January 5, 2023 • 37 mins
Jason and Mike discuss Robert Saleh discussing with reporters that he and the Jets organization are staying with Zach Wilson. The Jets are going to go in the offseason and think it’ll look bad to move on from Zach Wilson and get Jimmy Garoppolo at a discounted rate. The guys also recap a huge night in the NBA, plus, FSR/NBA Insider Rich Bucher joins the show!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
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(00:20):
r PLEA you're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Hello, Welcome
inside our two of The Jason Smith Show with my
best hobo, Mike Harmon, live from the Tirac dot com studios.
Tirect dot com will help you get there an unmatched selection, fast,
(00:40):
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installers ti rac dot com. The way tire buying should
be well. In a night where it's a big NBA night,
Lake is on top of Miami right now. Three late
in the second quarter, we got Rick Buker coming up.
But about twenty minutes the Nets big wind streak. It
(01:03):
had been twelve in a row for them, and they
ran into a team that had spent a lot of
time learning how to blow leads this season. The Bulls
hold on to win to cool off the nets. We've
got Rick Buker coming up big NBA stuff in about
twenty minutes. But come hell or high water, we need
to talk about this. Yeah, that's right. I mean we
(01:23):
can't talk about all Chicago basketball. No, that that is
that that that is a very all Illinois It's an
all Illinois topic. Uh. It is my fear about this
story that we're going to bring you right now. My
fear is that it's true. That's my fear. My fear
(01:44):
is that it's true. It's not posturing, it's not I
am saying something to back up my embattled quarterback. Now,
my fear is that this is going to be true.
This is absolutely true, and this is a face value story. Um.
To any one who has watched a second of football
this year, you know that the Jets quarterback situation has
(02:05):
really been abysmal. One of the big headlines today is
Jet said coach Robert Salo, who was now presided over
a huge collapse when a team was one of the
top ten power ranked teams in the NFL. They were
five and two at seven and four, and now they
could end the season on a loopsing streak. Uh. Robert Salo,
who had to bench. Zack Wilson, who has been absolutely
(02:26):
awful this year, has said in the past, Hey, you
know what, Look, we're not turning our back on Zach Wilson.
We're giving a chance to reset and do some things.
We gotta get somebody else near Yeah, yeah, that's what
you say during the season by Okay, okay, but we
know they're moving on from Zack Wilson because he's really,
really bad. Well apparently this is why I'm afraid that
what Robert Salo said today about Zack Wilson was a
(02:46):
hundred percent true. Take a listen. I know I keep
re referencing that fourth quarter of Pittsburgh that it's real
though I don't care you can uh Miami, he played
really well and it just slowly got away from a
little bit for one reason or another. And uh a
little bit. How do you find that consistency? Like I said,
it starts with knowing oneself can issue if you want.
(03:09):
But Zach has got all the talent in the world.
He doesn't confidence in the world in him. It's just
like I said, from this reset and we're gonna we're
gonna grind with him. We are and uh, and through
hell or high water. We're gonna figure out how to
how to get him to where we know he can be.
You know, I like that hidden, that little you know,
(03:31):
things got away from a little bit, a little bit. Really,
what do you know? Maybe a zend thing? What the
hell are we doing here, coach? You're the guy that
talks about running through walls, You're the guy that does
stairs before games. You do need a little bit of
a zend thing. What hey, can you tell me when
Zack Wilson played well, you had the fourth quarter against
Pittsburgh and the game against Miami. Okay, he had the
(03:54):
game winning drive against Pittsburgh, but he had an awful game.
He had an awful game, but he did have the
game winning drive. The next week against Miami. He threw
for two yards, no touchdowns. I mean, I mean, you've
set the bar so low for Zach Wilson. The guy
just isn't good. And my fear is that this is
exactly what the Jets are gonna do. They're gonna go
(04:16):
into this offseason and this is what they're gonna do.
Because I could see it right now. If I had money,
I would say, this is what's gonna happen. The Jets
are gonna in the off season. And meanwhile, everybody knows
you gotta move on from Zack Wilson. Right the guy
is just is not there. His confidence is not there,
he doesn't know the system, whatever is going on. It's bad.
You gotta move on for him. But here the Jets,
and this is what they're gonna think, Boy, it looks
(04:38):
really bad if we move on from this guy who's
a number two pick in the draft two years ago. Meanwhile, yes,
you can teams do that now. So what they're gonna
do is this, They're gonna say, let's keep Zack. We're
gonna get him one more chance, high water and as
hell or high water. And what we're gonna do is
we're gonna go out and get Jimmy Garoppolo because Garoppolo's
price is going to be lower because he finished the
(04:59):
season being in Jared and this wasn't the high price
that you think you would be because look, what would
the price be for Garoppolo quarterback of this team right now?
You know, winning as they're doing and going going into
the playoffs and being the team to beat now in
the NFC. But the price for Garoppolo is gonna be
way down and because of the price is gonna be
way down. He's also not gonna have as many suitors
because if he thought he was the answer, it's another
(05:21):
year where he's injured. Can you really say, hey, Jimmy,
come in and be a better quarterback for us. No,
But the Jets are in that unique bleeping position of
having Zack Wilson and saying, oh, yeah, yeah, let's bring
it back to see But we'll bring in Jimmy Garoppolo
and they'll have a conversation with him and they're gonna say, look,
we're looking at this kind of like it was last
year with you and train Lance, where we still want
(05:43):
you around, but Tray is gonna get get the first
chance at it and he's gonna be the quarterback. But
things are different for us. We're gonna put you and
Zach Wilson kind of on equal footing because we have
to win, right, We have to win. So you guys
are gonna on equal footing. We'll have a quarterback derby. Uh,
you'll give every chance to win the job. It's not
gonna come in any preconceived ideas. You know the system.
We expect you to come in and succeed. It's a
(06:05):
system we brought with us from San Francisco, and that's
gonna be the Jets quarterback room. Next year. It's gonna
be Jimmy Garoppolo and it's gonna be Zack Wilson, and
they're gonna try to go in with both of those,
which no, no, that, and they'll battle it out it
or not. That's exactly what they're gonna do. Forget about
solving it long term and saying, hey, let's go crazy
(06:28):
and let's try to go get Lamar Jackson from Baltimore
because you know he's going to be available. Let's go
get somebody big. Let's go big game hunting. You know,
that's what they're gonna do. Hey, Garoppolo won't cost as much.
Let's go get him. He knows the system. Let's still
try to fix Zach, which you can't fix the guy
at this point. He's just terrible. But this is what
the Jets are gonna do. This is my fear of
Mike Harmon. They're gonna they're gonna be have that exact
(06:50):
attitude in the off season because you can't just say no,
we can't just go in and say we're gonna fix
Zach for next year. Players are gonna unplug and go,
Why am I putting my body on the line if
you're just gonna trot this guy out there. I like him,
and the team certainly, they certainly like Zach Wills. Hey,
he's a good dude. Yeah, you apologize for not taking responsibility.
You know, he's a good guy, but you can't go
in with him. But we're gonna go with him and
(07:11):
Jimmy Garoppolo and and then that's gonna be our solution.
And is that the best solution? No, you can go
big game after a quarterback. There's lots of quarterbacks in
the draft that that you can get in the first round,
So there's more teams you're gonna have itchy trigger fingers
about moving on from their quarterback if they don't think
this is someone that can take them to the next level,
into the promised Land. So yeah, we'll move on from
(07:34):
our guy. You can, you can loosen him up from
us for a little bit of a cheaper price than
normally would be. But that's not what they're gonna do.
They're gonna go get Jimmy Garoppolo and it's gonna be
Garoppolo and Zach Wilson, and it's gonna be a battle
for them next next summer to try to figure it out.
And I'm very unenthused about it already. Yeah, I think
as you go through and you spend the carose Remember
we we just commemorated the fact that what six and
(07:56):
now quarterbacks have started at least one game this year.
That means there's a lot of unsettled quarterback positions, right.
We talked about elite whenever anybody used the term elite,
and then they start going eight or ten deep. Uh,
they're kidding themselves. A lot of teams looking for a
second guy, a competition for the Jets, What's curious is
(08:18):
you've got a roster that in many ways was ready
to compete except that that position right at the return
of Joe Flacco. Sorry about your guy, Mike White, and
then obviously Zach Wilson threw up on himself and in
a number of moments, and losing Breece Hall is a
huge loss. The issues on the offensive line early fine,
(08:38):
but you played through those and you still played pretty well.
The whole big play capability being lost certainly is a
big deal. But I think as a team, you're going well,
he they've done really well, except they really missed that
one draft pick. So what does that mean for Joe Douglas.
Is he the guy that's gonna keep pushing on saying
this has to work? And that's where this is coming from.
(09:01):
He and Salev now at a we gotta make this work.
This has to work. He was the number two. We
can't have a number two. Look what our franchise looks
like with all these top picks that don't work. Unfortunately,
they just haven't worked. And going back to what we
talked about last hour, you reference one of my favorite
phrases and all of this, do it in San Francisco,
(09:21):
do it here some costs. At some point you recognize
this ain't working or you can't trust the situation. San
Francisco has got that bolt with Jimmy g and with
Trey Lance right now the hero of the days Brock Purty. Wait,
we don't have to pay that guy anything for a
couple of years. Yep, here we go. As for Jimmy Garoppolo,
I mean, he's only on a one year deal, so
(09:42):
it's not even you have to give up assets to
go get him, except for whatever the market. Why would
he want to back up Zach Wilson. He's not. They're
gonna tell him you come in and win the job,
and he'll come and win the job. Jason, did you
not hear your coach? But this is where Doug had
stappole rank and say, you don't know what the hell
(10:03):
you're doing at the quarterback. They're still we're still gonna try,
but they're gonna go safe with well if it doesn't
work with Zach. We have Jimmy za Wilson, and he's
still saying, let's move on. We're gonna do this, and
and you know, and here's here's all you need to know,
which is why the Jets shouldn't try to make it
work with Zach Wilson Roberts. If if I was at
the press conference today and Robert Sali says, hey, you know,
(10:24):
we're gonna try to make it work hell or high
water with Zach Wilson, I would say, Coach, let me
ask you a question, be give me an honest answer.
You would say, okay. I would say, if you cut
Zach Wilson today, if you cut him right now, right,
just cut him right now. You pay him all the
money you're supposed to pay in the next couple of
years of his deal, and he is a complete and
total free agent. Are any of the other thirty one
(10:45):
teams in the NFL signing him to be their starter?
Any other team? Is any other team doing that? And
the answer is no. You know that's how you know
you're This is not the direction the jet should be going.
And if they let him today, nobody is saying, day,
we're bringing you in. Who don't don't say the Raiders,
(11:06):
it would be the Chats. They would pick him right
back up. Like I, I don't know that that's necessarily true.
There's always someone who thinks they can fix somebody else's not.
I didn't say not getting signed, but signed to be
a starter. No sign him to say, hey, we'll try
to fix you. You're a backup. You know you've been
in the league, cop started some games, But to be
(11:26):
a start to say we're going forward and you're our
starting quarterback next year, not one team is doing. And
that's the that's all you need to know about should
we go forward? This quarterback man, he's he's on the
Baker Mayfield train, without the national commercials, without the playoff win,
and with only one press conference gaff right that that's
(11:47):
where And I mean, I don't know Baker Mayfield's mom,
but we have Zach Wilson and his mom, so where
wherever he goes, um, she's still part of the NFL.
So just local beat writers will push hard behind the
scenes to get him to come to their their community,
just so they have an extra angle to write across conferences. Right, Twitter,
(12:11):
Jets after Dark, Hey, I would watch that show. It's
Jets after Dark, And I don't see what kind of
an ange stupidity Bert Scott can bring in. You know,
there's not a would be the house bandy everybody say
a lot of the Hobo Band, the leader, Mike Harmon.
(12:32):
You way am I in the bumble bee suit in
your fantasy this time? You know? Listen, Honestly, there's not
a lot of shows if you title them after dark
that I wouldn't watch. Give it one one looks what
are we're talking about here? What's the name of the show?
Like you know, like hey, like in in nine, O,
two and O the peach Pit was great, but then
(12:54):
when they had peach Pit after Dark, he was like, oh,
well that's when you started having everybody with all the
drug problem you know, kind of became a big deal
and and a lot more drama, that's right. Yeah, and
high school coaches started showing up, and yeah, the peach
pit in high school was just who likes who and
who's flirting, and there's this and all that, and we're
(13:15):
gonna go and we're gonna have pie and cake. But
peach pit after dark was, yeah, it was all the
kinds Dad had. Rohn to sheer, Jason, I got one
for you. What do you got? What you got drive
through after Dark? Hey? Well, they did have Batten Tonight
for years. It's Mac nine. I want one of those heads,
by the way, that that would be great. Hey man,
(13:38):
I tried to wait. We had Burger King as a
sponsor for fantasy stuff years ago, and at the they
were retiring the King, and I asked for one of
the heads and they told me what it was gonna
cost to get one. I was like, yeah, that's more
than I made off of this bit. So no good
Twitter and out about a Fresca Mike. It's all I'm
telling you, that's exactly what the Jets are gonna do.
(14:00):
And that's how you know Zach Wilson is not somebody
you should build around UH. Coming up next, Rick Buker
stops by all the latest big news in the NBA.
A huge streak comes to an end. Keep it right
here at Tirac dot com Studios. Fox. Be sure to
catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven pm Pacific on
(14:21):
Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app Fox
Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with My best friend
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(14:42):
at Progressive dot Com. Well some big games in the
NBA tonight, some big things to get to A huge
streak is over. Joining us now on the hot lot,
Fox Sports One Insider extraordinaire check out the On the
Ball podcast, where he will be spending the entirety of
his next podcast talking about how Jalen Brunson is the
(15:04):
number one choice for m v P in the n
b A it is Rick Buker. Rick, I'm looking forward
to that. I'm hoping to be a guest on that podcast.
I I am too, because it would be a three
minute episode and get in and get out. So yeah,
great idea, Well there we go. See you just let
(15:24):
me talk for three minutes about how he's the m
v P and there we and that's it. And then
you say, okay, yeah, there you go, thank you very
much getting a commercial and we're good. And that's efficiency
and content production. I got no problem with that. I mean, hey,
come on, man, you got you know, Jannis can have
his fifty five and and and Donna Mitchell could have
his seventy one. But Jalen Brunson's thirty eight tonight for
(15:46):
the Knicks. I mean, my goodness, my I mean that's
an m v P type performance. You know what's funny
is the way the scoring has been. We kind of
yawned at a thirty eight. Yeah, we think about that, like,
can't you if you couldn't even break forty? I mean,
what's up? You know, it's where it's where we are,
(16:07):
but you know, there there are you know, all kidding aside.
I mean, we're in a place now because I'm actually
gonna do something for Fox about why are we having
all these huge performances, and you know, obviously the rules
have been set against the defense in much the same
way that it's happened in the NFL. Uh passing and
(16:31):
past receiving kind of the same deal offense cells. So
we've we've moved in that direction. But it's also a
matter of we're shooting more threes than ever, which is
resulting in more runouts than than ever, and we don't
have the take foul anymore. And guys not only don't
have the take foul, but I know that DUTs supposed
(16:52):
to do it. So now they're like, okay, well, I
guess I don't even play defense. And so you just
got this up and down game that has really he
opened it opened it up. I had one scout tell
me he thinks that somebody's gonna break seventy one, because
now you've got guys that are scorers for basically like,
oh yeah, you scored seventy one, Donovan Holder STEP's gonna
(17:15):
say watch me, watch me get eighty and so, uh,
I don't know that we've seen the end of these
monsters touring performances. Al right, First off, Happy New Year, Rick,
welcome back. It's good to have you back after the
holiday break? And yeah, and did um? Did Donovan Mitchell
pass his test? No? Kny did Robin Lopez? That's the
(17:38):
bigger question if they if they drug tested both of
those guys, I know the guy that I would bet
on ahead ahead of the other. I'm not not throwing shade.
I'm just saying I'm gonna lineup and you go, which
which one of these would you be more concerned about
(17:59):
in terms of a drug test? I think ten out
of ten we'll probably go with Mr lopest from tests too. Well,
there you go. We'll put that up as a poll
question later on. After your parat rick Um, the nets
twelve game winning streaks stopped by the Bulls. Everybody's all
happy singing the praise of the squad. Jacque Vaughan doing
a hell of a job, and they're saying it's all
(18:21):
about basketball. I look at my calendar. It says January four,
and as much as I want to believe, I say
it's January four three. Man, I'm with you now. I
will say, Look, they're they're they quietly built a team
that is different from last year. In terms of my
concern always was, you don't really have rim protection outside
(18:43):
of Nick Claxton and Uh, and you've got all these
little futian wings that you're counting on Seth and Kyrie
and Patty Mills. The kind of changed that up and
adding you to wat an Aby Uh and t J.
Warren along Royce O'Neill, and so now the dynamic is
(19:04):
a little bit different. And and and that's why their
defense has improved because they've got size on the wings
and they can switch everything and they're motivated. But I'm
with you, and it's not even like when is Kyrie
going to do or say something that upsets the Apple
card as much as those suits simply have not been
(19:25):
able to stay healthy through the course of an entire season,
and so far, for the most part, they have. And
so that's for me the number one thing, which is
I think they're probably the best small ball team in
the league right now. How well that works once you
(19:46):
get to the postseason will we We will find out.
But the other element simply is can you keep Kyrie
and KD healthy on the floor. We haven't seen that
for the last two or three years. And then of
course there's always the potential for disruption if you will,
(20:07):
which which one of those that's gonna rear its head.
One of them always does, And so I think I
think that's I think that's fair. I mean, I can
appreciate what they are and that they're a better team
than they were last year. And if healthy, they're going
to be a tough out. But staying healthy and staying
hole has not been there forte the last few years.
(20:28):
So is it? So is everything you're saying right there
just another way to say maybe it was Steve Nash's fault.
I mean, I don't know. I don't well, I think
some of it is. Some of it is now the
onus when you get rid of Steve Nash and you
hand it to jacque Von. Now the onus is on
the players. They don't have any excuses, and they're at
(20:50):
a place now where if they don't get it done,
they're looking at the potential of the nets moving on,
breaking it up, rebuilding. And I get the sense to
Kyrine k d you know, if you really sat down
in a private moment, they'd like to stay there in Brooklyn,
if they went there to play together, they'd like to
see that happen. And the ownership and Shawn Marks have
(21:15):
indicated like there are no sacred cows here, like we
will we will change up, Kyrie. We're not wed to you,
We're not winning more with you than Nike is. We
will make change. So I think that's I think they
are motivated to prove everybody wrong and that includes the
(21:36):
NETS ownership, that they should be together and that they
can make something happen. Fox Sports Radio Jason Fitz Show
with Mike Harman, Coming to you from the tire Act
dot Com studios on the hotline with us our buddy,
uh it is. Rick Buker joins us each and every
week on the show. You can find him on Twitter
at Rick Buker. See him on FS one. He's got
(21:57):
the on the Ball podcast, the No Filter Network, a ambassador,
part time pianist as he works to get on the stage.
Uh he maybe he's the new pianist for the Hobo
Live Smith band that we're working on. So we got
that going. YEA, all that all that say c J McCallum,
the leader points in a one nineteen one oh eight
(22:17):
Pelicans victory over Houston, but no brand and Hungraham and
once again I've got to hold up like a candle,
uh and hold a vigil for Zion Williamson. What the
hell rid finally getting used to him playing? I know,
I know, and it was great to see. It's it's
great to see Zion as definitely improved as a player,
and it was it was great to watch him play.
(22:38):
I will say this about the New Orleans Pelicans Zoe,
they well, I would not say that they are better
without him available. They are quite capable of being a
force without him. Defensively, I think they're actually a better team,
and offensively they're still kind of working out how do
(23:01):
you take advantage of c J and Brandon, Ingram and
Zion when they're all available. You almost have to put
the ball into Zion's hands when you have all of them,
and that means that both Brandon and c J. Brandon
and CJ have to play off the ball, which they can,
but it's not when they're at their best, and so
(23:23):
I don't expect them to really fall off with Zion
missing some time. I think the loss is can you
get to a place where everybody's comfortable playing together? They
just they still need a lot of games together to
find their absolute potential, and that's the hindrance. And then
(23:46):
the other part is the question that we're always going
to have until proven otherwise, which is ken a guy
who is stick stick stick seven and way's close to
three d pounds and moves the way that he does
(24:07):
and have some play in an up and down game
of the nature that the NBA is today, is it
even physiologically possible for that guy to stay healthy through
the course of hundred and d fifteen games that we're
including the playoffs. That's that is the question that we
(24:30):
that we keep getting an answer, no, you can't. And
I thought based on the beginning of the season that
maybe he was going to turn that that question around,
and as of right now, it's still very much a question.
I almost feel like Rick, as we talked about this,
that that the one reason I was scared to pick
the Pelicans to be at the top of the West
(24:51):
because I picked I picked Denver in Memphis in the
Western Conference finals because it's because of Zion's health. I
almost feel like, if you're if you're in New Orleans,
you have to sit here and say, Okay, every third
game he rests or something like that, Like when you're
playing and you're playing minutes in that game, Okay, you're playing,
but like every third game, you're gonna sit no matter
what the situation, doesn't matter what it is in the standings,
(25:13):
where you're gonna play two games and sit, or for
playing three games and five nights that second game you're
going to sit. And we're going to cap you at
about forty five or fifty games in the regular season
and hoping then you are healthy for the playoffs. I
think that's the that's where they kind of have to
go with this. Uh yeah, I mean that's a possibility,
but then that really undercut your ability to develop any
(25:38):
sort of rhythms with your team and and and with
Zion because when he is on the floor, he's such
a big part of it. So two thirds of the
season or uh like a third of the season, you're
going to be playing in a completely different way then
you do when you have him. And then when you
(26:01):
get to the playoffs, are you gonna play him every game?
And is he going to be conditioned to play every game?
At that point, that's where it gets so so tricky.
And you, like one other element, one of the things
that it's gonna come out the next day or so
is a piece that I'm doing on load management. I've
(26:22):
I've completely flipped my view. I had a very cynical
view of load management, and after talking to a variety
of players, I have come to the conclusion that the
game was more physical ten fifteen years ago in terms
of brute force, but in what we're asking these guys
(26:42):
to do athletically. The the the amount of time that
they're asked to run up and down at high speed,
the number of times that they're asked to change direction,
that that is taking a toll on bodies in a
way that the physicality tent five team years ago did not.
And as a result, I've come to the conclusion that
(27:05):
eighty two games really is not a realistic goal, nor
should it be for today's player. Um, and I just
said that's becoming out on Fox sports dot Com and
the Fox Sports Top sometime in the next couple of days.
There you go. Do you have any paragraphs in there
about how bored you are with the exploits of Jannae
Sintenna Koopo just yet? Man, I'll tell you what again,
(27:30):
just sort of watching in tonight. Um yeah, I'm I'm
I'm actually not, but I understand why people would be,
because he makes it so easy. And I think the
other part is is he just he's so focused on
the right thing, Like I don't expect be honest to
be one of those guys to go for seventy or
(27:50):
eighty or ninety, even though he very well could. But
I'm I'm with you. I understand the question. But no,
I long watching Yannis play simply because he's all about
the right thing. Yeah, yesterday he stated that as his goal,
I want to be so consistent. Yeah yeah, And I mean,
(28:14):
what a great It doesn't sell. Adam Silver's probably wincing
when he exactly Adam Silver saying, can we can I
really don't want to turn on the radio and hear
another Russell Westbrook conversation. Can we talk about somebody really good? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah yeah? Could could you be a little more freaky
(28:34):
creek freak? You're not You're not called boring creak. He's
on Twitter at Rick Buker. That is at Rick Buker,
the On the Ball Podcast, also the On the Ball
Squared Podcast with Matt Buker, and check out that column
he's got coming up for Fox on Load Management, eighty
(28:55):
two games schedule and Jalen Brunts his chances at the league.
M V P. Rick has always buddy appreciated my friend
happy do here, we'll talk to you next week. My
pleasure to stuff there goes. You know, hey, look forever
it's been, eighty two games is too much. It's too
much as too much. Players aren't playing it. And and
you're gonna like we said, what have we said the
(29:16):
last year? If your stars you're playing in fifty five
or sixty games, now, I mean that that if you
get a star playing in sixty five out of eighty
two games, like that's a lot like that. You're feeling
really good if you get sixty five games out of
your star player. But instead the norm is even lower
than that. But you feel good at sixty five. Oh man,
he played the whole season. No, he missed seventeen games,
(29:37):
don't but it's a whole season. Now, sixty five is
like the new eighty. Yeah, And I know people hate it.
And then we get into those discussions should they reduce
the games? Guess what, They'll still do it then, because
it's still a wear and tear on the body. As
Rick was talking about the cuts and the athleticism, the
high flying, the undercuts, all of those things, as opposed
to slow down possessions like playoff asked, all right, so
(30:00):
much different. Uh in a lot of a lot of games.
We still have our runouts. But yeah, I can't wait
to read the data and the the quotes that he's
been able to amass there, because it's something you and
I have talked about quite a bit here on the program.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
(30:21):
pm Pacific Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with
my best friend Mike Harman. Hell Alan a lot from
the time studio. It's the whole b Allen. We just
press buttons and talk. That's that's the Wednesday here on
Fox Sports Radio. Now. I first want to say to you, buddy, congratulations.
(30:42):
Nathan Peterman will be starting for you on Sunday. Peter,
you know, what are the odds on that he throws
an interception in the first quarter? What is it like?
Because it's gonna happen, there's no odds. They've closed it
in Vegas. Can you speak on that? I don't know.
Am I allowed to? Uh? The spread went up like
(31:04):
four points upon fields being ruled out it'll keep rising,
I think as we get towards game day, because you know,
it's that fierce battle with Houston towards the top. I
did like his press conference. They talked like a man
who had all his euphemisms down, like he went and
watched Bull Durham and taken copious notes. I gotta take
it one play at a time, Gotta keep control of
(31:26):
the ball, not get lured into any turnover. Your name it.
He he checked all the boxes. But it's all about
trying to upbend Houston for that number one picks take
the over at one and a half, right see. But
here and this is where things get really interesting now
(31:49):
because of that justin fields, we've talked about the the
leaps he has made this season. He's not going to
get a chance to set the record for yards rushing
by back in the season. He said that one either.
But let's stick with the positives, because he has no
we can't stick with the positive, the whole promise, the
whole premise of the argument here. But justin fields, if
(32:11):
he played, if he played this week, he would have
most likely set the record for rushing yards in the
season by a quarterback. Right now, passing. He's improved a
little bit, still a work in progress, but he has
taken a big leap this year and to the point
where you can say, all right, he went from is
he the Bears quarterback of the future to Wow, this
kid's got some talent, and yeah, we're going forward with
(32:32):
Justin Fields. But as you just heard Mike say, the
Bears are gonna pick no lower than second. They could
wind up picking first overall. So now you have a decision.
Do you really love Justin Fields or do you just
kind of like the guy? And I think the answer
(32:53):
for the Bears is gonna be we like Justin Fields.
We'd like the draft picks we would get for him
more because you would get a pretty good haul for
him because he would jump. Lamar Jackson's gonna be the
guy already tries to go after this offseason. He would
be the number two guy that I would want to
go get because of his youth and and seeing that
he's able to make plays and that he's on an upswing. Right.
(33:14):
He took the he took the Trevor Lawrence type ly,
maybe not as much as Lawrence, but he took that
big leap right here. So yeah, you're gonna be able
to get some picks for him, and you can reset
the clock. You reset your quarterback clock with Bryce Young,
who can see the field better than any quarterback prospect
in the last ten years, and you're able to go, Okay,
(33:34):
now we're we're dealing with a rookie quarterback deal for
the next four years, four years and forty million whatever
it's gonna wind up being. And that's how we're going
to restart this team. Because as much as they like
justin Fields, much as he's proven, you could tell there
were still a little bit of how the Eagles felt
about Jalen Hurts coming into this year. We like him,
but do we really love him. If somebody else is
(33:55):
out there we like a little bit more, we might
want to do that. So this is not all justin Fields.
This is hey, the Bears have not gotten better. He's
gotten a little bit better, and he's on the upswing.
But now we have we're gonna be picking first or second,
which means we can get it. We can get c. J. Stroud,
who had a huge game in the semifinals, well proving hey,
you know what, I'm a really good quarterback too, And
(34:17):
that's a big thing to be able to say, we're
gonna reset the clock with our quarterback on a rookie deal,
and maybe this guy is better than Justin Fields. So
I think when it comes down to it, you can
trade for him in the off seas if you want
a quarterback justin Fields. The phone call you can make
in the Bears a listen and they'll say, yeah, we
got a couple of draft picks, we're gonna pick first. Yep,
let's do it. Justin Fields. Here we go, and you
(34:38):
will see him dealt and be dealt in the off season.
If they're picking first, they're trading Justin Fields. Yeah. What's
the curiosity to it all is that the current regime,
head coach, front office, eventual new president, whether it's Kevin
Warren the Big Ten commissioner or not, is they didn't
draft Justin Fields, right Eberflus get see who At least
(35:00):
for part of the season, you've heard whispers maybe he's
that next thirty nine year old, Hey give him a
shot head coach project, depending how many teams shuffle up
and deal this offseason right uh, as they flow through.
But you know, with Ryan Poles the GM, he's got
a lot of money to spend. They do have some
draft capital already, and Fields is only in the year
(35:23):
two of his contract, so you you have time on
your side there. So if you think you've seen enough,
I still have issues with ball security. It's something you
and I have talked about and watching Sunday games, texting
back and forth. You're like, Oh, he's really making the stride.
I'm like, yeah, I watch him not hang onto the
ball here. Watched the interception to Jeff Acuta UH in
(35:43):
that game against Detroit UH in early November, a game
that they had one It's like, let me float this,
that's return for a touchdown. You lose, uh, and on
and on and on, Like there's been a number of
those decisions and mistakes that rival anything you've seen from
Zach Wilson. And this is me just being extremely honest
as it comes to the Bears. As much as you
(36:04):
want to go Homer and whatever else in your you're
a fan of the team in the hometown, and all,
the reality is there, there's still a lot of growth
that needs to happen. So I wouldn't be surprised if
the team did floated out there to see how how
what kind of return you can get, because the other
option is you've got a lot of money and you've
got picks, so go and just fortify things around him,
(36:27):
maybe convinced a receiver to go where receivers go to die,
can't you? And Chase Claypool says he's still gonna be
a top three NFL receiver. Buddy, he said it again
this week, and that's nice in all guys, but they're
sticking with Peterman. And what if Peterman throws six touchdowns
this week? You blew the draft pick you Peterman Zach
(36:50):
Wilson game. Next year, that reality tour sure be something.
Hey coming up nex, we're gonna revisit a Bowl prediction
that boy, did I really get it wrong in the
NFL Fox Peter Minho
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every week
night ten pm to two a m Eastern seven to
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(00:20):
r PLEA you're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Hello, Welcome
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Tirect dot com will help you get there an unmatched selection, fast,
(00:40):
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installers ti rac dot com. The way tire buying should
be well. In a night where it's a big NBA night,
Lake is on top of Miami right now. Three late
in the second quarter, we got Rick Buker coming up.
But about twenty minutes the Nets big wind streak. It
(01:03):
had been twelve in a row for them, and they
ran into a team that had spent a lot of
time learning how to blow leads this season. The Bulls
hold on to win to cool off the nets. We've
got Rick Buker coming up big NBA stuff in about
twenty minutes. But come hell or high water, we need
to talk about this. Yeah, that's right. I mean we
(01:23):
can't talk about all Chicago basketball. No, that that is
that that that is a very all Illinois It's an
all Illinois topic. Uh. It is my fear about this
story that we're going to bring you right now. My
fear is that it's true. That's my fear. My fear
(01:44):
is that it's true. It's not posturing, it's not I
am saying something to back up my embattled quarterback. Now,
my fear is that this is going to be true.
This is absolutely true, and this is a face value story. Um.
To any one who has watched a second of football
this year, you know that the Jets quarterback situation has
(02:05):
really been abysmal. One of the big headlines today is
Jet said coach Robert Salo, who was now presided over
a huge collapse when a team was one of the
top ten power ranked teams in the NFL. They were
five and two at seven and four, and now they
could end the season on a loopsing streak. Uh. Robert Salo,
who had to bench. Zack Wilson, who has been absolutely
(02:26):
awful this year, has said in the past, Hey, you
know what, Look, we're not turning our back on Zach Wilson.
We're giving a chance to reset and do some things.
We gotta get somebody else near Yeah, yeah, that's what
you say during the season by Okay, okay, but we
know they're moving on from Zack Wilson because he's really,
really bad. Well apparently this is why I'm afraid that
what Robert Salo said today about Zack Wilson was a
(02:46):
hundred percent true. Take a listen. I know I keep
re referencing that fourth quarter of Pittsburgh that it's real
though I don't care you can uh Miami, he played
really well and it just slowly got away from a
little bit for one reason or another. And uh a
little bit. How do you find that consistency? Like I said,
it starts with knowing oneself can issue if you want.
(03:09):
But Zach has got all the talent in the world.
He doesn't confidence in the world in him. It's just
like I said, from this reset and we're gonna we're
gonna grind with him. We are and uh, and through
hell or high water. We're gonna figure out how to
how to get him to where we know he can be.
You know, I like that hidden, that little you know,
(03:31):
things got away from a little bit, a little bit. Really,
what do you know? Maybe a zend thing? What the
hell are we doing here, coach? You're the guy that
talks about running through walls, You're the guy that does
stairs before games. You do need a little bit of
a zend thing. What hey, can you tell me when
Zack Wilson played well, you had the fourth quarter against
Pittsburgh and the game against Miami. Okay, he had the
(03:54):
game winning drive against Pittsburgh, but he had an awful game.
He had an awful game, but he did have the
game winning drive. The next week against Miami. He threw
for two yards, no touchdowns. I mean, I mean, you've
set the bar so low for Zach Wilson. The guy
just isn't good. And my fear is that this is
exactly what the Jets are gonna do. They're gonna go
(04:16):
into this offseason and this is what they're gonna do.
Because I could see it right now. If I had money,
I would say, this is what's gonna happen. The Jets
are gonna in the off season. And meanwhile, everybody knows
you gotta move on from Zack Wilson. Right the guy
is just is not there. His confidence is not there,
he doesn't know the system, whatever is going on. It's bad.
You gotta move on for him. But here the Jets,
and this is what they're gonna think, Boy, it looks
(04:38):
really bad if we move on from this guy who's
a number two pick in the draft two years ago. Meanwhile, yes,
you can teams do that now. So what they're gonna
do is this, They're gonna say, let's keep Zack. We're
gonna get him one more chance, high water and as
hell or high water. And what we're gonna do is
we're gonna go out and get Jimmy Garoppolo because Garoppolo's
price is going to be lower because he finished the
(04:59):
season being in Jared and this wasn't the high price
that you think you would be because look, what would
the price be for Garoppolo quarterback of this team right now?
You know, winning as they're doing and going going into
the playoffs and being the team to beat now in
the NFC. But the price for Garoppolo is gonna be
way down and because of the price is gonna be
way down. He's also not gonna have as many suitors
because if he thought he was the answer, it's another
(05:21):
year where he's injured. Can you really say, hey, Jimmy,
come in and be a better quarterback for us. No,
But the Jets are in that unique bleeping position of
having Zack Wilson and saying, oh, yeah, yeah, let's bring
it back to see But we'll bring in Jimmy Garoppolo
and they'll have a conversation with him and they're gonna say, look,
we're looking at this kind of like it was last
year with you and train Lance, where we still want
(05:43):
you around, but Tray is gonna get get the first
chance at it and he's gonna be the quarterback. But
things are different for us. We're gonna put you and
Zach Wilson kind of on equal footing because we have
to win, right, We have to win. So you guys
are gonna on equal footing. We'll have a quarterback derby. Uh,
you'll give every chance to win the job. It's not
gonna come in any preconceived ideas. You know the system.
We expect you to come in and succeed. It's a
(06:05):
system we brought with us from San Francisco, and that's
gonna be the Jets quarterback room. Next year. It's gonna
be Jimmy Garoppolo and it's gonna be Zack Wilson, and
they're gonna try to go in with both of those,
which no, no, that, and they'll battle it out it
or not. That's exactly what they're gonna do. Forget about
solving it long term and saying, hey, let's go crazy
(06:28):
and let's try to go get Lamar Jackson from Baltimore
because you know he's going to be available. Let's go
get somebody big. Let's go big game hunting. You know,
that's what they're gonna do. Hey, Garoppolo won't cost as much.
Let's go get him. He knows the system. Let's still
try to fix Zach, which you can't fix the guy
at this point. He's just terrible. But this is what
the Jets are gonna do. This is my fear of
Mike Harmon. They're gonna they're gonna be have that exact
(06:50):
attitude in the off season because you can't just say no,
we can't just go in and say we're gonna fix
Zach for next year. Players are gonna unplug and go,
Why am I putting my body on the line if
you're just gonna trot this guy out there. I like him,
and the team certainly, they certainly like Zach Wills. Hey,
he's a good dude. Yeah, you apologize for not taking responsibility.
You know, he's a good guy, but you can't go
in with him. But we're gonna go with him and
(07:11):
Jimmy Garoppolo and and then that's gonna be our solution.
And is that the best solution? No, you can go
big game after a quarterback. There's lots of quarterbacks in
the draft that that you can get in the first round,
So there's more teams you're gonna have itchy trigger fingers
about moving on from their quarterback if they don't think
this is someone that can take them to the next level,
into the promised Land. So yeah, we'll move on from
(07:34):
our guy. You can, you can loosen him up from
us for a little bit of a cheaper price than
normally would be. But that's not what they're gonna do.
They're gonna go get Jimmy Garoppolo and it's gonna be
Garoppolo and Zach Wilson, and it's gonna be a battle
for them next next summer to try to figure it out.
And I'm very unenthused about it already. Yeah, I think
as you go through and you spend the carose Remember
we we just commemorated the fact that what six and
(07:56):
now quarterbacks have started at least one game this year.
That means there's a lot of unsettled quarterback positions, right.
We talked about elite whenever anybody used the term elite,
and then they start going eight or ten deep. Uh,
they're kidding themselves. A lot of teams looking for a
second guy, a competition for the Jets, What's curious is
(08:18):
you've got a roster that in many ways was ready
to compete except that that position right at the return
of Joe Flacco. Sorry about your guy, Mike White, and
then obviously Zach Wilson threw up on himself and in
a number of moments, and losing Breece Hall is a
huge loss. The issues on the offensive line early fine,
(08:38):
but you played through those and you still played pretty well.
The whole big play capability being lost certainly is a
big deal. But I think as a team, you're going well,
he they've done really well, except they really missed that
one draft pick. So what does that mean for Joe Douglas.
Is he the guy that's gonna keep pushing on saying
this has to work? And that's where this is coming from.
(09:01):
He and Salev now at a we gotta make this work.
This has to work. He was the number two. We
can't have a number two. Look what our franchise looks
like with all these top picks that don't work. Unfortunately,
they just haven't worked. And going back to what we
talked about last hour, you reference one of my favorite
phrases and all of this, do it in San Francisco,
(09:21):
do it here some costs. At some point you recognize
this ain't working or you can't trust the situation. San
Francisco has got that bolt with Jimmy g and with
Trey Lance right now the hero of the days Brock Purty. Wait,
we don't have to pay that guy anything for a
couple of years. Yep, here we go. As for Jimmy Garoppolo,
I mean, he's only on a one year deal, so
(09:42):
it's not even you have to give up assets to
go get him, except for whatever the market. Why would
he want to back up Zach Wilson. He's not. They're
gonna tell him you come in and win the job,
and he'll come and win the job. Jason, did you
not hear your coach? But this is where Doug had
stappole rank and say, you don't know what the hell
(10:03):
you're doing at the quarterback. They're still we're still gonna try,
but they're gonna go safe with well if it doesn't
work with Zach. We have Jimmy za Wilson, and he's
still saying, let's move on. We're gonna do this, and
and you know, and here's here's all you need to know,
which is why the Jets shouldn't try to make it
work with Zach Wilson Roberts. If if I was at
the press conference today and Robert Sali says, hey, you know,
(10:24):
we're gonna try to make it work hell or high
water with Zach Wilson, I would say, Coach, let me
ask you a question, be give me an honest answer.
You would say, okay. I would say, if you cut
Zach Wilson today, if you cut him right now, right,
just cut him right now. You pay him all the
money you're supposed to pay in the next couple of
years of his deal, and he is a complete and
total free agent. Are any of the other thirty one
(10:45):
teams in the NFL signing him to be their starter?
Any other team? Is any other team doing that? And
the answer is no. You know that's how you know
you're This is not the direction the jet should be going.
And if they let him today, nobody is saying, day,
we're bringing you in. Who don't don't say the Raiders,
(11:06):
it would be the Chats. They would pick him right
back up. Like I, I don't know that that's necessarily true.
There's always someone who thinks they can fix somebody else's not.
I didn't say not getting signed, but signed to be
a starter. No sign him to say, hey, we'll try
to fix you. You're a backup. You know you've been
in the league, cop started some games, But to be
(11:26):
a start to say we're going forward and you're our
starting quarterback next year, not one team is doing. And
that's the that's all you need to know about should
we go forward? This quarterback man, he's he's on the
Baker Mayfield train, without the national commercials, without the playoff win,
and with only one press conference gaff right that that's
(11:47):
where And I mean, I don't know Baker Mayfield's mom,
but we have Zach Wilson and his mom, so where
wherever he goes, um, she's still part of the NFL.
So just local beat writers will push hard behind the
scenes to get him to come to their their community,
just so they have an extra angle to write across conferences. Right, Twitter,
(12:11):
Jets after Dark, Hey, I would watch that show. It's
Jets after Dark, And I don't see what kind of
an ange stupidity Bert Scott can bring in. You know,
there's not a would be the house bandy everybody say
a lot of the Hobo Band, the leader, Mike Harmon.
(12:32):
You way am I in the bumble bee suit in
your fantasy this time? You know? Listen, Honestly, there's not
a lot of shows if you title them after dark
that I wouldn't watch. Give it one one looks what
are we're talking about here? What's the name of the show?
Like you know, like hey, like in in nine, O,
two and O the peach Pit was great, but then
(12:54):
when they had peach Pit after Dark, he was like, oh,
well that's when you started having everybody with all the
drug problem you know, kind of became a big deal
and and a lot more drama, that's right. Yeah, and
high school coaches started showing up, and yeah, the peach
pit in high school was just who likes who and
who's flirting, and there's this and all that, and we're
(13:15):
gonna go and we're gonna have pie and cake. But
peach pit after dark was, yeah, it was all the
kinds Dad had. Rohn to sheer, Jason, I got one
for you. What do you got? What you got drive
through after Dark? Hey? Well, they did have Batten Tonight
for years. It's Mac nine. I want one of those heads,
by the way, that that would be great. Hey man,
(13:38):
I tried to wait. We had Burger King as a
sponsor for fantasy stuff years ago, and at the they
were retiring the King, and I asked for one of
the heads and they told me what it was gonna
cost to get one. I was like, yeah, that's more
than I made off of this bit. So no good
Twitter and out about a Fresca Mike. It's all I'm
telling you, that's exactly what the Jets are gonna do.
(14:00):
And that's how you know Zach Wilson is not somebody
you should build around UH. Coming up next, Rick Buker
stops by all the latest big news in the NBA.
A huge streak comes to an end. Keep it right
here at Tirac dot com Studios. Fox. Be sure to
catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven pm Pacific on
(14:21):
Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app Fox
Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with My best friend
Mike Harmon Tonight show brought to you by Progressive Insurance.
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(14:42):
at Progressive dot Com. Well some big games in the
NBA tonight, some big things to get to A huge
streak is over. Joining us now on the hot lot,
Fox Sports One Insider extraordinaire check out the On the
Ball podcast, where he will be spending the entirety of
his next podcast talking about how Jalen Brunson is the
(15:04):
number one choice for m v P in the n
b A it is Rick Buker. Rick, I'm looking forward
to that. I'm hoping to be a guest on that podcast.
I I am too, because it would be a three
minute episode and get in and get out. So yeah,
great idea, Well there we go. See you just let
(15:24):
me talk for three minutes about how he's the m
v P and there we and that's it. And then
you say, okay, yeah, there you go, thank you very
much getting a commercial and we're good. And that's efficiency
and content production. I got no problem with that. I mean, hey,
come on, man, you got you know, Jannis can have
his fifty five and and and Donna Mitchell could have
his seventy one. But Jalen Brunson's thirty eight tonight for
(15:46):
the Knicks. I mean, my goodness, my I mean that's
an m v P type performance. You know what's funny
is the way the scoring has been. We kind of
yawned at a thirty eight. Yeah, we think about that, like,
can't you if you couldn't even break forty? I mean,
what's up? You know, it's where it's where we are,
(16:07):
but you know, there there are you know, all kidding aside.
I mean, we're in a place now because I'm actually
gonna do something for Fox about why are we having
all these huge performances, and you know, obviously the rules
have been set against the defense in much the same
way that it's happened in the NFL. Uh passing and
(16:31):
past receiving kind of the same deal offense cells. So
we've we've moved in that direction. But it's also a
matter of we're shooting more threes than ever, which is
resulting in more runouts than than ever, and we don't
have the take foul anymore. And guys not only don't
have the take foul, but I know that DUTs supposed
(16:52):
to do it. So now they're like, okay, well, I
guess I don't even play defense. And so you just
got this up and down game that has really he
opened it opened it up. I had one scout tell
me he thinks that somebody's gonna break seventy one, because
now you've got guys that are scorers for basically like,
oh yeah, you scored seventy one, Donovan Holder STEP's gonna
(17:15):
say watch me, watch me get eighty and so, uh,
I don't know that we've seen the end of these
monsters touring performances. Al right, First off, Happy New Year, Rick,
welcome back. It's good to have you back after the
holiday break? And yeah, and did um? Did Donovan Mitchell
pass his test? No? Kny did Robin Lopez? That's the
(17:38):
bigger question if they if they drug tested both of
those guys, I know the guy that I would bet
on ahead ahead of the other. I'm not not throwing shade.
I'm just saying I'm gonna lineup and you go, which
which one of these would you be more concerned about
(17:59):
in terms of a drug test? I think ten out
of ten we'll probably go with Mr lopest from tests too. Well,
there you go. We'll put that up as a poll
question later on. After your parat rick Um, the nets
twelve game winning streaks stopped by the Bulls. Everybody's all
happy singing the praise of the squad. Jacque Vaughan doing
a hell of a job, and they're saying it's all
(18:21):
about basketball. I look at my calendar. It says January four,
and as much as I want to believe, I say
it's January four three. Man, I'm with you now. I
will say, Look, they're they're they quietly built a team
that is different from last year. In terms of my
concern always was, you don't really have rim protection outside
(18:43):
of Nick Claxton and Uh, and you've got all these
little futian wings that you're counting on Seth and Kyrie
and Patty Mills. The kind of changed that up and
adding you to wat an Aby Uh and t J.
Warren along Royce O'Neill, and so now the dynamic is
(19:04):
a little bit different. And and and that's why their
defense has improved because they've got size on the wings
and they can switch everything and they're motivated. But I'm
with you, and it's not even like when is Kyrie
going to do or say something that upsets the Apple
card as much as those suits simply have not been
(19:25):
able to stay healthy through the course of an entire season,
and so far, for the most part, they have. And
so that's for me the number one thing, which is
I think they're probably the best small ball team in
the league right now. How well that works once you
(19:46):
get to the postseason will we We will find out.
But the other element simply is can you keep Kyrie
and KD healthy on the floor. We haven't seen that
for the last two or three years. And then of
course there's always the potential for disruption if you will,
(20:07):
which which one of those that's gonna rear its head.
One of them always does, And so I think I
think that's I think that's fair. I mean, I can
appreciate what they are and that they're a better team
than they were last year. And if healthy, they're going
to be a tough out. But staying healthy and staying
hole has not been there forte the last few years.
(20:28):
So is it? So is everything you're saying right there
just another way to say maybe it was Steve Nash's fault.
I mean, I don't know. I don't well, I think
some of it is. Some of it is now the
onus when you get rid of Steve Nash and you
hand it to jacque Von. Now the onus is on
the players. They don't have any excuses, and they're at
(20:50):
a place now where if they don't get it done,
they're looking at the potential of the nets moving on,
breaking it up, rebuilding. And I get the sense to
Kyrine k d you know, if you really sat down
in a private moment, they'd like to stay there in Brooklyn,
if they went there to play together, they'd like to
see that happen. And the ownership and Shawn Marks have
(21:15):
indicated like there are no sacred cows here, like we
will we will change up, Kyrie. We're not wed to you,
We're not winning more with you than Nike is. We
will make change. So I think that's I think they
are motivated to prove everybody wrong and that includes the
(21:36):
NETS ownership, that they should be together and that they
can make something happen. Fox Sports Radio Jason Fitz Show
with Mike Harman, Coming to you from the tire Act
dot Com studios on the hotline with us our buddy,
uh it is. Rick Buker joins us each and every
week on the show. You can find him on Twitter
at Rick Buker. See him on FS one. He's got
(21:57):
the on the Ball podcast, the No Filter Network, a ambassador,
part time pianist as he works to get on the stage.
Uh he maybe he's the new pianist for the Hobo
Live Smith band that we're working on. So we got
that going. YEA, all that all that say c J McCallum,
the leader points in a one nineteen one oh eight
(22:17):
Pelicans victory over Houston, but no brand and Hungraham and
once again I've got to hold up like a candle,
uh and hold a vigil for Zion Williamson. What the
hell rid finally getting used to him playing? I know,
I know, and it was great to see. It's it's
great to see Zion as definitely improved as a player,
and it was it was great to watch him play.
(22:38):
I will say this about the New Orleans Pelicans Zoe,
they well, I would not say that they are better
without him available. They are quite capable of being a
force without him. Defensively, I think they're actually a better team,
and offensively they're still kind of working out how do
(23:01):
you take advantage of c J and Brandon, Ingram and
Zion when they're all available. You almost have to put
the ball into Zion's hands when you have all of them,
and that means that both Brandon and c J. Brandon
and CJ have to play off the ball, which they can,
but it's not when they're at their best, and so
(23:23):
I don't expect them to really fall off with Zion
missing some time. I think the loss is can you
get to a place where everybody's comfortable playing together? They
just they still need a lot of games together to
find their absolute potential, and that's the hindrance. And then
(23:46):
the other part is the question that we're always going
to have until proven otherwise, which is ken a guy
who is stick stick stick seven and way's close to
three d pounds and moves the way that he does
(24:07):
and have some play in an up and down game
of the nature that the NBA is today, is it
even physiologically possible for that guy to stay healthy through
the course of hundred and d fifteen games that we're
including the playoffs. That's that is the question that we
(24:30):
that we keep getting an answer, no, you can't. And
I thought based on the beginning of the season that
maybe he was going to turn that that question around,
and as of right now, it's still very much a question.
I almost feel like Rick, as we talked about this,
that that the one reason I was scared to pick
the Pelicans to be at the top of the West
(24:51):
because I picked I picked Denver in Memphis in the
Western Conference finals because it's because of Zion's health. I
almost feel like, if you're if you're in New Orleans,
you have to sit here and say, Okay, every third
game he rests or something like that, Like when you're
playing and you're playing minutes in that game, Okay, you're playing,
but like every third game, you're gonna sit no matter
what the situation, doesn't matter what it is in the standings,
(25:13):
where you're gonna play two games and sit, or for
playing three games and five nights that second game you're
going to sit. And we're going to cap you at
about forty five or fifty games in the regular season
and hoping then you are healthy for the playoffs. I
think that's the that's where they kind of have to
go with this. Uh yeah, I mean that's a possibility,
but then that really undercut your ability to develop any
(25:38):
sort of rhythms with your team and and and with
Zion because when he is on the floor, he's such
a big part of it. So two thirds of the
season or uh like a third of the season, you're
going to be playing in a completely different way then
you do when you have him. And then when you
(26:01):
get to the playoffs, are you gonna play him every game?
And is he going to be conditioned to play every game?
At that point, that's where it gets so so tricky.
And you, like one other element, one of the things
that it's gonna come out the next day or so
is a piece that I'm doing on load management. I've
(26:22):
I've completely flipped my view. I had a very cynical
view of load management, and after talking to a variety
of players, I have come to the conclusion that the
game was more physical ten fifteen years ago in terms
of brute force, but in what we're asking these guys
(26:42):
to do athletically. The the the amount of time that
they're asked to run up and down at high speed,
the number of times that they're asked to change direction,
that that is taking a toll on bodies in a
way that the physicality tent five team years ago did not.
And as a result, I've come to the conclusion that
(27:05):
eighty two games really is not a realistic goal, nor
should it be for today's player. Um, and I just
said that's becoming out on Fox sports dot Com and
the Fox Sports Top sometime in the next couple of days.
There you go. Do you have any paragraphs in there
about how bored you are with the exploits of Jannae
Sintenna Koopo just yet? Man, I'll tell you what again,
(27:30):
just sort of watching in tonight. Um yeah, I'm I'm
I'm actually not, but I understand why people would be,
because he makes it so easy. And I think the
other part is is he just he's so focused on
the right thing, Like I don't expect be honest to
be one of those guys to go for seventy or
(27:50):
eighty or ninety, even though he very well could. But
I'm I'm with you. I understand the question. But no,
I long watching Yannis play simply because he's all about
the right thing. Yeah, yesterday he stated that as his goal,
I want to be so consistent. Yeah yeah, And I mean,
(28:14):
what a great It doesn't sell. Adam Silver's probably wincing
when he exactly Adam Silver saying, can we can I
really don't want to turn on the radio and hear
another Russell Westbrook conversation. Can we talk about somebody really good? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah yeah? Could could you be a little more freaky
(28:34):
creek freak? You're not You're not called boring creak. He's
on Twitter at Rick Buker. That is at Rick Buker,
the On the Ball Podcast, also the On the Ball
Squared Podcast with Matt Buker, and check out that column
he's got coming up for Fox on Load Management, eighty
(28:55):
two games schedule and Jalen Brunts his chances at the league.
M V P. Rick has always buddy appreciated my friend
happy do here, we'll talk to you next week. My
pleasure to stuff there goes. You know, hey, look forever
it's been, eighty two games is too much. It's too
much as too much. Players aren't playing it. And and
you're gonna like we said, what have we said the
(29:16):
last year? If your stars you're playing in fifty five
or sixty games, now, I mean that that if you
get a star playing in sixty five out of eighty
two games, like that's a lot like that. You're feeling
really good if you get sixty five games out of
your star player. But instead the norm is even lower
than that. But you feel good at sixty five. Oh man,
he played the whole season. No, he missed seventeen games,
(29:37):
don't but it's a whole season. Now, sixty five is
like the new eighty. Yeah, And I know people hate it.
And then we get into those discussions should they reduce
the games? Guess what, They'll still do it then, because
it's still a wear and tear on the body. As
Rick was talking about the cuts and the athleticism, the
high flying, the undercuts, all of those things, as opposed
to slow down possessions like playoff asked, all right, so
(30:00):
much different. Uh in a lot of a lot of games.
We still have our runouts. But yeah, I can't wait
to read the data and the the quotes that he's
been able to amass there, because it's something you and
I have talked about quite a bit here on the program.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
(30:21):
pm Pacific Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with
my best friend Mike Harman. Hell Alan a lot from
the time studio. It's the whole b Allen. We just
press buttons and talk. That's that's the Wednesday here on
Fox Sports Radio. Now. I first want to say to you, buddy, congratulations.
(30:42):
Nathan Peterman will be starting for you on Sunday. Peter,
you know, what are the odds on that he throws
an interception in the first quarter? What is it like?
Because it's gonna happen, there's no odds. They've closed it
in Vegas. Can you speak on that? I don't know.
Am I allowed to? Uh? The spread went up like
(31:04):
four points upon fields being ruled out it'll keep rising,
I think as we get towards game day, because you know,
it's that fierce battle with Houston towards the top. I
did like his press conference. They talked like a man
who had all his euphemisms down, like he went and
watched Bull Durham and taken copious notes. I gotta take
it one play at a time, Gotta keep control of
(31:26):
the ball, not get lured into any turnover. Your name it.
He he checked all the boxes. But it's all about
trying to upbend Houston for that number one picks take
the over at one and a half, right see. But
here and this is where things get really interesting now
(31:49):
because of that justin fields, we've talked about the the
leaps he has made this season. He's not going to
get a chance to set the record for yards rushing
by back in the season. He said that one either.
But let's stick with the positives, because he has no
we can't stick with the positive, the whole promise, the
whole premise of the argument here. But justin fields, if
(32:11):
he played, if he played this week, he would have
most likely set the record for rushing yards in the
season by a quarterback. Right now, passing. He's improved a
little bit, still a work in progress, but he has
taken a big leap this year and to the point
where you can say, all right, he went from is
he the Bears quarterback of the future to Wow, this
kid's got some talent, and yeah, we're going forward with
(32:32):
Justin Fields. But as you just heard Mike say, the
Bears are gonna pick no lower than second. They could
wind up picking first overall. So now you have a decision.
Do you really love Justin Fields or do you just
kind of like the guy? And I think the answer
(32:53):
for the Bears is gonna be we like Justin Fields.
We'd like the draft picks we would get for him
more because you would get a pretty good haul for
him because he would jump. Lamar Jackson's gonna be the
guy already tries to go after this offseason. He would
be the number two guy that I would want to
go get because of his youth and and seeing that
he's able to make plays and that he's on an upswing. Right.
(33:14):
He took the he took the Trevor Lawrence type ly,
maybe not as much as Lawrence, but he took that
big leap right here. So yeah, you're gonna be able
to get some picks for him, and you can reset
the clock. You reset your quarterback clock with Bryce Young,
who can see the field better than any quarterback prospect
in the last ten years, and you're able to go, Okay,
(33:34):
now we're we're dealing with a rookie quarterback deal for
the next four years, four years and forty million whatever
it's gonna wind up being. And that's how we're going
to restart this team. Because as much as they like
justin Fields, much as he's proven, you could tell there
were still a little bit of how the Eagles felt
about Jalen Hurts coming into this year. We like him,
but do we really love him. If somebody else is
(33:55):
out there we like a little bit more, we might
want to do that. So this is not all justin Fields.
This is hey, the Bears have not gotten better. He's
gotten a little bit better, and he's on the upswing.
But now we have we're gonna be picking first or second,
which means we can get it. We can get c. J. Stroud,
who had a huge game in the semifinals, well proving hey,
you know what, I'm a really good quarterback too, And
(34:17):
that's a big thing to be able to say, we're
gonna reset the clock with our quarterback on a rookie deal,
and maybe this guy is better than Justin Fields. So
I think when it comes down to it, you can
trade for him in the off seas if you want
a quarterback justin Fields. The phone call you can make
in the Bears a listen and they'll say, yeah, we
got a couple of draft picks, we're gonna pick first. Yep,
let's do it. Justin Fields. Here we go, and you
(34:38):
will see him dealt and be dealt in the off season.
If they're picking first, they're trading Justin Fields. Yeah. What's
the curiosity to it all is that the current regime,
head coach, front office, eventual new president, whether it's Kevin
Warren the Big Ten commissioner or not, is they didn't
draft Justin Fields, right Eberflus get see who At least
(35:00):
for part of the season, you've heard whispers maybe he's
that next thirty nine year old, Hey give him a
shot head coach project, depending how many teams shuffle up
and deal this offseason right uh, as they flow through.
But you know, with Ryan Poles the GM, he's got
a lot of money to spend. They do have some
draft capital already, and Fields is only in the year
(35:23):
two of his contract, so you you have time on
your side there. So if you think you've seen enough,
I still have issues with ball security. It's something you
and I have talked about and watching Sunday games, texting
back and forth. You're like, Oh, he's really making the stride.
I'm like, yeah, I watch him not hang onto the
ball here. Watched the interception to Jeff Acuta UH in
(35:43):
that game against Detroit UH in early November, a game
that they had one It's like, let me float this,
that's return for a touchdown. You lose, uh, and on
and on and on, Like there's been a number of
those decisions and mistakes that rival anything you've seen from
Zach Wilson. And this is me just being extremely honest
as it comes to the Bears. As much as you
(36:04):
want to go Homer and whatever else in your you're
a fan of the team in the hometown, and all,
the reality is there, there's still a lot of growth
that needs to happen. So I wouldn't be surprised if
the team did floated out there to see how how
what kind of return you can get, because the other
option is you've got a lot of money and you've
got picks, so go and just fortify things around him,
(36:27):
maybe convinced a receiver to go where receivers go to die,
can't you? And Chase Claypool says he's still gonna be
a top three NFL receiver. Buddy, he said it again
this week, and that's nice in all guys, but they're
sticking with Peterman. And what if Peterman throws six touchdowns
this week? You blew the draft pick you Peterman Zach
(36:50):
Wilson game. Next year, that reality tour sure be something.
Hey coming up nex, we're gonna revisit a Bowl prediction
that boy, did I really get it wrong in the
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