Best of Daniel Jeremiah on NFL Network’s “Up to the Minute” | Black Monday Reactions

This episode of Move the Sticks features Daniel Jeremiah’s full slate of analysis from NFL Network’s live Black Monday coverage on NFL Network's "Up to the Minute: Season End Special". DJ reacts in real time as coaching changes roll in across the league and shares his thoughts on the firings of Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.

He also breaks down the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft class, and previews every Wild Card matchup: Rams–Panthers, Packers–Bears, Chargers–Patriots, Bills–Jaguars, 49ers–Eagles, and Texans–Steelers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks. Hey, everybody,
welcome to the NFL Network up to the minute season
in special.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Presented by Verizon.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Patrick Claibon here in our NFL LA newsroom with Daniel Jeremiah.
It's the New Horizons Monday, as we're celebrating some new
beginnings and perhaps, depending on your perspective, some endings for
some folks around the league.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
I'm pumped up for the playoffs. We've got some unbelievable
matchups to discuss. But it's also the season of change
in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yeah, the change for those some of those things who
aren't going to be involved in the second season, which
will be a heavy part of our discussion here on
this New Horizons Monday. But let's go out to our
NFL Network insiders and welcome them in. It's NFL Network
insider Tom Peli Sero as well as Ian Rappaport. We
start with changes late changes that coming early in this
morning for us on the West coast after six seasons, Tom,

(00:49):
Kevin Stefanski out in Cleveland, what can you tell us
about how that process transpire.

Speaker 4 (00:55):
I'm right, Patrick Brown's owner Jimmy has them speaking to
reporters just a short time go, saying that ownership takes
full responsibility for where the team is at, called winning
just eight games over the past two seasons horrible and
said that it will not continue. He also praised Kevin
Stefanski as a coach and a person, a guy who's
a two time NFL Coach of the Year, took a

(01:16):
whoe beyond franchise and took them to the playoffs twice,
which is no small feat in Cleveland. But over these
past couple of years, there's been frustration for everybody in
that building that they just weren't winning more games. Even
after two consecutive AFC North wins over the last two
weeks that brown still decided at this point they needed

(01:36):
a new voice in the building. For Kevin Stefanski, he
now is expected to become a top candidate potentially for
other head coaching jobs if he wants to pursue one
in this cycle. While for the Browns they're at an
interesting pivot point for the organization. For all their issues,
all their quarterback problems, they did see Shedor Sanders make
progress once he took over around midseason as the starting quarterback.

(01:59):
They've got one of the best rookie classes in the NFL.
Of course, Miles Garrett just broke the single season sack record,
and they got two first round picks in the twenty
twenty six draft. This is not the Browns when Kevin
Stefanski and Andrew Barry took over. Barry now leading the
search for a new head coach with a franchise. It
certainly has a ways to go here Patrick, but certainly

(02:20):
has some pieces to build around.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
And now Kevin O'Connell has the unlikely distinction of being
the only coach of the year since twenty nineteen to
not have been fired in any of these cycles. Let's
go over to a team that has made some changes
in the.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Head coach department.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
They have a new head coach once again, the Tennessee Titans,
also in the news Ian with regards to seeking out
the next head coach.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
That's right, the.

Speaker 5 (02:44):
Tennessee Titans are often running on their search, had the
last several months to prepare and get ready. We already
reported on a significant organizational change with general manager Mike
Borgonzi taking over final say for the Tennessee Titans and
running the search, and that will begin with a place
that Burgonzie knows very well, the Kannas City Chiefs. Matt
Naggi has received a request to interview for the Tennessee

(03:09):
Titans head coaching. Not really not a surprise. Borganzie and
Matt Naggi worked together for several years. Obviously this is
going to be This is not going to be the
last request. I would expect them to look at several
of the top candidates, including Michael McCarthy who's a former
head coach, including several of the top defensive coordinator candidates,

(03:29):
as well as potentially some familiar names Arthur Smith from
the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Formo see there would be another one.

Speaker 5 (03:34):
Tennessee Titans are going to have a expansive search, one
run by Borgonzi, with a new head man in focus.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
And you mentioned Steelers off with the cordinator Arthur Smith,
former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. There's another coach
joining the ranks of former Falcons head coach Rahe Morris
as well as Terry Fontnall. Let go a clean sweep
there in Atlanta. What's the road ahead for the Falcons toop.

Speaker 6 (03:58):
Well Patrick?

Speaker 4 (03:59):
This is part of a much broader reorganization for the
Atlanta Falcons, who also announced today changes even higher in
the front office. Rich McKay, longtime president and CEO, transitioning
into other business operations. Greg Beatles succeeds him, and the
team is going to hire a new President of Football Operations,
who then will be a part of the search for

(04:20):
a new head coach and GM who will report to
that president. The expectation has been Matt Ryan, the former
NFL MVP, is a prime candidate for that job. Under
the Rooney rule of the Falcons have to lead a
search for the president of football Operations. That search, i
am told, already underway, expected to move quickly. Once that

(04:41):
person is installed, then the President football Operations will be
a part of that process of finding the head coach
and the general manager. The Falcons also retains search firms,
two of them separately to provide background information and support
throughout the head coach and GM hires Raheem Morris and
Terry Fodd.

Speaker 6 (05:00):
The results just weren't.

Speaker 4 (05:01):
Good enough, even with a four game winning streak at
the end of the season. Here they were already out
of the playoff picture. At that point. Terry Fotna was
five years into a six year contract. His boldest moves
the swing on Kirk Cousins and then drafting Michael Pennix
about six weeks apart. Neither of those moves came off
the way that they wanted to. And as for Eve Morris,

(05:23):
who had a previous stint in the Falcons organization, had
been the interim coach back when they had made a
previous firing of Dan Quinn, he got an opportunity to
come back to the Falcons, But there were a lot
of things that just when they evaluated the overall leadership
were not where they wanted them to be. So again, yes,
they are now immediately commencing to search for the head

(05:43):
coach and the general manager. I am told that they
planned to hire that president of football Operations, and again
expectation is Matt Ryan is the leading candidate for that.
That president then will have say over the head coach
and GM, and the president, not the GM, we'll have
final say over all football decisions.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Patter.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
First off of the as you mentioned, Tom, that four
game winning streak where they did earn a playoff spot,
but it was for the Carolina Panthers. With that season
ending win over the Saints. Let's go over to good news,
not necessarily good news that you're in the conversation, but
good news in the.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Folks get to keep their jobs.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
So we'll start in Indianapolis, where the head coach and
the GM get the stick.

Speaker 5 (06:21):
Yeah, I think it's fair to say, as Kyle Brand
points it out this morning, if we're talking about your
team right now, you did not have the greatest.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
Season on Earth.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
I think that's fair to say.

Speaker 5 (06:29):
But yes, let's start with the Indianapolis Colts, who seemed
like they were set to have the greatest season earth,
starting eight and two, with Daniel Jones looking like a
comeback Player of the Year and everything rolling along for
Chris Boward and Shane Steichen's team, Daniel Jones fractured his leg,
ended up Terry's achilles. The Sauce Gardner trade did not
work out at all, at least in the short term,

(06:49):
as he barely played in the team lost all of
their last games. Well, Carly Ursa Gordon is going to
bring back everyone for the twenty twenty six season. Ballard
his back, Shane Stike in his back, believing that this
leadership group that got them off to that fast start
is the right way to move forward for an organization.
Injuries crush them down the stretch. Obviously, she's taking that

(07:11):
into account and she also will meet with the media
later today. Meanwhile, for the Cincinnati Bengals, they have made
a significant decision, but one that was.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
Wholly expected Zach Taylor, the.

Speaker 5 (07:23):
Head coach in Duke Tovi to runs personnel. Both are
expected back, with owner Mike Brown saying in a statement
that he believes in their leadership and he believes in
their paths forward. Wouldn't be surprised to see some staff
changes on the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously our golden status will
be one that will be examined, though maybe not necessarily him,

(07:43):
so it could be some changes. But the men in
charge are back in Cinci, all.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Right, So congratulations to the staffs they are in Indianapolis
as well as Cleveland. Congratulations on great work thus far
throughout this New Horizons Monday for Rappaport and Tom Pelsero,
who will continue be sterling reporters for us here on
this edition of NFL Network Up to the minute, and yes,
this is your up to the second playoff picture in

(08:08):
the NFC, as we're going to have a rematch between
the Rams and the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
Also a rematch.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
A great Game of the Year candidate between the Bears
and the Green Bay Packers not too long ago they
match up on Prime Video Sunday. Get things going with
the forty nine Ers and the Eagles and the Seahawks
who have earned an opportunity.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
To not play football in the first round. Over on the.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
AFC side, it is Bill's Jags on Sunday, followed up
by an eight o'clock Sunday night football matchup between the
Los Angeles Chargers Daniel Jeremiah and those New England Patriots.
And then Monday night it is Steelers and the Houston
Texans who were waiting on that finish on Sunday night
football and the Denver Broncos not playing football. We got

(08:52):
Mark Ross joining us here on up to the minute
season in special Mark. We had a chance to watch
these games on game day love leading up to a
great postseason that I'm looking forward to get going here
very soon.

Speaker 6 (09:06):
And thanks for having me there, Patrick. Yeah, I'm glad
we changed the suits from yesterday working together, so good
to be back together again.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
The game that we had to wrap up the show
and finish before we could watch Sunday Night football. The
Baltimore Ravens traveling to Pittsburgh. Winner goes into the postseason
and Aaron Rodgers Lamar Jackson ready for a classic matchup
that started out slow, but things got hot late. We
started this highlight eight fifty to go in the fourth quarter,
Ravens down three and the Steelers let Save Flowers get

(09:36):
loose in the secondary once again.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
DJ. Yeah, I was trying to follow this game on
the flight back from Denver and for forever nothing happening.
Then every time I clicked refreshed, it was another long touchdown.
I was like, what in the world's going on in
this game?

Speaker 1 (09:47):
But the Steelers come right back down the field and
the guy they named MVP cannyg the Super Bowl champion
with the Eagles, gets in.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
The ends on there.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
Mike Tollins fired up, so all they got to do
is keep Lamar Jay Flowers from leaking up.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
They'll not do that, market say.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Flowers zagophill by himself, I think he's open.

Speaker 6 (10:09):
That's incredible, how many errors down that stretch?

Speaker 2 (10:12):
DJ.

Speaker 6 (10:12):
It was exciting because everybody on defense just kept making mistakes,
and Aaron and Lamar made them pay.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Gini Ouzia takes the cheese on the well stutter double
move by Austin and he goes in for the touchdown,
but the improbable happens. Chris Boswell misses the extra points,
so the window is open for Baltimore. They just need
a few good plays. They get a nice return from
Keaton Mitchell fourth and seven. Lamar leaking up with the

(10:41):
guy who didn't catch the bumps down there would have
beat the Steelers a few weeks ago. Isaiah likely makes
a huge grab here in front of Jalen Ramsas.

Speaker 3 (10:49):
That's just how they make him at Coastal Carolina. That's
what you're gonna get, man.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
And so Aaron can't believe it. He shakes his head.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
They center up the play for Tyler loop forty four yards.
He pushes it to the right and the holy water
sprinkled in the end zone pays off for Aaron Rodgers
and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
He will be back in the playoffs.

Speaker 7 (11:15):
That's what you want. You want the bow in your
hands with two twenty left and you need a touchdown.
That's exactly what you want. But I was confident that
I was going to play a good game and that
I could kind of be the magnetic force out there
to keep guys confident and calm. And that's part of
it being the old guy. I have a lot of
gray in your beard. Is they expect things from you,

(11:36):
and it's nice to be able to deliver in moments
like that.

Speaker 8 (11:39):
Definitely stune man. I thought we had it in the
bat I thought we had it in the bat Man.
I don't know what else we can do?

Speaker 6 (11:46):
Do you do you want to see John?

Speaker 8 (11:50):
That's you you asked me about next year, Jamison. I'm
so caught up in what just happened tonight.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
I can't.

Speaker 8 (11:57):
I can't focus on that right now. I just told you,
like he asking me, are I'm stunning right now. I'm
still trying to process what's going on. I know we lost,
but you know that's all.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
And probably no one more aware that the Ravens lost
than Tyler Loop And now about his head coach John
Harball locking in the logs down, I mean, what do
you say to somebody in that particular situation.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
Just hug him, That's all you do.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
A rough one for Tyler Loop is the Ravens had
so a lot of stuff that's gone wrong in this
season revealed itself in this game, especially injuries on the
defensive side of the ball. Any number of places you
could pick out on a rough loss with the Baltimore.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yeah, I know, there's gonna be a lot of discussion
you're talking about coach talking about quarterback. To me, they
don't have the defense that they've had in the pass
and that starts really with the pass rush. They traded
O'dafayoway and Eloie Gilman came in and played great for them.
He really kind of stabilized the back end of their defense.
But Oway goes to Chargers that seven and a half
sacks for the remainder of the season after not having
won in Baltimore. They have got to address that this

(12:52):
offseason if they want to get back to being the Ravens.
To me, it's all this discussion. Push it to the side. Coach, quarterback,
I think they're good there. To me, they've got to
fix the defense, starting with the pass rush.

Speaker 6 (13:05):
Yeah, DJ, you know is a common theme in every
game you watch with the Ravens. You're actually absolutely right.
They just could not generate any pass rush in any
game and really the corners kind of let him down
a lot too, so they couldn't blitz because I think
they really didn't have complete faith in the corners. But hey, Lamar,
you don't want to talk about next year, but we'll
talk about it. You know, we saw that eleven completions.

(13:26):
We saw some outstanding plays down the stretch for Lamar,
but he just started way too slow and I don't
know if it was the health. He didn't feel confident
going into that game. Felt like he gained confidence throughout
the game and did Lamar things. But he's got to
get better too. I mean, we can't keep each season
at the end have a heartbreaking loss for one play
for the Ravens without talking about well, they kind of

(13:49):
started fast and they hit a rut where he wasn't
making many plays, Dereck Henry was rolling. They couldn't capitalize
off of that. So Lamar, I know you've won two
MVPs and I know there's some issues all around, but
he also Patrick has to take his game up to
another level to say I can go into these games
and we're going to win them and not have a
heartbreak every time.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, just a rough finished to a season that's seen
a lot of ups and downs for the Baltimore Ravens,
and we can look forward to the Pittsburgh Steelers and
their home opportunity again.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
Hey, Dk Metcalf, come on back.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
He gets a chance to come back.

Speaker 1 (14:19):
Unfortunately for them, No, Darnell Washington, He's gonna be done
for the remainder of the season. That's a big part
of everything. Now, let's take a look back at where
we are as of right now. The firings thus far
this season. You got Brian day Ball as well as
Brian Callahan during the season, Raheem Morris coming in last night,
Kevin Stefanski coming in about an hour and thirty minutes ago.

(14:42):
As the Giants, the Titans, the Falcons, and the Browns
with some new opportunities as a couple of those teams
are gonna have some wholesale changes, and we have an
opportunity to look dj at what's ahead. You had to
pick the one candidate that's on everybody's listen. We saw
the Ben Johnson world to a couple of times. Who's
that in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 3 (15:02):
Well, there's a lot of candidates I admire from afar,
but the one that I've been around that I could
definitely put my stamp on is Jesse Minner, defensive coordinator
for the Los Angeles. Charge's just done a phenomenal job.
And if you needed any more proof, watch the game
yesterday against the number one seed Denver Broncos on the
road when they're not playing hardly any of their starters,
all of their key players on the sideline, and they

(15:24):
didn't give up an offensive touchdown the entire game. So
he's proven. He's well liked within the locker room. He's
someone the players really really respect, and he can gain
plan as well. I think about the success that Mike
McDonald has had with Seattle, their relationship, their very similar
path that they've been on, kind of underneath the Harbaugh umbrella.
I think he's going to be an outstanding head coach.

Speaker 6 (15:48):
I'm gonna go with Kevin Stefanski on that list there,
and that's just because there's no guess work. You know,
you're not saying, well, this hot coordinator can be a
head coach, possibly could be Kevin's. Sefanski, despite these last
couple of seasons, has proven he can win. You see
it right there. He won Coach of the Year twice,
got the Browns of the playoffs, won a playoff game.
So I think a lot of these owners when you

(16:09):
come into this search saying you know what we want
that established coach like a Mike Rabel going to the Patriots.
I think that's a great comparison of Yes, Rabel's last
couple of years at Tennessee went now, but he proved
he could win, he could prove he could go to
the playoffs, and that gives a franchise, that gives ownership stability.
So I think Kevin Stefanski will have a lot of

(16:30):
interest because of that. Yes, throw away these last couple
of years may have got them. He just couldn't get
that quarterback right. But I've been coach of the Year twice,
I've led a franchise to the playoffs. I can do
this job now. You just have to put the pieces
in place.

Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yeah, it's been a tough spot for the Cleveland Browns,
who've never won the AFC North. The division was created
back in two thousand and two. If that gives you
any perspective to the lack of opportunities for coaching success
there in Cleveland, will to take a break be back
on up to the minute as brock Perdy will be
back against the bill Delphia Eagles, the team he tore
his UCL against in the NFC Championship game. Was practicing

(17:07):
throwing left handed on the sideline. Brought Perty revenge. We
discussed next on Up to the Minute.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
Back here on Up to the Minute season.

Speaker 1 (17:19):
In special season ends, it means you get wild Card
weekend coming up all starting with the Rams and the
Panthers Saturday four thirty on Fox. And the weekend we'll
wrap up with the Texans taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers
at Akroscher, fresh off of their division championship went over
the Baltimore Ravens Monday night eight pm on ESPN as
well as ABC. But let's focus on that forty nine

(17:43):
Ers Eagles matchup. A chance to see two NFC powerhouses
of recent years go at it in perhaps a different
situation as the Philadelphia offense kind of fading the forty
nine Ers coming off of frustrating loss.

Speaker 2 (17:54):
How do you see it going?

Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yeah, you look to me, that's the matchup. It's going
to be the Philly offense, what you cat out of
them versus a forty nine Ers defense. It doesn't resemble
what they've looked like when they've been full strength. When
you don't have Boso, when you don't have Warner. We've
seen over the last two weeks against Chicago and Seattle
they can't stop the run and they're giving up too
many explosive plays. And if you're the Eagles, you want
to have a long run through this playoffs. I don't

(18:17):
worry about their defense at all. I think they're exceptional
Vicfango on that side of the ball. They've got to
get Saquon Barkley going, and I think they can look
at that game tape over the last couple of weeks
against the Niners and feel like they've got an opportunity
to crank Saquon up.

Speaker 6 (18:31):
Yeah, the Vick fanjo revenge game there played the you
know coach there to forty nine ers a bunch of years,
So yeah, I think you lay it out. I mean,
living here in Philadelphia, that's all we've heard about is
it's offense the whole season, and get rid of Kevin
Batula the offensive coordinator. What's Sirianni doing? And Jalen Hurts
can he play? And should we play Tanner mckeebell. We
saw what happened last night but yeah, really that offense

(18:54):
has to get going. Jalen Hurts. I know what revolves
around Saquon, and Jalen Hurts is in a high volume
pass you know, I've said that all year. He's an
efficiency type of passer. It all flows off of Saquan.
But he's still got to make place. They can't have
one of those, you know, zero completions in a half
type of games against the forty nine Ers, even if
their defense is a little bit unstable there. So really,

(19:17):
Jalen Hurts, hey, you got to put it up. Devonte Smith,
A J. Brown have to make plays, but Jalen has
to raise his level. And on the flip side, I
think you know Christian McCaffrey the forty nine ers, and
you see their games. He is their offense and then
Purty gets his confidence off of that. So Vic Fangio
of course is going to say we're going to take
this guy out of this game and see if brock
Perdy can take it up and say I can go

(19:38):
in there, go in to Philly and get this w Patrick.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
Yeah, the forty nine ers defense probably you know, some
calls for positivity for all the radio callers in Philadelphia.
I think back to that Week eleven game where Jacoby
Brissett completed forty seven passes with that forty nine Ers
pass rush not necessarily able to get to them, it's
still looking forward to it. What can be a great
game between two really good teams. Also looking forward to
playing in a game between a couple of.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
Really good teams.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
Derwin James, Junior of the Los Angeles Chargers says see
all New England playoffs, let's get it, and then uses
the Charger moji. The Chargers were able to have Derwin
Chill watch the game along with the rest of the
Chargers faithful there to finish the season out in Denver.
What's the main focus for the Chargers against a really
good New England offense.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
Well, you look against that offense and it's going to
be a challenge. I think the Chargers though defensively they're
very well designed by Jesse Minner, and I think Derwin
James and the versatility that he brings can be a
real asset there. I know a lot's been made about
who New England hasn't played in the regular season, and
it has come up in the MVP discussion as well.
But Drake May's mobility. You watch the game yesterday. Even

(20:44):
though Chargers playing with their backups, Bonnicks was able to
get outside the edges a little bit and create some
things and make some things happen. I think from a
defensive standpoint, the Chargers have to really control that and
they have to rely on a very sound scheme in
the back end. I think they're linebackers and secondary. I
think they match up pretty favorably here, so it's going
to be a fantastic game. Two quarterbacks very similar as well.

(21:05):
So I cannot wait to get up to Foxborough. Haven't
looked at the weather yet. I'm assuming seventy and sunny, right,
is that what is guaranteed?

Speaker 6 (21:15):
A Patrick? Remember Derwin James was iceed up, had the sunglasses.
Oh yes, they shot took a shot to him on
Game Day Live. Looking good. But yeah, listen for New
England DJ. You mentioned who have they played? Well, now's
the time. Okay, we had a fantastic season, but as
playoff times, this intensity gets ratcheted up. Is this young
team ready for the moment? I think having a head

(21:36):
coach like Mike Brabel will have them ready for the
moment because he's been through these moments before, and you
mentioned Drake May, but that two headed monster of running
backs there with Ramandre Stevenson and Trevion Henderson, the rookie
have provided to be a fantastic one to two punch
with the versatility as runners and receivers. And we saw
that yesterday where they were taking turns either getting handoffs

(21:58):
for touchdowns or catching passes. And Ramanjay really had the
explosive plays yesterday, whereas Trebon has been the one throughout
the season. So I think that could bode and go
a long way in this type of game. Mike Rabele
lean on the King when he was in Tennessee Derek
Henry to win playoff games. Will we see a similar
thing with those two backs?

Speaker 3 (22:16):
Patrick, if you'd have told me last year of going
to Chargers calling that game in New England late in
the year the Chargers won forty to seven, that you
would flip around a year later and these two teams
would be meeting in the postseason. Drake May likely an
MVP in his back pocket and them as one of
the premier teams in the conference. What a turnaround by
the Patriots.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
They would not only.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
Not be playing this week, they would be the number one.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
Seed with the buye if they were able to.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
Beat the Las Vegas Raiders.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
In week one of the twenty twenty.

Speaker 3 (22:41):
Five Every game matters turns out.

Speaker 1 (22:43):
Here we go, DJ, here's your report on the sixth.
Quite on the eighths for Foxborough. You can look forward
to wet and a high of fifty four. How do
you feel your thoughts?

Speaker 3 (22:54):
Well, that's Saturday, right, Is that what we're looking at here? Yeah,
we're playing Sunday night, guys? I mean is that? Am
I reading us wrong?

Speaker 2 (23:02):
All days of the week available on the graphic guy?

Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah, you get Sunday there when we get the spots
shatt on there on Saturday, just because it's a sumporting day,
first day of the weekend.

Speaker 3 (23:10):
Oh you know you want to hey, travel day, you
know you want to make sure that you're comfortable getting
in there. We'll be careful going down those steps.

Speaker 1 (23:16):
And here's a look at the NSC side of things
on wild Card weekend, all starting with the Rams and
the Panthers on Saturday and then the Green Bay Packers
in Chicago Bears on Prime Video at eight pm Eastern.
For more on this matchup, we'll go to Stacey Dale's
joining us here. Good morning to you, Stacey, looking ahead
to a couple of teams that played a very great

(23:39):
game a couple of weeks ago, but they're moving in
different directions, both teams dealing with some issues here late
in the season.

Speaker 9 (23:47):
Good morning fellas. Yeah, it was an interesting evening because
when you think about the Bears and the Packers, which
I will be covering this Saturday night in Chicago home
game for me, Yah, you're talking about two starkly different
press conferences for Matt Lafleur and Ben Johnson. Obviously, the
Green Bay Packers and the Bears both lost yesterday. However,

(24:08):
Matt Lafleur, learning from Week eighteen a season ago. Christian
Watson was injured in that Week eighteen game, tore his
acl and lost for the season and had to battle
to come back this year, so Matt Lafleur opted to
sit all of his starters. They really had nothing to lose. Obviously,
they have been locked into that number seven seed, so
they know what they were playing for. And even if

(24:29):
the backup quarterback, who was Jordan Love Clayton soon got
the start, we're to step in, Matt laflor said, we
wouldn't have even allowed him to throw a pass. He
was cleared from concussion protocol this past week, so he
is ready to go. He's had a couple weeks off,
and the team that bumped him out was the Chicago Bears.
After their game, Ben Johnson in his press conference, I'm
not sure this was their sixth season, sixth loss of

(24:51):
the season. Guys, I'm not sure I've seen him this aggravated,
this pissed off, this angry after a loss. As I
witnessed life last night, he was lit. He was particularly displeased,
as to see him shaking his head right here, and
that was after the decision to punt just under two
minutes in the fourth quarter. He was particularly displeased with

(25:14):
the offense. They put up just sixteen points. They didn't
score a point, guys, until the fourth quarter, So they
went three quarters without scoring and we're talking about one
of the top five total offenses in football. And he,
you know, in addition to that, lost to the team
that was his former employer. So he was obviously very upset.

(25:35):
They've got to turn the page quickly. It's a short week,
it's a Saturday game. Caleb Williams said, I don't know
why we came out so flat basically, but they were.
They were flat. They gave up a ton of yards
defensively as well. And CJ. Gardner Johnson is now in
concussion protocol. He was injured just at the very tail
end of this football game. So again two starkly different

(25:56):
press conferences from these two coaches as they get ready
to have their third this season.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
Yeah, Stacy, these two teams, you know, they played those
two nail bitters earlier this year. I think it's going
to be a very contested game. I love that Chicago's
had all these comeback wins and it's an incredible story,
but that's a tough way to live full time. They've
got to start a little bit faster. I think that
would be a key for them. And I know Ben Johnson,
you'd like to have momentum, have a big win going
to the postseason, but part of me thinks he doesn't
mind having a little bit of a wake up call

(26:22):
that game, maybe a little bit of coffee for them
as they go into a tough matchup with the Green
Bay Packers.

Speaker 6 (26:28):
NFL Network up.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
To the minute season in special Patrick claybumb Back, who
with Daniel Jeremiah as well as Mark Ross, as we
look back at some changes for some franchises and look
forward to a great postseason with a lot of really
good teams involved.

Speaker 3 (26:39):
It is wide open in the postseason. Everybody's been saying
when you talk to him, just get in, just get
in the tournament. You have a chance to win it.
I think we can say it about all fourteen of
these teams.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah, a unique year, Mark, Yeah, without a doubt.

Speaker 6 (26:51):
And usually there's that dynasty front runner was the Patriots
for a long time, and then it was the Chiefs,
whereas everybody's playing for number two or who go represent
and play them in the Super Bowl. But this year,
as DJ said, I think, especially in the AFC, wide open,
a little bit more clear cut favor to me on
the NFC side that we'll get into Patrick.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
All right, Well, let's look at this bracket here on
the up to the Minute season in special presented five
Verizon all starting on that in the seaside with the
Rams and the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte Saturday at four
thirty Eastern, then finish things up at the NFC North
Bears Packers at eight pm on Prime Video Sunday. It's
a rematch of the NFC Championship a couple of years ago,

(27:30):
where the forty nine Ers traveling to Philadelphia and take
on the Eagles and the Seahawks with an opportunity to
watch everyone else play. Over on the AFC side, it
is the Denver Broncos with the number one overall seed,
the Bills and the Jags. Sunday, one o'clock on CBS
Sunday Night Football, the Chargers traveling to take on potential
MVP Drake May and the New England Patriots. And then

(27:52):
on Monday night, the Houston Texans will travel to Aquasher
to take on Aaron Rodgers and those Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
Let's discuss these brackets. Let's discuss these teams.

Speaker 1 (28:02):
All of them are good, you thought so, DJ, but
one seed you can only pick one.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
Which one seed do you think is the best team.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
I'm gonna go to the NFC and we look at
these teams, and Marcus is going to I think going
to jump on the same bandwagon here because when you
watch Seattle, I don't know where exactly the weakness is.
You can maybe look at Sam Donald and turning the
ball over. But if I'm the Seahawks. I'm telling Sam,
if you protect the football, we're at home. We are
going through the Super Bowl because right now we're running

(28:29):
the ball well with these two backs. We've got jsn
who can give you easy completions and then can maximize
completions with what he does after the catch, and then
Mark you flip it over to the other side. It's
not just one defensive lineman you've got to focus on.
If you're playing the Seahawks, They've got waves of dudes
they can throw at you. Then they've got Emon Warri
who's a chess piece. They've got an outstanding secondary. It's

(28:50):
a complete football team, the more complete football team than
when you look at the number one seed on the
AFC side. In my opinion, completely agree with you DJ
and the side.

Speaker 6 (29:00):
Let's just get into Denver real fast. Look, they've got
their style and that's that defense. And Patrick and I
talked about their game yesterday. It was not the prettiest,
but that's what they have. And if bo Nicks can
have one of those games where he overperforms, then they're
really dangerous. But I think they're just not as strong
overall as you said with the waves of talent that
Seattle has. And yes the weak point is Sam Darnald

(29:23):
in the turnovers, but even at their worst, when Sam
Darnald mentioned this that week where they lost to the Rams,
where he turned it over four times and they still
had a chance to win the game with the kicker
missing the kick. There, that's how good Seattle is that
even at their very worst, they had a chance to
beat probably I think the number two team who will
have to beat is the Rams. And then of course

(29:43):
Sam followed it up when they played them again where
oh here he goes again with the turnovers, and then
he got himself out of it and started performing at
the end and took his game to another level to
go win that game against the Rams again. So that's
what's scary to me is that, yes, they've got waives
with talent, they're well coached, but then also when they
played their very worse, they still had a chance to
beat maybe the second best team. Patrick.

Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah, real quick though, Patrick. The last piece on the
Seattle the raheat Shaheed move that was the finishing touch
for this roster by John Schneider. I think that's a
real opportunity for him to be the executive of the
year and that, to me is the most underrated move
that he.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
Made forty one unanswered points for the Jacksonville Jaguars on
their way to hosting the Buffalo Bills of wild card weekend.
A good morning to Jeffrey Shadia joining us ahead of
this matchup to discuss Josh Allen able to sit and
watch rest up, get let the foot that he injured
against the Cleveland Browns get a little bit healthy to
freshly put the team back on his shoulders. Can Josh

(30:38):
Allen get hot and lead the Bills to a Super
Bowl run?

Speaker 10 (30:41):
Here, There's no question he can get hot, Patrick, because
he's done this in the past. Talking by a guy
who throughout his playoff career strowing twenty five touchdown passes
and only four interceptions. And really the only reason he
hasn't been able to advance to the championship is he's
had to play Kansas City or Cincinnati and his defense
hasn't shown up.

Speaker 6 (30:58):
But I believe Patrick.

Speaker 10 (30:59):
I believe Josh Allen can do this because when he
knows he has to do it. This is the first
time he's not going to see Patrick Mahomes in the
playoffs in his career. And secondly, I think he embraces
the run game he has. He has James Cook, who
leads the league in rushing, who can be a great
robin to his batman.

Speaker 6 (31:14):
It can control games.

Speaker 10 (31:15):
And when we talk about Jacksonville, they're good at pressuring quarterbacks,
but not at sacking quarterbacks. Good with defense, but not
great with run defense. So a lot of basically tell
me that Josh Allen hen get things going pretty fast here.

Speaker 3 (31:26):
DJ Yeah. To me, that foot is big because I
don't know if they have all that weaponry that he's
going to need to navigate all the way through the tournament.
But his legs can be the X factor. We've seen it.
He can completely take over a game. He can give
you seventy eighty close to one hundred yards on the
ground to help supplement that offense. And when you have
the ground game they have with Cook, he compliments and
I think that could be enough for them to make
a run.

Speaker 1 (31:46):
And also making a run late this season Trevor Lawrence
and the Jacksonville Jaguars Jeffrey, because no quarterback you can
make a case, was hotter than Trevor Lawrence coming into
this final stretch.

Speaker 2 (31:56):
Will he be.

Speaker 1 (31:57):
Able to Can you continue that run into the postseason,
folks in Duvaul.

Speaker 10 (32:01):
Yes, And I'm surprised he didn't get more talk far
as MVP voting because he was playing like an MVP
the last eight weeks, eight game win streak. You're talking
about a quarterback who had nineteen total touchdowns only one interception,
got away from all those takeaway problems, all those turnover
promps he had early in the in the year, and
you saw what Liam Cohen, Hiss head coach, meant to him.

(32:22):
They've built a nice infrastructure for him with Travis ATM
going out and get Jacobe Meyers the defense playing at
a higher level, and he's playing with so much confidence.
He's finally looking like the guy we thought he was
going to be when he was a number one overall.

Speaker 3 (32:35):
Pick a few years ago.

Speaker 6 (32:36):
So I certainly think. But they went to Denver.

Speaker 10 (32:38):
They made a huge statement, and that kind of win
can propel a team like this a long way.

Speaker 3 (32:43):
Dj I was in Jacksonville. It was November sixteenth. They
had just lost three of four games, coming off of
loss to the Texans, and it was a little bit
of oh, this thing is headed south. Well, they haven't
lost the game since then. That started with a Chargers game,
and everything that they told me when I was there
in Jacksonville was we've told Trevor just let it up, man,
don't worry about it anymore, don't listen to anything, just
let it rip. He's played more aggressive, and I think

(33:05):
he got to give Liam Collen a lot of credit
for infusing him with all that confidence. It's paying off.

Speaker 1 (33:09):
Breaking news coming in out of Las Vegas the Raiders
parting ways with Pete Carroll, a rough season, a season
where they're going to eventually have the number one overall pick,
and Mark Davis as well as Tom Brady apparently early
involved in this conversation.

Speaker 3 (33:23):
And I look at everything through the draft, and they're
going to have an opportunity to get their quarterback with
this next pick. So I would imagine Tom Brady's going
to be heavily involved, not just in finding the next
head coach of the Raiders, but being instrumental in evaluating
the top quarterbacks in this class and figuring out who's
going to lead this franchise from under center going forward.
You look at him with genty from last year's draft
at running back. You look at Bauers at tight end.

(33:45):
They have to figure out what they're gonna do with
Max Crosby. There's some key players, but the overall roster man.
There is a lot of work to be done here, Patrick,
and I think they have to start with the offensive
line also, real quick. On Mike G's point, when you've
got Tom Rady, Troickman, and Matt Ryan potentially having influential
roles in futures of franchises. You know the guy who

(34:05):
the former player who's done a pretty nice job of that,
Tony Biselli when they put him in that role with
the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that's worked quite swimly there in Jacksonville.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
Yeah, we'll have an opportunity to see how things work
for the quarterbacks. As DJ mentioned, Mark, the Raiders are
going to be in the market for finding a quarterback
in a place where there's a lot of turnover. I guess,
other than quarterback, where do you start with this Las
Vegas Raiders franchise.

Speaker 6 (34:30):
Well, this could be a good thing because now you're
bringing in your new head coach and you're possibly the
first pick of the draft of quarterback. Together, you can
kind of get that restart, that reset, much like a
couple of years ago, it looked like Demico Ryans and
CD Stroud came in out of the Houston and revitalized that.
And that is if you get the right people, Like
we always talk about who's running the show, and this

(34:51):
person's available, but it always still has to be that
right person that can do the job and the right
quarterback who can elevate your franchise. So at least she'll
have you're two of your cornerstones coming in there together.
But as DJ said, I think there's a lot a
lot of work to be done on the roster. You know, Patrick,
We've watched Game Day Live and the Raiders are almost
non competitive a lot of times in some of those games.

(35:12):
And you know, I think ultimately that's what got Pete
Carroll is that you're supposed to bring in a Super
Bowl champion coach and the team looks like a well
run organization, and for much of the season the Raiders
just not did not do that. Gino Smith obviously regressed badly.
So yes, a lot of work to be done with
the total roster, but at least you have your pillars
coming in there together. Patrick.

Speaker 3 (35:32):
One of the thing guys that they've showed last year
with the contract they gave to Chip Kelly and how
quickly they moved on from him at the coordinator. They
will pay top dollar for assistance to build underneath that
head coach. I think that will help them in terms
of being an attractive landing spot. Hey, we're going to
get a young quarterback, a hopefully a potential star quarterback
that you can develop, and we're also going to pay
your assistance whatever we need to pay him. Well, what

(35:54):
does that mean. Well, Jim Schwartz the top five defense
in Cleveland. All of a sudden, Now you might be
able to get someone like him to come and run
your defense. So I think that's a selling point for them.
They will pay whether you work there or not, they
will gladly pay you.

Speaker 1 (36:06):
In Vegas, Brown's offense really struggled this season, thirty first
in points per game, thirtieth in yards per game, last
in yards per play, as they made some quarterback changes,
saw some things go different ways, saw Joe Flacco depart
the franchise and start for another team in the division,
all culminating in the Browns parting ways with two times
Associated Press Head Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski after

(36:29):
six seasons in Cleveland, and now we will try to
chart the path ahead for.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
The Cleveland Browns.

Speaker 1 (36:36):
Mark Ross So, Daniel Jeremia back with me Patrick claibn
here on NFL Network up to the minute season end special.
It's a end of an era for the Cleveland Browns.
Where do you start with what's ahead for this franchise?

Speaker 3 (36:48):
Well, I think you start first of all with your
pitch that you're going to make to try and find
your next leader, your next head coach. And I do
think they can make a strong pitch when you look
at the rookie class that they just had. Andrew ra
did a nice job with all the talent that he
brought in just in one draft class. When you look
at your leading rusher, you're leading pass or you're leading receiver,
all being rookies, you look at on the defensive side
of the ball, they have a very good chance of

(37:09):
having the defensive rookie of the year at the linebacker position.
So they've done a nice job of collecting some talent.
And you look at where they are situated with the
upcoming draft, really the next two drafts, they're armed with picks,
including two first rounders this year. So this is the
kind of the foundation, the ground floor. They have to
decide whether or not they think Shoodoor Sanders is that
guy going forward. But Mark, they've got some nice pieces,

(37:30):
and especially from this past draft class.

Speaker 6 (37:34):
No doubt, some great pieces. And you know most times,
you know when rookies have to play d days like well,
they're just thrown in there. All these guys excelled. You know,
they played at a high, high level. So that has
to give you a lot of optimism. And you'd also
talk about the foundation. If I'm a new head coach
coming in there too, I want to keep Jim Schwartz
and what he did on that defensive side of the ball.
A lot of times you head coach comes in, he

(37:56):
wants his own guys. But I think the best head
coaches are able to read the room and the NFL
and so they will wait a minute. Now, if I
got number one, number two candidate here, decordinator already in
my building with a defense that was humming this season,
let me make sure I make that happen and make
sure we get along. But also, okay, now I can
put my stamp on the rest of the team, and
I don't think necessarily it has to be an offensive

(38:17):
minded sort of coach if you're keeping sworts there, of
course it has to be that way. But the development
of the quarterback is key. Identifying the right quarterback with
all these picks is going to be key. And also
we haven't talked about that Deshaun Watson situation is still
out there. Patrick, of what they're going to do with him,
a lot.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
Remains to be seen, as well as the fact that
you maintaining Jim Swartz. We just talked about Tom Brady
perhaps being one of the key recruiters and making those turnovers.
As we look at the Raiders having coaching turnover as well.
The full list of current head coaching vacancies the Giants, Falcons, Titans, Browns,
and the Las Vegas Raiders. News coming in in the

(38:56):
past thirty minutes the Raiders parting ways with Pete Carroll
after one season.

Speaker 2 (39:02):
So let's stack them up.

Speaker 1 (39:03):
If you are an aspiring a young one of those
offensive masterminds DJ and you get to pick whichever one
which vacancy right now is the number one choice.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
I'm gonna go with Mark Ross's old home. I'm gonna
go with the new York Giants to me as the
most attractive spot. And really, when you look at how
you win in the NFL, and we'll see it as
the playoffs unfold, you win with really good quarterback play.
You win with a dominant defensive line. And I think
they've got in Jackson Dart, a very promising young quarterback.
Showed a lot of good things without much around him
this past year. Now they'll get lak Nabors back next year,

(39:34):
which will be huge. So you've got the quarterback, you've
got a number one receiver. I like Scataboo as a
young back once he comes back healthy. You've got Andrew Thomas.
You've got a left tackle. But on the defensive side
of the balls where I'm most excited because of that
defensive line. Brian Burns sixteen and a half sacks, Abdul
Carter of the rookie really came on the second half
of the season. You've got Dexter Lawrence as well. They
have a lot of the winning championship pieces already there

(39:58):
on campus. That's the hard stuff to find. You can
fill in with linebackers and corners and the guards. You
can get that stuff accomplished. So I think this is
a very attractive job.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
We want to talk about the twenty twenty six NFL draft.
The Las Vegas Raiders, by virtue of the Giants win
had already locked up the number one overall pick, so
they weren't able to celebrate that Daniel Carlson field goal
and have Pete Carroll and Tyler Lockett having a nice
moment before parting ways with the head coach. So there's
our draft order. Let's discuss these quarterbacks. If we look

(40:32):
back to the twenty twenty four draft class, we've got
two guys that are the number two seeds in Caleb
Williams as well as Drake May. We had Jay Daniels
have that magical season. Let's look ahead to the quarterbacks
in twenty twenty six deja.

Speaker 3 (40:45):
Yea and I would throw bow Nicks in there as well.
That quarterback class, I think is one of the reasons
why we saw a change in Atlanta because they saw
the success that other members of that quarterback class have Hadoin.
Let's break this kind of down as a top ten. Here,
you've got the two for Sures right at the top,
the Vegas the Jets picking one and two. Definitely quarterback teams.
Then you look at Cleveland as a maybe at six.

(41:05):
So to me, there's only those guys. Arizona is depending
on what happens with Kyler Murray going Ford. Jacoby Brissett's
played well, would they be comfortable with him? So I'd
say Arizona Cleveland is the two maybees with the Vegas
and New York Jets squads being absolute looking for quarterbacks
in this draft class here, Mark.

Speaker 6 (41:25):
Yeah, for sure. And those are just the ones we
see right there, DJ And then who's going to be
the ones out of that mix that maybe has some
assets to get up into the top five, top ten,
And that will all be dictated of course, supplying to
man on who's available. You know, everyone needs a quarterback,
but who's actually available. I don't think the NFL free
agency class right here is going to look too good

(41:46):
or be very intriguing to get your guy from that pool.
So that leaves it to the draft, and you know,
each year we go through it. Each year we go
through the teams that definitely need it, and then there's
those ones that kind of surprise. But there's only so
many of these guys that are actually going to change.

Speaker 1 (41:59):
Fran Hello and Good morning to our own bridget conon
joining us here from Los Angeles, where we see the
Rams get that loss. They were able to finish the
season with a win. They also get some good news
on a couple of injuries they've been waiting to hear
back from late this season.

Speaker 2 (42:13):
Bridge.

Speaker 11 (42:14):
Yeah, Sean McVay just spoke a little bit ago and
said that they are getting healthy at the right time.
But let's talk about that Panthers game, because Sean McVay
said they were humbled not long ago in Carolina when
they fell by three points to the Carolina Panthers.

Speaker 9 (42:28):
But they're trying to learn.

Speaker 11 (42:29):
From that experience. It was one of the reasons why
McVeigh chose to play his starters in Week eighteen due
to games like that and the Week seventeen loss to
the Falcons. He wanted his team to figure out how
to dig deep and play complimentary football, and it worked.
They faced some adversity in that game yesterday against the Cardinals,
they were down by three and found a way to
dig deep and win the game. So now they'll take

(42:50):
those lessons to Carolina with an even healthier team. McVeigh
saying just about an hour ago he expects DeVante Adams
and Quentin Lake to be back for so Saturday's playoff
game against Carolina. He says they've been cautious actually, with
Devonte Adams saying he's been chopping at the bit. He
has a look in his eye ready to go, and DJ,
you know how much he means to this Rams organization

(43:13):
and to be able to have him back healthy at
the right time. It's all about peaking at the right time,
and the Rams feel like they're doing just that.

Speaker 3 (43:20):
Yeah, I think DeVante Adams is a four point player.
He's a difference between a lot of field goals and
touchdowns once you get down inside the red area with
what he can do. But it's Carolina team. I feel
like nobody's really given them much of a shot and
kind of dismissing the fact that they beat the Rams
earlier this year. There was a formula they had in
that game, which was they turned him over three times,
they ran the ball, they ran it forty times, they

(43:40):
threw it twenty times, they controlled the time of possession
more than ten minutes in their favor. That's a lot
to ask, but they have pulled this trick off before,
so I think they have the formula of Patrick. It
is going to be tough to duplicate it, but that's
how they got it done earlier this year.

Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah, it's all Mike Jackson in that pick six of
Matthew Stafford being physical with Pooka Nakula where another guys
the Rams are going to turn the ball over.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
We think that much, but not.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
A lot of guys can be physical at the catch
point with Puka and Nakula.

Speaker 3 (44:06):
With any of their receivers. All those dudes of the
Rams are physical.

Speaker 1 (44:09):
The Rams not the only Los Angeles team that plays
at the stadium. Right behind me and DJ making a
trip across the country to play in the postseason, the
Los Angeles Chargers will be doing that bridget with a
big task ahead for a team that's hungary for a
playoff win.

Speaker 3 (44:24):
So hungry Patrick.

Speaker 11 (44:25):
This Chargers team has not won a playoff game since
twenty eighteen. That season, they beat the Ravens in the
wild Card round and then lost to the Patriots in
the Divisional round. The team that they will face on Sunday,
and every player that I spoke to in that locker
room has one focus. We need to win a playoff game.
I asked khalil Mack, what's it going to take to

(44:46):
win a game and get over that hump, and he said,
it's going to come down to playing like you don't
want to go home early, playing to win by any
means possible. The Chargers, who rested their starter Sunday, only
allowed twelve points to the Broncos, no offensive touchdowns. Max
said the starting defense will use that effort as inspiration
going into the playoffs, saying it's going to have a

(45:07):
lasting effect on going into the next game for them.
The Chargers enter the playoffs on a two game losing skid,
which historically isn't really good. The last five teams to
enter the playoffs on a two or more game losing
streak went on to lose their first game of the playoffs.
I asked Derwin James, does that matter? Are you guys
thinking about that? And he said no. The team that
is ready to play that day is going to win,

(45:28):
saying they have to come ready and treat it as
a one game season. And guys, when we think about
the success of this Chargers team and justin Herbert Derwin, James,
Khalil Mack, what they've been able to do well they
have not found success in the postseason. It's really interesting
DJ when you think about Derwin James has only won
one playoff game in his time with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
Yeah, and it's been heartbreak when you look at blowing
a big lead against the Jags, and you look at
last year where they turned the ball over way too
much at Houston in a game they thought they had
a chance to win. So they've got to find a
way to get this monkey off their back. And Justin
Herbert as well, that just kind of sticks with him.
He's great, and he's all these things, but he hasn't
won in the playoffs. Well, this is a great opportunity

(46:11):
for them to go into New England healthy fresh. I
think getting a chance to get not just Justin Herbert rested,
but a lot of these defensive players rested in that
game against Denver is going to pay off for him.
And if you just look at matchups, when you look
at how New England matches up with them, New England's
an excellent offense, but they don't have a dominant defensive
front that could take advantage of the backup tackle situation

(46:32):
that the Chargers have. So I do think it matches
up quite well for him and Patrick according to the
weather report we had earlier, not too terribly there, It
is not too bad.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
Full spectrum of reporting regarding a great wild card weekend,
Bridget Condom with the latest on the Rams and the
Chargers making trips on the road in the postseason. Let's
go around the NFC Western. Congratulations to less Need and
Sean mcgabe. We talked about it's a big number coach
GM combinations. Hundred wins for less Need as well as

(47:02):
Sean McVay. Some congratulations there, and the Seahawks celebrating the
league leader in receiving yardage, Jackson Smith in Jigbo seven
hundred in ninety three yards. Of course, the NFC West
has the one seed, the five seed, the six seed,
and the team that has just parted ways with its
head coach Jonathan Gannon, fired by the Arizona Cardinals after

(47:24):
finishing things out one in thirteen down the stretch for
the Arizona Cardinals. Back with Mark Ross here as we
get a chance to look at these games, in these
matchups where we go back to Jonathan Gannon, the rest
of the division in the postseason, Mark probably not necessarily
helping the case for Jonathan Gannon with so much success

(47:45):
elsewhere and them kind of faltering down the stretch once again.

Speaker 6 (47:51):
Yeah, faltering and just not looking like a well coached
football team. When I watched the Cardinals, I always watched like, well,
what's their identity? You know, there's some teams that aren't good,
but you see where they're going, or they have some
foundational pieces and okay, we play a certain style and
we can see where it's going. But I watched the Cardinals,
you know, DJ just never seem as if they had
an identity. And of course Kyler Murray wasn't his guy,

(48:14):
but he wasn't able to get Kyler Murray to playing
at a high level, to playing at a consistent level.
And yes, that falls on the head coach. And then
I look at the talent level, just don't see a
lot of playmakers on either side of the ball. Trade McBride, fantastic.
What happened to my guy, Marvin Harrison Junior. It's kind
of underachieving there. So just don't see a lot of talent,
and especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Speaker 2 (48:36):
We're again, and that's supposed to be his calling card.

Speaker 6 (48:39):
So you know, moving forward, that division is brutal, so
you got to get in step with them DJ, But
as of now, the Cardinals have a long way to go.

Speaker 3 (48:46):
Yeah, it's you know, when you look at the landscape
of jobs that are available, it'd be tough to push
this too far north. When you think about the fact
that we've talked about how great those teams are in
the division of three playoff teams where all those wins
come from, well a lot of them came from the Cardinals.
The Cardinals did not win a game inside this division
this year, so you've got that to climb over. You've
got an expensive quarterback who you don't necessarily believe in.

(49:09):
That's going to be a challenge for them to navigate
around that. So a lot of challenges for this organization
going forward. It's going to be crucial that they get
this higher right, that they can maximize the talent they
do have on their roster. And you mentioned Marvin Harrison Junior.
You know, when you look at the ability that he
had and the inability to get it out of him,
that to me is something they've got to figure out.

(49:29):
That's a riddle to me. They've got to figure out
a way to solve that, get him healthy on the field,
and get him productive.

Speaker 6 (49:34):
Here's the draft order.

Speaker 1 (49:35):
The Las Vegas Raiders will have the number one overall
pick in twenty twenty six, followed up by the Jets, Cardinals, Titans,
and Giants. If you're wondering what four of those teams
have in common, they've all parted ways with their head
coach and some of them might be interested in locating
a new quarterback. And so who better to have that
conversation with with ourbury own Daniel Jeremiah as we look

(49:58):
at what teams might be in in getting a new
signal caller in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 3 (50:02):
Well, I think when you look at this top ten,
I think there's the two right at the very top.
When you look at Las Vegas and you look at
the Jets, those are no doubt quarterback teams. And then
you get to Arizona. What does that look like with
Kyler Murray's future going forward? I think they could be
in the mix at number three and then at number six, Cleveland,
you know, I think that's something they've already stated that
they're going to try and do their homework on quarterbacks,

(50:23):
evaluate schid Or Sanders and his performance versus what they
could accomplish. And I know, you know, we have to
wait until we get a little further on till we
start talking about these quarterbacks in the draft, you know,
and what that could look like. Patrick, right, I would
just say with Vegas, who's your quarterback? I don't know.
We have to wait and find out and what the Jets.

Speaker 2 (50:40):
More more work to.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Be done, you know, in terms of the evaluation process.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
And I'm wondering with the timeline because we talked about
all of these jobs coming opening, everybody's gonna have to
take the visits. We've got multiple you know, search firms
involved in Atlanta to find a new head coach. Obviously,
evaluating talent is going to be the next step in that.

Speaker 2 (50:59):
What the ideal.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
Timeline before head coach to come in, get everything set
and begin to find the process of how you go
about getting that quarterback.

Speaker 3 (51:06):
Well, I know if I was a head coaching candidate,
I would be tuning in and watching the college football
playoff game when you're gonna get a chance to see
these top two quarterbacks square off, so you can start
doing your homework. But there's a long time. They got
a lot of time to be able to get guys
in there. You know at the you go through the
spring process, those top quarterbacks probably not going to see
them at All Star games, you know, the combines. If
if they even you know, workout or throw there. I

(51:28):
hope they do. But you'll have time to get through
private workouts, a lot of visits, a lot of time
left to be able to visit with these guys. If
you decide that's where you want to go.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
That makes me feel a lot better because sometimes the
offseason feels trunk hated. After we finish eighteen weeks of football,
then we got an entire postseason, but plenty of time
to sort through and figure out who the coach is
going to be a lot of these gms are going
to be, and.

Speaker 2 (51:47):
Yes, who the quarterback is going to be.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
There's the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers having a moment
with Mike Tomlin. No post game chance in acor sure
in this game at least, as the Pittsburgh Steelers make
their way to the postseason, they will play home to
those Houston Texans. Also, Mike Vrabel back in the postseason
dappin hugs everybody after Mike Brabel's very successful first season

(52:10):
with the New England Patriots, where they will be the
number two seed in play host to the Los Angeles Chargers,
and the single season franchise leader in passing yards. Now,
the four k number did not happen, as the Bears
not able to erase that particular non record, but no
quarterback has thrown for more yards in a single season
for the Chicago Bears than former number one overall pick

(52:32):
Haley Williams. His Bears will play host to the Green
Bay Packers Saturday, eight pm on Prime Video, the second
game coming up on Saturday after the Panthers play host
to the Los Angeles Rams. A great wild card weekend
that will all wrap up with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking
on those Houston Texans Monday Night Football eight pm on

(52:53):
ESPN as well as ABC, but also a fun game
to start things off on Sunday where the red hot
Jacksonville Jaguars play host to Josh Allen to the Buffalo Bill's.

Speaker 2 (53:01):
Thankfully, Josh Allen.

Speaker 1 (53:02):
Able to get a little bit of a break before
he has to carry the franchise once again.

Speaker 3 (53:06):
Rest that foot up a little bit there. That's going
to be a great matchup. It really is strength versus
strength too, and you look at the way that Buffalo
has been able to run the football, their commitment to
running the football, and you'll get that Jags front and
how well they've played, So that's going to be a
strength versus strength. I think the game could be decided
on the other side with that Jags offense. They have
done a nice job of mixing the creativity with Liam
Cohen as well as some of that production, that explosiveness

(53:29):
over the top. So you get Etn and the ball
in the run game, and then you really can get
the ball a vertical in that passing game down the field.
He's look, Parker Washington's turned into a really good weapon
for him and a go to guys. So it's a
fun group to watch there in Jacksonville. I think that's
the side that decides that Bill's defense. Can they slow
down Trevor Lawrence in that offense?

Speaker 1 (53:48):
Yeah, Britain's strange as well, a big part of the
passing game. The addition of Jacobe Myers worked out, but
haven't necessarily seen the success on the ground for the
Jacksonville Jaguars in recent weeks. How did they get Etn
going against Buffalo I.

Speaker 3 (53:58):
Think they can. Liam Cohen's excellent designing run game, and
you know, look, they needed to do what they needed
to do to get into the postseason. But I imagine
he's got a couple of things up the sleep here.
We'll see some wrinkles, We'll see some creativity from him
in this game.

Speaker 2 (54:09):
It's time to get a front office view.

Speaker 1 (54:11):
We'll bringing our Mark Ross as well as Daniel Jeremiah
here in the nfl LA newsroom with me. We can
only pick one, which is the best vacancy Mark here
for a head coach that would like to find an
opportunity in a job position where there's only so many
on the planet.

Speaker 6 (54:29):
Well, the front office view is, you want to have
the best vacancy with all the talent, and I think
that's Cleveland, where you know, Andrew Barry did an incredible
job with this year's draft class. I mean just crushed
basically all those guys. How Fan in swessengers wan to
be defensive Rookie of the Year. And then of course
they've got some veterans like Miles Garrett, who is the
defensive player of the Year, and that defense is already

(54:53):
set and one of the best of the NFL. You've
got an outstanding defensive coordinator who you should try to
keep theirs. You don't have to worry about that side
of ball. They on offense, you do have a running
back Tanem You've got some offensive lineman. But and then
you have the draft capitol. So now you have the
draft capitol going forward to get the quarterback. That is
the piece that is missing. Obviously Shador Sanders showplashes, but

(55:14):
I think they've got those two first round picks next
year to the next year after that, so maybe not
even have to pressure to do it now. DJ. So
with all the talent that's on the roster, all the
draft capitol, Cleveland can make moves. Great situation.

Speaker 3 (55:28):
Yeah, they just got to figure out, you know, the
stability at the quarterback position. Who that is, whether that's
someone on campus right now, or whether that's some way
they need to go out there and get. I've said
the Giants earlier, I love that opportunity there with Jackson
Darton company. I'm going to go to another team that
I want to mention though, that's the Tennessee Titans, for
the very same reason. I think you have a very
talented quarterback. You have a quarterback that was worthy of
being the first overall pick in cam Ward and someone

(55:52):
who did not have a whole lot around him. But
you hear Deca had a nice year for him. They
need to continue to fill in around him. But when
you're looking at all things considered, when you look at
a division, I think they could get in there and
they can compete. They're close to being able to compete
inside that division. It's a great place to live, by
the way, not a bad spot to be there in Nashville,
and you've got a quarterback I'm going to make a
strong case Jeffrey Simons stew don't forget about him. I

(56:13):
think it's a good job there in with the Tennessee Titans.

Speaker 1 (56:16):
So we've got multiple cases made for coaches to find
good spots. The question, though, mark as this time of year,
is always the discussion. Is it a John Lynch Kyle
Shanahan situation where you bring guys in at the same
time and hope they have sustained success or we've got
John Schneider being one of the longest, if not the
longest tenured GM in the NFL, hiring a new head coach.

(56:37):
Where do you land on that pros and cons of
bringing in a head coach staggered with the GM.

Speaker 6 (56:42):
Or bringing them both in at the same time. I
do like to have them at the same time. And
I am surprised a lot of these openings it's been
the head coaches and we haven't seen any gms except
for Terry Fontino there to get it. I thought to
be a package deal. And that's just because you want
to have it together of equally shared vision and you
don't have to be the same, but you have to

(57:02):
have the equally shared vision. And then it's never the well,
I'm here and I'm protecting my desk and then this
guy comes in. Now he's protected his desk. And if
you look at a lot of these teams that are
still going through this again, it's been that patchwork of Okay,
the GM goes now the head coach, and the head
coach the GM. So I think the best front offices
and I was a part of it, you know, with
Jerry Reeves and Tom Crawfley working together, and you always

(57:25):
want to have that share vision of the whole organization
DD and I think that comes about best when both
guys are sort of the same pressure point and expectation level.

Speaker 3 (57:35):
Yeah, I think Mark, you can find examples of it
working each way. You can find the staggered situation where
it's worked out. You can find the ones where they
all come in together, they're kind of rowing the boat together,
it works out. The one thing that I'm keeping an
eye on is if there were to be a surprise
and one of the prominent coaches were to shake free,
and that coach might have the power then to go
into a situation talk to an owner and say, hey,

(57:57):
I know you've got somebody here, but you're not getting
me unless I get to bring in my guy and
we start to clock together. So that would be something
where I could see, you know, shaking things up a
little bit.