right, all right, all right.

Speaker 8 (26:31):
Rams kicking off to the Panthers right now, and I'll
kick it.

Speaker 4 (26:34):
Back to you.

Speaker 2 (26:34):
Ah, thank you, Martin. Here listening to Fox Football Saturday.
I'm Alex Curry here with Carmen Vitally. Thank you for
spending your Saturday afternoon with Carmee and me. It is
time for our first guest, Bill's team reporter Maddy Gloud,
thank you for joining the show.

Speaker 10 (26:46):
Hey ladies, happy to be on.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Ooh Matt, I am excited for this one. Tomorrow, Bills
will be on the road in Jacksonville. I feel like
all a lot of the pressure is on Josh Allen.
All the pressure might be on Josh Allen tomorrow, who's
never won a road playoff game in his career. What
is the vibe, the feeling, the talk going into this

(27:11):
game tomorrow.

Speaker 10 (27:13):
You guys talk about the pressure and I'm feeling that
pressure too. I mean, it's time to win a road
playoff game. You've been in the NFL long enough. This
is your shot. There is no Patrick Mahomes, there is
no Joe Burrow, there is no Lamar Jackson has ever
been easier. There are very good teams in the playoffs
in the AFC, so I don't want to say the

(27:35):
path is going to be easy at all, but he
has not been Patrick Holmes on the road. Patrick Mahomes
is not a part of the dance this year. So
this is your time to do it. Although that pressure
is there on the outside, this team, this feels like
there is a great vibe right now live in it.
Just speaking to guys this week, it seems like it's

(27:58):
a normal week as usual. Yes we're in the playoffs.
Yes we're really excited to be there, but we're staying
in our process. We're not going to make it more
than it is. There's a bunch of veterans in this
locker room, and I think they've really talked to some
of these rookies and some of these players who are
playing in a postseason game for the first time to
know what to expect. But I do feel really good

(28:20):
about where their heads are at right now. So I
wasn't feeling the pressure pressure as much as I thought
I would in locker room this week.

Speaker 5 (28:29):
It's funny because I think the Bills probably have the
most postseason experience, despite the fact that they haven't won
on the road in the postseason, and so there is
this kind of air of like, well, you should know
what to expect. The Jags don't have as much recent experience,
at least in the playoffs, but I'm very curious to
see just I don't think the chatter is necessarily fair

(28:51):
about Josh Allen not having to go through Patrick Mahomes
or Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow every postseason is hard.
So how fair is it that we're essentially putting all
this pressure on Josh Allen and Josh Allen alone, by
the way, to win this game and to reach the
Super Bowl and to reach that mountaintop that the Bills
so far haven't been able to.

Speaker 10 (29:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's crazy to talk about all that
and talk about those big figures that aren't a part
of the dance this year. But the Jaguars have done
a fantastic job in the last eight games of the season.
There are some really good teams they're going to have
to get to the super Bowl. So while you may

(29:33):
not have those big names, you still have these really
good teams who have earned their way and earned a
right to be there. I mean, Jacksonville's on an eight
game win streak. They're averaging thirty three points per game
over that span, and they're beating teams by an average
of like nineteen points per game. This is a very
good team with a quarterback who's playing very confident. Their

(29:54):
defense takes the football away at a very high rate.
This is not going to be an easy game for
the Bills. Josh Allen isn't going to just walton to
Jacksonville and wave his wand and get out of there
with a win. They're going to have to play really
good against the Jacksonville Jaguars to get to take care
of business and to move on.

Speaker 2 (30:12):
So, speaking of that, Jags a game winning streak which
included a signature win over the AFC one seed Broncos.
What is going to be that key factor for Buffalo
to have an edge in this game.

Speaker 10 (30:25):
I think it starts with I think it starts with
Josh Allen. I mean, playing and simple. I think it
starts with the quarterback and a balanced attack on offense.
I don't think you can beat the Jacks just doing
one thing. I do think Buffalo has to run the
football in this game. I know the Jacksonville Jaguars are
the best run defense in the league along just eighty
six rushing yards per game, But I think Buffalo's rushing

(30:47):
offense is good enough to have some sort of impact
in this game. I know they have some really big
and long defensive ends. It's going to be hard to
bounce runs on the outside, so they might have to
find some things up the middle, but I think it
starts with Allen stringing together some plays to start this
game and to get on the scoreboard early. I think
scoring first in this game is going to be really important.

(31:10):
That gives the team a lot of momentum. I also
think tight end Don't Kincaid is going to be really
important in this matchup. When you look at the Jags defense,
they have been susceptible to tight ends, allowing the sixth
most tight end yards in the league. They've also allowed
eight passing touchdowns, which is top ten to tight end.
So I think the middle of the field is going
to be important in this matchup. And having Don't Ginkaid

(31:33):
active and healthy, I think it's going to be huge
for Buffalo's offense. So I think it's about really having
a balanced attack. That's going to be your way to
beat the Jaguars. And I think taking care of the
football and forcing takeaways is going to be huge as well.
I think the playoffs really come down to who values
the football most, and the Jags have been really good

(31:54):
at taking the football away. I think you have to
do better than them in this matchup.

Speaker 5 (32:00):
To talk a little bit too about the other side
of the ball for Buffalo, because it's kind of been
the achilles heel this year has been their run defense
and something that the Jaguars have been doing pretty well
as far as how they've been running, as like what
their run game has been enduring this eight game win streak,
especially thirty three point seven percent success rate on runs.
I believed in that span and the Bills, you know,

(32:21):
that's been an area that even Sean McDermott has said, Hey,
it needs to get better. How have they been preparing
then for this game? How confident are you that they
can show a little bit more than what we've seen
over the regular season now in the postseason, I.

Speaker 10 (32:36):
Am pretty confident that the run defense will do enough
to help out the defense as a whole. And the
reason why I feel that way is since Week twelve,
the second half of the season, the defense has really
found a way to kind of put it together. Their
second in the NFL allowing just two hundred and fifty
yards per game since Week twelve, and their top ten
against the run allowing one hundred and twelve rushing yards

(32:58):
per game. Now, if you peel back all the layers
and look at the teams and look at the quarterbacks.
It may not have been the biggest matchups, but I
still think it says something that they've been able to
do a better job than the first half of the season.
They've also been using a three three five look quite
often and having those three linebackers on the field, specifically

(33:19):
Shaq Thompson, who will step in for an injured Durell
Bernard or Mike Linebacker. I think he's been fantastic at
stopping the run, and when they've had that look, they've
been a lot better at being able to limit big
run plays. So I think that's kind of what is
going to help them in this matchup, is just staying
with that look that they've done a better job in

(33:40):
of limiting explosive runs. But you know Travis etn he
can pose as a wide receiver too. He leads the
team with six receiving touchdowns. So it's going to be
a multifaceted approach as to how you limit the rushing
attack and how you also limit the passing attack with
what Laurent has been to do.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
All right, Maddy, before we let you go real quick,
yes or no answer? Do you think Sean mcderry is
coaching for his job.

Speaker 3 (34:06):
This weekend tomorrow?

Speaker 2 (34:08):
I don't, okay, Okay, I was like, I need someone
on the inside, like, what's the what's the temperature?

Speaker 3 (34:16):
Okay, on the.

Speaker 10 (34:17):
Outside people may feel the hot seed, I'm not feeling
it at all. Inside.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
Love that, all right, I love that, all right, that's
love inside.

Speaker 7 (34:24):
Mad.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
I know, Maddy, have so much fun at the game tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
Good luck. Thank you so much for joining.

Speaker 10 (34:30):
Us, Thank you enjoying us late today.

Speaker 4 (34:32):
Oh we will.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
We just had our first touchdown. Pooka scored the first
touchdown of the playoffs. Rams are up seven nothing. We're
gonna take a quick break here. When we come back.
The dudes and the don'ts and sports. You're listening to
Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back to Fox Football Saturday. I'm
Alex Curry here with Carmen Vitali. We are broadcasting live
from Los Angeles. Thank you for spending your Saturday afternoon
with Carmi and me. It is a good wild card

(34:58):
weekend Saturday. Rams are on top. Karmie's going to be
heading to the Packers at Bears game right after the show.

Speaker 3 (35:06):
So excited for this.

Speaker 4 (35:08):
I know, I'm excited too.

Speaker 5 (35:09):
You don't often get to see Bears Packers, no, three
times in a season, almost never, and.

Speaker 2 (35:15):
It's been what like three times in like a little
over a month.

Speaker 4 (35:20):
Yeah, yeah, because they played each other. It was like
the thirteen.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
Days, Yeah, the seventh and twentieth and yeah, it was the.

Speaker 5 (35:26):
Fourteen week, fourteen week, sixteen and now the first round.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
It's so fresh, it's so fresh, it's so frush. Thanks,
so fresh.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
All right, let's get to the dudes and the don'ts
in sports.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
Highlighting the dudes. I love that putting a spotlight on
the don't.

Speaker 3 (35:43):
The subject brings me no joy.

Speaker 4 (35:47):
That's insane.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
It's time for the dues and the dose in sports.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
Okay, I'm gonna start with the dude. Do keep being you.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
Shout out to Indiana for having the happiest quarterback in
the game and the most serious head coach.

Speaker 4 (36:01):
In the game.

Speaker 2 (36:01):
I don't know if you saw the splits that they
put on TV yesterday, but Kurt their head coach, like,
I don't think I saw him smile a single time
after a touchdown last night. Then they would pan to
Fernanda Mendoza and he was just like beaming. He's got
one of the best smiles in the game. We talked
about his postgame interviews. They are just like so positive

(36:25):
and he is just so grateful to be doing what
he's doing. He better have like a smile or teeth endorsement,
like if he does it now, like as soon as
he gets the NFL.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
I mean that he.

Speaker 4 (36:35):
Does have great teeth, had a great smile.

Speaker 3 (36:37):
That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (36:38):
That's a that is a sellable smile, and right out all, that's.

Speaker 4 (36:42):
A good way to say.

Speaker 5 (36:43):
I also have a do or don't that has to
do with Indiana Let's go, and it's actually don't.

Speaker 4 (36:51):
Well, first of.

Speaker 5 (36:52):
All, I want to preface this by saying it's funny
because so I know Indiana's GM. His name is Matt Wilson.
I have known him since we were in college together,
and he he I was texting him actually, as this
game was out of hand. He was on the sideline
and I was texting him because I was like, Matt,
it caught the caught Matt and he wasn't smiling either,

(37:13):
and I was like, dude, this dude's going to the
natty and he can't even crack a smile, and he
was like, no, that's literally something that we're not allowed
to do.

Speaker 4 (37:20):
So that is that is actually however, so good.

Speaker 5 (37:25):
Don't be too stuck in your ways, because if you
saw Hurt Signetti's post.

Speaker 3 (37:30):
Game interviews, so good.

Speaker 5 (37:32):
They asked him about the next game, alographs asked him
about the next game. He said, I'm really not thinking
about the next game. I'm just thinking about cracking open
a beer, and then he cracked a smile. So I
think during the game you're not allowed to.

Speaker 4 (37:44):
Smile if you're on the staff.

Speaker 3 (37:45):
Wild, but then right afterwards that's wild.

Speaker 4 (37:48):
Crack and open a.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
Beers are fun. But I guess it's working. Whatever works,
it's working.

Speaker 4 (37:55):
It's working, all right.

Speaker 5 (37:56):
But he I mean, he said that he'll give his
players the next couple of days off and then they'll
get to work because I mean, the National Championship isn't
for nine days. Yeah, yeah, so late now with the
expanded playoff format January.

Speaker 2 (38:07):
Nineteenth, wild, all right, I gotta do do have Snoop
Dogg on your broadcast?

Speaker 5 (38:13):
Oh, he was, that's that's an evergreen statement no matter
what sports.

Speaker 2 (38:17):
We're calling the Warriors at Clippers game this week and
he was all of us when he was calling Steve
Kerr for getting like don't get kicked out of the game.
He is just like, it is just it is beautiful
entertainment for sports. He's like, don't do a Steve, don't
do He's an anglewood.

Speaker 3 (38:35):
He's getting that anglewood.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
He's got that air zon a wild can that just
came out of him.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
Like just like, as it's going.

Speaker 2 (38:41):
Down, he's saying exactly what you would be saying at
home watching it, but in the most snoop dogg awesome
way possible.

Speaker 7 (38:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (38:48):
I mean there's a reason that he did the He
did the halftime show at Christmas on Netflix. He brought
out any people. He's yeah, he's on the Olympics. I
think he's probably.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Gonna be a He is the face of the Olympics
in LA.

Speaker 5 (39:01):
It's incredible and his and then even on my cooking
shows because he's best friends with Martha Stewart.

Speaker 3 (39:05):
Now it is like my favorite friendships.

Speaker 4 (39:08):
It's phenomenal. I like, I just I love it so much.

Speaker 5 (39:11):
All right, I have another don't but it's don't let
anything keep you from watching your team. Bill Murray noted
Bears fan. He is playing a concert tonight in Chicago
with h He's been touring with a band, and it's
a really cool kind of multimedia experience or like a
variety show kind of experience. He's playing at Talia Hall
here in Chicago. It's a smaller venue, it's really intimate.

Speaker 4 (39:33):
Whatever.

Speaker 5 (39:34):
He will be broadcasting the Bears Packers game on a
screen behind him on stage while he is performing, because
he will not miss this game. Come Heller high Water
And I think that's great. And then, you know, so
for everybody that you know, if you're looking for a
place to watch the game and you want just all
of the stimulation, go see Bill Murray tonight at Talia

(39:56):
Hall and you'll also have the game on in the background.
So I can't imagine all of the moments that that's
going to make for where like, you know, something cool
happens in the Bears game and they're like in the
middle of a song.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
Yeah, it's so good. Okay, real quick, do share your
off season activities. Kirk Cousin is the most normal athlete
in the game. He posted a photo at Bingo night saying,
if you're making the playoffs, you spend Thursday night watching
the red zone tape. If you don't, you go to
your neighborhood bingo.

Speaker 4 (40:20):
Yeah, I sure did that. He's just a Midwest dap.

Speaker 2 (40:23):
It's just a mid West I laughed out loud so hard.
We're going to take a break here when we come back.
Who is playing for their jobs tomorrow? Don't go anywhere?
Hour too on Fox Sports Radio coming up next.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (40:38):
Welcome back to Fox Football Saturday, Hour two. I'm Alex
Curry here with Carmen Vitale. Thank you for spending your
Saturday afternoon with Carme and me. I'm coming to you
live from the Fox Sports Radio studios in La Carmi
is home in Chicago and heading out to that Packers
a Bears game that's coming up in a couple.

Speaker 3 (40:55):
Hours of here. Still sunny, Are we getting snow?

Speaker 5 (40:59):
Well, I'm I mean now it's getting dark, so I
don't think we're getting any more precipitation. According to the forecast,
we'll see. Yeah, it should be pretty good, honestly, especially
for for January, and Chicago isn't supposed to look like this.

Speaker 3 (41:13):
No, this is, but it's lucky we're getting.

Speaker 5 (41:15):
We're getting real dark though, so I mean, it's true,
it'll be it'll be dark here in a half.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
Hour, that's true.

Speaker 2 (41:20):
Now, last hour we dove into the NFC Wildcard games.
Rams at Panthers. Rams are the ten and a half
point bay. They are up seven already, Stafford said, Martin said,
four for four. Poka's already got a bunch of yards.
He had the first touchdown of the playoffs. So that's great.
Packers at Bears one of the best oldest rivalries in
the NFL. If you missed any of that, you can

(41:43):
listen to that in the Fox Sports Saturday podcast. Anywhere
that you uh listen to your podcast, just search Fox
Sports Radio. But let's get to the AFC Wildcard games here.

Speaker 3 (41:56):
Cool.

Speaker 2 (41:56):
We talked to Maddy glab last hour. Bills Jags this.

Speaker 3 (42:01):
One I.

Speaker 2 (42:03):
They kick off the Sunday slate of games in Jacksonville,
Bills on the road against a very hot Jags team.

Speaker 3 (42:10):
They're on an eight game winning streak, eight games.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
It's a good quarterback matchup with you know, some playoff experience.
Think we talked about this with Josh Allen, and the
Bills have some of the most playoff experience.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
But he's zero to four on the road.

Speaker 2 (42:24):
So I think all the pressure is going to be
on Josh Allen and the Bills. He is an MVP,
but can he win win when he needs to? I mean,
his biggest hurdles have been the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes, Burrow,
and Lamar Jackson. They're not here. The Chiefs have knocked
them out of the postseason four of the last five seasons.

Speaker 3 (42:44):
So you think this would.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
Be an easier path for them to get to the
super Bowl because they're not having to go through Kansas City.
But it's a dangerous team right now when you're facing
a hot team and a quarterback like Trevor Lawrence.

Speaker 3 (43:02):
I mean, what would a loss mean for Josh Allen
and the Bills? Are we even going there?

Speaker 5 (43:05):
I it's you know, the only reason that I feel
urgency for Josh Allen is and for the Buffalo Bills
just in general. It's not even so much that there's
no Patrick Mahomes, the's no Lamar Jackson. I mean that
that plays into it. No Joe Burrow, all of that.
But the Patriots are common they are I don't I
don't think that they're necessarily ready to take the reins

(43:26):
getting in their.

Speaker 4 (43:29):
But they're about to be back back.

Speaker 5 (43:31):
I mean, they they went through a whole I feel
so bad for Patriots fans, you know, a whole three
years of irrelevance and heartache, and now you're back, baby,
with an MVP candidate at the helm. And I have
to think that, you know, just the year two under
Mike Vrabel is going to yield some incredible results next season.
So the Bills, I mean, they didn't win their they

(43:53):
still didn't.

Speaker 4 (43:53):
Win their division this year. It was the Patriots yet again.

Speaker 5 (43:57):
So I do think that there's some urgent on behalf
of the fact that they're they're going to have to
face a really good Patriots team pretty much from here on.

Speaker 4 (44:06):
Out, is what it's looking like.

Speaker 5 (44:07):
Yeah, and then you have to think that the Lamar
and the Ravens will be back, Joe Burrow and.

Speaker 4 (44:12):
The Bengals could be back.

Speaker 7 (44:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (44:13):
I don't know how long this rebuild is going to
take in Kansas City, but Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes.

Speaker 3 (44:18):
So I do think it's Wendy Reid.

Speaker 5 (44:19):
I think the door is still open there, and the
door is like it's the widest open perhaps. I mean,
that's all I'll put it. It's the widest open it's
been for the Bills to kind of walk through.

Speaker 7 (44:29):
That.

Speaker 5 (44:29):
Being said, though, this matchup with the Jaguars, I mean,
the Jags have.

Speaker 4 (44:33):
Really good defense.

Speaker 5 (44:34):
Mattie have talked about how they can take the ball away,
but also they've been pressuring quarterbacks left and right, and
this season was a complete departure from how Josh Allen
was pressured in twenty twenty four and twenty twenty four
he had his career low mark of eight point two percent.
Pressure rate this year is nearly triple that. He's been
pressured on twenty nine point six percent of his drop

(44:56):
backs this season and he was He's been sacked on
twenty four point five percent of his pressure dropbacks too.
So that's the fifth highest rate in the NFL right now.
And guess what, it's something that the Jags do extremely well.
At this point, josh Heinz Allen pressure wise, has the
fourth most pressures.

Speaker 4 (45:13):
In the league.

Speaker 5 (45:14):
And then it's just it's one of those things where
what the Jaguars do well, the Bills don't.

Speaker 4 (45:21):
Yeah, So it's one of those.

Speaker 5 (45:24):
I really do think that it's going to come down
to how effective Josh Allen can be, how effective this
Bill's run game can be also with James Cook, and
how productive this offense in general can be for Buffalo
because this JAG's defense is going to limit points. They're
going to try to get takeaways. If you can take
care of the football, like Maddie was talking about, yeah,
and put up points, you're going to force Trevor Lawrence

(45:47):
and the Jaguars offense into a situation where they have
to pass and they have to be productive and they
have to put points on the board, which is not
something they have as much experience with, especially in the
postseason like the Bills do.

Speaker 2 (45:57):
Oh man, that makes me nervous speaking of shouting it's going.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
To be a great game, Yeah, it is.

Speaker 2 (46:03):
We're watching the Rams and Panthers right now and Bryce
Young just threw an interception, so it's uh, yeah, right.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
Who can't you.

Speaker 4 (46:12):
Give your opponent?

Speaker 5 (46:13):
No, you can't give your opponent extra opportunities in the
post That's why people say defense wins championships because the
margin for er gets that much smaller in the postseason.
I keep saying that all the time, but it's true.
It's a completely different way of playing football in the postseason.
As far as these teams are concerned. And that's why
defense is so incredibly important, because you can't count on
scoring thirty five points a game in the postseason.

Speaker 4 (46:34):
You just can't.

Speaker 2 (46:35):
Offense sales tickets. Defense wins games. It's this one, yeah,
this one, I I was on the edge. But let's
get to the next game. Chargers at Patriots, another great
quarterback and a coaching matchup here. Patriots are favored at
home three and a half point favorites. I mean, justin
Herbert coming off that injury he got to rest it

(46:57):
last week.

Speaker 3 (46:57):
He is zero and too in the playoffs, desperately needs
a playoff win.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
And then you have Drake May coming off an MVP
season in his first playoff appearance in his sophomore season.
And both coaches were hired to change the culture and
they both all did it immediately. And there was a
really funny story, fun story that Mike Rabel told on
a podcast. He was actually the runner up behind Harbaugh
for that Charger's coaching job, and he said ownership called

(47:20):
him personally to tell him, but because Harbab was leaving
college to come to the NFL, they called him to
be like, this is an opportunity we can't pass up.
We wanted to let you know how great you were
and that you were the second finisher, which doesn't usually
happen in interview situations like that. And now they're playing
each other in the first round of the playoffs in
their new homes. Like Mike Rabel, as you just mentioned

(47:43):
a second ago, like completely brought this Patriots franchise back
on top first time they've won the division since Tom
Brady left. Harbaugh has gotten the Chargers to the playoffs
in both seasons, but they lost in the wald card
round last year to the Texans. I this is a
tough one. This is a tough one because again there's

(48:03):
two very good quarterback coaching situations here, the.

Speaker 5 (48:09):
Quarterback coaching situations and then in the Chargers case. I mean,
I think that what Jesse Mentor has done with that
defense is great, and this is going to be a
really tough I think the biggest knock on Drake May's
MVP candidacy is that they just didn't have the strength
of schedule that other teams did and he'd got to
play worse teams and this that the other.

Speaker 4 (48:31):
But Drake May is.

Speaker 5 (48:31):
Currently leading the league in his downfield passing rate. But
this is something again when you talk about matchups. The
Chargers allow just a forty percent completion rate on downfield passes,
which is ten or more are yards. That's the third
lowest rate in the NFL. So you talk about taking
care of the football but wanting to be productive. Drake
May pushes the ball down the field. He's one of

(48:52):
the best at it, but the Chargers are also one
of the best defenses at defending that and Magnet taking
the ball away in those situations. Fourteen interceptions on downfield targets,
which is the second most by any defense this year.
So these are like I always look when I'm looking
at these games. I always look for like key matchups
and whether that's a phase of the ball or whether

(49:12):
that's something that you know the defense does really well
that the opposing offense does well too. It's like who
wins out in those situations because who wins out probably
means who's going to win the game. And you have
two very veteran, experienced coaches at the helm. I can't
wait to see this. I mean, Rabes was just born
to be the.

Speaker 4 (49:30):
Patriots head coach. He just was.

Speaker 5 (49:32):
He played for them as a linebacker and ever just
his am.

Speaker 3 (49:37):
He is like the Patriots culture.

Speaker 5 (49:39):
It just matches up so well with Boston and New
England and just like the whole attitude and everything like that.
And Jim Harbaugh has unlocked something in Justin Herbert where
we're seeing Justin Herbert play his best ball. He's surrounded
by the best offense that he's had. Yeah, and I
really think that this is this is his time.

Speaker 2 (49:58):
It's a perfect fit for both quarterba, both teams, and
both coaches. And who do you think has more to
lose here? Though, I'm saying Justin Herbert and the Chargers. Yeah,
because it's only gret my second season. I don't think,
you know, anyone.

Speaker 3 (50:11):
Expected them to be this great.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
This quickly under ray Bold a great surprise, similar to
the Bears under you know, Ben Johnson. But meanwhile, Herbert
hasn't lived up to expectations.

Speaker 4 (50:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (50:24):
The crazy part is like his stats and everything have
absolutely Like you look at the numbers, you look at
what he's done over the last few seasons, and it
just feels like it's been wasted because in big moments,
and there just hasn't been the postseason opportunities either because
of the team around him.

Speaker 4 (50:41):
And that's why I said, that's why I wanted to
bring up.

Speaker 5 (50:43):
Jesse Minter's defense because I'm like, this is this is
the best chance that the Chargers have to help Justin
Herbert live up to what we wanted out of him.

Speaker 4 (50:51):
And I think he's up to the task. He's had.

Speaker 5 (50:55):
Again, he's playing the best football of his career right now,
and I just I he's running into, you know, a
Patriots defense that's still developing to I mean, frames is
a defensive guy. He's gotten this defense, you know, to
outperform expectations for sure, but this is something that the
Chargers can absolutely handle. So I'm really I'm really looking
forward to this one too. I think I think all

(51:17):
of these playoffs manses just are great.

Speaker 1 (51:18):
I know.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
So let's get to the next one. The Texans at Steelers.
These are two strong defensive teams. Texans have the best
defense in the league, the Steelers having TJ. Watt back,
the Steelers also getting DK back. It was very obvious
he was not there the last two games. They need
him to show up. But this is the moment and

(51:39):
the reason that they brought a veteran like Aaron Rodgers
to this team. His experience in these big games and
these big moments. Now he's been like middle of the
back this season. But it worked like that's all they needed.
They won the division. He's been a great leader in
the locker room. But I think the nonsense attitude of
Mike Tomlin and it's actually working with the Aaron Rodgers vibe.

(52:03):
It seems like he was focusing on football and not
the headlines. We didn't see him on TV every week.
But I'm gonna say the biggest X factor in this
game Mike Tomlin. On Monday Nights, Under Mike Tomlin, the
Steelers are twenty two to three on Monday Night Football
eleven and oh in those games that were played in Pittsburgh.

Speaker 5 (52:24):
Yeah, I mean, well, if you've ever seen the way
Pittsburgh fans show up to home games especially and how
they make road games even home games, because they are
just they're most I'll never forget every time the Steelers
came to play in Tampa when I was with the Buccaneers,
and it was just they took over the entire stadium,
they took over the entire city. This is a team

(52:45):
that travels extremely well. They've got a very very loyal
fan base, but I mean, this is the postseason, so
I like, as as successful as they've been on Monday Night,
I'm like, I don't know, because, to borrow a phrase
from my fiance's podcast, The Football Show, the Houston Texans
have a defense full of goblins, and that it couldn't

(53:06):
be a better, more descriptive word for who these guys are.
And it's the thing about the Texans defense, too, is
it's not just that it's not just Will Anderson and
Denil Hunter, although they are the best pass rushing tandem
in the league. It's guys like Kamari Lassiter, their cornerback,
who has stuffed eleven rushers for loss or no gain

(53:27):
this season as a defensive back, which is the second
most by a defensive back and tied for the most
by any outside cornerback this season since t twenty sixteen.

Speaker 4 (53:35):
Actually is the stat that I'm running fromn NGS.

Speaker 5 (53:38):
But it's one of those things where there are layers
to the goblin hood of this of this Houston Texans defense.
And I mean, I like, got Derek Singletary back there
in the secondary, and you have just a in Jalen Peatrie,
who I didn't even talk about who's has just come
alive in Houston. But so you have this very complete

(54:00):
defensive effort, the suffocating defensive effort, and when we're talking
about defense mattering the most in the postseason. I mean,
I think that this year hasn't been the year that
maybe c J. Stroud would have liked, but he has
done well enough paired with the defense that he has.

(54:20):
And I also think that a lot of it had
to do with the fact that the Texans didn't know
who was starting for them on the offensive line came
come Week one. I mean, it was just they had
no plan for that, which I was kind of like
screaming into the void about during the during preseason, during
training camp, where.

Speaker 4 (54:35):
I was like, who's starting in front of c J. Stroud,
Who's protecting him?

Speaker 5 (54:40):
And sure enough, that's led to kind of an up
and down season for him, but it's been the reason
the Texans are still in the playoffs is.

Speaker 4 (54:46):
Because of this defense.

Speaker 5 (54:48):
Yeah, and I'm just listen, if you get pressure on
Aaron Rodgers, he's not one to really fight through that
because he's forty one years old. I'm not going to
try to fight through that either. He's not as mobile
as he once was, although he's surprised us in a
couple of these games, especially that game against the Ravens
where it was like, you know, that was a playoff

(55:09):
game in and.

Speaker 3 (55:09):
Of itself, because when when you're in lose going.

Speaker 5 (55:13):
Yeah, yeah, lose, you're going home. So you know, Aaron
Rodgers still has some gas left in the tank. And
I agree with you. I know you had Brooke Pryor
on the show last week, and I've talked to her
about like, you know, when I covered Aaron Rodgers when
he was still part of the Green Bay Packers, it
was like I had to, you know, make sure I
had my time allotted on Tuesdays.

Speaker 4 (55:29):
To watch him on the McAfee show.

Speaker 5 (55:31):
And I have alerts on his Twitter and see what
he was like retweeting, and I'm like, oh.

Speaker 4 (55:37):
It was exhausting. Off the field stuff that hasn't really
been the case.

Speaker 5 (55:40):
And I doesn't think that Mike Tumlin has a lot
to do with that. So if the Steelers can play
buttoned up football, that'll be one thing. But I still
think that the Texans that defense is just too much.

Speaker 2 (55:51):
I mean, and Brooke mentioned when we talked to her
last week. He really has brought this locker room together
and he has been that leader.

Speaker 5 (55:56):
He bought us off the lineman like the roll cage,
Like I don't even know what they're called, Like they're
not gators, but they're like the are the four wheelers,
but they have like the role game m like man
and who is this y?

Speaker 4 (56:07):
Who is this guy? Get it?

Speaker 3 (56:09):
I love it so much.

Speaker 2 (56:10):
Okay, we're gonna switch back over to the NFC because
we didn't get to one game. Speaking of the NFC,
Pukinakua just plowed himself for another touchdown. So Rams are
up fourteen nothing right now with twelve sixteen left in
the second. But the final NFC Waldcard game that we
didn't get to last hour is forty nine Ers at Eagles.

(56:31):
Eagles are five and a half point favorites. They will
be the Afternoon Delight game tomorrow and Eagles are five
and zero at home, you guys, in the playoffs, and
this is a stadium where home field advantage matters. That
is a gnarly brutal fan base. Tivy going in and

(56:52):
playing again. So the last two the last time these
two teams faced in the playoffs was a twenty twenty
two NFC Championship Game, where brought per tour his UCL
egos went on lost in the Super Bowl to the Chiefs.
But forty nine Ers, I mean, they've had an interesting season.
They're coming off a bad loss to the Seahawks, didn't

(57:13):
even score a touchdown, but then Perty had the best
game of his career the game before that. So forty
nine Ers have a beat up defense right now. They
don't have Nick Bosa, they don't have Fred Warner. Obviously,
their top alignment Williams is still questionable.

Speaker 3 (57:29):
Do they have enough?

Speaker 2 (57:30):
Do the forty nine Ers have enough to stop an
Eagles team that still has all of their stars and
are healthy.

Speaker 5 (57:36):
Yeah, I keep I kept thinking towards the especially towards
the back quarter of the season. Yeah, injuries are going
to catch up with the nine Ers. Yeah, it's got
to catch up to them at some point. Like Kyle
Shanahan deserves all of the chatter for Coach of the
Year for what he was able to do with what
he had available. Between all of the injuries that the
forty nine Ers sustained to marquee players and it I

(58:00):
just kept thinking, like it has to catch up with
them at some point, and it really hasn't.

Speaker 3 (58:04):
No, I know, so now I'm thinking.

Speaker 5 (58:06):
You have to make the cross country trip to Philly.
You have Philly that has I mean, to be fair,
the Niners have recent you know, postseason experience too, although
they finished last Night Division last year.

Speaker 4 (58:17):
I mean that's.

Speaker 5 (58:19):
Right seasons before that, Like, I mean, it was just
it was they have enough experience.

Speaker 4 (58:25):
They have the coach, the potential coach of the.

Speaker 5 (58:28):
Year in Kyle Shanahan leading them, But how much of
that can compensate when you just don't have the bodies available?
And that's what's That's what I think going into Philly.
I was in Philly actually this week for some family stuff.
I grew up with all Eagles fans. My dad is
from there, and so it was just we actually had
to fly into Newark because of the prices into Philly.

Speaker 4 (58:50):
And I was like, because it's the damn Birds. It's
because the damn Birds playoff game. It's why it was
twelve hundred dollars to go from Chicago to Philly. That's
I mean. The city takes its so incredibly seriously.

Speaker 5 (59:01):
And I keep saying too for as rabid and insane
as Eagles fans are and are known to be yea hey,
they know ball man.

Speaker 4 (59:10):
It's a city full of ball knowers.

Speaker 5 (59:11):
It is, and they ask good questions when they call
into radio station. They hold people accountable for everything, and
that permeates, I think with the team itself, and the
vibes have been kind of up and down this season
for the Philadelphia Eagles. See the Positivity Rabbit for a
proof of that. But they're not going to be an

(59:32):
easy out and I think they are going to turn
it back on in the postseason in the way that
they've been able to over.

Speaker 4 (59:38):
The last year. So interesting.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
We're going to save our picks for the end of
the show. We're gonna take quick break here, but when
we come back. Eight new jobs are open in the NFL.
But is anyone coaching for their job?

Speaker 3 (59:48):
This weekend? You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app FSR to listen live.

Speaker 2 (01:00:02):
Welcome back to Fox Football Saturday. I'm Alex Curry here
with Carmen Vitally. Thank you for spending your Saturday Afternoon
with Us, and.

Speaker 4 (01:00:12):
If you missed any of today's show you want to
catch the.

Speaker 5 (01:00:15):
Podcast, just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcast,
and right after the show your podcast it will be
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right after we get.

Speaker 4 (01:00:32):
Off the air.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
Right if forget off the air, Karmi is racing over
to the stadium.

Speaker 5 (01:00:41):
I was gonna say, I'm like, I'm doing a bunch
of different things. Yas we're doing the show, I'm multitasking,
like like.

Speaker 3 (01:00:46):
You don't even know all day, right, You're doing like
a full double day.

Speaker 5 (01:00:50):
Yeah, I really am, I really am. And I also
like I have the Rams game on, you know, behind me.
I'm doing the show.

Speaker 2 (01:00:55):
We're just scored, so Rams up fourteen to seven right now. Yeah, okay,
I don't know, Okay, so much going on.

Speaker 3 (01:01:07):
It's so exciting. But we've had a lot of action
this week.

Speaker 4 (01:01:10):
Monday.

Speaker 2 (01:01:11):
Monday, the week after the regular season, is when a
lot of head coaches move on lose their jobs.

Speaker 3 (01:01:21):
So far, we have eight openings.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
I think the two I guess the two big ones
this week John Harbaugh and the Ravens and Kevin Stefanski
and the Browns. I wasn't surprised with either. If you
were listening to the show last week. I said that
if the Ravens lost that I thought Harbaugh and ownership

(01:01:47):
of the Ravens would have to question if this was
the right fit. And they did, and you kind of
have to celebrate the eighteen great seasons that he had
with the Ravens. But it was also really telling that
after he got let go, Lamar did say anything about it.
He just kind of posted, what was it, like a
prayer's hand and like a heart and like talking about
next season like that right there is well And not.

Speaker 5 (01:02:10):
To mention, the Ravens fired Harbor over the phone, like
their owner called their owner called John Harbaugh asked. He
was like, as he was in the car going home
from the facility, and you're just like, man for your
coach of eighteen years.

Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
Hers take him out, like take him in the office
something something, you know why it happened that way?

Speaker 5 (01:02:29):
No, there wasn't anything. All the stuff that I read,
like the reports about that that I read. I mean,
there wasn't any real like insight as to why it
wasn't Don in person or whatever, But it just seems that,
you know, this happens. I feel like in teams. I mean,
it happened to Andy Reid and Philly, it happened. It
happened to Dub Peterson in Philly for that matter, right
after he had won a couple of seasons, after he'd

(01:02:50):
won them a super Bowl. It's just sometimes you just
need a fresh start. And obviously John Harbaugh is now
the most eligible bachelor when it comes.

Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
To his pick of where he wants to go, I
mean Miami, I think yeah, because.

Speaker 3 (01:03:05):
Of right being there.

Speaker 5 (01:03:07):
The timing on Mike McDaniel's firing was not a coincidence.
I think it was, hey, oh.

Speaker 2 (01:03:13):
That's like and I think John said he was like,
he's going to be very selective. He's gonna wait till
after this weekend. I think also because I see if
there's going to be other job opportunities that open up.
I know Maddi Glabb said she didn't think that mc
dermott was kind of on the hot seat, but there
has been some conversation and I don't know why but

(01:03:35):
Nick Sirianni's always kind of on the hot seat because
it's Philly. If anything happens there, like you just never know,
you never know. But he's going to have his like
personal pick. I also think like the only person like
that should be excited that they got let go was
Kevin Sefanski. That was a horrible situation and he did
he did the best job that he.

Speaker 5 (01:03:53):
Could and he was the most like I don't even
know what the word is for it, like handcuffed, yeah,
head coach. I think just with with the way that
that the front office operates, and just like I mean,
at one point they had six quarterbacks on that roster.

Speaker 4 (01:04:07):
What are you supposed to do with that?

Speaker 5 (01:04:09):
And and and the mismanagement of you know, just the
contracts and the money and not having enough money then
left over for the rest of your team and also
having a.

Speaker 4 (01:04:19):
Pay Miles Garrett and it was like, I agree with you.
I think that's Kevin Stfansky is going to.

Speaker 5 (01:04:25):
Be on to better even if it is like if
he spends a year as an offensive coordinator somewhere, that's
still a better situation.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
I think he'll be like the second most eligible bachelor
behind Harbaugh, depending on what happens this.

Speaker 5 (01:04:37):
Week, what we haven't talked about, and and something that
I do a Packers podcast every week.

Speaker 3 (01:04:43):
Too, Shout Out Pack a Day the floor.

Speaker 5 (01:04:46):
There has been a growing conversation as to has if
Matt laflor has worn out of welcoming Green Bay because.

Speaker 4 (01:04:53):
He has not.

Speaker 5 (01:04:54):
He has not gotten them to a Super Bowl yet,
and that's something that you know, they made it to
the NFC champ Ship Game under him, and if you
if you're expected to continue to improve and do better,
the only way to improve for the Green Bay Packers
is make a Super Bowl. And you know, granted Michah
Parsons got injured towards ACL, but but the Packers very

(01:05:14):
clearly signaled their intentions for this year when they made
that trade for Michael Parsons, saying we expect to contend
for a Super.

Speaker 4 (01:05:21):
Bowl, yeah, this year. And if the Packers.

Speaker 5 (01:05:24):
Get bounced in the first round, which is they had
a first round exit last year too, and you have
a sixty million dollars quarterback in Jordan Love rounding up that,
that's that's not really acceptable in today's NFL.

Speaker 4 (01:05:38):
Do I think that Matt Lafleur is a great coach.
Do I think he should be on the hot seat? No?

Speaker 5 (01:05:42):
But do I think the reality of the NFL is
kind of going to force those conversations to happen?

Speaker 4 (01:05:45):
Yeah? I do.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
So There's that there's three like really big name teams
that like, we're not saying a thing, we don't have
any inside information.

Speaker 3 (01:05:54):
But Bill's Eagles, Packer Packers.

Speaker 2 (01:05:58):
If they all get knocked out this verse, I mean,
Hardball's just sitting back, wait and see what happens.

Speaker 3 (01:06:04):
Yeah, be interesting.

Speaker 5 (01:06:05):
It is going to be interesting. One thing I need
to one little housekeeping note here. With the iHeartRadio app,
you can also stream us in these conversations wherever you
happen to be. So catch us and all of the
Fox Sports Radio shows live twenty four seven in the
new and improved iHeartRadio app just starts Fox Sports Radio
and the app to stream us live all day every day.
To be sure to select Fox Sports Radio is one

(01:06:25):
of your presets. Give the iHeart apps so it will
always pop up at the top of your screen.

Speaker 3 (01:06:29):
Let's go now, let's check with Martin Weiss, see what's trending.

Speaker 8 (01:06:34):
Harrison Miv has just kicked a four to six yard
field goal to extend the Rams lead is now seventeen
to seven in the first game of the wild Card Playoffs,
the Rams leading the Carolina Panthers with just under six
minutes left in the first half. It's been really dominated
by the Rams Matthew staff and only one incomplete pass
as far as He's eight for nine one hundred and
fourteen yards with a touchdown pass. Who can Nakua caught

(01:06:57):
that touchdown pass. He also has a five yard touchdown
run which was one of those kind of funny pop
pass things. But he's got six catches sixty three yards
and a touchdown as well. On the receiving side of things.
He's been doing all the heavy lifting thus far. Carolina side,
Bryce Younks ten for sixteen with an interception that bounced
off the two guys hands.

Speaker 4 (01:07:16):
Shuba Hubbard with the.

Speaker 8 (01:07:17):
Rushing touchdown for Carolina for carries seventeen yards again about
five thirty left in the first half. There waiting for
Carolina to receive the kickoff from the Rams.

Speaker 4 (01:07:28):
After that, Mevus field goal.

Speaker 8 (01:07:31):
Tannas guard ikey Akanago, who carted off in the first
quarter of this game. The Bills for their matchup against
the Jaguars. They ruled out Josh Palmer. Matt Ryan has
been naming the Falcons president of football. Former quarterback for
the franchise, Washington Commander's named David Blou their new offensive coordinator.
Chargers expect Omario and Hampton, the rookie running back to

(01:07:51):
play against the Patriots. And we had a few upsets
in the top twenty five and men's college basketball, Wisconsin
beat second rate Michigan ninety one to eighty eight, Michigan's
first lost of the year. Florida beat twenty first ranked
Tennessee ninety one to sixty seven. West Virginia over twenty
second rank Kansas eighty six to seventy five. Right now,
number one, we're Harry his zone A fifteen to millero
in the year, has a fifty three to thirty one

(01:08:13):
lead over TCU with about fifteen min it's left in
the game.

Speaker 4 (01:08:17):
Back to you.

Speaker 2 (01:08:17):
Guys, Thank you Martin. You're listening to Fox Football Saturday.
I'm Alex Curry here with Carmen Vitally. It is time
for our next guest, NBC Sports Philly reporter Ashlan Sullivan.

Speaker 3 (01:08:26):
Thank you for joining the show.

Speaker 6 (01:08:28):
Thank you for having me We're looking forward to a
great football weekend.

Speaker 2 (01:08:32):
The last time these two teams face off in the playoffs,
Philly beat the forty nine Ers in the NFC Championship game, So.

Speaker 3 (01:08:38):
There's some good history here.

Speaker 2 (01:08:39):
What are you expecting from this Eagles team tomorrow?

Speaker 6 (01:08:43):
Truth, I'm expecting it to look pretty much the same
all season long. It's funny here in Philadelphia there's fans
that are expecting this offense all of a sudden to
be clicking and explosive and look a lot better than
has this need. And I don't expect that at all.
I expect the Eagles to win, but I think it's
going to be an ugly, boring game defensive really yeah,

(01:09:05):
And I see the Eagles win in a really close game,
which they have done basically all the regular seasons.

Speaker 5 (01:09:12):
Listen, Ash that I'm with you, because the strength of
this Eagles team, and the only real consistency on this
Eagles team has been the defense. And I really I'm
interested to see how they kind of contend though with
this forty nine Ers offense. With as beat up as
the forty nine Ers are, they still are expected to
have their major offensive weapons given you know, Christian McCaffrey, George.

Speaker 4 (01:09:29):
Kittle Brock Party.

Speaker 5 (01:09:31):
So I want to know from this from a defensive perspective,
how much you expect them to not really deviate, because
I don't think they have to, but how they're going
to contain that offense from really scoring any points that
the that Jalen Hurts can't keep up with.

Speaker 6 (01:09:50):
Right, I think it all starts with Zach Bond. We
know that matchup with Christian McCaffrey. Nakobe Dean gets back
here for a linebacker. So it's great that the Eagles
defense is healthy. It's interesting everyone. A couple of weeks ago,
when we were talking about this possible matchup. You're looking
at Trent Williams questionable for this game, but going up
against rookie Jaylyx Hunts, and at that point that looks

(01:10:10):
like a real weakness. But now Jlyx Hunt, all of
a sudden, thirteen quarterback pressures in the past three weeks,
he is clicking. He has found his game, and now
all of a sudden, you feel a lot better about
the Eagles defensive line having to get past the Niners
offensive line. Really, I don't worry about the Eagles secondary.
They've been so consistent all year. The run defense. There's

(01:10:31):
weeks where it looks dominant and there's weeks when it
looks leaky. I mean, I go back to the game
against the Bears, Carmen, you know so well, the Bears
ran all over the Eagles, and I was like, what
happened to this run defense? So I think it all
boils down to what Eagles run defense shows up tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:10:48):
It's also kind of felt like a weird vibe around
Philly just from the outside looking in, like you had
that weird that's right positivity Rabbit.

Speaker 6 (01:10:56):
You have a J.

Speaker 2 (01:10:57):
Brown being very vocal about not being happy with the offense.
Has there been any changes heading into the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (01:11:03):
I will say it is been a very fun week.
You would think normally, I feel like when the playoffs start,
you hear the narrative, it's lockdown, it's focused only football.
It's been anything but that in Philadelphia this week. And
Nick Sirianni has really talked a lot about enjoying and
not taking for granted getting back to the playoffs, because
it has in recent years just become consistent where you

(01:11:26):
just know you're going to make the playoffs. It's not
a big of a deal. Sirianni doesn't want to look
at it that way. This team just won the super
Bowl to get back to the playoffs. He wants to
look at that as an accomplishment. I mean, I would
go back Wednesday's locker room I thought was the most
fun locker room I've been a part of all season.
No one's going home, no one's rushing out of there.
AJ Brown that the jukebox going. There's a really fun

(01:11:50):
vibe at the Novacare Complex this week. And I think
it's just the message from Sirianni. Don't take this for granted,
because there are a lot of teams that want to
be where you are right now.

Speaker 5 (01:11:59):
Well, and it's sophomore or you know, at least a
season after winning the Super Bowl is always a tricky
one for any team. It's hard to reload and to
get back there, to even get back.

Speaker 4 (01:12:08):
To the postseason period.

Speaker 5 (01:12:09):
But first of all, I gotta know what was AJ
Brown playing?

Speaker 7 (01:12:12):
Like?

Speaker 4 (01:12:13):
What's on A J. Brown's playlist?

Speaker 6 (01:12:15):
It's always always old school, always like funky, old school vibes.
And it seems like no matter what player has the
ox cord, it's the same music and everyone it's funny.
Everyone always assumes that it's Jalen Hurts his playlists. But
I've been asking questions and I feel like everyone has
just kind of the same vibe. For example, you're not
hearing any Tim McGraw, no country, no pop like we're
consistent in the Eagles locker room.

Speaker 4 (01:12:36):
Okay, I love that.

Speaker 6 (01:12:37):
I love that.

Speaker 5 (01:12:38):
All right, Well, I mean, so the Eagles rested Jalen
Hurts and they rested most of their starters. Then in
that Week eighteen game, is there any concern about I mean,
this is I don't even I think it's just it's
coach specific. Do you are you concerned about rust or
was this just a matter of all right, we're gonna
get guys as healthy as possible because we know how
long the postseason can be.

Speaker 6 (01:12:59):
I mean it's sad to say, man, they were rusty
before and now now to.

Speaker 5 (01:13:04):
Come and even healthier.

Speaker 6 (01:13:05):
The one question mark is Lane Johnson. I'm really curious
about that he practiced all week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, we're
hearing the game time decision. Questionable practicing on Friday.

Speaker 5 (01:13:17):
Really, I think that's questionable when it comes to Lane Johnson, though,
I feel like he's going to be out there regardless
attractively hemorrhaging.

Speaker 6 (01:13:26):
You might as well, Like I get, we have to
give a designation, but this is the playoffs and it's
winners go home. So that's the only question mark with
this offense as a whole. My hope is, and this
is the one thing that I could see flip. You
are forced because it's the playoffs. You're forced because it's
winner and go home, forced to be more aggressive in

(01:13:47):
your play calling and forced to make more plays on offense.
We see Jalen Hurts check down a lot, go out
of bounds a lot. My hope in Philadelphia's hope is
because your back's against the wall, maybe that forces ever
want to dial it up an onunch.

Speaker 3 (01:14:01):
Now, Philly is known.

Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
It's one of the few places where like home field
advantage like really matters, and I personally love the Phillies
fan base. They are just aggressively passionate. It is one
of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Paint the
picture for us. What is it like around town right now?

Speaker 6 (01:14:21):
I would say cautiously optimistic. And it's funny because the
narrative I think outside of Philadelphia is you just won
the Super Bowl. You made it back to the playoffs.
What an accomplishment. Even if you lose, it's okay. It
is not okay here, and it's not okay because you
return ten of eleven starters on offense. This team very

(01:14:42):
much looks a lot like the Super Bowl team of
last year. So one guy that's different, offensive play caller
Kevin Batulo. That's who everyone has decided it's his fault
pick on him, which I don't think is necessarily fair.
Do I think play calling could be more aggressive at times? Yes,
but this city is not going to be okay. But
they lost to the Niners tomorrow, and I think that's

(01:15:04):
just a very unique situation after you just won a
Super Bowl.

Speaker 3 (01:15:08):
Yeah, I love that. Ashland. Thank you so much for
joining us. Have so much fun tomorrow, good luck.

Speaker 6 (01:15:12):
Thank you, Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (01:15:14):
Thanks Alan.

Speaker 2 (01:15:15):
All Right, we're gonna take one more break here when
we come back, we're making our wild Card weekend.

Speaker 4 (01:15:19):
Pigs.

Speaker 2 (01:15:19):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back to Fox
Football Saturday. I'm Alex Curry here with Carmen Vitally. It
is a wild Card weekend and it is time for
our wild Card picks two games today. Obviously, Rams Panthers
already going on. Rams are still up. I think the
last time I looked picking this game with this no no, no, no, no, no,

(01:15:42):
we're not We're not we Uh, We're gonna start with
the afternoon game.

Speaker 3 (01:15:45):
But producer Bree lead us through here.

Speaker 11 (01:15:48):
Alrighty guys, we'll start off in Chicago, where Carmen is
headed very soon listen, minutes, very very soon. The Packers
are a point and a half favorite, so we'll go Alex.

Speaker 3 (01:16:00):
Yeah. Well, it's been.

Speaker 2 (01:16:01):
Fifteen years, you guys since the Bears have won a
playoff game, Carmie, it feels like their time, and with
the Packers being favored as a lower seed and on
the road, I feel like it's just going to add
fuel to that Bears fire. We talked about if they
split the regular season matchup one to one, both in December,
so they are freshly familiar with each other.

Speaker 3 (01:16:23):
But I'm going to take the Bears.

Speaker 4 (01:16:24):
Wow, Bears.

Speaker 5 (01:16:26):
This line has moved so many so much over the
course of this week.

Speaker 3 (01:16:30):
Right, Oh, it's like it did again.

Speaker 5 (01:16:32):
No, but no, it's been moving, so it's really anyone's game, right, Yeah,
But I think what gets lost in and I was
at the I was at that Week sixteen game. The
Bears needed a once in a lifetime series of events
to happen to pull that game out. And while the
Bears are much improved over the beginning of this season,
and I think they have a bright future ahead of them,

(01:16:52):
I don't think they're there.

Speaker 4 (01:16:54):
I don't think they're there.

Speaker 5 (01:16:56):
Packers are coming in with a healthy Jordan Love, with
a healthy Josh Jacob, with the experience of the postseason
behind them, and a good coach and Matt Lafleur.

Speaker 4 (01:17:07):
I'm taking the Packers. Sorry, fair say right, we'll see.

Speaker 5 (01:17:12):
I'm not saying it's gonna be close, like if the
Packers win, it's gonna be by the skin of their teeth.

Speaker 3 (01:17:17):
But yeah, you made your call.

Speaker 4 (01:17:19):
I made my call.

Speaker 5 (01:17:20):
I've been saying it all week. I said it on
Chicago Radio two. I'm not backing down from it.

Speaker 9 (01:17:25):
Wow, alrighty, next game. I didn't see that coming.

Speaker 11 (01:17:27):
Okay, the Bills are favored by a point and a half.

Speaker 9 (01:17:32):
Let's go.

Speaker 4 (01:17:33):
All right, let's I'll start on this one.

Speaker 5 (01:17:35):
I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go Bills. I think there's
been enough chatter and they have enough experience. I think
that Liam Cohen has done the phenomenal job in Jacksonville
in his first year. He's unlock Trevor Lawrence. He's playing
Trevor Lawrence, playing the best ball of his career. But
I still think that Josh Allen is still Josh Allen
until uh and especially for what we heard from Maddie
and about their kind of fixes for the run defense there,

(01:17:56):
which is a good call out by her that three
three five kind of scheme that they've switched into and
take the Bills.

Speaker 2 (01:18:02):
Yeah, all the pressure is on Josh Allen and the Bills.
And as a reminder, Josh Allen is zero to four
on the road in playoff games. He has to win
this game like he has to win this game, I
think for a lot.

Speaker 3 (01:18:15):
Of reasons for legacy his coach.

Speaker 2 (01:18:20):
I mean, they're facing a very hot Jags team that
are on eight game win streak. But again, this is
another like one and a half point favorite, but it's
going to be a point flip.

Speaker 11 (01:18:28):
I'm going to take the Bills Alrighty. Back to the NFC,
the forty nine Ers at Eagles. Eagles are favored by
five and a half points it moved to six.

Speaker 9 (01:18:36):
So I'll go with what Alex had.

Speaker 2 (01:18:38):
Fine, that's playing at home in Philly is a huge advantage.
They're healthy, even though you're just talking to Ashlin and
their offense has been chaotic and she's expecting more of
that tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (01:18:56):
But the forty nine Ers defense is beat up.

Speaker 2 (01:18:58):
And you also mentioned this car though, like I, somehow
they're pulling it off, and they continue to pull it
off this year. But I think the Eagles have the
edge and take this one.

Speaker 4 (01:19:09):
I do too.

Speaker 5 (01:19:10):
I really think that if being at the Link, which
is a rowdy, rowdy place, I also think just because
the Eagles defense again is the identity of the team.
It's been the picture of consistency this season. It's been
the reason that they are kind of pulling it together
even though the offense has been so chaotic. And so
if you can limit Christian McCaffrey, you can limit George Kittle,

(01:19:31):
if you can limit you can get to brock party.
That's gonna prevent them Niners from being able from going
into a shootout that maybe you won't be able to win.
I think the only way that the Niners win this
is if they force a shootout with the Eagles, and
I don't really see that happening with that Eagles defense.

Speaker 4 (01:19:45):
I'm going to Eagles too, a right.

Speaker 11 (01:19:47):
The Sunday night game, Chargers at Patriots, New England's favored
by three and a half points.

Speaker 5 (01:19:51):
Harmony, Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna go real quick on this.

Speaker 4 (01:19:54):
I'm gonna I think I'm gonna say Chargers. I really don't.

Speaker 5 (01:19:57):
I listen. I think Drake May is the MVP. The
Patriots are coming. I don't think they're there yet. And
I think that Jim Harbough hasn't locked enough out of
Justin Herbert for him for him to lead them to
a playoff victory in New England.

Speaker 3 (01:20:11):
I'm with you. I'm taking Chargers get the upset on
the road. Okay.

Speaker 9 (01:20:14):
Last game, last game, Texans at Steelers. Texans are three
point favorites out.

Speaker 7 (01:20:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:20:18):
Under Mike Tomlins, Steelers, like I said, leven to zero
in Monday night games played at home in Pittsburgh. They
got the veteranship.

Speaker 3 (01:20:27):
Of Aaron Rodgers. I think the Steelers pull the upset.

Speaker 4 (01:20:31):
Like I said, defense full of the gun blends.

Speaker 2 (01:20:32):
I'm going to Texans all right, Karen, I have so
much fun at the game tonight. Thank you for spending
your Saturday afternoon with us. We'll see you next week,
same time, same place,

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