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Football Doesn't Lie: Week 3 brings obstacles and QB moves! · Football Doesn't Lie

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Football Doesn't Lie. I'm Catherine Zatzora, joined
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: by Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. How are we
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: doing this week, Bill?
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  Speaker 2: We're doing very well, Catherine. Nice to be with you again.
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  Speaker 2: You ready to rock this morning?
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  Speaker 1: Rock and roll.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, let's do it.
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  Speaker 1: Bill, I just want to start by reminding everyone, we'll
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  Speaker 1: be here every Thursday to talk about the NFL with
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  Speaker 1: Bill's perspective. So if you want to learn more about
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the game of football and get some insights that you
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  Speaker 1: can't find anywhere else, subscribe and tune in every week. Now,
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  Speaker 1: usually we open by talking about last week's NFL games,
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  Speaker 1: but this week we have to open with a conversation
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  Speaker 1: about one of your teams. Simply put, what the hell
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  Speaker 1: is going on with the Giants? Week one, they beat Dallas.
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  Speaker 1: Week two, they lose 28-6 to the Rams and lose
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  Speaker 1: their starting quarterback, Jackson Dart, for the season because of
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  Speaker 1: a severe knee injury. Week three, Jameis Winston takes over
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: and they beat a really, really bad Titans team. But
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  Speaker 1: it took a last-second interception to do it. And then
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  Speaker 1: on Monday, they trade for J.J. McCarthy, the quarterback from
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  Speaker 1: the Vikings, as their backup.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they have to secure the position, and obviously they
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  Speaker 2: didn't have anybody else to do it. So you have
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  Speaker 2: to have at least two quarterbacks ready and available to play.
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  Speaker 2: And they didn't probably have confidence in whoever the number
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  Speaker 2: three guy was, and they wanted a veteran quarterback. which
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  Speaker 2: McCarthy is, and he has experience playing, and they probably
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  Speaker 2: felt that that transition would be better with a veteran.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's early in the season. We've got a
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  Speaker 2: lot of games to play, so we have plenty of
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  Speaker 2: time to get McCarthy integrated into the system and the
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  Speaker 2: concepts and everything that he needs to know to function.
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  Speaker 2: It just takes a little while to do it.
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  Speaker 1: Now, like statistically, McCarthy, he has seriously struggled since entering
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  Speaker 1: the league. What are your thoughts on that trade?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, you can't always get, Catherine, in a
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  Speaker 2: trade exactly what you want. You're desperate for the position.
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  Speaker 2: You need to get somebody. Not all of the people
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  Speaker 2: are available, and there may not be any free agents
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  Speaker 2: out there that you currently think give you a better
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  Speaker 2: chance than McCarthy. So they're looking for a veteran with experience.
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  Speaker 2: I don't blame them for that. I would do that myself.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why they probably took that route, because they
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  Speaker 2: didn't have a whole lot of other alternatives.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Well, that being said, how would you integrate
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  Speaker 1: a new quarterback?
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  Speaker 2: That's a good question. I think you have to have
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  Speaker 2: a sit down with him when they first get there,
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  Speaker 2: understand the concepts that he's familiar with. The running game
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  Speaker 2: is relatively simple. Most of the quarterbacks transition into their
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  Speaker 2: new team's running game very easily. But The play-action passes
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  Speaker 2: and the drop-back game are a little different. So you
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  Speaker 2: have to try to gain an understanding, as I said,
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  Speaker 2: of the concepts he likes and that he's comfortable with
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  Speaker 2: and try to kind of ease him into the equation
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  Speaker 2: when he first gets in the game. Try to make
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  Speaker 2: him comfortable with the things that he's used to or
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  Speaker 2: has experience with. And that he can function relatively easy.
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  Speaker 2: And you just try to make it easy on him
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  Speaker 2: and not overload him with too much information too early
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  Speaker 2: because when it starts to get cloudy, then the processing
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  Speaker 2: factor gets into it and hesitation gets into it. And
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  Speaker 2: that's when you usually have mistakes.
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  Speaker 1: Now you say that you sit the quarterback down, but
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  Speaker 1: What do you do with the rest of the team?
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  Speaker 1: How do you prevent like panic or discomfort with all
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  Speaker 1: the other guys on the team?
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  Speaker 2: Well, when you lose your quarterback, it's a crisis. He's
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  Speaker 2: a main cog in your offense. He's probably a team leader.
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  Speaker 2: But players are used to other players being injured and
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  Speaker 2: it's kind of the next man up. And you just
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  Speaker 2: have to try to integrate the guy into the system
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  Speaker 2: in a manner that allows him a chance to be successful.
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  Speaker 2: And all the players will support you and him in
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  Speaker 2: that regard because, after all, we're all trying to do
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  Speaker 2: the same thing. We're all trying to win games. But
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  Speaker 2: you have to win them under the circumstances that currently exist.
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  Speaker 2: And you can't lament the fact that you wish things
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  Speaker 2: were different because... They're not. So you just have to
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  Speaker 2: deal with it as they currently exist and try to
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  Speaker 2: do the best to integrate them in smoothly, and hopefully
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  Speaker 2: he can perform on a good level.
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  Speaker 1: And obviously he's got different strengths and weaknesses as the
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  Speaker 1: backup quarterback. Does the playbook change at all?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it does. But that involves the sit-down. Your basic
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  Speaker 2: system doesn't change, but you have to gain an understanding
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  Speaker 2: that of the things that he's done in prior places
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  Speaker 2: that he feels comfortable with, and you just have to
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  Speaker 2: sit down and you start talking about the past plays
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  Speaker 2: on an individual basis. What do you think this one?
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  Speaker 2: And if you see one of those expressions where he
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  Speaker 2: kind of winces at you, then that means he's not
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  Speaker 2: too comfortable with it. You get to the next one,
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  Speaker 2: he says, oh, I love that one, I can't wait
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  Speaker 2: to throw that one. Then you try to ease him
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  Speaker 2: into the equation, as I said, and make him comfortable.
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  Speaker 1: Now, if you were the coach, what would you say
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  Speaker 1: to Jameis Winston Monday morning?
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  Speaker 2: I wouldn't say anything to him. I said, it's business
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  Speaker 2: as usual here. We have to improve our depth at
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  Speaker 2: a quarterback. This is the guy that's available. He's going
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  Speaker 2: to be here with us. You know, your job is
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  Speaker 2: to help him, assist him, and see what you can
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  Speaker 2: do to help the team win. There's nothing new.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Well, I'm glad we got this out of
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  Speaker 1: the way. And seriously, thank you for your insight. I
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  Speaker 1: can't wait to see what happens in the coming weeks
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  Speaker 1: with the Giants. But now let's talk about the crazy
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  Speaker 1: ending in the Ravens-Cowboys game. Right? They played in Brazil.
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  Speaker 1: And I don't think I need to go into any
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  Speaker 1: details because I think everyone knows about this. I know
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  Speaker 1: I saw highlights right away. What are your thoughts on that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know... You have a couple of options. They
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  Speaker 2: decided to kick the ball deep.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Which allowed the Ravens to fair catch the ball. There
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  Speaker 2: were only seven seconds left. Not have any time expire
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  Speaker 2: on the clock. But the Ravens wind up with the
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  Speaker 2: ball on their 30-yard line. They hit a 26-yard pass.
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  Speaker 2: The reason that looks so easy is when you're in
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  Speaker 2: that situation with no time left, the last thing you
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  Speaker 2: want to happen is the receiver to be able to
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  Speaker 2: catch the ball and get out of bounds. So they're
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  Speaker 2: guarding the boundaries very closely. That leaves the middle a
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  Speaker 2: little bit more open. They took the choice. They hit
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  Speaker 2: a 26-yard pass. They got a 56-yard field goal, and
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  Speaker 2: these field goal kickers are very capable nowadays. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: in my day, a 46-yard field goal would be kind
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  Speaker 2: of the range that you try to keep the guy
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  Speaker 2: out of. But nowadays, these kickers are so good that
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  Speaker 2: 56 yards, that's no sure thing in pro football. The
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  Speaker 2: percentage on that kick... I mean, it can't be above 50%.
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  Speaker 2: So do you.
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  Speaker 1: Think it was a bad tactical move on the Cowboys' part?
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  Speaker 2: The only other consideration that they had was to kind
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  Speaker 2: of hit like a line drive kickoff that would be
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  Speaker 2: bouncing on the ground in the territory that if the
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  Speaker 2: Ravens fielded, they would use some of the seven seconds,
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  Speaker 2: forcing them to return the kickoff would have taken some
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  Speaker 2: time off the clock, maybe the entire seven seconds. But
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  Speaker 2: that's not what they did. They kicked it deep. Ravens
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  Speaker 2: got the ball in the 30, hit a 26-yard pass,
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  Speaker 2: and kicked the winning field goal. Now, retrospectively, knowing the result,
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  Speaker 2: I wouldn't have kicked it deep. But those are the
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  Speaker 2: things that are going through your head. When you decide
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  Speaker 2: to kick one of those short line drive kicks that
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  Speaker 2: would make them feel the ball, there's a chance your
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  Speaker 2: kicker could hit a guy on the front line of
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  Speaker 2: the receiving team and they would get the ball closer
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  Speaker 2: than if you kick it deep. And so it's a choice.
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  Speaker 2: They made the choice to kick it deep. I think
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  Speaker 2: I probably would have done the same thing. You have
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  Speaker 2: to feel like, yeah, you have to feel like that
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  Speaker 2: you can stop, but they got 70 yards to go
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  Speaker 2: to get a touchdown, obviously, but they also have over
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  Speaker 2: 30 yards to go to get into field goal range.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the choice you try to take.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously, the Cowboys coach, Brian Schottenheimer, was really disappointed the
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  Speaker 1: second he, the camera panned to him right away, and he,
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  Speaker 1: you could see his disappointment in that play before, But
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  Speaker 1: do you think that player position has something to do
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  Speaker 1: with this besides the poor choice of the kick? Because
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  Speaker 1: the prevent seemed off, right? There was like five guys
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  Speaker 1: on the line.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they elected to try to, the reason they rush
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  Speaker 2: five guys, it's not an unsound reason. You don't want
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  Speaker 2: the quarterback to extend the play. And when you rush five,
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  Speaker 2: you have one in the middle and then you have
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  Speaker 2: two on either side. You really feel like you can
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  Speaker 2: contain the quarterback and keep them in the pocket and
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  Speaker 2: make them throw the ball. Obviously, you only have six
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  Speaker 2: guys back on defense. They just happened to hit a pass.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and made for a good watch. It was.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, very exciting.
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  Speaker 1: It was very exciting.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's just... There are choices to be made.
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  Speaker 2: There's options, the decisions, and you only have 40 seconds
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  Speaker 2: to do it. Yeah. So... You can't always judge the
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  Speaker 2: wisdom of the decision by the result. It might be
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  Speaker 2: a sound thing that they elected to do. It just
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  Speaker 2: didn't work out.
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  Speaker 1: That's right. Now, switching back to quarterbacks, are we losing
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  Speaker 1: too many quarterbacks? Because you talked about this last week, right?
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  Speaker 1: You mentioned the three teams that lost their quarterbacks to
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  Speaker 1: significant injuries. Early in the season, we had Jackson Dart
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  Speaker 1: with the Giants, Jaden Daniels with the Commanders, and Caleb
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  Speaker 1: Williams with the Bears. And I'm aware that the NFL
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  Speaker 1: has made a lot of changes over the years to
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  Speaker 1: protect the quarterbacks. But as a new fan, it seems
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  Speaker 1: like there's still a lot of injuries. Well, I want
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  Speaker 1: to know, do you find that mobile quarterbacks are being
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  Speaker 1: exposed to too much punishment?
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  Speaker 2: Well, once a quarterback chooses or elects to run, he's
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  Speaker 2: just like a running back. And in some of these
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  Speaker 2: spread offenses that the teams are using now, the quarterback
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  Speaker 2: is more greatly exposed and has to make decisions quicker
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  Speaker 2: because he has less blockers available to him because they're
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  Speaker 2: all deployed on the perimeter. And that's why you're starting
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  Speaker 2: to see more mobile quarterbacks. They want players that can
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  Speaker 2: extend the play with their feet. But when they do that,
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  Speaker 2: they're just like a running back. They're free game. And
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  Speaker 2: the defensive players know that. And, you know, the more
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  Speaker 2: you run and the more the quarterback gets hit, the
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  Speaker 2: more opportunity for injury. It just, I don't think that's
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  Speaker 2: the norm. I think this was just kind of a,
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  Speaker 2: A coincidence that all these quarterbacks got hurt at once.
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  Speaker 2: It usually doesn't happen that way. But in this case,
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  Speaker 2: early in the season, it does. And that creates a
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  Speaker 2: lot of indecision and turmoil with the team and the franchise.
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  Speaker 2: Who are we going to get? Where are we going
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  Speaker 2: to get them? Can we get them into the system quickly?
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  Speaker 2: It's just crazy. It's one of the reasons I'm glad
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  Speaker 2: I'm not still coaching him. I know.
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  Speaker 1: It can be kind of a challenge and frustrating. But
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  Speaker 1: so has the way the offense has used QBs, has
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  Speaker 1: it changed the injury equation? Obviously it has, but how
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  Speaker 1: has it changed?
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  Speaker 2: Well, as I said, they're spread the offense out more.
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  Speaker 2: There's less blockers to protect the quarterback on protection. All right. Now,
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  Speaker 2: almost every team has a maximum protection system that they
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  Speaker 2: can use. But sometimes in the two-minute defense or at
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  Speaker 2: the end of the game, you can't afford to deploy that.
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  Speaker 2: You have to try to get the receivers in the pattern,
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  Speaker 2: multiple receivers, so that your quarterback has multiple choices to make.
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  Speaker 2: And when you do that, you're putting him at risk.
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  Speaker 2: But you don't worry about that at the time. You're
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  Speaker 2: trying to win the game. You've got to use the
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  Speaker 2: strategy that you think gives you the best chance.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that coaches, though, can realistically do anything
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  Speaker 1: differently to try to protect the quarterback? Because like you said,
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  Speaker 1: you're focusing on winning.
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, yeah, that's a hard question. I know.
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  Speaker 2: Because it really is, what are you trying to accomplish here?
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  Speaker 2: Are we going to spread out a little bit, get
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  Speaker 2: more receivers in the pattern and expose our quarterback a
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  Speaker 2: little bit? But we're trying to win the game, and
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  Speaker 2: that's the best strategy that we feel like allows us
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  Speaker 2: to do that. Then we're going to exercise that strategy.
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  Speaker 2: And it doesn't have anything to do at that moment
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  Speaker 2: with the quarterback's well-being. We're not thinking about that. We're
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  Speaker 2: thinking about how do we get the ball down the field,
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  Speaker 2: into field goal range, or in for the winning touchdown.
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  Speaker 1: Now, if you were coaching a young, fresh quarterback today,
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  Speaker 1: what would you actually tell him how to protect himself?
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  Speaker 2: Don't just be an indiscriminate runner. Know when to slide down.
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  Speaker 2: Or in more layman's terms, you have to know when
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  Speaker 2: the journey's over. And when the journey's over, you need
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  Speaker 2: to be on the ground safely.
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  Speaker 1: That's very wise.
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  Speaker 2: I like that.
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  Speaker 1: All right. So from injured QBs to a quarterback who
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  Speaker 1: just got back from an injury is the Falcons quarterback,
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  Speaker 1: Michael Penix Jr., I want to give you some stats
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  Speaker 1: because he's really impressive. He was leading the Atlanta Falcons,
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  Speaker 1: or he is leading them, to a 35-14 upset win
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  Speaker 1: over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night football, right?
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: He overcame some insane injuries, though, throughout his career. He
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: had three torn ACLs, two in his right knee, one
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: in his left, some in college, some in the NFL.
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  Speaker 1: But he is still finishing super strong right now. Would
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  Speaker 1: you have him play for you today?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Yeah? I mean— He's healthy or he wouldn't be
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  Speaker 2: out there. Yeah. History doesn't mean anything in football. Just
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  Speaker 2: because you had a couple injuries before, that doesn't mean
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  Speaker 2: you can't currently function if you're healthy. And apparently they
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: felt like he is, and he did a great job
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  Speaker 2: in that game. Yeah. I mean, he finished.
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  Speaker 1: 18 for 25 for 256 yards and one passing touchdown.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And one interception?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're starting to sound like a sports writer now.
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  Speaker 2: They always quote those stats the first thing.
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  Speaker 1: Listen, I'm a stat girl.
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  Speaker 2: It's just about winning and losing. That's what counts.
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  Speaker 1: But I have to ask, though, is it common that
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  Speaker 1: someone comes back with that many injuries? I know you
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: say that he's good now, but that's a lot of
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: injuries under his belt.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Catherine... We all know what we signed up for. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: This is a very aggressive physical game. Injuries are part
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  Speaker 2: of the game. But we all elected to play it.
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  Speaker 2: So we have to live with the consequences. And this
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  Speaker 2: is this man's livelihood. He's now healthy and he wants
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: to continue playing. That's his choice. Yeah. And he apparently
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  Speaker 2: gives them a good chance to win on the performance
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  Speaker 2: I saw the other night. So let's go.
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  Speaker 1: Let's go.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Let's shift gears a little bit. But we're going to
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: stay on offense. Let's continue our conversation about critical factors
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: that we started last week. Because now critical factors for
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: other newbies, it's the key traits that you need to
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: succeed in each position, right? We did the quarterbacks and
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: the offensive linemen last week. I want to keep the
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: ball rolling on this. I want to know today about
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: wide receivers. I want to start with the tangibles. What
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: are the three critical factors you're looking for in a
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: wide receiver?
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: Very easy, Catherine.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: Hands.
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  Speaker 2: There's never been a good wide receiver that couldn't catch
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: the ball. So hands are primary. Can he catch the ball? Noted. Okay, consistently. Now,
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: the other two critical factors for a receiver are, is
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: he able to create separation from the defender? There are
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: two ways you do it, with quickness, quick moves that
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: separate you from the defender, or a just outright speed
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: where you outrun the defender. A receiver has to have
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  Speaker 2: at least one of those. If he doesn't, they're going
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: to be covering him closely all the time, and he's
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: not going to be a viable option. But it's hands, quickness, speed.
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  Speaker 2: That's a vehicle to separate. And speed, that's another vehicle
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  Speaker 2: to separate. He has to have at least one of
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: those last two that I mentioned. And hands, you have
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  Speaker 2: to have them.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, because you always say the best hands are those
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: that are together.
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  Speaker 2: Well, if you notice, when the hands are separated, the
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: ball gets in between that distance. So... The old axiom
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: is good hands are hands that are always together. Pluck
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: the ball, cradle the ball, however you do it, keep
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: your hands together.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Now, do you prefer the hand catches or the body catches?
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  Speaker 1: Because I see a lot of those too.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: Well, there's no question we prefer the hand catches. Why?
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: I mean, a catch is a catch, right?
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but it takes longer to make a body catch
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: than it does a hand catch because in the hand catch,
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: you're plucking the ball.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: Okay?
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Makes sense.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Now, it's just a short distance, but that short distance
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: that takes the body catch, that takes time. It gives
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: the defender more time to defend the play. Yeah.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: Now, what about tight ends?
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: That's my favorite position.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: Oh, I love it. It's a great weapon. Well, first
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: of all, they have to be able to run, block,
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: and catch if you're going to be a well-rounded tight end. Now,
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: I was very, very fortunate in my time in coaching.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: I had multiple top flight tight ends. The Giants had
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: a young man named Mark Barbaro, tremendous player in Dallas.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: I had a a guy named Jason Witten, another terrific player.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: In New England, I had another tight end named Ben Coates.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: He caught 96 passes in one year, a tight end, 96. Really? Yeah,
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: that's remarkable. But it's a well-rounded position. It's a physical position,
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: but it's also you have to have athletic ability to
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: maneuver and be a good receiver and be a good blocker.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: It's very difficult to find. That's why in the draft
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: you see those players that have those traits, they get
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: drafted very quickly because there's just not that many of them.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: So what about the intangibles, though, like mentally, personality-wise? Do
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: they all have something in common? Is there something you're
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: looking for?
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: You know, football players are football players. If they don't
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: have the right mentality, and most of them do, when
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: they chose to play the game, they understood what went
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: with it. I can't say that there's any concrete pattern
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: that these guys follow. It's just, you know, here's the
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: job requirement. If you're a tight end, you have to run, block,
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: and catch. If you're a receiver, hands, quickness, speed. For
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: an offensive lineman, size, strength, quickness. The critical factors are different,
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: but the mentality is pretty much the same.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: All right, talking about size, is that something you're looking
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: in for critical factors with running backs?
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: Catherine, bigger is always better if you can get it.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: Bigger is always better if you can get it. Now,
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: I've had all sorts of different sizes running backs. I
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: had a young man named Joe Morris. That was 5'7.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: That was a high producer for us with the Giants.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: And then succeeding him was a guy named O.J. Anderson
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: that was 6'3, 230 pounds.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: So bigger is better.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: Let me tell you about this running back position. It's
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: a production position. If they gained yards in high school
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: and they gained yards in college, they're probably going to
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: gain yards in the pros. And if they didn't, they're
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: probably not. Now, I'm a bigger is better guy. So
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: I'd like a big, durable, strong, tough, physical running back.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: But some of the greatest guys in the history of
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: the league, Barry Sanders, 5'7, played for the Detroit Lions,
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: one of the greatest backs. Now, when he wasn't carrying
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: the ball... he was somewhat of a liability because he
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: didn't catch real well and he couldn't block blitzing linebackers
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: real well. But in running the ball, he was so
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: superior that they had to use him.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: So there's nuances there, right?
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Right, yeah. Oh, I like that.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: So what are the, I don't think we actually listed
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: the three critical factors for the running backs. We do
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: know that, and you heard it here first, size matters.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: That's not the first one.
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: I know, it's not. What are the three?
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: The first one is vision. Okay. Is he able to
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: see and create, okay? The second thing is, if he's
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: not a big guy, is he elusive enough to gain
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: yards on his own when some of the defenders are unblocked.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Makes sense.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: And it's a production position. As I said, if they
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: gain yards when they're young and in college and in
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: the pros, you use whatever size back you happen to
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: have at the time. You'd like a bigger, stronger, but
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: if the smaller, quicker ones are the ones they're going
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: to produce for you, that's what you do.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: All right, knowing all these critical factors for the offense,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: I think I'm going to give myself some homework this week.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: And I'm going to ask you to help me with
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: that next week. Give me your feedback. I'm going to
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: pick one quarterback, one running back, one wide receiver, one
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: tight end, and one offensive lineman. And then I want
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: you to tell me next week, when I come to
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: you with these names, if you You think I'm going
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: to make it because I'm going to let you know,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: a little spoiler alert, Josh Allen's going to be my QB.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: Well, I already knew that. You knew you were up
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: there in the same territory that he comes from.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: I understand.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Now, do you have any suggestions on who else I
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: should use or are you going to let me sink
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: or swim?
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: Well, I thought you, yeah.
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: You're going to let me sink or swim?
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: You find out. I don't know.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Derek Henry seems pretty good too.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: Oh, I like that choice. Yeah? He's a very good
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: running back. He's a... big, strong, powerful guy that's very,
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: very durable. He can take 25 or 30 carries a game.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: I don't want to say it's not a problem, but,
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: you know, 25 or 30 is a lot, but he
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: can do it on a consistent basis. And as I
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: keep telling you, it's a production position and he has
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: been a continual producer.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: OK, so I'm going to take these critical factors. I'm
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: going to try to find the best ones that I
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: think are out there in the league. And you can
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: assess me next week.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: That's great. Let's do it.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: All right. So as I start this project, trying to
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: build an offense, I'm obviously keeping things relatively simple. But
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: the more I learn, the more I realize how complicated
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: football and NFL offense is, right? We were just talking
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: about the nuances. And surprise, surprise, I want you to
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: explain something to me. You ready? Has offense gotten too complicated?
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: You know... Occasionally, yes. Too complicated for the current circumstances
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: once in a while. But offensive coaches, they want to
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: be innovative. They want to be creative. They want to
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: give the players a design that allows the players to function.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: And sometimes they have a more is better philosophy. Now,
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: I had a young assistant coach at a time who,
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: That was the poster boy for these kind of things.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: His name was Sean Payton.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Oh.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Okay. And he used to have all these plays and
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: this and that. And I used to say, Sean, I said,
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: we can't even practice the number of plays that you
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: have on that sheet. So let's start paring it down
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: and let's learn to execute it. I don't want to
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: say a minimal number, but a workable number so that
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: we feel confident that everything we have on the game
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: plan that we can call with confidence. I said, but
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: that sheet, it looks like a diner menu. It's a
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: little overwhelming. Yeah, it's overwhelming. It's exactly right. We've got
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: to cut that back. And he's done that.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Because, I mean, not everybody needs 47 formations and 19 motions, right?
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: No, that's exactly right.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: So you're saying simpler— It can absolutely work.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: Well, it has to work. Simpler allows you to execute.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: And the players also have a mental confidence. And here's
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: the axiom, Catherine. Knowledge is confidence. Do you know what
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: you're doing? If you know what you're doing, that allows
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: you to play fast. If you're uncertain about what you're doing,
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: that creates hesitation. I want them playing fast.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: But do you think that they have so many plays
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: and formations because, like, they're trying to add pizzazz to
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: the game? Or maybe they're afraid of if they don't
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: have enough, they need backups?
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: No, they're trying to decide what they think's best. But
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: as I said, some coaches think more is better. And
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: it's not always better. If you can't practice it thoroughly,
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: if you can't execute it properly, if you're just indiscriminately
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: picking plays and ruining them that you haven't really worked
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: on thoroughly in practice, sometimes the success ratio isn't very good.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: All right. So why do teams or some of them
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: look consistently and more fundamentally sound than others?
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: You sound more like a sports writer every time, Catherine.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: What do you mean by fundamentally sound? That means they
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: don't make mistakes. They don't have penalties. They don't turn
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: the ball over. That's fundamentally sound.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and they're consistent.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: That's right. Some teams are careless with the ball. Some
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: players are careless with the ball. Got to get them
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: out of the lineup. Put somebody else who would take
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: care of the ball. The game's about the ball now, Catherine.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: If we have it in their territory, we have a
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: good chance to win. If we don't have it and
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: they're playing on our end, they've got a lot better chance.
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: So let's get down there on their end and let's
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: execute properly and let's not overload our players with too
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: much information. Let them play fast. Knowledge is confidence. And
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: I said it before, and confidence lets you play best.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: It's funny you say that because we were talking just
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: the other day about your favorite game that you coached,
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl XXV. And you're saying you want the ball
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: in your hands most of the time in their end.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: Well, that particular game was against a very powerful offensive team,
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: the Buffalo Bills. They were averaging 35 points a game
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: going into the game. Our team, the Giants, were only
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: averaging about 24 points. If we didn't, I remember going
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: to the team meeting and I said, if we don't
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: keep the ball away from this team, we're not going
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: to win this game. At all costs, we have to
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: keep the ball away from the Bills as best we can. Now,
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: we did have the ability to do that. I had
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: a tremendous left tackle named Jumbo Elliott. That nickname should
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: tell you what he looked like.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: Bigger is better.
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: And then I had Mark Barbaro at tight end, a
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: tremendous football player and a very good blocker. And when
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: we put those two guys together and I had a
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: 230-pound running back named Otis Anderson, that was formidable. And
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: that allowed us to control the timing of the game.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: And it wound up. where in the 60 minutes, we
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: had the ball 41 minutes and 40 seconds. If Buffalo
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: had had the ball equal time, 30-30, we wouldn't have
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: beaten them.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: Now, do you find that coach's ego is getting in
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: the way.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: Though, in games? Well, from time to time. As I said,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: they want to be creative. They want to look like
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: they're on top of the game, all the new systems
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: and schemes. But it's a difficult thing. You know, you
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: want enough ammunition to function, but too much ammunition can
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: overload the players and create indecision.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that makes perfect sense. That's why I love
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: the idea of simplers better. But I guess they're going
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: to do what they're going to do, and we'll see
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: the results of that.
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Okay. So if you were actually to build an NFL
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: team or an offense today, what are 10 plays you
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: would run?
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: Who do I have playing, Catherine? I don't know.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: That makes no difference.
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: I don't know. You have to take the personnel that
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: you have available under the current circumstances and decide what
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: schematically allows them to function successfully. And It's not always
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: the same. It can change from year to year. It
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: can change from game to game a little bit. But
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: that's what training camp's for, is to make the decision
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: on who's going to play, where they're going to play,
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: and the system that you choose to use and employ,
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: does that allow the credentials that these players have to
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: function successfully? And that's what coaching's about. Coaching's being a teacher.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: To teach them what to do, okay? I have to
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: teach them how to do it.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: But also based on their skills. I like that.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, you have to. Yeah. What other choice do
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: you have?
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: It's not like generic. You're catering to their strengths and weaknesses. Right. Oh,
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: I like that. All right. Let's pivot to a topic
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: that you've mentioned to me. that I've never heard until
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: you said it. I don't know if most fans even
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: know about this, so tell me about the concept of
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: hidden yardage. Can you explain it to me as simply
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: as you can?
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: Yes. You gain yards by running the ball, obviously, and
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: by passing the ball, obviously. I've always believed in the
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: premise that 100 yards in field position should equate to
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: seven points on the scoreboard. But there are other aspects
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: of the game... that create what I call hidden yardage, okay?
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: It's not visible really to the fans. They don't think
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: about it the same way I would. But here's a
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: couple of simple examples. You're on team A, Catherine, and
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: I'm on team B. We're both going to get the
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: ball 10 or 12 times probably during the game. Well,
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: where did you get the ball on your average start
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: of possession? Where did you take hold of the ball? Now,
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: if you took hold of it on the 35-yard line
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: as an average, and I took hold of it on
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: the 25-yard line, over 10 possessions, that's 100 yards in
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: field position, which should equate to seven points. So you
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: have a distinct advantage. The other areas are net punting. Now,
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: net punting is... is how far do we punt the
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: ball and how far do they return it? So if
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: we punt at 40 and then they return at 10,
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: our net is 30, okay?
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: Well, if you punt at 45 and they only return
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: at 10, now your net's 35. We do that seven times.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: That's extra yardage. Yeah. So it's hidden there. What's the
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: other one? Well, there's penalties. My team has 60 yards
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: in penalties and you only have 30 yards in penalties.
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: That's another 30 yards to your advantage. And the most,
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: and critical, and this is why turnovers are the most
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: critical factor in football. It's not the turnover itself, it's
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: the fact that you didn't get to pump the ball
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: and you forego the 45 or 50 yards or 30,
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: whatever it is, you forego that distance. And That yardage
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: is all hidden. Penalty differential, average start of possession, net punting,
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: all those things comprise hidden yardage. And hidden yardage affects
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: the outcomes as well, not just running and passing. There's
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: other things in it.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: That's interesting. I didn't realize. Yeah, I mean, turnovers, I think,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: make sense being critical given the fact that that's, I think, obvious,
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: the fact that it's got a name, hidden yardage. But, like,
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: they're losing all that stuff. yardage to the other team.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: That's exactly right. And it's a field position game. Yeah.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: I told you, we want to play on your rent.
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: As much as possible.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: As much as possible.
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: All right. One offense that has really fallen short, though,
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: this season is the Packers, which now has them in
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: a tough spot. Speaking of hidden yardage, they have the
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: shortest average time of possession in offense. Their average drive
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: so far is two minutes and 16 seconds long. I
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: want to know, what would you do right now if
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: you were in their shoes? So Matt LaFleur, right? Or LaFleur,
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: as I would say in my native tongue.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: The answer to the question is always the same.
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: You try to maximize your player's ability under the current circumstances. Now,
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: sometimes you have a team. Catherine that they we just
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: are not playing well on defense and maybe it's we
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: have too much maybe the players aren't confident in what
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: we're doing but we can just maybe not have enough
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: talent to to put a formidable defense out there you
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: know these guys are real athletes they have certain abilities
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: and you have to try to turn them into a
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: cohesive unit in Green Bay's case With the defense as
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: it now exists, I would try to employ a more
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: conservative offensive approach to keep the ball away from my
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: opponent as much as I can because I know if
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: my opponent has the ball, based on what I've seen
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: from my defense right now, it's not going to bode
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: well for us.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: I mean, they've had a lot of success in the
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: last five years, right? They made the playoffs.
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: Well, history doesn't mean anything in football, Catherine. Really? It's today.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: It's today. We're playing today. The circumstances are today. I
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: don't care what happened five years ago.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: No, but people are saying that Matt Naflar should be fired.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: What people?
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: The internets.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: No. What people?
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: But, you know, they're saying that because of the slow
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: start to this season. What are your thoughts on that? Somebody,
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: like a coach being... kind of shun, not shun, but
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: being told, you know, he should probably not be in
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: this position because they're just not hitting the bar. What
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: are your thoughts on that? Like, as a coach yourself?
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: Well, it's an organizational decision. If they don't feel the
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: coach is maximizing what he has, then they're going to
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: probably choose to make a change. Now, I've been in
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: that position where it almost happened to me. Fortunately, they
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: couldn't get the replacement that they wanted, so they let
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: me continue. and things took a turn for the better,
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: and then they were stuck with me for a while.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: Okay, so is there any merit to the message going
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: stale in the locker room?
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: Sure. Yeah? Yeah, but these guys are generally intelligent. They
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: understand the game. You have to continue to explain to them, Catherine,
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: I keep saying the same words over again, what are
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: the things that allow us to win And what are
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: the things that are currently causing us to lose? And
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: until we fix those things that are currently causing us
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: to lose, it's not going to get better. So let's
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: concentrate on that one thing. Let's eliminate the things that
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: are causing us to lose and try to play the
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: game on the even keel.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: I like that. It's got to be frustrating, though, if
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: you do those things and you're still not producing and producing.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: Getting wins.
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: Well, Catherine, in my experience, nobody cares if I'm frustrated.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: It's just get the job done one way or the
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: other the best you can. And if you can't, they'll
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: find someone else to do it.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: Heard. I like this. Okay. Let's wrap up this episode, though,
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: with a rapid fire round because I love our two-minute drills.
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: I'm going to give you a quote, and really it's
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: like which NFL teams are lying to themselves. I'm going
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: to give you a quote, and I want to hear
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: what team comes to mind when I say this quote.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: You ready? All right. We just need to get healthy.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: That applies to several in the current circumstances. They have
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: key players hurt. I can't think— I mean, obviously, when you've
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: lost your quarterback, that's a key component. But now the
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: Giants lost their best defensive player, too. So now they've
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: got two of the key players, one on each side
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: of the ball, out. My answer to this, Catherine, is
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: on Monday, nobody cares. They just want to know who
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: won the game. It's next man up. Fair.
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: All right, next one. Our quarterback is fine.
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: Our quarterback is fine?
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. Many things lie on themselves.
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: Well, to make that statement, a coach would probably be
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: then indicating to the fan base and maybe his own
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: team that it's the other position players that need to
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: step it up. If our quarterback is fine and he's
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: functioning okay... but it's still not going well, then the
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: rest of us, whether it be defense, offense, field goal kicking,
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: whatever it is that allows us to function better, that's
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: the area we have to concentrate on.
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: Okay. And how about our defense will come around?
• 40:06
  Speaker 2: Sometimes you think you just need more time to work
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: with them during practice. You see indications that they're improving sometimes.
• 40:16
  Speaker 2: And you see if you can take a path that
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: allows them to continue to improve, that the result might
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: be that our defense will come around. They don't sell
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: insurance for that.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Is there a team that comes to mind?
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: No, not just off the top of my head, you know.
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: This time of year, anybody that's 0-2... You know, they're
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: looking down the long barrel.
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: Oh, in three at this point?
• 40:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. And they don't know whether they're ever going
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: to win a game.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: So they're concentrating on those things. Okay.
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you're going to like this statement,
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: but we're one player away. One player away. Oh, you're
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: shaking your head. You disapprove.
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: You know, there's 53 guys on the team. So one
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: player comprises about what? Roughly 2% of the whole team.
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: Very seldom are we just one player away. It's usually
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: multiple players away if we're not being successful. Now, at
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: a position like quarterback, if you're deficient there, sometimes that
• 41:25
  Speaker 2: can affect the other 52 to the point where if
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: we just had better play from that position, we'd be better.
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: But that's not usually the case. One player away, not usually.
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: Okay. How about, we don't need to change anything. What
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: team comes to mind? They might be lying to themselves.
• 41:44
  Speaker 2: San Francisco.
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: Well, they're undefeated. They're playing well. Their offense is scoring.
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: Their defense is playing well. Let's just... Keep the train rolling.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: I put them and the Chiefs probably on the same
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: page there.
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: Well, you're probably right. But you only have a two-week
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: sample now, Catherine. So let's get to Thanksgiving, and we're
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: going to have this same discussion.
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: Well, okay, so actually talking about that, in your lifetime, Bill,
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: has there ever been a team that just dominated the
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: entire season that you just knew right off the bat
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: or like, yep, they're making it?
• 42:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the 85 Bears.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they led the league in rushing and they had
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: the best defense in the league. It was... I know
• 42:30
  Speaker 2: I was a victim of them. We lost to them
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: in the playoffs that year. I didn't think anybody could
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: beat them.
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: Did you guys ever come back to beat them afterwards?
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: The next time out, yes, but.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: I remember you telling me a story of your coach
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: who snapped you out of that right after that loss
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: against the Bears.
• 42:48
  Speaker 2: I had a wonderful high school basketball coach. He was
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: like a second father to me. And I used to
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: take him to the games, the football games. He liked
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: coming in. On this day, I took him to Chicago and.
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: We got beat in the playoffs handily by Chicago. We
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: didn't play great. The game could have been closer, but
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: all the reasons why, there still wasn't. We got beaten.
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: So now I'm kind of in a bad mood, obviously.
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: The season's over. It's another training camp. It's another draft.
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: It's another offseason. You got all that in your head
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: just to try to get back standing where you just were.
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: And it takes a lot of work to get back there.
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: So We get on the bus, and, you know, we
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: were 50-year friends, and he called me by my last name.
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: He said, hey, Parcells. He hits me on the leg
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: like that. He says, you've got to figure out a
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: way to beat those guys. I said, Mick, they're pretty good.
• 43:51
  Speaker 2: He said, good. They're magnificent. He said, you have to
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: figure out a way to beat them. And that snapped
• 43:59
  Speaker 2: me right back. It really did. It snapped me right back.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: This guy's right. Get your butt moving, Parcells, and get
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: to the task at hand.
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: That's motivational.
• 44:12
  Speaker 2: I love that. Yeah, I don't know whether it's motivation.
• 44:14
  Speaker 2: It's just reality.
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: Let's go. Let's get back going. Come on. We can
• 44:20
  Speaker 2: do better.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: All right, lick your wounds and then move on.
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's good.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: All right, I have one more question, though. I want
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: to know, what is the biggest lie an NFL organization
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: can tell itself, in your opinion?
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: I don't know that there's just one, Catherine, but the
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: administrators in the organization, they want to win. The ownership
• 44:41
  Speaker 2: wants to win. The coaches want to win. The players
• 44:45
  Speaker 2: want to win. Everybody wants to win. But sometimes it's
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: a litany of things that are keeping you from doing it.
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: So when you get in that situation, you can't disregard
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: any aspect of of your organization. You have to evaluate
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: your scouting, your drafting, your player selection, the systems that
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: you're using offensively and defensively. Are they suited for the
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: personnel available? It's usually a litany of things that have
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: created this negative element for your team and you have
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: to go about changing them and you can't always change
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: them immediately. It's got to be one at a time,
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: but you got to try to recognize what's really the
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: problem here. And it can be more than one thing.
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: Man, this is such a fascinating game. Anyways, thank you
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: as always for being here with me this week.
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: That's right. You're coming around. I'm going to start calling
• 45:42
  Speaker 2: you a football girl pretty soon. You're asking.
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: We're getting there. Slowly but surely.
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: That's it, man. You're ready to rock. Let's go.
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: Let's go. We'll see you guys next week.