December 26, 2023 • 45 mins
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks look back at the weekend and recap the action from Week 16 of the NFL season on a new episode of Move the Sticks. Throughout the show, the guys do a deep dive on their top Week 16 games. The duo recap the Ravens at 49ers (1:09), Cowboys at Dolphins (10:43), Lions at Vikings (17:41), Bills at Chargers (23:42), Browns at Texans (30:07), and Jaguars at Buccaneers games (35:40).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now move the sticks with Daniel, Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to move the six DJ and Bucky back with you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Buck? How heck are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Man?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You have good Christmas? Nice little time with the Yeah,
look yeah it was great man.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
The Colladay is always a good time to reminisce, to
give gratitude and his press thanks and have everyone around.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
It's a great, great time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I was thinking about you because my present the the
you know, we kind of as you get older, like
you don't really need much. So my present that I
got this year was a gift card to Ruth Chris,
and I thought, oh, this is Bucky's dream, this is
Bucky's dream Christmas right here. So you know, Bucky, you
go ready post up. He's good to go.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, you like when you go to the Combine like
that's that's it.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
If you ever want, if you're ever looking for an
encounter with Bucky Brooks, you need an autograph, a picture.
Maybe you got some old Bill's merch you want to
get autographed, Uh, Indianapolis Combine, go to Ruth Chris. You'll
find Bucky posts it up there. It's a very good
chance you'll be able to reel that in. All right, Buck,
let's get to what happened last night. It's signed for
the Monday night recap. We're gonna get into a bunch
of these games. Where we got to start, first of all,
(01:10):
with the last one of the week, which was the
to me, the headliner. You can talk about the Chiefs
and their collapse, that's a storyline for sure, but to me,
the story of the weekend was the Ravens bullying the
bully going into San Francisco and just beating the stuffing
out of the forty nine ers.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So here, here's the thing about the Baltimore Ravens Sanrancisco
forty nine as matchup. It was hailed as the super
Bowl preview, and if it very well may be a
preview to what we see in the Super Bowl in
the middle of February. But you know, I think the
narrative coming in because San Francisco had kind of bullied
so many different teams, it was almost as if we
forgot that Baltimore has what two three decades of a
(01:52):
bully ball reputation, that this is what they need to
change and this is how they've always.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Won their big games.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
And look, I made the mistake because I fully expected
the Niners to handle the Ravens. I thought they had
a more complete team in terms of like all facets
of the team functioning, but that reputation and that mindset,
like when you kind of challenge Baltimore, they're they're like
three types of guys, right. They're guys that rumped from
(02:19):
the fight, They're guys who reluctantly fight, and then they're
guys that run to the fight. The Baltimore Ravens are
the guys that run to the fight. So they embraced
this kind of encounter. They embraced taking on the forty
nine ers in their environment. They embrace playing a very
physical style of football. And to me, I was surprised
because I felt like the Niners back down. Yeah, the
(02:40):
interceptions in the turnovers and all that played apart, but
I felt like the Niners have always gone forward against
so many teams, kind of imposed their will on opponents.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
But I didn't see the same vigor.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
I didn't see the same edginess against the Baltimore Ravens,
because maybe they saw a team that would punch back
unlike some of the other teams they face along the way.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, I'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I don't know if you saw the comments after the
game from Patrick Queen. I don't know, Drew, do we
have that we have that audio on that.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
You play a brand of football and people don't want
to play. Everybody want to be out here Q playing
basketball on grads and stuff. I mean, we ain't with
all that, so you could do all that stuff. You
just gonna get in the mouth every play. Honestly, you know,
get care of this by all the prettiest stuff you do,
gammixed stuff is oute. We still have had a line
of play football. You still going to get touch. So
that's our mindset. That's how we want to come out
and just hit people in the mouth.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, you still got to get touched us. That's pretty
app description right there. I mean I wish I wish
you could bottle that up, buck and share it with
your high school team. I wish college coaches listened to this.
That's the message, like, Hey, the whole world, you know,
from shoot from high school to college in the NFL
has gone to it's a space and speed game. Right,
Let's get out in space, let's get to our speed,
(03:48):
and let's let them go basketball and grass, whatever you
want to call it, and Baltimore said, yeah, it's still
there's a time and place where you got to see me.
You know, there's gonna be physical confrontation. There's going to
be physical battles, and as you met, they don't shy
away from that.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
They never have.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And I thought they were uniquely positioned to match up
with this forty nine er team.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
And going back to the game, you.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Could see it, Buck, You saw a lot of a
lot of three deep stuff, three deep, four under, and
then the middle of the field is closed and the
forty nine ers live in the middle of the field.
They live in the middle of the field with tight ends.
They live in the middle of the field with their receivers.
They like to get the ball to their backs. That's
their their space. Now, brock Purty actually made some nice
throws out to the perimeter, some of the better throws
(04:29):
I've seen him make this year on the outside. Trying
to adjust to that a little bit. They hit Kittle
a couple times early and then after that they just
kind of Baltimore just shut it down. And then as
we always talk about on here, you love to say it,
tips and overthrows will get you, and that was a
big factor in brock Purty's four interceptions. I think both
of these things can be true. And social media, it's
(04:52):
hard to convey this message. You're not going to get
it out in the character limitation there. But I still
believe brock Purty should still be alive for the MVP.
Everybody else has kind of buried him after this game.
He had a bad game. He's still up there statistically
with just about everybody. I think he's a really, really
good fit in this system. He's played at a really
high level. That can be true. The other thing they
(05:12):
can be true is this team is not built to
come from behind because brock Purty does not have the
arm to be able to beat defenses when everybody in
the stadium knows you're going to throw the ball. That's
the whole thing about the Shanahan system. Everything looks the
same you come off that he can diagnose. He gets
to his reads quickly, He gets the ball out there
with anticipation and accuracy when there's no threat of the run,
When they don't honor your run fakes, the ball is
(05:34):
going to have to beat the fenders. And I don't know,
he's never had that big arm, didn't have that big
arm coming out, and I tweeted out, I don't know
what you thought of it. My thing was when you
saw Sam Donald go in that game, and I watched
the watched it back this morning on tape. That's a
different level. There's a reason why one guy was the
third pick and one guy was mister irrelevant, not saying that.
You know, Brock's been a much better quarterback, much much
(05:56):
better quarterback than Sam Donald, but when you're trailing in
a game where you have to throw the football, Sam
Garnold has his arm strength to be able to do that,
whereas Brock Purty. I think that's a question mark that's
going to hang out there.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So DJ there's this huge debate right it exists on
the Twitter verse. It started when Cam Newton talked about it.
We've done our own version where we talked about trucks
and trailers. Cam Newton used game managers versus game changers,
and everyone was up at arms. But what it is
is a very nuanced conversation is about the levels of
talent that play the position, and there's some guys that
(06:28):
have a different level of talent that makes them uniquely
positioned to change the game based on not only what
they can do inside the structure of the offense, but
what they also can add. Sometimes that's athleticism. Sometimes that's
arm talent, where you can change arm angle you have
special talent like Matthew Stafford would fall in that category
(06:49):
in terms of his arm ability. His arm talent is
game changing other guys, everything has.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
To be right. The way you manage them, you operate
the team.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
The way that you understand how to distributed and get
the ball to the playmakers is that it's almost like
having two different types of point guards, right, the guy
who is the highest cist guy versus the scoring guard.
Both are effective, both are functional, but there's a cap
on each of them. And so when we talk about
Rock Purty in comparison to Lamar Jackson in this game,
you can see the ceiling on brock Purty when the
(07:20):
team got behind and they had to play a traditional
drop back style of the ball. Rock Purty doesn't have
like the unique talents to the n say hey, I'm
just going to will it with my arm talent, whereas
a guy like Lamar Jackson it may be utilized his athleticism,
his feet, his playmaking ability, his ability to extend the play,
all of those things, much like Pat Mahomes and Josh
(07:42):
Allen are able to do in their own unique ways.
And so it's not being disrespectful to Brock or any
of the other guys that fall into those categories. But
it's a nuanced discussion talking about just the differences between
the levels of elite in this league.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah, no, it's again, I think it's a complex, complicated conversation.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
It's not all or nothing.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
It's not Brock Purty's the best.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Brock Party is the worst.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Rock Purty is an MVP caliber quarterback, and I do
think if they win their last couple of games in
Baltimore were to slip up, I think he's he's he's
got a right to be in that discussion. His stats
are going to be there. He's a perfect fit. It
reminds me again, kind of looking at that Drew Brees
set up when Drew Brees was rolling. That's that's the
way Brock Purty's playing the game like Drew Brees. Drew
Brees is not going to, you know, throw the ball
(08:26):
through a wall. But his superpower was being able to
see things, diagnose things, and get the ball where it
needs to be, and that's that's what brock Purty has done.
So anyways, it's a it's an interesting discussion Lamar. On
the other hand, the stats don't, you know, blow you away, Buck,
But when you're watching it, it's just at some point
in time, it's just kind of like the eyeball test
of my eyes tell me that he's different than everybody
(08:48):
else out on the field, and he makes this whole
thing work.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
So here's the thing about Lamar Jackson. Here's maybe why
I slept on the Baltimore Ravens. Coming on the heels
of watching the Ravens up close and personal, watching their offense,
it kind of reminds me a bit like playing the
video game. Right, So when you're playing the video game
and you have the quarterback and your quarterback is faster
than everybody else, sometimes you just kind of move around
and just wait for your guys to uncover, or you
(09:13):
just take off and run. I feel like for Baltimore,
that's kind of like what they have in their pocket.
They're not using Lamar Jackson like he was used previously.
They do on occasion, Yeah, they'll pull the zone raad
to do some design quarterback runs, but a lot of
his runs now are coming on scramble plays. And what
that does is that puts a different pressure on the
defense because now you're scared to play man and man
(09:34):
because if he takes off, you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Explosive chunk plays on the ground.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
If you play zone, that's fine, But now when he
moves around, how discipline can you be?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
The plaster the wide receivers on the perimeter.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And in a way, he is doing what Pat Mahomes
has done the last few years in terms of buying time,
But he's doing it, I would say, as a better athlete.
And so it now has made the Ravens offense dangerous
and maybe more difficult to find, even though I would
say schinmatically it's still very simple.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
But his ability to.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Pick up yardage as a drop back passer as opposed
to the primary runner changes the equation. It really flips
the script for how defensive coordinators have to defend this offense.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah, and they have a lot of different weapons, and
they've never had this many weapons. And even when you
have the injury to Mark Andrews that they've done a
nice job of spreading that ball around. It's the best
receiving corps I think that they've had for sure since
Lamar's been there, might be the best receiving corps they've
ever had there, So a lot of talent around him.
One thing about the Ravens, They've won seven games by
fourteen plus points this year, so they're not just winning
(10:39):
their hammering teams and some good teams along the way.
All right, let's stay to a team that is very
much in that discussion as the best team in football.
The Ravens might have staked their claim, but the team
they're going to see this next week at home, that's
the discussion, and that's the Miami Dolphins. Coming off a
big win over the Dallas Cowboys, got to have a game,
especially when you look at the schedule. They go to
(11:01):
Baltimore next and they finish up the season against Buffalo,
so it is a very very tough road. The playoffs
have already started for Miami, and they got a big
one here against the Cowboys with that win.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah, no, there was a big win.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
It was a big win because these are two teams
that we really wondered who could kind of change their
style to kind of get ready to play for these
pressure rized environments that they're gonna have to face coming
down the stretch, and so the Miami Dolphins were able
to kind of stay within themselves. Look, they're cute and creative,
they do all this stuff, but they can run the football.
And then defensively, they're becoming a much better team on defense,
(11:33):
but offenously, it's the speed and explosiveness the weapons that
they have on the outside, starting with Tyreek Hill and
then going to Jalen Waddle and then all the speed
that they have in the backfield. They can produce explosive
plays in a variety of ways. And you saw down
the stretch when they were down they had to have
a two minute drive. It didn't mean that they had
to throw it over the top is throwing a little
quick pass out to Tyreek Hill. He makes two or
(11:54):
three guys move, and a five year pass goes to
fifteen to twenty yards in a hurry. That put tremendous
amount of pressure on the defense because your ability to
tackle in the space is going to be tested early
and often, and if you can't get those guys to
the ground, it makes for.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
A long date.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, they have five guys with a catch over eighteen
yards in this game, and when you watch it. One
of the things that I wrote down when I was
watching it this morning, the timing and the trust. You know,
it's hard to have one without the other. Right and
to a talk about Loa those bang eights that they're throwing,
which to me is hilarious when you watch them. Tyreek
Killbuck has to gear down like you want to hit
(12:31):
that thing. You think about I think about our colleague
Michael Irvin like kind of him and Troy Aikman made
that round famous with hitting that skinny post, that bang
eight where the back foot ball is gone. Tyreek has
to gear down off the line and kind of pace
himself because he's going to get to the top of
the route too fast. But their timing is beautiful to
a backfoot band ball's gone. You can't defend that. I
(12:53):
mean you can speak to it as somebody who's played
both positions corner and wide out. When you have that
type of timing and a perfect ball and you have
the speed and the explosiveness of somebody like Tyreek Hill,
what do you do? What are you gonna do on that?
And if they're not going to hit that, then they're
gonna end up. He's gonna push you, and he's gonna
curl up at about twenty yards after he's just poured
on the speed to run you out of your pedal.
(13:14):
It's just like, these completions are there anytime you want them.
And I watched this tape right after I watched the
Kansas City Chiefs tape, and that's another conversation we can
have later, but it was it was so drastic. The
difference between the offense is the space that the speed creates.
And it's not just him, it's waddle. Cedric Wilson did
a nice job in this game. Robbie Chosen got one
for nineteen yards as well. You feel, you feel the speed,
(13:37):
and when you combine the speed with the timing and
the accuracy, I know the Ravens said, you know, everybody
likes to play basketball and grass and we're gonna punch
you in the mouth that when they play at the
level that they played at when they needed it with Miami, again,
twenty two points didn't light up the scoreboard, but when
you need it, man, I'm looking forward to that matchup,
fast forward to next week.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Yeah, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Because the contract style will challenge the Baltimore Ravens in
a different way than the San Francisco forty nine ers did.
But what you talk about when it comes to Tyreek
Hill and two a tongue about Lowell and Jaylen Wallle
that bang gate. So you gave credit Detroit Aikman and
Michael Irvin. I'm gonna take it back to the team
that you currently were for, the Chargers. So I came
(14:19):
into the league. Charlie Joyner who played with the Air
coriol Charges with Dan Fouts. Don Coriele was the head coach.
He was my first position coach with the Buffalo Bills.
He openly discussed how he and Dan Fouts could throw
that route blindfolded. He talks about the timing of the
route makes it where it's unguardable. If you look at
the dimensions of the football field, he says, you line
(14:41):
up in the middle of the numbers, You run to
the bottom of the numbers, which is the side closest
to the sideline.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
You hit that at.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
About ten to twelve yards, and you make an angle
where you should catch that ball twenty one yards down
the field, one yard on top of the numbers, and
it is unstoppable. Depending on the leverage of the corner,
and the compliment to that is the speed out.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
So the corner can never be right.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
If you playing the band gate, they're gonna throw the
speed out on you all day. If you're hanging on
the speed out, they're gonna hit you with the band gate.
And what you're seeing because of Tyreek Hill's speed, people
are afraid to press them. They're playing off to a
tongue about lawa throws on time and on target, and
it really has made this route unstoppable for the Dolphins,
and the speed that they have overall has made this
(15:27):
offense one where you can have a distributing point guard
to a tongue about la play at a high level
because his job is to get the ball in the
hands of playmakers, and those playmakers let it work. So
when we talk about game managers and all those other things,
it's not necessarily about that. Is the weapons around you
allow you to elevate your game, and your job is
just to get the ball to the hands of the
(15:48):
playmakers and get out the way.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So I want to get to the Cowboys side of
this thing. You know it much has been said the
Cowboys aren't beating good teams. Right, they beat the Eagles
and outside of that, not much. I actually left feeling
okay about this. You know, again, this is kind of
a you know, we'll see what the seating looks like.
They're in the tournament, they're going to be in the playoffs.
This is a this is a this is an impressive
showing for me. You lose by two points. Dak played
(16:12):
a pretty clean game. Now they heated him up. They
got some pressure on a Bradley Chubb, and that defense
with Vic Fangio did some nice things. But Seedee Lamb
you see him on the highlights here, six for a
buck eighteen. You know, they didn't run the ball, maybe
quite as well as they would have liked to, but
I thought the defense hung in there as best they could. Again,
you hold the Dolphins of twenty two points. It was
a you know, it's it's it's a two point game
against a really, really good team on the road. I
(16:34):
left this game feeling fine about the Cowboys. I think
they're still a very dangerous team once you get in
the playoffs. It's just provided they don't play the Niners,
the one team they don't match up with.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
No, look, I think you should feel good about it because,
let's be honest, they had an opportunity. They were up
in the winning moments of the game. This is exactly
how Dallas probably wanted the game to play out. The
whole of the Miami Dolphins to twenty two points, that
is a win. This is a team that is capable
hanging at forty burgers on everybody. So if you're the
Dallas Cowboys, you feel good about certain parts of it.
But the running game, or the lack thereof, is a concern.
(17:06):
We talk about Tony. Tony Pola immediately talked about the
slow start to the season coming off of that leg
and those things. You have to be able to run
the football when you want to in the postseason, and
so the Cowboys have to find a way to work
on that over the next two weeks to get ready
for the tournament. They have to be able to run
the football so they can't become so they don't become
(17:27):
a one dimensional team in the postseason. Look, it's not
necessarily the rushing yards, it's the attempts because the attempts
to low you still to utilize play action, still control
the game and dictate the terms to the defense as
opposed to being in a one hundred percent drive back
game where now they can play pressure or coverage and
they dictate to the.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Offense, no doubt. Let's get to this next one here,
Lions Vikings, Lions win. They win the division for the
first time, what since ninety three, I think it was.
It's been a long time. You see it on the
screen right there in nineteen ninety three. A lot of
different ways they can go this. I would just say this,
you know, Jamior Gibbs has been awesome. A couple of
(18:06):
touchdowns in this game. Eighty yards rushing, twenty receiving. Kirby
Joseph had two picks this second year in a row.
He's a young player, is twenty three years old. Second
year in the league. He had four picks last year.
He's got four picks this year. Almarross Saint Brown goes
twelve for a bucko six. He just keeps doing his thing.
To me, when you're looking at who's going to get
hired in these coaching cycles, buck one of the things
(18:27):
you know, you can look at overall success of the
team or the yardage, all this kind of stuff that
you're having on either side of the ball and leadership
and hear all these things. To me, if you're hiring
a coach, find out who's playing young players and the
young players are playing well. And I'm not just talking
about first round picks. I'm talking about getting guys on
the field that are third, fourth, fifth round picks that
are productive because it tells me that you've got guys
(18:50):
that not only how to put a plan together, but
you got guys that know how to develop. That's like,
to me, that's the ace in the hole in this
league right now when you don't have as much time.
Who are the elite teacher in this game that can
take what you give them and make them better. And
to me, Dan Campbell and that staff, and we know
a bunch of those coaches on the offense and defensive
side of the ball. It's not just one of the
other both, but they should be candidates because they have
(19:13):
got young guys on the field and they're playing lights out.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, they'll I'm.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Gonna give a lot of credit to Dan Campbell and
that staff. That staff, there was a lot made of this.
That staff is loaded with a bunch of former players.
You think about Mark mnell and like Aaron le and
Aaron Glenn and so many other guys, Hank Freeley and
so many other guys that are working with them. So
those young guys done a really good job of helping
those guys grow from newbies to learning how to play
(19:40):
and crafting it. But DJ, I think it even goes
beyond that. I think if you're thinking about Ben Johson
or one of the other guys on the staff, I
think you need to dig into their personel department and
talk to Ray Agnew and some of those other guys.
Because the pairing of the general manager and the coach,
we're now seeing how important it is for everyone to
be on the same page. Brad Holmes has brought up
bunch of like draft picks to the table. Dan Campbell
(20:04):
has been willing to take those young picks and put
them on the field, and that stuff has worked. And
we've talked about the need to have the synergy between
the front office and the coaching staff. If you're going
to be a draft and developed team, a draft and
developed franchise, everybody has to be on the same page.
And when I look at the Detroit Lions and each
week we talk about the rookie output score and how
(20:26):
many of those times those guys have been on the list,
and not just.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
The first rounders.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
It is a franchise philosophy that we're gonna play the
young players and everyone is on board.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
And the Detroit Lions have been rewarded for that.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah, and on Almon Ross, Saint brown Buck and I
also look at that man, what makes him? What makes
him so good? So I went through and watched a
bunch of him this morning. A couple of things. You know,
we talked about the strength, we talk about the toughness,
you know, what he can do after the catch, but
the spatial awareness that he has working in zone zones,
and it sounds it's kind of one of those things
(21:03):
you see it. It's harder to explain. But if you
watch Cooper Cup and you're gonna say, what makes Cooper
Cup great? And you can watch him putting guys in
a blender when they're in man coverage. To me, the
superpower is just that feel and understanding of making yourself
big and being a nice target to your quarterback. And
it's not like it's it's hard. It's hard to explain it.
But when you have a defender here and a defender there,
(21:24):
instead of being at the sixty to forty line, like
I'm sixty percent away from this defender, I'm forty percent
closer to this one, Like.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
That would be great.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
He is fifty to fifty every single time, like he
knows how to create the most space possible between defenders.
And that's it's like a basketball thing, you know. I
don't know where the background is there, where that comes from,
but he has an unbelievable feel working in those zones.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Okay, DJ, We've talked about this, and we've talked about
building teams, and I think you talked about when you
work for the Ravens. You guys talked about smart tough,
talk about instincts of instincts in those things. I think
sometimes intelligence football intelligence and what I would call booksmarts.
I think they both are underrated. And I think when
you have smart guys, smart guys have a tendency to
(22:06):
be able to figure it out. And I think for
Amara Ras Saint Brown, if you understand the background and
the pedigree and having to learn all the different languages
and how mom and dad really pushed all of the
same brothers to learn at a high level, I am
not surprised that he understands how to figure it out,
because smart guys can make the coach right. When the
(22:26):
coach is wrong, he may call the wrong play, but
smart guys understand how to figure it out. So when
you talk about the awareness DJ, some of that awareness
is the na field, but a lot of that awareness
comes from studying and understand where the holes are going
to be, being able to anticipate where the areas will be.
So now you're on the same page with the quarterback
and Jery Goff has a comfort level and knowing a
(22:48):
I can trust that this guy's going to be at
the right spot even if we get it wrong initially,
he'll help me out. That trust allows golf to keep
coming to him over and over again in the clutch.
So we can talk about toughness and physicality and all
those things effort, but man intelligence is an underrated aspect
to having a lot of success in the league. And
(23:09):
I think amara Ron Saint Brown has that intelligence that
you're looking for football intelligence as well as booksmortes.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, that's a great point, bringing up all the languages
that he learned too. I remember learning about that through
the process and when he was going through the recruiting thing.
His brother obviously play at standfard. It is a smart
smart family is a smart dude, and it shows up
on the grass for sure. All Right, they're gonna take
a quick break. When we come back, we're going to
jump into some more of these games. It was a
great weekend of football. We'll get to some more of
those ball games right after this.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Back here with.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Bucky and Buck, we'll go through some more of these games,
including a couple that we were at. We start here
with the one eye witnessed on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Peacock.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
By the way, how was that experience? Did you get
a chance to pull up the Peacock app and check
that thing out book?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
I did get a chance to see a little bit
of the game. I was nice. You guys jumped out,
the Charges jumped out. Yeah, it was different. It's different.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
It's a different experience. It's it's so many different ways
to consume football these days. You're just trying to get
your arms around.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah, it was a game. It was actually a fun
game to call. After the week before where the Raiders
ran the Chargers out of the gym, this was a
competitive game. Gift Smith taken over as the interim head coach.
I thought he had these guys ready to go. They
played hard, eastern stick actually for the second week in
a row, made some nice throws, use his legs in
this one, ran the ball pretty well. It was enough
(24:28):
to show that I think he's a competent, capable backup quarterback.
So happy for him on the Chargers side of things.
But this is about the Bills. They're nine and six now,
this is a team that now is in the tournament.
Just just need to handle their business coming down the stretch.
Josh Allen didn't have a super you know, blow you
away game, but Buck the explosive plays were still there,
and he found him through Gabe Davis and this one
(24:49):
who had been kind of missing in action, he had
him on a go ball. He extended plays, made things happen.
I think Joe Brady's done a nice job with this
offense since he's taken over. And one of the things
I was thinking of is, okay, Josh. Josh has got
a zillion touchdowns, you know, passing and rushing. He had
two rushing touchdowns in this one as well as well
as a passing touch and I think it's like an
(25:09):
eleventh game where he's had at least a one rushing
one passing touchdown, which is an NFL record. But when
we think about him getting himself in trouble with turnovers, right,
that's been the issue. So their vertical game, their vertical
pass game has been on the outside, take your shots
on go balls, double moves. Let him try and be
aggressive on the outside because there's no trouble out there.
(25:29):
And then outside of that, you know, hey, use your legs,
make some things happen. Try and get the run game
going a little bit. James Cook did fumbled twice in
this one. That's something he's going to have to clean up.
But I think they found a way to still be dynamic,
explosive without maybe putting the ball in as much risk.
He did have the one pick, but that, to me,
I think is an adjustment from Joe Brady instead of
trying to jam everything into tight windows into the middle
(25:51):
of the field.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Yeah, you have to know you personnel, and I think
knowing the personnel is knowing what the quarterback does really
really well. And what Josh Allen always has is his
unique superpower is his ability to not only run it.
Not only is superior arm talent, but his ability to
buy time and improvise and do those things. So it's
funny you talked about the one on one coverage on
(26:13):
the outside taking the goal balls, but DJ, how about
when he scrambles and takes the deep shot down the boundary.
His ability to stress the defense as a dual threat playmaker.
And so when we talk about game changers, like, I'm
not saying that every game changer has to have athleticism,
but man, in today's game, when your quarterback is athletic
(26:34):
and can extend plays and buy time, it allows you
to put so much stress on the defense horizontally and
vertically because man, he makes them have to hang with
the people. You don't know if I stick with my man,
do I go chase the quarterback? And then as soon
as I just kind of peek at him, he'll throw
it right over my head. And that's what Josh Allen
has been able to do. And in a league where
(26:54):
explosive plays typically leads to points, you have to be
able to generate those chunks plays and Josh Allen's improvisational
skills allows the Buffalo Bills to do it. And lastly,
this is what we say Josh Allen didn't played great
most of the game. But guess what, man, when he
has to take it over, he has the ability to say,
you know what, guys, I got this, I'll put it
(27:15):
on my back and I'll figure it out.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
DJ.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
That is what every franchise is looking for from their quarterback.
You need a quarterback that can do that because it's
too hard in this game to always get the play
calls right. Sometimes you want your quarterback to be able
to erase some of your mistakes and make it look
good on the back end the game.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
On the line, Chargers go cover zero, they get pressure
on Josh Allen. What does he do kind of a
Mahomes type move where he just retreats and buys time.
That way, the Chargers miscommunicate the bunch and the release.
They end up popping popping free. But if Josh Allen's
going to just hang in there back foot and try
and throw it, there's nothing He's gonna get hit in
(27:55):
the back of the head. He does a nice job retreating,
buying time backfoot makes an impressive It was a game
winner on the other side of the ball for the
Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Buck.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
You know, we talk a lot about the importance of
you know, winning quarterback play and can you get to
the quarterback like that? That's the championship philosophy here.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
So tell me if you.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Think sacks are an important stat or they're an overrated stat.
The number one team in the league in sacks is
the Baltimore Ravens. The number two team is the Miami Dolphins,
The number three team is the Buffalo Bills, the number
four team is the Kansas City Chiefs, and number five
team is Indianapolis Colts. I mean, these are all playoff
caliber teams with the top three Baltimore, Miami Buffalo, and
(28:37):
I would say even though Kansas City is not right
right now offensive, their defense has been pretty elite. They
have the capability of the ceiling of a quarterback playing
at a monster level for a three to four week
playoff stretch and a defense that can rush the passer.
Those are you know, especially those top three Baltimore, Miami Buffalo,
those are super Bowl caliber teams.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Yeah, super caliber teams. You're talking about the Kansay Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
But yeah, one of the reason while they're able to
hang in every game is because their defense has played
LIFs out. When you think about the Buffalo Bills and
the other teams that you mentioned, Miami Baltimore being able
to stat the quarterback well, DJ, this is a game
where we talk about negative plays, splash plays, as Mike
Tomlin always likes to talk about, they changed the game
because when you hit the quarterback and you knock the
(29:19):
quarterback down, a couple of things happen. Not only the
negative yards from the sack, but it quick as the clock.
A quickened clock leads to hurry throws, arrant passes. Those
passes eventually are tipped or overthrown. They lead the turnovers,
and so it all works together. The pressure from the
front line, whether you bring in second level defenders, whatever.
If you get pressure on the quarterback, it increases your
(29:42):
opportunity to get turnovers and to change the game.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
And you have to be able to do it.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
And the teams that don't have the ability to knock
the quarterback down, you don't have a hard time staying
in the tournament for the long term because you're not
going to generate enough negative plays to win.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
No question. And that is a team flow that's done it.
And the Baltimore Ravens there at the top of them,
and the Miami Dolphins one and two in that category
are going to score off this week. Looking forward to
that one. Browns Texans Joe Flacco, he's rolling somehow. You know,
the Browns are one of three teams still live for
the number one seed in the tournament. I mean, what
a testament to how well rounded this roster is, how
(30:19):
dominant this defensive front has been. Jim Schwartz doing a
great job there on the defensive side of the ball,
Miles Garrett having a defensive Player of the Year type year,
but Joe Flacco stepping in and not only saving the season,
buck making them a dangerous team.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, making them a dangerous team.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
And look, I'll say this, Joe Flacco has been able
to make them dangerous despite having an issue with his
own turnovers, like he turns the ball over, but his
aggressiveness in the passing game forces you defend every area
of the field. It is loosen up the block that
teams had on the running game, because now you've really
got to back up because Joe Flacco will take those
(30:57):
shots and if you don't, if you're stubborn, he will
go to Amari Cooper over and over and over again.
Amary Cooper had over two hundred and fifty yards, maybe
two hundred and sixty five yards, some ridiculous number catching
the ball. And it's because Joe Flacco is willing to
let it go. And as teams are preparing for the Browns,
they have to prepare it for a different version of
the Browns. And I'll be honest, this version is even
(31:18):
different than the version that we saw with Deshaun Watson,
and so Kevin Stefanski has been able to aggressively use
back pages of the playbook to allow this team to
be more aggressive. They've scored more and with the defense
that they have, if they can put a fourteen spot
on you and allow Miles Garrett and company to begin
to harass the quarterback, the turnovers begin to come in bunches,
(31:41):
and that's when they go from good to great.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
One of the things I love, I love when you
have an offensive head coach with a dominant defense, because
so many times when you have a defensive head coach
with a dominant defense, they tell the offense, hey, don't
screw up, don't turn it over. We're going to keep
the score down. We're going to win thirteen to ten.
Whereas an offensive coach with a dominant defense says, you
know what, our defense can bail us out. Let's play aggressive.
(32:03):
Let's go out there and chase points. Even if we
make some mistakes, our defense is going to be able
to back us up. Maybe they'll get, you know, force
a field goal, they'll get off the field. But let's
play aggressive because we can live with some turnovers. But
let's go out there and try and chase points knowing
our defense has our back. It's two totally different philosophies.
But you know, I think back to you know, look
at it where the forty nine ers are right now.
(32:24):
Obviously they have a dominant defense and they've played that way,
but you've got an offense and Kyle Shannon said, look,
let's go be aggressive. Hey, if we make a mistake,
we make a mistake, our defense will have our back.
I just love that combination in that formula.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Well, here's what I love from Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Like the offensive head coach being aggressive, defensive head coach
being aggressive. With DJ there's a toughness that this team has.
And I'm not talking about the physical toughness. I'm talking
about the mental toughness to not collapse when you lose
all your quarterbacks to not collapse when you lose an
NFL Russian leader in Nick Chubb, to not collapse when
you have injuries on the offensive line, to not worry
(32:59):
about all that and to keep playing.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
This team has ten wins. And if you think about
the list of injuries and.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
You think about other teams around the league who have
offered up every excuse as to why they're not able
to be in the hunt and those things.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
To me, it is the resilience.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
It's the gritty mindset that somebody has said, Kevin Stefanski,
Jim Schwartz, it runs throughout the locker room that they
didn't collapse when all of us on the outside world
were like, ah, there's no chance that the Cleveland Browns
are gonna.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Be able to do it.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
They're like, no, they figured it out. And now in
figuring it out, they've become a team that's really dangerous.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
I'm be honest with you, DJ.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
I know Joe Flacco is thirty eight, but this team
is more dangerous now than they were at any point
during the season.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
And I think when we kind of ask some of
these teams who we may.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Not want to face off with, I certainly don't want
to face off with the Cleveland Browns because the defense
is jit and as long as Joe Flacco is pushing
the envelope like he has, they have a chance to
knock off anybody in an AFC playoff field.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Yeah, and I always said this too. When you get
to quarterbacks postseason, it's about ceiling. It's not about floor.
A floor can get you through the regular season. A floor,
a high floor, can help you win double digit games.
When you get in the tournament, it's about can you elevate?
And can you elevate for three to four weeks?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
And that's what Joe Flack was already done the first
Super Bowl that he won, was he was this unbelievable
quarterback throughout the whole season. He was unbelievable for a month.
That's all you need. It's about the ceiling. It's not
about the floor. I mean, you tell me if I'm
wrong there, Buck, But that's what I've always believed.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
No, because in the playoffs and as we get into
the playoffs and begin to have these discussions DJ, the
microscope then goes to the quarterback because the teams are
even now, it's all good teams in the tournament vying
for the title, and so the separating factor is the
level of the quarterback. Can the quarterback take his game
up a notch and lead the team in the offense
(34:51):
to higher heights. And so when we talk about Joe
Flack on how he elevated doing that Super Bowl run
with the Baltimore Ravens where I think he had eleven
touchdowns and only one interception, and he may play after
play after play, well, that experience matters, and that experience
not only matters for him, but it matters for those
around him. We always talk about how the quarterback is
a force multiplier, and you and I have talked about
(35:13):
how the one thing that a franchise quarterback, a true legitimate,
elite franchise quarterback, can do, he inspires hope. Well, when
they know that that quarterback has a higher ceiling, not
the floor, a high ceiling where he can do it
in a three or four game stretch where everyone begins
to believe that those Super Bowl dreams can become a reality.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Yeah, no question. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
The Browns, it's going an interesting team if they get
when they get into the tournament and who they match
up with their former quarterback by the way, once upon
a time, the number one overall pick Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
He is with the Bucks.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
You got to see them, see them and him up
close and personal. It's been a little bit of a
free fall for your Jags on the call for those games. Buck,
But let's start on the other side. First of all,
here with the Bucks in the run they've been on.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Okay, So here's the funny thing, not only about the
free fall for the Jags, but I think DJ every
team in the playoff field has undergone some kind of skid,
right You think about the Buffalo Bills. I think four
weeks ago we were saying it was all over, like
they were talking about Sean McDermott and those things. You
think about. Philadelphia lost three in a row. San Francisco
lost three in a row, So that's kind of a
(36:19):
part of the deal. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I think,
at one point, lost six of seven games before going
on this recent four game win streak. So when we
think about it, that has to be a part of
your DNA and the teams that can hold it together
when they come on the other side, man, they're the
ones that have enough of that that grit and resilience
to know that, ay, we've been through the bad moments,
(36:41):
we can get to it. And I say all that
to say that Baker Mayfield is the perfect quarterback for
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at this moment. All of the
adversity that he faced going from Cleveland to Carolina to
the Rams to now landing in Tampa Bay has made him,
I would say, a different quarterback.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
The quarterback that I watch on the field mature to
never lost.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
His confidence, but dj what he made was what I
call grown man. Plays fourth and short, having to scramble,
He'll stick his nose in there and get it. They're
trying to pressure and people right in his face. Here
throws a dart to Mike Evans, and what you see
is man. When the team loves the quarterback, it changes.
(37:23):
There's a genuine affinity from the Buccaneers players to Baker Mayfield.
He's ingratiated himself to the team. He still has the swag,
he's still super competitive, he has all of that other stuff.
But to me, I feel like the winding Road has
kind of taught him how to be a better teammate.
This is a dude that makes the Buccaneers dangerous on defense,
(37:44):
they're high pressure, they come after, but the weapons on
the outside on offense, god winning Evans with Baker Mayfield
being able to get the ball out of his hands
in this version of an offense that was very similar
to what he ran in LA. Yeah, this is a
tough team to deal with watching it up close and personal. Yeah,
Baker Mayfield and the Bucks are Hanfield. Yeah, this is
the best year of his career.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
You know, you think about the year he had with
the Browns, his best year there, actually has the same
numbers as he has right now in terms of almost
identical in terms of yards, touchdowns, interceptions, twenty six touchdowns,
eight picks. This was twenty twenty. This year twenty six touchdowns,
eight picks, almost identical. That was sixteen games. He had
thirty five sixty three yards. He's got thirty five ninety
(38:26):
eight now, so he's still got two more games to go,
so he's going to clips all those numbers. But really
playing the best ball of his career. And you touched
on the teammate thing, remember with Odell and all the
drama that existed there and how ugly that got towards
the end of his time there in Cleveland, and then
he kind of goes on that interesting ride to Carolina
and then too the Rams for a minute. He's found
a home here in Tampa. And it also shows you
(38:46):
the power of belief when you have the confidence of
not all your teammates, your coaches, even Jason Light when
he's gone on the record right when they brought him
into the building, they were elated and excited to have him.
And I think that's helped him, you know, play loose, play, free, play,
confident and kind of go back to the best version
of himself. So good for Baker Mayfield on the jag
side of things, DJ help me out here.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
Barka's going on continue the thing with Baker Mayfield. And
this is why, because we're at a time where we're
so hard on young quarterbacks that were ready to throw
them off, and I think that Baker mayfield journey and
odyssey should be something for us to think about when
we talk about the twenty twenty one quarterbacks, whether it's
Trey Lance or Zach Wilson or Max Jones or all
(39:26):
those guys. Like everyone is going to poor dirdenem and
think that it's all over. But how you handle yourself
after that first dismissal, man can go a long way
to determine whether you have not only another chance to
extend your career, but another chance to be a legitimate
high end starting quarterback.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Baker Mayfield learned along the way, and it wasn't perfect.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
So there were some flaws there, there were some hiccups,
But I am telling you that if you can get
to the other side, there's something to be said for it.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
And for eighteen, there is.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Value in kicking the tires on a high end quarterback
because what I can tell you field level watching Baker Mayfield,
the first round talent shows up in the way that
he spins the ball. So now it's about taking someone
who has that kind of talent and putting them in
the right offense, the right environment, with the people around them,
with the right set of believers to kind of puff
(40:15):
that confidence in them. You may get what you thought
you were getting when you drafted them. So all is
not lost on some of these young quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield
is a tale, a good tale that hey, you can
bounce back for some of these difficult moments early in
your career.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Well, stay on the quarterback, then tell me what's going
on with Trevor. You're there every week?
Speaker 2 (40:34):
What are you seeing? Look?
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Man, when I look at the jaguarswe Here's what I
would say. DJ I just mentioned all those teams that
have had losing skis and all those other things. I
think what happens in those moments, the true character of
the team is revealed, and so no one is going
to help you get to the other side.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
You have to kind of dig down deep. You have
to be honest with yourself.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
You have to be honest with how you're playing, how
everyone else around you is playing, and then you have
to fix it. I will say Trevor is struggling, but
he's struggling not only because of his own things with
injuries and turnovers and look, a shaky offensive line, receivers
in and out of the lineup, all of that stuff
is going on. I would say that there is a
(41:13):
lack of confidence right now because you lost for in
a row and you're trying to figure out how can
you get a win. And it will turn around for
Trevor and for everybody else when they just keep the
main things the main thing, just do the simple plays
really really well. So if you just say, hey, let's
just make sure we get out of the huddle on time,
get lined up, run to play, make sure everyone knows
exactly who they're blocking.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Let's blocking, and then start stacking wins.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
For Trevor, I will say I have more admiration for
him this year than any other year because it's been really,
really tough. But each and every week he asks for
the ball and he takes the start, and so there's
some things that he can clean up.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
The toughness is there.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Now, it's about making sure that you get the execution
up to the level so you can kind.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Of lead your team to wins.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
But he's doing with a lot of young people trying
to do He's trying to do it all.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
On his own.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
And once he kind of realizes less is more, let
me dial back, let me just stay within the framework
of the offense, let me make the simple plays to
routine plays. Then the other players will come and look, man,
there's still two games left. They have enough time to
get into the tournament. A lot of it is can
Trevor reset himself and then reset the team and get
them to believe that they still can go out and win.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
This is why you know, We've been doing this for
a long time. We've been friends for a long time.
Because you literally went the direction I was going to go.
Rookie year, seventeen starts, second year seventeen starts. This year
he started all fifteen games through a whole host of
injuries he's battled through this year. Just the ability to
post what that means to his teammates. To me, while
you might not be excited about what the building looks
(42:45):
like for Trevor right now, maybe there's some there's some
drywall that needs to be patched, maybe we've got a
little something going on with the roof buck, he is
solidifying his foundation with the organization just by posting, just
by going on out there and plan. When everybody in
that building and maybe not nationally, it's understood what he's
dealing with. You would know you're there each and every week.
(43:07):
But to me, I think there is value and I
do think that pours more concrete in the foundation of
his career.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
DJ, Like we always talk about it, we come from
an era in terms of like scouting, where men a
franchise quarterback takes the ball every week. This is what
it is. Ben Roethlisberg and Eli Manning, Philip Rivers. They
take the ball every week. When it's not baseball, you
don't do your lineup card, but when you fill it in,
QB one is always there.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
Trevor Lawrence has shown that he'll do that.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
Whether it's a knee injury, show the injury, concussion, he
shows up every week.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
And so that toughness is there.
Speaker 3 (43:41):
Now it's about taking that toughness, that dependability, that reliability and.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
Just look helping him help others.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
So figure out what the quarterback does well, figure out
what he's comfortable with, continue to talk to him through
those game management situations and allow him to slowly build
up his own confidence and the confidence of others. Well,
if they get to the other side of this, if
Trevor gets to the other side of this, it will
unlock the potential of the team. It's doesn't matter. Are
(44:08):
you tough enough to get to the other side. That's
what everyone has to wait and see over the next
couple weeks.
Speaker 1 (44:14):
Yeah, and again, not where they want to be right
now in terms of how they're playing, but just get
into the tournament. And this is a quarterback. When we
talk about ceiling and that's been kind of the word
of the day. Trevor still has a very high ceiling.
Hopefully gets healthy, Jags get right, they get into the tournament,
and we see the best of Trevor Lawrence once we
get to the postseason. All Right, we covered a lot
of ground on some big games today. I hope you
(44:34):
have enjoyed this episode. I know you're probably asking, what
the heck will you guys can talk about the Chiefs
and the Raiders. Well, we save that. We want to
have a little bit longer discussion on that one. We
will have that posted for you tomorrow, so be on
the lookout for that. All right, that's going to do
it for us today and we'll see it tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Right here on, move the sticks
Speaker 1 (45:01):
You want to
And now move the sticks with Daniel, Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to move the six DJ and Bucky back with you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Buck? How heck are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Man?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You have good Christmas? Nice little time with the Yeah,
look yeah it was great man.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
The Colladay is always a good time to reminisce, to
give gratitude and his press thanks and have everyone around.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
It's a great, great time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I was thinking about you because my present the the
you know, we kind of as you get older, like
you don't really need much. So my present that I
got this year was a gift card to Ruth Chris,
and I thought, oh, this is Bucky's dream, this is
Bucky's dream Christmas right here. So you know, Bucky, you
go ready post up. He's good to go.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, you like when you go to the Combine like
that's that's it.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
If you ever want, if you're ever looking for an
encounter with Bucky Brooks, you need an autograph, a picture.
Maybe you got some old Bill's merch you want to
get autographed, Uh, Indianapolis Combine, go to Ruth Chris. You'll
find Bucky posts it up there. It's a very good
chance you'll be able to reel that in. All right, Buck,
let's get to what happened last night. It's signed for
the Monday night recap. We're gonna get into a bunch
of these games. Where we got to start, first of all,
(01:10):
with the last one of the week, which was the
to me, the headliner. You can talk about the Chiefs
and their collapse, that's a storyline for sure, but to me,
the story of the weekend was the Ravens bullying the
bully going into San Francisco and just beating the stuffing
out of the forty nine ers.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So here, here's the thing about the Baltimore Ravens Sanrancisco
forty nine as matchup. It was hailed as the super
Bowl preview, and if it very well may be a
preview to what we see in the Super Bowl in
the middle of February. But you know, I think the
narrative coming in because San Francisco had kind of bullied
so many different teams, it was almost as if we
forgot that Baltimore has what two three decades of a
(01:52):
bully ball reputation, that this is what they need to
change and this is how they've always.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Won their big games.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
And look, I made the mistake because I fully expected
the Niners to handle the Ravens. I thought they had
a more complete team in terms of like all facets
of the team functioning, but that reputation and that mindset,
like when you kind of challenge Baltimore, they're they're like
three types of guys, right. They're guys that rumped from
(02:19):
the fight, They're guys who reluctantly fight, and then they're
guys that run to the fight. The Baltimore Ravens are
the guys that run to the fight. So they embraced
this kind of encounter. They embraced taking on the forty
nine ers in their environment. They embrace playing a very
physical style of football. And to me, I was surprised
because I felt like the Niners back down. Yeah, the
(02:40):
interceptions in the turnovers and all that played apart, but
I felt like the Niners have always gone forward against
so many teams, kind of imposed their will on opponents.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
But I didn't see the same vigor.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
I didn't see the same edginess against the Baltimore Ravens,
because maybe they saw a team that would punch back
unlike some of the other teams they face along the way.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, I'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I don't know if you saw the comments after the
game from Patrick Queen. I don't know, Drew, do we
have that we have that audio on that.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
You play a brand of football and people don't want
to play. Everybody want to be out here Q playing
basketball on grads and stuff. I mean, we ain't with
all that, so you could do all that stuff. You
just gonna get in the mouth every play. Honestly, you know,
get care of this by all the prettiest stuff you do,
gammixed stuff is oute. We still have had a line
of play football. You still going to get touch. So
that's our mindset. That's how we want to come out
and just hit people in the mouth.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, you still got to get touched us. That's pretty
app description right there. I mean I wish I wish
you could bottle that up, buck and share it with
your high school team. I wish college coaches listened to this.
That's the message, like, Hey, the whole world, you know,
from shoot from high school to college in the NFL
has gone to it's a space and speed game. Right,
Let's get out in space, let's get to our speed,
(03:48):
and let's let them go basketball and grass, whatever you
want to call it, and Baltimore said, yeah, it's still
there's a time and place where you got to see me.
You know, there's gonna be physical confrontation. There's going to
be physical battles, and as you met, they don't shy
away from that.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
They never have.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And I thought they were uniquely positioned to match up
with this forty nine er team.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
And going back to the game, you.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Could see it, Buck, You saw a lot of a
lot of three deep stuff, three deep, four under, and
then the middle of the field is closed and the
forty nine ers live in the middle of the field.
They live in the middle of the field with tight ends.
They live in the middle of the field with their receivers.
They like to get the ball to their backs. That's
their their space. Now, brock Purty actually made some nice
throws out to the perimeter, some of the better throws
(04:29):
I've seen him make this year on the outside. Trying
to adjust to that a little bit. They hit Kittle
a couple times early and then after that they just
kind of Baltimore just shut it down. And then as
we always talk about on here, you love to say it,
tips and overthrows will get you, and that was a
big factor in brock Purty's four interceptions. I think both
of these things can be true. And social media, it's
(04:52):
hard to convey this message. You're not going to get
it out in the character limitation there. But I still
believe brock Purty should still be alive for the MVP.
Everybody else has kind of buried him after this game.
He had a bad game. He's still up there statistically
with just about everybody. I think he's a really, really
good fit in this system. He's played at a really
high level. That can be true. The other thing they
(05:12):
can be true is this team is not built to
come from behind because brock Purty does not have the
arm to be able to beat defenses when everybody in
the stadium knows you're going to throw the ball. That's
the whole thing about the Shanahan system. Everything looks the
same you come off that he can diagnose. He gets
to his reads quickly, He gets the ball out there
with anticipation and accuracy when there's no threat of the run,
When they don't honor your run fakes, the ball is
(05:34):
going to have to beat the fenders. And I don't know,
he's never had that big arm, didn't have that big
arm coming out, and I tweeted out, I don't know
what you thought of it. My thing was when you
saw Sam Donald go in that game, and I watched
the watched it back this morning on tape. That's a
different level. There's a reason why one guy was the
third pick and one guy was mister irrelevant, not saying that.
You know, Brock's been a much better quarterback, much much
(05:56):
better quarterback than Sam Donald, but when you're trailing in
a game where you have to throw the football, Sam
Garnold has his arm strength to be able to do that,
whereas Brock Purty. I think that's a question mark that's
going to hang out there.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So DJ there's this huge debate right it exists on
the Twitter verse. It started when Cam Newton talked about it.
We've done our own version where we talked about trucks
and trailers. Cam Newton used game managers versus game changers,
and everyone was up at arms. But what it is
is a very nuanced conversation is about the levels of
talent that play the position, and there's some guys that
(06:28):
have a different level of talent that makes them uniquely
positioned to change the game based on not only what
they can do inside the structure of the offense, but
what they also can add. Sometimes that's athleticism. Sometimes that's
arm talent, where you can change arm angle you have
special talent like Matthew Stafford would fall in that category
(06:49):
in terms of his arm ability. His arm talent is
game changing other guys, everything has.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
To be right. The way you manage them, you operate
the team.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
The way that you understand how to distributed and get
the ball to the playmakers is that it's almost like
having two different types of point guards, right, the guy
who is the highest cist guy versus the scoring guard.
Both are effective, both are functional, but there's a cap
on each of them. And so when we talk about
Rock Purty in comparison to Lamar Jackson in this game,
you can see the ceiling on brock Purty when the
(07:20):
team got behind and they had to play a traditional
drop back style of the ball. Rock Purty doesn't have
like the unique talents to the n say hey, I'm
just going to will it with my arm talent, whereas
a guy like Lamar Jackson it may be utilized his athleticism,
his feet, his playmaking ability, his ability to extend the play,
all of those things, much like Pat Mahomes and Josh
(07:42):
Allen are able to do in their own unique ways.
And so it's not being disrespectful to Brock or any
of the other guys that fall into those categories. But
it's a nuanced discussion talking about just the differences between
the levels of elite in this league.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah, no, it's again, I think it's a complex, complicated conversation.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
It's not all or nothing.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
It's not Brock Purty's the best.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Brock Party is the worst.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Rock Purty is an MVP caliber quarterback, and I do
think if they win their last couple of games in
Baltimore were to slip up, I think he's he's he's
got a right to be in that discussion. His stats
are going to be there. He's a perfect fit. It
reminds me again, kind of looking at that Drew Brees
set up when Drew Brees was rolling. That's that's the
way Brock Purty's playing the game like Drew Brees. Drew
Brees is not going to, you know, throw the ball
(08:26):
through a wall. But his superpower was being able to
see things, diagnose things, and get the ball where it
needs to be, and that's that's what brock Purty has done.
So anyways, it's a it's an interesting discussion Lamar. On
the other hand, the stats don't, you know, blow you away, Buck,
But when you're watching it, it's just at some point
in time, it's just kind of like the eyeball test
of my eyes tell me that he's different than everybody
(08:48):
else out on the field, and he makes this whole
thing work.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
So here's the thing about Lamar Jackson. Here's maybe why
I slept on the Baltimore Ravens. Coming on the heels
of watching the Ravens up close and personal, watching their offense,
it kind of reminds me a bit like playing the
video game. Right, So when you're playing the video game
and you have the quarterback and your quarterback is faster
than everybody else, sometimes you just kind of move around
and just wait for your guys to uncover, or you
(09:13):
just take off and run. I feel like for Baltimore,
that's kind of like what they have in their pocket.
They're not using Lamar Jackson like he was used previously.
They do on occasion, Yeah, they'll pull the zone raad
to do some design quarterback runs, but a lot of
his runs now are coming on scramble plays. And what
that does is that puts a different pressure on the
defense because now you're scared to play man and man
(09:34):
because if he takes off, you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Explosive chunk plays on the ground.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
If you play zone, that's fine, But now when he
moves around, how discipline can you be?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
The plaster the wide receivers on the perimeter.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And in a way, he is doing what Pat Mahomes
has done the last few years in terms of buying time,
But he's doing it, I would say, as a better athlete.
And so it now has made the Ravens offense dangerous
and maybe more difficult to find, even though I would
say schinmatically it's still very simple.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
But his ability to.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Pick up yardage as a drop back passer as opposed
to the primary runner changes the equation. It really flips
the script for how defensive coordinators have to defend this offense.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah, and they have a lot of different weapons, and
they've never had this many weapons. And even when you
have the injury to Mark Andrews that they've done a
nice job of spreading that ball around. It's the best
receiving corps I think that they've had for sure since
Lamar's been there, might be the best receiving corps they've
ever had there, So a lot of talent around him.
One thing about the Ravens, They've won seven games by
fourteen plus points this year, so they're not just winning
(10:39):
their hammering teams and some good teams along the way.
All right, let's stay to a team that is very
much in that discussion as the best team in football.
The Ravens might have staked their claim, but the team
they're going to see this next week at home, that's
the discussion, and that's the Miami Dolphins. Coming off a
big win over the Dallas Cowboys, got to have a game,
especially when you look at the schedule. They go to
(11:01):
Baltimore next and they finish up the season against Buffalo,
so it is a very very tough road. The playoffs
have already started for Miami, and they got a big
one here against the Cowboys with that win.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah, no, there was a big win.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
It was a big win because these are two teams
that we really wondered who could kind of change their
style to kind of get ready to play for these
pressure rized environments that they're gonna have to face coming
down the stretch, and so the Miami Dolphins were able
to kind of stay within themselves. Look, they're cute and creative,
they do all this stuff, but they can run the football.
And then defensively, they're becoming a much better team on defense,
(11:33):
but offenously, it's the speed and explosiveness the weapons that
they have on the outside, starting with Tyreek Hill and
then going to Jalen Waddle and then all the speed
that they have in the backfield. They can produce explosive
plays in a variety of ways. And you saw down
the stretch when they were down they had to have
a two minute drive. It didn't mean that they had
to throw it over the top is throwing a little
quick pass out to Tyreek Hill. He makes two or
(11:54):
three guys move, and a five year pass goes to
fifteen to twenty yards in a hurry. That put tremendous
amount of pressure on the defense because your ability to
tackle in the space is going to be tested early
and often, and if you can't get those guys to
the ground, it makes for.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
A long date.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, they have five guys with a catch over eighteen
yards in this game, and when you watch it. One
of the things that I wrote down when I was
watching it this morning, the timing and the trust. You know,
it's hard to have one without the other. Right and
to a talk about Loa those bang eights that they're throwing,
which to me is hilarious when you watch them. Tyreek
Killbuck has to gear down like you want to hit
(12:31):
that thing. You think about I think about our colleague
Michael Irvin like kind of him and Troy Aikman made
that round famous with hitting that skinny post, that bang
eight where the back foot ball is gone. Tyreek has
to gear down off the line and kind of pace
himself because he's going to get to the top of
the route too fast. But their timing is beautiful to
a backfoot band ball's gone. You can't defend that. I
(12:53):
mean you can speak to it as somebody who's played
both positions corner and wide out. When you have that
type of timing and a perfect ball and you have
the speed and the explosiveness of somebody like Tyreek Hill,
what do you do? What are you gonna do on that?
And if they're not going to hit that, then they're
gonna end up. He's gonna push you, and he's gonna
curl up at about twenty yards after he's just poured
on the speed to run you out of your pedal.
(13:14):
It's just like, these completions are there anytime you want them.
And I watched this tape right after I watched the
Kansas City Chiefs tape, and that's another conversation we can
have later, but it was it was so drastic. The
difference between the offense is the space that the speed creates.
And it's not just him, it's waddle. Cedric Wilson did
a nice job in this game. Robbie Chosen got one
for nineteen yards as well. You feel, you feel the speed,
(13:37):
and when you combine the speed with the timing and
the accuracy, I know the Ravens said, you know, everybody
likes to play basketball and grass and we're gonna punch
you in the mouth that when they play at the
level that they played at when they needed it with Miami, again,
twenty two points didn't light up the scoreboard, but when
you need it, man, I'm looking forward to that matchup,
fast forward to next week.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Yeah, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Because the contract style will challenge the Baltimore Ravens in
a different way than the San Francisco forty nine ers did.
But what you talk about when it comes to Tyreek
Hill and two a tongue about Lowell and Jaylen Wallle
that bang gate. So you gave credit Detroit Aikman and
Michael Irvin. I'm gonna take it back to the team
that you currently were for, the Chargers. So I came
(14:19):
into the league. Charlie Joyner who played with the Air
coriol Charges with Dan Fouts. Don Coriele was the head coach.
He was my first position coach with the Buffalo Bills.
He openly discussed how he and Dan Fouts could throw
that route blindfolded. He talks about the timing of the
route makes it where it's unguardable. If you look at
the dimensions of the football field, he says, you line
(14:41):
up in the middle of the numbers, You run to
the bottom of the numbers, which is the side closest
to the sideline.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
You hit that at.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
About ten to twelve yards, and you make an angle
where you should catch that ball twenty one yards down
the field, one yard on top of the numbers, and
it is unstoppable. Depending on the leverage of the corner,
and the compliment to that is the speed out.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
So the corner can never be right.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
If you playing the band gate, they're gonna throw the
speed out on you all day. If you're hanging on
the speed out, they're gonna hit you with the band gate.
And what you're seeing because of Tyreek Hill's speed, people
are afraid to press them. They're playing off to a
tongue about lawa throws on time and on target, and
it really has made this route unstoppable for the Dolphins,
and the speed that they have overall has made this
(15:27):
offense one where you can have a distributing point guard
to a tongue about la play at a high level
because his job is to get the ball in the
hands of playmakers, and those playmakers let it work. So
when we talk about game managers and all those other things,
it's not necessarily about that. Is the weapons around you
allow you to elevate your game, and your job is
just to get the ball to the hands of the
(15:48):
playmakers and get out the way.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So I want to get to the Cowboys side of
this thing. You know it much has been said the
Cowboys aren't beating good teams. Right, they beat the Eagles
and outside of that, not much. I actually left feeling
okay about this. You know, again, this is kind of
a you know, we'll see what the seating looks like.
They're in the tournament, they're going to be in the playoffs.
This is a this is a this is an impressive
showing for me. You lose by two points. Dak played
(16:12):
a pretty clean game. Now they heated him up. They
got some pressure on a Bradley Chubb, and that defense
with Vic Fangio did some nice things. But Seedee Lamb
you see him on the highlights here, six for a
buck eighteen. You know, they didn't run the ball, maybe
quite as well as they would have liked to, but
I thought the defense hung in there as best they could. Again,
you hold the Dolphins of twenty two points. It was
a you know, it's it's it's a two point game
against a really, really good team on the road. I
(16:34):
left this game feeling fine about the Cowboys. I think
they're still a very dangerous team once you get in
the playoffs. It's just provided they don't play the Niners,
the one team they don't match up with.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
No, look, I think you should feel good about it because,
let's be honest, they had an opportunity. They were up
in the winning moments of the game. This is exactly
how Dallas probably wanted the game to play out. The
whole of the Miami Dolphins to twenty two points, that
is a win. This is a team that is capable
hanging at forty burgers on everybody. So if you're the
Dallas Cowboys, you feel good about certain parts of it.
But the running game, or the lack thereof, is a concern.
(17:06):
We talk about Tony. Tony Pola immediately talked about the
slow start to the season coming off of that leg
and those things. You have to be able to run
the football when you want to in the postseason, and
so the Cowboys have to find a way to work
on that over the next two weeks to get ready
for the tournament. They have to be able to run
the football so they can't become so they don't become
(17:27):
a one dimensional team in the postseason. Look, it's not
necessarily the rushing yards, it's the attempts because the attempts
to low you still to utilize play action, still control
the game and dictate the terms to the defense as
opposed to being in a one hundred percent drive back
game where now they can play pressure or coverage and
they dictate to the.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Offense, no doubt. Let's get to this next one here,
Lions Vikings, Lions win. They win the division for the
first time, what since ninety three, I think it was.
It's been a long time. You see it on the
screen right there in nineteen ninety three. A lot of
different ways they can go this. I would just say this,
you know, Jamior Gibbs has been awesome. A couple of
(18:06):
touchdowns in this game. Eighty yards rushing, twenty receiving. Kirby
Joseph had two picks this second year in a row.
He's a young player, is twenty three years old. Second
year in the league. He had four picks last year.
He's got four picks this year. Almarross Saint Brown goes
twelve for a bucko six. He just keeps doing his thing.
To me, when you're looking at who's going to get
hired in these coaching cycles, buck one of the things
(18:27):
you know, you can look at overall success of the
team or the yardage, all this kind of stuff that
you're having on either side of the ball and leadership
and hear all these things. To me, if you're hiring
a coach, find out who's playing young players and the
young players are playing well. And I'm not just talking
about first round picks. I'm talking about getting guys on
the field that are third, fourth, fifth round picks that
are productive because it tells me that you've got guys
(18:50):
that not only how to put a plan together, but
you got guys that know how to develop. That's like,
to me, that's the ace in the hole in this
league right now when you don't have as much time.
Who are the elite teacher in this game that can
take what you give them and make them better. And
to me, Dan Campbell and that staff, and we know
a bunch of those coaches on the offense and defensive
side of the ball. It's not just one of the
other both, but they should be candidates because they have
(19:13):
got young guys on the field and they're playing lights out.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, they'll I'm.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Gonna give a lot of credit to Dan Campbell and
that staff. That staff, there was a lot made of this.
That staff is loaded with a bunch of former players.
You think about Mark mnell and like Aaron le and
Aaron Glenn and so many other guys, Hank Freeley and
so many other guys that are working with them. So
those young guys done a really good job of helping
those guys grow from newbies to learning how to play
(19:40):
and crafting it. But DJ, I think it even goes
beyond that. I think if you're thinking about Ben Johson
or one of the other guys on the staff, I
think you need to dig into their personel department and
talk to Ray Agnew and some of those other guys.
Because the pairing of the general manager and the coach,
we're now seeing how important it is for everyone to
be on the same page. Brad Holmes has brought up
bunch of like draft picks to the table. Dan Campbell
(20:04):
has been willing to take those young picks and put
them on the field, and that stuff has worked. And
we've talked about the need to have the synergy between
the front office and the coaching staff. If you're going
to be a draft and developed team, a draft and
developed franchise, everybody has to be on the same page.
And when I look at the Detroit Lions and each
week we talk about the rookie output score and how
(20:26):
many of those times those guys have been on the list,
and not just.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
The first rounders.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
It is a franchise philosophy that we're gonna play the
young players and everyone is on board.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
And the Detroit Lions have been rewarded for that.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah, and on Almon Ross, Saint brown Buck and I
also look at that man, what makes him? What makes
him so good? So I went through and watched a
bunch of him this morning. A couple of things. You know,
we talked about the strength, we talk about the toughness,
you know, what he can do after the catch, but
the spatial awareness that he has working in zone zones,
and it sounds it's kind of one of those things
(21:03):
you see it. It's harder to explain. But if you
watch Cooper Cup and you're gonna say, what makes Cooper
Cup great? And you can watch him putting guys in
a blender when they're in man coverage. To me, the
superpower is just that feel and understanding of making yourself
big and being a nice target to your quarterback. And
it's not like it's it's hard. It's hard to explain it.
But when you have a defender here and a defender there,
(21:24):
instead of being at the sixty to forty line, like
I'm sixty percent away from this defender, I'm forty percent
closer to this one, Like.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
That would be great.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
He is fifty to fifty every single time, like he
knows how to create the most space possible between defenders.
And that's it's like a basketball thing, you know. I
don't know where the background is there, where that comes from,
but he has an unbelievable feel working in those zones.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Okay, DJ, We've talked about this, and we've talked about
building teams, and I think you talked about when you
work for the Ravens. You guys talked about smart tough,
talk about instincts of instincts in those things. I think
sometimes intelligence football intelligence and what I would call booksmarts.
I think they both are underrated. And I think when
you have smart guys, smart guys have a tendency to
(22:06):
be able to figure it out. And I think for
Amara Ras Saint Brown, if you understand the background and
the pedigree and having to learn all the different languages
and how mom and dad really pushed all of the
same brothers to learn at a high level, I am
not surprised that he understands how to figure it out,
because smart guys can make the coach right. When the
(22:26):
coach is wrong, he may call the wrong play, but
smart guys understand how to figure it out. So when
you talk about the awareness DJ, some of that awareness
is the na field, but a lot of that awareness
comes from studying and understand where the holes are going
to be, being able to anticipate where the areas will be.
So now you're on the same page with the quarterback
and Jery Goff has a comfort level and knowing a
(22:48):
I can trust that this guy's going to be at
the right spot even if we get it wrong initially,
he'll help me out. That trust allows golf to keep
coming to him over and over again in the clutch.
So we can talk about toughness and physicality and all
those things effort, but man intelligence is an underrated aspect
to having a lot of success in the league. And
(23:09):
I think amara Ron Saint Brown has that intelligence that
you're looking for football intelligence as well as booksmortes.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, that's a great point, bringing up all the languages
that he learned too. I remember learning about that through
the process and when he was going through the recruiting thing.
His brother obviously play at standfard. It is a smart
smart family is a smart dude, and it shows up
on the grass for sure. All Right, they're gonna take
a quick break. When we come back, we're going to
jump into some more of these games. It was a
great weekend of football. We'll get to some more of
those ball games right after this.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Back here with.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Bucky and Buck, we'll go through some more of these games,
including a couple that we were at. We start here
with the one eye witnessed on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Peacock.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
By the way, how was that experience? Did you get
a chance to pull up the Peacock app and check
that thing out book?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
I did get a chance to see a little bit
of the game. I was nice. You guys jumped out,
the Charges jumped out. Yeah, it was different. It's different.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
It's a different experience. It's it's so many different ways
to consume football these days. You're just trying to get
your arms around.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah, it was a game. It was actually a fun
game to call. After the week before where the Raiders
ran the Chargers out of the gym, this was a
competitive game. Gift Smith taken over as the interim head coach.
I thought he had these guys ready to go. They
played hard, eastern stick actually for the second week in
a row, made some nice throws, use his legs in
this one, ran the ball pretty well. It was enough
(24:28):
to show that I think he's a competent, capable backup quarterback.
So happy for him on the Chargers side of things.
But this is about the Bills. They're nine and six now,
this is a team that now is in the tournament.
Just just need to handle their business coming down the stretch.
Josh Allen didn't have a super you know, blow you
away game, but Buck the explosive plays were still there,
and he found him through Gabe Davis and this one
(24:49):
who had been kind of missing in action, he had
him on a go ball. He extended plays, made things happen.
I think Joe Brady's done a nice job with this
offense since he's taken over. And one of the things
I was thinking of is, okay, Josh. Josh has got
a zillion touchdowns, you know, passing and rushing. He had
two rushing touchdowns in this one as well as well
as a passing touch and I think it's like an
(25:09):
eleventh game where he's had at least a one rushing
one passing touchdown, which is an NFL record. But when
we think about him getting himself in trouble with turnovers, right,
that's been the issue. So their vertical game, their vertical
pass game has been on the outside, take your shots
on go balls, double moves. Let him try and be
aggressive on the outside because there's no trouble out there.
(25:29):
And then outside of that, you know, hey, use your legs,
make some things happen. Try and get the run game
going a little bit. James Cook did fumbled twice in
this one. That's something he's going to have to clean up.
But I think they found a way to still be dynamic,
explosive without maybe putting the ball in as much risk.
He did have the one pick, but that, to me,
I think is an adjustment from Joe Brady instead of
trying to jam everything into tight windows into the middle
(25:51):
of the field.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Yeah, you have to know you personnel, and I think
knowing the personnel is knowing what the quarterback does really
really well. And what Josh Allen always has is his
unique superpower is his ability to not only run it.
Not only is superior arm talent, but his ability to
buy time and improvise and do those things. So it's
funny you talked about the one on one coverage on
(26:13):
the outside taking the goal balls, but DJ, how about
when he scrambles and takes the deep shot down the boundary.
His ability to stress the defense as a dual threat playmaker.
And so when we talk about game changers, like, I'm
not saying that every game changer has to have athleticism,
but man, in today's game, when your quarterback is athletic
(26:34):
and can extend plays and buy time, it allows you
to put so much stress on the defense horizontally and
vertically because man, he makes them have to hang with
the people. You don't know if I stick with my man,
do I go chase the quarterback? And then as soon
as I just kind of peek at him, he'll throw
it right over my head. And that's what Josh Allen
has been able to do. And in a league where
(26:54):
explosive plays typically leads to points, you have to be
able to generate those chunks plays and Josh Allen's improvisational
skills allows the Buffalo Bills to do it. And lastly,
this is what we say Josh Allen didn't played great
most of the game. But guess what, man, when he
has to take it over, he has the ability to say,
you know what, guys, I got this, I'll put it
(27:15):
on my back and I'll figure it out.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
DJ.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
That is what every franchise is looking for from their quarterback.
You need a quarterback that can do that because it's
too hard in this game to always get the play
calls right. Sometimes you want your quarterback to be able
to erase some of your mistakes and make it look
good on the back end the game.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
On the line, Chargers go cover zero, they get pressure
on Josh Allen. What does he do kind of a
Mahomes type move where he just retreats and buys time.
That way, the Chargers miscommunicate the bunch and the release.
They end up popping popping free. But if Josh Allen's
going to just hang in there back foot and try
and throw it, there's nothing He's gonna get hit in
(27:55):
the back of the head. He does a nice job retreating,
buying time backfoot makes an impressive It was a game
winner on the other side of the ball for the
Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Buck.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
You know, we talk a lot about the importance of
you know, winning quarterback play and can you get to
the quarterback like that? That's the championship philosophy here.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
So tell me if you.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Think sacks are an important stat or they're an overrated stat.
The number one team in the league in sacks is
the Baltimore Ravens. The number two team is the Miami Dolphins,
The number three team is the Buffalo Bills, the number
four team is the Kansas City Chiefs, and number five
team is Indianapolis Colts. I mean, these are all playoff
caliber teams with the top three Baltimore, Miami Buffalo, and
(28:37):
I would say even though Kansas City is not right
right now offensive, their defense has been pretty elite. They
have the capability of the ceiling of a quarterback playing
at a monster level for a three to four week
playoff stretch and a defense that can rush the passer.
Those are you know, especially those top three Baltimore, Miami Buffalo,
those are super Bowl caliber teams.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Yeah, super caliber teams. You're talking about the Kansay Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
But yeah, one of the reason while they're able to
hang in every game is because their defense has played
LIFs out. When you think about the Buffalo Bills and
the other teams that you mentioned, Miami Baltimore being able
to stat the quarterback well, DJ, this is a game
where we talk about negative plays, splash plays, as Mike
Tomlin always likes to talk about, they changed the game
because when you hit the quarterback and you knock the
(29:19):
quarterback down, a couple of things happen. Not only the
negative yards from the sack, but it quick as the clock.
A quickened clock leads to hurry throws, arrant passes. Those
passes eventually are tipped or overthrown. They lead the turnovers,
and so it all works together. The pressure from the
front line, whether you bring in second level defenders, whatever.
If you get pressure on the quarterback, it increases your
(29:42):
opportunity to get turnovers and to change the game.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
And you have to be able to do it.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
And the teams that don't have the ability to knock
the quarterback down, you don't have a hard time staying
in the tournament for the long term because you're not
going to generate enough negative plays to win.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
No question. And that is a team flow that's done it.
And the Baltimore Ravens there at the top of them,
and the Miami Dolphins one and two in that category
are going to score off this week. Looking forward to
that one. Browns Texans Joe Flacco, he's rolling somehow. You know,
the Browns are one of three teams still live for
the number one seed in the tournament. I mean, what
a testament to how well rounded this roster is, how
(30:19):
dominant this defensive front has been. Jim Schwartz doing a
great job there on the defensive side of the ball,
Miles Garrett having a defensive Player of the Year type year,
but Joe Flacco stepping in and not only saving the season,
buck making them a dangerous team.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, making them a dangerous team.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
And look, I'll say this, Joe Flacco has been able
to make them dangerous despite having an issue with his
own turnovers, like he turns the ball over, but his
aggressiveness in the passing game forces you defend every area
of the field. It is loosen up the block that
teams had on the running game, because now you've really
got to back up because Joe Flacco will take those
(30:57):
shots and if you don't, if you're stubborn, he will
go to Amari Cooper over and over and over again.
Amary Cooper had over two hundred and fifty yards, maybe
two hundred and sixty five yards, some ridiculous number catching
the ball. And it's because Joe Flacco is willing to
let it go. And as teams are preparing for the Browns,
they have to prepare it for a different version of
the Browns. And I'll be honest, this version is even
(31:18):
different than the version that we saw with Deshaun Watson,
and so Kevin Stefanski has been able to aggressively use
back pages of the playbook to allow this team to
be more aggressive. They've scored more and with the defense
that they have, if they can put a fourteen spot
on you and allow Miles Garrett and company to begin
to harass the quarterback, the turnovers begin to come in bunches,
(31:41):
and that's when they go from good to great.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
One of the things I love, I love when you
have an offensive head coach with a dominant defense, because
so many times when you have a defensive head coach
with a dominant defense, they tell the offense, hey, don't
screw up, don't turn it over. We're going to keep
the score down. We're going to win thirteen to ten.
Whereas an offensive coach with a dominant defense says, you
know what, our defense can bail us out. Let's play aggressive.
(32:03):
Let's go out there and chase points. Even if we
make some mistakes, our defense is going to be able
to back us up. Maybe they'll get, you know, force
a field goal, they'll get off the field. But let's
play aggressive because we can live with some turnovers. But
let's go out there and try and chase points knowing
our defense has our back. It's two totally different philosophies.
But you know, I think back to you know, look
at it where the forty nine ers are right now.
(32:24):
Obviously they have a dominant defense and they've played that way,
but you've got an offense and Kyle Shannon said, look,
let's go be aggressive. Hey, if we make a mistake,
we make a mistake, our defense will have our back.
I just love that combination in that formula.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Well, here's what I love from Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Like the offensive head coach being aggressive, defensive head coach
being aggressive. With DJ there's a toughness that this team has.
And I'm not talking about the physical toughness. I'm talking
about the mental toughness to not collapse when you lose
all your quarterbacks to not collapse when you lose an
NFL Russian leader in Nick Chubb, to not collapse when
you have injuries on the offensive line, to not worry
(32:59):
about all that and to keep playing.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
This team has ten wins. And if you think about
the list of injuries and.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
You think about other teams around the league who have
offered up every excuse as to why they're not able
to be in the hunt and those things.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
To me, it is the resilience.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
It's the gritty mindset that somebody has said, Kevin Stefanski,
Jim Schwartz, it runs throughout the locker room that they
didn't collapse when all of us on the outside world
were like, ah, there's no chance that the Cleveland Browns
are gonna.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Be able to do it.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
They're like, no, they figured it out. And now in
figuring it out, they've become a team that's really dangerous.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
I'm be honest with you, DJ.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
I know Joe Flacco is thirty eight, but this team
is more dangerous now than they were at any point
during the season.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
And I think when we kind of ask some of
these teams who we may.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Not want to face off with, I certainly don't want
to face off with the Cleveland Browns because the defense
is jit and as long as Joe Flacco is pushing
the envelope like he has, they have a chance to
knock off anybody in an AFC playoff field.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Yeah, and I always said this too. When you get
to quarterbacks postseason, it's about ceiling. It's not about floor.
A floor can get you through the regular season. A floor,
a high floor, can help you win double digit games.
When you get in the tournament, it's about can you elevate?
And can you elevate for three to four weeks?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
And that's what Joe Flack was already done the first
Super Bowl that he won, was he was this unbelievable
quarterback throughout the whole season. He was unbelievable for a month.
That's all you need. It's about the ceiling. It's not
about the floor. I mean, you tell me if I'm
wrong there, Buck, But that's what I've always believed.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
No, because in the playoffs and as we get into
the playoffs and begin to have these discussions DJ, the
microscope then goes to the quarterback because the teams are
even now, it's all good teams in the tournament vying
for the title, and so the separating factor is the
level of the quarterback. Can the quarterback take his game
up a notch and lead the team in the offense
(34:51):
to higher heights. And so when we talk about Joe
Flack on how he elevated doing that Super Bowl run
with the Baltimore Ravens where I think he had eleven
touchdowns and only one interception, and he may play after
play after play, well, that experience matters, and that experience
not only matters for him, but it matters for those
around him. We always talk about how the quarterback is
a force multiplier, and you and I have talked about
(35:13):
how the one thing that a franchise quarterback, a true legitimate,
elite franchise quarterback, can do, he inspires hope. Well, when
they know that that quarterback has a higher ceiling, not
the floor, a high ceiling where he can do it
in a three or four game stretch where everyone begins
to believe that those Super Bowl dreams can become a reality.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Yeah, no question. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
The Browns, it's going an interesting team if they get
when they get into the tournament and who they match
up with their former quarterback by the way, once upon
a time, the number one overall pick Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
He is with the Bucks.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
You got to see them, see them and him up
close and personal. It's been a little bit of a
free fall for your Jags on the call for those games. Buck,
But let's start on the other side. First of all,
here with the Bucks in the run they've been on.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Okay, So here's the funny thing, not only about the
free fall for the Jags, but I think DJ every
team in the playoff field has undergone some kind of skid,
right You think about the Buffalo Bills. I think four
weeks ago we were saying it was all over, like
they were talking about Sean McDermott and those things. You
think about. Philadelphia lost three in a row. San Francisco
lost three in a row, So that's kind of a
(36:19):
part of the deal. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I think,
at one point, lost six of seven games before going
on this recent four game win streak. So when we
think about it, that has to be a part of
your DNA and the teams that can hold it together
when they come on the other side, man, they're the
ones that have enough of that that grit and resilience
to know that, ay, we've been through the bad moments,
(36:41):
we can get to it. And I say all that
to say that Baker Mayfield is the perfect quarterback for
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at this moment. All of the
adversity that he faced going from Cleveland to Carolina to
the Rams to now landing in Tampa Bay has made him,
I would say, a different quarterback.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
The quarterback that I watch on the field mature to
never lost.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
His confidence, but dj what he made was what I
call grown man. Plays fourth and short, having to scramble,
He'll stick his nose in there and get it. They're
trying to pressure and people right in his face. Here
throws a dart to Mike Evans, and what you see
is man. When the team loves the quarterback, it changes.
(37:23):
There's a genuine affinity from the Buccaneers players to Baker Mayfield.
He's ingratiated himself to the team. He still has the swag,
he's still super competitive, he has all of that other stuff.
But to me, I feel like the winding Road has
kind of taught him how to be a better teammate.
This is a dude that makes the Buccaneers dangerous on defense,
(37:44):
they're high pressure, they come after, but the weapons on
the outside on offense, god winning Evans with Baker Mayfield
being able to get the ball out of his hands
in this version of an offense that was very similar
to what he ran in LA. Yeah, this is a
tough team to deal with watching it up close and personal. Yeah,
Baker Mayfield and the Bucks are Hanfield. Yeah, this is
the best year of his career.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
You know, you think about the year he had with
the Browns, his best year there, actually has the same
numbers as he has right now in terms of almost
identical in terms of yards, touchdowns, interceptions, twenty six touchdowns,
eight picks. This was twenty twenty. This year twenty six touchdowns,
eight picks, almost identical. That was sixteen games. He had
thirty five sixty three yards. He's got thirty five ninety
(38:26):
eight now, so he's still got two more games to go,
so he's going to clips all those numbers. But really
playing the best ball of his career. And you touched
on the teammate thing, remember with Odell and all the
drama that existed there and how ugly that got towards
the end of his time there in Cleveland, and then
he kind of goes on that interesting ride to Carolina
and then too the Rams for a minute. He's found
a home here in Tampa. And it also shows you
(38:46):
the power of belief when you have the confidence of
not all your teammates, your coaches, even Jason Light when
he's gone on the record right when they brought him
into the building, they were elated and excited to have him.
And I think that's helped him, you know, play loose, play, free, play,
confident and kind of go back to the best version
of himself. So good for Baker Mayfield on the jag
side of things, DJ help me out here.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
Barka's going on continue the thing with Baker Mayfield. And
this is why, because we're at a time where we're
so hard on young quarterbacks that were ready to throw
them off, and I think that Baker mayfield journey and
odyssey should be something for us to think about when
we talk about the twenty twenty one quarterbacks, whether it's
Trey Lance or Zach Wilson or Max Jones or all
(39:26):
those guys. Like everyone is going to poor dirdenem and
think that it's all over. But how you handle yourself
after that first dismissal, man can go a long way
to determine whether you have not only another chance to
extend your career, but another chance to be a legitimate
high end starting quarterback.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Baker Mayfield learned along the way, and it wasn't perfect.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
So there were some flaws there, there were some hiccups,
But I am telling you that if you can get
to the other side, there's something to be said for it.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
And for eighteen, there is.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Value in kicking the tires on a high end quarterback
because what I can tell you field level watching Baker Mayfield,
the first round talent shows up in the way that
he spins the ball. So now it's about taking someone
who has that kind of talent and putting them in
the right offense, the right environment, with the people around them,
with the right set of believers to kind of puff
(40:15):
that confidence in them. You may get what you thought
you were getting when you drafted them. So all is
not lost on some of these young quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield
is a tale, a good tale that hey, you can
bounce back for some of these difficult moments early in
your career.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Well, stay on the quarterback, then tell me what's going
on with Trevor. You're there every week?
Speaker 2 (40:34):
What are you seeing? Look?
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Man, when I look at the jaguarswe Here's what I
would say. DJ I just mentioned all those teams that
have had losing skis and all those other things. I
think what happens in those moments, the true character of
the team is revealed, and so no one is going
to help you get to the other side.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
You have to kind of dig down deep. You have
to be honest with yourself.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
You have to be honest with how you're playing, how
everyone else around you is playing, and then you have
to fix it. I will say Trevor is struggling, but
he's struggling not only because of his own things with
injuries and turnovers and look, a shaky offensive line, receivers
in and out of the lineup, all of that stuff
is going on. I would say that there is a
(41:13):
lack of confidence right now because you lost for in
a row and you're trying to figure out how can
you get a win. And it will turn around for
Trevor and for everybody else when they just keep the
main things the main thing, just do the simple plays
really really well. So if you just say, hey, let's
just make sure we get out of the huddle on time,
get lined up, run to play, make sure everyone knows
exactly who they're blocking.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Let's blocking, and then start stacking wins.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
For Trevor, I will say I have more admiration for
him this year than any other year because it's been really,
really tough. But each and every week he asks for
the ball and he takes the start, and so there's
some things that he can clean up.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
The toughness is there.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Now, it's about making sure that you get the execution
up to the level so you can kind.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Of lead your team to wins.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
But he's doing with a lot of young people trying
to do He's trying to do it all.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
On his own.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
And once he kind of realizes less is more, let
me dial back, let me just stay within the framework
of the offense, let me make the simple plays to
routine plays. Then the other players will come and look, man,
there's still two games left. They have enough time to
get into the tournament. A lot of it is can
Trevor reset himself and then reset the team and get
them to believe that they still can go out and win.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
This is why you know, We've been doing this for
a long time. We've been friends for a long time.
Because you literally went the direction I was going to go.
Rookie year, seventeen starts, second year seventeen starts. This year
he started all fifteen games through a whole host of
injuries he's battled through this year. Just the ability to
post what that means to his teammates. To me, while
you might not be excited about what the building looks
(42:45):
like for Trevor right now, maybe there's some there's some
drywall that needs to be patched, maybe we've got a
little something going on with the roof buck, he is
solidifying his foundation with the organization just by posting, just
by going on out there and plan. When everybody in
that building and maybe not nationally, it's understood what he's
dealing with. You would know you're there each and every week.
(43:07):
But to me, I think there is value and I
do think that pours more concrete in the foundation of
his career.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
DJ, Like we always talk about it, we come from
an era in terms of like scouting, where men a
franchise quarterback takes the ball every week. This is what
it is. Ben Roethlisberg and Eli Manning, Philip Rivers. They
take the ball every week. When it's not baseball, you
don't do your lineup card, but when you fill it in,
QB one is always there.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
Trevor Lawrence has shown that he'll do that.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
Whether it's a knee injury, show the injury, concussion, he
shows up every week.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
And so that toughness is there.
Speaker 3 (43:41):
Now it's about taking that toughness, that dependability, that reliability and.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
Just look helping him help others.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
So figure out what the quarterback does well, figure out
what he's comfortable with, continue to talk to him through
those game management situations and allow him to slowly build
up his own confidence and the confidence of others. Well,
if they get to the other side of this, if
Trevor gets to the other side of this, it will
unlock the potential of the team. It's doesn't matter. Are
(44:08):
you tough enough to get to the other side. That's
what everyone has to wait and see over the next
couple weeks.
Speaker 1 (44:14):
Yeah, and again, not where they want to be right
now in terms of how they're playing, but just get
into the tournament. And this is a quarterback. When we
talk about ceiling and that's been kind of the word
of the day. Trevor still has a very high ceiling.
Hopefully gets healthy, Jags get right, they get into the tournament,
and we see the best of Trevor Lawrence once we
get to the postseason. All Right, we covered a lot
of ground on some big games today. I hope you
(44:34):
have enjoyed this episode. I know you're probably asking, what
the heck will you guys can talk about the Chiefs
and the Raiders. Well, we save that. We want to
have a little bit longer discussion on that one. We
will have that posted for you tomorrow, so be on
the lookout for that. All right, that's going to do
it for us today and we'll see it tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Right here on, move the sticks
Speaker 1 (45:01):
You want to
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.