December 17, 2024 • 43 mins
Dan shares ideas to make the NBA more entertaining. NFL analyst Maurice Jones Drew explains why he'd bench Kirk Cousins if he were the Falcons. And NFL analyst Greg Olsen discusses how the Lions can weather their storm of injuries.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio. It's our one on this Tuesday. Down a
Danette seating out for the day. But the Minister of
Humor will do double duty. Yes, I said duty in
the back a lot of pressure. Yes, Marvin is here
as well. Paulie yours truly and the back room guys.
Last night, that was a homework assignment. The Vikings over
(00:25):
the Bears. The Vikings now twelve and two. The Bears
dropped to four and ten. The Falcons won, but if
you're a Falcon fan, I don't think that felt like
a victory. You're now seven and seven. They're very comfortable.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It feels like with seven wins, haven't they had seven
wins the previous three seasons. The Raiders now two and twelve,
and thankfully they didn't screw it up and win a game.
But two and twelve, still in line to get the
number one overall pick. But fifteen to nine the ending score,
Falcons over the Raiders. News the Lions lost their workhorse
(01:02):
running back David Montgomery looks like he's done for the year.
A couple of colleges looking at Michael Vick that came
out of nowhere Norfolk State and Sacramento State looking at
Michael Vick. We'll have more on that coming up, but
tonight it's the Cup. That's all Fritzy's been talking about.
It's the Cup.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
It's a big deal.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
The bucks and the thunder for the Cup.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Comes down to this.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yes it does. There's a lot of money at stake
as well. Ratings are down with the NBA, and I
don't know if you can pinpoint a reason. I always
go back to if they don't care, I don't care.
I think load management has turned people away. I don't
know if we're glued to a TV set going I
(01:48):
can't wait to watch that game, and even if you do,
you don't even know who's playing. But ratings have declined,
and I know they try to spice it up with
the Cup in season tournament, not enticing me if you say, hey,
we're gonna have, you know, put some money at stake here,
So wait a minute. They don't really try hard, but
(02:08):
now they're really going to try hard. Therefore now I
should watch. That doesn't work with me. I love the NBA,
grown up with the NBA, but there are times when
I go, I don't care you don't care. And that's
the feeling I've gotten. Actually it's you don't care the players.
I don't care either, but I'll watch you. I would
(02:29):
watch anyway. It's a good game, but just because it's
for the Cup. And I know Rob Manfred has gotten
roughed up a little bit in the media. A lot
of people say, what are you talking about with this
goldenet bat? Where you can use that anytime you want.
Maybe I've Aaron Judge, you know, he gets the bat
twice in an inning and people will go, what, oh,
(02:50):
you know, the purity of the game, what are you doing? Okay,
we're past that. This is about getting eyeballs. And this
is what Adam Silver is going to have to do.
At some point, he's going to have to take a swing.
He's going to have to have a Goldenet bat. He's
going to have to have something that is interesting, intriguing, different,
a tune in factor.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
They've tried to do this with the basketball courts, and
I'm fine with it. You know, you're looking for a
younger audience. I get it. But maybe we add something
to those colorful courts. You know, maybe there's a blinking
three point line. Maybe there's something inside. Like I was
told during the pandemic, and I was told by a
(03:32):
great source that the NBA was looking at creating courts
that would resemble pinball machines so it would be a
little bit more live.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I know it sounds gimmicky, but I think you've got
to get to the point where can we keep up?
Can we keep our place in the sports landscape here?
Because we've seen sports that just fall off horse racing, boxing,
they fall off baseball, that was America's pastime, fell off
the NBA. They're kind of trying to hold on for
(04:04):
dear life. The NFL is just bulldozing everybody. I get that,
But you can still maintain your place at least you
hope to on the sports ladder. But you know, the
NFL is up all the way at the top, and
then you got people down the totem pole here. What
are you going to do? What are you going to
do when Lebron leaves? What are you going to do
(04:27):
Lebron steph k d leave? Are you going to go
and trust the game with the joker? Luca Jannis? Great players,
Hall of Fame players. But then you got guys like
John Morant, you can't trust him. Wonderful talent, can't trust him.
Zion Williamson reportedly, you know available if you want to
(04:47):
trade for him. So you're looking at what is the future.
You know, Cooper Flag coming in like there's always going
to be you know, fresh blood in there. The question
is who is a tune in factor person. The WNBA
struck gold they got Caitlin Clark. The NBA needs somebody
(05:09):
somebody like that. And I think this is where Adam
Silver is going to have to, you know, have a
golden it back type thing of swinging for some things
and trying some new things. Remember with baseball, the pitch clock,
Oh god, the base is going to be a little
bit larger. H Nobody complains about him. Now, we actually
(05:31):
had guys who stole bases. Games were quicker, like there
seemed to be more movement in the game. He's trying,
and I think that's what you want, you know, football,
it doesn't matter what they do. This commissioner can't screw
it up. Hey, we're going to do this to the kickoff. Now,
imagine if we were doing this years ago, where we said, hey,
(05:52):
this is what we're doing. Even you can't touch a quarterback.
Imagine if we did that years ago. Oh, what's the
game devolved in? I don't want to watch this. Put
a skirt on him. Now we're like, no, you got
to protect them. You got to protect my homes. Mantua
the kickoff like aesthetically when you watch it, it's still
(06:14):
weird to see you're just standing there, you know, like
you know, you're guarding the queen, just standing there until
and gout and then you you know, it's really silly looking.
But the NFL can do no wrong. Hey, we're going
to outsoort, We're sending games out of the country they do. Hey,
(06:35):
we're going to have you play three games in eleven days, okay,
can't do any wrong, doubleheaders on Monday. You know we're
like yeah, okay. But I think with the NBA, I
think we're going to have to start looking and going, okay,
where are we going? What is the future of the NBA?
(06:59):
And you got ask these hard questions. We see what's
happening in college football, like it happened quick and it's
still evolving, and that's what you have to be able
to get ahead of, you know, these kind of decisions
or these seismic shifts that you have in sports. Crazy,
(07:19):
but I think that's what the NBA. They're gonna have
to have one of those what ifs. Hey, there's no
bad ideas here. Let's just put stuff out there and
see what can we do.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
The first thing I would say is I want to
know who's playing. That's it. Are you playing? But don't
tell me, Hey, they're playing for money. Now, if you
said the Bucks in Thunder had to put in their
own money. Today in the middle of the court, commissioner
brings a wheelbarrow out and says, they're playing for this money,
(07:55):
and the Bucks and the Thunder put up the money. Okay,
that's interesting, not going to happen. But just because they're
playing for money doesn't mean anything to me. I want
you to play hard, not hey, we're playing hard because
we can get some money. I've don't do anything for
me other than I guess they're really trying. Now. It's
(08:18):
like Baseball tried back with the All Star Game and
Fox goes, nobody's watching the All Star Game? How about
home field advantage for the World Series? Silly idea, But
they were trying. I'd rather have that commissioner who's trying
to do something Now. I don't want change for the
sake of change, but I do want ideas, and I
(08:38):
think we're not beholding to records anymore. It's not like
you go, oh my god, you've got the bases larger. Well,
that's not the same with Ricky Henderson. We got all that.
I get that, but I think you got to try.
You got to be experimental or willing to be flexible there.
Because our attention span is getting shorter and shorter, you're
(09:01):
gonna flip through. It used to be you would just watch. Well,
now you really have to give me a reason why
I'm watching this game. I'd like that the Bucks, Jannis
and Dame are playing well, and Doc Rivers seems like
he's going to keep his job. Okay, the Thunder when
they get cheded Holmgren back. You know, Sga is a
really talented player. Not enough for me to tune in
(09:23):
for that, and I love basketball, So I do think
the NBA will have to look at some thing. I
wouldn't be surprised if you start to hear, hey, they're
considering this, or they'll float it out, They'll leak it
in the media and saying, hey, we're thinking about this
what and then all of a sudden we discuss it.
Speaker 6 (09:44):
Yes, Martin, Yeah, I would have lost some money because
if we had made a bet at the end of
last year's playoffs, I would have said, Anthony Edwards is
the guy you have to hit your wagon to, just
because they had such a great run in the playoffs
and he's such a great personality.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
And I don't know what.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I don't I mean, once again, I don't go all
the Timberwolves are playing. I'm going to tune in, but
if I do tune in, I know that he'll stand out.
They're above five hundred. But the Lakers, the Lakers, you
know that roster is not a winning roster. You know
they're an eight seed team. It feels like but Lebron's
going to be done in a year, Steph in maybe
(10:24):
two years, KD a couple then then what I mean,
these are all first ballot Hall of Famers, top fifteen
players of all time. Trying to get guys nowadays who
are going to play, want to play win championships. The
fact that Zion is available right now. I mean, the Pelicans,
(10:46):
they almost had it, they almost did, and now they
don't have anything. They're terrible. They're in last place. Zion
couldn't miss. He's gonna be a star. I don't even
know if he wants to play. I don't know how
much it matters to him. John Moran's got everything until
(11:08):
he doesn't have anything. Anthony Edwards can be wonderful, but
what did it come down to in the Olympics, those
same three old guys. Joker's great, but he's just great
to watch. So I don't know. I think the NBA
has got a challenge here ahead of them because the
(11:30):
last ten years the ratings have been going down steadily,
a steady decline, and this year not good either. And
who has the philosophy of a sport where you go, Hey,
our season starts in October, but wait till Christmas and
then we're gonna have some really good games. I'm going
(11:52):
to take a couple of months off. It's not a
great game plan for me if you're the commissioner. Hey,
this season starts Christmas Day. I think we all feel
that way. That's what he was trying to do this
with the NBA Cup. It's about the Cup, Todd.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
It's the Cup tonight. Fucks thunder for it all. For
some of it, not all of it.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
The Cup, yes, Marvin, and the NBA isn't even more
trouble because the NFL's like, no, no, no, we got Christmas.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yes, they roped them up too, like.
Speaker 6 (12:23):
That was their primetime. Hey, guys, the seasons here are
big matchups. We got five great games with ten great teams.
And NFL is like, I guess you.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Know, you know what the NFL said, Hey, we're gonna
have our guys play on like two days rest. You
guys have for it. Sure you want to play football
and Christmas be away from the family. Sure, yeah, Paulie.
Speaker 7 (12:47):
I think after listening to everything you just said, what
really stands out to me is the NFL is always
pushing it and feeling more intense and playing more games,
and their players are playing Nobody sits out as a
healthy scratch. What bothers me about the NBA, And for
listening you talk about this for the past few minutes,
the games lack intensity no matter. They have star power.
They have lots of star power, a lot of recognizable names.
(13:09):
When I tune into a game, I watch guys running
up and down, jacking threes and running back down and
jacking threes and that's what it happens for about two hours.
There's very little intensity. I don't need fighting or punching,
but intensity of the game they feel. The games feel casual,
especially the first half.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Of the season.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I watched the Knicks and the Hawks the other night,
and I watched most of the game and really enjoyed it.
There was a feel to it, but that's because the
Trey Young in the Garden against the Knicks, and that
is this standalone game. I'm not saying you're going to
get that all the time, but I'd like a little
bit more of that where it feels like it really
(13:48):
means something to the players, and it just feels like, hey,
you know, we're going to work, gotta go out there.
I got to play, you know, about thirty four minutes
and then we're on to the next game. I shoot
a couple threes and then that's it. It doesn't feel
and maybe there's too many games. We talked about that,
(14:11):
but once again, I'm not beholden to the records the
way I once was. I don't know if the American
public is either, but I do think you're going to
need a commissioner, and this commercial commissioner is a very
bright man to maybe start to look at things, and
I think the courts that kind of had a shock
(14:33):
value to it. You're like, whoa, what's this? Okay, do
you want to do that all season long?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Like what the All Star Game is not worth tuning into?
Now we're tuning into what the three point shooting contest?
But we're bringing in the WNBA with the NBA and okay,
you're trying. They can't do anything with the All Star
Game unless it's the United States against you know, everybody
else in the world. Maybe that would be interesting. I
just don't know if you'd have the depth. You probably
(15:05):
have five or six really really good players from around
the around the world, and then it would be a
drastic fall off there. All right, we'll get started here.
Got a pull question, Yes, Paul, we.
Speaker 7 (15:17):
May have to play an impromptu good idea bad idea
later today where we say what we would give an
idea to Commissioner Silver. Hmm, Like, let's say, like you said,
there's no bad ideas, all hands on deck.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Well, he has, you know, to his credit, he has
enacted some of the things I proposed to him, and
that is you must play a certain number of games
to qualify for postseason awards. And I think that that
does help. Like you know, you almost have to dangle
a carrot and say, come on, you gotta play, gotta play.
And we took away from the positions on first, second,
(15:49):
third team. He did that as well. Those are two
things I asked him to do. Basketball's position lests take
him off, you know, first, second, third team, and let's
have a requirement of to be eligible for postseason honors,
you got to play in a certain number of games.
Shouldn't be that way, but that's what it is.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 8 (16:19):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 9 (16:31):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 8 (16:33):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together. I mean that says something, right. So
check us out. We like to get you involved too,
(16:53):
take your phone calls, chop it up. As they say,
I'd say, the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio,
maybe the.
Speaker 9 (16:59):
Most director show on planetar.
Speaker 8 (17:01):
Be sure to check out Cavino and Rich live on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 9 (17:04):
From five to seven pm Eastern two to four.
Speaker 8 (17:07):
Pacific, And if you miss any of the live show,
just search Kobin on Rich wherever you get your podcast,
and of course on social.
Speaker 9 (17:12):
Media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
He is Maurice Jones, Drew, NFL network analyst, RAMS Radio
color analyst and former NFL running back. Good to see
you again, Good to have you on the program. How
threatening are the vikings? Mojo?
Speaker 5 (17:30):
Well first and foremost, Dan, great to be back. Second,
No jaguars Lander will be allowed while I'm on here.
No more jaguars Lander. We've had enough. Okay, okay, We've
had enough. Stat of the day, you know, unless it
is positive we don't want to talk anything negative about
the Jags, all right. Stat of the day was a
(17:51):
little that was a little tough for me to hear
you say that.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Okay, I've learned my lesson. I'll try to be nice.
Let me see if I can find something nicer. How
about what I was gonna say.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
It's okay. We can move on, you know, you know,
Jags near and dear to our hearts here and the
Jones Drew household. Been a tough season, but we can
move forward.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Well, I didn't have this one. The Raiders have trailed
by double digits in all fourteen games this season.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Yeah, that doesn't That doesn't help either. That doesn't help.
But we're going the wrong way. Let's talk about the Vikings.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Okay, how threatening are the Vikings to me?
Speaker 5 (18:32):
I think the Vikings when Sam Darnold is playing the
way he's playing, they can beat anyone, especially in the
in the NFC North. Now with Detroit going through all
those injuries, and I know Dan Campbell's fired up about
the the challenge that will be for his team. But
in the NFL, it's about the Krim, Dela Krim. It's
about the talent that you have on that roster, and
(18:55):
miss is so many guys that they have right now
on defense, David Montgomery out for the season. Uh, that's
gonna be tough to overcome. And I'm not saying they
can't do it. But the way the Vikings are playing,
they're my favor right now to win the NFC North.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
What would you do with Sam Darnold's contract moving forward?
Speaker 5 (19:15):
I would I would actually sign Sam to a two
to three year deal, continue to let JJ McCarthy sit
and learn, very similar to what kind of the Packers
do with Jordan Love. Uh. If Sam co continue to
play this way, I think the Vikings have a great
chance to contain to build a roster with him and
then obviously move on from him in a year, two years,
(19:37):
and then put JJ McCarthy in there. And you're reading
a role you got to you had a winner, So
to me, I think they put themselves in a position
out Let me be honest. I wasn't a believer in
Sam Donald. I don't think many were because of what
he did in New York and I know he played
better in Carolina. I know he sat with the Niners,
but what we saw from him as a full starter
(19:59):
in New York was tough to watch right, a lot
of turnovers, a lot of mistakes being made. But kudos
to him for working on himself, working on his game
and going into Minnesota into a situation where you have
a lot of weapons around you, and he's really taking
advantage of this opportunity. So to me, he's earned the
right to play again next year, especially being what where
(20:20):
they're twelve and two right now and you have a
chance to win the North. To me, that's a huge
accomplishment for not only does the Vikings organization, but for
Sam himself.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Pritty give Mojo the pole question.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
The pole question is which NFL franchise feels like it
is in the worst shape? Bears, Giants, Anthers, Raiders, Browns, Jaguars, Titans.
What in that group, who's in the worst shape moving forward?
Speaker 5 (20:49):
You know, again, I told you no Jaguars Lander my mistake,
so you didn't have to put them in there. Also,
Brian Callahan is a great friend of mine, and slander.
I feel like that franchise is on the rise, that
they have a good defense, they're rolling. To me, it
has to be the Giants, and the reason being is
(21:11):
you let go of I want to say two or
three players in free agency that are playing well for
the McKinney in Green Bay obviously Saquon and Philly, and
I wanted to say there was another player that's actually
playing really well that they let go of free agency.
You just can't let talent hit free agency and not
bring them back. You just can't do that. And a
lot of that was because they paid Daniel Jones a
(21:33):
ton of money. Now you let you you let him go, right,
And now you're sitting there in disarray trying to figure
out what's going on. Another tough season for them. And
what makes it worse for me is that they did
the offseason hard knocks and the way they were talking
about their players right, and that to me just is
this kind of like, I don't know. Now, Yes, the
Browns have a tough situation. I think all those teams
(21:57):
are in pretty follow tile situations. But to me, the
Giants just how it went about it, what it looked
like from the outside, and then getting a peak on
the inside and it looked exactly what we thought it
was going to look like, and then the season you have,
it just doesn't work well for me.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah, I was really surprised that they allowed those behind
the scenes phone calls and you have the you know,
the GM talking to Saquon Barkley, and it just it
was embarrassing because I mean, not having you know, read
the room, understand what you're saying. You're saying it on
TV cameras and you're basically saying to Saquon Barkley, Yeah,
(22:36):
go ahead and see if somebody likes you, but you know,
come back to us and let us know. Man, I'd
be out the door be like, nope, I'm not going
to look back on this.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
Well, yeah, shout out to the scout too, or the
one of the personnel people were like, are you sure
you want to do this? Right? He was there to
make sure, like are you sure you want to let
saque walk? And they were kind of like, yeah, oh yeah,
we're not going to pay a quarterback for thirty million
dollars to turn around and hand off to a thirteen
million dollar back Like, well, guess what, Philly is more
than happy to do that. And you know, to be
(23:09):
quite honest, he shouldn't be. He should be paid ten
times that amount to what he's done for Philadelphia in
their offense. Right in a situation where he won them
a couple of games while guys are heard and he's
been the focal point of that offense. He needs to
go back. You know, if it's me and I'm I'm
glad I'm not his agent, because we'd be going back
to the table, Sir. I'd be knocking on the door,
like we need a couple a little bit more of
(23:29):
this pie that you got going around here, you know.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Maurice Jones Drew, NFL network analyst, I don't know if
Kirk Cousins is your friend, but I have to ask you,
is it time to bench Kirk Cousins in Atlanta?
Speaker 5 (23:42):
Yeah? Okay, So this is the thing we had this conversation.
I do a show every Monday for the people in
the UK and Ireland for NFL, and it's we do
a Monday night show. We talk about it, like, Kurt
is a great guy. He's great in the locker room,
but you can't continue to earn the ball over at
the rate he turned the ball over. And to me,
(24:03):
I believe, look, if you want to if you're fighting
for this spot and you want to win, and maybe
you feel like, hey, Michael Pennix is a ready yet
or I gotta go see that. I can't sit back
and have this guy and I throw a touchdown for
what four or five weeks, continue to lose games that
are winnable games and put us in a position where
where we're not playing well. Now, he does do a
(24:25):
great job off of play action pass, but they've been
in some drop back passing situations where he's just made
bad decisions. And to be quite frank with you, I
don't know if he's still hurt or if follow timas
tied up to him, but sometimes when he throws the
football doesn't seem like he has a lot of that
pozazz that he had on it when he was in Minnesota.
And so for me, I just think it's time to
(24:50):
see what we have. And I know they're in the race,
and I know they're still winning, and I love rahiem Moore,
so I'm gonna believe and trust in him. But if
I was the coach, I would have pulled Kirk a
while ago and and saw the young guy was going
to do.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
What's the difference with Josh Allen this year as opposed
to maybe the last couple of years.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, Okay, So first and foremost, I think he's just
playing with the confidence and understanding of this offense, and
it must be the same offense, you know. Obviously Joe
Brady there in their connection. But watching him versus the Rams,
so you gotta remember this is again, I worked, he said,
I worked for the Rams, big Rams fan. That's why
I said, no slander for the Rams, Jags, Raiders, we
(25:31):
refuse that. And the Titans because my guy Brian Callahan
and Nick Holts. But I saw Saquon Barkley versus the Rams,
and I was like, this is the best player I've
ever seen football. And my god, like this is crazy,
you know. Then double back a couple of weeks later,
the next week or something crazy like that, here comes
Josh Allen and I was like, no, this is the
(25:51):
best player ever right. He was throwing the ball. He's
had a couple of throws. If they were arrows, they
would have killed some of those receivers. Away just hit
him square in the chest like he was putting the
ball in positions. The Rams defenders were in great position,
and he was the throw to mac Hollins for a touchdown.
A couple of throws from Mark Cooper and then his
ability to take off and run and he's again, you're bigger,
(26:14):
he's your biggest runner, right, so the goal line opportunities.
Then you see the way he's running and taking the time, Well,
he picks his spots when he wants to be Superman.
If that makes sense, I think that's that's what's the
difference we've seen between Josh Allen now and Josh Allen before.
He always wanted to be Superman, always wanted to make
(26:35):
the throws, always wanted to do all these things. Now
he allows the game to come to them, meaning they're
going to run the football. He's not going to take chances.
And then they have play calls where they probably talked
to him throughout the week like all right, this is
where you could be Superman if you need to be.
These are the moments where we need you to be Superman.
We need you to run the ball here, We need
you to extend the play and throw the ball down
the field here on this third down, Like there must
(26:57):
be a code word that they tell him where he
turns from you know, cark into Superman. And he goes
out and does it. And again a guy like like
I said, he's clearly right now, you know Obviously, I'm
a running back enthusiast and I love RBS and I'm
all over. But what he's done the last couple of weeks,
scoring forty points in back to back games against defenses
(27:18):
that have played really well throughout this season. And I mean,
what's that? Who had forty eight last last week? He
has forty two the week before, whatever it might have been,
like like my goodness, And so to me, he's just
he's really learning his when the moment is for him
to go out and show what he can do, but
he's relying on his teammates. And that's what's great to see.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Great to talk to you as always, hope you're doing well.
Speaker 5 (27:44):
Always well, we'll get going. Look listen, I'm gonna be
honest with you. I had youth football, I had high
school football. We lost the state championship game to the
number one team in the country. I'm still haven't moved
out of my bed in three days. Did you?
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Did you cryn pride?
Speaker 5 (28:00):
Just I just you know, replay the game over and
over and over again. But our kids played really well.
We just we did. We had some opportunities we didn't
take advantage of. And so I watched the tape. I'm
sitting here. I mean I I silent cried, which means
I ain't like boohoo, but like a couple of tears
dropped because you know, just losing. Losing is hard, but
(28:20):
you can learn from losing. And I'm learning that I'm
a terrible loser. And I'm again we're getting back to
the drawing board. We're ready to go see the kids
in a couple of weeks. You know, is Uh going
to do Christmas? He's gonna get Christmas this year. Sanna
doesn't come to losers houses, you know what I'm saying.
So the kids already know like Senda doesn't come. He
doesn't like that. He loves winners. So we gotta we
(28:42):
gotta read, We gotta figure this thing back out again.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Is your son being recruited?
Speaker 5 (28:48):
He is. He is being a recruited as offers by
cal in Utah right now, as a couple other schools
talking to him. So, uh, he's a sophomore, but he
had a he had a really good sophomore year. And uh,
we're getting ready for our junior year here, like I said,
back back to it. No Christmas this year. Good to
talk to it, Good to talk to you as well.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Thank you, Mojo.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio WAPP.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
He's Greg Olsen, NFL on Fox Analyst and he called
the Cowboys Panthers. On Sunday, He'll be doing the Ravens
Texans Christmas Day that's on Netflix with our good buddy
Iron Eagle kickoff at four point thirty Easter. Beyonce, by
the way, halftime performer Greg joins us, Now, do you
get to meet Beyonce before? After during?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
You know, I think that's a great question.
Speaker 10 (29:45):
I actually, uh, last time I was involved in a
game that Beyonce was also involved in, I lost the
Super Bowl in Santa Clara, who was the halftime show?
Speaker 3 (29:54):
So I have mixed feelings.
Speaker 10 (29:55):
Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully the result goes better for me this time.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
What's it like when there's somebody performing that a lot
of people would probably want to go out of the
locker room. Did did anybody sneak out to see Beyonce perform?
Speaker 7 (30:10):
Not?
Speaker 10 (30:11):
Not to my knowledge, but you know, a couple of
years ago, you know, when I called the Super Bowl
in Arizona. Rihanna was the halftime show, so, I mean
the excitement of the crew. So we get ready to
go to halftime in all week, We're like, you know,
it'll be cool, We'll get to watch Rihanna.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Got great.
Speaker 10 (30:26):
I mean, we've got the best seat in the house,
fifty yard line up in the box. And then like
the second to last player the last series of the
second quarter, Mahomes gets rolled up on, he gets his
ankle rolled up on, he gets limped in. So the
whole halftime now, instead of being able to sit down,
catch our breath watch Rihanna for five minutes, we had
to scramble and do the whole Oh my gosh, could
(30:46):
you imagine if Pat Mahomes doesn't come out for the
second half of the Super Bowl? And thankfully he did.
So I'm excited to watch Beyonce. I love Beyonce. I
think it's going to be fun. I think the entire
experience is going to be super cool for everyone that's participating.
And I know our crew, Noah and I are super
super pumped to get together, work together for the first
(31:06):
time and kind of see what happens.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Can you see Mahomes modifying his style. I mean, we've
had the ankle injury every year, almost had a severe
knee injury as well. But he's not a runner. I
call him an opportunist. But can you see him maybe modifying,
you know, I just think at.
Speaker 10 (31:27):
This stage in your career, it is so hard to
just change your play style. I think, you know, so
much of what makes Mahomes so special and so such
a generational player is his ability to play off script. Right,
It's almost the entire underlying of their entire offense is
his ability to extend plays, move in the pocket, remain
a passer. To your point, he's not necessarily a scrambler
(31:49):
in the sense of I'm looking to run with the
ball to convert He's he will run, he will pick
up first downs. But it's his ability to stress the
coverage because he just holds onto the ball so long
without getting sacked. And I think that's kind of the
balance that every team in the league's trying to saying.
It's one thing to hold the ball, it's one thing
to stress the coverage. But as you're stressing coverage, you're
(32:09):
also stressing protection. So it's finding that balance that's what
makes Mahomes and Josh Allen and now Jayden Daniels and
you know, Lamar and just some of those guys are
just such a handful because even when you defend everything,
you still haven't defended everything. So I just don't know
if there is any going back. Injury is part of it.
Hopefully he dogged a bullet here with the ankle, and
(32:30):
you know, obviously his style of play is just incredible.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
We have a poll question, Fritzi, would you give Greg
the wording on the pole question?
Speaker 4 (32:37):
Which team right right now in the NFL is in
the worst shape now and going forward in the near future?
And we had the Bears, Jaguars, Browns, Texans, Giants.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Where are you on that?
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (32:50):
So I think it's combination of, you know, what does
the current winning culture look like in the building? Are
they doing it multiple years in with the same coaching
staff in regime? And then where are they in terms
of finding their future quarterback?
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Right?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
So, those are all the things.
Speaker 10 (33:04):
You give first year coaches, you give first year rookie
quarterbacks like I see what's going on in Chicago. I
think that's an example of Obviously, the season's gone off
the rails ever since they lost on the Hail Mary
to Washington. It feels like things have fallen apart. I
think they've lost eight in a row or whatever. But
they've got Caleb Williams. They're going to get a new
coach in there and a new staff. They've got you know,
good pieces in place. So that should be a pretty
(33:27):
you know, that should be a pretty popular destination, I
would imagine in this hiring cycle. But then you look
at the Giants and I like Dable, you know, I
thought he did an unbelievable job his first year making
the playoffs. Go on the road to Minnesota. I called
that game and they come out with the with the
upset victory. Since then, it's been a bit of a disaster.
And you know, but then you look there and you say,
not only have they had a culture of losing, they
(33:50):
let Daniel Jones go, they don't have their future quarterback
on the roster, and now they've got to start all
over again. So, you know, I, as much as I
hate to say this because I just love Dable, love
who he is as a guy, as a coach, I
think they're pretty far removed from having an ability to win.
They're in a really tough division. It doesn't like Philly's
going anywhere, Dallas will bounce back. Washington's obviously the prized
(34:14):
team in the league. They've got a tough division, don't
have their quarterback, and they're you know, losing at a
historic greata.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Other than that, Other than that, things are good.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
How much coaching has done on an NFL level from
the head coach as opposed to coaching in college.
Speaker 10 (34:32):
I think it's different in every franchise model. So I
think you look at the coaches that are also the
play callers. You know, you look at a team that's
having a ton of success. We saw him last night,
you know, on National TV on Monday Night play, you know,
Chicago with Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings. So you look
at what Kevin O'Connell is doing on a week by
week basis. Aside from delivering messaging and addressing the team
(34:52):
and putting together the plan and keeping the locker room
and culture and vision intact, he's also in the in
the weeds of the game and he's you know, on
the sideline. He's charting plays and he's formulating his play
call and getting his opening script done. So he's part
offensive coordinator, part head coach. That's very challenging, right, That's
Andy Reid, that's Kevin O'Connell, that's Sean McVay, Kyle shannan,
(35:14):
you know of those sense. So those guys are in
the weeds coaching on a day to day basis. X's
and o's in plays. Then there's other coaches where their
impact on the team is just as great. They're just
not actually the ones on game day calling the plays directly,
you know, to the to the quarterbacks headset. But you know,
you look at Dan Campbell, he's not necessarily calling the plays.
(35:34):
He's got two very good defensive offensive coordinator Aaron Glenn,
Ben Johnson, maybe two guys that are gonna get head
coaching opportunities this cycle. But he's involved in every single
thing they do. Talk to him during the week, we
can ask them about the offensive plan, the defensive plan.
He knows both sides of the ball, like he's actually
gonna call the plays on Sunday. And then of course
(35:55):
he handles all the game management and the motivation and
the speeches before and after the game. So I think
every coach is a little bit different as far as
what their role is but the best coaches are the
best communicators. The x's and o's and the plays. That's
stuff Wall take care of itself. The best guys are
the best communicators. They deliver the message, they put out fires,
and they galvanize a group. And you know, you look
(36:16):
around to the best teams in the league, it's not
a coincidence that they also have some of the best leaders,
some of the best messagers.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
It's a huge part of NFL football.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
I'm talking to Greg Olsen NFL and Fox. He'll be
on the call on Christmas Day. The game is on Netflix.
It'll be the Ravens and Texans kickoff at four thirty Eastern.
Speaking of these two teams, which one's more threatening come
playoff time, Ravens or Texans.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
It's a good question.
Speaker 10 (36:44):
I've kind of started diving into them this week just
in preparation for next week's game. And you know, I mean,
you start with Baltimore obviously, you know we've seen them
do it, MVP Lamar, they add Derek Henry. I mean,
that is a that is a scary group. And I
would say when play well, you've come out of that
game saying that's the best team in the league.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
And then there's been some other games.
Speaker 10 (37:04):
Where you go, okay, like they're good, but can they
just put the pedal down and just dominate somebody? And
I think their defense is getting a lot better. I
think their defense is much improved. Earlier in the year,
they had some ups and downs. They've started to string
together some good performances here of late. So I think
as long as you have Lamar, I think Harbaugh is
a fantastic coach.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
I think they had a.
Speaker 10 (37:26):
Culture initation of winning, which again to our ear to
your earlier question, is so important in this league. Guys
expect to win, they expect to show up and have success,
and that's very powerful. And then with Houston, I think
what's what's so unique about them is last year all
that talks about CJ. Stroud and he busts them onto
the seam as a rookie and he was incredible. They
win the division in him and Demico Ryan's first year
(37:48):
and everyone saying, oh my god, he's incredible. This year,
it's been the defense. I mean, that defense is young,
they are good. They can rush the passer. Daniel Hunter,
will Anderson. They've got two really good young corners Derek
Stingley might be the best in the league right now.
And then Lassiter, who's the young rookie on the other side.
So they're young, they're talented, they can rush the passer,
(38:08):
they can dominate at the line of scrimmage, and then
the offense is opportunistic.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
It's you know, last week they.
Speaker 10 (38:14):
Force four turnovers against the Dolphins and they score seventeen
to their twenty off of turnovers. So they're they're making
the plays they have to. They're not as dominant offensively
as they were, even though I love their skill positions.
Their offensive line is the question mark. They struggle up front,
they struggle to pass protect, and then everything kind of
goes from there. So I think it's a fascinating matchup
(38:36):
on paper. To me at this stage, it's Lamar and
thattt Ravens offense against this Houston defense led by Timiko
Rans Like, that is the matchup, and I think it's
gonna be awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Level of concern for the Lions is what, gosh.
Speaker 10 (38:52):
You know, you just you can't help but just feel
for him because four or five weeks ago they were
the best team in football and it was just because
of the offense. It wasn't just because you know, golf's
playing at MVP level and the offensive line has been
good there for a long time, and of course Ben
Johnson's the bell of the ball, He's the coach everyone's
looking for, and the skill players unlimited.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
And then on the defensive side, they were so good.
Speaker 10 (39:16):
Obviously with you know, losing Hutchinson and then losing Azeloni,
Aaron Glen's held it together as long as he could.
But you go back to like the top two of
their robster depth early in the season, I don't think
anyone is left. And then of course the other night
in that awesome game, you know, they lose Alee McNeil,
they lose Carlton Davis, they lose more starters, and then
now the words coming out with Montgomery the back alongside
(39:40):
Gibbs that he might be now out for the year.
So it's just it's unfortunate that this is the way
it happens. But we see it all the time. There
is an element of luck to NFL runs. There is
an element to the teams that stay healthy the longest
make their run. But listen, if we've seen anything about
Dan Campbell, he's going to alter his approach he's going
to get super aggressive, he's not going to apologize for it,
(40:01):
and they're gonna have to try to make up for
what they're missing on defense.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
That they are going to have to carry the load.
Speaker 10 (40:07):
Hence why he on side kicked with ten plus minutes
to go in the game like that was not just
an arbitrary gut reaction. He understands the efficiencies of the defense.
They can't stop anybody, So why is he gonna let
teams go eighty five yards for a touchdown when just
let them go the short way and get.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
The ball back.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I mentioned Josh Allen was like a better throwing Cam
Newton when Cam won the mvpick. That fair to either
of these both of these guys with that comparison, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:39):
I think it's very fair.
Speaker 10 (40:40):
I think you know, when you look at a lot
of the things that Josh is doing, it's a very
similar play style to how Cam played. I would argue
that Cam was maybe used more consistently, especially those first
five years or so, in the run game, and then
it was quarterback power, it was quarterback run, it was
downhill like they used Josh. I think really smart, like
(41:01):
the way they activate him as a design quarterback runner.
It's red zone, it's short yardage, it's perimeter runs, it's
spread QB draw. They do a great job saying, Okay,
we're not going to just run him into the ground,
but when we need them, ball is going to be
in his hands because he's the best player in the league.
So I think in that regard, they're both physical. They're strong,
(41:21):
they can outrun you, they're powerful, they can protect themselves.
I think that's an element that people are starting to
see with. Yes, the quarterback run is such a weapon,
and when you have a guy like Josh Allen and
you have a guy like he's silly not to use it.
But what guys are finding is, over the course of
a season, are you able to sustain it? Do you
(41:42):
have a guy that is built to take those hits
and can be a runner. If your quarterback every time
he's in space to get hit just gives him stuff
up and he's not willing to run through contact, you
lose the advantage of running your quarterback. And that's where
Cam was so unique is when he got in the
open field, they didn't want to tackle him.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
Can't they Bigger?
Speaker 10 (42:02):
Cam was at more risks standing in the pocket, getting
to get injured, getting guys at his legs blindside than
when he was actually on the offensive as a runner.
And I would say the same thing about Josh, and
then obviously his Josh's ability to throw off platform and
throw from outside the pocket, and some of those throws
he made the other night on the run against Detroit
were just I mean, they were just out of this world.
(42:23):
So I think he's the MVP. I think I can't.
I mean, I can make an argument for Lamar, I
can make an argument for Golf. I just what Buffalo's
doing right now there. You could argue they're the best
team in the league right now, and he's the best player.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
I was amazed when I first met Cam how big
he is, like when you when you see quarterbacks, like
he's probably bigger than you.
Speaker 3 (42:48):
Oh yeah, Cam's eye to eye with me.
Speaker 10 (42:50):
And when we were both playing, we were probably within
I don't know, anywhere between five to ten pounds of
each other in any direction at any kind of Yeah,
Cam could have played defense, event, Cam could have played
tight end. Cam could have played outside edge rusher. When
you talk about just unique physical specimens that have come
through the NFL, Cam Newton's at the top of the list.
(43:12):
The first time I ever met him in training camp,
I had just gotten traded to Carolina from Chicago, and
I walked into the training room, and of course watched
him at Auburn and watched him win the national Championship
and the Heisman and all that. And then but again
to your point, when you see him in person, you
don't realize just how imposing he really is.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
And you know, when I saw him, I was like, whoa.
Speaker 10 (43:31):
And then obviously he gets out in the field and
the way he's able to run, and he was long
legged but powerful, and obviously he could just rip it.
He was a unique physical product. But yeah, just his
sheer size was very unique.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Thanks for joining us. Happy holidays to you, and our
best to Iron Eagle. On Christmas Day on Netflix, it'll
be the Ravens and the Texans, four thirty Eastern. Thank you, Greg.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
I appreciate it. It was good to see it.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio. It's our one on this Tuesday. Down a
Danette seating out for the day. But the Minister of
Humor will do double duty. Yes, I said duty in
the back a lot of pressure. Yes, Marvin is here
as well. Paulie yours truly and the back room guys.
Last night, that was a homework assignment. The Vikings over
(00:25):
the Bears. The Vikings now twelve and two. The Bears
dropped to four and ten. The Falcons won, but if
you're a Falcon fan, I don't think that felt like
a victory. You're now seven and seven. They're very comfortable.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It feels like with seven wins, haven't they had seven
wins the previous three seasons. The Raiders now two and twelve,
and thankfully they didn't screw it up and win a game.
But two and twelve, still in line to get the
number one overall pick. But fifteen to nine the ending score,
Falcons over the Raiders. News the Lions lost their workhorse
(01:02):
running back David Montgomery looks like he's done for the year.
A couple of colleges looking at Michael Vick that came
out of nowhere Norfolk State and Sacramento State looking at
Michael Vick. We'll have more on that coming up, but
tonight it's the Cup. That's all Fritzy's been talking about.
It's the Cup.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
It's a big deal.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
The bucks and the thunder for the Cup.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Comes down to this.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yes it does. There's a lot of money at stake
as well. Ratings are down with the NBA, and I
don't know if you can pinpoint a reason. I always
go back to if they don't care, I don't care.
I think load management has turned people away. I don't
know if we're glued to a TV set going I
(01:48):
can't wait to watch that game, and even if you do,
you don't even know who's playing. But ratings have declined,
and I know they try to spice it up with
the Cup in season tournament, not enticing me if you say, hey,
we're gonna have, you know, put some money at stake here,
So wait a minute. They don't really try hard, but
(02:08):
now they're really going to try hard. Therefore now I
should watch. That doesn't work with me. I love the NBA,
grown up with the NBA, but there are times when
I go, I don't care you don't care. And that's
the feeling I've gotten. Actually it's you don't care the players.
I don't care either, but I'll watch you. I would
(02:29):
watch anyway. It's a good game, but just because it's
for the Cup. And I know Rob Manfred has gotten
roughed up a little bit in the media. A lot
of people say, what are you talking about with this
goldenet bat? Where you can use that anytime you want.
Maybe I've Aaron Judge, you know, he gets the bat
twice in an inning and people will go, what, oh,
(02:50):
you know, the purity of the game, what are you doing? Okay,
we're past that. This is about getting eyeballs. And this
is what Adam Silver is going to have to do.
At some point, he's going to have to take a swing.
He's going to have to have a Goldenet bat. He's
going to have to have something that is interesting, intriguing, different,
a tune in factor.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
They've tried to do this with the basketball courts, and
I'm fine with it. You know, you're looking for a
younger audience. I get it. But maybe we add something
to those colorful courts. You know, maybe there's a blinking
three point line. Maybe there's something inside. Like I was
told during the pandemic, and I was told by a
(03:32):
great source that the NBA was looking at creating courts
that would resemble pinball machines so it would be a
little bit more live.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I know it sounds gimmicky, but I think you've got
to get to the point where can we keep up?
Can we keep our place in the sports landscape here?
Because we've seen sports that just fall off horse racing, boxing,
they fall off baseball, that was America's pastime, fell off
the NBA. They're kind of trying to hold on for
(04:04):
dear life. The NFL is just bulldozing everybody. I get that,
But you can still maintain your place at least you
hope to on the sports ladder. But you know, the
NFL is up all the way at the top, and
then you got people down the totem pole here. What
are you going to do? What are you going to
do when Lebron leaves? What are you going to do
(04:27):
Lebron steph k d leave? Are you going to go
and trust the game with the joker? Luca Jannis? Great players,
Hall of Fame players. But then you got guys like
John Morant, you can't trust him. Wonderful talent, can't trust him.
Zion Williamson reportedly, you know available if you want to
(04:47):
trade for him. So you're looking at what is the future.
You know, Cooper Flag coming in like there's always going
to be you know, fresh blood in there. The question
is who is a tune in factor person. The WNBA
struck gold they got Caitlin Clark. The NBA needs somebody
(05:09):
somebody like that. And I think this is where Adam
Silver is going to have to, you know, have a
golden it back type thing of swinging for some things
and trying some new things. Remember with baseball, the pitch clock,
Oh god, the base is going to be a little
bit larger. H Nobody complains about him. Now, we actually
(05:31):
had guys who stole bases. Games were quicker, like there
seemed to be more movement in the game. He's trying,
and I think that's what you want, you know, football,
it doesn't matter what they do. This commissioner can't screw
it up. Hey, we're going to do this to the kickoff. Now,
imagine if we were doing this years ago, where we said, hey,
(05:52):
this is what we're doing. Even you can't touch a quarterback.
Imagine if we did that years ago. Oh, what's the
game devolved in? I don't want to watch this. Put
a skirt on him. Now we're like, no, you got
to protect them. You got to protect my homes. Mantua
the kickoff like aesthetically when you watch it, it's still
(06:14):
weird to see you're just standing there, you know, like
you know, you're guarding the queen, just standing there until
and gout and then you you know, it's really silly looking.
But the NFL can do no wrong. Hey, we're going
to outsoort, We're sending games out of the country they do. Hey,
(06:35):
we're going to have you play three games in eleven days, okay,
can't do any wrong, doubleheaders on Monday. You know we're
like yeah, okay. But I think with the NBA, I
think we're going to have to start looking and going, okay,
where are we going? What is the future of the NBA?
(06:59):
And you got ask these hard questions. We see what's
happening in college football, like it happened quick and it's
still evolving, and that's what you have to be able
to get ahead of, you know, these kind of decisions
or these seismic shifts that you have in sports. Crazy,
(07:19):
but I think that's what the NBA. They're gonna have
to have one of those what ifs. Hey, there's no
bad ideas here. Let's just put stuff out there and
see what can we do.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
The first thing I would say is I want to
know who's playing. That's it. Are you playing? But don't
tell me, Hey, they're playing for money. Now, if you
said the Bucks in Thunder had to put in their
own money. Today in the middle of the court, commissioner
brings a wheelbarrow out and says, they're playing for this money,
(07:55):
and the Bucks and the Thunder put up the money. Okay,
that's interesting, not going to happen. But just because they're
playing for money doesn't mean anything to me. I want
you to play hard, not hey, we're playing hard because
we can get some money. I've don't do anything for
me other than I guess they're really trying. Now. It's
(08:18):
like Baseball tried back with the All Star Game and
Fox goes, nobody's watching the All Star Game? How about
home field advantage for the World Series? Silly idea, But
they were trying. I'd rather have that commissioner who's trying
to do something Now. I don't want change for the
sake of change, but I do want ideas, and I
(08:38):
think we're not beholding to records anymore. It's not like
you go, oh my god, you've got the bases larger. Well,
that's not the same with Ricky Henderson. We got all that.
I get that, but I think you got to try.
You got to be experimental or willing to be flexible there.
Because our attention span is getting shorter and shorter, you're
(09:01):
gonna flip through. It used to be you would just watch. Well,
now you really have to give me a reason why
I'm watching this game. I'd like that the Bucks, Jannis
and Dame are playing well, and Doc Rivers seems like
he's going to keep his job. Okay, the Thunder when
they get cheded Holmgren back. You know, Sga is a
really talented player. Not enough for me to tune in
(09:23):
for that, and I love basketball, So I do think
the NBA will have to look at some thing. I
wouldn't be surprised if you start to hear, hey, they're
considering this, or they'll float it out, They'll leak it
in the media and saying, hey, we're thinking about this
what and then all of a sudden we discuss it.
Speaker 6 (09:44):
Yes, Martin, Yeah, I would have lost some money because
if we had made a bet at the end of
last year's playoffs, I would have said, Anthony Edwards is
the guy you have to hit your wagon to, just
because they had such a great run in the playoffs
and he's such a great personality.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
And I don't know what.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I don't I mean, once again, I don't go all
the Timberwolves are playing. I'm going to tune in, but
if I do tune in, I know that he'll stand out.
They're above five hundred. But the Lakers, the Lakers, you
know that roster is not a winning roster. You know
they're an eight seed team. It feels like but Lebron's
going to be done in a year, Steph in maybe
(10:24):
two years, KD a couple then then what I mean,
these are all first ballot Hall of Famers, top fifteen
players of all time. Trying to get guys nowadays who
are going to play, want to play win championships. The
fact that Zion is available right now. I mean, the Pelicans,
(10:46):
they almost had it, they almost did, and now they
don't have anything. They're terrible. They're in last place. Zion
couldn't miss. He's gonna be a star. I don't even
know if he wants to play. I don't know how
much it matters to him. John Moran's got everything until
(11:08):
he doesn't have anything. Anthony Edwards can be wonderful, but
what did it come down to in the Olympics, those
same three old guys. Joker's great, but he's just great
to watch. So I don't know. I think the NBA
has got a challenge here ahead of them because the
(11:30):
last ten years the ratings have been going down steadily,
a steady decline, and this year not good either. And
who has the philosophy of a sport where you go, Hey,
our season starts in October, but wait till Christmas and
then we're gonna have some really good games. I'm going
(11:52):
to take a couple of months off. It's not a
great game plan for me if you're the commissioner. Hey,
this season starts Christmas Day. I think we all feel
that way. That's what he was trying to do this
with the NBA Cup. It's about the Cup, Todd.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
It's the Cup tonight. Fucks thunder for it all. For
some of it, not all of it.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
The Cup, yes, Marvin, and the NBA isn't even more
trouble because the NFL's like, no, no, no, we got Christmas.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yes, they roped them up too, like.
Speaker 6 (12:23):
That was their primetime. Hey, guys, the seasons here are
big matchups. We got five great games with ten great teams.
And NFL is like, I guess you.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Know, you know what the NFL said, Hey, we're gonna
have our guys play on like two days rest. You
guys have for it. Sure you want to play football
and Christmas be away from the family. Sure, yeah, Paulie.
Speaker 7 (12:47):
I think after listening to everything you just said, what
really stands out to me is the NFL is always
pushing it and feeling more intense and playing more games,
and their players are playing Nobody sits out as a
healthy scratch. What bothers me about the NBA, And for
listening you talk about this for the past few minutes,
the games lack intensity no matter. They have star power.
They have lots of star power, a lot of recognizable names.
(13:09):
When I tune into a game, I watch guys running
up and down, jacking threes and running back down and
jacking threes and that's what it happens for about two hours.
There's very little intensity. I don't need fighting or punching,
but intensity of the game they feel. The games feel casual,
especially the first half.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Of the season.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I watched the Knicks and the Hawks the other night,
and I watched most of the game and really enjoyed it.
There was a feel to it, but that's because the
Trey Young in the Garden against the Knicks, and that
is this standalone game. I'm not saying you're going to
get that all the time, but I'd like a little
bit more of that where it feels like it really
(13:48):
means something to the players, and it just feels like, hey,
you know, we're going to work, gotta go out there.
I got to play, you know, about thirty four minutes
and then we're on to the next game. I shoot
a couple threes and then that's it. It doesn't feel
and maybe there's too many games. We talked about that,
(14:11):
but once again, I'm not beholden to the records the
way I once was. I don't know if the American
public is either, but I do think you're going to
need a commissioner, and this commercial commissioner is a very
bright man to maybe start to look at things, and
I think the courts that kind of had a shock
(14:33):
value to it. You're like, whoa, what's this? Okay, do
you want to do that all season long?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Like what the All Star Game is not worth tuning into?
Now we're tuning into what the three point shooting contest?
But we're bringing in the WNBA with the NBA and okay,
you're trying. They can't do anything with the All Star
Game unless it's the United States against you know, everybody
else in the world. Maybe that would be interesting. I
just don't know if you'd have the depth. You probably
(15:05):
have five or six really really good players from around
the around the world, and then it would be a
drastic fall off there. All right, we'll get started here.
Got a pull question, Yes, Paul, we.
Speaker 7 (15:17):
May have to play an impromptu good idea bad idea
later today where we say what we would give an
idea to Commissioner Silver. Hmm, Like, let's say, like you said,
there's no bad ideas, all hands on deck.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Well, he has, you know, to his credit, he has
enacted some of the things I proposed to him, and
that is you must play a certain number of games
to qualify for postseason awards. And I think that that
does help. Like you know, you almost have to dangle
a carrot and say, come on, you gotta play, gotta play.
And we took away from the positions on first, second,
(15:49):
third team. He did that as well. Those are two
things I asked him to do. Basketball's position lests take
him off, you know, first, second, third team, and let's
have a requirement of to be eligible for postseason honors,
you got to play in a certain number of games.
Shouldn't be that way, but that's what it is.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 8 (16:19):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 9 (16:31):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 8 (16:33):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together. I mean that says something, right. So
check us out. We like to get you involved too,
(16:53):
take your phone calls, chop it up. As they say,
I'd say, the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio,
maybe the.
Speaker 9 (16:59):
Most director show on planetar.
Speaker 8 (17:01):
Be sure to check out Cavino and Rich live on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 9 (17:04):
From five to seven pm Eastern two to four.
Speaker 8 (17:07):
Pacific, And if you miss any of the live show,
just search Kobin on Rich wherever you get your podcast,
and of course on social.
Speaker 9 (17:12):
Media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
He is Maurice Jones, Drew, NFL network analyst, RAMS Radio
color analyst and former NFL running back. Good to see
you again, Good to have you on the program. How
threatening are the vikings? Mojo?
Speaker 5 (17:30):
Well first and foremost, Dan, great to be back. Second,
No jaguars Lander will be allowed while I'm on here.
No more jaguars Lander. We've had enough. Okay, okay, We've
had enough. Stat of the day, you know, unless it
is positive we don't want to talk anything negative about
the Jags, all right. Stat of the day was a
(17:51):
little that was a little tough for me to hear
you say that.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Okay, I've learned my lesson. I'll try to be nice.
Let me see if I can find something nicer. How
about what I was gonna say.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
It's okay. We can move on, you know, you know,
Jags near and dear to our hearts here and the
Jones Drew household. Been a tough season, but we can
move forward.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Well, I didn't have this one. The Raiders have trailed
by double digits in all fourteen games this season.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Yeah, that doesn't That doesn't help either. That doesn't help.
But we're going the wrong way. Let's talk about the Vikings.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Okay, how threatening are the Vikings to me?
Speaker 5 (18:32):
I think the Vikings when Sam Darnold is playing the
way he's playing, they can beat anyone, especially in the
in the NFC North. Now with Detroit going through all
those injuries, and I know Dan Campbell's fired up about
the the challenge that will be for his team. But
in the NFL, it's about the Krim, Dela Krim. It's
about the talent that you have on that roster, and
(18:55):
miss is so many guys that they have right now
on defense, David Montgomery out for the season. Uh, that's
gonna be tough to overcome. And I'm not saying they
can't do it. But the way the Vikings are playing,
they're my favor right now to win the NFC North.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
What would you do with Sam Darnold's contract moving forward?
Speaker 5 (19:15):
I would I would actually sign Sam to a two
to three year deal, continue to let JJ McCarthy sit
and learn, very similar to what kind of the Packers
do with Jordan Love. Uh. If Sam co continue to
play this way, I think the Vikings have a great
chance to contain to build a roster with him and
then obviously move on from him in a year, two years,
(19:37):
and then put JJ McCarthy in there. And you're reading
a role you got to you had a winner, So
to me, I think they put themselves in a position
out Let me be honest. I wasn't a believer in
Sam Donald. I don't think many were because of what
he did in New York and I know he played
better in Carolina. I know he sat with the Niners,
but what we saw from him as a full starter
(19:59):
in New York was tough to watch right, a lot
of turnovers, a lot of mistakes being made. But kudos
to him for working on himself, working on his game
and going into Minnesota into a situation where you have
a lot of weapons around you, and he's really taking
advantage of this opportunity. So to me, he's earned the
right to play again next year, especially being what where
(20:20):
they're twelve and two right now and you have a
chance to win the North. To me, that's a huge
accomplishment for not only does the Vikings organization, but for
Sam himself.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Pritty give Mojo the pole question.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
The pole question is which NFL franchise feels like it
is in the worst shape? Bears, Giants, Anthers, Raiders, Browns, Jaguars, Titans.
What in that group, who's in the worst shape moving forward?
Speaker 5 (20:49):
You know, again, I told you no Jaguars Lander my mistake,
so you didn't have to put them in there. Also,
Brian Callahan is a great friend of mine, and slander.
I feel like that franchise is on the rise, that
they have a good defense, they're rolling. To me, it
has to be the Giants, and the reason being is
(21:11):
you let go of I want to say two or
three players in free agency that are playing well for
the McKinney in Green Bay obviously Saquon and Philly, and
I wanted to say there was another player that's actually
playing really well that they let go of free agency.
You just can't let talent hit free agency and not
bring them back. You just can't do that. And a
lot of that was because they paid Daniel Jones a
(21:33):
ton of money. Now you let you you let him go, right,
And now you're sitting there in disarray trying to figure
out what's going on. Another tough season for them. And
what makes it worse for me is that they did
the offseason hard knocks and the way they were talking
about their players right, and that to me just is
this kind of like, I don't know. Now, Yes, the
Browns have a tough situation. I think all those teams
(21:57):
are in pretty follow tile situations. But to me, the
Giants just how it went about it, what it looked
like from the outside, and then getting a peak on
the inside and it looked exactly what we thought it
was going to look like, and then the season you have,
it just doesn't work well for me.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah, I was really surprised that they allowed those behind
the scenes phone calls and you have the you know,
the GM talking to Saquon Barkley, and it just it
was embarrassing because I mean, not having you know, read
the room, understand what you're saying. You're saying it on
TV cameras and you're basically saying to Saquon Barkley, Yeah,
(22:36):
go ahead and see if somebody likes you, but you know,
come back to us and let us know. Man, I'd
be out the door be like, nope, I'm not going
to look back on this.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
Well, yeah, shout out to the scout too, or the
one of the personnel people were like, are you sure
you want to do this? Right? He was there to
make sure, like are you sure you want to let
saque walk? And they were kind of like, yeah, oh yeah,
we're not going to pay a quarterback for thirty million
dollars to turn around and hand off to a thirteen
million dollar back Like, well, guess what, Philly is more
than happy to do that. And you know, to be
(23:09):
quite honest, he shouldn't be. He should be paid ten
times that amount to what he's done for Philadelphia in
their offense. Right in a situation where he won them
a couple of games while guys are heard and he's
been the focal point of that offense. He needs to
go back. You know, if it's me and I'm I'm
glad I'm not his agent, because we'd be going back
to the table, Sir. I'd be knocking on the door,
like we need a couple a little bit more of
(23:29):
this pie that you got going around here, you know.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Maurice Jones Drew, NFL network analyst, I don't know if
Kirk Cousins is your friend, but I have to ask you,
is it time to bench Kirk Cousins in Atlanta?
Speaker 5 (23:42):
Yeah? Okay, So this is the thing we had this conversation.
I do a show every Monday for the people in
the UK and Ireland for NFL, and it's we do
a Monday night show. We talk about it, like, Kurt
is a great guy. He's great in the locker room,
but you can't continue to earn the ball over at
the rate he turned the ball over. And to me,
(24:03):
I believe, look, if you want to if you're fighting
for this spot and you want to win, and maybe
you feel like, hey, Michael Pennix is a ready yet
or I gotta go see that. I can't sit back
and have this guy and I throw a touchdown for
what four or five weeks, continue to lose games that
are winnable games and put us in a position where
where we're not playing well. Now, he does do a
(24:25):
great job off of play action pass, but they've been
in some drop back passing situations where he's just made
bad decisions. And to be quite frank with you, I
don't know if he's still hurt or if follow timas
tied up to him, but sometimes when he throws the
football doesn't seem like he has a lot of that
pozazz that he had on it when he was in Minnesota.
And so for me, I just think it's time to
(24:50):
see what we have. And I know they're in the race,
and I know they're still winning, and I love rahiem Moore,
so I'm gonna believe and trust in him. But if
I was the coach, I would have pulled Kirk a
while ago and and saw the young guy was going
to do.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
What's the difference with Josh Allen this year as opposed
to maybe the last couple of years.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, Okay, So first and foremost, I think he's just
playing with the confidence and understanding of this offense, and
it must be the same offense, you know. Obviously Joe
Brady there in their connection. But watching him versus the Rams,
so you gotta remember this is again, I worked, he said,
I worked for the Rams, big Rams fan. That's why
I said, no slander for the Rams, Jags, Raiders, we
(25:31):
refuse that. And the Titans because my guy Brian Callahan
and Nick Holts. But I saw Saquon Barkley versus the Rams,
and I was like, this is the best player I've
ever seen football. And my god, like this is crazy,
you know. Then double back a couple of weeks later,
the next week or something crazy like that, here comes
Josh Allen and I was like, no, this is the
(25:51):
best player ever right. He was throwing the ball. He's
had a couple of throws. If they were arrows, they
would have killed some of those receivers. Away just hit
him square in the chest like he was putting the
ball in positions. The Rams defenders were in great position,
and he was the throw to mac Hollins for a touchdown.
A couple of throws from Mark Cooper and then his
ability to take off and run and he's again, you're bigger,
(26:14):
he's your biggest runner, right, so the goal line opportunities.
Then you see the way he's running and taking the time, Well,
he picks his spots when he wants to be Superman.
If that makes sense, I think that's that's what's the
difference we've seen between Josh Allen now and Josh Allen before.
He always wanted to be Superman, always wanted to make
(26:35):
the throws, always wanted to do all these things. Now
he allows the game to come to them, meaning they're
going to run the football. He's not going to take chances.
And then they have play calls where they probably talked
to him throughout the week like all right, this is
where you could be Superman if you need to be.
These are the moments where we need you to be Superman.
We need you to run the ball here, We need
you to extend the play and throw the ball down
the field here on this third down, Like there must
(26:57):
be a code word that they tell him where he
turns from you know, cark into Superman. And he goes
out and does it. And again a guy like like
I said, he's clearly right now, you know Obviously, I'm
a running back enthusiast and I love RBS and I'm
all over. But what he's done the last couple of weeks,
scoring forty points in back to back games against defenses
(27:18):
that have played really well throughout this season. And I mean,
what's that? Who had forty eight last last week? He
has forty two the week before, whatever it might have been,
like like my goodness, And so to me, he's just
he's really learning his when the moment is for him
to go out and show what he can do, but
he's relying on his teammates. And that's what's great to see.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Great to talk to you as always, hope you're doing well.
Speaker 5 (27:44):
Always well, we'll get going. Look listen, I'm gonna be
honest with you. I had youth football, I had high
school football. We lost the state championship game to the
number one team in the country. I'm still haven't moved
out of my bed in three days. Did you?
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Did you cryn pride?
Speaker 5 (28:00):
Just I just you know, replay the game over and
over and over again. But our kids played really well.
We just we did. We had some opportunities we didn't
take advantage of. And so I watched the tape. I'm
sitting here. I mean I I silent cried, which means
I ain't like boohoo, but like a couple of tears
dropped because you know, just losing. Losing is hard, but
(28:20):
you can learn from losing. And I'm learning that I'm
a terrible loser. And I'm again we're getting back to
the drawing board. We're ready to go see the kids
in a couple of weeks. You know, is Uh going
to do Christmas? He's gonna get Christmas this year. Sanna
doesn't come to losers houses, you know what I'm saying.
So the kids already know like Senda doesn't come. He
doesn't like that. He loves winners. So we gotta we
(28:42):
gotta read, We gotta figure this thing back out again.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Is your son being recruited?
Speaker 5 (28:48):
He is. He is being a recruited as offers by
cal in Utah right now, as a couple other schools
talking to him. So, uh, he's a sophomore, but he
had a he had a really good sophomore year. And uh,
we're getting ready for our junior year here, like I said,
back back to it. No Christmas this year. Good to
talk to it, Good to talk to you as well.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Thank you, Mojo.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio WAPP.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
He's Greg Olsen, NFL on Fox Analyst and he called
the Cowboys Panthers. On Sunday, He'll be doing the Ravens
Texans Christmas Day that's on Netflix with our good buddy
Iron Eagle kickoff at four point thirty Easter. Beyonce, by
the way, halftime performer Greg joins us, Now, do you
get to meet Beyonce before? After during?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
You know, I think that's a great question.
Speaker 10 (29:45):
I actually, uh, last time I was involved in a
game that Beyonce was also involved in, I lost the
Super Bowl in Santa Clara, who was the halftime show?
Speaker 3 (29:54):
So I have mixed feelings.
Speaker 10 (29:55):
Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully the result goes better for me this time.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
What's it like when there's somebody performing that a lot
of people would probably want to go out of the
locker room. Did did anybody sneak out to see Beyonce perform?
Speaker 7 (30:10):
Not?
Speaker 10 (30:11):
Not to my knowledge, but you know, a couple of
years ago, you know, when I called the Super Bowl
in Arizona. Rihanna was the halftime show, so, I mean
the excitement of the crew. So we get ready to
go to halftime in all week, We're like, you know,
it'll be cool, We'll get to watch Rihanna.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Got great.
Speaker 10 (30:26):
I mean, we've got the best seat in the house,
fifty yard line up in the box. And then like
the second to last player the last series of the
second quarter, Mahomes gets rolled up on, he gets his
ankle rolled up on, he gets limped in. So the
whole halftime now, instead of being able to sit down,
catch our breath watch Rihanna for five minutes, we had
to scramble and do the whole Oh my gosh, could
(30:46):
you imagine if Pat Mahomes doesn't come out for the
second half of the Super Bowl? And thankfully he did.
So I'm excited to watch Beyonce. I love Beyonce. I
think it's going to be fun. I think the entire
experience is going to be super cool for everyone that's participating.
And I know our crew, Noah and I are super
super pumped to get together, work together for the first
(31:06):
time and kind of see what happens.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Can you see Mahomes modifying his style. I mean, we've
had the ankle injury every year, almost had a severe
knee injury as well. But he's not a runner. I
call him an opportunist. But can you see him maybe modifying,
you know, I just think at.
Speaker 10 (31:27):
This stage in your career, it is so hard to
just change your play style. I think, you know, so
much of what makes Mahomes so special and so such
a generational player is his ability to play off script. Right,
It's almost the entire underlying of their entire offense is
his ability to extend plays, move in the pocket, remain
a passer. To your point, he's not necessarily a scrambler
(31:49):
in the sense of I'm looking to run with the
ball to convert He's he will run, he will pick
up first downs. But it's his ability to stress the
coverage because he just holds onto the ball so long
without getting sacked. And I think that's kind of the
balance that every team in the league's trying to saying.
It's one thing to hold the ball, it's one thing
to stress the coverage. But as you're stressing coverage, you're
(32:09):
also stressing protection. So it's finding that balance that's what
makes Mahomes and Josh Allen and now Jayden Daniels and
you know, Lamar and just some of those guys are
just such a handful because even when you defend everything,
you still haven't defended everything. So I just don't know
if there is any going back. Injury is part of it.
Hopefully he dogged a bullet here with the ankle, and
(32:30):
you know, obviously his style of play is just incredible.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
We have a poll question, Fritzi, would you give Greg
the wording on the pole question?
Speaker 4 (32:37):
Which team right right now in the NFL is in
the worst shape now and going forward in the near future?
And we had the Bears, Jaguars, Browns, Texans, Giants.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Where are you on that?
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (32:50):
So I think it's combination of, you know, what does
the current winning culture look like in the building? Are
they doing it multiple years in with the same coaching
staff in regime? And then where are they in terms
of finding their future quarterback?
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Right?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
So, those are all the things.
Speaker 10 (33:04):
You give first year coaches, you give first year rookie
quarterbacks like I see what's going on in Chicago. I
think that's an example of Obviously, the season's gone off
the rails ever since they lost on the Hail Mary
to Washington. It feels like things have fallen apart. I
think they've lost eight in a row or whatever. But
they've got Caleb Williams. They're going to get a new
coach in there and a new staff. They've got you know,
good pieces in place. So that should be a pretty
(33:27):
you know, that should be a pretty popular destination, I
would imagine in this hiring cycle. But then you look
at the Giants and I like Dable, you know, I
thought he did an unbelievable job his first year making
the playoffs. Go on the road to Minnesota. I called
that game and they come out with the with the
upset victory. Since then, it's been a bit of a disaster.
And you know, but then you look there and you say,
not only have they had a culture of losing, they
(33:50):
let Daniel Jones go, they don't have their future quarterback
on the roster, and now they've got to start all
over again. So, you know, I, as much as I
hate to say this because I just love Dable, love
who he is as a guy, as a coach, I
think they're pretty far removed from having an ability to win.
They're in a really tough division. It doesn't like Philly's
going anywhere, Dallas will bounce back. Washington's obviously the prized
(34:14):
team in the league. They've got a tough division, don't
have their quarterback, and they're you know, losing at a
historic greata.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Other than that, Other than that, things are good.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
How much coaching has done on an NFL level from
the head coach as opposed to coaching in college.
Speaker 10 (34:32):
I think it's different in every franchise model. So I
think you look at the coaches that are also the
play callers. You know, you look at a team that's
having a ton of success. We saw him last night,
you know, on National TV on Monday Night play, you know,
Chicago with Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings. So you look
at what Kevin O'Connell is doing on a week by
week basis. Aside from delivering messaging and addressing the team
(34:52):
and putting together the plan and keeping the locker room
and culture and vision intact, he's also in the in
the weeds of the game and he's you know, on
the sideline. He's charting plays and he's formulating his play
call and getting his opening script done. So he's part
offensive coordinator, part head coach. That's very challenging, right, That's
Andy Reid, that's Kevin O'Connell, that's Sean McVay, Kyle shannan,
(35:14):
you know of those sense. So those guys are in
the weeds coaching on a day to day basis. X's
and o's in plays. Then there's other coaches where their
impact on the team is just as great. They're just
not actually the ones on game day calling the plays directly,
you know, to the to the quarterbacks headset. But you know,
you look at Dan Campbell, he's not necessarily calling the plays.
(35:34):
He's got two very good defensive offensive coordinator Aaron Glenn,
Ben Johnson, maybe two guys that are gonna get head
coaching opportunities this cycle. But he's involved in every single
thing they do. Talk to him during the week, we
can ask them about the offensive plan, the defensive plan.
He knows both sides of the ball, like he's actually
gonna call the plays on Sunday. And then of course
(35:55):
he handles all the game management and the motivation and
the speeches before and after the game. So I think
every coach is a little bit different as far as
what their role is but the best coaches are the
best communicators. The x's and o's and the plays. That's
stuff Wall take care of itself. The best guys are
the best communicators. They deliver the message, they put out fires,
and they galvanize a group. And you know, you look
(36:16):
around to the best teams in the league, it's not
a coincidence that they also have some of the best leaders,
some of the best messagers.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
It's a huge part of NFL football.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
I'm talking to Greg Olsen NFL and Fox. He'll be
on the call on Christmas Day. The game is on Netflix.
It'll be the Ravens and Texans kickoff at four thirty Eastern.
Speaking of these two teams, which one's more threatening come
playoff time, Ravens or Texans.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
It's a good question.
Speaker 10 (36:44):
I've kind of started diving into them this week just
in preparation for next week's game. And you know, I mean,
you start with Baltimore obviously, you know we've seen them
do it, MVP Lamar, they add Derek Henry. I mean,
that is a that is a scary group. And I
would say when play well, you've come out of that
game saying that's the best team in the league.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
And then there's been some other games.
Speaker 10 (37:04):
Where you go, okay, like they're good, but can they
just put the pedal down and just dominate somebody? And
I think their defense is getting a lot better. I
think their defense is much improved. Earlier in the year,
they had some ups and downs. They've started to string
together some good performances here of late. So I think
as long as you have Lamar, I think Harbaugh is
a fantastic coach.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
I think they had a.
Speaker 10 (37:26):
Culture initation of winning, which again to our ear to
your earlier question, is so important in this league. Guys
expect to win, they expect to show up and have success,
and that's very powerful. And then with Houston, I think
what's what's so unique about them is last year all
that talks about CJ. Stroud and he busts them onto
the seam as a rookie and he was incredible. They
win the division in him and Demico Ryan's first year
(37:48):
and everyone saying, oh my god, he's incredible. This year,
it's been the defense. I mean, that defense is young,
they are good. They can rush the passer. Daniel Hunter,
will Anderson. They've got two really good young corners Derek
Stingley might be the best in the league right now.
And then Lassiter, who's the young rookie on the other side.
So they're young, they're talented, they can rush the passer,
(38:08):
they can dominate at the line of scrimmage, and then
the offense is opportunistic.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
It's you know, last week they.
Speaker 10 (38:14):
Force four turnovers against the Dolphins and they score seventeen
to their twenty off of turnovers. So they're they're making
the plays they have to. They're not as dominant offensively
as they were, even though I love their skill positions.
Their offensive line is the question mark. They struggle up front,
they struggle to pass protect, and then everything kind of
goes from there. So I think it's a fascinating matchup
(38:36):
on paper. To me at this stage, it's Lamar and
thattt Ravens offense against this Houston defense led by Timiko
Rans Like, that is the matchup, and I think it's
gonna be awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Level of concern for the Lions is what, gosh.
Speaker 10 (38:52):
You know, you just you can't help but just feel
for him because four or five weeks ago they were
the best team in football and it was just because
of the offense. It wasn't just because you know, golf's
playing at MVP level and the offensive line has been
good there for a long time, and of course Ben
Johnson's the bell of the ball, He's the coach everyone's
looking for, and the skill players unlimited.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
And then on the defensive side, they were so good.
Speaker 10 (39:16):
Obviously with you know, losing Hutchinson and then losing Azeloni,
Aaron Glen's held it together as long as he could.
But you go back to like the top two of
their robster depth early in the season, I don't think
anyone is left. And then of course the other night
in that awesome game, you know, they lose Alee McNeil,
they lose Carlton Davis, they lose more starters, and then
now the words coming out with Montgomery the back alongside
(39:40):
Gibbs that he might be now out for the year.
So it's just it's unfortunate that this is the way
it happens. But we see it all the time. There
is an element of luck to NFL runs. There is
an element to the teams that stay healthy the longest
make their run. But listen, if we've seen anything about
Dan Campbell, he's going to alter his approach he's going
to get super aggressive, he's not going to apologize for it,
(40:01):
and they're gonna have to try to make up for
what they're missing on defense.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
That they are going to have to carry the load.
Speaker 10 (40:07):
Hence why he on side kicked with ten plus minutes
to go in the game like that was not just
an arbitrary gut reaction. He understands the efficiencies of the defense.
They can't stop anybody, So why is he gonna let
teams go eighty five yards for a touchdown when just
let them go the short way and get.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
The ball back.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I mentioned Josh Allen was like a better throwing Cam
Newton when Cam won the mvpick. That fair to either
of these both of these guys with that comparison, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:39):
I think it's very fair.
Speaker 10 (40:40):
I think you know, when you look at a lot
of the things that Josh is doing, it's a very
similar play style to how Cam played. I would argue
that Cam was maybe used more consistently, especially those first
five years or so, in the run game, and then
it was quarterback power, it was quarterback run, it was
downhill like they used Josh. I think really smart, like
(41:01):
the way they activate him as a design quarterback runner.
It's red zone, it's short yardage, it's perimeter runs, it's
spread QB draw. They do a great job saying, Okay,
we're not going to just run him into the ground,
but when we need them, ball is going to be
in his hands because he's the best player in the league.
So I think in that regard, they're both physical. They're strong,
(41:21):
they can outrun you, they're powerful, they can protect themselves.
I think that's an element that people are starting to
see with. Yes, the quarterback run is such a weapon,
and when you have a guy like Josh Allen and
you have a guy like he's silly not to use it.
But what guys are finding is, over the course of
a season, are you able to sustain it? Do you
(41:42):
have a guy that is built to take those hits
and can be a runner. If your quarterback every time
he's in space to get hit just gives him stuff
up and he's not willing to run through contact, you
lose the advantage of running your quarterback. And that's where
Cam was so unique is when he got in the
open field, they didn't want to tackle him.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
Can't they Bigger?
Speaker 10 (42:02):
Cam was at more risks standing in the pocket, getting
to get injured, getting guys at his legs blindside than
when he was actually on the offensive as a runner.
And I would say the same thing about Josh, and
then obviously his Josh's ability to throw off platform and
throw from outside the pocket, and some of those throws
he made the other night on the run against Detroit
were just I mean, they were just out of this world.
(42:23):
So I think he's the MVP. I think I can't.
I mean, I can make an argument for Lamar, I
can make an argument for Golf. I just what Buffalo's
doing right now there. You could argue they're the best
team in the league right now, and he's the best player.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
I was amazed when I first met Cam how big
he is, like when you when you see quarterbacks, like
he's probably bigger than you.
Speaker 3 (42:48):
Oh yeah, Cam's eye to eye with me.
Speaker 10 (42:50):
And when we were both playing, we were probably within
I don't know, anywhere between five to ten pounds of
each other in any direction at any kind of Yeah,
Cam could have played defense, event, Cam could have played
tight end. Cam could have played outside edge rusher. When
you talk about just unique physical specimens that have come
through the NFL, Cam Newton's at the top of the list.
(43:12):
The first time I ever met him in training camp,
I had just gotten traded to Carolina from Chicago, and
I walked into the training room, and of course watched
him at Auburn and watched him win the national Championship
and the Heisman and all that. And then but again
to your point, when you see him in person, you
don't realize just how imposing he really is.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
And you know, when I saw him, I was like, whoa.
Speaker 10 (43:31):
And then obviously he gets out in the field and
the way he's able to run, and he was long
legged but powerful, and obviously he could just rip it.
He was a unique physical product. But yeah, just his
sheer size was very unique.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Thanks for joining us. Happy holidays to you, and our
best to Iron Eagle. On Christmas Day on Netflix, it'll
be the Ravens and the Texans, four thirty Eastern. Thank you, Greg.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
I appreciate it. It was good to see it.
Hosts And Creators
Todd "Fritzy" Fritz
Dan Patrick
Patrick "Seton" O'Connor
Paul Pabst
Marvin Prince
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!