December 22, 2025 • 43 mins
Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is reacting LIVE immediately following the Week 16 NFL Sunday Night Football matchup between Drake Maye and the New England Patriots vs. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. John will react to the biggest plays of the day, breaking news around the NFL and college football, and much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is going on everybody? How are we doing?
John Middlecoff three and our podcast brought to you by
my friends at Zone Pouches. How are we doing? Hopefully
(00:24):
you are doing better than Lamar Jackson the Ravens, who
I would say unofficially we're ko tonight from the playoffs.
Drake May throws his hat back into the ring for
the MVP discussion, has a fantastic second half, threw a
beautiful touchdown down the stretch. Nice win for Vrabel and
the Pats on the road. Controversial ending with the Lions game.
(00:48):
I want to discuss the Jags go from the little
small market team to dominating the Broncos today. That was
one of the more eye opening games I would say
so far of the year. It's like, WHOA didn't see
that one coming, especially because I had Denver in that game.
But that was a butt whooping. Some playoff thoughts, a
(01:09):
couple other little thoughts from the day, and yeah, a
little bit of a come down after the Bears game
last night. Not the greatest slate but still, I mean,
we're not going to complain about football because it's December twentieth,
so we only have so much football left, so we
got to enjoy it while we have it. But before
before we talk about any football, you know, and you
(01:31):
subscribe to the podcast, So if you listen on Collins Feed,
make sure you subscribe, Spotify, Apple, wherever you may listen,
subscribe to the YouTube channel. We'll be live tomorrow on
the tube after the forty nine ers beat the Colts,
So get ready for that. Before we dive in any football,
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Swipe tap ticket, go download the game Time app. Today,
when Lamar got hit in the back and he got
knocked out of the game, the first thing I wrote down,
if you are going to be a Super Bowl contender,
(02:57):
which I don't know. A month ago I thought the
Patriots were, and then after the Josh Allen experience, you went, well,
you just chalk that up to Josh being Josh? Or
is the Patriots showing some flaws? And then you're watching
tonight like are they gonna lose on the road, Which
isn't that crazy of a loss. The Ravens are. They're
not having a great season, but they're one of the
best organizations in the league. And the moment Lamar got
(03:20):
knocked out, I wrote down, if you're gonna be a
Super Bowl contender, you don't lose to Tyler Huntley. Now
that being said, a lot like last night with Malik
willis really good organizations function at a pretty high level
when their backup quarterback comes in in the middle of
a game when he doesn't know or is prepared to
be the player. Right when you're the backup quarterback, you
(03:41):
run the scout team. You don't take reps in practice.
The game plan is not built or has anything to
do with you. You have not taken physical reps with
the game plan on a weekly basis. Basically everything is mental.
Your physical preparation is typically done to serve the defense
of the scout team quarterback. But as we saw with
(04:03):
Milik Willis and we saw flashes tonight with Tyler Huntley,
there actually are some similarities. Milik Willis a couple of
years ago was a laughingstock. I watched a lot of
Pac twelve football when Tyler Huntley was done playing at Utah.
It never crossed my mind that he would have an
NFL career, Like I didn't think he would ever play
in the NFL, let alone be a long time backup.
(04:24):
It's really really impressive what he did. And then the
game started getting weird. You know, Drake May had a fumble.
They ran the fake punt, which I have no problem with.
You're on the road. You're eleven and three. Your last
two games are the Jets and the Dolphins, Like put
your nuts on the table, and the play call which
had one option was covered and you were screwed. It's like,
(04:46):
maybe it's not gonna be your night. And then Drake May.
I thought he was fantastic in the second half. Obviously
the deep touchdown pass to Kyle Williams. But you talk
about a guy that's poised, who's under control, and he
just was excellent. And I think a lot like the
Bears playing the backup quarterback last night. A good coaching
(05:08):
staff with a young quarterback in that position. Obviously the
Bears needed a freak on side kick in this game.
It was like, we can win this game, and there's
just a confidence with Vrabel on the sideline, with Drake May,
who throws. I mean, I would say the prettiest deep
ball I've ever seen was like prime Russell Wilson. It
(05:29):
didn't get any better the arc. I mean, it was
just it was a thing of beauty. It's something that
you would put like best attributes of all time, like legs,
arm strength, you know, deep passes, Like I would say
his deep ball was as good as any in league history,
that being Drake May going back to like Kenny Stabler
(05:50):
or something, or excuse me, Russell Wilson, I would say
Drake May, early on in his career throws an absolute
gorgeous people that is perfectly you know, the accuracy on it,
the ability to like put it on the right shoulder
because part of a deep pass, you know, depending on
the positioning of the defender. The positioning of the ball
(06:13):
is really really important. Like in his heyday, Brady and
Rady Moss, it was always over his back shoulder. Randy
was great at putting his hands out, you know, right
until the last second, so the dB didn't do anything.
And you saw to night that played at Kyle Williams
down the sideline was really a thing of beauty. He
ended up thirty one to forty four for two hundred
(06:35):
or for two touchdowns, and I think he threw for
like three hundred and forty yards and he pull up
the box score here really quick. Yeah, three hundred and
eighty yards. And he's blown me away. This year. I
think him and Caleb the coaching really matters. I mean,
nothing has been on more full display this season than
(06:56):
Drake May and Caleb Williams, around competent leadership, around competent coaching,
around a competent vision. We saw it last night and
over the course of the season with the Bears, and
we have seen it over the course of the season
with Drake May. And here's the other thing with Drake May.
Last week, as the game unraveled, I thought Josh McDaniels
(07:18):
kind of called crappy last couple series. His quarterback was
a little frazzled. Their offense wasn't operating at a high level,
and he didn't call any run plays and it kind
of all fell on Drake and kind of crumbled. The
offense looked terrible. They didn't gain any yards and they
went three and out and then they went turnover on
downs in four plays. And tonight, the efficiency, the play calling,
(07:40):
scheming guys wide open, taking advantage. Like Marlon Humphrey has
had a fantastic career. He's been a really good player
in his younger days. At this point in time, if
you get him in one on one situations, he's had
a major disadvantage. And Josh had him circled, you know,
like we are going to attack you over and over
(08:01):
and over again with different players and that's exactly what
they did. Hell I mean the play to boot butte Bute,
I think, not Bootie. He tackled him. Now he caught it.
But when he caught it and then he dropped it,
Martin Humphrey could have just grabbed the ball. But what
do you think he thought he just got the pass
(08:22):
interference because they tackled him in the open field. Then
he turns around, there's no flags, like, what the hell
just happened? He could have just grabbed the ball for
an interception, but he kind of playfully hit it because
he thought he was screwed. And I think the coaching
with New England, I think the growth of Drake May,
I mean digs tonight was a monster. When you have
nine for one thirty eight. Obviously the big play late
(08:45):
in the game on the out route when the when
the Ravens starts sitting on some of the quicker stuff.
But I was really really impressed with Drake May down
the stretch after again a little bit of a rocky start.
The turnover. Good coaching builds guys up. They don't let
their good players and the guys that they're going to
depend on go into a hole. That they're too in football,
(09:07):
you're too dependent on those guys, especially a young quarterback,
and if they're confident, if they're confident spirals and disappears,
you're just you know, Upshit's creek without a paddle and
they're you know, uplifting of Drake May after last week
to this week getting a little weird on the road
against a desperate team, I mean a desperate team to
(09:28):
come out and down the stretch just kind of kick
their ass. Now you can say they're missing Lamar, and
obviously that was huge, right, But I've gained not that
I didn't have a ton of respect for Lamar, because
I think over the course of the last several years
he just became an elite player. I know he did
not play well in the playoffs. It's well documented. Anyone
that watched the met like kind of look like a
(09:49):
different guy. Honestly, beside the one half was it against
Buffalo last year. For the most part, I think he's
been bad in the playoffs relative with what he was
in the regular season. This season has not gone great
for him in terms of like relative to some of
his previous statistical years. He's obviously been banged up, but
I feel like he's played injured the entire season, and
(10:11):
he's kind of represented what the Ravens stand for is like,
this is a tough fucking organization and we're gonna go
down swinging, and that's kind of what they did tonight.
But the reality is is their season's over. Like the
Steelers are not losing to the Browns next week, no chance,
so especially now given that if they win that game,
this division is over. If you would have told me
(10:32):
a couple of weeks ago that Week eighteen against the
Steelers would not have mattered, I don't think I would
have believed you. But you could have told me a
lot of things several weeks ago, and I definitely wouldn't
have believed you about the way this kind of playoff
picture has played out, or about the way some of
these teams have played out. But I just thought the
Ravens would figure out a way just to limp there,
(10:53):
even if they didn't get it this year, right, Like
I mean, obviously the Steelers beat him a couple weeks ago.
I think the Steelers have kind of found some of
their mojo, but this thing's over, and there have been
questions out there at least by the fans of like
has this kind of situation run its course, right. We've
talked about this before with the Lions, and we'll get
into it here in a little bit when we talk
(11:13):
about that game. But like windows do close with the
group of certain players under contract who were in the
prime of their career, Like you see with the Chiefs,
the group of guys they had that they made their
Super Bowl runs with will look dramatically different at the
start of next year. Chris Jones will be gone, Kelsey
Privy retired, Joe Tooney's already been traded. Like it's it's
(11:35):
just over for a core group of guys that you
made a large run with. Now some guys will carry over,
some younger players. McDuffie, Carl loftis right, but there's a
lot of new faces. And I think the same thing
with the Ravens. I think this team is gonna look
dramatically different next year. And they, like the Steelers, have
been very consistent. Why they've had the same coach what
(11:55):
feels like for twenty years and you know exactly what
you're gonna get season in, season out, and typically especially
over the course of the last four or five years, They've
easily been one of the best teams in the NFL,
but they had some injuries. Some of their guys got old. Obviously,
Lamar Jackson has just been injured throughout the season. I
don't care what the injury report says. I can use
(12:16):
my eyes. He hasn't looked the same. Like I'm watching
Drake may like looks like fully healthy to me. I'm
watching Kayleb Williams last night, looks fully healthy to me.
Like I've been watching Lamar Jackson long enough to know, like,
h it doesn't quite look right. He kind of found
some mojo last week, but clearly he's been battle stuff
because he gets hit weird and then boom he's out
for the game. And it wasn't the reason they lost tonight,
(12:37):
because again I have a lot of respect, you know
for Huntley, a guy that again never thought he'd be
in the league. Went nine to ten only through for
sixty five yards. But yeah, I just obviously there's a
massive drop off between those two guys. But they're season's over.
I mean, like I said, the Steelers are beating the Browns,
and I think the Ravens will be officially eliminated from
(12:59):
the player now what to see? You know, the Patriots
the next two weeks. They it's really it's crazy to
say this because you're like, they've been so terrible, but
it's kind of unfathomable how bad the Jets are, Like
they've been a really bad franchise over the past decade plus.
(13:20):
But you watch him over the course in the last
several weeks, You're like, I don't think you could get
any worse. Like today, the Raiders showed a lot of heart. Jent,
he made a bunch of plays. The Titans like played
pretty well today. Now the Chiefs were playing with a
guy that I don't think any of us literally have
ever heard of. I had to go immediately to the
(13:41):
wiki page, like who is this guy? He's been on
the practice squad for the Steelers, Like, what's this guy's deal?
He's in the league, he's got two rings on the
practice squad for the Chiefs, But like, what is going
on with the Jets? They don't even try. Patriots are
winning that game, and then they get the Dolphins. Who
has reading the story. They had a guy that they
made an act of today that if he leaves they
get a com pick, and it's like, oh, they're tanking,
(14:02):
which right move. So the Patriots are gonna win the
next two weeks. Now, the Broncos get the Chiefs on
Thursday night, Minshew towards ACL today, so they're gonna see
that backup quarterback that again, no one's ever heard of.
So we'll have to see how this plays out, and
they both might end up fourteen and three, So I
don't know who gets the tiebreaker there, but I think
the AFC playoff picture is basically taking shape. You know,
(14:26):
the Texans or excuse me, the Colts are technically still alive,
but if they lose tomorrow, they wouldn't be mathematically eliminated,
but to me, it would be over because they would
be eight and seven. Their last two games would be
against the Jags and the Texans. The Texans already have
ten wins, so they would need the Texans to lose
(14:46):
out and pretty sure that Texans play the Titans this week. No,
they excuse me, they play the Chargers this week, actually
a pretty good game, that's a Saturday game, but then
they play the Colts the last game of the season.
But I just think the Colts, I think they're done.
I think we know the AFC it's Denver, New England.
(15:08):
In whatever order it plays out, the Jags, who will
talk about in a second, the Steelers, the Chargers, the Bills,
and the Texans. That's a pretty good AFC playoff, Pictuer.
Part of the reason it's really good is that, depending
on the order and the seeding, how this plays out.
If the three wild cards teams in whatever order are
the Chargers, the Bills, and the Texans, I don't think
(15:30):
any of us would be shocked if two of the
three of those teams win. It is not inconceivable that
the Chargers with Herbert and Harbaugh, the Bills with Josh
Allen who had a weird game today, and the Texans,
who also kind of had a weird game today, but
they have won seven straight games, So your boy had them,
you know, minus fourteen and a half. I was pretty
(15:51):
doubted on that game. Actually, I kind of came away
like I'm kind of roomed for genty. It was kind
of fun, suck to lose, but Texas still pulled it out.
I would not shocked me. They're all gonna be very,
very live dogs depending on the matchups. You know, it's
crazy if you're the Jags and you have a fantastic
season and you dropped Josh Allen in the first round.
(16:12):
It's like that kind of sucks, you know. The Steelers
getting the Chargers. That's a little bit of the Spider
Man meme of them pointing at each other. That is
a I mean, it's a game that the Steelers can win.
We'll see if TJ. Watt can come back. But you
know it's gonna be hard to bet, you know against
Harbaugh and the Chargers that are gonna have a lot
of momentum going in. And then the Texans, you know,
(16:33):
against the New England Patriots that's or the Broncos. That's
just a tough, tough matchup if you're the two seed.
I mean, it really is, because most years the Texans
are better than a seventh seed, right They have an
elite defense. CJ was a little hit all over the
place today, But at the end of the day, like
I think the Texans, they would be the type team
(16:53):
that I would want no part of in a playoff game,
just because their defense is so good. At any moment,
pick six strip six game could just get really really good.
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(17:45):
the end of the Lions game, there has been a
lot of talk and people scream in Lions fans mad.
I get text from buddies about how bad the refs
are and don't get me wrong, the officiating is today
was really bad. I mean there are some call it
feels like guys are either afraid to blow the whistle
(18:05):
or get really whistle happy. There's no like middle ground, right.
I can disagree with certain calls, like the body weight call.
It's like, what is the guy supposed to do? He's
three hundred pounds, He's sacking the quarterback? Is he's supposed
to float away. But so many plays in the secondary
with past interference or defensive holding, it just feels so subjective,
(18:29):
so so random, Right, It's just like, I what what
are you seeing? Some referee see it one way, other
guys see it other way. Obviously, sometimes it's pretty clear
and obvious, but throughout the throughout the day and throughout
honestly the season, you just don't know what you're getting
game to game, play to play. But the last play
in the Lions game one, I feel no sympathy for
(18:49):
the Lions. Nut it's not their fault. Maybe it is.
I mean, I don't know their training and practice habits.
They have a million injuries every single year. And even
today the I forget who's calling the game, was like,
they're down to their third center and defensively they're just
a mass unit in the secondary. They're down twenty nine
to seventeen in the fourth quarter. It was yeah, it
(19:11):
was Nanson Romo that it was just you're down twenty
nine to seventeen in a game that is basically for
your season. And even Dan Campbell said when he addressed
the team, he said that that might have been our
last chance, right, So he's no du I mean he understood.
I'm sure that they built this thing as like all
of our chips are in the middle of the table
for this game, and you kind of get worked by
(19:33):
a team who's star wide receiver hit a fan who
you could argue their second best quote unquote receiver is
a three hundred pound tight end who actually is a
freak talent, but probably should be playing right tackle if
he wants to maximize profits. I just think that they
worked you. Now you came back at the end, it
got weird. They missed a field goal, but the final play,
(19:56):
give me a fucking break. There is a thing called
forward progress or just like the play is over, and
it was pretty clear that one he not only didn't
cross the goal line, but they drove him back like
five yards. And in twenty twenty five, with officiating, you
can't slam the guy to the ground. You can't make
(20:18):
sure everyone knows they tackled. You were taught to kind
of like after a couple steps, kind of stopped, just
like play it to the whistle. Not in twenty five.
You know, in this day and age, right, you don't
want to get a penalty, give him another free play.
By the time that he lateraled it to Jared Goff,
it felt like the play had been over for two seconds.
(20:38):
Anyone complaining. Now we could argue whether it was offensive
pass interference or not. I'd argue it's irrelevant because he
didn't score a touchdown. He would have been tackled, they
didn't have timeouts, the game would have been over. But
like I said, when you were making Jalen Warren look
like Barry Sanders, I'm not gonna feel bad for you. You're
(21:00):
not a playoff team this year. And I'm a Dan
Campbell Jared Goff Lions fan. I have rooted for the
team just because I like what they stood for. I've
had a ton of admiration for how they've rebuilt this operation.
But give me a break with everyone screaming and bitching
and moaning about the way the game ended. Yeah, referees
(21:22):
are idiots, Like I don't even I'm not even listening
to what they said because it didn't even matter even
if the past interference hadn't happened, that there was no
lateral in this notion that like well, by the letter
of the law, no, he was clearly tackled and it
was over. What are we talking about? So I just
do not understand. If they would have allowed that lateral
(21:46):
to happen, that would have been one of the biggest
con jobs, Ponzi schemes, fugazi's in the history of the NFL.
It would have been the most outrageous thing I've ever
seen in my entire life. And we've seen some crazy ones.
The des catch I'm probably I can't, I'm so tired
right now, I can't even you know, come up with five.
(22:07):
But we've seen a lot, especially recently, but that would
have been the worst one of all time. I truly
believe that if they would have allowed a lateral after
he had been driven back for five yards and neither
guy is trying to get a penalty, like you lost
farre and square, and now you know, essentially you are
eliminated because you get you know, the Vikings this week,
(22:29):
who are gonna have their backup quarterback because JJ McCarthy's
probably gonna be out for the season with them fucked
up hand. But the Packers have to win one of
these last two games, and to me, the Packers are
a much better team. The Packers deserve to be in
the playoffs. They didn't deserve to win the last game
against the Bears because they screwed up the on side kick.
But to me, like if you said, who's more deserving
(22:52):
out of those two teams, like, I'm sorry, the Packers
are and the Jags clearly shun Payton this week when
he made the about it's like, really impressive coming from
a small market. He's worked in a small market like
New Orleans is not treated like the Dallas Cowboys, the
Green Bay Packers. I know they're a small market, but
they're treated like a major brand, the forty nine Ers,
(23:14):
the Philadelphia Eagles, like these major teams that we don't
talk about. The Jacks. He was just speaking facts. This
wasn't college. He wasn't being offended that your town smaller
than others. To me, the way I took it is
like they're a really good team. They just play in
a market that no one pays attention. I told Coward
earlier today, They're like, are they even a top five
(23:36):
most famous football team in their own state, college, high school,
and pro? I think the answer would be no. The
U Florida State University of Florida, the Miami Dolphins, Saint
Thomas Aquinas. I mean, what are we talking about here.
Now that being said about the market size and their
visibility nationally, which I don't think it's really disputed. Most
(23:58):
people aren't locked in on Jags game, myself included. I
mean I have every game on all the time, but
like about watching all their snaps most times because historically
they've never mattered. They have been bad for so long.
They are no longer bad. Today was really impressive. They
dominated that game. They destroyed Denver. They were unstoppable on offense.
(24:22):
Liam Cohen as Trevor Lawrence looked like he's back at Clemson.
He was fantastic today. I mean his throws in the
red zone. I mean he looks like, I don't know,
like Josh Allen or Justin Herbert, moving around with his feet,
accurate on throws, just under complete control. Defensively, they're really physical,
they are, and this speaks to what Sean Payton is
(24:43):
talking about. Ben Johnson is getting a ton of credit.
The Bears and the Jags are the same. They have
sucked for a while now. The difference is the Bears
have a lot of history and they are in one
of our biggest, most important cities in America. So when
they are good, they are a MA your story right.
So Ben Johnson has turned Chicago around overnight. Liam Cohen
(25:06):
has turned around the Jags around overnight. Yet we have
been talking about the Bears, Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson
twenty four to seven, three sixty five all year. I'm
as guilty as anybody. They're a fascinating story. But a
lot of people are paying attention. We have not been
talking about the Jacks. It's like, yeah, Liam Cohen, what
he's doing. Like what he's doing, I'm blown away. Like
(25:26):
watching that game today, I kept waiting. I was like this,
this is not gonna hold, and it's like, boom, another touchdown,
Boom another touchdown. Parker Washington. Is that Jerry Rice knows
Parker Washington, etn. He was like, we are blasting these guys.
What was the final score of that game, because it
doesn't feel as close as the final score was. The
final score was thirty four to twenty. I felt worse
(25:51):
than that, especially in the second half. That that was
I mean bo Nick's to a terrible pick right to
the defender, and then they immediately scored again and basically
ran the same play like back to back series to
Parker Washington where you like made one guy miss all
of a sudden, he's just free down the sideline. That
was really impressive. I was I was blown away, it
(26:14):
really was. I tweeted this. I don't know if I
really believe it, but I definitely don't not believe it. Like,
could the Jags win the Super Bowl? I mean, could
the Jags beat the Steelers? Yes? Could the Jags beat
the Chargers yes? Could the Jags beat the Bills? Yes?
Could the Jags beat the Texans? They have and they
the game they lost to him. I think they were
up twenty nine to ten. Could they beat the Broncos?
(26:37):
We just saw him do it. It's like, I don't know
why they couldn't win, you know, THEFC Now they're probably
gonna end up with the with the three seed because,
like we said, the Patriots schedules really easy, and now
the Chargers get Gardner Minshew's back up, and the Chargers, who,
(26:58):
depending on what happens this week, might even have nothing
to play for. And even if they do, and it's
the difference between the five or six seed, wouldn't be shocking.
Some of these teams are gonna rest people Week eight
team if they basically know I'm gonna be the five
or six seed, but whatever, I don't care either way.
Sean mcvade did this a couple of years ago. I'm
not playing people week a team, and he did it
(27:20):
years ago in the preseason. Everyone copied him. I do
think more and more teams if it's like the difference
between the six or the seventh seed or the five
and the sixth seed, it's like, I'm not risking and
getting a starter injured when I know for a fact
I'm gonna play the next week. And I think you
can justify that. I wouldn't blame any team for doing
that because like, well, I'd rather play the Panthers, or
I'd rather play the Steelers than the Jags, like I
(27:43):
just need. I cannot lose my star fill in the
blank player in a game that like, well, it could
have changed the seeding, but regardless, I was playing next
week anyway. And listen, it's the playoffs. All these teams
are hard at the end of the day, you know,
especially in the AFC. Like I'm not playing Brady or
man here, Patrick Mahomes is in a hospital bed somewhere,
(28:03):
so it's like it is what it is. But man
I nothing but nothing but respect for the Jags day
that that was really really impressive, and the Lions losing
makes it official. The forty Diners and the Bears are
in the playoffs, so basically the NFC playoffs now, I
(28:26):
think it's set unless the Packers seriously implode. They play
the Ravens this week, but that might be against Tyler
Huntley and I would like him in that spot, and
then the last week the Packers. There's so much stuff
going on in my head right now. The Packers play
the Vikings, who are gonna have you know, the quarterback
(28:49):
Bosmer is just atrocious. So I would expect the Packers
to win the next two games. Technically they're not dead
for the division. They would need the Bears to lose
the last two games, but they could potentially. They are
playing the Lions week eighteen, who would have nothing to
play for so and the Bears have a huge advantage
coming up here this week playing the forty nine ers.
But either way, I do think it's right in the
(29:12):
NFC right the Rams Seattle, the Niners all in, the
Bears in, the Eagles are in, and in some combination.
I don't think it matters because whoever they play, whether
it be the Bears, the Niners, Seattle or the Rams. Again,
a lot can change over the next couple weeks in
terms of seating. I do think whoever gets in the
(29:33):
Panthers or the Buccaneers will be an underdog, especially the Panthers,
who actually weren't terrible today. Part of it is the
Bucks defense is so bad. Bryce kind of runs around.
McMillan's a good player, and Baker just is, I don't know,
a shell of himself. It's crazy that MVP bet that
kind of felt good a month in. I mean feels
(29:53):
like you want drugs. What were you even talking about?
Because even on that final drive to day, I'll be honest,
I didn't have much faith it was gonna drive him
down for a game. When he touchdown, I thought I'd
get him in a field goal range for like, it
never crossed my mind like he's gonna drive him down
for a game when he touchdown. I didn't think he
was going to do it. Now, I didn't necessarily think
(30:13):
he was gonna throw an interception right to a guy.
But that's what happened. And when it happened, I was like, yeah,
that happened. A lot. So you know, I think whoever
gets the five seed in the NFC is pretty powerful
because it draws you one of those two teams. Especially
to me, if it's the Panthers that I don't think
there will be a soul that will believe that they
(30:35):
can win a playoff game, and I think they would
be correct. And the seventh seed, like, let's say the
Bears get the two, I think the Packers would like
their chances in a rematch. And that's not trying to
diminish anything about the Bears, but you know, we've seen
those two teams play. Both games have been a coin
flip at the end of the game. But the Packers
(30:59):
have had the lead, you know, the whole time. They
had the lead the whole time in the first game,
and I mean they were up sixteen, they were up
ten plus points, you know, in the second half. And again,
what the Bears are doing feels a little bit that
it's more sustainable. I think they have a lot more
young players. I would take Ben Johnson seven days a
week ten times. I think Dan Quinn's a little overrated,
(31:21):
nice guy, good energy, it feels like an uplifter, But
like I think he's a little bit of a roller coaster.
Everyone in the league would take Ben Johnson over Dan Quinn,
but a little bit like that team last year of
just like everything was breaking their way. That's what the
Bears kind of feel like right now and rightfully so
the football gods owe them one. And it was really
really cool to see that city alive. Some of you
(31:44):
guys dming me that. I had a guy that says,
like a run a restaurant and Mike Cooks and everyone
in the restaurant was standing up and hugging, and it's
a powerful moment in the city. Everyone felt together, and
that's cool. One of our big markets, one of our
our teams that really matters, you know, grown up in
the Bear like the forty nine ers really really matter.
(32:05):
And I've been there. When they're humming, it's a powerful thing.
When they suck, it's it's it's not as fun and
for Bears fans like it's it's been really ugly for
a long time. And to have that moment against Green Bay,
you know, was really really cool. And I think we're
gonna get some major star power in the NFC now
that the Bears are in. Obviously the Eagles you got
(32:28):
Sean McVay, you got Kyle Shanahan. You know, the Packers
will be in and the Seattle Seahawks, so you know,
lots on the line. With the seating, you could argue
this year in the NFL, you know everything being so close,
seating might meet a little less Like none of these
matchups beside the Carolina Panthers, I could see any team
(32:49):
beating the other like no team like Seattle playing the Packers,
the Niners playing the Bears, the Eagles playing the Rams.
All these games go either way. That that's gonna be
what's really fun about January. And I would say the
same thing for the AFC, like would you be shocked
if the Bills beat the Jags or if the Chargers
(33:09):
or the Steelers? Like that to me is a coin
flip game. The Texans could take out the Patriots in
the first round of the playoffs. I think it's the
first time in a long time that you go, yeah,
there are probably three teams that can win the Super Bowl.
I don't know if all four team can, but I
think you could make an argument the number is closer
to ten than it is three, and that's cool. And
(33:32):
I think you could say somewhat about that in college football,
even though it does feel like if they play their
best game, Ohio State's probably the best team and more
than likely if you're gonna find people to bet on it,
like probably Ohio State of Georgia, but it wouldn't stunt you.
Like Texas Tech paid twenty five million dollars for their roster.
They're really good. You know, Oregon has a highly paid roster.
Ole miss pretty good. They took Georgia down to the
(33:56):
line at Georgia earlier this year, like they could play
you know. So it's that's what's cool. This for the
first time in college football at the NIL is like
everyone's kind of alive. And that's what the NFL kind
of feels like right now. Ten plus teams going into
the playoffs are gonna go. We got a chance to
win the Super Bowl? Because did everyone feel that the
last couple of years, I don't think so. Do you
(34:17):
think people thought they were winning beating Patrick Mahomes? No,
deep down, no chance and they never did. I mean
they did. The NFC might have been a little more
open the last couple of years, but it has definitely
never been more open than it is right now. So
I'm excited to watch this play out, and it kind
of sucks that our future partners, you know, this good
(34:39):
Christmas Day games look good at the start of the year,
but you know, injuries. We had a time today where
JJ McCarthy was hurt, Josh Allen limped out of the
game because he rolled an ankle, something happened to Shador's finger,
Minshew towards ACL. At one point in time this morning,
like four or five quarterbacks were out of the game.
(35:00):
It's like this is this season is kind of unraveling.
A couple of things I wrote down before we get
out of here. I understand guys are paid a lot
of money, and your job, whether your team's good or
whether the team's bad, is to play hard and try
and effort. And of course guys should play hard. That's
(35:21):
not the case you look around the league some of
these bad teams. It's a really hard watch. And I
was a little more locked in on the Raider Texan
game because I had the Texans and they had They
were on my own little TV just by themselves, and
I couldn't get over and listen. This guy's a stud.
(35:43):
But the effort in which Max Crosby, and I understand
he always plays like this. I felt like today he
even went up a level. And maybe it's because two
of the best pass rushers in the league are on
the Texan They're known as the best defense. His team
is just a laughing stock. He played today like they
were playing win or get into the playoffs. He played
(36:04):
so hard. He reminded me of a guy that if
you're scouting and you go, hey, this guy plays for
one of the worst teams in the SEC or the
Big ten, but he's like gonna go in the top
like fifteen picks and you just watch him. His team sucks,
they're getting crushed, they're down twenty points. You turn on
the second half and the third quarter on the road,
(36:25):
and he's just playing balls of the wall. He's playing
like his nil check or his scholarship tech depends on it.
And that's what Max Crosby looked like tonight. So like
this offseason, to me, his value. If you're a GM,
you just turn on games like today, You're like, he's
playing like this for this team in these circumstances. What
would he be like if he was on a team,
(36:46):
like a tenant four team going into the last couple
of weeks. He's everything you would want for a star player,
for a guy to build around. I was it was
fun to watch. If I'm gonna lose a bet, at
least I can do it to a guy just playing
his every loving balls off. And Ashton Genty feels like
for the first time in a long time, showed some
signs of life and a loss had I think well
(37:08):
over one hundred yards. You got a big touchdown catch
for like sixty yards he was, he looked good, he
want his long touchdown run kind of was reminiscent of
Bois State broke couple tackles and took her to the house.
And last but not least, you know, famous players now,
if they want to go into broadcasting, they do have
(37:30):
to ask themselves, like Drew Brees for example. I was
pretty critical a couple of years ago when Drew did
the new the Notre Dame game because I thought it
was terrible. And listen, as we see with Tom Brady,
you get better the more you do anything. Welcome to life,
welcome to whatever you do. But it was like, I
think this guy's pretty bad, and clearly he said something
(37:52):
I think this offseason like if I ever got a chance,
I think I could be one of the best guys.
And I think a huge part of being a broadcaster
is like it's not you're not just famous guy. You
kind of got to entertain us. We're sitting on our
couch watching the game. Like, give me something I understand.
Not everyone's John Madden or John Gruden enormous personalities, but like,
(38:13):
just give me some energy. And one thing, I got
to give Drew Brees some credit. He feels dramatically better
than he was the last time he had a mic
in front of his mouth, and there's something to like,
There's there's an energy behind it, there's an enthusiasm behind it.
He just feels kind of fun. And I have no
problem saying I was wrong. And JJ Watt's been really,
(38:33):
really good every time that I click on his game.
He's always just having a good time, really into it.
One thing I respect about both those guys. You know,
Drew's got a big family, young kids. JJ's got really
really young kids. I would guess on and off the field,
Drew's made closer to five hundred million dollars than three
hundred million dollars. You know, JJ, on the fields probably
(38:54):
made one hundred and fifty million dollars. He was one
of the most marketable athletes for probably like a five
or six year pero during his prime. Who knows how
much more he made off the field. These guys are
uber wealthy. They do not need to be getting on
a plane and flying around the country to call Cowboys, Chargers,
to call you know, Bill Saints or all these games
(39:17):
across the country. Like, they don't need to be doing
it financially, but you can't fake it, you know. Part
of it is they clearly want to be there because
they really like football and their enthusias, even Tom. Obviously
Tom is being paid a ton of money. But the
one thing you hear with Tom doing these games like
he's having a good time. He likes football a lot.
(39:39):
And now I don't know if all these guys like
Tom are getting on a PJ and getting there which
makes life obviously way easier, but he's still got to
leave your home. Like, listen, I love Peyton, and I
would do what Peyton did if I was in issues,
Like yeah, I want to be involved, but I don't
plan on getting on a plane and flying all across
the country. I'll just do this from a garage while
the game's going on, and and link up with my
(40:00):
brother on some zoom app and we'll just play it
across the ESPN two from our homes. I like their style,
but I respect these guys who are clearly financially like
they've made enough money. And I think it's safe to
say both those guys probably haven't blown it. They're probably not,
like liking the Instagram tweets from Odell Beckham on blowing
a hundred million dollars, safe to say they got some
(40:22):
cash in the bank. But both those guys, I mean, J. J.
Watt's been really, really good, like he's got a future
in this. And Drew Brees, you know, he started really slow,
but I do think he's and it could have just
been college. It's much harder. You don't know the players,
you don't know the coaches. I do think he's battling back.
So he talked a big game, he said he'd be
really good. I give him props because he's definitely he's
(40:46):
an enjoyable listen, and I just think you put most
of us in his shoes. I'm just standing, I don't
need to do this, but he's doing it because especially
now like he's just filling in because Sanchez, you know,
beat the living you know what out of the guy
in Indianapolis. It was not like he's been doing this
from the start. He got called up out of the
bullpen a couple of weeks ago and just came in
(41:06):
off the bench just because he's pretty I would say,
like dead set on getting an opportunity and trying to
show that he wants to do this and can do
it and will be good. So maybe don't sleep on
Drew Brees getting a second chance. And other than that,
kind of a rough Sunday, So let's just move on,
get closer to the playoffs, and thank God for those
(41:29):
those Saturday games before we get out of here. I
do like the forty nine ers tomorrow and Monday Night football.
I just think their offense is going to be too good,
and I just have a hard time seeing Philip Rivers
score enough points, especially because last week the Seattle and Stuck.
You mentioned this. The way they play defense, they don't
change personnel often for your changing personnel, they'll lead their
(41:50):
safeties back because they're much more versatile. Like they weren't
worried about Philip Rivers thinking and ducing them to death.
I don't think the forty nine ers will allow, especially
because they're run defense unlike Seattle. Now they're getting some
guys back off injury, especially a couple of defensive linemen
and or a defensive lineman and a linebacker. But I
(42:11):
would imagine the majority of their defensive players are gonna
be within three or four yards of the line of scrimmage.
So it's like you can run wheel routes and little
out routes, but we plan on having multiple guys around
and most important, if Jonathan Taylor gets by our first
line of defense, which might happen, you know, we're missing
some guys. We're gonna have a lot of guys around there.
So I just have a hard time seeing the Colts
(42:33):
get around twenty points, and that would be stunned if
the forty nine ers don't get over twenty five. Sauce
Gardner's you know, still injured. Tarvarius has his like third
concussion of the season. He's out. So from a secondary standpoint,
Juwan Jennings really coming on, George Kittle's coming on, Christian
McCaffrey's great catching, the ball party's looking good. The forty
nine ers now you know, kind of have some momentum.
It's crazy to say, but if they win these last
(42:55):
three games, it would be the number one seed, which
still feels improbable when I say it out loud, but
I do think forty five year old against Robert Sala
Kyle Shanahan. I have a hard time now, Indy that
that place is gonna be rocking. But I'm gonna go
with the forty nine ers, And I also think i'm
(43:15):
gonna go Juwan Jennings, who was really heating up. Him
and Hearady have a really good connection. I'm gonna take
him to get two touchdowns. So I'm gonna go forty
nine ers minus five, and I'm gonna go with the uh.
Juwan Jennings scored two touchdowns and parlay that on hard
Rock Bett It's about twelve to one. Audielles, have a
great night. The volume
The volume. What is going on everybody? How are we doing?
John Middlecoff three and our podcast brought to you by
my friends at Zone Pouches. How are we doing? Hopefully
(00:24):
you are doing better than Lamar Jackson the Ravens, who
I would say unofficially we're ko tonight from the playoffs.
Drake May throws his hat back into the ring for
the MVP discussion, has a fantastic second half, threw a
beautiful touchdown down the stretch. Nice win for Vrabel and
the Pats on the road. Controversial ending with the Lions game.
(00:48):
I want to discuss the Jags go from the little
small market team to dominating the Broncos today. That was
one of the more eye opening games I would say
so far of the year. It's like, WHOA didn't see
that one coming, especially because I had Denver in that game.
But that was a butt whooping. Some playoff thoughts, a
(01:09):
couple other little thoughts from the day, and yeah, a
little bit of a come down after the Bears game
last night. Not the greatest slate but still, I mean,
we're not going to complain about football because it's December twentieth,
so we only have so much football left, so we
got to enjoy it while we have it. But before
before we talk about any football, you know, and you
(01:31):
subscribe to the podcast, So if you listen on Collins Feed,
make sure you subscribe, Spotify, Apple, wherever you may listen,
subscribe to the YouTube channel. We'll be live tomorrow on
the tube after the forty nine ers beat the Colts,
So get ready for that. Before we dive in any football,
you know, I gotta tell you about my friends. You know,
I got to tell you about my partners. The official
(01:53):
ticketing app of this podcast, Game Time best ticketing app
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(02:13):
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(02:36):
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Swipe tap ticket, go download the game Time app. Today,
when Lamar got hit in the back and he got
knocked out of the game, the first thing I wrote down,
if you are going to be a Super Bowl contender,
(02:57):
which I don't know. A month ago I thought the
Patriots were, and then after the Josh Allen experience, you went, well,
you just chalk that up to Josh being Josh? Or
is the Patriots showing some flaws? And then you're watching
tonight like are they gonna lose on the road, Which
isn't that crazy of a loss. The Ravens are. They're
not having a great season, but they're one of the
best organizations in the league. And the moment Lamar got
(03:20):
knocked out, I wrote down, if you're gonna be a
Super Bowl contender, you don't lose to Tyler Huntley. Now
that being said, a lot like last night with Malik
willis really good organizations function at a pretty high level
when their backup quarterback comes in in the middle of
a game when he doesn't know or is prepared to
be the player. Right when you're the backup quarterback, you
(03:41):
run the scout team. You don't take reps in practice.
The game plan is not built or has anything to
do with you. You have not taken physical reps with
the game plan on a weekly basis. Basically everything is mental.
Your physical preparation is typically done to serve the defense
of the scout team quarterback. But as we saw with
(04:03):
Milik Willis and we saw flashes tonight with Tyler Huntley,
there actually are some similarities. Milik Willis a couple of
years ago was a laughingstock. I watched a lot of
Pac twelve football when Tyler Huntley was done playing at Utah.
It never crossed my mind that he would have an
NFL career, Like I didn't think he would ever play
in the NFL, let alone be a long time backup.
(04:24):
It's really really impressive what he did. And then the
game started getting weird. You know, Drake May had a fumble.
They ran the fake punt, which I have no problem with.
You're on the road. You're eleven and three. Your last
two games are the Jets and the Dolphins, Like put
your nuts on the table, and the play call which
had one option was covered and you were screwed. It's like,
(04:46):
maybe it's not gonna be your night. And then Drake May.
I thought he was fantastic in the second half. Obviously
the deep touchdown pass to Kyle Williams. But you talk
about a guy that's poised, who's under control, and he
just was excellent. And I think a lot like the
Bears playing the backup quarterback last night. A good coaching
(05:08):
staff with a young quarterback in that position. Obviously the
Bears needed a freak on side kick in this game.
It was like, we can win this game, and there's
just a confidence with Vrabel on the sideline, with Drake May,
who throws. I mean, I would say the prettiest deep
ball I've ever seen was like prime Russell Wilson. It
(05:29):
didn't get any better the arc. I mean, it was
just it was a thing of beauty. It's something that
you would put like best attributes of all time, like legs,
arm strength, you know, deep passes, Like I would say
his deep ball was as good as any in league history,
that being Drake May going back to like Kenny Stabler
(05:50):
or something, or excuse me, Russell Wilson, I would say
Drake May, early on in his career throws an absolute
gorgeous people that is perfectly you know, the accuracy on it,
the ability to like put it on the right shoulder
because part of a deep pass, you know, depending on
the positioning of the defender. The positioning of the ball
(06:13):
is really really important. Like in his heyday, Brady and
Rady Moss, it was always over his back shoulder. Randy
was great at putting his hands out, you know, right
until the last second, so the dB didn't do anything.
And you saw to night that played at Kyle Williams
down the sideline was really a thing of beauty. He
ended up thirty one to forty four for two hundred
(06:35):
or for two touchdowns, and I think he threw for
like three hundred and forty yards and he pull up
the box score here really quick. Yeah, three hundred and
eighty yards. And he's blown me away. This year. I
think him and Caleb the coaching really matters. I mean,
nothing has been on more full display this season than
(06:56):
Drake May and Caleb Williams, around competent leadership, around competent coaching,
around a competent vision. We saw it last night and
over the course of the season with the Bears, and
we have seen it over the course of the season
with Drake May. And here's the other thing with Drake May.
Last week, as the game unraveled, I thought Josh McDaniels
(07:18):
kind of called crappy last couple series. His quarterback was
a little frazzled. Their offense wasn't operating at a high level,
and he didn't call any run plays and it kind
of all fell on Drake and kind of crumbled. The
offense looked terrible. They didn't gain any yards and they
went three and out and then they went turnover on
downs in four plays. And tonight, the efficiency, the play calling,
(07:40):
scheming guys wide open, taking advantage. Like Marlon Humphrey has
had a fantastic career. He's been a really good player
in his younger days. At this point in time, if
you get him in one on one situations, he's had
a major disadvantage. And Josh had him circled, you know,
like we are going to attack you over and over
(08:01):
and over again with different players and that's exactly what
they did. Hell I mean the play to boot butte Bute,
I think, not Bootie. He tackled him. Now he caught it.
But when he caught it and then he dropped it,
Martin Humphrey could have just grabbed the ball. But what
do you think he thought he just got the pass
(08:22):
interference because they tackled him in the open field. Then
he turns around, there's no flags, like, what the hell
just happened? He could have just grabbed the ball for
an interception, but he kind of playfully hit it because
he thought he was screwed. And I think the coaching
with New England, I think the growth of Drake May,
I mean digs tonight was a monster. When you have
nine for one thirty eight. Obviously the big play late
(08:45):
in the game on the out route when the when
the Ravens starts sitting on some of the quicker stuff.
But I was really really impressed with Drake May down
the stretch after again a little bit of a rocky start.
The turnover. Good coaching builds guys up. They don't let
their good players and the guys that they're going to
depend on go into a hole. That they're too in football,
(09:07):
you're too dependent on those guys, especially a young quarterback,
and if they're confident, if they're confident spirals and disappears,
you're just you know, Upshit's creek without a paddle and
they're you know, uplifting of Drake May after last week
to this week getting a little weird on the road
against a desperate team, I mean a desperate team to
(09:28):
come out and down the stretch just kind of kick
their ass. Now you can say they're missing Lamar, and
obviously that was huge, right, But I've gained not that
I didn't have a ton of respect for Lamar, because
I think over the course of the last several years
he just became an elite player. I know he did
not play well in the playoffs. It's well documented. Anyone
that watched the met like kind of look like a
(09:49):
different guy. Honestly, beside the one half was it against
Buffalo last year. For the most part, I think he's
been bad in the playoffs relative with what he was
in the regular season. This season has not gone great
for him in terms of like relative to some of
his previous statistical years. He's obviously been banged up, but
I feel like he's played injured the entire season, and
(10:11):
he's kind of represented what the Ravens stand for is like,
this is a tough fucking organization and we're gonna go
down swinging, and that's kind of what they did tonight.
But the reality is is their season's over. Like the
Steelers are not losing to the Browns next week, no chance,
so especially now given that if they win that game,
this division is over. If you would have told me
(10:32):
a couple of weeks ago that Week eighteen against the
Steelers would not have mattered, I don't think I would
have believed you. But you could have told me a
lot of things several weeks ago, and I definitely wouldn't
have believed you about the way this kind of playoff
picture has played out, or about the way some of
these teams have played out. But I just thought the
Ravens would figure out a way just to limp there,
(10:53):
even if they didn't get it this year, right, Like
I mean, obviously the Steelers beat him a couple weeks ago.
I think the Steelers have kind of found some of
their mojo, but this thing's over, and there have been
questions out there at least by the fans of like
has this kind of situation run its course, right. We've
talked about this before with the Lions, and we'll get
into it here in a little bit when we talk
(11:13):
about that game. But like windows do close with the
group of certain players under contract who were in the
prime of their career, Like you see with the Chiefs,
the group of guys they had that they made their
Super Bowl runs with will look dramatically different at the
start of next year. Chris Jones will be gone, Kelsey
Privy retired, Joe Tooney's already been traded. Like it's it's
(11:35):
just over for a core group of guys that you
made a large run with. Now some guys will carry over,
some younger players. McDuffie, Carl loftis right, but there's a
lot of new faces. And I think the same thing
with the Ravens. I think this team is gonna look
dramatically different next year. And they, like the Steelers, have
been very consistent. Why they've had the same coach what
(11:55):
feels like for twenty years and you know exactly what
you're gonna get season in, season out, and typically especially
over the course of the last four or five years, They've
easily been one of the best teams in the NFL,
but they had some injuries. Some of their guys got old. Obviously,
Lamar Jackson has just been injured throughout the season. I
don't care what the injury report says. I can use
(12:16):
my eyes. He hasn't looked the same. Like I'm watching
Drake may like looks like fully healthy to me. I'm
watching Kayleb Williams last night, looks fully healthy to me.
Like I've been watching Lamar Jackson long enough to know, like,
h it doesn't quite look right. He kind of found
some mojo last week, but clearly he's been battle stuff
because he gets hit weird and then boom he's out
for the game. And it wasn't the reason they lost tonight,
(12:37):
because again I have a lot of respect, you know
for Huntley, a guy that again never thought he'd be
in the league. Went nine to ten only through for
sixty five yards. But yeah, I just obviously there's a
massive drop off between those two guys. But they're season's over.
I mean, like I said, the Steelers are beating the Browns,
and I think the Ravens will be officially eliminated from
(12:59):
the player now what to see? You know, the Patriots
the next two weeks. They it's really it's crazy to
say this because you're like, they've been so terrible, but
it's kind of unfathomable how bad the Jets are, Like
they've been a really bad franchise over the past decade plus.
(13:20):
But you watch him over the course in the last
several weeks, You're like, I don't think you could get
any worse. Like today, the Raiders showed a lot of heart. Jent,
he made a bunch of plays. The Titans like played
pretty well today. Now the Chiefs were playing with a
guy that I don't think any of us literally have
ever heard of. I had to go immediately to the
(13:41):
wiki page, like who is this guy? He's been on
the practice squad for the Steelers, Like, what's this guy's deal?
He's in the league, he's got two rings on the
practice squad for the Chiefs, But like, what is going
on with the Jets? They don't even try. Patriots are
winning that game, and then they get the Dolphins. Who
has reading the story. They had a guy that they
made an act of today that if he leaves they
get a com pick, and it's like, oh, they're tanking,
(14:02):
which right move. So the Patriots are gonna win the
next two weeks. Now, the Broncos get the Chiefs on
Thursday night, Minshew towards ACL today, so they're gonna see
that backup quarterback that again, no one's ever heard of.
So we'll have to see how this plays out, and
they both might end up fourteen and three, So I
don't know who gets the tiebreaker there, but I think
the AFC playoff picture is basically taking shape. You know,
(14:26):
the Texans or excuse me, the Colts are technically still alive,
but if they lose tomorrow, they wouldn't be mathematically eliminated,
but to me, it would be over because they would
be eight and seven. Their last two games would be
against the Jags and the Texans. The Texans already have
ten wins, so they would need the Texans to lose
(14:46):
out and pretty sure that Texans play the Titans this week. No,
they excuse me, they play the Chargers this week, actually
a pretty good game, that's a Saturday game, but then
they play the Colts the last game of the season.
But I just think the Colts, I think they're done.
I think we know the AFC it's Denver, New England.
(15:08):
In whatever order it plays out, the Jags, who will
talk about in a second, the Steelers, the Chargers, the Bills,
and the Texans. That's a pretty good AFC playoff, Pictuer.
Part of the reason it's really good is that, depending
on the order and the seeding, how this plays out.
If the three wild cards teams in whatever order are
the Chargers, the Bills, and the Texans, I don't think
(15:30):
any of us would be shocked if two of the
three of those teams win. It is not inconceivable that
the Chargers with Herbert and Harbaugh, the Bills with Josh
Allen who had a weird game today, and the Texans,
who also kind of had a weird game today, but
they have won seven straight games, So your boy had them,
you know, minus fourteen and a half. I was pretty
(15:51):
doubted on that game. Actually, I kind of came away
like I'm kind of roomed for genty. It was kind
of fun, suck to lose, but Texas still pulled it out.
I would not shocked me. They're all gonna be very,
very live dogs depending on the matchups. You know, it's
crazy if you're the Jags and you have a fantastic
season and you dropped Josh Allen in the first round.
(16:12):
It's like that kind of sucks, you know. The Steelers
getting the Chargers. That's a little bit of the Spider
Man meme of them pointing at each other. That is
a I mean, it's a game that the Steelers can win.
We'll see if TJ. Watt can come back. But you
know it's gonna be hard to bet, you know against
Harbaugh and the Chargers that are gonna have a lot
of momentum going in. And then the Texans, you know,
(16:33):
against the New England Patriots that's or the Broncos. That's
just a tough, tough matchup if you're the two seed.
I mean, it really is, because most years the Texans
are better than a seventh seed, right They have an
elite defense. CJ was a little hit all over the
place today, But at the end of the day, like
I think the Texans, they would be the type team
(16:53):
that I would want no part of in a playoff game,
just because their defense is so good. At any moment,
pick six strip six game could just get really really good.
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(17:45):
the end of the Lions game, there has been a
lot of talk and people scream in Lions fans mad.
I get text from buddies about how bad the refs
are and don't get me wrong, the officiating is today
was really bad. I mean there are some call it
feels like guys are either afraid to blow the whistle
(18:05):
or get really whistle happy. There's no like middle ground, right.
I can disagree with certain calls, like the body weight call.
It's like, what is the guy supposed to do? He's
three hundred pounds, He's sacking the quarterback? Is he's supposed
to float away. But so many plays in the secondary
with past interference or defensive holding, it just feels so subjective,
(18:29):
so so random, Right, It's just like, I what what
are you seeing? Some referee see it one way, other
guys see it other way. Obviously, sometimes it's pretty clear
and obvious, but throughout the throughout the day and throughout
honestly the season, you just don't know what you're getting
game to game, play to play. But the last play
in the Lions game one, I feel no sympathy for
(18:49):
the Lions. Nut it's not their fault. Maybe it is.
I mean, I don't know their training and practice habits.
They have a million injuries every single year. And even
today the I forget who's calling the game, was like,
they're down to their third center and defensively they're just
a mass unit in the secondary. They're down twenty nine
to seventeen in the fourth quarter. It was yeah, it
(19:11):
was Nanson Romo that it was just you're down twenty
nine to seventeen in a game that is basically for
your season. And even Dan Campbell said when he addressed
the team, he said that that might have been our
last chance, right, So he's no du I mean he understood.
I'm sure that they built this thing as like all
of our chips are in the middle of the table
for this game, and you kind of get worked by
(19:33):
a team who's star wide receiver hit a fan who
you could argue their second best quote unquote receiver is
a three hundred pound tight end who actually is a
freak talent, but probably should be playing right tackle if
he wants to maximize profits. I just think that they
worked you. Now you came back at the end, it
got weird. They missed a field goal, but the final play,
(19:56):
give me a fucking break. There is a thing called
forward progress or just like the play is over, and
it was pretty clear that one he not only didn't
cross the goal line, but they drove him back like
five yards. And in twenty twenty five, with officiating, you
can't slam the guy to the ground. You can't make
(20:18):
sure everyone knows they tackled. You were taught to kind
of like after a couple steps, kind of stopped, just
like play it to the whistle. Not in twenty five.
You know, in this day and age, right, you don't
want to get a penalty, give him another free play.
By the time that he lateraled it to Jared Goff,
it felt like the play had been over for two seconds.
(20:38):
Anyone complaining. Now we could argue whether it was offensive
pass interference or not. I'd argue it's irrelevant because he
didn't score a touchdown. He would have been tackled, they
didn't have timeouts, the game would have been over. But
like I said, when you were making Jalen Warren look
like Barry Sanders, I'm not gonna feel bad for you. You're
(21:00):
not a playoff team this year. And I'm a Dan
Campbell Jared Goff Lions fan. I have rooted for the
team just because I like what they stood for. I've
had a ton of admiration for how they've rebuilt this operation.
But give me a break with everyone screaming and bitching
and moaning about the way the game ended. Yeah, referees
(21:22):
are idiots, Like I don't even I'm not even listening
to what they said because it didn't even matter even
if the past interference hadn't happened, that there was no
lateral in this notion that like well, by the letter
of the law, no, he was clearly tackled and it
was over. What are we talking about? So I just
do not understand. If they would have allowed that lateral
(21:46):
to happen, that would have been one of the biggest
con jobs, Ponzi schemes, fugazi's in the history of the NFL.
It would have been the most outrageous thing I've ever
seen in my entire life. And we've seen some crazy ones.
The des catch I'm probably I can't, I'm so tired
right now, I can't even you know, come up with five.
(22:07):
But we've seen a lot, especially recently, but that would
have been the worst one of all time. I truly
believe that if they would have allowed a lateral after
he had been driven back for five yards and neither
guy is trying to get a penalty, like you lost
farre and square, and now you know, essentially you are
eliminated because you get you know, the Vikings this week,
(22:29):
who are gonna have their backup quarterback because JJ McCarthy's
probably gonna be out for the season with them fucked
up hand. But the Packers have to win one of
these last two games, and to me, the Packers are
a much better team. The Packers deserve to be in
the playoffs. They didn't deserve to win the last game
against the Bears because they screwed up the on side kick.
But to me, like if you said, who's more deserving
(22:52):
out of those two teams, like, I'm sorry, the Packers
are and the Jags clearly shun Payton this week when
he made the about it's like, really impressive coming from
a small market. He's worked in a small market like
New Orleans is not treated like the Dallas Cowboys, the
Green Bay Packers. I know they're a small market, but
they're treated like a major brand, the forty nine Ers,
(23:14):
the Philadelphia Eagles, like these major teams that we don't
talk about. The Jacks. He was just speaking facts. This
wasn't college. He wasn't being offended that your town smaller
than others. To me, the way I took it is
like they're a really good team. They just play in
a market that no one pays attention. I told Coward
earlier today, They're like, are they even a top five
(23:36):
most famous football team in their own state, college, high school,
and pro? I think the answer would be no. The
U Florida State University of Florida, the Miami Dolphins, Saint
Thomas Aquinas. I mean, what are we talking about here.
Now that being said about the market size and their
visibility nationally, which I don't think it's really disputed. Most
(23:58):
people aren't locked in on Jags game, myself included. I
mean I have every game on all the time, but
like about watching all their snaps most times because historically
they've never mattered. They have been bad for so long.
They are no longer bad. Today was really impressive. They
dominated that game. They destroyed Denver. They were unstoppable on offense.
(24:22):
Liam Cohen as Trevor Lawrence looked like he's back at Clemson.
He was fantastic today. I mean his throws in the
red zone. I mean he looks like, I don't know,
like Josh Allen or Justin Herbert, moving around with his feet,
accurate on throws, just under complete control. Defensively, they're really physical,
they are, and this speaks to what Sean Payton is
(24:43):
talking about. Ben Johnson is getting a ton of credit.
The Bears and the Jags are the same. They have
sucked for a while now. The difference is the Bears
have a lot of history and they are in one
of our biggest, most important cities in America. So when
they are good, they are a MA your story right.
So Ben Johnson has turned Chicago around overnight. Liam Cohen
(25:06):
has turned around the Jags around overnight. Yet we have
been talking about the Bears, Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson
twenty four to seven, three sixty five all year. I'm
as guilty as anybody. They're a fascinating story. But a
lot of people are paying attention. We have not been
talking about the Jacks. It's like, yeah, Liam Cohen, what
he's doing. Like what he's doing, I'm blown away. Like
(25:26):
watching that game today, I kept waiting. I was like this,
this is not gonna hold, and it's like, boom, another touchdown,
Boom another touchdown. Parker Washington. Is that Jerry Rice knows
Parker Washington, etn. He was like, we are blasting these guys.
What was the final score of that game, because it
doesn't feel as close as the final score was. The
final score was thirty four to twenty. I felt worse
(25:51):
than that, especially in the second half. That that was
I mean bo Nick's to a terrible pick right to
the defender, and then they immediately scored again and basically
ran the same play like back to back series to
Parker Washington where you like made one guy miss all
of a sudden, he's just free down the sideline. That
was really impressive. I was I was blown away, it
(26:14):
really was. I tweeted this. I don't know if I
really believe it, but I definitely don't not believe it. Like,
could the Jags win the Super Bowl? I mean, could
the Jags beat the Steelers? Yes? Could the Jags beat
the Chargers yes? Could the Jags beat the Bills? Yes?
Could the Jags beat the Texans? They have and they
the game they lost to him. I think they were
up twenty nine to ten. Could they beat the Broncos?
(26:37):
We just saw him do it. It's like, I don't know
why they couldn't win, you know, THEFC Now they're probably
gonna end up with the with the three seed because,
like we said, the Patriots schedules really easy, and now
the Chargers get Gardner Minshew's back up, and the Chargers, who,
(26:58):
depending on what happens this week, might even have nothing
to play for. And even if they do, and it's
the difference between the five or six seed, wouldn't be shocking.
Some of these teams are gonna rest people Week eight
team if they basically know I'm gonna be the five
or six seed, but whatever, I don't care either way.
Sean mcvade did this a couple of years ago. I'm
not playing people week a team, and he did it
(27:20):
years ago in the preseason. Everyone copied him. I do
think more and more teams if it's like the difference
between the six or the seventh seed or the five
and the sixth seed, it's like, I'm not risking and
getting a starter injured when I know for a fact
I'm gonna play the next week. And I think you
can justify that. I wouldn't blame any team for doing
that because like, well, I'd rather play the Panthers, or
I'd rather play the Steelers than the Jags, like I
(27:43):
just need. I cannot lose my star fill in the
blank player in a game that like, well, it could
have changed the seeding, but regardless, I was playing next
week anyway. And listen, it's the playoffs. All these teams
are hard at the end of the day, you know,
especially in the AFC. Like I'm not playing Brady or
man here, Patrick Mahomes is in a hospital bed somewhere,
(28:03):
so it's like it is what it is. But man
I nothing but nothing but respect for the Jags day
that that was really really impressive, and the Lions losing
makes it official. The forty Diners and the Bears are
in the playoffs, so basically the NFC playoffs now, I
(28:26):
think it's set unless the Packers seriously implode. They play
the Ravens this week, but that might be against Tyler
Huntley and I would like him in that spot, and
then the last week the Packers. There's so much stuff
going on in my head right now. The Packers play
the Vikings, who are gonna have you know, the quarterback
(28:49):
Bosmer is just atrocious. So I would expect the Packers
to win the next two games. Technically they're not dead
for the division. They would need the Bears to lose
the last two games, but they could potentially. They are
playing the Lions week eighteen, who would have nothing to
play for so and the Bears have a huge advantage
coming up here this week playing the forty nine ers.
But either way, I do think it's right in the
(29:12):
NFC right the Rams Seattle, the Niners all in, the
Bears in, the Eagles are in, and in some combination.
I don't think it matters because whoever they play, whether
it be the Bears, the Niners, Seattle or the Rams. Again,
a lot can change over the next couple weeks in
terms of seating. I do think whoever gets in the
(29:33):
Panthers or the Buccaneers will be an underdog, especially the Panthers,
who actually weren't terrible today. Part of it is the
Bucks defense is so bad. Bryce kind of runs around.
McMillan's a good player, and Baker just is, I don't know,
a shell of himself. It's crazy that MVP bet that
kind of felt good a month in. I mean feels
(29:53):
like you want drugs. What were you even talking about?
Because even on that final drive to day, I'll be honest,
I didn't have much faith it was gonna drive him
down for a game. When he touchdown, I thought I'd
get him in a field goal range for like, it
never crossed my mind like he's gonna drive him down
for a game when he touchdown. I didn't think he
was going to do it. Now, I didn't necessarily think
(30:13):
he was gonna throw an interception right to a guy.
But that's what happened. And when it happened, I was like, yeah,
that happened. A lot. So you know, I think whoever
gets the five seed in the NFC is pretty powerful
because it draws you one of those two teams. Especially
to me, if it's the Panthers that I don't think
there will be a soul that will believe that they
(30:35):
can win a playoff game, and I think they would
be correct. And the seventh seed, like, let's say the
Bears get the two, I think the Packers would like
their chances in a rematch. And that's not trying to
diminish anything about the Bears, but you know, we've seen
those two teams play. Both games have been a coin
flip at the end of the game. But the Packers
(30:59):
have had the lead, you know, the whole time. They
had the lead the whole time in the first game,
and I mean they were up sixteen, they were up
ten plus points, you know, in the second half. And again,
what the Bears are doing feels a little bit that
it's more sustainable. I think they have a lot more
young players. I would take Ben Johnson seven days a
week ten times. I think Dan Quinn's a little overrated,
(31:21):
nice guy, good energy, it feels like an uplifter, But
like I think he's a little bit of a roller coaster.
Everyone in the league would take Ben Johnson over Dan Quinn,
but a little bit like that team last year of
just like everything was breaking their way. That's what the
Bears kind of feel like right now and rightfully so
the football gods owe them one. And it was really
really cool to see that city alive. Some of you
(31:44):
guys dming me that. I had a guy that says,
like a run a restaurant and Mike Cooks and everyone
in the restaurant was standing up and hugging, and it's
a powerful moment in the city. Everyone felt together, and
that's cool. One of our big markets, one of our
our teams that really matters, you know, grown up in
the Bear like the forty nine ers really really matter.
(32:05):
And I've been there. When they're humming, it's a powerful thing.
When they suck, it's it's it's not as fun and
for Bears fans like it's it's been really ugly for
a long time. And to have that moment against Green Bay,
you know, was really really cool. And I think we're
gonna get some major star power in the NFC now
that the Bears are in. Obviously the Eagles you got
(32:28):
Sean McVay, you got Kyle Shanahan. You know, the Packers
will be in and the Seattle Seahawks, so you know,
lots on the line. With the seating, you could argue
this year in the NFL, you know everything being so close,
seating might meet a little less Like none of these
matchups beside the Carolina Panthers, I could see any team
(32:49):
beating the other like no team like Seattle playing the Packers,
the Niners playing the Bears, the Eagles playing the Rams.
All these games go either way. That that's gonna be
what's really fun about January. And I would say the
same thing for the AFC, like would you be shocked
if the Bills beat the Jags or if the Chargers
(33:09):
or the Steelers? Like that to me is a coin
flip game. The Texans could take out the Patriots in
the first round of the playoffs. I think it's the
first time in a long time that you go, yeah,
there are probably three teams that can win the Super Bowl.
I don't know if all four team can, but I
think you could make an argument the number is closer
to ten than it is three, and that's cool. And
(33:32):
I think you could say somewhat about that in college football,
even though it does feel like if they play their
best game, Ohio State's probably the best team and more
than likely if you're gonna find people to bet on it,
like probably Ohio State of Georgia, but it wouldn't stunt you.
Like Texas Tech paid twenty five million dollars for their roster.
They're really good. You know, Oregon has a highly paid roster.
Ole miss pretty good. They took Georgia down to the
(33:56):
line at Georgia earlier this year, like they could play
you know. So it's that's what's cool. This for the
first time in college football at the NIL is like
everyone's kind of alive. And that's what the NFL kind
of feels like right now. Ten plus teams going into
the playoffs are gonna go. We got a chance to
win the Super Bowl? Because did everyone feel that the
last couple of years, I don't think so. Do you
(34:17):
think people thought they were winning beating Patrick Mahomes? No,
deep down, no chance and they never did. I mean
they did. The NFC might have been a little more
open the last couple of years, but it has definitely
never been more open than it is right now. So
I'm excited to watch this play out, and it kind
of sucks that our future partners, you know, this good
(34:39):
Christmas Day games look good at the start of the year,
but you know, injuries. We had a time today where
JJ McCarthy was hurt, Josh Allen limped out of the
game because he rolled an ankle, something happened to Shador's finger,
Minshew towards ACL. At one point in time this morning,
like four or five quarterbacks were out of the game.
(35:00):
It's like this is this season is kind of unraveling.
A couple of things I wrote down before we get
out of here. I understand guys are paid a lot
of money, and your job, whether your team's good or
whether the team's bad, is to play hard and try
and effort. And of course guys should play hard. That's
(35:21):
not the case you look around the league some of
these bad teams. It's a really hard watch. And I
was a little more locked in on the Raider Texan
game because I had the Texans and they had They
were on my own little TV just by themselves, and
I couldn't get over and listen. This guy's a stud.
(35:43):
But the effort in which Max Crosby, and I understand
he always plays like this. I felt like today he
even went up a level. And maybe it's because two
of the best pass rushers in the league are on
the Texan They're known as the best defense. His team
is just a laughing stock. He played today like they
were playing win or get into the playoffs. He played
(36:04):
so hard. He reminded me of a guy that if
you're scouting and you go, hey, this guy plays for
one of the worst teams in the SEC or the
Big ten, but he's like gonna go in the top
like fifteen picks and you just watch him. His team sucks,
they're getting crushed, they're down twenty points. You turn on
the second half and the third quarter on the road,
(36:25):
and he's just playing balls of the wall. He's playing
like his nil check or his scholarship tech depends on it.
And that's what Max Crosby looked like tonight. So like
this offseason, to me, his value. If you're a GM,
you just turn on games like today, You're like, he's
playing like this for this team in these circumstances. What
would he be like if he was on a team,
(36:46):
like a tenant four team going into the last couple
of weeks. He's everything you would want for a star player,
for a guy to build around. I was it was
fun to watch. If I'm gonna lose a bet, at
least I can do it to a guy just playing
his every loving balls off. And Ashton Genty feels like
for the first time in a long time, showed some
signs of life and a loss had I think well
(37:08):
over one hundred yards. You got a big touchdown catch
for like sixty yards he was, he looked good, he
want his long touchdown run kind of was reminiscent of
Bois State broke couple tackles and took her to the house.
And last but not least, you know, famous players now,
if they want to go into broadcasting, they do have
(37:30):
to ask themselves, like Drew Brees for example. I was
pretty critical a couple of years ago when Drew did
the new the Notre Dame game because I thought it
was terrible. And listen, as we see with Tom Brady,
you get better the more you do anything. Welcome to life,
welcome to whatever you do. But it was like, I
think this guy's pretty bad, and clearly he said something
(37:52):
I think this offseason like if I ever got a chance,
I think I could be one of the best guys.
And I think a huge part of being a broadcaster
is like it's not you're not just famous guy. You
kind of got to entertain us. We're sitting on our
couch watching the game. Like, give me something I understand.
Not everyone's John Madden or John Gruden enormous personalities, but like,
(38:13):
just give me some energy. And one thing, I got
to give Drew Brees some credit. He feels dramatically better
than he was the last time he had a mic
in front of his mouth, and there's something to like,
There's there's an energy behind it, there's an enthusiasm behind it.
He just feels kind of fun. And I have no
problem saying I was wrong. And JJ Watt's been really,
(38:33):
really good every time that I click on his game.
He's always just having a good time, really into it.
One thing I respect about both those guys. You know,
Drew's got a big family, young kids. JJ's got really
really young kids. I would guess on and off the field,
Drew's made closer to five hundred million dollars than three
hundred million dollars. You know, JJ, on the fields probably
(38:54):
made one hundred and fifty million dollars. He was one
of the most marketable athletes for probably like a five
or six year pero during his prime. Who knows how
much more he made off the field. These guys are
uber wealthy. They do not need to be getting on
a plane and flying around the country to call Cowboys, Chargers,
to call you know, Bill Saints or all these games
(39:17):
across the country. Like, they don't need to be doing
it financially, but you can't fake it, you know. Part
of it is they clearly want to be there because
they really like football and their enthusias, even Tom. Obviously
Tom is being paid a ton of money. But the
one thing you hear with Tom doing these games like
he's having a good time. He likes football a lot.
(39:39):
And now I don't know if all these guys like
Tom are getting on a PJ and getting there which
makes life obviously way easier, but he's still got to
leave your home. Like, listen, I love Peyton, and I
would do what Peyton did if I was in issues,
Like yeah, I want to be involved, but I don't
plan on getting on a plane and flying all across
the country. I'll just do this from a garage while
the game's going on, and and link up with my
(40:00):
brother on some zoom app and we'll just play it
across the ESPN two from our homes. I like their style,
but I respect these guys who are clearly financially like
they've made enough money. And I think it's safe to
say both those guys probably haven't blown it. They're probably not,
like liking the Instagram tweets from Odell Beckham on blowing
a hundred million dollars, safe to say they got some
(40:22):
cash in the bank. But both those guys, I mean, J. J.
Watt's been really, really good, like he's got a future
in this. And Drew Brees, you know, he started really slow,
but I do think he's and it could have just
been college. It's much harder. You don't know the players,
you don't know the coaches. I do think he's battling back.
So he talked a big game, he said he'd be
really good. I give him props because he's definitely he's
(40:46):
an enjoyable listen, and I just think you put most
of us in his shoes. I'm just standing, I don't
need to do this, but he's doing it because especially
now like he's just filling in because Sanchez, you know,
beat the living you know what out of the guy
in Indianapolis. It was not like he's been doing this
from the start. He got called up out of the
bullpen a couple of weeks ago and just came in
(41:06):
off the bench just because he's pretty I would say,
like dead set on getting an opportunity and trying to
show that he wants to do this and can do
it and will be good. So maybe don't sleep on
Drew Brees getting a second chance. And other than that,
kind of a rough Sunday, So let's just move on,
get closer to the playoffs, and thank God for those
(41:29):
those Saturday games before we get out of here. I
do like the forty nine ers tomorrow and Monday Night football.
I just think their offense is going to be too good,
and I just have a hard time seeing Philip Rivers
score enough points, especially because last week the Seattle and Stuck.
You mentioned this. The way they play defense, they don't
change personnel often for your changing personnel, they'll lead their
(41:50):
safeties back because they're much more versatile. Like they weren't
worried about Philip Rivers thinking and ducing them to death.
I don't think the forty nine ers will allow, especially
because they're run defense unlike Seattle. Now they're getting some
guys back off injury, especially a couple of defensive linemen
and or a defensive lineman and a linebacker. But I
(42:11):
would imagine the majority of their defensive players are gonna
be within three or four yards of the line of scrimmage.
So it's like you can run wheel routes and little
out routes, but we plan on having multiple guys around
and most important, if Jonathan Taylor gets by our first
line of defense, which might happen, you know, we're missing
some guys. We're gonna have a lot of guys around there.
So I just have a hard time seeing the Colts
(42:33):
get around twenty points, and that would be stunned if
the forty nine ers don't get over twenty five. Sauce
Gardner's you know, still injured. Tarvarius has his like third
concussion of the season. He's out. So from a secondary standpoint,
Juwan Jennings really coming on, George Kittle's coming on, Christian
McCaffrey's great catching, the ball party's looking good. The forty
nine ers now you know, kind of have some momentum.
It's crazy to say, but if they win these last
(42:55):
three games, it would be the number one seed, which
still feels improbable when I say it out loud, but
I do think forty five year old against Robert Sala
Kyle Shanahan. I have a hard time now, Indy that
that place is gonna be rocking. But I'm gonna go
with the forty nine ers, And I also think i'm
(43:15):
gonna go Juwan Jennings, who was really heating up. Him
and Hearady have a really good connection. I'm gonna take
him to get two touchdowns. So I'm gonna go forty
nine ers minus five, and I'm gonna go with the uh.
Juwan Jennings scored two touchdowns and parlay that on hard
Rock Bett It's about twelve to one. Audielles, have a
great night. The volume
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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