Latest / NFL Now / Gardner Minshew Starting QB, Bill Cowher Joins The Show, & Seahawks - Chiefs Week Matchup for16,

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Gardner Minshew Starting QB, Bill Cowher Joins The Show, & Seahawks - Chiefs Week Matchup for16, · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
0:08
Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. You might laugh at me, but
0:19
Speaker 1: the number one story this weekend for games, it's gonna
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Speaker 1: be weather like, bone chilling lee cold like negative negative
0:28
Speaker 1: double digit degree wind chill. We have your weather update
0:31
Speaker 1: coming up. We will also speak to all the fame
0:33
Speaker 1: head coach Bill Kauer his memories of the late great
0:36
Speaker 1: Frank o' harris as we get ready for the fiftieth
0:38
Speaker 1: anniversary of the Immaculate Reception live on NFL Network. Here Saturday,
0:42
Speaker 1: the Steelers and the Raiders NFL Now, NFL Network from
0:45
Speaker 1: our news room in Los Angeles. Thanks for being here.
0:47
Speaker 1: My name is Andrew Ceciliano. Let's get to the quarterback
0:50
Speaker 1: news right out of the gate. No more trying to
0:54
Speaker 1: fake that Jaln Hurts might be. He's not. He's not playing.
0:58
Speaker 1: It is Gardner Minshew, who has thrown only four passes
1:02
Speaker 1: this year at quarterback for the Eagles. Saturday, in the
1:06
Speaker 1: late window in Dallas. Gardener will be our guy, and
1:11
Speaker 1: Gardner will be ready. Gardner worked his butt off too
1:14
Speaker 1: for this opportunity against a really good football team, and
1:18
Speaker 1: uh had a great practice yesterday. I think I think
1:20
Speaker 1: you guys have all heard that. How good a practice
1:23
Speaker 1: he had yesterday. A lot of energy out there, and uh,
1:26
Speaker 1: he's ready to go right in Rapp Report NFL Network Insider.
1:30
Speaker 1: In a perfect scenario there for Nick Seriati, he can
1:33
Speaker 1: beat the Cowboys, sweep the Cowboys with Gardner Minshew, wrap
1:37
Speaker 1: up home field advantage, and until Jalen Hurts take all
1:40
Speaker 1: the time you need. Yeah, I would say that is
1:43
Speaker 1: the perfect scenario for the photo of Eagles. That is
1:45
Speaker 1: the question. It's not about Ken Jalen Hurts returned from
1:48
Speaker 1: his sprain throwing shoulder in one week. Sounds like he
1:50
Speaker 1: probably could. It's a relatively minor indrew, which is always
1:54
Speaker 1: what I say when it's not my shoulder. But it
1:56
Speaker 1: does not sound like this is something that would cause
1:58
Speaker 1: a lengthy absence. It's really getting to the point of
2:00
Speaker 1: the season of like, what is the point of him returning.
2:03
Speaker 1: If the Eagles win against the Cowboys, they get the
2:06
Speaker 1: number one seed, they get the buy and there's literally
2:08
Speaker 1: nothing to play for in the regular season. Mike Jalen
2:10
Speaker 1: Hurts want to get out there in week seventeen or
2:13
Speaker 1: week eighteen and kind of loosen up, throw a little
2:15
Speaker 1: bit and stay sharp for the playoffs. Maybe some players
2:18
Speaker 1: like to do that. The Eagles might want him to
2:20
Speaker 1: do that. But if he plays and if everything is
2:22
Speaker 1: locked up, playing him in any sort of real sense
2:25
Speaker 1: makes no sense. So here's what we need to know
2:27
Speaker 1: for this game. Gardner Minshew is going to start. Uh.
2:31
Speaker 1: He is ready. He is one of the better backups
2:33
Speaker 1: in the NFL. He's someone the Eagles traded for and
2:36
Speaker 1: have really like and have high hopes for and have
2:39
Speaker 1: never really gotten to play him. Now they will, And
2:42
Speaker 1: after this I would say, we'll see if we see
2:45
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts on the field the rest of the regular season. Okay,
2:48
Speaker 1: So Gardner Minshew, who has thrown only four passes this year,
2:51
Speaker 1: will make his twenty third career start this one for
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Speaker 1: the Eagles in Dallas as they try to wrap up
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Speaker 1: the number one seed. Ron Rivera still fighting for a
3:00
Speaker 1: playoff spot here to spike the loss to the Giants
3:03
Speaker 1: on Sunday Night Big Game and Sam Francisco coming up
3:06
Speaker 1: this week and Ian the good news is they are
3:08
Speaker 1: finally getting Chase Young back. Finally. Ron Rivera met with
3:13
Speaker 1: Chase Young before last week's game, uh and really got
3:18
Speaker 1: two on the same page, and now everybody was thinking
3:20
Speaker 1: that he would maybe be back for the Giants game.
3:22
Speaker 1: Was not to be, so he waited a week. They
3:24
Speaker 1: didn't shut him down. They kind of kept hope alive.
3:27
Speaker 1: And he's gonna play, so off the injury report, he
3:29
Speaker 1: is good to go. When theo Ron Rivera wanted to
3:31
Speaker 1: see was from to put his foot in the ground
3:33
Speaker 1: and just go. They believe they could see that. So
3:35
Speaker 1: Chase Young will play against the forty Niners this weekend,
3:39
Speaker 1: and the Commanders are guaranteed a wild card spot if
3:41
Speaker 1: they win out if they win these three games, and
3:43
Speaker 1: the Ravens are guaranteed win the a f C North
3:45
Speaker 1: if they went out because they get the Bengals Week
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Speaker 1: A team. The question is ian the quarterback this week?
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Speaker 1: Still not Lamar Jackson. Still not Lamar Jackson and the
3:56
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens were hopeful, optimistic that Lamar would be back
4:00
Speaker 1: this week. This is week three of a one to
4:01
Speaker 1: three week PCL injury, but it was not to be.
4:04
Speaker 1: So nup Unley Tyler Snoopy gonna be the starting quarterback
4:08
Speaker 1: as he has been the last couple of weeks. John
4:10
Speaker 1: Harbaugh stepping to the podium after last week and being
4:12
Speaker 1: very clear they needed more offense. The hope was that
4:14
Speaker 1: Lamar Jacks will provide them. Not so it is going
4:17
Speaker 1: to be Tyler Snoop Hunley doing that. For the Ravens.
4:20
Speaker 1: Expect them to pound the heck out of the ball
4:23
Speaker 1: as they did last week. Meanwhile, for the Tennessee Titans,
4:26
Speaker 1: no Ryan tannel at practice again today, no surprise, he
4:30
Speaker 1: has not expected to play. Malik willis expected to be
4:33
Speaker 1: the starting quarterback there and after that Andrew We'll see
4:36
Speaker 1: what happens, because if the Titans lose, becomes a little
4:38
Speaker 1: bit of an uphill battle for them to make the playoffs.
4:40
Speaker 1: Doesn't make sense to put Ryan Tannell out there with
4:43
Speaker 1: two injured ankles that are battling all season. I would
4:46
Speaker 1: argue it probably does not. Okay, Well, both the Titans
4:49
Speaker 1: and the Jaguars here are guaranteed to win the a
4:52
Speaker 1: f C South if they are to win out. Okay,
4:54
Speaker 1: the Jaguars played before the Titans. They played tonight, and
4:57
Speaker 1: it's cold, it's kind of rainy, New York Jets, Jaguars.
5:01
Speaker 1: Let's run through some injuries here. What do we know.
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Speaker 1: Let's start with and Williams, he started defensive tackle for
5:06
Speaker 1: the New York Jets. Really one of the best players
5:09
Speaker 1: on their team. He's missed the last week's game with
5:11
Speaker 1: a calf injury. As Robert Salas said, the arrows pointing up,
5:14
Speaker 1: I would expect Quinn and Williams to play in that
5:17
Speaker 1: slop that's gonna be on the field tonight. He was
5:19
Speaker 1: a full participant in practice yesterday. That was a good sign. Meanwhile,
5:23
Speaker 1: Trayvon Walker, the star defender for the Jacksonville Jaguars number
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Speaker 1: one pick, not gonna play. He's already been ruled out.
5:30
Speaker 1: He's dealing with an ankle injury, so they will not
5:32
Speaker 1: have him. And then Trevor Lawrence, the star quarterback for
5:36
Speaker 1: the Jaguars, who was really really impressed the last couple
5:38
Speaker 1: of weeks despite battling a sprain big toe. Really no
5:42
Speaker 1: issues here. He's actually getting healthier, not the other way around.
5:45
Speaker 1: Expect him to be a little more mobile tonight. Listen
5:47
Speaker 1: is questionable, but he is expected to play. Okay, Jets
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Speaker 1: Jaguars the big game Week sixteen to kick off a huge,
5:55
Speaker 1: huge playoff implication week here around the NFL. Thank you,
5:59
Speaker 1: Ian Rappaport. Let's look at the a f C playoff
6:02
Speaker 1: fixer and tell you why this game is significant. The
6:04
Speaker 1: Jets here are seven and seven, and it's a bad
6:08
Speaker 1: tiebreaker for them with the Patriots. They need to start
6:10
Speaker 1: winning here. The Jaguars are sixth name, but as I
6:13
Speaker 1: told you before, if they win out, they will win
6:17
Speaker 1: the a f C South. They'll be nine and eight
6:20
Speaker 1: and they'll have the tiebreaker over the Titans. It means
6:23
Speaker 1: they will have swept them and beaten them again. Hi,
6:25
Speaker 1: Judy Batista week eighteen. You see Judy is bundled up,
6:29
Speaker 1: She's got the hatch, she's got the scarf. How's it
6:31
Speaker 1: looking their? Judy gross? If that's a meteorological term that
6:37
Speaker 1: we can use, it's really gross, and it's expected to
6:39
Speaker 1: get grosser, if that's another term we can use. Um.
6:43
Speaker 1: It has been raining for about three hours now, sort
6:45
Speaker 1: of a steady rain. It's not very windy now, but
6:48
Speaker 1: there is a wind advisory that's supposed to kick in
6:50
Speaker 1: at about ten o'clock Eastern, so that would be for
6:53
Speaker 1: the second half of the game, and it is supposed
6:55
Speaker 1: to get much heavier with the rain later. The field
6:58
Speaker 1: drains just fine, so I don't think that that's going
7:01
Speaker 1: to be a problem. But certainly the conditions you would
7:03
Speaker 1: think would expect would impact at the style of play, Um,
7:06
Speaker 1: you would think that, uh, we're probably not going to
7:08
Speaker 1: see as many explosive passing plays, maybe more of a
7:11
Speaker 1: reliance on the run game. We will see, but certainly
7:15
Speaker 1: the wind is going to affect things, and that will
7:17
Speaker 1: affect the kicking game if nothing else. Yeah, certainly, what
7:19
Speaker 1: about game plan for either team here? Weather a game plan?
7:22
Speaker 1: I've heard a lot of coaches asked this week, well,
7:25
Speaker 1: do you have one game plan if it is windy?
7:27
Speaker 1: One game plan if it isn't windy, one if it's snowing,
7:31
Speaker 1: one if it isn't What are they saying? I thought
7:35
Speaker 1: this was a great quote from offensive coordinator Press Taylor
7:37
Speaker 1: from Jacksonville. He said, anything falling, snow falling, rainfalling is
7:41
Speaker 1: not ideal, obviously, and Jacksonville. He would prefer things to
7:44
Speaker 1: be like Jacksonville, warm and sunny and no wind most
7:46
Speaker 1: of the time. He's not going to get that tonight.
7:49
Speaker 1: The good news for everybody here is it's not going
7:51
Speaker 1: to be bitter cold. It's gonna rain and be windy,
7:54
Speaker 1: but the temperature is actually going to be about fifty
7:56
Speaker 1: degrees kind of weird weather, so the the cold won't
8:00
Speaker 1: be the problem. Obviously, that would suggest that both teams
8:03
Speaker 1: would go to their running game, but quite frankly, both
8:05
Speaker 1: of these teams have had really erratic running attacks all season. Now,
8:09
Speaker 1: the Jaguars ran it up last week against the Dallas Cowboys,
8:13
Speaker 1: but for the weeks before that, they were not even
8:15
Speaker 1: getting to a hundred yards per game rushing. Travis a
8:18
Speaker 1: Tan had been running really well earlier in the season.
8:21
Speaker 1: You would think that they would give him a heavy
8:23
Speaker 1: workload today to get the running game going. And and
8:26
Speaker 1: for the Jets, look, they started the season wanting to
8:29
Speaker 1: be ground and pound, and they were doing that early
8:32
Speaker 1: in the season. It was a big part of their
8:33
Speaker 1: success with rookie Breese Hall. He was running. They were
8:36
Speaker 1: really getting into a groove running the ball, and then
8:39
Speaker 1: in October Bruese Hall got hurt and things have been
8:41
Speaker 1: a little shaky since then. They've been relying on Bam
8:43
Speaker 1: Night and Michael Carter to run the ball. Some weeks
8:46
Speaker 1: it's okay, some weeks it's not. Last week against the
8:48
Speaker 1: Lions Sunday, rather against the Lions, they had only fifty
8:51
Speaker 1: yards rushing, so they really had trouble getting traction, and
8:54
Speaker 1: of course that puts even more pressure on Zach Wilson
8:57
Speaker 1: to make plays in the passing game. They would like
8:59
Speaker 1: to relieve that pressure as much as possible. We will
9:01
Speaker 1: see if they can get the running game going tonight.
9:04
Speaker 1: Both teams could really use it in these conditions. Zonovan
9:07
Speaker 1: bam Night, last week's Pepsi zero Sugar Rookie of the Week.
9:11
Speaker 1: Don't want to spoil it for anyone, but I'm gonna
9:13
Speaker 1: tell you right now a Jet did not win this week,
9:16
Speaker 1: which is which is an upset. The big reveal coming later.
9:20
Speaker 1: Thank you, g D. Batista Live There and Met Life
9:22
Speaker 1: Stadium ahead of the Jets and the Jaguars tonight. It
9:26
Speaker 1: is streaming at eight fifteen on Prime Video tonight. Jaguars
9:32
Speaker 1: and the Jets. Last week, the Jaguars won actually only
9:36
Speaker 1: a couple of days ago, and a ray Sean Jenkins
9:38
Speaker 1: pick six took it away, passed from Dak Prescott went
9:41
Speaker 1: down the sideline. It was the first pick six game
9:44
Speaker 1: winner for the Jaguars since Rashein Mathis did it Week
9:49
Speaker 1: six in two thousand and five. That is the first
9:53
Speaker 1: in overtime Cowboys are trying to rebound this week. Cowboys
9:58
Speaker 1: get the Eagles this week. Let's get more on that one.
10:01
Speaker 1: Double back to that one with our James Palmer Dak
10:04
Speaker 1: Prescott and not play the first time Week six, James
10:08
Speaker 1: from the Cowboys played the Eagles. How are they getting
10:11
Speaker 1: ready this time? They have a lot on their hands
10:15
Speaker 1: with Dak Prescott running this offense since the return in
10:17
Speaker 1: Week seven, and we know they're averaging over thirty five
10:19
Speaker 1: points a game, number one in the league. They have
10:21
Speaker 1: the best third down percentage of fifty and their second
10:24
Speaker 1: in the red zone at any one percent. They're doing
10:26
Speaker 1: things that just a higher level with Dak Prescott operating
10:29
Speaker 1: this offense. And the way the Eagles are preparing for
10:32
Speaker 1: that is they look at this offense with Dak running it,
10:34
Speaker 1: and they just believe they operate on third terms. They
10:36
Speaker 1: keep things on how they want to go because they
10:39
Speaker 1: stay ahead of the sticks, and they run the ball
10:41
Speaker 1: very well on first and second down. They're extremely balanced
10:44
Speaker 1: and that allows them, as I mentioned, third down, to
10:46
Speaker 1: be so effective in those instances. So that Phillies message
10:49
Speaker 1: the entire week, to my understanding, has been make sure
10:52
Speaker 1: you don't let them dictate the game. You try to
10:54
Speaker 1: dictate the game by winning your one on one matchups early,
10:57
Speaker 1: specifically in that front seven, and you win with violence.
11:00
Speaker 1: I like that term from Jonathan Gannon, the defensive coordinator.
11:03
Speaker 1: But they know they had their hands with both those
11:05
Speaker 1: running backs and Tony Pollard and Zeke Elliott as well
11:08
Speaker 1: as Ceedee Lamb. The message to these corners that are
11:10
Speaker 1: so good, as we know, Mark Ross loves James Bradberry
11:13
Speaker 1: says he deserves to be a pro bowler. You know,
11:15
Speaker 1: Darius slays a pro bowler. With Ceedee Lamb, they want
11:18
Speaker 1: to make sure they wrap up and tackle. They believe
11:20
Speaker 1: he is so good at the catch point Andrew when
11:23
Speaker 1: he's catching the football and ball situations, they want to
11:26
Speaker 1: be physical with Ceedee Lamb. They want to make sure
11:28
Speaker 1: he doesn't get a yards after contact. Those are the
11:30
Speaker 1: two main focuses this Philadelphia Eagles defense. Well, that secondary
11:34
Speaker 1: is very good. That as our friend used to say,
11:36
Speaker 1: the front end supports the back end here and that
11:38
Speaker 1: Eagles front seven and the way they've been sending pass
11:41
Speaker 1: rushers in waves at the opposition is clearly a huge
11:44
Speaker 1: reason for this defense's success. The Philly d line, the
11:49
Speaker 1: Cowboys old line is an interesting battle as well, James.
11:53
Speaker 1: It may not be the sexiest battle with all the
11:55
Speaker 1: skilled position players in this game, Andrew right, but I
11:57
Speaker 1: think that's the one we want to watch that strength
11:59
Speaker 1: first strength. This offensive line protects Dak Prescott better than
12:02
Speaker 1: any group in the NFL, and this defensive line with
12:05
Speaker 1: fifty fifth fifty sacks gets after the quarterback better than
12:09
Speaker 1: anybody else in football. You mentioned the waves. They believe
12:12
Speaker 1: they're so deep and versatile up front, they can pick
12:15
Speaker 1: their matchups. They can move guys around. If you're great
12:17
Speaker 1: on a bull rush against this offensive lineman that doesn't
12:20
Speaker 1: handle it very well well, they can interchange guys up
12:22
Speaker 1: front to find their strengths and that's a great advantage
12:25
Speaker 1: for all the bodies that they have and rotate as
12:27
Speaker 1: you mentioned upfront. But you mentioned the coverage and the
12:30
Speaker 1: sack pressure, how they go hand in hand. Nick Serrianni
12:33
Speaker 1: said that early in the beginning of the season they
12:36
Speaker 1: were getting all these turnovers where they're still getting turnovers
12:38
Speaker 1: their second in the NFL in it, but they were
12:40
Speaker 1: getting turnovers because the pass rush was there and quarterbacks
12:42
Speaker 1: were rushing throws. Now they're getting more sacks. They've had
12:46
Speaker 1: six or more sacks in each of their last three
12:48
Speaker 1: games because quarterbacks don't want to turn the football over,
12:51
Speaker 1: so they're holding onto it because the corners are playing
12:53
Speaker 1: so well. So those two groups playing very well off
12:56
Speaker 1: of each other. That battle in the in the trenches, Andrew,
12:59
Speaker 1: is really the one that I have my on. You
13:00
Speaker 1: have the Marquee game here with only two games in
13:03
Speaker 1: the late window with the Eagle trying to wrap up
13:05
Speaker 1: home field advantage throughout the NFC. By the way, shouldn't
13:08
Speaker 1: know Tier that Mike Rabel just ruled not in this game,
13:11
Speaker 1: but just ruled Ryan Tannehill out. So that is official now,
13:14
Speaker 1: no Ryan Tannehill this week for the Titans. Thank you.
13:16
Speaker 1: James Palmer live there with more on the Cowboys and
13:18
Speaker 1: the Eagles. Will have more in that game a little
13:21
Speaker 1: bit later. Coming up next, we'll hear from another Steeler
13:24
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer yesterday mean Joe Green Lynn Swan. Next,
13:29
Speaker 1: Bill Cower joins us his memories of the great Franco Harris.
13:43
Speaker 1: Still trying to process the news here, woke up yesterday
13:45
Speaker 1: morning and found out that we lost Franco Harris, and
13:48
Speaker 1: the timing is just God it's it's it's chilling. Just
13:52
Speaker 1: three days before Franco Harris was to become the third
13:55
Speaker 1: Steeler in that franchise is great history. To have his jersey,
13:59
Speaker 1: his thirty two, retired three days before the fiftieth anniversary
14:04
Speaker 1: of the Maculate Reception. We lose Franco Harris. So many
14:09
Speaker 1: reactions and great tweets and photos coming in. This one
14:13
Speaker 1: from a guy who also has a gold jacket, and
14:16
Speaker 1: that's former Steelers coach Bill Kauer, who was kind enough
14:19
Speaker 1: to join us live now on NFL Network. Coach condolences.
14:23
Speaker 1: What are you thinking when you see that photo there?
14:26
Speaker 1: You know when Andrew I woke up and I heard
14:28
Speaker 1: the news, Um, it just hit me so hard because
14:32
Speaker 1: I know what this weekend meant to him. It was
14:34
Speaker 1: a very special one to him. And he will always
14:37
Speaker 1: tell you that he was one of many people, but
14:39
Speaker 1: he was one of his own. He was a guy
14:41
Speaker 1: who was a great ambassador, not just on the field
14:44
Speaker 1: but off the field. And his his humility and as
14:47
Speaker 1: I said in my tweet, his grace and sense of
14:49
Speaker 1: pride of the city of Pittsburgh was something I know
14:52
Speaker 1: when I came back in and trying to bring the
14:55
Speaker 1: legacy in that great seventies era and what they stood for,
14:59
Speaker 1: the standards that they had set to bring them back
15:02
Speaker 1: to us in the nineties. And he was there every
15:06
Speaker 1: UH gathering I had with all the incoming rookies. I
15:08
Speaker 1: do it every year. I get a player at each position,
15:11
Speaker 1: and whether it was Donnie Shell, or it was Joe
15:15
Speaker 1: Green or you know, you know, Lynn Swan, but Franco
15:19
Speaker 1: was there every year talking about what it was meant
15:22
Speaker 1: to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and what it wasn't. It
15:24
Speaker 1: wasn't just what you did on the field, it's what
15:27
Speaker 1: you did in the community. And so many of those
15:29
Speaker 1: guys stayed there and they sat there, and they they
15:32
Speaker 1: lived there, They gave back. There was a pride, there
15:35
Speaker 1: was a sense of purpose. There's a sense of responsibility
15:39
Speaker 1: that when you walked into that billion of the Pittsburgh Steelers,
15:41
Speaker 1: Guys like Franco' hare set that standard, you know, and
15:45
Speaker 1: that was what we had to live up to. And
15:47
Speaker 1: you know what starts at the top of the Rooney's
15:49
Speaker 1: and guys like Franco and Joe Green and Mel Blunt,
15:52
Speaker 1: they lived that out and they were a great, great
15:55
Speaker 1: example and great role models for every steel that came
15:58
Speaker 1: onto our team. It speaks so much to him that
16:00
Speaker 1: he stayed there too. He couldn't walk down the street
16:04
Speaker 1: without take in fifteen photos. I mean, he's Frank o'harris.
16:08
Speaker 1: Everyone knows, everyone loves Frank o'harris. And he stayed and
16:13
Speaker 1: he gave back every single day. Bill It seemed Andrew
16:19
Speaker 1: he was. He was a type of guy. So many
16:21
Speaker 1: times I would sit back and he said, thank you
16:23
Speaker 1: for coming back and bringing back the running game, the
16:26
Speaker 1: d passed and defense. Because that's what I grew up watching,
16:29
Speaker 1: That's what I grew up four miles from three of
16:31
Speaker 1: the stadium, and I watched him as a kid in
16:34
Speaker 1: high school and going to NC State and what they
16:36
Speaker 1: did to that city and bringing a sense of pride,
16:39
Speaker 1: of a sense of, uh, what you stood for the
16:43
Speaker 1: city of Pittsburgh, the blue collar approached to it. Franco
16:46
Speaker 1: lived that out. He gave back more than he ever
16:49
Speaker 1: that he ever gave to the game. He gave back
16:52
Speaker 1: more than that and what he stood for from the
16:54
Speaker 1: standpoint of what he was as a person, That's what
16:58
Speaker 1: he wanted and that was the role model that he
17:00
Speaker 1: kind of set for being a Pittsburgh Steel. And again
17:03
Speaker 1: I just go back and think of the times. You know,
17:05
Speaker 1: one funny is I used to get him all these
17:08
Speaker 1: different functions. I used to try and grab, you know,
17:10
Speaker 1: corner sat Frank and I go, honestly, just just just
17:13
Speaker 1: tell me that the ball actually hit the ground. What
17:15
Speaker 1: I mean, just just between you and I. He goes,
17:18
Speaker 1: I don't really don't know if I go. But no,
17:20
Speaker 1: you really probably do, I said, because you would feel
17:22
Speaker 1: it instaground. And he goes. Coach, he goes, it really
17:25
Speaker 1: doesn't matter. I said, Okay, well I guess so much
17:29
Speaker 1: for that so um, but he wouldn't you know? He
17:32
Speaker 1: that play. I always remember I was listening to Moron
17:36
Speaker 1: Coke There's a Name from the Past on the radio
17:39
Speaker 1: with my dad when that play took place, and I
17:42
Speaker 1: was in Pittsburgh and just what that plane meant. And
17:44
Speaker 1: it really kind of started the dominance that the Steers
17:48
Speaker 1: had in the seventies with that play. The loss of
17:51
Speaker 1: the Dolphins obviously, and then they went on the run
17:53
Speaker 1: after that the next year and started winning Super Bowls
17:56
Speaker 1: and started winning four of them again. But I go
17:59
Speaker 1: back to the timing and what this day was going
18:02
Speaker 1: to mean to him Saturday the Jersey and the fifth
18:05
Speaker 1: at the anniversary, the idea that that he's not going
18:07
Speaker 1: to be there. We're not going to hear those stories
18:11
Speaker 1: because Tomlin said it. Everyone's claim Everyone claimed they were
18:15
Speaker 1: there for this scene, right, I mean, everyone claims they
18:18
Speaker 1: were there. You you have that vivid memory of listening
18:21
Speaker 1: to it as a fifteen year old on the radio.
18:23
Speaker 1: You can't tell the history of the Steelers or the
18:28
Speaker 1: history of this league without that play in that game.
18:33
Speaker 1: Play that game against that team, I mean the Raiders,
18:37
Speaker 1: which went on forever. I mean, that was Al Davis
18:40
Speaker 1: coming back, and then we had to lawsuit later on
18:42
Speaker 1: with Chuck Nolan, you know, and and Al Davis and
18:46
Speaker 1: and and Rooney's with Al Davis. But that's what you
18:50
Speaker 1: talk about rivalries, you talk about tradition. It started in
18:54
Speaker 1: the seventies with that. These two teams, what they represented
18:57
Speaker 1: in terms of what you represented with your city, That's
19:00
Speaker 1: what it stood for. And when I came back, that's
19:02
Speaker 1: what I understood it to be. It's about a reper
19:05
Speaker 1: centation of what this city is all about. It's grit,
19:08
Speaker 1: it's hard work, it's determination, it's humility, it's about also winning, winning,
19:14
Speaker 1: So he represented all of that because he was a winner.
19:19
Speaker 1: He was a gritty guy, very humble guy, and he
19:22
Speaker 1: also gave back so much to the community. I have
19:25
Speaker 1: no doubt there will be a moment of silence, a
19:27
Speaker 1: touching one Saturday evening for the late grade Franco Harris
19:31
Speaker 1: as they raised that thirty two to the rafters and
19:34
Speaker 1: point to the sky as well, right here on NFL Network.
19:38
Speaker 1: Coach again, condolence is Happy Holidays to you and the family,
19:41
Speaker 1: Happy honest to you Andrew as well. Thank you for
19:43
Speaker 1: having me on. Of course, thanks for taking the time.
19:46
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer Bill Kauer, everybody, as we get ready
19:48
Speaker 1: for the game on Saturday evening right here on NFL Network,
19:52
Speaker 1: the Raiders and the Steelers, the fiftieth anniversary. It is
19:56
Speaker 1: going to be a celebration of that great play and
19:59
Speaker 1: a celebration of the life and times of the great
20:03
Speaker 1: Franco Harris. Our crews rolling into Pittsburgh. Mooch got off
20:07
Speaker 1: the plane last night, and as so many of us
20:09
Speaker 1: have done, I've done this to you. Come down the
20:11
Speaker 1: escalator of the Pittsburgh Airport and you take a picture.
20:14
Speaker 1: Look at the memorial that's popped up, look at the
20:16
Speaker 1: terrible towels since we lost Franco with Steelers fans dropping
20:20
Speaker 1: these off Underneath the statue there, you know, just to
20:23
Speaker 1: the other side of that statue is a statue of
20:25
Speaker 1: George Washington. By the way, true story, there's two statues.
20:29
Speaker 1: That's what Pittsburgher's think of the great Franco Harris. He's
20:33
Speaker 1: there with George Washington's when you get off the plane
20:36
Speaker 1: and Mooch coming up next on NFL now, Josh Allen
20:43
Speaker 1: of the Bills are holding onto the top spot in
20:45
Speaker 1: the a f C, but there is still a chance
20:47
Speaker 1: that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs can steal it from him.
20:50
Speaker 1: Look ahead to Saturday and Christmas even these two games next.
21:01
Speaker 1: If you're just joining us on NFL now, the news
21:03
Speaker 1: is breaking in Nashville. Ryan Tannehill is out officially is
21:08
Speaker 1: out this week as the Titans and the Texans battle
21:13
Speaker 1: in Nashville. Matter of fact, Tennessee is down five starters,
21:15
Speaker 1: including two more offensive lineman Nate Davis, Ben Jones Gardens
21:19
Speaker 1: center are also ruled out. Malik Willis will start a
21:23
Speaker 1: quarterback for the Titans, who still lead the a f
21:26
Speaker 1: C South and still can win it. That is, if
21:29
Speaker 1: they win out, let's get to the other games coming
21:32
Speaker 1: up here on Saturday. Josh Allen, name to his second
21:35
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl yesterday, says he doesn't want to go. He'd
21:38
Speaker 1: rather be preparing for the Super Bowl. The Bills right
21:40
Speaker 1: now are the one seed in the a f C.
21:43
Speaker 1: If they win out, they will get home field advantage.
21:47
Speaker 1: If they go to Chicago and battle the Elements and
21:50
Speaker 1: beat the Bears coming up on Saturday, they will wrap
21:53
Speaker 1: up Stacy Dale's their third consecutive a f C East crowd.
21:59
Speaker 1: So the Bears defense down, Jack Sanborn and Eddie Jackson
22:02
Speaker 1: and others have that to deal with. Yes, indeed, and
22:07
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson questionable with that rib and finger injury heading
22:11
Speaker 1: into this one. Uh though, I think he will be
22:13
Speaker 1: able to go Saturday. But listen for the Chicago defense,
22:16
Speaker 1: It's all about the quarterback justin excuse me. I'll get
22:19
Speaker 1: to justin fields in a moment. Josh Allen because of
22:22
Speaker 1: what he is accomplished in both realms of the game
22:25
Speaker 1: once again this season, he obviously is second in the
22:27
Speaker 1: NFL and offensive yards, just behind Patrick Mahomes over offensive
22:33
Speaker 1: yards second type or second in the NFL again behind
22:36
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes in offensive touchdowns with thirty six of them,
22:39
Speaker 1: and he does it with his arm, he does it
22:41
Speaker 1: with his legs, and it was interesting. You know, it's
22:43
Speaker 1: always interesting to listen to the opposing coach game plan
22:46
Speaker 1: against somebody like, uh, Josh Allen. I'm actually having a
22:51
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills interview coming at a moment here, but eaven
22:54
Speaker 1: Blue said, wow, you know, dynamic player. He's just so
22:57
Speaker 1: big and strong and hard to pull down. But then
22:59
Speaker 1: he keeps his eyes downfield and they use him in
23:01
Speaker 1: all those different designs Andrew, whether it's quarterback draws, sweeps,
23:05
Speaker 1: you name it. And so the attention will be on
23:08
Speaker 1: Josh Allen heading into this game on Saturday, and the
23:10
Speaker 1: attention for the Bill's defense undoubtedly on Justin Fields who
23:14
Speaker 1: last week when over a thousand yards rushing and stacy
23:17
Speaker 1: he is on pace here to break Lamar Jackson's single
23:20
Speaker 1: season rushing record for quarterbacks. He really is with those
23:24
Speaker 1: a thousand yards and building right now. And he's a
23:27
Speaker 1: problem for everybody. That's the word that everybody uses that
23:29
Speaker 1: faces him to describe him. And he has the attention
23:32
Speaker 1: of everybody. Obviously. He leads the NFL on scramble yards,
23:36
Speaker 1: but if you go to next gen stats and next
23:39
Speaker 1: our research teams, such a good job with the next
23:41
Speaker 1: gen stuff. He also on those design runs yards rush
23:45
Speaker 1: yards over expected, which which come off of all of
23:48
Speaker 1: the design runs that Luke gets the offensive coordinator has implemented.
23:52
Speaker 1: He leads the NFL there as well. I talked to
23:54
Speaker 1: Jordan Foyer, safety for this Bill's defense, and he said
23:57
Speaker 1: to me, obviously, he's just presents so many challenges and
24:00
Speaker 1: threats on top of their number one rushing offense. Because
24:04
Speaker 1: let's not forget with Justin Herbert, with Khalil Herbert Andrew
24:07
Speaker 1: coming off of I r which Mattie Berflu said will
24:10
Speaker 1: happen tomorrow. Now you've got the one to punch with
24:13
Speaker 1: David Montgomery, Herbert and Justin Fields. They also lead the
24:17
Speaker 1: NFL as a Russian group and broken tackles. So Payer
24:21
Speaker 1: told me, listen, eleven hats to the football could not
24:24
Speaker 1: be more paramount. They have to have that in place
24:27
Speaker 1: on Saturday, especially with these cold temperatures and one on
24:31
Speaker 1: one tackles just aren't going to work against the running
24:34
Speaker 1: backs and the quarterback in Justin Fields, who also player
24:38
Speaker 1: said is a significant threat with his arm and the
24:42
Speaker 1: power of that arm. So it should be a fun,
24:44
Speaker 1: cold one at Soldier Field on Saturday. And you would
24:46
Speaker 1: have to think, with the conditions and those wins that
24:48
Speaker 1: you mentioned here, they've got to have to run the football.
24:50
Speaker 1: A lot of Chicago's already rushed for over twenty six
24:54
Speaker 1: hundred yards incredible, but they've lost seventh straight and so
24:59
Speaker 1: you need a little bit more than that. This will
25:00
Speaker 1: be a fun one. Bundle up, Stacy Dale Soldiers will
25:04
Speaker 1: do Tom Thanks Andrews. On Saturday. It is also going
25:07
Speaker 1: to be very cold, oh by the way, in Kansas City,
25:11
Speaker 1: when we get the Seahawks coming off a Thursday night
25:14
Speaker 1: loss and a heartbreaking one of the forty Niners trying
25:16
Speaker 1: to right the ship on the road at Arrowhead against
25:20
Speaker 1: the Chiefs team trying to keep pace with the Bills
25:24
Speaker 1: in that fight for the number one overall seed. Let's
25:28
Speaker 1: get James Palmer in here. That's the number one seed
25:30
Speaker 1: of force in the a f C to talk about
25:32
Speaker 1: this one. But start James with the Seahawks. Tough one
25:35
Speaker 1: to the forty Niners. Now they've got to go on
25:37
Speaker 1: the road. Now they have some injuries at wide receiver.
25:40
Speaker 1: They need Gino to keep slinging it, and that might
25:44
Speaker 1: be exactly what they do. Andrew have Gino keep slinging
25:46
Speaker 1: it because he throws a beautiful ball. Patrick Mahomes absolutely
25:49
Speaker 1: loves it. He said it this week. But that might
25:51
Speaker 1: be their best matchup if they're going to go into
25:54
Speaker 1: Kansas City and win this game. Dk Metcalf, we know
25:56
Speaker 1: there's no Tyler Lockett, but DK Metcalf in a potential
25:59
Speaker 1: situation where maybe he can take things over this secondary
26:02
Speaker 1: that is extremely young, and Andy Reid has talked about
26:04
Speaker 1: it all season. Has given up more passing touchdowns than
26:08
Speaker 1: any other team in football, thirty five more than anybody else.
26:10
Speaker 1: They've given up more passing touchdowns to receivers than anybody
26:14
Speaker 1: else in football. And Juno Smith is the number one
26:16
Speaker 1: deep fault you know passer in the league. And when
26:19
Speaker 1: you look at the way DK Metcalf has built defensive
26:21
Speaker 1: coordinator Steve Spagnolo of the Chiefs, and it's like t
26:23
Speaker 1: O out there, it doesn't matter if you give him
26:25
Speaker 1: more attention without lock it on the field. You would
26:27
Speaker 1: assume that the Chiefs do do that. To DK Metcalf,
26:30
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter. He can still out physical you in
26:33
Speaker 1: some aspects of how he goes out and goes about
26:35
Speaker 1: his business. Now. Gino Smith said this week that DK
26:38
Speaker 1: Metcalf isn't putting any added pressure on himself without Tyler
26:41
Speaker 1: Locket out there. But he said, the more opportunities I
26:43
Speaker 1: give him in a game, usually you see him start
26:46
Speaker 1: to perform at a higher level. So he could be
26:48
Speaker 1: possibly hinting at the fact that if we just try
26:50
Speaker 1: to feed Dk in any capacity we can against the
26:53
Speaker 1: secondary that has struggled this season. That's the way you try,
26:56
Speaker 1: I guess, to keep up with Patrick mahll. Right, Patrick Mahomes,
26:59
Speaker 1: who is leading the league in yardage, passing yardage, leading
27:03
Speaker 1: the league in passing touchdowns, not taking all these deep
27:07
Speaker 1: strikes as we used to see. But yet James, at
27:10
Speaker 1: the end of this thing, he still has the best
27:12
Speaker 1: numbers of anyone, even though we've spent so much time
27:15
Speaker 1: talking about how this offense has changed exactly. And I
27:19
Speaker 1: think it's a self evaluation that really stands out to
27:21
Speaker 1: this coaching staff that Patrick Mahomes is so good at
27:24
Speaker 1: You look at that game two weeks ago against Denver.
27:26
Speaker 1: He throws the three interceptions and he went back and
27:28
Speaker 1: watched the film and just thought he was forcing the
27:30
Speaker 1: football too much. He was being too aggressive, and looked
27:33
Speaker 1: at the film and saw there are passes there that
27:35
Speaker 1: this defense is given me, and I need to take
27:37
Speaker 1: advantage of those. And then what does he do. He
27:39
Speaker 1: goes out and against the Texans and goes thirty six
27:42
Speaker 1: forty one eighty eight computer sent completion percentage, takes what
27:45
Speaker 1: the defense gives him, go for three thirty six, two
27:48
Speaker 1: touchdowns and zero interceptions. He takes that underneath throw. Now,
27:52
Speaker 1: he does believe he's at his best when he can
27:55
Speaker 1: take those deep shots. He's always going to be aggressive,
27:57
Speaker 1: but find that edge between the two aspects because on passes,
28:01
Speaker 1: ten yards are shorter through the air, and he's told
28:03
Speaker 1: twenty six touchdown passes. That's more than an eight eight
28:07
Speaker 1: more than anybody else in all of football. So that
28:09
Speaker 1: underneath stuff he's really thrived in. And it's an aspect
28:12
Speaker 1: that is struggled within the Seahawks defense as well. All right,
28:16
Speaker 1: Chiefs and the Seahawks with playoff implications abounding as the
28:21
Speaker 1: Chiefs try to keep pace. Is that even English abounding?
28:24
Speaker 1: Sure up, Thank to James Palmer, we appreciate it. It's
28:31
Speaker 1: the most one. NFL Now is a production of the
28:36
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28:40
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