Latest / NFL Game Previews / NFL REPORT: Game of the Week: 49ers Eagles, NFC Defensive Player of the Week Jessie Bates III & Hall of Fame Semifinalist Eddie George

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NFL REPORT: Game of the Week: 49ers Eagles, NFC Defensive Player of the Week Jessie Bates III & Hall of Fame Semifinalist Eddie George · NFL Game Previews

0:05
Speaker 1: I'm Jason Kelsey and you're watching the NFL Report.
0:09
Speaker 2: All right, Welcome to the NFL Report. I'm Steve White
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Speaker 2: here with my guy James Palmer and JP. We're not
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Speaker 2: going to linger too much in this a block because
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Speaker 2: we have a loaded show.
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Speaker 3: We have got the.
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Speaker 2: NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Falcon safety Jesse Bates.
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Speaker 2: We have Tennessee State head football coach Eddie George Oh who,
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Speaker 2: by the way, was named one of twenty five Pro
0:30
Speaker 2: Football Hall of Fame semi finalists for the class It's
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Speaker 2: a Buck guy at twenty twenty four, it's about right.
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Speaker 4: To say, JP, it's a Buck guy.
0:37
Speaker 2: But JP, we're looking at the week thirteen football schedule.
0:40
Speaker 2: It's kind of like you walk into a real fancy
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Speaker 2: restaurant and you'll look at the menu and you're kind
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Speaker 2: of like, I'm not seeing a lot of stuff.
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Speaker 4: I like right here.
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Speaker 2: But JP, there are two beautiful entrees on here. We
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Speaker 2: have got the forty nine Ers at the Eagles. We've
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Speaker 2: got the Broncos at some Texans tapus on there as well.
1:02
Speaker 2: But James, let's look at the big game of the week,
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Speaker 2: and that's the Eagles and forty nine is rematch of
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Speaker 2: the NFC Championship game, and take it from a different
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Speaker 2: perspective because there's two coaches in this game who aren't
1:15
Speaker 2: getting talked about enough with his versioning rivalry.
1:19
Speaker 5: No, and I don't think Nick Sirianni gets talked about enough,
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Speaker 5: maybe outside of the Delaware Valley in the Philadelphia area,
1:25
Speaker 5: maybe because of the way he rubs some opposing fan
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Speaker 5: bases with the way that he eats acts postgame and
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Speaker 5: pregame during the week. But I will say this, Nick
1:34
Speaker 5: Sirowanni needs to be in the discussion for Coach of
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Speaker 5: the Year with what he's gone through and what he
1:39
Speaker 5: has done with this team, the best record in all football.
1:41
Speaker 5: They're eleven and one. He lost both coordinators. He is
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Speaker 5: maybe the most competitive person. I could lose the word.
1:47
Speaker 5: Maybe he is the most competitive person in that entire building.
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Speaker 5: And the only thing I think Stevie likes more than
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Speaker 5: competing and winning is situational football. I think we do
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Speaker 5: have to give him his flowers in a sense to
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Speaker 5: where he spends war time maybe on situational football than
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Speaker 5: any coach in all of football. I've watched it firsthand
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Speaker 5: in training camp, the way they go through end to
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Speaker 5: half end of game and he is laid into Jalen Hurts.
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Speaker 5: I've seen it firsthand in terms of maybe mismanaging the
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Speaker 5: clock by a few seconds and able to give Jake
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Speaker 5: Elliott time during practice to kick a game winner or
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Speaker 5: a game tiger. But the way that they have gotten
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Speaker 5: better throughout games they have had poor starts, the way
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Speaker 5: they don't panic, the way that they adjust throughout the
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Speaker 5: course of a game, Steve, and the way that they
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Speaker 5: have played. They are five to zero this season when
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Speaker 5: trailing at halftime. They're the only team with a winning record.
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Speaker 5: The rest of the league is thirty five and one
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Speaker 5: twenty nine. He just finds ways to win football games,
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Speaker 5: and I think he deserves a lot of credit for
2:43
Speaker 5: the way the Eagles have won football games because they've
2:46
Speaker 5: all been close this year.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm met with you, Nick Serryani to me, he
2:49
Speaker 2: doesn't get enough discussion about doing a great job over
2:52
Speaker 2: the past two years. The Eagles are tied for the
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Speaker 2: best regular season record. That says a lot when you
2:56
Speaker 2: look at some of the key players they've lost, Javon Hargrave,
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Speaker 2: the safeties that they lost, you know, Chauncey Gardner, Johnson,
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Speaker 2: you mentioned they lost both of their coordinators and he
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Speaker 2: just keeps winning while as you said, grating opposing fan
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Speaker 2: bases and grading coaches on other teams. We both know this.
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Speaker 2: There's not a lot of love for this guy. The
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Speaker 2: way he kind of rubs it in people. He is
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Speaker 2: himself and that's the thing.
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Speaker 4: I think.
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Speaker 2: The authenticity is why the players buy in. While you
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Speaker 2: can have veterans Mike Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham and
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Speaker 2: young people come in and work together and grow, and
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Speaker 2: his player development is one of the best things that
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Speaker 2: he does. Let's flip it over to the other side though,
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Speaker 2: at Kyle Shanahan, and we all know how great of
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Speaker 2: an offensive coach he is, but I want to give
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Speaker 2: him his props, especially come into a game like this.
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Speaker 2: This is gonna be a very interesting game because we
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Speaker 2: know the players have been barking. But the way he
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Speaker 2: brings in someone like Chase Young, yes again Kyle offensive coach,
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Speaker 2: Chase hung in there, gets him ready right away. The
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Speaker 2: way Kyle has coached up his coaches, he loses a
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Speaker 2: fleet every year, continues to develop guys to promote from
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Speaker 2: within or hire someone like a Steve Wilkes and get
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Speaker 2: his guys going. I think the matchup for this game
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Speaker 2: and the way they are both going to be prepared
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Speaker 2: is KEYJP. I think the lead in the second half,
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Speaker 2: though depending who has it, could determine the outcome based
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Speaker 2: on how both of these teams have worked out.
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Speaker 5: Since twenty seventeen. You let us right into it, Steve
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Speaker 5: one and thirty when trailing by more than three points
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Speaker 5: entering the fourth quarter are the San Francisco forty nine
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Speaker 5: or that is a far cry from what we.
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Speaker 3: Have seen is stunning.
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Speaker 5: What we have seen from the Philadelphia Eagles late in
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Speaker 5: games where they almost have that belief in that confidence
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Speaker 5: that I think starts from their head coach and is
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Speaker 5: also right there with their quarterback in Jalen Hurts that
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Speaker 5: there is just a sense we are going to win
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Speaker 5: these games late. Does Kyle Shanahan get that kind of
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Speaker 5: proverbial monkey off his back in a sense, because that
4:56
Speaker 5: really might be Steve And this is why we're bringing
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Speaker 5: it up, mainly because this could be close game, but
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Speaker 5: also that might be the only knock you have on
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Speaker 5: Kyle Shanahan as a coach. Is the way some of
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Speaker 5: these things have happened at the back end of games yeah.
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Speaker 2: JP, And the other game we're talking about is going
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Speaker 2: to be the Broncos, winners of five in a row at.
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Speaker 4: The Houston Texans.
5:14
Speaker 2: Who's coach, Demiko Ryans could have been the head coach
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Speaker 2: at Denver When we look at the interview cycle, we're
5:19
Speaker 2: not going to talk about Demiko much today because we
5:22
Speaker 2: talked about him a lot on the show. He clearly
5:24
Speaker 2: should be in the Coach of the Year conversation with JP.
5:28
Speaker 2: Tell us about the job that Sean Payton has done
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Speaker 2: after being on kind of the Nathaniel Hackett plank, after
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Speaker 2: all that Wolf and he did in the offseason and
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Speaker 2: starting off as slow as they did.
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Speaker 5: I love that he said all that steam they have
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Speaker 5: this terrible start and what happens.
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Speaker 3: He still doesn't blink, He still doesn't.
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Speaker 5: Flinch when they're one in five standing behind what he said,
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Speaker 5: and now they're on this five game win streak and
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Speaker 5: why are they? And when I talk to people in
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Speaker 5: the building, these are the main things that I hear.
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Speaker 5: One he established a formula for winning. You know what
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Speaker 5: that formula is, don't lose the game, don't find ways
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Speaker 5: to lose games. And they're running the football really constantly
6:07
Speaker 5: thirty one rushes per game during this win streak. And
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Speaker 5: what I go back and look at free agency Steve,
6:13
Speaker 5: what did he do on the offensive line when got
6:15
Speaker 5: Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers, who were known for what
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Speaker 5: road rats they are run blockers, and when they were
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Speaker 5: throwing the football a lot in the early portion of
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Speaker 5: the season. Those that offensive line was getting worked now
6:26
Speaker 5: and we'll talk about it with Ryan Baldinger later in
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Speaker 5: Baldy's Favorite Films about how this offensive line has come together.
6:32
Speaker 5: Running the football has been a big part of it,
6:34
Speaker 5: but the special teams some of the best in all
6:36
Speaker 5: of football. The defense turning the football over and the
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Speaker 5: offense protecting it. Russell Wilson look for one guy he's
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Speaker 5: not there, Maybe scramble for five and slide. It is
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Speaker 5: a very efficient offense that doesn't make a lot of mistakes.
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Speaker 5: An entire formula is established by Sean Payton. He's playing
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Speaker 5: himself into a Coach of the Year candidacy this season.
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Speaker 4: And there you go.
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Speaker 3: JP.
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Speaker 2: Also, you mentioned that Brian Baldinger will be joining us
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Speaker 2: with his film break Down to the Broncos and more.
7:02
Speaker 2: Hory Well Leslie Fraser will be joining us on the
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Speaker 2: show as well, talk about the interim coach situation.
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Speaker 4: He's lived it.
7:09
Speaker 2: But next coming up, Falcon safety Jesse.
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Speaker 3: Bates, the thief.
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Speaker 6: There you go, NFC South on the NFL Report after
7:18
Speaker 6: the break, Falcons coming after car picked up, picked off
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Speaker 6: Jesse Bates.
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Speaker 3: He's got a sut bakes to midfield to the forty,
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Speaker 3: to the thirty, to the twenty.
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Speaker 7: No question, pick six you flax or what a massive play?
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Speaker 7: What a game change you play for Jesse Bates in
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Speaker 7: the Atlanta.
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Speaker 5: Falcons while at Monster Play a ninety two yard interception
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Speaker 5: return for a touchdown by the one and only Jesse Bates,
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Speaker 5: star safety for the Atlanta Falcons and the NFC's Defensive
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Speaker 5: Player of the Week twelve tackle Jesse. It wasn't just
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Speaker 5: the pick. We also had a monster force fumble on
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Speaker 5: Taysom Hill as well. An unbelievable performance when you guys
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Speaker 5: needed it. Let's go to the pick though, because I'm
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Speaker 5: always curious about this. Nobody's near you, Jesse, right and
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Speaker 5: you're going down the sideline. What goes through your head?
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Speaker 5: Is it like, please don't have a turf monster situation?
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Speaker 5: Do you look up at the screen, what happens for
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Speaker 5: ninety two yards run us through it?
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Speaker 8: Yeah, I think you you first you worry about catching
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Speaker 8: the ball, and then the second thing is don't fall.
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Speaker 8: Why don't don't embarrass yourself while you're running to the
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Speaker 8: ends all you know that guy, I kind of caught
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Speaker 8: it on the run, so there was nobody really chasing me.
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Speaker 8: So I wish I would have had a better celebration
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Speaker 8: playing right off the right off the jump, But you know,
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Speaker 8: as a team got down there with me, we kind
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Speaker 8: of settled down, took a deep breath, and we had
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Speaker 8: a cool celebration that I think our media team catched.
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Speaker 8: It was nice the moment for us, it was good.
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Speaker 2: But Jesse, there's nothing you could have done that could
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Speaker 2: have you know, trumped the ludicrous from the ceiling at
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Speaker 2: the beginning of the game. I don't know if you're
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Speaker 2: on the field for that.
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Speaker 3: That was insane.
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Speaker 2: So we talked about the ninety two yarder. But you
9:08
Speaker 2: already have four interceptions for the season. I mean that
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Speaker 2: that that ties your career high. You guys still have
9:13
Speaker 2: plenty of football left. What is going on schematically or
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Speaker 2: what you guys are doing defensively that might put you
9:20
Speaker 2: in position to make some of the plays that you're making.
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Speaker 8: Yeah, I think everyone kind of sees those plays that
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Speaker 8: I make, but it's really a reflection of what our
9:28
Speaker 8: defense is all about.
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Speaker 9: You know.
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Speaker 8: I can't do those things without you know, the other
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Speaker 8: ten guys doing their job. I think people see that
9:35
Speaker 8: punch out. If you know, my fellow safety next to me, Richie,
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Speaker 8: doesn't make that open field tackle with a great you know,
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Speaker 8: open field tackle with a bunch of space, I wouldn't
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Speaker 8: be able to punch that ball out.
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Speaker 9: So I give all the credit to my guys. You know,
9:49
Speaker 9: we work hard.
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Speaker 8: There's been ups and downs throughout the season, but no
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Speaker 8: one has has questioned that the character has been great
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Speaker 8: for us. The mindset, everything has been great for us
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Speaker 8: on defensive end. So just continue to lead and continue
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Speaker 8: to grow as a team.
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Speaker 5: We talk a lot on the phone, Jesse over the
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Speaker 5: last couple of years. Modesty is a tremendous quality you have.
10:12
Speaker 5: But let's throw that aside for a moment here. You
10:14
Speaker 5: don't win Defensive Player of the Week and you don't
10:17
Speaker 5: have the career you have without the work you put
10:19
Speaker 5: in Monday through Saturday with these picks that you've had, specifically,
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Speaker 5: this one you just had on Sunday. How much of
10:26
Speaker 5: this is the study that you put in and when
10:29
Speaker 5: it kind of lines up from.
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Speaker 3: What you've seen in the work you've put in during
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Speaker 3: the week, is.
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Speaker 5: There a split second where you're like, yep, this is
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Speaker 5: what I've stuck and then you make the play. How
10:39
Speaker 5: does that work? Because I know you study like unbelievable.
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Speaker 8: Since absolutely, I feel like that's been a bigger you know,
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Speaker 8: challenge for me is to step in that leadership role
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Speaker 8: and bring other guys with me when I'm studying film
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Speaker 8: during those off days, when we have those extra meetings.
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Speaker 9: Those things pay off.
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Speaker 8: I always tell the guys, if you want to touch
11:00
Speaker 8: the ball in a game, we got touched the ball
11:02
Speaker 8: throughout the week, throughout practice. You know, those those cut
11:05
Speaker 8: ups that coaches put out for us. I mean that
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Speaker 8: is it all comes down to that and then just
11:10
Speaker 8: being able to take a.
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Speaker 9: Deep breath and translate it over to the field.
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Speaker 8: I think that's where you know greatness is is inserted.
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Speaker 2: So you mentioned leadership, and this is interesting because I
11:22
Speaker 2: look at how your rosters put together this offseason when
11:24
Speaker 2: they made so many free agent moves, especially on defense,
11:27
Speaker 2: but they added you Kaleis Campbell, David Anyamana, John neu Smith,
11:31
Speaker 2: Bud Dupree, all guys who have made playoff runs right,
11:35
Speaker 2: have played deep into the playoffs.
11:36
Speaker 4: You in a super Bowl.
11:38
Speaker 2: Now that you guys are in the home stretch, are
11:40
Speaker 2: leading the NFC South, What do you think that leadership
11:44
Speaker 2: does even though it's primarily on the defensive side of
11:46
Speaker 2: the ball, for a team that doesn't have a ton
11:50
Speaker 2: of guys who've been to the playoffs before.
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Speaker 9: Yeah, I think it plays a huge role.
11:56
Speaker 8: I feel like at every level, like you said, we
11:58
Speaker 8: brought in, you know, people that have been there before.
12:01
Speaker 8: The experience I think you get in these seasons they're
12:05
Speaker 8: very long.
12:06
Speaker 9: Uh.
12:06
Speaker 8: You know, the importance of the leadership in the locker
12:09
Speaker 8: room is very important because you do the same thing
12:11
Speaker 8: week after week after week, go out and practice. But
12:14
Speaker 8: the importance of the leadership and going out there with
12:17
Speaker 8: an intention to get better every single week. Uh, it's
12:20
Speaker 8: something that that that doesn't really show up, you know,
12:23
Speaker 8: on paper or anything like that, but it's very important
12:26
Speaker 8: to you know, a team's success leader on in the season.
12:30
Speaker 8: I think that's what we got the right guys in
12:31
Speaker 8: this locker room, the right guys to follow those leaders
12:35
Speaker 8: as well. And I think that's what's showing for us
12:38
Speaker 8: right now. We just got to continue to stack these wins.
12:40
Speaker 8: And uh, like you said, we'll have a home game
12:43
Speaker 8: playoff game in the at L Baby.
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Speaker 5: I don't know what that crowd will be, like you know,
12:48
Speaker 5: Steve and everybody, it'll be wild.
12:57
Speaker 3: It'll be wild.
12:57
Speaker 5: And you mentioned you mentioned kind of being there before,
13:00
Speaker 5: and I look at where you guys are now. You're
13:01
Speaker 5: sitting in the fourth spot. You're three and zero in
13:03
Speaker 5: the division. That's the massive part that stands out to me.
13:05
Speaker 5: Nobody else has more than one win in the division.
13:08
Speaker 5: When you're looking to put a run together, Jesse, in
13:10
Speaker 5: the second half of this season, You've been on some
13:12
Speaker 5: Bengals teams that have gone on phenomenal runs in the
13:15
Speaker 5: second half of a season. What did you learn in
13:18
Speaker 5: that locker room maybe or what you picked up there
13:21
Speaker 5: that you can take to Atlanta that stood out to
13:23
Speaker 5: you during those second half runs that you can kind
13:26
Speaker 5: of spread that throughout your locker room potentially.
13:30
Speaker 9: Right.
13:30
Speaker 8: Yeah, Like I said, I think as these seasons get
13:33
Speaker 8: very long, you can't win. You know, there's six games
13:36
Speaker 8: guaranteed that we have guaranteed as a team together, you
13:40
Speaker 8: can't win all six of those games in this first week.
13:43
Speaker 9: It's just one week at a time.
13:44
Speaker 8: And just like I said, having that growth mindset as
13:46
Speaker 8: a team and making sure that not only the coaches
13:49
Speaker 8: are saying these things, the players are saying these and
13:52
Speaker 8: meetings on the field off the field, that has to
13:55
Speaker 8: be a collective kind of a group effort that, like
13:59
Speaker 8: I said, I think that we have the perfect guys
14:01
Speaker 8: for so yeah, it's just you want to play your
14:04
Speaker 8: best ball at the end of the season. I feel
14:06
Speaker 8: like that's what we're doing.
14:08
Speaker 9: Well.
14:08
Speaker 2: You know, the Jets coming up this week, and I mean, look,
14:10
Speaker 2: I know most defensive players are like, we got the
14:12
Speaker 2: Jets coming up, right, They've got issues at their quarterback.
14:16
Speaker 4: How do you guys with where you are at five?
14:19
Speaker 2: And to keep the mentality so Razor Sharp saying, this
14:22
Speaker 2: is the opportunity we have to take. We've got to
14:25
Speaker 2: capitalize on what's going on over there and how well
14:27
Speaker 2: we played last week to get the win, like you said,
14:30
Speaker 2: to begin stacking them to make that run.
14:34
Speaker 8: Yeah, we've had troubles, you know with first time starting
14:37
Speaker 8: quarterbacks throughout this year, so we have an experience with
14:41
Speaker 8: not letting those type of guys off the hook, and
14:44
Speaker 8: it really just goes back to just being us, just
14:47
Speaker 8: really going back to honing it into the details of
14:50
Speaker 8: exactly what our assignment is, what our alignment is, and
14:52
Speaker 8: then after that, it's just really beating a guy across
14:55
Speaker 8: from you. So that's what we've been preaching, you know,
14:59
Speaker 8: every week, want to get better, win, lose, or draw,
15:03
Speaker 8: because we know what's coming for what's ahead of us,
15:06
Speaker 8: you know, and that's championship like games and playoff like games.
15:10
Speaker 9: You know, you can't ask for anything better than.
15:12
Speaker 3: That great point, good stuff.
15:15
Speaker 5: And that's that's a great point you want. You want
15:17
Speaker 5: the best players playing on the biggest stages. And you
15:19
Speaker 5: guys have an unbelievably talented running back. I have to
15:22
Speaker 5: ask this because you probably went through it just in
15:24
Speaker 5: the offseason and in training camp, Jon Robinson in the
15:27
Speaker 5: open field and you're a safety and that's your assignment
15:30
Speaker 5: in a sense. Is there anything more difficult than tracking
15:34
Speaker 5: him down in the open field?
15:37
Speaker 9: Yeah?
15:38
Speaker 8: I mean, John is you know, a character of his own.
15:41
Speaker 8: You know, we always joked about it through our training camp, like, hey, like,
15:45
Speaker 8: what's wrong with this dude, how can he cut like
15:47
Speaker 8: that off one leg? And uh, you know, for the
15:49
Speaker 8: whole world to kind of see that those first couple
15:52
Speaker 8: of weeks was no surprise to us as a team.
15:55
Speaker 9: But one thing about John, he's the most humble guy.
15:58
Speaker 8: Uh, he's he's an even better person, just another great guy.
16:02
Speaker 8: Like I said in the locker room, that will someday
16:04
Speaker 8: be a leader in this locker room, in this community
16:07
Speaker 8: as well.
16:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, Jesse, I mean, if something is to tackle beyond
16:11
Speaker 2: in the open field, tackling Tyler Al's year in the
16:13
Speaker 2: whole can't be anything easy as well.
16:19
Speaker 3: He's a peace yes, right, CP.
16:22
Speaker 2: Corderyl It look, we know coming up across the NFL,
16:25
Speaker 2: it isn't my cause my cleats initiative over the next
16:28
Speaker 2: few weeks, and you've been doing something for years with
16:31
Speaker 2: your JB three initiative for single mothers. Why don't you
16:35
Speaker 2: tell us a little bit about that and why it
16:38
Speaker 2: is so vital to you because I've seen you've already
16:40
Speaker 2: pledged a million dollars to causes that support single mothers.
16:47
Speaker 8: Yeah, Steve, I appreciate you asking about that. You know,
16:50
Speaker 8: it's a very important topic to me. You know, I
16:53
Speaker 8: was raised by a single mom and being able to
16:56
Speaker 8: have an impact in the communities that I'm in back
16:59
Speaker 8: at home, even for way Indiana, making that impact with
17:02
Speaker 8: her is something that's near and dear to my heart.
17:05
Speaker 8: And it's just you know, there's a lot of single moms,
17:08
Speaker 8: a lot of guys in the NFL that can relate
17:10
Speaker 8: to that same kind of story. So it's no better
17:14
Speaker 8: feeling than you know, helping out people, helping out people
17:17
Speaker 8: that are in need, that are in no similar situations
17:20
Speaker 8: that you were in at some point of your life.
17:23
Speaker 8: And for me to do it with my mom is
17:25
Speaker 8: what makes it even more special. So, you know, all
17:28
Speaker 8: the love to you know, all the single moms out there,
17:30
Speaker 8: all the organizations out there across the world that support
17:34
Speaker 8: single moms.
17:35
Speaker 9: I can't say enough about that.
17:38
Speaker 5: I know everybody wants to probably play their entire career
17:40
Speaker 5: jets with one franchise, maybe be that guy that does
17:42
Speaker 5: twenty years in one pot. But you also when you
17:45
Speaker 5: change teams, you have a whole other community that you
17:48
Speaker 5: can impact in a sense. And now you're in Atlanta
17:51
Speaker 5: and you have that ability there as well. How much
17:53
Speaker 5: has this changed to a new organization and a new
17:55
Speaker 5: location and a new community that maybe gets you a
17:58
Speaker 5: little bit excited now that you're part of the A
18:00
Speaker 5: t O and you can make a difference there as well,
18:02
Speaker 5: specifically with single mothers.
18:04
Speaker 8: Absolutely, I mean nothing against Cincinnati, obviously, Atlanta is a
18:08
Speaker 8: huge market, bigger than Cincinnati. Nothing against my Midwest people
18:12
Speaker 8: out there, but uh, it's a great opportunity. Like I said,
18:15
Speaker 8: I've already chosen an organization with Solomon's Temple, who you know,
18:21
Speaker 8: raised who have families that stays in that temple and
18:25
Speaker 8: they feed them and that's where they live, this is
18:28
Speaker 8: their home. And just being able to have an impact
18:31
Speaker 8: around this Christmas and these holidays. It's something that I'm
18:35
Speaker 8: very very happy to do and very very blessed to
18:39
Speaker 8: be able to be a blessing.
18:41
Speaker 4: Jessie, this is absolutely fantastic.
18:43
Speaker 2: Before we get out of here, one question, because you
18:46
Speaker 2: are four waye Indiana Wells famous football per player from there,
18:50
Speaker 2: is it you or Hall of Famer Rod Woodson.
18:56
Speaker 8: It's all of us babies, my guy Rod. So we're
19:01
Speaker 8: wayn love it. We're way Indiana baby.
19:04
Speaker 7: There we go.
19:05
Speaker 2: Hey, Jesse Bates, keep on doing wonderful things on the
19:08
Speaker 2: field off the field. You are truly your treasure for
19:10
Speaker 2: this game. We appreciate you taking a couple of minutes
19:13
Speaker 2: join the NFL Report.
19:14
Speaker 8: Absolutely. I appreciate you. James, appreciate you, Steve. I'll talk
19:17
Speaker 8: to you guys soon.
19:18
Speaker 3: Man, God bless, I gotta get my hands on that hoodie, Steve.
19:21
Speaker 3: I gotta get my hands on that hoodie.
19:23
Speaker 5: But coming up next, Eddie George, one of the toughest
19:26
Speaker 5: guys to ever buckle a trend strap in the NFL.
19:28
Speaker 5: He is once again a Modern era semi finalist for
19:32
Speaker 5: the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Tennessee State head
19:35
Speaker 5: football coach joins the NFL Report next.
19:45
Speaker 2: Hi, Welcome back to the NFL Report, And earlier this week,
19:48
Speaker 2: Pro Football Hall of Fame announced it's twenty five Modern
19:51
Speaker 2: Era semi finalists. You're seeing the names here. Those guys
19:54
Speaker 2: in the bold Antonio Gates.
19:56
Speaker 4: And tight end Julius Peppers over defensive end. Those are
19:59
Speaker 4: the first time first ballot.
20:02
Speaker 2: Eligible players in the class of twenty twenty four. But
20:05
Speaker 2: now we are joined by one of those semi finalists,
20:10
Speaker 2: and that is former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George,
20:13
Speaker 2: the head football coach at Tennessee State. University, Eddie, I
20:17
Speaker 2: know you just signed the home and home deal with
20:19
Speaker 2: my alma mater, Howard University. Looking forward to looking forward
20:24
Speaker 2: to those two games. Hey, but Eddie, second time in
20:27
Speaker 2: a row you've made the Cup for the final twenty five.
20:29
Speaker 4: I mean, this is rare air.
20:31
Speaker 2: Like what is it like to be recognized as a
20:35
Speaker 2: semi finalist right now?
20:37
Speaker 3: It's an accomplishment to itself.
20:40
Speaker 7: Of course you would like to don the gold jacket,
20:43
Speaker 7: but to be in the conversation, to have the opportunity
20:50
Speaker 7: to have your case heard. You see all the names
20:53
Speaker 7: on that list, I mean it's you can make a
20:56
Speaker 7: case for anybody on there. And there's there's some dude dudes,
20:59
Speaker 7: there's some dogs on there. So I'm really honored. I'm thrilled,
21:05
Speaker 7: and it's it's special to to be.
21:08
Speaker 3: Recognizing that capacity.
21:09
Speaker 9: Uh.
21:09
Speaker 7: And again it's a long way before the finish line,
21:13
Speaker 7: but certainly when you're mentioned among those great NFL players
21:16
Speaker 7: that have played the game, it's it's something to be
21:20
Speaker 7: proud of.
21:21
Speaker 5: Yeah, do you played against a lot of the guys
21:23
Speaker 5: on that list. I'm curious if there's you mentioned, you
21:25
Speaker 5: could make an argument for almost all of them and
21:27
Speaker 5: that's why they're on the list. Is there anybody who
21:30
Speaker 5: scroll down and go like he has to get in,
21:33
Speaker 5: Like this guy has to get in.
21:36
Speaker 7: I think when you look at the guys that have
21:38
Speaker 7: been on there a long time that I mean you
21:40
Speaker 7: look at Tory Holt, I think this is his tenth
21:44
Speaker 7: yees se my finalist deal. At some point it's like, Okay,
21:49
Speaker 7: you know he's on there ten times, you got to
21:51
Speaker 7: put him in at some point in time.
21:53
Speaker 3: You know he's been He's done so much for the game.
21:55
Speaker 3: You think about, can.
21:56
Speaker 7: You write the NFL history without The answer is no.
22:01
Speaker 7: I think everybody on this list is deserving to get in.
22:05
Speaker 3: It doesn't have to be one or the other.
22:08
Speaker 7: You know, Fred Taylor certainly belongs to be in the
22:11
Speaker 7: Hall of Fame given his his his track record in
22:14
Speaker 7: his career. Tiki Barber the same same situation. I mean, again,
22:20
Speaker 7: every player on this list has contributed to the history
22:25
Speaker 7: of the NFL, and if you're on it, at some point,
22:29
Speaker 7: I think you know you're deserving to go in.
22:31
Speaker 3: Same thing with Ricky Waters.
22:34
Speaker 7: I think we've all had done something in our time
22:37
Speaker 7: to be deserving to go.
22:39
Speaker 3: In the Hall of Fame. If we are blessed to
22:42
Speaker 3: do so.
22:43
Speaker 4: It'sreddie. You know, you mentioned yourself.
22:44
Speaker 2: We got yourself, We've got Fred Taylor, you mentioned Ricky Waters.
22:47
Speaker 2: Running backs right as we continue to.
22:50
Speaker 4: See in the NFL, there's no more workhorses like you.
22:52
Speaker 2: I mean, guys, you're touching the ball thirty times a game,
22:56
Speaker 2: all right. When you look at where the game is
22:59
Speaker 2: gone in terms the position of the running back, could
23:02
Speaker 2: we I mean, I mean, I hate saying it be
23:04
Speaker 2: nearing the way of the dinosaur when it comes to
23:07
Speaker 2: running backs getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
23:10
Speaker 7: I think it's certainly things doing cycles.
23:15
Speaker 3: I think it's going to get back to that at
23:17
Speaker 3: some point in time.
23:18
Speaker 7: You know, you don't have a bunch of Patrick Holmes
23:22
Speaker 7: that type of talent the quarterback in the NFL.
23:25
Speaker 3: I mean, you have him and maybe a couple other
23:27
Speaker 3: guys that are truly elite.
23:29
Speaker 7: Outside of that, you got a few guys that are
23:32
Speaker 7: really good football players and really good quarterbacks. So at
23:35
Speaker 7: some point in time, you've got to go back to
23:39
Speaker 7: running the football, running effectively. And guys like Derrick Henry,
23:43
Speaker 7: you know, he's making a case for why he should
23:45
Speaker 7: be in the Hall of Fame one day. Well, he's
23:47
Speaker 7: put up the numbers and he's put up so you know,
23:53
Speaker 7: during our time in the the late nineties, early two thousands,
23:59
Speaker 7: and that's what the blog that we've all played. During
24:01
Speaker 7: that era, the offense was run through the running backs,
24:07
Speaker 7: certainly with you know so carrying it thirty times in
24:10
Speaker 7: you know, I had four hundred yard almost a four hundred.
24:13
Speaker 3: Yard year carry year.
24:16
Speaker 7: That means something. Without missing a game, and in a physical,
24:20
Speaker 7: physical conference, you're not playing Baltimore twice, Pittsburgh twice, Jacksonville twice.
24:27
Speaker 3: So it was Murder's row and any.
24:29
Speaker 7: Football purists that watched the game during that time, but
24:33
Speaker 7: I have to understand it, any back that had to
24:36
Speaker 7: go through that gauntlet and was the focal point of
24:40
Speaker 7: their team is deserving of some type of evaculator going
24:44
Speaker 7: to the Hall of Fame because I'm dealing with it physically,
24:47
Speaker 7: hert shoulders, bad needs, bad ankles, bad back.
24:50
Speaker 3: You know everything. So it was a very physical ballgame, Eddie.
24:56
Speaker 3: I don't know how you did it.
24:57
Speaker 5: Honestly, when you look at the list of over ten
24:59
Speaker 5: thousand and yards and the number of consecutive starts, it's.
25:02
Speaker 3: You and Jim Brown. I mean that that's the end
25:04
Speaker 3: of the list, and it's remarkable.
25:07
Speaker 5: What when I think back at that and watching you play,
25:10
Speaker 5: What I'm curious about is how many weeks or is
25:12
Speaker 5: there a certain game that stands out where during the
25:15
Speaker 5: week you were like, there's no way I'm playing Sunday,
25:17
Speaker 5: and then you still find a way to get on
25:20
Speaker 5: the field on Sunday.
25:21
Speaker 3: How often did that happen with you? I'll tell you what.
25:25
Speaker 7: In two thousand, the year that I had the most
25:28
Speaker 7: characters in my career, on my best year statistically, I
25:33
Speaker 7: was dealing with a turf tills and my head to
25:38
Speaker 7: decide at the end of season, and I'm in a
25:41
Speaker 7: boot the entire week. And this is when I'm playing
25:44
Speaker 7: against the Ravens two thousand defense, okay with Sarah Goosa,
25:49
Speaker 7: Sam Adams, ray lewis that defense. So again, I never
25:55
Speaker 7: missed a start due to injury, and I had an
25:59
Speaker 7: opportunity to tap out and say, hey, I can't go
26:01
Speaker 7: this week because my toe is the right I had practice,
26:05
Speaker 7: you know, I'm just not myself.
26:06
Speaker 3: No I had I had to strap it up and go, man.
26:08
Speaker 7: I had to buckle up my chin strap, you know,
26:11
Speaker 7: take the tord Doll shot line up and get busy
26:14
Speaker 7: because we only had I find that window to win
26:18
Speaker 7: a championship. And I felt like, hell, if I'm at
26:21
Speaker 7: fifty percent, I'm better at fifty percent than everybody anybody
26:24
Speaker 7: else in the league.
26:25
Speaker 3: And you know, at that time, the offense was a
26:27
Speaker 3: run offense.
26:28
Speaker 7: So I'm going to go out there and put everything
26:31
Speaker 7: on the line because I don't know if I'll ever
26:33
Speaker 7: be back in a situation. So, you know, it crossed
26:36
Speaker 7: my mind, but it was I never took it serious
26:39
Speaker 7: because I felt like, if I could walk or job,
26:42
Speaker 7: I can play, and I'm gonna play extremely well.
26:44
Speaker 3: I'm gonna play like a war. I may have to
26:46
Speaker 3: alter my game a little bit, but this is a
26:48
Speaker 3: part of the game. You have to manage that. You know.
26:51
Speaker 7: I never believed in you know that that managed that
26:55
Speaker 7: load management term that they have nowadays.
26:58
Speaker 3: For these millennials, there was no such thing as that.
27:02
Speaker 7: You know, So I'm just cut from the old school man,
27:04
Speaker 7: and that's that's what I believe in.
27:06
Speaker 2: Hey, so, Eddie, we're c anywhere that Tennessee State, uh
27:09
Speaker 2: Sweazer because you had.
27:10
Speaker 3: Football coach there.
27:11
Speaker 4: How many times do you tell your guys that when
27:14
Speaker 4: they want to tap out or get set out.
27:17
Speaker 7: Hey, now listen. We had that conversation at the end
27:23
Speaker 7: of October. We were six and two at the end
27:27
Speaker 7: of the October, and I told him, I said, look,
27:29
Speaker 7: November is upon us, and it's a different deal. You
27:33
Speaker 7: you you you shut the table and you start fast.
27:36
Speaker 7: In September, you shut the table and in October you
27:40
Speaker 7: win championships. In November and it's what are you willing
27:43
Speaker 7: to sacrifice?
27:44
Speaker 9: Now?
27:44
Speaker 3: What are you willing to do different?
27:46
Speaker 7: You get to double down on the discipline, double down accountability,
27:49
Speaker 7: all those things to attain that Pacific goal. So you
27:53
Speaker 7: have to learn how to deal with with with pain.
27:56
Speaker 7: And they hear it day in and day out, and
28:01
Speaker 7: you'll be surprised that we did not win those three
28:04
Speaker 7: games at the end of the year, and we were
28:06
Speaker 7: in every single one of them. But you have to
28:08
Speaker 7: dig a little bit deeper in order to in order
28:12
Speaker 7: to overcome that and be that eight win, that nine win,
28:15
Speaker 7: that that that championship caliber team. So we had success
28:18
Speaker 7: to share a winning season, but I think there's still
28:22
Speaker 7: room for us that there's definitely room for us to
28:24
Speaker 7: be mentally and physically tougher and trust me, you know,
28:28
Speaker 7: that's what I'm currently working on.
28:29
Speaker 3: Right now on my notes. You know, talking about spring football.
28:34
Speaker 7: You're going to run inside zone, outside zone and power, repeat,
28:41
Speaker 7: inside zone, outside zone.
28:44
Speaker 3: Power.
28:47
Speaker 7: Power that he don't know, I love, I don't know,
28:53
Speaker 7: I love.
28:53
Speaker 9: I love it.
28:53
Speaker 3: Got to earn that, right, I love it. I love it, Eddie.
28:57
Speaker 5: What I'm curious about is, I mean, you're in the
29:00
Speaker 5: college game, and when I talk to people around the
29:02
Speaker 5: NFL game, specifically in the scouting community with nil and
29:06
Speaker 5: what has going on over these you know, is going
29:08
Speaker 5: to continue to increase over these next several years, there
29:12
Speaker 5: is a legitimate, I don't know if concerns the right way,
29:15
Speaker 5: but a curiosity about the type of individuals that are
29:18
Speaker 5: coming into the NFL from the collegiate ranks. I'm curious
29:22
Speaker 5: what your take is on kind of how maybe players
29:25
Speaker 5: experience now over the next several years coming in the
29:28
Speaker 5: league is going to be different than all of these
29:30
Speaker 5: players that have come in before.
29:32
Speaker 3: Well, it's always.
29:33
Speaker 7: Been around, it's just above board. Now I think that
29:37
Speaker 7: players getting paid under the table through boosters, through different
29:42
Speaker 7: business people to come to vury schools, especially at the
29:44
Speaker 7: top schools, just happened, but now it's above board, and
29:47
Speaker 7: I think is a great opportunity for kids to make
29:50
Speaker 7: money on their name, image and likeness. They deserve it.
29:53
Speaker 7: I see what these kids go through every day, and
29:55
Speaker 7: cost of attendance isn't enough, and you got to have that.
29:59
Speaker 7: But what is going to create is a divide in
30:01
Speaker 7: the locker room. Guys are gonna get jealous. They feel like, hell,
30:04
Speaker 7: you know, why is he getting more opportunities than me?
30:07
Speaker 7: Maybe because the fact that they're not marketable. You know,
30:09
Speaker 7: not every player in the NFL is marketable. So kids
30:13
Speaker 7: nowadays are understanding their value. They're understanding that, hey, I
30:19
Speaker 7: can go out and go to a school and get
30:21
Speaker 7: an NIL deal and be comfortable with that.
30:24
Speaker 3: They're in it for the money.
30:25
Speaker 7: You're going to find out real fast who loves the
30:28
Speaker 7: game of football, who wants to be great, and who's
30:31
Speaker 7: just who's just in it just to get notoriety, who's
30:34
Speaker 7: in it just to get n IL deals and so forth.
30:38
Speaker 3: And that's going to be the key. And I think
30:40
Speaker 3: you'll find out.
30:40
Speaker 7: Real quickly what's important to the player as they come
30:44
Speaker 7: in from the NFL.
30:46
Speaker 3: I mean, excuse me.
30:46
Speaker 7: The Coclesian rings into the NFL, what their priority is
30:49
Speaker 7: because with that mindset, you're not gonna last very long.
30:52
Speaker 9: That's not what happened.
30:54
Speaker 4: That's fantastic stuff, Eddie. We only have a limitted here.
30:56
Speaker 2: But as an as an HBCU alone to myself, I
31:00
Speaker 2: want to ask you this because Tennessee stage is one
31:01
Speaker 2: of the richest black college football programs in history. Guys
31:05
Speaker 2: hall of famers like Richard Dent, Claude Humphrey, you got
31:08
Speaker 2: ed Too Tall Jones, not a Hall of Famer, but
31:09
Speaker 2: a great player. How much do you push that history
31:13
Speaker 2: on modern era players when you're trying to recruit them?
31:16
Speaker 2: I mean does it even work?
31:17
Speaker 7: You know, you have to remind them of these kids
31:20
Speaker 7: now they barely know who I am. So when you
31:22
Speaker 7: talk about a Richard Jenn Claude Humphrey or it Too
31:25
Speaker 7: Tall Jones is like who?
31:26
Speaker 3: And I'm like no, no, no, no, no.
31:28
Speaker 7: You know, you got to know your history. So that's
31:29
Speaker 7: one of our pillars is tradition. So I try to
31:33
Speaker 7: in our hallway, we have their jersey of their history.
31:37
Speaker 7: You know the number of draft choices that came through
31:40
Speaker 7: the Pro Football Hall of Famers have come through your
31:42
Speaker 7: school because you have to understand what you're walking into.
31:44
Speaker 7: This is not a co dunk HPCU with no history, right.
31:48
Speaker 7: This is a school rich in tradition, you know, known
31:51
Speaker 7: for a physical offensive lineman, known for receivers, known for Hall.
31:54
Speaker 3: Of famers, and that's what needs to happen. And I
31:56
Speaker 3: think a lot of HBCUs don't get enough credit for that.
32:00
Speaker 2: We appreciate you taking the time. Look, third year coaching
32:03
Speaker 2: ever six and five. Yeah, you win those final three games.
32:06
Speaker 2: Was the first winning season at Tennessee State, I believe
32:09
Speaker 2: since twenty seventeen.
32:10
Speaker 4: So congratulations to you.
32:12
Speaker 2: And on December twenty seventh, we're going to find out
32:16
Speaker 2: the fifteen Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist.
32:20
Speaker 4: Best luck to you, dy George, thanks for taking some time.
32:22
Speaker 3: Do you have a vote? Do you have a vote?
32:24
Speaker 3: I don't you do? I think state does?
32:27
Speaker 4: I don't. I don't.
32:29
Speaker 3: Oh, I can be a lot.
32:33
Speaker 5: I mean, hey, I'm a buck guy, so I'm gonna
32:36
Speaker 5: be lobbying for you.
32:38
Speaker 3: I appreciate it. May hop about that loss.
32:40
Speaker 7: Man, God, it hurt, that's what it is. But hey, guys,
32:45
Speaker 7: I appreciate it, man, And thanks for having me on.
32:48
Speaker 7: Have me back anytime I'd love to come back.
32:50
Speaker 4: On Appreciate Eddie.
32:52
Speaker 3: I loved it, Thank you so much.
32:54
Speaker 2: How spectacular was Eddie George talking about power football?
32:59
Speaker 3: Well, coming up next, Brian.
33:00
Speaker 2: Baldinger is gonna be talking more power football and he's
33:03
Speaker 2: gonna walk us through the.
33:04
Speaker 4: Falcons and K Factory. That's up next on the NFL Report.
33:14
Speaker 3: Welcome back to the NFL Report.
33:16
Speaker 5: My favorite segment every week it's Baldy's Favorite Films with
33:19
Speaker 5: Brian Baldinger and Baldy. I know you've probably still at
33:22
Speaker 5: some point just put in a tape of Eddie George
33:24
Speaker 5: and just broken it down, just for fun to see
33:27
Speaker 5: what it kind of, you know, just to go back
33:29
Speaker 5: and watch him run the football.
33:30
Speaker 3: But ma me, in a more current.
33:31
Speaker 5: Sense, what do you think about Jesse Bates and what
33:34
Speaker 5: he had to say in our interview? Considering the Falcons
33:37
Speaker 5: are sitting there in first place, three to zero in
33:39
Speaker 5: the division.
33:41
Speaker 10: Well, at one point this year, just a couple of
33:43
Speaker 10: weeks ago, they actually cracked the top ten in defense.
33:46
Speaker 10: And if you look at you know the addition of
33:48
Speaker 10: Jesse Bates on the back end, there was a time,
33:51
Speaker 10: if you could back me up on this, there was
33:53
Speaker 10: a time when you wanted a big play against Alanna,
33:57
Speaker 10: I just thought, like they broke down the back end.
33:58
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, and they just leave receiver wide open. That
34:02
Speaker 10: went on for a long time. That's not happening anymore.
34:05
Speaker 10: And Jesse Bates is a big part of it, obviously,
34:08
Speaker 10: the pick six, the interceptions this year, the force fumbles.
34:11
Speaker 10: I mean, he's a playmaker, but at the same time,
34:13
Speaker 10: he's a communicator. You go out to practice, you're gonna
34:16
Speaker 10: hear Jesse Bates shouting out signals and calls and things
34:20
Speaker 10: like that, making sure guys are getting lined up and
34:23
Speaker 10: the Falcons aren't beating themselves on the back end anymore.
34:27
Speaker 2: Hey, bald the speaking of those Falcons, you know one
34:29
Speaker 2: thing you want to talk about the right side of
34:33
Speaker 2: that offensive line with Chris Linstrum and Caleb McGarry when
34:36
Speaker 2: they've tried to wear down the Saints to run out
34:38
Speaker 2: the clock at the end of the game, they went
34:40
Speaker 2: right every play behind those two. What about the way
34:43
Speaker 2: they were just mauling people at the end of that game.
34:47
Speaker 10: It was the single best performance. Because that's a good
34:49
Speaker 10: front from New Orleans. It's face, it's a good front.
34:52
Speaker 10: I think that's a single best performance by a Falcon
34:54
Speaker 10: offensive line I've seen a long time. I counted at
34:57
Speaker 10: least six knockdowns all right by Chris.
34:59
Speaker 3: L from alone.
35:02
Speaker 10: I mean they were finishing these blocks and then they
35:05
Speaker 10: were downfield picking off defenders, you know when Bijon got
35:08
Speaker 10: busy like he did right here. It was an impressive performance.
35:12
Speaker 10: And getting Cordero back certainly helped they. You know, they
35:15
Speaker 10: had four different guys really running the ball, but they
35:18
Speaker 10: you know McGarry and Lyndstrom. That was a fine performance
35:22
Speaker 10: up front, just run blocking, just old school blocking and
35:26
Speaker 10: finishing and thrown guys over the pile. It was a
35:28
Speaker 10: lot of fun to watch.
35:30
Speaker 3: They ran the ball well, Baldy.
35:31
Speaker 5: What stood out to me is they line up b
35:33
Speaker 5: John Robinson all over the field. He's on the field
35:35
Speaker 5: in this game for thirty nine snaps, thirty six of them.
35:38
Speaker 5: He lines up as a running back, just almost full
35:41
Speaker 5: tilt as a back.
35:42
Speaker 3: In this game. A little bit of a different look
35:44
Speaker 3: from him.
35:44
Speaker 5: How about the Monday nighter that we had a lot
35:47
Speaker 5: of people didn't love the game, but there was some
35:49
Speaker 5: great defensive back play from the Vikings and the Bears.
35:54
Speaker 10: Well, you know, it's a twelve to ten game and
35:56
Speaker 10: it takes you know, Chicago go sixty one yards the
36:00
Speaker 10: final drive to go kick the game winning field goal.
36:02
Speaker 10: And people said, oh, it's a snooze fest, and I
36:04
Speaker 10: went in the film room and I said.
36:06
Speaker 3: No, it's not. This is Black and Blue Division. Great love.
36:09
Speaker 10: Yeah, Bactly, Brian Flores is doing a phenomenal job. I
36:14
Speaker 10: mean as good a coaching job on any team anywhere
36:17
Speaker 10: in this league with what he's doing, because there are
36:20
Speaker 10: a lot more than just a blitz happy team. They're
36:22
Speaker 10: very sound in what they do. They're very fundamental what
36:25
Speaker 10: they do. And you know, you look at a guy
36:27
Speaker 10: like Josh Mntellus in what he did in that game,
36:30
Speaker 10: in all the different places that Brian puts him in,
36:34
Speaker 10: whether it's in the back end, you know, at a
36:36
Speaker 10: corner safety position, whether it's at linebacker, whether it's blitzing
36:40
Speaker 10: off the edge, He's found a way to use a
36:42
Speaker 10: guy that's got a tremendous variety of skills. And then
36:46
Speaker 10: on the other side, when you see what they're doing
36:50
Speaker 10: in Chicago and the improvement they've made from let's say
36:53
Speaker 10: the Kansas City loss, I don't know if anybody's made
36:55
Speaker 10: bigger jumps and to watch Jalen Johnson play the other
36:59
Speaker 10: night his first interception where he aided Josh Side into
37:03
Speaker 10: that throw. I send it out to Charles Woodson and
37:07
Speaker 10: a bunch of great corners just to tell me what
37:09
Speaker 10: they thought of the play. And I mean, Charles came
37:13
Speaker 10: back and said it was just brilliant to be able
37:15
Speaker 10: to bait a quarterback into looking like you're gonna drive
37:18
Speaker 10: on the D cut and then you back out and
37:20
Speaker 10: take the seven cut away. I thought it was the
37:23
Speaker 10: best game that I saw Jalen Johnson play. Terrell Smith
37:26
Speaker 10: on the other side was very good. But I think
37:28
Speaker 10: right now, these are two defenses that are going to
37:32
Speaker 10: give a lot of teams problems down the stretch.
37:34
Speaker 2: Right now, Mattellas is such a chess piece. I mean,
37:37
Speaker 2: and he's such a physical player the way he forced
37:39
Speaker 2: his turnovers and everything.
37:40
Speaker 4: Well, let's go back to.
37:41
Speaker 2: The offensive line Denver Broncos. I mean, this is a
37:44
Speaker 2: unit that has stayed intact all of the season, and
37:47
Speaker 2: you're starting to see why some things are working on offense.
37:51
Speaker 3: So let's just give him credit.
37:52
Speaker 10: I mean, there's mc glinchy, there's Quinn Miners, there's Cushion Berry,
37:55
Speaker 10: there's powers in their bowls.
37:57
Speaker 3: I mean, that's the group. They played all but five together.
38:00
Speaker 10: And if you you know, you looked at them week
38:03
Speaker 10: three or four against Washington, they weren't very good. They
38:05
Speaker 10: were leaky, Russell Wilson was getting hit a lot.
38:08
Speaker 3: But they have stayed together, they have played together. They
38:11
Speaker 3: have found a way to win games.
38:13
Speaker 10: Right now, they ran it thirty nine times at one
38:15
Speaker 10: of the best defenses in the league for one hundred
38:17
Speaker 10: and sixty nine yards. This Devonte Williams run right here.
38:20
Speaker 10: It's one after another, and it was every variety of
38:22
Speaker 10: run guys. It was power, it was inside zone, it
38:26
Speaker 10: was outside zone. They really kind of right here, the
38:29
Speaker 10: fullback Burton is cutting the defensive end. They really threw
38:32
Speaker 10: a whole package of runs at Cleveland, and it was
38:36
Speaker 10: really effective. I mean, anytime you get you know, the
38:39
Speaker 10: running back onto the free safety like they do right here,
38:42
Speaker 10: that's a good job by the front. More power like
38:45
Speaker 10: Quinn Minors is having to me a Pro Bowl season,
38:48
Speaker 10: But everybody else out there has improved. They've played together,
38:52
Speaker 10: and this is what you hope happens over the course
38:55
Speaker 10: of the season. If you could stay healthy and stay
38:57
Speaker 10: together and That's what they have done, and they're really
39:01
Speaker 10: reaping the fruits of those benefits of being out there
39:04
Speaker 10: every play this year.
39:06
Speaker 5: You know, Baldy, their star cornerback Patrick Sartama was asked
39:09
Speaker 5: this week who deserves a Pro Bowl nod on this team.
39:12
Speaker 3: The first name that came to his mind was Quinn Miners.
39:14
Speaker 5: He said, when I watched the film of our offense,
39:16
Speaker 5: he makes life easier on everybody else that is out
39:19
Speaker 5: there on offense.
39:20
Speaker 3: Let's go to a defensive line.
39:22
Speaker 5: In terms of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis,
39:25
Speaker 5: two youngsters in the middle of that defensive line. I
39:27
Speaker 5: watched them play a zillion snaps on Sunday against the Bills.
39:31
Speaker 5: When I talked to Joshwedt, he said, these guys are
39:33
Speaker 5: killing guys with old school moves that you saw twenty
39:37
Speaker 5: thirty years ago. Baldy, What are you seeing from these
39:40
Speaker 5: two massive, young, dominant players.
39:42
Speaker 10: Well, they had to play a lot of snaps, you know.
39:44
Speaker 10: Fletcher Cox went down with a groin pool during the game,
39:47
Speaker 10: Milt Williams was out. They you know, they had to
39:49
Speaker 10: play a lot of snaps. They didn't have the normal
39:51
Speaker 10: defensive backle rotation and they stepped up. And so jay
39:55
Speaker 10: Leen Carter has been just a physical freak all year
39:58
Speaker 10: long with not just physical, I mean a very advanced
40:02
Speaker 10: student how he plays the game. But Jordan Davis really
40:06
Speaker 10: popped last Sunder. I thought it was the best game
40:08
Speaker 10: that he played. He played with a lot of energy,
40:11
Speaker 10: He played with a tremendous amount of endurance.
40:14
Speaker 3: Didn't come off the field, stayed out.
40:16
Speaker 10: There was chasing Josh Allen to the sidelines late in
40:19
Speaker 10: that game. You remember the belly flopped there sidelines. Well,
40:23
Speaker 10: I wasn't sure he was gonna get back up. But
40:25
Speaker 10: the effort that both of them played with. They were
40:28
Speaker 10: drafted to be the future defensive tackle or the Eagles,
40:31
Speaker 10: and we might see we might have just seen the
40:33
Speaker 10: changing of the guard at that position between the two
40:36
Speaker 10: of them and how they played last Sunday against the Bills.
40:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, Baldie, I mean, look, that was the big question
40:41
Speaker 2: about the Eagles with some of the key players like
40:43
Speaker 2: Javon Hargrave, who they lost.
40:44
Speaker 4: Can these young players step up?
40:46
Speaker 2: Not only had they stepped up, they've endured, They've broken
40:48
Speaker 2: through that rookie wall and they're playing best at the
40:51
Speaker 2: most important part of the season, Baldy. We absolutely appreciate
40:55
Speaker 2: the insight. We'll look forward to having you back next Thursday.
40:58
Speaker 2: Here on the NFL Report coming up next. We've seen
41:01
Speaker 2: some head coach firings. What about the guys who replace him?
41:05
Speaker 2: And what's that life like our own? Leslie Fraser knows firsthand,
41:09
Speaker 2: and he's joining us after the break on the NFL Report.
41:18
Speaker 4: Our back to the NFL Report and James.
41:19
Speaker 2: Now, we're joined by Leslie Fraser, who works for us
41:22
Speaker 2: here at NFL Media, is a longtime coach and in
41:26
Speaker 2: twenty ten he actually served as the interim head coach
41:28
Speaker 2: for the Minnesota Vikings. And coach, you wanted to talk
41:32
Speaker 2: about this particular subject as we've seen, of course, the
41:35
Speaker 2: Panthers fire Frank Reich, the Raiders fire Josh McDaniels, and
41:38
Speaker 2: now we have interim head coaches in those positions, and
41:42
Speaker 2: what can you tell us about that?
41:44
Speaker 4: Because you know the.
41:46
Speaker 2: Team has to be struggling for a coach to be fired,
41:48
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden you're brought in to at
41:50
Speaker 2: least hold things down, if not provide a spark, right.
41:54
Speaker 1: No doubt, I mean that's the deal.
41:56
Speaker 11: You know you're coming into a situation where you know
41:59
Speaker 11: they're asking you to kind of studied the shift, you know,
42:01
Speaker 11: kind of rally the troops.
42:03
Speaker 1: And it's an honor you know.
42:04
Speaker 11: That they've chosen you from the coaching staff to be
42:07
Speaker 11: in that role. But man, Steve, there are some challenges
42:11
Speaker 11: when you're the entrant coach. I mean, you're excited. Usually
42:14
Speaker 11: it's a guy who's probably never been a coach before,
42:18
Speaker 11: but he's highly respected on the staff by the players
42:21
Speaker 11: and the team, and he's thrust into that role to
42:25
Speaker 11: you know, pick everyone up and maybe hopefully turn things around.
42:29
Speaker 11: And in both Chris Taper's case with the Panthers and
42:32
Speaker 11: Antonio Pears with the Raiders, that's exactly what they're asking
42:36
Speaker 11: him to do. And I was reflecting on when I
42:39
Speaker 11: was watching Antonio and win his press conferences, when I
42:43
Speaker 11: was in that role and what it was like. And
42:46
Speaker 11: you know, you can get overwhelmed a little bit because
42:50
Speaker 11: you're going from in my case, defensive coordinator to head coach.
42:54
Speaker 11: In Antonio's case, position coach to head coach, and Chris's case,
43:00
Speaker 11: coordinator to head coach, and your plate gets full. There's
43:04
Speaker 11: a lot on your plate all of a sudden that
43:07
Speaker 11: narrow focus that you had just working on my side
43:09
Speaker 11: of the ball, or in.
43:10
Speaker 1: Christmas case, the special teams.
43:12
Speaker 11: You know, you've got to deal with a whole lot
43:14
Speaker 11: more and you're relying so much on other people to
43:19
Speaker 11: get your information and help you navigate the situation. But
43:24
Speaker 11: it can be a dunting task, but one that you know.
43:28
Speaker 11: I'm sure Chris and both Antonio they're excited about this
43:32
Speaker 11: opportunity to show ownership that I may be the guy
43:37
Speaker 11: for the future. You may not need to interview a
43:39
Speaker 11: bunch of different people going forward. You know I could
43:42
Speaker 11: actually do this job. I mean that's their goal, I'm
43:45
Speaker 11: sure in both cases, to be the head coach the
43:49
Speaker 11: other the downside sometimes when you are the introm from
43:54
Speaker 11: a from a con standpoint, the probes being of course,
43:58
Speaker 11: now I get a chance to be a head coach,
44:00
Speaker 11: but you know, you feel like I know this roster,
44:04
Speaker 11: I'm familiar with how this organization runs. The challenge for me,
44:09
Speaker 11: see was being and James being able to look at
44:12
Speaker 11: the roster.
44:13
Speaker 1: And say, okay, can I move on from these guys
44:16
Speaker 1: that have helped me get to where I am. When
44:20
Speaker 1: you guys are.
44:20
Speaker 11: A little bit long in the two uh. You know,
44:23
Speaker 11: usually you want to let a god go a year
44:25
Speaker 11: before it's too late. And sometimes your lord to the
44:30
Speaker 11: players can get you in trouble because your affinity for
44:35
Speaker 11: them and what they've helped you to accomplish. But you've
44:37
Speaker 11: got to be able to step back and say, Okay,
44:39
Speaker 11: I understand the personnel, but I've got to be able
44:43
Speaker 11: to make some hard decisions. And then the other part
44:46
Speaker 11: of it is staff. This is the most critical transition
44:53
Speaker 11: when it comes to the interim head coach, whether or
44:57
Speaker 11: not you know I I've got the right guys on
45:01
Speaker 11: the staff, because you got to always remember I didn't
45:05
Speaker 11: hire a staff. The loyti is not necessarily to me.
45:10
Speaker 11: They were hired by someone else. So I mean, that's
45:14
Speaker 11: another part of it. Now, I'll let you jump in there, Steve.
45:18
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's I wanted to ask you about that coach
45:20
Speaker 5: because we see this happen when a lot of these
45:22
Speaker 5: interim head coaches take over. Right, you see a couple
45:24
Speaker 5: other members of the staff are also let go after
45:27
Speaker 5: the head coaches let go, and then the interim head
45:30
Speaker 5: coach is named.
45:32
Speaker 3: People love to dissect why those couple of assistants.
45:35
Speaker 5: At times are let go after the interim head coach
45:38
Speaker 5: takes over. Could you kind of dive into what usually
45:42
Speaker 5: happens behind closed doors, because there are a variety of reasons.
45:45
Speaker 5: Sometimes it's loyalty, sometimes it's something else that you do
45:48
Speaker 5: move on from a couple of people on the staff
45:50
Speaker 5: after the head coaches let go. When you are making
45:53
Speaker 5: the decisions at the interim head coach.
45:56
Speaker 11: Yeah, some of it is what you said at law too,
45:58
Speaker 11: but also you know, job performed. But the most critical
46:02
Speaker 11: aspect is as you're shaping your staff and I tell
46:06
Speaker 11: Antonio this, I tell christis uh, you know going forward
46:11
Speaker 11: if they are awarded the positions to really dissect this
46:15
Speaker 11: staff and determined whether or not the offensive coordinator or
46:22
Speaker 11: defensive coordinator or position coaches really fit the criteria that I.
46:26
Speaker 1: Had in mind when I was putting my staff together.
46:30
Speaker 11: Before I became intert So there are a lot of
46:32
Speaker 11: factors that go into why certain guys are let go
46:35
Speaker 11: and some guys are retained. But it's usually George job
46:41
Speaker 11: performance along with where does my loyalty lie? And you
46:46
Speaker 11: really have to have your guys in order for you
46:50
Speaker 11: to be successful as the head coach in this new role.
46:53
Speaker 11: Because it's it's far different than you were an assistant
46:57
Speaker 11: on the staff.
46:58
Speaker 2: So lets so you got higher as a Viking's head
47:00
Speaker 2: coach after you served as the interim head coach. But
47:03
Speaker 2: you're looking at two situations with the Raiders and the
47:06
Speaker 2: Panthers that are different. The Panthers have the number one
47:08
Speaker 2: overall picket quarterback. The Raiders have Aidan O'Connell who looks
47:11
Speaker 2: like he might be a keeper. But as an interim
47:13
Speaker 2: head coach who gets promoted, Let's say Antonio gets promoted,
47:16
Speaker 2: do you say we need to rock with this guy
47:19
Speaker 2: because he helped get me there, or we have an
47:21
Speaker 2: opportunity to get into the draft.
47:24
Speaker 4: Are going to free agency and get another guy again?
47:26
Speaker 2: These these scenarios are shaped very differently because of the
47:29
Speaker 2: quarterback and maybe the structure that roster you were talking about,
47:32
Speaker 2: But using your first hand experience, how much of the
47:35
Speaker 2: current roster do you want to roll with moving forward
47:38
Speaker 2: to help you succeed?
47:40
Speaker 1: That's the wild card?
47:42
Speaker 8: Man.
47:42
Speaker 11: Can you just step back and evaluate the personnel, you know,
47:48
Speaker 11: with a realistic lands it's so different when you evaluate
47:51
Speaker 11: the personnel as an assistant versus the head coach, because
47:54
Speaker 11: now you're looking at the entire team versus one side,
47:57
Speaker 11: and when it comes to that quarterback position, see if
47:59
Speaker 11: they're you know, just to be frank and honest, that
48:02
Speaker 11: there's one thing I.
48:04
Speaker 1: Could do different.
48:05
Speaker 11: Looking back, I would dig deeper into that quarterback situation
48:10
Speaker 11: than I did so Antonio in his case and in Chris,
48:16
Speaker 11: being able to evaluate that quarterback position and get right,
48:19
Speaker 11: even if you have to take another guy this year,
48:22
Speaker 11: get that position right. That is critical to your future success.
48:26
Speaker 4: Wow.
48:27
Speaker 3: Good, that is awesome. That's an unbelievable insights. Steve, Coach.
48:30
Speaker 3: We we we can't thank you enough.
48:32
Speaker 5: For really peeling back to curtain on something that I
48:34
Speaker 5: think a lot of people, Steve Raight, a lot of
48:36
Speaker 5: fans around the league don't understand what really goes on
48:39
Speaker 5: when a firing happens in season.
48:41
Speaker 3: In an interim, coach, I said.
48:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, and coach, well, let's revisit this at the end
48:45
Speaker 2: of the season.
48:45
Speaker 4: Let's revisit this conversation.
48:48
Speaker 1: I'd be right to love to that's the part ownership stamp.
48:51
Speaker 4: Heah, yeah, let's do that.
48:52
Speaker 2: Hey, coach, you get, you get, you got the last
48:54
Speaker 2: word here.
48:55
Speaker 4: We got to get out of here.
48:56
Speaker 2: We will be back on the end of a report Monday, JP,
49:00
Speaker 2: thank you, Thank everybody, and listen to the podcast woo
49:04
Speaker 2: that was loaded takes two hands to handle.
49:06
Speaker 3: That one was slam