WILDCARD WEEKEND: Couch Commanders

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Bob and Mike kick off the postseason from the couch after Washington finishes the year 5–12, recapping the final week, the full 2025 season whiplash, and what it means heading into a massive offseason. They react to early coaching and coordinator fallout, debate who’s really calling the shots in Washington (AP vs. DQ vs. ownership), and talk through what the team has to fix to avoid another year like this.

Then the conversation shifts league-wide to Black Monday chaos — including the shocker that rocked the AFC North: John Harbaugh out in Baltimore. The guys break down the wild Ravens–Steelers finish and bring on returning guest for a Steelers-focused pulse check, including the Tomlin debate, playoff expectations, and a few conspiracy-theory laughs.

To wrap it up, the crew runs through wild-card weekend picks, gives their early Super Bowl lean, and sets the plan for the show: weekly playoff episodes, bracket tracking, and reactions all the way through the big game — before transitioning into the offseason grind.

https://www.instagram.com/commandthecommute?igsh=ODFmNTYxdHBtMDJq&utm_source=qr

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_16 (00:18):
That kick season's over, comes to a screeching
halt, and missing that kick andthe winter going on.
You know how it is if my aunthad male parts, she'd be my
uncle.

SPEAKER_17 (00:30):
Mikey! Hey Bobber.
How you doing?
Living the dream, dude.
That Tom Lee quotes anall-timer.

SPEAKER_02 (00:37):
Love it.

SPEAKER_17 (00:38):
I love that.
I love that.
So I figure we started off withthat clip because the 5-11 clip
from last week was a game off.
We finished up 5-12 against allodds.

SPEAKER_04 (00:50):
Gotta love those useless wins.

SPEAKER_17 (00:52):
Right.
For uh welcome to the podcast,everybody.
This is the Command the Commutepodcast where we press record
when we leave the driveway.
We upload when we get to thestadium, but the season is over.
So we titled this episode CouchCommanders because, like the
players, we are all watching theplayoffs from our couches with

(01:15):
no excitement, no, no realreason or anything, just from
whatever you can get from yourfantasy team or we're just ready
for the draft and free agency atthis point.

SPEAKER_04 (01:27):
Our off season has build it again.

SPEAKER_17 (01:29):
Our offseason has begun, and we will get into the
storylines from this week.
But to set a little bit of anagenda for the podcast, um we're
gonna quickly recap uh lastweek's game, last season, the
2025 season.
We'll kind of get into somecoaching moves that has
happened.

(01:49):
We'll pretty much keep the firstquarter of our podcast all
centered around the commandos.
Uh, and then we'll switch intokind of Black Monday a little
bit.
We'll get into some games thatwe really liked from last week
and some of the implicationsfrom that.
We talked about it on lastweek's pod, how

(02:10):
Baltimore-Pittsburgh would havea big impact.
We thought that it would have abigger impact towards the
Pittsburgh coach, but as we allhave kind of found out by now,
had a way bigger big impact onthe Baltimore coach, John
Harbaugh being fired.
Um we've got a guest on the podto kind of go through Baltimore
Pittsburgh and their thoughts onthat.

(02:31):
Uh then we're gonna get into theplayoffs, Mike.
What we think is gonna happen umgame by game.
We're gonna kind of go throughand kind of tell everybody what
our bracket is and what we'rerooting to have happen
throughout the playoffs here,uh, and then we'll wrap it up
from there.
That's what she said.
So um Mike, uh last week.

(02:54):
Last week.
So we're five and twelve.
That is quite the exact oppositefrom the year before.
Quite literally.
Uh it's funny how things workout that way, right?

SPEAKER_04 (03:05):
But that's you know It's also very sad.
Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_17 (03:09):
So DQ's got a 500 record in the regular season.

SPEAKER_04 (03:17):
You heard it here first.
It's getting warm into seasonnumber three.

SPEAKER_17 (03:22):
Yeah, I think it's kind of implied once your once
your coordinators startdropping, if you don't figure it
out from there, if you can't,and this is where uh you start
to see a little bit of what ourorganization is all about.
Like how we're structured, who'sthe decision makers.

(03:43):
And I think we're still a littlebit fuzzy.
Like, who's really calling theshots here?
Is it the GM?
Is it the head coach?
Are they a 50-50 kind of team inin this?
Like, uh is this a situation?

SPEAKER_04 (03:57):
Well, we're gonna wait and see how some of that
plays itself out.

SPEAKER_17 (04:01):
I know, but I'm curious, just just for our own
frame of reference, because APwas hired first, and he was part
of the team that hired DanQuinn, right?
So is it is it AP's job to fireDan Quinn?

(04:21):
Or depending upon well, butcould you also see a situation
where the owner lumps a lot ofthese decisions in together and
we see a situation where it'sone fifty.

SPEAKER_04 (04:34):
Well, I think with any with any vacancy, I think I
think it's a I think you'reright.
I think it's a two for one.
If one goes, so goes the other.

SPEAKER_17 (04:43):
So these two were brought in to work in unison
together is the way that I'm I'mseeing it.
Even though it A Peak has like aslight edge, like maybe it's not
necessarily 50-50, but it itmaybe it's 5149.
I don't think it's that far offfrom that.

SPEAKER_04 (04:58):
Just like with any with any other team, the head
coach and the GM, they go outbasically at the same time or
within a season of each other.

SPEAKER_17 (05:08):
Every so every organization is different.
I'm just trying to figure outthis is our first true test to
see how Josh Harris is runninghis own like his ownership,
right?

SPEAKER_04 (05:20):
Well, I hope he runs the franchise better than he's
at public speaking.

SPEAKER_17 (05:24):
Oh, well, at least we all know he's not a great
public speaker, but I'd ratherbut Dan Snyder wasn't a great
public speaker, but at leastJosh Harris comes across kind of
quirky and cute and uhwholesome.

SPEAKER_04 (05:40):
He's an everyman.

SPEAKER_17 (05:41):
Yeah.
And Dan Snyder came across aslike an elitist.

SPEAKER_04 (05:44):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (05:45):
You nailed it.
Of course.
Yep, yeah, yeah.
Um so let's let these two guys,we keep talking about the uh DQ
and AP and and what theoffseason looks like and all
that kind of stuff.
Let's let them tell us.

SPEAKER_11 (06:01):
As we're getting rolling, I think as the season's
over, a lot of would say, Allright, now what?
And for AP and I, uh we wouldsay, man, it's just the
beginning.
We've got a lot of work to do.
And I know you'll uh ask, youknow, what changes are you know
being made and uh we're not ableto go there yet.
Uh everything needs to be and isbeing uh thoroughly examined and

(06:23):
discussed.
And uh really our work isanswering the question what went
wrong and what do we need to doto fix it and uh make sure we
never you know go through thisagain in a season like this.
And so that's our sole focus andand uh what's kind of gonna be
driving us, you know, in theweeks ahead.
So I just wanted to kick intothat in gear with you.
I know AP will hit a few thingsand then we'll get the whole

(06:44):
thing rocking.

SPEAKER_01 (06:46):
Yeah, just to echo what DQ said, I mean, th this
season was um a disappointmentin a lot of ways and certainly
didn't meet our standards.
And um, you know, we're gonna doeverything we can to not let
that happen again, and and thatstarts today with this
offseason.
So ready to attack it and andready to move forward.
And um whenever you guys areready, go ahead and hit us with

(07:06):
some questions.

SPEAKER_00 (07:07):
John Kine, the SPN.
For Dan, you don't know aboutthe changes, but when would you
like to get those finalized?
And what goes when you're goingabout assessing coaches,
coordinators, what how do you goabout assessing them to get to
whatever decision you want?

SPEAKER_11 (07:22):
Yeah, for sure.
It's uh after a hard season likethis, hard decisions uh are
made, but you want to go throughuh everything from evaluation,
the communication, theperformances, and so we begin
that um as coaches and coachesand scouts.
We get together, we talk a lotabout the players.
We had the exit interviewstoday, John.
So Adam and I also visited witha lot of players, and that's

(07:45):
part of how we're you knowgathering all of our
information.
So all of these processes arereally important, and we just
want to make sure like we'redoing everything we can, you
know, to make sure we're hittingall the marks to to get it
right.

SPEAKER_17 (07:58):
So before we get into their off-season plans and
how big of a an off-season thisneeds to be, let's just quickly
go through.
We did beat Philadelphia in thelast week of the season.

SPEAKER_04 (08:12):
Yes, that's because they played nothing but third
stringers the entire game.

SPEAKER_17 (08:16):
Yeah, but you understand that our loyal
listeners that listen to eachand every episode is gonna hear
the tone that you just said thatand say, well, this was the
motherfucker that was sayinglast week that we had no shot
and jaunted and this and that,and we were gonna lose 27 to 14.
Well, guess what, Michael?
We didn't lose 27-14.

(08:38):
We or 24 to 17, we won 24 to 17.

SPEAKER_04 (08:43):
Still stand by what I said.

SPEAKER_17 (08:44):
Well, you were wrong again.
You was wrong again because wedid win.
And yes, they had their they hadtheir backups in.
We had our backups in.
They had more to play for thanwe did.
Um Except they didn't.
Uh they didn't like they didn'tplay for it.
They didn't play for it, you'reright.

(09:06):
Uh the only things that I'll saythat I liked, of course, Debo
didn't get it.
Well, I didn't like this, butDebo did not get his incentives
that he was striving for.
He didn't have the big game thatwe were hoping he'd have that
would have made it exciting towatch.
McLaurin did show up in someplays.
He uh it was good to seeeverybody that was healthy uh

(09:26):
fight uh and and play to to tothe best of their ability.
We'll get into this in anotherpodcast, but we've really got
some some things to figure outon on um in our running back
room because you know KroskyMerritt's gonna be on our team
next year.

SPEAKER_04 (09:44):
It's gonna be a complete retooling.

SPEAKER_17 (09:46):
So I wonder if Rodriguez is back.
I'm not sure what his hiscontract situation is looking
like.
I'm pretty sure the only guythat's coming back is or under
contract is is Bill.
But we'll we'll get into we'llget into all that once um i in
another one.
But uh finished the year fiveand twelve, not too geared.

(10:06):
Um Cliff and uh Joe Witt, aspredicted in last week's
podcast, are fire.
You're fired.
Um any initial thoughts on onthat?

SPEAKER_16 (10:18):
You kind of perfectly fine with it.

SPEAKER_17 (10:20):
You you are perfectly fine with it because I
I I am okay with the people outthere that are scratching their
heads a little bit over thecliff situation.

SPEAKER_16 (10:30):
Nope, don't waste your time.

SPEAKER_17 (10:31):
There's there is something sketchy that happened
there behind the scenes.
I am I I want to wait to talkabout it in a week to see.

SPEAKER_04 (10:39):
Yeah, we'll talk about some of that stuff in the
middle.

SPEAKER_17 (10:41):
Well, the reason why I want to wait a week is because
under the Dan Snyder regime, wewe would have known by now
because we had we were nottight-lipped.
Stuff got out all the time.
But this organization does keepthings a little bit closer to
the chest.
I mean, obviously we're hearingsomething, but I'm I want to

(11:03):
wait a week to hear if whetheror not it's a rumor or if
there's any legitimacy to somestuff between Cliff and um AP.
So that's why I want to wait aweek, because I don't like to
speculate.
And I still want to give benefitof the doubt to the to the And I
appreciate that you don't wantto speculate.

SPEAKER_04 (11:21):
So for you, we'll wait another week.

SPEAKER_17 (11:24):
But do you have any um do you have any initial gut
reactions to offensive ordefensive coordinator?
As we I mean, we're a week,we're we're less than a week
removed, so this will be onrecord.
But do you have any running likeany favorites for for those

(11:45):
positions for our team?

SPEAKER_04 (11:47):
I wouldn't say I have favorites for either
position.
I really haven't heard much.
I can't speak for you, but Ihaven't heard much on the
defensive side and where it'sleaning, but I have heard a lot
of speculation on the offensiveside that we might end up with
uh McDaniels out of Miami nowthat he has been relieved of his

(12:08):
duties.
But you know, we'll talk aboutthat uh a little later on,
except to say I called it backin like week three that he was
gonna be gone.

SPEAKER_17 (12:18):
So it was actually surprising that it was actually
surprising that he lasted thislong.

SPEAKER_04 (12:28):
That they didn't get rid of him after like week seven
when they probably should have.

SPEAKER_17 (12:32):
Once he made it through Monday, I was a little
bit surprised by everything.

SPEAKER_04 (12:37):
But you know, well some of those later uh
terminations were a little bitsurprising just because you're
right.
Once you get through BlackMonday, you kind of think you're
safe for the most part.
Because everything happens byabout noontime on Monday.

SPEAKER_17 (12:55):
And then you know it's a fire sale.
What was it, Wednesday?
He had a press conference andsaid this?

SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
So uh NFL Network just reported that you're
expected back as coach and thatStephen Ross wants you to have a
chance to work with a newquarterback and a new general
manager.
Is that your understanding?
You're returning as coach.

SPEAKER_10 (13:15):
Um You know, my understanding is that um I am
I'm the coach of the MiamiDolphins until told otherwise.

SPEAKER_17 (13:22):
Um he was told otherwise 24 hours later.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (13:28):
Kind of shocking because like like we just said,
you get through Black Monday andyou think if you make it through
Monday, you know, you're you'rekind of okay.
You know, they're they'reprobably gonna stick with you at
least for another season, youknow.

SPEAKER_17 (13:42):
And then you can see how some organization, and
depending upon the situation andyour tenure, you know, if you've
been there for a while and youknow, a couple conversations
need to be had until thatdecision happens, you can see
how it might linger on a couplemore days, but he seemed like a
guy that was going to get firedon Monday and then didn't until

(14:03):
John Harbaugh got fired a couplehours before he got fired, I
believe.
It was at Harbaugh, thenMcDaniel.

SPEAKER_04 (14:12):
Right.
Once the Harbaugh news came out,then McDaniels got the axe.
And then all that speculationstarted about, you know, is he
gonna go to Miami and all thatkind of stuff.

SPEAKER_17 (14:24):
Because I guess they had a dinner or a conversation
or whatever, and it seemed likeMcDaniel was gonna be a part of
the conversation.

SPEAKER_04 (14:30):
Well, because he was gonna be part of the GM search
that's going on.
That was part of the pressconference that we just listened
to.
Yeah.
Um, you know, and then like whyshould I I didn't quite
understand why he should be partof the interview process because
it was like uh how safe are you?

SPEAKER_17 (14:48):
And then whether or not it was a something he said
in that 24 hours or uh or itleads us all to speculate that
the owner there, Ross, he islooking at the Harbaugh.
Oh, Harbaugh's available, you'refired because I was kind of iffy
on you for this next year.

(15:08):
And but yeah, and if I can goafter this big fish.
If I can get him.
Um but from what I understand,and I don't know if the Dolphins
have found a GM yet, but I don'teven think they've really
started interviewing anyone.
Well, that's probably a goodthing if they want Harbaugh,
because I think Harbaugh is aguy that wants to probably be

(15:30):
his own kind of de facto GM andhave control over the personnel
and the coaching staff and likeyou know, football operations
pretty much.
Basically that Ron Rivera rolethat we had before.
Right, you know, the the MikeMcCarthy role in Green Bay, the
Bill Belichick role, the uh uhVike Tallin role, you know what

(15:52):
I mean?
Um so anyway, but let's get intouh last week I kind of gave a
top ten on my hot seats, Mike.
Uh out of the my top seven, fiveof them got got fired.
So let's just say my my my didpretty well there.
Yeah, my hot seat was was prettygood.

(16:13):
There was two coaches that Ididn't have in my top ten that
got fired.
John Harbaugh being one thatwe've been talking about, Brian
Callahan in Tennessee.
Maybe I should have had him inin there.

SPEAKER_04 (16:24):
I I mean temporary coaches always get the axe at
the end of the season, so Idon't know why we didn't have
that win uh on the list.

SPEAKER_17 (16:32):
But well were the they obviously they finished
with one of the did they finishwith the worst record?
Tennessee's got I forget who'sgot the number one pick.

SPEAKER_04 (16:42):
Anyway, uh the Las Vegas Raiders have the Raiders
won pet yet.
Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_17 (16:48):
But Tennessee's up there.
They're in their top three, Ithink.
Anyway, uh I just thoughtbecause Cam Ward rookie year
didn't happen how it wanted.
I mean, I just thought thatmaybe they would have they would
have let kept going with him,but they obviously saw something
out of him that they didn'tlike.
But what I thought would be funfor the pod is out of the eight

(17:10):
vacancies so far, and I thinkthat there might be one more
vacancy.
There's some murmurs there thatuh Green Bay, LaFle LaFleur, um
there's some rumors that hisseat's kind of hot, and I don't
have him on the radar, but we'llsee.
But of the eight vacancies thatwe have right now, and for the

(17:33):
listeners, why don't you runthrough what the eight in no
particular order because I'mgonna put them in an order, but
uh Tennessee, Arizona, LasVegas, um, Atlanta, Cleveland,
New York, Miami, and Baltimore.
Um, of those eight vacanciesthat we have without a head

(17:53):
coach, if you were a head coach,which team, what organization
would you be more inclined uh toto go to?
You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 (18:03):
So I think Baltimore's number one.

SPEAKER_17 (18:06):
Uh well, we'll we're gonna go from eight to one, and
then we'll see if uh if you andI Well, you just asked me the
damn questions.
So No, I'll just say it.
We're gonna we're gonna gothrough one by one.
Cleveland Browns obviously havegot its number eight for a
variety of different reasons.
I know.
It's Cleveland.
That's all we need to say.

SPEAKER_04 (18:24):
Okay.

SPEAKER_17 (18:25):
It just seems like they can't seem to keep a
quarterback.

SPEAKER_04 (18:27):
They can't seem to keep uh I think like the
Raiders, they probably owe moneyto about 10 different head
coaches over the last like fiveyears.

SPEAKER_17 (18:37):
So who knows?
Uh seven I've got is as Miami.
Um I I'm not I'm not sure.
They they've got a question markthere at a quarterback.
It seems like either you'regonna be a head coaching
candidate that comes in andinterviews and says, Oh yeah,

(18:58):
Tua's my guy.
I wanna I want to work with Tua,and either that wins you the job
or loses you the job, dependingon how the owner feels.

SPEAKER_04 (19:06):
I don't know how the owner feels about Tua, but if he
wants to go in a differentposition at Quark, like how much
input in sitting Tua was itjust, you know, was it just the
head coach, or was there talkfrom above that, you know, he's
not the guy you need to sit him,who knows?

(19:26):
Time will tell.

SPEAKER_17 (19:27):
Time will tell.
Time will tell.
Um at six, I've got Arizona.
It just seems like Arizona's isit wants to lock into a
championship, lock into a goodteam.

SPEAKER_16 (19:41):
It doesn't seem like they're actively trying to I
don't think they've ever reallytried.

SPEAKER_04 (19:47):
At least in the recent few years.
I don't know.

SPEAKER_17 (19:49):
They're never like the worst team in the league,
but they're just always like16th to me.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
They're just kind of and maybeit's Because they're all on the
West Coast, so we don't reallysee a lot of their fans or hear
a lot about that team out here.
But uh just Arizona just seemslike a so-so team to me.

(20:10):
Anyway, uh five, uh Atlanta, itjust seems like there's a lot of
shakeup here.
I could see how there'd be ahead coach out there that says,
oh no, Atlanta is a great spotto be.
They're starting fresh, they'vegot new frontal.

SPEAKER_04 (20:26):
There's too much uncertainty with the
quarterback, really.
You know?

SPEAKER_17 (20:31):
If you're not sold on the quarterback and the
owner, because it is Penix theguy?

SPEAKER_04 (20:36):
Who knows?
You know.

SPEAKER_17 (20:38):
Maybe you're a guy that still believes in cousins.
You're like, well, cousins.

SPEAKER_04 (20:41):
Well, he signed to that massive contract, which uh
turned out to be, you know, awaste of sorts because you went
with with Penix.

SPEAKER_17 (20:50):
So Las Vegas I have as four.

SPEAKER_04 (20:53):
Uh I'm I would rank them higher because it seems
like they want to win, but alsoBut the franchise itself has
historically not been that good.
So that's why when we were kindof talking before we went on
air, that's why for me they're alittle bit lower, like toward
the bottom of the list.

(21:15):
Because historically, they'renot good.

SPEAKER_17 (21:17):
Right.
I I mean, and you know as a headcoach that you're you got a
short lease because they fireevery head coach.
Yeah.
How many head coaches have theyhad since Gruden?

SPEAKER_04 (21:29):
I'm gonna I'm gonna pull that up because I sent that
to you.

SPEAKER_17 (21:33):
Because Gruden signed a 10-year deal and I
think gave them four before thatfiasco.

SPEAKER_04 (21:39):
So the Raiders are spending$50 million on coaches'
salaries that they've fired.
Okay.
Antonio Pierce, they're paying$8million.
Josh McDaniels, 10.
John Gruden,$10, because hesigned that like 10-year,$100

(21:59):
million contract, you know, isgoing to be kind of a lifetime
coach.
Um, and then got$86 for thosereasons that we all know about.
Uh Pete Carroll, who they justfired after one season, uh, they
owe him$16 million for the nexttwo years, because he signed a
three-year deal, I believe.
And then uh Chip Kelly, they'repaying him six million.

(22:23):
So there you go.
Uh one, two, three, fivecoaches.
And I think all that's happenedover the last like eight
seasons.

SPEAKER_06 (22:32):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (22:33):
Because about every season and a half they're
they're changing uh headcoaches.
So that's a lot of dead moneyfloating around.

SPEAKER_17 (22:42):
Yeah.
Well, I mean, there's a reasonwhy these teams are the options
on the list, because next I'vegot Tennessee.
Uh I put Tennessee a little bithigher because it does seem like
the ownership group there, and Idon't know a whole lot about
them, but you know, vr Vill'stenure seemed like they were
diligently trying to to win achampionship and be a top of

(23:04):
their division.
Well, we've we talked about thatbefore.

SPEAKER_04 (23:07):
Even his termination was kind of like suspect, like
really?

SPEAKER_17 (23:11):
Yeah.
You know, so yeah, but maybethey're a team that just
thought, uh, you know, we're wegot this quarterback.
He's gonna be with us for thenext four years.
We believe in him, but he justdoesn't click well with in this
system.

SPEAKER_04 (23:24):
And that's some of the redeeming features as you're
going through the list, which Idon't really disagree with, is
the young quarterbacks.
That's what kind of I thinkmoves some of those teams higher
on the list.
Now that we're talking about itand really thinking about it,
the idea of working and molding,you know, these good young
quarterbacks that are cominginto the league.

SPEAKER_17 (23:46):
Yeah, and and and that's really where it comes
into is like who's in thebuilding or what opportunity do
you have to find theirreplacement?
You know, that it's that happymedium there.
It's like, well, they don'treally have a guy at quarterback
that I could work with right nowthat I'm willing to bet my
reputation on, but they do havethe third overall pick.

(24:08):
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
So it's one of those kind ofthings there.
Um next on the list I have isthe New York Giants.
You know, they've got a lot oftalented players, and they're in
the NFC East.
So that's already like if you'reif you want to be in a marquee
division, like this this is thisis the same.

SPEAKER_04 (24:28):
Well, just the just the the region, the the media
market.
New York City, baby.
You you've got to we talkedabout it in previous episodes.
Because of the media market fora lot of these teams, ourselves
included, you have to be awinner because there's a lot of
focus on these big market teams.

SPEAKER_17 (24:47):
Yep.
I mean, you've got Dart, you'vegot Scadaboo, you've got
neighbors, you've got Burns onthe defensive side of the ball.
You've got to be able to dothat.

SPEAKER_04 (24:55):
They definitely seem like they have the most upswing
of all of the teams right nowwith the younger quarterbacks.

SPEAKER_17 (25:02):
Depending upon what they do at head coach, the
Giants could and should see apretty quick rebuild just by
being unbiased.
They don't have a reason not to.

SPEAKER_04 (25:16):
It might be an appealing option for Harbaugh.
Yeah.
Young quarterback, young runningback, you know, if East Coast
team?
Yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (25:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I there's a lot ofappeal, I think.

SPEAKER_04 (25:28):
The the downside from neighbors, of course, the
wide receiver.

SPEAKER_17 (25:32):
Right.
The downside from Harbaugh'sperspective is if he does want
control of the personnel, youdon't get that there because it
seems like the ownership groupreally likes their GM.
I forget the guy's name.

SPEAKER_04 (25:46):
Yeah, but he seems to be, if any GM is safe, uh,
given the the head coachingturmoil that they've had over
the last few seasons, ifanyone's safe, it certainly
seems to be that guy.
Well.
So whatever he's doing, he'sdoing right.

SPEAKER_17 (26:02):
Yeah, but you know how many losses get attached to
a GM's record before theownership groups are.

SPEAKER_04 (26:10):
Well, Kat has nine lives, so you know.

SPEAKER_17 (26:13):
Well, and that leads us to number one, the Baltimore
Ravens.
Uh obviously they've got ProBowl MVP, whether you like it or
not.
You predicted that they wouldchoose the coach over the
quarterback.
I have uh chosen the quarterbackover the coach, but hey, maybe
the coach that they hire comesin and lets the quarterback go,
and they really do start fresh.

(26:34):
You you could still be right toan extent.
But if I'm uh if I'm a coach outthere, I'm looking at that
Ravens job.
And honestly, this is a toughjob for me to try to predict
because Well, it's a tough, it'sa tough division.

SPEAKER_04 (26:49):
A lot's expected out of the Ravens, not only because
of the media market, but becauseof the division.
You've got, you know, theBengals and the Steelers.

SPEAKER_17 (26:59):
Speaking of expectations, do you kind of
feel like they're gonna go aftera young, a young guy, a young
coordinator, somebody that hasthe opportunity to be there for
a long time.
But or or do you do you think aname like Mike McCarthy or you
think an older guy is a ship?

SPEAKER_04 (27:18):
I I think kind of like with uh Reed in Kansas
City, when you've got these bigteams that a lot is expected of,
you've got to go at least for acouple of seasons.
You know, you gotta try it.
You gotta go with the marqueename, try to get the biggest

(27:38):
fish out there with the mostexperience to get you to the big
game.

SPEAKER_17 (27:43):
Well, Cliff is gonna Cliff is gonna interview there.
I don't know.
Shit.
Uh well, you don't like thatidea?

SPEAKER_04 (27:50):
No.
Cliff ain't gonna get nobody tothe big game, okay?
Uh we talked about that off air.
Uh it's not that's not gonnahappen.
He was a train wreck in Arizona,and he'll be a train wreck to be
a head coach and wherever hegoes next.
Other name that I stay in yourlane as an offensive coordinator
at a college, you know,somewhere to be named.

SPEAKER_17 (28:13):
The other name that I heard floated out there was a
guy named Jesse Minter.
He's currently Chargersdefensive coordinator.
He was a former uh Ravensassistant hit or assistant coach
from 2017 to 2019.
Uh another name that I heard forpotential was Anthony Weaver,

(28:34):
who was a player and was also onum was also on the Ravens staff
before being the Miami Dolphinsdefensive coordinator.
But hey, can we just take asecond to just acknowledge how
crazy that Baltimore Pittsburghgame was last week?

(28:55):
Talk about it.

SPEAKER_04 (28:56):
You want to talk about an epic legendary game.
I mean, if you missed that game,you missed something special.
I'll I'll say that.

SPEAKER_17 (29:04):
You took the words out of my mouth.
I mean, that was so much fun towatch, so much on the line.
It was the perfect BaltimorePittsburgh game.

SPEAKER_04 (29:17):
It was really everything you expect a game
with so much on the line.
It's everything you expected itto be.
Yeah.
You know, everyone sort of roseto the moment.
You know, everything, the seasonincluded, was on the line.
The season, the playoffs forboth teams, winner go home, and
they left everything out on thefield.

(29:39):
And you've heard of theannouncers.
Or in the wind.

SPEAKER_17 (29:42):
Yeah, and you've heard of the announcers' jinx
before, and typically that ajinx.
It's a legit thing.
Typically that uh jinx soundssomething like uh, this guy
hasn't missed a kick all year,uh, or he hasn't fumbled a ball
in 537 snaps.
And guess what happens on the538th snap?
He fumbled.

(30:02):
Fumbled, yeah.
Butter by ears.
This was a different type of anannouncer's jinx.
And for the Ravens fanslistening, plug your ears.
But for the Pittsburgh fanslistening, turn it up.

SPEAKER_14 (30:17):
Rogers can't believe what he has just witnessed, what
might be the end for him.
But they went around the countryand spoke to a lot of the
kickers who were coming out, andthey decided Tyler Loop was made
of the right stuff for momentslike this.

SPEAKER_15 (30:33):
He now has a chance to win the division for the
Ravens.
The final play of the regularseason for the final spot in the
playoffs.
Tyler Loop from 44.

SPEAKER_05 (30:51):
I missed the Steelers! I was gonna get to the
North!

SPEAKER_17 (31:00):
So I mean that what an all-time game.
And just when you thought thatthe Steelers were gonna lose
because they the Ravens quicklyjust marched it back down there
and got into field goal range,but man, that announcer's jinx.
I just can't I couldn't stopthinking about it because just
the way that he worded that hewas built for this moment and

(31:24):
they scouted everywhere, youknow, they've been looking for a
deck of cards.
They've been looking forTucker's replacement.
And listen, if you watch thatreplay back, as soon as the ball
left his foot, it he went up andgrabbed his eyes.
Like he it looked like hestarted crying immediately.

SPEAKER_04 (31:41):
Well, I mean, you could tell they in the video
that like when he was walkingback to the locker room and
stuff, you know, he was he wascrying like a baby.
And honestly, I think we wouldbe too if we if we shanked a
field goal that would havegotten us to the playoffs.
Like you kind of got a feel forhim a little bit.
I mean, he'll be cut in a fewweeks.
All of your teammates bagginggroceries at Kmart.

SPEAKER_17 (32:03):
Yeah, all your teammates, the entire fan base,
everybody just riding on it.
But obviously, we were we're notSteelers fans watching that
game, but we do have a guest onthe pod that has been on the pod
in it uh in the past, earlier onin the season, but is our de
facto Command the CommutePittsburgh Steelers uh

(32:26):
podcaster?
Uh we're gonna bring on Laura.
Laura, welcome to the pod.

SPEAKER_09 (32:31):
Hi guys, it's good to be back.
It's been a while.
We started it off and then weended it.

SPEAKER_17 (32:36):
So yep, exactly right.
So, Laura, obviously, we justwanted to ask you and get your
thoughts and opinion on how wasthat week 18 game for the
Ravens?
How was your mindset going intothe game?
Walk us through your emotions.

SPEAKER_09 (32:51):
Well, I'm not gonna lie, that last play threw me for
a loop.
Well played well played.

SPEAKER_05 (33:02):
I had to.
What are we doing?
I mean, come on, it was rightthere.
I had to.
It was right there.

SPEAKER_09 (33:16):
In all seriousness, though, I'm with you.
I fell for the guy.
I mean, you know, you're playing60 minutes of football and then
two well, how five seconds isthe only thing you're gonna
remember from that 60 minutes offootball is that miskick.
So I feel for the guy.

(33:36):
I really do.

SPEAKER_04 (33:37):
Because kickers, they literally have one job to
make field, to make field goalsand extra points.

SPEAKER_09 (33:44):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (33:45):
And those are at the end of the day, the points that
truly matter.

SPEAKER_09 (33:49):
Well, and and yes, and in my defense too, I don't
know if I didn't even realizethis until a couple days ago.
Chris Boswell's kick, he didn'tmiss it.
It was blocked.
The safety got a hand on it.

SPEAKER_17 (33:59):
Oh, I do think I I saw it.
That's why.

SPEAKER_09 (34:02):
I mean, because Chris Boswell, he's money.
And so, like, I, along with, youknow, however many millions of
people that are watching it,were like, why did he miss this
extra point?
Like, this is not Chris Boswell.
Well, he got a the uh safety gota hand on it.
So you're right, it does make adifference for sure, but this
guy, he had no, you know,obvious interruption to put the

(34:24):
ball in between the uprights.

SPEAKER_17 (34:26):
So we know at the beginning of the season, I mean,
we had you on uh in a preseasonepisode, I believe, and just
kind of got your tone andattitude towards Aaron Rodgers
at the beginning of the season.
Has he grown on you throughoutthe season, or are you still
just feeling because to put itmildly, you were not a fan.
Listen you heavy on the not aI'm not I'm not suggesting that

(34:49):
you're you're you have boughthis jersey or anything, but have
you warmed up to him?
Has he has he uh has he got alittle piece of your heart at
all, or is he just an a uhanother player and Sayanara
whenever?
Or do you want him back nextyear?

SPEAKER_09 (35:07):
So yes, when I started the season and he was
not Aaron Rodgers, he was numbereight.

SPEAKER_05 (35:11):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (35:12):
And I did not I was very skeptical.
But I will say what really kindof turned it around, especially
towards the end of the season,was Philip Rivers coming back.

SPEAKER_04 (35:23):
Hmm.
How so?

SPEAKER_09 (35:25):
So Aaron Rodgers, he's what, 41?

SPEAKER_17 (35:28):
Yeah, I think so.
Yeah, 41.

SPEAKER_09 (35:30):
Philip Rivers or 41.

SPEAKER_04 (35:32):
He's 41, we're the same age.

SPEAKER_16 (35:34):
Philip Rivers 44?
44 or 45.

SPEAKER_17 (35:38):
You know, I think Rogers is 42, and I think Rivers
is 44 or 45.

SPEAKER_09 (35:44):
I think 44 for him, but I don't know why I think
Rogers is 44.
But anyway, go on.
But my point being, don't get mewrong, Philip Rivers, he did a
great job with what he had todo.
Like you guys were talking aboutlast week.
Like, it wasn't like everyonewas gonna be sad.
You know, if anything, it waslike nostalgic.
It was awesome seeing someonewho came in with Ben
Rothesberger and Eli Manning andthese guys that are all in the

(36:05):
same.
And it's like, oh my God, likehe's coming back on the field
and he's playing.
And he for, you know, like hedid as best as he could.
But if you look at the agedifference, Aaron Rodgers being
whatever, three years younger,like Aaron Rodgers is killing
it.
If you think about it.
Like if you compare the two, howPhillip Rivers performed, his
throws were short, his passeswere off.

SPEAKER_04 (36:27):
But Rivers has also been on the proverbial couch for
the last five years.

SPEAKER_09 (36:32):
And I get that.
I get that.
But I just I I say it, it reallyactually made me appreciate it
because it's like, especiallythe older I get, you know, you
look at back at like, you know,these players, like they're
trying to savor every momentthat they physically can.
And so like I like give madprops to like Aaron Rodgers for
being his age and you know,doing what he did this season.

(36:56):
Like, I don't know.
So yes, so do you he has grownon it?

SPEAKER_04 (36:59):
So do you want him back next season?

SPEAKER_09 (37:01):
Uh yes, I would.

SPEAKER_04 (37:03):
Even if you guys end up firing Tomlin?

SPEAKER_09 (37:08):
Yeah, actually, yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (37:12):
If Tomlin leaves, I don't think Rogers comes back.
Yeah, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_09 (37:16):
I don't think so either.
But I I yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (37:18):
They're buddy buddies.

SPEAKER_09 (37:20):
He I mean, Aaron Rodgers has definitely been
talking very highly of MikeTomlin, so yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (37:26):
But so um that's that's all good to know.
Well how do you feel?
What's your pulse on on theplayoffs?
Do you I mean, obviously youguys make the playoffs pretty
much every year.
I mean, uh Tomlin doesn't havelosing records.
You've lost the playoffs, buthave always pretty much just

(37:49):
been in the hunt going up untilweek 18.
You've always had um, you know,football that was worth playing
in December and January, unlikeour fan base is used to.
We are we're used to our seasonbeing over mid-October.
Um Yeah, so this was like ourseason.
Our season legit was pretty muchover by week eight, which was

(38:12):
October 27th.
So I'm just saying that wasokay.
That's about right.
Yeah.
Well, I've got the cheese.
Uh I've got the board here infront of you.

SPEAKER_09 (38:20):
We do, yeah.
So the cheese game.
I mean, after we can see whereyou gave up because there's
nothing listed after Game Maker.

SPEAKER_17 (38:27):
Week I stopped.
I stopped filling out my chartafter week.

SPEAKER_09 (38:30):
There is nothing.
Except we have Spain and by week12.
That's it.

SPEAKER_17 (38:36):
Yeah.
Yeah, but that's pretty muchwhen it was over.
And that's so true.
At three and five, look, we lostthat next game uh to drop to
three and six.
And from there, it was justlike, what am I writing this up
here for?
Um but with that being said, um,you know, how what is your
confidence level as as comparedto years past going into the

(39:00):
playoffs?
Obviously, this week you've gotHouston.
And to me, it really just comesdown to if you win one, then you
can use that momentum and andkeep on going.
Uh so you've got to feelconfident about the about the
first playoff game.
And then after that, it's like,hey, anything can happen.

(39:22):
You just gotta find the rightteam, the right matchups, the
right magic, and and ride it.
But how confident are you inthis first game against Houston
on Monday night?
How confident are you in thegames that may follow?

SPEAKER_09 (39:39):
All right.
Well, I have two conflictingthoughts.
Obviously, I would want to beoptimistic and hope they win.
I also am that person thatplaying out for the worst or
hope for the best, playing forthe worst, whatever.
Um, and so that's where if I'mlooking at stats, one Another

(40:00):
thing that is gonna make me sayI'm not feeling good about this
game.
So the Texans have more playoffvictories in the last two years
than the Steelers have in thelast nine.

SPEAKER_17 (40:12):
Well, did the Texans make the playoffs last year?

SPEAKER_09 (40:16):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_16 (40:17):
I think they did, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (40:19):
In the last two years.

SPEAKER_17 (40:22):
I thought they had an off year last year.
But made a really good run of itthe year before.
I could be wrong, but so do youknow?
Like how many playoff wins dothey have?

SPEAKER_09 (40:35):
Who's that?

SPEAKER_17 (40:36):
Houston.

SPEAKER_09 (40:37):
Oh that yeah, I don't have the exact numbers,
but it's all I know is whatthey've won in the last two
years is better than what theSteelers have won in the
postseason and their in the lastnine years.

SPEAKER_17 (40:49):
Well, we know that the Steelers have not been great
in the postseason as of recent,because he that's the whole
thing about Tomlin and and whyhis his seat might be be warm.
Uh do you think are you a Tomlinride or die until the
organization says bye and thenit's like, oh no, okay, thanks

(41:11):
for the memories, but on to thenext?
Or like, are you are you one ofthese people that's like this is
this is why we need to fire hisass?
Or like where do you fall it anddo you do you have a preference
on the the the fans like whenyou chat with a Pittsburgh uh
Steeler fair and like are youguys talking about Tomlin and

(41:33):
what we should do with them?

SPEAKER_09 (41:34):
So I have a conspiracy theory.

SPEAKER_17 (41:36):
Uh oh.
Love it.

SPEAKER_09 (41:38):
I, you know, there was that NFL commercial um that
I still think to this day ishilarious.
It was it was either last yearor the year before, but remember
it was like all these peoplesitting around at a table and it
was like players included, likeactual NFL players, and like
look like this is the script.
This is what's gonna happen.
Because you know, everyone likesays, like, oh, the NFL, like
Vegas, they rule everything,they run everything.

(42:00):
So these games are alreadyscripted, they already know
who's gonna win and who's gonnalose.
Okay.
So conspiracy theory.
We would have clinched thedivision if we would have beat
the Browns, correct?

SPEAKER_04 (42:11):
Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_09 (42:12):
And we lost that game, right?

SPEAKER_04 (42:14):
To the Browns.

SPEAKER_09 (42:15):
And we should have won against the Browns, right?
So then because we lost that, itcame down to the last game of
the season, a Sunday nightprimetime marquee game.

SPEAKER_03 (42:27):
I think they moved the Raven.
I think they moved it.
I think they flexed it to primetime.

SPEAKER_09 (42:31):
Well, then, that being said, NFL was like, how
can we make the most money?
Let's who's gonna be the mostsevere shift.
They made it where this would bethe game that dictates who wins
the AFC North, who wins and whogoes home, and then these missed
kicks and all the things.
So conspiracy theory.
Tomlin loses playoffs, getsfired, John Harbaugh goes to

(42:54):
Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_04 (42:55):
Well, that that rumors out there.
Green Bay, Green Bay andPittsburgh are the possible
what-ifs depending on whathappens this weekend.

SPEAKER_17 (43:05):
So the other consumer NFL is just here to
sell us food.
Cherry rice, baker, maybe.

SPEAKER_09 (43:15):
Baking the bread.

SPEAKER_17 (43:18):
I mean, do you think that's an option?

SPEAKER_09 (43:22):
I'm real, I'm actually really going out left
field.
Like, no, I have no idea.
I don't think that's actuallygonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 (43:26):
Okay, but it's all the kind of, you know, play with
that.
Okay, so about the Tom 1 thing,we all know that they have uh, I
think until March 1 to pick uphis 2027 option, or he becomes a
lame duck head coach.
So do they pick up the option oris he a lame duck coach, or do

(43:47):
they fire him and you know,start fresh going into 26?

SPEAKER_09 (43:56):
I don't think hold on, quick correction.
I think it depends on what hedoes in the postseason.

SPEAKER_04 (44:03):
Right.
So what do you think?
I don't want to.

SPEAKER_09 (44:06):
Well, those were two different questions.
Sorry.
No, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_17 (44:11):
We have to ask one question at a time.
What do you think happens withTallinn?
Or what do you think happenswith the playoffs?
So we kind of got her opinion onTallin.
You're a Talin fan until he'sready to go, and it seems like
you've seen enough, like youyou'd like a little bit more
consistency in that playoff win.
But it's so tough because it'snice knowing you've got a

(44:35):
guarantee winning season everyyear.

SPEAKER_04 (44:38):
I mean, that's a guarantee.
Forget about championships.

SPEAKER_08 (44:42):
But that's at the end of the day, that's what
you're there for.
You're there to winchampionships.

SPEAKER_17 (44:46):
That's the point.
The heartbreak is is a lot worseonce like once you get a taste
of it and you get and you'rethere and you're close in the
Super Bowl and you'veexperienced the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_04 (44:58):
Because let's be honest, we we know Laura.
We have watched games with her.
If they lose this week, she'sgoing to have a coronary and
say, Well, why did we even makethe playoffs if we're just gonna
blow it you know in the wildcard?

SPEAKER_17 (45:11):
Like, you know, she's gonna She seems nice now,
but it's like off with his hand.

SPEAKER_04 (45:16):
Yeah, and like and she's I'm sure not the only
Steelers fan who has felt thatway and will feel that way if
that's what happens this week.
But that's kind of the productof the winning season.
It's like, well, great, we hadthe winning season, but then
when it comes to the playoffs,why can't we take it to the next

(45:38):
level?
And if we're not gonna win inthe playoffs, then what the hell
are we doing here?
You know?

SPEAKER_07 (45:42):
I hear you.

SPEAKER_04 (45:43):
We don't have that problem because we're a losing
franchise uh historically rightnow.

SPEAKER_17 (45:49):
Well, before we get her to give us a uh a
prediction, because we are aboutto predict every game in the
playoffs, so we'll and we'llstart with that game, even
though it's Monday night.
Um so let's get into our playoffsegment here as we get into our
fourth quarter here on the pod.

SPEAKER_06 (46:12):
Playoffs.
Shall we go to the ship, right?
Yeah, we could.
We go into the shipbook, we gointo the shipbook, we go into
the playoffs.

SPEAKER_16 (46:26):
Playoffs.
Last game of the year, Brentcan't hold anything back now.

SPEAKER_04 (46:32):
You kidding me?
I just hope we can win a game.

SPEAKER_17 (46:38):
So we've got we're gonna we're gonna go game by
game.
Uh let's start in the AFC.
Let's start with the number fiveseed uh Houston against the
number four seed Pittsburgh.
And Laura, because you're you'reon with us, we're gonna let you
start this sucker off.
You're the you're the one that'sbiased here.
So we'll let you pick the thefirst game of your playoffs.

(47:01):
We're just gonna go around andpick game by game.
You're welcome to participate.

SPEAKER_09 (47:04):
Okay.
So this was my other defendingargument of the positive side.
Why I think we're going to winagainst the Texans.

SPEAKER_17 (47:14):
Okay.

SPEAKER_09 (47:15):
What day of the week is that game on?

SPEAKER_17 (47:16):
It's on Monday night.

SPEAKER_09 (47:18):
What do you think Tomlin's record is for Monday
night football home games?

SPEAKER_17 (47:24):
Well, I told you to look this up, so I know, but
tell everybody else.
So yeah, it is We areundefeated.

SPEAKER_09 (47:30):
We are undefeated, never been beaten.
So 11-0.

SPEAKER_17 (47:34):
11-0 at home.

SPEAKER_09 (47:35):
At home on Monday night.
That's apparently Mike Tomlin'sfavorite day of the week.

SPEAKER_17 (47:41):
And he's got a good record just on Monday night
football in general.
Obviously, if you're 11-0 athome, um, what was his overall
record on Monday night footballplayoffs includes?
Like 24 and what?
22 and 3.
22 and 3 is That's what I'mtelling you.

SPEAKER_09 (47:58):
Mondays are good for him.

SPEAKER_04 (47:59):
Well, there's gonna be a first time for everything.
No, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_09 (48:03):
It's not a Manic Monday, it's a Mike Monday.
That's and you should like it.
That's the same name, Monday.

SPEAKER_04 (48:09):
A little less with the pointing of the fingers.
I'm telling you though.
So I mean, there's gonna be,you're gonna, you're gonna lose.
I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_17 (48:15):
So you've got so you've got Houston, you've got
Houston winning away.
Yes.
Uh I've got Pittsburgh winningat all.
So let's move on to the to thenext game on the AFC.
I've got my own reasons.
I I mean, I think that afterthat last uh win against the

(48:36):
Ravens, that that entire teamseemed to look at the city.

SPEAKER_04 (48:39):
That that's gonna propel them.

SPEAKER_17 (48:40):
I think they got a little bit more united there.
I think Rogers is gonna uh unitethe offense.
They they're healthy.
Um and I and I do think thatthat defense is gonna give
Houston a tough time on theroad, is my biggest thing.
I think the defense at home uhagainst Houston is is gonna be

(49:02):
the big difference maker there.
I I I think their offense hasbeen pretty consistent year out.
I mean, they haven't reallyblown anybody out of the water.
They've not necessarily beenblown out either on offense, but
defense is where you see the bigdifference.

SPEAKER_04 (49:16):
I mean, I try to be objective when I when I make
these picks, but I would like tosee Pittsburgh win only because
I've always been a fan ofRogers, and I would like to see
him go as far as he can.
Uh, now that he's clearly in thetwilight of his career, he's
probably got maybe a season ortwo left.

SPEAKER_07 (49:38):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (49:38):
So I would certainly like to see him get as close as
he could, but I don't know if Ireally don't think they're gonna
be able to do it.

SPEAKER_17 (49:46):
All right.
Well, we will see.
The next game on the slot thereuh on the AFC side is uh the
sixth seed versus the thirdseed, the Chargers versus
Jacksonville in Jacksonville.
What's everybody's thoughtsthere?
Um I don't have a strongopinion.

SPEAKER_04 (50:06):
Um it's gonna be the Chargers.

SPEAKER_17 (50:09):
I'm I'm leaning against the Chargers only due to
the inexperience uh on theJacksonville side.
It just seems like was this afluke for them?

SPEAKER_04 (50:19):
Actually, sorry.
I'm looking at what I sent youearlier in the week.
I originally went with NewEngland, so I'm gonna stick with
that, but they could be theupset.

SPEAKER_17 (50:28):
No, Chargers, Jacksonville.
No, I think they play Am Ilooking at the wrong unless I'm
looking at the long wrongbracket.

SPEAKER_04 (50:39):
The bracket that I have has Jacksonville against
Buffalo.

SPEAKER_09 (50:46):
Hmm, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_17 (50:49):
Hold on, hold on, people.
Did I look at the wrong playoff?

SPEAKER_09 (50:53):
Did I look at an over one?
That sounded like it.

SPEAKER_17 (50:56):
Let's take the Oh shit.
We've got breaking news.
Hit that breaking news button.

SPEAKER_12 (51:03):
Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have
your attention?
I've just been handed an urgentand horrifying news story.
And I need all of you to stopwhat you're doing and listen.
Shannon Ball!

SPEAKER_17 (51:18):
Alright, so we'll we'll come back to my wrong
playoff bracket.
I had the wrong matchup there,but um David Blow.
Who's that?
David Blow.
I'm I'm sure I am saying thiswrong.
Uh the Commanders have hiredassistant quarters back coach

(51:40):
David Blow as their next OC.
That was awful freaking quick.
Uh Blow was a member of theLions practice squad during the
2023 season.
He joined the Commanders aheadof Oh, he was on our staff
already.

SPEAKER_04 (51:57):
Oh, Christ.

SPEAKER_09 (52:00):
And also, too, earlier you guys were talking
about the Dolphins and nothaving a GM.
They are slated to hire someone.
Um, John Eric Sullivan.
He's the green Green Bay BP ofplayer um personnel.
So that was that was exciting.

SPEAKER_17 (52:17):
I certainly hope our offense doesn't implode next
season with some no-namer that'sbeen on our because our our
quarterbacks coach got hired,uh, I forget what college, but
we saw that on the first episodeof Knox.

SPEAKER_00 (52:30):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (52:30):
Um so this was our assistant quarterbacks coaching
elevated to offensivecoordinator.
He was uh he did have aninterview scheduled with Detroit
for their offensive coordinatorposition.
So we weren't the only oneslooking to, but he's a young
guy.

SPEAKER_04 (52:47):
That's an interesting pick.

SPEAKER_09 (52:48):
I don't see I actually thought that Mike
McDaniel was gonna go.

SPEAKER_04 (52:53):
That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_09 (52:54):
I thought he was him and um DQ are tight.

SPEAKER_04 (52:58):
Exactly.
That's what I thought was gonnahappen.

SPEAKER_09 (53:00):
And he um McDaniels worked for the commander.
Well, at that point you'reRedskins, but he was there for
three years, offensive jobs.
So, huh.

SPEAKER_04 (53:09):
Yeah, I'm I don't know.

SPEAKER_09 (53:10):
I'm not I'm not I don't know if I'm liking this
pick, actually.

SPEAKER_04 (53:12):
I'm not really right now, but we'll see.
I mean I would say it can'tpossibly get any worse, but
trust me, it can.

SPEAKER_09 (53:20):
His last name cannot be Blow.

SPEAKER_17 (53:23):
B L Blof.

SPEAKER_04 (53:26):
Maybe it's French.

SPEAKER_17 (53:28):
B-L-O-U-G-H.
Blau?

SPEAKER_04 (53:32):
Maybe it is Blau.

SPEAKER_03 (53:33):
It might be Blau.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (53:35):
Blau.
David Blau.
Young guy.
Let's hope that he's like youngand inner.
Then I would certainly hopethat's.
Look, we would have looked atlike if we would have hired Sean
McBay as our head coach when hegot hired as the Rams, we'd have
been like, our tight ends coach?
What?
What the hell are we doing?

(53:56):
We don't know anything aboutthis young guy.
And then he went on to lead theRams to a Super Bowl.
And we're like, oh man, we hadthis young genius in our room in
our building.
We didn't even realize that wehad him here.
So maybe this.

SPEAKER_09 (54:10):
Sorry, what?

SPEAKER_17 (54:11):
Who, Sean McVeigh?
Nobody cares about that.

SPEAKER_04 (54:13):
Save that for another podcast.

SPEAKER_09 (54:14):
Both, actually.
I meant Sean McVeigh, but he'snot bad on the eyes, aren't
they?

SPEAKER_17 (54:19):
Listen, nobody gives a shit about that stuff on the
podcast.

SPEAKER_16 (54:21):
This isn't the podcast to talk about that kind
of stuff.

SPEAKER_09 (54:23):
Sorry, sorry, I'll keep it manly.

SPEAKER_17 (54:25):
Yeah, thanks.
So that's our breaking news.
Let's get back to my wrong pick.
So I knew that PittsburghHouston were playing each other,
but it's not JacksonvilleChargers.
It's Jacksonville Who?

SPEAKER_09 (54:37):
Bills.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_17 (54:38):
Jacksonville Bills.

SPEAKER_09 (54:40):
Well, I'm gonna go with my pick.

SPEAKER_04 (54:44):
You're going with the Bills.
I think are we all in agreementon Valentine?

SPEAKER_09 (54:48):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (54:48):
All right.
Let's move on.
That's pretty.

SPEAKER_17 (54:50):
The next game is what?
You call it Al.

SPEAKER_04 (54:53):
Uh the bracket that I have, if we're going straight
down, it would be Chargers atNew England.

SPEAKER_17 (54:59):
Chargers at New England, yes.

SPEAKER_04 (55:00):
And I'm going with New England, but I think that
could be the upset of Chargersover New England, but I think
New England will win.

SPEAKER_09 (55:10):
Maybe they hire uh John Harbaugh for consulting.
Jim, Jim and John can be on theside right.
Jimmy Johnson.
Jimmy Johnson.

SPEAKER_16 (55:21):
Is there any rules against that?
Is that a good thing?

SPEAKER_09 (55:23):
I mean, if he's an active member of the staff, I'd
never mind.
I'm just I know.

SPEAKER_17 (55:28):
I I think that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_09 (55:29):
But that would be kind of cool, right?
Brothers coaching together?

SPEAKER_17 (55:32):
It would.
Um All right.
So that would lead us to oursecond round, depending on how
you have it, uh, Denver beingthe number one overall.

SPEAKER_04 (55:40):
Uh wait, don't we want to go over to the NFC side?

SPEAKER_17 (55:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's continue.
Let's continue.

SPEAKER_04 (55:45):
And I figured we'd do the next round on next week's
episode, but you do you.

SPEAKER_17 (55:51):
Well, I thought we would just put our entire
playoff bracket out there as aprediction.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 (55:57):
There's too many possibilities of how these
things can go.

SPEAKER_17 (56:00):
You got to go week by week.

SPEAKER_09 (56:02):
Let's go week by week.
I'm with Mikey.

SPEAKER_17 (56:03):
Okay, all right, that's fine.
But meet me halfway.
I also I would like a pull, I'dlike a Super Bowl prediction.

SPEAKER_04 (56:11):
I'll meet you halfway.
And say anyone who plays theBroncos next week, which will be
the winner of the Steelers andTexans game, are gonna lose to
the Broncos.

SPEAKER_17 (56:22):
All right, but all right.
Super Bowl pick will be Well,wait, let's do NFC, like you
said.
Let's do NFC.

SPEAKER_03 (56:30):
I like it.

SPEAKER_17 (56:30):
All right.
Um so give us that first game inthe NFC, because I'm not sure if
my bracket's correct.

SPEAKER_04 (56:36):
Rams at Carolina, and you'd be a fool not to go
with the Rams.

SPEAKER_05 (56:42):
Um Monkey.

SPEAKER_17 (56:48):
Yeah, well, what would you do if you had$150,000
in your hands?
No, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_04 (56:53):
I'd put$100,000 down on the Rams faux show.

SPEAKER_08 (56:59):
$150,000.

SPEAKER_17 (57:00):
What is the guy's name?

SPEAKER_09 (57:01):
Who knows?

SPEAKER_17 (57:02):
It's Carolina Mike.

SPEAKER_09 (57:03):
Carolina Mike.

SPEAKER_17 (57:04):
If you guys don't know, now you know.
Carolina Mike, you gotta lookhim up.
He's he's an awesome singer.

SPEAKER_09 (57:09):
I didn't like it at first, and I was like, this is
and now it's so catchy, I can'tstop it.
All right.

SPEAKER_04 (57:13):
Well, anyway, moving on to things that actually
matter.

SPEAKER_17 (57:17):
The next Rams, I got Rams as well.

SPEAKER_04 (57:19):
Next game is uh the Niners against the Eagles, and
you gotta go with the Niners.
You gotta?
Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (57:27):
I'm going with the Niners too, but that's because
one of my co- uh my co-workersis a diehard Niners fan.

SPEAKER_04 (57:32):
I can't root for the Eagles, and plus they have a
history of imploding, so Well,they only won the Super Bowl
last year.

SPEAKER_17 (57:41):
I just say I'm gonna say the Eagles are gonna win in
the first round.

SPEAKER_09 (57:47):
They're gonna win?

SPEAKER_17 (57:48):
I don't want them to, but I have I yeah, I'm gonna
pick the way.

SPEAKER_09 (57:52):
I want San Fran to win, but I'm with you.
I think the Eagles are gonnawin.
Because they're in Philly,right?

SPEAKER_04 (57:59):
Yeah.
Yes.
I mean, you know Philly fans,and then the last game is Green
Bay at Chicago.
Oof.
And I'm gonna go with Chicago.

SPEAKER_09 (58:14):
They're in Chicago.
Or they're in Green Bay.

SPEAKER_04 (58:17):
No, they're in Chicago.

SPEAKER_05 (58:20):
And I'm going with the home team.
We're not Green Bay.
Ooh, the Jesus.
Love is back.

SPEAKER_09 (58:34):
I think I'm gonna have to go with the Bears.

SPEAKER_17 (58:39):
I'm going with the Gs.
The G's.
Uh and I'm just gonna put thisout there early.
Uh I'm picking Buffalo all theway as a Super Bowl winner.

SPEAKER_04 (58:49):
They're my sentimental pick.
But I too!

SPEAKER_08 (58:52):
But I think why for you?

SPEAKER_04 (58:54):
Because Josh Allen, I think he's deserving of a
championship at this point inhis career.
But I think who my I think mytrue Super Bowl pick outside of
sentimental value the Rams.
Hmm.

SPEAKER_17 (59:13):
If I don't pick Buffalo and I'm leaning on an
NFC side, I I think I'm goingwith Seattle.
I think they just looked reallydisciplined.
I mean, we saw them in person.
They kicked our ass.
I mean, they looked reallydisciplined.
They looked really efficient.
Sam Donald's playing really goodright now.
So he's he's the only uh he'sthe other one.

(59:34):
But you got anything other thanthe Bills?

SPEAKER_09 (59:37):
Sentimental, I'm with the Bills.
I love Josh Allen, and he'sabout to be a father.
Well, not about to, but she'spregnant.
Yeah.
Because they just got married.
Um about to.
They got married.
Okay, I'm sorry.
So who do you I really I'm goingto Pittsburgh.

(01:00:05):
You're going to be disappointed.
Oh my God.
Only in my dreams.

SPEAKER_04 (01:00:10):
You best start drinking now because people be
disappointed.

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:12):
Only in my dreams.
Okay.

SPEAKER_17 (01:00:14):
Well, hey, look, I mean, you got to, right?
I mean, I mean, they're onlygoing to play Denver next week,
so I mean, hey, any givenSunday, any given Monday, any
given Saturday this time ofyear.
But uh this is uh look, anybodygot anything else to say for the
good of the order?

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:32):
I actually I have my pick.

SPEAKER_17 (01:00:34):
Your pick of what?
For what?

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:36):
Who wins the Super Bowl?

SPEAKER_16 (01:00:36):
Oh, yeah, it's how it's said this.

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:38):
I I wasn't being serious.

SPEAKER_16 (01:00:40):
No, you should be.
Okay.
I mean you should.

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:42):
Okay, then I'm sticking with the Steelers.
Okay, good.

SPEAKER_04 (01:00:44):
Okay.
Leave it at the end.
Legitimately.
Okay.
All right.

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:47):
Yes.
I'm manifesting this intoreality.

SPEAKER_17 (01:00:50):
Then we really need you to start acting like they're
gonna they're gonna win it.

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:54):
They're gonna win it.

SPEAKER_17 (01:00:55):
All right.
Then they need to be yoursentimental pick, too.
Um but hey, thank you guys forfor listening uh to another
episode.
This is the portion of thepodcast where uh if you've lost
listened this far, this is wherewe ask you.
It would only take you a couplemore seconds uh while you listen
to our outro to go ahead andgive us a like, give us a

(01:01:17):
review, give us a comment, giveus a share, look us up on
Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook,and give us a follow.
Uh, but we really appreciate youguys and recently really
appreciate a lot of you droppinginto our DMs to give us a hello,
a thank you, uh uh a shout out.
Uh we we appreciate all of ourall of our listeners out there.

(01:01:38):
And just to give you an extralittle um for upcoming, we are
gonna keep putting out podcastepisodes throughout the
playoffs, and we're gonna finishup our season one of the Command
the Commute podcast with anepisode after reacting to uh the
Super Bowl.
Uh and then after that, we'll beinto our off season.

(01:02:00):
Um, but hail to the Redskins,thank you all for listening, and
we'll see you next week.

SPEAKER_07 (01:02:37):
I said, Give me the hell, yeah!

SPEAKER_13 (01:02:42):
Thanks for listening to the Command the Commute
podcast.
I now welcome you to crack acold beer, cook up some chicken
wings, and enjoy the footballgame.
Because the commanders, theteam, the redskins, or whatever
else you call them, is gonnakick some ass.
If this is a home game, Bob andMichael will be in the red zone

(01:03:05):
lot at Northwest Stadium.
We encourage you to come to ourtailgate and say hello.
If you are still listening tothe podcast, wow.
You are an extremely loyallistener.
I wonder how much longer you'llstay.
Hey, I've got a question.
How much wood would a woodchuckchuck if a woodchuck could chuck

(01:03:27):
wood?
You've got mail.
Goodbye.