Latest / NFL Now / Frank Reich Head Coach for Panthers, 49ers vs. Eagles, Bengals vs. Chiefs, & The 2023 NFL Draft Order

Transcript

Frank Reich Head Coach for Panthers, 49ers vs. Eagles, Bengals vs. Chiefs, & The 2023 NFL Draft Order · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
0:08
Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. It's a fresh hour of NFL Now. Mike,
0:20
Speaker 1: I am with you. There is a ton to get
0:22
Speaker 1: to in this hour. The coaching carousel continues to spend.
0:24
Speaker 1: We got a new coordinator in New York. We got
0:26
Speaker 1: head coaching interviews that are underway. We got full details
0:29
Speaker 1: of all of that, including maybe the biggest storyline of
0:33
Speaker 1: the week, and that's the health of Patrick Mahomes and
0:35
Speaker 1: that ankle injury. Of course, Mahomes getting a little dinged
0:38
Speaker 1: up with that high ankle spring I say dinged up
0:40
Speaker 1: because for most would be a significant injury. David Carr
0:43
Speaker 1: told us on Total Access earlier this week he had
0:45
Speaker 1: a high ankle spraining. He missed three to four weeks. Mahomes,
0:48
Speaker 1: it looks like business as usual, as he addressed the
0:51
Speaker 1: media earlier today, you can't prevent all injuries, but you
0:55
Speaker 1: can be You can prepare your body the best way
0:57
Speaker 1: possible so that whenever stuff like this last game happens,
1:00
Speaker 1: you're able to bounce back quickly. And so um We've
1:02
Speaker 1: done a lot of ankle and knee and and foot stuff,
1:05
Speaker 1: especially after my last few injuries I've had um, and
1:07
Speaker 1: I think that's preparing me to bounce back quickly here
1:09
Speaker 1: and be able to be in a good spot that
1:11
Speaker 1: hopefully I'm able to go out there and give a
1:13
Speaker 1: percent during the game. All Right, We will get back
1:16
Speaker 1: to Patrick Mahomes in just a couple moments here, especially
1:19
Speaker 1: because of that ankle injury. But joining us right now,
1:22
Speaker 1: our NFL Network insiders or insider Ian rapp Report is
1:26
Speaker 1: with us right now because there is some breaking news
1:28
Speaker 1: to get to. In fact, what you've been thinking and
1:30
Speaker 1: anticipating that this could happen, and yes, it officially has
1:34
Speaker 1: Ian reporting that the Panthers are hiring former Cults head
1:37
Speaker 1: coach Frank right as their new headman. This according to
1:41
Speaker 1: I and Tom Pallisero. For a little bit more. Ian
1:44
Speaker 1: is with us right now, and give me the details.
1:46
Speaker 1: How did this thing come about? Yeah, let's say over
1:50
Speaker 1: the last several days, Frank Reich emerged as the top
1:53
Speaker 1: candidate here for the Carolina Panthers. And really one of
1:57
Speaker 1: the coolest stories around this is their former quarterback, the
2:00
Speaker 1: first quarterback enfranchise history as family in the Carolina area.
2:04
Speaker 1: It's experienced head coach, really someone who could lead this
2:07
Speaker 1: organization into the future, and over the last couple of
2:11
Speaker 1: days became clear that he was at least the top,
2:14
Speaker 1: at least one of the top guys, if not the
2:16
Speaker 1: top guys. They also did second interviews with Steve Wilkes
2:19
Speaker 1: and Kellen Moore, and early this morning, according to me
2:22
Speaker 1: and colleague Tom Pollo, Sero settled on Frank Reich as
2:26
Speaker 1: their new head coach. And now a new era for
2:29
Speaker 1: the Carolina Panthers, and I would say a massive, massive
2:33
Speaker 1: higher the first of this cycle. Ian The Carolina Panthers
2:39
Speaker 1: interviewed a number of candidates here for their head coaching job.
2:42
Speaker 1: Really in recent days it came down to Frank Reich
2:46
Speaker 1: as well as Kellen Moore, who was the last coach
2:48
Speaker 1: that they interviewed, the Cowboys offensive coordinator. They spent some
2:51
Speaker 1: time on him, end up keeping him overnight to continue
2:54
Speaker 1: the conversation. More fit in what the Panthers initially seemed
2:58
Speaker 1: to be set out to find, which was that young
3:00
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator, a really smart offensive mind that they could
3:04
Speaker 1: grow with. However, in Frank Reich, they have a known
3:07
Speaker 1: commodity here, a guy who went to the playoffs in
3:09
Speaker 1: two of his first three seasons in Indianapolis, a former
3:13
Speaker 1: quarterback himself obviously throwing the first touchdown pass in Panthers
3:16
Speaker 1: history back in and somebody who is universally respected within
3:21
Speaker 1: the NFL. We know that it did not end well
3:23
Speaker 1: for Frank Reich in Indianapolis, obviously fired with a three
3:27
Speaker 1: three and one record or three five and one record
3:29
Speaker 1: midway through this past season, replaced on interim basis by
3:32
Speaker 1: Jeff Saturday. But when you talk to people about Frank
3:35
Speaker 1: Reich who have been around him to get one of
3:37
Speaker 1: the most solid individuals in the NFL, they now hope
3:40
Speaker 1: to pair him with the franchise quarterback that owner David
3:43
Speaker 1: Tepper really has been seeking since he got there. Now,
3:46
Speaker 1: Frank Reich in to bowld that offense and whoever that
3:48
Speaker 1: quarterback ends up being. Yeah, and uh, it's a disappointing
3:52
Speaker 1: end for Steve Wilkes here, the interim coach who went
3:56
Speaker 1: six and six with a roster that wasn't his, with
3:58
Speaker 1: a coaching staff that wasn't his. Uh. I know Wilkes
4:02
Speaker 1: has had some support, uh in the media and certainly
4:05
Speaker 1: in the area as well, has had some support in
4:07
Speaker 1: the building. That locker room was vocal was saying, hey,
4:10
Speaker 1: we love the job that Steve Wilkes has done. Let's
4:12
Speaker 1: see what he can do as part of the full
4:14
Speaker 1: time job. So as a part of a full time
4:17
Speaker 1: coach with a chance to set the table for himself.
4:20
Speaker 1: So Wilkes does not get the job here, we shall
4:22
Speaker 1: see what that means for his NFL future. We know
4:25
Speaker 1: that his defensive coordinator, Al Holcom has interviewed with the
4:29
Speaker 1: Falcons for their defensive coordinator job. We should see a
4:31
Speaker 1: decision soon from the Falcons regarding that role. Perhaps they
4:35
Speaker 1: will have some interest in bringing Wilkes aboard as well.
4:37
Speaker 1: I know that that's been speculated and talked about. That
4:40
Speaker 1: could be a possibility. So we shall see. But Frank
4:43
Speaker 1: Reich locked in, Uh what's what's today? The the January?
4:48
Speaker 1: This has got to be the latest ever that we've
4:50
Speaker 1: had the first head coach hired, uh Domino fall. So
4:55
Speaker 1: Frank Reich, a very quarterback friendly coach, comes in to
4:58
Speaker 1: the Carolina Panthers. Obviously, the big thing on there to
5:01
Speaker 1: do list who's going to be their quarterback? Hard to
5:04
Speaker 1: imagine any What about going into a better situation where
5:07
Speaker 1: the head coach knows the quarterback position is nurtured the
5:10
Speaker 1: quarterback position and obviously has had a lot of success
5:13
Speaker 1: there as far as the other side of the ball
5:15
Speaker 1: with the Carolina Panthers have done. During this process, is
5:17
Speaker 1: also interview several defensive coordinators, some of the top names
5:21
Speaker 1: including Vic Fangio, Chris Richard, markwan Manuel some of the
5:26
Speaker 1: really top ones. And I would also keep an eye
5:28
Speaker 1: and Gus Bradley, of course, was with Frank Reich in Indianapolis,
5:32
Speaker 1: still under contracts. We'll see if he ends up staying there.
5:35
Speaker 1: If not, would also seemingly be under consideration for the Panthers.
5:38
Speaker 1: But they are in position to hire a defensive coordinator
5:41
Speaker 1: as soon as possible because of the legwork that they
5:43
Speaker 1: did all throughout this process. And great stuff by you,
5:47
Speaker 1: Tom Mike, great job being on this, and I I
5:50
Speaker 1: know when you put it on social media, I feel
5:52
Speaker 1: really good about it. But now it's like really official
5:54
Speaker 1: because the team actually posting it just moments ago, Frank
5:57
Speaker 1: right now officially their head coach. I'm not saying that,
6:01
Speaker 1: and you're you're always on it, man, but now it's
6:03
Speaker 1: it's social media official. Mark Ross, he's been in the
6:06
Speaker 1: front office, he's been involved in decisions like this, and
6:09
Speaker 1: he joins us, right now, Mark, take me through this.
6:11
Speaker 1: What do you make of this higher from a Carolina perspective? Well, Carolina,
6:15
Speaker 1: all the positive added attributes of Frank right there, with
6:19
Speaker 1: the reputation for being an offensive mastermind and working with quarterbacks.
6:25
Speaker 1: But the most important part is when these with these hires,
6:28
Speaker 1: it's just who the owner likes, you know, the owner,
6:30
Speaker 1: and if they bond and have a good relationship, a
6:33
Speaker 1: good interview with that said person here, it's got to
6:36
Speaker 1: be tampered with with with coach right there that that's
6:39
Speaker 1: really the only voice, the person that matters, and you
6:42
Speaker 1: can kind of construct the track record and the reputation
6:46
Speaker 1: the way you wanted to kind of sell the higher there.
6:49
Speaker 1: The big thing for the Panthers, as we know, is
6:52
Speaker 1: the offense getting them right. The defense played really well
6:55
Speaker 1: under Steve Wilkes, and I thought Steve Wilkes really deserved
6:58
Speaker 1: that job, and he showed enough in real time to
7:02
Speaker 1: get that job. And this is sort of the frustration
7:04
Speaker 1: that happened, particularly with minority coaches, is that here you go,
7:07
Speaker 1: you put your film out there, do you show exactly
7:10
Speaker 1: what you do as a coach, And that's still not
7:11
Speaker 1: good enough. Frank Wright coming from a place where he
7:14
Speaker 1: got fired and now he gets another job there with
7:17
Speaker 1: carolinea So definitely a surprise for me. And looking at
7:21
Speaker 1: this with the big picture, Mark, I'm with you. Think
7:23
Speaker 1: about some of those results there. I know six and
7:25
Speaker 1: six is what Ian had made reference to, but you
7:27
Speaker 1: trade Christian McCaffrey the running game, just continue to turn
7:30
Speaker 1: out a hundred yard performances from the guys in that backfield,
7:33
Speaker 1: not to mention revolving to work at that quarterback spot.
7:36
Speaker 1: Which leads me to some conversations that we're gonna be
7:38
Speaker 1: having in a few weeks. You and I probably together
7:40
Speaker 1: on NFL dot Com for the draft. We spend a
7:42
Speaker 1: lot of quality time last year. Side knew you're doing
7:44
Speaker 1: a lot of these evaluations. Caroline's got the ninth overall pick.
7:48
Speaker 1: Does it make sense to go with the quarterback or
7:50
Speaker 1: you think there's another need here? Well, I think you
7:53
Speaker 1: definitely have to go with that. The quarterback carousel that
7:55
Speaker 1: they've had there, now you need some stability there. And
7:59
Speaker 1: you know it's interesting to about quarterback carousel. Well, that's
8:02
Speaker 1: kind of what Frank Wright had with the Colts with
8:04
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz. And Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers. He had
8:07
Speaker 1: the same carousel. So it's interesting, is he the right
8:10
Speaker 1: man to bring in a rookie quarterback and develop them
8:13
Speaker 1: because at least over the last few years, that really
8:16
Speaker 1: hasn't been what he has done. But I think if
8:19
Speaker 1: you're the Panthers organization, we know how important the franchise
8:22
Speaker 1: quarterback is. But also to get the right person, the
8:26
Speaker 1: right quarterback in there that can get the franchise to
8:28
Speaker 1: where it needs to be. So definitely you'll hear them
8:32
Speaker 1: at nine if they have to move up, move down
8:34
Speaker 1: one guy, they just have to fall in love with that.
8:36
Speaker 1: That's a lot of work that needs to be done there. First,
8:39
Speaker 1: Domino is hiring your head coaching and see what his
8:41
Speaker 1: vision is and the type of guy that he likes there. Mike, Yeah,
8:44
Speaker 1: More on this decision still to come here on NFL Now,
8:48
Speaker 1: more from you Mark coming up in just a couple
8:50
Speaker 1: of moments here. But as we're talking about changes on
8:52
Speaker 1: the offensive side and just changes around different staffs. A
8:56
Speaker 1: little bit earlier this morning, the Jets making it official
8:58
Speaker 1: hiring Nathaniel Hacketts as their offensive coordinator. This is a
9:02
Speaker 1: guy that's fielded a top ten scoring offense three times
9:05
Speaker 1: as a No. C and remember getting fired after just
9:07
Speaker 1: one seas him as the Broncos head coach. Here's the
9:10
Speaker 1: head coach of the Jets, Robert Sale. He's got a
9:14
Speaker 1: proven history of being able to develop a heck of
9:16
Speaker 1: a run game and every stop that he's ever been in. UM,
9:19
Speaker 1: he's got TROUM. He's got a proven track record of
9:22
Speaker 1: tremendous relationships with all the quarterbacks as he's ever worked with,
9:25
Speaker 1: and he's gotten great, great had success with all the
9:28
Speaker 1: quarterbacks that he's worked with. H So there's a lot
9:31
Speaker 1: of strengths with him. His commitment to complimentary football, UM,
9:36
Speaker 1: the experience, the UM, the innovator, he's an innovative teacher.
9:41
Speaker 1: He's got M. He's got a laundry list of stuff
9:44
Speaker 1: that we're all really really excited about. So Robert Salo,
9:50
Speaker 1: leaning into this decision and his hiring Ian, Mike and
9:54
Speaker 1: Mark back with me here and take me through this
9:56
Speaker 1: from a Jets perspective. How do we get here? This
10:00
Speaker 1: was the number one candidate and Robert Salo talked a
10:02
Speaker 1: lot of candidates, I mean a lot candidates, fifteen by
10:07
Speaker 1: my count, either over the phone, or in interviews, and
10:10
Speaker 1: probably a couple more. He corresponded with, I don't know
10:12
Speaker 1: how else you could correspond maybe FedEx or something. But anyway,
10:14
Speaker 1: a lot of people that Robert Sala spoke with this
10:16
Speaker 1: was the guy he wanted. It was really a matter
10:18
Speaker 1: of was Nathaniel Hacketld going to be willing to come
10:21
Speaker 1: back to coaching so soon after a very difficult, uh,
10:25
Speaker 1: a very difficult tenure with the Denver Broncos. And what's
10:29
Speaker 1: interesting here is, I know this is a higher that
10:31
Speaker 1: could be debated. It did not work out in Denver.
10:33
Speaker 1: It was all bad. Literally everything in Denver was bad
10:36
Speaker 1: the whole year. Everything was bad. When Nathaniel Hackett has
10:38
Speaker 1: been in offensive coordinator, it has been very good, including
10:41
Speaker 1: taking Blake Bordels to the title game, including helping Aaron
10:44
Speaker 1: Rodgers do things a lot better than he did this
10:46
Speaker 1: year without him. So head coach not good, offensive coordinator good.
10:52
Speaker 1: And that is what the Jets are getting. Robert Sala
10:57
Speaker 1: really uh focused on what Nathaniel Hackett has done as
11:01
Speaker 1: an offensive coordinator, as Ian said. As far as the
11:03
Speaker 1: head coaching stuff and what happened this past year, he said,
11:05
Speaker 1: you've got to own it. And my understanding is Nathaniel
11:08
Speaker 1: Hackett owned it and UH clearly UH communicated to the
11:12
Speaker 1: Jets that that was gonna be an isolated situation and
11:15
Speaker 1: he didn't handle the head coaching aspect of things that well.
11:19
Speaker 1: But they believe in him as an offensive coordinator. The
11:22
Speaker 1: fact that he has succeeded with H Blake Bortles in
11:24
Speaker 1: the past, the fact that he has to UH MVP
11:28
Speaker 1: seasons with Aaron Rodgers as his offensive coordinator. Now I
11:31
Speaker 1: know we're making the connection with Rodgers land with the Jets.
11:34
Speaker 1: Uh Sala said that they did discuss with Hackett as
11:37
Speaker 1: well as other candidates, the possibility of bringing in a
11:41
Speaker 1: veteran quarterback and and how it might work, but they
11:43
Speaker 1: didn't speak specifically about who that might be. And and
11:46
Speaker 1: I don't believe that this higher was made to say, hey,
11:50
Speaker 1: we can lure Aaron Rodgers here if we hire Nathaniel Hackett.
11:52
Speaker 1: That's not the vibe that I'm getting. They just believe
11:55
Speaker 1: in Hackett as an offensive coordinator. And don't discount Keith Carter,
11:59
Speaker 1: who comes in as the run game coordinator slash offensive
12:02
Speaker 1: line coach. Served in that role Offen, the f line
12:05
Speaker 1: coach that is for the Tennessee Titans, who have run
12:07
Speaker 1: the football. Well, uh, my understanding was early in the
12:09
Speaker 1: process they were talking about the potential of splitting that
12:12
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator job and bringing in a run game guy
12:15
Speaker 1: and bringing in a guy like Hackett who can man
12:17
Speaker 1: the passing game as well. So they are very pleased
12:20
Speaker 1: with what they have done from a running game and
12:23
Speaker 1: passing game standpoint. With the higher of both of these guys, Mark, Yeah,
12:27
Speaker 1: I think his tracker and also could be debatable with
12:30
Speaker 1: Jacksonville and Green Bay how much success actually was there.
12:33
Speaker 1: But let's just say his biggest success is working with
12:36
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers but not calling the plays. You know, does
12:39
Speaker 1: that experience help him in this situation with the Jets
12:41
Speaker 1: where really the most important part is Zach Wilson and
12:44
Speaker 1: trying to get him right and get him better. Similar
12:47
Speaker 1: to when Brian Table right across the building there got
12:50
Speaker 1: Daniel Jones right this year with the Giants and it
12:52
Speaker 1: elevated his game, so getting the Giants into the playoffs.
12:56
Speaker 1: So if you're the Jets, that's really what you're looking
12:58
Speaker 1: at with Hackett is if Zach Wilson is the guy
13:01
Speaker 1: getting him better and getting him competent and confidence in
13:05
Speaker 1: his ability, and is Nathaniel Hacking the right guy to
13:08
Speaker 1: do that? Or if if if Aaron Rodgers is the
13:12
Speaker 1: longer play? Did you learn from last year if that
13:14
Speaker 1: was a play in Denver that hey, maybe that's not
13:16
Speaker 1: the right route. But the big picture for me is
13:18
Speaker 1: try to emulate with the Giants with Brian Dable, Daniel
13:22
Speaker 1: Jones and getting Zach Wilson better there. If he's out
13:25
Speaker 1: salvageable at all, market's a good point. He saw those
13:28
Speaker 1: numbers there, twenty nine and points per game arrow can
13:31
Speaker 1: only go up for this team's offense, and it will
13:33
Speaker 1: be good to get BRI's Hall back healthy in this lineup.
13:36
Speaker 1: We saw how much of a factor he was when
13:38
Speaker 1: he was healthy out on the football field. Good stuff
13:40
Speaker 1: from you, guys, as we continue to monitor a lot
13:42
Speaker 1: of these changes that we're seeing, and in fact, there
13:44
Speaker 1: could be a little bit more here. Let's not forget
13:47
Speaker 1: about the Colts schedule. The second interview with Cowboys defensive
13:50
Speaker 1: coordinator Dan Queen for Saturday. Cowboys defense finished seventh and
13:54
Speaker 1: points allowed in one, fifth in points allowed in two
13:58
Speaker 1: and led the league and takeaways each of the past
14:01
Speaker 1: two seasons. For a little bit more context on this,
14:04
Speaker 1: our NFL Network insider Ton Palaceero is back with us. Tom,
14:07
Speaker 1: take me through this decision making process and what's going
14:10
Speaker 1: to happen with dan Quinn. Well, Mike dan Quinn had
14:15
Speaker 1: another interview yesterday with the Arizona Cardinals for their head
14:19
Speaker 1: coaching job. He is now scheduled to meet with the
14:21
Speaker 1: Colts in person on Saturday, after doing an initial zoom
14:24
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago. If Quinn has not taken
14:28
Speaker 1: a different head coaching job. First, of course, he's also
14:30
Speaker 1: been a candidate for the Denver Broncos vacancy in this cycle.
14:34
Speaker 1: I meanwhile, the Colts are interviewing a number of candidates
14:37
Speaker 1: in their second wave of interviews. Jeff Saturday had his
14:40
Speaker 1: second interview on Wednesday at Gerald Evero, the Broncos defensive
14:44
Speaker 1: coordinator who has really impressed teams in this interview circuit,
14:47
Speaker 1: is there today for he morses in on Friday, and
14:50
Speaker 1: I would not be surprised at all if they end
14:52
Speaker 1: up continuing this into next week, potentially bringing some of
14:55
Speaker 1: those coaches who are still in the playoffs, guys like
14:58
Speaker 1: Shane Steiken and Brian Callahan back into play for the
15:01
Speaker 1: Colts as well. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings continue to look
15:05
Speaker 1: or a new defensive coordinator at the party ways with
15:07
Speaker 1: ed Donnitel. Today they have Brian Flores, the former Dolphin's
15:11
Speaker 1: head coach current Steeler's assistant in and interviewing for the position.
15:16
Speaker 1: What Kevin O'Connell wants out of his defense is creativity
15:20
Speaker 1: and an attacking style. Well, Flora's history would suggest he
15:24
Speaker 1: certainly would fit that mold. He is one of several
15:26
Speaker 1: candidates who has interviewed in Minnesota, along with the likes
15:29
Speaker 1: of Ryan Nielsen from the Saints, Shawn Desai from the Seahawks,
15:32
Speaker 1: and Mike Petton, who was already on staff in Minnesota.
15:35
Speaker 1: Like Tom, is a good gig to have, especially with
15:37
Speaker 1: a team that had success this past season. Always appreciate
15:40
Speaker 1: the insight and the intel. Tom. Alright, still to come
15:43
Speaker 1: here on NFL. Now, we'll get back to some of
15:45
Speaker 1: the football that will be played this coming weekend. The
15:48
Speaker 1: Eagles trying to fly to the Super Bowl. A report
15:50
Speaker 1: from Philly that's next. Oh, it is breaking news, just
16:03
Speaker 1: coming into the NFL Network news room just moments ago,
16:06
Speaker 1: and it is official to Carolina Panthers deciding to go
16:09
Speaker 1: with a guy that's been a head coach before. Franklin
16:12
Speaker 1: Reich now takes over previously the Colts head coach. You
16:17
Speaker 1: can see what that record is at forty and thirty
16:19
Speaker 1: three and those five campaigns, and an opportunity here to
16:22
Speaker 1: try to fix an organization, more specifically an offense. It's
16:25
Speaker 1: had some struggles at times, in fact, a little bit
16:27
Speaker 1: of a revolving door at the quarterback spot, which begs
16:31
Speaker 1: the question which the direction this team goes when it
16:33
Speaker 1: comes to the NFL Draft Right now, the Panthers, with
16:37
Speaker 1: the ninth overall pick, got an opportunity maybe to move
16:41
Speaker 1: up or maybe move down, depending on what those needs
16:44
Speaker 1: are going to be. More on this still to come
16:46
Speaker 1: here later this hour on NFL Now. Meanwhile, good news
16:50
Speaker 1: from a chief perspective. Patrick Mahomes dinged up with that
16:54
Speaker 1: high ankle sprain in the Divisional round against the Jacks,
16:57
Speaker 1: a full participant in practice yesterday and today speaking to
17:02
Speaker 1: the media. You can't prevent all injuries, um, but you
17:07
Speaker 1: can you can prepare your body the best way possible
17:09
Speaker 1: so that whenever stuff like this last game happens, you're
17:11
Speaker 1: able to bounce back quickly. And so um, we've done
17:14
Speaker 1: a lot of ankle and knee and and foot stuff,
17:16
Speaker 1: especially after my last few injuries I've had, UM, and
17:19
Speaker 1: I think that's preparing me to bounce back quickly here
17:21
Speaker 1: and be able to be in a good spot that
17:22
Speaker 1: hopefully I'm able to go out there and give during
17:25
Speaker 1: the game. Can you imagine this dude high ankle spraying
17:28
Speaker 1: and he's out there just doing magical Mahomes things. Mark
17:32
Speaker 1: cross back with us right now, Mark, give me some
17:34
Speaker 1: context on just how unique this situation is. I mean, Mike,
17:38
Speaker 1: we know how special and unique he is as a player,
17:41
Speaker 1: but he literally is just built different as a human
17:43
Speaker 1: being with this injury, with this high ankle spraying, where
17:46
Speaker 1: any other player you're talking about three four or five
17:49
Speaker 1: weeks with dealing with this and now this guy for
17:52
Speaker 1: the second time in his career just yeah, I got
17:54
Speaker 1: a high ankle spring. Let me just go play the
17:55
Speaker 1: next game. So this really is phenomenal with Patrick Mahomes
17:59
Speaker 1: is doing. But the bigger question Mike is not just
18:02
Speaker 1: making it to the game and playing in the game,
18:04
Speaker 1: which beviously he's gonna do, but how effective will he be?
18:08
Speaker 1: How much will he look like vintage capt Patrick Mahomes,
18:12
Speaker 1: and that is when he gets pressured getting out of
18:14
Speaker 1: there and escaping like he does, spinning around and delivering
18:17
Speaker 1: the balls, uh, you know, on the move, those sort
18:20
Speaker 1: of things. Of course we saw last week some one
18:23
Speaker 1: one legged throws and whatnot, But to try to sustain
18:27
Speaker 1: that for a whole entire game, that will really be
18:29
Speaker 1: the true test once he gets out there, to see
18:32
Speaker 1: how effective he can be. Look, if he's just gonna
18:34
Speaker 1: sit in the pocket, of course he can do that,
18:37
Speaker 1: but he has to. What makes him so so special
18:39
Speaker 1: is his ability to improvise and move and do things
18:42
Speaker 1: that only Patrick Mahomes can do. The first time they
18:45
Speaker 1: played each other, uh you know, they limited him to
18:47
Speaker 1: just two hundred Bengals defense, two passing yards, zero points
18:52
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. So you gotta think they gotta
18:54
Speaker 1: be thinking real confident they had a compromise Patrick Mahomes
18:57
Speaker 1: with that ankle, the Bengals gotta be feeling pretty good. Like,
19:00
Speaker 1: just for context purposes, David Carr, who's played the position
19:03
Speaker 1: earlier this week on Total Access, said, Hey, I had
19:05
Speaker 1: an high ankle sprain three to four weeks. I was
19:07
Speaker 1: out my homes right now as of now, not skipping
19:11
Speaker 1: a beat. Mark, more from you in just a moment
19:13
Speaker 1: here as we shift our attention to what's happening in Philadelphia.
19:17
Speaker 1: Jalen hurts, it's never started a regular season or a
19:19
Speaker 1: playoff game against a team that ranked number one in
19:22
Speaker 1: scoring or total defense, the Niners both in those categories.
19:26
Speaker 1: The good thing is this squad pretty good, a number
19:29
Speaker 1: one seed, and they get to play at home in Philadelphia,
19:32
Speaker 1: where Stacy Dales is standing by along with Mark ross
19:36
Speaker 1: Uh Stacy Nick Sirianni. Besides comparing Michael Jordan's and his quarterback,
19:40
Speaker 1: Jalon hurts, that's the message publicly to everyone. What's been
19:44
Speaker 1: the message Sirianni has been given his team behind closed doors?
19:49
Speaker 1: Just be us. I mean, they want to stay consistent,
19:51
Speaker 1: true to their process, and no game is bigger than
19:53
Speaker 1: the next. But ultimately they've got a really complete football team.
19:58
Speaker 1: Mike and Mark and I specifically asked Nick Sirianni, is
20:02
Speaker 1: this the most complete team that you've ever coached? And said, well, hey,
20:06
Speaker 1: Mountain Union in Ohio, powerhouse D three school where he
20:08
Speaker 1: played in coached, we have some pretty good teams. But
20:11
Speaker 1: in the National Football League, Yes, he told me, this
20:13
Speaker 1: is the most complete team that I have coached, because
20:15
Speaker 1: he was taught as a young age growing up in
20:17
Speaker 1: the game that it is old line D line, old
20:19
Speaker 1: line D line. He referenced those back and forth. They
20:22
Speaker 1: are the tone setters, and he said, obviously we have
20:25
Speaker 1: a great offensive line, we have a great defensive line.
20:28
Speaker 1: But then he also brought us back down to reality
20:30
Speaker 1: and said San Francisco does too, because at this stage
20:33
Speaker 1: in the game, the only way you get here is
20:36
Speaker 1: with a great offensive line and defensive line. But it
20:38
Speaker 1: is a very complete team. Mark, and his message to
20:41
Speaker 1: the crowd that will be here at the link on
20:43
Speaker 1: Sunday is just be you consistent with the theme that
20:47
Speaker 1: he's gone with and talked to Jalen Hurts about all
20:49
Speaker 1: season long. And Mark, they certainly have some playmakers and
20:52
Speaker 1: I know A. J. Brown is actually healthy. There's no
20:54
Speaker 1: reason to worry about him physically as we go into
20:57
Speaker 1: this game. Yeah, definitely. Jalen Hurts has been a star
21:02
Speaker 1: his whole entire life. Every step of the way, this
21:04
Speaker 1: guy has sepped up and been a star. Coming into
21:07
Speaker 1: this season, there were still some doubts about Jalen Hurts,
21:10
Speaker 1: and he completely blew those out. The Water played at
21:12
Speaker 1: an m v P level, and you talked about all
21:15
Speaker 1: the talent that Philly has and i've all season long
21:17
Speaker 1: most talented team in the league, and yes they have that.
21:20
Speaker 1: But then when Jalen Hurts was out, you saw how
21:23
Speaker 1: important he was to that Philadelphia Eagles team and that organization.
21:27
Speaker 1: And when you look at the two teams with Philly
21:29
Speaker 1: and the Nights maybe the two most talented teams in
21:32
Speaker 1: the league playing each other here, the big difference is
21:37
Speaker 1: Jalen Hursts has to be the guy. When you look
21:39
Speaker 1: at that matchup, that's really good difference between Jalen Hurts
21:41
Speaker 1: and Brock Purty. In my view, that's the difference where
21:44
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts has to be that guy to say I'm
21:46
Speaker 1: gonna win this game. And as you mentioned, A J. Brown,
21:50
Speaker 1: it's his time to step up. We've seen him have
21:52
Speaker 1: monster games this season where he's taken over the last
21:55
Speaker 1: few games have been kind of quiet, talking a little
21:58
Speaker 1: bit this week that he's not a diva once the ball,
22:01
Speaker 1: but these are the games that A J. Brown can
22:03
Speaker 1: take over. With our b Bowl runs with the Giants,
22:06
Speaker 1: we had a plax Co Burs who took over the
22:08
Speaker 1: game NFC Championship game against Green Bay of Victor Cruz
22:11
Speaker 1: and the Key Nicks who took over playoff game. This
22:14
Speaker 1: is the time for A. J. Brown to really take
22:16
Speaker 1: over this game along with his guy Jalen Hurt. Jalen
22:19
Speaker 1: Hurst has to make the big plays. A J. Brown
22:22
Speaker 1: is the go to guy in there, and that's really
22:24
Speaker 1: has to be the good formula for Philly. Mike Market's
22:28
Speaker 1: kind of cool because you think about this game as
22:30
Speaker 1: a chess looking at a chessboard, I mean, the pieces
22:32
Speaker 1: and how they're gonna move. It's going to be special
22:34
Speaker 1: to watch. You know, we're talking about the offensive side
22:36
Speaker 1: from Philadelphia perspective, Stacy, what about the defensive game plan
22:40
Speaker 1: for the squad? Oh what a storyline we have, guys,
22:44
Speaker 1: in terms of a rookie quarterback who's seven and oh
22:47
Speaker 1: in brock party with these Niners. He's a candidate for
22:50
Speaker 1: offensive Rookie of the Year and they've protected him with
22:53
Speaker 1: just eleven sacks taken in his starts. But guess what
22:57
Speaker 1: you talk about the Eagles defense. Their number one in
22:59
Speaker 1: sacks and they have been monsters up front seventy five
23:03
Speaker 1: on the year, five of them against Anniel Jones last
23:05
Speaker 1: weekend to advance in the divisional round and flex your
23:08
Speaker 1: Cox said it. They got together as a group before
23:11
Speaker 1: the season. Obviously, Cox a longstanding defensive tackle with this team,
23:16
Speaker 1: and they said, in order to make the next step
23:18
Speaker 1: and take the jump, we have to rush as a group.
23:20
Speaker 1: It cannot be individuals. And that's exactly what they've done.
23:22
Speaker 1: That room is so competitive. I talked to defensive and
23:25
Speaker 1: Josh Sweat this week, and I loved what he told
23:28
Speaker 1: me about the mindset. It's I'm gonna get more than
23:31
Speaker 1: you in terms of sacking the quarterback. I'll beat you there,
23:35
Speaker 1: and if I don't beat you there, I'll meet you there.
23:37
Speaker 1: I'm gonna use that on Sunday because I just love
23:38
Speaker 1: it so much. What a storyline it is. I absolutely
23:41
Speaker 1: love that. Anytime we can get some alliteration and some
23:43
Speaker 1: rhymes in the show, I'm all for it. Stay Warm
23:47
Speaker 1: in Philadelphia is Rihanna? We waited? It's been over six
24:01
Speaker 1: years since the nine time Grammy winning Where we've been?
24:25
Speaker 1: Do you guys want me to follow that up? Are
24:27
Speaker 1: you kidding me? Oh? Here we go? Super Bowl AFT
24:30
Speaker 1: Times show? All right, Cincinnati hoping to get back to
24:33
Speaker 1: this game. The Bengals first team to make consecutive conference
24:35
Speaker 1: championships immediately following three consecutive plus losing seasons. All I
24:40
Speaker 1: gotta do is be Patrick Mahomes and this chief squad
24:44
Speaker 1: this coming weekend. Mike Ord is in Cincinnati. Mark Ross
24:47
Speaker 1: back with us right now. I know we're all Rihanna fans.
24:49
Speaker 1: We can talk about our favorite songs maybe after the show,
24:51
Speaker 1: But Mike, take me through this here. Because everyone talks
24:54
Speaker 1: about Joe Barrow, Jamar Chase obviously huge vocal point of
24:57
Speaker 1: this team's offense. How is the impacting what we're going
25:00
Speaker 1: to see not only on Sunday, but what the defense
25:03
Speaker 1: is trying to do to compensate to try to keep
25:05
Speaker 1: him in check. Mike Keeper sent such a unique challenge
25:09
Speaker 1: because of the way the Bengals are deploying him. It's
25:12
Speaker 1: not just line the guy up outside and just leave
25:14
Speaker 1: him there and allow a team to sort of, hey,
25:16
Speaker 1: this is the way it's gonna be. We can set
25:18
Speaker 1: our coverage that and it's like clockwork. No, they move
25:20
Speaker 1: him around. He's in the slot, he's in motion, he's
25:22
Speaker 1: been in the backfield. They're doing so many different things
25:25
Speaker 1: than as Joe Burrow said, A big part of that
25:27
Speaker 1: is a see how the defense wants to approach him,
25:30
Speaker 1: he said. We know they might fall him with someone,
25:31
Speaker 1: they might cloud coverage, they might split safety, he said.
25:34
Speaker 1: But we move him around, we give him an opportunity
25:36
Speaker 1: to get him the ball in space. And once he
25:38
Speaker 1: gets the ball in space, good luck. As Burrow said,
25:41
Speaker 1: you can see it on the film, you hear it
25:43
Speaker 1: in person. He's not someone you can tackle with your arms,
25:47
Speaker 1: and sometimes you can't tackle him with your shoulder. People
25:49
Speaker 1: throw their bodies at him and Jamaark Chase is so strong,
25:52
Speaker 1: has such great playing strength, and he's able to break
25:54
Speaker 1: those tackles. And again, as we were talking a short
25:57
Speaker 1: time ago about Travis Kelsey, turns the five yard game
25:59
Speaker 1: into a twenty five yard game. He's really explosive and
26:02
Speaker 1: he has been clutch thirty nine catches in the season
26:05
Speaker 1: over his two year career. That is the most in
26:07
Speaker 1: the National Football League over that time, also the most
26:09
Speaker 1: receiving yards as well, ahead of one Travis Kelsey. So, yes,
26:13
Speaker 1: he is the man and no matter what Kansas City does,
26:16
Speaker 1: they'll get him the football. Yeah. I was looking at
26:18
Speaker 1: some of those numbers against Kansas City. I think he's
26:20
Speaker 1: averaging like a hundred and thirty nine, you know, total yards,
26:22
Speaker 1: are receiving yards. It's crazy the impact that he's had here. Mark,
26:25
Speaker 1: I can't believe I'm gonna ask this question, but does
26:28
Speaker 1: it almost not matter the health of Patrick Mahomes? And
26:31
Speaker 1: hear me out here, this Cincinnati team has sort of
26:33
Speaker 1: had their number, They've beat them three consecutive times. If
26:35
Speaker 1: Mahomes is healthy, does it almost even matter? Mike, That's
26:39
Speaker 1: a great point, And I would have picked the Cincinnati
26:42
Speaker 1: going there even if Patrick was healthy, because I think
26:45
Speaker 1: they just have a more complete team on both sides
26:47
Speaker 1: of the ball. We've talked about in the offense there
26:50
Speaker 1: how special they have been. But this defense has really
26:53
Speaker 1: stepped up once again in the playoffs and is playing
26:57
Speaker 1: at an elite level with so many different looks, so
27:00
Speaker 1: much confidence. And you have to believe when they played
27:03
Speaker 1: earlier in the season they held my Homes two three
27:05
Speaker 1: passing yards and shut them down in the fourth quarter
27:08
Speaker 1: that that has extra confidence going in knowing that you'll
27:12
Speaker 1: have a compromise Mahomes that may not be able to
27:15
Speaker 1: move around and do those special things and bail them
27:17
Speaker 1: out of plays like he usually does. So this Cincinnati
27:21
Speaker 1: team as a whole, I think it's just much more
27:23
Speaker 1: well balanced. Of course, that offense with Joe Burrow and
27:26
Speaker 1: Chase has been mentioned. Those guys are inevitable and one
27:28
Speaker 1: play could change the game. But the defense really could
27:32
Speaker 1: be the winner for this Cincinnati team if especially if
27:36
Speaker 1: Mahomes is healthy or not healthy. I mean, it's going
27:38
Speaker 1: to be fascinated to see their huge confidence. As you mentioned,
27:41
Speaker 1: three wins in a row under the Joe Burrow era
27:43
Speaker 1: for Cincinnati. Hey, they're gonna be patrick work. Yeah, I
27:48
Speaker 1: guess Joe Burrow trying to get those diamonds like Rihanna?
27:51
Speaker 1: Is that cheesy? Hopefully it doesn't rain. They don't need
27:53
Speaker 1: an umbrella? Am I just trying too hard? At this point?
27:55
Speaker 1: I probably are like two people are like what are
27:57
Speaker 1: you talking about? And everyone else who's Rihanna? Fandos exactly
28:02
Speaker 1: back to work, work, work. I got a little help
28:04
Speaker 1: on that one, guys, Great stuff from all of you here.
28:08
Speaker 1: I might be for the real at some point. NFL
28:15
Speaker 1: Now is a production of the NFL in partnership with
28:18
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
28:21
Speaker 1: visit the i Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever
28:25
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts