Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / NFL Wild Card Round Prevew: Youth Vs. Experience In Patriots Vs. Chargers, Bears Vs. Packers

Transcript

NFL Wild Card Round Prevew: Youth Vs. Experience In Patriots Vs. Chargers, Bears Vs. Packers · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, Welcome to the Inside the Birds NFL Wildcard
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Round preview. That's right, the regular season is over, the
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: seeds have been established, and from here on out it
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: is going to be fewer and fewer NFL football games.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: And you got two teams that have rest this week
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: because of the number one seeds. That's the Broncos and
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the AFC, and of course the Seahawks in the NFC.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Well deserved for both teams, and then everybody else will
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: be playing. There's gonna be games Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: So this will be the last weekend of Monday Night
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: football until next year. So if you're a big fan
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: of Monday Night football, and a lot of some people
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: still are, it's not I think it's lost its luster
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: compared to Sunday Night Football over the years, but still
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: a fun game. If you're a big fan of Monday
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: night football and a traditionalist, it's going to be a
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: long time after Monday Night's game, which is always the
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: four or five seed, it's going to be excuse me.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: The Steelers hosting the Texans should be an exciting game.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: We'll get into it, but yeah, that'll be the last
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: one until the twenty twenty six season begins. Before we
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: get into the games, I do want to just go
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: around the league a little bit and discuss the head
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: coaching landscape GM landscape. As last show, I discussed the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: fact that I thought that there could be as many
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: as nine or ten head coaching openings, but I didn't
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: feel like it would get to that point. I did
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: not expect some things that happened that have happened. There
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: were some guys who you thought would be on the
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: bubble but safe, like a Raheem Morris for example, who
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: won you know, four straight games I think the two
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: end of the year, and he gets fired about, you know,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: less than a cup of coffee after the season finale
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: for the Falcons who win? They win, they beat the
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Saints and they help the Panthers get into the playoffs
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: and what do they get, Well, Raheem Morris gets fired
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: for it. So, as of this recording, and to be
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: honest with you, the way things work in the NFL,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: by the time you listen to this, there could be
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: a hiring, there could be another firing, But as of
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: this recording, there are eight openings. All right. You got
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: the Dolphins, the Ravens, the Giants, Titans, Falcons, Cardinals, Browns,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: and Raiders. So there's gonna be a lot of movement,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: it's gonna be a lot of change. It's gonna be
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: an interesting class of candidates you're gonna see being interviewed.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: I think what you will overwhe is defensive play caller types,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: not because that's the trend. I just think it was
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: a very good year for defense in the NFL, better
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: year for defense than offense. Just look at the two
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: number one seeds. They are defensive teams more than they
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: are offensive teams. And it just so happens that this
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: round of candidates, in my mind, is going to produce
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: more defensive names then there will be offensive names. So
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: guys like say Jesse Minter from the Chargers, who's done
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: an unbelievable job. I'm sure he's gonna get interviews. Anthony Campanilli,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the defensive coordinator for the Jaguars, I'm sure you're gonna
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: hear his name. You may see Antonio Pierce. You know
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: a couple of guys, defensive guys who've already been head coaches, Pierce, Jirodmeo.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: I don't know. They'll probably get a tire kick if
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: teams are still interested advanced Joseph of course, who's done
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: such an amazing job with the Broncos defense, Brian Flores.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: You're just gonna see a ton of defensive names being interviewed.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: But obviously, obviously the two biggest names are going to
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: be John Harbaugh because he's John Harbaugh, He's won a
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl, he's been a very successful coach, one of
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: the most successful coaches in the NFL for almost two decades.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: And then Kevin Stefanski, surely because he's been a two
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: time Coach of the Year, even though he has not
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: won a lot of games last two years. I think
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: most people look at the Browns and they don't always
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: hold that against the coach because they know the Browns
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: have not been a great organization and the fact that
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Stefanski was a two time Coach of the Year for
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: that organization puts a feather in his cap. So those
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: two guys will be coveted. The John Harbaugh situation is
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: interesting to me. Who knows why Ravens Steve Bushatti decided
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: to fire John Harball other than we know it's been
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: a disappointing year for the Ravens. They've had a ton
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: of injuries. They had high expectations going into the year,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: bringing almost everybody back on defense, it should have been
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: a very good defense. They were not. They had a
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: lot of injuries. They lost their best pass rusher Matabuki.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: They had injuries in the secondary. It did seem like
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: there was very few games where the Ravens secondary and
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: defense was all together. But also they did not have
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: great pass rushers. After losing Mattabuki, they did not have
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: great edge rushers and that hurt them. Regardless, they had
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: a chance to win in their last game and beat
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: the Steelers. I thought they would, they didn't. They had
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: a chance Tyler Loop. Obviously, the rookie kicker misses the
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: field goal, it's hard to believe, although it's probably true
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: that John Harbaugh be the difference between Hardball being unemployed
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: today and employed was the rookie kicker missing the kick.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: And if you go back and look at how the
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Ravens have lost in playoff games over the last few years,
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: it's not a coaching You didn't come away and say, man,
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: that was a poorly coach team. I mean last year,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: you know, Mark Andrews drops a two point conversion. Lamar
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: has a fumble, Andrews dropped another passing that game. I mean,
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: they had an opportunity last year to win and they didn't.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: They just didn't get it done, and that was kind
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: of strange. It wasn't coaching that you felt that they
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: lost to the Bills, all right. In twenty twenty three,
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I think they wound up losing to in the conference
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: championship game. They wound up losing to the Chiefs seventeen
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: to ten, and there were some there was a play here,
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: a play there, a drop. I mean, it was all
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: a call that meant the difference. So I understand that
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: they haven't gotten over this hump. But I don't think
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Steve Bashatti fired John Harbaugh because he doesn't think he's
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: a good coach anymore. Sometimes after eighteen years, things run
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: their course. I know it's out there that maybe the
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: relationship between Lamar and John Harbaugh might not be the same,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: or that they wanted Todd Munkin out. That would be
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: hard for me to believe because ever since to Munkin
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: became And I'm not trying to slam anybody's reporting, by
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: the way, I'm just giving you my own personal take.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Why would you want Todd Munkin fired even after a
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: year where the offense had issues and Lamar was injured.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Sure right. And I know that they had some wonky
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: things going on with Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: of the week seventeen game. I get, I get. I
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: get that there were some things that went on with
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: the Ravens that were not understandable all the time. But
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: with Todd Mounkin, Lamar Jackson won two MVPs. I mean,
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: he became one of the best. Forget running, I became
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: one of the best quarterbacks, if not the best quarterback
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: in the league. He's right up there. You can make
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: the argument that he is. So I just don't think
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: that anything other than owners get impatient. They want change
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: if they think it's time, and sometimes it's the right
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: call for both the owner and for the coach. And
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: this might be a situation. The Ravens are a great organization.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: There's no doubt in my mind that they will hire
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: the next head coach and give that guy a really
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: good roster. And it wouldn't surprise me if they went
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: with a guy just like with Harball, if they went
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: with somebody who's not the most obvious candidate, but someone
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: they identify as the best leader. The Ravens will be fine,
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: And I think John Harbaugh will be fine wherever he goes,
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: as long as he gets what he wants, which I
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: think he deserves and will. And when I say gets
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: what he wants, I'll expand on that. But usually a
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: head coach who's available like that, who has the credentials
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: that John Harbaugh has, will obviously get to pick all
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: of his coaches. Not everybody gets to do that, most do,
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: not everybody, but also might have a say if he
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: goes somewhere where the GM, who the GM might be.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: And it's not always the best way of doing business.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: But if you need to get a guy like John
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Harbaugh who's still in his sixties, he's still got plenty
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: of years left to coach. If you need to get
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: that guy, and it means you have to move on
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: from someone you already have, or you give that guy
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: a little bit more power, you do it because John
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Harbaugh is that good of a coach. But sometimes things
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: just run the course, and it's someonet ironic. You know
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: that Harball comes from the Andy Reid tree, and it
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: definitely reminds me of how it ended for Andy Reid
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: with the Eagles. Andy Reid was not a bad coach
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: when he got fired. He had some bad years with
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: some really bad injuries. There's probably some similarities and how
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: it went for the Ravens this year and how it
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: did at the end of Andy Reid's tenure with the Eagles.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: But the move was made because it had run its course.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: In Andy's situation, they had started to really feel the
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: pressure of not winning a Super Bowl and had started
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: to do some things that were very uncharacteristic as an organization.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: The hardest thing to do for head coaches in the
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: NFL is to find good assistant coaches. It's the hardest
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: thing to do. It's especially hard for coaches who become
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: first year head coaches and have to put a staff together.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: You hear this all the time. I've heard this a
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: thousand times that guys will go interview for jobs, for
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: head coaching jobs, and they'll have a list. This guy
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: is gonna be my offensive coordinator, this guy's gonna be
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: my defensive coordinator, this guy is gonna be so and
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: so my O lie coach and an owner who's dialed
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: in or a GM who's dialed in will look at
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: that list and be like, you're not getting those guys.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: Good try, but you're not getting those guys. They're not
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: coming here. They're either locked into contracts or it's just
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: not gonna happen. And so it's tough. I feel for
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: head coaching candidates. I mean a lot of times you'll
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: see a first year head coach go through his first
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: year with the team and then fire guys immediately. In fact,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Rae Morris as an example, right he fired his defensive
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: coordinator last year after his first year in Atlanta. I
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: believe Mike McDonald in Seattle is a good example. He
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: fired his offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, who he had brought
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: in from the University of Washington, and then he hired
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Clint Kubiak, who did an excellent job. But you just
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: don't have all the guys at your disposal that you want.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: So it's very, very difficult to get the guys that
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: you need. For Andy, at the end of his tenure
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: with the Eagles, they had started to make moves. And
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: it's not all on Andy. The front office played a
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: role in this too. They had started to bring in
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: guys who were not Andy Reid type of coaches, and
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: remember Andy Andy Reid type of coaches were, you know,
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: guys who were just committed to the great play connectivity
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: with players, demanding but fair. You're talking about Spagnolo, Rob Rivera,
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: Sean McDermott, and so Andy Reid had to fire Sean
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: mcder Here's how it worked, right, Sean McDermott was the
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and the unfortunately had passed away
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: after the two thousand and eight season. Sean McDermott becomes
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: the defensive coordinator. McDermott really good defensive mind. He's shown
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: that in Buffalo. But at the time and he's still
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: liked this. I talked to Sean, I catch up with
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: him in the combine. I'm not trying to knock him.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: I like him a lot. He's a very intense man,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: very demanding, very intense, and at the time he became
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Eagles defensive coordinator, you know he's in Jim Johnson's shadow
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: and that was very difficult. He was basically supposed to
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: replace a legend, right, and he's not Jim Johnson. He's
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Sean McDermott. And it was clear after you know, I
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: guess that year a defensive coordinator that Andy felt that
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Sean was feeling the weight of it too much and
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: maybe that was impacting how intense it was to be around.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: So he fired Sean. But in an Andy Reid way,
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: he got Sewn a job with Rivera down in Carolina,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: and it wind up being the best thing for Sean mcdermoty.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: He was a defensive coordinator for a really good team
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: that the Panthers had with Rivera, and then he became
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: the head coach of the Bills. But then what happened
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: is for the Eagles and Andy is you just start
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: hiring coaches that just aren't really your kind of guys.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: And so what happens is, we know Jim Washburn. There
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: was pressure for him to get that pass rush going.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: So he hires Jim Washburn, the godfather of the wide
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: nine defense, and they hire him before they hire a
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: defensive coordinator, right, And so I know this for a fact.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Andy had defense good defensive coordinators whose names you would
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: recognize in the building, interviewing for the job, saying I
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: don't know, I run this kind of defense, but Jim
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: Washburn runs this kind of defensive front. It's not going
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: to work. It's not what we do. And so you
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: can imagine Andy Reid all of a sudden is realizing
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: he doesn't have great options and wan still he didn't
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: want to make Juan Castillo his defensive coordinator. One had
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: been begging him for years to do it, but he
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: didn't want to. But he got into a case where
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: he had to. And so this is what I mean
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: by things run its course. You start making decisions that
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: aren't really the best interests of what you do, who
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: you are, your identity because of the need to win
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: a Super Bowl. Now, John Harbaugh and John Harbor won
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: a Super Bowl and to me, you know, that earned him.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: That's why he was there for eighteen years. He won
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: a super Bowl early in his career in twenty twelve,
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: we all remember, and then as the decline of Flacco
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: kind of settled in or the regression of the roster.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: You know, they went five to eleven in twenty fifteen,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: in eight and eight in twenty sixteen. So they went
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: through this rough patch where they just weren't the Ravens
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: that you knew. But John was just a couple of
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: years removed from you know, winning a super Bowl. And
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: in twenty fourteen they lost the They lost in the
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: divisional round, so you know, they go through a rough patch.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: But John Harbaugh has earned the right to stay, and
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: Bashati stuck with him. They were building up. They draft
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson, they build him up, and things are good again.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: That's why he didn't get fired when the first rough patch.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: But now you're in twenty twenty five. You've been to
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: the playoffs three straight years, You've come up short three
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: straight years, and you're in Lamar Jackson's prime, and the
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: owner just felt that maybe they've wasted a couple of
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: years of Lamar Jackson's prime and they just need it
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: had just run its course. The Ravens will be fine.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: I'm positive of it. John Harbaugh will be fine. I'm
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: positive of it. I don't know if it needed to happen,
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: but it did happen, and I think, much like with
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: Andy and the Eagles, I think both entities will be
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: all right and we'll survive it, and they will probably
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: look back on it, and maybe I'm sure right now
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: there might be a little bitterness on harbaugh side, I
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: get it. I think there was on Andy's side a
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: little bit. But Harbaugh can take a deep breath of
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: evaluate his options. He'll have plenty. We'll get to that
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: in a second, and decide on who you know. I mean,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: he's been around a lot of good coaches while he's
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: with the Ravens, and a lot of good personnel people
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: while he was with the Ravens, and wherever he goes.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: As long as he's given some power and the ability
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: to choose his coaches and maybe have some influence on
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: the front office, I think he'll be in a good spot. Now.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: The Miami Dolphins and their owner, Stephen Ross can say
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: all they want about how they were gonna They were
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: waffling on Mike McDaniel. They wanted to keep them, They
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: loved them, but they weren't sure. They told them in
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: the first press meeting that yes, you're a quarterback. He
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: went out and told the press I've been told. I'm sorry,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: not quarterback head coach. I'm the head coach. And then
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, just as it happens that Harbaugh's fired,
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: that Jim Ross a genre start. Sorry Steven Ross, who
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: went after Jim Harbaugh because Stephen Ross is a Schigar guy,
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: and Jim Harball was obviously a Michigan guy who went
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: after him. Just so happens, he fires Mike McDaniel. The
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: day after or hours after that, Harball. John Harball gets fired.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: They can call that coincidence. They can say what they want.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: And again, by the time you guys hear this, maybe
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: John Harbaugh has already taken a job somewhere else. It's
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: not a guarantee, but you can bet your bottom dollar
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: that Steven Ross will do everything in his power to
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: try to get John Harball. And if John Harbaugh gets
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to go there and bring in his guys,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: it's not a bad job. The one thing I can
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: tell you about Steven Ross, he is a big game hunter,
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: all right. He wants the flashy name. He wants you know,
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: he struck out earlier in his career on some guys,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: whether it was you know, Tony Sperano being an interim
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: or whether it was you know, Adam Gaze that was
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: a disaster. He's he's got money, he's a big game
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: hunter and the organization if he's able to get John Harbaugh.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: The organizations that Harball is only familiar with basically for
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: the last thirty years are the Eagles and the Ravens.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: So if John Harbaugh and the Miami Dolphins become one
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: and they work it out and he's their next head coach.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: It'll be interesting to see if any personnel or coaching
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: staff come from Eagles, Rave or you can even go
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: to the Chiefs because of the Andy Reid connection. I mean,
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: like I said, Harbball has coached with so many good
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: coaches that it will not I don't think it'll be
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: difficult for him to come up with the staff as
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: long as guys that he's looking for are available. You
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: can look at the Chargers where his brother is. There's
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: a connection there, So it would not be surprising to
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: me if you saw that kind of flavor hit South Florida.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: And just remember Stephen Ross. He wants to win. He
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: has been criticized as a medalsim owner at times. I
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: think it's fair. However, he does want win and he
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: does have money to spend, and so it'll be very
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: interesting now to see because now you've got the Dolphins
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: and some big market teams like the Giants. The Giants
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: need a head coach, Raiders need a head coach. I
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: can't see Harball going to the Titans or the Falcons.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: I think you know he's too much, too big of
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: a name. So I and we'll see what happens in
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: the playoffs if any team decides to fire it. I
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: don't think that anyone's in jeopardy here. If Mike Tomlin
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: loses to the Texans, which is very pop possible, does
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: he get fired. I don't think so. You know, I
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: don't think that anything anywhere else, obviously, Ben Johnson, and
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: I don't think Matt Lafleur is gonna go anywhere if
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: he loses to the Bears. I don't think Sam McVeigh.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: I don't think Dave Canalis. I think Dave Canell has
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: actually done a good job with the Panthers even though
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: they had a losing record. So you know, it looks
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: like this is to me, I would handicap this. I
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: would handicap the Giants and the Dolph as the two
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: spots that'll probably duke it out for Harbaugh. And you know,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: if the Giants don't get him, Kevin Stefanski again, we
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: talked about him. Kevin Stefanski could be a guy that
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: would appeal to them because the Giants are in a
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: tricky situation. I've mentioned this before. Their owner is sick,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: unfortunately John Mahra and it's a terrible situation. I hope
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: he winds up beating cancer. I believe it's cancer that
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: he has. I don't know how that's impacting their decision making.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: You would think that that's part of the reason they
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: decided to keep Joe Shane the GM and let him
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: lead the search, even though Shane has not exactly had
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: a stirling record since becoming the Giants GM. That's the case.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Kevin Stefanski would probably be a good fit for what
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: they have on offense and what he's been able to
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: do in Cleveland, but of course they'll cast a wide
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: net as well. And now what becomes of Mike McDaniel.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: I think he can. I think he's good. His team
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: obviously didn't quit on him, you know, he made that
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: quarterback change to Quinn you were, so they fell a
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: little bit at the end of the year. But I
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: think Mike McDaniel is a really brilliant offensive mind and
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I think he can coach. He's just got to be
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: in the right environment. So we'll see what the future
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: is for him. And other than that, you know, we'll
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: see what the Raiders. The Raiders just fascinate me because
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: I have you know, they're probably gonna take Mendoza number
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: one overall, but I don't. They have so much work
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: to do. Tom Brady is going to be highly involved
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: with that. So you know, the first thing you want
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: to do is think about potential Patriots guys that Brady
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: was with, or Buccaneers guys that Brady's with. I ain't
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: gonna be Josh McDaniels. McDaniel's had a great year with
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Drake May and the Patriots, but I can't see McDaniel's
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: going right back to Las Vegas after his stint there,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: so that'll be an interesting one too. All right, let
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: let's get into the wildcard games. And again, you got
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: the Seahawks are off and the Broncos are off, so
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: let's get into the wildcard games. All right. We'll start
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: with the Saturday games, the NFC Wildcard Games, four thirty
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: eight o'clock. For thirty you have the Rams. They are
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: in Charlotte against the Panthers. We all know the Panthers
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: were lucky to win the NFC South. They lost, but
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: because the Falcons won and beat the Saints, that made
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: the Panthers NFC South champs instead of the Bucks, so
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: they're at home. They will host a twelve and five
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Rams team that went out to Carolina a couple of
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: weeks ago and they lost. The Rams have not played
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: great over the last four weeks of the season two
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: and two. They did go and they lost to in
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: week thirteen to the Panthers thirty one twenty eight, and
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: in fact they finished the season three and three, which
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: is why they didn't get the number one seed, of course,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: or lost handle of it to Seattle. But let me
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: just tell you this now one it's pretty obvious and
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: I still think this the Rams to me, they are
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: getting some healthy guys back, including really their best player,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: not in the defensive front, but in the secondary, Quinton Lake.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: He is as important to them as Jalen Ramsey used
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: to be when they won the Super Bowl, as far
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: as moving around and being able to play multiple roles.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: And he has been out he dislocated his elbow, had
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: to have surgery. He'll be back for the playoffs. He
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: is a stabilizer for what the Rams will do on
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: the back end, which of course is going to help
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: the front end. And the Rams have already gotten Higbee back,
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: the great tight end, good tight end, who they were
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: out for a while. The only thing about the Rams
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: that concerns me, and it's also been a reason they
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: haven't been as strong over the last few weeks, is
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: that they've been missing their right tw haven't Steen He's
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: been on IR And they've been missing Kevin Dotson, who's
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: a good, good lineman for the him for them, very
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: good lineman. He's out, So they're gonna be on two
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: backup offensive linemen against a Panthers team that has a
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: lot of a lot of really good defensive players who
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: are not recognizable names. I mean it starts with their
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: defensive tackle, Derek Brown, a first round pick. I mean,
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: he'd probably be more recognizable if he was on a
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: bigger market team. This is of course why the game
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: is four to thirty on Saturday, the market size here.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: But he's a really good player. Jac Horn, good corner.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: They have good players on defense, very good players on defense,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: and then that is going to be that's the reason
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: why they even made it to eight and nine, and
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: if they pull off the upset, it'll be the reason
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: why they do that. They have good players on defense,
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: they have a good sound defensive scheme, and they can
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: be frustrating. They can make it a cult on opponents.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: But with the Rams healthier, having DeVante Adams, of course,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: having the run game that they've got the tight end
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Higbee coming back, it sounds like Ferguson's gonna be able
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: to play. They play a ton of tight ends. The
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: Rams will play three tight ends. They'll play Ferguson, they'll
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: play Higbee, and they'll play Kolby Parkinson and they'll run
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: out of those formations and use those big bodies. They'll
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: pass out of it using you know, play action. And
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford probably will finish second to Drake May in
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: League MVP, but he was the best quarterback this year.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: He really was. Drake May had a great year. Taking
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: nothing away from him, put the ball down the field
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: as good as anybody in the NFL. I just felt
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: watching the Patriots that they were so reliant on those big,
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: explosive plays, which is great. But the Rams can beat
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: you any single different way because of Stafford, right. I mean,
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: then a run game, sure, but they'll hate you in
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: the middle with the tight ends. They'll hit you in
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: the middle with Nicola, they'll hitch you deep with Nicoua.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: They hit you deep with Devonte Adams. Devanta Adams will
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: get you in the red zone, where he had a
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: ridiculous number of low red zone touchdown catches this year.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: The Rams, because of Stafford, have been an unbelievable offense
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: when they're hitting on all cylinders, and if their defense
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: just gets stable because they get a guy like Quinton
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Lake back, then that just makes them all the more stronger.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: I hate when teams have to go on the road
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: and win three times to get to a Super Bowl
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: if but veteran teams have done that, and I believe
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: the Eagles, I'm sorry, I believe the Rams can do that.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: I do believe they are, when healthy, the best team
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: in the NFC. It doesn't mean they'll make it there,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: but they are the best team in the NFC. I
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: can see the Panthers putting up a little bit of
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: a fight here, but man, they are ten and a
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: half point underdogs at home, and I honestly think it's
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: I think the Rams are probably fourteen to sixteen points
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: better than the Panthers because the Panthers, they just don't
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: have a consistent enough passing game. You know, there were
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: some weeks in the middle of the year where they
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: were getting a tremendous run game at a Rico o'd Dowdell.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: They have a good offensive line. They got some good
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: guys up front that again you probably haven't heard of.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: But he got a guarden Damien Lewis who's really good.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Ikey Aquantum their left tackle first round or has been
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: good enough. The right guard Corbett, the right tackle Taylor Moten.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: They are good up front in the trenches. And Ted
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: McMillan is an excellent wide receiver. Jilln cocher is a
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: really nice story at a holy Cross, guy who was
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: an undrafted free agent. He's a starter for them. He's
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: kind of a slot guy who can go vertical. They
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: can move him around, so they've got weapons. But I
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: watched Bryce Young play and once every four or five
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: weeks looks like he's just in a rhythm and he
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: finds it and it's there, and then the other three
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: to four weeks, he doesn't look like an NFL starting quarterback.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: He's an NFL quarterback. I don't know that he's an
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: NFL starting quarterback for a team that aspires to be
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: more than just an eight to nine division winner and
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: a first round playoff team. So the Rams will have
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: a major advantage of this game. And I would say
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: that getting Quinton Lake back is huge for them. Again,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: not a guy who's a recognizable household name, but he's
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: an important player. He's a very good player. He does
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: a lot of things on the back end for Chris Shula,
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: who has done a great job as defensive coordinator. This
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: guy can blitz, he can cover, he can run, he
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: can tackle, and he lets Shula find the right matchups
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: because he knows he can put Quinton Lake anywhere on
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: the field and get a good productive play out of them.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: And of course Verse very good upfront. I mean, the
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Rams just have really good That's why I think they're
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: the most complete team. They've got really good players about oh,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: I just all the ones they have on offense. But
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: look what they got on defense. They have really Verse
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: we know is good, all right, Fisk very good. Not
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: a great run stop, but very good. They had a
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: linebacker Nate Landman just come out of nowhere and play
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: really well. Byron Young of course has been a very
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: good pass rusher. Kobe Turner up the middle. I mean,
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: these guys are none of them, none of them other
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: than Verse are first round picks. Their secondary isn't great,
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: but when you have what you got with Quinton Lake
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: and you have the front defensive front that they have,
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: they have been good defensively for most of the year,
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: and I think that they're going to be too much
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: for Bryce Young. So the Rams, to me, they will
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: advance and then they will wait to see what their fate,
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: which could be determined by what happens in the Packers
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: Bears game. Now Packers Bears, I love this game for
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: so many reasons. Let's just start off with the coaching, right.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: You have four of the best coaches in the NFL
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: on the field. For the Packers, you have Matt Lafleur,
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: who's a very good coach. I quibble sometimes with his
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: conservative play calling, but during the playoffs every year, they're
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: a good team every year. And even though I quibble
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: with his conservative play calling, I think he has a
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: good feel when to run, when to pass, how to
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: use his very athletic, big arm quarterback. Like it doesn't
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: have a lot of weapons. They'd certainly picked up the
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: pace when Christian Watson came back. That was great for them,
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: and they certainly will get got a boost when Jayden
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Reid came back and with Josh Jacobs being healthy, this
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: is good. They're a little beat up on the offensive line.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: They lost their center Jenkins, who was very good. Looks
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: like Zach Tom the right tackle will be good to go.
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: That's a big difference for them. So they're pretty healthy.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: But you got Matt Lafleur, and you got a defensive coordinator,
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: and Jeff Hafley, who's done a tremendous job, is two
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: years there, it's already a head coaching candidate. I believe
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: he's already got some interviews lined up, if not done already.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: So you have two at the best at their position.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: And then you flip and look at the Bears. And
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Ben Johnson will not win Coach of the Year. I
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: think he'll get votes. I don't think he'll win it.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: I think Mike McDonald will get it. If Mike McDonald
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: doesn't get it, Mike Vrabel probably will. I suspect when
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: it all said and done, if you see how the
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: standings are for the voting, it'll be something like McDonald
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: won verybel to Ben Johnson three. I mean, you can
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: make an argument for Kyle Shanahan, for Liam Cohen, There
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: have been some tremendous, tremendous coaching jobs this year, but
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: certainly Ben Johnson has been one of them. He is
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: an excellent play caller, excellent schemer. He has the Bears
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: run game clicking on all cylinders with a rookie and
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: a rookie guy that nobody ever heard of from Rutgers
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: named Kyle Manongai along with DeAndre Swift. They made those
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: moves to upgrade the offensive line. Those were really, really
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: good moves the Bears made in the offseason that didn't
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: get a lot of a clean They traded for Tony
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: They got Jonah Jackson from the Rams. They really built
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: the interior of that offensive line right so that they
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: could run the ball. I'm sorry, I met Alaric Jackson,
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: not Jonah Jackson. Alaric Jackson, but he plays left tackle. No, no, no,
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: let me reverse that. I'm getting my Rams and Bears
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: line and confused. All right. Jonah Jackson from the Rams
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: plays right guard. Toney they traded the trade for the Chiefs.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: He can still play. He's a good left guard, all right.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: And Drew Dolman was a pro bowler at center, so
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: they are excellent at running the ball all the Eagles
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: fans know that now. They run the ball up the middle,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: but they don't have a great passing game. We'll get
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: into that in a second. But Ben Johnson has done
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: a phenomenal job with this offense and their defense led
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: by Dennis Allen. We know Dennis Allend's a really good
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: defensive coordinator. He was in New Orleans. He's been good
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: wherever he's been. Maybe not the best head coach, but
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: some guys are just better as coordinators. Dennis Allen's a
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: very good coordinator. And the Bears all year long have
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: thrived on takeaways. They are the number one takeaway team
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: in the NFL, or at least they were in the
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: regular season. That's their claim to fame. They can intercept
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: the ball, they can get fumbles. They were plus twenty
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: two in turnover differentials, so they also don't turn the
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: ball over quite a bit. They had thirty three takeaways,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: eleven giveaways plus twenty two twenty three interceptions, lead led
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: the NFL. I think that's really important and vital. But
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: what you can't rely on that too much. Now. The
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: Eagles did it last year unbelievably. They had a They
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: had something like a plus twelve turnover ratio in the
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: UH in the play, I mean, it was just it
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: was not Nobody else was even close to them in
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: the In the postseason, they have thirteen takeaways in four games.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: That's unbelievable. Six interceptions, seven fumbles. The Eagles had that
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: they could survive, but they also had a very good
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: offense that if the defense, you know, had a little
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: bit of a letdown, they could hit you with Saquon
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: Barkley and he would take off. The Rams to me,
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: are so takeaway dependent. They don't have they don't have
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: pass rushers like the Eagles did last year. They're very
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: very takeaway dependent because they don't have pass rushers. They
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: don't have killer like that killer up front, like a
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: Micah Parsons. So when they played the Packers, they played
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: the Packers, even though it's in Chicago, eight o'clock game.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: Whether it could be a factor, I know it's supposed
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: to snow earlier in the day and maybe done by
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: the time they play. It would probably be windy. Always is.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: I gotta favor the Packers here, I know there the
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: lower seed. I don't hold it against the Packers. How
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: they finished the season. We know Love was injured missed
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: the last two games. I'm not gonna make a big
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: deal of it that they only had nine wins or
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: that even in that game they lost to the Bears
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: where they had a chance to win the division, they
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: let the Bears come back and win the game. Now,
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: the Bears have been that way all year long. They
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: are a fourth quarter team. And if this game is
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: within three to six, seven something like that in the
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: fourth quarter, which it could be, you can't count the
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: Bears out because they have had some magic so far
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: in the postseason. But I can't say that I trust
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: And this is not just a Caleb Williams thing. It's
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: sort of that first year playoff quarterback thing. Had a
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: lot of experience, you know, a lot of success in
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: the regular season, really came into his own, but this
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: is his first playoff game at home. There's a ton
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: of pressure on him. They're mainly a run reliant team,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: the Packers of a very good defense. I don't think
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: that they're gonna get run all over. I think that
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: there's gonna be a good amount of second and third
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: and lungs that the Bears are gonna have to figure
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: out a way to convert with their passing game. And
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: that's where I think Caleb Williams is inexperience in the
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: playoff and his erraticness at times is gonna hurt them.
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: I don't think it'll hurt the Packers. The Packers will
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: probably have some struggles at times moving the ball against
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: the Bears defense, but again, the Bears don't have pass rushers,
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: so as long as they play smart, fundamental football, the
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: Packers do, and with Christian Watson and with Jaden Reed
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: and Jacobs, I don't think that Love is gonna have
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: to feel like he has to be a hero. He's
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: got his support system that he's used to. He didn't
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: have them all together all year long. He's got that now.
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: I think is long as they don't turn the football over,
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: the Packers are gonna be all right, and I think
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: they're gonna win the game. I don't trust the Bears offense,
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: and the Packers winning means that they would wind up
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: going to Seattle, and then the winner of that four
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: thirty game between the Rams and Panthers will come to Philadelphia.
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: As long as Philadelphia does its job and beats the
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: forty nine ers, That's how I see it. Again, the
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: Packers would go to Seattle because they are the lowest seed,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: So the number one seed is going to host the
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: lowest seed, and then that would in turn take the
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: two seed out with Chicago out and make the Eagles
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: then the home team for the second round. So after
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: all that, you know, moaning and groaning about whether or
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: not Nick Sirianni should have rested his starters or not,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: there's a pretty good chance, or the way I see
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: it playing out, that they're going to have that second
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: home game anyway. The only issue is it's probably gonna
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: be the Rams and the Rams at full strength, and
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: then we'll get to that. We'll cross that bridge when
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: we get there. So those are how I see the
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: Saturday games. I forgot to mention I think if I
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: didn't mention it, the Packers are one and a half
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: point favorites in Chicago, and the total is forty four
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: and a half, a lot of low over unders man
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: forty four and a half for the Packers, Bears, forty
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: five and a half for Rams Panthers. It's a little
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: interesting to me. But again, the Panthers can't score. I
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: just don't think offensively they're ready. The Eagles forty nine
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: ers is going to be forty four and a half.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: We'll get into that once you get to the AA.
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: Even some of the AFC games are really low. So,
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: like I said, it's been a defensive year and it'll
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: probably be a very defensive postseason.
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: Hey, it's that time of the year that everyone's trying
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: to clean up their habits and that includes me. Honestly,
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: having one less drink is never felt easier. Instead of
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: pouring a cocktail, I just reach for souls out of
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: office drinks. It's the same relaxing vibe, but zero alcohol,
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: zero hangover. I still wake up feeling like a functional adult.
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: I can get to the I can do whatever I
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: have to do throughout the day without feeling worn down
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: or dragged down that alcohol can make you feel. SOL
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: What I appreciate about them is it makes feeling good
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: simple with their delicious HEMP, drived, CBD and THC products
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: with precise dosing, clean ingredients and formulations designed for predictable
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: feel good effects. SOL is the alcohol alternative that puts
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: you in control of your mood. You gotta try their
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: best selling out of office gummies that deliver a customizable
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: calming buzz. All right, so give yourself the gift of
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: a healthier unwind. Right now, Soul is offering our audience
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: thirty percent off their entire order. Go to getsoul dot
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: com and use the code birds Birds that's getsold dot
• 40:45
  Speaker 2: com promo code birds for thirty percent off.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: Hey, it's Jeff Mosher. A quick question for you. If
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: you could stop somebody from breaking into your home before
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: they got inside, why wouldn't you. That's why I've got
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: Simply Safe, the best home alarm system, so much much
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: better than those old school systems that go after somebody
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: that's already in your place when it's way too late.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: Simply Safe is different, proactive, and you get a double
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: layer of defense that stops crimes before they start. They've
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: got AI powered cameras that spot potential threats outside, and
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: then live agents step in. They talk to the person
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: through the camera to let them know they're on video,
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: and police will be dispatched if they don't leave. You
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: can get Simply Safe with no long term contracts or
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: hidden fees, and you can cancel at any time. They
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: were named the best home security systems by US News
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: and World Report for five years running. This is why
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: I feel so safe when my wife and children are
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: at home because I have Simply Safe. It is simply
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: the best option out there for home alarmed systems, and
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: this month only take fifty percent off any new system.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: This is one of the best prices you'll see ever
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: for Simply Safe. Don't miss it. Hit simply Safe dot com.
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: Slash birds again, that's Simplysafe dot Com and lock in
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: your discount. There's no safe like Simply Safe. Hey, Philly fans,
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic, long lines, We've
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: all been there, But when it comes to your cannabis,
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: Camden Apothecary makes it easy. This is the dispensary for
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: sports fans, just minutes outside of Philly, with plenty of
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: free parking. You'll be in and out fast, no hassle,
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: no waiting, and they don't just care about convenience. Camedn
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: Apothecary is all about the guest experience. Their staff makes
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: sure you feel taken care of every time you walk in.
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: Plus they carry only the best quality cannabis at the
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: fairest prices. So whether you're stocking up for the tailgate,
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: the watch party, or celebrating a big win, you know
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: you're getting the good stuff without overpaying. They even show
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: love to the community with specials for fans, students, service members,
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: and healthcare pros camedn Apothecary, top quality cannabis, great prices,
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: and an experience made for Philly fans. Twenty one and
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: up right the Sunday matchups. Obviously, I'm not gonna cover
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: the Eagles game too much because we've done that on
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: the inside the Birds pregame show with myself, Adam Kaplan
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: Greg Gosell. I'll just reiterate what I said and what
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: I wrote at Philly Voice. I really respect what the
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: Niners have done all year long, and they have compensated
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: for their injuries, and they've compensated for their lack of firepower,
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: and they've really put together an impressive year. But you know,
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: the team that they're facing, this Eagles defense, is not
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: like the Cardinals. It's not like you know, the Bears.
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: It's this is more like Seattle for them, and we
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: saw how they played against Seattle. I just think, especially
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: with the elements and the wind that's expected, I think
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: the Niners are gonna have a real tough time moving
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: the ball. And even though I think the Eagles are
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: also going to be the Eagles and struggle to move
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: the ball. I think that they've got enough to really
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: be able to win this game by about ten points.
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: The Eagles are six point favorites. I think it's gonna
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: be like a twenty three to thirteen type of Eagles
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: win one that you know, Hey, for the Eagles, they're
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: surviving events, but for everybody else, they'll be upset that
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: they didn't take advantage of more opportunities or didn't put
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: more points on the board against the Niners defense that
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: has really beat up over the middle. The Sunday early game,
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: of course, the early game, you're gonna have two small markets.
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: You got the Bills at the Jaguars. You know, don't
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: let this game fool you. These are two a really
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: good teams and b you know, the Jaguars were a
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: team Bills too. I mean they kind of you didn't
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: know what they were were halfway through the year. Jaguars
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: really came on from the trade deadline on when they
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: picked up Myers from the Raiders, and their defense coordinator
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: Anthony Campinelli has done an unbelievable job. The offense came
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: around the second half. Defense was there pretty much all year.
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: So this is a really good game and it's not
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: a typical three six matchup in that I think it's
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: pretty evenly contested. I think that both these teams are
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: very good. I think the one thing about this game
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: is that Josh Allen has so much pressure on him,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: even though the Jags are one and a half point
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: favorites in their home. When you have an NFL playoff
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: that doesn't have Patrick Mahomes, doesn't have Lamar Jackson to
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: go through, doesn't have that guy that you're used to
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: seeing where you say, hey, Josh Allen's great, but he's
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: gonna have to beat one of those two guys. Okay,
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: just doesn't have Joe Burrow. It's basically Josh Allen and
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: a bunch of guys who are young, or Aaron Rodgers
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: who's hanging on, playing well, but hanging on. And so
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: there's so much pressure this year where Josh doesn't have
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: to run into Lamar, doesn't have to run into Mahomes,
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: doesn't have to run too both of them to win it,
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: and he's playing against a Jacksonville team that's an upstart
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: team that nobody thought would be the number three seed
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: going into the year. I think that makes the game
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: very intriguing. The bottom line is that neither of these
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: teams have real prolific weapons. Buffalo Josh Allen is the
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: prolific weapon. James Cook is a great running back, no doubt.
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: But when they have to throw the ball, you're either
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: throwing a Dulton Kincaid, You're throwing a you know, Khalil.
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, the kid from Boise State whose name is
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: escaping me right now. But Buffalo Shakir Khalil, Shakir Brandon
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: cooks like this is not a great passing offense passing
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: schemes in general of Vanilla two. Then you got Jacksonville
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: and Trevor Lawrence, who played like one of the worst.
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: He had one of the worst passer ratings in the
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: league for the first eight games of the year. All Right,
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: came on at the end. They run the ball right,
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: Brian Thomas Junior coming on there. He's really not their
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: guy that you thought he would be after that great
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: rookie year. Parker Washington's come on for them. Myers has
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: caught some balls for them. I mean, they really spread
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: it around with what they do offensively. It feels like
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: they do just enough offensively to get by week after week.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: But hey, that's worked for them and they've done well.
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: Liam Cohen has done a good job. But it's not
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: a six to three matchup. I really think that it'll
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: be a low scoring game. I think the Bills will
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: have a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter.
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: And that's how I see this game. I see this
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: being the fourth quarter game, and a team that makes
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: the most plays in the fourth quarter will be the
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: team that wins. It could be Jacksonville, could be Buffalo.
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: I don't have a great feel either way. I'm just
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: saying for a six to three matchup, I don't look
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: at that I wouldn't be surprised if Buffalo won the
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: game at all. In fact, again, I think you know,
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: if this game will played a couple weeks ago, Buffalo
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: might be favored even if it was still in Jacksonville.
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: Jacksonville being one and a half point favorites at home
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: tells you all you need to know about how the
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: sportsbooks feel. If this game were in Buffalo or a
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: neutral field, the Bills would be favored. So don't look
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: at this like a six to three game. Look at
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: this like two really good teams flawed but good that
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: will both play good defense. Jacksonville has very good defensive players,
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: and one thing I want to point out is that
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: Anthony Campanilly, the defensive coordinator, has basically done a great
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: job with a defense that is the same as last year,
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: which stunk. I mean, they didn't bring in a ton
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: of defensive players. They drafted Travis Hunter. He's been on
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: ir so he hasn't really made that much of a
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: difference for their cornerback group. Anthony Campanilly, you could tell
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: he's a good coach because he's basically he's taking guys
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: like Devin Lloyd linebacker who is struggling under the pass regime,
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: playing really well. You know, he gets what he gets
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: out of Treyvon Walker. I mean, the Jags are again
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: not a team that has a thousand household names they're
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: gonna wow you, but they're a good team and they
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: play really good defense. You know, good linebackers. They've gotten
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: good safety play, made some swarmp moves. Same with the Bills.
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: The Bills they always have people hurt, and of course
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: Terrell Bernard, their linebacker, is going to be out. Their cornerback,
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: Maxwell Harrison's gonna be out. They're always dealing with injuries,
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: but they're a schemed defense. Sean McDermott really understands how
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: to break down protection schemes with either Blitzer or disguised blitzer.
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, he's Jim Johnson's reincarnate. He schemes up a
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: defense that is very difficult to go over the top against,
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: very difficult to score a lot of points against, even
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: if they don't have a bunch of guys out there
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: who are all pros. That's just how good Sean McDermott is.
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: So I expect it'll be a low scoring game, kind
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: of one of those things where whoever, if some if
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: one of these teams turns the ball over two or
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: three times, they're dead, no question about it. The late
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: game is about as exciting a game as it gets.
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: And again, throw the seedings out the window. The Patriots
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: as the number two seed versus the Chargers as a
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: seventh seed. Folks, I know that the Chargers won eleven
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: games the Patriots won fourteen, so you think that's kind
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: of a wide differential. The Chargers playing the AFC West,
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: they got to battle it out with the Broncos, who
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: are the one seed the Chiefs, who for the at
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: least the first five to six to seven games of
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: the year were a competitive team until they lost Mahomes.
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: The Chargers' strength of win this year is forty seven
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: point four to sixty nine. The Patriots strength of win
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: this year is point three to nine to one. I'm
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: I'm saying is if you made the Patriots play the
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: Chargers schedule and the Chargers played the Patriots schedule, it
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: might be that the Chargers are fourteen to three and
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: the Patriots are eleven and six. I'm not trying to
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: take away anything from what New England has done, but
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: I have concerns about them in this game. They're very young,
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: all right. Drake May second year, first playoff game, had
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: an unbelievable year, might be the MVP. Okay, young player,
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: this will be his first taste of the playoffs. Traveon Henderson,
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: they're running back, first taste of the playoffs. Christian Gonzalez
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: their cornerback, very talented player. They've got players who obviously
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: they have Milton Williams right, They've got some players who've
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: been there or have played in playoff games. But for
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: the most part, the Patriots are a young team. You know, again,
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: Steph Diggs, He's played in big games. But if you
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: look at them, for the most part, not too many
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: guys who have played in really really big games like this.
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: You compare that to the Chargers. Now, we know the
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: Chargers have that issue where they've lost both their offensive tackles.
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: They're not a great offensive team. They do should have
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: their running backs Hampton and Videlle, so that is a
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: good thing for them. Huge. Actually, they're not gonna be
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: able to overcome their offensive line offensive tackle issues. They're
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: just always going to be there and Herbert will have
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: to be superman and put the cape on. But look
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: at the experience factor, all right. Herbert has played in
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: playoff games, all right. The defense, they got guys like
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: mac right, Khalil Mack played in playoff games, played in
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: big games. Okay, how about their head coach Harbaugh. He's
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: won a college football championship and he's already been to
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: a Super Bowl, all right. His defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: has been with him along the way Baltimore and then
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: of course in Michigan. So this this is an team
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: that is not going to go and be scared of
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: New England. They're not going to be afraid of the limelight.
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: The moment is not going to be too big for them.
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: They have just too many guys who've played a Keenan Allen,
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: I forgot to mention him. Too many guys who played
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: a lot of NFL games. All Right, They're not going
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: to be scared. This is a battle tested team. They
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: have gone through the ringer this year. They have lost
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: so many guys to injuries at times, and Justin Herbert
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: was playing with a broken left hand. And they finished
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: the way they finished tells you a lot about what
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: they're made of. The Chargers are a very good team.
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: I thought you guys know this on the show. I
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: thought those two tackles going down for the year, Slater
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: and Alt were going to ruin them. I thought that
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: they would be in trouble if they did not. They
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: won their last three games, they won four of their
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: last six. You know, yes they had a two point
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: loss to the Chiefs, and yes they got blow out
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: by the Bucks. So I'm not telling you they're perfect.
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: What I'm saying is I don't think that they I'm sorry,
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: that wasn't That's what I just said was not the
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: case about their schedule. They lost their last two games.
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: They lost to the Broncos, but they didn't start their starters.
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: They lost to the Texans in Week seventeen, twenty to sixteen.
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: They were down fourteen to nothing and then almost came back.
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: In that game, any call could have gone their way.
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: Totally different story before that. They have won four straight
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: and seven of eight, but their only loss to the Jaguars. Okay,
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: this is a good team, a very good team. They
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: will not be scared in New England. Jim Harbaugh doesn't
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: coach scared. He doesn't coach scared. He doesn't make it.
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: He doesn't spread any of that to his team. They
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: will be absolutely prepared and ready for the Patriots. And
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: one thing about the Patriots. They have been a big
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: play team all year long. Kind of a shot play team.
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: Whether it's Henderson big run or Stefan Diggs big peck cat.
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: That's what's made Drake May special. He has put the
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: ball down the field really well. The Chargers do not
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: allow a whole lot of downfield action. They have a
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: very good scheme, a very good secondary, a very good
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: coordinator who likes to play too high in some ways.
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: I wonder about the matchup for the Patriots here. Can
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: they play their game? Can they play the way they
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: want you? Can they go big game hunting against a
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: Chargers defense that can come after you. These are fair questions.
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: I really really I can't wait to watch the game.
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: I think it's going to be exciting. I think it'll
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: be close. When I say that the Patriots are three
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: and a half point favorites, I would not be surprised
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: if the Chargers won the game. I'm not saying I
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: think they will definitely win the game. I'm not saying
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: they should be favorites. Trust me, not saying any of that.
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: What I'm say saying is I expect them to show
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: up to Jillette Stadium there and give a really, really
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: good game. And you don't get oftentimes really good games
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: out of the two to seven seed. I think in
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: this situation, you might, you think you could be and
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: you might get an upset. So we'll see see how
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: it goes. I gotta keep Josh McDaniels a lot of credit.
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: He has done an unbelievable job with that new England
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: Patriots defense offense. So he has proved that he can
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: orchestrate a very good offense that isn't captained by Tom Brady.
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: It's a good job by them, and this Patriots team
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: is very good. I'm not expecting them to lie down either,
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: and even though they are young, I'm not expecting them
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: to have one of those games where they have four
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: or five six turnovers. I think Mike Vrabel will have
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: them ready to play a good game. But I I
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: like the way the Chargers have played and I give
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: him a puncher's chance in that game. As for the
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: Monday Night game, I think the word puncher's chance is
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: probably or term is probably appropriate, because this game is
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: really going to be a fight between two teams that
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: have really good defenses and just okay offenses. A couple
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: of weeks ago, maybe a month ago, I would have
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: told not said that about the Steelers, but I really
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: have watched, you know, their games lately. Once TJ. Watt
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: came back, their front seven got stabilized. I think the
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: rookie Derek Harmon has played really well. He's impressive. You know,
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: Cam Hayward's always up to make big plays in the playoffs.
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: Talk about battle tested, all right, they have a battle
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: tested defense. Jalen Ramsey back there. He may not be
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: the Jalen Ramsey of five years ago with the Rams
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: or Miami, but he's still a good player. So this
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: this Steelers team is ready for the moment. They have
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: played very good defense. Benton another good line. I mean,
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: their front four is very good and it has really
• 57:51
  Speaker 1: come alive over the last few weeks. They did an
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: excellent job against Baltimore and what they are offensively is
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: not pretty. They survive without DK Metcalf. He'll come back.
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: They really survive on having a good offensive line, a
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: good running game, and a good quick game. Aaron Rodgers
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: does not want to hang around in the pocket anymore
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: and take hits. He wants to get rid of the
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: ball quickly. He's been able to do that for the
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: last few weeks for the most part. Every once in
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: a while he'll throw a beautiful ball, like the same
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: ball that he threw to Friarmouth against the Ravens. That
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: was a huge play. Obviously, the fourth quarter touchdown he
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: threw to Austin. The guy was wide open, but nonetheless
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: Rogers showed you the arm. He can get it there.
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: He can make plays. This team's just not ready to die,
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: and that you know, shame on me for kind of
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: burying them five six, seven weeks ago. Because Mike Tomlin
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: teams don't die. He's a very good coach. The issue
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: that they face is that this Houston Texans defense is
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: the best, in my m estimation, is the best defense
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: in the NFL. It is to me. They may not
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: have the splash that the Broncos defense has. The Broncos
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: have Bonito, they have Cooper, they have certain Riley Moss,
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: Zach Allen. It seems like the Broncos just have just
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: studs at every single position. But you know what, the
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: Texans aren't that far behind. And I think the Texans
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: don't get the same kind of credit all the time
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: because basically, Demiko lets his guys go out there and win,
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: and they do Van Schosa. For the Broncos, he'll blitz,
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: He'll throw all the kitchen sinks at you because he can.
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: He can throw seven guys at you. He can throw
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: six guys at you because he got guys that can cover.
• 59:34
  Speaker 1: The Texans do too, but they don't feel the need
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: to do that. That's just not how Demico Ryans plays ball,
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: all right. He relies on guys like Will Anderson and
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: Danielle Hunter. They're two pass rushers to get the job done,
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: and they do. They're fantastic. They're good in the middle
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: with Togyi and Rankins, excellent at linebacker, Alsha here as
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: he's Alsa here a very good player. Stinglu, you know,
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: is a great cornerback. All right. They get good safety play.
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: Last has done well. Petrie the Nickel. I mean, they
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: just are so technically sound, so fundamentally sound. They don't
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: give you an inch. They will not yield an inch
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: to the Steelers. The Steelers wanna wear you down with
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: a running game. They wanna wear you down with a
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: quick game, and then maybe try to pop one on
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: you when you're least expected. All Right, Houston, they'll expect it,
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: and they're gonna put the Steelers in bad down in distances,
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: and likewise, the Steelers are gonna do the same to
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 1: the Texans. The Texas are three point favorites on the
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 1: road in Pittsburgh, which is a tough, tough place to
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: win in the postseason. This game will be a defensive
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: slug fest. Not surprisingly, the over unders thirty eight and
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 1: a half, and honestly, folks may not get there, might
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: not get to thirty eight and a half. It's gonna
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 1: be a fun game. It's gonna be a throwback game,
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: old school game. If you're being objective and honest with yourself.
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: When you look at the AFC playoff picture, Josh Allen's
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: the best quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is the most accomplished quarterback.
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: He's probably the guy you might say you trust the
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: most in the AFC after Josh Allen, because we just
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: haven't seen it yet from Drake may or Trevor Lawrence.
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: But that's the beauty of this weekend. This is the
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: start of a great postseason, because every NFL postseason is great,
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: but this is the start of when young guys like
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 1: Drake may or guy like Trevor Lawrence, or a guy
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: who hasn't won yet like Justin Herbert, Right, these are
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: the times that they get to make their moments. Maybe
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 1: it's CJ. Stroud all right. In the NFC, you've got
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: a little bit more of guys who've made their moments
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: and they're still in it. Guys like Stafford, guys like Hurts, right,
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, those guys have made their moments. Darnold, he
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: hasn't made his moments yet. In the playoffs is still
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: approve of time, but we've seen him steadily progress over
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: the last few years. Same thing Jordan Love. We know
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 1: he's a very capable quarterback, a good quarterback who can
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: win a playoff game. We all remember when he went
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: to Dallas and just slaid the Cowboys a few years
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: ago in the playoffs. But the AFC, there's a beauty
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: in this. There is a beauty in watching Stroud Herbert
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: may all try to take that spotlight away from Josh Allen.
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: And there's a beauty in Josh Allen, maybe finally this
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: being his year where there's not that big guy Hall
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: of Famer in his way to take the Bills to
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: the super Bowl. It all starts this weekend. It's gonna
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: be a fantastic weekend. I look forward to it, and
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: I'm also kind of happy that last week, for the
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: third straight week, I went two in one in my picks, which,
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: by the way, is tough in Week eighteen because you
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: never know what teams are gonna pull starters, what teams
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: are gonna play guys not play guys. It's wacky, but
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: I won. I took the Vikings with the big number
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: over the Packers, Vikings nine and a half. They won
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: by a lot they covered. I won on the Bills,
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: covering their seven and a half verst the Jets. I
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: knew the Bills were gonna play everybody. They destroyed the Jets,
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 1: who were epically bad. I did lose on the Texans.
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: I took the Texans to beat the Colts with a
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: ten point favorite ten point spread. They lost by eight,
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 1: and of course the Texans pulled their starters at halftime
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: when they saw the Jags were rolling. So maybe I
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 1: would have went three and o. But like I said,
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 1: Week eighteen is tough that way. It brings my It's
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 1: so sad. I'm six and three over the last three weeks,
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 1: and I'm only twenty three and thirty one on the year.
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: As for my three picks and well card weekend, for
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 1: the first time this year, I usually typically avoid the Eagles,
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: but for the first time this year, I take the
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: Eagles six point favorites at home against the Niners. I
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 1: explained why, I thought that in a low scoring game
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: they'll win by about, you know, ten points, maybe a
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 1: little more. I am gonna take the Steelers because they're
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: getting three points at home, right so I'm not sure
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: the Steelers are gonna win. This to me feels like
• 1:04:10
  Speaker 1: a fifteen to fourteen type of game or something thirteen
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 1: twelve something like that probably ends on a game winning
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: field goal. So but you know, whenever you see a
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: playoff game and the Steelers, who haven't won a playoff
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: game in a while, but getting points in Pittsburgh, that
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: begs me to take it. I don't know if they'll win,
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: but I think that they they'll cover. And I'm going
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: to go against my better judgment because it's a big number,
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: but I'm going to take the Rams ten and a
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: half over the Panthers. Like I mentioned, the Rams are healthy,
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 1: got almost everybody back. Offense should be clicking. I don't
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 1: think the Panthers will be able to hang with We
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: talked about, you know, youth and inexperience, and the Panthers
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: have a ton of that right now, a bunch of
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 1: guys who are going to be playing playoff football for
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: the first time. And the Rams they're the opposite. They've
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: got guys who are pretty battle tested, including their quarterback,
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: who you know, might win MVP, probably should win MVP.
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: I'm guessing Drake may is gonna get it I can
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 1: understand why. You know, obviously the Rams faltered down the
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: stretch a little bit, but nobody's played better quarterback this
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: year than Matthew Stafford. I don't believe that anybody has
• 1:05:15
  Speaker 1: played better than him at that position. So anyway, I'll
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 1: take the Rams minus ten and a half in Carolina.
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: That's it, that's all I got. It's been fun and
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 1: like I tell you every week and especially when we
• 1:05:28
  Speaker 1: get into the playoffs, enjoy your football watching.