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Bills FIRE McDermott & Broncos Scramble to Replace Nix · The MMQB NFL Podcast

• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the MQD NFL podcast.
• 0:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Conor, that's Albert Brear, new locale from me today, Albert, in the attic of my in-laws house.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you can podcast anywhere, as they say.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Back to cover what has been just a coaching carousel of nonstop chaos.
• 0:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sean McDermott, let's go this morning, hence a little bit of a late time getting going for Albert and I way to make some calls, write some stuff.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can check it out all at Si.com.
• 0:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I will say this Albert and let's get going with McDermott.
• 0:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is one A and one in terms of best jobs available with Baltimore being the other one.
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: the chance to coach Josh Allen is a once in a lifetime experience for a head coach and while I think anybody who watched that bill's game maybe had this on the radar I can say with a pretty good deal of confidence that this surprised the heck out of Sean McDermott.
• 0:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I don't think he saw this coming.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I would say you know, I like my feeling on it.
• 1:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like Oh, long has been that
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: there are people internally that were feeling the pressure and I think you saw that spill out after the game on Saturday with Josh Allen's emotion was Sean McDermott's anger I think there was just like a sort of release of all that pressure that they had been under I think there was a tremendous amount of pressure on them to win the game against the Jaguars
• 1:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: And clearly, like, I don't think that they let that go going into the Denver game.
• 1:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so I don't think there was a ton of internal discussion about doing this before this morning.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, I like, you know, I like, you know, I like, you know, you know, I
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: I do know that the climate in that building had been a little bit different over the last couple of months and yeah, I mean, like this creates almost an unprecedented situation.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think if you're Buffalo, like you don't know, based on the amount of damage he's taken in his body, the way he plays, like,
• 2:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: like you don't know if you're ever going to have this to sell to coaching candidates anymore.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, this is a once in a generation type of opportunity for the bills.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think it's on the bills.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: So look under every rock and I, you know, if I'm them, like,
• 2:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm calling teams about sitting head coaches, you know what I mean, like why not?
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, like it sounds crazy.
• 2:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Call the Rams and Niners.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: All I can do is say no.
• 2:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're going to get laughed off the phone, but do it.
• 2:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know what?
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I just, that's the way I look at this is like, if you're the bill, you have something real intangible to sell.
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: And
• 2:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, again, like an opportunity to coach a once in a lifetime quarterback and I think it's incumbent on you to do everything you can to make the most of it.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, I don't know where that's going to lead them.
• 2:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I certainly think that there's an unbelievable opportunity for them now.
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: uh, Shane Steikens another name Albert that if I'm Shane Steikens, especially I'm looking at this situation being like dude, I have maxed out everybody that I've been with here, like it's playoffs or bust an Indian, I don't even know who my quarterbacks are going to be, or I could go rip it up with Josh Allen and the precedent there would be interesting because so I checked on Mike Tomlin, that was one of the first things I did, right?
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll be back out of a situation where he's intending on
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: spending time.
• 3:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I heard he's, you know, already kind of in the leisure mode, which is great and good for Mike Tomlin.
• 3:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I think that it would be in addition to the comp that the Broncos got for Sean Peyton.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like it would be more expensive than that.
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the bill certainly aren't about to spend a first round pick at the height of Josh Allen's Pete Prime and try to waste that on getting Mike Tomlin.
• 3:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't think Tomlin is a factor here.
• 3:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I would get that out of the way.
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I like I
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: it be it's an inch but that's another one that you almost have to make a phone call on right and I think I think the other thing like a lot of people had said like oh well you know John Harbaugh should have waited I think relationships matter here too so like for John Harbaugh or Mike Tom and both of whom are very close for Sean McDermott would they go there right you know I think that that's something that you have to consider as well
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: there's a lot of dominoes to get to here and I want to kind of rifle through them very quickly and then we'll reset the coaching landscape before we get into uh uh uh the the playoffs which like my god they were playoffs um yeah you'll play it was like three days ago now right i mean you mentioned harbors to fanski and i think it was smart by the giants and the falcons respectively to sprint down the aisle with their brides because regardless
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: If carbon's defense gear is still out there, I think that that's a conversation that the bills need to have.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, you're looking at all of this and there's the buffalo piece, which I want to do first.
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a McDermott piece, which I want to do second.
• 5:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: If we can't get a head coach, a sitting head coach, into this job, some of the immediate names that I heard that were bandied about here and one of the reasons that Buffalo may have done this is that they're looking at this head coaching search Albert and they're saying, okay, great.
• 5:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: You didn't squeeze a finalist in Cleveland.
• 5:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nate Sheelhouse has crushed it on the interview circuit.
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Davis Webb has interest from the Ravens and the Raiders in his doing an
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, we have a quarterback who's turning 30 in April.
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's like you said, maybe got five years left of his prime with the way that he plays football.
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: So are we going to sit it out?
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are we going to let the Ravens develop Davis Web?
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Or are we going to stick our toe in the water here and find out what everybody else is going crazy over?
• 5:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that the potential for what could be there outweighed the benefit of the comfort you get with Sean McDermott.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so Davis website is an interesting name because I know a lot of people think a lot of him he's a former teammate of Josh Allen's he If and I've heard a couple names for him like often support neither wise one of them is Brian Dave all yeah the other one's cuff Kingsbury, but yeah
• 6:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, Dave all did work with with with web and both both New York and Buffalo, so there's like real links there and that would be a gamble, you know, like so like that's something where you're projecting a guy into the role he hasn't been coaching for very long.
• 6:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's seen as an incredibly hot coaching candidate and somebody who is going to get a job if not this year the next year.
• 6:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And somebody who, you know, I think has the potential to be a really great head coach.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's just can you can you roll the dice on somebody with that little experience, you know?
• 6:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think you're already rolling the dice by letting go of a guy who's career record is 98 and 50.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are you twirling?
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's the 13th best winning percentage of any coach ever.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's 15.
• 7:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: 15.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: 15th, but third among active coaches.
• 7:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: So anything is a gamble, unless Vince Lombardi comes back to life and you're like, okay, and even then, I mean, who knows, is he up on the current offenses?
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I think it would be, I think with Davis, like a lot of it would be, you know, and it sounds like a little silly, you know, because you're paying the head coach, what you're paying the head coach, but a lot of it comes down to his ability to assemble a staff, so you sit, if he sits in front of you, if he can put something impressive together.
• 7:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: you're going to look at that a lot differently than if he comes in there and says well you know maybe i can get this guy or this guy will see you know and i think that part of it so who's his defense coordinator who's a special teams coordinator you know who does he have down the line if he loses brine day ball or cuff kingsbury that's going to be his offensive coordinator if one of those guys leave and get a second opportunity to be a head coach you know so i think
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: There's all of that that you have to consider, and that to me would be like kind of the important part.
• 8:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, Sean McVay went to the Rams at 30 years old in 2017.
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: His coordinators were
• 8:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: That question I think is the big one when you're looking at hiring somebody like Davis web and do a situation like this that is so ready made, you know, then it is so Just like we need somebody to press over the top.
• 8:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's why I keep making the Tony gun Jake comparison by the way, because I think that that's probably the most apt one.
• 8:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're right, some other non-sitting head coach names that I think that you would have to consider here.
• 8:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Flores just because he does have table ties and let's be real.
• 8:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Dable has just been coming up a lot in the minutes and hours that have surfaced after McDermott's been let go.
• 9:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so you're trying to attach him
• 9:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: in some way, shape, or form to some sort of a combination that makes its way to Buffalo.
• 9:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I think in addition to that Albert, you have guys, like, you have guys like, does Joe Brady get a crack at this job just because the bills might want to see what he would do with his own staff?
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Does Clint Kubiak
• 9:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: is this where he lands, or maybe get some attention as a first time head coach, you know, you look at the Ram's offensive guys, she'll house in the floor, you know, is this where they land?
• 9:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, that's the other part of this is like, can they possibly go defense?
• 9:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Again, after getting rid of McDermott and having all the success they did, even though as someone did point out to me, I mean, their defense has not been great.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so maybe they've fought like McDermott, fell off defensively as well.
• 9:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I, I think that they're going to give Joe Brady a look.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: My guess would be he gets an interview.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I also don't think they're married to keeping him on the staff, because he's looking at hiring an offensive coach.
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: Then the idea of just forcing somebody on him on the side of the ball where his love where that's his area of expertise doesn't make much sense.
• 10:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, so like I like I think Joe Brady will be in the mix and you know, I think the main thing Connor to me is going to be like, how do we move this forward for Josh and you know, I've mentioned this a couple different places now.
• 10:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's I think like what this looks like for Josh.
• 10:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: you have to make it, you have to create something that's going to be sustainable and not just for the next year too.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think back to, you know, conversations I had with Todd Haley in 2012 when he got to Pittsburgh.
• 10:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, he replaced Bruce Ariens there.
• 10:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: And Ben Rothlitzberger had played eight years
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, but it's pretty beat up, you know, and so they had this young group of receivers in Tony O'Brown, Mike Wallace, manual Sanders, and basically the whole idea for Todd was, we want to make this easy on you.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: We want to create easy completions.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: We want to create a scenario where like you don't need to be the battering ram or make big plays on scramble plays and, you know, get your legs chopped out from underneath.
• 11:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: every five or six snaps you know and so like I think that that's going to be kind of I would say that's got to be part of the task for whoever the next coach is is like how do I build something that'll maximize Josh now but also but it'll also sustain him later and you know I just I just think watching him it's like I've never seen it like he just takes so many big hits he don't what I mean like and he's such a battering ram and I I just think they need to
• 11:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: They need to create a scenario where they're going on to the playoffs and like Josh Allen doesn't have three different body parts on the on the injury report, but you know what I mean?
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's true.
• 12:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, and this is where you probably see it and I'm sure, you know, one of the interesting things that someone had kind of put on my plate and again, we're talking about we're reporting on a weather event and it's just started raining.
• 12:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so let's let's take what we're saying with a grain of salt, but these are just the immediate thoughts of what storm team 7 we're storm team 7 Albert and the tornado is is about it is it's still coastal right it's off the coast of the keys.
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's not even it hasn't landed yet, but does that mean I got to go outside find the windiest place possible throw one breaker on the guy's name Jim Cantory.
• 12:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah
• 12:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: So just a quick story.
• 12:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I did that once for the star ledger for Hurricane Irene.
• 12:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: The hurricane Irene was supposed to make landfall in Hoboken.
• 12:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so I had my girlfriend at the time drop me off in Hoboken.
• 13:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a state of emergency.
• 13:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so the only people that were still living there were at a red cross shelter.
• 13:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I got there and I'm like, oh, excited.
• 13:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, I'm going to be Jim Cantoris.
• 13:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is going to be great.
• 13:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to, you know, we had a photographer with me.
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I look around and I was like, oh, shit, I don't have a ring coat, you know, it's gonna, there's gonna be a hurricane that's about to touch down and I don't have a ring coat.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we went to the Red Cross shelter and I made one out of a garbage bag and I stood there like a jerk off the coast of the Hudson River.
• 13:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: A black garbage bag with a black construction garbage bag on for like two hours waiting for the hurricane to make it.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, and then the morning after we're walking around down in the up and down the streets of Hoboken, totally flooded, knee high water, and someone yells out of their apartment, they're like, hey, dude, and I say, dude, because they said something else, they're like, the downed power lines are dipping into the water that you're sitting in, and so they're like, get your ass out of there.
• 14:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so after that, I left
• 14:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: the disasters to Jim Cantoric, because he's a little bit more of a professional than I.
• 14:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is my wheelhouse, I can control this.
• 14:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: But one thing that someone said to me was kind of interesting, you listen to Brandon Bean, the team's general manager, and Brandon goes on radio interviews there, he's combative, he's a big part of the identity of the organization, having him there, and he was just promoted.
• 14:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: After I make friends like that.
• 14:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Go off, you have a present of football.
• 14:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was slid right in there in the press release.
• 14:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: with a big typo bad day for a little bit.
• 14:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: It said something like,
• 14:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll pull it up in a second.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: But what I wanted to say before I lose my trade of thought is that being is a personality unto himself, almost John Schneider like, and you could get away with hiring maybe a younger person because you assume that being is going to fill some of the gap there, at least early on, and allow that person to grow.
• 15:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was just something that was theorized to me, but I do think that that is an interesting component of it.
• 15:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's
• 15:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like I don't know like like beans rolling all this like I just don't know to me.
• 15:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's like
• 15:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: where does he look and I don't know what there's like this deep well of coaches, you know, he had come from, you know, obviously, day ball, you know, and, and, you know, like Joe Brady, so you have some names there from Buffalo, but if you go to Carolina, he's with Ron Rivera, and I'm not sure that we're, you know, he took the bestest, like like the bills took the best assistant off of that staff, that was Sean McDermott, you know,
• 15:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, I think this thing is wide open because of brand and being, you know, and because there's no just like, yep, that one's obvious, like let's get that guy in here.
• 16:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the typo is, quote, Sean has done an admiral job of leading.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, no, no, be.
• 16:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, add admiral, like admiral, like a new, like an admiral in the Navy, that was the spelling of it.
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I guess they're trying to say a job worthy of admiration, however admirable, but like admirable.
• 16:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, and so they give them a rank.
• 16:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: correct.
• 16:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, which you know, make sure it kind of gives off that vibe anyway.
• 16:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So kind of fits.
• 16:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's look at hit this role in all this because he was another text that I got in the immediate aftermath of this first of all.
• 16:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know that it's necessarily Tennessee Albert because they seem down the road on their search, or at least they give me down the rope vibes, but you have Borgonsi there.
• 16:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: You have Matt Nagy as a serious candidate.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, uh,
• 16:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sean McDermott is tied into all the Zandy read assistants that will be read tree like to see come up there.
• 16:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know Yeah
• 16:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: the Tennessee searches is interesting because they have naggy and salad and they're today.
• 17:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Salas on his way there I believe naggy's already there and then halfway tomorrow and you know it does kind of feel like that one is is trending towards being done.
• 17:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: We'll see what Miami does to affect that this afternoon when Jeff Haffley's sitting down with them.
• 17:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: More you asking sorry my head's spinning now.
• 17:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, okay, do the titans at least pause and give McDermott this.
• 17:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because I'm McDermott, right?
• 17:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think like Tennessee should do it Arizona.
• 17:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's the one.
• 17:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Do it.
• 17:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think there are a few where you look at it, and it's like that will kind of be a fit, you know?
• 17:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I like Arizona's the one that sticks out to me, like I'll say, you know, like if you need somebody to come in and kind of,
• 17:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: reestablish some credibility, because I do think Sean's like a, I think he's a credibility higher for someone, right, or he's going to come in and get you back to level ground.
• 17:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if that's what you're looking for, I think Sean's ideal, you know, in a lot of different ways.
• 18:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's handily uncoordered back before he's part of drafting and developing that young quarterback.
• 18:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, I mean, I think Tennessee should think about it.
• 18:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if halfly doesn't wind up getting on plane and going there, and now you're picking between Sala and Nagi, does McDermott, do you say, okay, like, let's just bring him down and see, I don't know that there's gonna be a rush for them to hire either Sala or Nagi.
• 18:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: There would be with halfly, right?
• 18:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I don't know that there's gonna be a rush for them to hire either Nagi or Sala, so maybe they have the flexibility to do that.
• 18:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: correct.
• 18:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But Arizona was the one that was pointed out to me is like, and they seem to me like kind of a sneaky winner in all of this.
• 18:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And here's why, because first they end up dipping a toe in the water, then they just get absolutely railroaded by the cycle turning into one of the most competitive and wide open in in in in in recent NFL history.
• 18:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the shower pool.
• 18:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: with the shallow pool and they are absolutely at the bottom of this totem pool.
• 19:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there's just no way around it, right?
• 19:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: But now what you have is McDermott is a late entry into the market and put is that Cardinals team resembled the bills when Sean took it over.
• 19:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Doesn't it?
• 19:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: A little bit identityless, you know, maybe some of you guys can get up.
• 19:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: You got some players there and like what are they going to become?
• 19:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Trash McBride's like first team all pros.
• 19:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: So he's great, but what are you going to make a Marvin Harrison, Paris Johnson's a nice piece at left tackle?
• 19:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: On defense, you have Walter Nolan,
• 19:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you've got some things that, you know, I think could be nice building blocks, which was sort of what he had in Buffalo, right?
• 19:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, because when he got there at the time, they made a playoff that first year and it was with guys like Kyle Williams, you know, that were that that had been there.
• 19:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so I, like,
• 19:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think it does resemble, does resemble what Buffalo was.
• 20:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't be issue the issue of Arizona or what do you do about the quarterback, you know.
• 20:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's actually a worse contractual situation than to because you have two years not one that I've guaranteed money in them.
• 20:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, that'll be up to Sean to sort out.
• 20:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's good at this stuff.
• 20:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: He'll figure it out.
• 20:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I think that that's one where the cardinals are almost, they were dead in the water in terms of, you know, and I think, and not dead in the water, right?
• 20:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's only 32 of these jobs.
• 20:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: They would have gotten a good candidate.
• 20:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I feel like McDermott entering sort of just forces everyone down one and probably bumps someone up.
• 20:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: So either Arizona gets a slightly better candidate than they would have or maybe they get in the mix for McDermott, I don't know.
• 20:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it probably behooves in to take a year off, but my God, Albert, those numbers are hard to ignore.
• 20:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's weird because, you know, Mike McCarthy, for example, is up there in terms of all time winning percentage and has a Super Bowl and is still a really hard self for some reason, whereas Sean Payton is not.
• 21:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: And even though they're very similar, right, McDermott could be one of those guys that's just has this great career winning percentage has a lot of the intangibles that you look for in a head coach, but for some of your other stuff, which is the greatest part of
• 21:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know what I mean?
• 21:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's all perception Albert.
• 21:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's 100% perception.
• 21:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, because I remember matching up Mike McCarthy and his record with Sean Payton's and you're right.
• 21:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they weren't identical.
• 21:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: They were right there with each other and I think most people would say, well, Sean Payton saved.
• 21:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: saved your breezes career where Mike McCarthy had Brett Farve and then Aaron Rodgers both he was a huge part of developing it on your suit right if you look like the way like for example the way that Rodgers through the ball account and how different that looked three years later when he became the packer star it was night and day
• 21:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: you know, and then and he goes to Dallas and look, not for nothing, they went 12 games three years in a row, you know, like so I have this idea that Dallas was a failure as wrong also.
• 22:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he beat the commanders down the stretch, the idea that they went to the NFC title game with Cooper Rush.
• 22:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 22:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, I mean, you know, but a lot of that, yeah, a lot of that stuff winds up being perception, you know, so yeah.
• 22:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think like with Sean, like McDarmit,
• 22:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you know, I think if you want to be like what the cynics are going to say is that well, like a lot of that success ties to Josh Allen will sure, but he was part of getting him there.
• 22:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: He was part of developing him.
• 22:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 22:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And they made the playoffs his first year there without Josh Allen was a tie-ride tailor.
• 22:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 22:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 22:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So just as far as like drafting and developing talent, you know, managing egos, they had
• 22:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I think he checks a lot of those head coach boxes and I mean, he should be sought after, of course, you know, if you're interviewing him or looking at him as a potential head coach and candidate, then you have to, you have to know what his offense of plans is going to be, it's part of the equation, but like I, I, I'm with you, like I think perception a lot of times ain't right, a reality in these situations.
• 23:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, so let's pivot over to the playoff games that happen because this is going to be a song.
• 23:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: And years ago.
• 23:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but this feels like another lifetime ago and with the with the Buffalo situation in particular, so we had Buffalo and Denver and what we'll hit that first.
• 23:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, that call Albert is.
• 23:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I bet you could tell that McDermott felt a little under pressure with the way that he handled that situation right down to calling the Buffalo News from the airplane and continuing to complain about it after the fact that's not really what a sitting head coach normally does, but
• 23:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: pool report which like I think all of us are in the media are used to getting like the official pool report handed to us on like an actual sheet of paper and the press box you know what I mean like the idea that this impromptu pool report was definitely a little different but I think it's like you said it shows the pressure that everybody was under it's a it's a living breathing pool report in this case but you know
• 24:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's one of those weird situations out where I pointed this out after the Texans game that we are in a defensive counter-revolution period and that's why some of these big game quarterbacks are having bad games.
• 24:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Defenses have evolved.
• 24:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: They've stepped up to the plate and they're more able to combat the McVaze, the Shanna hands, all these guys and the offense is now need to make the next loop in this or this next jump in the cycle.
• 24:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: but some of this was just, I mean, it was bad defense on the part of Buffalo.
• 24:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was uncharacteristic turnovers for Josh Allen, but also just with McDermott involved some strange decision-making.
• 24:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, why are you trying to score points with 10 seconds left in the half instead of just getting out of there?
• 25:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 25:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: Are you running into the middle of the field?
• 25:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's just like the situation over there.
• 25:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: Forget about like the
• 25:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: That was like a cartoon, and it was a cartoonish turnover, you know, like, and it was just like, what are you doing?
• 25:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: So there's that.
• 25:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I, it's actually, to me, like, it's fairly remarkable that they scored 30 points after five turnovers.
• 25:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 25:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if anything, that's happened very often.
• 25:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 25:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I've had some people.
• 25:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's because we get bad defense too.
• 25:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 25:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think I've had some people point that out to me this morning.
• 25:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, Look, Sean is just like the defense isn't necessarily playing well enough to justify, keeping him.
• 25:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: in and of itself, right?
• 25:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because if that's what he's bringing to the table at this point, and it almost reminds me a little bit of the Eagles job or certainly the Steelers job, and my Tomlom wasn't fired, but it's like, okay, we have to keep cycling through offensive coordinators.
• 26:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have to keep looking at different stuff to maximize the quarterback.
• 26:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: When is someone going to turn around to the head coach and be like, hey, what are you doing in all this?
• 26:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: What's your responsibility in this?
• 26:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I know that's a bigger
• 26:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a bigger answer to that than we're saying right here.
• 26:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's not as surface level as it makes it out to be.
• 26:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: But this was a gut check time for McDermott.
• 26:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this was the best chance that they were going to have to make the Super Bowl in the Josh Allen era.
• 26:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Next year it's going to be back to a slot man.
• 26:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Burrow is going to be back.
• 26:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Lamar is going to be back.
• 26:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: My home is going to be back.
• 26:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: All these guys are going to be in the mix again.
• 26:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and I can't help but think to again, like when you're talking, so I don't know if I've mentioned this to you before, but I had like somebody a really smart, a really smart, like far off as guy say to me that, um, they had a theory that, um, and I know, I know Tom Brady describes this theory too, um, that's with more mobile quarterbacks who run a lot.
• 27:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: what you see is towards the end of the year their mechanics start to suffer because they've been hit so much and then you get into the playoffs when the windows are shorter when the game plans are more precise when you have to throw into shorter windows and because their mechanics are a little off they have a harder time doing it.
• 27:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I just, I thought about that when Josh Allen missed Dawson Knox and I thought about that on the Brandon Cooks throw, you know, like where that throw could have been a little bit better, you know?
• 27:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you just wonder if like those little things wind up costing you in a high-level spot like that.
• 27:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, I mean, just an incredible game and we haven't even gotten to like the story
• 27:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I mean like Josh Allen it showed like Josh Allen's ability to be Superman and carry the team and also some of the things that are still holding him back
• 28:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sean Peyton comes back out and announces that Bonaix is going to be out for the duration of the playoff.
• 28:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's going to get surgery for a broken ankle, broke his ankle on the second-of-last play of the game.
• 28:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: For everyone who describes to like the Sean Peyton doom and gloom theory, it's like, okay, well, this is what happens, either the world or the NFL or both, you know, conspire against him to get back to a Super Bowl.
• 28:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, Jared Stidham is pretty good.
• 28:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if you remember his last NFL start.
• 28:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: with the Raiders but it was really good.
• 28:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that was the first free agent that Sean Payton signed when he went to Denver.
• 28:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think as sort of a chess move to back him against Russell Wilson.
• 28:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: So 100 percent got my attention.
• 28:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: By the way, before we get going to that, did you see the tweet about Sean Payton's get up at the second press conference?
• 28:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: He was wearing a little car heart.
• 28:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: Look like a warmer jacket a little bit.
• 28:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: So a bit.
• 28:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 28:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: The super 70s sports account, which is pretty funny.
• 29:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Love that.
• 29:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm tweeted, Peyton looks like a small town sheriff from Wyoming, who's tracking a serial killer in a paramount plus original series.
• 29:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Pretty good.
• 29:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is good.
• 29:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's solid.
• 29:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's solid.
• 29:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I love it.
• 29:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your guy.
• 29:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm your G.
• 29:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so, um, you know what, I, like, the Jared stood up stories fascinating because you have a guy who was like a high end recruit went to Bailer, got caught up in the art Briles thing, right, like had nothing to do with him, but he was collateral damage in that whole thing goes to Auburn, which wasn't a great place for a quarterback and his skill set to develop.
• 29:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then the Patriots take a chance on him, right?
• 29:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm not convinced he wouldn't have been the Patriots quarterback in 2020 were it not for COVID, but COVID hits, they have no offseason, so they want to bring in somebody more experience, they sign Cam Newton.
• 29:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Then Josh McDaniels goes to Vegas in 22 trades for him, has him in Vegas for a year as Derek Car's backup.
• 30:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: He actually plays that year, as you said, right?
• 30:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: They want to compete with Jimmy Garoppolo, but then he takes a better deal in Denver.
• 30:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: In the minute he signed that deal, it was two years, 10 million, I'm like, that's a pretty significant backup quarterback deal.
• 30:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that was like to me like the first sign like Sean Payne's not really in on Russell Wilson.
• 30:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know?
• 30:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so they go through those two years, and after those two years, this past March, they resound them again at two years and 12 million.
• 30:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you can say what you will about Jared Stitton, they clearly think something's there, and he played well in the preseason, and he's beloved in that locker room, and he better really healthy quarterback room, he's super close with Bonix.
• 30:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Here's my question, I think Sean Payton is a good enough offensive coach to
• 30:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I said to replicate what bonus could give you for the first three quarters of a game first three and a half quarters of a game right what bonus has been this this this year.
• 31:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's sort of the the the the the the next in the lineage of like Joe Flacco and Eli Manning right which is are they great all the time no.
• 31:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: But when you get them in a playoff setting, they're not going to blink, they're very level and they make huge throws because they're just flat line in those big spots, right?
• 31:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that to me is what bone next what, bone next means so many big throws and big spots this year for all the criticism that he got, he made one on Saturday, like that throw to fort that that wound up forcing overtime, right, to Marvin Mims was fricking incredible.
• 31:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, like, can still make those throws, right?
• 31:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Can he make the four or five throws are going to need the fourth quarter against doing one?
• 31:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I, you know, I think that's what it comes down to, but also like we're, we're, we're in this weird spot with QB development in the NFL, we're like, Bonyx is not even two full years into his NFL career in Jared Stitham.
• 32:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think is in a sixth or a seventh NFL season.
• 32:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so I would look at that as closer to equal or on part two.
• 32:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you're right.
• 32:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it just comes down to
• 32:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: That clutch gene, which got bone extracted in the first round anyway, versus whatever Stidom did or did not have.
• 32:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the fact that Stidom is comfortable, he's secure there.
• 32:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's got a relationship with the head coach.
• 32:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that's all that matters when you're putting together a game plan like that.
• 32:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like I would absolutely not be surprised if he goes out and wins that game.
• 32:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: And
• 32:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: And in a tough blow to the Conoror narrative holds up and solidifies Sean Payton is probably the greatest quarterback whisper of our time and generation.
• 32:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: So they shared journalism in the Super Bowl would be the perfect summation of this season.
• 33:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, and it's got the Peyton who is with the Giants and then Jeff Haustetler vibes and then Haustetler going into that super bowl and you know, and Nick Folls beat the name for it.
• 33:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's been in the panel where you have that chip.
• 33:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Nick Folls is tweet was great.
• 33:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: By the way, basically said the Patriots are vulnerable to backup quarterbacks, which was just a killer very funny.
• 33:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then in the past interference, penalties helped Sean Peyton advance.
• 33:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Going back to that game against Sean McVay in the 18 NFC championship game and maybe I'm stretching things here, but then could he meet McVay again in the in Super Bowl 60 lots of lots of parallels there again, I may be stretching that one a little bit, but a lot of bills players tweeting heartbreak emojis today.
• 33:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think this is an emotional.
• 33:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just an emotional decision here.
• 33:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's what he's been there a long time.
• 33:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's very well respected and I'm not surprised that a lot of people there feel strongly about him.
• 34:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: You think about guys like Deon Dawkins and Trudevians White who were like ground floor guys with him.
• 34:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: Jordan Poir are still there.
• 34:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: He was one of the first free Asian signings.
• 34:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, Matt Milano, like they're a ton of guys who, and that's before you even get to Josh Allen, ton of guys that were long-term guys there that are obviously gonna have strong feelings for.
• 34:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, let's get to the other good game.
• 34:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then we'll talk about the clunkers here.
• 34:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know the bad game is talking to the bad games.
• 34:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so we had, we had Chicago and the Rams, which to me, it did live up to the hype, a little bit lower scoring in these offenses were a bit hot and cold, and the game ends up going into overtime.
• 34:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was exciting.
• 34:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was a high level football.
• 34:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean the cold definitely affected everything.
• 34:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: The cayenne pepper thing too do you believe that that actually worked?
• 34:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I talked to Cam curl after the game and he said like he didn't do it but everybody else is saying it actually worked.
• 35:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the whole thing so for those of you didn't see it, the players were putting cayenne pepper in their socks and I guess it's just like ground cayenne pepper like from your spice cabinet and you can see Matt Verrem who worked with us staff writer.
• 35:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: He tweeted like red socks like powdered socks littered on the floor of the locker and to me I'm like.
• 35:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Technologically is this where we are with like, you know, the Rams had Matthew Staffard in an air stream trailer with like a shocking his spinal cord with like healing juice and now we're just jamming a crush right now to a little
• 35:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: But let's do our socks, whatever, this is a strange time we live in, so I'm not criticizing any of you, but I think that the central thing that people will go back to from this game Albert, and I, I thought,
• 35:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've bought Ben Johnson's decision making here, and I know I'm a little bit of a Ben Johnson Stan, and that's okay, but I've gotten after him a couple of times this year is the fact that he's like, no, I didn't go for two to prevent this game from going into over time, specifically because
• 36:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I guess this immediately after my short yardage packages were not hitting in this game.
• 36:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were not hitting.
• 36:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: So from zero to five to four down.
• 36:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, their fourth down percentage was not good.
• 36:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, and if you want to like the Caleb throw, unbelievable, that I was unbelievable.
• 36:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: And maybe even like more incredible than the fourth down throw against the packers the week before.
• 36:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it's not like that was the plan.
• 36:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
• 36:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's not like, yeah, what Ben called their words.
• 36:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, that was just Caleb and Cole commit doing something we're absolutely ridiculous.
• 36:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then I think they scored the bare scored on a fourth down in the first quarter, but other than that, they'd missed three fourth downs.
• 37:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: And like, one was the pick, right?
• 37:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: The other was, was Spates knocking the ball away
• 37:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I can't remember who was Swift or Mnongai, who got stacked up in the backfield.
• 37:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, I mean, what he's saying is correct.
• 37:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: We saw their short yardage packages and those fourth downs when you have to have it.
• 37:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if you'd already spend, you know, however many play calls that you had for those situations, and it hadn't worked, you're already down the list and what you've been doing wasn't working.
• 37:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you'd be going to something you probably didn't like as much as the previous plays.
• 37:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, and again, that shows flexibility.
• 37:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not being tied to some sort of ideology, but I compared it to, and then you had Caleb Williams throwing the pick and over time, and I compared that to, that's like a great, you're watching like a horror movie, and like about 20 minutes into the horror movie.
• 37:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're like, remember, there's a chainsaw over here somewhere, and then you forget about it, and then at the end you're like, oh yeah, I forgot.
• 38:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: As many times as Caleb Williams does something spectacular and amazing,
• 38:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Remember earlier in the season when he was also doing things like this and it was part of the growing pains and then we just forgot that that happened until over time against a good crucial defense like this stuff always comes back around a little bit you know you never completely shed who you are and if you're going to benefit from the best of Caleb Williams this also comes with it to a certain degree.
• 38:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, I don't know, I feel like the bears are in a really good place with Caleb Williams now in general and like that throw, I mean, that was insane and like the and look like, do you think, do you hang the pick on him?
• 38:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Caleb, not necessarily.
• 38:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: No, I would have to know a little bit more about like to what like, because these are more did slow down there and it felt to me watching that play.
• 38:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: like Cam Curl ran his route form, you know, and so I mean, I don't really know that was Caleb's fault.
• 39:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Caleb was trying to throw that ball with anticipation and more taking his foot off the gas.
• 39:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now, it's possible that more like what he's supposed to do in that situation is try to sit down and find a hole, you know, in the coverage.
• 39:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it sure looked to me and I think they said it on the broadcast too, right?
• 39:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, like Caleb was expecting him to keep.
• 39:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like going on the, like keep going across, you know, on the overout.
• 39:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, um, yeah, I mean, I, I, I don't know.
• 39:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like I think on balance, like you got big progress from Caleb Williams this year, I'd feel really good about where I was with him going forward.
• 39:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: 100% that's why like most of these teams that are remaining save for the Rams and I hate to put this on them, but the Rams are the only one that should be here, like that we expected.
• 39:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we have like this big like house money argument up here in the Boston area that maybe I'm responsible for starting and it's cause big fights on sports radio and I guess I'm proud of that that I'm trying to turn it in Boston.
• 40:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: No, yes, so which like actually you know what it's funny let me Emily sent me a text last night.
• 40:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, I may have to get Twitter again.
• 40:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: The personal tax against you and the patriots are good are fun to read.
• 40:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, no.
• 40:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: I just read some on Reddit.
• 40:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: On Reddit, I'm not thick skin enough for that platform.
• 40:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: So if you sent me a reddit headline, what is that was Albert Brears, the most condescending jerk in the Boston media.
• 40:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: Not that media, just the Boston media in general.
• 40:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Some kind of proud of that one.
• 40:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 40:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, so, but there's been this big argument over over how
• 40:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: So like I've made the argument that the Patriots are playing with house money, which a lot of people have gotten upset with me about and I've said like well your problem is you're looking at one team You're not looking at all 32 and so I went through it and I said like look like if you are the bills and you don't win the Super Bowl this season is a failure If you're the packers to some degree in the area traded for Mike a Parsons and you don't advance the playoffs this season is a failure um if you are
• 41:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: And there weren't a ton of these, but if you're the Rams with Stafford, right?
• 41:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like the Team Uchist mentioned, if you're the Rams with Stafford, and you don't win the Super Bowl, because you don't owe me a shot, you don't have love with them.
• 41:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: This season is a failure.
• 41:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 41:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: How many teams can we say about that aim?
• 41:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: The Rams are the only one.
• 41:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right, the Rams are the only one that we can look at and say, that team's not playing with house money, that team's capitalized now.
• 41:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, whereas I think with the other three, you're looking at it and saying, well, the Broncos lost bone nicks.
• 41:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like they can go out and just let it ride on Sunday against the Patriots.
• 41:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: The Patriots have a 23 year old quarterback in a first year head coach.
• 42:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right, Seattle is on the front end of something that looks like it's going to be incredible for the next five years, you know, so I think like you're right, like there's I'll bring that house money argument to the to the MMQB podcast.
• 42:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think the Rams are the only team left that it isn't playing with house money right now.
• 42:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I agree.
• 42:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: I totally agree.
• 42:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Which is kind of fun, right?
• 42:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a freeing aspect to this.
• 42:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like Sean, by the way, it was my tone condescending there.
• 42:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm just trying to be self-aware about this.
• 42:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've been my partner now in crime for the better part of we've been working together for if you include NFL network more than I got here.
• 42:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: so I don't I don't personally find you condescending no so maybe I have a tone issue I don't know listen coming from people in Boston
• 42:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just going to say that that is spot calling the kettle black all the way around.
• 42:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, and maybe that's projecting because a lot of people... You brought it to my environment, yeah.
• 42:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people there sound incredibly condescending and are maybe just trying to push that off onto one person and you're very brave for wearing that on your shoulders and taking the weight of that for everybody.
• 43:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Not seeing it is a metal form, but I'm also saying, I'm not saying that I don't either.
• 43:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm with you.
• 43:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's let, you know, the Nobel Peace Prize is just getting bandied about now.
• 43:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, let's see if Albert can get his hands on it while we're at it.
• 43:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we have, yeah, Sean Peyton calling plays for a backup quarterback.
• 43:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have Drake May in his second season and Mike Raeble, like whatever, you won four games last year.
• 43:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, and I think that there's an absolute undeniable beauty in all that.
• 43:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: You have Mike McDonald and the Seahawks and I would argue that they're probably a little bit closer to the Rams Albert where I think that you have a veteran quarterback, yeah, some of your better defensive players are older.
• 43:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's like a hundred Williams earn it.
• 43:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah.
• 44:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you have a little bit of that.
• 44:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: with the seahawks.
• 44:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I just think that there's something freeing about us not having to talk about the chiefs manufacturing of victory in the playoffs.
• 44:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we should enjoy it because they're going to be back next year, knowing the hell out of us anyways.
• 44:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: See you by the, I've seen the narrative already that the NFC championship games in Super Bowl.
• 44:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, because it's not the Super Bowl.
• 44:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know what I mean?
• 44:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, you know what I'm saying, though, like about it.
• 44:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: But like, what is Mike Tomlin say?
• 44:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, you know, if my aunt had male parts, she'd be my uncle, it's like, yeah, man, it's like, okay, I get it.
• 44:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there are probably a lot of times when that happens.
• 44:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we could have said the opposite about the AFC championship game last year.
• 44:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, a little bit, because what?
• 44:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was Bill, it was Eagles commanders, and it was just an absolute slaughter.
• 44:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, I don't know.
• 44:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I mean, I never knew how good the Eagles were last year though.
• 44:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 44:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's true.
• 44:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I think everybody knew like that was a loaded roster and I don't think anybody went into the Super Bowl thinking that the Eagles couldn't win.
• 45:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think they're going to be people who don't think that about the Broncos if they advance.
• 45:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't know that it's quite the same with the Patriots, but it feels to me like,
• 45:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think we all have that game that Thursday night came on our mind, you know, the the one in December, where like it just it felt like that was a preview to something bigger and now we're here and I I
• 45:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like I can see where people would think like, okay, whoever wins that game is the most important party to e-cider, right?
• 45:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Really quickly, well, real quick.
• 45:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: You wanted the ox like what they did because I thought that was ridiculous.
• 45:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: We need to do it.
• 45:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I mean, I think it was over like instantly.
• 45:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's a good nine-ners team, like, yes, they're incredibly beat up, but like, like, I, that thing was over, like, within 10 minutes of real time.
• 46:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Shocking, but also, I think to me, a signal of the 49ers, just finally, yeah, they're slogan is all gas.
• 46:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, bro.
• 46:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: The tank, the tank finally hit E.
• 46:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they should have, you know, I mean, it's not like you could hit the brakes more and I don't think breaking really saves you on gas, but you know, it's one of those things where you just kind of run out of gas a little bit.
• 46:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and I thought the Patriots, like, I don't know, that was such a sloppy game like I it was hard for me to take a ton away from Rams bears because the conditions and it wasn't to that degree with Patriots Texans, but.
• 46:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And just the sloppiness of the game over the pages, deepens has really showed me something in the last couple of weeks though.
• 46:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm interested to see how that looks in Denver against a Sean Peyton let off.
• 46:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's even if it is, Jared stood in the quarterback.
• 46:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: we're gonna need a whole other show and we're running out of time a little bit today we're gonna need a whole other show for Albert to talk about CJ Stroud I would guess but I say I mean you know like I said like I said on Twitter yesterday you know like when you went to school or I went to like you're kind of a winner and loser and every NFL game you know on one side
• 47:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: On one side you have the quarterback.
• 47:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: On the other side, you've got the head coach, the defensive coordinator and the running back.
• 47:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, I mean, that was 20 fuel.
• 47:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of people were like, dunking on me for CJ Strahd after the yesterday.
• 47:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, do you, do you know where the head coach went to school?
• 47:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Or the other team said coach went to school.
• 47:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: You wear that.
• 47:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, I have like, I'm not quite sure that you've put those things together yet.
• 47:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: But my only thought of the matter is, and I thought Acme touched on it very briefly, but also in a little disjoined at way said, making it set something as wrong with CJ Stroud, and they need to get it fixed.
• 47:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then in another section, and it was interesting, Albert, because he's helping the Dolphins with their GM search, was talking up Bobby Slowick, as Stroud's old offensive coordinator, who did a lot of heavy lifting from Mike McDaniel this year on that Dolphins team, and his now-getting looks as an offensive coordinator.
• 48:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know exactly what Eggman was getting at, but you know, maybe there's some stuff with stroud personally that needs to get straightened out, maybe his own expectations, what he needs to do.
• 48:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have a lot of decisions to make this.
• 48:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: They have a huge decision to make on the fifth year option, obviously, the extension, like he's eligible for one for the first time.
• 48:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: So what do you do if you're Houston?
• 48:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we've seen now examples of teams going in early and like paying a price for it, Arizona with Kyla Murray, you know, like where teams went all in on the quarterback,
• 48:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: before they had to.
• 48:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: And maybe should have been a little bit more patient.
• 48:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it'll be interesting to see the way that Houston addresses this going forward because he shows so much potentials of rookie and it just hasn't been there since.
• 48:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I also think this, like if there are teams that like them, they're going to call Houston.
• 48:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: you know what I mean like it's just it's a natural there aren't this isn't a great quarterback draft coming you have for me no windows going to the to the to the raiders first overall presumably but after that there's not a lot of depth so if you're you know a team like the jets or whatever that's out there um the browns that that that that may not have a clear passive quarterback you know and you like shroud you make that phone call I
• 49:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just going to be an interesting offseason from that perspective.
• 49:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Two big news items here is we close out the show Albert Zach Sharbinay out for the playoffs with the knee injury.
• 49:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So a big blow for the seep marks.
• 49:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Good player.
• 49:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: And Richie in Cognito says the radar should hire Sean McDermott.
• 49:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: So take that where you will Albert and in Cognito has weighed in on the situation.
• 49:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: There you go.
• 49:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, if Ferti says it must be so.
• 49:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, if he said it to me, I would just do it because I'm afraid of them, you know, more than anything else.
• 49:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I actually got a lot of great with Fritchie and I don't hate the idea of that Tom Brady did go up against Sean McDermott in the division, you know?
• 49:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we've seen Brady kind of lean on his own experiences as a player and like this guy or that guy was hard to go up
• 50:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: I could do it again like I think you know I'll make sure I could make some sense for the writers and you know you just want to get in on that you want to get in on that Brady head coaching interview gambit because you get to go down to Miami and meet with them in South Beach.
• 50:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's pretty nice.
• 50:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
• 50:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
• 50:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Life is good.
• 50:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Alright guys, thanks for sticking with us.
• 50:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to be back Wednesday, and we can clean up a little bit of the strout conversation a day later, which we will, and then we'll get to the conference title games.
• 50:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll be in Denver.
• 50:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's very exciting.
• 50:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you did do that too.
• 50:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll be there too.
• 50:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 50:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: So maybe some, maybe some sushi on Pearl Street for Albert and I, then quite the big game.
• 50:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Have you ever had the Flame and Yon roll there?
• 50:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: I know, I have not.
• 50:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah.
• 50:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the last time I went, they were like, sir, there's only six roles left for the entire restaurant and I was like, not to be a dick.
• 50:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I'm actually going to take it out.
• 50:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because you usually order everything.
• 51:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm doing this.
• 51:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 51:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 51:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: We got to finale expense as how we can.
• 51:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: But you should dress like Sean Payton at that press conference.
• 51:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: A couple of small town Wyoming sheriffs.
• 51:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: looking like extras from landman season two.
• 51:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, guys, well, thank you very much.
• 51:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: We will see you soon and we'll be back Wednesday Thursday with the new episode of the MMQB NFL podcast.